Was that a threat?

Every vote given to the DAP will only weaken the Chinese representation in the Government, said Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin.

It would not help the Chinese community if they did not support the Barisan Nasional, he said. [The Star]

Sounds more like a threat to me. Frankly speaking, a lot of people are fed up with the way BN has been handling things. In the last election, I backed BN on the basis that it was the lesser of two evils. Why? Because at that time PAS was all out about forming an Islamic State. And PKR was forming what I called an "unholy" alliance with them. Different principles, different ideals. The alliance was confusing and lack of direction.

However, over the last few years, I've changed my mind a bit. The oppositions are doing much better today, with new blood and new perspectives. PAS is less vocal about their aims for an Islamic State - though I know it's still within their agenda. PKR has seen a few senior members falling out since Anwar's release, but on the whole they still wield some sort of support from the locals. I guess for me it's DAP that has done the best over the last few years. They recruited some younger generation leaders and has more focus about them.

A few years ago, I complained that the opposition would not be able to convince the people because they lacked plans, directions and visions. Party manifestos are frankly useless because it does not cover a wide enough range of issues that concern the different segments of the public. This year was a move in the right direction when DAP released their own version of the Budget 2008. PKR also followed suit - but personally I thought the DAP one was better written. At least now, for those who are really interested, they can read and learn more about what the oppositions has to offer if they are in power.

While I would hope that BN lose more of their Malay majority constituencies to the opposition - it no longer matter much since MCA and the other race-based political parties have been equally disappointing. If the people in Chinese majority areas like Penang, voted for the opposition in full, BN might yet retain the island, albeit with an UMNO-led state government instead of the current Gerakan-led. So yeah, what our wise minister has rightly pointed out is true - we, the Chinese community wil gets less representation in the government if we vote for the opposition.

But I honestly don't care anymore. Will there be less development on the island? I don't think so. In today's Malaysia, everyone is dependent on each other. Penang and many other Chinese majority areas are equally important to the country as are Malay dominated areas. Everyone will suffer - including the Malays - if development stalls in these areas.

So how now? Less representation in their government, but a fairer representation of the people, and a more effective opposition. A fair trade I would say.

What say you?

De-sentitize my foot!

And so it seems that UMNO Youth will continue with their keris-wielding antics on the upcoming party general assembly.

He says: "I feel it is important we continue to do it so that the issue becomes de-sensitised over time".

Why want to start something that would cause even more misunderstanding among the people? This only a two year old tradition anyway - if you can even call it that. To the common people, unsheathing the keris during a speech and at the same time making unwarranted comments about other races shall be conceived as a threat - simple as that.

Based on the stupidity of his logic, does this means that if we keep on questioning the special positions of the Malays, they would be de-sensitize about it? Great. Now it should be fine to openly talk about how to abolish the NEP. Perhaps now all Malaysians can start calling themselves Bumiputras. After all, if we use the term long enough, we should all be de-sensitize -AND accepted, right?

Aren't they chummy?

Remember I said something being hypocritical about this pic? Well I find the following picture even more...amazing.

What shall we call it? Friendly? Probably not.

Apparently, in his speech that day, the Menteri Besar of Kelantan laced his words with "religious verses, pantun and cynicism", to raise doubts "over whether the projects under ECER could materialise based on past experiences".

There shall be 52 ECER (East Corridor Economic Region) initiatives to be implemented in Kelantan - which includes an upgrade for the Sultan Ismail Petra Airport and a new Kota Baru waterfront city centre to showcase the state’s rich heritage in culture and handicraft.

Differences in political views should not be an excuse of not being nice or friendly to your political rivals. But taking these sort of chummy photos are really misguiding and frankly, serves only propaganda purposes. Perhaps now UMNO can say that even Kelantan is flourishing under their policies - that they are bringing development to the state where PAS had failed in so many years. And then advertise this chummy pic - now that should be propaganda enough.

Picture and news from The Star Online.

China Passes U.S. in Top 10 List

In this piece of news, we see China passing the US in number of companies in the Top 10 list for world largest companies.

Five of the 10 biggest companies by market capitalization are now Chinese, compared with three that are located in America, after China's benchmark stock index almost tripled this year.

This came to happen when China Life Insurance Co. surpassed AT&T Inc. in terms of market value. The insurance company is China's largest insurer by premiums with a third-quarter net profit at 7.82 billion yuan (US$1 billion;€700 million).

While there are five "big" companies in the Top 10 list, only two of them are in the Top 50 by revenue, and they are China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) and PetroChina.

Perhaps the deer was deaf?

Check this video out: Worst Hunter vs Dumbest Deer

Came with target practice and still he missed...and I wonder why the deer is still alive - should have gotten shot by some hunter by now, looking at how slow it reacted.

Oil Sneaks Past $93

Ouch...

A Mexican oil company has just joined the growing list of factors pushing oil prices to dizzying heights. The state-run Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, is shutting as much as 600,000 barrels, or about 19% of its daily crude output because of a storm, and the news has now pushed oil past the $93 mark. [Oil Sneaks Past $93 - Forbes.com]

Good news for oil palm plantation companies though. Palm oil demand will outpace supply as rising oil prices could spark interest in biofuels, a cheaper alternative to crude oil. On Monday, the stocks of plantation companies in Malaysia such as KLK, IOI Corp and Asiatic rose in accord to the record high crude palm oil prices. While there will be profit-taking in the next few days, there should continue to be some uptrend later today (perhaps the week) when the KLCI opens.

My new jersey!

You'll Never Walk Alone!

Background image courtesy of Liverpoolfc.tv

This is my new Liverpool FC jersey! Well, it's actually the away jersey for European matches, i.e. the Champions League. OK, I know they are doing pretty badly in that competition right now - didn't really think they would be sitting at the bottom of their group when I asked my friend to get it for me. Who knows? They might win all their remaining matches and still qualify to the next round ;)

Although it did cost me a bomb at 40 quid...still I think it was worth getting it. Far nicer looking that the previous black-coloured jersey Liverpool had in the past. I thought the white away jersey looked nice too, though I already have a white one, so I thought I would get a different colour instead. So now I have a red, white and black Liverpool FC jersey!

Oh...and special thanks to the 'Great Han' for getting this for me! Oops...hehe there I said it again...sorry mate, perhaps this will be the last time? ;p

And this is comforting news:

1609: GOAL Liverpool 1-0 Arsenal
A rasping rocket of a drive from Steven Gerrard. The Arsenal wall breaks at the free-kick and Gerrard's effort almost busts the net it is hit with such venom. The perfect start for Liverpool.

Let's hope they keep at it and prove that they can really be the champions this year.

Update: OK. So we drew. And we drew against a team that it seems has much more quality on the field than the current Liverpool team. Let's hope Arsenal wipe Utd. clean next week.

Rambles on a Saturday Night

A friend complained that I did not update this blog for a few days. Hehe...was lazy I guess, not so much as suffering from any writer's block.

Anyway, I'm back in my hometown, which is why I wasn't blogging as much. I took Friday off and will be heading back to Penang tomorrow morning. Came back to help my bro move some stuff back since he'll be bringing his family along this time - plenty of stuff to pack. For the time being they will be staying with moi, so I guess I'll have more company than usual - though I'm certainly looking forward to playing more with my baby nephew :D

Good thing too that I came back, cause then I had a chance to meet up with an old friend - the Great Han - on Friday night. And got the Liverpool FC jersey I asked him to buy for me. OK, he'll probably kill me if/when he reads about being the Great Han ;p Hopefully he doesn't check this blog till after he flies back to the UK.

Liverpool will play Arsenal at Anfield tomorrow in a Super Sunday match up...it's a match that presents exciting prospects and at the same time a nervous, nail-biting game to watch. Oh well, we'll just see what Rafa comes up with this time - as a fan, I'm hoping for the best...but it's better to keep things realistic, especially when one looks at Liverpool's current form. One thing is for sure, there'll definitely be a blog entry if Liverpool wins tomorrow ;p

And I saw this pic while browsing PPS...and somehow it came off as hypocritical. I know, I know, they are now in the same team and all. But still...after all the fighting and bickering in the past, it's amazing to think that these group of people now has the same political stand. Did someone's principles changed? I guess as much as I would like to criticize, it's far less hypocritical than what I see the component parties in BN are doing - which gives true meaning to the word two-faced. I doubt that is how politics should work.

Anyway, time to sign off as I believe I have kept on rambling for the sake of rambling. So g'nite to y'all!

Baa baa Black Sheep...

Help me, help me! There's a lamb chop on my back!

...is it any good?
...no sir, no sir, it's quite bad...

Man...I guess I should have expected it... They should have called it Weresheep instead of Black Sheep.

Anyone who is bitten from an infected sheep turns into a meat craving sheep - humans included. The whole show was like a crossbreed between Zombie and the special effects from Werewolf, especially during the transformation part.

OK, maybe the movie was meant to be funny - what with the tag line "There are 40 million sheep in New Zealand and they pissed off!", but still it was a waste of a good 90 minutes cause I found it kind of lame. And you must be wondering why I finished it. Well, I was just too damn tired to and too damn lazy to switch it off as I watched it from the comfort of my bed.

Anyway, you can skip this movie even if you have the downloaded version. Unless you think some zombie sheep taking a bite at humans is funny...

Reject a rejection

The Ultimate Rejection Letter:

Herbert A. Millington
Chair - Search Committee
412A Clarkson Hall, Whitson University
College Hill, MA 34109

Dear Professor Millington,

Thank you for your letter of March 16. After careful consideration, I
regret to inform you that I am unable to accept your refusal to offer me
an assistant professor position in your department.

This year I have been particularly fortunate in receiving an unusually
large number of rejection letters. With such a varied and promising field
of candidates, it is impossible for me to accept all refusals.

Despite Whitson's outstanding qualifications and previous experience in
rejecting applicants, I find that your rejection does not meet my needs at
this time. Therefore, I will assume the position of assistant professor
in your department this August. I look forward to seeing you then.

Best of luck in rejecting future applicants.

Sincerely,
Chris L. Jensen

Now I know why sometimes they don't inform you when you get rejected for a position. They might be afraid that their rejection letter...get rejected.

Presenting...a book like no other...

A book like no other...you bet! I wonder if it's filled with his favourite quotes:

Update:
Upon succesful return of our astronut, the great Semi Value duly announced...
"saya syukur angkasawan kita setelah meninggal dunia 10 hari, kini selamat dikebumi"

1. Samy Velu on pos laju "BESOK KIRIM, HARI INI SAMPAI"


2. The one on TV when in trying to say he was ashamed, he said: "Kemaluan saya besar"


3. On drugs, "Jangan hisap dada" - I remember a tuition teacher telling me this one...and how the class had a good laugh LOL!
   


4. Samy said in a ceramah "Kita akan bina satu jambatan untuk orong-orong kampong disini", one pakcik asked, "Datuk, sini takde sungai,buat apa bina jambatan?" and Samy glorious replied,"Kalau takde sungai, kita bina sungai!"


5. Samy's favorite quote on national television "Toll naik sikit, manyak marah saya. You ingat semua ini toll saya punya bapa punya kah!"


6. During the water shortage crisis : "Semua orang diminta jgn membuang aiyerr..!"


7. During blood donation campaign in Sg Siput: "..marilah kita semua menderma dara.."


8. During the opening speech of various function: "...selamat datang saudara-mara semua.." (actually is "saudara-saudari")


9. At an opening ceremony: "mempersilakan Datin Paduka Rafidah Aziz naik ke pentas utk membuka kain"


10. Commenting about his modesty: "sebenarnya, kemaluan saya sangat-sangat besar"
    

I took the above list from an email that has been circulating around. While I have not checked its authenticity, I have certainly heard some of them either on the news or from others trying to impersonate him ;p

Of wheat and bread

Looks like I've got to pay more for my bread soon. With everything, from hawker food to petrol, going up in prices - and my pay playing catchup - I thought bread would remain as one of the more affordable food products.

Malaysia is the second largest wheat consumer in South East Asia and is now facing a problem with the rising wheat prices worldwide - as a result of drought in Canada and Australia.

It seems that it's inevitable that food sutff, which Malaysians enjoy - such as noodles, cakes, roti canai, thosai - and bread - would see a hike in its prices soon, albeit temporarily.

The bakery community is already looking to raise the prices - pending a meeting/discussion with the government. According to this piece of news:

Bakery Manufacturers Association president Mashood Wahab said 60% of items produced at bakeries were white bread, with the remaining products being high-fibre, wholemeal and buns which were not price-controlled [...]

According to statistics, Malaysia imports about 1.2 million tonnes of the grain a year. Mashood said the association would meet Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry officials next week to find a solution [...]

With the Chinese New Year celebrations in just a few months time, it would be interesting to see if the government would raise the price caps of these items before then. But if an appropriate compromise or solution is not reached soon, wheat millers and bakeries alike could be in trouble - since it would be too expensive to produce wheat and wheat related products.

I guess there is no escaping it this time. Let's hope the shortage of wheat worldwide is not too severe and that things will balance out in the coming year. Any price increase in wheat will drive up inflation - just that in my opinion, pay increments in the private sector (in Malaysia) does not seem to be inline with the "actual" inflation rates.

Related news: Malaysia at risk of flour shortage

So cute!

Not gals - unfortunately for guys who are looking for some cute looking Japanese gals' pictures ;p

A friend sent me this just now. It's a picture posted over at kilian-nakamura.com. Anyway, I just wanted to share this pic:

No offense intended to Muslim readers by posting this. But aren't they cute? ;p

First it was Rocky, now it's Rambo

After giving Rocky a comeback in 2006, Sly will now revive his previously more famous role: John Rambo. The new film - targeted for 2008 - will see Rambo going into Burma to fight, well, basically the Burmese army. Apparently Mr. Rambo has retreated to northern Thailand after his last appearance in Rambo III - I believe it was in Afghanistan, if memory serves me correctly.

I have just watched the teaser trailer and as expected, it's going to be full of action and of course, gore. I'm not sure how good the story for this fourth installment will be, but if it's going to be anything like Rocky Balboa, then the storyline is probably OK-ish only.

Here's the teaser for your viewing pleasure, if you are interested :)


http://view.break.com/362761 - Watch more free videos

Mr. Brown on Malaysian spaceman

Mr. Brown takes a jab at our (Malaysia's) space adventure. Listen to the podcast here.

If an American spaceman is a called an astronaut; a Russian spaceman is called a cosmonaut; a Chinese spaceman is called a taikonaut; so a Malaysian spaceman is called...

Can't be tourist mate. Mr. Brown has got to come up with something better for the top spot.

Meet-ups with the Dalai Lama anger China

Touchy, touchy. Apparently a lot of countries have angered China recently - because their leaders have been meeting up with the Dalai Lama and awarding him with various recognitions. According to the BBC:

Recently, world leaders have grown more vocal in their concern for human rights in Tibet.

In September, German Chancellor Angela Merkel met the Dalai Lama, incurring Beijing's wrath.

The historic Berlin meeting prompted China to withdraw from a German-Chinese symposium scheduled to be held in Munich and to cancel an annual event due to be held in Beijing in December to discuss human rights.

The Dalai Lama has also met Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer and Australian Prime Minister John Howard this year, and is due to meet Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper later this month.

China was outraged when Canada granted the Dalai Lama honorary citizenship last year.

Looks like it's a matter of time before China becomes outraged with most of the developed countries. Now, what would China do if it comes to that? Would it:

1) Cut off all diplomatic ties with these countries? - And not do any business? No way!
2) Continue to declare their outrage? - And then fume peacefully at home while sipping tea?
3) Bring the matter to the UN? - Now, what use would that do?
4) Declare war? - OK, that was just something I threw in, despite the almost negligible probability that China would go to war because of the Dalai Lama. Perhaps as an excuse in the future?

One thing for sure is that China would be choosing its very own Dalai Lama in the future with the setting up of a new ruling in August (effective 1 Sept.), which includes a stipulation that senior monks, known as "living Buddhas," cannot be reincarnated without government permission. A move I believe that is focused on cutting off the official Dalai Lama's influence.

People will be confused and start asking, "Will the real Dalai Lama please stand up?"

This should solve all their anger problems with other countries. Oh...and there is then no more need to talk of human rights issues. Since there are no rights, where art the issues?

Talk about ruling with an iron grip.

Drive4Food: Ramly Burger Song

According to The Star, the video above is a big hit - it's an entry for The Star Online’s Drive for Food contest and it emerged as one of five weekly winners for Week 1.

What do you think? My friend thought it was a bit noisy when I played out loud lol ;p

Personally, I think it's a great effort - perhaps Ramly burger should reward them for publicizing its burgers ;p

Bleach Movie Theme Song

I just finished watching the Bleach movie - Memories of Nobody and it was certainly much better than expected. Don't get me wrong, I love Bleach - but because I'm currently watching the latest Bleach (anime - episode 143, manga - chapter 295), sometimes I feel that watching the older stories are not so nice. The other thing was that its other two OVAs weren't great - so expectation was less for this movie. Haha...I think I've downloaded this movie for months and it really slipped my mind while I watched other anime like Darker than Black and D.Gray Man.

In this movie, which was released in 2006, you get to watch a few of the Taicho fight - including Zaraki Kenpachi - albeit only for a very short time. Anyway, what I wanted to share is the theme song of this movie rather than the movie itself. The song is sung by Aqua Timez, titled Sen no Yoru wo Koete (千の夜をこえて - Beyond a Thousand Nights) and the single sold 58,417 copies in 2006. It's catchy...certainly got me downloading it:

Lyrics (sorry no translation ;p)

Aisaretai demo aisou to shinai
Sono kurikaeshi no naka wo samayotte
Boku ga mitsukatta kotae wa hitotsu kowakutatte kizutsuitatte
Suki na hito ni wa suki na tsutaerunda

Anata ga boku wo aishiteru ka aishitenai ka
Nante koto wa mou docchi demo ii n da
Donna ni negai nozomou ga
Kono sekai ni wa kaerareru mono ga takusan aru darou
Sou soshite boku ga anata wo aishiteru to iu jijitsu dake wa
Dare ni mo kaerareru shinjitsu dakara

Sen no yoru wo koete anata ni tsutaetai
Tsutaenaka naranai koto ga aru
Aisaretai demo aisou to shinai
Sono kurikaeshi no naka wo samayotte
Boku ga mitsukatta kotae wa hitotsu kowakutatte kizutsuitatte
Suki na hito ni wa suki tte tsutaeru n da
Kimochi wo kotoba ni suru no wa kowai yo demo
Suki na hito ni wa suki na tsutaeru n da

Kono hiroi sekai de meguri au yorokobi wo kotoba jya ii arawasenai ne
Dakara bokutachi wa hohoemi
Iro azayaka ni sugiru aki wo doremi de utatte
Fuyu wo se ni haru no komorebi wo machi
Atarashiku umare kawaru dareka wo mamoreru youni to

Kita michi to yukisaki furikaereba itsudemo okubyou na me wo shite ita boku
Mukiaitai demo sunao ni narenai
Massugu ni aite wo aisenai hibi wo
Kurikaeshite wa hitoribocchi wo iyagatte
Ano hi no boku wa mukizu na mama de hito wo aisou to shite ita

Sen no yoru wo koete ima anata ni ai ni yukou
Tsutaenaka naranai koto ga aru
Aisaretai demo aisou to shinai
Sono kurikaeshi no naka wo samayotte
Boku ga mitsukatta kotae wa hitotsu kowakutatte kizutsuitatte
Suki na hito ni wa suki na tsutaeru n da
Sono omoi ga kanawanakutatte suki na hito ni suki na tsutaeru
Sore wa kono sekai de ichiban suteki na koto sa

The opening theme for the current anime series (#6) - Alones - is also sung by Aqua Timez.

Jalan Pinjam Ah Long?

Are we going to have a road call "Pinjam Ah Long" soon? Apparently some of the residents in a housing area (打鎗埔 - not sure how to translate this. Anyone knows where this is?) in Penang might borrow money from Ah Long in order to repair and patch up a big hole on the road in their area. The hole was previously dug up by firemen (for water) during a fire rescue in March (dig hole for water???). The residents have warned that if by after the Aidil-fitri festivities there is still no action taken by the government, they will go ahead with their plans (which should be interesting enough).

Anyway, this piece of news was reported in both Guangming and ChinaPress - read the translated versions, courtesy of Google here and here (though unfortunately, the structure of the sentences and meaning of the words might not be too accurate). I doubt The Star or NST will be reporting this soon - if this is true, isn't this an embarrassment to the local government that the people in their area need to resort to borrowing money from loan sharks to repair roads?

Giving it time...and being patient

This has been a long-ish week (pardon my English) - or at least it seems long enough. Maybe because there's too many things that I needed to do and all of them were of different stuff. Confuse? Haha...well for example, there is work related stuff, performance dialog, bank stuff and then there is the other 'thing' early in the week, which required me to take half a day off.

Not a lot right? Yeah, I guess not upon reflection...but work has involved covering for a few different areas - which has led me to start using a To-do List again, just to keep track. I first learned how to do to a To -do List when I was working in the UK. It's actually a requirement as part of the evidence for an NVQ Level 4 Management accreditation by the Chartered Institute of Management in the UK. Haha...I guess I just wanted to write that down - call it bragging or whatever - but it was something I really think of as a good achievement that has not been academically related.

Sad to say, I'm not really applying much from what I learned then. And I do feel it's a waste. Working as a software engineer, technical competency and my ability to deliver comes first- which in turn has a big impact on my performance. Yeah, I guess this is a continuation of my previous entry. Too much on my mind.

I have given much thought on my career and where I'm heading this week. And despite the stress that comes with it, I guess it's good opportunity and also one that I should have done earlier. In a way, some of the frustration at my current position is because of impatience. Being slow in picking up on work has got me thinking that it's going to take a while to climb up the corporate ladder, since there are quite a few senior engineers in my department and seems more capable to offer more in terms of experience and deliverables.

In the short term, I think the best course of action is to prepare a development plan for the year ahead as well as taking that the right actions that would enable me to move into another area, such project management. But I hate giving up on a challenge - plus it's not like I need to rush things, right? - and so will give myself that one year to meet the current challenge, perform and see if it was really worth it in the end. Remaining optimistic should be the key, no? Hard work pays they say, and so I endeavor to find out if it really is rewarding.

Deliverables or no deliverables

It's been a long day...and yet it has gone by pretty fast. Hehe...I'm contradicting myself again. I guess what I mean is that I have done a lot today (or perhaps much has taken place in one day), but didn't really feel the time as it flew by.

I'm on a half-day leave today, but even that was no rest. And after lunch, back at work, there was a meeting and then continued by another meeting...and before I knew it, it's already 5pm.

The first meeting was a semi-short one - but that's because it's really a performance review rather than a meeting per se. And it didn't really go too well in my opinion. I would say it was kind of expected but still it doesn't go down well when your manager tells you that on the "Opportunity" side, you need to increase productivity and that your deliverables for the past few months has been low. When he said "Opportunity", it was merely a nice way of saying "weakness" - management talk and all. I know this because a few minutes earlier he just gave me his comments on what he saw as my strengths - always start with the positives, right?

Haha...anyway, I said I expected simply because I was having a hard time ramping up with the feature development I was assigned to work on. Though it's not to say that I have not done anything this year nor does it mean I haven't delivered anything. Just that - at least it seems to me - my manager seems to put more weight on deliverables from solving issues and other technical related stuff. And after speaking to two other colleagues about their performance review, I guess my assumption isn't far off.

Well, to cut a long story short, I kind of gave some reasons (valid ones, of course) for my so-called low deliverables and he seemed to accept it. So I guess I have like 1-2 months to ramp myself up and get better visibility in terms of handing in these "deliverables". And you know the funny thing? I'm going to have a new manager for my next performance review. In total, this is going to be my fourth manager this year alone...brilliant! How the hell do they even keep track of what I have done for the whole year? I guess it'll be down to those quantifiable and visible deliverables again - which means improving my technical competency and resolve issues in a shorter period of time. Boring...

OK, I'm ranting...but the only solution to my problem is to give up on being a development engineer and try moving on to say, something like program/project management. But I hate giving up...though I guess I'm nearing my threshold of being patient...so we'll see when I get my yearly performance rating at the end of this year. Might help me decide better.

Heroes - Season 2: Great start!

I just finished the first episode for Heroes - Season 2. I must say, they managed to made a great start and really kept me intrigued on what's going to happen next. Still lots of mysteries and unknowns. Should finish the episode two tomorrow ;p

Hehe...and I would certainly like to know how the Kensei - who has now turned out to be a 'gaijin' would work out. Oops! Did I drop a spoiler? ;p Anyway, I think a lot of people out there has already watched the first episode, so not much to spoil, right?

Well, for those who has not, what are you waiting for? Oh, and do watch this clip for a bit of inside info on Heroes 2 from the actors.

Work...what can I say?

It's been a busy few days. In fact it's been a busy few weeks. And frankly I think I need a break - need to recharge. Haha...a two week break now would be like heaven sent.

Well, maybe work has been...dunno...less than motivating? I recall saying this to a colleague at work and he asked "what kind of motivation do you need?" - in a surprised and kind of disbelief manner.

For me, work should not be just work - unless the pay or benefit is extremely well. I know, most often we do not have much choice. But still, I would like to say that there are three things that matters when it comes to being motivated to go to or be at work.

1) Work environment
- Nice office or work place. Good facilities - perhaps a reading room, games room/area, etc. Anyone seen the clip about the working environment at Google? OK, maybe they can afford it. But the point is the idea of providing fantastic facilities and perks to keep your employees working hard and giving more than they are expected to. It's no surprise why they come out tops in the 100 Best Companies to work for.

2) Working relationship
- One of the top reasons often quoted when people leave a company is not because the pay is bad or the facilities are poor. But it's usually because they cannot get along with their immediate supervisor or manager. This is very true particularly if he/she is giving you a hard time - no visibility, no credits, and yet lots of work piled up for you to finish.
- The other is a good working relationship with team members of a project and other colleagues. If there are a lot of politicking and back stabbing, then there's really no point in staying - unless you are one of those types.

3) Pay
- Money is always a great motivator in today's world. Call me materialistic or whatever. Sometimes, the work environment may not be great - but you can still do your work at peace. And working relationship with your boss and colleagues are...well, just colleagues - you do your job and I'll do mine. At this point, there isn't much motivation really - like I said, work will be just that - work. A lot of managers will tell you that money is not everything and that getting the right job is key. Getting to do the things you want to do is important, they say. Unfortunately, things sometimes doesn't work that way. With the rising cost of living and not forgetting, rising inflation, how much you get paid is equally (if not more) important. If another company is paying more for doing the same amount of work you are currently doing, wouldn't you leave? The last questions is particularly true for those who has a family to support.

My theory is that when it reaches the point where two of the above ingredients are no longer available or satisfactory, it's time to start looking for better opportunities. But this of course, really depends on one's capability and confidence in securing another similarly paid job.

I seem to be rambling a lot about work, huh? Maybe it's stress. Maybe I need a new role at work. Maybe I need some motivation.

Hellgate: London Theme Song

This is nice. Check out the theme song of the soon to be released PC Game, Hellgate: London by Flagship Studios, here. (I tried to upload the mp3 to blogger, but seems to have encountered some problems)

If you have the time, do visit their homepage and watch the cool videos of this upcoming game. Its creators are none other than those that created the award-winning Diablo® series.

You can also pre-order the game now and get it in time for Halloween! Target release date: 31st October 2007.

Anyone in the Beta already? ;p

Beware: Toilet Squads on the Move!

According to this piece of news, apparently the Perak state will be forming what is called the "toilet squad". This is after the recent criticism by the Auditor-General in its latest report,

"which charged that toilets in most recreational parks in the state were deplorable, poorly maintained and dirty, the New Sunday Times said."

Not wanting to befoul my blog with any pictures of dirty Malaysian toilets, I leave it to your imagination as to how dirty the toilets are that would have led to these "ingenious" squads to be formed. Truly the Malaysian style of getting the job done. Toilet squads...wow...whoever came up with that idea...just wow.

The original news reporting from NST here.