Iwagumi tank rescape – 4th update

Here’s the latest update, 50 days after setup!!! Glossostigma, Riccia and Java Moss is growing well. I removed the Anubias plant for now.

Tank specifications:

Pictures:

50 days after setup	Riccia bubbling O2
Yamato shrimp resting on Glosso	Close-up of Glosso. Very minor BBA left
Another close-up of Glosso

Are you that kind…

To become distinctive from the rest, some of them think that possessing “unusual skills/attitudes” separates them from the crowd. Monkey see, monkey do, in the end, it becomes a common practice.

Are you the kind of colleague who:

1. Code because you were asked to code, but not because you want to code.
2. Looks at people’s source codes for 30 minutes and think you have confidence to make changes to it.
3. Speak with jargons, where you can’t even explain simple concepts to a 6 year old.
4. Talk like some kind of mathematical aristocrat, where you don’t even understand what you’re dealing with.
5. Has all kinds of ideas to make product improvements, but do not have the guts to sell your ideas.
6. Criticize every single idea put up by your colleagues.
7. Thinks that your ideas is above-all and most important. The rest of the people’s ideas are not significant.
8. Think that you should be paid handsomely than everyone else.
9. Think that you should deserve the utmost respect and everyone else is secondary.
10. Always look at things differently and wrongly, knowing that the rest is right.
11. Think that you know everything as long as you work here long enough.
12. Forces colleagues to think and speak like the way you do.
13. Fail to recognize special abilities of your colleagues. Even if they have one, you consider it useless.
14. Think that your boss is useless just because he/she doesn’t code in the latest programming language.
15. Apply quick and dirty fixes to the product, just to get the task out of your head.
16. Think that you can work like a lone-ranger.
17. Always scavenging for people’s fault and magnify them to be brighter than the sun.
18. Look down on developers from India or China, just because they can’t speak proper English.
19. Deliberately help people to fail, rather than helping them to succeed.
20. Sabotage colleagues with rumours, gossips and classified information.
21. Think that to become your friend again, we have to leave the company you hate.
22. Think that people who cannot talk, means they have nothing to say.
23. Think that by going out to another company means you become more qualified than all the folks here.
24. Think that you should be treated like an elite, while you know your skills are eroding and obsolete.
25. Think that there’s no need to reinvent yourself and considered indispensable.
26. Memorizes every single moral value of your company, but don’t know where to apply it.
27. Behave as if you’re really passionate into something, where in fact you’re just merely interested.
28. Think that none of the above applies to you, but deep down somewhere, you know some of it do apply.

Streamyx technology

Streamyx technology relies on ADSL. To provide high speed connection, ADSL relies on unused frequency bands of your telephone cable. A twisted pair copper cable can carry analog voice as well as digital signals simultaneously. The diagram below shows the bandwidth available for a typical telephone cable.

Red block: Analog voice signals. Your normal voice calls are allocated to a maximum of 4kHz.
Green block: Digital Upstream signals. For uploading data to your ISP.
Blue block: Digital Downstream signals. For downloading data from your ISP.

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5 tips to better Streamyx connection

Here are five most important tips on how to get really stable Streamyx connections. Everything else is secondary! What I meant by "stable connections" is the physical connection between your modem and Telekom exchange. In other words, the "hardware" part of it must be properly checked and adjusted to reduce possibilities of connection problems later.

1. Use high quality internal wiring - Always ensure you install your internal telephone wiring with high quality twisted pair cables. Run your cables away from noisy sources like fluorescence lamps, heavy machines like fridge or washers. Use high quality splitters and connectors. I also recommend the phone cables from your wall jack to the modem be changed every one or two years. This is to reduce chances of copper oxidation that happens with really old wires.
2. Rusty phone jacks – My friend’s Streamyx connection is horrible. Despite numerous complains to TMnet, nothing much can be done to improve the connection. One day I went to check the phone jacks used and it’s all covered in greenish rusts. Rust is produced due to oxidation. A small item like phone jack is the whole culprit. After changing the entire phone cable with new jacks, the connection is sustained for 24 hours a day without problems.
3. Separate router and modem unit- I’ve used this configuration ever since I started with Streamyx. The idea is to have separate router and modem units. Such setup somewhat lowers the CPU load of the modem and allows more CPU time to process incoming high speed data (light NAT translation) and pass it directly to the router. The router will then sort out the traffic (heavier NAT translation) to various computers. Also check whether your modem and router is overheating. As you’ve known with computers, overheated ambient temperature inside the modem will cause "crashes" and modem needs to reboot.
4. Check for noisy phone lines – Noise and attenuation in the phone line are the top issues that most customers are facing. Pick up your phone, press a single digit and listen quietly for few seconds. If you hear hums, hisses or crackling sounds, no matter how soft, then you have a noisy phone line. You will need to take this up to Telekom so that they can check for the noisy segment in your cable. Also avoid installing too many phones as this will cause overall signal loss.
5. Use high quality modems - Some modems is just not suitable for your phone line, especially if you live too far away from Telekom exchange. Low quality modem will not be able to cope with bad attenuation and signal loss. Modems that overheat easily are also prone to give problems and fire hazard. Invest in good modems. I personally have used Alcatel ST510 and Aztech 600ER. These are quite stable and always-on for months between reboots. Also their mainboard and power adapter do not overheat.

Fraser’s hill

After about 10 years, our family took a short trip to Fraser’s Hill on 2-Feb-2008. Everything seems good, but I was expecting more developments on the resort. To my surprise, it looked more or less the same like 10 years before. Can’t believe there are no major developments at all to upgrade the status of the resort.

Anyway, here are some shots taken at Fraser’s Hill (the best of it).