Boleh! Boleh! - Blog of a typical married Singaporean

Senior SCDF and CNB Officers under Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau investigation

2012-01-25T11:17:00.000+08:00

Investigations began in end December 2011 in the case of Mr Ng Boon Gay and in early January 2012 in the case of Mr Peter Lim Sin Pang. Both officers were placed on leave from their duties when the investigations commenced. Their duties have been covered by their respective deputies. Taking into account the current status of the investigations, both will be interdicted from their duties with effect from 25 January 2012, pending disciplinary proceedings

After the minister salary review came about this news hit the streets of Singapore making many to wonder if it is really true that high salary prevent corruption??? To make matter worst is that the CNB's involved as well... What a big disgrace to Singapore especially since Singapore is known to have zero tolerance to drugs...

This prove to me one thing and that is high salary only can deter the person from corruption because of the risk involved but it never guarantee the integrity of a person. Corruption is everywhere as long as a person is greedy... It does not matter how much the salary is... When there's greed, there's corruption...

Anyway this case is still open, let's see what is the outcome...

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Even Cai Shen Need Money

2012-01-22T16:58:00.000+08:00

Lunar New Year is just around the corner and I guess everyone now is busy preparing for the Reunion Dinner. Me as usual will be eating out with my family but just that this year there is no Mah Jong.

Anyway found this photo which I think is quite funny and will like to share with you for some laugh and wish you have a wondering Dragon Year ahead!

Who say there is no ATM in heaven haha :)

Sometime even Cai Shen need some quick cash...

Huat Ah!!!

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Lee Kuan Yew defends Singapore ministerial salaries

2012-01-19T00:21:00.001+08:00

From all the talking and defending it just show one thing and that is the ministers of Singapore believe they are the cream of the crop and that the million of dollars spend as their salaries are worth it.

As the defending go on and on and the more the ministers try to justify why they should be getting such high salaries, the more confusions and resentments they create among the Singaporeans. They should just stop and accept it and not keep defending it...

Lee Kuan Yew mention the need for a competitive ministerial pay to attract committed and capable people who will serve the country. Well I am 50% on this as I agree with more competitive pay it will naturally attract more committed and capable people but why I disagree is because I try to go into the statutory board but what I they rejected my application as they deem me being too aggressive in nature and that my expected salary is beyond what they can pay... I know I am not a minister but I am too trying to do my part for Singapore by joining the statutory board just as how the ministers are doing their part. Why am I rejected for being aggressive in nature? I want to chiong for my dreams and I am willing to put in efforts to achieve it but people shoot me down for the simple reason I am too aggressive... Next why is my expected a rejection point when I am asking less than $75k a year!!!

So does Mr Lee mean that only ministers are the one running the country and the ones who should be getting the "competitive" salary while the rest of the civil servants and officers of statutory board are just people doing the ministers bidding's?

Furthermore he said unless Singapore has a steady stream of people to serve as ministers, Singapore as a little red dot will become a little black spot... This further strengthen the fact that he believes ministers are the ones running the show and not the people of the country!

Then why are we working so hard to keep our country safe and our economy running... Why not just leave it to the ministers since they are the one who are in need by the country to continue maintaining it as a little red dot and not anyone else.

Singapore is one of the smallest countries in the world and yet our ministers are drawing the HIGHEST salaries in the world... A big unbalance if you are to ask me... Talk about balance between work load and salary and we all can see the big see-saw here.

They should really just stop trying to defend their salaries. We, the average earners are so sick and tired of listening to their defending... More time should spend in the discussing things which are more urgent and important (which are usually put aside by one sentence or two in the Parliament) than to discuss about why the salaries should be this high...

Even Mr Obama is wondering why Singapore Minister's pay is higher than him

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Not all security features are turned on at the DBS/POSB ATMs

2012-01-15T11:20:00.000+08:00

How can DBS make such a statement that only some ATMs are fully secured sometime... So it depend on the users luck when using the ATMs if it has all the security features turned on???

In response to the ATM fraud cases, DBS further added that jitter technology (which uses a stop-start, or jitter motion, when a card is inserted in the ATM. In theory, the irregular motion distorts the magnetic stripe details on the card, so if a skimming device has been placed on an ATM, the jitter feature makes the copied information unusable) not turned on at the 2 ATMs at bugis! Understand that jitter is not 100% secure but at least having it is better than not having anything at all. Further more it was turned off at the 2 ATMs which are compromised!

I must be damn lucky cos so far the usual ATMs which I used have the green lock and jitter on but what about the rest of DBS/POSB customers who frequent other ATMs island wide... Who can guess just how many such cases will happen again in the future...

Unbelievable!

As compared to the other two banks, OCBC and UOB both all security features turned on at all their ATMs islandwide.

If DBS can say things like that it really make me wonder what about their Internet Banking... Would there is a chance that sometimes their SSL might be on, something off? Or sometime their 2FA feature is used and sometime is not???

Also what about their banks... Would there be days where there is a guard on duty while other days no...

If DBS had mention that their do not have all the neccessary security features in place as yet, I think it is still better than saying not turned on. At least if dun have can still improve but if have but not turn on... Why even bother to have it in the first place...

Maybe it is time to switch from DBS to OCBC? Why not UOB you might ask well work with them before many years back. Did not have a good experience with their management staff so UOB might be bigger but still due to the bad experience I had they are off my list.

Safe ATMs??? Only DBS will know...

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Overseas Airtime Topup

2012-01-12T21:39:00.001+08:00

This is more of promotion post for a service which I think many will be able to benefit especially since the Lunar New Year is coming. Foreigners in Singapore as well as anywhere else in the world can now top up prepaid mobile phone cards for their families back home thru many means provided by Swissclear Global Pte Ltd. This would allow Foreigners to top up overseas prepaid cards of those based in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and many more countries.

In Singapore you can just go over to any AXS or iNets kiosks located island wide and follow the simple instructions which I will show in the videos below. At just a few clicks on the screen buttons you families back home will be able to receive airtime topup to their prepaid mobile phone instantly!

If there are no kiosks around your place or if you are not in Singapore fear not. Swissclear Global Pte Ltd has partners offering airtime topup services in Europe. For those of you who prefer to do the topup directly with Swissclear Global can also do so by logging on to the website by clicking on "".

Via the website you can pay via credit cards. Dun worry as the payment gateway is provided by eNets and only 3D secured transactions are allowed. So it is safe, easy and instant.

So why wait! Send your loved ones a small gift of Airtime now!

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Lunch @ Jing

2012-01-12T11:24:00.000+08:00

Was actually very sick yesterday morning but since it was Ah Boon's birthday decide to come to work to have lunch with him. Me and my boss was looking thru the list of restaurant around of office and stop on this restaurant call Jing, located at One Fullerton. I’d not been to Jing before and was curious to check it out since it actually offer a buffet lunch.

When we reach we are pretty impress by the setting. Very tradition chinese restaurant but have a nice wine counter for those who like to have their meal with wine. But was quite disappointed by the fact that the buffet lunch was actually for weekends (not stated on their website) so we ended up going for the set lunches instead.

While waiting for our Set Lunch to be served, we nibbled on toufu cubes with green/red pepper and talk about how nice the restaurant ambience is. It was packed during lunch on a weekday as most of the clientele seemed to be working close by but tables are still readily available.

We start off by having Dim Sum as starter and thou I dun really like prawns, I must say their dim sum is pretty nice and the prawn was sweet.

Dim Sum!!!

Something which I dun like was the way the waitresses serve the food. The seem to come in all directions and they actually serve 2 persons at a time while we actually have 4 persons. Something I believe Jing can improve on.

Next is a soup! One word to describe it and that is "Super"!

Power packed soup. More mushrooms would be better :)

Next in line is garlic steam fish. The portion was quite generous and it was very nice. With more garlic would make it even better. I kinda complain here again cos when my fish was served, the garlic actually fall to the side of the side while my friends one were served much properly with the garlic still on the top of the fish.

If the serving can be improve it would be great

After fish we have fried rice and to me that is the most normal dish so far. Not great and quite normal. Quality wise not something I would expect from Jing class of restaurant. Luckily with the chilli sauce I manage to finish it.

Normal fried rice... Nothing special but the chilli sauce is good with the rice

Finally dessert! A local desert but served in a rather exclusive manner. I though the middle was ice cream but it turn out to be coconut milk. Usually this dessert we will have it warm but having it cold was a nice and refreshing experience.

Nice, cool and refreshing dessert and a local feel

The lunch cost about S$45 per person with two pluses. Not bad and will go back again to try their buffet lunch on weekends.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

DBS/POSB Card Scamming incident

2012-01-09T22:28:00.000+08:00

Official sources from DBS/POSB say that some syndicate had placed a card scanning device at the Bugis Junction ATMs to retrieved the magnetic information from the card which uses these ATMs. Also someone would spy to retrieve the pin numbers keyed in. With both of these information the syndicate would then duplicate the cards and go over to Malaysia to use them.

Above is the official news release for the DBS/POSB card scamming incident. If you were to ask me I would say it is confirm plus chop a card scanning device had been installed on the ATMs as similar cases had been reported before in Singapore. What the scammers would do is to install a device that look like the actual card reader which you insert your ATM card into. The minute you insert your card into these devices it would start to read your card magnetic strip. Some of these device are even so advance in that a small pin hole camera could be installed to record the pins keyed in.

To combat these devices, ATM machine makers have been designing technologies to try and stop it. One of these technologies is a green transparent casings (with a LOCK like icon) that extend from the area where you insert in your card to prevent any other devices from being attached as you can see in most ATMs found in Singapore. Another technology is to jagged the card reading process such that even if a device was installed it would not be able to read the magnetic strip properly due to the jagged movement.

However the scammers are able to create their own devices to mimic these devices or technologies to look exactly the same, making the user feel safe when they are not. Below are some example of such devices which the scammers might have used in Bugis

Look at how real the card scanner device is compare to the real one

Who would have thought that the card scanning device is already installed?!?!

So to protect yourself from being scammed the best to always use an ATM inside the bank as the security is much higher. Usually the scammers would install the device when the traffic is low or none and the ATM machine is actually quite remote.

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DBS/POSB Internet Banking lagging & Passbook printing stations long queue

2012-01-06T00:22:00.000+08:00

DBS/POSB Internet Banking: "We are currently experiencing a sudden surge in traffic to our internet banking." Guess everyone is logging in to check their accounts now...

Just went down at 12mn to go over to the SAM machine to pay some bills when I saw the super long queue at Passbook printing stations as well...

Was informed by my sis about the news this afternoon as she told me two of her friends fell prey to the fraud with each having $2000 withdrew from their accounts in Malaysia...

Please take precaution and check your DBS/POSB immediately and alert DBS/POSB if you detect any fraud. DBS says anyone who believes that their ATM or debit cards may have been compromised should contact the bank immediately on 1800-220-1111 or visit any DBS/POSB branch to have their card de-activated.

Heard news saying DBS Bank's managing director and head for consumer banking group (Singapore), Jeremy Soo say that DBS is now taking steps to compensate affected customers in FULL.

A photo of a fellow Singaporean's passbook affected by the fraud

Hmm is it really the safest???

Have you check your account?

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Singapore President, PM, ministers and Speaker of Parliament face pay cut of 36%-53%

2012-01-04T21:57:00.001+08:00

The President's pay will be cut by 51 per cent to S$1.54 million from S$3.14 million. The PM's pay will be revised to S$2.2 million from S$3.07 million a year, a 36 per cent pay cut. Ministers' annual pay will be reduced by 37 per cent to S$1.1 million and Speaker of Parliament will get the deepest cut of 53 per cent to S$550,000 a year.

For those of you who do not know what Speaker of Parliament role is about well below is the extract from Wiki:

The role of the Speaker in Singapore is similar to that in most Commonwealth legislatures. The Speaker presides over the Parliament and enforces the rules in the Standing Orders of Parliament to allow for the orderly conduct of parliamentary business. The Speaker may or may not be an elected Member of Parliament (MP). Speakers that are MPs must remain impartial and cannot participate in parliamentary debates nor vote on issues and motions in the House.

Ok so now lets see how their salary is formulated:

Annual salary (20 months!) = fixed component (13 months) + annual variable component (usually 1 month) + individual performance bonus (3 months for good performers) + national bonus (3 months if targets are met)

What is national bonus? What targets (KPI) to meet?

Well maybe the following are the targets:

Increase the current 7% GST
Increase the CPF min sum
Increase the electricity cost
Add more properties rules to make Singapore properties more expensive
...

As fellow Singaporeans we should be entitled the national bonus too right? So what to we get... The GST offset package? or the Singapore Shares? I want a 3 months bonus!!!

Ever since I start understanding why Singapore has one of the lowest corruption rate in the world, I know that to achieve that the Civil Servants are actually paid slightly higher than most other countries so as to make accepting bribes not worth the risk. But seriously after seeing how the breakdown of the salary structure is done for the Ministers I really think it is too ridiculous... 3 months national bonus!!!

If you were to ask me why now the cut the salary well the main reason which I can think of is to win back political votes from the younger generations especially since the last GE where the main political party actually lose quite some stand and having suffered many years of strong political backlash.

But the younger generations are not stupid! If they want to win back our votes they should think about how our lives can be improve. The ministers get less money but it is not going to solve any of the existing issues like high properties prices, high COE, low pay, high education cost and high public transport fares...

Does the extra money from the ministers going to be put into those areas which I mention above so as to improve the lives of fellow Singaporeans? I afraid not... Life still goes on as usual expect that this create a topic which I can blog on, maybe get more readership and to complain about (I still cannot forget the national bonus thingy!) but that is all about it.

To win our votes (and trust) back to the main party, things should be done to impact and improve the lives of Singaporeans. Doing things like Ministers salaries adjustments are good to see but seriously many of us dun even bother about it. If we can have good leaders that think about the lives of their countrymen in front of the pockets I dun think anyone will mind if they are paid better than most of us cos they deserved it. But if the Ministers are getting high pay while not doing much to improve anything well it just make people envy of them and their job.

So what is your stand on this? Feel free to comment.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Happy New Year 2012

2012-01-01T11:35:00.000+08:00

Thank you for sticking by my blog and reading for yet another year. 2011 had been great as I see a growth in many areas. SGBoleh in particular have been growing pretty well in the last 2 months (once I decided to come back to blogging) and the Adsense earning to my surprize was very good despite the last minute effort before 2011 end. All these cannot be achieve if it was not for your support.

Let me share this nice New Year song with you and wish you and your family a very Happy New Year 2012!

Every New Year makes me feel full of hope and that there is potential for change for the better and happiness. I have not really started on what I want to achieve for 2012 but even so I am excited about the fact that 2012 will be a chance for me to change my life as well as others.

As for count down well did not have any party or anything cos once you have a child everything seem to rotate around him. However what me and my wife did was something rather typical but yet uncommon... We actually count down in front of the TV but not watching any of the New Year Countdown programme but rather we watch Tron and Tron: Legacy on Star Movie HD which at midnight (New Year 2012) changes to Fox Movie Premium HD. So bascially our countdown was with all the Star Movie fans out there who together with us saw the switch from Star Movie to Fox Movie Premium.

Star Movies HD, one of my fav English movie channel

Witness the switch to Fox Movies Premium HD at 12midnight 2012

FOX Movies Premium and FOX Movies Premium HD will kick off its 2012 line up with the latest Hollywood hits including the premiere of Tron: Legacy, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader, The Switch, Gulliver’s Travels, and original drama series like The Walking Dead. A very impressive line up for 2012 I must say.

Was planning to have a New Year morning run but guess the Tron: Legacy is abit too much for me so maybe instead of a morning run, I will do a evening run and this time a better route.

Do continue to support SGBoleh Cand I will catch you guys with more interesting and exciting blog posts in 2012!

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Nice Getaway @ Port Dickson Malaysia

2011-12-31T14:58:00.000+08:00

Finally manage to squeze a trip where only me and my wife can spend some quality time together and although it is only for a short 3 days, 2 nights (with a child anything longer will be a problem) getaway at Port Dickson Malaysia we still find it very relaxing and enjoyable.

A quick intro to Port Dickson for those who have not heard of it before. A beach and holiday destination situated about 32 km from Seremban and 90 km from Kuala Lumpur. It is located in the state of Negeri Sembilan in Peninsular Malaysia. It takes just over an hour by car to travel from Kuala Lumpur to Port Dickson along the North-South Expressway. Port Dickson is mainly famous for the seafood, which is a delicacy in the town. There are different seafood restaurants along the street which offers a range of cheap price with fresh seafood (but we did not get enjoy cos no transport...)

Apart from that, Port Dickson has night markets. There is a weekly night market, which falls on Friday and Saturday, and monthly night market which falls on the 15th (also we did not get to visit this cos we were only there between Tuesday and Thursday).

We choose to have a resort stay at Grand Lexis, a 5 Star resort that offers Balinese inspired villas with an unmatched level of luxury and comfort and each unit has its own personal pool and well-landscaped garden. Something like what you will get at Banyan Tree in Bintan. Our room is the Deluxe Pool Villa which is the smallest of all their rooms but even so it is still pretty big compare to most other hotel rooms we had stayed before. We do not want to choose a bigger room cos since there is only the 2 of us, it will be quite scarely especially when you have 2 king sized bed and you only slept in one...

Overall I will say the stay was good except for 1 thing which I think they can improve on and that is the food. Breakfast buffet was good a slight differences for the 2 days which we had breakfast but their buffet dinner really sucks big time... At RM60 per person the quality and selection of food they have really is questionable!

Also seriously I think the local government or maybe the developers should consider building more shopping, dinning and entertainment near the resorts especially since some of the visitors do not drive. The nearest seafood restaurant is like 1km away from Grand Lexis and to take a taxi to there will cost like RM20... Coming back would be another issue since it is almost impossible to flag any taxi on the road...

Despite all these I would still go back again and next time bring my son along so he can swim in the pool as well. Of cos I think either I will rent a car or if any Malaysian friends going there as well can help to drive us around.

See thru glass panel to the sea below us!


Nothing beats a nice morning swim after a nice breakfast!

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Successfully migrated to new blog theme

2011-12-31T12:06:00.000+08:00

To welcome 2012 I decided to do some minor revamp on the theme of SGBoleh since I had been using the 2008 Dec... 3 years of running the Sunset theme I think now is time to upgrade to something more Web 2.0 thingy :)

Tested the new theme on Firefox, Chrome, Opera and of cos IE. All looks good and every function and page appear to be fine. Clicking on the post title will shows you the whole post and any current comments. On the comments page, you can read comments, subscribe to a RSS feed for comments to that post and make new comments on a post.

New features are mainly found in the footer area where I show the recent posts and comments as well as the most popular posts since SGBoleh started. To conclude all these changes is to make SGBoleh easier to read and of cos attract more readerships. I will be still tweaking around with some of the features and hence if you have any thoughts, comments or bug reports feel free to comment.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

$100 Shell Card Hoax

2011-12-30T14:55:00.001+08:00

Beware of the $100 Shell Card Hoax on Facebook!!! A few of my friends had already kena and it is spreading like wild fire...

The message is not an official Shell promotion and Shell had no share in spreading this message at all. If one of these spam messages appears on your Facebook wall either delete it or do not click on any links that it contains to stop it from spreading!

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Funny Posters on SMRT Train Fault

2011-12-23T10:07:00.002+08:00

Singaporean are really creative and due to the recent SMRT saga it really spark the creativity in many. Below are some of the creative posters that on what to do or not to do during a train fault or breakdown.

Do note that this post will take a while longer to load as all loading speed are drop by half to monitor download stability! :)

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Two buses lost their way while MRT train up in smoke while half way to Jurong East

2011-12-21T17:25:00.003+08:00

Latest news!!! SMRT once again in the spot light with this time two of their SMRT buses (Service No 176 and Service No 970) lost their way and ended up in dead-end and a train which is half way to Jurong East suddenly up in smoke!!! Believe SMRT is now investigating the incident and believe that the problem is with a compressor in the train but seriously with all this saga happening to SMRT, public confident with them will drop to rock bottom.

And to think in just about 45 minutes later I will be taking the MRT train... Hopefully I not the sway one to kena any delay...

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Housing Loan For Second Property

2011-12-21T13:49:00.000+08:00

Many of you might have know of this but for those who just got their first property and now aiming for a second this information might be of useful to you. Most of us when getting our first property will get a loan either from HDB or bank, although a small percentage of us will be able to full pay off the property using their CPF and cash but like I say this percentage is really very small.

So when you intend to get your second property (provided you had stay for the min number of years for HDB) chances are you will be getting a loan too since the property now are just too high. SO how much will the bank be able to loan you? Well below are two examples to help you know just which group you are in and how much loan you will be granted.

1) Have an existing loan and still servicing it
Chances are you will be granted only 60% loan as you already have an existing loan. So be prepare to pay up front about 40% which min 5% has to be cash...

2) Paid up first loan
If you had already paid up your first loan then for your second property the bank will grant you a nice 80% loan. This is the standard which most property agents will use in their cash flow calculation.

Also if you have any existing bad debts, you might be subjected to a different loan value or may even be rejected should your bad debts were recent ones. So before you go down and put your deposit always remember to check to see if you are able to purchase your second property and just how much cash/CPF and loan you will be granted.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Eight hulks carries in SMRT CEO Saw Phaik Hwa dressed as queen

2011-12-20T21:41:00.000+08:00

The annual Dinner and Dance (D&D) for SMRT which held at at Resort World Sentosa 2 months ago and we have SMRT CEO Saw Phaik Hwa dressed as a Queen! If you think that is the highlight of the event well you are only half right as not only is she dressed as Queen, she even have 8 hulks carrying her in to the main hall in a sedan chair...

Guess the 8 hunks must be so embarrassed to carry out such a task as not only do they have to carry her into the hall full of SMRT staff, they had to be topless...

The next funny thing is on that same night when she was "Queen", about 6,500 commuters was hit by peak hour disruption along the East-West MRT line due to a fault in a westbound train at Kallang MRT Station at about 5:50pm. Guess it is the "power" of the "Queen" as she summon all her subjects to be at her party and no one was support the train service at that time...

Anyway back to the point. What do the staff think when they saw as dress like that and being carried in? I mean she is the CEO of Singapore MRT service and there she dressed like that... What was she thinking... I understand that D&D is suppose to be a fun event and cosplay are sometimes the theme of such events but when she is the only one who is dressed as "Queen" what is she trying to tell her staff? Is she trying to imply that she is the "Queen" of the company and all staff should bow before her?

I am not surprise should there be many who upon seeing her dressed as such are laughing... Me for sure will be one if I am present there that night...

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

MRT service was a joke today!

2011-12-19T10:06:00.000+08:00

Announcement was kept on playing at the stations and on train that the service will be slower today due to track monitoring... As reported the train will be travelling at 40km/h but when I was on it from Kallang to Raffles Place, I dun even think the train is going at 40km/hr but in fact much slower...

Also by using cable ties as the temporary measure to secure the "claws" really make me wonder if the engineers really know what they are doing... They have the whole Sunday morning to find and fix the problem and cable ties are what they can come out with? Well I think I must be glad they did not use strings instead...

I think SMRT really got alot of things to think about this Christmas... With the holiday seasons coming in shortly and one of Singapore main public transport coming to almost a complete standstill, while other public transport increasing their fares, it make Singaporean really wonder if the government and the management from the respective companies are doing anything? Remember these are public transports and it is for the public and that include Singaporeans, PRs and even visitors...

I think it is time for some serious actions to be done and if the management can't do anything then maybe the Government should step in more firmly to take some actions before it is too late and the public lose confident with Singapore's public transport structure in all.

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NS-EW MRT lines to start 10am on Sunday

2011-12-18T01:08:00.000+08:00

Dun be surprise if there is no train service in the early morning especially for Sunday church goers as NS-EW MRT lines will only start it service at 10am instead of the usual 5.30am after checks have been completed on all trains and tracks.

Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew told a media conference on Saturday afternoon that the checks may not be completed in time for normal service to begin at 5.30am and SMRT will run free parallel bus services from 5.30am to 10am. This time round LTA will also be involved in the checking and if a service disruption occurred again then at least now got 2 parties to blame :)

For Sat disruption the official reason given was a third rail cover was dislodged between Novena and Newton stations causing 3 trains to be immobilise at Dhoby Ghaut Station. This is also the similar reason given for the cause of the Thursday breakdown.

Although they still claim that the train services are still safe but seriously a rail cover dislodged... Does it sound safe to you? Imagine if a train go over the dislodged rail cover... will it cause the train to derail? To me as long as there is a problem, the service is not considered safe... simple as that!

So now with all this things happening to the MRT services in Singapore it seem like everyone either buy a damn expensive car with the stupidly high COE or pack with others on the bus...

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Singapore MRT Down, Authorities unhappy over broken window

2011-12-16T09:24:00.000+08:00

Yesterday Singapore experience the worst MRT breakdown in history when the North-South train service broke down just before 7pm and was recovered only fully around 11.30pm... Luckily I was home early yesterday hence not affected else I will be like Kao Bei Kao Bu liao since I only need to travel from Raffles Place to Dhoby Ghaut, a short 2 station ride before switching to NEL.

Heard many were in complete darkness as power to the trains were down and had to wait in aircon-less cabins for at least an hour before help were send by the staff... Some passengers even broke the windows to allow air into the trains and it seem that the authorities were unhappy about it... Come on the train service is down, no power and aircon, what is so wrong about breaking a few windows to let air in!

I can understand if train service go down once in a while but the fact that the authorities were unhappy over passengers breaking windows... Does it mean that the lives of the passengers are not as valuable as a window???

If they do not want people to break their windows, I think SMART should include backup power supply on each train/cabin so that in an event such incident happen again at least there will be light and aircon available. If they dun then dun complain when people start breaking the windows to allow ventilation.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Circle Line Down Forcing People To Take Taxi

2011-12-14T09:39:00.001+08:00

On the 3rd day since Comfort increase their taxi fare structure another event strike that make people wonder why so coincident that the Circle Line is down and this in turn force many to switch to buses or taxi to go to work...

This morning the Circle Line stations are packed like sardine due to train fault... Many are late for work and had no choice but to switch to other mode of transport like Taxi or bus. Was it a conspiracy between the Circle Line and Comfort???

Yesterday evening also similar event happen on the North-South Line in the evening. It seem that there is a train fault as well and stations like Raffles Place and City Hall were packed with people since it is knock off time.

If it is really a conspiracy at least make it not so obvious...

Photo taken by my Campmate Daniel Tan

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Funny Singapore Photo

2011-12-13T10:46:00.000+08:00

Next time be careful where you sit or who you stand beside. You never know you might be the next victim! Alot of such T-Shirts are now available in Singapore and you can easily purchase one at Bugis / Chinatown area.

I wonder if there is two arrows version which I think will be much more fun! Any have fun!

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LOST Bus Driver should listen to passengers advise?

2011-12-12T14:04:00.000+08:00

Interesting news as I do not expect it to happen in Singapore especially since Singapore is so freaking small and most bus drivers should be well trained in the routes that are on and how to handle such incidents should it occur.

Understand that the driver is not a local Singaporean hence many will use that as a reason as to flame why he was lost. However I will try to say something here out of pure fairness that is if I am the bus driver, I would be lost too should I take another route which I had previously no experiences on. Hence I dun think the driver here should be held fully responsible for the incident but having say this it is not that he has nothing to do with the whole incident.

On the road depending of the traffic situations, the bus drivers would have to made different choices for the well being of his passengers and himself. For this case there is traffic jam and the driver decided to take another route for the well being of his passengers which is good but he should access if he know the other routes well and that if he has all the support he need to navigate to his destination.

SBS station control should also allow the drivers to listen to passengers advises in such times as on the ground only the driver and his passengers know the situation the best. This flexibility should be allowed to avoid such cases from happening.

If you had miss the news report, below is the short clip on this.

What are your thoughts on this?

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Additional 10 per cent stamp duty on private properties

2011-12-08T10:08:00.001+08:00

Singaporeans and PRs will be relief that this new rule apply only to the private properties in Singapore whom many believe that the prices had been push up mainly due to many foreigners buying them. With the additional 10% stamp duty on top of the existing, most foreigners will now have to think twice before buying and this will hopefully help to cool down the private properties market and allow Singaporeans and PRs to get their fair share in the private properties pie.

Foreigners who are not permanent residents (PRs) will be very disappointed at the property measures recently launched which add an additional 10% on top of the existing 3% stamp duty, making the properties (for foreigners buying) almost as expensive as what their own countries offer.

Foreigners from Hong Kong for example where the properties prices are very expensive, properties in Singapore will be consider rather affordable but now with the additional 10% (13% stamp duty), one would have to think twice before putting their cash in...

Hopefully this additional stamp duty will stay at only the private properties and not flow over to the HDBs else there will be another round of "talking" on why everything is increasing but not our pay...

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The True Facts About Girls

2011-12-07T13:56:00.000+08:00

No offence but I think what the guy in the clip mention is pretty true... There is another clip titled "The True Facts About Guys" which I will post sometime tomorrow. So meanwhile sit back and enjoy the 5 minutes plus clip.

Seriously I have no problems with girls like what this guy encountered :)

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Comfort Delgro increases taxi fares

2011-12-06T09:55:00.000+08:00

Comfort Delgro increases taxi fares and with this it means that 50% of the taxi in Singapore will have an increase in fares! Just when we thought 2011 will end peaceful and quiet way, Comfort come in with this piece of news… So which form of public transport did not increase fare so far since the last General Election (GE)?

With this increase peak periods is now defined as Mon to Fri-6a.m to 9.30am and Mon to Sun and P.H - 6p.m to 12mn. Midnight surcharge will be from 12am to 6am… Does this mean that we will only have between 9.30am to 6pm where we dun need to pay subcharge?!?! And worst it is for 7 days a week…

So if you wish to take a cab to go to work, you will have to do so after 9.30am and that risk you not getting a taxi as I foresee most Comfort drivers will most likely work between 6pm to 9.30am and not forgetting you will risk getting fired by your boss for coming in late…
Haiz… Everything increase… With Comfort taxi fare hike and COE supply reducing… Dun tell me we will have to cycle to work…

Also they claim that this is to help to boost drivers’ income, but what about their taxi rentals? Are they keeping it the same? A classic Hyundai taxi rental is about $120 per day so is Comfort going to guarantee that the rental will not increase despite the increase in fare? Remember what happen during the last taxi fare revision, not only are the fare increased so are the rentals… So who is the one who benefit most of it? I dun think are the drivers… Ok maybe the rental will not increase but what about the diesel prices… Maintaining… or?

Thoughts are welcome.

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Someone like Sesame Street

2011-12-05T02:58:00.000+08:00

I know Sesame Street since I am a kid and thou I dun really love them to the extend that I will watch them everyday or whenever they are shown on TV but I dun hate them either.

For Danium well it is the first time he is seeing the characters from Sesame Street and I expect him to kinda scare of them especially since they are puppets. But I was wrong it fact the minute I put him in the coin machine, he immediately started holding on the the steering wheel and started "driving" with Erine and Bert... Wonder where he intend to drive them to... Sesame Street?

Well I am glad him like them else I will waste $1 on the machine :)

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Am I on track?

2011-12-03T22:50:00.000+08:00

Having step into the working world for many years now and looking back it keep giving me the feeling that what I have achieve today is not really what I am suppose to get...

Not sure if any of you have this sort of feeling before but I feel that after so many years and after so many incidents happening I am still at square one... Not even move an inch... There are times when I am like going to reach a target then suddendly everything just strike back to square one again...

Comparing me to most of my peers who are now on their way of achieving what they wanted in life, I am still far... Most already gotten their Masters (some even on track to PHD while me still a degree holder), most already own a car and living in private properties (me still in HDB) and some even had already reach financial freedom and retiring (me still in the rat race).

Is there something wrong somewhere or this is the life/path I am suppose to have? Am I really on track?

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Google Adsense Cheque Cash-In

2011-12-02T03:02:00.000+08:00

Got the cheque from Google again!!! So my 4th Google Adsense Cheque for SGBoleh and my 7th Adsense Cheque in total I receive from Google since I started trying out stuff online since 2002.

Good news is now I had manage to reach my previous target of $1 a day from Adsense so now time to set a new target and that is $1.50 a day from this program.

Once again will like to thanks all my readers for their support :)

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New CPF Ordinary Wage Ceiling

2011-11-28T23:41:00.000+08:00

With the increase in the Ordinary Wage Ceiling from $4,500 to $5,000 from 1 September 2011, many people who income exceed $5,000 will suddenly realize that why their take home about drop by $100...

Well for those of you who made the effort to check then you will know that the ceiling had been increase but as for those of you who did not bother to check or even know of the drop in the take home well it is actually due to the increase in ceiling from $4,500 to $5,000.

Also note that this affects all employees, including Singapore Citizens and Singapore Permanent Residents.

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Family Trip Indonesia Jakarta

2011-11-28T07:51:00.000+08:00

Ever since my son was born it has been at least 2 years since I last went on a holiday trip with my wife. Last trip if I not wrong was to China (Southern China areas) where we spent about 2 weeks to 3 weeks there. But ever since then we are both pretty much bounded in Singapore...

However last Wed my wife decided to have a family trip to Indonesia where she can bring my son to visit all her relatives and friends and on the way to nego for some business deals. Glad to say everything went on pretty smooth except for the fact that I still not very used to be pace of Indonesia way of life... too slow and relaxed...

My son had a great time enjoying himself there as well. With a daily routine morning swim followed by breakfast and then visiting friends and relatives, think he is the only one who really enjoy the trip to the fullest.

O did I mention that we stay at Gading Square which is just next to Mall Of Indonesia (MOI) so after we are back from our day trip or when it is too early to move out we will just head out to MOI for some fun. Well everything is not just about visiting friends and stuff, me and my wife also did spend some time together to catch a movie and boy are we shocked...

We actually wanted to get the couple seats like what you will find in Singapore but end up we actually got a couple bed instead and the price was like only S$30 for 2... Planned to watch 2 movies but then decided to just watch one (Puss in Boots).

Anyway trip overall considered quite ok. Good food, visited many friends and relatives but really not enough time for shopping and stuff... So maybe next time when our son is older we will make a trip there again, and I must say when he is really older cos in the plane unless he is sleeping else he will be the loudest passanger on board... None stop throughout the trip...

Breakfast @ Oh La La Lounge MOI

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Gunpla EXPO Singapore

2011-11-20T12:02:00.000+08:00

I know this is kinda of a late post but hey better than nothing right? :) Once again for all Gundam Models fans out there Gunpla EXPO is here in Singapore again and this is the third time they are helding this event @ CompassPoint Sengkang.

The expo serves to showcase the world of Gundam plastic modelling or what most insiders will call as gunpla. Not only the normal HG models will be on display but you can feast on models on the MG or even PG scale!

Also in this event is the Singapore’s entry to the World Gunpla Builder Cup 2011. So not only will there be models done by the professionals but also by fans like you and me from all around the world! Last but not least letsnot forget the famous Gundam Girls who will be there showing off some models and Haro!

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Back to Studies

2011-11-19T11:07:00.000+08:00

Looking back at the frequency of my posting on SGBoleh I realize that I had not been really actively blogging like how I used to do in the past... Guess that is part of being a parent and climbing the corporate ladder...

Now I am looking to going back to study and get my Masters. All if not most of my peers already had gotten theirs (although most are still IT based) I think it is time I get mine so as to allow me to better advance in my career and to step out of the IT/Telecom Industry.

But having graduated for 6 years the thought of going back to study again somehow create some uncertainty... Alot of things are flashing in my mind just having this thought of going back to study... Things like is the cost too high? Do I have the time to complete the entire course? Will I be able to pass? Bla Bla Bla...

Got a few offers from both local and overseas universities and so far I think the local ones are abit overpriced... Guess the one most afforable are actually those from Australia, even so there are so many colleges and campus to choose from...

University of Newcastle, University of Adelaide, University of New South Wales and so many more...

Time to select, pick and study!!! :)

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Masturbation in NTU Showers

2011-10-06T10:17:00.000+08:00

In army that guy would have been charge is found to do this in shower. I wonder how will NTU deal with it if they really manage to match the DNA to the students or worst outsider...

Ask them to not masturbate... Ask them to masturbate in their own rooms... Later we have cases where people put their semen into other drinks again...

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Can you spot the cat?

2011-09-30T15:18:00.000+08:00

It took me about a minute or so to spot the kitty but it was sure there. Not really hard if you are on a laptop or PC. But do not try to locate it on your phone unless you have one of those bigger screen ones with zoom feature.

A real cat or not I dun know but it is more fun locating the cat then playing photo hunt.

So let see if you can spot it and how long you take.

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Singtel's 3G Service Down In Town Area

2011-09-07T16:10:00.000+08:00

Latest news!!! Singtel's 3G service down for all users in Town Area. Friends who are in Raffles Place confirm cannot use 3G. Other users in Town Area like City Hall or Orchard might wish to check if your mobile phone has service or not.

SMS might experience slight delay due to this service down as well for Singtel's users.

Anyone with new updates do feel free to comment here.

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Samsung Galaxy SII & M1 ExtremeSurf Experience

2011-08-29T00:27:00.000+08:00

Starting using my new Samsung Galaxy SII for almost 2 weeks now and so far I pretty enjoy using the phone. I had never really use a Smartphone before and using Galaxy SII really is an experience for me.

I can now check my emails on the go, connect with friends via Facebook, hold conference call with partners and my team using Skype all on my Galaxy SII. Tried watching some Youtube on the Galaxy SII and I must say although the quality of the clip was not very good but playing it on the SII enhance the visual quality alot.

Have not started to use the phone as a PDA as yet cos now I am more to trying out new apps from Market and see how much fun it is.

Overall I am very happy with this Galaxy SII. It is lighter than iPhone4, bigger and richer display, and of cos a dual core processor all in one. The only thing I am not so used to is the need to charge my phone pretty often. In the past using the "not so smart" phones, I can survive for at least 2 days of normal usage before the need to charge the phone but now I need to charge it almost every night so that the next day I will be play my Tower Defence game while travelling to/from work and have my company emails read on my phone.

Now my Galaxy SII can only be complete with a data plan and this I got from M1 using their ExtremeSurf plan. Thou the connection was not very stable with some places I totally can't get a connection at all but overall I would say it is a reasonable plan to get. For me I dun even bother to switch to WiFi since my data usage is unlimited so I on it almost 24/7 daily (maybe that explain the battery drain). Understand that Singtel had a similar price plan but the data cap at 12GB which usually cannot be hit by normal usage but I switch to M1 because of the multi lines saver which I can enjoy.

For Singtel despite all my lines with them (3 in total) I was told I can only enjoy a 20% discount on my mobile plans provided I signup another fibre plan with them. This would mean that I will have to get 4 lines with Singtel in order to enjoy a 20% discount on my mobile plans... Compare to M1 with 4 lines I can get a 30% discount on my mobile plans. So I decided to swich to M1 and in total I am enjoying a 35% discount off my mobile plans with all my lines with M1. A pretty good deal I must say.

So if you like me in the past using a normal phone, why not take the chance to get the Samsung Galaxy SII and a nice data plan to enjoy the fun of owning a smartphone beyond iPhone!

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Singaporean Ah Ma Having Hard Time Buying Fish

2011-08-13T10:35:00.000+08:00

Still remember when I am small I follow my mum to market in the morning and those days everyone in the market either speak Hokkien or Malay. English and Mandarin are two languages which only found in the Supermarkets and there are times where my mum need to help translate English to Hokkien.

But today at Rivervale Plaza Wet Market something happen which make me wonder where is the traditional Wet Market custom gone to? A Singaporean Ah Ma was trying to buy some fish hence asking the fish seller if he can scale the fish for her, but the fish seller answered in Mandrian you want this fish or another?

Nope not the fish seller heard wrongly or what but because the Ah Ma speak in Hokkien while the fish seller is from Mainland China. Both of them are Chinese by race but one speaking a direct language and one only can speak Mandarin... End up the Ah Ma no choice but to walk over to another stall to buy.

If you thought the fish stall is the only one with China worker then you are wrong. The Veg sellers are also from China and the cutest part is alot of the Indians/Malays are buying from them despite not being able to speak a word of Mandarin. So how the trade was done? But pointing fingers and if cannot find then dun buy...

Are Singaporeans refusing to work in markets? Are these China labour really so cheap? Do the stall owners understand that if by employing the China labours as the front sellers they could losing alot of business especially from the non Mandarin speaking community?

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Google Adsense Cheque Here Again!

2011-08-04T13:30:00.001+08:00

Got the cheque from Google again!!! So my Third Google Adsense Cheque for SGBoleh and my 5th or 6th Adsense Cheque in total I receive from Google since I started trying out stuff online since 2002.

Well my target for Adsense still the same with achieving $1 a day from this program is possible. Currently I am on and off this target hence from this cheque on it is more of how to maintain the constant performance and that can only be achieve from the support I gotten from readers like you.

(That's the cheque with my name on it, address masked off :) )

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Nucleus Connect & M1 Play Me OUT!

2011-07-18T22:05:00.001+08:00

My fibre installation was delay for 6 weeks from the day I signup at PC Show, and now got the stupid thing of Nucleus Connect giving wrong address to OpenNet so my signal was not activated and they can't install today...

Call up M1 and they mention that they will liaise with Nucleus Connect to send the contractor down at 7pm to 9pm to do the installation. This arrangement was done by the managers of both M1 and Nucleus Connect at around 5pm. So I give in and waiting... 9.30pm not even a soul came.

Call up Nucleus Connect and the CSO say no such arrangement and the contractor say they already told M1 about this incident in the afternoon... So what happen to arrangement done by the managers of both M1 and Nucleus Connect?

M1 must be thinking I am a fool and Nucleus Connect is thinking I am an idiot. Tomorrow each better give a good reason and compensation for the time I wasted...

So readers if you also experience this do let me know how you intend to settle this with either party.

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Angry Bird Now On Exam Papers

2011-07-11T16:18:00.000+08:00

Believe it or not, teachers nowadays are getting more and more creative and are finding ways to make exams something which the students can easily associate with.

What better way to achieve this than to import the popular Angry Bird concept into the exam papers. Which school is that I dun know but I sure want to join cos who know maybe can play Angry Birds during lesson.

Maybe in future we can do without the exam papers and just do everything over iPad :)

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Updated Passive Income For First Half Of 2011

2011-07-11T00:41:00.000+08:00

Was taking sometime to calculate my current passive income status. Not seeing alot of freelancing projects coming in for 2011 (partly due to the fact that I am now much busier with my fulltime job) as compared to 2010 where just freelancing projects along amount to S$12,060 or about 97% of my total passive income.

But this year so far freelance project only amount about $4,040... only about 30% of what I got for last year. When maybe companies are more tight now with what they outsource but anyway I will be expecting more from Google Adsense since now monthly I am averaging about $20 from this program. I know it is not alot but still it is something which I dun really need to bother to much with since after I had done the one time effort of setting up the account and ads, the entire program simply run on its own.

Thou with my currently status I am still far from achieving financial freedom but still a target is a target and as long as I have a target I will work towards it. Anyway if you are keen to know about the details (which I dun think you will since it is so boring) just click on the "Show Me The Cash" link just above this post.

Time to KO... Tomorrow still need to work... Wonder when can I get out of the rat race...

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StanChart Marathon Registration Open

2011-06-23T15:12:00.001+08:00

More than a hundred eager participants were at the site below my office on Wednesday evening, one day before the official registration day even started. Today the queue was even longer when I reach Raffles Place MRT...

I know StanChart Marathon is a very popular run but seeing so many people queuing even before the registration start really scare me... The annual sporting event features various categories including the full 42km marathon, the 21km half marathon and the 5km fun run. Organizers of the marathon are looking at about 70,000 runners this year and from the looks of it I think they might be able to hit this target with ease.

There is a photo of the queue at 3:08pm. Much shorter now but of cos the early birds have all gotten their goodies :)

Online and walk-in registration begins June 23 at 11am, and ends September 30, 2011. So if you are ready for the run do remember to signup before September 30.

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Busy Busy Busy

2011-05-22T10:21:00.000+08:00

Been a while since I last drop some words here, well been really busy with work, baby stuff and House Of ToTo. Guess my laziness also plays a big part on this as well.

Things been going pretty well for me so far I must say. Work wise progressing as planned, now in a management position I see things pretty differently from being an engineer. It does not make me a different person but rather it grow me into a better one. In the past I only see things as it come and even if I want to or has the ability to do more, I am usually limited by the scope of my work. However now I can not only do more, but can make decisions on how things will be changed. Last time my work scope was my limit, now even the sky is not my limit.

In case you are wondering, Danium been doing well thou now he is assuming the role of King Of The House. Yup after the major operation (13 hours long) to correct his condition now he is doing pretty well although we still need to monitor him just in case. Other than that like I said he is he King Of The House, demanding our immediate attention whenever he wants it. Will post some photos here soon after I got my new phone.

House Of ToTo well doing very good I must say. My deduction program is now able to correct deduce the winning numbers pretty accurately. Although the wheeling part is a limitation as we cannot possibly buy 18 numbers or 25 numbers but like I always say, if you can get the winning numbers, no matter how good your wheel is will be useless.

Ok will stop here for now. Better start to entertain Danium before he get all fired up and start crying!

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5 reasons why people dare not vote against PAP

2011-05-06T10:20:00.000+08:00

6 May if Cooling Off Day where Parties are not allowed to place new advertisements or visit homes and offices to canvass for votes. The wearing of political insignias and holding election meetings on these these days are also prohibited.
This was to allow voters to reflect rationally on issues raised during the election before they cast their vote. However despite having Cooling Off Day, some people will still vote for PAP because of the following 5 reasons which will make them vote irrationally.

The fear that PAP will find out that they voted against PAP because of the serial number on the voting slip.

This had already been make clear by many that serial numbers are there to prevent fraud. With the serial numbers on the voting slip it will allow the election to be conducted in a fair and just manner without any fake or false voting slips.

If dun vote for PAP, the constituent they are in will not receive any housing upgrade

Do note that HDB is a statutory board and it is not PAP! A statutory board is an autonomous agency of the Government that is established by an Act of Parliament and overseen by a government ministry. The Act sets out the purposes, powers and rights of the agency. Unlike ministries and government departments that are subdivisions of ministries, statutory boards may not be staffed by civil servants and have greater independence and flexibility in their operations. In short HDB exist to serve the people of Singapore and they are to treat all HDB flats equally be in fall under PAP or other parties control.

HDB Housing values will drop if PAP is not elected

A message from MM Lee on this and it cause many fear among the voters. Most voters are owners of HDB flat and upon hearing this threat will be afraid that their flats value will drop. But does not mean that by voting for PAP the values will go up cos it also depend on the supply and demand ratio.

The opposition party have not have enough manpower or experiences

It is impossible for the opposition party to rule Singapore in this election that is for sure due to the lack in numbers. In term of political experience yes the opposition are not experienced but that is because they were not given the chance to gain this experience. If the chance is given to them to step into the political arena of Singapore I believe over time they will be able to gain the experience needed.

Risk of losing our current ministers

Well to me this is not really a reason cos we are not losing ministers but rather changing them to someone who we think can do the job better. If the current ministers are good then they have no worries about losing this election. For voters do not be feared because of this threat. If you think the ministers are not doing their job, well it is your benefit that they are replaced.

Ok any this is the photo of the rally which I attended yesterday @ UOB Plaza.

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President Obama dead?!?‎

2011-05-03T12:26:00.000+08:00

Believe it or this is what reported on the news. So in case people from this side of the world did not catch it, below is the clip of the news report.

Me myself also made this mistake when speaking to my wife :) Guess the two names just so linked.

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General Elections 2011 - The Rally

2011-04-30T10:47:00.000+08:00

Been to the rally by People Action Party (PAP) and Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) on Thursday and Friday respectively and it really make me wonder who should I vote for or should I just void my vote...

As usual I am not going to urge you to vote for which party but rather I will like to share my views after listening to both rallies. Both parties addresses a number of issues during the rallies but I must say most of the time they are simply addressing the issues and not offering solution or what they will do if they were elected... As an average Singaporean, I would want someone who I know is able to listen to what the average Singaporean has to say or complain, address it in the Parliament and offer solution, practical solution which will help us.

To me the $15,000 per month is not a big issue cos as long as those who take this money can make our lives better I dun see why not. In the corporate world it is the same, he who hold more responsibilities will command more pay and this pay will demand more from him and if he cannot perform he will be removed and replaced. I believe that should be the same with the government in Singapore. We need capable people to lead the country, and if these capable people require higher pay to get, I dun see why not. But if these capable people are not able to perform their roles and duties, they should be removed and replaced by the government immediately and not wait till 5 years for another election.

The parties also usually like to use the term, "First country, then Family", a statement which I dun really agree. To me Family come first then Country. Why I say so is because I am a normal family guy and my primary role is to protect my family, my wife and my kid. To me they are my motivation to move on. So if I can protect my country but not my family what is the purpose?

A question which I will like to pose to all parties taking part in this election. Do you care for Singapore or Singaporean? I will like to take this chance to also share this with my fellow voters in this election, remember dun care about which party you like or dun like, what you should care about is what they can do for you, yes YOU not the country first. Cos if your interest dun come first why should you even vote?

To me I do not want a case where by I vote for the party and the party do their best for the country to move forward but I am still at base ground or worst fall behind. I want to be able to move forward first and only then can I do my part to bring my country forward. In simple term I need to be proud of myself as a living being, before I can be proud to say that I am a Singaporean.

It has to be known that during rallies and election, we voters only vote based on what the parties promise but we do not know if they can produce what they promise or not. Hence it is important that the government continue review their members and removed those who are incapable. I nv believe that in a party, everyone is capable got there bound to be black sheeps around and they had to be removed and replaced.

Just a side note which I will like all voters to know is that I know many people are afraid to vote for opposition parties because of the fact that on our voting card there is a serial number which inline with our NRIC. I know this because I also experience it in the 2006 election but today I will like to assure fellow voters not to be afriad to vote because of this serial number as this serial number is simply verfication method against false vote and to ensure that there are no duplicated votes. So dun be afriad to vote, vote for yourself.

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7 May 2011, Singapore General Election

2011-04-26T00:39:00.000+08:00

Dun worry I am not going to take about which political parties is good or bad, or which party I going to vote for thou I will like to see a change in the existing system and hope that Nicole Seah will win in the Marine Parade GRC battle.

What I want to share here is something of much more importance to every employee here in Singapore or at least those covered by the Employment Act. As you will know 7 May is the General Election day and it fall on a Saturday. For those who are working on Saturday well good news cos that day you do not need to work as the Ministry of Manpower has declare Saturday 7 May 2011 as a public holiday.

For those who are not working on Saturday well dun worry cos the Ministry of Manpower has declare 7 May as a public holiday so everyone who are not working on Saturday will be entitled to one day off in lieu, or be given one day's pay, as per other public holidays falling on a Saturday.

So if have not inform your employer about this, do let they know and refer to this url : http://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/Page/PressReleasesDetail.aspx?listid=358 for more info.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Good Team Members

2011-04-09T09:03:00.000+08:00

I am not sure if I am sway or what but it seem that things likely to go wrong especially during the weekends and yesterday such case happened... I had previously setup a Web Server, SMS service as well as VNC connectivity and just before I knock off from work, I did a health check and everything was fine. But when I was @ NTUC buying stuff for dinner, received a text message from my boss saying the Web Console was down... So immediately I text my team to ask to check if Web Console was down or some other issue as I did not have any internet connection.

Upon reaching home sad to receive the news from my team that the Web Console was down, VNC was down too... So I tried the VNC but was able to get, try the Web Console was able to get in too... Then suddenly everything was also fail for me...

At that point I think something must be wrong with our physical connection since everything was block out even our connection to a NAS box. Hence being the manager in charge, I was planning to go down to office to check it but my team member skype me that he will go down to checkout the problem and resolve it. I am not sure why he volunteered but I know he too just like me had just reach home not long ago and now to go down back to office again must be something no one like. I told him it was ok and I can go down instead but a statement from him really make me feel so thankful that I have such team members in my team.

"I have no wife or children, plus I am bored at home so it is ok. No problem. Can simulate like a real outage case. I will call you once I reach".

And with that he logged off and on his way even before I can tell him that this was a real outage as our boss needed the sevice to be up as a new customer would be coming in.

Once he reach office, he got the connectivity up. Done some configuration changes to the network and VNC so as to allow me to have more control over the system. I carry out a series of test to ensure that all services are up and running and that connectivity was stablized.

What I want to stress here is the fact that having good team members is very important. Not only are your team members your best lunch kakis but they are also there to support you especially when you are the manager or team leader. For me I am glad I have the "Pillar Of The Company" in my team and for that Thank You!

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Parenthood Tax Rebate (PTR)

2011-04-06T10:57:00.001+08:00

Been a while since I posted something regarding financials and because the date line for income tax filing is near, I will like to talk abit about a new rebate which I had just file claim for and I hope you will remember to file for this rebate as well especially since it is something new.

The new rebate which I will like to talk about is the Parenthood Tax Rebate or PTR in short. It is a rebate given to married Singapore tax residents to encourage them to have more children and this rebate can be used to offset your income tax payable, shared with your spouse based on the splitting agreed by both parties and any unutilised PTR will be carried forward to offset future income tax payable until it is fully utilised.

With regards to the criteria to qualify for this rebate, kindly refer to IRAS website here. What I will want to stress here is actually the time when this rebate should be claimed.

PTR is to be claimed in the Year of Assessment immediately following –

The year of birth for legitimate child;
The year of adoption for legally adopted child; or
The year of marriage of the natural parents for illegitimate child

Any unutilised amount will automatically be carried forward and offset your future income tax payable. Hence, it is not necessary to submit a fresh claim for subsequent Years of Assessment.

So if you had yet to file this claim, do remember to do so as it will really help you to save on your income tax payable.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Buying My Dream Car... Audi A4

2011-03-27T01:23:00.000+08:00

Now that I am more or less settle down with my new job I should be considering once again my dream of owning an Audi A4. However I am now wondering if I should buy an Audi A4 or even a car at all since I am now working at Raffles Place and the freaking traffic, parking and ERPs are making owning a car more expensive...

In my previous job, my office was pretty near my home and driving would usually take between 10 to 20 minutes depending on the driver's skills and the performance of the car. And not to mention no ERPs, season parking was cheap and petrol pricing not as high as now.

But now working at Raffles Place the duration for driving will be between 30 minutes for good traffic and if during rush hours well it could be anything between 45 minutes to even 1 hour (if there was an accident). And the freaking ERPs which I had to pay simply make driving to work not worth it. And even if I manage to avoid the ERPs the parking at Raffles Place... It would burn a very big hole in my pocket.

So I might be dropping my plans of owning an Audi A4 till maybe when my current office move out of the CBD area. Plus now with the high COE I think not only me but everyone will feel the pain of even owning a car. To put it simple, a car is too expensive to upkeep.

Furthermore owning a car is like taking drug. Once you own one, you will most probably need a car no matter what and going back to public traffic would be out of the picture. So before I even start on this drug, I better not even try it till I am really ready to be addicted for the rest of my life.

So my plan? I will be saving the "monthly upkeep" fee in my bank and maybe either use it for a trip or when I move out of Raffles to out side of the CBD then maybe this sum of money can be use for a car, as well as to feed my addiction :)

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Ex-Integro Dinner @ iLuma

2011-03-26T11:35:00.000+08:00

4 years and 3 months since I left Integro and it been really really long. I am glad Tho manage to organise another dinner cos it been really long since I last meet the guys from Integro.

Thou not everyone is able to make it but still it is nice to be able to catch up with those that make it. I still remember the dinner many years back where we ate at Bugis, that time everyone still working as Junior Engineers and Junior Developers but yesterday most of us are either Senior Engineer, Consultants or holding management positions already. Times really flies and I am glad everyone is doing well.

June and Erna are expecting their second babies (both baby girl) somewhere in Apr and May and Danium would have more friends to play with. Yesterday was also the first time I manage to meet up Yeniffer for the first time since she came after I left and who together with Ms Qiong Yao are both still in Integro (so maybe cannot say Ex-Integro dinner :) ).

My only disappointment is Spacey, Pei Ling and MC not able to make it else the whole BIB team would be present. But still with 安公子 and Tho, it sure bring back those days where we all stuck in UOB doing all the shitty debugging and coding.

No photos are we only had dinner. Maybe next time can have a drinking session after dinner then maybe some photos will follow. So till then to all boys and girls of Ex-Integro, jia you!

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Meeting my Ex-Boss

2011-03-17T19:28:00.001+08:00

The IT industry is really a very small world, in fact so small till it is not surprise to meet people whom you used to work with and now they are your business partners. Why I say so is because a few days back I actually meet up with my Ex-Boss from my first job and this time we are sitting down together discussing about the RFP I had drafted for a new project which his company is interested in taking up.

The feeling is really weird cos 5 years ago, he was sitting down together with me as well but during that time he is the CTO of the company and I am a fresh grad from Uni looking for a job in his company. He conducted my second interview and the impression I had of him at that point of time was that he was a very strict man who is very knowledgeable technically. I not too sure how I fair for the interview that time cos I was so nervous over the questions he posted to me.

Now 5 years down the road, we meet again in a meeting room but this time not for an interview but a discussion between two companies representatives. Here the feeling is very much different from that 5 years ago. Man talk about small world... Who know maybe one day I might be working with him again since the IT industry is really very small :)

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

New Job, New Change, New Challenges

2011-02-24T22:06:00.000+08:00

Wow been a really busy 1 week and half... So busy that I dun even have time to sit down and have a good rest... As some of you might have known by now I had recently change job after 4 years with my ex-company.

Having survived 2 retrenchment exercises and having my whole team wipe out leaving only me along in the whole of Asia Pacific region I think I had well exceed my stay with my ex-company. Although I was welcome into a new team and given the chance to be a team lead but guess when the opportunity strike one must grab it fast and hot.

I was being offered an opportunity to try out something which I believe in my ex-company will take me at least another 2 to 3 years before I am able to be promoted to that level. So when the opportunity was offered I took it up immediately. Thou I understood the risks but it was really a chance for me to explore a new horizon which I had always wanted to step off in.

Having spend almost 2 weeks in the new career made me realize that it is not easy to be a manager. When I just step foot into working life I always had this mindset that being a manager is an easy job but over the years I spend in my ex-company I realized that was not true. And now having to be one doing project management and managing project schedules and such... it is really not an easy job at all.

I used to be able to do time management very well and never do I ever bring work home but now it seem like I had to do so cos I was being tasked to manage so many projects and so many lose ends to settle. Work just never seem to be able to complete... But I am willing to take up the challenges especially since now I manage to pull 2 project launches back on track although being delayed a few days from my estimate but still manage to pull it back and going to get it launched by next week.

Tired yes, happy yes cos it is really an opportunity I had been waiting for. Finally someone manage to look past my age and recognize my abilities. Ok will stop here as I need to finish a System Design document which I need to present to the management tomorrow.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Chinese New Year Mood Spoil By Guards at Park East Condo

2011-02-04T23:00:00.000+08:00

Today was actually happily going for Dinner at my relative's Condo at Park East but the guards there spoil my mood and not only that they really discriminate against me and family just because my dad is a cab driver.

As usual my dad drive us to my relative's condo in his cab and this is not the first time we are there but today is really a day spoil by the guards. When we reach we are told by one of the guards that my dad can drop us near the pool entrance and he can drive out. But my dad say that he is actually here for an event and asked where is the visitor's carpark. The guard immediately attitude change and say that the visitor's carparks are all full and he should park outside. Not wanting to create anything unhappy about such a simple thing my dad say he will drop us first then he go park his car.

As I am bring the baby stroller we decided drive into the lift lobby area where there is a slope for me to push the stroller up but the barrier to the lift lobby was not open to us. The guard then came over, knock on my side of the window and say that cab cannot go into the resident carpark. I told him ok if we can go in is there any place where we can find a slope to go to the pool entrance as I have a baby stroller and my son was asleep so I can push him in his stroller but the guard say the only access is only via stairs. This I find it strange cos how can a condo be handicap unfriendly? Even the worst private apartment I been to have slope for handicap personals or those pushing their baby stroller to use but at Park East this is what the guard say.

I told the guard that there is a slope platform at the lift lobby area so if he can he can just let us into the carpark and allow my dad to drop us there while he will drive out to find parking. He is actually quite unhappy about it but he still let us in since I really needed a slope to have access to the lift lobby and can't aspect my mum to carry my son up so many steps of stairs but reminded us (talking to my dad) this sentence "Uncle, I let you in but Taxi cannot park inside this carpark!"

I was like we know that this is a resident carpark and we dun intend to park inside even thou there are tons of available lots inside we respect the residents rights. Anyway we went in and my dad drop us off at the lift lobby. At this point everything still appear ok and my dad proceed to park outside the condo.

When I meet my dad later he mention to me the guard say he cannot park his cab outside and threaten my dad. I was like how can they do this!!! We already park outside and I see so many private cars parking outside as well why my dad cab cannot park outside! It is already outside the condo area but the guards still act like they control the place. My dad went to talk with my relative and one of my uncles came down and ask my dad to park further down as last year he park his car outside also but later condo guards call the authority to summon his car!

For those who been to Park East should know the entire area is private owned and public parking space is quite limited and on Holidays free lots are even harder to find. When I walk out I saw my cars (Audi, BMW and Mercs) just park outside the condo along the road just like my dad's cab but why did they specifcally target my dad's cab? My uncle and my dad drove further down to find parking while I walk to the guard room to ask the guards why my dad can't park there since all the visitor's parking are full.

The guards reply is straight forward and simple... Because Taxi cannot park there!

I am so pissed but decided not to make things hard for my relative since their relatives and friends are here as well. So I went up to the pool and observe for a nice 30 minutes on the cars coming in and out. Yup visitors parking are all full but I saw cars parking at the same spot where my dad cab used to park and the drivers just walk into the condo without any guards stopping or telling them they can't park there.

So is this discriminating or what! So what if my dad drive a cab at least he manage to support me and my sister to University and give us a decent life. And these guards what give them to rights to discriminate against us just because we drive in using my dad's cab.

I know they are just doing their job but their job dun give them the right to discriminate against cab drivers! My mood is really spoil by them... these guards... What if they are the ones being discriminate against... What if all cabs in Singapore refuse to pick guards as passengers because they are just guards (or in old times where the rich like to call those guards as "watch doors dogs")... How would they feel?

what other condo managements are doing but allowing visitors to park in Resident Carpark especially during major holidays like Chinese New Year etc. Another of my Uncle condo just did that. Visitors are able to park their cars in the Resident Carparks during the Chinese New Year period.

My mood is gone and forever I will never go to Park East Condo again. Why should I subject myself and my family to such disgrace again... All interested investors if you read this I also urge you to consider other much better condos in Singapore if you wish to invest.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Annual Bonus CPF Contribution Cap

2011-01-31T16:23:00.000+08:00

Since my last post on CPF Contribution Cap, some readers have been emailing me asking since there is a cap why is it that some months they actually contribute more than $900. So why is this so?

Well other than the monthly wage contribution cap, there is another cap known as Additional Wage (AW) cap. Yup this is actually the bonus or any additional wage you might get in your job contribution cap. To make things simple it is important for you to know that your total wages subject to CPF cannot exceed $76,500 for the working year. This amount include your monthly wage and any bonuses so if you earn a monthly wage of $3,500, then the available amount subjected to CPF for your bonus will be $34,500. So unless your bonus is above $34,500 in which any amount above that limit will not be subjected to CPF. Do refer to below for more examples:

Monthly $3,500
Bonus LImit : $34,500

Monthly $4,500
Bonus Limit : $22,500

Monthly $8,000
Bonus Limit : $22,500

If you have bonus towards the end of earn be prepared to bay some contribution.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Your CPF Contribution Cap

2011-01-25T10:05:00.000+08:00

Alot of CPF members in Singapore might not even know that there is a salary cap to the CPF contribution for both employees and employers. Yes once your salary hit this amount, you and your employer do not need to contribute any money to CPF beyond that amount.

This cap amount is current at S$4,500 regradless of age and gender. To give a better understanding let me do a simple calculation below for you.

If you earn S$3,500 monthly
Your Contribution : 20% of $3,500 = $700
Your Take Home : $3,500 - $700 = $2,800
Your Employer Contribution : 15% of $3,500 = $525

If you earn S$4,500 monthly

Your Contribution : 20% of $4,500 = $900
Your Take Home : $4,500 - $900 = $3,600
Your Employer Contribution : 15% of $4,500 = $675

If you earn S$10,000 monthly
Your Contribution : 20% of $4,500 = $900
Your Take Home : $10,000 - $900 = $9,100
Your Employer Contribution : 15% of $4,500 = $675

As you can see from the above example, the maximum you will be contributing for your CPF is S$900 monthly and your employer is S$675 monthly. So go take a look at your payslip now to see if your contribution make sense to you.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Aiming to buy my dream car Audi A4

2011-01-17T11:42:00.001+08:00

Like all other boys I also have a dream car which I had always wanted to own and for the simple sake of showing off. Yup to me owning a car is really more of showing off than for practical usage especially since in Singapore I can basically get to anywhere via the public transport. Some people may argue that having a car will make traveling faster but I will have to defend this that in Singapore sometime taking the MRT is even faster than driving and this is very true especially during peak hours.

But if buying a car has no practical usage then why am I planning to buy one then? Before I share with you why I wanted to own a car I share some of the negative financial points of owning a car:

As we all know owning a car is equal to losing money every day since a car is never an asset and the upkeep cost every month can range from a few hundreds to even thousands.
Once you own a car you will forever need to own one no matter what. This is very true as my bro-in-law is a living example. Once he got his license he got his first car Honda Jazz and even until today after so many negative things and high cost which he can barely upkeep, he still own a car.
Car owners have the urge to rely on their cars as the primary form of transportation and they do not wish to go anywhere without their cars. Even the family of the car owner can't do without the car so you can see how badly a car can change the lifestyle of not just the owner but his family as well.

Hmm with so many negative points and from a Financial point of view owning a car is a big nono then why am I still aiming to buy one? Well thou I understand the big financial commitment which I had to throw in to own a car (a even bigger commitment for an Audi A4) but owning this car had also been my dream and now with new changes coming along, it is time for me to start achieving my dreams one by one and setting more new dreams.

But having say this thou owning Audi A4 is my dream I am fully aware of the huge financial commitments which I need to fork out just to achieve this dream and careful planning is needed to achieve my dream. For other who also wish to own a car, well do understand your financial status and do some careful planning first before buying one. The worst thing that could happen is buying a car but landing yourself into a bigger financial hole.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

House Of ToTo Special Event - Double Happiness

2011-01-16T13:04:00.000+08:00

The annual Ang Bao Draw is here again and this year we are looking at a Mega Jackpot of total $15 million!!!

Yup if solo winner I think can retire and enjoy life. This is instance Financial Freedom in the making. Anyway I am making this post to let interested ToTo putter to join House Of ToTo as I will be putting out 2 events to win the $15 million.

So if you are interested do read on and join House Of ToTo as a Premium Guild House Member today to take part in this annual Mega ToTo Draws!

SingaporePools has announced the two dates for the $5 million dollars Reunion Draw as well as the $10 million dollars Hong Bao Draw on 28 Jan 2011 and 11 Jan 2011 respectively.

As planned House Of ToTo will be organizing a special Premium Guild House Member Only Event for each of these two mega draws. Below are the details on how the special event will be held and organize:
Only Premium Guild House Members who started their membership on Week 3 to Week 6 will be invited into the event
Members will be grouped into Guild Houses of 6 members each
For each event, a special set of XX numbers of ordinary entries will be purchase and these will be issued to individual Guild House for verification with results at 8.30pm
Members will not need to fork out additional cost for the XX numbers of ordinary entries as these will be on the house
Members will not need to purchase these XX numbers of ordinary entires as they will be purchase by House Of ToTo
Members who signup for Week 3 and Week 4 membership will be invited to both events while Members who signup for Week 5 and Week 6 will be only invited to the $10 million dollars event
Premium ToTo Predictions will still be issued and this together with the XX numbers of ordinary entires will greatly increase each Member chances of striking the Mega Jackpot
For Guild Houses with less than 6 members, the shortfalls will be covered by House Of ToTo
So if you wish to take part in House Of ToTo Double Happiness Events, do join as a Premium Guild House Members today by following the instructions available at http://www.houseoftoto.com/p/premium-guild-house.html. If you have any questions with regards to the events do feel free to contact me.

For more details simply visit House Of ToTo as any latest update will be posted there.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

7 Jackpot Winners for Monday 27 Dec ToTo Draw

2010-12-30T10:28:00.000+08:00

Should be one of the highest number of winners in Singapore ToTo history for a mere S$650,000 Jackpot. Previously there are draws with more than 10 winners but those are for mega draws where the Jackpot prize was over S$5,000,000 but for Monday draw well...

I receive many calls on Tuesday from friends and lunch kakis asking if it was due to my ToTo predictions that resulted in the 7 winners for Jackpot. As much as I wish my predictions did help create 7 Jackpot winners, the fact is nope I did not (my predictions manage to predict a 3+1 and a 4+0 win) but I will like to thanks my friends and lunch kakis for believing in me and my lottery predictions @ House Of ToTo

Anyway today I will try to explain why there are 7 winners for Monday draw and hopefully with this understanding you will be able to enjoy the game of ToTo even more. As you all know SingaporePools ToTo is a fair game and a pure random event in which every number has an equal chance of coming out and the past results does not bear any judgment on future outcomes. So how did these 7 winners manage to get the winning combination?

Based on my analysis and understanding from the kind of entries which won (all are handpicked numbers none QuickPick) I would say that there is a very high chance these 7 winners actually picked their friends or relatives birthday dates as numbers to bet on. Why I say this is because the winning combination are numbers all below 32 being handpicked I would say the chances of using birthday dates is very very high.

I had previously mention that using birthday dates as numbers for ToTo will limit your chances of winning cos the biggest number which you can ever get is 31 and you are missing 14 numbers in your selection and that would greatly affect your chances. Also we can see that as many people share the same birthday dates (you can easily see from Facebook how many of your friends actually share a common birthday) even if it does come out as the winning combination chances are the Jackpot will have to be shared by a large number of people.

So there you have it, the explanation as to why and how there are so many Jackpot winners for Monday ToTo draw. So does it mean that we should all start using birthday dates as our primary selection? I will still standby my point that using birthday dates greatly affect your chances due to the fact that you will be missing out 14 numbers but if you enjoy using birthday dates of your family members or friends you can always continue to do so. Have one or two extra ordinary entries per draw with birthday dates selection will not harm your pocket and most important is you must enjoy the game.

Before I end this post I wish to stress again that ToTo is a form of gambling and as with all other form of gambling you should play within your means and do not cross the line from enjoying to addicting.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

The Gold Label placed on MAS' Investor Alert List

2010-12-23T10:32:00.000+08:00

Previously I wrote a post on The Gold Label and caution readers that such investment carry risk and might not be suitable for everyone. Well today I had a big news on The Gold Label.

In case some investors and even The Gold Label agents have not know about this yet but The Gold Label had filed a notice on Oct 8 this year declaring its inability to continue business by reasons of its liabilities and on Oct 11 it filed another notice of the appointment of provisional liquidators for voluntary winding-up.

What this mean is that The Gold Label will not be able to pay investors the required interest or buy back the gold in short period and that all payouts will be delayed for 9 to 12 months!

The Gold Label had also been placed on MAS' Investor Alert List and it does seem that The Gold Label is operating under a Pyramid Scheme as it follow the trend of similar investment program where that money from later investors is used to pay the earlier ones with no actual investment done by The Gold Label with the money it collected.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

High Interest Saving Accounts

2010-12-18T10:23:00.000+08:00

Had an interesting conversation with my lunch Kaki over kopi on Thursday when the topic was on High Interest Saving Accounts and of cos Lottery. Putting Lottery aside as I believe there are other more suitable time to talk about lottery let us concentrate on High Interest Saving Accounts instead as I personally will like to share with you what I think about such Saving Accounts.

A normal Saving Account from POSB/DBS or OCBC or even UOB are between 0.01%pa to 0.275%pa and these rates are considered normal saving rates. However there are some saving accounts from other banks which offer slightly higher interest rate like between 0.5%pa to 2%pa.

But as always when there is a give, there will be a take. So in order for such higher interest rate to be possible, the banks offering them will have to take something from you and this can range from services like ATM, passbook to purely internet transactions only. So if you have a high interest saving account chances are you will lose features like having island wide ATM access or even no ATM card at all. You will also lose the feature of having a passbook and your bank account balance can only be check online. Also they would limit your withdrawal to just interbank transfer and might even charge you a fee should you use the teller service to withdraw. Some of these might even impose a minimum monthly saving amount to earn that high interest.

So do you think it is worth it to have a High Interest Saving Account as compared to Normal Interest Saving Account? For me I will say a High Interest Saving Account is not really necessary as personally I am primary using a Saving Account for it features like easy ATM access island and flexible saving amount as I can't be sure how much I can save every month and I would not want something which limit/control my saving amount.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Smoking when No Smoking Sign Right In-Front

2010-12-13T14:59:00.000+08:00

Was at KopiTiam Rivervale Plaza yesterday afternoon when I spotted 2 man smoking when the "No Smoking Sign" was just right infront of them. One of them who was there with his family (wife and a daughter) actually light up a new smoke when he past so happen to see the sign and walk pass it!

The other guy was already smoking on his way up the stairs and both I had to go into KopiTiam first with Danium (was carry him at that point of time) to avoid him taking in second-hand smoke and then came out to shoot the picture with the smoke still on their fingers.

I know photos are small and blur cos by the time I came out they both had walk quite a distance down and I do not wish to have any direct confrontation with them especially when I am with Danium. But I seriously hope these smokers will at least smoke at the designated smoking areas in Rivervale Plaza. Not that I am against smoking but I do not wish Danium to take in second-hand smoke and also by smoking where they like, it will only bring the enforcement on designated smoking areas to be more strict and eventually affect other smokers!

They are lucky I am not NEA officer else they would have issue warning or maybe even fine and soon if things are not improving NEA might even make it just that smokers are not allowed to smoke in all public places except their own home.

So please smoke at the designated area especially the guy with his family. Dun let your daughter pick up this bad habit when she is still so young.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

AIA & HSBC Insurance Financial Planner Recruitment

2010-12-02T23:25:00.000+08:00

I know most of you hate receiving calls from insurance agents asking you to do a free financial health check which of cos will led to sales talks and most properly end up with you buying an insurance policy.

Well if you though that is bad... what about having insurance agencies calling you up asking you to join them and they not only call you once or twice but up to 4 times even after rejecting them the very first time.

Experience it before? I had and it just happen last week where AIA and HSBC Insurance (not really HSBC but a company who carry HSBC Insurance products solely) call me up asking me to join them as Financial Consultant and Financial Manager. But what piss me off is that they call me many times even after I rejected them over and over again... Below is what happen for the two companies.

AIA
A lady call me (found my profile on recruitment website) asking me if I am interested in having a career change and have a career with AIA. I ask what position and if got basic pay and she answered as a Financial Consultant and they can offer fixed allowance of up to $4k a month for 12 months. But I rejected her saying I am not really interested in becoming an insurance agent and we ended the call after she promise me some rather attractive but not to my cup of tea stuff.

Then 1 day after the same lady called me up again and ask me if I am interested in having a career change and have a career with AIA... I told her she just called me yesterday and she apologise and again ask me if I would be interested since they are offering pretty good term...

Then the very next day again she called and this time we end the call very fast after she found out that I am the same guy...

Then 2 days later a new lady called me up saying she receive my application and will like to fix me up for an interview session as a management trainee with their manager! Wow cool finally a ticket to management position so I ask what company is it and she mention AIA... I think about it and mention I ask if it got anything to do with selling insurances and guess what was her reply?

"O ok then it is fine" and she hang up the call... Seriously if AIA really short of agents till they need to "con" people in by offering position like management trainee...

HSBC Insurance
A guy call me saying he is from HSBC Insurance and got my profile previously and was wondering if I would be interested in a career change. I say why not and was hoping he would offer a bank position with a fixed salary. He went on saying that the position involve direct sale of financial products and wealth planning services with clients base provided and they offer a fix basic salary! Cool so I reply that I am interested and ask how should the interview be arranged. He asked if I know where is Robinson Road... and I was like... why Robinson Road? HSBC Insurance is at Singpost right... I ask how come not at Singpost since that is the headquarter but he say the interview is at Ronbinson Road. I started to feel something is not right and I question further like how much is the basic and which branch office is at Robinson Road and he answered that he is not sure about those and that I can ask from the manager instead.

I played along by agreeing to the interview and asked his name again just to be sure. I went to the interview at Robinson Road knowing that the position I am applying very well is an agent position with no basic pay but I just want to let the manager know that he should train those making the phone calls not to give misleading information like having basic salary when there is none (they offering a financial scheme like the $4k allowance from AIA) and providing client base when one need to pay a sum of money to the telemarketers to help arrange the appointments...

I am not very sure but in the financial industry misleading information is a big No and the manage should know well before hand about what to have the recruiter tell the prospective agent and not to again "con" him or her by saying things like fixed salary and client base provided.

Then just 2 days later the same guy call me up again and told me he got my profile long ago and wonder if I would be interested... I told him that I am only interested in a job which give a fixed basic salary and his dun. He say maybe I got the wrong job but I am pretty sure so I ask him if the interview venue is at Robinson Road and the manager I am suppose to have interview with is Mr XXX... Call hang up...

Again if HSBC Insurance so short of people... Like I mention before in the AIA case I think when recruiting especially insurance agents they company should give the prospective candidate a very positive and realistic view of the job scope as well as remuneration package. An agent is still an agent not matter what title they give so please I hope what I experience here with AIA and HSBC Insurance would give a better picture to prospective agents and as well as to insurance companies a view on how I would advise them in doing their recruitment.

All insurance agents represent the company they work for and if they are "con" into joining the company do you expect them to be truthful when dealing with their customers...

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

3 hours wait to see a doctor!!!

2010-11-25T11:35:00.001+08:00

A late post as I was rather busy with work these few days but on Monday I was feeling terrible and decided to visit a doctor to get some medicine and have a good rest. And below is my experience with the clinic (Healthway Medical) at Rivervale Plaza... Do +- about 5 minutes on the timestamp :)

08.30am - Went down to register my name and see the doctor. Was told my queue number was 25 and only 1 doctor available so may be abit slow.

08.35am - Took a look at the queue number, showing number 5. Sat down and start my wait...

09.10am - Still at number 5...

09.30am - Skip 6 and 7 as they are not here and 8 went in as 5 came out

09.55am - 8 came out and 6 went in

10.20am - 6 came out and skip 7, 9, 10 and 11 with 12 going in

10.45am - 12 came out and 13 went in

11.10am - 13 came out skip 14, 15 went in

11.30am - 15 came out and 10 went in

11.45am - I decided to change clinic, went down to another clinic ask how long do I have to wait and was told 15 minutes. Ok sound good as I can finally see a doctor!

12.00pm - A mother carry a boy ran into the clinic with the boy's head bleeding. I gave out my turn for the doctor to take a look at the boy first and stop the bleeding...

12.15pm - Boy came out with dressing done

12.20pm - Finally went in to see the doctor

12.25pm - Came out and wait for my medicines

12.30pm - Collected my medicines pay the bill and decide to go up to take a look at the queue number at Healthway Medical... Queue number 18 only!!!

12.35pm - Went to buy lunch

12.50pm - Take a look at the queue number again... still 18!!! Heard now last queue number is 46 and those above number 30 were asked to call back 3 hours time to check what is the queue number

12.55pm - Walking home and calling up Healthway Medical to cancel my queue number

First time in my life I spend half a day just to wait to see a family doctor... Guess my cough and headache got worst just from the waiting...

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

What Shield Plan Is Good?

2010-11-19T11:27:00.000+08:00

I believe many of you would have been approach by insurance agents on buying private Shield plans on top of your existing MediShield so is it really that good and worth buying?

For a start many of these insurance agents used the Shield plans as an opener to advise you into buying life insurances. This is the very common and well used marketing move. However this is not to say that these Shield plans are not good in fact some of them are pretty useful to have if you are the type seeking to have a more private type of medical care.

So what Shield Plan is good? For starter a must is always to have MediShield. MediShield premium are usually about half of private Shield and they offer an average Singapore the most comprehensive medical care insurance. Also with MediShield most will be able to seek medical treatment in a restructured hospital B2 class ward.

For those who wish to have more privacy well you can choose to get a private Shield to further enhance your standard MediShield. With private Shield you can choose if you wish to get a B1 class type of Shield, A1 class type of Shield or even a private hospital class type of Shield. Of cos the premium will increase accordingly and be prepared to be paying about 2 times more as compared to your standard MediShield.

As for which private Shield plan well most offer pretty standard benefit however I will like to recommend NTUC Income Enhance MediShield as well as Aviva MyShield. But these are my personal recommendations and you are advised to seek advise from your advisers or agents for more information and product comparison.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Three directors and a former director of Genneva Sdn Bhd with 796 charges

2010-11-15T10:56:00.000+08:00

Previously I had done a post on The Gold Label Pte Ltd and mention that the business model is pretty similar to Genneva Sdn Bhd. Well I just heard news that three directors and a former director of Genneva Sdn Bhd with 796 charges!

As mention before this form of investment carry risks and may not be suitable for everyone and well it seem like this time Genneva Sdn Bhd got hit pretty bad. The directors of Genneva Sdn Bhd – Ng Poh Weng, 60, face 263 charges involving RM185mil while Marcus Yee Yuen Seng, 58, faces 234 charges amounting to RM153mil and Chin Wai Leong, 34, face 210 charges involving RM212mil. Former director Liew Chee Wah, 56, faces 89 charges involving RM31mil. The four men had allegedly issued and cashed 364 cheques from illegal proceeds at a bank in Jalan Ampang between July 20, 2007, and Dec 6 last year.

Not that I am concern with the 4 being charged but I am sorry for the 2,000 clients with Genneva Sdn Bhd. If anything wrong with the company most likely the money of the 2,000 clients will be gone as well...

Somehow this investment remind me of HYIPs...

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Saving for Children Education with Children Development Account

2010-11-08T10:43:00.000+08:00

Sorry for not updating on this blog so often as been really busy with Indonesia Project lately and also my ToTo & 4D Predictions at House Of ToTo. Things been going pretty fast pace for me and to be frank it is stressful but I like this. Living in a relax environment dun really suit me well since for young I had been "trained" to survive in a "Dog eat Dog" world.

Anyway today I going to talk about Saving for Children Education again. I had a post previously titled "Child Education Planning, is Saving, Endowment or ILP Better?" which talks about Child Education Planning using the 3 basic ways (1 traditional saving and 2 insurance policies) but this time I am targeting the Children Development Account and how it actually helps to save for your Children Education.

All children born on or after 17 August 2008 will also enjoy Government contributions in the form of a dollar-for-dollar matching for the amount of savings contribute to the child’s Children Development Account (CDA). This account earn a nice interest of 1% pa!

Not only is a CDA account earning good saving interest, with the dollar-for-dollar matching by the government that mean you are actually earning double the interest you are suppose to. I know many of you at this point will say that you already know this and how the CDA can be used to pay pay fees for all your children who are attending Approved Institutions registered with MCYS under the Baby Bonus Scheme and also be used to purchase MediShield or Medisave-approved private integrated plans for all your children and pay for all your children’s medical-related expenses. But how can it helps their Post Secondary Education since that is where the main education are!

A fact that many do not know is that after on 31 December of the year of your child’s 6th birthday, the CDA will be closed and the funds will be transferred automatically to the child’s Post Secondary Education Account (PSEA) held with the Ministry of Education (MOE) if the child was born from 2008 onwards. If the child is born between 2001 to 2007, MCYS will write to you offering you the option to credit the CDA funds to any nominated account you may have with any bank. With the funds in the PSEA, your child will be able to use this money for their Post Education Needs.

What this mean is that if you are not comfortable doing investment or buying a life insurance policy to save for your child education and saving is what you do best, then why not save into your child CDA and enjoy higher interest than normal saving account as well as the government dollar-for-dollar matching.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

One Income Family vs Two

2010-11-02T23:46:00.000+08:00

As many of you might have know I am from an one income family and now I am too following this with my current family. In today society I know it is pretty hard to find one income families around and I am proud to be one.

There are times where by I envy those from two incomes family cos with the husband and wife both working and sharing much of the financial burdens, they can afford more on luxury items. For example I seen many dual income families especially the younger ones staying in Condos, driving sport cars, having meals at restaurants and every once in a while going on overseas trips. While me... stay in a normal HDB, travelling by bus and train, having meals at hawker and once a year (if got some spare cash) go one a short holiday.

But it is also this envy that push to strike for more. I can't stand those who own more than me but achieving them by combining their incomes and this push to work even harder, to earn even much more than them combine. It will be tough but I have seen many such examples. My dad is one who even till today stay in a small HDB, dun own a car but have a very complete and happy family. My colleague is another good example as well. He work on a single income and now stay in condo, drive car and once every year bring his family to holiday.

Furthermore I believe having someone taking care of the family while the other work hard to earn money is the best option. Many will say I am a MCP but it is true. Children bond better to their parents (especially mother) if at least one of the parents stay at home to take care of them. I always like to classify my family structure as rank in the army. Being the husband and the head of the family I will hold the rank of a General while my wife hold a rank of a Major. Hence with these ranks I will make all the general decisions while my wife will make all the major ones :)

So if you are from a two income family haha you will know that I will try to catch with with you. And if you are from an one income family well dun worry cos there is someone who is just like you (me lar of cos).

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Birthday Dinner

2010-10-31T08:51:00.000+08:00

Today is my birthday, yup I was born on Halloween Day kinda cool right? I believe those who share this same birthday date as me will feel very very special too cos not only are we celebrating our birthday by ourselves but we have the whole world (or at least those who believe in Halloween) to celebrate it with us. In fact I am quite surprise the kids in Singapore actually celebrate Halloween by dressing up and going door to door to do Treat or Trick!

Anyway for me I usually celebrate it with my family. Last year I celebrate it at home with my wife and my in-laws by having steamboat at home but this year with Danium around I guess I can't really celebrate it much. Steamboat seem to be too troublesome and all the cooking and stuff (and the cleaning up) so that is out. Actually was planning to have a buffet dinner at some hotel but then the prices are pretty expensive and knowing that not all hotels serve good food I dropping that plan as well. Next is to actually buy MacDonalds and try my luck with the Mac-Monopoly but again not worth it and the older people dun really like FastFood...

So at the end I decided this year Birthday will be spend having dinner at a coffeeshop eating "Zhi Char"! For those of you not knowing what "Zi Char" is it is a Chinese food stall serving a wide variety of a-la-carte dishes usually with white steamed rice and soups. Of cos if white steamed rice is too common you can always choose fried rice or mee to go along. Only bad draw is no desserts will be served compared with Hotel.

Guess sometime when one grow up we must start to consider more stuff even for just a simple dinner. Life will really not be the same again now that I have Danium.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

A weekend dinner out at Koufu

2010-10-25T12:51:00.000+08:00

First time since Danium is born that I get enjoy a dinner out with my wife and we have it at Koufu, Rivervale Plaza. Thou the dinner is short (and expensive) but it sure if different now that we have little Danium with us. Dinner was pretty fast as we are worry Danium might start to cry before one of us finish. Plus we are also worry he might wan to drink or change of diaper... Things sure are different now.

Bring him to NTUC also poses a challenge since Rivervale Plaza's NTUC is pretty small and his stroller cannot really move very well in there. Luckily he manage to sleep through it until we reach home.

Quite disappointed cos did not get to buy what I want to buy from NTUC but the experience of bring Danium out wit us sure is fun and interesting. Guess that is what Parenthood is all about.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Sake not for me

2010-10-23T02:03:00.001+08:00

Went for my company dinner at a Japanese Restaurant call Irodori Japanese Restaurant located on the 3rd floor of Riverview Hotel. This is my second time have Japanese A-la-carte buffet with the first being with my family in 2008. Since I am not a very big fan of Jap food I would say overall the dinner is pretty ok.

Sushi, Sashimi, Tampura and many more. If you are to ask me I will say they serve better cooked food than raw ones :) Personally I like the beef roll and grill salmon sushi best.

Next is the sake... Can say this is the first time I officially drink sake since previously I am usually better with shochu. My first impression of sake... well smell ok but taste like medicine... I know comparing it with medicine might be too extreme but that is the very first impression sake gave me when I took my first drink.

Guess I am still better with red wines. At least I know now to appreciate it. Unlike sake which I seem to depreciate...

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Prudential Join Early Payout Model

2010-10-18T11:03:00.000+08:00

Prudential has now launched the PruEarly Stage Crisis Cover. This insurance plan offers financial support right from the early stages of critical illnesses. Similar to the Early Payout from Great Eastern, AXA and AIA now with Prudential also joining the ranks consumers would have more options to choose from.

I had read thru the brochure which is available online, I will say comparing with AIA it is a similar deal but if comparing it with Great Eastern or AXA I will say I will prefer Great Eastern or AXA plans better. However this is my personal views based on my own understanding of the various plans.

I will still recommend this plan for those who are lacking in the area of Critical Illness protection cos I am a strong believer in Term Protection Insurance and having a Early Payout Critical Illness Protection will be very useful.

For more info on how much protection you need or who to get it from do consult your financial adviser for more info and assistance.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

A US$5 million insurance scam by Ex-AIA Agent

2010-10-15T14:38:00.000+08:00

After the AXA-Finexis sage the Insurance Industry of Singapore once again came into the spot light and this time AIA is involved. This case was believed to be the first of its kind here in Singapore involving fake claims, forged signatures and a US$5 million insurance policy.

This incident came about after a semi-retired Indonesian businessman, Mr Ong claims that his agent had sold him a non-existent insurance policy that cost US$5 million. According to Mr Ong, his AIA agent has sold him non-existence insurance policy called ‘AIA Thank You Policy’, which was offered only to selected clients. His agent had produced fake policy schedules and letters from AIA officers such as Mr Mark O’Dell, who was the insurer’s general manager at that time. Now Mr Ong, is suing the agent a for a sum of $3.6 million for his losses.

The agent Ms Sally Low who was sacked by AIA in September 2009 claims that she was merely an accomplice and the fake insurance plan (AIA Thank You Policy)was part of a ploy conceived by Mr Ong to defraud AIA such that AIA would be responsible for Ms Low’s wrongdoings and compensate Mr Ong’s losses.

A scam indeed but how can we prevent this from happening again? The answer lies with us the consumers. By understanding what we are buying and not rush to buy just because of some sweet talks we can actually prevent such incident from happening. Whenever in doubt always seek a second view from an independent adviser or call up the insurer to double confirm.

It is sad that shortly after the AXA-Finexis sage another incident happen again. This will really bring the Insurance Industry to another new low and people confidence with their insurance agents will suffer another big blow...

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Premium and Free ToTo Prediction

2010-10-14T14:35:00.000+08:00

As you had notice I had not been updating my blog lately because I am really busy with House Of ToTo Premium Prediction service. Yup House Of ToTo will be launching its Premium (Paid) ToTo Prediction service as of 14 Oct 2010 to its Premium Guild House members.

So currently House Of ToTo will be offering both Premium and Free ToTo Predictions. Free ToTo Predictions will be posted before each ToTo draw while results of Premium ToTo Predictions will be posted after each ToTo draw.

So what is the difference between Premium and Free ToTo Predictions then?

Free ToTo Predictions

Free ToTo predictions for every SingaporePools ToTo draw. Every draw I will gather 2 sets of 12 numbers and release it on House Of ToTo. However note that the numbers in this free predictions have very low hit rates but not impossible.

Premium ToTo Predictions

Premium ToTo predictions for every SingaporePools ToTo draw. Every draw I will deduce 2 sets of 12 numbers as well as 1 set 18 numbers and release it on House Of ToTo after each draw. The numbers deduce here have a higher hit rate as compared to free predictions.

I will be updating how you can subscribe to House Of ToTo Premium Predictions on a later date. Currently I am inviting only 15 members to join House Of ToTo's Premium Guild House where they will be offered Premium ToTo Predictions at a discounted rate.

So if you are interested joining House Of ToTo's Premium Guild House do stay tune either on House Of ToTo's FaceBook or website for more info.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Danium Latest Status

2010-10-09T08:39:00.000+08:00

It is amazing to see how you child grow up so fast. Just Monday and my wife took Danium for his first vaccinations at the nearby GP.

We choose to give him the 6 in 1 infarix jab plus Pneumococcal at later date cos we do not want to have two jabs on the same day but further more given his young age we do not want to take the risk. The GP also took his height and weight and goss are we surprise! Danium was 5.4kg but height wise still the same at 57cm like 1 week ago...

Anyway yesterday we took him to KKH for routine checkup (I know he going for many medical appointments but it is for his good) and this time round he has an all round increase increase in both height and weight. His latest weight is 5.6kg and height at 60cm!!! Guess the GP might had counted short of a few cm...

Anyway both me and my wife are glad Danium is growing well. Although his night crying still hard for us to adjust to but I guess he will soon grow out of it. I will be working out a schedule with my wife to see how we can manage our time so we can both catch some sleep while at least one of us can take care of him.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Saw My Mentor @ Sengkang LRT

2010-10-06T10:38:00.000+08:00

I must blog this no matter what. Yesterday when going home from work happen to saw my mentor at Sengkang LRT who is also waiting for the same LRT as me. I never knew he actually stay so near to my place until I ask him which stop he is getting off.

My mentor plays a very big part in my working life. He is the one who taught me all about Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System, the various Telco stuff and giving the chances to fully explore myself in this industry. He is also the one who introduce me to the various big customers from Changi Airport Group, TYCO, Singapore Airlines, Singtel, RHB Bank and many many more whom till today became friends and good working partners.

My mentor has also share with me many of his life experiences and taught me alot. Seriously is I had not know my mentor 4 years ago, today I may not be who I am. I may still be a small Engineer (although I am still an Engineer today) who dare not even take a step out of the IT industry or doing things out of my box...

The ME you see today who is confident, expressive and of cos knowledgeable in the areas of my expertise are all results of my interaction with my mentor and his guidance. It is sad that he is no longer in my company due to the wave last Dec but I believe he will always be my mentor and a person whom I can always seek advise and help from.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Paying Bills and Premiums

2010-10-05T17:34:00.000+08:00

Oct always is a month where I save very little money... Cos it is the month where I will need to pay for my bills and Premiums... For this Oct especially I have a power packed credit card bill which I need to settle to avoid the 24% interest!

Minus the standard bills like Utilities, Housing, Mobile, Transport, Household Allowance, Monthly Insurance Premium and Baby Stuff, this month as I mention earlier I also need to settle a super high credit card bill due to last month spending on a few high priced essential stuff for my family usage.

This credit card bill alone set me back by almost $5k! And furthermore this month I will need to settle my Annual Insurance Premiums as well which again set me back by another $4k! This month alone make me poorer by almost $10k!!!

I hate this Oct... Luckily my plannings are well set up since year start and had plan for this sudden spending else I will be in a big debt. This show me that careful planning is really important if you wish to stay debt free. Always set aside some extra cash for rainy days cos you never know when you will need it.

So if you like me have a particular month where you will be in some financial stress, do start to plan early and set aside a sum of money just in case. You never know cos you might actually use it to pay off possible debts.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

MM Lee's Wife Madam Kwa Geok Choo Passed Away

2010-10-02T20:08:00.000+08:00

Madam Kwa Geok Choo, age 89, passed away peacefully at home at 5.40 pm. The wake will be held at Sri Temasek, official residence of the Prime Minister located within the Istana grounds, from October 4-5.

Visitors who wish to pay their last respects may do so on October 4-5 from 10am to 5pm. A private funeral will take place on October 6 at Mandai Crematorium.

Family of late Madam Kwa requests that no obituaries and no wreaths or flowers to be sent.

My condolences to MM and PM Lee on the demise of Madam Kwa Geok Choo

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Singapore Now Has 81,600 High Net Worth Individual

2010-09-30T10:35:00.000+08:00

The number of high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) in Singapore has risen by 32.7 per cent to 81,600 currently and what this mean is now in Singapore we have 81,600 individuals having invest-able assets of US$1 million or more, excluding primary residence, collectibles, consumables, and consumer durables.

I had always been a believer that when times are bad it is where heroes are known and this is very true now. During this period of Financial Crisis (from 2008 till 2009) where the whole world is struck with a cloud of uncertainties, there are people who are able to tap into this and generate a fortune for themselves. Sad thing is I am not one of those who make it big during this time...

Having such numbers of HNWI to a nation like Singapore I believe is both a good and bad thing especially cos it mean that Singapore is getting more and more attractive and also having more and more opportunities for one to strike it big. There will be more openings and much more chances for everyone to actually enjoy a better life than before. This could also one of the driving forces why the government is willing to build 2 Integrated Resorts on a small island nation like Singapore to make it a entertainment hub on the world map to attract more rich people here.

But also the majority of the population who are pretty average (living in HDB and earn a mere income monthly) will have to cope with this increase especially in the cost of living because with this increase in HNWI, Singapore will now have to cater to this group of people living lifestyle and that mean that the overall standard of living in Singapore will once again start to rise. Things will start to get more expensive and to some may be out of reach...

Lets hope the balance between the rich and the average is still maintain by the government and the gap between this two groups was not too big. I surely will not one to see a Singapore where the government only cater to the rich while forgetting the majority who are still living in the heartlands.

What are your views on this? Do you think having this increase in High Net Worth Individual is a good thing or bad thing?

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Importance of Critical Illness Protection in Singapore

2010-09-29T10:44:00.000+08:00

Most of you when approach by an insurance agent will usually be probe this question of whether you have enough Critical Illness Protection. Although this is part of a sales process for the agent but it is very important that you know what is this protection and that you really have enough financially to guard against critical illness when it strike.

In Singapore the number of people diagnose with one of the major critical illness is ever increasing and one of the most common if cancer. Cancer is the No. 2 Killer in Singapore with 1 in 4 Singaporeans dies of cancer, 12 people die from cancer every day and 24 people are diagnosed with cancer every day. Although not all cancer stages can file a claim with the critical illness protection insurance (especially if you had the traditional critical illness protection insurance) but still having a protection here would really help financially for you and your family.

Critical illness protection insurance or critical illness cover is an insurance product, where the insurer is contracted to typically make a lump sum cash payment if the policyholder is diagnosed with one of the critical illnesses listed in the insurance policy.

Like me explain the traditional critical illness protection insurance abit and why you should get such insurance. Under this insurance, you can file a claim only if you are at the terminal stage of the critical illness you are suffering. If you are on the early stages of the critical illness you can still file a claim but chances are it will be rejected as it is not in the insurance policy for the insurer to pay when still in early stages. You should minimally get this critical illness protection if you do not have any critical illness protection at all. Compared with a Death and Total Permanent Disability Insurance the Critical Illness Insurance is a little more expensive but still the sum assured here will help you greatly cos when suffering from a critical illness the medical fee could adds up to quite a sum thus having this sum of money will help alot.

For those of you with a little money cash to spare you might wish to look at a newer product from Great Eastern, AXA and recently AIA which is the Critical Illness Early Payout Insurance. Under this insurance you can file a claim at different stages of your critical illness, of cos the amount claimable will depend on which stage you are at. This insurance protection is good as for example for cancer, under the traditional insurance you will not be able to claim when suffering from say a stage 1 lung cancer. However if you had bought an Early Payout insurance, you will be able to claim say ~25% of your sum assured with a stage 1 lung cancer. This amount of money can be be used to treat the cancer and recover from it. With this flexibility will come with a cost and Early Payout Critical Illness Protection Insurance are more expensive than a traditional Critical Illness Protection so only get this if you think that you have the extra cash to spare and that you really require this protection option.

Hopefully after reading this you will have a better understanding of Critical Illness Protection Insurance. If you are unsure which insurer to go to for what sort of insurance for critical illness, do feel free to drop me an email and I will offer you an unbias second view but at the end of the day you will still have to make your own decision.

O ya if you already have a Critical Illness Protection but is unsure if it is an Early Payout or not, do consult your Financial Adviser or Insurance Agent for help. You can also email me if you like and I will try my best to assist you.

PS: I am not a Financial Adviser or Insurance Agent for your info hence I do not sell any financial products or anything.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

No discount for newborn formula

2010-09-28T11:16:00.000+08:00

Many new parents had been wondering why newborn formula never have any discounts be it in supermarkets like NTUC Fairprice or Cold Storage or in neighbourhood shops like those chinese medical halls who are know to actually sell cheaper formula milk for 6 months and above.

The reason is quite surprising when I recently research about it. It is not due to the sales of the newborn formula or the formula is more expensive. The reason is actually because of "Sale of Infant Foods Ethics Committee Singapore (SIFECS) Code of Ethics" by the Singapore Health Promotion Board.

Under the Code of Ethics, it is mention that sales and marketing personnel in the Infant Food Industry responsible for marketing and promoting breast milk substitutes, within the scope of the Code, must not have their sales incentive schemes tied to the volume of sales of these products. No financial inducements (e.g. special discounts for other medical and paramedical items by the companies) are allowed to be offered to hospitals, clinics and retail pharmacies to promote products within the scope of the Code.

So if you are buying newborn formula well guess either you buy in from JB cos some newborn formula are made in Malaysia so it is cheaper or you can try Sheng Xiong supermarket for slightly better deal. Or if you happen to know of any place which sells cheaper newborn formula (not follow the code of ethics) do comment!

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

SMS Spamming

2010-09-27T12:04:00.000+08:00

I not sure why but lately I had been receiving alot of SMS for Property Deals and now Insurance. I dun mind receiving these offers cos sometimes I do response to them but what I dun like is the fact that the Unsubscribe feature of these service are not working wasting my reply sms.

Below is one such SMS which I had responsed with a "UN" to unsub but until today it is still sending me SMS.

(ADV) Is your car insurance due, ever wonder if you can pay lower premiums? We can help, visit "somewebsite" for a no obligation quote. Reply UN to unsub

I reply UN since 2 weeks and last Friday I receive one same sms and today once again I receive the same sms from the same sender again... If the susub feature is not working dun put it in if put in at least make sure it works... Dun keep spamming me with the same sms over and over again!

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Got my freelancing first payment

2010-09-25T02:46:00.004+08:00

The first payment amount may not be big but is quite a achievement for me considering the fact that I have not been doing freelancing since my Uni years. This is officially my first freelancing project under software development cos in the past my freelance are usually web designing or web programming. This is the first time I am doing software application development as a freelancer and for a major customer (A MNC who everyone know) and this first payment was collected with just a few days effort.

I will also like to take this chance to officially inform all potential customers that I am now open to freelancing projects. I am not limited to any programming languages although I do prefer working with Java or C# but I work with C/C++ as well. Web development using PHP or JSP are fine with me as well. Database wise I have experience with SQLServer/Oracle/Postgrad and MySQL. So if you have any projects which require my service do contact me and see how we can work something out. Dun worry lets us talk about the scope of work first before hitting the $$$ factor :)

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Singapore Jewelfest 2010

2010-09-24T15:28:00.000+08:00

Was invited to visit Singapore Jewelfest 2010 again and this time by TianPo again. Will like to share this with all my readers cos the total worth of the entire event is worth over $100 million dollars!!!

So make yourself free during Oct 1st to Oct 10th and visit Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza. The event is open to public so even if you are not invited can visit the event as well. The opening hours are between 12pm to 9pm daily during the event period. So if you are keen to drop by.

For husbands you might wish to consider if you want to bring your wife along just in case it going to burn a hole in your pocket.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

History of S'pore - Ah Beng's Version

2010-09-22T15:06:00.000+08:00

Ah Beng talks about Singapore History & Current Affairs...

Under the 'Ang Mo' we all live happily together, no complain.

Malaysia & Singapore is one big family in our brains.

One day we both like two durians cannot get along.

Got sharp thorns, poke each other until 'Buay Song'

One moment like brothers, can give and take.

Next moment we kena kicked out by the leg.

Wah! Our towkay also cry like mad,

We all also feel very very sad.

Our neigbours all say, 'Wah they all sure to die!

They got nothing, how to get next bowl of rice?'

So 'Boh Pian,' we all work day and night.

We also join the army so that we can fight.

We don't care others 'see us no up'.

But actually inside we very pain in the heart.

Then slowly hor we grow rich and a bit fat.

Now others talk about us also got some respect.

They scratch their heads and say 'Very funny!

Got nothing how come they can still make money?'

Last time also got no money to buy ice-cream cone.

Nowadays even small kids can also afford handphone.

Seaport, airport also can become Number One.

He! He! Sometimes think about it also very fun.

But some people look at us also not happy.

Actually they jealous don't want to say only.

So every time their country got something wrong.

They all say Singapore's behind it all along.

Everybody know we water no enough.

They turn off tap only we all cannot last.

They threaten us with water supply and shout 'Cut! Cut! Cut!'

Aiyoh! They all think the water is one big ketupat.

We all hear already also Buay Tahan'

Wah liao, they think we small can makan!

But now they 'cow pay cow bu' we all not very scared.

We want to build water desalination plant already so not so bad.

But their own economy now all go bust.

Got to sell water otherwise money no enough.

Then another neighbor say Singapore no friend friend,

Got so much money, a bit more also donno how to lend.

They say we all only one small red dot,

Like the center of a big dartboard.

Maybe they think we mouse and they cat,

That's why they suka suka anyhow talk like that.

But we all still send them a lot of rice.

Show the world we actually very very nice.

Sometimes we 'Cho Ho Sim' also kena whack.

But we all gentleman wan, don't want to fight back.

I think hor maybe they don't understand us very well.

That's why relationship sometimes like heaven sometimes like hell

Some say aiyah our prosperity is all due to luck,

That's why we all 'Siao Siao' can still win the Tiger Cup

I think hor, Singapore is like Chilli Padi in a pot -

Size small small but still very very hot

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

4% Interest to be extended for Special, Medisave and Retirement Accounts

2010-09-21T10:11:00.000+08:00

The Government has announced that the 4% guarantee for interest earned on all Special and Medisave Accounts (SMA) monies and Retirement Account (RA) monies will be extended for one year until 31 December 2011. After 31 December 2011, the 2.5% floor rate will apply for all CPF accounts.

Minister for Manpower Mr Gan Kim Yong said, “Despite our strong economic recovery, interest rates have remained low this year. The sharp drop in interest rates at the expiry of the 4% floor rate may impact CPF members who may not have benefited fully from the economic recovery yet. Therefore, the Government has decided to extend the 4% floor rate on SMRA monies for another year.”

For more information, please visit www.cpf.gov.sg or call the CPF Call Centre at 1800-227-1188.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Am I getting a Saving Plan or Endowment Insurance???

2010-09-18T10:28:00.000+08:00

To some the two might mean the same thing but are they actually the same? Usually when an insurance agent is to approach you, do they tell you that you are getting a Saving plan or Endowment Insurance? Chances are they will usually use the term Saving Plan. However do note that these Saving Plans are slightly different from those you have from banks as saving accounts and why agents use the term Saving Plan well cos people dun like the term insurance and upon hearing that cursed word would just turn and go.

A particular saving account with any local banks allow you to save money as you like, earning you a mere interest which does not go in line with inflation. But this saving account allow you to withdraw money as you require without any penalty and you money is protected by the Deposit Insurance Scheme. For the Saving Plan introduce by insurance agents are usually plans where you pay a monthly or annual premium and you usually can't withdraw the money when you require and has to wait till the plan mature. Any premature withdrawal will result in a penalty and you could get back much less than what you had contributed. But the good thing here is the interest is much higher and is usually between a projected value of between 3.75% to 5.25%. Do note that I use the word projected cos sometimes the interest can be higher or lower. Also such Saving Plan give you a sum assured in an event of death or TPD while a saving plan from bank's saving account dun.

So what about Endowment Insurance? Well I hope after reading so far you understand that Endowment Insurance and Saving Plan from insurance agents basically mean the same thing and it is just a different way of putting it up to the consumer.

Ok I will be meeting a Financial Adviser from AIA in about 45 minutes time to sign a free insurance document. Lets hope the things just end after the signing of the document.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

I try to wear my glasses when sleeping...

2010-09-17T10:47:00.000+08:00

How many people out there who wear glasses and not just for reading but also sleep with them on?

I tried sleeping with it on a few nights ago but of my son. In the middle of the night he would start to scream for milk and several times I had to get up in a hurry just to pamper him and prepare the milk for him. I hate the fact that I need to fumble for my glasses in the dark and sometimes knocking my hands against the edges of the bed. I sleep with a 11 watt standing lamp on but that does not help as things still appear blur without my glasses and so I started sleeping with them in place.

However I will like to ask if anyone also do this? Cos in the past I dun cos I like to sleep on my sides and that usually will put some pressure on the side of my head and if glasses were wore it will be pretty uncomfortable to sleep. Also I had broke one set before in the past when I accidentally slept with them on.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

What will you do with $1 million dollar?

2010-09-16T17:47:00.000+08:00

Ok let say you achieve you first pot of gold... What will you do with it?

I had already plan out what I will want to do with my first million dollar like so many years back and till today the agenda is still the same. So what will I do with this sum of money then?

Buy my dream car Audi A4!!! I am not really a fan of super cars so an Audi A4 is good enough for me. Giving me the class and elegance I wish for from a car.
Buy a condo as an investment property and rent it out while waiting for capital gain.
Spend about $100k to pamper my wife and son by bringing them to travel to Japan and Korea, a place which my wife and me had been wanting to visit many many years ago.
Finally using another $100k to start a small business which my wife can manage and help occupy her time with while earning some income as well.

I know some of you will be asking why I not donating to charity. Well I dun really like giving money as a form of charity but rather I would contribute effort in term of community service etc as I find that more effective than just donating money. It also provide a form of education to my son that we should give back to the society whenever we have the chance to.

Ok enough of me so what about you? What will you do if you have $1 million dollar?

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Easy ways to save money

2010-09-14T10:58:00.000+08:00

I know I have previously mention to you how much you should save every money but today I going to share with you some practical ways in which you can master to help you save in your every day life. Some of you might be thinking how hard is it to save money right why must I post something so simple here, well the fact is that it is always easy to say but when you really put it to action it is a totally different thing.

Putting aside money every month is saving money yes but if your daily lifestyle does not save money, you will soon be tapping into this amount you set aside and you will soon ask yourself why are you not saving any money... Check out some of these easy tips to help you start saving money.

Spare Change Counts

10 cents, 20 cents may seem like a very very small amount but if you actually pick up the habit of saving these spare change into a piggy bank and when it is full, do a coin deposit at any of the local banks (UOB or POSB) you will realize that you have actually save up quite a bit of money.

Cut Your Utility Bills

Use less electricity by switching your electric heater to gas heater. Yes your gas bills will go up but compare with electricity it is still cheaper and more environmental friendly. Use fans instead of aircon in your living room and only on your rooms aircons when you need it, keep it at 25 degree celsius.

Switch From Cappuccino To Kopi

A cup of cappuccino cost about $4 while a cup of kopi cost about $0.90, so you do the maths and calculate how much you can save a month just from it simple caffeine switch.

I know some of these saving methods may not sound fun but keep in mind the financial goals which you can achieve. Stay focus and you will find it much easier to stick with your budget and save more money.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Passive and Side Incomes

2010-09-14T00:10:00.002+08:00

Today marks a very special day cos I officially receive my very first blog advertisement fee from Blue Marketing Group for posting up 2 text links.

Although the fee is not very high, it still help to push my overall passive income earned by a nice figure. I am also expecting to receive a portion of my freelancing fee early next week and it does seem that a large part of my side income still come from my IT skills...

Well to me as long as I can get more money who cares it is passive or side, as long as money I will go for it. My aim is to make sure I can get enough monthly to cover my family expenses and with that slowly achieve financial freedom!

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Can you afford it?

2010-09-13T17:45:00.002+08:00

This is a question many of us will ask when we are buying or shopping for something. But with credit cards many of us soon forgot that this question ever existed and this led to many financial problems and debts. Credit cards nowadays grants credit limits up to 4 times the salary with some granting up to 5 times. What this mean is that people can know buy stuff which are 5 times what they can afford with a month salary.

Sound good right since it mean that people can now have a higher standard of living but actually this is a bad thing cos with the high credit limit people can own up to 5 times their salary due to credit card debts and usually take more than 5 months to repay these debts, thus incurring the interest (24% pa)!

It is nice to use credit cards when purchasing stuff since it earn us reward points and allow our money to work harder for us before paying the credit card bills. But when using them it is very important to ask yourself first if you can really afford the stuff you wish to buy with your credit card. It is dumb to buy something with your credit card now and then not being able to repay the credit card bills later. I have seen people who bought TV set (high-end ones which cost up to $10,000) as well as other high-end electrical appliances and not able to repay the credit card bill later, resulting in the credit card company claim back the TV set as well as the electrical appliances later to cover the debts.

Even if you can afford the min payment of your credit card bills it still means that you cannot afford the items which you bought. You should be able to pay off totally whenever possible and not to incur any debts or interest. When you are able to do this, it mean that you can afford it and you have a piece of your mind knowing that you rightfully own the items which you had bought and no one going to take it away from you.

So next time when you are thinking of buying something with your credit card, always ask yourself first if you can afford it and if you can afford to repay your credit card bills fully when it comes.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Reviving House Of ToTo

2010-09-13T13:38:00.002+08:00

For those who have been following my blog for a long time will know that I actually started a ToTo blog call House Of ToTo sometime last year around Nov. However due to alot of things happening around me and the second wave of retrenchment by my company, I stop updating that blog for a very long time.

Now in the year 2010 after my son is born I decided it is time to revive House Of ToTo and start to build a strong network of ToTo players from around Singapore who share the same dream like me of winning the ToTo Jackpot!

Some changes to the way of presenting on House Of ToTo will be that I will be posting my prediction about 1 to 2 days in advance to the draw date and see how well my prediction actually fare. However I must stress this that my prediction are solely my own and it is impossible to predict a random event. However what I doing is to increase my chances of winning by doing some maths calculation to improve my chances while keeping my betting cost to the minimum.

My prediction will be in the form of a System 12 (ie 12 numbers will be predicted) but I will not be betting a System 12 from SingaporePools but rather using my calculation to buy certain combinations from the 924 combinations of System 12 but yet cover the maximum possible outcome. So let see how well my prediction will fare.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Resorts World Sentosa to stop free shuttle services

2010-09-12T03:32:00.001+08:00

The Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) has issued directives to the two Integrated Resorts (IRs) to stop their free shuttle bus services with immediate effect and Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) responded immediately with the dropping of its free shuttle services which service between housing estates and RWS.

The housing estates affected by this are Bukit Merah, Queensway, Bedok, Choa Chu Kang, Bukit Panjang, Tampines, Jurong East, Bishan, Ang Mo Kio and Tiong Bahru. So heartlanders from these areas will have to go all the way to Vivo before going to RWS, making a simple 30 minutes trip now extended to 50 minutes.

I personally think that RWS should not stop it free shuttle services and I disagree with Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) claim that such services actually promote gambling among heartlanders. To be if people want to gamble be it with or without free shuttle services people will still gamble. Even with the $100 "entry fee" impose, many Singaporeans are still making their way to the casino so what does a free shuttle service actually matter to encouraging people to gamble? If gambling is the problem then why have IRs here in Singapore in the first place... Why not check with our PM why he allows it?

Further more from the housing estates take the free shuttle services not only to go to casino. There are those who took this service to work in RWS, others who took it to go to RWS to enjoy its other facilities (ie restaurants and entertainment) and some even took it to go to other parts of Sentosa. I guess the casino will not be pretty much affected by this as gamblers will still find ways to gamble but I will like to express concerns to the retail and food outlets in RWS as most of the customers are actually people who took its free shuttle services and now with this remove, they will most properly suffer as most people will probably head elsewhere where it is more accessible.

O well I sure hope MCYS is right about the free shuttle services promoting gambling among the heartlanders cos if not it will be direct hit to their image. O ya and one thing for MCYS to think about... What about those people who took the free shutter bus into RWS and are now stuck there cos the shuttle services had been stopped???

For me stopping the free shuttle services is a big No No, what about you?

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Being your own boss with forex trading in Singapore

2010-09-11T01:43:00.000+08:00

I am not a Forex Trader so I can't really give tips on how to go about earning big bucks from Forex Trading but one thing for sure this is one platform which can create millionaires. I have seen many giving up their full time job and going into forex trading 100% and now driving big cars, owning big houses and of cos be their own bosses.

Forex trading involves dealing in international currencies pair for example USD/EUR or SGD/JPY. In forex trading it involves the trader to sell one country currency and buy another, in the process making a profit between the various exchanges. Usually people wonder how millionaires can be made from forex trading when fluctuations in exchange is so little... Well if you see the most basic unit of trading (ie USD$1 to SGD$1) the fluctuations is very small (something at 0.0001) however if traded with big volumes, a minor change can mean a lot of money to be profited or lost.

So who can do forex trading? Well anyone with spare cash can do forex trading as only some basic knowledge is required. But to do well of cos effort will have to be put into researching the various country economy and political status so as to ensure a much higher chance of profiting rather than losing.

Basically you can be your own boss as the process of doing so involve opening a forex account with a brokerage firm and they will assist you in the rest. Next all you have to do is to get ready your money to be invested and which currency pair to invest with.

However forex trading with all other form of investments carry risks and it might not be suitable for everyone. I personally seen people who made millions from forex but also people who lose everything in forex. So it is a double edged sword and how powerful this tool is will depend on how skillful the investor is. With careful studying and researching, the risks can be reduced but not avoided so invest only with what you can afford to lose. Always do your own due diligence and use others advices as references to aid you further.

I am slowly picking up this and should be starting my trading soon. So what about you?

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Danium's Night Photos

2010-09-10T00:21:00.000+08:00

Being a Father make me realize that I simply enjoy shooting photos of my son. I mean he look so cute no matter what time of the day or whether he is angry or happy. To me he is the cutest baby in the world!

Here I have a series of 4 photos taken with my mobile phone without flash (not sure who told me that baby photos can't be taken with flash as their eyes cannot stand the high intensity light from the flash). A little dark I agree but still can see his cute face right!

Now Danium is on his bed but not sleeping... Dun really know what he want but guess it should be time to change his diaper and then followed by drinking his milk. Better go see him now else he will be competing for the loudest and longest scream in Singapore soon...

Now isn't he cute!

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

50,000 PRs selected to be converted to Singaporean

2010-09-08T23:21:00.000+08:00

At the Marine Parade dialogue session on Monday, Senior Minister Goh mention that the government is going to approach 50,000 PRs (10%) from the 500,000 over pool randomly to take up Singapore citizenship. The remaining PRs will then continue to contribute to the economy of Singapore as PRs. For the 50,000 selected if they do not convert to Singaporean, then they will not get their PR status renewed once it is up for renewal.

This might cause discontentment among the PRs especially those who are selected and do not wish to convert to Singaporean, but I think this will cause more than just discontentment among the PRs. In fact the economy of Singapore will be affected badly if the situation is not controlled and handled properly.

I will share with you my views on why I think so.

Discontentment within the PRs

If PRs show interest in converting to citizenship they would have done so. All PRs are given 2 years after which they are welcome to convert their PR status to citizenship. Although not all PRs convert but a good number of them who wishes to be Singaporean still convert. When forced of cos discontentment will rise!

Discontentment within the Singaporeans

Many Singaporeans have spouses who are PRs and together they may own a home (in this case a HDB flat) in Singapore. In the event the spouses PRs status are not renewed, what will happen to home which they bought together? Also if they spouse PR status is not renewed, he/she will have to apply for either long term visit or dependent pass or employment pass which cause alot of time and money to the Singaporean counterpart who is sponsoring them.

Bad effect on the economy

The most direct effect will be on the CPF accounts of the PRs who status are not renewed. If their PR status are not renewed, their CPF monies will have to be return to them in the form of cash and this will cause a sudden outflow of funds from the CPF board. Also if their PR status are not renewed, most likely they will leave Singapore in search of any place to work and contribute to that country economy. Singapore will thus lose a strong economy contribution group. Also the remaining PRs will also be worry of their future in Singapore since if it happen once before it can happen again and who know who might be next...

Singapore might lose more Singaporeans

Families who have Singapore citizen children might end up going back to the PR's country especially if the father is the PR and status not renewed. This way in fact of gaining one Singaporean, we might lose two Singaporeans instead.

In fact I believe immediately after SM Goh mention this, a large negative feedback was collected and on the expatriate website ExpatSingapore, a thread was started with the header: 'Singapore to expel 10 per cent of Permanent Residents'.

On Wednesday in response the huge negative feedback, SM Goh's press secretary, Mr Ho said "the figure of 10 per cent which SM gave was only for illustrative purposes. It is not a target, nor is it the case that all PRs who turned down the offer of Singapore citizenship would not have their PR status renewed." Mr Ho further added: "The Government will continue to review and refine its policies to ensure that those who have PR status are an asset to our society, and that those who are given citizenship are, in addition, assessed to be committed in their allegiance to Singapore."

So if you are a PR and you are the chosen, will you choose to convert and wait to have your status taken back?

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) Scheme

2010-09-06T23:17:00.000+08:00

Some of my readers had been emailing me asking me what is Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) and how it function in paying for their school fees. Firstly I will like to stress that PSEA is a relatively new scheme started only in 2007 so many of us may not know what is it and what I know is also what I had gather from various sources and as much as I wish, I believe some info I may have miss out and if you happen to know them kindly comment and I will add them in.

PSEA should affect those who are going to Uni, Poly and other institutes approved by Ministry of Education to be under this scheme. It was setup in 2007 to help families put their children through education at Institutes of Technical Education, polytechnics and universities. It is administered by the Ministry of Education and is opened automatically for all eligible Singaporeans hence it is not a bank account.

In 2007 it was mention that the Government announced that it would top up the PSEA in March 2008 and March 2009 for every Singaporean child aged from 7 to 20 in the year of payout. Children in primary school will receive up to $200 in their accounts, while those between 13 and 20 years old will receive up to $500.

But exactly how can PSEA be used? A child can use his PSEA funds to pay for his own approved fees and charges for approved programmes conducted by the institutions as approved by MOE under this scheme. The list of programmes can be found on MOE wesite. Also it is not only possible to use your own PSEA for your own education but also can be extended to cover for your siblings' as well.

Being a special scheme, the funds in this account will earn an interest of 2.5% and will be closed once the child reaches the an age of 30 years olds. After which any remaining funds will be transfered to the child Ordinary Account in CPF.

I hope after my explanation it will at least give you some idea as to what PSEA is and how it can benefit you.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one

Are You Gambling or Investing?

2010-09-06T15:02:00.001+08:00

In Singapore, the line between Gambling and Investing used to be very clear but now with the Integrated Resorts this line now become more unclear. So is there really a difference between the two?

In order to differentiate between the two, we should start by defining them.

Investing - In investing you put your money at risk for the purpose of making a profit by having sufficient research as well as studies on the risk and other factors. In investing the odds are usually on your side before you actually risk your money. A more systematic and logical manner of risking your money is deploy in investing and emotions and luck play only a small part. The period of risk should be for a long term gain and there is usually a positive effect to the economy.

Gambling - In gambling you put your money at risk for the purpose of making a profit with little or no research at all. In gambling the odds are always unfavorable to you (9 out of 10 will lose) and you usually risk your money without following any logical rules and here emotions and luck play a bigger role. Here the time horizon is very short (usually in terms of seconds) and it has no real economic effect but rather causes quite a few social problems.

So by above definition, investing is not the same as gambling and should not be regarded as the same no matter what. Thou some people may argue that investing also involve some element of luck cos no one know what is the outcome and the investor may still lose all their money. I agree that in investing there is a chance of losing everything and also if one where to randomly invest then it is as good as gambling cos no underlying research is done to support the investment choice and this is the same as in gambling. But if one were to carefully study and research on the investment, there is a very good chance of getting a decent return over a longer time horizon period.

Having said these I would still advise that investment and gambling is not for everyone. Both have risks which some cannot accept hence if you are one of these who cannot accept financial risks of any sort, I would rather you take up a more conservative approach like working harder and longer. Although this may take you a bit longer to get to your ultimate goal. But it will still be a much shorter journey than if you are completely or partially wiped out as a result of investing or gambling.

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To be or not to be, there can be only one