Thirteen is not always an unlucky number

OMG! My last entry was in August! (This exclamation sounds gay doesn't it?)

Honestly, I was not busy at all. I'm just too lazy to update this blog, and if I did update, no one will read it anyway since it will be boring. There's really nothing interesting and exciting to write about. The most exciting thing happening to me this past few months was the arrival of Soleh, but unlike my first, Syifaak, the excitement is slightly (very, very slightly, as in nano-slightly. I promise!) less because I've already knew what to expect. So, writing the 'Soleh experience' seems to be redundant for me. You wouldn't want to read boring redundant stuff, would you? Besides, you'd probably be too occupied with Facebook to read this.

Huhu.

So, why am I writing this now? Most probably because I've just added that Facebook badge which you can see at the right side of this page. Cool isn't it? In case you want to be my 'friend', you can add me from here. I approve ALL friend requests, except from weird guys I don't know of. Ladies, feel free to do so and after I've approved your friend request, don't start acting weird, OK?

By weird, I mean weird like calling me names just because I don't want to join your MLM schemes or sending me messages asking about someone I've lost contact with just because I've mention about him or her in my blog once or start posting sexy pictures of yourself and start tagging me. Exception is given to the last one but other behaviors I consider weird will be tolerated based on the degree of your attractiveness.

Marriage Tips: Keep attractive ladies as your friends to keep your wife jealousy in check. But don't push it.

BTW, it seems like Facebook is the 'in' internet thing now although one particular politician who happened to have the same alma mater as me wanted it banned. Another younger, more controversial politician, on the other hand, wanted to conduct course on Facebook for the Ketua Kampungs from his parlimentary constituency. Well, it sounds amusing, but the reality is, a lot of the older generations of Malaysia are not familiar with this Social network, They are much more familiar with the elusive Social Contract, but that's not a bad thing at all. I would rather have the older generations argue and bicker among themselves about it in the traditional media - TV, newspapers, radio, blogs - than start flooding into Facebook.

The more people joining Facebook, the less fun it will be and based on the principle of Normal Distribution, bigger population mean higher chances of morons to appear to annoy you. You don't even realized that the morons are among your friends until they do something like tagging you in the picture of the 'Dodora Nipple Cream' that they are selling. If this is not strong enough a reason to be annoyed, I don't know what is.

The next online 'in' thing for me now is Twitter . I actually created my account in January last year, but didn't see the need or the fun to use it until only recently. I just hope the same morons will not start using it and discover a way to make it annoying.

In Twitter, you can 'follow' people that you like who set their 'tweet' as public but the people you're 'following' will not see what you 'tweet' unless they are also 'following' you or if they click on your 'timeline', provided your timeline setting is not private. Anyone can follow you, but you dont have to follow them in return. Unless of course they're your family members or close friends which you'd be obliged to follow eventhough they're in the same category as the morons I was talking about, then... I supposed you'd better go back to Friendster.





*crick crick, crick crick*





Anyone still using that?

Twelve months... and I missed June and July

What can I say for myself?

Nothing. I really have nothing to blog about. Life is pretty much routine now.

Even updating status in Facebook becomes less and less frequent now.

This blog will be abandoned for a while.

There goes this year's resolution.

Daa...

Eleven players each side, but what's the point?

Islam is supposed to be a simple enough religion for all. Somehow, some people - mostly Muslims (and scholars) tend to make it seems so complicated that many tend to back away from it.

AFAIK, in order for you to become a Muslim, you only need to comply with the five pillars - Profess the Shahadah (declaration that there is no other god but Allah, and Muhammad is His Messenger), pray five times a day, fast during Ramadhan, pay the Zakat (a portion of your money to help the poor, or for charity), and performing the Haj (pilgrimage to Mekah) if you have the capability and resources. A few Muslim sect believe that the fifth pillar is Jihad (holy struggle), based on certain dalil (reasonings based on Quran and hadith).

When you become a Muslim, you have to be a Mukmin (man of faith) as well, by believing in the six pillars of faith - Believe in Him (Allah), believe in His Archangels, believe in His Books, believe in His prophets and messengers, believe in the End of Days (aka Judgement Day) and believe in Qada' and Qadar (His Decree and the Destiny He has set).

Islam becomes complicated when people start to ask how and why to the most tedious and trivial things.

The prophet Muhammad gave the simplest answer for the "how". Just follow his lead and refer to the Quran and his sunnah (habit or usual practice). The sunnah is naratted through Hadith (reports, stories or statement made by the people who live in the prophet's era). When in doubt, consult someone who have better knowledge than you.

For the "why", there are those which the Quran and Hadith give specific answers and reasonings to, while there are some which we need to think for ourselves. However, when you can't find or think of any other answer, Islam has already provide the generic answer (which some critics calls the 'escape' answer) - that is "it is Allah's Will", so, "sami' na wa atho' na" (we hear and we obey).

However, the simplicity does not mean we can be simplistic. We need to always seek knowledge and if somehow we found something to be so complicated, go back to the basic. Always remember the five pillars of Islam and the six pillars of Faith.

Ten is the sum of the digits in my age

When I started blogging, I was only 23, and I was bored. I had to channel that boredom into something productive.

Now, I'm 28, but I'm still bored. I'm already 'productive', so I blog less.


Unlike some people I know, I really don't have any clever opinions to write about. My life story is boring (that's why I'm bored) and I find it hard to write something argumentative because I would end up counter-arguing my own arguments. If I did write something argumentative, either the entry become too long (which no one will read ~ tl:dr) or it will not be written at all (because the points become pointless).

However, I still like to challenge other people's opinion through argumentative comments. Not that I want them to accept the points I'm putting forth, or trying to put down their opinion, or to win the argument; I just want to see how they think, or how they really see it, or how they build up the opinion in the first place or how strongly they will hold on to their opinion.


Before I started blogging, I was actually not this way. I would usually argue because I disagree with the other person's opinion. I was usually either defensive or offensive, never really open or 'agreeing to disagree'. My main goal was always to win the argument. If I failed to win the argument, I would definitely hold on to my opinion and try my best to show how the other person's view is 'wrong' or flawed.

I believe employment, married life and fatherhood changed me. When I entered these different phases in life, my behavior, how I think, how I react, my emotional control, somehow changed. I'm listening or reading more now than I'm talking or writing. I seek to understand rather than making judgement. I prefer calm discussion over heated argument. I try to be more objective instead of becoming emotional. I usually find the positive side of things instead of lingering to the negative thoughts.

Of course, there are still times when I don't want to listen, when I argue, I become judgemental and when I'm emotional, but the frequency is much lower compared to years ago.


I believe I'm maturing. I'm still not matured, as maturity is an on-going process as long as the brain is still functioning and able to learn new things. Maturity stops when we are in our dotage or when our mental capacity starts declining. Maturity paused when we are clinging to our past and not willing to change our ways.

Let's move on. Press the play button.

Nine months, and a baby will be born.

This month lack of entry (as if I've been actively posting) is probably due to:

1. Ulam Project.
2. I'm getting old.

Thank you.

Eight tilted ninety degrees is infinity.

I was looking for some ideas on what to write in this blog when I saw the dusty Dale Carnegie’s ‘Speak More Effectively’ booklet lying on my desk. I got that booklet after attending his High Impact Presentation workshop three years ago. I picked it up and began to read.

Carnegie offered some very good public speaking tips, which I believe can be applied in blog-writing. Basically, he suggested that we write ‘something that we have earned the right to talk about through study and experience’, and ‘that we are excited about’ and ‘we are eager to tell our readers’.

I can only think of one thing.

Sex!

HA HA HA.

Then again, with the on-going debate about the appropriateness of sex education, I guess I have to think of something else.

Hmm… berguling-guling?

Seven days in a week.

Keeping this blog alive requires ideas, determinations and free times. Out of these elements, I only have one, which is some free times which I rather spent on other things besides blogging like... erm... a lot.

Blogging used to be fun when not many people were doing it. When it was just a tool to tell your story and opinions to the world, and make new friends in the process. Somehow, the fun in blogging seems to fade away when people start using it as a marketing tool, a political propaganda machines, to spread half-baked doomsday theory, to copy paste hoax and spam emails, or worst, copy paste other people's blog content without giving credit to the originator.

Thousands (or is it millions?) of new blogs appears everyday on the web. Most of them are the types I've mentioned earlier, while some are just vain teenagers wanting to get some attention from the world. Often, these attention-seekers lack respect to others, have little sense of responsibility on their writing and almost no shame to disclose very private and intimate details of their life. Obviously, telling people about your bra size, or sex life or posting your pictures with a lot of cleavage will invite more hits and increase traffic to your blog -but I feel like slapping these people who later complained about being stalked, sexually harrased or getting too many spams in their mailbox.

There are too many perverts, sexual predators, MLM millionaire wannabes, and immature brats on the net nowadays that it is no longer a fun place for socially-retarded people like me to socialize. Even Facebook is slowly becoming what blogs have become now.

Well, things evolved and becomes more complex everyday. Sometimes, I missed the old days when life is a little bit simpler and more fun.

Six Pillars.

If they can issue capital sentence on drug dealers/ traffickers, why not do the same to drug addicts? The supply will cease if the demand cease, won't it?

Talking about the death penalty, corruption should be in the list of crimes deserving this punishment as well. Corruption effects more people in more than one way. It can slow down development, endangers life, destroy businesses and lead to more corruptions and crimes. The perpetrator is more deserving to go the gallows compared to anyone else, don't you think?

Some people argue that death penalty is against human right, cruel, have no place in developed society yada yada yada. I wonder if these people have ever talked to the victims, or the people effected by the crime or become one of them themselves?

Yes, the will to forgive is truly what differentiate a human from another, but try talking about forgiveness after being punched on the nose or after getting poked in the eye by someone or after you find your partner doing it with someone else.

It is human nature to see wrong-doings being justly punished. It is also human nature to show mercy. But when one is so consumed with rage or hatred or greed or lust or overwhelmed with sadness or grief, is the desire to be just or being merciful still there?

I wonder, how do lawmakers, juries and judges sleep at night?

Five times a day...

I've just moved from Rantau Bukit to Kampung Baru Kerteh yesterday. Still exhausted and still unpacking.

Last few weeks were hectics. The next three weeks will be much worse. Then, comes the performance appraisal season.

This is basically my excuse not to update this blog for a while. Not that it matters since my readership has significantly plummeted since I got Syifaak.

Besides, there's nothing much to tell. Life is pretty much boring and issues are pretty much the same nowadays.

So, don't miss me.

Four Cities in East China...

Just came back from a week-long vacation to China with my wife, Syifaak and parents in-law. We went to Suzhou, Wuxi, Shanghai and Hangzhou.

It was freezing cold. Winter.

The tour guide service in China is interesting. We were accompanied by a 'national' guide throughout the whole visit and a 'local' guide at every city.

These guides, however, are obliged to bring tourists to the Chinese government's tourist centers where they give you some briefing on their specialty products and virtually force you to buy something. Eventually, the products they sold are very expensive for something 'made in China'! But of course, the products are really worth it (or that's what you'll start to believe after all the propaganda they feed you with)

If you want to buy anything from the street shops in China, bargain. And if you want to bargain but you can't speak Mandarin, bring a calculator. The Chinese shopkeepers understand numbers.

Halal food restaurant seems abundant but the dishes served tasted almost the same at all the restaurants. Most of them are oily and salty with soy sauce. I have no problem with them of course. However, the rest of the family lose appetite after the third day.

One thing which bothered us the most throughout the visit was the toilet... or to be specific, the absent of water source to 'cebok' after the call of nature. You know us Malay - wiping with toilet roll doesn't feel... erm... satisfying. So, we always carry a bottle of mineral water with us just in case.

Suddenly, I don't feel like writing the details of the trip. I don't know why. Do you?

Three in one? Nescafe?

I open my good old Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary (Students Edition) in the office this morning. The only definition for 'Allah' in that thick book of words is "the name of God for Muslim".

I wonder how the Catholic daily won the case...

Anyone who is using the same dictionary may get confused, o 'learned' judge of the high court.

Two makes a couple... or a baby if they ain't gay.

A couple of days ago, I thought I was going to restart blogging again, actively this time. Kinda like a new year's resolution but something interesting came up and may jeopardize this resolution.

No, it's not another manga title. It's not any new PC game either.

I was intrigue by Excel 2007 formula and functionality.

How nerdy can I get?

It all started last week when I was trying to figure out how best to manage the record of an 81 x 47 x 3 training matrix for 1129 staff. Boring work stuff, so I started experimenting with Excel's formula and functions. A week later, I'm reading Excel 2007 VBA Programming for Dummies.

There's a sense of dejavu.

When I was in my final year in UTP, I spent countless hours writing mIRC scripts. The programming language obviously are different, but the syntax, logical flow, functionality are about the same.

Writing mindless codes somehow excites me. If it was not for my father, I would have change my course to IT instead. Studying mechanical engineering was not that fun, except when I was in the Automation Technology workshop and the Control System lab where I got to play with robotic arm and PLC. By just writing a few lines of code, the thing moves and twists and blinks and rocks and moaned. Just orgasmic!

It's like I have some kind of coding-pervertism. Writing scripts and codes to me was more exciting than watching porn. That's why I spent more time with script editors than in #rocco. LOL.

Anyway, unlike programming and scripting, blog writing may not move anything, yet. I hope it will someday. Else, this number two may slowly die like the first one due to the lack of excitement generated.

And people, please don't ask me to start with CSS or HTML or PHP or whatever. Else, I will not have time to give Syifaak her second sibling. Her first is on the way, btw :)

One. Why not two?

Effi complained when I don't blog anymore nowadays.

I'm not quitting. I'm just occupied with something else.

Besides, there are so many blogs and bloggers right now that the death of one blog will go unnoticed.

Or the birth of a new one.