Lawrence and Christine Family Blog

With people around us falling sick more often, we often conclude around the lunch table that virus strains have no doubt mutated to be stronger and persistent. And some of us who can recall will initiate that prayer can have a positive effect on sick brethrens...so we pray for healing.

I was approached by a visitor last Sunday about the church's view on healing, on whether we take a composed stand for or against physical healing ministry. My reply is simple - our focus is in the divesting of our primary effort to evangelism and squabbling for a "Holier than Thou" view on healing is but pointless and non-edifying.

But again, I was approached this time by our dear brother John about christian healing and I think I should address this topic with a short article. Christian healing is a topic that may be wide open to interpretation and I qualify the focus to be simply addressing laying of hands with public prayers and anointing of individuals with visible, realistic healing against any form of mental, physical imfirmities. Do pardon me if these short paragraphs fail to set the boundary of relevance but do revert to clarify when compelled.

Basically, this article is to spur you to know your position in this matter and unite this knowledge with your God-given gifts and talents to be more effective ministers of His. It does not seek to affirm a "right" position as this pertains more to a conviction than a biblical principle.

OK...of all the different opinions and testimony I found and read, I recommend this brief site to be read as a [starter]. Feel free to reply via the Blog's comment link and share of what you think...

Posted in: on Tuesday, November 28, 2006 at 0 comments  

Two things at hand to let everybody know to determine this Friday's meeting venue:

1. HC will not be available for SF
2. John's anniversary dinner was not made due to sickness last week

If you guys are agreeable on this, we shall still make the trip into JB this Friday. It's said to be a 3 minute drive from the causeway with excellent food and settings...

Please confirm if this arrangement suits you by sms to Christine today. OK?

Posted in: Friends Update on at 0 comments  

Posted in: on at 0 comments  

This tool may come in very useful at times when vital information are accidentally (or even purposely) deleted from end users' PC or laptop.

Download it [here]

Posted in: on at 0 comments  

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a web content syndication format (XML-based) that is used for content distribution. One simple way to describe it - Television controllers allow you to set certain buttons on your remote for a specific TV station. Or your local news has a certain button for you to turn to watch the news i.e. Channel 3 news at 6 o’ clock. So you press channel 3 and boom, you're there.

RSS is KIND of like that for the web. RSS is better than TV channel saving, it’s like a TIVO. TV channel saving just saves the TV station number, unless you have a TIVO (DVR). A TIVO allows you to record specific shows that you want to watch. That is what RSS does. It records any new changes to a particular website that you frequently go to and it automatically updates for you. It basically narrows down any new updates to the website. RSS is used for a number of news websites, blogs, and vlogs (video blogs).

So how do you subscribe to a website? Well first the webmaster must have an RSS feed for you to subscribe to. Those feeds are buttons on the website where you click to subscribe.

You should know which button you pushed and that integrates with RSS reader (aka RSS aggregator). An RSS reader is basically a web based application that saves the subscription for you. If you have a my yahoo account or AOL/MSN then your subscription to the website will be posted on those main pages for you. However, there are separate readers you can use like feed demon ($29.99) or Google Reader (Free). Google reader is awesome and has a little video for you to watch about the reader.

So, instead of surfing daily across 20 favorite web sites for 30 minutes, your user can now do it all on one page in 5 minutes!

Posted in: Technology on at 0 comments  

The use of encrypted mails presents a valuable tool for hightened security and assurance that sensitive information does not get sniffed during transit. Here, we present the very basic of what PGP can do and if required, helping our client deploy PGP effectively.

PGP combines some of the best features of both conventional and public key cryptography. PGP is a hybrid cryptosystem. When a user encrypts plaintext with PGP, PGP first compresses the plaintext. Data compression saves modem transmission time and disk space and, more importantly, strengthens cryptographic security. Most cryptanalysis techniques exploit patterns found in the plaintext to crack the cipher. Compression reduces these patterns in the plaintext, thereby greatly enhancing resistance to cryptanalysis. (Files that are too short to compress or which do not compress well are not compressed.)

There is a few variants of PGP out there that are [free].

Posted in: Technology on at 0 comments  

Our weekly roundup of tips and tricks comes from Speed Guide's TCP Optimizer. It's a program that runs without a need to install into your PC and can be remotely runned if stored on a central server.

Best of all, it works wonderfully to speed things up real well!

Download your copy [here]

Posted in: Technology on at 0 comments  

Posted in: on at 0 comments  

To keep abreast with the lastest development of multiple core processors, we would like to simply provide a layman explanation of what and how it actually benefit enterprise users.

A multi-core processor is an piece of silicon which two or more processors have been attached for enhanced performance, reduced power consumption, and more efficient simultaneous processing of multiple tasks.

Think of it as a having separate processors installed in the same computer. The advantage to having multiple processors on a single piece of silicon, is that the connection and intercommunication between the independent processors is faster then if they were on separate pieces of silicon.

It is easy to assume that a dual core processor is nearly twice as powerful as a single core processor. In practice, performance gains are said to be about fifty percent: a dual core processor is likely to be about one-and-a-half times as powerful as a single core processor.

A dual-core processor has many advantages especially for those looking to boost their system’s power, as clock speeds on processors not improving at the rate of speed as they did in the early 2000’s

For a computer to really get a speed boost out of a dual-core processor, both the operating system and applications running on the computer should support a technology called “Multi threading” (Basically allowing a program to simultaneously execute multiple tasks, on multiple processors)

Even without a multithread-enabled application Microsoft Windows XP, MacOS X or Linux (Which all support multithreading) will hand off tasks in an even manner to both cores of your processor making the compuer feel faster.

However, having more cores isn’t always better! The noticeable speed improvement all depends on the demand of the Applications trying to utilize the processor. For example, Microsoft Word open on a dual core machine is no faster then Microsoft Word on a eight core machine. The program isn’t demanding enough to fully utilize the extra cores.

However, if you run Photoshop, Illustrator, Avid all at the same time (besides using a ton of system RAM), these programs would greatly benefit, due to the complexity of the calculations they require.

So, do you need the newest Core2Duo machine produced? If you are just running a web browser, and email client - the answer is NO. However if you plan to do photo, video or audio manipulation we say get as many cores as your wallet can afford - and plenty of RAM

Updated by Darren

Posted in: Technology on at 0 comments  

John, Douglas both got a case of fluish spell late last week and are still recovering from it. Pray for recovery and well-being.

Helena (our Music teacher) had a bad fall last week as well. I pray she is well taken care of by the Doctors.

Anyone else I missed?

Posted in: Friends Update on at 0 comments  

It's the time of the year where the weather moves from hot and dry to hot and wet. And as usual most known air-borne virus comes out to play.

In church, as I welcome friends, I do see an increased number of people coughing, sneezing and stuff and I just want to provide a few practical tips to avoid getting a case. Apparently, for kids, they tend to get "stomach" flu and they usually throw up and visit the loo very regularly unless a proper dose of Anti-diahorrea concotion is applied.

1. Avoid crowded place if possible
2. Use an Air Ionizer (/w negative ions emitter) at your work place, home and/or car (I gave one to Brian) - capable of killing air-borne viruses within a 500 Sqft space!
3. Wear a mask (quite common in HK) when necessary to protect yourself
4. Common sense - rest and drink (I mean H2O) sufficiently
5. Get out of Air-conditioned space periodically for fresh air
6. Build up immune system by not being underweight or overweight and brisk exercise
7. Reduce or eliminate sugar intake (e.g. fizzy drinks, 3-in-1 mix) - sugar aids growth of virus and bacteria as they are food for them
8. Eat more frequent but smaller portions - 5 meals a day

Dr. Lawrence (for this article)

Posted in: on at 0 comments  

You know, while our Savior constantly urges us to serve Him as the age closes, never did he mention that we should forget to rest. Rest not in the arms of the world but on the breasts of Christ. Save the occasions that we miss the blessing of Lazarus, whom sits eagerly in wait of his Master's comforting words.

As Christians, that is very important. A skill and a constant effort to sit in front of our Master's table, to bask in His consoling conversation and a lift of our weary spirit. So, come, I invite, that this sacred breaks be made periodically to sit at the table with Him. (John 12:2)

In fact, I occasionally allocate such break time to update the blog!

Posted in: on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 at 0 comments  

Posted in: on Thursday, November 16, 2006 at 0 comments  

While preparing for the LETAS grant, PP will require the preused template from client to write the grant document as per fitting to the exact scale and requirement of the subsidiaries and group status.

It is anticipated that the grant document be ready in a week upon receiving the necessary documents and details from client.

Spring Singapore will be notified while a copy of the document be given to client for reference.

Posted in: on Monday, November 06, 2006 at 0 comments  

Built upon Nessus and Coyote, the entire software suite is constructed to fit CEH network requirement. PP will require an available PC for program installation and configuration before it be deployed in HQ network.

This server will be activated to sweep the entire network, including new VPNed subnet for vulnerabilities, spyware while eliminating them from the network.

As again, please provide a schedule to pick up the server hardware from CEH for installation.

Thanks.

Posted in: Technology on at 0 comments  

The MailEdge MX server is ready for deployment in CEH, in replacing the current mail server. Recommended hardware changes will be the built-in Raided drives. All other hardware will be inspected for continual use. Please provide us a spare machine for the migration work when required for pick up.

A schedule can be set by client to perform the migration.

Posted in: Technology on at 0 comments  

Please provide us the softcopy of brochures, images and any materials you have in mind to be on this web site that we can review and present several draft work this week.

Thank you. We will schedule a meeting with you when ready.

Posted in: Technology on at 0 comments  

I am telling you, the Internet is exploding with various paradigm shifts... with more things fast
becoming common knowledge. And one excellent site worth visiting (again, only if you make time really) is the MIT Open Courseware portal.

Funtastic teaching material on practically all known areas of academic studies, all for nothing!

Check it out [here]

Posted in: on Saturday, November 04, 2006 at 0 comments  

I am not sure about you but I am definitely into Classical movement. 

This is a fantastic list of full-length, public domain songs available for free download. And it's a LONG list; anything from Beethoven's Pathetique to Handel's Messiah. What a great (and free!) way to add to your classical music collection. 

Check out this [collection] for download and easy listening while the weekend dawns upon us...

Posted in: on at 0 comments  

As you know, learning a new language can be expensive, inconvenient and draggy...until now.

NHK (which is like BBC for Japan) provides a great resource for learning Japanese right on their home page. You can stream "Basic" or "Brush up lessons" with Real player and view a lesson plan directly online.  Dive in [here]

And BBC has followed suit in launching "Quick Fix" courses for over 30 languages all on their web site. Have time to spare? Check it out [here]

Happy learning!

Posted in: on at 0 comments  

Yahoo! launched its new food site today, offering recipes, health advice, restaurant listings.

Want to know how to carve a turkey? Watch a video demonstration from no less than Martha Stewart. Need help choosing a wine? Look to the wine guide. Put simply, Yahoo! Food packs in a wealth of material. All recipes come with nutritional information, always a plus.

The interface could use some work, though--it's busy and not particularly well-organized. But if you're willing to root around or you want to search for a specific recipe, you'll find loads of good stuff.

Check it out [here]

Posted in: Friends Update on at 0 comments  

I just want to thank God for Lani and John for once again making last Friday SF a delicious one. Dried Scallop Noodle Chinese style with English spaghetti with Fire Chilli.

Trust Nigel's work was fruitful to stay that late yesterday and Robert for having to work tomorrow! With HC doing up her new home, I sure want to visit it when it's done. Last night discussion was rather unique, with our usual topic of Christian fruit-bearing that ended with talks on human cloning!

Remember, the desire of bearing fruits in our lives can only come with a growing love for our Savior (by reading His Holy Scrip) May we bear fruits abundantly for His sake.

I am excited that one of you tried the "Get Things Done" article but I believe it's as useful as how conditioned we will be, with practice. Maybe, HC can share with us her style of GTD. Hope she will be back safely this weekend.

Good night and Good morning!

Posted in: Friends Update on at 0 comments  

In view of the need to streamline the allocation of the total 3.75mbps in HQ, the use of a Load Balancer is required to police the network throughput and ensure minimal predefined bandwidth is allocated to

MK - VPN
MK Web - IP
Internet - HTTP/HTTPS
Messaging - IMAP/POP3/SMTP

HP ML110 configured with HTB Load balancer, Pentium 4 Dual 3.0GHz, 1GB RAM and 72GB SCSI Ultra 2 Drive and Gigabit Ethernet will suffice for the task at hand.

Posted in: Technology on Wednesday, November 01, 2006 at 0 comments  

The order for two units of the Linksys 24-port switch mode SRW2024 has just arrived and waiting for clearance before delivery to client site.These two switches are meant to be hot-swap replacement units for business continuity purposes.

Posted in: Technology on at 0 comments  

Just in case you have not noticed, Mozilla has unveiled a new version of the very popular web browser - Firefox. Verdict - Don't use it just yet as it's just too unstable! Take my word for it.

Wait for the next revision 2.01 before attempting to serve the web with it.

Posted in: Technology on at 0 comments  

A new secure tunnel has been established between client and Portal Phenom. This is a new test scenario which allow dynamic office clients to still establish a secure VPN tunnel without the need of static IPs.

To date, the configuration for both tunnels have been to allow remote web traffic to still be managed on the remote end, instead of channeling ALL IP traffic to the congested VPN tunnels. Moreover, a standard security audit has been performed on the Cisco 877 routers to ensure the last-mile vulnerability be addressed.

Constraints now lies in the shipment of additional harddrives for the new ERP server (scheduled mid November) , to be then configured for the new instance for future VPN use.

Updated by Lawrence

Posted in: Technology on at 0 comments