How to resolve the credit card problem when taking taxi

Personally, I've encountered quite a few times when taking the taxi that the credit card terminal is mysteriously not working. When they show it to me, it seems to me rather that they off the device than it's not working.

I found a simple solution to this problem. Before I go into the taxi, I will tell them straight that I've no cash and I'm only paying by credit card. If they still say its not working, then too bad. I will hop on to the next one. Of course if you're really pissed off with the taxi driver due to various reasons, you can always take down the taxi number and report that taxi to the taxi company on why they allows taxis with faulty equipment to be in service.

I still remember back in the days when I was driving that I'm forbidden from driving off the vehicle if there is anything wrong with it. Well, I guess the standard has now changed. Even taxis can catch fire in the tunnels now.

Last time I will be getting a full leather sofa

I think this is the last time I will be getting a full leather sofa. Got a 2L full leather sofa from Species Home Furnishing which was delivered starting of year 2010. Within a year, this happened!

I've never sat down at this corner of the sofa and the only thing I ever did to this corner is to rest my elbow against it. Fine! The sides can't withstand the weight of my elbow. I could live with this small patch of eyesore.

However shortly after that, maybe about 14-15months after the sofa was delivered to me, the sofa started "flaking" at around the area which I'm sitting at. Tada, now this is what my sofa looks like.

The only way I can sit on my sofa now is to cover this patch with a piece of cloth which you can see slightly in my first picture. This sofa costs almost $1,900 and this is the quality I get! Severely disappointed. Now I know why some people only get fabric sofa. Expensive lesson learned!!

Pasir Ris One@Pasir Ris

Looks like this is going to be the last of the DBSS launches. I still have no idea what's the whole point of creating the DBSS sites because it is neither here (HDB) nor there (private). However, if they revive the concept of private apartments, just maybe this will make sense. I will not repeat what I have written in my other posts on DBSS and you can refer to my other posts for more information.

DBSS @ Pasir Ris has been named Pasir Ris One, and is located at Pasir Ris Central, right next to White Sands. The indicative pricing and configuration are as follows:

3 room	~65 sqm (103 units)	from $390,000 to $490,000	A/c Ledge; Living Room w/ Balcony
4 room	~86 sqm (237 units)	from $550,000 to $670,000	Big A/c Ledge; Living Room w/ Big Balcony; Master Bedroom w/ Big Balcony
5 room	~105 sqm (107 units)	from $650,000 to $770,000	Big A/c Ledge; Living Room w/ Big Balcony; Master Bedroom w/ Big Balcony; Suggest Study Room location

You can take a look for more information here. The pricing for Pasir Ris One as usual is off the charts, mainly because it is next to White Sands, and near many schools. It is also not stated that there are built-in wardrobes, kitchen cabinets and appliances, air-conditioning system, etc. However, so far I've not seen a DBSS that does not provide this standard furnishings.

Based on the floor plan, the flats look quite small because even the 3-room flats have balconies. For 4-room flats and 5-room flats, both include big balconies for the living room and master bedroom respectively. Although it is not stated the size of the interior, it should be quite small based on the floor map. However, I like the fact that it is squarish in shape and that the bomb shelter is accessed through the kitchen so the ugly door is hidden from the living room. The kitchen is also the longish rectangular kind so it should be more "spacious". The suggested study room location may also mean that it is optional for the 5 room flats so you may have a bigger living room/dining room.

The Centrale8 post includes some of the calculations I did to see if it fits into my affordability matrix so I will not repeat it here. The psf pricing ranges around $650psf. Although it is next to White Sands shopping mall and the MRT, the simple fact is that it's right at the other end of the island. It may make sense if you work near Pasir Ris but for that price, I think the resale HDB at Pasir Ris should be cheaper.

Is it worth paying $650psf for a HDB flat, 99 year lease, with all the quotas and limitations?

To be the person you want to become

I quote from Earl Nightingale:

For a person to build a rich and rewarding life for himself, there are certain qualities and bits of knowledge that he needs to acquire. There are also things, harmful attitudes, superstitions, and emotions that he needs to chip away. A person needs to chip away everything that doesn't look like the person he or she most wants to become.

We'll need to let go of the negative attitudes so that we can move forward. To be the person you want to become, you will need to continuously renew yourself. There are always new things to learn and after learning, the things you do will be much more rewarding.

Cloud is about TCO, direct and indirect

I think the problem with cloud computing is that most organisations are only looking at the initial costs of the cloud, and not at the total benefits that cloud computing will bring.

What are the benefits that I feel that some organisations are not looking at?

1. Scaling computing resources up and out
2. Facility management of these computer resources and allow it scale as and when required
3. The manpower required to do the operational work to scale up and out of the computing resources

Many forget the importance of the last point because this frees your manpower from doing the operational work and allow them to do more value-adding work as they are no longer worrying about keeping the lights on. The costs involved is both tangible and intangible, and the savings can be tremendous.

However, I still hear people said that cloud computing is expensive. To see the cost savings, you must redesign your business operations to complement cloud computing. Only then can you can see the savings.

Personally though, if you're looking at service quality, the ability of scaling computer resources as and when required is a competitive advantage that few has. That I believe is the true benefit of cloud computing.

Quest for GDP Growth Worsen Lives

It seems like our new World Bank president, Dr Kim, has edited a book called "Dying for Growth" back in 2000. What's so controversial about this? One of the lines in the book says that the studies within present evidence that the quest for growth in GDP and corporate profits has in fact worsened the lives of millions of women and men. It goes against the "truth" that the pursuit for growth produces good outcomes.

I have not read the book but it seems that he is arguing that the key point is not the GDP growth but the distribution of gains from economic growth that decides whether it makes life better for the poorest.

I believe this hits the nail right onto the head. It doesn't matter how much the economy grow if the distribution of gains is restricted to a privilege few. Translated? The pursuit should not be on any type of growth but the growth that will be the easiest to distribute the gains to make life better for the poor. Hopefully the governments of the world recognises that.

Inflation is up 5.2%

These are the Singapore inflation rates for 2012:
January: 4.8%
February: 4.6%
March: 5.2%


Housing and Transport are once again leading the pack, rising by 9.4% and 5.5% respectively year on year. Inflation rose across the board, in particular Transport. The uptick in inflation was more than expected, especially for transport. The only reason that I could think of is because of the price of COE and more people taking private transport due to the unreliability of SMRT trains.

Inflation for next month? I'm not surprised if it can go up to 6%. :( Although the oil price has been quite stable, the COE pricing seems to be affecting the overall inflation rate.

Idea of iPhone Gloves is not new

Recently, there was a news coverage on a group of teenagers creating gloves that will work on the iPhone. The funny thing is that I remember reading somewhere about it long time ago and the idea is definitely not new. My wife recently reminded me where I saw it. It's at MakeZinc! Apparently, Becky has posted a way to make this way back in end 2009! You can refer to her post here. It's not rocket science. It's just conductive threads.

I'm not sure if the students have seen this video but the impression I had when I watched the news was that it's something new, which is definitely not true. More research should have been done to check if this was something that was done previously. Becky has recently made a video last November showing how to sew the conductive threads onto your gloves. You can check out her video below on how to make it.

Something is wrong with SMRT

Today's news reported that SMRT owned Bukit Panjang LRT has broken down and as a result, passengers have to walk on the MRT tracks to the nearest LRT station.

Is it me or SMRT trains keep breaking down? This is the 5th breakdown in less than a month! I wonder if they know what is preventive maintenance. The recent train driver's inquiry revealed that they actually drove the train out even though the fault indicator lights were on. I remember way back when I was driving, I have strict instructions not drive out the vehicle if it is not functioning properly.

Isn't that the norm?

Turning back may mean progress

I quote from C.S. Lewis:

We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man.