tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-198788872012-02-01T11:12:32.612+08:00See beyond the obvious to reach a higher level of understanding of how things unravel. Statistics can be manipulated, media reports can be biased, what you see just may not be what is real.Icenoreply@blogger.comBlogger2111100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-40016021300443514992012-01-17T10:48:00.000+08:002012-01-17T10:48:35.228+08:00

Strength: 8 Key aromatic notes: Woody roasted Bitterness: ** Acidity: * Degree of roasting: ** Body: ** Personal Review Nice and balanced taste that should go well with most coffee drinkers. Definitely a flavour that should be kept close for most days.

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-58016726161521863132012-01-09T14:16:00.000+08:002012-01-09T14:16:21.755+08:00

Strength: 10 Key aromatic notes: Intensely roasted, fruity Bitterness: *** Acidity: * Degree of roasting: *** Body: *** Personal Review Good taste for a very strong cuppa. Personally find it worth drinking again but as it feels so strong, reserve Ristretto for those days where the extra oomph is needed.

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-69502269963763930262011-12-08T10:29:00.002+08:002011-12-08T10:32:51.289+08:00

The time of the sharing has come around again. The year end festivities of Christmas always leaves one wondering what are the best gifts to get. For kids, it is usually easier to just reference what are the hottest toys of 2011. Some of the hottest toys that I believe will be well received as Christmas presents: Microsoft Xbox Kinect Air Swimmers LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer Tablet Nerf Guns Lego

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-56682476607111838932011-10-27T14:03:00.000+08:002011-10-27T14:03:37.402+08:00

When Hankook opened at Woodlands Industrial Park E9, it started a carwash service that was very cheap at $3. At $3, there was no vacuuming but at least the wash was able to get rid of general grim from the car and car was dried reasonably. The carwash price has since been inching up and my latest visit to the carwash costed me $6, a 100% increase from the initial pricing. Time to look for

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-3547733573880500612011-10-11T18:19:00.000+08:002011-10-11T18:19:41.296+08:00

I had to cover an event as a photographer and wanted the ability to immediately upload pictures to a Facebook page. After some searching, I chance upon the solution offered by Eye-Fi Connect X2 whereby the card is supposed to be able to upload to Facebook immediately and purchased the SD card. Unfortunately, the Eye-Fi Connect X2 does not live up to expectations. Yes, it does upload photos to

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-54968427172246008692011-08-15T20:34:00.001+08:002011-08-15T20:44:55.144+08:00

Now that the Presidential Elections Committee (PEC) has granted Certificates of Eligibility (COE) to the four prospective candidates Tan Cheng Bock, Tan Jee Say, Tony Tan Keng Yam and Tan Kin Lian, it is time for voters to start seriously considering who is the most suitable candidate to assume the role of President of Singapore. While ESM Goh Chok Tong has referred to Tony Tan as a "suitable

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-67854654114847053482011-06-28T15:51:00.000+08:002011-06-28T15:51:47.997+08:00

While the Samsung Galaxy S2 is still out of stock in many places, I have managed to secure a set thanks to a prior indication of interest I registered with Starhub. For once, I am happy with the Starhub customer service for the set will be delivered to my home at a day/time of my choice. Doing a re-contract of the phone and a trade-in of my current smartphone, the Galaxy S2 will be costing me

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-46918858460570134952011-06-18T11:15:00.000+08:002011-06-18T11:15:26.380+08:00

Finding places to visit in Singapore is always difficult for the island is small and there are limited options for those of us whom stay here permanently. When looking for options recently, I visited both the Singapore Zoological Gardens and Jurong Bird Park (JBP) on different days and refreshed my experience with our local tourist attractions after decades. A quick assessment of the 2 will be

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-90391433982601603462011-06-05T16:17:00.000+08:002011-06-05T16:17:32.186+08:00

For many Singaporeans, when rain falls, the instinctive response was to do a mental check if the laundy hanging out to dry for the day had been retrieved. However, in recent years, the immediate response has started shifting to wondering if there is any flooding occuring. The most serious case of flooding in Singapore occured in Orchard Road in 2010 when the cross junction at Orchard ION and

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-80196717470514528932011-06-04T12:45:00.000+08:002011-06-04T12:45:41.710+08:00

Joanne Peh and Nando's got into the spotlight after she supposedly stormed out of its Tanglin Mall outlet complaining of bad service. The incident apparently started from Nando's not serving water and that S$3.90 was to be charged for a cup of warm water. Yet, the unhappiness according to Joanne Peh is not about paying for the water but more of the restaurant staff collectively clapping when she

Icenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-35076483012882727582011-03-20T09:20:00.000+08:002011-03-20T09:20:00.258+08:00

The question of why the LASIK surgeon who recommends/performs the refractive surgery usually wears glasses instead of going under the laser themselves if the procedure is so good pops up constantly on forums when people are seeking out information on doing Lasik. The official answer from the doctors is that their near field vision is important and this answer leaves many people baffled. The near

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-57460580978583460872010-12-27T10:40:00.000+08:002010-12-27T10:40:50.281+08:00

The thought of getting LASIKperformed recently got stuck in my mind. Primarily, it is because I have gotten tired of the hassle of wearing spectacles and am a vainpot whom will like to be able to buy sunglasses off the shelves. Our eyes are important assets for which there are no spare parts and hence I will like to seek out a LASIK clinic that I can trust. Affordable LASIK prices will be

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-51493265582102394802010-09-29T09:10:00.002+08:002010-09-29T09:10:58.131+08:00

Forums sites such as Hardwarezone.com have been trying to monetise their page views by inserting advertisements into their pages. While a few well placed banners do no real harm, Hardwarezone.com advertisement banners have been putting more and more adverts onto their pages. When the Hardwarezone adverts started, there were only banners. Then it evolved to the so-called Catfish, " an ingenious

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-39611037407930269592010-08-17T17:05:00.003+08:002010-08-20T23:12:36.044+08:00

www.sold.sg, www.gleebid.com, www.simplybids.com.sg, www.crazybid.sg, www.sharkybids.com, etc are some "auction" sites that sprouted recently. At first glance, these auction sites appear to be offering tremendous deals to interested buyers through huge discounts. However, the caveat that when a deal sounds too good to be true be careful holds. To understand how www.sold.sg, www.gleebid.com,

Icenoreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-91165322634696300102010-05-20T10:02:00.002+08:002010-05-20T10:39:24.459+08:00

After all the uproar over the high prices paid for the World Cup rights and exorbitant prices football fans have to pay to get their fix of World Cup, a silver lining has appeared due to intervention by community groups. The Community Development Councils (CDCs) and People’s Association (PA) Community Clubs (CCs) have forged a partnership with Singapore Pools, SingTel and StarHub to screen the

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-62091950896736856142010-03-16T21:49:00.000+08:002010-03-16T21:49:05.771+08:00

The inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is coming to Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010 and the Youth Olympic Village (YOV) has been set up at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), expecting to house over 5000 atheletes and officials. There are still more acronyms in this YOG. JYOF stands for Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame, IOC is the International Olympic Committee, SYOGOC is the

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-83845566764215112052010-03-11T14:26:00.003+08:002010-03-11T14:40:00.377+08:00

Well... There has been no bigger news recently than Jack Neo's affair with freelance model Wendy Chong (钟佳燕). The juicy story has been reported in the local newspapers day after day and Jack Neo (梁智强) held a press conference with his wife Irene Kng (康美凤) at Scorpio East Auditorium at 10am on 11th Mar 2010. The video clip of Jack Neo's press conference can be viewed at the razortv site, http://

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-20674522774587414932010-03-10T09:16:00.002+08:002010-03-10T09:41:54.143+08:00

For frequent visitors of the Hardwarezone forums who did not sign up for their deluxe membership, it is common to encounter a "The server is too busy at the moment" message. One enterprising forummer has helped created a Firefox plugin to circumvent this "The server is too busy at the moment" message. This Firefox plugin for HWZ which helps to enhance the surfing experience when accessing

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-11038707415414717122010-01-20T09:47:00.000+08:002010-01-20T09:47:11.390+08:00

Are football fans willing to pay through their noses for a dose of their favourite programme on television? According to news reports, SingTel and StarHub have indicated that the cost for the rights to broadcast the 2010 FIFA World Cup has escalated significantly and are still in negotiations with FIFA on a more platable pricing for the broadcast rights. Interesting, the bid submitted to FIFA is

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-56814006246740898922009-08-26T08:25:00.001+08:002009-08-26T09:53:54.609+08:00

It has just been reported in the newspapers that Tan Kin Lian has started a new non-profit organisation named Financial Services Consumer Association(FiSCA) with FiSCA membership starting at S$36 per year.Why the need for FiSCA when Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) has been around? Could this duplicity be a necessary evil to address shortfalls in CASE's approach in helping consumers with

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-21418853439617340752009-07-19T17:11:00.002+08:002009-07-19T17:30:47.951+08:00

The best deal for Garmin nüvi 255W can be found on Amazon.com. The local distributors (such as Eastgear) for these GPS navigators set their prices almost 50% higher than what I can find from Amazon.com. This is even after factoring in exchange rates and shipping costs.The best Garmin nüvi 255W price is the factory refurbished set available on Amazon.com which goes for USD$129.99 with free super

Icenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-3411935045309042282009-02-21T11:43:00.004+08:002009-02-21T12:22:45.523+08:00

Lowering taxi fares will hurt cabbiesWE REFER to Wednesday's letter by Mr David Goh ('Taxi costs') and his suggestion to lower taxi fares.We recognise that in the present economic downturn, everyone, including taxi drivers, is affected. Our fellow drivers have seen a drop in daily income due to general belt-tightening which led to reduced demand for taxis.We doubt that lowering taxi fares will

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-6701086126647504992008-07-17T08:40:00.002+08:002008-07-17T09:09:25.970+08:00

After the spate of fare increases and additional surcharges, one might expect that the service of cabs in Singapore to improve dramatically but nothing has changed much except for the fact that taking cabs in Singapore is increasingly a luxury that many are now avoiding.With taxi fares being so high, there has been calls for cab companies to scrap their phone booking surcharges but it seems now

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-32668911683820398192008-06-13T00:20:00.002+08:002008-06-13T00:41:53.038+08:00

A website that I was helping to maintain recently got itself infected with something pointing to flyzhu.9966.org. Searching google for more information on flyzhu brings up tonnes of infected sites but no clear information about flyzhu except that it is some sort of SQL injection attack.The urgency of the matter meant that I turned to specialist sites such as the antivirus companies to try to find

Icenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-51456524192120140872008-05-23T21:19:00.004+08:002008-05-23T21:40:43.703+08:00

It is official. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague in the Netherlands has awarded sovereignty of Pedra Branca island to Singapore, while the sovereignty of Middle Rocks has been awarded to Malaysia in its judgement passed today. As for the South Ledge, the third islet under contention, the ICJ ruled that it belongs to the state in whose territorial waters it is located as Awn

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-80918579291357421962008-05-20T21:49:00.002+08:002008-05-20T22:17:53.853+08:00

"One Nation Under Lee " is a film produced by Seelan Pillay which painted a poor picture of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's stint as Prime Minister. It also tries to depict the social divide in Singapore as arising from the policies of the People’s Action Party. "One Nation Under Lee" included interviews with former Solicitor General Francis Seow, political detainee Said Zahari, opposition

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1673203882296921212008-04-07T22:15:00.003+08:002008-04-07T22:43:35.845+08:00

The year 2008 is China's turn to host the Olympics. The eagerly awaited Beijing 2008 Olympic Games is perhaps getting all the wrong sorts of attention these days.There appears to be some efforts being aimed towards making of the coverage of Olympics for political gains. One of the most major efforts is perhaps that of seeking independence for Tibet.While China had kept a close watch on the

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-35001176589802410562008-03-14T15:38:00.003+08:002008-03-14T15:59:23.297+08:00

The prices of watching movies at the cinema has been on the rise and today, the costs of doing so easily matches or even surpasses the cost of purchasing a DVD.Granted, going to the movies is largely about the experience the theatre offers and many of us do not usually go to the movies alone. Even if it is just 2 friends going to the movies, that easily puts the cost at $20, exclusive of any

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-52486214480935623202007-12-01T10:00:00.000+08:002007-12-01T10:54:24.135+08:00

Received yet another propaganda forwarded email and this time is with regards to the eagerly anticipated movie "The Golden Compass".In this interview, Pete Vere and Sandra Miesel discuss the movie adaptation of the fantasy novels written by Philip Pullman. The film, "The Golden Compass", staring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, will be released in the United States in early December.Pullman's

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-25485549291008460942007-11-22T09:01:00.000+08:002007-11-22T09:55:37.376+08:00

Odex is a Singapore-based company that licenses and releases anime for local and regional (Southeast Asian) consumption and gain notoriety when it started prosecuting anime downloaders whom download anime sub-licensed to the company.Odex's actions did not go down well with the anime community whom believed that the company was shifting its business model from sales of anime to profiting from

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-80567052773136184092007-11-18T16:25:00.000+08:002007-11-18T17:15:15.188+08:00

Choosing the right broadband deal from those available in the market is difficult for some people. The marketing efforts by the different companies frequently help to add more confusion by focusing attention on irrelevant offerings that undiscerning consumers find out only after having committed to mandatory contractual periods.Starhub Maxonline recently launched a new promotion advertising

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-63622087443096198142007-11-13T23:28:00.001+08:002007-11-13T23:45:25.211+08:00

The Wizard of Oz has a hanging/sucide incident caught on film?! This purported incident has been called an urban legend but still many sceptics exist, perpetuating the interest in this story.This caught my interest too and made me research a little into the "Wizard of Oz hanging incident". Fantastically, even though I do not own a copy of The Wizard of Oz, it was possible to find a copy of the

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-32426955760545884722007-09-26T09:40:00.001+08:002007-09-26T13:52:32.006+08:00

Just received a mail from the National Library (NLB) telling me that I have unpaid fines of 60 cents dating back almost 5 years ago. I must confess that the title listed looks familiar and I may have really incurred that fine then and slipped my mind to pay up the fine to NLB when I returned the book via book drop.While I have no bone with NLB trying to recover unpaid fines, it appears that there

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-16272700292366735592007-08-08T23:59:00.000+08:002007-08-09T00:18:27.115+08:00

If you have never heard of Namewee, you will likely have just came across his name for the wrong reasons. He has just gotten himself into the news for being under invetigation by the Malaysian authorities with regards to rapping to the national anthem using allegedly seditious lyrics.It is interesting that nearly half a million people have already watched the six-minute video by Namewee and it is

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-26891736914011296522007-06-09T16:04:00.000+08:002007-06-09T16:59:36.219+08:00

The decisions by NETS to raise fees has drawn much condemnation from consumers, retailers and CASE and it has forced NETS to come up with some response to the uproar.However, if we look carefully at NETS' response, it is nothing more than a public relations exercise and that the fee increase is most likely going to proceed as announced.While thanking the various parties in coming forth to express

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-65979579650059300412007-05-29T22:13:00.001+08:002007-05-29T22:41:51.403+08:00

MY DAUGHTER'S recent applications for entry to the three local universities - Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore (NUS) and Singapore Management University - were all rejected. The reasons given were an overwhelming response, limited places in the universities and stiff competition.My daughter is an above-average student who had excelled in sports. She has met all

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-11487196822047015742007-05-22T23:23:00.000+08:002007-05-22T23:35:47.478+08:00

Person 1: Will you like to drink Anything?Person 2: Whatever...Person 1: Whatever?Person 2: Whatever.Person 1: Here's your Whatever.Person 2: ...A new beverage has just been launched and it is the "Anything" and "Whatever" product range. This is a surprise-packaging concept where every beverage has a generic design which makes consumers unaware of the flavour of the purchased beverage until they

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-55568017154044156812007-05-09T22:09:00.000+08:002007-05-09T22:14:15.182+08:00

If you cannot decipher anything, then try pulling the corner of your eyes or squint your eyes. The truth will shock you...

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-7199202736039909762007-05-08T20:47:00.000+08:002007-05-08T21:01:22.637+08:00

The recommendations on Makan Places Lost and Found by Gurmit and Michelle Chia on 8 May 2007 can be obtained via SMS for $1 per episode but here you get it for free as follows:Geylang Lorong 20 Goreng PisangOld Airport Hawker Centre (Temporary)#01-23King Fish Head NoodlesMarine Parade Food Centre84 Marine Parade Central#01-182Target CafeThomson Community Club194 Upper Thomson RoadSong Huat

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-30587171216659333632007-05-08T20:37:00.000+08:002007-05-08T22:19:53.427+08:00

When exactly is Mothers' Day? The date will depend on where you are from but many countries celebrate Mothers' Day on the 2nd Sunday of May. On Mothers' Day, the restaurants are packed and so many people go round trying to get presents for their mums to show how nice they are.But do we really need to celebrate Mothers' Day? I guess my mum's views summed it up quite nicely... There is no need for

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-10556205717763664232007-04-30T10:51:00.000+08:002007-05-08T22:28:17.593+08:00

What exactly is XposedTube? Someone whom I believe is the creator of this streaming video site started spamming forums asking people to visit the site and surprise surprise, it is a adult site that touts ADULTS VIDEO BROADCASTING - Get Access to tonnes of XXX Videos Updated Daily.Some forummers were obviously unhappy with the actions of this site owner and decided to try and trace him/her down

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-84882415686381935252007-04-26T21:37:00.000+08:002007-04-26T21:57:50.885+08:00

Director Jack Neo, 梁导演.I keep finding it weird that such a naming is being used to refer Jack Neo. It appears that there is some extreme sense of insecurity that it becomes necessary to constantly try to tag his name with the word director.Who exactly is Jack Neo? The best memories of him dated back to when he first emerged on the comedy scene a long time back. There were good ideas that brought

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-16123416105958277342007-04-05T13:52:00.000+08:002007-04-05T16:16:07.232+08:00

Michelle Quek aka Princess-michie is the latest blogger to get herself into the limelight via some incidents on the internet. Seems like people are not learning that putting pictures of yourself or your personal views on the internet means that it is being made available for public access.Sometimes it really makes me wonder if these people are actually attention seekers. If the information is not

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-57601931955138050802007-03-28T13:18:00.000+08:002007-03-28T13:30:44.089+08:00

After drinking Ribena for so many years, it is surprising to hear about GlaxoSmithKline being hauled to court for misleading advertising. Ribena actually contained almost no vitamin C! What is more surprising is that this was in fact discovered by two 14 year olds who tested the children's drink against advertising claims that the blackcurrants in Ribena have four times the vitamin C of oranges.

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-10854508097278422232007-03-03T12:15:00.000+08:002007-03-03T12:40:48.027+08:00

DOGGED by complaints about its 'unlimited' wireless broadband service that in fact had a limit, MobileOne (M1) is tweaking it to win back unhappy customers....But customers who signed up for the supposedly surf-all-you-can service found there was a limit - in small print on the brochures - on how much they could surf....M1 said it was raising this download limit to 5GB a month - more than double

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-9247483772177426142007-03-02T21:39:00.000+08:002007-03-03T12:08:18.305+08:00

What exactly is executive coaching? According to information from Wikipedia, "Executive Coaching is a one-on-one training and collaborative relationship between a coach and an executive interested in improving him or herself primarily in career or business related skills".Perhaps the most important question in evaluating executive coaching is does executive coaching truly work?This question of

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-61139260313511283922007-03-01T14:57:00.000+08:002007-03-01T14:58:34.882+08:00

Watch out for a new game show coming to town.

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-30487777204758839512007-02-16T23:10:00.000+08:002007-02-16T23:18:43.424+08:00

The River Angbao 2007 is officially lighted up today! Seeing the news on television, I tried to find information on River Angbao 2007 before realising that it actually is River HongBao 2007, the hanyu pinyin naming.It will be on all the way from today, 16th Feb 2007, till 4th Mar 2007 at the Esplande Park area. Looks like a long good period for me to slowly decide on a good day to pop by the

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-22265623757168163472007-02-08T13:34:00.000+08:002007-01-31T20:12:01.828+08:00

After being on Adsense for a while as an experiment to see if it truly works, I finally received my first Google Adsense check for almost S$200. What a joy it is to get this additional amount of money on top of my daily job!What is even more fantastic about receiving my first Google Adsense check is that it is denominated in Singapore Dollars and there is absolutely no hassle in depositing it

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-12069818564898481442007-01-31T19:55:00.000+08:002007-01-31T20:12:01.873+08:00

Despite being confident of my awareness of the perils in malware from the Internet, I got hit with a particularly bad case recently.Unexpectedly, advertisements will pop up pointing to various sites and no amount of scans I did could resolve it. Mcafee AntiVirus, AdAware, Prevx1 and many many other softwares that I used to try to clean the infection did not yield results.As a stop gap measure, I

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-26447289505590135032006-12-31T01:21:00.000+08:002006-12-31T01:22:16.382+08:00

Selamat Hari Raya Haji to all Muslim friends! =)

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-90054437104395856452006-12-28T21:31:00.000+08:002006-12-28T21:49:23.262+08:00

NTUC's first hypermart opens today in Ang Mo Kio Hub and it is seeing a lot of people visiting it out of curiosity.While NTUC Fairprice is a co-operative, shoppers must keep in mind that only specific necessities are price controlled and lowest prices are not a given for other items. I experienced this first hand today when I compared the prices of a washing machine. While it goes at $399 at both

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-19333260132390407332006-12-25T13:37:00.000+08:002006-12-25T13:40:28.922+08:00

Just purchased my first bottle of Hydroxycut in an attempt to rein in my rising body weight. Somehow, despite the regular exercises that I had been getting, I have not been able to get my weight under control.Weight now is slightly over 91kg. Hope I can get it below 87kg by the end of Jan 2007.

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-84172133223561647832006-12-24T13:26:00.000+08:002006-12-24T13:27:04.166+08:00

Merry Christmas!

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-80412567950592348432006-12-09T12:55:00.000+08:002006-12-09T13:18:44.976+08:00

A word of caution to all who are taking taxis. Be careful when taking the taxis especially when you are not sure of the route to your destination. Recently, because I did not specify the EXACT route to take to my destination, I was taken on a more roundabout route and ended up paying more.In the first instance, going from Jurong to Ang Mo Kio, the speedy route is via PIE and Lornie Road during

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-90061733046244514292006-12-05T09:01:00.000+08:002006-12-05T09:16:37.889+08:00

Yet another death has occurred from someone being hit by a MRT train at Yishun. I was on my way to work when the MRT train started this announcement that "an incident" has occurred and some delay is expected. While the situation was not yet clear, I made the snap judgement to alight and head for the taxi stands... A wise decision it was, as soon after, the queues starting forming and many who

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-22532213400815124932006-11-13T23:02:00.000+08:002006-11-13T23:12:59.853+08:00

SINGAPORE: The Goods and Services Tax will be increased to 7 percent from 5 percent presently. This was announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Parliament on Monday. However, when the rise will be implemented, will be decided later....Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/241058/1/.htmlYet another round of price increases coming soon when our pay packages

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-77389617409431993092006-10-31T08:47:00.000+08:002006-10-31T09:11:54.324+08:00

On 24 October 2006, Mr Tan Jee Suan, 46, was killed at Chinese Garden MRT station after being hit by a train going towards Boon Lay.After news broke that he committed suicide due to financial difficulties and depression, Singaporeans once again showed their compassion with their wallets and donated around $500K to his family.When the donated amount grew that huge, it was proposed to put the

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-11300839248436241972006-10-24T23:12:00.000+08:002006-10-24T23:28:44.183+08:00

The Land Transport Authority intends to up the trips made on public transport from 63% to 70% over the next 10-15 years.Do we really need to spend on a comprehensive review to know what the problems are? The frequency of the bus services is poor and the rationalisation of services to avoid duplication with MRT routes has resulted in people having to pay extra and make multiple transfers in order

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-52752048130893733672006-10-24T11:14:00.000+08:002006-10-24T11:30:23.823+08:00

Wee Shu Min has made it into The Straits Times today with her blog postings that got slammed by Netizens.She is the latest blogger to gain notoriety after posting their views online. The well-to-do in Singapore experiences a disconnect with the people who are trying to make ends meet. In my words, those who own and drive cars do not understand the pains of utilising public transport.If you are

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-29472596630235660302006-10-16T08:56:00.000+08:002006-10-16T09:07:10.328+08:00

I need to find more money to meet additional financial needs in my life and since I cannot really look forward to a sudden pay increment, I have to seek the additional income from elsewhere. While I do not have the time to commit to some part-time/freelance job, I believe I have the ideas to share that will greatly benefit others.After racking my brain for ideas, what better way to try to earn

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-33356395635517350072006-10-15T14:00:00.000+08:002006-10-15T14:09:43.892+08:00

行家出手 is listed as a variety show on the television programmes guide but should it actually be labelled as an advertisement instead? What variety is there in the show when it is so blatantly advertising the products that are featured on the show? This feel that it is a 30 minutes disguised commercial is further reinforced when the final credits show the featured products/retailers as being the

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-62993951577905686552006-10-13T23:55:00.000+08:002006-10-14T00:02:41.632+08:00

User IDs and PINs are the common authentication mechanisms for online services these days and companies are taking pains to try to provide the information to clients in more secure ways. These efforts of theirs are truly commendable but the actual way in which it is done really leave much to be desired.Just today, I found 2 mailers in my letterbox and when I opened them up, one contained user ID

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1160546775372077292006-10-11T13:49:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:47:50.001+08:00

Why is a country that is so impoverished still so keen to go nuclear? The recent North Korea nuclear test appears to be yet another move that smacks of craziness.The country is already so poor and relies heavily on foreign aid to sustain its citizens but the leaders are enjoying a much better quality of living. Isn't this ironic when North Korea is supposedly one of the last pure communist states

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1160440831899169572006-10-10T08:32:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:47:49.932+08:00

I am not a fan of Hossan Leong but he really shone in this clip where he gave an overview of Singapore's history through a song. Posted as "Talking Cock in Parliament - Hossan Leong" in YouTube, I will share the clip here too since I like it so much :-)

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1160154991384500312006-10-07T01:07:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:47:49.772+08:00

dollarDEX has just released a great offer, paying investors to mange their money.Transfer your unit trusts now and be rewarded with a loyalty bonus, equivalent to 1% p.a. return on your average investment holdings of transferred units between 3 October 2006 and 30 June 2007. This offer applies to unit trusts which you may previously have bought elsewhere using cash, CPF savings or SRS. For

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1159951659823090082006-10-04T16:14:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:47:49.696+08:00

How are we able to get the idea of financial planning through to those who do not understand it? When I was still in school, the family finances were quite tight and my parents had zero savings outside of CPF. Financial planning focused more on getting through each month with the limited budgets than longer term goals.Today, I am already working and am contributing to the household and yet, my

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1159523013495368982006-09-29T17:10:00.000+08:002007-06-15T21:56:46.268+08:00

Just came across this P*****Click Media that purports to assist in getting businesses getting top listed in Yahoo. Curious about it, I ventured to its website to find out more about how it does it and what it calls Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is nothing more than paying Yahoo to display the listings as Sponsored Results.It does not make sense to pay good money to be listed and companies that

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1159112451971105192006-09-24T23:33:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:47:49.505+08:00

Ever since I started on Google's Adsense, I have been paying a little more attention to the ads that are being served on sites that have Adsense. The logic that goes on behind Adsense appears to be very powerful, serving up the advertisements that are tailored to the content of the sites.However, Adsense sometimes does have its own slipups... Look at the screen capture I made of one specific ad

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1158829335489523132006-09-21T16:58:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:47:49.423+08:00

Singtel has announced that Ms Chua Sock Koong has been selected as Group CEO and the appointment is expected to take effect on 1 April 2007. As widely expected, the CEO position has been filled via an internal promotion.Hopefully she can be as good as Mr Lee Hsien Yang had been and gain Singtel to greater heights, while retaining our domestic telco rates competitive of course ;-)

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1158820036591528092006-09-21T14:23:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:47:49.337+08:00

This post is really not in line with my usual postings but looking at this video on YouTube really makes me consider a career switch :-P

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1158282701136303372006-09-15T08:59:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:47:49.253+08:00

Just logged on to EZ-Link website and found accidentally noticed the following messagePlease note this service will be discontinued from 1st October 2006. To view your card’s past 20 transaction records and enjoy many more online services just buy a Sony PaSoRi Reader/Writer and log on to EZ-OnlineEZ-Link is going to discontinue its Online Enquiry from 1st Oct so that consumers are forced to

Icenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1158225735583963932006-09-14T17:17:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:47:49.168+08:00

Singapore is hosting the IMF and World Bank meeting 2006 and there has been much hooha about the strict rules Singapore has set on protesting.Singaporeans know that locally, we have a lot of complain kings and complain queens who incessantly complain about everything that they do not like. It seems to appear that the civil service groups will fit in nicely with Singaporeans' complaining

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1157861539224881892006-09-10T11:44:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:47:49.080+08:00

Motivational speakers are featured today earning big bucks - from $2,000 to $15,000 a day - to teach people how to lead better lives. But are they truly worth the money?A well known speaker, who started off as an underachieving adolescent who became a self made millionaire, has frequently advertisements in the papers for his training courses actually hails from a rich family. While claiming

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1157261632657247842006-09-03T13:30:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:54.502+08:00

Just saw the news that Japan has implemented baby badges for commuters but how successful is such a scheme when the badges are so small and people can conveniently opt to "miss" seeing them being displayed...Maybe the SMRT can consider making an adaptation of the scheme using RFID. SMRT currently has seats in the cabins earmarked for the needy such as disabled, pregnant and elderly but it is

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1157005154952573732006-08-31T14:15:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:54.432+08:00

Planning a trip to Bangkok and was doing some research on what are the "essential" highlights. After scanning through various sources, it appears that the following top the list:Grand PalaceChatuchak marketFloating marketSpa/massagePatpong night marketSuan Lumn (Lumpini)Chinatown?Have to plan properly and drop some of these in order to maximise the time that I will be there... Yippee! A trip to

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1156901618190490412006-08-30T09:17:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:54.364+08:00

One of the better online Unit Trust plaforms that I have come across is Fundsupmart (FSM). FSM provides a compatively better online user experience that is intuitive and has useful features. Furthermore, Fundsupermart, as an online UT distributor, offered lower sales charges than making unit trust purchases directly from the banks.However, Fundsupermart is facing greater competition today as more

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1156814072350871272006-08-29T09:05:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:54.295+08:00

I was reviewing my investments and realised that once again, my DBS Asset Managements (DBSAM) unit trusts have underperformed the rest of my holdings once again. Was at one time looking at Shenton Income but it underperformed, and now DBS Shenton Global Advantage.Luckily, I had dilligently followed the wisdom of diversification and DBS' underperformance is only dragging down my returns. At least

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1156338792158446492006-08-23T21:06:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:54.225+08:00

The Straits Times today carried a report on the poor performance on CPF unit trusts in the last quarter. While the information may be helpful, it is actually better to ignore it if we understand what exactly are unit trusts meant for.Unit trusts are meant for medium to long term investments and a quarter is far too short for most unit trusts to meet their stated goals. Furthermore, most funds

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1155520714532631992006-08-14T09:51:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:54.071+08:00

Will studying or not make a big difference in my life? I guess not but my original justification for continually upgrading myself is self-actualisation. While it may had seemed nice and rosy when I signed up for the course, now that the course has started, I find my free time disappearing into thin air.Research, assignments and projects have already disappeared from my nightmares for many years

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1155089273600471172006-08-09T10:01:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:53.999+08:00

Happy Birthday to Singapore!As we celebrate this National Day, let us take a moment to reflect on the 41 years of independence of our nation. A tiny nation in this great big world, let us keep in mind to maintain the multi-racial and multi-cultural society our nation has so painstakingly created and the constant truth that what we cannot defend does not truly belong to us.

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1154840540942092972006-08-06T12:50:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:53.931+08:00

Made it to the Singapore Fireworks Festival 2006 last night at Marina Bay area. The crowd there was huge and because I was not there early enough, I only managed to find a viewing space somewhere at the Esplanade courtyard. While the view of the fireworks was not the best, it was still spectacular and I managed to get some pictures with my camera phone. The quality of the pictures is not that

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1154700065994797762006-08-04T21:48:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:53.858+08:00

I really do not understand why Mediacorp got this Michelle Saram to act in this show. If the intention was to tap on her knack for acting as a blind girl, then I will understand. I find her acting (if we can call it acting) totally substandard.When her role has perfectly normal eyesight, she appears totally blind, conveying nothing with her eyes. However, she really shines as an actress when her

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1154250396140452402006-07-30T16:22:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:53.789+08:00

One of the hottest topics in Singapore recently is the increases in transport fees and while that of the public buses and MRT is in the processing of getting, almost confirmed actually, approval, that of our "deregulated" taxi fares have already gone up.The justification for this round of increases is that of the raise in diesel prices and commuters are asked to help taxi drivers shoulder the

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1153963260990656352006-07-27T09:06:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:53.720+08:00

Local ISPs are definitely having a problem with BitTorrent as it gobbles up the bandwidth that consumers have subscribed to.While ISPs usually promise connection speeds of up to some predefined KBps, the planning assumption is that not every consumer will utilise that bandwidth and hence ISPs need not have the full network capacity to support 100% of subscribed bandwidth. However, with BitTorrent

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1153789046777320722006-07-25T08:53:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:53.560+08:00

The peaceful morning was marred by this guy seated in front of me on the bus whose phone kept ringing and all he did was to take it out, look at it and then proceed to let it keep ringing till it went dead. All in all, the phone rang like half the bus journey and I had half a mind to give him a knuckle rap on his head.Perhaps it is a call he really does not want to take but it is so difficult to

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1153665136259277882006-07-23T22:30:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:53.484+08:00

DBS has just released a revised terms and conditions that will take effect from 19th August 2006. It is a long and wordy statement which I believe most people will not read event though DBS put up a prominent banner on its website to announce the revision. Being the very free person I am, I took the trouble to click on that banner and scanned through the revised terms and conditions and one

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1153497900335551502006-07-21T23:33:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:53.414+08:00

America International Assurance, more commonly known as AIA, has for the first time published a commentary of AIA's Participating Fund, commonly referred to as the Par Fund. This is supposedly an industry first by AIA as insurance companies are not required to and typically do not reveal details of how they invest the premiums of the policyholders.The AIA Participating Fund commentary that I got

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1153184069441366972006-07-18T12:54:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:53.275+08:00

Many people who have just started working will inadvertently ask how money can be made from investing. Unless you are the central bank who prints money or your job inherently deals with investing, it is quite impossible to make money from investing. Quick money will come in if you speculate but speculation is inherently extremely risky and money that comes easy goes just as easily too.I believe

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1153106177051180122006-07-17T20:15:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:53.210+08:00

If you own a credit card from any bank, have you ever noticed the few dollars that are added to your outstanding balance every month? If you have not, now is a good time to check it out. If you have noticed, then the term CreditShield should be familiar to you but have you ever wonder if you truly need CreditShield?What exactly does Creditshield do for us? In simple terms, a premium is charged

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1152783220477607152006-07-16T08:32:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:53.001+08:00

It is an exceptionally difficult situation when working with people who do not get along with their co-workers. Just the other day, this user called me up for SAP (my most disliked) support and after clarifying her queries, the solution will be simply to ask this other woman who belongs to her same office. Yet, because of some disagreements between the 2 of them, a simple requests that can be

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1152976542276220542006-07-15T23:14:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:53.142+08:00

Ok...it is official. I am not the proud owner of the new Opel Astra dangled by Stomp and will have to continue relying on public transport.

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1152783142554681862006-07-14T17:31:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:52.933+08:00

CPF members receive a market-related interest rate (based on the 12-month fixed deposit and month-end savings rates of the major local banks) on their CPF savings and this rate is reviewed quarterly. However, even when major local banks required money, they tend to offer "promotional rates" instead of upping the normal fixed deposit rates and even then, offer "promotional rates" to deposits of

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1152893945222388492006-07-14T12:14:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:53.074+08:00

You're shortlisted to win Stomp's Opel Astra grand prize! Join us at Plaza Singapura's Outdoor plaza this Sat, July 15, 715pm. Bring your IC along. Good luck!Got the SMS on Thursday... I am one of the 5000 persons who have been shortlisted. 1 in 5000... better chances than Toto or 4D. Most probably will drop by since I have no plans for Saturday... Wish me good luck!

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1152686498040359322006-07-12T14:37:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:52.866+08:00

Just found a good site that is regularly updated with Singapore stock market information. Shareinvestors has been updated every trading day with useful insights into stock market movements. Shareinvestors does not look exceptionally pretty but it definitely does prove to be quite a good source of information.Be careful using about the information on it though since it is a blog site and there is

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1152545692403607152006-07-10T23:28:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:52.799+08:00

I was trying to setup Internet Explorer 7 Beta 3, IE7 Beta 3, and was encountering some problems where it fails at the end of the process. Looking into the installation log, I find entries such as110.108: Num Ticks for Copying files : 30053114.625: DoRegistryUpdates:UpdSpInstallFromInfSection Failed for ProductInstall.GlobalRegistryChanges.Install error: 0x5114.625: INF_REGISTRY Failed114.625:

Icenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1152511398937204992006-07-10T13:36:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:52.710+08:00

There had been many people whom had feedback via various channels that the financial consultants in the banks do not really provide good and relevant financial advice. Today's report in The Straits Times highlighting the plight of a relationship manager who received zero commission for over $1 million in sale will definitely start bringing the practices of banks under the microscope.I have

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1152458636513762002006-07-09T23:12:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:52.633+08:00

After the police cracked down on loansharks some time back, their activities had die down significantly but it seems that after a lull period, these loansharks are starting to make a comeback. Recently, I encountered vandalism by loansharks on walls and inside the lifts, trying to pressure the debtors to return the sums owed...

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-52290144142163043242006-07-07T08:34:00.000+08:002007-05-02T11:32:07.224+08:00

The Internet has made the flow of information much easier and faster and it is possible to leverage upon this strength by frequenting niche forums that are relatively interesting for information. It is interesting to note that the quality of online forums differs significantly... ranging from the very intellectual and useful forums at sgFunds, to the mundane and time killing ones at

Icenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19878887.post-1151992845864854992006-07-04T13:49:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:35:52.500+08:00

The Straits Times Forums is really being abused by all sorts of people... Now this inane feedback on use of correction tape/fluid. Actually all the parent has to do is to ask around and he will realise that the advise of not using correction tape/fluid is very relevant since all too often we will forget to fill in the changes subsequently, leaving blanks. It is much faster and easier to just

Icenoreply@blogger.com0