Best Friend Drifting Apart

The topic during my ride to office was about best friend drifting apart. She was telling me her story when she had to take care of all her 13 family members, being the sole bread winner. Whenever the festive season month such as Chinese New Year's approaching, she will have to manage her salary well in order to buy all her brothers, sisters and parents new clothes and food items for the festival. Everytime, she will ended up no money to buy anything for herself. She told me luciky she has 2 best friends from work who will new year apparrel for her, without fell every year. Aunty said they drifted apart when she decided to work in Singapore. She said she has no choice because she needed the money to support her family. Since then, she and her best friends drift apart and after a while, they didn't contact each others anymore.

What causes 2 best friends to drift apart considering there was never a fight or quarrel? Well, I guess most friendships and best friends are based on a mutually beneficial relationship. You enjoy each other's company, enjoying doing similar things, having the same goal and interests and these make your friendship grow. Unfortunately, nothing stands still. Once the priorities, interests and needs change, 2 best friends will start drifting apart. Subsequently, both friends change. No matter how you want to keep and hold that friendship, it will never be the same once change.

Life long friends are thoses whom we can relate growing up with, sharing a common experience and can't be shared with new friends made. These are the friends you will keep in touch for years down the lane. Unfortunately, friends come and go too often. I guess when our goals change, so does friendship.

Like my friend said, close friends never last long, and it's truth. I took me a while to understand but I do now. Along our life's journey, we have to make new friends and look for new close friends. Best friends are difficult to find and I think that's why we have a lot of casual friends or just colleagues. Once the purpose of the casual friendship is complete, the friendship dissolves.

To some people, loosing a best friend due to drifting apart can be hurtful and sad but it's part of life growing. Even for me, I've lost a few best friends and it's so much harder to find a replacement. My best friend back in school has her own friends now. My best friends from university have migrated. My close friends from previous company are married and have different goals now. My best friend now is...well I don't know. I guess objectives change. Among all my friends, I'm lucky that I have 1 friend who has been with me for 10 years and still stay the same. We have our problems along the way but somehow we keep coming back to each other and for this, I say THANK YOU. 

Moody Monday

Hmm...somehow this morning I woke up feeling crappy. Maybe it's because I didn't have my beauty sleep last night and woke up with a sore neck. Time to put my pillows under the Sun for a 'sun bath'. Last week one of my pioneer colleague last day and the office was a bit gloomy mood. It's sad to see him go because he's one of the pioneer when my office started about 2 years ago. I think it affect my friend too because he was all sensitive and moody for the past few weeks. As a friend, I guess I have to be patience. I'm not sure what's going on his mind and I have to be the one who's calm. Today he's on leave so the office feels much more lonely.

Well, life goes on. One day, we will have to end a good working relationship and move on to the next company. Sometimes it's difficult too when you're so used to working with your colleagues and adapt to the company culture... that somehow it makes you feel afraid to leave.

Pork Free is not consider as Halal

I'm very surprise that some Malaysians don't know that pork free is not  consider Halal to Muslim. All this while, I understand if someone from Hong Kong doesn't understand the meaning of Halal and thought that as long as no pork is serve in the food, it will be fine for Muslim friends. There was once I tried to explain to our vendor during a visit to Hong Kong because with me there were a few Muslim colleagues.

Just a few days ago, I realised that some Malaysians don't understand that pork free is not consider Halal. Although the shop doesn't serve pork, the ingredients for cooking and the way the chicken is prepared are some of the basic requirements to consider. I'm not a Muslim but I know the chicken must the prepare correctly from the slaughter to how the chicken is cook and serve. The ingredients used to cook all food in the restaurant must be Halal too. If you put a drop of wine in your cooking, it's consider non-halal to Muslim.

During this Ramadan month, let's be considerate to our Muslim friends. To all my Muslim friends and Sugar, Selamat Berpuasa.

Canon EOS550D Kit II EF S18-135 IS

Well, after so many DSLR launched, I've finally made up my mind and got a Canon EOS 550D kit II. I've stopped photo shooting for a very long time and my friend recently told me that my skills gone wasted. I'm not sure if I still have the skills but my passion for good photos never dies. 

In my job, I have to know what's the tech and gadget trend and access to special gadget prices. One of my friend told me I don't know how to ultilise my connections but I think the trust built shouldn't be exploited or our friendship will end up like the Trojan War. 

Canon 550D is truly a great buy and worth your money. This camera will appeal to first-time DSLR buyers and enthusiasts, it offers a lot more technology. Although it might seem logical for the 550D to replace the EOS 500D, the older camera is set to continue in Canon's lineup, which leaves the 550D pinched between its entry-level (represented by the still-current EOS 1000D and the 500D) and nominally enthusiast (the EOS 50D) peers. The 550D has more in common with the prosumer EOS 7D, and somehow it out-specifies the EOS 50D in many areas.

Central to the impressive specification of the EOS 550D is a high-spec movie mode which offers full HD capture at up to 30 fps, manual control over exposure, and the option to use an external stereo microphone. The new camera also inherits the EOS 7D's sophisticated metering system.

I like EOS 550D excellent imaging performance. It has 18 megapixels APS-C sized CMOS sensor for high resolution images of superb quality and details and Auto Lighting Optimizer function with 4 settings (Standard, low, strong and disable) that can analyzes the brightness of the photographic subject, and automatically corrects the dark parts to make them brighter. Besides that, the flexible setting of ISO speed to adjust camera’s sensitivity to light for best exposure from ISO 100 to 6400. The versatile zoom lens - EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS is a powerful all-in-one lens for EOS EF-S mount bodies. It features a 4-stop Image Stabilizer and a 7.5x super zoom range (approx. 29-216mm equivalent focal length). The lens covers a wide range of focal lengths with a 0.45m minimum focusing distance. A general-purpose zoom, it is ideal for me who doesn't want to carry so many lens.

Type
Type	Digital, single-lens reflex, AF / AE camera
Recording medium	SD, SDHC and SDXC card
Compatible lenses	Canon EF lenses (including EF-S lenses)
Lens Mount	Canon EF mount
Image Sensor
Type	CMOS sensor
Effective Pixels	Approx. 18.00 megapixels
Image Sensor Size	22.3 x 14.9mm
Aspect ratio	3:2
Dust deletion feature	Auto, Manual, Dust Delete Data appending
Recording System
Recording format	Design rule for Camera File System 2.0
Image type	JPEG, RAW (14-bit Canon original) RAW + JPEG simultaneous recording possible MOV
Recording pixels	Large:	Approx. 17.90 megapixels (5184 x 3456)
	Medium:	Approx. 8.00 megapixels (3456 x 2304)
	Small:	Approx. 4.50 megapixels (2592 x 1728)
	RAW:	Approx. 17.90 megapixels (5184 x 3456)
File numbering	Consecutive numbering, auto reset and manual reset
Imaging Processor
Picture Style	Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome, User Def. 1-3
White Balance	Auto (AWB), daylight, shade, cloudy, tungsten, light, white fluorescent light, flash, custom (custom WB)
Noise Reduction	Applicable to long exposures and high ISO speed shots
Automatic Image Brightness Correction	Auto Lighting Optimizer with Face Detection
Highlight Tone Priority	Provided
Lens Peripheral Illumination Correction	Provided
Colour Space	sRGB, Adobe RGB
Appending copyright information	Copyright information entered with the camera is appended to the image EXIF information
Viewfinder
Type	Eye-level pentamirror
Coverage	Vertical / Horizontal approx. 95%
Magnification	Approx. 0.87x (-1m -1 with 50mm lens at infinity)
Eyepoint	Approx. 19mm (From eyepiece lens center at -1m-1)
Built-in dioptric adjustment	-3.0 - +1.0m -1dpt
Focusing screen	Fixed
Mirror	Quick-return type
Depth-of-field preview	Enabled with depth-of-field preview button
Autofocus
Type	TTL secondary image-registration, phase detection
AF Points	9
AF Working Range	EV -0.5 - 18 (at 23°C / 73°F, ISO 100)
Focusing Modes	Autofocus, One-Shot AF, AI Servo AF, AI Focus AF, Manual focusing
AF-assist beam	Intermittent firing of built-in flash Effective range: Approx. 4.0m / 13.1ft. at center, approx. 3.5m / 11.5ft. at periphery (with an EOS-dedicated Speedlite attached, the Speedlite’s AF-assist beam is emitted instead)
Predictive AF performance	Tracking of an object moving towards the camera at 50km/h possible up to a minimum distance of approx. 10m. * When used with EF300mm F2.8L IS USM
Exposure Control
Metering Modes	TTL full aperture metering with 63-zone SPC (1) Evaluative metering (linkable to all AF points) (2) Partial metering (approx. 9% of viewfinder at center) (3) Spot metering (center, approx. 4% viewfinder) (4) Center-weighted average metering
Metering range	EV 1 - 20 (at 23°C / 73°F with EF50mm f/1.4 lens, ISO 100)
Exposure control	Program AE, shutter-priority AE, aperture-priority AE, depth-of-field AE, full auto (Program AE non-shiftable), Programmed Image Control Modes (Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Sports, Night Portrait, Flash OFF), manual exposure (including bulb), E-TTL II autoflash program AE (evaluative & average metering)
ISO Speed (Recommended exposure index)	ISO 100 - 6400 (whole-stop increments), ISO expansion 12800. * In Basic Zone modes, Auto ISO sets the ISO automatically within 100 - 3200 * The minimum ISO speed when (highlight tone priority) is enabled will be ISO 200 * In Creative Zones, ISO Auto’s upper limit (ISO 400 - 6400) can be set
Exposure compensation	+/-5 stops in 1/3-stop or ½ stop increments, +/- 2 stops for Manual and AEB correction
AE lock	Auto:	Applied in One-Shot AF mode with evaluative metering when focus is achieved
	Manual:	By AE lock button
Shutter
Type	Electronically-controlled, focal-plane shutter
Shutter Speeds	1/4000sec. to 30secs., bulb (Total shutter speed range. Available range varies by shooting mode.) X-sync at 1/200sec.
Drive System
Drive modes	Single, continuous, Self-time 10secs. Delay / Remote control, self-timer 2secs. delay, Self-timer 10secs. delay + continuous shooting (2 to 10 shots)
Continuous shooting speed	Max. approx. 3.7 shots/sec.
Max. burst	JPEG Large / Fine:	Approx. 34 shots
	RAW:	Approx. 6 shots
Built in Flash
Type	Auto pop-up, retractable, built-in flash in the pentamirror
Guide No.	13 / 43 (at ISO 100 meters / feet)
Recycle time	Approx. 3secs.
Flash coverage	17mm focal length (equivalent to 27mm in 135 format)
Flash metering system	E-TTL II autoflash (evaluative, average), FE lock
Live View Functions
Shooting modes	Still photo shooting and movie shooting
Focusing	Quick mode (Phase-difference detection) Live mode, Live face detection mode (Contrast detection) Manual focusing (5x / 10x magnification possible)
Metering modes	Evaluating metering with the image sensor (still photos) / AF point-link evaluative metering Live face detection mode (movies) / Center-weighted average metering Live / quick mode (movies)
Metering range	EV 0 - 20 (at 23°C / 73°F with EF50mm f/1.4 lens, ISO 100)
Movie	MOV (Video: H.264, Audio: Linear PCM)
	Recording size:	1920 x 1080: 24fps / 25fps / 30fps (Full HD), 1280 x 720:50fps / 60fps and 640 x 480:50fps / 60fps (SD / movie crop)
	Max file size:	4GB per clip
Movie recording exposure control	Program AE and Manual exposure available. Exposure compensation of up to +/- 3 stops available.
Movie editing	Cutting out first or last scene (1sec. Increments) and Movie crop possible
LCD Monitor
Type	TFT colour liquid-crystal monitor
Monitor Size and Dots	Wide 3in. (3:2) with approx. 1, 040,000 dots
Coverage	Approx. 100%
Brightness adjustment	Manual (7 levels)
Interface languages	25
Image Playback
Image Display Formats	Single, Single + Info (Image-recording quality, shooting information, histogram) 4-image index, 9-image index, image rotate possible
Zoom Magnification	Approx. 1.5x - 10x
Image Browsing Methods	Single image, jump by 10 or 100 images, jump by screen, by shooting date, by movie, by stills
Highlight Alert	Overexposed highlights blink
Movie Playback	Enabled (LCD monitor, video / audio OUT, HDMI OUT – CEC compatible) Built-in speaker
Direct Printing
Compatible printers	PictBridge-compatible printers
Printable images	JPEG and RAW images
Print Ordering	DPOF Version 1.1 compatible
Interface
Digital Terminal	For personal computer communication and direct printing (Hi-Speed USB) , audio (stereo) / video output (NTSC / PAL)
HDMI Mini OUT Terminal	Type C (auto switching of resolution)
External microphone IN terminal	3.5mm dia. Stereo mini jack
Remote Control Terminal	Compatible with remote control via RS-60E3
Wireless Remote Control	With Remote Controller RC-1 / RC-5 / RC-6
Eye-fi card	Compatible
Power Source
Battery	Battery Pack LP-E8 (Qty.1) * AC power can be supplied via AC Adapter Kit ACK-E8 * With Battery Grip BG-E8 attached, 6 size-AA / LR6 batteries or 2 LP-E8 battery packs can be used
Battery Life (Based on CIPA testing standards)	With viewfinder shooting:	At 23°C / 73°F, approx. 550 shots. At 0°C / 32°F, approx. 470 shots.
	With Live View shooting:	At 23°C / 73°F, approx. 200 shots. At 0°C / 32°F, approx. 170 shots.
Dimensions and Weight
Dimensions (W x H x D)	128.8 x 97.5 x 75.3mm / 5.1 x 3.8 x 3.0in.
Weight	Approx. 475g / 16.8oz. (body only)

Market price now is around RM3888 for this kit. If there's a promotion, you can get it around RM3700.

Sale and Money

Mega Sale is here again but I have to say it's not so hype like previous years. I guess because Malaysians are so used to the word 'Sale' all year round that the Mega Sale doesn't shine like it used to. Almost every month Jusco has some kind of sales and so is Isetan and few other shopping malls. Hypermarkets such as Giant, Mydin, Carefour and Tesco are not leaving behind too, where they have weekend promotions for household and food items. Well, from a financial point of view, I think it's a good thing. Consumers buy household items at cheaper prices amid the world financial and economic are still frigile. It's good to be careful. A few cents saving can go a long way. In fact these promotions and sale help boost our economy. The continunous buying and selling activities are important to maintain our economic stability.

Well, I hope Mega Sale is truly a biggest sale to attract Malaysians and tourists. I do hope consumers are not cheated by profiters taking advantage of this event. It's meant to be a price reduction for current products not clearance stocks. It's not for businesses to put a fake or mark up original prices and apply a discount which end up the actual price of a merchandise. Beware of these trick because it happened before so shop wisely. Make sure you know the original price and it's better to shops at places you often visit and know the prices well. As for me, I'm shopping for Raya and Christmas...yeah I know it's a bit early but why not?

Malaysia Mega Sale 2010 started!

After rushing to get the site up, it's finally launched 2 hours ago. Yup, my company's campaign for Mega Sales is finally completed and launched. It's not easy too because the launched was brought forward 3 days. Since we are collaborating with Tourism Ministry, have to follow their launch lor.

Personally, I take a look at the bargain and sales coming up too. Not bad, specially with the current economic conditions. Every cents saved is every cents earned. I'm sure this will be a great time to shop for Hari Raya and maybe Christmas too. I'll definitely shop for both. Some bargains might be clearance sales but I don't care because I'm not a victim to season fashion. I'm a practical person. I normally buy things that last... not forever but at least a year.

Metrojaya is having the Raya Carnival sales, this will be great for family. Although I haven't been to Metrojaya for a while now. Last time I went there, there seem to be a lot of old stock and some of the home furnishing have even turn yellowish. Well, that's last year. I hope this time around it will be better. Nonetheless, it's still a good bargain for the whole family.

Next place worth to check out is the Fabulousales at Sunway Pyramid. They are having a lot of fashion sales so girls, drive there this weekend. They are also running a contest. I don't know much about this but I'm sure it's for the lucky shoppers.

Attended Open Web Asia Conference

It has been a really long break since my last entry. Things have been totally crazy with so many projects and launches. Sometimes we rush to launch a vertical that the fine details were left out. Well, the 30% 70% rules applies, I guess. Something one of the Open Web Asia speaker from Amazon said that reminds me of how much our company is doing the 70% work but left out the 30% attention to details.

I have to admit, it's usually easier to said than done. We were given the dateline and time is money because online never sleeps, that's what my boss normally says. I get it but reality doesn't always happen in the way we expected or predicted. I know a lot of us are burn out and even me...I dream of work in my sleep! That's really bad in need of a break. Away from work with no cellphone connection or internet connection. (although I'm not sure how long I can live without these 2 items)

One thing I take away from this conference is more ways and opportunities to make more money. Ideas flowing in when I hear the speakers presenting and met quite a numbers of amazingly talented developers. My mind is all planning but 24 hours just not enough. I spend 10 hours or more in the office trying to make all things works and come together. By the time I got home, i'm dead tired...which I normally take a nap before I  start my work. It's really a worthwhile conference to attend and I hope Malaysia will have more international level conferences here. I remembered attending a conference a few years back on publishing and it sucks! Moreover, I had to pay RM2k for a 3 days conference, wasted!

The best product I've seen with a lot of potential is the home grown online music www.cravecharts.com. There maybe some company in the US or Europe that has similar site but for Malaysians, this is a really good way to promote new artistes and users gets to listen to great songs and build up the fan based. Great job! We have a lot of talented developers who can develop games for iPhone, apps for smart phones, geo-location virtual office aka cafe with good wifi connection and prayers room locations are just some of the amazing stuff. I hope our government gives them the space and avenue to expand their creativity and work before they are being snap up by international companies who appreciate and know their values.