Russell's Cyber Journal » chittagong

Technical Training at Chittagong

Russell — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 13:15:00 +0000

The training is finally over. Seems like I overestimated the learning capability of the teachers. I wasn’t able to deliver half of what I intended to since they could not catch it easily. Any how, my office doesn’t really care about how much they have learnt. The management is concerned mostly about the *number* of trainees. More the trainees, more the funding.

My cell phone’s battery died yesterday night, and I couldn’t recharge it since I forgot to bring the charger! Big mistake. Sadly, my laptop’s battery is about to die in a while… can’t recharge it since I left the “round-pin” converter at office. Who knows, after a while I might find that the camera’s battery is dead as well!

February Trip to Chittagong

Russell — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 13:06:00 +0000

I’m here at Chittagong once again, and this time my job is to conduct a technical training for local high school teachers. Teachers from 14 public and private high schools are supposed to participate in the training program. The venue is Agrabad Kala Kakali High School, one of the core ILCs of Relief International.

Here’s what I’m going to talking about in the training:

Overview of computer software and hardware:
- Capability of computers
- Hardware and peripheral devices
- System and application software

PC configuration and maintenance:
- CMOS/BIOS setup
- OS installation
- Driver settings and installation
- Tips and tricks to keep the machines running smoothly
- Virus protection
- Backup procedure

Overview on networking
- Advantages of a networked environment
- Topologies, LAN, WAN, switching, routing, cables, sockets
- Peer to peer networking concept
- Security issues, firewall
- Practical session
- Connecting RJ-45 plugs
- Hub/switch settings and installation
- Connecting PCs with 10 base T cables
- Sharing peripheral devices

Overview on Internet:
- WWW, e-mail, bulletin board, relay chat
- Connection types
- Netethics

I gotta sleep early tonight, the training starts at 10:00 tomorrow!

Chittagong Revisited

Russell — Thu, 19 Jan 2006 11:47:00 +0000

Timeline: Jan 15 – Jan 19

I reached the port city on Sunday evening, on the very comfy Shohag Volvo Bus. I stayed at Asian SR Hotel this time, and I’m extremely happy about their service. It’s very apparent that the hotel authority has taken extra special care in training the staff. The room was great, so was the food! The hotel has a bar as well, and I tried out some Chinese liquor!

I’ll skip the reason why I went there, since it will only bore you. Instead, I’ll leave you with a few impressions and observations I had about the city of Chittagong.

- With so many small and not-so-small hills around, the natural scenery of the city is a truly magnificent. It’s an old city, and the buildings and the oak trees bearing the sign of it. One of the attractions of the city is Patenga sea beach, which is about 10 km away from downtown. This small beach has increased the beauty of the city by a large scale. Foy’s Lake is another attraction, and it’s a very romantic place to visit!

- No offence, but people in Chittagong speak in a weird dialect! I should better call it a language, since it has a very little similarity with Bengali. If Sylhety and Dhakaiya is considered a language, then it should be counted the same way.

- Since there are numerous hills all over of the city, setting up point to point wireless connectivity can be very tedious and expensive. Putting up a 180 feet (almost 55 meter) tower on top of a 10-storied building is a lot of money! In case of DSL/ADSL, cables get stolen regularly and therefore the ISPs only provide connection within 1.5 km diameter of their POP! One ISP guy told me that their fiber optic cable got stolen! How pathetic!

- Chittagonians seemed to be very conservative (read: Islamic). Foreign Muslim preachers stayed this part of the world since centuries (they used to come mostly from Middle East on waterways). I’ve seen a very few young women on the roads, even in the posh areas of the city. Most of the women wear borkas, which is an Islamic dress (usually black) that covers the entire body except for fingers and eyes. I always thought men hated shopping, but Chittagonian men seemed to do it with a lot of enthusiasm! Since I found guys buying sari, cosmetics and ornaments, I’m sure they lock their wives at home and buy the ladies’ products themselves! Very strange breed of men! Another important point of their conservativeness: I found only a handful couples dating around at the parks or at the romantic hillside spots.

- There are too many graveyards around, at least one in every five kilometers. What a terrible waste of land!

- When I went to Chittagong for the first time in October, when the CNG 3-wheelers didn’t had fair meters. Transport authority forced them to install meters, but the drivers don’t want to use them since it wouldn’t be possible to overcharge the passengers any more! Fucking thieves!

- Since there isn’t much cars around, there isn’t any traffic jam in the city except for the road in front of the sea port, and it’s a valid reason. But still, this jam is nothing compared to the jams of Elephant Road, Mogbazar, or Motijheel in Dhaka!

Any how, I’m way too tired now, and I seriously need to get some sleep. Before I go to bed, here’s a little yucky fact for you guys:

Chittagong, also known as Chattagram, Chatgaa, and Chattrala has the largest homosexual population in Bangladesh!