So quiet in here

Its been awfully quiet in here. Where is all the sharing of thoughts and exchange of knowledge?

No turning back

Decision to move on to the next company is set, but with much fear in me.
It is a question of sitting on the comfortable sedan of a management trainee against unknown transport of a Asia-pacific role.

I always thought one of my better quality is the translation of my thoughts into action without much resistance. However it seems that the older i become, the harder it is for me to make certain decisions and even more resistance to put my thoughts into action. Fear are creating all sorts of frictions.

My wife mentioned that its a sign of maturity, but it seems to me i am losing a good trade of initiative i once possess.

Out-of-game Strategies to be a better Starcraft player

extracted from http://starcraftarena.net/forum/index.php?topic=3898.0

Ever think that some people are just naturally better at certain things because of their specific biology? Well, regardless of whether or not this is true, there are certain ways to improve your physical skills. These methods should allow you to play Starcraft better. We will be discussing reaction time, music, monitor ergonomics, and rage.

Reaction Time

We all wish that we could move those roaches as soon as we saw the marauders, but most of us have slower reaction times than Gosu gamers like Flash, Jaedong, or Bisu. We may however, through the knowledge of science, give you a slightly better reaction time. Man can now shorten the path between the hand and the eye.

A way to decrease your reaction time is to take a daily supplement of Omega-3 fish oil. It promotes the production of myelin, which coats the axons of a neuron. Neurons function by altering polarity based on Sodium/potassium pumps at Nodes of Renvier. Nodes of Renvier are the nodes that are not covered by a myelin sheath. The longer the distance between nodes of Renvier, the faster the signal travel, because nodes dissipate the charge carried by potassium/sodium ions by giving them a point at which to exit the cell. Promoting the production of myelin lengthens the distance between nodes by covering up more of the axon with myelin, thus speeding up signaling speed.

Synapses are also coated in myelin, and signals pass from the axon of one neuron to the dendrite of another through these synapses using integral proteins called neuroreceptors. Neuroreceptors are responsible for everything from memory to speech. Boosting the production of certain neuroreceptors would decrease reaction time for most people, hopefully allowing you to become a more effective gamer. There are, however, several factors that may increase or decrease reaction time. They include:

Knowing how to react to stimuli - what unit do I make?

Psychological state of mind - e.g. mood.

Physical state of mind - brains get tired. Playing without sleep or when very stressed decreases reaction time significantly.

Deciding how to react to a stimulus - Do I make banshees or Tanks?

Amount of time between stimulus perception and necessary reaction-seeing zealots leaving your opponent’s main vs. seeing them at your ramp.

Severity of threat- i.e. one zergling is less of a threat than 12 ultralisks.

Experience - have I dealt with this before? If so, then your reaction is much better timed. Players put in a new situation will often panic, and let their micro/macro slip.

Body Temperature - cold neurons fire much more slowly, and cold fingers take along time to react.

State of alertness - are you on the attack? Or are you macroing up an army?

Length of neural pathways - remember that more myelin makes shorter pathways, which speeds up neural firing immensely.

Sobriety - playing Starcraft when intoxicated is ill advised; alcohol and most drugs slow down reaction time and affect the brain directly, causing thoughts to be skewed.

Individual biology - Not everyone is the same, you know. Certain things that work for some people may not work on others. People have differing reaction time, with females usually reacting quicker than males. Think about that: Tossgirl probably has a faster reaction time than most Starcraft players!

Increasing your APM

Many people do not know what the acronym APM stands for- it means Actions Per Minute. It is the number of times you click on anything or press a hotkey in one minute. It is not necessarily an indicator of skill, but players with high APM can get more done with their units. They can micromanage units more efficiently, keep up with their micromanagement during attacks, and milk as much worth as they can out of build order timing. High APM does not necessarily translate to skill, but it helps.

Proficient gamers usually have high APM’s; the almost-bonjwa (Starcraft king) Jaedong has an APM consistently above 300 in Brood War. IdrA, an American Zerg currently under employ by the South Korean progaming team CJ Entus, crowned King of the Starcraft 2 beta phase as well as a finalist in HDStarcraft and HuskyStarcraft’s HDH invitational #1- he has an average APM of 146. HuskyStarcraft has an average APM of 110, as does Duckload(White)-ra, the winner of the first HDH invitational. BratOK has an APM of 159, and the crowd favorite, TheLittleOne, has an APM of 139.

Most players can consistently get up to about 80 APM by simply clicking and hitting hotkeys over and over again, while their actual skill level stays the same; this “APM Spamming” is generally frowned upon. The only way to get a higher APM consistently is simple: APM spam. It may take a while, but that useless hitting of keys and selecting of units will develop into a methodical symphony of micromanagement, macromanagement, and nearly-perfect timing. Let the naysayers frown; APM spamming strengthens your fingers, and conditions your neural pathways to be able to perform more actions per minute than before your training. You will benefit from it, and your skill will surely increase. It takes time, however, to become conditioned to use high APM efficiently.

Listening to music while playing Starcraft

Love listening to music while playing Starcraft? Well, you have a friend right here. I love it. Believe it or not, music can greatly affect your play!

Listening to music in allegro- fast tempo, upbeat rhythm- actually increases the rate at which the heart pumps blood, and the rate at which your lungs expand and contract. That means that you get more blood in your fingers and brain, the main two components of a Starcraft player. This extra blood means more oxygen, meaning that your brain can function more efficiently, resulting in a shorter reaction time. You fingers also benefit; more oxygen is carried to them, allowing for the Krebs cycle to occur in your muscle cells. The Krebs cycle manufactures ATP, or adenosine triphosphate, out of oxygen and several other compounds. ATP attaches itself to components of muscle cells, and causes them to expand or contract based on electric charge. Listening to upbeat music helps you play faster.

Music that causes influxes of adrenaline- very rousing music, such as hard rock and metal- affects your play dramatically as well. Adrenaline actually increases reaction time more dramatically than about any other compound besides amphetamines (which are highly illegal in almost every economically developed country). Adrenaline lets your instincts do the decision-making; it is a compound that humans used to use to decide whether to fight or flee. Gamers are faced with much the same situation in a good game- during a big attack, for example. Rousing music may facilitate the release of adrenaline, allowing you to make decisions quicker, and be generally more alert.

Be sure not to turn off your game sounds, though; you don’t want to miss the fact that you are supply-blocked or that you are being attacked.

Monitor troubles

Believe it or not, the monitor is a fairly common source of problems for Starcraft players. Many players keep their computer monitors too close to their eyes, making it impossible to focus efficiently on everything that is happening on-screen. The human eye can only focus on so many points at once. This is about the simplest in the world: push your monitor back a bit. I did, and I noticed that I could see much, much more that was happening in the game. Similarly, to increase your focus, turn your graphical settings on low- that’s how the pro’s play. It allows you to focus on the bigger picture; your brain isn’t wrapped up in processing all the tiny details of the ultra setting. It’s a lot like your processor-the lower the graphics, the smoother it runs.

Dealing with Rage

We’ve all lost a game- and most of us have gotten a little angry more than once when we’ve lost. This rage can be eliminated in a number of ways. A popular way to deal with rage is by angrily typing at your opponent- this can get you in major trouble: DON’T DO IT. The best way, in my own opinion, to deal with rage is to take a quick break for a short workout. A few pushups, pull-ups, and sit-ups later, I feel refreshed and restored. My rage from losing is gone, and I am ready to play another game. Many other people utilize this method of anger management, and experience similar results. The reason is this: during voluntary physical activity, the human body releases pleasure sensors called endorphins. This creates a natural high; some illegal drugs (which I in no way endorse) create a similar high by releasing damaging chemicals that mimic endorphins into your brain. This natural high can be experienced in several ways. You can listen to a favorite song, watch a favorite TV show, or even eat chocolate. Yes, chocolate. As high in sugar as it is, the chemical signature that chocolate leaves upon your brain causes it to emit endorphins naturally.

[Disclaimer]
These methods may not work for everyone. People are different, and no major results should be expected. The purpose of this article was simply to show people how to tweak themselves and their physical surroundings to become better players without massive amounts of in-game practice.

[Sources]
SC2 Replayed.com
ABC.net /science

Stop Comparing Yourself with Steve Jobs

Timely that I just happened to chance on this article right after I wrote my previous post. Much better advice than what Jere choose to offer me I must say :p

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by Dan Pallotta

Comparing yourself with Steve Jobs is not healthy. Never mind that it's probably the pastime of every alpha male and female businessperson on the planet these days.

Drawing inspiration from Steve Jobs — or from anyone else you admire — studying them, and learning from them, now those are different matters. But all too often we conflate admiration and comparison. They're two completely different things. One is smart, the other debilitating.

Comparison sounds like this: "Why aren't I that creative?" "How come I don't have the negotiating cajones he does?" "How come I can't manage my people to that level of excellence?" "Why can't I run two companies at once like he does?" "Why didn't I have the guts to drop out of college and do what I really wanted to do?" "How come I haven't had a comeback?" And it's no surprise what comes next: "What a loser I am. I'll never be like him. I'll never be able to do anything that big. If I were sitting across the office from him he'd make mincemeat of me. I just don't have what he has."

The loop is repeated every hour or every time you read something about your icon, whichever comes first.

And this is healthy how?

Such comparisons spiral you into depression. They demotivate you, demoralize you, and generally suck every last bit of enthusiasm and aliveness out of you, so that you go into your next meeting or activity unable to contribute an ounce of energy to the room. How could you? You just annihilated your spirit.

Don't touch hot stoves, don't forget to call your mother on Mother's Day, and don't compare yourself with others. Wire this into your brain. Ruthlessly comparing yourself with others has become confused with some kind of tough-love work ethic. It isn't the same thing. And it isn't the least bit productive. It leaves you with nothing but personal unhappiness, and you can't create very much of anything with that.

Because we confuse destructive comparisons with a strong work ethic, we make a habit of them, and mental habits get hardwired into our brains.

Break the cycle. Do an intervention on yourself. Begin the process of permanently rewiring your brain by consciously recognizing that this thing you thought was good, or responsible, is in fact the opposite.

There's a saying, "You can't afford the luxury of a negative thought." It's true. And comparing yourself to others is the equivalent of smothering yourself in negative thought. The feelings of self-loathing that follow are ultimately self-centered and self-indulgent in the most negative possible way. Yes, it's a form of self-pity.

And if all that isn't enough, consider this: The last way you will ever get to play in a game remotely like the one your icons play in is by comparing yourself with them.

When I was in my 20s I moved to Los Angeles to try and get a record deal as a singer and songwriter. I compared myself with Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell constantly. Using that approach, I never produced a remotely memorable song. And then I started observing pop/rock songwriter John Cougar. He was derided by the critics for being derivative of, but never nearly as insightful or affecting as, the greats. In a brilliant stroke of authenticity, he dropped the name I assume record producers had forced on him and began using his real name — John Mellencamp. As he embraced his own inadequacies, he began to write about things that were actually real and personal to him, instead of trying to channel Bob Seeger, and suddenly he was producing critically acclaimed music. He went on to found Farm Aid and in 2008 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Using Mellencamp as my model — which meant being true to me and not someone else — I began writing much better, much more authentic material, and even had a song recorded by Edgar Winter.

I heard an interview on NPR the other day with Justin Townes Earle, a great and now successful songwriter in his own right, and son of Mellencamp's contemporary, the great rural songwriter Steve Earle. Justin bears his dad's last name, and his middle name was given to him in honor of the legendary songwriter Townes Van Zandt. He was asked if this was a burden, to be compared with these guys. His response was brilliant:

"I know both of 'em. They ain't legends to me. They're just regular guys. I've seen them throw up on themselves... I knew early on that anyone that decided they were going to be in competition with Steve Earle and Townsend Van Zandt as a songwriter is gonna live a fool's life. You just gotta try and write for yourself and not worry about what other people think. I think that that's what screws a lotta people up. You're not Dylan...you're who you are and you gotta learn who you are in order to write decent songs."

And this credo has made him a success.

Steve Earle or Steve Jobs — if you're comparing yourself with them you're betraying yourself and your life and all of the possibility that lies within it.

Timbre!!

When is Yeow leaving for US ah? Shall we go Timbre to celebrate his milestone career move? wink wink... there's a cute singer there according to my certain sources. wink wink...

Teaching for Understanding (TfU)

(Extracted from here)

The teachers at Victoria School show us how teachers can actively work together, forging communities of learning, to guide students beyond just mere knowledge, towards true understanding.

We are all aware that to know something is not quite the same as understanding something. After all, just because a student understands the concept of overpopulation does not mean that he also understands how this may contribute to environmental deterioration or why this could lead to the extinction of certain native plants and animals. He may know a great deal but he has failed to understand its implications - a scenario that teachers have encountered all too often in the classroom.

Added to this is also a more established awareness of the culture of isolation among teachers: a culture where a lack of shared knowledge and peer support is endemic. Simply put, teachers just don't share their skills and experiences with each other, and there is no support among the faculty. And so, teachers' capacities are often sorely constrained as a result, as they try to fight a seemingly lonely battle against unmotivated students, a relentless workload, and the heavy responsibility of shaping the next generation.

To combat both of these trends, Mrs Lee Hwa Phiak, together with the teachers at Victoria School have turned to the Teaching for Understanding (TfU) framework¹, developed by the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Teaching for Understanding
In line with the Ministry of Education's (MOE) Teach Less, Learn More focus, the TfU framework asks four main questions that teachers need to ask themselves before they even begin to teach:

1. What shall we teach?
2. What is worth understanding?
3. How shall we teach for understanding?
4. How can students and teacher know what students understand and how students can develop deeper understanding?

These questions help teachers to understand why they teach what they teach. It acknowledges teachers' true role as facilitators of understanding—they are no longer just mere providers of knowledge.

This framework also helps teachers understand how what they teach contributes to their students' understanding.

…Together
To learn how to implement the TfU framework in their own subject areas, the teaching staff completed an online professional development programme (WIDE World²). By working in small teams, they were able to try out new strategies, discuss and obtain feedback. This also helped to combat the problem of teacher isolation through extensive collaborative learning and active peer review, which provided a rich and purposeful learning experience.

This supportive process continued even after the course was completed. The teachers remained dedicated to applying the TfU framework to the curriculum, as part of their shared responsibility for their students' learning. Combining their experience and resources, they worked together on lesson plans and assessment activities. Teachers also sat in on each other's lessons and reflected upon their own as well as others' teaching practices.

The result
This greater exploration and experimentation in teaching practice, using the common language of the TfU framework, not only increased teacher motivation and morale but also student engagement in class. Lessons become more enjoyable and meaningful, and students demonstrated a positive gain in their subject performance.

Not only have the teachers at Victoria School managed to inspire greater understanding in their students, but they have also deepened their own knowledge and understanding of content and pedagogy through shared awareness and effort.

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My mentor right now is also involved in this implementation of TfU in our school and is also guiding me towards this approach of teaching where lessons are now more students learning centric rather than teacher lesson centric. The approach is really to allow students to be engaged in hands-on tasks or through real life examples that they can relate to, so as to provide an environment where they formulate their own learning and logical thinking through exploration and group discussions/experiment to share ideas as well as questions of what works and what doesn’t and provide opportunities to use what they have learnt to demonstrate their understanding, rather than traditional instructive learning. Teachers now play a role of a facilitator in student’s learning and the use of more interactive approach as well as the using of technology to help implement that is now more prevalent in the classroom.

Living up to expectations

Some people have been telling me that I have been appearing very stressed up and emotional lately, in addition to suggesting that it might be work related. I have to admit I have not had the relaxed and confident mood I used to enjoy back in Uni. The suggestion that this change in mood came from the new job is fair since it was the last major change in my life since graduation but I have not quite been able to pin down what was it about my work that is making me stressed up. I have a great environment and bosses whom are extremely nurturing, the work is interesting and it does seem like my contributions are very much appreciated at the workplace. So the source of this distress had been eluding me for a long time - until now.

I realised that what have been bothering me is the inability to live up to the very high expectations I had set for myself. Working in an environment filled with great people, I kept trying to peg my own behaviour and performance to the best role model I can find for each aspect of personal and professional life. I expected myself to be able to emulate their aptitude and attitude quickly but kept finding myself falling short most of the time. On reflection, I do realise that I cannot expect myself to be as good as everyone else immediately. It certainly takes time to shape attitude and performance. Yet, every time when I fall short, I cannot help but blame myself for my inability to measure up to my benchmarks. This is exacerbated by the high expectations everyone seems to have for me at work (I know they are just being nurturing, but its hard to think they do not really expect such high standards from me).

I think I need to moderate expectations for myself if I were to stay on in an environment like mine so as not to lose my sanity. I have yet to find a feasible way though. The tendency to feel bad whenever I fall short from being the best seems to reside deep in my psyche.

Do you guys share this same feeling I have? What do you do to moderate expectations (I'm referring to self expectations)?

Wine Wise (Tiong Bahru)

Found a nice cheap place near tiong bahru market that serves nice wine. shld be nice to bring ur special someone to(esp the one who just change unit...ahem). light drinker will spend 10 bucks, heavier drinkers will spend abt 20 bucks.

Address: 57 Eng Hoon Street #01-86 Singapore

Tel: +65 6227 2118

Opening Hours

Daily: 11am – 2pm, 6pm – 10pm

do note the opening timings thou.

review:
http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/wine_wise_tiong_bahru/

TIP report

Something I wrote while I was in school. Found it as i was clearing my com

The first seminar I went to was the Buzzcity NUS inaugural Digital Media Forum cum MOU signing ceremony. The first speaker shared his experience of setting up a mobile applications. In the initiation stage, he spoke of the importance of market surveys and told us of an example of his findings.

He shared on how the people from less developed countries, people were more receptive to the idea of internet usage on their hand phones as opposed to internet on the computer as many were not computer savvy. He also shared with us the success of mobile social applications which he deemed to be the selling of friendship and vanity. His own success story involved the http://mygamma.com website.

The second seminar I attended was CEO unplugged. Adam Khoo was the 1st speaker. He spoke about learning how to model successful people, about this being the quickest way to attain the success that you desired. As he touched on how to brand and sell a product, giving examples of his own books, which are the fusion and reproduction of other books that he read with his personal touch. He therefore concludes that you do not need to have a great new idea to be an entrepreneur; you just have to improve on a current idea. With this he share a bit about his book, Mind your Destiny, whereby he teaches people to copy other people who excel in their fields.

Adam is one of the more memorable speakers from these series of seminars. I felt I could closely relate to his experiences and actually followed up on this talk by him by reading 3 of his books, Mind Your Destiny, Secrets of a Self-made Millionaire and Secrets of a Millionaire Investor. From two, namely Mind Your Destiny and Secrets of a Self-made Millionaire, I can see how he ‘copies’ ideas from other people, specifically, Mind Your Destiny was modeled after Steve Covey’s 7 habits of highly successful people and Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich. He also added his own experiences and a Singapore flavor to the book. Meanwhile, Secrets of a Self-made Millionaire was modeled after Rich Dad, Poor Dad and had a chapter effectively summarizing Warren Buffet’s ideas.

He also spoke of the joy of being in a business for the love of the job, not the money, as money is a just measure of success, not the motivation for doing the job.

The second speaker was Ivan Lee, the owner of New York, New York and Thai Express. He shared on how much of running a business is good leadership. He spoke on how in the past he worried too much about employee’s opinions and feelings and how he spent too much time trying to accommodate them. Now, he does not explain too much on his decisions and chooses to replace staff that go against him. He did however emphasize the need to respect and empower his staff to do their jobs.

I do agree with him on this point as I have a tendency to explain my self too much sometimes as I worry about what other people think of my decisions, especially when I lead projects. Too much empathy can be a problem as it distracts you from thinking about what is best for the task at hand. I realized this during group projects in NUS and have somewhat changed my style of working in a group.

He also spoke about copying other people’s idea as he studies other country restaurant’s menu ideas and improved on them for his own restaurant. He then spoke on Cash flow issues in business and the importance of being able to manage your cash flow well.

ASEANpreneurs youth leaders networks was the third seminar I attended. The 1ts speaker was Mr Teo Ser Luck who shared his experience that entrepreneurs need to learn to accept failures. He stressed that its not the success rate, but the ability to try and innovate, and gave the example of the person who invented the new coke, which failed miserably. But the person was promoted anyway. He also share on how the employee who lost 15 million at goggle was told by its owners that if he did not take risk, he was not doing his job. In his experience, for every 10 investments, there are about 2 successes. He also share how his interest in his work was initially about the money, but later became about keeping the people in their jobs.

The panel of discussions saw Ivan Lee sharing again. He shared on how his opening of a western café in the beginning had failed, after which he started Thai express. He spoke a bit on the importance of having an identity when doing retail, as with he did with Thai express. He stressed the importance locations when expanding, expressing his regret of opening an outlet in New Zealand, which he only visited once due to its distance.

Henry also followed up on the high failure rate in venture capitalism. He however mentioned that the one success made up for many failures that you would come across in his line of work. He shared on how too much investments can be a bad thing for a company, giving the example of how during the dot com boom, one of his companies had too much cash invested and it was wasted in hiring unnecessary people. This resulted in the collapse of the company.

Finally, Robert shared his experience in the air condition business. He shared on how he travels often to the countries that he plans to invest in to understand the local culture there. For example, home appliances sold in Vietnam are sold in small shops and therefore distribution would be very different as opposed to countries such as Singapore.

The fourth seminar was the unlocking the potential of solar energy seminar. This seminar was about the potential of solar power as a replacement for our current energy sources in view of the rising fuel cost. It dealt less with entrepreneurship because of the high cost of infrastructure.

I see similarities in many entrepreneurs. They all have a high threshold for failure; they take note of their mistakes and come back stronger. They all have passion for their work, that being their main driving force behind why they look forward to going to work everyday. I have learnt that you need to take a hard line with your staff at times and respect them at the same time. The most important thing I have learnt is probably how to view and take failure. Being a society driven by the need to succeed, failure had become almost a taboo word in our education system. This paradigm needs to change if we are to embrace an entrepreneurial spirit. We need to view failure as a learning experience, ‘just another way in which it does not work’ as Thomas Edison put it when he was trying to invent the light bulb. These entrepreneurs also modeled their idols or mentors (Adam Khoo) and learned from organizations already out there (Ivan Lee). They do not waste time reinventing the wheel.

Procrastinating

I kind of have tons of work on my work desk right now but decided to procrastinate a little and blog some nonsense.

A little knowledge sharing with you guys with regards to the "Serve And Fuckoff" and its medical procedures with those "Not Stupid" men. As those who already knew, i have suffer burnt marks on my back during out field and was referred to specialist in NUH. Despite the fact that this should be considered as a service injury, i was still made to pay for my medical consultation simply because the officers did not file a service injury report. As for the question of who should be the person to write thise service injury report, i have no answer to it and i doubt my "Not Stupid" OC knows that answer too. Though he probably would think that its not his job to write that report.

In my opinion, the person qualified to write this report should be the safety officer who covers safety during the execise as he has companied me to the medical centre during the point when i reported my injury. However i am not OSC trained hence i can't really comment much on this portion.

Hence in any case if you guys got yourself injury during reservist, remember to push for someone to write a service injury report before you see the MO for referral to specialist.

How the Internet is making us stupid by Nicholas Carr

extracted from today online at:
http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC100830-0000042/How-the-Internet-is-making-us-stupid

Although the World Wide Web has been around for only 20 years, it is difficult to imagine life without it. But our dependence on the Internet has a dark side. A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that the Net, with its constant distractions and interruptions, is turning us into scattered and superficial thinkers.

I've been studying this research for the past three years, in the course of writing my new book, The Shallows: How the Internet Is Changing the Way We Think, Read and Remember. I was inspired to write the book after I realised that I was losing my own capacity for concentration and contemplation. Even when I was away from my computer, my mind seemed hungry for constant stimulation, for quick hits of information. I felt perpetually distracted.

Could my loss of focus be a result of all the time I've spent online? In search of an answer to that question, I began to dig into the many psychological, behavioural and neurological studies that examine how the tools we use to think with - our information technologies - shape our habits of mind.

The picture that emerges is troubling, at least to anyone who values the subtlety, rather than just the speed, of human thought. People who read text studded with links, the studies show, comprehend less than those who read words printed on pages.

People who watch busy multimedia presentations remember less than those who take in information in a more sedate and focused manner. People who are continually distracted by emails, updates and other messages understand less than those who are able to concentrate. And people who juggle many tasks are often less creative and less productive than those who do one thing at a time.



DIVIDED ATTENTION

The common thread in these disabilities is the division of attention. The richness of our thoughts, our memories and even our personalities hinges on our ability to focus the mind and sustain concentration.

Only when we pay close attention to a new piece of information are we able to associate it "meaningfully and systematically with knowledge already well established in memory", writes the Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist Eric Kandel. Such associations are essential to mastering complex concepts and thinking critically.

When we're constantly distracted and interrupted, as we tend to be when looking at the screens of our computers and mobile phones, our brains can't forge the strong and expansive neural connections that give distinctiveness and depth to our thinking. Our thoughts become disjointed, our memories weak.

In an article in Science last year, Dr Patricia Greenfield, a developmental psychologist who runs UCLA's Children's Digital Media Center, reviewed dozens of studies on how different media technologies influence our cognitive abilities.

Some indicated that certain computer tasks, like playing video games, increase the speed at which people can shift their focus among icons and other images on screens. Other studies, however, found that such rapid shifts in focus, even if performed adeptly, result in less rigorous and "more automatic" thinking.

In one experiment at a United States university, half a class of students was allowed to use Internet-connected laptops during a lecture, while the other had to keep their computers shut. Those who browsed the Web performed much worse on a subsequent test of how well they retained the lecture's content.

Our growing use of screen-based media, Dr Greenfield said, has strengthened visual-spatial intelligence, which can strengthen the ability to do jobs that involve keeping track of lots of rapidly changing signals, like piloting a plane. But that has been accompanied by "new weaknesses in higher-order cognitive processes", including "abstract vocabulary, mindfulness, reflection, inductive problem-solving, critical thinking, and imagination".

We're becoming, in a word, shallower.

Studies of our behaviour online support this conclusion. German researchers found that Web browsers usually spend less than 10 seconds looking at a page. Even people doing academic research online tend to "bounce" rapidly between different documents, rarely reading more than a page or two, according to a University College London study.

Such mental juggling takes a big toll. In a recent experiment at Stanford University, researchers gave various cognitive tests to 49 people who do a lot of media multi-tasking and 52 people who multi-task much less frequently. The heavy multi-taskers performed poorly on all the tests. They were more easily distracted, had less control over their attention, and were much less able to distinguish important information from trivia.

The researchers were surprised by the results. They expected the intensive multi-taskers to have gained some mental advantages. But that wasn't the case. In fact, the multi-taskers weren't even good at multi-tasking. "Everything distracts them," said Mr Clifford Nass, one of the researchers.



BRAINS REMODELLED

It would be one thing if the ill effects went away as soon as we turned off our computers and mobiles. But they don't. By changing our habits of mind, each new technology strengthens certain neural pathways and weakens others.

The pioneering neuroscientist Michael Merzenich believes our brains are being "massively remodelled" by our ever-intensifying use of the Web and related media. In a conversation late last year, he said that he was profoundly worried about the cognitive consequences of the constant distractions and interruptions the Internet bombards us with. The long-term effect on the quality of our intellectual lives, he said, could be "deadly".

Not all distractions are bad. As most of us know, if we concentrate too intensively on a tough problem, we can get stuck in a mental rut. But if we let the problem sit unattended for a time, we often return to it with a fresh perspective and a burst of creativity. Research by the Dutch psychologist Ap Dijksterhuis indicates that such breaks in our attention give our unconscious mind time to grapple with a problem, bringing to bear information and cognitive processes unavailable to conscious deliberation.

But Dr Dijksterhuis' work also shows that our unconscious thought processes don't engage with a problem until we've clearly and consciously defined the problem. If we don't have a particular goal in mind, he writes, "unconscious thought does not occur".

What we seem to be sacrificing in our surfing and searching is our capacity to engage in the quieter, attentive modes of thought that underpin contemplation, reflection and introspection. The Web never encourages us to slow down. It keeps us in a state of perpetual mental locomotion. The rise of social networks like Facebook and Twitter, which pump out streams of brief messages, has only exacerbated the problem.

There's nothing wrong with absorbing information quickly and in bits and pieces. We routinely run our eyes over books and magazines to get the gist of a piece of writing and decide whether it warrants more thorough reading. What's disturbing is that skimming is becoming our dominant mode of thought. Once a means to an end, a way to identify information for further study, it's becoming an end in itself - our preferred method of both learning and analysis.

Dazzled by the Net's treasures, we have been blind to the damage we may be doing to our intellectual lives and even our culture. The Daily Telegraph



The writer is the author of The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains. This is an excerpt of a longer article.

One year on...

Monday Blues

Why is life always so unfair? Why do we often fall short of the great expectations we start off with? Why do we spend a lifetime trying to figure the meaning of life but never find the answer?

bubble of certainty

perhaps this is more a follow up post than anything. and it will likely mark the end of this short spurt of writing.

I mentioned once before my perception of this world changed drastically when i started working. it is hardly the first time that this has happened. it was the same when i started university. when i first started to perceive thing very differently. The irony is that this only started happening when i started being sure of myself. I thought I had figured out life and flat-line rejected everything else others suggested, dismissing them as fools. And then shit hit me and I woke up to find ill-defined lines in life that I thought held firm. my bubble of certainty burst, to very interesting effects. In the US, the appropriate expression would be when shit hits the fan.

living in a bubble of certainty is a pricey delusion. I stole the line from an article I read recently by Scott H Young. It is well and fine that I finally understand that. It can be disturbing however to look around you and see the many that have their own bubbles. People love certainty cos it is associated with safety, and our brains are programmed to look for signs affirm this certainty. But it can be dangerous, as much as living within the proverbial well as a frog.

It is difficult to convince people living in bubbles of alternatives. Now I am not saying the way they think is wrong(for no one can define wrong), but they fail to see that there are more than one way to the same destination. There are possibilities in life that they have failed to make space for. They are indoctrinated and are strongly opposed to what they choose not to consider. It is really difficult to hold a conversation with such people. They antagonize, they overgeneralize and they irritate. but such is life. I would like to say that they are fools, but this would lead me into my own bubble wouldn't it?

the comfort of silence.

well...it is strange that my desire to write has been reawakened. It has always been something I liked to do, but i never bothered to indulge in it. however it is a recent thought that my life is flashing me by and if i do not stop to appreciate the things that are around me, as i age i will regret not remembering these things by.

It has been a hectic few weeks for me. with the yr 2's prelims around the corner, many last minute classes to cover, juggling my new church duties plus trying to push something I privately hope will bear fruit in the future. I took a break a few minutes ago, to sit around the empty stadium steps to look at secondary school kids play next door. a cool breeze brushed by and i sipped my green tea with lemon, hoping it would soothe the flu i had been carrying for the past two days. The light blue sky above me darkened my transition lens, so i removed them, noticing the drop in focus I felt whenever i took off my glasses. I relaxed, and thought to myself how this was what i wanted when i should retire. I already had it. the rush of school life and the many busy people around me faded for a moment and i was enjoying the comfort of silence. it was beautiful and i thought i should share this, and hence this article.

a rush of other thoughts flooded my mind, the way i thought many people around me engaged in frivolous activities and i genuinely did not bother about a lot of their thoughts and feelings. I had my own agenda, but I am also very human. the social needs inside me demand that i engage my peers in such talk. my disinterest is apparent but it is no longer a choice, but an automatic response to a certain level of needs within Abraham Maslow's pyramid.

my thoughts also rushed to a sharing i had yesterday, to the futility of the rush for riches. the mediator in me agrees, there is no point. but the practical side of me knows better, or so he thinks. i smile at the observation i just made to myself as i walk back to resume my work...

Just got Married

Now wife is bathing and finally a chance to use my lap top.
Jun Hong has posted a question to me last week on What has changed?
My Answer, Plenty.

Lets start from the daily routine.
Waking up in the morning will never be the same. Exercising of stealth techniques learnt during my recce days has come in very handy in order not to wake my dear wife up from her sleep.

Coming home after work has never felt that good knowing that i have a beautiful wife at home waiting to open the door. Dinner at home have more conversations now given the extra headcount.

In order to keep the distance close with my in laws, my wife has been diligently maintaining the communication channel through webcam (which explains why i didnt ask for any games these days). Given that extra free time away from my computer, i started reading straits times again (has stopped reading them as i have read thepaper on train rides).

I have plenty of chance to get a second opinions on certain decision i have to make at home now given Renne is with me now. That makes certain decision more well thought through and less load on me as well in terms of the timeline.
Either way a lot of considerations will somehow or other include my Wife's well being anyway. Probably you are already asking what kind of decisions? From what furniture to buy to how much we have spent to what type of jobs she/I should apply.
It can go on and probably will be nice to have a verbal conversation on this than sharing it in this forum (too lengthy).

In conclusion, I am happily married. Given the fact that i have not enjoy the fruits of a proper relationship like most people do, having what i have now makes it sweet.

On the other hand, i do miss the days we just hang out aimlessly at night. Lets do one soon shall we?

my thoughts on a slow CCA day.

I'm sitting in my air-con office waiting for my CCA kids to finish playing tennis. Mentally I'm exhausted, so I decided I will do no more work today. Will fill a column be4 BK nags me about being just a voyeur on this blog again.

Hmm...one year into working life, I realized a lot of things that I never realised before. A lot of the choices I made in life were in view of sacrificing for better things to come. however, as i embark on actual working life, i realized that life is more complex than it seems to be. It would seem that I have not done enough. there is just so much left to do. The man I am supposed to be eludes me.

Yet as I look back in the past year, I have seen how much I have changed. I no longer bow down to authority, I no longer say nice things to pacify people. I am unapologetic for who I am. I no longer care that I offend people. that is just the surface of what has changed within me. Is it a vindication of my life philosophy? have I made the right choices in life? I do not know. I think I have chosen a path less trodden. not by choice but by chance. and more because I need to than I want to. I am fearful indeed of who I might end up as.

It seems that I am growing apart from many friends, I myself do not know why. Have I fundamentally changed that I no longer see the same things that they do? I do often get the impression from many groups of friends that they no longer know me so well. I see it in their eyes. And yet I feel that the change is necessary, the old me would not survive in this new world.

well it has been a long day, and perhaps my thoughts ran more pensively than I would have liked them to. but i thought i just share a piece of my mind, and it is just nice as my kids just ended this session. and so it ends, as abruptly as it had begun.

Congrats to Mr and Mrs Yeow!

Wish you both a very happy and blissful married life, congratulations!!

More (amateurish) photos here. =]

I like this skin

Who did it? JH? Abit laggy but pretty sweet.

KIVed for my FFXIV Journey

The only "fault" of CoP is that it was far more dependent on having a reliable group of people. I can't help but think that when the expansion was designed, the developer's vision was one of six people around the world who come together and work on these missions, slowly progressing through them, working as a team to overcome one mission after another, TOGETHER. By attempting to pug the entire thing with random people of varying degrees of intelligence, sanity, and patience, you ruin the experience.

In fact, I'd say that pugging can ruin missions altogether. The whole concept behind the game is not one of "I'm going to create a character, get powerful, and then do things with other people so that I can get more powerful", the concept is one of "I'm going to get together with other people, and together, we're going to do things that will make each other stronger as a group."

It isn't until you abandon the mentality of "6 people doing a mission" and become "a group doing a mission" that you can understand and enjoy the game the way it was meant to be played.

The problem with this type of design is that many people play the game for themselves. People will log on and view their playtime as "What can I accomplish today?" or "What items am I going to get today?"; they view missions as "I need 5 people to help me with this". These are all self-centric viewpoints and they are the reason for most failures in most MMORPGs. All of the problems you will ever have in any MMORPG trace back to selfishness. Either you were being selfish or someone else was. I'm not saying that you need to exist to serve everyone else, or that you have to be totally selfless or you're a horrible person, but in a game that is so strongly designed around the idea of people working together to accomplish a common goal, not "me and 5 other people"; once you get past "I need five people to help me" and think in terms of "The six of us are helping each other"... that's when you play the game the way it was intended. And that's when you can truly start to enjoy it.

I'd venture that most of the people who didn't enjoy Promathia missions either didn't enjoy it because they themselves were self-centric in thought and action, or because they frequently grouped with people that were. People who show up unprepared, people who are impatient and in a rush... If you never made it through CoP due to one group failure after another, I'm sure there is some way that you can connect the idea that the group was disjointed from the start. Either someone wasn't pulling their weight or was expecting others to compensate for them, or people were just screwing around.

Now I'm not saying "everyone who failed CoP is selfish"; chances are, it probably wasn't you at fault. But if you're one of the people who busted their ass and still couldn't succeed in CoP, I'm sure that if you look aback on your failures, you'll see that the cause of failure, despite all of your hard work, time, and effort, was ultimately the attitudes and actions of one or more self-centric party members that you did the missions with. Maybe someone bailed on your static because "We're not progressing fast enough and my other friend is doing to let me come with them" or maybe it's someone who always showed up half naked; people who didn't want to farm BC items like animas and mistmelts; people who ran way ahead of the group because they CBA to wait... any of it.

You can't drive a car when all four wheels aren't working together and turning together. If one of the wheels suddenly decides it wants to slack off and turn slower, or if one of the wheels decides the other three are moving too slow and decides to speed up... your transportation will be thoroughly unenjoyable, and it WILL fail.

The biggest problem with people as a whole in MMORPGs, and I'll concede that at times this applies to me as well, is that they tend to keep thinking about the mountains in the distance and miss all the flowers they're stepping on. If you spend all your time focusing on the goal, you'll never be able to enjoy the trip there.

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Arygos Server
Eilemia 80 Warrior/Acriel 80 Warlock/Khaedra 80 Hunter
Mikhalia | Elvaan Female | Carbuncle
WHM75/BLM75/MNK75/BRD75/DRG75

Random Thoughts

This blog had been more dead than I thought. And for good reasons.

I think I set the motion for its impending doom when I took myself way too seriously right from the start. So to my fellow kopi kakis, I really hope to see you guys share random thoughts and insights that flashed through your mind each day, and for the rest of us to chip our 2 cent worth; whether it is a tongue-in-cheek response or one of great philosophical wisdom :p

I experienced several unrelated episodic events the last couple days. And it left me greatly humbled, at a point in time when, I was admit ably rather pleased with some of the achievements and recognitions I had received thus far. So I guess what I wanted to share with you guys is this (but mostly, a reminder to myself). Be humble. Be very humble regardless of what status you have attained in life because there will always be someone better than yourself. And when you foolishly behave as if you are of certain standing and status, you are just inviting the mockery of everyone around you.

What does the preceding para has to do with the starting topic? Absolutely nothing. And hence, my invitation again to my kopi kakis to share all your random thoughts and musing each day here.

Finally, gratz Yeow. I think life will never be the same again. But lets hope we can relieve the good old days from time to time (fingers crossed).

World cup 2010

Watch world cup live streaming online here at atdhe.net

So..anyone wana predict this world cup's winner? lol

Just want to share the lyrics of this song here.
It may be a little hard to understand chinese lyrics but if u do, you will find it meaningful too

過去十八歲　沒戴錶　不過有時間　
夠我　沒有後顧　野性 貪玩
Age 18, with no watch, but time aplenty.
Full of self, with no concerns, wild and playful I am.

霎眼廿七 歲　時日無多　方不敢偷惰　
宏願縱未了　奮鬥總不太晚
Age 27, not much time, no more room for laziness.
Ambitions have yet to be reach but it isn’t too late to start working hard.

然後突然今秋　
望望身邊　應該有　已盡有
我的美酒　跑車　 相機　金錶　也　講究
Then in a flash back to the present,
Whatever things I should have are already in possession.
My wine, convertibles, cameras and gold watches are of certain standards.

直到世間　個個也妒忌　仍不怎麼富有
用我尚有　換我沒有　其實已用盡所擁有
Yet, even though everyone is envious of me, I still do not feel rich.
Using whatever I have, to exchange what I don't, I have, as a matter of fact, exhausted whatever I had possessed.

曾付 出　幾多心跳　來換取　一堆堆　的發票
人值得　命中減少幾秒　多買一隻錶
I had once exchanged countless heartbeat for piles and piles of receipts .
But is it worth it to reduce a few seconds of your life for yet another watch?

秒速　捉得緊了　而皮膚竟偷偷鬆了
為何用到盡了 　至知哪樣緊要
While I manage to hold on tightly to every flashing second, my skin quietly start to wrinkle.
Why do I only start to realise the importance of time when it is already exhausted?

勞力是　無止境　活著多好　不需要　靠物證
也不以高薪　高職　高級品　搏尊敬 No~
Rolex can be purchase endlessly. There is no need to prove the quality of life with material possessions.
Neither is there is a need for high salary, high position and high class goods to gain respect.

就算 搏到　伯爵那地位　和蕭邦的雋永
賣了任性　日拼夜拼　忘掉了為甚麼高興
Even if you obtain status of a Lord and profoundness of Chopin,
by sacrificing your willfulness, working day and night, you end up forgetting what makes you happy.

記住那　關於光陰的教訓　回頭走　天已暗
你獻 出了十吋時和分　可有換到十吋金
Remember that lesson taught about time, for when you look back, the sky is already dark.
You have given an inch in time, so have you obtain your inch in gold?

還剩低　幾多心跳　人面脹　水晶錶面對照
連自己　亦都分析不了　得到多與少
How many heart beats do I still have? My face has grown rounded as indicated by the reflection on the crystal surface of my watch.
Even I myself could not analyse whether there is gain or loss.

也 許　真的瘋了　
那個倒影　多麼可笑
靈魂若變賣了　上鏈也沒心跳
Maybe I have indeed gone crazy.
That reflection I see, is so foolish.
For if you have sold your soul, tightening the starter would not give you any heartbeat.

銀或金　都不緊要　誰造機芯　一樣了
計劃了　照做 了　得到了　時間卻太少No~
Gold or silver is not important. It doesn’t matter who build the mechanism.
Planned, executed and all has been obtained but alas! The time that remains is so little.

還剩低　幾多心跳　還在數　趕不及了
昂貴是這刻　我覺悟了　在時計裡　看破一生　渺渺
How many heartbeats are left? I am still counting but it is too late.
This moment is precious. For I am now enlightened. In tracking the time, I had seen all there is to this life. Such insignificance.

Rogers on discipline

Most of us don't have the discipline to stay focused on n single goal for
five, ten, or twenty years, giving up everything to bring it off, but that's
what's necessary to become an Olympic champion, a world class
surgeon, or n Kirov ballerina. Even then, of course, it may be all in vain.
You may make n single mistake that wipes out all the work. It may ruin
the sweet, lovable self you were at seventeen.

That old adage is true:
You can do anything in life, you just can't do everything. That's what
Bacon meant when he said a wife and children were hostages to fortune.
If you put them first, you probably won't run the three-and-a-half minute-
mile, make your first S10 million, write the great American
novel, or go around the world on n motorcycle. Such goals take
complete dedication."- Jim Rogers

What is work to you?

(Extracted from What is work? By Sam Martin)

This morning I woke up at 6 a.m. to go to work. I sat on the edge of my hotel room bed and thought about my oldest son. It’s his birthday. He’s turning 9. I’ll call him later and give him good wishes. Then this weekend, when I’m back home, we’ll go for pizza—a late celebratory dinner. Work interrupts life, but I can try to make up for it. I can place a daddy-son Saturday afternoon on the life side of the scales as a counterweight to my business trip.

Not everyone has the opportunity to balance work and life. I have a friend who’s been looking for a job since he was laid off by a textbook publisher two years ago. The unemployment checks ran out months ago and now he’s working construction here and there, savings gone, trying to imagine a future that lasts past the next month’s rent. Work interrupts life for him too, but work is diminishing and the weight of life is beginning to overwhelm the scales.

Is work just a job? If so, what is work in the context of things that aren’t part of our job? These are not idle questions nowadays, nor are they new. We’ve been trying to understand work for centuries, though I would argue that work versus life has only been contentious since the start of the industrial revolution in the late-18th and early-19th centuries. Before mass production, before factories, the creation of goods and services was skill-based, and the skills were passed down through generations, as were the shops and stores out of which they were sold. As soon as people began leaving home to go to work for customers they didn’t know—that’s when the existential questions about life started.

Two hundred years later, the conundrum of work-life balance hasn't been solved—and as of late it's only gotten harder. With unemployment rates at their highest levels in decades, the notion of “job security” borders on the mythological. According to a recent poll by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average time people stay at one job is three to five years. The 25-year one-job career is a relic. This puts an even greater emphasis on work.

And yet, the dynamic of work in the year 2010 is much different. One could say that the tools we have now have allowed us to go back home to work, where we can at least work alongside our partners and spouses and children, even if we can’t give them 100 percent of our attention. A business trip is in some ways a refreshing reminder of the separation of work and life—you are literally removed from your daily life—but the fact is, work and life aren’t really separated at all. I regularly check emails on my phone at midnight or on Sunday morning. I often sit down at my computer after putting the kids to bed and doing the dinner dishes.

So what is work now? It’s more than the job. Work is life. We work at life. If we’re lucky, we try to shape our jobs to fit our lives.

As it turns out, the more engaged you are at work, the more satisfaction you have in life, lending more credence to the adage “do what you love.” A recent Gallup study found that there are three types of workers: engaged, not-engaged, and actively disengaged. When asked if they had gotten the things in life that were important to them, more than half of engaged workers said they had while only 9 percent of actively disengaged workers said they had. Happiness, too, is tightly intertwined with work when it comes to figuring out how to get satisfaction from life. Eighty percent of engaged workers said they felt happy at work compared to 10 percent of actively disengaged workers. (Note to employers: the happier a person is at work the more productive they are.)

Happiness is something we all want, but “how to be happy,” it would seem, is a set of guidelines that should be too subjective to commoditize or measure. Not so. “Happiness economists,” psychologists, and sociologists have been quantifying happiness for years (having been inspired by the king of Bhutan, who established a gross national happiness index for his country in the 1970s). As it turns out, most people agree that having the ability to engage in local politics or to have enough money to meet basic needs and feel secure correlates to satisfaction. More spare time also equals more happiness. Longer life expectancies are a good thing. Some have found increased well-being relates to a healthy environment. What’s clear in all the happiness-index models is that the more control we have over our lives and our environments, the happier we are.

And yet, we still have to go to work. I would be remiss to overlook the fact that most people have to take what they can get to pay the bills. For many, work will never define their lives or their happiness. Work may be something altogether unremarkable in relation to life. It may continue to be just work, nothing more and nothing less—just one part of life.

In his latest book The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, the British philosopher Alain de Botton writes that “Our work will at least have distracted us, it will have provided a perfect bubble in which to invest our hopes for perfection, it will have focused our immeasurable anxieties on a few relatively small-scale and achievable goals, it will have given us a sense of mastery, it will have made us respectably tired, it will have put food on the table. It will have kept us out of greater trouble.”

For that we can at least be satisfied, if not altogether overjoyed.

NASA and the Russians

NASA typically does a lot of FMEA (Failure Mode Effect Analysis) to plan for all possible scenarios that will result in any form of failure during take off and in voyage. Typical after action will be engaging all the Triz and Six Sigma experts to provide solutions to the problems. It was said that 1 million dollars was spent just to hired Six Sigma experts and specialist to brainstorm on the methods to make writing with a pen possible in outer space. On the contrary, the Russians spend less than a dollar to come out with the solution...they use pencil....

Of googol

Dunno if you guys already know this, but just thought of sharing...

A googol is the large number 10^100, that is, the digit 1 followed by one hundred zeros in decimal representation. The term was coined in 1938 by Milton Sirotta (1929–1980), nephew of American mathematician Edward Kasner, when he was nine years old. Kasner popularized the concept in his book Mathematics and the Imagination (1940).

Some interesting stuff about this number includes:

• A googol is greater than the number of protons in the universe, which has been variously estimated from 10^79 up to 10^81

• Avogadro's number, 6.02214179 × 10^23, is exactly the number of 12C atoms in 12 grams (0.012 kg) of unbound 12C in its ground state. It is perhaps the most widely known large number from chemistry and physics. Avogadro's number is less than the fourth root of a googol.

• Black holes are presumed to evaporate because they faintly give off Hawking radiation; if so, a supermassive black hole would take about a googol years to evaporate.

• In an episode of the animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fast Forward, the "Gaminator" video games system is said to have a "3-googolhertz processor."

• In Back to the Future III, Emmett Brown states that Clara was "One in a googolplex".

The name might have reminded you of the search engine, Google, due to its similarity and a quick search reveal that there's indeed a relation as found in Google's milestone:


In 1997, Larry and Sergey decide that the BackRub search engine needs a new name. After some brainstorming, they go with Google -- a play on the word "googol," a mathematical term for the number represented by the numeral 1 followed by 100 zeros. The use of the term reflects their mission to organize a seemingly infinite amount of information on the web.

Of the vanity of existence

Of every event in our life we can say only for one moment that it is; for ever after, that it was. Every evening we are poorer by a day. It might, perhaps, make us mad to see how rapidly our short span of time ebbs away; if it were not that in the furthest depths of our being we are secretly conscious of our share in the exhaustible spring of eternity, so that we can always hope to find life in it again.

Consideration of the kind, touched on above, might, indeed, lead us to embrace the belief that the greatest wisdom is to make the enjoyment of the present the supreme object of life; because that is the only reality, all else being merely the play of thought. On the other hand, such a course might just as well be called the greatest folly: for that which in the next moment exists no more, and vanishes utterly, like a dream, can never be worth a serious effort.

The whole foundation on which our existence rests is the present--the ever-fleeting present. It lies, then, in the very nature of our existence to take the form of constant motion, and to offer no possibility of our ever attaining the rest for which we are always striving. We are like a man running downhill, who cannot keep on his legs unless he runs on, and will inevitably fall if he stops; or, again, like a pole balanced on the tip of one's finger; or like a planet, which would fall into its sun the moment it ceased to hurry forward on its way. Unrest is the mark of existence.



--Excerpts from "ON THE VANITY OF EXISTENCE" by Arthur Schopenhauer

Some tips on interview

Read this in the teachers forums on some advice that master teachers are dishing for senior teacher wannabe. I think the following interview tips are applicable not just for ST interviews but for any other, whether we are interviewing for a new job or a higher appointment in our organisation.

"One of the things that helped me through my own interview is that I tell myself that I must not want the job so badly till it shows. I also tell myself that I will want the interview to let me know if I am really ready for the job or not. And if I am not ready, then I want to learn what it is, that I am still lacking in. When I adopt this attitude, I realize that I become less tensed and can perform better as I can focus better. Also where I am ignorant or do not know something, I either clarify [so that I understand better what they are really asking] or just tell them honestly that I do not know the answer. To me, an interview like this is also a chance for me to learn something about myself from other people's perspective." - Mrs June Fong, Master Teacher in Biology.

Of the 100 light bulbs

Suppose there is a room with 100 light bulbs labeled 1 through 100. Person 1 walks in the room and turns on every light bulb. Person 2 walks in the room and flips the switch on every 2nd light bulb (i.e. he turns off all even numbered light bulbs). Person 3 walks in the room and flips the switch on every 3rd light bulb (turning some on and some off). This process continues until person 100 goes through and flips the switch on the 100 light bulbs. Which light bulbs will be lit up at the end?

Of the prisoners and the poisoned wine problem

You have a cellar of 1000 bottles of wine which you need to use for your king’s party in 1 day’s time. However, a spy from a neighboring hostile nation had one of the bottles poisoned. Now, the interesting thing about this poison is that it takes exactly 1 day to take effect… Your task is to find out which bottle contains the poison within a day so as not to affect the party. With 10 death row prisoners at your disposal, how can you complete your task?

STI Technial Analysis (09 Apr 2010)

(Click to enlarge)


STI hitting new highs after breaking last resistance at 2947.08 as mentioned. It will probably break 3000 next week and move towards next resistance level. Stochastic oscillator showing overbought conditions while moving averages indicators going strong on the bullish momentum and confirmed by an upwards trend of OBV indicator.

I will probably sell off some units once it hits 3200.


Disclaimer: Above is purely personal/amateurish view; shall not be liable for any losses/damages that arises from decisions made directly or indirectly due to this post...

A reminder to us all

Apr 8, 2010

Diary of a reformed elitist

I AM as Rafflesian/Raffles Girls' School (RGS)/'elite' as they come. My father was a Raffles Institution boy; I went through Raffles Girls' Primary School (RGPS), RGS, then Raffles Junior College, then on to the National University of Singapore, boarding at Raffles Hall. My sisters went through much the same route. My little girls are in RGPS.

I recognise the syndrome Ms Sandra Leong talks about ('Scoring high in grades but not in values', last Saturday). I live it, breathe it. Most of my friends are like me, graduates. Most of us live in landed property, condominiums or minimally, executive condos or five-room flats. None of us talks about making ends meet, or how we must turn down medical treatment for our aged parents because we cannot find the money.

But I will add to her essay: that those traits, that aura is not unique to RGS girls. It resonates within a social group, and its aspirants, the well educated or well endowed. I hang out with so many, I have stories by the barrel.

- My doctor friend, non-RGS and one would even say anti-RGS, was shocked when she found out how many As I got in my A levels, since I opted to do an arts degree. In her words, 'I thought all arts people were dumb, that is why they go to arts'. Her own family boasts only doctors and lawyers - she said they would never contemplate any other profession - and by implication, all other professions are below those two.

- A church-mate who lived in a landed property in District 10 - definitely not an RGS girl, and I venture to guess, not even a graduate - once, in all sincerity and innocence, prayed for all those who had to take public transport and live in HDB flats, for God to give them strength to bear these trials.

- Another friend, also non-RGS and a non-graduate, shudders when she recounts the few months she lived in an HDB flat. And that was a five-room flat. Imagine the culture shock if she had lived in a three-room flat.

I continue to meet people who never visit hawker centres, who wonder why the poor people do not work harder to help themselves, who fret if their children do not get into the Gifted Education Programme (reserved for the top 1 per cent of nine-year-olds).

The pattern repeats itself in the next generation. When my 11-year-old had to go on a 'race' around Singapore, using only public transport, the teacher asked for a show of hands on how many had never taken public transport (bus and MRT) before. In a class of 30, five raised their hands. I think if the teacher had asked for those who had taken public transport fewer than 10 times in their young lives, the number would have more than doubled or tripled.

Many of us live in ivory towers. I know I did. I used to think Singapore was pretty much 'it' all - a fantastic meritocracy that allowed an 'HDB child' from a non-graduate family to make it. I boasted about our efficiency - 'you can emerge from your plane and be out in 10 minutes' - and so on.

It was not that I thought little of the rest of the world or other people; it was that I was so ensconced in my cocoon, I just thought little of anything outside my own zone. 'Snow? Yes, nice.' 'Starvation in Ethiopia? Donate $50.' The wonders of the world we lived in, the sufferings and joys of those who shared this earth were just academic knowledge to me, voraciously devoured for my essays or to hold intelligent conversations at dinner parties.

Then I lived in China for seven years. I looked on in amazement as the skinny tree trunk in front of my yard blossomed and bore pomegranates when spring thawed the ground. And marvelled at the lands that spread east, west, north and south of me as we drove and drove and drove, and never ended. I became friends and fans of colleagues and other Chinese nationals, whom so many Singapore friends had warned me to be wary of.

I realised it was not the world and other people who were limited in their intellect, in their determination, in their resourcefulness; it was me and my world views which were limited. I also know full well that if I had stayed in Singapore, in my cushy job, comfortable in my Bukit Timah home, I would have remained the same - self-sufficient. I had always believed that if I put my mind to it, I could achieve anything. For example, I used to look at sick people and root: 'Fight with all your willpower, and you will recover.' And when they did not, I'd think they had failed themselves. I, like Ms Leong, believed 'mental dexterity equated strength of character and virtue'.

But those years in China taught me terrible lessons on loneliness. I learnt that money (an expatriate pay package) and brains (suitcases of books) did not make me happier than my maid who cycled home to her family every night in minus 20 deg C on icy roads to a dinner of rice and vegetables. The past few years, I have known devastating loss and grief so deep I woke up in the morning and wondered how the sun could still shine and people could go on with their lives.

And so perhaps I have learnt the humility I lacked. Humility about how small I am in the whole schema of things. About how helpless I truly stand, with my intellect in my hands, with my million-dollar roof over my head. To remember, in the darkest valleys of my journey, it was not Ayn Rand or other Booker list authors who lifted me, but the phone calls, the kindness of strangers, that made each day a little less bleak.

And perhaps finally, to really see other people, and understand - not deflect, nor reflect their anger and viewpoints, but see their shyness, pain, struggles, joys. Just because I was 'fortunate enough' to have trawled the bottom levels. And perhaps that is the antidote to the oft unwitting elitism so many of us carry with us.

Sim Soek Tien (Ms)

Extracted from ST Forum, 8 Apr 2010

STI Technial Analysis (01 Apr 2010)

(Click to enlarge)

STI now testing 2947.08 resistance (double top?). MACD showing indications of MACD crossing below the signal as well as stochastic showing slightly overbought conditions of near 80, which are all sell signals. If break resistance, it will probably chiong to next resistance level at 3269.88. Else, will it display reverse trend of a double top?


Disclaimer: Above is purely personal/amateurish view; shall not be liable for any losses/damages that arises from decisions made directly or indirectly due to this post...

Google

How the heck does google ad make for a $180 billion company? If anyone knows how their search ad works, please post your insights. Ill be researching into this too and let you folks know if I find anything.

Do you want to be a CEO?

For those pursuing a generalist management career, being a CEO is the apex you can reach in an organisation. But what do a CEO really do? What kind of skillsets and strength of character do you need to take the hot seat? How different is would the aforementioned be compared to our romanticised impression of a CEO duties?

These are some questions I intend to research into. Watch this space if you're interested to see what I manage to find, to share your own views and dispute my findings!

Edit: recently came across this article: http://www.steverrobbins.com/articles/ceojob

Hindsight on Education

Since I am in the business of education policy, and education issues preoccupies my mind most of the time now, I thought I would just take some time to reflect on what I felt my own education had or had not prepared me for my current job.

Looking back at the 16 years of formal education I had, I suppose I am lucky to be one of those who excelled and benefited in our current system. I grasp concepts quickly and that allowed me to coast through most of the major exams. That was especially evident during Uni years. Those who had relied on drills and practise during 'O' and 'A' level to achieve academic success now finds that formula hard to follow in Uni as the semester quickly fly by amidst a flurry of projects and assignments leaving little time for rote learning.

That convinced me that I had developed the right intellectual capacity, that I had developed the skills to excel in any jobs in the 21st century.

But I was wrong. Public policy makers faces tough and challenging issues. We recognise the world is rapidly changing and there is a need for public policies to keep pace with the changing world view. However, decisions are not easily made. There are considerations which the private sector doesnt need to worry themselves with.

For one, public policies needs to ensure that all segment of the population are catered for. The government does not have the luxury of focusing on a niche market. Two, public policies are planned for the long term. In order for minimal disruption to the lives of people and strategic planning for companies' business plans, we cannot flip flop on our policies. There is also the need to document, rationalise and account for all our decisions since we are using public monies.

There is thus a tension between the need to deliberate on our policies and playing catch up with the rapidly changing global landscape. Innovative solutions are called for, as well as clarity in thought leadership.

This is where I am struggling with the education I had. I find it tough to venture into the unknown. It is also difficult to innovate and find creative solutions. I thus realise my education had prepared me to be a first class follower. I am exceedingly good at understanding and executing instructions, but terribly poor at innovating and offering new solutions. Now, everyday is an attempt to fill the gap of my formal education.

And I believe this is a gap which our education system needs to address and is, I believe, being addressed at MOE HQ. Our education system needs to produce more people who are able to create and innovate and not a group of uninspired followers. The industrial age had already gone by, and in the next 10 years, that fact will become painfully obvious if we do not change.

How was your own education when you look back? I would like to hear you views.

Some Rumour

There is this rumour that goes around the department that i may be going overseas attachment. Please give it to me baby!

Btw...Can someone make this blog private?
Hard to discuss dirty little secrets with people peeping.

Exit strategy

Getting into any investment without any exit strategy can be fatal. Some people I know in my workplace put money into something just because it is a “good buy”. However, buying things doesn’t make you money, does it? It’s selling them that does.

As a simple case in point, my colleague bought a penny stock through recommendation at a pretty good price and it was doing fairly well, appreciating a few cents for the following few days and mind you, a few cents in penny stocks is huge.

She bought almost 50 lots at 0.105 and it peaked at 0.15 and hovered around 0.12 to 0.13 for at least the following 2-3 weeks. That’s 15 - 20% profit! Yet, she insisted on holding it, claiming that it can increase more. Greed, in other words, gets in the way.

And the following month saw the decrease to 0.11 and hovering at that for a good one month or so before plunging below her buying price. Even at 0.11 was a 5% which, and after all the fees, translates to couple of hundreds bucks, not too bad if you ask me.

She insisted on keeping even after paper loss of 10% and it has been 3 months where the price hovers around 0.095 to 0.1, in which I suggest cutting losses. As of now, the price is standing at 0.09 with a paper loss of 700+ bucks; good luck to that.

She probably didn’t know what she was getting into; she had no idea what that company was, what kind of business they are doing, etc., basically basing her buy on hearsay. Even worse was that there wasn’t even the slightest idea of how, what and when she can expect to get out of that speculation. Of course, she is also dangerously putting all eggs in one basket, but well, that’s a topic for another day.

Exit strategy in this context basically refers to the taking of profits or cutting losses when they rise or fall to a certain percentage. This can be done by oneself or done through take-profit or stop-loss orders with your broker to automate the process.

For speculation, traders typically use technical analysis to determine the optimal exit point for maximizing profits or eliminate holdings that don’t perform. On the other hand and personally, people who play for long term, like for example indexing, set specific targets within certain period of time-frame to lock in the profits to either reduce trading frequencies, reduce downside potential for capital preservation or rebalancing purposes. In short, all these strategies help by removing the emotion factor from the equation to reduce risk.

It’s also like buying a car, where despite the fact that it depreciates, what exit strategy do you have in mind and how much you are willing to lose are important considerations that needs to be made prior to buying in. One way to help make that decision is perhaps through calculation of the breakeven point of your car loan and car value?

This can also be said the same for your career as well and now your time is the investment in question. Are you still learning new things and contributing to your professional growth? Are you heading in the direction you want in your career? Do you see any prospects in your company or department? These are some of the considerations that are worth thinking about when making your investment of your most important resource.

On the point of career, not everyone is willing to work past 65, just as some are not comfortable in retiring too young at say 45. Having a clear exit strategy will ultimately define your retirement planning; how aggressive you need to save, how much risk you can take, etc.

New iphone User

Err...ok i need help. I jus got the iphone. Someone teach me how to read word documents and edit them.

Also need to know how to jailbreak...

also can read powerpoint slides or not?

Car Insurance

If i am not mistaken, how car insurance premium is calculated is based on a few factors as such:

1) Age group, typically at our age, it is pretty expensive. The older the cheaper.
2) Driving experience, which actually means the number of years since you get the license and not the actual driving years of experiences. The longer the cheaper.
3) Gender, I heard female cheaper??
4) Your car's year of manufacture, the older the cheaper.
5) Occupation, cheaper if your job doesn't require you to travel alot.
6) Etc.. (Add on to this list?)

With regards to point 1 and 2, is it thus possible to buy your car using your parent name, in an effort to get the insurance, which covers whole family, at a lower premium?

Housing prices.

I'd like to start a tread on housing prices. I think its really interesting since Yeow is getting married and bk maybe soon. Maybe we could discuss this here. It would be benefical to JH and myself too.

I'd like to extend this blog to weilong since he's getting married too. Any objections?

Finally!

Yup. Finally got down to starting a blog. And dragging 3 Kopi Kakis into it. Haha. Let the kopi talks begin! =D