Cristiano Ronaldo Going to Play in North Korea After Portugal Draw with North Korea In World Cup 2010

Sorry guys who miss out on the video about North Korea beating Brazil and won the World Cup 2010. It has been removed by FIFA. Maybe they found out that it's a false news on North Korea winning the World Cup.


One week later after North Korea 'beaten' Brazil, They played Portugal. And now, watch the news about the match and What Cristiano Ronaldo had to say about North Korea after the match.

Watch it now! (before it got removed by FIFA again. :P)

Free Live Broadcast of World Cup 2010 Matches

I'm hesitating to write this post. Because I've been watching world cup 2010 matches live without paying a single cent. If I'm paying, I'm just paying for the electricity which runs on my laptop. Why I hesitate? Because there are a lot of people out there paying $70 to $90 for Singtel or Starhub World Cup Packages, and I'm watching it free... :P

If you want to watch it free, I have 2 recommended places (online) to go to watch all matches free, with good quality resolution and hardly got disconnected.

1) Go to www.atdhe.net . It will give you all links to streaming of Live World Cup matches. Then Bookmark the page, and visit again before every match starts.

2) Download TVU Player. This player works on both Mac and Windows.
Start the player, Choose 'Sports' at the top, then select the Channel "CCTV-5-Sports"
Take a while for it to load... about a min or so.
CCTV-5 commentary is in Mandarin. Chinese commentary is quite interesting and sometimes, you may hear the commentators use Idioms, a.k.a 'Cheng Yu / 成语' in it. If you don't like it, you can just turn off the volume. :P

Some Disadvantages: 

Your Streaming may be lagging behind by about 2-4 mins. Meaning while those who subscribed Singtel or Starhub shouted 'GOAL!', you will shout 'GOAL!' 2-4 mins later.

Under some circumstances, your streaming may 'jammed'. It may pissed you off when C.Ronaldo is taking a 30m shot, and the streaming jammed just when the ball is about to enter the goal post. You saw the goalkeeper diving. But you do not know if the ball is going into the net, saved by keeper or hit the post!!

If your internet connection is slow or is being shared by many other servers, then it is not advisable to stream online, because you'll be watching football in slow-motion. The goalkeeper may take 1 min to land on the ground after a dive.

Afterall, It's Free Live Broadcast. We shouldn't complain, and I'm lucky I'm not encountering a lot problems while streaming online:D

If you can't stream online, the best place I recommend is your neighbourhood kopitiam, pubs along Clark Quay, or some MacDonald restaurants (you may have to find it yourself).

 Till then, enjoy World Cup 2010. Who will be the Runner-Up this year? Comment below! :D

North Korea won the 2010World Cup(before it ends)?

Did you catch the news that North Korea had won the 2010 World Cup?

Yes! So happy that City Harvest Church and Kong Hee is Finally being PROBED!!

On Sunday 30th May 2010, Asia Conference , a mega-conference which draws about 20,000 delegates from over 70 countries organised by City Harvest Church, and CGI, Church Growth International,
draw to a close.

Prevention is better than Cure. How true?

We often hear the statement of Prevention is Better than Cure. This is especially true in the case of health.

Educated individuals in the 21st century are looking for Prevention of Diseases, than finding cures for disease when they get one.

Part 2 of my Hong Kong Trip in 2009!

Enjoy the show!






If you missed the first video, you can view it here!

The Infamous Silviu Ionescu Arrested

He is occupying headlines in Singapore newspapers, and probably Romania papers too. Silviu Ionescu, a former charge d'affaires in Singapore. He's been hogging headlines since last year, when he allegedly knocked down 3 pedestrians one midnight in Singapore. One of the 3 pedestrians died, and 2 suffered injuries.

In Loving Memory of Melissa Toh

I do not know who is Melissa Toh. I'm not her friend. She don't know me too. However, you may ask why I write about her when I don't even know her.

The Biggest Dilemma for Soon-To-Be Undergraduates Part-3

And now to the 2nd Big Question!

The Biggest Dilemma for Soon-To-Be Undergraduates Part-2

 
Now, Let's look at our 1st Big Question Undergraduates ask themselves.

"Should I choose a Local University or Private University for my tertiary education?"

Local university refers to NTU (Nanyang Technological University), NUS (National University of Singapore) and SMU (Singapore Management University). So far, there's only 3, and there will be more in upcoming years.

Private University refers to private institutions set up by companies in Singapore and provide degrees and education from overseas countries. For example, SIM offer degrees from RMIT, a university in Australia, University at Buffalo, USA. PSB offer degrees from UON, from Australia, and other countries too.

In my experience, this question came up for most people whose A level results are not up to their expectations, and they are unable to get a place in a particular course in a local university. Hence, they are deciding whether to pursue that particular course in a private university, or pursue another course(with lower demand) in a local university.

This seems like a choice which you have to give up one to get another:
- Go to a local university, and pursue a course which you don't like, but you manage to get it because of its low entry grades or low demand.
- Go to a private university, and pursue a course which you like, but you will not have the bragging rights of being in a local university (which many people want!).

What's the issue here?

I know of some friends who manage to study in a local university, but not in a course they like. People usually named these courses 'dumping ground', which means these courses are taken up by people who can't get the course of their choice. They go for the University they want.

I also have friends who can study in a local university, but did not choose it in the end, because they did not get the course of their choice. Hence, they choose a private university, and pursue the course of their choice instead. They go for the Course they want.

Look at this, which one is more important here?
The education at a local university or the education you want to get from the subject you like?

At a local university, the education you get can be of certain standard and quality. Some professors who are teaching there have vast academic experience and research experience. They come from renowned universities around the world too.

Secondly, some people chose a local university because they don't want to feel left-out in the crowd. They see many of their friends enter local uni, and feel that if they go private uni, they are regarded 'second-grade'. Hence, the reputation is not there. They try to squeeze into a local uni, regardless of whatever course they are offered.

Thirdly, people thinks that a degree from a local university will be more 'profitable' than private uni degrees. 'Profitable' meaning higher income. This may be true to a certain extent. But I can say a local degree is not a deciding factor whether someone is being paid more. We talk about that later.

That's bascally the 3 reasons for people choosing a local university than a private one.

Quality of Education:

It's true that local universities provide a certain standard of education to their students than private ones. The professors are certified, and most are experienced. Local uni also have good facilities like laboratories and computer labs for students to do research.


However, private institutions in Singapore are not as bad as what we think last time. They are also building big campuses soon. SIM can be regarded as a private university with high-class services too. They have their own professors, lecture and seminar rooms too.

However, 1 minor disadvantage for private university. As far as I know, private uni does not provide a very good environment for research to be done, especially sciences (Physics/Chemistry/Biology) research. They do not have million-dollar machines and devices in their schools, unlike local universities. That's why you notice private universities hardly provide degree courses in Sciences, which require research work. Most courses offered are 'not lab based', like Business, IT, Accountancy...etc.

Otherwise, private uni are not very far off, in terms of the quality of education both provides.  Both type of universities have their good professors, and also their boring professors.




Reputation:
Of course, if you have a choice to study in a well-known, local university where the top 10% of students study there, why not? Everybody will grab that chance. You will feel smarter, being in a school where the 'top10%' are.

But does that mean those that did not make it, are not smart? Yes! They may not be so 'academic-smart' compared to those local uni students, but I can say many are more 'street-smart' than the local uni grads! However, I did not say private uni students are lousy in their grades, or local uni students are not 'street-smart' either.

When you get into a local uni, people will think that your future is gonna be bright, you must be a very clever student, you must be highly intelligent, you will be very successful one day. They praises you, and you feel good (people love praises!). If you are from a private uni, people will think that's because you're a lazy student who play too much, and didn't study hard enough, or someone who is not smart
enough to enter a local uni.

What I can say is, that's what other people thinking! And we should not make decision based on others' thinking! We choose what we want to have for dinner, because we want to have it, NOT because other think we should have it. "I want to eat vegetables for my lunch today, because I want to, not because you think I should be eating". 

With that said, I want to say that people who try hard to squeeze into a local uni, just to accept any course thrown at them, are making a very unwise decision. They just want to feel known, feel recognized by being in a 'top10%' school by others. They don't care what if they like what they learn, or what they will be learning in the school. "You think I should eat meat for lunch today, that's why I eat meat. If I eat meat, I will make you feel good about me (probably only macho-man eat meat). I do not care if I dislike the meat, or if the meat is nice"

Profitable Degree:
The truth is, A local university degree is more profitable than a private univeristy degree.
The myth is, A local university degree is more profitable than a private univeristy degree.
(Eh? Isn't both sentences the same?)

Yes. It's a truth, and it's also a myth.

True, a local graduate can get a higher pay than a private graduate, but we have to look deeper into various aspects. In the public service, a local degree is more recognized than a private degree, and pay structure for public service is determined by the grades you have in your degree (First Class Honours...etc)

In the private sector, pay structure varies. Some may look at the grades you get in school to determine you pay, but I can say, MOST do not care about your grades once you join them.

I have talked to many people regarding this, from students who are graduating soon, people who have already graduated, people who have went for numerous interviews, people who are in the workforce looking out for talents.

They have one common reply to me.

"Grades don't matter!"

If you have been called up for interview, the interviewer will close your resume, and start asking you questions. And, they do not ask question about your grades! They do not care about your grades!

They are interested in what value you can provide to the company, what skills and expertise you have. Can you work with people? Have you worked in teams or large organizations before? Do you have experience in other companies/industries before? Are you active in the society, leaders of some communities or organization? What are your interests and hobbies, your strengths and weaknesses?


If you really think your future-bosses are very concerned about your results, you may want to  ask some of your friends who went for numerous interviews. Ask them how many bosses actually ask them the As and Bs they get. :D

The most profitable job will be given to someone who shows and proves that he is valuable to the company. And this does not always refer to First Class Honours Students.

Share your comments with me. I would love to hear them :D

Next, we look at Question 2!

The Biggest Dilemma for Soon-To-Be Undergraduates Part-1

I once had that biggest dilemma too. It gave me a headache sometimes.

This problem is faced every year by many 19 year olds who have received their A level results. In normal circumstances, Guys usually have 3 chances to make their final decision, and Girls have 1 chance to decide.

By now, for those who have been through, you know what I'm referring to.

For those who have passed their A levels, usually, they would look at the next level of education - tertiary/ university education. (I said usually, because not everybody will move on to university, even though they have good A level results...)

There are usually 2 Big question marks in the minds of the youngsters after they got their result.

i) Which Uni should I go? Local/Private U?
ii) Which undergraduate course should I take?

1. Local or Private University?
For students who have done well enough, many would prefer to enter a Singapore local university, namely NTU, NUS or SMU.
For students who may not do so well, there are other choices to pursue their university education, at reputable private universities in Singapore, like SIM and PSB, which offers overseas degree programs.
Some may decide to pursue their university education overseas too.

2. Which undergraduate course should I apply? 
For those who have acheived the results they expected, they would have go on to apply for the courses they already have in mind before taking A level examinations.
However, there are also people who have also achieved exceptionally good results, but do not know what courses to apply to.
There are people who achieved 'not bad' results, but are unable to apply for their 'dream' course.
There are people who did not do that well to get their desired course, but trying hard to 'squeeze'
into the local U, by accepting any course thrown at them.
There are people who applied for a course in a Private U, because they wanted to pursue that course, which are not offered in local U, or the admission criteria in local U is too high.


I say that it is a Big Dilemma, because a wrong answer in either 1 of the questions, will determine the next 3-4 years of their lives. A good decision will let them enjoy the fun of studying in university. Wrong decision... it depends. Some people can force anything down their throat, even if they don't like it. Haha.

Alright.
Let's look into the issues of Question 1 in our next post! :D

7 Tips How NOT to Get A Sore Throat

For the past 2 weeks, I can say Singapore's weather has been erratic, very unpredictable. You can have a strong sunshine in the morning, and heavy downpour in the afternoon. Then, the sun comes out again. Then, these 2 weeks, I also have quite a lot of friends, who are having sore throat. They are having sore throat together! But fortunately, I don't have it :D

This gets me into thinking, what's the real reason my friends are getting sore throat, one by one? Is it because of the weather? Is it because of daily habits? Is it because of diet?

Hmm... I'm not very sure too. But I know having sore throat is not somebody wants (unless the person is dying to get it, so he can stay away from work). Sore throat makes your voice more 'sexier', rough, hollow, and tends to cough. Sometimes, you may feel pain when swallowing food.

Alright, I'm not a doctor, so I do not prescribe medicine, or give you prescription to heal your throat. But we know we can get rid of our sore throat by taking some lozenges or fruit juice. Only when things got worse, then we might see the doctor.

Instead of thinking how to heal sore throat when you get it, why not we look at how we can NOT get a sore throat ? (a.k.a Prevention is Better than Cure)

Here are 7 tips to help you:

1) If you are taking Fried and Spicy Food,  drink a lot, a lot of water after that. You may take other drinks (coke/coffee) while eating these foods, but remember to drink water after that. If you don't, your throat will dry up, your body will start to heat up.  I will drink until I feel that I'm not feeling heaty and thirsty anymore.

2) If you're staying up late at night, try to drink water also. I do sleep late at night, around 1-2 am. But I keep a bottle beside me, so I can keep drinking. If you do stay up late, you'll notice that your mouth is very dry (even if you didn't talk to anyone). Moments later, you'll find that your throat is getting dry too. You may have difficulty talking. Yes. Your cells are already dying, and you need water!!

3) Of course, if possible, don't always stay up so late. It's not good for health either. :D

4) No matter what drinks you take, drink water to flush it down your throat. I noticed it myself. When you drink coffee, tea, fruit juice, tomato soup, mushroom soup... there will be some liquid of it left in your throat. It will stay there, unless you flush it down with water. And if it stays long enough, your throat will feel uncomfortable.

5) If you're someone who talks a lot (cheerful person), or have to talk alot (public speaker), drink a lot of water . Drink every 10-15 mins, just before your mouth dries up. I once talk for almost 2 hours in a car without drinking water ('cos I don't have it in the car), and I feel pain talking after that. Sore throat comes the next day. Haha!

6) If the weather is hot, keep drinking water, even if you need to go to the toilet 100 times, it's still better from suffering from dehydration. If weather is cold, do continue to drink too. Your body still needs water, to hydrate your body.

7) Take more liquid food, i.e. soup-based food, and less of dry food, i.e. biscuits. More liquid fruits like Watermelons, Papaya, and less heaty fruits, like durian, jackfruit...

* *Did you see I mention a lot about 'water'? Yes. I'm a huge fan of water, because I can't live without it, and so are you! Find out more about water here! (opens in new tab)


There you go! 7 tips to help you Not to get a sore throat.

Of course, make these tips your daily habits, so you wont have to worry about sore throat again.

Stay healthy guys!

Is Money The Problem With These Men?

In recent months, 4 men appeared in headlines in almost all newspapers around the world.

From the sports scene, we have Tiger Woods, first got into a car accident, which slowly leads to the exposure of his extra-marital affair. And one woman after another keep popping up, claiming their share.

Then comes Chelsea captain John Terry, who got into a relationship with the ex-girlfriend of his ex-teammate, Wayne Bridge. Wayne Bridge and his former partner got a kid, and John Terry has a family too!

Then one more Chelsea player got involved. Defender Ashley Cole got kicked out of the house by his celebrity wife for his relationship with other women too.

And the most "HOT" scandal is Singapore's movie director Jack Neo, who got involved with a 22 years old model, who plays a role in his latest movie, "Being Human". Fortunately, his wife has forgiven him. But as news keep spreading, there are also more women coming up to claim their share too.

So there's a video from Yahoo! which features these 4 men. They find out from the public, Why Men Cheat?!

Here it is:

Yahoo! SEA finds out why men cheat @ Yahoo! Video

If you've watched the video, and listened to the people speak out, some says Why Men Cheat is because, they have acheived a certain level of success, and feels that they can do more things, so they try to take a step further. Or when men have fame and money, they tend to flirt around. When they have more money, they tend to spend it on younger girls. Or their wives are not attractive anymore..etc

Actually this is just a short 2min plus video, so it doesn't really gives the view of the whole general public, but just a few people on the streets that day.

With reference to the 4 men in headlines today, they have some similarity. They are wealthy, achieved a certain level of success regionally and internationally, and of course, they are famous too.

Some people said when men are rich, and famous, they tend to cheat.

Is it true?

I strongly say NO.

Money is not the reason. Fame is not the reason. If they are the reasons for men to cheat, then all male billionaires on Forbes list, pop stars and singers are all cheaters of their wives, since they are wealthy and famous.

Money and Fame can't be the root of the problem. How can they be?
They are just tools! They are dead objects!
To find out the root of the problem, find out from the source!

If someone rob the bank because of money, don't blame money. It's the person.
If someone uses a knife to kill, don't blame the knife. It's the person.
If someone uses the telephone to scam someone, don't blame the phone. It's the person.
If you got food poisoned from the rojak from a rojak stall, blame the rojak stall. Don't say that all rojaks are poisonous.

So if a man who has money and fame cheat, look at the man! Don't look at money and fame! If not, it will be very unfair to people who have money and fame!

In my opinion, there are a few reasons why men cheat.

1) They did not get enough love from the family/spouse.
Men are human beings too, and they need love and connection from the people they love. If men are being scolded by the wife every time they return home from work (why are you so late! why didn't you answer my call!...etc), they will feel disconnected from the family. They would not want to go back home and got scolded by their wives. (Men got Ego!) They would rather stay late in their office, and then find the love and connection they need from someone else.

2) Men would like an attractive wife.
Don't get me wrong here. I'm not saying that men must get young and attractive women when their wives are old. NO! What I mean is, men would want to go home and look at their attractive wife, who dresses well at home too. It is true that men are moved by what they see. In early stages of marriage, couples tend to dress well when dining, at home, or even on the bed. But as time goes by, dressing well is often neglected at home.

This can be worse for stay-at-home moms. Stay-at-home-moms seldom dress up themselves, since many thought that it's unnecessary to do so. But men would like to return home from work, looking at their beautiful wife (even in their golden years), and not a shabby-looking women. So dress up well, and welcome your tired husband back home after work everyday yea!

3) Irresponsibility and Ill-discipline
Men cheat because they lack discipline and irresponsibility. Actually, this applies to both sex too. They are going for short-term gratification, short-term pleasure. They want instant gratification, thrill, fun. But by doing that, they put their marriage at risk. They didn't think of the consequences that may come from getting these short-term enjoyment. They lack the discipline to control themselves. They can't resit the temptation. They 'go' for it, thinking if there's any problems after that, it's just a small problem, "no worries la!"


That's basically my 3 reasons (not money) why men cheat, but that's not the reasons why the 4 infamous men cheat. For the reason Why they cheat, I do not know, and I do not want to speculate. Instead, I would prefer the matter to rest, and move on.

Why Warren Buffett is not the Richest Man this year.

For the first time in 15 years, the world's richest man is not an American. Not Billionaire Investor Warren Buffett, Microsoft founder Bill Gates. But is a guy named

Carlos Slim (1st time I heard of him).

However, even though Warren Buffett is not the richest guy on earth now, he doesn't really mind.

Watch the video and find out the answer:D






Yup.

Warren Buffett gives back to the society. He probably has too much money he could spend for the rest of his life. He uses his money to help others instead.

Let's all be rich, and gives back to the society to help others :D

It's Fashion In The Sky!

Latest Video Update of Fashion In The Sky!

If You're still not sure what it's about, you can read the post here .





See you on This Sunday @ YMCA RoofTop!!

Statue and the Stone

The Story of the Statue and the Stone

In a Art Museum in a Sunny Island, there are a lot of people who visits the museum everyday. Inside this museum, there is a special room which put a statue of a historic person. To ensure the cleanliness of the room, people are required to take off their shoes before they enter. To enter the room, visitors took off their shoes, and step on a stone at the door to enter the room. They appreciate the statue and took pictures of it.

One night, the Stone at the door cried out to the Statue. " God is so Unfair! We are both stones, but you are one that is appreciated by people everyday, but I'm the one who got stepped by people everyday!"

The Statue replied, "No! God is Fair. First, you cried once when the you are being chiseled once. When the chisel goes down one more time, you said its too unbearable for you. When the chisel goes down the 3rd time, you screamed you are about to Die! Since you are not willing to go through the pain, its best to put you lying on the ground flat as a stepping stone for others. "

The Statue continued, "However, I endured the pain of being chiselled a thousand times, and that's why I'm made the Statue."


The morale of the story: 
If you can endure the pain, you will suffer for that moment. If you can't, you will suffer the rest of your life.

If you are not willing to work hard, take up new challenges when you are young, then when are you going to?

Today, you can't afford not to work hard, or challenge yourself.  Because, everybody in the world is doing so. By not doing anything, you will be left behind, because everyone else is moving forward.

But if you choose to work hard, take risks, take new challenges, create your own success path, and
Pay The Price To Succeed, you will sacrifice a moment of your life, to enjoy the rest of your life.

Let me end off with this Chinese Quote,

"受得了苦，苦一阵子；受不了苦，苦一辈子"

You have 2 choices now:

1) Be a Stone being stepped by people  

OR

2) Be a Statue being appreciated by people

Which one do you want to be?

What's up in March?

In Feburary, we have our favorite Chinese New Year celebration. We have fun with friends, our family members and relatives. We collect red packets (or some give them out) during these 2 weeks.

Coming March, there are no public holidays. There are just weekends for you to rest.

But wait.

I'm sure you will want to rest on march weekends, but I'm sure you will not rest on your 1st Sunday of March (7th March 2010)!

It is because you will be at  

FASHION IN THE SKY

What Fashion In the Sky?

It's a collaboration between blog shops and emerging artistes who come together to set up this one-of-a-kind Rooftop Runway show.

The event will see to a three-hour long program with live performances by rising local talents, blog shop bazaar sale, artworks from artists and photographers, as well as the fashion show - first of its own for the community!


Why Fashion In the Sky?

I know you may heard of brands such as Donna Karans and Gucci, but there's a new wave of noteworthy talent and enthralling collections by our own local blogshops owners! They will be setting up booths on the event itself so that you can get your hands on these ravishing clothings (instead of clicking them online)!

This unique runway will be raising funds for the Haiti Relief too! All proceedings from this event will be donated to help the people of Haiti. You can help the people in Haiti too by donating generously to World Vision via Give.sg.

When Fashion In the Sky?

This event will be held at YMCA Rooftop @ 1 Orchard Road on 7th March 2010. from 4pm to 7pm.


View Larger Map


Best of all, Admission is FREE!

If you have not confirmed your attendance, you can RSVP at our Facebook Event Page.

Till date, we have 200 confirmed guests. However, as you know, it is just a confirmation through facebook. There might be less then 200 people turning up, or more than 200 that day.

But wait.

Did you see this in 25th Feb Mandrin Newspaper 早报？

Our Event is being covered by ZaoBao, the Top Mandrin Newspaper in Singapore!

With that news report up, and being read by Chinese readers all over Singapore, I'm sure the number of people who will be there may not be just 200! It will be much much higher!

Fashion In the Sky is a unique once-in-a-lifetime event. We do not know when we will be organising it again (if any). We do not know if we could get the best blogshops with the best apparels to set up their booths there again. We do not know if we could get the best models for the Runway show in the future.

However, What we know is that you are going to enjoy the 3 hours at YMCA Rooftop with us, be entertained by the live performances of our rising local stars, picking up the best-fit apparels from the your favourite blogshops, watching a Live Fashion Runway show at the Top of a Building  for the first time ever!

Enough said.

I will see you at YMCA Rooftop on 7th March 4pm :D


*P.S. I will be performing that day. Catch me Live!

Happy Chinese New Year 2010!

Happy Chinese New Year to everyone, my friends, my family, my relatives, and anyone who visits my blog too.

This is the Year of Tiger, according to the chinese horoscope.

This year's celebration is kind of different from the past, because I will be celebrating with my sister-in-law! My family has a new member lo:D

We visited relatives homes, play card game, talk about life and enjoying good meals these few days. My mum and sister-in-law also made a lot of new year cookies like pineapple tarts. We had yusheng too. This is just a small picture i took while others are crazily flipping and throwing up the yusheng. LOL.You can see the picture here.

I have fun with my little cousins who are in their primary schools this year. Another thing which is different, is that my elder brother is giving out red packets for the first time this chinese new year! haha. He just got married last month.

And Valerie went to hong kong this new year to visit her friends and relatives over there. Haha. I wish i can be there. I may be there again when they go over for chinese new year celebration? It will be fun traveling around :D

I may be visiting more friends this coming weekend, to catch up with them this new year.

Chinese New Year celebration lasts for 15 days, and let's enjoy this time with everybody around us yea!:D

Catch'up with you guys on my next post!

The Current Infamous Pastor Rony Tan of Lighthouse Evangelism

If you read Straits times from Monday 07.02.2010 onwards, you would have learnt of Pastor Rony Tan of Lighthouse Evangelism. He appeared on the front page of the news on Monday, and a long passage is written about him. Thereafter, there are news about him everyday, online and offline.

So what is the Hot news all about?

Pastor Rony Tan is being called up by the ISD (Internal Security Department) of Singapore, for his undesirable and controversial comments of other religions during his church services. He has committed an offense under the Sedition Act.

What's more, those services which feature his comments were recorded and uploaded online too. They are found on YouTube after his case featured on newspapers. And with today's technology, everybody in the world can watch these videos!

His comments are kind of controversial and put the harmony between different religious groups in Singapore at risk. He got present Christians who were ex-Buddhists and ex-Taoists from his church to share their experiences and testimonies during the service. Rony Tan also asked them questions to probe further about some practices of the other religions. Some of his comments had their audience laughing out loud.


I have watched those videos on YouTube, just before they were removed by the user the next day. After watching them, I can say that his comments are quite ridiculous, and it's more of an entertainment to the crowd. The crowd laugh to his 'jokes' made at other religious.

I find that it is very very inappropriate for him to do this. Singapore is well-known for its racial and religious harmony. Different people from different background and different faiths can live together harmoniously. As he ridiculed other religions, he has not put himself, and his church in good light too.

The fact that Singaporeans can live without the fear of racial and religious riots on the streets, is because we respect each other's race and religions. If people think that by putting down other religions will put their own religions in good light, then they are very very WRONG!

It's meaningless. It's the same as gossiping and laughing at others, and trying to gain support from your friends to show that you have done the right thing sneering at others. And when your friends laugh with you, you feel good, 'cause you feel that your friends are on your side too. You may feel that you are in good light, and the people you criticize are in 'bad' light. But you are in the 'bad' light too! Because you did not show respect for others!

So if Pastor Rony Tan believes that he can strengthened the faiths of his church members with his 'funny' comments on other faiths, then he is dead Wrong! Furthermore, he had shown his inadequacies of his knowledge of other faiths. He is just making false claims and assumptions of other religions, and make it seems like he knew a lot. Now, he looked helpless when these religions have clarify his ridiculous claims.

Currently, there are many raging groups set up to 'protest' against Rony Tan. There's a Facebook group created to anti-Rony Tan, to vent their anger at his criticisms, to gather more people to join forces against him... Even though I'm not supportive of his actions, I think that it is needless to set up this anti-group.

I do not know what they want to get out of this group, by anti-Rony Tan, and criticising him of his actions, 'shooting' him up down left right. I'm being asked to join this group, but I decline. This is not the way to solve a problem. It's just creating more problems.

This issue may not end that soon. So let's follow the news. :D

Cashflow101 Competition and Passive Income Streams

Yes. I came in 9th out of 120 participants in the Cashflow101 Competition organized by NTU Investment Interactive Club. The first prize walk away with $500, as he finish the game within 15 mins. I took 30 mins. I got the consolation prize, for my first attempt in a Cashflow competition. (My first time playing the board game too!)

This game is created by the famous millionaire celebrity Robert Kiyosaki, on his principles of wealth creation. He has written many books, the most popular being "Rich Dad Poor Dad"(read upteen times), and has co-author with Donald Trump on a book "Why we want you to be rich". And many other (similar) books.

This game teach you "How to get out of the Rat Race". You don't win the game by having the largest amount of money in your hand. You win the game by building enough passive income to cover your expenses, which means, you have jumped out of the rat race. Passive income is income that you receive even when you are not physically there.

Let's compare...

E.g. 1) You love baking and you decided to open a bakery shop. You do the baking in your kitchen, and you hire a cashier at the shop. Yes, you start your own business, you open your own shop, you love making cakes and cookies, you have your own employees, but what you are receiving is not passive income. It's still active income. Your shop will not operate when you are not there, because there will not be anyone doing the baking. When your shop did not open, your income stream stops too.

E.g. 2) You love baking and you decided to open a bakery shop. However, instead of you doing the baking yourself, you hire 3 chefs to do the baking, 1 store manager to run the operation in the shop, and 2 assistants to help out with the cashier and cleaning of the shop. You wrote out the plan as how the business will be run. At the end of every month, you totalled up the shop's profits, distribute your workers' salary, pay other expenses, and you keep the rest. This is passive income. When you are overseas, or at home with your family, your shop will still open, because the shop can run without you! You have created a business system for your manager, chefs and assistants to follow. Your job may just be visiting the shop, helping out, doing supervisory checks...etc, but you are not bound to it.

Above is a short explanation of what passive income is.

Basically, passive income can be built using several methods. Here are a few...

i) Investments:
Investing 10 million dollars with 5% interest every year, ie $500,000 per year of passive income from interest.

ii) Businesses:
Starting businesses, buying business, owning businesses. You build a business that will run by itself, that will work with or without you. Just like the e.g. 2 of the bakery shop above. You can buy businesses which have been built by others too.

iii) Writing books:
You receive royalties from books you sell. In Robert Kiyosaki's example, I think he has received a lot of royalties from books. His Rich Dad's series, the iconic purple and black cover books, can be seen in most bookshops in Singapore, and worldwide too, in different languages.

iv) Music/ CDs:
Michael Jackson is dead, but his family is still receiving royalties from all the CDs sold in music shops. Same goes for Elvis Presly too. Money continue to flow in, without them being there. Many of our favourite singers, Jay Chou, Lady GaGa, they are also earning from royalties.

v) Property Investment:
You buy a house, but not for you to live in. You buy it and rent it out to others. You collect monthly rentals. The good thing is, your monthly rentals will pay for the house itself, and at the end of the day, you still have your house. And when your house is fully paid, you receive all the money from the rentals! (my dad has been doing that for 10 years!)

vi) Franchising your business:
You had a successful business plan, and instead of you using your own money to open up more shops, you allow others to franchise your business. This is an example of how MacDonalds, and other businesses expand. You teach these franchisees how your business is run. They will then run the business, employ their own employees, and You, as a franchisor, you collect royalties from them. But the Cash is the big problem here. If you want to open a MacDonald franchise, you need to have at least $250,000 before they are willing to talk to you. Yes. "Talk to you" only. Shop renovation, machines, employees...etc have not been discussed. As far as I know, at least 2 million dollars is needed.

vii) Internet Marketing:
This is one of the cheapest way to start building a passive income stream. It's the same as building a traditional business, just that instead of the 'bricks', you have the 'clicks'. It's way a lot cheaper, and suitable for most people now. You can make money online with or without a website, through selling of information products, selling advertising spaces...etc. If you wish to build an effective website, I can proudly say SBI is the choice. You can read more by clicking here.

There are a lot of other ways to create passive income, but it's just too many to write all out here. If you can think of any, feel free to post it here to share with others :D

Actually I'm not very surprised that there are not many people who heard of 'passive income', 'cashflow', 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' book...etc. I've talked to a few people to join me in the competition, but none joined me, till I bump into Jiawen and Jonathan (both formerly from TPJC) at the competition itself.

Anyway, I had so much fun playing the game with them, and it's nice to know many others who enjoy the game too. It's really fun if you play without the clock ticking. It's kind of stress when you have to fight against time to jump of the rat race. I have to thank the facilitators for helping out too, if you see how fast they are handing out
money to participants and supervising the game at the same time :P

I recommend that anyone who want to be happier in life, Play the Cashflow game. I would highly recommend it. You may not want to read the Rich Dad Poor Dad book, or other money strategies book, but you will definitely want to play this game!

I'm going to find ways to get this game set (it cost $200-$300/set), set up a mini-Cashflow club, and teach the people around me how to get out of the rat race!

Any Cashflow lovers out there? Would you like to join me to set up this game? Or Would you like to learn how to play it?

I'm done with the planning of the cashflow club, and I will make it as interesting and meaningful for everyone who attended and played the game! Look out for more details here!

Nicholas and Yanzi's BIG BIG Day

Show you guys the pictures 1st!!

This is the BEST picture I think :D We rock yea!!

There are thousands over photos taken that day, many many thanks to my great choir buddies, Chin Soon and Fiona! The pictures they took are fantastic! One was holding a BIG Canon, another one was holding a BIG Nikon camera. They are really very hardworking. And it is always very fun having them around when shooting photos.

Chin soon and Fiona did not take pictures. They do not take photographs. They are capturing our emotions, our expressions, and most important of all, Wonderful Memories of my brother's wedding!
A picture says a thousand words. If there are 3000 pictures being shot that day, there are 3 million words being said! :D

I'm the Best Man for my brother that day. It's been great, exciting, and sometimes tiring too. But I'm feeling Good! Driving up and down places.

I'm feeling good too because it's the first FIRST time in almost 20 years(I think) my house has opened for friends and relatives (more than 10). Yea. Anyway, if you have been to my house in the past, you will understand. If you haven't been(or can't enter the door) to my house in the past, then, it's okay anyway. :D

My house will be more warming and crowded (with people, not objects) now, which I like it! Haha.
I have more reasons to stay at home, and invite my friends over too!!

The Wedding dinner is grand and splendid too. Food is nice, but didn't manage to have it all. My family and friends went up stage to shout "YUM SENG!!!" to congratulate my brother's marriage, and went over to more than 20 tables, and shout "Yum Seng!!". I ended up with sore throat for days. BUT I love the feeling!!!

It's a magnificent day for everybody. My brother is on to next stage of his life. I will wish him the Best!!

Did Your Mum Ask You to Drink Water?

Drink Water. Drink More Water.

Whenever you left home, your mum will ask if you have brought your water bottle.

However, sometimes we are lazy, or sometimes we think that it's not 'cool' to carry a water bottle around (I look like a schoolkid with a water bottle).

This article I'm writing is not about carry water bottles around, or how to be 'cool' by carrying water bottles. It's not the bottle. It's the Water. Pure, Clean Water. (Not soft drinks/coffee/teas...)

Water is an incredible compound.

I never heard what's so wonderful about the water we drink, but I can tell you it really shock me after I learned how essential and powerful Water can improves our lives - just by drinking water.

When we are thirsty, we drink water. But do you know that by the time you felt thirsty, some of your cells have already died?

The human body is anywhere from 55% to 78% water depending on body size. And we need at least one to seven litres of water per day, depending on the temperature, humidity, activity and other factors.
Our body is made up close to 50 Trillion cells.

What is a trillion? It's 1000 billion, 1 million million, 1 billion thousand - 1,000,000,000,000.  Okay, you know what is 50 trillion.

We have so many cells in our body, and they need water to live, to grow. 

How often do you need to drink water?

You need to hydrate your body every 15 mins. Drink water every 15 mins.

Haha. I think I hear someone "Just drink every 15 mins will improve our lives? That's easy!"

True. It's really that easy.

But wait!

Did you see "every 15 mins?"

Ah! That may seem a challenge.

First, to do it, you need to have water with you every 15 mins. You can carry a water bottle with you whenever you go. Or you have a water cooler beside you whenever you go, or you can buy 1 bottle of water every 15 mins.

Second, you got to have the discipline to drink every 15 mins! I still remember in my school days, I can bring a bottle full of water out of home, and come home with the same water untouch. It's the past anyway :D

Constantly remind yourself to drink, before you felt thirsty.

I have developed this habit after I attended Anthony's Robbins' 4 day seminar last year, where he mentioned about the miraculous benefits of drinking water only.

What I did:
- Carry a bottle with me everywhere I go. In school, football games, shopping centers, seminars...etc
- Drink and Refill.
- If I run out of water, I will buy one, or get some from others :P

Benefits:
- Hardly fall sick
- No morning sighness
- Won't feel lethargic at the end of the day (I even feel more energitic at night!)
- Didn't doze off in lectures. Water keep me awake :D
- Less pimples growing!
- No Bad Breath (Lack of water causes it!)
- Less Constipation
- Lose weight!
- So far so good!

Wake up in the morning, drink lots of water to keep yourself hydrated, before you put starch (bread, rice, bee hoon, chicken pie...etc) into your mouth. Your 'sleepy' stomach is not ready to 'stir' the hard starch you put into it.

Before you start eating your meal, drink water first. Drinking water before you start eating, is to let your stomach get ready for digestion for any food that you eat later.

If you can, stay away from cold drinks. Especially if you are having an oily meal (Fish and Chips/Macdonalds,KFC,Popeyes...etc) don't take cold drinks. Cold drinks will cause oil to coagulate in our stomach. This would make it more difficult to break down. It will be stored in your body then!

When you feel that the more you sleep, the more tired you are, especially you have slept 14 hours and you are still tired. Go drink some water. You are probably dehydrated. 

Sighness. You wake up sneezing. Your nose is running like a tap. You stuff it with tissue papers, and you breathe with your mouth. Your tissue is drenched, and you are feeling uncomfortable. You feel dizzy and don't feel like doing anything. Go drink water. drink more water, and rest.

How to know if you are dehydrated?

Okay. Everybody knows this. Your mum would have probably taught you when you are young.

Look at your pee. Drink more water, when your pee is yellow. (it stinks too! haha!)

Keep your pee clear, by drinking more water :D

Alright! That's my little tip on Water!

Take a 10 day challenge to drink water every 15 min.

Share your results here with everybody!

Hong Kong Trip in December '09

I visited Hong Kong in December with Valerie :D

It's an amazing journey. I have a lot of pictures with me, and of course, there are videos too!

So I have decided to make a short clip about my Hong Kong trip!

Don't drool when you watch it!

:D





How's the video?

Would you like to make a guess then?

2010! New Year New Resolutions!!

It's finally 2010. It's been a decade since 2000.

In year 2000, I'm still at primary 6. Waiting to take my PSLE at the end of the year.

2010. I'm at university.

10 years has passed. For me, more than 20 years has passed in my life.

Time really flies, don't you think so?

If we look back at the past 10 years of our lives, what are the things you feel happy that you have done them?

What are those that you feel that you should not have not in your last 10 years?

or What are the things that you wanted to do for the past 10 years, but have not yet done them, till today? *Losing weight is the most common one. hehe

If we look forward, we can comfort ourselves and say that we have 10 more years to acheive all these 'yet-to-accomplished' goals.

However, most of these goals will still be 'yet-to-accomplished' goals in 10 years time, if nothing is done to achieve them.

Every New Year, 1/1/XXXX, we love to write down new year resolutions.

We love to share with others what's our resolutions for this coming year.

We love to tell others that ''We want to have a better life this year" , "We want to lose weight this year", "I want to get promoted this year"... etc

But many times, we forget our resolutions on the 2/1/XXXX, 2nd day of new year. In fact, some of us can't remember what are the goals we set, when we approach December of that year.

Some of my friends say that, "Why set new year resolutions when you can't even remember them at the end of the year?'

And when you can't even recall your goals, you are not going to achieve them too!

Hence, I would like to share some reasons why many people can't achieve the goals they have set at the beginning of the year...

1) Vague, UnClear Goals. Not Specific enough.

Like the above-mentioned goals. People like to lose weight. People like to get promoted. People like to earn more money. These goals are too Vague!

When your goals are vague, you will not do anything to do it! Clarity is Power. When you know Specifically what you want to get, you will know How to get it.

If you want to lose weight, to be more specifically, 20 kg in 6 months, then you know that how much exercise you need, and how much excess food to cut down daily.

If you want to be promoted, to be more specifically, position of manager, then you know the demands required by the company for you to be promoted.

If you want to earn more, for example in sales, to be more specifically, $1000/month, then you know the amount of effort you have to put in to generate leads, no. of appointments/day...etc

Solution: Be Specific.


2) Lack of Consistent Focus

Many people 'talk' about new year resolutions when asked. When they are not asked, they won't talk about it. In fact, people talk about new year resolutions only on new year's days!

Or many write their resolutions down, and put it aside, and discover them at the end of the year, when they did some housekeeping.

What they lack is consistent focus on their goals. They are not reminded of their goals daily, and hence, they are not taking actions daily to achieve that goal.

After writing down a goal of losing weight, 20kg in 6 months, they may be fired up to run 5km per day, for the 1st week. However, when they are caught up with other things in life, they lost the focus of their goal, and went back to their usual habits.

Solution: The key is to stay focused with your goals everyday, by writing it down in paper, and put it in visible everyday. Read them out everyday, every morning, to remind yourself of the goals.

3) Just an Interest, Not a Commitment.

Many of us give new year resolutions for 'fun', since it's a new year, and we hope for something nice, something sweet, something good.

We 'like' to lose more weight, we 'hope' to earn more money, we 'hope' to strengthened our relationships...

We 'like', We 'hope'... so, even if we didn't achieve them, we will find some excuses to justify these promises. "Ah, I have a different body from others, and losing weight is exceptionally hard for me. Anyway, nobody knows that I want to lose weight this year"

Solution: Make a public commitment. Tell everybody you know, you see everyday, and share it everywhere you can too. On Facebook, Twitter, your blog, forums...etc. By making a public announcement, you have put yourself on the line! And this makes you very hard not to achieve your goal. (You don't want to look like a NATO (No-Action-Talk-Only) person to your friends yea).


Alright. We have started 2010. Let make our goals as exciting as we can, and hopefully you can share your goals here with all the readers on my blog (making a public commitment!!).  We will cheer you on to achieve them!

*Of course, I will share my goals too in upcoming posts!