Firebug and Gmail

When I log on to my Gmail today, I received an error bounded by a red box that says “Firebug is known to make Gmail slow unless it is configured correctly”. I didn’t know that!

And as always, Gmail is nice enough to provide a simple workaround.

Firebug is an excellent add-on normally used by web developers so most people will not see this warning at all.

By the way did you notice that there’s a very big improvement in Gmail in terms of UI and also speed?

Paypal to Debit Card, and AdSense to Western Union

In spite of being extremely busy, yesterday I had a chance to glance over some of my daily readings. I am excited to find out that PayPal is now allowing Malaysians to withdraw money to Visa branded debit card.

I need to check with Standard Chartered whether I can use my savings account which is a 2 in 1 account having Visa number and Visa Electron branding. Maybe the fees are lower than using Virtual Money card?

One thing for sure is that there will be no monthly fee, while the withdrawal fee is US$5.00. Just make sure you can really transfer or you’ll suffer paying the return fee. Also needs to be check is whether the local bank will impose any fee on the transfer.

Mininum transfer is US$10.00 and maximum is $US500.00 per day.

Additionally, AdSense publishers can now withdraw money via Western Union.

All you need is the 10 digits MTCN (Money Transfer Control Number) from AdSense and your ID (passport or MyKad). One thing to stress here is that the name from AdSense should match your ID for this to work. LiewCF has written a nice how-to change AdSense Payee Name.

No more bank fees for payout. The maximum payout is US$2,800.

Since I have been earning decent stream from both accounts this is indeed an exciting news for me. For Cyberjaya people – CIMB is the nearest Western Union agent 🙂

Buka Puasa & A Kid

On Thursday a close family friend invited us for buka puasa (break fast). We had a good time talking and enjoying the lovely food. As we were about to return home my better half mentioned Jaya Jusco and the family only little boy aged 2+ heard it and wanted to follow us.

I was worried because I have no experience with kids whatsoever. But we took him anyway with the permission of the parents. The kid name was Imran, and he’s such a nice little boy. At first we thought that he’s like every other kid and cry when the car started moving without his parents.

But he was indeed very serious. So since we made a promise (and it’s no good to break a promise to a kid) we brought him there. In the car he talked so much that he took my worries away. Once arrived he was so happy and as he promised he behaved like a very good boy! Amazing.

And I was happy he enjoyed every ride and machine he tried on (although we only let him play the safe ones). Not to make his parents worry so much, after about 1 hour we decided to bring him back and he didn’t resist much. Back at home he was so happy and jumped here and there it made me feel happy as well.

I actually enjoyed that 1 hour outing. After 4 years of marriage maybe it’s time for a kid? 😉

Busy Times & Work

I have been very busy for the past several weeks and I am expecting that I will be for the coming weeks as well. The reason is mainly that I have just changed my dayjob and this new place is a tough place to work in. Contrary to my previous place, it is so uptight and strict that I just feel so tired when I return home.

Previously, as soon as work ends at 5pm or so I still have the energy to go for a jog, swim, or even hitting a hundred balls at the driving range – and come back home working on some codes. Being able to keep my mind off worrying about the rules, I was productive but I simply can’t do the same thing now. As soon as I arrive home all my energy has drained and the bed is my best ally.

I had multiple offers at the end of September, 3 largest offers came from Mid Valley, Cyberjaya, and Singapore. Considering packages, career advancement, and commuting I chose Cyberjaya. 10 minutes to work is a blessing because I hate wasting my time in the car doing nothing productive. Singapore was an exciting opportunity as well but with all of the preparation that needs to be done I can’t make it a reality. Mid Valley was also promising in terms of career advancement but using the Kepner Tregoe® techniques it failed miserably on the 1 hour+ commute to work in a traffic jam.