Cell Phones

(1) Why is the sound quality always so poor and is it ever going to get better?

(2) Why are terrorists continuing to use cellphones going to contact each other? Are they ever going to wise up?

The Meroitic Origin of the Oromos, and the Christianization of Africa : Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis

Fresh post-colonial approaches to African History focus on early stages of Christianization of Africa, Egypt and Abyssinia, and find there the reasons of the Meroitic emigration to present day (Biyya) Oromo land.

Basically, according to this everything you know about African Christianity is wrong.

Interesting, but I'm not buying it.

Top News Story (really): A Blinking Jesus in Hoboken

align=left title=blinking-jesus-statue alt=blinking-jesus-statue> WABC: Believers Say Religious Statue Is 'Alive' The Sacred Heart of Jesus statue is the centerpiece of a nativity scene outside the Jackson Street public housing complex in Hoboken. Some witnesses say they saw the statue open its right eye, and turn its head toward the crowd. Many call the event a miracle that could help rescue the neighborhood from problems like drugs and violence.

Choice

I'm reading this from a book first published in 1985 and it's hard to believe that it was taken seriously:

...partly on Scripture and partly on the insight of modern psychology which holds that human beings have the capacity to make basic decisions that determine the whole orientation of their life.

People sin in thought, word, deed and omission. That is the capacity. That is our nature.

The idea that we can make a basic decision not to sin, not to be selfish, to love God and neighbor, apart from striving not to sin, not to be selfish, and to love God and neighbor is as much a lie as the one which Satan told to Eve in the Garden.

It is not only the decision not to sin, but the decision to repent, have a conversion of heart and make reparation for sin which is at the heart of the Catholic faith.

For people who accepted the false notion of "fundamental option" as legitimate Catholic teaching I pray that God has special mercy for them and wrath for those who promoted it.

Thomas Bokenkotter, (1992) Dynamic Catholicism New York: Doubleday

I really wish the news on Msgr. Woolsey was positive but...

'Sins' of the Msgr. on trial : New York Daily News

A Manhattan Monsignor with a weakness for Rolex watches, fine dining, expensive clothes and golfing vacations in sunny Spain was charged yesterday with looting more than $800,000 from his upper East Side parish.

Msgr. John Woolsey, 67, could spend 15 of his golden years in prison if he's convicted of filching from the collection plate at St. John the Martyr Church to pay for his luxurious lifestyle, prosecutors said.

Why Not a 'Million Muslim March'? : Wall Street Journal
(paid subs. reqd.)

By AHMED H. AL-RAHIM

Two recent events have sent shock waves through Egypt. The later of the two was the terrorist bombing of the resort town of Sharm al-Sheikh. The first, unnoticed in the West but no less unsettling, was the silencing of a liberal scholar, Sayyid Mahmud al-Qimany.

Mr. Qimany, an outspoken critic of Islamism whose many writings have been banned by al-Azhar University (Sunni Islam's most revered institution of higher education), recently received a death threat declaring him an apostate. "We have individuals," the message read, "who are willing to cleanse their sins with your blood." The individuals threatening him wished to make an example of Mr. Qimany in the same way they had of his fellow secular writer Farag Fouda, assassinated in 1992.

If Mr. Qimany did not retract his statements and writings against the Islamists, his fate was death. Despite the Egyptian government assigning bodyguards to protect him, he knew that once he was declared an apostate, the state could do little to prevent the Islamists from assassinating him. So to spare his family the fate that befell Fouda's, Mr. Qimany recanted all his writings, promising never to write again. He knew that he was alone in his battle against the dark forces of Islam; his only weapon was his pen, which alas he surrendered to the Islamists as others before him surrendered their lives.

The silencing of Mr. Qimany could not come at a worse time, when there are so few Muslims speaking out against Islamism and the recent spate of bombings. Sadly, only the voices of Western political leaders constantly remind us that Islam is a "religion of peace." Where are the Muslims, especially those living in the West, who have the freedom to organize and make their voices heard? It seems that the only time we hear from the Muslim masses is when there are alleged desecrations of the Quran, or of prisoner abuse in Iraq. Where is the Muslim outrage, the mass protests to defend Islam, in whose sacred name murder is committed nearly every day, against what Western leaders describe as a "perversion of its true nature"?

Alas, the battle against Islamism -- and also for the heart of Islam -- has become a battle for the West to fight. As a Muslim, these acts of terrorism committed by fellow Muslims -- and yes, they are Muslims, from whom we cannot distance ourselves by the sophistry that asserts that their version is but a perversion of Islam -- are a great source of shame. But what is more shameful is that there are no mass Muslim protests to speak of against terrorism that is committed in our name. In the same way that Muslims have protested against alleged desecrations of the Quran, they now should be out in full force in the streets of Cairo, London and New York, sending a clear message to the Islamists that Enough is Enough. Why not a "Million Muslim March" on Washington, of law-abiding Muslim citizens clamoring to reclaim their faith from those who would kill innocents in its name? Muslims must no longer stand by while murder and suicide bombings are committed in their name.

Mr. Rahim, an Iraqi-American, has taught Arabic and Islamic studies at Harvard University.

Exactly along the lines of what I had blogged yesterday.

Continuing: Beyond the Da Vinci Code

Just before the break, they brought up the Gospel of Philip "kiss".

Timothy Freke says its all about the awareness of Christ within us and not a Church.
Deidre Good says there was no hierarchy.

No attempt at balance yet at the end of the first half-hour. It's the Starbird show.

Take a drink of your favorite beverage each time you hear "archetype".

Decoding the Past : History Channel Presents

Beyond the Da Vinci Code

Some live blogging...

• Starts out with the defeat of the Cathars
  
• On the plus side, the narrator called it fiction.
  
• Karen Ralls is the first authority in the account.
  
• Margaret Starbird is condescending regarding what we call "truth" today.
  
• Dan Burstein says it's worth a look.
  
• Another smirking fellow says it is fiction
  
• But there's a guy like a Hells Angels biker who says its real, but not proven.
  

Selectively speaking out

Muslim moderates can always be found to appear side by side with secular and Christian leaders after a terrorist attack to condemn it. What's missing is a sustained effort on their part to challenge the preachers of hate. Somehow, Christian and Jewish leaders are able to marginalize their violent "cells". Is there a Christian along the lines of Pat Robertson or Bishop Gregory or any leader you care to name supporting Eric Rudolph or Timothy McVeigh or any religiously-inspired violence?

The violence undertaken by Christians and Jews in the name of their respective religions is constantly being criticized - even if it's only one person.

It takes a notary public (this gets explained below)

$9M 'Seed' Money : New York Post

Unwitting sperm-bank dad sues ex, NYU

A Brooklyn man who claims his estranged wife forged his name to get hold of his frozen sperm and used it to conceive a daughter has been ordered to pay child support — and has filed a multimillion-dollar suit for reimbursement.

The lawyer for the unwitting dad, LIRR engineer Deon Francois, says New York University's famed fertility clinic should be responsible for the little girl's expenses through college.

The bizarre saga began in 1997 when Francois and his wife, Chaamel, married. Five years later, unable to conceive, the couple consulted experts at NYU, and Deon provided a sperm sample in July 2002.

But the marriage hit the rocks, and Deon left Chaamel in April 2003.

Deon's lawyer, John James, said that according to the NYU contract, the frozen sperm should have been destroyed when his client stopped paying storage fees.

"Personally, I think that NYU should pay the child support and put this child through college," he said.

In court papers, Deon, 34, claims that Chaamel, 36, paid the storage fees until December 2003, when she forged his name on a release, had it notarized and underwent the first of two in-vitro fertilizations.

The following August, Deon visited his wife and said he was shocked to see her pregnant.

"I said, 'So who are you pregnant from?' " he recalled. "She said, 'It's yours.' I said, 'Don't tell me you went to the clinic and did what I think you did.' "

The girl, Nazair, was born Nov. 24, 2004, and Francois said Chaamel immediately hit him up for support.

In court papers, Chaamel, an art teacher and truancy officer at Brooklyn's Wingate HS, denies deceiving Deon.

"For years, we have collectively attempted to conceive a child with the assistance of a fertility clinic," she said in an affidavit.

"He knew full well that I was continuing with our joint efforts."

Deon is seeking $9 million from NYU, his wife and the notary whose seal appears next to Deon's "signature."

The notary, Howard Biren, says in court papers that Chaamel stole his seal.

Francois says he has not asked that criminal charges be filed in connection with the alleged forgery; NYU declined to comment and it's not clear whether the school or the notary is seeking Chaamel's prosecution.

The latest chapter in the bizarre saga took place last Thursday, when Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Sarah Krauss, who is hearing their divorce case, refused to lower his $400 weekly child-support payments for Nazair, who is now 8 months old.

Francois says he's seen the little girl only twice and is heartbroken about being excluded from her life.

"I wanted to be there," the 34-year-old dad said. "I wanted to be in the delivery room. I wanted to raise that child. I want to be there for that child."

Steven Gildin, a lawyer for Chaamel, said the judge's decision on child support was easy.

"It is completely irrelevant as to how this child was conceived, whether it's through intercourse or through a fertility clinic," said Gildin.

"If you don't protect the child, what becomes of the child, who is the most innocent person in this scenario?"

Catholic teaching on human sexuality has two parts. The more familiar is that it is contrary to divine command and to the natural order to separate the sexual act from the possibility of conceiving a human child. The less familiar is that it is likewise immoral to separate human conception from the sexual act.

Here we have a good example of the wisdom and justice of the latter part of that Catholic teaching. In the specifics of the conception and life of Nazair Francois, I'm not judging them only the political and cultural climate that has made reproductive choice such a confusing mess.

Deon and Francois are not divorced but they are in the process of being divorced, so decisions in their lives are being made by Sarah Krauss who is a state judge.

Deon doesn't to pay child support for Nazair, but he wants to raise her.

Chaanel wants Deon to pay $400 a week for child support (He's a LIRR engineer), but doesn't want Deon to have any contact with Nazair.

In the eyes of the law (at least as far as Steve Gildin, Chaanel's attorney and Judge Krauss, it doesn't matter if the child was conceived without the knowledged and consent of Deon, and in the course of criminal actions by Chaanel. She stole the notary's seal and stole the sperm, and she gets to keep the fruit of those acts.

Deon's sense of justice is that the notary and NYU should pay to raise Nazair.

The notary's defense is that his seal was stolen by Chaanel, and NYU's defense is that they are the victims of a fraud.

This little girl needs the intercession of her patron saint, Saint Nazarius, a martyr under the persecution of Nero.

To Preempt Criticism

A theme I keep seeing in comments on the decision to search bags here in New York is that it's really a CVA move on Bloomberg's part and the NYPD.
If there were an explosion, and bags were not being randomly searched, Bloomberg and the NYPD would be criticized for not doing so.

The Darkroom Disappears

I had a darkroom for several years but with the time spent raising my kids my darkroom activity faded away as a lesser priority.

I finally said goodbye today throwing out all the expired chemicals and other materials. There's no one to give it to. I gave the enlarger away some time ago.

I found some flawed prints from 15 and 20 years ago which was like opening a time capsule.

Searching Bags

Random bag searches have started here in New York City. People who support the searches are getting interviewed and people who don't support the searches are not being interviewed, but some people are angry. One idiot screamed he had a bomb and shut down Penn Station for a few hours. (AP news)

The unions are griping about not be paid for special training to identify what is suspicious.
(Journal News)

A bad guy can see that searches are taking place and just turn around.

A person whom I suspect may have a financial interest in it, complained that the searches should be done with a magnetometer as is done in the airport.
(New York Times)

A Child Not a Choice Dept.

Newborn Born To Mother Killed By Stray Bullet Clings To Life

As police search for a killer, the tiny newborn reportedly delivered by emergency C-section after his mother was hit by a stray bullet in Brooklyn Saturday is clinging to life.

Published reports say the 2-pound baby was delivered 10 weeks premature at Long Island College hospital moments after his mother died.

Nicole Sutton, the victim, was a bystander.

Rudy Giuliani is given a gift.

Rudy coincidentally was in London on 7/7. If you haven't been following his story, he is out of government and now runs Giuliani Capital Advisors, an investment bank.

(Full disclosure: while I admired Rudy as mayor, I do not want him to be the Republican nominee for President in 2008).

Rudy knows how to respond to terrorists. It's a shame that he turned down the Homeland Security job. It's a shame that he's declined to run against Hillary in 2006 -- I believe because he believes that she is unbeatable.

Rudy has been on every talk show I listen to, include Rush Limbaugh, who very rarely has guests on.

His points are great: We need to make our targets harder for them to hit. We need to take the war to their territory. We need to do the things that make their efforts difficult or even impossible.

For everyone who wants terrorism on the front page and Natalee Holloway off the front page this is a gift. We need to respond like New York and London and not like Madrid.

Sports Update

It's a month into new football season in England. Barclays English Premier League will start in mid August. Teams are preparing their pre-season tour in their respective manner - Manchester United are in China for the Far East Trip; Bolton, Manchester City, Everton are competing for the Asia FA Cup in Thailand, where the host competes with the trio with their U-23 team; Chelsea will be playing against AC Milan next Monday.

With the preparations going on. Chelsea again, will be the centre stage of the world again, with the deep pocket provided by their Russian Tycoon owener - Roman Abramovich. (Side fact: Russian Roman Abramovich ranks top 25 in the world's richest man list, and he's the youngest among top 25 at the age of 38) Having already acquired full back Del Horno from the Spain, and a 21 million pound Shaun Wright-Phillips from Manchester City, the Blues are looking onto strengthen their squad by luring Michael Essien from the French side Lyon. Chelsea have been denied in several attempts in their search for a quality striker, they now look on to acquire the young Ghanaian in bid to their own quest of win-it-all season next term. They were already a runaway champion last term, winning the league margin ahead of top two English team for the past decades, Arsenal and Manchester United.

In contrast to the multispending Chelsea, Manchester has been considerably quiet in the transfer market, while having their own saga going on. Manchester United have recently been bought by American billionnaire Malcolm Glazer, who later delisted Manchester United from the stock market, making them from a PLC (public limited company) to a solely-owned team. So far, in their summer transaction, they have only secured veteran Dutch keeper Edwin Van Da Saar (Fulham), and South Korean midfielder, Park Ji-Sung (PSV Eindhoven). Spotlight was also on central-defender Rio Ferdinand over the halt of the contract talks.

Arsenal, meanwhile, had took a gamble by offloading their ever influencial and iconic midfield caption Patrick Viera to Juventus. Arsene Wenger seems to have been prepared for the life-after Viera, as he looks on to replace the void left by the combative midfielder. I am sure Mr. Wenger has little problem in that, as he has undoubted talent on unearthing young talents, scouting a virtually unknown player, and making them a superstar in ARsenal.

And so, the football business continues.. I can't write too much here. It'll be pages long if I go on.

******************************************************************************


From football, we move on to basketball. Here's a quickie on what's going on with NBA. I wrote bit on the NBA Draft, where teams get to picked their rising stars from the colleges. Now, the move is to acquire free agents, signing them or re-signing them. Here are the updates:

1. Atlanta Hawks
2. Boston Celtics
3. Charlotte Bobcats
4. Cleveland Cavaliers
- Reported to have signed Toronto's Donyall Marshall
- Resigned center Z Ilgauskas
- Signed Larry Hughes of Washington Wizards, whom had performed superbly last season with the Wizards, before injury took his All Star Berth away.
5. Chicago Bulls
6. Detroit Pistons
- Larry Brown stepped down as Head Coach
- Flip Saunders was hired as Head Coach
7. Denver Nuggets
8. Dallas Mavericks
9. Golden State Warriors
10. Houston Rockets
- Captured Memphis' athletic forward Stromile Swift
11. Indiana Pacers
12. LA Lakers
- Reported to have acquired Washingon Wizard's Kwame Brown via trade, sending Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins to the opposing side.
13. LA Clippers
- Reported to have secured signature for Catino Mobley, after he had rejected Sacramento King's offer.
14. Minnesota Timberwolves
15. Miami Heats
- Re-signed forward Udonis Haslem
16. Milwaukee Bucks
- Signed Most Improved Player last term from LA Clippers -- Bobby Simmons
- Re-signed Michael Redd
17. New Jersey Nets
- Signed Shareef Abdul Rahim from Portland to fill the void left by Kenyon Martin
- Re-signed Clifford Robinson
- In talk with Atlanta's Chris Crawford
- Rumoured to have talk with Damon Stoudamire of Portland
18. New Orlean Hornets
19. New York Knicks
- Signed Seattle's center Jerome James
- Traded Kurt Thomas for Phoenix's Q Richardson and Nate Robinson (rookie from draft)
20. Orlando Magic
21. Philadephia 76ers
- Reported to make deal with Kyle Korver and Willie Green
22. Phoenix Suns
- Acquired Kurt Thomas, sending Q Richardson and Nate Robinson to NYK
23. Portland Trailblazers
24. Sacramento Kings
25. San Antonio Spurs
- Made another international acquisition, Argentine center Oberto
26. Seattle Supersonics
- Resigned Ray Allen
27. Toronto Raptors
28. Utah Jazz
29. Washington Wizards
- Signed Seattle's Antonio Daniels to replace Larry Hughes.
30. Memphis Grizzlies


* Teams are not allowed to sign or announce their signing of their players until 22 July.

******************************************************************************

That would be all for now. More updates to come.
This weekend will be in Kuching. Nice to return home.

Farewell James Doohan. May his soul rest in peace.

USA Today has a good obit on Star Trek's Scotty, James Doohan. I didn't know this but he was a veteran of the Normandy invasion.

I met him at a Star Trek con back in the 1970's (after the show was cancelled and before any of the movies).

For people who were kids like me during the original run of the series, all of the cast were enormously popular, memorable, and influential in their optimistic but not boring version of the future.

Networks that never were

The world is TCP/IP but this wasn't always so. Another stack of protocols were intended to replace TCP/IP in the early 1990's. These protocols were part of a family called OSI for Open Systems Interconnection. It represented an attempt by the companies that had rejected TCP/IP (notably IBM and Digital Equipment) to impose a standard using the hammer of government mandates to have a better mousetrap.

It failed because of its complexity and inertia from its backers to produce what the TCP/IP backers had do: cheap working code available as open source.

Someone at Slashdot was recently thinking about this as well.

One Protocol to Rule Them All? Maybe Not (Datamation) discusses the last commerical customers using DECNET.

Supreme Court Math

The fact that Bush and not Gore or Kerry is nominating the replacement for O'Connor is a good thing, but one vote doesn't change much.

There are still five justices sitting on the court, a majority, who have affirmed Roe v. Wade: Justices Breyer, Ginsburg, Kennedy, Souter, and Stevens.

With Roberts there are only 4 votes to reverse Roe: Rhenquist, Roberts, Scalia, Thomas.

For five reverse Roe votes, not only Rhenquist needs to be replaced with a justice like himself able to reverse Roe, but one more justice who has affirmed Roe (i.e. Ginsberg who is 72 or Stevens who is 85)

John Roberts is good choice

There's no doubt that he is an originalist. However, it's going to be difficult to appeal to the public that he's outside the mainstream.

They can always demand more documents from Roberts time in the executive branch.

Sign, Veto or Some Combination: Pataki and the Emergency Contraception Bill

As Gov. George E. Pataki prepares to decide the fate of a bill to make emergency contraception available to women and girls, his associates say one of the courses he is considering is a compromise.

For weeks, those on both sides of the issue have been saying that what the governor does on this bill will be an indication of whether he will run for the White House.

A simple veto could indicate that he was trying to win support among Republican voters nationwide who are opposed to abortion, they said, and simply signing it could show that Mr. Pataki was thinking of New York voters and of seeking a fourth term as governor.

I want to focus on a few stories that aren't headlines in the Catholic blogs right now. This bill permits high dosage RU-486-type Plan-B-type drugs to be sold over the counter to anyone.

These drugs are being abused by pregnant women to abort unborn children. The drugs have also been given secretly to induce abortion as well without the consent of the mother.

The Question we are all asking

Is Clement another Souter?

A judge with a thin, generally conservative record, who wants to go with the flow in the Supreme Court and doesn't embrace the idea that the text of the Constitution should be interpreted as it was written as Scalia and Thomas believe it should be.

We thought we elected Bush not to give us another Anthony Kennedy or David Souter.

Update: Bush defenders like Limbaugh and Hannity are drinking Bush Kool-Aid today. The point isn't that we have to wait and hold off judgment on her conservative credentials -- it's that Bush appears to have put up someone who's not clearly an originalist.

This appointment might be the only one that Bush will have. Let him keep his campaign promise on this one.

She would be 65 today.

28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne died in a car driven off a bridge by
Senator Edward Kennedy. Now its been 37 years since 1968.

His failure to promptly report the accident may have killed her if there was an air pocket in the car.

His motive for now reporting the accident promptly was concern that he might be tested for being drunk and not being able to control the publicity around the incident.

Excellent post at the Belmont Club

The fight against Islamic terrorism is often yoked to other and less desirable goals. Whether used to promote a national ID card, the European Union, the cause of British New Labor, or certain Israeli political parties the fight against terror rarely rises to the pure vision expressed by President George Bush: to overthrow the corrupting influence within a world religion and to bring freedom to the dysfunctional societies of the Middle East and South Asia. But then, Islamic militants have used a variety of local issues -- from Kashmir to Timor; from Mindanao secession to returning to Granada -- to advance their own agenda. Viewed up close the "bloody borders of Islam" consist as much of local political conflict as they do of the worldwide issues like Iraq or the restoration of the Global Caliphate. On the level of ideology the fight may have been between an 8th century religious creed and the democratic ideal, but its local manifestation is always going to be Bush against Kerry; Aznar against Zapatero.

But not only has radical Islamism stirred up local mischiefs, it has also functioned as a bellows to fan the flames across other smoldering divides: the conservatives versus the Left; Europe versus America; the Third World versus the First World. It is almost as if the historical narrative, after seeming to settle into the smooth patch of the 1990s, had been reanimated across its entire spectrum by the Islamic disturbance, which shook things loose from their momentary stoppage and got things flowing again. Although the War on Terror is ostensibly a fight against the nihilism of radical Islam, it is probably much more: just how much more history will presently tell us. Radical Islam may find they are in the grip of larger forces whose power they have unleashed, which in their arrogance they sought to control only to find that events have acquired a dynamic of their own.

The only thing I can add is that if the strategy and tactics of the Republicans are not up to the job, and clearly the Democratic party's appeasement/surrender strategy is not an option, there might be a political movement to send Muslims "home", whereever that might be, or to plant a cross, swastika, 50 star flag, or fasces on top of the Kaaba and solve a problem festering since 636 AD in the event that peaceful co-existence doesn't appear to work out.

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Psycho attacks two NYPD officers and statue of St. Anne with the Blessed Virgin Mary

Two Officers Recovering After Queens Shootout : 1010 WINS

A man with a history of psychiatric problems shot and critically injured two police officers outside a church where he had fired at a statue of the Virgin Mary early Sunday, police said.

The officers, shot several times each, were lucky to be alive, the police commissioner said.

The gunman also was injured in the shootout outside Saints Joachim and Anne Church in Queens Village, police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.

CBS News has a video link

M.I.A.

I've been missing in action over the past week. It's been a busy week, packed with hectic schedule. I even left my previous post "The Call" unfinished. I am finally, kinda free at this point. Just resumed my unfinished post on the Maxis 3G Day 2 in my Photo Journal post.

First of all, I'd like to express my belated birthday wishes to 2 of my friends, whom had their birthday on the 9th July and 12th July respectively -- Happy Belated Birthday! (Although I had sent them wishes on the exact day, I still thought it's a gesture needed here). I'm trying to maintain a no-name policy in this blog, but not sure if I had mentioned any in my previous blog. hehe.. nevermind. Also, I have another friend who's celebrating her birthday today on the 16th July. Happy Birthday!

Okay.. I guess that's about it for the birthday dedications.

Now, here's what I have been busy with. It's mentioned in this post. And, the final product would be here! Harry Potter book 6 -- Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is launched today worldwide.. I ain't fan of the Potter dude, so not gonna elaborate too much on the book. And if you can read chinese, click here, and you will see why I was busy with what I had been busy with. Of course, not forgetting about my Final Interview for the job in Cyberjaya. It was really tiring to attend interviews. And, I spent quite a lot just to get myself there for the interview! I was quite nervous during the interview session, I was not quite sure what I was saying during the session. I guess it is pretty normal for people to be nervous huh? I don't really hope much for the interview, I mean I love the environment, the company.. it's very impressive, pretty good prospect, but I HATE the location, it's in Cyberjaya! Not where I want to be. Result will be known in 10 work days' time, that's what I was told, I think I have a week more to know if I get the job or not.

So job hunting will continue, target: KL area. Not much to blog about. I've been smiling all week long, I'm just happy. So, hopefully this will last long.

Till next entry.. Signing off... (back to reading Promotional Management)

London Terror

The world is saddened by yet another terror attack. This time London. The series of bomb attacks, first explosions was recorded at 8.51am (London time), ripped through central London. Just 24 hours after winning the bid to host the 2012 Olympic games, joy was soon over, andit was marred by this dark moment of terror attack.

Four explosions occurred during morning rush hour in central London. The hit places were the public transport network in London. So far, the reported number of casualties hit 37 dead and more than 700 injured. The attack brought grieves throughout the world.

I was really glad that my friend in UK is safe and sound. She's in Birmingham. She told me that she planned to travel to London, but had overslept and missed the bus. I really thank God for that. Who knows what might happen if she had gotten onto the bus!

I am really saddened by this, can't write too much on this entry now. Let's mourn for the dead, and pray for the world peace. May God bless all the souls!

Please stop world terror... and welcome world peace...

Day1: The Call

Tuesday (5 July 2005)
1644 hr...

Received a call from an unfamiliar number. It was a call up for an assessment test, and that the details would be forwarded to my email account. I was shocked, surprised and excited. It was my official first call up for interview. And, it is from a considerably large corporate. (I would prefer keeping the names to myself) The assessment would be at 9am the following day. The moment the conversation ended, I knew I had to made arrangements and adjustments. My current schedule has been quite messed up, and this assessment thing, and twisted it to the worse end. I am more messed up now.


Wednesday (6 July 2005)
0800 hr...

Oh, before I go on any further.. Happy Birthday Yin! (It's a day later when I write this entry.. but still.. Happy Birthday!) I sent a text message to you, did you get that? Anyways, at this hour, I was in the taxi on my way to Cyberjaya for the assesment test. Yes, the location is at Cyberjaya. Don't really like that place, it's like a modern desert! Living hell for me.. It has almost NOTHING there!


0845 hr...

Arrival at the scene. Time stated on the information given was at 9pm (sharp). So, I thought I'd better reach there earlier than later, and not screw up any impression that I have. Somehow, this whole assessment thing, still could not avoid the effect of one of the most influential 'Malaysian culture' -- candidates arriving after 9am, and even the person in charged greeted us around 0920.. That's so not cool! Half an hour wasted!


0924 hr...

Company tour: I'm totally impressed with the environment and the facilities. The place is sooo cool! Really impressive. I just can't put them in words here, and too bad I was not allowed to take any photos of it there. Just too bad. You should see it to feel it! The company policies aren't bad as well. Pretty good prospect.


minutes around 1000 hr...

Arrival at the training rooms: This is where we had our assessment tests. The moment I sat down, my head and eyes could not help turning leftwards, where a gorgeous lady was sitting. She's a white, she's just simple gorgeous. Hehe. Well, I don't know if they put this lady from HR department to distract candidates during tests. (I had my head turning several times, and my focus distracted during the listening comprehension part! Ouch!)

There were 3 parts for the test - EPT, APT and Written Test.. (sounds very much like an English paper huh?)

And it is English paper. EPT - English Language Proficiency Test, is where they test your English, reading and listening comprehension. I'll just skip this part, it was nothing much to mention about.

Here comes the APT - Aptitude Test (or some sort). This is where we were tested on Vocab, IQ, Calculation and Vocab again.. (Synnonyms). This hurt me a lot! I had been weak in Vocab all these while, and this paper had really some tough ones for me. and I was only given 4 minutes to do 12 questions. That was short! Same goes for IQ test. It took me a while to figure out the pattern, but it was a lil bit too late, only managed to answer 2 or 3 out of 12 questions. (4 minutes!!)

Calculation Part was my best bet. completed 12/18 in 5 mins and 30 secs..! 5 mins! Hell short!
Lastly, test on words again! We were required to do the exercise on Synnonyms! As usual, Tough.. and within 4 mins. I doubt anyone could complete everything in the time given..! Brain was so stressed out after that paper. Gosh...!

Writen Test - this is where you do the writing, answering what's given to you, in written form. Here, I was asked to take a Mandarin version. (I was asked if I could speak and write in Mandarin or not prior the test) And gosh, I did not prepare for this! Never I have expected that I would need to do mandarin test! Anyways.. Everything finshed off by 1pm.


1300 hr...

All candidates left the hall, heading towards lobby. We were told that results would be known within a week's time.. So, I left and waited for transport to head back to the city..


4-5 hours later...

Received a call from them...
"May I speak to Allen please?"
"Yes, speaking."
"Hi, I'm calling from the HR Department. We would like to inform you that the assessment test was a success."
"What? That was fast?""blah blah blah ( just wanna jump into the main point)... We would like to arrange a time with you for your final interview. Would it be okay for your if it's 6.30pm tomorrow?.."
And so, I had to make another arrangement and adjust ment again.. This is so unexpected! I took leave one day, and will need to take another (partial leave, not even a half day.. I'm still in office now! 2.45pm now!) Will need to head to Cyberjaya again..


Thursday (7 July 2005)
1445 hr...

Typing entry for the blog offline. My boss unplug my cable cos a customer needs it on his laptop. Hmm.. So, might not be able to post this blog on time. Will be going of around 3.30pm later..
So, more to come later..


[... to be continued]

Photo Journal

The photos will tell the story..
Maxis 3G @ KL Convention Centre: Revisited (Day 2)

Warning: Beyond this point, there wil be strictly no words for description or caption. Proceed with your own risk.

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A Day Out

I was given a task by my boss today. I would say it is a notable task since my arrival on 1st June 2005. I was assigned to design a web page. The web page is for an online bookstore, which are going to have this Harry Potter booksale, and preorder for the latest book. I have no say in designing things, but I must say I am having problem with this one.

( My Tasks! )

First, it's Harry Potter.. Harry Who? Harry Porter!! I am not a fan of Harry. I don't really know much bout this Harry dude. That, is not much of a problem. Secondly, I need to do it in Chinese. I don't know what are most of the terms to be used in the web page. It is different, as it is not what we use to communicate everyday! It's Internet language in Chinese. Gosh... Nevermind, I guess I can have that figured out pretty soon. I just need some inspiration.. yeah..

I N S P I R A T I O N..

( Zoom: a different view at the twin towers. If you can see closely, it's taken on rainy day. Rain is visible in my original file. Not sure bout here. )

( shower of rain blurred the visions on Twin Towers )

I had a day out today with my buddy. We went to KLCC, to catch movie and such. Maxis had launched its 3G service yesterday (1st July 2005) at KL Convention Center. They are also having 2 days exhibition on the same venue for the two following days, 2nd and 3rd of July. We have been observing the war of telcos for quite a while now. Back then, they were battling with their prepaid plans and call rates. Celcom, Maxis and Digi were all throwing what they can to win the war. When they were done with the prepaid plan, comes the postpaid plan. Now that the juice is running dry on postpaid plan, 3G service is the new weapon to be drawn out. Celcom had launched 3G service earlier last month, becoming the first telco company to launch 3G in Malaysia. Maxis answered that call by launching their own 3G service yesterday, with an appalling rate for their subscribers, a very, very affordable rate for the entry-level subscribers. Everyone can afford the call rate. It's the same as what you have for the voice calls. I could not have further piece information on the call rates, they had not got broucheres for me. For more information, you can log onto Maxis' official site to check the rates out. (http://www.maxis.com.my/)

( Entrance to the tunnel that links KLCC to another KLCC -- KL Convention Centre )

( Maxis 3G exhibitions )

People in KL is so crazed with the movie Initial D. The tickets for the rest of the day were officially sold out at about 1.30pm today! How is that? I guess one of the reason is that TGV holds the sole distributor right (or whatever right that is..) for the movie. GSC has not got the right to play that movie on big screen, but I have also heard that GSC had already sealed the purchase of the movie right not long ago. They are expected to be showing the movie on big screen much later. All these are just speculations I have heard of, I have not read bout it on a solid, physical evidence.

Hmm.. I am thinking of writing a review on the movie.. Shall I? Maybe will write in separate entry.

( People in queue for movie tickets, you should see the queue 20 mins after this.. but too bad I didn't snap that. I was in queue for some other thing.. )

After KLCC...

My friend and I went off to Wangsamaju to have dinner. There.. it is a paradise for us. For that, the rental is cheap if compared with the amount we are paying right now. And, the choices on food doubles.. or maybe triples than what we have over here in our current place. Most importantly, the food is cheap! We ordered one plate of 'ban mian' - noodle, and a cup of iced Chinese Tea. We were at shock when we paid for it. It's been a while since I last saw a cup of iced Chinese Tea at 30 cents only! The last one I remembered would be while I was still in Malacca. I have not yet seen any in KL with 30 cents only! And, the noodle we ordered, at RM 3.50, the amount we had was like more than what we have in the usual servings! We felt blessed. I wished I could have snapped the photos of the food we had, but too bad, my batt was dead. No photos..

The journey back for us is the tiring part. From Wangsamaju, it will take about 40 minutes or so for us to reach our respective stations by LRT. One thing you hate about KL is.. to be in the LRT train, being cramped as if you're in a sardine can. It's always like that when the clock hits 6pm or so. That's when people start going home from work or school. Sometimes you can't even breathe or move an inch! Crap. I had to stand all the way from Wangsamaju - Kelanajaya! (basically it's from one end to another)

Time to get back to my work. I have until Wednesday to finish my task off..