Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Yeah! I passed!

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!


I would have jump the "longkang" if I failed. This is form 2 Maths equivalent.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Life, Work, Dreams and Me

As I thought I can finally leave the nightmares behind, it kept coming back to visit me. Sometimes is just a "Hi!", sometimes a shout and sometimes even a shock. I guess nightmares are just like a box of chocolates, you never know what you gonna get......

These nightmares are my life, work, dreams, and myself. Sometimes these 4 things seems so conflicting each other. To put it simply :

"I am living a life of A, but working like a B, while dreaming of a C. But in reality, I am only a D"

You get what I mean? Sometimes it gets so frustrated, that you do not know how to continue living with them. C'est la vie? I guess so. But it just get harder with every turn.

What can I do? Tell me.....

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living,
So different now from what it seemed...
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed...


-- Fantine, Les Miserables

Saturday, February 18, 2006

A Special Gift From Someone Special


Flip Flap
~ Please grow your Flip Flap in your mind and bloom your own special flower ~



There is a funny story behind this gift. It is a story about toy and a Kaya Ball. But I am not gonna tell it yet... perhaps next time.

As for now, do admire the Flip Flap.

Thanks to my special someone, Kai Lee... muak!

Benefits of Being A Lirarian

Some months ago, I proposed to my company management that the company needed a more systematic way of managing all the reference books that were purchased. Then some months later, I was ask to setup a system and catalogue all the books. Unofficially, I guess, I have become the company librarian.

But being a librarian is not bad at all. Though, extra work... but I get to learn a how to set up an open source Library System, OPAC.... Well, I must say it was bit frustration, but overall it was chanllenging and fun.

Cataloging the books are the worst part of all... stacks of books and only 1 pair of hands.. Even with that, 1 hand can only control a few keys. Not to mention, 1 of the hand have got to manage the mouse as well... What to do, limited resources. If there is really Intelligent design, the architect should have design man with 4 arms.. Just joking !! :P

Anyway, the hard works are rewarded in a mysterious way. As most of the books are flowing back to the company, I discovered alot of very good books that the company posess. Be it in management, software development or down to those technical one. If all these books are shared among the colleagues, I am sure every one will be benefited. But I guess this is not an ideal world.

Hopefully with the new library system installed, everyone would realised the importance of sharing.


And now I think I know what you tried to say to me
how you suffered for your sanity
how you tried to set them free.
They would not listen
they're not
list'ning still
perhaps they never will.


--Vincent (Stary stary night), Don McLean

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Upgrades Completed!

After 2 years, I finally have my computer upgraded.

1. Western Digital 120 GB SATA II HDD
2. Kingston 512MB RAM
3. 802.11G Aztech Wireless Modem Router
4. Aztech USB Wireless adapter

But it took me aproximately 3 days' time just to install the bloody Win XP into the SATA HDD. The rest, piece of cake. Ok, why it took me 3 days just to perform a simple installation of windows, first, my motherboard cannot support SATA II. It was just my bad luck that, coincidently my motherboard Chipset by VIA, cannot support SATA II. But this is not a big problem, after researching through the internet, a solution was found. The solution was just to set the operation speed to 150MB, the speed of SATA I. The bios can now detect the SATA HDD

Fine, problem 1 solved, now comes problem 2. When I goes into the Windows setup blue screen, now, Windows cannot detect the SATA HDD. After a few calls to friend, and more research, I now know that, to install windows on a SATA HDD, I have to install the SATA driver first, and this driver can be obtain from the motherboard manufacturer. Great, I have to dig up the old CDs collection, and copy out the driver. Atlast, it was successfully installed. phew!

So now I have 2 HDD, 2 Windows, and dual boot. Confusing it is, no doubt.

Then stupid me, I boot up the new Windows XP, partion it, and then backup the remain of the old archive from the old HDD. Now, problem, problem, problem..... How the F*** do I format the old HDD?? It can't be done from the "Disk Management" tool... So how?

And I did the unthinkable, I boot up using my Windows XP boot up CD, goes into setup new Windows and format my old HDD. I was so happy then that all problems solved. But I didn't know I have created chaos to my system.

When I reboot the system, it prompt me "No system disk available... bla bla bla". And I was thinking to myself "OMG"! Now I have 2 HDD, 1 windows, but cannot boot up. *pengsan"

At that moment, I have 2 choices, reinstall the Windows XP to the SATA HDD loosing all my backup files in "My Documents" folder. Or 2 clean install Windows to the old HDD, boot up using this temporary windows, backup the files in "My Documents" folder to the other partition, then reinstall Windows back into the SATA HDD, and before that, format the old HDD.

So I decided to go for the 2nd option. Spend the entire night installing Windows XP, 3 times. I was lucky that when the dual boot corrupted, I gain access to my "My Documents" folder, or else, I would have cried all night.... :P

At 5 am on the 13th Febuary, I finally completed all the upgrades.

But this was not the end yet. There are tons of software still have to be install. But that is another story.

--Ekoay, a happy man ever after.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Lack of experience v.s lack of skills

I have been working in the same company for almost 3 years now, and still doing the same project. From a 2 man team to 4 man, 5 man and in the end back to 2 man; people come and people gone, but I am still here. Thou the project is not a actually a failure (I hope), it is not a success either.

Although the management has decided to terminate the project, yet, the project still haunts me every now and then. Old bugs come back alive from the grave, new bugs creeping in, and logic that were never captured, crippled the system. I have worked on the project and watched the project grows from scratch, while I am happy to see people using the system, but it is also very painful to see how handicaped the system is.

I was only a junior engineer when I join the company, although I am no longer a junior engineer, I often felt that there are something missing from myself. I must admit that I have gained alot of skills and experience from the project, yet since the absent of my project lead, I have been stagnant. With the project still on going, I have lost a guide, a guru, a friend.

How ignorant I was, to think that with my tidy little bit of skills and experience, I could lead the project without any problems. Now, thinking about it, I often regret about my stupidity and ignorance.

Reflecting back on the development states, I have to admit that, experience plays a very big and important part. A part that I am lacking. Or was it skills that plays a more important part? I guess both are equally important and unseperatable. To lead a project, you need experience to approach and manage the project. You also need skills to analysis and develop the project. In both cases, I lack both experience and skills.

Right before the Chinese New Year, my boss offer me an alternative, moving into the management path, project management path. Thinking negatively, I would feel that, I was ask to do so because of my lacking in skills set. In other words, which mean he can't find any project that I am capable to work in. Thinking positively, I felt that, the boss see the potential in me, and would like to train me more in management path.

Sometimes it is hard to choose whether to think positively or negatively. Both seems to be probable.

-- ekoay, confused.

"You cannot acquire experience by making experiments. You cannot create experience. You must undergo it."
-- Albert Camus, 1913-1960

"Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him."
-- Aldous Huxley, 1894-1963

"Nothing fails like success."
-- Gerald Nachman

Monday, February 06, 2006

It's alive! it's alive!!

Finally I have finished uploaded all my photo collection to my photo blog. Well, only selected few, but the total upload already reaches 140 plus photos.. Huge update in one day for me! It makes me wonder, is photo blog just an online photo album or what?

Anyway, I feel very satisfied and accomplished. All the uploaded photos will be truly a phantasm of passed memories indeed.

Friday, January 27, 2006

I miss you all, my old friends...

This year will be the 10th years since I graduated from Westlands Secondary School, Penang. 10 years, that is a very very long time... Somehow i still misses them, friends, school, teachers, those good old times...

So, I have decided to make this photo montage available. Using the old photos scanned by one of my good friend, Soon Keong. (But honestly, Soon Keong, if you are reading this) the resolution are way too low, and you have scanned couple of photos together as one, makes it worst... :P

Anyway, if not him, there won't be any photo montage. So, million thanks to my dear friend Soon Keong.


maybe the old photos makes them even more sentimental. :D

Will you guys still remember.... the old times.....

......

May you be well and happy....

Keep in touch, and Happy Chinese New Year 2006!

p.s. Remember to check for another photo montage in Phantasm of the passed memories.

Follow your heart, achieve your dreams, never let go.

I always like songs that inspire me. Last month, Il Divo releases their "Ancora" album, I was stunned by this wonderful song, "I Believe in You". Reminding me of a song that I have long forgotten, "Climb Every Mountain" from the musical "Sound of Music". Both with a very similar motif, to never let go in achieving your dreams.

The french part of the song is the part I love most. It goes like this,

----------
tout seul, tu t'en iras tout seul
coeur ouvert à l'univers
poursuis ta quête
sans regarder derrière
n'attends pas
que le jour se lève
suis ton étoile
va jusqu'où ton rêve t'emporte
un jour tu le toucheras
si tu crois, si tu crois, si tu crois en toi
suis ta lumière
n'éteins pas la flamme que tu portes
au fond de toi souviens toi
que je crois, que je crois, que je crois en toi


[translation of the french]
all alone, you will go on your way all alone
heart open to the universe
pursue your quest
without looking back
don't wait
for the day to arise
follow your star
go where your dream takes you
one day you will touch it
if you believe, if you believe, if you believe in yourself
follow your light
don't extinguish the flame that you carry
in your heart remember
that i believe, that i believe, that i believe in you

----------

It has never been easy to follow ones dream. One have to climb every mountain, cross every stream, follow every rainbow till one find one's dream.

It takes courage and determination, persistence and discipline...

Thursday, January 26, 2006

"The Day Of The Jackal" Down......

Today, I was updating my blog, adding a new link to a friend's blog.... And after republishing it, the unexpected happened. The blog was not able to be viewed or loaded. After checking the template and all, I found out that, my template HTML were half missing... Ooh shit! I was thinking.... Anyway, in the next hour, I manage to revert to the original template, and then again add in my own old customization one by one.. faint... And now its back... phew!

One lesson I learned from this incident... "Backup", even if it is only a blog.. sigh.. I feel so ashame, as I am an software engineer, I should recognise the importance of "backup" more than anyone. And yet, I overlook the issue, in this case.

I guess its human nature to be ignorance and take it for granted. I for one, was too dependent on the features offer by Blogspot.. ha ha ha.. Well, I admit...

Fortunately, this down time does not cost me any thing this time round... (perhaps some of my time were wasted thou).

"Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely."
-- Rodin (1840 - 1917)

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Something I learned from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Being a bit free and a bit of holidays mood these days.....

Here is something I learned from Hogwarts. I know, I know, I am not suppose to use magic outside of Hogwarts, but what the heck..... :P

Here goes, Expecto patrunum!!!



Enjoy!

Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Back with a vengeance

Hahahaha... I am back....... with a vengeance...
My first movie editing... mixing clips taken from my company, and national geography... and the result --> "Revenge of The Giant Bees"
Enjoy...



special thanks to KC (reporter), Daniel (interviewee), Seng Hann (the one who alert the attacks)

Incase you are wondering who is that victim in white... thats me... hahahaha :P

Thursday, November 10, 2005

My own photo blog

Following a friend's footsteps (many thanks to Ubi), I have decided to set up my own photo blog too...


Phantasm of the passed memories

Nothing much yet, but it is a start.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
-- Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu

Unforgetable trip to PD.

As the saying goes, "A picture speaks a thousand words", let the pictures speak for themselves.


I adore simple pleasures. They are the last refuge of the complex. "
-- Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900), The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891




"If I know what love is, It is because of you."
-- Herman Hesse



"A part of you has grown in me. And so you see, it's you and me Together forever and never apart, Maybe in distance, but never in heart."
-- Anonymous



"To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides"
-- David Viscott, How to Live with Another Person, 1974



"Paradise is always where love dwells."
-- Jean Paul F. Richter



Who is this guy, anyway?? Baywatch?

The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart.

Compiled from the photos taken from the 2005 Depalvali + Hari Raya holidays Port Diskson Trip (31st October - 2nd November 2005).

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Research on the Malaysian leadership under way

Under the grants from the Perdana Leadership Foundation, 5 malaysian scholar are to conduct research into the nation’s leadership history. Read about this at the Star online.
Research on the Malaysian leadership under way

The research topics are as follows:
1. Malay intellectualism through the thoughts of three prominent thinkers
2. the politics of national identity through the country’s four prime ministers
3. Malaysia's past foreign relations
4. Dr Mahathir’s approach towards regional development and Asean
5. the pattern of opposition towards Dr Mahathir’s declaration of Malaysia as an Islamic state

well, it is always good to learn from the history. But granting a research grant of RM10,000 to RM50,000 for these kind of research, is it really worthwhile?

As how my colleague put it, we human likes to worship the past, especially those good old days..

But, is it really that, nowadays we don't see any more of the moment that we should be proud off? Ok perhaps, our first austronaut eating roti canai and drinking tea tarik in batik shirt, is not something we should be proud off, but I am sure there are things that we can be really proud of as a Malaysian. One thing for sure, the stable government and the harmony multiracial/multicultural country.

People always take it for granted, we look back into the past, on how glamourous we used to be and so on and so for, and we forget that we should work even harder for now and the future. So that one day, our son'son can look back and say, "Yes, our past generation did something good"

My only hope is that, the valuable grant could be use in a more practical way. Instead of researching how good our past prime minister was, or how we treat our neighbour, we could use the money to train our younger generation to be a even better prime minister one day.

"History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history we made today."
-- Henry Ford (1863 - 1947), Interview in Chicago Tribune, May 25th, 1916

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Busy busy busy busy.

I have been feeling really busy lately, but if you ask me what I am busying, I would have answer you that I don't know. Really, I felt busy, look busy, but actually I don't really know where all my time were spends.

I have been very much lacking behind on my music theory home work, my project, and all other stuff. I have not been involved in anything that really take up all my time, don't I. Then? Where have all my time been missing?

I suspect someone must be stealling my time from me. And as a matter of fact, I also know his name, we used to be very close, he was my very close friend. What I have today, I owe everything to him. Though when I thought I can finally break away from him, he is back. Always lurking behind me, watching me closely, waiting for his opportunity to steal my time. Silently he came, silently he disappear. Without a trace. The only evidence of his criminal, was the missing time.

He name is Procrastination, the thief of time.

How can I get rid of him, oh God, please help me!!

"Our worst enemy, is the one closest to ourselves, ourself."
-- ekoay, in the depth of despair, 2005.

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Malaysian F4??


Posted by Picasa F4? or .......?!

Ahh.... photo from the past. Aren't they good looking? :P

Friends


Posted by Picasa Can you believe he is Jay Chow?

This guy is the best friend I have since secondary school. Of course those old pal from the good old days are still there and deep in my heart and I treasure them very very much.

Anyway, his name is really Jay Chow, thou not to confused with the taiwanese Jay Chow. But, definitely, this Jay Chow is better man than that Jay Chow!

He is single and still available. Any one interested in meeting him in person, can drop me a line, and i can arrange the meeting.. hahahaha... just joking.

Thats what friends are for.

Cheers mate!

Under the sea 6


Posted by Picasa Lots of fish... are they sardines? Oh boy, I am so hungry!!

Under the sea 5


Posted by Picasa The living reef