Here in Malaysia, according to the Employment Act 1955, Part 12, Section 60D(1), every employee is entitled to 10 public holidays, 4 of which must be (Agong's Birthday, Merdeka Day, Sultans Birthday & Labour day) the other 6 is at the discretion of the employer.
However, in the case of ungazetted holidays, it gets rather ambiguous.
This has happened before on 21 Oct 2010, applicable for Melaka only, when the Chief Minister declared only the day before a public holiday in conjunction with Melaka Maju Jaya, or Melaka as a developed state. See http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/10/21/nation/7269662&sec=nation
Oops - it happened again. This time, on a nationw-wide scale. The Prime Minister just declared 31 Dec 2010 as yet another public holiday, after Malaysia won the AFF-Suzuki Cup (for soccer). See http://football.thestar.com.my/story.asp?file=/2010/12/29/football_latest/20101229142556&sec=football_latest
The difficulty of accommodating such declarations made on with less than 24 hours notification is that to run a factory, whether or not to work or not to work, requires planning to be made well in advance.
If Production were to run, arrangements have to be made for operator transport, shift allowances and coverage, canteen support, and so on. On the other hand, if Production were NOT to run, the sudden loss in output against the plan committed earlier to the customers has to be accounted for, resulting in missed line items or on-schedule delivery.
Sigh, any experts on Industrial Relations or relevant legislation out there with some sound advice?
UPDATE [8.31AM GMT+8] : Yup, confirmed. See http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/12/30/nation/7704602&sec=nation
UPDATE [10.27PM GMT +8] : Hmm, as highlighted by fellow Blogger, Saint (who's blogs at http://saintsthesaint.blogspot.com/), another piece of legislation to take into consideration, the Holidays Act 1952 (section 8), states:-
Minister may appoint special days to be observed as bank or public holidays
8. The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette or in such other manner as he thinks fit, appoint, in respect of Peninsular Malaysia, or the Federal Territory or, after consultation with the State Authority, in respect of a State, a day to be observed as a public holiday or a bank holiday in addition to, or in substitution for, any of the days mentioned in the Schedules and thereupon this Act shall, in Peninsular Malaysia, or in the Federal Territory, or in the State in respect of which a day is appointed to be observed as a holiday as aforesaid, be applicable to such day in the same manner as if the said day had been mentioned in the First Schedule or the Second Schedule, as the case may be.
Update [12.34am, 13 Jan 2011] : Just to cite some real case examples:-
1. My niece was to attend her primary school "orientation" on that fateful Friday. Now, the ones who were really troubled were the school teachers, who had to answer numerous phone calls from parents who wanted to know if the event was still on or not.
2. My brother-in-law had an urgent shipment to send out, which was only ready for shipment on Friday, due in Hong Kong on Tuesday the following week. Unfortunately, the courier services were off on Friday (AFF day?), Saturday (New Year's Day), Sunday (self-explanatory). Therefore, the shipment could only go out on Monday. Had it been made known earlier that Friday was to be a holiday, he could have committed a later ETA date to the recipient in Hong Kong.
3. Somebody was on holiday and drove all the way to Penang on Thursday. Friday Holiday, shops were closed. Saturday Holiday, shops were closed. So, came back to Melaka empty-handed. (Guess who is this?).
Luckily none of us made any medical appointments on Friday, but for those who did, I guess that they had to reschedule their appointments (if you have tried to make one at a Government Hospital before, you will know sometimes we have to wait nearly a month for our turn, since there are so many people already booked to see the doctor).
The rational thing to do is to declare a public holiday perhaps in the following week. That way, people would have time to amend their schedules and plans accordingly.
My 2 cents' on 3D TV and Movies
The latest hype in the world of consumer entertainment is 3D. No, it's not that one where you buy a 3 digit lottery ticket. Rather, it's moving movies and still pictures in 3 glorious dimensions. A new dimension stepped up from the current "flat" movie screens and television sets.
Now, a bit of an introduction to "3D" technology. We perceive the world as we know it in 3D (height, width and depth) due to the fact that we have two eyes, with each eye seeing the same scene from a slightly different perspective. The average human has eyes which are around 60 to 70 mm apart. This slight distance is all it takes for the perception of depth as interpreted by our brain.
So, essentially, if you can deliver two images of the same scene with the right visual cues, the illusion of depth will be complete. The first step is to record a movie or still image from two separate locations. Obviously, the best separation distance would be around 60 to 70 mm (still remember where this distance comes from?), to mimic closely a scene as seen from a typical human observer. Now, if you were taking a still photo, you could move the camera ever so slightly to the left or right and snap again (provided nothing moves) and then you'd have the two photos for the 3D illusion. Obviously, this doesn't work for movies or when the scene is changing. To work around this, consumer electronics are just beginning to introduce dual lens cameras like the Fujifilm W3 (actually, the W1 was introduced a year ago in the middle of 2009). For the movie industry, likewise, dual lens cameras like the Ikonoskop are making their debut.
Once you have your 3D footage or pair of images, the next step would be to deliver the right image half to the correct eye (only one, not both). For this to happen, there are a couple of ways to do it:-
1. Anaglyphic 3D - these are those glasses with red on one side and cyan on the other. Without the glasses on, you'd see a double image, made up of different colors (you guessed it, one red and one cyan). With the glasses on, the red lens will filter out the red image so that that eye only sees the cyan image, and on the other side the same happens, only this time with cyan. So, putting these two together, you'll end up seeing a slightly different image with each eye, enough to fool the brain into seeing depth. Of course, while you "see" the depth, color would be somewhat off, so it's not so great for that complete wholesome experience.
2. Polarization 3D - again, some fancy glasses. This time each side is a polarization filter which only lets light waves which are of the same polarity through. You'll need a special projection screen for this to work, and once again, without the glasses you'd see a double image. At least the color would be right this time. Currently, this is the standard implementation of 3D movies, at least in the cinema that I went to recently (I'll tell you more about that experience in awhile).
3. Alternating frame sequencing 3D. The first two technologies employ the use of passive lens, they at best resemble some stylish Rayban-like shades (or at worst, can be made with some cheap cardboard frame). Alternating frame sequencing makes use of active LCD lens that take turns blacking out so that at any one moment, only one eye actually sees the screen. This has to be synchronized with the alternating image on the screen so that the correct eye sees the correct image, the images change at the correct speed and time (you don't want to see images change with the same eye) and at a high enough frequency so that the flickering becomes unnoticeable. For TV systems, PAL is at roughly 24 frames per second while NTSC is at around 29, so alternating between two eyes that require a refresh rate of at least 48 frames per second to be on par with what the NTSC system can deliver. Since this requires some power and active electronics in constant communication with the screen or display (using IR Receiver technology, so I hear....), active 3D goggles are rather bulky and much more expensive then their passive counterparts. Until the day technology has shrunk them down to the size of the visors worn by Geordi La Forge (Chief Engineer onboard the USS Enterprise - if you watch Star Trek: The Next Generation, you'd know what I'm talking about), they would be not so practical to keep on for long stretches (imaging having them on throughout the entire movie, something long like Titanic or Meet Joe Black).
4. Autostereoscopy or glass-less 3D. I'm sure you've seen those hologram stickers or toys where changing the viewing angle will cause one of two images to be displayed. The great thing is that you don't need any special glasses, but with current implementations, your head has to be EXACTLY where it should be to see the desired effect....
Prior to the "all new 3D movie experience", I've actually encountered some 3D consumer entertainment technology in the past:-
1. Omnimax theater at the Singapore Science Center - not actually 3D. However, a high definition movie projected on to the insides of a sphere (with you inside). The dome is so huge that looking up, you don't see the edges. I find the first-person view of flying in a helicopter particularly hair-raising!
2. Viewmaster - come on, I'm sure you remember this "toy", if not you must be really young. Stereo vision of stills are good enough to mimic 3D. I had this when I was a little boy, but no longer with me now, but I'm surprised to see they are still making and selling them! :)
3. T2 3-D: Battle Across Time at the Universal Studios, California. Was there a decade ago. This one's unique, as it combined live action actors and also 3D projections. I believe we were wearing polarized glasses - I was not really paying attention to the technology way back then.
So then, this brings me to my "first" 3D movie experience - The Chronicles of Narnia : The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Ha, ha. It only after the movie that I found out it was Dawn Treader and not Dawn Trader - wondered why they kept pronouncing "Trader" so awkwardly.... This was at the GSC Dataran Pahlawan, which was equipped to show 3D movies. Ticket prices were high, RM17 per adult (a normal 2D movie ticket would cost between RM7 to RM10, depending on the day). Brought my family there. We were given a pair of polarized glasses each, only one size regardless of child or adult. The movie started and wow, for the first 30 seconds or so, the "pop-out" effect of the opening title screen was just amazing.
For the rest of the show, I was constantly adjusting the glasses. Now, like most people these days, I wore glasses to correct short-sightedness. Now, on top of my prescription glasses I had to put on the polarized glasses, which appear to rely on ones nose to hold them up in position. Since my nose was already being used by my vision-correcting glasses, I had to really press the 3D glasses up against my face and frequently push them up when they slide down. Sigh - maybe wearing contact lenses would mitigate this small problem....
Well, after watching the movie, I summarize that the technology seems still in it's infancy. Whether the shooting technique, quality of equipment, or perhaps even where I was sitting in the theater, I feel that 3D movies, at least this one, is nothing to lose sleep and go crazy over. Sure, there are scenes where you really see the 3D in effect, but this, like all other Hollywood Wizardry, should not detract from the actual substance or story. After all, eye-candy with no real content is a sure magnet for rotten tomatoes.
So, do I plan to patronize a 3D cinema again? Honestly, NO. Until the technology has evolved to make it a distinct and truly distinct experience, I don't see it just to pay more just to watch the same movie in "3D". Note, I am not against new technology - just that I'd rather indulge in mature, functional technology, rather than become a bleeding-edge beta tester (especially if something doesn't quite work as intended).
UPDATE [8.32AM, 7 Jan 2011, GMT+8] : Hmm, apparently, things haven't been living up to the expectations of the 3D TV manufacturers. Samsung Electronics Co. estimates 1 million 3-D sets were sold in the U.S in 2010, far short of its initial estimate of 3 million to 4 million - this was attributed to expensive and bulky 3D goggles. So, the strategy for 2011 will be to push for lighter / cheaper passive glasses and at the same time research on possible goggle-less technology. Source : http://ca.news.yahoo.com/tv-makers-address-slow-sales-3d-tv-sets-20110105-102253-781.html
UPDATE [11.37PM, 12 Jan 2011, GMT+8] : Vishay Intertechnology, a manufacturer of IR Receiver modules, among other things, has added a "Webinar" onto it's website at http://www.vishay.com/landingpage/videos/opto_webinar_3d.html which describes in detail how IR Receivers are used in active 3D goggles (see Alternative Frame Sequencing 3D above).
UPDATE [12 Mar 2011] : The war between protagonists of active shutter glasses versus passive ones heats up as Samsung, Panasonic and Sony square off against LG, Vizio, Sony and Philips. http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/11/lg-woos-sony-while-it-battles-with-samsung-over-which-3d-is-best/
Now, a bit of an introduction to "3D" technology. We perceive the world as we know it in 3D (height, width and depth) due to the fact that we have two eyes, with each eye seeing the same scene from a slightly different perspective. The average human has eyes which are around 60 to 70 mm apart. This slight distance is all it takes for the perception of depth as interpreted by our brain.
So, essentially, if you can deliver two images of the same scene with the right visual cues, the illusion of depth will be complete. The first step is to record a movie or still image from two separate locations. Obviously, the best separation distance would be around 60 to 70 mm (still remember where this distance comes from?), to mimic closely a scene as seen from a typical human observer. Now, if you were taking a still photo, you could move the camera ever so slightly to the left or right and snap again (provided nothing moves) and then you'd have the two photos for the 3D illusion. Obviously, this doesn't work for movies or when the scene is changing. To work around this, consumer electronics are just beginning to introduce dual lens cameras like the Fujifilm W3 (actually, the W1 was introduced a year ago in the middle of 2009). For the movie industry, likewise, dual lens cameras like the Ikonoskop are making their debut.
Once you have your 3D footage or pair of images, the next step would be to deliver the right image half to the correct eye (only one, not both). For this to happen, there are a couple of ways to do it:-
1. Anaglyphic 3D - these are those glasses with red on one side and cyan on the other. Without the glasses on, you'd see a double image, made up of different colors (you guessed it, one red and one cyan). With the glasses on, the red lens will filter out the red image so that that eye only sees the cyan image, and on the other side the same happens, only this time with cyan. So, putting these two together, you'll end up seeing a slightly different image with each eye, enough to fool the brain into seeing depth. Of course, while you "see" the depth, color would be somewhat off, so it's not so great for that complete wholesome experience.
2. Polarization 3D - again, some fancy glasses. This time each side is a polarization filter which only lets light waves which are of the same polarity through. You'll need a special projection screen for this to work, and once again, without the glasses you'd see a double image. At least the color would be right this time. Currently, this is the standard implementation of 3D movies, at least in the cinema that I went to recently (I'll tell you more about that experience in awhile).
3. Alternating frame sequencing 3D. The first two technologies employ the use of passive lens, they at best resemble some stylish Rayban-like shades (or at worst, can be made with some cheap cardboard frame). Alternating frame sequencing makes use of active LCD lens that take turns blacking out so that at any one moment, only one eye actually sees the screen. This has to be synchronized with the alternating image on the screen so that the correct eye sees the correct image, the images change at the correct speed and time (you don't want to see images change with the same eye) and at a high enough frequency so that the flickering becomes unnoticeable. For TV systems, PAL is at roughly 24 frames per second while NTSC is at around 29, so alternating between two eyes that require a refresh rate of at least 48 frames per second to be on par with what the NTSC system can deliver. Since this requires some power and active electronics in constant communication with the screen or display (using IR Receiver technology, so I hear....), active 3D goggles are rather bulky and much more expensive then their passive counterparts. Until the day technology has shrunk them down to the size of the visors worn by Geordi La Forge (Chief Engineer onboard the USS Enterprise - if you watch Star Trek: The Next Generation, you'd know what I'm talking about), they would be not so practical to keep on for long stretches (imaging having them on throughout the entire movie, something long like Titanic or Meet Joe Black).
4. Autostereoscopy or glass-less 3D. I'm sure you've seen those hologram stickers or toys where changing the viewing angle will cause one of two images to be displayed. The great thing is that you don't need any special glasses, but with current implementations, your head has to be EXACTLY where it should be to see the desired effect....
Prior to the "all new 3D movie experience", I've actually encountered some 3D consumer entertainment technology in the past:-
1. Omnimax theater at the Singapore Science Center - not actually 3D. However, a high definition movie projected on to the insides of a sphere (with you inside). The dome is so huge that looking up, you don't see the edges. I find the first-person view of flying in a helicopter particularly hair-raising!
2. Viewmaster - come on, I'm sure you remember this "toy", if not you must be really young. Stereo vision of stills are good enough to mimic 3D. I had this when I was a little boy, but no longer with me now, but I'm surprised to see they are still making and selling them! :)
3. T2 3-D: Battle Across Time at the Universal Studios, California. Was there a decade ago. This one's unique, as it combined live action actors and also 3D projections. I believe we were wearing polarized glasses - I was not really paying attention to the technology way back then.
So then, this brings me to my "first" 3D movie experience - The Chronicles of Narnia : The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Ha, ha. It only after the movie that I found out it was Dawn Treader and not Dawn Trader - wondered why they kept pronouncing "Trader" so awkwardly.... This was at the GSC Dataran Pahlawan, which was equipped to show 3D movies. Ticket prices were high, RM17 per adult (a normal 2D movie ticket would cost between RM7 to RM10, depending on the day). Brought my family there. We were given a pair of polarized glasses each, only one size regardless of child or adult. The movie started and wow, for the first 30 seconds or so, the "pop-out" effect of the opening title screen was just amazing.
For the rest of the show, I was constantly adjusting the glasses. Now, like most people these days, I wore glasses to correct short-sightedness. Now, on top of my prescription glasses I had to put on the polarized glasses, which appear to rely on ones nose to hold them up in position. Since my nose was already being used by my vision-correcting glasses, I had to really press the 3D glasses up against my face and frequently push them up when they slide down. Sigh - maybe wearing contact lenses would mitigate this small problem....
Well, after watching the movie, I summarize that the technology seems still in it's infancy. Whether the shooting technique, quality of equipment, or perhaps even where I was sitting in the theater, I feel that 3D movies, at least this one, is nothing to lose sleep and go crazy over. Sure, there are scenes where you really see the 3D in effect, but this, like all other Hollywood Wizardry, should not detract from the actual substance or story. After all, eye-candy with no real content is a sure magnet for rotten tomatoes.
So, do I plan to patronize a 3D cinema again? Honestly, NO. Until the technology has evolved to make it a distinct and truly distinct experience, I don't see it just to pay more just to watch the same movie in "3D". Note, I am not against new technology - just that I'd rather indulge in mature, functional technology, rather than become a bleeding-edge beta tester (especially if something doesn't quite work as intended).
UPDATE [8.32AM, 7 Jan 2011, GMT+8] : Hmm, apparently, things haven't been living up to the expectations of the 3D TV manufacturers. Samsung Electronics Co. estimates 1 million 3-D sets were sold in the U.S in 2010, far short of its initial estimate of 3 million to 4 million - this was attributed to expensive and bulky 3D goggles. So, the strategy for 2011 will be to push for lighter / cheaper passive glasses and at the same time research on possible goggle-less technology. Source : http://ca.news.yahoo.com/tv-makers-address-slow-sales-3d-tv-sets-20110105-102253-781.html
UPDATE [11.37PM, 12 Jan 2011, GMT+8] : Vishay Intertechnology, a manufacturer of IR Receiver modules, among other things, has added a "Webinar" onto it's website at http://www.vishay.com/landingpage/videos/opto_webinar_3d.html which describes in detail how IR Receivers are used in active 3D goggles (see Alternative Frame Sequencing 3D above).
UPDATE [12 Mar 2011] : The war between protagonists of active shutter glasses versus passive ones heats up as Samsung, Panasonic and Sony square off against LG, Vizio, Sony and Philips. http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/11/lg-woos-sony-while-it-battles-with-samsung-over-which-3d-is-best/
To Tweet or To Blog - that is the Question
Can Tweeting / micro-blogging truly be the next "In" thing that is set (perhaps it already has) relegated blogging to the "Has Been" category along with the Sony Walkman and the Floppy Disk?
For the uninitiated, the word "Blog" is the result of putting the words "Web" (as in World Wide Web a.k.a. Internet) and "Log" (as in journal. Think "Captain's Log" from Star Trek). Of course, when you do that, you end up with "Weblog" which over time, gets shortened to "Blog".
Other shortened words include:-
1. "Telephone" to "Phone" - 44% reduction
2. "Refrigerator" to "Fridge" - 50% reduction
3. "Influenza" to "Flu" - 67% reduction
4. "Gymnasium" to "Gym" - 67% reduction
5. "Advertisement" to "Ad" - 85% reduction
Hmm, I wonder if one day, Twitter will get shortened to Twit (or Tweet as the current verb for Twitter)...? :)
While blog is a common verb, tweet, on the other hand, is the act of making a post on Twitter, just one of a few micro-blogging services. Sites like Facebook calls them "Status Updates". For the sake of simplicity, I'll use the term tweet in general for the rest of this article.
A blog post is limited only by the writing ability of the author, and the particular system architecture of the CMS (Content Management Software) or Blog Host used. Just like websites, blogs require a host system and supporting software, which can be paid for or part of a free service offered by the likes of Multiply or Blogger / Blogspot. Of course, free blogs have their own particular restrictions, like space limits (especially for hosting attached photos) and ads everywhere. Regardless of the form, the emphasis of any blog post should be the content. Typically, there are several genres of blogs, from personal blogs that serve as online diaries, to corporate blogs which dish out news especially regarding new products and services.
Writing a blog does require some planning and structuring, just like writing an article for journal / newspaper. While not as formal as, say, an Engineering Report, a blog entry should be well written and properly checked before publishing (unless you have a niche reader base with special tastes). Shoddy writing, typo errors and spelling mistakes are best avoided if the author is to give a good impression to a potential reader base. Of course, one problem here is if a blog post gets too long, so if a post starts to resemble the Lord of the Rings saga, consider splitting it into several parts instead of posting a online novel.
Blogging can be spontaneous, but is best to hold back and do some thorough research on the subject matter. And of course, if time permits, some proof-reading and sanity checks should be done before hitting the "publish button". There are some offline blog editors available (unfortunately, nothing that works with Multiply) but in a pinch, as I'm doing now, you can type into Notepad and cut-and-paste it later.
One problem with blogging is that one can get too carried away. In general, besides the online privacy bit, certain sensitive information should not be posted on a blog, even though it's restricted to friends only (accounts can and do get hacked from time to time).
Micro-blogging, on the other hand, is in essence a one-liner or series of one-liners, that are best for conversation or news. For conversation, as in real life, it makes sense if replies are in real-time. For instance, reading a tweet "I'm at McDonald's now, anyone want to join me?" from last night would have very little value to me (unless I'm interested to know what you ate last night). It works best if you have practically have a real-time 24-hour internet connection, so that tweets come in and go out in, well, real-time. Good business for those telecoms providers....
Great too if you have something happening that is worth reporting as it happens (sports events make great tweets). As good as listening to the game on the radio. Of course, you can listen to the radio while driving but not follow tweets (this is a free public safety announcement, don't tweet and drive). Other than that, for the average Joe like myself, life is relatively dull and monotonous (living safely is sometimes boring), so often there's not enough going on to generate some good tweeting traffic. Better to add value than to spawn streams of spam....
Micro-blogging posts are text-only with a strict 140 character limit. This limit was originally introduced for compatibility with SMS messaging. Though these days while you can string a few SMS-es together to form a complete longer SMS, I'm not sure if the micro-blogging architecture can facilitate this.
With a maximum of only 140 character limit per tweet is that one liners on their own can be extremely misleading. If one has a wild imagination, or makes assumptions, an innocent "tweet" can be misconstrued to one with malicious intent. I cite here a real case where a Malaysian politician caused quite a stir when he tweeted "OMG! Real culprit freed", which coincided with some other real life event. Apparently, he was referring to a character in a Chinese movie that he was watching 14 Blades (Jin Yi Wei). Source : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/12/nation/20100812165411&sec=nation
My pet peeve with micro-blogging, same as with SMS, it the atrocious amount of shortening that is done, just to keep messages "under the limit". While there are some legitimate means to cut down on the clutter when it comes to posting URL's (like TinyURL, for example), there is no mercy when it comes to the rest of the English language.
To illustrate my point, how many seconds does it take you to read the following? : "My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we used 2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 :- kids FTF. ILNY, it's a gr8 plc."
I'm not sure if "young people" these days find this normal and acceptable (perhaps another sign that I am getting old). Back in those days, it was the Queen's English, as thought by my English teachers (Puan Talha, Mrs Segaran, Ms Janet Low(or was it Loh?) and "Auntie" June Yong - did I miss out anyone?). Isn't it ironic that, these days, people are complaining about the declining standard of English, and at the same time push to embrace "bleeding edge" technology which steer us in the opposite direction?
Well, in short, blogging is suitable for writing articles, reports and journals to tell tales of travels, breaking news and / or of trivial things. With all means of text formatting and inline pictures to augment it.
Micro-blogging, as I see it, would be more suitable for real-time communication (as it's namesake "SMS of the Internet" implies), or if you have some good one-liners (streaming loads of them, less you leave your "followers" hanging dry). With a real-time internet connection that is (as some of the telecoms plans these days seem to bank on).
Call me old-school / dinosaur, but I think I'll stick to blogging for the time being, at least until my kids are old enough to carry on the online legacy (and maybe spark off the next evolution - who knows what new technology will pop out in 10 years' time?).
By the way, have you figured out how to read the "SMS text" 5 paragraphs above this one yet? Here's the full message, in the Queen's English : "My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend and their three screaming kids face to face. I love New York. It's a great place." (I got it from : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2814235.stm) :)
For the uninitiated, the word "Blog" is the result of putting the words "Web" (as in World Wide Web a.k.a. Internet) and "Log" (as in journal. Think "Captain's Log" from Star Trek). Of course, when you do that, you end up with "Weblog" which over time, gets shortened to "Blog".
Other shortened words include:-
1. "Telephone" to "Phone" - 44% reduction
2. "Refrigerator" to "Fridge" - 50% reduction
3. "Influenza" to "Flu" - 67% reduction
4. "Gymnasium" to "Gym" - 67% reduction
5. "Advertisement" to "Ad" - 85% reduction
Hmm, I wonder if one day, Twitter will get shortened to Twit (or Tweet as the current verb for Twitter)...? :)
While blog is a common verb, tweet, on the other hand, is the act of making a post on Twitter, just one of a few micro-blogging services. Sites like Facebook calls them "Status Updates". For the sake of simplicity, I'll use the term tweet in general for the rest of this article.
A blog post is limited only by the writing ability of the author, and the particular system architecture of the CMS (Content Management Software) or Blog Host used. Just like websites, blogs require a host system and supporting software, which can be paid for or part of a free service offered by the likes of Multiply or Blogger / Blogspot. Of course, free blogs have their own particular restrictions, like space limits (especially for hosting attached photos) and ads everywhere. Regardless of the form, the emphasis of any blog post should be the content. Typically, there are several genres of blogs, from personal blogs that serve as online diaries, to corporate blogs which dish out news especially regarding new products and services.
Writing a blog does require some planning and structuring, just like writing an article for journal / newspaper. While not as formal as, say, an Engineering Report, a blog entry should be well written and properly checked before publishing (unless you have a niche reader base with special tastes). Shoddy writing, typo errors and spelling mistakes are best avoided if the author is to give a good impression to a potential reader base. Of course, one problem here is if a blog post gets too long, so if a post starts to resemble the Lord of the Rings saga, consider splitting it into several parts instead of posting a online novel.
Blogging can be spontaneous, but is best to hold back and do some thorough research on the subject matter. And of course, if time permits, some proof-reading and sanity checks should be done before hitting the "publish button". There are some offline blog editors available (unfortunately, nothing that works with Multiply) but in a pinch, as I'm doing now, you can type into Notepad and cut-and-paste it later.
One problem with blogging is that one can get too carried away. In general, besides the online privacy bit, certain sensitive information should not be posted on a blog, even though it's restricted to friends only (accounts can and do get hacked from time to time).
Micro-blogging, on the other hand, is in essence a one-liner or series of one-liners, that are best for conversation or news. For conversation, as in real life, it makes sense if replies are in real-time. For instance, reading a tweet "I'm at McDonald's now, anyone want to join me?" from last night would have very little value to me (unless I'm interested to know what you ate last night). It works best if you have practically have a real-time 24-hour internet connection, so that tweets come in and go out in, well, real-time. Good business for those telecoms providers....
Great too if you have something happening that is worth reporting as it happens (sports events make great tweets). As good as listening to the game on the radio. Of course, you can listen to the radio while driving but not follow tweets (this is a free public safety announcement, don't tweet and drive). Other than that, for the average Joe like myself, life is relatively dull and monotonous (living safely is sometimes boring), so often there's not enough going on to generate some good tweeting traffic. Better to add value than to spawn streams of spam....
Micro-blogging posts are text-only with a strict 140 character limit. This limit was originally introduced for compatibility with SMS messaging. Though these days while you can string a few SMS-es together to form a complete longer SMS, I'm not sure if the micro-blogging architecture can facilitate this.
With a maximum of only 140 character limit per tweet is that one liners on their own can be extremely misleading. If one has a wild imagination, or makes assumptions, an innocent "tweet" can be misconstrued to one with malicious intent. I cite here a real case where a Malaysian politician caused quite a stir when he tweeted "OMG! Real culprit freed", which coincided with some other real life event. Apparently, he was referring to a character in a Chinese movie that he was watching 14 Blades (Jin Yi Wei). Source : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/12/nation/20100812165411&sec=nation
My pet peeve with micro-blogging, same as with SMS, it the atrocious amount of shortening that is done, just to keep messages "under the limit". While there are some legitimate means to cut down on the clutter when it comes to posting URL's (like TinyURL, for example), there is no mercy when it comes to the rest of the English language.
To illustrate my point, how many seconds does it take you to read the following? : "My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we used 2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 :- kids FTF. ILNY, it's a gr8 plc."
I'm not sure if "young people" these days find this normal and acceptable (perhaps another sign that I am getting old). Back in those days, it was the Queen's English, as thought by my English teachers (Puan Talha, Mrs Segaran, Ms Janet Low(or was it Loh?) and "Auntie" June Yong - did I miss out anyone?). Isn't it ironic that, these days, people are complaining about the declining standard of English, and at the same time push to embrace "bleeding edge" technology which steer us in the opposite direction?
Well, in short, blogging is suitable for writing articles, reports and journals to tell tales of travels, breaking news and / or of trivial things. With all means of text formatting and inline pictures to augment it.
Micro-blogging, as I see it, would be more suitable for real-time communication (as it's namesake "SMS of the Internet" implies), or if you have some good one-liners (streaming loads of them, less you leave your "followers" hanging dry). With a real-time internet connection that is (as some of the telecoms plans these days seem to bank on).
Call me old-school / dinosaur, but I think I'll stick to blogging for the time being, at least until my kids are old enough to carry on the online legacy (and maybe spark off the next evolution - who knows what new technology will pop out in 10 years' time?).
By the way, have you figured out how to read the "SMS text" 5 paragraphs above this one yet? Here's the full message, in the Queen's English : "My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend and their three screaming kids face to face. I love New York. It's a great place." (I got it from : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2814235.stm) :)
Farewell to Chung KP (Extremely Belated)
Ha,ha - For those who are reading this and wondering, "hey, didn't he leave like 2 months ago?", you are absolutely right. Talk about extremely belated farewells....
Well, for support group staff, sometimes someone does their job so well that you hardly ever need to contact them. Either that or you're not fully using the system. Well, in any case, in the almost 9 years that Chung KP has been with the company, the only memory of me asking for "tech support" from him is concerning some labeling - a relatively trivial matter to contend with.
Sometime in the beginning of November (NEARLY 2 months ago), we had a farewell lunch for Chung at the Chinese Restaurant at the Renaissance Hotel (we used to call it the Ramada Hotel many years ago). Astonishingly, they offered a Dim Sum buffet lunch (call them before hand to book though). That's an all-you-can-eat Dim Sum lunch, to be more specific.
Present was practically the entire staff of the IT department, with some HR, Finance and other guys (I fall in this category).
After the lunch and a short, short speech, NK presented Chung with a souvenir, which turn out to be none other than a laptop bag (befitting of the real IT guy - sans laptop, of course).
After that was the usual photo taking session, before shaking hands and bidding our farewells.
In his exit e-mail (sort of a tradition for those of us leaving the company), Chung wrote it short and witty, complete with an 8 point FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) too! :)
Well, with so many things going on, I never really got a lead on where he'd be headed off to. At least I don't hear standard cliche for leaving the company to "further studies" any more!
Well, for support group staff, sometimes someone does their job so well that you hardly ever need to contact them. Either that or you're not fully using the system. Well, in any case, in the almost 9 years that Chung KP has been with the company, the only memory of me asking for "tech support" from him is concerning some labeling - a relatively trivial matter to contend with.
Sometime in the beginning of November (NEARLY 2 months ago), we had a farewell lunch for Chung at the Chinese Restaurant at the Renaissance Hotel (we used to call it the Ramada Hotel many years ago). Astonishingly, they offered a Dim Sum buffet lunch (call them before hand to book though). That's an all-you-can-eat Dim Sum lunch, to be more specific.
Present was practically the entire staff of the IT department, with some HR, Finance and other guys (I fall in this category).
After the lunch and a short, short speech, NK presented Chung with a souvenir, which turn out to be none other than a laptop bag (befitting of the real IT guy - sans laptop, of course).
After that was the usual photo taking session, before shaking hands and bidding our farewells.
In his exit e-mail (sort of a tradition for those of us leaving the company), Chung wrote it short and witty, complete with an 8 point FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) too! :)
Well, with so many things going on, I never really got a lead on where he'd be headed off to. At least I don't hear standard cliche for leaving the company to "further studies" any more!
Check or Checkmate - doing things with the end in mind
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the terminology taken from one of the greatest board games of all times, Chess, basically:-
Check - to directly attack the enemy King.
Checkmate - same as above, except there is no escape. In other words, GAME OVER.
In the game of chess, the only way to win the game is to Checkmate the other player's King. It doesn't matter if you have more pieces remaining, or if you cumulatively say "check" more times than your entire restaurant-going life.
Before this gets too abstract to non-chess players, let's bring back the analogy to our everyday life. Suppose an important job, task or project is like a chess game, where each move you make represents your steps or activities. Likewise, each move your "opponent" makes is a challenge or problem that gets in the way of success. Actually, even doing "nothing" is an obstacle, which can lead to delay of a project (if you've done any project management work, you'd know that the cost of delay can sometimes rack up big bucks and earn the wrath of the stakeholders).
Now, in an ideal world, there would be all the resources and time in the world to explore each and every possible action (even if the action has absolutely no contribution towards the actual goal). In an ideal world. In other words, not in the REAL world....
In the real world, time is limited (remember the schedule or deadline that they ask for BEFORE you actually start working on something?). Every action that needs to be taken takes time and money. And again, budget is limited. To work on something (at least now in the 21st century), some humans need to work on it. The number of people in the team are limited. Therefore, just like if you ended up shipwrecked on a deserted island with two matchsticks and a can of tune, you will have to make the best of the given situation with the limited resources that you have in hand.
Particularly susceptible to "defocusing" are:-
1. The Clueless - these are the people who haven't the faintest idea what to do, and don't know how to go about finding out what to do first. Those who swear by carpet-bombing or "one policy to suit everyone" usually fall into this category - just fire away and hope for the best! When you're lost, consider getting help from the team, or someone with more experience. That's what teams are for - the whole is greater than the sum of its' parts!
2. The Perfectionist - getting things done is never enough. It's getting things done perfectly that matters the most to these guys. Often guilty are those who take great pains and pride in writing flawless reports and those who "reverse-engineer" simple projects so that they conform to some pre-defined project management template (Six Sigma, APQP). Sometimes, if you're working on a product, and won't release it to market until it is perfect, you will end up never releasing the product at all.
3. The Paranoid - the strange nature of things is that every new solution that comes up will give rise to several new problems. Another reason to keep things short and simple. Just to illustrate, putting more electronics into cars these days seem to give rise to more car problems that before when cars were more mechanical than electronic gizmos.... :) Just like a chess player that sees a couple of possible moves ahead (again, sorry to those who don't play chess), the paranoid guy will put in great effort to solve problems that arise as the result of solutions that have not been implemented yet (got that?). There is a difference between accounting for something that may indeed happen (like putting in more life boats on the Titanic) and spending time to safeguard against something that would probably happen only when all nine planets are in alignment (or maybe in the latest Michael Bay movie).
4. The R&D guy - ironically, those who really like to learn new things are the ones who are guilty of this sin of scope creep. As the saying somewhat goes, there is never a wrong way of doing something, you are just getting a different result from expected. The R&D guy would really like to map out, for every input(s) what are the output(s). At times, the learning potential from a given situation may overshadow the actual desired outcome itself (excuse is, unused results will surely come in handy someday).
Remember that in the end, the end result is what really matters. It doesn't mean doing things the long, hard way won't yield the same results - it just wastes precious limited resources that are better spent on other projects.
Hence, at the start of any project, the important thing is to define a S.M.A.R.T. goal (that's Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely). If a goal is missing one of the five S.M.A.R.T. attributes, the goal will be ambiguous and open to free interpretation (which can lead to scope creep, misunderstandings and disputes). Once the end result or desired outcome is clear, map out the required steps that will systematically lead the project closer to completion. For each step, ask, how will this step contribute towards the overall goal. What if we skip this step, can we still accomplish our goal? If the answers give a clear indication, don't hesitate to redeploy your resources accordingly.
With each step, especially when doing evaluations, or feasibility studies, the outcome of a particular step may yield some useful insight that may change the course of previously defined steps, or even the entire remains of the project! If such a turning point has appeared, immediately take action to re-plan the project, in light of recent developments. This flexibility is essential to respond to the dynamic nature of things (in my years of project management, seldom does a project plan execute exactly as per its first draft!).
This simple agreement can be applied not only to managing epic project of gargantuan proportions, but to mundane, everyday tasks, such as:-
1. Driving to a particular destination. You don't just get into your car and drive. Essentially, plan the route that you're going to take, if other short trips on the way can be combined, and be prepared to reroute on the fly if there's a nasty traffic jam or road closure.
2. Shopping. Unless you're looking for an excuse to spend your hard earned income, before you go shopping, always make a list of what you plan to buy. This will curb "impulse buying" which will result in a large inventory of less-used items (a nicer description of items which you use less!). You'd be amazed how much time can be saved if you have an organized shopping list (especially nice in places where they charge parking by the hour). Of course, a back-up plan in case something you want to buy is out of stock.
3. Career. To get a job or get a better job, you should plan where it is exactly you want to be heading. Realistically (remember the R in S.M.A.R.T.). Knowing where you want to be would help you plan the steps that need to be taken to get there. Of course, don't forget that there is the Circle of Concern, and the Circle of Influence (that you should focus on, because the rest outside is really beyond your control). So, you want to get to a higher level but all posts are filled, don't focus on something you can't influence (you can't make the people there disappear so you can get promoted). Instead, you can source for an opportunity elsewhere. If you need to build up experience in a certain field, say, Safety, then plan to involve in Safety-related activities, accident-investigations, first aid training. In such a scenario, going for training on ESD or Six Sigma would not be contributing to the end as initially envisioned.
Well, enough said on the subject matter, which I first heard from my ex-boss a couple of years ago. Sounded simple, but then again, life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated (quote from Confucius)!
Check - to directly attack the enemy King.
Checkmate - same as above, except there is no escape. In other words, GAME OVER.
In the game of chess, the only way to win the game is to Checkmate the other player's King. It doesn't matter if you have more pieces remaining, or if you cumulatively say "check" more times than your entire restaurant-going life.
Before this gets too abstract to non-chess players, let's bring back the analogy to our everyday life. Suppose an important job, task or project is like a chess game, where each move you make represents your steps or activities. Likewise, each move your "opponent" makes is a challenge or problem that gets in the way of success. Actually, even doing "nothing" is an obstacle, which can lead to delay of a project (if you've done any project management work, you'd know that the cost of delay can sometimes rack up big bucks and earn the wrath of the stakeholders).
Now, in an ideal world, there would be all the resources and time in the world to explore each and every possible action (even if the action has absolutely no contribution towards the actual goal). In an ideal world. In other words, not in the REAL world....
In the real world, time is limited (remember the schedule or deadline that they ask for BEFORE you actually start working on something?). Every action that needs to be taken takes time and money. And again, budget is limited. To work on something (at least now in the 21st century), some humans need to work on it. The number of people in the team are limited. Therefore, just like if you ended up shipwrecked on a deserted island with two matchsticks and a can of tune, you will have to make the best of the given situation with the limited resources that you have in hand.
Particularly susceptible to "defocusing" are:-
1. The Clueless - these are the people who haven't the faintest idea what to do, and don't know how to go about finding out what to do first. Those who swear by carpet-bombing or "one policy to suit everyone" usually fall into this category - just fire away and hope for the best! When you're lost, consider getting help from the team, or someone with more experience. That's what teams are for - the whole is greater than the sum of its' parts!
2. The Perfectionist - getting things done is never enough. It's getting things done perfectly that matters the most to these guys. Often guilty are those who take great pains and pride in writing flawless reports and those who "reverse-engineer" simple projects so that they conform to some pre-defined project management template (Six Sigma, APQP). Sometimes, if you're working on a product, and won't release it to market until it is perfect, you will end up never releasing the product at all.
3. The Paranoid - the strange nature of things is that every new solution that comes up will give rise to several new problems. Another reason to keep things short and simple. Just to illustrate, putting more electronics into cars these days seem to give rise to more car problems that before when cars were more mechanical than electronic gizmos.... :) Just like a chess player that sees a couple of possible moves ahead (again, sorry to those who don't play chess), the paranoid guy will put in great effort to solve problems that arise as the result of solutions that have not been implemented yet (got that?). There is a difference between accounting for something that may indeed happen (like putting in more life boats on the Titanic) and spending time to safeguard against something that would probably happen only when all nine planets are in alignment (or maybe in the latest Michael Bay movie).
4. The R&D guy - ironically, those who really like to learn new things are the ones who are guilty of this sin of scope creep. As the saying somewhat goes, there is never a wrong way of doing something, you are just getting a different result from expected. The R&D guy would really like to map out, for every input(s) what are the output(s). At times, the learning potential from a given situation may overshadow the actual desired outcome itself (excuse is, unused results will surely come in handy someday).
Remember that in the end, the end result is what really matters. It doesn't mean doing things the long, hard way won't yield the same results - it just wastes precious limited resources that are better spent on other projects.
Hence, at the start of any project, the important thing is to define a S.M.A.R.T. goal (that's Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely). If a goal is missing one of the five S.M.A.R.T. attributes, the goal will be ambiguous and open to free interpretation (which can lead to scope creep, misunderstandings and disputes). Once the end result or desired outcome is clear, map out the required steps that will systematically lead the project closer to completion. For each step, ask, how will this step contribute towards the overall goal. What if we skip this step, can we still accomplish our goal? If the answers give a clear indication, don't hesitate to redeploy your resources accordingly.
With each step, especially when doing evaluations, or feasibility studies, the outcome of a particular step may yield some useful insight that may change the course of previously defined steps, or even the entire remains of the project! If such a turning point has appeared, immediately take action to re-plan the project, in light of recent developments. This flexibility is essential to respond to the dynamic nature of things (in my years of project management, seldom does a project plan execute exactly as per its first draft!).
This simple agreement can be applied not only to managing epic project of gargantuan proportions, but to mundane, everyday tasks, such as:-
1. Driving to a particular destination. You don't just get into your car and drive. Essentially, plan the route that you're going to take, if other short trips on the way can be combined, and be prepared to reroute on the fly if there's a nasty traffic jam or road closure.
2. Shopping. Unless you're looking for an excuse to spend your hard earned income, before you go shopping, always make a list of what you plan to buy. This will curb "impulse buying" which will result in a large inventory of less-used items (a nicer description of items which you use less!). You'd be amazed how much time can be saved if you have an organized shopping list (especially nice in places where they charge parking by the hour). Of course, a back-up plan in case something you want to buy is out of stock.
3. Career. To get a job or get a better job, you should plan where it is exactly you want to be heading. Realistically (remember the R in S.M.A.R.T.). Knowing where you want to be would help you plan the steps that need to be taken to get there. Of course, don't forget that there is the Circle of Concern, and the Circle of Influence (that you should focus on, because the rest outside is really beyond your control). So, you want to get to a higher level but all posts are filled, don't focus on something you can't influence (you can't make the people there disappear so you can get promoted). Instead, you can source for an opportunity elsewhere. If you need to build up experience in a certain field, say, Safety, then plan to involve in Safety-related activities, accident-investigations, first aid training. In such a scenario, going for training on ESD or Six Sigma would not be contributing to the end as initially envisioned.
Well, enough said on the subject matter, which I first heard from my ex-boss a couple of years ago. Sounded simple, but then again, life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated (quote from Confucius)!
Reconnecting with old friends....
In this modern age of Facebooks and Iphones, nothing beats sitting down together with old friends at the same table for a refreshing cup of coffee and some light snacks....
It was great whenever our group got together, though these days, the ratio of current colleague to ex-colleagues is steadily approaching zero! So, today's rendezvous point was at the Old Town Cafe, at Malim Jaya. Luckily for me I double checked my SMS, as initially it registered in my mind that I should have been at the Old TASTE Cafe, also somewhere in Malim Jaya. The thing about franchises these days - they are all beginning to sound the same!
Looking at the menu, there was a lot of heavy stuff that I would not hesitate to eat perhaps five or ten year ago, but these days (when growing sideways is more of a concern), I just settled for some peanut butter toast with iced blended mocha (OK, maybe next time I try something even lighter).
Joining us at the table tonight were Kelvin and Tai, plus kid (the couple who were once working together in the company, fortunately, not in the same department). Also present was May Wan and Tang, working now more or less in the same field of expertise, but in a different company Incidentally, there are only a handful of companies in this little town called Melaka, where professionals like us gravitate. With us too was Kek, who I last saw during his wedding dinner a couple of months ago (one of those events in this quarter that I haven't got time to pen down yet). Lastly, the only other person who STILL shares the same common employer as yours truly, Low, who brought along his wife and kid.
Notably absent from the table was an old (as in long time ago) friend. Let's call him "KL" (not his real name though). Unfortunately, KL was kind of busy these days with "other higher priority stuff" as I understand it correctly. Well, I sincerely wish KL the best of luck and success with the "other higher priority stuff". Anyway, by this virtue, KL is thus nominated to be the organizer for our next get-together, hopefully, he will have some interesting good news to share with us! :)
It was a great evening, having the chance to meet up with the old gang, to exchange tales of things that have changed for the better, or for worse, or of things that have not changes at all (did I miss out any other generalization?).
With kids around these days, our outing came to an early end. Besides, tomorrow was a working day (for most of us).
I'm happy to note in general that my old friends have moved along and have found greener pastures on which to graze on, dwindling in numbers with each passing "Farewell to XXX" post that I make....
It was great whenever our group got together, though these days, the ratio of current colleague to ex-colleagues is steadily approaching zero! So, today's rendezvous point was at the Old Town Cafe, at Malim Jaya. Luckily for me I double checked my SMS, as initially it registered in my mind that I should have been at the Old TASTE Cafe, also somewhere in Malim Jaya. The thing about franchises these days - they are all beginning to sound the same!
Looking at the menu, there was a lot of heavy stuff that I would not hesitate to eat perhaps five or ten year ago, but these days (when growing sideways is more of a concern), I just settled for some peanut butter toast with iced blended mocha (OK, maybe next time I try something even lighter).
Joining us at the table tonight were Kelvin and Tai, plus kid (the couple who were once working together in the company, fortunately, not in the same department). Also present was May Wan and Tang, working now more or less in the same field of expertise, but in a different company Incidentally, there are only a handful of companies in this little town called Melaka, where professionals like us gravitate. With us too was Kek, who I last saw during his wedding dinner a couple of months ago (one of those events in this quarter that I haven't got time to pen down yet). Lastly, the only other person who STILL shares the same common employer as yours truly, Low, who brought along his wife and kid.
Notably absent from the table was an old (as in long time ago) friend. Let's call him "KL" (not his real name though). Unfortunately, KL was kind of busy these days with "other higher priority stuff" as I understand it correctly. Well, I sincerely wish KL the best of luck and success with the "other higher priority stuff". Anyway, by this virtue, KL is thus nominated to be the organizer for our next get-together, hopefully, he will have some interesting good news to share with us! :)
It was a great evening, having the chance to meet up with the old gang, to exchange tales of things that have changed for the better, or for worse, or of things that have not changes at all (did I miss out any other generalization?).
With kids around these days, our outing came to an early end. Besides, tomorrow was a working day (for most of us).
I'm happy to note in general that my old friends have moved along and have found greener pastures on which to graze on, dwindling in numbers with each passing "Farewell to XXX" post that I make....
The Great Blog Backlog
Hmm, online, this last quarter of 2010 seems to be an uneventful span of 3 months. Offline however, the entire opposite holds true.
No, I haven't thrown in the towel yet. Just think that I went on a 3 month sabbatical.
Since the "Great Cleansing" of 2009 where the Semiconductor industry took a dip, things have been steadily picking up since the start of the year. That may be a good thing for all of us, but with the strong rebound came the expected increase in workload to frantically make up for lost ground.
Without giving too much away (which is against company policy, and can result in severe, career-limiting repercussions), my team is now involved in a "Big Project" which is right on schedule (and boy, what a tight schedule indeed). Right up to the very last day before X'mas, we were working on the things that we do best, down in the depths of our very own laboratory. OK, maybe I've over-dramatized it a bit. Anyway, while we're off for the entire X'mas week, the other half of the team are working on the things that they do best - all the same contributing towards accomplishing our "Big Project". Well, enough said about work!
In the past three months, there were some interesting, non-routine stuff that happened. Unfortunately, a laptop and an internet connection never seems to be around when the scarcest of commodities (free time) is in hand. Offline blogging is a work flow that I'll need to set up for next year, at least to get back on track.
Just checking around on one of my friends who regularly updates her blog at http://chenniwong.blogspot.com/, note her healthy increase in monthly posts (denoted by the red bars and trendline) versus, ahem, my humble blog (see bars and trendline in blue).
Well, the two biggest "sinks" for my time these days are:-
1. Family
2. Work
As 2010 draws to a close, I'll be posting some "retro" posts from this year.
I hope 2011 will bring better tidings!
No, I haven't thrown in the towel yet. Just think that I went on a 3 month sabbatical.
Since the "Great Cleansing" of 2009 where the Semiconductor industry took a dip, things have been steadily picking up since the start of the year. That may be a good thing for all of us, but with the strong rebound came the expected increase in workload to frantically make up for lost ground.
Without giving too much away (which is against company policy, and can result in severe, career-limiting repercussions), my team is now involved in a "Big Project" which is right on schedule (and boy, what a tight schedule indeed). Right up to the very last day before X'mas, we were working on the things that we do best, down in the depths of our very own laboratory. OK, maybe I've over-dramatized it a bit. Anyway, while we're off for the entire X'mas week, the other half of the team are working on the things that they do best - all the same contributing towards accomplishing our "Big Project". Well, enough said about work!
In the past three months, there were some interesting, non-routine stuff that happened. Unfortunately, a laptop and an internet connection never seems to be around when the scarcest of commodities (free time) is in hand. Offline blogging is a work flow that I'll need to set up for next year, at least to get back on track.
Just checking around on one of my friends who regularly updates her blog at http://chenniwong.blogspot.com/, note her healthy increase in monthly posts (denoted by the red bars and trendline) versus, ahem, my humble blog (see bars and trendline in blue).
Well, the two biggest "sinks" for my time these days are:-
1. Family
2. Work
As 2010 draws to a close, I'll be posting some "retro" posts from this year.
I hope 2011 will bring better tidings!
Trust defined
Just recently, I heard an interesting definition on "Trust" from someone. Can't remember the actual words, but it goes something like this:-
"To trust someone is to give him or her the power to totally destroy you, knowing that he or she would never do that...."
Well, historically, trust has not always been something that has been given to the right people. Misplaced trust, in the wrong hands, is a sure recipe for disaster. As some of these poor folks found out the hard way:-
1. Guy Fawkes
The guy (no pun intended) who tried to blow up the Parliament, and inspiration for the movie "V". Actually, he wasn't betrayed - rather he was caught for betraying his country. Given his intentions, I'm unsure why England celebrates "Guy Fawkes" day though....
No trust involved here, but with guys like this around (again, no pun intended), in who would you dare to put your trust in?
2. Julius Caesar
From him we got the familiar "Veni, Vidi, Vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered), but also his famous last words "Et tu Brutus?". Sad. Not only were his last words a question, but one of the conspirators who attacked and ultimately ended his life was none other than his own nephew, Brutus. Hmm, family ties must have been rather strained back in those days.
3. Jesus Christ
Betrayed by Judas for a sum of 13 pieces of silver (which I gather must have been worth quite a lot back then, after taking inflation into consideration). As I recall, Judas merely made a positive ID (for some reason his persecutors did not know what the man they were looking for looked like, and chose not to arrest and execute all 13 diners after one fine supper), but that was enough to earn him a place in history.
4. Samson
Why, why, why, Delilah? Taken from a song by Tom Jones, another example of betrayal from the Biblical times. Enticed by the Philistines to find out the source of the mighty Samson's strength (for 1100 pieces of silver, hmm....), which, for those of you who don't know the story, comes from his long hair. After entrusting her with his secret, which ultimately led to his capture and being blinded.
5. Nick Leeson
You may have heard this name, especially, if you've had an account in the Barings Bank. Even London's oldest Merchant Bank can be "bankrupt" in the wrong hands. Betraying the people who put their money where their trust is (was)....
These are just some of the examples that come to mind at the time. Don't get me started on the likes of Anakin Skywalker and Jack Sparrow (sorry, CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow) - I'm leaving movies out from this one....
In an organization and in society, trust and honor should be values that are admired in others, as well as practiced by everyone. I'm sure that everyone would prefer a society where "people who cheat are stupid" rather than "people who don't cheat are stupid"....
A gargantuan task, for an individual, but as they say, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. For starters, we should all strive to always be impeccable with our words (Agreement number one from Don Miguel Ruiz's Four Agreements). For those of you who are privileged and trusted by family, friends, or colleagues, take care that you do not break that trust, as the saying goes "trust is the hardest thing to find, and the easiest to lose".
"To trust someone is to give him or her the power to totally destroy you, knowing that he or she would never do that...."
Well, historically, trust has not always been something that has been given to the right people. Misplaced trust, in the wrong hands, is a sure recipe for disaster. As some of these poor folks found out the hard way:-
1. Guy Fawkes
The guy (no pun intended) who tried to blow up the Parliament, and inspiration for the movie "V". Actually, he wasn't betrayed - rather he was caught for betraying his country. Given his intentions, I'm unsure why England celebrates "Guy Fawkes" day though....
No trust involved here, but with guys like this around (again, no pun intended), in who would you dare to put your trust in?
2. Julius Caesar
From him we got the familiar "Veni, Vidi, Vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered), but also his famous last words "Et tu Brutus?". Sad. Not only were his last words a question, but one of the conspirators who attacked and ultimately ended his life was none other than his own nephew, Brutus. Hmm, family ties must have been rather strained back in those days.
3. Jesus Christ
Betrayed by Judas for a sum of 13 pieces of silver (which I gather must have been worth quite a lot back then, after taking inflation into consideration). As I recall, Judas merely made a positive ID (for some reason his persecutors did not know what the man they were looking for looked like, and chose not to arrest and execute all 13 diners after one fine supper), but that was enough to earn him a place in history.
4. Samson
Why, why, why, Delilah? Taken from a song by Tom Jones, another example of betrayal from the Biblical times. Enticed by the Philistines to find out the source of the mighty Samson's strength (for 1100 pieces of silver, hmm....), which, for those of you who don't know the story, comes from his long hair. After entrusting her with his secret, which ultimately led to his capture and being blinded.
5. Nick Leeson
You may have heard this name, especially, if you've had an account in the Barings Bank. Even London's oldest Merchant Bank can be "bankrupt" in the wrong hands. Betraying the people who put their money where their trust is (was)....
These are just some of the examples that come to mind at the time. Don't get me started on the likes of Anakin Skywalker and Jack Sparrow (sorry, CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow) - I'm leaving movies out from this one....
In an organization and in society, trust and honor should be values that are admired in others, as well as practiced by everyone. I'm sure that everyone would prefer a society where "people who cheat are stupid" rather than "people who don't cheat are stupid"....
A gargantuan task, for an individual, but as they say, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. For starters, we should all strive to always be impeccable with our words (Agreement number one from Don Miguel Ruiz's Four Agreements). For those of you who are privileged and trusted by family, friends, or colleagues, take care that you do not break that trust, as the saying goes "trust is the hardest thing to find, and the easiest to lose".
Berbuka Puasa @ Everly Resort Hotel, Melaka (2010)
The team, getting together to Buka Puasa
It has become somewhat of a yearly tradition for our department to organize a "breaking fast" (buka puasa) dinner. This year was certainly no exception to the rule....
The task of organizer for this year's event fell into the hands of Asri, who I was fully confident could find us a great place to dine, with great value-for-money too. Thus, after some scouting around, the venue selected was none other than the Everly Resort Hotel (formerly known as Riviera Bay Resort).
This year, there were quite a number of new faces, due to the dynamic nature of our organization. Though this was traditionally a *closed* department-only event, this year, we had some guests from other departments to join in the festivities. Unfortunately, our own stalwarts, Bayah and Juliyana, could not make it due to some other engagements, so from the core team, it was just Yan, Asri and myself.
The recent unification of 3 departments has left us with the largest team members in the entire history of our existence (a period that spans nearly a decade).
Back to the subject matter of food, drawing some comparisons against my recent buka puasa experience with Zufri at the Holiday Inn, immediately one can see that the variety of food here was HUGE! I'm ashamed to admit that I barely managed to sample even a quarter of the assorted cuisine that was laid out for us to feast upon. Getting old, so cannot eat as voraciously as before.... :)
Eric checking out the dishes for the buffet-style dinner
Hmm, after tonight, may have to go on diet...? :)
To top it off, it was much more affordable here (only RM45++ per pax). Even though our event was held on a week day (mainly to facilitate a few of our friends who were from out of town), the entire restaurant was packed. Guests were pouring in by the bus-loads!
Alas, a minor communication hiccup between Asri and the hotel liaison staff in his request for "16 people" left us with 16 chairs on 4 separate tables. They did not have another table to spare (the restaurant was really packed, remember?), so we tried shuffling the tables and chairs about until finally we settled for an inline configuration. A little bit snug, but we managed to get everyone seated down comfortable by the end of the exercise. Actual turn out was a head shy of the planned total.... :)
4 individual tables, not very good "feng shui"
Briefly, it was musical chairs (and tables), without music...
Finally, when all else fails, use a straight line!
At the end of the day, we were stuffed and totally satisfied with the chosen venue. Hats off to the event organizer, Asri, for pulling off the event with such aplomb. Tonight's event was actually a milestone, as it was our first "extra-curricular" since our team expansion. Besides joining our Muslim brethren in the spirit of inter-cultural understanding, it's good that events such as these help to foster closer ties and friendship bonds amongst colleagues.
Waiting patiently for our Muslim friends to break their fast....
Still got time to send SMS before thinking about food.
The new "fearless leader", Tan CC (far right) and the rest of the new team.
As I sit here and type away on my laptop, I can't help but smile fondly, recalling past times spent together with former colleagues and friends. Too many to mention, so I won't start naming names here. To all of my friends out there, may you and your families be well and happy always, and specially to my Muslim friends, Selamat Berpuasa and an early Selamat Hari Raya greeting to all of you...!
Arriving early has it's privileges, at the expense of looking "lost"! :)
Asri demonstrating the fine art of "sucking" snails out of their shells....
T.N.G - The Next Generation (candid shot!)
L-R (guys): me, Eric, Chiang, Ang CK, Wee WL, Loh CK, Asri, Tan CC, Desmond, Syukri, Lew WK
L-R (ladies, front row): Grace, Chong SL, Yan, Lay Peng
Farewell to Saiful
It's become quite common place for these "farewell" posts throughout the year. This month of August 2010 seems to be no exception to the rule....
Last Thursday sees the exit of Saiful from IT. There goes a friend and excellent source of tech support. We've gone through many tough times together, such as blue screens and Vista...! :)
It was unfortunate that I heard that he was leaving the company on Friday, one day after last Thursday, so (once again), I missed the opportunity to meet personally someone on their way out. Did get an SMS from him though, so at least I could SMS back a parting shot to him.
During the time he was here, Saiful was an excellent provider of technical support when it came to IT. True that he was scurrying all around the plant almost single-handedly, most of our woes were resolved by him promptly once attended to. Not everything could be tackled via remote access, after all....
Well, another entry in my ever-growing list of friends moving on to better prospects. Let's see when my own name makes the list...! :)
Last Thursday sees the exit of Saiful from IT. There goes a friend and excellent source of tech support. We've gone through many tough times together, such as blue screens and Vista...! :)
It was unfortunate that I heard that he was leaving the company on Friday, one day after last Thursday, so (once again), I missed the opportunity to meet personally someone on their way out. Did get an SMS from him though, so at least I could SMS back a parting shot to him.
During the time he was here, Saiful was an excellent provider of technical support when it came to IT. True that he was scurrying all around the plant almost single-handedly, most of our woes were resolved by him promptly once attended to. Not everything could be tackled via remote access, after all....
Well, another entry in my ever-growing list of friends moving on to better prospects. Let's see when my own name makes the list...! :)
Berbuka Puasa @ Holiday Inn, Melaka (2010)
It's the holy month of Ramadan once again, a month of fasting and moderation observed by our Muslim friends. Thus, as per standard practice every year, I treated my good friend, Zufri, to a "buka puasa" (break fast) meal. This time round, we opted for the buffet at Holiday Inn Melaka.
It was a working day, leaving the office in time would be a challenge, as usual. Luckily, I managed to wrap things up early, and thus made it out of the office at 6.15pm, enough time to beat the traffic congestion to our destination, some 30 odd minutes away.
During our drive, we were a little concerned about having no place to park, with the sky giving just a hint of an impending drizzle / downpour (who knows for sure?). To our pleasant surprise, the small parking lot right in front of the hotel entrance was barely half filled with cars. Ample space to park, but where was everyone?
Proceeding into the hotel lobby, we made our way up to the "ES.SENSE KITCHEN" on the first floor, where Zufri had made earlier reservations. That may have been unnecessary, as there was less than 30% occupancy throughout the entire course of the buffet dinner.
Now, the food was served in typical buffet-style, with many, many dishes to choose from. So many, in fact, that I failed to sample each dish, even taking minute portions of just about every dish I came across. Stomach capacity seems to have gone down, compared to my younger days...! :)
To be honest, the food wasn't anything to cry home about. At least the, um, ice-cream was soft and creamy (that's all that comes to mind at this time). Cost per pax is RM78 per head, before adding in the customary 5% government tax and 10% service charge. A comparison of Ramadan buffets in the city revealed that this was pretty much the going rate these days.
Well, there was a down side to tonight's episode. Barely three feet away from our table was situated a large, LG flatscreen LCD TV (quite a norm these day). Instead of something cheerful or entertaining on, I found myself watching a 10-second delayed telecast of a tourist bus hostage situation in Manila on BBC. From what I gathered, a disgruntled policeman held up a bus of mostly Chinese tourists with a semi-automatic rifle. His demands? To be re-instated into the police force after being terminated a year ago.
You can tell from the detail I am relating here, how attention-sapping the news was. I felt sad for those tourists who were held hostage - especially since even the police did not know if there was anyone left alive in the bus. Read more about this and the conclusion over at the BBC website : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11055015
Back to the present, I'm happy and give thanks to be able to treat my friend to a nice meal (call it our personal annual dinner), and look forward to holding on to this "tradition" next year too! :)
It was a working day, leaving the office in time would be a challenge, as usual. Luckily, I managed to wrap things up early, and thus made it out of the office at 6.15pm, enough time to beat the traffic congestion to our destination, some 30 odd minutes away.
During our drive, we were a little concerned about having no place to park, with the sky giving just a hint of an impending drizzle / downpour (who knows for sure?). To our pleasant surprise, the small parking lot right in front of the hotel entrance was barely half filled with cars. Ample space to park, but where was everyone?
Proceeding into the hotel lobby, we made our way up to the "ES.SENSE KITCHEN" on the first floor, where Zufri had made earlier reservations. That may have been unnecessary, as there was less than 30% occupancy throughout the entire course of the buffet dinner.
Now, the food was served in typical buffet-style, with many, many dishes to choose from. So many, in fact, that I failed to sample each dish, even taking minute portions of just about every dish I came across. Stomach capacity seems to have gone down, compared to my younger days...! :)
To be honest, the food wasn't anything to cry home about. At least the, um, ice-cream was soft and creamy (that's all that comes to mind at this time). Cost per pax is RM78 per head, before adding in the customary 5% government tax and 10% service charge. A comparison of Ramadan buffets in the city revealed that this was pretty much the going rate these days.
Well, there was a down side to tonight's episode. Barely three feet away from our table was situated a large, LG flatscreen LCD TV (quite a norm these day). Instead of something cheerful or entertaining on, I found myself watching a 10-second delayed telecast of a tourist bus hostage situation in Manila on BBC. From what I gathered, a disgruntled policeman held up a bus of mostly Chinese tourists with a semi-automatic rifle. His demands? To be re-instated into the police force after being terminated a year ago.
You can tell from the detail I am relating here, how attention-sapping the news was. I felt sad for those tourists who were held hostage - especially since even the police did not know if there was anyone left alive in the bus. Read more about this and the conclusion over at the BBC website : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11055015
Back to the present, I'm happy and give thanks to be able to treat my friend to a nice meal (call it our personal annual dinner), and look forward to holding on to this "tradition" next year too! :)
VSM Annual Dinner & Dance 2010 - Olympic Night
After much toiling in the production floor, reaping "output", it's that special time again for the staff to kick back and relax during our Annual Dinner and Dance!
Backdrop for the night. Real fire not allowed, so those torches are as close as we got to the real deal! :)
This year, our theme was "Olympic Night". Of course, 2010 is right between the last and upcoming Olympic games (for those who don't know it yet, the Olympic games are only held in the year which can be divided by 4 with no balance, ie, 2008, 2012). However, World Cup Night was deemed too restrictive on costume variety (not everyone lives, breathes and eats football). So, the scope was widened to encompass all sports in general.
The advantages of the Olympic Night Theme:-
Not to be left out, we were also entertained by our very own shift performances (3 shifts, plus Office Hours). The quality of their presentations was improving with each passing year, which was a good thing as it really raises the bar and expectations for the follow year.
As this was the first dinner to be held in two years (last year's dinner got differed, in light of economic down turn), coupled with the fact that there were many new staff who had never attended any of our annual dinners before, this year's attendance peaked as the highest ever yet!
As for me, this year, my duties as photographer were supplemented by the efforts of Lew Wei Keat and Tee Sie Yen, so less running around taking pictures as before.
Well, from the response, it looks like "we've still got it". I'm sure everyone was happy to attend this year, and look forward to an even more encouraging turn out in 2011!
Link to a small photo gallery on my Multiply site : http://mcwk.multiply.com/photos/album/86/VSM_Annual_Dinner_2010_-_Olympic_Night
No, before you start applying for jobs here, this is not one of our staff, but a member of the EQ resident band.
Local talent Kenny Lee a.k.a. Melaka's Sudirman.
Members of the organizing committee taking a shot together.
Backdrop for the night. Real fire not allowed, so those torches are as close as we got to the real deal! :)
This year, our theme was "Olympic Night". Of course, 2010 is right between the last and upcoming Olympic games (for those who don't know it yet, the Olympic games are only held in the year which can be divided by 4 with no balance, ie, 2008, 2012). However, World Cup Night was deemed too restrictive on costume variety (not everyone lives, breathes and eats football). So, the scope was widened to encompass all sports in general.
The advantages of the Olympic Night Theme:-
- You'd probably have already a costume fitting the theme, sitting somewhere in your wardrobe (unless you don't play any sports)
- If you really had to buy something for the night, you'd be buying something you can wear casually to work or outside without attracting undue attention (in contrast to, say, Cowboy night or Halloween night)
Not to be left out, we were also entertained by our very own shift performances (3 shifts, plus Office Hours). The quality of their presentations was improving with each passing year, which was a good thing as it really raises the bar and expectations for the follow year.
As this was the first dinner to be held in two years (last year's dinner got differed, in light of economic down turn), coupled with the fact that there were many new staff who had never attended any of our annual dinners before, this year's attendance peaked as the highest ever yet!
As for me, this year, my duties as photographer were supplemented by the efforts of Lew Wei Keat and Tee Sie Yen, so less running around taking pictures as before.
Well, from the response, it looks like "we've still got it". I'm sure everyone was happy to attend this year, and look forward to an even more encouraging turn out in 2011!
Link to a small photo gallery on my Multiply site : http://mcwk.multiply.com/photos/album/86/VSM_Annual_Dinner_2010_-_Olympic_Night
No, before you start applying for jobs here, this is not one of our staff, but a member of the EQ resident band.
Local talent Kenny Lee a.k.a. Melaka's Sudirman.
Members of the organizing committee taking a shot together.
Welcome back, Blossom!
With the majority of my posts containing the word "Farewell", it's a relief that, once in a blue moon, someone decides to make a U-turn and return to the company.
Back a couple of months ago (some time in April), Blossom from HR left. Just a few days ago, I was taken by surprise when she popped by my office to drop off some HR documents. Hmm, apparently, she's back! For whatever reason, I don't have the details.
Well, historically, she's not the first to make her return - in the same link above, I also documented the fateful return of Dr Gunalan to the company.
Looks like we have yet to see the last of a few, who may well return someday after a brief stint away (just like going off on a sabbatical)....
To Blossom, welcome back and many happy returns. To the others (particularly those who have left), may many happily return! :)
Back a couple of months ago (some time in April), Blossom from HR left. Just a few days ago, I was taken by surprise when she popped by my office to drop off some HR documents. Hmm, apparently, she's back! For whatever reason, I don't have the details.
Well, historically, she's not the first to make her return - in the same link above, I also documented the fateful return of Dr Gunalan to the company.
Looks like we have yet to see the last of a few, who may well return someday after a brief stint away (just like going off on a sabbatical)....
To Blossom, welcome back and many happy returns. To the others (particularly those who have left), may many happily return! :)
Farewell to Tan Pei Chen
Yes, another entry for my records of friends / colleagues who have made the choice to leave for greener pastures.
A couple of days ago, I found again another "goodbye" e-mail sitting in my Inbox. This time, from none other than my colleague from Planning, Tan Pei Chen. She had only been in the company for a couple of years, but during her "brief" tenure, we had worked together on several projects.
Typically being a planner, there was very little interaction (which was good, as when a planner looks for you, rest assured there is something that has to be fixed in production!).
I am sure that she will be sorely missed by production (or celebrated, depending on how one looks at things)! :)
Well, the distribution of staff seems to have taken on an inverted bell shape - on one end, we have a lot of young people coming in (fresh or with little experience), on the other end, we have the veterans who have positioned themselves in their niches. It's those people in between that prove themselves highly mobile. Time and time again.
Another name to strike off my phone book printout that I pin up against the wall of my workstation for quick reference. With all the going and coming (yes, we have new people coming in too), I'll have to print a new one soon, as the old one is starting to look pretty messy! :)
Kam Cheng July 2010 - Happy Birthday, Mr Moey!
This month, coincidentally, was the month of Mr Moey's birthday, which also happened to be the day he joined the company. The fateful event was organized on a week day, which mean having to leave the office fairly early (by my standards), and cutting short my regular teleconference with my German boss.
I hitched a ride with Zufri, my old friend from HR (parking space was rather limited at the condo). We arrived early, and help with the setting up of tables for the buffet-style dinner. We arranged for a small karaoke set-up to keep ourselves entertained after having our fill.
There were a total of 40+ colleagues from the office, as well as Mr Moey's wife and other family member (I did not manage to discern her identity).
The event went off without a hitch. The sky was perfect (here, as long as it doesn't rain, it's considered perfect). Food was delicious and plentiful (though we did run out of drinks early). Of course, saving the best for last, we sang the traditional Happy Birthday song for the guest of honor, before helping ourselves to the specially ordered mocha cake (sorry, Mr Moey - they were out of cappucino!).
Congratulations to Mr Moey once again on his birthday celebration - many more to come in future!
And also, a very big thank you to the trio of Lye Yin, Lay Suat and Vivien for pulling off yet another successful kum cheng session!
A small photo gallery resides on my Multiply site : http://mcwk.multiply.com/photos/album/85/Kum_Cheng_July_2010_-_Happy_Birthday_Mr_Moey
Farewell to Jerry and Tharuma
I make it a point to note down memorable dates, such as the last days of my friends and colleagues at work. Over the span of nearly a decade, I have since lost track of countless farewells that have been said.
Last Friday was the last working day of my colleague, Jerry, a veteran and true authority in the field of Environment, Safety and Health (and even Infrastructure / Facilities / Security as well). Once again, due to poor flow of information in my direction, I found out DURING Friday lunch, that Jerry was only in for the first half of the day. Meaning, he wasn't coming back after lunch, or ever.
Well, in a meeting late into the afternoon, I received an e-mail from yet another colleague, Tharuma, that it was his last day at work. Didn't hear any mention of him leaving, so this came as much of a surprise, not only for me, but to practically everyone else, even his co-workers over at the logistics department.
That's 2 less people in the company this week, practically disappearing overnight. All the more reason to remember, don't put off meeting anyone, and always treat everyone like they are the most important people that you've met so far that day. You will never know when the next meeting might take place!
Last Friday was the last working day of my colleague, Jerry, a veteran and true authority in the field of Environment, Safety and Health (and even Infrastructure / Facilities / Security as well). Once again, due to poor flow of information in my direction, I found out DURING Friday lunch, that Jerry was only in for the first half of the day. Meaning, he wasn't coming back after lunch, or ever.
Well, in a meeting late into the afternoon, I received an e-mail from yet another colleague, Tharuma, that it was his last day at work. Didn't hear any mention of him leaving, so this came as much of a surprise, not only for me, but to practically everyone else, even his co-workers over at the logistics department.
That's 2 less people in the company this week, practically disappearing overnight. All the more reason to remember, don't put off meeting anyone, and always treat everyone like they are the most important people that you've met so far that day. You will never know when the next meeting might take place!
Malaysia getting serious with cost saving
Today, a round of subsidy-reductions was announced in major dailies, The Star and The New Straits Times. This is rather gloomy news, offsetting the usual T.G.I.F. (Thank God It's Friday) mood as the weekend approaches.
As of now, I have no confirmed reports on the pricing of Shell Vpower Racing (the only unsubsidized petrol sold at a premium).
Ah well, apart from that, we have reduction in subsidies also from LPG (the gas you use to cook) and sugar (for a healthier society?).
I welcome the reduction in sugar subsidies - hopefully, next time I order my coffee with no sugar, it really comes to me sans sugar!
Emergency - Laptop in trouble!
You get the feeling that they just don't make things with the same level of quality and durability like they do in the good old days. My recent experience with my (in)famous laptop further reinforced the notion - and managed to raise my heart-rate and blood-pressure a few notches in the process!
Last week, I witnessed my very first BSOD (Blue-Screen-Of-Death) since taking the leap of faith by migrating to Windows 7. The BSOD was a fairly common sight with Windows Vista - judging from the recurrence, it seems not to be a software problem.
Starting from Monday, things took a turn for the worst. Coming back from a meeting, I found myself staring at an artifact-laden Red Screen of Death. Hmm, never saw this one before. Barely had I whipped out my trusty side-arm (none other than the pocket-friendly Panasonic Lumix), the system rebooted itself. The red artifacts persisted throughout the reboot, and appeared even before windows booted up.
Shortly and sadly, the display gave up and ceased to output either to the laptop screen or via VGA output to the external LCD monitor.
Unsurprisingly, in today's "paper-less" working environment, a failed PC almost means productivity grinds to a halt. Weighing my options, I considered purchasing a SATA-to-USB adaptor so that I would be able to access my critical files while waiting for technical support. Well, to their credit, help arrived much sooner than expected. By the end of the following day, my laptop was up and running once again, but not without a major overhaul. I learned that nearly everything EXCEPT the casing, CPU and hard disk / DVD drive was replaced. Excellent support, but at least now she seems to be running smoothly.
There is just one down side from this episode. Throughout this ordeal, my battery decided to become a "ghost" and disappear from the system. Booting up in BIOS yielded the same outcome (again, Microsoft escapes my wrath).
Of course, this has the effect in Windows that my laptop would have to remain plugged into the AC adaptor (making it an expensive desktop), lest Windows drop immediately into hibernation mode upon disconnecting the mains. (16/7/2010: Update - today out of sheer habit, I unplugged my laptop and hauled it to a meeting in the adjacent building. I found that it was still awake, even though there was no battery detected!) In the BIOS, the system was up and running on battery power alone, in spite of showing "Battery Not Installed". The bright orange indicator in the lower right hand corner of the photo seems to scream out for attention. Hmm....
Well, I will order a replacement battery (my second one since getting this unit a little over 2 years ago). Otherwise, it's just like driving a car with a faulty fuel gauge - you'll never know when you'll suddenly run out of juice!
Last week, I witnessed my very first BSOD (Blue-Screen-Of-Death) since taking the leap of faith by migrating to Windows 7. The BSOD was a fairly common sight with Windows Vista - judging from the recurrence, it seems not to be a software problem.
Starting from Monday, things took a turn for the worst. Coming back from a meeting, I found myself staring at an artifact-laden Red Screen of Death. Hmm, never saw this one before. Barely had I whipped out my trusty side-arm (none other than the pocket-friendly Panasonic Lumix), the system rebooted itself. The red artifacts persisted throughout the reboot, and appeared even before windows booted up.
Trying to boot up, I was faced with again, a blue screen of some sort. This time, the font was really illegible.
Unsurprisingly, in today's "paper-less" working environment, a failed PC almost means productivity grinds to a halt. Weighing my options, I considered purchasing a SATA-to-USB adaptor so that I would be able to access my critical files while waiting for technical support. Well, to their credit, help arrived much sooner than expected. By the end of the following day, my laptop was up and running once again, but not without a major overhaul. I learned that nearly everything EXCEPT the casing, CPU and hard disk / DVD drive was replaced. Excellent support, but at least now she seems to be running smoothly.
There is just one down side from this episode. Throughout this ordeal, my battery decided to become a "ghost" and disappear from the system. Booting up in BIOS yielded the same outcome (again, Microsoft escapes my wrath).
Migrating from Windows Vista to Windows 7
Now, being a laptop for corporate use, I used to have Windows Vista Business running, not the typical home edition. Naturally, the next version in line for us would be the Windows 7 Enterprise edition. I've used both home user versions of both Vista and 7, there's little difference for a casual user to be worried about.
Another reason that I volunteered to change my OS so soon was to hopefully rid myself of the dreadful BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death), that has visited me a countless number of times during my 2+ years running Vista. Now, the actual root cause could either come from a conflict between software, or a hardware defect (probably a RAM module). They never did come back to me with a conclusive answer.
Well, due to the "by-the-book" installation procedure, my OS was wiped out and replaced in a mere 2 days. Could have had it done in 1, if it weren't for a minor partition oversight. As this was a completely new install, not an upgrade, this meant that all of my software had to be reinstalled following the completion of the Windows 7 migration. Due to lack of time (by then it was a Friday), my IT had managed to reinstall almost all critical software, with some exceptions left over for this week. My statistical software being one of them....
Now, having used practically every version of Windows since it's introduction, I can say that the change from Vista to 7 is rather incremental rather than the quantum leap from, say, Windows 3.1 to Windows 95. If you're already used to Windows Vista (or even 95), getting the hang of Windows 7 would be quite easy and intuitive.
When I first got my laptop back, I found to my dismay that I was unable to activate my VGA-out port to route the display to my external monitor, though the USB mouse and keyboard that were connected using the monitor as a hub worked fine. This being due to the generic display card driver that was on by default. Surfing to www.dell.com.my, I found that Dell does not yet have any Windows 7 drivers for my laptop. So, I tried installing the Nvidia reference driver instead. Fortunately, this worked, and so now, I have my display working back like it was before! :)
Speaking of updates, upon installation of the new OS, immediately there were around 30 updates to be installed before anything else. Hmm, so soon? I guess software is the only product in the world that requires updating the moment you install it, as you continue to use it, and even at the end-of-life, may continue to warrant updates. Luckily cars are not like that...!
Performance-wise, it's hard to draw comparisons, since for meager, everyday tasks, like writing e-mails and reports, spreadsheets, and so, the speed of which things happen would be more dependent on available memory and network connection speed rather than the OS or even processor speed (my trusty old dual core CPU from 2+ years ago appears to be doing fine).
The new GUI / Aero desktop was running once I installed my new display drivers. Most features of the old Vista Aero desktop were there, save more of the "transparent" effects which made switching between open windows much easier. There is a feature called Aero Peek, which allows you to view a thumbnail of all windows in a program group once you hover the mouse over the icon on the taskbar. Unfortunately, I found that it works with all my programs, except MS Excel. MS Word and Powerpoint work, but not Excel. Don't know why, but doesn't seem life threatening enough to approach Microsoft for an explanation. Maybe they will release a patch or update for this someday.
Aero Peek with MS Word - now you see it....
Aero Peek with MS Excel - now you don't!
Well, with most of my software installed, there should be no impact to productivity (as opposed to the last time when I "upgraded" my MS Office suite from 2003 to 2007 and find to this day that I am losing precious time looking for buttons and functions that were so easily accessible before). I hope that Microsoft does not have any nasty surprises in store for me, as I will be using this OS daily in my work until the next one come along, or until I leave the company, depending which comes first....
Return to the Badminton Court
It has been nearly two years since I last stepped in to the badminton court. Well, thanks to my new colleagues, Desmond and Chiang (along with a host of other company stalwarts), I've now dared to venture back to the game of badminton once again. My ankle injury is not yet completely healed, so I'm still cautious about dancing all around the court chasing the shuttlecock. Better not take chances - my German boss has before injured his tendon as a result of a ill-fated friendly game in Taiwan!
I took this opportunity to get myself a pair of badminton shoes. Previously, I played using my tennis shoes, which sort of served as a multi-purpose shoe for all occasions. That status was of course revoked when I discovered (the hard way) that tennis shoes have zero traction on wet ground....
Anyway, the rest of my gear is the same. My old racket's still strung (smash as hard as we can, we can't match the power of real professional players, so no chance of snapping the strings). Shuttlecocks are "expendable" - a tube of a dozen now retails for roughly RM40~RM50, depending on brand. In our experience, the expensive ones seem to last longer, though, once again, our non-pro smashes are partly responsible for their prolonged lifespan.
The biggest shocker was the new scoring system! I tell you - I no longer know how to count the score and figure out the serves!
The latest scoring system as per Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badminton#Scoring_system_and_service
Hopefully it stays that way - I can't imagine changing the rules of the game, for whatever reason. Just a bane to purists of the sport!
So now I try to get off early from work every Friday to join my colleagues for an hour of badminton at the Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan SJK Malim, opposite Taman ASEAN. This is proving to be quite a challenge in itself, as some enterprising soul booked the court from 6.00pm to 7.00pm. Not so easy to do when you have a job like mine.
Well, speaking of badminton, tonight (or rather last night, as it's way past midnight now) was the Semi-finals of the 2010 Thomas & Uber Cup. Malaysia was up against China. So, no badminton session today. Unfortunately, due to work commitments, and attending to tiny family members, by the time I actually sat down to watch the game, I found out that it was all over for Malaysia. Hmm, at least, from the interview of a sad-looking Misbun Sidek (current coach for the Malaysian team), and the empty chairs in the background, I sort of guessed that China won. Sadly, scrolling through the Astro guide, I found that there would be no replay / delayed telecast later. Sigh, Astro was actually quite notorious for repeats, except now - just when you expect one.... :(
Well, good effort from the National Team to have made it this far - hope they grow stronger with this experience and double their efforts for the next time round!
I took this opportunity to get myself a pair of badminton shoes. Previously, I played using my tennis shoes, which sort of served as a multi-purpose shoe for all occasions. That status was of course revoked when I discovered (the hard way) that tennis shoes have zero traction on wet ground....
Anyway, the rest of my gear is the same. My old racket's still strung (smash as hard as we can, we can't match the power of real professional players, so no chance of snapping the strings). Shuttlecocks are "expendable" - a tube of a dozen now retails for roughly RM40~RM50, depending on brand. In our experience, the expensive ones seem to last longer, though, once again, our non-pro smashes are partly responsible for their prolonged lifespan.
The biggest shocker was the new scoring system! I tell you - I no longer know how to count the score and figure out the serves!
The latest scoring system as per Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badminton#Scoring_system_and_service
Hopefully it stays that way - I can't imagine changing the rules of the game, for whatever reason. Just a bane to purists of the sport!
So now I try to get off early from work every Friday to join my colleagues for an hour of badminton at the Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan SJK Malim, opposite Taman ASEAN. This is proving to be quite a challenge in itself, as some enterprising soul booked the court from 6.00pm to 7.00pm. Not so easy to do when you have a job like mine.
Well, speaking of badminton, tonight (or rather last night, as it's way past midnight now) was the Semi-finals of the 2010 Thomas & Uber Cup. Malaysia was up against China. So, no badminton session today. Unfortunately, due to work commitments, and attending to tiny family members, by the time I actually sat down to watch the game, I found out that it was all over for Malaysia. Hmm, at least, from the interview of a sad-looking Misbun Sidek (current coach for the Malaysian team), and the empty chairs in the background, I sort of guessed that China won. Sadly, scrolling through the Astro guide, I found that there would be no replay / delayed telecast later. Sigh, Astro was actually quite notorious for repeats, except now - just when you expect one.... :(
Well, good effort from the National Team to have made it this far - hope they grow stronger with this experience and double their efforts for the next time round!
The BSOD strikes again!!!
Users of Microsoft's (in)famous operating system, named after the architectural structure that allows you to see through walls, are probably no stranger to the white text on blue background as depicted in the screen shot above.
Affectionately known as the "Blue Screen Of Death" or BSOD, though informally to many it would probably go by some other creative acronym that would not be appropriate to post here in my family-friendly blog! :)
Well, it's not really a screen shot, since at that moment in time, my PC decided to take a break and leave me wondering in the next couple of minutes if there was anything I was doing that I haven't "saved" yet. Luckily, I have my Panasonic Lumix handy for moments like these!
This was not the first, second or even third time. I reckon it was likely the sixth time in 2 years.
This being the standard corporate-issued laptop, the supplier's customer service replied promptly upon receiving the mini-dump file extracted from the deep recesses of my PC's system folders. Sadly, to date, no one has yet to pin point the exact root cause for this.
As the computers these days have grown vastly more complex, there was as much a possibility of this being caused by Software as it might be by Hardware. For the inquisitive who really would like to know, the Operating System that I'm running on is not the latest one (just replaced by version "7"). As for Hardware, my laptop manufacturer's name, by shear coincidence, sounds like "Hell" - if you can't guess after that clue, take a closer look at the photo and you will see it somewhere on the bottom center.... :)
Well, thankfully, though it happened in the middle of a working day, as far as I can tell after the recovery, there were no open, unsaved files at that time. The last thing I remember doing was clicking on the Search button of my E-mail Client.
So, until the problem is finally resolved (which I have no way of verifying, since I can't consistently reproduce this phenomena), I'll have to get myself into the habit of constantly saving important files after each milestone entry. I hope that the customer support people figure out what is causing this soon, so that I can have some peace of mind at last!
Farewell to Tan SH
As mentioned near the end of my last post, yet another of my long-time colleagues would be leaving the company for greener pastures.
Well, two weeks ago was the time to say my goodbyes to Tan Swee Heng from Product Development (same department as mine, but for a different product family). Though we had never worked together before, in such a small company, it was hard not to frequently bump into each other during our daily routines (especially since we shared the same office building, separated only be by the wall of our cubical).
Soft-spoken and mild-mannered, Swee Heng was more famously known for his technical prowess than his commanding presence, but rest assured that if a problem or issue ever came into his sights, it would be dealt with systematically and swiftly.
Swee Heng adds his name to the bottom of the long list of colleagues who have since gone beyond the walls of our factory. As with the others, I'm sure that he would go far in his career with his next step forward. According to my sources (considered to be reliable), he has found a new job still in the small state of Melaka, in a Multi-national semiconductor-manufacturing factory (given how small Melaka is, making a correct guess here would be easier than striking first prize in the lottery).
Well, one evening, a few of our office colleagues got together for a small tea-time function, to bid farewell to him. There was subsequently an "offsite" dinner for this occasion, but alas I was out of the country and thus was unable to join....
In any case, may fame and fortune favour the bold - especially those like my dear friend, Tan Swee Heng...! :)
Well, two weeks ago was the time to say my goodbyes to Tan Swee Heng from Product Development (same department as mine, but for a different product family). Though we had never worked together before, in such a small company, it was hard not to frequently bump into each other during our daily routines (especially since we shared the same office building, separated only be by the wall of our cubical).
Soft-spoken and mild-mannered, Swee Heng was more famously known for his technical prowess than his commanding presence, but rest assured that if a problem or issue ever came into his sights, it would be dealt with systematically and swiftly.
Swee Heng adds his name to the bottom of the long list of colleagues who have since gone beyond the walls of our factory. As with the others, I'm sure that he would go far in his career with his next step forward. According to my sources (considered to be reliable), he has found a new job still in the small state of Melaka, in a Multi-national semiconductor-manufacturing factory (given how small Melaka is, making a correct guess here would be easier than striking first prize in the lottery).
Well, one evening, a few of our office colleagues got together for a small tea-time function, to bid farewell to him. There was subsequently an "offsite" dinner for this occasion, but alas I was out of the country and thus was unable to join....
In any case, may fame and fortune favour the bold - especially those like my dear friend, Tan Swee Heng...! :)
So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen and hello again
Zero posts in March are not an indication of an idle month. On the contrary, my classification of *busy* just ascended to yet a new level, at both work and at home. That was basically why my last blog entry was a good 2 months ago!
As what I do, after a long time away from posting, is to write about the things that concern the people around me. That is, yet another outgoing stream of friends / colleagues.
This year, Valentine's Day happened to fall on the same day as the Chinese New Year (also know as the Lunar New Year, for those who are not Chinese but who celebrate this event all the same). It was on the eve of the eventful weekend did I have to wish additionally a "goodbye" to my colleague in Finance, Ms Siew Hong. Typically, I only hear from my colleagues in Finance once a month (during monthly cut-off). For Siew Hong, she was in charge of annual asset checking, meaning by right I would only hear from her once a year. Of course, if I know someone in the company, their reputation surely preceeds them! :)
Anyway, for the few years that we have worked together in the company, I found that we have certainly learnt a lot about each other's work. I know as much about Finance as she knows about Manufacturing. I asked, but never got a definite indication as to where her future endeavors might be taking her....
A good part of the month passed, up until the end, where I found out (by sheer accident) that I would have to say goodbye to Blossom, the cheerful girl from HR. She had been around for barely a year, it seems to me, but all so soon, she decided that factory life wasn't her calling, so off she went to a happier carrier of choice!
It was during this time too, that I found out that my old time friend since the days of our initial line transfer from Penang to Melaka was also leaving the company. To Thiagoo, who I owe a special debt to, along with the rest of the original failure analysis team, who played a decisive role for the chemistry that developed between me and their engineer (who would later become my dear wife). I nearly missed chance to say goodbye, as he was in all of the sudden after a long leave to hand in his badge and other company assets. Fortunately, my old friend managed to call me up before he departed the company grounds. Anyway, Thiagoo would be taking time off to recover his health. As his residence was close to my wife's hometown, we plan to visit him one day soon.
On the way out, an engineer who specializes in analyzing failures - Benny Lee. Don't know him personally very well, as he was stationed in a location some 10 km from our plant, which we have some agreement to lease the usage of analytical equipment. Well, so I hear through my colleagues that he would be leaving the country (that's certainly a new one), so I hope he finds better prospects where he's going.
There is another one leaving, much to my surprise. Another old friend. Though I found out today, the news has already proved to spread faster than fire through a kerosene-soaked rag. For those in the same company, you know who I'm talking about. For those who don't you'll find out soon...! :)
With all these "farewell" posts, I end this one with a slight twist. There is a small occurrence of counter-flow to the typical outward stream of people, though. A somewhat small consolation was the fact that we welcome again the strong and capable Dr Gunalan to once again fill the shoes of IEHS Head of Department. Well, after what was effectively a long, long holiday, he's back! Now, if my old boss could just do the same...! (here's some wishful thinking)
Well, so much for friends at work. To those I've mentioned (therefore I won't forget), congratulations on finding a new course in life, and for the strength and courage to take a step forward!
As what I do, after a long time away from posting, is to write about the things that concern the people around me. That is, yet another outgoing stream of friends / colleagues.
This year, Valentine's Day happened to fall on the same day as the Chinese New Year (also know as the Lunar New Year, for those who are not Chinese but who celebrate this event all the same). It was on the eve of the eventful weekend did I have to wish additionally a "goodbye" to my colleague in Finance, Ms Siew Hong. Typically, I only hear from my colleagues in Finance once a month (during monthly cut-off). For Siew Hong, she was in charge of annual asset checking, meaning by right I would only hear from her once a year. Of course, if I know someone in the company, their reputation surely preceeds them! :)
Anyway, for the few years that we have worked together in the company, I found that we have certainly learnt a lot about each other's work. I know as much about Finance as she knows about Manufacturing. I asked, but never got a definite indication as to where her future endeavors might be taking her....
A good part of the month passed, up until the end, where I found out (by sheer accident) that I would have to say goodbye to Blossom, the cheerful girl from HR. She had been around for barely a year, it seems to me, but all so soon, she decided that factory life wasn't her calling, so off she went to a happier carrier of choice!
It was during this time too, that I found out that my old time friend since the days of our initial line transfer from Penang to Melaka was also leaving the company. To Thiagoo, who I owe a special debt to, along with the rest of the original failure analysis team, who played a decisive role for the chemistry that developed between me and their engineer (who would later become my dear wife). I nearly missed chance to say goodbye, as he was in all of the sudden after a long leave to hand in his badge and other company assets. Fortunately, my old friend managed to call me up before he departed the company grounds. Anyway, Thiagoo would be taking time off to recover his health. As his residence was close to my wife's hometown, we plan to visit him one day soon.
On the way out, an engineer who specializes in analyzing failures - Benny Lee. Don't know him personally very well, as he was stationed in a location some 10 km from our plant, which we have some agreement to lease the usage of analytical equipment. Well, so I hear through my colleagues that he would be leaving the country (that's certainly a new one), so I hope he finds better prospects where he's going.
There is another one leaving, much to my surprise. Another old friend. Though I found out today, the news has already proved to spread faster than fire through a kerosene-soaked rag. For those in the same company, you know who I'm talking about. For those who don't you'll find out soon...! :)
With all these "farewell" posts, I end this one with a slight twist. There is a small occurrence of counter-flow to the typical outward stream of people, though. A somewhat small consolation was the fact that we welcome again the strong and capable Dr Gunalan to once again fill the shoes of IEHS Head of Department. Well, after what was effectively a long, long holiday, he's back! Now, if my old boss could just do the same...! (here's some wishful thinking)
Well, so much for friends at work. To those I've mentioned (therefore I won't forget), congratulations on finding a new course in life, and for the strength and courage to take a step forward!
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