I originally implemented earlier Autofocus as prescribed by Mark, manually writing the list in a paper notebook. For this AF4, I chose to implement it web-based, for easy access from all my web devices including my Treo Pro. Currently, I’m doing AF4 using Google docs spreadsheet. More about that later …

See also …

• sabre23t’s af Bookmarks – Autofocus related links
• mohdadib mentioned Autofocus

I just read this nice quote from a John C Maxwell book, who attributes it to William King. I think this is certainly true for most people, including yours truly. Regardless whether the original quote was from William King or Lisa Kirk. ;-}

• Wikipedia’s William King – disambiguation page listing at least 7 people known as just William King.
• Wikiquote’s William King – a stub about the English poet (1663 – 1712) .
• ThinkExist’s Gossip Quotes – attributes the same quote to Lisa Kirk (American Actor, 1925-1990).
• WisdomHall’s Marketing Quotes – also attributes the same quote to Lisa Kirk.
• HTML Table Techniques – by Scott Isaacs. Nice demo of table flow technique. Used in the right aligned quote box above

• Waheeda determined to help nasyid stay alive – The Star eCentral, 13 Jan 2006
• ‘Rentak’ Waheeda semakin rancak – MStar Online, 11 Jan 2006
• Norwahidah binti Abdul Wahab – Wikipedia
• Waheeda Online – Forum
• Myartis Waheeda – Laman peminat

• Konsert 1 on 4 Jun 2005 – After the first week of training, the concert sees a surprise where Marsha and Mawi gets admitted into akademi making it 14 students, instead of a student leaving.
• Konsert 2 on 11 Jun 2005 – The second week sees the new two students catching up. The concert threw a surprise after Elliza lleft, getting the lowest vote after being 4th in the trailing bunch of 9 students with only 5% votes at the start of the concert. That leaves only 13 students.
• Konsert 3 on 18 Jun 2005 – The third week shows tension creeping in with some fights between Idayu and others. Fuad who was 1st of the trailing bunch of 11 students at 5% votes at the start of the concert, was left with the lowest votes at the end. That leaves 12 students again.

• Standing: Mawi, Azlif, Haider, Felix, Yazer, Kefli
• Squatting: Reza, Aidil, Isa
• Sitting: Fuad

• Standing: Diana, Amy, Akma, Marsha, Rina, Elliza
• Squatting: Shiha, Amylea, Idayu, Ekin

Unofficial sites …

• Akademi Fantasia- by Anakmuar.
• AkademiFantasia.Net – Unofficial fan site.
• AF Unofficial Community – portal.
• Akademi Fantasia – Unofficial Yahoo groups.

• World Tour: Day 1, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – “We are staying in the Heritage Station Hotel, which is basically the Colonial railway station converted into a hotel … After our breakfast of a hard boiled egg, some toast and some sweet paste, we decided to walk to Chinatown which is <1km from our hotel … Although the temperature in KL, at around 30-35C is not uncomfortable, the humidity certainly is, and in my thick tshirt I was certainly noticing it … We decided at this point to do something ‘touristy’, so we went to KL Tower … We went to Little India for dinner, I had a great meal with 4 dishes for only about AUD$2.50, including drink … “.
• Day 1, KL continued – “After my last post we went to an area called Bangsar to drink and hopefully get satay … We found a Malay/Indian place which was full of locals.“
• Day 2, KL – “After our simple breakfast we headed out to the National Mosque … Our next stop was the butterfly park, which is basically a massive net strung in the trees … Next stop was Sentral to buy our train ticket to Singapore, we got a first class ticket for the 7 hour journey for only AUD$23. Thought we’d try the public transport so got the light rail to Chinatown, very easy … We decided to catch a bus to Batu Caves, but as we don’t know the city we got a cab to the bus stop. En route the driver convinced us to let him take us the whole way … I decided to get a suit made in KL, maybe not as cheap as Bangkok but it fits in best with our travel plans … All up it cost under RM900, perhaps not the best price but still much better than Sydney and much better than Europe.“
• Day 3, KL – Singapore – “The day started early – we had to catch the 7:30am Express train to Singapore, a 7.5 hour journey … Crossing the strait into Singapore, it became clear that this was a different kind of place … our hotel in an old part of Chinatown … The purpose of our visit to Singapore was mainly to get a new camera and phone. So we headed for Sim Lim Square, the best place to get electronics.“
• Day 5, Singapore – KL – “We got up early as our bus to KL was due to depart at 8am … The bus trip, advertised as 5 hours, took 7 … When we arrived in KL we went straight to the tailor, suitcases in tow … decided just to go to the airport and hope for a flight … no more flights available that night so we booked one for the next morning …walked to the Pan Pacific hotel.“
• Day 6, KL – Langkawi – “Our flight was with Air Asia, a super budget airline … Flying into the island of Pulau Langkawi I could see a clear demarcation line in the sea where two kinds of water meet … Langkawi Village Resort has a good website.“
• Day 7, Langkawi – “Slept in, ate breakfast (fish fingers) … went for a swim but forgot the sunscreen … dinner at the hotel (satay night)“
• Day 8, Langkawi touring – “We wanted to stray away from the resort area and see a bit of the island, so we hired some motorcycles … After about 45 minutes … we arrived in the town of Kuah … riding through to the North of the island … a beach which we thought was Pillai Kok … went for a swim … went out for dinner to the Boom Boom Cafe, a Pakistani restaurant“
• Day 9, Pulau Pinang – “We slept in and had a lazy morning just swimming. We took a cab to Kuah and then caught the ferry to Georgetown (Penang) which is scheduled as a 2.5 hour journey … The purpose of our visit was to go shopping, and so we got a trishaw ride to the main shopping area. By now it was 6pm and all the shops were closed.“
• Day 10, EARTHQUAKE! – “At about 12:30AM on the 29th of March 2005 an earthquake measuring 8.4 on the Richter scale occurred off the coast of Sumatera, not too far from us … We finished up around 3:30 and went back to sleep … We got up early to catch the 8am ferry back to Langkawi … we spent the rest of the day sleeping, eating, drinking, swimming.“
• Day 11, Diving with SHARKS! – “The boat took us and 30 others to the island of Pulau Payar, a very small island about 45 minutes boat ride from Kuah … The coral was colourful but despite their promises Australia is still better.“
• Day 12, Langkawi – Kuala Lumpur – “In the morning we went for a farewell swim in the sea … flying AirAsia again … We headed over to the tailor to pick up my finished suit and shirts … agreement where I paid half and took the jacket and they will finish the pants and shirts and send them to me in the Netherlands. I will pay the other half when they arrive … a quick trip to Chinatown to haggle over some last-minute purchases … Another high speed ride to the airport and we checked in … We made it onto the plane at 23:50, just in the nick of time.“
• Day 13, Kuala Lumpur – Amsterdam – Zutphen (April 1) – “We spent 13 hours on the plane … Arrived in Amsterdam at 7:06AM on the 1st of April, 2005.“

1. Know the rules of romance … Check out your company’s employee handbook and take a good look around you. If no one dates or has dated, you could be in a strict environment …
2. Consider the unintended consequences … Many employers don’t encourage office romance because if there is a disagreement or the romance fizzles, it can make for a very uncomfortable work environment for you and others …
3. Steer clear of the absolute no’s … Don’t date a subordinate and certainly avoid the boss … For one thing, you could become the target of a sexual harassment suit …
4. Keep it on the down-low … If you do find the love of your life a cubicle away, try to be discreet …
5. Discuss the issues that might arise … If you’re the boss of two lovebirds, Challenger, Gray & Christmas suggests meeting with each separately, to discuss any possible ramifications …

Links:

• Love on the company clock – 58% of employees have dated coworkers, 23% admit to trysts in the office, elevator, restroom, oh my. – by Sarah Max, 9 February 2005. «“At the Christmas party the second year into our relationship the CEO walked up to us and said, ‘It’s OK, you guys have done a good job and you don’t have to hide anymore,’” said Simmonds. “Then he sent out a company-wide memo saying dating in the office was not recommended.”»
• Office Romance – Romance in the office can lead to marriage or to a lawsuit. – by F. John Reh. “Many companies tried to ban dating among their employees. Most have since abandoned that plan, because of legal restrictions and a recognition of the inevitable. Instead most now try to restrict such activities that are harmful to the business … For instance, it is never a good idea for a manager to be romantically involved with a subordinate in their own organization … A well-written, widely publicized, strictly enforced fraternization policy won’t prevent office romances from developing. It will, however, make life a lot easier, and less litigious, for you when you have to deal with it.“
• Rhodes College: Fraternization Policy – “Virtually all faculty members, administrators, and staff members are, or can appear to be, in a position to exercise power or authority, directly or indirectly, over students, whether or not an individual student is enrolled in their classes … Because of the commitment to maintaining an environment that supports our educational goals Rhodes College prohibits romantic, sexual, and exploitative relationships between college employees and students. In the event that any such relationship is reported and confirmed the college employee is subject to employee disciplinary procedures up to and including termination in the case of administrators and staff members, or dismissal for cause in the case of faculty members.“
• Employee Workplace Dating – by Gary Wikesland. “Before you ask the co-worker in the next cubicle out for a date, first check to see if your company has an employee dating policy … Develop an office relationship before you develop a romantic relationship. Take the time to learn as much as you can about the co-worker whom you are planning to date … These guidelines should help keep you from being accused of sexual harassment and make your employer feel more comfortable about employee dating.“
• Regulating Work Place Romance – by Randy Sutton. «Sexual harassment laws prohibit “unwelcome” sexual advances. Therefore, the participants in a truly “consensual” relationship cannot prove sexual harassment. The difficulty for the employer is proving that the relationship was consensual … An employer who wishes to do something about consensual relationships between employees has a couple of options. The first is to implement a “no dating” policy … As an alternative, some employers require that employees enter a “consensual relationship agreement.”»

Calvin: Sometimes when I’m talking, my words can’t keep up with my thoughts. I wonder why we think faster than we can speak.
Hobbes: Probably so we can think twice.

… and I read it in the re-run of this syndicated comic in The Star, 9 April 2005. That is certainly as relevant and true today as it was 10 years ago.

• Calvin and Hobbes – Official site featuring 9 April 1994 strip today.
• Simply Calvin and Hobbes – Sam Ryan site from 1997.
• Calvin and Hoobes quotes – Generation Terrorists.
• Fortune-calvin – Stefans list of calvinism.
• Think Twice – Lyrics of a Celine Deon song. “Baby think twice for the sake of our love, for the memory. For the fire and the faith that was you and me.“

1. What she haven’t touched.
2. What she is hiding.
3. What she is pretending not to have seen.
4. Who she found to blame.

Links:

• How to battle Office Politics – tips from HR professionals.
• If It Works, You Can Break It – by Joshua Levine, 20 December 2004. “Estonians like to look behind the thing and wonder whether there’s anything we can change about it. In Estonia you might say, if it works, you can break it.“
• Did HR Cause The Downfall of Enron? – by Dr John Sullivan touches on not hiding problems. “Employees must be able to make mistakes and then to report them rapidly. That’s how organizations learn. In reverse, having large penalties for failure can encourage secrecy and the “hiding” of mistakes, so that no one learns from them.“
• Exorcise Blame In Your Company – by Robert Bacal says we should “separate the process of blaming from the process of making things better … While Edward Deming tells us to ‘drive out fear’, we should also be prepared to ‘drive out blame’ from our workplaces. Perhaps the single most important barrier to improvement is blame“.

It’s quite amazing to see so many Malaysians outside the venue waiting and greeting friends. Aci sebenarnya tak mau pergi but I managed to pursuade her since I wanted to see the inside view of The Royal Albert Hall. The capacity for the hall, I think, is 3,374 and according to Datuk TV3, whom we met and chatted before the show, the turnout was over 2,000 people. Not bad for a lass from Kuala Lipis. [...]
Cindai was the last song performed and she got us dancing again. Oh! She used to be so kaku when she performed but this time around, I was quite surprised with her lenggok and gemalai tari (pardon my bahasa). She sure learned a lot in that department, even though she didn’t jump up and down on the stage like Gwen Stefani. I love Gwen.

… there’s some photos of Siti in action on her blog, even photo of Anuar Zin with her Aci. I wondered what others will say about the concert …

• Siti Nurhaliza Taruddin poses in front a poster – 28 March 2005, AFP/Roslan Rahman. “[Siti Nurhaliza] Taruddin will be the first Malaysian and third Asian artist after Indian singer Lata Mangeshkar and renowned sitarist Ravi Shankar to hold a solo concert at the famous London venue [Royal Albert Hall].“
• Royal Albert Hall Kensington Siti Nurhaliza, Friday 1st April 2005, “SOLD OUT”. Show Times 7pm. Stalls £80.00 per person and Grand Tier Box £150.00 per person. “She is Asia’s best – kept secret. Blessed with an amazing vocal talent, natural beauty and a unique sound, Siti Nurhaliza, Malaysia’s No 1 songbird takes centre stage at the Royal Albert Hall. This historical two-hour concert will showcase a decade’s worth of her original works with distinct musical flavour that will inevitably unveil her enormous talent, musical excellence and stunning personality.“
• The Star: Siti Nurhaliza wows London with wit and elegance – by Choi Tuck Wo, 3 April 2005. “The diva had the 2,500 near-capacity crowd eating out of her hand as she unleashed her amazing vocal talent during the two-hour concert. Hailed as the ‘Celine Dion of Malaysia’ by three BBC radio stations, the 26-year-old singing sensation was a joy to watch as she combined her powerful voice with her stunning elegance … Among the VIPs present were the Sultan and Sultanah of Pahang, the Deputy Prime Minister’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, 27 members of the Brunei royal family and the Malaysian High Commissioner to Britain Datuk Abdul Aziz Mohammad.“
• NST: Siti Nurhaliza takes Royal Albert Hall by storm – by Zaharah Othman in London, 3 April 2005. “Malaysian singing sensation Siti Nurhaliza Taruddin took the Royal Albert Hall by storm on Friday night after a two-hour performance, earning her an invitation back to perform at the prestigious venue by its Chief Executive Officer, David Elliott.“