A stubborn mind's invasion

.

Twisting and turning, on my warm and comfy bed;
Wandering and wondering, in vague thoughts, outspread;
Wanting and needing, in desperate wait for its return;
Sleepless and helpless, in invasion of a mind so stubborn.

Tired and exhausted, yet troubled with a slight headache;
Worried and scared, uncertain of what’s keeping me awake;
Reading and writing, lot to be done in just two weeks;
Sleeping and resting, without which I can’t reach the peak.
******************************************************

Cheers!
Hammett

Image taken from here

MALDIVES – Highest divorce rate throughout the world

It’s a fact that Maldives has the highest divorce rate in the world, and lot of Maldivians talk about as well. Alarmingly, the figure is way higher than the rate of any other country. The figure speaks for itself. But, what could be the factors “contributing” to this world record?

Actually, I’m rather new to the concept of marriage/divorce :S. Maybe you guys could help me understand what could causing this. Few things that come to mind are:

1- Lack of awareness and higher education in the country.

2- Marriage to please parents
It happens a quite a lot in Maldives, and usually doesn’t last long.

3- Women are underrepresented in the workforce.

Maldives has a long history of women growing up to be just only housewives. Though it has changed a bit over the years, it is still seen and practice that way – maybe not as much in Male’, but definitely in the outer islands.

4- Ease of getting a divorce.

In Islamic Sharia pronouncement of a few words can settle a divorce. In a community where “divorce” is no different from quitting a job – the way it is seen socially – in many instances these words might be used unwisely. I believe the regulation of divorce has changed a bit.

5- Trust, respect and loyalty are unvalued.
Hoo-ha… this is a huge topic!

6- Marriage at YOUNG AGE

Don't get me started. Look around you; friends, family, co-workers - its true! Few guys in mid 20s are mature and/or grown up to be heading a family. It usually ends with a pregnant lady or a little kid or two - whom, most of the time, have to find a way to bringing up a family on her own while the proud dad flies around looking for "exposed nectar". Is that outrageous? :|

7- …and etc!! Don’t hunt me down

There’s a lot more, but I got to run. Interesting topic, isn’t it?


What have you got to say?


Cheers!

If you have never failed, you have never lived!

Hiya,

Today, somehow, I ended up digging up about failures. Maybe I was looking for something inspirational. I'm like a random crawler jumping from subject to subject and never focus on one thing :P

We are social animals. We aren't perfect, but we are very intelligent. Every single moment in your life has an effect on the point in life where you are today. We all make mistakes, not one, but too many. Don't let the bad experiences, embarrassment, guilt or whatever get in the way of becoming the person whom you dream to be; to succeed in life.

A failure is a man who has blundered but is not capable of cashing in on the experience. -Elbert Hubbard-

Don't take failure as a negative thing. Learn from it, and think it a a stepping stone to success. Who hasn't failed? I have failed, but that doesn't stop me from trying again and again. :)

Success is failure turned inside out.

Thought I'd share these interesting clips. Get inspired and start turning your failures inside out. Who knows what you might discover.

FAMOUS FAILURES

GREAT FAILURES OF THE EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL

THE DON'T QUIT POEM!

Cheers!
-Hammett-

Attorney General’s Office Website – Do Not Visit / Browse

The Attorney General's Office website has been listed as a suspicious website, which might infect your computer with malicious software. This malicious software includes 45 scripting exploits and 5 Trojans. When you enter the website, malicious software might be downloaded and installed without your knowledge.

I was searching for some information and happened to go to this website. But, luckily, I got warned by the antivirus software.

Although malicious software is not hosted on this website itself, it is hosted on 47 other domains and 6 domains are functioning as intermediaries for distributing these malware to visitors of AG Office Website. Successful infection might result in an average of 3 more processes on your computer. Here is the link from Google Safe Browsing Tool which gives more detail of the activity.

The rather strange thing is, the website has been listed as suspicious for 90 days (3 months) and still contains malicious code. Most of the desktop antivirus applications would show some kind of warning. I wonder why the website still contains these codes. It is possible that the IT staffs are not aware of the problem.

Government websites are virtual gateways for netizens to access the government. While establishment of e-Government is taking place in Maldives, incidents like these are setbacks which will have an effect on netizens accepting and/or trusting the e-services.

Hope to see the site cleaned soon. I really need to get some data from there. :)

-Hammett-

A Study - Potential E-crime Threats on e-Government of Maldives

ABSTRACT

E-Government initiative of Maldives has undoubtedly invited new forms of crimes against the government agencies. The legal system which does not cover electronic crimes is a major bottleneck in circumventing these crimes. This paper would discuss current and future potential e-crimes on the e-government of Maldives, and highlight on technical and legislative countermeasures.

1- Introduction

Maldives, as any other Nation, has been working hard to close gaps in emerging technology and to engage Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in providing fast, reliable, and resilient government services. The rapid growth of ICT was boosted by the government’s commitment to achieve the targets of United National Millennium Declaration (United Nations Resident Coordinator, 2006).

In the UN Global E-Government Survey 2003, Maldives scored highest in the South-central Asian countries, with an E-Government readiness index of 0.410, taking 79^th place worldwide (United Nations, 2003). In the following years, this development has taken fast pace and some E-Government services have been further improved.

Although, advancement of ICT in the country is moving forward, this change is not seen in the legal system yet. There are no legislations for computer crime or electronic data protection. The current level of e-crime in the country is significantly low. However, it could be a bottleneck in the legal system, if such crimes are to emerge heavily and increase unexpectedly.

The following sections in this paper would highlight on the E-Government initiative in Maldives, including its structure, current and future potential e-crime threats, and would recommend technical and legislative measures to reduce and circumvent the discussed problems.

READ THE FULL DOCUMENT HERE

Awards & Recognition for the poem 'Caught in Loneliness'

How long has it been since my last post. Hehe. I'm lagging behind. Don't worry about that, as I am here with some good news today.

Some of you might have read a poem I wrote last year titled 'Caught in Loneliness'. Well, a few days after posting it here, I submitted it to a contest on poetry.com. I did not anticipate anything. I didn't get any feedback for that for a long time.

They took their time and surprised me last week. I got few impressive e-mails, and to add on to that, few mails waiting at my previous address which I didn't care to pick up till last week. Yeah! Keep in mind that I'm careless. I still haven't given my new address to the phone company and some other places... Hehe..

Anyway, I got a few awards and some more recognitions for that poem.

Editor's Choice Award - Presented by Poetry.com and International Library of Poets.

Immortal Verses - It's to be featured on this anthology, deluxe hardbound edition, coming out soon! You could order it online at poetry.com Hehe..

The Sound of Poetry - It has been selected to be recorded in this 33 track, three-CD set, with 1 track for each poem. These 33 poems are selected from all the poems that had won Editor's Choice Award.

Noble House Poet Fellowship Award 2007 - Not only a certificate; includes a gold pin (24-karat) wow!

The best poems and poets of 2007 - It's a new book, to be published soon, with 1 page for each of the selected 200 poets. I've been asked to write a new poem for that ;)

Distinguished Member - Nominated by the Board of directors and advisory committee of the International Society of Poets.


By the way, that poem is in 'Poets Choice - Rate my Poem' contest now. You could go and vote here.

I don't find that poem so great and it's been a while since I lost interest in writing poems. What the heck! Maybe I should give another try.

Cheers!
Hammett

P.S. Hope you wouldn't mind typos and grammatical errors. I'm in a rush :)

Reincarnation - possible?

Hello guys........

I apoligise for disappearing from my e-life. I know it's been a while. Battling through an arcade of stress and puzzles about life, I landed in Male' about a month back. As much as I wanted to surprise friends and family, some how to 'my surprise' most of them were expecting me. Information disclosure; that won't happen next time... Hehe..

I had a great time there. It was so good to be back home though it wasn't after that long. You know how it feels like, don't you? I was on vacation and didn't get much time to get to work (updating blog and all). You know what! Actually, my timing was great as if I was planning to attend Rockstorm Chapter 2, which I wasn't. Hehe... It was an amazing show performed by selected few bands from last year and the stunning Malaysian band, not to mention Fasylive.

After 2 weeks of homely food, coffee hopping and teasing close friends (;P) I'm back here again and got busy and then got busy with other things. Now that I've figured out most part of the 'Puzzle of Life', I'm reconstructing it wisely. I have been through reincarnation. Is that scary?

I would try to keep updating this space as much as I could and would be back soon with more stuff. Actually, I got a lot of things to write here. However, I don't want to write too much today and bore you guys. Keep coming back for more. :)

Cheers!

LIFE is a PUZZLE

I went shopping day before yesterday, and ended up in a bookshop for several hours, reading almost every book there. Yep, I did it,;just the cover though. ;) . I bought a few novels. One of that is 24 Declassified – Vanishing Point by Marc Cerasini. I didn’t know about the novel before, but it’s a series of books based on the TV show 24; the hit FOX series. It's the fourth book in the series, the first one is Operation Hell Gate. Eight books already in the stores and the author is still busy writing more.

I came home with something else, that I haven’t bought in a very long time; a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle. Actually, I wanted to buy a 1000 piece puzzle, but the finished-size of that is so big that it won’t fit on my table. I started working on it that night, and finished in 30 minutes. Wow, can I really do that! No, I cannot!. I sat at my table constructing this interesting and colourful thing and it took me almost 3 hours to just complete the outline alone. The pieces are very small and the picture itself is complicated. I still haven’t finished it because I got busy with some personal stuff today and I won’t be able to touch it for the next 2 days. Now that I’m here talking to you guys, that’s alright. :). I really like this one, you know, because it represents re-creating that past to me (reconstructing something you already know). No wonder why it intrigued me to write this article.

Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that life itself is not different from a jigsaw puzzle, except that we don’t see the clear picture of how the finished-piece would look like. Every day we move several pieces of this enormous puzzle consciously or subconsciously; every thought, every decision and we breath we take is all about solving it. It’s sovery intricate and obscure. Things we do, that may seem insignificant to us, would have an effect on this jigsaw.

When you are constructing a puzzle, you would misplace pieces and it might seem perfect there then. But, as you go along, you’d realize the mistakes and you definitely have the chance to change it accordingly. Is it the same in life? Why not? You misplaced a piece today, yesterday, or 10 years back. You could always change it (If not all the time, most of the time) and move it to where it belongs. Some of your actions in the past that you believed as the right thing then, might not be worth that much now. As time goes, you’d get a better understanding of it and you would figure out things that need to be changed. Even if it is a piece that seemed right for a decade, isn’t it? Then why should we regret some things, if not all, in the past.

Embrace and appreciate everything you have done, everything that has happened in your life. Most of the time, we live it up so fast, without taking time to appreciate little things that shaped the life we live today, and the person we are today. Some of us are too busy with work or studies, jumping on the staircase of life. Stand still, just for a moment, turn around and grasp the picture you created. Acknowledge it and don’t ever forget to criticise. You would see a lot of boo-boos; nobody is perfect. You gotta be more worried if it's "perfect". In such a case, I might hire a private investigator :)

Don’t sit back and cry, put an effort to reconstruct it. You picture doesn’t have to look beautiful to others, though yours, mine and everyone else's pictures are connected somehow. It doesn’t mean that you have to totally sacrifice the happiness and beauty of your life for others. It's just me thinking out loud. Maybe it'll be good for you to think about this as well and I do welcome criticism. 

Good luck with your zillion piece puzzle. :)

I would be unavailable for about a day or two at the most. You guys have a great time here; I’d be back soon... Cheers!!

Hammett

Image taken from here.

Mind Tortures the Innocent Body

Laying there lost in sensation,

Heart following music’s pulsation;

Locked in thoughts of uncertainty,

Will it be the same for eternity?

Mind would not rest at all, ever,

The exhausted body sometimes quiver.

All it need is a few hours of sleep!

Does it hear the sensations deep?

Cheers!!

Hammett

Image taken from here.

Stressed is Desserts spelled backwards!!

Exam stress huh! Why am I talking about it here? It’s crystal clear; that’s exactly what I’m going through right now. I hope I’ll be alright. I always tend to show too much stress when it comes to exams. Oh man, there’s a lot to talk if you want to listen to that! Maybe this is not the right time though.

Actually, having exam stress to a certain extent is a good thing. They say it helps sharpen concentration and performance and help to create the additional energy and momentum required to keep studying when we would be doing something else. Indeed! It would make you drive the extra mile, rather than becoming complacent. Too much stress, however, can be overwhelming and stop us from being able to study and get on with life.

For the last 3 days, I was studying in the library with my friends. I get really stressed and find myself completely lost sometimes. The little-white-thing-that-I-puff-away didn’t seem to help much though ;). When I’m questioned on certain topics, I know that I’ve read it but I can’t recall it. I didn’t realize what really was going on till yesterday.

Library is not the perfect environment for me to study. It’s a huge place, and supposed to be silent. You see people talking and moving around. In the library, you’ll always get distracted. Since yesterday, I’ve being studying in my room. It’s remarkable how much I have crammed in a day. I shouldn't have gone to the library at all. Yes, actually I do. Remember, no REGRETS! That’s a new lesson for me.

To study, I need to be alone.

Things I do, I do better on my own.

It helps to have some music on.

And coffee turns the machine on.

Studying long hours at a stretch, doesn’t help at all. It’s important to do something else after about an hour of studying. I haven’t being around this place much, lately. Still, I find time to peep in once in a while. It helps, you know! Sometimes you have to find a way to totally forget about studies. Then when you get on back to it, your mind would be more fresh and you wouldn’t be in a place where you keep on thinking that you’re pushing yourself too hard and you know... Am I right?

I reckon you would be thinking why I’m writing about exam stress, since I want to forget about it and concentrate on studying. Talking about it helps. I’m feeling much better now. Thanks guys for reading my e-thoughts. I got to get back to more cramming. Wednesday is the bitter-sweet day. :)

Time for some desserts... chocolate chip cookies!!

Cheers!!

Hammett

Image taken from here.