Contact me if you understand what am I posting below..
Edit: blogspot has truncated certain empty spaces from the text, resulting an incorrect decryption and possibly disabling the ability to decrypt the text. I've uploaded the encrypted text here. Both the encrypted text and the encryption clue is in the file. Happy decrypting.
Note: There's a reason in everything. The only useless thing I put in the file is the separation of the texts. It doesn't matter whether the text is in 3 paragraphs or in 1. But for other things, there are reasons. Lengths, positions, structures, all that matter.
[addition]
I have verified and it seems Sayut got the answer and method correct. You have to claim the prize though, I'm not gonna remind you or something. Both the solution and the answer is given below. I'll give more challenging riddle next time.
Riddle solution (right click > save link to your pc > view using notepad)
Riddle answer (right click > save link to your pc > view using notepad)
Feb 22, 2007
Feb 20, 2007
Conversation
Went out to Midvalley yesterday, planning to watch Ghost Rider with Izma. She asked me to pick her computer table from a Lowyat.net forumer at Taman Seputeh first. Settled the transaction at 9:45 am, then I headed to Midvalley. Entering and searching for parking spot was a breeze, I even got a parking spot right next to the door to the shopping mall. Guess not many KL people wake up early in the morning on holiday or because they had not come back from vacation. 10:15am, Midvalley was deserted. Shops were not yet opened, some of them were closed the whole day due to Chinese New Year holiday. Several of them were just starting their business, with staffs cleaning and sweeping the shops. Headed straight to GSC, also not many people around. I kinda like the scenario, where not many people around. Guess like after the whole week stressed up with work, my mind craved for peace and serenity.
Had my breakfast at the McD nearby, McValue Breakfast Meal no 4 to be exact. Sausage muffin with egg, hash brown and tea. Not worth the monetary value, but then I didn't have any other choice. Picked up my meal, grabbed a copy of MYC magazine on the way and headed upstairs to enjoy the food. A couple were having their breakfast also, I guessed they too wanted to watch movie afterwards. Everyone minded their own business, and me happily leafing through the magazine while eating my hash brown. It was peaceful, with only background noise that was not really noticeable.
Not long after, my peaceful breakfast was disturbed by 2 girls (just finished school I guess) next to me. Typical KL girl, with their fancy dressing, loud mouth and all. Being me who prefer to avoid the problem than to face it head on (if possible), I was just ready to pack my meal and sit elsewhere. But suddenly, I changed my mind. I know this blog is not updated regularly, so I thought heck, why not I just stay and listen to what these girls are gossiping about. It might give me some idea on what to blog, and boy was I true..
The conversation was quite boring at first, sharing stories about school subjects and grades bla..bla.. I'm too old and I left school quite a long time to find those stories interesting. Then the usual girl's topic, shopping+hand bag+branded shoes+make ups and what not. Then came the interesting topic, boys. One of them was blabbering about her colleague who were treated like rubbish at home. To summarize the story, the boy's family is rich. His father was an MD at one factory, and the boy is currently working at the factory as production staff. He goes to work everyday with his uncle who is also working there, and since the uncle is the manager of the factory so it's usual for him to come a bit late. Well obviously the boy also arrives late everyday, and due to the fact he is the son of the factory's MD no one dares to say a word about it. But then his father scolds him everyday for him being late to work, and to make matters worst it is the same story at home. He is scolded by his mom saying he is useless and all, but he never say a word about it and dutifully do his chores like washing the dishes etc. Oh additional, the boy is not allowed to go out once it is dark.
The girls were very upset and mad to the boy's family, treating him like that and all. Two arguments they said that made me think how different it is for someone who is just finished secondary school and doesn't have any working experience yet with someone who has stepped into 9-5 (9-6 in my case) world.
1. The boy goes to work with his uncle, and since his uncle goes to work late it is not the boy's fault that he also arrives late to work (his father tells him to go with his uncle).
2. The boy should just run away from home because he's treated like rubbish anyway although he does his house chores.
Listening to these girls, I couldn't help myself to smile how big the difference between them and me. How I would have also thought like them when I was at their age. Well I guess working life changes me a lot. It teaches me the concept of responsibility, which for me is the root cause of every action we take. For every action there must be reaction. These girls failed to realize that whether the boy is the MD's son, he is the company's staff. Like it or not, he has to adhere to the company's rules and regulations. It's not the company's problem that he arrives late due to his uncle is late everyday. Pity the boy who fails to take different actions to ensure he is not late everyday, but pity more to the girls who blame the wrong person in this case. As for me, the boy's father acts in a professional way as what the company requires, just like what Saidina Umar did when he discovered his son committed adultery. Professionalism plays a big thing once you're working, and if you can maintain your professionalism I'm sure you are going to be company's favorite.
On the second argument, I think the boy does the right thing. Why would he run away from home just because he is treated like rubbish? Well for me, it is not mistreatment at all. The family still gives him food and shelter. What the boy just need to do is act like nothing happen and play deaf. You run away and you don't have constant supply of food and shelter, but if you play deaf to all those nasty words you still have food and shelter. Heck, I'd choose option 2 any given day. Just play along with the tempo, save enough money and when your financial is stable then only you run away.
I don't know whether it is teenager's thinking or what. I guess after being introduced to working environment, I begin to accept the concept of professionalism and responsibility. Or is it just freaky me who thinks 3 steps ahead for every action I take, I don't know..
By the way, Ghost Rider gets a 5 out of 10 by me. Great CGI, but miserable story. For movie review, search the goddamn Internet. Google is created for a reason.
(blogging while listening to Whenever I May Roam by Metallica)
Had my breakfast at the McD nearby, McValue Breakfast Meal no 4 to be exact. Sausage muffin with egg, hash brown and tea. Not worth the monetary value, but then I didn't have any other choice. Picked up my meal, grabbed a copy of MYC magazine on the way and headed upstairs to enjoy the food. A couple were having their breakfast also, I guessed they too wanted to watch movie afterwards. Everyone minded their own business, and me happily leafing through the magazine while eating my hash brown. It was peaceful, with only background noise that was not really noticeable.
Not long after, my peaceful breakfast was disturbed by 2 girls (just finished school I guess) next to me. Typical KL girl, with their fancy dressing, loud mouth and all. Being me who prefer to avoid the problem than to face it head on (if possible), I was just ready to pack my meal and sit elsewhere. But suddenly, I changed my mind. I know this blog is not updated regularly, so I thought heck, why not I just stay and listen to what these girls are gossiping about. It might give me some idea on what to blog, and boy was I true..
The conversation was quite boring at first, sharing stories about school subjects and grades bla..bla.. I'm too old and I left school quite a long time to find those stories interesting. Then the usual girl's topic, shopping+hand bag+branded shoes+make ups and what not. Then came the interesting topic, boys. One of them was blabbering about her colleague who were treated like rubbish at home. To summarize the story, the boy's family is rich. His father was an MD at one factory, and the boy is currently working at the factory as production staff. He goes to work everyday with his uncle who is also working there, and since the uncle is the manager of the factory so it's usual for him to come a bit late. Well obviously the boy also arrives late everyday, and due to the fact he is the son of the factory's MD no one dares to say a word about it. But then his father scolds him everyday for him being late to work, and to make matters worst it is the same story at home. He is scolded by his mom saying he is useless and all, but he never say a word about it and dutifully do his chores like washing the dishes etc. Oh additional, the boy is not allowed to go out once it is dark.
The girls were very upset and mad to the boy's family, treating him like that and all. Two arguments they said that made me think how different it is for someone who is just finished secondary school and doesn't have any working experience yet with someone who has stepped into 9-5 (9-6 in my case) world.
1. The boy goes to work with his uncle, and since his uncle goes to work late it is not the boy's fault that he also arrives late to work (his father tells him to go with his uncle).
2. The boy should just run away from home because he's treated like rubbish anyway although he does his house chores.
Listening to these girls, I couldn't help myself to smile how big the difference between them and me. How I would have also thought like them when I was at their age. Well I guess working life changes me a lot. It teaches me the concept of responsibility, which for me is the root cause of every action we take. For every action there must be reaction. These girls failed to realize that whether the boy is the MD's son, he is the company's staff. Like it or not, he has to adhere to the company's rules and regulations. It's not the company's problem that he arrives late due to his uncle is late everyday. Pity the boy who fails to take different actions to ensure he is not late everyday, but pity more to the girls who blame the wrong person in this case. As for me, the boy's father acts in a professional way as what the company requires, just like what Saidina Umar did when he discovered his son committed adultery. Professionalism plays a big thing once you're working, and if you can maintain your professionalism I'm sure you are going to be company's favorite.
On the second argument, I think the boy does the right thing. Why would he run away from home just because he is treated like rubbish? Well for me, it is not mistreatment at all. The family still gives him food and shelter. What the boy just need to do is act like nothing happen and play deaf. You run away and you don't have constant supply of food and shelter, but if you play deaf to all those nasty words you still have food and shelter. Heck, I'd choose option 2 any given day. Just play along with the tempo, save enough money and when your financial is stable then only you run away.
I don't know whether it is teenager's thinking or what. I guess after being introduced to working environment, I begin to accept the concept of professionalism and responsibility. Or is it just freaky me who thinks 3 steps ahead for every action I take, I don't know..
By the way, Ghost Rider gets a 5 out of 10 by me. Great CGI, but miserable story. For movie review, search the goddamn Internet. Google is created for a reason.
(blogging while listening to Whenever I May Roam by Metallica)
Feb 17, 2007
Short Break II
Happy Chinese New Year to y'all especially to my best buddy Ku Joo Han. Balik Semenanjung la oit, dok Sabah lama-lama buat apa.
Will update later with more stuffs.
Will update later with more stuffs.
Feb 10, 2007
Copycat?
I've seen and read too many blogs who the author stress that their blogs are copyrighted, content should not be copied bla..bla.. Some even to the extend of disabling right-click on their page, with the intention that people cannot 'right click-copy' or 'right click-view source' their blogs. It might be a hindrance to average-Joe who doesn't know much about Internet and computer, but for tech-savvy guys (or gals, nowadays got gals who are techie too) it was just a mere disturbance.
For me, I usually 'right click-open in new tab' or 'right click-open in IE tab' (yes I use IE Tab extension, get it here) to view a link in different tab as not to disturb my reading. I'm always annoyed when I cannot do 'right click' on a website. I mean, dude, right-click button was created for a reason. If you want to disable it, don't use the computer. Furthermore, what were you thinking when you say your blog is copyrighted? You published the source on the Internet, and you want it to be copyrighted? Ironically, these people sometimes quote from other websites/books/whatever and yet they don't allow people to quote what they put in their blogs. Are you guys practicing to be a joker or what?
Me? Well, you can copy whatever you want from this blog. I don't really care about it, because what I put in my blog is what I want to share with other people. And by sharing, I give them freedom to use it in whatever ways they want. For me, there's no such thing as putting something in the Internet and telling people not to copy it. It's just plain dumbfuck..
p/s: You can even copy my source code, be it VB6/VB.NET/ASP/HTML or anything. But if you copy it without the intention of understanding it, that's just plain dumb.
For me, I usually 'right click-open in new tab' or 'right click-open in IE tab' (yes I use IE Tab extension, get it here) to view a link in different tab as not to disturb my reading. I'm always annoyed when I cannot do 'right click' on a website. I mean, dude, right-click button was created for a reason. If you want to disable it, don't use the computer. Furthermore, what were you thinking when you say your blog is copyrighted? You published the source on the Internet, and you want it to be copyrighted? Ironically, these people sometimes quote from other websites/books/whatever and yet they don't allow people to quote what they put in their blogs. Are you guys practicing to be a joker or what?
Me? Well, you can copy whatever you want from this blog. I don't really care about it, because what I put in my blog is what I want to share with other people. And by sharing, I give them freedom to use it in whatever ways they want. For me, there's no such thing as putting something in the Internet and telling people not to copy it. It's just plain dumbfuck..
p/s: You can even copy my source code, be it VB6/VB.NET/ASP/HTML or anything. But if you copy it without the intention of understanding it, that's just plain dumb.
Feb 8, 2007
Euphoric State
Today I achieved another of my to-do list: going to a computer security seminar. This evening, I attended a seminar titled "Security Threats on the New Windows Vista and Beyond" conducted by InternetNow! International Sdn Bhd at Boulevard Hotel, Mid Valley Megamall. It was one of the most fantastic moment in my life, as I got to see real life demos on how computer security issues are done everyday. Just a little note on those who are not geek enough, you might find the rest of the entry too boring because I'm gonna be really technical after this.
Actually, InternetNow! was demonstrating one of their new product called Dr. Web antivirus developed by a Russian guy named Igor Daniloff. It has all the standard architectures of what antivirus should have, but what amazes me was it performs miraculously well against other antivirus. For example, other antivirus makers might say their products could scan memory addresses well. But based on the live demo shown in this seminar, one brand (let's just call it Brand X) failed to do this. My personal experience with other antiviruses also not going too well either. And today I learnt new concept in programming as well as computer security, which is executable packer. What an executable packer does is it packs any executable file so that the file size is reduced while maintaining the functionality of the file. This packer will add decompressing engine towards the compressed file, so when the compressed file is run it will first invoke the decompressing engine to uncompress the file and then execute the real file. The concept is same as zip file, the only difference is the decompressing engine is built into the compressed file as well so you don't have to distribute additional library or file when using the packer. Would be a very handy solution to my company's product, and it certainly contains many more usage than what I explained here. If you're really into computer security arena, you'll get what I mean.
I also had my first experience with Windows Vista, the newest operating system from Microsoft. Although the version shown in the demo was the beta, it certainly satisfied my eagerness to have a look on Microsoft's new toy. I was a bit disappointed because the Aero GUI feature was not turned on in the demo as I was extremely hoping I could see with my own eyes how this Aero looks like. But still, the animation and screen effects of Vista were a lot better than XP. As many had said, most of the ideas come from Macintosh OS and Linux like the widget thingy on the desktop. And I was really attracted with the UAC (User Access Control) concept that was introduced in Vista which works a lot like what Linux does. Basically, all users logged in are put into Standard User mode (including the Administrator). When you want to perform system-specific tasks like tweaking system services, Vista will ask whether you really want to perform the action and acts like a protective measure from accidental catastrophic event. Still, I think there's room to be improvise in the UAC as I don't think the control is not that strong yet.
Well basically, I really enjoyed the seminar especially the live demos and I really look forward in attending similar seminars or conferences in the future. Thanks to my boss for letting me to have a chance to go to the seminar.
Actually, InternetNow! was demonstrating one of their new product called Dr. Web antivirus developed by a Russian guy named Igor Daniloff. It has all the standard architectures of what antivirus should have, but what amazes me was it performs miraculously well against other antivirus. For example, other antivirus makers might say their products could scan memory addresses well. But based on the live demo shown in this seminar, one brand (let's just call it Brand X) failed to do this. My personal experience with other antiviruses also not going too well either. And today I learnt new concept in programming as well as computer security, which is executable packer. What an executable packer does is it packs any executable file so that the file size is reduced while maintaining the functionality of the file. This packer will add decompressing engine towards the compressed file, so when the compressed file is run it will first invoke the decompressing engine to uncompress the file and then execute the real file. The concept is same as zip file, the only difference is the decompressing engine is built into the compressed file as well so you don't have to distribute additional library or file when using the packer. Would be a very handy solution to my company's product, and it certainly contains many more usage than what I explained here. If you're really into computer security arena, you'll get what I mean.
I also had my first experience with Windows Vista, the newest operating system from Microsoft. Although the version shown in the demo was the beta, it certainly satisfied my eagerness to have a look on Microsoft's new toy. I was a bit disappointed because the Aero GUI feature was not turned on in the demo as I was extremely hoping I could see with my own eyes how this Aero looks like. But still, the animation and screen effects of Vista were a lot better than XP. As many had said, most of the ideas come from Macintosh OS and Linux like the widget thingy on the desktop. And I was really attracted with the UAC (User Access Control) concept that was introduced in Vista which works a lot like what Linux does. Basically, all users logged in are put into Standard User mode (including the Administrator). When you want to perform system-specific tasks like tweaking system services, Vista will ask whether you really want to perform the action and acts like a protective measure from accidental catastrophic event. Still, I think there's room to be improvise in the UAC as I don't think the control is not that strong yet.
Well basically, I really enjoyed the seminar especially the live demos and I really look forward in attending similar seminars or conferences in the future. Thanks to my boss for letting me to have a chance to go to the seminar.
Feb 4, 2007
Seriously..?
I have to admit, I am a person who, if given the chance, would not want to drive my car when travelling in KL. I hate the traffic jams, the long queues, the tolls and so on. I have been a proud supporter of public transport for long since the age of mini bus (old, famous sardine-type bas mini KL). With the introduction of LRT systems in KL, I had become really delightful seeing that the routes were right where I frequently go. Then with the completion of KL Monorail, it seems like everything was completed. I had long dreamt of the ability to jump from one train to another to go to a destination, and how that system would be so useful if it is efficiently managed.
But as old Malay proverb says, "Langit tak selalu cerah". It is true in KL's public transportation system. I am not ashamed to say that the day LRT systems was launched, I was very happy and thankful. Seeing that the coach ran smoothly on the track, I felt proud been borned in KL. But now, I see that the LRT is bogged down with problem most of the time. Yes I know, things tend to break over time. It is an acceptable fact, hey I'm a technical person too okay. What I don't understand is, is the LRT coaches are designed to break down with major damage twice a year? I still haven't forget the morning LRT system got stucked, causing many of us arriving late to office. The sad thing was, the management seemed like having the thought the passengers didn't have to be notified of what's the current situation. There was not a signboard telling people the coaches were stucked, resulting people who didn't know the situation continuing to use the system. All these would not cause major headache to people if they could inform people of the inoperable system at that time, and people would seek other alternatives instead of kept on crowding the LRT stations.
After a year, I would have thought the problem are solved and passengers would be notified if they have problem with the system. Well, safe to say my dream shatters once again. I was on my way to buy something from a person and both of us agreed to meet at Tasik Selatan LRT station. I parked my car at Sentul station and proceeded to the gate. There was no notification whatsoever, so I assumed that all is OK. As I entered the station gate, the first sign of doom happened. The staffs told me to go to other platform as there was some problem. Well okay, might be the rail was broken or something I guess. But at least they could do it outside of the gate, so that people who couldn't afford to be late would seek other transportation. As I waited for the train to arrive, there wasn't a single announcement telling the passengers what the problem was or what's the ETA of the next train. All they announced is that passengers were required to change train at Sultan Ismail station. It took half an hour for the train to arrive, and after that another 20 minutes to wait for the train going to Sri Petaling at the Sultan Ismail station. What I assumed to be half an hour journey had turned into one hour and 15 minutes journey, resulting me to arrive late at Tasik Selatan LRT.
So to the management of Rapid KL, if you happen to read this blog I would like to express my dissatisfaction and frustration in the way your staffs handled the situation. The inability to inform the passengers before the passengers enter the station was a stupid mistake, as this made the station crowded due to trains arriving late. Then the lack of adequate announcement informing the passengers on what's the cause of the problem shows that your staffs were ignoring the passengers right to know what's happening. Your staffs were also unable to give expected ETA of the next train to arrive, which in return resulting the passengers to unable to plan their journey. I strongly suggest that you teach your staffs to treat passengers with respect and to inform passengers if the system experienced any problem before the passengers buy their tickets.
We talk too much on the traffic jam problem that worsen day by day in KL to the point that we plan to impose toll charges to cars entering KL. But what we misjudged is to make perfect of our public transportation system. Don't put the mistake on the consumers when the core cause of the problem is improper city planning long before buildings were built..
[note]
Pardon the grammatical mistakes. I am too lazy to recheck my spellings and grammar.
But as old Malay proverb says, "Langit tak selalu cerah". It is true in KL's public transportation system. I am not ashamed to say that the day LRT systems was launched, I was very happy and thankful. Seeing that the coach ran smoothly on the track, I felt proud been borned in KL. But now, I see that the LRT is bogged down with problem most of the time. Yes I know, things tend to break over time. It is an acceptable fact, hey I'm a technical person too okay. What I don't understand is, is the LRT coaches are designed to break down with major damage twice a year? I still haven't forget the morning LRT system got stucked, causing many of us arriving late to office. The sad thing was, the management seemed like having the thought the passengers didn't have to be notified of what's the current situation. There was not a signboard telling people the coaches were stucked, resulting people who didn't know the situation continuing to use the system. All these would not cause major headache to people if they could inform people of the inoperable system at that time, and people would seek other alternatives instead of kept on crowding the LRT stations.
After a year, I would have thought the problem are solved and passengers would be notified if they have problem with the system. Well, safe to say my dream shatters once again. I was on my way to buy something from a person and both of us agreed to meet at Tasik Selatan LRT station. I parked my car at Sentul station and proceeded to the gate. There was no notification whatsoever, so I assumed that all is OK. As I entered the station gate, the first sign of doom happened. The staffs told me to go to other platform as there was some problem. Well okay, might be the rail was broken or something I guess. But at least they could do it outside of the gate, so that people who couldn't afford to be late would seek other transportation. As I waited for the train to arrive, there wasn't a single announcement telling the passengers what the problem was or what's the ETA of the next train. All they announced is that passengers were required to change train at Sultan Ismail station. It took half an hour for the train to arrive, and after that another 20 minutes to wait for the train going to Sri Petaling at the Sultan Ismail station. What I assumed to be half an hour journey had turned into one hour and 15 minutes journey, resulting me to arrive late at Tasik Selatan LRT.
So to the management of Rapid KL, if you happen to read this blog I would like to express my dissatisfaction and frustration in the way your staffs handled the situation. The inability to inform the passengers before the passengers enter the station was a stupid mistake, as this made the station crowded due to trains arriving late. Then the lack of adequate announcement informing the passengers on what's the cause of the problem shows that your staffs were ignoring the passengers right to know what's happening. Your staffs were also unable to give expected ETA of the next train to arrive, which in return resulting the passengers to unable to plan their journey. I strongly suggest that you teach your staffs to treat passengers with respect and to inform passengers if the system experienced any problem before the passengers buy their tickets.
We talk too much on the traffic jam problem that worsen day by day in KL to the point that we plan to impose toll charges to cars entering KL. But what we misjudged is to make perfect of our public transportation system. Don't put the mistake on the consumers when the core cause of the problem is improper city planning long before buildings were built..
[note]
Pardon the grammatical mistakes. I am too lazy to recheck my spellings and grammar.
Feb 2, 2007
Short Break
Happy Thaipusam to all my Indian friends and to all Indian community in Malaysia. Just wondering either it was me who use the whole public holiday to sleep or there was really less people celebrating it this year at Batu Caves because I didn't see many of you guys going to Batu Caves. Well, being me who got up at 12:00pm I'm guessing it was me who missed all the celebrations going on.
And yes to those who wonder, I did get home late last Wednesday. Out from office at 6:30pm, arrived home at 8:00pm. Based on my mother's explanation, the procession of Hindu's God was already past way in the noon. So there must be other reason for the massive traffic jam that Wednesday evening. Thursday was holiday, leaving Friday the only day to work, I'm betting my coin on people taking leave on Friday and straight going for short holiday. And since my house is the exit route from KL to East Cost, I'm pretty much understand the reason why.
Till other time. k-mie off to work!
[addition]
To Google: seems like you guys really doing good job with your products. I don't know what to say, I just love Google and I starting to feel I depend on Google too much. So if any of you from the top management read my blog, I would like to ask you guys to come to Malaysia and be an ISP here. To tell the truth, I'm sick of my supposed-to-be 512Kbps connection being throttled, incompetent tech support, blank promises to customers and the list will go on forever if you let me. So, I promise you guys. If you ever come here and be an ISP, I'll be among the first to subscribe to your service. Really crossing my finger hoping this would happen.
And yes to those who wonder, I did get home late last Wednesday. Out from office at 6:30pm, arrived home at 8:00pm. Based on my mother's explanation, the procession of Hindu's God was already past way in the noon. So there must be other reason for the massive traffic jam that Wednesday evening. Thursday was holiday, leaving Friday the only day to work, I'm betting my coin on people taking leave on Friday and straight going for short holiday. And since my house is the exit route from KL to East Cost, I'm pretty much understand the reason why.
Till other time. k-mie off to work!
[addition]
To Google: seems like you guys really doing good job with your products. I don't know what to say, I just love Google and I starting to feel I depend on Google too much. So if any of you from the top management read my blog, I would like to ask you guys to come to Malaysia and be an ISP here. To tell the truth, I'm sick of my supposed-to-be 512Kbps connection being throttled, incompetent tech support, blank promises to customers and the list will go on forever if you let me. So, I promise you guys. If you ever come here and be an ISP, I'll be among the first to subscribe to your service. Really crossing my finger hoping this would happen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)