a.t.t.i.t.u.d.e.s. are contagious

moving out

2010-04-23T00:36:00.003+08:00

i would like to officially announce the closing down of my blog here at http://fa1rus.blogspot.com effective immediately on the day this posting is being published.

We are moving out to a "new house" at http://fa1rus.wordpress.com. Do visit us there!

Thin-sliced decisions may be better than deliberated decisions

2010-01-11T11:24:00.003+08:00

This article is taken from thestar.com.my and owned by Roshan Thiran, who is CEO of Leaderonomics, a social enterprise passionate about transforming the nation through leadership & youth development.

BUSINESS is all about decisions. Great decision-making is the key trait of great leaders across time. Many leaders “go with their gut” on many decisions but others will make no decisions unless there were endless parade of meetings, deliberations, expert opinions and data overload. And yet, the quality of the deliberated decisions is not superior to quick “gut” decisions.

I have met many HR leaders requiring resumes, application forms and numerous interview sessions followed by long-deliberated meetings before hiring a candidate only to find that the person was not a good hire. Psychologist Samuel Gosling researched this phenomenon and found out that managers would make better hiring decisions by spending 30 minutes at the candidate’s house looking around vs spending countless hours interviewing the candidate. Seems rather odd that a 30 minute assessment without the candidate could be more accurate than judgments that have been laboured over for months?

According to well-known author Malcolm Gladwell – “Decisions made very quickly can be every bit as good as decisions made cautiously and deliberatively.”

How is this possible? Gut-feel is our subconscious mind weighing up all known factors and then making quick decisions. Gladwell calls it “thin slicing” And it “refers to the ability of our unconscious to find patterns in situations and behaviour based on very narrow slices of experience.”

The concept is demonstrated by psychologist John Gottman, who for decades analysed videotaped conversations of married couples and is able to predict with 95% accuracy whether the couples will stay together or get divorced in the next 15 years just by listening to a couple speak to each other for 15 minutes.

How does Gottman do it? He thin-slices these 15-minute conversations by disregarding expressions, tones and words but zooms in on four key cues: defensiveness, stonewalling, criticism, and contempt. By zoning out the noise and focusing on key cues, Gottman manages to make highly accurate snap judgments on marriages which are more accurate than any marriage counsellor spending months with couples can.

Many will feel that “thin-slicing” decisions are emotional and irrational. But it’s very rational. Gladwell concludes “it’s thinking – it’s just thinking that moves a little faster and operates a little more mysteriously than the kind of deliberate, conscious decision-making that we usually associate with ‘thinking’.”

Thin-slicing is something everyone does all the time. In football, the most gifted strikers have “goal-sense” and greats like Gary Linekar scored goals for fun. In the military, brilliant generals possessed coup d’oeil, meaning “the power of the glance.” Researchers discovered that the higher up the corporate ladder a business leader progresses, the more they rely on “gut-feel” and 80% of successful CEOs have a highly developed intuitive decision-making style, even though at times there is no clear logic to prove it.

The good news is that “thin-slicing” decision-making can be learnt and practised. You can actually become better at making quick, fast, instinctive judgments through practice and experience. Stroke victims, who have lost their speaking ability, become thin-slicing experts over time by reading information on people’s faces, regardless of their competency levels.

In business, the best sales people are expert thin-slicers. The moment they meet a customer, they quickly listen and make snap judgments about the customer’s needs and state of mind. But they also avoid the biggest mistake many salespeople make – never judge a customer on the basis of his or her appearance and assume that everyone has the exact same chance of buying from you.

Similarly to Gottman, the best salesperson disregards the garbage (appearances and externalities like what a person drives) but zooms in on key cues from customer enabling them to close a sale.

So how do you learn this skill? Jack Welch, Fortune’s “manager of the century”, and famous for gut decisions, describes how he learnt to “thin-slice”: “Sometimes making a decision is hard not because it is unpopular, but because it comes from your gut and defies a “technical” rationale. Much has been written about the mystery of gut, but it’s really just pattern recognition, isn’t it. You’ve seen something so many times you just know what’s going on this time. The facts may be incomplete or the data limited, but the situation feels very, very familiar to you.”

Jack Welch learnt thin-slicing through countless mistakes and experiences. Expert Paul Ekman claims that with just 30 minutes of practice, you will see significant improvement in your thin-slicing ability.

There is a principle stating, “Anything can be accomplished if a task is broken down into small enough steps.” So, expertise in thin-slicing is gained by identifying real cues that help us make good decisions and drowning out judgment bias derailers such as race, sex or appearance that get in the way of effective thin-slicing. A car salesman that judges a woman walking into his store as a non-customer simply because of his bias on women, will never amount to a great salesperson. He needs to strip those biases and focus on what the customer truly is saying and a sale will most likely happen.

Another way is to cultivate thin-slicing is by spending time with people not like us. This broadens horizons and provides new perspective in growing our experience-base. Having richer experiences and context sharpens our ability to thin-slice.

Finally, pay attention to your emotional state. When stressed-out or in a bad mood, your “gut-feel” is distorted by negative feelings. Police personnel tend to make significant number of bad decisions after high-speed car chases according to researcher Dave Grossman. Research has shown that bad “thin-slice” decisions are made when a person is highly stressed-up. And when your mind is relaxed, the “Aha” moments occur. But people are so stressed with overloaded schedules that they lose their own innate wisdom of intuition.

Thin-slicing can sometimes throw you off too – especially if you are over-confident and lack expertise in a changing field or function. For example, some of us have an inner prejudice or pre-condition that somehow taller people are very intelligent and forceful as leaders. As a result, many CEOs are taller people despite the fact that shorter people are just as smart and capable. According to research in the book Blink, 14.5% of the US male population is 6 ft or taller, yet 58% of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies is above 6 ft.

Professional speakers and trainers have long asserted that first impressions are formed within two minutes. Thin-slicing experts believe that it takes us less than 3 seconds to thin-slice and create first impressions. I have interviewed and hired more than 1,000 people at the various organisations these past 15 years. If I look back at my best hiring decisions, they were hires made quickly and instinctively. At times, I had no rationale for those decisions, but my gut kept telling me it was right. And when I didn’t listen to my gut, I generally had regrets.

Listening to your gut and making fast decisions is also profitable to your business and drives better business performances. Eisenhardt’s research (1989) linked rapid decision-making to effective business performance.

Would you be willing to listen to an employee saying “I have a gut feel about this project?” DuPont discovered that their product development time shortened from three years to less than three months by actively engaging employee intuition in their product planning.

The saying, “Trust your gut” is a cliché but it’s 100% true if you have learnt the art of thin-slicing well. We are genetically programmed with a lifetime of knowledge that equips us with the ability to make good decisions, quickly. Remember, information overload can negatively impact our ability to “thin-slice” effectively. So, go develop your gut and then trust it!

Selamat Pengantin Baru !

2008-05-12T12:10:00.000+08:00

Russell Peters - Be A Man

2008-05-02T21:50:00.001+08:00

yes guys... you must be a man!

cousin engagement -2

2008-03-16T23:14:00.001+08:00

during my cousin engagement

2008-03-16T23:07:00.000+08:00

eye on malaysia II

2008-02-10T00:01:00.000+08:00

eye on malaysia

2008-02-09T18:36:00.001+08:00

what your name means?

2008-01-26T08:19:00.000+08:00

i got this from thefazz.com and off course he got this from his usual activities (i assumed) stumbling accross the net.. *wink*..

what "AHMAD FAIRUS" means?
disclaimer: guys this may not be right, but simply just for fun..

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.
You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.
You have the classic "Type A" personality.

You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out.
Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia.
Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person.

You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated.
You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want.
You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way!

You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row.
You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace.
People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality.

You are loving, compassionate, and ruled by your feelings.
You are able to be a foundation for other people... but you still know how to have fun.
Sometimes your emotions weigh you down, but you generally feel free from them.

You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.
You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long.
You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.
You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.
You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

You are a very lucky person. Things just always seem to go your way.
And because you're so lucky, you don't really have a lot of worries. You just hope for the best in life.
You're sometimes a little guilty of being greedy. Spread your luck around a little to people who need it.

You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong.
You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know.
You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do.

when failure is not an option, but a certainty

2007-11-20T19:39:00.000+08:00

i read this in the the straits time, written by joan lau. i didnt know her so much, but just like what she wrote in one of the column:

... when i was growing up, it was a lot simpler: if you studied hard in school, you would do well. i did reasonably okay in school and each year, i found myself moving forward. eventually, made it to university and the one job i wanted, i got. all went according plan up to that point.

and then life, as they say, began, and i found that it could be unpredictable.

i started noticing that the people who got promoted around me were not necessarily the most deserving. in fact, quite the opposite. i didnt want to believe it at first. maybe they were oversights. after all, i worked for a big company. the boss could not be expected to know everyone and everything.

but if kept happening year after year. looking back, i realise how lucky i was. instead of becoming bitter and full of hate for everyone and everything around me, i decided not to let the "system" define me. i decided i want to learn more at the company and set out to work in different departments.

believe me, no boss would deny you wanting to learn more. i didnt ask for more money. i simply offered to do more in exchange for learning more. my reward simply was the knowledge i was accumulating.

that early lesson on how to deal with the "life is not fair" situation stood me in good stead in later years. Oh, that didnt mean i wasnt disspointed the next time i was cheated of something. no, it meant i was simply able to recover fast.

minal aidil wal faidzin

2007-10-12T21:06:00.000+08:00

selamat hari raya, maaf zahir & batin. dam dam dum bunyi mercun

my optimus prime

2007-10-04T22:37:00.000+08:00

the bourne ultimatum (review by Kirk Honeycutt)

2007-09-29T13:05:00.000+08:00

"The Bourne Ultimatum," the culminating film of the trilogy begun five years ago with "The Bourne Identity," gets under way with a burst of nervous energy and extreme urgency and never lets up. It's a 114-minute chase film, dashing through streets and rooftops of any number of international urban sprawls with Matt Damon's redoubtable Jason Bourne hot on the trail of -- himself. That might be the genius of the series: A James Bond-like character who can escape any pickle and thwart any villain, but all in a quest for his own identity. Jason is not out to save the world -- though he might do that -- he'd just like to know his real name.

scenery

2007-09-26T22:57:00.000+08:00

parrot, underwater world

2007-09-19T10:32:00.000+08:00

building evacuation in Menara TM

2007-09-13T09:22:00.001+08:00

this morning we were alarmed to evacuate the office after our building here in menara TM experiencing tremors. it is believed that the situation was caused due to earthquake strucked in bengkulu indonesia. however, we returned office after clear signal given 30 minutes later. *pix taken via camera phone dopod D810*

candid & salam ramadhan

2007-09-13T06:57:00.001+08:00

it's sometimes hard becoming a photographer not because to get and produce a quality picture but we are "m.i.a" from the scene. ihih. so during my visit to national zoo last time, i tried to snap a shot while touring on the zoo's vehicle. using the rear mirror of the truck, i tried to capture the image reflection. me (holding the camera) & wife. but somebody behind there disturbing my background :)

btw, i'm taking this opportunity to wish Salam Ramadhan to all my visitors. this holy month is full with blessing to Muslims who seek a raised level of closeness to God.

"verily, those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah - Islamaic Monotheism) and do righteous deeds, shall have the Gardens of Al-Firdaus (Paradise) for their entertainments"
- surah al kahfi-107

mouse deer

2007-09-10T23:06:00.001+08:00

lamb chop stock for 3 months

2007-09-09T22:17:00.001+08:00

is he cute?

2007-09-09T22:11:00.000+08:00

tiger show @ zoo negara

2007-09-09T21:55:00.000+08:00

page under construction 1

2007-09-08T19:30:00.001+08:00

i'm thinking about changing my blog layout, however this project will surely taking longer time to complete. i'm just so lazy and dont really has good ideas how to rebrand it. anyway after few thoughts this how i'm going to complete it. first, make an announcement to my visitors, referring to this post (yeah i'm doing it right now), please be informed that my b.l.o.g will be under construction and bla bla.. second, find a good picture to signal that this page is under construction.. (what? picture speaks louder than word, don't agree with me? naa.. i wont be able to please everybody.. ) third, just go to template in my blog's control panel and select "customize design" to upgrade the current template. (ahaa.. that is easy), pick a good color scheme and layout.. (look guys, "good" is very subjective from one to another person) and finally save your template. voila... it's done but the previous decos just turn upside down... i'll repair it sometimes later. ;) to be continued...

btw - tq to the unknown author of this simpson's picture. i just picked it from other website. thanks dude.

D810

2007-09-03T23:22:00.000+08:00

"excellent" is the word that best describe this gadget. more info please visit here

togetherness

2007-04-06T10:25:00.000+08:00

good employees dont grow on trees

2007-03-29T15:07:00.000+08:00

good employees dont grow on trees; when it comes to developing a top-fight finance staff, one size does not fit all. (article is written by Paul B. Brown, from CFO.com )

"If life were fair, employees would be perfect. They would do exactly what we asked them to do—except, of course, for the fantastic ideas they would cook up on their own... .They would be cheerful-brave-reverent-thrifty; they would evolve smoothly from entry-level to VP with no bumps along the way."

So writes Erika Andersen in Growing Great Employees: Turning Ordinary People into Extraordinary Performers (Portfolio, $24.95). Anderson is quick to acknowledge that life isn’t fair and instead of being perfect, employees have the annoying habit of being human.

Still, as the cliché (unfortunately honored in the breach) goes: They are your most important asset. So how do you get the most out of them?

With all the books on the topic now coming to market, the one by Andersen, founder of Proteus International, a human resources consulting firm, is a good place to start.

First the bad news about the book. Andersen is so in love with the gardening metaphor—that’s where the title comes from—that your hair will hurt by the time you are done.

That said, she is particularly good at pointing out that your employees will develop far faster if you help them. That means tailoring your approach to how to get the best out of them—do they need you to spell out everything in detail, or can you just give them the big picture and let them figure out the best way to achieve the objective?

In other words, when it comes to developing employees, one size does not fit all.

Intriguingly, she argues, if you are sincere in "believing in people’s potential and wanting them to grow" they will do far better than if you consider "the people stuff" something that keeps you from doing your real job.

And in a statement that would make even the most hardened manager smile, Andersen stresses that employees have a responsibility to try to be all they can be. Specifically, she says, they need to be responsive to feedback; keep their word with their bosses; and always try to develop new skills.

If you are looking for help with specific techniques on developing people, pick up the updated edition of Co-Active Coaching ($39.95, Davis-Black Publishing.) The book, written by four business and life coaches—Laura Whitworth, Karen Kimsey-House, Henry Kimsey-House, and Philip Sandal—is intended for professional coaches. But the lessons can be made to work for finance managers as well.

For example, the authors write, "from day one, coaching focuses on what clients want," the client being the person paying the bills. If you substitute "you" for "client" the lessons will be equally valid. And you might want to skip over the part where they say that coaching is intended to address the client (read employee's) whole life.

The authors are particularly good, however, about presenting different ways to listen and probe in your interactions with the people whose performance you are trying to improve. And they provide sample dialogue you can use.

You do have to get past such new-age speak as: "witnessing means being authentically present with the client. When the coach witnesses the client’s learning and growth, the client feels seen and known at a very deep level." But the underlying messages and techniques are helpful and easily adapted to the workplace, even if the authors have given the book one of the most unappealing titles we have seen in a long-time.

While Andersen and the authors of Co-Active Coaching provide broad answers to the question of how to get the best out of your employees, Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, who have published three previous books on the subject, take a much more narrow approach in The Carrot Principle (Free Press, $21.)

heir key finding after surveying more than 200,000 employees over a 10-year period: Companies and nonprofits that are effective at employee recognition are substantially more profitable and have people "who are willing to go further, stay later and take on more."

Now, you should take that conclusion with a grain of salt, given that the authors' day job is serving as senior executives at O.C. Tanner Company, "which specializes in helping companies motivate employees through comprehensive recognition solutions."

Still their conclusion makes sense, especially if you can tether the recognition to both the organization’s goals and an employees’ personal objectives.

As they put it, recognition "accelerates progress toward a goal by bringing new energy to its pursuit. While communicating a clear goal and purpose may be enough for employees to begin a task with enthusiasm, people must feel that they are making progress or their enthusiasm will begin to wane."

What kind of recognition do you offer? While a substantial amount of money is always good, Gostick and Elton say, anything under $1,000 really won’t register as meaningful for most people. And the authors' overall belief is that on-going recognition is better than one-time events.

Gostick and Elton offer 125 different ways of offering recognition. To their credit, many of their methods—such as sending an E-mail to the CEO or department head (copying the employee) describing how the worker went above and beyond the call of duty—don’t cost a dime.

But what happens if the person you are trying to manage is, by any objective measure, a jerk? What do you do then? Consultant Gini Graham Scott, author of A Survival Guide to Managing Employees from Hell (Amacom, $15), has some ideas.

To be sure, the case studies she uses frequently border on the cartoonish. For example, there is the bullying $200,000-a-year employee who rides a motorcycle to work and keeps pit bulls as pets or the assistant moved to the brink of tears by the slightest criticism. But the advice she offers is straight-forward and makes sense:

• Spend an inordinate amount of time interviewing before you hire someone. The best way to deal with a problem employeed is not hiring them in the first place.

•Meet with the employee at the first sign of trouble. Believing the problem may go away on its own is no way to deal with it. Invariably, it will get worse.

•"You'll find that being open and honest and straight-forward...is often the best policy. Doing so creates a good foundation of trust."

•Be painfully clear about what behavior you want to change.

•Keep "a detailed paper trail when an employee looks like trouble."

All this is good, and Scott makes one other point worth considering: "You may be thinking that you have problem employees, when the real problem is you. This may happen because you are repeating the same mistakes in hiring, or making difficult demands that no employee can truly satisfy.”

In other words, if the same problems occurring repeatedly, you may want to look in the mirror before you do anything else.

berbuka puasa cum farewell party

2006-10-16T10:11:00.000+08:00

Although the program was short & simple, it takes a wholehearted team of people to make it happened. Not only did I have the good fortune to know them, I now get the great pleasure of thanking them for the support and off course the “belanja”.

It was berbuka puasa cum farewell party for me and jaja. We had it at alamanda putrajaya. I didn’t really remember the restaurant’s name but the cuisine was nice. Perhaps because I didn’t have to pay *grin*.

nevertheless, please bear with my language as i sometimes will use some “rojak” words. Too many things to be shared and I don’t want to miss all the sweetest moment. It has been 5 years i’m working in the company and I really learned a lot, be it from the bosses, peers and even the clerks. But I guess it is time to move on. How time flies!

I’ve seen and grown with the company since day one and even before its incorporation as a company. Similarly to all the people I know, I really treasure you all for your cooperation and support. ada masa kita bersuka ria, ada masa kita berduka.

Ler dah macam ucapan perpisahan pula. Anyway guys, I just again want to say my heartiest thank you for the buka puasa cum farewell party.

Okay I got a dedicated message for those who were there (spouse not included):

Zarina + Siti Sarpina – don’t worry, your turn will come. We’ll meet again in menara. K. rin as chef de mission mmg best. K. siti, hang nk pindah ka? Kan dah duduk cyberjaya tu?
manaf – your loyalty to “tuuttt” is astounding. I really like working with you
Haliza – geng gossip you will not be around but make yourself available at skype J
ermi – though your wife isn’t there, but doesn’t mean you can buaya2 haaa.. thanks for being a great buddy.
bad – you worked too hard and serious. Enjoy your life while you can :P
k. lela – first time I knew you, adui garangnya. but now you are more cool. Apa rahsianya?
norjie (system admin) – akak.. selamat maju jaya dgn cosway!
nur – ni sorang lagi.. don’t know what to say.. but looking forward working with you.
syima – my junior from mrsm, university and now sampai ke office.
wani – nmpk je diam, tp kalau gelak sampai nangis2
Mawar – I know I owe you san Francisco.
yon –thanks bro for coming and joining us
azliza – glad to have you to be part of our team. Cumanya, tahan ke dgn dakyah cosway k. norjie tu? :)
jaja – adui my team mate di “sana”, lupa plak. Ok la kak, I see you when I see you.

apa pun, as I mentioned to you all it’s a tribute to know all of you. but remember my words, kita kalau kerja kena kata, kena marah, itu biasa. Tapi kalau semua orang marah, semua orang mengata, memang luar biasa.

berbuka puasa cum farewell party (the sequel)

2006-10-16T10:08:00.000+08:00

Ramadhan Kareem

2006-10-05T23:10:00.000+08:00

It has been sometimes that i didn’t attend to my blog. feel like closing down my blog but i just started. With a tight dateline and busy works at office, i'm starting to loose my "taste of life". But it's always come back to the fundamental things that we want to achieve in life.

Lately, I keep questioning myself why life is so challenging that we can’t even discern what lies behind all the things happened to us? Perhaps after sometimes we will learn and realize that this is the path which has been destined for us. And for sure no other reasons except to make us a better person.

Now is the month of Ramadhan and is the ninth month in Islamic calendar. This holy month is full with blessing to Muslims who seek a raised level of closeness to God. As such, i’m taking this opportunity to ask forgiveness for what I’ve said and done that may hurt your feelings. May Allah bless us with forgiveness and great reward. Ramadhan Kareem

how to win friends & influence people - Part 2

2006-08-22T03:08:00.000+08:00

refer to my previous posting on 23rd Apr 06, here i continue posting the second part ;)

win people your way of thinking

The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.
Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say, "You're wrong."
If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
Begin in a friendly way.
Get the other person saying "yes, yes" immediately.
Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.
Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.
Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view.
Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desires.
Appeal to the nobler motives.
Dramatize your ideas.
Throw down a challenge.

tragic saturday

2006-08-20T23:01:00.000+08:00

my car after the accident

bride & groom pak anjang & me

it was fine saturday morning and we were on our way to taiping. got wed invitation from my “tok long”. Supposed that we should exit rawang toll but i however, missed the flyover and went straight into the rawang town instead. while I was busy rectifying the right direction and about to turn right, out of the blue a speeding bike knocked my citra. Alhamdulillah, i’m very thankful to God that I didn’t get panic and handle things calmly but my car…

anyway, we managed to travel up to kepala batas and return to kl safely at 11.15pm on the same day. it was really a very long journey indeed.

Samsons - Kenangan Terindah

2006-08-18T19:38:00.000+08:00

firefox

2006-08-18T19:19:00.000+08:00

Ads from FirefoxFlicks.com

si putih

2006-08-16T15:38:00.000+08:00

mom just called me. she mentioned that putih has been ill for 3 days. it seems that his ill is getting worst. they are going to take him to the clinic again. get well soon putih!

DOPOD 818 Pro

2006-08-15T19:20:00.000+08:00

it has been one & the half years since I first bought my eten m500. the gadget works fine with me though there’s some minor niggles here and there. nevertheless, this m500 is no longer impressive as compared to other newer version of pda phone that comes with built in wifi and Windows Mobile 5. (the malay proverb once said "habis madu, sepah dibuang")

my eten’s battery always kaput after half day of used. hence, i went to lowyat last Sunday. i just thought to get a new battery for my eten but end up the other way round… and kacing! kacing! I just got my new dopod 818 pro. I still wonder how did that happen to me?

who is the real terrorist?

2006-08-13T12:35:00.000+08:00

despite the agreement, described by the U.S. Secretary of State as a step expected to "open a path to lasting peace between Lebanon and Israel", Israel "laknatullah" continued its brutal and relentless strikes, killing and wounding many in South Lebanon. Based on AFP news, the death toll has now increased to more than 1000 and 30% of them were children.

Nikon D50

2006-08-05T20:58:00.000+08:00

i never thought that myself will consider buying a new digital camera and perhaps not even a digital SLR. however after a long survey and I can’t get hold of myself. in the end, i decided to get Nikon D50 as my new toy *grin*

EIGHT BELOW

2006-06-12T00:14:00.000+08:00

inspired by a true story, this above average family film is adventure ever told story about human friendship with animal. the story focus on dog-sled guide (Jerry Shepard) at an Antartic research station who has to abandon his eight sled dogs by harsh antartic winter. the poor, trusting dogs are left in a blizzard on a chain to fend for themselves.

i give 4.5 out 5 for this fine story.

MYTEAM vs. MALAYSIA

2006-05-28T13:43:00.000+08:00

catch the most prominent football battle tonight at Stadium Nasional Bt Jalil - myteam vs. malaysia. it was the ever best idea i have ever heard and kudos to Khairy Jamaluddin and Jason Lo for this superb out-of-the box thinking.

certainly this reality show is not evoking the same kind of hysteria like akademi fantasia or malaysian idols raised, but to some extent it gives a new breathe to the malaysian football. myteam probably will lose the game tonight, but i'm sure a difference can still be made in 90 minutes time. nothing happened by chance!

believe in possibilites!

Succes! Veel geluk! myteam

i m a big fan of NARUTO!

2006-05-21T20:45:00.000+08:00

12 years before the events, the Kyuubi (9 tails demon fox) attacked Konoha (Village of Hidden Leaves). It was a powerful demon indeed and caused a big disaster to the village. However the 4th Hokage defeated the Kyuubi by sacrificing his own life to seal the demon inside a newborn child. That child's name was Uzumaki Naruto.

i dont know why i like it so much. but most obvious is the storyline that maintains a balance between comedy and drama and full of action. naruto himself determine his ways of ninja and wanting to be hokage (the highest rank ninja in its own village)

Hatake Kakashi (Top), Uchiha Sasuke (Left), Haruno Sakura (Middle), Uzumaki Naruto (Right)

R A N S E N G A N!

o.n.c.e. in a lifetime

2006-05-04T00:07:00.000+08:00

at exactly, 01 hour 02 minutes 03 seconds after midnight on the 04th of 05 (May) year 2006, the time and date will read 01.02:03 04.05.06.

this combination comes together once every hundred years - and basically once in our lifetime. unless we live long enough, then there will be another chance for us.

"by time! surely human being is at loss. except for those who have faith and do righteous deeds and exhort one another to truth and exhort one another to patience" - Surah Al-'Asr

may day or mayday?

2006-05-02T23:51:00.000+08:00

its sound similar right? but actually 2 different things.

today is my sixth day, yes I repeat 6^th day that I am still feeling unwell. i have fever (on and off), runny nose, cough, soar throats, headache and all in all I lost my precious weekend. instead of enjoying the free time, I’ve to lie down on my bed. I went to office today but being not really productive except it worsen my health condition.

yesterday was actually a May Day – observed in the US, Canada and parts of Western Europe in celebration of the coming of spring. But for Malaysia, it’s observed as a holiday in honor of labor and labor organizations a.k.a. Labor Day.

as for “mayday”, in definition is described as an international radiotelephone signal word used by aircraft and ships in distress. – quoted from microsoft bookshelf. it is also a word representing the pronunciation of French “m’aidez”, means “help me”.

And here I am, i need mayday! mayday!. hope to get well soon.

what a day !!!

2006-04-25T14:09:00.000+08:00

i composed this yesterday but to my surprise the posting lost from the entry shelf. but never mind, let’s just post it again...

it’s certainly a busy day yesterday at office. There’s a lot of things need to be done but so little progress to gage. fewwh. one thing I’m not sure whether is it the people or is it the process or is it both that slowing down everything. i hate to admit the fact but guess I have to live with it.

at this point in time, I just wish that I have a magic lamp and I rub it and wish – I am the richest person on this planet and don’t have to work *grin*

by the way, just want to share some funny things here. My boss fwdd this problem solving flowsheet in his kpi’s presentation slides. guess this is the actual thing happened in most organization :)

why dont we just fix it? easy right?

how to win friends & influence people - Part 1

2006-04-23T15:24:00.000+08:00

Dale Carnergie in his book had listed 4 ideas how to manage people around us. In work life, people are the most valuable assets that will determine the success of any organization.

Thus it is critical that a leader to be able to make the right decision and make the people to implement it.

fundamental techniques in handling people

don’t criticize, condemn or complain
give honest & sincere appreciation
around in the other person an eager want

six ways to make people to like you

become genuinely interested in other people
smile
remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest & most important sound in any language
be a good listener. encourage others to talk about themselves
talk in terms of other person’s interest
make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely

are we doing better?

2006-03-20T21:24:00.000+08:00

A wonderful Message by George Carlin:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts,yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back,
but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

MOTIVATION vs. MOVEMENT

2006-03-11T23:22:00.000+08:00

i just read a book about motivation. this relates to the office life. most of the time many employers really dont want motivated workers. They confuce the word motivation with the word movement. They want people who do what they want when they want and how they want it done.

to me and as described in the book; "A motivated person may not necessarily do just that. He may rock the boat by suggesting innovative ideas for a company content to do things the way they have always been done. hence, the motivated employee may find his ideas squelched & along with his ideas, off course his motivation."

however, most of the time ppl feel that to go reverse of what the boss say is completely against the rule. so what?