What comes first, content or layout?

Recently I was spending at least half a day's time every day searching for the 'best' layout for another blog. I wanted it to be as appealing for the masses and as functional to my liking.

So what about the content? It is the content that keeps people coming back for more in the first place right(provided it's not some random spam from the internet). To tell you the truth, I have neglected on the content part of the blog. What a sin I have done.

I am sure any of you bloggers out there have this dilemma at some point. It is true that content draws readers in. But what if there is no mechanism of getting the readers in in the first place?

What I have realised is that both are equally important and both needs to be
treated with different care.

The quality and quantity of content grows with time. With these, the layout of
the blog morphs along with it.

As stubborn as you want the layout of the blog to be multi-layered and multifunctional, you cannot do it if you do not have sufficient content on your blog.

So the next time when you wanted to start a new blog or website, remember that no blog is good without content, and no content is good without a good layout.

So I still hasn't answer the question....

Test entry

Ok I am testing out the function of Adobe Contribute CS3. It is a tool that allows you to update your blog or website and the comfort of a centralised program and allows you to add/edit content wysiwyg style. I am still testing out this software if there is anything great about it maybe you should get a copy too.

Cheers

The psychology of trust

Hi people sorry for missing in action. I have been trying out on some new stuffs on a domain that I recently acquired. The theme and mood of the website will be quite different from what I posted up here: less critical but still as fun.

I recently come up with the idea that trusting someone maybe more than just a personal trait. It may come down to the understanding of a person's hierarchy of needs.

When we talk about trusting someone, we give approval for certain action that the other party is going to carry out; this is usually some actions that doesnt occur to the norm. This may sound vague and confusing to some, so let's provide some illustration to this point.

Let's say you are strained in some island with a group of 5 survivor from an airplane crash( i beg your pardon if it sounded cliche to you). Now all of you are in a state of severe hunger. So someone in the group decided to go find some food. Sounds great right? This is because it is still the usual way of what a person may do.

However, if this guy wanted to lure some pork or beef, by offering some food as bait, this is where the psychology of trust comes in. You are in the physiological state of need and this guy wanted to take this need away from you, what will you do?

On another scenario, when you just ate half a large size pan pizza and is feeling very full. Someone come around and asked if he can take the other half of the pizza to feed his family, what will you do? Hell ya thanks for helping me to clear the plate right? Now the person can't be that poor if he can patron a pizza place but you couldn't care more, since your physiological needs had been fulfilled.

This psychology of trust happens on all level on the hierarchy of needs, if what that requires you to trust conflicts with the state of needs you are in now.

I would love to hear your point of view so post'em up!

Free wireless internet for the masses

Wireless internet access has been a commonplace for most of us netizens for quite some time. The concept of an internet cafe where people can register for a computer to use from the cafe counter. Now it is the age where people bring a cell phone with wireless capability, a laptop or your itouch and have a good time accessing the internet while still able to hold a decent conversation with the person opposite you, whom you are having coffee with.

In Singapore, the 3G community had been hard to catch up with the wireless access set up at most cafe and public places around the island. This can be due to the fact that the audience that mostly used wireless (I am talking about any type of access to the internet other than using a fixed cable.) internet are people like us whom uses it for daily activities like check the mail, updating friendster, write a forum or simply to chat online. When you are doing daily net activities like these, you usually would be thankful enough to just use a free wireless access. Never mind that you sometimes get disconnected halfway ( for my case now, I can’t even log in to the public library that I am in. It may be just due to my lousy network device since people around me are happily using their sub-2kgers) through you chat or the pesky advertisements that comes along with the free access (well, nothing is really free without a reason right?)

From the trend i see these days, wireless access penetration rate may easily match the boom period of the cell phone, or even the antique pager. When you see that the rate of adoption is faster than the rate where people feel comfortable reading their favourite novel under the cable-bounded table lamp, you know that people don’t like to be physically bounded ( except for those sad-masochist type maybe? Hmm..)

I can see that in the near future, people will not need to ‘log in’ any form of wireless internet access. The users may just need to make a one-time registration of their MAC address to the service provider. Users will be logged in every time and anytime when their wireless device is near an access point, and with roaming capability.

One thing for sure, advertising companies will be the first to adapt.

Ok I just got connected.

Like father, unlike son

Admit it. You must have some sort of conflict over your father's character and the way he does things. This is even though you could have adopted the same character from your father.

I don't know if it's the nature's way to show who's the real alpha tiger or it's just nature's selection mechanism: to judge someone that you had adopted your character from, so as to strength this character or to abandon it. Someone may say that this is the process of adolescence period. But you know that it still happens to you now. It gets quite frustrating sometimes though. Most of the time he had some strong belief in things that you may have a stake in it as well. But your belief is not as strong as his. This created some sort of difference in the depth of thinking. Maybe this is why arguments sets at this point to clear the haze. It is through arguments that beliefs are made more concrete, or shatter to a pile of dust.

But one thing for sure, it's hard to understand how dearly your father holds his own concept behind things, and yet showed so much leniency when you don't really follow his footsteps.
Maybe because he's old enough to know that people should have their own viewpoint.

Or maybe that's what differ a father from the son.

New year, new acquisitions

Year 2007 was bad for the Western economies. It maybe as bad as Sept 11. But this time round, instead of buildings being destroyed, they were being acquired.

You see, the year 2007 is the year of US subprime market meltdown. Apparently banks are too optimistic about the grown of the economy. Monies are lent to home buyers with poor financial track records. The American dream of each family or a person owns a house seemed like a dream come true.

2008 will be the year of acquisitions. Middle Eastern and Asian countries are beginning to bail out those western economies in dire state. This is the time when companies with huge fundings can strike a good deal with ailing banks and old establishments, without too much concern about bad management. This is because this singular fund crumble could not be an effective judgement of the management of a company. When everyone is cycling round a hillside bend, no one could see what is coming from the other side.

This is the year where companies will change hand and it's not if the management can hold up the companies, but it's up to the new stakeholders to not ruining what they bought.

Evolution of the Muscle Man

Being a Muscular Man is a tough outfit to wear. Across the centuries, Muscle Man had been given different labels. They had been called masochists, gay, hunk, pea brain, narcissist, etc. The interesting thing is that the muscle man do not try to silent the critics. They embraced the labels well and along time, ride high on the waves of labels.

So is it that the labels created the Muscle Man, or the Muscle Man created their own labels? I would think that it worked both ways. In the ancient societies, warrior are depicted as huge tall beasts with scared skins. It is essential for the ancient man to have a galactically proportioned body, since they need to wear all the heavy armour and wield the sword or axe that easier weighed half a damsel. I would say their well built bodies is the by-product of their lifestyle.

For the Muscle Man of the modern days, it's still the lifestyle that changed their physique. Only that this time round, this lifestyle is not essential for their living.

Please help me continue with this argument anyone, as I am having a brain freezing session now.

The Plight of Instant Coffee

"Instant coffee was invented in 1901 by Satori Kato, a Japanese scientist working in. George Constant Louis Washington developed his own instant coffee process shortly thereafter, and first marketed it commercially (~1910). The Nescafé brand, which introduced a more advanced coffee refining process, was launched in 1938. Its popularity soared in post-WWII America and today it can be found all over the world." - Source, The People's favourite free Encyclopedia

I didn't know instant coffee had such long history had i not did some research upon writing this posting. I would have thought that it's a creation of this fast-paced internet driven world. I would love to think that instant coffee sole purpose is to provide enough caffeine to nourish our thirsty brain.

A cup of instant coffee can't have such a long history behind it, I reasoned. If it is, it definitely wasn't an instant hit like a Coca Cola or Earl Grey. If it were, there wouldn't be so make 'Improved' instant coffees. After trying so many times of instant coffee in the market, I am thinking:' how come the guys at Nescafé or Owl don't get frustrated over frequent 'improvement' of their coffee, without really making it more alluring?" It's true, they should get frustrated as I really am.

I am beginning to think that the incompetency of perfecting the art of producing instant coffee may be a message from Mother Nature: Don't think you humans can play Gaud everytime. Coffee is coffee and that is it. It's not some Macdonald's or KFC.

A simple cup of instant coffee, it resonates with the pace of this internet age: fast-paced innovations but most of which failed to impress.

It's the most...wonderful time of the year, cos we all had the same religion. You know what i am saying??

Early in the day on Christmas eve I went for my Industrial Attachment company's X'mas party. Kind of 'nostalgic' to be back to the place where I was formally 'employed' as an 'intern' 'engineer'.

First of all, I wasn't really quite nostalgic in the sense that I had only completed the internship 6 mths ago, and thoughout the last 6mths I was constantly updated about the status of the company. Dont' get me wrong, i wasn't a spy to the company, i was just curious about how a SME function and all the interpersonal relationships with various stakeholders both internal and external.

Secondly, I wasn't quite an intern. Let me quote the definition of an intern in the people's favourite free encyclopedia.

"An intern or stagiaire is one who works in a temporary position with an emphasis on on-the-job training rather than merely employment, making it similar to an apprenticeship" - People's favourite free encyclopedia

The operating words here are 'temporary position', 'on-the-job training' ( aka OJT) and 'apprenticeship'. Ok so apprenticeship may need another quote from a dictionary, but i guess you guys can check the meaning out. The first description is definitely right, but i am not sure about the second and third description. I wasnt on the job that needs much training, so there wasn't really training. As for apprenticeship, I wasnt much under the supervision of anybody...........ANYWAY, THIS WASNT THE MAIN TOPIC.

Phew...Ok, back to the main topic. ( Thank you ZX for the gift 'down the chimney'. Appreciated it.) Well, the main topic is actually,

Merry

Christmas to all of you out there.

Embrace in the new religion, that is, Capitalism.....

Am i seeing things?? I am not, i just felt the sun

It's the most wonderful time of the year. But apparently i only felt the wonder today: the first day i saw a bright sun in a long time.

Thank Gaud i brought along my swimming attire for the meeting in school. ( Doesn't mean that i never wrote about my meeting, it is not important. It's not a topic that would make me famous.) Ok where was I? ya about the swim. Nothing fanciful. Did my usual stuffs: Start with breaststroke if i saw a weak competitor swimming that stroke, or start with very easy freestyle if i saw a strong competitor. That gives the impression that i can beat you any time but i am just taking it easy.

Are we there yet? my friend would complain again if she found out my second entry is as short as the first one. ok just nice. I am outz.