Computers and Such

Commodity exchanges?

2006-03-29T08:47:00.000+08:00

People today are so into exchanges. We have stock exchange, money exchange, currency exchange, commodity exchange. Oh yeah, coming to that. What are the commodities of today? Paper? Wood? Currency? Stocks?

What about human innovation and creativity? Ideas born of a personal itch? Cool ones that help scratch other's itches? Well here's a cool idea: idea exchange

Sounds pretty fun and interesting. However I do wonder what kind of environment and type of business would this be most helpful in?

Focus vs Multi-task

2006-03-23T08:59:00.000+08:00

Can they coexist?

Focus:
1. Close or narrow attention; concentration
~ The Free Dictionary @ http://www.thefreedictionary.com

2. The concentration of attention or energy on something
~ WordReference.com @ http://www.wordreference.com

Concentrate on 'something' instead of 'many-thing' ? =)

More interesting, what is multitask?

Multitask is the verb of multitasking and multitasking means:
The concurrent operation by one central processing unit of two or more processes
~ The Free Dictionary @ http://www.thefreedictionary.com

Hmm.... so that begs the question of are human brains to be considered a form of 'central processing unit' ? After all, humans are suppose to be able to function in a parallel form and multitask. Very interesting thought on that. I wonder what recent progress has been made in trying to replicate human brain function by simulating single unit neurons and linking them together in software.

So idiotic

2006-03-22T15:20:00.000+08:00

Life is good,
Life is great!

I feel like such a complete idiot but what the heck, at this stage, in this situation, I'm game for anything, even try out this one heck of a corny trick called positive verbal self reinforcement thingy.

Darn.

Challenge thyself ...

2006-01-24T18:54:00.000+08:00

... to something ye ain't ever done before and ye shall reap bountiful.

Or so I would like to think. This time it's a real challenge. Well... I feel this time it will be different. My entire life, I've always been so super positive until I fell a long long distance. Then I became the opposite. This time, I believe I've learnt a great lesson which will always temper my extremes and remind me to be moderate. No doubt I have much more to learn but I am very thankful that in all aspects of my life, I've always been lucky to be given many many chances to learn and to grow. Given many opportunities to learn about a great many things ranging from those philosophical in nature to more pragmatic issues of our daily life.

Recently many things have been happening around me. I only wish I could have done more if I had grown up faster, earlier and be able to do the things I wish I could. However, I am not going to sit here and let regret pull me down. That has never been my nature. ;-) Just that there are other factors which pull me down, slow my growth but not regret. Yes I do regret, but I do not let it bog me down. Well, there are some who will definitely disagree with me but I believe what I say is true. Just that I have a very very big mouth which likes to complain... a lot... loudly... constantly... annoyingly. =)

Another day in my life. Life goes on as usual.

Dr. Mahathir, in person

2006-01-12T18:52:00.000+08:00

I was at MPH Midvalley on Sunday enjoying myself browsing through a plethora of books when suddenly a commotion occured near the main entrance. At first I just ignored it as it doesn't seem to involve me. However more and more people seem to be enthralled by some incident or person at the entrance and it piqued my interest. So I amble over to see what was the matter.

Lo and behold, our beloved ex-prime minister, Dr. Mahathir was there. Everyone was crowding around him wanting to take his signature and to take photos with him. Well, I then decided rather wisely to just go back to my books. At that stage, I really really wished to just go up to him to shake his hand and thank him. However seeing the poor man swamped by the public stopped me from doing it. Alas, all my efforts to keep away came to nothing when he just popped up next to me browsing at some of the bestsellers on display.

Obviously the crowd followed along. He stood barely half a metre away and I was so so tempted to just say hi and thank you and to shake his hand. I so so wanted to but I stopped myself from doing it. I do not know what came over me. Maybe just some insane part inside wanting to seem cool and not so flustered as the rest of the crowd was who were running around like little school kids at their first party. Anyhow, I missed out an awesome opportunity to thank the great man personally.

However, no regrets. I am happy to be able to say I have seen him 'up close and personal' ;) so to speak. Where ever you are, what ever you do, Dr. M, here's a heartfelt thank you and good luck to you. The brief moments you spent with us did touch many of us Malaysians. I am proud to say I am a Malaysian first, foremost and always.

su - Windows version

2005-12-20T18:09:00.000+08:00

Having been a slightly more advanced Windows user for years, I learnt a brand new thing today. I was actually looking around for some information on some issues I'm facing at work but stumbled upon this and it's too good an issue to pass up for bloggin. Especially since I'm still very dry of ideas. ;-)

Now, in Linux and also Unix spin-offs, there has always been tighter security in the shape of user login. All users must log in to use the OS and different users have different rights and permissions. The usual best practice for advocated for security reasons is to use the system under a normal user account and change to superuser for administrative purposes. Linux has a simple way of changing to superuser, or any other user in fact, by calling the su function to switch user.

As for Windows, starting from Windows 2000 (I do not know about Windows NT as my experience does not include that), anyone who wants to use the OS must also log in. However Windows also provides the option to directly boot up and log in for a system with a single user. What I've always done is to create a single user on my system and assign it to the Administrators group. This is because I like to experiment and will keep changing settings and applications for which a normal user might not be able to do. Unfortunately that means my system is less secure since a 'superuser' will log in automatically on boot-up. It was rather troublesome to keep the single user as normal user because there was no easy way to temporarily change to a user with administrative rights to install applications and the like.

Now I have found my answer. Ironically from an institute of higher learning which I've always perceived as being full of theory and empty of practice. =P

Have a look at this topic to be found in the Indiana University, University Information Technology Services' Knowledge Base.

'In Windows 2000 and XP, what is the Secondary Logon service?'

I've seen this service in the list of services of my PC but never took the time to find out more about it. Always just left it there by default. Now I know.

Yeah, I Got No Life. That's Why My Sorry Bum Is Plonked Right Here

2005-12-18T03:53:00.000+08:00

Then again, we are all entitled to certain basic choices and freedom....... or not? That's a rather common and interesting presumption by many. What are we entitled to? In what context? Based on what? Anyhow, what I wanted to share is.....

Sometime back in October, my friend posted this 'Speed and It's Evil Twin'. Then I stumbled on these two and I had a really really good laugh. Been some time since I could afford that. Am so thoroughly enjoying myself right this moment. Have a laugh.

Xiaxue started on December 13, 'Ever felt like you have an invisible friend?'
Then Kenny followed with this. Oh man, this is a really great one. =D

Lost and Found: What is GNU?

2005-12-18T02:23:00.000+08:00

Well, I just found out, or shall I say rediscover the meaning ofGNU. All I could remember about it is the recursive acronym part. GNU is Not something. Well, I found it today. GNU is Not Unix. =D

Also had quite a bit of education in accounting AND difference between Open Source, Free Software and a whole multitude of different types of licenses. Whew, it's all so confusing.

Joy vs worry

2005-12-17T02:35:00.000+08:00

Ahh... finally I got my lazy bum around to at least start customize and redesign my blog. Well, it's about time anyway. New year, new resolutions. =P Will be reorganizing my stuff. Perhaps start another blog for something else. Something I have been meaning to practice but as usual have been dragging my feet for quite some time.

On a more somber note, the world is becoming more and more unsafe. Recently my buddy(M) was talking about moving out because the population opposite our apartment has just increased by two. According to my buddy(FM), there was once when she opened the door and found two fellas standing there in nothing except a towel wrapped around smoking. This was during night time.

Well, it's rather difficult to comment on other people's habits and practices but then again I can understand the feeling of insecurity. Although, the fact that they are of a different race might have affected my buddy(M) since he is self-admit occasionally discriminating person. ;-)

I came back quite late last night and happened upon one fella sitting at the stairs there smoking. He greeted me and I greeted him back and he seems ok but then again it's pretty hard to tell from first impressions. He did make some conversation talking about how his landlady doesn't allow them to smoke inside the house. Unfortunately I was rather stoned from exhaustion... and a rather full meal. So I missed the chance to learn more about him/them. As I was closing the door, I saw another fella just inside the house playing with his handphone.

Anyhow, that by itself wouldn't have mattered much to me except for two other teensy weensy detail. One, recently we have been getting some weird phone calls through the house phone where no one speaks or occasionally someone giggles and then puts down the phone. In addition, my buddy(M) has been getting some weird missed calls on his mobile where the caller says some mumbo jumbo and then puts down the phone. When my buddy(M) called the fella back, he just mumbled some stuff and then put down the phone or he does not pick up the phone at all.

Then I happened upon poor Suanie and her recent incident. *Sigh*, end of the year and the whole world turns to chaos. Anyhow I better go sleep. Tomorrow is another work day for me.

It's alive!

2005-12-05T00:37:00.000+08:00

Finally after almost a whole month, we got a brand new router!! Thanks Burger boy for helping us buy that. =D

After a pretty long exile into the unknown wilds of the disconnected world, I'm finally back online. Here's to looking forward to the bright future ahead. No more boring monotonous offline entertainment. It's time to parrtteeeyyyyyyyyy!!!!

Heya! Here I cooommmmeeeeeee..................

Patterns, The Human Natural Language

2005-12-01T08:57:00.000+08:00

Recently, I've been introduced to and started using design patterns at work. It does seem quite useful. However, now I realise it's not really something new. Just that there was no buzzword linked to it before. As I ponder the issue slowly, I began to realise another useful point. Humans communicate through patterns! We are in our element when there is a certain pattern to ideas and concepts, to the abstract and concrete. It doesn't matter whether the pattern is symmetrical or asymmetrical but the fact remains that patterns are the basic understanding process that we humans use.

Something which started me on this 'ponderous' journey. =) It is rather hilarious.

Dating Design Patterns

And today, I stumbled upon this.

Design Patterns: A Love Story
Umm... might need to sanitize a bit for the underaged. ;-) Nothing that can't be read at work though.

Writing code -- TDD style

2005-11-30T18:40:00.000+08:00

Or should I say 'typing'?

"The best way that I know how to write code is to shape it from the beginning with tests."
~ Ron Jeffries

The quote was found on Scott Bellware's Webflog:
TDD, Java and the Microsoft Visual Developer

To paraphrase Scott,

"TDD is about coding. You can't drag and drop TDD. Code generation and TDD are largely at odds."

"Don’t think for an instant that the Java people are doing things differently from the .NET people because they face such different challenges. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Java people do things differently because they have a head start on .NET people.

Java developer culture is leading the .NET developer culture in terms of practice maturity. But, we're catching up. Well, in truth, we're catching on - our technologies will take us in subtly different directions, so we're never really gonna meet at the exact same place."

Hehe, don't blame me for plagiarism. I learnt this from my senior, Orangie. Anyhow I'm paraphrasing Scott on the aspect which resonates deeply with my brain. So much so that I'm still shaking of the effects of the reverbrations. ;-)

Assumptions in everything

2005-11-28T14:00:00.000+08:00

Microsoft Takes it on the Chin Over Test-Driven Development

Very interesting entry from Scott Bellware, a MVP. It does provide insightful opinion as to how the mechanism of agility is to be implemented and the various flavours and dialects in which it arrives in.

A thought springs to mind; The path to knowledge is to question and find. However, how do we know to even question if there is no awareness of a topic at all? Coincidentally enough, a similar line of discussion was going on between me and my buddy very recently. It is about not showing someone information they are not ready to see. As quoted by Orange, "Never teach someone something they are not ready to accept"..... well, more or less la. Orange himself also cannot remember.

Ambiguous Life

2005-10-20T09:13:00.000+08:00

Ah.... an interesting thought yesterday. One can perceived oneself as being screwed big time when in fact it's not. So, I'm wondering if one can make such a humongous error in perception, isn't it a reasonable conjecture that it can go the other way around; One can be screwed big time and never realise it.

Life, what glorious ambiguity it is! Ah, the freshness of obfuscation and deflection. That's what it's all about.

=)
May everyone have a confusing day!

ahh...den...dum...

2005-10-17T20:12:00.000+08:00

Well, just another prime example of thought faster than hand. =p My blog title is way out of synch with the contents. Oh well...

Freedom of Choice

2005-10-17T13:51:00.000+08:00

I was walking to get some much needed liquid from the cooler when a thought struck me. "Hmm.. a blog entitled 'Tell Me About Yourself' would be just great."

The blog entry would be about various things beginning with how many Malaysian graduates are underperforming on their first step into the working world. Standard question from many interviewers would be - "Tell me about yourself". Unfortunately, too many will give a text book answer... hang on, not even a text book answer, it's a kindergarten answer ... starting with "My name is ...". Then it would go on to how immature many of us are and how ill-equipped we are by our universities.

However suddenly I had an intrusion of thoughts. Somehow I jumped to thinking about how I might answer that and it did a full 90 degrees on all axes and a phrase came to mind; "... entire belief system was totally crushed when I became exposed to the harshness of the real world. I had this idea of the romantic, idealist white-hat sitting in some darkened room filling in sandbags to plug the holes in vulnerable systems everywhere. All this as I was filling my water bottle.

Then while waiting for my water bottle to be filled, another intrusive thought jumped in and that is about how I tend to have ideas and thoughts coming in a torrent. Yeah, must be some genetic disorder there, the wires not connected properly. Sometimes I get a blank, totally no idea about anything at all. Then when I do get them, it all comes pouring out like it's raining elephants and mammoths or something like that. That's when it gets real tough. Out of all these ideas and stuff, there will usually be a large percentage, oh probably 70-80 percent, which are good ideas for follow up but by the time I get an opportunity to record it, I don't remember it anymore! What a bummer.

And that is how I ended up back at my end of the table with a filled water bottle and a thirst-quenched throat sitting here blogging about this as I take a break from the real world. However, time still flows freely no matter in cyberspace or in realspace. Hey, that would be a great research topic for some physics study - Relationship of time and matter within the realm of cyberphysical.

I gotta go. Ciao.

TX is out!

2005-10-12T13:45:00.000+08:00

Finally, the long wait is over. Palm just released the TX at a much more competitive price. Now, if only it will arrive at Malaysian shores...

Base on information on the US site, this would be cheaper than the T5 with comparatively better features; That is if you do not require the 'Drive Mode'.

Time to tighten the belt and start saving!

More information to be found at:
http://www.palm.com/us/products/handhelds/tx/
http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_story.asp?ID=8140

The simple things in life

2005-10-03T08:47:00.000+08:00

This morning as my boss and I were on our way to work, I saw this tremendously beautiful and vivid rainbow. It was just... there. Right in front of me, so big and beautiful, looking so serene, caring not a whit for the world. It really made my day.

Have been so tense lately with worries about my work and pace as well as my dearest's search for a suitable job. In addition am also bogged down with planning on how to spend more time with my mom seeing as it is now there's no more sis for me to dump at home as proxy. =p Ah well, it's still a perfect day.

A perfect start of the day with a beautiful rainbow. It's a real wonder sometimes how as we so-called 'grow' and 'mature' with age, we slowly 'learn' to ignore the simplest things in life. I can still recall, although no longer so vividly, the times when I so look forward to seeing a rainbow in the sky and wondering when can I grow up to travel along the rainbow to it's end where there's sunshine and happiness to be had all around.

What is Time?

2005-10-01T13:54:00.000+08:00

Time is...

... something precious,
... something worthy,
... something dangerous,
... something addictive,
... something useful,
... something needed,
... something acquired,
... something created,
... something meaningless.

Time is...

... as crisp and sharp as the chirp of a bird,
... as much of us as it owns us,
... produced and consumed,
... time was, time will be.

Bloggers?

2005-09-28T09:28:00.000+08:00

Wazat? Hey, izit sum kinda new food ah? P'haps de fiery and hot hot kind ah? After eating will pang sai tons leh.

Don't quite understand some people, letting their mouth, oops.. I mean fingers run everywhere six ways from April. Then again, some bloggers are sure one tough guy/gal to endure on and on inane comments and statements pronouncing stuff like 'the end of the world for bloggers who are famous'. =P

Hey, I wana get me a loyar oredi. I wana refund of time leh wasted on catching up on blogging since it ain't what I was led to believe. Thought blogging is all about 'freedom of expression' and 'agree to disagree' SOP? Let's just face it, we're all really a bunch of immature, useless kids with too much exercise required on the fingers.

For context, try browsing through www.kennysia.com =P

Communication is a miracle

2005-09-27T09:13:00.000+08:00

Early this morning, I was reminded of a very very important lesson. Communications has really been taken for granted by many of us. It is so ubiquitous that we normally do not think of communications as anything special. If there's something to says, just say. If there's something to write, just write. However these are not true communication. These are just techniques and framework to facillitate communication.

One important aspect of communication is correct understanding. In order to ensure that, proper application of a feedback mechanism is truly necessary. Unfortunately, oft-times we do not care to think through how to implement a feedback mechanism thereby inadverdently promoting a phenomenon known as miscommunication.

Well, all I can say is this morning was a true eye-opener, and a true keep-eye-opener.... ;-)

D70 users beware!

2005-09-27T09:10:00.000+08:00

Wow! Cameras just went into the realm of 'lethal devices'. =)

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000080060527/
http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/336/C4733/

It's over

2005-09-10T22:31:00.000+08:00

Finally it's over. Those who depart have returned. Those who stayed back are there. The one left here found a big burning hole in his phone. =p

Now sitting at front of the PC at home, it all seems so quite without my sister around. No more prodding from her or verbal challenges. No more camaraderie in front of the TV watching nothing. Poor old mom's going to be even more bored at home without her daughter to provide a spot of humour on and off.

Time really flies and things and people change. Blink of an eye and we are another year less. Blink of another eye and graduation. Oh well, not sure what I want to blog. Signing off first. Ciao world.

D-day

2005-08-30T11:20:00.000+08:00

Finally the day has arrived. My sis is going off. Well, the last few days have been really really hectic. My mom was more nervous than my sis, well.. I guess that was because my sis kept on harrying her about all sorts. There's probably a fair amount of apprehension for everyone too. For my sis as to how this is the first time she'll be really far, far away from home and for my mom as this is the first time she's letting my sis go far, far away from home. ;-)

As for me, I really can't say. I guess I will miss the mental parries and challenges my sis provides everytime we meet up. I'll also miss her witty responses to my comments. Well, I will really miss her for the whole 8 months. =p Yeah, you got that right, 8 months later and she'll be back for a holiday. hehehe.... she's gona be gone for less than a year.

Our aunt who came back to accompany them over was reminiscing her time when she went overseas for the very first time to further her studies. There was no one to go with her, no one to arrange things or to meet her up. No plans at all, it was just decide, pack and go. So she's a bit confused over all the preparation and stuff going on. It's good to have her go along with my mom and sis. She can act as a stabilising platform seeing as how things are.

Well, I gota go prepare already. Leaving in a few hours time and there's not much time left to spend together.

Blues...

2005-08-24T08:46:00.000+08:00

Hmm... my sis' finally going. Wonder what it will be like without her wit and humour around, without her fast pace killer response to my comments. Sure will be quiet around here, yesssiree. Next Tuesday would be her departure rate. The exchange rate is still quite a killer. Too bad this bro of hers is not discipline enough to afford going with her =p. Aiming for her graduation, that means a cool 20 grand for the whole package. That's in three years time from now. Okay okay, I know it won't take that much, but I just want to be safe. Aim more, have more, better insurance, hehehe. If got extra then can use to buy x50v =) or it's descendants.

Interesting news recently. Another friend leaving my old job avenue. Going for fresher pastures, literally. Well, the job scope might get rather mundane and regular after a while, but then again I think most jobs are like that. Unless one works in some R&D outfit (true blue R&D, not commercialised ;-) ) all other jobs have long term aims at stability which in turn directly affects profitability. Low maintenance, less expenses. However, it is good to have some changes occasionally. Another plus point for my friend is to be closer to someone special. Go Lau Ban! Have a good trip.

A separate friend from the same street going to get married soon!! Wish you all the best Sharkie!! Whew... sure is putting a lot of pressure on me, if my girlfriend hears of it.

Luckily for me, she's not really the wana get married soon soon soon kind of person. Want's to work at her career first....... hehehe.. doing research. Who knows, she may be the next Marie or Pasteur. I encourage her as much as I can and let her choose her own path in life. If we are meant to be together, our paths will cross and overlap on it's own. Just ride it out babeh....

Smokin' ......

2005-08-10T08:55:00.000+08:00

I woke up this morning and found everything dark. Oh no, I'm blind!! Then I saw something hazy waving in front of me and realise it's my hands. Hahaha... oops, turns out it's the buggered haze. It's around that time of the year again when many temperature make light work of wood and combustibles.

I wonder how long this haze will last? I'm having irritated eyes almost everyday now. Sheesh... this is really really really bad.

Physic Lesson

2005-08-08T08:52:00.000+08:00

Today I had an intimate refresher course in physics 101. F=ma. Force is equivalent to mass multiply with the acceleration, not velocity.

Was trailing behind a car during acceleration when it suddenly slam on the brakes. I could see smoke coming from the tyres already. So naturally I also slam on my brakes. Then I felt my tyres locking and could feel the tyre skid a bit. =( There goes my nice tyres. I wasn't even going fast, around 50 km/h at that time but I was accelerating. =p So when acceleration is great, then it requires more braking power therefore easier to go into a skid compare to steady velocity and zero acceleration.

There you go, a nice refresher course into physics. Luckily I'm still around to give that lesson.

Too good to be true?!?

2005-08-06T00:11:00.000+08:00

640x480 (VGA) resolution, portrait or landscape orientation
Intel graphic accelerator, 16MB RAM
128MB Flash ROM
64MB RAM
SD slot (SDIO, MMC compatible)
CF slot
Speaker
Microphone
624MHz Intel processor
1100 removable/rechargeable battery
122.4 x 77.2 x 14.9 mm (L x W x H)
Weight 139.3g
fits in the Palm of your hand

So what is that? Too good to be true? Here's the best part yet, it all costs a whooping RM1,358.00. =P do you know what I'm talking about?

Terminology and Technology

2005-07-28T09:01:00.000+08:00

Like oil and water to me. I mean, 'factory'? I was like, 'Huh? Wazat? I thought factories are located in industrial parks?' That was my very first response to my very first introduction to the term 'software factory'. =)

However as I work more on my architecting and designing skills (another great example 'concise' terminology =p) I discovered that a factory is a specific type of 'software pattern'. First of, let's have some understanding on terminology. Architecting is the ability to create architecture (by the way, I do not know if it should be 'architecting' or 'architecturing'. Someone go search and let me know ah =D ). A software architecture defines a direction and objective for the piece of software being developed. The architecture will state if it's client-server, n-tier etc. It explains how the disparate parts of the system works together. Design on the other hand is a more detailed version. How the classes / modules are related, what do they do etc.

Well then, what are patterns? They are basic repeating software design elements which are used for certain scenarios under certain conditions. One well-known writing on this is the book Design Patterns : Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software. The four authors of this book (Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson, John Vlissides) have been refered to frequently as the 'Gang of Four' (GoF). Therefore the patterns they described are also known as the 'Gang of Four patterns'.

Some interesting information from wikipedia:

- In Chinese history, the Gang of Four was a group of Communist politicians based in Shanghai. They were among the main leaders of the Cultural Revolution.
- In East Asian history, the Gang of Four (or the Asian Tigers) refers to South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong as newly industrialized countries with shared economic characteristics.
- In British history, the Gang of Four were the four leading members of the Labour PartySocial Democratic Party in 1981.
- In Australian politics, the Gang of Four was a term commonly used by the media to describe Democrat Senators Meg Lees, Andrew Murray, Aden Ridgeway, and John Cherry, after they controversially toppled party leader Natasha Stott Despoja.
- In Papua New Guinea, the Gang of Four were four prominent civil service chiefs who had significant influence over public policy in the years after independence was granted.

Hmm... I wonder if 'GoF' is a good name for this as some of it's related terminology denotes chaotic circumstances. So now, does having patterns assist or disrupts software development? There's an interesting question. ;-)

Anyhow, for more information, just search 'gang of four pattern' (without the single quotes of course) and there's plenty to read. Another quick and good introduction would be the site http://www.dofactory.com/Patterns/Patterns.aspx. If one is familiar with developing software, some of the patterns will seem extremely familiar. It would have been used and implemented before just the terminology that is 'new'. Again, terminology and technology. Don't quite mix properly for me.

=)

It's Bloggin' Time!

2005-07-21T09:04:00.000+08:00

Hey hey, ever wondered what blogging is all about? I was writing the previous post offline and wanting to share those thoughts with everyone. However as I pondered that decision (after making it and taking it) I realise that I STILL do not quite understand the blogging phenomena. What is it all about? Is blogging about opening doors to your inner sanctum? Is blogging about telling exagerated stories which eventually become cyber-myths and legends? Is blogging about wanting to share your passion?

In the beginning, it was all about hitching a ride on this phenomena. I mean come on man, my friends and colleagues left, right, up, down, front and back were on this high. Including my bosses. So why not join in the fun? After starting one, then I realise it's not just another simple game. It needs attention, focus and discipline. So it became tedious to write entries and it was neglected. Subsequently I had some stuff I thought to share with the world at large. Stuff like my believe and passion for automation and computers (=p it's all because I live by one word - LAZY hehe... I wanted life to be easy and what easier way to make life easy but to remove the everyday tedium of things by automation? Annnnnddddd..... computerisation is all I know about automation =D)

If the world can share my passion, then my life can be made easier (meaning lazier) faster. How does blogging help me? Well, so far it doesn't really. Not in this blog anyway. That's another story. I subsequently succumbed to the attraction of blogging and have been more discipline in writing. Now my problem is sometimes the writing bug hits me or some inspiration to really WRITE but my blog is not accessible. So what do I do? I've now turned to my trusty m515. Turn it on, start writing. Mark it as 'OFFLINE ENTRY'. Upload at next available opportunity.
(Note my dear bosses : my previous post is OFFLINE ENTRY ah... I was NOT lazing in office =p)

gtg makan (Malay - eat), growling now, ciao.

The Five People You Meet In Heaven

2005-07-19T09:24:00.000+08:00

I was at my girlfriend's place today to spend some time. Have been recently neglecting her due to my different and unfortunately less than optimal time 'rearrangement'. =P Well, to be fair I did try ;-) but it wasn't really 'quality' time to her. Rather I was trying to bribe her with movies which are usually rushed and late at night taking up most of the time spent together leaving zero (0) time to chat. So there I was trying to make up for it by my presence when I realize it's pretty boring because she had to finish up some presentation slides and I did not want to interrupt her doing that.

Well, what does a bored one do? He finds anything readable to pass the time and that's how I stumbled upon this gem of a book called "The Five People You Meet In Heaven" by Mitch Albom. The book tells the story of an old man working at an amusement park who died attempting to rescue a young girl during an accident. Subsequently, the old man found out that heaven is not as we presumed all this while. Instead of our standard vision of heaven as a place where souls mingle and chat like people on earth, it is a far, far better place where one can find real peace of mind and can lay to rest all earthly concerns. However before this old man reaches that stage, he had to go through several ‘trials’ regarding his life on earth. This is a true rare find among all the standard fare dished out by authors today (or rather by the authors of the books I usually read =p which are science fiction and fantasy). As I finished reading it, I was misty-eyed.

This is a really good book to read for that warm fuzzy feeling and to remind ourselves of what being human is all about. It reminds us of the intricate web that binds each and everyone of us together.

I got to go wash my face now.

** BTW, this is offline entry on 17 July 2005 =p not now lar, now at work.

My life has turn upside down

2005-07-04T17:40:00.000+08:00

Sheesh.... here's a lesson to all not to stress test your hardware. Must be all the China fellows doing mass production touting 'fast, efficient delivery of any amount you want' lah. My Palm is quitting on me =....( *sob sob*. My beautiful, sleek, friendly m515.

It all started when I got itchy hands and did a soft reset. Those of you who use Palm would know that the reset button is a recessed little pin hole which you need to stick something in to trigger the reset. Well, there I was feeling itchy and I went and soft reset my Palm. Well whadaya know, it then stopped working. The screen was blank and the power button was all lighted up. Nothing I pressed or did worked. Then I tried putting it in the charger and as soon as it was powered up, the power button light extinguished. I was scratching my head like mad trying to figure out why. Finally I gave up and searched online for solutions.

Turns out it could be due to some issues with the USB charging circuitry which may be shorted. The only way to do fix this is to disconnect the battery and reconnect it. Since I did not have the necessary tools, I had to do it the slow way..... wait till the power runs out. =p Three whole days I was without my trusty sidekick, had to depend on my buddy just to wake me up for work. Sheesh!

Subsequently I got it back up and running again. Then I very pandai (Malay - clever) and tried to open a copy of Microsoft Patterns & Practices: Architecture & Design Guide and then my Palm hung... again.

Well, for now my Palm is up and running however I'm not sure how long it might last. I'm hoping it will last me until end of this year at least, then I can look towards an alternative. I was thinking about the Zire72 which looks awesome especially the 'special' edition which comes in silver. ;-) Then my friend keep on pestering me and telling me all the virtues of a Windows Mobile device and I did not have a single point to rebutt! Anyhow I went to have a look (seriously, at first it was a look only =p) and I saw.........Dell Axim 50v, VGA resolution, 624MHz Intel Xscale... man was I hooked.

Well, got to go already, another on the Axim then. =D

Reversion of time

2005-06-25T17:53:00.000+08:00

I was driving back hometown this morning and somehow decided to be a good little boy scout and follow the law. (=p That is not to say I usually break it) So I was going along merrily and all these cars whizzed pass me at speeds higher than legal. I was sooooooo tempted to just go go go but then I reminded myself of a new wish to change for the better. (hehe... after 4 accidents in the 6 years I've been driving, it's darn about time for some improvement ;-) )

Anyhow, I had a good sleep, good week and things were going smoothly so what the heck, might as well learn to drive safe and legal on a good day. There I was going along at 110 km/h (max limit) when out of the blue, cars going the opposite direction started flashing their lights. That is a known signal for traffic police roadblock in front which in turn means somewhere they have their stooges hidden in some dark corner peeking out and taking nice photos of the wonderful cars speeding by.

So there I was thinking to myself, why do people break the law? Why do people want to speed? Wooohhh... slow down a bit boy, I told myself. I found it weird because these are the kind of questions I used to ask myself when I was younger and still in school. Back then, driving was a pleasure and my hometown has a slow going leisurely approach to life so I didn't understand why people want to speed and risk their necks. It wasn't until I graduated and came out to join the other rats that I begin to experience their kind of situation and appreciate their mentality and thinking. As I slowly turned into one, I begin to score more accidents. Hmm.... flashback alert man. That's a weird thing, reversion is.

How wonderful life would be if things can be done and yet maintain a leisure and enjoyable kind of lifestyle. Then it struck me, =p that's what I'm a part of now! By doing software to help automate work and processes, people will be able to do more in less time and will eventually have more time to enjoy life. Of course as with most things in life, this comes with it's own set of rules and conditions. For one, a person needs to be financially capable as well. Having more time due to automation of work does not make a person more financially capable.

In summary, nothing in life is free and we really really can't have our cake and eat it too.

Ciao world.

Regards,
A wandering soul.

Apparitions

2005-06-24T18:30:00.000+08:00

Ghosts from the past came back to haunt me. Was all fired up and focused on a new project coming up (as usual with deadline). This project is really exhilarating and I was all geared up to go go go. Then an apparation loomed in front of me.

Backup! Backup! Backup! The apparition yelled and showed it's ugly sour face. I immediately backed up and away out of it's direct range. Then the apparition said, "Where's your stuff? What happen to your thingy? Why it cannot work huh? I thought it was very very very very very very very very very very very very.... (at this point I kinda lost count how many 'very-s') ... clear from the beginning what is the structure like? Shoo... don't kacau me, go fix it and get it running."

Well, I also didn't realise how huge the void is separating it from the actual architecture. Like it or not, my mess, my job. So, I spent the day doing nothing but depressing everything I got to build the bridge to gap the void. Finally, I could breathe a sigh of relieve. The void has been bridged!!

Well then, back to the very very interesting and exhilarating new project now. (cross fingers, touch tons of wood.... maybe is good I start wearing clothes made from wood and surgically cross all the digits on my body)

Going back hometown this week, need to get away from it all. =p

Just Another Saturday

2005-06-11T13:13:00.000+08:00

The exact word to describe now is ... nothing. Weird, not happy, not sad, not tired, not energetic, not glad, not upset, not up, not down. =p Just another Saturday passing by on it's journey to next week.

Just came back a while ago, wanted to go pay my summons to the local council, but they are so blessed. Turns out today is another holiday for them since last week it was supposed to be a leave and it was a public holiday as well, so they get a replacement today. I wish my company would do that. =) Sigh... have to find a day next week to go pay, I most certainly do not like to be in debt. As it is, this month I'm broke again. Wonder how people save their money? It seems like I can't maintain my carefree (hehe... money wise) lifestyle and save at the same time and yet other's seem to be able to do it. They can spend and spend like there's no tomorrow and yet they have loads for tomorrow.

There must surely be some kinda trick to it. Hmm... they should go into show biz. I'm pretty sure will be much better than David Copperfield. Wana go watch Mr. & Mrs. Smith with my girlfriend but really bad luck, no more tickets. How leh? I think I better sleep at home (or rather... Diablo 2!!)

Attack of the Germs

2005-05-31T15:48:00.000+08:00

Today is real bad. Small boss got sick. His wife tell him don't go work he didn't listen. His buddy poke him he didn't respond. Got to work and didn't work. All colleagues sniggering at his lame body. =) I would have sniggered loudest if not for the fact I'm coming down with something. Shoo!! Go away and don't disturb me. Can't risk the time wasted on being sick.

Then big big boss order him to go home only he go. (Big boss not around, in taiwan leh. Supposed to come back but got delayed. Must be related to that thing about blowing up half the factory floor. =p)

Finally the silver lining in the cloud seems to shimmer a bit. The stuck project had a breakthrough and it's now the small stuff that needs to clean up. Can't do much as the client don't want us to kacau (Malay for interrupt, make a nuisance). All that remains is to test the newest fixes and that should solve it. Can't blame them though, if it was me, I'd much earlier on screw myself so hard only a tuft of my hair would be jutting out from the ground.

So today only work on the 'new' project or rather a new variation/branch/version of that buggy system. This was suppose to be a last resort thing if everything else fails. Thank goodness we got lucky. Am already late late late for this. Suppose to have it finished last Friday and now would be testing phase but due to unforseen circumstances (how many of us use that phrase =) ) it was delayed.

Bz .. or not .. bz .. or not ..

2005-05-30T15:23:00.000+08:00

The day started out not too bad, but then it got sorta crappy halfway. No reason, I had enough sleep this time, was in a positive mood and yet.. and yet.. mmm.

So what I do? Went poking into other people's life (or meta-life) and added somemore new links to friend's blogs. Sheesh, then it struck me, I have been saying I want to change and customize my own blog but haven't done anything yet up to now.

Time is really wheezing pass like some old locomotive on it's final round. Wheeze wheeze wheeze, and there it goes.

Have been learning how to guide two newer guys on a project we are all working on together but then, I got lost. =p Didn't know what I was suppose to do. Hehe... anyhow, subsequently I found my path again, 'the path to the light, forsake the dark side'. =D

Seems everyone's been getting a fantastically persistent syndrome of Star Wars-y. Definitely NOT good news for me. The final four books in the New Jedi Order will surely increase in price. =(

Grumpy people

2005-05-18T17:46:00.000+08:00

Aisay, today is so rushed, now my 'driver' is rushing me to shutdown PC for the day as he has to 'go' (toilet =p he don't like office toilet...). So, I will try continue from home ... if I can get my PC up.

Head Under Heels

2005-05-12T17:22:00.000+08:00

Not the usual kind, rather it's the straightforwardly direct kind. My head is all the way down to my heels. Have quite a lot on my mind, sometimes get lost when just started. Well, still learning learning learning, what more can I do?

The book 'Coder to Developer' is quite good. Helps by providing some relieve from the mundanity of life (=p if there is such a word). The other day, I went to this LB product preview thingy and it was quite good. The organization sure knows how to get people interested and they were pretty good at building up atmosphere. There were almost 3000 people attending (obviously there are some who are their own people, and not so obviously I have no idea what is the percentage of noobs) and it was very encouraging. However after proper discouragement from my buddy, I was able to climb back down from the 'high' feeling which was rather addictive. ;-) hey man, I meant that in a good way).

Well, having all this really helps in quite some way, of course, it goes without saying having great and encouraging colleagues also helps a long way towards alleviating stress and tension. (hehe, the singularly first person who commented here, make it soooooo very obvious who I'm referring too).

Back to work for me!! Tons more to do and nanotime left.

Manage manage manage

2005-05-09T13:14:00.000+08:00

"Manage", what is it? What does it mean? What does it represent?

I've been learning a whole new dimension to this world. Nothing otherworldly or anything of that sort ;-) Have been so very busy for .. err.. a month I think. *scratch scratch head* hehe, I do not know how long, just know that I've been very unaware. Three things to do, solve bug for customer, build new software for customer, mentor a new person. Sounds so simple eh, and so easy, buuuutttt I realised the impact of the number THREE. It is not as simple as it sounds. Like most things in life, there is fine print to it.

Mentoring someone is a big big planning job. No planning, no mentoring. Bad planning, bad mentoring. =( Was so bogged down and occupied with being unhappy and irritable and stressed out by item number one, I totally left item number two and item number three alone. Ultimately, that most certainly is a bad bad thing. Especially item number three. When you are new to a place and you are supposed to be mentored by a specific person, and your supposed 'mentor' just can't keep up with him/herself even, you really feel so cut off, adrift in the raging storm. Anyhow, finally the boss decided to pass guidance to my senior. Good move, though I feel really bad, underperforming like that.

Item number two have been almost a month delayed by now. The piece of software was supposed to have passed acceptance test a few days ago, but as of now, is still very much under development. You know how some websites have this icon that shows it's under construction? Well, my current progress is more akin to the icon which shows the icon which shows the website is under construction is itself under construction =p

My motivation and energy level have been so very low for such a long long time, recently I rediscovered myself. That was a real relieve. Now, even though the THREE things are still there awaiting resolution, however I am looking at things differently, in a more positive light. This most certainly has affected my ability to do things. I feel more energetic and more able to work properly and for longer hours. I totally do not mind working more since I have been so inefficient.

My senior mentioned to me that from research, a typical programmer only have around 1/3 days of the month in which he/she is one hundred percent effective. I disagree greatly with that, of course did not say that out. =p If say out loud and then unable to prove it, that would be really bad, especially since there have been many times when I did say things out and unable to do it. You know, this technique of vocalizing our goals and objectives, doesn't really work. Trust me on that. ;-)

Got to go work now. Signing off,
The Newbie Developer.
(previously known as The Pro Programmer)

Change change change

2005-04-22T12:11:00.000+08:00

Well, first change ever. When I first started this, I thought of using it solely for the purpose of information sharing and dissemination (uhh... bombastic word, but not sure if my spelling is correct =p) but I realise that would make this blog too focused, and I'm too lazy to start another personal blog ;) so I think I shall use this place to crap as well.

Nothing much to crap about though. Even if work seems to be more, tension and stress is increasing but I somehow feel better, more at ease. It appears like I'm beginning to learn to accept things as they are and that the situation is here to stay so might as well get comfortable and excel at it. =)

Well, recently we got some fresh blood in the house, hehe.. a colleague suggested they start of by making coffee for us >:) so evil. Nah, I think we'll try to be the stern but nice kind of people. Suppose to mentor them and I hope I will be able to help them find their own self and grow but not too confident though. It's infinitely easier to share knowledge and help people who are already at ease with themselves, their goals and objectives in live and their self confidence. I myself haven't really found my identity yet and I know am responsible for guiding new people along their path. I darn sure am going to make sure I don't screw up other people's life. =|

Guess that's enough crap for now. Signing off, The Evil Saint ... or maybe The Saintly Devil, like I said, haven't found my identity yet =p

Dry dry week plus

2005-04-07T17:19:00.000+08:00

Wow, have just started the blog and already AWOL almost a month. Have been busy sharp-shooting bugz a-plenty, unfortunately failed miserably. Why are software so buggy? Sigh, but then again, if software can be developed without any bugs, I'll definitely be out of a job. ;-)

My previous project has been finished two weeks ago however the software still full of bugs and the client has been complaining incessantly - not that I blame him since I would have done the same thing being in his shoes. After such a long debugging period with no end in sight, my boss decided to take over the debugging once and for all. Definitely NOT a good impression seeing as how I was still on probation. =p

Subsequently, I've been working on a new project, but progress has been slow going. The past week and a half have been doing some tasks which are a part of the standard software development process. Just too bad I absolutely abhor them. Well, at least I use to, now I've upgraded to merely 'dislike' status. Soooo..... what's this task that's so un-liked? Well.... the bane of programmers worldwide, paper-work.

With this being the beginning stages of the new project, obviously the kind of paper-work I'm referring to is designing the process, class diagrams et cetera. I've never really been interested in all that stuff and always leave it last but now need to learn. I wonder, for software development, would the traditional waterfall process still work in todays world of flexibility and quick change?

I've been looking at various Agile methods over the last two years and am rather intrigued by Scrum, XP and so forth but haven't really had much chance to do much other than read up on the theory and success stories. How applicable would it be to my current job? How can I start using it to try it out without needing to involve the whole team and management? After reading up on these light-weight processes, I'm still a gazillion kilometres away from any form of practical understanding.

Oh well, back to my designing work now. As it is, I actually skipped that phase of the process and started my coding already thereby causing me to be late by three days as compare to the agreed upon Gantt chart.

Bye for now, a bien tot!

Disappearing act

2005-03-10T08:51:00.000+08:00

An interesting weekend looms ahead. Yesterday, a client called our sales guy who then called our boss's boss who then called our boss who called our project leader who called us. They were having some issues with some piece of software we sent them. Really weird stuff, the application was experiencing auto-close syndrome. What happens is you could be doing some very very normal action and the application just disappears without warning. No exception, no message, nada.

The application communicates with a serial device through COM port and uses some old VB6 components through Interop. The serial communication is using Win32 API through Interop as well. From observation and multiple testing, the occurence appears to be linked to it's serial device communication. Everytime I do something to the application which causes it to refresh the screen at high rates eg dragging a window on top of the main application window very very fast, the COM port appears to get flooded. After a short while, the application just disappears. It's not even in the process list. =( I've searched high and low, thorough and thorough and I
can't find any information on this. I wonder if my search phrases are inaccurate? Hmm...

I found some articles hinting at Interop not being so user friendly however there was no clear label on the packaging stating 'Use with care. Functionality NOT guaranteed'. Anyone out there has an extra helping hand or ten to lend?

Time to work on this, so ciao.

Coder != Developer

2005-03-09T09:52:00.000+08:00

What is developing software? I use to think that developing software means churning out chunks of code that works. Those were the days when I use to code using Notepad. ;-)
The other day I was at a bookshop browsing and I found this book titled 'Coder to Developer'. I browsed through it and it sounded pretty useful especially for someone like me doing a spot of soul searching, trying to find my path in the wild wild west of computers and such.
However, it's been almost two weeks since I bought it and I still haven't started on it. =p Was too busy doing some de-lousing of a piece of software followed by some in-house training at my company. The training was more like knowledge sharing among my colleagues unfortunately the titled assigned to me was something I thought I knew and understood, but turned out during the presentation there was much much more I didn't know.
The interesting title is 'Event-driven Programming'. I thought, "Event-driven programming, hmm.. piece of cake. You throw events from A and then you catch and react to the event in B". The very first thing I found out was event programming in VB.NET does not appear to be multithreaded. Interesting interesting interesting. Too bad I got chewed up by everyone =(. Still it was a good lesson for me - Never to go into a presentation without sufficient research. ;-)
Training commences again now. More rantings later. =D

The Beginning

2005-03-08T19:22:00.000+08:00

First there was light. Then came sound. A buzzing sound of sorts. After that, the light grew brighter and brighter. Then came somemore sounds. Finally, the computer was turned on.

The end.