Error Compiling djbdns and daemontools

While attempting to compile djbdns 1.05 and daemontools 0.76 on a CentOS 5.5 I received the error:

/usr/bin/ld: errno: TLS definition in /lib/libc.so.6 section .tbss mismatches non-TLS reference in envdir.o

The problem can be eliminated by adding:

-include /usr/include/errno.h

In conf-cc files for each tarball. Don’t forget to install gcc first, if you have a basic installation.

By the way, please remember to follow the installation instruction for daemontools exactly as described or you’ll end up with the software somewhere undesirable. Well, you can change /package to be elsewhere. I stupidly did it on /root as a test so the svcscanboot process was unable to execute programs in the /root directory. They run as unprivileged users.

Although these software felt like really old-school to me, they have very small memory footprint and runs very fast. If you’re also looking into DNS, consider PowerDNS too, as it has very good statistical capabilities.

PHP Debugging on PDT using Xdebug, with PHP packaged in XAMPP

It has been a while since I posted something technical so here goes. This article is meant for someone who has done PHP development before, and already has a web server and a working PHP installation.

Traditionally in the old days these are the things that I do to debug my PHP code:

  • Put in extra echo statements that print variable values. It’s easy to miss them when actually deploying the code to production
  • Use “here I am” echo statements to identify positions in the script. These are also easy to miss
  • Modify php.ini to verbosely display every error or warning messages. While this is not a concern on development boxes, it might be a problem on production servers
  • Using custom self-made loggers or something from PEAR or PHPClasses to have a log file written for debugging purpose. This method takes a toll on the time required to actually go through the log which might contain lots and lots of information

A commercial alternative to Xdebug is Zend Studio Web Debugger. Zend’s solution is quite a bit on the pricy side but it’s also supported out of the box by PDT.

Prerequisites

  1. PHP installation. I use XAMPP since it’s clean and it’s quick to set up. If you like to live on the bleeding edge with all the latest updates you can install PHP properly in your system either by using the installer or the zip package
  2. Eclipse installation. I use Aptana Studio
  3. Web server application such as Apache or IIS. I use Apache.
  4. PDT (PHP Development Tools) as a plugin for Eclipse/Aptana.

The debugger

The procedure to configure the debugger is not that different between Zend Studio Web Debugger or Xdebug. I am going to make an example of using Xdebug here.

While Windows users are able to download Xdebug binary and use it immediately, *NIX users have to compile it. Luckily I found that ASPN provides binaries to use with their Komodo IDE (yes, I am lazy to setup binutils and compilers). The zip file contains extension for PHP 4.4-5.3 (at the moment this article was written).

  1. Download Xdebug binary from the ASPN site mentioned above. Extract it to a temporary folder and choose the version corresponding to your PHP version. (Hint: to find your PHP version you can create a PHP file containing < ?php phpinfo(); ?> and view it through your web server)
  2. Copy xdebug.so to the extensions folder. You can also find out where is your extension folder by looking at the phpinfo output, under header “Core” and Directive “extension_dir”.
  3. Edit php.ini (or create an .ini file in php.d depending on your configuration) to include the following: 
    [xdebug]
zend_extension="/full/path/to/your/extension/dir/as/shown/in/phpinfo/xdebug.so"
  4. Restart your web server and you should be able to see xdebug listed in the phpinfo output

*Note: As you might have realized by now, phpinfo(); can be your best friend. It can also be your worst enemy if you put it in a production server, with a super simple name like phpinfo.php as it contains a lot of sensitive information about the server.

Configuring PDT

There are 3 main settings to focus on, to enable debugging in PDT.

1. PHP Executables

pdt-php-executables

As I mentioned earlier, I am using XAMPP. As long you point this to the working PHP installation corresponding to where you install Xdebug, you’ll be fine.

2. PHP Server & Path Mapping

pdt-php-server

This is where you specify your web server.

pdt-php-server-mapping

Mapping is used to tell the debugger the path of the files accessible via the web server and the corresponding path in your workspace.

3. PHP Debug

pdt-php-debug

The options are self-explanatory. You’ll have to select the Server and Executable that you have configured. The default port for Xdebug is 9000 so if you decide to change your Xdebug port remember to change it here too.

Conclusion

Debugging using an IDE is a great way to save time, and to step into your application. If you have done everything correctly, you may use Eclipse/Aptana to debug your PHP files now (Menu > Run > Debug > Run as…) and you’ll get prompted to switch to the PHP Debug Perspective.

Good luck!

Some Tips For Fresh Grads

I had to go through quite a significant number of resumes the other day, and here are some tips for fresh graduates out there.

  1. Try to make your resume short. 2-3 pages is just nice, 4 is too many. Skip that section listing your primary school results and hobbies. What good does it make if your hobby is “playing video games”? Unless of course, you’re applying for a Game Developer position.
  2. Employers take an average of 30 seconds to scan through your resume, make sure yours stands out. Put in more bulleted sections and use bold words wisely.
  3. Use professional looking email addresses. Consider something using your own name. Something like [email protected] is nice. Also, it’s understandable that popular names are hard to get so you can try putting numbers in the end. It can be your birth year, current year, or just some random number you like for example [email protected]
    Avoid these examples:

    • [email protected]: too long and hard to read
    • [email protected]: employers are still unsure you can do a good job even if you’re cool. Unless of course you’re applying for a showbiz position
    • mohd.ali@sexmagnet.com: an actual domain offered by a popular mail forwarding service. A big no-no. You get the idea.
    • [email protected]: is a freakishly long email address, even if it’s your full name
  4. The BEST thing to do is create an email address specific for job hunting. Emails are searchable, and employers might find some activity they don’t like from forums or other public sites
  5. Protect your Facebook page and any other social tools you own. Employers do scour these you know. If you’re sure you have not done anything naughty, it’s fine.
  6. In your cover letter, do not demand for an answer. Instead of “I hope to be called for an interview as soon as possible” try “I hope to be called for an interview to explain my credentials further“
  7. When someone has already emailed you to ask for your complete resume, do not use “TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN” in your reply email. It’s rude. Use the person’s name be it an HR person or a Technical Manager. Also, do not send an email with empty body and only attach a resume in it.
  8. Be firm with your answers. Do not use “maybe”, “I think so”, “Errr…”, or “Can you call back later? I am busy with something”. However if you’re driving you should tell the person calling you and ask for a callback. You are no use to any employer if you’re dead.
  9. If you have bad hand writing just like mine, try your best to write each letter at a time. It’s super easy to confuse an “i” with an “l” or and “l” with a “1” or an “S” with a “5”. When emails get bounced, do you think the employer will try again? Maybe yes, maybe not. Why take chances?
  10. Talk clearly. Even if you were sleeping, once you realize that you are receiving a call from an employer you should wake up and clear your throat. If you’re in somewhere noisy, consider getting away from the noise source if possible.
  11. If you really have to include a salary expectation (not recommended for fresh grads), do not put in a range. Put a maximum expectation and discuss with the employer once a real offer is on the table. 2500-5000 does not make any sense as the range is too wide.
  12. Last but not least, research the company and the position you’re applying for. Get as much information as humanly possible. If you ask “What position am I applying for?” it shows that you’re desperate for a job and are not applying based on your interest in the position. It is okay however, to ask more information about the company.

In summary, when contacted take it as a big opportunity even if you are not a fresh graduate. These days one job opening may have hundreds of applicants, so a simple mistake that annoys employer can mean that your resume and cover letter end up in the shredder. It’s that easy to be disqualified, really.

Always remember that the employer representative communicating with you is a human. That’s the most important thing of all.

Good luck. I hope this helps.

Facebook Glitches

Facebook is an application, so it’s normal that it has glitches and problems.

The first one I saw last week while writing a like button plugin is the incorrect number of likes a like button displays:

facebook-like-bug

It’s obvious there were 4 likes for the post but it randomly displays 2 of my friends. When not logged on, it simply says “2 people like this”.

Next, when creating events the date and time for the events are wrongly displayed on the wall but are correct in the left column box and in the event itself:

facebook-event-date-glitch

Last but not least, there seems to be a privacy glitch. When seeing a friend being tagged in a photo I am able to open the photo but given this error:

facebook-fail-privacy

Now I am more skeptical of uploading photos that I don’t really want to share with everyone.

I don’t have much time to get into the developers forum, but I can’t seem to find an email address or a function to report such problems to FB.

Do you know how?

WordPress Plugin: Basic Facebook Social Plugins

Today, I saw that Facebook introduced some new features, and one intriguing feature is called “Facebook Social Plugin“. It would be very interesting to have blog posts to be simply “liked”, and having information displayed about activities and recommendations related to your website.

So I decided to take 30 minutes of my break time and write this simple plugin. Since I don’t have much time I decided not to explore XFBML and the SDK as yet. That is why it’s called BASIC. With XFBML, shorter codes can be used, and deeper integration between Facebook and your website can be achieved. I am intrigued, really but I must be realistic.

This plugin is a very simple plugin to embed :

  1. “like” button at the end of your articles/blog posts
  2. activity feed as a widget
  3. recommendations as a widget
  4. Like box as a widget

You can add these cool features with minimal effort.

Most configuration parameters are self-explanatory, but Domain Override simply means you want to display information about another domain instead of where the widgets are hosted. By the way, the widget settings are combined in the Settings > Basic Facebook Social Plugins page.

At this moment this plugin is still waiting to be hosted at the official WordPress Plugin Directory so it can only be downloaded here.

  • Basic Facebook Social Plugins Version 1.0
  • Basic Facebook Social Plugins Version 1.1 * This version will wipe out previous widget settings as it introduces multiple instances of widgets.
  • Basic Facebook Social Plugins Version 1.2

Once available there, a link will be provided. When it’s there, It’s now in the official plugin directory (basic-facebook-social-plugins) so you should be able to install it using the automated, built-in plugin installer too.

You can see the sample for the like button at the end of this post, and the widgets live on this site.

The widgets does not conform to your theme (does not inherit your theme css) but simply bare boxes with Facebook feel. Take note that styling inside the boxes (and texts) are provided by facebook.

Those of you who are concerned about privacy, you’ll be glad to know that your name and profile picture will not just be displayed to anyone:

25153_430469086728_20531316728_5233502_2779746_n

(This also applies to recommendation and activity box. Only friends will be able to see that you like something.) Facebook has thought of everything.

Try it out and let me know how it works for you.

Shots from Facebook:

25153_430468906728_20531316728_5233495_6137188_n

25153_430468866728_20531316728_5233494_4789969_n

Facebook has also written a nice post about social plugins in their blog: Answers to Your Questions on Personalized Web Tools.

Note:

  1. This WordPress plugin is written entirely by me, and is provided as-is with no guarantee. It is neither approved nor endorsed by Facebook.
  2. Yes, it is breakable by Facebook if they decide to change the iframe URL.

Forex Trading In Malaysia

It was an interesting morning today, when a friend told me that his brother received a job offer in a Forex trading company in Shah Alam. It was great news that he was able to get something after searching for opportunities for quite a while. However since my niece experienced this more than once, I am skeptical about such companies in Malaysia.

I asked him to check with the Securities Commission and whether or not the company presented an offer letter to his brother.

At first I thought that Forex is administered by the Securities Commission (SC) but I was wrong. When called, SC said that Forex is administered by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

BNM Foreign Exchange Administration said:

In Malaysia no company or individuals are given license to do forex trading except for registered merchant banks

Which corresponds to this List of Authorised Dealers of Foreign Currency. One thing that disappoints me the most is that BNM did not ask the company name, showing that they have no immediate interest in closing such fraudulent businesses.

Signs that a company might be working on something fraudulent:

  • They don’t really have a proper business sign at their office
  • They ask candidates to go to training first, before they provide an offer letter
  • They have options whether the employee would like to be paid based on commission or on a fixed rate

It is a great thing that my friend’s brother told him about it. My unfortunate niece did not share the news with me so she ended up wasting weeks without getting paid. And imagine if the office is raided by the authorities. I wouldn’t want to be a part of that, would you?

So the lesson to learn here is that you should always tell someone about your opportunities, and never immediately trust just any company no matter how desperate you are for a job.

And of course, always get an offer letter first before you start working. This is the most important thing of all, when getting a new job.

DD-WRT as Wireless Client

There is something very wrong with the wireless module on the DELL Precision M4300 I am currently using – after a while files begin to get corrupted and Windows will fail to write the event log. I have just had the motherboard changed by DELL last Monday. In the office I did not have any problem for the whole week since I was using a wired connection. At home, I mainly use wireless because my access point is in the family hall.

Bummer! I can’t be wired at home, it’s simply not practical and I have no suitable surface to work on near the access point. It’s a Huawei E960, property of Maxis. It’s a HSDPA modem so where I place it is very important.

I have an antique Linksys WRT54G v2.2 with DD-WRT v24 on it so I decided to convert it to a wireless client. It acts as a wireless client to the main wireless router, and provides LAN connection via the wired ports. Perfect for a busted wireless module.

Steps on the WRT54G:

  1. Do a hard reset
  2. Connect to the router via wired port
  3. Open the Wireless » Basic Settings tab
    • Wireless Mode: Client Bridge
    • Wireless Network Mode: Match Primary Router
    • Wireless Network Name(SSID): Match Primary Router
    • Wireless Channel: Match Primary Router
    • Wireless SSID Broadcast: Enable
    • Network Configuration: Bridged
    • Save Settings
  4. Open the Wireless » Wireless Security tab
    • Set Encryption to match the primary router. I use WPA2 with TKIP+AES and it works fine.
    • Enter encryption key to match the Primary router
    • Save Settings
  5. Open the Setup » Basic Setup tab
    • Connection Type will show: Disabled
    • Set STP to Disabled
    • IP Address: 192.168.1.2 (Primary Router IP is 192.168.1.1)
    • Mask: Match Primary Router (mine is 255.255.255.248)
    • Gateway: 192.168.1.1 (Primary Router IP is 192.168.1.1)
    • DHCP Server: Disable
    • Save Settings
  6. Open the Setup » Advanced Routing tab
    • Change Type to: Router
    • Save Settings
  7. Open the Security » Firewall tab
    • Uncheck all boxes except “Filter Multicast” in “Block WAN Requests”
    • Disable SPI firewall
    • Save Settings
  8. Open the Administration tab
    • APPLY Settings
    • Click “Reboot” button

On the primary router I only had to add the MAC Address of the WRT54G to it so that it allows connection (I have MAC filtering enabled). To look for the MAC address I simply use the Administration » Commands tab to run ifconfig (or of course via SSH). I am not sure on how other hardware would work but I use my eth1 address.

This is good enough for now, although I am hoping that the notebook gets fixed. I am not going to pack the WRT54G along to Starbucks or any cafe just to get wireless connection.

Funny Phishing Attempt

I received an email with no text but contained just an image as attachment, and the whole image is a hyperlink to a phishing site:

[singlepic id=26 w=600]

Notice the casual language and a spelling mistake (find out where!), plus the Copyright year is 2009. The email was sent to someone without the Internet banking facility, and a dormant CIMB account.

But thankfully it has been reported and updated in Mozilla Phishing and Malware Protection.

cimbclicks-phishing

I am intrigued to know whether these phishers are using any targeting mechanism to send these emails because they seems to be sent to the correct people. For example this email is sent to a Malaysian living in Malaysia. Can anyone tell me whether you are not in Malaysia and/or not even Malaysian and receive this email?

I used to receive the Bank of America spam a lot but not anymore. Maybe they now have a geographical database of emails. Interesting.

Malaysian Twitter & Facebook Users Makes Fun of Rais Yatim

You can consider this as an honest and sincere opinion from me, as a Malaysian and a heavy Internet user. Maybe, if Rais reads this it will be much fun.

It’s all because of this news article: Malaysians advised against being immersed in Facebook, Twitter.

In twitter, the tag #yorais has been spreading like mad. The tweets are hysterically funny but too insensitive so I don’t think I should include them here.

In my own opinion, Rais should have not linked any of the online services with religion. In short, he should not have assumed when he has no idea himself.

From the text: “He chided some Malaysians who belittled those who were no savvy of the Facebook and Twitter culture.” it looks like Rais is offended by some people who might have said he’s left behind in technology. What I think he should do, is learn instead of condemning technology.

Admit it, everything has its own disadvantages and advantages. It’s not Facebook that Rais should condemn – it should be the users or more specific Malaysians. There exists fanatics and extremist in every single thing in this world and Facebook is not excluded.

It’s unfair to condemn services just because they were created by Westerners. Blame the users.

Facebook and Twitter has helped a lot of users even Malaysian to publicize their businesses and meet old friends, just to name a few. If you use something correctly it’ll be good, and vice versa.

As a matter of fact I just saw one of my respected businessman being bombarded with bad comments in a fan page named “I hate XXX” just because he made a bad comment about another related profession. Not cool.

I wish that Malaysian ministers would learn more instead of following the traditional way of thinking and assuming – what we all do in our beloved country. Don’t you?

The Star even published the outcome of Rais’ statement: Rais comment has Net users boiling, creates global sensation

rais-facebook-twitter

Importing Your Blog Posts into Facebook “Notes”

I have always find it difficult to find the import link, even when I wanted to change my settings. So here is a quick note for myself and to others who are interested in importing their blog posts into the Facebook notes. There may be a shorter way to access the notes page but I failed to find it. So this is my route to the notes page to import and update my settings.

1. On the top right of any page, hover on “Settings” and click on “Application Settings” in the drop down:

facebook-notes-import-blog-1

2. Click on “Notes”. If you don’t see it change your “Show” settings on the upper right corner. It defaults to frequently used applications.

facebook-notes-import-blog-2

3. When you’re on the “Notes” page you will see a box on the right that looks like the one below. And yes, you click on “Import a blog”.

facebook-notes-import-blog-3

4. The next page you see is where you enter the RSS feed URL to import. Indeed, this tool is using RSS feeds to import blog posts. It’s not a mystery and it makes sense.

facebook-notes-import-blog-4

When you have actually imported a blog, you will see that the “Import a blog” link has changed into “Edit import settings”:

facebook-notes-import-blog-5

And of course:

facebook-notes-import-blog-6

You can also set privacy settings for the notes. Facebook says that your blog post will be imported within 3 hours, and if not you can always report at http://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=import_notes.

Facebook is a fun way to share your posts. You can also import from any blog that you are interested in, but the thing is there is a limitation. You can only import 1 blog/feed at a time. However I have a workaround for that, and by looking at my screenshots you might get a clue. The key is to consolidate multiple feeds into 1 to import in Facebook. But that’s for the next article, if I am able to find the time.

Have fun importing your blog!

Remember that this article was written on December 3rd, 2009 and since Facebook evolves very rapidly there will be a point that changes are made to the system and renders this article useless.

Malaysia PayPal Users Can Now Add Local Bank Accounts

My better half told me yesterday that we can now add our local bank accounts in PayPal. It was too good to be true so I decided to check. I went to check my PayPal emails first just in case I missed an announcement. However, I don’t see any. It’s kinda weird that when a new language is available PayPal sends us an email but not for something as important as this?

▼ A d v e r t i s e m e n t

Oh well, not a big deal. I am all hyped with this new ability, and am already thinking of ditching my Al-Rajhi account (debit card account used for withdrawals).

Adding a bank account is very easy. On your “My Account” page, click on “Profile” which will reveal a drop down where you select “Add/Edit Bank Account”.

malaysia-paypal-step0

Next, you just enter your details:

Details

Don’t put in the wrong routing code. Always double check. This routing code is also sometimes referred to as the SWIFT code. I am amazed on the considerably long list.

malaysia-paypal-bank-routing-code

And that’s it. The next thing you will see is that it’s listed in your bank account page:

malaysia-paypal-done

Please, be sure that you entered the correct bank name, account number, and routing code. As the fee list suggests, you will be charged RM15 for every rejected transaction:

malaysia-paypal-fees

You’ll be charged RM3.00 for amounts less than RM400, free otherwise. I think it does not get any clearer than this.

Enjoy your new ability! It does not involve in eating brains this time.

Big Bad Thursday

I spent 6.5 hours from 9.00AM to 3.30PM at Puchong Naza Kia service center, wasting time because I didn’t realize they have free wifi.

As planned, we rushed to the Big Bad Wolf book sales at Amcorp Mall. The traffic was moderate, but Amcorp Mall was packed with people. Arriving at the outdoor parking space we can already see people carrying boxes and plastic bags sporting the Big Bad Wolf logo. When we reached the 3rd floor we were relieved to see that there are still pile of books ready to be taken away.

It wasn’t easy to go through the crowd, and it was even more difficult after office hours that day as there were an even bigger crowd. We managed to go for lunch after the first session, and came back for the 2nd session.

big-bad-wolf-1st-day

Here are the results of the first visit. 41 books altogether, plus one for a friend. I only got myself 3 technical books which are dirt cheap at RM15 each compared to the shelf prices that may reach more than a hundred ringgit. And I don’t have any favorite author either. The last fiction I read was the 4 books from Dan Brown and I am waiting for the paperback version of The Lost Symbol to be published. It’s just too tiring to stay there too long. I am getting old.

big-bad-books

The interesting thing is that when we return home to look at the website at http://www.bigbadwolfbooks.com the site was suspended because it went out of resources. Too many visitors perhaps? It was back up on Friday, though.

Things didn’t change the second day when we went there with a niece, except for there are less management books available. We didn’t see any change for the children books either. They have added more technical books, but most are references for outdated technologies.

I didn’t get any books for the second visit but my better half and niece found theirs.

big-bad-wolf-2nd-day

big-bad-wolf-2nd-day-niece

Estimated off the shelf price for both days: RM2000

Spent: less than RM500

This does look like reckless spending if you don’t read, but for book lovers this is the best you can get. They don’t get any cheaper than this.

The sales continues until 2nd December at Amcorp Mall. Although they say that they unbox new boxes everyday I am not sure what is available at the days approaching the end. Look for them in Facebook. I hope there will be more books for me the next time they organize the sale.

Is 5GB Per Month Enough? Fair Usage Policy

I don’t think so. Last week, I was on leave for the whole week and did some light browsing at home. To avoid contamination with other PCs in my house, I conducted this test while purely tethering on my BlackBerry device. WIFI was turned off.

The only objective is to see how much data I am using per day to browse the Internet – lightly. No streaming, no gmail, no gaming, no real facebooking. Facebooking was done on the lite interface at http://lite.facebook.com.

▼ A d v e r t i s e m e n t

From the simple test I was able to determine that I use around 420MB per day for light browsing. Multiply that by 30 days and I will get 12900MB which is roughly equivalent to 12.6GB!

Now that explains it why at the end of each month my connection is in snail mode because it’s most likely that Maxis is capping my speed because of overuse.

Bear in mind that this is only for 1 computer.

maxis-daily-usage1

I have been starting to miss Streamyx which I used to hate so much. At least they are slow because of the International link and such, not because they intentionally limit my speed. To me, Streamyx’s BitTorrent capping is fair.

Plus, these Telco are changing their packages like changing underwear! (If they do!)

maxis-new-packages

And of course:

maxis-fup

I can’t wait to have Streamyx back. Currently I am limiting browsing at home, so that my better half will not encounter problems doing her business online.

INDONESIA & MALAYSIA Should Be Friends

Another hot issue in South East Asia, and a sad one. The issue of ownership between Indonesia and Malaysia.

We have seen so many events happening in Indonesia that reflects the hatred of some Indonesian people towards Malaysia. Burning of the Malaysian flag, “sweeping” of Malaysians from the streets of Jakarta, and the “GANYANG MALAYSIA” campaign, just to mention some.

As a Malaysia citizen I am deeply saddened by these events, but it hurts even more as I am half Bugis (ethnic groups of South Sulawesi in Indonesia). Why can’t we all just get along?

The issues that are being brought up are merely nuisance to the world, such as Jemur Island being listed as a Malaysian island in the Internet, and the Pendet dance featured in the Enigmatic Malaysia footage by KRU Studios. Even if Jemur island is mistakenly listed as a Malaysian island I don’t think money will flow into Malaysia if tourists visit it. I should add that the websites are not even Malaysian websites so how can we say that Malaysia claims the island as its own?

Let’s see who owns traveljournals.net:

Domain name: traveljournals.net

Registrant Contact:
Nea Internet
Andreas Sjolin ()

Fax:
Vegagatan 22
Sundbyberg, 17234
SE

For other cultural claims, hey, as we all know Malaysia have so many Indonesian-based ethnicities including Java, Banjar (Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia), Bugis (ethnic groups of South Sulawesi in Indonesia), Boyan (Bawean Island), and many other smaller ethnicities. When people migrate they take along their culture. This, of course not taking into consideration the pure Indonesian citizens who are currently making a living in Malaysia.

In many of the issues being considered, the cultural factors are not even claimed as owned by Malaysia but merely displaying the availability of such culture in Malaysia. If Waroeng Penyet at The Curve decides to venture into a promotional video would it be an issue since the food is obviously Indonesian? The owners are respected Indonesian business people.

When the Western world creates promotional videos showing China Town in their cities, does the China government or the people of China went into distress and creates a riot? No, because they are proud that their culture has traveled the world. For the record, I am proud too as I am 50% Bugis and 50% Chinese.

Malaysians love Indonesia culture, and are very comfortable with it because we all came from the same origin. A few of my friends visited Bandung many times (separate families), and enjoyed it very much. (I want to include links to their blog posts about their Bandung visits but maybe later as I need permission to do so). That is money flow into Indonesia! It’s a classic case of “Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery”. Can’t we share?

So what are these people thinking? They are hurting Indonesia more by causing havoc, as tourists will definitely be afraid to visit. I know, their views might not be shared by every Indonesian but it’s a disgrace to both countries. These are the same people who called their own President cowards. I personally view them as extremists, same as the religion extremists of the Middle East. Nothing extreme is good.

To Malaysians, please be civilized and not to do anything stupid. Does not mean that you can’t argue, but do it nicely so that we all can be good friends someday.

I am closing comments, as I don’t need any. I just know both countries should get along and be friends. I like tempe.

Tips When You Know I Am Going To Interview You

If you by any chance, by any way find out that I am going to be the person interview you for a job you need to know the following:

  1. Don’t come late. 1 minute late and your resume or CV will end up in the shredder or the trash can. Do your location research the day before the interview. If you really can’t, leave home 2 or 3 hours early. If you’re going to be more than 10 minutes late, don’t bother coming. Call the person who arranged the interview and cancel your session. If you see my carry no pen, you have already failed the interview.
  2. Don’t come too early. The earliest you should arrive is 10 minutes before the interview. Technical interviewers have other tasks too.
  3. Do your research about the position you are applying, and if possible about the company. This reflects on how resourceful you are.
  4. Don’t hesitate when answering questions.
  5. Be very interested to ask questions about the job, and about the company.
  6. If you don’t know, don’t try to deviate the question. Just say you don’t know and you will be better respected. Nobody knows everything.
  7. Try convincing me that you will be able to, and are interested to learn things you don’t know.

Good luck.