My Life With IT

MySQL Connections Maxed Out

WishBoNe — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:17:35 +0000

It was scary when I discovered that I couldn’t log in to myPHPAdmin just now. The mySQL server was hit by my connections being maxed out. After a few tries I managed to get in only to see that I couldn’t create new databases. I’m not sure if that’s supposed to be that way.

Now that I have managed to login, I’m still puzzled by the max number of connections error. Is it because someone tried to hack the SQL server? How can this happen when I don’t have a high traffic at this site?

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Blogging Used To Be Casual

WishBoNe — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 05:57:39 +0000

I used to be casual about blogging. It was supposed to be a place for me to rant and vent out my frustrations. Over a span of two years, it has changed into something more complex than just typing out what I want to say online.

Advertisements came into place. Followed by being paid for posting some positive only reviews on products and services. Now, we are supposed to disclose that we are being paid to post stuff. Others expect us to post positive only reviews when we attend their functions. These posts are a mandate if we were to attend those functions.

First off, the mandate posts for attending the functions aren’t paid. Even the goodies given aren’t even enough to cover the transport and time spent. Second, posting only positive reviews is too one-sided. It’s like a one way connection to a destination. A read only CD.

Second, all paid per posts aren’t that easy to write; even a 50-word advertisement can take hours just to draft out something decent.

Third, other prominent bloggers have taken blogging to another level, coming out with e-books and even printed books on how to blog. All I thought was blogging was simply just typing out the words and put them into paragraphs and that’s it. However, online text can be difficult to read since it’s more taxing on the eyes.

The internet is unregulated. However, there is a fine line between over-scrutinition and ensuring that it is safe for children/innocent people who believe in the fantastic results of earning tons of money with just some automated online sites.

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Internship Sourcing Getting Advanced

WishBoNe — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:30:34 +0000

I never had the chance to source for companies hiring interns. That was many moons back. This time, with the advancement of technology, internship sourcing has become easier with the use of the internet. It was by chance that I found InternSG. A site whereby companies can post their internship positions and students can apply for the positions.

I’m not sure how good it is since schools have fixed dates for the attachment period and most companies prefer to have 3 months of training session before they can access the students in a more accurate manner. Perhaps anyone who has successfully completed an industrial attachment with this site can give some insight on this.

Singapore Internship provide some tips on various topics, from sourcing to foreigners adapting to the culture in Singapore. Now, companies can apply online at the individual Polytechnics or Universities to state their requirements for the internship. The system will then match the requirements and let the employers choose.

It’s amazing that in such a few short years, industrial attachment has gotten more high-tech.

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Do You Really Know How to Use Social Media?

WishBoNe — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 07:08:19 +0000

I won’t claim to be an expert on using social media even if I have an account on each of the hot sites like Twitter and Plurk. However, I find it interesting that companies that start to embrace social media have some awkwardness to the usage.

Others have become ingenious in such a way that simply tweeting something, one will earn some money. Much like the idea of reading each email and earn a few cents. I wonder how many emails I have to read in order to earn S$10 if each email were to be calculated by points and converted monthly according to the performance for that month.

Recently, a tweet contest is being held. One only needs to tweet as much as possible in order to win S$10, 000, grand prize. This makes me wonder if that’s the purpose of using Twitter. To tweet to really become a twit or to tweet to promote services or products.

I’ve seen much better use of Twitter to promote products or services that have gone viral. I’ve also seen some using Twitter to help those in need. However, I find it a mystery why one has to tweet so much in order to garner the most tweets (or become a twit) so as to win a prize.

Contests held by bloggers have been rather meaningful; i.e. RT @tweeter_name “Win when you retweet this! Find out more at ”

That would have less impact of annoying the followers. Sometimes, I wonder if some do really know how to use viral social media to good use or simply jumping onto the bandwagon just because others are using it.

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More Than 5 Sites With Company Details

WishBoNe — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:51:45 +0000

Recently, I’ve been in charge of looking for postal codes for companies. Sweet deal? I won’t know as there are more than 2, 000 records to be found. Not every company has a website. Even with one, there were some with images for the address and Flash. Both are uncopyable, the least to say. I don’t understand the need to protect the address from being copied into text.

In addition, there are more than 5 sites providing the details. There are some with different addresses. It would have been less confusing if there were company URLs to visit and confirm but most don’t have. Hence, my best option is to leave the postal code empty until I go back to check again.

In other cases, the address is given only the road name or just a building name. Checking the postal code at SingPost website is like telling the postman to stand there in the road or building to look for the company. I doubt the postman has so much time to help me deliver just one letter when his job is to deliver many letters in a day.

The websites that I use for searching are listed below but not comprehensive.

Zibb (with various industries to search)

Street Directory (not all companies have address)

Yoolk (you can register and edit the information, rating can be given for the contact numbers)

EGuide (I am not sure how accurate it is but the data seems to be outdated for certain companies)

Singapore Business Guide (not all addresses have postal code)

Mocca Directory (not all companies included)

I’m sure there are more if only I can just rely one 1 or 2 for the accurate data. Anyone has any recommendations?

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Old Wordpress Versions Under Attack

WishBoNe — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 01:16:36 +0000

Wordpress has fast become a popular blogging platform since it was launched. I have been rather impressed with its simple dashboard and ease of navigation. Hence, it is fast becoming a hot ground for hacking too. Hence, its constant versioning has kept the developers busy. This reminds me of Windows being a hot ground for hacking too.

This time round, old Wordpress versions are being attacked with strange categories being created. Usually, the default Admin ID is being abused and it is always a good idea to remove the default ID and use another ID as an administrator. The ID shouldn’t be the same as the screen name since the attacking time will be shortened. Telling the world that your user name and screen name are one and the same is inviting thieves into your house to just take all your valuables away.

For those with old versions of Wordpress, upgrade fast. You never know when it’s your turn to be hacked and you won’t want to waste a day trying to get your blog back up again. As more people upgrade, the attackers will soon target your blog just because you are an easy target.

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3 Reasons Why It’s a Good Idea to Get Out of IT Industry

WishBoNe — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 08:57:32 +0000

Being a long time user of the computer, I have been exposed to quite a number of highs and lows. The highs would be getting the information faster and somehow, my typing has improved by leaps and bounds as the coding needs fast typers in order to be completed fast.

The lows are:

Chronic neck pain sitting in front of the screen just after 2 hours.
Left ring finger and little finger and half the hand is often numb after a night’s sleep.
Shoulders aching unless not facing the screen.

So, what are your pains while working long hours in your industry?

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Bluetooth Stops Working

WishBoNe — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:59:12 +0000

I am totally stumped. My Asus A8J has stopped being able to use the Bluetooth totally. I am not sure when it stopped working. The hardware devices shows the following.

The driver seems perfectly fine.

Attempts to set the Bluetooth to be discovered led to the following error.

Apparently, the discoverability and connection settings were not saved since the bluetooth seems to be unplugged. Now, the thing is that in Bluetooth Devices, the hardare isn’t even there.

Seriously, I don’t know what happened to the hardware. How can there be a missing bluetooth hardware when it’s all in the devices? Attempts to reinstall the driver has failed due to the system being unable to detect any bluetooth being plugged in. It’s a built-in device, so I am not sure how it can get loose from the system itself.

When recovery doesn’t work, how can this problem to resolved? Anyone has this problem before?

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What Work From Home Means to Me

WishBoNe — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:25:28 +0000

With the rising number of people being retrenched, I can see that there is no security in any job. Even with recession proof jobs like teaching, nursing or food industry, it all boils down to a matter of choice for the customers or consumers. There has been quite a number of businesses that are started by those who have been affected by various reasons to start working from home.

Most people think that working from home means waking up at a comfortable time and having more flexibility in the working hours. For those who are freelancing, you may want to check 0ut how to simplify your life. It is so easy to get distracted by the Internet clutter: comic strips like Dilbert, emails, MSN, Twitter, Plurk, Tumblr, Posterous, and many new social media sites springing up are being reported by technology blogs or sites.

If freelancing at home means a lot of discipline, it is no different from working in the office. Just that no one will look at you to make you feel guilty. Personally, I prefer working from home in a truly comfortable manner. Meaning, despite the distractions, I am still being productive and earning a decent amount of money to pay the bills and enjoying trips around the world.

Working from home should be simple; that’s why I chose to work from home instead of spending 3 hours of travelling time just to get to the office and back home. That’s why my internet access should be free from worrying about some boss checking if I am surfing non-official sites during office hours. That’s why my lunch time can be as long as I want it to be.

That’s why I shouldn’t have to worry about my business even if I’m on vacation for more than a month. It should be a happy choice that I can still enjoy life and really be able to enjoy the fruits of labour that I have been working so hard for. Teachers taught us to work hard and have a high paying job. But we were never taught how to have something that will give us income security even when we are unable to work due to medical reasons.

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Recycling IT

WishBoNe — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 03:28:05 +0000

While it’s well known that some companies recycle mobile phones and computers, it’s rare for a company in Singapore to have an IT solution and able to help us recycle at the same time. C.Cenex Private Limited is a company that provides IT solutions and takes part in being green at the same time.

The recycling programme helps us in getting rid of spoilt laptops, computers, gadgets, etc and even pays us for the remaining resale value. I don’t know what other recycling programme does that. It also provides the assurance that our data will be wiped out before being recycled.

Time to collect the unwanted or spoilt IT gadgets for recycling!

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Links for 2009-04-04 [Digg]

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Bait Ball Feeding Frenzy Ends in One Gulp [HD VID]
Nature's Great Events HD Web Extra: In late summer the plankton bloom is at its height. Vast shoals of herring gather to feed on it, diving birds round the fish up into a bait ball and then a humpback whale roars in to scoop up the entire ball of herring in one huge mouthful. It must suck being a bait fish!