Janus Blook of L.I.F.E. : Living In Fickle Evolution

My attempt at some Vietnamese dishes

2010-01-03T23:36:00.002+08:00

Download the recipe for the above Vietnamese dishes at:
http://www.yousendit.com/download/VGlmRkJRaFJVbTkzZUE9PQ

Happy 80th Birthday Grandma! =D

2009-11-19T00:04:00.005+08:00

The Shan + Rozz Show: EP9 - The Boomz Girl

2009-10-23T01:20:00.001+08:00

What I Learnt from Malcolm Gladwell

2009-09-19T14:15:00.005+08:00

A friend of mine introduced met Malcolm Gladwell's book a year ago. I wasn't a keen reader, so I didn't bother to pick the book up. Recently, I discovered audio books and that gave me the push to listen to his books. In fact, I listened to three of them - Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers. I particularly like Outliers, but I shall attempt to give a brief summary of what I gained from reading these books. =)

Outliers:
I think that Outliers is a book that gives hope to people. It attempts to explain how some successful people become successful. It attributes their success to hardwork and practice instead of pure genius in their genes.

Gladwell pointed out that all successful people have at least 10,000 hours of practice in what they do best and the earlier you start, the earlier you'll reach the magic hours, preferably at your age of prime.

Although IQ does matter, one does not need an exceptionally high IQ to achieve things. An average Joe with an average IQ can succeed just as much as a person with an high IQ can fail. Gladwell's example of the height of baskerballers rings clear in my head. You do not need to be exceptionally tall to slam dunk. All you need is to be tall enough. Taller than that and it may even impede your performance.

Other factors also influence a person's success. One crucial factor is a person's family background and parents. Parents form their children's core principles and values. These determine if the child would be a fighter or wimp. Without drive, even the smartest person in the world cannot succeed.

Another important factor is luck, which we cannot control. The era and locale we are born in, the opportunities we have based on the status of our family and the people we meet, all plays an important role in deciding our fate.

Blink:
Blink talks about the power of snap judgements - how our instinctive and unconscious decisions can overrule our conscious mind. When a person is so skilled in a particular field, he/she can make right decisions without even much though. It's like your brain is conditioned so much that it has its own reflexes.

Gladwell mentioned that sometimes too much description and purposeful thinking can be counter effective decision-making. He gave an example of how people can recognise faces when they see them, but when asked to describe the faces, more often than not, they have problems doing it.

However, Gladwell also pointed out that instinctive decisions and reactions can also lead to dire consequences, especially when people are in a state of fear. He compares the state of fear to the temporary experience of autism - a condition whereby people are unable to feel for others and understand other people's actions or thoughts.

When in fear, people may forget things that they usually do. For example, one may forget how to call for the ambulance or even the number of the ambulance service during emergencies. During such times, people leave it all to their unconscious minds to do a series of actions that are almost automatic. Gladwell gave an example of how some policemen shot an innocent black guy due to fear and preconceptions of black people.

Stereotyping is another unconscious thinking people has. We group people based on how they look even though some of us may refuse to admit. This in itself is not a bad thing if we are aware of this unconscious grouping and make sound decisions that are as fair as possible.

Lastly, Gladwell talked about a process called thin-slicing and the reading of facial expressions. I was most intrigued by this topic. Thin-slicing divides a series of actions or speech into smaller components for analysis. It is said that by observing the specific expressions and muscle movements of people's faces, one can predict a lot of things about a person's character to a really detailed extent! I am very eager to learn this skill. =P

Tipping Point:
Tipping Point is rather market-oriented. It talks about how social epidemics can be created - how to make buzz and have an impact on society to a large extent.

It is filled with examples of how 3 factors contribute to the spread of information:
1. The Law of the Few
2. The Stickiness Factor
3. The Power of Context

The law of the few explains that most social epidemics are caused by a few influential people. These people can be classified into Mavens, Connectors and Salespersons. Mavens are info-collectors. They crave information in something they are passionate about and they share it with people without ulterior motives. Connectors are people who have huge networks. They are able to pass information they receive to many people and usually, it includes other influential people. Salespersons are people who are good at persuading. They are capable of converting non-believers to believers. A person can be neither these there or a combination of any of these three types.

The stickiness factor talks about the information that is being spread. In order for it to be sticky and stay in the mind of people, it must grab attention but yet convey a message that is meaningful and relevant to the target audience. Both work hand-in-hand - without grabbing attention, the message is never read. Without a meaningful message, audience cannot make sense of it and ignores it.

Lastly, the power of context is also about relevance. A message that is ignored in a place and time may create a huge fad in another. Hence, choosing the right message for the right people at the right place and time is crucial to success.

BBC Horizon - Genie (deprived girl) Part 1

2009-08-28T19:45:00.001+08:00

Janus' WKW-SCI Convocation 2009 On-Stage Photos

2009-07-31T17:23:00.002+08:00

Got many requests for higher resolution photos, good enough to print, so I've provided the link to download the hi-res photos. =)

Click here to download Janus' WKW-SCI Convocation 2009 On-Stage Photos:
https://rcpt.yousendit.com/720439386/70645bf456f7a0144b619dd52b53ea69

Welcome to NDP 09

2009-07-29T01:47:00.003+08:00

Why you must watch this year's Singapore National Day Parade 2009

2009-07-28T02:20:00.009+08:00

I was lucky to have gotten tickets for the preview of this year's National Day Parade at Marina Bay. Aside from the long wait under the sun, this year's parade and performance seems to be, in my opinion, the best so far.

Here's some things that I feel make this year's parade so much more exciting and entertaining.

1. A Useful Goodie Bag
This years goodie bag has a really neat design. It's a 2-in-1 bag that can either be used as a sling bag or a hand-carried bag to buy groceries. Compared to the last year's bag, which is rather ugly and cannot contain much stuff, this year's bag will not end up in your store room or the rubbish dump.

2. Less Abstract, More Story
Last year's performance was really abstract and some performances are too similar to previous years. This year's performance gives a theatrical feel, with Singapore's story told in 10 distinct chapters. Each chapter has a surprise of its own and there isn't a dull moment.

3. Multi-purpose Stage
The versatile box stage, which also doubles up as a visualising plane, makes the stage more vibrant. The box can be used to show a video or it can be many small boxes for the performers to perform in. It can even turn into a stage prop. Very creative use and very exciting to see it change constantly.

4. Many Things Happening at Once
Other than the usual performance on the main stage, things can be happening simultaneously elsewhere. Performers may be dancing in the multi-purpose box, videos may be are shown, vehicles can move in from the road, floats can moving along the river, and musicians may be playing their drums in the midst of the audience. The variety of things happening all at once is really a feast for the audience's senses.

5. Closer Interaction with the Audience
With performers moving up to the audience and interacting with them, people can enjoy taking photos of the SWAT team upclose or pose with one of the super-sized puppets. Talking about puppets, there is a significant use of puppets in this year's parade performance.

6. Showcase of Defence Force
There is also a wider range of showcase of our armed forces' prowless. Audience can be awed by the boat chase by the river or the simulation of a chemical gas attack. The sequence of events flow smoothly with non-stop action, covering the three elements of land, air and sea.

7. Musical Elements
Everybody loves musicals and this year's performance has some elements of it. Feel nostalgic over old tunes and be livened up by new renditions of modern pop and traditional local songs. The dazzling costumes, lightings and fusion of music make it so much different from previous years' performances.

8. Use of Many Multimedia and Visual Effects
The multiple visuals and events happening at once can be a little confusing, but I'd rather be spoiled for choices than to be bored stiff. The huge main screen, called the Eye, is where the main visuals are projected. There are two other side screens that project different images and lots of lightings everywhere.

Visit the following link for more photos of NDP'09:
http://www.facebook.com/janusgoh?ref=profile#/album.php?aid=128934&id=509481208&ref=mf

Don't wanna show up as Facebook ads?

2009-07-25T14:01:00.001+08:00

You know how you sometimes see a friend's face under an ad in facebook because it is kinda related to something he likes or uses?

Well that friend is probably seeing your picture as part of a facebook ad.

Freaked out yet? Here's how to opt out.

Go to SETTINGS
-> PRIVACY SETTINGS
-> NEWS FEED AND WALL
-> FACEBOOK ADS
-> select NO ONE

Singapore Heart Foundation Photography & Comics Competition

2009-07-23T18:48:00.004+08:00

Click on the images for a larger view...

Ya Kun (til end Sep) & Tony Roma's Vocucher (til end Jul) 2009

2009-07-21T20:53:00.003+08:00

Click the images for a larger, printable version. =)

勁爆中國 - 仿冒帝國

2009-07-18T17:40:00.000+08:00

Source: E-mail

勁爆中國
仿冒帝國

在大陸買東西，一定要特別注意看！超利害的！

去超市買洗衣粉本來想買雕牌,都放到購物籃裡了, 結果發現是周住牌...

想想不用雕牌,用好一點的汰漬吧,拿起來一看.... 是什麼'汰潔'...

在家商店買了瓶新品雪碧,後來喝著覺得味道不對, 才發現瓶子上寫的雲碧。

買了一瓶'脈動'飲料,上車喝了才發現味道不對,

仔細看了半天,竟然是'脈劫'

算了再換個店買吧，一看，暈，居然是詠動。

還有泳動? ? ?

看來我還得認准'脈'字再買,但又買成'脈勁'了,真抓狂了 ! xxx ...

哪位能告訴我哪種是正版OLIO餅乾? ? ?

肯德基音譯變啃他雞？KFC或是KFG

用過SONY電池嗎?——這可是SQNY電池喔!

注意看這不是可口可樂Coca Cola

而是卡卡卡拉 Caca cala !

哇塞！好嚇人的Qoo 啊這是'Quu'！

飄柔洗髮精變成漂柔了

白貓洗衣粉，日貓？寒....

IVIKE版NIKE，近視眼的同學千萬別買錯了

還有HIKE拖鞋

Koppa變成這樣

OLAY玉蘭油護髮系列，喔！不！是OKAY

在超市買了一碗康師傅速食麵,吃著吃著不對勁呀,

仔細一看,原來是康帥博速食麵...

還有，吃過庚師傅速食麵嗎？

這彪馬PUMA的髮型也真夠彪悍的

母豹版彪馬，還穿裙子

河馬版

小豬版，豬是pig喔

翻過來睡也可以

Singapore Night Festival at the National Museum & SMU

2009-07-11T17:22:00.005+08:00

Night Festival 2009: Bersama Hijau
Singapore Management University Campus Green
FRI 10 JUL 2009 - SAT 11 JUL 2009 8:00pm – 2:00am

Directed by award-winning dancer and choreographer Aaron Khek, Bersama Hijau celebrates the act of spending time together, enjoying music, dance and theatre at the green. Presenting a fresh juxtaposition of traditional and contemporary performing arts, Bersama Hijau is a multi-part re-mix of traditions with trends that engage the audience physically, visually and aurally.

Night Festival 2009: The Loop of Fortune
By Action Theatre PAN.OPTIKUM (Germany)
Singapore Management University Campus Green, National Museum of Singapore Stamford Green and Stamford Road
FRI 10 JUL 2009 - SAT 11 JUL 2009 10:30pm – 11:00pm

Making its premiere in Singapore, The Loop of Fortune weaves the audience and the surrounding architecture into the plot of the performance, and uses associative images to tell the story of a man’s happiness and destiny.

Starting from Singapore Management University’s Campus Green, the performance shifts across the street to a large-scale finale in front of the National Museum of Singapore. The Loop of Fortune unfolds through acrobatics, acting, live vocals and seamlessly interwoven firework displays. The audience accompanies the protagonist through various stages of his life, different emotional states – the joyful and naïve feelings of happiness alternate with overconfidence and fear – and finally, the dawn of the awareness that it is neither necessary nor possible to oppose one’s destiny.

For More Information:
http://tinyurl.com/m7xfke

2009 Fathers' Day Promotion!!!

2009-05-24T00:41:00.002+08:00

Janus is having a Sales at Ebay! Take a look! =)

2009-05-16T18:33:00.003+08:00

Items sold inlcude Threadless Tees, Music CDs, Movie DVDs, Beijing Olympics Collectibles and other stuff. =)

http://shop.ebay.com.sg/merchant/janusgoh_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZ

The things I want to do with my family!

2009-05-12T22:40:00.002+08:00

Mothers' Day has just passed and Fathers' Day is soon to come. However, I believe that we should always try to give our parents some pleasant surprises every now and then on top of the special occasions.

I remember that when I was young, family outings were regular events during weekends. As I grew older, I started to spend more time with my friends than my family. Hence, family outings become all the more precious and memorable.

I've realised that meaningful family outings need not be elaborate or fanciful. A simple meal cooked as a family or a nice stroll down the Southern Ridges can be very fulfilling.

I am having my holidays now before I start my career, so in the months to come, I really hope to spend more quality time with my family at home or outside. All these will be nostalgic memories many years down for me and my family.

Start planning for your own Family Day Out on 30 May 2009! Visit www.nfc.sg!

Free Concert at the Singapore Flyer - Are You RED-D?

2009-03-08T18:31:00.004+08:00

Visit the following links for more information:

http://www.littlereddress.com.sg
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=56544677586

Women and Heart Health - An Interview with Dr. Goh Ping Ping

2009-03-06T16:04:00.001+08:00

Creative Industries Fair 2009 / Career and Education Fair 2009

2009-03-01T00:12:00.004+08:00

Only managed to find out about this today, so thought I'd share it here.

I may be going down to take a look if there's any relevant jobs for me.

Here's some related links:
Info about Creative Industries Fair
ST Home Article

Do be reminded that there will be a general career and education fair at Suntec City this month too!

http://www.careerseries.com.sg/

Benefits of Being a Freshie in the Job Market

2009-02-26T18:34:00.005+08:00

Janus Goh
26 Feb 2009

The economic crisis is here and thousands of people are being retrenched. The downturn may be here to stay for quite a while, but hey, all is not that bad, especially when you are a fresh graduate like myself.

I am a final year undergraduate and I am looking forward to start my new life come July this year. Being the typical kiasu Singaporean, I've started job-hunting since last year. My experience thus far has proven that companies want fresh grads and many big companies have management programmes tailored just for us.

The logic is simple - fresh grads are cheaper to employ, we tend to work harder and we bring with us new ideas the old birds can't understand.

So with all the talk about how looking for jobs ain't that difficult for fresh grads comes the question of where should we start?

In a time of technological advancements and utter laziness, what can be more satisfying than browsing through job listings at the comfort of your own home? Forget about the classified jobs section in the newspaper, because the online variation provides us with more convenience and efficiency without compromising on the chance of finding a suitable job.

ST701 Jobs (http://jobs.st701.com) is one of my favourites. And once you take a look at what the its got to offer, it's not difficult to understand why.

Like most job search websites, ST701 Jobs lets you create a personal profile/resume to help you match jobs that suit you. Just fill it in once and the automated system ensures that you will not miss any opportunities of the latest relevant job vacancies. Talk about killing many birds with one stone.

But what's best about ST701 Jobs is that it's more than just a job search portal. The website also provides the following unique features:

Customise Your Personal Profile and Job Specifications

Tips on Job Hunting - in textual and video formats
Toolbar Plug-in - to allow you to search for jobs easily; the toolbar even allows you to listen to online radio stations =D
Just Ask Forum - asking and sharing is the best way to get answers to specific job queries
Events Listing - be informed about latest Career Fairs and Publications

Multi-functional ST701 Toolbar

So try exploring ST701 Jobs by registering a free account with them. It's really easy to navigate and it's a more entertaining way to go job-hunting.

ST701 also offers the really cool Spree service, which can work equally well in this down period as shopping therapy. But I'll leave that for you to explore.

Janus Goh wishing you all the best in your Job-Hunting! =D

Mission: Heart Attack 2

2009-02-15T17:16:00.003+08:00

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Go Red For Women Singapore Tunnel TV

2009-02-15T17:15:00.008+08:00

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Go Red For Women Singapore Launch at the Singapore Flyer

2009-02-15T17:15:00.007+08:00

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Mission: Heart Attack 1

2009-02-15T17:15:00.006+08:00

Join us on Facebook!

Mission: Give a Heart by Mission: Singapore (Hearts for Everyone)

2009-02-15T17:14:00.003+08:00