Efficacy

In management, Efficiency is doing things right, and Effectiveness is doing the right things.

Leadership EFFICACY is “doing the right thing at the right time in the right way with the right motive to produce the right result”.

2 Corinthians 4

2 Corinthians 4 (The Message)

1-2Since God has so generously let us in on what he is doing, we're not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times. We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don't maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don't twist God's Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God.

3-4If our Message is obscure to anyone, it's not because we're holding back in any way. No, it's because these other people are looking or going the wrong way and refuse to give it serious attention. All they have eyes for is the fashionable god of darkness. They think he can give them what they want, and that they won't have to bother believing a Truth they can't see. They're stone-blind to the dayspring brightness of the Message that shines with Christ, who gives us the best picture of God we'll ever get.

5-6Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we're proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, "Light up the darkness!" and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.

7-12If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us. As it is, there's not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we're not much to look at. We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized; we're not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side; we've been thrown down, but we haven't broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus' sake, which makes Jesus' life all the more evident in us. While we're going through the worst, you're getting in on the best!

13-15We're not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, "I believed it, so I said it," we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. Every detail works to your advantage and to God's glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!

16-18So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.

Chewbacca Mouse

Its Chewbacca. Its a Mouse. What's there not to love?

Villagers kill 2 Taliban to defend aid workers

KABUL, July 11 — A group of villagers in northwestern Afghanistan used a machine gun, sticks and stones to kill two Taliban militants and chase 10 others away, a provincial police chief said.

The militants had tried to abduct local aid workers who were building a well in the Qayar district of Faryab province, the police chief, Khalil Andarabi, said yesterday.

The villagers confronted the militants, and after a brief altercation, shot at them, killing two and forcing the rest to flee, he said.

"According to our culture, when the people invited the aid workers to dig a well they cannot allow the Taliban to kidnap and behead them," Andarabi said. "They were guests, and we never give up our guests."

------------------------------------------------
In the middle of all the madness, some people will still do what is right, even it its going to cost them.

On the recent ruckus

Who in his right mind, invites a underground punk band to perform at a political rally?

Who the heck is running the country?

We had the general elections on March 8. 2 weeks campaigning before that and who knows how long in preparation. Its now mid July, the cabinet ministers are pretty much all still campaigning to stay in power within their respective parties.
Hello! Its July already, the election is over. In case you haven't noticed the economy is crap right now.

I know you're sore because the opposition made gains, but in case you didn't notice, you freaking WON the election. So get back to work.

Facebook blocked at work!

It had to happen sooner or later I suppose.
No more FB stalking people at work.
Now, back to work!

In this time of turmoil and uncertainty.....

Yesuslah Tuhan yang layak ditinggikan
Layak disembah oleh suku-suku bangsa
Dengan darah-Mu,
kau telah tebus dosaku
Genapi Tuhan firman-Mu atas neg’riku

Hatiku rindu melihat kemuliaan-Mu
Hatiku rindu melihat curahan kuasa-Mu
Di tanah tercinta neg’riku Malaysia
Ku berdoa
Malaysia penuh kemuliaan-Mu
Malaysia bagi kemuliaan-Mu

Ya Allahku nyatakan kemuliaan-Mu
Ya Allahku nyatakan curahan kuasa-Mu
Di tanah tercinta neg’riku Malaysia
Kuberdoa
Malaysia penuh kemuliaan-Mu
Malaysia bagi kemuliaan-Mu

Fuel price jumps up!

Effective 00:00hr June 5, petrol price will go up by 78 sen, or by 40.6%, jumping from RM1.92 per litre to RM2.70.
Concurrently, the price of diesel will increase by a whopping 63.3%, from RM1.58 per litre to RM2.58.

I can hear the guy in my condo who drives the only Prius in Sabah laughing his ass off.

Here In My Home - Malaysian Artistes For Unity

http://www.malaysianartistesforunity.info/

HERE IN MY HOME

Verse 1:
Hold on brother [won’t you] hold on
The road’s long. We’re on stony ground
But I’m strong. You ain’t heavy

Verse 2:
Oh there’s a misspoken truth that lies
Colors don’t bind, oh no.
What do they know? They speak falsely.

Chorus:
Here in my home
I’ll tell you what its all about
There’s just one hope here in my heart
One Love undivided
That’s what it’s all about
Please won’t you fall in one by one by one with me?

Verse 3:
Push back sister [won’t you] push back?
Love won’t wait. Just keep pushing on.
Yes I’m strong. You ain’t heavy.

Verse 4:
Oh don’t you worry about that...
What we have the shadows can’t deny
Don’t you know it’s now or never?

Bridge:

Doo Doo... etc


- Words & Music Pete Teo 2008 – All Rights Reserved

Yasmin Ahmad's "Tan Hong Ming in Love" ad wins international awards and accolades

Yasmin Ahmad's ad for Petrona's Merdeka series which was shown last year, has been winning international awards world wide.

View it here

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/5/6/nation/21159830&sec=nation
http://yasminthestoryteller.blogspot.com/2008/04/what-media-spikes-thought-of-tan-hong.html
http://yasminthestoryteller.blogspot.com/2008/03/tan-hong-ming-voted-best-in-asia.html
http://yasminthestoryteller.blogspot.com/2008/05/petronas-hong-ming-and-commercials-win.html

The 90 second ad is a short about a Chinese school boy, Hong Ming who has a crush on his Malay schoolmate and best friend Umi.

Who those who are having trouble interpreting the results of the recent general elections, maybe you should watch the ad again. We are ALL Malaysians. :)

"All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" by Robert Fulgham

"All I Ever Really Needed to Know
I Learned in Kindergarten"
Robert Fulgham

Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in Kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school.

These are the things I learned..

Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life.

Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup? The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the plastic cup - they all die. So do we.

And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: LOOK.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere.
The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation.
Ecology and politics and sane living.

Think of what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world had cookies and milk about 3 o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them and cleaned up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

More Wilson

Looks like Wilson is pretty popular, so here are more, too cute Wilson pics.
Wilson at dailypuppy.com

Wilson's mom says: Wilson loves children, playing, eating, and recharging his batteries with multiple power naps. Our puppy gets much exercise in and around our house, but he falls asleep within moments of chasing a favorite toy. He gets no shortage of attention. This Japanese Spitz scouts out favorite patches of snow to rest on and taste with an ever-busy chewing habit. Find a half-propped leaf and our white pup will have it in his mouth long enough until another leaf blows nearby. Yes, the snow is melting, but so are the hearts of anyone that spends time with Wilson.

Wilson, the Japanese Spitz

From http://dailypuppy.com

Egg McMuffin inventor Herb Peterson dies at 89

Egg McMuffin inventor Herb Peterson dies at 89
John Hayes / Associated Press
Herb Peterson, the creator of the Egg McMuffin, shows off his invention in this April 1997 file photo, at one of his McDonald's franchises in Santa Barbara, Calif.
From the Associated Press
6:45 PM PDT, March 26, 2008
LOS ANGELES -- Herb Peterson, inventor of the Egg McMuffin, has died, a Southern California official of McDonald's restaurants said Wednesday. He was 89.

Peterson died peacefully at his Santa Barbara home on Tuesday, said Monte Fraker, vice president of operations for McDonald's restaurants in that city.

Peterson came up with idea for the signature McDonald's breakfast item in 1972.

He began his career with McDonald's as vice president of the company's advertising firm, D'Arcy Advertising, in Chicago. He wrote McDonald's first national advertising slogan, "Where Quality Starts Fresh Every Day."

Peterson eventually became a franchisee and was currently co-owner and operator of six McDonald's restaurants in Santa Barbara and Goleta, Fraker said.

Peterson created the Egg McMuffin as a way to introduce breakfast to McDonald's, Fraker said.

"Peterson was very partial to eggs Benedict," Fraker said, and worked on creating something similar.

The egg sandwich consisted of an egg that had been formed in a Teflon circle with the yolk broken, topped with a slice of cheese and grilled Canadian bacon. It was served open-faced on a toasted and buttered English muffin.,

The Egg McMuffin made its debut at a restaurant in Santa Barbara that Peterson co-owned with his son, David Peterson.

Fraker said that, although semiretired, Peterson still visited all six stores in the Santa Barbara area until last year when his health began to deteriorate. "He would talk to the customers, visit with the employees, he loved McDonald's," Fraker said.

Fraker, who said he's worked with Peterson for 30 years, said "he was amazing as far as giving back to the community."

"He embraced the community and the community embraced him," Fraker said. "We loved the man."

Peterson is survived by his wife, son and three daughters.

A public memorial service will be held April 23 at All Saints by the Sea church in Montecito.

You sold me this expensive camera and it doesn't work!

From Failblog

Oneupmanship

I know that oneupmanship is common in politics, but this is kinda rediculous.

LKS was roundly lambasted for protesting the Sultan's choice for Menteri Besar of Perak and threatening to boycott the proceedings. He later retracted and apologised after being trashed by various parties.

Meanwhile in Trengganu, 22 elected assemblymen staged a protest outside the Istana Tetamu as Datuk Ahmad Said received his letter of appointment from the Sultan's representative. Ruling component parties as well as National leadership from KL have also opposed the move by the Sultan to reject their choice for Menteri Besar.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/24/nation/20733575&sec=nation
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/24/nation/20733338&sec=nation
There have been subsequent calls to sack Datuk Ahmad Said the Menteri Besar Designate from his party for accepting the Sultan's appointment.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/24/nation/20733508&sec=nation

Now, mind you the Sultan of Terengganu is not only the Sultan of Terengganu, but also the current Yang Dipertuan Agung and King of Malaysia. Now, that's oneupmanship for you.

This reminds me of a Malaysia I knew a long time ago.

Malaysia: Perak MB-designate Wows Chinese Crowd

IPOH, MALAYSIA: Perak Menteri Besar-designate Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin of PAS turned up at the ”What's Coming Next” political forum held in Ipoh Sunday (16 Mar) and immediately stunned the Chinese crowd by speaking in Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, Tamil, then in English and Malay.

The audience was speechless then gave the PAS leader a rousing applause. The forum was organized by Guang Ming Daily, Sin Chew Daily, Eye Asia and Sin Chew-i an dheld at Dewan Dou Mu in Ipoh at 2pm and attracted 3000 people. Speakers included PKR national vice-president Dr Lee Boon Chye, Perak DAP chief Ngeh Koo Ham, Wangsa Maju Member of Parliament Wee Choo Keong and Sin Chew's Deputy Chief Editor Tay Tian Yan.

Mohammad Nizar, an accomplished enginneer, was not a speaker but was invited to the forum by Ngeh. (Sin Chew Daily)

Director Anthony Minghella Dies at 54

Flim Maker Anthony Minghella passed away after surgery. He was best known for movies like The English Patient, Cold Mountain, & The Talented Mr Ripley.

Arthur C. Clarke 1917-2008

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke

Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, sci-fi writer & futurist passed away in Sri Lanka. He was best know for his novel and film 2001: A space oddessy and for propogating the idea of geostationary satellites, the basis of much of todays' communication networks.

Oh yeah, I'm a certified Independent Film Producer, Director and Line Producer

Now if only the postal service didn't 'kiam chai' my certificates. :(

Wall-E

Enough about politics for a while.

Pixar is going to rock again this year with their latest feature, Wall-E.

Wall E Full Trailer

On calls for the PM to resign

Hello, old man, the last time I checked, BN won the national election and controlled most of the country. That means that many people voted FOR him to be PM.

So shaddup willya.

You really should consider retiring to Lake Geneva and leave us alone, thank you. Or go sit in your bakery and have some tea. I'll drop by some time and we'll talk over coffee. Oh sorry, Langkawi is now controlled by the opposition. Awwww.

Oh sorry, that crashing sound was the sound of your iron fisted legacy falling to the ground. Oops.

The death of traditional media

Traditional media like TV, radio, and newspapers became increasingly irrelevant on Saturday night by trailing internet news sites by at least 3 hours. A population desperate for news turned to alternatives when their normal sources were slow or silent. Expect ad revenues to shift accordingly.

A new day

Malaysia woke up to a new day this morning. After 50 years, we've just started to learn what it means to be free. We may just be a democracy after all.
Pak Lah for all his faults, is the man who set things into motion that made Malaysians wake up and realise the reality of the oppression foisted on us by the previous administration. Four years ago, he was given a huge mandate to bring change to Malaysia.
And he finally did.
That's the irony of it. If we were happy with his administration, we would have continued with business as usual and continued to suffer the injustice foisted upon us as our leaders believed that they were invincible.
Unfortunately the man who saved Malaysia will pay a very heavy price at his party's next elections. Pray for him.

Johor, Sabah and Sarawak have provided most of the seats to collectively save the government's butt. Will this translate to more influence?

If Tan Sri Khalid can run PNB and Guthrie, he can run Selangor. Local councillors in PJ, Klang and Ampang Jaya area learning what happens to cockroaches when the lights get turned on.

Hopefully the police were able to stop people in local councils from all night shredding sessions.

Penang.
Well, Penangites you've finally done what you've been complaining about all these years. So don't be kiasu. Go all out to make the government you elected successful. You've given a fitting end for Kit Siang and Karpal for all the years they struggled on your behalf. Thank you for being grateful. You give hope to those wondering if they should do this.

Oh yeah. Happy birthday samy. How appropriate.

So, BN. Like we said. We don't mind you running the country. We just didn't want you taking us for granted. So no 2/3 majority. Its not personal. Don't get all pissy on us, ok? You're still in charge.

Simplicity

Berkshire Hathaway is one of the world's most successful holding companies and Warren Buffet was at one time the world's richest man. The website is at
http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/
It doesn't get any simpler than that folks. Makes you wonder how much value all the fancy flash stuff with music, animation, graphics actually adds to your organisation.

They just don't get it

Gomen is offering 'peace', 'stability' and 'prosperity' if you vote them in. If not, they're going to get medieval and do a may 13 on you. Hello, don't the local gangsters offer the same when they come and collect their monthly 'subscriptions'.

The old man should just shut up. We're in deep doo-doo because of all the things he put in his place during his way too long reign. Maybe the whole country should just collectively decide that he's the national scape goat, then he can retire to Lake Geneva or something and leave us alone. Or just sit in his bakery and be the grumpy old man that he is.

PKR wants to lower petrol prices if they are put into power. Morons. The global oil price has been going up, or haven't you noticed. Just because morons run the country doesn't mean I want them replaced by other morons.

Oh yeah, if the former DPM by a very long shot becomes PM, I'm packing up and leaving. Again, the crap we're suffering from was put into place when he was Education Minister, Finance Minister and DPM. Even wondered why our education system is so incompetent, broken, inept, exclusionist, revisonist and racist? Duh...

Look, BN, you can continue to run the country, but we're kinda fedup of you taking us for granted. We're Malaysian, dammit! Don't tell us or make us feel otherwise. We're sick of your screwups. So, we're going to make sure that you don't have free run of the place.
That's all.
Don't take it personally and get all pissy on us. We're doing this for everyone's one good. Really.

And the opposition. Guys, we're not exactly hot on you either, but we need someone to keep watch on the watch dog. Ok? Don't get any illusions of grandeur and expect to be top dog. You're guarding the guard dog. Get used to it. At least until the time there's a generation of competent people in your ranks. I.e. see the moron comment above.

What's going to happen? I think Penang people have it right. We'll send our favorite opposition candidate to parliament to stir things up and to prevent the 'constitiution amendment of the day' and this time they'll be enough of you so you don't get simply shouted down. Locally, it'll be the poor BN sap who will have to take care of our roads, schools, take out our trash, etc.
That works for me.

Oh yeah, Sabahans. What you have in this amazing land is incredible and there are people who are determined to steal it from you. This is the most and maybe only muhibbah place left in Malaysia. I know your leaders in the past have been short sighted, greedy, stupid, drunk, incompetent, corrupt, gambling, womanising paedophiles, but don't give up.

In 1995, you were promised new Sabah. You now have the most people living below the poverty line, while you're being systematically replaced by outsiders who will gladly vote govt in exchange for a Mycard. If you can't see it, may you consider that you've gotten a raw deal since then.
You now have been promised the Sabah Development Corridor. Which promises 900,000 new jobs. Guess who's filling those positions if it ever comes about. Not your sons and daughters.

Don't let them steal your birthright.

Yes, your birthright.

Since we're on the subject of toilets and other nasty stuff...

This is what BN candidates are up to.
Mind you this is a WOMAN candidate implying her opponent is a hussy. Can't expect the male MPs to behave any better then. Sigh.Country going down toilet..... Crocodiles on both sides of the bridge.

God save Malaysia.

Toilet Sign

They should put these up all over Malaysia

MacPro

I don't think I ever got around to posting pics of Skyline's Final Cut NLE running on a Mac Pro, but here you go:

Help page for opening the Windows Vista Box

I've always thought windows to be unnecessarily complicated which is why I use a Mac, but in Vista, they even have a help page to explain to people how to open the box!
How to open Vista Box

If you've ever opened an Apple product box you know how rediculous this seems.

300 as recreated by apples

New Mac Stuff-8Core Mac Pro

WIth a week to go before the Macworld Expo in San Francisco, Apple has announced new replacements for their High End Mac Pro and X Serve.

They now come standard with dual Intel Quad Core 'Harpertown' Xeon processors up to 3.2Ghz for a total of 8 cores.. And in case you're thinking, I'm still very happy with the 4 core 3Ghz MacPro at the Media dept which we bought in October. For the first time, I didn't have to sleep on the sofa in the nursery while waiting for stuff to render.

Early bencmarks indicate that the new basic configuration 2.8Ghz 8 core runs neck to neck with the old high end configuration 3Ghz 8 core. This is great stuff as the 3Ghz 4 core is already very fast especially for apps which can make use of multiple processors. The basic video card in the old Mac Pro was pretty lame for such an expensive machine, so an upgrade to the X1900XT is something you'd want to do if you can. I'm not sure about the performance of the Radeon HD2600XT in the new basic configuration, but the mid level upgrade video card, the Nvidia GeForce 8800GT, looks to be a solid performer, so squeeze out some extra cash from somewhere.

Steve must have quite a show planned next week, if he needs to get their fastest machines announced and out of the way, a week before. I'm thinking the return of the Apple subnotebook with a blow your mind docking station. A category they invented some 15 years ago.

Happy New Year

Hi all, Happy New Year. May you have an awesome year ahead and may God pour His blessings on every area of your life.

I know its way past Christmas, but this is too cool to wait till next year.
This is Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale doing Little Drummer Boy.