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June 30, 2005
The Star InTech reports from Petaling Street Birthday Bash
It is on page two in The Star InTech (page 3), but I couldn't find the online link. The Star reports from our Petaling Street Birthday Bash with pictures of Kenny, Minishorts, Sixth Seal and Suanie.
Congrats to you for a beautiful picture :)
Posted by Andreas at 10:29 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Nasi Lemak or "what about innocent price hikes?"
I love Sunday mornng, honestly. There is nothing better than sleeping in for a while, enjoying that everything is peaceful, stretching in bed, seeing my son doing his things. No rush, no stress, no looking at the watch, observing the traffic on the highway, getting grouchy.
Weekends are different.
I love (or, now, loved) to go down to our little shop in the apartment area, still sleepy, still with "the sandman" in my eyes, but feeling good, to buy the newspaper, and Nasi Lemak. Getting back, drinking coffee, chit-chatting with wife and kid, getting on track slowly.
Until about last week, when I followed the same routing. But the wake-up was a bit heavier this time, because the lady in the shop asked me for RM 5.70 for three Nasi Lemak and the newspaper. That's right, RM 5.70.
You do your own calculation - this is RM 1.50 for each Nasi Lemak. And this one is nothing special, actually quite small, no meat, but the fish (Ikan Bilis), some cucumber, one little egg and a few countable nuts.
Hmmm - are we that far down the road to inflation? I think I have to change my routing and drive down the road to buy Nasi Lemak, since I have the strange feeling, that this is the make up of the retail shop. But then, even around my office area, prices have gone up.
A few coins here and a few coins there. Inflation creeps in slowly, right, as I said a long time back in my old blog?
Posted by Andreas at 10:04 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
June 29, 2005
EBuilding is WoW-ing me
Those who follow this blog will know that my hard disk crashed a couple of weeks (weeks?) already.
I am still fighting with the after-effects of it, and might have found a company that is able to recover my data. More about this later.
My IT manager installed a new hard disk for me - but somehow, I had problems afterwards to get onto broadband - only Jaring worked, but this is dial-up and I only use it in emergencies, such as those.
I am subscribing to EBuilding - and have to compliment them on their service. Last week, I had a first contact to inquire about my broadband connection and their call center assistance started off very friendly from the beginning. Since I wasn't at my home computer, but in the office, he asked me to call in the evening before 9.00 PM.
It took me till Friday evening to call again. On the phone was a lady called Aida or Aina or so, and she was friendly. She straigth away realised that I haven't paid my subscription fees since February. It was then when I realised that I updated all my accounts when I lost my wallet, but that I failed to inform EBuilding. She said I shouldn't worry, and that I can call them on Monday, but in the meantime, she would activate my account, so that I would be able to access the computer over the weekend. Doing so, I still couldn't log in and, in a somewhat tedious manner - which wasn't her fault but my lack of technical knowledge - she tried to lead me through all the things one need to do to activate broadband again. It didn't work, and she set up an appointment with me to send a technician on Monday morning.
This was fast and efficient, I honestly have to say so, even so I believe that she had to communicate with someone in the background, when the connection didn't work in the beginning.
The appointment with the technician from EBuilding was last Monday at 12.30 PM, but he called me already at 10.30 AM or so, if he could come over. I wasn't in so I asked him to come at the time agreed.
He was there - very punctially, even 15 minutes too early. Where would you find a service in Malaysia where they send the service too early? I actually had the wrong expectations - I thought, I have to be there at 12.30 PM, and would have to wait a long, long time, until the technician would come. I am surprised.
A big Thank You.
Posted by Andreas at 05:13 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
The meaning of your birthday and of your name
A friend forwarded me quite an interesting webpage, and I like to share this.
Interesting for those, who would like to know about the meaning of their name, and what their birthday means.
About my name:
You entered: andreas
There are 7 letters in your name.
Those 7 letters total to 26
There are 3 vowels and 4 consonants in your name.
Your number is: 8
The characteristics of #8 are: Practical endeavors, status oriented, power-seeking, high-material goals.
The expression or destiny for #8:
Your Expression is represented by the number 8. The 8 Expression is well-equipped in a managerial sense. You have outstanding organizational and administrative capabilities. You have the potential for considerable achievement in business or other powerful positions. You can expect to receive the financial and material rewards. You have the skill and abilities to establish or operate a business with great efficiency. You have good judgment when it comes to money and commercial matters, and you understand how to build and accumulate material wealth. Much of your success (or lack of it) may come due to your ability (or inability) to judge character. With the number 8 Expression, you exercise sound judgment in most of your affairs; you are realistic and practical in your approach to business matters.
The positive 8 Expression produces individuals that are very ambitious and goal-oriented. If the 8 energy is not in excess in your makeup, you will no doubt express these traits to some extent. No one has any more energy that a person with the 8 Expression who has a plan laid and is starting to work. No one has any more self-confidence, either. If you are expressing the positive qualities of 8, you are an outstanding manager because you can plan, initiate, and complete projects; you are very dependable and determined.
As it always happens, there can be too much of a good thing. If you have too much of the 8 energy in your makeup, you may express some of the negative attitudes. A negative 8 can be very rigid and stubborn. Ambition sometimes has a way of becoming over-ambition, and you may express an unreasonable impatience with the lack of progress. If your negative side is showing, you may be too exacting, both of yourself and of others. Sometimes this can even becomes a case of intolerance.
The number 8 is very materialistic and also very desirous of status and power. Neither of these drives are inherently negative unless they are taken to an extreme. You must avoid the tendency to strain after money, material matters, status, or power, to the detriment of the other important factors in your life.
Your Soul Urge number is: 7
A Soul Urge number of 7 means:
With a number 7 Soul Urge you are very fond of reading, and retreating to periods of being alone and away from the disruptions of the outer world. You like to dream and develop you idealistic understandings, to study and analyze, to gain knowledge and wisdom. You may be too laid back and withdrawn to really succeed in the business world, and you will be much more comfortable in circumstances that are tolerant of your reserve, your analytical approach, and your desire to use your mind rather than your physical being.
You are very timid around people that you don't know very well, so much so at times that casual conversation and social situations can be strained. You tend to repress your emotions to the extend that some people have a good bit of difficult understanding you. You tend to be very selective with friends and you don't easily adapt to new environments or to new people very quickly.
The negative traits of the 7 include becoming too much the introvert and isolated from others.
Your Inner Dream number is: 1
An Inner Dream number of 1 means:
You dream of being a leader and one who is in charge. You want to be known for your courage, daring, and original ideas. You seek unconquered heights. People may get a first impression that you are very aggressive and sure of yourself.
________________________________________________________________
Not all correct but still, interesting.
Here is a summary about birthday:
As of 6/28/2005 9:24:57 PM CDT
You are 43 years old.
You are 519 months old.
You are 2,257 weeks old.
You are 15,799 days old.
You are 379,197 hours old.
You are 22,751,844 minutes old.
You are 1,365,110,697 seconds old. (Doesn't sound that much, right?)
Your birthstone is Aquamarine
Aquamarine is often used to experience love and mercy. It is said to help ease depression and grief.
Your birth tree is Hazelnut Tree, the Extraordinary
Charming, undemanding, very understanding, knows how to make an impression, active fighter for social cause, popular, moody and capricious lover, honest and tolerant partner, precise sense of judgement.
Here are the links again:
http://www.paulsadowski.com/birthday.asp
http://www.paulsadowski.com/Numbers.asp
Posted by Andreas at 10:29 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
June 28, 2005
Honey Chicken and the science of change
How many know Devi's Corner in Bangsar? I am going there since years and years - so many years that when I am not there for a couple of weeks, the store manager asks me if I had been sick.
I loved their Honey Chicken - simply LOVED it. The taste of sweetness, and the crispyness of the skin (as unhealthy as it is!).
No more - I just came back from the place, and the lady giving the rice told me that they don't cook it anymore. Not many customers wanted it.
The store manager offered to cook one for me, but then, I had a Chili Chicken already. Next time, I might take up his offer, but then, this is next time and not now.
But somehow I feel, the world has moved on.
Little things that shift in our surrounding and make us feel sad or excite us. Little things that tell us the world moves on. Little things that add on to each other and suddenly, everything around us has changed. Little things that we became used to and now have to learn to live without.
Little things are important in the journey of life, your life. If you change little things, the change becomes you.
Change them, step by step, and suddenly, a new YOU emgerges. Change doesn't need to be big all the time. Goals can be BIG, but the steps of change on the journey to achieve the goals can be a little here and a little there. Milestones, so to speak. And suddenly, you look back and you have reached your goals.
It starts with Honey Chicken being taken off the menu list. That easy.
Now, damn it - does anybody knows a great Honey Chicken Place, possible in Bangsar?
Posted by Andreas at 01:40 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
June 27, 2005
The war on drugs
China has embarked on the same journey as Malaysia - fighting drug usage.
May be both countries could talk to each other (and I think they do). China sees education as a key against drug usage, while in Malaysia, the government proposes the free provision of methadone to drug users, and the provision of condoms and needles, in order to combat the usage.
Both work well, I believe. In Frankfurt, where I am coming from, a Volkswagen Bus pulled up close to the railway station every afternoon. This was the main center of drug usage, as well as prostitution.
It helped a lot. Many drug users want to get their drugs in whatever way - be it via petty crimes or prostitution, trafficing of women and even gang wars.
While free provision of drugs, and condoms are frequently not seen as culturally appropriate, it really helped to dry the whole swamp that existed and allowed the police to concentrate on crimes of much heavier nature.
I like that in Malaysia, the religious bodies have been involved while in China, drug prevention has become a subject that lasts for a semester for the school's junior grade 2 students. And students are encouraged to volunteer and head into neighbouring communities to promote anti-drugs awareness.
But what is needed is education that goes beyond the government and religious bodies. It reaches into providing children with areas where they can live out their experience - aside of shopping malls, to give them sense in their lifes. It means that parents have more times that they spend with their children, to link up with them and create a mutual understanding.
Basically, it means the creation of new mental models on how kids are treated, how drug abuse is seen and how AIDS is managed, because if drug usage and AIDS grows despite everything that has been done already, we need a new strategy that really works. And I am not talking about isolated islands but about integration.
Enough said - this entry is already long.
Posted by Andreas at 06:31 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
June 25, 2005
Proof in a picture - what I love in Germany
I do miss a couple of things from Germany in Malaysia. For one, it is the forests and the ability to walk in them. Big pathways, great smell of a healthy environment, birds, plants, trees.
Here is a picture from an area close to Frankfurt, in a forest called Odenwald. The area is called Felsenmeer, or, to translate, "Rock Sea".
There is a myth that it came about as two giants started a battle to kill each other by throwing stones at each other. In fact, a lot of those rocks came from the Romans, who built the wall to prevent the Germans from entering "their" area. Something like that.
Today, it is used as a "teaching area" - lots of school classes go there to teach biology, geology or history.
What do you think of the pictures?
This one shows yours truly, my little one, and my niece, besides a pubils from a school class climbing the rocks up and down. Some artistic behaviour is required, since there are gaps between the rocks and if you slip, well, one can break the leg.
Still, is this a reason to visit the country?
Posted by Andreas at 05:57 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
June 24, 2005
Petaling Street Birthday Bash and a toilet bowl
This was a great evening. Thanks to all that I talked to and that I met, finally, again or those totally new ones. There were so many people, I was and still am really amazed.
My camera's battery died, the moment I wanted to start taking pictures so, well, there are no pictures in this entry from the bash.
This means that I have to scout Petaling Street for pictures the whole day and pirate them to my hard drive. Hopefully, nobody minds and I fight them all. Thus my productivity will be VERY low towards work and directed elsewhere.
Whom did I meet? Great people, as usual. Bloggers are great people.
It was fun to see Mack again who couldn't get enough of Kenny's balls (don't ask me for background, okay), but was nonetheless his usual self - ask for definitions, if need is. Kenny is a great guy, totally down to earth, planning to open a Blogger for Two round in Kuching.
I met Jayelle who took a picture with me, hurray!!!! And the Shaolin Tiger, who is pretty tall, but was too shy to show off his stomach this time, instead decided to become an animal. Than there was Suanie who recognised me since I wore my old AlwaysWoW T-Shirt. I woldn't have recognised her anyway, comparing the real thing to the picture that is on her blog.
Kim was there, naturally without showing off her legs, despite everybody asking for it. We did the Chili's Test - if she is sick today, it wasn't Chili's food last time, but my company. Because we had our diner together, during the bash. Kim, how are you today?
I also met Peter again, who has become my SuperGuru for Movable Types and whose style in blogging design I am striving for - waiting for your lesson, Peter!!
Aizuddin - great thanks to you - you gave birth to PPS, did the organisation for this year's party and hardly had time to celebrate. Thanks for the T-Shirt. I got one PPS Birthda shirt. When I ordered it, I thought I was one of the first, until the MAN told me, that I placed the last order that he accepted. I got my shirt in the end, and had to pay the full price. No late-comer discount, no "cheapppppp priceees now, come, come, come, buy it all, for half the price."
Besides them, I met TV Smith, talked to Jeff again, saw Minishorts but she was packed with guys, finally met Sharizal, James. James, and his wife Mei, lovely people but it took me a while to get the hint, when he mentioned his name. That was late and I had a brain jam already - too many people, too much noise, and cheering, and partying.
many, many old friends from former blogger meetings (sorry, it gets too much here). But I sure need to mention Albert who sported the beginning of a beard - and told me that he wants to show the world that Chinese can grow facial hair.
I also met my neighbour from the office I work - he works in the office opposite of the one I am working in. We are basically working side by side for about 3 years without much then a hello every now and then.
Pissing side by side in the urinals, shuffling the feet on the ground. And blogging made it possible to meet.
Update:
Here is a great collection of write ups prepared by Mudpond
Posted by Andreas at 08:24 AM | Comments (13) | TrackBack
June 23, 2005
Online usage everywhere - another story from Germany
When I was last in Germany about 2 years back, online prevalence wasn't that strong.
This has changed this year. There were a lot of smaller companies that used all possibilities to advertised. Many cars had sticker at the back, advertising their services and their webpage. This was one of the main changes that I saw.
Just look at the picture below.
It simply indicates that you can purchase your week or yearly train- or bus ticket for different segments online - webaddress is "www.meincomputeristeinfahrkartenautomat.de. A bit long, may be, but well.
Is this amazing? I am not sure if this is available elsewhere in the world, but I am of the opinion that the purchase of tickets via the web sure is a strong indicator that a lot is going on on the web. Do you agree?
Posted by Andreas at 06:04 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Congratulations, MAS
"Adding one more feather to its cap, Malaysia's national carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has been admitted to the most exclusive group of world airlines: it has received the ranking of a "5 Star" airline by the aviation rating organization, Skytrax.
Including Malaysian Airlines, there are now only four airlines in the world which have been given the 5-Star ranking, the other three being Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways and Qatar Airways."
Interesting, all of them are Asian airliners. I wonder where is Southwest Airlines of the US, or JetBlue? But may be the award doesn't include low-cost-carriers or domestic airliners
Posted by Andreas at 01:43 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
No business anymore with ...
I am sure there are plenty of more companies with whom I wouldn't like to do business anymore.
Feel free to add on to my experience, and we can revolutionise customer service in Malaysia.
I wouldn't ask for a refinancing loan from Hong Leong Bank anymore. My wife and I applied for a refinancing loan from Hong Leong in November/ December last year. Only now did we manage to finally get the money. This also only after we informed Bank Negara about the slow process. They might have intervened as well. We were told, along the process, that we shouldn't take a loan from Hong Leong but go elsewhere. We had to constantly call them and their lawyers, Soo Tien Ming, to get things moving - frequently, we didn't reach anybody, or the phones were hang up on us. We were asked to provide papers and forms that actually weren't required or simply didn't exist. The lawyer told my wife to be more friendly. This is a summary of a very, very long story.
I don't like Leisure Holidays. Somehow, back in the last century, we signed up with them. We hardly used their places, since it really is not the most pleasant surrounding - but this is us, probably. It also is the case that their accounts and ours don't tally. Basically, we simply gave up on them. We have paid quite a lot of money, but somehow, it is a lesson learnt.
A long long time back, I inquired with one of the telecommunications companies for an online service they were offering. When I posted the inquiry online, I received the message that they would get back to me shortly. This was in 2000. They never came back to me. In the meantime, they have been acquired by another telecommunications company.
Three examples only but there must be more.
Do you want to share your stories? All in all, it might be a powerful movement that we can create, if we collect all those stories.
Posted by Andreas at 01:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Happy Birthday, PPS
Happy Birthday to PPS second anniversary. May many follow. I believe that many of us where not where we are today would it not have been for you.
Thanks as well to Aizuddin who is tremendously helpful in all this efforts to keep PPS up and running, and, not to forget, who helped me a lot to post my first pings that went wrong in the beginning.
I am very much looking forward to meeting a lot of you today, this evening. I am wearing my black "AlwaysWoW" - T-Shirt first, until I am made to strip to take on the PPS T-Shirt. Just for those who would want to throw eggs at me.
Posted by Andreas at 08:35 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 22, 2005
Women only at hotel swimming pools in KL
"In a move to attract more Arab tourists to Malaysia, men may have to vacate hotel swimming pools at certain hours so that women can have the pools to themselves.
Some hotels in Kuala Lumpur have allocated time for women to swim, from 6pm to 9pm."
Thank you very much - I don't agree, especially when I read on: "But if the men want to look at them from their hotel rooms, I don't want to interfere," according to Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
What sense does this make, if it makes sense at all? There are more tourists that visit Malaysian hotels, and honestly, this one makes more sense to me to promote tolerance and mutual understanding.
Not a very WoW news, is it? But then, this is Malaysia - it won't go through, I hope
Posted by Andreas at 03:54 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
What style are you?
This is quite a nice piece developed by Learning Styles.
However, it appears that I am everything but Visual and Physical. I am not good in "building things", that is okay, but I can be very physical, given the surrounding, something I am NOT going to talk about. But other tests show that I am somewhat visual - able to see things and graphs, instead of only number focussed and similar.
Try it - and if you have the time, you can compare yourself to others in your group and to different countries and so on.
Posted by Andreas at 03:27 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
June 21, 2005
15 seconds to decide that you are the one
You are looking for a job. Scanning the newspapers, talking to friends, surfing the web.
Application after application goes out and nothing happens. No interview invitation follows. What happened? You have done all you can to get everything in place.
Have you taken care of the fact that you need to be different? Do you know that interviewers, or employers get hundreds of applications per open position? That you need to get their attention quickly and succinctly in order to get the wanted invitation?
On average, employers typically spend 15 seconds or less scanning resumes when deciding which candidates to bring in for interviews.
You only get one chance to make a first impression with a potential employer, so make it count with your cover letter and resume, headhunters are saying.
So be choosy in chosing the right words. Call them power words, and highlight that you are able to contribute in terms of teamwork, flexibility, detail-oriented and that you are self motivated. These are key skills needed in today's environment
Posted by Andreas at 05:50 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Bloody procrastinator
Do you procrastinate? I think we all do, one time or another. There are just so many things to do that are better than the one at hand.
But, actually, procrastination is just a strategy of your mind to avoid something more upleasant. Procrastination often is the fear of failure that cannot be overcome by "traditional methods" commanding you to "just get down to it". There is more behind procrastination.
43 Folders has a beautiful write-up which also links to the original article. Worth a read.
So what makes you procrastinate?
Posted by Andreas at 02:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Frightening numbers about customer orientation
If you are running a business, you need to make money. To make money, you need to serve your customers. Without customers, you don't run a business, right? This is in the line of thinking of Peter Drucker who once said something like, that it is the foremost mission of a company to serve customers.
- Only 13 percent of senior management have regular contact with a broad range of customers, and 67 percent do not provide clear, visible leadership in how to attain excellence in customer management.
- 63 percent of companies don't have any idea how many high-value customers they may have lost, and 75 percent aren't aware of the reasons those customers chose someone else.
- In most markets, just 1 percent of a company's customers are worth 30 percent of total margin, but 58 percent of companies say they don't have any special development plans for key clients.
- 41 percent of companies don't record customer contact channel preferences, let alone actually contact customers through their preferred medium.
- Only 10 percent of companies can actually measure service cost at a customer level.
- Although 52 percent of businesses look at the number of customers acquired, only 8 percent pay any attention to the quality of those new customers.
- 65 percent don't even bother to thank new customers, and 42 percent don't try to win back clients who may have turned somewhere else.
The study is from 2003, so actually quite old, but do you actually think that things got any better? I sure don't think so!
Posted by Andreas at 11:48 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 20, 2005
Religion at the airport
This is the sign at Frankfurt - Airport, just in front of the prayer's room (pity it is not that clear, it was taken with my mobile phone).
It invites all the major religions for prayers - Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Jews and so on. I don't know if there is a split into different prayer rooms inside the room. Such as one room for Muslims, one room for Christians, one room for Hindus and one for Jews.
Nevertheless, I like the concept. Now, imagine, if different religion would actually pray together. See, how others are doing it. Get a feeling of understanding, learn from each other, develop tolerance and, imagine the unbelievable, get to talk with each other after the prayers, become friends.
Is this provocative to some, enlightening to others?
Posted by Andreas at 05:03 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Banks to become friendlier
Banks in Thailand hiring employees from McDonalds since those are trained to be friendlier. Or they have the "natural inclination" to be friendlier, not just to show a button only.
Malaysia is still far away from this. Too far away, with banks that put barriers between their tellers and customers.
Indian banks exercise a similar tactic.
"We have recruited people from the airline and hotel industries in large numbers as we want to improve service quality," says Chanda Kochhar, executive director, ICICI Bank.
or
"Personnel from the airline and hotel industry tend to appreciate higher level of service and have the right attitude required to serve bank customers," says an HSBC spokesperson.
It's all about hiring people different sectors. It is all about delighting the customer and to stand out. Way to go!! I love it.
Posted by Andreas at 02:43 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Blogging changes your brain
.... to the positive.
Basically, the brain changes when you engage in new or engaging activities over a period of time. Neurons start to fire at the beginning of a new activity, more at the surface of the brain structure (I don't want to give the real name here, for the sake of simplicity). After a while, when learning of this activity becomes more common, frequent, or routine, the section of the brain that was engaged in the learning is pushed to lower levels - the learning becomes more automated - and the neurons are made available for new learning.
Now blogging challenges many people. We find exciting or less exciting stuff to write, we analyse, comment, oppose or even flame - basically, we think analytical, probably emotional and, especially, engaged. Bloggers think fast on their feet - you blog when the idea is still in your head, when a burning desire in your stomach informs you that there is something urgent to write about.
Since we also find read stuff that we didn't think of in the first place, our brains are constantly challenged, neutrons create more and more linkages.
Now, isn't this an exciting thing for bloggers?
I am not agreeing with all that has been written in this blog. Blogs are very verbal, while there are people that prefer visulas, for example. However, may be those visulas just express themselves differently on blogs.
Anyway, it is an interesting read - and if you are a reader only, and not an active, engaged and challenging blogger who puts down his or her daily dosage, well, may be this short write up pushes you forward to finally take up this habit.
Posted by Andreas at 01:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 19, 2005
Business in Germany - a new style of taxis
What I like at Germans is their ability to develop great businesses in times when things are not that great. And times are not great currently, since Europe is in crisis.
Now you have this kind of new taxis. Okay, they don't go far, just around downtown center.
To take a ride with those bikes is expensive - about 2 Euro or so per kilometer (equivalent RM10). Supported by a small engine at the back, they are actually used by a lot of people.
In addition, they are also a great way to advertise for companies.
Anyway - I think it is great that even in a recessionary environment, people or companies are coming up with ideas to create business.
Doesn't this show that it is not so much a matter of business environment to be successful? It is easy to grow a business in a vibrant environment but it takes more to make it through when times are not that good.
Posted by Andreas at 01:31 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
June 17, 2005
Need help urgently: Hard disk crashed
Who would be able to help me.
My hard disk crashed. The IT guy in our office already checked and well, even he is at the end of his knowledge.
If you click on the drive via Windows Explorer from an external hard drive, Windows asks if I want to format the drive - as such, it recognises the drive as unformatted.
Apparently, the computer recognises that data are there, but since the FAT Sector is damaged, is not able to access those.
Is there any help for the hard drive? Anybody who is able, willing and/ or available to assist?
Posted by Andreas at 03:18 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
New Straits Times article about blogs
Here is the link to an article published by the NST. The usual take: Quote some bloggers, and discusses the old discussion about influences of blogs on the society, and its possible existing or non-existing influence on traditional media.
My take? Blogs will become more influential, even in Malaysia, and sooner or later, its impact might be felt amongst politicians or, especially, the media.
What is your take?
Posted by Andreas at 11:10 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Paris hates me, and you, and you and you
And, yes, you, who just opened that link as well.
Paris Hilton, known to everyone, has been interviewed by AP and, in course of the interview, told the rest of the world that she doesn't like people who "sit on computers all day long and write about people they don't know anything about."
That means, she doesn't like me.
Found at Portals and KM, and Mediacenter (Original link at MSNBC broken).
Posted by Andreas at 09:31 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 16, 2005
Red Indian Shop in Frankfurt
This is what I like in Germany. It is possible to find all kind of shops and little nitty-griddy stuff that is not available in the usual Asian countries - at least not to my knowledge.
These pictures below are taken inside a shop that sells stuff from Red Indians in America. Original stuff, and directly from them - nothing that goes through the hands of middlemen, to avoid fakes or unnecessary price-makeups.
We bought a couple of CDs - the music is great. Great for meditation, and great for dreaming. I don't know about you, but it was music that you can feel inside. Music that shifts something inside of you - that is how deep it is.
Posted by Andreas at 05:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
He is still your child - many questions asked
I refer to the article in the New Straits Times. The article describes the heartbreak of 82 boys that live in Henry Gurney School in Telok Mas, which is a home for convicted juveniles - they had an open house day and waited in vein for family members to turn up. Only two families visited.
It is hard for a parent to see their child "fail" (whatever you describe as failure). All the hopes that have been invested in the children. Not too long, those kids were babies and their parents probably paraded them proudly, talking about all the possibilities for their child and what would become out of them. So much hope and all for nothing.
Apparently. Poor parents? Or poor kids?
They are still children but even when they were adults, why write them off. Why simply ignore them?
What is it in the parent that upsets them so much that they cannot see or visit their own kid? If they don't see them, don't visit them, don't talk about them and develop plans for the future, how on earth can you live on peacefully as a parent? Do they feel so high above the clouds that they can just forget about their son? Isn't it possible that they just nailed their destiny, that they give up on their own child?
Isn't a family suppose to stay together in hard times? Where are the Asian values of social networks and family values? Do those only count, when everything is fine and glorious?
Isn't it true that a parent is only a real parent when they are able to stand aside their children even in hard times? Especially then? I know it is hard, after all the hope and aspiration. I hope it will never ever happen to me, but I also hope that I would be strong enough to cope with it.
May be the kids just don't deserve such cruel parents.
Hats up to the two families who stood up to their child and visited them
Posted by Andreas at 01:01 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 15, 2005
Malaysia's biotech ambitions
Malaysia failed in the early 2000s with their first biotech project, which was a pityful failure, but might be used to learn for the current and new ambitions. They are coming back now, back with vengeance.
One of the first steps is to visit, once again, the Biotechnology Industry Organisation (BIO) annual convention, the world's largest biotechnology gathering - a great chance, since "BIO 2005 will feature over 150 educational sessions and workshops, 200 company presentations, 4,000 partnering meetings and 1,450 organisations exhibiting highlights of their technology."
Malaysia had many ambitions, ranging from Proton to MSC, to the Twin Towers - many of which didn't work out as planned.
So well, let's be positive and say, they (who is they, anyway?) have learnt something and do many, many things right this time. And it would be a great chance - the biotech sector collapsed in the early 2000s, together with the Internet companies, but since, has been consolidating. Big pharma is struggling with patents expiring, little or no blockbusters in the pipeline. Biotech, in all its variety - its span ranges from health to agriculture to food - grows rapidly, but many companies in the sector still generate losses. But they are mall and nimble, so can beat Big Pharma with targetted applications for small niche groups. What is big money for a small player is of little interest for big players - and that is their chance.
Malaysia can learn from the mistakes other countries made in their race to establish biotech parks and push biotech sectors. I know only of one successful experiment outside of the US that has been quite a success and that is over there, with our neighbour, Singapore and their BioPolis.
Malaysia faces major hot challenges, so: workforce, education, lack of patents, low R&D and all. These are real challenges, and they need to be tackled urgently.
So tell me - What do you think, will Malaysia finally work its to one great success? What would be needed to make it a success?
Posted by Andreas at 07:29 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
June 14, 2005
Video is dying
The interesting difference between Europe and Asia is that in Europe there never was anything like a VCD.
Hence, you can still find a lot of the traditional videos in the retail shops. And, of course, DVD.
But now, the video is finally dying or is it dead already? Even in the "most remote countries", such as Europe or the US (pun intended)
This is because the retailer of the retail giants - think Wal-Mart - decided to follow other big electronics sellers and exit the VHS business by early 2006.
They exited earlier but it is the market power of Wal-Mart that decides to go for the final death knell. Good bye to an old product, one that I loved and found amazing, when it found its way into the shops.
Posted by Andreas at 07:58 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Long lines at immigration at the airport
KLIA is clearly overburdened, when more than one big plane lands in a row. Over time, I have learnt that it is better to really rush to get to the line at immigration at fast as possible, in order to avoid standing too long in the queue. Most of the time, I still end up pretty far away from the actual counter.
The picture below is blur - sorry, but I think it shows my intention.
Not enough counters open, too many planes that land. And we haven't even reached capacity, haven't we? Okay, I have to admit that they opened more gates shortly after I queued up - shift change or so, but may be a better planning would be better as well. I think there are plans that show the arrival of planes. It is a simple thing but may be I am naive. When more planes land, open more gates. When lesser planes are expected, management can close some.
Malaysians have it easy - they can use the electronic gateways. One guy with whom I talked said that actually, this doesn't show that Malaysia cares for tourists.
What I liked, however, was the following. One baby in our row cried, for a long time. Unconsolable. One immigration officer just brought the family to another counter and served them first. This is a nice gesture, wow enough to comment this here.
Despite the fact that most of their colleagues still wear the "Service With A Smile" button as a substitute for a real smile. Fierce faces are the order of the day! This compares badly to the immigration in Frankfurt. While daunting due to the technological setting and the overall environment, most of the police men behind the counter smile, talk to the people they are dealing with and are simply friendly. There was a time I didn't like to enter Germany, when all their customs and immigration was unfriendly, but this has clearly changed. When is Malaysia's turn?
Posted by Andreas at 02:54 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
Pink Floyd reunited
Does anybody remember Pink Floyd? The band of the 1970s that rocked the world with classics such as "We don't need no education", "Dark Side of the Moon", "Wish you were here", or movies, such as "The Wall"?
Some of their songs still blow me away - and I then bask in memories of slow dances and dark rooms filled with dreams and beautiful girls (well, memories, okay!). I still like to watch the movie "The Wall" every now and then - I might have watched it over 50 times throughout the years and still fall in love with the animation, and the whole story and how it has been made up.
After they broke off, Roger Waters produced records of his own, not bad, with great, great songs as well.
Good news, for now - they are reunited. Let me just hope that the music is going to be great and not just something quickly thrown together to earn cash for the final retirement.
Posted by Andreas at 11:45 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
AlwaysWoW is back
Just a short note that I am back from my holidays in Germany - not that I am the important guy, or that this changes world history.
I am still suffering under the jet lag - hate the feeling. We landed Saturday morning in KLIA, after a 12 hours flight, which, together with the 6 hour time difference, put us to a total of a 18 hours journey.
The plane flight was wonderful - thank you MAS. My kid enjoyed the children's meal which was served in wonderful boxes that are useful for future needs, such as picnics. They should advertise this more - I am sure, it is not known to many travellers with children. Travellers should also be informed that they can keep those boxes.
What wasn't wonderful were some of the German passengers behind us. 5 in total, 4 guys and a woman. From their conversation I could extract that they were travelling by speedtrain from somewhere in Germany to Frankfurt airport, and that they used that time already to drink Orange juice with Vodka. And they kept drinking throughout the flight. Orange juice with Vodka and beer, beer, beer. The cabin smelled of alcohol and it got worse, when at least one of them took of the shoes.
They talked way too loud and complained that my wife and I moved our chair backwards to sleep. The only time I could sleep was the time they fall asleep, and it wasn't very long until their overly loud talking started again. May be something to learn for MAS - how to handle those kind of guys. I am not sure what the Malaysian sun will do to their heads, but I am sure that they will have some adjustments to do.
I was also tempted to take the picture of this one business guy in the toilet in Germany who busily bought condoms - but I didn't. I guess he was on a business with pleasure and I didn't want it that his wife (he probably was married) would accidentally surf into this
blog. But basically, I wasn't fast enough to snap out my camera.
As mentioned earlier, Germany is a country that is undergoing major changes. I will post some of the interesting business things over the next few days. May be some personal pictures as well.
Posted by Andreas at 08:50 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack