Sardine Trains

I thought the squeeze on the MRT would end when the price of oil started going south.

But man, was I wrong.

Nowadays I see aunties in purple loitering along the tracks, adding to the congestion on the platforms.

Even though I learnt in science that matter cannot be compressed, we still see them trying to alter rules of physical science by getting commuters to do the impossible.

Perhaps it would interesting to see if we can start a research project to make mankind denser in Singapore so that we can pack more people per carriage.

I also wonder if the people who decided the trains to be bought actually saw how the manufacturers came up with the maximum capacity of the trains? Was it based on volumetric or surface area calculations?

To get the max capacity based on volume would be:

1. Take internal measurements of each carriage - length, breadth and height;

2. Multiply these 3 dimensions and you'll get the volume of the train;

3. Determine the average volume taken by a person (approx 1.6 * 0.5 * 0.5 m);

4. Divide the volume of the train with the volume of person and you'll get the total capacity

Hmm... Perhaps using the the surface area (standing area) of the train carriage would be better since no one can occupy the space on top of another person instead?

Anyway, it'll just be a matter of time that we'll reach the level of "commuter technology" that Japanese commuters have - the willingness and ability to be packed like sardines (without tomato or teriyaki sauce).

I hope I'd have retired by then.

Food for Thought

During my lunch walkabout today, I found an interesting shop just across Chinatown Complex called S'ban Siew Pow.

As I walked past the shop, the thing that stopped me in my tracks was the sight of nicely-browned Portuguese tarts being displayed inside the glass shelves.

Seeing that it was only $1 per piece, I couldn't resist buying a few for my colleagues as well.

Verdict - Good - the fillings were not too sweet and the crust was crunchy. Better than the "branded" ones being sold at the nearby Pearl Centre.

Here's the address: 68 Smith Street.

Of men and women

I nearly bought myself the Rockband drum set and a XBOX driving wheel yesterday at the X08 event at Suntec yesterday.

If not for my good wife, I would have nearly blown $400+ on these two devices of entertainment (and probably gotten hours of fun in return).

I wondered why such electronics had to cost so much - it's quite known that wafer fabrication, the fundamental ingredients of electronic equipment have super-high profit margins of close to 1000% (which was probably why Singapore embarked on its development on a national scale in it).

Then I realised it's because electronics are viewed by men the way that fine apparel and bags are by women - Objects Of Desire that make the heart race, resulting in an endorphin-producing rush when cards are swiped at the point of purchase.

But because men don't spend in the same frequency like women do (maybe once a week on clothes or once a month on bags), economics dictate that prices would be higher given that men buy fewer items over a specific period than women (How many shoes and bags do you see men own at a particular moment in time - one, two? How many of the menfolk actually buy shoes or wallets to match their clothes?).

When women buy a $165 at 15% discount, they claim a savings of $25 but when men get the same discount eg. $25 off the list price of an XBOX driving wheel, why is the cost of the item ie. $140 considered instead?

Something to ponder about, eh?

Pleasure And Pain (PAP)

In light of the latest developments of the unfolding financial crisis, I'd been thinking what drives people to behave the way they do.

Anthony Robbins, the famed motivational speaker (I wonder what happened to him now) wrote in his books that man had two primary motives:

Pleasure ("the pursuit of pleasure") - something that a person would find enjoyable, eg. sex, eating, napping, dreaming , having lots of money etc

Pain ("the avoidance of pain") - something that a person would not want to do and doesn't find enjoyment in eg. exercising, dieting, working, not having enough money etc.

I used to think these two emotions (sometimes displayed as greed and fear, displayed during the Lehman fiasco) had been the only motivational forces in people but it dawned on me last Sunday during my church's sermon that pleasure and pain are subjective to the person concerned.

For example, I know of a colleague who seems to live to run marathons, thriving on the out-of-body experience attained during such events. To me, it was unthinkable to find pleasure there.

But as the old adage goes, "one man's meat is another man's poison", so I thought there might be something more than just pleasure and pain. And I realised what it was last Sunday.

If you consider a Muslim extremist or Israeli terrorist (when Israel was not yet a sovereign country) and try to use the pleasure-pain concept, it'd be hard to explain as death would have been the ultimate "pain" that one can never recover from. What "pleasure" that can be derived from this ultimate sacrifice would have been rendered irrelevant. So, how does one reconcile this?

Conviction would be the likely reason.

Convicted of a "greater good", even it meant paying the ultimate price and "pain" - death.

History has shown many such examples. From firemen who died so others may live to the radicals who "sacrificed" themselves, with hopes of creating a "better world" or elimination of "infidels". No better exemplification could be shown by Jesus who bore the sins of the world on the cross, knowing that the greatest pain that He would have to endure was the separation from His Father. But He still did it, because of people like us.

For average Singaporeans like us, we have also been "convicted" that we need to "painfully" set aside 20% of our salary now so that we would be able to provide ourselves with a "pleasurable" retirement (hopefully not an outmoded concept in 30 years when it's my turn) lifestyle in the future.

So, what have you been seeking in life?

Pleasure or Pain?

Mini Notes that are not so Jubilant now

I'd been reading blogs that rant about the numerous people, particularly the man-on-the-street who'd been allegedly "cheated" by the conniving and scheming financial advisers, relationship managers and sometimes even counter tellers that sold high-risk financial products to housewives, old grandmothers who'd been "robbed" of their life savings.

One of the more prominent bloggers writing, ex-Income chief Tan Kin Lian had espoused reporting these cases as fraud to the Commercial Affairs Dept instead of just complaining online so that it can be acted upon.

Will CAD act? MAS has already adopted a "buyer beware", and it'll probably stay that way if there's no undue external pressures to change their position.

Singaporeans have generally been a molly-coddled lot - complaining to the government about this and that; isn't it about time we took responsibility for our own actions?

Have we been too trusting? Was Grandma cheated by the tellers or did Grandma sign because she heard she could get an additional $50 worth of 'interest'?

When do we start thinking for ourselves?

" If you think the road is not safe, then don't cross;
If you need to cross, look for the traffic light;
If you can't find one, ask for help to cross;
If you trust the help, you can decide to cross;
If the help you get is screwed, who do you blame? "

My "Ah Ba Then" moment

Something's going up again - according to the Energy Market Authority (EMA), electricity bills would go up about 21 per cent on 1 Oct 2008, the highest one-time increase in about seven years.

In a press conference, EMA's CEO, Mr Khoo Chin Hean said that the scope for savings is high considering that power consumption patterns show that 40 per cent of households, from one-room flats to landed properties, use more than the monthly average.

I had a "Ah Ba Then" moment.

I normally don't have the penchant for saying dialects in my blog, but the English language fails to express the "wah lao - even aunties know that" kind of feeling when you read that sentence.

From what highly-trained Maths teachers in the Singapore education had taught me, "average" is the arithmetic mean, and is calculated by adding a group of numbers and then dividing by the count of those numbers. For example, the average of 2, 3, 3, 5, 7, and 10 is 30 divided by 6, which is 5.

So, assuming all Singapore families save 50% on their electricity bills, a family in the "high user" category would still remain a "high user" as the average bill would have fallen, but there would be "scope for savings ... considering that power consumption patterns show that 40 per cent of households, from one-room flats to landed properties, use more than the monthly average", right?

Mathematically speaking, we can't reduce the percentage of families that are above the average, can we?

Any Maths teachers care to comment?

Broken again

My laptop has died on me for the second time in 6 months.

It was getting slower these few weeks and I'd been procrastinating calling the tech support cos there had been several projects that needed clearing.

I guess I've worked it too hard - which goes to show that I too had been down to e grind ;)

Well, time for a break today...

Bellwether of a sinking ship

Well, having a few AIA policies of my own, I am reading with interest about the developments of AIG and one of its subsidiary, AIA.

Latest ST news have claimed that AIG would be 'bailed out' of this situation through the US govt being given an 80% stake, which would be eventually unwound through the orderly sales of AIG's key assets and subsidiaries - AIA being one of them. I wonder if this meant that AIA would eventually be sold off? I wish MAS or AIA could clarify this matter rather than just assure us that our "money is safe" and "sufficient to meet ... obligations".

It didn't really help to see that their CEO, Mark O'Dell leave at this most unopportune time. However one who understands executive functions in this day and age would know that the CEO (together with the CFO) is the one who would have the most comprehensive picture of the financial situation of his company. And hearing that O'Dell "had been planning for some time" his move from AIA to a rival firm was a bit disconcerting to say. Did he know something that others didn't?

The immediate impact would be the one that's felt by the AIA and AIG agents most - their source (and with MAS' regulations towards life insurance, it'd likely their only source) of income cut off at its source (who's going to buy AIA insurance now?). From what I last remembered, AIA has more than 5000 agents in Singapore - assuming 20% are MDRT agents, earning approx $60k worth of commissions per annum, it would result in a net drop of $6M income earnings in Singapore's books. I can see why the govt should be concerned.

I wonder how many AIA policyholders have whole life policies (that are non investment-linked) which derive their bonuses from profits 'generated' through organisational efficiencies and lower claims - it's likely we might not see any non-guaranteed bonuses in the foreseeable future. It'd be a double whammy for those who'd terminated their ILPs because of what was published in ST a couple of years back - they would be gnashing their teeth as well if they realised that ILPs would eventually stand to gain as the economy recovers as the underlying stocks bought increase in value.

I'll definitely be watching the developments unfold - but I doubt I'd be cancelling my policies anytime - But who knows, should the other insurance companies face the same issue (Prudential, Manulife, Aviva, Great Eastern, NTUC etc), you just might catch me in a queue ;)

For those who're interested in knowing more about the Singapore's insurance industry, do ask your agent about M5 and M9 modules - these are required certifications needed to become an insurance agent.

Love that Transcends Boundaries

I read with interest that George Takei, famous for his role as Hikaru Sulu in the original Star Wars series has gotten married at the ripe old age of 71.

It was reported that the gentle-spoken Mr George Takei had been with his 54-year-old partner for 21 years before the question was popped.

It had all the hallmarks of a romantic relationship culminating with marriage - with the exception that his partner was a Brad Altman (sorry, no brides at this stellar wedding here).

There's gonna be lots of articles writing on this so I'll leave you to google around.

Well, in the spirit of Star Trek, he's definitely going to where no man has gone boldly before... (and I also don't want to know)

Hooked on Blood

If you've read my Facebook wall lately, you'll be able to see that I've been busy lately with one particular application - Elven Blood.

For those who had been brought up with printed fantasy classics such as "Choose your own adventure" or "Lone Wolf" type of adventure games, you'd understand how easily you can get engrossed on this app like I have.

This is how the game generally goes: You start off in an idyllic village called Windy Hill and start collecting stuff, fighting monsters through quests along the way until you gain enough experience and stuff to proceed to other locations (I'm now at Clairemonferan Arctic stocking up on Silver Edges). You can also engage in "wars" with other fellow "Elves", adding a personal vendetta element to the mix as well.

However, there are limits to where you can go and how fast you can go, due to the number of available moves (stamina) and stuff that you need (requirements) at any point in time. One of the most challenging requirements (in my opinion) would be the party size in order to qualify to reach some of the harder locations (my next requirement would be a party of 13 to reach the Elder Tree Crater) once you've mastered the basics. This requires you to get friends to come on board your party - fortunately, there's several forums that you can tap on to get these "friends" quickly.

I thought it was quite a cool game and was sucked in rather quickly. It's been quite a challenge to resist the "one more 'Do Quest' click" or "another 240 seconds to go before recouping 2 stamina" addiction.

If you like fantasy gaming, you'd be Hooked on Blood.

Since you're doing so, why not join my party first?

Cow or Cart

It's getting damn crowded in the MRT.

Ever since the double whammy of rising fuel prices and erection of multiple ERP gantries, the trains are getting harder to get on, much less expect to reach the desired destination in time. Personal space is reduced with reprieve hardly in sight.

I'm sure our Transport Minister is glad to know as he cruises to office in his preferred mode of transport (whatever that may be) that the measures implemented have been resoundingly successful.

Without a doubt, one who aspires the Singapore Dream of owning his/her own car, instead of sharing one with a number of strangers through a strange scheme, will gladly leave his treasured possession at home and go to work via public transport. If you look at the statistics and rationale, why not? Why let your car get stuck in the gridlock or risk getting into an accident when it is being driven around on days that you need to work (I initially thought weekdays, but I realise there's more people working every single day of the week)? Leaving your treasured car at home, wiping and washing the dust off during your free weekends should be the best way to appreciate the true value of the Singapore Car.

Just as I wrote as the title of this entry, do you want to take the cow (you can ride in it alone or with a friend) or you can take the cart (sure, you can enjoy the ride with more people, but it might be a bit more squeezed, not to say uncomfortable). Whatever your choice, it's going to be a slow ride to your chosen destination.

As for me, I just want to be left in peace as I take the train to drool as I sleep or write meaningless stuff such as this blog entry. Regardless of the fact that my dear wife and son run the gauntlet every weekday for his classes, which will continue for the next few years until he can appreciate the value and benefits that public transport brings as he comes of age for the Singapore Education.

That, of course is another story...

Not a game anymore

This week I hold the fate of a person's life in my hands.

I doubt it's a matter of life and death, but it'll be close to that - to choose one of the two selected interviewees to be my new support officer. Both have their strengths and having only budget for one, a choice has to be made.

My director would be sitting in for the second and last interview, so I guess I can shift the responsibility to him to decide on who to select to a certain extent. However I'm pretty sure that I would bear the consequence since the person eventually reports directly to me.

In the past, I used to play games such as Romance of Three Kingdoms in which I was able to ascertain the characteristics of recruits to determine their potential and capabilities in an easy to understand format (zero to a hundred); No such luck in real life, though.

The only things that could be considered were the person's educational qualifications, grades, interview performance, just to name a few. I have no doubt that many people would have conducted such interviews and are probably thinking why I've lost sleep over this.

Well, I guess I'm putting myself into their shoes - if I were them, I doubt I'd appreciate someone doing my interview with little or no diligence and then choosing at his/her own fancy. Stay tuned for the next post when the decision gets made.

I've also got an Exec post to be filled, so that'll be another story to tell...

End of the Lee and Lee saga

Ms Lee has apologised publicly on Friday - so marks the end of the ping pong saga. Or did this mark the start of something new?

It was interesting to read today's article and how three other MPs (Dr Bala and two Teos) came in to assuage the public.

It reminded me of a story of the clam and the stork (or was it a mussel and a crane?). Anyway whatever species these two animals were from, the story went that the clam was happily sunbathing, soaking in the sunlight when a stork swopped in and grabbed hold of the clam's flesh to have a delicious snack. Instinctively, the clam clamped shut and as a result, started suffocating the stork.

The clam would not release its grip on the stork as it would mean its end; Likewise, the stork would not release the clam as it would be suffocated to death. So the hours dragged on and eventually a passing fisherman spotted the two exhausted animals, took them home and made a nice meal out of them.

Fishing, anyone?

F1 comes to Calvary

Caeden and Topaz with e make-shift f1 track during twinklers class.

A happy snapper

Lunch location today - Bugis junction new food court.

First shot from new k850i

Our little bookworm

A ping-pong story of Lee and Lee

Timing is everything, so a popular adage goes.

With Ms Lee's (now famous for her "unpopular and insensitive" sacking of Singapore's table tennis coach, Mr Lee.

Through this episode, what lessons in timing can we learn in terms of management? If your sales team had exceeded expectations for this year's target, would you dismiss the sales manager even if you'd decided on his "fate" before the results were announced?

Would you continue to implement what has been "decided beforehand" or is a re-evaluation necessary? If you did a reversal, what would be the potential impact of your reputation of being a decisive and determined leader? How do you decide? What are your priorities and criterion for decisions?

There was also another article on today's paper about pregnant mums on timing as well - on how to determine the right timing to inform employers of their pregnancy.

Perhaps the best time would be 3 months and 1 day, when the mandatory legal protection of pregnant moms kicks in?

Stay-at-Home Moms (SAHM)

In my opinion, a very glaring omission from this year's rally had been the issue of SAHMs.

Having a SAHM at home, I can appreciate the sacrifices that my wife made to stay at home with Caeden (though we're still not sure how much he appreciates it).

Frankly, raising a family, at least a middle-class one is not easy in Singapore. Sacrifices were made and budgeting was done on a need rather than a want basis (though I sometimes make exceptions). "Struggling in SIN" instead of "Living the Singapore Dream" is often the catchphrase of the day.

But watching him grow up is something that we would not want to miss. My mom was a SAHM-equivalent (aka housewife) when my sis and I were growing up and we did appreciate (abeit grudgingly) the discipline and love that she'd showered on us. She's moved on to teaching in kindergarten when we were older and is now raising another generation (including her grandsons).

Back to the topic - why I said SAHMs had been a glaring omission.

Taking the metaphor of a bee-hive, which bee is of the greatest importance - the worker, the queen or the males?

The workers that fend off attacks, collect honey, tend the young, the queen that lays the eggs or the males that fertilise the next generation?

I'd say it's all three - each playing their vital role in the hive. Without the queen, there'd be no eggs for the next generation (the labourers labour in vain). Without the workers, the queen will not get food to produce the eggs. Without the males, there would not be opportunity for the bee species to obtain genetic diversity to ensure its long-term sustainability.

Likewise, if the emphasis is overly placed on the Singapore "worker bee", would the "queen bee" die out altogether? Or have we been outsourcing the "queen bee" function already?

So which role do you play or want to play?

Creating Something out of Nothing

I had a department retreat with the team yesterday.

We were trying to make sense out of what we had been doing for the last few months and attempted to develop some long-term strategies to justify refusing to take on some of the myriad stuff that was thrown our way.

But oh, what a challenge that was :)

Chunghwa Internet?

Lately, I get a strange name on my Treo's 3G network title.

When my pda gets connected to the Singtel network, it displays 'chunghwa internet'.

I googled Chunghwa and found out it's a Taiwanese company.

So, why is this name on Singtel's network?

FaceBook Fun

Facebook is fun.

I've only been on it for the past 4 days and have found long-lost friends that I thought I might never see again.

The wonders of technology.

Hunting Season

Sick and tired of cleaning lizard poo on the floors and tables, we decided to get traps to catch them.

I'd set up 2 traps - one on the dining counter where they seemed to gather (by evidence of the numerous poos) and the kitchen floor, expecting to catch them all in one fell swoop. To my disappointment, only two puny ones were caught.

To add insult, the washing machine squashed (trust me, it's not a pretty sight) one large one while it was spinning and we killed another under our massage chair.

So the latest kill count stands at one big, three small.

Will be setting up another two tonight to see if more can be caught.

I'm on Facebook (finally)

I just got myself a Facebook account today (I also got a Twitter account too)

"About time", Ivy said.

When I joined, I never realised I knew so many people :)

So, join me, won't you?

Review of Nokia 5610 camera function

After a few weeks of experimenting with my nokia 5610, I'd discovered some quirks that I've not been able to overcome (up to this point).

1. The autofocus feature tends to focus towards infinity and not at the subject in question. I'm not sure if it's the way I use the half-depress button before taking the pic or the camera. But most of my pics taken this way has subjects out of focus all the time.

2. I dislike, or more strongly stated, detest the way the taken pictures are numbered in the 5610. In my old k750i phone, the pics are numbered based on the sequence taken and don't revert to previous numbers, eliminating the risk of pics being overwritten or wrongly categorised.

The 5610 blatantly resets its numbering to zero whenever I transfer all my pics out; When I delete the first pic eg. Pic0000 and leave the second pic Pic0001 in the camera, it would happy write the next pic as Pic0000 before proceeding to write the following one as Pic0002. This frustrates me to no end as filing of pics based on the title of pics.

Call me old skool but I think I should be given a choice of how the numbering should be done, especially when I decided to get it because of the camera.

I've the mind to get my wife to trade in this phone, get the trade-in value to get her new phone since I've still got my Treo 500v.

Japanese House in Singapore?

Having worked at my office (near People's Park) for a couple of months already, I noticed that there was an interesting house located at the side of Pearl Hill (or Terrace - whatever that place is called) that looked like a Japanese temple or house.

Last week, I decided to walk up to find out for sure.

Here are some pics taken on the way up.

It was a bit of an anti-climax when I found out that it was the office of a consulting house - but hey, if you didn't walk up, you'll never know.

Here are some pics of what I thought it might have been:

Kyoto's Kiyomizu-dera? Silly me.

Inside the Singapore UFO

One of my first shots using my new Nokia 5610.

I was having a meeting at the Supreme Court (no, I was not attending any court cases) and we went up to the viewing gallery when I took this shot.

Looks nice, doesn't it?

Fever again

Caeden ran a fever last night.

This morning, Ivy brought him to the doctor. Seems like a lung infection again.

Sigh. What a way to grow up.

New Bed for Caeden

Caeden got himself a new bed on Sunday.

Not just an ordinary bed, but a Thomas train bed.

My wife discovered this bed was offered at $189 at Spotlight and we went to get it last Sat.

There were also Dora the Explorer, Elmo and Cars sets; Caeden wasn't into Cars and we thought Elmo was fine for a toddler but not a primay school kid, so we got the Thomas train set.

The only problem was that the mattress support rails on this bed were quite wide apart and there was no mattress included.

Doing some preliminary research, we found that a single-sized mattress costs abt $200. IKEA had one with wooden backing at $189, so off we went to Tampines.

When we got there, we discovered that the 'bed' in question was more of a Ottoman cum dayseat than a bed.

Fortunately we found a spring mattress there (at IKEA) at $69 and paid $15 for a couple of plywood pieces at Art Friend (we went Bras Basah) to support the mattress.

So, after 2 days of buying, the bed was assembled and ready for 'occupation'.

Was it worth the effort?

Average market rate : $400-500 (plain bed)
Total cost of our bed : $273 (Thomas theme)

25% savings - not too bad considering it's a character bed. Heard from Ivy that most cost above $400+.

Caeden has been sleeping nicely in his new bed for the past few nights and seems to be quite happy with it.

I just hope this bed can last until he gets into primary school.

Spending adulthood satisfying childhood desires

I just read an article on a man who spent the last 10 years satisfying his desires that were not sufficiently fulfilled during childhood:

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/27943

Even as I laughed at some of the things that he did (the psychologist stated that it was a condition known as Chronic Unfulfilled Desire Syndrome, which affects a person's ability to let go of childhood fixations and embrace maturity), I realise that I might be one of those afflicted who're also afflicted with this condition.

I always loved trains.

I never got them when I was young so I'd decided to let Caeden enjoy something that I didn't have when I was young. Wonder if there's anything wrong with that?

As I get new handphones, laptops, PDAs, XBOXes, Playstations, I wonder if they're just newer replacements of toys that I used to have (eg. my handheld games and Apple ][ computer).

Hmm... I remembered I also wanted a dog, hamsters, a model battleship, speedboat etc. (but my wife would never let me get them).

As the popular adage states, "when boys turn to men, their toys just get bigger".

Nothing new under the sun

When King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes that nothing was new under the sun, I think he was right.

When I was turning in my sleep last night, I thought about the things that happened in my life and at work.

I wondered if it was my Prudential training that I've been getting better at detecting subtle signs and signals to notice things. In the past, I'd been quite oblivious even when the situation was right under my nose.

Of course, some things cannot be said online; in the past I couldn't care less.

Getting better or is it part of getting older?

Locked in, locked out

Caeden got locked in the toilet today.

Yep, not a "nearly", but GOT locked. I just came home and was going to bathe when it happened.

As I was taking the towel from the rack outside, the little boy just walked into the toilet, closed the door and latched it down.

I nearly freaked out.

What did a 2.5 year old boy know about closing a door? Well, we found it out the hard way, sort of.

Ivy and I were trying instruct him through the closed door on how he could take the stool in the toilet and try to open the door. I stood there thinking of how the door could be opened, and was preparing for the worst - forcing the door open.

Fortunately after some non-destructive prying, the latch opened and a smiley boy greeted our eyes, blissfully (or maybe not) unaware of the risk that he'd been in.

CEO tips

As part of my job, I have the privilege to work with senior management of various organisations.

Yesterday, we went to seek advice on some of office matters from one of our board members who's a respected CEO.

We had a great discussion and the topic of what a good CEO should master to have good leadership of his organisation.

He said that a CEO should always have the human resource and financial figures of the organisation at the back of his hand. These were the source and blood of the organisation and are the two most critical levers that a CEO should control in order to maintain his leadership position.

Comments?

Caeden takes a dip

Since Caeden was hospitalised after the cruise that we took in feb this year, we'd not gone for swimming until last sat.

It was a bright and sunny morning; and frankly we were quite eager to go.

We had been a little worried as he'd been coughing that morning but decided to carry on since we'd promised him and he seemed quite excited to leave.

So off we went to the SAFRA yishun country club.

Ivy went to do some laps whilst I was left to tend him at the wading pool.

It was also the first time that we used the Olympus camera; I was quite impressed at the quality of the shots and ability of the camera's waterproof capability.

I managed to get some good shots of him at play; in particular his favourite hobby: blowing water bubbles.

Our little boy pointed excitedly at the slides, which we went on subsequently and had a great time.

A new phone at last

After many moons and sleepless nights, I finally and eventually got (not decide to get) a Nokia 5610 (the flashy red one).

This phone wasn't even on my initial shortlist of phones.

I chose this phone due to the following reasons
1. It had a 3.2mp camera of good quality
2. It could be used to surf the net at 3G speeds
3. It was offered by M1 at $68
4. I was able to trade-in my K750i at $40 excluding charger
5. I could pay the remaining $28 using my M1 bonus cash
6. Effectively the phone was FOC
7. The current trade-in value of this phone was $200

Assuming I manage to keep this phone in working order until the contract is over, I could potentially "earn" from getting this phone.

So I bid farewell to my trusty k750i (albeit unwillingly since it'd helped document my boy's growth from baby to toddler) that had been with me over the past 2 years (I had over 1000 pictures taken on this phone) and received my new 5610.

Singapore security

I had an interesting discussion over Singapore's security yesterday.

My colleague said that over the past few years, there seemed to be a growing complacency in Singaporeans' attitude to take security for granted. She also raised her concern over a growing paranoia on her own life when she travels around.

This was in light of the recent murder at ang mo kio; where she used to stay.

Coupled with e recent spate of security lapses over Mas, e Subordinate escape and ICA fiasco, it's increasing proof that we cannot assume that crimes or terrorist acts will cease just because Singapore is known to be a "hard" target.

Even though our Home Minister claims that e system is robust, we must never forget that it's the people who run the system day after day that matter; ironically these are e ones who are often overworked, underpaid and the first to be blamed when something fails.

If the gatekeeper is sacked, who'll take care of the city?

Test MMS submission on M1 from k750i

Shot of my boy

Caeden was caned

Caeden was caned yesterday for climbing up the cabinet.

It might sound normal if the cabinet wasn't 1.2m high.

I still feel amazed abt how a little boy like him can use e seams between the drawers to climb the cabinet like a rock-climber to scale it.

We need to keep a closer eye on him from now on.

I wrestled with crocodiles last night

I wrestled with crocodiles last night.

It sounds strange but it was even stranger when it was part of a management course that I attended in my dreams.

I was wrestling with a 300kg croc and having difficulty handling it. I used a lifeline to call the crocodile hunter's son (yes I know how old he is) who dispatched it and easily.

Morale of this training? As managers, we'll inevitably run into problems that we cannot handle; knowing how, when, what and who to delegate is part of good management.

That's what I learnt in my dream.

My MMS works

After a quick test, I've discovered that I can now blog by sending an email thru MMS to Blogger. Sua-ku u may ask - if you are not aware of my current predicament.

It's all because of the 2 SIM cards that I'm holding.

For those who've not been following my postings, I have M1 as my mobile line and Singtel broadband as my internet connection. After getting my 500v, everytime I wanted to go online; I had to take out my M1 card and put in e Singtel card. AND I'd to do that when I blog.

Surely there should be a better way than this.

So I experimented and discovered that sending an sms to e blog's private email (without sending to go@blogger.com) works as well.

Now I can blog thru both of my cards. Hopefully it'll reduce the number of SIM swaps.

Test email submission from Treo 500v

Test submission to Blogger via Singtel broadband for Google email (whew!)

Golfing

This week, I met two separate groups of people talking abt golf. One group spoke passionately about the sport and how it gave fulfillment in their lives whilst the other said how it was used to generate funds to support worthy causes or assisted in their business dealings.

Golf - an end by itself or a means to an end?

Personally I tried it a couple of years back but it didn't really appeal to me much. Short of saying that it took 4 hours to chase a little ball around a huge manicured lawn and putting it into different holes in different sections, I don't know what to think of it.

My technological umbilical cord

For some unknown reason, my work computer died on me last Friday. This morning e IT department told me that it'll only be ready by end of this week.

My umbilical cord, the invisible chain broke.

I was free. Or was I?

I wandered around like a lost zombie, deprived of purpose and contact in the virtual world.

Feeding only on sustenance provided by my treo, I'd survived a torturous morning until a replacement laptop was given to me at 5pm.

By then i'd been a near wreck. Gratefully I logged in, checked my mails before logging off to go home.

For better or for worse, I wonder how many people will actually enjoy being unplugged from work and the internet once plugged in?

3.5G coverage confirmed

It's confirmed.

I just went into e mrt tunnel after bishan and saw e 3G symbol disappear; my phone lost the signal and changed to G.

So for those who have BB on mobile, u would probably see a dropped signal and reduced speeds as well as e network will drop out from hsdpa or umts.

3.5G doesn't work in mrt

It seems that Singtel's HSDPA or 3.5G network doesn't work in e mrt.

I used to surf using my K750i but this was limited to GPRS speeds.

Lately I got a Treo 500v which supports UMTS to replace e K750i as using GPRS was simply too slow. After a couple of days of use, it seems that whenever e train goes into e tunnel after bishan station, e network indicator would switch from 3G to G. This meant that e 3G connection was lost.

I wonder if it's my phone or that 3G is not supported underground?

Caeden takes a dump

Our boy did his first (unsupervised) dump on his potty today :)

Sparing the gory details, Ivy and I were really pleased as this marked another milestone of his life towards total independence.

*sob* Our boy is growing up...

City comes home

After one and a half months at the workshop, we got our car (Honda City) back after the accident.

I had heard some funny sounds coming out of the engine compartment on hard acceleration and my wife has told me today that the car still swerves to the left on hard braking so I think I'll need to send it down to the workshop again for a check sometime this week.

Hopefully, we'll be able to find all the potential problems and get them rectified before the 6-months' warranty ends.

ERP rates going up *again*

ERP rates are going up again with 5 new gantries to be switched on along the Singapore River (Water taxis anyone?).

As a public citizen, I thought some of the arguments were a little weak and needed further rationalisation and explanation.

1. LTA has claimed that things like the ERP rates are excluded from the freeze (due to bad economy) and that traffic congestion, left unchecked, will have a negative effect on the economy.

Questions: I wonder how traffic congestion increases with a worsening economy - would people buy more cars? When fuel prices are getting higher, would people drive more? Is there any *proven* correlation that the economy is affected by traffic congestion?

2. Traffic in the CBD is slowing down, claims LTA. So LTA came up with a new way to measure speed - the 85th percentile method - this is when motorists experience smooth traffic at least 85 percent of the time on roads that have ERP gantries.

Questions: Knowing that traffic congestion in CBD is increasing, why on earth are we building our IR and enlarging the Marina Bay office area? Given ceteris paribus, there would be a greater number of vehicles going into and out of the CBD once these mega-projects are completed. But then again, u.urban planning is not LTA's problem right?

Prediction: Since ERP has been already implemented on East-West bound roads such as ECP, Esplanade Drive, Eu Tong Sen, North Bridge, we'll expect River Valley Road to be next.

Luckily, I'm not affected as I have taken the Government's advice into mind and take public transport.

Unfortunately, with the increase in ERP rates, it is likely that motorists would shift to take MRT to work (thereby increasing waiting times and greater frustration when taking public transport).

Can LTA also adopt the 85th percentile method for passengers of public transport as well? This should be the standard that supports passengers to find seats 85% of the time.

Trains/buses should also arrive punctually 85% of the time set according to time schedules (eg. arrive 8am at specified bus-stop - arrive 8.15am at interchange - take 8.25am MRT train, reach office at 8.45am) rather than interval schedules (bus coming in 10mins, MRT coming in 4 mins).

I googled and found an interesting article - will write a bit more about it later - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_congestion

I'm SMART at last

After weeks of research, I finally got myself (or rather my wife bought on my behalf) a Treo 500v ($299) at the PC show yesterday. My wife also got herself the waterproof Olympus camera at $499.

Instead of a Sony Ericsson K660i, K850i, Samsung i450, U700, I'd finally settled on a smartphone instead since I thought it was good value-for-money.

Perhaps I'll upgrade my cameraphone once my contract ends.

Old still works

after some testing it seems that my k750i is able to use e singtel broadband card as well. although it's not as fast as e 3g network, it still does e job quite nicely. in fact this is e first post that i'm writing thru e hp. perhaps e style of writing would differ from e normal pc one. stay tuned cos i'll be going to e pc show this afternoon.

3G terminology - UMTS\HSDPA\HSUPA

What is UMTS/WCDMA?
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) -- also known as Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) -- is an international 3G standard established by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). It is an advanced and efficient wireless technology being introduced worldwide that uses Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS), and both Frequency Division (FDD) and Time Division Duplexing (TDD), depending on the frequency assignment.

As a spread-spectrum technology, UMTS is designed to support the 3G evolution needs of Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and other, wireless network operators. GSM, the most widely used cellular access technology with over one billion users, is available worldwide.

Peak data rates of up to 384 kbps can be achieved depending upon use and the network construction. UMTS radio technology is an evolution of CDMA technology first introduced to the market in the mid 1990’s. UMTS/WCDMA is under the auspices of the 3GPP, the Third Generation Partnership Program, a consortium of 437 operators and vendors worldwide.

What is HSDPA?
HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) is the next generation of the UMTS technology. HSDPA is an add-on solution to the 3GPP releases specifications. HSDPA employs new techniques in the protocol and channel structure to achieve theoretical data rates of up to 14.4Mbps. Another advantage of HSDPA is its backwards compatibility with UMTS.

What is HSUPA?
HSUPA(High Speed Uplink Packet Access) is another release to the evolving 3GPP standards. HSUPA employs an extremely efficient procedure for sending data on the uplink channel. The theoretical speed for data on the uplink is 5.76Mbps and the downlink will achieve HSDPA theoretical speeds of 14.4Mbps

When working side-by-side, an HSDPA/HSUPA network will benefit from increased transfer speeds allowing for a richer and more involving multimedia experience for the end users.

UPLINK/DOWNLINK GPRS Time slot dependant/53.6Kbps UMTS 128Kbps/384Kbps HSDPA 384Kbps/7.2Mbps HSUPA 2Mbps/7.2Mbps

Asia & Europe: UMTS: 2100 MHz GSM/GPRS: 900 & 1800 MHz North America: UMTS: 800 & 1900 MHz GSM/GPRS: 800 & 1900 MHz

HSDPA/HSUPA is fully backward compatible with UMTS and GPRS networks. Customers can roam between 195 countries on over 500 GSM, GPRS and UMTS networks worldwide providing access virtually anywhere worldwide. Users can move between GSM, GPRS and UMTS coverage areas without dropping connections or losing access to their network.

Users are always connected, always on-line. Once a connection has been made, information can be sent and received without delay.

Extensive authentication and encryption algorithms make it virtually impossible for unauthorized users to capture and decipher messages. The UMTS Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) card stores authentication information and security data to enable applications such as mobile banking, prepaid service activation and control, directory services and information services.

Source: http://www.novatelwireless.com/technology/hsdpa-hsupa-umts.html

SE k660i

I tried the Singtel Broadband on Mobile on my colleague's Nokia Navigator handphone today and it seems to work.

Perhaps I'll get the Sony-Ericsson k660i - since the trade-in value is $150 :)

Caeden goes to the dentist

Caeden went to the dentist for the first time last Saturday.

The decision came because we kept hearing him cry and kept touching his left cheek.

Not sure if there might be decayed teeth or he might be teething, we decided that a trip to the dentist was in order.

Ivy found a "child-friendly" dentist at United Square and booked an appointment for him.

So off we went.

When I first walked in, my first impression was "okay, so what's the big deal".

Amusingly, the dentist walked out wearing a flowerly (read "child-friendly") coat instead of the white coat that we normally see when we go to the dentist.

When we walked into the dentist room, I noticed it was quite cheery looking.

But that did not remove the fear from Caeden. Nothing could stop him from screaming and refusing to open his mouth (likely posing a dilemma for him - to scream, opening his mouth or keep shut).

So, we only got the dentist to do a visual inspection (with Caeden screaming and struggling valiantly) and got some advice on how to clean Caeden's teeth.

For this momentous occasion, we were charged $37. I was thankful that they didn't charge even more cos it seems that a visit to this dentist costs approx $100.

Wonder if fear of dentists is genetically determined?

New handphone

With my M1 contract just past the 20th month mark, I'd been thinking of changing my handphone.

It's not that my current handphone isn't working (in fact it's still functioning beautifully - a Sony-Ericsson k750i), but since I'm "entitled" to change one in order for them to retain me as a "loyal customer", why not?

I use the camera function more than I use the phone (taken more than 1000 pics since my boy was born). The 2-megapixel camera showed its limitations occasionally and I think it's time for an upgrade.

I'm currently reviewing the G900, recently launched by Sony-Ericsson as well and it's looks like it'll fit my bill.

HSDPA, Wifi, Bluetooth, touch-screen and the works all bundled up into a candy-bar hp weighing less than 100g, why not?

Managing Conflict

I was caught in between a two-person (whose names cannot be revealed to protect their privacy) yesterday.

When two people have differing views (and vehemently sticking to them) and get into each other's path, it is inevitable that sparks will fly.

And it usually takes a third party to help (or forced to help) resolve it.

How the conflict is resolved by the third party will gauge the person's competency in dealing with relationships and can be a good gauge of the potential of his management skills.

I told my wife how I tried (emphasis on tried) to resolve this conflict and she was "relatively impressed" given the constraints that I had in dealing with it.

Round-robin Flu

For the last weeks, the flu/fever/cough bug has been circulating in my family almost round-robin style.

Caeden caught it first and spread to me (most likely caused by coughing in my face whenever I carried him). Ivy got it when she shared a spoon of dragonfruit jelly with me.

Today, it seems like I'm going to be down with the flu whilst Ivy just recovered from a fever that had been hounding her for the past few days.

Short of eating antibiotics to curb this epidemic, I wonder if there's any end to this bug.

I told Ivy that we were so prone because our family is close - if I didn't carry Caeden or Ivy didn't share my spoon, we'll most likely not spread this bug.

The sacrifices we make for family and love :P

Goosh - the unofficial Google shell

For those who're relatively experienced in using shell commands instead of the "traditional" web browser interfaces, you might want to try Goosh, the unofficial Google shell.

http://goosh.org/

Intel, Belkin Pushing Ozmo, the Wi-Fi-Based Bluetooth Killer

Ozmo, a spanking new startup backed by Intel and partnered with Belkin, will demo its new Wi-Fi-based Bluetooth competitor at Computex on Tuesday 3 Jun 2008.

The system, which is the central part of Intel’s Cliffside concept, uses current Wi-Fi hardware to create secondary networks that connect with peripherals built with its new transceiver. The transceiver will have a power draw comparable to Bluetooth, but its biggest perk is that it’ll support enough bandwidth for the long, long overdue high-quality media streaming that the 'tooth could never deliver.

Intel claims that this tech could allow up to eight secondary connections (which would mean eight wireless peripherals at once) as well as a concurrent connection to a standard 802.11x network, all on existing Wi-Fi hardware. It looks like anyone running current-gen Intel wireless adapters can expect to be able to connect with Ozma chip-equipped accessories with what essentially amounts to a driver upgrade.

There aren’t any Cliffside-enabled devices on the market yet, but Intel and Belkin have enough resources and market presence to give the system a pretty good chance at catching on.

First APSN committee meeting

Through an initiative by my former office, I was given a chance to serve on the APSN (Association of Persons with Special Needs) Board.

So, after an interview with Dr Francis Chen, I was kindly offered a position on the APSN CFA (Centre for Adults) subcommittee to get my feet wet.

So, I attended the first meeting yesterday and it was an eye-opener into the world of community services for me.