Month: October 2010

Network Forensics

This got me wondering recently – why do our local experts seem to fail at the most fundamental knowledge? I had the occasion to attend a training on network forensics and by the time we had our first exercise, I had to correct the instructor because he was explaining something fundamentally wrong to the audience. His explanations actually violated the basic rules of networking.

I am not saying that he was stupid. In fact, I gave him a good feedback at the end. I would consider him as someone who actually had practical experience in the field and knows both the technical and non-technical stuff. However, what caught me was that a renowed expert in the field could actually get his fundamentals wrong to the extent that a practitioner like me could spot it immediately.

This was not a case of lack of preparation because after I raised the issue and pointed it out to him, he actually argued it with me and I had to prove that he was wrong. I certainly hope that I do not get caught in such a situation in the future but I have learned from him how to handle such blunders, gracefully.

After the short training, I actually got to learn a few new things, which was good. It was also an interesting training because we got to actually do some network attacks and see the results of other network attacks. We managed to hijack each other’s traffic, learned how to steal accounts and listened in on VoIP conversations. Some of us were tempted to try the techniques over lunch at a public hotspot!

It was quite fun and I may integrate some of that learning into my future projects.

Team Player

I have managed to join and leave a number of project teams this year, outside of work, doing all sorts of random teams. Often, the main reason that I leave the team is because I cannot get along with some of the team-members. Instead of staying and causing problems, I decide to leave. Typically, the problem revolves around the fact that I find some problem with the other team-members who I feel are idiots in my book. This does not necessarily mean that they are mentally challenged, but rather just people whom I cannot reconcile opinions with.

So, I wonder to myself, if this made me a difficult person to work with. If it did, it may cause some problems in the future for my business. I think that if you asked around, many people would say that I am problematic. I sort of agreed with it as well, until I realised something.

I have managed to work on a number of projects with several teams of people recently including, organising a prestige lecture, an annual dinner and a green conference. All these were activities that I was part of, either as organising chairman or treasurer or member. In fact, I have been very actively involved in the IET, which is a professional engineering institution. I have had so much fun working with the rest of the committee that I have decided to run for a second term. If you asked these people if I was a difficult person to work with, I doubt that they would agree.

I think that this probably boils down to personality.

It just so happens that most of the committee members of the institution are professional engineers. Maybe this means that we can understand each other easily and we are able to work on the same wavelength. Therefore, I can easily gel with the rest of the team and get things done. In most of the other teams that I dropped out of, I am probably the only qualified engineer in the team and I find it difficult to understand how other people can think and act the way that they do.

Sigh.

So, I guess this means that I can get along with other engineers but cannot get along with other people in general. Well, this is surely far better than being a difficult person. Good thing is that I would mostly be working with other engineers only, which saves me a whole load of grief.

Pot, Kettle, Rot

I am not sure if Zaid is a trojan horse or not, as some parties are insinuating. However, I know that he is at least saying and doing the right things. After reading the letter in MT by Sivarasa, I decided to look up Zaid’s original piece. Needless to say, I did not find anything remotely wrong in the original statement entitled, “Empowering Keadilan”.

I am totally disillusioned by PKR simply because it is unable to get it’s act together. When I say that, I mean – focus on the plot – and not unite and close ranks. Internal dissent is actually a very good thing for a political party. I hate all these ‘tow the line’ and ‘behind closed doors’ crap, which is totally against the spirit of democracy and freedom of speech. Now, the trouble is that PKR stands for Parti KeAnwaran Rakyat in my mind. It has always been that way to me, which is a shame. PKR could be so much more.

Unfortunately, Zaid is one of the few leaders inside PKR whom I think would be able to actually steer the party away from self-destruction. The party must realise that our present government seems quite determined to lock Anwar up, regardless of whether the charges are trumped up or not. So, any rational person will focus on the next logical thing, which is the bigger picture and the main plot – to save the country! That is the only way that Anwar can ever be redeemed. He may never see himself on the seat of Prime Minister but he will leave his mark on history.

That said, PKR needs to get its act together, now! They are far from the democratic ideal that they espouse. There is just too much of the ‘old ways’ inside PKR. As many people have alluded, they are the weakest link inside Pakatan Rakyat. While having direct elections for top party positions is a good start, manipulation of candidacies is just lame. While the mainstream media may be blamed for inflaming their nomination blunders, PKR must accept the fact that there is no smoke, without fire.

I am certainly at a loss to understand Zaid’s campaign strategy as he seems bent on publicly and continuously criticising the party and its leadership (which I must remind he is also part of) instead of strengthening the party, and championing the party’s policies, processes and issues including that of UMNO-BN’s persecution of Anwar.

The answer to that is a simple one Sivarasa. And if you are unable to ascertain it, you no longer deserve to be at the top.

Sigh.

Free Condoms

I was at the Freedom Film Fest 2010 last weekend and came across a booth, which was advocating HIV/AIDS prevention/awareness programmes. Among the stuff that they were giving away, were free condoms, lube and a small information booklet. I found that quite cute.

Unfortunately, they did not seem to believe me when I mentioned that condoms do not really do much to prevent most STIs although they do play a role in preventing the transmission of HIV/AIDS through one of its vectors – sexual intercourse. Therefore, the use of condoms should be advocated as a form of safer sex and not safe sex, which may yield unexpected results.

Then, when I mentioned that there was medication that one could take for HIV/AIDS, they thought I was out of my mind. They quickly referred to their guide booklet and seemed quite smug in their knowledge that there is no medication for it. Well, while there is still a lot of work needed in the search for a cure, there is already a lot of progress made in controlling the spread of the disease through the use of anti-viral drugs.

The one thing worst than being uninformed is being misinformed. Needless to say, I did not get any free condoms, lube nor guide booklet.

After the event, some friends and I went for some supper outside and to talk-cock. Then, at one point, someone agreed that their idea of an ideal sex-education system in this country is abstinence. I got a little impassioned with this as I have a problem with people who would think that ignorance is bliss, sex is bad, homosexuality is evil.

Beware the person who denies you knowledge, for s/he seeks to dominate you. Good thing I’ll unlikely meet this person ever again.

Nurul Izzah Anwar

The soon-to-happen PKR party elections just seems to be fraught with so many scandals that it is turning into a farce. While I am not a member and have zero interest in the well-being of the party, I am a concerned citizen watching the drama. There are many things to be said but I will just say one tiny thing.

Izzah would make one heck of a Deputy President.

An article in TheStar said that, “Nurul Izzah has many hurdles to clear to convince her party why she deserves this important seat.” I see things differently.

Firstly, nobody deserves the seat. That is the wrong mentality that is plaguing our country. However, she is rightly qualified for the seat, more so than most of the other party members who think that they are her better.

She has balls. I do not see anyone else from within the party who has the guts to take on giants from the other side. She took on Sharizat, a senior cabinet minister, to seize her constituency. More recently, she has challenged our dearest Tun Dr Mahathir to a debate, which has gone unanswered. The fact that she is even running for this position says that, she has got cohones. We need leaders who are able to take on the old ways, if we want real change.

She has been with the cause from the very inception. Nobody can deny that fact. On the day that her father was first detained, she may have just been studying for her math paper at university. But since, she became the pillar of strength that held up the cause – the Puteri Keadilan (Princess of Justice). This is baptism by fire and is a credential that nobody, not even any of the others running for office, can claim to have.

I do not claim to know what is happening inside PKR but if I was a member, she would have gotten my vote, over all the others. While I do not fancy her chances of winning, I am sure that she would have at least given everyone else a run for their money. A shining beacon of hope is a very powerful intoxicant.

It fantasy was reality and she won the seat fair and square, it would have been a Good Thing for the party. She would have signaled the entry of a whole generation of young leaders – Mahathir’s Children – into leading roles within our country. She would have opened the flood-gates for other women to seek for highest office that even Tun Rafidah Aziz and Ng Yen Yen failed to do. She would have rocked the boat and changed things.

She would have been the distinction that sold PKR as an agent for change. Instead, plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose.

blink blink

Update: seems like she is now eligible to run! While I am jubilant that she will have the chance to kick arse, the way that PKR seems to be running this election just perplexes me. Go Izzah!

Zee Avi!

I had just bought her debut album today in support of local artistes (shame on me!). It’s really good! Took out my FTIsland album and started listening to this instead.

Blaming Mahathir

I have a Dream!As much as some quarters would like to blame our country’s ills on Tun Dr Mahathir, I do not subscribe to this view. In fact, I think that our dear old Tun is merely the product of his time and circumstance. If I were to assign blame for all our woes, I would assign it to an entire generation of Malaysians, those above the age of 50.

This was the generation that put Mahathir into power almost 30 years ago. This was the generation that was entrusted with building a lasting legacy on top of the solid foundation laid by our grandparents, but stood by and did nothing as our country was raped and plundered instead. They squandered the wealth of their parents and now leave a mountain of debt for their children.

As I read Barry Wain’s book, this was the thought that kept popping into my head. I just did not understand how an entire generation could have allowed such things to happen on their watch. How they turned a blind eye to all that was happening around them as long as it did not affect them. They are complicit of the crime, if not implicit.

So, if I was asked to direct my dissatisfaction somewhere, I would direct it at a bunch of geriatrics instead of our dearest Tun.

Our parents’ generation has failed us thoroughly. As children of the Mahathir era, it is now up to us to pick up the pieces and fix this. If all the children of Mahathir put our resources together and work collectively, we can hopefully still save our country before it is lost forever. I do see positive signs in some of our political leaders like Izzah, who gives me hope that all is not lost.

However, people like her cannot do it alone. The rest of us will need to do our parts as well. We need to be the change that we want to see. We need to lead by example. We need to walk the talk. If we want to see racial unity, let us start by making friends. If we want to stop corruption, let us stop greasing the wheels. If we want to change the system, let us stop towing the line.

Change is difficult, but it is necessary.

There was a dream once, of our grandparents, called Malaysia. Let it not end in nightmare.