September 2003 Archives

I've been busy, and therefore silent. I have one Women's Business Connection article to rewrite (procrastinating) on a specialist trade I know nothing about, a church website to restructure, and a medical association anthem to produce (check) and record to CD (help!!). All at no charge, since family members and the Holy Father are involved.

So it's been work (at the office), and more work (at home). The upside is, since my sister is home for a break, we've all been going out for dinner, so I'm not entirely a no-lifer.

To relax, I'm now playing a Bill Evans CD I purchased over the weekend from the new That CD Shop branch at Pacific Towers. They've taken up both ground and second level floors. While not as large as the previous music tenant Tower Records, the service is still exemplary. I went in looking for one or two CDs and as expected, came out with several. I like the new DVD booths, which work like the Nakamichi CD samplers.

I also picked up two Lisa Ono albums for my mother, who heard her music at the shop and loved it, two music DVDs (Robbie Williams at Albert Hall, and the old Knebworth concert because my childhood heroes Tears For Fears were in it), a Henry Mancini album, since Simran said my songs sounded like his (erm, somewhat, but not quite what I expected).

Business must be good for you to take up such a big premise, I commented to the cheerful cashier. "Because we have customers like you," she chirped. Well well, what could I say? I'm a sucker for music. And for good service.

I received an email today from Microsoft. At least, it looked like a Microsoft email, telling me to install a cumulative security patch for the month of September.

But something looked dodgy.

1. If it was from Microsoft, why was the sender's email address julzsiqpkxb-zrtwmnhn@updates.com?
2. Why would Microsoft send an exe file, when we usually download updates from their website?
3. Why would Microsoft send an exe file to its users, many of whom use Outlook, which blocks exe files in the first place?

So I did a keyword search on Google, and came up with some interesting results. If you get this error message on your computer, you've been hit by the worm:

Error occurred Memory access violation in module kernel32 at :"

Turns out this worm's been spreading since Sep 18! And Microsoft issued a warning on Sep 19, on suspicious-looking emails claiming to be from them.

My list of regular reads, bookmarked in Newsmonster, disappeared mysteriously today. I didn't install any new software before that, so I am still wondering why it happened. I re-installed Newsmonster and rebooted my computer, but it didn't help.

Strangely, folders containing data on my list of newsfeeds still reside in my hard drive. I tried dragging each file into Newsmonster (a little unscientific, I know), hoping something would get imported. Nothing did. That irked me. I was not going to manually add 62 links back into the program and re-create my folder hierarchies.

The other thing is, ever since installing Newsmonster, Mozilla has been crashing and/or eating up CPU power, big time. It didn't cause enough problems on a regular basis, but it did start to irritate me. The missing bookmarks are the final score. Sure, I liked the fact that it was embedded in my favourite browser, but there's no way I'm going to upgrade to the Pro version, judging from the way it's been performing so far. And it looks like I'm not the only one with problems.

I'm still tinkering around with the system, hoping that something will work out. But in the meantime, my search for a better feed reader, begins.

[Update @ 1am: I was dutifully in the act of submitting a bug report when Mozilla crashed on me. I will try one more time.]

Here's a recent BBC interview with Tim Berners-Lee, director of the World Wide Web Consortium and inventor of the Internet (no, it wasn't Al Gore). In fact, the interview gives us a glimpse into the W3C's noble objectives - developing technologies like standards to achieve a common platform that will create a forum for information, commerce, inspiration, independent thought, and collective understanding.

To borrow a line from Nokia, it's about making technology more human. 'Just that getting there is the tricky part.

Today it rained and rained and rained. From morning to early evening, it was pouring buckets. Wielding my trusty umbrella, I got out of the car and stepped gingerly around huge puddles in the uneven pavement. I made a quick dash across a road on the way to the office. When I reached the other side, I noticed an old lady standing at the edge of a shophouse, newspaper in hand, looking a little forlorn. The rain was so heavy, I didn't think her newspaper would have done any good, and neither did she, it seemed.

I indicated to her that I could provide some shelter for her. She brightened up at once, and pointed out where she wanted to go.

Naturally, she wanted to cross the road. So I ended up back on the same side of the road as before. All in all, it was quite funny.

And I'm glad I brought my umbrella.

I met a friend for lunch and then paid a visit to Carrefour, which is usually so crowded on weekends that I avoid shopping there. Dutiful daughter that I am, I proceeded to look for two items on my household shopping list:

1. Oven cleaner
2. Portobello mushrooms

In the spirit of Kristen's recent post, I ended up buying two bottles of Johnson's Baby Lotion with UV Protection (usual price $6.95; promotional price $1.95!), a tube of toothpaste, a loaf of super soft 'kopi tiam' (local speak for coffeeshop) bread, and a brand new copy of XML for Beginners, 2nd edition.

That was a real steal. The book's cover price is US$39.99, but at Carrefour all titles were going for S$15 (US$8.64). While I was jubilant at the deal I was getting, it was a little sad seeing that books I own, such as

1. Usable Web Menus
2. Usable Forms for the Web
3. New Masters of Flash
4. Flash Math Creativity

...were all going at 15 bucks each, too. Oh well, you can't win all the time.

I nearly picked up a copy of Advanced PHP for Flash, but decided that was a little too much. I think web services are the way to go, so I'll focus on XML first.

A note of warning before you flock down to pick up some IT books yourself - know which edition you're buying. There were first and second editions for the title I purchased, both going at the same price. The books are all stacked up and not arranged in any particular order.

Also, a similar sale is going on at the Computer Book Centre at Funan Centre, which is one of two favourite geek haunts in Singapore. Wrox titles there are also going for S$15, with other titles going for up to 50% off.

Remember that recent NY Times article on Singapore food? Well, one of our all-time favourite restaurants was featured in it, and we decided to rekindle our passion for crab bee hoon (vermicelli), kong kong (another kind of shellfish, like escargot except it's white and chewy), scallops and kai lan (a green leafy vegetable). All with generous doses of chopped garlic. Mmm!

Let's say the Times was right to rave about Sin Huat Seafood Restaurant. Makan Sutra, the definitive guide to Singapore food, gives it a rating of six out of six.

I used to dislike crab. And I still dislike bee hoon. But somehow, Danny the cook has a winning formula that overcomes my prejudices for a couple of hours. A few caveats: you have to accept the fact he only takes orders one table at a time. His assistants will only deliver and clear away the food. His prices are also expensive. Bring good company to pass the time. You could try ordering some wine (yes, they have a selection). And, forgive the spartan decor, circa 1970.

A frequent paradox at hawker centres and coffeeshops - the grimier the place, the tastier the food!

I fell asleep halfway into the Middlesborough v Everton match, but caught the goal that wasn't (how unfair to the home team). I awoke at midnight, with the Man U v Arsenal match near completion. Kicking myself, I witnessed van Nistelrooy scuff the last penalty kick - one of a few such opportunities he wasted, I hear - and then saw him get knocked around by jubilant Arsenal players after the final whistle. That was also unnecessary.

On the other hand, there was probably too much diving and theatrics going on to make this match something to remember. Arsenal skipper Patrick Vieira was sent off in a tussle with the Dutch striker (second yellow card = red). In a post-match interview, Roy Keane wryly refused to comment on the incident, which was reminiscent of Beckham's 1998 World Cup episode - where he lashed out with his foot at an Argentinian player who had downed him. I was still in England when that incident happened, and the next day one of the tabloids screamed, "Ten Brave Men and One Foolish Boy". But of course, the lad's managed to turn his life around and he's doing well at the Bernabéu, so we'll leave it at that :-)

From this latest episode, we see that even the more experienced players are still susceptible to a 'tit-for-tat' mentality. It was a huge match, and expectations were understandably high. While the scoreline was disappointing, Arsenal have certainly improved since the 3-0 drubbing by Inter Milan. We'll see how it goes with Newcastle on 26 September, UK time.

[Intriguingly, the Gender Genie has rated this post as 'male'. How appropriate.]

This Wired article sent off alarm bells ringing in my head. By 2005, 65% of automated teller machines in the United States will be powered by a pared-down version of Windows, in place of IBM's OS/2 Warp.

Hopefully, what will be cut down are security flaws and other bugs. Security experts' opinions are divided on the issue: some feel that the Windows OS would still be vulnerable to attacks, while others stress that this is unlikely to happen as the ATMs will not be connected to the internet.

On the bright side, this move, according to a report published by consultants Celent, is designed to 'open up' their systems by using an OS compatible to their internal corporate networks. It will also be easier to write code to add new features in the future.

Let's see how it goes.

After completing a website entirely in Flash MX, dashing off to the Macromedia conference (see pics in previous post), and having a satisfying flambé steak for dinner, I was more than pleasantly surprised to discover that my favourite web standards evangelist, Zeldman, has added this site to his list of externals.

Over 200 hits and counting. It is indeed a great honour.

Macromedia's senior product manager, Lucian Beebe, demonstrates how easy it is to motion tween an object in Flash MX 2004 Professional. There were lots of other cool features too. Pity there wasn't much time to see them all.

Benjy Choo of Kinetic Interactive - arguably Singapore's best web design company, specialising in Flash. We got to view their impressive portfolio.

So, another of my good friends is (legally) married. The commissioner of oaths was a well-meaning old man, who made too many marriage jokes (the ones we've all heard before), but since he was so sweet we couldn't hold it against him.

What was even sweeter was the buffet spread after the ceremony. Peking duck, kwei pai tee (excuse the ad hoc spelling), sushi, teriyaki chicken skewers, dim sum, baby octupus, fresh salad and smoked salmon. Mm. We were one happy group of people.

Of course, the sweetest thing ever was the look on the couple's face. Congratulations to the two K's!

It is late. I was in the office until 11.30pm. I reached the car park, only to realise that there were many other cars still there. Lost souls, I mused, working away in dinky little cubicles somewhere, just like me.

I went home, had some dinner, then wrapped a present for Karen who is going to be a legally married woman as of 2pm today (sorry K for the mess, I was really sleepy).

All I can tell myself is, hang in there, it'll all be over by this week.

So I'd like to think.

My golf game this morning with Dad didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, on my part. I knew I had it coming - no gym for the last three weeks as I've been working and attending classes at night. And my last session at the driving range over the weekend, was dismal.

To think that, just a couple months ago, my drives were long and straight and I had broken the 160 metre barrier with my driver. Shows how quickly your standards can deteriorate with neglect.

But I had fun. Well, it being my first time playing a game at my club, I was what Singaporeans commonly refer to as 'blur'. Meaning, absolutely clueless. It didn't help that the golf instructor my Dad hired, was an old man who spoke mostly Hokkien and Mandarin, with a smattering of English.

When we made our way to the green, the only way I could tell that he was talking about me, was when he said, 'char boh' meaning girl in Hokkien. Soon he came to realise that my knowledge of dialect was nearly nonexistent, and we ended up conversing in a mix of Mandarin and English.

It was only nine holes, but twice my ball ended up in a gutter or stream of some sorts. Which reminds me a lot of my more recent attempts at bowling (another of those used-to-be-good but not anymore stories).

My drives were still pretty powerful - if only they went in the direction I wanted. Once, my ball shot off, nice and straight at first, then veered increasingly to the left, and hit a big tree right in the middle with a loud THWACK. Lots of leaves and twigs were shaken out, followed by a dazed-looking bird which fell a couple of metres, picked itself up in mid-flight, and fluttered frantically out of my way.

"I'm SO, so sorry!" I called out, not knowing if I was speaking to my dad, the golf pro, the tree, the bird or to Mother Nature in general. I crossed a few OB markers, which would've cost me mucho points in a real game, especially as my errant balls hit the trunks of other trees.

Now, at the driving range, the ground is level, and the artificial grass mats are hard. At times, I swing hard enough into the mat to shave off a layer of green plastic which gets stuck on my clubheads.

But on the course, I was afraid of digging up the turf. So when I swung I sometimes subconsciously lifted myself away from the ball. I also apologised to the grass I had displaced, and spent too much time patting the earth back into a hole I had created. Hurry! The others warned. Don't slow down the play. I scurried back into the buggy.

Once, at the putting green, Dad was about to make his shot. The instructor said to me, "Pick up the pin!"

Baffled, I looked around. A pin? Surely he meant a tee? Did we leave a tee behind just now?

I started to walk back to the spot where we teed off. No, no, said the old man, and gesticulated at an object near me, embedded in the hole.

"Oh, you mean, the FLAG," I said. I felt so confused. I lifted it up so my dad could putt his ball in.

My best shot happened to be a fluke. On one of the last holes, I was on the fairway after one of my less dangerous drives, trying to land on the green. Trouble is, I was at the base of a slope and couldn't for the life of me, see the flag.

"There," said the pro. "Where??" asked the 'blur char boh'. He told me, it's in between the trees. I thought I saw it, and aimed my shot to the right.

Being a tense player, my shot once again hooked to the left. And landed, just feet away from the putting green. Which wasn't too bad at all! I had aimed at the wrong target, but had unwittingly landed my ball in the right area.

My best shot was soon followed by my worst, on the last hole.

I was once again, at the border of the putting green. Dad checked my half-swing to make sure I didn't overshoot for the umpteenth time. It looked good.

I swung. By the time I realised I had suddenly lapsed into my full-powered 'driving range' mode, the ball had shot out of the course, and into the adjacent car park! And that, folks, was just my 9 iron.

Fortunately, no vehicles, passers-by, or any more birds were injured in this incident.

I might be arranging for more lessons on the green in future, and will work on restoring my accuracy. When I do improve, would anyone be interested in a game? :-)

Zeldman has suggested the (previously) unfathomable - to protect the future of rich web media by supporting Microsoft.

From what I understand, here's the low-down: Back in 1998, a company called EOLAS (short for Embedded Objects Linked Across Systems) devised a means of embedding plug-ins. Microsoft's web browser, Internet Explorer, was deemed to have 'stolen' this browser technology. Microsoft has lost the US$521 million patent case, but counterclaimed on misrepresentation. They lost the counterclaim. The full verdict will be out in a month or two. If Microsoft loses, it will appeal.

A workaround is possible, with Microsoft suggesting that a dialogue box could appear before the plug-in media loads. However, that would disrupt the flow of use. Worse, if EOLAS is not satisfied with any compromises, this decision could spell disaster for many rich web media sites, and as Zeldman notes, would bring us back to a web surfing experience reminiscent of the early 90's. Microsoft has already warned vendors to be prepared for the worst outcome, and is working on a plug-in free version of IE. Goodbye to Flash games, PDF files and Quicktime movies.

In actual effect, it is not only Microsoft that will suffer should they lose the appeal. According to this CNet article,

...should the jury's decision be upheld, Eolas' attorneys promise that browser makers and distributors around the world had better be prepared to pay up.

That may not be a problem for big companies like HP, but what about open source developers of free browser software? What about Mozilla? This is as bad as a previous patent lawsuit, where someone tried to sue for infringement of GIF (or was it JPEG) technology. Imagine a browsing experience without images and sound. Good thing I still have a copy of Lynx in my PC.

In time, more will be revealed, and many questions will doubtless be asked. My list, so far:

1. If this was patented, why didn't any vendor check before implementing it in web browser software?
2. Why didn't EOLAS take action immediately, once their patent was infringed? Was it only interested when people started making money out of their patent? [ Answer: They filed suit in 1999. So ... the case took four years to be concluded? That's an awfully long time by dotcom standards, and too many web apps use the technology already. ]
3. Will EOLAS give special consideration at least to programs and services provided to the community for free?
4. EOLAS' vision, as stated on its website, says 'To create and develop the inventions that allow information technologies to enhance the quality of life for everyone.' How will their lawsuit, award of damages and the removal of plug-in functionality in web browsers, achieve this?

On the bright side, web developers may be forced to use alternative techniques such as - you know what I'm going to say already - XHTML, CSS, Javascript and anything else that supports web standards. Although in the immediate future, I do not think the full-bodied experience of rich media can be wholly replaced by these other technologies.

After a packed itinerary this morning and afternoon, I went home with the intention of doing some work. Now I seldom, if never, bring my work home, because I believe that if I organise my time properly there'd be no such need to do so.

This time, however, I thought I'd better make an exception because I had a tight deadline to meet. But it was not meant to be. My files wouldn't transfer to my PC (yet another configuration problem). So I was at home, by myself, and suddenly I had nothing to do. I was tired. I didn't want to fix my laptop. I didn't want to revise my IT notes. I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I had to do something. I even tried to sleep, but couldn't.

I felt empty. And unbearably lonely.

Then I picked up my Bible. The book was open at James, which we're now covering at Bible Study class. I left it untouched for days, too busy with my own selfish activities. If nothing else will heal me, God will, I thought.

I started to read where I last left off.

I kept on reading. And as I read, my life started to make sense to me again. And though I've known it for some time, I needed a void to make me realise for myself that nothing can substitute God in my life. He has given me renewed hope, at a point in my life when nothing is for certain.

I say nothing is for certain, in the spirit of James 4:13 (Do Not Boast About Tomorrow), because we cannot assume that certain things will happen tomorrow. It is only by God's will that it is so. Taken further: I should not be angry at the helpless situation I often find myself in, because it is man-made, and therefore temporal.

Thus, I can only trust in God to lead me on to new heights. His presence has guided me and some close friends for the past week, and I believe He does have a purpose for me. We shall wait and see.

The Wired article, Rude Awakening for File Sharers, highlights the common misconceptions that people have over 'paid' and 'legitimate' software and files.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has demonstrated that the two terms do not necessarily equate with each other, by proceeding to take action against paid subscribers of Kazaa, who are now surprised and confused:

Kazaa has a very pretty, very professional-looking Web page. I paid them a fee and assumed it was a legitimate way to buy music...

But take a look at Kazaa's end user agreement, and you will see that subscribers are not supposed to use the service for lawsuit-inducing activities:

What You Can't Do Under This Licence

You agree not to use the Software to:

2.5 Transmit, access or communicate any data that you do not have a right to transmit under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as inside information, proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under non-disclosure agreements)...

2.6 Transmit, access or communicate any data that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party...

4.1 You are responsible for paying all applicable taxes and other costs you may incur in connection with your use of the Software including but not limited to all hardware and software costs and providing all equipment and software necessary to connect to our web site and to use the Software via the Internet and any royalties or other charges relating to the use of data owned by third parties...

The Kazaa Media Desktop program is a "peer-to-peer" program; this means that it communicates with other peers (other Kazaa Media Desktops or compatible programs). Other users may download files that you have stored in the My Shared Folder and other folders you have selected to be shared. Don't share files which are confidential, such as financial information, or which you do not have the right to distribute.

Kazaa have, in short, cleverly covered their tracks by transferring the liabilities to their subscribers. And as always, many people do not bother reading user agreements because they are often too lengthy. Besides, companies with user agreements must surely have consulted a lawyer, so their products must be legal too, right?

Also, I have noticed how people differentiate 'pirated' and 'original' software. The former, as many of us know, is packaged in a cheap plastic wrapper and can be purchased for several dollars from dodgy street vendors. That is 'bad', we know it, and Singapore has hefty fines for companies which use unlicensed copies of software.

However, many people still think it is legitimate to install software that you have purchased a licence for, on multiple computers (home computer, work computer, laptop). Unless the Licence Agreement stipulates otherwise, you aren't supposed to do that. One licence = one computer.

Naturally, in such a situation, ignorance is bliss. After all, if you don't know it's wrong, why should you be liable for your actions?

But for users of Kazaa, reality has set in.

Here's a good review of Flash MX 2004's support for CSS. Apparently, it is not quite what we hoped it would be. Nonetheless it is a significant new feature and we hope Macromedia will continue to develop this feature to support more attributes.

Note also the reply (comment no. 7) by Macromedia Support which links to an employee's personal blog on Macromedia MX. It's comforting to know their employees are aware of what users think of their products.

Macromedia launches the new Studio MX 2004, available for purchase and download. Trial versions (Studio, and Studio with Flash Pro) are available. Tell me how you find it, because I don't want to install anything new on my system until I've finished my big project.

Microsoft announces yet another security flaw, which needs to be patched. From Wired:

The company cautioned that hackers could seize control of a victim's computer by attacking these flaws, which affect Windows technology that allows computers to communicate with others across a network.

"We definitely want people to apply this one," said Jeff Jones, Microsoft's senior director for trustworthy computing.

You don't say...

Call it perfect timing. After grappling with Actionscript at work today, I ended up in evening class learning the nature of computer languages from the first to sixth generations, and how Java (on which Flash Actionscript is based) operates: In three logical forms - Sequence (do this then this then that), Selection (If this, Else that) and Iteration (Do while...). Things we've all seen before in a less-than-basic Flash file.

So I learnt how to combine these three forms of logic, and how to target a nested object. Things I sort of knew, and applied more out of rote than understanding. Now at least I understand how Java in general works. [Update: A post on how Actionscript 2.0 is becoming more like Java.]

Yet I, like my classmates, feel a sense of impatience as the classes progress, because we all signed up for a more advanced course, but have to attend a fundamentals course first. I thought it'd all be over in one week, but I was mistaken. I hope to start my Application Developer's course by next month. There are a lots of things I want to do, and so little time!

So for two weekday evenings, I go for class, and for the other weekdays I've been staying late in the office. I don't know how much longer I can continue like this. I only have God to thank for giving me work I am interested in doing, and pray things will get better soon.

To those in the know, I wish to achieve the following:

onClipEvent (load) { actionscriptprogrammers._visible=true; actionscriptprogrammers._quality=high; }

In short, I've always wondered if there were any good Flash Actionscript programmers available here in Singapore. Apart from those already in elite design houses such as Kinetic ;-)

'Good', meaning you can do more than me, which means writing and customising, not reusing code downloaded from Flashkit.com. The people who write components, not the ones at the end trying to figure out how they work.

I do not specialise in Flash, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I've decided to focus on semantics and open source technologies instead, because I believe they will create an intelligent future for us. Hence my attending IT school for training in networking, ASP, PHP, a bit of SQL, and finally, XML.

Of course there are ongoing developments such as Flash Markup Language (FML) which will bridge the divide between visual impact and dynamic, structured data. And after months of not using it, I remember now how fun Flash can be - when you DON'T have a tight deadline hanging over your head :-P

And hopefully, come next Friday I might even still be alive to attend the Macromedia MX 2004 launch conference, to see what they have to offer.

Right now, I have a Flash game to complete, and my fingers are numb (same as yesterday). There are some things I've just learnt how to do, without using other people's scripts. Yet there are many more things I have yet to figure out, and very little time. I can brag that I've finished most of the game in less than two days. I just pray that people will appreciate the effort I've put in.

But back to my main question. On a personal basis, do freelance Actionscript specialists exist, and what would their rates be?

So, my grandfather ordered a brand new G5 Mac at Comdex today. Is that cool, or what?!

The system should be delivered in a few days' time. It goes without saying (but of course I'll say it anyway) that I will be there to, erm, make sure everything's working smoothly.

I just hope the 23 inch studio display screen won't spoil my eyesight :-P

He still has a PC which we'd like to keep, to run programs and games written only for IBM-compatible machines. The lady at the Apple Booth told us we could use the monitor with a PC, as long as the PC has a 'DVI' output. On initial research I have found an article which explains how this can be done.

If anyone of you have further insight on this matter, post your tips here anyway. Much appreciated!

I just watched a replay of the Henin-Capriati match. What a marathon! I like both players, which made it difficult to decide who to side with. I resisted the urge to check usopen.org for the final results, and decided that since most of the audience was screaming for Jennifer, I would do the opposite and root for Justine, who was going down fast in the third set.

Jenny has always been a fiesty player, and I loved her sense of humour throughout the match. So it was heartwrenching to see her lose her concentration and consequently her lead in that final set. But it was worth seeing her biggest fan Matthew Perry (who plays Chandler in Friends) cheering crazily for her everytime she hit a big winner.

But Justine's grit was also admirable. She was in great pain, her usual leg cramps giving her trouble in crucial moments of the game. Lesser players might have given up, like in the men's singles. But she is one of, if not the most, hungry players I have ever seen. A little too hungry at the French Open, as I have noted, but in this case, it was a deserved win.

Points to ponder:

1. Why did the commentators keep on calling Henin-Hardenne a Frenchwoman?! Notably, they don't make this slip with fellow Belgian, Kim Clijsters. Maybe the No. 1 seed has a less 'Frenchy' sounding name.
2. One commentator was obviously afraid to pronounce Justine's last name, because she'd refer to both players as "Capriati and ... and ... Justine". Chortle.
3. Will Kim Clijsters finally win her first Grand Slam? Or will Justine Henin-Hardenne's nerves of steel, prevail again? Without the Williams sisters to contend with, the plot thickens. Ironically, it will be an all-Belgian final at this US Open.

Oh, lookie here. Kim has a blog. Sort of. I like her, too. I think she's a nice person. I'm sure Lleyton would agree ;-)

May the best player win!

While in IT class, I noticed how deeply Microsoft has penetrated the minds of people. Certain generic terms have been substituted (mostly by classmates) by product names. Sure, I'm being anal, and apart from that the course has been pretty educational, but I think we should be careful with our use of terms, especially when in a learning environment.

Example #1

Instructor: And when you want to set up a web page, what do you do? You write a program -

Me (interrupting): No, you write a document which you upload to the web server!

[At this point I got overruled because it turns out he was referring to web editing software. Still, you don't need to use web editing software to write a web page. But I decided to shut up after that.]

Instructor: (continuing to addres the class) "You use Frontpage..."

Aaaaaarrghhh!!! Well, I know most people would've heard of Frontpage and therefore would understand his explanation better - although as a professional I still view it as an inferior product. I felt he should have said, you can use either a [generic term] web editing program or even Notepad to write a web page.

Example #2

Student: So when I want to register a domain name, I go to Singnet or Pacnet or Microsoft ... ?

Example #3

Instructor: And when you want to surf the Internet, what do you use?

Student: You open up your IE!

(Student proceeds to substitute the generic term, 'web browser', with IE for the rest of class.)

Example #4

Student: But don't most people prefer Windows OS because it is the easiest to use?

Me: (mildly surprised and trying to be polite) No, I think most people prefer Windows because that's all they've ever used. It's because they're familiar with it. But if you want something that is really easy to use, I'd go for the Mac OS.

Is it just me being fussy, or is this disturbing? Are geeks like me so far removed from the reality of life ('MS Life') that I can no longer speak the same language as other human beings? Has the rest of humanity resolved themselves to the fact that there is no alternative operating system or browser in this world?

Anyway, I'm going for an afternoon session today, followed by the usual jazz piano lesson, so I'd better do some revision now.

Ye gads!

It is 2.30am and I have finally replied to everyone's emails. It is really like looking at a time capsule. New message alert boxes were popping up as they were being downloaded, mostly spam, some intriguingly in Malay, and one looking like a genuine domain name mixup. It was a massive spring cleaning.

Anyway, right after work on Thursday I dashed off to IT class, then zipped off to meet my Bible Studies home group for a wine and cheese party - to celebrate the completion of our studies on John.

I haven't had time to surf the web for 2 days ... I don't know the latest trends (but I do know they caught that Blaster guy). I don't even know the latest US Open tennis scores [Update: right, I didn't know it was still raining.]. Sob. Outside of church activities, I have no life...

I have just realised that people have been sending me emails via my old Contact page, which haven't been received. This was because the email address in my form got overloaded with spam and strange business correspondences from people who seem to have got my domain(s) mixed up with other people's. So I terminated that account and redirected/replaced my old address with a new one.

At least, I thought I did. Seems the messages sent subsequently by some of you didn't get through - and soon after that I closed down the site for a revamp.

Now, I am terribly paranoid about getting emails from Nigerian generals and the like, which is why I don't like displaying my email address publicly (and why I've just removed recent comments displaying the old email address in this post).

Fortunately I have a catch-all email account, which I've just checked. It tells me that I have eighty bounced emails (most of which look like spam). However there are also technical queries from some of you which I have to answer.

So to Kok Hong, Alvin and Serdar, I will respond to your emails which you sent me, before the revamp. A thousand apologies!

Yours truly has been terribly busy of late, and has to muster up enough brain power to think of something to write every day.

Hmm.

*mutters to self* Come on! You can think of something.

Okay, here goes.

After coming back from IT class (more networking, this time TCP/IP principles), I gulped down some soup that was my dinner, practised some jazz piano, and am now once again using someone else's computer to post this message, because my darned PC can't seem to detect my network card. At least that's what I suspect, because it isn't showing in my list of hardware.

I haven't had the time or energy to tamper tinker with my laptop the past couple of days, but I really appreciate everyone's advice. A good Samaritan may be paying a house call to fix things, so here's a big thanks in advance to him!

[Update @2.15am: Lord be praised, my connection has finally come back on. I still haven't figured out exactly why, but I'm not complaining.]

My internet connection in my PC went down unexpectedly on Saturday and has remained down ever since. I have unplugged and re-plugged my ethernet cable umpteen times, checked for faulty hardware, checked my network / configuration... all to no avail.

Naturally, this is the time when I have to apply for all sorts of things online, and have to use someone else's computer to do everything.

Anyway, yesterday evening, I and a couple of Bible Study classmates watched a play at Church of Our Saviour called 'The Case of the Missing Bodies' which essentially investigates the amazing escape of Simon Peter from prison (Acts 12:7-19).

We turned up to support Bruno, who played his role as a demented knife-wielding chef rather well. The scriptwriting was excellent, and the lead character, 'Sam' the private eye had just the right sort of drawl. Dick Tracy and LA Confidential came to mind.

I was tickled by lines like, "My head was hurtin'... like Goliath's" after the detective was beaten up by the evil Pharisee's (Mafia-style) henchmen. There were lots of other biblical references and a fair share of saucy innuendos, film-noir, 1950's style. And it had a meaningful ending - discovery of the Truth, and the yearning to know the Lord - just as Jesus would have intended it - without sounding too preachy.

Form-wise, the icing on the cake was the music, a perfect setting for the mood. Oo-oo. Miles Davis, baby. THE father of Cool. The man with the wonderful, muted trumpet. I was amazed at how tastefully everything was planned.

'Twas truly a good night.