Why so Serious?

This is hilarious... with deadly consequences!

Family to sue FSC over toxic death

MERESEINI MARAU
Thursday, August 14, 2008

RELATIVES of a man who died from drinking stolen methanol are considering legal action against the Fiji Sugar Corporation for not keeping its spirits safely.

Jiuta Delaibatiki, of Navutu, Lautoka, will file a lawsuit against the FSC, saying had it kept its chemicals properly they would not have been subjected to theft.

His nephew, Tevita Ratulekaleka, 26, died last Tuesday after drinking the chemicals that were sold for $5 for two litres.

Mr Delaibatiki said they would do this to ensure other youths do not suffer the same fate as his nephew.

Two FSC employees appeared in court on Monday for allegedly stealing 100 litres of toxic chemicals from the Lautoka Mill.

Josaia Leone, 45, of Navutu and Francis Samuel, 35, of Rifle Range, Lautoka were charged with break-in and larceny.

Mr Delaibatiki said the death of his nephew was unfortunate and could have been avoided.

Mr Delaibatiki said other boys in the settlement complained of being ill after drinking methanol.

"But they must have mixed it with a lot of water - they told me it was a right mix," he said.

FSC acting chief executive Deo Saran said the company was conducting its own inquiry as to how three 20-litre containers of methanol and two 20-litre gallons of isopropanol were removed from the labs.

The methanol was valued at $214 while the isopropanol was worth $559.

Mr Saran said the police were also investigating.

The pair allegedly broke into the lab and sold the liquids to Navutu youths.

They will re-appear in court on August 25.

Finding Solutions

Good to be back.... I was inactive for a while. Heavy work commitments have kept me out of the game! Anyways, check out this letter to the Editor (FT 11/7).

Finding solutions

WHEN I read of the problems facing our country, I am reminded of a fictional story told by my lecturer some years back.

In the race to reach the moon first, the Americans and the Russians came across a problem. Pens just would not work on zero gravity.

The Americans invested millions and invented a pressurised pen that could write on just about any surface known to man.

Problem solved you might say. The Russians meanwhile, decided to use a pencil. In its humour, this story cleverly integrates a very important lesson (especially for engineers).

We should not concentrate on the solution, but rather concentrate on the problem. The solution we turn back to these days is similar to inventing the million dollar pen.

We will not solve our problems by giving fuel subsidies to lower operating costs of buses, taxis and other industries. Our problem is our reliance on fossil fuels, not the tax imposed on fuel imports.

Let us brainstorm our way out of this problem.

AMAN SINGH
Lami

So any ideas guys? I have a few up my sleeve (patent pending stuff), but would love to hear from you guys.

Weight Loss and its Complexities

I have decided to lose some weight. Found some excellent advice on the net. From hereon, I will post updates each day to indicate what (if any) advice I have followed. Starting with number 1: Moniter food intake! Expect to see my list tomorow! Moce Cho!

How to Lose Weight

Obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. ^[1]

Want to slim down fast for that beach vacation or high school reunion? While there are many things you can do to shed pounds, losing weight too quickly, like any sudden change to your body, can be dangerous. While fad diets, diet pills, and fasting may indeed induce rapid weight loss, these methods can cause you to lose muscle and may also injure your heart and other organs fairly quickly. The best solution? Don't go for an overnight miracle. Instead, follow these steps to lose fat rapidly, healthily, and sustainably.

Steps

1. Determine your daily calorie intake . Losing weight is simply a matter of expending more calories than you take in, through exercise and your daily activities. To win the battle, it helps to know how many calories you are consuming in a day.
   • Write down all the things you eat on a typical day. Carry a small notebook with you and write down every snack, every drink, and the contents of every meal. There are also great websites that you can use to keep track of calories, get recipes, and help achieve your goal. Don't forget to include the pats of butter or the spoonful of sugar in your coffee. It's best to do this for at least a couple weekdays and a weekend; it's even better if you can go a full week. There are also calorie tracking websites that can help you to do this, for example the US government website, My Pyramid Tracker.
   • Do an itemized calorie count. When possible, write down the number of calories in each thing you eat as you eat it. Keep in mind that the recommended serving size is often considerably smaller than the serving you actually eat. Look up the calorie count on the internet for foods that don't have calories listed on the container or for fast food meals. You don't have to be 100% accurate, but you do want a good estimate of the number of calories you're taking in. There is an idea that multiplying your own weight by ten will produce a rough estimate of the number of calories you need to eat per day to maintain your weight. This is NOT true, you may wind up grossly under (or perhaps over) estimating the number of calories you should be eating. Use a scientific or health website to determine the number of calories you should eat a day or consult your doctor. Everyone has different metabolisms and there is no blanket rule that covers everyone's recommended calorie intake. Reducing 500 calories per day from the calories you eat to maintain your weight can help you lose a pound of fat per week.^[2]
2. Go over the list and decide which foods to cut out or reduce. Cutting calories is usually a lot easier than you might think. For example, that daily tall latte in the morning may pack 500 calories. Since a pound of flab (lost or gained) is roughly equivalent to 3,500 calories, replacing that rich beverage with black coffee can help you lose a pound a week. Other easy cuts include salad dressing (salad dressing is the number one source of fat in the average American woman's diet) soda pop, candy, and butter. Look at the nutritional information for the foods you eat, pay special attention to your intake of saturated fats and empty calories (high-sugar foods). You don't need to cut these things out entirely, but if you reduce your intake of high-fat, high-calorie foods you'll lose weight faster.
3. Seek out alternatives to the unhealthy foods you've identified. You can simply reduce the amount of soda you drink or mayonnaise you put on your sandwiches, or you can substitute healthier choices. Drink water instead of soda, for example, or use mustard instead of mayo. Low-fat and low-calorie options are also available for most foods, and many of these are natural, (although some are made with strange chemicals), and tasty. Start trying to eat healthy in most meals:
   
   
   • Choose lean meats. Chicken and fish are both very low in fat (and certain fish like salmon, sardines, and fresh tuna are an excellent source of antioxidants, which are also beneficial to your health), so aim to replace some or all of the beef or pork in your diet with these foods.
   • Replace high-calorie side dishes with healthier alternatives. Many people get a ton of calories from side dishes such as macaroni and cheese, French fries, or potato salad. You can eat healthier and lose weight by replacing these with fresh vegetables and salads. Pre-made salads are practically effortless, and when accompanied by a reduced-calorie dressing or no dressing at all, they're weight-loss gold.
   • Start your days off right. A fattening breakfast of bacon and eggs or a pastry can be replaced with yogurt, oatmeal, high-fiber, low-sugar cereals; or fresh fruit for fruit smoothies. However, for those on a low carb diet bacon and eggs are a great combo for breakfast, since neither have carbs. But don't fall into the trap of skipping breakfast. Eating a healthy breakfast increases your rest metabolic rate earlier in the day, and reduces snacking before lunch.
4. Plan your meals. Look for healthy, delicious meals online or in your cookbooks, and create a menu for the week. Make sure that your meal plan reduces your total calorie intake: you're not going to lose weight if you consume the same amount of calories by eating different foods. Make a list of what you'll need for these meals, and -- except for a few snacks, of course -- don't stray from your list when you get to the market. Planning your meals helps ensure you get a balanced diet and reduces the temptation to stop off for fast food or order a pizza. Remember, it's easier to stick to your shopping list if you shop when you aren't hungry.
5. Watch your portion sizes. Opening a bag of rice cakes and eating all of them in one sitting isn't going to help you lose weight. When eating chips, nuts, or dried fruit put a portion in a small bowl and then put the bag away. That way you won't mindlessly eat a larger portion than you had intended. Even if you only make minimal changes to your diet choices, reducing portion size will inevitably reduce caloric intake. A great way to watch portion sizes while snacking is to buy one serving 100 calorie packages - and they come in many favorite snack food items!
6. Graze on healthy snacks. Just because you're getting healthy doesn't mean you can't snack. In fact, eating small meals and snacks throughout the day, or grazing, has been shown to aid weight loss, (compared to eating three large meals a day), by keeping metabolism steadier. Pick snacks that are low in calories and fat and high in fiber (dried apricots, nuts, rice cakes, fruits, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, and so on). Vegetables are generally very low in calories, very high in fiber, and full of flavor and nutrition. Avoid starchy vegetables like potatoes, and try to eat vegetables plain, without fatty dressings or dips. Fruit also makes a good snack. Fruit contains more soluble fiber than vegetables, which slows your body's absorption of carbohydrates, thus releasing energy more slowly, (preventing sugar highs), and keeping you feeling full longer. Fruit juices are not a replacement for the real thing. You need that fiber, and juices often have more calories than the equivalent serving of fruit -- as many calories as soda! Be careful with dried fruits, because without the water, you tend to eat more, and fruits, when dried, are calorie-rich per ounce. With any dry or dried food, be sure to drink plenty of water.
7. Get more fiber. There are many myths about fiber, but there is science to back up its helpful role in the diet. Fiber keeps the right amount of water in your intestines, making your digestive system work more efficiently and helping to keep you regular. Thus, just eating enough fiber may help you feel slimmer in just a day or so. There is also evidence that fiber in the diet can help prevent stroke and heart disease, ease the effects of diabetes, and may even directly help in weight loss.
8. Drink plenty of water. Adequate water is essential for health, and a great many people simply don't get enough. What's more, if you're chronically dehydrated, your body will retain water in unflattering places, so if you make sure to get plenty of fluids you can start visibly trimming down in as little as a day. Remember, the more you exercise, the more water you'll need. See the related wikiHow for more details on how much water you should be getting.
9. Exercise. Remember, you can lose weight either by decreasing your calorie intake or increasing the number of calories you burn. Any health strategy should include both, but if you want to lose weight fast, exercise is essential.
10. Perform high-level aerobic activities. Moderate aerobic workouts incorporating jogging, brisk walking, cycling, aerobic machines, or classes not only burn calories -- they also keep your heart healthy. Swimming is also great, especially if you are quite overweight or have joint problems, because you can get the same benefits of running -- typically burning even more calories -- with much less stress on your joints. Try to get at least 30-40 minutes of aerobic exercise at least three or four days per week.
11. Pump some iron. Resistance training, (weight training), can help both sexes stay lean by building muscle and raising metabolism. The fact is, hours and hours of aerobic exercise won't help most people lose weight fast because your metabolism drops back to normal fairly quickly after stopping the exercise. If you gain muscle, however, your body's resting metabolism, (the amount of calories you burn when you're just sitting still), increases, because muscle requires a lot of calories to maintain. Studies have shown consistent weight training to raise the body's metabolism by 15%. This means an average woman might burn 200-300 more calories at rest every day! Resistance training is the gift that keeps on giving! Although, keep in mind that muscle mass weighs more than fat (don't be surprised if you gain weight but look slimmer).
12. Rest properly. This means not only taking at least 24-48 hours between strength training the same muscles, (and taking 1-2 days off from exercising each week); it also means getting enough sleep at night, since sleep deficiency impairs your ability to lose fat.
13. Be realistic. Don't expect a miracle. Healthy weight loss can be achieved fairly quickly, but you'll need to be patient. In addition, be sure to set realistic goals. Make sure that the weight you're trying to reach is a healthy weight for you, and keeping in mind that gaining pounds of muscle will help you lose fat, be trimmer, and look better even though you don't actually lose any weight. Your goal should be a healthy body, not a number of pounds! Everyone looks good at a different weight. A short person may look really good at about 112 pounds, but a person of a taller height would just look unhealthy. Keep yourself at a weight that makes you look good, not at a number that sounds good.
14. Make adjustments. A successful weight loss strategy based on reducing calorie intake and increasing activity can be adjusted to maintain your desired weight once you reach it. Unlike typical diets, this method is sustainable -- it is a lifestyle change, not a binge-and-purge exercise. Slowly adjust your diet and exercise to include more weight training and calories, as much as is comfortable for you. If you do gain any weight back, you want that weight to be lean, toned muscle, not fat. In addition, weight training, no matter what your age, prevents muscle atrophy and can help stave off osteoporosis.
    • Instead of thinking of it as losing a certain amount of pounds, think of it as being a certain weight. So if you are 145 pounds, and you would like to lose 10 pounds, think of it as being 135 pounds. This helps you think about it as a long-term goal and not just losing the weight to gain it back again.
15. Be confident. You need to believe in yourself! If you want to diet, and you know that it will make you feel better, then you need confidence. Otherwise, the temptation to cheat on your diet will make it harder, and you will not feel better when you do lose weight. Avoid temptations like chocolate, ice cream, and cookies. They may taste good, but there are other foods that taste delicious, too, without being unhealthy. You need to always encourage yourself to achieve the goals that you have set. Learn to evaluate your efforts fairly and objectively. If you fail to achieve your target for the week, find out why is it so. Is it because you have missed a jogging session? Or you have been eating junk food for one of the days? After evaluating, look ahead to next week and try your best to stick to your plan.^[3]
16. Be consistent and disciplined, and have self motivation. To lose weight effectively, you need to stick to your weight loss plan religiously so as to see results. When you have the thought of giving up, visualize how good you will look when you manage to slim down successfully. ^[3]

Tips

• Determine your objectives to lose weight. To succeed in doing something, you need to have a very compelling objective or reason so that you will not lose track of your goal. Losing weight just for vanity's sake is usually less helpful than losing weight to improve health. Other than just exercising, you need to have a healthy diet so that you will have a better body and more energy to be positive throughout the day.^[3]
• It's very good to do a blood test before you begin your new diet and exercise regimen. Some people may not need to lose a lot of weight, but they may need to lower the blood sugar level slightly. You can also check for mineral deficiencies.
• The goal is to lose fat, not just weight in general. If you are doing strength training during your weight loss (which you should be), you might actually see an initial gain in weight -- don't worry! You have probably lost fat and gained muscle, which is denser than fat and is much healthier.
  • A better measurement than what a scale reads is body fat percent. If you don't have access to calipers or a body fat scale, a better gauge is how your clothes fit and how you look rather than your absolute weight. If you can, though, it is good to measure your body fat about once per month. Men should be between 15%-25%, but no lower than 4%; and women 20%-30%, but no lower than 15%. Females have higher fat percentage due to pregnancy and menstrual requirements.
  • Generally, you want to - with a combination of calorie reduction and increased activity - reduce and burn a certain number of calories a day, causing a net loss of calories so your body is forced to use its own stores of fat. How much aerobic exercise you need to perform depends on what you eat, how fast you'd like to lose weight, and how much muscle you gain. A pound of fat contains 3500 calories. Men can safely lose around two pounds a week, and women can safely lose around one pound a week. Any more than this and you might be losing more muscle mass than fat. Thus, with a combination of calorie restriction and aerobic exercise, a man should aim to run a 3500-7000 calorie deficit each week, and women should aim for a 1750-3500 calorie deficit.
• With regard to weights, men and women differ on their goals with weight training. Women, don't worry, no amount of weight training will make you as bulky as a man; women just don't have enough testosterone to build large muscles. The female body-builders you see are either taking steroids or training 2-3 hours every day. Male and female beginners should start with 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions, and should use the heaviest weight you can while still maintaining good form, even to the last repetition of the last set. Get a weight training book or find a reputable website that will show you different exercises and the correct form. When lifting properly, you will stretch the muscle during the exercise, but you should still stretch properly to prevent injury!
• No matter what the magazine article says, spot improving is a myth! When your body burns fat, it takes it from all over your body, even if all you do are crunches. No amount of crunches will get rid of that gut if they are not backed up by proper aerobic exercise and diet! Washboard abs do not come from millions of sit ups; they come from having low levels of body fat. So if that is your goal, make sure you do plenty of aerobic exercise in addition to your ab routine.
• Sugar comes in many disguises. Check your food labels: fructose, glucose, molasses, and corn syrup are all sugars. Limit all sugars, but especially stay away from high-fructose corn syrup. It is just a corn syrup full of sugar. Choosing foods without it will help you reach your weight loss goals faster.
• Remember your body needs 'fuel' just like a car needs 'fuel'. Your body needs the 'right' kinds of food to lose weight effectively.
• Don't taunt yourself by not letting yourself eat the occasional snack that you're craving. Just make sure you burn it off later with exercise
• Despite popular belief it is not terrible to eat after 6 p.m. A reasonable dinner (with extra protein if you've had a good weight training session) is going to help deliver nutrients to the body to prepare it for the next day. Additionally if you find yourself very hungry before bed, a small bowl of high fiber cereal and low fat milk will actually help maintain your metabolism while you sleep. The key is to not overeat in the evenings.
• Take a multivitamin. While it is better to always get your nutrients from your food, most people miss something in their diet, especially when they're trying to cut calories. Vitamins and minerals play an important role in keeping your body chemistry balanced and your energy levels healthy.
• If you find yourself missing some of your favorite foods, don't worry. There is no harm in having your treat once a week. Pick a day each week where you treat yourself to your guilty pleasure--remember, everything in moderation. If it's pizza, try going to a gourmet pizza place that will use better ingredients and fresher vegetables. If it's a Big Mac, try making your own. A homemade burger is generally much healthier than the food they serve in fast food restaurants. Electric grills that are slanted to allow most of the fat to slide off make nice, lean burgers.
• Save some calories for potassium and protein for after you work out, this will help reduce soreness. (A banana and an egg does the trick.)
• Do not forget to stretch. Stretching can help increase your strength and flexibility.
• Cut down on your sodium. Many prepared foods have as much as 30% of your daily value. You get your daily requirement of sodium from a healthy diet; too much can cause you to retain water weight.
• Try not to skip any meals as this only makes your body to retain fats for energy. A good weight loss plan is to eat healthily and exercise regularly.

Warnings

• Do not try to starve yourself. In the short run, reducing your calorie intake to unhealthily low levels will slow metabolism and actually cause you to lose weight more slowly. Then your body cannot process potassium so when you DO eat again, (the alternative to dying,) you will gain much more weight than you would if you weren't starving yourself and overall, you may end up gaining more than you lost. In the long run, starving yourself (anorexia or bulimia) can kill you.
• When creating a weight lifting routine, do not focus on a single muscle or group, doing so will overbuild that muscle while under building others - in other words, if you work your biceps, and not your triceps, your arms will begin to curl inward and you will look silly. If you work your chest and not your back, you will have a hard time maintaining good posture as your pectoral muscles overpower your back muscles and pull your shoulders forward.
• If you have a serious medical condition (such as asthma or diabetes, or allergy to protein such as dairy products or you have lactose intolerance) or you are severely obese, consult with your doctor as well as a dietitian.
• Do not take any harmful drugs. They are unhealthy and may ultimately make you gain weight instead.
• Carefully consider whether you need dietary supplements. Most people may get the basic minerals and nutrients they need to sustain life through eating food. For example, excessive multivitamin supplements can make you overdose in some vitamins you need, and you can't store most water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C as any excess will be urinated. Although you could be below the recommended daily intake, that doesn't necessarily mean you are deficient in it if it's a kind that is stored. So you may wish to consult with your doctor or dietitian to inquire whether you need supplements and how much you should take.
• Losing weight too quickly is dangerous and can have adverse effects on your health. Despite the title of this article, getting into shape is best done slowly. If you find yourself losing more than a pound or 2 (or more than 500g) each week, you are probably doing something wrong.

Spot the Funny

I am making this interesting. Can you "spot the funny"?

Can you spot 'lil johnny'?

And now for the funniest picture of the day:

Funny Picture of the Day

Hi guys/gals, I will be posting some pictures which I found f**king funny lol! Keep checking. Here is todays update:

The expression on the guys face is priceless.

Anmol Rattan

This guy is a gem! John Doe [name changed] of the Fiji Meteorological Center is a guy with talent. Last week I was driving home, when all of a sudden there is this heavy rain. So much so, that I couldn't see a meter in front of my bonnet! Thats when I remembered how I just read this article coming out of office:

Weather will add to water woes: Prasad

Monday, April 07, 2008

Bas Mati, of Valelevu, refills a basin with water from the drum

Update: 2:11PM THE dry spell affecting the Central Division should not be taken lightly because it will add to the water crisis affecting most parts of Suva, says Rajendra Prasad.

Mr Prasad, the director of the Fiji Meteorological Department, made the comment when asked for his views on the lower than average rainfall recorded in most parts of the country.

He said the past three months have been drier than usual and people needed to take pre-cautions.

Mr Prasad said the prediction showed the dry season would affect reservoirs, especially the storage of water, and could add to the agony faced by people in most parts of Suva.

He said the month of March was drier than expected because of the dominant effect of the high pressure system over the group.

Mr Prasad said this was caused by the predominant northeasterly winds over Fiji for most of the month resulting in below average rainfall in the southeastern Viti Levu.[1]

Why is this guy a gem? Well lets look at this from an engineering point of view. People usually dislike errors, more so engineers. But error as a term is often mis-judged. Working on some research projects I came to use these errors and modify them to feed into my system (robotic vehicle). Now the things is, if your error is constant (meaning u keep making the same amount of mistake all the time), you are much better off! You can aptly correct the system by predicting how much you would be off by (we used a PID controller to do this).

Now again why is this guy a gem? Well, he constantly makes the opposite conclusions regarding weather! Remember the two cyclones that hit us some months back? For the first one he said:

JD: It will create havoc! Buckle down!
Reality: It went over us!
Explanation: This cyclone followed a strange path!

Second one:
JD: Its expected to pass over the group
Reality: It smashed us! Lol!
Explanation: Lack of equipment!

And now the weather! Man this guy is good! Now you know when to take your umbrella to work!

References: [1] Fiji Times [link]

Internet Police

A very good blog post I came across on the "Tech Republic Website".

One of the duties that long ago fell upon me as the IT Manager in a small company is the responsibility to monitor and report on the Web surfing activities of my co-workers. Yes, I am the Web surfing police in my company. It is not a job that I relish. It sometimes causes friction between me and the other employees, even if in jest, because they know that I know all about their web surfing habits, at least at work.

My first experience with surf monitoring

When I first was asked by management to report on Web sites that employees were visiting, I evaluated a few choices like SurfControl and WebSense. Of course, WebSense has now acquired SurfControl. Websense was still new so I chose SurfControl in the earlier company, put it on a server and on a hub so I could see all the traffic in the enterprise and began the monitoring process. I loved the awesome reporting features of SurfControl.

My boss, the CFO, did not tell his boss, the CEO that he had asked me to start monitoring and reporting on Web surfing activities of everyone in the company. I was a little shocked one day when summarizing my weekly report to discover visits by the CEO to Web sites that were against the company policy. I discreetly advised my boss. He asked me to print the reports, seal them up, give them to him but continue the monitoring process.

I should not have been, but a few months later, I was surprised when the CEO was removed from his position by the board of directors. I knew the real reason for what had happened. I also knew how it had happened that someone in such a position of power like that could be toppled by a lowly IT Manager and CFO. I did not intend to be the cause his demise and of course, I wasn’t. He shot himself in the foot by his indiscriminate Web surfing.

Some Web monitoring software is spyware

When I came to my present company and was again asked to implement employee Web activity monitoring software, I recommended WebSense. The CEO balked at the price so we came up with an alternative from a little company that you have probably never heard of. It is called Track4Win from Sepama Software. It is a great product and has worked well for us. Symantec calls it Spyware, so I had to exclude it from my AV system.

I suppose it can be considered Spyware. In the professional version, the client is installed on each workstation, disguises itself with some innocuous sounding name, and promptly hides itself from the task manager upon startup. It not only tracks every web site visited, but also reports on which programs the employee uses and which files are opened locally or on a server. It has some bugs but for the most part it is a great little product.

Since the request had come directly from the CEO, I did not tell anyone that I had installed the client software, not even my immediate supervisor. He was sharp enough to figure it out and promptly removed it. Nobody else in the company is tech savvy enough to know how to monitor programs in the startup section of the registry let alone know how to remove them. However, everyone in the company knows that it is there.

I have had very few occasions where I have had to advise a supervisor of inappropriate Web surfing by members of their department. I think it has happened once or twice in the past year. The offense is usually committed by a new employee who did not read the employee handbook or believe that anybody could possibly know what web sites they were visiting, especially late at night when nobody else is around.

Monitoring of Web surfing is volatile topic

I know this is a volatile topic which incites strong reactions. Nobody likes to be spied upon and there have been several lawsuits about employer monitoring of Web site visits by employees. The monitoring and enforcement protect the employer from sexual harassment lawsuits. I can’t tell you how many times I have gone to work on a user’s computer and found porn stashed away or even openly displayed in a minimized browser or history.

This is not a comment about porn. Alright, maybe it is. As an IT Manager I hate porn Web sites because so many of them are filled with malicious Trojans and other nasties. It is such a waste of time for me to have to clean up after my road warriors bring in their laptops and sheepishly say that something has infected it.

I used to tell employees that if they wanted to surf porn to do it on their home computers. I don’t say that anymore because so many of them now connect to our network via a VPN and Remote Desktop. I am responsible for the security of my network and I don’t want any crap getting in from their home computers. [1]

Net monitoring is much more serious then we give it credit for. You never know that someone is tracking your web history! You would not want to lose your job for some lousy sites would you?

[1] Source: Tech Republic [link]

Weekend in Brief

I had a satisfying (if not wonderful) weekend. Fully entertained by rugby, I did all my chores in the morning. The power shutdown came as a surprise. Thanks to FEA's previous "surprise" black-outs, I was prepared this time. I had modified the cable of my UPS so as to fit 3 pin power plugs. So yea, I didn't miss any of the games. Anyways, heres some stuff which I found "blog-worthy":

1. Damn sharp dude
Some guys have it. They are able to pick a needle from the hay-stack whereas some stuff will pass under our noses undetected. Check out this impressive observation from a guy on the FMF Wheat Bics ad:

A LOCAL company has just started producing wheat bics recently. With it came a huge marketing campaign. In the TV commercial, a women explains how she has been eating that product since childhood. How can that be?

Imraz Ali Sahib
Lautoka

[1] Fiji times [link]

True very true. Serves FMF right for totally ripping off Sanitariums Wheat Bix.

[2] Critique
FMF as a company make awesome products. Just recently I was munching on their 'kidz-cookies' which was itself dirt-cheap compared to some imported ones. However good this company is, it totally lacks creativity. Their product design team is LAME... if such a team does exist. Why are they ripping off other brands? And not just that, their ads are pathetically similar! Check out oreo's ad and FMF's clone biscuit ad. TYMO is TimTam. Wheat Bics is Wheat Bix. They might say, hey as long as we are making money.
But where do principals and morals come into the picture? Shouldn't a company by default take these corporate responsibilities? One name comes to mind, and yes it is CHINA. These guys are kings of piracy! Heck, clones of iphone were out even before the original from apple! And we do see progress in China. Why? Because a reason might be is that companies are not investing in design engineers. They just want drones to carry out repetitive tasks (although not all). So back to FMF, do you think they are following a pro-china policy (being smart) or are they too dumb to come up with original ideas?

Rugby in Fiji

This is just sad! Found this on the Fiji Sun:

Home stoned, family abused

Last updated 4/2/2008 8:46:19 AM

The family of national sevens rugby coach Josateki Savou has been verbally abused and their home stoned following Fiji's dismal performance at the Hong Kong tournament. Police spokesman Corporal Josaia Weicavu said although no formal complaint had been lodged with them by the family, they were aware of the incident. A police officer from the Valelevu Police Station had visited the family home yesterday. Mr Savou's home at Naveiwakau in Nasinu was stoned after the 34-0 semi-final loss to New Zealand on Sunday night. A close relative who asked not to be identified also confirmed that Mr Savou's wife and children were sworn at while driving in the neighbourhood. Police have been told that a man from the neighbouring Delaitokatoka settlement had stoned the house. The relative said the roof of the home was stoned twice during the game. She said the family was at home and people were drinking grog. It was lucky no one was hurt. “One of the neighbours saw the boy and told him off,'' she said. “I was worried about the (family) car because it could have got damaged.” She said when the family returned from a drive around the neighbourhood on Monday, she was told that they had been sworn at. She said the family was otherwise carrying on their lives as normal and would not allow the incidents to affect them. She said a police officer from the Valelevu Police Station visited them after midday yesterday. The Police Command Centre confirmed that no official complaint had been lodged by the family as yet. Fiji Rugby Union chief executive officer Ratu Timoci Tavanavanua condemned the attack as “totally unacceptable and mostly unfortunate”. “Josateki Savou's family should not be put through such abuse,'' he said. “I guess it's a reflection of the individual and something we don't condone. Their frustrations should not be taken out on the family who are innocent people.” Mr Savou has been at the centre of strong public criticism following Fiji's dismal performance over the weekend. There was calls for his resignation. He could not be contacted in Australuia last night where he was preparing the team to defend the Adelaide Sevens this weekend. The national sevens rugby team arrived in Adelaide yesterday with the other teams from Hong Kong.

LOL at Fiji Sun's mis-spelling of Australia! lol!

[1] Extracted from the Fiji Sun [link]

The Curse on Fiji Rugby

As with many of you, I also had a disappointing weekend. Fiji looked a distant image of their former glorious self. Their game was so horrible, that I felt Kenya would have given NZ a better run for its money in the quarters.

Their whole game play was weak at its best. Too used to playing touch, I cannot recall a single moment where Fiji took "man and ball" to ground. And the set-pieces...if there were any! Seriously it was a disappointing performance. Added salt to the wounds was the fantastic play by NZ. After a while I was too "wowed" by them to see Fiji crumbling (if they every were solid).

But what does anger me is even with all the horrible performance characteristics shown by Fiji, other teams still count Fiji as a threat (effectively putting them on top of a banana tree). Savou's cheeks go rosy everytime the commentators say "never count out Fiji". This makes him utter silly comments like:

Savou: "We just could not get it right from the start and we failed to find our feet"... [1] Reply: You never had you feet on the ground. All your games were horrible.

Image 1: Vito manhandles Fiji [2]

Savou: "New Zealand was the better team on the day and we congratulate them for a fine performance"[1]
Reply: They have been the better team 7 tournaments in a row. I think there is no need to congratulate. They get the message.

Savou: "I'm still willing to coach..."[1]
Reply: No comments.

All this disappointed... all the anger... everytime Fiji falls it hurts. But whats worse is nobody has the vision to pick up rugby in Fiji and move us atleast one step ahead.... except this one guy. We all know him.

One question to Savou: Why is Fiji's lineout still a problem? Did you not have practice on this issue? What did you do? (Ok i realise that these are more than "one question"). Did you just pick up players from Marist 7's, give them the ball and tell them to PLAY?

*edit for 1st April

No curse[1]

IT does not need a genius coach to figure that our sevens team does not know how to throw the ball in the line-out, feed the scrum, secure kick-offs, engage in support play etc. Forget about beating the Kiwis. Now I am sitting on the edge of my seat when Fiji plays Kenya and Wales. There is no curse on the sevens team. Josateki Savou just doesn't know how to coach. It's time for him to go. Hats off to Gordon Tietjens.

Umesh Nand
Nakasi

I like how this guy has put things "as-a-matter-of-factly".

References:
[1] Extracted from The Fiji times, Fiji loses plot - Savou: We failed to find our feet. [link]
[2] Image from Fiji Times

Nitty Picky

Ok, so I am not going "V for Vendetta" on Fiji Times, but lately I have noticed an increase in uncharacteristic mis-prints in the paper. While their online paper can be forgiven for these mistakes, I am not sure what went wrong with their print editor. It is infact not a big deal as generally people are smart enough to see the mistake and get the overall point. Infact it becomes funny hehe

Take a look at this for example. An article on World wide shortage of rice and how it affects Fiji.

Update: 12.49pm The Ministry of Agriculture said it has increased efforts to ease the local rice production as the global shortage of rice is expected to continue to affect consumers in the months ahead.

Interim Agriculture Minister Joketani Cokanasiga tolf Fijivillage they had set up new farms in search of a short term solution to the global rice problem affecting Fiji.

Rewa Rice of Fiji Limited chairman Hari Pal Singh said it was time to increase such activities and they were ready to assist.

Meanwhile, the northern division is faced with a major shortage of rice as supermarkets have run out of stock.

Flour Mills of Fiji confirmed they would start milling the imported rice tomorrow and it would be delivered to the suppliers by Wednesday [1].

I think they meant for efforts to increase local rice production.

[1] Extracted from the Fiji Times [link]

Cross walk: Chosen one will be whipped

Yes yes, I am ripping this article from Fiji Times. What can I do? This is my tea-time break! Anyways, check this out man!

Cross walk: Chosen one will be whipped

ONE of the 130 Catholic youths who have been on a cross walk since Saturday will be picked to act as Jesus in the final stage of the Stations of the Cross when the week-long walk ends at the Ashram, in Momi, Nadi, tomorrow.

Father Ioane Gukibau of Sacred Heart Parish, in Suva, said youths from around Fiji, especially the greater Suva area, had been on the road carrying a cross since last week, with the climax being the dramatisation Christ's crucifixion.

"Those youths who are walking don't know yet on who is going to act in the role of Jesus," he said.

Mr Gukibau said the chosen one, "will be whipped similar to what Jesus went through before he was crucified".

Reference: Fiji times [link]

Did anyone see Passion of the Christ? This statement from Mr. Gukibau ("...will be whipped similar to what Jesus went through...") makes me wonder... more like scared!
For those privelaged buffs with bandwidth, heres a video.



Happy Easter guys! Good luck!

8-5, no time!

Yep,
Got myself a real job. I have to say, it was initially very difficult adjusting to the 8am-5pm routine. At my other "work", I would come to office at 11am, check my emails and then go for lunch. I would usually do some work till 6pm. Did i mention that I have a dart-board in there aswell? Haha

Anyways, I am enjoying myself here now. Now I actually eat the food I bring from home, go to sleep early and wake up early! Looks like growing up and moving on was for the better.

Oh and before I go, does anyone know what I can do with my car tyres? They are low profile ones and whenever I come across a BIG pothole at speed, the tyre swells up at that point. What can I do?

Urnie the Water Heater

Yea, so I am working late and I feel like having some tea and coffee. Mac Donald's tea and coffee is just not enough when you need your caffeine without the eeeks and ooooo's. So i decided to make some tea in the staff-room. Somehow I didnt feel like using water from the water heater. Can you see why?

In case the first picture isn't clear, heres another:


Yep, somehow this hot water urn seems like it contains piss. I can't imagine designers of this product overlooked the fact that Urnie is so much like urine!