Just in time

If you've taken any management related course you would know what JIT means. But for me it means something else. Last weekend I was contemplating some options. I had a message from student services concerning my enrollment. They wanted me to drop two units since my oasis showed that i had a Fantastic for Introduction to Programming Environments AKA c programming. The same one i took supp for in december and up until now the result was not out, or atleast not updated in my oasis. So the deal was to wait until today to see if it comes out or not. If its out and I passed then i won't have to drop the units if not then i'll be taking only two units this sem.

I didnt want to delay my exit from this school and extend the time i intend staying here to another sem or year. Curtin can be quite funny with the units they offer per sem so its better to get it over with. Part of me wanted to do just two units so i'm not so stressed, the other part was thinking of how i'll get scolded by the big guy.

So today i went to know my fate. I met the pregnant lady at counter 4 who hasn't yet given me my mail. She wasn't there on friday when the deal was made so she was a bit blur but the other co-stars in the friday drama told me i, wait for it... i passed my supp so i dont have to drop any units. It was that simple. I was confused for a nano second but she said it again, you passed your supp so you don't have to drop the two units, but it has not been updated on your oasis.

Given the situation i felt like saying apa la this curtin, wait until last minute to release my result, i know i did well. But I was humbled and with a simple thank you i walked out of G1.

Now i feel responsible for the units i'm taking now to do the best i can so that i don't get into this situation again. Which means {by God's grace} limited time online. Like i said, sacrifices.

Thank God

~shalom~

blogging

If you are a blogger i encourage you to read this article. I just read it and i'm considering some of the things said. I guess i have to agree with some of the points.

I feel i'm more effective in this medium of communication when i'm in a much closer walk with God than when i'm not. And for a while it bothered me that i didnt get as much comments as the next person but after a while, i thought to myself, why am i doing this anyway and the craving for comments seized.

So why am i doing this? Its an outlet for me to share things i may not share properly in person, its a way for me to connect with my friends and to keep in touch with people. To show that as i christian I also have struggles but the difference is how i go through the struggles and how God sees me through everyone of them. I've talked about why i blog before.

~shalom~

repost: what is faith

This post was also made on my friendster blog on the 5th of October 2006. I'm posting it here for posterity sake.

This just goes with what i shared last time, it has more authority than my previous post so here it is.

"Faith is believing what you want to believe, yet cannot prove."

Sadly, many people, including some Christians, live with this definition of faith. For some it feels liberating. It means being able to believe in anything you want to. No explanation is required; indeed, no explanation can be given--it is just a matter of faith. For others, such a definition is sickening. Embracing faith means you stop thinking. As faith increases, reason and meaning eventually disappear. No explanations can be given, and none can be expected. Thus, living in faith is living in the dark.

For both groups, the problem is the same. By starting with the wrong definition of faith, they have asked the wrong question, are dealing with the wrong problem, and so have ended up with the wrong answer. Faith is not wishful thinking. It is not about believing in things that do not exist. It neither makes all things believable, nor meaning impossible.

So what is the right definition of faith? "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen," writes the author of Hebrews. A few verses later faith is similarly defined as knowing that God exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

Perhaps the best word we can use to translate the Greek word pistis (usually translated faith) is the word "trust" or "trustworthy." Suppose you tell a friend that you have faith in her. What does that mean? It means two things. First, you are sure the person you are talking to actually exists. And second, you are convinced she is trustworthy; you can believe what she says and trust in her character.

It is in this way that the writer of Hebrews talks about faith in God. Faith is knowing that God is real and that you can trust in his promises. You cannot trust someone who isn't there, nor can you rely on someone whose promises are not reliable. This is why faith is talked about as the substance of things hoped for and as the evidence of things not seen. Both words carry with them a sense of reality. Our hope is not wishful thinking. Faith does not make God real. On the contrary, faith is the response to a real God who has made Himself known to us:

"I am the LORD, and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
though you have not acknowledged me,

so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting
men may know there is none besides me" (Isaiah 45:5-6).

Ever since the Church began, the refrain has always been the same. It has never appealed for people to leap into the dark; no such invitation is found anywhere in Scripture. Instead, we are called to step into the light. The Christian gospel is not a message that revels in ignorance. It is the revelation of God in the person Christ, so that we might know there is none besides Him. The Christian is called to see things as they really are, and not as he would simply like them to be. We trust in a God who has revealed Himself. We believe because He is real.

The Christian Gospel invites you delve into reality. It commands you to be honest in your commitment to know that which is true. Is Jesus real? Who did he claim to be? Is he really alive today? Faith comes in response to knowing the answers to these questions, even as Christ is calling you near. But don't stop after the initial introductions! Just as you are able to put more trust in someone as you grow to know him, so faith increases as you grow in your relationship with Christ. There is a God who is real and true, and He is calling you unto Himself. The great joy of the Christian faith is found in the person who invites us to trust and believe.

By Michael Ramsden

~shalom~

repost: faith

This post was made on my friendster blog before i started using blogger as my main blog site on the 10th of march 2006, its about faith.

I've been thinking about faith for some time now, and this image of faith as a mustard seed is always in my mind, thats really what i want to talk about here.

The mustard seed is among the smallest you'll ever see, i've personally not seen one or if i have i don't have any memory of it. But i believe it grows into a tree like most seeds. In Matthew Jesus was explaining that even a faith level as small as a mustard seed is enough to do wonders. How much more a fully grown tree of mustard seed faith? I don't know if i'm making sense or not but i believe that there are times in our lives when we need to exercise faith and i'm sure that we came through honestly praising God because He led us through that path just to show us He's able.

I don't know why i'm writing this i guess i need to share la, but i feel we need to trust God more and allow him space to surprise and surpass our imaginations. He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above what we can ask or even think of asking.

~shalom~

take no notice

I often go searching for new blogs to read and found a few from people i know. I know it sounds sneaky but i find it quite interesting. There's nothing better than real life stories to make you think, reflect, ponder and be thankful.

For some time now there's been a theme through all the things i read and think about and thats sacrifice. The world is designed in a way that requires it, you cannot have it all. At the moment i want a mac, i want a new phone, i want this and that but i cannot have everything i want so i need to choose, and therein lies the simple {or not} simple principle of sacrifice.

For me to give more time to my studies i need to cut down on my internet usage, something thats so difficult, requiring so much discipline but something that can be done. I know because i've done it before.

For me to save money i need to cut down on my spending, for me to lose weight i need to check what i eat and how i eat. For me to be victorious, there's that price to be paid just that the thing is sacrificing is not an easy thing but the rewards are worth it.

In a not so related matter, i miss her lo. What to do? For some reason the phone calls and smses are not enough anymore. I never knew i could be this way being so independent and all but i guess overtime we all change and change is not always a bad thing. Only bad change is bad.

Mom's birthday was a few days ago. Considering the situation if i forgot to call like i almost did she would have been really worried about me. Thats another woman in my life i miss. I was just thinking, i've not been there for 4 of her birthdays now and looking ahead i'm not sure how many more i'll miss.

I'm sorry if this is turning out to be super long but all of a sudden i feel like writing. Its like the other day i noticed i was beginning to have parent-standard worries, future, work, life responsibilities and stuff like that. And its easy to wish i was a child again with no worries, like the title of a flickr photo i saw today but we all move from one stage in our lives to another and the best we can do is to enjoy whatever stage we are on while it lasts because time of change will came and we will start to miss things.

A friend of mine gave me a programming assignment to do and just thinking about the solution led me back to some of the stuff i did last sem and it was such a simple and elegant solution but the thought that went through before the result was interesting to notice. I began to wonder why i took this course in the first place and well the short answer is that its something i love, enjoy and its not always easy in fact its very challenging so much that sometimes i wonder if i can make it but nothing is impossible.

I have that {nothing is impossible} as my hotmail signature because i was thinking one day and that was the conclusion. What is really impossible today becomes child's play tomorrow.

Janna messaged me today, she's back to NZ by now. It was nice having her here, said she's be back in Jan. Guess she can't resist MY. Interesting the turns life takes.

I still have a few things i wish to talk about but let me end here. Remain blessed. Something i read today that blessed my heart is in Ephesians 5:15,16 "So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days."

~shalom~

me you them

Forgive me for being very vague but i feel i need to express myself without going into details.

I know we must be brave, and that things happen and the timing may not be convenient, they never are really and i know the kind of trouble it will cause, and quite frankly i am tired of all of this. I just don't understand why.

But i do. Are you teaching me something? Should i learn something and keep with me for all my life so i don't get into this again? I don't want anymore, i just need some kind of stability in my life, i just need some kind of assurance that all my worries are taken care of. I know they are but up in my head, i need it in my heart.

I know you love me, and you are pure good and everything you let happen is for my own good but sometimes i wish you would let everyone else who's going to be affected know also so i won't have this pressure. Really i... i don't know if i can handle everything i'm expected to. I always seem for all short, where are my victories? I need some hope. I need you to guide me and show me like you did before, before everything got messed up.

Don't be far...

~shalom~

photography club trip to niah cave

Last weekend we went on a trip organised by the photography club in curtin to Niah cave. Its the second time i've been there, the last time was with vcf. It was really good. I thank God for the opportunity and I was able to test my new camera.

This time unlike the last time we got to go to the cave and it was quite nice. Some shots i took.


The guys chalet


Our room with no aircon.


My roommate in the red pants


four in a room, we were all from different groups. I was in Ali Baba. Dont ask.


We played games from day


To night. Ali baba came second overall we lost 7-6 to Cobra.

Next day we went into the forest and found all kinds of stuff like


this millipede, the one on the wood not the girl hehe.


And this one, not sure if they're related.


this spider


this... thing.


and this snail that esther showed to me. Esther was the leader for Alibaba

And my favourite shot, this spider.


lovely

And then


we continued to the cave


more ahead


see all the tiny people


the wood looks like dropping flem


Anyone home?


I love the sky man. Sorry more caves




looks so alien.


rarrrh





All things bright and beautiful
All creatures great and small
All things bright and wonderful
the Lord God made them all

~shalom~

easter in a cave

Came back from a trip organised by the photography club in curtin yesterday. I didn't realise when i was signing up that i would be spending easter in the jungle. Well not quite. We went to niah cave. its my second time there but my first time actually going into the cave. The walk was long as usual and after the games the previous day, i was surprise my body didnt just give in to exhaustion.

I dont particularly like caves but this one provided good photo opportunities and a chance to try out my new camera. I got one a day before the trip so i can take shots too.

I soon realised how much i don't know about taking good shots in different light conditions and as a result most of the pictures didnt quite turn out the way i wanted. But some surprised me. I also realised its incredibly difficult to take sports shots because there are people moving here there and everywhere and you have to compose your shot so that at least there is some meaning to what you're taking and not just the whole bunch of people playing.

I didnt have time to reflect on what easter means and in that sense i feel awkward but i thank God for all his blessings and for the cross this easter.

~shalom~

built to last

My friend sam introduced me to this song and I love it. Some things in our lives need to be built that way... to last. Really love it.

Built to last - by Melee

I've looked for love in stranger places,
but never found someone like you.
Someone whose smile makes me feel I've been holding back,
and now there's nothing I can't do.

'Cause this is real, and this is good.
It warms the inside just like it should,
but most of all it's built to last.

All of our friends saw from the start.
So why didn't we believe it too?
Whoa yeah, now look where we are.
You're in my heart now.
And there's no escaping it for you.

'Cause this is real, and this is good.
It warms the inside just like it should,
but most of all it's built to last.

Walking on the hills that night with those fireworks and candlelight
You and I were made to get love right

'Cause this is real, and this is good.
It warms the inside just like it should,
but most of all it's built to last.

'Cause you are the sun in my universe,
considered the best when we've felt the worst
and most of all it's built to last



Visit their website are meleerocks.com.
~shalom~

as christ loved the church

I know there are a lot of people out there who are kind of again relying too much on devotionals but this one is not like the others. I like it for its always challenging, refreshing, always adds and never takes away what you already have. This one is from Charles Spurgeon and its twice a day, morning and evening. Its just great from maybe times when you just got out of bed and didn't have that quiet time? We all have those days but its not limited or relegated to such consumption. Ok enough of me. Hope you can read the whole thing. Oh and ah here's the link. Its new everyday so if you check and didn't see this particular message check the previous day.

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church.”
Ephesians 5:25

What a golden example Christ gives to his disciples! Few masters could venture to say, “If you would practise my teaching, imitate my life” but as the life of Jesus is the exact transcript of perfect virtue, he can point to himself as the paragon of holiness, as well as the teacher of it. The Christian should take nothing short of Christ for his model. Under no circumstances ought we to be content unless we reflect the grace which was in him.

As a husband, the Christian is to look upon the portrait of Christ Jesus, and he is to paint according to that copy. The true Christian is to be such a husband as Christ was to his church. The love of a husband is special. The Lord Jesus cherishes for the church a peculiar affection, which is set upon her above the rest of mankind: “I pray for them, I pray not for the world.” The elect church is the favourite of heaven, the treasure of Christ, the crown of his head, the bracelet of his arm, the breastplate of his heart, the very centre and core of his love.

A husband should love his wife with a constant love, for thus Jesus loves his church. He does not vary in his affection. He may change in his display of affection, but the affection itself is still the same. A husband should love his wife with an enduring love, for nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”

A true husband loves his wife with a hearty love, fervent and intense. It is not mere lip-service. Ah! beloved, what more could Christ have done in proof of his love than he has done? Jesus has a delighted love towards his spouse: He prizes her affection, and delights in her with sweet complacence. Believer, you wonder at Jesus’ love; you admire it—are you imitating it? In your domestic relationships is the rule and measure of your love—“even as Christ loved the church?”

Food for thought and action. I know its old English but for some reason i love reading this kind of literature. Remain blessed.

~shalom~

we live

A friend introduced to to godtube. It not a bad idea, may be checking it out more often in the coming days. I'm a fan of superchic[k] and this song "we live". Enjoy



~shalom~

Camera decisions pt1

Here i am again facing another decision. Ok its like this. I've always wanted a replacement camera for my long dead canon powershot A75 which i really liked. And i was hoping last december to get a new one but it didn't happen.

Because i love photography i got my N73 which takes decent pictures when the lighting is good and lousy ones when its dark, and because i love photography i joined the photography club in Curtin. There are about 80 members in the club far which is a large number considering that most of us are casual photographers but i joined because i want to improve.

Well you can't take pictures if you don't a decent equipment right? I mean i have my phone but i feel its inappropriate especially since we're going to have a seminar soon and a trip this weekend, a trip i signed up for knowing there are going to be photo-taking sessions.

So bottom-line, i need a camera and the nice one's are not cheap but i've narrowed them down to a few. And well the purpose of this post is to seek advice on which would be the best choice. My friend told me not to worry about megapixels but look at a camera that has a decent size optical zoom to it and get one with AA size batteries where possible. So here's the list:

Sony Cybershot DSC H7

8mpx
15x optical zoom
2.5" screen
Image stabilizer
comes with a laughable 512mb memory stick duo
lithium ion battery
About RM1,699.

Sony Cybershots are solid but the thing i dont like about them is there lack of support for other non-proprietary storage medium. And the fact that they tend to be more expensive for no apparent reason. I

Sample picture*

Flickr/KHall65890

Panasonic Lumix DMC-fz18



8.3 mpx
18x Optical Zoom
image stabilizer
2.5" screen
storage options include sd, sdhc, mmc
Lithium Ion Battery pack.
About Rm1,599.

I've never used panasonic but i have a friend who has one and he takes great shots. I'm not sure i'll go for this, especially after reading the review where they complained about the pictures not being so crisp.

Sample image*

Flickr/Dave :-)

Fujifilm Finepix s8000fd



8 mpx
18x Optical Zoom
dual image stabilizer
2.5" screen
storage options include sD, xD, sdhc
4 AA size batteries
About Rm1,599

While there's not much difference between this camera and the previous one, the review complains that the zoom produces significant levels of chromatic aberration at the long end and clearly visible distortion. Thats not good.

Couldn't find a sample image on flickr. appears this camera is not so popular among flickr photographers.

Olympus sp550 ultra zoom



7.1 mpx
18x Optical Zoom
image stablizer
2.5" screen
4 AA size batteries
Storage medium: xD
About Rm 1,499.

So far this is my favourite but it has a little issue displaying colours right, especially red. And not have usb 2.0 support is a no no. Also couldn't find a sample picture from flickr for this camera.

So far i'm not impressed, but what do you think?

~shalom~

*Sample images from flickr.

10,000 BC

How do you like the new look? I'm still trying to fix a few things i don't like at the moment but its good to have a fresh look.

This evening i had the opportunity to watch 10,000BC with my friends. My first time watching a movie in the Cinema here in Miri.

First of all, forget what people say about the movie that its not nice, I won't go into details as usual but just to let that out up front.

The movie has a good story to it. A story of respect, honor and responsibility in early times. There's also the story of unfailing love and loyalty and that what i'll talk more about.

As the star does not move, so are my feelings for you. Who was it that says love conquers all? Love drove a man to defeat a great beast, to travel many difficult roads, rescue a spear tooth, make new friends, forged new alliances, defeated the gods and brought peace and prosperity. Love also cost the lives of a few good men, i guess love does have its tragedies.

We also see the story of oppression, slavery, idol worship and lust. If I won't have her you won't have her too. Its interesting the things love will drive you to do and the extent to which jealousy and lust can be destructive.

I like the ending, even though i don't believe in it, the girl was restored and became the mother of the new generation of hunters. In the end what did i get from the movie? When you love someone, it somehow gives your life purpose and direction and everything you do is then driven by that love that you have. Same thing can be applied to our relationship with people and with God. I will give it a 4.3 out of 5.

~shalom~

audio capture

Keeping with the linux theme of the previous post, I just got my mic to work on linux after trying different solutions and almost giving up, but persistence prevailed.

One of the issues i knew i would have when i decided to switch to ubuntu linux is the issue of sound and video compatibility problems. I had no problem with my sound output and i've not tried video output but thats probably another post but audio-in have proved to be a challenge.

I went full circle, from not knowing the manufacturer of my audio driver, to checking through forum posts to downloading and installing tarballs that didn't really fix the problem. Benq does not have support for linux drivers and intel is no good either so to make a long tiring story short, i found this site that offered a simple effective solution to my audio capture woes and in so doing deepened my understanding of my new os.

What started the frantic search for a fix to my audio capture problems was the announcement of skype 2.0 for linux with video support. And in good time too, i can video chat this weekend. Yay! I only wish yahoo messenger was better supported on linux then there would be one less reason to switch back to windows.

Can't wait to try it out, let you know how things turns out.

~shalom~

the matter of choice

Choice
1. Act of choosing; the voluntary act of selecting or separating from two or more things that which is preferred; the determination of the mind in preferring one thing to another; election.
[1913 Webster]

Its not always fun when we have to choose between two or more things/situations. Last week my computer was acting up, the browser kept crashing, my antivirus didnt tell me anything was wrong but it was so annoying that i decided to reformat. This choice gave me the option of installing linux as the main os on my computer which I did. I've used ubuntu linux before and it worked fine on a dual boot arrangement before i did something stupid and had to take it off. This time my intention was to use linux and nothing else. Kind of like saying talk to the hand to microsoft.

The good
I love linux and all the customisations you can do on it. Its just sweet. Plus its free, you dont have to worry about breaking any laws and there are great apps supported and since most of my school work is done on linux it seems to be the perfect solution.

The Ugly
After using ubuntu linux and spending hours customising it to my hearts desire, i have begone to find certain limitations especially with the software support. For example, i can us pidgin which is a multi-platform im client as my main im client but it does not have features like video and audio calls supported. There's a solution to this which is to run windows in a virtual environment, but that will require hard disk space i dont have and RAM i'm short on. There's also the possibility of running windows apps natively on linux using wine but only certain apps are well supported which brings me to the point i'm in now.

The choice
I want the ability make audio and video calls using skype and y!messenger but like i said its not supported to linux. A possible solution would be to scrap the linux dream and go back to windows or get another computer. The latter is a tempting proposition because if i want to get another computer then i will have to let go of the other things i want to get (see my wishlist) and i don't want that. Besides these there are other needs i need to plan and take care of that all require $$$.

Another interesting dream is to get a mac. I've been toiling with the idea for a while now and i decided that for now my mac dreams will remain dreams. I simply cannot afford to get one now, hope they drop the prices soon.

So is it back to windows or will i be sticking with linux for a while longer? I really dont know at this point. Any suggestions?

~shalom~

stand+fight

I realise i use its interesting when I'm excited about something or when I indeed find something well interesting. Its interesting how God comes through for each one of us and they way he chooses to get through to us when we may be too busy with all the noise around.

Last night i was feeling kind of weird. You know when you have plans and desires, things you want to accomplish and then somehow they just seem like they won't work, it seems like oh that's never going to happen no matter the amount of effort you put into it.

I felt like my efforts at making things work was not working, and its tempting to just give up and say whats the use. But in my heart, i don't want to give up, i never want to. And last night i was saying, i don't know what to do but I'm going to fight.

Sure enough pastor Hii was speaking from Ephesians. 6:10 about putting on the whole armour. And two words that i can take back from his message is stand and fight. When we back out and give up, we are defeated but when we stand our ground and fight, even though we don't win the first time or the first 20 times we will surely win if we keep at it.

We are all in a war, a spiritual war against the devil and his gang and no one is exempt. It doesnt mean we have to ascribe everything that happens to the devil and his gang but it means we cannot live oblivious of this truth.

I just thank God for that truth and hehe its interesting how truth sets free, it sounds silly but its true. How truth can give you hope and purpose again.

My mummy called me again, to give me relationship advice. As a man i cannot understand how mothers worry for their children but i'm glad i have a mummy who cares about my emotions and my relationship. Doubly glad that she's in support of it otherwise headache. I miss them so much :(

~shalom~

week two

This week has been quite err ok I guess. There was the trip to Alice farm but i guess that was last week. But then it was after my post so I guess I can talk about it on this weeks post so i guess it should be ok.

We came one step closer to getting internet in the house this week. On Wednesday the telekoms guys fixed the phone line so by God's grace sometime between now and Wednesday next week it should be complete.

Cell group's tomorrow and as usual. I'm scared, worried but mostly scared. I dunno why but it always happens when I need to share. We'll be going through the book of Galatians all semester. I personally like the book of Galatians because it is filled with encouragement and the promise of God. It should be ok la, I just need to rely on God.

Things on the home front are not so how should i say... good. I feel like i need an excuse not to call home but what are families for? I guess we all grow up at some time.

~shalom~