I chanced upon a good article How to Rate a Software Developer, and there is also another separate article entitled The One Minute Software Development Manager too. Both are fairly good read. But remember: Reading does only the cognitive part, and cognitive stimulus must move into reality before the benefits can be realized.
So, don't just read, but do it!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Another baby step for me
Yup, I have passed the certification for ITSM (IT Service Management) [Foundation] last month. Another baby step forward....
Hopefully, I get to go for the Manager's certification (just for the fun of it).
Hopefully, I get to go for the Manager's certification (just for the fun of it).
Monday, October 01, 2007
Taking a break
Much awaited. Finally arrived. And now... it is gone.
Well, at least, I have a relaxing break (minus the drive which is quite long).
Our family took a trip to Cameron Highlands over the weekends, and to celebrate Gracia's second birthday. The drive was really killing at one point, especially the way up to the resort which requires me to do so many turns. Anyhow, I am very thankful that we made it without any accident or landslide.
We taken some shots using my good-old-faithful Olympus digital camera. Here are some shots.
Here we are.... evidence that we did go to the Rose centre. Not a fantastic place, I must say....
perhaps, I am not that much of a "rose-lover"? But some of the flowers were quite pretty. Like this one...
Quite a big garden actually...
Not forgetting to pose?
Ah, that's Gracia. She is not good at posing for the camera. It is better to take candid shots on her.... will try again later.
Theophilus is better at posing (when he is not up to nonsense).
One last look at the roses...
Verdict: I won't go there again. Not for the entrance fee vs experience value.
Second stop: Strawberry farm....
Here is how the flowers look like....
and here is the "forbidden fruit" - yes, we are told NOT to pluck them.
Verdict: You should not buy strawberry from strawberry farm! Suprisingly, it is cheaper just down the road. All the talk about "fresher" while in the farm - I don't buy that. I bought mine at the road-side stalls and taste better than those samples provided by the farm. No, I won't go back to the farm.
Next stop: Butterfly garden.
Well.... not just about butterfly. By now, I am quite used to paying enterance fees. But, I am pleasantly suprise. Much much to my suprise.
The attraction of the butterfly garden for our family are NOT the butterflies (honestly, I think the Singapore Zoo's Fragile Forrest has just as much as a good view too). The thing that really caught us by suprise is the enthusaism of a keeper there.
Theophilus gets the best out of this trip. The keeper took out
Yes, the Rhino-bettle. This little fellow looks fierce, but he eats fruits! A vegeterian!
More bettles...
Even, Gracia is not spare of the fun...
I guess, she is "talking" to it... there is some communication down there... just hard for me to decifer...
Theophilus get to handle the lizard...
Or even have a scorpion on his head! Yup, I think he is brave.
Handle a frog...
Well.... now, the butterfly part...
Verdict: Super value for money. Theophilus gave it a top-vote and vouch to go there again without objections. I think it is highly due to the keeper who was there and he matched his enthusiasm on insects and reptiles. But much much better value compared to the rose garden or the strawberry farm.
We went to the bee-farm. No shots taken. Short tour.
Next stop: Tea leaves plantation.
A short tour on BOH tea center and I get to eat at the caferia.... I think it is one of the most relaxing place to just sip tea...
Yan took a very relaxing shot...
I take a relaxing shot....
Theophilus took a relaxing shot too....
That's all for the tour.
Verdict: Not too bad a place to drink tea. Considering the education-tour around the factory and the scenic caferia. Worth the effort. But not against the hours of drive to reach Cameron from Singapore. Yet, I think this is one of the more memorable stops of our trip.
In the night, we celebrated Gracia's birthday with... a slice of cake. Yup, we don't take too much cake after the last overdoze during Yan's birthday.
And just before we left Cameron on Sunday (Gracia's birthday) back to Singapore...
All dressed up ready to go. Yup, she threw up twice on the way down from Cameron Highlands even though I was driving very very slowly. She couldn't sleep and was singing along the way.
By the way, my Dopod gave me problem during this trip. I couldn't use my SIM card when I was up on Cameron Highlands, was OK along the way. And could only recover it when I am back home after switching SIM card with Yan on my old N70.
Well, at least, I have a relaxing break (minus the drive which is quite long).
Our family took a trip to Cameron Highlands over the weekends, and to celebrate Gracia's second birthday. The drive was really killing at one point, especially the way up to the resort which requires me to do so many turns. Anyhow, I am very thankful that we made it without any accident or landslide.
We taken some shots using my good-old-faithful Olympus digital camera. Here are some shots.
Here we are.... evidence that we did go to the Rose centre. Not a fantastic place, I must say....
perhaps, I am not that much of a "rose-lover"? But some of the flowers were quite pretty. Like this one...
Quite a big garden actually...
Not forgetting to pose?
Ah, that's Gracia. She is not good at posing for the camera. It is better to take candid shots on her.... will try again later.
Theophilus is better at posing (when he is not up to nonsense).
One last look at the roses...
Verdict: I won't go there again. Not for the entrance fee vs experience value.
Second stop: Strawberry farm....
Here is how the flowers look like....
and here is the "forbidden fruit" - yes, we are told NOT to pluck them.
Verdict: You should not buy strawberry from strawberry farm! Suprisingly, it is cheaper just down the road. All the talk about "fresher" while in the farm - I don't buy that. I bought mine at the road-side stalls and taste better than those samples provided by the farm. No, I won't go back to the farm.
Next stop: Butterfly garden.
Well.... not just about butterfly. By now, I am quite used to paying enterance fees. But, I am pleasantly suprise. Much much to my suprise.
The attraction of the butterfly garden for our family are NOT the butterflies (honestly, I think the Singapore Zoo's Fragile Forrest has just as much as a good view too). The thing that really caught us by suprise is the enthusaism of a keeper there.
Theophilus gets the best out of this trip. The keeper took out
Yes, the Rhino-bettle. This little fellow looks fierce, but he eats fruits! A vegeterian!
More bettles...
Even, Gracia is not spare of the fun...
I guess, she is "talking" to it... there is some communication down there... just hard for me to decifer...
Theophilus get to handle the lizard...
Or even have a scorpion on his head! Yup, I think he is brave.
Handle a frog...
Well.... now, the butterfly part...
Verdict: Super value for money. Theophilus gave it a top-vote and vouch to go there again without objections. I think it is highly due to the keeper who was there and he matched his enthusiasm on insects and reptiles. But much much better value compared to the rose garden or the strawberry farm.
We went to the bee-farm. No shots taken. Short tour.
Next stop: Tea leaves plantation.
A short tour on BOH tea center and I get to eat at the caferia.... I think it is one of the most relaxing place to just sip tea...
Yan took a very relaxing shot...
I take a relaxing shot....
Theophilus took a relaxing shot too....
That's all for the tour.
Verdict: Not too bad a place to drink tea. Considering the education-tour around the factory and the scenic caferia. Worth the effort. But not against the hours of drive to reach Cameron from Singapore. Yet, I think this is one of the more memorable stops of our trip.
In the night, we celebrated Gracia's birthday with... a slice of cake. Yup, we don't take too much cake after the last overdoze during Yan's birthday.
And just before we left Cameron on Sunday (Gracia's birthday) back to Singapore...
All dressed up ready to go. Yup, she threw up twice on the way down from Cameron Highlands even though I was driving very very slowly. She couldn't sleep and was singing along the way.
By the way, my Dopod gave me problem during this trip. I couldn't use my SIM card when I was up on Cameron Highlands, was OK along the way. And could only recover it when I am back home after switching SIM card with Yan on my old N70.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
A father's chronicles (At the breakfast table)
Reading is to me "more important" than speaking. Not that speaking is not important... that's how I am wired.
Gracia is a different "animal". When she first started to speak, I often find it amusing. It is like this little body can walk, can talk and now... she can joke and sing about it too.....
Yan: Gor Gor (brother) is going to get one marble for . Mei mei (sister) broke .... we will take all her 10 marbles to buy another one. So Mei Mei have no money left to use while Gor Gor have 20 dollars when we next travel. Is that OK, Gracia?
Gracia: (silent. look dispondent... and then suddenly....) Dollar, dollar where is my dollar? (she broke out in a tune)
Gracia is a different "animal". When she first started to speak, I often find it amusing. It is like this little body can walk, can talk and now... she can joke and sing about it too.....
Yan: Gor Gor (brother) is going to get one marble for . Mei mei (sister) broke .... we will take all her 10 marbles to buy another one. So Mei Mei have no money left to use while Gor Gor have 20 dollars when we next travel. Is that OK, Gracia?
Gracia: (silent. look dispondent... and then suddenly....) Dollar, dollar where is my dollar? (she broke out in a tune)
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
A father's chronicles (He is doing it again)
Last year, I wrote on his first taste of success. I am glad to tell you.... he is getting his GOLD award (Maths) again this year 
We have received a letter from Kumons yesterday that he has been invited to Kumon Singapore Advanced Student Honour Roll Ceremony 2007.
We spoke briefly on this over breakfast this morning. He is excited.
They will be clapping again for ME!
Well done! Another year of hard work. Much tougher now.... I am not doing it as fast as he is doing his work. Especially when he does his 2 digits multiplied by 2 digits or 3 digits.... together with division.
Well done, my boy. Well done.
We have received a letter from Kumons yesterday that he has been invited to Kumon Singapore Advanced Student Honour Roll Ceremony 2007.
We spoke briefly on this over breakfast this morning. He is excited.
They will be clapping again for ME!
Well done! Another year of hard work. Much tougher now.... I am not doing it as fast as he is doing his work. Especially when he does his 2 digits multiplied by 2 digits or 3 digits.... together with division.
Well done, my boy. Well done.
I am sitting and wondering who you are
If you take a look to the right of this post, you will find a ClustrMap. It has red dots on the world map. I have just clicked on it to find out where are the readers of my blog...
There is this particular red dot that caught my eyes... it is in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean. Probably someone in Hawaii is reading my post... and perhaps, someone at Finland too.
To those out there so far away.... Hi! I hope you do enjoy my post.
It is a strange thing about blogging. Your readers can be very silent. They enjoy (or might not enjoy the read) and move away....
But right now... I am wondering who you are .... out there....
There is this particular red dot that caught my eyes... it is in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean. Probably someone in Hawaii is reading my post... and perhaps, someone at Finland too.
To those out there so far away.... Hi!
I hope you do enjoy my post.It is a strange thing about blogging. Your readers can be very silent. They enjoy (or might not enjoy the read) and move away....
But right now... I am wondering who you are .... out there....
A christian father's chronicle (In the heart - Part 2)
Zoe encouraged me to share on my blog something I have spoken to her sometime back. It is another one of those conversation with Theophilus.
So, I was packing my bookshelf and stumbled upon an old X-ray flim. You know? Those black and white thing which doctors take to look into our beings? Ah... I thought it might be a good lesson material. I brought it to the dinning table where Theophilus was working on something....
Dad: Theophilus, see what I've got here?
Theophilus: (Huh?)
Dad: It's an X-ray of Daddy's chest. I took it when I went for my medical check-up sometime back.
(Dad is getting into his "bad habit of teaching" again.... sticks out his index finger...)
Dad: Now, this is the collar bone. Here are the ribs... that's the lungs, you have the stomach here... and here is the heart...
Theophilus: Where Jesus?
Dad: (Huh?)
Theophilus: I don't see Jesus in your heart! You told me he is there.
Dad: (Oops! Think faster....
)
Dad: Hmmmm... good question. Let me see.... I think it has something to do with the X-ray machine. I believe they have a limitation or it is probably spoilt. But you are right.
(Dad takes the film away)
Dad: Theophilus?
Theophilus: Ya?
Dad: X-Ray machines are not that advance yet.
Perhaps, science is still trying to catch up? Anyway, it is not taking a snapshot of my spirit either, right?
Actually, all these little conversation reminds me of the purity of speech of a child. They are pure in heart. They take words as it is. A 'Yes' is a 'Yes'. A 'No' is a 'No'.... anything beyond comes from the evil one... of course, we learn about such thing as figurative speech, but well... that is some time later in life...
I still have much to learn from them.
So, I was packing my bookshelf and stumbled upon an old X-ray flim. You know? Those black and white thing which doctors take to look into our beings? Ah... I thought it might be a good lesson material. I brought it to the dinning table where Theophilus was working on something....
Dad: Theophilus, see what I've got here?
Theophilus: (Huh?)
Dad: It's an X-ray of Daddy's chest. I took it when I went for my medical check-up sometime back.
(Dad is getting into his "bad habit of teaching" again.... sticks out his index finger...)
Dad: Now, this is the collar bone. Here are the ribs... that's the lungs, you have the stomach here... and here is the heart...
Theophilus: Where Jesus?
Dad: (Huh?)
Theophilus: I don't see Jesus in your heart! You told me he is there.
Dad: (Oops! Think faster....
)Dad: Hmmmm... good question. Let me see.... I think it has something to do with the X-ray machine. I believe they have a limitation or it is probably spoilt. But you are right.
(Dad takes the film away)
Dad: Theophilus?
Theophilus: Ya?
Dad: X-Ray machines are not that advance yet.
Perhaps, science is still trying to catch up? Anyway, it is not taking a snapshot of my spirit either, right?
Actually, all these little conversation reminds me of the purity of speech of a child. They are pure in heart. They take words as it is. A 'Yes' is a 'Yes'. A 'No' is a 'No'.... anything beyond comes from the evil one... of course, we learn about such thing as figurative speech, but well... that is some time later in life...
I still have much to learn from them.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
A christian father's chronicle (The real thing)
Zoe just sent me some quotes from her "good & long time friend" - Royston. I read it. Fabulous. At risk of infringing on copyright, let me attribute all creation of this article to Royston and Kaitlyn. So no stealing here, OK?
But read this. I like reading this... it is like being "invisible" and hearing the bedside conversations of dad and child (I have many with Theophilus)....
Extracted from Royston's post
K: "Daddy can you lie here a bit longer?"
---dead silence---
It is so wonderful to be a father! Can learn so many things from them.
But read this. I like reading this... it is like being "invisible" and hearing the bedside conversations of dad and child (I have many with Theophilus)....
Extracted from Royston's post
I have been putting Kaitlyn to bed lately, and we have the most interesting chats:
R: "Why are you afraid of the dark?"
K: "I don't like the dark"
R: "Which part of the dark are you afraid off?"
K: "The clowns will come and get me"
----silence----
K: "Daddy can you lie here a bit longer?"
R desperate to get back to work...
R: "Whenever you are scared, you can pray "Dear Jesus""
K: "Dear Jesus" and she continued herself "make me brave and that your angels watch over me, Amen!"
R: "Amen! Good...close your eyes now..."
K: "Where is Jesus daddy? Is Jared gor gor with him in Heaven?"
R: "yes he is...and He is also in your heart right where you are now..."
K: "In my heart? So he must be quite bloody since I have blood in my heart..."
---dead silence---
It is so wonderful to be a father! Can learn so many things from them.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Her signature shot again...
Her laughter can be contagious...
And when the hearty laugher simmers down...
(If you are curious - Yes, all these shots were taken using my Dopod 838 Pro)
Monday, July 23, 2007
A christian father's chronicle (Thanksgiving)
After more than 2 years of praying, and countless time of putting our hopes in God.... yes, Theophilus (and Gracia in time to come) will be attending Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary school!
There were 79 vacancies when we applied and 80 students registered. Usually this will result to balloting, but we were informed by the school today there will not be any balloting!
My son have been accepted to go to his long awaited and prayed for Primary school!!! I am so happy for him. A school that he finally looked forward to. A school that he always wished to be there. To listen to the endless number of bible stories. To be found within people who teach Godly principles. Yan and myself is delighted to receive this news.
We went out for a thanksgiving dinner. It rained, but that did not dampen our thanksgiving.
This is Theophilus' longest prayer request, the second closest one is his prayer for a sibling - which God answered with the arrival of Gracia.
Theophilus have been praying for entrance into the Primary school on bended knees and for 2 years. I am so happy for him. It will be a stepping stone for his faith.
I could recall on Sunday, his Sunday school class theme verse was: "Anything is possible for those who have faith in God." It was a comforting verse in midst of a rising storm within our hearts.
Thank God for this answered prayer.
To all Christian parents: May you be encouraged that there is a boy who prayed (and a family who prayed along) and did make it to the school of their choice. At the end of the journey - God determines how our lives work out. Only he holds the final key. Not the principal. Not your volunteering work (even if you have done 80 hours, the final nod comes from God). The battle is from above and deep within.
There were 79 vacancies when we applied and 80 students registered. Usually this will result to balloting, but we were informed by the school today there will not be any balloting!
My son have been accepted to go to his long awaited and prayed for Primary school!!! I am so happy for him. A school that he finally looked forward to. A school that he always wished to be there. To listen to the endless number of bible stories. To be found within people who teach Godly principles. Yan and myself is delighted to receive this news.
We went out for a thanksgiving dinner. It rained, but that did not dampen our thanksgiving.
This is Theophilus' longest prayer request, the second closest one is his prayer for a sibling - which God answered with the arrival of Gracia.
Theophilus have been praying for entrance into the Primary school on bended knees and for 2 years. I am so happy for him. It will be a stepping stone for his faith.
I could recall on Sunday, his Sunday school class theme verse was: "Anything is possible for those who have faith in God." It was a comforting verse in midst of a rising storm within our hearts.
Thank God for this answered prayer.
To all Christian parents: May you be encouraged that there is a boy who prayed (and a family who prayed along) and did make it to the school of their choice. At the end of the journey - God determines how our lives work out. Only he holds the final key. Not the principal. Not your volunteering work (even if you have done 80 hours, the final nod comes from God). The battle is from above and deep within.
Monday, July 16, 2007
A father's chronicle (our weekends)
It is always fun and more fun... I like weekends! Here are some shots we taken using my new Dopod 838 Pro.
We went to the Science Center. Cannot resist in taking a shot or two infront of this monster!... err... the smaller one is also a "monster" ... but I love him.
Of course, we went to take a walk at McRitchie too.... I love to be with them. They are such a fun bunch of people to be with.... and Gracia is having fun here....
Mom's supervision is required still....
Our nation is preparing for celebration of National Day next month... you can see those helicopters flying in circles....
I like sunset.... it is always a nice view... even the sunset days of life....
To be honest: I still like my old N70 as compared to my Dopod in taking photos. I have passed the repaired N70 to Yan. She likes it too. Battery life is great and the photos looks great too. For Dopod 838 Pro, I find the battery life is not as fantastic, and taking motion shots is really a bit more painful. "Motion" shots as those with Theophilus or Gracia moving a bit while snapping the shot. It looks pretty off actually. I need to put on the "Motion" picture mode and take 5 shots and choose one. ... no doubt I have alot of space for storage... but sigh... I still prefer the shutter speed of N70. Nevertheless, from the shots above, you can see that the resolution is actually quite good (I didn't touch up on them). My Dopod is on 2.0 Mega pixel as compared to 1.3 Mega pixel for N70.... not much difference to me as a non-professional.
We went to the Science Center. Cannot resist in taking a shot or two infront of this monster!... err... the smaller one is also a "monster" ... but I love him.
Of course, we went to take a walk at McRitchie too.... I love to be with them. They are such a fun bunch of people to be with.... and Gracia is having fun here....
Mom's supervision is required still....
Our nation is preparing for celebration of National Day next month... you can see those helicopters flying in circles....
I like sunset.... it is always a nice view... even the sunset days of life....
To be honest: I still like my old N70 as compared to my Dopod in taking photos. I have passed the repaired N70 to Yan. She likes it too. Battery life is great and the photos looks great too. For Dopod 838 Pro, I find the battery life is not as fantastic, and taking motion shots is really a bit more painful. "Motion" shots as those with Theophilus or Gracia moving a bit while snapping the shot. It looks pretty off actually. I need to put on the "Motion" picture mode and take 5 shots and choose one. ... no doubt I have alot of space for storage... but sigh... I still prefer the shutter speed of N70. Nevertheless, from the shots above, you can see that the resolution is actually quite good (I didn't touch up on them). My Dopod is on 2.0 Mega pixel as compared to 1.3 Mega pixel for N70.... not much difference to me as a non-professional.
Monday, July 09, 2007
A christian father's chronicle (Praying for school registration)
Yes, we are in the final weeks before we know where Theophilus will be going for his Primary school next year. He has been praying to go to Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary school for coming to 2 years now.
Primary school education in Singapore is kind of ridiculous. Parents do all sorts of things to "secure" a place of entrance to the school of choice. I have my part of it - meeting obnoxious school princial and getting the uncommitable liner: We do not guarantee the place for your son, but you have to fufill the 80 hours of voluntary work for the school - and don't miss the smirk look!
Parental love is really great. Parents go through great lengths. I have this battle within myself too. But at one point, I stood back and have to think what do I wish for his life, how do I want things to happen.... I must admit my faith does not always stand tall...
Primary school education in Singapore is kind of ridiculous. Parents do all sorts of things to "secure" a place of entrance to the school of choice. I have my part of it - meeting obnoxious school princial and getting the uncommitable liner: We do not guarantee the place for your son, but you have to fufill the 80 hours of voluntary work for the school - and don't miss the smirk look!
Parental love is really great. Parents go through great lengths. I have this battle within myself too. But at one point, I stood back and have to think what do I wish for his life, how do I want things to happen.... I must admit my faith does not always stand tall...
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
My N70 display gave up its ghost!
So, it gave a violent shake and took its last breadth.... it was by good fortune that I switched on the bluetooth connection with my laptop and perform a backup of the phone (plus transfer of pictures which I took for the past 2 weeks)....
Now, I can only receive calls using my N70, I can't read SMS, cannot write SMS, cannot really take photo (since I cannot see the image before aiming nor savour it after taking the snapshot).
Why must it die a premature death before my phone contract (yes, I sent it once for servicing before the warranty was due)?.... now that the warranty is void... I must look out for another phone... or a camera that I can use as a phone... or a multi-function communication device (PDA + camera + phone + ....)
The bad thing about having so many of these features on the phone is that it breaks all so easily. I was suprised to hear from my close friend Ling that all her friends gave up on Nokia N-series, complaining of all sorts of breakdowns. ...
So, I am using my old and faithful Nokia 6610 .... it is amazing - it is still working and outlasted so many other phones... the only thing that broke was the cover which I have replaced. Actually, it is Theophilus' phone now (he is kind enough to return it back to me as a temporary loan - without whinning and no complaints, no grumbles... just kind words)... but well... I will need it till I find another for myself.
To commemorate the death of my phone... here are some last shots that it took for me over the weekend....
The boy at Vivio City's playground...
Gracia under the cool shade...
It is always good to have a loving brother....
Gracia lost her patience while waiting for her ice-cream to come...
Now, I can only receive calls using my N70, I can't read SMS, cannot write SMS, cannot really take photo (since I cannot see the image before aiming nor savour it after taking the snapshot).
Why must it die a premature death before my phone contract (yes, I sent it once for servicing before the warranty was due)?.... now that the warranty is void... I must look out for another phone... or a camera that I can use as a phone... or a multi-function communication device (PDA + camera + phone + ....)
The bad thing about having so many of these features on the phone is that it breaks all so easily. I was suprised to hear from my close friend Ling that all her friends gave up on Nokia N-series, complaining of all sorts of breakdowns. ...
So, I am using my old and faithful Nokia 6610 .... it is amazing - it is still working and outlasted so many other phones... the only thing that broke was the cover which I have replaced. Actually, it is Theophilus' phone now (he is kind enough to return it back to me as a temporary loan - without whinning and no complaints, no grumbles... just kind words)... but well... I will need it till I find another for myself.
To commemorate the death of my phone... here are some last shots that it took for me over the weekend....
The boy at Vivio City's playground...
Gracia under the cool shade...
It is always good to have a loving brother....
Gracia lost her patience while waiting for her ice-cream to come...
Monday, June 18, 2007
A christian father's chronicle (El Shaddai)
Must blog on this...
Today, Yan called me while I am in office to let me hear a piece of Theophilus playing on the piano. It is from the song El Shaddai (you can watch the live performance by Amy Grant here) ... he played it all by himself through hearing... Actually, this is the first piece of music on A-minor that he played by hearing. So, that is a good start. Yes, we were overwhelmed. Not because he could play the notes correctly... but more so he played a piece of song that is so timeless or in the words of Amy in the live performance:
I am glad to sing you a song about something that doesn't change.
It is a very meaningful piece of song. It is a song about someone who does not change. It is about the God Almighty. It is about a God who is faithful - yestarday, today and will remain so forever. It is also a song that brings out the unique opportunity that we have - an honour to praise him till we die.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
El-elyon na adonia,
Age to age youre still the same,
By the power of the name.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
Erkamka na adonai,
We will praise and lift you high,
El shaddai.
Through your love and through the ram,
You saved the son of Abraham;
Through the power of your hand,
Turned the sea into dry land.
To the outcast on her knees,
You were the God who really sees,
And by your might,
You set your children free.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
El-elyon na adonia,
Age to age youre still the same,
By the power of the name.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
Erkamka na adonai,
We will praise and lift you high,
El shaddai.
Through the years youve made it clear,
That the time of christ was near,
Though the people couldnt see
What Messiah ought to be.
Though your word contained the plan,
They just could not understand
Your most awesome work was done
Through the frailty of your son.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
El-elyon na adonai,
Age to age youre still the same,
By the power of the name.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
Erkamka na adonai,
I will praise yo till I die,
El shaddai.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
El-elyon na adonai,
Age to age youre still the same,
By the power of the name.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
Erkamka na adonai,
I will praise you till I die.
El shaddai.
I am very proud of Theophilus. Not just because he can do so well. I am still proud of him even if he cannot play this piece of wonderful music.... what I am most profoundly proud of him is his love for God Almighty, his choice of such a wonderful piece of song - a prayer that Yan and I always wanted in our lives.
Yes, I did encouraged him to use music to bring people closer to God - something which I did when I was young.
Today, Yan called me while I am in office to let me hear a piece of Theophilus playing on the piano. It is from the song El Shaddai (you can watch the live performance by Amy Grant here) ... he played it all by himself through hearing... Actually, this is the first piece of music on A-minor that he played by hearing. So, that is a good start. Yes, we were overwhelmed. Not because he could play the notes correctly... but more so he played a piece of song that is so timeless or in the words of Amy in the live performance:
I am glad to sing you a song about something that doesn't change.
It is a very meaningful piece of song. It is a song about someone who does not change. It is about the God Almighty. It is about a God who is faithful - yestarday, today and will remain so forever. It is also a song that brings out the unique opportunity that we have - an honour to praise him till we die.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
El-elyon na adonia,
Age to age youre still the same,
By the power of the name.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
Erkamka na adonai,
We will praise and lift you high,
El shaddai.
Through your love and through the ram,
You saved the son of Abraham;
Through the power of your hand,
Turned the sea into dry land.
To the outcast on her knees,
You were the God who really sees,
And by your might,
You set your children free.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
El-elyon na adonia,
Age to age youre still the same,
By the power of the name.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
Erkamka na adonai,
We will praise and lift you high,
El shaddai.
Through the years youve made it clear,
That the time of christ was near,
Though the people couldnt see
What Messiah ought to be.
Though your word contained the plan,
They just could not understand
Your most awesome work was done
Through the frailty of your son.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
El-elyon na adonai,
Age to age youre still the same,
By the power of the name.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
Erkamka na adonai,
I will praise yo till I die,
El shaddai.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
El-elyon na adonai,
Age to age youre still the same,
By the power of the name.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
Erkamka na adonai,
I will praise you till I die.
El shaddai.
I am very proud of Theophilus. Not just because he can do so well. I am still proud of him even if he cannot play this piece of wonderful music.... what I am most profoundly proud of him is his love for God Almighty, his choice of such a wonderful piece of song - a prayer that Yan and I always wanted in our lives.
Yes, I did encouraged him to use music to bring people closer to God - something which I did when I was young.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Application profiling (Comparing 4 tools in my bag)
I have not been writing technical blog for very long. On the other hand, James have been writing quite a few technical blogs recently, and some of them are really interesting.
For today, I will probably write on my recent toys which I have been playinig around - profiling tools. The application that I am profiling is a J2EE application, multi-tier, blah blah blah.
Before we proceed, let me state my intention for this tool: I want to identify the performance hotspots within my application and thereby giving me the starting point to do refactoring work, or recoding of modules entirely.
So, I hope this is a simple enough objective for me... or is it?
Needless to say, even though I have previous experience on some commercial tools, this time round I try to stay away from some of my familiar ones - JProbe, OptimizeIt and even the free one which I like - Netbeans Profiler.
The "problem" with Netbeans Profiler in my present context is that my application runs on BEA's JRockit JVM and on JDK 1.4.2. To be fair, NB profiler have a specially instrumented JVM for JDK 1.4, but hack... I am not using Netbeans here in my team. I am using Eclipse.
So, the "natural" choice was to go for TPTP. There is also another option that I have: Mission Control from BEA. The Mission Control 2.0 ships with the JRockit VM.
Here are some of my experiences on Eclipse TPTP:
The good
Now about Mission Control 2.0
The good
Now, I tried something commercial tool which I know might not be fair to compare with the previous highlighted tools. But I was determined to find something that I can use in the development (i.e. free or at least provide a development license).... BTW, I did try YourKit Java Profiler - it is not easy in installation and didn't work well for my application, so bye bye.
The next tool that I want to bring into the scene is JXInsight.
The good
Conclusion: I am using the developer edition now in my development environment, it has a time limit of 45 mins for profiling. Good enough for most purposes, and the most important thing - it works on my application and did not drag it to its knees. It takes a while before you can interpret what you see on those views and as I said, the documents did help that much. Overall, I am quite happy with this tool and it will certainly not be lying on the floor of my toolbox when I do profiling.
For those cool profiling tools maker out there, may I give some inputs to what a user wants:
For today, I will probably write on my recent toys which I have been playinig around - profiling tools. The application that I am profiling is a J2EE application, multi-tier, blah blah blah.
Before we proceed, let me state my intention for this tool: I want to identify the performance hotspots within my application and thereby giving me the starting point to do refactoring work, or recoding of modules entirely.
So, I hope this is a simple enough objective for me... or is it?
Needless to say, even though I have previous experience on some commercial tools, this time round I try to stay away from some of my familiar ones - JProbe, OptimizeIt and even the free one which I like - Netbeans Profiler.
The "problem" with Netbeans Profiler in my present context is that my application runs on BEA's JRockit JVM and on JDK 1.4.2. To be fair, NB profiler have a specially instrumented JVM for JDK 1.4, but hack... I am not using Netbeans here in my team. I am using Eclipse.
So, the "natural" choice was to go for TPTP. There is also another option that I have: Mission Control from BEA. The Mission Control 2.0 ships with the JRockit VM.
Here are some of my experiences on Eclipse TPTP:
The good
- It snaps into the IDE which my team is using which is Eclipse
- I think it will continue to mature
- We can profile a JRockit VM
- The installation process is not that straight forward (besides downloading all the relevant and dependent plug-ins), at one point foiled my Eclipse installation. It was wise of me to do a backup of my hard-disk and I recovered everything to the original state. I hate to furge around trying to figure out what's wrong with the installation, when my original intention is to profile my application which I think is the problem - I don't need another problem
- There is a separate agent controller and guess what? yes, it does not work on some old JRockit JVM. I have to figure that out and after banging my heads for a few days, I stumbled upon the possibility that perhaps it is due to a VM bug... so I went ahead to download the latest JRockit JVM and viola! it works
- This whole idea of having a agent controller is ridiculous. There are so many tools that don't need it and I have additional setup to do
- Ridiculously intrusive - it drags my application to its knees in some use cases
Now about Mission Control 2.0
The good
- Almost brainless in the installation. There is only the standard profiling agent to be configured at the VM's runtime options - no big deal.
- Light enough - as compared to TPTP. It didn't drag my application to its knees
- Even though I can discover two of my agents running on a single box, only one of them could be profiled properly. The background is that I am running both the web and application tier on the same box. I think the agent must have gotten themselves confused...
- Absolutely ridiculous in the filtering of classes to be profiled and viewed for analysis. I cannot imagine a tool coming from such a reputable company and requires me to enter the full package and classname to be profiled (imagine, I have to type in java.util.Vector... and there are so many other classes I want to profile - all entered manually!!!) The fact is that when I do a profiling of my application, I want to identify the hotspots of my codes - if I supply the full resolved package and classname, that will mean I already know where the problem is! I was defeated by such a ridiculous design.
Now, I tried something commercial tool which I know might not be fair to compare with the previous highlighted tools. But I was determined to find something that I can use in the development (i.e. free or at least provide a development license).... BTW, I did try YourKit Java Profiler - it is not easy in installation and didn't work well for my application, so bye bye.
The next tool that I want to bring into the scene is JXInsight.
The good
- A more complicated installation process compared to Mission Control, but close to what I should expect even out of JProbe or OptimizeIt, overall still manageable.
- It supports so many platform (both OS and application container) and VM... unlike Netbeans Profiler...
- Ghee, the documentation is really not well organized. Folks from JINSPIRED should really sit up on this one - you have a good tool, the problem is that you have people who want to use your tool. Your objective is to make the road easier. In many aspects, you have done so, but not from the Installation guide and User manual. It is frustrating to read it, not well index, the PDF files (included in the installation) does not have clickable indexes or content page. It can be seen that these folks are engineers.
- The manuals (which is really the help files too), do not really shows step by step on how to use the different views and perspective. Newbies to these tool can get discouraged if they cannot use all the information presented to them - it is thrown to them.
- The user manual writer should really put in BOLD that the user requires to not only start the VM with all the required options and configuration setup but actually runs a transaction through the application BEFORE you can see anything on the console. Most of the other tools usually get snap into the agent and display heap graphs and things like that. This one doesn't - it polls and reports that it cannot find anything within the network.... until you hit your first transaction through the system and viola! all the lights are blinking.
Conclusion: I am using the developer edition now in my development environment, it has a time limit of 45 mins for profiling. Good enough for most purposes, and the most important thing - it works on my application and did not drag it to its knees. It takes a while before you can interpret what you see on those views and as I said, the documents did help that much. Overall, I am quite happy with this tool and it will certainly not be lying on the floor of my toolbox when I do profiling.
For those cool profiling tools maker out there, may I give some inputs to what a user wants:
- Easy setup
- Light (i.e. don't drag my application down anymore than it is now!!!) The reason why I am using your tool is to investigate the concerns of my application - not your tool
- Please write the documentation well. People read them. If you want wide usage, it has to be easy to use and easy to understand the vast amount of data presented. Not everybody is a D.E (Distinguished Engineer) who can get productivity at the snap of the fingers. Tools should be written for people - people with a mission and task and it does not help to burden them further.
- Yes, provide a developer's license is a great way. I am very willing to buy the commercial production license -and yes, I am the technical decision maker.
- Support a wide range of OS, VM and application container. We don't just work on one project for the rest of our lives. We want to build on the knowledge of the tool, so, if the tool can also support another OS, and VM and container which my next project is working on... wow... I will embrace it almost like a religion (which translates to loyalty to the tool).
Monday, May 21, 2007
Service starts from home
Over the weekends, I brought my family to Swensons restaurant. And well, I must admit that the restaurant was quiet enough for us... we really dislike crowded places...
When the waitress came along to take the order, however, it was terrible. Her body language was bad, and what was even worst was she was not knowledgeable about the products (and so is her manager). We were ordering a meal that we could add on another ice-cream. On the menu, it was stated explicitly that we could order any other side-menu at a certain cost. However, the waitress said, "You cannot. My manager says so." Period. Ghosh. So, I begged to differ and ask her to check with her manager what is printed on the menu. She came back without apologies actually - "My manager say you can."
The whole incident was in my mind for 2 days. I am just wondering... no wonder they says Singapore's customer service is terrible. We pride ourselves for efficiency. We pride ourselves being hardworking. We are clean (might even be artifically too clean? but that is debatable). It might be part of the fault of the company not to train their staff well (perhaps, they did not instill in them the pride of good service). And there is also no incentive to do so... most of the time (they get the same pay anyway). But what kept me thinking is what I read in the book I am reading by Nanz Chong - One business 99 lessons:
"There is a manager at a Japanese BBQ restaurant that I particularly like called Aburiya who is superb at customer service. It is his anticipation of the customer's needs that impresses me - he is so observant, even the slightest need does not go unnoticed.
One day, my one-year old started to stand up on the high chair, and Mr Manager was already walking towards us with serviettes in his hand... Another time, we dropped a fork, and when we looked up, there he was with a replacement fork. He must have had some kind of invisible sensor taped around his head!"
I NEVER have experienced this good service for many many years. I certainly didn't even when I at Goodwood Park Hotel eating buffet with my son on his birthday last month. In fact, I walked to replace the fork that dropped - well... at least to the embrassment of the manager... at least he was apologetic about it, so credit goes to him. Everybody was busy. Nobody noticed the need of a customer.
In the case of Swenson? They scored way way below zero. And this is not the only branch that seems to provide such poor customer service.
All these are perhaps side issues. What is in my mind is where do we start to bring good customer service back to Singapore?
I seem to come to this answer - It starts from home.
The attitude of servanthood is not much looked up to. Some people don't realized that good service is really a pride, and I do agree with Nanz ... some time back, Giodano did have such high standard - it was a joy to walk into the shop. Even though I knew I won't get anything, getting into the shop really make my day! I wish I could buy the whole shelf to reward the staff.
Courtesy and service starts from home. Most parents don't particular take note of this aspect and well... "it might be best not to groom our children to serve others... but to be served". What a shame. To them the one sitting on end of the dinning table is the "master", those who bring along the food is the "slave". One is higher, the other ... lower to put it best.
For those who really serious about bringing good customer service - I think it starts from home.
When the waitress came along to take the order, however, it was terrible. Her body language was bad, and what was even worst was she was not knowledgeable about the products (and so is her manager). We were ordering a meal that we could add on another ice-cream. On the menu, it was stated explicitly that we could order any other side-menu at a certain cost. However, the waitress said, "You cannot. My manager says so." Period. Ghosh. So, I begged to differ and ask her to check with her manager what is printed on the menu. She came back without apologies actually - "My manager say you can."
The whole incident was in my mind for 2 days. I am just wondering... no wonder they says Singapore's customer service is terrible. We pride ourselves for efficiency. We pride ourselves being hardworking. We are clean (might even be artifically too clean? but that is debatable). It might be part of the fault of the company not to train their staff well (perhaps, they did not instill in them the pride of good service). And there is also no incentive to do so... most of the time (they get the same pay anyway). But what kept me thinking is what I read in the book I am reading by Nanz Chong - One business 99 lessons:
"There is a manager at a Japanese BBQ restaurant that I particularly like called Aburiya who is superb at customer service. It is his anticipation of the customer's needs that impresses me - he is so observant, even the slightest need does not go unnoticed.
One day, my one-year old started to stand up on the high chair, and Mr Manager was already walking towards us with serviettes in his hand... Another time, we dropped a fork, and when we looked up, there he was with a replacement fork. He must have had some kind of invisible sensor taped around his head!"
I NEVER have experienced this good service for many many years. I certainly didn't even when I at Goodwood Park Hotel eating buffet with my son on his birthday last month. In fact, I walked to replace the fork that dropped - well... at least to the embrassment of the manager... at least he was apologetic about it, so credit goes to him. Everybody was busy. Nobody noticed the need of a customer.
In the case of Swenson? They scored way way below zero. And this is not the only branch that seems to provide such poor customer service.
All these are perhaps side issues. What is in my mind is where do we start to bring good customer service back to Singapore?
I seem to come to this answer - It starts from home.
The attitude of servanthood is not much looked up to. Some people don't realized that good service is really a pride, and I do agree with Nanz ... some time back, Giodano did have such high standard - it was a joy to walk into the shop. Even though I knew I won't get anything, getting into the shop really make my day! I wish I could buy the whole shelf to reward the staff.
Courtesy and service starts from home. Most parents don't particular take note of this aspect and well... "it might be best not to groom our children to serve others... but to be served". What a shame. To them the one sitting on end of the dinning table is the "master", those who bring along the food is the "slave". One is higher, the other ... lower to put it best.
For those who really serious about bringing good customer service - I think it starts from home.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Are you a Senior Java developer?
Yes, if you are looking for a job and a challenging project.... I have a place for you if you are in Singapore!
Before you do... (and I am more eager to hire), you need to understand and get your basics covered.
Check out my expectations here.
If you have what it takes. Drop me a mail at sun_paulho@hotmail.com.
Before you do... (and I am more eager to hire), you need to understand and get your basics covered.
Check out my expectations here.
If you have what it takes. Drop me a mail at sun_paulho@hotmail.com.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
A father's chronicle (Theophilus' birthday)
Here were some shots taken for this birthday... as usual, we celebrated for 4 days...
This year, his favourite toy - Zoids.
It is his last chance to celebrate his birthday in school.... I heard they don't allow such celebrations in Primary school....
He has grown so much!!!! It was a wonderful day for me.
Happy Birthday, boy!
This year, his favourite toy - Zoids.
It is his last chance to celebrate his birthday in school.... I heard they don't allow such celebrations in Primary school....
He has grown so much!!!! It was a wonderful day for me.
Happy Birthday, boy!
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