Kaspersky is the Shiiiiit!

^{A simple, yet twisted narration of praise for a software (….and some afterthoughts)}

This is the first time in my life(!)that I am tapping away at the keyboard with a huge grin on my dial. Not that I have never done that. Heck, I live this shiit!  On most cases when you see me doing that, it is usually when I am exchanging stupid jokes with friends over the net or when I am “whispering” some sweet nothings into the virtual ears of some sweet, petite little flirt mates somewhere in the blue beyond of the World Wide Web. (Which reminds me. I caught on the tubic *box that some of these “girls” at often times turn out to be some mean, moustached, neck-less hulk, who had dropped one too many bars of soap in the shower block during their days in the Pen. Some say they would have easily passed for a hairy version of the hunchback of Notre Dame if only for a hunch and not the vandalism and desecration of their skin with buzzing needles and flowing ink. Uuugghhh… Shiver me timbers! Have to stop this, really :-p ). 

 

No. The reason I am grinning loudly enough for my gums and teeth to dry up from overexposure is because of Kaspersky. This is the first time I am actually singing praises for a computer software and am actually writing it down. Kaspersky is an anti-virus software. After considerable review and benchmark testing of all the big names in the area of virus protection, it is rated by most sites as the Numero Uno(or at least close)in the defence against these little gremlins. But first, let me explain why I am grinning and having enough affinity towards something as inanimate as a piece of software to take time out to write this piece on it.

 

I recently had my computer infected with a virus. It just totally prevented me from accessing the registry of my computer (regedit) to manually check for any discrepancies in the settings. I could not even get to load up any command prompt window. I tried everything all to no avail except the last resort of going through the tedious process of backing up my data files and doing a disk reformat and a clean re-install of the operating system. Oh yeah. After pulling out what’s left of my hair, of course. 

 

But guess what? I finally got it up now! No, it’s not Viagra. After loading up my trial version of Kaspersky with the latest virus definitions, I ran a scan and cleaned up my PC with it. It cleaned up the machine pretty good. And now I can get both the regedit and cmd files working. The final thing I have to do is to find the respective removal tools and all should be good. Hopefully. 

 

Here concludes the story,
of how my hair was quickly saved from being crudely shaved!
of how “The Old Axe” was revived with a test drive!

Thanks Dr. Green Thumb. You’re the Shiiiit.
Oops! I meant,
Thanks Kaspersky. You’re the bomb!
Fo shizzle, fizzle,
wizzle, weazles,  Of Mice and Men, rats and referees,
dizzle, benzin, petrol,  kerosin, 
price is reaching for the stars na mi diring kold-o warra
Spoils of my soiled pants and toil to Inter-oil for my own oil
Hell!
And the rest of the “izzle” shizzles are waitin on the bench

for now….

——-

*Tubic- Derived from the word Tube and Cubic, the former word for the glass cathode ray tube  found inside the traditional TV set, and the latter to describe the general shape of the encasement(box) of a traditional TV set. Hence, the word tubic is used to refer to a TV set. 

Its usage is usually in precession with the word ‘box’, but technically speaking, such a collaborative usage would be deemed as a case of repetition in a sentence.

 

Go tell the world where you first heard this word. That’s right. History in the making, baby!

Wo-o-o-o-o-ord!

_::sja::

Mystique Beauty

^{An indecent perversion or an appreciation of feminine beauty?}

She had no name.

She drifted into view in all her radiant beauty when I was out shopping last Monday. She was clad in gear that would have easily passed for rags on anybody else, but it was haute couture on her.

She removed her Aviator shades to reveal bright brown eyes that reminded me of sweat brown sugar at sunset. She perched it on a mass of lustrous black hair that had been pulled back in a bun, giving it an extra sheen as if she needed any.

She had that don’t-give-a-damn way about her in the way she carried herself and went about her business. Despite her seemingly nonchalant air, she moved with such grace with those well toned limbs, she was pure majesty. She was slow-motion in real life. She was poetry in motion.

As she turned, you could just make out parts of a painted claw reaching out for her neck from beneath the canvass of a tight-fitting Rip Curl t-shirt. This contrast enhanced the flawless tone and texture of her skin. She wore a pair of faded calf-length jeans, the left leg folded up knee-high. More golden brown of super smooth skin teasingly peered out from behind those jeans through silent tears where the majority of the cotton strands seemed to have surrendered to the abrasive demands of constant laundering.

After paying for her items she casually drifted into the liquor section and picked up a 12-pack Paradise white can, payed for it and made her exit.

Awed by such beauty and intrigued with her mysticism, I had to see how the story ended. Whether she got on her horse and rode out into the sunset or just disappeared into a tinted ride and into the arms of her Romeo.

But she was way too good for such cheap tricks. She came out and walked past every – mostly flashy – looking vehicle in the parking lot. Right at the end near the entrance was a beat up Land Cruiser, covered with caked mud and grime with a few 44 gallon fuel drums at the back. The entire setting was neatly complemented with three scruffy looking older gentlemen who were sitting at the back.

As she approached, they clambered down and she handed them a few sticks of Spear cigarettes and a Five Kina note for their buai. After helping themselves, two of them returned to their posts by the fuel drums and the oldest of the lot got behind the wheel. They left soon after, leaving behind a smoke screen of diesel fumes which hung lazily in the air but for a few seconds.

That was the last I ever saw of her. I probably will never see her again. Perhaps she was just a figment of my imagination. She disappeared just the way she appeared.

She still had no name.

_::sja::

Ryan Pini - Trupla Man

Last night I came home late and turned on the TV and managed to catch “Nexus“, a show aired on the Australian Network. It is mainly taylored for viewers who have English as their second or third Language.

There was a story about Ryan Pini on. I am very proud of this young Papua New Guinean and of his achievements. I was so impressed by what he had to say about swimming, his achievements and Papua New Guinea, I noted down a reminder to obtain a transcript of his interview. The link to the original site is http://australianetwork.com/nexus/stories/s2049134.htm .

The Transcript of Ryan Pini’s Interview on Nexus (Australian Network)

 RYAN PINI: I was born in Papua New Guinea in ‘81 and I lived there most of my life. I moved down into Australia to better my training and I’ve been here for seven years so far. This is my parents’ place that I’m staying at at Kangaroo Point here. And it’s very convenient to me. The pool’s only about 10 minutes away.

My height - I’m six foot four, six foot five - in between there. My foot size is a 14, so it helps in the water. Same with my hands. I’ve got big hands. It all comes into account. The…even your wingspan. I think the Australians did a study on wingspan compared to the height and if you’ve got longer arms, the better chances of you becoming a good swimmer. So I think my wingspan is about 15 centimetres longer than my body. There’s so many reasons why swimming in Australia is a lot better. There’s, obviously, a pool that’s open. They’ve…from what I understand is they’ve closed the 50-metre pool in Port Moresby. So they’re training in a 25-metre pool at a school which is…it’s just hard. It’s too hard to try and… ‘Cause you’ve got, you know, other school members that want to swim as well and to be able to maintain that and keep swimmers in the water is very difficult.

I train with Andrew Mewing who’s actually on the… ..he’s been on the Australian team for the 200 freestyle and so there’s him and I that train very closely together. And we’re very competitive and that’s…it keeps you… ..it’s an incentive to keep training harder and try to beat them by, you know, 0.1 of a second if you can. And it just… it improves your swimming and readies you for racing. ‘Cause in Papua New Guinea, when I go back up there for holidays, I’m training by myself, basically, and it’s very hard to keep motivated.

Well, I do nine sessions of swimming a week and they range from an hour and a half to two hours, so that’s fairly intensive and it takes a lot out of you. I’ve got two gym programs a week and I have pilates. Then I’ve got one or two massage and physiotherapy things I go to as well. Usually by the end of the week I’m pretty worn out and just wanting to spend Saturday just… ..Saturday and Sunday afternoon just completely doing nothing, just relaxing.

‘99, the SP Games back then, that was the first gold medal I won for an international competition. And winning that was, you know, a huge experience back then when I was in high school. Ever since then, you know, you go away to overseas competitions. You may not be winning gold medals, but you’re sort of improving your times to standards which you never thought you’d get to. And being able to do that gives you a sense of pride and wanting to better yourself. Every year after that, I was bettering myself by a good second, I know, in the 100 fly, just dropping my time down. And then, I don’t know, it was sort of just a goal of mine to be able to sort of make it maybe into the top 15 Australian, top 10. And then, you know, coming into the top 10 in the world, I was just, like, “OK,” you know. It’s just a… You sort of don’t expect to be able to get there, but you just keep pushing yourself to make sure you can. And, yeah, it’s just an overwhelming feeling to be in the top 10 in the world for something that I love to do and, you know, I couldn’t change that.

I just love swimming, either way. Commonwealth Games last year, 2006, it was just amazing to win gold for Papua New Guinea. That was one of my biggest achievements. It was a lot bigger than what I, sort of, even thought. At that time when I won the gold medal it was just, um, you know… Hearing the national anthem was pretty incredible, but arriving back home into Port Moresby, seeing thousands of people there welcoming the team back, it was a huge emotional feeling and it was very, very honourable. It’s given people in Papua New Guinea someone to look up to. Hopefully, that I can, you know, give someone that incentive to keep training or maybe the government… you know, they have put a bit more funding into swimming and the rest of the sports, which is really good. I guess, you know, it’s an achievement in itself to be able to give that to Papua New Guinea and hopefully better the sports in Papua New Guinea, get better facilities and things like that.

Check out Ryan Pini on Wikipedia.

_::sja::

Digicel Tests Out New Information SMS

 

Digicel is curently testing out a new info txting service. 4 da price of a nomal sms txt msg u can get ur horoscope, news headlines n results frm NRL, weather reports, MTV music chart n even jokes in ur txt inbox.

All u hav 2 do is txt da respective code to 4636 n u get ur info. 4 eg, say u r a Capricorn n u want ur horoscope. Then u jus txt in da word CAP n simply send 2 4636. U should receive ur horoscope soon afta. If u txt NRL n send 2 4636, then u will get all da latest news making headlines in NRL plus game results if there r any games on.

It may not be a live TV feed or anything but it is, nonetheless a step in the right direction.

^::sja::

PS:
I am so looking forward to the 25th of Jan 2008.
Why?

2008 Begins on the Fourth

Last night it pelted down in sheets. Like an oncoming rush of a flash flood, it came in a sudden torrent, roaring down the slopes of Waigani Heights*. It was an hair-raising experience just to hear the rush of that downpour.

The previous night wasn’t any better. Come to think of it, the entire day was dark and gloomy with scattered showers and drizzles.

The setting of the first night – or day – of the year was not any different. But then again, my recollection of the weather pattern of that day would be more than 50% concocted as my attention was diverted. Well maybe “diverted” would in fact be a “diversionary”(?) word used here because in actual fact, yours truly was copping a proper hiding from the men in black and blue, leaving him blue-black all over.

That’s right. I was at the angry end of the copper’s baton. Not seeing any end to the onslaught of fan belts and batons, the only alternative left for me was to take flight. The stomp of rubber boots and the click-clack clatter of a rifle being cocked saw me reach speeds I never knew I had. One small step for Johnny Five-O; One giant leap for Nico Blackman. Cut up and bloodied fingers and palms are the only evidence of my adrenaline rush that night when I tried playing Peter Parker over one too many razor-wired fences.

Already I have three grey days in this calendar year but I woke up this morning with a smile nonetheless. Three days and I have not touched a ciggy yet. That’s good. The jingle of small change in my pocket is a good sign too. That’s good. As I stepped out of the door, the rain slowed down. Ahhh…. I think I’m going to finally have a good day. As if on cue, Ice Cube steps onto the mic in my i-pod with “Today was a Good Day“.

Finally.

Finally.

^::sja::

^{*Waigani Heights is a suburb of Port Moresby}

New Year’s Resolutions

^{Chair by Jay Montgomery. image courtesy of Jay’s Illustration of Life}

Another new year has dawned. Its morning gleams light up your eyes with new hopes, aspirations and goals. New Year’s resolutions promise a better morrow as old habits fade away with the dying echoes of the last chime of the midnight hour.

The yesteryear may have seen a milestone achieved here and a dream shattered there. But all your troubles seem to fade away in the excitement and raucous cacophony of youths with empty paint tins for tom-toms in their drunken revelry. In the upturned faces, the momentous brilliance of the fireworks illuminates nothing but joyous glee. The silhouette of dancing figures against a bonfire of a disused Dunlop tire resemble the innocent days of stick figures and elementary.

You go home weary but with a smile on your face. All is well you tell yourself.

A cock crows somewhere and a clock ticks somewhere. You shuffle to the bathroom, brushing past the cobwebs of a drug induced sleep. One hand on the door knob while the back of the other tries vainly to wipe away the aftertaste of vile concoctions of hard drinks and soft lips as your mind struggles to piece together what little fragments of memory you have of yesterday.

Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who is another year older? A few more strands of hair for some and a few less for others. A few more lines in the mirror but you know it’s not the mirror. A few more greys, a few more bags and a few more pounds. A little less time.

It has only been a day but already cravings are skirting just beyond your peripheral vision. You know they will come banging on your door anytime soon now. Already New Year resolutions are being put to the test and dreams are getting hazy.

There is no doubt day one of 2008 will find you in the same chamber of decision that Hamlet found himself in when he began that famous monologue. But pray, you do not follow in his footsteps and prolong indecision and throw away your destiny into the winds of chance for one more year. Pray you do not give in to your vices of old. Pray you hold fast and true.

Wishing you all good fortune in whatever ventures you may wish to embark on in 2008 and A Very Happy New Year to you and your family.

Peace yo!

^::sja::

A Temporary Respite

_{Adieu (1993) by Jean-Pierre Perreault; Photo: Michael Slobodian; © Michael Slobodian}

A few days ago I read a post from a fellow blogger (Mangimosbi) about “A guide to wasting time at work“. I left a comment there about how I was guilty of some of the items in that list. Seems my sins have finally caught up with me.

For I can see the healthy glint of cold steel of the guillotine through the bars of this prison. I can not miss the incessant stares of fellow inmates and their soft whispered conversations about my predicament. Although there is no direct mention of my pending demise, it still lurks beneath the spoken words.

By the time you find this note, the silent echoes of the blade bearing down the chopping block would have long faded. The blood on the executioner’s robe would have long dried black.

For I write this in the 11th hour of my life behind these walls. The fading glow of a dying candle throws long ghostly shadows on the grimy walls. Dancing to the silent beat of the flickering flame as I try to pen my adieu to you all.

Despite the bleak situation, its respite and freedom for me. But still a return I promise you. Like Gandolf from the Grey to the White. (Well, maybe not exactly to such an extent).

Here now I sit and ponder.

To be or not to be?
That is DEFINITELY NOT the question.

To go out with a whimper or
To go out with a BANG!

Now that!
THAT is the question.

Peace Y’all.

::sja::

Found a Rat in me Inbox

This morning I found another rat in my inbox. That’s right. A dirty rat.

Clocked in, logged in and clicked my inbox and there it was. Disfigured from continuous flogging by the different inboxes and email clients it saw on its way to my mailbox. Large, smelly, taking up space and simply being an inconvenience.

Yesterday afternoon it sneaked in, disguised as a toddler who was dying from Leukemia, playing its twisted tongue on the emotions and gullibility of people - one who so happened to have my email address and decided to forward it to me, so that AOL can give 5 cents to the medical expanse of that “poor kid”.
Dirty Rat!

On other occasions, its some stupid Good luck charm that has been passed around the world for the last 50 to 100 odd f#*king years.
Dirty Rat!

This morning, it read “Do you love this guy?” The body of the email had an image of an Anglo-Saxon “Jesus”. The conclusion of these emails is always the same. “If you love Jesus, Pass this on to 10 people or more.”

And if I don’t? I face eternal damnation in Hell, right?
And if I don’t, it means I do not love Jesus, right? Come ooofff it.
You don’t win souls by annoying the f#*k out of somebody?

If going to Heaven was this easy, why do I have to go to church and weather the monotony of another robotic recital of chants of “Hail Mary’s”? Might as well buy a computer, hook it up to the internet, start sending shiitloads of these emails to everybody in my contact list for my ticket to Heaven. Eazy Peazy? Tell me about another way you can get your neighbour to love you.

Dirty Rats! That’s what these emails are.

Dirty Rats!

I swear, from now on if I receive another such email, I am blocking that person from emailing me again. Be they friend of foe!

::sja::

An Addendum

There are also hoax emails that get passed around about virus scares and free gifts, etc. You might want to check out these links to verify the authenticity of these emails before you pass it on to your contacts.

• Snopes.com
• Snopes.com - Inboxer Rebellion
• Urban Legends, Folklore and Netlore

::sja::

STORMS: Super Team 2007

 

_{image courtesy of ABC online (01/10/07)}

Whoo hoo.

After a disappointing conclusion to last year’s battle, they returned this year with all barrels blazing to take out the NRL premiership for 2007. Its two times for them now within their decade of being in the NRL competition.

The Sea Eagles unfortunately did not get to study their weather charts well and lost their way into the eye of the perfect Storm. The Storms spared them mercy and knocked the wind out of them with a blizzard of tries.

But from the outset, it did not seem as if the Sea Eagles lost their way at all. It was more of a case where their efforts to counter the attacks of the Storms simply fell short of its intended mark. The same could be said of Cameron Smith’s conversion kicks. (I bet people would start blaming sorcery and sanguma if it was a local match hehehe) .

I savored the moment, being a die hard Melbourne Storm fan but I have to admit(guiltily) that I would have preferred a cliff-hanger battle than a one sided affair. The victory would have been sweeter.

But still, it feels good to be on the winning side.

You watched History in the making:
Did you know, that by winning the Grand Final, the Storms 24 wins in one season sees them as the only team to pull something like this off in 100 years of Rugby League history….

Ooooohhhh yeah!

::sja::

:: AN ADDENDUM::

Something worth mentioning that sent me reeling

During the presentation did any of you notice when Ben Cross (or was is Brent White?) who reached over to have a peck on John Howard’s cheek? Mr. Howard had to recoil… haha… it was hillarious

 

Dancing in the Mine Fields

 

How can this heart go against,
The wholly,
The holy logic of reason?

 

How can something so wrong
Like a thorn in a thong,
Feel so damn right?

 

How can I still sow
When I already know
What bitter harvests await?

 

How can our eyes linger?
Dry throat, sweaty finger
When these eyes should be cast away

 

How can these tissues throb
Even at the slightest sob
But… - DOWN, STANLEY!

 

Dare I disclose this?
The pieces of a thesis;
A thesis of psycho-anarchy?

 

Dare I pull her close?
One shot, last dose.
One shot, blood pool.

 

And I am afraid.
So very afraid.
Dark clouds beckon in the horizon.

 

From the depths within,
For your window to the world.
Your mind to digest this black.

 

_{For you!}

 

::sja::

Independence To Have Precedence

Here it comes around again. Another year. Another anniversary to celebrate Papua New Guinea’s Independence. The 32^nd, to be precise.

This is the time when I should be celebrating the anniversary of the day these group of islands and its people stood up tall and proud to proclaim and “shout our name to the whole world to hear; Papua New Guinea“. Rejoice in its achievements and its wondrous beauty and blessings of rich culture and fertile land and bountiful seas. Accept her shortcomings, but proud nonetheless, that “this land of our fathers so free“.

Yet I have to put up with another hoopla about the Hiri Moale Festival on this day of all days in the Gregorian Calender.

Now, I don’t have any qualms whatsoever against this tradition and celebration. In fact I am proud to witness and absorb this festival’s history and tradition and see that even at a time when some of our cultural traditions are slowly withering away in the face of western influence and modernization, we still have these celebrations to remind us of our heritage and rich history.

I only want to see this festival moved to another day of the year. They can move it the Queen’s birthday for all I care. I just want September 16 to be left alone, solely for the celebration of our nation’s independence. All attention, all focus; should be on celebrating this day as the Independence Day of this sovereign nation that we call Papua New Guinea.

Even if the government through the National Events Council does not come up with something of a festivity or celebration for this date, the 16^th of September is still worthy to be celebrated. In our own little way even.

If anyone reading this posting has found it offensive, then I just want to let you know that this was not the intention of this post. The truth often hurts but its good to tell it as it is. It is not supposed to prejudice against any particular group of people. Far from it. Especially at this time when we are about to celebrate our independence.

I am writing this simply because the blood that course through these veins and the bones that hold up this frame boldly scream out loud in Red, Black and Gold.

Peace y’all.

::sja::

Where I’d Rather Be (??) but then….

The sights
The sounds
The colours
The music
The crowd
The cheering
The mexican waves
The chants

The atmosphere
The electricity
The excitement
The passion
Brute strength
Killer ball skills

The Game
The Game of Gentlemen

Then there’s the Eiffel Tower in the backdrop. Tell you where I’d rather be right now.

……. And there was a Compo Claim, A bride Price and a Pig Killing … tsk tsk

So its good ol Boroko Market who sees me off to the game on the box with a loose cigarette and a dose of beteljuice ….

Aaahhh ….. the little pleasures of life

Seize the day, son!

::sja::

Finals Footy is Here

Yippeeeee!!!! Its finals footy all around.

On the local scene, the Mendi Muruks successfully fought their way through to the grand finals to defend their title in the SP Cup comp this Sunday. Should be a good game between the Muruks and the Gurias. I suspect, the Muruks will retain the cup.

Now, for some inside scoop:

• Darren Lockyer is coming to town for the SP Cup Awards.

• Nickson Kolo from the WV Raiders is a contender for Rookie of the year award. I think he’ll win it, given his performance throughout the competition.

Embarrasing Discovery of the week.
If you go to the Lae Bombers website, you will notice they have the Webb Ellis Trophy on their homepage. For those who came late, the Webb Ellis Cup is the Rugby World Cup trophy. How embarrassing is that??
Don’t they have any image of the SP trophy? Is it because the Bombers have never won the SP Cup (ever?), that they cannot get a real pic of the SP Cup trophy.

***

Now to Ostralia, we have the NRL finals coming up this weekend. These are the teams I’m tipping

• Fri: Warriors vs Eels :- Warriors to WIN
• Sat: Cowboys vs Bulldogs : - Cowboys to WIN
• Sat: Sea Eagles vs Rabbitohs :- Rabbitohs to WIN
• Sun: Storms vs Broncos :- Storms to WIN

Now, dont ask me how I know these guys are going to win. Just bet on em and you’ll win. I have a secret but if I tell you I’ll have to kill you

Enough NRL already!

Now, for the moment that we have all been waiting for. The whole world has been waiting for this. For 4 solid years. (Caint believe its been that long). Its finally here.
Argentina meets France this Saturday morning. Kicking off the Rugby world cup this weekend live on EMTV (since I do not have cable ). But the game to watch is later in the evening when the All Blacks meet the Italians.

While on the subject of Rugby and the All Blacks, try check out this blog.
The Rugby Roundtable
- A Close Shave <-One of his posts
This dude is funny - and quite witty - especially at the way he disses Aussies and refers to them as Crims . Man its pure hillarious read.

Havta call it a night now.
So long folks. Stay tuned and keep watching this channel.

::.sja.::

Kick ass ad from Adidas

Ok, here i was just roaming the endless ethers and nethers of cyberspace and then I stumbled across this image of Martin Johnson. Its 4 years since this ad came out but I just saw it today and was very impressed that I had to shelve my other subjects that I wanted to blog.

In my opinion, this work is nothing short of pure brilliance. I reckon the process involved in coming up with such an ad was nothing short of creative artistry, hence the outcome.

In fact, the ad agency (180 Amsterdam) that came up with this ad actually took out the 2003 print Epica d’Or award. Oh, and the Epica d’Or awards is the equivalent of the Oscars in Europe in the world of Ad agencies, Film production companies and Photographers.

Anyways, these guys also did this for some other Rugby players as well, including Tana Umaga, Jona Lomu and Ritchie McCaw. Check em out below….

The full story is at the epic awards site. Go there to see the details of the production process.
Epic AwardsPastResults

::.sja.::

Tana Umaga Jona Lomu Ritchie McCaw

Digicel Kilim Paia Blo B-mobile

The red leprechaun is coming from all corners and has Gulliver reaching for the ropes. A hook here, a jab there, another left, Awwww…. That was a shocker of a upper cut.
You got knocked the f!@#%k out, B!

Well that would be the call from the commentator if this was a boxing match. And maybe Digicel may not be exactly a leprechaun in stature but, well it’s Irish, right.

Anyway, as you may well be aware, with the advance of Digicel into the mobile phone market a coupla weeks back, Telikom has finally awoken from its slumber and has been stirred into action from years of inactivity by competition.

In their mad scramble to even scores with Digicel, they are resorting to copying the exact same marketing strategies employed by Digicel. Such ideas like giving away a b-mobile sim card inclusive of K10 pre-paid call credits in exchange for a digicel simcard, to name one. The price of a prepaid startup kit (sim card) has also been dropped from K125 to only K25 overnight.

Then we have those Telikom billboards popping up here and there and that fancy ass ad on TV. It’s soooo ridiculously corny (smells like BSP). So I ask: Where were they all these time? And can you believe the fact that Telikom had to go overseas to hire an aussie company to create its ad while Digicel just contracted a PNG-based media company to create its ad - na website tu? Well, believe it! And Telikom/B-Mobile is supposed to be a government owned enterprise.

Talk about patriotism!

The battle between the two has even been taken out onto the street with the general populace. Well, maybe “battle” is not the exact verb to describe it.
Its not like, “Hey, I’m a Ford man” and “Ok, Im a Holden man”. Its more like:

1. “Yaah, Im a B-Mobile user and want to go Digicel but I cannot call B-mobile phones and landlines yah…” or
2. “I’ll have both a Digicel phone and a B-mobile only for calling local landlines and b-mobile number…” and then theres the lot who go ….
3. … ” Screw B-mobile. I’m switching to Digicel!”

Know what I mean???
This is simply because with its record of poor customer service, Telikom already has a negetive image out there that it’s more of a uphill struggle for Telikom. As a result, it’s holding onto anything within sight to remain on its feet. Which brings me to the next point.

The only card its holding onto now is inter-connectivity. An issue Telikom has been deliberately avoiding to discuss with Digicel, according to news and public media. This is what was posted on the Masalai Blog in relation to this subject matter:

“…. A good point raised by Mr. Wade of EMTV during questions was what Digicel felt towards the interconnectivity issue and the prospect of running a parallel mobile network in the country. Digicel stated that interconnection discussions have been attempted to be made with Telikom but Telikom have so far dragged out the issue so long now that no resolution on it has been made. Under ICCC however interconnectivity is a requirement for Telikom and Digicel has the right to request interconnectivity from Telikom. Digicel said that their biggest hurdle since setting up in PNG has been the interconnectivity issue. Because of this position by Telikom, Digicel said their strategy will now be to reach 2 million users within 18 months. They now already have 20,000 customers on board.” Digicel Here to Stay: The Masalai Blog

But at the way things are going, this “card” will have to be surrendered soon unless the government again concocts up some other new bill out of the blue ether to say, Telikom will not allow this (inter-connectivity between networks/mobile carriers) to be implemented.

I say, this is all bulshi!tt really. I caint wait for this issue to be resolved by ICCC so that a B-mobile user can talk to a Digicel phone and vice versa. Then I can finally get to glue a smug grin on me dial the next time I pass by boroko Post Office to see an empty phone booth. Its about time the small people of the land have a fair go and pave way for further investments.

Now I’m keeping my ears open for anything to do with the introduction of broadband at grass rutz prices

More articles of interest related to this can be found at these links:
The mobile phone war of PNG
Digicel Woos More in PNG
Various articles relating Digicel at The Masalai Blog

That’s it for the day, folks.

And my small kid brother goes “ju-ju-jel”

::.sja.::