Wealth increases human happiness when it lifts people out of abject poverty and into the middle class but not thereafter (Daniel Gilbert, Stumbling on Happiness.
The bewildering array of choices that wealth brings not only doesn’t make us happier but actually erodyes our psychological well-being. (Barry Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice).
Spending money on other people has a more positive impact on happiness than spending money on oneself. (Dunn et al., Spending Money on Others Promotes Happiness).
Quoted from some page of Boing Boing, to remind myself that money doesn’t ascertain happiness. In many cases, it doesn’t bring true happiness. But again, can you be happy without money?

Things I don’t like, things I don’t want, things I really crave for, things I will have a jolt for receiving, things I.. just don’t know. Recently, I’m getting blurry and can’t forgive myself for being so. I chose for this, don’t fret! Live on! Move on! But I haven’t.

Some people say, this is the crisis for the first ticking clock of adapting. Heck, I thought I had been there, overcame it, dealed with it. Haven’t I? Again, this could be just some silly vagueness which recuperate from time to time.

I have things I want to write, unfinished. I have assignments of job I’m damn worried about, haunted. I have dreams I want to aim, not there yet. Life is not an instant noodle I guess. No. Life is a process which youngsters can’t help to be impatient. I am.

Again and again, I may have just been melancholic, sick, down. In the end, the first thing I really need to bother is fixing my health first and pour the mood to myself. So worry less about work, dreams, things, for now. Let my physical body rest, my brain is just acting up too much. Ciao!

RSS feeds has actually been a part of my internet experience for quite a while. It really helps me to read news efficiently, minimising the overhead time needed to click between pages of websites and save my time to select the important news. But nowadays, as the job gets tighter and the time gets lesser, I have even tinier and tinier time space to read my fav news provider and blogs which is very much disturbing me. I come to realize that the best free time I have is usually during my commute in the trains or buses, hence I need to find a way to compress everything into my mobile device.

I did quite a research and trial on quite lots of RSS reader out there available for my Windows Mobile device: Viigo, Ibrow,NewsReader,goNewsTouch, but none really satisfied me. As my PPC is not a powerful device, only equipped with 200 Mhz TI-OMAP, I really need to find an RSS reader which is lightweight, efficient, but still powerful and maintain a professional look. I finally fall in love with pRSSreader for its simplicity but elegant, very lightweight, and  features important features like RSS image icons, RSS groupings/channels and most importantly very nice articles caching and offline-mode which allows you to download all the contents of RSS and keep them in your device without the necessity to reconnect to the internet later.

Offline-mode is very important to me as I don’t have any data plan for my mobile device which will be very expensive if I have to download articles per KB base. Not to mention, my old device doesn’t support 3G yet which will even lessen the experience of online reading due to slow data transfer. It even has a weak battery. With the offline feature in the pRSSreader, I can download the feeds while my device is USB cradled (active sync) and charged during my stay in the office or at home so it can use my notebook internet which of course will be faster and most importantly – free. Later, I can read the updates during my commute.

Even the offline-mode will still be very convenient for the more powerful device-owners with good data plan. Downloading using the home broadband typically will still be faster plus it can save your battery during your commute. Also, since the page is cached, you can switch rapidly between articles.

pRSSreader on my HTC Prophet

The real challenge is now in finding those RSS news feeders which provides full text article instead of just a synopsis or even merely the header of the articles. This is important since you won’t have to connect to the internet later from your device just to read the full article which is on the websites. While this is easy for casual blogs, technology or health blogs as they mostly provide full article in their feeds, but as for the news websites, this can be pretty challenging. Local news content like detik, vivanews, straitstimes, to the international: BBC, CNN, yahoo, typically provide only partial RSS feeds which is of course logical. Those articles may only be provided for premium services or they want more clicks on their website which substantially will create more revenues.

Some news websites below provide full text rss feeds:

- theguardians ( UK news paper)

- engadget (Tech blog)

- techcrunch (Tech blog)

- todayonline (Singapore weekly paper)

- boing boing (event blog)

- BBC website through feedburners are also already hacked for their full contents article such as: http://feeds.feedburner.com/bbcnewsenglandfullfeed

Hope this article helps. This tips should work for any operating system if you can find an RSS reader that supports caching for your device. Please let me know if you happen to know any Indonesia local news full text RSS provider. Or if anyone is keen to hack them, please let me know the result. The how-to is provided in the net (just google them). Happy reading!

They say there is a certain limit of data that human brain can capture, comprehend and store a day which means we are actually limited in devoting our learning process throughout our life. Those processes also take times which are never plentiful for us. The older we get, the harder for us to learn new things. We even tend to forget more things like my colleague has been complaining, “old age” they say.

In that case, should I start controlling the data which I’m trying to squeeze into my memory? Some of them of course are uncontrolable, you just happen to encounter them during your daily life although they may be unnecesary like there is a clothing discount in store A area B which you may not even be interested at all. But on the other hand, this process is pretty much controllable for other things, like picking the book to read, or even to read newspapers, novel book or science magazine. They are done fully out of your consciousness.

There are two sets of data, whether they’re information – like the trend in stock market or the unreset in China -, or knowledge – what is aurora borealis, and why animals are named in binomial nomenclature. Information is pretty much valid for only certain period of times and captures random happenings which of course is tied to time frame, often provided by newspapers. But knowledge serves more to explain things like origins, mechanism, process which usually can be applied over and over and are not limited to a single timeframe.

Knowledge and information also inhibit different functions. Knowledge is very useful in an attempt trying to resolve or pull a decision on many different occasions which have similar attributes. Information is often only relevant on very specific case. Other similar case may requires different sets of information although the same knowledge can be applied. For example: you’re installing a windows on different computer. The same knowledge of windows installation can be applied but what computer name to be put, what is the primary network connection to be set – wireless or LAN -, they will rely on the information provided on the specific installation.

I often start clicking straittimes, detik, or jumping between pages of wikipedia, from the capital market, all the way to interstellar travel. This way, I’m wasting quite tons of time reading those information I actually require or those I may not even require.  I come to think I really need to really spend my time more efficiently by selecting the readings I will pick. This way as well will prevent myself to get overflooded.

But in a practical case, how do you define which sets of data is relevant or not relevant for you? Or whether it’s more important to dig more knowledge instead of information or vise vers? They are pretty much inconceivable for me. I know some people with very logical basis may also say, “Just learn through and through, you never know you may need them. Whatcha say?

Oh wait, I haven’t done posted a post with this title right? Anyway, this is really mid-year. Some resolutions are obsolete, no longer relevant, achieved, invalidated so I’ve been thinking, in the trains, during the lonesome meal, even before sleeping that I need to establish a new resolutions for the second half of the year.

I need to:

1. Spend less time on Facebook. It’s too time consuming, too addictive but sadly the return of advantage diminishes the more you spend time on it. So keep it at bay if it already sails more than 1 hour per day.

2. Spend more time at library. Singapore has dozens of library, why not use a bit of time to hit one of them at least to get a hold of some newspapers?

3. Fix my work and life balance. I’ve been dealing with work, work and work recently. I try not to during the weekends. I realize though some of my own fault. I don’t work effectively during the working time so I have to drag a bit over the allocated timeslot. I even missed the election today due to the work! Even work politically deprived me!

4.In relation to number 3, I need to dine properly. Eat during the meal time and work again after, not vice versa.

5. Jog at least once a week. I’ve been keeping this for several weeks. I should be able to continue

6. Sleep earlier, wake up earlier. In relation to number 5, if I can do this during the weekend. I can jog more – during the weekends.

7. Control my emotion better. I used to be a very easygoing person and not so moody. So it’s time to fix it.

8. Need to diversify how I keep my income. I can’t let my money rot there in the bank with nearly 0% interest rate in Singapore or 2.5% in Indonesia. I really need to take care my fixed deposite, insurance or even invest some in shares. Everything has its risk. I won’t know unless I try. Anyway, it’s good to try when it’s still not a very big sum.

9. ?

I think I thought a lot more but I can’t really remember. I will update once I remember. I really can’t wait for weekend. Tomorrow is already Thursday so Yay!

Just setup my new personal record today when going home. Getting inside the Yio Chu Kang MRT station around 6.25 PM, leaving out of Farrer Park station at 6.45, only 20 minutes of travelling, blazingly fast! Woohoo… wish that would happen everyday! I was so lucky that everytime I reached the platform at Yio Chu Kang, at Circle Line of Bishan, at NEL at Serangoon, it was by the time the MRT arrived. Not to mention, I did walk like crazy.

The result: I managed to do 20 minutes barely non stop jogging today around my home. I really should do this more often!

Sometimes I come to think it’s something that I can’t really manage to handle. I would just give up and die slowly. That’s how it goes with my working life recently.

I’m assigned to something I don’t understand. I knew virtually nothing but I had to convince the client that everything was going to be okay and made sure I didn’t look stupid. I had to be professional, be tough when getting so tight, when told suddenly “I need an answer today” when the client said the vice versa the day before I could be laid back and took things slowly. After all, no one is going to help. I’m all alone, with no colleague to help, with not much knowledge I brought with me, not even access to the internet to help me researching!

I sit alone in the corner of a big room with full of people I don’t or barely know day to day, talking the whole day with the single computer, chasing up the clients who seem not so responsive which definitely will kill my deadline. I need to manage my own schedule. No one is going to ask or worry which may be good in a sense since I can fit everything in according to me. But on the other hand, I would suddenly arrive to have missed the deadline! Not good. I have no experience for this. This feels like I’m managing my own project which I’m also executing, deciding everything all alone, leakage is here and there.

Recently, honestly I really feel actually I’ve been under quite a lot of stress though I’m denying it. I really feel so weary, deeply exhausted even sometimes when I’m not physically should be that tired. Well, I am mentally yes. The bad news, the other things don’t seem to fit in. None listens, none bothers, but sometimes pushed me a bit more than I can handle. I really don’t want to complain every single day, some people even won’t like and they will return to saying I’m such a complaining person so maybe better I keep my mouth shut. Well, I do realize I have weaker fuse these days that I can get all messy just by a bit of pressure. Sorry for that.

Maybe all in all, I just need a better work life balance or a bit of break, or even an escape. I may need to think a bit of my own happiness, being a bit more individualistic. But the thing is, I have to be professional, I’ve given the opportunity, I should push a bit more now and a bit more then. Get things right and done, then have fun.

Oh yes, quoted from my facebook status as I just watched it tonight: “really thinks that the T2 Movie is too monotonous, too much overhyped, too expensive.. it doesn’t even quality as an 8, unlike its predecessor.. seriously they could have used that $ 200 mil budget plus the promotional cost to make some other epic war movie.. stalningrad, normandy, battle of britain or even some war of ancient times… or even they may wipe a bit of poverty..” Good night or maybe a bit later. I should wait for my laundry.

Went back from work, saw an atm, put the card in, wait a moment.. yay! My first SGD salary is in, that’s something really new. That’s why  I think it’s worthy to be noted here. At least i’m freed from poverty for a while. Will need to clear all my debts ASAP.

Anyway, two more house mates are moving in, now all 8 rooms are occupied. This time it’s a young TALL German doctor working nearby in Singapore General Hospital, and another one a pretty young French lady just opposite of my room.

Too bad, I’m still as always stiff with foreigner so I feel uncomfortable sometimes. I would love to befriend them, but different culture, different topics, different jokes, I goes blank on what to say sometimes. I really wish I could be more adaptable. So it’s time, good luck to me! Good nite everyone.

Short story. I’ve got a new housemate residing in room C. He’s from UK and doing his internship in an Australian bank here – well it seems to me everyone in the house except me is working in a bank. My first impression is that he’s a really nice guy. His accent is clear that his english is very audible.

Just this morning, I learned a surprising thing. We had a bit of conversation with another housemate while suddenly some repair-men coming to set up the mirror. They spoke in Chinese but the British man could quite understand what those two men were talking. I was puzzled. He said he used to stay in China for a while.

So this sounds really pathetic. I’m chinese I can’t speak chinese. He can speak chinese. He’s not chinese. He’s not even asian. He’s a british.

Well, he’s undertaking his exam for a license to work in a stock market. So best of luck to him.

Originally planning to jump into Macritchie national park today but due to lacking of information, we would have been too late if we did continue our plan to get to the tree top walk at Macritchie, hence the plan was altered beyond spontaneity. Instead we visited the Lower Seletar Reservoir – Fishing Jetty,  Bottle Tree Park and Sembawang Shopping Center which happened to be in the vicinity of where we had “half-accidentally” been.

Lower Seletar Reservoir – Fishing Jetty: the far end of the Macritchie reservoir, nothing to be mentioned rather than it’s really fishing jetty since many people did fish for free there.

Bottle Tree Park: A really nice park, with lovely ponds and water lilies, benches, water riding ducks and utmostly “Bottle Tree” seafood restaurant. We didn’t have the chance to dine there but the price was really reasonable with nice ambience and an aircon-ed VIP room.

Sembawang Shopping Center: An very OK small shopping center reminding its location is way in the suburb. It has french toast shop called “le greenier a pain”, aston restaurant with nice price and nice spot, and splash park – water themed children park -. The shopping center is nowhere near MRT so go take free shuttle bus from Yishun/Khatib/Sembawang MRT operating in 15-20 mins interval.

Pictures to be put up later.

A man fishes at Fishing Jetty

Bottle Tree Restaurant from afar

"Ducks" on water

Yay!

The Bottle Tree - Why it's named such -