Auspicious dates for baby first haircut (Mundan) in 2017

In many culture, religion and/or tradition, the first haircut of a baby is considered an important milestone for his/her life. The day is known as Mundan, Chadakarana, Halaqah, Upsherin, etc.

Here is the list of auspicious dates for baby first haircut in year 2017, which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

Auspicious dates in 2017 for getting a baby

Here is the list of auspicious dates in 2017 (year of Rooster) for getting a baby (求嗣), which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu.

The dates have good element(s) to embro/faetus. Traditionally, the dates are referred for conception planning (making love and expecting a baby to the family). Nowadays, people also make reference to them for Caesarian delivery of new born.

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

Auspicious dates for marriage proposal or engagement in 2017

Before becoming the life partner, marriage is proposed by lover and engagement is made.

Here is the list of auspicious dates for marriage proposal or engagement in year 2017 (year of Rooster), which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

Auspicious dates for moving to new house / office in 2017

Here is the list of auspicious dates for moving to new house/office in year 2017, which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

Auspicious dates for starting new job / post / assignment in 2017

For employees, especially those in leading/managing position, here is a list of auspicious dates  in 2017 for starting new job/post/assignment, including joining new company or joining new team in existing company. It is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu.

It can be applied to first day reporting to new company/department/office/position, go for the post to lead/manage a new business unit/team/project/programme. It can also be applied to assuming new job position after promotion/restructuring/relocation exercise.

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

Auspicious dates for renovation in 2017

Here is the list of auspicious dates for home or office renovation in year 2017, which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu. (Click the image to enlarge)

 

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

Auspicious dates for opening business in 2017

Here is the list of auspicious dates for opening business in year 2017, which is produced based on the Chinese almanac Tong Shu.

It can be applied to new business opening, or reopening of business after a break/holiday. (Click the image to enlarge)

Bear in mind that although the Tong Shu is a compilation of Chinese astrology and calendaring studies gathering wisdom of thousands of years, we should use it wisely and rationally, but not be too superstitious on it.

MyCelcom Postpaid App to track your Celcom mobile usages

Celcom is now at the final stage of developing their MyCelcom Postpiad App for Android, for their Celcom First postpaid mobile plan users. Apparently, this mobile app is going to launch soon, and already available for free download in Google Play Store.

This is how it looks like:

The app shows your billing amount due, and you can pay your Celcom bill directly in the app. It is also able to show your last 6 months billing history.

With the app, you can instantly check your up to date usage of the current billing month on Internet data (free quota - weekdays, free quota - weekends & top-up quota), phone calls (free quota & pay per use), SMS (free quota & pay per use) and international roaming.

If you used up your free Internet data quota, you can also buy add-on Internet quota in the app (2GB for RM18).

You can get the detail information about your Celcom postpaid plan in the My Plan Details screen as below:

Last but not least, you can also use this app to check for your SIM card PUK number.

Click here to download the MyCelcom Postpaid App for Android.

File Manager + the free, fast, easy to use file explorer with simple GUI and great features

What is the file explorer app you use in your Android smartphone? The stock is usually primitive, and the famous ES Explorer has gone complicated.

My choice is File Manager +, which has a simple, straightforward, easy to use GUI, yet packed with some great features.

There are quite a number of apps in Google Play Store named as File Manager, look for the icon above to locate the right one.

In a simple screen, this app shows you the available and used storage space in your phone's main storage, and external SD card, if any. It also categorizes the files stored in your phone into Images, Music, Videos, Documents, Apps, etc. for easy navigation and access.

 

It can even link to network storages in the cloud (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive), or remotely access via Windows neighbourhood sharing, FTP, FTPS and SFTP access. It also provide an option for you to make your phone become an FTP server, so that its files in internal and external storage can be access from PC or any other FTP clients.

It also has a Storage Analysis function to examine the storage occupying percentage analysis, and list out the large files that have taken up a lot of storage space.

 

The good news is, this app of high usability with neat and clean user interface, is free for download and use, and it doesn't contain any ads too.

How to open the menu / more options in Android devices without the menu navigation button?

One of the problem I faced with my Samsung Galaxy Tab A 6 (10.1", S Pen, LTE, SM-P585Y) Android tablet is that, although it has a Home button, a "Recent Apps" button and a "Back" button, it doesn't come with a "Menu" button which certain apps rely on to bring up their More Options menu.

Anyhow, there is a workaround solution for this, by using the Accessibility Assistant Menu.

To enable this, go to Setting > Accessibility and select the "Dexterity and interaction" option.

Then, select the "Assistant menu" option inside the "Dexterity and interaction" menu.

Switch on the "Assistant menu", and you will see this floating action button appear on the screen:

Tap on it and you will be able to see the "More options" soft button.

In your app, tap on this "More options" to bring up and access into its menu settings.

You can switch off this "Assistant menu" after use. The floating action button will disappear from the screen when it is switched off.

My 10.1 inches Samsung Galaxy Tab A 6 with S Pen and LTE phone function (SM-P585Y)

I used to read subscribed electronic magazines with my Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet when I am on the move. In many occasions, I found its screen too small to display the text in the electronic magazines to be readable without having to enlarge the pages.

Recently, Samsung launched a new Samsung Galaxy Tab A tablet with 10.1" TFT LCD screen that comes with S Pen and supports both WiFi and LTE cellular network. It has full phone feature and can be used for phone calling and SMS function too!

I found its price of around RM1,500 to be reasonable, and therefore bought one to serve for my electronic magazines reading.

This Samsung Galaxy Tab A 6 with S Pen (model: SM-P585Y) is a mid-range Android tablet, powered by the Samsung Exynos 7 Octa 7870 14nm processor.

Specification wise, it is much better than the 9.7" Samsung Galaxy Tab A with S Pen and LTE support. The 9.7" version only has a screen resolution of 1024x768 while this 10.1" version one is 1920x1200. In addition, the 9.7" version has quad-core CPU and 2 GB RAM, while this 10.1" version has octa-core CPU and 3 GB RAM.

However, being a mid-range tablet, its specification is lower than the high spec Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 (9.7", LTE). The S2 has 2048x1536 super AMOLED screen and more sensors, but doesn't have S Pen.

What I like about this Samsung Galaxy Tab A 6 with S Pen (10.1", LTE)?

• Its 10.1" screen is large among the tablets in the market.
• It has a high capacity Li-ion battery of 7,300 mAh which can last for long hours of usage.
• It supports multi-user usage, whereby each user can login with separate account.
• It supports split window and also multiview for multitasking.
• Its S Pen is nice for drawing or writing quick notes. Comes with S Command function too.
• It has sufficient RAM to run smoothly.
• Its price is reasonable.

What I dislike about this Samsung Galaxy Tab A 6 with S Pen (10.1", LTE)?

• It does not have a "menu" navigation button, which need some software workaround to bring out the setting menu in some apps.
• It is quite heavy, probably due to its high capacity battery. It is even heavier when its book cover case (EF-BP580) is put on.
• It only has 16 GB internal storage, which is pretty small. Its official firmware does not support for Android 6 adoptable storage, so even if you add in a micro-SD card to expand its storage capacity, most of its storage usage is still residing within the small 16 GB internal storage.
• It does not have accelerometer, fingerprint sensor, gyroscope, geo-magnetic sensor, infra red blaster, NFC, etc.
• Although the Samsung Exynos 7870 supports LTE Cat.6, it only support LTE Cat.4.
• It does not support 2x2 MIMO Wireless-A WiFi. Its maximum connection speed at 5Ghz WiFi is 433Mbps only instead of 866Mbps.

Electronic password protected money saving box

To encourage my kid to save pocket money with fun, I have bought him an electronic password protected money saving box.

This money saving box is designed to store both coins and notes. It is quite large, about 7 x 4 x 4.5 cubic inches.

It operates with 3 AA size batteries, to be inserted into its bottom compartment.

Coins are dropped from its top aperture, just like most ordinary piggy bank. Bank notes are to be inserted from its front aperture. Interestingly, this saving box will roll the bank notes into it, with similar effect of automated parking machine.

It has a revolving vault door with password protection, working similarly to a real safe. The password can be changed too.

On top of it is a small LED light, when switched on in darkness, can provide good enough illumination for putting in the coins and slotting in the bank notes.

Christmas and new year is around the corner. At the price of around RM60, perhaps this is a good choice as present to the kids.

Clean and sanitize my washing machine with Xin Juke tub cleaning powder

Washing machine is commonly used in modern household to help us wash and clean our clothes without much hassle.

Over time, external surface of the inner tub of the washing machine will develop many of these contaminations, which might in turn contaminate the clothes in it:

• Residue of detergent
• Lint
• Dirt
• Mildew
• Fungal
• Allergens
• Bacteria (including staphylococcus aureus, escherichia coli, etc.)

Therefore, it is advisable to regularly clean and sanitize your washing machine.

You can DIY your own homemade washing machine tub cleaning formula by washing it with the following one-by-one:

• Baking soda powder (1 tea cup + full tank of water)
• White vinegar (2 tea cups + full tank of water)
• Bleach (1 tea cup + full tank of water) 

I use Xin Juke tub cleaning powder for this purpose, one 90 gram packet at a time. Each 90 gram packet cost RM3.90 only. This washing machine cleaning power is suitable for both the top loaded and front loaded types of washing machine.

Using Xin Juke or other similar washing machine cleaning solution can save some hassle, time, and water used. The Xin Juke doesn't cost much too, although some other brand of similar solution might cost a lot.

The steps for using Xin Juke in top loading washing machine are:

• Dissolve one to two packets of the powder into warm water of around 40~80 degree Celcius.
• Fill up the washing machine with near full tank water.
• Pour the Xin Juke solution into the tank. (Alternatively, you can combine the above 2 steps and skip this step, if you can fill the washing machine with warm water. The temperature is suitable to fully dissolve the Xin Juke powder)
• Put in one to two pieces of cleaning cloth so that the washing machine not running with empty tub.
• Operate the washing machine for about 10 minutes.
• Stop the washing machine and let the cleaning solution to work for 3 to 4 hours in still water (but not too long until more than half a day)
• There might be dirty substances floating on top of the water. Remove them.
• Continue the washing cycle until it complete. You can use the "tub cleaning" washing cycle if your washing machine support this mode.

The steps for using Xin Juke in front loading washing machine are:

• Pour one to two packets of the powder into the tub and close the door.
• Put in one to two pieces of cleaning cloth so that the washing machine not running with empty tub.
• Fill up half the tub with water, preferably warm water.
• Operate the washing machine for about 10 minutes.
• Stop the washing machine and let the cleaning solution to work for 3 to 4 hours in still water (but not too long until more than half a day)
• Continue the washing cycle until it complete.

The steps are different because once the front loading washing machine is filled up with water, you can't simply open its door!

Stock fundamental ranking and screening with James O'Shaughnessy Trending Value

James Patrick O’Shaughnessy is the founder of quantitative money management firm O'Shaughnessy Asset Management, LLC.

In 1996, he wrote the best selling book "What Works on Wall Street", which has now evolved to its 4th Edition.

In the 3rd Edition of this book published in 2005, O'Shaughnessy unveiled the Cornerstone Growth stock screening method, which is based on the following criteria:

• Market capitalization >= $225 million
• 3-month average daily share volume >= 100,000
• Price-to-sales ratio <= 1.5
• 3-month total return greater than the median return of Russell 3000 companies
• 6-month total return greater than the median return of Russell 3000 companies
• Trailing 12-month EPS > 0
• Rank by highest 12-month total return

Subsequent to that, the 4th Edition of the book, published in 2011, introduced the improved Trending Value growth stock screening method, which claimed to achieved 21.19% annualized return over the 46-year period between 1964 and 2009.
Trending Value uses “value composite” (VC) instead of just the Price-to-sales ratio to measure stock undervaluation, which O'Shaughnessy described as "the top stock-market strategy of the past 50 years".

The value composite is composed of 6 value factors:

• Price-to-Book
• Price-to-Sales
• EBITDA/EV
• Price-to-Cashflow
• Price-to-Earnings
• Shareholder Yield

Listed companies in a stock market are divided into 100 groups (percentiles) based on the 6 value factors above. If a company's price-to-book ratio is in the lowest 1% of the dataset, it gets a score of 1. For some ratios it's the other way around, for instance EBITDA/EV. If a company belongs to the highest 10%, it gets a score of 1. If a value is missing, it gets a score of 50.

The same calculation is repeated for each of the ratios and then their values are summed up together. Companies are again divided into 100 groups based on this score. This final result is the so-called value composite.

A value composite of 1 means that the company belongs to the 1% cheapest companies according to these factors.
In the next filtering process, only the top 10% stocks ranked according to this value composite score are selected. Then these stocks are further filtered by a momentum factor, i.e. the 6-month price index. The result is an extremely cheap group of stocks that have been on the rise during the last 6 months.
O'Shaughnessy tested 3 different value composite scores as follow:

• VC1: based on the first 5 ratios only, excluding shareholder yield. By using this ratio his backtests showed a return of 17.18% annually.
• VC2: based on all 6 ratios. O'Shaughnessy uses this ratio in his trended value screen since his backtests showed an improvement in overall annual compound return of 12 basis points to 17.3%, a reduced standard deviation and downside risk.
• VC3: same as VC2 but the last ratio is replaced by buyback yield. Some investors are indifferent whether a company pays out a dividend or want to avoid these since they can be very heavily taxed. This VC generates an even higher return of 17.39% annually but with a slightly higher standard deviation compared to the VC2.

At the time of writing,  ValueSignals website ranked KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KLMR.PK) with the following scores:

• VC1: 1
• VC2: 1
• VC3: 1

The value factors of KLMR.PK compared with the entire market, the Industrials sector, the Transportation group, and the Airlines industry, respectively, is as below:

However, KLMR.PK only ranked at 4,842 in Magic Formula screening method:

Anyhow, it still has a respectably high Piotroski F-Score:

ValueSignals website provides a very handy and straightforward online service for systematic value investing to perform quantitative stock screening, stock comparison and stock information, currently covering as many as 33,600 stock counters listed in 44 countries around the world.

Beside O'Shaughnessy Value Composites, ValueSignals website is also able to perform screening (including multifactor cross-screening) of:

• Piotroski's F-Score
• Greenblatt's Magic Formula
• ERP5
• Altman's Z-Score
• Beneish’s M-Score
• Benjamin Graham's Net Current Asset Value (NCAV) to Market ratio
• EV/EBITDA
• Price index
• ... and many more

The screening can be performed across all stock counters, or limited to within certain regions,  countries, industries, etc.

As a user of ValueSignals, I recommend this website to all serious value investors and fund managers to boost your stock screening and selection process.

Top 30 property developers in The Edge Malaysia Property Excellence Awards 2016

The Edge Malaysia has just announced the Top 10 winners in their Property Excellence Awards 2016, which are:

• SP Setia Bhd
• IJM Land Bhd
• Sunway Bhd
• Sime Darby Property Bhd
• Mah Sing Group Bhd
• Eco World Development Group Bhd
• UOA Development Bhd
• Gamuda Bhd - Property Division
• IGB Corp Bhd
• UEM Sunrise Bhd

Following the Top 10 winners above, the subsequent Top 11-30 are:

• IOI Properties Group Bhd
• Tropicana Corp Bhd
• Eastern & Oriental Bhd
• Paramount Corp Bhd
• MKH Bhd
• WCT Land Sdn Bhd
• Selangor Dredging Bhd
• OSK Holdings Bhd
• Glomac Bhd
• Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd
• KSL Holdings Bhd
• Wing Tai Malaysia Bhd
• Matrix Concepts Holding Bhd
• TA Global Bhd
• Sunsuria Bhd
• YTL Land & Development Bhd
• Guocoland (Malaysia) Bhd
• Hua Yang Bhd
• SHL Consolidated Bhd
• I-Bhd

On top of that, Tan Sri FD Mansor and Datuk Richard Fong, both from Glomac Bhd, won the Outstanding Property Entrepreneur Award 2016.

Stock fundamental ranking and screening with Greenblatt Magic Formula

In 2005, Joel Greenblatt published a book titled "The Little Book That Beats the Market" and introduced his Magic Formula value investing method to the world. The book was supposedly wrote to teach his own children, in his Jewish family, about investment. That book became a New York Times bestseller with over 300,000 copies in print.

In 2010, the books content was updated, and its new edition is now called "The Little Book That Still Beats the Market" which you can still find in bookstores (both physical and online) now.

Joel Greenblatt is a hedge fund manager running Gotham Asset Management (formerly known as Gotham Capital) which claimed to have achieved an impressive annualized return of 40% from 1985 to 2006. He is also an adjunct professor in Columbia Business School teaching the subject of "value and special situation investing".

Greenblatt operates the Value Investors Club website for value investors around the world to freely join and share investment ideas. Another website of him is Magic Formula Investing, which is a free online stock screener (for stocks listed in USA only) based on his Magic Formula.

In his book, Greenblatt explained that in order to get above-average returns, one should buy companies with above-average return on capital at below-average prices. To find those companies, he first filters the stocks by eliminating certain industries including Utilities and Financials, which he found not applicable to his Magic Formula.

After that, he narrows down the search by filtering the companies based on market capitalization. Greenblatt suggests to apply Magic Formula to companies with market capitalization of above US$50 million. You can adjust this filter to search between large caps, mid caps and small caps targets.

Then he ranks the remaining companies based on 2 ratios:

• Earnings Yield
• Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)

whereby...

Earnings Yield = EBIT / EV

which...

Enterprise Value (EV) = (Market Cap + Total Debt + Minority Interest + Preferred Stock − Cash & ST Investments)

and that:

ROIC = EBIT / (Net Fixed Assets + Net Working Capital)

whereby...

Net Fixed Assets = (Total Assets - Total Current Assets - Goodwill)

Net Working Capital = (Current Assets − Current Liabilities)

There are reasons why Greenblatt uses ROIC in his Magic Formula instead of ROE or ROA or other similar return ratios, and Hurricane Capital has written an article to explain about this.

At the time of writing, ValueSignals website ranked Sandridge Mississippian Trust II (NYSE:SDR) which operates in oil and natural gas sector at the top of Greenblatt Magic Formula screening.

However, SDR only scored a low 3 in Piotroski F-Score.

If you apply both the screeners of Greenblatt Magic Formula and Piotroski F-Score now, you will find magicJack VocalTec Ltd. (NASDAQ:CALL) on top of the list.

It ranks #4 in Magic Formula screening result, and scored a 7 in Piotroski F-Score test.

 

This combined screening is expected to produce better result than just using a single screening factor.

ValueSignals website provides a very handy and straightforward online service for systematic value investing to perform quantitative stock screening, stock comparison and stock information, currently covering as many as 33,600 stock counters listed in 44 countries around the world.

Beside Greenblatt's Magic Formula, ValueSignals website is also able to perform screening (including multifactor cross-screening) of:

• Piotroski's F-Score
• O'Shaughnessy Value Composites
• ERP5
• Altman's Z-Score
• Beneish’s M-Score
• Benjamin Graham's Net Current Asset Value (NCAV) to Market ratio
• EV/EBITDA
• Price index
• ... and many more

The screening can be performed across all stock counters, or limited to within certain regions,  countries, industries, etc.

As a user of ValueSignals, I recommend this website to all serious value investors and fund managers to boost your stock screening and selection process.

Stock fundamental ranking and screening with Piotroski F-Score

Piotroski F-Score was introduced by Professor Joseph D. Piotroski in his paper titled "Value Investing: The Use of Historical Financial Statement Information to Separate Winners from Losers" published in January 2002 while he was teaching as an assistant professor in University of Chicago. He is now teaching in Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and has just promoted from associate professor to professor in 2016.

You can click here to download that interesting 39-pages paper written by Piotroski on his F-Score.

Piotroski backtested his F-Score screening method in his paper and concluded that by investing in the low price-to-book ratio companies filtered by the F-Score, one could have generated a 23% average yearly return from 1976 to 1996.

Today, Piotroski F-Score is used by quite a number of fund managers as well as individual investors in their value investment stock screening process. The F-Score has also been applied in many other academic papers and has so far proven to be effective for stock screening, especially when combined with other fundamental stock screening methods, such as Greenblatt's magic formula, etc.

A backtest by Olivier Dambrine (owner of MFIE Capital which operates the ValueSignals global stock screening website) revealed that a European stock portfolio establised by their Piotroski price-to-book screener is able to achieve an impressive 525% return between June 1999 and August 2011, while at the same period of time the  S&P600 Europe including net dividends has a return of -15%. You can click here to read that article written by Olivier Dambrine on 1 September 2011.

The American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) also revealed in an article titled "2008 AAII Stock Screen Roundup: Piotroski Strategy Defeats the Bear" by Wayne A. Thorp that the F-Score was the only one of their 56 screening methodologies that had positive results in 2008 (up 32.6% on average across 5 stocks, versus -41.7% for all of the AAII strategies over the same period).

Piotroski F-Score is the sum of 9 binary (meaning, either 0 or 1) scores in 3 fundamental categories of the stock, as below:

Profitability:

• Did the company make a profit during the last 12 months?
• Did it generate any cash?
• Was it more profitable compared to the prior year?
• Did it make more cash than the reported profit?

Leverage, Liquidity and Source of Funds:

• Did the company increase its relative LT debt compared to the prior year?
• Did the company improve its ability to pay short-term liabilities  (debt and payables) with its short-term assets (cash, inventory, receivables)?
• Was the company not required to issue new shares to pay for its future obligations?

Operating Efficiency:

• Was the company able to improve its margins on sales?
• Was the company able to improve productivity?

The above 9 criterias are tested by the following financial conditions, comparing the current year with previous year:

• ROA > 0, EPS > 0
• Operating cash flow > 0
• ROA growth
• Operating cash flow > Net profit
• (Assets / LT Debt) increased
• Current Ratio increased
• Share Outstanding remains
• Gross Profit Margin increases
• Asset Turnover increases

An example of stock counter having full F-Score is Forrester Research Inc. (NASDAQ:FORR).

You might want to double check if the counter is consistently scoring high F-Score throughout the years, or has been improving from lower F-Score to higher F-Score across the period. Below is the historical Piotroski F-Score Scorecard of Forrester Research Inc. as presented by ValueSignals website.

The scorecard above shows that the F-Score of the stock counter improved from quarter to quarter, from 5 in 2013 eventually to 9 in mid-2016. It also indicates which out of the 9 criterias had passed or failed the test in each of the quarters.

ValueSignals website provides a very handy and straightforward online service for systematic value investing to perform quantitative stock screening, stock comparison and stock information, currently covering as many as 33,600 stock counters listed in 44 countries around the world.

Beside Piotroski F-Score, ValueSignals website is also able to perform screening (including multifactor cross-screening) of:

• Greenblatt's Magic Formula
• O'Shaughnessy Value Composites
• ERP5
• Altman's Z-Score
• Beneish’s M-Score
• Benjamin Graham's Net Current Asset Value (NCAV) to Market ratio
• EV/EBITDA
• Price index
• ... and many more

The screening can be performed across all stock counters, or limited to within certain regions,  countries, industries, etc.

As a user of ValueSignals, I recommend this website to all serious value investors and fund managers to boost your stock screening and selection process.

Mcdodo 2-in-1 USB type-c and micro USB fast charging data cable

If you bought a latest smartphone that uses USB type-c connector instead of the old style micro USB, you might probably want to search for some 3rd party fast charging and data sync cable for it.

If you still possess other smart mobile devices that use micro USB, a 2-in-1 cable that supports both USB type-c and micro USB will be very nice. If you also have Apple iPhone, perhaps a 3-in-1 cable that supports USB type-c, micro USB and lightning will be even better.

For this reason, I have recently bought some Mcdodo brand 2-in-1 USB cables. They have another 3-in-1 model as well with the Apple lightning connector.

This cable is 1 meter long, and supports fast charging with 2.1A current output. One end of it is normal USB connector, and the other end of it is a micro USB connector. What makes it special is it also comes together with an adapter that tied with it, which can be connected to its micro USB connector to convert it for USB type-c connection.

It also comes with a handy silicon belt that can be used to tie the cable up nicely in an organized manner for easy carriage.

Its cable is insulated with thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) material, which is robust, durable, anti-abrasion, anti-pull, anti-wrap and has high resistance to heat, oil, direct sunlight, flame, water, acid, alkali, alcohol, etc.

Top 10 database security threats

Databases are among the most valuable assets in the information system as they store valuable and vital data and records of the business. As such, they are also among the most interested place of intrusion for hackers, attempting to gain access to confidential and sensitive information from within.

California based cyber security solution provider Imperva has been consistently publishing the Top 10 Database Security Threats white paper every year.

From year 2013 until 2015, this top 10 database security threats remained as the same listing, with the same ranking, as below:

• 1. Excessive and Unused Privileges
• 2. Privilege Abuse
• 3. Input Injection (SQL Injection)
• 4. Malware
• 5. Weak Audit Trail
• 6. Storage Media Exposure
• 7. Exploitation of Vulnerabilities and Misconfigured Databases
• 8. Unmanaged Sensitive Data
• 9. Denial of Service (DoS)
• 10. Limited Security Expertise and Education

According to Imperva, the top 9 threats above can be addressed by using an automated Database Auditing and Protection (DAP) platform, which is an approach that improves security, simplifies compliance, and increases operational efficiency. The 10th threat is "human factor" by negligent employee or contractor.

The white paper outlined a multi-layered database security defence strategy encompassing:

• Discovery and Assessment: to locate where database vulnerabilities and critical data reside.
• User Rights Management: to identify excessive rights over sensitive data.
• Monitoring and Blocking: to protect databases from attacks, unauthorized access, and theft of data.
• Auditing: helps to demonstrate compliance with industry regulations.
• Data Protection: to ensure data integrity and confidentiality.
• Non-Technical Security: to instil and reinforce a culture of security awareness and preparedness.

"Failing to safeguard databases that store sensitive data can cripple your operations, result inregulatory violations, and destroy your brand. Understanding the top database threats and implementing the solutions outlined in this paper will enable you to recognize when you’re vulnerable or being attacked, maintain security best practices, and ensure that your most valuable assets are protected." -- Imperva, 2015

You can download the complete white paper to find out more detail of this interesting defence strategy.

 

Pisen TS-D192 4-in-1 presentation laser pointer pen and power bank (2nd generation)

If you do a lot of public presentation or classroom lecturing, you will find a presentation laser pointer pen as a very useful gadget for you to remotely control the flow of your presentation which run from your laptop and projected on a screen, as well as using its laser pointer to draw the audients' focus onto a particular area in your presentation screen.

I am using the Pisen TS-D192 4-in-1 presentation laser pointer pen and power bank for that purpose. In fact, it is more than just a presenter pen, it is also a 2,500 mAh power bank. It cost around RM70.

The Pisen TS-D192 has 3 buttons and can serve 4 features:

• Laser pointer
• Presentation remote controller
• Video remote controller
• Power bank

When you press its middle button, it will shoot up a red laser beam, with a long shooting range of up to 100 meters.

This Pisen TS-D192 comes with a nano USB receiver, which you can plug into your computer's USB port. It is really plug-and-play and can function immediately in Windows XP and above, even without the need of installing driver.

Its wireless transmission is using 2.4 GHz frequency band, with effective transmission range of about 10 meters. Unlike those infrared presenters that you need to aim the pen to the receiver, this Pisen TS-D192 which use 2.4 GHz wireless technology can work well regardless of its angle and direction, as long as it is within the 10 meters transmission range.

When your computer is running PowerPoint or Adobe PDF Reader, its buttons function like this:

• Press top button to Page Up (go to previous slide)
• Press bottom button to Page Down (go to next slide)
• Long press top button will toggle full screen presentation
• Long press bottom button will toggle a black screen on the display
• The middle button will trigger its laser beam

When your computer is running Windows Movie Player or VLC Media Player, its buttons function like this:

• Double press middle button to toggle between Play and Pause
• Press top button for Forward
• Press bottom button for Reverse

Most of the presenter pens in the market are powered by either AA or AAA size normal battery. This Pisen TS-D192 is powered by an internal rechargeable 18650 Li-ion battery with capacity of 2,500 mAh.

It can be recharged using a normal USB charging cable connecting its micro USB charging port to either your computer or a USB charger. There is a USB charging cable included in its packaging.

It is said that you can use it as a presenter pen for about one year with just a single charge. With its abundant power, it can also serve as your emergency power bank with 5V 1A output to charge up your phone or gadgets.

This is an interesting USP for the product, as you can still making use of it as a power bank when you are not using it for presentation.

Malaysia year 2017 national and state public holidays announced

The official 2017 national and state public holidays in Malaysia has been announced by Cabinet, Constitution and Inter-Government Relation Division (BKPP), Prime Minister Department.

There are 14 days of national holiday, and 2 of them fall on Friday, 4 fall on Saturday, 2 fall on Sunday, and another 3 fall on Monday. Most of the states will have around 4 state holidays in addition to the national holidays.

 

Chinese New Year falls on Saturday and Sunday (28th and 29th January 2017). Hari Raya Puasa falls on Sunday and Monday (25th and 26th June 2017). Deepavali falls on Wednesday (18 October 2017).

 

Click here to download the table of Malaysia year 2017 gazetted national and state public holidays.

Docasa DCS-BS02W non-electric water bidet for toilet water closet

I have just installed some Docasa DCS-BS02W non-electric water bidets in my residence's toilets. Each set of them cost only RM175 (or RM185.50 after GST).

This type of water bidet spray is pretty simple in design, and does not need to use electric to function. Just affix it onto the toilet bowl and attach its pipe to the existing water inlet of the water tank, and it is ready to function.

Its nozzle is able to spray water at the pressure of 0.05 MPa to 0.8 MPa, and its spraying angle is adjustable.

This Docasa DCS-BS02W is very easy to use. It has a level to adjust the high/low angle of water spray, and a big knob which clockwise is to spray the water at different intensity, and anticlockwise is a self-cleaning function whereby water is flowing down instead of spraying out.

This kind of water bidet is very popular in Japan, Taiwan and some other places. Normally they are electrical which can heat up and supply warm water, and the price is quite expensive. Although this Docasa DCS-BS02W is not able to heat up water, it is non-electric and very easy to install, and its price is much more affordable.

If you are still using toilet papers or external spraying hose, you might probably also want to switch to this type of bidet. It is gentle, clean and environmental friendly. I also makes your toilet looks modern and classy to your guests.

The Johari Window

The Johari Window is a model developed back in 1955 by 2 psychologists Joseph Luft (Joe) and Harrington Ingham  (Harry), named after their combined first names.

It is a heuristic method originally used for self awareness, to examine your characters that you are aware of, and those that others are aware of. There is also a portion which so far nobody is aware of.

The Johari Window consists of 4 quadrants:

• Open / Arena: represents traits of subject that both you and others are conciously aware of.
• Hidden / Façade: represents traits of subject that you are aware of, but hidden from others.
• Blindspot: represents your blindspot where others are aware of but not you.
• Unknown: represents the mysterious area where nobody is aware of yet.

Nowadays the Johari Window is also commonly used in knowledge management, to examine the areas of knowledge between 2 parties (eg. superior and subordinate, supplier and customer, 2 different departments, 2 colleagues, 2 business partners, ...)

There are parts that known to both parties, and also parts that known to one party only, and also parts that unknown by both parties.

By sharing of information/knowledge with each other, i.e. ask for the parts in your blindspot, and tell about the parts in your hidden area, the open area can then be expanded.

At the same time, both parties will explore into the unknown area. The discovered parts will then be included into own hidden area, and if shared out, will further enlarge the open area. The parts discovered by the other party will initially fall into your bind area, and if shared out, will also become part of the open area.

Think of a person or a group in your mind, what is the Johari Window looks like? How you would like the Johari Window to look like? What action should you take to make that happen?