an invitation to kansei engineering workshop at FTMSK, UiTM

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Salam and greetings on behalf of the Human Computer Interaction Special Interest Group (HCI SIG). I am pleased to announce that Professor Mitsuo Nagamachi, the founder of Kansei Engineering is coming to Shah Alam, Malaysia!

In honour of his presence, the SIG and the Faculty of Information Technology and Quantitative Sciences (FTMSK) are proud to organize a workshop entitled "Kansei Engineering Workshop: Discovering Kansei and Its Possibilities " on the 4th of December 2007.

Grab this rare opportunity of meeting and learning from the founder of Kansei Engineering as we belief new knowledge and experience can be gained for your benefit from this avenue.

Many aspects of Kansei Engineering will be addressed by Professor Mitsuo Nagamachi. If you would like to be a workshop participant, early registration is encouraged as places are limited. (Brochure will be available for download at the FTMSK website soon)

For further information please email kansei.workshop.FTMSK@gmail.com (no spamming!)

We would appreciate if you would forward this event news to your colleagues at work. I look forward to seeing you there!


Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nor Laila Md. Noor,
Head of HCI SIG,
Centre of System Sciences Studies,
Faculty of Information Technology and Quantitative Sciences (FTMSK)
Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia

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by dame.elle | 1 comments


seeking to forgive

Thursday, October 18, 2007

There were several articles on forgiveness published on several written medias. I find it apt what with the season of forgiveness during this Syawal celebration. The article highlights anger consumes a lot of energy and by forgiving you are not only patting yourself at the back but releasing a huge amount of energy as well. It has also written that forgiveness is never about forgetting. So excuse your mothers, wives, fiancées and girlfriend for bringing up decade old grandma stories eventhough she profusely admits she has indeed forgiven you. *wink*

Then there is also this radio show that speaks on the ethics of forgiveness. The speaker mentioned that there are 3 types of forgiving people; (i) those that forgive without the malefactor asking for forgiveness (the best of its kind), (ii) those that forgive after the malefactor asks for forgiveness and (iii) those who does not forgive at all eventhough the malefactor had ask for forgiveness.

Anyways, I am not proud of this but most of the time, I fall under the second kind. Very rarely the first but never the third. What this means is, if you have wronged me and have yet to apologize, I will not forgive you. Sounds a little dramatic but with the commotion and roller coaster you put in, I think it is only fair. So far the counter has been set with 2 people. One of the people is a man, with a case that erupted a few years back. I bumped into him occasionally, which creates not only tension that can be cut in half but a feeling of being ripped apart again and again. Another person is a woman, who heartlessly made a fuss on something very private. Their fault is sparingly different but the 1 common thing that this 2 person share is that, they betrayed my trust.

I can get very vindictive when someone betrays my trust, regardless who the person is. I would not think twice on cutting ties with them. It would be an entirely different story if it was just some silly cat fights or a misunderstanding or some stupid squabbles. I would definitely get over it and even forgive the person almost instantaneously. But heed this, you screw with the wrong person if you are toying with trust; the friendship comes to a yield and to a point of no return. Nonetheless, if he/she asks for forgiveness, I would forgive (but not forget) and would try to salvage the friendship or whatever that is left.

This anger and hurt has definitely become an excess baggage for me. However, it is an excess I am willing to carry it with me. Maybe some of you would be tempted to persuade/advice/force me to forgive but earnestly (and stubbornly), I can’t and I won’t. Sounds very egocentric, I admit. As absurd that this may sound, my anger towards them has actually made me stronger. I know now how to select friends well and how to just make do without those who make your life hell.

But then again, what would you suggest I do when you have clearly inform them that what they did was wrong and yet they acted like its nothing, that they should be automatically forgiven for their ‘flaws’. Good riddance!

There has been countless times that I have prayed to God, asking for strength to forgive but every time I tried, I am reminded with their ‘deeds’ and the anger starts burning again. God willing, I hope one day I find peace, courage and strength to forgive.

Speaking about forgiveness, I think I have covered everyone in asking for their forgiveness. However, if you feel I have wronged you, I’d really appreciate if you could be forthcoming and say so via sms/face-to-face/phonecall/email (other means will be permanently ignored). InsyaAllah, I would ask for your forgiveness in a proper manner.

Selamat Hari Raya.

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by dame.elle | 0 comments


yummy! chocolate muffin with chocolate chips and nuts

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Last Sunday, I attempted on baking muffins since I was craving for them. I searched the internet as at first I wanted to bake fruit-based muffins but none to my liking. So, I ended up with chocolate muffins. And oh my, this is one delicious muffins I have whipped up. My family loves it.

The muffins are huge and oh so moist (I am practically drooling right now, kurang pahala puasa...). It becomes more delicious after you leave it overnight in room temperature. This is because the chips have melted and the oil is oozing out producing an even more tender and moist texture. Yummy! The walnuts give it a slight bitter taste which balances out the overall sweetness. This makes the sweetness just right. So, I must share it with you so that you can try it out yourself. I'd definitely be baking this for the upcoming raya, but most probably as a cake instead of muffins. This recipe makes 18 muffins.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour (I used tepung gandum cap sauh)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (van houten definitely)
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder (cap royale)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk (I used Goodday fresh milk. Don’t use low-fat milk, it would slightly spoil the taste)
1 egg
3 tablespoons canola oil (cap Naturel seems to be a good bargain for money)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (hershey’s definitely)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup chopped almonds

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
2. In medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In large bowl stir in milk, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients to large bowl; beat well. Add chocolate chips, walnuts and almonds, stir well.
3. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (25 minutes is the best)

TIPS
1. The muffins in the recipe would have a rounded top. However, if you want the muffin to crack (like the ones in delis), then sprinkle sugar on top of the muffin batter prior to baking. I recommend sprinkling the sugar in forming the letter ‘X’. It should crack evenly.
2. For the sweet-tooth, if you plan to devour the muffins as soon after baking, I recommend sprinkling some icing sugar on top, as the sweetness hasn't set in yet. However, I strongly recommend setting it for 5 hours (minimum) or leave it overnight in a room temperature. It'll be much tastier.
3. I didn't have enough walnuts, so I balanced it out by adding more almonds. Tastes good nonetheless.
4. I didn't buy chopped nut. Instead I bought whole walnuts and sliced almonds and chopped it up myself. This is because chopped nuts tend to be too fine/dah rupa serdak.
5. Be careful when you eat though, it'll smudge your teeth. Hehehe, but worth it!

Enjoy the muffins :)

p/s: Sorry but I don’t have any pictures. I keep postponing and by the time I wanted to snap some, my brother finished the muffins. But it is in dark brown, lined with melted chips and huge. The inside is ‘berongga’, meaning the batter turned out well.

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by dame.elle | 0 comments


happy ramadhan

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

I find it really odd when people like to procrastinate things to the very last minute. Never mind if it’s trivial, but putting off important things because “esok kan boleh”, “nanti-nanti lah”, shows you are a very irresponsible person. It would be understandable if you were subjected to delay it because of illness, demanding work routines or demanding life styles. Otherwise, you are one irresponsible being whom is obligated to change your habits.

I am talking about “puasa ganti”. Ramadhan is just days away and there are many who have yet paid their dues. I find it disappointing as these are healthy people and their work routines are tolerable. They have 300 over days to pay their dues, but no, procrastination is bliss. Their excuse; “boleh praktis puasa bila ganti dekat-dekat Ramadhan”. Geez, educate the same thing to your children then, why don’t you. We must remember that solat, fasting, zakat are some of the things that are best performed early. Unless the delay is unavoidable, what would be your reason of delaying your amalan if death comes knocking? What if you suddenly become bedridden and require medication at all times? Could you afford to say “if only I had paid my dues while I was well”?

So, friends, I hope you have paid your dues. And for those who still have days to pay, make sure you do so soon after 1st Syawal. Happy Ramadhan. May we become an even better person through and after this holy month.

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by dame.elle | 2 comments


happy2

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Hey. It has been a while. Have yet to finish a good three sentence and already I am having writer’s bloc. What do you call this ‘thing’ something like ‘berkarat’ dah.

It is a great morning today especially with the cooling weather. If I had a choice, I would be lazing around at home or perhaps kick back and enjoy a good cuppa. I am alone at the office. Everyone seems to be missing too, perhaps getting an early day off to enjoy an even longer merdeka weekend.

Hey, happy 50th merdeka. Perhaps some football fans are already having an early celebration as we won over Myanmar 3-1 at last night's merdeka cup finale. I didn’t watch the game but as from word of mouth, I heard it was a pretty good game. So, congratulations to those who made it happen. Malaysian football is not so bleak after all. Be proud Malaysians, as there are still those who are committed on making you, football fans proud.

Anyways, I am pretty excited with someone's return to shah alam. Yup, Yani is coming back. I have been wanting so badly for her to return home so that she could be much closer to her family. I also miss our lepak-lepak moments. So, InsyaAllah, we’ll be able to do that again since we are working in the same area. So, Yani, semoga kita dapat lepak sama-sama lagi.

Oh, good news all around. Titi’s son dah pandai mengiring. Anjung, Salawati, Maiz, Helmy, Fidy are happily married. Mas gave birth to a baby boy on the same birth date as my mom. Azean welcomes a bouncing baby boy a few days before I left for China. And, Firdaus got a better job. Congratulations to all of you!!! May Allah’s blessings keep pouring in.

Until next time, you take care mates.

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by dame.elle | 4 comments


on hiatus

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

i've been taking some time off to meditate and reflect on certain things. hence the reason i've been on a hiatus.

need to do some revamping on the course of this blog. i miss writing but i sure dont miss the bad vibes.

hope to be back soon!

u take care mates.

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by dame.elle | 0 comments


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