this is asterix.

As you can see, I only have three weeks left before my final exam starts. This would be my last exam as a university student. Monday 19th May 2008 - Statistics & Econometrics Wednesday 21st May 2008 - Human Resource Management Friday 23rd May 2008 - Financial Management Tuesday 27th May 2008 - Business Economics Wednesday 28th May 2008 - Business Information Systems Thursday 29th May 2008 - International Marketing "Oh Allah, make useful for me what you have taught me and teach me knowledge that will be useful to me. Oh Allah, I ask you for the understanding of the prophets and the memory of the messengers, and those nearest to You. Oh Allah, make my tongue full of your remembrance and my heart with consciousness of You. Oh Allah, You do whatever You wish, and You are my availer and protector and best of aid. Blessings of Allah be upon Muhammad and his progeny. Oh Allah, I ask you, the one who mentions goodness and actualizes it and commands it, remind me of that which satan ma...

Malaysia Airlines (MH) is going to repaint one of its jumbo jets (registered as 9M-MPD), which is now painted with the Hibiscus livery, into the original MH livery. This simple move would actually save the airline company up to RM900,000 annually. The reason is because according to some sources, the colour red, is the heaviest colour there is and therefore, is expensive to maintain, in terms of fuel usage. The savings mentioned earlier is the savings from not having to carry that red paint. As you might already know, the original MH livery is the normal white upper body and grey lower body with two thin blue and red stripes running in between the white and grey body. I guess the livery would have to go at one time anyway, but I was just hoping that it would go later rather than sooner. I have not even been in any of the hibiscus yet. For your information, there are two Hibiscuses – the 9M-MPD and 9M-MPB. There is also another special livery adorning MH’s Triple Seven – 9M-MRD – with a ...

What do you think about MMT – Mecca Meridian Time? Apparently, during a conference in Qatar, Muslim clerics and scientists are calling for the adoption of time as the point of reference instead of Greenwich Meridian Time (GMT). The reason for this is because geologists have found that lies in prefect alignment with the magnetic north. Mecca, has been the direction all Muslims face when they perform their daily prayers. I applaud them for actually having this kind of studies to enrich the knowledge of the Muslims about science and technology. And this news is a fresh breath to me especially because I am tired of hearing news about extremism among Muslims. However, regarding the call to change from GMT to MMT, I have only one thing to say – if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it. SOURCE: BBC

Should people be allowed to pray on a plane? Yes if they are not going to hinder the flight attendants from doing their job and the safety of the flights are not being compromised. A man got pulled out of a flight in New York because he was praying. Apparently, the flight attendant had asked him to get back to his seat to allow boarding procedures. He, however, decided not to heed the instruction and continued praying. After which, the flight attendant called the airport security and escorted the man out of the plane. Now, before you jump to conclusion that this man is a Muslim, HE IS NOT. He is a Jewish - an Orthodox Jewish to be precise. Personally, I think when you go on an airplane, you should be prepared to follow any instructions given by your flight attendants (reasonable instructions, of course). I am not saying he cannot pray at all because I also think that everyone should have the chance to perform their religious rites (reasonable and acceptable ones). I don't know abou...

Ryan Air had just announced that the company is planning to ground up to 20 aircrafts during the winter traveling season, citing rising operating costs. When I heard this news, I almost could not believe it because as far as I know, airline companies would rather fly an aircraft rather than let it sits idly on the apron. But I guess, the time has finally come that the rising fuel costs make it impossible for airlines to keep flying. As in my previous post on Oasis Hong Kong , a lot of other airline companies have shared the same untimely death. And I cannot possibly imagine what other airlines would fall next. But I do know that at least the so-called national carriers will continue to run even if it makes no economical sense to do so (Alitalia comes to mind). Having said that, I do not think that any airline deserves to die, but since we all live in a free market, I guess sometimes the inevitable could happen. Take Malaysia Airlines for example, had the company not done anything about...

I hope you like this video as much as I did.

So, finally I am able to get this new template off the ground. It does look weird doesn't it? Do you like it? I, myself is not even sure whether I like this but I hope I will in the near future. My final exam is coming up pretty soon and I am going to have to work my ass off for that. Not that I haven't been studying for exam, but I wish I could bring up my pace a little bit. Wish me luck YA!!!

If you are wondering why this blog looks bare now, it is because I am currently in the middle of updating the blog template. I hope blogger will just let me do that.

[UPDATE 11 April 2008] I know that the video does not work. I have now updated the video. I heard this news and I don’t know what to say. You can watch this and maybe leave a comment. I am utterly disgust by this.

What a sad day for the commercial aviation community these days. Only last week, Aloha Airlines and Skybus in the US shut down, citing financial difficulties. And this morning, I got a call from my friend telling me that Oasis Hong Kong shuts down today. I went on Google and found out that all flights on Wednesday have been cancelled. About two hours ago, the officials from the company gave a press statement confirming the news. For you information, Oasis had been in operations since 17 months ago. Oasis Hong Kong is supposed to be the pioneer in the low-cost model for long-haul travelling and sadly the days of Oasis Hong Kong are now over. My heart goes to the employees of Oasis Hong Kong who are affected by this terrible news. Also, to the travellers who now would have to find other alternatives in a very short notice. This brings my thoughts to Air Asia X who is now flying to Gold Coast , Australia and Hangzhou , China . While Oasis Hong Kong business model might not wor...

Freedom of speech – a very powerful phrase that can bring down a government or even someone’s life. There are people who are willing to die defending Freedom of Speech and there are also people who are willing to die making sure Freedom of Speech dies. Regardless of whatever we believe, we have to acknowledge that Freedom of Speech is very important to us. It allows us to speak our minds and allows us to think freely. It also allows to do things that we think are right without fear of being oppressed by anybody. However, we all should realise that Freedom of Speech is not a one-way street and with freedom, comes responsibility. I guess, you should see where am I going when I talk about this subject. Yes, I am going to talk about one short film that have caused the Muslims around the world to call JIHAD against the person who made the film. As a Muslim, I have watched the movie and I am appalled by two things. I am appalled by the way the maker of the film interpreted the Holy Koran...

Now it’s time for the second part of my Benelux Trip. After spending one night in Luxembourg and two nights in Brussels, we made our way to the Netherlands. There, we spent another two nights in Amsterdam. This, I personally think is the best part of the trip. And I think most people would know that any trip to the Netherlands would not be complete without seeing the famous tulips and the infamous Red Light District. On the first night that we were there, we took a stroll along the alleys in the Red Light District, which was helped by the fact that our hostel is within the parameter of the Red Light District itself. Red Light District, if you don’t already know is a centre for sex services. Basically, it is a one-stop sex centre. From young and very attractive prostitutes to live sex shows to normal sex shops, which sell sex video tapes and sex toys. Another feature of the Red Light District is the Coffeeshops. Coffeeshops are not your ordinary coffee shops because they sell drugs inst...

I’m back from my spring trip. Actually, calling it a spring trip would be an overstatement. The weather was not nice at all. I was hoping for a nice sunny weather, but was greeted by rain and snow. But, thank God for the sunny weather on the last day of the trip when I visited Keukenhof Botanical Garden . Now, let me tell you few highlights of the Benelux Trip. First of all, for this trip, I flew for the first time on a propeller airplane (Fokker 50) on an airline that I have never flown before – VLM Airlines. Another thing about the trip is the fact that I flew from London City Airport for the first time. I have been waiting for so long to fly from London City Ai rport and last Monday, I got my chance. Secondly, the unique thing about this trip is that my friends and I did not gather in London and flew together to Luxembourg . What happened was, all of us went at different times on different mode of transport and met at the Luxembourg Central Station. I flew from Lo...