Delayed Publishing

Hate to use a techie term but I've finally figured out Blogger's "delayed publishing", in the sense that I've figured out Blogger's Post Options for a blog entry.

"Delayed publishing" is perhaps a feature in most publishing systems, where you may want to delay the release or publishing of an article or item to a future date even when the article or item has been created completely.

The reasons why this feature is set so that you can have some sort of scheduled release of articles without manually having to do it. Basically, the system where you publish your article in is smart enough to delay the publishing based on a set date and time.

This is different from drafts where your article is not at the completed stage and hence, even when you save your article, it would not publish until you hit the publish button. And, if the schedule is set right, the article would be published at the preset date and time.

Sorry for being so techie... The curse of working in the ECM (Enterprise Content Management) and Portal space for the past few years...

Anyway, I've tried this option previously and it didn't work out. After I hit the "Publish Post" button, the article was published anyway, displaying the future date and time correctly but in reality, the article wasn't supposed to be published yet.

1. First Things First..
If you expand the Post Options link a the bottom of the editor in Blogger, you are able to set the Post date and time of your entry.

Click the image for a bigger view

2. Set the Post date and time
Set the date and time to the future date. For example, if I wish to have this article published on 4th July 2009, I'll set it based on the date format configured.

The tricky bit is for time, as it follows the 24-hour format, which means 12am is actually 00:00, while 7:00pm is actually 19:00

Once all of this is set, just hit the Publish Post button like you normally do, sit back and relax. ;-)

Oh yeah... Blogger will indicate to you that the article's publishing will be scheduled...

Hope the tip helps. BTW, did you know that this article's publishing was scheduled too... (^_^)

Reflections...

Have you ever taken the time to reflect on yourself?

Basically, have you taken time to look into your "internal mirror" to see if the person there is who you want to be?

I think this occurred to me as it is already July and most companies are already closing their financial year. Which means.. It's time for those darn review sessions with your boss(s)... Uggghhh...

Lucky for me this year I've sort of escaped it as I've switched jobs.

Nevertheless, I often take time out to see if I've reached my own goals by this time of year, i.e. Resolutions for Year XXXX. But it's never a serious assessment as so much as just a fleeting thought only.

Anyway, after this evening's team meeting, I'm seriously doubting my capabilities as the PM said that my project has to "catch up" due to the delays. Frankly, I feel as though I'm carrying the entire project on my back as my two team members are far too junior to undertake some of the tasks I would like them to do. *sigh*

I try to put this behind me and soldier on but as I do so, I feel that I'm redoing a lot of work when I hand it out. Which is not what I want... Because of that, I'm seriously doubting my technical and leadership abilities.

Ok, rant over. The picture in the mirror is not so pretty but if I draw the mirror with nice doodles and etc, it makes me a bit happier. However, that's not the end result I'm looking for. I still need to find a solution....

Father's Day Weekend

I woke up to a very hazy Tuesday morning.. Great...

Anyway, a couple of weeks back was Father's Day and we had a few small celebrations instead of 1 big one as Dad had to head down to Ipoh to conduct some training sessions.

It was also the weekend where we enjoyed a movie organized by a group in church to raise money for our church building fund. We caught the movie "A Man For All Seasons", a movie which won 6 Oscars, adapted from a very popular play.

Yes, the movie tickets were expensive but it was all for the building of our new "home" as for many years, we've been having mass celebrated in a badminton hall in Subang Jaya. The tickets came with a drink and popcorn which was marvelous.

We expected the movie to be dry and boring but the conversation were exciting and humourous too! To think that during those ancient times, people were just as conniving and cunning in order to manipulate the system to bring down an honest man - St. Thomas More, who happens to be my church's patron saint.

My sis and bro-in-law treated both fathers, i.e. my Dad and in-law to a meal that Saturday evening. Unfortunately... the pics didn't turn out right and so, no pics of that night will be posted.

I took my parents to Canton-i after church on Sunday as it was just about the only place less crowded that Father's Day. He had to catch a taxi to Ipoh right after lunch.

My Dad is a typical china-man, where he wants to eat something Asian for breakfast/lunch, i.e. be it Roti Canai or Dim Sum. So, I ordered a few things to be shared...

My Dad loves his pork and so, I couldn't resist ordering the roast pork again. Somehow, I felt the portion was a bit small but it was satisfying.

I decided to order some noodles and the beef noodles which I ordered was succulent! The beef was tenderly braised, with the tendons which are jelly-like but not entirely gooey.

Another egg tart photo. My mom, who loves egg tarts approve of the Canton-i version. Although small, it is a perfect dessert after you've had lots of dim sum. Just looking at it makes me drool...

My Dad is someone who is shy when it comes to gifts as in, he is very unwilling to accept it. However, when you do get him something that you think he likes it, he will chuck it aside but not tell you whether he likes it or not. It is a bit infuriating but thank goodness he is the kind of guy who loves to eat. So, taking him out to a good restaurant is something which he will appreciate and enjoy.

Who's Watching Your Back?

Snoopy is cautiously watching out for Rusty...

Things have been pretty hectic lately ever since the team came up to speed implementing the proper methodology towards the solutioning exercise for the project.

Anyway, we got news that one of the systems is to Go-LIVE earlier than expected and as such, we try to help each other out.

Although things are hectic and stressful, the one thing I like about the team I'm working with is how we watch out for each other. Some of the members often go rushing out to meet with clients or vendors and so, we have to share our information when they come back to the "war room".

The context of the photo I've posted is in the wrong context but what I can say is that when we need support, I can count on my team members.

I've always felt that the success of a team depends on how well we work with one another, not against one another...

Getting Together @ Canton-i

A couple of weeks back, my friends and I celebrated 1 leng lui's birthday. Well, she's rather shy about her age but I have to say that she's keeping well. :-)

Anyway, upon her request, we ended up at Canton-i @ Sunway Pyramid.

I've been to this outlet a few times and I'm a big fan of their porridge as it is done in the proper Cantonese style - i.e. smooth and thick unlike the Teo Chew style which is like rice in water. The porridge was much to the Hong Kong and Guang Zhou style which I had some many years back.

However, for this round, we did not go for the porridge but had more substantial stuff.

Canton-i serves killer prawn wantans! The prawns are fresh and large. It is really worth every single penny... The wantan skins were brilliant too. Not too thick or thin but just right. The wantans were not overcooked unlike some other places where the skins just burst and the filling seeps out.

We ordered other prawn-related dishes and it did not disappoint too.

With the roasted pork and honey-glazed pork hanging by the window, we can't resist but to order a plate to try it out. I've tried this dish a few times and this time, I would say that the honey-glazed pork had a good amount of fat. At some outlets under the same franchise, the honey-glazed pork was a little dry. So far, the best place for this has got to be Canton-i @ Gardens, MidValley.

With all that meat and seafood, we had to balance things out with some carbohydrates. This was the Fried Beef Noodles with XO Sauce, a very common dish in Hong Kong. It's not bad as the beef was marinated quite well.

We did order some other food such as vegetables and some wantan noodles but I didn't want to post those pictures up. Kekeke..

When my two friends were holidaying in Melbourne, they tried some whitefish which is very popular there. Well, looking at the menu, they ordered a similar type of fish and this was yummy!! Savoury and sweet at the same time, I think it goes well with porridge too!

As for dessert, my friends ordered about 5 different types of dessert but I'll only showcase two as I felt that these two were just out of this world! The simple egg custard tart is a common dessert or dim sum item in most restaurants but to make the perfect custard requires the hands of a master. The egg custard has to be sweet, smooth and warm while the pastry holding the custard has to be flaky and light. Superb... Please order this...

This other dessert can be a nightmare for some folks but for those who love the taste of durian, this dessert is unique to Hong Kong food. Most Malaysians take their durian from the fruit, i.e. fresh in all its "smelly" glory. The durian pancake was so-so, only difference is that it was deep-fried. The fruit wasn't very ripe which meant that the taste and smell of durian lingered but the sweetness wasn't there. :-(

All in all, we had a great time stuffing ourselves. Anyway, Canton-i can be a bit pricey but it is worthwhile a try. Portions are quite large too.

Meanwhile, I'll try to update another blog post later about my Father's Day lunch @... Canton-i... AGAIN!! LOL!!!!

Have I Run Out Of Things to Say?

I had thought a bit about my next post.

I have some photos to put up... Yes, it's mainly about food as this time round, I had gone out with my friends for a good makan to celebrate someone's thirt####### birthday. Kekeke...

Not that I ran out of things to say.

Just that I need to find time to write it. LOL!!

After today's meeting, I realized that from the spreadsheet of documents to deliver, I have quite a number on my plate. Eep!

Not only that, after this morning's meeting with the vendor; I realized that although my team members said that they have 3-4yrs working experience, the questions they posed really showed that they did not do their homework. Arrrgghhh... That means, more filtering work for me. *sigh*

I've already told them to eat, sleep, breathe and sh*t the technical proposal as that would be part of our job. Looks like the message didn't get through yet. *sob*

Aside from that, after this afternoon's project management meeting, they seem quite confused between phase deliverables and project closure deliverables. Hmmm... Not only that, they have NEVER estimated their work before, as they asked me how to put in start and end dates in the plan.

When I did see the dates, I noticed that they planned to start the work in July.... when the work should begin tomorrow... When I asked why, they thought that the side-task was what they need to concentrate on this week.......... In fact, the side-task was already mentioned to be a side-task where we will use around 10-20hours per week and it is on-going...

Looks like I have a lot of work ahead. I have to treat these folks as "freshies" and train them up to speed or else... I may have to vomit out all the documents by myself....

Another thing I have to do is to see what motivates them and bring that out. Besides that, I think I need to bring my old naggy self back to nag and lecture these folks too. :P

Otherwise, they are pretty ok; just that being new, I believe they are afraid to step up to the plate... which is not good, in the organization where I'm at.

So, in a sense, my next post.. should be less ranty and err... more colourful with some photos too. (^.^)

Transformers 2!!!!

I'm getting a wee bit excited as the date for Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen is coming soon.

"Megatron, you do know that we have a date to keep, right?"

I'd guess that there would be a very long queue as everyone will flock to the cinemas when the movie is out. Hmmmm... I wonder if I should splurge a little to go for the Premier class? After all, it's Megatron and Optimus Prime!!!!!