23:58
Traceroute from Starhub 3G
Traceroute from my laptop using my phone as a 3G router on the Starhub mobile network. A few too many hops, don’t you think?
$ traceroute kef
traceroute to kef (106.187.43.133), 64 hops max, 40 byte packets
1 192.168.43.1 (192.168.43.1) 3.896 ms 2.715 ms 2.036 ms
2 10.208.2.84 (10.208.2.84) 49.258 ms 65.181 ms 82.768 ms
3 10.208.8.2 (10.208.8.2) 59.948 ms 53.263 ms 59.700 ms
4 10.208.8.90 (10.208.8.90) 60.001 ms 52.663 ms 61.582 ms
5 10.208.8.104 (10.208.8.104) 59.451 ms 56.034 ms 59.654 ms
6 10.208.8.138 (10.208.8.138) 59.887 ms 64.902 ms 114.044 ms
7 10.219.3.120 (10.219.3.120) 98.258 ms 51.076 ms 59.962 ms
8 * * *
9 203.116.251.226 (203.116.251.226) 126.892 ms 93.875 ms 99.586 ms
10 61.8.235.41 (61.8.235.41) 71.043 ms 76.005 ms 81.270 ms
11 203.117.190.85 (203.117.190.85) 91.075 ms 91.325 ms 57.604 ms
12 anutsi10.starhub.net.sg (203.118.3.162) 109.199 ms 90.446 ms 137.621 ms
13 203.181.102.193 (203.181.102.193) 141.191 ms 157.753 ms 149.250 ms
14 otejbb204.kddnet.ad.jp (118.155.197.130) 145.116 ms 145.219 ms 135.581 ms
15 cm-fcu203.kddnet.ad.jp (124.215.194.180) 144.386 ms 145.880 ms 145.979 ms
16 124.215.199.122 (124.215.199.122) 234.994 ms 143.375 ms 157.861 ms
17 kef (106.187.43.133) 163.984 ms 155.401 ms 151.273 ms
04:06
HTTP Probes
I recently decided to take a look at the HTTP requests I was getting. Well, at least those that returned a 404. You can take a look at it here. Not surprisingly, the most common attacks were at the most commonly used web applications such as phpMyAdmin, along with random stabs in the dark at specific certain URLs, e.g. /manager, /admin. I’ll probably step up my log monitoring from now on.
The file was generated by the following command in my lighttpd log file directory:
zgrep " 404 " * | grep -v robots.txt | cut -d" " -f7 | sort | uniq -c | sort -r > /root/404.txt
00:53
Cool Products!
I was just having a look at http://store.apple.com/sg/browse/holiday and came across some absolutely cool products I thought I’d share!
First on the list is the Blue Microphones Yeti USB Microphone. What mad me click on it was the price tag, which upon understanding that it records in stereo and offers the choice of different pickup patterns sounds reasonable.
Second is the iRig Mic which isn’t that novel all in itself but its application with an iPhone definitely broadens the horizon.
Third is the AmpliTube iRig. Software audio effects are nothing new, but again having them on a mobile device sure changes perspectives. Check out the picture with the iPad.
Lastly, WiFi body scale by Withings. It’s not so much the WiFi or the network connectivity that surprises me. Probably more so seeing this product listed on a consumer website. People are definitely paying more and more attention to health data. As Peter Drucker said, if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Take note that according to a review all information is transmitted in cleartext, so network admins might want to siphon the relevant data into your own formats.
Have a blessed holiday season!
18:09
2011年10月中国之行的记忆
时间似箭。不知不觉，这30天的中国之行这样就结束了。我没想到，我回到新加坡没12个小时，我就会开始想念中国。即使我现在坐在我自己的房间里，面对我自己熟悉的电脑，我心里有种陌生的感觉。我每次去中国，似乎去见了我爱的人。每一次分离都比上一次要更难承担。我的朋友说“回到新加坡 感觉到陌生？说明你对那个地方不是很有感情”。可能我的朋友说的对。可能我真的渐渐把我的心留在中国了。
这次的中国之行我很感恩，很满足。我心里觉得神在补还蝗虫所吃过的那些年。
即使我没完成我所想要做的，我是觉得很满足，因为我觉得收获也挺多。在这月我看到很多地方，感触到很多不同的情景，丰富了我的生活经验不少。
10月23日：到了厦门高崎机场，见了我的朋友，我们就一起去吃了饭然后往他的家去休息。这是我第一次过了海沧大桥，过桥给了我一种在飞翔的感觉。这好像是我第一次住了一段时间在中国的农村，留下的印象还是比较好的。即使农村不算很发达，交通也没那么方便，但农村就有一种大家庭的感觉。家里这时有三个小孩子，在接下去的一个月会给我不少带孩子的经历。
10月24日：我今天按了我朋友的建议，去了【轮渡星巴克】用他们的设备。没想到，我果然在另一个桌子看到了一对聋哑的男女朋友。几个月前，我心里有个想法，就是要去学手语。可能这次就是神给我第一次跟聋哑人接触，也是让我稍微地理解了他们。男的是厦门人，女的是重庆人，而他们曾经在北京彼此认识了。他们相识了四年，走了不短的路。这一天男的带了我们一起去鼓浪屿玩。男的喜欢照相，女的呢，自然就喜欢摆姿势让男友照。我看了他们俩这样，也觉得他们很幸福。看着他们一天的生活，我可以看出他们确实学会了克服很多很多困难，在社会里过日子。对于婚姻的事呢，我就不敢问，但我给他们一份祝福，希望他们不会让他们的情况影响到寻求美丽的未来。
10月27日：今天下午去了传说中美丽的【厦大校园】，在芙蓉湖边有一位聋哑人在乞求爱心捐款。我给了他一点钱，留下了他的电话号码，安排下一天跟他学点手语。今天也跟一位法律系和社工系的朋友碰面。我觉得在中国大学的网络论坛上认识朋友的这个方法还挺不错的。半天的时间就交了两位朋友，呵呵。
11月3日：我来中国之前想做的一项就是学习笛子。到现在还没找到一个笛子的老师，我开始有点慌了。我给几家琴行打了电话，简单理解了他们的价位，但心里宁愿跟一位学生学。可能我觉得校园就有一种气氛，学生也不会太关注钱而教我。所以我决定去厦大的校园登广告。去了艺术学院，我看到那边的墙壁都比较干净，就心里有点紧张，不知道是否艺术学院的学生不喜欢贴广告？因为时间不多，我抓紧时间，不想那么多，就贴了几张A5的广告。我给了自己时限，如果星期六睡觉前还没有人联系我，我就会去琴行学习了。我的朋友帮我在厦门小鱼网和厦大的论坛上转帖了我的广告。
11月5日至13日：一位厦大笛子专业的大三学生联系了我，我就同意了跟她碰面去买笛子，安排接下去的课程时间。我心里很感恩，这么快就找到了一位合适的老师。我没想到的就是下一周的笛子速成会多么痛苦。这一周，我几乎每天都练了几个小时的笛子，上了两个小时的课。我的老师用心在这一周的短时间内教了我吹笛子的基本技巧，别的就留给我自己回家后去练了。可能因为我之前学过黑管，所以这次的入门比较快。拥有厦大美丽的环境、蹦蹦跳跳的笛子声音、甚至神的同在，这些日子过得最幸福的。厦大给我留下来最深刻的印象的地方包括【芙蓉湖】、【上弦场】、【情人谷】。啊，我真喜欢校园的气氛！
11月14日：离开厦门的日子即将来临了，我得继续我的行程往上海走。我今天花了大部分的时间给我的笛子老师和给我提供住宿的朋友写了信。即使我是IT毕业的，我还是喜欢写（读：打）书信给朋友。可能我就是觉得透过书信传达意念比较有意思。
11月15日：我在春秋旅社的网上订了接下去跟家庭去黄山的行程。我现在知道在中国旅行还是比较简单安排的。国内的旅行社一般的安排也是可以的。我前几周费了这么多劲去思考各个旅行团，终于选择了报春秋的团。晚上我跟我的朋友一起享受了最后的晚餐，晚餐后把行李打包好，预备下一天的行程。
11月16日：抵达了上海浦东机场，我上了地铁往市区的方向去。不料行程真麻烦，中间得换车，到了南京西路站后才发现地铁站有些台阶没有坡道，需要把行李台上台阶真麻烦！我一定会记住以后从浦东机场还是不要乘地铁比较好。到了市区我跟我的家庭在酒店里汇合。我们下午从南京西路站走到了南京东路站。路上的空气真的太差了，整个步行街都充满浓浓的烟味！晚上我们去了外滩，这也是我第一次在修改外滩后去了那边。晚上下了阵雨，外滩的人也不多。今天在地铁上，有一位女生给我伯伯让个座了。在中国看到这样的场景让我微笑了，因为我知道有些中国人还是有人情的。
11月17日：今天我们去了七宝老街一天，感觉还是比较累的。傍晚跟我的表姐和她的男朋友吃了晚餐。明天就要去黄山了！
11月18日：早上6点30分，我们在南京路上的国际饭店跟团队集合，上了车意味着6个小时的路程。到了黄山的【情人谷】，天还在下雨。说实话，我觉得厦大的情人谷比黄山的情人谷的感觉好多了。可能因为天气的原因而让我产生了这样的感想。即使【情人谷】有一些美景，我没心情在雨里用我的相机。在晚上，我们入住了酒店后，我和我的家庭就去了黄山市黄山区的市区。
11月19日：大日子到了！按昨晚的天气预报，今天可以观日出的概率低于40%，所以我们睡到晚一点，吃了丰富的早餐才开始往【黄山风景区】去。我们今天一整天都在爬山，所以我们都预备了充足的必用品–水、外套等。感谢神我们在黄山风景区的时候，天气转晴了，雨衣可以留在包里，相机也可以拿出来用。黄山的风景的确是挺精彩的，没想到，甚至让我爸妈考虑到明年三月份再来一趟！我们不仅碰到了晴天，甚至在足底下可以观赏漂亮的云海。据导游，这样的情形在每年只出现在52天。离开了黄山风景区后，我们入住了酒店后，导游就带我们到【屯溪老街】。我自己觉得这里没什么多看，就吃点晚餐就回到了酒店。晚上团队里的一些人选择了观看《徽韵》多媒体戏剧。这戏剧实在太精彩了，如果我以后再来黄山肯定要跑【香茗大剧院】一趟来看《徽韵》这个节目！
11月20日：早上我们去了【呈坎】，江南第一村。这个乡村的感觉也挺不错。我们的当地讲解导看上去没有15岁，但真会说话呢！下午就返回了上海。
11月21日：我们跟了酒店里的苏州一日游，参观了苏州的【园林】和别的地方。总共我们大概去了5个地方，时间非常紧张，我们从一个景点跑到了下一个景点。的确不是我理想的旅游。
11月22日：一个月在中国的时间这样就结束了。今天午餐时间我的朋友给我介绍了她的同事，让我感到很荣幸可以认识这么优秀的一个人。下午四点我从上海浦东机场上课开往北京的飞机。我买了这个飞机票去新加坡因为那时国航的这个在北京转机的飞机票是最便宜的。我也认为可以在国家的首都花点时间是不错的。没想到，我在北京的五个小时都很郁闷因为我没出航空楼，而北京机场T3的候机楼十分安静！好多店都关了，餐厅都没什么人。晚上11点30分就上了回新加坡的飞机。
经过一次又一次的思考，我终于概括了我找伴侣的三个基本条件：
一、爱神。圣经里最大的诫命说：你要尽心、尽性、尽意爱主－－你的神…其次也相仿，就是要爱人如己。这两条诫命是律法和先知一切道理的总纲。【马太福音二十二章37-40节】。对我而言这是一个比较大的概念。简单说，我们俩必有同样的信仰、世界观和价值观，而必须跟我们的主有个真实有活力的关系。人本身是主观的，如果两个人没有同一个客观的思想观念，他们怎么共同做出将来的重要的决定，走向同一个未来？
二、爱中国。在一个基本的层次，这是针对中国人的一颗爱心。我希望把中国当作我的家园。如果她不接受中国为家，那我们会很难一起服侍我们周围的人。
三、不言而喻，她必须爱我。我认为夫妻之间的爱是情和理合并起来的。拥有情感但没有坚决的爱的决定，这个关系就会跟着感情的沉浮漂流。没有情感，两个人为何考虑到婚姻？何不当寝室友就好了吗？
到了这个年龄段我的心里有时会孤独，但我都会不断提醒自己神一定会在正确的时机给我供应一个伴侣。C.S. Lewis 说：
Being in love (情) is a good thing, but it is not the best thing. There are many things below it, but there are also things above it. You cannot make it the basis of a whole life. It is a noble feeling, but it is still a feeling… Knowledge can last, principles can last, habits can last; but feelings come and go… But, of course, ceasing to be “in love” need not mean ceasing to love. Love in this second sense (理) — love as distinct from “being in love” — is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by the grace which both partners ask, and receive, from God… “Being in love” (情) first moved them to promise fidelity: this quieter love (理) enables them to keep the promise. It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run: being in love was the explosion that started it.
在这整个旅程，我很感恩神给我供应和开道路，让我认识了这么多新朋友和经历新的情景。我迫不及待下次的中国游。
现在回到了新加坡，我得开始做心理准备去上班。明年的新年，我会不会有机会再次跟我父母去中国？
22:46
蒙福的生日
因为我薄技的中文词汇，我就会用最简单的方式来记录我的厦门之旅。这段时间让我感触到很多我没有想象过的事情。来到厦门，爱上了厦门。以下的列表就是我这次厦门之旅的点滴。
- 每日过海沧大桥迎接新的一天
- 温柔的蔡家庭
- 鼓浪屿
- 厦大漂亮之漂亮的校园，包括芙蓉湖、上弦场、情人谷
- 学习笛子的速成、笛子包含磁性的声音
- 每一位路过而变成朋友的人，尤其是一对聋哑的男女朋友，让我看到了克服困难的精神
- 一位从公交车站旁边的垃圾桶里取出了未吃完的饭盒，把里面的食物吃掉的爷爷
- 我最喜欢的歌之一，《谁能使我与神的爱隔绝》
13:18
Enchanting Xiamen
I have been in Xiamen for one week now, and find it to be quite an nice city. The emotions being here evokes reminds me of my time in Melbourne. Of course they are vastly different cities across the Pacific Ocean. I don’t think the people sitting in the office buildings surround me at Starbucks Lu Jiang Dao will agree with my statement though.
Last night I saw an elderly man dig for leftover food in disposable food containers in a rubbish bin. Perhaps there is something about visuals that penetrates the soul, just like how the video of Yueyue shook the world.
If the opportunity arises, I wouldn’t mind settling down in Xiamen. While it is not a cosmopolitan metropolis like Shanghai or Beijing, Xiamen has her own aura of home. Relatively smooth traffic, clean air, the less frequent use of English making Chinese more prominent. It is the Chinese standard of a land of mountains and water (有山有水), bordered by mountains on the west and water on the east.
00:54
A New Experience
I headed off together with Weibo early this morning excited to go about, find a nice coffeehouse and look for work. However while at Starbucks Lundu, there happened to be a hearing impaired couple sitting near me, and I challenged myself to break the ice and say hi to them. They are seriously one of the most amazing couples I’ve ever seen.
Through a combination of hand gestures, facial expressions and words on paper and screen, we shared about 7 hours of life together. I got to witness their love that they had for each other that was built up since knowing each other in 2004. It gave me a taste of their life as I watched them sign their thoughts to each other and choose words on their phones.
They were extremely friendly and full of confidence, something I wasn’t expecting. They shared some of their many difficulties in life like social stigma, and how it was harder for them to find work and that affected them with lower salaries and the rising price of housing. I was really impressed as to how they have sought to experience a full life in spite of their handicap.
A few months ago I started having the thought to learn sign language, and I decided to go with China’s version. Should I pursue this opportunity? Two things necessary is lots of patience and a heart to learn. And time, of course.
21:01
Love and Sacrifice
This evening, a friend sent me this video. In the interview, Jaeson talks about his history in drugs and stealing, how he walked away from that, and walked into a life of love and sacrifice trusting that God would be able to satisfy his every need. At one point he says
Sexual temptation, abstinence, is not something I’m just trying to control, or something I’m trying to resist. It’s a battle, it’s a war, it’s a fight to be won. So really, when you look at purity, you don’t look at it as, “oh, I’m missing out on something.” Rather, I’m fighting for something. I’m fighting to give my future wife, my future family, my children, the very best. To give them my whole heart, to let them know that I saved myself for their mother, and I love her that much that I would not give myself to anyone else but her. For her, and for my children.
It’s actually the second time I’ve listen to Jaeson and I wept both times. Despite his status as an actor, musician and writer, he exudes true humility, passion and a sense of realness. It is truly the right video at the right time as I burn the bridges to my past. The fight for my future, my wife, and my children starts now.
Love, by Jaeson Ma:
02:42
Bring Me Back
God, will you bring me back, bring me back to ten?
God, will you bring me back, bring me back to before all this started?
God, will you bring me back, bring me back to before I ever stumbled into SM?
God, will you bring me back, bring me back to before my innocence was stripped from me?
God, will you bring me back, bring me back to fifteen?
Back to when I met my first love and fell in love day after day?
Days we shared with such intimacy and openness
Days when history was all unwritten and I thought I could change the world
God, will you bring me back, back to when each step was a step of life?
Perhaps time will never turn itself back. But perhaps all this has happened for a reason. Maybe it is so that when I walk out, I may understand deeper truths that I would never fathom had I never entered. Maybe it is so that I would gain some wisdom in this time, with which I may help someone someday. Or at the very least to be able to empathize with another person in this subculture.
17:37
Business Luncheon with Paul Ji
On Friday 23 Sep, I had the opportunity to attend a business luncheon with Paul Ji organized by the Marketplace. It was my first time attending a business luncheon and I found it to be insightful though I didn’t have much networking to do. I even went under my yet-to-be-registered company heh.
From the Marketplace’s website:
Paul Ji (季小立) started his business at the age of 11. By the age of 24, he was already making USD 1 million dollars per day, buying a new car and starting a new outlet per week. He could afford almost anything that money could buy except the very woman he loved. He prayed, “I am willing to lose everything to win her heart…” This one prayer changed his life…
Paul Ji, 38 years of age, a Mainland Chinese, was once the wealthiest Chinese in Brazil. His current project is building the largest multi-billion-dollar mall in Zhejiang, China. Come and learn from a man’s amazing journey of love and entrepreneurship.
Paul’s family migrated to Brazil when he was very young, I think during the revolution? Coming from Wenzhou probably gave him a leg up with entrepreneurial DNA implanted in him. There was once he wanted to sell a certain kind of shoes, but he had no cash, and as he borrowed cash from his mum, his mum would only permit him to buy a different type of shoes. So he went with his mother’s option, made profit from that, and then bought his own stock after that. I guess that must have been his first business at 11.
Later in life he had a girlfriend whom he didn’t really enjoy because she was always keeping tabs on him. However there was this girl whom he really liked, so he decided to take her out in a car with two doors because 恋爱里面是没有第三者的. His previous girlfriend would bring her dog along sometimes. He then took the girl he liked on an around the world trip, during which there were some problems with the business, but it didn’t matter to him.
The main talk was about branding. In ancient days, when an agreement was made, the parties took a cow, cut it in two, and walked between the two parts signifying that should anyone violate the agreement, then let that party be as the cow. People later used wax seals, branding an item as theirs. This later evolved into signatures, and the weight of the agreement rested on the reputation of the parties.
在他的定义里，发财的人就是把财发给别人的人。
包围着品牌有四个关键的部分－－品味、品质、品格、品行。
The most important thing is the brand concept, the DNA. The brand is a commitment to the buyer about the product. China is a 1.5 billion marketplace of love.
Luxury comes from the word lux, meaning light, love.
Branding is a dream. Do you have faith for your dream? Or is it just a daydream? 可靠、可信的爱的原则。
Question 1: What does it mean to brand oneself in the context of working in a company?
Answer: 我们必须顺服，有真诚、智慧. Submission -> follower of a mission.
谁可以作老板？有体贴客人的心的人！
Question 2 asked by a lady who had refined herself over the years: I work in the construction industry, and sometimes colleagues do not have the same standards of character. What would branding mean in this context? Should I lower my standards?
Answer: Let your dream lead you. If you come to see a place saved, is it necessary to maintain high standards in all areas? Choose one dream for life. Jesus Christ. The church is here for society. 我们现实的梦 -> 王所看见的！我们是嫁给王子的。
Question 3: As a social entrepreneur, what can I do about the conflicting impressions of others? Some see us as a social unit, some see us as a business.
Answer: If you are a prince, even if others think you are a beggar, you are still a prince.
Care about how others feel. If you are a prince, you can lower yourself as a beggar and servant too!
Question 4: Husband and wife teams?
Answer: Depends on the mission. Is the wife equally committed to the mission, or may she be reaching her limits of what she can contribute? Relationship comes first.
The business grew 50x with his wife around, and another 5x after firing her.