Interloper View

It takes practice to improve so that is why I try to write at least one article a day. However, I wonder whether I can do that without having a coach or without having someone to look over my writing and suggest improvement. Tools like Libreoffice and Microsoft Office have spelling and grammar checking feature but they are not very effective. It failed to identify a lot of grammar mistakes when I tested the feature. Paperrater.com appears to be the best free tool that I am aware of that will help identify my spelling and grammar mistakes. The tool also rates on usage of bad word phrases, the use of transitional phrases, length of my sentences, usage of passive voice sentences, simple sentence starts, vocabulary and an overall grading. Majority of my articles receive C grading and interesting enough so do many of the articles I have read online. It would be nice to improve get a B or A grade my articles but I have not figured out how. According to the FAQ, the rating is based on many ...

Ever since I was in primary school, I loved reading books. This continued through secondary school, college and also when I started working. I read all the technical books on programming from cover to cover even though most of my colleagues just read selected chapters. However, I stopped after I found that reading had caused my eye to get very tired. It became worse after I found that one of my eyes was affected by cataract. After the cataract operation, I was forced to use only one eye when reading since the eye that was operated on could only be used to see far. I could not enjoy the pleasure of reading anymore. I then switched to audio book and later to podcast. It seems like a good substitute to reading (or so I thought). A few years back, I found that I needed reading glasses; previously, I only needed glasses to see far. It just happened suddenly, my sight was blurred and I could not see close objects clearly. The optometrist confirmed that I needed reading glasses to...

Two weeks ago, I went to see an ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) specialist after having my cough for more than a month (and consuming two and half course of antibiotic). After examining me, he concluded that the problem was with my sinus, and it will continue to cause me problems if not addressed. A CT scan was performed to verify the extend of my sinus infection and the scanned confirmed that most of my sinus cavities are filled. I was admitted to the hospital and administered intravenous antibiotics over the weekend and scheduled for surgery on Monday. The surgery was carried out on Monday, May 15, 2017, at 8 am. I had to fast from midnight so that I would not throw up during the surgery. The procedure was called functional endoscopic sinus surgery (also known as FESS). According to the doctor, he used a scope and laser to remove the polyps and widen my nasal passages. The whole procedure took about 45 minutes due to the number of polyps that had to be removed. I was under genera...

There is a sale on Ebay since Jun 11 and is still going on today. Samsung Galaxy S5 is listed at RM1899 while it is sold else where in Malaysia at RM2399. When the sale was first announced, I was sure that the phones would be sold within minutes of the sale. This has not been the case. The nice thing about the phones are that the warranty comes from Samsung Malaysia. The few people I spoke to agreed that the price is very attractive but as of today the different variations of the phone is still available - Gold, White, Blue and Black. Note 3 is also also sale at RM1899 but those are also not selling. I can only speculate the reason why those phones are not selling. Could it be one of the following: Lack of awareness. Potential buyers are not aware of the sale. The phones can only be bought using PayPal.  Even though the phones are on sale, it is still too expensive for most Malaysian. Those who want the phone already bought them. There are many other phone options out t...

It appears that this is a season for change. Within the last few months, majority of the sites I frequent have made changes. First Mylot decided that they are going to stop their revenue sharing program. Then ExpertColumn decided that they could not afford to maintain the site and still share their revenue. Later I discovered that Redgage had revamped their site - I like the new look.  New Beginning I just found out today, that Full of Knowledge has changed their payment scheme, they now have a minimum cash out limit of US$50. The cash out limit is the combined earning from both their sites - ExpertPages (EP) and Full of Knowledge (FOK). In the beginning, there was no limit, so payout was automatic on the following month. After that, the limit was raised to US$1/-. There were changes previously for EP, at the beginning, there was only one site. The second site FOK started later. Shortly after the sister site started, it was decided that EP would follow it’s na...

When we were watching Bedtime Stories with my daughter, she commented that the movie was stupid. However, rather than standing up and walking away, she continued to stay and watch the movie to the end. Many movies and television shows  that defy logic but are very successful. Take for example, SpongeBob SquarePants. The show completely defies logic, how could you have fire underwater or even water underwater. Yet, it is one of the most popular cartoon series at the moment. Entertainment is the key. Are you able to engage your viewers and make them laugh?  Messages do not have to be dull and blend. Some of the most effective communications are entertaining and memorable. Being able to do this effectively is an art form and can be learned. However, it will take lots of time and practice. Do you remember how babies attract attention even with complete strangers? Is it just because they are adorable or it is something else? Maybe it is because they are just curious an...

I almost missed out on the three dollars I earned in ExpertsColumn. I revisited the site and noticed that I had request a cash out to collect my earning before the June 11 deadline. I wonder how many writers on the site missed out of their earning because they failed to take action before the deadline. I thought that by asking them about the payout when the first announced the change in their policy, that they would send me the payment when they lowered the threshold. Most other websites just ask you to set the limit and send you the payment automatically once you reach the threshold. I prefer sites that do it this way. To me the lower the threshold the better since I do not have to worry about losing what I have already earned when the site owner decides to close down the site. In this few months alone, we have seen several sites stop paying their writers. At the age of convenience where we subscribe to automatic payment for our bills, why should we have to remember to reque...

I started blogging back in 2008 with Programmer’s Journal on the Blogger platform. That was the first time I realized that I am able to earn money online. The earning is not a lot but it turned out to be a game for me to experiment and see how much I could earn. I wanted to share my experience below. MyLot required a lot of active time (well at least until the rules for the site changed). I received quite a few payment from them since I started but stopped when I thought that they had stopped paying. However, after I heard they were still paying, I continued until the latest change - where they stopped sharing revenue completely. Triond is another site I received several payments from. It is great because of the low cash out limit so I did not have to wait long to reach the payout and receive my money. Bukisa is another site that was good to me for a while. I was attracted to it initially due to the high earning rate but later they changed it to be a partial share. ...

The following website is great for checking on the writing styles. http://www.paperrater.com/

It's been a while since I posted here.  The reason is because I have been busy writing on Triond instead of here. There are very good writers and articles there and I am receiving more comments there too. Seems that more serious articles such as  Five Problems with Contact Lenses  are getting more hits.  However, I am doing more fictional children stories because this is the one my children demand every night.  I do, however, punish them by withholding stories when: They misbehave - fighting, crying and shouting. When they insist on staying late - way past their bedtime.