Sad News

I am sad to report one of the mynah birds pass on the bird heaven. I am heart-broken. Now I may have acquired bad karma. I resolved to ensure the other bird do well and grow up healthy and strong. Now I am feeding it with rice and moist bread. For a small bird, it sure does eat a lot.

Luck is the way to your Millions

Random luck is your ticket to your Millions. I am sure Warren Buffet and Bill Gates will disagree. Me? Since I am still on my way, every time when the jackpot go past a million, I will join the queue.... Lady Luck will smile on me one day with TOTO:))

How to be a Millionaire

Accord to Nassim Taleb, in his book, Fooled by Randomness, it is by chance that anyone get to become a millionaire. Taleb was featured in our Sunday Times column. He came from a well-known political family in Lebanon. His family was rich before the fall of Lebanon.

He put up a very good point. The formula to accumulate wealth is similar to observing swans. There may be 4000 white swans, the conclusion is all swans are white. Accumulating wealth for most people will be like concluding swans are white e.g. riding the stock market or investing in property where the long term trend is up. It takes one black swan to prove "all swans are white" wrong. So it may take 10 years to accumulate a few millions but a few minutes to lose them all. His strategy is to take advantage of the rare event and make the most of it. George Soros is a good example where he make billions on unique events.

FOOLED con't

I am at Page 93. So far the anecdotes are on traders who get rich even though they are bad traders. The position of "Risk Managers" is a recent creation and a job that is secured and gives high returns as Risk Managers do not get fired. Traders may make more money in their good years but their career life can crashed anytime. Usually no traders survived more than 10 years. Stay tuned as I unfolded the secrets of earning Millions....

Catching Birds by Hand

As we were walking back to the car park at AMK Ave 1 and Ave 10 junction market, we saw two mynah birds hopping about. Mynah birds are very common and is every where especially where leftovers and food scraps are available.

I notices the birds were hopping away and expect them to fly away as we get closer. I saw both cannot fly well. So I caught one of them by hand. B1 was worried "daddy, they may have bird flu?" The birds did not look sick. They just cannot fly well. With one bird on my hand, I ran after the other and catch it with my free hand. B3 was excited. He wanted bird seeds to make a bird feeder. Our trip to buy bird seed ended with two live birds! B1 wanted me to leave the birds alone. At their current conditions, the birds will not survived too long. Cats will hunt them down and eat them up. I have seen a cat catching adult mynah before.

We went to buy a bird cage immediately and put them in a cage to bring them home. We will let them grow strong so that they can fly and release them when they are ready. Hopefully, they survived. We had tried to save a baby yellow mynah before from crows. Unfortunately the yellow mynah died. This time the birds looked more mature and I hope they can eat by themselves.

Unique Building along PIE right beside CTE

Every time I drive by the building that look like a ship, I wondered. Infineon with a giantic symbol that looks like a swoosh similar to Nike. It is very modern and unique. The design is very attractive. I thought it must be very expensive for a company to build an architectural significant building to house their operations.

Today, I learned that the building was built by Ascendas. It has feng shui elements. The building looks more like an office building inside even though it house manufacturing operations. There is a childcare center and the canteen is open to public. Carpark is free! Inside is glass and steel, very zen. I really like the building and everything still smells so new even though it is 3 years old.

My electronic engineering knowledge got updated significantly today. Visiting Customers is the best way to learn.

FOOLED!

I have finished reading A Passion for Success and now on Fooled by Randomness. I am only on chapter two. It is a consolation to know I am not rich because of random chance. I give a review once I finished reading. This book comes highly recommended by many readers.

The author challenge the findings of The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Mind. Both I had read as well. Basically, he is of the opinion that it is chance that one become millionaire. That all millionaires were persistent, hardworking people does not make persistent hard workers become millionaires. Plenty of unsuccessful entrepreneurs were persistent, hardworking people. The author of Millionaire series also looked for traits these millionaires had in common and figured out that they share a taste for risk taking. Clearly, risk taking is necessary for large success --- but also necessary for failure. Had the author done the same study on bankrupt citizens he would certainly have found a predilection for risking taking.

So, how can YOU get to Millionaire status?
Will let you know soon...

Books at Great Discount

Page One, the bookstore in Vivo City is offering 20% discount for the Great Singapore Sale. DBS card holders get additional 5%. A total of 25%. Much better deal than Kinokuniya. Kino requires membership that cost $20 per annum. The selections are quite comprehensive.
There are seats with paranormic views of sea and Sentosa. It is a great place to read and relax.

A Passion for Success

by the CEO of Kyocera, Kazuo Inamori.

This book is light reading. It is hard to put it down once I opened the covers. The advice are sound and practical. The business principles he establishes may run counter to everything we have ever learned about business management.

"To excel in life, you must be willing to encounter many barriers. The biggest of all is your own mind, which seeks comfort and ease. In school, a student with "C" average who studies just enough to pass can graduate just like someone who studies intensely and achieves straight "A's". However, the difference between these two people is much greater than just two letters grades. To excel, the "A" student had to break through many barriers - some of which must have required excruciating efforts to overcome."

To be truly successful and achieve great results, we must first fall in love with our work.

New Look

With help from Boh Tong, the famous writer of Cabin Crew stories, my blog has a new look! Hope you like it....

White Clouds, Blue Sky

I am sitting right in my home office and gazing out. The weather is beautiful. The sun is bright, the sky is clear and white clouds billows moving about slowly. It is peace and transquillity. Kids at the computer playing games, wife reading the papers... a great Sunday morning.

I "harvested" about 15 limes, larger than those you get in the market from my garden. I washed and cut them up and squeeze very drop of juice out. I added loads of sugar and add boiling water. Hey presto! Home-made lime juice fresh from the garden. Fresher than the brand "Fresh" fruit juice in the supermarket. As I was making my home-made lime juice, I told my eldest the lime was in the tree 15mins ago, lime juice can't get fresher any where else. Dad, you can get it in the farm. It feels good that to have a minute slice of a farm!

Altantis

I am reading Altantis as bedtime story for my little one. He asked what is a legend? I told him legend is a long about long long time ago before daddy was born and before daddy's daddy was born. He asked why aircond is called "aircond" and why is there A B C? I explained ABC is a language that helps us communicate so that we can understand each other. For example, if he is in pain, he can tell me and I know what he meant. If he says aircond, I know he mean the object that cools our room. If he is given to our next door neighbour, then he will grow up knowing French rather than English.

I think he is satisfied with the answers and fell asleep right after. It is a good evening. Kids asked the darnest questions.

Family Down with Fever and Sore Throat

The infection is going around. B1 was sick last week. During dinner on Sunday, B3 took a piece of ice from B1 drink. Only two drops of ice water dropped into B3's hot milo. The next day B3, had high fever. We should have stop B3 from drinking the Milo and washed his hands right away. Two days ago, B2 fell sick and this morning, Mummy is down with fever. Meanwhile I am feeling lethargic with sore throat.

The power of microorganisms. My family is like a domino, one at a time. Family doctor is happy. My total bills should about $300. Antibiotics are expensive!

By George...

She got it! Pygmalion aka My Fair Lady. Well, I met George today. George is a big guy during my army days. He has been called upon to do all the heavy lifting. 1981 was when George and I were in the same unit. At that time, I had a bad back. My back was "sprained" and I was on light duty. It is interesting to meet old friends like George after a long time. He still looked the same except the aging effect..hehehe meaning he is older looking now. I am not sure, I also think he is shorter than before. I think his slipped disc may cause his height to drop. I recalled meeting George after I RODed and he told he suffered the same fate as me and downgraded to light duties permanently.

It was good to meet after 26 years and he recognised me immediately. Nostalgic.

The Middle Way

Seek happiness from within. Do not believe in what I says. Do what you find is true.... Buddha.
I try to follow Buddha's philosophy and teaching. It is timeless. It is applicable 2,000 years ago, it is applicable today. Ask and you will be answered, Seek and you shall find, Knock and the door will be opened.

Buddha counselled "lesser gods". Buddha can move to many dimensions of existence. Best of all, whatever he has done and achieve, any human beings can follow.

Happy Vesak Day!

Hard Crash!

Actually, my hard disk crash! First the system turn deep blue. Computer geeks call this the Deep Blue Sea. A couple of blue screen incidents is an indicator the hard disk is unstable and ready to crash. Crash it did. Frantically, I called my office for help. IT manager suggested I have to go to HP.

HP has Customer Service Centre in Alexander Road. I send in and requested for express service. The technician managed to recover some of my files. Unfortunately, my extended warranty expired three months ago. So the replacement of the hard drive cost $338 and some cents. The drive costs $155, labour costs $95 and express costs $60. Balance must be taxes. Nowadays, the memories are not made to last. It seems hard disk drive will crash in a couple years of use. Please remember back up your files.

I was lucky that my files can be recovered. I am back in business:)

Am I Chauvinistic?

One reader says I am sexist and chauvinistic. Charles comment "Do you always gender stereotype?Women not akin to gadgets, your wife stopping work to stay home... you CAN be the one to give up work and stay home too you know."

Do you agree?

Farewell Lunch with a Good Friend

I have a long lunch today. It is good to just talk about everything and nothing. My good friend is leaving for good for now anyway. She may be back. Likely to be a long time as she is going to be a mum in a few months. Sigh! Goodbye is a sad thing. The good thing about having colleagues is some become friends. Others remain...well just colleagues.

Thorny Car Park Issues

We live in an estate that residents have more cars than their allocated space. Cars are parked everywhere. The people with more cars loved the convenience of parking in a shelter carpark for free. The people with no extra cars have to put up with the inconvenience of cars blocking their garage. What is no problem to some is a huge problem for others.

What can we do? Is there a solution? Harmony seems impossible...

Life is Up and Down...

Up 40,000 ft and the down to sea level. Last 3 weeks my life was going up and down. I will have my feet planted on the ground in the next few weeks...at least this is what I hope.

Kate, another open-minded American

Two years ago, Kate come to Singapore to work and live. She wears the pants at home (this is my opinion anyway). Come to think of it, she is another open-minded American. She thinks she is adventurous in food. She has no idea the iron stomach Dave has. She tried durian puffs, ya! Not the real durian. That really earns my respect. Dave enjoys durians, curry fish head, la la, sambal and food I do not even try. Ok I admit I am a wimp. No duck embryoes or caterpillars for me. Snake blood is something I cannot stomach too. Well, Dave have tried them all.

What is Kate open-minded about? She is willing to learn and accept what she does not know. She listens to other views even though she may differ. Another female colleague of mine told me that she have never hear anyone who has anything negative to say about Kate. I must say she is a smooth operator too. She is genuine and sincere. I enjoyed bouncing opinions off her. She is a good listener and a good friend.

Crab Crab

Dinner is at a famous Shanghainese crab resturant in Central Hotel. The menu is crab everything. Steamed crab, crab fried rice, crab bean curd skin, sharkfins with crab, more than 100 items all contains crab or crab meat. We had crab siao long bao, crab sao bin, crab fried noodle, vegetable and some cold dishes.

Maybe it is not the season, maybe because seafood is not my taste, maybe my expectation was set too high... I thought the food was ordinary. I like the stir-fried vegetable, cucumber salad and drunken chicken. I am an omnivore!

Competent Colleagues

It is nice when your colleagues are competent and have the right attitude. Work become a pleasure even though it still take time. Also it become easy to delegate when the person doing the project know when to ask and when not. My work with other team members in the company broaden my horizon and give me a chance to meet and know other capable colleagues. While work has become onerous at time, it is also rewarding when progress are made and people makes things happen.

Tomorrow, it is another trip out again. This time to the comsopolitan city of Shanghai. I like Shanghai. No, I love Shanghai. It is the best city to live in in China. It is safe and clean (but not the air). Shanghai girls are legendary for the beauty. Actually the beautiful women come from the historical Suzhou and Han Zhou. Starbucks is ubiquitous in Shanghai. Starbucks coffee is my comfort drink in a foreign place in the absence of teh halia.

Shanghai, here I come...

The Hidden Agenda con't...

Gordon sat down and stare at the screen. "48 unread messages!" He learn back on his black leather executive chair. There is something nagging in his mind. He wonders if he is spending too much time working in the office. For 3 years since he joined as a Sales Manager, the sales reps were very happy. Why half of them left in the last 6 months? All the Reps says they have too much work and pay is low. Are they asking for more pay? He recalls reading "First Break the Rules". Research by Gallup showed that the biggest reason for employees is their immediate superior. Could it be him who cause the turnover? Why now and not two or three years ago when he first joined? Could it be the changes the company going through right now? Benefits have been cut recently... Sales reps' enthusiam are gone, the energy and "the we are ready to conquer the world spirit" seems a little lacking...

With some many issues up his head, Gordon decide to go out for a smoke to clear his mind. He returned to his office minutes later and started tapping on his computer. Meanwhile Priscilla is back at the office. She sends out a couple of emails asking her staff to call up some company to do survey and gather information on sales rep's responsibility and pay. Then she pick up the phone and call her counterparts in other countries. She ask them to forward the sales reps salary scales and job descriptions to her by email...


Two weeks later, Gordon meet with Priscilla to discuss the process of his sales reps turnover issue. "Gordon, your sales reps are fairly compensated. They are getting more than 100% of their compa ratio. On top of that they have better incentive plan than sales reps in other countries..." Gordon interrupted "Priscilla, this is not possible. All those who left told me they were overworked and underpaid. They all have another job with higher pay..." Gordon's voice trailed off. "From the information I have your people are overpaid!" Priscilla was firm and her voice was cold.

To be continued....

Meeting Thomas

Thomas sat beside me on the way to Seoul. We talk a little as we have one thing in common. It is our first experience on the new business class seat. He told me has pressed every depression on all the covers to see what's inside. We were like kids in a new toy store!

On my left is a young, comely woman probably in her late twenties or early thirties. She does not seem to be excited over the seat. Maybe women at not thrilled over gadgets. The drinks were served in different kind of glass big heavy base with no stem. The magazine racks are now outside the kitchen instead of the prominently displayed at the back. The quantity and quality of magazines selection drops further. I did not talk to Thomas much and we both went our ways when we deplane.

On the return trip, the passenger one row in front of me looks familar. I touch his arms and he gave a me look of surprise. It is Thomas. We meet again. This time we discover where we each worked and a little more background of each other. I notice Thomas is a very fit and muscular guy. He exercise regularly and take care of his diet. He is an unassuming guy with no airs. His wife is going to stop working and stay at home. I told him it is one of the best thing for me when my wife stopped working. There is a clear division of duties and responsibilities. Our quality of life has improved even though we have less money than dual income. I am an advocate of homemakers. They play an important role in keeping the well-being of the family, kids or no kids.

The New Business Class SQ Brags about...

On the way to Seoul, it was the new B777 aircraft fitted with the new Business Class Singapore Airlines has been crowing about and advertising aggressively. The seat can be folded down into a flat and HORIZONTAL bed. The previous long distance biz class seat can unfold to a flat bed but it is inclined at an angle. So it possible to slide down while you sleep.

The configuration take up more space and is like a little cubicle. The window seat is in a single row and two seats in the middle. So it is four seats abreast. It offers plenty of privacy to the point where it create a cold and unfriendly environment for passengers to talk or interact. The rectangular profile of the seat makes it quite uncomfortable to sit. However the wider space allows me to seat crossed legs in half lotus. So it is good for budding meditator like me.

To transform the seat into a bed, you have to get out of the seat and fold down like the seats in a station wagon or minivan. There is not enough legroom for tall guys like me. I have to sleep diagonally across and stick my feet into a small recessed area of the seat in front of me.

I think back of the first time I experience the flat bed. Like this time, it was very novel. Unlike this time, I had very positive feel about the change. I like it that I do not need to get up to convert the seat in a flat bed. It can be done with a push of the button. The current flat bed version has a good balance between privacy and interaction between passengers. The biggest issue with the current inclined flat bed is the table is too close to the thighs and it is possible to spill food and drinks if you accidentally pressed the wrong buttons.

I have mixed feeling about this new business class seats. Over time, I may fall in love with it....

Internet connectivity - rather the lack of

I am so dependent on internet connectivity for my work. Landing on world renowed airport, Changi, I received a call from my teammate. She needs me to review a file for next week's presentation. My first stop was Coffee Bean and Tea Leaves where coffee tasted so much better than Starbucks. The Free Wireless does not work there unless you are a Starhub subscriber. Half an hour later and $6.80 for a drink I do not need, I gave up.

Then I adjourn to Burger King. They have Singtel wireless according to the staff. I learn not to buy anything this time unless I can connect. Since the internet is free, I have no idea why id and password is required. Another 20 minutes wasted. My frustration has reached the nth degree by now. I decided to go back to my home office where internet always work since I pay Singnet a handsome $50 per month.

Today is a bad day for me me with regards to internet connectivity. After spending another futile hour of resetting my computer, clearing out the old profiles, etc, I found my Aztech homeplug burnt out. It is almost as if fate is playing with me.

Finally, I reinstall a old linksys card to try and hey presto! I am back with internet connection. It is almost midnight now:) Sweet, very sweet!

The Hidden Agenda

Priscilla is a HR Manager work a medium size company in Singapore. She is slim with short straight hair. She is soft spoken and her cleavage will show up clearly in low cut dress even though she is petite. Priscilla is a type-B personality when it come to responding to emails. The usual period for her to reply to any emails if she does reply is two to three. She is a wonderful mother to her two daughters.

Beneath the regular surface, harbours something darker. Priscilla offers help and counselling to managers in needs. She is good at dispensing information and advice. She is very supportive in her unassuming ways. Gordon is a manager working in the sales department in charge of 6 sales representatives. Gordon went to her for help as his team is suffering from "overworked and underpaid" syndrome. In her usual helpful manner which is "have no fear while Priscilla is here", she assured Gordon that she will do everything in her power to help. She will survey the competitors with the comparable size company and get their pay and benefit packages. She organized all the information and put them together a package so that Gordon can go to his boss to secure pay increase for his sales reps.

Gordon is desperate. In the past 6 month, turnover is 50%. Before his sales reps learn the products they are selling, they left for another company. The sales told Gordon they are leaving for better pay. Gordon felt so much better after approaching Priscilla for help. She has assured him that his problems are in good hands. With a sigh of relief, Gordon walk back to his office to read and reply to his emails.

To be continued....

Sandy - Open Minded American

Travelling alone can be lonely especially during meal time. I was waken up by morning call. It is time to get up for breakfast before my meeting. I took the elevator down to the resturant. It is nice to have breakfast included in the room. The hostess asks "table for one?". I nodded. She ushers me to an empty table right between to white women. One of them make eye contact with me and smiled. I reciprocated. I set my papers down and pick my food. I was eating silently and observing the customers moving about. Finally I decide to break the ice and talk to her. "Are you alone? Where are you from?" She is from California and yes she is alone. It is unusual as the Americans from my office rarely travel alone to Asia. They believed in "safety in numbers" She notices my t-shirt says Toronto Maple Leafs and asked if I live in Canada. She was right, I used to live there. Now I live in the tropical island of Singapore.

Sandy is an interesting conversationist. She was in India last week and today she is going home. Sandy, I find is adventurous when it come to food. She ate at the road stalls in India and she knows the names of all the different varieties of food offered by the street vendors. I am impressed when she rattles of some of the food she ate. She is very open to tasting and trying out different food. To Sandy, refusing to try is almost rude and is like rejecting the culture. She also trained her nephew and god son to be open by bring them to a trip to Paris and not allowing them to eat in McDonald's.

Sandy reminds me of my ex-boss, Dave. Dave is adventurous. He loves durians and Indian food including curry fish head. Sandy is the 2nd American I know that is willing to try and enjoys the food in Asia. She won my admiration and respect. I am very glad to meet and know another open minded American.

The Trap...

The next evening, the police came to set up their ambush. John is there as well. The police found suitable hiding place. Dee was briefed on what to do. She has to bring her cellphone and call the boy and ask him out. Not knowing that his misdeed has been uncovered, the boy came out of the house with his German Shepherd. Once he is out, the trap is sprang. The police came out of their hiding place and identify themselves. John told Dee she can go now. Dee had no choice but to go.

Knowing his game is up, the boy tied his German Shepherd to the tree. The police told him he has two choices. One is he go back into his home and tell his parent or he can be handcuffed and brought to police station. Handcuffed in front of his neighbours does not look too good isn't it? He went back in and informed his parents. The police went to his room to search. They found the bicycle hidden behind his stereo speakers.

How do you hide a bicycle behind of a pair of speakers?

More facts about the boy. He is no longer a boy but not yet a man - nineteen year old. He is a good looking and speak well. His English is excellent. He come from a well-off family. His father is a grass root leader and the MP come to his house to watch soccer matches.

Beside the bicycle, a bag with car tools belonging to my next door neighbour was found as well. The shoes they lost was not. My wife has an explanation. How would the police know which shoes do not belong the family.

The boy's father called John the next day and pleaded to him to drop the case. We found out that this boy has a previous conviction. He was caught tresspassing and stealing from another house and is currently in probation. The father told John he will get the MP's help on this case. John response was to question the father if he believe in the system? He should let the investigation process go on and see the outcome.

The boy is still out. He invited Dee to his birthday party two days after he was caught. Dee was busy and cannot attend...

Stolen Bicycle cont'd

By now, the Husband is pissed. He took over the phone and this is "John Tan(not his real name), Assistant Police Commissioner. Who are you?!" I could not hear the answer but could imagine the police officer on the line is peeing in his pants. I could "see" his pants getting wet. "You get the investigating officers over here right away." Guess what?!! In 15 mins, 3 police cars showed up in our estate. Dee(not her real name) is a tall and slim girl studying in the university. She wanted to follow her father's footsteps to become a doctor. Unfortunately, her "A" level results did not qualify her for medicine. Anyway, Dee was asked out of her home and interviewed right away. Mind you, it is 11pm at night now.

She says she recognised this boy. He is interested in her. She does not know what he did. However she knew where he lives. In a house with 3 dogs. I cannot recall the breeds except one is a German Shephard. The police decides on a course of action. They want to set up an ambush and Dee is going to be the bait...

To be continued....

Stolen Bicycle

To be frank, when my neighbour requested I looked into the record of my CCTV, I was a little reluctant. I am very busy with my work and have plenty of paperwork as well as reviewing the work of my colleagues. My cameras were all looking at my house and not outside unless it is leading into the entrance. My curiosity was aroused and I wanted to help. I am also the Chairman of the management council. So, it is kind of difficult if I did not do anything. I reviewed the video on the night when the bicycle disappeared. To my surprise, the camera caught a young man walking past my house at 3:15am. So I downloaded the scene and give it to the victim.

The other surprise is the thief rode the bicycle past our house. The evidence is quite concrete it is the man who walked past my house is the same guy who took the bicycle. My wife did some investigative work and questions some of our neighbours' kids. One of them inform her she recognised this guy. The victim's wife called up the police station to report that she has a suspect. The police officer on the line was not helpful. The investigating officer is not on duty and he is looking for his contact number. The police officer told her they will request for the witness or contact to go to the police station for question. By now she is so frustrated that she pass the phone to her husband...

To be continued....

Kleptomania

The new word I learn in the Straits Times recently. Well, in our estate we have a live experience. Our neighbour lost his S$4,000 bicycle on Sunday night. This cause a huge alarm and concern as we felt unsafe and violated. Since this was reported and made known to all neighbours, we starts to get reports of other items lost. The question arises "Why are we not aware of loss earlier?" We lived in a gated community. Everyone knows everyone. It is like a village or kampong. Our estate was only two and half years old and we know each other on first names basis. The thefts taught us not to be complacent. Our neighbour report the loss to the police. She also requested I check my CCTV.

To be continued....

Beyond Certainty - Charles Handy

It is hard to leave a bookshop without buying anything. I pick this book by Charles Handy. This book contains a series of articles published in Director magazine, the journal of Britain's Institute of Directors.

I like the essay on "Be Good, Stay Small and Get Rich". This is a 3 page article on family businesses is the backbone of the economy of Italy and how stay continued to stay small and relevant and produced goods and services that are invisible and stay get rich. He gave the example of German company Mittelstand make an unseen but vital component for the lift in the fork-lift truck or burners for gas cooker.

Another essay on portfolio of work rather than a job in an organization. This observation is similar to The Free Agent Nation by Dan Pink. One become a microbusiness instead of having a job in a large organisation. And work and income come from a series of projects sometimes overlapping and sometimes spread apart.

When I read these ideas, I realise I am getting ahead of my times in my current organisation. While I have not reach the Free Agent status, I am working from home and in the mind of a traditional Singaporean HR, this beyond her comprehension or acceptance. This may have cause discomfort and tension for her.

Tapei 1010 Bookstore

Four storeys of books! Most in Chinese. Every section has an English selection. The Classics Section has a lot of more titles than those in any other bookstores I have been.

Taipei

Grand Hyatt Taipei is a nice hotel. It is right beside 101 or tallest building in Asia as at today. Dinner was at the sixth floor of bookstore building. Hunan cuisine is tasty and spicy. If I have time, I may be able to check out the bookstore on Saturday morning. My flight on Saturday is at 1345hr. So I do have some time to spare. Hopefully, the store open early.

Sea Teeming with School of Fishes

It is a wonderous sight. Lots of fishes in the sea. Our sea is productive with plenty of fishes at high tide. I am very happy to see abundance of fishes in our waters. For the water that support life is a good indicator of us caring for nature and nature rewards in return. There are schools of fairly large fishes. I love it!

I have read 320 books before Nine, so can you!

This book is written by a 10 year old girl. I just browse throught it in Times Bookstore. Makes me wonder what is happening to me or rather what is not happening to me. Author is a Singaporean and Adam Khoo, another Singaporean author "I am Gifted, So are You" wrote the foreword. This book talks about reading habits and why books are important. A book lover, I shared the similar views.

Boy! Was it Hot Today!

Temperature is rising and heat is sizzling. It is hard to concentrate unless you are in the cool comfort of an aircond office. Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew in an interview says it is hard to concentrate in the hot, humid afternoon of Singapore. He says the best invention will be a personal cooling suit. I heard the technician responsible for keeping his office in a very specific and constant temperature at all times died of work stress. It must be stressful to keep the room at constant temperature while the outside is perpetually changing. Boy, I hope the job pays well.

Fish!

Stephen Lundin, author of Fish! was in town today. He was in Australia yesterday with American Express and tomorrow will be in Dubai. He is balding with a prosperous belly. A fun guy to be with. Stephen has a book signing session in Times Centrepoint from 2 pm to 3 pm. The mall is rather deserted. Only ang mohs are there. Traffic to Orchard was good too. The reason is clear.... exams. This is why my kids are not with me as well.

I asked Stephen how many books did he published before successful. He says it is easy to get a book publish nowaday. He had a book that was sold for 5 copies. It is all about writing. Plenty of writings. Keep writing. Fish! took 7 months before it became a bestseller. He writes a lot. A lot of people asked him where he writes, inspiration, etc. He thought I am asking the same questions. The answer is simple - hard work, write a lot and keep writing.

The Pig That wants to be Eaten

Was having some thoughts during breakfast. I was thinking of this book and how farm animals feel. If the pig just eat, sleep and grow, how would it feel? Really bored and waiting for death to be salvation? Do you remember or know the movie, Logan's Run? In this movie, there are no old people. Once you reach certain age, you will be summon to a machine who will suck up all the humans and convert them in food or energy.
Thought experiment - pretend you are an animal in the farm. You are ignorant and you are doing everything you know. Would you know any better? The animals in the farm make love and have fights. They are doing everything in their in their natural state. How would you feel? Eating, living and growing...eventually provide energy and growth of the being that farm you.

Ignorance is bliss. I may also feel I am part of a greater good to be food of someone else.

Hurray! The Weekend is Here Again

TGIF! The time to do shopping, bring kids for tuition, have late lunch, long lunch, browse books at bookstore, laze around or simply doing nothing. Yes, no more deadlines, get this done, do that, ask why, justify why and rushing around like a chicken with its head chopped.

Is your office like a zoo or mad house? Weekend is the best time to shift gears. Yipee! Time for sanity.

Impressive SMU Attachment Program

Upon hearing from niece P that she is working, uncle(me) becomes curious and kaypoh. So I call up her mom to find out where she is working. She is actually on attachment program. She is working for peanuts during her holiday. However she is gaining valuable experience. It is a fantastic company she is working for. The MDs (Managing Directors) there are paid millions of $$$. They travel first class and wine and dine is their primary responsibility.

SMU has positioned itself well and work closely with businesses to get its students exposure. Investment banking is something I read about in Wall Street Journal and Fortune magazine. Now I know students are getting their feet wet.

Kudos to SMU!

Dim Sum at Thomson Road

I am a little obsessed by food as you can see. I tried the dim sum a few shops beside The Prata Shop during lunch today. The food was ok, not really that good. It is quite expensive too. Every plate cost $1.80. Most items are 90cts each. The food a tad too salty for me. I do not understand why it is so popular during the holiday.

I would say the dim sum in the hawker centre beside Parkway Parade is much better, tastier and more value.

An old acquaintance

Met an old acquaintance on the way to the resturant. This guy was a technician in 1984. Today, he is running a business with several partners. He sells oscillators that has no competitors and inverters for industrial motors. He has aged a lot but he was younger and more junior when we started and today, he is hell a lot more successful. Sigh! I am still an entreprenuer wannabe.

Lunch at Peach Garden

Peach Garden is on the ground floor of Thomson Plaza. We had Beijing duck, kungpo prawns, homemade tofu, noodles and dessert. The food was above average but not the best. I prefer the Beijing duck in Crystal Jade in Takashimaya. The yeefu noodles was not bad. We had some tim sum as well. I would rate the tim sum as regular. For 6 of us, the cost come to a total of $230 approximately $40 per head with no drinks.

I had good conversation and have some potential business opportunities to followup on.

Crispy Prata

I read the review of Crispy Prata in Asiaone last week. Sounds interesting. So I decided to try out this place when I woke and was feeling hungry. So instead of going to my usual place for teh halia, I went to The Prata Shop in Thomson Road. The prata was very crispy and tasty. The curry is the best curry I have tasted among my favourite prata shops.

I am not sure if it is because it is new that I have tasted. I would rank the curry much better than my regular Prata Shop at Causuarina Road. I avoid Jalan Kayu Prata as the price is high and quality and taste is a poor second compared to Causuarina Road. The other reason is Jalan Kayu Famous Prata does not treat her customers well.

Oh, on the same row of shops as The Prata Shop is a Dim Sum shop that is very popular and crowded. I think I will go there to try out the food. It must be good to attract a large crowd.

Yes, I just measured my weight and I am gaining back again once I am home. Sigh! Good food, Good life, Poor Health, Terrible Looks.

Vacation Time in SMU?

I notice my niece P who is studying in SMU has not visited for quite some time. Probably due to the vacation. She will drop by to be entertained by her uncle's blog when she get tired of studying. Niece P is the first among her cousins to be the first to go to the University. I am very proud of her.

Big Picture, Global Problem, yet...

I am just thinking, we have many problems that could change our world in an instant. It boggles my mind that we have global warming, nuclear weapons and dramatic climate that could kill us in an instant. Yet every day, we worry about our work, worry about food on the table, worry about homework, worry about exams, worry about money, worry about such small insignificant things.

We could all be wipe off the face of the earth any time. We still worry. We worry because if we are not wipe off, then what! We need to eat, we need to work, we need to go to school, we need to live....

Honey-Do

A new term we just learn from our colleague from US. He took his "honey-do" vacation. He take his leave and stay at home to fulfil his Honey! Do this. Honey! Do that! Working on the house. I had lots of memories. Memories of living in Canada. Living in a house in Canada requires lot of maintenance. Cutting grass in summer, shoveling snow in winter. Do-it-yourself home improvement. Finishing up basement, upgrading the kitchen, paint it yourself, wall paper, plumbing, lights, electrical wiring, just about everything. My ex-boss remodel and rebuilt his house in San Diego all by himself. He consider doing all these activities therapeutic. Come to think of it, I do enjoy the sense of accomplishment after completing the work.

Making millions with Internet

This guy have a business using internet with more than 300,000 subscribers. He nows make "five figure" monthly. This guy spent $50,000 on books and training.

The other featured making millions are hawkers. The top ranked sells $132,000 per month of prawn noodles. His kids do not want to sell the noodle as it is hard work, long hours and have to face the heat all day long.

Money is not everything, it sure helps.

Books and Knowledge

Books are the storehouse of knowledge. Books transmits it ideas, concepts and stories. Knowledge build on each other. Knowledge is increasing at an accelerated rate. The current estimate is knowledge doubles every 4 years. This mean in a 4 year college program, half of what you learn is obsolete in two years.

3,000 new books are published every day. Books expand the reservoir of knowledge.

Knowledge however is not wisdom. Wisdom is attaining insight of all the accumulated knowledge.

The Pleasure of Exercise

Finally, swimming and walking after 3 days of sitting and sitting and sitting. Maybe I need to do some meditating as well...sitting, sitting, the grass grows green.

My weight stood at 86.6kgs. Not bad....

Best way to gain weight is going to meetings

All I do is sit all day long drinking caffeinated hot tea and coffee and snacks on high calories cookies, kueh, cakes and curry puffs. I guess it is boredom or trying to keep awake or just trying to move my body so as I do not fall asleep.

We finished the day long meeting with heavy dinner accompanied by drinks packed with sugars. No wonder we get health problems with this kind of lifestyle.

Long day but good

Today is training day. I have a total of 12 trainees and the feedback was positive. The training programs that are not commonly available and are of interest are Influencing Skills, Managing Your Boss, Strengths, Selling Skills and Windows on Habits.

I will do another short and sweet program next time around:)

Ram Charan

Ram Charan is now the world top consultant as reported in the latest issue of Fortune. CEOs loved him and he travels around the world constantly. He does not own a house until recently. Nothing was mentioned about his immediate family except those in India he left behind. The journalist says Ram talks only business.

My ex-boss had dinner with him as he was the consultant for my previous company as well. His impression of Ram is Ram is all business. There is nothing else in his life. Another colleague of mine attended his talk in KL.

Perception or Reality

My Japanese colleague notices that I have slimmed down. My weight is at 86.8kg at night. So the reduction is only 1 kg. Is it so noticeable? I am happy to hear this. I need to continue to work on the calories intake. Tonight's dinner was Indian food at Kayu's. It is Penang style Indian food and it is very good. I eat loads and enjoys the meal a lot. Have a teh halia and mango lassi. Mango lassi was very sweet. Must have loads of sugar. Teh halia although I asked for "goran manis" or less sweet, it is still quite sweet. This mean my dinner may have set me back. I will have to continue to be viligant on my food intake....

Books seems to be more expensive in KL

The book Happiness I bought in Singapore at MPH was S$26.25 and with 20% discount I pay only $21. In Borders, KL the same book cost RM60. I guess with exchange rate it has almost the same price at list. Borders do not give discount. Kino and Times have 10% for members. Kino membership cost $20 per year. Times membership is free. Once in a while Borders will give 30% coupons published in Straits Times. Borders like to rotate a selection of books giving 3 for the price of 2 deals.

For books both in selection and price, Singapore is more appealing and competitive.

Noisy Thunderstorm

Plenty of lightning and thunder in this afternoon thunder shower. I was on a conference call and the thunders keep roaring. The lightning were scary too. I felt bad that I am disturbing the call. I keep saying sorry, it is me. I should have said sorry, it is God! I was not the one to give the deafening boom.

During lunch time, the tide was low and plenty of fishes right at the shoreline. There are schools of a different species of fish. I am glad our sea is teeming with lives. The water is healthy and sustaining life even though it is not that clean.

Happiness by Matthieu Ricard

Ricard is a French living in Shechen Monastery, Nepal. He spends two months a year in a hermitage facing the Himalayas. This is book have a lot of practical advice and at the end of every chapters there is an exercise you can try. Executing the exercise may be a challenge. If we have the discipline, then we will be able to get the benefits. This is no different with the physical exercises that keep our body fit, trim and healthy.

The following is the extract of the exercise at the end of Chapter 2.

Examining the causes of happiness
Take a quiet moment alone and try to find out what really makes you happy. Is your happiness derived mainly from outer circumstances? How much of it is due to your state of mind and the way you experience the world? If happiness comes from outer circumstances, check how stable or fragile they are. If it is due to a state of mind, consider how you can further cultivate it.

Dream

One of the many dreams I have is to retire in a University with a massive library and just do reading and research. Maybe teach young kids some courses or coach them. If I have all the money in the world, I always wonder which University who I live. It should be in a small city with good medical facilities and a reasonable selection of recreational activities.

Arthur C. Clarke is a well known science writer and futurologist. He wrote science fiction as well. He is actually a Professor teaching in the University of Ceylon. He has lived in Ceylon for many years and is very old now. He was interviewed on TV once many years ago. At that time he is with the current communication technology he can live anywhere in the world. Cellphone or internet was not invented yet. Today, the world is a lot smaller and better connected. This mean living anywhere should be easier than 30 years ago.

Where would I live when I retire? I am still pondering...

Mid Life Crisis

I just heard a 53 years old man who is thinking of retiring from his senior level job and selling speakers and other audio products. In the newspaper, a 42 years old who is a high flyer(he is a VP in a multinational) with a homemaker wife and 3 kids worrys about losing his job and thinks he should start his own business.

Is it natural to worry? Why do we worry so much? Is this a subliminal thoughts of everyone? Is it mass media celebrating the richs and the successfuls cause us to feel left behind? How about alternate lifestyles? How can we attain peace and happiness? Are our thinking and values swayed by the information we are exposed? We are hurtling into the future and into the unknown. Is it the fear of unknown? Do we need to think so far? How about the happy-go-lucky type? No worries, let tomorrow worry itself.

NOW, live for the present moment is the Way to achieve enlightenment.

You cannot edit blank!

You can edit bad writing but you cannot edit blank! Jodi Picoult. She writes every day and is bestselling author. Writing is discipline and hard work. Do not wait for inspiration. Do not worry of critics. Do not worry about nasty comments. Just keep writing...

FREE WiFi

It was in the news many months ago that Singapore will have hotspots all over the country offerring free internet. The Wife is busy and I have to assigned to wait for the boys during their tuition. I took my laptop and camp at Swenson's Resturant. Since it is not a Starbucks, I asked if WiFi is available and the waiter does not know. "Try!" he says. I did and wireless@sg came up. All I have to do is to register and it is free. Staying connected is getting easier now in Singapore. Blogging, emails, surfing,... becoming a Free Agent is so much easier now with all the information and connectivity.

I did my work while waiting. Multi-tasking and working anywhere is a cinch. Singapore, the Wired Society.

Accelerated Learning

I am preparing for training next week and consulting a book on accelerated learning. This is interesting concept. Since nineteenth century, printing and textbooks has revolutionize education. Printed words use only a small part of the brain. It is left-brain oriented as well. Current western thinking separate mind from body. Accelerated learning integrates all the different senses for the learning experience. Creating the right stimulating environment and creative teaching methods, accelerated learning help both adult or child to learn faster and retain more.

I am doing adult training. This is a good resource to have.

Walk-a-Jog...

Brisking walking and jogging is a good way to reduce weight. The effect is immediate! Just kidding - it is water loss. However, I am bringing my weight down slowly with the regular walk-a-job in the last few days. My neighbour commented that my waist has reduced. So I am encouraged!

Walking and jogging is good for the heart as well. Running is not as good for the heart and joints. Mildly strenous exercises is better for the body than the extreme types.

Disbelievers

Someone commented that Lobsang Rampa is a fraud. I should not believe in him as he is a Canadian White and not a Tibetan monk.

My favorite Buddha saying is "Do not believe just because I tell you. Believe in what you think and feel is true. Go experience yourself." Another is "I can only point you the Way, you have to walk the path yourself."

Lobsang Rampa is not the only author on Astral Travel and Akashic Records or Reincarnation. He is one of the earliest author I know of. There are a lot of mysteries in this world. Our minds are limited. So jumping to conclusions one way or another does not mean the answer is right. The more we know, the more we know what we do not know.

MPH - Raffles City

The MPH in Raffles City has some books on offer. Think and Grow Rich is at 20%. There are others with $4 discount. On the 20% discount display, I like the title Happiness by a French Buddhist monk. He had a high flying career and decide to go to Himalayas to study Buddhism. There were a lot of exercises to help in achieving peace of mind and happiness. The author uses a wide range of knowledge from east to west. So it is an interesting perspective. I quite like it but like to come at the time when it is not so rush to browse and review before purchasing.

Science Fair at Anderson Junior College

B1, the eldest is in Secondary 3. He took part in Science Fair with a group of classmates. They decided to extract reservatrol from grapes. Reservatrol is a phytochemical that prevent cancer and can be found in red wines. His team has to compete with about 40 other projects. They have to do presentation and draw charts and presented their findings. Some of the projects that won prizes are very simple in concept and have good application at home. One is a watering system - Silver. I was impressed by the group that tested boiled water for bacteria over a long period. This team won the gold award. The findings was easy to remember. Bacteria is at highest level at day 9 and day 10. After that the quantities come down again. So it is very safe to drink boiled water that is stored for a long time, the only challenge is to avoid day 9 and 10.

B1's team won silver and he is very happy to get the award and Mum and Dad are proud, very proud.

Another day, another million

I wish I can say this. I can only say another day another teh halia.

So of us are lucky. Million dollar salary and increase by 33%. Earning such high pay is huge sacrifice - opportunity costs, lack of privacy, meeting people, explaining why, etc, etc.

For a man on the street, $50 increase is too much. There are a lot of hungry foreigners ready to much more work for much less money. Who say life ain't fair?

Busy doing Busy Work!

Ever been busy doing plenty of work and feeling empty and drained at the end of the day? I spent my day well, very well. I collected data, translate them into information and work on defending activities done to save my business. I am exhausted by the end of the day. The only complain I have is there is no sense of achievement. Just plenty busy doing lots and lots of activities. Work can be mindless.

The heat is on...

It is a sweltering day. I am sweating profusely in my home office. Here is the disadvantage of working from home - no aircond. I have to pay for my own electric bill. In any office building, it is cool comfort during office hours. I do not know what the thermometer reaches. It is hot and humid all day.

Local weather or global warming, that is the question!

Looking forward to a new work week

Yes, I am looking forward to working next week. There are still stuff that I dislike to do. But I will be in my home office preparing for meeting and training for the following week. Training is for my team as well as some invited colleagues. I open my training to other colleagues for them to be expose to other kind of training other than specific skills training. It is give me the experience and learn from them as well. The interaction with people that I talk to is immensely helpful for me to learn about my audience.

The dynamic with my team is different as I am the "boss". I need to be cognizant of this fact when judging the reactions to my training program. I am toying around several ideas. One is self discovery tests. I like Sun Tzu key message "Know Yourself" I am also learning different training techniques that I can apply. I love to give training. It gives me the "flow". Will give more updates on progress of my preparation next week.

In Search of...

Happiness! Introduction in the book Authentic Happiness brought out the case of two women who took vows and entered into the nunnery at the same time in the same city. Both have written a short sketch of their life on this momentous occasion. One have a lot of positive emotion words and the other has none.

Why was these two nuns used as examples? It is a well documented fact that people from Utah live longer than people from the neightbouring state of Nevada. But why? Is it the clean air of the mountain in Utah vs the exhaust fumes of Las Vegas. Is it the diet in Nevada - junk food, late-night snacks, alcolhol, coffee and tobacco as opposed to wholesome, farm-fresh food and scarcity of alcohol, coffee and tobacco in Utah. Utah is a State with a lot Momon who live life in a "primitive" way i.e. no coffee, tea or stimulant of any kind, no violence, no cars (only horse carriage allowed). Too many insidious factors are confounded between Nevada and Utah for scientists to isolate the cause.

Unlike Nevadans, or Utahans, nuns lead routine and sheltered lives. They all eat roughly the same bland diet. They do not smoke or drink and they do not get sexually transmitted diseases. The are in the same economic and social class and have same access to good medical care. So with all the usual confounding factors eliminated, there is still a wide variation in how long nuns live and how healthy they are.

The nun with positive emotions live to ripe old age of ninety-eight and has never been sick a day in her life. The other has a stroke at the age fo fifty-nine and died soon thereafter.

Conclusion: Happy people lives longer.

Wondering...

What is life about? Why are there so many stars? What are UFOs? Are there more than three dimensions? If the fourth dimension is time, then time travel is a reality. Just that we, three dimensional being can never understand or experience. How about other realms of reality? Astral travel, or the soul travel to another place separate from the physical body, is this real? How about telepathy or precognition? Many a time, I have this funny feeling about someone going to call and the phone rang.

Is the earth core hollow? What is parallel universe? Do you know if there is another planet orbiting opposite our Earth, we can never see it. There are so many mysteries on earth and in our life. Many questions????

Water, the Giver of Life

I was feeling lethargic and tired. My wife told me we are out in the hot sun and is dehydrated. She was so right. After drinking plenty of coke and tea, I felt better. It is hard to think well when every thing seems to be slow and fuzzy.

Drink Water. For Health.

Hot and Dreary Afternoon

The heat is really getting onto me. I feel so lethargic and exhausted. No mood to do any. Look like it is a good time for nap zzzZZZ

2012

I was browsing books as usual in HK airport transit hall. This title caught my eyes. Mayan prophesied that life as we know it will change in the year 2012. Unfortunately, this book was encapsulated in plastic. I was unable to browse through the content. I decided to check up on Kinokuniya.com and Amazon.com. Amazon has more than 3 pages of titles with 2012. Will there be a significant event or change in 2012?

There were many books that predict the earth poles will shift in the year 2000. Nostradamus quatrain has one that says in July 2000 something major will happen on earth. Well, it is almost 7 years and I am not sure what is the "major" event that has happened since 2000.

The future is hard to predict and even harder to predict with accuracy. It is best we carry on living as usual and be resilient to handle any shocks that may come.

Thank God, It is Friday. YIPEEE!!!

Weekend again. It is wonderful to look forward to the weekend. A time for relaxation, a time for love, a time for family, a time for kids, a time for play, a time for gardening, a time to listen to music, a time for anything except WORK!

It just rained and the weather is cool. The news on global warming is depressing. Good thing is we are considered a rich country and therefore will be affected less. Money cannot buy everything. With global warming, money buy comfort and life. No money, no chance to move to another place for livelihood.

Thank God we are a lucky bunch!

Weight Watching

I weighs 87.2kg last night. So it was not bad not to gain weight in China. However, I have my teh halia this morning and breakfast as well. I feel hungry every time I am home. It is how I gain weight. I have missed the food at home. So I need more discipline to bring my weight down to my target of 82kgs. I bet I will look a lot more attractive at this weight (this is to encourage myself, hehehe)

No Blogging Allowed!

My faithful readers, I am sorry to be out of action for the last few days. In China, blogs are not allowed. Any address with "blog" in it are banned. Hence I have no ability to update. Now in Hong Kong and making sure I continue with my entry:) BT has replied and I agree that he is still blogging. I also recommend his "niece" blog at http://behtong.blogspot.com She is relating her personal experiences when she flew a lot.

Last 3 days was just moving from place to place. It was a busy and fruitful trip. Get a lot of work done. Not sure about results. However, I accomplished my objective. I had great dinners but managed to keep my weight in control, I think. Truth will be known tonight when I weigh in using my regular bathroom scale.

I want to congratulate my colleague and friend, Kate on her pregnancy. A first time mom, it will be exciting times for her and John, her husband.

Missing Friends

My two cyber friends are not so active anymore in blogging. I guess they must be busy with other things and new career. I still check on their blogs every day. Someone left a comment on my blog before... "Somehow we make friends and it grows on you in cyberspace." Let's drink to that.

Two Days! A New Record...

Yes, I have a new record for not looking at my work. It is two days! I open the Sales Analysis file this afternoon. After that I realise, I have broken my resolve not to look at work this long weekend. Regardless, it is still a new record for me since I returned to Singapore 6 years ago. I loved my work. It is a fantastic job. It is meddling from everyone else that spoils it. It is like a communist system. Everyone should be treated the same and have the same things. So we all become a machine. A work unit. Something very dispensable.

in Philip Yeo, the Chairman of A*Star, words "I am dispensable, but not replaceable." I feel the same way. To your good health, Philip!

Heard of Vaastu?

Last night, I attended a talk by a Malaysian Indian, Selva. He is spreading the knowledge of Vaastu, the Indian Feng Shui. Vaastu is 5,000 years old and is therefore the older than Chinese Feng Shui which is 4,000 years old. Vaastu has many similarities to Feng Shui. It has the 9 box diagram for directions and orientation of the house. The recommendations are quite simple and general. Feng Shui has many branches including Flying Stars, Symbolic Feng Shui and many others now popularize by the numerous books available.

Mr. Selva mentioned the biggest contradiction in Vaastu with Chinese Feng Shui is fishes are not auspicious. I wake up this morning and release a lot of the marine fishes I have caught and put in my pond. It is nice to see them swim away into the open ocean. There are still some in my pond. I will take time to release them all. It will be good karma....

One and half day and counting...

I have not check my work email for one and half day. Ha-ha, this is great achievement for me. I am obsessive-compulsive when it come to work. I am getting my life back. Over time, everything will stablise at a new steady state. I had observed there are several long term employees in the company. They work like government employees. Time in and time out. I realise in order to survive long term, this has to be the right attitude. Other employees who are good have move on to greener pastures.

The choice is simple - clock in and clock out your time. Otherwise leave the company and do something else. If you are in-between then you are just earning frustration for yourself doing a great job with steadily less rewards and more work. Otherwise, be in the group that will get moved and promoted regularly such as expatriates.

Pleasure is a Job Well Done

This morning I spend my time just at my fishes in the pond and savouring the feeling of watching the water flowing. The sense of accomplishment is because it took a lot of time and effort to solve such a simple problem. Cleaning up the filters, scrubbing the pump and the impeller, going to the store to buy the new pumps, testing the water hose and spending a few days worried and thinking about this problem. At the same time I am kicking myself for not finding the root of the problem earlier. I would saved lots of time and frustration.

The old adage is still true. The greater the obstacle, the greater the sense of achievement when you climb the peak.

Millions spent when 10 cts Solution will suffice....

In 1969, Man landed on the moon. I remember reading in a book about how space technology has improve our daily life. This book also point out that millions of dollars was spent to develop a pen that work in zero gravity. The ballpoint pen we use will not work in space as there are no gravity to pull the ink down to feed the ball. The final solution is pressurized helium is sealed with the ink well to at the right pressure so that it can push out the ink as the ball make contact with the paper. The pressure has to be just right as too much pressure with cause the ink to eject out at low pressure zero gravity environment inside the spaceship.

Why did I tell you this story. I have similar experience today. The pump in my pond has not been working well in the last few weeks. I cleaned up the filter twice and still the flow was slow. I bought a new pump at $32 and the flow is just a dribble. I went back to the garden supply store to change to a bigger pump that cost $144. Still no joy! My wife who was giving me the moral support asked if it is the water hose that may be clogged. I changed the water hose and hey presto, the flow is back to normal again. Now I am still with a $144 device that I do not need and the cost of the solution? The hose cost only 50 cents. Life is like this. I wished I did a better troubleshooting. I would have save the $144. Why only when I have paid so much before I manage to get to the root of the problem?

This also draw analogy to what happens at work. Many a times, low cost low tech solutions are available. Throwing money and hiring an army may or may not bring the desired results or performance. This is especially true in my company.

Back to the space age problem. The solution? Instead of spending millions of dollars of American taxpayer money, a reliable low tech device that has existed for several decades. It is really cheap and it works! It is called a pencil.

Roti Prata at Casuarina Road

I thought it will be nice to eat "paper" prata today since it is a holiday. The store that sells the Indian answer to Crossiants. Paper prata is thin and crispy. I love crunching and feeling the prata breaking into hundred of small pieces bursting out all the flavors. It is so good to eat it plain, no curry. Then I can savour the flavours of the flour, margarine and yeast. Mmmmm, yummy!

I wake up early and once the boys are up, we set off. The car park was full with a long queue of cars waiting. The store was busy with a long queue of people waiting for tables and takeaway. Looks like other Singaporeans have the same thoughts. It was a long wait and the boys were impatient. Of course, I had my usual teh halia. After breakfast, we took a walk into Pierce Reservoir. There were lots of family walking there and some men were doing their morning exercise.

There was an old man who lie with one foot on the stool and another stool supporting the head and nothing in-between. It is like in the kung-fu movie. He was explaining his techniques to three young men with well-defined physique. I am envious of their 6-pack abdominal muscles. Trying to repeat the old man's trick was impossible. My back muscles do not have the strength to support my weight for even split-seconds.

Take the time to smell the flowers

Birds love to sing early in the morning. It is their morning call. Why does birds sing at dawn? I remember as child when I have sleepover at my grandma's , the cock will alway crow at dawn. The sky will still be dark. It is the farmer's alarm clock. Best clock since time immemorial. I notice grandma always wake up once she hear the crows and her chores. I have no idea what she does since I love to stay in bed. I know she will be cooking collected leftovers for the pigs and feeding the chickens.

The most interesting yet disgusting part of living in a rural village is toilet. It is a squat toilet with a long hole. It is elevated about two feet and the whole platform is enclose in a hut. Your solid waste or excreta will drop to the floor. The scary part is as you are squatting there releasing your discomfort, a pig would come in to eat it up. It will stick it snout up to smell your ass looking for more food. I guess pigs are the best convertor of all kinds of waste.

Hurray, it is the long weekend!

I am so happy the long weekend is here. This is actually unusual for me. For as long as I can remember, I always look forward to Mondays. Work thrills and give me the adenaline high. I am bad during my vacation. Always checking on my emails and calling the office. Recently, my perspective have change. Work is a drag. "Sian" best describe what I do and what I have to do.

Truth be known, I used to look forward to summer in Canada where we work for 4 and half days week. Every Friday we are off at 12pm or we have alternate Friday off. It was a great motivation for the staff. We can explore the rural north of Ontario. We can work on the house and do the do-it-yourself improvements. Gardening was fun and easy. I love summers in Canada. It was a time for love, joy and exploring something outside city life.

In Singapore, the weekends are about food and shopping malls. It gets monotonous after a while. So sian!

Class of '64 RI boys...

Front page news on old RI boys who gather together to publish a book "Under the Banyan Tree" and talk about old times. Noteworthy is not all get good results. There are boys who get zeros for their exams. The reason is because many were poor and have to help out their parents and so do not have much time to study. It is also humbling for many to see others who scored top scores.

The other noteworthy the group consist of a taxi driver and a few millionaires and everything in-between. So going to RI is no guarantee for success. However the norm curve leans to the more successful. Simple - there is only one taxi driver but a few millionaires. The odds of becoming a millionaire is higher for RI boys.

Reflections on Chapters of Life

Life is like a book. It can be divided in chapters. We close one chapter and open another. We keep going from one chapter to the next in sequence. What is passed exist in our memories. We can only reminisce the past, live for the present and hope for the future.

The future is not really a blank page. It is probabilities. Psychic can read future. Hence we all have a destiny. What is my destiny? I wonder.

Picture on the Front Page of Straits Times

Yesterday, I wrote about the Laughter Club of Bombay coming to Singapore and on the front page of Straits Times is an old lady thoroughly enjoying herself. Today, I read the papers again and saw a familiar face on the background. She is my wife's aunt. I could not believe my eyes. So I called her to let her know since I did not notice it yesterday. I found out my sister-in-law picture is in the home news as well. They have gone for the laughter seminar and their pictures were published. Fancy that!

Happiness at Work, Is it necessary?

There is a new theory on work. One title is called Happy Company - what happy companies know to increase productivity. I think it is intuitive that happy people produce good work.

I notices when workers are happy, they are more willing to take up more tasks and work overtime as needed. They follow through better and have better attitude towards Customers. Net result, customers are happy and will buy more. Business grows and grows. Investors will be happy and management will be rewards. Workers? Hopefully they can get some crumbs.

Bombay Laughter Club

Bombay laughter club is in Singapore. It looks like lots of fun and laughter from the picture in the newspaper for the young and old. Laughter is the best medicine. Laughter everyday keeps the doctor away.

Life After Life

Raymond Moody, MD is a doctor who investigated into people who have "died" and revived in the hospital. He found that there is a common thread after interviewing the patients. In the West, the common belief is once you die, you are gone forever or you have gone to heaven or hell. Heaven for those who believe in Christ and Hell for those who are not Christians. This is a simplistic generalisation. Science has a clear answer for death. The body is no longer alive and nature will break it down and give life to other living organisms such as bacteria, worms or plants.

Raymond Moody compare the experience of different patients who have the NDE or near death experience. All says they can see and hear the doctors working on their body. Many see a light and a tunnel. Some who are further into the process go into the Hall of Memories where the current life is fast forward from baby to their current state. Some saw dead relatives waiting for them, others see angels. After being revived, all felt that chasing for money or power are not going to help them with their life. Helping others is the most important thing to do. Many have changed their priorities after the NDE.

Reading Maketh a Man

So say Francis Bacon. Books, magazine and newspaper is the store house and disseminator of knowledge. Today, it is internet. Internet provides quick and easy access to information. Knowledge is accelerating at an increasing rate. The need to learn and unlearn is becoming critical. Training and development is an essential part of one's career as well as a good business strategy.

Reading improves vocabulary and understanding. Public speaking build confidence. Thinking skills increases effectiveness of actions.

Love learning, love life.

The Middle Way

S was surprised that I know the Middle Way. I wonder what would SL, who is a staunch Buddhist, says.

Any Buddhist worth his salt should know the Middle Way. Moderation is basically what the Middle Way is about. No extreme. Do not believe blindly or follow without any preaching or teaching. Test it and if you find it true then follow. If not, discard. The best part is this include Buddha himself. He does not exempt himself from his teachings.

In Sri Lanka and Japan, beside a copy of Bible, there is a copy of the Teaching of Buddha in the hotel rooms. Reading the Teaching of Buddha in a strange bed in a strange room in a foreign country is comforting, very comforting.

The Joy of Training

It is a wonderful on top-of-the-world feeling when my training was appreciated. It helps to get attentive and eager students. All young and upcoming sales reps. They are very enthusiatic and asked all the questions on the issues they face on their day-to-day responsibilities. Conducting training is "flow" to me. Flow is a term coined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Psychology expert, for achieving a state of nirvana in work.

With a regular training program, I know the Amazon team(all females warriors) in Thailand will achieve greater productivity. The track record of my team is testimony to learn, develop and grow on people. We grew from a team of 7 for US$3 million sales to a team of 9 with sales of US$11 million. Productivity per headcount increase can be dramatic and the CEO who is passionate about training is Andrew Grove of Intel. It really works!

The Count of Monte Cristo

Saturday Stay-at-home Movie. It is very nice to back to the warm womb of my castle. This old movie based on the classic story by a French author is on. I enjoys the movie. The only complain is there are too many commercials. The advertisements extended the movie by more than half an hour. How I wished I have the dvd. I can fast forward to the interesting sections and finishes the movie.

The story of betrayal and revenge. The ending is sweet. The Count gets his revenge on all his enemies and get back his love and his son.

It is also great to report I did not gain any weight in the land of fabulous food. I am proud of myself.