07.06.08
Posted in Musings at 4:04 pm by alvinloh
Just wanted a place to document this and since this is my blog , I guess this is the best place for me to write that I was having a terrible fever throughout this entire week. It just seems weird and worrying that this dumb fever just won’t go away … after spending almost 100 dollars at the doctors .. finally some of their medicine is working and at least I do not feel like a furnace today .. Yea .. so yay
Anyway, my Happy Hacking Keyboard came the day before .. if you don’t know what’s a happy hacking keyboard .. well.. its a space saver keyboard with really nice touch to the keys .. Actually it takes about 55g grams of effort to push each of the keys .. and so far as good. The funny thing was that the company that makes this keyboards do not ship to here .. so had to use vpost to bring it in .. thankfully, the shipment part was totally uneventful so yea , I’m typing on a Happy Keyboard now..
Seems like it has a nice ring to each of the keys .. and since the keyboard is not too big .. there’s more space on the table now.
However, I’m still looking out for a IBM model M though .. Buckling Spring Goodness ? Let me in to some of that ..
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07.01.08
Posted in Musings at 11:01 am by alvinloh
I’m just coming up with a list of what banks are ..
Well, since I’m on this topic, I might as well start
1) Banks are institutions that lends you an umbrella when its bright and sunny but takes it away once it rains.
Know of any other good ones ? Comment here !
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06.09.08
Posted in Musings at 5:49 pm by alvinloh
Just saw myPaper talkback section “btw” written by Debbie Yong on the St James Power Station article. She was mentioning that it was unfair to list St James Power Station because of such policies because other clubs have these policies too. And she brought up a point about globalization and how foreigners are here to stay. Then she goes on to say that how far should clubs target a certain niche and if it was discriminatory, then what about gender advantages in certain events in certain clubs like Ladies Night ? She concludes her article by saying that perhaps some Singaporeans were quite hypocritical in their response and she quoted two examples, one of which is the advantages of locals of enjoying a tax rebates in foreign country.
I understand that there’s only so much space, but it was an article which was filled with so many points many of which I don’t think I can agree wholeheartedly.
First, St James Power Station was brought up precisely because the newspaper published it, and it was on the first page. Incidentally, it was the same newspaper that she commented in, “myPaper”. Hence, if you publish a controversial headline grabbing piece of news on the first page, you are bound to get “mud-sling” on the published club. This is not just some random comment. The comments from the blogsphere are a reaction to your news article.
Second, how far should a club formulate a policy which targets a certain crowd. Well, that will depend on the club. As highlighted in my previous blog post, I think that consumers should vote with their wallets. If a certain club wants to target certain groups of people, then if you don’t like that policy, don’t go there. No one is pointing a gun to your head and force you to enter the club. However, I think that formulating a policy which explicity discriminate your largest group of regular patrons is like shooting yourself in the foot. Yes, there are other clubs which has Ladies Night, in fact, I think its quite common that clubs have Ladies Night, no ? I think we all subconsciously get the implicit meaning of Ladies Night right ? Perhaps its a good way to get the increased attention from opposite gender and so bring in more revenue for the club. Yes, its a mild discriminatory practice but hey, I’m all for women rights and all, but c’mon, what would people think if a club had a special night named “Men’s Night” ? Doesn’t sound too good ? Well, I thought so. I think the issue here is that people are not angry because its “ang mohs don’t have to pay” policy, people are more angry because they are your regular customers and you are mistreating them in more ways then one. St James Power Station has scrapped that policy. I hope the other clubs can find a fine balance between business niche targets and outright discrimination.
Third, about the tax rebates issue, I don’t think that is hypocritical at all ! Its not only Singaporeans that are enjoying this particular tax rebates in other countries. I think that even foreigners that come here can claim tax rebates here too, no ? And for the article that the student with a shoe string budget complains that the rebates for foreign hostel is too little. Well, you said it yourself. If you have a shoe string budget, you will probably also feel the pinch of spending money on rent and you probably won’t go clubbing.
Anyway, I know its unfortunate that St James Power Station had to take the grunt for this incident but hey, the newspaper published your name on the front page. This will also be a good wake up call for other clubs and for club patrons too.
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06.04.08
Posted in Musings at 10:48 am by alvinloh
I don’t know what the newspaper today was trying to prove. I was reading that “My Paper” or something like that, the “light” version of the newspaper and there was this huge article “Club Mad” which was trying to explain that a local National University of Singapore student was trying to get into the club and he was asked to pay while the rest of his foreigner friends don’t need to. I felt perplexed after reading the article.
First, why was the newspaper highlighting and probably in caps, I can’t remember, National University of Singapore ? Why ? I don’t know, the whole article seem to keep highlighting that the person was from NUS and it had quite a spiteful tone to it. I don’t think it matters if the school name was left out though. Anyone can highlight why is that ?
Second and the more important point is, why is his bitching being published on the front page of the newspaper ? Well, if the club doesn’t appreciate your money and your business, find somewhere else then. Oops.. I’m sorry, did you think that you will be treated as an equal. Other’s are called foreign TALENT. If the club likes their money more then yours, then bring your business and your money somewhere else. There are tons of other clubs, not that St James. They want a “cosmopolitian” atmosphere, so be it then.
And the worse thing is that the newspaper published that the club have had this policy since 2006. Erm, yes it is supposed to discriminate. So ? Stop bitching and don’t go there anymore then. Its their club, its their playground.
And the ending statement was even more funny, “if they put the notice on the front door, I’ll respect it” .. yea right .. That’s as good as putting “Ang Mohs Only!”
Shessh. Why such clubs exist and worse, why such people who knows of such rules still go to such clubs .. that question eludes me.
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05.10.08
Posted in Musings at 10:02 am by alvinloh
Sometimes in life, you just don’t get what you always wish for.. even after you have tried your best efforts .. but the most important thing is .. did you think you fail ? Let’s think about that statement for a little .. the statement wasn’t asking did you fail .. the statement was asking did you THINK you fail ..
Most battles that are lost does not mean you have failed .. Think about the lessons learnt and the things that you know that you didn’t know previously .. How could it help to counter future challenges.
I think I had my fair share of successes in life .. but then there were tons of failures too .. I think I’m more tuned to my thinking now .. I guess it all comes with age doesn’t it ? People says that a person tends to get wiser with age .. I think that is only partly true .. if you don’t take time to reflect on what you have gone through . you will never know ..
Keep Learning, Keep Making Mistakes and one day you will get it.
– Check out my new Personal Goal Setting website where I share everyday tips on how to make more time for yourself.
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05.07.08
Posted in Musings at 10:37 pm by alvinloh
I know of people who have gone through a large part of their lives not knowing where they are going. To me, if a person don’t know what he is doing and he is still moving, doing routine stuff, is like a cruise to no where .. well.. ok at least a cruise to no where has a fixed destination. More specifically, its like having a ship that is caught in the middle of the sea, and the waves just sweep the ship to wherever it might go… Waste of time you say ? Well.. its one of the things that happen if you are in limbo mode.
People set goals not because they want to get stressed or anything. Most people set goals because they want to do something and want to accomplish it. I remember when I was a student, and it was assignment time, the lecturer will give us a paper with fixed goals to accomplished to get a certain grade. Well.. now we are all grown up, its up to us to go through our own personal goal setting process.
Although you can of course choose not to do any goals and you are happy with where you are, its also ok. Most people have already reached where they want to go and what they want to do, so in a way, their fundamental goals have been reached. For most of us, I think that having some personal goal setting process is important.
I’m setting up a personal goal setting website and it has also other essential life skills like time management and managing stress so that work don’t take over us and cause us to lose focus. I mean you can’t be always running. You have to pace yourself in order to reach your maximum potential.
So if you are interested in how to get more time out of life and still get things done, monitor LifeGoals now … Will be posting there quite often from next week onwards .. still trying to set up everything nicely.
So see you there at LifeGoals !
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05.06.08
Posted in Musings at 8:34 am by alvinloh
I am sure you guys have heard the phrase time flies when you are having fun ..well its true .. I don’t know about you .. but every year at this time .. I’m having fun .. and it got me thinking why this is so .. then I realized that the reason that time is moving fast and I’m not feeling not so stressed is because there’s nothing to be stressed about. I can work on my own stuff without worrying about repercussions and there’s no one peeking behind my shoulder to see what I am doing. IN other words, freedom is fun.
If I had my wish, I would really want to be working at home. I did a personality survey the other day and it says I’m best suited for jobs at home. Isn’t it funny ? Hmm .. but the thing is if one is working at home, it will probably lose the human interaction that you have at a work place .. not that that is a really bad thing .. but come to think about it .. probably the only interaction that you will have is through the Internet. Cold and Hard. Say, isn’t that what machines are about ?
Anyway, given a choice to go there or stay put here in THE company, I don’t know … I mean its a comfort zone there .. but comfort is what comfort is .. it sucks you in and gives you a false sense of reality .. Perhaps I am looking at it with rose tinted glasses .. but it really doesn’t seem as bad as I think ..
Life is about dilemmas .. Sometimes there is no right answer isn’t it ?
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04.29.08
Posted in Musings at 10:46 am by alvinloh
How fast one year has passed isn’t it .. and I’m back here at the SQA organization .. ooo .. and something very funny happened yesterday, apparently my boss didn’t realize I was on reservist .. hmm and the thing is .. he approved it and I explicitly told him I cannot attend the morning meeting because I will be on reservist and he says ok .. and now he sound like he was so surprised I’m here .. hmm.. Oh well.. Can’t blame them right . they are management.. management have better things to think about or rather more important things to think about then their staff movement.
Anyway, coming back to the point, today at the SQA organization who created the greatest sensational news of the year by losing someone important and who thinks that window grills are not important, they have forgotten to clear me at the main gate again .. so the guards who know me sighed with regret .. and I was like .. ohh .. they want me to come for reservist but they don’t want to clear me at the gate . hmmm made the necessary calls to the manpower person and get me cleared .. Ok one hurdle passed … second hurdle .. the metal detector .. hmm I took out all the metallic stuff and I walked through the metal detector gate and it didn’t beep .. but the Cisco guards stopped me at the gates (unfortunately they have to use those because the dogs could do more challenging things) and they wanted me to raise my hand so he could use that portable metal detector on me .. ok . .fine .. I obliged .. and he told me to unbuckle the belt because the metal piece was beeping .. then after scanning they wanted to check my bag .. WOW !! SUCH EFFICIENCY !! and all this is warranted since the metal detector did not beep .. (yes and you thought it was the other way around) .. I was so pleased and so secured in the knowledge that these people are taking the security seriousness to the next level ! I mean .. OH MY GOD .. it does not matter if a top bad guy escapes .. I mean we have a REAL threat here .. a civilian that got called back for reservist and passes the metal detector gate .. SOUND THE ALARMS !! THIS CANNOT BE ALLOWED !
Hence, sleep sound tonight in your warm beds people, bask in the knowledge that we are all protected and we are safe from any harm because there are these people out there who are undeniably working hard to protect us.
</sarcasm>
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04.15.08
Posted in Musings at 7:39 pm by alvinloh
These times are rough for me .. the sails down and the wind is blowing hard .. rain is splattering on my face .. the boat is rocking violently .. I still hold firmly on to the rope .. I hope I don’t fall off .. I hope I don’t fall off .. Is that a bigger vessel I see ? But its so far away .. and I’m not really sure .. its all misty and blur .. I hope the vessel comes … Or maybe we should start paddling right about now.
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04.10.08
Posted in Musings at 10:11 am by alvinloh
What constitute a good teacher ? Is it someone who can impart information only ? Or is it someone who inspires you and makes you want to learn ?
While rushing to work this morning in this part of the world, I saw a new RSS feed alert on my computer. This feed was slightly different. It was about one of my favorite teachers on the Internet making a contest about giving people chances to work under his guidance. To most people, this would seem like the all too familiar : Take Up My Contest and Win a chance to work with me and make millions. I know it because I have had that experience before. There was this local “guru” who claimed he was making huge amounts of money and he “invited” me to chance to have a teleseminar with him. However, when the day comes, he cancels the appointment. Talk about leaving a bitter taste in the mouth.
Fast forward to the present, I looked at the contest and thought for a while. I decided to write this post in response to the contest and more importantly, I just wanted people to see what is real and what is not.
BloggerUnleashed was set up by Victor Franqui, who may at first glance, look like another “run of the mill guru” on the Internet about making money. You know, the kind that talks about how much money their advise can make you or how you can immediately turn into a millionaire by buying their latest and greatest eBook. We have all seen it before.
However, upon closer inspection, BloggerUnleashed is truly, as what Vic likes to say, “It is what it is”. I have been doing a lot of reading of the archived blog posts there and found information that are not only relevant, but practical as well. Recently, BloggerUnleashed has introduced video blogging. No, the main aim of Vic introducing video blogging is not to “show grass grow” or “talk about how blogging is like painting a wall“. No big philosophical theory or lots of unwanted dressing on the information. Vic gives fantastic, practical and do-able information the way it is.
Through these couple of months, I have been following new blog post by Vic from BloggerUnleashed and have found myself knowing next to nothing to knowing enough not to get scammed by other people. The funny part of it all was, the information provided by Vic allowed me to learn things that should not be done if you want to any make money online. It also made me realize that the “local guru” which I was talking about earlier was doing everything that Vic says one should not be doing. For example, mixing advertisements from all over the place and loading the page with as much advertisements as possible. If I was not fortunate enough to find BloggerUnleashed, I don’t think I would have ever got out of ”The Matrix”.
If you have tried making money online in the past and have abysmal results, please do yourself a favour and pop by at BloggerUnleashed. BloggerUnleashed is a great resource for anyone who is looking to get help trying to make money on the Internet because it does not just sell you products which probably don’t tell you anything, rather, it gives you the raw information you need so you can make informed and correct choices for your journey to make money online.
Vic with BloggerUnleashed, with every post and every bit of information that he dispenses, stays true to why the website was set up in the first place. To help people. In a recent post, Vic mentions something very true and which I think its severely lacking on the Internet. In his BloggerUnleashed 100 Bans Site video, he says that helping people is what life is all about.
Life is about Helping people. I hope to share this great resource with you and hope you can take advantage of it.
Right here, I do like to leave you with a quote which best describes my impression of BloggerUnleashed
“Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach the man to fish, and you can feed him for a lifetime.”
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