Priority

I was contacted by phone by one of my working associates. The conversation started off with a few important matters about work that needed to be clarified immediately. After that, my associate suddenly drifted off to talk about one of the online novels he was reading and how tragically sad it was before starting to talk about the wide range of emotions it struck. At that moment, I decided to cut the conversation short. My pork chop that I'm having for dinner is certainly more important than idle chat about some online novel that I probably won't be reading, and I didn't hesitate to tell him that.

Talking about it, I did set my priorities right didn't I?

Threshold?

During the last few weeks that I went to Intech 2005 (International Conference on Intelligent Technology), on my way back home during our transit to the airport along with other distinguished guests and speakers, one of the conversation caught my attention during the course of the journey. It has to do with two distinguished educators in the science and engineering field, one from a private university and the other from a public university. Though there are many topics that of interest, I'll just recall one of the topics which would probably interest general readers than all the hardcore problems underlining the educational system in Thailand (the majority of the discussion was on there).

The topic that was somewhat funny, and in quite close to everyone is the problem about parking space. As you all know, with our government quite happy to boast about reaching the million car mark, I think the regular driver would ask themselves where in the world are we going to find enough parking spaces? In the example of where I work, during peak times (registration), the baskteball field is actually converted into a makeshift parking space to handle the huge spike of cars coming to the university. Even with that, there is simply not enough parking space in the premises. One of the policy that our university has pursued was that if a reserved car park has been parked by an unauthorized person, the car would be locked by the wheels. To take out the lock, a huge fine has to be paid, and that really worked effectively against cars that try to sneak and park in unauthorized sections of the university.

Anyway during one of the topic discussed between the two educators, the one from the public university complained bitterly about the parking space. After talking for a while, the educator from the public university mentioned that alot of students park their cars in the places the lecturers should park. Surprised, the educator from the private university asked that why didn't the university just simply lock the wheels of the cars to teach those students a lesson? The educator from the public university just shook his head and pointed that it was impossible. The reason was simple, the university is public property, and due to that reason, everyone has the right to park anywhere they want as long as there is space and conforms to driving regulations and locking the wheels of cars in the university was actually against the law. In other words, the lecturers have to hope the students don't find that out that they can actually park in the lecturer's parking space according to law.

Strange...

Talking about it, it reminds me about the elevators at the subways. The elevators were initially designed so that people with handicaps (e.g. wheelchairs) can use. At the moment its just used by normal commuters once a few lazy-bums decided that it would be faster to just get up the handicap elevator. At the moment, it turned into a norm. Talk about how low threshold and order in our society these days.

When talking about order, at least its Christmas and New Year coming up soon, and then not much order is in order, lol.

Good and Bad Procastination

Great article to read especially those who like procastination!

Good and Bad Procastination

http://paulgraham.com/procrastination.html

The Cure to Racism/Segregration/Discrimination

Sorry for linking lots of articles instead of writing what I've been thinking. I've got many things transversing around my head, but due to a myraid of reasons, I just can't seem to group them in a logical way as I wanted both due to a writer's block, and also a physical injury. During the last week, I've severely injured my fingers (basketball, jarring my fingers inbetween the door slamming, and etc.) making it hard for me to type for a while without going back to nursing my index finger. Anyway, I just can't help but highlight one of the opinions that could cure racism/segregration/discrimination in an alternative way that deserves mention:

Morgan Freeman wrote: NEW YORK -
Morgan Freeman says the concept of a month dedicated to black history is "ridiculous."

"You're going to relegate my history to a month?" the 68-year-old actor says in an interview on CBS' "60 Minutes" to air Sunday (7 p.m. EST). "I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history."

Black History Month has roots in historian Carter G. Woodson's Negro History Week, which he designated in 1926 as the second week in February to mark the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

Woodson said he hoped the week could one day be eliminated — when black history would become fundamental to American history.

Freeman notes there is no "white history month," and says the only way to get rid of racism is to "stop talking about it."

The actor says he believes the labels "black" and "white" are an obstacle to beating racism.

"I am going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man," Freeman says.

Freeman received Oscar nominations for his roles in 1987's "Street Smart," 1989's "Driving Miss Daisy" and 1994's "The Shawshank Redemption." He finally won earlier this year for "Million Dollar Baby."

The King and I: A Royal Critique

I just wanted to share the following article. It provokes much food for your thought.

The King and I: A Royal Critique - Tom Plate - UCLA Asia Institute

King Bhumibol Adulyadej provides Prime Minister Thaksin with much needed advice on humility
Thursday, December 8, 2005

Bangkok --- Kings are not ordinarily my thing.

Generally, one needs to maintain to a proper deference for elected parliaments or congresses, even as they are often ethically challenged.

The problem is that absolutism in the pursuit of political perfection almost always leads to tragic tyranny. It's the rare king or queen who can rise above His or Her absolutism.

But Thailand may just have one of those.

On Sunday, on the occasion of his 78th birthday, the King of the nation once known as Siam delivered his birthday speech. This is an annual event, and in Siam the King occupies a special affection in people's hearts.

The King spoke from a throne that looked like a giant birthday cake, in the hall of the capital's gold-and-silver drenched Grand Palace. The potential for unintentional hilarity and pointless pomposity was overwhelming. But this time King Bhumibol Adulyadej was for spurning royal froth; the king had something important to say. He was speaking against a backdrop of government rocked by scandal and excessive ego.

Aiming soft-coated barbs primarily at the country's prime minister, the King proposed to his subjects a quiet platform of wisdom, common sense and humility. Yes, he said, even the King can make mistakes (though the Thai Constitutional actually states to the contrary that he cannot), and the people should let him know when mistakes are made.

Kings don't usually say this, but this ninth King of the Chakri Dynasty, enthroned way back in 1946, spoke against the backdrop of rising public unhappiness with the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. This multi-millionaire politician has been feeling the public-opinion heat lately, and has not been taking it well. On the contrary, with just about each public criticism, Thaksin has ordered his bevy of
lawyers to file a lawsuit against every critic who opens his or her mouth.

This should not be the Thai way, suggested the world's longest running monarch: "Whatever one does, one just has to be conscious of what one is thinking and doing, and thus try not to make a mistake... I myself have made mistakes a few times..." And so, it was suggested, even the prime minister can make mistakes, and if the King is willing to acknowledge his mistakes, why not the PM?

Taking criticism in stride is a normal and essential part of public service. It is far better for rulers to deal with the sometimes-harsh sunlight of reality than to try to govern in the darkness of poisonous flattery. Public figures do become excessive targets of criticism, conceded the King, but, even so, "It could be damaging to the public if one doesn't appreciate those points of criticism."

To be sure, the King thanked -- but really only tongue-in-cheek -- the prime minister for wishing him well on the occasion of his royal birthday. But he wondered whether his compliment would sow trouble for the Throne "because other people might not compliment me for complimenting the PM. They may question why I give him compliments."

Thaksin, whose government has supported the Iraq war and executed excessively harsh measures against Muslims in the south near Malaysia, is known to have political skin far thinner than papyrus.

"It is normal that people like being complimented and do not like being criticized," said the King, drolly. "But we have the PM for complimenting. If we do not compliment him, he might not be pleased. And if he is not satisfied, how could work proceed?"

Throw your eyes across the political spectrum of the world and think of All the self-styled monarchs for whom a true King's words would be most apt. One thinks of insulated presidents (who shall go nameless) and arrogant prime ministers (who shall go nameless) who with hot-air pomp regard criticism as unpatriotic. But here is a King who would demonstrate humility, who would ask of his people that they accept his royal imperfections and who ask of his first minister that he accept that people and even political opponents have the right to raise serious questions about grave issues.

Americans do not ordinarily expect wisdom from royalty. But based on Sunday's speech, this is one King who does get this American's vote.

Random Quote

I just liked this random quote I saw in the Internet alot :P

"Having a smoking section in a restaurant is like having a peeing section in a swimming pool =P"

New GWB Terms

I think most of the readers here know that I'm not a big fan of George W. Bush (GWB). Anyway due to a bout of boredom yesterday, I decided to switch to CNN and watch his live speech on the topic related with the future of Democratic Iraq. If you didn't know yet, one thing that GWB is reknown for is his ability to coin up new terms on a number of issues. The latest term coined that speech was "Saddamist". Sounds pretty queer doesn't it? He was using that term to relate to Iraqi and foreign elements that are classified as sympathisizers to the former Iraqi Dicatator Saddam Hussein and I must admit that GWB really has this talent for over-simplicating things and creating new buzz words.

Talking about Saddam, here are a few interesting flash parody animations on that fellow:

http://www.toccionline.com/creations/realhussein/

Friends You Don't Need

I've just noticed an interesting article in which I just wanted to post here for us to read:

Seven Friends Nobody Needs
By Lisa Earle McLeod for Lifetimetv.com

All friends are not created equal. Most buddies add to your life, but there are probably a few you would be better off without. The common denominator for these friends-gone-bad is that they act as if it's all about them and never about you. We're all guilty of being a little self-absorbed at times, but friendship is supposed to be a two-way street. If one of your friends isn't holding up her end of the bargain, consider calling her on her bad behavior -- or slashing her from your buddy list. (One word of caution: Before you start friend-cleaning, ask yourself if you fit any of these descriptions. You don't want one of your pals reading this and deciding to dump you!)


1. The whiner.
Nobody knows the troubles she's seen. Things most of us accept as part of daily life -- carpool snafus, demanding bosses, men with poor communication skills -- she treats as evidence that the world is against her. We all enjoy complaining occasionally, but with her it's a nonstop moan-fest. Susan, 30, a public relations executive, refers to one of her friends as "the Crisis Queen." "It's always a catastrophe. It's draining just to have to hear it," she says.

2. The leech.
She treats her friends like servants who exist to feed her dog, cover her shift at work, pick up her dry cleaning or peel her another grape. "She'll start off asking what I'm up to, but she really just wants to find out if I'm free to help her out," says Ellen, 39, a stay-at-home mom, about the leech in her life. "She recently called to ask what my daughter was doing. I said nothing, thinking she was going to invite her over. Instead, she asked if her daughter could come to my house!"

3. The busy bee.
She's the PTA president, a party organizer and a domestic goddess all rolled into one. She makes you feel as if you are but a mere blip on her overscheduled radar screen. She consistently shows up late or says she's too busy to take your calls. "Since my friend got a new job, all she talks about is her crazy schedule," says Leslie, 26, an environmental consultant. "She makes it seem as if she's doing me a big favor by making time for me!"

4. The yakker.
Thank God for caller ID. Everybody has friends that like to talk (if any of my pals are reading this, please know I've got that muzzle on order), but this buddy never lets you get a word in edgewise. In fact, she missed her calling as a telemarketer or a carnival barker. "I could hand the phone to one of the kids for five minutes and she wouldn't notice," says Kristi, age 42, a personal coach, of her personal Chatty Cathy. "Next time she calls, I'm going to have the country song 'I Wanna Talk About Me' playing in the background and see if she gets the hint."

5. The adviser.
We all count on our friends for advice, but nobody needs a steady stream of unsolicited intervention. Whether this pal is trying to prove how smart she is or start her own counseling practice, she's got the answer for everything -- whether you ask her or not. Jodie, 32, a part-time nurse and mother of two, says she quit sharing things with one of her friends because, "She can't just listen; she always has to tell me what to do. She reminds me of the mother-in-law from hell!"

6. The dumper.
Whenever something better comes up, she drops you like yesterday's business. The worst kind of dumper is the one that treats her female friends like fill-ins or time-passers until a guy comes into the picture. Jennifer, 24, a law student, says of one boy-crazy friend: "You'd think she was still in high school. We'll make plans weeks in advance, but if her boyfriend calls and asks her to hang out, she rushes over."

7. The bragger.
She's been there and done that -- way better than you have. She just can't resist telling you how many carats her diamonds are or how much better her office is. She lets you know that your discount designer duds are so last season, while her outfits came straight from the Paris runway. "My conversations with this one friend consists of how important she is at work, what she's done to her house and how perfect her marriage is," says Julie, 31, a human resources administrator. "Doesn't she know it's supposed to be a friendship, not a competition?"

Creative

Virus writers are always creative. Take this new virus for example. I'm sure some people who don't know about all this Internet things might really called the number down there LOL

Dear Sir/Madam,

we have logged your IP-address on more than 30 illegal Websites.

Important:
Please answer our questions!
The list of questions are attached.


Yours faithfully,
Steven Allison



++++ Central Intelligence Agency -CIA-
++++ Office of Public Affairs
++++ Washington, D.C. 20505

++++ phone: (***) ***-****
++++ 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., US Eastern time

Historical event on Thanksgiving day at Luigi's Cuisine

I just thought about posting our Luigi's Newsletter here just for laughs!

On Thanksgiving Day,
Our Ironic Chef "Hotshot Bobby" wants to eat some turkey (actually chicken la) so we all gathered for a hearty dinner.
Due to our tight work schedule, Bobby went to buy them at the neighborhood aiming to hit Luigi's at 18.00



Rut, in his most handsome look in years, sang the karaoke waiting for our Ironic chef.
PS. If any guys/girls interest in him...let me know...i'll give u his contact

Other pictures are of our historical 8-people winning eleven tournament.



Results
(Preliminary Round)

Japan 3 - 1 Denmark
Bobihara 2
Jontaro 1

Japan 1 - 2 Columbia
Rutiyoshi 1

Japan 1 - 1 France
Bobihara

(Knockout roud)
Japan 0 - 1 S.Korea


Heard some ESPN analyst giving their opinion on our players as follows:

1. Kaichunizawa (DC)
A threat to opposition MF as constantly going for all loose-balls in the field but hardly remembers his tactical position.

2. Bique (DMC)
Lingering in the midfield area trying to close all the gaps left by team-mates who are all out to attack.

3. Peetozuke (MC)
Aiming to hack all opponents with the ball close to him and constantly heads all goal scoring opportunities over the bar.

4. Rutiyoshi (LMC)
Constantly yelling at Changitori to play in position, yet somehow he scored his first international goal for the team.

5. Jontaro (RMC)
Lost his Panda head due to a new winning version but somehow he scored a miraculous goal for the team.

6. Changitori (AMC)
Ever-present everywhere in the field trying to injure every position. Is phenomenom in getting all the corners for the team.

7. Bobihara (FC)
Always looking to run to the side of the court to make right-wing baseline crosses. However, more successful in scoring 3 goals from mostly set-pieces.

8. Danimaru (SC)
Constantly pressuring the opposition defense with lightning runs. Though scoreless but had a hand in almost every other goal in the tournament.


Catch and Join in the latest entertainment here at Luigi's...

I'm an IGDA Member

I just wanted to point out that the GDXCON was successful arranged during the last weekend. I'm still getting the pictures developed, and once I've finished it, I'll update my blog again with all the details. On a side-note, I've also am now an IGDA member, and if you noticed on the bottom right side of my blog, well that is my member profile :P

Guess How Rich Thailand is

It isn't a surprise at all that Thailand is a country in debt based on this Country Wealth Statistic at World Bank article.

What Next?

No guess to what happens after this :)

Thinking in Songs

After going through some of my old music collection, I've found a few great compositions that I really like. One of them was called Tulpjes in de Lente (Little Tulips in Spring) composed by Vincent Voois, a Dutchman in which really inspired me to start composing. In one of his MOD tracks(A MOD track is an amiga sound format that uses real wave tables to synthesize notes, which does create sounds that are way better than early MIDI) he embedded the following quote:

I can track and compose exactly what is inside my head... i only can't
perform it live :)

My hi-tech midi- keyjazz jammer exists out of an old rotten AT-101 US
keyboard

Vincent Voois - Composer (General Noise Engineering)

That was what started me in getting into music composition as a hobby. Though having a dire lack of ability to play musical instruments, I've learnt that at times it takes just hard work, dedication, and some inspiration to compose music. After toying around for a while, and composing an odd collection of tracks, I have to say after all this time I've watched, it was a great experience. Though I don't think myself to be really accomplished as a composer, I'm glad to know that many of my friends actually still listen to a few of the tracks I've composed from long time ago, and that really gives me a lot of inspiration though I have to admit many of my songs are really created by a rotten AT-101 US keyboard :P

Shocking but Not Surprising News

One of my favorite games was Katamari Damacy which is a quirky game designed by Keita Takahashi. The idea of the game Katamari Damacy is to roll a ball around until it gets bigger and bigger - and that is actually the game. Though the game idea sounds mudane, it is one of the sleeper hits of recent times. During in one of his interviews, he mentioned that he wasn't playing much video games. After that interview, it would not be a surprise that one day he would stop designing games and it was confirmed with the following article: Katamari creator dreams of playgrounds.

Game Composers

I was just reading through some music review, when I stumbled upon an article giving the background of some of video game greatest composers. I finally found that the person making Mario Bros theme was Koji Kondo.

Da da da da da da!

Work Policy?

Read the following, LOL:


ระเบียบการพนักงาน

ระเบียบการพนักงาน ซึ่งทุกคนต้องปฏิบัติโดยไม่มีข้อแม้

1.การแต่งกาย:
บริษัทขอแนะนำพนักงานทุกท่านว่าท่านควรแต่งกายให้เหมาะสมกับฐานเงินเดือนของท่าน

เพราะถ้าทางบริษัทเห็นว่าท่านใส่รองเท้า PRADA ราคา
30,000บาทและถือกระเป๋า GUCCI ราคา 40,000 บาท
มาทำงานแล้วล่ะก้อ บริษัทขอสันนิษฐานว่าฐานเงินเดือนของท่านเหมาะสมดีอยู่แล้ว
ไม่เห็นควรต้องขึ้นเงินเดือนแต่อย่างใด

2.การลาป่วย:
บริษัทไม่ยอมรับใบรับรองแพทย์ หรือคำวินิจฉัยใดๆที่ระบุว่าท่านป่วย
เพราะถ้าท่านสามารถไปพบแพทย์ได้ >ท่านก็น่าจะมาทำงานได้

3.การผ่าตัด:
ห้ามพนักงานทำการผ่าตัดใด ๆ ทั้งสิ้นตราบเท่าที่ท่านยังเป็นพนักงานของที่นี่
ท่านจำเป็นต้องมีอวัยวะครบถ้วนท่านไม่สามารถตัดสินใจยักย้าย ถ่ายเท
หรือตัดอวัยวะใดๆทิ้ง >เพราะบริษัทว่าจ้างท่านครบทุกส่วนและไม่บุบสลาย
การยักย้ายถ่ายเทอวัยวะใดๆถือว่าเป็นการละเมิดต่อสัญญาจ้างงาน

4.การลากิจ:
พนักงานมีสิทธิ์ลากิจได้ 104 วัน ต่อปีได้แก่วันเสาร์และวันอาทิตย์

5.การลาพักร้อน:
บริษัทยินดีอนุญาตให้พนักงานลาพักร้อนได้ในช่วงเดียวกันของทุกปี
โดยบริษัทขอประกาศให้วันที่ 31 ธันวาคม และวันที่ 1 มกราคม
เป็นวันหยุดพักผ่อนประจำปี

6.การลาเพื่อไปร่วมพิธีศพ:
การลางานเพื่อไปร่วมพิธีศพไม่ถือว่าสมเหตุสมผล
เนื่องจากท่านไม่สามารถทำให้เพื่อน ญาติหรือเพื่อนร่วมงานฟื้นขึ้นมาได้
แต่หากพนักงานจำเป็นต้องไปร่วมพิธีศพ พิธีควรจะจัดในช่วงเย็นหลังเวลาเลิกงาน
บริษัทยินดีให้ท่านออกไปก่อนเวลาเลิกงาน 1 ชั่วโมง

7.การลาอันเนื่องมาจากเสียชีวิต:
ถือเป็นการลาอย่างสมเหตุสมผล อย=E

Funky Funky

I was just looking through some old records and reviews when I've stumbled on the

http://www.discogs.com/release/151651

If you noticed it was a band called Cameo which was somewhat of a trendsetter during the 1970s-1980s, not something that you will listen these days, but somehow I got stuck on their song "Word Up" and I would highly recommend this piece. Anyway, one review I found that I really liked was by a reviewer on the same site which goes as follows:

jazzliscious - 24-Apr-04 12:09 PM
There is a verse in this song that says it all. I can't and won't quote it word-for-word but it basically tells DJs to quit fronting about how cool they are and get back to the music. This is the overlying problem that in my somewhat expert opinion (I've tracked this techno genre since 1992 and know what it means to program for hours on tedious old analog synths and sequencers and drum machines, etc.) has all but rendered techno dead. This ultra-minimal "music"(?) being made these days is NOT cool, it only sounds good when your brain is tweeked out on whatever drugs you're on and is simply the by-product of laziness and ineptitude of those who are too mentally challenged to learn the craft of electronic music production! I don't like old music better because I'm stuck in my limited perception and memories of "the good old days". I like it better because it IS better. More time was put into its making and more brainpower into its conception. Word Up epitomizes this in a few short phrases of words. DJs, quit acting so cool and get back to what really matters - the MUSIC. And yes, much more time was put into this track than the average "techno track" of today. And back then everybody thought its producers were lazy for using these newfangled drum machines and s-synth-e-s-sizers or whatever the hell they're called. Now, producers sample a loop, loop a sample and VOILA! You just made a track! Now go out and score some girls 'cause you're so fuckin' COOL!

Buffet Questions

A week ago, I was awarded an Educational/Research support grant from the Computer & Communication Education Foundation. I don't really know what to write much about but I do want to comment that the reception buffet was alittle too well stocked, and there was an embarassing amount of left over that day. By the time the party was over, most of the food was still there. I wonder if it was possible to ask if we could pack back some of the food from those buffet especially when the guest can't finish all of it? What do you think?

Another Day on the Train

One of my favorite mode of transport is the train. As noted the train is rather punctual compared to other forms of transportation, and that makes me like the train alot, especially the MRT subway which crosses close around my home. During the last weekend, I was traveling to the World Robotic Olympiad (WRO2005), where I was one of the field MCs early in the morning, by the subway. I was expecting it to be just another day on the Subway, when suddenly as we stopped by the RamaIX station, there was an alarm, and the security annouced that all the passengers had to evacuate the train. As this hardly been a procedure that the passengers are used to, most passengers who left were confused and I've noticed that some of them were muttering about train malfunction or maybe another possible mishap (as noted the subway used to had a head on collision between the train and a bogey).

When the train was vacated, I've noticed that there was a single lady in the late 30s wearing rather casual clothes like what you see in the market place was standing meeking just inside the small box that was the access to the train driver's seat. After a short while, I could see the security guard leading her out of the train and hustled her up to the MRT station HQ. It seems that the lady was trying to get into the train driver's cabin, and the driver was afraid it was a hijacking scenario decided to call the security to sort it out.

This hijacking incident could be shrugged off as a minor offense, it does lead to some serious questions what if the hijacking attempt was indeed sinister? On the positive note, we could see at least the security guards managed to clear the matter rather quickly.

Though the incident made me late for over about half an hour, somehow I like to talk about how I was lucky to have survived a train hijack and lived to tell it, in what was supposedly supposed to just be another day on the train ;)

Living Near the Airport?

With all the Thai Government talking about making a mega city just next to our new airport, I just can't help figure the foolishness of that. Anyway, I just thought this flash just fits in with the theme:

http://www.frontsteps.com/movies/neuro/

Opportunity in the time of Crisis

Today I went to A. Jaeb's (A colleague in the same office) Mother's funeral. During my visit in the temple with a number of other lecturers, in which we reached extremely early, I was dying to find something to eat after a long travel. I was fortunate enough to find that there was this ice-cream vendor just across the van in which I quickly walked towards the vendor.

The vendor was a queer looking old man in the 40s-50s who had an odd smile considering he lost alot of teeth, and wearing a hawaii styled shirt making him look somewhat like a tourist. At the moment he was talking with a kid who seem to be interested in getting an icecream. During that time, I was going through the selection of icecream and asked him to get one for me. He laughed and apologized to me that he ran out of most of the ice-cream and had only 3 type left. It was kind of queer to know that the icecream vendor ran out of icecream considering it was a cold and damp day, so I stuck a conversation with him.

It started out as a quick discussion about bad weather and how it was typical conception that icecream doesn't sell well during the rainy season. When on that topic, he stratched his head and laughed. He said he wasn't expecting his icecream to sell well, but he told me meekly that he hasn't seen any other icecream vendors in his usual route, and it might be the fact that most other icecream vendors decided to in unison to take the day off allowing him a one day monopoly of the district - which was nearly a total of a week's typical sale. When asked why he didn't stay home like the other vendors, he could only laugh and say that it was better to sell icecream to people than to just stay home and stare at the ceiling. The kid that was buying icecream could help but laugh at that.

So at the end, I bought an icecream (though I didn't like any of the remaining types) and continued talking with a few other trivialities with the vendor before leaving. When thinking back on the topic, I remembered that one of the phrased that we had a good laugh was "Opportunity in the time of Crisis" - who would have thought about that?

Propaganda

I just kind of irks me when reading the paper with all the new and fancy words that the policy makers are creating these days. As I'm pretty bored with all of this propaganda, I've decided that it would be a good idea to list a few of the common terms used by people in power and its everyday equivalent according to my own interpretation.

Term -> My Interpretation
Public Information -> Propaganda
Regime Change -> Revolution
Preventive War -> Preemptive War
Collateral Damage -> Civilian Deaths
Education about Facts -> Disinformation
Embedded Journalists -> Propaganda Agents
Media -> Propaganda Machine
Citizen -> Slave
Instill Democratic Goverment -> Control the State through Proxy
Current Politics -> Bullsh*t

Am I going over the top? Hmm... Nah...

Notebook Thermal Sensor Breakdown

I'm not trying to sound too technical, but I just wanted to recall about an odd triviality that I had of late. When talking about computers, I think I do know alittle bit about them having my share of experience as in assembling my own computer and etc. One of the computer breakdown experiences I've remembered very well was when I fried my PC powersupply by just simply touching it. Another experience that I remembered has to with a harddisk failure that was a result of my Harddisk casing had an undetected fan failure in the casing which attributed to a heat buildup which later made the harddisk kaput!

Related with the problem of that old harddisk, it made me more observant about the problems of heat with computers. In most of my newer PCs, I've had a habit to open up the casing so that there would be better ventilation and less risk for heat build-up that can cause serious problems. Later I also found that most computers also come in with heat monitors that can automatically detect potential problem when the heat rises above a level. That monitor is called a thermal sensor which is used to monitor if the temperature at the mainboard rises above a level that is deemed dangerous. These thermal sensors are also useful because it can automatically configure the strength of the fan. An example is that if it is hot, the fan works harder (generates more noise), and if the temperature is cool the fan would be at a lower setting (more quiet). As you notice, one of the most irritatible parts of the computer is the noise of the fan. Anyway, I'm just having a minor problem with my notebook lately. The problem seems to be that the thermal sensor of the notebook is kind of dead. At first I was thinking it may be a major problem, but since I needed to use my notebook for a lot of things, and I can't afford to send my notebook to the repair facility yet. After using the notebook for a while, I figured that the saving grace of the notebook was that when the thermal sensor goes down, the fan just runs at full speed all the time. By the looks of it it isn't a really serious defect considering by my estimate, the temperature in the laptop shouldn't be over the limit, but the major drawback is that its pretty noisy. Anyway, on a sidenote, I hardly care - there is noise everywhere in Bangkok, and I think another source of noise pollution won't be that bad :P

Never leave you Citizen ID at Home

Okay, as stated earlier, I'm on one of those barren spells again. A few days ago, I lent my big bro my ID card because he needed to get a copy of it to confirm that I would be working with him on the BOT (Bank of Thailand) workflow improvement contract. After he finished photocopying my ID, I didn't put it back into my wallet immediately. That was a big mistake.

Today I had to go make a new bank account so that I can receive a grant from the Computer and Communication Education Foundation Grant. When I finished filling up my forms, I finally realized I forgot to bring my ID and it was lying around my cluttered desk at home. Gah! Now I had to go back home again to get my ID and get back to make my bank account. Now that is alot of time wasted especially when the bank in question isn't quite close to home :-/

So that is my lesson. I take my own Citizen's ID for granted, but at times it can be really necessary, so don't forget to carry with you all the time just to be safe.

Senseless Part#1

Life sucks currently - Too much work, too many unforseen pitfalls, too many headaches, but I'm not going to give up to those small potholes in life.

Anyway since life is pretty bad lately, what is a better redemy than to spend alittle time on something that is senseless like a meme and then go back to work :P

Basics:
:x: name: Pisal
:x: height: 175
:x: shoe size: 10
:x: hair color: Black
:x: siblings: Younger/Older Brother
:x: eyes: black
:x: college: Assumption University
:x: high: EIS
:x: elementary: RIS
:x: hometown: Bangkok
:x: favorite place: Home
:x: favorite soda: Ice Tea PEACH!
:x: game: Tetris
:x: favorite food: Pizza
:x: favorite book: LOTR
:x: favorite pen: Reynolds - Blue
:x: favorite animal: Almond(my dog)
:x: waterbrand:
:x: favorite burger place: Home
:x: favorite hobby: Cook / Play Computer Games
:x: favorite friends: The Homies
:x: bar or club: Saxophone
:x: favorite vitamins:
:x: favorite news: Slashdot
:x: favorite dog: -
:x: cell phone co.: Nokia
:x: favorite shirt: Working - Blue Long Sleeve Shirt
:x: favorite sport: Basketball
:x: favorite alcohol: Screwdriver
:x: favorite computer: Fast and Powerful
:x: favorite fruit: Pineapple
:x: favorite song: When You Say Nothing at All
:x: ketchup or salsa: Ketchup
:x: favorite milkshake: Strawberry
:x: steak or lobster: steak
:x: favorite color: blue
:x: favorite weather: sunshine
:x: favorite state: Bangkok

Do You?
:x: have a crush on someone: Yes
:x: wish you could live somewhere else: Maybe
:x: think about suicide: Used to
:x: believe in online dating: ...
:x: think others find you attractive: Maybe
:x: want more piercings: No
:x: like cleaning: Yes
:x: like roller coasters: No
:x: write in cursive or print: Print
:x: last talked to: Big Bro
:x: last thought of: Food
:x: last cut your nails: yesterday
:x: last did laundry: long time ago
:x: last hugged a tree: A few months ago
:x: last watched anime: 1 year
:x: last prayed: Can't Remember

For Or Against:
:x: long distant relationships: Neutral
:x: killing people: Against
:x: teenage smoking: Against
:x: driving drunk: Against
:x: gay/lesbian relationships: Neutral
:x: soap operas: Neutral

Have you?
:x: ever cried over a girl/boy: Never
:x: ever been in a fist fight: Yes
:x: ever been arrested: NEVER
:x: ever had a friend die: Yes
:x: ever dated a cousin: No
:x: ever used a gun: Yes (ROTC - army training))
:x: ever finished a puzzle: Yes
:x: ever got surgery: Yes
:x: ever got beat up: Yes (But also beating up the other person :P)
:x: ever hated someone: Try Not to
:x: ever made a huge mistake: Yes
:x: ever tried any drugs: Yes (if alcohol counts :P)
:x: ever jogged a mile: What about a minimarathon?
:x: ever played with someones feelings: Don't Know
:x: ever had feelings for someone young: Neutral

What?
:x: shoes do you wear: Running Shoes
:x: are you scared of: Roaches
:x: do you sleep in: Floor/Bed
:x: did you eat for lunch: rice
:x: is love: ???

Number Of Times:
:x: of times I have had my heart broken?: 1
:x: of hearts I have broken?: 3
:x: of girls I have kissed?: ...
:x: of boys I have kissed?: NEVER and NOT PLANNING TO
:x: of guys/girls you've rejected?: 2
:x: of drugs you taken: NEVER
:x: of accidents you been in: Too many to count
:x: of people you lead on?: ???
:x: of people you broke up with?: 3

Do you think you are:
:x: pretty: Don't Think So
x: funny: If I'm in the mood
:x: hot: ???
:x: friendly: If I'm in the mood
:x: ugly: You can count on me
:x: loveable: maybe
:x: caring: sometimes
:x: dorky: Yes!!!!
:x: cocky: At Times
:x: girly: No
:x: boyish: Yes
:x: smart: Yes
:x: pimp: ???
:x: angel: I'm a mean angel
:x: gangster: LOL
:x: god: of my own destiny

Favorite:
:x: five letter word:
:x: comedian: -
:x: candy: -
:x: cartoon: Sanctuary
:x: cereal: -
:x: chewing gum: -
:x: day of week: Sat
:x: least fave day: Wed
:x: jello flavor: Strawberry
:x: summer/winter: Winter
:x: trampolines or swimming pools: swimming pool !!

Person Who:
:x: slept in your bed: -
:x: saw you cry: -
:x: made you cry: -
:x: you went to the movies with: Such a long time ago...
:x: yelled at you: -
:x: sent you an email: I'm a black hole

Have you ever:
:x: said "i love you" and meant it?: Yes
:x: gone out in public in your pajamas?: Yes
:x: kept a secret from everyone?: Yes
:x: cried during a movie?: Yes
:x: ever at anytime owned anything new kids on the block?: ???
:x: planned your week based on the TV Guide: Yes
:x: been on stage?: Yes
:x: been to New York?: No
:x: been to California?: Yes
:x: been to Florida?: No
:x: Hawaii?: No
:x: China?: No
:x: Canada?: Yes
:x: Europe?: Yes
:x: what time is it now: 21:15
:x: apples or bananas?: apples
:x: blue or red?: Blue
:x: walmart or target?: Bah!
:x: spring or fall?: Spring
:x: what are you gonna do after you finish this?: Eat
:x: what was the last meal you ate?: Dinner
:x: last noise you heard?: The Keyboard
:x: last smell you sniffed?: My Food
:x: last time you went out of state/province?: A few months ago

Friendship/Love:
:x: do you believe in love at first sight?: Yes
:x: do you want children one day &
if so, how many?: Yes, 11 to create a foodball team (p.s. I'm not serious :P)
:x: the most important thing in a friendship is?: Loyalty

Random Crap:
:x: criminal record?: NONE
:x: do you speak any other languages?: English, Thai
:x: name some of your favorite things in your bedroom?: PS2 and Books, Books, and More Books!
:x: piercings and where?: None!
:x: worst feeling in the world?: Hungry
:x: whom you love: The World

Your:
:x: nickname(s): Chang
:x: initials: PS
:x: how old do you look?: 20
:x: how old do you act?: from 16-60
:x: glasses/contacts?: Glasses
:x: braces: Used to
:x: do you have any pets?: None
:x: you get embarrassed?: If it deals with my personal life
:x: what upsets you?: Bad Food and Undependable People

Mobile Phone Ring Tone

With all the interesting ring tone you can put on your mobile phone form synthesized MIDI to real sampled music (MP3), I found you can learn much from the choice of music. People with current hit music usually are those who follow the latest trends. People using synthesized music embeded in the phone usually are not technically saavy or just are people who like conforming to set standards. People with classical or jazz music are people with sophisticated taste. People using game music are hard core gamers. If you noticed, you can kind of predict people's personality or habits from their ring tone.

On a sidenote, today while I was proctoring, one of the mobile phones left in a student's bag was ringing. It had an MP3 ringtone or the song "I am so Lonely" by Akorn on full volume. After the first few phrases the whole class was laughing, much to the embarassment of the owner who came to close it. Just a short lesson, turn off your mobile phones (or keep in silent mode) if you are going to enter quiet places such as an exam room and if possible at a concert :P

Early Morning Doldrums

During the last few weeks, I've been extremely busy wi th things. As with an increasing workload at times I have to work longer and at times into the early morning. The major problem is that when you sleep very early in the morning, its pretty difficult to maintain a right state of mind when you have to wake up a few hours later many consecutive days.

Coffee is bad. As noted, it makes you hyperactive but only for a short moment before fatigue sets back in - and pretty much leaves you in a worse state than you were before. Eating sugar does help, but having too much sugar adds too much calories and also excess sugar leads to easy mood swings from imbalanced hormones. In summary, there is nothing better than sleep if you have too little sleep.

Anyway, life of late been pretty like a sin curve. At times its in the dump. For example, I'm increasingly frustrated with the excessive amount of spam in many of my email accounts. Lately with my newer email accounts I've taking extra precautions to the point of paranoid. To be exact, I will never give that email to any other person than people who I trust, and also are computer literate enough to know how to prevent spam. Anyone knowing this email would belong to an elite clique that could contact me. Anyway the last statement could be taken lightly like a joke, but somehow I have to admit it does sound somewhat elitist :P Talking about bad times, one of my forums was hacked after been attacked for a while. Can't really care too much at the moment due to work, but I'm currently going to get it back online with a new safer system. I got caught in a thunderstorm and had to wade through flood. The GDXCON2005 which I'm arranging is getting along well, and with potential sponsors, things can't be looking greater at this moment! My latest research is coming out well. Been invited as a special referee for a world robotic competition. Getting an additional side-job. Oh well, I could ramble on and on about little things but lets just leave it at this for now after a long absence.

With all that has gone through the last forthnight, somehow I just yearn for a long hibernation. Today, I'm going to make 120% sure I'm going to get it.

An interesting excerpt from a chain letter I've got:

"Did you know that those who appear to be very strong in heart, are real weak and most susceptible?

Did you know that those who spend their time protecting others are the ones that really need someone to protect them?

Did you know that the three most difficult things to say are: I love you, Sorry, and Help me.

Did you know that those who dress in red are more confident in themselves?

Did you know that those who dress in yellow are those that enjoy their beauty?

Did you know that those who dress in black, are those who want to be unnoticed and need your help and understanding?

Did you know that when you help someone, the help is returned in two folds?

Did you know that it's easier to say what you feel in writing than saying it to someone in the face?
But did you know that it has more value when you say it to their face?"

Remberance for the Other 9/11

Though many people associate 9/11 to the atrocities of the airliners crashing into the WTC at New York which has been promptly followed by George Bush's rather misplaced War on Terror, in which seems to be an "eye for a eye" knee jerk reaction that was a huge blow to the already fragile relationship between the somewhat Christain leaning USA with the Muslim worldwide community and forcing the rest of the world to take sides on this issue. For most moderates, the events that transpire since then has been a huge worry, as you can notice, two adversaries that seem to be so different, they are actually very similar in their basic premises. Though both look completely different, if you look deeper, you can notice that both are preaching the same message of hate, division, and a distinct racist attitude - only different in the fact that they are directing them against each other, and each have different resources which also reflects choice of methodology of liquidating each other. And to make my point simple, I can just simple state that the Cycle of Violence is begining a new Cycle.

+

=

To me, there is no reason to glorify any of these Hawkish leaders on this day. What I want to point out that if we go back 99 years from today, there was another very significant event on the day of September 11. On September 11, 1906, one of our world's most famous leader, Mahatma Gandhi, has just launched his the first mass campaign(Called Satyagraha) of nonviolent struggle, in Johannesburg, South Africa due to discriminatory laws leveled against Indians living in South Africa. The events that has transpired during September 11, 1906 is an our world's first example of civil disobedience and non-violence which is a tract that many civil right movements in the world has continued upon some fine examples include Martin Luther King, Jr. (United States) and Nelson Mandela(South Africa).

It is long known that the best way to solve violence is to end it with kindness not additional or overwhelming violence. Violence only breeds violence.

For today, though our world should not forget the atrocities caused on 9/11, I want to spend some time to remind our world that the other more historical important 9/11 goes by rather unheeded, unheralded, and forgotten by most of people these days.

Questions to Ponder - New Orleans vs Mumbai

I've received an email from one of my friends, who sent over a rather interesting list of figures - one of them was the devestation of Katrina on New Orleans, and the other was the devastation by record rain at Mumbai. I've did some preliminary checks on the figures, and most of the figures look in order, not those typical chainletters that are usually works of disinformation that aim to create confusion to masses.

New Orleans vs Mumbai.

inches of rain in new orleans due to hurricane katrina... 18
inches of rain in mumbai (July 27th).... 37.1

population of new orleans... 484,674
population of mumbai.... 12,622,500

deaths in new orleans within 48 hours of katrina...100
deaths in mumbai within 48hours of rain.. 37.

number of people to be evacuated in new orleans... entire city..
number of people evacuated in mumbai...10,000

Cases of shooting and violence in new orleans...Countless
Cases of shooting and violence in mumbai.. NONE

Time taken for US army to reach new orleans... 48hours
Time taken for Indian army and navy to reach mumbai...12hours

status 48hours later...new orleans is still waiting for relief, army and electricty
status 48hours later..mumbai is back on its feet and is business is as usual

After reading through these figures, it does give a lot of food for thought doesn't it?

"The pleasures of the table are for every man, of every land, and no matter of what place in history or society; they can be a part of all our other pleasures and they last the longest, to console us when we have outlived the rest"

Brillat-Savarin

555 - Playing with Numbers#2

555 in our native dialect(Thai) is pronouced as "Ha Ha Ha" which is also one of our most favorite messaging quote (on the similar equivalence with 1337 usage in the global community).

If you don't know what 1337 means, here is the definition form urban dictionary:

1337. Originally used by hackers to avoid simple net searches that would turn up, for example, "I am an elite hacker".

Pronounced "Leet", short for "Elite". The original phrase was 31337, or "Elite", referring to the best hackers. It is still used today by some of the good hackers, but the word has been picked up and overused by so many losers and posers that its meaning has been corrupted.

Instead hackers would say "1 4|\/| 4|\| 31337 |-|4x0|2".

"31337" was later shortened to "1337".

Now 1337 used mainly by the gaming community (also in chatrooms) to mean an especially skilled player.

1. 7|-|3 |=|31 15 93771|\|9 (|053 70 7|-|15 31337 0p3|24710|\|!

2. im s0 1337 taht i pwn ur @ss n00b!

Talking about playing with numbers, I've just noticed another neat number here, notice, 8888 hits! Though that is little compared to my other sites, somehow just knowing someone does stumble from time to time into this rambling siteis quite surprising :P

Global Citizen

After reading about Hurricane Katrina, it just brought back memories of the Tsumami Disater (Some of comments on that) during December 2004, and the vast devastation caused. One thing I remembered well is the mass mobilization of relief and aid from all parts of the world that was sent to numerous countries. One bright example would be Sri Lanka where the Rebels and Government forces after decades of fighting were willing to lay down their arms temporarily to help their fellow citizens regardless of past conflict which was another example how a natural disater can make human understand the triviality of their conflicts.

So without hesitation, I've tried to find ways that I could help. Without much effort from googling, there were a number of websites that I've found that would allow us to help us from the distance.

http://www.redcross.org/donate/donate.html
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/katrina/help.center/

After browsing through the list, I've decided to help the redcross and I made a donation due to their long and outstanding contribution to the world society. This makes me feel better as part of this global citizen - though at times I'm starting to feel guilty if I'm just donating just because of conscience pangs? Hmm... hard to say, but while its on, let me admire what I've done :P

Dear Pisal,

Thank you for your generous gift to the American Red Cross 2005 Hurricane Relief Fund.  This fund makes it possible for the Red Cross to help nationwide Hurricane disaster victims of 2005 with critical needs such as shelter, food, clothing, counseling and other assistance. It's because of the 2005 Hurricane Relief Fund that our response can be immediate regardless of its location or the community’s ability to financially support our efforts. 

Your generous support means the most to the families who rely on Red Cross to help them through some of the most difficult times of their lives. 

Please continue to visit us at  to see how we’re using your 2005 Hurricane Relief Fund donation to make a difference, and for the most current disaster updates and stories about the people being helped.

Together, we can save a life.

American Red Cross

"I believe that who has less in life should have more in law"

Ramon Magsaysay

Playing with Numbers

I was just going to write a new post, when I noticed that number of posts that I posted in my completely random rambling blog just hit 333. What a pleasant surprise to see another intriquing number to appear in this blog.

Anyway, just when I thought that was the end of it, I happen to check my profile page for fun. This is what I saw:


Notice that I had 666 profile views. Now 333 * 2 = 666...

Should I call it pure luck, or somehow I'm marked as the devil?

Hmm...

People Less Fortunate than Yourself

I just happened to stumble upon a local website called http://www.budpage.com which is a thai website talking about issues related with Buddishm in a rather modern and updated setting of the online realm. After reading an article poking fun about online gaming, I happen to stumble upon the picture above which is a stark reminder that there are so many people who are less unfortunate than ourselves.

"Appearing to be Busy is the most advanced form of Procastination"

~Pisal Setthawong

Worrying

"Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere."

~Glenn Turner

Math Blues

On a short note, I'm having a fit of headache today. I had a long talk with one of the flunking students in my programming class after class, and I finally figured why he had such a hard time.

Here are some answers to questions I've asked him after trying to figure what is the problem based on a few simple programming assignment:

Part I
//Making a Money Exchange program
me: Okay, you withdrawn 1,512 THB (local currency) from the ATM. Now how many 500 THB bills will you get?
him: 20.
me: :o

Part II
me: What is 8 multiplied by 8?
him: 40?
me: ???
him: Not correct? 56?
me: :o
him: I'm sure now, its 48!
me: >:(

Part III
me: What is 11 divided by 2?
him: 6?
me: No?!
him: No its 5.5.
me: Assume you got 5, what is the remainder?
him: 2.

I'm starting to wonder if I'm teaching a undergrad class or either I'm a primary school teacher. Somehow I have a reason to believe there isn't much of a difference between the two levels ???

Teen survey: Fewer drug-free schools

I was just reading through CNN.COM when I stumbled upon an article titled: "Teen survey: Fewer drug-free schools". On a short note, I was tempted to ask the author to add the following to the article - "Teen survey: Fewer drug-free and gambling-free schools". On my own opinion, I think its time that the policy makers, parents, and educational institutes should take note of this trend and do something about it than turning a blind eye to it like now. Though having a standpoint in my blog, I still do admit I still haven't come up with any feasible solution other than cosmetic policies that are done of the present. Any great and practical ideas?

Looking for a Job in BKK in IT Related Field?

Someone asked me to post this in a job posting in the faculty website so I just thought about updating here also just for the heck of it :P

Blogger Toolbar for Microsoft Word

Interested in knowning how to blog by using your favorite word processor - M$ Word?

Look here: http://www.tipmonkies.com/2005/08/16/blogger-toolbar-for-microsoft-word

Stampede!

I just couldn't help but laugh at this. Yes this is a picture of a stampede that is caused when about 12k people were queuing up to buy 4 year old Apple IBooks for only $50 (which there were only 1k IBooks in total). My summary? All humans are greedy and greedy humans are willing to go to the edge of the universe for what they want.

Read more about it here:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/16/computer.frenzy.ap/index.html

Organizing GDXCON 2005

During this week I'm starting to look for sponsors for GDXCON (Game Developer Exchange Conference) 2005 in which is in the 2nd year. During the first year, I've teamed up with many other indie developers to hold a whole day seminar GDXCON 2004 on Game Development at Assumption University which had discussions from a wide range of topics - which was an immense success with a huge gathering from both game development companies, educational institutes, and the general public.

For this year, we are going to do things better by changing this to a 3 day event, and hosted in the middle of the City at the ICT Learning Center at Central WTC. Due to this expansion, we need to find more sponsors to help fund this event. We're currently are working on that, and hopefully things would be all right. Wish me and the rest of the team luck, and once things get settled I'll talk more about it here :)

Caught with Your Pants Down

What are you going to do if you are caught with your pants down? I just thought about looking at certain people in our society to see their response, and here are some conclusions I found:

Response#1 - Categorically Deny it Ever Happened ...

Chalerm Promlert - Ex Thailand Senator who denied emphatically that he never had sex with underage girls and was a very morally sound person as he regularly gave alms to temples. Later he was sentenced to jail to the maximum extend allowed by law after being found guilty.

Response#2 - Make Light of the Situation?

Prayuth Mahakitsiri - TRT executive who was detected lying about his total assets claimed that his Wife hid some money in case of a rainy day (e.g. he decided to divorce her) and that was why he didn't know about some of the missing money in his asset declaration. He was later found guilty and was bar from having a role in politics for 5 years.

Response#3 - Look at the Big Picture!

Thaksin Shinawatra- PM of Thailand who transfered huge amount of money to servants to hide a huge part of his asset. He claimed that it has nothing to do with his credibility and pointed that he wanted to do for the good for the country and didn't want this problem to derail his efforts. He narrowly won the court case, a clear case of double standard when considering the Prayuth Mahakitsiri and Sanan Kachornprasart were banned from political office for 5 years considering their similarity in offenses. At this moment, the PM is embroiled in a number of key major scandals.

Response#4 -Its the Latest Technological Innovation!

Transport authorities at Suvarnabhumi airport - At the construction site of the Suvarnabhumi airport, there were reports of huge cracks on the construction of the runway. To allay the fears, the PM hired a group of US engineers to inspect the cracks. The team resoundedly recommended a full reconstruction. Later the PM went out with the transport minister along with people from a local engineering association and told reporters it was normal, and it was a latest building technological innovation and nothing was worrisome. Somehow I just thought for the moment it might be fashionable to have cracks in the runway ;)

Thank You Rain!

Today there was a huge sudden downpour. I just love it. Thank You Rain!

p.s. If you don't understand this post don't worry, I didn't meant this rambling to make any sense.

Bad Spelling?

Today I had a meeting about intial talk about a collaboration project between my game lab that I set up in my University and a company when along the way around the Sutthisarn 4-way Intersection with Vipavadee Rangsit I found a poster in front of a shop that reads as the following:

BRA - B - Q

A case of bad spelling or intentional? I hardly can say O_o

Excess Energy?

Today I heard a rather queer news that make me wonder on a few things. They said that 70 policemen were sent to help keep order in a certain local University where students of the Engineering and Communication Arts department were caught fighting each other and could not be stopped by the local security guards. On my own personal opinion, I feel that it is pretty shocking to know that students of the same university could fight each other in such a fashion that the police had to be called to mediate. I mean instead of using the energy that was directed between each other, they could harness that to do productive things instead of using it to fight each other and bring their university to shame. Hmm...

Diamana Mousso

I just bought a new CD called Seckou Keita who was a traditional musician playing the kora (a traditional African instrument much like a guitar) from the country of Mali. The music was kind of strange, but reading through the notes of the songs there were many profound verses that are interesting which is much reflects the poetic nature of the artist. One of the songs that I like was Diamana Mousso and I want to share what he wrote there:

In any relationship, distance between partners will not stop them thinking of each other in a good or bad way. Our ancestors had a more difficult and tiring life but they were an example for relationships based on trust and friendship. We are in a world which has started with love and end with love. Love and friendship are based on trust. Mansali used to say that to listen to each other is very important and used to leave us saying "Good Bye! God give you somebody who stays and care for you."

Today people say, "I will love you for something and I want you for something."

This is not the way! Just love!

Diamana Mousso - Seckou Keita

Some 3D Graphic Programs

This semester I'm teaching a new subject called 3D Graphical Programming. In this course I've taught students the basics of 3D programming using DirectX. During the first half of the class I've asked the students to do different projects based on the material they studied from the start of the class, and the results were rather interesting far better than what I've anticipated. Topics for the first project is limited to simple 3D modeling, basic color (flat/gouraud shading), basic transformation, and basic lighting.

If you are interested, you could visit the project listing at http://forum.s-t.au.ac.th/viewtopic.php?t=1186 to see some of the things we have done so far.

I AM THE LAW!

Last night, I was watching a movie called The Head of State (2003) which stars Chris Rock as a guy from the Ghetto who is suddenly pushed into running for President of the USA. After finishing the movie, it made me ponder a few things. First of all, though some of the people who I know who watched the movie, they mentioned that they like Chris Rock and would want a streetsmart person to actually run their country who will speak their mind instead of rambling about law, protocol, and procedure in an alien like language for hours. Anyway, at the end of the film, I just suddenly had a cold chill down my spine when Chris Rock was talking with his girlfriend, and one quote really bit me hard when she asked him if it was appropriate to make her the First Lady. What Chris Rock replied in the film was a cany quote, that really turned me off:

That would be no problem, because I'm the LAW!

When I heard that word, somehow this phrase is an early sign of power corrupting people. As people gain power to the point of being able change the law to bend in what way it seems convinent, then it is a spark that will lead to the fire of corruption, nepotisim, and cronyism.

One quote come from Plato's Crito in which recollects Socrates last days sums it up nicely:

Socrates: Consider it in this way. Suppose the laws and the commonwealth were to come and appear to me as I was preparing to run away and were to ask, " Tell us, Socrates, what have you in your mind to do? What do you mean by trying to escape but to destroy us and think that a sate can exist and not be overthrown, in which the decisions of the law are of no force, and are disregarded and underminded by private individuals?" How shall we answer questions like that, Crito?

When talking about the movie again, another issue that repeatedly is popped up is that it seems education shouldn't be a huge factor in considering elected public officials. One of the things that popped into my mind is about how presidental elections somehow turn into strange affairs - and an example of how real life is so similar - we can see well in the Phillipines election in which Estrada and Poe were two popular megamovie stars in their country who ran for president. Both of these candidates had little education(primary), which makes them a huge contrast to their more highly sophisticated alternative which are usually old policians with high education. In the example of Estrada, he won the presidental race, and quickly had popularist policies up and running to appease the poor whereas he plundered the country with his cronies and was ousted a few years later.


In the example of Poe he lost the election to Arroyo, who currently is in hot water over her admission that she may have cheated by persuading election officials to help her out in the last election. As we noticed these are examples of poorly qualified candidates who has a huge voter base due to personal charisma. When talking about education, I do find that since most politicians cheat, education doesn't seem to be a big matter. The point that I find as a paradox is that the more clever and educated the candidate is, the more likely the scale of the the cheating would be. As noted, you don't need to look for for example of this. In Thailand, all Member of Parliment are required to have at least bachelor level education. Somehow by adding this requirement, we see new creative and more worrisome forms of cronyism and corruption budding on a regular basis, which I do assume isn't the intended result of the law.

As noted, education and moral don't really go hand in hand. Higher education doesn't guarantee better moral, its completely discrete.

If you talk about moral, we can easily power can corrupt a person's moral. Now some people will say if religion plays a huger part in the government, then morality would not be a big issue. However, I'm a huge opponent of that. One of the most dangerous thing that has happened in our World is the rise of fundamentalist elements. People who have strong religious conviction and are willing to go beyond normal means to achieve their goal, have little reasoning capability due to blind faith, and insensitive to the multiplicity in the world. Some good example of people who have moral that are straight and exact to the book could be pointed at the Taliban. In some cases, I feel that people following religion do it for unholy causes. From what I see donation is similar to investment to god. Praying for good fortune later, I feel its is like to withdraw some of the investment from god. Somehow it makes sense in financial terms doesn't it?

That brings to the other side of the spectrum, there is money that plays a huge part in swaying a person's moral to the dark side. Somehow I feel the hawks in Washington are calling to the call of Money, though claiming to be morally sound on a religious sense. Somehow I find it ironic, but as we note, even the question of moral, virtue, and the sense of right and wrong would go around in a full circle much like asking which comes first - a chicken or an egg?

So after a long and rambling talk, it just seems that I've just ran into circles and back again. Somehow I've come to the conclusion that most politicans are lying scumbags, and no matter what education and background they come from, they are usually corrupted due to the allure of power and the swaying influence of religious fundamentalism and/or money which makes it a deadly combination. The only difference that makes one politician look better than another usually lie on their ability to manipulate the media. As noted, you should know that appearing to be good is alot easier than being good, and it just seems that too many people are taking this approach these later lean and mean years.

Though I may sound quite sour at my inability to change how many of our politicans plunder our country, somehow it warms my heart when I read Plato's Apology when I came to a part in which Socrates mentioned about an episode in his short foray into public life as a politician and his dealing with an accuser that he was a corrupter of youth:

The only office of State which I ever held. O men of Athens was that of senator: the tribe Antiochis, whic is my tribe, had the presidency at the trial of the generals who had not taken up the bodies of the slain after the battle of Arginusae; and you proposed to try them in a body, contrary to law, as you all thought afterwards; but at the time, I was the only one of the Prytanes who was opposed to the illegality, and I gave my vote against you; and when the orators threatened to impeach and arrest me, and you called and shouted, I made up my mind that I would run the risk, having law and justice with me, arather than to take part in your injustice because I feared imprisonment and death. This happened in the day of
democracy.

Somehow at the end of this blog, I want to dedicated this to our PM, wish you another belated birthday (which was 2 days ago), and hopefully someday you can be the man you claim to be during your first steps into the Thai political scene without having to rely with all the media circus and spindoctors to cover your tracks.

Home Sweet Home

It just seems that every single year, my Birthday would usually fall on a weekday. As having a birthday on a weekday, one of the major problem is that it doesn't give you license to do just anything you want because the next day you just got to get back to work. One of the things that I've always wanted was to just spend a cozy day at home just relaxing and having a nice day dozing off and then eating whatever I like and forget about what is going to happen the next day - as you note my favorite birthday activity is just to spend the day at home.

Anyway the last birthday I had, somehow I had the luck that a few days after my birthday, there is an extended religious holiday which gives me 4 days off during the weekends. Strangely enough, during those time, somehow I got myself awfully sick and bedridden. So during those four days and a few days beyond, I spend most of my time in a self imposed exile at home recupperating. Strange, somehow I just didn't feel like it was like "Home Sweet Home!"

Meme

Nothing happened much of late, so I guess I haven't got much to write about. I guess I'll just do a meme for fun. Here are the results:


General

(1) Your gender: Male
(2) Straight/gay/bi: Straight.
(3) Single: Yes.
(4) Want to be: Hmm...
(5) Your birth day: July 19
6) Age you act: 60
(7) Age you wish you were: 16
(8 ) Your height: 175 cm
(9) The colour of your eyes: Black
10) Happy with it: Can't care more or less
(11) The colour of your hair: Black
(12) Happy with it: Can't care more or less
(13) Left/right/ambidextrous: Right.
(14) Your living arrangement: With my parents and brother.
(15) Your family: My parents, two brothers
(16) What's your job: Lecturer/Game Developer
(17) Piercings: None
(18) Tattoos: None.
(19) Obsessions: Hmm...
(20) Do you speak another language: Yes
(21) Have a favourite quote: Nope
(22) Do you have a webpage: Yes, many to be exact!

DEEP THOUGHTS about life and you in it

(23) Do you live in the moment: Hmm...
(24) Do you consider yourself tolerant of others: Yes.
(25) Do you have any secrets: Not many I think...
26) Do you hate yourself: No
(27) Do you like your handwriting: Its fast, but ugly :P.
(28) Do you have any bad habits: Yes.
(29) What is the compliment you get most from people: Intelligent
(30) If a movie was made about your life, what would it be called: A Lot about Something
(31) What's your biggest fear: Roaches
(32) Can you sing: Alot of Karaoke if it counts.
(32) Do you ever pretend to be someone else just to look cool: No.
(33) Are you a loner: Sometimes.
(34) If you were another person, would you be friends with you: Yes.
(35) Are you a daredevil: Matters.
(36) Is there anything you fear or hate about yourself: I think I might be crazy! LOL
(37) Are you passive or aggressive: I think I got many split personality inside me :P
(38) What is your greatest strength and weakness: Strength: Perception/Analyzing Situations. Weakness: Emotional
(39) If you could change one thing about yourself: Well just leave it the way it is ;)
40) There are three wells, love, beauty and creativity, which one do you choose: Creativity
(41) How do you vent: Karaoke/Play Computer Games
(42) Do you think you are emotionally strong: Yes.
(43) Is there anything you regret doing/not doing in life: Yes.
(44) Do you think life has been good so far: Yes.
(45) What is the most important lesson you've learned from life: Never forget there is always an alternative path.
(46) What do you like the most about your body: Me!
47) And least: Fingers(Too short)
48) Do you think you are good looking: I don't care but people say it, so I guess so!
(49) Are you confident: Yes!
(50) What is the fictional character you're most like: Hmm... can't really say!
(51) Do people know how you feel: Not really.
(52) Are you perceived wrongly: Sometimes.

Human Ingenuity

Over dinner one day, I used to talk with a group of friends about the topic human desires and how far we would go to trick ourselves. One of the question was about the Jay (Veggie) Festival which is a Chinese festival in which for a few weeks, people of Chinese descent would usually stop eating meat to cleanse their mind and body. Talking about such huge sacrifices made, sometimes I've wondered about the following question:

Is it ethical for a vegeterian to eat veggie imitation of meat?

As you know, one of the hot menus during the veggie festival are meat imitation products that are usually made out of soybeans. Now when talking about meat imitation products, eventhough it is not technically meat, sometimes I wonder if it was ethical for these people to even be eating imitation products when the festival specifically tells people to abstain from meat, and I think even the thought of eating meat should not cross their minds if they are seriously planning to stay clean. During the discussion, I brought this matter up, and it seems most of my friends told me that it was completely okay, as it was technically still a veggie diet.

Now staying on the same topic, I've found a related topic. Talking about alcohol consumption, it is known that a number of religion has specifically banned drinking alcohol in its doctrine. However as a number of people want to get high, there has been a number of followers that drink cough syrups that contain intoxicating elements to get high. Once I've asked this case, the table resoundingly said that this was wrong.

I just wanted us all to take a step back and look at the first topic and the second topic. If you noticed carefully, both of the cases are technically the same. Both of these people have been told that doing a specific action is sinful, and they should not do it. However due to human ingenuity, there was been workarounds available that would allow the people to have the pleasure of what has been asked to be abstained which is still technically correct to the doctrine. Strange isn't it?

Begging for Food?

When going through wiki an online encyclopedia, I happen to stumble upon an entry on our PM. I found this statement in his famous quotes - and I wonder how does begging for food and transparency are related? Hmm...

"Please don't intervene. Please leave us alone. It is my job and we can cope with this matter. We are trying to explain this to foreigners. But if they do not understand or ignore our explanation, I don't care because we are not begging them for food."

- Thaksin Shinawatra 1 May 2004, in a radio address concerning crackdowns on Islamic militants.

Thailand Digital Inspiration in Review

On June 30, 2005, there is a seminar entitled Thailand Digital Inspiration which was created by Microsoft in coordination with Bill Gate's 17 hour visit to the kingdom of Thailand. I've received an invitation from Microsoft so I decided to go there that day just to have the opportunity to see one of the world's most famous personality in person and maybe hopefully learn a few new things about what Microsoft is up these days. For more information, I've also included a link to the Agenda Here.

Early on June 30, I woke up in the morning and drearily got to dress. The coordinator who I talked with told that we have to dress in full suite. Anyway, that wasn't a big deal, but going there on public transport isn't the easiest thing to do considering all the people that are staring at you. Anyway, the seminar was held at the Naval Convention Hall which was the site of the APEC meeting a few years back. By rumor, it was told to be one of the most beautiful conventional halls we have in the country, though somewhat underused. My route there was to get a short bus transit to the SkyTrain and then travel on to Saphan Taksin Station before boarding a boat there. Anyway, as Microsoft being as they are, they have catered boats to transit people from the Saphan Taksin station to the convention hall.




On my first experience on reaching the Naval Convention Hall, it is indeed a spacious and enticing architecture just as I saw on TV, and conveniently located on the banks of the Chao Phraya river. For today, there were many posters there were placed around the hall to show what was in store for later.



After registering at the counter, we were given a batch and a mousepad which was enclosed in the "Thailand Digital Imagine" case that you see below.



With our batches we were allowed to get a free lunch boxes which was catered by Le Concorde - Swiss Hotel. There were 4 types of lunch boxes which were Thai/Chinese/Japanese/Farang Food. I took up a Chinese box which contains Mafu Tofu, Fried Vegetables, Chicken, and peas which was pretty good. Microsoft seminars usually don't include free lunch for attendees so this is pretty good by Microsoft standards. Anyway on a side note, the best seminar on my own experience should have been the Nokia seminar which treated all attendees to free lunch at a 5 star hotel ;)



During lunch, I happen to meet a few of my collegues at work and a few other new acquaintances from both government, private, and free-lance people. We decided before the seminar to have a group photograph just for old times sake. If you noticed, I'm the only person wearing the suite (I have to blame the coordinator as it seems that not too many of the attendees were wearing it except VIPs.


On a side note, a startling note about this seminar is the lack of security. Though this seminar is entirely invitation only, it seems that there were no visible security measures other than the organizing staff. It would be easy for a terrorist with a suite to strap dynamite around their waist and enter the seminar without raising a ruckus, and later making a huge panic in the seminar later. I do find that the lack of security measures at time worrisome when there are numerous VIP in the seminar. Talking about VIPs, the first VIP was the minister of ICT, Mr. Suwit Khunkitti, who open the seminar with a keynote speak. During his opening remarks, there were a number of things that were mentioned, which was highly emphasized on Thailand cooperating with with Microsoft to come up with the Thialand.NET project in which he stressed that our PM Thaksin was interested in making Thailand completely e-government and wanted increased cooperation with Microsoft to see the matter out - in which he also stated that Microsoft has donated a sizable amount of money to help develop IT infrastructures in Thailand. When I heard that, its kind of strange to know that Nectec was pushing for an open-source solution, and later to hear the Minister of ICT looking towards a Microsoft future.


After his opening remarks, tension was rising as people were waiting for Bill Gates to appear on his speech on The Future of Software and the media and the seminar attendees were highly anticipating his first live appearance in Thailand. After a quick and interesting intro, Bill Gates appeared on stage and promptly started his presentation.

As noticed, his appearance was greeted with a alavanche of press officers.


During Bill Gate's presentation, he was talking numerous topics on what he considers the future of Software. There isn't much of interest, though it seems that he is looking towards PCs of the future to take a more mobile and tablet like with instant access to the Internet. Mobile phones would supplement the mobile PCs. Software also would change dramatically in nature due to physical changes. There isn't too much to note from the speech much more than the speculation of the future. He ended out his talk by previewing about numerous new products that would be launched by Microsoft that included LongHorn, SQL Server 2005, Visual Studio 2005, and how these applications can help develop the digital future.

After concluding his speech and exiting through the side exit, a huge exodus of cameramen, and VIPs in the front left the convention hall leaving the convetion hall ignoring the next few agendas. Anyway though the front third has turned rather vacant, the remaining attendees which were mostly developers and IT personnel were intent on listening to the remaining agendas.

The next agendas were focused mainly on LongHorn (the next generation Windows OS), and the MS Development tools (Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005). Colin Ping (MS General Manager) and Domini Carr (MS Senior Product Manager) continued the presentation on that topic. Though I haven't managed to pick much from the Visual Studio and SQL Server presentation, it seems that there has been several new tools that has been implemented in Visual Studio 2005. A key tool touted was the development of several GUI tools that would help in the software development including visual class diagrams that can autogenerate code and help visualize and seperate coding to different programming teams easier. The development of a successor to the notoriously bad SourceSafe was also mentioned. Deployment tools were also added. It seems that the new tools were pushing this towards huge cooperate development environment. As much of the tools were mostly screenshots, its hard to review if the tools are actually are as effective as they claim it to be - though there were numerous interesting ideas presented.


On an interesting note, the presentation on LongHorn was much more anticipated. It seems that the key underlining idea behind LongHorn is visual presentation and a huge upgrade in GUI and organizational issues. First of all, it seems that LongHorn was designed to utilize the GPU which is vastly underused in most applications. GPU utilization is used widely in games, but hardly in other applications, and they say that MS thinks that it would be good to utilize the GPU to help in rendering the OS elements. A good idea, though I wonder how difficult it would be to program considering the pains the Game Developers have to go through. Anyway, they mentioned that programming in LongHorn would move from an API based into a Service .NET based type of programming model. As on my own experience with .NET, I am not convinced that .NET would be good for system programming, so I'm going to remain partly a skeptic for the time being. The major visual improvement in the system seems to be with the ability of making transparent windows which is readily available in most modern graphical cards. Colin Ping demonstrated alpha windows, which was interesting due to other flavors of Windows lacking it. Though it is interesting, I wonder that feature would actually help you work. Though many people say its a memory hog, on an interesting note, that feature would use the GPU speedups, so that won't be a huge performance hit as the previous versions of windows that does graphical calculations mostly on software means.

The other highly interesting feature should be the file organization in LongHorn. It seems that in LongHorn, in additional to the physical file structure we have (drives/folders/files), MS is advocating meta-files or adding description to files to help organize files in the system. What happens is that in every file that is safed, it is possible to save meta data which is an XML file. Later the user can search and browse files based on their meta information without physical limitation quickly. It seems promising, though I do want to caution that its usefulness is only as good as the person's willingness to update meta data of files.

Searching in Longhorn seems to be easier due to adding Mozilla like search tabs at the address window along with intregrating all of the pages with search options.

The last feature that is nifty and useful in longhorn would be the resizable icons - that can show quite interesting previews of files. They can especially be useful when thumbnails are too small to be meaningful, and a larger preview can easily be made available without having to open the file itself.

All in all it was an interesting presentation, though I would figure there isn't anything seriously new with Longhorn.

The last session of the seminar was then conducted by Eric Feng, the Lead Program Manager of the Microsoft Research Asia Pacific. This last session was the most interesting to me, as it showcases a number of new technology under development from the Beijing lab. Just to make a long matter short, he presented 3 interesting tools/technology.

The first tool he shown was a cartoon maker from photographs. It is possible to get photographs from people, and import it with a wizard to generate carnicles (artistic portraits) which was rather funny.

The second program shown was a program that uses multiple video feed to provide an interactive video file, in which the user can actually change the viewpoint of the video on demand. Though I don't think this technology is interesting considering real 3D rendering could do that easily, well its interesting to see a video in a matrix effect look by just changing the video playback options.

The last program was the most interesting though, and it shows the usage of a tablet like style of computer. What the speaker did was to use printout of powerpoint files on a special live OCR and make notes on the paper. The changes on the note would then be reflected in the computer in the powerpoint in the actual correct position and page number. This allows collaborative work in a futuristic tablet PC setting easier. Also other interesting applications include a live demonstration of how Musicians can collaborate composing music online by writing notes on the same system, and have a quick playback system to review the song. It seems that these research were done in anticipation of what Bill Gates claim the future of software would be and is indeed an interesting visual presentation of the things that might come.


After the last presentation was over, the attendees started exiting the conventional hall. Contrary to most other MS seminars, this seminar lacked free evaluation and beta give-aways of MS software, and it was a darn shame considering that I was looking forward to actually try some of the newer software.

Though I didn't actually learn any new thing in today's seminar, all in all it was a good experience considering that its not often that you would see the World's Richest Person in person ;)