WeeKee Today - technology and board games lover

November 3, 2009

I want a Mercedes

Inspired by a slow Mercedes driver in the middle of 2 lanes who cut into my lane abruptly without signaling.

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Filed under // rants

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November 1, 2009

Or more accurately, I got a new set of tyres after failing my STA inspection. The front left wheel had became bald and was not acceptable. The interesting thing was that the rest of the wheels were still acceptable.

My wife was quick to theorize that it has something to do with my beer bellow. It must be because I am getting fatter, weigh more and occupies the front passenger seat more often while she did most of the driving. It kinda of make sense though I did not exactly like the idea that I am putting on that much weight!

Thankfully, I got the real reason after a visit to the car workshop. The mechanic had a look and asked me if I park my car in a multi-level car park. It turns out that the winding nature of such car parks result in the front left tire being worn out much faster compared to the rest.

Now that definitely makes more sense than blaming it on my beer belly!

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October 26, 2009

Only Singapore Citizens can...

I have wondered what are the differences between a Singaporean and a PR. Other than having to spend more than 2 years in NS and the constant dread of the annual call ups, are there any differences?

The Straits Times published an interesting article last weekend on the special rights of Singaporeans to answer this question. So read on and see how you can make the most out of these rights.

Only Singapore Citizens can:

1. Vote for (or against) their MP

I have yet got the chance to vote even though I am a eligible voter for the past ten years. Election day to me is equivalent to holiday. So this point is pretty irrelevant to me and I doubt this situation is going to change in the near future.

2. Stand for election and become MPs

This is a really attractive deal considering that MPs are pretty well paid in Singapore. But with only 84 seats to go around, the odds are pretty low for most Singaporeans. I think I have to pass up on this as well.

3. Speak at Speakers' Corner

I am not exactly an eloquent nor a charismatic speaker. I am lucky if the old folks playing chess at the Speaker's Corner don't chase me away, let alone hear me speak. Next.

4. Organize a protest at Speakers' Corner

I love the sun but I prefer to enjoy it by the beach with a cocktail in my hand. Sweating and confining myself to a little corner just for a protest isn't exactly my cup of tea. Maybe a protest against wearing leopard prints might be interesting though.

5. Hold a political talk indoors

Refer to point 3.

6. Have the constitutional righ to free speech and other protection

I don't understand this point. Shouldn't this be a basic right for anyone living in a developed country like Singapore?

7. Get a red passport, which allows entry to 150 countries without a visa

I got to admit this is my favorite though you need to have the time and money to fly around.

8. Hold senior positions and certain jobs in the civil service

The iron rice bowl is attractive but I love what I am doing now so that is another pass for me.

9. Get a taxi driver's licence

I am not sure why this is even mentioned. The job of a taxi driver is tough. They should have mentioned that only citizens can operate 4D and Toto shop. That would have made more sense.

10. Get tax rebates for parenthood and national service

This is nice though at this moment I am not sure if I am ready for this phase in my life.

11. Get Special Transfers, e.g. CPF tops ups, New Singapore Shares and the Progress Package

Another great deal for citizens but they are not frequent enough. They appeared mainly around the elections or policy changes such as the increase of 5% GST to 7%. Sometimes no news is good news.

12. Get financial grants for infant care and childcare

Again great news though you might want to note that despite the encouragement for a bigger family size, the size of a HDB flat is going in the opposite direction.

To wrap it up, if you are a Singaporean, make more love and make more babies assuming that you are legal and preferably married. If you think that sucks, go ahead and organize a protest at the Speakers' Corner.

After all, that is your right.

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October 20, 2009

A good application of Twitter

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October 14, 2009

Advertising through storytelling

One of the effective ways to communicate ideas is through storytelling. Using storytelling in advertising can expensive in terms of production and media cost. However online video sites like YouTube can be a cost effective channel in "distributing" these ads that are longer in nature.

When it comes to storytelling in ads, I really like Thai ads. They have a great storyline, emotional and communicate the brand message in a memorable yet relevant way. Below are some of my favorites. Anyone knows the agencies behind these ads?

Pantene

"My Son" - Thai Insurance

"My Girl" - Thai Life Insurance

Cheers

The trend maybe moving towards more active engagement with customers but traditional way of communication like commercials can be very effective with the availability of new media formats like online, mobile, etc. Apart from launching "social media" marketing campaigns, a well executed commercial on the right format can be a possible alternative for brands to "engage" their customers.

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October 2, 2009

A beautiful poem about our parents & us

When I turn old, I am not the original me: Please understand me and have patience with me.

When I drip gravy all over my clothes, when I forget to tie my shoelaces: Please remember how I taught you what not to do, and how to do many things by hand.

When I repeatedly tell you things that you’re tired of hearing: please be patient and listen to me. Please don’t interrupt me. When you were young, I told you the same story over and over again until you were sound asleep.

When I need you to help me bathe: Please don’t scold me. Do you still remember how when you were small I had to coax you to have a bath?

When I don’t understand new technology: Please don’t laugh at me or mock me.
Please think how I used to be so patient with you to answer your every “why.”

When my two legs are tired and I cannot walk anymore: Please stretch out your powerful hands to lend me a hand, just like when you were a baby learning to walk I held both your hands.

When I suddenly forget what subject we are discussing: Please give me a little time to recollect. Actually, it does not matter what we are talk about; as long as you are by my side, I am so contented and happy already.

When you see the old me, please don’t be sad: Please understand me and support me, just like how I was with you when you were young and were just learning to face life.

At the beginning, I guided you to the path of life. Now I ask you to keep me company to finish this last leg of my life. Give me your love and patience, I will give you a grateful smile, and crystallized in this smile is my endless love for you.

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September 24, 2009

Shop & Dine at SMRT?

I was at the train station and saw a commuter being reprimanded by the station staffs for drinking in the station. Amusingly, there was a long stretch of posters promoting shopping and dining at SMRT just right at the side.

So as you can see, SMRT wants you to dine at the station but you have to remember that the train and the area after the barrier are excluded. Otherwise you end up paying for your meal on one side and getting fine on the other!

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Filed under // life

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September 16, 2009

Sharing and syncing information with Live Mesh

Trying to transfer and share documents across computers can be really troublesome at times. Although USB sticks are convenient, they have their limitations especially if you plan to share files with a group of friends. Emails work to a certain extent but can get pretty disorganized. It is not uncommon to end up with files of different versions residing all over the place.

Well I found a way to solve all these problems. Microsoft recently launched an online service called Live Mesh. It offers 5 gigabyte of storage space online for free. The first impression is that it is simply an online storage space for your files but I soon discovered that Live Mesh is a really nifty service.

Let me share with you how to setup this service as well as some of the interesting and useful features of Live Mesh.

The first thing you need to do is to visit www.mesh.com and sign in to the service using your Windows Live ID account. You can then connect to the Live Desktop which is your online desktop. Next you need to create a new folder.

Once you have this folder, you can upload files to this folder and access this online storage anywhere as long as you are connected to the Internet. This feature is pretty common and you can find other similar services on the Internet.

Now the next setup step is what make this service really nice to use.

You can click on the Add Device button and install a small application (around 1.4 MB). What this application does is that it creates a folder on your device (my computer in this case) that sync directly with the online folder.

You can open this folder and the service will automatically sync it with the online desktop.

Similarly, you can add new files to this folder just like how you do it with a normal folder and the service will also make sure that the online folder is in sync with it! How cool is that? Now you can add files to your folder on your PC easily and access it elsewhere via a web browser.

The folder also has a special sidebar that notifies you of the recent changes on the folder. You can grant your friends access to the online folder and easily track what are the files that your friends have added. Definitely a great feature to use for group projects.

You may ask, "What happen if I need to access a file but it is not in the sync folder?". No worries, Live Mesh even integrates remote desktop access in the service. Simply select the device that you have added and connect to it.

You can now access the device remotely right on your web browser. No more complicated setup or software required to perform remote access. Everything can be done via the web browser.

That basically wrapped up the introduction on the Live Mesh service. I think this is a really great service. Even though it is currently on beta, it is pretty impressive. Furthermore, I believe most of the services can be accessed on most browsers (for my case, I am using Chrome).

However for the remote device access, you can use this feature only if you are using Internet Explorer as it requires a ActiveX control. The remote access appears to be slight buggy. It seems to slow down the Netbook that I was connected to even after the connection has been disconnected. I am not sure if this is because the service is still in beta or perhaps the hardware of the Netbook is not adequate in supporting remote access.

In general, everything seems to work well though the user interface and syncing can be slow at times.

Overall, Live Mesh is a pretty amazing service that simplifes sharing of information. I hope you find this service useful as well.

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Filed under // live mesh online apps technology

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September 14, 2009

Zurich

Zurich is one of the nicest cities that I had visited on this trip. Not only it has beautiful sceneries, the place is clean and well-organized. The transport infrastructure is really convenient, on time and efficient. People are also environmentally conscious and they take the effort to split or recycle their trash.

If there is one thing I don't like about Zurich or the other cities that I visited on this trip, it is the public toilets. One might need to pay up 2 Swiss franc just to use the public toilet!

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Filed under // away from home

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September 13, 2009

Montreux

I was there for a meeting held over the weekend with a few local colleagues. It was a great opportunity to know fellow colleagues who are based in other regions.

There was this interesting team building challenge where we have to eat some cherries and try to spit it as far as possible into a star-shaped area. Points are awarded depending where the seed land. It was really funny that during the eating part, some of my team mates ended up swallowing the seed instead!

I also got the chance to try out the Alphorn though the best I did was emitting a monotonous tone from it while others manage to play some tunes with it.

The biking tour, led by the amazing Daniel Wyss was a memorable experience. Cycling uphill on the Swiss mountains was definitely more challenging than I had expected though the ride downhill is simply exhilarating!

"To enjoy the ride downhill is an uphill task."

- weekee

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Filed under // away from home

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