Eli Shares Joins SwinTalk

Photo courtesy of SwinTalk.

SwinTalk is basically a blog for all Swinburnites or Swinburners or whatever you call it, who are currently diligently shaping their melon in Swinburne University (Sarawak Campus).

Why join SwinTalk? The website said it best

“Enhance Communication + Broaden Your Network of Friends”

It's also a place for the students and staffs sharing their student life and experiences in Swinburne. In the same time promoting your own blog in the blogroll.

Been studying in Swinburne for almost 3 years, I never seen any published articles or magazines made by the students - or maybe Swinburne Sarawak Newspaper. I was expecting something like that before I start my studies because it an Australian university and I have a high expectation of the campus having a weekly or monthly magazines. Obviously not happening here.

Maybe it's because of the culture here or the current economy situation where publishing a magzine is quite costly. Another big downturn is would anybody willingly to grab one of it?

With that kind of dilemma, there is almost no chance to even publish a single issue of magazine. But thanks a lot to the technology nowadays, this problem has came to an end. We have SwinTalk!!!

SwinTalk is FREE, even better you can give out comments and feedbacks, and also share your ideas. Compared to the traditional type of magazine, SwinTalk has the ability to feed your eyes with videos.

Note:
Newspapers or magazines with moving pictures and short clip videos are only availabe in the Harry Porter's world. We ain't wizards or witches.

For those Swinburners and Swinburnites who are reading this, you are encourage to join us in SwinTalk. It's very a great opportunity for us to get our voices out there and in the same time get connected with others. Who knows your soulmate might be reading your post? ;-)

Please Take a Moment to Subscribe and Follow Eli Shares

Hello to all my fellow friends and readers. For your information, I'm now working on to build a bigger base of readership for Eli Shares because of the scary amount of Followers (I just got 5!!!) in my Google Friend Connect application and also my feedBurner subscribers.

How to subscribe or follow Eli Shares?
So now all you have to do now is to subscribe or to follow or even better do both for my updates:

1. Follow me on Google Friend Connect
For those who owns a Google account are encouraged to Follow me. In the same time it's a good place for you to advertise your blog, the bonus is you may get readership from my blog readers as well. As you followed me, my blog will appear in you dashboard where you can have my latest updates from me.

2. Follow me on Twitter
Another way to get more updates from me is to follow me on Twitter. Twitter operates like your Facebook's "What is in your mind?" and your messenger's "Status message". I just joined Twitter recently and you might wanna read my post Eli Shares Tweets.

Here's a guide for you if you're thinking of setting up a Twitter account
The Beginner's Guide to Twitter

Join me at Twitter today @Eli Shares for my tweets.

3. Subscribe to my blog
Have you heard of RSS reader or Google reader? If no, no problem, I'll share a bit of information about 'What the Heck is a Reader?'.

What the Heck is a Reader?
A reader is a software which pings your favourite blogs (the one you've subscribed) telling you that it has been updated. Not much fuss about it, it's free and easy and I have been using Google reader for quite awhile already. Every time you post up, I'll be informed of your new updates so I don't have to waste my precious time surfing around.

To subscribe Eli Shares in a reader just click that link as shown above or to save you time you can click:
Subscribe Eli Shares

That's it. You're done.

There are no hidden cost behind and it will save your time. Thank you for following and subscribing Eli Shares. Cheers~

Earth Hour 2009

Photo courtesy of inhabitat

Did you vote for Earth by switching off your lights last 28th March?

Yes, I did. Although by switching off the light for a complete 60 minutes won't make any difference to what has happened now, but by switching off your lights means that you're concern about the global climate change which in the same time reduced your electric consumption for an hour.

While driving along the road, I was so impressed that even the glamorous Four Points Hotel joined the Earth Hour and stood still in darkness.

Photo courtesy of A.A.R.O.N.

I can see that this global sustainability movement is well accepted in Kuching and we have the first ever Earth Hour Eco Friendly Mini Concert which is held at Green Heights Mall. We're entertained by few well-known local bands - Mayze, Passive Fire, Venus & Mars and Evenstarr.

Passive Fire - Turn and Walk Away


For more videos of Passive Fire's performance during Earth Hour 2009, check out Aaron's blog - Overdue.

Despite all of this global awareness movements, one thing has really concerned me is the state government's electro-shocking plan to build 12 new hydro-electric dams. The Bakun hydro-electric dam itself might generates more than double the amount of the electricity the state currently uses. Even without the Bakun dam, the state has already had more 20% capacity than it needs.

Photo courtesy of Malaysia Kini.


How much electricity do our state government need to waste? Extra 12 dam means an increase of more than 600% excess of electric capacity with extra bonuses of destruction of the environment and heritage sites, and displacement of thousand local indigenous people. Wonder-full?

Check this out:
A week before the Earth Hour took place, Al Jazeera aired 101 East: The Fight for Power. This is a very interesting and important issue amongst us Sarawakian.

Vote for EARTH?

Eli Shares Tweets

While visiting my favourite blogs, I discovered most of them has one thing in common - they TWEETS. Actually I have noticed this for quite a while but I never really bothered about it because Facebook has a similar service - "What is in your mind?".

But as the time passed by, reading their blogs and tweets in the same time, I discovered that tweeting is more like micro blogging. They posts tweets with very meaningful direct-to-the-point messages just like when they blog. The only difference is the message is short because it has a limit of 140 characters.

Indirectly it also can be you blog's "status" just like in the Windows Live Messenger - available, away, busy. Same goes to the similar feature in Facebook, write a short message telling what you're doing now or what is in your mind that you would like to share.
 
Looking on the bright side this service offers, I decided to set up an account yesterday and experience this new technology first-hand.

Recommendations:
12 Reasons to Start Twittering
50+ Reasons Why Join Twitter Today
Join Twitter Now or Regret it Forever

Firefox extension that notifies you of your friend's tweets on Twitter:
TwitterFox

If you want to follow me:
Join me at Twitter today @Eli Shares for my tweet updates

Treating Self-Improvement as Top Priority: My Basketball Era

I have been attending quite numbers of talks/seminar this year and last two week I went for a seminar about self-development. It was a seminar organized by my dad's insurance company, AXA Affin Life Insurance.

The speaker was Pauline and it wasn't any ordinary seminar where you just sit there, listen and jotting down key points and ideas. Participants are encouraged to actively participate in all the sessions.

As we started, the first question she asked us is "What is your principle, value and belief in life?"

Treating self-improvement as my top priority.

No doubt that I, and most of us, has this principle planted inside us since we were young. We want to be better than others by comparing ourselves to our peers, friends, relatives and parents - especially being better then who we are yesterday.

Those who holds this principle will constantly look for ways on how to improve themselves in all of the major aspects in their life. This really has played a big role in shaping me to be the person who I am now.

A bit history about me
I still remember when I was a kid, I love to play basketball and I dream to be one of the best basketball player. Everything started when I was in primary 4 (10 years old), from a brat who fights everyday to a boy who plays basketball everyday.

I was so heavily influenced by the comics I've read especially Dragon Ball Z (my fighting era) and Slam Dunk (my basketball era). During that time, most of my peers has started actively involve in basketball and I don't want to be left behind.

Without any basic skills and previous background in basketball I have to start from scratch!! I have to do all the basic trainings while watching my friends doing more advanced training from the sideline. It really itches me!!

Being left behind, I trained myself to the max everyday without fail. With the burning desire and passion within me, I improved my basic skills rapidly. To think about it, I was just like the main character of the Slam Dunk comic - Sakuragi Hanamichi.

After two months of basic training the coach called me into the team, where I joined my friends, was the most joyous and exciting moment but I know the challenge has just started. I have to fight for the top spot in the team - means i have to train even harder.

So I trained myself daily to improve my shootings and to be better than myself of yesterday. Everyday at 2 afternoon, I'll walk down to school for my rigorous self-training under the scourging sun before I join up with my group mates around 5 because I want to be the best.

(Me - #10)

The hard works paid off, my team won the school championship, which is my first ever medal and cup on my first taste of sport competition, and I was selected to represent the district and division (which was later rejected by the school headmaster and my parents because of UPSR exam).

(Me - Yellow #10)

Although after primary school, it is the end of my basketball era, but I still actively participate in some local competitions. Forgive me for bragging, I believe that I'm still the best ever Lun Bawang basketball player (#1)!!