Monday...blues

Why does Monday have to come after a Sunday? Why can't we have Sunday... then sunday and sunday again ?? And never have to get back to work ??? Why do we even work anyway, since the money is barely enough to keep me alive, and all that I do is just drone work that doesn't utilise half of what I'm even capable of ???

Which reminds me, I'm like a CPU doing loops when I'm capable of higher clock speed...

Nuff said...

Ridin - Classic & 86

Cool song ...

ridin songs
free mp3s | free songs

Nuff said. Enjoy.

...a must watch...

Hahaa... I should learn to bathe like that!



Nuff Said

...the 50 years bossanova concert in the esplanade concert hall...

It was fantastic... some of the songs featured ...



And Marcos Valle ... with his composition summber Samba, So nice or some call it Samba de verao



Another track here Bye Bye Brazil composed by : Roberto Menescal



Somehow i think bossa music is good for our tropics...

Nuff said.

...haven't been blogging

Yeah I have been lazy. Got other stuff to do other than blog, so got to settle them first.
Anyway, now that I'm free this morning, I decide to check in on some of the literally cooler stuff I've gotten the past few months.

Work sucks as usual... so I won't blog on that. Besides it will probably bore the reader to death... in case you wanna know how's work, look in the mirror and you'll know how i feel :)

anyway... the gadget market has been quite cool lately. Back in march I got myself one of these...



my take on this ??? its a good mobile PC if you're BROWSING on the go... I won't recomend these babies for working, they can't do too processing to deal in the raw work. Besides the batteries die too quick for any productive work to be done. Unless of couse you are desperate.

I use mine mainly for browsing. Reading in bed, watchin movies and surfing. I don't work on it and I don't recommend you do either. Its way too small to work on.


Next on my list... is the sony ebook reader...


This is for the reader buff only... at 300 USD, this pretty baby is one sleek book. Other than that, if you were thinking of using it to listen to mp3s or view pictures, (which are the other functions that are available on it), don't even bother. its crap.



However, if you take 300USD, divide that by the vast number of (free) ebooks available online, and considering that some of the hardcover versions of the current bestsellers are avail. at almost 40 to 60 pop. All I need is just to read 5 books to break even.



In fact this month alone I've already read 7 books and on to my 8th. Granted they are not all bestsellers, this baby really makes me read a lot more. One other plus... it helps me sleep when the book is boring enuf.



Out of 5 stars, I'd grade it ,
5 stars for something to put you in bed at night.
4 stars for the battery life.
and negative 2 stars for the mp3 and greyscale photos.



If you want an mp3 player and photos, get the iphone or itouch instead. This ain't for you.

Nuff said.

another great clip...

Check this out...



Nuff Said

Britain's Got Talent Micheal Jackson stunt...

A very popular clip on youtube for a MJ stunt...



If you enjoyed that... here is the semifinal



And on with the Finals...



:) I don't know if they won... probably...

The music in the first clip was remixed by PunjabMC - Tigerstyle - Nachna Onda Nei

the stut-stut-stuttering malaysian information minister...

Before the malaysian elections took place, (in which the ruling party) suffered a major defeat, there were protests in the streets for a democratic and fair elections...

On the day of the elections, the ex-information minister was interviewed by BBC and tried hopelessly to defend their political e-e-erection process. HaaHaa Haaa... Nice...



Transcript of Malaysia's Information Minister's interview with Al Jazeera News on the Bersih Protest.

Minister: I commend yo-yo-your journalists trying to project and exaggerate more than what actually happened. That-that-that-that's it. We are lusting at the and I-I congratulate your journalists behaving like an actor, very good actor...

Reporter: As you say that, sir, we're watching scenes of protesters being sprayed by chemical-filled water!

Minister: YA! I am watching! I'm here! Is not that...You...You've been trying... trying to do it this - to do this everywhere but in Malaysia people are lust at you, you know? We know our police had lust our colleague had have er have allowed the procession to go to the Istana Negara, you know? Do police, first police, like, they handle them, they attack them, they... police don't, don't, don't fire anybody?

Reporter: Our correspondent came back to the office, sir, with chemicals in his eyes!

Minister: You-you-you-you are here with the idea, you are trying to project, what is your mind! You think that we Pakistan, we are Burma, we are Myanmar. Everything you-you are thinking! WE ARE DIFFERENT! We are totally different!

Reporter: Well unfortunately when you refuse to let people protest, it does appear so.

Minister: Ya ya we are not like you! You have early perception, you come here, you want to project us like undemocratic country. This a democratic country!

Reporter: So why can't people protest then, if it's a democratic country?

Minister: YES, PEOPLE PROTEST! People do... first they protest. We are allowing protest, and they have demonstrated. But we just trying to disperse them, and then later they-they-they don't disperse, but later our police compromise. They have compromised and allowed them to proceed to Istana Negara! Police, our police have succeeded in handling them gently, right? Why don't you report that and you take the opposition, someone from opposition party you ask him to speak. You don't think from the government, right?

Reporter: Why did you not break up these protests...

Minister: Pardon? Pardon? Pardon?

Reporter: Why did you not break up these protests more peacefully?

Minister: I can't hear you! I can't hear you!

Reporter: Why did you not break up these protests more peacefully?

Minister: No we-we are! We... this protest illegal! We don't want..this ...NORMALLY...the demostration end up with the....you know hello

Reporter: OK, so let me return to my former question. Why is this protest illegal?

Minister: YA! It's a illegal protest because we have the erection in Malaysia. It's no-no point of having a protest! We are allowing we have every erection every five years never fail! They are not our like, like Myanmar, not like other country. And, and you are helping this. You Al-Jazeera also is helping this, this forces. The, you know, these forces who are not in passion, who don't believe in democracy! Right?

Reporter: ok, many thanks for joining us.

Minister: al, YA you Al-Jazeera, this is Al-Jazeera attitude. Right?

Reporter: and to some other news now, Mymamr's detainees...

当你孤单你会想起谁

a remix of an old hit... currently available in singapore...

Honest mistakes... Really!!! ....

Frankly, I make honest mistakes at work every day... who doesn't ???

Let me quote you an example: Just the other day, my client ordered a sardine curry puff, so I picked up a puff and plonked it into the paper bag.

Unknowingly, it was a malicious chicken puff. (they all look the same, safe for a coloured dot)

My customer paid for it and left. After taking a bite out of the puff, she came back and complained that I had to give her a refund or give her another piece since she ordered a chicken curry puff instead of a sardine one.

So in true Singaporean flavour, I told her... "Aiyah, miss, it was an honest mistake ... lets move on..."

"do u want lime juice to go with that as well ???"

Nuff said...

slo mo cam...

Who doesn't want to be Paris Hilton's BFF got to be either lying, kidding or joking.
Thats because she's looking for a new best friend. How anyone can resist is totally beyond me.



Go http://parisbff.com/ for more info...

Ever wonder what happens if your eyes can slow things down to 80 times of a second ???
This is what happens!!! Enjoy!


Slowed Down Camera - 80x Slower! - New Technology! - The best bloopers are here

cat welfare before national security ?

I saw this while along the corridors at toa payoh lor 1 recently.



the first thing that came to my mind was this...



in case you didn't know... Mas Selamat was the terrorist head who limp-ed out of a detention centre on a weekday afternoon, while going for a toilet break. He is presently at large. And mind you... the detention centre was only 100 metres from a busy expressway.

My point is : Are we losing sight of our priorities, when we start to offer S$1000 to nab a cat killer, but S$0 for information leading to a the arrest of a terrorist ? The only reason that seems even plausible is when we think that one is a convicted (cat) "killer" (ie deed done) vs the other (potential - terrorist) "killer".

Ahhh... now it makes sense... innocent until provent guilty... :)

Nuff said.

Migrant workers ... u either love em or hate em...

April 11, 2008, Straits Times

Psst...here's $3,000 to employ China worker
More agents offering coffee shop owners legally dubious 'rebates' to entice them
By Melissa Sim

THERE has been a recent surge in the number of middlemen offering questionable kickbacks to employers who hire workers from China, according to those who spoke with The Straits Times.

Restaurants and coffee shop owners said that, in the last eight months, they had seen a jump in the number of agents willing to pay them $2,000 to $3,000 for every China worker they hired.

This is a sweet deal for employers, who can then use the money to cover the foreign worker levy, which is between $240 and $450 a month for an unskilled worker.

But some foreign-worker advocates said that foreign nationals were the ones getting the short end of the stick.

Mr Jolovan Wham, the executive director of foreign workers' welfare group Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics, said that it had become common for workers to pay $8,000 to $9,000 in fees to an agent.

This includes their flight to Singapore and a job here. The agents could also possibly use part of this sum to pay employers.

'You could say it's like a transferring of cost to the workers,' said Mr Wham.

This practice seems to occupy a legal grey area. In response to queries from The Straits Times, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) did not say that the kickbacks were illegal.

But it said: 'All employers hiring foreigners on work permits are responsible for their upkeep and maintenance, including the payment of the monthly foreign worker levy.

'Employers are not allowed to pass on these costs to their workers.'

The MOM added that it would take action against employers or intermediaries for practices that exploited foreign workers.

Those in the food and beverage industry said that the kickbacks had been around for a few years, but competition had heated up in the second half of last year.

Now, they said, agents called and faxed coffee shop owners, blatantly offering kickbacks.

The issue came to the fore after a reader wrote to the forum page of Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao last week, saying that he had many friends from China looking for work.

He said that, when he tried calling employers on their behalf, he was immediately asked how much of a 'rebate' he could offer.

He added that some employers would abuse the situation, hiring and firing just to receive the $3,000 fee from agents.

There are also genuine employers like Mr Hong Poh Hin, the chairman of the Singapore Foochow Coffee Restaurant and Bar Merchants Association.

He said that he employed a Chinese national to serve drinks at his coffee shop last year and received $2,000 from an agent.

Mr Hong saw it as an incentive: 'Many workers want to come but demand is not enough, so agents share the agent's fee to keep volume up.'

One agent that The Straits Times called said he was willing to give a $2,500 kickback, while another said he did not give any incentives.

When contacted by The Straits Times, labour MP Halimah Yacob said that 'some clarity on the issue is necessary'.

She said the situation was a tricky one to manage. If foreign workers become cheaper to employ, it 'defeats the purpose of the levy'.

She also said that if workers come to Singapore already in debt, they may have to repay their creditors back home and go without pay for some time.

The MOM said that it would not hesitate to revoke the licences of employment agents or prosecute errant employers under the Employment Act. It would also bar such employers from employing foreigners.

If the collection of rebates by the employer involved a corrupt act, the MOM would refer the matter to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau for investigation.

The MOM encouraged the public to provide information on employers or agents receiving rebates from workers.

Comments : <>
the problem is that they are so desperate to come that they are willing to pay to get jobs! this is amazing. how do you beat that?

Disclaimer: don't sue me: I don't write, endorse or encourage such stuff...I merely point to you
on what is available as public information and show you where it comes from...

something I read online recently...

Help grads who do as well as foreign talent
RECENTLY, I befriended a group of scholars from China studying at my alma mater, Nanyang Technological University (NTU). They were in their late teens and were attending foundation courses in English and maths before starting their undergraduate studies. In their five-year sojourn at NTU, they will be given free lodging and a monthly allowance of $500 each. Needless to say, they do not have to pay for their tuition fees. When they graduate, they must work in Singapore for six years as part of their 'payback'' bond.

A highly conservative calculation of their five-year tenure at NTU suggests that each will cost the Government or NTU some $70,000. That is, $30,000 for their five-year tuition fees, including the charges for their foundation courses, and some $40,000 for hostel accommodation and their monthly stipends. I graduated from NTU five years ago, with a good honours degree.

I was in the top 15 per cent of my cohort - and performed better than some of these scholars. While studying at NTU, I had to work as a pizza delivery boy to earn my allowance. Upon graduation, I had to start paying off a $24,000-student loan.

Why are Singaporeans like me not treated as considerately as such scholars? My study loan took five years to pay off after I started working. The China scholars receive financial support, a free education and start their working lives debt free. Their six-year bond is seen as a contribution to Singapore.

Am I not contributing as much, if not more? Non-scholar Singaporeans are not treated in quite the same way as foreign talent, regardless of how well we perform. The disparity is disheartening.

Don't Singaporeans like me who have done well deserve some relief? True, local scholarships are available. But not every Singaporean who graduated well, gets one.

Can the NTU or the Education Ministry tell me why graduates like myself don't deserve some relief or reward for doing as well as, or better than, some of the foreign talent?

Zhou Zhiqiang

Source Document : http://comment.straitstimes.com/showthread.php?t=9609

Nuff Said.

Disclaimer: don't sue me: I don't write endorse or encourage such stuff... I merely point to you where it comes from...

fake degrees... taken as real

I wish to highlight this case that was recently reported in the online New Paper.

FAKE FOOLISH
Gets bogus degree after parents ask her to Carelessly hands in fake degree to MOM
By Crystal Chan
April 14, 2008 Print Ready

FOR three months, Indian national Garakapaty Bhagya Lakshmi had her dream job in Singapore.

A systems analyst with IT company Aspirant Technologies, the 33-year-old was drawing a monthly salary of $2,500, about double what she would have earned in India.

But her dreams ended abruptly when the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) discovered that she had used a fake degree to apply for a work permit.

The irony? Garakapaty is a bona fide graduate from an American university - but she claims she accidentally submitted a fake degree from another university.

She admitted she had obtained the fake degree years before she got her genuine degree. It was, she insisted, to please her demanding parents.

Her absent-mindedness got her hauled to court, where she was fined $9,000 last Friday after pleading guilty.

She could have been jailed up to a year and fined up to $15,000.

Garakapaty, who is from Hyderabad, told The New Paper on Sunday that she regrets her carelessness.

'Because of this, I lost a job which I liked, and worried my parents who aren't in good health,' she said.

PARENTAL PRESSURE

Garakapaty explained that when she was still in India, she studied for a Bachelor of Science degree at Sri Krishna University.

But she kept failing a chemistry module and had to drop out.

She said: 'I then got a diploma in IT because I was interested in it, and also because the IT boom made it easy for IT graduates to get jobs.

'But my parents were ashamed of the fact that I had failed to get a degree and kept pushing me to get a fake degree as they thought I could get a better-paying job.'

Garakapaty said a friend helped her get a fake degree in IT from a real university in Hyderabad called Osmania University.

She said she could not remember how her friend had obtained it.

But she insisted she never used it to apply for a job.

Instead, she said she chucked the forged document into a stack of personal documents and forgot about it.

Using her genuine IT diploma, Garakapaty worked for almost a decade in India.

In 2006, she got a real computer science degree through distance learning from Golden State University, an American institution.

She said: 'I never wanted to cheat anyone. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten a real degree.'

OVERSEAS WORK

Garakapaty then decided to look for a job overseas, believing she could earn more.

In July last year, she came to Singapore to work as a consultant for Pan Asia Resources Consultancy.

There were no problems as she had applied for her employment pass with her Golden State degree.

This job lasted only three weeks - the duration of the project she was working on.

Once it was over, Garakapaty landed a one-year contract job with Aspirant last October, after responding to a newspaper recruitment advertisement.

She said: 'Aspirant paid me $2,500 a month. Back home in India, I would've earned half that amount.'

The company offered to apply for an employment pass on her behalf and asked her to submit some supporting documents.

Garakapaty did so, but forgot that the fake degree was among the documents that she handed to Aspirant.

When MOM spotted it, Garakapaty's employment pass was cancelled and she was hauled to court.

Her lawyer, Mr Kirpal Singh of Kirpal & Associates, said in mitigation that Garakapaty just wanted to please her parents who felt she could get a good job with a degree.

He added that her 'unwilful negligence' led to the offence.

Mr Singh had attempted to get the Attorney-General's Chambers to drop the charge. However, MOM's position was that the fake degree was used to get the employment pass.

Aspirant's director Mr Devendra Rautela wrote a testimonial for Garakapaty, saying that her conduct was good and the company's clients appreciated her work.

Tears welling up, Garakapaty said: 'I think it's human nature to have the habit of dumping all your documents into the same file.

'I should have been more careful and looked through the stack of documents thoroughly to ensure the forged degree wasn't among them.'

She has paid the fine and now wants to return to India to care for her ailing parents.


Some comments I've seen online:
Comment 1:
>In 2006, she got a real computer science degree through distance
>learning from Golden State University, an American institution.

Golden State University? Oh please, what is that???


Comment 2:
that the hell is this golden state university? still a diploma mill..MOM people does not do their work? just a simple search on google is needed..

http://online.degree.net/archive/index.php/t-1411.html
http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/unaccredited.aspx

Nuff said

one of those retro songs....

I was listening to Class 95 FM on a Friday evening... and this tune was played over the radio.
I immediately recognised this tune as one of those: O level mugging tunes. (that is how i categorise my fav tunes.)

It's a fav. oldie, and I'm here to share it with you. Enjoy.



Nuff Said

Pangea Day

A day where the world celebrates unity on May 10th tune in for Pangea Day.

In this short film, another country gets together and sing the national anthems of other countries.

For this France sings the National Anthem of the United States


Next Japan Sings the National Anthem of Turkey


Somehow this reminded me of the Quantas ad I saw in Perth... :)
That was the original.



A few years later, Singapore came up with this "copycat" version. The song was original - no doubt. But the idea of children singing in a chior alcapella ~ comes from the quantas ad. But to be fair... the song is indeed original.



Nuff Said

can't take the heat!!!

did you ever wonder what happens when the going is too tough for an easter bunny and
it can't take the heat ??

here's what happens.



Nuff said

a useful device in the office

I was surfing the net one day and I came across this really wonderful little device that might be useful for some people while in the office :)



stop grinning.
nuff said.

ntu student hostel

sometimes, student in hostels don't get enuf places like the one i'm showing here ... and they try to squeeze 3 people in to a room designed for 2.

the students protest...



but as usual ... if u didn't know the style and how things work around here ... they just proceed and design a model showroom by paying only "lip service" to students saying that they value their feedback.



hahaha I can imagine the students having another person in bed... :)

a cool new ad

sorry i haven't blogged in a while.
been busy at work as well as travelling around.
in the meantime. enjoy this cool ad from youtube.








nuff said.

A Linux convert speaks...

I recently got my hands on one of these.
an ultra low cost ultra mobile pc.



And was introduced to the world of Linux.

The KDE version of Linux Xandros is very similar to winXP, with a remarkably improved performance.
So now I'm taking the plunge to move my other hardware systems to Linux.

I'm a convert. Nuff said.

Mas Selamat ...

Where did he go ?? Mas Selamat made history by escaping from a Singapore Internal Security detention center while on a toilet break.



Right now, the heat is on with 4 million pairs of eyes looking out for him on 625 sq kms.



This is his side view.



Nuff Said.

politics...

This is a really good MTV by Rihanna - Umbrella


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4X7eFbP3u4

But a Parody brought in politics. Clinton and Obama. And this was the result.
:)

Nuff Said and Enjoy.

where in the world is Mas Selamat ??

hehehee.... the Parodys are already coming in.
Com'on guys. You can do better. Go catch da man!

:)
Nuff said

where in the world is Mas Selamat?

If you're looking for JI detainee and now "de facto" escape artist, Mas Selamat

He's not here.

Try looking elsewhere. Maybe Google. Google has dirt on everyone everywhere.

Nuff said.

if you see this person

I was on my way home, and passed by and saw this ...
I'd let the video speak for itself.
:)

http://www.straitstimes.com/Video%2BNews/Singapore/STIVodcast_3687.html?playid=3687&type=Singapore

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/331477/1/.html

Not that many places you can run around in Singapore.
(Update: Apparently there are a zillion and one places to disappear to in Singapore)



Wanted! call 999 if u see this person.

Nuff said.

The Future of Transport

Can this be in the pipeline for future transport in the red dot ??

TransMilenio - a Bus Rapid Transit System



There is this for airports : The Personal Rapid Transit



And a Korean concept of the PRT in 3D



And a PRT functioning in a Uni:



Nuff Said. I'm getting a bike.

personal take - the macbook air

I've watch the keynote presentation of the macbook air. And I'm impressed by the hype that it has generated. So when it came to town, I scurried to the nearest apple store to check out apple's latest offering.

I was sorely disappointed.
why?

For starters, I think it has a rather bulky, screen / machine to carry around despite the fact that it is ultra thin. Also, the aluminium feels a little tacky to the touch. When I held it up, I felt like I was holding a thin plastic case that's coated in silver ink. Finally the price of SGD5K can get you a pretty decent laptop machine. You can even get the top end macbook pro at that same price.

So my take to apple ?? This is probably a miss.

But then again... 2008 has only just started. Lets wait and see.

Nuff said.

watch this....to serve man

Nuff said

More $$$

I need more $$$!!!
Dun piss me off.

Nuff said.

being spoilt

Some people say I'm a spoilt brat.
Well... I agree.
You know sometimes I'm like this:



Haha
Nuff said.

Amazing Race Asia Season 2 winners!

An open letter to Collin and Adrian of Team Singapore in the Amazing Race Season 2.
Congrats guys. You did great. And even though you came in last in the final leg of the race in Singapore, you finished the final task in record time and reclaimed the title of top spot to win the race.

A short summary, when the guys arrived in Singapore from the Cape Town leg, they were first, however, because they did not ask the taxi driver to stop and wait for them at the Asian civilisations museum, they lost out in their timings to the other 2 teams. In the final task, hearing impaired Adrian from Team Singapore, placed all the flags in the correct position in record time. And in his own words, mentioned : "My mum bought me a book with all the flags of the countries in the world, so I remembered them all." He placed all the flags in the correct position and beat the other 2 teams that came before them. They finished off the leg and sped on to the Chinese Garden to finally claim the prize as winners for The Amazing Race Asia Season 2.

Once again. Congrats.
Singapore is proud of you guys. For being the nicest team in the group, with the least arguments on records and for winning fair and square. Great Job dudes!

Nuff Said

the new dilbert widget...

to the right of this post, you have the dilbert widget...
The Dilbert Chronicles are one of those comics I really enjoy.
Because its sooooo closely resembles the cubicle based corporate world.

:)
Nuff said

now available in RSS feed format...

Hammiee.blogspot.com is now available in RSS format
For more information on

1) What is RSS and
2) how to subscribe to RSS read here.

Compatiable readers are
Outlook 2007
Thunderbird 2.0 and above
Firefox 2.0 and above
Internet Explorer 7.0 and above

Nuff said

my 2008 year of the rat resolution...

More $$$, More exercise, More GF and family time, and less work.
:)

whats yours ?

Nuff Said

白月光

Recently I've been looking around for some old songs which I came across during my stint in Shanghai. One of which was this particular song we had one contestant sing during a company karoke competition. When he sang this song, he immediately blew the competition away...

He eventually went on to win top honours in the singing competition.

So in-case you were wondering what the song was ? Watch this;



Nuff said

books read...

I've started reading again... just recently. More so because I want to put more knowledge into the space between my ears.
:)

And also to answer some extremely perplexing questions in life.

Things like... how do you program a robot to think like a human being, and why aren't renewable resources available despite the billions of dollars invested into research ??

:)
I know why. But thats a story to tell another day.

Right now I'll leave you with some snapshots of the Chinese New Year decorations I've around the house. As you can see, I do have a happy family and I live a really fortunate life and I really appreciate all that I have; I just don't tell them enough ... Thanks mum...Thanks dad and Thank you god.


Nuff said.

maid abuse...

Read about a case of a maid abusing a kid recently.

Personally I'm against violence towards kids, not to mention one that's only 2 months old.

If someone told me such things happened, I wouldn't have believed it.

But seeing it happen right before my very eyes, invokes feelings that range from fear, to pity, to anger, then resentment and downright betrayal.

A defenseless baby manhandled by a caregiver; entrusted by a family.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot22xZqLMMI

In this short video you can see clearly that the maid hits the kid on his toes, then tries to suffocate him by pressing her hand against his face. Next she aggressively lugs the baby to an upright position (the force of which causes the baby's head to violently jerk backwards)... a treatment only given to rag-dolls and toys.

The baby was lucky that this time round, the maid was caught. Else it would have been another dead baby, who didn't survive to tell the tale. We know baby's can't talk and a dead one definately doesn't. And in this case the maid knows it too.

But as usual. I always wonder. For each one victim saved, there are probably 9 others who have died and never lived to tell the tale.

This is for those who have died in vain.

Nuff said

Blogging...

Recently, blogging has taken a backseat in my life.
Mainly because, I figured no one reads anyway. So why blog?

Then I had a request from a friend for me to continue to blog.
Cos he said he wanted something to read and findout what's happening in his friend's life.

:) Alright this is for you dude.

Nuff said

Macbook Air!

Wow! Apple!



Nuff Said

Macbook Air

Wow!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP-UpM8Q-wc&NR=1


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBCfW9-hjKI&NR=1


Nuff Said

Northern Lights...

This is a naturally occurring phenomenon. That exists in the Northern parts of the world. Unfortunately I don't get to watch it here. But seeing it on youtube is part of the fun... Thanks (to the person who posted this!!!)

Nuff said

see...

Hahaha... this is not bad... self explanatory...
Watch it if you can understand...
Nuff Said...

a man's best friend....

If Diamonds are a girl's best friend... then what is a man's best friend?
I'm open to comments. :D
Lets have a poll.

Nuff said.

Sunshine Empire Trailer...

I've now moved my blogging to Yuwie.

1 less...

Dear Tooth,

Thanks for sticking it out with me all these years. I know we've had it good and bad, but nevertheless, you were always there for me. I know at times I may have mistreated you and given you stuff that were literally "harder than you can chew".

Nonetheless, in-hindsight, I appreciate what you've done for me and what we've accomplished together.

Now that we are apart. Take care now. Good night.
Godspeed.

and Sincerely (pause) thank you.

What that song you hear on the radio actually means ...

Heee... I don't understand Tamil.
So I guess this sounds something like it.

But to someone who understands only English... (not me) this is what they hear.
This is definitely not a translation. Obviously.



Nuff said

The coolest application on earth...literally...

For those of you who haven't tried Google earth.
Or do not have a PC 'powerful' enough to handle the graphics.

You should get your hands on this really powerful application.

For a few seconds of your time, you get the whole earth installed right smack into your PC.

Best of all, you can see the earth for FREE!!!

Check it out!



PS. I know 1 or 2 friends who are lonely planet fanatics and will benefit from this.

Nuff Said.

Airbus A380

In an update to my previous post on this long-delayed. Run into deficit project. The first plane has finally been delivered; with the first flight departing on 25 Oct 2007. Singapore to Sydney.



I've been watching the Tons of discovery channel videos on the making of this aircraft: titled "The Giant of the Skies".

If I have the time, I might go watch the first flight tomorrow.

Nuff Said.

my take on 377A...

My personal views on 377A???
Keep it.
Reason:
Why friggin fix something that isn't spoilt in the first place???

Nuff said.

wordpress.com

I tried blogging on wordpress.com.
And I seriously believe that it a more advanced blogging plaform for the creme de la creme of bloggers.

But thats after I pay serious $$$ so I can do user upgrades and update my CSS (Cascading style sheets).

I decided that enough is enough.

No way is this monkey paying for stuff he publishes on the net.

"Hello! I'm providing content for YOUR readers to eyeball YOUR webspace and view YOUR adverts! You should be paying me instead!!!"

I can choose not to post and save my time for more valuable $$$-making stuff.

Like nose picking.

Nuff said.

A hand-me-down smartphone thats not so smart...

Recently I "got" a hand-me-down smartphone from my techno-bleeding edge gizmo brother.

He wanted to sell it away.

I thought, since my mobile was relatively old and worn out, I might as well buy it from him and also skimp on getting a new one since poor people can't be choosy.

So I decided to UAT the phone for a few days.

First thing I noticed. The charger was gone. This was inconsistent with my highly organized brother. But still its 2nd hand, so its thru no fault of his.

Thereafter, I realised that I couldn't really get it to charge (via) usb despite leaving it for 24 hrs. (so i got back to him, who complained that he had the same problem).

I went down to Sim Lim to see if I can buy a charger there or someplace. While over there I realised that this was because the battery had died (ie, the keeper replaced it with a fresh new battery). So because I didn't want to pay the price that was quoted to me $60 bucks for a 3rd party battery, I didn't go for it.

So I went online to find an alternative.

While trying to link up my Paypal account to my ebay account to bid for the online battery, I got my ebay account suspended because I tried to change my details from China back to Singapore. (and the irony was that, I was actually telling the truth!) So I got flagged as a fraudster and I'm now barred from ebay.

Fair enough.

So on sunday, I googled for a battery supplier in singapore, and went down to purchase the battery, only to have them claim that they have no stock and I had to make another trip down the following day.

I did. And finally. 1 issue closed.

After fiddling with the phone for one evening. It made me wonder if it was really worth all the trouble.

Nuff said

Competition for the Ultra rich is now insane...

According to this article at Reuters.com competition "managing money for the rich has become so “insanely competitive” that it has lost its rationality."

Thats coz irrational people are competing for it.

Nuff said.

Current song...

My colleague, Calvin, has an interesting dial tone.
(For those of you who don't, it is the "ringee thing" you hear when you call a person. Not to be mistaken with the caller ringtone you usually upload to your standard mobile phone. What you get is : "Instead of the standard ringing tone, you get to listen to this song."

Good for the caller. Bad for the colleague sitting next to him.
And, I know of at least 2 people who call in just to listen to his ringtone, for no apparent reason at all!

To understand why, you might want to watch this MTV.



Nuff said

Property Firm

I went for a talk for a talk at some property firm.
Sounds interesting. I'm planning to attend the 4 day course.

Nuff said

One of those deep consideration dayz...

It has been awhile, but its hit me again. I couldn't sleep, so I'm heading out for my morning exercise... meeting my army pals for this morning's jog-a-thon plus stretchieees...

IPPT is due.

Nuff said

Some blogs I read...

I don't blog much. But I read peoples blogs more often than not.
These are some of the places that I frequent.

www.kennysia.com - He's good.
www.mrbrown.com - The Ah Gong of blogging in Singapore.
I loved his National education series.

and more recently... www.xiaxue.blogspot.com - the Singapore queen of blogging,
and her virtual word bashing target... www.stevenlim.net - for some comic relief.

I rarely read xiaxue's blog as I'm not a personal fan of hers. But my girlfriend loves her blog heaps. As a matter of fact, she's beginning to message, talk and behave like her.

So I figured I could try to better understand my gf if i knew what she was reading in an attempt to "try and bridge the gap b/w me and my other half." I took the plunge and logged in and read several articles.

I must say I preferred the videos more as they are rather entertaining. The normal rants from her site don't really interest me.

Anyway, like she claims, I can choose not to read her blogs if I do not like the content.

Nuff said.

to those who are guilty...

of too much fast food... hahaa... you know who you are...



Nuff Said.

Miss Teen USA South Carolina 2007 with Subtitles

Ohhh I sooo must share this with you guys!



And in response.




Hahaa... personally I think the reason why Americans can't find themselves on a world map
is because those who don't use a map can find it on a globe or use google earth.

Nuff said enjoy.

Fantastic 4 - The rise of the Silver Surfer...

Why do current movies feature Shanghai ?
Is it a cool place ?

I don't think so.

Nuff Said.

iPhone for sale... Closed

yes. I have in stock.
The 8GB Apple iPhone for sale.



Leave me a message if you are making a genuine offer.
Offer Exclusively in Singapore only.

Update: SOLD.

Nuff said.

another day in the office...

today we had a fight in the office .... nothing unusual...

Here's how it went.



Nuff said

internet junkiee am meee...

When do you know you are an internet junkie ??
The following are some signs:

When you:
1) are on the road and you are lost, you don't take out a map, but you look for the google earth button.
2) wake up early to get to work, but end up reading on last night's stockmarket turmoil.
3) feel bored and find that the only way to find out about current affairs is to log on to CNN.com or
read about what happen to your favorite blogger.
4) stop packing your room but format your hard drive instead.
5) start downloading user manuals on how to use microsoft windows.

Nuff said.

Recently...

In this month of August.
I have :
1) The national day rally
2) Enhanced Banking Platform going live
3) to pay rent
4) weekend stays at Shangrila and Starbucks for breakfast.
5) This cool tune to keep me occupied.

Nuff said. Enjoy

in response to the massive toy recall by mattel...

Here's what I think really happened :

1) Trade deficit between China and US widens.
2) China hoarding US dollars.
3) US pressures China to revalue the Yuan.
4) Yuan doesn't budge much. Its a managed peg.
5) Pressure comes from the top to reduce American spending on Chinese goods.
6) Starts examining Chinese manufactured clothes, toothpaste, toys what not.
7) Product recalls.
8) Dents on Chinese 'reputation' as the worlds manufacturer.
9) US can move on to lower cost bases. (ie Africa, Vietnam)

*Mortagage Credit crunch did little to affect the Chinese Stock market.
3 reasons.
1) Chinese stocks are independent of the US.
2) Chinese stocks have little vested interest in the US mortgage market.
3) Hot capital flows into Chinese stock market. Market hits new highs.

My point of view ?
To reduce trade deficit. American companies are "persuaded" top down, and coerced to 'find fault' with chinese company products, so they can proceed to move their manufacturing bases to lower cost countries (ie Africa and Vietnam).

Chinese products have traditionally been bad and no doubt continue to be flawed. But the tolerance previously was because the trade deficit was tolerable and china was low cost. With the increased cost of manufacturing in china and widening deficit; it makes more sense to find 'fault' with these products, because, when you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

Nuff said.

on the topic of scams...

here is another sting operation by ABC on the Nigerian 419 scam.

watch and understand...



Nuff Said

the classic african scam... asian version.

Listen to this...

I case something ever happens to you one day.



Source : Kennysia.com

Nuff said.

US Sub Prime Mortgage Pressures down the world markets...

Watching this closely.
Though I personally have no money vested in the equity markets.
I've an active interest in observing things around me and connecting the dots.

In the past week.

There are several signs to note :
Black September Phenomenon.
Market long overdue for correction.

Street signs:
People arguing about stock market losses.
Your local laundry tells you to buy equities. (indicates mis-selling and pressure sell tactics)
Colleagues feeling jittery at work and calling in sick to watch the markets.
Rental defaults.

In the News:
The ECB pumped 94.8 billion euros ($130.6 billion) in a one-day tender on Thursday, the largest amount ever. This even dwarfs the amount pumped in after 9/11.
The Fed added $38 billion into the U.S. banking system on Friday through three separate repurchase agreements, its biggest single-day cash injection since September 19, 2001.

Something is wrong...

Lets watch.

What happens when you run windows everywhere...

Here a scenario on what happens when running windows NT on diving equipment...

Nuff said

win386

Ever wondered what windows looked like back in the 1980s ??
Heres a preview of the promotional video for Win386.

And let me tell you that u will CRY watching this win386 promo video...
it tries too hard...

theres even a rap!

looks cheesy now 26 yrs down the road.

Nuff said.

What I'm watching now...

Season 3 of 24hrs.
Its a GREAT series. The best.
Thanks Kiefer Sutherland aka Jack Bauer

Nuff Said

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 for PC

It's really good and WYSIWYG in the trailer.
Some features include.

1) Recon mode - with Silencers.
2) Drone for spotting enemies (from the top)
3) Control and view your team-mates.
4) Multiple insertion points.
5) Assault mode.

Nuff said. Try it!

more will it blend videos...

Oh! I'm so addicted to this.
Now lets see...
Will it blend...
an ipod ?



glow sticks...



something harder ... like diamonds...



Rake Handle ...



video camera



Nuff seen...

will it blend ???

Been busy lately making some decisions and fending off work attacks.
So when I get home, sometimes, I decided that its time to take some time off from a day at work.
I look for stuff online. And I recently I spotted this... and got addicted.

Ohhh I so love destruction.
This thing virtually blends every friggin thing i can throw in it!!! I gotta get me one of these!!!
Plus an Iphone. of course.



Nuff Said.

am back! ...

been bz with work and trying not to fall sick...
surfed the net and came across this...
made me wanna get one of these cubes real bad.

I had one when i was younger. But i never solved it.



Nuff Said

Addicted to 24 - Series 1...

I know I know...
But hey its a riveting series!

Agent Jack Bauer the 1 man gone crazy in series one. Family gets kidnapped. Kid gets kidnapped. Wife kidnapped. Breaks out gets kidnapped AGAIN. Daughter gets kidnapper once, twice, three times, again... (I was wondering when this would end!)
Agent gets killed. Insider working to provide intel to the terrorists... Wife goes crazy, Jack slept with colleague.

Jack Bauer goes on it alone. Rambo his way thru. Former CIA operative, He's now head of the LA Counter Terrorist Unit.
Great plot, great series. Great Time waster!

Senator David Palmer has an attempt on his life twice in 24hrs. His family has a crisis on its own. 2 Kids, one got raped, the other killed a guy accidentally to protect his sister, mother is crazy for power, father super righteous...
Crazy series, Crazy plot. Great time waster.

This is just really one damn Fucked up day.

Nuff said. See it for yourself.

IPR aka Intellectual Property Rights.

Recently I've been a little caught up with work; and then some other.

But nonetheless, life goes on.

I've recently discovered that: IP Rights protection are an important part of a developed society, because it provides new opportunities as well as a whole new sector of opportunities which was previously "sidelined" or never existed.

As an economy grows from basic (farming) to manufacturing, industrialisation, and eventually service and IP orientated.
The money moves along too.

This happens because as other places become cheaper, you will get to a stage where you cannot compete in prices, you sell creative stuff. Because you cannot manufacture cheaply, anymore. You just have to sell stuff off your head. And you'd better work damn well at protecting them, and make sure you get paid for it.

Okay.
No 'Heavy' topics.

Nuff Said.

The assassination of Richard Nixon...

The assassination of Richard Nixon...
A sad story about a guy who lost his job, wife, kids, family and friends.
Whose application for a business loan was rejected.

He was always 'put' down by the people whom he came into contact with.
All things pushed him to the limit where he hi-jacked a plane, killed the pilots
and shot himself.

A min. of silence for the individual who inspiration this story.
Must have been a very sad life.

Never for get those who are less fortunate than you.

Nuff said.

why do prayers go un-answered...

I finally understood why prayers go un-answered and people suffer in this world.

Because the queue management system in Heaven runs on WINDOWS!

If it ran on LINUX, I betcha, everyone will win lottery
Every wish would come true.
Every person's prayer will be answered.

Wouldn't that be great ??

Hmmm...

think they should stick with WINDOWS then.

Nuff Said.

Matrix vs Robocop...

Its those surf the web to find interesting reads night...

And I got this!
Its a real gem!
Watch it!



Nuff Said

S$50 Gay men for sale in Little India...

Watch this for Diana Ser...
and Be-careful along Little India at night.

Part One



Part 2



Part 3


Nuff Said.

F18 Source codes kept by the americans ??

What good is a bomber if the source code aren't open source ???



Nuff said.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

If for some reason, you're looking for it... it ain' t here...

=)

Nuff Said.

Just Browsing...

After watching "Shooter" the movie, I went to google about some of the cool sniping technology.
Typically, in games, most sniper rifles require a re-load times.
This was what I found.



Trust me you don't wanna be a target for one of these.

Nuff said.

29th June 2007 is iPhone Day !!!

Waiting to see what happens on 29th June 2007.
I think heaps of Americans will queue up to buy the iPhone.
Lets see !

Nuff said.

Guess which movie I've taken this phrase from ??

Yippi Kay Yay Matha*ucker.

=)

Work & More work recently.
Nothin' new.

Nuff said

my take on the best browser out there...

Without a doubt Mozilla Firefox is the most stable, fast and customizable browser out there.
IE7 has too much problems with pop-ups. Its still playing catchup. And heaps of viruses target IE.
Safari has just gone beta on windows.
and Netscape is just ... well... yesterdays' news.
Opera, is a full power-ed browser. Only wayyyy too powerful.

Notice I didn't say it uses the least amount of resources. Because it doesn't.
Its a resource hog.

So Firefox is the winner in-between.
Ever since I switched to Firefox, I've tried Opera10. and IE7 and Safari Beta for win.

Every-time I had gone back.

I guess its just my computer configuration.

Nuff Said.

upcoming events the week ahead...

Life's boring.
But if you're living my life.
Its pretty exciting.
Thats coz I'm simple, easygoing and contented.

Even then, I DO have stuff I look forward to.
Some of the stuff I'm eagerly anticipating.

1) Apple's iPhone (I probably won't get one cos I'm not in the US) and I probably won't buy one either. Cos I don't like to pay thru my nose for the subscription services (itunes, ring-tones). I prefer phones where I can customize it my own, with no additional costs. (that includes me not using GPRS and all da other additional costs phone crap.)

2) Transformers the movie ( I love doomsday movies. And this one is from Spilberg and Micheal Bay. A top notch combo. I can already smell the popcorn! )

3) more swimming at my local swim club. cycling by the beach over the weekends, and a great movie on a sat night.
thats a good life.

4) Harry Potter (next episode; can't remember the name.) but all Potter movies have the good triumphant over evil element in them which are instrumental in my life.

=) somehow we always wish the good guys will win.
I have yet to hear someone say they wished bad guys will win, yet.

then again I'm just naive. We all know the bad guys ALWAYS have the last laugh.

Nuff Said.

Is there a best way to shave ???

Shaving... I do it everyday, or alternate day at least.
My girlfriend likens it to the guys' equivalent of a girls other non-daily tasks.

Anyway, I find that razors aren't cheap. I wonder why.
Maybe its because there aren't that many choices to begin with.

Its only Gillette, Gillette and Gillette.

But before that. Here's the answer to the best way to shave.

Nuff Said

Away from town...

I spent my last weekend in a coastal state. I'm bad with words so I ain't gonna give a full account of what happened. Instead, I think some pictures will do a better job.



And yes there was the beach. This is suppose to be some soon-to-be- Olympic venue.
And of course there were seashells.



Nuff said.

More cool Nike+ Ads from YouTube.

Heres' another cool ad.



And another too.



A step by step guide



Even one in Jap!



But I'm not addicted



There are the wannabe's.



And the has beens.

1 Ad to rule them all...

The ad which started me going on this Nike+ craze.
This was the ad which got me buying the Nano 2G
It was also this ad that got me buying the Nike+ kit.

This is... the "One Ad to Rule em' all."

Nuff Said. Enjoy.

a Reebok, Nike & Nike+ solution ...

At long last; who would have guessed that the solution to all Nike+ transmitter problems would come in the form of the 3 companies combining their products ?

This isn't an original solution; but it is the holy grail to the Nike+ transmitter problem.
A poor mans solution; of course. But none-the-less, it did save me 100bucks on a pair of poorly designed Nike+ shoes.

The pair I got (pictured), were of a nicer design (in my opinion), lighter and cheaper.

This was a better option than the stock of Nike+ shoes I had to pick from.

The only drawback was that it wasn't Nike+ compliant.

I was on the look out for a pair of Nike+ compliant shoes until i came across this wrist pouch today, which ended my search.



Nuff Said... Jogging time.

a splurge today...

Juz today I was walkin' past the shopping 'de regulare... when I stopped in my tracks to this. =)



I was thinking of using as a pouch to place my my nike+ transmitter. In case you didn't know, its the thing you place in your shoe that transmits the speed, distance, and your running time to your ipod.
Then I realised it couldn't really be fixed on my shoes.

So much for that. But I still had a wrist pouch.
Which i tot might be good for jogging.
I also tried to stuff my Ipod nano into the pouch but it was too long and didn't fit.

So I tried another way.

And Volia !!!



I'm gonna get me more of these! these are really useful!

Sometimes I'm so smart I amaze myself too...
=) Smart me!

Nuff said.

noteable quotes from television...

No prizes for guessin'!

"Each year, as part of their fund raising drive; the Fairview Adventure Scouts, would award a shiny new bike to whoever sold the most magazine subscriptions. And each scout would set out utterly convinced, the prize would be hers...
Thats the beauty of youth. Lil' girls believe anything is possible. That is until they grow up and get divorced."

Leave me a message for the answer.

Nuff said

feelin' rebellious

sometimes in life, you just feel that it's not going the way you want and you wanna feel in control and do a shakeup?!

Ya ?? Sometimes we feel like that... I know I do.

Do you go ahead and shake things up ?? Or do you wait till it gets over, and do nothing about it ?

Maybe sit back; rationalise and see that maybe you've progressed a long way and find you don't want to jepordise it.

Yup. Some things in life are easy...

A picture speaks a thousand words.
Well... Off to the next challenge.

Nuff Said.

why? Singapore can never be a New York...

I read this article on TIME magz. online.
Its a great article.
Worth a good read and 10 minutes of your time.

And heres why "Lexus could be the most well-made car out there, but it will never be as attractive as a Mercedes or BMW."