Of Newcastle 0-3 Arsenal

After the poor performance which saw Arsenal lost to fulham on 1 goal last week, it seems like we are back on track with a total of 7 goals from the last 2 games and none conceded.

Van Persie looks clearly, er.. happy.. haha












Picture courtesy of Guardian

Of Nothing

I have nothing to blog about.

But there's always something isn't it? Oh well, a week of reservist is over for now, the first week is a intermission week where the previous team ends off their 3week tour and handover duties to the incoming team(my team).

Charlie Team 2 has completed their tour and returns to their respective work environment next monday or saturday for some.

This year, my team, Delta 1, consist of only 2 officers, me and the other guy, i have allowed the other 2 officers in my team to defer their recall due to work commitments and in a way, i took a risk to handle the potential workload arising for the full three weeks of recall.

As it is, there are a couple of recalls occuring during my tour, we'll see how that develops, but in any case, me and the other guy should be able to handle things, reinforcements in the form of Delta 2 arrives from 08 Sep.

My initial plans to make use of the 3weeks to regain some sort of fitness and in the process get a slight tan is obstructed by the uncertain weather, wet mornings are a great turn-off as i get off the bus to take that long walk into the former academy and an even longer and tiring walk up that slope to my office. The path up and down this slope is to be repeated over many many times over the 3 weeks.

All well, ends well.

Also came across a great quote:

Even a broken clock gets its right twice a day


Yes?

Of Due Praise

I don't always have good things to say about PAP MPs, they sit there, ask questions that they know their "seniors" can answer and keep quiet when an answer that i deem insuffice to address most issues are given.

However, i am now impressed with Dr Lily Neo. This is not her first salvo at MCYS for the insufficient help to the needy.

I agree that certain people like to answer questions by saying what is already happening instead of answering the questions per se..

Read on:

Feisty exchange over aid for poorest households (ST - 26 Aug 2008)

A FEISTY exchange between Dr Lily Neo and Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon on the issue of aid for the poorest households took place during question time yesterday.

Dr Neo, an MP for Jalan Besar GRC, appealed to the Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports for more help for those with long-term problems in making ends meet.

She also asked the minister to confirm a survey's findings that there were 100,000 such households

Mrs Yu-Foo replied by citing a list of help schemes for the poorest 20 per cent of Singaporeans and, in some cases, those earning more.

Mrs Yu-Foo also said: 'Our ministry's concern is...how far you want to cover
'You want to cover up to 30 per cent, 40 per cent or 50 per cent?'

Just as Speaker of Parliament Abdullah Tarmugi was moving on to the next question, Dr Neo rose and insisted on her right to reply to what she saw as Mrs Yu-Foo's challenge to her.

'I have to come in here because I was asked a question,' Dr Neo said.

'I'd like to object to the fact that I was asked...what I wanted the assistance for; wasn't 20 per cent enough, 30 per cent enough?'

She added: 'I definitely never asked for 30 per cent or 40 per cent of assistance to Singaporeans, and I object to being asked that kind of question.'

Mrs Yu-Foo then clarified that her question was not directed at Dr Neo in particular, but at Singaporeans in general.

'I didn't say Dr Lily Neo asks for 30 per cent...My question was generally to Singaporeans, whether we want to cover beyond 20 per cent.'

The exchange took place as the Trade and Industry Ministry released figures that showed rising prices in the first half of this year had hit the bottom 20 per cent of Singaporeans the hardest.
They faced an inflation rate of 7.4 per cent in the first half of this year, compared to 6.9 per cent for the middle 60 per cent and top 20 per cent of households by income.



Well Done there Dr Lily, well done

Of Reservist

It's that time of the year again, where Singapore males gets recalled for a certain period of time to perform a wide range of duties depending on your vocation and years in service etc...

I'll be at my unit for 3 weeks starting today, 25 August 2008

Some say that reservist is a like a mini-holiday away from work, some curse at the seemingly "pointless" exercises that are held to hone combat skills, other idle their time in air-conditioned offices waiting for time to pass..

What do i do?

A little bit of everything. Nothing in excess is beneficial, nothing


Meanwhile, i have earlier opened up a "new section" named 'Crops of my Cream' on the right column of my blog. Its a hasty selection of my posts which i would want to read again. Quality stuff it might be not, but crop of my cream they are.



Have fun, no matter what you are and what you are doing

Of Friction II

Earlier in the day, he had came face to face with one of them. He had mentally prepared himself for a long time for this. He found it almost hard to breathe.. "Be strong, be strong, i have earn my right to be here". He is from this land, this is where he grew and this is where he will fight.

Yet he knows.

He might never truly become one of them despite earning his right to be a part of all this.
"We never really got used to the new guys" The sentence repeated itself in his head, some tone, some voice, relentlessly.

"What do you mean new guys? Aren't we part of the setup too?" he tries to convince himself of his worth in his mind. "This is our land, not yours.." Mixed emotions of hate and fear caused him to speak only to himself, cursing the system and those who are in the same predictment.

Pride surrounds the young man's soul as he strive to gain recognition for coming so far. It has always been his dream to be part of the all these, but now that he has earned his place amongst them, he felt ridculed, he felt insulted, insulted that it seem wrong to be "normal". Amongst them, he felt inferior and he hated it so much it hurts. A part of him couldn't wait to prove that he too can excel as they did, yet a part of him holds him back, failing to act in fear of failure.

Of Friction

As the wind blew against his face, he stood silently by the jetty, unshaken by the strength of the wind and the cold of the night. The waves that clashed against the man-made structure did little break his thoughts...

With a rifle in his hand, he knew he had the power to change, a frightening power to make things different in his own way.

His hands, resting on the steel of his weapon, are cold. The chilly wind and the cold hard metal has nothing to do with it, the young man's mind was in a turmoil, questions that had no answer floods his mind, forming arguements that causing his fingers to feel lose heat, he grabs the rifle handle tightly, hoping that the cold will now go away.

Reconstructing what he had gone through during the day, the uncertainty of his own feelings clouds his judgement, emotions are strong yet words are few.

He recalled that he never wanted to be standing here like that, "why am i here?''

It was not a choice, he had to be. "was i wrong to think like that"

Questions in his head cast doubts in his own judgement, he doesn't like self-doubt.

The things that had happened was enough to stir his emotions, emotions that he thought he had under control that would not show so easily, he felt powerless against the rampage that was conjured in his tortured mind

"Now what if i..."

Of New Signing

Oh my freaking gOsh. Rumours from the news agencies yesterday are certified.

We have signed Manure's ex-Defender, frenchman Mikael Silvestre for an undisclosed fee (earlier reported to be 750,000 pounds)

Alright, we are short on experience and the 31-year-old has premier league and champions league experience. Add 40 caps for France into the CV and he looks like a great signing because he speaks french like Wenger, and gallas, and diaby, and nasri, and clichy. Plenty to talk about there.

Now what's with Wenger collection of old centrebacks from rival clubs? Gallas came from Chelsea last season and Silvestre from Man Utd. Any french defender from Liverfool? Oh wait, liverfool aren't even considered title rivals, haha...

Silvestre, now a Gunner has this to say:
'I've spent a large part of my career at United, the last nine years, and I'll remember that time fondly but feel I'm ready for a new challenge, Arsenal is known for playing technical and skilful football, and has a young but experienced squad. I'm really excited about this next stage of my career, hopefully playing my part in helping the club to new successes.'

He wears the number 18









His signing will also bring in question the future of the likes of Senderos and Djouro.

Wenger talked about one more body in midfield but spent his time hijacking Silvestre from Man City.




Let's wait for the midfielder now.


What a morning

Of The Clone Wars

Stars Wars: The Clone Wars opens in Singapore on 28 August

Already, some quarters are complaining that the animation is not pretty enough and it's not worth watching a Star Wars film that's animated etc.

But for a fan, i guess there's much less differentiation between the movie cast and animated cast, fans already know the Star Wars story before watching any of the movies, in fact, since Episode I, II and III came out after IV, V and VI, there was already a following and people already knew about the story but the tickets sell anyway.

The Clone Wars is set between Episdode II and III where the Clones, lead by the Jedis battle the Droids of the Separatist army. New characters such as Anakin's padawan is introduced and this is the story built-up towards Anakin's turning to the dark side which leads to "Return of the Sith"

The Imperial March music echoes in my ears



May the force be with you

Of NDR 08

I didn't catch the speech, was watching 12 Lotus at the cinemas. More on that later.

Now, PM Lee has spoken on sunday and details are published in the papers today due to a media embargo. The speech was telecast last night and the newspapers should be well filled with information since they have the luxury of time to tidy, digest and spit the contents out a day later.

Economy:
2nd Instalment of Growth Dividends due on 1 Oct, will increase this by 50%

Child-bearing:
Childcare leave - extend from 2 to 6days per year
Infant-care leave(unpaid) - 1 week can be claimed by either parent, until child turns 2
Maternity leave - extended from 12 weeks to 16 weeks(claimable within 1 year of child's birth)

Baby Bonus - improved for first-time parentsTax incentives - do more, encourage mothers to work

Financial support for IVF treament

More childcare facilities and more afforable ones

Guess what? Details are not available, all will be released and explained, in due course.

In short: wait lor




Wait and wait

Of Arsenal 1-0 WBA

Every football fan had a busy weekend, Arsenal VS West Bromich Albion, the season opener for the Barclay's Premier League 08/09 season.

Didn't manage to watch the full game due to studies etc, but replays came within the hour and congrats to Nasri for getting that first goal of the campaign on his arsenal home debut.

1-0 to gunners when it could be much more, perhaps it should be, because its West Brom, but hey, be realistic, it is first game of the season, players are rusty, nerves come on, first-teamers out injured. 3 points is the result, i ask for nothing more from this game, just a better performance come the second match of the season.

Alumunia had a good game, keeping out shots he shouldn't have to take had the defence been sharp enough.

Djouro starts beside Gallas in the absence of a fully-fit toure(he came on later for Walcott for a right winger position). Not a perfect performance but the pairing did well enough to cope with the forwards, Sagna is still as good as he can be and Clichy, i love clichy(not in a gay way), he's always full of energy and a frightening sight for the right winger and right back of any opposing team.

Eboue came in for Ramsey, who in turn was a deputy to Diaby would was out injured. Eboue partnered Denilson who would not play had Fabregas been fit while Theo Walcott and new boy Nasri took the wings. A youthful midfield that was, but they stood their ground.

Upfront, bendter and adebayor looks like a weird pairing but at least i see the 2 giants working better this term, vis the ugly faces and shouts against each other last season.

Van Persie and Toure came on as subs, short on fitness perhaps. These 2 are gems and when Van Persie gets and stays fit, expect goals and clever play.

Wenger would have time this week to bring in that "One more body in midfield". Liverfools' Alonso remains a name in the press but i doubt Prof Wenger will go for him at that price though, expect someone with little reputation, costing us what's he's actually worth and able to replace Gilberto Silva.

Justin Hoyte, our english rightback joins Boro, good luck lad, thanks for all the fish.



Trust wenger

Of Singapore Song

And so, a youtube video that i posted on my blog through youtube before Singapore's National Day pop up some 1 week after.

Wonder what went wrong...

Would more videos suddenly start showing up?

We'll see

The Singapore Song By Rony Tan

Of MM Speaks

Our wise Minister Mentor has spoken, and i do have great respect for this man for what he has done, right, for Singapore:

TODAY, 14Aug:
There is no “money politics” in Singapore, and “we have a Division One team in charge”, said Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew last night.

In many Asian countries, money politics is simply the “code word” for buying votes to gain power, and after that is done, “to recover your expenses plus some profit for the next round of vote-buying”, said Mr Lee at the Tanjong Pagar 43rd National Day Celebration Dinner.

But i also recall that during the General Elections 2006:
"Suppose you had 10, 15, 20 opposition members in Parliament. Instead of spending my time thinking what is the right policy for Singapore, I'm going to spend all my time thinking what's the right way to fix them, to buy my supporters votes, how can I solve this week's problem and forget about next year's challenges?" Lee Hsien Loong, 03 May 2006

How?

Singapore got money politics are not?

Of Workforce

At Ah Wang Cafe, a takeaway traditional coffee place, i witnessed the dynamics of Singapore's workforce. In a store of 6 staff, 3 were considered young(below 35) and 3 were considered old (above 40).

For descriptive purposes, the younger ones will be referred to as ladies, the olders one, well,aunties.

1. Young lady at Cashier Counter(likely to be philiphino)
2. Auntie at toast counter, main role (likely to be singaporean)
3. Lady at toast counter, assistant/supervisory (likely to be m'sian)
4. Lady at drinks counter, main role (likely to be from mainland china)
5. Auntie at drinks counter, assistant role (likely to be singaporean)
6. Auntie at back end, cleaning, misc duties (likely to be singaporean)

Based on this 6 person workforce in the local F&B sector, the following are observed:
50% are local, 50% are foreign
50% are young workforce, 50% are silver workforce

Personal observations:
The aunties seems to be struggling to perform the duties at the required speed and precision. Eg. Auntie packed a toast that was meant for eat in into takeaway bagEg. Auntie used a pre-prepared teh cup(with condensed milk) for my tehC(used evapourated milk) which the main drinks maker(the lady) noticed and changed immediately

So basically i spend about 12mins waiting for my full order when the normal time would be around 7-8mins. In short, workplace productivity and efficiency is affected due to lower output from workers.

I also stopped to wonder how the aunties must have felt when the younger ladies reminded them of what they had to do, in a not so nice way of course. Were they cursing under their breath or did they feel a sense of helplessness in their own land?

In an ideal world, good workers, high productivity and low cost makes the business work

In Singapore today, the young singaporeans are relunctant to work in F&B/Retail sectors, due to the low pay, long working hours etc. The older singaporeans who need/want to work in the workforce are left with jobs that are willing to employ them, eg. F&B sector(Old Chang Kee, Wang Cafe, Mr Bean, ok you get the picture).

Our increased reliance on foreign workforce has become stronger than ever. At the lower-middle range, foreigners are taking jobs that locals rather not do(retail, F&B frontline). At the extreme high end, expats continue to occupy top post in top companies in singapore.
Why am i talking about all this?

Perhaps my own future is at stake when i complete my degree come Dec 2008. Would i be left without a job for the first time since i started work in Oct 2005? What lies ahead? Would i be required to work alongside, above or below the foreign workforce, how does work ethics, culture and experience affects the interaction between colleagues?




Towards the unknown
(One more thing i notice though, the aunties all had nice dyed hair!)

Of Business Capstone IV

Here we go, two simulations in a day, online class happens on friday from 7pm to 10pm

A brief recap:

Round 1 - Prudence, large cash balance, keeping cost low
Market Share: 25%
ROS: 9.5%
ROA: 15.4%
ROE: 17.1%
Sales: $386mil
Profits: $57mil
Cumulative Profits: $171mil

Round 2 - More aggressive strategy, good products, high market share
Market Share: 22%
ROS: 23.0%
ROA: 21.1%
ROE: 21.9%
Sales: $344mil
Profits: $79mil
Cumulative Profits: $327mil

Completed today(12 Aug)

Round 3 - Same aggressive strategy, attempting to grab higher share to score better
Market Share: 22%
ROS: 25.6%
ROA: 21.3%
ROE: 22.0%
Sales: $309mil
Profits: $79mil
Cumulative Profits: $324mil

Round 4 - Create new product, attempt to retire 1 product
Market Share: 15%
ROS: 5.2%
ROA: 6.0%
ROE: 6.6%
Sales: $228mil
Profits: $11mil
Cumulative Profits: $141mil

Based on these rehearsals, strategy used for Round 2 and Round 3 works well against the bots.

Round 4 seems too risky due to production restriction and cost of retiring a product meaning lost sale and the money from the factory sale does not equal to the investments put into improving the product over the past 7 years.

Now i am more convinced of my master plan and also more confident of convincing any detractors.





Towards business excellence team! Let's put some fun into Bizcap!

Of Useful Tips

Sharing a compilation of tips from a friend:

Ants Problem:
Keep the skin of cucumbers near the place or ant hole.

To get pure and clean ice: B
oil water first before freezing.

To make the mirror shine:
Clean with spirit

To remove chewing gum from clothes:
Keep the cloth in the freezer for an hour.

To whiten white clothes
Soak white clothes in hot water with a slice of lemon for 10 minutes 10.

To give a shine to hair:
Add one teaspoon of vinegar to hair, then wash hair.

To get maximum juice out of lemons:
Soak lemons in hot water for one hour, and then juice them.

To avoid smell of cabbage while cooking:
Keep a piece of bread on the cabbage in the vessel while cooking.

To rid the smell of fish from your hands:
Wash your hands with a little apple vinegar.

To avoid tears while cutting onions:
Chew gum.

To boil potatoes quickly:
Skin one potato from one side only before boiling.

To boil eggs quickly:
Add salt to the water and boil.

To check freshness of fish:
Put it in a bowl of cold water. If the fish floats, it's fresh.

To check freshness of eggs:
Put the egg in water. If it becomes horizontal, it's fresh. If it becomes slanting, its 3-4 days old. If it becomes vertical, its 10 days old. If it floats, it's stale.

To remove ink from clothes:
Put toothpaste on the ink spots generously and let it dry completely, then wash.

To skin sweet potatoes quickly:
Soak in cold water immediately after boiling.

To get rid of mice or rats:
Sprinkle black pepper in places where you find mice or rats. They will run away.

To get rid of this blog on your window:
Click the top right corner on the red box with a cross


Okie, i'm just clowning with the last one, read me more often alright

Of Business Capstone III

Round 2 completed.

Against computer bots all the same, but better performance this time.

Which is me? Its still your guess:

Of Singapore Flag

Well done Beijing for the grand opening ceremony.

For those who have caught the part when the Singapore Contingent marched into the stadium, did you realise how many times our flag touched the ground? Li Jia Wei was practically dragging our flag on the ground.

For those who think it's not a big deal. Fuck you.

It's our National Flag

And if you think it's ok to drag the flag like this, it just show how little you know about the protocol of holding our flag and respecting it as a symbol of our nation, especially at such International events.

I am sick of the fact that a china-born lady is our flag bearer for the ceremony, i think the "i-don't-even-know-you-exist" countries that had like 4-5 athletes competing are more proud of their country and their flag.

I am sick of the people who make the decision to let her carry our flag and not teach her how to do it

I am sick of tuning into the news interview about our player losing in badminton only to see another girl with a super china-accent giving an interview as a Singapore player

I am sick of all this shit during a time where we celebrate our nation's birthday

I am sick, but i still love Singapore, just not its people.




I am sick, so sick, its a sick sick situation

Of Tomorrow

To all everyone out there, tomorrow will be a better day...

明天会更好



轻轻敲醒沉睡的心灵　
慢慢张开你的眼睛　
看看忙碌的世界
是否依然孤独的转个不停
　
春风不解风情　
吹动少年的心　
让昨日脸上的泪痕　
随记忆风干了

抬头寻找天空的翅膀　
候鸟出现它的影迹　
带来远处的饥荒
无情的战火依然存在的消息

玉山白雪飘零　
燃烧少年的心　　
使真情溶化成音符　
倾诉遥远的祝福　　　

唱出你的热情　
伸出你的双手　　
让我拥抱着你的梦　
让我拥有你真心的面孔

让我们的笑容　
充满着青春的骄傲　
为明天献出虔诚的祈祷　　　　　　

谁能不顾自己的家园　
抛开记忆中的童年　
谁能忍心看那昨日的忧愁
带走我们的笑容

青春不解红尘　
胭脂沾染了灰　
让久违不见的泪水　
滋润了你的面容　　　

唱出你的热情　
伸出你的双手
让我拥抱着你的梦　
让我拥有你真心的面孔

让我们的笑容　
充满着青春的骄傲
为明天献出虔诚的祈祷　　　　　　　　　

轻轻敲醒沉睡的心灵　
慢慢张开你的眼睛　
看看忙碌的世界是否依然
孤独的转个不停　

日出唤醒清晨　
大地光彩重生　　
让和风拂出的音响　
谱成生命的乐章　　　

唱出你的热情　
伸出你的双手　
让我拥抱着你的梦　
让我拥有你真心的面孔

让我们的笑容　
充满着青春的骄傲　
让我们期待着
明天会更好

Tomorrow will be a better day

Of Endure

What does the word mean to you?
What memories does it bring back?

E N D U R E



Drop me a message on that chatbox on the right yeah? I'll blog more on the topic soon.

Of Business Capstone II

Tada!

I finally managed to complete a full 8 rounds of the simulation, that's 8 full years of managing the business and competing with 5 other computer controlled players.

Here are the results:
(click for larger image)


















Which one am i?

It's your guess!


Looking forward to playing this again before the big showdown with the class

Of Business Capstone

Into my last trimester with Marketing Institute of Singapore (MIS), i am left with 2 modules to complete.

(1) Strategic Marketing
(2) Business Capstone

Business Capstone involves group competing against each other in an industry. A computer program stimulates results based on main decision categories such as
(1) Research & Development
(2) Marketing
(3) Production
(4) Finance
and other factors such as
(5) Total Quality Management
(6) Labour Negotiations

In short, students are required to make business decisions over the "8 years" of stimulation that runs. We all start with the same 5 products with equal market share and resources. Businesses then choose which product(s) to improve on and that affects other factors such as production cost, consumer demand, cash flow etc. Marketing affects the awareness and products' accessibility while businesses can decide to tweak the Credit Terms to increase demand for products(with longer Accounts Receivable date, eg. more than 30days) or risk delays in delivery of products from factories (with longer Accounts Payable date. eg. more then 30days).

Make too much and inventory cost is increase. Make too little and you missed the chance to make a return on your investments and profits. Pay your staff too little, give them insufficient benefits and they'll strike, production line halts, nothing to say, no cash. Pay your staff too much and give them the world will bring up cost, but well, that could trigger strikes in your competitor's factories too!

The beauty of the game is that although you can make all your wise calculations and informed decisions, there is no way to predict what other companies (student groups) will do. Competing in the same product category means a lower share of the pie while focusing on just niche areas could be the downfall of the business.

Competitors' effort on Research and Design can make your product look stupid while those who invest in improving the factory's production output can price their products cheaper to sell your customers. New products are developed and launched, marketing efforts by competitors cuts into what you are already doing.

Need more money? Take long loans in the form of bonds or short term loans from Banks. Sell shares of the company increases cash flow, but that also means paying more people money when they company decides to pay dividends. Make your share price increase by performing well in the Earning per share(EPS) and Paying good dividends to your share holders.

Almost every aspect of the business' performance will affect the scores students get. Profit, Share Prices, Return on Investments etc.

The top performing team walks away with the full marks, 35%. How far the next team is to the No.1 will get a faction of that cost and so forth.

Interesting? You bet

Confused, don't worry, its normal

Take a look at the program if you are interested though i doubt you can actually feel it.



I'm having fun already.

Of Dark and Light II

Seems like i'm not the only one that thought about that scene from The Dark Knight which i blogged about earlier here.

This fellow used the Game Theory to explain the scene and how it affects choice by the persons involved.


Go figure