On TNP publish of patient zero name

Due to the recent case of TNP publishing her name despite her unwillingness has incurred the wrath of the online community, blog posts and twitters has been slamming the act of the newspaper.

I can understand why the company wanted to be the one to publish the name since CNA and Straits Times did not so as to protect Patient Zero. Since, we’re in a democratic country, a person rights should be respected

The worse part is that employee of the company engaged in blogger using multi-nick via the same ip address to try to support the company.

To another ordinary person, this may not be anything. But not for DK, since he studied software.

Either way, TNP will just be whack no matter. Or just making the situation worse. Maybe the company should review it’s protocol in engaging online community. This may be their first step forward.

How to retire comfortably

This is according to my banking friend one of the strategy she used. In simple term, her way is  wealth accumulation through cost average strategy.

Meaning you buy a share with X amount of money every month no matter what is the price. If price goes up higher, u buy lesser and vice versa.

Well for this u may not really retire comfortably but its definitely better than letting someone else doing the same thing for you eating into your retirement fund. Quoted from book k.

Index is a very popular strategy. And better look at the fundamental, don’t get a GM and what u’ve accumulated is worth almost what u go since 1933.

For share accumulation, I find it best to buy companies that is issuing rights or warrant. Cos that’s the fastest way but it all depends on company.

Learning lessons

I received a call from a friend one day asking me if I would like to be trainer. I figured ‘Why not?’ It was going to be an interesting experience because I aspire to be a teacher one day. What better way to train my presentation skills?

So I recently had my first training session at a secondary school up north. I had reservations initially because i was teaching a subject that was not familiar with - Debating. I was told that as a first time trainer, they will assign me to an easier class.

What was interesting?

Towards the end of the session, I approached the lead trainer and had a small debriefing session. It was only then that i realized that i had a class with much discipline problem, hence he wanted to see how well I was coping.

I was flabbergasted! I thought my class was rather well behaved, other than a few exceptions. It then dawned to me… Psychology at play

Framing of the mind. My first impression of the class was initally well behaved because someone else told me that they were. So I treated them as such and searched for indicators of a well-behaved class e.g. spotted students who were well behaved, and when they became too noisy, I dismissed them as youngsters getting restless.

Self fulfilling prophecy at play. So what happens when framing of the mind occurs, you treated them as well-behaved teenagers and you respect them, build rapport and they in turn respect you. So you in the end support your own opinion by looking for confirming evidence, which in the end reinforces your initial impression.

What did I learn?

Importance of first impression because it does affect your overall treatment of the person of class. Even as I am training them in debating skills, I was still learning.

Learning how to build rapport. Before you can get people to listen or participate in what you say, you have to build a rapport. Addressing an individual in the group by his/her name, remembering what extra activities they had in school and relating to their experience by sharing your past. These are little tricks to build rapport and once they start sharing more of their own experience with you. You have built yourself a rapport.

How was my experience teaching

People always say that teaching is an enriching experience. And I always wondered, how enriching? how does it feel like?

After the session, while everyone was leaving, a group of students stayed back and one asked if there was another session coming up? I felt proud because it showed that they were motivated to learn more. Another asked for further contact. One boy I remembered clearly, had the desire to lead and i felt the motivation in him to be more than just a prefect. So I talked to him and tried to coax him to take up more leadership positions in school and I hope he took that advice to heart.

Now I know what enriching feels like. It is when you know you have gone of our your way to change someone’s perception of something. When you feel that your work has been appreciated.

My first training session was definitely unforgettable and enriching.

Hot stock of the day - CCT

As expected, CapitalCommercial Trust (CCT) will be red hot today. On friday, they announced the news of increase in share issue write to raise fund. It will be a 1 for 1 with 59 cents/stock. It’s at a discounted price as compared to $1.06 as it close on Fri.

CCT started today with a gap up, which is within expectation. Just that the support line at $1.09 is broken down before the market started is quite shocking. Cos I always thought this normally happen in US market. Gapping is a strong signal that the trend will continue for some time, which makes it a good buy for the short term.

Let’s see how it will perform on the second half of the day.

5 months anniversary

It’s been 5 months since I’ve been attached and I would say I really enjoy every moment with her. Even though we do bicker from time to times, we do reason as much as we can. Though I would praise her for it’s a miracle for a girl to do that.

In the meantime, we’re going to be real busy for the next few weeks. Meeting up may be a luxury. I will still make the effort to be by her side as much as I can.

In the meantime, I will be going through a phase trying to make things happen. More projects coming up. Learning things as much as I can. Striving for excellence. It’s going to be a tough 3 months ahead. Like what Mother Petrelli has often said, sacrifices must be made.

Thank you dear for being by my side. Appreciate your thoughts and concern. Another more minute and we’re moving ahead another day!

Bleak future of GM

Well, after a week of high, the future of GM has not been changed. Even though it’s a pity that I did not wait for a few more days to earn a total of $2k profit. But I did not feel too much about it because of the past few days before GM while I’m holding their stock, it’s been a nightmare. A vicious cycle that keeps me to my lappie checking for every news that reported about it. It’s a good lesson learnt. I’m working too hard for my money.

Sorry for the digress. Let me explain why GM may not survive in this recession. Because investing base on emotion is a sure fail plan. And it can be a very strong factor that the stocks raise from $1.09 to $1.92 in a matter of days. There’s a lot of speculation or hope that the company will survive and pick up from there.

GM has solved the union problem. Good.

Their pension debt got restructured. Good.

Got more money loan to sustain for another month plus. Good

Offer for Opel. Good.

But the biggest problem lies in the bondholders. Asking them to forfeit $10Bn for only a maximum of 10% of the restructured company, does it make sense?

Do not blame them for the downfall. The focus should be on the company itself. They are investing in the company at a much lower returns. So they have the right to be the first to get the money in case the company goes bankrupt.

Right now the union owned 35%, US govt owned around 50%. So left maybe 10% for bondholders and 1% for shareholder. It means the shareholders will be super uber massively diluted. Maybe only worth 10 cents a share at the end of restructuring.

Given this type of situation, if people are telling me they’re going for long term, then they’re in for a rude shock. It’s all emotion at play. Buying stock because it’s cheap. Long term requires company with good fundamental. And it means more risk too.

Like what my pop always said, a bird on hand is worth two in the bushes.

Why should you fail?

Many would agree with me that when you fail, you are one step closer to success. But why?

A natural instinct of many mothers are to protect their child. So which mothers would like to see their child fail? I am not suggesting that mothers should cut their kite loose and watch their child fail, but to consider that excessive smothering can be destructive than constructive

We can see many of these at work even when their child is grown up. For example, I came across this mother in one of my tuition assignments. She was trying hard to protect her child from underachievement, by not allowing him to join the CCA he desires as it will take up too much of his time. The mother was making an assumption that her child cannot cope with the workload without even allowing him to try it out. Creating resentment in the child and tension on mother-child relationship

Another example, I know of a child who really wants to enter the sports school. However, looking at her capabilities, the mother know that she will not make it. Being the best in her neighbourhood school does not mean that she is the best when competing in the nationals. Thus, I applaud her for her courage to let her child face/experience setbacks.

‘I know she will not get into the sports school, but telling her that would make her feel undervalued and not given the chance to try. Rather I approached her PE teacher to arrange for her to compete at the nationals. So that she understands where she stands, rather than me telling her. She needs to see it for herself.’

This mother understands the value of setbacks in life, and allows her child to undergo that process in a protective environment. Failing in a protective environment can encourage the individual to achieve more in the future. For example, mothers are there to guide their child through the failure instead of saying ‘I told you so’.

Moreover, it allows the child to know that failing is part and parcel of life and inculcating the values like humility.Thus, instead of portraying failing in a negative light, we should embrace and learn from it

~misting~ 

Limitations of a Tuition Teachers

It was 7.30pm as I walked towards the student’s home, I sensed something was wrong.  It was too quiet, the window was closed.  I rang the bell, walked through the porch like i always do and her maid was there to greet me.  Normally, she will say hello and smiles.  But today i could tell that she was not smiling. 

‘She not not home today.

Crap!

I must have missed a memo. I checked my messages and realise that I was not wrong, I made a confirmation with her mother the night before and she said it was fine. Sigh. Her parents didnt know where she was also. A 12 year old girl outside.I have many problems tutoring this child. She does her homework half-heartedly, 1 hour tuition but only 20 minutes worth of work, vulgarities, etc.. Making limited progress with this student makes me feel sad and disappointed.

I want to help this child, motivate her to study and take pride in her work. However, this is the limitations of tuition teachers, unless the child has the desire to work hard, it is difficult to help them attain better grades.

Aside from their internal motivation to study, parents play a very important role. I think every teacher will agree with me that parents are important to reinforce what a child has learnt. This will help ensure the child to solidify their learning. This was also lacking in my student. I cannot tell her parents to keep a closer eye on their child because it was intruding into their family’s privacy.

Wish that I can motivate this student to work hard for herself. But with these forces are limiting to many teachers.

~misting~

Less is More?

A Times reporter once asked Winston Churchill’How long do you need to prepare a 2 minute speech?’

‘Give me 2 hours.’ Churchill said

Flabbergasted the reporter commented ‘Imagine how long it would take to prepare a 2 hour speech.’

‘Oh, I can do that now.’

Whenever professors announce that we have a 3000 word term assignment, you can almost hear people gasping for breath. But when some lecturers announced ‘2 page essay double spacing references included’ we all know we are in for some ‘fun’.It is easier to write a 3000 well structured essay, because there are rooms for development of ideas, detailed examples and space to redeem yourself if you made any errors.

But short essays are no joke especially when there are a lot of details to write about. More planning and vetting needs to be done for shorter papers because when you summarise, there is a tendency for you to lose valuable information. For example during my 1500 history paper, i omitted some important dates and information like full names of important figures. Thus, penalized badly.

The scenario of Churchill does hold certain truth because less means definitely more work~!

~misting~

Still in office

Yes even though the official time to leave is 6pm, I’m still in office. Working of cos. Had a fruitful day learning new stuff like XSLT and tree view. At the same time, it will be tough for the next 2 months to push myself to deliver what matter most to my customer.

Customer Satisfaction. Continual Improvement.

Darn forgot the last one.

 Anyway, back to work. Chiong Chiong Chiong

Bag Too Heavy

This Channel 8 drama captured the heart of many, both young and old. Isn’t it weird to find yourselves identifying with these characters?

The education system is like a rite of passage as a Singaporean, and this drama tackles many societal issues. Creativity vs getting good grades. Tensions between parents and child over their school work. Sports taking second priority. Above all, we also gained special insights towards teaching as a career.

Teaching was one of my options after I graduate, and after watching this series, I begin to understand why teachers have such a difficult time fuelling their passion for teaching whist face demands by the education system that focuses on merit more than creativity.

There was this scene where this child wore a creative essay about ‘Mother’s Love’ using the metaphor about a mother cockroach sacrificing herself for her child. But her essay was considered ‘too creative’ to the extent that the teachers cannot grade it on par with the class. So she had to re-do her essay. What does this show us? Does the educational system promote creativity? Rather it seems that we have to follow certain guidelines while writing essays and anything else out that sticks out like a loose nail will be hammered down by the system.

Surely the teachers want to produce good and intelligent students. But what is good? Obedient to the system or being creative? What is intelligence? Being street-wise or logical or having emotional intelligence or musical/sporting talent?

Certainly, not only the student’s bags are heavy, teachers and parents do feel the pressure of the education system

I think as our society progresses, we need people who can think for themselves, allowed to venture into unchartered territories and view failure in a different light. We need people who can say ‘BUZZ OFF! MY BAG IS TOO HEAVY!’

~misting~

250

Why this number you may ask. It is the amount of money I have in my bank right now. Tahan for 2 more days and my paycheck will arrive. Gambatte!

Well it’s definitely not fun or anywhere more Spartan to have such number in your bank account especially with insurance and phone bills coming.

It’s a lesson that I need to manage my money well and at the same time I need to work a lot harder to become a much more valuable person. Value brought to a company is the most important criteria on how one is to be commensurated. To have such problems just means that I’m not good enough. Not good enough.

Many people would have though I spend a lot. Nope I did not and in fact I’ve been quite frugal on myself. It is something I learn from my mom. I sighed at the fact that our future generations will be even worse than what I will be now with the policy of being competitive by placing emphasis on FT and to drive down cost (normally in the form of wages). I’ve blogged about it before how it is not possible especially having to wait for China and India to catch up with us.

I just have to work my ass off. To learn enough to hold my worth. Nothing can be better than this wakeup call.

Time for OT starting today!

Just for fun during recession

Found some funny articles from reuters on how Singapore actually cope with recession.

June 1, The ultimate decree for General Motors

June 1 will be the day Americans and ME (as a shareholder at least for now) will be very concerned because it is the day GM fate will rest on.

They’ve been busy selling off assets (have to) because of their position. GM has become quite cumbersome and it is good to shred off some weight. And it is a liability for a company that is losing money for every car sold. Not to mention the size of pension fund needed in just Canada alone.

BUT My bet is Obama will not let GM declare bankrupt because 6 in 10 jobs in usa is tied to the Auto industry.

GM price is now back to square one. It means if you buy GM 76 years ago, you are back to the same amount of money. This shows how stupid “buy and hold” is if one not adjusting his strategy to the current changes. Especially one is not buying the right company.

I strongly believed the pension fund should be scrap off. People should learn to save for retirement. Union should also be in the position of helping the company to prosper and at the same time fighting for the rights of the employee rather than dragging the whole company with them to the grave. It does not make sense especially when the company had to close down.

The best way ahead is to convince the union to change the bonds, pension fund to stocks to reduce outflow of cash. Sell off some assets for liquidity and provide retraining for their employee in prepare for the downturn!

Mas Selamat Welcome Back

Thanks to our neighour, Malaysia, Singapore most wanted man, Mas Selamat, has been captured. After fleeing the country from Whitley Detention Camp and swimming across the straits, he was found in Johor.

It is quite amazing that he chose to be so near to the country he fled. Some eye-witnesses even mentioned he was caught while having KFC. Of cos that’s a joke.

Of the whole fiasco, it seems like Singapore government wanted to push for Mas Selamat to be returned back. Even though we did not capture him, we still do HELP in providing the leads so that the Malaysia Government do captured him. And of cos it was quite insightful that he was finally confirmed to have fled out of Singapore.

Many are also wondering what floatation device Mas Selmat come out with to swim 600m to M’sia.

Singaporeans are generally happy that he was finally captured. But think about it.What is so happy to have captured him. Surely any organization you look around have a succession plan just like ahem our Singapore. My point is capture of one person will not cause a terrorist organization much disruption.

Fighting terrorism via force will only lead to more terrorism. Take a look at Israel. After so many years, have they succeed?