Tunnel Vision

I enjoy scouring the Internet for weird technology and innovations mainly because of the"Why didn't I think of that?" factor. But when I came across this new "innovation", my brain screamed "What the hell??" Actually, it was a little more "colourful" than that. But I digress.

This is a scarf designed by student Joe Malia. I guess this was dreamed up because of his need for privacy in public places. I wonder why. *wink*

No word on availability but you can read more about it here.

So, for those who constantly receive important attachments (or "interesting" ones, if you get my drift) via email and want to keep them away from prying eyes, this scarf is definitely for you. And you don't have to worry about looking like a total dork in public. The scarf cleverly protects your identity.

Trivial Pursuits

Came across this very interesting list of things that, if memorised, would make you sound like the smartest person in the world. Of course, I would never post anything that I didn't verify myself. So, here the list - what's fact and fiction.

Drum roll please.....

1. The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as a substitute for blood plasma.

This is a fact. Apparently, the liquid was siphoned directly from the coconut and given to wounded soldiers during the war between 1941 and 1945. More can be found here.

2. No piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times.

From this site, it seems like this was true until 2001 when a high school girl named Britney Gallivan came along and by using some mathematical formula (please don't ask me how the formula works) managed to disprove this theory.

3. Donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes.

Let's check the statistics with the International Donkey Transport Authority... What? No such authority? I guess you have the answer.

4. You burn more calories sleeping than when you watch television.

Based on the table given here, it appears to be true as long as you're over 250 pounds.

5. Oak trees do not produce acorns until they are at least 50 years old.

Don't think we have oak trees where I live. But this is true.

6. The first product in the world ever to have a barcode is Wrigley's Spearmint gum.

This is a fact. The next time you have a Wrigley's in your hand, remember that it is part of history. Too bad chewing gum is banned where I am.

7. The king of hearts is the only king without a moustache.

There is a very good explanation of why here. Alright, where's my razor?

8. American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 just by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first-class.

This probably explains why we get puny meals even on long-haul flights. This and more interesting airline trivia can be found here.

9. Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

Is that why Venus is associated with women?

10. Apples, not caffeine, are more effective in waking you up in the morning.

I can't find any facts to prove or disprove this but here's a list of drinks that can keep you awake. Redbull is in there somewhere. *wink*

11. TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters on only one row of the keyboard.

Cool, isn't it? And did you know that "The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog" uses all the letter on a keyboard? You did? *blush*

12. The first owner of the Marlboro Company died of lung cancer.

Ironic, don't you think?

13. Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than all of Nike's factory workers in Malaysia combined.

I really $houldn't have given up on playing ba$ketball when I wa$ young.

14. Barbie's real name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.

How do I know? Just ask Ken! Or you could check with the guys down at Wikipedia.

15. Walt Disney was afraid of mice.

Hogwash, if you ask me. In fact, Mickey Mouse was considered his alter ego. More on the man that put a smile on children's faces all over the world here.

16. Pearls melt in vinegar.

For the technical mumbo-jumbo, click here.

17. It is impossible to lick your own elbow.

Is it? Hmmm....

18. There is an image of or reference to Superman somewhere in every episode of "Seinfeld".

For the Superman fans out there. You know who you are. *wink*

19. 23% of all photocopier faults worldwide are caused by people sitting on them and photocopying their butts.

So, THAT's what photocopiers for!

20 It is recommended that you keep your toothbrush at least 6 feet away from your toilet to prevent airborne particles resulting from a flush from settling on it.

True. I keep my tootbrush in the garden these days.

And the final fact :

Of all the information that was provided here, I'll bet 90% of you would have tried to disprove number 17! :)

My Letter To Mum

Dear Mum,

Eleven years ago today, you left us and this world behind to be in a place where there is peace forever. While you found peace, you left us in a state of shock, turmoil and utter disbelief. You were in hospital may times for far more serious issues but you always walked out unscathed. So, no expected that you'll leave us - and at such a young age at that.

You were admitted to hospital because of a reaction to your medication and when I left you the same evening to run errands, you said you were feeling ok. But when I got back an hour later, they said you had a seizure. Things went downhill from there. The seizure left you with the inability to speak coherently and the recognition of some people. I remember when you were in critical care, someone asked me to get you a drink. I came back with it and when I tried to give it to you, you refused it and stared at me in fear - not knowing who I was. I left the drink in the hands of Dad, who you took from with a smile. I looked on and eventually left the room bravely but cried profusely as soon as I stepped out. "How can a mother not recognise her son?", I implored God. A day later, I guess you decided to be fair to all and slipped into a coma. You now acknowledged no one.

We've never had the best of relationships. There were many things where we did not see eye to eye. Heated quarrels ensued from simple disagreements. Periods of silence clouded these days. But it was always one thing that broke the "cold war"... our love for laughing. Although angry, one of us would see or hear something odd or funny and an unknown reflex would make us turn towards each other. This, of course, is followed by a stomach-cramping laugh. I guess we both had stupid looks on our faces.

Our love for food was another of our weaknesses. This was also the reason why your health failed. We always shared a good meal and sometimes, it'd seemed like we'd go to the ends of the earth to get it. Do you know that I still patronize the fried noodle stall that you used to take me to when I was a little boy? The stall owner, now old and greying, still remembers you fondly.

So much has happened since you've left Dad and me. I know you've been watching over us all these years so I don't need to tell you how we've struggled to get to where we are and the obstacles we've faced. And when you saw how Dad was suffering from his spine surgery, his stroke and how his body was turning against him, you invited him to share the peace that you've enjoyed all these years.

The years on without Dad and you will be even tougher on me. But I am comforted in the belief that both of you are together where no illness or suffering will befall either of you. Wherever you and Dad are or whatever you do, do think of me from time to time and make sure I am on the right path in life always. Like every human being, I am not free from faults but in whatever I do, I wish for the both of you to be proud of me always.

Rest in peace, Mum. Please give my love to Dad too, ya?

Your loving son,

Prem

To Forgive And Forget?

"I forgive everyone", someone very close said to me recently. She was referring to how some family members have wronged her in the past. To the man on the street, this person may appear magnanimous. However, I was extremely annoyed to hear that statement.

The thing is, this person is frequently on the receiving end of unkind and hurtful words, much of which is hurled by her own siblings - despite her undying care, concern and love for them. But she keeps saying that she forgives everyone, even though they still do not give her the appropriate respect accorded to the oldest of the siblings. Sometimes when I am wronged, she advises me to forgive and forget. While I would very much like to be a 'saint' and pardon everyone who has hurt me, I cannot do it. Not that I am an unforgiving person but because of my principles.

To forgive. It takes a person with a very big heart to do so. But before forgiveness can be offered by the wronged, the wrong-doer must ask for forgiveness. To ask for forgiveness is to repent for the mistake made. In every religion, we ask our maker to forgive our sins. Only when we confess our sins and repent that we can be absolved. If you forgive a person who has harmed you without him or her asking for forgiveness, it opens a gate for the wrong-doer to continue with the abuse because he or she has yet to feel remorse, hence perpetuating the situation.

To forget. This one is very tricky. I am not convinced that a person who has been wronged or hurt physically / emotionally can forget what has been done to him. In fact, to remember makes one a stronger person and becomes better equipped to handle the next transgression. I think that it is more important not to hold a grudge after forgiveness. There are those who say they forgive another but in the heat of another moment will rehash how he was wronged or hurt previously. So, it is alright not to forget but once forgiveness is conferred, do not hold a grudge or bring up the subject again. This, to me, is true forgiveness.

What do you think?

The MRI Experience

"I think you might have torn your meniscus. You'll need to get an MRI done", said the doctor after I limped painfully into his office last Wednesday. A few days before, I started feeling a pain in my knee. I figured that it was probably due to a strain and would go away with some care. So, a hot water bottle was placed on the painful area and I took it easy. It improved but came back later in the day again.

After three days, I could not take the pain because it started to hurt even when I was sitting down. So, I made my way to see a specialist. "MRI.... it must be serious", I worried myself. I've never been in an MRI machine before but I've seen enough episodes of ER, Chicago Hope and Grey's Anatomy to know that it was a huge doughnut like machine that people get pushed into the centre of.

"You will not feel a thing in there", the nurse assured me when I was registering myself at the MRI centre. "That's good", I told myself knowing my low threshold for pain. I got into the medical gown that was provided to me and made my way into the MRI room. The machine looked extremely intimidating. Given a few seconds more, I would have chickened out but the MRI technician, the guy who was going to look into my knee, broke my train of thought and handed me earplugs before asking me to make myself comfortable. "Do I need these?", I enquired about the earplugs. "Yes", he said. "It's very loud when the machine is taking the images." Ok, a huge loud machine. I gulped.

Between the pain in my knee and my worry about the monstrous looking machine, I think pain won as I limped towards the flat bed and climbed onto it with the help of the technician. After strapping my leg into a vice-like contraption, the bed was activated and it moved into the "mouth". I felt like it was going to devour me. It stopped and I was told not to move. I tried to calm myself down.

The machine sprung to life. A low hum was heard through the earplugs coupled with a mild vibration. It didn't feel bad at all. In fact, it felt quite soothing. I closed my eyes and..... zzzz.....zzzz......

A little while later, I felt the technician pat me on my shoulder. When I opened my eyes, he had a little worried look on his face. "Are you ok?", he asked. "I'm fine. I fell asleep." The worried look was replaced by a laugh. I think he thought something happened to me while I was in the machine. "You guys are fast", I commended. "Not really", he said. "You've been in there for 45 minutes". Time really flies when you're having a good nap. I felt really rested.

I hobbled out of the MRI room with a tinge of regret not being able to spend a little more time in the frightful looking machine that offered a very deep slumber.

And in case you're wondering what's that in the image, it is the MRI film of my knee!

I Am Me

I was a little hesitant when picking up Ashlee's latest offering because about a year ago, I bought her earlier album called "Autobiography" and didn't enjoy it one bit. I am glad to say that Ashlee has kicked it up a couple of notches with this one.

The must listen to tracks are "Boyfriend", "L.O.V.E", and "Beautifully Broken".

For more on Ashlee's album, visit her official site at www.ashleesimpsonmusic.com

For the uninitiated, Ashlee Nichole Simpson (born 3 October 1984 in Dallas, Texas) is the younger sister of Jessica Simpson. Between the two siblings, I think Ashlee is the one with the most musical talent.

And as for Jessica's "talents", watch the 2005 movie remake of Dukes Of Hazzard.

Home That Prem (And The Mrs) Built - Part Three

We waited all week to be wow'ed. And wow'ed, we were. Unfortunately, not in a good way.

In anticipation of seeing things at our apartment taking shape, we made our way down with a great deal of enthusiasm and excitement last Saturday. Our enthusiasm and excitement was quickly doused when we looked through our apartment's gate (the door has been totally removed!) to see that nothing much has been done since our visit seven days ago.

We walked in and looked around. Ok, the bathroom's wall tiles were being put up, the electrical wiring was in and... a water-pipe was leaking severely in the toilet adjacent to our kitchen! I tried to turn off the main but to no avail. I was annoyed. Our contractors were so irresponsible that they did not check to see if everything was ok prior to leaving work on Friday and left the water running like that. If we had not made our weekly visit, the leaking pipe would have flooded our new home! My wife took the cue from the angry look on my face and called our designer. She assured us that she'd get the contractor to come in and fix it immediately.

A fresh new "battle" surrounding the dining chairs emerged on Saturday. My wife and I saw (and fell in love with) some dining chairs during our furniture shopping trip the Saturday before. It had a nice light yellow colour fabric with a high back-rest. I thought the yellow would brighten the place up and the back-rest would make it comfortable for the after meal chit-chat. My designer had other thoughts. While she approved the colour (maybe she didn't want to offend us), she preferred dining chairs with low back-rest. *sigh* We gave her suggestion some thought and went to see the chairs at a shop she recommended. While the back-rest was low (about the height of our dining table), the seat area was long. This means that for a shorter person to sit in that chair comfortably, he or she would not be able to lean back. I gave my wife a firm "no" and she gave me the thumbs up as she dialed our designer to tell her the "news". I smiled to myself and thought "Designer - 0, Mrs Prem - 1".

Some new ideas came to mind and we shared it with our designer via phone on Sunday. Well, my wife did... I was having my Sunday afternoon siesta. I later learned that our designer was none too pleased with our new input. I guess she had a certain look she wanted for the place but for us, it was more functionality. In the end, we'll be living there, not her and as a result of the size of our place, functionality definitely outweighed design.

And based on the progress (or the lack of it) of the renovation, it seems like we'll have to push back our moving day for a month at least. Meanwhile, to my long awaited two-door fridge and 43" plasma TV - "be patient, my darlings.... we'll be together very soon."


PS. Picture of kitchen on top right of this post.

Copyright - Who's right?

A simple show of hands - how many of you know that downloading an image, a song or writings on the Internet can be an infringement of copyright? Perhaps in our current times, you know for sure. But what about 5 years ago? People knew that duplicating software, movie discs or music CDs constitues an offence. But what about the Internet? It was a new and exciting concept. It gets piped directly (and effortlessly) into your living room and since you already pay for your access, the information that flows through the cables and manifests itself on your screen apprears to be at your disposal. Not many were clear about the laws governing this access to the world.

In the last 5 years, there has been an increased awareness about copyright and intellectual property rights. People of the world are being more and more receptive to the idea of protecting intellectual property. After all, if you've created a wonderful piece of work, the last thing you want it for someone else to profit from it or make multiple copies and share it with others. Infringement of copyright or intellectual property rights is tantamount to theft, no matter which way you cut it. But, what if you were led into taking something believing it was available for your use but once you've used it, the copyright owners slap you with "infringement of copyright" together with a huge settlement fee? I regret to note that some copyright owners are capable of entrapment to make good money. As much as I hate to admit this, I had a front row seat "invitation" to see such injustice at play.

You see something on the Internet - a beautiful graphic, a cute cartoon character, an interesting story. You look at it and say "That is so cool!". Inadvertently, your finger reaches the right button on your mouse. You click it and the pointer sitting on the image produces a menu. You move down to "Save Image As" and click. It is now saved on your computer. Under today's copyright laws, you have now committed a crime. But what if the law is manipulated? "Is that possible?", you ask. Let's see...

Let's say there is a nice graphic on a website. You have no knowledge that it can be bought for your personal use. No price is stated, no copyright message pops up when you right-click, no "Buy Now" icon is present. Only a "Download Now" tag is placed on the bottom right corner. "Download", you think. "Hmmm... that's like a free sample", you tell yourself. It's a nice graphic. You right-click and save it. "It'll look good on my website", you think. And before long, it graces your homepage. Some months later, the owner of the graphic sends you a letter saying you've infringed their copyright and you now have to pay for the graphic and tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, investigation charges and damages. Your world collapses. You think they'll understand if you explain the situation to them but they refuse to listen, insisting on you paying what they feel they are owed.

Since you've committed the "theft", you're always at the losing end. Such is our world. No Government or authority will stand by you. Copyright owners are well aware of this and in this case, take advantage of your misfortune and try to squeeze you of everything you have. You're alone and helpless. You pray for one of two things - for someone to help you out of this messy situation or for someone to "take you away" from it all, if you get my drift.

However, with digging deeper, some interesting facts surfaced :

1. The simple graphic you took is being sold for thousands of dollars. A person with some ability in computer graphics can reproduce the same picture in 2 hours and without too much effort. As a result, not many of these graphics are sold.

2. The copyright owner hire expensive lawyers to sue you. After all, you're the one footing the legal bill since you committed the offence. And because there are hundreds of others like you who have used the graphic without knowing, the copyright owner cleverly uses different legal firms to sue each individual. This way, you can't hire any big guns because they all represent the copyright owner. I believe it is called "conflict of interest". You're stuck with scraping the bottom of the legal barrel for what's left. And most small time lawyers are fearful of going against the legal heavy-weights.

3. The copyright owner uses an Internet investigator that claims to employ "high-tech" sleuthing software to track down such offenders. Because of their claims of using sophisticated software, these Internet detectives charge exorbitant prices for sniffing you out. Again, you're paying for it so it doesn't matter.

4. To accomplish the same so-called "high-tech" tracking on the Internet, one just needs to use a well-known search engine's image search facility. No need for sophisticated software or high-tech specialists.

5. Another copyright owner, when asked the cost of using a similar graphic on your website, said they would be happy to allow you to use it for free.

6. Here's the real kicker. If you do a little investigating of your own, you will discover that the so-called "high-tech investigator" and the copyright owner are one and the same. They just operate under different entities for maximum effect!

Many people, for fear of being sued and losing everything, work out a substantial settlement with the copyright owners. Many even pay the copyright owner on a monthly basis because the settlement figure is still too large. These are hardworking people struggling to keep afloat in very difficult times. One such person, a lady in her 50s said and I quote "Since this happened to me, I have had sleepless nights and my health has suffered tremendously." So, they pay what is demanded by the big bad wolf. In this case, the copyright owner has made more money from suing people through this "scheme" than by selling their product legitimately.

Although laws are put in place to protect the innocent, it can also be used as a tool to take advantage of the ill-informed as well, especially if not properly guarded or administrated. While such wrong-doings were finally exposed, the damage was already done and people were hurt. The copyright owner got away scott-free from this situation by shielding himself under the veil of the copyright law - leaving the very same law-makers, that gave this legislation life, with their hands tied firmly behind their backs.

Such is the complex world we live in today. Think before you right-click.

Just For A Wee Bit Of Fun

Here's a simple yet innovative new product that has been launched in time for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Ladies and gentlemen (this is more for the gentlemen), introducing the Pee Goal.

This little thing will fit into practically any wall-mounted urinal after cutting it down to the appropriate size. It also encompasses a goal post with a ball suspended from it so that you can practice your aim while relieving yourself.

Other than the novelty aspect of the Pee Goal, it also serves to prevent cigarette butts from entering and clogging the drains.

So, if you're a soccer fan and have a wall-mounted urinal at home, this is a must-have. I am sure your friends whom you've invited over to watch the game will get a kick (pardon the pun) out of it.... just as long as they don't spend more time in front of the urinal than in front of the TV.

More on this can be found here! *goal*

Singles

If you've never heard of New Order, you're most likely to have been born in the 90s. Oops... did I just imply I was old?

New Order was born from Joy Division, another fantastic band from the 80s. Their lead singer, Ian Curtis, committed suicide and the surviving members of the band formed New Order. Current band members include Bernard Summer, Stephen Morris and Peter Hook.

New Order is one of my all time favourite groups. Over the years, I have collected most of their singles on 12" vinyl as well as on CDs. There was no exception when I purchased their "Singles" album containing 2 CDs. I have most of the tracks featured on Disc 1 - featuring club classics like "Blue Monday", "Touched By The Hand Of God", "Bizarre Love Triangle", "Sub-Culture", "True Faith" and "1963". Disc 2 also contains fantastic tracks like "Round and Round", "Regret" and "World (The Price of Love)".

What makes this collection worth getting, especially if you've enjoyed their music but never bought an album, is the fact that they've kindly included tracks from their latest album titled "Waiting For The Sirens' Call". Check out "Krafty". It'll definately get your feet tapping.

Trivia : Bernard Summer later worked with members of other popular 80s bands like Johnny Marr (The Smiths) and Neil Tennent (Pet Shop Boys) to form Electronic, another electronica band. The band was described as an on and off project. Their first hit single, Getting Away With It, was a huge success.

Visit New Order's official website by clicking here.

Hello, Is This The Helpdesk?

Being the supervisor at the IT Helpdesk of a major organisation, we are at the receiving end of a lot of verbal abuse and threats especially when systems stop working or malfunction. What is frightening is that over the years, my team and I have become immune to it. While I am sure my engineers do feel hurt about not being appreciated for the hard work that they put in to keep mission-critical systems up and running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, they have now put this lack of appreciation down to "That's Life".

Computers fail. That is a fact of life. If they all functioned well with no downtime at all, we would not need highly-qualified engineers or even a Helpdesk. And by calling a Helpdesk and yelling at the engineer who is trying to help, you are not going to get your system up and running any faster. But somehow, the IT illiterates here seem to think that by asserting their "authority" at the engineer, the problem is going to get fixed faster. Causing stress only makes things worse.

Engineers are like doctors. Although I don't like to equate the two, we essentially cure sick computers. When ill, do we expect to recover immediately after walking out of the doctor's office? Strangely, people assume IT Helpdesk staff are miracle workers and expect an immediate solution. While some problems can be fixed with a click of a mouse or a push of a button, some problems need further analysis and troubleshooting. Bottom line? People want the Helpdesk to perform miracles but don't accord the appropriate respect. No need to kneel or bow. Just a kind word occassionally would be nice.

What's the reason for this post? Well, a call from one of our home users. You see, we have a system which allows for our users to work from home by connecting back to our company's network via the Internet. The conversation between the user and my engineer went a little like this.....

Engineer : Good evening, this is the Helpdesk.
User : After you guys installed the latest version of software for remote access a few weeks ago, I now cannot connect back to the office network!
Engineer : Since we upgraded your software, have you successfully connected?
User : Yes, I did a few times. But today, its not working. I am very fedup. I am going to throw this laptop away.

In case you were wondering, the laptop is provided by and the property of the company.

Engineer : Let me see how I can help. How are you accessing back to our network? By dial-up or broadband?
User : Broadband.
Engineer : Ok, are you connected directly to your broadband modem or are you using wireless network?
User : Wireless! This is very frustrating and I need to get my work done!
Engineer : Ok, can you get onto the Internet before you connect securely to our network?
User : I told you already!! Nothing works!!
Engineer : Alright, let's go step by step. First, let's reboot your laptop and start from the beginning.
User : I'VE ALREADY DONE THAT!!
Engineer : Is the wireless indicator on your laptop on? The third green LED from the left just above your keyboard.
User : YES!!
Engineer : Ok, good. Can you see the wireless router's broadcast?
User : NO!!!
Engineer : Seems like a problem with your wireless router. Ok, I will need you to turn it off, wait for a few seconds and then turn it back on again.
User : I can't do that.
Engineer : If you're not sure how to do it, just find the power socket, unplug it and then plug it back in.
User : I can't. The router is in my neighbour's house.
Engineer : I beg your pardon?
User : I don't want to pay for broadband access so I am tapping off my neighbour's broadband wirelessly. *illegally is more like it!*
Engineer : In that case, I am sorry but we are unable to assist you.
User : Why not?!?! AREN'T YOU THE HELPDESK?!?!

*sigh*

Relight My Fire

No, fans of Take That, this is not another album review. But a little Barry White or Marvin Gaye playing in the background with the lights dimmed way down will enhance the use of this interesting product.

This is the Hono Electric Candle - born in the land of the rising sun. Apparently, it works like a real candle because it even comes with it's very own match stick. Just put the match stick to the electric candle and "strike" to get the candle to light up. What's really cool is the fact that you have to blow it out to turn it off. The candle operates on rechargable batteries.

Most of the product's description is in Japanese and if you're well-versed in it, updates are most appreciated. And while this candle will not burn your fingers, it will most likely burn a hole in your wallet!

More on this product can be found here.