Teleconferencing How-To's

I normally have my weekly meetings with my team members outside of APAC on Mondays. This is where I have to report the current developments with the local project as well as any outstanding issues that might need help from people in the US.

The meeting shifts due to Daylight Savings; it is either at 8.30 pm or 9.30 pm, depending on the season. I usually like the 8.30 ones because that allows me to go home early. Nowadays, I really don't mind since I can take it from home.

The problem with having a conference call routed to your home is that you need to make sure that the environment is suitable enough for it. You must have a proper 'office' (i.e. workstation), where your kids can't jump around and make noise while you are addressing the FY12Q4 IT expenditure projections to your boss.. It also has to be well ventilated. Trust me, a warm room is not good for both you and your PC.

Thirdly, it has to be quiet enough for you to hear your meeting participants, and them to hear you. So, you can't have noise from traffic, noisy neighbours as well as renovation works impede the smooth running of your teleconference.

The last part involves technology. I don't use Skype or any PC-based software to call in. Normally, my team will call me up to my US ext. number which is routed to my desk phone in KL, and then to my speakerphone on Blackberry (Company's as well).

Thankfully, the quality is passable with little distortion and echo. I did a course on Voice Telephony during my diploma days and you have to know that transmitting voice data is not as difficult because due to the frequency of the human voice, it doesn't take much bandwidth and after the lossy quantization process, voice data sounds not much different to the human ear.

In short, it takes an idiot to mess up a phone call : )

Anyway, the problem with my Blackberry is that eventhough it's loud enough, the sound does get a bit shrill at times. I hate headphones, especially the in-your-ear type that comes bundled with the Curve 8250. And let's not get into the frequency response of the tiny built-in speakers because it's not meant for that. What you would need to avoid this issue are in the options below:

1. An adapter jack to plug in your favourite speakers into your Blackberry Audio-Out port
- Cons: Expensive for a 1 1/2 inch plastic & metal contraption. It sells for about RM60 - RM120 depending on who you buy it from. It has a hole at one end and a male jack at the other.

2. A Bluetooth Speaker
- Cons: A little tricky as the speaker needs to have the necessary Bluetooth Service Class to carry out phone conversations. Most speakers (I have a Samsung HT-X715 Home Theater) can only stream out audio [Audio Sink] while disabling the microphone function). I have found such a device at Mudah, and it retails for about RM200 for a Made in China version.

3. A proper Speakerphone
- Yup, I can get the call routed to my homephone instead, and replace the lousy TM-outsourced-to-crony default orange phone with a proper, good quality speaker phone from GE or Panasonic. They are about RM150, but the phone line is in the living room, and cordless phones with speakerphones are still expensive.

I am more inclined towards the bluetooth speaker option with the Headset Service features. However, these Made in China products are well known for their poor quality, especially with the 'no-name' brand. I'll just keep my options open and hope technology throws me another option soon!

The Heat is On!

Well, here we are..

The Group stages of the FIFA 2010 World Cup has just been completed, and we have now our complete fixtures for the 2nd Round:

Uruguay vs.South Korea
10:00 AM ET
N. Mandela Bay

United States vs.Ghana
2:30 PM ET
Royal Bafokeng

SECOND ROUND SUNDAY, JUNE 27, 2010
Germany vs.England
10:00 AM ET
Free State

Argentina vs.Mexico
2:30 PM ET
Soccer City

SECOND ROUND MONDAY, JUNE 28, 2010
Netherlands vs.Slovakia
10:00 AM ET
Durban Stadium

Brazil vs.Chile
2:30 PM ET
Ellis Park

SECOND ROUND TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2010
Paraguay vs.Japan
10:00 AM ET
Loftus Versfeld

Spain vs.Portugal
2:30 PM ET
Green Point Stadium

My pick? Well, while most would be banking on the Anglo-German rivalry, or the Iberian derby, my pick would be the Paraguay vs. Japan for the best game of this round.

Why?

Well in both teams, you have the fittest, most hardworking and dynamic teams in the tournament. It's going to be a cracker of a match, I assure you.

There's also a potential banana skin for Brazil, as they are playing Chile. I believe that it always takes a South American team to beat another (outside of Europe) in the World Cup.. But If I remember correctly, last time they met in the World Cup (..in 1998?), Chile got on the end of a 4-1 hammering..

In that tournament, we had 4 South American, 10 European and 1 African and 1 CONCACAF team in the last 16.

This time around, we have 5 South American, 6 European, 2 Asian, 2 CONCACAF and 1 African team - which makes it helluva much more interesting.

It's also good to note that all six European teams are facing each other, compared to only one all South American team. So in the last 8, there'll only be 3 European teams. Isn't that some sort of record or something?

My point is, the other record of having Europeans never winning the cup when its held outside of Europe might still be standing after the dust settles at this edition of the FIFA World Cup.

My previous prediction of the Dutch playing Slovakia has become true, so if you are a betting man, here's my pick for the semi-finalist, given all that has transpired:

1. Netherlands/Brazil (Brazil if England goes through, the Dutch if Argentina)
2. Spain
3. Argentina/England
4. USA

The winners will be the South American team that makes it to the Semi Finals.

Top Scorer will be David Villa.

USA for 4th.

Hahahaha...

FB Beta Tester

Hey..

I've submitted an application to become a Facebook Beta-Tester just for the sake of it.. This is what they said on their website:

"As a beta tester, your job will be to ask great questions and provide great answers about your favorite topics. Economics? Skydiving? Relationships? Mexican Restaurants? It's up to you. You'll be the first person outside of Facebook to use this product. Your expert writing will be seen by tens of millions of people — including job recruiters. And we'll bring our best beta testers out to California to tour Facebook headquarters and meet the team."

Sounds like fun, eh?

But the application process is simply to write a couple of answers for a couple of questions. So, here's mine:

How do you cook a perfect steak?

Firstly, one's perfect steak might be someone else's door stopper. You have to know what you/your diners like first, in order to cook it perfectly.

Your best bet would be to know your cut of meats firsthand. Muscles that work the least have less connective tissues, thus resulting in a more tender cut.

Pick the popular steak cuts - which are normally labeled on the packaging, for grilling. These include Tenderloin and Ribeye.

A good guide can be found here:

http://www.naturalhub.com/buy_food_meat_tenderness.htm

The other part of the equation revolves around the actual cooking process. The meat should be oiled, seasoned with black pepper and salt, and seared on one side for a couple of minutes, depending on the thickness of the meat and how well you want it cooked. For an inch- thick cut, I would recommend about four minutes each side on a high flame (>400 degrees) for medium.

A rare steak is soft when pressed with the index finger. A medium will yield, but slightly firmer, and a well done would be firm.

Here's a link for the cooking times:

http://www.commissaries.com/kays_kitchen/healthy_cooking/tips/steak_guide.cfm

Once done, the cooked meat should always be rested for a couple of minutes. This is to ensure that the juices redistribute evenly, and make for an enjoyable experience.

What can I eat with USD2 in Kuala Lumpur?

A lot of things! USD2 translates to about RM7 (Malaysian Ringgits) and you could get a complete meal with that at this part of the world.

For the faint-hearted, there's always McDonalds which offer meals for RM5.95 (RM6.25 after tax) between 12 - 3 pm every day. You would be getting a Fillet-o-Fish or a McChicken or 6 pieces of McNuggets plus small fries and a Coke, but on a normal day, the queue would be really long.

You could also try out the more traditional fare that Malaysia has to offer, which includes noodles or rice dishes, as well as bread and pastry sold in shops, roadside stalls and even the food courts in the shopping malls.

In short, food is abundant in Malaysia, more so in Kuala Lumpur - the heart of the city. Just keep an open mind, and USD2 will get you good tickets on your way to gastronomic heaven.

Check out the links below for some examples:

http://www.mcdonalds.com.my/highlights/10newchoices.asp

http://www.mobile88.com.my/gen/mags/thestar/previewPDF/The_Star_Guide_to_Malaysian_Street_Food.pdf

http://www.followmefoodie.com/2010/06/kl-malaysia-malaysian-street-food-in-kuala-lumpur-malaysia/

Long Lost Teacher - Found!

Here's the email I wrote to my long lost teacher when I fortunately came across her in FB:

Cikgu,

I find wall posts a bit too public - which explains this message.

You have to firstly understand a few points before I go on rambling..

1. You are my favourite teacher of all time (in case you didn't know yet)
2. I have spent years looking for you after I left in 1992.
3. I left for (Class of 93.. What a coincidence!)
4. I sent a Hari Raya card to every year to you until I came back in 1999 from Swansea - The BB's admin office was no help whatsoever in helping to locate you

So, now that's all cleared up.. So how are you? Hahaha..

Your mind is still sharp as a whistle I can see, because I thought you wouldn't/couldn't remember me. You always stoked my ego in class by calling me 'the Professor' and I guess that really helped me out a lot in life because then, I had such a low self-esteem and all that.

But somehow I knew you understood me. And I tried my best to be your best student and not to let you down. You were really the one who made me think about my future and really made me work and study hard.

That being said, there are some issues that need settling and one of which relates to an incident of you asking the whole class to put down their top 3 job ambitions.

And you scolded me for putting down 'Petani Moden'! Ha!

I tried to explain that I was talking about large-scale food/crop manufacturing with Value Adding along each and every segment of their Supply Chain like they were doing with wheat in Canada. But I just couldn't say it out because I didn't want to disappoint you.

Maybe you've forgotten about it, but I still do remember, because like I said - You are my favourite teacher.

I can claim no merit for that argument though, because I suck at gardening. Can't even plant anything, and those creeps just die on me! So, I stick with what I know best, and that's computers.

To bring matters back to the present, I am currently married with two lovely kids - you can look them up in my photos. I've put you in my 'Special' group, without any restrictions so that you can scrutinize me all you want like you usually do all those years back :) .

My current employer is the world's biggest furniture manufacturer - Not Ikea (got you there!), and they deal primarily with office furniture. Like I implied, I work in IT as a Security Analyst, which means I deal with the bad guys to make the office network secure.

We bought a house in Bukit Puchong - a nice small condo (because I'm paranoid with security) and we raise our kids ourselves (again, no maids allowed due to the paranoia). My wife is 5 years my junior, and I met her when she was an undergraduate at Uniten.

She's an accountant by qualification, and hopefully will finish her ACCA in the near future.

So... Tell me, what else do you remember about me, and I'll try to fill in the gaps.

Wassalam,

Your forever thankful student,


p.s: the reward of being My Favourite Teacher of All Time is unlimited requests of anything, anytime. And the ubiquitous 'thank you'. God, I miss you so much!

World Cup Eve..

It's back, and it's exciting. Yes, I am talking about the Weltmeisterschaft, Copa del Mundo, Coupe du monde, Cwpan y Byd - The World Cup.

32 nations, battling it our for 4-years worth of global fame and respect. In a sport that has replaced the World Wars to show who has the biggest and baddest ba**s! Even the Yanks are in it to win it, but historically it is only within the realistic reach of the elite few, the G-6 of World Football.

"Hey, innit the G-7?" you might ask. I am not belittling the petit nouveau on the bloc - France, but I've cast the once mighty Uruguay aside, which maybe will prove to be my folly.

I am however, putting my neck on the line, by predicting a Brazil vs the Netherlands quarterfinal, which will mean that 'the Oranje' has to play some kickass football to get there. They, like Spain has not lost a single qualifying game, and given the fact the RVP (van Persie to most fans) have just recovered from his most serious injury in the later part of the Arsenal's league season, I am also putting him as one of the favourites for the Golden Boot.

And keep an eye on the marauding runs and thunderbolts from one of my favourite players, Wesley Sneijder.

FIFA World Ranking: 4
Bookmakers' Odds: 9-1
Stars to Watch: RVP, Arjen Robben, Dirk Kuyt, Wesley Sneijder
Group E: Denmark, Japan, Cameroon

If they top their group, they should play Italy's Group F bridesmaid - Slovakia (World Ranking: 34, Odds: 300-1).

Here are the rest of my QF predictions:

Netherlands		-		Brazil
South Africa		-		England
Argentina		-		Germany
Italy		-		Spain

Enjoy the game, tonight!

Back in the Game..

It's been a while since I've written anything or posted anything here. Not because I didn't want to, but because when I wanted to, I just can't.

The Blackberry on Maxis' EDGE network sucks, and the default web browser on the device also sucks for reading blogs as it's not optimized to display it. So, that's my excuse.

The other reason is Facebook.

This monster of a social phenomenon have been taking time out of people's life like the IRS/B would take money from your paycheck. Swift and uncontrollable. People just spend hours and hours, playing games on them, tracking old flames, and even looking (stalking?) at other people's pictures in hundreds of albums. As a subset of the Internet, it would rate as the most dilatory tool ever created by mankind.

It also opens a new can of worms on the intrusion of privacy, as well as a million more possibilities for would be identity thieves to prey upon.

Notwithstanding, there are all sorts of new tweaks on its own Privacy Controls, that some are not even known to its users until a big rumpus is created by privacy watch-groups across the world.

My current job allows me the liberty of actually looking at my companies web traffic log once in a while and I have to say that most of the slacking employees ARE big Facebook users.

But, while trying to find the champion, an entry was found that left all other users trailing in its wake.

It was the HR Recruiter. Sheesh!