Remember when you were in Senior High School or High School. when you dont agree with your parent or you see something bad attitude, what will you say in your heart? 


"I dont wan't to be like my dad ...."
"If I were a parent, I will do things in different way" 
"If I have a kid, I will understand them not like what my parent did for me" 
"I will not hit my wife in the future..."
.
.
.
.
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Good! but in the future your children will say... .
.
.
.
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"I dont wan't to be like my dad ...."  

"If I were a parent, I will do things in different way" 
"If I have a kid, I will understand them not like what my parent did for me" 
"I will not hit my wife in the future..."

well the same thing .... 


Well the truth is... we as a children see what our parent did ... and we will become like them .. even though we have the different mindset when we were a chidlren. 

It's the fact .... how your father treat or scold you will be the same how you will treat or scold your children .. in the future ... without you, even realized that. 

So what's my point? 


Remember that you decided you want to make something different if you have a child, remember how painful it is when your parent did something awful to you that's why you want to change it. 


So don't lost your experience and create a better future for our children, (it's too late if you think or decide after you get your child ... so start now to imprint this in your heart).


Let's break the cycle from our parent ... let us be the one that set the new standard! 

I just renewed my REP or Re Entry Permit for my PR ... well if you are a PR and forgot about it you better check it out the expiry date. For older generation PR you can find it in your Passport kind of like a stamp with a validity of 5 years. 


Now before traveling you better check and renew it if it's going to be expired.... why? in the nutshell if you go out from Singapore and go in again with expired REP basically you can lost your PR status. 

Btw you need to have Singpass..
A valid Re-Entry Permit (REP) is necessary whenever a Singapore permanent resident (SPR) wishes to travel out of Singapore. It will enable you, as an SPR, to retain your PR status while you are away. A SPR who leaves Singapore

1. Go to Electronic Re-Entry Permits (eREP) click here for the link

picture taken from ICA

2. Just click renewal and fill in all the data required. ( if you really need step by step guide click here)
3. Press OK and proceed with the payment.
4. Once approved and payment is made you can click for a copy of a your New REP which look like the picture below. PLEASE PRINT 2 COPIES (just in case) AND SAVE YOUR REP on your harddisk before closing the PDF. because once you miss / lost this one you need to go down to ICA to get a copy.


picture from ICA website.

5. Keep a copy in your passport (I wish I was given a smaller copy..)
And that's all ....


if you want a comprehensive guide and faqs you can click here (it will direct you to ICA website)
 

Have you ever heard about Nobel Prize?  I guess yes .... but how about Ig Nobel Prize?

What the heck is that ....

The Ig Nobel Prizes are an American parody of the Nobel Prizes and are given each year in early October for ten achievements that "first make people laugh, and then make them think". Organized by the scientific humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research (AIR), they are presented by a group that includes genuine Nobel Laureates at a ceremony at Harvard University's Sanders Theater.

The 2009 Ig Nobel Prizes were awarded on Thursday night, October 1, at the 19th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, at Harvard's Sanders Theatre.


picture taken from improbable Public Health Prize winner Dr. Elena Bodnar demonstrates her invention
(see below for the explanation)

VETERINARY MEDICINE PRIZE: Catherine Douglas and Peter Rowlinson of Newcastle University, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK, for showing that cows who have names give more milk than cows that are nameless.

PEACE PRIZE: Stephan Bolliger, Steffen Ross, Lars Oesterhelweg, Michael Thali and Beat Kneubuehl of the University of Bern, Switzerland, for determining — by experiment — whether it is better to be smashed over the head with a full bottle of beer or with an empty bottle. - it's better by a full bottle of beer.

ECONOMICS PRIZE: The directors, executives, and auditors of four Icelandic banks — Kaupthing Bank, Landsbanki, Glitnir Bank, and Central Bank of Iceland — for demonstrating that tiny banks can be rapidly transformed into huge banks, and vice versa — and for demonstrating that similar things can be done to an entire national economy.

MEDICINE PRIZE: Donald L. Unger, of Thousand Oaks, California, USA, for investigating a possible cause of arthritis of the fingers, by diligently cracking the knuckles of his left hand — but never cracking the knuckles of his right hand — every day for more than sixty (60) years.

PHYSICS PRIZE: Katherine K. Whitcome of the University of Cincinnati, USA, Daniel E. Lieberman of Harvard University, USA, and Liza J. Shapiro of the University of Texas, USA, for analytically determining why pregnant women don't tip over.

LITERATURE PRIZE: Ireland's police service (An Garda Siochana), for writing and presenting more than fifty traffic tickets to the most frequent driving offender in the country — Prawo Jazdy — whose name in Polish means "Driving License".

PUBLIC HEALTH PRIZE: Elena N. Bodnar, Raphael C. Lee, and Sandra Marijan of Chicago, Illinois, USA, for inventing a brassiere that, in an emergency, can be quickly converted into a pair of protective face masks, one for the brassiere wearer and one to be given to some needy bystander. the picture demonstration ... below


MATHEMATICS PRIZE: Gideon Gono, governor of Zimbabwe’s Reserve Bank, for giving people a simple, everyday way to cope with a wide range of numbers — from very small to very big — by having his bank print bank notes with denominations ranging from one cent ($.01) to one hundred trillion dollars ($100,000,000,000,000).

BIOLOGY PRIZE: Fumiaki Taguchi, Song Guofu, and Zhang Guanglei of Kitasato University Graduate School of Medical Sciences in Sagamihara, Japan, for demonstrating that kitchen refuse can be reduced more than 90% in mass by using bacteria extracted from the feces of giant pandas.

Well.... if you are interested to know more here is the link to the website

Is your life is in order?

Think about it again.... maybe yes ...  you have your work, task, job, relationship, room in order but how But surprisingly how about your inner life?

If you say "yes my inner life is in order" then answer this question:

Do you live everyday with an energy, joy and expectation?
Do you often feel moody without reason?
Do you often complain about.. hmm.. well maybe about everything?
Do you know what's your weaknesses ? your strength?
What do you want to do with your life?
How's your relationship with God? fine is not a good answer...
Do you have an inner peace?
Are you always rushing .. even though actually you don't have to?
Are you often feel bored?

Well ... from this simple question but hard to answer you will know whether your inner life is in order ...

Your inner life will reflect on what is outside ... but what is outside doesn't always reflect what's on inside ...

So get to know yourself more ... the only way to defeat the enemy is to know the enemy .... and the enemy is yourself ...

one quote says that the greatest enemy is our self ...

build up your prayer life, your personal time with God, know yourself more ... you need to balance both outside and inside ..

How about this ...

Starting today ... instead of rushing back home later, take a walk in the garden or just take a longer route to go home ... just think about this whole thing for a while ... ask yourself question.... which believe me it's even more difficult to be honest to our self...

Find out why you are having Blue Monday every Monday ... 

Find out why you are easily anger by other people ...

Find out why you like to complain.. almost about everything except your self....


don't stop there with one or two question but dig even further ...

Don't be afraid and try to be honest to yourself .. only you and God will know it ...

Lastly ... even I can write something like this but I'm stil struggling to know my self ... so all of us is the same boat ... the only difference is that only few are able to jump to a better boat and today include your self to that few ...

Okay the cheat for Bejeweled 2 is that work hard .... hahah


Well if you look around definitely you can find the cheat or even the hack for the facebook bejeweled 2 ... but come on ... where's the fun then ? 


So instead of the cheat I'll give you the tips and trick to play Bejeweled 2 ... actually this is for iPhone since Facebook version has a new feature like multiplier in the beginning, extra 5 second, etc ... but the basic principle will be same. 


My best score is 500K, hope that you can reach higher score than me :) 


1. There is luck factor in this game ... so it's not just purely skils... but what we can do ... let's improve it 


2. Train your eyes to scan through other place once your finger move a jeweled ... so while you move the jeweled quickly scan through to look for next one. 


3. Speed is the key .... you will notice the faster you go in bejeweled 2 you will get a bonus point ... start from 100 till 1000 ... so keep maintaining the 1000 bonus point ... if the point is gone you know that you are losing the speed so just restart the game. 


4. Multiplier is the your lucky star (I guess you need to eliminate more than 10 jewels in one move to get it)... multiplier is one of the important factor. so try as hard as possible to get as many as you can ... normally if you can get X7 you will get minimum 300k and above 


5. Exploding jewel, use it whenever it's possible to keep it ... you will have 80% change to get the multiplier 
6. If you get the hyper cube .. scan through and used it for the most jeweled that you can see on the screen.
the iPhone version have slightly different graphic than the facebook

7. if you have like one exploding jewel and one hyper cube .... use one by one ... use the exploding jewel, if you get the multiplier try to explode it .. before you use the hyper cube. the reason is that there is a time frame between the multiplier ... so you better wait for a while after you get (appear on the screen) your multiplier before attempting to get the next one.

e.g you have 2 hyper cube... you use the first one and you get the multiplier, then quickly you use the second hyper cube (even though you manage to remove 20 jewels) but you will not get the multiplier again. well what's the time frame ... I'm not sure I think it's between 3-5 seconds

so just remember if you want a high score you need speed, multiplier and little bit of luck ;)

and luck comes from hard work

Enjoy your Bejeweled 2

If you are looking for a decent water bottle you can go to Tampines Mall level 4, pacsafe 04-06 (near Seoul Garden) they are having 40% Discount. Not sure about the other pacsafe whether they have the same offer. other pacsafe outlet West Mall #04-03, Suntec #03-059, jurong point #03-39/10, Compass Point #04-25, Plaza Singapore #06-18, Causeway Point #05-06, Parkway Parade #03-21, Funan #03-27, Queensway #01-15, Shaw leisure #01-19, Budget Terminal #01-147






This pink nalgene, I think 500ml, goes for S$12 after 40% discoun, for ladies ... just nice to put it inside your bag. Btw the logo as well as the indicator for the water will fade away after you wash it .... only the pink will retain. 








There is other color than this Blue Nalgene (1000ml) like transparent with green top bottle (which I bought) for S$16










If You are looking for a giant nalgene ... 1600ml if not mistaken, it's only cost you about S$16.








picture taken from nalgene website

Well if you look at their website the price is cheaper compared to Singapore but in Singapore, so far, this is the best offer than you can get. So stop using those used water bottle ... just invest a little bit for a decent nalgene water bottle ...

I have no connection with Nalgene or Sport Connection....

-Plastic packaging that has been used for storing non-food items (eg. detergent) should never be reused as food containers. They have not been tested safe for food storage and may contain non-food residue that can contaminate food.

-Takeaway plastic food containers are disposable items designed for one-time usage and are not intended for repeated storage of food. They are safe for their immediate intended purpose but not beyond what they are designed for.

-Use only takeaway food containers that are labelled microwave-safe for reheating food in the microwave oven.

-Plastic packaging for microwaveable convenience meals are designed for one-time usage with the type of food that's packed in it and should not be reused for storing or microwave-heating of other food.

-Reusable plastic food containers are subject to wear and tear after a period of use. They should be replaced when they have turned cloudy or discoloured, or if cracks or heavy abrasions start to appear.


Source: AVA website

Well, don't reuse the mineral / distill water bottle, source from health Canada:

Health Canada does not recommend the reuse of single-use bottles because the reuse poses a potential microbiological risk if not cleaned properly. Studies on reusing single-use bottles have found that depending on the source of the water used and the general hygiene of the user, the growth of bacteria in the bottle can vary from negligible to potentially hazardous. Health Canada suggests that people use wide-necked bottles that can be thoroughly washed with hot soapy water between uses.

Frequently, the concerns regarding the re-use of single-use plastic bottles for drinking water have focussed on the safety of the plastic under these conditions. There have been claims that polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE) plastic used in single use water bottles breaks down when used repeatedly releasing cancer-causing chemicals. However, Health Canada has seen no scientific evidence to suggest that reusing PET bottles will contribute harmful levels of chemicals and toxins to the water. Health Canada has also concluded that the levels of Bisphenol A detected in water bottled in polycarbonate do not pose a health concern.

Too complicated? 

okay just avoid re used the mineral water bottle like cactus, ice mountain, evian, aqua, etc after your drink it, or any cheap plastic bottle.... try out nalgene or SIGG 




Well some people said it doesnt make any difference whether you buy nalgene or a cheaper plastic bottle ... in my opinion it makes a different but I leave it for you to decide. And if you decided to buy nalgene read my blog tomorrow I have a good offer :p 

Avoid plastic code number 5 and below for re use ...


Each plastic product has a Plastic Identification Code — a triangle surrounding a number between 1 and 7 — usually on the bottom. Most recycling services accept plastics with codes 1 and 2, but recycling the other plastic types is hard to do because few facilities exist to process them. The following table identifies what each type is made from, what it's used for, and its possibilities for recycling. - from dummies.com 




if you want to see the picture you can click this link to go to AVA singapore

The 10 steps to happiness
1. Plant something and nurture it
2. Count your blessings - at least five - at the end of each day
3. Take time to talk - have an hour-long conversation with a loved one each week
4. Phone a friend whom you have not spoken to for a while and arrange to meet up
5. Give yourself a treat every day and take the time to really enjoy it
6. Have a good laugh at least once a day
7. Get physical - exercise for half an hour three times a week
8. Smile at and/or say hello to a stranger at least once each day
9. Cut your TV viewing by half
10.Spread some kindness - do a good turn for someone every day


this 10 steps taken from BBC and here is the article

Path to true happiness 'revealed'

Experts believe they have found the essential ingredients to make a person's life happier.
In an unusual three-month experiment, six specialists from a variety of disciplines worked to improve the happiness levels of a typical UK town.

The experts tried and tested 10 simple measures in the quest for happiness.
They found successful strategies included nurturing a plant, smiling at strangers and cutting television viewing by a half.

A four-part observational documentary series, Making Slough Happy, beginning on BBC Two on Tuesday, follows the team and their progress.

The happiness team includes psychologist Dr Richard Stevens, psychotherapist Brett Kahr, work place specialists Jessica Pryce-Jones and Philippa Chapman, social entrepreneur Andrew Mawson OBE and Richard Reeves, whose expertise spans philosophy, public policy and economics.

During the series, they take 50 volunteers from Slough, with the aim of planting the "seeds of happiness" amongst this core group who will then spread their cheer to others in a ripple effect.
Dr Stevens explained: "The volunteers will take their newfound skills and attitudes out into the community, and in this way we will begin to change the psychological climate of Slough."

Based on best knowledge and research, the team came up with a 10-point plan for happiness.
The experts measured the happiness levels of the Slough volunteers before, during and after the end of the project to assess if their methods were effective.

Throughout their experiment, the expert team face the challenge of selling their science to a potentially sceptical public, unprepared for their unconventional approach - from dancing in a supermarket aisle, to a spot of graveyard therapy and tree hugging.

So what is Inferiority Complex...

An inferiority complex, in the fields of psychology and psychoanalysis, is a feeling that one is inferior to others in some way.

So what is Inferior ? a person of lower stature to another; of lower quality; of lower rank; located below;

So basically it's the feeling ... I think often time we feel inferior to another person ... but don't let this inferiority complex chaining you down.

I always feel that European or American is way higher than us ... more inferior being ... which is not true and true in some extend. The truth: in average their physicals are bigger than Asian ... they can speak their mind more openly ... the not true: is that we are not lower than anybody else

Ever feel that you not good enough in speaking English in front of people who can speak english since they are born? 

Well you need to differentiate is it you are lacking in your English or it's a feeling of inferior because of you slank.

African .... their gifted with a physical ability which we Asian may not able to match .... see Bolt, he is holding world record for 100 m run ... (9.58 second .. can you believe that?) 

But then nobody in this world should have inferior complex ...  we can feel that we are not as good as other people but if it's about dignity, we are all the same ... we all human ... we have the same dignity .. of course we have our own weakness and strength but that doesnt mean we can feel we are inferior to another race or person. ... we are created same in the eye of God .... 

In you work place... it's true that your Boss has more authority than you but it doesn't mean that you are lower than him ... that doesnt mean you can do whatever you want as well ...

hope you get what I'm trying to say here ...

the conclusion ... break your false belief that's is in you since younger age.  Since we are created equaly as a human by God with our own strengths and weakness we should not feel inferior or superior to our fellow human ...

So next time you speak English with any kind of slank ... please be secure ... but work on it if you really have a lot of grammatical error :)

read more from wikipedia about inferiority complex

Yesterday, I was mentioning about a word called "stereotype" at the end of my post ... for you who don't know what is stereotyping ... see this illustration

I have a friend name A, he came from XYZ ... he is kind of stupid ... oh B also came from XYZ ... well she is not smart either ... wait a moment C, D and E come from XYZ ... oh I see ALL people from XYZ is not smart....

This is called stereotype in an extreme illustration .... or you think something like all Angmo doesnt like Durian .... which is not true ... okay enough with the example ...

here is the clear definition about stereotype from media-awareness.ca

Stereotype: A fixed, commonly held notion or image of a person or group, based on an oversimplification of some observed or imagined trait of behaviour or appearance.

Stereotypes are as old as human culture itself. They reflect ideas that groups of people hold about others who are different from them.

A stereotype can be embedded in single word or phrase (such as, "jock" or "nerd"), an image, or a combination of words and images. The image evoked is easily recognized and understood by others who share the same views.

Stereotypes can be either positive ("black men are good at basketball") or negative ("women are bad drivers"). But most stereotypes tend to make us feel superior in some way to the person or group being stereotyped. Stereotypes ignore the uniqueness of individuals by painting all members of a group with the same brush.

Stereotypes can appear in the media because of the biases of writers, directors, producers, reporters and editors. But stereotypes can also be useful to the media because they provide a quick identity for a person or group that is easily recognized by an audience. When deadlines loom, it's sometimes faster and easier to use a stereotype to characterize a person or situation, than it is to provide a more complex explanation.

A word of caution, Thieves in Singapore targeting to stole iPhone ... well not all but it's better to prevent than to feel sorry.

So be careful next time if you are in the middle human traffic .. especially when boarding bus or MRT.

Here is the story from hardwarezone forum

by jammer_sg
Dear all,

Just to give everyone a heads up, think there is a syndicate of #@$%ing PRCs in Singapore pick pocketing things like iPhones or similar devices.

It happened to my wife who was at the bus stop opposite Park Mall yesterday evening around 1040pm. She was listening to her mp3s from her iPhone inside her zipped up handbag. It was quite crowded then. As she was about to board her bus (190), a PRC man (from his accent) in his 40s carrying a sling pouch bumped her from the side where she had slung her bag and squeezed ahead of her. At the very instance she stopped hearing music on her earphones. Initially she thought the jack got disconnected during the incident and continued to broad the bus. This PRC went about asking directions from the bus driver and chocked up the queue. He eventually disembarked without making the trip.

After boarding, my wife started searching for her iPhone to resume her music. To her horror her barely 1 month old phone was nowhere to be found. After some recollection when she got home, she recalled her zip ended up slightly open (just enough to remove the device) and the phone jack was left hanging outside her bag. The @#$%er was so slick in literally "fishing" the device out in that instant (well done foreign imported talent indeed). She asked fellow passengers around a few of them acknowledged noticing the #$%@ing PRC behind her as she was boarding and after alighting he was seen speaking possibly to his accomplice at the bus stop.

We lodged a police report but doubt we will ever see the phone again. Hope she manages to get a replacement from the telco without having to pay excessively later today. So EVERYONE PLEASE... PLEASE... BE CAREFUL and ALERT when using your iPhones or whatever music devices especially in crowded public places. If anyone happens to catch these #$%@ing PRCs, please give them a good one, so much so that even their father and mother cannot recognise them. I wish upon these @#$%ers a life crippling accident and bless them with a long miserable life thereafter. 

So be careful alright, if you want to, click here to continue to read the story but please don't stereotype.  

In cae you want to purchase 2nd handphone check out this post
How to check if your second hand handphone / cellphone is a stolen in Singapore
 

Do you want to translate news, information or anything to English or vice verca? use Online Translator... it's pretty cool really. Just copy paste then click and you will get the translation ...






Do you want something cooler? well mac has text to speech engine ... so let say you lazy to read just highlight the paragraph then mac will read it for you ... pretty cool right.

For Windows user ... dont be afraid ... try text to speech online ... the coolest thing is that it can read chinese and japanese as well .... click here for the online text to speech.

You are not alone, we are facing the same battle :) that alone should motivated you..

okay .. here, what you are going to do to make your day better on Monday

1. Go to toilet and wash up your face

2. Check whether you have papaya face .. if yes, try to smile. Try to smile until you think that your face looks better that way.

3. Tell to your self that today it's gonna be different, I'll be happy despite it's Monday. The true happines comes from the inside not what happen to you ... you have right to be happy anytime despite circumstances because you have been set free by God... 

4. Anchor this statement in your heart, any difficulty, challanges, oppossion that comes to you today... it's a room for improvement ... yo build up your character. when you realized this you will be able to see problems and challanges as oppurtunity.

Well try this out and remember ... it's you who make the decision that either today is going to be bad or good. 

Enjoy you day :)