My finished Citadel Gameboard

Just finished the final touches of my most recent miniature hobby project. With all the things that's been happening, I've had almost no time at all to do anything hobby-related. So what's the secret?

Nights. One coat of paint a night. 10 minutes of drybrushing here. 10 minutes of overbrushing there. And in the space of one month - Wah lah! Enjoy the pics below. I'll come back to this post and do a how-to later.

Malaysia's most avid mobile data user?

Ladies and gentlemen, I've an announcement to make... I've reached the big 10.

That's right, just 4 months after starting to use my Nokia N96, the data packet indicator has now rolled over to a whopping 10 Gigabytes of downloaded data over the course of those 4 months.

See for yourself:



Personally, I attribute all this to the huge amount of podcast listening I do, web-surfing and of course, online-gaming on N-Gage (you have to love Reset Generation). Now, I wonder if these numbers are the reason why I've been getting relatively lousy service on my 3G connection recently?

Debunking the FUD on Mobile Number Portability

Yes, you can now switch to DiGi and still keep your 012 (Maxis) number. Or vice-versa. And no, it will not incur extra charges or hidden cost to your subscription package.

I'm writing this because so many people have asked me and come to me with the impression that switching from your DiGi line to Maxis will make all your calls out and receiving calls more expensive.



Well, here's the good news. No it doesn't. Mobile Number Portability in the simplest terms means that mobile phone number prefixes (012, 016, 019 etc.) are no longer tied to specific telcos. So, you could subscribe to Maxis and keep your 019 number for example. Similarly, you can be on DiGi with a 012 number.

Then why do people say, or you read in the newspapers, that it may cost your friends more to call you if you switch telcos using MNP?

Here's the scenario to explain:

Let's say you and your friend are both currently on Maxis. Calls between Maxis numbers are RM 0.12 per minute (for ValuePlus50) so that's the rate you currently enjoy. One day, you decided to switch to DiGi but through MNP, keep your 012XXXXXXX number. After you've switched, your friend who's still on Maxis calls you and starts getting charged RM 0.18 per minute because you are no longer a Maxis subscriber even though you have a 012 number. This is exactly the same as if you had switched to DiGi, taken a 016 number and he was calling you.

Likewise, if you had switched to DiGi but maintained your 012 number, you will get the better rate for calling other DiGi subscribers (not necessarily 016 only anymore) but will no longer get the lower rate for calling Maxis customers even though you have a "012" number.

Makes sense?

I guess for some time, there will be some fear, uncertainty and doubt over this whole MNP thing, but it really doesn't cost you more to switch providers. And that's the important part, because it means we have that little bit more of power to choose the better service provider without fear of losing our cherished mobile numbers.

So, I say, go forth and let the switching begin!

New Yahoo! CEO suspects too much

I think I may have learned a new line for those long Q&As I occassionally have to write as part of the job.

Carol Bartz when introduced as the new Yahoo! CEO today said (and I predict these words will come back to famously haunt her):

"I suspect I have the brainpower to understand media. I also suspect there are people here that can help jump-start my education."

That's right. "I suspect". Almost as good as last year's quote of the year: "looks like me, sounds like me." Somewhere between saying "I don't really know what I'm getting into" without admitting that "I'm possibly out of my league."

I've always liked Yahoo! as a company. I make it a point to search with Yahoo! almost as often as I search with Google - if only to equally contribute to both company's coffers with my eyeball. However, Ms. Bartz's reply to the journalist's question does not my confidence invoke.

Yahoo!'s not really in bad shape. It's still got a huge share of eyeballs and a couple of really top notch properties (like Flickr) and services (like Delicious). And Yahoo! Pipes is amazing too.

What the company needs is a gameplan. Something to tie everything together and make people love the company again. And I suspect that suspecting will not be good enough. It's time to deal with the facts and the reality of the situation, and get the game going, Yahoo!

Nutty Obama conspiracy theory continues online.

Was browsing Boing-Boing when I stumbled on this. My reaction? At first glance, the screen cap of the video below almost makes it plausible. (Doesn't he look the least bit...?)




On a more serious note, though, I'd have to agree with Michael Platt that "I'm reassured that the Web is facilitating a freedom of the press that didn't quite exist before." Just look at the amount of conspiracy theories we have locally! That's the beauty of internet.

3:32 AM

I've just joined the club for being on at wee hours in the morning wondering what I'm doing online and not being bothered to blog about anything except the time.

Welcome me.

Are Malaysians really all that "online"?

The New Straits Times published a survey by Nielsen that quoted impressive figures such as "85% (of Malaysians) got on their computers compared to 77% who turned on their TV".

The immediate reaction any internet-evangelist (like me) would get would be - "Wow! Internet's taking off for real."

Source: New Straits Times, 8 Jan 2009

Until you read further on down and discover that the source for the analysis and numbers is an "online survey, conducted last September."

I feel a little cheated by the headline and nifty graphics now. We've not turned the curve of technology and web-savviness. With a broadband penetration of just 18% (same article) how representative is this 500 people who went online and clicked through the survey? I'm willing to wager that we still have way more TV watchers than netizens. Anyone wanna run that survey?

Random things about 2009

Let me tell you the truth - I started writing this post about three days ago and over the past three days, it's morphed from "top ten tech things in 2009" to "10 things I want in 2009" to "[insert random topic here] in 2009."

Yes, I've lined myself up right behind the 2009 post bandwagon. But not fully. I'm going to keep my list random with no set topic and no set numbers. How's that?

1. Expanding ministries and new responsibilities
It's a really exciting time for me personally at PetraYouthProductions. It's been 15 years since I grew up in this youth work and now, at my age, I'm seeing youths coming through the programme just like me. I like this year's theme: IGNITE, simply because it tells us that we're on the cusp of something awesome. The moment. And I think there'll be more than once that I'll look at the verse we chose this year: "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13.

2. A brand new timekeeper.
My Swatch died on me ironically 5 minutes to midnight on New Year's Eve and for two days, I was looking at my wrist blankly. The replacement: a Tissot PR50. It's a pretty cheap watch too.

This is my first man watch. Yes, I'll admit, Swatch is kiddy, despite my ardent arguments the other way in year's past. Wearing this new timekeeper makes me feel all grown up. Is the new year really making me grow up?



3. Exciting times this year in the job
The PR industry is going to change big time this year. You might read some pretty good opinions here, here and here. The great thing, reading this as someone who's not based in the US, is that a lot of these sentiments reflect what's going on in the US but not necessarily Asia. Take Malaysia for example, we're looking at a media scene that's fast embracing online media, urban youth embracing social media, but at the same time, facing a big disconnect between the rural and the urban where rural people don't have internet access (nor do they want it).

That's a communications challenge. And the fact that only 15% of Malaysians have internet connections (and much fewer on broadband) points to the fact that social media will develop in a much different way than in the more matured western markets.

But I've got another point to make. This low internet connection rate has not stopped Malaysia from being one of the biggest blogging nations in this region. And I'll be one of the first to tell you that we do have a very active blogosphere that's worth communicating with. But I'll also tell you that the rules in our blogospheres are different from the ones in other markets.

Imported wisdom will only go so far, and I'd like to think there's still a lot of moulding that will take place in the Malaysian blogosphere before communications gets formalised in this space. The expectations you had working in the US, might not ring true in this local arena.

4. Stable internet, please.
You might have read my public whining on the NST this past Monday. I did not overstate it. I've simply felt that in 2008, both wireless (3G) and wired (Streamyx) internet connections have been a let down in Malaysia. If there's one tech wish I have it'll just be to get good, stable internet and better speeds.

We were promised Fibre-to-the-Home roll-outs in 2008 but that did not materialise. Well, try again this year, please.

5. Move into my new home?
Some of you might have heard of my home-building woes. I had intended to move in sometime in 2008. That didn't happen. I'm hoping it'll happen in 2009. Oh, and the early part of 2009. Please.

So there you have it. A random list of random things that matter to me in 2009. Happy New Year.

PS. Oh yeah, Robb, I want to watch 'The Rise of the Lycans starts Jan 09' can?