Awareness to Action

I was very fortunate to have been nominated by my boss to attend the GOAL leadership training organized by 361 Degrees Mind. This company has a unique approach towards training: they call it Meta Training, or "beyond training". Basically, the philosophy is that the learning should not stop in the classroom only. They believe that awareness should be converted into action, so that we can learn and retain the knowledge we gathered in the classroom through actual participation.

Well, from the 2 days live learning session (which I thought was fantastically facilitated and participated as well), the one take home message I got is:

Awareness to Action

I believe that this is what we strive to do in our IXPs as well. Instilling awareness is important. But far more vital is the call for action. It's a clarion call to ensure that the IXP participants commit towards a certain transformational action that will hopefully improve their lives in myriads of ways. I see now that it is also vital that we apply what we learn from these training sessions in our work environment and our personal lives.

Awareness to Action

This is the key point of the day. I hope to be able to convert some of the knowledge I've learned over the past 2 days into concrete actions that will deliver some positive results.

More of the Lambency

Here's how the diffused flash light from the Lambency looks like in the various possible configurations.

First, a direct flash with dome attached. The light source is bright, but of course the full blast of direct light is reflected by the mirror, causing much flare and thus reducing contrast. This configuration would be useful where there are no ceilings or walls to bounce from.
Incidentally, this sort of light source reminds me of the home made flash diffuser I made last time.

OK, up next is the bounce with dome configuration. This configuration still gives a good forward light source, but it's not exactly all directed to the front, as the dome spreads out the light in all directions. As a consequence, the bounced light to the ceiling is probably not as bright compared to the light coming from the without dome configuration. Nonetheless, this could be useful it the ceiling or wall is too near to me, and having a direct bounce will result in harsh light.

Finally, this is the configuration for bounce without dome. The forward light source looks less bright compared to the with dome configuration. This will be useful if the ceiling or wall is a considerable distance away, and the bouncing of the flash light will create a large light source without resorting to the usage of the dome. This also saves considerable battery power and can be considered the general purpose use of the Lambency.

I'll be trying out the contraption in the coming days in the 29idc.

What Defines You?

Many people go through life without knowing who they really are. For those who are stuck in the proverbial rat race, they go through their days lamenting about how busy they are at work, no time to do the things they like, no time for family, etc. But, think about it for a moment. If work does not define you, then why do you spend so much time on it? Why spend half your life doing things that do not inspire your passion?

For instance, Fooch is a self professed workaholic. The word "workaholic" brings about many negative connotations, coming from people who expound on "work-life balance". But, when I talk with him, all he can talk about is his work, and his passion for work! It's amazing to see that he's really inspired by what he does, and he doesn't treat his work as a chore. Rather, he treats it as his hobby, as his life's purpose. To Fooch, his work defines him.

For me, I don't think my work defines me. I think my Buddhist work, and my involvement in music is what defines me. Of course, that doesn't mean I do not strive to further improve myself in my career. But when people ask "Who Are You?" to me, I do not answer "I'm a Network Optimization Engineer in the Telco industry". Because my job title does not define me. Rather, I'd probably answer "I'm a practical and simple Buddhist dedicated to the inspiration of Dharma through the revitalization of Buddhist music".

So, the question to all you readers out there: What Defines You?

Stream

Sigh... the car craze has returned to me, but this time it's not for the Honda City.

Rather, it's for this beauty:


Yes, the 2007 Honda Stream! *DROOL*

The price tag: RM150K for this beauty. That's almost double the original dream for the Honda City, which retails at RM86K. Dream on lah...

New template

How does my blog look with the new template?

Of course, it's nothing special. It's a standard Blogger template which I just changed by going to the Layout page, Pick New Template, then choosing "TicTac Blue" as my new template.

The Apartment @ The Curve

Sorry. No photos here, because nobody brought camera. The food portion is so small. The music started off as some pseudo techno music, but luckily they changed it to soothing easy listening music. Then the water is not being refilled!

OK lah. Other than that, it's a novelty to have this place modeled after an apartment. Bedroom, kitchen, light room, etc. But otherwise, the food is nothing special.

Lagi barang mainan baru...

It's been a long time since I got myself some new photography toys. So I logged on to Yamiya eStore and bought myself a Lambency Flash Diffuser! I placed the order yesterday evening, and the package arrived today. Quite good and prompt service! So now I can use this in place of my flimsy and unprofessional homemade flash diffuser.

It arrived well packed in bubble wrap

This product is made in China

The diffuser cup and translucent white dome

The assembled device

The setup with my camera

And here are some sample shots:

Top-Bottom: Bounce with dome, Bounce without dome, Direct with dome

I hope I'll have more opportunities to test this gadget out. It's been a long time since I held a camera in my hands!

PAS makes more sense!

Hahahaha! Padan muka :P

Yet another bunch of tower-fearing people...

Residents of Putra Heights Section 9... please don't complain if you don't get good mobile network coverage or quality. Don't complain if your Maxis line or Celcom line or DiGi line only got 1 bar or even no line. Don't complain if you can't hear what the person on the other line is saying. Don't complain at all.

Because you didn't want the towers to be built.

Plug for BuddhistSound

BuddhistSound is a locally established website setup for the purpose of promoting and retailing Buddhist music and other related media via the Internet. It is established by Brian and Roland Lee from the Messengers of Dharma (MOD), and carries MP3 tracks of various popular Malaysian and Singapore based Buddhist songs.

While most of the stuff is actually for sale, there are also a few freebies which can be downloaded at no charge. One of the gems I found from the website is this e-book, which gives quite a detailed introduction to the world of Buddhist music. I found it to be quite informational, but I've only browsed through it, not really read it word for word.

Do download it and check it out!