Month: June 2008

Holland 3 : 0 Shitaly

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There’s no greater news to wake up to than this!

Now all it needs is for Italy Shitaly to ‘keep this up’ . Yes. Keep losing until they crash out of the first round ignominiously – preferably with ZERO (0) points and a large goal deficit. There’s nothing more satisfying than that!

But before that, Fabio Grosso must trip someone in the defending area near the end of the match and a penalty rewarded to the opposing team, whereby the opposing team will score and send Shitaly crashing out. And in the best case scenario, Materazzi must lose his cool and headbutt someone and get himself a red card too.

There will be nothing more deserving than this as a well deserved retribution to the thieves of the World Cup!

An Uneducated View on PDA / Smartphone Reviews (II)

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This is a typical PDA / Smartphone product review found on Cnet.

But before I begin, let me first emphasize that this is not an attack on the quality of Cnet’s review because it has always been my opinion that Cnet’s editors do some of the most balanced and objective, if not the best, technical reviews that can be found on the Internet. Very often I recommend that my friends read them up, and I also read up a Cnet review before making my decision to purchase a particular electronic product – be it a digital camera, PDA, laptop or even a mobile phone.

Take a look at the example of the HTC Touch review given above. As with all Cnet reviews, it gives you an overview of the specifications of the product, the features available, the good and the bad and even showing you the quality of the pictures taken with the built-in camera. I have come across a review of the iPhone which even some of the known gripes and criticisms from those already using a product is mentioned. For e.g., I quote: “CNET users have also reported volume problems, and a few people we called said they heard a slight background hiss.”

Unfortunately, this is where my praises for Cnet’s reviews end, and with all due respect to the Cnet editors, this is no fault of yours.

I am quite sure many of us has bought a product after comparing the features and taking the one with the most features usable for us, and also on performance, but ultimately found the product unwieldy and hardly of use for the purpose we intended it for after purchase. (That is also why I have completely sworn myself off PDA smartphones, with the exception of the Blackberry. The reason was that this is the one product that best suit my uses in the corporate environment, given to me free by the company because I am one of the Blackberry Enterprise Server administrators.)

Anyway, what good is a review telling you how good the sound or the quality of the picture taken is, the range the WIFI built in etc when there are so many similar products out there with comparable features? When our decision making is solely based on comparing features and specifications, is that not the very reason we found ourselves in want – not in need – of an upgrade, or desiring a better phone in the near future? In the end we end up trying to chase the technology and because our current gadget was only the best – a has been – until the next one comes along.

So what is the point I am trying to make here? What I am doing here is presenting my uneducated view here on how a product review can be further improved. For e.g. it might help us if the review tells us how the HTC Touch can integrate with the work of users of a certain profile, and there’s a short video or a presentation featuring a real user showing us what he has done with it etc. And I don’t mean looking for fan boys to sing the praises of a product and try to convince us just why a pile of stinking iDung or the iFart from Steve Job’s ass maybe fragrant.

I mean, don’t we all at times discovered we wanted something because our friends flashes us their gadgets and tell us just what he can do with it and how cool that might be because that’s something we are looking for all along? And wouldn’t that save also help save us a lot of money because this will be one product that will serve our purpose and last us for a long time to come?

I thank Endoh for giving me the inspiration to this article. And to Chaosdingo: ‘this is the article I told you I wanted to write sometime back on WLM. It is finally here.’

Movies watched recently…

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Rambo


Vantage Point


Indiana Jones:
Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull.


Horton Hears A Who?

Rambo:
I thought Fatal Move [夺帅] was bloody, and I was wrong. This is even worse, and even Saving Private Ryan pales in comparison. But where Saving Private Ryan is realistic, Rambo is definitely exaggerating. If you loved mindless violence, and seeing people getting ripped apart in 101 means, this is definitely the show for you. In fact, the last 10 minutes has endless scenes of mutilation: flying body parts, many heads and limps getting blown off et al. Definitely a movie you want to avoid after a meal if you have a weak stomach.

Anyway, this time round the mission takes Rambo to Burma (Myanmar), where he (on the trail of a group of mercenaries) rush to the rescue a group of missionaries who has run into some ‘domestic trouble’ with the Myanmese military in the Karen tribal areas. I wondered whether it was watching this (and Stealth), that caused the junta to be have such an irrational fear of Americans.

By the way, I don’t even know if the movie has a point at all. Most of the missionaries who were doing some good with their humanitarian efforts to bring health care and some simple education to the Karen people all met with a terrible end. The only message I got was from the fact that most of the mercenaries died except for the one who came back for Rambo and ‘finished the mission’… perhaps a subtle reminder to the American people they should stay the course in Iraq or face a terrible end?

I definitely hope Stallone won’t make another Rambo because it is going to be quite a joke seeing how this man continually kick his enemies’ ass. In fact, Rocky Balboa was done way better than Rambo. At least it Rocky didn’t beat the young champion, and it showed that even older people can have a determination to do what they intend to do.

Vantage Point:
I got quite bored and annoyed with the start of the movie, where the scene of the American President getting shot was repeated three times from several different perspectives – vantage points. I was wondering if that is going to be the way in the whole show and if blogger Mr.Malique was kidding me when he said this is a good movie.

I was glad I didn’t write it off from there because the storyline began to unravel after that, and that’s where it tied in the three vantage points to reveal to the audience what was missing in one but present in the other to allow Agent Barnes (Dennis Quaid) to be hot on the trail on the conspirators to rescue the President. There wasn’t very much of Sigourney Weaver in the movie, as she was seen only in the earlier part of the movie. As for what is Forest Whitaker’s role in the movie, you have to find out for yourself. Of course it comes with the usual intrigue, car chases and gun fights though probably not as exciting or super-human as a James Bond or XXX movie.

All in all, I liked this movie, it was refrenshing to me simply because I don’t recall ever watching another movie made similarly. If you have missed it I do suggest you get the DVD.

Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull:
It appears to me that it is the general sentiment that this movie was made a little to long (19 years!) after the last one, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). (It beats the record held by Star Wars, which was 16 years.)

Anyway, since it was such a long time after the last movie, the villians of the movie are no longer the Nazis, but the Soviets. (I wonder if another 20 years later whether it might be Communist China, since now they already have a Chinese Mummy – Jet Li.) The movie started with Dr. Jones (Harrison Ford) captured by a Colonel-Doctor Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) and is forced to assist her in recovering a crate in a Hangar 51. It ultimately led Jones on a competition against Spalko in a race to find the Crystal Skull and lost Akator – also know as El Dorado.

In my personal opinion it was a little disappointing, just like Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. I had a feeling I maybe watching ET Part II, actually. Retuurrrn…. ET Phone Home… You will get what I mean after watching the movie. However, unlike George Lucas, at least Steven Spielberg had the courtesy not to sell out the fans by making it into a kid’s movie so parents will be held hostage and turn up in droves. The storyline is not really captivating, and fortunately the action and a lot of army ants made up for that. In fact I had actually hoped that more emphasis was placed on the son after his identity was revealed, so at least the action can be carry on in that person in future Indiana Jones movies. (Personally I wondered if that wasn’t hinted at the end of this movie.)

Anyway, last I heard was that there are plans for another Indiana Jones movie. And Harrison Ford making another Indiana Jones movie is still alright, as long as they cut down more of the action and increase more of the archeology and riddle aspects. After all, Dr. Jones isn’t all action. He has brains too. But I can’t say the same for Rambo… because I can’t imagine him sitting in a control room directing all the action of maybe a section of mini-Rambos in his place.

Horton Hears a Who!:
Also known as Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who! , this is animation based on the book of the same name. In this animation, Horton the Elephant (Jim Carrey) heard a yelp coming out of a dust speck when he was taking a dip in the pool. After placing it on top of a clover that he holds in his trunk, he finds out the speck harbors the city of Whoville and all its inhabitants, led by Mayor Ned McDodd (Steve Carell).

The story is about how Horton tries to defend his knowledge, and to help the people of Whoville by taking and placing the speck atop Mt. Nool, the safest place in the jungle. Of course Horton was ridiculed because the other animals in the jungle couldn’t hear the people within the speck. Led by Jane Kangaroo, a lynch mob roped and caged Horton, in their attempt to end Horton’s delusion and destroy the speck once and for all.

I believe I have already revealed enough about this story so I’ll leave the details for you to find out on your own. Though I won’t recommend you to give it a miss, there’s nothing so captivating on inspiring in it that you should watch it either.

An Uneducated View on Current Events (I)

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Singapore vehicles can continue topping up on petrol in Johor, the Malaysian government said yesterday, ending days of uncertainty over whether it would implement a ban within 50km of the border.

The news came with the announcement of a 40 per cent hike in petrol prices from today.

Analysts say the move is a high-stakes gamble by Premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is fighting for his political survival. [Source: Straits Stooge Times, 5 Jun 2008]

This move is so much better and much more intelligent.

Keeping the subsidies and implementing a ban on foreign cars would be stupidity in the highest order. First of all, keeping the subsidies at the previous level would be like not doing something about the ‘bleeding’ that comes out of an ever enlarging wound. Next, implementing a ban would be the equivalent of cutting off the transfusion of blood coming in to replenish the blood you lose. It would be suicidal.

Either way, the days of low oil prices are over and some people should just live with it. How is it acceptable that at one point of time petrol was actually cheaper than even drinking water in some places? Consider this, water is a necessity, and burning fuel in your car is actually a luxury.

It really amazes me that the Malaysian opposition make a big fuss over this and actually ask the BN gahmen to maintain the subsidies and tighten their belts. There are few gahmens in this world that need to tighten their belts – Singapore being one of them.

Finally, The Financial Times reports that Bear Stearns tried to do a refinancing deal with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek just days before it was forced into the arms of JPMorgan Chase. Temasek is said to have declined to get involved for both practical and political reasons. [Source: HereIsTheCity 5 Jun 2008]

What practical and political reasons will stop the mighty Temasek in acquiring Bear Stearns, but didn’t stop them from investing in… UBS and Merryl Lynch, or even Shit Shin Corp? Perhaps there’s something about Bear Stearns we mere mortals didn’t know but Temasek does?

But with 20/20 hindsight, we mere mortals do know the fact that Bear Stearns was practically sold for a song to JP Morgan Chase. The original US$236 million deal sees Bear’s shares valued at US$2 each, and JP Morgan exchanging 0.05473 of each of its shares for every Bear share. At that point of time, Bear Stearns was valued at US$3.54bn based on its US$30-a-share price at the end of trading day.

I don’t know what Temasek was offered, but paying US$236 million for S$3.54 billion asset must have been a real bargain. In fact, even if we don’t look at Bear Stearns’ paper value, it’s building at 383 Madison in New York is worth US$1.2 billion! An almost US$1 billion worth in profits instantly. Now, the only real practical reason I can think of, for Temasek to walk away from this, is that the so-called ‘Federal Reserve’ did not agree to provide a $30 billion lifeline for the deal.

Anyway? If anyone had bought Bear Stearns shares off the market after the deal was announced, they would have made a bundle out of it as well. A week or two after the announcement of the deal, JP Morgan offered to sweeten the deal to US$10 a share! On that day itself, Bear Stearns shares hit US$11.25. In short, if you have bought the shares even at US$3, you would have made at least US$8 a piece.

Just try and imagine that if you had as much money as Temasek, and after you offered the crap deal at US$2 and bought a large bundle of the shares off the open market, you now say you will increase your bid to $10. Basically, you made some profits out of thin air, didn’t you?

Anyway, don’t flame me for all these, please! I have already said they are uneducated views. Is it a surprise if my views over these matters are well… wrong?

Scammers! They do books too!

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A friend who runs an online store told me on WLM (Windows Live Messenger) recently that some scammers were trying to pull a fast one on her. Here’s the chronology of events:

  • June 1, 2008 (Sunday) 2318hrs
    Friend received an email from an Andrew Goodluck (they can’t even be bothered to be more creative than that!) from the Benin Republic using the email account and_goodluck@yahoo.com requesting the price for 50 copies of the Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers, Fourteenth Edition (ISBN 0071441468 / 9780071441468)

  • June 1, 2008 (Sunday) 2331hrs
    Already suspicious of the origins of the email, friend replied with a request for the shipment address before she would provide the cost information. It is reasonable since you might want to include shipping charges in the official quote as the buyer may still be genuine.

  • June 2, 2008 (Monday) 2039hrs
    The scammers replied, informing my

    friend that they wanted the Fifteenth Edition instead, with the following address information:

    ABLS Limited
    Attn Kenneth Ejike
    Siege Cimetiere Habitat
    Face Station Akpakpa
    Route De Porteo-Novo.
    Cotonue,
    Benin Republic.
    Western Africa

    Is it not already obvious by now this might be just some kind of the Nigerian Scam?

  • June 3, 2008 (Tuesday) 1243hrs
    Either my friend is bored and she is looking for some comedy, or she is still hoping that this is a genuine customer. She gave him a proper quotation, roughly about $8000 in total, and asks for ‘Andrew’ to TT (telegraphic transfer) the amount to her before she delivers them.

  • June 4, 1989 2008 (Wednesday) 2011hrs
    The scammers replied (I quote, without correcting the grammar and spelling mistakes!):

    Thanks for your load down information. But I want to let you know that we have lost so much to online sellers, who request for payment upfrontly just like you did and when payment is received they withhold the goods and money. For this reason, we have resolve to always bring in our bank while trying to purchase on the internet. I will advice you contact my bank through email address: barcleys_wire.trans@account.com we bank with barclays bank.London. I have also forward this transaction to them, hopefully they will contact you before tommorrow runs out.
    muc regard
    Andrew Goodluck

    Damn. Do they think we are really stupid? And why would Barclays not use an email from their own domain name? Not to mention the obvious mistake of spelling their own company name wrong? For goodness sake, my friend who works in OCBC Security gets an ocbcsec.com email address, and Barclays Premier League is not some obscure thing from the planet Sirius Secundus!

  • June 4, 2008 (Wednesday) 2052hrs
    Now my friend is really amused, and so she decided to disturb them by replying them with a fake address she created on her own on the .biz domain. And we thought the story will end here! Just how wrong we are!!

It was to her immense amusement when she received this email (see below)!


For a clearer copy: download PDF copy here

Man, they really try so hard to make it look authentic. So hard that unless you aren’t net savvy (or you are exceptionally stupid or desperate for business), you will have figured out that it’s a fake right away.

To think of it, from Andrew Goodluck, to barcleys, and finally barclary, it would seem to me that they were all along leaving hints to you: We are scammers, Don’t fall for it!

Thieves honor? I really do not know. And I wonder just how much effort they need to go through before they even get one fellow stupid enough to fall for it, and I wonder just how they are going to get some money out of my friend from this, since it’s her asking for the money now.

Either way, no one wanted to risk it by providing account information. For all we know the account might just end up plundered. We both just had a freaking good laugh looking at it and agreed to share this with everybody so they can have a good laugh too.

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