The situation.

Online address book sounds like a great thing compared to localized version, saved in either address book applications (e.g: Windows Contacts, WAB, etc) or mail program (Outlook, Thunderbird, etc). To name the most obvious, ability to access the contact list everywhere internet is available. But with the advent of mobile devices, we could sync our local address book to our mobile device and have it everywhere also. :P

I think, even all free mail server had this online address book feature. But then, probably the same case as the ID system. Difficult in programming cross site authentication? Overhead in querying someone else’s database? Privacy concern? Reality check? Whichever, it doesn’t seem coming soon.

So, how about us the end user ? Imagine this use-case. You use Windows Mobile device, and that thing sync only with Outlook, so, you have to have your contacts in Outlook. Then, you have address book in each Live, Yahoo and Google’s network. You know what comes next by such disconnected data redudancy. Inconsistent data between each list.

Current solution I used.

Every several months, I do maintenance of my contact data. Delete those obsolete data, back up those I still need, then put it all into Outlook. Then, delete all in Live Contact, and import. The bad side it, I lost the Groups, and Live Messenger contact (added/not), plus I guess, annoying my contact with request. Another risk is that I deleted contacts that I missed during the back up stage.

Somehow, this sounds like a better solution.

There are not yet any application to sync between Outlook and Live Contacts, I guess. But there is a way to synchronize between Live Contacts and Windows Contacts. Found it through that Wikipedia article of Windows Contacts, an entry in Windows Experience Blog.

In Windows Live Messenger’s Option-> Security, uncheck the encrypt contact list option.

Then, you can manage your contact list using Windows Vista Contacts. And better, this works both way, so the update in Windows Vista Contacts will be synchronized to the internet server (or they call it “cloud”).

There is also the way to view Live Calendar through Windows Calendar explained in other post, basically, the “publish the calendar online as .ics and subscribe using Windows Calendar” trick. But I agree with the comments. They should implement a way to do allow two way synch. I prefer using desktop apps when I’m in my own PC.

[add]

Following the post in Liveside.net, seems like Live Calendar will be able to subscribe to public calendar too now.

Set back from my earlier plan, I depart at around 13.00 today. But the bus depart late, so we have to wait longer there, in metal sauna. Then, after transferring from 37 to 213 in Slipi, had a baby vomitting on board. Egh, luckily I’m quite distanced, but just looking made my stomach feels slightly sick.

The books hasn’t arrive at Kino yet, but there’s more of other magazines. There’s also a lot of discounted old magazines, some dated back to 2006.

Take a walk and found a boxes’ store in the basement level. The items looks cute ^-^
I personally liked the basket that looks nice with laundries more than pets. It gave me that impression of a usual weekend in a countryside home, which is definitely not in any place as hot nor hotter climate than tropic.

Other boxes are the gift box styles, although there’s also boxes for keeping stuffs. And they all had that made of recycled cardboards and papers visual style of material.

Then, after dinner, went for a walk in Grand Indonesia. Enjoyed the walk. More shops are opened, and there’s also a pre-opening sale by Gramedia book store. And, I’ll probably like the room decoration in that temporary space in fifth floor more than the store itself in 2^nd and 3^rd floor.

So, the decoration is really minimal, but not iMinimallist style. The wall and pillars are not painted, there’s even still the rough cement texture on it. Then, instead of the common by topic grouping of books as usually in Gramedia, the books are arranged in nicely spaced islands by publisher, just like in a book fair.

Then, walk in the European style walk and stop by in the cafe. But before that, I complaint that the toilet is too far, located in the New York style area and decorated like a subway car.

Had Ice Moccha. The regular size is not too bad, and it’s not too sweet either, still have trace of the chocolate’s bitterness. The seat might not be the best, not near the window to see dusk view from the window. But, I really enjoy it.

So, I starts typing a story –gladly, free wi-fi is included, so I can open the file saved in Office Live Workspace. Managed to do only a page, but I enjoyed the process, because I learned something. During writing, I got the inspiration of trying to give them alternate numerical form. Our world has the metric unit and imperial unit. I tried putting base-12 and base-8 in that world.

So there is actually groups who support that we should use base-12 numbers instead of base-10 in our daily life. And with this group, I put my belief that metric unit is better for our world that’s dominated by base-10 numbering. But, if the world would use base-12, I’ll probably prefer imperial unit.

Also, there’s article that mentioned, we could count base-12 using our fingers just like in base-10, and using only one hand. Each of our four fingers had three sections, so we could count base-12 using that. I tried, and it reminded me of the paranormal in Chinese ghost movies counting something with probably taoism fortunetelling method.

How many social presence is there in the wired already? There’s Live Space, Facebook, MySpace, Multiply, Friendster, and many others I never heard. Also community like LiveJournal, DeviantArt, and the vast numbers of online forums.

As much as I prefer using Live ID for most of my online activities, most of my relations here are using Yahoo. I’m not using Google’s despite being popular because of some baseless sentiment like why I don’t like bean tofu (no reason, but I can starts looking for justification if needed). My freedom of expression.

Yahoo is seemingly more popular here in Indonesia, and I also need to ask when the IT guy came again why Live Messenger is blocked in office while Yahoo Messenger is all OK (despite being slower than outside because our network sucks most of the time). For networking, many prefers Friendster, Multiply. this kind of forming groups of unconnected networks that are difficult to manage centrally. For Live alone, I still need something that could sync the contact in my office’s Outlook, and Live Contact seamlessly.

Yesterday, I thought, how great would it be for all the networks and database to be joined in one piece (and how much tears would be shed if the backup failed in case of disaster).

Yesterday, in office, thinking of it. How nice would it be, if just:

• The whole business become one. We had only one way to go. But the good side, we know we’re in the same network. They said it’s bad for innovation though.
• Move everyone to one service. But other than being monopoly, it sounds cruel to those other networks being left to die. And sounds even more impossible than the first option to happen.
• Gave interoperability. Let the users share their informations, or make a centralized database. But I shrugged this one. Privacy concern. And I don’t think it’ll work with the companies. See the ID in Live, Google, Yahoo. Everybody want to manage their own customer’s data and don’t want to let anyone use it. As an article about Facebook also, an edge in marketing information.

… summarized in a word, “Hopeless” ? ^^;

This one is for the monthly challenge in the Windows Live Community Clubhouse about favourite gadget.

Personally, in both the personalized homepage and this Live Space, I didn’t use much of custom gadgets. Let’s see… Photos, Lists, I don’t use much of the third party gadgets so far.

So, instead I tried to arrange my rule of thumbs, for Gadgets in Live, and also applicable to apps in Facebook.

• Gadget that’s useful, and useless. This is relative, but for me, mainly it’s utility type of gadgets that I use. Those useless for me are badges, statements (I support xxx, I’m with yyy, those kind).
• Gadget that will stay for good, and for novelty. Games are for me, novelty. I might put it on, play several time, then remove it. Those are not for permanent clutter of my space and make it difficult to load.
• Gadget that’s meant for me, and for my visitors. I’ll put those for myself in Personalized page, and those to share in Space.

On the last point. Feed could be on both depending on if you want to share. Then, for place where you sell thing, currency converter might be something to share. But for my practical case, I can’t find much gadgets that are “for visitors” yet, so far. Or at least, most looks like novelty that they (visitors) can go to specialized site for better information. Also, it wouldn’t feel proper to have them play games in my space.

So, my preference would be gadget to share something about myself, or from myself. Or something to connect to me. In this case, most of the gadgets from the Live team.

Also, I’m actually hoping, like users commenting on Simple Calendar for Spaces, we’d like a Gadget where we can connect it to probably an iCal, better if we can connect that to the Live Calendar also, and can manage it through Vista Calendar or Outlook for example. :D

Well, most likely we’ll cancel plan of date to Ancol. I’d probably go to Kinokuniya and check my subscribed magazines.

I know I shouldn’t complain since I, for one thing, can’t drive. And I prefer public transportation. In the other hand, having couple with a very restrictive family (of protective, and of using family property such as car) is really limiting the choice.

There’s a lot of place, when I tried going, I’d like to think how if we could go there together. And there are pretty places that’s for the night only.

街は昼(現実)で生きる, 街は夜(ゆめ)に生きる

それに時間もさあ. 時々心配なんだ. 本当はあたしも話事最初からそんなに多くないけど, 会う時, 彼女が本を読んだり, 仕事をしたり, ゲームをしてるなんて, ちょっと悲しいな -_-

In a positively dark mindset, I’d first categorized myself as the peoples that are “I know I’m the happiest person in the world and life sucks for so much others out there that I don’t deserve to complain, but I’ll so anyway.”. As I categorized it as probably positive emo (in contrary to those feeling hated by the whole world), most would just say it’s whining.

Anyway. Review of this one week at job. I had four scripts to edit waiting under my table, and the title that I doesn’t like the most (more than Dangun, that one is approx. 800 lines less effort). Better than 8 at the table next to me. Then, probably six proofs with more coming tomorrow. I guess I’ll finish the editing next week, and do some proof checking at home.

Then, the management job. At the monitoring (read: a meeting that sounds like preparing logistic before setting out next attack on war), somehow managed to squeeze generous amount of books for the fourth week. But I did bad in chasing everyone to finish the proofs for fifth week, and the next August. Especially August, because next week’s meeting will be about how many books are ready to go to printing, and to tell the truth, doesn’t looks so prospective to me >_<

So, I wanted to be able to start writing again at home. But apparently, I used my time badly. Besides, I want to start a regular set of sleeping on 21.00 on working day (and sunday night), so less time to do much on anything else. Oh well, plannings.

Another with my crappy phone camera, after all, my income leve won’t allow purchasing a camera yet without being buried in debt.

But outside the complains, I stumbled upon this again. Not the first time, but today I decided to take a picture. But, although the lighting condition felt perfect for my human eyes, probably not the best for camera’s eyes.

It’s a patch of wild plants growing in the drainage system in my residential complex. We had a closed drainage system here, and all water from the sewer goes to a local reservoir before pumped to the larger sewer outside.

There are time when the water level is low, in dry season such as now for example. Then, on the mud, and cement bed, small plants grows. Pale bluish lighting, the pale white masonry wall and the strong dark green of the leaves. I guess it just caught my impression at that time ^^

あたしって毎度作戦失敗系な奴か?

The plans for yesterday is watching Hancock in Plasa Senayan. Next is lunch, and then go to WTC Mangga Dua for the NipponClub Comic Dome event. Then probably, dinner in that fox logo restaurant in Artha Gading.

でも, 驚く事もないいつもの事ですよ. また, 時間といろいろの問題で, 同人イベントはCancelです. はい, もう一度, Cancelです. つまり, 行けなかった. じゃあ, 普通にギーちゃん家でアホアホトークします. P3Fesをやってる旦那見ると共にする, 夜寝るまで.

ちなみに, チーズを買って, カルボナラを作って上げる事もCancelです. –_-

で家の御両親も何か煩くなりそうです. まあ, それも普通ですね. 母さんは友達の息子が悪女の罠に囚われた事多いだから, 心配しすぎになっちゃったんだ.

とりあえず, 今日はしばらく家に帰る, そして昼はまたお出かけします.

で… ギーちゃんが言った通り, 「がんばれね, 副部長」っていうか, 何であたしが副部長なの!?

あ, 部長は来週日本に行くんです. だからその間に, あたしはスケジュールの仕事をする命を受けた. まあ, 自分の仕事もまだまだ多いだけどね. ちなみに, 皆に「早くしろ!」な役は苦手です –_-

大丈夫かな

My thinking of the day. How much is the contribution of cola companies in reducing athmospheric carbon dioxide, obesity, dental carities and ‘Delhi University CO₂ poisoning in cola drinking competition’ hoax each years ? Is it large enough to justify the method of dumping the green house glass into human bloodstream ?

The day came quick today. Well, editing C.M.B. is a swift, enjoyable and nicely translated, although might be my subjective comment because of the translator ^^

Afterward, I think I made that face. The proofs are coming like flood early in the morning. Got five to be checked. I want to finish it by this week, but also remembered I got two to three more translated scripts coming.

That means, two days at most to check all. Luckily, the translator for one is also an easy one.

At the end of the work day, I almost not realize that it’s already 16.30. Lucky I don’t miss the bus.

The window shopping in Mangga Dua didn’t gave much result. No wonder, I doesn’t really have any target going there anyway. But, I wrote down serial key from a (pirated) application CD sold. Well, in a way, that counts as stealing? I’ll try it tonight, and if it didn’t work, going to go and purchase the CD.

Then, went for dinner. There’s a pizza restaurant quite close to my home, that have an all-you-can-eat program. But I’m also concerned with the situation. They keep the same price in this time when the price for everything is soaring up. Even before all these mess, I already felt that they’re hanging on thin profit already. When coming today, the situation only looks worsen.

Kind of feeling sad for it. It’s always so isn’t it, when something you’ve known for a while, something old, in a condition that seems like it’ll be gone, drowned in the river of time. Well, hope it will survive.

The internet in my home is down again tonight together with the cable tv channel. That leaves me in my room listening to songs while waiting for sleep time I guess. Hope all's back to operational tomorrow.

そう, 今日の仕事は思ったより早くなんだ.

昨日はあんなに多く来るんだから, 明日まですると思うが, 今日はもう全部お終い. 修羅の刻14はまだだけど, 他のはもうOKです. 15.00時ぐらいは何とかいつもより長い感じますけどね.

で, 明日は御愛しい人は来るから, もうお楽しみ ^^

今日の仕事はとっても眠い. 何があったか分かんない. お腹空いたのか, 昨夜寝る不足のか.

でも, 不安のはそれじゃない. 帰る時はちょっとイヤな予感です. 明日は大変な事ありそう, ってそういうのです. あたし, 大丈夫かな.

Today’s activity is going to Jakarta Historical Museum. I got info from friends in AnimeIndo. The event from information is cosplay event. But upon arriving and took notice that the event is Batavia Art Festival, IMO, those cosplayers are the main point that look so out of place and ridiculous in a way. It’s not that their performance are bad, but their performance had not much with the whole theme.

My favourite of the day is Museum Taman Prasasti. To reach there, it took an effort. I fell asleep in the bus, and missed a bus stop. Had to wait, and then go down from Monas, to the National Museum. From there, I remember the museum is just walking distance away. But, I took the wrong street.

So, after another long long walk, finally got to the place, half hour before closing. The place is beautiful IMO. There’s lot of tombstones, but nobody stays there anymore. Everyone are either claimed by their family, or relocated to Taman Kusir. There are Dutch, English, some Chinese, and a tomb for 30 Japanese soldiers died in a battle.

The place had lots of trees, and because of the more difficult access, not many visitors came, so I think I could took somewhere to seat and actually spend hours enjoying the place. Felt inspiring. Want to take Gi-chan there also, but other than her family that has almost no free time allocation for her, I wonder how she would react about staying long in an ex-cemetary ground, after all, she’s a lot more sensitive than me in that case. ^^;

Returning back to the town square, there’s the marching band and opening ceremony. The event will continue to the night, but I go back early. It’s the end of the month also, so I don’t have much money to spend. If not, I’m thinking of going to the cafe closeby actually.

But, seeing so many peoples gathering for festival in the town square somehow made me feel happy and light hearted. Hope next time there’s event like this, I’ll be having an at least decent camera already.

So, one of the mistery for me about toilet in public places like mall is, in the toilets where there’s bidet installed, the floor is often wet like someone turn it on without anything between the nozzle and the wall. I never had the floor wet, so I don’t understand how they manage to do it. But today, it’s clear.

During the gathering, had problem with my stomach and hell, the toilet has no water at all, same as that in the higher floor at the stock exchange building. The cleaning staff said it’s not installed so the floor will not become wet everytime. Really, entering a (supposedly) dry toilet with the seat and floor all wet and dirty is a turn off.

And, the revelation, which please don’t ask how I find out. Just sit in theatre’s toilet and you might find out.

So, most peoples are not familiar with bidet toilet. I assume, most house use bucket or spray. Well, understandable because the installation of the later tech cost a hefty price. So, they’re used to using water, and hand. And in this kind of toilet, they went half standing, turn on the nozzle, and then starts using their hand! Of course, it splash all over the floor. Aaargh… so I had to go to the only toilet with water in that mall (usually theatre’s) and found out that these kind of peoples are the root of my public toilet problem!?

And putting instruction sign won’t help much. I believe, most Indonesian believe they know the best and correct practice, and won’t feel right not doing it their way. So, not using hand equals not clean, the same as not eating rice equals not eating yet (even if you have 10 slices of bread, it’s just snack).