Saturday, October 12

I'm sort of making entries here as I go, while I'm online and surfing for links to put up on my course website. As I am leaving these students before they take their final exams, I've got to leave them with some preparation. And as IT is a course which they need an overall picture to understand what really goes on, they probably could use some weblinks. And anyway, it gives me an excuse for being online longer - at least my dad won't have a hissy fit when I'm doing 'educational' stuff.

The thing with the course I am teaching, though.. or perhaps, it is more with the text I am using; but I feel it is rather hard to draw the average student to IT unless they have some inclination towards it in the first place. I mean, they may be interested in knowing how to use Microsoft Word or how to surf the net and how to design their own websites and put pictures on it and all.. but they can't really be bothered to know how data is processed inside the CPU, or how motherboards work or whether Bluetooth or WiFi is better. Granted, it IS useful knowledge for them, and they should know especially with the emphasis on knowledge workers and all that stuff.. but sheesh, how do you make fresh SPM-leavers appreciate this?

And because they are business majors, they couldn't really care less because the paper is hardly a prerequisite to greater things, and when they work and become big CEOs and Dato's and Datins.. well... they'll have their IT people swirling around them anyway. It would be different if I were teaching such a course to a set of IT undergraduates, because that IS their subject matter; and if they aren't too keen on it, well what the heck are they doing there in the first place? So the challenge is two-fold, and of course, to top it all off, why get an IT lecturer to teach this? Just make an accountant do it!

The other thing is; I reckon for the students to fully appreciate whatever it is that they are learning, I feel they have to get the bigger picture so they can see the story. it's hard to do that with these Intro to IT papers because they skim over the surface of everything without much depth; which decreases the 'story' so the students are reduced to memorising - which, post-SPM, is not a good technique, methinks.

Anyways. Enough ranting. Watched Miss Congeniality on HBO today.. me & Angah sort of laughed out a bit too loud and woke the baby.. ehehehe.. think she's gone back to sleep though. A few other good movies are on tonight - Good Will Hunting is on StarMovies.. perhaps to make up for the absolutely useless Saturday night listing StarWorld has got (Xena, Lost World and Mutant X!); not to mention TV3 (Majalah 3, Cerekarama). I won't even start on the government stations! Oops.. there I go again; note to self: must get off soapbox

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/12/2002 04:40:27 PM// Your Say

. . .

Why can't adults stay adults?
Why do they have to lower themselves to the mentality level of children?
Why can't they find a way to communicate?
Why do they think of themselves first instead of the collective good of the people around them?
Why can't I stay a child and never become an adult?
I don't like adults. They suck.

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/12/2002 05:16:45 AM// Your Say . . .

Friday, October 11

Early Saturday morning.. it feels good to be awake before anyone else in the house has stirred.. a couple extra minutes of quiet time before the baby starts screaming and then everyone else joins in. Coming back to Bangi has allowed me to relax a bit and think less about the students.. Thanks Zatul for the words of support.. this is the first time I've had to deal with such an issue in my 3 years as a tutor/lecturer and it's not a nice experience, albeit a useful one!

The thing with a small minority of the students everywhere is that they sometimes don't want to be where ever they are, but they are there anyway either because of their parents or because they obtained funding. So these kids have a very nonchalant attitude towards their studies, and some think it is their God-given right to be given top grades even though they obviously have not worked for it. Maybe they had it easy in high school, maybe they are used to being at the top of the class and can't handle being average in a bigger institution. Or worse still, they KNOW they are failing, and they KNOW they won't get far.. but they couldn't care less. Whatever their excuse is... that is no excuse for me to be a lesser person, right? As a lecturer, wherever I am teaching, I can't be discouraged just because of a minority of the students, right?

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/11/2002 11:34:26 PM// Your Say

. . .

I WAS A HAPPY CHILD
lucky you. you were what every child should be.
carefree. optimistic. and happy.
what kind of child were you?
(brought you by april)

what the hell happened to me?

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/11/2002 09:47:35 AM// Your Say

. . .

What Sort of Romantic Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Huh? Scorned? Me?

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/11/2002 02:45:49 AM// Your Say

. . .

Thursday, October 10

Hari yang aku ada banyak idea nak menggoreng kat sini.. hari ni lah jugak bertimbun paperwork tak berkenaan timbul kat atas meja aku. Ingatkan sempat nak buat soalan periksa hari ni.. sekali tu kena design syllabus for satu diploma baru yang kita akan offer tak lama lagi. *sigh* Dah lah cakap semalam nak 14/10. Aku ni.. syllabus nak ajar AIS kat Lancs tak beres lagi.. abstract papers nak bawak ke sana pun tak start atur lagi.. arghhhh!!!!

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/10/2002 04:00:44 AM// Your Say . . .

For the first time in weeks, I managed to go back to sleep after subuh prayers and woke at 0704 hours, meaning for the first time in months I waddled into the office at about 8am. It's always nice to break a routine .. I've been so gung ho about coming to work at 0645 hours this past week or so I was afraid I was going to set a routine that someone could track down. Ever since the 'event', I've been wary about people who ask me where I am and where I go at night, perhaps to an almost paranoid level! Maybe I am paranoid, to a certain extent..

Last night the daughter of my senior whose house I am making my base here in Muadzam (that's right.. I am stuck here 210km away from home and I have no address and nowhere to live!) started screaming in her sleep at about midnight (the daughter is about 11 months old).. which put me into high hyper alert mode . because it was the screaming that woke me on THAT night.. and I couldn't get back to sleep for quite a while.. even as I did fall asleep (which only happened after I was assisted by medication my doctor prescribed for just such an event) I was clutching my trusted parang.. just in case... of course I think the medication worked a bit too well.. because usually when I get up for Subuh at 5.45am, I am all fresh and ready for the day ahead.. this morning I just slunked back into bed..

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/10/2002 03:43:41 AM// Your Say . . .

Wednesday, October 9

Just got back from Segamat (kampung hang tOKSIK ). A whopping 75km and back, done just nicely under 3 hours. Drove down to buy some KFC for the students - I held a quiz session (teams of 6 x 9 teams) a couple of weeks ago and the motivation for them to study for it was that the winners would be treated to KFC by yours truly.. mainly because they simply CRAVE for fast food here.. so.. as a person of my word I had to gallavant down to the nearest (proper) town to get the food for them. I hope they enjoy it.. at least it makes it worth the effort for me to drive all the way down there.

Actually I've got more than a few things to talk about today - for once. But I need to Maghrib and then the kids are going to come up for their 'feast'.. so all ranting put on hold for now.

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/9/2002 12:41:13 PM// Your Say

. . .

As I was driving back home last night, I noticed that the pot holes and not-so-pot holes (parts of the road that were deliberately mutilated to lay down new tar) were now non-existent. I could cruise at top speed on WJX514 without the fear of damaging the car. Of course, this could only signify one thing - a very important person is about to come over. It can't be anything else, can it?

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/9/2002 04:05:51 AM// Your Say . . .

Today is Wednesday. I don't like Wednesdays. I have to work at being a lecturer on Wednesday.

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/9/2002 12:57:09 AM// Your Say . . .

Tuesday, October 8

Andainya tiada jodoh
Untuk ke singgahsana
Kupasrahkan segalanya
Kerna takdir yang akan menentukan
Impian kasih
InTeam: Impian Kasih

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/8/2002 12:49:41 PM// Your Say . . .

Just finished iftar. Took two panadols to cater for my headache. It's always like this, during the first few days of fasting.. I get tense headaches; almost migrainelike and the only way I can get rid of it is by taking two Panadols and to go to sleep. I feel a cold coming on - the first signs are here : a sore throat, a runny nose.. I expect I'll be having a miserable weekend.

Was reading Cik Kieli's weblog earlier. I've taken to returning to a couple of weblogs as of late.. mostly from the links they've left behind in my guestbook. I will, very soon, compile them into a nice list ... not as much as to link them as to acknowledge their support of my fledgling weblog..

Anyway, she was talking about the cold and how heaters got turned off at night.. well, I just remembered how I coped with it.. so Cik Kieli if you're reading this.. take heed

Our heaters would go off at about 10pm, so I would make sure all was done by 9.30pm, and would get ready for bed. I'd put on a t-shirt and a track-suit bottom complete with socks, and have a sweater on standby. On the bedside stand I would place my mobile and my alarm clock.. and I'd jump into bed and slip under the covers - yes, the duvet AND the blanket - at about 9.45pm.. while the heating was still on. All essentials, such as TV remote and the internal phone (I had a friend who would call at odd hours just to chat), would come into bed with me, as no way would I get up after I'd made my nice cosy burrow. Tapi.. yang seksanya.. nak bangun and wudhu' pagi esoknya... mak aih.. brrrrr... sejuk tahap professor! Of course, failing all this, you could always get what most other Malays get - a portable heater.. hehehe

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/8/2002 12:45:31 PM// Your Say

. . .

*sigh* All the other IPTs are in the midst of finalising the exam marks, if not having already submitted them. My fellow lecturers are rejoicing.. happily twiddling their thumbs as they await the next semester to come along. And yet, here I am, still finalising final exam questions

Could sure use a cup of

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/8/2002 06:24:32 AM// Your Say

. . .

makaan budaakk.....

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/8/2002 01:44:32 AM// Your Say . . .

heh heh heh heh heh

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/8/2002 01:35:53 AM// Your Say . . .

are emoticons mounted on a transparent background?
Hmmm.. new toy alert.

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/8/2002 01:31:42 AM// Your Say . . .

Was just messing about on the JPJ website.. keyed in a random plate number and found that a vehicle was listed with offences for both no seatbelt and no helmet. Hmm.. wonder how this is possible..

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/8/2002 12:42:54 AM// Your Say . . .

Something is wrong with the office email .. yes yes.. I know.. what's new? But I have not received email from outside Uniten since midday yesterday. The possibility that no one wants to send me email at all is highly unlikely, because I have made adequate measures to ensure that I get at least ONE email a day, by subscribing to the Dilbert mailing list.

So since even my ever faithful Daily Dilbert hasn't graced my mailbox (and neither as my curmudgeon list - a secondary measure just in case Dilbert was down for the day.. yes, you may call me paranoid if you wish).. well; me thinks something is wrong. Did a test run.. sent an email from KMS account to my Hotmail account.. worked fine. So it's incoming mail that's in a fix.. just when I need a lot of correspondence with the outside world, too! Arghhhhhh!!!!

Wonder how we ever lived without the Internet, email and mobiles way back when :)



posted by Prof_Sadin 10/8/2002 12:32:40 AM// Your Say

. . .

Monday, October 7

to end the working day, instead of depressing myself with a list of things to do, allow me to list my accomplishments for the day:

managed to figure out Mr Accounting for this week's labs

completed the handout for Lab 9, with Print Screen elements.. (chewaaah)

sorted out schedule for lectures and tutorials in Lancaster

finalised notes for lecture on the Internet and Online Resources

finished doing PowerPoint for Lect 9.. (siap terbang2 lagi)

Things I still have to get done:
oh.. why bother?

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/7/2002 11:13:06 AM// Your Say . . .

An article I found on the Internet. Worth a read.

Change of heart, soul on Islam
By Daniel González
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 28, 2002 12:00 AM
http://www.arizonarepublic.com/arizona/articles/0928b2profile28.html

Deedra Abboud, the new president of the Council on American Islamic Relations of Arizona, was raised Christian in Arkansas, the buckle of the Bible Belt.Her mother was Methodist, her father a Southern Baptist. Then how did this strong-willed feminist who once considered Islam a form of oppression against women wind up becoming a Muslim? It's a question Abboud is often asked.

"I grew up in a very pro-woman household. My mom and dad were divorced and my sisters weren't married. We were brought up with the attitude, 'What do we need men for?,' " Abboud said recently during an interview at the Tempe Islamic Cultural Center, her face framed by a beige-colored hijab. A hijab is the head scarf worn by most Muslim women as a symbol of modesty. Growing up in Little Rock, Abboud, 30, never even met a Muslim until she was in college at the University of Arkansas, where she studied business. She remembers arguing with Muslims about their faith.

"I would verbally attack them," Abboud said.Your religion oppresses women, she would tell them. Making women cover their heads and hide their beauty is a form of suppression.You are misinformed, the Muslims would counter. The head scarf is liberating. It allows women to be evaluated for their intelligence rather than their sexuality.
Abboud decided she needed to become better informed.

"The only thing I really knew about Islam was what I learned in seventh-grade social studies class," she said. "I was taught that Islam was Mohammedism; that they worshipped Mohammed, and that women always had to walk one-step behind men and they always had to look down and they always had to wear black."She started reading every book about Islam she could find, starting with the Koran. None of the bookstores in Little Rock carried it, so Abboud drove all the way Houston, six hours, just to get one.Then something happened. The more she read about the religion, the more she became attracted to it.

"Initially to win. That was my goal, to be able to argue better," Abboud said. "I'd would pick up books and I would try and read as much as I could and then I would go out of my way to meet other Muslims but at some point it changed from wanting to argue to wanting to understand." Abboud didn't really consider becoming a Muslim, however, until she moved to Arizona in 1998. Climbing the career ladder as a woman in conservative Arkansas would be hard enough, she figured, let alone as a Muslim women wearing a hijab.

In Arizona, Abboud settled in Tempe and got a job working for a collection agency. She read in the newspaper that October that the Tempe mosque was having an open house. Soon she was coming to the mosque regularly. Later that year, she decided to convert. The following year, she married a Muslim man from Iraq, Ali Abboud, whom she met while they were both working at a local construction company.As president of the Council on American Islamic Relations of Arizona, Abboud is frequently invited to speak to community groups about Islam.

The audiences are often surprised when a blue-eyed, fair-skinned woman arrives wearing a head scarf. "We were expecting an Arab," they tell her. Abboud doesn't mind.
"I work on stereotypes," she said. "I very rarely wear a dress. I try to wear pants just so that they know I can. And I never wear black."

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/7/2002 09:34:05 AM// Your Say

. . .

lamanya dah tak ke tioman...

Just finished putting together the lecture and tutorial schedule for my class at Lancaster. I'll be teaching Accounting Information Systems - a hybrid of the two areas I am academically passionate about: Accounting and Information Technology. It was a so-so paper when I was in university for me; but I've tutored this paper before and I'll be teaching and tutoring it this time.. got some jitters, I must say.. Lancaster is quite a step up from Uniten where I could, if I wanted, bluff my way through lectures. I suspect the students there will catch on pretty quick if I were to mess around. But nervousness is good. It makes me think, and it makes me tick.

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/7/2002 09:04:46 AM// Your Say

. . .

When was the last time I dropped everything I was doing when I heard the azan, and performed my immediate obligations to the Almighty? I can't remember. Have I ever? Maybe today is a good day to start.

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/7/2002 06:23:39 AM// Your Say . . .

I'm addicted to this whole Quizilla thing. It's idiotic, nothing can be taken for granted, it's created by non-specialists and it's just GREAT! Of course, I am totally indebted to it. This is the only quiz that has certified that I am normal.

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/7/2002 05:57:36 AM// Your Say . . .

I am one of those people who have sexually ambiguous names.. or perhaps, it's not ambiguous at all.. but predominantly male. Maybe my dad was feeling a bit adventurous, or perhaps, to him, the name was not at all male; but anyway, as a repercussion, I've been addressed as Mr. heaps of times (for the record, if you're still wondering.. I'm female). Anyway, today as I was corresponding with some people at the conference organiser about my true gender, it turned out that the officer in charge, whom I uncannily addressed as Mr., turned out to be a Ms. as well :) What a start to a Monday!

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/7/2002 03:34:18 AM// Your Say . . .

Sunday, October 6

What do other people see you as?
brought to you by Quizilla

This test says I'm normal.. la la la la la.. I'm normal I'm normal.. woo hooo.... I'm sane and I'm normal * wanders off to celebrate with a victory dance*

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/6/2002 12:34:57 PM// Your Say

. . .

What Element Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Went to pay off my credit card bills today. My past of lasvicious spending has caught up with me.. nowadays I only use the credit card for the petrol between here and muadzam (which costs approximately RM45 a week) but I think a few transactions got a bit awry and came up late on my credit card statement; meaning I was gone over the limit even with just petrol; so I had to even things out in the cash department.

Not in a very good mood; can't be bothered to write too much, beings that I am at home and that mom and dad and the whole phat family can read whatever I write over my shoulder. Ironic, isn't it? I put this stuff on the web, where it is accessible by ANYONE ANYWHERE in the whole wide world, and yet I don't want the people closest to me to know about it.

posted by Prof_Sadin 10/6/2002 12:33:55 PM// Your Say

. . .