Posts

Intro 2024… A lot has happened in this world, but if I were to name the single most impactful event this year, it would be that one event that happened on the 14th of June, 2024. It was my first time getting laid off, and it really gave me some really high highs and low lows. From the happiness of earning 9 months of salary and a 14 inch macbook pro, anxiety from having no income, feelings of envy for other people that found a job faster than me, dread of job interviews where my fate is decided by other people, and relief after finally finding a new job. ...

I have a lot of stuff that I don’t use anymore, so I decided to let you guys know that if you want it you can tell me & we can arrange to meet / get it delivered. Terms & Conditions I cannot guarantee that the item will work. You will not complain about the condition of the item. If you want it delivered, tell me & we can discuss how we can get it delivered to you. You will need to pay the delivery cost though. The items Below are the list of items & a quick reason why I’m giving it away. ...

What is JLPT? JLPT (Japanese-Language Proficiency Test / 日本語能力試験) is a Japanese language exam that covers language knowledge, reading ability, and listening ability. JLPT has 5 levels of certification (N5 to N1, with N5 being the lowest level), and this blog post will detail my N4 exam experience. The exam format is multiple choice, with each section having its own length. During the listening section, a tape recorder will be played. ...

Long time no see? The last post I made was on the 13th of January, after my septoplasty surgery. Since then, a lot of things happened, but I just didn’t have the time, energy, and motivation to write up a new post. But now, after you-know-what, I am now here writing a new post. What happened? Ok, so let’s recap what happened while I was away: ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company) acquired Tokopedia. Coincidentally, Tokopedia was my workplace. This move got us using Lark suite, migrating our codebase to their GitLab, and moving our services to their datacenter. My third work anniversary happened on the 29th of March. I recieved a (might be refurbished, the charging cable was unnaturally dirty) Sennheiser Accentum. I also get to claim “3 year working experience”, which might do me more damage than good. Entry level jobs wouldn’t want me, and I’m too inexperienced to be considered a senior software engineer. ByteDance laid off 450 employees, across all teams. On the 13th of June, we were told to work from home, and there will be a briefing tomorrow, at 9 AM. I wish I was there when the email was sent, to see the final reaction of my coworkers. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), I was part of the 450 employees that were laid off. So, what now? As of writing this page, I’m still unemployed. Not from lack of trying though. Below is a sankey graph, the text version, and an explanation: ...

! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING, THERE WILL BE PICTURES CONTAINING BLOOD ! Background I went to a clinic via BPJS Kesehatan (Government medical services) because my nose kept outputting clear snot. At first they gave me rhinos cold medicine, but it only made my nose dry. The clear snot kept gushing out despite my nose feeling like a desert. They refered me to a hospital so that I can consult with a Otolaryngologist (ENT doctor). At first, the doctor gave me some medicine and a sodium chloride solution to do nasal irrigations. Despite the fact that I routinely wash my nose and take vitamin C daily, my clear snot still kept flowing out of my nostrils. My ENT doctor eventually recommended septoplasty, which confused me because apparently I have a deviated septum (my nose bone is crooked to the left, cutting out airflow). I’m not sure how it will help with my clear snot problem, but I decide to do it due to a few factors: ...

Intro I’ll be honest, my only happy memory of 2023 that stuck with me was the fact I bought a PC in August. Let’s not dwell on that and reflect on my past resolutions that can be seen in this post, or my older post. Reflection time I had 4 resolutions, let’s take a look at each one: Fix my GERD People who meet me daily would know that I still have problems with this. My main problem is my lack of discipline. If I eat too much or drink while eating, I would feel bloated. Knowing that, I still keep overeating, or drinking because my brain wants to. The constant stress from my daily life also does not help, but I don’t think I can do anything about this for the time being. I’ll try to be more strict with myself, but these are probably meaningless words that I will ignore during 1 2024. ...

Indonesians can buy the product here Hello guys today I will be reviewing a 3D printed mini SDVX controller, which costs about 39 USD (IDR 575.000). Right away, I will tell the pros and cons of this controller. Pros It is cheap, where else can you get a Sound Voltex Controller for under 40 USD? The next cheapest SDVX controller would be this, and what you get for 18 extra USD is better build quality (wooden box and acrylic top panel). Cons ...

Hi all, long time no update here. Today I am going to give a brief update on what’s going on lately. Stop buying new audio gear Imagine owning a lot of headphones or earphones. Definitely not me. I mean, why even bother having more than 5 earphones and/or headphones? I get having more than 1 for the sake of backups, but this is really pushing it. Besides, expensive and cheap are not that different nowadays. The only way you will notice is if the cheap one is really bad, or if you use expensive gear AND listen very closely. If you’re listening on the go, TWS earbuds are better due to active noise cancelling. Traditional earphones and headphones would still let the bus engine sounds in, making your expensive earphone/headphones sound bad. If you’re working on the desk, your brain won’t fully focus on the music, because the music serves as a background noise instead of the main focus. ...

Introduction Back before 2022, your only option for a budget neutral IEM would be the Final Audio E500. Nowadays a lot of IEMs on the budget price bracket are tuned similarly. Still, the moment these became available for pre-order in Indonesia, I bought them. TL:DR Pros Dead neutral tuning, no bass, no treble. Not fatiguing at all, can be used for long listening sessions Bullet style IEM, which is great for people not liking IEMs with earhooks Small nozzle (~5mm), makes it an easy fit for people with small ear canals Comes with 5 pairs of Final type E eartips (SS, S, M, L, LL). Buying these eartips separately would cost as much as the IEM itself Cons Plastic build Cable is not detachable, and not braided (might be a dealbreaker for some) Dead neutral tuning means no details on the bass or treble section Hard to identify left from right (Usually the colored eartip is the right side, while the grey eartip is on the left side. However, this approach is flawed because you might put them on the wrong side) Notorious for having QC issues related to channel imbalance (one side is louder than the other) Isn’t Chu/Zero neutral? I also own the Moondrop Chu and the Salnotes Zero. Both of them are neutral, but they still have detail on the top end. Some found this to be fatiguing though. As you can see on the graph, the E500 (green line) has less bass and WAY less treble. It is an overly safe tuning, which allows people to listen for longer periods. ...