Escargo Familia

Mechatronics Engineering: Part 1

2010-08-22T00:12:00.008+08:00

Bismillah

Ho yeahh.. this is probably my first written blog post. Okey the topic for today is the course that I'm doing in Uni.

I'm currently taking this degree in The University of Sheffield and I'm currently in the process of going into 2nd year. Alhamdulillah my 1st year results are good. I really hope my performance would continue for the rest of my uni years. So... I've been asked by many people a lot of time on the degree that I'm taking in uni. and for many times after explaining, I always get a puzzled look. The kinda look you'll get if you talk nonsense to someone. Hence, for most of the time, I failed in expressing the real content of my course.

Mechatronics course is a new engineering course. It was created to cater a totally different field in engineering. Different as it is, it is not new. They used to call it ‘Instrumentation’ (prehistoric), and then they move to ‘control and systems’ (middle ages) and NOW they call it Mechatronics. If you break it down, Mechatronics means Mechanical, Electronics and Systems (although the word system was not included into the new name, but think about it, if they did they would have called it Mechasystronic or Mechatronicsys; Too complicated for the Ageing professor in Uni to remember it hahh).

I mention ‘Different as it is, it is not new’. This seems puzzling but I’m going to explain to you about that.

Basically, we study the Controls of a Systems. It might be the control system in a car, plant or anything. A simple working air conditioner is called a System and the process of maintaining the temperature of the airflow at a specific degree Celsius is called the Control.

NOPE we don’t create Screws or Nuts. Those are the jobs of the mechanical engineers. And NOPE we don’t create circuits or specify which capacitor to use for the circuits. That, I’m sorry to say, are the job of the electrical engineers. WE get the product of the mechanical engineers and electrical engineers and MERGE them together and…. Tadaa!! =) … created something useful. Like the ABS system in a car, the Controls in a Nuclear power plant, the flight control path in a missile and planes and many more.

And yes, WE DO COOL STUFF.

There’s a lot more things I could talk about but I think that’s enough for now.

I’ll end part 1 for now.

To be continued…

{brunei postgraduate symposium 2010}

2010-03-25T08:14:00.004+08:00

Hi everyone! It's been a while since anyone last posted anything on the blog...

I'd like to share my experience attending the Brunei Postgraduate Symposium, held last Saturday at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS, University of London. In short, it was really good and worth going to!

This was the 2nd time the symposium has been held, with the inaugural event being last year. There were 3 keynote speakers, namely:

1) Hj Rozan DP Hj Md Yunos, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Development,

2) Dr Hj Omar Hj Khalid, Vice-Chancellor, ITB; and

3) Prof Tong Chee Kiong, Special Academic Advisor, ITB.

There were two panels, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, namely: the National Identity and Education Panel, as well as the Environmental, Health and Law Panel. In each panel there were about half a dozen speakers, Bruneians, coming not only from the UK but as far as Brunei and Australia. They each presented a paper detailing their research and postgraduate study. It was interesting, not only to see and hear about their work, but also how their work will relate to the development and benefit of Brunei in the future.

Also of particular interest were the three keynote speakers. They each gave a talk revolving around the theme of the symposium: "Sustainability & Growth: Securing our nation's future". I was especially intrigued by Prof Tong, who detailed the current new vision for UBD as a university not only focused on the educational needs of the Bruneian population, but also as a university known for its cutting-edge research, insyaAllah.

The day was quite an exhausting one as one had to concentrate for pretty much the whole time from morning listening to people speak, but it was definitely a rewarding one. I hope to be there again next year!

Ayyub

President

Good times..

2010-01-21T10:20:00.002+08:00

Playing truth or dare when were on our way to BSB.

Nyaman ketawa si hadi..kurang ajher

hohoho

If Everyone Care

2009-12-13T14:06:00.002+08:00

I found this video in YouTube, I think some of you know about it. I guess it's worth putting into this blog, I hope you people understand that the message that this song is trying to deliver.

I'm on leave

2009-12-11T10:05:00.002+08:00

Sorry for not coming to you on time; I'm nearly a month late. I've got my driving licence, and everything seems to be fine. There isn't much to say, as I have been very seclusive and secretive. I'm in this phase where I'm leaving stuff behind and going on to a new phase of life (Think about leaving schooling life!). Things now seem different. They're very unpredictable, the things that are going to happen in the near future. Certainly it has got something to do with my attitude at facing things. I barely pay attention to stuff nowadays as sometimes I think that there is nothing better to do than being ignorant. But I'll recharge later. I think I deserve the break. I'll come back to some serious stuff in late January so I was thinking of how freely I could do things in this period of time. And maybe it is on this basis that today's me is being shaped. But as I said earlier, I will re-mould myself into normal shape as soon as the important stuff come back again.

Nothing to say about Brunei. It's been raining. Lots of it. Well I have to say something about Brunei, specifically Belait. Have you heard about the 2000 terraced houses scheme in the Mumong/Panaga boundary area? Seems like there is progress. A few observances I have noted are that the walls aren't made of bricks, rather from cement. I suppose they have this cement mould or something of that sort, maybe a template, that you fix onto the land or foundation of the house and you start filling it with that liquid concrete and wait till it dries. Or maybe they use concrete slabs and blocks and cement them together. Or any other method that is cheap and maybe cost-effective that produces a result of certain quality, that stuff. The second thing that I have noted is that the beams don't look thick. They have a sample display house though and it looks modern (though cheap). But we will never know how things will turn out when the houses reach 5 years old. You might well know about houses that look top-notch (whatever the idiom is) initially but then gets damaged due to the weather and gets all sorts of problems within a few years. So we'll see what will happen.

Just to notify, I am on leave. Will be back in February. Do not hesitate to read the Brunei Times on their website when I'm away. Or when I am not away. Or both.

Cheers

Office Boy

De-Synthesize

2009-12-08T22:25:00.003+08:00

Reality-Check:

Courseworks

1)CAD Solidworks due this friday-Attempted

2)Statistics assignment due end of this week-Not started

Tutorial Sheets

1)SLAG-completed up to Sheet 4 of 8

2)Mechanics-on sheet 4 of 6

3)Maths-not a single one completed and stuck but all attempted, 8 sheets

4)Java Programming-Programming test next week worth 30% and the last 5 of 8 programming session kapai2...

and guess wat?? I DON GIVE A DAMN!!!

Been wondering knpa aku cmani.. I guess Im "DESYNTHESIZE"... One of the conditions I experienced when preparing myself for "A-levels".. and the cure is to do something I Suka buat but lama sudah nda buat....

But it's not working, and I found the cause. It's because IM IN A COMFORTABLE AND SWEET condition. Last weekend was awesome, It was the only weekend where i did not have to do any productive uni work after the previous hectic 4 weeks. So what to do?

GET OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE!!!

It's blinding me, It's comfortable but in the long run it's not worth it.......

TIME TO LEAP OUTSIDE and DO THINGS which made me here,

COMPLETE THE ABOVE!!!!

dat's why Im here..

dat's why I was sponsored by BSP,

dat's why I aim high in my studies,

dat's why I am ESCAROGONIAN........

WE WORK TO BE THE BEST IN OURSELF!!!

No Pain No Gain

2009-12-02T04:48:00.003+08:00

It's been a while, been VERY BUSY for the past two weeks.. TOO MUCH assignments,,

To me the past two weeks has been a test and I've learn two things:

1)LAST MINUTE IS A POWERFUL DRIVE, but it is JUST NOT WORTH IT!!! U'll eventually hand-in something but mcam stakat ada sja.. There's no Satisfaction knowing that the assignment could be MUCH MUCH MUCH MORE better...

2)no PAIN, no GAIN..

One of the assignment I have to hand is an individual marketing project on a sprint car that me and two other mates built..

The following is our story( the essay I have to Hand-in):

No Pain, No Gain

The phrase “No Pain, No Gain”, its one of the common sayings we can see around us. I question however, on how many have understood and how significant is that saying on one’s life. The entry that is submitted reflects upon the saying. It is a poster to promote the premiere opening of a new blockbuster hit. The centre of the poster shines “Bravo one”, a sprint car designed and built by 3 young aspiring engineers to be competed into a race of the fastest. It is supposedly produced by The Godfather Entertainment Co., filmed at the University Of Sheffield, reviewed by leading critics of the entertainment industry and is based upon a true story.

I had initially decided to create a short 10 minute video depicting the process of building Bravo One. More of a documentary covering the technical aspect and drama present in building the model in a entertaining manner, something close to MTV’s “Pimp My Ride”. However a lot of manpower is required to create such video. Though all of the guys in team 13 likes the concept of the idea, the project remains an idividual project and must be done by one man. Thus I’ve decided to submit another important aspect of a movie: the premiere poster advert to represent the promotional piece of Bravo One.

There are two criteria that must be met in creating this promotional piece; creativity and effectiveness. I am sure that this piece(a promotional poster intended for the movie of the sprint car) is different from a typical poster advert that is intended for magazines or newspaper; a leading point on creativity. However, the effectiveness of this promotional piece remains to be questioned. Suppose a toy car like Bravo One is on sale , I doubt that a company would create a movie to reach its initial sales target upon release. It is financially challenging. However after few months being in the market, I believe that a a documentary or movie might boost up the sales of the specific toy car. The public especially fans of the stars in the movie might be prompted to purchase such vehicle though they have no professional intend to race such sprint car in a competition. Furthermore such form of promotional piece literally targets everyone. Therefore this form of promotion might somehow be effective.

What I would remember most is not the success in building it but rather the frustation felt everytime our model breaks and doesnt move so as the hardship faced everytime the model has to be re-design. Though we could not meet the final distance required, victory was sweet as a custard strawberry pie when it finally accelerates. It is quite a known fact that the light bulb was finally created after 2000 failures. The expereince in building Bravo One made me appreciate that fact. Something to be remembered upon embarking my professional career as an engineer; “No Pain, No Gain”.

P.s: Thanx to Adri for showing me the magic a photoshop can do

P.s.s: IDK why the 1st part is underlines...

{dartmouth}

2009-11-30T05:02:00.001+08:00

Hello everyone

Warning: I have found that this piece I've been writing happens to be quite long and has no pictures, so if you want a summary, here it is:

"I spent the weekend at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth and had a great time."

So here's the non-summarised version:

I've just got back from Dartmouth in Devon, and so I thought I'd blog this out while everything's still fresh on my mind. Now, what was I doing in this small town on the south coast of England, situated between Exeter and Plymouth?

I spent 2 nights at the Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC) for the URNU New Entry BRNC Acquaint Course. BRNC is where people who want to become officers in the Royal Navy train, functioning much like the Royal Military Academy (RMA) Sandhurst does in training Army officers.

I joined London URNU (which stands for University Royal Naval Unit) out of a desire to do something a bit 'extra' from what others at university do - like I said during the interview (yes, there is competition for places and an interview serves to sort of filter candidates in), I wanted to "stop being such a foreign student" in that we tend to huddle up in our own communities whilst in the UK and missing out on fun things we gave a second thought to just because they were a tad out of our comfort zones.

Being a citizen of a Commonwealth country we were as welcome to join the URNU as anyone from the UK, and there is even an American with us in the Unit in London. He's here for a term, and he's in the NROTC (Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps) and the URNU is probably the closest to that here.

Anyway, what we do in the URNU in London is that we have Drill Nights on Thursdays at the Unit in Knightsbridge, which is about 20 minutes or so from home here at Marble Arch. At Drill Nights you have, of course, drill and there's 2 sessions after that which can be lectures or something from an array of activities, some hands-on.

There's also the sea weekends. I haven't been on a proper sea weekend although I got to spend a day on our Unit's ship HMS Puncher last month, but the idea of a sea weekend is you get on board on the Saturday, sail to a nearby port and stay there the night before sailing back to Portsmouth on the Sunday. You get to progressively do all sorts of things on the ship, and for the few hours that I was on HMS Puncher last month I did get to steer her and wash the screens near the bow afterwards.

And there's Easter/Summer deployment, where you go for I think 2 weeks to places in Europe. And of course social events, what organisation's activities would be complete without them? Dinners, etc.

Right, back to Dartmouth: the aim of our trip down there was basically to get a 'snapshot' of what life is training to become a Royal Navy officer. We left the Unit on Friday afternoon (which was Hari Raya Aidiladha), taking about 4 1/2 hours, out of the city into the countryside and down to where the sea is. We were given our 'foulies' (foul weather gear), and there was a safety briefing and welcome of sorts before we left for bed. Not bed right away really, as we worked on our kit (polishing, ironing) for a good portion of time in preparation for the next day.

Speaking of kit, I've got a uniform as well which I received about 3 weeks ago: No. 1s, which are the smartest, most ceremonial ones - tie and jacket, that sort of thing and a cap. No. 3s, the everyday one with the cap as well, and No. 4s - a nice blue shirt with drawstring trousers and 'steaming bats' (boots) and a beret. A 'woolly pulley' (jumper) over the top as well.

We had an inspection early the next morning before breakfast and the College Task Presentation, which was basically giving us an overview of what the guys in training do for the time they're there. Mentioning that, there are people from about 20 countries who train at Dartmouth, not the least from Brunei, although I only met a couple of guys, from Kuwait and Oman respectively. As such, there is a mosque for worship and all the non-pork meat served is Halal.

After that we had a tour of the college. To be honest it's a very nice place in a very nice place (get me?) and I was glad to be there. I mean, you have to be top of the class basically in officer training in Brunei to have a chance to be sent to Dartmouth for training, but me just being in the URNU here and having got a chance to spend the weekend at BRNC is just amazing. We were shown around by one of the students there, who told us the reason why we have to salute upon entering the Quarterdeck at BRNC and on any RN ship is because Nelson got shot on the Quarterdeck and died afterwards.

The plan next was to get on the River Dart on the 'motor whalers' but apparently the weather was against it (another explanation was that they were out of order) so we did some team-based exercises indoors instead. Basically it was a you're-stranded-in-the-Sahara-what-do-you-do thing and then we compared the results of the discussions between the groups present, pros and cons.

Parade training after lunch on the Quarterdeck - brilliant to say the least. There's commands for taking your caps on whilst in divisions and putting them back on! College Shop was open afterwards; bought a few souvenirs least including a mug (typical) and a Royal Marines Band CD. Royal Navy Presentation Team (RNPT) presentation afterwards (sort of a video about the RN thing).

Went to the Pavilion for (non-alcoholic) drinks after dinner and after 2 hours went back to my cabin, polished my shoes then went to bed. Almost went 'ashore' to the town of Dartmouth but went against it ... "probably wise" as the Lieutenant-Commander said to me during inspection the next day.

Went to get on the Dart (finally) the next morning, and I steered the picket boat 80% of the time; everyone else was chatting behind. Had a good time doing it and finally let the wheel go coming back into Sandquay; one of the students then took over to park the boat. Did PLTs (don't know what it stands for exactly) after that - basically practical tasks where you have a leader who you listen to but essentially you need to work as a team. The first one was to cross this chasm with a plank shorter than the gap; second was crossing a 'minefield', again with a plank shorter than the minefield's length but we had 'bomb-proof' tankards to use; lastly, which I was team leader of, constructing an antenna. We did that one brilliantly and were well within time.

Had a course wash-up after lunch - basically what was good, what could be improved on before departing back to London! That was my weekend gone, and I missed out on paintball in Leeds and meeting up with Fadhlan in London, but more importantly couldn't be there for Amalina's birthday. However, this coming weekend I'll make that up for her. All in all, had great fun at BRNC, got to meet people and see a bit of how the training process is - phew!

http://www.londonurnu.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Royal_Naval_Unit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britannia_Royal_Naval_College

"Great Minds think alike"

2009-11-06T19:31:00.001+08:00

What do you see?

WE WERE WEARING WHITE ON THE DAY OF DEPARTURE!

conclusion?

"Great minds think alike"......

Re-Connected

2009-11-04T06:06:00.004+08:00

RECONNECTED

A month of no Internet is just a LIVING NIGHTMARE. So what was the story?

Once upon a time, there was a group of 3 men settling in a cozy house which could comfortably support 3 people. One thing is missing from the house. A 4th basic need of a human being called "The Internet". So out of the many possible provider they decided to go with Sky. But the catch is Sky uses the BT line. So they were guaranteed of Internet connection within 28 days. Installation of BT line and setting up the Internet Modem. Plus a satellite TV is part of the package.

After 28 days later, guess what??? THERE WAS STILL NO INTERNET. So the 3 men did a little search and found out that the house was already having a line which is provided by TISCALI. Dat's why the BT line cudnt get thru. N the TISCALI could only be cancelled by the previous owner. The boys contacted the landlord and the previous owner cancelled the line. N then they were told to wait another 28 days.
but one of the guy has a little skill and with a little magic he casted on an iPhone.... *POOM*

They were connected to the world again..................

*THE END*

{ }

2009-11-02T05:27:00.000+08:00

I woke up in the morning
This thing was in my bed
Didn't find no Scottish woman
Just Callister instead

Made me a mug of coffee
What! Tap water won't heat
Eggs & beans for breakfast
Maths today indeed

Rizla paper, slim Swan tips
Making me & Mechanics click
Fruits & fish are healthy food
Ibuprofen for when you're sick

Across the Park to College
Nah, there's no waterfall
Just a bridge & a shallow river
Fluid Mechanics explain it all

Take a break & 60p
Get out & buy some minestrone soup
When will the chaps behind shut up?
Mechatronics - feedback loops

Already dark but only 5
Oh no I missed the bus again
Will have to wait a couple minutes
Stress Analysis: my friend!

"Up for a swim tomorrow?"
"No, Design tutorial"
Good thing no ERS this week?
Oh, 9-to-5 appeal

Mechanics sheet has not been done
Thermodynamics has not been read
I woke up in the morning
This thing was in my bed

From the Toddlers' Plastic Desk, Mumong

2009-10-20T14:49:00.005+08:00

Greetings fellow Officers,

Trying to make the weekly target happen.

This morning I went to the Land Transport Department to get my temporary driving license and then I registered at Asohraya. My law test will be on the 31st of this month. In the meantime I can start learning how to park and maybe do the hill (I can only get to the streets after I have passed the law test). So just now I went to Asohraya again to pay for the 10 hours, and I've got my teacher. The first of my lessons starts tomorrow!

There has been a lot of hype about the 2nd Heart of Borneo project, the local industries, the nation's development and the reinforcement of the ban on schoolteachers to carry out tuition out of school hours at their private residences.

I think the Heart of Borneo aims to preserve more than half the country's area as primary forest. This is Brunei's contribution to the international agreement between the nations that are on Borneo's soil namely Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Local industries such as food manufacturing should be aiming to produce more basic and staple foods, said Dr Hj Ibrahim (Senior Lecturer of Chemistry at UBD) at an event a few days ago, as today's local manufacturers go above the basic stuff e.g. crisps and that sort.

Brunei has set to leave about only 5% to be developed, the rest may stay as natural rainforest, and this means that the opportunity for real estate developers to build multi-storey residences e.g. flats or apartments has opened up (Did no one think of multiple stories earlier? Look, value for money, buy less land and make taller buildings therefore more people renting per unit area of land, more revenue, that stuff. See, a sixth form student who doesn't do economics nor business studies can come up with that!). The amendment of the Strata Act has indeed come in at the right time, to enable subdivision of building ownership e.g. one floor or half a floor per owner (correct me, anyone, if I am wrong).

Regarding the private tuition issue, tuition schools are still alright, it's just the private tuitions that are banned. Parents are reluctant to send their kids to tuition schools and have argued that their children should have the same teacher and tutor in order to have that 'consistency'. But, on the other end of the spectrum, can't the student themselves work harder up to the point that tuition is not needed?

Hope you find this informative. Stay in touch. Enjoy yourselves.

Regards,

Office Boy a.k.a. Local Correspondent

From Your Local Correspondent #1

2009-10-15T21:26:00.004+08:00

I am sorry for not updating you with news about the local scene as I have somewhat promised you. During exam preparation days I usually do stuff at my own pace and I wouldn't be bothered by other stuff.

The supposedly hot news should be the fire gutting 3 shops side by side along Jalan Pretty, Kuala Belait. namely KFC, Pustaka Remaja and the chicken rice restaurant on Tuesday morning, the 13th of October. I haven't been to Kuala Belait town for more than a week. Haven't seen the remains of the shops.

In the next paragraph you will read words like might, most probably, possibilities... I have to use them because the facts below, from newspapers, seem feeble because maybe these people are not sure of the accuracy of their statements.

I don't know exactly where the fire started, but it might have come from KFC's store room or the KFC staffhouse (on top of KFC) or the floor above the chicken rice restaurant (maybe a staffhouse too). Possibilites of the cause of fire include an unattended iron or washing machine, or a refrigerator wiring fault. The fire was most probably noticed at around 6am Tuesday morning. What I can recall from the papers is, the Fire Department received a distress call at 6.08am and they rushed to the scene. As usual, firemen from the BSP Fire Brigade came too, and astonishingly two fire brigade water vehicles (boats) were dispatched too. Dispatched for what purpose and where they were told to station themselves, I don't know. No one got injured, but of course there was a great loss incurred. Pustaka Remaja has estimated a $100,000 loss. They've just got new stock in recently, their stockroom was on the first floor, above their shop, burnt in flames. The water that was used to extinguish the fire had wet the books downstairs and voila, double trouble.

A couple of weeks back (as far as I can remember) there was a serious blackout that affected nearly the whole country; it happened two days in a row. On the first day some houses didn't get the power supply and some still got it, on the second day the ones that did get the supply the previous day didn't get the power supply, and vice versa. Call it exchanges. If you get me. On both days the power went off for some 4-8 hours. It went through till night time. Shops were out of candles. Went for a ride at Pandan 7 area on the first day of blackouts and it was pitch black (Beverly Hills included) except for Soon Lee. I think they've got generators to get the power running and to prevent looting. The Department of Electrical Services has said that there was a 'technical fault' at Bukit Panggal or Gadong, or both of them, not really sure, I didn't read the papers properly on that one.

This month, there's an Oktoberfest in Germany, a 16-day fair, held annually in Munich, attracting 6 million visitors, including people from abroad, as far as Brazil, and lots and lots of beer poured (and drunk) during it (read up Oktoberfest on Wikipedia if you don't know about it) and guess what, we have the Ford October Fest up in Beribi. First things first, name says it, it's sponsored and/or organised by Brunei's sole Ford dealer. Well, in Brunei's October Fest there isn't any beer... They've got 3 main events: the FORD Tug of War Challenge, a Ranger Strongman: Man Vs Truck Competition and a Ford vehicle exhibition. I don't know much about this fest, just put it here for the sake of news.

One last thing. The shop near SMSA, Metussin's Groceries, re-opened sometime during the Raya season.

Hope you find this informative. Enjoy your studies. I will update after the 16th of November (the day of my last A-level paper), one month from now.

Office Boy a.k.a. Brunei Correspondent

{from london}

2009-10-05T05:02:00.018+08:00

At Marble Arch

Hello fellow Escargo Officers, and everyone!

It seems like we've all been trying to get a hold of uni life so much that we haven't been posting! I've been away from the computer for I think almost a week now but found out that I'm only the third among us to blog. No problem! To be honest though, I (still) have some time on my hands as I haven't started uni yet. We had some informal events this weekend, tomorrow's everyone's first official meeting with their departments (I think) and proper studying starts on the 12th. And oh, a mechanics test on Wednesday which everyone has to pass either then or next month.

We weren't intentionally looking depressed. It just happened.

On one of the red buses out of Central London (went to IKEA)

Norfolk Square, outside of Brunei Hall

So that's all I'll talk about, academically, for now.. Alright! This afternoon, while I was jogging through the picturesque Kensington Gardens, I felt inspired to blog here for Escargo. And so I walked the 20 minutes from our flat to Brunei Hall, to get a hold of the internet 'cause our broadband hasn't arrived yet. Mentioning that, I must say my life at present, and for the past week, has been centred around Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Literally.

Hyde Park & Kensington Gardens from the sky.

Green dot: Brunei Hall, yellow: home, red: Imperial College (hope you can see them!)

Picture this: Hyde Park's in the middle. From the northeast corner to the north is Edgware Road, with shops you'd expect to find more in Lebanon than London. To the east is Oxford Street, still affordable.. And where these three (Hyde Park, Edgware Road and Oxford Street) meet is where our flat is: Marble Arch. To the south of Hyde Park are Imperial College and the museums. To the north are Bayswater and Paddington, where Brunei Hall is located and where I am typing from now. So yeah, everything's centred nicely around the Park. Walking through the Park can either be a shortcut or a longcut, depending on how you see it!

Waiting for the No. 10 to Exhibition Road

Managing a bite at (probably) the newest addition to the Malaysian cuisine scene in London: Delima

Home

Thanks Zimo for letting me use your pics. Oh you don't know yet haha.

Royal Albert Hall, which is just outside the College, from south, by night.

My address would be:

64 Cumberland Court

Great Cumberland Place

London W1H 7DQ

Phone: +447518605654

Cheers mate!

Loughborough

2009-10-04T18:51:00.002+08:00

Assalamualaikum,

Many sorry for some unforeseen circumstances that didn't allow me to blog much. Anyway I have been in Loughborough for a week already, and Alhamdulillah I am well settled in in this market town.

Currently I reside in,

90 Gracedieu Road

LE11 4QG

L oughborough,

Leicestershire,

UK.

Hehe It's just a half and hour from town to my house. So if you wish to crash my house just notify me ha ha. Planned to post some pictures but unfortunately I didn't bring my USB camera cable, so yeah.

Will post more soon.

Salam.

My story... My New Beginning...

2009-10-04T05:47:00.011+08:00

Assalammu'alikum~ ^^

It has been a while after my last post~ apologies for that~ been busy with settling in Loughborough, housing, room, University scheule, shopping, visits, events... ahahaha but enough with that and on to my story, my first step to United Kingdom and my first wonderful friends and wonderful moments... ^^

Just before we landed, the sun rises over a thick layer of cotton candy like clouds... The orange red illumiation just over the horizon. The sight was magnifcet... breathtaking... I feel like I was reborn... feels like a sign of a new beginning... a fresh start... ehehehehe ^^

The Sunrise

Anyway, there I was with my completely new friends, there were 10 of us... well actually 11 freshers, but one girl straight away went for Bradford (alum ku sempat kenalan sama ia XP)... so the10 of us, the boys: me, Muiz, Faizun and Azmi; while the girls are: Fathiyah, Hayatul, Nurhazimah, Yuny, Izzati and Zatil. Thou we just know each other, we get along pretty well~ a wonderful group XD we hung out together at Brunei Hall, we went (walk) around the area together (mesra lah~ ahahahaha XD) cool group~ I guess no other students of a same flight ever experiance the bond we had, a wonderful one ^^

Here are several photos we had:

B : Fathiyah, me, Muiz. F : Kaka Gmah, Yunnie, Zatay, Zatil, Hayatool, Azmi at Brunei Hall Lobby

Faizun, me, Azmi, Yunnie, Zatil, Zatay, Kaka Gmah, Fathiyah, Hayatul in front of Brunei Hall

Yunnie, Fathiyah, Muiz, Kaka Gmah, Zatil, Faizun, Zatay, Hayatul, Azmi and me at Brunei Hall Lobby

Us while walking around London XP

Out of the 10 of us, 1 went to Loughborough (me), 2 went to Bradford (Muiz and Zatil), 3 went to Nottingham (Fathiyah, Hayatul and Azmi) and 4 went to Cardiff (Kaka Gmah, Yunnie, Zatay and Faizun). All the best to everyone~ and do have fun~ and and and update me through you facebook^^

We have done it... now it's yur turn... ahahahaha study hard, achieve excellent grades, apply for scholarship and hope to see you around United Kingdom~ hahahaha XD

(Photos courtesy of Hayatul)

International Driving License

2009-09-24T22:48:00.005+08:00

Last night ada doa slmat at Don Hadi's compound. Maslah ya picture2 yng d ambil oleh Don Nappy punya photographer(Tunang Antiku) balum di upload ya arah facebook. So, insyallah kalau berlaku ada tah ku post tu.. anyways,,,,, I NOW HAVE AN INTERNATIONAL DRIVING LICENSE:

I now can drive in 66 different countries including france, germany, etc... not forgetting to mention HOLLAND... ESCARGO.... ROAD TRIP NIE!!! ahaxxxx huhuh...(eyh slah, c ayyub tu)

A new beginning

2009-09-19T21:25:00.011+08:00

My new homeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Yours truly,

The Mastermind Concept.

2009-09-19T00:07:00.003+08:00

Napoleon Hill, one of the best writers on the principles of success states:

"When TWO or MORE people coordinate in a spirit of harmony and work toward a definite objective or purpose, they place themselves in position, through the ALLIANCE, to absorb POWER directly from the great storehouse of Infinite Intelligence."

Rich industrialist like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone back during the industrial revolution formed an alliance in which they meet regularly in their winter mansions. Through this alliance, they have become prominent figures and had achieved success in each of their respective discipline. Napoleon first wrote on this subject of allying oneselves with powerful people and it known as a "Mastermind Group".

I have a mastermind group and it is called ESCARGO.....

I didn't realize I had one untill I stumble across this principle in Jack Canfield's book; "The success principles"

I shared my founding with the officers last saturday before we had a doa selamat ceremony and a grand entrance to Nabeh's house. I believe by holding yourself with a group of positive friends would enrich your lives further. Not just you, but for the whole group. Contohya?

The Scholarship and UK... Each of us lands on a scholarship scheme and everyone is studying abroad. We have those in BSP, MOE, DANA and recently the SULTAN"S SCHOLAR scheme. The network is broad and it would empower the alliance and individuals further. I can imagine when the ESCARGO officers reach 40 and we'll have a meeting in one of the C.E.O's mansions or the World Class Director's Restaurant. Hold on to friends who generate positive energies to your lives and you will in turn be enrich with it's positive stream of energy, thus UNLOCKING your fullest potential.

Do you have a mastermind group? If not, find a few friends, rope up and keep it running. and most importantly, HOLLLDDD ON to it....

Congratulations, Sultan's Scholar!

2009-09-18T23:24:00.007+08:00

HM awarding the "Sultan's Scholar" scholarship to Awg Muhammad Ayyub

Yesterday, 17th September 2009 hosted a proud moment for Escargo Familia, when its President Awg Muhammad Ayyub was invited to Istana Nurul Iman to personally receive the prestigious "Sultan's Scholar" scholarship from His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Negara Brunei Darussalam.

Group photo with HM and members of the Royal Family. Awg Muhammad Ayyub is seen standing, left

Coinciding with the 27th of the auspicious month of Ramadhan, Ayyub received his award along with 4 other recipients. Out of this total of 5 Scholars, 4 of them including Ayyub will continue their studies at Imperial College London while the 5th recipient will go to Al-Azhar in Egypt.

Escargo Familia takes this opportunity to congratulate the Sultan's Scholars of 2009, especially its President Ayyub, wishing them all good health and excellent grades, and hoping for them to return to our beloved Brunei to serve this country and its people in the future :)

The Sultan's Scholars of 2009 with their respective parents

Pictures taken from Borneo Bulletin's online page.

UK Here We Come!

2009-09-16T20:00:00.000+08:00

Born to be King

After the long wait... the time is almost up... our time here... our time... in Brunei... some of us will be leaving early, that includes me and Ciwi, the Director. Ciwi had left on the 15th September 2009, which is yesterday... and I... I'll be leaving TODAY, the 16th September 2009. It will be the most historic day of my life... because I believe everything will change after today... everything... regardless, the cause will remains the same... keep on track and keep fighting for the cause... why are we sent there? that's the main cause, to study hard for our Degree, perhaps Masters as well, so that when we come back to Brunei, we can make Brunei a better place for everyone...

Us, the new generation of youngsters are the future of Brunei, we are the ones who's going to set the course of Brunei's future... for better or worst, it's all up to us... so lets work our very best for better Brunei! CHAIYO!

And so, the adventure continues on to the United Kingdom, a land far from our own. A country where the people are different, as well as the culture and environment. A whole new beginning for most of us... and for me, the journey starts NOW... 16th September 2009... 8.00 PM...

(Photo courtesy of Wadud Hamdani : one of the photos at my Majlis Doa Selamat)

360!

2009-09-12T03:06:00.001+08:00

The Godfather's first post

2009-09-07T02:35:00.007+08:00

SALAM.. testing one two three... one two three testing..

I CANT BELIEVE IT!!! IM BLOGGING!!!!!

There is a saying in the escargo familia:

If you need to know about the MILITARY, ask the OPERATIONS.
If you need to know about the CNN'S latest happening, ask the PRESIDENT.
If you need to know how to COOK and NOT BE BORED,ask the DIRECTOR.
If you need to see MOVIES, TV SERIES(of past and present), ask the C.E.O
If you need to know the TACTIC OF CONQUERING THE WORLD AND SIMULTANEOUSLY TAKE OUT THE GODFATHER, THE C.E.O & THE DIRECTOR THROUGH RISK, ask the PERM SECT.

BUT if you need some advice on LURVE(feeling, getting or "making" it), SEDUCTION, RELATIONSHIPS, YOU ALWAYS ASK THE GODFATHER..

So my first lesson to all who's reading, last year I created the 3 laws of true love. This year I am goin to scratch that off and present to you:

THE GODFATHER"S law of attraction

"The first law of attraction states that THE MALES MAKES THEIR CHOICE ACCORDING TO THE FEMALE'S REPLICATION VALUE WHLIST THE FEMALES MAKES THEIR CHOICE ACCORDING TO THE MALE'S SURVIVAL VALUE."

U get the picture?
stay tune for more..

(OH MY GOD I"M BLOGGGING!!!!!)

Majlis Doa Selamat @ Zahin's Crib

2009-09-05T22:35:00.004+08:00

Haizum, Izzati, Nurulain, Zahin & Aina with 'The Food is Good' pose.

Assalammu'alaikum~

This afternoon + night, I've invited my fellow friends and cousins to our house for my Majlis Doa Selamat before I leave Brunei for UK~ more than 200 invites were sent, however, I am not quite sure just how much came to the event tonight... ahahahaha~ I didn't keep track obviously, but the space was pretty much filled up~ thankfully ehehehehe ^^

anyhow, the event went on smoothly, that's what I think~ ahahahaha ^^ so I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who came, espscially those whom I invited, who came all the way from Lumut~ not forgetting the Escargo Familia officers, my cousins, uncles, aunt, boys and girls ^^ I thank you~ very very much ^^

Here are few snap shots of the event, insya allah will post more pictures, provided that someone post the pictures on Facebook... ahahahahaha XD anyway, check it out:

The Girls : Haizum, Izzati, Aina, Nurulain, Halimahtul, Haslina & Nadiaty

Izzati & Zahin

The Girls with 'We Have a Lot of Fun' pose.

The Girls with 'Aina & Matul being to Tall' pose.

(Photos are courtesy of Izzati Iasa : I know I know, it's from her mobile phone... and it's KABUR! ahahahahahaha XD)

Majlis Doa Selamat for SMSA Scholars

2009-08-29T16:40:00.028+08:00

The boys RULES!

Assalammu'alaikum~

Today we were invited, to attend the Majlis Doa Selamat for SMSA Scholars 2009. Back to SMSA once again... yeah once more, WE ARE GOING TO UK BABY~ YEAHHH~ ahahahahaha, congratulations to the Officers of Escargo Familia, even though we got different types of scholarship, but that doesn't matter, this way we can diversify our network~ XD

The first person that I met upon arrival to SMSA was Halimahtul Sa'diah binti Haji Awang Nordin, my so called twin sister, she got the BAS Scholarship, congratulations to you girl~ ^^

Anyway, as I walked through the walkway... I looked back at the areas where I left pieces of my memories: the classrooms, the PS areas, the canteen, the teachers, tutors, as well as the students... all reminded me of my wonderful time im SMSA... I rather feel kinda old... =.="

The event begins with 'wait for everyone to come'... ahahaha XD When that's done, Ustaz Abdul Rahim was invited to recite Surah Al-Fatihah. Then, Mr. Cheong Huat Joo, the Principal of SMSA gave out a speech, congratulating everyone and touches on the statistics of the Scholars coming from SMSA. After a round of applause, Radin and our own President, Ayyub, was invited to give out their speech as the student representatives. "Don't Think You Know, Make Sure You Know~"

Speech from Mr. Cheong Huat Joo.

While listening to Ayyub's speech, I got this series of flashbacks... I remember the time we had fun... most of the times... but regardless, studies comes first... we do spend time together to enjoy life, paintball, hiking, meetings, breakfast, lunch, dinner, late hour dinner, movies nights... so many things... but then again, studies comes first... and with that mind set, in the end we all succeeded in getting our places overseas. However, the journey doesn't end there, there's a whole new adventure that's going to start somewhere few hundred miles from here. Looking forward to that~ ahahaha XD

Ciwi & Zahin.

Right after the wonderful speech from Ayyub, the event moves on to the handing over of the certificate and several gifts from SMSA. The students were called upon one at a time to went up front to recieve their certificates and gifts, personally I feel honoured. tsk tsk T.T The gifts includes: .... urmmm I think it'll be best if I keep it to myself... ahahaha XD

Anyway, the event continues on with the recital of Doa Selamat from, once again, Ustaz Abdul Rahim. I held my hand up high, praying that I'll have a safe journey ahead... most importantly a safe flight... Right after that, we were announced to go to the foyer for a group photo... which in the end turns out to be a series of group photos... here, check them out:

"Kami Sudah Berjaya, Awda Bila Lagi?" pose.

The Escargo Familia Officers.

"We did it! WOHOO!" pose.

Zahin, Ciwi, Mr. Shim, Hadi Afiq & Jack Hong.

Ciwi, Ayyub, Zahin, Mr. Chan, Hadi Afiq & Nabih.

Nabih, Ayyub, Mr. Nyiau, Zahin & Hadi Afiq with "Physics is GOOD" pose.

Hadi Afiq, Ciwi, Miss Michelle, Jack Hong & Richard Chin

Hadi & Miss Cheryll

Fadhlan, Miss Cheryll, Miss Michelle & Hadi Afiq

Lina, Ciwi, Nurul & Affy

I would Like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the scholars out there~ study hard and smart and may you all be a successful individuals!

(Photos are courtesy of Ciwi and Ayyub)

Badminton

2009-08-23T00:03:00.004+08:00

Badminton at BSRC with Fadhlan, Royden, Hazahin, Hadi and Ali.

Zinger burger?

2009-08-20T19:57:00.014+08:00

GREETINGS!

Last Tuesday I went to bandar to get my visa(hoho) with Z and A.Annen lapas atu kami ke KFC cos si A belum lunch...

(Orang kampung...)

Then lapas atu we went to Empire ( ehem ehem ) liat wayang The proposal.It was funny..I cried twice and A cried 3 times.Yeap..it was that good.Lol

Nah,this is for you.

Things to do the next time you're on one of those long international flights to kill time...

2009-08-14T20:59:00.003+08:00

GREETINGS!

+Pinch the stewardess' butt as she passes.

+When two people kiss in the in flight movie, belch real loud.

+When there's any nudity, hoot really loudly for a few minutes.

+Fart loudly and act shocked, looking around to see who did it.

+Fiddle around with the emergency exit, then ask a fellow passenger if he has a crowbar.

+Hijack the cockpit and, over the loudspeaker, announce that the first class passengers and luggage are to switch places.

+Run down the aisle screaming, "He's got a bomb! He's got a bomb!".

+Go into the bathroom and make rude bodily noises, then come out looking refreshed.

+"Accidental" soda spill on the dork next to you.

+Give someone a coin, saying "Heads, I detonate the bomb. Tails, I don't".

+Go into the bathroom, drop your pants, then come out, yelling "We're out of toilet paper! Stewardess!".

+Describe your sex life in great detail to the five-year-old next to you.

+Start a hot dog stand.

+Steal businessman's laptop, play solitaire on it.

+Remark that perhaps you shouldn't have put super glue in your underpants that morning.

+Pick your nose and pat the person next to you.

+Show off your Batman underwear.

+Switch accents and see if anyone notices.

+Sneak into the cockpit and hit the warning alarm.

+Scratch your butt, then sniff your finger.

+Go into the cockpit, flick on the intercom light, then loudly inquire as to why the fuel dial says "e".

+Go into the cockpit, ask the pilot in an obnoxious voice "Why do they call it the COCKpit?" then snort as if it's the funniest thing in the world.

+Don't use deodorant, then "accidentally" stick your armpit in someone's face.

+Sneeze, using somebody's sleeve instead of your hand to cover it.

+Snort when you laugh.

+Tell corny jokes and laugh like it's absolutely hilarious, then expect others to do the same.

+Ride carry-on luggage down the aisle, yelling "Yeee-ha!".

+With a desperate look, ask the stewardess where the bathroom is, then look relieved and say "Never mind. Do you have any towels?".

+Jump up and scream "AAAHHH!! I left the stove on!!".

+Ask someone for their autograph, pretending that you think they're Kevin Costner or Goldie Hawn (This best then the person looks nothing like the movie star in question) If someone has a bad toupee, whack it off.

+Pretend you're flying the plane.

+Get some rub-on tattoos and a leather jacket, pretend that you belong to a biker gang.

+Take over the plane with a toy gun. Yell to someone "Is it time to hijack the plane yet?" (Note: Do this when there are stewardess nearby).

+To the person next to you, say "It's amazing that they didn't notice the grenade in my luggage.

Yours truly,

Director

Dress Codes

2009-08-01T14:10:00.003+08:00

In the Western world, there are generally 6 types of dress code:

1) Formal (Morning dress, white tie)

2) Semi-formal (Stroller, black tie)

3) Informal (Suit and tie!)

4) Smart-casual (Sports jacket)

5) Business-casual (think BSP)

6) Sportswear (think Lance Armstrong - haha!)

Welcome

2009-08-01T09:27:00.000+08:00

Welcome to Escargo Familia's 2nd home on the internet (the 1st being our Facebook group).

Here you'll find updates from the Officers from time to time.

Oh, and we're shifting our operations base.. As we feel that Education is an important thing, we've decided to go to university.

Alhamdulillah, praise be to Allah who has allowed all 6 Escargo Officers to take up places in the UK:

Hadi, Godfather: Sheffield

Ciwi, Director: Leeds

Zahin, CEO: Loughborough

Fadhlan, Operations: Sheffield

Nabih, Perm. Sec: Loughborough

Ayyub, President: Imperial