Lam's Space

How it Feels with Ankylosing Spondititis

2011-07-20T07:23:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

If you are on this page, you are either a good friend of mine, or you were being tortured by some unimaginable pain. You feel the world is unfair. Why others can engage in sports and physical activities, while you were limping around in pain?

The pain comes in bouts. Sometimes you are well, but most of the time you’re not. You’ll probably think that you’ve somehow sprained your back, or your hip, and it’s so bad that it didn’t recover for years. Your boss might think you’re trying to skive from work. Your friends think that you are weak. While all the time you’re fighting some persistent pain deep in your hip joint. Changing positions may help, but sometimes it’s so bad that the agony persist no matter what you do. You’re even afraid to cry, as that would involve moving your hip joints. You lie lifelessly in bed, covered in cold sweat, bearing the pain.

The worst part is.. you’re still so young, and you don’t understand why you’re suffering such pain.

Ankylosing Spondititis is an auto-immune disease. Your immune system attacks your joints, especially those in the lower back and hip, causing pain and inflammation. Over time, your body deposits calcium in the damaged sites, and the bones may grow and fuse together. In some extreme cases, all spinal segments were fused into one, forming a “bamboo spine”. By then, can’t turn your neck or torso, and there is no known cure.

There is no sure way of diagnosis either. The average diagnosis time is 7 years, and it is common for patients to be misdiagnosed for other diseases at first, only to be diagnosed correctly when more severe symptoms developed. By that time, most patients have already received irreparable damage to their bone structure.

I was lucky……

Act of Screaming

2010-05-15T11:21:00.001-07:00

Sometimes, certain life experiences take years before you could make some sense out of them. I had this sudden recollection of one of my NS days while mugging for psychology exam…

--------------------------

It was one of the lucky days in the MTL office, not much job to do and our staff sergeant is not around. Fellow drivers were sitting and lying around in the room, enjoying the air-con, listening to music, snoozing off. It was one of those days that would just pass by quickly, and we could all enjoy our dinner and book out in the evening.

As his PA, I was preparing the next day’s vehicle and manpower planning and tending to phone calls. Suddenly, the phone rang. And it is from the admin office. Not a good sign. Turns out, it is from our officer who needed a truck of jerry cans to be shifted from one truck to another truck. It’s not a very difficult job. It can be easily done if everyone chip in a little. But very tiring if one person do it. So I asked for my fellow driver's help.

But guess what? Not a single of them agreed to help. I recalled asking the room as a whole. No answer. Then asking one by one. They are all good friends of mine, but one by one they rejected me! I was raged. Very raged. Fine! No one helping me? I'll shift ALL by myself!! And I stormed out of the room down to the ground floor only to realise that I didn't bring with me the vehicle keys…

I looked up, poor ah hwa walking by the second floor corridor. Wrong place, wrong time. Without caring much, I shouted at the top of my voice, "THROW THE KEYS DOWN TO ME NOW!" These was one of the very few times that I got shocked by my own voice. So loud, so fierce, so many echoes. And I began to see the results. Everyone got out of the room (and slumber) and came down to help.

--------------------------

Excerpts from today’s reading:

"Diffusion of Responsibility -Tendency of an individual to assume that others will take responsibilities (as a result, no one does). The larger the group, the higher the tendency.”

And on the same page:

"… the act of screaming can lead to receiving help 75% of the time."

--------------------------

Moral of the story:
Scream when you need help.

Impress Me

2010-04-27T08:40:00.001-07:00

Impress me.
Not with your symbolic display of wealth;
your lavish lifestyle;
your luxury cars;
expensive shelters;
oversized coloured rocks;
trendy apparels and makeup; or
other of your earthly possessions.

Impress me; instead,
with your commitments and dedications;
your iron-willed perseverance;
your character;
knowledge and wisdom;
humour and optimism;
willingness to help others;
allegiance to worthy causes; and
love for our planet and all Mankind.

the above work is the result of studying (too much of) Corporate Social Responsibility ( Chapter 13 of Principles of Marketing, UOL External System), in preparation for exam next month; coupled with a burning desire to justify the author’s lack of fashion sense… =P

Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF)

2008-10-26T06:19:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

Thanks for the comments in the previous post. Saw Tina's comment about STI ETF and did some research into it. Here are my findings:

What is ETF?

ETF stands for Exchange-Traded Fund. It is a basket of stocks that tries to mimic an index. For example, a Straits Times Index (STI) ETF will try to be as close to the STI as possible by holding the shares which comprises of the STI in the same ratio.

STI ETF

STI ETF was introduced in 2002. When you invest in the STI ETF, you're practically buying all the following shares from all the following companies:

CAPITALAND
OVERSEAS CHINESE BANKING CORP
CAPITAMALL TRUST
SEMBCORP INDUSTRIES
CITY DEVELOPMENTS
SEMBCORP MARINE
COSCO CORPORATION (S)
SIA ENGINEERING
DBS GROUP HOLDINGS
SINGAPORE AIRLINES
FRASER AND NEAVE
SINGAPORE EXCHANGE
GENTING INTERNATIONAL
SINGAPORE PRESS HOLDINGS
HONG KONG LAND
SINGAPORE TECHNOLOGIES ENGINEERING
JARDINE CYCLE & CARRIAGE
SINGAPORE TELECOM
JARDINE STRATEGIC
STARHUB
KEPPEL CORPORATION
THAI BEVERAGE
KEPPEL LAND
UNITED OVERSEAS BANK
NEPTUNE ORIENT LINES
WILMAR INTERNATIONAL
NOBLE GROUP
YANGZIJIANG SHIPBUILDING HOLDINGS
OLAM INTERNATIONAL
YANLORD LAND GROUP

The Good

1) Diverse - You get to spread your risks in all the above 30 blue chip stocks in Singapore Exchange (SGX)

2) Low Entry - The index is currently at 1.700, so you can purchase 1 lot (1000 units) at just $1700. Try buying a lot of each of the 30 companies, you need much more than 30k.

3) Low fees compared to Unit Trust - 0 sales charge, historically less than 0.3% management fee per annum. Capped at 1%.

4) Buy and sell anytime when SGX is open for trading.

5) Dividends - Yes

The Bad

1) Tracking flaws - STI ETF might not be able to fully replicate the performance of the STI index due to factors like timing differences or management fees. Also, it will never outperform the index significantly.

2) Market Movement - Just like securities, it is affected by market movement.

My Personal Take on STI ETF

I think STI ETF is a convenient form of investment. Much like buying a set meal. Save you from the hassle of thinking what to order. Probably good for busy executives who believe in the stability of Singapore blue chip stock and have no time to do analysis.

I personally like Buffett style of investing. To look at the intrinsic value of stocks and see if they are oversold. Then purchasing them at bargain price. So I'll rather buy individual stocks, Right now it is a good time to spot some bargain because emotions have brought shares of certain stable company to low level. Still researching on this. Meanwhile, I'll continue to observe and learn about the market.

OK, hope this post benefited you. Oh, and one last advice:

Never rush into any investments without understanding.

- Lam

Ha ha.. ok, that's all, enjoy your long weekend and remember to post your comments!

Sincerely,

Lam

Is Gold a Good Investment?

2008-10-19T03:29:00.001-07:00

Hi All,

I did some research on gold this weekend, here are some of my findings:

Gold and Equity Market

When there is uncertainty in the equity market, prices of gold usually rise. This is because investors flocks to a more stable form of investment. As shown in this graph:

Graph of Gold vs S&P 500

How do we invest in gold in Singapore?

Well, I found a place where you can buy "gold bars" literally. Visit this link:

http://www.uobgroup.com/pages/personal/investments/treasury/preciousmetals/index.html

Warren Buffett's Stand on Gold

"It gets dug out of the ground in Africa, or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility. Anyone watching from Mars would be scratching their head."

Warren Buffett,1998 at Harvard, on the non-productivity of Gold

Conclusion

So, I in my opinion, I think that gold only serves aesthetic purposes. And there is no such thing as investing in gold, only trading or speculating. Personally, it does not fit my investment taste. I want put money in places that do good to Mankind. Certainly not paying people to dig, bury and guard it. So, I guess I'll stay on with Government bonds and equity market.

Hope this post helped increased your knowledge. Do let me know if you actually purchased a gold bar from UOB. Would like to take a look at a real gold bar. Haha.. Ok, feel free to comment and add in your personal view. Thanks for viewing!

Sincerely,

Lam

Flaws in Commission Based Marketing and Media

2008-10-11T23:23:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

I wish to discuss an issue on a topic that is close to us. That is the flaws in current commission based marketing and media.

Media - Too much subjective representations?

Today I heard on the radio about a medical professor on the radio speaking about health problems and recommending a product claiming that it will help in prevention of certain medical conditions.

I stopped and wondered. Is the information he shared really objective? Or is it tinted by his own subjective opinions and biases? Probably his paycheck next month will depend on the sales of this product?

My mind wandered again. This time I thought of the numerous shows on TV between 8 to 9pm, showing true cases of people who succeeded in slimming or hair treatment. Are all these successful cases accurate representations of all clients? Or is the company highly selective in the programme? Can we, from these few highly selective cases, generalise that all people who go for slimming programme will achieve similar results?

It is widely known that media is a very influential, and influence is like a double edged sword. When used correctly, it can help keep society in order and thrive. When abused, it can sway the opinions of the masses to the advantage of its wielder. Many people listened to the radio and watched TV in the evening after a hard day's work, continuously being bombarded by information made by company with motive of maximising profit. With no one to remind them that the objectivity of the information is debatable.

Commission Based Marketing

What about companies (eg. financial and health supplement) using commission based model?

As the old Chinese saying goes:

“老王卖瓜，自卖自夸”

"Old Wang's selling melons, praising the melons as he sells"

Obviously, the seller's advice is definitely subjective, and that his next paycheck is 100% depended on his sales.

Well I'm ok with commission based model is used to sell melons. It is because most people understand melon. And they can expect how the melon will look like (unless it is rotten) inside, and how they can benefit from the melon. However, many commission based model today are being used to sell complicated financial instruments and health supplements.

Some of the people who joined these systems have inadequate training, and mainly motivated by financial rewards. A deadly combination.

Common sense tells us not to totally trust salesman. But in today's world, almost all information available on the Internet, TV, radios, newspaper, books, flyers, magazine are created by people who wants to make profit. Not much places where can we find objective, third-party, not-for-profit knowledge. Even doctors who owned their own private clinics have their income linked to the sales of medicine.

Vision of a Perfect Solution

I think the perfect and idealistic way is to have a publicly funded solution provider that is third party and not for profit. They back claims with accurate, objective statistics. Publishes their advices online,for the good of consumer, as though they are the consumer, and take responsibilities for the decisions made by the customer. The performance of this body is judged by customer satisfaction as well as a regulatory body (possibly from academic statisticians) that ensures their information for consumers are accurate and objective.

CASE is a good example of such regulatory body. However, CASE is more passive and response to complaints. Also they charge a high fee(in my opinion) making them unsuitable to help customers on small items. But, it is a good start.

At the same time, commission sales team and media advertisements should be transparent and regulated to avoid misrepresentations. Sales force should be well educated on the product. Presents benefits as well as drawbacks during sales pitch.

Consumer should get advice from the expert group, and do thorough research before purchasing products. As well as research of the company's previous lawsuit and complaints. Have a cooling off period before purchasing any item pitched. Have the courage to say no. Never buy anything that you don't understand fully.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alright, wow, that's a long entry. Do give me your comments, or share any experiences that you may have. Thanks.

Sincerely,

Lam

Save Earth's Resources - Unsubscribe from Pioneer Magazine

2008-09-30T19:38:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

All Singapore male will by default be placed in Pioneer Magazine's subscription and deducted $14.40 from their last NS pay. If you happen to subscribed, and find it a nuisance and a waste of Earth's resources, you can unsubscribe them from:

http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/publications/cyberpioneer/header/feedback/feedback/feedback_subscription.html

Provide:

Rank Name
NRIC
NSF/NSman/Regular
Reason for unsubscribing

Personally I find it quite unethical for MINDEF to put people into Pioneer Magazine subscription. Some friends, including me, don't even know that I'm on subscription until the magazine came. To me, it is probably too big an effort to do propaganda.

Sincerely,
Lam

*all information reflects the personal view of the author, does not represents the views of any individuals and organisation related to the author in any way.

CERN Large Hadron Collider Started!

2008-09-13T20:29:00.001-07:00

The world's biggest science experiment is about to take place 4 -6 weeks time, charging 2 stream of protons up to near speed of light and bang them together in hope to recreate what happen during the big bang.

Scientists intend to find out if they are able to find the trace of the long awaited Higgs Boson. If they are able, they would proved the Standard Model correct while if it doesn't, many scientist would have to re-think a new model.

Its time to brush up your physics (don't have to dig out your old physics text) with these three really nice video that explains really well the history of modern physics to quantum mechanics to the futuristic Theory of Everything.

http://www.teachers.tv/video/23645
http://www.teachers.tv/video/23903
http://www.teachers.tv/video/23904

How is it going to affect you?

Well, according to one relatively pessimistic and bizarre theory, a mini (real mini) black hole might be created and escape (real fast) out of the facilities and slowly grow in size exponentially until it gobbles our earth... Pretty grim isn't it? But on the positive side, we could expect more advanced healthcare and appliances to be out in the market when scientists and researchers start to apply our new found knowledge.

How you can be a part of the project?

As the instrument is going to create a large about of data and processing power, one computer itself is unable to cope with it. That's why CERN (the group responsible for the LHC) is hoping to tap on people who are willing to donate their computer's downtime via the LHC@home project. If you want to learn more, click the link below:

http://lhcathome.cern.ch/

Alright! That's the end of this week's post! I know, I know.. its a long time since I last updated.. haha.. have a nice week ahead!

Sincerely,
Lam

Learn the Basics of Investing for Free!

2008-05-31T21:37:00.001-07:00

A picture of Dubai Investment Property

Hi everyone!

Never stop learning! A lot of people stops learning after they left school. That's when they started to lag behind in our highly competitive world. With high inflation rate, rising oil prices and rising cost of food and other essential products, it is much more important to invest your money into vehicles that yield higher returns than the bank. (Really, they pay peanuts in interest...)

With so many different investment vehicles and financial planners out there, it is vitally important for us to understand basics of investment.

Beware! Some financial planners out there just got a few month of "education" from their company and is out there selling financial products. In my opinion, don't believe them.. They don't know much themselves. Don't risk your hard earned money.

This is the website. Real good basics of investing, it is for people who knows nothing.

http://www.wallstraits.net/basics-101/

Do comments! And thanks for taking the time to read. =)

Sincerely,

Lam

Free Chinese Fonts!!

2008-05-31T21:16:00.001-07:00

Compatible with Win9x / NT / 2000 / XP

Download free chinese fonts for your computer, traditional and simplified chinese.

Instructions

Please make sure that in the Start --> Settings --> Control Panel --> Regional Options the default language ("Set default") is "Chinese (VR China)".

Please close all word-processing programs.
Click on the font you wish to download.
Choose a saving location, either "C:/WINNT/fonts" (NT/2000) or "C:/WINDOWS/fonts" (9x/Me/XP).
OR: save the fonts to a new folder, then open "Fonts" from the "Control Panel";
select "File" -> "Install New Font";
open the drive and folder where you saved the new font files,
the fonts will appear in the "list of fonts";
select the files you want to install or choose "Select All"; click "OK".
Restart your word-processing programs

Free Chinese Fonts

thanks to http://www.sino.uni-heidelberg.de/edv/sinopc/chinese_fonts.htm

Lam

I'm Back!! With good free online map resources!

2008-05-31T12:56:00.001-07:00

Hi, I'm back!! Ha ha, I've not forgotten about you guys, really thanks a lot for reading and commenting on my blog. Hope it has been of help to you guys. =)

Ok, as all of you had known, www.streetdirectory.com had lost its appeal to LTA and was forced to take down their online maps. A karmic retribution probably? (Lol, reminds my of poor Sharon Stone..) Before this incident, they had been actively suing other companies for using their map. Well, the world is round and now no one knows the fate for www.streetdirectory.com.

This week's post, we'll be showing a list of online maps website and I had personally review of them. This is the list from the best to the worst, in my humble opinion:

www.eRoutePlanner.com 5/5

Highly recommended!! Shows you exactly where to go which road to take. Especially helpful for drivers. Fast, simple, user friendly!

www.Shownearby.com 3/5

Well, not bad, it has some added features, showing you facilities nearby your location. Like clinic and other facilities. Useful in emergency I guess.

I included the rest not-so-impressive website just to show I had done my homework. =) Explore if you like.
www.gothere.sg 2/5
www.StreetDB.com 2/5
maps.singaporeexpats.com 2/5
maps.yellowpages.com.sg 1/5
www.can.com.sg 1/5

www.map.gov.sg/StreetMap 0/5

Well, LTA's official online map. Rated 0 because it is slow. So slow that it is still loading after I reviewed all the other map ad typing this post. Don't bother about it.. ha ha..

Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,
Lam

Free Reader Software

2008-05-14T21:46:00.001-07:00

Hi, CLICK PLAY BELOW TO LISTEN TO POST!!

Ever had a lot of text to read on the net and have a tough time forcing yourself to digest through the large number of text on the net? Fret not, today's post is a very good freeware that will help you read any text you want! Free! Introducing......

Natural Voice Reader

Category: Reader Software

Pros: Reads any text that you can copy and paste on your computer. Adjustable speed. Helps you to concentrate while reading big chunks of text.

Cons: They purposely let you hear the good qualities ones (which you have to pay for) and give you the default Microsoft Anna voice for free.

Lam's comment: Well, its worth a try! I used it to read through articles in wikipedia and is able to finish many articles in one sitting. Used it with Today newspaper easyreader and is able to let my computer read Today newspaper to me. Works for long e-mails, e-books, anything you can think of. Saves lots of time and brain juice! Recommended.

CD Image File and How They Work

2008-05-13T02:44:00.001-07:00

Alright, today's article will be on CD Image file.

Below are a list of file extension used by Image file.

.daa - PowerISO Direct-Access-Archive file

.bin - Binary file

.nrg - Nero-Burning ROM CD or DVD image file

.iso - CD/DVD ISO binary image file.

.mdf - Alcohol 120% Disc Image

.dmg - Apple Mac OS X Disk Image File

.mds - Image file (Media Descriptor File)

.000 - IsoBuster CD/DVD Image File Data Recovery

Excerpt from www.file-extensions.org

Basically, a CD image file is a CD that is being 'burned' to your hard disk. And you can access them as a CD without the actual disk. Certain software allows you to "mount" them into a virtual drive so that it appears as a CD drive in you computer. Powerful.

Why is it useful?

1. Convenient

With more advance technology, we have hard disk that rarely runs out of disk space. So we could just put the CDs into our hard disk and don't have to worry about carrying them around or cluttering up your table space.

2. Save money

Although time consuming we could just send it across the net by uploading the image file over the net rather than mailing or burning the physical CD. Saving on the transportation fee and CD-R costs.

MagicDisc (Mounting Software)

Mounts 24 formats of image file into a virtual disc. Run them without the physical CD. Much better than Daemon Tools Lite(supports only 11 format).

ISO Recorder (Create and Burn)

Well, it creates and burn image files. Its quite tricky to use, so please read the instructions. Very light and does not take up too much system resources.

Alright, hopefully this post helps to make your life better! Have a nice day! And please add in your comments. =)

Sincerely,
Lam

Free Games! Remember the Good Old Days!

2008-04-28T22:12:00.001-07:00

Hi,

Today I'll be introducing you with a good website. It is:-

http://www.abandonia.com

Category: Game Website
Pros: Lots of obsolete games for download.
Cons: Some games are not able to be downloaded but they still put it up!
Lam's Comment: If you're looking for some good oldies game that you played in your primary and secondary school days, you're in luck! Abandonia stores thousands of old games and DOS based games too. What's more important is that it has a software link to DOSBOX where you can use it to emulate DOS so that you can run all those oldies on Vista and XP. Check it out!

If you're the first time on my blog, do check my archived article. There are links to much more good, free webbies and freeware.

And thanks to all my friends who added comments and views on my blog. Lets build this site together!

Beware of Unethical MSN Marketing

2008-04-25T07:13:00.001-07:00

Today I had a friend from my MSN contact that send me a link. It reads:

http://[friend'sMSNname].very.coooolstuff.info

Now, there is my friend's name in the link, I was thinking it might be something he wanted to share with me, to I clicked the link. The first page wanted me to enter my MSN e-mail and login password:

Login page of myfriendz.info

I felt something was wrong so I did some research on this site. Then I found out something in the Term and Conditions of the site.

We may temporarily access your MSN account to do a combination of the following:
1. Send Instant Messages to your friends promoting this site.
2. Introduce new entertaining sites to your friends via Instant Messages.

This explains why I get the link in the first place. I find this kind of marketing extremely unethical. Please do not login or disclose your email and passwords to suspicious site. Below is the link to the site for you to take a look.

http://www.myfriendz.info -Apparently the website is down, but beware of similar site!

Alright, thanks everyone for viewing, have a great weekend ahead!

More Free Stuff!!

2008-04-19T02:48:00.001-07:00

Okay, after some weeks of evaluating, on the basis of helping our readers, we are going to change this site into a site where it focus on telling readers the good and free resources found on the web.

We had some positive feedbacks from readers about the top 8 legal freeware posted sometime back. So this post we will introduce you to 2 good sites offering freebies.

1) http://www.gutenberg.org

Category: Free Online Resource Library

Pros: Gutenberg archives over 3 million E-books available for downloads. They are free. Free in 2 meanings: Free of charge, freedom to distribute. Why? Because they are all books with expired copyright.

Cons: Simple, not much graphics to interest people, may not find the books you are looking for.

Lam's Comment: I found great classics over there, including Sun Tzu Art if War, both translation and original Chinese wordings. Famous books like Pride and Prejudices, and many other. Do check it out!

2) Youtube Downloader

Category: Software, downloader

Pros: Get to download youtube movies! Good for archiving and presentations. Get to change them into other forms of file type. Clean, neat, right up to expectation.

Cons: If I have to squeeze one, it will be a lack of progress bar when changing file type.

Lam's Comment: Neat program, easy to use, user friendly. Try it out!

All programs recommended on this blog are 100% free. Shareware are not included. If you have any recommendation, please add in comments, I'll personally review it and post it up. If you have any programs, please post them up! Don't be shy. =)

Thanks! Have a nice day!

Sincerely,
Lam

Beware! Your $50 Note May Not Worth $50!

2008-04-09T22:59:00.001-07:00

Okay, money, money, money. Today's post is about money! In today's news article on Straits Times, we have an incident of a man named Lee who withdrew three 50 dollar notes with printed "KF" mark.

Dollar note with KF marking

According to MAS, these notes are worthless and public are asked to go for one-for-one exchange at the bank. But wait! You really think it is worthless? I personally think that it is better to keep them as they are so rare, and could become a collector's item. Also, I don't think anyone will reject if you paid using these notes.

Here is the article from StraitsTimes.com:

Have $50 notes with 'KF' mark? MAS says they're worthless

By Esther Tan

WHEN Mr G.S. Lee withdrew some money from an OCBC Bank ATM at Compass Point earlier this month, three of his $50 notes seemed a bit strange - the letters 'KF' were on the top right hand corner.

The bank told him then that there was 'no problem with the notes', he said, but the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has since clarified that such notes have been mutilated on purpose and are therefore worthless.

The letters looked 'legally imprinted', said Mr Lee in an e-mail to The Straits Times online portal, Stomp, asking what the letters might mean. But 'KF' is not part of the $50 note's design, said MAS' spokesman, adding it did not know what 'KF' stood for.

'Notes with such markings are considered to be deliberate mutilation and they command no value,' she added.

Anyone who has notes with the markings can take them to the banks to be exchanged, she said, and MAS will take the notes back as an 'act of grace'.

When contacted, OCBC's head of group corporate communications Koh Ching Ching said currency could have become defaced while being circulated.

She said the bank's ATMs will be checked so any other mutilated notes can be retrieved.

She added that OCBC's tellers are 'trained to look out for defaced or mutilated notes and handle them as per guidelines provided by MAS', and that it has reminded its staff to be vigilant.

Hmm.. What does "KF" stands for? Who and why would they have printed it on top? Do add your comments. This is quite an interesting issue, right? Okay, thanks you for coming to my blog once again. Really appreciate you that there has been more visits and comments. Keep adding! =)

Sincerely,
Lam

Fun Facts: People learn from other people, including China's premier.

2008-04-09T20:10:00.001-07:00

Not too long ago, during this year's Chinese New Year, heavy snow had resulted in the closure of railway system and many workers could not get home to celebrate New Year with their families.

At the heat of all these, China's current Premier, Wen Jiabao, took a bold step. Spoke with a megaphone at the crowded station, apologising to the crowd of the failure of the Chinese government to handle this situation.

Ok, so what's so fun about this? Almost 20 years ago, during Tiananmen Square incident, Then premier of China too spoke through a megaphone to the protesting students. It must have left a lasting impression on Wen Jiabao as he was standing right next to him during the incident.

Lets study the 2 pictures.

Wen Jiabao beside then premier, Zhao Ziyang, who was apologizing publicly, tiananmen incident, 1989.

Wen Jiabao, 19 years later, apologizing to the crowd with a megaphone. China winter storm incident, 2008

So Wen Jiabao was beside the premier in 1989 and he became the premier. Guess who is the next premier? The guy beside him now? =)

Sincerely,
Lam

What to do when someone's car bang into yours from behind?

2008-03-31T20:19:00.001-07:00

I had been trying hard for the whole morning to come out with an inspiration on what I should post. Suddenly, a huge force pushed me to the front of the vehicle I was driving. It was then I found out I got knock from behind by a car, the force pushed my van and knocked into the lorry in front. Suddenly, an inspiration came to me...

To post a series of articles to help people know more about owning an automobile in Singapore (since most car salesman's words are not really credible). What you need to look out for, and what to do during an emergency.

My incident involved 3 vehicles. My poor friend's van suffered the worst of fate. Stuck between a big lorry in front, and a MPV behind. Not a nice place to have an accident along CTE at 7:10am, peak hour.

GOOD MOVE

I shifted my vehicle to the road shoulder. Ensure the traffic is not affected by this incident.

The lorry driver in front was quick to get off and inspect his vehicle. After inspection, his vehicle did not suffer much damage, and went off.

MISTAKE

I did not take down the vehicle number of the lorry in front and the particulars of the lorry driver. You need all the vehicle number of vehicles and particulars of driver that bang into you to do a proper insurance claim if need be.

Below is the proper procedure taken from Automobile Association of Singapore.

What To Do In Case Of Traffic Accident

With Injuries

STOP and render aid to victim.

NOTIFY the Police.

DON'T remove vehicle unless it is absolutely necessary to extricate victim, or to convey a seriously injured person to hospital and no suitable means of conveyance is at hand.

REMAIN at the scene if you are not injured.

NOTE the following:

Date / Time of Accident

Place of Accident

Weather Condition / Visibility

Date / Time of Accident

Particulars of witnesses: (name / address / phone)

Damage to vehicle

Particulars of other vehicles: Reg. No. / Make, Driver's Phone No., Insurance Co. / Policy No.

Name of Investigating Officer

No Injuries

The present system as envisaged by most of us is that every accident, whether minor, major with or without injury should be reported to the Police within twenty-four hours.

The truth of the matter is that non-injury accidents need not be filed with the police at all, irrespective of how major or minor the accident is, if particulars have been exchanged.

The need has been and remains so that the accident must be reported to the insurance companies involved in insuring the vehicles.

Effective from 1 May 1999, motorists need only lodge a police accident report for 4 categories of motor accident cases:

injury case
non-injury case involving a government vehicle or damage to government property
non-injury case involving a foreign vehicle*
non-injury case involving a pedestrian or cyclist

* Foreign vehicles are defined as all vehicles registered in another country, all vehicles owned by visiting forces present in Singapore, all vehicles with USN or USG prefixes, and as a general rule, all vehicles insured by an insurance company not registered to transact general insurance business in Singapore.

Definition of Injury Accident
An injury accident is defined as one in which:

at least one party involved in the accident was conveyed to hospital from the accident scene by an ambulance; or
if conveyance to hospital was done through other transport, the party is subsequently hospitalised, or given outpatient medical leave* of 3 days or more; or
where no one was conveyed to hospital from the scene, latent injury had subsequently developed which entailed hospitalisation, or outpatient medical leave of 3 days or more.

Should your accident not fall under any of the above definitions then it is termed a non-injury motor accident and you will need to submit your details to your insurance company.

The insurance company will process the form and submit it to the GIA Records Management Centre.

* Medical leave must be granted by a medical practitioner who has been duly registered under the Medical Registration Act, Chapter 174.

Procedures of The Non-Injury Motor Accident Report Scheme
This new scheme is a simple four-step procedure.

Step 1
Once you have determined that your accident is a non-injury motor accident, you need to contact your insurance company immediately for the Non-Injury Motor Accident Report Form.

Step 2
Fill in the form with the insurance company's guidance or simply do it yourself, it is very easy.

Step 3
Send the completed form in to your insurance company and they will do the rest.

Step 4
You will be informed of the outcome of the claim.

Should further information be required in relation to the processing of your claims, you will be informed.

Should your non-injury accident be reclassified as an injury accident, Traffic Police will initiate investigation and you may be contacted for a police statement to be recorded.

No penalties will be imposed on you should you proceed to file a non-injury report without prior knowledge that the accident is or has been classified as an injury case, or is one requiring a police report.

How do I go about applying for a motor accident report?
You may go to the GIA Records Management Centre (GIARMC) which is located at 48 Amoy Street Singapore 069874. The GIARMC operates from 9.00am to 5.00pm, Mondays to Fridays and 9.00am to 12.00 noon on Saturdays) tel: 63247447/8, fax: 62261280). The completed application form can be submitted to the GIARMC or you could fax it through later. The GIARMC will acknowledge your application and also inform you if the requested motor accident report is in the database. If the motor accident report is available, you can expect to receive it within 7 working days of payment of the charges.

Alright, thank you for coming to my blog, do come often as I will be publishing more article aimed at making your life better. Comments are welcomed and highly encouraged! It will probably take a minute but it will surely make my day. So I thank you in advance and have a nice day!

Sincerely,
Guoliang

Lam's Top Eight List of Legal Freeware!

2008-03-27T08:22:00.001-07:00

Ok, here is the 8 freewares that are powerful, fast, 100% free and legal! Powerful software that could make your life better and save money. Alright, here is the list... (drum roll...) =) Forget about piracy when you can get things done free.

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

Category: Anti-Virus

Pros: Does the job well and does not clog up your system resources.

Cons: You didn't heard of it before, so you might not trust it.

Lam's Comment: Used to believe in Norton Anti-virus. Kind to think of it, you get a anti-virus so that pesky virus won't use up your system resources and slow your system down. So why choose one that slow it down? Plus, AVG is absolutely free. Does not remove and prevent all viruses but does a good job overall. Well, no anti-virus can guarantee 100% prevention. So, why not go for AVG?

Foxit Reader 2.2

Category: PDF reader and compiler

Pros: Fast, can make PDF file.

Cons: Lacks acrobat's advance features which we don't normally use.

Lam's Comment: Forget about acrobat reader. Foxit reader does the job well in half the time. Even allows you to make PDF files which is a paid feature in Acrobat. Cheers!

VLC Player

Category: Media Player

Pros: Supports many codecs. Fast loading.

Cons: Hidden repeat, shuffle and playlist features.

Lam's Comments: Plays DVDs, fast loading. Plays incomplete videos (wow), half downloaded bit comet video (much better than bit comet's inbuilt preview mode which does nothing). A very good backup in case your windows media player is giving you trouble. Supports more video type compared to Windows Media Player.

Super

Category: Media Converter

Pros: Converts many media file types to many file types. (I'm tempted to say ALL media file types)

Cons: Takes 20 frustrating minutes for me to download... (can't find the download button on the website) and 20 minutes to learn how to use it.

Lam's Comment: Take a deep breath! Super converts 3gp, 3g2, aac, ac3, amr, asf, avi, gif, mmf, mov, mp2, mp3, mp4, mpc, mpg, ogg, swf, flv, vob, wav, wma and wav files inter-exchangeably (Is there such a word?). What does that means? Well, it converts mp3 to wma, so it saves size. wma to mp3 so its more easy to edit. Once used it to convert DVD into VCD and shocked my mum and her friends. Converts a whole 3 gig online video into a 300mb so I can store it in my phone and watch on MRT. Well, still have unexplored features that includes flash file conversions. Super is indeed super. It's free. Only cost is the learning curve.

Audacity

Category: MP3 editor

Pros: Records sound from your PC's audio output. Advance sound editing feature.

Cons: Need to download lame plugin to encode mp3. Why don't they just bundle them together? Don't worry, lame plugin can be found easily on web. Yes, the plugin name is "lame". The Lame name is lame, isn't it? =)

Lam's Comment: Good sound editor. Can record sound out of playing movie on the net. Well, get creative! Allows you to cut and splice sounds like DNA, blend them together. Fade in and out, remove audiences' clapping at end of songs. Small size, simple and good.

Open Office

Category: Office Suite

Pros: Free, Looks like MS Office

Cons: Slow to load? Irritating pre-loader loaded into startup to slow your system down. Luckily it can be disabled easily unlike qttask (if you know what it is). Lack of bundled templates.

Lam's Comments: The new MS Office 07 had every button jumbled up. Where is the print button? The file button? The stupid jumbling stops me from even doing my basic work! Looks good, but pure useless unless you're born in 2007 or you had high adaptability or you had lots of time to waste figuring out how to use it. Prefers Open Office! Allows office functions. Allows documents to be saved as flash movie! A good way to make flash movie without flash knowledge. Though the transition doesn't work. Well, a good Office Suite for the price of zero.

Daemon Tools Lite

Category: ISO mounting software

Pros: Fast and light, effective.

Cons: Well, lack of advance features but it really gets the job done.

Lam's Comments: Well, a good ISO mounting software. You can backup your CDs and DVDs into image and load them as if you have the CDs or DVDs in your drive.

Firefox

Category: Web Browser

Pros: Fast, stable and secure. Tab function so you won't have too many windows opening.

Cons: Some rare sites are displayed differently on firefox.

Lam's Comments: IE7 is a waste of time. Once I thought IE7 could rival firefox. I was wrong. One fine day my IE7 cannot access to the internet suddenly. While firefox could. Well, that speaks for all, firefox is more stable and secure. Maybe just wait for 1 to 2 years then IE can be as stable as firefox. Though I still prefer IE6.

Wow... What a long post. Hope it helps, do give me your comments on how I can improve. Also let all of us know other good freeware by posting on the comments! Thanks for reading! Have a nice day. Fight piracy with good, free software!

Sincerely,
Lam

What Exactly is Sub-Prime Crisis?

2008-03-27T08:19:00.001-07:00

Gloomy day at the Exchange

Many people had heard in the news about the sub-prime crisis in US that had led a global slow down in economy. But, few really knows what it is. I hope to shed some light on this topic with this post in simple English so anyone can understand. Enjoy!

Sub-Prime refers to the credit status of a borrower. For example:

Mr. A
- holds a good job
- has a good credit ratings
- never defaults on a loan payment
- always repay his debt on time

He is a sought after borrower if you are a money lender. So you probably wants to lend to him as as he has a good record. Thus he is known as a prime borrower.

Mr. B
- does odd jobs, irregular and low income
- poor credit ratings
- often delay in paying debts.

He is probably not someone you'll lend money to. As you're not sure if he'll make his payment. So risk is involved. To offset the risk, you charge a higher interest rate. He is known as a sub-prime borrower.

Alright, so how did the crisis start? Few years back, banks and other financial institutes had been lending a lot of money to sub-prime mortgage borrowers, often without proper analysis to see if the borrower can return the money. These institutes then packaged these debts and pass them to other institutes and banks which passes them to consumer as investment like structured deposit, funds and other opportunities.

Everything was looking good until the real estate price starts to drop. The market value of the house becomes less than the mortgage debt of the sub-prime borrowers (negative equity). Many sub-prime borrowers are unable to pay up for the debt resulting in foreclosures. This reduces the prices of real estate even more, which causes a vicious cycle to continue as lower prices leads to more foreclosures and lower prices.

The result...

Cartoon showing all who are affected in the crisis.

Sub-prime borrower lost their houses, some went into bankruptcy.

Investors (Banks and Public Investors in stocks and funds) lost money and confidence. Certain stock prices of heavily hit companies fall by 90%! Many switched their investments to more secure mode like bonds and commodities.

So this, in short, is the Sub-prime Crisis.

Hope you find this post helpful for you. Do e-mail me or post your comments if you have anything to add or improve. Air your views on this crisis! Thanks for reading. Have a great day!

Sincerely,
Lam

New Beginning...

2008-03-27T08:13:00.001-07:00

Sunrise signifying a new beginning for this blog.

Hi all, thanks for viewing my blog. After a failed attempt of trying to create a blog on year ago, I'm starting this new blog. Hopefully it will last longer. =)

In this blog I'll be posting anything that I think will be of benefit to you.

So, do give me your comments, constructive, destructive, anything. Cos seeing participation will get me going! Ha ha.. I plan to make this a online portal where people can feel free to air their views. Thanks all for your support!! =)

Sincerely,
Lam