Best TV series of 2022

It’s that time of the year to list down the best TV series (IMO) that I’ve been watching in 2022. These are all new series of course. There are good subsequent seasons of previous years best TV series but I am only going to review new series here as always. Without further ado, in the chronological order that I watch them:


The Book of Boba Fett



This list will not be complete without the latest installment of a Star Wars universe series right? The Book of Boba Fett has some crossover from the Mandalorian but it is mostly about Boba Fett after (spoiler alert) he was left for dead after losing a battle with Luke in the Sarlacc pit. From then on Boba went on to become the new benevolent crime lord of Tatooine. Mildly entertaining this one but still worth a watch for all Star Wars aficionados out there. Available on Disney Hotstar.


Peacemaker



A spin-off from The Suicide Squad movie, Peacemaker is an entertaining comedy staring John Cena as the superhero/villain that believes in achieving peace at any cost, usually with disasterous aftermath. Throw in some nostalgic 80s rock ballad and you got half an hour of comedic gold. Available on HBO Go


Severance



What Apple TV+ lack in quantity, they sometimes make up for it in quality in rare good series such as Severance. Imagine you needed to separate your consciousness between your work life and the one outside of it. Meaning you have no idea what’s going on in the world outside your work life and vice versa. Beautiful cinematography and set design, what’s not to love about this sci-fi psychological thriller?

Obi Wan Kenobi

This new Star Wars series is the one I look forward to most this year. Ever wondered what happened soon after the Jedis were annihilated after Order 66 and Anakin became Darth Vader? Well this series is supposed to take place 10 years after that but that gives us enough time for Luke and Leia to grow up a bit and become part of the main characters of this series. I don’t want to spoil this series too much but suffice to say the fight scene and the amount of nostalgia and call back were enough to keep you tethered to your seat.


Andor



Two Star Wars spin--offs not enough? How about three? Andor, a prequel to the Rogue One movie, is the third Star Wars series released this year. Telling the origin story of rebel spy Cassion Andor several years before the events in Rogue One. It has a darker and more mature tone compared to previous Star Wars series and enjoyed critical acclaim from the fans. To be honest, I found it to be too serious and gloomy but hey that’s just me.


Ramy



There’s usually two types of muslims in America - the strict sharia-abiding one and then the non-practising one. Ramy falls into the third-category which mixes and matches his Islamic life with the modern secular world. An entertaining comedy and provides an interesting insight into the modern muslim world in America.


Wednesday



It took me a while to watch Wednesday. I thought the preview looked too cheesy and boring, But after a while, I saw rave reviews from netizens about this series so I decided to take the plunge and watch it anyway. Wednesday is a crossover of Sabrina, Riverdale and a dark Harry Potter. I enjoyed the dark comedy portrayed by Wednesday Addams in this series. It was just entertaining enough to watch it until the end.


First Love



First Love also comes recommended by netizens (mostly from Twitter). At first I thought how good can a Japanese romantic series be right? A cute leading actress plus some good theme song is a winning combination for me. Viewers will be taken on an emotional roller-coaster ride from the beginning to the end of this series. Girls, prepare your tissue papers!

Southern tour 2022

For our annual end of the year family trip this year we had a few places in my mind. Initially it was Labuan off the coast of Sabah. And then we contemplated going to Singapore but both places were prohibitively expensive for our budget. Labuan’s return flight was over 3,000 ringgit and we had to make passports for our entire family which would easily run to 1,000 ringgit. Let’s not even talk about Singapore’s dear exchange rate (damn you UMNO). In the end we settled for a little tour of the southern states, mainly Desaru, Johor Bharu and Malacca. We originally wanted to stay in Mersing as well but we simply didn’t have the time (nor the budget) plus there was news of flooding in the area.

Traffic was surprisingly smooth heading south that Friday afternoon. It rained occasionally but nothing heavy. We stopped by Yong Peng to try the supposedly famous 40 hari kari kambing restaurant. To be honest I don’t understand the hype because it tasted just like any ordinary kuzi lamb and mandy rice. The queue was extra long too although I can’t deny the lamb price is much cheaper than anywhere in Selangor.

Later that evening we arrived at the Lotus Desaru Beach Resort. As the name suggests, it is a resort along the Desaru beach near Kota Tinggi. It’s a huge place, they must have had hundreds of rooms in each block. We have two decent rooms in our suite with a little bath tub in the master bedroom. It’s reasonably clean so I can’t complain. There was not much furniture in the living room apart from a little sofa next to the small dining table. Next to the room suites is their water park which comes free with the room or 5 ringgit per person. The water park is just your typical hotel/resort water park with a few slides and a moderately big dipping pool. I went down the slide once and then waded in the pool for a few minutes and then I’m out of there. The kids seem to enjoy it though. They spent hours in the water.

Breakfast the next day was okay I guess. They serve the usual budget hotel menu like nasi lemak, fried rice, friend noodles, sausages, roti canai and porridge among others. I suspect the resort was fully booked because the Seaview restaurant was packed with holiday goers. So full it’s basically a factory assembly line. We didn’t get a chance to stroll along the Desaru beach just next to the restaurant because there were strong waves and the entrance was closed. Still we get to see the strong waves hitting the sea wall, spraying water on sightseers. Overall I would rate Lotus Desaru with 3.5 stars. A decent place to bring your family during school holidays. Perhaps if you booked the place earlier than we did (12 days prior), you might get slightly better rates.

The next day we drove for an hour to downtown Johor Bahru. We purposely booked a hotel next to IKEA Tebrau so that we could literally walk there later. Just kidding, who in their right mind would want to walk 500 metres to anywhere? Actually I could have walked had we not had a toddler in tow and a considerable shopping list. Besides, it rained heavily later in the evening. IKEA Tebrau is surprise-surprise is just like any other IKEAs I’ve been to in the country, from Batu Kawan to Cheras to Damansara. You go to one IKEA, you’ve been to all. The Tappen mall that’s connected to IKEA was a decent mall with the usual fare, a few shops and some recreational arenas like archery and wall-climbing. We even managed to steal some time to visit Aeon mall next door looking for a Robocar Poli toy for Asif. We didn’t find any and only found some at a Penn-mart toy shop nearby.

Later that evening we headed straight to JB city centre actual for dinner at Jalan Stulang Laut. We’ve been there before the last time we visited JB and Legoland, most of them don’t remember anything from that last visit because of old age it was quite some time ago. The seafood dinner was okay and affordable I guess. We would have enjoyed ourselves more had we not been interrupted by beggars and an assortment of traders every few minutes. Our last itinerary for the day was the Danga Bay park which features a little fun fair along the coast of the Johor straits. The entrance to the park was jammed and the parking lot was packed that it’s a miracle that we even got a parking spot. But found a spot we did so the kids get to enjoy some fun rides at the amusement park. The rides were pretty affordable, starting from 4 ringgit and up to 10 ringgit each and they include a big merry-go-round, train ride, tea cup ride and others.

Vertilex hotel that we stayed at was small which barely fit a queen-sized bed and a bathroom. But for 73 ringgit each and a last-minute booking, it’s a fair deal. Besides, we spent most of the time outside so we thought it would be wasteful to book a more luxurious hotel.

The next day we headed to our final destination which was Malacca. But not before we stopped by Johor Premium Outlet which is similar to Genting Premium Outlet and Mitsui Premium Outlet. Traffic going into the mall was already congested but we braved on anyway because Adam wanted to get a pair of shoes for his birthday. Like their Genting outlet, this one is packed with people, even more so on Christmas day. There’s the usual long queue outside of their anchor tenants like Adidas, Nike, Gucci and Coach and also the few restaurants that open. The goods prices are not that cheap mind you, driven even further up by Singaporean customers I suspect.

Unlike GPO, the atmosphere here is hot and humid whereas Genting’s was cool and refreshing due to their higher latitude. It was made even worse by selfish smokers smoking in the middle of the walkway. The management is partly to blame for putting those smoking bins right next to the benches. It’s an open invitation to those assholes. In the end, Adam didn’t find the shoes that he likes so our visit was almost a total waste of time. I said almost because my wife did buy some clothes for our toddler there.

Later we stopped by the Machap R and R lunch. I’m sure I’m not the only one wondering why there’s so much flies in the Kulai/Machap area. The rest stop was infested with flies. For our final stay, we booked a Airbnb unit next to the seaside. Too bad our unit did not face the sea but instead faces inwards toward other units. Waking up to the straits of Malacca would have been awesome. The owner provides self check in with clear instructions on how to get in and where to park. The studio unit is reasonably clean with one queen bed, one sofa bed and a small mattress, good for 3 people but no more. The bath tub in the bathroom is a bonus. You have access to the condo's swimming pool on the 13th floor.



Imperio Residences looks magnificent and imposing at first glance but very few locals actually live here and they're occupied mostly by holiday-makers like us. The rest of the building looks under-maintained and run down because of the lack of tenants. The place has potential for sure, it’s just too bad they didn't go through with the mall downstairs. There's a washer and dryer combo machine provided but you'll have to bring your own soap. The dryer part of the machine doesn't really work well so you're left with some damp laundry. Consider that before you use the machine. Other than that I have no complaints.

From the condo, we drove to the Malacca city centre on Christmas eve for sightseeing. Even for the short 5 kilometer drive, it took us 22 minutes to get there with all the traffic. In the end, we parked near the Tabung Haji building and walked 500 metres to Jonker Walk. I’ve been meaning to visit Jonker Walk for years. Heard of the name but never really got the chance to visit. To be honest you won’t miss anything much because there’s nothing much of interest there. A few souvenir and handicraft stalls, a bunch of food and snack stalls and that’s about it. You’d probably have more fun visiting Petaling Street or Chow Kit than this.

Now we’ve been to Malacca city centre a few times before but never at night. The place has a totally different vibe and atmosphere at night, especially the loud and flash trishaw rides at the centre. I usually ignore those cringey trishaw rides but not with little Asif Yusuf along who demanded that we ride them. For 25 ringgit each, they took us for a short 15 minute ride around the city. It would have been memorable if not for the loud obnoxious music blaring from the onboard speakers. They’re totally unnecessary.

So that concludes our 4 days 3 night tour of the southern states. Thankfully traffic was not that bad and was pretty smooth in fact for both to and return trip. I can’t say the same for people coming and going in the opposite direction. Did I feel refreshed and relaxed? If not totally, at least a little bit. I don’t really have the extra budget to pay for this vacation but I went along with it anyway so that my wife and kids can have some fun away from home. Now that the vacation is finished and I’m back to face reality, the prospect of paying for all my credit card spending excess is not really fun but hey at least my loved ones are happy, right?

Apple Device Support Exam questions

I was required to take a certification exam by The Management recently to prove that I have the necessary qualifications to deal with users and customers at work. The Apple Device Support exam is for technical professionals who support Apple devices in their organization. When you pass the exam, you earn the Apple Certified Support Professional digital badge. The exam costs USD158 (around RM717) to take and you take it online using the Pearson VUE website. It has got some really hard and tricky questions (and answers). So hard that I had to take the exam twice (yes I flunked the first one). The upside of that failure is that I could recall some 80 to 90 questions from the exam by memory which I have turned into this exam Google form below.

I tried to look around for any revision or "dump" questions for the Apple Device Support exam on the web but the ones that I found are placed behind a paywall and there's no guarantee that they're even legit. If you plan to study the old school way, you can refer to the Apple Device Support tutorials page and reviewing the learning objectives page. They always include the latest macOS and iOS version there. Other than that, many of the questions are based on your experience using, deploying, repairing and troubleshooting Apple devices including Macs, iPhones and iPads. For that, there's no substitute for wisdom.

Hopefully this exam questions that I created can help a fellow brother or sister out for their Apple Device Support certification. If you find these questions useful, feel free to donate to my account below or buy me a coffee. Thank you and all the best!