Dilbert Principle - Why incompetent managers exist

I'm a fan of Dilbert comics since I was young, it is just fun to read comics and tease ourselves. One of the thereon, why incompetent managers exist, is given by Dilbert Principle

... the most ineffective workers are systematically moved to the place where they can do the least damage.

I am lucky enough that most of my superiors are competent people, and I learn a lot from them. As an electronics engineer, I learn how to design electrical power systems, understand mechanical design, and design process sequences. 

I do meet moron managers since this world is not perfect, it is never near or will be perfect at any time. Why do these people exist?

Darwin's theory of natural selection said

Individuals with adaptive traits—traits that give them some advantage—are more likely to survive and reproduce. 

By right, these people should be extinct, but they are on top of you.

So, if Darwin is right, they must have some advantage over you. 

Maybe morons are tempted to be luckier, or they can draw better "illusions" than you, or they just can drink more liquor than you.

Like it or not, they will exist around you. The Pareto rule said 80% of the job is done by 20% of the people. So you either choose to join the 80% moron, or you become the 20%. 

Happy working and happy coming holiday*.

*from not-so-happy boss. 

Holiday eve

Tomorrow is a public holiday for the desert until Thursday, but my project only off for a day, which is tomorrow. I actually don't looking forward to this holiday, if can I would like to go site and try to complete as much job as I can. Anyway, since it is the desert law is forcing everyone to stop work tomorrow, so I have no choice but to stay at home.

Everyone are getting unbalance. All the sub-cond here is like a king, or rather say that we are actually their sub-cond and they are our client. They work depend on their own sweet time, you can't force them to work. No way. All our engineers work like Bangladesh. We have to prepare everything for our so called sub-cond to come to site and make sure they are happy only they will start working. Else, they just don't pick up your calls. They will get all the money and we get all the hard shit.

I wish my boss reading my blog now and I want to tell them please appreciate these workers, you wouldn't be that lucky to get these people to work for you again.

Today received an email from my client and he dig out stone age project and tell us that we are not providing the drawings. After reading the email, I suddenly no more mood to eat. We have been accuse by these monkeys just because they don't know how to read drawings and they forgot what I have given to them on the training session. Sometime I want to scream at those fuckers and ask them to go back to kindergarten to repeat their study. Bunch of morons.

Finally we concluded that all operators are monkey. We have make a hypothesis that operators are monkey and after 10 years we finally concluded that the hypothesis is truth.

Feel tired. Not because of work, I personally is never tired with engineering works, but when all the efforts are treated like shit, that make us tired, even to speak a word to defend.

I think I should start to let go, but I know if I let go I mean I'm quit. My principle is either do it with all the effort or don't do it at all.

Will think about it once I go back to Bolehland, I think maybe I will open a grill fish shop somewhere.

Finally the winter is coming

I can feel the winter is just around the corner. She is quietly come to the desert. Now even at noon time, I wouldn't feel much heat, the weather is cold in the morning, I think it is between 20-25 deg. C. What a nice weather.

When winter come, it means the job is going to end. And, it also means I'm getting busy.

As a control engineer, the most busiest time in a project is when the project is going to end. When all the mechanical works have completed, I need to start to install the instruments and gauges, pulling and terminating the cables, do setting on the instruments and equipments, setup the system, testing and commissioning. Since 5 years ago, ending a project has become a very challenging task for me, cause my project manager never give me sufficient time that he had promised to give since the beginning of the project. When everyone had finished their job and the deadline is near or due, and everyone is looking at you and waiting for the system to be operated, you can imaging how much pressure I need to take, and most of the time, I will only have less than 1 week to bring up my system to live.

But this time it's slightly different, cause since desert people like to build museum, so we have built a luxury machinery museum for them. It means, I will not need to worry about the sequences of the system which is the most time consuming task. But it's doesn't mean it's easy to end this project. In Bolehland, I have a group of skill workers that never fail me, but in the desert, I can only have monkeys and donkeys to do my job because my procurement want cheap labours. But they forgot that I can get "free worker" also if they want. I can just go get some monkeys or donkeys to ask them finish the job. Well, maybe it is not absolutely free, cause I still need to give them peanut. So, this time, the most challenging time is not on the system, but is to teaching these animals to listen to my instructions.


I have been a zookeeper for almost 10 years and this is the first time I felt helpless.


I have less than 1 month to bring up the basic system and I will back to Bolehland before my anniversary. Ya, it's year 13BM or year 2AM. Guess the meaning of that :)

Apart of that, my super planner will go back to Bolehland on this coming Sunday. After 2 years plus staying in the desert, he is finally go back to Bolehland in 1 full piece. Any single and available girl is looking for hansom (hamsap also), humour (kayu also) and rich (kiamsip also) boy friend, you can leave your name and contact here, I will arrange the date XD

Then my wild horse and Chin is going home on the first of December. My wild horse is also looking for soul mate (I believe he means female). So, those single and available girls please leave your name and contact here. This is the year end jump building suicide sales, once missed you will regret for the rest of your life.

I will postpone my flight to a week later with fanshue. Fanshue is single but not sure still available or not. Too many choices make him difficult to make up his mind. So if you are interested on him, don't wait for him to approach you, just ask him to take you, I think it will be more easier.

Ok, that's all for the working Friday and I think I will not have any holidays until I go back to Bolehland.

T.T

Today is another sad day for me T.T

The only flower engineer in our office is leaving us, sad die me liao T.T
The working environment will back to those old days, left all the guys. No more motivative already.

I remember when I first met her is about 5 years ago, I was terminating the controller cables, she just follow me walking around the site. I believe that day I terminated extra cables :p. Then she use my PC, lucky she didn't found out my secret folder :p

Time flew and now she is resigned, I definitely going to miss her this time.
:_( need to clean the shit that she left :p

Although I selfishly hope she can continue stay here but I really wish her all the best and wish she can have a brighter future and earn more money so that she can cook abalone maggie mee for us one day :p.

Keep in touch.

Thanks God it's Thursday finally

Ya, it's Thursday finally and I'm sitting in the business lounge, enjoying the fresh orange juice and waiting for my flight to go back to Bolehland.

Time is relatively slow in the desert as compare to Bolehland. When someone told you that give them five minutes, they actually mean few weeks, and if they say today, you don't expect to see anything until next week or even longer. That is desert people. Basically their time move much slower than us. So, for all the project in the desert, delay for 1-2 years is normal.

Ok, back from those morons.

Finally hunter moon is moving into Aries and it's time for me to go back have a nice rest before I come back to this desert for the last war. Everyone is struggling to end this war by end of this year. I believe the chances is low, but impossible is nothing. Just hope the luck is on our side.

If you delay again I make sure you have a free ticket back to Bolehland.

Are you happy?

Yesterday, I told my wild horse that our cow is having lunch alone at the fast food restaurant, so lonely and no one like him. But as usual, my wild horse said “So what, he earns more than you.”

So, the definition of happy from my wild horse point of view is that, as long as the company paid high salary to us, we shall be happy no matter what environment we are working. My personal opinion is that, happiness for him is too surface. Money is important, but it doesn’t cover everything.

Some people miss understand the definition of working/job and career.

If you look at Oxford dictionary for the meaning of career, you will get this

an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person's life, usually with opportunities for progress. ▶[as modifier] working with commitment in a particular profession.

And definition for work is

such activity as a means of earning income.

And definition for job is

a paid position of regular employment.

So, can you see the different?

When you work or you take a job, it mean your final target or objective of your action is to earn money and nothing more than that. You will get paid for what you have done, or the payer, in his/her opinion that you valued.

On the other hand, career has more in it. Apart from getting paid, it also includes commitments and self growing.

If you asking me if I had found my career? I can just said, I’m glad that I’m an engineer. I knew what I want to be, but I don’t have the right medium.

If you follow my blog since I started, you will remember I said that love your job, but don’t fall in love with the company. Am I happy? Well, the answer is I feel tired. I wish to see a healthy growing environment, but I can’t see the future since few years ago.

Luckily, I still have a group of colleagues that work with me. We tend to laugh at our own stupidity and giving all the hard work to solve every obstacle that we faced. I believe everyone is tired but we still give a warming smile to each other. We know nothing much we can do for the current situation, but at least we don’t make it worst.

When the boat is sinking, instead of digging another hole on it, help to pour water out of the boat.

It's October

Today is 1st day of October; it means I still have 3 months before the new year is arrived.

Still got few more weeks to go before I can go back to Bolehland. I can start to feel the temperature in the desert is dropping. According to the history, the temperature will drop after the dusty windblown. The not so hot temperature reminded me that the autumn has arrived. Now, working at site is much comfortable as compare to last few months.

However, I still hate this project. I believe most of my colleagues also feel the same. The project has been started since mid of 2008 and seriously working with desert people is like working with stubborn moron and con-man.

They never honour their words, and if you think they will be gentleman, please don't trust them. They never. They will never dare to take any responsibility. They are 101% coward. You can't imaging they can refuse their signature. Those morons are also ego. They always think they are the best and they will always try to modify here and there to show that they are greater than you, whenever you give suggestion to them. Sometime, we laugh at their stupidity but most of the time we laugh at our uselessness to follow their moron idea.

Most of the so call engineer can't even know how to count 1, 2, 3. They like to comment on the colour, the shape and choose those expensive items, no care whether it is needed or not. They don't know how to read drawing, specification, manual or any engineering document. So when the finishing is not their imagined, they will find excuse to let you redo. When you ask them to a written instruction, you can just dream. They never dare to put their signature.

Most of us being f by these morons. We feel heart pain and helpless when all the brainstormed ideas and hard works have been condemned as worst than shit. Sometime I wonder why we waste so much effort and time for those useless morons. Maybe we still an engineer.

Really hope for the remaining months, everything can run smoothly. We all want to escape from this nightmare.

For all the warriors, just bear for another few weeks and end this. Then we go Tokyo to visit the girl's high school #^^#

Busy week

This week a busy week for me but still not that "really" busy. Manage to run one of my plant in fully auto mode. Nothing much bugs need to clear this time. I'm quite surprise. Not much challenge :) hope next project can be more complicated a bit. Hope my control people didn't read my blog. Looking forward to a more intelligent system in my next project, to the another level of pinnacle.

It is always my habit to give the best control system based on my available knowledge by using all the instruments and equipments I have. I don't like to use a Ferrari to tell you how fast I can go, but I like to use a Kancil to show you I can go faster than lot of big cars. That is my power to move me forward. Anyway, like all the lansi designer characteristic, I welcome suggestion, but I don't welcome instruction. I believe that a masterpiece can only done by a creator not creators. It will become rubbish when everyone come and put their hand on the work. You either end with a double works to clean the shit or you let the masterpiece become rubbish.

It's end of August, time just too fast for me or maybe I should say I'm too slow to catch the time. Getting old, can't run too fast. Ya, talking about running, I hope I can run at the coming marathon event and hope I don't get fainted :)

Ok, next week go to Taiwan to have some rest with my friends. Hope can take some nice picture and show you all.

It is 2913th days

Thank to my girl remind me that today is 2913th days I'd worked in my current company.

First of all, I would like to thanks to my manager for choosing me as his engineer. And also want to apology to him since I'm the most failure subordinate he ever have.

Secondly, thanks to all seniors for guides to me all these years. Arigato.

Thirdly, thanks to all juniors for giving support to us. I hope all the juniors appreciate the working culture that we have maintained. With these spirits, we have the best team in town. Nothing can stop us.

Lastly, thanks to the company for paying me salary each month and thanks to bosses for giving bonus to us.

Arigato everyone.

1st day @ Bolehland

Finally, I'd touch down safely at Bolehland Internation Airport yesterday. It has been long time I didn't see green huge threes and rain :p. Anyway, this is a very sensitive issue, therefore I stop describing the beauty of the nature or else my life will be in danger.

I'm lucky cause my cousin give me tickets to the concert held at Bukit Jalil. It's a very nice concert. Once again due to my limited English, I don't know how to describe the the concert. I found a video clip, I hope you enjoy it.



Just before the show start, the operator from one of my plants called me that the plant control system is down. Well, after more than 4 years of non-stop operation without maintenance, finally it break down. I called my S.I. for help and he is so kind enough to help me although he got very strong reasons to ignore my call. And guess what is the problem that cause the system broke down? :) HDD full!

Sometime, I felt very disassapointed with all these so called engineers that have been assigned to operate the plant. Maybe, you will think I'm lansi, but in this case, I'm not. I'm tired. I'm tired to receive a call in the mid night and ask me to go to site to reset a switch or to plug back a cable. And funny enough that the operator asked me a very stupid but very logical question, he asked Are u still working there? I wish to tell him no, but I didn't. I don't know until when my answer will become yes. I have no hope on that, just let the correct time come to change my answer.

Thanks God it's Thursday again

It is my second week in this dusty desert, if you ask me how I feel, I will tell you, I want to go back to the Bolehland.

Basically, I start working from 4.30AM until 12.30PM to avoid the heat from the summer's sun. So the working hour is more or less same as Bolehland. Just I don't know the meal I took is breakfast or lunch or dinner. It is difficult to define in this situation. Anyway, that no the main reason I want to go back.

The weather is hot, well, I'm not all the time at site so I can't really feel the heat. Anyway, I can't denied the temperature, but I believe it still within my acceptable range. With this kind of temperature, you definitely can't bath in the afternoon. It is too hot to bath. So, I can only taking my bath after 7PM.

Then what make me want to go back?

Basically, there is nothing in this desert compare to Bolehland. Nothing is here except dust and more dust.

Talking to the client will just make you vomit. They like to pretend they are the greater than us by just pluck something from the sky and start to speech. Well, for me it is a stupid action that actually tell your opponent that you are stupid and you know nuts. Anyway, those people only care about how is the look, but they don't care or don't know what is the critical for the system. It is good for me since it is more easier for me to do my work, just I can't really stand their stupidity for asking something irrelevant and stupid. Engineer don't really care how is the look, we care about the functionality and reliability. So, better get a engineer boy friend, but don't get a engineer girl friend ;) Up to certain stage, we also like pretty look.

Taken this photo at 5AM, the sky are very dusty, that cause the sun look like a egg yolk.

Tomorrow is Friday and it is rest day and I can enjoy my day just to sleep on the sofa for the whole day.

The greatest team

It's fun to work with a group of peoples that have same target and same direction. The task maybe tough, but we keep on fighting till the end, cause we are the "main cont." :)

I'm extremely a sohai

Just went to the factory training yesterday, so I have completed 1/3 way to Sudan. The next thing to do is go for immunization. I hope I wouldn't cry of those needles TT. I also not sure the company will say "This is your personal thing, company already included in your allowance, and you need to pay for that!". Ya, who know what the management will do to "save" the company from losing money again.

Talking about Sudan, previously the supplier agreed to sent a man go there to troubleshoot their equipment, but after the war news and the crashed flight, their company have rejected the job cause they care more for their worker. So I'm pig-sold in this case. How much I get? I think a lot, RM200 per day, but not sure including the meal or not? I will become rich after 2 weeks. Hey, we have to thankful to company for giving me allowance and sold me to the Sudan.

Compare to my ex-subcond, Mr. Voon, he is poor thing. If you follow his blog, that guy is really a poor thing. You see, he have been to Ukraine and Istanbul on April, Taiwan on May, then now he is at Spain. I heard, he is going to Korea next month. Really kesian him going to that kind of places. Sudan is much better.

I'm going to KK on Monday to find fault on the control system which build by a chiller specialist. I don't know how to find their fault since they are specialist and I'm only deadwood and build failure system. Hope can come back in 1 piece after commenting their system. As usual I need to pay for my own air ticket first and claim back after a month in order to finance the losing money company. And this time I will pay for my own food cause I feel malu to let company to reject my RM7 prebook flight food again. Too bad can't get extra colleague to go there cause I heard the company losing money again for that project.

Anyway, engineer is always being victimized, and the manager always lose manage the project/money. Just pray for me for coming back safely from Sudan, hope the flight can up and land smoothly, no war, don't sick and the chiller can just run smoothly once I'm there.

I want my holiday!!!!!!!!!!

I start on leave since last Wednesday until today, which total 8 days. But I don't feel to have any good sleep in these few days.

1. 6/2 Wed morning, I go home from work cause I need to standby at P1 until the system is running.
2. 8/2 Fri midnight, rush to Serdang Hospital to reset the controller due to power failure. The phone call never stop until the next day morning due to repeated problem.
3. 9/2 Sat morning, go back to Serdang Hospital to recheck the power supply and reset the controller.
4. 9/2 Sat midnight, rush back to Serdang Hospital cause the UPS failed.
5. 12/2 Tue night, rush to P1 cause those sohai don't know that the chiller can't start if the chilled water is too cool. Manually force chiller run.

I don't understand how can an operation and maintenance company employ some sohai to run the plant. Some of the operator don't really know how to use a computer, until the stage that they don't know where is the Windows Start button O_o. I don't know how to describe these sohai. Sometime it make me so frustrated that I nearly come out those f words.

I saw a lot of first class equipments maintain by third class operation. At the end, these system is just a lousy system because no one know how to operate and maintain it. If Malaysian people still think that a control system do not need specialist to maintain, then we will stay forever in the third class world.

And from this lesson, next Chinese new year I will go to vacation, so please don't call me cause I wouldn't be around. I just want to good rest not 24hour standby for call. I'm a engineer not operator. Please respect me. Thank you.

It's new year, time to ask for something important

Sometime I pity those engineers, including myself, that we don't know how to use our value to ask for more.

I was thinking to take leave start from next week until after Chinese New Year :)

Can ah, boss???

Have you found your dream job?

When I still in school time, I used to do part-time job when holiday. Most of the time, these part-time jobs are very short period, the longest part-time job is when waiting for SPM and STPM result, therefore there is nothing much joy working as a part-timer. Everyday we just go to the so called working place then waiting for lunch and then go home. Every month we check the saving account and there is some among of money that "appear" as a payment for our time. It is happy when people willing to buy our time, since time is not a very valuable item, as least at that time.

I still remember when I submitting my resignation letter, my superior asked me whether I'm happy working with the company. Like of most the people, part-time job is to get more pocket money, and we don't really care whether the job is suitable or the environment is suitable for us. The fact is that, we don't have much choice when we still wearing school uniform. Therefore, my standard answer is yes, whether is true or not, it really doesn’t matter.

Once we getting into working life, it's become different. We are searching for our dream job,

i. high paid
ii. high post
iii. low working load
iv. low responsibility
v. good company benefit
vi. comfort working environment

it is hard to get all these in a single company, therefore, some people choose to change job and wishing the next job is the last stop. But at the end, there will keep on changing job because "changing" job is the only dream job. Most of the people have very funny mind that other people's thing is always better than themselves. The simplest analogy with be why people's girl friend is always prettier than ours :).

Talk about myself, is this my dream job? Will it be the last stop? I have no confident on the answer "yes".

Then why I'm still here? This company is the not the best; it's also not the worst. However, the earth is turning everyday, therefore man will not stay in one place forever, time will come and I will leave someday.

Where is my last stop? When I can tell my children about my working story then I think that is the last stop. Until today, I still didn’t told my family about my working, and I think none of us can actually do it.

It’s New Year time, a good time to look for new environment and new hope. Hope you can get your dream job soon.

I feel very production today!

Treasure hunt

Nowadays all my company engineers went into the tank to hunt for treasures. I wish I can found some.

Murphy's Law

Murphy's Law - Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong... and usually at the most inopportune moments.

Are you the lucky one?

Engineer is not a fortuneteller, but sometime we can predict the future.

You know why you join this company?

I miss the good old day.