Yesterday night after watching movie suddenly my lower back hurts, put some Yoko Yoko and seems to reduce the pain a bit but it's still painful if I stand up or sit down. This morning the pain is still there, put some more Yoko, now I think feels a little better, don't feel like going anywhere though, maybe I'll watch movie again ;)
New year, just another day passed, another year passed, like no feeling, oh wait, the only feeling is inflation, price hike everywhere.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Collected My Passport Today at ICA via iCollect
Recently I submitted a passport renewal because it is going to expire soon, they deducted $70 from my bank account after I dropped it into the collection box at ICA building.
A few days later, I checked online and found that it is ready for collection, I choose the iCollect mode, I think it is a new self-collect service and I set the collection date as today.
So I went to ICA level 1 eLobby, the iCollect section is very obvious, it's like a spaceship with two counters, quite futuristic looking. I went to the counter, there's nobody there, well, it's self-collect, so anyway I touched the screen to start the procedure, there were videos for each step telling me what to do, scan my NRIC, scan my thumbprint, scan my old passport, scan my face (facial verification), all done by myself, then it dispensed my new passport, it's like a vending machine! The whole process probably took less than 3 minutes, I think it's very efficient, impressive.
A few days later, I checked online and found that it is ready for collection, I choose the iCollect mode, I think it is a new self-collect service and I set the collection date as today.
So I went to ICA level 1 eLobby, the iCollect section is very obvious, it's like a spaceship with two counters, quite futuristic looking. I went to the counter, there's nobody there, well, it's self-collect, so anyway I touched the screen to start the procedure, there were videos for each step telling me what to do, scan my NRIC, scan my thumbprint, scan my old passport, scan my face (facial verification), all done by myself, then it dispensed my new passport, it's like a vending machine! The whole process probably took less than 3 minutes, I think it's very efficient, impressive.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Had a Bad Dream Last Weekend
Can't remember whether it was Friday or Saturday night, the dream was quite vivid and I still remember it now, it's strange because I never remember a dream for long after I wake up, I will probably forget everything within one or two hours.
In the dream, somehow my father passed away, I can't recall the cause of death but I saw my mother's face clearly, she looked a bit sad, she didn't talk, she was staring at something on my left side, and I was looking at her the whole time. Then I saw my father's face, he was lying down, his eyes were closed, lying on something peacefully. That's about it.
I think I remember it because it has something to do with my family, my dreams were usually stupid things like jumping up a building, and then down a building, or I'm running with someone or something chasing me, can't remember clearly but it was always the stupid crap, I rarely have good dreams, oh there's one where I dreamt that I strike it rich, and then I woke up and realize that I have to go to work, sigh.
I think it's just a stupid dream, never believe in the dream to reality crap.
In the dream, somehow my father passed away, I can't recall the cause of death but I saw my mother's face clearly, she looked a bit sad, she didn't talk, she was staring at something on my left side, and I was looking at her the whole time. Then I saw my father's face, he was lying down, his eyes were closed, lying on something peacefully. That's about it.
I think I remember it because it has something to do with my family, my dreams were usually stupid things like jumping up a building, and then down a building, or I'm running with someone or something chasing me, can't remember clearly but it was always the stupid crap, I rarely have good dreams, oh there's one where I dreamt that I strike it rich, and then I woke up and realize that I have to go to work, sigh.
I think it's just a stupid dream, never believe in the dream to reality crap.
Friday, December 27, 2013
More Than 500 Staff Retrenched at Hitachi Global Storage Technologies
Source
Mainly they are shifting their hard disk manufacturing operations to Thailand, obviously because labour costs there are so much cheaper. I think they can easily hire a staff from 6000 to 7000 Bahts a month, which is around $230+ Singapore dollars.
Actually most companies have shifted some or most of their operations to emerging markets like China, Philippines and Thailand, of these 3, Philippines staff costs are the highest since they are a English speaking country, Thailand and China are the cheapest.
This has nothing to do with our economy, it's just because operating costs in Thailand are lower, and the company is taking that opportunity to maximize their profit, that's all. For those who were retrenched, I wish them the best, I hope the relevant ministry and union will do their best to assist these people.
Also to highlight that people working in the production line usually have a low monthly basic salary of between $1100 to $1600, and in order for them to earn more than their basic salary, they need to perform overtime work. I have a friend who used to serve in the army with me, I heard from him that his basic salary is around $1600, with overtime work, he can earn $3000 or more a month, but that's a lot of overtime work to do so it's not easy for him. The article mentioned that for those retrenched, the company will compensate them one month's basic salary for every year of service, it's really not much, so I really hope the ministry will help these people out.
Mainly they are shifting their hard disk manufacturing operations to Thailand, obviously because labour costs there are so much cheaper. I think they can easily hire a staff from 6000 to 7000 Bahts a month, which is around $230+ Singapore dollars.
Actually most companies have shifted some or most of their operations to emerging markets like China, Philippines and Thailand, of these 3, Philippines staff costs are the highest since they are a English speaking country, Thailand and China are the cheapest.
This has nothing to do with our economy, it's just because operating costs in Thailand are lower, and the company is taking that opportunity to maximize their profit, that's all. For those who were retrenched, I wish them the best, I hope the relevant ministry and union will do their best to assist these people.
Also to highlight that people working in the production line usually have a low monthly basic salary of between $1100 to $1600, and in order for them to earn more than their basic salary, they need to perform overtime work. I have a friend who used to serve in the army with me, I heard from him that his basic salary is around $1600, with overtime work, he can earn $3000 or more a month, but that's a lot of overtime work to do so it's not easy for him. The article mentioned that for those retrenched, the company will compensate them one month's basic salary for every year of service, it's really not much, so I really hope the ministry will help these people out.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
3 Young Girls Crush Puppy to Death!
Source
Video (contains graphic content, DO NOT let children watch it!)
Today I chanced upon this article about 3 girls stomping a puppy to death, I saw the video and was totally disgusted by their actions, it's shocking, why would they do that, it's so inhumane, I felt so angry at them, I watched the video without any sound because I was in office, but I think with the sound the effect would be far worse. I cannot imagine the kind of pain the puppy was in, I also cannot imagine what went on in the minds of those 3 girls, are they crazy or what. The video just keeps replaying in my head after I watched it, it's so traumatic.
As I read on, it's some sort of a crush fetish video, the girls are paid for performing the act, I cannot believe they were still smiling while committing the slaying of an innocent animal, I hope the authorities arrest these people and serve them a stiff sentence, this must be the tip of an iceberg since it's a paid act, some evil syndicate must be earning loads of money off these kind of videos, the Philippines authorities must stop them.
RIP Unknown Puppy.
Video (contains graphic content, DO NOT let children watch it!)
Today I chanced upon this article about 3 girls stomping a puppy to death, I saw the video and was totally disgusted by their actions, it's shocking, why would they do that, it's so inhumane, I felt so angry at them, I watched the video without any sound because I was in office, but I think with the sound the effect would be far worse. I cannot imagine the kind of pain the puppy was in, I also cannot imagine what went on in the minds of those 3 girls, are they crazy or what. The video just keeps replaying in my head after I watched it, it's so traumatic.
As I read on, it's some sort of a crush fetish video, the girls are paid for performing the act, I cannot believe they were still smiling while committing the slaying of an innocent animal, I hope the authorities arrest these people and serve them a stiff sentence, this must be the tip of an iceberg since it's a paid act, some evil syndicate must be earning loads of money off these kind of videos, the Philippines authorities must stop them.
RIP Unknown Puppy.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
3 Ways to Clean Aircon
1. General servicing
This is the cheapest but most ineffective way. One fancoil costs between $35-$50, the servicing company will usually give some discount if you clean more units. The problem with this method is the technician will simply remove the outermost cover and filter and use a vacuum cleaner to try to suck out the dirt, but it's really very ineffective, I would say they can only clean out at the most 5% of the dirt in your unit, or worse, not even 1%. If you don't believe me, after they clean it, you try opening up the unit and see for yourself, it will still be full of dirt and mold, and if you put your nose close to the area where the air comes out, you will smell something like dirty socks. And the worst part is aircon servicing companies will usually suggest you to at least do this cleaning once every 3 months, just imagine how much money you will be wasting, you might as well open it up and vacuum by yourself, it doesn't take more than 10 minutes to clean one unit, and the cover is not that difficult to open, not the mention the filter, I'm serious.
2. Chemical spray
I think this costs anywhere less than $100. For this way, they are using some sort of spray jet to clean the evaporator, I think this is fairly effective, it does clean out most of the dirt that can be seen by eyes but the problem is, it cannot clean blind spots, but it's still better than the useless general servicing, if you are on budget and still need to clean your unit, this is the way to go.
3. Chemical overhaul
This is the most effective, it costs between $150-$160, I see some companies offering $120, I would stick to the more reliable ones, money should not be an issue here, it's the ultimate cleaning, if you want to spend, might as well make sure you are getting the right people to do it. Anyway you are not going to do this very often, probably once in a year or maybe even two years. The reason why this is the most effective is they dismantle the whole unit, take out the evaporator and really clean the whole damn thing, and depending on the skill of the technician, this can reach 90% effectiveness or more. But better to get someone who knows your model to do it.
Just a disclaimer, the percentages shown in this article is by guessing, I'm not an expert in aircon but I do know general servicing is bullshit since I opened it up and saw for myself, what a terrible waste of my money.
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