Original article extracted from Solidot...

Blog Notes:

Android is developed from open source freeware. And the trend is most of the applications developed for Android are NOT FREEWARE. That is a very interesting trend. Is this the intention when Linux was created at the first place?

Android的成功是对自由软件的一大威胁？

Google在推出基于Linux的Android平台两年之后，智能手机市场终于感受到了它的存在。



至今Android平台已有大约20000款应用程序，虽然和苹果iPhone上的应用程序数量相比差距明显，但引人注目的是它的数量在数个月内翻了一番。然而，一个值得关注的问题是：极少有Android应用程序是自由软件。于是我们便目睹了一个新的混合组合：底层是开源软件Linux，顶层却是私有软件。正如许多人所相信的，手机将成为世界上最主要的计算平台，因此这种趋势将成为事关自由软件生态系统健康的大问题。Ubuntu正努力让Android应用程序能运行在流行的Linux桌面发行版上。Android的成功不仅伤害到自由软件在移动领域的机遇，甚至还可能伤害到桌面领域。自由软件社区需要鼓励更多的开发者开发出真正自由的Android应用程序。

Original article extracted from IMerlion

Blog Notes:

Today, I was talking to a developer who develops software clients on the smartphone for my company. They told me that, currently their software works on the Google Android phones, but not the HTC Hero. Somehow, the "keypad" functions were re-written by HTC and the cross platforms codes has failed to work as the APIs are a bit different. And they have not yet tried Motorola's Droid or other new Android phone sets yet.

This has reminded me about the failure of Microsoft CE or Windows Mobile who has make the original mistake, by allowing your OEM's partner to change the codes specifically to their liking...

Google have to put a stop to it? Otherwise, there will be multiple OS within the same Android OS platform, and they will never catch up Apple's iPhone, iPod Touch or the iSlate...

Apple / iPhone Rules....

--ken

Developing For Android vs The iPhone: One Developer's Experience

Thye Chean's Space War for the iPhone was originally developed for the Android platform.

In the great iPhone versus Android debate, a common argument is that the open nature of the Android platform will eventually steamroll over the walled garden that is the iPhone. As more and more manufacturers come up with their own devices, they will eventually eat up Apple’s marketshare, or so the argument goes.

However, what Android defenders omit or play down is the fragmentation of the platform that results from having multiple devices, with multiple screen sizes and screen resolutions, and varying capacities, all running customised versions of Android. The greatness, or otherwise, of the Google Phone, does not remove this problem. In fact, it contributes to it, being yet another device on an already fragmented platform.

How bad is the problem of fragmentation? The example of developer Lim Thye Chean gives us an insight into the problems faced by an indie developer on the Android platform.

Thye Chean is the Singapore-based CTO of a Malaysian-based tech company. He is also the father of 10-year-old iPhone developer Lim Ding Wen of Doodle Kids fame. Thye Chean developed a Space Invaders clone on the Android platform called Space War to encourage his son to develop his own arcade game for the iPhone.

Space War now occupies a top 10 slot in Android’s arcade games category. However, the problems with ensuring that this game is compatible with different Android phones has given Thye Chean so many headaches that he is taking a break from the Android platform.

When he first released Space War on the HTC Dream and HTC Magic, things went well. However, when the HTC Hero came along, the problems began. He began getting bug reports that the game crashed, and this was a problem he could not duplicate until he got a Hero himself.

“I found that in the Hero, immediately after installation, the sound file will return a NULL value on start-up. However, once it goes through the first crash, it will subsequently work. I ‘solved’ this problem by not playing any sound (since it is NULL) rather than letting it crash.” He still does not know why the problem occured.

When the HTC Tattoo came along, he played around with it but because it had a very small resistive screen, it was hard to use so he decided to not support the Tattoo. “It is the start of the multiple resolutions nightmare. If I wanted to support multiple resolutions, then I either make my game Android 1.6 and above ONLY (and break all compatibility with all the devices mentioned above), or I switch between both for development and testing. I would have to develop using 1.6 code and compile it to run on 1.5 devices.”

Now the Motorola Droid has come along, and it has a WVGA screen. People who download Space War on the Droid are complaining that the game runs way too slow. The poor performance is because the game is running in compatibility mode as Android will scale the HVGA screen to WVGA screen automatically. “Where do I get a Droid to test? Now players start giving me 1 star reviews because it does not support Droid.”

To add insult to injury, Android apps can only be sold in just nine countries around the world. “So even though I have spent so much time maintaining it, I still have no hope of selling it. And if this is not bad enough, some countries cannot even get the game, and this includes Malaysia (where he is a citizen of).”

It’s not that Thye Chean believes that iPhone development is a walk in the park. He faces a problem with fragmentation there as well. His Space War port, recently released for the iPhone, will run on the latest hardware, but will not on the older iPhone 3G, it will run very slowly. However, the issue of fragmentation is much less than with Android.

And there are other problems as well, chiefly the fact that the App Store is so crowded that it is hard to stand out. However, Thye Chean is willing to give it a shot, at least for now.

It's hard to take the experience of one developer and extrapolate on it to say this is a problem all developers face. But Thye Chean's experience at least tells us that even if the total number of Android phones surpasses that of the iPhone, it's not the end of the iPhone.

Welcome to the age of Digital Media

15 years ago, you still need to buy Fuji or Kodak films to take photos. You still need to bring your film to develop into printed photos.

Today, I have no idea, how many digital camera I have had. That's not the thing I worried. What I worry is the digital photos I have taken, the digital videos that I have taken. What do I do with them.

When I turned on my iPhoto then I realize how big the digital photos collections that I have kept over the last 10 years. Some I have lost it due to hard disk crashes.

Every event, you tends to take hundreds of pictures. Some photos frankly speaking are really bad. But because of the convenient of digital photos, you tends to keep those photos as well. "Errr... Although some parts are blur, but he is so sweet.. let's keep it"... So, keeping thousands of photos become a habit.

I don't think many people think what should they do about those photos. What will you do?

Here are some of the issues I kept asking myself ...

1) How do you backup? To DVD, another harddisk, online? How big diskspace you need to get? 10GB? 20GB? Do you want to pay? What is the backup of the backup? If everything crashes?

2) How do you show it to your friends when they come to visit? Do you show it on Apple TV? What is the best way to show it? Do you make it to a slide show or movies of a compilations of photos? Do you have the time?

3) How do you pick the photos to keep? What do you do with those blur photos?

4) Since now is a digital age, do you scan those photos you taken 15 years ago?

5) Do I have the time to do such massive photo management? We are talking about hundreds of thousands of photos here...

6) Yes, there is Smart Album features, and that you can use "Faces" to try to group your photos... But do you want to organize it as event? or people?

7) What do you do with those photos you decided not to keep... press delete keys to permanently delete it?

Or dear... So much work and so little time...

iPhone Apps Rules

Original story is from here. Many news reporter or technical writer does not understand the technology, therefore, they always look forward to moment when there are competitions to iPhone who seems to be dominating the world... and they often failed to see the eco-systems behind it... Why does iPhone has only 1 screen size 1 model (except for the S Speed)... Why it sell so well, why they have 200,000 Apps, why iTunes store can do so well, and why the developers loves iPhone (and hate iPhone too)... and yes, Android is fancy enough, the droid, the soon to come Dragon from HTC, etc etc. But Android is stepping the exact mistake Microsoft CE or Windows Mobile has stepped. So, below is a nice story or nightmare from the developers of Android, telling his horror story of developing the Android applications, and how his apps is ranked top ten and dropped until now 1 star rating. Enjoy... iPhone still rules... and its worth to pay all the patents that iPhone has infringed.. hahahaha

Developing For Android vs The iPhone: One Developer's Experience

In the great iPhone versus Android debate, a common argument is that the open nature of the Android platform will eventually steamroll over the walled garden that is the iPhone. As more and more manufacturers come up with their own devices, they will eventually eat up Apple’s marketshare, or so the argument goes.

However, what Android defenders omit or play down is the fragmentation of the platform that results from having multiple devices, with multiple screen sizes and screen resolutions, and varying capacities, all running customised versions of Android. The greatness, or otherwise, of the Google Phone, does not remove this problem. In fact, it contributes to it, being yet another device on an already fragmented platform.

How bad is the problem of fragmentation? The example of developer Lim Thye Chean gives us an insight into the problems faced by an indie developer on the Android platform.

Thye Chean is the Singapore-based CTO of a Malaysian-based tech company. He is also the father of 10-year-old iPhone developer Lim Ding Wen of Doodle Kids fame. Thye Chean developed a Space Invaders clone on the Android platform called Space War to encourage his son to develop his own arcade game for the iPhone.

Space War now occupies a top 10 slot in Android’s arcade games category. However, the problems with ensuring that this game is compatible with different Android phones has given Thye Chean so many headaches that he is taking a break from the Android platform.

When he first released Space War on the HTC Dream and HTC Magic, things went well. However, when the HTC Hero came along, the problems began. He began getting bug reports that the game crashed, and this was a problem he could not duplicate until he got a Hero himself.

“I found that in the Hero, immediately after installation, the sound file will return a NULL value on start-up. However, once it goes through the first crash, it will subsequently work. I ‘solved’ this problem by not playing any sound (since it is NULL) rather than letting it crash.” He still does not know why the problem occured.

When the HTC Tattoo came along, he played around with it but because it had a very small resistive screen, it was hard to use so he decided to not support the Tattoo. “It is the start of the multiple resolutions nightmare. If I wanted to support multiple resolutions, then I either make my game Android 1.6 and above ONLY (and break all compatibility with all the devices mentioned above), or I switch between both for development and testing. I would have to develop using 1.6 code and compile it to run on 1.5 devices.”

Now the Motorola Droid has come along, and it has a WVGA screen. People who download Space War on the Droid are complaining that the game runs way too slow. The poor performance is because the game is running in compatibility mode as Android will scale the HVGA screen to WVGA screen automatically. “Where do I get a Droid to test? Now players start giving me 1 star reviews because it does not support Droid.”

To add insult to injury, Android apps can only be sold in just nine countries around the world. “So even though I have spent so much time maintaining it, I still have no hope of selling it. And if this is not bad enough, some countries cannot even get the game, and this includes Malaysia (where he is a citizen of).”

It’s not that Thye Chean believes that iPhone development is a walk in the park. He faces a problem with fragmentation there as well. His Space War port, recently released for the iPhone, will run on the latest hardware, but will not on the older iPhone 3G, it will run very slowly. However, the issue of fragmentation is much less than with Android.

And there are other problems as well, chiefly the fact that the App Store is so crowded that it is hard to stand out. However, Thye Chean is willing to give it a shot, at least for now.

It's hard to take the experience of one developer and extrapolate on it to say this is a problem all developers face. But Thye Chean's experience at least tells us that even if the total number of Android phones surpasses that of the iPhone, it's not the end of the iPhone.

Good Story: 孩子在为谁而玩

Another good story... Sorry, is in Chinese...
Do you work for yourself or do you work for something else,
it can be changed easily...

动机的寓言：孩子在为谁而玩

一群孩子在一位老人家门前嬉闹，叫声连天。几天过去，老人难以忍受。

于是，他出来给了每个孩子25美分，对他们说：“你们让这儿变得很热闹，我觉得自己年轻了不少，这点钱表示谢意。”

孩子们很高兴，第二天仍然来了，一如既往地嬉闹。老人再出来，给了每个孩子15美分。他解释说，自己没有收入，只能少给一些。15美分也还可以吧，孩子仍然兴高采烈地走了。

第三天，老人只给了每个孩子5美分。

孩子们勃然大怒，“一天才5美分，知不知道我们多辛苦！”他们向老人发誓，他们再也不会为他玩了！

【心理点评】你在为谁而“玩”

这个寓言是苹果树寓言的更深一层的答案：苹果树为什么会自断经脉，因为它不是为自己而“玩”。

人的动机分两种：内部动机和外部动机。如果按照内部动机去行动，我们就是自己的主人。如果驱使我们的是外部动机，我们就会被外部因素所左右，成为它的奴隶。

在这个寓言中，老人的算计很简单，他将孩子们的内部动机“为自己快乐而玩”变成了外部动机“为得到美分而玩”，而他操纵着美分这个外部因素，所以也操纵了孩子们的行为。寓言中的老人，像不像是你的老板、上司？而美分，像不像是你的工资、奖金等各种各样的外部奖励？

如将外部评价当作参考坐标，我们的情绪就很容易出现波动。因为，外部因素我们控制不了，它很容易偏离我们的内部期望，让我们不满，让我们牢骚满腹。不满和牢骚等负性情绪让我们痛苦，为了减少痛苦，我们就只好降低内部期望，最常见的方法就是减少工作的努力程度。

一个人之所以会形成外部评价体系，最主要的原因是父母喜欢控制他。父母太喜欢使用口头奖惩、物质奖惩等控制孩子，而不去理会孩子自己的动机。久而久之，孩子就忘记了自己的原初动机，做什么都很在乎外部的评价。上学时，他忘记了学习的原初动机———好奇心和学习的快乐；工作后，他又忘记了工作的原初动机——— 成长的快乐，上司的评价和收入的起伏成了他工作的最大快乐和痛苦的源头。
切记：外部评价系统经常是一种家族遗传，但你完全可以打破它，从现在开始培育自己的内部评价体系，让学习和工作变成“为自己而玩”。

Good Story: 做一棵永远成长的苹果树

Read this from the web... This is very true... You have to always be in the growing mode... cannot because of a few failures or roadblocks and choose not to grow...

成长的寓言：做一棵永远成长的苹果树

一棵苹果树，终于结果了。

第一年，它结了10个苹果，9个被拿走，自己得到1个。对此，苹果树愤愤不平，于是自断经脉，拒绝成长。第二年，它结了5个苹果，4个被拿走，自己得到1个。“哈哈，去年我得到了10％，今年得到20％！翻了一番。”这棵苹果树心理平衡了。

但是，它还可以这样：继续成长。譬如，第二年，它结了100个果子，被拿走90个，自己得到10个。

很可能，它被拿走99个，自己得到1个。但没关系，它还可以继续成长，第三年结1000个果子……

其实，得到多少果子不是最重要的。最重要的是，苹果树在成长！等苹果树长成参天大树的时候，那些曾阻碍它成长的力量都会微弱到可以忽略。真的，不要太在乎果子，成长是最重要的。

【心理点评】你是不是一个已自断经脉的打工族？

刚开始工作的时候，你才华横溢，意气风发，相信“天生我才必有用”。但现实很快敲了你几个闷棍，或许，你为单位做了大贡献没人重视；或许，只得到口头重视但却得不到实惠；或许……总之，你觉得就像那棵苹果树，结出的果子自己只享受到了很小一部分，与你的期望相差甚远。

于是，你愤怒、你懊恼、你牢骚满腹……最终，你决定不再那么努力，让自己的所做去匹配自己的所得。几年过去后，你一反省，发现现在的你，已经没有刚工作时的激情和才华了。

“老了，成熟了。”我们习惯这样自嘲。但实质是，你已停止成长了。

这样的故事，在我们身边比比皆是。

之所以犯这种错误，是因为我们忘记生命是一个历程，是一个整体，我们觉得自己已经成长过了，现在是到该结果子的时候了。我们太过于在乎一时的得失，而忘记了成长才是最重要的。

好在，这不是金庸小说里的自断经脉。我们随时可以放弃这样做，继续走向成长之路。

切记：如果你是一个打工族，遇到了不懂管理、野蛮管理或错误管理的上司或企业文化，那么，提醒自己一下，千万不要因为激愤和满腹牢骚而自断经脉。不论遇到什么事情，都要做一棵永远成长的苹果树，因为你的成长永远比每个月拿多少钱重要。

Joan Bowen Cafe

Today, I went to have lunch at Joan Bowen Cafe with ah-Lian and my family. The food is OK! They are at 9 Jalan Wangi, Singapore 349354. It is off-Macperson road just in case you wonder where it is. Give them a call if you don't know where is it - 6281-3629. Just part the cars at the road side, whenever you found a car park.

What so special about this restaurant?

From the details from their name card, they serve food, coffee, desserts, you can print your photos here and they sell handy crafts. Hmm... interesting mix.



I ordered a fish and chip. Jay Jay & Ah-Lian ordered a mushroom spaghetti, and Boon Ching ordered a Chili Crab spaghetti. Both my wife and me had Leffe Blonde, a belgium beer. They serve wine as well.

So, what so special about this restaurant?

Look, the portion of my fish and chip is big. And the Dori fish taste good. The Chili crab spaghetti is nice.



Later, I ordered a Oreo Cheesecake, and a latte.

So, what so special about this restaurant?

The Latte is served using NExpresso from Nestle. I have one of these and it really serve great coffee from the capsules. My wife had a tea but with Vanila sugar. I believe this is the first time I know what is a Vanila sugar. Very fragrant and tasty.



Got a chance to take some pictures for the kitchen. They have this open kitchen concept to let you see what's in there. The chef is teaching a kid to cook.

So, what so special about this restaurant?



Oh look. I think she is the owner's daughter. And she is the one who cook my Fish & Chips. And by the way, she did a great job. Few days ago, she fried her 1,000 fish & chips. It is a greatest achievement given that she suffers from a kind of illness (I cannot remember the medical names) that she cannot remember things. The questions is, if she cannot remember anything, how did she manage to cook? Her job is to fried the fish. It is a repetitive job. Do nothing but fried the fish, every day until parts of your body remembers.

Remember the kid that is cooking just now, he too suffers from Down Syndrome, but managed to serve good food for us. His job is to cook the noodles.

The kid that is serving the Latte does not know what is a Latte. But there is a special toy that they made that equate that to Latte. When we ordered the latte, that toy will be given to him, and he knows he needs to make a Latte by putting the Latte capsule into the Nexpresso
coffee machine, place a cup there and press the button. As simple as that.

This is not just another ordinary restaurant. It is a restaurant with a big heart. They have a real cook, but they have also all these Down Syndrome patients to present there to learn and do real work by learning repetitive work. It is a very new concept, and it touches every body's heart. To eat here, you need a big heart. Take a look at their blogs, and you will know what and how much things that they went thru to set up this.
http://joanbowen.blogspot.com/2009_07_01_archive.html
http://joanbowen.blogspot.com/.html

These super-teens cook with a big heart, and you eat with a big heart. Enjoy... All food best served with Laffe Blonde beer.



By the way, those handy craft is made by them too. Yes, the owner of restaurant teaches handy craft skills to those super-teens.

Jay Jay & LWPS Year End Concert 2009

It's that time of the year... I can still remember, my little Jay was crying when we sent him to the backstage last year... and he refuses to wear the bulky "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" costumes... and I remember he was having fun last year at the stage...

This year, the concert is held at Nan Yang Secondary School. And when we sent him off to the backstage, our Jay is smiling all the way, and no more crying... he has grown up...



Up in the stage, he is really performing for everyone to see, and of course, when he sees Lily doing the wrong thing (placing her little umbrella on wrong photos), he will complaint to Miss. Haz about it, even during the performance, but you can tell that he is having lots of fun.

After the show, he will stick around with his friends, chit chating, taking photos, etc etc... My little Jay is now 3 years old, and he is much much grown up now... and you time flies very fast...



you can watch the video of his performance here

compare to the last year one... it is here

NGB & SGIX

Today, was at the IDA's workshop for the Next Generation Broadband...
After hearing all the presentations, here are some of my thoughts...

1. Setting up SGIX @ 1-Net and Global Switch? So, to peer, you still need to buy a local loop to connect. So strange, Equinix is there, and all Telcos are there, why does the decision makers decides on these 2 locations? IDA shall change it to Equinix and pay for all the cross connect charges, etc and fund the project.

I think this will be another failed project. So funny, up until so many years, they finally realize that this is a problem in Singapore. How many years that HKIX (Hong Kong IX) has exist??

2. Yes. 100M or 1Gb to your home. The questions is where is the contents? Unlike Japan, Korea or Hong Kong, Singapore has no Content. So, even if you have 100M, your latencies and download speed for overseas website still going to be slow. Look at today, if you subscribe to 100M from Starhub, does it mean that your web surfing experience improved? nope.

I think IDA should fund the International bandwidth so to make it successful.

But also becareful... that means P2P downloads will increase, visits to porn sites will increase. So, how does IDA going to fix the related social problems?

Let's wait and see...

Feng Shui: Missing Corner & Dark Corner

Directions within a house will be important. Each direction can have different meaning within your home. And making sure these direction is well taken care of, is a must.




Missing Corner

From my living room, the south west corner is a common lift / elevator. So, there is this piece of space missing from my home. By right, it should be a square or rectangle shape for the living room, but because of the space this lift takes, the missing corner is there. And this missing corner is sitting on the Relationship direction. To fix this, I try to find a love birds photos that is 3D depth look.

Dark Corner

It is easy to identify the dark corner of the house. From the entrance, look around in the living room. Identify those places where normal sun light will never get to. That will be your dark corner. To fix this, simply put more lights there. For me, a fish tank that has lights will help to do the trick. The dark corner is at the east side corner, the Family/Health of my home. you definitely wanted to fix that. Make this corner brighter!

Nothing much to fix, just these two. And it is easy fix. :)

Feng Shui - Home Office / Study Room & the Bed

Today, we talked about home office or study room.

Yesterday, I was discussing with my buddy about having a bed inside a home office or study room. Here are some of the collections of thoughts thru our conversations which I think is interesting to share...



1. I don't think one should place a bed in the home office or study room. the reason is very simple. When you work or study, in front of you, you see a bed. There is this seduction force will seduce you to lie down on the bed. So, it will de-focus you, and you will lose concentrations gradually. So, it is no good for career or education. Basically, it will make you lazy.

2. However, if you have no choice and wanted the home office or study room to serve as a guest room when friends or relatives come over. Then, I suggest you put a sofa bed instead.

3. Of course, the buddy argued, he may also sleep on the sofa bed. So, the correct thought is... yes, it is a sofa, and it is comfortable to sleep on it.. But you will sleep on a bed more longer than sleeping on a sofa. So, having a sofa bed is fine if you think it this way. Btw, the sofa of course is a reading corner. So, don't treat it like a bed. But if you use a bed instead, in front of you is a bed. Visualize it and connect it with lazy.

4. My buddy already married and he wanted to have a kid soon. So, my advise to him is to donate the bed away as soon as possible. The reason is very simple. His home office is on 3rd floor. His bed room is on second floor. Sometimes you dozed off and sleep on the bed inside the home office is OK. But if you do it too often, it becomes a habit. So, the lesser he will sleep on the bed in his bedroom with his wife. How can make baby like that? Hahaha... Think further, that means he will spend lesser time with his wife, so, the relationship may become very far... So, it is no good if you are married.

5. Of course, if one is not married, he/she can do whatever he/she wants lar. But when one is married, it is a different story. Especially if his/her job requires to travel a lot, plus do not have a fixed office, then he/she should really think about that bed in the bed room.

Here, I would really hope that my buddy can have a "Rabbit baby" by 2012. :)

As for me, I will make sure my home office or study room will have a sofa bed instead of bed. And the home office or study room will face East for good luck.

Remember, all my thoughts on Feng Shui are not superstitious, but it is purely based on natural thinking and common sense. I only believe in common sense. My buddy told me that during his younger days, he is sort of rejecting Feng Shui by coming up with scientific method to proof it wrong. So, I said to him, try the reverse way, use the scientific method and common sense to make some sense out of Feng Shui. Once you thought about it, and if it make sense, and it will make you feel better, then, that is what I call Feng Shui... Good Luck...

10 Good Habits to Become a Successful Person

Read this article some where on the Net, and I think it is very true... Look at the people around you, those who is successful, normally, they will have a few of these quality habits ...

成功人士的10个优良习惯



1、懂得做人

品德高尚是成功之本。会做人，别人喜欢你，愿意和你合作，才容易成事。习惯于能真诚地欣赏他人的优点，对人诚实、正直、公正、和善和宽容，对其他人的生活、工作表示深切的关心与兴趣。

台湾著名企业家张忠谋在黑金横行的社会大环境下依然从来不走后门、不走政商关系，更拒绝钻法律漏洞，赢得企业界和民众的极大尊重，官员也因此从来不敢故意刁难他的企业。

Comments: To survive in this corporate world, just be the real you, learn how to become a human. Learn how to treat people nicely, put yourself into other people shoes, try understanding from other people stand point, and live harmony with all your friends and colleagues. In return, people will start respecting you and treat you good.

2、善于决策

一个成功的企业领导者的价值在于“做正确的事情”，同时帮助各阶层的主管“把事情做正确”。面对不断变化的市场，企业经营方案总是不止一个，决策就是要对各种方案进行分析、比较，然后选择一个最佳方案。四川长虹总裁倪润峰1996年率先拿起价格武器将彩电大幅降价，从而确立国产彩电的主导地位，正是看准市场、果断决策的典型。

Comments: A leader is a leader because he or she knows how to make decisions. A good decision that covers all the area, but not only for his own benefits. A good leader will always take charge and make decisions.

3、相信自己

一个成功人士都有很强的信心，有时会有咄咄逼人之势。他们既会在自己内心里相信自己，也会在公众面前表现出这种自信心。成功学的研究成果表明：成功的欲望是创造和拥有财富的源泉。

英特尔总裁葛洛夫认为“只有偏执狂才能生存”，坚持与自信成就了英特尔今天的伟业。

Comments: You must have a strong believe in yourself. You must understand your own capability, and be confident about it. Once you lost that confident, it is also the time that you should step down from the leadership.

4、明确目标

一个比较完美成功者习惯于为他们的企业建立目标，并使全体员工为之奋斗，为之奉献。什么是领导?世界级企管大师班尼士下了个定义：“创造一个令下属追求的前景和目标，将它转化为大家的行为，并完成或达到所追求的前景和目标。

Comments: Setting a clear target is very important. With a target set, you can have a target to work towards. For example, I want to buy a bigger home. I want to bring my family to Japan. All these are personal targets. In office, you can set target too. I want to be a CEO by the age of 45. Some thing like that.

5、充满热忱

热忱有时候比领导者的才能重要，若二者兼具，则天下无敌。

产生持久的热忱方法之一是定出一个目标，努力工作达到这个目标，而在达到这个目标之后，再定出另一个目标，再去努力达到。这样做可以提供兴奋和挑战，如此就可以帮助一个人维持热忱而不坠。

Comments: Be very passion about your target, your believing. You must create that huge fire in the belly. Only those who has huge passion will succeed.

6、顽强精神

如果说有一种素质几乎为所有的成功企业领导者所拥有的话，那就是顽强精神。所谓顽强，并不是达到愚蠢地步的顽固，它是一种下决心要取得结果的精神。

Comments: Of course, there will be obstacles here and there. Having a target, passion will not enough. You must be persistent. If fails 1 time or 2 times, try it again smartly, be persistent.

7、重视人才

企业最好的资产是人，企业领导者的美德在于挑选好的合作伙伴。选一个适合的人，比选一个优秀的人来得重要。除了专业所必备的素质之外，他们找人要看3种东西：一是必须精力充沛。有精神、有气派，这样的人可以走长途，可以感染人，适应变动。二是要正直。考虑个人利益的同时，能够考虑到公司的利益。三是要有智慧和胆识，有进行思考的能力和魄力。

Comments: Look around. Use your heart to see people. Every one has its own ability. If they cannot see it, you must be the one that is able to open up their eyes so they can see it themselves. Once you know they are capable, delegate everything to them. Let them have a chance to excel. Never stop talented people to excel.

8、充分授权

著名的领导者知道，授权的真正手段是能够给人以责任、赋予极力，并保证有一个良好的报告反馈系统。

美国前总统里根是一个出名的放任主义者，他只关注最重要的事情，将其它事情交给手下得力的人去负责，自己因此可以经常去打球、度假，但并不妨碍成为美国历史上最伟大的总统之一。

Comments: When you hire, you want to hire people who can have the capability to take over your job. So, never afraid of hiring people that is better than you. Once you hire, delegate the job to him. So that you can free yourself to do other things and excel yourself.

9、激励团队

一个企业领导人必须是一个能激发起员工动力的人。

组织起一个优秀的团队，是一件非常艰难和重要的事情。激发起他们的热情，挖掘出每一位团队成员的聪明与潜力，并将他们协调起来，是成功的领导者必须具备的一种能力。

Comments: motivate the team is very important. You have to have a team that works together towards the target. Therefore, you must learn how to motivate team. Slowly, one step at a time.

10、终生学习

在商业竞争日趋激烈的今天，企业领导者面临着更新观念、提高技能的挑战，因此需要终生地学习。衡量企业成功的尺度是创新能力，而创新来源于不断的学习，不学习不读书就没有新思想，也就不会有新策略和正确的决策。孔子说：“朝闻道，夕死可矣。”正是终生学习的最佳写照。

Comments: Knowledge is never ending. You must learn every day. You must look around, and learn new things. Do not confine yourself into a very confined space. Step out the box, and think, and learn all the fantastic things around you.

Good luck to all the people who wants to be successful. Before getting there, this checklist is pretty good and if you found that you have done 10 out of the above 10, it is very likely that you will be a very good person and leader.

来源：中国企业家

Happy Halloween ...

Meet the Mr. Pumpkin Man 2008 (last year)...



Last year, we made a pumpkin man for Jay. However, we does not know the meaning of Halloween. We made a home movie to record down the special moment with Jay playing with the pumpkin man.

This year, he saw the Halloween home movie, and Jay asked mummy to buy a pumpkin for him just before the Halloween.

On Oct 31, the Mr. Pumpkin Man 2009 was born. Jay is very happy.



He was holding the pumpkin man to our balcony, and ask Mr. Pumpkin Man to guard our house tonight! He also asked the Pumpkin Man to guard our new home just across the block opposite.

So, making home video of special event is very important for young kids. It helps them recall their childhood. Jay can see the home movie again and again and remember all these details. When he watched the home movie, he will always "HaHaHaHaHaHaHa" very happy... a way to build memory...

Happy Halloween....

Dejavu - CBG

Yesterday midnight, I was creating the "Product Recipe" for all the products I am handling.

Yesterday afternoon, I was talking to few business partners to establish long term partnerships.

A day before, I was writing a few business paper, anticipating the changes in market, preparing the weapons to be competitive in the market.

The midnight a day before, I am scratching my head on the new organization charts...

That day, I handled the customers complaints, settled the outstanding agreements, etc etc.

So much work needs to be done, so little time... and I was complaining why can't there be 48 hours in a day...

A week ago, I made the that decision.

All these events is just like a Dejavu! So, I pull out my photo album and found the following photos which marks an important era of my life. Lots of memories, lots of inspirations...



I recall the first Netball event. Every one is running hard on the ground, every one mingle around nicely, every one fits in nicely.



I was about getting used to all the birthday parties I had. We celebrate birthday for every one. and I always enjoy the food.



We have our first off-site @ Bintan. It was fun. A great BBQ. Every one squeeze in the big 3 room bungalow. It was a beer and liquer night. The games were fantastic!



At the dinner and dance. We all have fun. After the dinner and dance, we drink and drunk.



It's been 10 years. Every one has grown in their own respective careers. Some are doing much better too. Most importantly, we are still close to each other...

Now, back to the drawing board, let's create the version 2.0. Let's get prepared for the new era. Get more padawans, meet more friends, grow more ideas, and "Chiong Ah"!

May the force be with me! Chapter IV saga begins.

TV Shows - What am I watching now?

There isn't many show will excite me nowadays, but these are the shows I am following at the moment... watch it every week without fail...

1. Star Wars - The Clone Wars - Season 2 ... It's obvious that I am a Star Wars fan, therefore, I will always watch anything related to Star Wars... There is a story line, and many new characters will appear here...



2. Stargate Universe (SGU)... Ok, I like Stargate Atlantis, I did not watch all the original Stargate TV shows, but overall, I like the idea of going thru the Stargate + wormhole and reach the other world... It's a Sci-Fi show... But for this SGU, the story line is darker... and it is something like Battlestar Galactica, where there are more surveillance conflicts with the army, etc etc. Let's see how's the take up rate... The story is about a team of mix match of army, politicians, scientist got on board of a ancient space ship - Destiny that is traveling away from Earth, or the galaxy that earth is... and they have to jump to a planet during when Destiny are not jumping into hyperwarp....



3. The Big bang theory - Season 3 ... OK, I felt in love with the Big Bang Theory. It is a show for the geeks. If you are or you believe you are a geek, this is a show for you. It is also a show for the non-geeks, as you can always check whether you have in possession of those weirdo thinking or small little actions, etc. etc...



4. Smallville - Season 9 ... I actually didn't follow this show ... but when you have nothing else to watch, I guess, the best thing is to try to understand what Smallville trying to deliver... A story about how Superman become Superman. This season Clark becomes even more darker... and hey, he should have started to wear the thick black frame glasses so that nobody can guess Clark is Superman... And the RED BLUE BLURRRR????? Oh give me a break... this is a show that you want to watch, and then start criticize the story...



5. Heroes - Season 4 ... I missed season 2 and 3... so, now I am watching the season 4... OK, not as good as the season 1, but can watch a bit... Story line is way out, but still ok...



6. Eastwick ... The story about 3 women who lives in Eastwick discovered their power as a witch... and to uncover the power, it is the Devil who is doing so... Ok, that is a start for the story line... and the show is quite funny too.. so, enjoy...

Jay Jay & His Birthday Cake

Cheryl Shuen is amazing. On Jay Jay's first year birthday, we asked for a Butterfly cake, but Cheryl said, how can a boy so cute as Jay ordered a butterfly... butterfly is for girls. So, she changed the butterfly to "Dragonfly" and Jay Jay is the only kid she is willing to bake the dragonfly for.

see http://www.cherylshuen.com/speTreats063.html...

On Jay's 2nd year birthday, Mom's friend bake a "Car" cake for him. Yes, the Lightning McQueen cake. It was a bit sweet, and not from Cheryl Shuen.
So, we skipped Cheryl Shuen.

This year, we decided to ask Cheryl Shuen bake a new cake. It was from Jay Jay's favourite Cartoon show on Playhouse Disney - the Chuggington. It was new show and they start airing it on Oct 2, 2009.

Got to say that Cherl Shuen really did a good job. Take a look at the train CoCo, and the train tracks, the ladybugs and the dragonfly, and the flowers details on the cake. It was a great and delicious cake, and Jay loves it so much. And all Jay's classmates likes CoCo and wanted to eat up the whole CoCo train. Some ate the ladybugs, and some ate the alphabets too...

Cherl Shuen's blog is here. Do check out her latest creations...

Every kid should have a wonderful childhood. Make something that he or she likes, and let he or she have the most wonderful and memorable birthday, and don't forget to take lots of pictures and make a home video so that they can always watch it and this helps them to remember all these happy thoughts.... You must always have to take the pictures such as below... see how great the big SMILE on Mr. Jay's face...

(Chinese) How to be Stronger and a better Person ...

This is an article from 左岸读书_blog There are many things that reflects the certain quality of a person. And once you master it, there is always a good chance to be a good person. Always aim to be a good person, but not too perfect, as that is always the high target to set. Happy reading!

读懂人生的第一步

这些不是真理，却可以让我们更懂得人生。

1、庸人败于惰，能人败于傲

世上两种人必定惨败，一种是懒惰之人，另一种是骄傲之人。前者什么事都想在“明日”再做，结果总是一事无成;后者瞧不起天下所有人，自认为自己最聪明，常常招来他人的不满和怨恨，于是往往受人诋毁、咒骂，最后被恶意的诽谤所吞没。

2、不必一味讨好别人

讨好每一个人是不可能的，也是没有必要的。讨好每一个人，等于得罪每一个人。刻意去讨好别人，只会使别人产生厌恶。亲近别人要自然，“投机”心态要改变。有时间讨好，不如踏踏实实做事，讨好别人总是靠不住，自己努力才实实在在。


3、好心境是自己创造的

我们常常无法去改变别人的看法，能改变的恰恰只有我们自己。坏的生活不在于别人的罪恶，而在于我们的心情变得恶劣。让生活变好的金钥匙不在别人手里，放 弃我们的怨恨和叹息，美好生活就垂手可得。我们主观上本想好好生活，可是客观上却没有好的生活，其原因是总想等待别人来改善生活。不要指望改变别人,自己 做生活的主人。


4、用心做自己该做的事

人生是如此的短暂,哪有心思去浪费呢?有智慧的哲人曾经说过:“大街上有人骂我，我是连头也不回的，根本不想知道这个无聊之人!”我们既不要去伤害人家，也不要被别人的批评左右，还是按照自己的愿望，先踏踏实实学好本领再说。特别在少年时要全力以赴学本领，不要分心。

5、别总是自己跟自己过不去

学会自己欣赏自己,等于拥有了获取快乐的金钥匙.欣赏自己不是孤芳自赏，欣赏自己不是唯我独尊，欣赏自己不是自我陶醉，欣赏自己更不是固步自封…自己给 自己一些自信，自己给自己一点愉快，自己给自己一脸微笑，何愁没有人生的快乐呢?!经常要自己给自己过节，学会寻找愉悦的心情。

6、不要追逐世俗的荣誉

终生寻找所谓别人认可的东西，会永远痛失自己的快乐和幸福。庸俗的评论会湮灭自己的个性，世俗的指点会让自己不知所措。为钱而钱会使自己六亲不认，为权 而权会使自己胆大妄为，为名而名会使自己巧取强夺。真实的我在刻意的追逐之中，会变成一张张碎片随风飘扬，世俗的我已变得面目可憎。

7、极端不可取

有些人常常因为忧虑过度，而导致自己精神失常;有些人却因为麻木不仁，造成自己对任何事情都无动于衷。前者常为寻找理性而痛苦，因聪明过头而衰亡，愚蠢的根源在于什么都懊悔。后者不知悔恨为何物，整天稀里糊涂地生活，活着与死去没有什么区别.

8、每个人都有自己的活法

自己的伤痛自己清楚,自己的哀怨自己明白,自己的快乐自己感受。也许自己眼中的地狱，却是别人眼中的在堂;也许自己眼中的天堂，却是别人眼中的地狱。生活就是这般的滑稽。不要总疑春色在人家，关键在于自己心态的调整。

9、喜欢自己才会拥抱生活

盲目自大自尊，是骄傲无知的人生，一味自暴自弃，是消极悲观的人生。了解自己比了解别人更困难，喜欢自己比喜欢别人更不容易。拥有健康的恰当的自尊心 理，面对挫折会表现得格外坚强。不为外界的诱惑而丢失自我，不为一时的挫折否定自己。时时客观冷静地评价自己，每每乐观中肯地赞赏自己。若连自己都不爱， 还能爱别人吗?喜欢自己吧！

10、福中有祸，祸中有福

莫被一时之得失冲昏头脑，一味陶醉于暂时的胜利。自己一定要居安思危，切莫居功自傲，洋洋得意。陶醉胜利，意味着驻足停顿，陶醉胜利，意味着失去警惕。 人生路上要永不松懈，胜利仅仅是一个小小的路标。要想取得最后的胜利，只要努力，努力，再努力。莫为一时之得所迷惑，谁笑得最晚，谁笑得最开心。

11、重要的是活得充实

把每一天过好是最大的幸福，快乐源于每天的感觉良好。总忧虑明天的风险，总抹不去昨天的阴影，今天的生活怎能如意?总攀比那些不可攀比的，总幻想那些不 能实现的，今天的心灵怎能安静?任何不切实际的东西，都是痛苦之源，生命的最大杀手是忧愁和焦虑。痛苦源于不充实，生活充实就不会胡思乱想。

12、愉悦的根基在自己身上

一般人总是将人生的愉悦，寄托在外界的事务上，依附于世俗的认同上。百般看重地位、财产，以及待遇、名誉等东西，自己一旦失去这些，便是沉重的打击，常 会痛不欲生，其幸福和快乐的根基也随之毁灭。假如自己真是这样过生活，那么快乐离我们是相当遥远的。为什么要让别人来评价自己的快乐程度，把握好自己。

13、感觉幸福就是幸福

许多人都在刻意追求所谓的幸福;有的虽然得到了，其代价却巨大无比。许多哲人都说，幸福是种感觉，就如同“佛”就在你我心中。幸福的感觉随满足程度而递 减，与人的心境、心态密切相关。先哲们说:得之愈艰、爱之愈深，拥有幸福，常思艰难。一个人总是感觉不到幸福，是自己的最大悲哀。幸福是种感觉，不知足， 永不会幸福…

14、别人的恩泽要牢记

目光短浅的人总是“忘恩负义”，危机时到处求助，事成之后再不露面。求人时信誓旦旦，得逞后胡作非为。这种人最被人鄙视。“忘恩负义”让朋友伤心，“忘恩负义”是急功近利的表现。“忘恩负义”只得益于一时，却会永远失信于人。切忌过河拆桥过河拆桥，会断了自己的后路。

15、凡事要留有余地

每一个人都会在自己的生命旅程中，遭遇到完全不同的“三种人”。第一种是能够理解、欣赏和器重自己的人;第二种是曲解、中伤甚至排斥自己的人;第三种人 是与自己毫无关系、无关痛痒的人。第一种人对自己有知遇之恩，应当尊为师友，滴水之恩当涌泉相报。第二种人对自己造成深深的伤害，需要智慧地远离，而不是 烦恼和计较。对于第三种人要以礼相待、和平共处。了解不同的人，区别对待，物以类聚，人以群分。

16、己所不欲勿施于人，己所欲施于人

把自己的主观意志强加于人，于己于人均是件痛苦的事情。以自己的威严强加自己的意志，别人只是口服而心不服，而且日久必生反抗之习。以自己的固执强加自 己的意志，别人仅是默忍或是隐怒，但是日久也可能反目成仇。检讨自己的言行是否与社会和谐，才能真正得到别人的认同。人与人是不可能一致的，不要以我为中 心。

17、得意不忘形，失意不失态

身处顺境必须格外谨慎，否则容易乐极生悲。人生得意的时候容易忘形，一忘形就不知道自己姓什么，于是恶念和恶行就会趁隙而入。身处逆境必须格外忍耐，否 则容易早早夭折。人生失意的时候容易失态，一失态就不知道自己的未来，于是消极和绝望就会趁隙而入。笑看人生潮起潮落，守住自己的心。

18、人生应当欢乐有度

适当的娱乐活动能调节情绪，无休无止的欢乐却易转益为害。物极则反，数穷则变。“大凡快意处，即是多病处。”“棋可遣闲，易动心火。…”一味狂欢尽兴是 肤浅的人生，换来的往往是痛苦的悔恨。尽兴有度是达观的人生。乐极生悲不局限于娱乐方面，涉及到人生的方方面面。欢乐与悲哀是伴生的，欢乐有度会使欢乐常 伴。

19、一味忍让不可取

一味忍让，意味着丧失原则;一味忍让，意味着没有人格;一味忍让，意味着软弱可欺;一味忍让，意味着面临步步进逼的危险;一味忍让，意味着将走入绝路。 有时候挺身而起、奋力反抗效果更好，得寸进尺是愚人常采用的计策，一再忍让反而助长其嚣张气焰。该出手时就出手，给点厉害也是不得已而为之!对得寸进尺者 该迎头痛击，忍让不一定是好事。

20、多理性行事少意气用事

做事不能只凭自己的感情，做事更不能只凭自己的感觉，意气用事必有麻烦。有时自己的知觉是错的，事情并不是想象的这般简单，表象总是容易迷惑人心。理性 做事不至于反复折腾，理性做事不会出现大的差错，理性做事才不会使自己后悔莫及。切记:凡事都不能太冲动!不能只跟着感觉走，多思考才能不后悔。

The Pomegranate Magic

I think It was October where we decided to go ahead to "try" to produce a baby Ox (Year 2009 is Ox year). It is close to year end, and bosses are chasing for numbers, stress came from all over places... So, like most of the modern days human couples, the first few tries failed to deliver. The same goes to one of our good couple friend. They too are trying...

It was Christmas season, and it was time to shop for presents. One fine day, I walked into the WOFS (World Of Feng Shui) shop at Vivo, and I've got an idea. I asked the Feng Shui Consultant there, "Is there any thing that I can display, and raise the confidence of making baby?" Then, he brought me to this corner, and show me the this...

Pomegranate (abstract from http://www.wofs.com
)

The pomegranate is a wonderfully auspicious fruit. An average fruit is slightly bigger than a baseball, it comes in various Yang shades ranging from yellows to reds. When opened up, it reveals plenty of sweet, fleshy seeds. This symbolizes the luck of many offspring, which is why the pomegranate fruit is regarded as a symbol of fertility. It is said to create the kind of descendants' luck that gives you many sons, all filial and respectable, with a successful future ahead of them.

The auspicious pomegranate also symbolizes a happy family that is blessed with good and filial children who will each grow up to bring honor and glory to the family. When a mother eats a pomegranate fruit during the New Year, it is said that she can expect to give birth to sons during the course of the year.



Many Chinese parents advise their young newly-wed second generation to display a painting or a carving of a pomegranate in their bedroom to create the luck of having many healthy children.

Without any doubts, I bought two back. Wrapped it up and one gave to my wife, and the other gave to the Tang's family (our good couple friend). We all had fun at a house warming + Christmas party at the Lee's mansion. I gave the present to Tang family, and told them to place this at the table beside the bed, and don't ask me any question.

It was New Year Eve, and we have decided to have another party at Tang's place this time. I brought my Sony HandyCam, and recorded down everybody's new year wishes. As you can guessed, our wish is to have a baby girl. So as the Tangs family.

In Feb 2009, just before another couple friend - The Teng & Toh's engagement proposal party, we found out that the pomegranate works, and both my wife and Mrs. Tang are pregnant, and the due dates is 3 days apart.

Baby Kay is born on August 21 (pre-matured), and Baby Justin is born on September 22 (full 40 weeks term).



So, here is my conclusion... The pomegranate was a funny gifts. So, when a couple receive it, first they will ask "why receive such weird present...", then, they will start making fun, "hey, look, what does this looks like, looks like two balls dangling below, hahahahahah", then, the mood comes, and then, the pomegranate magic begun....

Don't believe, go buy one and display it beside your bed! FYI, all the WoFS shop in Singapore run out of stocks for this item. Good luck!

A day @ Central Fire Station

If your kid wakes up early on Saturday morning, and don't know where to bring him... Here is a great place -Central Fire Station.

You can park your car at Funan Center and simply cross the road from there. The open house is from 9am to 12 noon.





You got to be there early as the highlight is to sit in the bucket and the will bring you up to as high as 8 storeys. Of course, there will always be a long queue
That is why you need to go early.





See me and Jay up in the sky...






Then you get to play with the water gun.





You get to see firemen jumping down, take pictures with fire engines, and lots more... It's fun and kids are learning all the things about fire fighting... It will be a great trip for them...





Lastly don't forget to visit the fire musuem just beside the fire station and get some sovenir...


-- Post From My iPhone

The J-K Room

Its been a month that baby Kay has moved in with Jay. The very first thing you do is to rename the kid's room as soon as possible. Yes, we named the room as "Jay Room" when Jay Jay was born, this is to let Jay Jay to know that the room belong to him only at that time. That was in the past. Now, the two brothers have to bunk in the same room. Even if you have enough room, you still need to put them together, it is said that their bonding will be strengthen when they live together. So, we have to rename the room. It is now called the "Jay-Kay Room".



(Scene #1)

Jay: Why baby Kay come to my room? Can baby Kay sleep outside, can?

PaPa: Of course no. And this is not your room. See, this is not "Jay
Room" anymore. It is now called "Jay-Kay Room". So, baby Jay sleep here.

Jay: Oh. (he understood).



So, I guess we are successful in this. We do noticed that Jay know use lesser "my room", "Jay Jay room", instead, he says "the room".




(Scene #2)

Jay was sleeping soundly... It is 2AM in the morning. baby Kay was hungry, and started to make some noise...

Jay: (I believe still in his sleeping mode) Mommy... why baby Kay 很吵(noisy) ...

Both PaPa and mommy smile... and said...
PaPa: It's OK Jay. Baby Kay is still a baby...

Jay: (silent and went back to deep sleep mode)...



This happened on the first week the two brother sharing the room, and mommy have to feed the baby 8-12 times a day of breast milk... So, in out the room many times.

We are happy that Jay now has adapted to the slightly noisy environment. And he can maintain his sleeping mode. That is the greatest thing.



(Scene #3)

Jay promise grandma that when baby Kay is back, he is going to give the Pacifier away to baby Kay.

Grandma: Jay Jay, you promised ah-Ma that you give the Pacifier to baby Kay. So, ah-Ma keep all these Pacifier liao, ok?

Jay: (reluctantly) OK.



Ever since, Jay Jay never use the Pacifier again. And he never ask for it again too. This is also another great thing. Otherwise, he will still need to suck the Pacifier to sleep.



(Scene #4)



Kay: (nguweh... mguwah....nwah... crying)

Jay: (run to beside of Kay, use his hand slowly pad baby Kay) London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down, London bridge is falling down, mmmy var...ye ye (muffled, forgot lyrics)...




It is amazing how Jay Jay has become mature on his thinking process. He has accepted baby Kay into his family. And he has been very good to baby Kay. And he always say "I love baby Kay"...

Conclusion... making baby can be easy, but raising the kid is a different story. Sometimes, you are OK with raising one kid, but when you have another, then, you are the chemist. And your job is to make sure that the two can mix well, and no smoke and no explosion when mix them together. The result of the mixture has to be warm and harmony. It is a challenging job, and you can do it without thinking about it. May failed some times, but must have great patient to carry out this. I guess this is life.

Work for Nothing? 穷忙族的10大特征

1。一天工作超过9小时，但是看不到前途；

2。一年内未曾加薪；

3。三年内未曾升职；

4。薪水很低，月月都要勒紧裤腰带；

5。积蓄少，无力置产；

6。越忙越穷，越穷越抠；

7。退休养老没保障；

8。老是计划干一番事业，但总是忙不完手里的事情；

9。白天工作，晚上回到家还得工作；

10。收入虽不低，但内心没有安全感。

以上10项，如果你有3项或者3项以上，你已然迈入“穷忙族”的大军了！

(by Xilei)

A very well said. We should always come back and re-look at these 10 items over and over again. And make sure you don't match 3 or above items.

Tributes to my Uncle Kwong Hua

I was sad when I hear that my uncle Kwong Hua has passed away
this morning (Sep-18-2009). Here is a nice little poem I found...




MY DEAR UNCLE

So many thoughts,

in my head.

So many things,

left unsaid.

You left that day,

without a glance.

Never knowing God,

wasn't giving you a second chance.

What was in your head,

the last moments you had.

I hope you though happy thoughts,

and not sad.

No one can evertake your place.

Your image in my heartwill never erase.

As you smile one me from up above.

My mind is still sadbut my heart is filled with love.

I love you dear uncle you meant the world to me.

I'll always make you proud of me you will see.



(by Michelle May Hickman, USA)


I have not have much time to spent with uncle Kwong Hua. He is the elder uncle of the family. He has migrated to Vancouver, Canada many many years ago.

When my dad passed away in 1989, I knew that I have to get a degree in college in order to move on. Dad did not leave me too much fortune. But I made up my mind to go to Canada to continue my studies. I earned a scholarship to study there, using my dad's pensions to buy a one way ticket to get there.

I have selected to study my E.E degree in Memorial University of Newfoundland. That is the only place where I can study and work legally in Canada. Had to say goodbye to McGill and McMaster, as I need to work to pay my tuition fees and livings. Of course, the money I earned back then is just enough to cover both the tuition fees and living expenses.

Somehow, uncle Kwong Hua gets to know about my situation, and he has very generously send me $200 pocket money every month until I graduate. That is a lot of money to me back then. It is this money that keep me warm, and keep my stomach full. It is this money that makes me work hard and finally graduate from the university. Without the aid, I can't imagine what kind of life I will be living in.

Thank you uncle Kwong Hua for your kindness. I will always remember the deeds that you have done. I will always remember you in my heart. Without you, there might not be a Kenneth Liew today. So, thank you again, and rest in peace.

Who Moved My Cheese?

I read the book many years ago... a very good book by Spencer Johnson... That was during the days where conflicts and office politics suddenly has arise from almost all angles... I have learned a lot from the book, and I can say I grew up with it... I think I will not become the Kenliew today if I have not read this book...

Today, I would like to recommend this book to all my friends who is currently riding the same boat as I am... The essence of the book is as followed:

Change Happens

They Keep Moving The Cheese

Anticipate Change

Get Ready For The Cheese To Move

Monitor Change

Smell The Cheese Often So You Know When It Is Getting Old

Adapt To Change Quickly

The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, The Sooner You Can Enjoy New Cheese

Change

Move With The Cheese

Enjoy Change!

Savor The Adventure And Enjoy The Taste Of New Cheese!

Be Ready To Change Quickly And Enjoy It Again & Again

They Keep Moving The Cheese.



So, you fell in love with the book already? Make sure you get a copy and read it. It is really good. It's available everywhere. :)

Remember, whatever that does not kill you today, will only making you stronger!

iPhone App: "Augury" - the Stick Fortune Teller 大签世界

In the past, I always involved in companies buying others... doing a lot of due diligence and integration work, etc... This time round, it is the other way...

Just for fun, I found this iPhone App... "Augury", which is the stick fortune teller. You know whenever you visit a temple, there are people sitting in the middle in front of the GuanYin Goddess and shaking the fortune sticks... Usually asking whether such and such can pass the exam and graduate successfully from school or other matters?

Now, you need not to go to the temple anymore... Welcome to the age of iPhone... There is an App for that. Want to know about your current luck? Shake your iPhone, try this Chinese thousands of years' fortune-telling method... Go find your answer...

I found mine... :) I asked... whether I will be fired or not.... Well the answer I got is....



basically it is regard as a good fortune... so, my future is bright, and I can see the light at the other end of the tunnel... :)

Go and download and play... This is just a fun App hor, and it is your descretion whether to believe it 100% or not... ok? Good luck everyone...
Wahahahahahahahaha

Jamu and the Post Natal Massage

After a natural birth, my wife recover very fast. The milk supply is great, the feeling is great, and now it is the time to clear some wind in the stomach. Jenny has known Boon for many years, and she also came to our house 10 days last time after Jay was born.

So, this time, Jenny came and do the post massage for Boon. And It is the first time I learned that she uses Jamu (a Javanese herbal remedies) to massage and then wrapped the stomach for the night. It started on the eight day, and lasted for 7-10 days.

The unique herbal remedies from Indonesia, which evidently potent to cure anything for many centuries.

Javanese calls Jamu for herbal remedies, without chemist material as additive. Jamu has traditional connotation, because Jamu is ancient tradition, before modern pharmacology comes in Indonesia. Some formulas have a hundred years old and are used until now.

Fated to Love You

Through out the last few years, I seldom have the time, or the interest to watch Taiwanese TV series or any series. The last time that I spent time to watch a TV series with my wife was 大长今 and 小娘惹, one of the nicest and addicted show. Especially 大长今, that was during when Jay was born. 小娘惹 was something that you hear in office, on the street, almost every one is watching that show... not a bad show from Singapore.



This time, after Kay is born, and Mommy have to feed baby Kay 8-12 times a day... so, one fine day, we suddenly watch this show on one of the Starhub channel, and even is only one episode, we wanted to find out how Chun Xi and Xing Yi met on the board, and what happen to them after...

So, I downloaded all the episode to my Apple TV, and we watch the show almost every night non-stop... It is a funny show and we enjoy it so much. This is a perfect show to kill time and a recommendation for those who just had baby too... It is very touching too...

I love the Xing Yi character, and Chun Xi is very funny. I hate Anna and Dylon character. Anson the personal assistant is so funny too. I still left with 4-5 episodes... and I enjoy almost all the episodes, and the writer of the story really now how to write the stories...

Jay & the Thunder Story

Since young, Jay has been very afraid of thunder. Especially those that is very loud during the night time. Mommy will always allow Jay to sleep on our bed and try to calm him down.

When Mommy was in hospital the other night before baby Kay was born, Jay was stuck with me. And during night, thunder storm came. It was very loud, and lasted for a long time. As expected, Jay entered my room, with his two hands covering his ear, crying ... complaining about the loud thunder... He wanted to sleep in my room, and he does not dare to go back to his room...



What should I do... I cannot let him have this habit.. he have to learned how to be independent...

Then I start mumbling in my mouth... "Why the Airplanes and Helicopters still flying so late...."



HUH? Precisely, this is what Jay was thinking... I am not talking directly to him, he knew that, and he knew I am complaining too. And I am speaking to myself....

Jay stopped crying and look at me...

I open the windows, and look into the sky... then I mumbled again... "So late, so dark, and the helicopter have to fly so low... why they have to fly at night... we all have to sleep"...

Jay then asked... "PaPa, this is Airplane and Helicopter???"

"Yes Jay, I don't know why the government wants the Airplane to fly at night, especially this one, they fly very low, and very close to the roof, that is why it is so loud..."

"OHHHHHHHHH I know already"....

So, I managed to bring him back to his room, and sleep with him there in his room...

Suddenly... the loud loud thunder strike again... Broom... broom broommm boomm....

And guess what... Jay said.. "PaPa, this is Airplane, and Helicopter??"

"Yes, Jay... next time, when you grown up, and go reservist, please ask the government and army, why they have to fly so low and make so much noise..."

Jay answered... "OH..."... he mumbled "Airplan & Helicopter"... then he felt a sleep...

That night, the thunder keeps on, but Jay did not wake up anymore...

The next day, thunder continue... and Jay knew it was "Airplan and Helicopter flying low..."...

I know, it is not good to bluff you kid like that... I think I want him to be good, and not to be afraid by these little loud thunder sound.. so, no choice... I am glad that it works... He will understand when he grew up... :)

Comparison: Jay Vs Kay

When baby Kay was born, we were very glad that the first thing we noticed, is baby Kay's features looks almost 99% like Jay.



We took the above picture when Jay Jay was first born. He was sleeping soundly. (first month of Jay)



This is baby Kay when he is about 8 days old. You can see a lot of similarity between the two brothers. I will keep on doing my comparison on week by week, so to see how these two brothers going to grow into the same face. hahaha and my next project is to select a few photos from Jay's library, and then dress baby Kay the same as in the photos and then do the comparison. It will be fun!!!



Stay tune...