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Showing posts from January, 2006

Starting on Skype

I finally started on Skype in order to communicate more cheaply with my relatives in USA. Initially, I was not keen to try out Skype since MSN messenger also was also to hold voice conversations and Skype will mean one more software to install on my system. However, after checking with my friend whom had tried out the 2, I took the trouble to download and install Skype and was truly impressed by it. Suddenly I wonder why I took so long to start on Skype and why aren't more of my friends using it yet! If you have not gotten Skype, give it a try... Not many products impress me but Skype is truly value for money! Wait...what value? Skype is FREE!

Lucky Start for Chinese New Year

Was over at my friend's place for a friendly game of mahjong last night to usher in the Chinese New Year. I do not play often and was expecting to be distributing winnings to everyone. However, it eventually emerged after 2 rounds that I actually had the good fortune to win S$125. Huat ah! Good lucky start for the Chinese New Year :-D

Outsourcing

Outsourcing is all the rage these days and almost every company is jumping into it and outsourcing non-core functions. My company is exploring the same and one of the first few services to be outsourced is sanitation. Those at the top who look at financial numbers and do not walk the ground will think that the outsourcing is fantastic. Now, costs of keeping the place clean are lower and the cleanliness is still of comparable standard... However, is that the real truth? After the cleaning services were outsourced, the contracts were for very short terms of a few months. The cleaning personnel changes so often and the quality of service varies tremendously. Just today, I had to search through 5, yes 5!, toilets before I found one with toilet paper available. My trash bin is not longer emptied on a daily basis. The office's floor is no longer swept regularly. The shredder machine is not emptied. The toilet's auto flush sensor has been spoilt for weeks.... The management will not s

NTUC Income CEO

Tan Kin Lian, NTUC Income's CEO, is arguably the most high profile CEO in the insurance industry in Singapore. Besides keeping a blog, he has routinely written in to the newspapers to provide his alternative perspective on reports regarding insurance. He has written in to Straits Times again today on the issue of "Income agents quitting over insurer's direct sales strategy". However, I always tend to take his replies with an extra large pinch of salt. Since his letters are usually very much advertising pieces, trumpeting how good Income's products are. Whenever I read his replies, it is expected that he is not going to letup the chance for free advertising. What a good way to save money for the company! My main grouse is car insurance... Using IDACs to ensure claims are not elevated and saying that margins in the sector are thin, cars end up being repaired with salvaged parts, etc and the insurance companies reporting good profits. Singaporeans pay amongst the hig

Workers' Party's Manifesto

In anticipation of an impending General Elections, the Workers' Party unveiled its manifesto on 14 Jan 2006. Unable to find the information on their site, the main gist of the manifesto is as follows: - abolish all Resident Committees and Citizen Consultative Committees - remove policies that have fostered Singapore's multiracial society - abolish the Elected Presidency - more subsidies for the needy The ruling party, People's Action Party, has given point-by-point rebuttals to the manifesto. I am not that much of a political person and I see that the Workers' Party manifesto has both its pros and cons. Abolishing RCs and CCCs which are working to benefits residents does not appear to be a good idea. However, we must also remember that such grassroots organisations do tend to have political inclinations and they are dominated by supporters of the ruling party. One that frequently pops up is the Potong Pasir Citizens Consultative Committee, advised by Mr Sitoh Yih Pin,

Right to Religious Beliefs in Malaysia

Malaysia has prided itself on being the poster boy to advance the ideal of moderate Islam, of being truly Asia and an accommodative and tolerant nation. That is the said stance but the recent incidents being reported do appear to make reality much further from the stated. The first major incident that obtained coverage was when an Indian man, M. Moorthy, was given a Muslim burial against the wishes of his Hindu widow. Supposedly, he had converted to Islam but interestingly, his widow appears to not know about it at all, failing to contest the Syariah Court ruling when the High Court did not intervene. Then there were the non-Muslim Cabinet Ministers who submitted a memorandum to the PM Abdullah Badawi on minority religious rights, though they subsequently withdrew it after being advised that it was not in line with protocol. Now, Negeri Sembilan Religious Affairs Department obtained a court order to postpone the Buddhist funeral of a Malay woman, Madam Nyonya Tahir, who had renounced I

COE Has Fallen Again!

The prices of Certificates of Entitlements (COEs) have fallen again! This time to a low of S$8000+. Now it is really tempting to buy a new car. A good decent car like Toyota Vios should be available somewhere in the range of S$40k...But with Budget 2006 coming, taxes on cars is expected to be further reduced... When will my Vios fall below S$35k? My good friend thinks I most probably will not get one in the end. I believe he will be right since I already take a long time to think about getting small items which I do not really need. For such a large ticket item, I will definitely put more thought into it and by that time, my impulse to buy should have greatly died down. But I will still have my rides since he is already considering buying and he is much more of an impluse buyer than me ;-P This is no good... I am living too far below my means and not rewarding myself enough. I must learn to spend a little more on the small luxuries and pamper myself a little more.

Comparison of Interest Rates in Singapore

Banks' battle for depositor funds in Singapore is hotting up recently with higher and higher interest rates being offered, with offers sometimes even changing in the matter of days. It is a torture to try to determine which bank in Singapore is offering the best interest rates at the moment but a consolidated view of the interest rates in Singapore on 17 Jan 2006 is as follows: #Citibank i) 2.68% -- 12mths unfixed deposit (min $30k) ii) 2.88% -- 12mths unfixed deposit (min $50k) iii) 3.0% -- 12mths unfixed deposit (min $200k) #DBS/POSB i ) 2.728% -- 12mths FD (min $20k) ii) 2.988% -- 12mths FD (min $750k) #Hong Leong Finance i) extra 0.25% -- 12mths FD (min $500) ii) 2.99% -- 9/12mths FD (min $50,001) #HSBC i) 2.92% -- 12mth sFD (min $50k) ii) 2.87% -- <12mths FD #Maybank i ) 2.49%* -- isavvy savings (*2.38% + 6% interest-on-interest) ii) 3.125% -- 36mths Privilege Plus FD (55yrs old & above, min $25k) iii) 2.88% -- isavvy time deposit 12mths (min $25k) #OCBC i ) 2.79% -- 10

Spying Scandal in USA

It is interesting to read about the big hoo-ha over the recent revelation that President Bush had endorsed eavesdropping on international communications of people in the United States. The fear of having Big Brother looking over one's shoulders and the average American's overwhelming concerns about protecting privacy and personal freedom is such a direct contrast to what we are experiencing here. Singapore may not be the freest of countries by America's standards but so what? We are free to roam the streets at night without worries of being mugged. We may not carry guns but who needs it in Singapore? Our children are able to go to school without having to pass through metal detectors. Racism is not a major problem in Singapore. There are only rare cases of people who are so destitute that they are sleeping in the streets. No one can have the best of everything. Some tradeoffs are sometimes necessary. I wonder what will happen if the same eavesdropping scenario is transposed

What is a Bank?

Was suddenly wondering what does a bank mean and did a search for its definition - A business establishment in which money is kept for saving or commercial purposes or is invested, supplied for loans, or exchanged. What then is our relationship with the banks when we entrust the banks with our money? The simplistic definition of bank only makes me wonder more. As a simple depositor with the banks, we should consider the banks to be our clients who are trying to borrow our savings by offering us interest to make use of OUR money. Only when we lend the banks our money can they carry on their business. Too people have failed to see the relationship we should have with the banks and had happily given the banks chances to give us the raw ends of banking deals. We Asians somehow have this obsession with savings and will still keep putting money into the savings accounts even when we are given close to nothing for it. At interest rates of 1% p.a., a S$10,000 deposit will earn only $100 and fo

Bluetooth Headset at $22

Just purchased a bluetooth headset off the Yahoo auctions and really got a really good deal for it. It is one that the original owner bought to use with Panasonic X70 but being rarely used, decided to sell it. Slightly less than a year old, the original price was S$114, I managed to get it at a bid of S$22. I had paid S$25 for a normal wired handsfree set for my last mobile phone! Never expected the seller to be willing to part with the headset at this price! Thanks a million ^_^ The condition of the headset is very good and works perfectly with my Motorola Razr V3. Should try to get myself a cheap miniUSB cable or bluetooth dongle to connect my V3 to my PC so that I can transfer multimedia files.

SISTIC's Ticketless System

SISTIC is proposing to bring in new technology where paper tickets need no longer be issued and electronic versions can be sent to buyers' mobile phones. These electronic versions can then be scanned at the point of entry to verify their authenticity. SISTIC claims the supposed advantage that scalping can be eliminated and there is greater convenience to consumers. Furthermore, lost "tickets" can be easily replaced by having the system resend the electronic ticket to the phone. Technology is supposed to bring down costs. If it does not, why would any profit making company adopt it? These companies give fancy reasoning to justify price increases on the adoption of new technology but the underlying fact is that with it, they can squeeze more out of ordinary consumers. SISTIC should be offering consumers lower fees if they opt for the electronic tickets since it can cut down on maintaining SISTIC authorised agents, procure less ticketing machines, etc.

Crimes Against Singaporeans in JB Truly Down?

From Straits Times - "Violent crime against Singaporeans in Johor Bahru has actually fallen, and many recent reports of attacks exaggerate the situation, a senior Johor state official said yesterday." How true is this statement? I do not doubt the fall in numbers but it most probably is a play on statistics. With a drop of 14.8% (in absolute terms, more than one million) in the number of Singaporean visitors, there obviously were less targets for the criminals in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, to attack. While reports of crimes committed against Singaporeans in Malaysia is claimed to be "exaggerated", the fact stands that these crimes had been committed. People had been robbed , people had been bashed up , people had been shot at , all while they were travelling in Malaysia. The details of these crimes might had been spiced up a little when reported in the tabloids but the crux is the main facts stand and the crimes had been committed. I love the plays on statistical inform

Exercise NorthStar V

Singapore carried out one of the largest anti-terrorism exercises yesterday morning to test the preparedness of the emergency services. Initially, I expecting that it will be just another of those simple exercises that lack some realism but after catching the news clips and reading the news today, I truly applaud the efforts of the authorities. The frontpage photo of the many mock victims in MRT trains looked just like a real incident except that the train cabin was not torn apart by explosions. The bus that was "bombed" was set up to look exactly that with even a realistic looking mock fire. What really got me was the true scale of the exercise. Four MRT stations and one bus terminal were simulated to be bombed plus an additional sarin attack at one of the "bombed" MRT stations. Thirteen MRT stations were closed for the exercise. Seven hospitals and two polyclinics were activated. Security at the immigration checkpoints were really stepped up. Family support centre

Ren Ci Charity Show

The Ren Ci Charity show today saw very slow response in the number of people calling its donation hotline during the beginning of the performance. People were just not fully recovered from the betrayal of donors' trust by NKF and were holding back on their donations. However, the calls started coming in after Reverend MingYi's performance of walking outside the 66th floor of Republic Building amidst the rain, wind and cold of the rainy day today. His sincere tears of anguish that people were penalising charities because of the fault of one errant person (read Durai of NKF fame) did touched many people and the number of calls really started shooting up. By the end of the show, a total of S$6.8 million was raised. Reverend MingYi whom initially wore a worried look, not knowing the total amount raised, burst into a heartfelt big wide smile when the total amount was announced. The sum raised had met and surpassed the target of S$6 million needed for the year. What a turn of events

Financial Adviser's Dilemma

There has been recent emphasis on financial planning, that Singaporeans who rely solely on Central Provident Fund (CPF) for retirement will find that it caters only for the basic needs and will not be sufficient to maintain a sufficiently comfortable retirement. Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has also issued and revised things such as the Financial Advisers Act to protect people against inferior advice from financial advisers. All this appears to be very good and well but these regulations seem to be flawed after I was chatting to my financial adviser friend (I am not employed in the Financial sector). The topic we were on was specifically investments, equities versus unit trusts (UT) versus insurance linked products (ILPs). Personally, I have never taken an interest in ILPs as I prefer to keep my protection and investment elements separate. Somehow, we got to the issue of doing a personal financial review (PFR) before which a product can be recommended and sold. The fact findin

Shareinvestor Forum

Shareinvestor is a site which I came across when I started on investing in stocks. At that time, Shareinvestor offered free access to its forum to registered non-paying users. After making use of the free forum access for a while, I took up a 6 months paid subscription to try out its premium services which I subsequently let lapse since I am not a frequent trader and the free forum was good enough. Somewhere down the road, the folks behind Shareinvestor.com must somehow had decided that charging for the use of the forum will add to the site's revenue. One fine day when I was trying to get the forum and presto, only paying members can access. No big matter to me, just stop visiting Shareinvestor.com for forum discussion then. Another period of time later, someone again decided that accessing the forum is free, stumbling upon that change in policy somewhere, and started visiting the site again. Then recently, the forum is once again changed to restricted access for paying members onl

Boardgames Themed Cafes

Yet another board games theme cafe has opened recently. After Settlers and Oasis, now there is this one named Pitstop Cafe at Circular Road. Did not know about this one till was asked by my friend to go to give some support to his friends who had just opened it. My first impression of the place was that it is very amateurish. The place is well hidden on the 3rd floor of a row of shophouses at the end of a long flight of stairs. Upon stepping into the place, it has very simple decor. The best thing about it is perhaps the 2 sofas. The finger food was the usual deep fried items and was nothing special. The feeling of amateurism was further reinforced when the Pitstop cafe people were trying to explain the games to us. The staff on duty were not familiar with the games and had problems explaining the gameplay to us. Different staff were not able to give us a consistent explanation of how the games were to be played. It is also a problem when bigger groups are there to play the games. The

Malaysia Has High Crime Rates?

The recent Singaporean visitors number to Malaysia has dropped due to the concerns of high crime rates there and the papers are reporting that the Malaysian authorities are going to try to get more Singaporeans to visit. Singapore and Malaysia forever has that love-hate relationship. First they hate you for going there to spend your money as it causes inflation. Next they invite you over to spend since tourist dollars are good money. Personally, whenever I go over to Malaysia, I tend to keep myself more alert. It is common knowledge that Singaporeans are targetted over there and people get robbed of their possessions, from flashy handphones to expensive cars. The stories carried in the newspapers tell of extremely daring robbers, making you part with your valuables in broad daylight. The most extreme case recently was even armed robbers who tried to take the car of a businessman... and gunshots were even fired!! I do not like to go over to Malaysia. Frankly speaking, the shopping is no

Do You Want to Live Forever?

Forever young, I want to be forever young Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever Forever young, I want to be forever young Do you really want to live forever? Forever young - Forever Young by Alphaville Do you really want to live forever? Do you really want eternal life? After pondering this, I think I will pass if given the chance. Eternity is far too long for me. Life is interesting because it ends. Even if promised eternal bliss, let us remember that without comparison, the virtue of something cannot be appreciated. Sort of like the Taoist idea of yin and yang, we need opposites to exist. What is happiness without sadness? What is gain without loss? What is love without hate? What is youth if one does not grow old? What is rich without poor? What is leisure without busyness? What is living without dying?

Will I Get My Promotion?

Was called up for a chit chat session with my boss last Friday and was told that he put my name up to be considered for promotion but the recommendation has to be vetted by the promotions committee and it may not materialise if the committee does not approve. Frankly speaking, I am not excited about getting this promotion. If I got it last year, I would have been ecstatic. It would have been a real acknowledgement of my efforts, my worth to the company. Getting it this year, after 3 years with the company and consistent outstanding performance appraisals, and benchmarking that less deserving but longer serving colleagues had been promoted last year, I think it is only expected... If I should not get this promotion this year, my already low morale is confirmed going to drop lower and make me step up my efforts in looking for a job move.

Gundam Seed Destiny Phase 29 - Fates

From Gundam Seed Destiny Phase 29 - Fates - What are we to do when we find out that our wishes will not be fulfilled? - When we find out that it's been destined? - It's like moving through a maze. - There are always many paths before you, and we always choose one and simply follow it. - You all believe that what's at the end of the path is what you've been wishing for. - And I follow the path in order to confirm the fact that there is nothing for me in the end. - Just who decided it? What did they decide? - It couldn't be helped...But was that really by choice? - Did you really choose it yourself? - Perhaps what we wish for was actually beyond the path that we weren't able to choose? - Time will run out while you ponder. - A path that you did not choose might as well have never existed. - We cannot go back, no matter how much we look back. - We cannot change anything. - All we can do is to keep moving forward into the unforeseeable future. - Some time other than

The Simple Wish of a Man

The Straits Times today gave an update on Jackson Lee, an obese man who weighed 180kg and earn less than $2000 monthly. He had no luck finding a Singaporean wife as they, he said, found him too fat, too ugly and too poor. He ended up approaching marriage agencies and one found him a Vietnamese wife. The 35 year old settle down with a 22 year old Vietnamese factory girl and besides already having a baby, also found renewed goal in life, finding the reason to work hard for. While it is likely that the girl married him to escape poverty and give her folks at home a better life, because of her simple needs in life, the 2 of them do get along. Living simply, they are enjoying each other's company. A happy story to start the year on. Reading it reminds me of the not so long ago yesteryears of arranged marriages. People just got married and made it work out. Mutual respect and appreciating the simple things about each other usually saw couples growing to love each other. The day may come