Merdeka Day 2012, Dataran Pahlawan, Melaka

It's the Malaysian Independence Day (or Merdeka Day, as we say over here). It's on this day, 31 August, 55 years ago in 1957, that Malaya (later to be known as Malaysia in 16 Sept 1963) gained its independence  from the British Empire. For this we have the delegation lead by Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Dato Sir Tan Cheng Lock AND Tun V.T. Sambanthan to thank!

As usual, the Merdeka Day parade starts at Dataran Pahlawan, Melaka Raya. The path that the parade follows leads it through to the Stadhuys (red buildings from the time of the Dutch occupancy) through Jalan Bendahara, and all the way through Jalan Hang Tuah to end at Stadium Kubu (near the HSBC bank).

I was on the scene in the morning, parking my car behind Mahkota Parade in anticipation of a massive crowd and lots of cars. Surprisingly, there was a lot of empty space both on the road and in the streets all the way to Dataran Pahlawan. When I finally arrived at Dataran Pahlawan, I found the 128 contingents all assembled on the field. There was a significantly smaller crowd of both parade participants as well as onlookers this year, compared to what I saw a few years ago. In fact, there were more people lined up to watch the Wesak Day Parade. Hmm, perhaps everyone was on holiday this year, as it would be a slightly longer weekend....(?)

I had with me my trusty S5 Pro with the Nikon 18-200mm all-purpose walkaround lens, so I could focus on snapping photos. You know, these days, everyone's a photographer. Consumer DSLR models are quite affordable now, so you can see lots of people with DSLR's in hand. On the down side, it was a bit crowded where good photo opportunities were present, so it's hard to get a nice clean shot of the parade with everyone crowding the frame with their own camera. Luckily, the crowd was quite thin away from the main stage where The Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Haji Mohd Ali bin Mohd Rustam and the rest of the VIP's were seated, so I could still get some decent shots walking further towards the Equatorial Hotel.

One thing bad about the onlookers - they then to crowd the roads and this results in a really narrow path for the paraders. Where's good crowd control when you need it?

Technicalities aside, it was still a sizable turn out, with ~128 contingents marching if I heard correctly. There were the usual government bodies, like the Police and Fire Brigade, Schools and even private companies. All in their colorful uniforms. At the back of the parade there were some vehicles too, ranging from light armored vehicles, old vintage cars, bicycles and even bullock carts.

Fortunately, the weather was fine, and as there were only a few participants, the entire parade cleared the area by ~10.30am, so I managed to get back home in time for lunch.

Well, it's good to still see a show of patriotism these days, and I look forward to a better show for Independence Day next year. In the mean time, some snapshots of the event:-

Significantly less participants this year - lots of empty space on top of Dataran Pahlawan

The Chief Minister and the rest of the VIP's on the main stage

Sajak recital (basically, speaking with "style")

Young and old, from all walks of life, turned out to watch the parade, a testament to the multi-racial society of Malaysia

Tablets have their usefulness - note, they are not made by Apple, by the way.... :)

A dance show comprising children in various traditional attire

Malaysian Navy - always looking sharp in white

The army marches by, hope they're not loaded (the guns, I mean)

Majlis Perbandaran Alor Gajah - the most striking costume, IMHO!

Private companies joined too, like Infineon Technologies (didn't see Vishay Semiconductor this year, though)

Joining the parade were the lightly armored vehicles (still heavy though)

Honda Hybrid vehicles in the fleet as well - in line with the Green Initiative

Old is gold, and so these guys join in the parade as well

Lack of rear seats is no obstacle for them - I wonder what JPJ will say about seatbelts, though....

Senior citizens join in with their classic car (from the same era?)

The crowd was really thin, note the gaps across the road....

Hmm, not the best choice of uniforms for this parade (remember, Japan conquered Malaya during WWII) - but still funny to see! :)

For those city dwellers who have never seen bulls before - luckily there was no B.S. as the parade passed slowly by! :)

Last but not least, hope they don't run into any obstacles left by the bullock carts that just went by

The unseen heroes of the day, cleaning up after the crowd (doing a fine job - see how clean the field is?)

Out of sequence, should have taken this shot first and not last - my fault....

Microsoft Project 2010 Training at Pusat Latihan Komputer Cempaka

Microsoft Project is a software tool for Project Management, which serves to aid in planning and tracking the execution of projects. Like many enterprise software from Microsoft, once actually has to figure out how to use it before it becomes a helpful tool and not a dreaded torture device from management.... :)

I've used Microsoft project before, and the latest edition, Microsoft Project 2010, appears to have a couple of new features along with the new interface. Just like the rest of the Office Suite, maybe new people would be less confused by the change of interface, as they would be seeing it for the first time, compared to those who are used to locating buttons and menu items in the previous versions.

It was a 2 day training which was held at the office of Cempaka Technology Sdn Bhd at Plaza Melaka. The office was located on the 1st floor on Jalan PM4. Only the orange signboard gave a clue to its existence, so you'll have to keep a close eye out for it if you've never been there before. Even the entrance is quite obscure, seen here partially hidden behind the column (due to my camera angle). It's directly opposite the Nadeje Patisserie Cafe, which is famous for their multi-layered crepe cakes.

Training was conducted by Mr Liang, who was very knowledgeable on the subject matter and was able to conduct the training effectively and clearly. There were just 4 of us, so I would say that the low Student-to-Teacher ratio helped too.

Now, ordinarily, situated in Melaka Raya, traffic to and fro is normally quite heavy, especially in those peak hours. As luck would have it, these two days, school was closed as declared by the Government, in conjunction with Hari Raya this Sunday and Monday. So, the roads were relatively car-free, enabling me to traverse the distance from here to home and back in less than 1/2 hour.

Parking here requires the use of parking coupons, to avoid a fine. However, since we're going to be there for 2 full days, the wiser option is to park at the nearby open air Metro Parking, which currently charges RM2 per entry. Pay upon entering, just present parking ticket upon leaving.

I link a map here which I got from Cempaka's website (http://www.cemtech.biz), to illustrate the location of the training center, Parking and Mahkota Parade:

Some light refreshments and cakes were provided in the morning and also afternoon breaks, as well as a nice drink counter where you can prepare your own hot drink (Nescafe 3-in-1 and Milo pre-mix, as well as tea).

For lunch, we walked to some nearby establishments to save time. First day, I can't quite recall the name of the place, but on day 2, we ate at Wok and Pan.

Well, at the end of day 2, we received our training certificates and completed the session shortly before "office hours". And so, now, armed with newly acquired knowledge, the next step will be to apply it to our work (which is expected, since the company will not generally send people on training just for fun).

It's quite common to see people eager to use new skills, to the point that they sometimes use it even when there are more suitable skills to apply. Or in this case, there might be a simple project that can more efficiently be managed the "Nike" way (Just Do It)! :)

Well, I'm sure in the months to come, the true test of the effectiveness of this training will be seen hopefully in the improvement in our work performance. If there's anyone out there who's had some experience with this or previous versions of Microsoft Project, or if you have a suggestion on any alternative tools, do share your thoughts and comments.

Buka Puasa at Bayview Hotel, Melaka

It's the month of Ramadhan once again, when our Muslim brothers and sisters observe fasting for the duration of this holy month. And so throughout the entire month, there are many restaurants and eateries with special offers for dinner to break fast with family / friends.

As Hari Raya was just around the corner, everyone was busy, but still we managed to find some time to go out together for this auspicious time of the year. This year, we chose to meet at the Bayview Hotel in Melaka town. As it turned out, there was a 10% discount offer (which some of our Facebook-savvy friends quickly discovered). Actually, we only decided on the venue less than 1 day beforehand - that's a sample of our just-in-time modus operandi for you....! :)

I arrived on the scene at ~7.00pm, as the actual time for breaking fast today was 7.22pm. Not so good to arrive late and leave everyone waiting, especially those who have been fasting. Just as I arrived, and was just about to step into the elevator, there was a sudden power trip. The hallways went dark, lit only by the emergency lighting. Hotel staff wasted no time to restore power, which came up again shortly. Lucky I was not inside the elevator when that happened, though it was not clear to me if anyone was indeed trapped inside during this brief episode.

I met up with our group at the restaurant on the 4th floor, where they were already prepared to break fast. It was good to sit down with Azuddin (and wife), Yan, Masitah, Desmond, Lay Peng, Asri and Chiang (a testament to our multi-racial culture in Malaysia). Unfortunately, Nurbayah could not make it, so we'll have to catch her some other day. I'll not comment much on the food, as for me, the most important aspect was to have to opportunity to sit down together with friends in a comfortable environment, free from the nerve-wrecking issues of daily office work.

Interesting enough, there was a brief power trip again while we were dining - I'm not sure if this was localized to the hotel, or if the surrounding buildings were similarly affected.

We ate and talked, and generally had a good time, and it was only in the end that we realized that we were the only ones left in the restaurant (all the other tables were empty - everyone else had left).

Well, another successful happy outing - let's all wait and see where's we have our next group gathering.

Online Photo Editing with PicMonkey

A long, long time ago, PC's (that Personal Computer, for the young and uninitiated) were essentially stand-alone islands. Software and data were stored either on the PC itself, or on removable media (the most famous at that time being the "floppy disk"). Thus began the hard disk race to bring the largest available amount of storage space to the end user, without costing the equivalent of a car.

With the advent of the networking and its logical evolution the World Wide Web (Internet), PC's were no longer individual terminals, but all part of a Cloud (sort of like the Borg from the Star Trek series, minus the cyborg implants and urge for assimilation). At first, only data (files, images, songs) were stored online, but as of late, we're looking at the emergence of browser-based software.

As the name implies, browser-based software runs on your web browser, either using Java / Flash / Ajax or some other platform (at the rate of software development these days, names I just mentioned would probably be obsolete very, very soon, so don't shoot me for being "old fashion" if you're reading this sometime in the near future).

Compared to traditional software where you had to install on your PC before you can use it, these run straight off from within the browser (which is really convenient especially on enterprise PC's or public PC's where you don't have administrator privileges). As no installation is required, you can make do with minimal hard disk space, or even in tablets and smartphones that don't follow the traditional "install on hard disk and run" model. Portable software, which you can find on really neat sites such as www.portableapps.com, share this advantage, but do require some footprint on your hard disk or USB drive for installation.

There are a few downsides, first obviously being the fact that you'll need a connection to the Internet. This is fine when you're at home or where they have free WIFI, but not so nice or cheap if you're using your telco carrier's data plan (if at all any). Also, some of these require you to sign up and register so you can log-in, which may be a hassle. Lastly, there's the bit about online privacy and security, but in general, even using trusted services, it's pretty much the same as with Facebook or Gmail.

Phew, that's a really long introduction to this post, which I'd like to introduce the online photo editor - PicMonkey. (!)

Funny name and funny splash page aside, PicMonkey is a user-friendly alternative to traditional photo editors. For power users, it doesn't support layers or transparency, but it's more than adequate for the typical flow of crop, filter / enhance, resize, sharpen.

PicMonkey's no Photoshop (the Mercedes Benz of photo editors), nor GIMP (free open source equivalent), nor does it attempt to come anywhere close. Rather, it's a handy tool that will allow bloggers on the road to quickly touch up photos taken on their mobile gadgets (most famous being the i- or Galaxy-).

Briefly, once you've selected your image to edit, there's quite a few options on the menu bar on the left hand side. There's the one-click "Auto Adjust" button for those who feel lazy (or feel lucky). Beneath are the main menu selections for Basic Edits, Effects, Touch Up, Text, Overlays, Frames, and Textures. I won't go into the details, but do note that each of these menus open up into several sub-options, some of which can be quite extensive. For example (see above), under Basic Edits alone, you have the option for Crop, Rotate, Exposure, Colors, Sharpen and Resize.

Those who are crazy about filters will be pleased to hear that under Effects are a huge number of filters available, and practically all of them can be further fine-tuned. Well, I'll leave it at that, as I don't intend to get tangled up in a discussion of "creative and artistic" vs "purists" when it comes to photo editing preference.

Briefly, I've found PicMonkey to be simple and straightforward to use, plus the web address (www.picmonkey.com) is easy to remember.... :)

Some additions / improvements that I hope to see:-

• Ability to load image from URL or screen capture. Currently I have to either save to desktop or Print-Screen and save with Irfanview first).
• Resize algorithm could be improved. Currently looks bad after shrinking.
• Ability to select folders when saving images.
• Ability to publish photos to Twitter / Facebook, etc.. Personally, I don't use this, but I'm sure the are many people out there who would love to have this feature.

Well, that's all I have for now. PicMonkey is a nice complement that allows me to update my blog while on the road without having to return home for photo-editing. Of course, it's not the only online photo editing software out there, but for me, my advice is to pick one and stick with it once you're happy. Anyone out there care to share their experience with PicMonkey or any other online photo editor?

Multiply.com - a blog no longer

Multiply started out as a promising social network. It had all the necessary ingredients one could ask for - great privacy controls, a proper blog platform and great photo gallery. Everything, except a large and active community of users....

The social network that could have been the Facebook of today, has announced on their site that as of 1st December 2012, Multiply would be discontinuing essentially all of its social networking functions in order to focus on its current business model as an e-commerce platform.

Below is the message from Stefan Magdalinski, the current CEO, taken from the http://multiply.com/info/we-are-sorry :

Hello. Stefan here, writing you from Multiply HQ in Jakarta, Indonesia.

As most of you are probably aware, Multiply's mission has evolved over the past year and a half to become the biggest and most beloved ecommerce marketplace in two very exciting markets, Indonesia and the Philippines. As our focus has shifted, we have reviewed all of our operations, and made some decisions that will affect everyone here.

• From December 1st, we will unfortunately no longer be able to support Multiply in its current form - notably we will be removing the social networking and content sharing part of Multiply (photos, videos, blogs, social messaging, etc.). We have decided to discontinue providing and hosting these services, as we have concluded that other Internet sites who are committed to social networking services will do a better job serving you than we can.
• For our existing users of social networking features, we will be providing easy ways for you to either download your stuff (photos, blogs, content, etc), or migrate it to other online services. We'll announce the precise details shortly. It will be your choice whether to download, migrate or just let your content lapse (and get deleted).
• For our existing ecommerce users (both buyers and sellers) in Indonesia and the Philippines, there will be no action required.
• Regarding any existing Multiply Premium subscriptions we will refund any unused balance, and apologize for any inconvenience this will cause. Please contact customer service to request a refund. Note that this is for Multiply Premium, not the ecommerce related Multiply Trust product.

I am aware of how disruptive this news may be, and understand the disappointment that it may cause. Ultimately this was a business decision, critical to our to success moving forward. Instead, we are excited to pursue our own mission to give the 350 million consumers in Indonesia and the Philippines a great way to buy and sell items online. Our singular focus now is for Multiply to retain its status as a vibrant e-commerce destination in Southeast Asia in the years ahead.

I suspect that many of you will not like this news, and am sorry to have to deliver it now. I hope that you will be able to understand the reasons for our decision and thank you for being a part of the Multiply community over the past eight years.

Stef

Well, honestly, I was already uncomfortable when Multiply added the e-commerce to their service, as from then on they practically stopped any development on their social networking features. Was wondering - hey, I'm blogging on a web store....

Multiply was my chosen platform for my first blog, mcwk.multiply.com, so I am quite sad to hear of this news. At the same time, a social network is nothing without users, so perhaps these days where users gravitate towards Facebook and Google+, Multiply has no choice but to exit the scene.

Well, hope that Blogger will live on, so that MCWK on Blogspot.com will continue to exist in cyberspace.... :)