Inspiron 5150 notebook

Rating:	★★
Category:	Computers & Electronics
Product Type:	Computers
Manufacturer:	DELL

I bought this laptop about two years ago with some discount program. I didn't choose Centrino unit at that time because I thought I need a more powerful mobile machine to work with some multimedia programming and applications, and able to connect a video capture utility and do some video editing and creation for my family. It comes with P4-3.06 MHz, 512 MB SDRAM, 40 GB HD, CD-RW/DVD-ROM, and other common laptop peripherals. On top of that, I upgraded the OS to XP professional and had Office XP professional installed in it. It doesn't come with a wireless built-in card, so I bought an inexpensive wireless card for it. Overall, I found the laptop powerful and useful for most of my works at home... but...

It is REALLY heavy for a laptop! I think it's probably more than 8 lbs! That's why I call it the "Dinosaur"! When I went for vacation last time to Indonesia, I had to bring this dinosaur in my backpack! I believe I lost few pounds just carrying this laptop (along with my other laptop from the office) on my back! :-)

My wife, especially, hates this dinosaur. She needs a laptop to work mobile in her car while waiting for my son Fatih attending his abacus class. She doesn't like the fact that this laptop does not have the most important feature that any laptop should have: LESS WEIGHT. With three kids to take care of, she does not need another burden in her hands while carrying this dinosaur to the car... So the dinosaur stays home most of the time, moved only from room to room as needed. But, just recently I found the AC adapter unit is not recharging the dinosaur's battery. The same problem happened just not long ago to my friend's laptop at the office. He purchased the same identical laptop at the same time with me. After searching for the fix on the internet, he found out that the cost of fixing the problem is almost the same as the current price of a new laptop, like one of the Toshibas after rebates... Sigh...

Now the dinosaur is sitting still on my desk with its cover closed, lifeless, powerless. My wife keeps telling me to sell it on ebay, or some local ad sites, but I am always reluctant to do it. Somehow, I still have the feeling I can revive my dinosaur someday.... Yes, someday. :-)

Batman Begins

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Action & Adventure

The plot of the story is pretty good, taking the audience to the past when the little Bruce Wayne fell into a well and faced his own fear seeing bats coming from a dark cave, saw his own parents murdered before his own eyes, traveled to China, went to prison for a crime, trained by some martial arts experts from a dark underground organization, and planned to fight crime and injustices in his hometown, Gotham city. There are some nice jokes, romances and philosophical discussions about setting up balance in every community, between the rich and the poor, between the good and the corrupt in the society.

However, there were couple of things that bothered me and caused me some headache:

1) The scene with the car chase when Batman in his first and "not-so-good-looking" Bat-mobile was chased by the police. What was the intention of the director to show this scene? A hero that destroys everything that blocks him from not being caught by the police with possibility of endangering the lives of civilians???
2) The cameras were positioned so close with the action during the fighting scenes especially those in the last part of the movie. These dark, blurry, scenes caused my headache. You cannot appreciate the art of fighting unless you can observe the fight. I guess the director needs to learn from Spiderman movie's director who can skillfully shot the fighting actions, including incorporating the slow-motion visual effects.

Lessons learned from this movie:
"Justice is about harmony; vengeance is about making yourself feel better”
"It's not who I am underneath, but what I do, that defines me."

Prayer for useful knowledge and others

Allahumma inni as'alukal-'ilman nafi'an,

wa rizqan wasi'an,

wa 'amalan mutaqabbilan,

wa du'a-an mustajaban,

wa shifa'an min kulli da'in wa saqamin,

bi rahmatika ya Arhamarrahimin...




O God, please grant me useful knowledge (that benefits me and others),

and bountiful sustenance,

and accepted good deed,

and answered prayer,

and cure from every disease and illness,

with Your mercy, O the Most Merciful...

Birds in the neighborhood

And there is no animal that walks upon the earth
nor a bird that flies with its wings
but they are communities like you...
(Qur'an 6:38)