Sony Ericsson G900

My Ideal Phone?


There have been many candidates for my ideal phone already. What are my criteria?

• > 3.2MP camera
• 3G
• QuadBand (is this a given for 3G phones?)
• WiFi
• FM Radio
• Bluetooth

Worth mentioning features include

• Handwriting recognition
• StickyNotes
• TrackID music recognition
• Business card scanner

While these doesn't make it an iPhone-beater (the G900 doesn't even look/feel/sound like a SmartPhone), this unit still distinguishes itself among other 'conventional' mobiles phones in a stylish, right-sized package. GSMArena calls its cousin G700 a SmartPhone in disguise (feature wise, G900 is a superset of the G700). Well done, S.E.!

The Sony Ericsson G900 is physically identical to the G700 with a 2.4" 262K-color TFT display of QVGA resolution. However the G900 has more to offer than its sibling - bringing Wi-Fi support and a 5 megapixel auto focus camera it looks set to cause high-tech high-end excitement. - GSMArena

380 hours standby time and 12 hours of talk time is rather impressive. A whole gamut of organizer functions is ideal for a disorganized person like me. Is it possible to write my own applications for the phone? (this was why I got my Nokia E65 in the first place, but I have not written anything for it until now, even though I've done it in school for the N70, anyway, S60 phones are all the same).

Too bad HSDPA (3.5G) isn't supported. Neither is there infra-red.

Upon seeing an advertising blitz on the train back from work today, I went to the shop to take a look, and there was one on live display, not just a dummy model.

It's the right size and weight (<100g).

Tell me when will you be mine ...

Community Events

Title: Mount Faber Zone B Block Party
Date: 22 June 2008, Sunday
Time: 5pm to 8pm
Venue: TBA

Title: Healthy LifeStyle Day
Date: 6 July 2008, Sunday
Time: 8am to 1pm
Venue: Radin Mas Community Club, Singapore

Title: International Culture Night
Date: 22 July 2008, Sunday
Time: 6pm to 10pm
Venue: Basketball Court, Biock 22 Telok Blangah Crescent, Singapore

My Fav Kara Ballad - 《仍唱我的歌》- 刘德华

One of my favorite karaoke songs. It's so obscure that nobody knows it, which is a pity, cos it has really beautiful melody and lyrics. This will be my participating song in an Idol competition. :)



作曲：Park Jungun/杜自持 作词：席清莲 编曲：杜自持

长夜路漫漫留住这街中稀客
留连在冷冻里愿可清醒片刻
又再次翻起心底一丝失控的感觉
响起的你的声音最是明白我

微弱冷雨敲响风声是你么
曾话爱我爱多一生未算多
雨或晴靠着我 暗或明接受我
总是碰着了风波

感激的你不放底我更维护我
陌路同途但仍唱我的歌
如火般的眼光温暖我
继续燃亮我回头再讲一生
再共同渡过

Recommended Song - 《宽容》 - 张信哲

凌晨两点半 你还在我身旁 关上电话 我不想和谁再多说话 爱着你的我 认真听你说的每句话 凌晨两点半 你不在我身旁 讨厌自己 为何还要这样的牵挂 爱着你的我 无法隐瞒自己对你的想法 你说你想要找个宽厚的肩膀 问自己带你到什么地方 看着明天 告诉我你不会紧张 跟着我海角和天涯 我说我想要找个避风的港湾 谢谢你陪我到任何地方 你的宽容 还有我温柔的包容 没有泪的夜晚是天堂

凌晨两点半 你不在我身旁 讨厌自己 为何还要这样的牵挂 爱着你的我 无法隐瞒自己对你的想法 你说你想要找个宽厚的肩膀 问自己带你到什么地方 看着明天 告诉我你不会紧张 跟着我海角和天涯 我说我想要找个避风的港湾 谢谢你陪我到任何地方 你的宽容 还有我温柔的包容 没有泪的夜晚是天堂 我说我想要找个避风的港湾 谢谢你陪我到任何地方 你的宽容 还有我温柔的包容 没有泪的夜晚是天堂

Currently Listening - 《断点》 - 张敬轩

作词：张敬轩　作曲：张敬轩

静静地陪你走了好远好远 连眼睛红了都没有发现 听着你说你现在的改变 看着我依然最爱你的笑脸 这条旧路依然没有改变 以往的每次路过都是晴天 想起我们有过的从前 泪水就一点一点开始蔓延 我转过我的脸 不让你看见 深藏的暗涌已经越来越明显 过完了今天 就不要再见面 我害怕每天醒来想你好几遍

我吻过你的脸 你双手曾在我的双肩 感觉有那么甜我那么依恋 每当我闭上眼 我总是可以看见 失信的诺言全部都会实现 我吻过你的脸 虽然你不在我的身边 我还是祝福你过得好一点 断开的感情线 我不要做断点 只想在睡前再听见你的 蜜语甜言

《翠谷回响》之《绝爱 . 情》/ Abstain, Love

Here's making a plug for the RJC Chinese Society's Annual Chinese Drama performance. This year's performance is all the more worth attending for alumni of the RJC Chinese Society - this will be Mdm Lim Soh Hoon's last performance as teacher-in-charge - as she will be retiring at the end of this year; next year she will be a paying audience :).

So class of 93/94/95, please come, come. Let's get together!


《翠谷回响》之《绝爱 . 情》/ Abstain, Love
Chinese Literary, Debate and Cultural Society Drama Group

Do you ever get the feeling that you are trapped? Li, a scriptwriter, was often worried about meeting deadlines. That was until Xiao, someone whom Li had a crush on, reappeared. Li was now caught between his current girlfriend and Xiao. But this was no simple love triangle – Xiao was a guy! Drawing inspiration from his own love life, Li continued to pen his story. Would Li end up like Yue, the character in his script? How would Li and Yue find their way out of this mangled web of hatred and unrequited love?

Date: 2 & 3 May (Friday and Saturday)
Time: 7:45pm
Venue: RJC Performing Arts Centre
Ticket Price: $10

Who will be the eventual winner of the US Presidential Elections?

My personal analysis is that McCain will have a much easier time than the Democrat candidate because he has already won the Republican primary, while Obama and Clinton are still having a go at each other. Apart from having more time to prepare and strategize for his main election campaign, McCain will also have the luxury to sit back and observe the styles and tactics of his potential opponent.

Having already won the Republican primary is not all good news to McCain either. Now, the attention of the Americans, and that of the world, will be focused on Clinton and Obama. The Democrat candidates will be in the limelight for the rest of the primary election campaign. People will be hearing of Clinton vs Obama, their ideas, opinions, arguments; not so much on McCain. Personally it is precisely due to this intense rivalry, and the unique selling points of this dynamic duo - being the first woman and the first black president respectively - that draws people's attention.

After all is said and done, who will finally win the elections and become President of the United States in 2009? My answer: McCain. Reason: The Americans re-elected George W. Bush as President. They don't need radicals.

Alright now, my nonsense aside, let's examine a more reliable approach - divination. Haha ... I found this document from a Singapore Geomancy (MetaPhysics) Company written in December 2007, with seven predictions. The 2nd point about John McCain winning the Republican primary has already come true.

Here are the 7-point predictions:

1. Barack Obama will win the Democrat Primary ahead of Hillary Clinton. CHECK
   
2. John McCain will win the Republican Primary. CHECK
3. John Edward will be the Presidential running mate for Barack Obama.
4. Barack Obama will win the American election and become the new American President in 2009.
5. John Edward will be the Vice President.
6. Barack Obama will be a two-term President from 2009-2017.
7. Major problems and even death will become of the Clinton family within five years (including year 2008).

I'd have to say that point 7 is quite ominous. Makes a person wonder what is really going to happen to the Clintons.

What will the final result be? How many of these points will come true? Only time will tell.

One thing is for sure, if these predictions are true, and Obama wins the elections with John Edward, then I'd definitely take my BaZi predictions more seriously!

What is YOUR prediction?

Heroes of Effort and Energy

For the past couple of months, we've had a lot of heroes in my department - most of the team has been pulling off sustained heroics (>14 hour days) - I'm very impressed at the spirit and solidarity shown by the team in these trying times despite the lack of resources and abundance of pressure from customers and management.

I feel extremely blessed and flattered at the high performance expectations that have been put on us despite all the artificial constraints and resistance being imposed. We are being held in high regard, which itself is more valuable and meaningful a reward than any monetary, tangible, or materialistic compensation. In fact, I feel fortunate that we are not required to pay money to receive this feeling of self-worth.

So it is true after all - "Money CANNOT buy happiness!".

However, it gets me all riled up when I see articles like this, which argues that hard work, overloading, and long hours are WRONG - oh the nerve of them - advocating in fact, that redundancy is in fact a good thing (these people will not last a single day in my company):

http://www.focusedperformance.com/articles/effort.html

If projects are structured (or if people are mis-managed) to rely on long hours to complete their appointed tasks, then there is no protective capacity in the system. If the organization carries out a downsizing every time it identifies some unused capacity sitting around, the result is a very heavily loaded remaining work force. Unavailable capacity is required to take on new initiatives as they arise.

Here is another link related to this issue:

http://www.focusedperformance.com/articles/multi02.html

P.S. If somehow you feel confused, please look at the label for this post.

If I Could Turn Back Time ...

Long time never post ... so I thought I'd entertain you with this ...

Ever felt like you wanted to go backward in time? Theoretically, it is possible IF

1. You travel faster than the speed of light - you would catch up with all the light rays that carry visual information into the past. No bullshit! This came from Einstein himself (citation needed). So far, the only person who has been able to achieve this, is Superman, who flew so fast that he went back in time to save Louis Lane from dying. There ... don't say there are no second chances in this world. You just have to know HOW to take them.
   
2. Something more achievable, and realistic, is to use one of the many web forms with a time/duration calculation component. This is not bullshit either. My point is actually about something else. (*Hint* look for the outrageous receipt I had the honor of receiving and subsequently blogged about.)
   

Well, if you get it, have a good laugh together with me, or you could sigh ... depending on your level of optimism.

男人说法

看一份报纸，听一首歌，出来的结果是什么呢？

最近看了英文报星期天的一片稿，报道新加坡女性对男伴的期望。超过九成的女性认为男士理所当然做的是如下：

• 帮女生开门，
• 支付约会所有开支，
• 帮忙拿手提袋，
• 约会之后送女友回家
  

其中一位受访的男士认为要做这些动作并无不妥，但是需要出自男人的真心，而不是当作是理所当然的。

今天刚好听着张信哲的一首歌，认为极为恰当。因此想到跟大家分享：

男人说法 (张信哲)

（难道男人一定要爱得很辛苦）　
（才能证明对你是真的很在乎 ）
（为什么你会如此的盲目）
（甘心拿一生的幸福一生的幸福一生的幸福来赌注）
我真的想不清楚　
出了什么错误　
你会在我面前哭　拒绝跟我说清楚
送你回家这一路　
回想自己的付出　
心情好无助　
感觉好无辜
一而再的对你让步　
希望给你快乐幸福　
可惜我的付出　你从不曾满足
难道男人一定要爱得很辛苦　
才能证明女人是男人的全部
为什么你总是看不清楚　
任性让人有点招架不住
难道男人一定要爱得很辛苦
才能证明对你是真的很在乎
为什么你会如此的盲目　
甘心拿一生的幸福一生的幸福来赌注
我真的想不清楚　
出了什么错误　
你会在我面前哭　拒绝跟我说清楚
送你回家这一路　
回想自己的付出　
心情好无助　
感觉好无辜
一而再的对你让步　
希望给你快乐幸福　
可惜我的付出　你从不曾满足
难道男人一定要爱得很辛苦　
才能证明女人是男人的全部
为什么你总是看不清楚　
任性让人有点招架不住
难道男人一定要爱得很辛苦
才能证明对你是真的很在乎
为什么你会如此的盲目　
甘心拿一生的幸福一生的幸福来赌注
难道男人一定要爱得很辛苦　
才能证明女人是男人的全部
为什么你总是看不清楚　
任性让人有点招架不住
难道男人一定要爱得很辛苦
才能证明对你是真的很在乎
为什么你会如此的盲目　
甘心拿一生的幸福一生的幸福来赌注

Top Twenty Reasons why Chocolate is better than Sex

1. You can GET chocolate.
2. "If you love me you'll swallow that" has real meaning with chocolate.
3. Chocolate satisfies even when it has gone soft.
4. You can safely have chocolate while you are driving.
5. You can make chocolate last as long as you want it to.
6. You can have chocolate even in front of your mother.
7. If you bite the nuts too hard the chocolate won't mind.
8. Two people of the same sex can have chocolate without being called nasty names.
9. The word "commitment" doesn't scare off chocolate.
10. You can have chocolate on top of your workbench/desk during working hours without upsetting your co-workers.
11. You can ask a stranger for chocolate without getting your face slapped.
12. You don't get hairs in your mouth with chocolate.
13. With chocolate there's no need to fake it.
14. Chocolate doesn't make you pregnant.
15. You can have chocolate at any time of the month.
16. Good chocolate is easy to find.
17. You can have as many kinds of chocolate as you can handle.
18. You are never too young or too old for chocolate.
19. When you have chocolate it does not keep your neighbors awake.
20. With chocolate size doesn't matter.

Singaporean Obsession?

It's a well known fact that Singaporeans like love to reverse park. Even Malaysians who have stayed in Singapore for a long time get converted to the habit. So far no one has given any good, practical reason for reverse parking into a parking lot (I mean those where the cars are side-by-side, NOT roadside parking).

I happened to be in a large shopping center carpark late one night, i.e. there are thousands of lots and about less than a hundred cars. The lots are grouped in 2 rows of 5 side-by-side lots, most of which are empty. To my amazement, I saw this one car reversing into a lot in an empty group! Honestly, it was actually EASIER to go in straight to the lot from the other end, since the group was next to a wall.


It's baffling, really ... why someone would still want to reverse into a lot in an EMPTY cluster, when it is so much easier to get into the same position and orientation by driving straight in.

Welcome to Singapore.

Here I have found at least one other (apparently Singaporean) blogger who thinks the same way.

http://elephantsinmyroom.wordpress.com/2007/08/25/singaporean-parkers/

Why I Will Never Have a Girlfriend

I saw this seemingly well-thought out analysis by Tristan Miller - it does seem to make sense - and if you think about it, some people do stay single their whole lives. :)

Here's a snippet in his own words:

So there you have it, my friends—finally, a cogent, scientific, non-self-deprecating argument for why I will never have a girlfriend.

Take a look at the endnotes and references, now these really make sense!

Seen Aboard A North-East Line Train LCD Display

Singapore has established for itself quite a brand name in producing world-class quality, efficient and smooth running systems, so it is quite a rare sight to see an unexpected situation.

To dispel doubts that the picture could be taken from a normal PC installation, the background reflection captured in the photograph quite clearly shows that I am in the train. The style of the seats are also indicative of North-East-Line (NEL) train cars. Now I know they are running Windows NT.

I did some research - ahh just as I thought. This presentation clearly describes the computing, network, and software systems used in the NEL.

Alright, I'll cross post this in Comsul, but with a different emphasis.

Outrageous Bill

This happened last month (December 2007) in Singapore's world class international facility. Customers are charged a rounded UP amount in the bill when the total was not a multiple of a dollar. Take a look at the Rounding item in the bill below. Absolute nonsense!

Kudos to the cashier who decisively offered a 10% discount on the total bill after I brought this to his attention - apparently I was the first one to notice this (during dinner time on a super busy
day). He explained that the billing system was centralized by the entire facility and that individual outlets had no control over the system.

Suddenly I am ashamed to call myself a programmer (I make some assumptions how this could have happened).

Even if you have to perform rounding, you NEVER make the customer pay for it.

I greatly worry about the quality of the highly paid engineers and system analysts employed by one of the most prominent world-leading organization in the country (or the contractors they hire) that developed, tested and commissioned such a system, allowing such a glaring mistake to be released.

Acquisitions

Dual USB Travel Charger

Charges 2 usb devices at the same time. Ideal for MP3 players, PDAs, etc that are recharged via USB.


Esprit Esbrella (Umbrella with box)

• UV Protected
• Ultra Light
• Aluminium/FRP Frame
• Premium Polyester Cover

It's small, light and it comes in a box! To illustrate how small it is, let me compare it with a normal short umbrella against a A5 piece of paper.

Interesting Discoveries

Energizer has released an instant cell phone charger powered by 2 AA Lithium batteries. They also have a rechargable USB charger - a rather innovative product I should say.

Who says a company cannot make money by selling variations of the same product? Look at Canon - they sell hundreds of models of cameras for decades and are only getting more successful at it. Building up expertise, experience, industrial momentum, and commercial reputation are what makes a company successful. Foraying into distinct and unrelated products on the other hand, erodes consumer confidence as well as R&D/marketing momentum.

Wish List

For a 13.3 inch wide screen laptop computer,

• Tucano Stile Work Out
• Tucano 9DOTS Second Skin

For mobile phone and MP3 player,

• 4GB MicroSD card

That's all for now.

Things to Do In Singapore

Feeling bored in crampy, small Singapore? Refer to this calendar of events for the goings-on in town!

(Ed: I'd need to update this with some interesting content, but for now, this will have to do)

Update:

Digital Art & Technology Exhibition
Event Dates	:	10th Nov 2007 to 1st Jan 2008
Time of Event	:	10am to 6pm (Tuesday to Sunday)
Venue:	:	Singapore Science Centre
Category	:	Exhibition

New Year Resolutions

Merry X'Mas to one and all! As the year wraps up, people start taking vacations, go for holidays to refresh and recharge, and take stock of what they have done for the past year and what goals they have for the year ahead. Some of us may want to perform an annual life audit like our very famous Mr Wang.

Thanks to all for your support and stopping by my blog all this while. You know who you are, lemme know who you are! For those who said they will read, but didn't show up, I know who you are too :P. But no worries alright?

What are some of the most popular pages on my blog? Here they are, in no particular order:

• Wedding Emcee (Significance of champagne pouring)
• How Many Days A Year Do You Work? (this is actually a satire)
• Dilbert's Talented People Are Busy
  

I'm quite disappointed that my tourist guide to Singapore was not found by anyone. I think it's a pretty good writeup! (But then again it is outdated).

Yes, we all know what they say about new year resolutions, after so many years of my life, this is the first time I am thinking about some serious resolutions.

I do have quite a lot of things to blog about, but have been lazy (and busy) to keep up with everything.

For now, let me start with my new year resolutions.

1. Build up sources of passive income (path to financial independence)
2. Keep regular sleeping hours (i.e. sleep by midnight and wake by 7am)
3. Have better time discipline and stop procrastinating. (this one is hard)
4. Spend money prudently, invest money wisely.
5. Improve my financial planning (this is related to building passive income). (yeah, insurance agents and FPs will come a-knocking :D)
6. Spend less (frivolous) time on the computer. (I REALLY mean it!)
7. Improve my organizational skills.
8. Improve my people skills.

I've also been wanting to do this for years - digitizing and posting a few of my essays written in school that I was quite pleased with. Not that these will be of any literary merit or be accepted by the New York Times (or even by *gasp* The Straits Times). Let me just list them out for my ailing memory's sake.

• Urbanization Essay (1994 GP Prelim Essay)
• Satire (1997 Rhetoric 105)
• Root searching in Guangzhou (广州)
  

Look out for them.

PAYM Youth Policy Forum @ Tanjong Pagar GRC

Topic: Are there increasing opportunities for youths to develop their careers in Singapore? What are they?

Date: 19 January 2008, Saturday
Time: 2.30 pm to 6.00 pm
Venue: Velvet Underground, Zouk

Guest-of-Honour Associate Prof Koo Tsai Kee Minister of State, Ministry of Defence Adviser to Tanjong Pagar GRC Grassroots Organizations

* Register for the Forum now!
Just send your details (Name / NRIC/ Occupation / Contact Number) to tanjongpagarforum@gmail.com with the subject title: “PAYM Youth Policy Forum” to sign up.

Closing date: 31 December 2007, Monday

For more information on the forum, please log on to www.paym.org.sg

Update: I kenna arrowed to be one of the note takers again. Should have brought my laptop along and let my incessant typing irritate the hell out of the panel speakers and guest-of-honor.