An interesting piece of reading! Taking a break from the Obama-fever (congrats to him btw), this piece about conspiracy theories in general really gives you a refreshing take on the subject matter. Ripped off from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4319574.stm
By Harold Evans
In his weekly opinion column, Harold Evans takes issue with Michael Crichton's latest thriller, in which global warming is the work of mad eco-scientists.
Do you ever read that line on an early page of a novel: "Any connection between the characters and events herein portrayed, and real people, is purely coincidental."
In Michael Crichton's State of Fear, I'd say the connection was purely intentional. It's about the kind of hurricanes, floods, tsunamis and tornadoes we've been experiencing. Crichton's trade is to bring pleasurable terror to millions by spinning tales of science gone amok - as in Jurassic Park and the Andromeda Strain.
In this new bestseller those hurricanes etc aren't natural disasters at all. They are the creations of global warming activists - eco-maniacs desperate to publicise the case for controlling emissions of carbon dioxide. To make sure you get his point, Crichton adds a 32-page footnote documenting his own conviction that global warming is an unscientific scare.
What about the contrary worldwide consensus of scientists that global warming is a man-made disaster in the making? Crichton's answer: "If it's consensus, it isn't science. If it's science, it isn't consensus." As I suppose in the old consensus that the earth is flat.
Crichton's is not actually a thesis that the displaced folks in Louisiana and Texas can concentrate on at the moment in the wake of Katrina and Rita. Yet for his polemic on global warming, Crichton has become something of a hero to the groups fighting hard to stop anything like the Kyoto treaty.
The well-endowed think tank, the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy, honoured Crichton with an invitation to Washington to address its members - not on the novel, but on science policy in the 21st Century. The point of that was to embrace Crichton's attack on what he calls the pseudo-science of global warming. It's not easy to embrace Crichton himself; he is an intimidating 6ft 9 inches.
Michael Crichton: 'Something of a hero'
The sceptics on global warming needed this kind of reinforcement. They have mostly been keeping quiet after the ferocity of Katrina and Rita, widely blamed in the press on the unusually hot waters of the Gulf. Al Gore, in a rousing "action now" speech that impressed business leaders at the Clinton summit in New York recently, pointed out that since the 1970s, hurricanes both in the Atlantic and Pacific have increased in intensity by about 50%.
'Great hoax'?
It is quite significant that while President Bush has been active on hurricane relief, he has not reiterated his well-aired doubts about whether global warming is a real threat or a scare. Nor have we heard much from the Republican chairman of the Senate Environment Committee.
Senator James Inhofe's previous best effort was this: "With all of the hysteria, all of the fear, all of the phoney science, could it be that man-made global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people? It sure sounds like it."
The senator did not explain quite how 2,000 top scientists in 100 countries could have been persuaded in 2004 to produce a rare consensus that gas emissions left unchecked will produce a series of catastrophes. Nor is he likely to try and explain in the post-Katrina atmosphere.
Hurricanes are now more intenseThe conspiracy Crichton outlined in his novel might seem tailor-made for Hollywood - scientists manipulating weather systems to suit their own leftie agenda. But it is very much in the paranoid political style identified by the renowned historian Richard Hofstadter. There are still people who just know that FDR conspired with Winston Churchill to have the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. There are millions who just know that JFK's assassin, the shooter on the grassy hill in Dallas, was hired by Lyndon Johnson.
As a historian, I have never been much impressed by conspiracy theories left or right. Too often, they are exalted by non-evidence - "proved" by records that have disappeared, "witnesses" whose stories have been suppressed. But if you happen to be in the market for a conspiracy theory today, there's a rather more credible one documented by the pressure group Greenpeace. Just bend an ear for a moment for the names of a few organizations very much concerned with global warming.
You wouldn't guess it but all these highfalutin bodies are dedicated to undermining the science of global warming and preventing America signing something like the Kyoto Treaty. And again, you wouldn't guess it, but they take thousands of dollars from Exxon Mobil. It's the world's largest oil company and a high profile opponent of Kyoto for imposing too many costs on the developed world.
- Advancement of Sound Science Centre Inc
- Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow
- Heartland Institute
- Competitive Enterprise Institute
- Annapolis Center for Science-based Public Policy
The five groups I mentioned are not the only ones with deceptive titles. Greenpeace has identified 40 such mouths at the Exxon nipple. So what's wrong about this? For one thing I'd guess you'd be a bit more sceptical of their pronouncements on global warming if they made it clear that they are not - shall we say - unrelated to the interests of their Exxon sponsors.
Grazing on drought-stricken landI asked Exxon about supporting so many of these propaganda groups. They point out that pro-Kyoto foundations give out much more money than they do, and that's true. What's disturbing to me is that the groups Exxon supports are much less forthcoming about their connections; they are often treated in the media as if they were wholly independent scientific bodies.
In addition Exxon has done something positive in committing $100m to Stanford University for research into new energy technology. So where's the rub? Well, funding long-term research like this is all well and good. The trouble is - as the economist Keynes famously said in another context - in the long-term we are all dead. The damage is being done here and now every day. It is accelerating - and it is damage that could be irreversible.
Smear tactics
All the delaying tactics, denials and obfuscations bring to mind what happened in 1974 to two American scientists, Professor Sherwood Roland and Dr Mario Molina. They coolly set out the evidence that the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used in refrigeration, aerosols and air conditioning were eating at the ozone layer which protects mankind and plants from dangerous ultraviolet radiation.
They were at once smeared as scaremongers. The manufacturers ran an all too successful campaign to fog the issue. A lazy media bought into it. The public got bored and bamboozled. And as they did so, millions more tons of the pollutant were added to the atmosphere.
The era of procrastination is coming to a close; in its place we are entering a period of consequences
Winston ChurchillThirteen years later when the world finally woke up to an ozone hole bigger than anyone had predicted, there was a swift international agreement - led by the US - to find alternatives to the CFCs. In the meantime, great damage had been done.
Winston Churchill back in the 1930s had this to say about another government that didn't believe a threat was real. As the Chamberlain Cabinet dithered about Hitler, Churchill warned: "They go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all powerful to be impotent."
And he concluded: "The era of procrastination, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to a close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences."
We are entering that period now with global warming. And if quoting Churchill in this context puts me in Michael Crichton's class of conspirators, I will bear it with fortitude.
Hear A Point of View in the BBC Radio Player
Recently there was this furore about Majlis Fatwa going about discussing whether or not Yoga, is haram or not.
Taken from the blog RantingsbyMM by Marina Mahathir, I find this comment from one of the reader most interesting indeed and have decided to put it all here for all to read/see/talk/discuss with friends. It's not much on Yoga, more on what a fatwa is all about. If you find it wrong or misleading or whatever, feel free to give a comment or two. :)
1. Members of the Majlis Fatwa are selected from scholars of various disciplines of Islamic knowledge such as Hadith, Qur'an, Fiqh, Usuluddin etc.
2. Fatwas are not issued for fun.
3. A Fatwa is needed for issues where its halal or haram is not direclty mentioned in the Qur'an.
4. A Fatwa is the interpretation based on the knowledge and understanding of an issue in a particular time, and place. So a Fatwa can change as an issue is better understood by way of research, or sudden inspiration. Since our life evolves around new things, we will certainly need Fatwas from time to time.
5. A Fatwa is a way out for those who do not wish to push the limit of 'harus' to the maximum. He or she prefers to remain safe from 'syubhah' or associating themselves with something that is close to being haram.
e.g: Majlis Fatwa has issued a decision on cigarette. It's haram based on medical reasons of the day and statistics i.e people who smoke are more prone to getting cancer compared with those who don't. So if you smoke it's like you're subjecting your body to getting cancer, which is close to suicide, which is haram.
If you wish to smoke, it's all right because Qur'an doesn't mention anything about smoking. As far as Qur'an is concerned you can smoke the whole cigarettes in the ciggy factory if you want. And you can still argue with God that since it's not mentioned in the Qur'an you figure it's all right to smoke.
But for those who wish be closer to Allah - they may chose not to smoke based on this Fatwa.
(Not a big deal - the choice is yours)
Members of Majlis Fatwa is made up of liberal-minded individuals with exceptional intelligence that Allah has given them. They have more open discussions than what you have accused them of here. They've had discussions with M. Nasir on lyrics, music and such. They've had discussion with gays and homosexuals. They don't have to tell you about this.
A Fatwa (yet to be issued) on Yoga is in the process of being discussed. You can bet your left ear that by the time they're done with it, they will have understood Yoga better than the most senior Yogi the bear.
The Majlis Fatwa, like the rest of Majlis Fatwa in other Islamic countries, have issued thousands of Fatwas for matters you may consider trivial, but a big deal to those who want to be close to Allah and do not wish to commit 'syubhah'.
That's what Islam is about. It's about obtaining the 'redha' from Allah because you know everything you do here, will be questioned in the hereafter.
Of course, a great many Muslims do not really think that the hereafter is a big deal and so it doesn't really matter to them whether or not Allah 'redha' for all their actions here.
One of the signs that you don't care all that much about Allah is when you feel uncomfortable with the sound of people reading the Qur'an. Or people talking about Qur'an. Instead you make it your mission to point all the 'flaws' in the Qur'an so that you have this thing in your heart whispering; if Qur'an is perfect, then how come Allah has imposed so much rules on women like tudung.
And you have this doubt in your heart that Qur'an is not the ultimate truth, which is why you don't read it every day. Besides you don't speak Arabic. Since you're the type who understand what you read, you figure there's no point in reading the Qur'an. But you forget, people have read Qur'an for more than a thousand years and a great many of them don't understand a word what it means but yet, they find it beautiful.
This blows your mind away. Which is why you figure; I'm a Muslim but I'm a thinking Muslim. Which why you figure you don't need HIDAYAH.
It's just a Fatwa. Not a big deal. You may choose to follow. You may choose not to follow. You may choose to make Yoga your way of life because it is just a form of exercise. Or you may choose to sing songs in a church because you figure, it's just a song.
Each will answer before Allah our action. There's no force in Islam?
Is it just me or has the cinema scene here in KL have become rather dull as of late?
I mean seriously, it has become really congested with 'Thai' and 'horror' genre movies - which is not to my liking.
Anywho, these below however do pique my interest a bit. Can't wait to see'em.
Director: Frank Miller
Starring: Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Eve Mendes, Jaime King
Genre: Action
In Cathay Cineplexes 25 December 2008
Transporter 3
Director: Olivier Megaton
Starring: Jason Statham, Natalya Rudakova, Robert Knepper
Genre: Action
In Cathay Cineplexes 4 December 2008
Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince
Director: David Yates
Starring: Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, Jim Broadbent, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton
Genre: Adventure / Fantasy
In Cathay Cineplexes 2009
Quantum Of Solace
Director: Marc Forester
Starring: Daniel Craig, Dame Judi Dench, Jesper Christensen & Mathieu Amalric
Genre: Action / Thriller
In Cathay Cineplexes 6 November 2008
A comparison between my old monitor and the new one.Guess who's got a new 24'' Dell monitor? Hehe~
Although I somehow doubt that this would increase my productivity as a programmer, it does helps ease the eye a bit. Plus it makes watching movies a hell of a lot more fun! :)
It comes with VGA, DVI and HDMI port up its back. I dunno what that actually means, but I think I can connect them gaming consoles (read PS3) to the monitor - hence, multi purpose.
If only I have that much cash.
Here's an excerpt of what I just read on BBC News
And I'm like "Yay~". A programmer use their brain. And I mean a lot. They use it so much that they tend to have trouble sleeping at night since their brain wouldn't stop working.Going to university, then choosing a mentally demanding job may help protect the brain from the devastating impact of Alzheimer's disease on memory.
Scientists found tissue damage was much quicker to lead to memory loss in the less intellectually stimulated.
They suggest mentally tough work, or genes which help people achieve such careers, may help the brain compensate for disease.
The Italian research was published in the journal Neurology.
Guess it does have it's upside huh?
It's been almost 6 month since I've in Comptel. In terms of workload..hurm..I'd say OKla. I'm quite interested to see where it'll lead, this "mediation" path I mean. It does have it's busy times and the laid back period (how I hate laying around~). Enough to keep me occupied, distracted.
The future? Will I stay there long? Only time will tell. If I felt like I'm being appreciated, like I have a place where I belong - then who's to say how long I'll stay.
Going with the flow for now. After all, I'm still a "fresh" grad. :)
This stuff is hilarious! Hahahaha~
"Yay..lompat...lompat lagi..."It's kinda late, but while we're still in the month of Syawal, I'd like to wish all who's celebrating - Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Its been awhile I guess since I met with my cousins..boy haven't they changed a lot. Most of them are in their teens now and I guess I feel kinda out of place at times. Haha..to think I'm growing old already..what a thought.
There was this one night where we all had to sleep outside in the living room. Each of them has their own handphone and are busy typing away on their keypads writing to gods knows who. And I'm like...wow..times have changed. And it struck me then, that sooner or later we're all gonna go our separate ways and lead our own life in the manner of our own choosing.
Will we ever be as close as this? Only time will tell. I've had chat with Pak Lang and I guess he too shares the same feeling. Or so I think. Anyways with that came the emergence of our family blog, thesallehfamily , with the intention of bringing the family members closer together. There a lot of things that can be done there, share pics, videos, and stories and such. I'm hoping that in the future it can even be a place to swap recipes or even tips on child care.
Someday we will die - yes. But just like our Arwah Atuk journal was left behind (his little notebook that he used to use during his tabligh days), I'm hoping that our blog will survive the test of times too. And may we forever remember our roots and may our grandkids get to know us better that we will ever know our Arwah Atuk. Insyallah.
I've been surfing for hours now looking on how should I lay out my living room in my "future" living place.
I've found some great websites while I was at it; mainly these two:-
i)http://howshouse.com/
ii)http://www.instructables.com/
The first is about home decor basically, telling about the neatest furnish he could find out there and sharing along his design ideas in his newly bought house.
The latter is more on DIY stuff. Now this is something I can keep coming back to..might take up some projects there every now and then (grin...)
Anyways, here is a pic of cool concept of a cabinet I found called the StairCase
Damn neat I'd say. I always thought that the space up above should be better utilized to make more room down below.
But back to the living room. Right now I'm thinking of having mine like this. But of course, not exactly like that. It's not gonna be that japanized - we can't afford lavish spending quite yet. But the concept is there..a square-ish table with pillows (I'm gonna get a whole lot of them...) and a dinner table (which I'll get from my sis later).
I don't know why they'd be bothered to comment about us in Malaysia when they have their own shit right in their own backyard. But maybe I shouldn't take this personally - I mean everyone's a critic right?
JAKARTA, Sept 19 (Bernama) -- Indonesia's The Jakarta Post English daily, commenting today on the political development in Malaysia, said the (possible) act of lawmakers defecting from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition to the opposition does not make them democracy's soldiers but political opportunists.
Based on Indonesia's own painful experience, it said, a change of allegiance at the elite level was not equivalent to a change in fundamental beliefs toward the primacy of civil society.
Malaysian Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, advisor of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), has been claiming that he has the backing of a sufficient number of BN defectors to give his Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition a simple majority in parliament.
"We fear that what we are seeing in Malaysia is neither revolution nor evolution, but is instead a potential transition from one power to another.
"But Pakatan Rakyat too must show it is more than just a vehicle for Anwar," it said.
The paper said the performance of Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as minister of finance, a portfolio he assumed on Wednesday, would gauge his acceptability as Malaysia's next leader.
Najib and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi exchanged Cabinet portfolios -- finance and defence -- on Wednesday as part of the plan for transition of power from Abdullah to Najib in June 2010.
The paper noted that "on the other end of the spectrum, the opposition coalition of Pakatan Rakyat under Anwar has been big on headlines but lacking in actual policy proposals".
-- BERNAMA
My uncle (the son of my atuk busu), which was posted in Libya as a diplomat - has passed away last Thursday due to a car accident.
Last Thursday us Comptelian went down to Bangi and had ourselves quite a feast. Berbuka puasa to be exact. It was quite nice actually to be able to break fast with all of them. There were me, Theenesh, Luqman, Shahril, John, Razali, Ida, Kari and the man of the hour - Rossi.
It was a break fast cum farewell party kinda thing. Rossi is gonna be leaving (already left by the time tis piece is written) Comptel to pursue his dream at IBM. Big company I'd say. Do I envy him? Perhaps. But I surely don't envy what he's doing. I'm not the sales-guy type if you catch my drift (in other words my communication skills sucks).
But anywho all the best to the guy. Everyone has a dream to pursue, a living to make, a hope to realize. Mine? I'm not sure...but I'm sure as hell won't be leaving Comptel anytime soon thats for sure.
I would post a few pics from the event if I had any; which I don't right now (obviously). Guess I'll be updating this post later on.
There goes one of my teh tarik crew...
I guess it has been quite awhile since I updated my blog space. During those time a couple of interesting stuff happened in my life.
My graduation is among them.
Frankly speaking I couldn't care less about the degree prior to the convocation. I mean, I've already secured a job - what could that piece of paper get me anyhow? We all know that experience matters more than that paper.
But as I came that Friday for my convocation rehearsal - and saw those familiar faces of friends; I'm just glad there's a thing called "convocation". At least on that day, I got to meet back my friends from back in the day and play catch up with them.
I drank too much of teh tarik on that day thats for sure... Later that night we all went and had a 'makan besar' at one of the nearby seafood restaurant. The bill amounted close to RM100. There was six of us. But only two were paying. Me and Pedot.. since we had more 'rezeki' compared to the rest I guess. I certainly didn't mind it at all. It's not everyday we can eat up together like that - and well I guess I kinda agree with the saying; good things are meant to be shared.
In other news, my not so little brother has gone up to the US of A. He's in Purdue now... hopefully making good use of that noggin of his. I admit that the house now seems quieter than usual (obviously). Abah now has a new routine whenever he's home for the night - ym-ing with Din whenever he got back from work. Times have changed he said. Back then he used aerogram to write home to kampung - which would take around 2 weeks to..not fro. Now, with ym..he could easily see his beloved son all the way from across the globe. I guess he must be glad. I am too. :)
The pics below are from his majlis doa selamat which took place a week or so before his flight to the US. Kinda like a 'hari raya' photo don't you think..hehe~
Idin, Nadya, Amat, and Yours TrulyAnd I haven't mentioned this!! I'm engaged!! Wahaha..demmit I've been too busy I guess I forgot to even write this down in my blog!
Our CakeAnyways last month on the 12th of July, I got myself engaged with the gal of my dreams; Amatullah. The majlis itself was pretty simple - more like meet up of my family and hers. There's no makan-makan and all that. I was not there during the meet up - but I think things went pretty well. Hopefully we'll be married next year.
For now though - kumpul duit la beb~
I've done a lil' research as of late on whether I should take some personal loan to add to ASB savings.
The result was quite interesting.
For my case, I had about 20k in ASB savings prior to the loan.
If I take a Rm30k loan with 15 years to pay it with RM250 monthly, I'd end up paying the bank in total of RM15k in interest.
After 15 years of that, I'd end up having RM173,693. Minus the RM15k paid to the bank, the true amount I have is actually RM158,693. Retrospectively, if I'd gone the conventional way, I'd have RM162,957 in savings - and thats the total amount. That means I actually lose out some RM4k because I'd have to pay the bank.
But if you stretch that a little further, let say another 5 years, then you'll see the numbers kinda evens up on both side (conventional and loan).
Stretching another 5 years, I begin to see an increase in return from the loan side - in which the difference between the loan and the conventional method amounts to RM10k.
This effect is perhaps due to the fact that in ASB the bonus is counted using a 10 year formula, so your investment history really can make a difference.
So in the long run - taking a loan to use as capital for ASB investment is actually rewarding. By long I mean real long..like 25 years kinda long (in the example the period of loan payment is 15 years, the period to actually break even is ~20 years. )
I've decided to start a posting today to jot down every weird thing that I did after I've been at it (coding) for some serious amount of time. So every now and then this blog will be updated on the weird stuff I did that day.
Let me start off with what just happened to me just now..
1. I decided to take a slight break from coding and go watch some videos. After awhile though, I find it rather a bore and decided to shut the window down. Guess what I did. My fingers instinctively went and typed ":q", as in the quit command in the vi editor. And it didn't stop there actually. At first I was like "Why the hell wouldn't this damn thing shut off..". And then I realize - I'm not in UNIX!!! Took me like 2-3 minutes to realize that fact.
Zimbabweans are billionaire. And they're gonna get to be a-gazillionaire too, if their inflation keeps on going like the way it is now.
I've been following this news for a couple of weeks now on BBC. For the record, Europe's inflation is like on 4% and Malaysia our very own is at 7%.
Zimbabweans rates meanwhile is like 2 million %.
It'll take like a couple of hundred billion just to buy bread over there.
Imagine the zeroes on that.
Britain and Ireland have the highest average incomes in Europe but come bottom in terms of quality of life, while Spain and France are at the top of the index, according to a study published Wednesday.
Britons have to pay sky high prices for fuel, food and other essentials, while having among the shortest holidays, latest retirement age and lowest life expectancy, according to the survey of 10 European countries.
Ireland, which like Britain has seen a huge market-driven economic boom over the last decade, is even worse than its bigger neighbour, coming in last in the European Quality of Life Index by U-Switch, a British service comparison website.
"We may earn substantially more than our European neighbours but when it comes to quality of life we remain the sick man of Europe," said Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com.
"Soaring food prices and inflation, not to mention high property costs, are placing the biggest squeeze on disposable incomes in well over a decade," she added, noting also below-average investment in health and education services.
The study assessed 19 factors affecting quality of life, ranging from income and working conditions to healthcare, education and cost of living.
Britons have an average net income of more than 35,000 pounds (70,000 dollars, 44,000 euros) a year, about 10,000 pounds more than the European average, while Ireland comes second on more than 29,000 pounds.
But they pay between six to 18 percent more for fuel and 49 percent more for gas, not to mention spectacularly high housing costs. Ireland's gas bills are more than twice the European average.
At work Ireland comes worst in terms of retirement age, with an average of 64.1 years, followed by Britain on 63.2 years, while life expectancy is 78.1 years and 78.9 years respectively, the lowest barring Italy.
At the other end of the scale, Spaniards have the lowest average income, at some 16,800 pounds, but low taxation and cheaper essential goods prices put them at the top of the overall quality of life indicator.
France comes second, notably benefiting from the longest holidays in Europe at 40 days and the second-lowest retirement age at 58.9 years, just later than Poles who retire at 58.4 years old on average.
The findings come as Britain and Ireland face a sharp economic slowdown fuelled by the global credit crunch, which is also threatening other European countries although they have enjoyed less of a boom in recent years. - BBCNews Online.
Life.
My life is made up of many distractions. I guess distractions is too negative a word, but I'm just calling it like I see it.
And I don't even see it as a "bad" or "negative" thing in a sense. At times I would call it as just "living" my life.
There was this one period of time in my life where I am void of these so called "distractions". Back then, I felt like life was so damn boring. I mean all I did back then are just series of repetitions; get up, got to work, go to lunch, drive back, sleep, get up..etc. That is; until I got some actual work to do from my boss. I guess in a way I am a workaholic type of person, always looking forward to the next sets of challenge life (or work) can throw at me.
That, referring to my job - was my sets of distractions during the day. And at night, I usually am "distracted" by my sayang. I guess all in all them distractions help me forget how slow and boring life can be sometimes and spice it up some here and there.
Going to the movies, playing them computer games, reading the next title from Tom Clancy; you may call it what you want - but to me they're all just distractions. A distraction we all need to get through the journey called life.
Just read the news today. It seems the inflation rate in Euro has risen up to 4% from their previous 3.7%. Read more here.
4% huh? Ain't a little bit more or less the same as Malaysia's rate?
"The grass is always greener on the other side" my ass. Hehehe~ Malaysia Boleh-lah!!
News Flash! A guy I knew during my time at Uniten has just been sodomized - or at least thats what he claimed lah.
And I was like, what the fuck! Is this for real? I mean I know the guy did have some issues back at Uniten (you can read up on him in his " nemesis' " blog, riwayathayat.blogspot.com) and all, and after that he seems to be heading into the Malaysian political scene. Didn't keep my tabs on him after that (during my times in Uniten - the write up in riwayathayat was kinda entertaining so I kinda was following it at times - you can imagine how bored I was back then...).
Anywho - boy was I shell-shocked to find out that he became the latest victim in another "Anwar Gone Wild" episode. Babi pun tak giler macam ni.
Some people are saying he was planted in PKR by BN, prior to the General Election last March. I guess if that was true then kudos to him - being able to get to the 'aide' department in just a short period of time.
Is it a BN conspiracy? Reasoning would suggest that this would provide our deputy PM with the perfect diversion over RPK latest allegations against him. And so far I can see that it's working - with the media having no mention of RPK in recent times.
Or can it be a PKR conspiracy? In another perspective (if I were a BN guy), I could say that Anwar told Saiful to lodge that report purposely so that he (Anwar) can gain the support of the rakyat and bring on his momentum to become the next premier of the country. Now THAT, is what I call a great Hollywood script.
Alas, at the end of the day - one can only wonder what really happened...
Rule No 1.
Find a girl - check.
Rule No 2.
Get a ring - check.
....
Thats right fellas - today, on the 28th of June 2008, I have bought a ring to give to my lady for our engagement. Hopefully things work out alright ya? Insyaallah.
Today I've had the opportunity to see the movie WANTED. I had to admit, I was actually expecting a lot from the movie - after the seeing the cool trailer and all that, and fortunately for me - it truly delivers.
You see, I've been waiting to see the movie for 5 days (I booked the ticket on Monday). Not to mention I got no significant job to do this week at the office so that in itself kinda puts you in a "I can't wait for Saturday" mood to sink in.
At the end of the movie - I felt satisfied. The same feeling I get after watching "300" and "V for Vendetta". It was truly value for money in my book. Or perhaps I'm just a sucker for a neat FX and a good plot.
Whatever it is, you can bet I'll be looking forward to the next installment of WANTED should there be any.
Kudos to the director Timur Bekmambetov for once again having to come out with a great sci-fi flick. After watching his earlier movies - "Night Watch" and "Day Watch", I came to like his style of directing, much like how I enjoy watching movies from Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino is famously known for fun plot and witty dialogues. Timur is of a different kind - but I enjoy his movies nonetheless.
A bit pity though that "Dusk Watch" won't be coming anytime soon. I kinda hope that it won't be Americanized per say...cause I kinda enjoy the original two, so a russian ending would be perfect for it. Nonetheless, here a bit of news on the last of the trilogy. Click Me!
The news today seems to read oil prices is gonna come down pretty soon. Well I hope so. I've just read an article on NGV just now on the NST - apparently a full tank gas price of a 1.6L Chevy is just RM9. Yep, you read right - that's RM9. Geez. And I'm driving a Kelisa and paying like 7 times that amount for a full tank.
Lets do a simple math here.
9 (per week) X 4 (weeks per month) = RM36.
70 (per week) x 4 (weeks per month) = RM 280.
What a difference that is. A conversion to NGV would cost around RM 3500 or so. Savings from the conversion per month would be RM280 - RM 36, which would be around RM 240. Now for me to get back that RM 3500 would take me about 3500/240 which would be 14 months or so. But then my car is not of a 1.6L type, so I think probably within a year or so lah.
Now that's an idea worth considering.
Oil prices are going down, or so says the article I read at Yahoo.com. Oil price have been steadily climbing and at times I think the oil companies are enjoying every minute of it and making sure that it's gonna stay that way. The other day there was a strike at Shell Nigeria - can't remember the details but the plant had to be closed down. So you know la what happen if an oil plant goes down - supply would decline, thus prices would go up. Now I'm not saying that is the sole reason why the oil price worldwide is rising, but probably more or less it's one of the triggers.
Anywho, the strike eventually came to an end. But then a few days after I think, some bugger decide to attack the rigs. Is there a connection? I dunno, but somehow I smell something fishy is going on there, as if Shell is deliberately hiring someone to attack it's rigs. But then again - that's just an unproven theory.
In other news, CERN is gonna conduct the world's biggest particle physics experiment - perhaps conjuring up a mini black-hole along the way. Reports have been given that the new black hole would not - and I repeat WOULD NOT suck our beloved planet Earth into it. You can about it more here. You know at first the news itself is like weird joke..you know..Earth getting sucked into a black hole. But then I'm not much of a particle physicist. So who knows? Is there really any probability of a black hole sucking the planet?? I mean..wow. Talk about science fiction. Maybe I should read up on this..maybe I should.
Yesterday I went to UNITEN..or more specifically YTN - to tie things up with them in regard to my scholarship, aka "melaporkan diri".
I even applied for a half-day leave the day before that - semangat giler! :P
I reached UNITEN at about 8 am. After about 30 minutes or so waiting/discussing with the fella, I am told that I can pay 20% of the total amount - and that would be about around RM 17k lah. Not bad. 5 years of learning and hardship - and I was like earning RM 66k for all those years. Not bad at all.
Alhamdulillah.
And even better they didn't even mention that I have to work at TNB - which by the way, is not a bad way to make a living. It's just a matter of interest - and I chose not to work there because of it.
So it was then like 8:45am..and my office hour starts at 9am. And I applied for a half-day leave. So I thought to myself, just what the heck am I gonna do now? Go to Kajang and get them fuel rebates? Heck no. Don't wanna trouble myself and waste more fuel just to look for parking at that place. Gila.
So I called up Elsie, and asked whether or not she can omit my application the day before. She said yeah..you can come... So inside I was like, "yippee~~", although the fact that I don't have any real job to do back then is quite a troubling thought. Hurm. But that is yesterday's story la. Today's a different thing.
Got quite a lot of things to do today. Owh such fun.
As usual today I was driving to work early in the morning, listening to FlyFM. They got this one segment whereby they'd ask the listener to share with them their thoughts on that day's topic. Todays topic was - 'what are you doing when other people are not looking? '.
It was a pretty much interesting topic.
There was this caller though which I thought had the best thing to share. Sonia I think was her name.
"You know sometimes when other people aren't looking, I kinda had to pull a bit my underwear to place it better la - you know..adjust a bit if there's a wedgie and things like that.."
And I was like....that is soo true~ (and laughing hysterically in my car)
Now normally I don't post other people's blog here - usually it's more of quotation of sorts or perhaps some useful thing that I think other might benefit by reading. Today will be an exception I guess. This post is from the Ancient Mariner - one blogger that I like keep tabs on since the recent general election.
Here goes.
Like everyone else, I am still reeling from the double whammy of the rise in fuel prices and yesterday's increase in the electricity tariff. I suppose all hell will now break loose with other increases: price of food, transport fares, crime rates etc.
This old sea dog who served many years for God, king and country and trying to survive on a pittance is now sufficiently pissed off to want to go shoot somebody.
And they wants us to 'change our lifestyles". Have they ever stopped to think what will happen if many people leave their vehicles at home and go to work in trains and buses today?
To those of you who voted in this government: Go Eat Shit and Die.
I just found out that for people in Venezuela only pay like RM0.16 per liter of fuel. (Wan Norazizah interview in MalaysiaKini ). Guess this is what the Singaporean must be feeling like right now towards us Malaysians back then (and perhaps still right now...till August I guess.)
So for now, me,..the young working 'adult'..will be driving to and fro with my car air-cond turned off in an effort to save my hard earned cash. Sigh~.
p/s: Now Mika (that's my boss btw) if you're reading this, Comptel ought to give travel allowances to their staff from now on! Hehehe~ :P
Learning should be fun.
And so it actually is. I found this quote tucked neatly into one of the manuals that I got during training.
The Action cannot be completed because Unknown is busy.
-- Microsoft Word 97 Error Message
Now 'that' is a quote you don't get to see everyday.
Yesterday Comptel had a bowling tournament at Mines Wonderland. There were 5 teams in all. I was in team 3 - consisting of me, theenesh, ganesh and john. All of us are newbies - and are from Uniten. So in a way it was like team Uniten lah.
Anyway, the event began at around 7pm. Before that a small dinner was served - bihun, fried nugget and fishballs were served. OK-lah, quite nice what~
Later the games begun,..., and ended. LoL..I think I'll spare you guys the boring details. What matters though is, our team won! yeeehaawww - 1st runner-up je. But I guess it was something at least. Each of us got a RM30 Jusco voucher. I gave mine to my mom.
Interesting times at Comptel thus far. Ice-cream days, pizza lunches, and McD's for breakfast. And my brother Idin was like - was kind of company is this? Is it even listed? Lol~
So far times are great. Can't be too complacent though. Better prepare for the storm ahead~
There's a lot of pressure being in the office actually. I just found that out by the way.
No, I'm not talking about office politics or what not though.
I am talking about the being natural and true to oneself..i am talking about the ability to fart freely...or passing winds as some would call them.
Each and every day i feel like farting out loud only to be reminded that I am actually in an office, working like a working adult.
At times though..sigh~
Arghhh!!! Tensennyer!!!!
I thought that I had to add in a certain function (referring to a program that I was assigned to) but it turns out I don't even have to touch it because the customer does not want it.
And I was like struggling to figure out how the heck I should do it. And I actually did it! Thats the damnest thing! Argh!!!!
Oh well~ Moving on~~
I am now getting into my third week here in Comptel. If you can't tell by now, I don't have a job to do right now..well...emm that wouldn't be practically correct I suppose. Let's just say I'm a bit delayed.
Anywho, I still have to attend the InstantLink training nonetheless. So I guess thats a 'job' as well. For now at least. Yesterday was my first day of training for that particular product. Went well I suppose. Tiring - coz it was a one whole day thing.
Well thats it for now. Oh yeah..Man U won the Champions League. I hate MU. :P
Well..I guess this post is a bit late - but hey, it's the thoughts that counts.
Here I list all my homeroom teachers..the ones that I can recall-lah..
Primary School
Standard 1: Ng Soo Chew (SK Taman Bukit Maluri)
Standard 2: Pn Mariamah (SK Taman Bukit Maluri)
Standard 3: Pn..er..emak Azham Razali (SK Taman Bukit Maluri)
Standard 4: Pn Kasiama (SK Taman Bukit Maluri)
Standard 5: En Ku Zailan (SK Taman Bukit Maluri)
Grade 6: Mrs Maker (Bayview Middle School)
Grade 7: Ms Silverberg (Bayview Middle School)
Form 1: Can't remember... (SMK Taman Bukit Maluri)
Form 2: Can't remember... (SMK Taman Bukit Maluri) + (SMP Seksyen 11)
Form 3: Can't remember... (SMP Seksyen 11)
Form 4: Can't remember... (SMK Teknik Bukit Piatu)
Form 5: Pn Kamariah Tumiran (SMK Teknik Bukit Piatu)
Selamat Hari Guru to y'alls~
"I , you, we, they..cannot use 's' " - I learned that in primary school..chinese teacher..really sticks in 'till now, like a classic.
Oh - and before I forget, (actually I did - only to be 'reminded' later :P) Selamat Hari Guru also to my very own 'Cikgu'! Gud luck on your career sayang. :)
Wow.
It has now been a week since I've began working at Comptel.
For the first two weeks, I'll be in an ongoing training to learn one of their product; the EventLink mediation software. On the 20th I'll be learning the InstantLink - another product by them used in provisioning.
So far life has been fun and great there at Comptel. The people seems like a nice bunch, and camaraderie is great. Got to eat pizza for lunch and McD for breakfast too!. OK lah..not everyday..them foods were served due to some rather important event. But nonetheless, it's rather interesting don't you think?
I really have some catching up to do in the learning department - sigh~ - bring on them E-Books!!
Nothing much to blog on today. Today is my 3rd day on the job. So far so good I guess. Right now I'm attending the training for EventLink 6 (one of Comptel's product). The training will be on-going for 2 weeks, 3 hours per day.
Later I'll be learning about OnlineLink I guess. Hopefully-lah.
You know every time I open my Kelisa door when I'm done parking I can't seem to forget the voice of the Orcs Peon from Warcraft - "Work..work.."
I think um gonna miss playing that stuff..
But before I forget - the title of today's blog belong to this interesting thing I found today while waiting for the elevator. It seems that however technologically savvy TPM is, they still can't get their spelling correct - "CAUTION - WET PAIN"
Nice..kesakitan yang basah~
Aah...finally. The day has come when I actually had to face the realities of a working man's life.
Last Friday was my first day at work - at Comptel. I had to wake up at 6:30am to avoid the jam at Batu Tiga - arrived around 7:30am - only to be told that the actual work hour starts at 9:00am. Great~
It was an OK first day I guess. I mean it is my first job after all - hence there's nothing much I can compare the experience with.
At least I was given something to do. Read a manual.
Human can focus on such a thing for only so long. After a couple of hours my brain has already been filled up and I was like reading the same page over and over again.
Next week should be fun I suppose. Got some induction thing coming. Looking forward to it.
In other news - I got a new "pasu" for my cactus plant. I wanted to get a better "pasu", you know a clear glass-type instead of this one. But the last time I check the price tag was like RM20 - so I'm like..OK..maybe later after my first paycheck or something.
There'll be a new movie coming up - Hancock. Starring Will Smith - it tells about the life of a Superman-like superhero but with a severe attitude problem. Really enjoyed watching the trailer and I expect this to be a hit at he cinemas. Can't wait for it to come on the big screen!
I've just given up continuing to do my final year project. I know, I've already submitted my thesis, but the project was incomplete - and I don't kinda feel good leaving things like that.
Well anywho, tonight I've decided enough is enough. I have approximately one week left before I join the workforce and I might as well make the best of it. It is only now that I feel truly free from the long run that is the "undergraduate years".
It's been a good run.
5 years. 5 long years? or 5 short years? Well right now it feels short I guess. It's like sometimes you can still remember those early foundation years, how you first met your friends, the societies your in..
I admit, I'll be missing those moments. Moments of freedom. Moments of knowing your actions wont have dire consequences..such carefree life. When all that matters is studying and hanging out with friends - owh, and in my case maintaining a healthy relationship with my ayang.
Sure, there were ups..and there were also downs. And I'm happy I made the most of the opportunity given, or at least try to. Doesn't matter, no regrets there. Much has been learned along the way. And who could forget being in SIFE UNITEN, the cheers, the frustration, the politics, the fun, the joy, the satisfaction, the best society I've ever joined in my entire life. It's tough, but rewarding nonetheless.
Love them friends I made along the journey. Some good, some bad - but they are mostly good. Learn the art of choosing a friend. Befriend all, but stick close to only some. No matter what others may say, friends DO in fact influence you in one way or another. So be wise. Know what you wanna be and pick a friend that can influence you in that manner.
So this is it I guess.
Farewell UNITEN - it's been awesome.
Pedot, Pi'e, Padil, and MeIt's 3:15am. I am blogging because right now I'm just sooooooo sick and tired of editing my thesis. It sucks! Really!
My eyes are going kelabu already..I think I might be hitting the pillows anytime soon.
Gotta send the thesis to get it binded tomorrow. Maybe the day after that. Dang..i'm in some deep shit if you gotta ask..
Warghh!!!!
How I wish I can kage-bunshin myself and get this thing done faster..
Dear Muhammad Hafidz,
Thank you for attending the recent interview for the post of ABAP cadet.
Due to the high number of applications, you have not been selected on this occasion. We wish you luck in your career search.
Kind regards,
*****
One less thing to ponder upon then. Hahaha..touche~
Its 10:10pm. Feel kinda tired actually. The after effect of the interview today no doubt.
The interview session was held from 10am - 4-ish pm at TPM. There was a logic test(which was more like a programming test - I thought a logic test was supposed to be like an IQ-like test..oh well..) , a presentation, and a one-to-one interview.
I really messed up at the presentation part. I guess i'm never gud at giving impromptu talk like that. Was given a picture of the London bridge to talk about for 2-3 min. I ended talking for like 30 sec. Yeah..go figure.
Later there was this one-to-one interview which felt more like a one-to-three interview. Basic questions though..nothing I can't talk my way out of. So felt kinda gud la in the end. Hahaha.
The pictures above are the guys for the second group to go to the so called "one-to-one" interview. Each was interviewed for like 10-15 min. I finally got called up at 4pm. Everybody has gone back already. Lucky buggers..
All in all though, it was a lesson in humility and gud learning experience. Humility because I needed to be reminded of what I lack from other candidates. I still need to work hard on my impromptu presentation-giving skills and technical skills.
Other than that, it was nice to get to know the other candidates as well - they weren't all fresh graduates mind you, some of them has even worked for 4 years in the ERP business. Some competition huh?
Even the title itself is quite amusing. I just got the news off Nuraina Samad's blog. And later read the article by Associated Press. Here's an excerpt
Abdul Rahman Dahlan, secretary general of the United Malays National Organization party's youth wing, said all those vying for national youth posts must have blogs to introduce themselves and their programs ahead of party elections in December.
Click here for the real article.
Okay..so now they think they're IT savvy. Great. They have a hard task ahead of them to start convincing others about what they're blogging of course. I mean - they're politicking on the Net. That in itself show others about their blog content. Some credibility..bahh.
Others set up blogs to voice out, to express in their deepest sincerity - the thing that surrounds them, that they find troubling - that of which need fixing.
These people however set up blogs because they lost in an election. I mean..really..how much more pathetic can you get.
After this perhaps we're gonna see UMNO setting up their own IT dept. Then later all the advertising space in hotmail and yahoo are gonna point to these blogs. Well..ok..it might be a bit boombastic - but I don't think we'd all expect BN to put all those ads on the NET back in the last GE did we?
But I guess in some ways it is perhaps gud, at least they got a platform where they can sell themselves. Should they have something to sell of course - and whether it is sell-able.
Me? I just wanna see problems get solved, and things get done. If you can't produce - then don't bother asking for my vote.
If you're an avid fan of my blog, you'll notice there was this one time I mentioned something about a Swedish master thesis concluding that Malays are rather a slow and lazy bunch.
Here with I share with you the conclusion of that research.
For those interested in reading the whole thing, you can get it here.
It really is interesting to see what others think of you as a race and as a nation. Different angles, different perspective.
Jangan melatah. "Ubah cara hidup" .
Job hunting is fun! Up until the part you have to make a decision that is. I mean which path you choose now determines how you lead your life in 2-3 years to come. And in my opinion..there's no turning back. Yeah sure..one can say, "but there's always a way back..", but to me..time is too precious too be spent in such a measly manner. Planning, is of the utmost importance.
So I have decided. I want to be in the telco industry. And I want to work in an English-speaking environment. I want to work in a non-malay majority company. So I guess that rules out GLCs. Why would I want that? I guess I just want to try out new things I suppose. Be out of my comfort zone. See what makes me tick.
It has to be an MNC. I hate jobs that requires you to wait and just monitor stuff around. Like pakcik guard kat bawah tu. I don't think I can work like him. I don't think that I'd be able to maintain consciousness in the way that he does it. I can't do nothing for hours! I have to do something..anything that is constructive..or destructive..wateverla, as long as I can keep my mind occupied. I remember being at the Comptel interview and was given a written test to finish off while waiting for my interviewer to arrive. I arrived kinda early because I was afraid of getting lost on the way there. Newho, cutting things short, I finished the paper, and was left all alone in the meeting room. Boy was I restless. Didn't know what to do..what to expect. And the last thing that I should do then was doze off and fall asleep. But thats the thing - its really hard not to!
Anyway, back to the original topic. Since I can't stand those waiting thingies I guess network monitoring is out for me too. And since most of the networking-based MNC are looking for those type of people..then I guess it's bye bye networking field. There aren't many foreign based system integrator in this country, most are local. Too bad. I would love to be a system integrator..if not for the measly pay and the saturated market of CCNA certificate holders out there.
So that basically leaves me with RF and programming. I like RF, but I think I dig programming better.
Programming+telco industry = Comptel.
Axon Solutions just called in yesterday inviting me over for a group interview at their place next week. I wonder whether I should go or not. The market and forums are buzzing with SAP right now that I'm at times feel uncomfortable with the amount of competition that I'll be facing (should I head in that direction of course). SAP is a huge thing no doubt. All the big hot shot companies uses them. But should go for the popular and uncertain path, or head toward the niche and straight forward path? SAP has many modules..one can specialise in all sorts of things. SAP, is a product - one that is going against Oracle's PeopleSoft and Siebel. So should PeopleSoft or Siebel one day prove to be a better solution than SAP - than you can expect a huge exodus of SAP programmers. And lets not be naive - there are a lot of SAP consultants out there! Everyone seems to want to be an SAP consultant! It's the IN thing right now.
So why the fuck am I not going goo goo gaa gaa over Axon's offer?
1. I like telco. I think that's the thing that I'd want to devote myself learning. Yeah sure I'm a programmer. But working in the telco industry, you have to know what ur selling. You have to know ur thing. Imagine selling a product but you urself have no idea of the bigger picture - like what your product is in the whole big picture of telco industry, why is it important etc. Only by knowing all the this can you actually improve your work and perhaps add on to the product. And since telco is an industry that keeps on changing, I don't think I'll ever get bored of doing it.
2. I believe that an SAP consultant leads a more hectic life than a programmer in the telco software industry. Why? Hurm..I'm not really sure about that. It's an unproven fact. Currently my opinion is just based on a single persons advice from Lowyat.net. So dont take my word for it, find out for yourself.
3. I personally think that the market has already too much SAP programmer. So why join the wagon? Find a more spacious one I'd say!
In the end, my experience of job hunting is just that - mine alone. My decision was made - by examining the many possibilities of things I want to have in my life. Hectic life? Family time? Basic salary? Benefits? Work interest? Environment? All those things had to be taken into account when deciding a path to follow.
Conclusion, SAP (+) can get lots of cash quick, (-) really demanding work..really. Work at Comptel (+) less busy than being in SAP line, (+) telco industry, (-) slower road to riches.
Dalam hidup ni, ape yang sebenarnya yang kita nak cari, kekayaan atau kebahagiaan? Adakah kekayaan akan membawa kebahagiaan? Atau just kesenangan? Dan kesenangan itu, adakah ia membahagiakan? Kaji balik, adakah kita bahagia dengan kesenangan, atau pun berada dalam suasana kasih sayang?
Tuhan akan kasi ape yang kita nak kalau kita berusaha. Just make sure we are working towards the right thing.
Alas..for all the BS I write in here, it's all just a plan - an untested and hopeful plan. Kata Fred Durst, "Life is a lesson, we'll learn it when we're through". Can't deny that now can we.
"6 prerequisites of learning are :
brainy, strong desire, poverty[1], inspiring teacher, long span of time, foreign land."
In the Malay-Jawi copy of the text Ta’lim al-Muta’allim Tariqat at-Ta’allum, in the very beginning, one’s attention would immediately be drawn to the quotation above. The quote has been invariably associated with Sayyidina Ali, Imam as-Shafi’i, and Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni, but regardless of who said what, it nicely forewarns the reader what the text Ta’lim al-Muta’allim is all about – learning and the proper way to learn.
The text Ta’lim al-Muta’allim was written a a famous scholar Imam al-Zarnuji, (of whom we know, by reading the text, had travelled widely across the known Muslim world - at least covering the Central Asian and the Middle East). Its Malay translation, Pelita Penuntut, was done by a scholar Muhammad Shafi’i bin Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Ahmad Rangkul, of Lenggeh, Fathani (Southern Thailand). The translation is printed in Jawi script and costs a dirt cheap RM2.00 at Kota Bharu, and around RM4.00 at Kuala Kangsar.
Cheap, small, and printed on yellow papers – all signs of a cheap, insignificant publication if you are living in the West. The English proverb ‘not all that glitters is gold’ (bukan semua yang lawa, cantik dan nampak mahal itu mempunyai nilai) in this case is very much applicable, because ‘some don’t’. There are many proverbs abound in the Malay language to illustrate similar points. ‘Air yang tenang jangan disangka tiada buaya’ could also mean not to overlook something which at first glimpse looks insignificant. Remember the Malay’s mother of truth: ‘hanya jauhari mengenal manikam’, that is ‘only the knowledgable one truly knows.’
The text Pelita Penuntut is an indispensable text for students studying at Malay madrasah. In many madrasah, this text, (together with the Ummu al-Barahin and Faridat al-Faraid for Aqidah, Ajrumiyyah for nahwu, Tasrif for saraf, Munyiatul Mushalli, just to name a few examples) has been made compulsory (although this is never in black-and-white) to be completed before a student move up to other texts.
The text has been translated into English early this century by Gustave E. von Grunebaum, an Austrian-born Orientalist. It is not very clear whether von Grunebaum who passed away in 1972 ever became a Muslim, although there has been suggestion that he did converted to Islam at the end of his life. Perhaps a reader who has access to the publication I have suggested above could enlighten us all, please.
The English translation has recently been published by Starlatch Press (and sold by Alhambra Production, among others), with the title Instruction of the Student, [2] with a foreword by Syeikh Hamza Yusuf Hanson, a prominent American Muslim scholar of Greek parentage. It is a very good translation, easy to read and very fluid. In one of my readings, I completed the text in one sitting while travelling on the KTM Komuter from Sentul to UPM Serdang, thanks partly to the one hour hold-up at Sentral Kuala Lumpur station.
Unfortunately, the English translation has not been totally faithful to the original work by the Imam. Comparison made between the English translation and the Malay translation, and with an Arabic copy of the text (or rather its commentary with the text on the side area – hamisy), confirmed that several omissions amounting to several paragraphs have been sliced out. Although this has not destroyed the message and content of the text, these omissions are regrettable (deplorable may be a little bit harsh) especially when readers are not warned of them. Beside, a few historical and adab points e.g. that Imam Abu Hanifah was the first to write on a rectangular, A4-size paper and hence started the tradition of writing text in that size, would be lost to modern-day readers especially those who have no access to traditional, teacher-to-student, mouth-to-ear method of learning.
I have too much respect to the people at Alhambra involved in its publication to send a complain mail, but I do hope a much proper translation copy (e.g. with annotation at where the excision has taken place, if not the reinstalment of the excised parts) in the English would be made available.
———————————————-
Notes:
[1]. the word ‘faqir’ or poor has a different meaning to Muslim well-trained in tasawwuf. It does not simply means destitution but means the poverty of the heart of everything except Allah. A related word is zuhud which many people always believe to mean no desire for worldly materials and often translated into not wearing nice, proper garments. The actual meaning of zuhud is to hold the world in one’s hand and not in one’s heart. Observe, and ponder carefully the word ‘holding’.
[2]. For the purpose of completion, how about reading the Role of a Teacher?
It is right now 3:03pm on a sunny Tuesday afternoon.
I've just finished my oral presentation for my Final Year Project. In truth I should be sleeping right now. Felt so tired and sleepy at BW just now. Anyway, I'm just glad that I've finally got it over with. Next comes finishing the thesis. But that can wait. So far I've already managed to conjure up 60++ pages..and haven't even started Chapter 4 yet.
These past few days was a real head-spinner for me. Ever since Accenture called me for a potential interview - I was put into a real soul-searching mode. What the heck do I want to do with my life? Be a programmer? Networker? RF Engineer?
Be all that you can be. That's what I wanna do actually. Be all that I can be. For those of you who don't already know - thats the tagline for the US army. The US Army put out such cool ads to get their people to join the army..I wonder why our army lack that enthusiasm~
During my journey in search of the best job out there for me, several people have played crucial part in influencing my decision. I really went all out I guess, asked a whole bunch of people, browsed into so many forums. ITTutor, Lowyat, Putera..all of them. I find ITTutor and Lowyat to be very useful indeed.
On being RF Engineer
Optimization engineer itu dah stage advance RF engineer. Bukan senang nak capai tahap tu sebab u kena tahu semua asas RF. But nothing impossible kalau ada usaha. Ada cellworks, ENC, Elabram are companies yg focus to telecommunication. Multinational company so u have opportunities to work overseas. Bukan setakat optimization saja yg ada, you can start as procurement engineer or rf engineer, telecommunication engineer and etc.- Zeti Akma Rhazali, Signal and Systems lecturer, Uniten
On being a consultant - Accenture
generally the working culture in ACN is very stressful due to the nature of project-based work, and its basically the same for consulting. i used to be in a telco-based project where almost everyone leaves work only at 9-10pm practically every day.- Lowyat.net
however they do practise the motto 'work hard, play hard'.. when they let their hair loose they really are a crazy lot, and in certain ways i do miss their social activities smile.gif also, it is a great career springboard as the exposure and experience gained is very valuable. RM5k in 5 years is definitely np... basic pay for consultants are alredi around RM5k+. hope this helps!
During my time circa 97-99 the pay is the best hence its the blooming of .COM industry and trend. Internet was just exploded, e-commerce was the 'IN' thing and moreover even the big recession during at that time, the industry (IT) was not expected.- Lowyat.net
u will might started as an Analyst and after a few project might get promoted into Consultant. With a hard work it is an easy ladder I must say. The pay during 90's era I guess is the best but yet I've heard after the big taiko of accenture' Mr. Larry Gan' resigned, the pay is not that good for a junior. Bear in mind during my time they are know as Andersen Consulting.
The environment is the best. Not much of a politic, office scandal or wtv. Ppl are friendly.
The interview session might b varied. Phone interview, 1st interview with project manager and final interview with one of the partner. Well..for a tips they need someone with good and fluent english, presentable with professional corporate attire and goreng as much as u can wtv u knw even if u dont know.
On being at Comptel
I do heard about Comptel, their employee benefits is quite good in malaysia market. Travel to Spore is around RM350 per day. consider very good in the industry.. even some big company like Huawei or Ericsson only give RM150-RM200 per day.- Lowyat.net
in term of prospect, OSS and BSS is really the trend on making more money in telco line, but COMPTEL is more on telco software and application. if you were to quit telco line, you still can go into oil and gas, banking, etc..
OK la tu bro.. orang lain ramai tak dapat kerja u belum habis grad dah confirm with a job.- ITTutor.net
Yang penting you perform well -- about the 1 year contract tu biasa jek.. nowadays lots of company buat macam tu.. 1 year is a short period believe me.. just learn as much as you can jgn fokus sangat tang programming get the whole solution about billing, integration etc.
Focus to become a consultant say in 5 years!
Salam Hafidz,- ITTutor.net
COMPTEL is a Finnish company well established selalu partner with my company Nokia -- saya pun pernah kerja dengan their people indeed I have few friends yang pernah kerja dengan this company (saya pun pernah interview with them back in 2001!). One of them until now still thinking of nak balik kerja dengan Comptel and I assumed they have a good working environment.. nanti saya suruh dia email hafidz smile.gif
They sell mediation box -- mediation ni intermediate antara network devices such as MSC in GSM (MSC handle calls in GSM) dan billing centre.
MSC contohnya sends out CDR (flat raw files) to mediation box ni and they comptel box process (add customized tags etc) fwd to billing center.
So your work will revolve around this write scripts converts the cdr (sebab tu kena skill expect etc!) before forwarding to billing center.
Kena understand customer's requirement dan make the changes on the cdr.
Comptel MY support APAC rasanya so you might be travelling support other telcos.. good prospect ni.. then you'll deal with multivendor Nokia , Ericsson, Alcatel etc.. OK la as fresh graduates I assuem you will learn a lot.
Comptel is a good MNC company , insyaallah stable. Tu la rezeki kita Allah sahaja yang tau , companies not purely looked at your tech skill other values pun dia consider like your attitude . Some people they are brilliant tapi attitude problem can't work in a team -- in telco you deal a lot with other people boxes kalau Comptel ni their product is mediation device - sit between SGSN,GGSN/MSC/etc and billing center. SGSN/GGSN produced cdr from multivendors (multiple complexities!) and your box will customized the output to fit operator's billing requirement (postpaid,prepaid, hot billing etc)- ITTutor.net
Good exposure , I bet they will send your everywhere after this around APAC as Comptel here is the regional HQ for APAC.
Lama2 dah expert nanti boleh jadi freelance billing consultant -- siapa tau.
Decision making is hard! For a person who thinks he can be all that he can be - it surely is.
Two days has passed since the General Election.
Rata-rata umum mahukan Paklah untuk meletakkan jawatan secepat mungkin. Sekiranya kita imbas kembali GE tahun 1969, yakni kali terakhir BN (parti perikatan) gagal menang 2/3 undi - presiden BN dan UMNO ketika itu, Tun Abdul Rahman - meletakkan jawatannya. Namun lain pula dengan PM kita yang sorang ni. Maybe somehow he thinks he deserves to still be in the seat.
And on comes the choir. Kepala-kepala menteri yang lain bingkas bangun memberikan their endless support kepada Paklah. Seperti mana mereka memberikan endless support kepada pimpinan terdahulu I suppose. I guess you can call them, the support group. Like Alcoholics Anonymous I suppose.
Anyways, concerning the opposition winning the 5 states, keyakinan rakyat umumnya masih ditahap tunggu dan lihat. Maklumlah, bende baru. Era baru. Its not something that all of us even myself am accustomed to.
Nice experience though. What a kick I got out of seeing the BN lose that bad.
Some of my friends who's from the upper states like Penang n Kedah are actually terrifed that DAP are winning big. It's like the end of the world for them. It's like the chinese will be hunting them down later on in the future.
I cant argue with him on that, perhaps his experience living there has thought him that much. But what I can argue is - why? Why do chinese, or rather non-Malays in general view us in that certain way? Mungkin sebab sempadan yang da selama ni kot?..btol x?
I mean, kite sniri yang asyik menangguhkan pemansuhan DEB - yang terang2 memberikan kita kelebihan, dan terang2 menidakkan mereka utk memiliki keperluan2 asas seperti pinjaman wang, pelajaran etc2. So can they really be blamed?
How long are we going to be afraid? How long are we going to still live in our comfort zone and biarkan luka ni terus menjadi nanah?
HINDRAF? DAP ekstremism? Well it's all cause and effect. We started it - they now have responded. Its interesting to note that in 2006 there was this master thesis conducted in Sweden, about Malaysia culture in general. In that report they've interviewed several of Swedish companies that have set up offices in Malaysia. One interesting fact that I'd like share here is that all of them view Malays as lazy and slow. As a Malay though..I guess in a way we deserve that don't we. Damn.
"UBAH CARA HIDUP"
the time is now 4:07am and i will go to bed very soon.
8/3/08 marks a date to be remembered in the history of our beloved country as the ruling party finally loses their 2/3 majority.
i am not gonna write long however since i'm dizzy and tired waiting for the final official result as shown in the star's website. also constantly pressing reload at lowyat's forum and hear what people all over the nation has to say.
75 seats..finally. more to come i believe. for now i guess i can sleep peacefully knowing that BN wont screw us Malaysians up our asses as easily they'd done before.
change is good i suppose. creates competitiveness - and i wish it's for the better.
encountered some priceless quotes too.
pak lah: "dah kalah...kalah lah.."
nik aziz (on his thought about tv3) :"Ini channel untuk tonton Doraemon dan Power Rangers jer."
damm lawak la this fella.
nite.
alhamdulillah, interview saya tempoh hari bjalan lancar. saya pegi interview dgn Comptel, telco software pnye company. keje programming.
after 2 stages of interview, they sent me an offer just now via email. maybe next week saya akan kesana tuk amek letter and wat ape yg patut.
pada saya, diorang ni lebih berminat kpd soft skill dari knowledge yg saya ada time tu. i mean diorang pnye written exam sket je yg saya mampu buat (die tanya pasal C, perl, java n ksh -- saya tau C jek..itu pun sket2..lain saya tinggal blank je). so mase interview mmg kne tekankanla sgale soft skill yg kite ade - n provide bukti skali in terms of ape bende yg kite dah buat yg membuktikan kite ade soft skill tu.
my thanks to all the tutorian out there yg contribute to this forum. forum ni (n several others) mmg da byk tlg saya in terms of finding out all the opportunities out there, teknik2 jwb interview, siap ade provide soalan ape lagi ptt tanye time inteview! mmg bes!
- excerpt from my post at ittutor.net
just got back from my 2nd stage interview at Comptel
at first I had to do a written test (again) - but of course, with different sets of questions in them. basically the questions tests you on your knowledge on C, Perl, Java and Ksh shell (Unix). You'd have to provide outputs given a program or rewrite the program or even write a new program given a certain inputs and outputs.
the next part involves me talking to a project leader/manager of sorts. she's from the support team. so bacically she asks me stuff like "tell me about urself" and " what type of person do you see urself? troubleshooter or implementer?". later on she explains what the company does in details. the rest were more like a discussion session. thts how i felt neway. the one question tht really cracked me up was "will you apply to another company should we offer you the job next week?" i went on laughing and replied "hahaha..now thats a tough one.."
and that it for today's interview experience.
hopefully i'll get the offer letter next week.
