Alter ARX-7Arbalest 1/60

Alter ARX-7 Arbalest 1/60
price: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10082352
pictures: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10082352a6/20/6
~

Toynami Masterpiece Beta Fighter Vol. 1

Toynami Masterpiece Beta Fighter Vol. 1
http://www.supertoybazaar.com/index.php?action=item&id=418&prevaction=category&previd=54&prevstart=0
~

2nd week at 3EC

Every morning, I wake up at 6.05 am and go through my morning routine - that is, I might read the papers or I might log on to play Facebook.

Before 8.30am, I'll reach my office. Usually, I'm one of the first in the dept to arrive. Sometimes, the team might go for breakfast together.

For the second week, I have been reading up on past email exchanges regarding my current project. I've done some technical testing and some coding work.

Small boss was eager to introduce me and showed me to all my users. She was also keen to introduce me to the whole department. Unfortunately, I could not attend the department Christmas celebration as I have to attend my grandmother's funeral send off.

For 2 days consecutive, she has been giving me chewable vitamin C that she "just bought" and just "happened" to go around treating "everyone". Either she was concerned about my mental and physical health during this period or it was the yawns I tried to stifle during meetings!

I am sitting "alone" with a manager or two from another team as we're undergoing shifting works. Once the carpet renovation is done, I'll be sitting with my team. Thus, I can't verify if she really is treating everyone with Vitamin C; but no need la -.-"
I quite enjoy my current seating - very ulu and quiet. Ha Ha.

I have more or less a grasp of everyone now. I've also managed to bully or persuade a third of the team to go for paintball. Happy...
~

Regrets - Grief - Closure

There's no point saying regrets.
There's no need for fake tears.
I'm sorry she's gone.
I'll live well.
~

Grandma in ICU, part 2

edit1: updated
edit2: cause of heart attack

[Friday]
Grandma complained of an upset stomach <-- symptom of heart attack.

[Saturday ]
7am, paramedics sent Grandma to hospital as mother thought she looked pale.9am, she was admitted.
10am, her heart stopped for a while and now transferred to ICU. Coma.

[Sunday]
5am, condition went for the worse as BP dropped
1pm, doctor estimates she only this day left
8pm, BP dropped to new low
9.30pm, no further changes
11pm, I returned home
11.30pm, Grandma passed away

~

Grandma in ICU

Last night, Grandma suffered food poisoning from fried rice and refused to seek medical attention.
At 7am this morning, paramedics sent Grandma to hospital as mother thought she looked pale.
At 9am, she was admitted.
At about 10am, her heart stopped for a while and now transferred to ICU.

I'm going over soon.
~

How's work at 3EC?

Frankly, I don't know.

We're on a tight project deadline and I need to be roped in immediately.  However, I stuck by lacking this access or that clearance.  Please be patient.
~

First Day Of Work at 3EC

Kept waiting by HR for 15 min. Zzz..
Kept waiting by security officer for 20 min. Zzzz..
Kept waiting by colleagues for 20 min. ZzzzZzzz..
Introductions
Setup PCs
Lunch
Went for project presentation with small boss
Day dreamed
Had tarts with the team
Day dreamed
Knocked off
~

Class action against True Spa?

Cheers!
Class action against True Spa?
http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,185924,00.html?

Serves them right.
~

15 of the World’s Most Creative Papercraft Artists

15 of the World’s Most Creative Papercraft Artists
http://weburbanist.com/2008/12/02/papercraft-creative-paper-art-design-sculpture/
~

Photo: Venus, Moon, Jupiter Conjunction

Photo: Venus, Moon, Jupiter Conjunction
http://www.towleroad.com/2008/12/looking-up.html
~

Last day at Office

this was my farewell letter, sent out a day early...





Hi all,



It’s been slightly over a year since I’ve joined xxx in Jul 2007 and I’ve learnt a lot since. I would like to thank:
HOD and Small Boss, for giving me the chance to prove myself
Small Boss, my mentor BeanBear and my users from XYZ for teaching me the ropes
My ex-colleagues for helping me along, even though I’ve left them for so long
My supporting “staff”: xx1 team, xx2, xx3, xx4, xx5, xx6, Pantry Auntie
My “students”, for the mutual learning experience
The pantry, for keeping me awake and happy
My lunch kakis, thank you for showing me the good places to eat.

For contact purposes, I use xxx@xxx.com for my mails, MSN, Friendster and Facebook. Feel free to add.

If anyone is keen to play paintball, feel free to contact me or get information here: http://joranatplay.blogspot.com/search/label/paintball



My last day is Dec 5th. I wish everyone well in their future endeavours.



Regards,
JW
xxx


Lastly, let me get something out – “Guys, *please* wash your hands before coming out of the toilet! It’s gross!”. Thank you

~

Housekeeping at work

For having to wait so long, I gotten numb over the excitement of moving to a new job. 

For the sake of leaving "history" to my successor, I decide to clone my Outlook mails using Portable Thunderbird while deleting away my personal mails.

While I did not read through my mails, just glancing at the email subjects reminded me of my initial vigour when I landed this job; how I set up a folder system to manage my mails; the attention I paid to keeping records.  Where has that gone to?

My mails also tracked my networking with ex colleagues and friends and I lament the fact that I have to re-establish email contacts with them.  I would also lose the rapport I have took so long to build up.  For a moment, I thought, "Why move?"

In a cold detached analysis, I move because it is good for my career; I have learnt all I could.  I dislike the supervisory behaviour of our MD.  I resent the perceived favourtism over his own countrymen.  I felt trapped by the way the company is run as a tight ship.

On a personal level, I feel indebted to my Shijie and small boss.  I have lunch kakis that I like and will thus miss.  Reflecting this always make one feel sad.  However, as I put on the title in one farewell mail - "Alea Iacta Est".  "The Die Is Cast".  We should look forward, not back.
~

Ma Lat Hot Pot dinner with Eric and Shandy

After my paintball taking session at RD (see here: http://joranatplay.blogspot.com/2008/12/bto-on-30th-nov-sunday-photos.html), Eric and Shandy (with baby in tow) picked me and ST up where we proceed to have Ma Lat Hot Pot at Thomson area.




To avoid fumes and to accommodate the baby, we sat outside, which turned out to be a good choice. The dinner was thanks for the groundwork in persuading me to try out my newest company.







Total bill for 4 (inclusive of drinks) is under $100. Quite affordable and good. We allowed ourselves to be nudged by the "boss" to take our photos in front of his shop.

Here's the contact information. The restaurant closes at 2am. Tel: 64559981.

Okto, 10pm, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Okto, 10pm, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Catch it today on Okto - free to air



from: http://img.verycd.com/posts/0801/post-455487-1200563793.jpg
~

Singaporean hostage killed in Mumbai

I feel sorry for her husband :(
I cannot express enough disgust at those excuses for a human.
~

Beverly Hills Chihuahua: Jamie Lee Curtis

Beverly Hills Chihuahua: Jamie Lee Curtis

Ah... I thought she looked familar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween_H20:_20_Years_Later

Btw, the shop is surprisingly good.  Recommended for a good laugh :)
~

Rise in crow population

Since a friend complained that I only potray the nice side of myself, here's some bigotry.

Over the last 2 months, I've noticed a change over Avenue X.  The crow population there at night has grown from 1 and reached a peak of 9 on Thursday.  Yesterday, there were 7 of them.  I'm not sure I very pleased with this development.  Though it takes 2 hands to clap and I guess my neighbours are no saints but this is my neighbourhood and I don't like crows here.
~

On the use of terrorism in achieving independence

On the use of  terrorism in achieving independence.

Just imagine when the next generation asks...
Child: "How was our country born?"
Ex-Terrorist: "Oh, we killed a lot of tourists who were just unlucky to be there.  Finally, the government caved in from pressure.  Now we lead free and innocent lives."
Child: "What does innocent mean?"
~

Keeping updated with friends who blog

Keeping updated with friends who blog
previously: http://jwitworker.blogspot.com/2008/06/blogging-reasons-for-blogging-and.html

I guess it's too tedious to remember all the blogs lying around. Let me teach you how to use a simple RSS reader.

Here's how:
1. go to http://www.google.com.sg/
2. sign in with your google account, if not, please sign up
3. click on "Add Stuffs"

4.Click on "Add Feed"






















5. Add the URL, then click "Add"










6. Click "Back to IGoogle Home"

7. Now with one page, you can monitor multiple blogs and get notified when they are updates.
You can drag them around and choose how much to see.
Isn't this great?

~

Last 2 weeks of work

Things have gotten busy with requests coming ever since I stepped into office on Monday. Mi.Ki. has given me and a fellow colleague a lunch treat - much appreciated. Towards the end of the week, I should be doing my work rather than slacking off. By next Monday, I should be doing my last month end closing, which I hope will be smooth.

Micro Klan Klan, from Macross Frontier

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

CIA - The World Factbook (on Singapore)

CIA - The World Factbook (on Singapore)
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sn.html
~

New guidelines for layoffs

from: http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_302964.html

New guidelines for layoffs

New guidelines for employers to make sure any retrenchment is done responsibly

WITH more retrenchments expected in the coming months, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is reviewing its guidelines for employers on how to handle excess manpower.

This includes informing MOM well before a company sends out termination letters so that the Workforce Development Agency can find alternative jobs for affected employees.

Employers can also send workers for NTUC-subsidised skills training courses to better prepare retrenched staff for transition to a new job.

The new guidelines will include more details about flexible wage systems and a shorter work week or temporary layoff schemes that companies can adopt to trim costs, rather than lay off workers.

Employers will also be encouraged to work with their workers' unions to solicit support for any retrenchment plans.

A revised version is expected in the next few weeks, said Acting Minister for Manpower Gan Kim Yong, on the sidelines of a Chinese Development Assistance Council event yesterday.

He said the new guidelines will 'send a clear message to employers on the need to leverage on the tripartite framework' between the Government, employers and workers' unions, so that any retrenchment can be conducted in a 'responsible manner'.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and NTUC chief Lim

Swee Say, who was at the event, agreed with Mr Gan that retrenchment should be conducted in a 'socially responsible' manner.

On Friday, he chastised the way DBS Bank axed 900 of its staff without first consulting its union.

[visit link for full story]
~

Jin Saotome's Super-Cool Custom Superheroes

Jin Saotome's Super-Cool Custom Superheroes
http://www.wired.com/culture/art/multimedia/2008/05/gallery_custom_figurines
~

Overseas Notification

Overseas Notification...
I hate the NS portal...
~

Freedom Of Speech In Your Own Blog (And Blog Direction)

Freedom Of Speech In Your Own Blog? No, I don't believe it exists.

It's not a matter of whether we can be sued or prosecuted for what we say. It's not as simple as, "If you don't like her blog, then don't read it". It's the fact that blogs, despite the owner's intention, are not private.

"So and so is a liar", someone wrote about you in his blog. Can you say that by simply not visiting his blog, your name does not get smeared? Should not that person be called to stand by his wild accusations?

In a little Paintball politics, someone called my teammate a noob on his blog, as well as several other players he played with that day. I got disgusted about his elitist attitude and complained about noob-calling on my blog (see old link here). Next thing I know, I was labeled the "noob-with-a-blog". A few weeks, he attacked me again, "You're a noob - you'll be called a noob - get used to it. Don't bitch on you blog because people call you a noob."

Am I gonna be whacked by him whenever he feels like it?

Good thing is, this second attack finally won me some support from friends who thought that I was overreacting the first time round. It's a victory of sorts.

Just because we ignore a problem doesn't mean it's gonna go away. Blogs, password protected or not, are public domain. You can just make irresponsible statements if you feel like it. Do you know that there's actually a blog from a neighboring country saying that Singaporeans are so kia-si that if she walks across our streets without checking, cars would actually screech to a stop. That's a dangerous attitude to pass around.

In short, no. We're not US president candidates.
~

This blog started out as a means to log my dreams and games. It spun out of control after I added events of my social life into it. As such, some articles are not safe for public consumption. To counter this, I now manage a personal blog and a games blog. The next direction for my personal blog will be - no complaints about work. A goal I'll strive for.
~

Hiroshima: The Lost Photographs

Hiroshima: The Lost Photographs
(A lengthy read)
http://designobserver.com/archives/entry.html?id=38841

Macross 1/60 Queadlunn Rau Max & Rau Miria (re-run)

Macross 1/60 Queadlunn Rau Max & Rau Miria (re-run)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15107713@N02/2946063585/sizes/l/

Parental Guidance

When we have kids in tow, what are we teaching them when we...

• cut queue to get goodies bags
• throw that tissue onto the grass
• not give seats to elderly
• block outgoing train passengers
• collect 50 odd goodies bags, sort through them with your kids and discard the non useful things onto the field?

Goodness. And you wonder where Singaporeans get their bad manners from.
~

Fujifilm FinePix F60fd: Trial 2

[background]
After searching around, I stumbled onto F100 as being one of the best compact cameras in light sensitivity. From there on, I chose F60fd. It has a decent CCD ratio and a good battery life. The price tag is also cheaper by a $100. That settled it.
Product: http://www.fujifilm.com/products/digital_cameras/f/finepix_f60fd/
[/background]

Some comparison between the Night and Natural Light modes

-temple



-walkway



-tree



-plants



-tree



Natural Light mode tries to capture the scene "as it is". It does not use flash and opts for a higher ISO setting instead. However, this may introduce noise into the picture.
For general photos, I think Natural Light mode may turn out quite well.
~

Fujifilm FinePix F60fd: Trial

[background]
After searching around, I stumbled onto F100 as being one of the best compact cameras in light sensitivity. From there on, I chose F60fd. It has a decent CCD ratio and a good battery life. The price tag is also cheaper by a $100. That settled it.
Product: http://www.fujifilm.com/products/digital_cameras/f/finepix_f60fd/
[/background]

The F series is supposed to be good for night shoots. Just happened that I have to meet some fellow StarTrek members for a hike today so I thought this is a good time to test it out.

Bootup:
In 1 sec, fast!

Ease of use:
Haven't explore much as it is my first day. I snapped everything with the AUTO mode. It seems intelligent enough. My pictures were fairly bright as it selected ISO 800 for me. However, this added some noise into the picture.

Sensitivity:
They say that to catch a shot of the stars, you need manual controls. This is done with AUTO mode.


Intelligent Flash:
First shot is focused on the front tree. Second shot is focused on the back tree. Flash is not suppressed for both cases.
Prevents a frontal object from being flashed if the target is "behind"




Low light:


Colours:


Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the camera. I'll be doing more tests with it.
~

Fujifilm FinePix F60fd: Purchase

[background]
After searching around, I stumbled onto F100 as being one of the best compact cameras in light sensitivity. From there on, I chose F60fd. It has a decent CCD ratio and a good battery life. The price tag is also cheaper by a $100. That settled it.
Product: http://www.fujifilm.com/products/digital_cameras/f/finepix_f60fd/
[/background]

I went to the mall and started my search. The first shop was selling at $429. The second did not carry the model I want. It was the third that held my attention for the longest.

A salesman conducted me to the FujiFilm camera section and then began to give me a demo of the camera with great enthusiasm. I told him I have already decided on *that* camera and asked him for the price. When he said $499, I was ready to escape but he got his seniors to make a counter to me. They lowered to $429 with cash payment but I still wanted to check out the freebies at the other shop. They then offered $429 at credit and I took it.

"I did remember $429 upstairs correctly, right?"
"I think I saw $449"
"Oops.."

I ended up buying extra warrenty and battery for $30 each, for a total of $489. Happy.

We are not packed like sardines!

LTA wrote to the papers,
"At 1,600 passengers per train, the MRT pasenger density will translate to about 4.9 passengers per square metre, which is significantly lower than the actual loading density of 7.0 passengers per square metre experienced on the Tokyo metro."


Woah, what a mouthful. Ok let's see.
Out of the crowded can, 2.1 sardines were taken out. Thanks.
You took 7.0 - an unacceptable rate, to show how comfortable we should be. We are not.
Third, we enjoy warm weather all year round; Japan only suffers it for 1 season.
Lastly, our population is nothing compared to theirs! Please play with figures fairly.
~

Why do you want to leave your job?

If it is for pay,
would you leave if your company makes a counter offer?

If it is for learning,
would you leave if your boss offer to put you in another project?

If it's the work culture,
is it your attitude that needs changing?
~

Measurement of Beauty

How to measure Beauty?
Let's take Helen of Troy as a yardstick.
http://66.117.155.127/Writing/HELEN_of_TROY.html
~

Big Walk Info Tomorrow

http://bigwalkonwater.wordpress.com/info-for-big-walkers/

Where to assemble: Suntec City Fountain of Wealth

When: Sunday 2 November 2008, by 7am

Programme:

- 6am onwards: Big Walkers arrive
- 7.30am: Flag-off for 5km walk to Marina Barrage
- Average estimated time to complete walk: 1.5 hours
- 9am onwards: Exploring the Marina Barrage and collecting the NTUC FairPrice goodie bag
- 9am to 1pm: Free shuttle buses back to Suntec City Mall, collecting the Suntec goodie bag and enjoying the post-walk carnival

How to get there:

Big Walkers are encouraged to take public transport to the start point at Suntec City’s Fountain of Wealth. This is due to road closures and diversions due to the Big Walk.

- By MRT: City Hall MRT

- By bus: Please note that due to road closures, buses into Suntec have been diverted.
SMRT bus services 106, 700A and 857 will be temporarily diverted. Refer to SMRT’s website for details.
SBS bus services 10, 14, 16, 36, 70M, 97, 107M, 111, 133, 162M, 502, 518, 578, 579 and 581 will not stop at certain bus stops. Refer to SBS Transit’s website for a full list of affected bus stops and their routes.

What to bring:

- The 4 items you received during registration: Your goodie bag coupon, sun visor, fan and Big Walk sticker (you could stick this on your T-shirt, body, or pin it on using safety pins). Remember, you need your goodie bag coupon to redeem your 2 goodie bags. Also, you stand to win up to $250 each in NTUC FairPrice vouchers if you are spotted with the visor, fan and sticker in our Spot Me Contest (click here to find out more).

Public defamation on the WWW

Over the week, I received 2 mails.

#1
The first, was someone warning us about a guy who goes around asking ladies to be his girlfriend. He doesn't want to spend time knowing them, just want to find a mate right away. When rejected, he got nasty and threatened to upload the girl's photos on IRC. The girl reacted by posting this email, with his photos, handphone # and Friendster profile, warning everyone to be careful.

#2
After her boyfriend returned to her home city, he broke up with her 5 days later over the phone. He said she was the cause of his misery; her expectations made him run into debt. He wants a girlfriend who is rich and will always support him. She blasted how ungrateful he is as she had housed and supported him financially for the last 2 years. Barely 10 days after they broke up, he was already showing off his new girlfriend. She posted his name, contact, workplace up. Appealing to his company to sack him, if not, that company is a fool to hire someone without morals.

I disagree with the methods used, especially the second case. The use of internet has now allowed acts of vengeance to cause much more damage. The posting of personal particulars and the damage to that person's life and career. We only have one side of the story but heaps of abuses were already launched upon the offending guy. Everyone, feeling injustice for the girl, simply forwarded the article along and the spread was especially prevalent in that guy's company.

How do we know this one-sided story is right? How have we become gossip-mongers at a click of a few buttons?

This is way wrong. I hope this is not a sign of things to come.

The experience at Marina Mandarin

The food was decent; not bad as banquet goes.

Service was a bit lacking for a big name like Marina Mandarin.
I'm usually annoyed by the incessant topping up of drinks, so the total lack of this here was welcomed by me personally.
Other than Shark's Fins, food that required portioning out like Lotus Rice and Yam Paste were left to our own devices.
There were not enough hands delivering food; one pair of hands solemnly stood between tables, scanning for soiled cutlery to add on to those in their hands; one stood by the drinks which never seem to get poured.

I attribute this to the young help and the lack of professionals in the service industry. With the heavy emphasis on academic studies; who else but students would want to take up a profession as a banquet waitor?
~

Jared's wedding banquet

Oct 21, Tue

Jared was the cocky C programmer who inspired me to catch up with him; though I never did.  Upon my ORD, he pulled strings to get me an interview but his boss saw me no up.

The banquet was at Marina Mandarin.  ST and I reached there at 7.20pm for the cocktail party; introducing her to Shubin.  Dinner was to start at 8.00pm.

The banquet started at 8.45pm; much to my annoyance.  The last to arrive was an elderly lady; helped in by a guy.  If giving allowance for her immobility, then I can't fault her.  Though if she's such a VIP, then why couldn't the guy fetch her earlier?

After the "dancing" and the waiting for the staff to be recycled and serve us, the food arrived on our table at 9.00pm.  My table has 3 empty seats this time; I think that rumour that I eat my fellow guests must be still floating around.

Jared was given a "Ribena" drink from our table; I think it looked disgusting.  However, he and his wife gamely drank it up.

Congratulations and best wishes.
~

Flasher on board? Get him off the bus, I'm late

from: http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,181204,00.html?

Flasher on board? Get him off the bus, I'm late
Ugly, uncaring S'porean irks victim's dad
By Benson Ang
October 25, 2008 Print Ready Email Article

A FATHER tried to catch a man who exposed himself to his teenage daughter on a public bus - and discovered the best and worst in Singaporeans.

The good: Two fellow passengers who stepped forward to restrain the flasher, and two others who offered help.

The bad: A passenger who became impatient while they were waiting for the police to arrive, and wanted them to take the suspect and leave the bus so that the bus could continue on its journey.

Mr Tan, 52, a technical support officer, said the passenger, who appeared to be in his 60s, was sleeping but woke up when the bus stopped and shouted in Hokkien: 'Why is the bus not moving?'

He then shouted for the suspect to be taken off the bus so that the driver could move on.

Said Mr Tan: 'I just ignored him. The suspect could've escaped if we had alighted. It's just disappointing that there are people like him.'

Despite the man's calls, two women on the bus told the driver to stay put. One offered to call the police.

But while they were waiting for the police, six passengers alighted, probably because they did not want to be delayed.

The incident happened around 11am on 7 Sep. The Tan family - father, mother, daughter, 15, and two sons aged 10 and 12 - had boarded SBS Bus Number 88 to Tan Tock Seng Hospital to visit a relative.

(We are not using their real names as the girl cannot be identified under the law.)

Mr Tan and his family were sitting on the top deck of the double-decker bus when Muhamad Yuzaimi Salleh, 22, exposed himself.

The family weren't seated together because the available seats were scattered. Mr Tan was sitting at the centre of the bus while his daughter was sitting near the rear.

Muhamad Yuzaimi was initially seated at the front but he later moved to the rear and sat next to Mr Tan's daughter.

When they were travelling along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, the girl went up to her father and told him that Muhamad Yuzaimi had exposed his private parts to her.

Ran down stairs

Mr Tan then confronted Muhamad Yuzaimi, who apologised repeatedly. When Mr Tan said he was going to call the police, Muhamad Yuzaimi bolted out of his seat and ran down the stairs.

By then, the bus was at a stop opposite the Ang Mo Kio South Neighbourhood Police Centre.

Said Mr Tan: 'The door was open but I jumped down the stairs after him. I managed to grab him by his slingbag and dragged him back into the bus.'

An army regular, First Sergeant Terence Yu, 25, and another man helped Mr Tan to detain the suspect.

First Sergeant Yu held onto Muhamad Yuzaimi and pinned him against the side of the bus, just behind the stairs.

Mr Tan then called the police.

Said First Sergeant Yu: 'I saw the young girl's scared face and I knew something was amiss. I held the man from the back with an armlock which I had learnt from my army training.

'The man resisted at first, but after a while, he gave up. So I unlocked him and let him sit down.'

The bus driver informed his company and shut all the doors.

Mr Tan said his daughter was so scared she 'was actually trembling'.

His wife then got off the bus with her to wait at the bus stop.

Six police officers arrived within 10 minutes and handcuffed Muhamad Yuzaimi.

Mr Tan, his daughter and Mr Yu followed the police to give their statement.

Mr Tan said his daughter was in shock. 'She's okay now but she doesn't want to talk about what happened,' he said.

Last Friday, Yuzaimi pleaded guilty to doing an obscene act in a public place and was jailed two months.

Spreading rumours

Somehow, management thinks that I'm the one of those responsible for spreading rumours - that those who had received a warning letter from HR are going to be sacked.
I am aware of such a rumour but I did no such thing. I couldn't care less; I'm already on my way out!

And boy boy, please use a nick when commenting on my posts. You're still going to be here; I'm not. Better be prudent. I'm hiding that post which contains your comments ;)
~

Explaination of labels

_pedia - information / encylopedia
anime - "super-tag". anime stuffs
anime_macross - anime, macross
army - my army life
blog -on this blog
broadcast -newsworthy or important to share news
collectibles - of collectible value
comics -comics
commentary -things I wish to say
dreams -my dreams
game -games I play
links -links to other sites
mood_disgust -in a disgusted mood
mood_grumble -in a grumbling mood
mood_happy -in a happy mood
mood_sad -in a sad mood
movie -movies I watch
onlineVideo -online videos
paintball -paintball
physics -physics knowledge
reflections -things to ponder
sap -SAP.  the field I'm in
share -things to share
social -my social life
socialApps -social applications like Facebook
ST -my dear
talk_balk -previous posts
trek -startrek
vacation -my vacations
wedding -the weddings I've attended
~

Macross: Yamato Toys (VF-1A, Defender, Tomahawk, Monster)

Macross: Yamato Toys

-Valkyries
VF-1A, 1/60
http://www.collectiondx.com/node/2857


-Destroids
Defender aka Radar X, 1/60
http://www.collectiondx.com/node/3001


Excalibur / Tomahawk, 1/60
http://tfh.com.sg/pics/z_yamato_160tomahawk.jpg


http://www.collectiondx.com/node/3029


VB-6 Koenig Monster, 1/100
http://japanesetoylink.com/Yamato/Sci-Fi/YAM-MAC024.htm

WOW: Blood Elf Rogue VS Draenei Paladin

http://www.sideshowtoy.com/?page_id=4489&sku=2804
Blood Elf Rogue VS Draenei Paladin

Tired...

Tired... zzz..

MP-08 Grimlock and Micky Mouse Transformers

http://tformers.com/article.php?sid=10321
~

Job direction: The waiting game, part 4

It's over. I've tendered.

Though feeling a bit guilty at letting another small boss down. As a gesture of goodwill, I've extended my stay till Dec 5 as my last day.
~

doramon toy i gave my bro

doramon toy i gave my bro
http://picasaweb.google.com/james.wqh/Doramon_toy#


~

green turfed roofscape

design of a school...
http://designflute.wordpress.com/2008/01/11/green-turfed-roofscape/
~

Ironman's figures: Mark 1 and Mark 3

-Mark 1
http://testicular-fortitude.blogspot.com/2008/09/hot-toys-iron-man-mark-1-official-pix.html

more detailed shots of the same model (mark 1)
hidden missile shown
http://www.hobbystock.jp/item/gallery/HBY-AMF-00000451


-Mark 3
http://www.hobbystock.jp/item/gallery/HBY-AMF-00000419

related: http://jwitworker.blogspot.com/search?q=ironman
~

Job direction: The waiting game, part 3

Okay, they countered.
Need to do some paperwork.
Then we wait again.
Zzz
previously
http://jwitworker.blogspot.com/2008/09/disappointment-is.html
http://jwitworker.blogspot.com/search?q=job+direction%3A+the+waiting+game
~

ACRES Celebrates World Animal Day

World Animal Day (WAD) is an international event, commemorated each year on the 4th of October, to celebrate life in all its forms. For this year, ACRES will be staging a 2-day carnival themed "Small Changes, Big Differences" right in the heart of town! To bring this theme alive, our brand new educational exhibits at this event will play a role in exemplifying simple ways to lead a more compassionate lifestyle and in encouraging people to commit to these small changes.

World Animal Day 2008
Date: 4th - 5th October 2008 (Saturday and Sunday)
Venue: Outside The Cathay
Time: 11am - 9pm

To make this event a success, WE NEED YOUR HELP!

ACRES is urgently looking for up to 40 volunteers every hour over this carnival period to help us in our educational and fundraising efforts.

Some areas needing help are:
a. Manning the various exhibits
(Bear bile, illegal pet trade, wildlife rescue)
b. Guiding activities (nature trail and cruelty free room)
c. Mascots
d. Donation tins
e. Securing signatures for the "Animals Matter to Me" petition
f. Overnight security on the 3rd and 4th of October 2008
g. Set up and take down of carnival.
h. Preparation for the carnival at ACRES office: folding brochures, preparing donation tins, making new badges

~
SMALL CHANGE,
BIG DIFFERENCE!
To exemplify this year's theme, spend this week leading up to WAD 2008 collecting small change from your family, friends and colleagues and join us during the carnival in filling up our Column of Hope! Every small step counts!

~
If you can spare the time
to help ACRES make World Animal Day a special and memorable one for the animals, please drop James an email at james@acres.org.sg with the days and times that you are available.

If you require CIP hours, please bring along your card/form on your volunteering day (alternatively, you may download our form here).
~

Disappointment is...

Disappointment is...
After being asked to be patient for 3 weeks (and not go for further interviews); they come back with an offer that is 1% higher than my coming increment.

previously: http://jwitworker.blogspot.com/search?q=job+direction%3A+the+waiting+game
~

Job direction: The waiting game, part 2

and we wait some more...
zzz...

this's getting frustrating
~

BigWalk on water

keen?
http://bigwalkonwater.wordpress.com/registration/

HOW TO REGISTER

- To take part in the Big Walk on Water, just produce a cut-out of The New Paper’s new masthead (the logo on the front page bearing our name and signature tick) at our registration booths.

Macross Frontier: Ending

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Tiny Sepuku: Gals' views of themselves are skewered

Gals' views of themselves are skewered
Enjoy =]
http://www.gocomics.com/features/150/feature_items/384359
~

1/72 VF-25F

Macross Frontier VF-25F, used by S.M.S.
So pretty... T_T
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/type97/20080924/p1
~

1/60 VF-1A with SUPER and STRIKE parts (Hikaru Ichijo)

http://www.collectiondx.com/node/2857
Yamoto model
~

Interesting facts

http://www.disinfo.com/content/story.php?title=Stonehenge-Is-This-How-They-Did-It

http://www.disinfo.com/content/story.php?title=Ten-Things-You-Don%E2%80%99t-Know-About-Earth-1
~

The China milk scandal

If I were to summarise my thoughts on this, it's one word - Despicable!
To be kinder - despicable.

However, if we look closer to home, many vending machines are still selling items that are supposed to be recalled. Many shops are still selling M&Ms, Snickers, Oreo Wafer Sticks.

I am appalled at this. The Government has got to do better!
Here are people without the education to read newspapers!
They are so poor that they could not afford a tv!
They are so busy with earning a living that they have no time to gossip!
Poor innocent merchants who didn't know they are selling tainted items.

Please help these poor souls out of the rut and into something else.

News item:
Number of sick Chinese babies soars to nearly 53,000 as milk scare spreads
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/377582/1/.html
~

Chinese Garden - lantern festival

It has been many years since I stepped into this place.  My partner this time was my lovely dear.

The free lanterns are gone; now only people with "special cards" get them.  What special cards?  Beats me.  "When I was young, the lanterns were free", I whined.  The auntie cannot tahan me and gave me one grudgingly.

The traditional lanterns are gone; replaced with very nicely made Hello Kitty lanterns.  "Heart" has been put into the display as you can see how they use the "terrain" into effect.  There are "flowers" on the grass.  Winners of the race were then seen on the winners' ladder - Cool.

Though nostaglic about the "past", this is probably all a change for the better.
~

Mospeada links

Beagle Mospeada 1/10 Ride Armor Robotech Cyclone - scott bernard's cyclone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPUkSwpGeAs

online toy store
http://www.over-drive-inc.com/store/

Gakken Mospeada Ride Armor Toy Commerical - toy cormercial – stop motion film
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMzsB47UYJA&feature=related

opening song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mamZ76aanmk&feature=related

Robotech Scott Bernard Masterpiece Cyclone by Toynami
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l31RSazneUU&NR=1

Genesis Climber MOSPEADA Remastered Collection
http://robotech.com/store/viewproduct.php?id=134
~

Andrew's wedding

Attendees: Zhiqiang, myself, Shupin, Raymond.
We departed from Eunos MRT station on a coach bus at 4.30pm and reach the restaurant at 6.30pm. Though it's a foolish thing to wish for, the Singaporeans were hoping that Malaysians have a stronger sense of punctuality. They don't.
The staff were young, probably students. The manager looks under 20 as well. She and the photographer looked like they enjoyed themselves best. She tried to get the room to roar in their cheers while the photographer was more than eager to get good shots - not just token good shots.
Congratualtions.
~

I had it!, part 2

previously: http://jwitworker.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-had-it.html

shitz... this is harder than I thought.
I wish to clear up this decade old bug before I leave...
~

Void decks, 12 yrs apart

[12 years ago]
Mom: Grandfather is in serious condition. Go to your uncle's house tomorrow.
Me: Ok...

The next day, after I ended school, I walked towards my uncle's house. As I got near, I saw a wake being held at the void deck. Denial battled with a understanding that I am looking at my grandfather's wake. As I drew near, a teary mom passed me joss-sticks.


[Today]
Me: I'm going to grandmother's house in the evening
Mom: Okay...

I walked towards my grandmother's house. As I got near, I saw a wake being held at the void deck.

Oh no, not again. I'll never forgive her if she pulls this off a second time.

As I drew near, I glanced at the attendees; their faces were new to me. With a guilty-sheepish-gladness, I pressed for the lift.
~

Dark circles under the eyes

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dark-circles-under-eyes/AN00423
Think it's all because of fatigue?
~

Punctuality: A Butterfly Effect

[previous posts]
http://jwqh.blogspot.com/2008/06/wedding-dinners.html
http://jwqh.blogspot.com/2007/10/miffys-wedding.html
http://jwqh.blogspot.com/2007/04/debuggers-wedding.html
http://jwqh.blogspot.com/2007/04/debuggers-wedding.html
http://jwqh.blogspot.com/2006/03/xueyis-wedding.html
http://jwqh.blogspot.com/2006/02/layers_114036809809139076.html

Okay, while this looks like it's targetted at punctuality for wedding dinners, it is not. I'm talking about punctuality in general.
This post is not triggered by any recent events; just a cumulation of what I felt over the years.

Now it's a tired old tale and we all know the reasons.
"Everyone is going to be late so why go so early?"
"Rush so early for what? Look! Everyone is still late!"

Are you considered late if you arrive before others? Does arriving before others mean you have not delayed others?

1. In coming late, you add on to the pool of people that the group have to wait for. If the number of people who are late are small, the group might decide to proceed with their plans.
2. In coming half-way late, you express the opinion that your time is more important than others'. You do not wish to wait "that much". You hope to arrive precisely at the decision point where the majority decides that they could carry on.
3. In combating such behaviour, the group decides to meet earlier the next time. You, in all your cleverness realises this and accepts that coming late by half an hour is an acceptable social limit. Your friends are all willing to wait for you because they are used to it.
4. Friends who are embittered might decide that they do not have to rush down to arrive on the dot. Those who had took a cab to arrive on time might be doubly bitter.
   

Your punctuality reflects your attitude towards that social occasion. To me, being late means you are not keen and have no respect for the organiser and everyone's time. Sure, delays are accidental but if we change our mindset. For those who turn up on time, please keep it up.
~

Google Trend - which is more popular? Macross Frontier vs Code Geass R2 vs Gundam 00

http://www.google.co.jp/trends?q=macross+frontier%2Ccode+geass+r2%2Cgundam+00&ctab=0&geo=all&date=ytd&sort=0 
~

Job direction: The waiting game

Ok, now we wait.

Don't ask me le.  When I *have* news, I'll say.
~

Very little news: part 4

There's not going to be any ops at all. Everyone decided that the risks are not worth it. Grandma is so excited to be able to get discharged tomorrow.

The label may be "mood_sad" but I'm only using it to group this series of posts together.

Very little news: part 3

Grandma seemed livier today.

At 2.30pm, the nurse came to prepare her for the ops.

At 4pm, she was returned to her bed after scoping.

She kept complaining abt the poking and how the doctor is going to put metal things into her. In their "hurry" to assure her, I think the "adults" missed out the fact that it might be a stent operation next. If that's so, that's... good news.

A stent is a cylindrical wire mesh. It is directed to the desired artery, the way scoping is done. Once reached, an inflatable balloon will enlarge the mesh, making it hold the artery open. The balloon and the scope is withdrawn, leaving the wire mesh to support the artery.
~

Very little news: part 2

Ok... here's the story

My grandma got poisoning, so my mother stayed with her.
On the 2nd day, she suffered a heart stoppage in the morning and my mother and uncle kept her alive with CPR.

It's now revealed that (stupid me..) that it was a heart attack. There is no immediate danger but the doctor advises a heart bypass.

On hindsight, my grandma lucked out. If she had not suffered a bout of poisoning...
~

Lego Zaku

http://www.brothers-brick.com/2008/09/03/megasized-zaku/
dots...

Very little news

My grandma is now in hospital; things sounds bad =\

SAP: Finding user exits

There are 2 paths, for 2 very different results

#1 – cmod
To find via cmod, we need to perform a few steps

1. start the desired tcode – eg: va01
2. go “status”, double click on program source code
3. go to se80
4. go up one level, find out development class
5. go to tcode cmod
6. click utilities > sap enhancements
7. enter dev class, search
http://www.sap-basis-abap.com/sapab013.htm

or, we can use codes to shorten this step
http://www.erpgenie.com/abap/code/abap26.htm


---
#2 – find via search

1. start the desired tcode – eg: va01
2. go “status”, double click on program source code
3. search in source code “userexit”

note that both methods give very different results
our usual Sales order user exit MV45AFZZ can be found using method 2
~

I'm not very discreet am I?

1. Told people I'm going for interview
2. Mentioned the word "interview" at my seat
3. Let HR manager eye-ball a file like thingy in my bag
~

Links of anime toys pics

http://www.dannychoo.com/adp/eng/1561/Gundam.html
gundam

http://www.dannychoo.com/adp/eng/1563/Mecha.html
many series:
full metal panic
macross frontier
virtual on

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t293/anglo88/TFH%20Mailing%20List/z_ht_im_ironmanmkii2.jpg
iron man mark 2

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t293/anglo88/TFH%20Mailing%20List/z_ht_im_ironmanmkii1.jpg
iron man mark 2 - cont

http://www.anymoon.com/blog/
toys blog
~

What am I doing?

What am I doing?  Advising someone to do what I do not agree on?
What am I doing?  Advising someone when I lack the necessary life experience?

I only know that I could help.
~

SMRT Challenge

We decode the message and took the first train out to Raffles Place.
Upon there, we solved another code and this gave us 2 locations: City Hall; Lavender and Kembangan. We probably took the second train out to City Hall.
There, we were stuck for 45 to 60 minutes behind a long queue of participants waiting to clear the game challenge.
We then headed to Lavender to play a game, where we got a new clue that Tanjong Pagar is one of the game stations.
We then procedded to Kembangan, then Tanjong Pagar before returning to Toa Payoh for the completion.

We finished in 148th place out of 250.

Were we that slow? Did that many people cheat? Or was the delay at Raffles Place the wrong strategy for us to take?

Anyway, it was an exciting 3 hrs.
~

Dilbert: Accomplishment

Click to expand

Aug 31, 2008


link updated on 20110716

butterfly garden at T3

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/372313/1/.html
butterfly garden at T3
~

Google Street View by Wii Balance Board

What's street view?
Well, go to maps.google.com, click on those cameras, and knock yourself out.
Apparently, Singapore is not interesting enough to be mapped.
Learn how: http://maps.google.com/help/maps/streetview/

Anyway, here's the meat.
Navigate street view with Wii Balance Board!
http://www.vimeo.com/1565343?pg=embed&sec=1565343
~

Macross Frontier: Single

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

The 80-20 rule

This was the observation by Pareto that 80% of a country's wealth is held by 20% of the population. This is roughly true for most countries.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80-20_rule#Practical_applications



~
-Just for fun
-Based on airfare and seating plan from Singapore to Zurich, SIA, B777-300ER
Economy --> 228 seats (approx), 80.85%
Business --> 42 seats, 14.89% of load
First class --> 12 seats, 4.26% of load,

Economy --> $1700 per ticket, 44.89% of total revenue
Business --> $7900 per ticket, 38.43% of total revenue
First class --> $12000 per ticket, 16.68% of total revenue

-so.. 20% of the passengers pay for 50% of the flight

these are my own calculations for the purpose of study. I apologise for any errors
ref: http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Singapore_Air/Singapore_Air_Boeing_777-300ER.php
~

BB: A can of worms that showed *some* Singaporeans to be the greedy beings they are

Some parents want more. Back-date it, they say. It's not fair to me, they say.

Some parents spoke out against this, saying that a decision to have a child should be one of love, not incentives.

To the second group, I salute your passion and bravery in speaking out against such vicious money grabbing people.

To the first, my tags say it all.
~

WTH?! You CHEATED me of my baby bonus!!

Beanbear showed this to me from the motherhood forums.

[When it was 1 Jan 2009]
1. Our baby is about to be due soon. When we heard about the baby bonus, we were quite happy. Now they tell us it will start on 1st Jan. I feel so ANGRY with the government! They cheated my feelings and now I could not get any bonus at all!

[When it was to be effective immediately]
2. This is not fair! Why not backdate it to 1 Jan 2008 instead? What about mothers who just gave birth?
~

Ugliness in forums

Beanbear showed this to me from the motherhood forums.

[When it was 1 Jan 2009]
1. ...the government should have been thoughtful towards those mums that are still pregnant and but not given birth. Any cut-off date introduced if it is not IMMEDIATE or Backdating would create unnecessary stress to the mum-to-bes near the cut-off date. We know that some doctors may advise mum-to-be to induce or bring forward C-sect for all sorts of medical reasons. These group of mum-to-bes would be very stressed when confronted with such scenario then.



[When it was to be effective immediately]
2. mummies.. no angry and pissed liao.. we got the enhanced baby bonus!

now is happy happy.. so now's the time to tell those "nasty" ppl on the thread today that we got the 7K!! go eat your grapes! woohoo..


3. if we really get the incentives, i will buy grapes for that Brown woman...but sour ones....:-)

~

VF-25 toy

such details for the VF25
haiz...
http://superrobotwar.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/srwhotnewshj10mf.jpg
~

Job direction: Why I did not send in my resume that time

previous:
http://jwqh.blogspot.com/2008/03/dash-of-updates.html
http://jwqh.blogspot.com/2008/04/bored-to-death-and-drowning-in-mucus.html

Between Feb-March, I was invited by 2 of my ex-colleagues to apply at their company. The offer was flattering but I had just sent one of my ex-colleague there for an attempt; I could not in good conscience deprive him of a chance.
Hope this cleared a mystery.
~

Cleaning up the codes

Darn... I didn't have time.

Talking about that; ever came across the situation when you spend time debugging something, only to find out that someone had solved the very problem before you, but only for his own scenario?

There is but a thin line between being prudent and being chicken.
~

The Beijing Olympics Village - recreated!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1046255/On-marks-set-Lego-Welcome-Olympics-everyones-quick-blocks.html 
The Beijing Olympics Village - recreated!

Getting rid of Block-Checker

Sisters are terrorists...
Here's the solution, donated by Chak
http://www.geeknewz.com/board/lofiversion/index.php/t3546.html
~

Macross Frontier: Queadlunn-Rea & VB-6 Koing Monster

Click to enlarge

[info]
http://macross.anime.net/wiki/VB-6_K%C3%B6nig_Monster
http://macross.anime.net/wiki/Queadluun-Rea



~

Macross Frontier: Pictures of Valkyries

Macross Frontier: Pictures of Valkyries, click to enlarge
[info] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macross_Frontier#Mecha_and_Ships_of_Macross_Frontier_Fleet

Bloodless Diamonds

Most diamonds are linked with bloodshed
Here's a site that sells diamonds that are obtained though less violent means.
http://www.brilliantearth.com/dispcont.aspx?pageid=ABOUT_US

Urgent tasks upon urgent tasks

Suddenly realised that one year has passed..
http://jwqh.blogspot.com/2007/08/coping-with-work.html
http://jwqh.blogspot.com/2007/08/end-of-little-ot-spree.html
http://jwqh.blogspot.com/2007/08/my-first-lecturing-stint.html

A little unhappiness in the afternoon.
I was dead-locked because I don't have information that I need from my users. I sent them an email to two of them but they didn't reply. When pressed...
Me: What's the material groups?
key user: You(me) should know which material groups belong to which division
Me: What percentage do you want for this setup?
key approver: It's in the system!

I think they think I'm GOD sometimes...
~

From A Guy's Point Of View

[From those emails circulating around]


We don't care if you talk to other guys.

We don't care if you're friends with other guys.

But when you're sitting next to us, and some random guy walks into the room
and you jump up and tackle him without even introducing us, yeah, it pisses us off.

It doesn't help if you sit there and talk to him for ten minutes without
even acknowledging the fact that we're still there.

We don't care if a guy calls you, but at 2 in the morning we do get a little concerned.

Nothing is that important at 2 a.m. that it can't wait till the morning.

Also, when we tell you you're pretty/beautiful/gorgeous/cute/stunning, we freaking mean it.

Don't tell us we're wrong.We'll stop trying to convince you.

The sexiest thing about a girl is confidence.

Yeah, you can quote me.

Don't be mad when we hold the door open.

Take Advantage of the mood im in.

LET US PAY FOR YOU! DON'T 'FEEL BAD'

We enjoy doing it.

It's expected.

Smile and say 'thank you.'

Kiss us when no one's watching.

If you kiss us when you know somebody's looking, we'll be moreimpressed.

You don't have to get dressed up for us.

If we're going out with you in the first place, you don't have to feel the

need to wear the shortest skirt you have or put on every kind of makeup you own.

We like you for WHO you are and not WHAT you are.

Honestly, i think a girl looks more beautiful when she's just in her pj's.

Or my t-shirt and boxers, not all dolled up.

Don't take everything we say seriously.

Sarcasm is a beautiful thing.

See the beauty in it.

Don't get angry easily.

Stop using magazines/media as your bible.

Don't talk about how hott Morris Chesnutt, Brad Pitt, or JesseMcCartney is in front of us.

It's boring, and we don't care.

You have girlfriends for that.

Whatever happened to the word 'handsome'/'beautiful'.

I'd be utterly stunned by a girl who greeted me with 'Hey handsome!'instead of 'Hey baby/ stud/ cutie/ sexy' or whatever else you canthink of.

On the other hand im not sayin i wouldn't like it either.

~

Nice Chun-Li figurine/doll

Nice Chun-Li figurine/doll
http://www.amiami.com/shop?vgForm=ProductInfo&sku=FIG-MOE-0069&template=review.html

Blog Monetisation

Blog Monetization
For those interested in making money from blogs..


http://www.dannychoo.com/adp/eng/837/Blog+Monetization.html

Blogger: Blog of note

Blogger recommended this site during my log in, so here it is.

http://asliceofcherrypie.blogspot.com/
A blog on food, sort of

Facebook chat emoticons

Facebook chat emoticons
http://calebbrown.id.au/blog/2008/04/complete-list-facebook-chat-emoticons

Lost mementos

What's lost cannot be replaced; I only have memories. Goodbye...

Age guessing

[in foot massage parlours]
"Oh you must be 25!"
"Oh no no, I'm more than that"
"You must be kidding"

While it brings a blush at first, this trick is wearing thin on me. Come on lor, sometimes I'm even estimated at 21 yrs old. While such flattery at foot massage parlours are harmless, I think I'll prefer people who don't go for such cheap tricks to generate small talk.


Which brings me to another topic. Why are people so afraid to guess ages? Just go with your gut feeling. Nowdays when I see someone counting beads in their head, I tell them to be brave and skip the politness, just say the age the believe is true.

We're friends, not clients.

Left my handphone behind and guess what happened?

Angry..

The trade-in value was $0, if not below, for goodness sake!

Please email me your hp contacts. Don't sms, I don't have a SIM card yet.
(Don't leave your hp number in the comments either)

previous: http://jwqh.blogspot.com/2006/12/exploding-phones.html

Cost Con 2008 - san diego

http://www.clockworkmachina.com/?p=785

Full Metal Panic: Arbalast

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dannychoo/2734500701/sizes/o/

How you expect me to know?

[Act 1]
Ticket comes in.
Subject: MC45A
Request: Assign MC45A to HCT

me: ???
Tcode? nope
Program? nope
Material? nope
Material group? nope
me: ...
Search Material by *MC45*
found - MC45T/XST
me: ...


[Act 2]
she: You called me?
me: Yes, I don't understand your request. What is HCT?
she: Aiyoh. You speak Chinese?
me: Yes.
she: How ah? I don't even remember where now...
me: ...
she: Oh, it's material group TE051
me: The material master is showing it correctly ah.


[Act 3]
she: Some reports showing this material's material group incorrectly ley..
me: So what are these reports?
she: How would i know! you guys should know right?
me: [msg] shijie! that stupid woman here again!

me: You don't know; how I help you?
she: This is so funny. How you expect me to know?
me: Grrr...

me: So who's affected?
she: My salesmen la!
me: So what reports are affected?
she: How would i know!


[Act 4]
she: You guys should have a list of all the reports right?
me: no...
she: Aiyoh... how can? All my reports affected how?
me: What are these reports?
she: All lor
me: ...
me: It's not so straight forward. I have hundreds of reports.
she: But cannot la, you find all the reports and you changed them all lor
me: ...


[Epilogue]
I got the report name from her salesman who was more than ready to trip over his own foot to help me. The error was no error at all but a misunderstanding of the program usage.

-material and material group information changed to protect identity

Nudge nudge nudge

edit: corrected for grammar

A bit short of patience here.. It's like, what the hell? You guys can enjoy years of courtship yet I must be packed to the altar, a month after I started going steady?
I don't know who will see this but sorry, no more class gathering for me; till you guys can respect my space.
I didn't rush down to this gathering to have a wedding date forced on me and shown what a respectable wedding ring should BE like.

Company Newletter Interview: My Page

Sorry Squirtle, for butchering your work...

I had it!

When I first joined, month end closing was a painful affair. My user would compare 2 reports together and they would NEVER balance. Reason being one of the report is bugged! I took a look at it and admitted that it was beyound me. What could I do that a whole line of predecessors couldn't?

So we left it alone; working out the difference via manual checks and hand calculations. Till I decided to cut myself some slack by writing a helper program - one that would fix simple errors.

It worked like a charm and it reduced the number of corrections needed from 100~200+ to 10+. It was a great improvement and I had peace for months. Shijie got green for the last 2 closings; I ribbed her for not doing what I did earlier.

The Achilies heel - material revalations. A large batch of them was done this month and my program was way out of its league. Time for human brains.

Human brains worked till 9.30pm, tired and irritated. A part because I knew it was partly my fault.

The reluctance to change a working system that I do not understand when I first joined was excusable. To not do so after a year was not. Even though my predecessors had stayed longer; they had not worked up from a programming background. It was meant to be me; I shrank from it.

While waiting for my key-user to check the corrections by hand, I did a quick analysis of the flawed report and concluded that the bug is solvable. It was meant to be me; I will do it this time.

The Dark Knight: Joker

Curious about who he was?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_Ledger

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ennis_Del_Mar

Macross Frontier: Best Song Moments

Diamond Crevasse (Macross Quarter leaving for it's first combat with the enemy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMjywH9Slmc

Don't Be Late (The first attack combat sequences)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb1w80cLt5g

Infinity (Macross Quarter, Transformation!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB5_nV6Fe40

星間飛行 / Seikan Hikou (Poor Zentraedi... so vulnerable to the Minmei Attack!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6TNMk_nq-8

What About My Star? Sheryl & Ranka Duet (The love triangle duet)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErtIYqn0xvA

Secrecy surround the Dark Knight Movie

Secrecy surround the Dark Knight Movie

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-darkknight28-2008jul28,0,2249127,full.story

Rude user

how come the report 044 and my salesmen report different?

er.. there's quite a lot. Is it Zxxx044?

Ya la!

then what report your salesmen using?

how the h*** i know?

ST: how is he able to sleep?

It's me again. I got in =]

I love my bf but I think he's like a pig sometimes.
Not in the bad sense but leave him alone on a bus and he'll doze off!
What is this? How can he manage to sleep on a moving bus?

He laughed and claimed that this is an essential skill. How else am I going survive long trips overseas?

I'll pass, thank you.

Signing off,
bewildered girl friend

[Imaginary post of what my girlfriend might blog about]

Water bombs?

It's a pity I have no pictures to show.

While walking ST home, I saw on the floor about 2 dozen plastic drinks holders, shaped in the form of hand grenades. The floor was marked with splatter patterns.

My first thought, "Are kids throwing syrup drinking "cups" as water bombs these days? What the?!!"

Later I reasoned that they probably filled them up with water for play but left them for the cleaners..

-.-"

Gave colleague my blog address

Squirtle: hahaha this entry funny
"nicer-hr-girl"

[narrator] suddenly..JW wondered if giving Squirtle the blog address was such a bright idea...


p.s. just teasing Squirtle with this post :p

Malacca photos

http://picasaweb.google.com/james.wqh/2008Malacca

Overall, an enjoyable trip.
Malacca doesn't pretend to be a modern city. It is best explored free and easy. The highlight of the visit was Jonker Street for us - a night market in Chinatown area.

*note: It only opens on Friday to Sunday hor...

Replies to SMS invitations, or lack of

Sometimes I wonder if I'm holding a list of inactive numbers.
Costs money to reply?
Wait to catch me online then reply?
Not interested?

And those that do, reply with
"The date is too far away; something might crop up"
I.. I..
Seriously, if your future unseen plans have more importance than my plans that have a firm date and time, I seriously doubt your sincerity in getting back to me. You have nothing during that period, for goodness sake! Why can't you just commit?

Or reply with
"See how..."
Then I ask, "Are you interested?" The answer turns out no. Grrr....

When anger and disappointment nudged me to delete these contacts, I had to stop myself, "Weren't these people, who were close to me? Give them another chance..."

And another...

This complaint is not really triggered by any unhappiness "today". It's a cumulative complaint; no need to start guessing.

Excellence: how did I learn my skills?

Someone from my first batch of abap students asked me, how did I learn my skills?

I said I liked programming during poly and had a good knowledge of C and Java. I thought I was good when I joined the workforce; I took another 5 years to master abap. I then asked him where he stands now and used cooking as a metaphor.
Can you fry an egg?
Cook a dish?
Whip up a dinner?
Or just help your mother dice the onions?

This set me thinking. Can mastery come without a competitive spirit? I know my own path. It was to challenge the guy in class who was better than me. I never caught up; I never came close; but it gave me the skills I had.

Years later, I learnt that what separates me from others is not a raw talent in programming. I am simply more experienced - much much more. I have easily done 20x the homework of any normal student; and that was schoolwork.

Experience. What I was thought as a challenge of wits now boils down to this. I never thought I would say this, 14 years ago.