I don't believe in financial planners for one simple reason, because there is a clash of interests. If anyone is to plan my finance, it will be planned by me or my wife. Therefore I really hate it when someone I didn't know call me and said "hi" so and so who is your friend gave me your contacts. My immediate response, though a bit mean, was "if you are calling about financial planning than no thanks". I don't want to waste her time telling me the wonders of financial planning because at the end of the day, they will end up either promoting an insurance or investment plan of their company which translate to commission. I mean, why would someone you don't know, get your number from your friend, call you and do something for you for free?

What financial planners want you to know is that you will retire, that you need to save up for marriage, for house, for car, for your kids and for rainy days. That you need to know how to divide your earnings for all the things you want and that by setting aside a few dollars every day you can save up so much plus interest to realise your . Chances are, the interest they offer can barely cover the inflation rates and/or you will be stuck with it if something better came along. They can tell you whatever they want but at the end of the day, they look after the interest of their shareholders more than their customers and that is why I don't trust them to manage my own finance.

Update (30/06/05): And then there's a second call on financial planning today. Sheesh..

tagged: singapore financial planning

As of last week Streetdirectory.com, the local online street directory is charging you for their services. In other not so related news, Straits Times Interactive, the online version of the local broadsheet newspaper have already done that 3 months ago. The charges are as follows:-


More than one smart alex think that it is a good idea to charge $ for a service that used to be free.

Oh.. one thing they didn't mention is that the price listed above excludes 5% GST. They must be nuts or something to charge money for calculating how far I jog in my park? And where's the wisdom in the minimum 3 trips for mileage claim? If you think Straits Times was crazy to charge readers for ST Interactive, then Streetdirectory.com must have redefined the word "Siao".



Yes, why should I pay? Especially when you never include GST in your explanation for the infinite% price hike.

People go to streetdirectory.com because it is more convenient than searching for directions on the hardcopy one. Besides I keep my latest copy in the car so it's "lehchey" to go collect the map up. Now you need to either pay via SMS (lehchey and you need to pay for the SMS also) or pay by buying some SD Card that can only be used to pay for Streetdirectory.com services (Min S$10). So if I want to find out how to go from my house to BLSS then I will need to either fork out S$10 to sign up for the card and compulsory membership via Credit Card to pay for the S$0.63 they are going to charge me cause I am too lazy to go get my map. I need to exercise man!

On the plus side, they are giving you 11SD dollars for every S$10 you pay for the SD card during the promotion so you can get more from Streetdirectory.com with less. It's better than last time which is free so hurry and sign up now! But if you cheapo free loader still want their free services, go and check out their latitude and longitude convertor which will be free till July so that you can calibrate your homing missiles accurately.

What's next, Online Coxford Dictionary charges for people to use their dictionary?

Tagged singapore

I have been contemplating with getting myself one during the coming X'mas season, more so since my friend said that we do get a pro-rated year-end bonus in December. The bonus may not be much but it could prove to be sufficient for an investment in an iPod photo. The big question is if the iPod worth it's weight in gold or is it an over-priced toy with strong marketing. So I had a different kind of review for the iPod photo in terms of the features listed at the Apple online store.

iPod Photo 30gb/60gb is priced at S$618/S$788 and it is packed full of features. In this review, I will look into each of the feature and try to come out with a reasonable price for it so at the end of the review I will end up with my own price that I'm willing to pay for the iPod Photo. Your own price will be different however as you may not use the iPod like I will.

Portable Music Device
First and foremost, iPod is a portable music device just like a walkman, discmans, MD players and other flashdrive MP3 player. In addition, it includes the number one game played in the world - solitare and many other side features like calendar, organizer etc. However, I may not be particularly impressed with these side features as you can find them in your handphone too. The accessories provided for this device includes the basic adaptor, USB cable and a set of earphones. The iPod photo can even be connected to your TV for presentation but you need to buy the extra cables yourself. For this basic music player with extra features and basic accessories, I am willing to pay up to S$180 for it, a competitive price compared to discmans and other medias.

Portable Hard Disk
iPod photos come in either 30/60gb harddisk (or 40gb in the first release) and it will come in handy for storing movie clips, presentations and stuff. I know I will need one (portable harddisk) when I work and it makes backing up computers for formating easier. A check of the pricelist in hardwarezone show that a 40gb 2.5" portable harddisk (USB 2.0) listed in Fuwell (18/6/05) goes for S$190 and for the 3.5" version it's S$258 for 120gb listed in Costronic (18/6/05). Judging from the size of the iPod photo it could be the 3.5" harddisk version they are using but nonetheless, I will gladly pay S$150/S$200 for the 30gb/60gb harddisk for the iPod alone.

2" 65,536 Colour LCD with LED backlight
LCD is not cheap, at least for a 65,536 colour LCD. Sucre's handphone LCD went bonkers not long ago and the lady behind the servicing counter said that if you change the LCD without warranty it's going to cost you over S$100, and that's for a 1" 65,536 colour LCD. So for this colour display I can part with maybe S$120, especially since we like photos and this will come in really handy.

Lithium Batteries
iPod utilises lithium batteries and they don't come cheap. A check at the Apple online Store shows that they sell external lithium batteries at over S$100 but I won't be paying anything more than S$50 for an internal one, unless my old one is dead.

Other Perks
1.) 2 Lines free engraving - If you buy from the Apple store, they give you 2 lines laser engraving free. It's cool to be able to personalize my iPod so that no 2 iPods will be exactly the same. I will be willing to pay an extra S$10 for this
2.) Free Delivery - I don't believe in free lunch so my guess is that they factor the delivery costs into the listed price already. S$10 for delivery in Singapore at most.
3.) Integration - One important aspect of buying an iPod over say iRiver or Zen is the availability of accessories and the software integration. The fact that you can buy a car that can be integrated with iPod says a lot. S$10 extra for this.
4.) Easy photo storage - Like I said earlier I like taking photos and when I went for my backpacking trip 2 years back I spend a small fortune on memory sticks for my 2.8MP camera for photo taking. Now with iPod photo they have an additional add-on that can let you download your photos either from your camera (S$98 for USB connector) or from your memory card (S$139 media reader). That means a huge harddisk for storing my photos and I can snap happily. This translates to potentially huge savings on storage media, especially since my other toy in my wishlist is a digital SLR. However, the pricy accessories means I rate only S$30 for this wonderful feature.

Apple
The final consideration is the brand name, it's superior design, aesthetics, marketing and cool factor. It's iPod and it's hot and if I ever got tired of it, I can sell it off 2nd hand at a good price too. This would mean a modifier of +10% to the final price arrived from above.

Final Verdict
S$(180+150+120+50+10+10+10+30)X110%=S$616 For 30gb iPod Photo (Selling S$618)
S$(180+200+120+50+10+10+10+30)X110%=S$671 For 60gb iPod Photo (Selling S$788)

30gb iPod Photo will worth almost every penny if I buy it online but I will feel ripped off to pay S$170 for that extra 30gb storage. Now if only they come out with an iPod that plays video clip too, maybe call it iPod Video, that will make this device even more irresistable.


Tagged: singapore ipod photo

Hee...went for a lunch gathering with my JC classmates at the La Mian store in China Sq. hee...

Pretty cool... first time sitting outside the store... why? becos they don't have enough space to occupy all 9 of us hee...


Lian Yi?!


Challenger No. 1 for the 6 chilli la mian... take note of her sexy lips yah hee...


Challenger No. 2 for the 6 chilli la mian... take note of his sexy lips yah hee...


After~~


After~~


The birdie who bombarded Jin Sheng


*Pss... gossip gossip~~

Hee...

I was waiting nervously for news of my pink IC when I randomly googled my friends and found this. (There's a big hiccup as they did not collect my IC as the whole freaking world except me forgot that I was going to ORD)

Teachers
Copied this from somewhere:

You Might Be a Schoolteacher if...

* you have no time for a life from August to June.
* you want to slap the next person who says, "Must be nice to work from 8 to 3 and have your summers free!"
* when out in public you feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior.
* you refer to adults as "boys and girls."
* you encourage your spouse by telling them they are a "good helper."
* you've ever had your profession slammed by someone who would never dream of doing your job.
* meeting a child's parents instantly answers the question, "Why is this kid like this?"
* you believe "extremely annoying" should have its own box on the report card.
* you know hundred good reasons for being late.
* you don't want children of your own because there isn't a name you can hear that wouldn't elevate your blood pressure.

And added this on my own:

You must be a school teacher in Singapore if...
* you have no time for a life from January to November.
* you have to work from 7 to 6 (sometimes you even have to bring work home) and it is summer throughout the year.
* you are familiar with numerous acronyms such as PW, PSLE, TRAISI, CCA, PEARLS, SPA, PSG, COMPASS, ExCEL, I&E, etc.
* you probably don't know your boss's full name.
* if you're a Science teacher, you'd be in a fix because you're wondering how to Integrate Natural Science And National Education. (INSANE)
* you have had to grapple with the frequent changes in curriculum and policies.
* you're planning either a career path in the teaching/specialist/leadership track or looking for a new job already.
* you make a blog post like this and wonder if you'll get into trouble with the ministry (but since what I've written is not derogatory but just a way of having harmless fun by laughing at myself, so it should be safe)
* you're enjoying the 0.4 month mid-year bonus + $200 extra!

Piglet is a male!! Just found out from the Winnie the Pooh's Heffalump Movie~~~ hee..

After reading 8 modules of maths and obtaining a Maths minor, I taught I have proved my proficiency in Mathematics. However, even maths degree holders are not exempted from this SMMT for maths teacher-to-be so I should have no complains about taking this test. Afterall this test should be a stroll in the park ensuring that we remember the basics of algebra, geometry and calculus right? The sample questions they provided for reference seems to suggest so.

Sample Questions (More here)

Consider the following 9 numbers
0.4, 2/3, sqrt(2), pi, 5, 9, 17, 40, 121.
Write down (a) the prime numbers, (b) the square numbers, (c) the irrational numbers.

Actual Questions (Well, similar ones at least)

Prove or disprove that the sum of 2 irrational numbers is also irrational. Can the root of an irrational number be rational, prove?

Show that lines of bisection of 2 external angles of a triangle will intercept at the line of bisection of the 3rd interior angle.

Last 2 days of NS and I will be collecting my IC on Friday.. which explains why the lack of post from me and perhaps the odd hour of this particular one.

About 9 Years Ago...

1.) You refer to Pentium as 586 and giggle with the thought of tongue twisting 686 computers
2.) You cursed when you bought the Pentium 200MHz to find that Pentium MMX 200MHz came out a month later.
3.) 4X, 6X, 8X, 12X... CD-ROMs
4.) Video cards start to have 2mb memory of its own
5.) You can format your 1.44mb 3.5" Diskette into 1.96mb Diskettes
6.) Microsoft DOS 6.2 and Windows 95
7.) You keep refering folders as directories
8.) You know how to make the Start button disappear and giggle whenever the teacher/colleague scream in horror at the disappearance.
9.) 14.4Kbps modem is so yesterday, 28.8kbps modem is for now and 56kbps is just around the corner
10.) Piracy moved on to CD-ROMs and you know the uncle in Bukit Timah Shopping Centre with his "regular customer" catalogue.
11.) You also learned that he was caught from CNET Asia news few years later.
12.) Inkjet came to market but it's comes only in black colour printing.
13.) Music piracy started in the internet. RealAudio format is small enough for downloading via internet. MP3 was born
14.) The first and most successful internet business model, AKA Pr0n, is firmly established
15.) One Singaporean guy makes it big with Soundblaster 16, 32, AWE etc...
16.) Some more fortunate friend starts to have broadband at home.
17.) You have your own channel in mIRC
18.) Gamers: Warcraft: ORCs and Humans & Dune II & DOOM II
19.) Overclocking became more common.
20.) Programmers: C, C++

Tagged: singapore computer

Hee..

Went swimming with little xiao bu dian hee...