Great Time in Tembok, Bali

Hi again, its writing time again. Been planning this trip months ago. I wanted to celebrate our 24th Anniversary in Bali...just the two of us. But as planning continues, more feedback need to be considered. True enough, we owed Muiz a holiday trip for his good result in last years PMR. So Muiz is on, during this school break holiday. Now there is three of us, booked on a bargain air fare to Denpasar.

As the saying goes, we can only plan, when at the very last minute my other better half couldn't make it, due to her work commitment even when its already a school break and found a willing replacement. Since nothing doing, she had to cancel her trip and there goes our "Anniversary in Bali". So as not to disappoint Muiz, Naim is the ever willing replacement. Now the trip became an all 'boys' trip to an exotic Spa Village Tembok Bali.

I can understand the 'caught by surprise' face of Ms Rina the caretaker in Tembok Bali when we appeared at her resort.... minus the leading lady. We did have a good time together, at that beautiful paradise. I was impressed by the hospitality shown by the staffs, even when we did not take full its offer of full adventure. I did enjoyed the 3 hours trip to and fro the resort to Denpasar, the view of Mt Agung from the sea during Sunset Boat ride, I enjoyed 'our' pool, the broleh activities, the food, the comfy room, the fisherman's attire, the dinner dance, and the early picturesque dawn of black sand beach.

I can imagine the fun if Norli was around, perhaps next time. I definitely am coming back to SVTB.

40th Anniversary of the First ARPANET Transmission

Hi, again..it's been sometime since my last input. I came across this wonderful this article by SRI on the ARPANET, the predecessor to today's Internet (http://www.sri.com/). I did have an entry on this in either my Facebook or Twitter (http://twitter.com/arhamid) early last month. Its interesting to know University of Utah was part of that early initiative.

Forty is the old age of youth; fifty the youth of old age. Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

Enjoy!

MOUNTAIN VIEW and MENLO PARK, Calif., CAMBRIDGE, Mass. —October 27, 2009—Forty years ago this week, two programmers sat in front of computer terminals four hundred miles apart. Unknowingly, they were about to make history. At the University of California, Los Angeles, Charley Kline typed the word "LOGIN" at around nine p.m. on October 29, 1969. The command went through interface computers built by Cambridge's BBN Technologies (formerly Bolt, Beranek, and Newman) on its way to Kline's counterpart Bill Duvall, at SRI International (then known as Stanford Research Institute) in Menlo Park, California. The first letters, "LO", came through to the SRI machine before the system crashed. The minor setback would be fixed quickly, and the connection was fully in place by 10:30 p.m. The very first data had been sent between two nodes of the ARPANET, a key precursor to the Internet.

New interviews with pioneers Duvall and Kline will be made available on October 29 on www.computerhistory.org, along with links to other resources. This will kick off a series of Computer History Museum activities on the history of the Internet and the Web.

"The 1969 connection was not just a symbolic milestone in the project that led to the Internet, but in the whole idea of connecting computers—and eventually billions of people—to each other," said Marc Weber, founding curator of the Museum's Internet History Program. "In the 1960s, as many as a few hundred users could have accounts on a single large computer using terminals, and exchange messages and files between them. But each of those little communities was an island, isolated from others. By reliably connecting different kinds of computers to each other, the ARPANET took a crucial step toward the online world that links nearly a third of the world's population today."

"The development of the ARPANET, which had no commercial application at the time, underscores the power of coordinated basic research and the importance of that research to our society," said Bill Duvall. "In the 1960s, computers were not interconnected and most were not even interactive. A few research groups were looking at the potential of networked computing and how distributed systems might be used as information repositories and collaboration tools, but they were hampered by a huge obstacle: they lacked a network to weave their projects together. Bob Taylor and Larry Roberts at ARPA understood not only the potential of computer networking, but also the challenge of networking during an era when computers were generally not standardized, and did not use a common language or alphabet."

"The ARPANET was built to permit ARPA-supported computer researchers to share common interests without geographical limits," said Bob Taylor, who helped conceive and fund the ARPANET in the mid 1960s as head of computing research at ARPA (U.S. Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). Taylor and his Program Manager Larry Roberts chose the people and places to build the network, assigning unique roles to three institutions: Cambridge-based BBN built the special Interface Message Processors (IMPs) that connected the main computers to the net and served as the system's administrator; SRI was the Network Information Center, which besides acting as a central library kept track of all the computers on the net and ran the Domain Name System until 1991; and UCLA was the Network Measurement Center, researching and improving how data moved across the network. An original BBN Interface Message Processor (IMP) computer is in the Computer History Museum's collection.

By early 1970, those three Centers were all connected, along with the University of California at Santa Barbara and the University of Utah. By 1972, the network had 37 nodes. A few years later, the ARPANET would begin the process of connecting itself to other networks that had sprung up—a process known as internetworking—leading to the Internet on which the World Wide Web and email run today. Both SRI and BBN played key roles in internetworking, and SRI's mobile radio van was used in several watershed experiments. The van is now a part of the Computer History Museum's collection.

Utah Trip

I just can't imagine what Utah is like. When i was asked to go for this working trip i wasn't know what to aspect. I have relatively a good idea what's to come professionally, that is lots of work to deal with our new partner based in American Fork, Utah ( a world renown Certification company), but the least of what Utah would be like?

Looking the map of Utah doesn't help at all, it give you an impression of desert and empty space. I was dead wrong! Utah is very interesting. The people, the environment, the fresh cool air, the vastness, and the view is just fantastic, one of the best on this god given earth. The food (being Malaysian...an important criteria) simply represent most parts of the world.

Professionally i met some of the most wonderful people i've ever met in my working life. I'm sort of a difficult person to engage with immediately on first meeting, but that changed my view when in Utah. I met this sweet lady Sunny our host, an American of Korean lineage, made you like her as if you are at home in this foreign land! Another lady Marnae, the editor came to explain things but made me think, as if, hey! i known her for years. We talked on professional things, but already know of her whole family...uncommon in most parts of the world other than Malaysia. So do Quinn, David, Joe, Dave, Sarah, of course Ray and others. Hmm! I can now appreciate the plurality of Utah community whom most are devout Mormons.

I learn some wonderful insights from David, a professional psychometrician, Sinead and Steve on the product development commitment, Joe and Dave on the items...even when i've done this some years ago. We learn a lot of the technicalities from Marcus in item authoring using his SCO editor, only to spoil his scheduled three day slots to a day and a half. I appreciate the sensitivity to provide us a space to pray too. How i wish i can show them the Malaysian hospitality.

The last thing is, i have a glimpse of Utah wonderful natural history, their National Parks. Being there to appreciate the Arches and arches in formation in those highlands of canyons simply made you wonder the gift of god to us. I'm going to see the great Salt Lake!

hamid

Sandy, Utah

Eid -ul-Fitr Celebration

Eid -ul-Fitri is one of the important festivals of Muslims. After Ramadan, the month of fasting Muslims celebrate Eid-Ul-Fitri. Eid-ul-fitri is celebrated on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar, which Muslims follow. The sighting of the new crescent moon marks the beginning of the month. In Arabic the meaning of Eid is Festivity and Fitr means to break in English. Eid-Ul-Fitri means to celebrate the breaking of the month of fasting On the Eid day early in the morning all the Muslims take a bath and wear their new clothes which they have got stitched beforehand.after dressing they have breakfast which includes dates and then proceed to the Mosque (masjid) for a Eid prayer ceremony and recite the takbeerat “allahu akbar, allahu akbar” meaning Allah is the greatest. Apart from this many other Eid prayers are recited to remember Allah on this occasion.(Ramadan). Eidul Fitri in Malaysia is a colourful event, everyone dressed up in new and colourful traditional attire of 'baju melayu, samping and songkok' while the ladies in traditional 'baju kurung or kebaya'. Everyone proceed to the nearest mosque for the morning Eidul Fitri prayer before meeting and greeting to ask for forgiveness. They then proceed to fiends and family homes for the traditional feast of 'ketupat, kuah kacang, lodeh, and rendang'. Not forgetting the 'kuih raya' and of course the 'duit raya'. Most have an open house to all guest, friends and neighbours. Everyone enjoys Raya food, the one things that binds Malaysians well. Eidul Fitri is truly a One Malaysia event that everybody love. hamid 3rd Syawal 1430

End of Ramadhan, Welcome Syawal and Hello Utah

How time flies. It felt like we were just a week into fasting and adjusting to Tarawekh prayer very night, suddenly its already a month! Now we are into the 3rd day of Syawal 1430. Lots of things been happening during Ramadhan. I had to break fast in my car three times over the month just to indicate how much work we need to finish off before Syawal, making me late to leave office and be on time for breakfasting. Off late the weather didn't help either, raining almost every afternoon, making driving home takes longer time than usual, i.e more than an hour an a half from Cyberjaya to Setapak Indah. At least the work on OeC has produced fruits and we are packaging it for the Utah trip.

Having said that, i'm sure we'll get it done no matter what. My personal thanks to some hardworking team members. The raya break has given me some breathing space to be with family and enjoy the kinship, getting updates on family matters, new additions among family members,

seeing who is having more grey hairs, just seeing and saying hello. And of course the open houses, raya food and photos. Not to mention the travel nightmares to endure going back one's kampung. But it's all worth it, wouldn't you agree? Thanks to those who have sent their greetings and wishes, thank you for the thought.

Selamat Hari Raya

hamid

Hong Kong named world's spam capital

Again we get to see and hear more and more of this abuse of the Net by unethical people. It gives you the creep of what is going to happen as more and more people taking on the cyber world without any sense of good ethics, self respect and respect of others. Cyber world provides the platform for people to express themselves to a larger world and audience that never before possible. It also provides the 'shade' from prying eyes of their true identity thus making them feel brave to do things that they 'knowingly' know would adversersely affect others and unintentionally gain them the title "World's Spam Capital"

AFP - Thursday, September 10

HONG KONG (AFP) - - Hong Kong is under siege from legions of "zombies" attacking people with spam and leaving in their wake a trail of destruction costing millions of dollars a year, analysts have warned. It sounds like the plot of a surrealist B-movie but it is the worrying scenario computer users are facing in a city which has been awarded the unenviable title of spam capital of the world.

The problem has taken a sinister new twist with the rise of so-called zombies -- computers infected by a virus that are sending reams of spam, or unsolicited emails, without their users' knowledge.

There are an estimated 4,000 zombies active in Hong Kong and their criminal puppet masters use them to fire off thousands of messages offering products ranging from jewellery to pornography.

Full Story and photo credit: http://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/afp/20090910/ttc-hongkong-crime-spam-internet-0de2eff_1.html

eCampus News: Student can re-enroll after blog dispute

Student can re-enroll after blog dispute. Judge says student’s online writing did not violate school’s honor code. eCN • September 2009 • www.eCampusNews..com, Law & Ethics, pg.34.

A University of Louisville nursing student expelled over blog posts about an assignment to follow a woman the day she gave birth has won the right to return to school from a federal judge. U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson ruled Aug. 3 that Nina Yoder, who was dismissed from school on March 2, can re-enroll because the school violated a contractual agreement with her in the dismissal.

Yoder was dismissed after the university ran across her blog on a MySpace page. The blog covered a variety of topics, including religion, sex, guns, and politics. She mentioned the university several times but revealed no patient names in postings. In dismissing Yoder, the university said in a letter that she violated the school’s honor code and confidentiality agreement by posting blog items concerning patient activities and naming the university on her MySpace page. The judge sidestepped the constitutional and free-speech questions raised in the lawsuit. Instead, he focused on how the honor code and confidentiality agreement that students must sign are written and explained.

“Upon review of the relevant texts, the court finds that the blog post does not violate either of these two agreements,” Simpson wrote in a 12-page decision.The blog post that resulted in Yoder’s dismissal involved an assignment to follow a pregnant woman through the birthing process. In the post, Yoder criticizes the woman she finds to follow, as well as pregnant women at the hospital in general. “I came to work, overwhelmed with emotions and new knowledge and experience,”

Yoder wrote. “I sat down, looked around and once again proved that women are FREAKING STUPID and don’t learn from their past mistakes. I said: ‘I want another baby!

David L. Hudson, Jr., a scholar at the First Amendment Center and an author of 20 books, said the University of Louisville case is the latest in a series of questionable decisions by higher-education officials when faced with students’ web-based writing. “The whole situation is emblematic of a growing trend of punishing people for their online expression,” said Hudson, who teaches courses at Vanderbilt University Law School and the Nashville School of Law.

“Many people act as if the internet is a legal-free zone, and it is anything but.” Hudson said he did not expect Simpson’s decision to affect future cases that pit student blogs against educational institutions. “This was a well-reasoned decision, though it did not reach larger constitutional free speech issues,” he said. “The judge pointed out that the school could apply its honor code more broadly if it changed the policy and provided fair notice.

Hmm..exactly the reason why we are embarking to champion this Digital Citizenship cause. What other justification do we need? Right.

hamid

An Interesting Digital Weekend

I'm dead tired today. Didn't realized it until we finished the workshop and got home. Fell asleep on the couch until woken up to send Muiz back to boarding school at 4.00pm. Luckily today a holiday. We were working on the Digital Citizenship with a group of people. It was an interesting session, which all believed gonna get better. We do need more feedback from the youth group. The body of knowledge is growing. The more we look at it the more we realize how important it is to us in a plural society. The Capstone activity suggested and the use of real local scenarios tops it all. Thank you guys.

Customer Service

Hi everyone, i'm going to share you some behind the scene Customer Service scene on this video clip...and see why most customer service sucks! Ha ha.


hamid





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOeLc88Mpi4&feature=player_embedded

The Machine is US/ing US

Hi world! this is great stuff. Remember the infamous "Did You Know" slides? I even adapted and used it to help conclude my presentation on "MOTIVATION" at my last semester subject on "Cognition and Learning" by Prof. Dr. Khadijah Rohani in Education Faculty, UM. But this "Machine is US/ing US" is cool. Very much relevant to the current project i'm working on.

Enjoy this!

hamid



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g&feature=player_embedded

Creating Effective PowerPoint Presentations

Here is another webcast on the use of Powerpoint for effective presentation.

rgds

abdul hamid

Content Creation for the Content Network

Hi again...i guess that this webcast i'm sharing comes from Brainshark. This post is specifically meant for ICMS Project i.e instructors at Kolej Pembantu Perubatan Alor Setar (KPPAS), Kolej Jururawat Masyarakat Port Dickson (KJMPD) and people in Bahagian Pengurusan Latihan (BPL), Ministry of Health (MOH). I hoped that would give you some ideas and motivate you to upload your content on our LMS that would benefit your students.

Enjoy!

hamid

http://www.learningcontentnetwork.com/title.aspx?pid=900116804

Learning Operations on a Shrinking Budget - Expertus

Hi I'm sharing some slides from Training Industry's Learning Content Network. This webcast are great for Training Managers in any organinzation. Enjoy!

hamid


http://www.learningcontentnetwork.com/title.aspx?pid=402388968

Making the Full Circle

Back at the Conference, presentations were made and soon its time to say good bye. We exchanged business cards and i tried to collect information and brochures as many as i can. I have a 5.00pm flight to catch from Tampa International Airport to Newark International Airport in New York.

Since i came in from the West coast through Los Angeles to Pheonix to Tampa, my flight back through Newark to Stockholm to KL made it a full circle trip. This was my second round the globe trip.

But i have a few hours to kill. I checked out of the resort at 12.30pm and booked myself a cab. SandPearl Resort

and Spa on

Clearwater is approximately 30Km away from Tampa. The cab trip over Tampa Bay was beautiful. I got the driver to drive to the Shopping complex next to the Terminal for a short shopping.

I need to find Naim a Swatch watch and thought of purchasing the iPhone.

Founf the Apple Store but was not eligible to purchase as the sale comes with purchase of the telecommunication carrier service the AT&T. I need to have a permanent address in Tampa or at least stays for three month to be eligible. So there goes my iPhone, instead i bought latest iPod Nano for Azhim and some University of Florida's Alligator T-shirts.

The flight back was unevenful, i had to wait in the plane till it was dark enough for me to

'breakfast' again. Got into Newark around 8.30pm and aboard the NY-Stockholm flight at 10.30pm. I slept through till we landed in Stockholm the next day at 7.30am. before continuing again at 11.ooam to KL.

Aboard the MAS flight back i get to have Malaysian meal again. I can't wait to be back home!

hamid

Dawn at SandPearl Resort, Clearwater, TAMPA FL.

Hello everyone, i know its been a while, but i'm determine to finish the unfinished story of my Tampa FL. trip.

Finally on the third day of my stay in SandPearl Resort and Spa had to come to and end. You know what i've been unable to get away from the conference to even walk the sandy beach of SandPearl Resort and Spa. So on my last day, i made a point to wake up early. After my Subuh prayer, i took my camera and walk to the beach.

In the early morning cool air, the resort staff already start working, a team of workers combed clean the beach using small tractors collecting washed up debris from last night tide.

It make patterns on the beach as well as making the sand soft to my bear feet. The sky and sea was blue, with flocks of pelicans and gulls flying low and diving for fish.

My footsteps made marks on the soft white sand, i'm alone and had the beach all to myself. I'm gonna miss this place

Here are some of the shots.

hamid

Real Manta at Kurishio Sea

Lets look at the real Manta Rays....enjoy

Kuroshio Sea - 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world - (song is Please don't go by Barcelona) from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.

Training Outsourcing Conference 08

I'm back, it's been a while since last i wrote. I'm continuing with the Training Outsourcing Conference 2008, that i attended in Clearwater, Tampa, FL. It was organised by Training Industry Inc. with the mission of creating a more efficient marketplace for learning. Their TrainingIndustry.com is the world’s leading portal for searching and accessing information about the training industry. So at this conference assembled a group like minded training idustry players from al over the world to exchange and sharing knowledge, learn about training outsourcing trends, new products and to network. A group of 100 people meeting in a beautiful place of SandPearl Hotel and Spa on Clearwater's long sandbar facing the Gulf of Mexico.

The conference, which focused on the processes and strategies needed to drive success in difficult economic times, has an excellent lineup of talented and experienced presenters.

The conference kicked off with a welcome remark by Training Industry Inc. CEO Doug Harward. This was followed by a keynote by famous photographer Steve Uzzell, one of the top advertising and corporate photographers in the country. 

He presented Open Roads Open Minds: An Exploration of Creative Problem Solving. Using his striking photographs

as illustrations of his metaphor about possibility and creativity, Steve inspires audiences to take advantage of his experience and vision to make

any venture an adventure.

A totally new experience for me. I have never had someone presented a keynote just using beautiful photo slides without a word written and still

get away with the most memorable presentation. Do visit his website at http://www.steveuzzell.com/speaker.html

This was followed by Jim Brolley, Senior Director of Global Learning for Harley-Davidson, Inc., will present CLO Best Practices. He will discuss

the journey of Harley-Davidson, Inc. as well as how they have implemented an LMS. Mr. Brolley will also discuss how Harley-Davidson, Inc. is working

on sustainability of learning, their efforts to drive a leadership university and how they're going global with the dealer university. He will also talk about

some award-winning onboarding processes.