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pauseWednesday, November 26th 2003I will stop cross-blogging over here. Subsequent entries will be at my LJ site. posted by Darren @ 1:15 PM ::...Saturday, November 22nd 2003This feeling I can only pen, Today marks one of the darkest day in the history of my life... ...but it was in the dark, that I saw the light. posted by Darren @ 3:30 PM ::inspector gadgetSaturday, November 22nd 2003My dialup connection is dead. Unable to dial to my isp for the whole evening. Sigh... being disconnected is no fun. No, I can live without internet, but I need to search for some information for someone's assignment. Yes, internet is my primary source of information. So whatever I need, that's the first place I go to. And here I am now. It's already past midnight and I am still trying to dail in. I did not screw up the settings. I installed a SoundBlaster card with its XP drivers and softwares, but I don't think that has anything to do with my modem. Switched to Linux and the problem persists. So the problem's not in Microsoft's stupid product this time. There is no response from the server, I guess. It must be the ISP's stupid service, or the phone company's screwed up network. Gosh..I should control my temper. Okay..life is beautiful...my eyes should see something else other that the monitor; something like the tv night sky with stars. Wait..there are no stars..the rain just stopped. This is something that can happen when you are an internet freak staying in a kampung (rural) area. I wouldn't be facing this problem if broadband is available here. God knows when they are going to offer it here, considering the small market segment and stone-age like rural township, like Yap Ah Loy just arrived last year. Okay... since I'm unable crawl in the net, and tv is not an option, I dug into my old boxes and found this:
Now what that thing looks like to you? Yeah..it's something audio..YES! It's an mp3 player! Why was it thrown into box? You may ask. You see, if it's tri-band, color screen, built-in camera, MMS, GPRS phone the size of your palm today, that player is like the old bulky, black colored mobile phone used by the olden days triad boss (hence the name tai-ko-tai ie big-brother-big in cantonese). It only has 16MB of internal memory, equivalent to about four mp3 sampled at 128kbps. There is 1 slot for memory card which I don't have. And best of all, it came with a lousy software that doesn't even require installation.
But that's not the reason why I ditched it. You see, I gave up when that piece of software simply won't detect the player! I copied the software and plugged the player to the parallel port (only works with printer port), but it was still the same "Not Connected". See the 5 exclamation marks that follow? It's screaming back to me. I thought it'll be different with Xp, but it's still same. Nearly wanting to give up after trying everything from redetecting new hardwares to reinitiating and tweaking the port's settings, I went into the BIOS and changed the LPT port from "Normal" to "ECP". It works! So now I am blogging this while listening (repeatedly) to four songs in the player. Sounds stupid eh? I have like 4GB of mp3 in my computer and I'm listening to four songs repeatedly on an mp3 player from last century. Probably I need to enjoy the fruit of my long and bitter labor troubleshooting the connection. Yaaawwwwnnn...that's my girl calling from dreamland. Captain's log 0030@221103. This is Inspector Gadget signing off...Good nite, Malaysia. posted by Darren @ 12:30 AM ::when will we learn...Thursday, November 20th 2003Tears almost rolled down my cheek as I read the letter from the 17-year-old student here. When I was in my form 6, I actually wrote a lengthy letter after returning from my Sekolah Kebangsaan, a rural secondary school.. It was a letter that never made it to the post office because I didn't know who to address to. It was a long tiring day. On that day, me and my fellow prefect board members were called to face the disciplinary teacher, a Haji. Earlier on, we had voiced out our protest on a case whereby an Indian student was slapped in the face by him after that boy was seen talking to a Malay girl in the empty classroom during recess. (note: Lately PAS said we, non-Muslims can choose the set of laws we want use) However, he only called me and my Chinese prefect friends, one of them being the elected president for the term. He lined us up and asked us why we are so "kurang ajar". He asked if this is a teaching passed down by our Chinese parents and ancestors, unlike their Islam which is way better than our religion. After we left the school, words had it that the teachers abolished the election for prefect board members. They are to be handpicked by the teachers.. What a good start for a lesson on democracy for our children. Now I don't want to promote hate here as it is the last thing we need now. I still want to believe that there are many of my Malay countrymen out there who loathe at racial and religious hatred. However, it seems to be getting out of hand lately. During my university days, we were made to memorize in great details all the events and dates throughout the entire evolution of Islamic civilisations in TITAS and Tamadun Islam, the 2 compulsory papers we must pass in order to graduate. I have no problem with that. In fact, they changed it to simpler multiple choices format instead of the 4 essays in 2 hours format when many of the Malay students fared poorly. We have been studying the same thing since form 4, so it was like repeating the same old history once again. It isn't hard to see what was the real purpose in the minds of those screwed up policy makers in education ministry. Is there no other history and civilisations worth our attention? What happened to the cultural revolution in China, or the history of the American civilisation? What happened during the French Revolution? What about the Renaissance in Europe? Or what really happened during WWI and WWII? How many of our local uni product actually know what happened during the Holocaust? Or what is the famous Gettysburg Address, which was delivered exactly 140 years ago yesterday? Some never even heard of Abraham Lincoln or Mahatma Gandhi. Such education system not only inhibits development of critical thinking, it's causing irreversible damage to the nation's development that is going to last many many generations more. We can already feel the effect as these flawed products are now slowly creeping up to fill up important posts and gain enormous status and power. Reading the commentaries on Jeff Ooi's blog, I am beginning to get a clearer picture. It is not the religion or race that is causing the problem; it is the people who claim they speak the words of God and those who refuses to think properly that is posing the real threat. Islam, like all other religions here is a good religion. Malays like all other races, is equally smart and able. It's the system that is flawed.
Read:
posted by Darren @ 5:30 PM ::promoting unity and just?Wednesday, November 19th 2003I am all out to support this man and those who think alike. His people (who think like him) seriously need help. There are just a few things I would like to add. His assertion on the group of Chinese who forms 27% of the population but controls RM157 billion of shares as compared to RM73 billion with the Prince-of-Land, who are 58% of the population is kind of inapropriately used to describe the current distribution of wealth among the people. Those figures should not be used to describe wealth distribution. I’m lazy to think of the words. Just look at this picture.
I have no problem with our government helping his people getting into the colored circle. While I truly understand the newspaper’s “obligation and responsibilities” in view of the coming election and PAS’s increasingly popular image among his kampung folks, please don’t make inacurate interpretation of sensitive issues pertaining to racial matters. The question is, should we be comparing at all? Poor is poor. Rich is rich. No matter what color your skin is. And one more thing. Just incase if anyone out there is suspecting…we don’t rule by proxy in the business world. Those few of us who made it big… they ruled it all by themselves. No conspiracy here. So don't hate us all. posted by Darren @ 4:15 PM ::technology-so convenientTuesday, November 18th 2003“Mary took out her mobile phone to compose an SMS to her good friend, Jane. She had a problem with her coursemate, Diane. Diane had asked Mary if they can change their lab schedule during the coming Raya holiday to make allowance for her trip back to hometown. Mary agreed with a smiling face although deep inside, she hates it. She didn’t say anything though because it has been quite a good partnership and she wouldn’t want to sound so inconsiderate towards such a simple request from a nice friend. Now that she’s resting and recollecting the whole thing, she had to let it out, to put down the Miss NiceCoursemate face she has been wearing throughout the day. Mary’s handphone credit is running low, but there is always the convenient and cheap way of SMS. While keying the SMS to Jane, all that was running in Mary’s head was the picture of her coursemate, Diane who has no idea that Mary is NOT OKAY with the changes. Then she hits the SEND key...” Nothing special, eh? The problem is, Mary has been thinking so much about Diane, that she searched the address book for Diane’s number and sent the SMS to Diane intead of Jane! And after the “Message Sent” popped up on the display, there is NO WAY Mary can recall back that message! If you are Mary, what would you do? And if you are Diane, how would you react? When Diane relates the story to me, she was in a state of panic. "Sei(die) lor, sei lor...what to do ah?" A few minutes later, Diane called me again and told me Mary has called and made her promise NOT to read the most recent SMS she got from her. She is to delete it right away. I've personally experienced similar problem before, although not about talking bad things behind friend's back. Most of the time, I managed to pull the handphone battery out in split second, before the "Message Sent" pops up...and most of the time, it saved me from the embarassment. However, none of those past experience has put me into situation so embarassing as this one. Maybe all the email programs and handphones should have a function to ask "Are you sure about sending this to Mr XXX?" before delivering the message. Sometimes, technology makes our life miserable. posted by Darren @ 9:15 PM ::miss No-Name.version2Monday, November 17th 2003
The following were drawn using MsPaint (yr2000):
posted by Darren @ 12:30 PM ::digital artSunday, November 16th 2003Took me about 1 hour to complete this piece. PIXIA is a MUST-HAVE for anyone into manga and digital art. It's FREE! Whooaaa...FREEEEE! Go..go get it! Title: No-title
posted by Darren @ 6:02 PM ::technically incapable?Saturday, November 15th 2003Apart from the Time magazine whose(?) delivery is usually highly unpredictable, the postman dropped something bulky into my mailbox this morning. It's a thick 400-page directory from an institution that is rather disappointing despite its professional nature. IEM is full of professional engineers, including some Datuks and Tan Sris, as well as a bunch of aspiring student members. With this pool of highly capable individuals under its roof, IEM could have gone a lot further than where it is today. For the past few years since joining the instituion, I have occasionally attended and contributed (as a volunteer) to its Graduate and Student section. However, it is hugely disappointing to note that there isn't much professionalism in the way the section is being managed. Imagine having to wait for the people (members of the committee) who don't seem to get the idea of punctuality. While in the process of waiting, the rest who are already there would just sit around and engage in often garbage and nonsense conversation. Soon, they would realise that some would not be turning up at all, and they need to get it over fast so they can go for dinner or supper. During the course of the meeting, they would often talk out of agenda. Simple matters were dragged for hours. What's more dissapointing is the fact that it is really a DEAD section. The only people who are actively involved is the bunch of clowns I just mentioned and they are doing a great job in satisfying themselves with the instituition fund and facilities. Trips and retreats are only for those within the small circle. There is hardly any initiative at all to get the rest of the G&S members who from the directory I just received, spanned from page 271 to 383, to take part in the events, or even be informed with what is going on in it. That's f***king 113 pages of names in small font! I bet some of them are dead and they don't even know it. When I joined the section in 2001, I did not expect much from it. Knowing I would not be able to fully to commit myself to the section, I agreed to be a volunteer on the IT section. My first and only task was to help redesign a brand new website for G&S. You'd be surpised at how ugly and old fashioned their website was back in year 2001. Nobody had the heart to put anything new or change the layout. It was probably done many years ago, back in the days when Notepad ruled the HTML world.
Over the weekends, I picked up HTML and some basic Flash and came out with a simpler but more colorful and interactive design. A friend teased that one can easily tell from the circuit board, power lines and the satellite dish, that the webmaster was trained an E&E or TE.
Being a volunteer, that was all I could give. For another year or so, nobody cared to add new articles or even update the pages. Then in 2002, a friend back in my university days took up the job as a committee member in charge of IT, my so-called new 'boss' in the section since I was still a volunteer. This ambitious friend wanted a new design, probably just for the feel on the wind of change. So he approached me again. Half heartedly, I agreed to help as he promised a new approach, a new more active involvement. Actually, I was wondering why would they put people who don't do website and IT stuffs much on the post, and have them bug volunteers like me. For god's sake, I was just a volunteer, and I had single handedly designed and migrated all the content from the old ugly site. Now, they want me to go over it again? Sometimes, I really hate myself for agreeing to help and later feel bad about it. It's really a bad thing to do. I made an agreement with this friend. This time, I will only come up with the design. Find someone else to migrate the content. So I designed a new one and submitted it to the friend. After a few changes, he finally had no choice but to accept one of the samples. Then I heard no more from him. Earlier this year, another G&S student member whom I regularly chat with in ICQ told me that the site was put online. Nobody even bothered to drop me an email to notify me about it, and the Yahoo! Group is either dead or my email was taken out from the list.
When I stated with the initial design, I proposed to use PHP scripting and MySQL database to add in more features and ease of content management. I was told the server/host doesn't support these stuffs. That's it. The friend didn't even know what the heck I was talking about. So much for a technology driven society that once held a highly respectable role as the driving force behind a nation's progress and modernization. Now, I hardly get any news from the section or the friend. Newsletters are now only sent to graduate members; no more for student. A change I call the most idiotic cost cutting move. Most engineer friends are totally unaware of such a section. It's still the same as the day when I was promised heaps of interesting changes and reformations; still DEAD. Ask the people around you. How many actually realise that there is Ir to an engineer as a Dr to an Phd/MD? Graduates with a science degree now can assume the title Engineer without any formal training from engineering schools. How many actually aware that the title 'Engineer' is protected by laws? Now, we even have "Sales Engineer" who are actually salesmen and "Sound Engineer" who is a deejay in a pub/disco. Years ago, I came across a comic in a local daily. There was this man pumping fuel at a fuel station. He was wearing a uniform and a cap, obviously a station attendant, back in the days when self service was still unacceptable. The man had a tag on his chest. On it, written "PETROLEUM TRANSFER ENGINEER". What a joke..but we are almost there now. posted by Darren @ 3:30 PM ::blueprint? what blueprint?Thursday, November 13th 2003How about this... Here's my (foot)print... "Malaysia, Negara Buddha." Replace the constituition with the Buddha's teachings. Others are free to choose their own laws but those who are not choosing ours will go to hell. So we are still ok with it. If you can't stand this one, please shut up! posted by Darren @ 5:25 PM ::life's a box of chocolateWednesday, November 12th 2003Here goes another directionless rambling. Life is like a box of chocolate. Yes, that's from one of my favourite movie, Forest Gump. It is a box of chocolate. You'll never know what you're gonna get. You can look at it as being optimistic as well as being pessimistic. However you look at it, shit happens sometimes, unexpectedly most of the time. However, you get out of it in no time and soon, back on the road again. But I also like to think that I control my life. Being able to be myself one time in this world, I am going to make full use of my presence here. Words can hardly describe how I sometimes can get so emotional over the simple fact that I am still alive. It can overwhelm me to the extend of thinking maybe I should just stop what I am doing now and walk away. I do think we can live better, but to this day, it still remains a thought. I tell you something...sometimes, I feel the society is cruel, wicked, unfriendly, evil. People are generally unfriendly. Given a single chance, they would wanna see you defeated, failed, or even in some cases, exterminated, eradicated. The sweetest victory is found in your best friend's defeat. We want to be someone, the one. We want to be famous, and this is not something we wanna share with anyone, not even your bestest friend, not even your siblings. That is why partnership in business is the last thing you should think of. "Pessimist", you might call me. Maybe, but that is the way our society works. I don't want to see this, but I can't dismiss what my senses have been telling me. So is life still a box of chocolate? Yes, it is. It has been a box of chocolate. So if you are contemplating suicide, you are going to miss the big unknown that is waiting for you to discover. Malaysia...it's is such a bad place to live in, at this part of the land. I am walking out of this soon. I need to find a better land to live on. I cannot imagine myself being here for the rest of my life. No...It will not be wasted here, with the stupid society. Let me tell you something. Nobody is going to pity you. Nobody is going to help you. All they are doing is helping themselves. All they care of is themselves. It's not necessary a bad thing. We have to be like that to survive. This is how we function. There shall be no peace between you and me untill the day when a huge asteroid is heading towards us and armageddon is near. If that never happen, we will just continue on fighting among ourselves till nobody is left for us to fight with. I always have this weird thinking once in a while, that something actually happened one fine evening after school during my primary six. I don't know why I keep on remembering that scene. It was a hot and quiet afternoon. I was walking out of the school gate, heading to the small basketball stadium across the road. Something happened there. I don't know why it's still in my head. Have you watched Matrix Revolution? Do you believe in the Matrix? Do you beleive in the Oracle? I don't. But I think it's helluva concept. Maybe the concept in correct, the details not. That we are actually part of a huge program stored somewhere in a huge server. The concept of the Matrix is not new to me. Since I was a little kid, I always habe this thinking that maybe all the things that is happening around me is not real. But my version of Matrix is a bit self-centered. It's only for me. A huge virtual world customised for myself. Nothing else is real. You are not real. You are just a piece of program to help me walk through this test. Alright, back to the Matrix... posted by Darren @ 6:30 PM ::free and getting betterWednesday, November 12th 2003RedHat Linux 9. Please try this if you have extra HD! It's just as good as Windows in terms of apps! For Office apps, there is OpenOffice suite (FREE version of MSOffice, and is compatible with it ;) For internet, there's Mozilla (far better browser than IE6-believe me..you wouldn't wanna go back!), Ximian Evolution (similar to Outlook Exp), GAIM (for messenger services). Gosh... this really KooL! posted by Darren @ 12:42 PM ::in talking termSaturday, November 8th 2003My Friday night was spent configuring and reconfiguring Samba server on RH7. These 2 guys can finally talk to each other, but Samba isn't working properly. I must have screwed up some parameters.
Linux is still a PItA for those who just want to get a machine running for home or office use. But mark my words, in a few years to come, this free/cheap OS is going to cut more jobs at Uncle Gates' company. The Open Source communities out there are betting high on it. Soon, we shall see more Windows platform applications on Linux. It is a great challenge to overcome the user-friendliness of this unix clone. What I meant by that is making it's interface more Windows-like because that's how the people are working. Things to improve: MS is really scared now. Some countries are starting to develop new OS to reduce dependency on Windows. Some are turning to Linux and other OpenSource alternatives. Panther and Jaguar are supporting Intel chips as well. One thing's for sure, Linux is way way more stable than Windows. I pinged indefinitely between the 2 machines and guess what...XP jammed after 10 minutes. That is why I am thinking of using Linux as a proxy for Streamyx connection. You can leave the machine running (with firewall properly configured) 24/7 without having to reboot. I doubt Windows can do that. On top of that, there is a serious security issue to handle. I'm not all anti Microsoft. But I really think Linux is good. In time to come, I'll change that to better, then BEST. We'll see. posted by Darren @ 12:42 PM ::wire-moreFriday, November 7th 2003I can't believe it. Having completed a thesis in wireless networking and being in the wireless industry for more than 2 years, I find myself now entangled in a mesh of cables. I was trying to clean up dust that is gathering up at the back of my CPU when I notice the overwhelming ugly scene of highly unorganized network of cables interconnecting various peripherals to my box.
Ask any geek today and he will tell you about Bluetooh, wireless mouse and 802.11x. Well, this is a bunch of old technologies that is well, barely used by anyone in this country (except maybe for 802.11x which is slowly catching up). I bet many out there doesn't even know what Bluetooth is, or why is it called..err.."gigi biru". posted by Darren @ 2:25 PM ::horny ram sends the signalWednesday, November 5th 2003Hahahahahahahahaa..... Apparently, a ram in Scarborough UK sent a mysterious signal across all the high frequency bands by rubbing its horn against aerial masts. This baffled British intelligence, thinking the signals might be from spies or aliens. I'm sure if any of our 'lembu' here does the the same thing, nobody would have noticed it. posted by Darren @ 3:30 PM ::shooshWednesday, November 5th 2003Alright, this I cannot tolerate. I was sleeping. It was about 9am. Someone yelled at the top of his lung at the gate. I peeped through the window and saw 2 young men dressed up in a weird green color shirt with cap. Not wanting to get up and knowing for sure they are selling something I won't buy anyway, I slammed my body back to bed. Then I heard the sound of my gate being opened. It's usually safe around my neighborhood. So, we don't lock our gate, mostly not the automated type. But that doesn't mean any stranger is permitted to walk into my house without permission. That's intrusion! I have a STRONG dislike for people who don't know how to appreciate a little sense of civil manner. Before they reached my front door which I'm sure they will open as well, I asked what they want from the window. Me : Yes? What do you want? The two then headed to the gate mumbling something, obviously complaining about my ill treatment. This is why we can't adopt the kinda fenceless neighborhood in countries like UK and the State. Apart from the shitty sense of security and unfriendly folks wanting to take up every inch possible of the land surrounding their home, we have to deal with some ill-mannered salesman cum con-artist, some whom are well trained in psychology warfare, invoking and manipulating every sense of greed and fear in some unsuspecting housewives. Malaysians are generally not aware of their rights. Although this might be a small matter to many of us, it's still important to educate the public about taking precaution on situation like this. I've had many experience being approached by some rather obvious con artists trying to seal a deal with some fake government documents. When questioned further, they would turn emotional and try to harass you with some harsh remarks. Okay..here's more about the IWK (Indah Water Konsortium Pte Ltd) thing which I find a little weird. Someone shoved this notice into my mailbox couple days ago. It's a pre-paid customer reply from IWK.
Do you notice the huge National Emblem printed on the customer reply notice? Now, is it legally right for a private (take note, it's PRIVATized) company to use our National Emblem which if I'm not mistaken should only be used for "URUSAN SERI PADUKA BAGINDA" (government matters)? If I am correct, it is obvious that IWK is instilling fear into the public to get them to pay for the service, by making it as though it is a government directed action and everyone MUST comply to it. Now look at the the red box. It reads: REMINDER
Failure to ensure proper cleansing of the septic tank at your premise is an offense under the "Sewage Services Act 1993". Anyone found guilty of such an offense shall be liable to a fine of RM10,000.00 Ok..here's the question; The definition of "offense" is pretty ambiguous. Does it mean that if our septic tank is full and it's spilling out, causing bad smell but we still refuse to call and pay for the service or is it already an offense by not constantly opening up the tank, take a peep inside to see if it's getting full? Is it considered an offense by calling IWK to service the tank only when it's full and is causing problem? Since it is a private company running a business and making profit out of the service offered, don't tell me they are not FREE to come when we, the customer ask for the service. The reason I put the second picture is to show clearly that the customer reply is addressed to "Operation Manager, IWK Pte Ltd" and not any of the Government departments. Has our Government "sold" our National Emblem as well to companies with enough money to legally use it to make profit? I am not against privatisation of services. What I am against is when it was done at the expense of proper, reasonable service quality and good business ethics. Plus, in this case, it's obviously misuse of power with the National Emblem being used in private business matters. Anyone, please...tell me if I am wrong, and I'll apologize. posted by Darren @ 1:05 PM ::information techTuesday, November 4th 2003My sleep was disturbed few times by phone calls this morning. Yeah, although I shouldn't be sleeping at that particular time, but I was too tired to get my ass out of the bed. One of it was a friend who called to ask me the definition of IT (information technology). Gosh...I was still in a sub-conscious state, my words were slurred and I couldn't help but kept on babbling out some pointless idea on IT. She ended up asking for my ICQ number so we can talk about it later tonight. Huh... Come to think of it, how can anyone NOT know what IT is all about? There is nothing complicated and technical about its meaning. It's information technology! Yeah...the technology in handling information. Haiya.....what else there is to explain? It's plain stupid to give a lengthy explanation just to show how technically intelligent we are. For sure, IT is NOT computer. IT is NOT programming. OK..going to tell her that tonight. posted by Darren @ 12:31 PM ::kay elSunday, November 2nd 2003Off to KL again and then to Malacca later tonight after a wedding dinner. Had a real good time chilling out with Danii last night that if it's not because of the phone call, we would have spent the night together...er...talking. Damn! Control..control...! Another friend told me last night that someone in her family suffered stroke. Huh..that makes it 2 in the last few days. What's happening? I wonder if the solar flares and sudden disturbance on our Earth's magnetosphere have something to do with it. My prayer is with 'you'. I know how hard it is going through it. Dad has been paralysed for more than 10 years now. Hope things are going ok...it will eventually. posted by Darren @ 12:32 PM ::gorgeousFriday, October 31st 2003 Katherine Marie Heigl. She is simply gorgeous! ..in "Love Comes Softly" over Hallmark Channel (Astro's Chnl 10). =^_^= posted by Darren @ 9:17 PM :: |
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