Tuesday, August 05, 2008
01:00 by FoxTwo
In IT, one of the first and most basic form of troubleshooting any network connectivity problem is - to check the cables! If it's not plugged in, you won't see anything. Of course this doesn't apply to wireless networks that is so prevalent now.
Anyhow, recently I had thought that the battery charger for my Canon Digital Ixus 60 camera had died. I slipped in the battery, and .... nothing. Nada. Not even a blip. The charging light didn't come on.
After hammering on the charger for abit (hey it just might work you know?), it still didn't work. So, I resigned myself to the realization that I'd either have to buy a new camera or to get in touch with Canon and see if they have a replacement battery charger for sale.
So I shot an email off to Canon support. They called me back promptly (next business day, pretty dang prompt if you ask me) and informed me that regretfully, the charger isn't covered by warranty, but they would be more than happy to sell me a replacement battery charger for a mere pittance - $99.00. Not only that, they'd "reserve" it at the Canon Service Centre in Vivocity for me till Friday.
I did a double-take.
Wha-?! Ninety-nine bucks for a charger?
Ok so I told them thanks, hold it for me till Friday. If I don't turn up to grab it, they can feel free to release it.
So, I ran off to Plurk and asked if anyone knew of a cheaper way to get a charger. Soon enough I was pointed to Alan Photos, and I called them for enquiries. I was told a "3rd party" charger was available for $35.00.
It was a no-brainer. $35 beats $99 any day. So right after work, I trotted off to the shop and got myself the 3rd-party charger.
As a quick aside, I must say that the service at Alan Photo's is great. Although I was just buying a cheap $35.00 item, they didn't treat me like a second class customer. The guy was helpful and gave me advice on camera and battery care, and such. He also told me that he has never heard of a Canon battery charger dying - ever. Mine would be the first time he's heard about it. He mostly sell these "3rd party chargers" to people who travel alot and want to bring a compact charger along with them.
So, I got home. As I was dismantling the Canon charger from the power outlet, I remembered what the guy at Alan Photo's said, and I thought to myself - why not try it once again? Could he be right?
For some reason, I didn't use the original power cord that came with the charger. This time I used another power cord, and plugged it right in. Then I slipped the battery in.
THE LIGHT CAME ON!
So I swapped the power cord again, back to the original one. No light. Swapped out to another power cord - light came on.
And I kicked myself. I could have saved myself $35.00 if I had just swapped power cords!
On the bright side, I could have wasted $99.00 on another Canon charger only to realise it was just the power cord that was the problem. I took it that I bought a spare charger for "travelling", so I don't have to bring the original one out with me. The "3rd party" charger was more compact and had foldable power pins, which made it into a nice snug rectangular brick.
If you ask me how a power cord could fail I have no idea. I thought they're basically just copper wires encased in rubber, that's it. They conduct electricity. What can fail? Well, other than the copper wire actually breaking inside the rubber. I find it highly unlikely since I have never subjected the power cord to any extreme movements. Once I had set it up, I had left it there.
Well after learning this $35.00 lesson, I packed the "3rd party" charger back nicely into the box, and kept it in storage. Then, I charged the battery on the original charger. Now, if only I had charged the battery a couple of days ago. Then, the previous post could have had nicer pictures.
Ah well, lesson learnt I guess.
01:00 by FoxTwo
Remember To Check Your Cables!
In IT, one of the first and most basic form of troubleshooting any network connectivity problem is - to check the cables! If it's not plugged in, you won't see anything. Of course this doesn't apply to wireless networks that is so prevalent now.
Anyhow, recently I had thought that the battery charger for my Canon Digital Ixus 60 camera had died. I slipped in the battery, and .... nothing. Nada. Not even a blip. The charging light didn't come on.
After hammering on the charger for abit (hey it just might work you know?), it still didn't work. So, I resigned myself to the realization that I'd either have to buy a new camera or to get in touch with Canon and see if they have a replacement battery charger for sale.
So I shot an email off to Canon support. They called me back promptly (next business day, pretty dang prompt if you ask me) and informed me that regretfully, the charger isn't covered by warranty, but they would be more than happy to sell me a replacement battery charger for a mere pittance - $99.00. Not only that, they'd "reserve" it at the Canon Service Centre in Vivocity for me till Friday.
I did a double-take.
Wha-?! Ninety-nine bucks for a charger?
Ok so I told them thanks, hold it for me till Friday. If I don't turn up to grab it, they can feel free to release it.
So, I ran off to Plurk and asked if anyone knew of a cheaper way to get a charger. Soon enough I was pointed to Alan Photos, and I called them for enquiries. I was told a "3rd party" charger was available for $35.00.
It was a no-brainer. $35 beats $99 any day. So right after work, I trotted off to the shop and got myself the 3rd-party charger.
As a quick aside, I must say that the service at Alan Photo's is great. Although I was just buying a cheap $35.00 item, they didn't treat me like a second class customer. The guy was helpful and gave me advice on camera and battery care, and such. He also told me that he has never heard of a Canon battery charger dying - ever. Mine would be the first time he's heard about it. He mostly sell these "3rd party chargers" to people who travel alot and want to bring a compact charger along with them.
So, I got home. As I was dismantling the Canon charger from the power outlet, I remembered what the guy at Alan Photo's said, and I thought to myself - why not try it once again? Could he be right?
For some reason, I didn't use the original power cord that came with the charger. This time I used another power cord, and plugged it right in. Then I slipped the battery in.
THE LIGHT CAME ON!
So I swapped the power cord again, back to the original one. No light. Swapped out to another power cord - light came on.
And I kicked myself. I could have saved myself $35.00 if I had just swapped power cords!
On the bright side, I could have wasted $99.00 on another Canon charger only to realise it was just the power cord that was the problem. I took it that I bought a spare charger for "travelling", so I don't have to bring the original one out with me. The "3rd party" charger was more compact and had foldable power pins, which made it into a nice snug rectangular brick.
If you ask me how a power cord could fail I have no idea. I thought they're basically just copper wires encased in rubber, that's it. They conduct electricity. What can fail? Well, other than the copper wire actually breaking inside the rubber. I find it highly unlikely since I have never subjected the power cord to any extreme movements. Once I had set it up, I had left it there.
Well after learning this $35.00 lesson, I packed the "3rd party" charger back nicely into the box, and kept it in storage. Then, I charged the battery on the original charger. Now, if only I had charged the battery a couple of days ago. Then, the previous post could have had nicer pictures.
Ah well, lesson learnt I guess.
Labels: self
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
12:40 by FoxTwo It's very rare that I write about mundane things happening to me in my "subsidiary blogs" before I write about them here. However, I did write about how I found my long-lost drinking kakis recently here.
About a year ago, my regular drinking place closed. As such, us regular customers (who have been patronising the place for years) suddenly lost a "home". My buddy and I spent the past year flitting from pub to pub, trying to find a new "home". We thought we found a place somewhere in Chinatown.
Then a couple of days ago, an old friend and fellow pub patron from the old place, told us that one of the bartenders have found a job at a new place, and gave us directions to the pub. My buddy and I just thought we'd pay her a visit and check the new place out. After all, we haven't really decided on a "home" pub yet, although the one at Chinatown is currently serving as one. There's still something..... missing...
So we popped by the new place.
The first feeling that hit us was - ok this feels familiar. The decor, the lighting. Then we walked towards the bar counter. Yup, she was there (from the previous pub). She was happy to see us. We were pleasantly surprised to see a few more familiar faces - patrons from the old pub, a couple of waitresses from the previous pub (who are now working there). It was then that even more was revealed to us.
The owners are former regular patrons of the old place. They have even gone to the extent of contacting all the previous staff of the old place and offering them a position at the new pub. We can even see that some efforts were made to "preserve" the ambiance from the old place. It was no wonder that the place felt familiar the moment we walked in.
As we sat at the bar counter (our old positions at the previous pub), we started to feel more and more comfortable. Yup, this indeed felt like the old "home pub".
That got me to thinking - why didn't the Chinatown one feel like home?. The decor was pretty close to the old pub, so that wasn't it. The ambiance was almost the same, perhaps that was why we decided to frequent the pub in Chinatown.
No, it was the people. The community, so to speak. Same people, from staff to patrons, all talking, laughing, playing. It almost felt like nothing has changed. We're all still here.
So it didn't really matter where the place is. The location may change. The decor might suck or be better, but, the most important factor in the whole equation: the people.
It's even more omen-ish that a similar event happened in the virtual world to me recently though, and I think this is a real-life lesson to be learnt, and apply, to the virtual world.
Yes, I am home.
12:40 by FoxTwo It's very rare that I write about mundane things happening to me in my "subsidiary blogs" before I write about them here. However, I did write about how I found my long-lost drinking kakis recently here.
About a year ago, my regular drinking place closed. As such, us regular customers (who have been patronising the place for years) suddenly lost a "home". My buddy and I spent the past year flitting from pub to pub, trying to find a new "home". We thought we found a place somewhere in Chinatown.
Then a couple of days ago, an old friend and fellow pub patron from the old place, told us that one of the bartenders have found a job at a new place, and gave us directions to the pub. My buddy and I just thought we'd pay her a visit and check the new place out. After all, we haven't really decided on a "home" pub yet, although the one at Chinatown is currently serving as one. There's still something..... missing...
So we popped by the new place.
The first feeling that hit us was - ok this feels familiar. The decor, the lighting. Then we walked towards the bar counter. Yup, she was there (from the previous pub). She was happy to see us. We were pleasantly surprised to see a few more familiar faces - patrons from the old pub, a couple of waitresses from the previous pub (who are now working there). It was then that even more was revealed to us.
The owners are former regular patrons of the old place. They have even gone to the extent of contacting all the previous staff of the old place and offering them a position at the new pub. We can even see that some efforts were made to "preserve" the ambiance from the old place. It was no wonder that the place felt familiar the moment we walked in.
As we sat at the bar counter (our old positions at the previous pub), we started to feel more and more comfortable. Yup, this indeed felt like the old "home pub".
That got me to thinking - why didn't the Chinatown one feel like home?. The decor was pretty close to the old pub, so that wasn't it. The ambiance was almost the same, perhaps that was why we decided to frequent the pub in Chinatown.
No, it was the people. The community, so to speak. Same people, from staff to patrons, all talking, laughing, playing. It almost felt like nothing has changed. We're all still here.
So it didn't really matter where the place is. The location may change. The decor might suck or be better, but, the most important factor in the whole equation: the people.
It's even more omen-ish that a similar event happened in the virtual world to me recently though, and I think this is a real-life lesson to be learnt, and apply, to the virtual world.
Yes, I am home.
Labels: drinking, pubbing, self
Saturday, July 12, 2008
18:33 by FoxTwo You know the saying, "Power Corrupts, and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely".
Interviewing people for a position is kinda like placing incredible amounts of power at your disposal. You alone decide whether he "lives" or "dies". Your decision alone dictates whether he's gone, or he can come back.
Also, normally I am not the one doing the interview. I generally shun meetings and interviews because simply, I just don't like them. Interviews and meetings are what bosses are for - they handle them :) Us grunts just do the work and be done for the day.
Anyway recently I was asked to interview some candidates for a position. Most of them are internal staff, and the interviews were quick and fast. However even among internal staff, it was quite surprising at some of the answers I get. Like I said before, these people know what they are doing - some of them knows more than I do even.
Yet, as I said, some answers I get are pretty interesting. A very good example is below:
Now that's a novel way to do it. No messing around with parallel runs, no confusing of users. Best of all, no mucking about with mail redirects and what-nots (which, by the way, is listed as the "correct answer" in official support documentation). Short, quick, and no weird helpdesk calls about "missing mail".
This method should work with ANY mail platform migrations too.
I'm actually kicking myself why I never thought of this when I was migrating my users from Exchange to Notes too. Darn it!
Unfortunately, the candidate that proposed this solution flunked on other questions, some of which were fundamentals (setting up domain controllers, configuring DCHP etc). Not that surprising since he's "live" on the job and his current job scope has him handling other stuff. It is however, a little surprising that he either forgot or doesn't know how to do those fundamental stuff, and those were actually the "predefined requirements" we need to have.
Inside me, I was actually rooting for this candidate to get the job though. However I had to be honest and rate him accordingly, and from the way it looks, it doesn't seem very likely he'll get the job. Sigh!
The good thing is, I'm not holding the "absolute power" to decide his fate. All I can do is give an assessment of his technical capabilities. My boss is the one deciding his fate, and he was right there in the interview too, but asking him other non-technical questions (soft skills). I can't give this candidate an assessment that is "too good" since my boss is also a techie guy, so he knows this candidate fumbled on the fundamentals.
Ah well, the good thing is, we probably have interviewed enough candidates and there should be no more left to interview (not by me at least). I really don't like having to interview people and giving them a grade.
ps - My current "official" designation is a Unix Admin. When it's "crunch time" I'll be deployed to handle the Unix servers. However I also know Wintel Admin. My boss was saying I'm a "steal" given what I know and can do (salary vs skills). I should have asked for $10K salary mannnn!!!! *kick self*
18:33 by FoxTwo You know the saying, "Power Corrupts, and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely".
Interviewing people for a position is kinda like placing incredible amounts of power at your disposal. You alone decide whether he "lives" or "dies". Your decision alone dictates whether he's gone, or he can come back.
Also, normally I am not the one doing the interview. I generally shun meetings and interviews because simply, I just don't like them. Interviews and meetings are what bosses are for - they handle them :) Us grunts just do the work and be done for the day.
Anyway recently I was asked to interview some candidates for a position. Most of them are internal staff, and the interviews were quick and fast. However even among internal staff, it was quite surprising at some of the answers I get. Like I said before, these people know what they are doing - some of them knows more than I do even.
Yet, as I said, some answers I get are pretty interesting. A very good example is below:
Migrating from one mail platform to another
Set up new mail platform, copy all the user information over. At designated time, change DNS records to point to new server.Now that's a novel way to do it. No messing around with parallel runs, no confusing of users. Best of all, no mucking about with mail redirects and what-nots (which, by the way, is listed as the "correct answer" in official support documentation). Short, quick, and no weird helpdesk calls about "missing mail".
This method should work with ANY mail platform migrations too.
I'm actually kicking myself why I never thought of this when I was migrating my users from Exchange to Notes too. Darn it!
Unfortunately, the candidate that proposed this solution flunked on other questions, some of which were fundamentals (setting up domain controllers, configuring DCHP etc). Not that surprising since he's "live" on the job and his current job scope has him handling other stuff. It is however, a little surprising that he either forgot or doesn't know how to do those fundamental stuff, and those were actually the "predefined requirements" we need to have.
Inside me, I was actually rooting for this candidate to get the job though. However I had to be honest and rate him accordingly, and from the way it looks, it doesn't seem very likely he'll get the job. Sigh!
The good thing is, I'm not holding the "absolute power" to decide his fate. All I can do is give an assessment of his technical capabilities. My boss is the one deciding his fate, and he was right there in the interview too, but asking him other non-technical questions (soft skills). I can't give this candidate an assessment that is "too good" since my boss is also a techie guy, so he knows this candidate fumbled on the fundamentals.
Ah well, the good thing is, we probably have interviewed enough candidates and there should be no more left to interview (not by me at least). I really don't like having to interview people and giving them a grade.
ps - My current "official" designation is a Unix Admin. When it's "crunch time" I'll be deployed to handle the Unix servers. However I also know Wintel Admin. My boss was saying I'm a "steal" given what I know and can do (salary vs skills). I should have asked for $10K salary mannnn!!!! *kick self*
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
21:46 by FoxTwo A couple of weeks back, I started work with a new company. I wrote that it's a very nice change to finally work with people that know their stuff and are very proficient at what they're doing.
In fact I was slightly incorrect in my initial impression. These guys are GOOD. Some of them know stuff I don't and they are very, very detailed. So anyway, I'm part of a team that is still currently looking for people. Thus I was given some resumes for Windows/Intel administrators (commonly referred to as "Wintel Admins") to vet through and pick a few for interview.
Some of these guys are internal staff. In other words, they are ALREADY staff. Now we're just deciding if we should pull them off their current assignments to join us. Looking at their resumes, they are impressive indeed. Many of them have a very wide exposure to many different platforms, and some of them, I have to go "interview".
Hell, these guys probably know more than I do!
But it's not really a problem since the scope of our requirements is pretty defined, and whatever extra skills they have are bonus - we just require these few specific skills, and if they fit, we'll pull them over.
It's gonna feel a little strange asking a guy who probably knows more than you about a specific platform "how to do this" or "how to do that".
Now why do I say I'm lucky?
Because I'm not asked to interview external candidates. Interviewing internal staff is easier since there probably won't be any tension. The guys will be relaxed and they'll just let their experience show, and we ARE looking for experience rather than skills stated on paper. I don't have to explain pay structure, working hours and all that other junk - they already know.
I expect the interviews with them will be quick - 20 to 30 mins tops. Once I get a feel of their experience, it's a done deal.
The hard part is to choose among them all....
21:46 by FoxTwo A couple of weeks back, I started work with a new company. I wrote that it's a very nice change to finally work with people that know their stuff and are very proficient at what they're doing.
In fact I was slightly incorrect in my initial impression. These guys are GOOD. Some of them know stuff I don't and they are very, very detailed. So anyway, I'm part of a team that is still currently looking for people. Thus I was given some resumes for Windows/Intel administrators (commonly referred to as "Wintel Admins") to vet through and pick a few for interview.
Some of these guys are internal staff. In other words, they are ALREADY staff. Now we're just deciding if we should pull them off their current assignments to join us. Looking at their resumes, they are impressive indeed. Many of them have a very wide exposure to many different platforms, and some of them, I have to go "interview".
Hell, these guys probably know more than I do!
But it's not really a problem since the scope of our requirements is pretty defined, and whatever extra skills they have are bonus - we just require these few specific skills, and if they fit, we'll pull them over.
It's gonna feel a little strange asking a guy who probably knows more than you about a specific platform "how to do this" or "how to do that".
Now why do I say I'm lucky?
Because I'm not asked to interview external candidates. Interviewing internal staff is easier since there probably won't be any tension. The guys will be relaxed and they'll just let their experience show, and we ARE looking for experience rather than skills stated on paper. I don't have to explain pay structure, working hours and all that other junk - they already know.
I expect the interviews with them will be quick - 20 to 30 mins tops. Once I get a feel of their experience, it's a done deal.
The hard part is to choose among them all....
Labels: self
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
19:41 by FoxTwo Today was sort of a whirlwind. I arrived on the dot, right at the start of the business day. The Human Resource Officer had not arrived yet, so the receptionist suggested I wait in the lobby for her arrival.
About 10 minutes later, a lady brought a huge burly gentleman out to greet me. I was told this is the head honcho, the big cheeze. He's da man! So after a quick round of handshakes, I was brought in to see the rest of the crew. More handshakes, and quick introductions. Then it was down to business.
Within 10 mins, one of the guys said - "Good timing, we got a meeting to get to!" and whisked me away offsite to a high-level pow-wow session with some business partners and vendors, to "give me an overview" of the upcoming project.
It was only 8.45am or so, and I haven't even been processed by the HR yet!
We came back to the office near to lunchtime. Finally I got processed by the HR and was "given back" to the IT department. Since nothing much was going on, my "guardian" (which is a tall American guy) and I proceeded to lunch, and thereafter went shopping for a phone, seeing as he just got into Singapore a couple of days ago and he needed a local number to be contactable.
In the afternoon, a big pile of project documents was placed on my desk and "it would be good" if I went through it so that I have an idea of the scope of the project as well as the work involved. When I say a big pile, I mean big. Easily the size of 3 reams of A4 paper stacked. Needless to say, it wasn't light reading.
What I can say is - the "foreign talents" here in the new place are truly talented. They know exactly what's going on, and what they need to do to "make it work". They don't "throw smoke" and if they don't know something, they will admit they do not know and they'll find out and get back to me. Talking to them is definitely nowhere near frustrating like it was in my previous workplace. The majority of them are from Europe and USA, but we have a couple there that are from China and India.
Towards the end of the day, my laptop arrived. Brand spanking new too, not an old, re-formatted, used one like what most other companies would do.
This was actually one of my better "first day" experiences with a new job and company. It wasn't too boring, aside from the big stack of documents that I had to read through. By the end of the day, I had gone through half anyway, so I guess by tomorrow I'd have a birds-eye-view of the whole thing, and thus, what my role is in the whole thing.
19:41 by FoxTwo Today was sort of a whirlwind. I arrived on the dot, right at the start of the business day. The Human Resource Officer had not arrived yet, so the receptionist suggested I wait in the lobby for her arrival.
About 10 minutes later, a lady brought a huge burly gentleman out to greet me. I was told this is the head honcho, the big cheeze. He's da man! So after a quick round of handshakes, I was brought in to see the rest of the crew. More handshakes, and quick introductions. Then it was down to business.
Within 10 mins, one of the guys said - "Good timing, we got a meeting to get to!" and whisked me away offsite to a high-level pow-wow session with some business partners and vendors, to "give me an overview" of the upcoming project.
It was only 8.45am or so, and I haven't even been processed by the HR yet!
We came back to the office near to lunchtime. Finally I got processed by the HR and was "given back" to the IT department. Since nothing much was going on, my "guardian" (which is a tall American guy) and I proceeded to lunch, and thereafter went shopping for a phone, seeing as he just got into Singapore a couple of days ago and he needed a local number to be contactable.
In the afternoon, a big pile of project documents was placed on my desk and "it would be good" if I went through it so that I have an idea of the scope of the project as well as the work involved. When I say a big pile, I mean big. Easily the size of 3 reams of A4 paper stacked. Needless to say, it wasn't light reading.
What I can say is - the "foreign talents" here in the new place are truly talented. They know exactly what's going on, and what they need to do to "make it work". They don't "throw smoke" and if they don't know something, they will admit they do not know and they'll find out and get back to me. Talking to them is definitely nowhere near frustrating like it was in my previous workplace. The majority of them are from Europe and USA, but we have a couple there that are from China and India.
Towards the end of the day, my laptop arrived. Brand spanking new too, not an old, re-formatted, used one like what most other companies would do.
This was actually one of my better "first day" experiences with a new job and company. It wasn't too boring, aside from the big stack of documents that I had to read through. By the end of the day, I had gone through half anyway, so I guess by tomorrow I'd have a birds-eye-view of the whole thing, and thus, what my role is in the whole thing.
