Narrowband.org

Thrice Plagiarized: I’m Flattered Beyond Words

Posted by narrowband - 31/05/07 at 03:05:07 am

[Edit@1331hrs: The author in Case Study 3 has edited his entry in a bid to inject a dosage of originality back into his blog. I consider this as a sporting gesture and I appreciate that. I'd like to also acknowledge angel for her kind support!] Perform a quick search on Google with keywords “impak maksima” and “yi nan wang”, chances are you’ll see Narrowband.org listed on the first page of the search results. My point is, these are among the top keywords that helped bring traffic to Narrowband.org lately. To many bloggers out there, traffic also means revenue. You know what I’m talking about?

Now, just so you know, I write my own contents. I construct my own sentences, I carefully choose my words and I come up with my own examples to illustrate my points. If I borrow some content from somewhere else, I acknowledge my source. Conversely, when someone uses my idea, words and examples without permission, I can get a little upset. Also, the fact that the contents are arranged in the same order as how I’ve written them irks me to no end. And I get particularly upset too if they use my contents to earn some income. I call them plagiarizers.

Let’s do Case Studies. You may click on my original entries and compare for yourself. In the following snapshots, I’ve circled (in red) the sentences that I feel are very similar to, if not exactly the same with mine.

Case 1
Originally on Narrowband.org: Spirit of Love – The Taiwanese Hokkien Series (Published on May 12th, 2007)
Continue reading Thrice Plagiarized: I’m Flattered Beyond Words…

Closing a Chapter, Opening Another

Posted by narrowband - 28/05/07 at 11:05:12 pm

[Edit@30th May 2007: The slideshow has been updated with a newer version. Some rearrangements have been made, and all transition, zooming and encoding settings have been improved for better quality.] When the invigilator announced, “Students, you must stop writing now,” I saw many of my coursemates shook hands, and bade each other farewell. It was quite a sight, knowing that some of us may not be seeing each other again. Some others, however, will be working together in the same company. In any case, what’s for sure is that everyone will be leaving the university with mixed feelings: a heavy heart, a tinge of sadness, a little bit of joy, and maybe some sense of pride. I, for one, will definitely miss my former housemates and friends, the times we spent together and the happiness they’ve given me. I’ve had some of the best moments in my life with this bunch of people.
Continue reading Closing a Chapter, Opening Another…

So You Want to be a Blogger?

Posted by narrowband - 20/05/07 at 05:05:43 pm

More and more people are setting up their own blogs to write and share their thoughts, opinions, experiences and even skills with their readers. There are a number of things that I wish I could tell all new bloggers when setting up a blog. Here are 11 things I have in my mind:-

1. Get a Hit-counter!

One of the first things you might want to do when you first set up your blog is to get a hit-counter to monitor your traffic. The earlier you install your counter, the better. This is so that you won’t miss the first few visitors who visit your blog.

Personal tip: Stay away from Webstats4u.com (aka Motigo webstats, formerly known as nedstats), because your visitors will be annoyed by ilead.track.it popups.

2. Use a Nickname

I personally know many bloggers who choose to use their own real name or initials when they blog, which is fine, really. Short, given names are okay but full names? I would suggest to use your full name only when you understand what you’re doing – because it takes away your anonymity online and that’s irreversible unless you start afresh again. On the other hand, if you start off by using a nickname, you could gradually shed away your cloak of anonymity whenever you’re comfortable.

3. Blog Selectively

Think carefully before publishing an entry, because (and I always stress this) no matter how personal or private you claim your blog to be, it is always accessible to virtually anyone in the world who has an internet access. Whether it is something very personal, controversial, or offensive, be aware that in the cyberspace, you’re never alone. Your contents could be indexed and cached by search engines, or reproduced in forums, other blogs, or heck, even newspapers! So you think removing an entry solves everything? Not really. Unless you understand and do not mind the consequences, think twice before you write.

Related example: Last year, a teenage Singaporean blogger, Wee Shu Min had to remove an offensive entry just one day after publishing, because it drew a flak from thousands of people worldwide. She admitted that she didn’t expect to receive so many readers overnight. Indeed, her average daily hits was never that high. (It’s a long story but if you’re interested, Wikipedia could help you out. And yes, her original text is there too.)
Continue reading So You Want to be a Blogger?…

Dinner at Waterlily

Posted by narrowband - 19/05/07 at 01:05:10 am

Earlier this week we met up at Waterlily in Puchong for dinner. A birthday cake was bought too.

Can you spot the posers? :p

We sat outside and dined watching the beautiful sunset. The table was quite small, so we all sat hip-to-hip, which was still OK until the food arrived.
Continue reading Dinner at Waterlily…

The Jobseekers’ Dilemma Strikes Again

Posted by narrowband - 19/05/07 at 12:05:25 am

There is an important decision to be made. One which could potentially determine which industry I’ll be in for the next 30-40 years of my life. I am now smacked right in between university life and working life, and I have mixed feelings about being where I am. The various possible routes seem promising in their own right, and I’m hearing and reading this same line more than ever before: “It all depends on what you want (to do) in life”. Frankly, sometimes I even feel a tinge of regret for having applied for more than one position. But that’s really what everyone does these days – it’s an art of survival in this unforgiving rat race.

The interview experiences have been invaluable. There is much to learn from each interview opportunity, which is useful for future interviews. I have, however, stopped applying after realizing the complications I’m throwing myself into. Salary is obviously taking a backseat here, because if I were to decide based solely on that criterion, my life would be so much simpler. I wish I had someone to turn to for advice, someone like Isaac Mendez who could paint the future. By the way, I came across an interview by Guy Kawasaki with Penelope Trunk, titled Career Guidance for This Century. It’s a great interview, although I disagree with the Sexual Harassment part (#3).
Continue reading The Jobseekers’ Dilemma Strikes Again…

Dell Notebook Batteries are Crap

Posted by narrowband - 16/05/07 at 05:05:03 pm

[Addendum (June 21st, 2007): I noticed that this entry has been getting quite a bit of attention. I'd like to clarify that the blinking LED had this pattern: 3 amber flashes, followed by 1 green, and they just repeated that way; 3 amber, 1 green, 3 amber, 1 green, and so on. -End of addendum-] I can personally attest to that. I had my notebook’s battery replaced last year, a few months after the warranty had expired. That replacement set us back by some RM400. What was the problem, exactly? Here:

Notice the icon in my taskbar? It says that my battery was charging (I had the AC adapter plugged in, and switched on). However, the amber (which appear reddish) LED kept blinking – meaning something was not right with the battery. How did this affect me? Well, the battery couldn’t be fully charged. On top of that, it could only power my notebook up to about an hour, before I needed plug in my AC adapter to continue using.
Continue reading Dell Notebook Batteries are Crap…

The Day I Bought a Ferrari F430

Posted by narrowband - 15/05/07 at 01:05:57 am

Yes, I bought a brand-new Ferrari F430 last night, complete with a 6-speed Sequential Manual Gearbox (SMG) and packed with 490 horses under the hood. Or at least that’s what I believe it has.

Yes, the saleswoman decided to throw in a custom-made ‘narrowband’ plate for me too.
Continue reading The Day I Bought a Ferrari F430…

Spirit of Love – The Taiwanese Hokkien Series

Posted by narrowband - 12/05/07 at 03:05:00 am

Do you watch the Spirit of Love (yi nan wang – 意难忘) on AEC? It comes on every weekday at 6pm. And now Astro’s showing episode 446 already – that’s the four-hundred and forty-sixth episode. Pretty long huh? Reminds me of A Kindred Spirit (zhen qing – 真情), which was aired on Wah Lai Toi for over 1,000 episodes. Why do all the ‘super-series’ have the word ‘spirit’ in their name eh?

(Acknowledgment: Picture shamelessly grabbed from youthwant.com.tw via Google Images.)

To be honest, I am not a big fan of the Spirit of Love series. But when I sink myself into the couch and watch, that’s it – I’m glued. It’s so engaging ok! I’ve not been able to keep up with every single episode, so it’s an on-off kinda thing. Sometimes when I miss certain chapters I’d ask my sis what happened. So what’s the deal with this Taiwanese Hokkien drama that almost every Chinese auntie is watching?
Continue reading Spirit of Love – The Taiwanese Hokkien Series…

How to Create Mini Polaroids in Photoshop

Posted by narrowband - 09/05/07 at 12:05:43 am

Today I’m gonna spend some time to share with you how to produce something like this:

This was a special request by Eunice, who was clearly hungry for more tricks after reading my previous Photoshop entry (by the way, she turns 23 today, so Happy Birthday Eunice!). She showed me an example on Ladyshanice’s blog (I was told that she was some beauty queen… which I’m not surprised), and she said that she wanted to produce something similar. To be honest, I hadn’t done this before but it shouldn’t be too difficult. Let’s try it, step-by-step:
Continue reading How to Create Mini Polaroids in Photoshop…

No Harm in Bringing Back PTS

Posted by narrowband - 06/05/07 at 05:05:05 pm

There used to be a time when Primary 3 (P.3) students in Malaysia could advance to P.5 without going through P.4. In order to qualify for this ‘jump’, the Penilaian Tahap Satu (PTS) examination was introduced. My sister was among the first batch who benefited from this opportunity. She skipped a year, and never dropped an A in all public examinations since, including PMR, SPM and STPM. She’s now in Monash University under a scholarship. I personally know a few of her friends who had also skipped P.4 and went on to excel in their studies. I am sure there are many other gifted students who could perform just as well, if not better.

A few years later, the PTS examination was abolished, and every student must go through P.4. The brighter students – without doubt, there are many of them every year – could no longer ‘skip’ a year of study. Why should we deprive them of this opportunity? It is obvious that we are shutting them out. Note that during my sister’s year, there were also parents who opted to play safe and decided not to let their children skip a year of study, although they passed the PTS examination. It had always been a matter of choice. You can choose not to skip, but you should not prevent others from skipping. My sister never had problems fitting in with her friends and classmates who were mostly a year older.

The only ‘disadvantage’ my sister had was being selected for National Service (NS) during Upper Six. A deferment was inevitable (and boy, trust me, the procedure as well as the way her case was handled was frustrating). But that’s not really a bad thing, isn’t it? That said, however, I’d like to lament the lack of recognition for PTS students who had done well throughout the years. It is a feat to have been able to skip a year of study, and proceed to excel in school thereafter. Because the PTS is no longer in place, many seem to have forgotten that there was such a thing before. Worse, as the PTS was only in existence for a short while, some people do not even know what it is. And let’s not even get to the NS trainee selection process – they totally forgot about PTS students.

In any case, the PTS would not have been introduced in the first place if the Education Ministry didn’t think it was a good idea. Surely they had their reasons for introducing the PTS back then. It is unfortunate that the PTS had to be discontinued. If I had the opportunity to skip P.4, I would have done it too. I agree that the ministry should revive the PTS. Let us not hold back bright students.

By the way, I found this picture in this week’s Star Education Cover Story:

Kind of ironic, don’t you think?

Signing off now,
A non-professional blogger. I think.

Edit@June 4th, 2007: Found a piece of related article dated November 17, 1996 via Jolene’s.

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