Feeling better

Just came back from KTV, and I had so much fun singing with my friends. Lunch and Dinner I would say I ate quite a lot. :)

Come to think of it, it has been quite some time since I had so much fun. Didn't really prepare anything and I managed to sing quite well I would say. ;) I was surprised I managed to hit the notes of the song I was learning a few months back, even though it has been a long time since I've listened to it. Yeeeaaaah.

Anyway, tomorrow its back to work. Somehow, I feel better now. Maybe I should start playing my guitar again. Music has that calming effect on me. Grand Jota has been waiting for me for 3 years. :) Hmm...

Classical Gas

Posting another of my favorite, and I would say popular piece... Classical Gas.

Many of you might have heard the version by Vannesa Mae, on the violin. I believed she made this piece popular. However, this piece is also quite popular among the guitarists. My understanding is that the original version is for the Guitar. I might be mistaken though. It's so long ago. My version is here.

This was also recorded back in 2004. I have many different versions. For some reason, I like to play this piece fast and furious. :) I actually had another slower version, but I think I prefer this one.

Can I play this again? Hmm... I think I only remembered 80% of this piece. Oh well...

Feeling down

Just went to see my alumni group, and some juniors perform. They are going to Germany for competition, and they were performing the pieces they will be playing there. My hands became itchy after seeing them play.

After that, I've kinda realized that one of the reasons I feel so cranky these few months is because since my current project started, I've missed 2 chances to go Japan, and this chance to go Germany for competition. They were also asking how come I disappeared. I envy them that they are free to take leave without worry.

I'm still feeling kinda down. I guess this is where negative thoughts could more easily invade my mind. Maybe I should play some classical music...

Hidden Disk Cleanup Settings

Do you know that you can set the settings for your Disk Clean Up Manager on which areas to clear?

Follow the steps below to set the settings:

1. Goto Start > Run
2. Type cleanmgr /sageset:n (n = a number from 0 onwards)
3. Tick the checkboxes on the areas you wish to clear.
4. Click on OK
   

As you can see, you are able to save as many settings as you want, just by changing n.

To run the settings, do the following:

1. On a clear area on your desktop, right-click the mouse and Goto New -> Shortcut
2. Type cleanmgr /sagerun:n (n = the number entered above)
3. Name the shortcut anything you like

That's all to it... Next time when you wish to clean up your stuff, just click on the shortcut. You can also move this shortcut to your Startup folder in your Programs. This will clean up your stuff every time you login.

Disclaimer on Tips

Kinda forgot to add in a disclaimer for all the tips I've put here.

Currently, every single tip I have written here are all tested, and used by me either now, or previously. They were useful, and effective for me, which was mainly the reason why I shared it out to everyone.

However, please be careful when changing the settings, especially those settings dealing with the registry. Just one wrong move and your Windows might start behaving erratically. I will not be responsible for any unexpected results or crashes due to the execution of these tips.

With regards to the Mac tips, so far I have not encountered any problems with the tips on my MacBook running on Tiger. I will not be responsible for any expected results or crashes due to the execution of these tips. It worked on my MacBook, but you're not using my MacBook. :)

Bye bye to NETS

Our banks have done it again. Sometimes I really wonder if our big MNCs are getting complacent. Anyway, according to the papers today, the NETs, owned by our 3 local banks, suddenly decided that they are charging too low, and now wish to change the commission structure for NETs such that its similar (slightly cheaper) to the credit/debit cards. This affects the retailers/merchants offering NETs transactions. And yes, of course it affects the consumers. Ok, let's analyze this.

NETs stands for Network of Electronic Transfers. Purpose of product from my point of view is to get people to go cashless, and yet the merchants are still able to price their wares cheaply. Target audience should be the people in the heartlands. The cost structure is actually quite low. Only 0.2 - 0.5% I think. Can't remember... However, our retailers usually absorb the charges.

Buying using NETs is beneficial to the banks because:

1. Can't see the money left. Just swipe. This results in people spending more.
   
2. People do not need to carry too much cash around, and yet still have the spending power in their hands. People spend more freely.
   
3. Cost structure is low so that the businesses will be able to price their wares such that these people are attracted to spend

Indirect benefits to the banks:

1. People are keeping more money in the bank, so there's more money in the bank to loan out.
2. Businesses expand due to more customers. Borrow more money from the banks.

Once NETs increase their cost structure, from the business point of view, there's no difference between NETs and other credit cards. Tourists use Visa/Mastercard. So why do they need to support NETs? Just drop the card, and save on the charges.

Other businesses might keep NETs, but end up increasing the prices. Since they have an excuse, how do we know if they are increasing just to cover costs of NETs, or is it to profiteer from the double whammy of GST increase and NETs?

Either case, consumers like us lose out. What will happen to Sim Lim Square? Can you imagine people carrying $2000 in their pockets to go Sim Lim Square to get a computer? Why don't I spend slightly more, and get credit card points? I don't need to pay immediately too.

Do the banks win? I doubt so too, from the NETs point of view. In fact, they are shooting themselves in the foot. NETs market share will definitely drop. They have to understand that the NETs users are the price-sensitive group of people. You increase price, what do they do? Drop the card of course. Use cash. What happens when you see the cold hard cash? That's where you start to think whenever you wish to make any purchases.

Money withdrawal might be more often, banks might have to top up their ATMs more often. Businesses might suffer, so what happens to their bank loans? How about the effect on Singapore domestic demand?

Of course people might say I'm thinking more negatively, but come on... What benefits do you see? I don't see any, even for the banks themselves.

That is unless they are trying to phase out NETs, and can't think of anyway of doing it. So they use this as an excuse to make it die a natural death.

Oh well... Sayonara NETs... May you R.I.P.

ST promotes share trading again

Sometimes it makes me wonder if our newspapers are trying to talk up (or down) the market. Just today they have a section on share trading. It's almost 1 whole page!

Granted that they did talk about doing your own due diligence before investing but when you splash figures like $20k a month, will people do any due diligence, or just jump straight into the bandwagon like what's happening in China now?

Being a national newspaper, I expected more from the articles.
I don't see them writing about lawyers, doctors or accountants, and how much they earn.
I don't see them writing about the negative effects of share trading. There are many stories where people lose 5 to 6 figure sums just on share trading.

Dedicated 1 whole page to this... Don't they have anything else to write about?

Guitar Corner

Well, I did put one of my hobbies as playing the guitar. It's actually classical guitar. I've been playing since 1996 I think. I was initially trained in Yamaha. Now, I'm currently in an alumni group in the Guitar Ensemble of NUS. I still have a performance at least once a year. I think we're going to the Esplanade later this year. Not sure...

Work life has taken a toll on my skills, and I think it's no longer as sharp as before. :(

Anyway, I will start putting some of the recordings I did in 2004. Why 2004? That's because that was when I first bought my Yamaha CG201S. I was trying out the different effects.

This is one of my favorites. It's called Koyunbaba. I played it one whole stretch for 12+mins. I think you can hear some errors, but I find it an achievement that I can play so long with minimal errors. Of course this was not my first try. More like my 3rd try if I recall correctly.

I like this piece mainly because I have to re-tune all 6 strings of the guitar to play this piece. Its unique, and sounds umm... Arabic?? :)

Posting here so that my stuff won't disappear mysteriously if I suffer a harddisk crash or something. :)

NTU Grads earn $2.7k to $2.9k

In today's newspaper, a survey of 3400 National Technological University (NTU) graduates revealed that their average salary is from S$2,700 to S$2900! Fresh graduates... I only earn slightly more than them, and I've been working for close to 4 years.

With news like this, I just wonder if I'm severely underpaid. Wondering why all these thoughts are coming to me this year. Maybe it has finally got into me that all my friends seem to have such wonderful bonuses and I don't. Their bonuses are like more than double mine, and their salaries can be like 20% more than mine. My reviews have always been very good, and I've been given more responsibilities. So what am I doing wrong?

To move or not to move

Time passes by so fast. I've been in the same job for 4 years. I was enjoying myself, learning new things. However, suddenly I feel very stressed out. Might be due to the current project I'm in now. More negative thoughts have been going through my head.

Should I move on? Or give another shot? It doesn't really help that my peer is earning 20% more than me. And I'm only counting gross salary. I've not look at bonuses and stuff. I think the project is getting into me.

I can only wait till July.