My Little Corner

Caste system in education?

2012-05-30T21:41:00.000+08:00

Recently I've been hearing a lot of talk just by sitting at the coffeeshop eating my meal. Common topic of the day? The hawkers were lamenting that whatever that is being taught to their children is so advanced that even they have problems understanding it. Since then, I've been finding out more about this and even my colleagues have reservations about the current education system. What's the

Interesting pink-noise systems

2012-05-29T21:35:00.000+08:00

I was reading an article about Autodesk, a software company, moving into an open-plan building and the company installing a pink-noise system. Basically, this system emits a soft whooshing sound over loudspeakers that sounds similar to the ventilation system, but is specially formulated to match the frequencies of the human voices. The outcome? Unless you're quite near the person, you will not be

Do not read too much into SMRT carrying 70 passengers per KM

2012-05-28T21:11:00.000+08:00

Recently, an article has indicated that SMRT carry 70 passengers per KM, 10 more than Japan. Do not read more into it because the article did not say the whole story. The comparison was for average passenger-km per vehicle-km. So what does this indicate? It just means that SMRT is squeezing too many passengers per vehicle compared with other more efficient metros such as Hong Kong and Japan. I'm

Another look at the 37.9%

2012-05-28T00:46:00.000+08:00

I find it disappointing that the emphasis of the hougang by-election was that the percentage of people choosing the PAP has risen from 35.2% to 37.9%. If you do not look at the percentage, only 145 more people voted for PAP in the Hougang by-election compared to the General election 2011. Whatever that Desmond is doing is clearly not what Hougang constituency is look for, and people at Hougang is

Strength is always specific

2012-05-25T20:49:00.000+08:00

I quote from Peter Drucker: The great mystery isn't that people do things badly but that they occasionally do a few things well. The only thing that is universal is incompetence. Strength is always specific! Nobody ever commented, for example, that the great violinist Jascha Heifetz probably couldn't play the trumpet very well. Jack of all trades, but master of none. Are we to be trained as

Inflation is up 5.4%

2012-05-24T00:20:00.000+08:00

These are the Singapore inflation rates for 2012: January: 4.8% February: 4.6% March: 5.2% April: 5.4% Housing and Transport are once again leading the pack, rising by 11.1% and 7.5% respectively year on year. Inflation rose almost across the board, in particular Housing. The inflation was surprisingly lesser than the 6% I've estimated. The drop might be due to the drop in inflation

Is Scrum really ideal for big systems?

2012-05-23T21:19:00.000+08:00

I was recently looking at Scrum, otherwise known as agile software development, and it got me into thinking if Scrum is a right fit for development of big systems. Reason for my worry? Instead of providing complete, detailed descriptions of how everything is to be done on the project, much is left up to the software development team. Therefore, there is a complete reliance on the software

Why all the ATMs seem to be only dispensing $50 notes??

2012-05-22T18:05:00.000+08:00

This is ridiculous! Recently, DBS has started replacing all their ATM machines such that they only dispense $50 note. They are trying to make us spend more? I don't mind if they have 2 ATM machines and 1 of them only dispense $50 notes, but many times I've send only a single ATM machine that is only dispensing $50 notes. I wonder if MAS has any rulings to prevent such cases. Grr.

Good to know that investors are not blinded

2012-05-21T20:26:00.000+08:00

I find it reassuring that investors in the US are aware that the Facebook IPO is severely over-priced. In a business, it doesn't matter how much sales you make. It's the profit/earnings that matters. The fact is that Facebook was priced at 107 price earnings ratio. Why on earth did the underwriters price it as such even though GM has recently announced that they will not continue putting ads at

What Singapore can learn from Europe

2012-05-20T00:03:00.000+08:00

Read this inspiring article here by Professor Tommy Koh. In essence, he identified almost everything that is wrong with the policies now. Personally, I will summarise it into one sentence. The over emphasis on money That is the problem.

Let's not bring that up again

2012-05-19T17:31:00.002+08:00

I find it disappointing that during the by-election, the candidate will bring up issues like the young vs old and Malays vs Chinese. In a multiracial country like Singapore, we shouldn't bring up debates like the Malays being forgotten and the emphasis on connecting with the young voters when it should be connecting with all voters. I'm really surprised that this will be brought up at all. Does

Strange is relative

2012-05-18T21:49:00.000+08:00

I quote from the movie Dark Shadows: Strange is relative A short but powerful statement. In fact a lot of things are relative, or we can also say subjective. It may be strange to you but not to others. Therefore, think more deeply before you write-off what you've seen or heard. It may mean much more.

Is debt bad?

2012-05-16T21:13:00.000+08:00

The recent happenings in France and Greece got me thinking on the concept of debt. The concept of debt is quite simple. Try to clear your debt as fast as possible and keep it minimal. This is why Europe is focusing on reducing their total debt. However, I feel that reducing debt may not apply in all situations, especially in our current environment. In economics, there is always a cost in any

What is true productivity?

2012-05-15T21:11:00.000+08:00

I find it very weird that with all the focus on productivity, people did not realise that in true productivity, all the paper certificates do not matter. What truly matters is what that person can do and that person's reaction to different situations. However, if we're really looking at true productivity, then why is there a push to squeeze in so many different subjects into the education system

Let the Greeks decide

2012-05-14T22:06:00.001+08:00

Greece should stop discussing and quickly call another election. Let it be known to the Greeks that if they support the SYRIZA, they must be prepared to leave the Euro because the EU and Germany have already issued statements that the terms of the bailout will not change. If the Greeks choose to support SYRIZA again, then let them choose with their eyes open. Greece leaving the euro zone may not

Who is responsible for the birds at Orchard Road?

2012-05-14T21:46:00.000+08:00

Now that the minister has cleared the air on who is in-charge of all the birds nuisances since the starting of Jan 2012, why are the birds still at Orchard Road? I've recently passed by Orchard Road and the birds are making a din as usual at the junction where Heeren and H&M is. That would mean that the pavements will be full of "white stuff" again every morning. Orchard Rd is not important

Slow down

2012-05-11T21:38:00.000+08:00

I was reading an article recently about work-life balance and I found the following paragraph meaningful. Read it, digest it, and think about it. Slow down. Speed is the enemy of nearly everything in life that really matters. It's addictive and it undermines quality, compassion, depth, creativity, appreciation and real relationship. There is no short cut to what you wish to achieve. Doing it

Nothing new in iOS 5.1.1

2012-05-10T00:21:00.000+08:00

I've just recently upgraded to iOS 5.1.1 from iOS5.1. Summary of changes is as follows: Improves reliability of using HDR option for photos taken using the Lock Screen shortcut Addresses bugs that could prevent the new iPad from switching between 2G and 3G networks Fixes bugs that affected AirPlay video playback in some circumstances Improved reliability for syncing Safari bookmarks and Reading

TCO of nuclear energy

2012-05-09T21:30:00.000+08:00

Recently it was reported that South Korea is building nuclear reactors to meet their energy needs. Before the governments everywhere take the short-term view on nuclear energy, I hope they look at it from the long term perspective. According to an article at spinwatch here, it will take 73 billion pounds to clear up U.K's nuclear waste. Is the benefit of nuclear energy more than 73 billions

Problem with competition

2012-05-08T21:10:00.000+08:00

I was reading an article on competition and I found that the author, David Brooks, hit the nail on the head on the problem with competition. Many people have confuse capitalism with competition. The problem is that in the race to be more competitive, we sometimes confuse what is hard with what is valuable. The intensity of competition becomes a proxy of value. In the race to "improve

Higher wages come with productivity?

2012-05-07T21:28:00.000+08:00

In an ideal world, increase of productivity will result in higher profits for the company, which will lead to better wages for the employees. However, there is one big problem. We do not live in an ideal world. The problem is that without any external stimuli, there will not be any increase of wages because there are always reasons not to. The economy is not strong, the customers may not buy

Is it your belief?

2012-05-04T21:48:00.000+08:00

I quote from Elly Roselle: A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind This simple and yet powerful sentence explains clearly what is a belief. It is something that holds your mind, something that you believe whole heartedly, and you think about it when you're awake or when you're sleeping. It is not an idea that just exists in your mind. Know the difference and

How will the $900 million be split?

2012-05-03T23:33:00.001+08:00

I think everyone is trying to guess how LTA and SMRT will split the $900 million dollar bill. Look no further than the SMRT annual report. Base on their annual report, LTA owns the infrastructure of all the lines, which includes tunnels, tracks, viaducts and station structures. Therefore, these collector shoes on the tracks will most probably be the responsibility of LTA. For NSEW Line, SMRT

Quality vs "Productivity"

2012-05-02T21:39:00.000+08:00

I've read an article recently talking about the state of workers nowadays. It will seem that with the crazy drive for productivity, many companies seem to lose sight of the services that they are providing to their customers. In essence, this means the quality of their service. No matter the definition given, productivity in many companies just mean that you can do multiple things at the same

How to resolve the credit card problem when taking taxi

2012-04-30T20:14:00.000+08:00

Personally, I've encountered quite a few times when taking the taxi that the credit card terminal is mysteriously not working. When they show it to me, it seems to me rather that they off the device than it's not working. I found a simple solution to this problem. Before I go into the taxi, I will tell them straight that I've no cash and I'm only paying by credit card. If they still say its not