A Lion

THOSE WHO FEEL THEY ARE LION MUST READ

In a poor zoo in Pakistan, a lion was frustrated as he was offered not More than 1 kg of meat a day.

The lion thought its prayers were answered. When one day a Dubai Zoo Manager visited the zoo and requested the zoo management to shift the lion to Dubai Zoo.

The lion was so happy and started thinking of a central A/C environment, a goat or two every day.

On its first day after arrival, the lion was offered a big bag, sealed very nicely for breakfast. The lion opened it quickly but was shocked to see that it contained few bananas. The lion thought that may be they cared too much for him as they were worried about his stomach as he had recently shifted from Pakistan.

The next day the same thing happened. On the third day again the same food bag of bananas was delivered.

The lion was so furious; it stopped the delivery boy and blasted at him, 'don't you know I am the lion...king of the Jungle..., what's wrong with your management? What nonsense is this? Why are you delivering bananas to me?

The delivery boy politely said, 'Sir, I know you are the king of the jungle ... but... you have been brought here on a monkey's visa !!!

Moral of the Story....

Better to be a Lion in your own country than a Monkey elsewhere!

Menjual Sisir Pada Biksu

MENJUAL SISIR PADA BIKSU

Ada sebuah perusahaan "pembuat sisir" yang ingin mengembangkan bisnisnya, sehingga management ingin merekrut seorang sales manager yang baru.

Perusahaan itu memasang IKLAN pada surat kabar. Tiap hari banyak orang yang datang mengikuti wawancara yang diadakan ... jika ditotal jumlahnya hampir seratus orang hanya dalam beberapa hari.

Kini, perusahaan itu menghadapi masalah untuk menemukan calon yang tepat di posisi tersebut. Sehingga si pewawancara membuat sebuah tugas yang sangat sulit untuk setiap orang yang akan mengikuti wawancara terakhir.

Tugasnya adalah : Menjual sisir pada para biksu di wihara.

Hanya ada 3 calon yang bertahan untuk mencoba tantangan di wawancara terakhir ini. (Mr. A, Mr. B, Mr. C)

Pimpinan pewawancara memberi tugas :

"Sekarang saya ingin anda bertiga menjual sisir dari kayu ini kepada para biksu di wihara. Anda semua hanya diberi waktu 10 hari dan harus kembali untuk memberikan laporan setelah itu."

Setelah 10 hari, mereka memberikan laporan.

Pimpinan pewawancara bertanya pada Mr. A :

"Berapa banyak yang sudah anda jual?"

Mr. A menjawab: "Hanya SATU."

Si pewawancara bertanya lagi : "Bagaimana caranya anda menjual?"

Mr. A menjawab:

" Para biksu di vihara itu marah-marah saat saya menunjukkan sisir pada mereka. Tapi saat saya berjalan menuruni bukit, saya berjumpa dengan seorang biksu muda - dan dia membeli sisir itu untuk menggaruk kepalanya yang ketombean."

Pimpinan pewawancara bertanya pada Mr. B :

"Berapa banyak yang sudah anda jual?"

Mr. B menjawab : "SEPULUH buah."

"Saya pergi ke sebuah vihara dan memperhatikan banyak peziarah yang rambutnya acak-acakan karena angin kencang yang bertiup di luar vihara. Biksu di dalam vihara itu mendengar saran saya dan membeli 10 sisir untuk para peziarah agar mereka menunjukkan rasa hormat pada patung sang Buddha."

Kemudian, Pimpinan pewawancara bertanya pada Mr. C :

"Bagaimana dengan anda?"

Mr. B menjawab: "SERIBU buah!"

Si pewawancara dan dua orang pelamar yang lain terheran-heran.

Si pewawancara bertanya : "Bagaimana anda bisa melakukan hal itu?"

Mr. C menjawab:

"Saya pergi ke sebuah vihara terkenal. Setelah melakukan pengamatan beberapa hari, saya menemukan bahwa banyak turis yang datang berkunjung ke sana . Kemudian saya berkata pada biksu pimpinan vihara, 'Sifu, saya melihat banyak peziarah yang datang ke sini. Jika sifu bisa memberi mereka sebuah cindera mata, maka itu akan lebih menggembirakan hati mereka.'  Saya bilang padanya bahwa saya punya banyak sisir dan memintanya untuk membubuhkan tanda tangan pada setiap sisir sebagai sebuah hadiah bagi para peziarah di vihara itu. Biksu pimpinan wihara itu sangat senang dan langsung memesan 1,000 buah sisir!"

MORAL DARI CERITA

Universitas Harvard telah melakukan riset, dengan hasil :

1) 85% kesuksesan itu adalah karena SIKAP dan 15% karena kemampuan.

2) SIKAP itu lebih penting dari kepandaian, keahlian khusus atau keberuntungan.

Dengan kata lain, pengetahuan profesional hanya menyumbang 15% dari sebuah kesuksesan seseorang dan 85% adalah pemberdayaan diri, hubungan sosial dan adaptasi. Kesuksesan dan kegagalan bergantung pada bagaimana sikap kita menghadapi masalah.

Dalai Lama biasa berkata : "Jika anda hanya punya sebuah pelayaran yang lancar dalam hidup, maka anda akan lemah. Lingkungan yang keras membantu untuk membentuk pribadi anda, sehingga anda memiliki nyali untuk menyelesaikan semua masalah."

"Anda mungkin bertanya mengapa kita selalu berpegang teguh pada harapan. Ini karena harapan adalah : hal yang membuat kita bisa terus melangkah dengan mantap, berdiri teguh - dimana pengharapan hanyalah sebuah awal. Sedangkan segala sesuatu yang tidak diharapkan .... adalah hal yang akan mengubah hidup kita."

Meredith Grey, Grey's Anatomy - Season 3

Ingatlah, saat keadaan ekonomi baik, banyak orang jatuh bangkrut. Tapi saat keadaan ekonomi buruk, banyak jutawan baru baru yang bermunculan. Jadi, dengan sepenuh hati terapkanlah SIKAP kerja yang benar 85%. Semoga sukses !"

Jangan Takut Jadi Orang Aneh

"Dunia memang aneh", Gumam Pak Ustadz

"Apanya yang aneh Pak?" Tanya Penulis yang fakir ini.

"Tidakkah antum perhatikan disekeliling antum, bahwa dunia menjadi terbolak-balik, tuntunan jadi tontonan, tontonan jadi tuntunan, sesuatu yang wajar dan seharusnya dipergunjingkan, sementara perilaku menyimpang dan kurang ajar malah menjadi pemandangan biasa"

"Coba antum rasakan sendiri, nanti Maghrib, antum ke masjid, kenakan pakaian yang paling bagus yang antum miliki, pakai minyak wangi, pakai sorban, lalu antum berjalan kemari, nanti antum ceritakan apa yang antum alami" Kata Pak Ustadz.

Tanpa banyak tanya, penulis melakukan apa yang diperintahkan Pak Ustadz, menjelang maghrib, penulis bersiap dengan mengenakan pakaian dan wewangian dan berjalan menuju masjid yang berjarak sekitar 800m dari rumah.

Belum setengah perjalanan, penulis berpapasan dengan seorang ibu muda yang sedang jalan-jalan sore sambil menyuapi anaknya. "Aduh, tumben nih rapih banget, kayak pak ustadz, mau kemana sih?” Tanya ibu muda itu.

Sekilas pertanyaan tadi biasa saja, karena memang kami saling kenal, tapi ketika dikaitkan dengan ucapan Pak Ustadz diatas, menjadi sesuatu yang lain rasanya;

"Kenapa orang yang hendak pergi kemasjid dengan pakaian rapih dan memang semestinya seperti itu ditumbenin? Kenapa justru orang yang jalan-jalan dan ngasih makan anaknya ditengah jalan, ditengah kumandang adzan maghrib menjadi biasa-biasa saja?

Kenapa orang kemasjid dianggap aneh? Orang yang pergi ke masjid akan terasa "aneh" ketika orang-orang lain
justru tengah asyik nonton sinetron "intan".

Orang ke masjid akan terasa "aneh" ketika melalui kerumunan orang-orang yang sedang ngobrol dipinggir jalan dengan suara lantang seolah meningkahi suara panggilan adzan. Orang kemasjid terasa "aneh" ketika orang lebih sibuk mencuci motor dan mobilnya yang kotor kehujanan.
Ketika hal itu penulis ceritakan ke Pak Ustadz, beliau hanya tersenyum, "Kamu akan banyak menjumpai "keanehan-keanehan" lain di sekitarmu", kata Pak Ustadz.

"Keanehan-keanehan" disekitar kita?

Cobalah ketika kita datang ke kantor, kita lakukan shalat sunah dhuha, pasti akan nampak "aneh" ditengah orang-orang yang sibuk sarapan, baca koran dan ngobrol.

Cobalah kita shalat dhuhur atau Ashar tepat waktu, akan terasa “aneh", karena masjid masih kosong melompong, akan terasa aneh ditengah-tengah sebuah lingkungan dan teman yang biasa shalat di akhir waktu.

Cobalah berdzikir atau tadabur Al Qur’an ba'da shalat, akan terasa aneh ditengah-tengah orang yang tidur mendengkur setelah atau sebelum shalat. Dan makin terasa aneh ketika lampu mushola/masjid harus dimatikan agar tidurnya tidak silau dan nyaman. Orang yang mau shalat malah serasa menumpang ditempat orang tidur, bukan malah sebaliknya, yang tidur itu justru menumpang ditempat shalat. Aneh bukan?

Cobalah hari ini shalat Jum’at lebih awal, akan terasa aneh, karena masjid masih kosong, dan baru akan terisi penuh manakala khutbah kedua menjelang selesai.

Cobalah Anda kirim artikel atau tulisan yang berisi nasehat, akan terasa aneh ditengah-tengah kiriman e-mail yang berisi humor, plesetan, asal nimbrung, atau sekedar gue, elu, gue, elu dan test… test, test saja.

Cobalah baca artikel atau tulisan yang berisi nasehat atau hadist, atau ayat Al Qur’an, pasti akan terasa aneh ditengah orang-orang yang membaca artikel-artikel lelucon, lawakan yang tak lucu, berita hot atau lainnya.

Dan masih banyak keanehan-keanehan lainnya, tapi sekali lagi jangan takut menjadi orang "aneh" selama keanehan kita sesuai dengan tuntunan syari'at dan tata nilai serta norma yang benar.

Jangan takut "ditumbenin" ketika kita pergi kemasjid, dengan pakaian rapih, karena itulah yang benar yang sesuai dengan Al Qur’an (AlA'raf:31)

Jangan takut dikatakan "sok alim" ketika kita lakukan shalat dhuha di kantor, wong itu yang lebih baik kok, dari sekedar ngobrol ngalor-ngidul tak karuan.

Jangan takut dikatakan "Sok Rajin" ketika kita shalat tepat pada waktunya, karena memang shalat adalah kewajiban yang telah ditentukan waktunya terhadap orang-orang beriman.

Maka apabila kamu Telah menyelesaikan shalat(mu), ingatlah Allah di waktu berdiri, di waktu duduk dan di waktu berbaring. Kemudian apabila kamu Telah merasa aman, Maka Dirikanlah shalat itu (sebagaimana biasa). Sesungguhnya shalat itu adalah fardhu yang
ditentukan waktunya atas orang-orang yang beriman. (Annisaa:103)

Jangan takut untuk shalat Jum’at/shalat berjama'ah berada di shaf terdepan, karena perintahnya pun bersegeralah.....,Karena di shaf terdepan itu ada kemuliaan sehingga di jaman Nabi Salallahu'alaihi Wassalam para sahabat bisa bertengkar cuma gara-gara memperebutkan berada di shaf depan.

Hai orang-orang beriman, apabila diseru untuk menunaikan shalat Jum'at, Maka bersegeralah kamu kepada mengingat Allah dan tinggalkanlah jual beli[1475]. yang demikian itu lebih baik bagimu jika kamu Mengetahui. (Al Jumu'ah:9)

Jangan takut kirim artikel berupa nasehat, hadist atau ayat-ayat Al Qur'an, karena itu adalah sebagian dari tanggung jawab kita untuk saling menasehati, saling menyeru dalam kebenaran, dan seruan kepada kebenaran adalah sebaik-baik perkataan;

Siapakah yang lebih baik perkataannya daripada orang yang menyeru kepada Allah, mengerjakan amal yang saleh, dan berkata: "Sesungguhnya Aku termasuk orang-orang yang menyerah diri?" (Fusshilat:33)

Jangan takut artikel kita tidak dibaca, karena memang demikianlah Allah menciptakan ladang amal bagi kita. Kalau sekali menyerukan, sekali kirim artikel lantas semua orang mengikuti apa yang kita serukan, habis donk ladang amal kita....

Selamat jadi orang aneh ……

10 Hot Skills for 2009

I got this article forwarded from a friend. Interesting read..

10 Hot Skills for 2009

By Linda Leung

Whether we are in a down economy, seeing jobs go offshore, or witnessing jobs being cut altogether, there are certain IT skills that will never go out of style. With spending on cost-saving technologies such as virtualization rising, and the maintenance of networking and enterprise Microsoft software keeping IT professionals constantly in demand, here's our top 10 hot skills that will take us from a down economy and beyond.



1. Virtualization: Virtualization is hot. Vendors are jostling for lead position in the virtualization stakes and user organizations are seeing virtualization benefits through increased efficiency, lower costs, quick return on investment, and a more flexible computing model. But virtualization is complex; it encompasses the entire IT infrastructure, from the desktop to servers and storage systems. That's why IT professionals with virtualization experience are much in demand.
According to a recent article in Virtualization Review, jobs Web site Dice.com reported that the number of jobs advertised from January 2008 through the first week of November increased by 43% and 37% for VMware and general virtualization skills, respectively. That compares with a total job count that was down 12% during the same period.

Virtualization skills was cited by 35% of the 1,400 CIOs surveyed for the Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report for the second quarter of 2009, up from 30% in the Q1 report. Virtualization as a skill first appeared in the Q208 survey when it was cited by 26% of respondents.



2. Web 2.0: Organizations have moved beyond establishing Web sites for their brands. Now they are embracing social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, where you can find such household names as Ford Motor Company and AT&T. CIOs in a wide range of organizations are demanding IT professionals who can keep them up to speed with the fast-moving Web 2.0 world. Web development and Web site design first appeared as a sought-after skill in Robert Half Technology's Q408 report, when 42% of CIOs surveyed said they were in needs of such expertise. In Q209, 39% of respondents had a demand for Web skills.

According to PayScale.com, the typical salary for a Web designer in the U.S. range from $37,285 to $59,070. This compares to $60,000 for a Web developer, $40,000 for a graphic designer, and $60,000 for a programmer, according to Simply Hired a search engine for jobs.



3. Networking/Windows Administration: Proving that networking and Microsoft Windows administration skills will likely never go out of style, these two skills consistently appear as either the first, second, or third most sought after skill in Robert Half Technology's quarterly skills surveys. A full 65% (the second highest number) of CIOs surveyed for the Q209 report said they required network administration skills, while 64% (the third highest) of executives said they needed Windows admin experts. The skill most in demand in Q209 is desktop support, according to the survey.

Networking/systems admin jobs were cited in the Top 20 Most Recession-Proof Professions report by Jobfox from data collected during November 2007 to July 2008. The report noted that there is a limited supply of qualified workers in that profession, and reported that the median salary in the U.S. for such roles is between $65,000 and $75,000.



4. ITIL: The Information Technology Infrastructure Library is a business framework that was developed by the U.K.'s Office of Government Commerce. It is the subject of much buzz on this side of the pond, with firms such as DHL and General Motors adopting the IT services efficiency framework. A quick search of the Indeed job search aggregator site netted 6,266 jobs, with salaries ranging from $50,000 to $130,000. ITIL is cited by Foote Partners' IT Skills and Certification Pay Index report, for the last three months of 2008 as a skill that is seeing a sharp increase in pay and demand.

Foote Partners notes a "sharp increases in pay and demand for ITIL, CoBIT and similar expertise" in 2009, and that "while valuable in short range cost reduction initiatives, these are also core enterprise skills with high re-use value long term."



5. IT Architect/Project Management: The same Foote Partners report also notes that "nothing has been hotter" than IT architect and project management skills and that "they will still be hot commodities long after the economy improves." Certified folks in that category reported pay increases of 10% in the last 12 months to January 2009, according to the Foote Partners report.

The Open Group's IT Certified Architect and the Project Management Institute's Project Management Professional designations were the certifications that commanded the highest pay premiums, according to the report.



6. IT Security: This skill was called out by Foote Partners as one of three certification groups that saw significant gains in pay. A total of 18 different security certifications, including Check Point Certified Master Architect and Cisco Certified Security Professional, were listed among the IT certifications that earned the highest pay premiums in Foote Partners' 2009 IT Skills and Certifications Pay Index.

Security will never go out of style, even during a recession, as businesses are required to comply with regulatory controls and data protection requirements. Meanwhile, hackers continue their assaults no matter what the economy is doing. A survey by the SANS Institute showed that through the end of November 2009, 79% of respondents saw no cuts to their security staffing levels.



7. Wireless: Cisco generated buzz in its training community late last year when it launched the expert-level CCIE certification in wireless networking. As part of the launch, it commissioned a study conducted by Forrester Consulting, which found that 36% of global companies surveyed predicted that the number of dedicated wireless specialists on their IT staff would almost double in the next five years.

"In our research we found a pervasive need for wireless skills, and not just in North America," says Sanjay Mehta, Cisco product marketing manager for wireless and mobility. "The need for experts to design, deploy, manage and troubleshoot is growing exponentially." He says the wireless certification is particularly popular in emerging markets, such as Brazil, India, and China, where new wireless infrastructures are being built from the ground up.



8. Telecommunications: The government's $7.2 billion broadband stimulus initiative to extend broadband to rural and unserved communities will mean jobs for pros with telecom skills. Telecom providers operate in a very competitive market, and while operators cut costs in stagnant areas of their markets, they're still investing in others. For instance, AT&T this year cut its capital expenditure by $3 billion but it is investing in 3,000 new jobs for its mobility, broadband, and video initiatives, reports Unstrung.

Telecoms knowledge is also sought by CIOs. In Robert Half Technology's Q209 report, telecoms support was the fifth-highest skill sought by respondents, up from the sixth highest in the previous quarter.



9. Programming Languages (C, C++, C#): Forget about programming jobs being outsourced, experts with C, C++ and C# skills "have emerged as a highly desired skill set, being cited as 'in demand' just as often as Business Intelligence and Enterprise Solutions skills," according to the Veritude 2009 IT Outlook Report. Demand for software engineers increased from 27% to 32%, according Veritude's survey of IT hiring managers.

Those programming languages are also consistently the top most wanted programming skills in Dice reports. In February and March, Dice posted 9,881 and 10,465 Cx jobs, respectively.

Software engineering topped Money Magazine and Salary.com's list of Best Jobs in America in 2007, noting that the number of programming jobs would balloon from 800,050 in 2004, to 1.2 million in 2014. The profession, with an average annual salary of $80,427, beat college professor and financial advisor in the list.



10. Business Skills: Employment surveys have been telling us for a number of years that IT pros must possess business skills as well as technical expertise, and in a down economy IT folks who understand the business could be considered more valuable than those who don't. A survey by CompTIA of 215,085 IT pros found that employers valued "interpersonal and communication" skills in addition to 'strategic thinking" and "project management" know-how. The survey, which was conducted in 2007, found that 73% of respondents said they planned to upgrade their business skills within two years, with the majority studying for project management skills.

The IT pro who can understand how his employer's business works and can articulate how technology can be used to meet and exceed the company's goals is a true gem.

Copyright ©2009 Global Knowledge Training LLC All rights reserved.

RentACoder

I just browsed through a website called RentACoder.com that lists lots of projects that are offered to people through the internet.

Here's the official description

Rent A Coder is a global marketplace that connects buyers of services (such as programing, design, marketing and translations) with sellers. It is the home of the world's largest number of completed software projects and is currently made up of 115,367 buyers and 246,884 coders. These participants come from virtually every country in the world, and negotiate and complete thousands of projects each month.

Rent A Coder statistics provide an instantaneous pulse reading on global trends in domestic and global outsourcing, offshoring and nearshoring. It has been the subject of numerous studies by leading educational instutitutions, including Harvard University, American University, University of Massachusetts and numerous others. (If you are a public research institution and have a project you'd like to propose, please contact us.)

It's quite interesting. If you have a spare time, why don't you use your skill to do any of the projects offered and get side income? The projects ranging from coding to blogging to market research. The project amount ranging from less than $100 to $1000!

You can also offer your projects to the others using this media. Maybe, you can save more than hiring someone.

I've put a box listing the projects that are available in that site at the lower right of this page. Just go and see it for yourself!

Using Windows Live Writer for writing Blogs

Hi All!

I just downloaded and installed the Windows Live Writer (WLW) from the big brother at Microsoft.

Frankly, I’m quite surprised that WLW supports posting to other Blogs that are not part of Windows Live network. So here’s to you MS! :)

Here, I’m testing the application straight away with writing this entry… Hope it works.

 

I just fiddled with WLW a bit, its quite good. It can retrieve the categories (tags) that I use in Blogger, has (currently) 112 plug-ins with variety of functionalities, able to insert tables, videos, tags (from several tags provider, like Technorati, del.icio.us, Flickr, ect.), English spell checker (pity it does not support custom dictionary), and other formatting functions.

As this is my first post using WLW, I will not write much this time. So, hope I share a bit of this goody later on.

See ya!

Brainbench ngadain Bench Games lagi!

Buat yang nggak belum tau Brainbench itu apaan, nih gw kasih tau! Brainbench adalah salah satu penyedia ujian sertifikasi online terkemuka di dunia. Sudah ribuan orang yang mengikuti ujian sertikasi Brainbench.

Untuk melakukan ujian serta mendapatkan sertifikasi dari Brainbench biasanya dibutuhkan biaya yang tidak sedikit, apalagi kalo pembayaran harus dalam mata uang Dollar AS. Nah, sekarang Brainbench ngadain ujian & sertifikasi GRATIS untuk semua tes yang ia miliki. Mulai dari ujian IT (sistem operasi, word processor, spreadsheet, programming, network, dll) sampai ke akuntansi, procurement, HRD, dll.

Nah, kita dikasih waktu dari tanggal 1 sampai 15 November 2005 untuk melakukan ujian2 yang kita minati.

Ayo! Buruan ikut. Kalo udah dapet sertifikasi kan bisa kita sertakan dalam CV kita. Biar calon employer bisa ngeliat kalo kita punya kompetensi di bidang tertentu.

Caranya? pergi ke www.brainbench.com terus daftar (kalo belum terdaftar). selese tinggal login terus plih tes yang kamu mau lakukan.

www.brainbench.com

How Nerd Are You

Ini ada tes "How Nerd Are You"... lucu juga. tapi kurang nge-nerd pertanyaannya. biasa aja

Tampil untuk pertama kalinya

UUUAAAAHHH...!!


Akhirnya!! Untuk pertama kalinya saya tampil di dunia blogging ini. Saya ingin membagi kepada semua orang seluruh pikiran saya. Rencananya sih, blog ini untuk membahas pemrograman, terutama pemrograman Delphi. Sayangnya, saya nggak terlalu jago dalam hal ini, cuman hobi saja, jadi saya akan memasukkan topik2 lain yang saya anggap menarik. Semoga semua menganggap topik2 tersebut nanti juga menarik :)

Sampai di sini dulu pertemuan perdana kita