Total neglect of Software Design

The issue now with some of the technology companies out there is that there seems to be a total neglect of one important aspect of software development, the design.

I have seen cases where a system has been designed seemingly based on best practices, 3 tier architecture, clustering, the works. However, when an external system wishes to consume a webservice from this system, it is corresponding with only one of the servers of the system.

For those familiar with software design and architecture, you will understand what is wrong with this approach.

Although my job scope no longer covers software design and architecture, I still shudder whenever I hear of this kind of design in the course of my work.

Why has software design been relegated down to this state? Don't they know that software design and architecture is the critical success factor of a well designed system that will enable the software to scale up or out depending on requirements?

If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. However, I see some companies charging you an arm and a leg, and still give this kind of design.

Times have changed, and it's not for the better. In fact, it reminded me of a seminar that I went previously where a professor from a well-known university said up front that software architecture is not important.

My goodness...

The universe works around whatever decision that you make

I quote from Deepak Chopra:

If you obsess over whether you are making the right decision, you are basically assuming that the universe will reward you for one thing and punish you for another. The universe has no fixed agenda. Once you make any decision, it works around that decision. There is no right or wrong, only a series of possibilities that shift with each thought, feeling, and action that you experience. If this sounds too mystical, refer again to the body. Every significant vital sign- body temperature, heart rate, oxygen consumption, hormone level, brain activity, and so on- alters the moment you decide to do anything… decisions are signals telling your body, mind, and environment to move in a certain direction.

Good pictures != High Megapixels

Looks like the megapixels war are here again and this time, it has migrated to the mobile phones arena. However, the story still has the same ending. Megapixels have nothing to do with picture quality.

What is accurate though is that high megapixels camera does mean that you end up with bigger print resolution. You will then be able to crop the photo to the area that you're interested in, otherwise known as "fake zoom".

However, that's about it. There's no other plus points to a high megapixels count because what matters most is actually the image sensor and the camera lens itself. The image senor will determine the accuracy of the colors that it perceives and the camera lens itself determines the amount of light that will be able to get into the sensor, which in some way may determine how sharp your picture is.

Like it or not, your small mobile phone camera sensor may not be able to even beat a common point and shoot in terms of picture quality because there is a limit to the size of the image sensor and lens that one can put in your phone. If your photos are more for Facebook or social media networks, then the phone cameras will be quite okay.

It is possible to take very good photos using the phones too because good photo taking techniques help too in producing a very good photo. You can take a look at Jerry Ghionis blog here where he took some professional wedding photos using the iPhone

Let's not get drawn into the megapixel myth. It has nothing to do with picture quality.

Visited the zoo again

Recently came back from the zoo again and it seems that the zoo has refreshed some parts of the attractions. In fact, I find that I'm spending longer time in the zoo than before.

Just by walking around the zoo, I have already taken more than half a day, excluding all the animal shows. If you're interested in visiting the zoo, refer to my previous post here.

I have updated my previous posts on Birds and Penguins, Small Creatures, Monkeys & Orangutans, and Random Photos with some of my more recent photos.

Do note though that some of the shows have been cancelled as renovation is on-going. You can refer to the website for more up to date information.

Have fun.

Quick trip to River Safari

Updated 22 Oct 2014: Added more pictures of creatures within River Safari

I managed to visit the River Safari recently to take a look at Singapore's newest attractions. The tickets are currently sold at a discounted price as the river safari is not yet fully opened. My understanding is that the last few attractions are due to be opened end of this year.

If you are unable to wait that long, River Safari is still surprisingly an interesting place to visit even though it is not fully opened. In fact, as the River Safari is still not yet fully opened, you can take advantage of the park hopper tickets and spend the whole day at the Singapore Zoo area as the River Safari, the Singapore Zoo and the Night Safari are all located at the same place.

Even though it is not fully opened, I still spent close to 4 hours exploring the area. Other than the famous pandas, Jia Jia and Kai Kai, almost all the other sections of the River Safari is opened except for the Amazon River Quest. What you should not miss is the feeding period for the pandas. Kai Kai doesn't mind eating in front of you and he is actually quite fun to watch.

Other than the star attractions, the 2 giant pandas, River Safari contains many other types of fishes, otters, beavers, monkeys and different types of crocodiles that will fill up your day, and entertain your children immensely. Do not miss the ultra big "aquarium" at Mekong River and the Amazon Flooded Forest too. Something that you should see if you happen to be here in Singapore.

Will I visit it again? I most probably will but it should be after it is fully opened. I had fun observing their antics.

Below are some of the pictures I've taken in my quick visit to River Safari. Enjoy...

Interesting Alligator Gar, most probably due to its "snout"

Mississippi Paddlefish

Groups of Mekong Giant Catfishes

Giraffe Catfish

Tigerfish

Giant Freshwater Stingray

African Dwarf Crocodile

Chinese alligator hiding under the shade

Indian Gharial

Yangtze Alligator

Crab eating macaque

Crab eating macaque scratching it's ears

Birds lazing around the hot sun

Sleepy Red Panda

Close-up of a sleepy red panda

Kai Kai having its lunch

Jia Jia deciding what to eat

Unable to remember what cat this is.

Squirrel Monkey with a baby on its back

I believe its an Arapaima

Manatee

Annoyed Giant River Otter? :)

Giant River Otter and its baby

Alligator snapping turtle

Frog-faced softshell turtle

Believe because it is the truth

I quote from Blaise Pascal:

People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof but on the basis of what they find attractive.

The truth is often difficult to accept but is the correct way to move forward. Choosing an easier way forward may lead to compromising on what is right. It may not matter now but it will definitely come back and haunt you later. 

Why are the peak periods not uniform across all public transport?

I was searching around for the definition of peak periods in Singapore and I found that they are very clearly defined for taxis but yet, not defined for our buses and MRT lines. I only found the following definition of peak periods:

Peak periods:

• Taxis: 6 - 930am Mon - Fri, 6pm - midnight every day
• MRT: 7am - 9 am
• Bus: Non-existent

Why the disparity? Is the peak period very different between Taxis, MRT and Buses in the same country? No they are not. The timing is where everyone expected frequency to be increased and yet we're always facing issues of getting our transport during those periods.

Since the taxi transport operators are charging more during peak periods, why are they not increasing the frequency for the MRT and Bus too? They are the same operators and there is no excuse for some of them because the trains are driverless.

Let's start by aligning all the peak periods between all our public transport systems, taxis, MRT and buses, after which we can then start to align all the service levels expected during those peak periods. I do not see the logic why taxis have different peak periods than the other transport systems.

US government is unable to function

The politics in the United States have reached a point where it is no longer functioning for the welfare of the people in the country.

I believe the people in Congress have forgotten the purpose of public service. Congress has previously approve Obamacare, albeit without the support of any Republicans. Instead of tweaking it for the common good, they outright reject the implementation, causing the US government untold problems where it is being held ransom by political parties ideals. 

Is that the role of Congress? Can Congress hold ransom the entire US government credit ratings just because of party ideals?

I think it is time to have a clear separation between what is good for the country and what is good for the party. The actions of the Republicans show that they are only interested in what is good for the party because they rather let the government default on its debt than to wait until they have a clear majority in the government to pass bills that support their policies. 

They are finding ways and means to remove certain policies when they are clearly not in power, wasting everyone's time because all knows that it will happened. This is especially true for the Senator who wasted everyone's time by speaking over 22 hours on something that will happen anyway.

Why are these people voted into Congress then anyway?

Focus and Simplicity

I quote from Steve Job:

That's been one of my mantras - focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.

This is something that I find difficult to explain to many people. They do not understand that it involves a lot of effort to make things simple to use. Instead, they justify cost by comparing how difficult or complex the system is to the users.

The easier it is to use, the harder it is to do, and the more expensive it will be. Truth of life.

P.S: This has nothing to do with Apple products but generally how everything should function.

Inflation is up 2%

These are the Singapore inflation rates for 2013:
January: 3.6%
February: 4.9%
March: 3.5%
April: 1.5%
May: 1.6%
June: 1.8%
July: 1.9%
August: 2% 

Healthcare is once again leading the pack, rising by 3.9%, while Education & Stationery rose 3.3% respectively year on year.

Transport has plunged, rising by 0.2% year on year, most probably due to the fluctuations of the COE prices. August inflation ticked up most probably due to the rise in housing and food inflation, although inflation did rise across the board.

As mentioned in my previous post, this uptrend most probably will continue this month looking at the current trend. Inflation will tick up throughout the second half of this year, unless by some miracle all the global uncertainties disappear.