Perbandingan Biaya Parkir Menginap dan Parkir Biasa di Bandara Soekarno-Hatta

Waktu kemarin tes GMAT di Surabaya, ketimbang mesti keluar ongkos naik taksi yang lumayan, gw putusin untuk bawa mobil dan parkir di bandara aja. Soalnya gw cuma sehari semalem di Surabaya. Iseng-iseng, gw coba bandingin harga antara parkir menginap (di wilayah parkir terminal 1B) dan parkir biasa (di terminal 1). Kayanya di Terminal lainnya juga ada, tapi gw gak tau detilnya.

Tarif parkir umum adalah sebagai berikut.

• Tarif dua jam pertama: IDR 4.000.
• Tarif  tiap bagian dari jam selanjutnya: IDR 2.000.

Sedangkan tarif parkir menginap adalah sebagai berikut.

• Tarif enam jam pertama: IDR 20.000.
• Tarif tiap bagian dari jam selanjutnya: IDR 2.000.

Jadi apabila diperbandingkan akan terlihat seperti ini.

Lama Parkir (Jam)	Biaya (Rupiah)
	Parkir Umum	Parkir Menginap	Selisih
1	4,000.00	20,000.00	16,000.00
2	4,000.00	20,000.00	16,000.00
3	6,000.00	20,000.00	14,000.00
4	8,000.00	20,000.00	12,000.00
5	10,000.00	20,000.00	10,000.00
6	12,000.00	20,000.00	8,000.00
7	14,000.00	22,000.00	8,000.00
8	16,000.00	24,000.00	8,000.00
9	18,000.00	26,000.00	8,000.00
10	20,000.00	28,000.00	8,000.00
11	22,000.00	30,000.00	8,000.00
12	24,000.00	32,000.00	8,000.00
13	26,000.00	34,000.00	8,000.00
14	28,000.00	36,000.00	8,000.00
15	30,000.00	38,000.00	8,000.00
16	32,000.00	40,000.00	8,000.00
17	34,000.00	42,000.00	8,000.00
18	36,000.00	44,000.00	8,000.00
19	38,000.00	46,000.00	8,000.00
20	40,000.00	48,000.00	8,000.00
21	42,000.00	50,000.00	8,000.00
22	44,000.00	52,000.00	8,000.00
23	46,000.00	54,000.00	8,000.00
24	48,000.00	56,000.00	8,000.00

Selisih IDR 8.000 itu akan terus berlanjut sampai infinity, seperti terlihat dalam grafik berikut ini.

Dari data di atas dapat ditarik kesimpulan berikut.

1. Keuntungan parkir di area menginap bukan dari segi harga, melainkan.
   1. Relatif lebih aman karena petugas akan mencatat nomor telepon kita apabila terjadi apa-apa, ada tiket parkir tambahan yang diberikan, dan juga tercatat perkiraan lama waktu kita akan menginap (mungkin akan diverifikasi pas saat keluar,  gw gak tau).
   2. Ada jasa lainnya yaitu cuci mobil.
   3. Apabila beruntung, mobil kita bisa lebih terlindungi karena ada bagian dari area menginap yang beratap.
2. Biaya optimal diraih apabila parkir menginap enam jam ke atas yang akan menghasilkan selisih yang paling kecil yaitu IDR 8.000 bila dibandingkan parkir biasa. Kalo kurang dari enam jam, parkir biasa aja, Bos. Bedanya lumayan soalnya.

Kalau berminat parkir menginap, ini langkah-langkahnya.

1. Masuk parkir biasa di Terminal 1B. Anda akan dikasih kartu parkir magnetik.
2. Masuk area parkir menginap yang dibatasi pagar hitam setengah tinggi orang dewasa. Jangan lupa pakai kunci tambahan biar lebih aman.
3. Petugasnya akan datang dan mencatat perkiraan lama waktu menginap dan nomor telepon yang bisa dihubungi. Dia juga biasanya bakal nawarin jasa cuci mobil. Gw gak tau biayanya berapa. Dia akan ngasih tiket parkir manual berupa selembar kertas.
4. Jaga baik-baik kartu parkir magnetik dan tiket parkir manual.
5. Kalo mau keluar, serahkan tiket parkir manual ke petugas di pos di pintu area parkir menginap. Dia akan ngitung biayanya, termasuk biaya parkir biasa dan biaya cuci mobil. Jangan lupa minta tanda pembayarannya.
6. Keluar dari area parkir biasa lewat gardu biasa, tunjukin bukti pembayaran parkir menginap tadi dan kembaliin kartu parkir magnetik. Nggak usah bayar lagi.

Acep Swd rupanya juga udah bikin blogpost yang informatif soal ini.

Tips on Taking GMAT Test

Photo by MBA for Better Future

A day after taking the GRE Test, I took my GMAT test. Here are some tips that may help you prepare yourself for the big test.

1. Register for your test far in advance. There are only two Pearson VUE test centers giving GMAT test in Indonesia. One is at Fakultas Teknik Universitas Indonesia, Salemba, Jakarta and the other one is at INFORMATICS School in Surabaya. The queue at the first location in Jakarta is very long, so register at least a month and a half in advance to your test date. Alternatively, you can register for
2. Regarding preparation material, I suggest Kaplan’s. This is not a ringing endorsement, but Kaplan has the most realistic test materials. Even GMAC’s own is rather easy, especially on the quantitative section. Princeton’s book also gives a lot of good advice about making educated guesses with it’s Joe Bloggs fictitional character.
3. Use free software from GMAC and McGraw-Hill to better help you understand the test. Grab the GMAC’s GMATPrep here and do McGraw-Hill’s online test here.
4. Practice timing yourself. I think the best strategy is practice a small set of questions with a given time to give you the idea of how pacing yourself is very crucial. Try to practice solving 10 questions in 12 minutes, for example.
5. If you have the time and resources, consider joining a preparation course. A friend of mine recommended Pascal’s at the Patra Jasa building in Jakarta. He said it was quite expensive but was worth the effort as he successfully increased his score after the course.
6. For the AWA section, it’s a good idea to practice using GMAC’s list of AWA topics. The real test assignment will be taken from this long list. I happen to be helped by this fact when my AWA assignment was actually the one I have practiced before!
7. Have a good night sleep prior to the test. Highly suggested. No use in cramming in such a short time. Just relax, do anything that will help you ease yourself for tomorrow’s test.
8. If you have a list of schools as your score recipient, have it written down and put it in your bag. You are allowed to send to five schools free-of-charge. Just write the names of the universities down, including the school/college/faculty name and have it ready in your bag. Don’t bother with the institution code, it won’t be needed, you’ll still have to search for the schools manually through the computer. It is very likely that you are not allowed to take a note inside the room, so memorizing the list is a good preparation.
9. Get familiar with the location. Some people even suggested to take a dry run prior to the test. Oh, the Jakarta test center is located next to a mosque, so it might be quite distracting due to the regular adzan hearing. I would suggest to avoid taking the GMAT test there other than at 09.00 am and on Fridays.
10. Have a hearty breakfast in the morning, if that’s your routine. The test will take four hours so you better prepare yourself for the battle. There are some cafeterias in the basement as well as small convenience store if you don’t feel like having breakfast at home.
11. Do not forget to bring your ID & test confirmation receipt to the test center, and make note on the date and time. This is very essential. Trust me, I learnt it the hard way, so do not repeat my mistakes. Be there on the test location half-an hour before the test schedule.
12. At the waiting room, just take it easy. There will be other people taking the test. Just keep to yourself or engage in small talk if you like. Be aware that there will be some who have taken the tests repeatedly and some others who constantly stares in their books. Just ignore their behaviour, do not let their conversation and behaviour set you up in a panic attack.
13. During the test, pace yourself, pay attention to your time, and be prepare to sacrifice harder questions. Timing is very crucial. There is only 75 minutes time for each section; verbal has 37 questions and quantitative has 41 questions. You don’t want to run out of time before finishing all the questions – there will be score penalty – and you don’t want to have a lot of time left either. After practicing and doing mock-up tests, you will find the type of questions which will be the hardest for you, be prepared to just make and educated guess on their answers and move on to the rest of the questions. For me, my greatest burden was the data sufficiency on the quantitative section, so I just zoomed past it if I couldn’t find the correct answer in  one minute.
14. Strive to get the first 5 to 10 questions correct on each section. Although GMAC denies this, I think this strategy really works for me.
15. After the test, take a complete note of you unofficial GMAT score, including the percentiles and the authentication code. It will also be printed out or provided for you after the test. Do not lose the result page. On the page there is an authentication code that you’ll need to be able to download the official test result from mba.com website.
16. If you have to retake the test, pay attention to the test retaking policy. GMAC only allows the test to be taken once every 31 days and only up to five times in a whole year.

That’s about it. I wish you good luck on your test!

Tips on Taking GRE Test

From my own experience taking the CBT CAT of GRE, I can give you several tips on taking the GRE test in Jakarta. The test center will almost certainly be The Indonesia International Education Foundation at Menara Imperium 28th floor Suite B.

1. Use preparatory books to prepare yourself. There are several prominent books on GRE, including McGraw-Hill’s, Kaplan’s, Princeton’s, Barron’s, and some others. I am only familiar with McGraw-Hill’s and Barron’s. McGraw-Hill’s offers the most full-test – seven in all – but Barron’s offers a word list that will help you build your vocabulary.
2. Use free software from ETS and McGraw-Hill to better help you understand the test. Grab the ETS’s Powerprep here and do McGraw-Hill’s online test here. ETS also provides Math Review and GRE Practice Book for GRE test takers.
3. Practice timing yourself. I think the best strategy is practice a small set of questions with a given time to give you the idea of how pacing yourself is very crucial. Try to practice solving 10 questions in 12 minutes, for example.
4. Have a good night sleep prior to the test. Highly suggested. No use in cramming in such a short time. Just relax, do anything that will help you ease yourself for tomorrow’s test.
5. If you have a list of schools as your score recipient, have it written down and put it in your bag. You are allowed to send to five schools free-of-charge. Just write the names of the universities down, including the school/college/faculty name and have it ready in your bag. Don’t bother with the institution code, it won’t be needed, you’ll still have to search for the schools manually through the computer. You are only allowed to take the note inside the room after the test and after the proctor confirmed that you have finished the test.
6. Get familiar with the location. Being in the downtown business district, the location is quite easy to reach. If you’re planning to get to the location with your car, remember to park in the lowest floor in the basement or you’ll face fines for illegal parking. The unreserved parking lot is rather limited, so come earlier if you do not want the hassle of being time-pressed to find the empty parking spot. Use the south side (right side if you come through the main lobby) elevators to go to the floor and then turn right after coming off them. Get to know the location of the bathroom just in case you need it.
7. Have a hearty breakfast in the morning, if that’s your routine. The test will take four hours so you better prepare yourself for the battle. There are some cafeterias in the basement as well as small convenience store if you don’t feel like having breakfast at home.
8. Do not forget to bring your ID & test confirmation receipt to the test center, and make note on the date and time. This is very essential. Trust me, I learnt it the hard way, so do not repeat my mistakes. Be there on the test location half-an hour before the test schedule.
9. At the waiting room, just take it easy. There will be other people taking the test. Just keep to yourself or engage in small talk if you like. Be aware that there will be some who have taken the tests repeatedly and some others who constantly stares in their books. Just ignore their behaviour, do not let their conversation and behaviour set you up in a panic attack.
10. During the test, pace yourself, pay attention to your time, and be prepare to sacrifice harder questions. Timing is very crucial. There is only 30 minutes time for each section; verbal has 30 questions and quantitative has 28 questions. You don’t want to run out of time before finishing all the questions – there will be score penalty – and you don’t want to have a lot of time left either. After practicing and doing mock-up tests, you will find the type of questions which will be the hardest for you, be prepared to just make and educated guess on their answers and move on to the rest of the questions. For me, my greatest burden was the data interpretation on the quantitative section, so I just skipped it altogether.
11. After the test, take a complete note of you unofficial GRE score. It will not be printed out or provided for you after the test, not even on the GRE website. So, you better write it down yourself, just in case you can report unofficial scores first to your intended schools. I even asked ETS if they can help me out in case I forgot to write it down, and their answer was, put simply, no.
12. If you have to retake the test, pay attention to the test retaking policy. ETS only allows the test to be taken once every calendar month and only up to five times in a whole year. You can use this policy to your advantage. For example, if you are trying to catch up with looming deadline for university application, try to take the test near the end of a month so you can re-take the test at the beginning of  the next month.

That’s it. If you are expecting me to dole out tips on the preparation itself, you’re out of luck. I just prepared for the test in about a week or so, armed with only McGraw-Hill’s book and CD-ROM. Although I was lucky I was also preparing for GMAT before taking my GRE test. If you’re comparing GMAT & GRE, let me sum it up for you his way: GRE’s math is way easier than  GMAT’s, but GRE’s verbal section sucks way more than GMAT’s. Oh, and ETS have several tips and strategies for you and TestMagic also has a great forum on GRE.

Alhamdulillah, Maskotnya Mamy Poko Ternyata Muslim!

Foto ini diambil di sebuah toko swalayan terkemuka, sekitar bulan Ramadhan tahun lalu. Bukti otentik bahwa si maskot Mamy Poko ternyata muslim. Alhamdulillah!

Langkah-langkah Mengurus Paspor RI di Kantor Imigrasi Jakarta Selatan

Nama resminya panjang banget: Kantor Imigrasi Kelas I Khusus Jakarta Selatan (googlemap). Beberapa waktu yang lalu gw ngerasain sendiri ngurus paspor di sini buat sekeluarga gw. Berikut adalah langkah-langkah yang kemarin gw lakuin untuk memperpanjang & mengurus baru paspor RI 48 halaman.

1. Camkan dulu bahwa tidak mungkin ada paspor sehari jadi kalau mau ngurus sendiri. Normalnya, minimal harus tiga kali datang ke Kanim: ambil formulir & penyerahan dokumen, foto & wawancara, sama ambil paspor. Kalo mau cepet ya silahkan via biro jasa a.k.a. calo atau orang dalam di Kanim – of which I found plenty there.
2. Ambil dulu formulir-formulir yang diperlukan di Kanim, adanya di kios koperasi di bawah tangga di depan pintu utama gedung. Sayangnya, untuk yang ini Ditjen Imigrasi masih pake cara kuno: mesti diambil sendiri di Kanim. Mbok ya ditaro jadi PDF di website kan lebih mudah ya buat pemohon? Toh formulirnya juga – seharusnya – cuma-cuma. Formulir untuk perpanjang dan bikin baru sama, namanya PERDIM 11. Tampaknya untuk ngurus paspor di sini harus beli map khusus juga sekalian ke koperasinya. Formulir dan mapnya IDR 5.000 saja per berkas. Oh, jangan lupa. Untuk anak di bawah umur, ambil sekalian formulir kuasa dari orang tua di tempat yang sama. Formulirnya ditambah meterai IDR 6.000 dijual seharga IDR 8.000 saja kalau tidak salah. Buat yang udah punya meterai sendiri, jangan lupa, meterai tempel di tengah-tengah kolom tanda tangan ayah ibu ya – kesalahan bodoh gw tuh, tempel di kiri, istri gw jadi harus tanda tangan agak aneh posisinya.
3. Dari rumah, siapkan semua dokumen asli plus fotokopinya masing-masing satu untuk setiap berkas yang diajukan. Daftar dokumennya bisa dilihat di sini. Sebenernya bisa sih fotokopi di lokasi, tapi biasanya antri dan tarifnya premium IDR 500 per lembar. Pas gw ngurus kemarin malah mesin fotokopinya rusak. Di sekitar Kanim banyak fotokopian sih, tapi jarang yang buka pagi. Buat yang bertipe avonturir dan punya akses ke scanner, bisa nyoba sendiri layanan online dari Ditjen Imigrasi. Gw udah sempet nyoba, tapi pas hari-h malah lupa bawa print-out bukti tanda penyerahan dokumen online, jadinya gw tetep pake cara manual. Satu lagi, untuk yang sudah bekerja, harus ada surat keterangan pekerjaan dari perusahaannya dan untuk yang sudah resign tapi di KTP masih bekerja, harus ada surat PHK dari perusahaannya juga. Oh, BTW, untuk yang bekerja, harus bawa surat rekomendasi asli dari perusahaan ya.
4. Datanglah ke Kanim lebih pagi. Kanim yang ini memang istimewa. Bukanya resmi jam 08.00 WIB, tapi dari jam 06.45 – jam gw dateng – udah ada lumayan banyak yang nongol lebih dulu dari gw.
5. Untuk penyerahan dokumen, mesti ambil nomor antrian. Nomor antrian ini bisa diambil di mesin nomor antrian yang ada di depan loket. Biarpun dateng pagi, mesin ini baru dinyalain sekitar 5 menit sebelum loket buka. Kalo yakin dokumen udah lengkap, pede aja berdiri di depan mesin duluan biarpun belum ada yang ngantri di depan mesin antrian. Soalnya kalo nggak bakal ngantri panjang pas pertama kali mesin itu dinyalain. BTW, untuk penyerahan dokumen, tombol pilihannya yang paling atas. Ambil nomor antrian sesuai jumlah berkas yang diurus, jadi kalau ngurus tiga berkas untuk tiga orang, ya ambil tiga nomor antrian sekaligus.
6. Tunggu panggilan nomor untuk penyerahan berkas. Sesudah dipanggil, serahkan semua berkas termasuk yang aslinya. Again, gw harus tekankan untuk yakinkan semua dokumen lengkap, kalo nggak sia-sia ngantri lama cuma untuk disuruh pulang ambil dokumen. Tunggu sampai dikasih tanda bukti penyerahan dokumen.
7. Bayar biaya di kasir dengan membawa tanda bukti penyerahan dokumen. Kasirnya ada di lantai dua dan biayanya IDR 270.000 per berkas untuk pembuatan paspor baru dan perpanjangan paspor. Kemarin gw ada tambahan sumbangan PMI sih, jadi nambah lagi. BTW, dokumen tanda terima dokumen tadi kasih aja ke petugas kasirnya, terus tunggu panggilan lagi. Sesudah bayar, nanti dikasih kuitansi rangkap dua, merah sama putih. Yang putih untuk kita, yang merah mesti dikasih ke petugas foto & wawancara.
8. Antri untuk foto & wawancara. Tempat foto ada di lantai dasar, di luar hall tempat nunggu penyerahan dokumen tadi. Masuk ke ruangan di sebelah kanan (di seberang televisi informasi antrian), serahkan rangkap kuitansi yang warna merah ke petugas yang duduk di depan mesin cetak nomor antrian. Jangan keluar ruangan, tunggu di situ sampai dipanggil dan diberikan struk nomor antrian. Sesudah dapet struk nomor antrian, baru bisa tunggu di luar ruangan.
9. Foto & wawancara. Sesudah dipanggil, masuk lagi ke ruangan tadi. Kasih struk nomor antrian ke petugas nomor antrian tadi, nanti diarahin ke petugas foto & wawancara. Senyum, jepret, ditanya-tanya sedikit soal alasan bikin paspor, tanda tangan di paspor kosong, cap 10 jari di biometric scanner, periksa kelengkapan dan kebenaran data, tanda tangan di berkas dan keluar dari ruangan. Di sini nggak dikasih apa-apa memang, nanti pas mau ambil paspor cukup tunjukkan bukti kuitansi yang warna putih tadi.
10. Nyetak paspornya lama, lebih baik cek status pencetakan dengan SMS sebelum datang untuk ambil. Caranya ketik “paspor <nomorpermohonan>” dan kirim ke 08118113456. <nomorpermohonan> bisa diganti dengan angka yang ada di baris data pertama kuitansi pembayaran tadi. Selain SMS, bisa juga masukkan nomor yang sama ke Layanan Paspor Online.
11. Setelah yakin paspornya jadi, dateng lagi ke Kanim dengan membawa kuitansi pembayaran yang putih. Biar aman, gw saranin fotokopi dulu bukti pembayaran ini, takutnya hilang. Kalau datang pagi-pagi, taruh aja kuitansi itu di Loket IV. Biasanya udah ada tumpukan pengganti nomor antrian di situ. Lagi-lagi tunggu panggilan.
12. Setelah dipanggil, kita mesti tanda tangan di bukti tanda terima paspor dan diminta fotokopi halaman pertama (yang ada fotonya) dan halaman terakhir (yang ada keterangan nomor paspor lama). Fotokopi aja di koperasi bawah tangga itu. Bilang aja buat Loket IV, mereka udah tau kok.

Udah. Gitu doang kok. Kalau dari awal dokumen kita udah lengkap, berarti cuma perlu datang tiga kali. Pertama buat submit dokumen, kedua buat foto & wawancara, dan ketiga untuk ambil paspor. Semuanya mungkin total 7 hari-an. Agak lama memang, tapi hemat bisa separuh dari kalau pakai biro jasa, dan yang pasti bebas pungli!

Salut buat imigrasi untuk perbaikan layanannya! Tapi gw berharap layanan online tadi bener-bener diberdayakan dan disosialisasikan buat masyarakat. Pasti jadinya lebih baik lagi.

Photos by Nala Edwin (detikfoto) and lobangkakus (Kaskus.us).

How to Take a Picture With The Built-in Webcam on Your Laptop & Windows XP

I own a laptop with a built-in webcam in it. Yesterday, my wife asked me how to take a picture with it and I failed to find the answer. Now, I have come up with the answer. This is how you can take a picture with a laptop’s built-in webcam if your operating system is Windows XP.

1. Go to Start Menu > All Programs > Accessories > Scanner & Camera Wizard. Perhaps your menu tree is different than mine. It doesn’t matter. Bottom line is go to the Accessories program group on your Start Menu, and there you’ll find the wizard.
2. Click Next button on the dialog box that pops up.
3. Another window will pop up, use it to take your picture. You’ll see the live video feed on the left pane. Click the button Take Picture on below the pane to take a picture.
4. The picture you just took will be added to the list of pictures on the right pane. You can select the pictures you need using the checkboxes. After that, click the Next button.
5. Just follow the dialog boxes which come next. They will be self explanatory. Basically, they’re asking for a location to store the images in.

Tips Membawa Bayi Usia 6 Bulan Bepergian dengan Pesawat Terbang

Gw sekeluarga baru aja pulang dari liburan 3 hari di Surabaya, kampung halaman ibu gw. Kalo nggak salah, dulu gw pertama kali terbang pas masih kelas 2 atau 3 SD. Kemarin, Pras terbang pertama kali pas dia umur 6 bulan 1 hari. Wheew. Beda banget yah.

Anyway, berikut ini adalah beberapa tips untuk membawa bayi naik pesawat terbang.

1. Bawa selimut/semacamnya. Suhu di pesawat saat sudah terbang 33,000 kaki itu dingin loh. AC pesawat, terutama pesawat yang berumur masih mudah, lumayan dingin. Ini kontras banget dengan saat di ruang tunggu yang tidak terlalu dingin atau saat pesawat – terutama pada budget airlines – masih di apron, menunggu penumpang masuk, yang kadang AC-nya dimatikan. Oleh karena itu, selimut gw rasa lebih baik ketimbang pakai baju tebal/jaket. Begitu terasa dingin, langsung selimuti si anak. Nilai plus lain, bisa dibuat tudung saat harus berjalan di apron di bawah terik matahari apabila harus berjalan kaki ke pesawat dan sebagai penutup pandangan orang saat akan memberikan ASI.
2. Siap-siap ASI atau susu botol untuk saat lepas landas dan akan mendarat. Si bayi akan senantiasa menelan, sehingga perasaan tidak enak (atau biasa disebut bindeng) di telinga tidak terlalu berpengaruh. Berikan si bayi minum saat pesawat mulai taxiing (bersiap ambil posisi di landas pacu) hingga pesawat telah stabil (biasanya di 33,000 kaki atau 10 km) dan moncong pesawat terasa tidak mendongak lagi. Kelebihan lain adalah si bayi dengan cara ini biasanya akan tertidur, sehingga lebih mudah diatur. Saat pesawat sudah terasa turun, berikan lagi minum untuk si bayi sampai pesawat touch-down di landasan. Timing seperti itu juga pas untuk menghindari pandangan liar orang lain saat akan memberikan ASI.
3. Bawalah mainan si kecil. Untuk jaga-jaga apabila dia rewel. Trik lain adalah dengan berjalan menggendong dia di gang. Tapi, trik ini hanya cocok untuk penerbangan jarak jauh. Untuk penerbangan jarak pendek, akan merepotkan karena kita akan terhalang dan menghalangi lalu lalang para pramugari yang bekeliling mengantarkan/menjajakan makanan dan semacamnya.
4. Jagalah kondisi kesehatan si kecil. Apabila dia flu/pilek, telinganya akan semakin sakit karena perubahan tekanan udara. Gw pernah kok terbang pas pilek. Masya Allah, sakitnya telinga itu bikin kapok. Apalagi kalau si kecil yang harus ngerasain?
5. Mintalah pelampung dan sabuk pengaman khusus untuk infant ke pramugari. Taruh pelampung di saku kursi depan Anda. Sabuk pengaman khusus infant digunakan dengan dihubungkan ke sabuk pengaman Anda sendiri. Jadi sangkutkan sabuk pengaman Anda pada lubang/simpul yang ada di tengah sabuk pengaman infant, lalu kunci sabuk pengaman Anda tersebut seperti biasa. Selanjutnya kunci juga sabuk pengaman infant seperti biasa juga. A little note though, tidak semua airline punya infant safety belt seperti ini. AirAsia kemarin tidak punya, tapi Mandala punya.

Hope this helps. Have a safe and fun trip!

Photo by santheo.

My Loved Ones

I like this picture very much. Luv u both, Dearests!

How to Spawn a Second AS/400 Console Session

This is a neat trick I was told when I was heavily tasked with querying The Company’s main system for various data. Sometimes, I need two simultaneous sessions with the AS/400 console, but the system won’t allow it (actually, it’s a security parameter implemented by my QSECOFR). So here’s the work around so we can at least have two simultaneous sessions with the AS/400 console (green screen).

1. From any screen, press [Shift]-[Esc] keys on the keyboard simultaneously.
2. On the blue line that appears in bottom of the screen, type “1″.
3. You will be taken to a the system log-on screen, log-on as usual. You can either use your original credential or another one.
4. Voila! Your second session is in place.
5. To switch back to the first session, press [Shift]-[Esc] keys again.
6. And don’t forget the “1″.
7. You’re back!

How to Mimic SQL’s SELECT DISTINCT Clause with IBM AS/400’s WRKQRY

Several days ago, I was stuck with this problem: how do I do a version of SQL’s SELECT DISTINCT clause with IBM AS/400’s (iSeries) WRKQRY command. In other words, how to summarize a field. You see, my user ID on the system is restricted to a menu – not even given the command-line, in fact – which is devoid of the ability to run the STRSQL command. After a moment of head-banging, hair-pulling and frantic google searching, here’s the solution.

Define a report break containing [the field you want to distinctly select]. Then in Select Output Type, choose Summary Only. You will only see one occurrance [sic] for each distinct break level. The one downside to this is that Query/400 will insert a blank line in between each row. If you want to print out the data without the blank lines, you can run the output of this query to a temporary file and then query the temporary file seperately.

Steve Canter on SystemiNetwork Forum

Thank you,  Steve, for that verbose – but useful – explanation. Now, if you let me supplement your explanation with these two screenshots, all will be better, I think.

So, let’s say I have this physical file a.k.a.  table.

As you can see, the file has two fields, Deposit Type Code (SCCODE) and Type Description (PSCDES). Now, let’s pretend I want to know all distinct values of the first field. With SQL, we’d use this query: SELECT DISTINCT SCCODE FROM TABLE. This is how you do it with WRKQRY.

1. Do the usual file selections process. Yadda yadda yadda.
2. Select the field you want to distinctly select/summarize. In this case, it’s SCCODE.
3. Define a report break containing [the field you want to distinctly select]. A report break is basically the list of fields you put on your “SELECT DISTINCT xxx, yyy” line. So, if you want to distinctively select two fields, you put two level of breaks here. The iSeries accepts up to six break levels for up to nine fields.
4. Select Output Type, choose Summary Only.
5. See the results. The result should be similar with the faithful SELECT DISTINCT clause, albeit with one blank rows after each item. This can be worked around with saving the result to a database file and running another query and sorting the result field.