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.

Arrival of Eric and Shandy's baby

[post has been backdated to monday]

This comes a bit late but congratulations once again =]

Zoo trip: 20080614

http://picasaweb.google.com/james.wqh/200806zoo

It has been many years; I went with ST for her company's family day.

Our zoo has adopted an open and clean look. Recommended.

A little surprise trip

Off to Malacca!

This is a scheduled post; by the time this is released; I'll be well on my way

Planes are made of Titanium?..

JW: What?! It's Aluminum!
CW: But Aluminum is so weak!
JW: Even US submarines use steel only lor. Only Soviet can afford Titanium in their submarines and war machines.
CW: Hmm... maybe not all la. But a large part.

I don't think so... For your reading.

http://exp-aircraft.com/library/heintz/material.html

http://www.zenithair.com/kit-data/ht-86-3.html

http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/archives/2004/02/a_look_back_at.html

Company Newletter Interview

done..

I did it in a rush, without proof reading, with a lot of bombastic words and vagueness.
Wonder if it'll make the cut.. heh...

Selected for company newsletter interview

I've gotten the request for some time, but still have not got around to it, due on 15 July. I don't enjoy putting myself in limelight and I feel uncomfortable with a camera on the roll. Neither can I say I'm happy in my position when I'm not.

I am to fill up an xls sheet with information about myself. So what can I say?

1. I enjoy the freedom
2. I like my colleagues (some of them, anyway)
3. I have good rapport with my users (with the exception of my Finance users)
4. I love paintball in my free time?
5. I like gaming in my free time? (Erm...)

Inflation

After 9 years of patronising the same barber, the price changed from $8 to $9.
Though a sign of the widespread inflation, it's justifiable. Year after year, we get our bonuses and increments. Do lower income earners get them?

Work is back...

...with a vengeance.

I think I'll stay behind and finish my report (program) today (wednesday).

Southern Ridges

http://deadpoetscave.com/2008/05/southern-ridges-visual-guide-west-coast-park-to-harbourfront/

When are you getting married?

Starting *from* my one-month anniversary with ST, I have been bombarded *weekly* with *THE* question. 24 weeks later, I found my courtesy at its end.

I didn't snap at anyone. I brushed off the question as normally as I could, then put a "warning" on my MSN that I'll not entertain further questions.

Well meaning as they probably are; I don't like how the question is followed by a reference to my age, "But you are so old already..."


I don't think my life purpose is to find the stream of my birth, spread my genes and die quietly. I would like to think that finding a special someone is not for the sake for her ability to bear me children. I want her because she is who she is.



A relationship does not have to lead to marriage. A marriage does not have to lead to having children. These things will happen in their own due course; not because I am so old already; not because marrying a woman is to let her be the mother of your child.

When it happens, it will be obvious; you won't be getting an invitation from out of the blue.

Photograph by Peter Essick

Iron Man's Adventures

Ironman and Spiderman

What's in a name?

What's in a name?
To us, it's identity. Our parents, aspirations. Our enemies, curses.
Magicians, power. Countries, baggage. Teams, spirit. Companies, trust.
Me, me.

Goat for hire

Without making it too obvious, this is a complaint against someone who can do something himself but chose to ask me to do it.
It's not lazy; it's not delegation.
It's kiasi.

Migration done

After 4 nights of copying posts by hand; I got my posts moved to a new address
Joran at Play

This blog is focused on games, StarTrek and Paintball.
My personal blog will remain here. All references to my new nick will be removed (if possible). My new nick is now JW. My old nick will be used on my new blog spin-off.

2 Aug Paintball game status

http://joranatplay.blogspot.com/2008/07/2-aug-paintball-game-status.html

It's not exactly ready yet, but here's a sneak peak.

Dream: Interviewee

Dreams as they go don't make sense. I just thought that it's amusing to log them and read at a future date. Readers might want to skip this entry.

[dream]
Me, Shijie were standing around when a little girl walked through the door. She approached the secretary who asked her to wait a while. She's the kind of age where you'll plait her hair and send her to pre-school. She stood there, innocently, waiting for the person she was supposed to meet.
We check her appointment card for who she was supposed to meet.
JW: Who's XB?
SJ: Me lor.

[furiously thinking] Don't we have a new guy, already? Don't tell me he's going to leave soon?

[another girl enters]

JW: Shijie, what's going on?
SJ: I don't know.
[/dream]

Migration in process

I'm shifting posts on games, trek and paintball to a new blog.
Posts that intersect with my social life or has comments will be retained here; those that have been migrated are already archived.

Once the shift is complete, I will post up the new address.

Aim:

1. To have a more coherent message
2. To properly track readership
3. To not hear, "but your blog is all about games..." anymore
   
4. To segregate readers that are friends and readers from paintball and startrek community
5. To be able to share posts of my gaming activities without exposing my personal blog

if u wanna try paintball..

edited and refreshed...

If u wanna plan a paintball game by urself...
Or you wanna try out paintball but do not have enough people...
Join the people at this site
http://paintball--101.blogspot.com

Basically, they buy the 250 balls package and sell it to at u 100 balls at that package price.
so it's cheaper for pple who dun wan pay $50 for 250 balls


I'm planning a recreational game is on 2 Aug, 10am-12nn, who's keen?
Location: BottleTree Park, Khatib

Wedding dinners

I went Kieran and Isabel's traditional wedding with Estee last night. Congratulations.

Had some thoughts...

--Food wastage
Yes, it is sad. But in the case of a buffet, the portioning is not fair. I've been to 2 wedding buffets and all I got was sandwiches because everyone made a mad rush for the pricier food. They had no concerns about leaving enough for others.

--Punctuality
I think it's rude and it's kinda maddening. Do you turn up late for your friend's walk down the aisle? Your child's graduation ceremony? Why be late because everyone else is doing it?

--The sharks conservation message
I understand what it is about. However, the same cruel act applies to our farm animals as well. I'm not advocating sharks fishing but to appeal to the public to be more aware.

MUTO - a wall painted animation by BLU

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Blog directions

As I give out my blog address to more people, I get more worried about what I could write.
Granted that what I wrote were what I saw as facts and I could not be faulted. However, this could jeopardise working relationships that I'm currently holding.

Secondly, my blog has obtained too cluttered a feel. I want to give it a focused theme.

Therefore, I've decided. This blog address will become purely my personal blog, using my true name.
A new blog will hold stuffs under a new address, which will continue the tale of Joran - my gaming alter ego.

This will take some time to prepare; stay tuned.

Macross Frontier: The face of Ranka Lee

http://scottd.wordpress.com/2008/06/26/miss-macross-nakajima-megumi/

"Bold attacks" behind a mask of anonymity

In another blog, I spoke up against people attacking other people via comments (while leaving the name Anonymous); I was told to go and perform a crude act with the blog owner.

Some Blog owners can shoot their mouths off as they like; earning enmity.
Some readers can shoot their traps off as they like; leaving no names.

BlogSpace should not be a warzone; you know who you are.

Mozilla Download Day Certificate

http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord/certificate_form

Noob Calling

Earlier grumbles: http://jwqh.blogspot.com/search?q=noob

I hate noob calling.
A derogatory term from an elitist.

We are all here to play.
We all started from level 0.
What gives you the right?

SPNS Leg 2 Field Layout: Valley of Tombs

Blogging: reasons for blogging and personal views

[reasons for blogging]
Why do we blog? This topic has been covered to death. We're talking about personal blogs, of course. An uncharacteristic sharing of our personal lives and thoughts, un-imaginable, not very long ago.

Why not ask, "Why do we read blogs?"

Once you have that answer in your head, realise that I could not fight dragons; post pictures of my sexual exploits; or go on breath-taking trips on a regular basis.

You say, "Why should I read when I can ask you?". Fair enough, but are you sure you're checking with me on a weekly basis? If you are, would you want me to come bursting to you with stories on how I told someone to shut up; what nice places I discovered; what a good mood I was in, *everytime* you sign onto your IM?
"Hey, guess what?"
"Woah, listen to this!"
"Check this out!"
"Wa... I so mad"

You'll tire of me and I'll tire of myself. So there it is. An obvious answer to an obvious question.

Objectives
-----------
1. Document key events in my life
2. Bitch about stuffs
3. Share things I deem nice
4. Promote causes and groups I support: Acres; Star Trek; Paintball

Out-of-scope / Not-interested
-------------------------------
1. Entertaining the masses
2. Making money out of my blog

Now on to views...



[personal views]
1. BlogSpace should not be a warzone.
Should not use it to attack people unfairly, if the subject can be easily identified.
This is a tricky thing to balance, since most complaints are aimed at someone.

2. Posts should be written with the intention of public scrunity
Should not write something, that you'll feel uneasy to show the world later; prompting a deletion...

Erm... looks like I broke both rules #1 and #2 from time to time...
Still, a change for the good is better late than never

Paintball gear, finally!

edited for mistake
Dye Jersey and Pants --> Proto Jersey and Pants

Mask
$80

Jersey
$50?

Pants
$106

Finally! They're in!
No thanks to.. let's say it again! paintball-online.com, shit u!

However, since we now "downgrade" our Jerseys and Pants to Proto, instead of Empire, there's now no padding to speak off. I'll be buying a ground-pounder(padded vest) next.

Thanks to Chak for tying up loose ends.

Toilet habits of people on my floor

1. The holy water
1.1. Deliver his goods
1.2. Use napkins
1.3. Punch the tap with one hand
1.4. Touch the holy water with the same hand
1.5. Share it with the Earth God
1.6. Exit

2. The quick get-away
2.1 Deliver his goods
2.2. Use napkins
2.3 Exit

3. Special non-stick surface
3.1 Deliver his goods
3.2. Punch the tap with one hand
3.3. Touch the holy water with the same hand
3.4. Share it with the Earth God
3.5. Exit
Noticed something missing? OMG!!!

[Predictions]
a. If punching taps become a Olympic sports event; Singapore would sweep all the medals
b. Roger aka Smeagol would stop using the toilets in my building after reading this

Job direction: travel opportunities (not); bored

A mis-communication; so no trips to HK and VN till next year.

I'm bored; I need a challenge.

Norm: Do you really feel like a grown up?

http://www.mycomicspage.com/features/113/feature_items/366226

Paintball FAQ

edit1: adjusted cost of equipment downwards

[the below refers to the paintball variant: speedball, where players fight in out in a restricted field with bunkers littered around]

1. Is it expensive?
House markers (think, guns) and house masks are available "free" for your use.
We typically spend $50 per session to purchase our pellets.
If you want to invest in protective clothing, it might cost you between $100-$500. If not, you can use the equipment provided by the management.

2. Is it paintful?
Imagine someone "piak" you with their fingers as hard as they can. Now multiply that force by x5 for a long range shot. x10 for an average shot.
At competition levels, players are allowed to run past the safety line. This allows opponents the chance to get real close. The pain could be as high as x20 for a point-blank shot. Relax however, that the damage is only superficial, limited to broken skin and a "little volcano" bruise at its worst.
Protective clothing can limit these bruises by a huge factor; other than looking cool.

3. Safety (Center) line?
Under SPF and SSC regulation, the cener of the paintball fields must be separated by a safety line; No one is allowed to cross it, so opposing teams can only shoot at each other from their half of the field. However, in 2008, paintball enthuasists in Singapore managed to get the green light for the center line to be waived for competitive level of paintball.

4. Is it dangerous?
Damage is limited to small, localised bruises. Nothing could be permanently damaged. However, the eye is more fragile and is vulnerable. Paintball games place a serious emphasis on mask protection. In the event that someone's mask falls off (or taken out), the game is stopped immediately and the person is driven off from the field.
Speedball is a non-contact sports; no physical contact is allowed. So serious injuries are usually the result of recklessness and stupidity - like diving, sliding, jumping.
If someone is very malicious, a shot at the back of the head, at point-blank range might cause unconsciousness. I doubt the marshals would take kindly to such an act.

5. How do I join the local paintball scene?
Please visit the forums at http://www.weplaypaintball.com/forum/
You can find me there.

related:
http://joranAtPlay.blogspot.com/2008/04/how-safe-is-paintball.html
http://jwqh.blogspot.com/2008/06/force-ma.html

Force = mA

edit1: corrected by ST
edit2: added new comparisons


[units needed]
mass --> kg
acceleration --> m/(s^2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acceleration

1. Being hit by Superman at escape velocity
m = 120 kg
Velocity = Mach 9
A = 2970 m/(s^2))
F = 1,058,508,000 N

2. Force of a passenger hitting windscreen/seat in a car accident
m = 60 kg
Velocity = 80 kph
A = 22.22 m/(s^2))
F = 29,624 N

3. Force of a assault rifle round
m = 3.95-5.18 g (0.00395-0.00518 kg)
Muzzle Velocity = 990 m/s
A = 772–930 m/(s^2) -- apparently, energy is lost. so the Force for the paintball pellet should be lower
F = 2,354 - 4,480 N

4. Force of a 9mm handgun round
m = 7.5-9.5 g (0.0075-0.0095 kg)
Muzzle Velocity = 300-360 m/s
A = 300-360 m/(s^2) -- assuming no energy loss for simple calculation
F = 675 - 1,231 N

5. Force of a paintball pellet
m = 3 g? (0.003 kg)
Muzzle Velocity = 90 m/s
A = 90 m/(s^2) -- assuming no energy loss for simple calculation
F = 24.3 N



Conclusion:
a. It's easier to dodge a speeding car
b. Belt up!

edit: [courtesy of ST]
force needed to propel a paintball pellet
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080307185202AAyfPfU

Shadow Play

Today, the fresh batch of reservists did their duty with us, pushing our strength to 10.

At 7.15am, I got to know one of them and he was quite decent. The rest, I've worked with them before.

Staff was quite pissed that the 2 jokers from my batch are not to be seen. He gave an ultimatum that if he doesn't see their face by 12 noon, then he would cancel their ICT. I happily forwarded that message.

Meanwhile, having got the feel of the new batch, I tied down things with them so that those 2 would be doing their duties during the hot and boring hours of the day.

Ah... "Justice" is sweet. I don't have to handle them anymore. =)

Job direction: travel opportunities

This isn't exactly a secret since I have gushed it out to several people.

From July to September, it is likely that I will get to travel to Vietnam and Hongkong with my small boss to sync the region's ERP (SAP). I have long suspected that my role will be as a travelling Abaper (programmer).

Initially torn between going and staying, I finally decided I want to have the travel exposure. However, with the entrance of our new member, I fear that he'll get precedence over me as this company seem to favour those that hail from their home country.

Last week, Shijie updated me that I might be travelling to do some implementation on behalf of her division. This sounded strange to me. Then *today*, I got my answer.

On my new colleague's desk, was a book titled, "Easy ABAP". That explained it. I *am* going to be a travelling programmer.

Later, I learnt from Shijie that he has programming experience in Finance and HR modules, but not in Sales and Materials. Ah... a bit double standards(n1) in hiring their own countrymen, it seems. Oh well, who cares. What is important is that he is willing to work as a team. Time would tell.

note:
n1 - we are the logistics team, who deal in sales and materials

Cycling in the lion city

http://www.mrbrown.com/blog/2008/05/things-i-learne.html#comments

Poisoning the well

Something I remember from my English class, half a lifetime ago.
http://www.philosophicalsociety.com/Logical%20Fallacies.htm#poisoning%20the%20wells
http://www.newmanreader.org/works/apologia65/preface.html

In a nutshell, it refers to the act of discrediting an opponent during a debate.
"Before we start, let me tell you that my opponent is a liar"
This leads the listeners to have a bias against the other party, sometimes even before he has a chance to speak.

Recklessness and Hurt

I was on a bus, on my way home when the driver executed a 2-stage E-brake.

Maybe I had prior bad experiences in not bracing myself; maybe I just wanted to act cool and not be jerked forward unglamorously; I placed both my palms against the rail in front of me.

The 2nd stage caught everyone by surprise. Even seated passengers slid forward. Standing passengers tumbled into human bodies.

A reckless cyclist was the cause of this. He had recklessly cut across our path. An elderly man who had fallen to the floor was giving angry words to the driver, accusing him of lying and acting. The driver didn't bother defending himself; some passengers who had witnessed the event was echoing the real cause aloud but the elderly man either did not hear or did not wish to apologise. After getting silent confirmations that everyone was unhurt, he got back to driving his bus.

It is good to see people acting to help. It is bad to see people not taking responsibilities for their actions.

Annoyed by a person who's only physically present during the rites

edited some phrasing

Since last night, during the rites..

• he kept fidgeting
• talking to his wife
• looked around
• looked to his back
• had to be nudged by his wife to bow (while looking around)

For the morning, during the rites..

• he kept fidgeting
• talking to his wife
• looked around
• looked to his back
• looking at the crew who was handling the drinks
• brushed his body against his wife in a quarter-circle
• held the joss stick in one hand

Felt like blasting him, "If you are so dis-interested, why not stay away?"

Later I realised that he was looking into the general direction of his car (to his left). But that doesn't explain why he looked to his back and his right. That doesn't explain why he kept looking backwards in the crematorium, where his car was out of sight.

Show some respect, not the motions.

The 7 Types Of Bad Bosses According To Star Trek (And How To Survive Them)

http://io9.com/392142/the-7-types-of-bad-bosses-according-to-star-trek-and-how-to-survive-them

20080517 Paintball

edit1: corrected died 2x to died 3x
edit2: uploaded photos


Happy...
If my memories aren't too skewered in my advantage..


played 7 games, lost 2 games, died 3x, shot 6x
yay =]

Macross Frontier

waaa... VF25, pretty =]
(see bottom 3 pictures)
http://www.marvinryan.com/blog/2008/05/15/shizuoka-hobby-gundams/

Insecurity

While out with my girlfriend today, we went through the passageway that leads to Suntec.
"JW!"
"eh-eh-eh-Hey! Hi :)"

We exited the passageway and her boyfriend peeked his head out to take a look at me.

"Who's that?"
"Oh, Suhana. She's from my 2nd work place - IBM team"
"Oh.."

On recollection, it was not the first time that I have upon chanced them at Shaw Towers.
To that better looking boyfriend, "Open your eyes. Relax la..."
-.-"

Blog maintenance

To tidy things up, I've added some new labels.
I've also removed some old grumblings to make this "safer" for general viewing.
Lastly, I've changed my Friends' List in favour of a BlogRoll, which will update whenever there are changes.
Enjoy :)

El camino del Rey

Viewers might experience giddiness..
I got a little woozy watching this. So if you suffer from related symptoms, do take a rest.



http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1438490562

Originally built in 1901, this walkway now serves as an aproach to makinodromo, the famous climbing sector of El Chorro.

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

End of Holiday

*yawn

nasty user coming in with request le

Bored to death and drowning in mucus

I mean this literally.

Not soon after I turned down an offer of interview, citing that I still have things to learn at this company, did I find myself without tasks to do.
Now this is nothing surprising in a support environment but it's kinda, you know, boring. Almost makes me want to look elsewhere.

I now have a bad cold that started with a sore throat. Today, annoyed with the constant running of my nose; I popped another 2 pills in succession. That gave me enough relief to help Beanbear with her program but I was aware of the impending haziness of my thoughts - overdosed?

After work, I had a gathering with my ex colleagues: Beelin; Eu Huat; Dylan; Seow Fuen; Shiau Hui. We did our ritualistic exchange of our complaints till my medication wore off; which was a little bit hard to bear. That ended the night early. Nice to see everyone again.

The Friends list of the Ring

http://overview.mail.yahoo.com/featured_video

ST: Guys and guns

Ok, I finally hacked into this account and I have something to say...

What is it about guys and their toys? My boyfriend recently had this fasination with paintball and I'm quite unhappy to see him end the session with bruises. What's more infuriating is that he seems quite proud to parade them!
Argh, men! Put a couple of them together and they'll start talking about their NS and how terrible their life was. And here they are paying good money to let themselves get hit! I simply cannot understand it! $50 / game for 1-2 times a week and he has the cheek to tease me about my shopping habbits!
*hmph!*

Signing off,
bewildered girl friend

[Imaginary post of what my girlfriend might blog about]

Nine Words Women Use...

This is old but still good to share


[Nine Words Women Use...]

1.) Fine : This is the word women use to end an argument when they are Right and you need to shut up.

2.) Five Minutes : If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more Minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

3.) Nothing : This is the calm before the storm. This means something, And you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing Usually end in fine.

4.) Go Ahead : This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

5.) Loud Sigh : This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.)

6.) That's Okay : This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

7.) Thanks : A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you're welcome.

8.) Whatever : Is a women's way of saying F#%K YOU!

9.) Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to #3.

Paintball interests

I got my third game last weekend and I've just completed the orientation of tournament paintball. When this list is submitted to the Police, it means that I'm clear to play without the legal requirement of a center line.
Anyone on for a recreational level game? :)

Galactic Dodgeball

http://www.keithkong.com/play.php?game=Galactic_Dodgeball

[update]

Genesis Climber Toys

http://shop.toyntoys.com/components/com_phpshop/shop_image/product/652c6144f464d03e6f7a28339a052bb1.jpg
[lyrics] ..Do you remember? That old lullaby?

Disgusting politics

This story at SICC disgusts me. To protect his wife's position as a lady captain in the golf committee, a lawyer, Mr Lee, did this...
http://www.asiaone.com/Just%2BWoman/News/Women%2BIn%2BThe%2BNews/Story/A1Story20080212-49276.html

World w/o humans

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/aftermath/

What happens when humans were to suddenly vanish off the surface off the Earth?
An interactive video tells you - drag around with the mouse to zoom in or zoom out!

Loss of strength

We lost a member of our SD/MM team today, due to the crazy rental costs here. Shijie is upset and panicky about having to handle her division on her own. She just got on after been persuaded by me =\

We need more experienced people...

Management, wake up your idea! To stem the high turnover here, you don't just "improve the hiring process". Wake up!

Bubbles has resigned

Waa.. the ranks of us programmers grow thinner; I thought she would never leave! Congrats, Bubbles.

A dash of updates

Ok.. got scolded le...

[work]
I'm not moving anytime soon. I still got things to learn and my mentor is back. Even though people tai-ji things to me - let them.
I got a good bonus and increment %; though I suspect they are been generous cos they are pro-rated. Like.. so what if they give me an additional 1% of a 5/12 year?

[ippt]
Atrocious. Time to work out...

[social]
On whim, I tried to organise something for my colleagues from my second employment. The response is disappointing as well as silent. What is it that a friend said? The participants must been keen in the first place... =\

Macross Toys

http://shop.toyntoys.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=1242&category_id=48&option=com_phpshop&Itemid=1

http://www.dannychoo.com/slide/eng/wonfes2008winter/18471/photo/Kaiyodo/

http://www.dannychoo.com/slide/eng/wonfes2008winter/18479/photo/Kaiyodo/

http://www.dannychoo.com/slide/eng/wonfes2008winter/18604/photo/Tokyo+Big+Sight/

Ultimate Lego Rubberband Gun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgiUSEpg8Xc

Americans are NOT stupid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE



.

Excuse me, may I ask the way to Da Zhong Guo?

[post has been backdated]

click on the pictures to enlarge them


"Sorry, I don't know"


"It's down at CK"


"It's back there"


"Go on, turn right at the restaurant"


...


"It's back there"


Found it! Beside Buddha Tooth Relic Temple!

Annalynn (my Filipino colleague) wanted to buy nian gao. My mother recommended Da Zhong Zhuo but she couldn't tell me where it is. So the two of us went hunting for it during lunch.

Unfortunately, the nian gao was sold out. We'll be back next year ;)


View Larger Map
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=sago+st+singapore&sll=1.282643,103.84405&sspn=0.004741,0.007296&ie=UTF8&ll=1.281694,103.843975&spn=0.00237,0.003648&t=h&z=18&om=0
.

SAP Workflow

Some workflow links I’ve found.

[This is a video demo on how to create a workflow from scratch. Looks very easy to do! Account and pwd needed]
https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/7288
https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/go/portal/prtroot/docs/library/uuid/e0bbdb3c-d640-2a10-d3b2-e4d9b90536a6

[Online guides]
http://www.workflowbook.com/
http://www.saptechnical.com/Tutorials/Workflow/WorkflowTutorialOne/WorkFlowTutorial1.htm
http://saptechnical.com/Tutorials/Workflow/Workflow.htm

[Why use workflow?]
http://www.insightcp.com/res_23.htm

.

Training and being arrowed

Act 1:
Training dept offered courses;I happily signed up for SD module and Workflow, only to find out that they were online courses. I'll have to sit though a flash tutorial and take tests online. This has to be done during office hours, after lunch.
-.-"
What for? I want out!

Act 2:
Maybe someone made more noise than me as the online courses were scrapped. They offered courses to us from SAP instead. Happy! Colleague told me to advise her on schedule. Asked me take a SD course and an ABAP course. I replied that I'll take the SD course but will skip on the ABAP - it's too easy for me.

Act 3:
"I think we have a misunderstanding", she said. This is the colleague who taiji-ed the KL training to Jess; I have since gotten to know her and liked her. What she wanted was that I read off the SAP site and tell her the courses I want. I happily fought through the lousy-joke-of-a-website-by-a-leading-software-developer and came out with the information half an hour later. (The designer ought to be sent back to school)

Act 4:
she: What are these?
me: These are the courses I want.
she: then the other courses?
me: I'm not interested in them.
she: but I wanted you to choose...

Oh...
She wanted me to shortlist the SD (Sales & Distribution), MM (Materials Management) and ABAP Programming courses for my colleagues. As the official SAP site is a pain in the neck to read, let alone navigate, she out-sourced the job to me and Jess. Arrowed again.. -.-"

Oh well, no problem. Just a copy and paste job. No one can have the co-operation of my heart without my consent.

Tired. =]

Work update for Jan 2008

[Colleagues]
Have gotten with better terms - with Colleague-not-on-speaking-terms and the colleague who tai-ji-ed the KL trip planning. Think I can only dislike one person at one time...

[HR]
DG warned some of us against being late. I find this to be an annoyance - that we are tracked and probably graded by this. I'll make it a point to leave on the dot then...

[work]
A hectic week after my return to work. Now it tapers off to a relaxed pace. I hope Beanbear comes back soon...

.

In Cloud 9

Being in the clouds isn't what I thought it would be.

I'm like a person who's struck with a case of lycanthrophy: A programmer pretending to be a System Analyst by day; Someone else with reduced mental abilities at night.

Problem is, I won't have it any other way; Humans are such self destructive creatures.

My social and army obligations are going to catch up with me. It's a good time for a test and an adjustment.

Foot Massage

Dear treated me to a foot massage. Less painful than before but that doesn't mean I can take it all the time. Thanks, Dear

Everything my pa sa #1

[edited for mistake. Susan changed to Sally]

A bit cannot tahan my situation. Just because all business process start from sales; all problems naturally becomes mine.

Just yesterday, I was assigned a ticket. Upon contacting the user, I had to log on to a server I have not come across before.
"Er, are you sure it's me?"
"Yes, you support XYZ division, don't you?"
...

I approached the basis team and my colleague concluded that a program change has to be done.
"So you'll be doing the change"
"Why me? I thought you support this server?"
"You're developer ma"
...

Just like that, a new developer account was created for me. I logged in with this account, took a look at the codes and saw a jungle. I can't do this.
"Who's this Sally?"
"Why?"
"I see that she has changed this code before, maybe it's under her"
"Ya, you can try contacting her"

"Hi Sally, I got this problem. Blah blah blah"
"Sure, add me into the ticket"
Wow! This is a first in this company! Someone actually offered to take over a task from me! Impressed.

"JW, why are you taking this ticket?"
"Er, cos it came to me?"
"It belongs to Sally, you don't have to do it"
...
"Ok, thanks"

Macross Frontier

Macross, the first SF series I was ever crazy about. There will always be a special place...

http://www.dannychoo.com/blog_entry/eng/1329/Macross+Frontier/

http://www.macrossf.com/

http://youtube.com/watch?v=vrRFMvcbPR4&feature=related

Ulterior motives

I asked LaLa why she's sad recently. She replied she's upset because people treat her well only because they want something out of it. I'm not sure how to console her for I believe that is the truth of things.

In StarTrek TNG, there was an episode that left a deep impression in me. Data the android, aspires to be human. When a colonist that he befriended expressed interests in joining StarFleet, he went out to help her. She noted that in her colony, everyone does things for a purpose. It was good to have a friend that does not do things for ulterior motives. Data replied with a straight face (as android does), that he does have an ulterior motive - her continued presence on-board the starship; Which prompted Natasha Yar to hide her face.

None of us can be as innocent as an android that's devoid of emotions, yet he does have a good point. We all have motives in doing things. Even for seemingly selfless acts, the giver receives a feeling of happiness in return.

And because I like my junior, I'm going to cheer her up. The coinage is our friendship - or rather, for her to like me (as a friend - I'm in a tricky situation here). The line is rather thin.

Vader in Canteen

Cutesy plush toys

of microbes!
http://www.crazyaboutgadgets.com/detail.asp?ID=317

Not talking

1st guy to left: *talk*
2nd guy to left: *talk*
2nd guy to left: *answer phone*
1st guy to left: *answer phone*
JW: *glares at both of them*

1st guy to left: *talk*
2nd guy to left: *talk*
1st guy to left: *answer phone*
JW: *glares at 1st guy to left*

2nd guy to left: *talk*
1st guy to left: *talk*
JW: Excuse me. Can you don't be selfish? This is a cinema. Stop Talking.
1st guy to left: I am not talking
JW: Okay...
1st guy to left: You are talking
JW: *glare*
1st guy to left: *glare*

Tension was broken by a pair of hands to my right. I may have "lost" the staring contest but I shut him up.

2nd guy to right: *talk*
JW: ...

3 days and 2 nights

A last minute whim and a last minute change of plans made this possible. We made the arrangements and kept the trip secret from certain parties.
Shopping was awfully disappointing but we managed to spend a lot of time together. At midnight, we popped the sparkling juice; This time, she didn't pull away.
Happy new year, dear.

p.s. What is read here, stays here.