Fragrance pure lotus single yolk mooncake is made of a mixture of mungbean paste with a flavour of sesame oil

Fragrance pure lotus mooncake is not pure lotus. It is a mixture of lotus paste with plenty of mungbean paste. To enhance the flavour of this mixture, Fragrance relied on sesame oil. 

In terms of price, that is why Fragrance mooncake, i.e., "pure lotus paste" with single yolk is sold at merely SGD 5.50.

How was the taste? It was not pure lotus paste. Lotus seed is expensive, and so is its paste. If you expect lotus paste, you will be disappointed. If you just wanted to have something sweet, it is not bad.

In Singapore, it is rare to get a mooncake with pure lotus paste. Mostly are adulterated with mungbean or other paste. There are several brands that used pure lotus paste and these brands also catered to have less sugar in the product. 

Pure lotus with less sugar will enhance the flavour of lotus. If you had never tried a mooncake that is made of pure lotus, you should try once. Bengawan Solo is one brand that we preferred, and the same pure lotus paste single yolk mooncake is SGD 10.50. Almost twice as much as Fragrance's. 

It was not surprising that we were disappointed with Fragrance's but in terms of price, we can't complain.

Fig. 1 Pure lotus paste single yolk mooncake from Fragrance

Fig. 2 The mooncake from Fragrance

 

Sole pierced by tooth pick

Westgate at B1 level is having a Japanese food fare if anyone is interested. I guess the products are transported from Japan because the price is crazy expensive.
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Are the food good?
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I had no idea because the queue was long and lots of people were seen lining to get the free samples.
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These samples were cut into smaller pieces and held with a tooth pick. The toothpick quality is good. Not those cheap and less pointy ones.
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I wished that it was not the case. If it had been the cheaper ones, I wouldn't be writing a random blog.
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When people were sampling the free food, some decided to be a litter bug. These people are suspected to be hoggers too. I abhor them because when they threw away the pointy toothpicks on the floor, I got injured.
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There I was, walking around the fare and getting a pack of mochi. All of a sudden I felt a sharp pain on my sole.
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When I held my foot up, I saw a pointy toothpick sticking on my sole. I was wearing slippers.
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It would have been a funny pic to take and share, if it hadn't been painful enough that I had to pull it out ASAP.
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I have been pierced by nail, screw, glass and other stuff on the road. But having a toothpick sticking out of my sole in a shopping mall really added up to the wierd stuff that could have happened to me.
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Just to share

Google Play star rating is not up-to-date

Google Play star rating doesn't help much to gauge the popularity of apps. It also doesn't help to inform users about how responsive the developers are to users' feedback. What the star rating does is to average off the rating of earlier versions down to the latest ones.Hence, if the earlier versions were good and millions voted for 5 stars, that rating stays throughout. Even when the app failed later that resulted in millions who removed the apps, the star rating would still contain the previous votes. If that is the case, it will not tell new users how good the app currently is. To me, when the star rating is not real-time it does not help. That is because it won't help users to gauge the real-time performance/popularity of the app in question.

Another benchmark about app performance (or popularity) is the number of downloads. Most hot apps would have millions "downloaded". However, this benchmark is also not useful for the same reason as the star rating, i.e. it is not real-time. Assume that initial release of the apps attracted millions to download it. The millions love it, but then due to complacency on the developers' part, the app lost its luster and millions removed the apps from their phones. Such movement is not reflected on the scale. To me, that is not informative. For all I know, the 10 millions downloaded could well be "1000 still using it" scenario.

All-in-all, these two ratings are not being helpful to both users and developers. If these ratings or benchmarks can be made into real-time, it would help users to decide if they want to waste their phone memory downloading the apps. Also, real-time rating will pressurize developers into addressing users' feedback in order to keep their rating high because they can't afford to have the rating drop overnight!

Wouldn't that be a good idea, Google?

"Smart" lift invasion in Singapore taken over human mind

This could be the first incident of "smart" lift that ignored and overridden human "command". An elderly lost her left hand to a lift at Tah Ching Road.
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I'm not sure if this incident happened due to machine fault, poor maintenance, or worst, "smart overriding" program installed into the machine (to prevent holding of lift by users). The lift that severed the elderly hand was from Sigma Elevator Singapore.
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I'm not sure if many have realized that we are seeing more smart lifts in Singapore. Lifts that are able to override user holding the lift doors open for longer than allowed time. There is a program now to prevent lift hogging/waiting by users. Although it is useful to many, such smart program is dangerous to some users.
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I've recently visited Gardens by the Bay. My family stopped at Bayfront MRT station. We travelled with two baby prams. On three out of four occasions, while using the lifts there, we had the lifts close their doors on us while we were trying to move the last pram out/in. This is in spite of holding the open button from both sides of the doors. The lift just sounded the warning alarm as it nonchalantly closes. For reason unknown, it has to close before it can open again. Anything in its way will surely get squashed, our baby included.
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In instance like this, I prefer the mechanical sensor over light-mediated sensor. With mechanical sensor, there is less likelihood of failure to stop the door from closing. I am made dumber by this smart lift. I hope this is not the reason for phasing the mechanical ones out.
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Having warning sign discouraging users from holding the lift door by hand is useless and insensitive. There is no need to hold the door if we are clear from it in the first place. Don't assume that users are holding the lift door for FUN. Think about the user's who are pushing someone on a wheelchair. How about parents with two baby prams? How about users who have difficulty moving? 

A no hand warning sign is stuck on the leave. I have no idea what it means, although it is safe to assume that users are discourage from stopping the doors with their hands.

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The case of the above "smart lift" can only be designed by someone who are clueless and ignorant about practicality. Having the know-how but lacking practical sense does unfortunately defeat the purpose and aim of developing a modern and useful living concept. If the programmer/designer had taken into account users such as those with difficulty moving, or family with members who are reliant on prams/wheels (make it a family with two prams and an elderly on a wheel chair going to the lift at a time), they would not have made the oversight in the first place.
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Another stupid example is the water faucet at public toilet. Most mechanical ones are phased out and replaced by "smart faucets" with motion/light sensor. To conserve water, users are only allowed a running water for like 1-2-3 sec. The time-out is irritating when the freaking liquid soap that these toilets provide are so foamy that they are difficult to get rid off by a 3 sec running water. It takes at least 5 x 3 sec to remove that stuff off my hands. Now, what happens if a parent needs to rinse a baby's bottle? Try it out and you will fume. That's because some sensors are homing only to heat signature (aka infra-red)!
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Sometimes, I think it would be much better to just walk out of the public toilet without washing my hand.
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Now imaging me shaking your hand later. Now imaging all Singaporeans in public shaking your hands daily. What happens if these people who forgone washing hands in washroom/toilet starts preparing food or drink? What if hospitals have these "smart faucets" and the staffs there starts to forgo washing their hands.
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Not so smart now, right? When technology impedes our daily activity, we "adapt". In other word, if we can't adopt a technology, we have no choice but to adapt.
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Having smart technology will only work if the public is given the avenue to give feedback. Don't just shove it up to our face and neglect to take note of feedback.
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While most tech gadgets die naturally in the market when they are deemed useless by the public, I can't say the same for public infrastructure. They will stay longer because of the higher cost of installation. So, before we buy in bulk or commit to signing contracts with manufacturers, at least have a trial run using the public as Guinea pigs. Our feedback will be priceless and helpful to prevent unnecessary cost/live later.
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Just a thought.

Re: Wisma Atria workers in shock over death of Indonesian man

A 48 yo Indonesian man died from a fall at Wisma Atria around 9 to 10 pm on Thurday. The reason for the fall is uncertain although witness claimed that the man jumped.
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It must have been a shocking experience for the staffs/workers at the mall. The people who rushed to resuscitate the man are commendable.
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One of the staffs, Dolly, at the mall pitied the man and offered prayer to him.
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Some commentators of Yahoo News started comments about Gambling, Money, Health, etc. that could have driven the man to jump (although we are not certain if the case had been suicide or otherwise).
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This is my thought.
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• If it had been an accident, the investigators must find out the factor(s) that contributed to the fall and prevent such recurrence.
• If it had been a suicide, I have only this to say, “it was an irresponsible act by the man”. I am truly shocked by his apathy (even though he might not have been in a right state of mind).

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Let me explain why I am saying the latter.
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In any other days, in a mall, there could have been families or visitors who could be walking around the mall. There could have been children, parents, loved ones, or friends.
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To have someone jumping down from a fifth floor could have caused an unintended death to these people on the ground. Children could surely succumb to the lethal impact from above. We are lucky indeed that there had not been a misfortune in this case. I wouldn’t dare to think what could have happened if the man had "fallen" on a busy weekend!
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Regardless of the factor that contributes to suicidal thoughts, to decide to jump from a high place is always irresponsible, especially when it happens without consideration for other peoples' safety below.
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Finally, for those who are in hurt and contemplating suicide, please give yourself a chance to live by contacting:

• Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) at 1800-221-4444

To friends/families who know anyone who are going through tough time, just be there to lend a support or call SOS if you need advice.
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Just to share

LTA officer fighting with Uber driver

The news can be read here (Suspended LTA officer caught fighting Uber driver on camera arrested by police, Straits Times).

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I don’t see a victim here. Both are at fault. The Uber driver was confrontational and the body language and first response (e.g. immediately punching to the officer in retaliation) after being punched suggest that the 59 years old are hot headed too. If he had been younger, the one lying on the ground being kicked on the rib would be the LTA officer.

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Next, the officer is “rude”?

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Sometimes, we don’t really know how to distinguish between “rude” and stern. Being stern and strict can be mistaken as being “rude”. Similarly, security guard at certain buildings sometimes appear RUDE which is puzzling because they are supposed to be friendly-but-assertive in their job.

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Even if the LTA is “rude”, it would be foolish to confront the officer just because you are upset with his attitude. That foolishness caused one arrested and another one missing a tooth.

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That’s what happens when we let our temper reign.

Singapore Yu Sang fish got “GBS”

MOH and NEA have advised the public not to consume raw fish dishes using Song (or Asian Bighead carp) and Toman (snakehead fish) in this news report (Traces of GBS found in raw fish samples: MOH reported in Channel NewsAsia). That is because traces of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) bacteria has been detected in some samples.

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Later, when I went to the kitchen to get water, I told my wife that Singapore “Yu Sang” fish has got GBS. She looked at me puzzled. 

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I repeated, “Don’t eat Yu Sang because they got GBS”. She gave me a similar puzzled look.

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I laughed out loud when she explained to me later why she had looked puzzled. This is what she thought I said.

Singapore beggars on the rise?

Gullible and clueless are the “generous” people who forked out money to pay beggars on the street who displayed limbless but abled bodies. Some are the elderly. According to Ministry of Social & Family Development (MSF), beggars can sometimes get S$100 to S$200 in just a few hours (Begging an “easy way out” for some S’poreans, Straits Times). That is still the status quo, but when more beggars are joining the begging game, that lucrative pie will be diluted even more. By then, with more competition means that most of them will have to up their ante by crafting innovative means to move people emotionally to pay more.

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Fortunately, Singapore is a place that will not allow a child to be manipulated to beg. Countries where children are being FORCED to beg have only these gullible people to thank for putting them into such predicament. In some parts of the world, children are kidnapped and maimed so that they can be DISPLAYED to earn easy money for syndicates. All thanks to people who like to fork out money the easy way. Example, Siem Reap Milk Powder Scam in Cambodia, child beggars on Malaysian street, and Slumdog Millionaires the movie that depicted thesad reality in India where children are kidnapped and maimed to beg for money. Did paying child beggar alleviated their poor condition? No!

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When I see people giving money to beggars, I don’t see them as caring individuals. Rather, I see them as clueless about helping people. They are akin to parents who give sweets to crying children.

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Lately, on TV there have been commercials highlighting the 8th ASEAN Para Games 2015 depicting our athletes who braved daily challenges to achieve their dream and representing Singapore in the Para Games. To me, they have already won. The commercial touched me so much because by seeing their happy, proud and dignified faces made me humbled by their achievements.

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However, I can’t say the same to seeing beggars making themselves looked undignified and sprawled out on pavement with extended hand and the sad look. 

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There are also the visually impaired who are made to sit in a corner the whole day begging. The caretaker who brought these people there just leave them at the place to beg daily. Is that living? Worst is when I see them staying there until late at night at 8 to 9 pm. Did the caretaker took the money and spent it on happy hour and forgot about their care?

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For those who resisted begging, but instead learnt new talent/skill to show in street performance (which required annual license), I salute you. Examples are:

• Visually impaired lady who played musical instrument. I am more supportive of her than the rest. She is independent and talented. She used to play only the Tambourine but she later learnt how to play the harmonica.
• An old man who played the Chinese instrument called Erhu. He is worth supporting.

Now, I used to see only one beggar at the MRT station where I travel to work. Today, I am seeing at least three.

• One who held a card saying that he had “Osteoporosis”. He used to hold crutches but now he is travelling in an electric scooter. I doubt that he knows what osteoporosis means. He is just 30 to 40 years old without any sign of osteoporosis, except that he bandaged his leg. If he had written “fracture”, that would have been more convincing.
• A man with amputated legs sprawling out on the walkway.
• At least two ladies with tissue papers.
• Another obese man on electric scooter.

Begging is illegal in Singapore. You can apply for a license to perform on the street but you can not beg. However, a loophole in law had produced the so called “Tissue Paper” aunty/uncle who are now technically “not begging”. Loop holes are what encourage people to misuse it and thus, we are getting more “Tissue Paper” sellers in Singapore.
When the government tried to discourage the practise by imposing a S$120 licence, Singaporeans made a hoo-ha. Well, that means Singapore will have another attraction to talk about by travellers, apart from Durian and the food. Versatile usage of tissue papers, e.g. from chopping for seats to begging. 

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I guess if begging gets out of hand, the government will surely intervene. We wouldn't want people to get hooked up to begging. 

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Just a thought.

Getting a laptop in Singapore? What to look out for?

Whenever I am set out to look for laptop, I am never prepared. The thing that I took into consideration first was always price, CPU performance, and RAM. Most times, the acquired laptop would last me more than 5 years while one time it only lasted a year.
I have a Samsung notebook that I am still using for > 10 years. It can no longer support most of the software in use today, but is can still permit playing yesteryear games and doing some MS Office 97.
This particular notebook elevated my impression on Samsung product. I have another netbook and ultrabook from Samsung. Both never disappointed me so far. In our household, we have NEC Versa notebook and it is still working. However, NEC design was bad. the wiring from MB to LCD got severed when the notebook was repeatedly flipped open and closed. I had to disassemble the machine to notice the severed wire and get replacement cable to replace it. I did that DIY as the 2 years warranty was over.
Acer TravelMate was a bad experience. The machine constantly burns up whenever in use for a duration of time. It crashed after less than a year. A visit to the Service Centre suggested that the MB was dead. The tech guy suggested that I top up few hundreds to get a newer and better version. I adamantly declined since I didn’t want to invest further on a brand that didn’t do a good job in the first place. After the MB change, the LCD kaput after few months later. Fortunately it was the backlight problem and EBay again solved my problem. I scoured for the right inverter and got it delivered to me. DIY to replace that part. A visit to any store would have requested that the whole LCD be replaced, which would have cost S$200 or more as compared to S$20 to 30 for the inverter.
Now, after 3 years of using the current Notebook from Samsung, it is time to get a new Notebook that will support most of the current software in use. I am still a MS Windows supporter. Although, I have dabbled with Linux, Mac and Android, I think MS Windows is still the choice for me.
Criteria for the next machine:

• Processing speed. Intel is best, AMD is good and affordable. A review of processors at ComputersShopper and TechRadar. I would want one that is power efficient and “cool-headed” (not burning up with fever).
• RAM. Slots and maximum RAM available for upgrade.
• HDD. Now there are two main types, spindle-type/mechanical HDD and solid state SSD. The latter is like a thumbdrive/flashdrive storage, only better. The spindle-type HDD makes noise and if dropped, it will damage the mechanical parts, whereas SSD will not. Talking about that, a salesperson at Challenger did that demonstration for a colleague to make that point! I was an accidental observer. SSD is faster than HDD but SSD is expensive. Soon, there will be light-based memory to take the spot of SSD. Probably then SSD will cost less. The capacity of SSD/HDD isn’t very important (as long as most software/games can fit into it comfortably). A 1 TB should be safe, while 500GB is no complain. Cloud storage is the way to go nowadays with their great sync and RAID function allowing better protection of our precious data. For example, Dropbox charges approx. USD10 per month for 1TB to USD15 per month per user/team for unlimited storage.
• Graphic and sound should be above average.
• Additional features: USB-A, mini- and micro-USB ports are going obsolete, there is a newcomer in town and it is USB-C. However, I still don’t like the feel of USB-C. Similar to USB-A, mini- and micro-USB, they jut out like a patient wearing intravenous (IV) cannula on an arm which is easy to accidentally shift the connection (Fig. 1). Thumbprint security feature is a joke. Longer battery life is a must (at least 6 hours). Screen size should be > 10.1” diagonally. Should have desired preloaded software, e.g. OS, MS Office, Brand’s additional bundled software, etc. Noise level tolerable (without internal cooling fan making aeroplane turbine sound). Trayless DVD writer. Don’t get Blu-Ray Disc (BD) ROM because a 25 GB BD disk is very expensive (at a range of S$0.50 to >S$1.00 per piece. If you get an equivalent 1 TB, it is about 40 pieces BD. That will cost 40 x S$0.75 = S$30.00 (for comparison 1TB “rewriteable” external HDD is at S$85.00). Moreover, BD is rare in Singapore. Bluetooth, HDMI, and network port are must. Touchscreen is okay but not necessary. Built-in webcam. Wireless connection should dual band at both 2.4 and 5 GHz (e.g. 802.11ac) but not necessary because a  dual band wireless adapters are selling at S$20 to 40 on EBay.

Fig. 1 USB-A, mini-, micro-USB, and USB-C all share the same bulky plug that jut out precariously like an IV cannula.

What happens when your online accounts are compromised?

Well, the first immediate thing I tried was to call IT helpdesk. Alas, I had no contact number readily available to call them.
When I did find out the contact number via GOOGLE, the Helpdesk was only available during office hours! That took me by surprise. Does it mean that our accounts shouldn’t be compromised after office hours and especially on weekends, else we are at the mercy of hackers? Fortunately, most servers will have their own workable “compromised account detector” and without fail, most compromised accounts will be inactivated.
Now, what about other online accounts such as Facebook and email services? Have we got the solution to a potential problem of having these accounts hacked/hijacked?

• Facebook. If your account is believed to be compromised, be sure that you have internet access. You can go to Report Compromised Account.
• Yahoo account. Go to Yahoo! Password Helper. Then select “My account may have been compromised”. Follow the instructions. Note that Yahoo adopted 2FA and had special security feature for different apps in smart phone.
• Google account. Go to Account recovery form. Then select “I’m having other problems signing in”. Follow the instructions. Google had also adopted 2FA.
• Banks. All have adopted 2FA.
• Paypal. I am not comfortable with lack of 2FA feature here. Anyway, if account is hijacked, go to Can’t log in. Choice the right option and continue. If you prefer call, then the number is +6565104650 (weekday from 8 am to 10 pm while weekends from 9 am to 6 pm). Paypal had not adopted 2FA.
• Online shops. Not so dangerous as payment is normally via credit card or paypal UNLESS you reuse the same password everywhere.
• Twitter. If your account has been hijacked (i.e. password deliberately changed), then request a password reset to retrieve your account. New password will be sent to your email address, unless that information is also altered. See help page. You can go to Support for hacked account. I think Twitter and other service providers will anticipate that sometimes password reset is impossible especially when information pertaining to email and contact could also have been altered by the hackers (a case study). In that case, personally contacting the help support team will be needed but validating your ownership will require competency of the service provider.

Most of the online accounts in Singapore, especially government services are adopting a two-factor authentication (2FA) type of login. This is way better than having to demand users to frequently change passwords every 6 months! Password is way too obsolete because it can be guessed by automated login attempts using differing permutation of characters. The only exception is when login is made extra difficult for supercomputers to figure out, e.g. answer simple question about random archived Google Images that only HUMAN can do, else wait for 10 min before attempting next login. That will surely take ages to figure out.
I dread to think that my company would have a one password to access all staffs’ information. That would be disastrous because personal information, contacts, emails, records and whatnot will be accessible by just one compromised password! I think a good practice should be to segregate services into separate services with sensitive information having a much more difficult requirement to access, e.g. 2FA or via assigned safe IP addresses (well, at least the IP address should be from Singapore and not somewhere in Ghana).
Another way hackers can gain into our accounts is by exploiting the reporting account compromised. It happened when Paypal and GoDaddy played a part in helping a hacker take control of GoDaddy account. First, call Paypal agent to get the last four digits (seems like no harm) of credit card (note that the Paypal agent is human who has access to all your sensitive information; so when he/she errs, that will allow the hacker to gain and you to lose). The hacker called GoDaddy and said that he can only remember the last four digits of the credit card, and voila! instant gain of access to the account. Both Paypal and GoDaddy erred in human factor!
A word of advice would be to shun away email providers that have bad security feature. Don’t keep credit card detail with half-baked service providers that don’t have 2FA feature.

Singapore checking/current accounts

I am not going to talk about interest rate for customers because interest rate nowadays is negligible.
Citibank checking account
This is for personal checking account: Minimum balance is SGD5000; below SGD5000, SGD10 fee per month applies; free checkbook.

OCBC current account (bank opens on Sundays)
This is for personal current account: Minimum balance is SGD3000; below SGD3000, SGD7.50 fee per month applies; checkbook is charge at SGD10 per book.

POSB eCurrent account
This is for personal eCurrent account: No minimum balance required (BUT there is the risk of POSB taking money from your SAVINGS ACCOUNT to pay any outstanding amount in the current account); A monthly fee of SGD 2 applies if SAVING ACCOUNT is below SGD1500; SGD10 per checkbook.

UOB current account
For personal current account: Minimum balance at SGD3000; SGD7.50 per month applies if deposit is below SGD3000; SGD10 per checkbook.

Standard Chartered “Cheque & Save” (current) account
For personal account: Minimum balance of SGD5000; monthly fee of SGD2 applies; additional SGD7.50 per month applies if deposit is below SGD5000, thus, if deposit is SGD4999, you pay SGD 9.50 (compared to SGD10 per month for Citibank with same condition); free checkbook

CIMB current account
Note that I don’t like complicated product choices (which CIMB is doing).
For StarSaver account: Minimum initial deposit of SGD5000; there is no minimum balance required (BUT interest to customers is applied when balance is at SGD5000 or above); SGD1 per month applies; Balance below SGD5000 is not charged any additional fee; checkbook cost not mentioned.
For Shariah type, refer to CIMB StarSaver-i account.

HSBC Current account
For personal account: Minimum balance of SGD3000; below that, SGD7.50 per month fee applies; free checkbook

Comparison and my thoughts

• Minimum balance requirement should be less than SGD5000. SGD3000 seems to be the standard (except POSB which tap into SAVINGS ACCOUNT, which is risky in my opinion because SAVINGS & CURRENT SHOULDN’T BE MIXED!).
• Not interested in any interest on deposit to customers because the number is negligible nowadays. I would prefer to use the SGD2000 for other investment purposes rather than park it in CURRENT ACCOUNT (which charges 2.5% fee if the balance drops below SGD5000 [Citibank]).
• I am not interested in FREE checkbook. I haven’t even used up 10% of the 50 pages checkbook given by Citibank! Why would I be bothered with SGD10 per book then? FREE books don’t interest me. Reasonable monthly fee is more enticing.
• Low to no monthly fee for CURRENT account with requirement for low balance in current/checking account. I prefer to keep SGD3000 in the current rather than park additional SGD2000 for the minimum SGD5000 current account. The extra SGD2000 could have been used in other investments.
• CURRENT and SAVINGS account should be SEPARATED! Banks that tap into SAVINGS to pay off CURRENT accounts are risky business unless that SAVING is not the only and main savings basket to the customer.

Customers with checking accounts in Singapore should be aware of T&C and bank service fees

What irks me and probably many others is that banks don't work in the best interest of customers. When banks advertise next time, they should just say the truth, "WE WORK ONLY FOR YOUR MONEY & CUSTOMERS ARE JUST NUMBERS".

I have just realized that Citibank checking account had updated their terms and conditions (T&C). It used to be that we have to keep a minimum of $2000 in the account to have the service fee waived. I was surprised to notice that that minimum amount had been revised to $5000. If customers have less than $5000 in their checking accounts, a monthly fee of $10 per month applies. I am charged $50 for 5 months.

What does it mean?

Citibank is earning at least 2.4% pa of interest if my deposit is $4999 (above $5000 for waiver). Or at least 12% pa if my deposit is $1000. Also, if I have $100 in the account, it will only take 10 months for Citibank to wipe it clean.

Now, what upsets me is that Citibank did not contact me to inform about the service fee charges. There is no courtesy call to talk to customers and advice them to top up the deposit so that Citibank will not keep on savaging customers' hard-earned deposits (without them knowing about it; akin to a silent killer, e.g. cancer). If there should be any service charges, we as customers should be made aware of first before Citibank (or any other banks) starts deducting deposits! Furthermore, Citibank should charge us via bills and not by automatic deduction from our accounts! At least with bills, customers are made aware of impending fees or bills to be paid. By surreptitiously deducting our deposit is unfair (especially when some customers don't regularly check online statements) or might be oversea on months' assignment.

Why Citibank bother to get customers' contact details if Citibank will not use that to talk to customers when there is a REAL NEED? To me, the only use of my contact detail to Citibank is to SPAM call me about additional credit cards, more loans, insurance etc. That is not for my best of interest. That to me is a nuisance. It irks me more especially when Citibank failed to call me when they decided to charge me service fees. If Citibank had billed me instead of deducting from my deposit, I would have been less upset. Parking my money with Citibank is not safe anymore after this incident and especially considering that Citibank could at their whims decide to deduct something from my checking account (without notifying account holders). I am deciding to look for alternatives real soon.

Note that I have severed any link/business with Maybank Singapore. The reason: I was upset by the way Maybank handled my online money transfer oversea. I was charged two types of fees to transfer the money, i.e. transfer fee and exchange fee in Singapore for a sum of money that I wanted transferred to someone in Malaysia.

I was shocked to get a call from the recipient saying that the amount I transferred was insufficient. It seemed that Maybank Malaysia decided to charge me a transfer/deposit fee as well (and deducted the sum from the money transferred without notifying me!). That was a big embarrassment to me especially when the exact sum transferred was to pay off an EXACT debt! Nowadays, whenever I see solicitors from Maybank credit cards/services, I simply tell them that I hate the bank they represent and walk off.

I am contemplating of doing the same for CITIBANK.


Sorry, I just needed to vent out my frustration. That was my two cents thought.


Related complaints about fees for checking accounts in other banks

• Standard Chartered Bank complaints - monthly fee for checking account

Read also
Singapore Checking/current accounts

Re: Indonesia's Vice-President Jusuf Kalla criticises neighbours for grumbling about haze

I just couldn’t resist responding to this article about some Indonesian politicians’ unsophisticated reply to Indonesian neighbours’ (mainly Singapore and Malaysia) concern about the haze. Read the article here.

"For 11 months, they enjoyed nice air from Indonesia and they never thanked us. They have suffered because of the haze for one month and they get upset" – Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla.

My analogy to the statement above is like this,

“For 364 days, I have given you painless and carefree days, and you have not thanked me. I just give you one day of senseless slapping to your face and you start to get upset”

Do you think that make sense to us Singapore (and Malaysia)?

Just a thought.

Are we by default leasing our home to domestic helpers?

I have a colleague who was shocked when she saw via real-time recording of her home CCTV that an unidentified man went into her house. That man was led in by her helper (without consent from the employer). That man came into the house when my colleague's 2 years old girl was asleep.
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That man knew his way into the house and which room to go to. He went directly to the helper's bedroom. The thing about real time CCTV is that there is no playback. You can press a record button (when you need to record) but the rest of the footage is not saved (unless you opt for pricier hardware that can accommodate recording for several days before it overwrite).
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Panic struck my friend and she had to leave work to rush home. Several calls were made and neighbour was alerted. My colleague's main concern was for the child. The neighbour was instructed to go into the house and retrieve the baby. Reluctantly, the helper let the neighbour into the house and told the neighbour that she had guest. The guest was let off and most importantly, the baby was safe.
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My friend decided to terminate the helper's contract. The agency advised my friend against reporting to the police because that will delay the replacement. To a family with working parents, my friend had no choice but to comply. The helper was sent home with high probability of returning to Singapore to work. That would be a disaster to the next household.
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After some thoughts, my friend decided to report to the police. After much deliberation, the police decided that there is no case against the helper and the "intruder". The police said that since the helper invited the unidentified man to the house, there is no criminal element to it. My friend insisted that the helper "invited" the man without their consent. To that, the police said that since the helper is staying in my friend's house, she has the right to invite people over.
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All in all, it would suggest that if a household hire a domestic helper, it is by default that the said household is leasing their home to the helper and thus, the helper has the rights to invite people over.
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I was shocked to know this!
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An advice to parents/employers who have to leave their babies at home with domestic helpers (especially without any other family members such as grandparents at home): -
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The next time you renew your helpers' contract, please include a term in the contract that forbids helpers from inviting people over to your houses (esp. without your consent). Having it written in legally binding contract will protect you from having to go through what my friend went through. I guess that would make the "invitation" illegal then.
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For now, the helper is already back to Singapore waiting for the next assignment.
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Just to share.

Smoker taxi driver should be made easily identifiable

There should be a tag or sticker to identify taxi whereby the drivers smoke. Taxi made easily identifiable would be useful to passengers who are asthmatic, allergic to chemicals derived from cigarettes, pregnant ladies who are health conscious, families traveling with babies (and concerned about the thousands of chemicals in cigarettes), and people who would prefer "fresh air" in the air-conditioned taxi. It is really unbearable to be confined in an air-con vehicle with strong scent of cigarette smoke. Worst are those taxi drivers who smoke inside the car, thus leaving an unbearable cigarette smell.
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Why am I writing about this?

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For parents with children who are car sick, having them endure a trip in a cigarette-smoke choked taxi is a torture. Worst is when the smoker taxi driver was unwilling to let passengers to unwind the car window. I have came across this taxi driver and when we told him that our kid is car sick and requested to unwind the window, his reply was this,  "No. You can use plastic bag instead". With that response, we quickly requested that he stop his car. We opted to get out of his car this time rather than have our kid endure his inconsiderate attitude and smell.
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Sometimes I think that the Transport authority or Health authority should ban taxi drivers from smoking inside their cars. This is crucial for passengers who are sensitive, asthmatic, allergic, and also those who travel with babies. If it could be helped, I wouldn't want taxis with strong cigarette odor to stop by maternity hospitals to take passengers. Sorry, it is just too unacceptable to let my baby endure the lingering cigarette smoke during our travel.
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Having said that, I am still appreciative of taxi drivers who let passengers like me to unwind their car windows when requested. Their thoughts make our baby's journey comfortable without risk of puking (or sneezing). 

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Just a thought.

Roy Ngerng again

This is the last time his name will appear here I hope.

First, he is not the one who “pressurized” the government to revise the CPF matter.

Note that the opposition parties have been at it for many years before Roy’s first blog about CPF. He was merely a “surfer” above “big waves” (analogous to work done by oppositions to pressurize government to take into consideration things/matters that can be revised under CPF). Take a look at the 2006 manifesto by WP (which indicates that CPF issue had been on WP mind even before 2006 drafting of the manifesto). The government revised some CPF issues after the poor performance in the previous general election (also not because of Roy). Roy is a non-factor.

Roy is a “surfer” who tried daring stunts while trying to show-off but he crashed (when a someone highlighted to PM Lee about Roy’s defamatory blog. If that someone didn’t do that, Roy would have been a nobody and the CPF would still have been revised). Roy crashed because he paid little attention to what stunt he should and shouldn’t do. Criticising a person is one thing, accusing/defame a person is another. I agree that he got foolish enough to be USED by certain quarter to drag on this issue (esp. when he backpedalled on his apologies to PM Lee and dared to take the issue to court) but that is his choice. It is yet to be determined if his choice was foolish or genius because if he gets more attention and support, he wins. He could even get more crowd-funding for the damage claim (or NOT).

In this news, PM tackles questions on S'pore system, freedom of speech at IPS conference (4th Jul 2015; Today), I read with interest the following statement:

“Look at what people call Barack Obama on the Internet. It would have made your blood curdle.” – Dr. Zakaria advises PM Lee about whether it was a right choice to sue Roy.

To me, I’m thinking, “should we emulate the West over this”. Is it okay to damage someone’s reputation just because we are given the freedom to do so (without responsibility, repercussion, and liability)? People tend to trust gossips and bogus news and 1969 race riot set as our reminder. How about the rumours that spread after the Little India riot in 2013? E.g. Man fined $5,000 for false Little India Riot posting on Facebook.

Now, the US is facing lots of tension over police brutality/lethality over blacks. Imagine the implication if someone was to misuse expression-freedom-without-responsibility to fan hatred. I cringe just to imagine the aftermath.

For now, Roy deserve his punishment for his foolishness. Feigning ignorance over term used such as “misappropriation” is a futile attempt when evidence from his posts suggest otherwise.

Last, Roy is a non-factor for CPF changes. Also, changes to CPF is not attributed to PM Lee alone but also the people working behind CPF (if not opposition who highlighted people’s plight).

Just a thought.

Unsolicited sales or donation at HDB flats after office hours

Lately there have been several visits by salespersons or "volunteers" soliciting donations (hereafter will be termed as solicitors) to my HDB home at private hours (e.g. 7 pm to 9 pm where we would be having our dinners). There was one occasion when a solicitor rang our bell and knocked on our door at 10 pm.
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First of all, I would like to say that such action by them are unwanted and annoying. Secondly, I will not contribute a single cent to them mainly because of their inconsiderate action (e.g. encroaching our private time to have uninterrupted dinner especially after work), regardless of what they are push-selling (or push-marketing). For families with 4 months old babies and an unpleasantly loud door bell (which we never got the time to change), having someone pressing the door bell repeatedly can make your blood boil when babies started crying out from their slumber. One thing I suggest doing is to buffer your door bell with cotton balls (which worked for me).
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Let me tell you about my experience with these solicitors at my HDB neighbourhood.
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1. Ice-cream students used to coax HDB occupants to buy their products. It worked initially (and I bought some) but after the frequent visits, the trend probably died with dying demand (because I have not seen anyone of them knocking on my door anymore).
2. Donation solicitors with improper attitude and sometimes appearance. The ways they approach the subject of donation are akin to asking for fees. I got one that irked me tonight. He rang the bell and then knocked incessantly on my door. At time like this having a "legit" warning signage such as below would make my day.

   

   You can buy it at The Patriot Post Shop

3. Singtel salesperson push-selling broadband service at our home is mind boggling. Why would an established brand such as Singtel go door-to-door soliciting subscriptions?
4. Great Eastern insurance salesperson at my door step during dinner time is like asking to be shooed. What is worst was that he came back ringing my unmodified doorbell (i.e. prior to stuffing cotton balls into the darn thing) and woke up my baby at 10 pm later.
5. There are plenty of others whom I did not bother to greet them at the door step. Those who are smart will not bother to ring my bell or knock on my door. However, the one who did incessantly knocking on my door was the guy with bad attitude and appearance (see point #2). I can only try to guess his odd and inconsiderate behaviour.

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Now, we must be asking the same question right now. Are those solicitors who knocked at our HDB doors are doing something legit? If private homes such as condos can afford to have securities protecting them from unwanted solicitation, what do HDB occupants have to protect them from such unwanted solicitation?
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What is not cool is that there are some HDB occupants who motivated such trade by buying into their solicitations, e.g. products, services, or donations (I'm assuming that these donations are legit but I am sure there are also those belonging to scams). These gullible customers are doing disservice to other HDB occupants because once there is motivation sparked by sales and profits (or positive response), many others will be jumping on the bandwagon to start "pushing" their trade to other HDB occupants. Be prepared to answer more door bells and knocks if that ever happen.
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Bali Nine post-execution

Australia tried to save its citizens who were caught and sentenced to death by firing squad for trafficking huge amount of drug punishable by death. Prior to the capture, the Australians involved were given plenty of warnings (such as the figure depicted below) prior to the their endeavor in trafficking the huge amount of drug. I am guessing that they took a calculated risk.

Sourced from Death penalty news blog

It is understandable why Australia tried to save its citizens. Any country or government would do the same thing, probably Indonesia too in different circumstances. The reason being that it is the only time that any government is not dealing with difficult and pressing issues concerning home (e.g. tax, unemployment, economy, corruption, ineffective country administration, etc.) BUT rather a "war" between we and them (which is easier to tackle and serve to publicize to their citizens that "government is here to help you no matter what"). The show would be about the "we" trying to save ourselves (or preserving our good values) against "them", the perceived "enemy" (with negative values). I'm guessing that such an event would provide the only opportunity to divert the people/citizens from home-issues to something more manageable by any government (read about diversionary foreign policy).
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Bilateral ties between Australia and Indonesia will not be affected in the long run. All the threats and drama were just part of the show. No country is stupid enough to destroy a good bilateral (and economic) tie with any country just to save their convicts off-shores. There is just no real motivation to do so.
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I don't know the mastermind and Bali Nine members (i.e. who are they as persons), but the way they used people to trafficking drug sort of described some of their true selves. Furthermore, I don't really trust any people who claimed that they had turned-over-new-leaves or became god-fearing people. I only look at the cumulative deeds they had done (e.g. track record). Also, instructing teens to swallow cache of condom-wrapped-heroine to smuggle across country is considered selfish and despicable. I have no information/data about courier's death due to a leak of condom-filled-drugs that caused over-dose, but I do know that such incident happens, e.g. Henry Vera of Columbia died of over-dose due to leak of swallowed drug.
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What is the immediate effect of the post-death of Bali Nine?
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It is more interesting to know this.
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First, the drug that was meant for circulation had been eliminated (low supply).
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Second, the highlight of the case provided fresh/refreshed perspective of the real risk involved in drug smuggling in South East Asia, especially in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. With renewed reminder of such risk, the price for the drug will not be any lower any time soon (steady demand but low supply translates to higher-to-exorbitant prices).
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Third, exorbitant prices and low supply of the drug would mean that those with plenty of money will get it while the poor will be deprived of it.
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Last, less lives destroyed by drug.
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As a reminder, cocaine is not recreation drug with simple psychological addiction. It is the systemic addiction with severe withdrawal syndrome! So, don't play play (jangan main main; meaning don't fool around).
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Bali Nine death is welcomed by family and society devastated by the drug menace.
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Also, few crying moms for the death of their sons by firing square can't compare to the innumerable amount of crying mothers whose families were devastated by drugs all over the world (their crying faces were not recorded because there was no motive in doing so and hence their cries are forever hidden from the public. I guess if their crying faces were shown, there will be public unrest and any government will be butchered quickly by negative public opinion).

Sukuraman's mother Raji crying (mother of the convict). Sourced from this news.

Just a few 'Other' opinion

• When a country is weak, it will be bullied (by SusuBesarBundar at Therealsingapore)
• Opinion: "Bali Nine ringleaders deserve to die" (Sunshine Coast daily)

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If an ill person needs to kill a tumor in order to safe his/her life, then removing "societal tumor" is the same thing. Furthermore, no medicine would aim to contain any tumor with any chance of remission. We prefer to eliminate it completely. Furthermore, to contain tumor would be foolish and wasteful of resource which could have been used to help rehabilitate drug users (the real victims) instead.
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That is my one cent thought.

Logic/illogical question that went viral

Full article was referred here (from AsiaOne).
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The following is the question.
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Albert & Bernard just become friends with Cheryl, & they want to know when her birthday is. Cheryl gives them a list of 10 possible dates
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May-15   May-16   May-19
June-17   June-18
July-14   July-16
August-14   August-15   August-17
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Cheryl then tells Albert & Bernard separately the month & the day of her birthday respectively.
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Albert: I don't know when Cheryl's birthday is, but I know that Bernard does not know too.
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Bernard: At first I don't know when Cheryl's birthday is, but I know now.
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Albert: Then I also know when Cheryl's birthday is.
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So when is Cheryl's birthday?
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=======
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There are ten dates given by Cheryl. Bernard knows the day and Albert knows the month. Are they competing or what? There is no indication for the rule of this game which is frustrating, e.g. no sharing of direct information or what?
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Logic.
If Bernard was given either 19 or 18, he would have shouted I know! But he didn't. So Albert made the first comment about Albert not knowing it.
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June-17 was not it either because Bernard would have shouted I know already if he had deduced that Albert didn't know and if the month he was given was June. So June is out.
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Next is the strangest deduction by Bernard. He claimed he knew the answer, but based on what?
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After striking out the improbable answers. He is left with these.
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May-15   May-16
July-14   July-16
August-14   August-15   August-17
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When Albert said "I know that Bernard does not know too", Bernard SPECULATED that it couldn't be May or June. Why strike out May (and based on what information)?
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That would leave the following.
July-14   July-16
August-14   August-15   August-17
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Bernard secret answer is July-16 (student don't know it yet).
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Then Albert butted in saying he knew too. 

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Albert based his deduction on this, i.e. There are two 14s, so it is unlikely to be that because Bernard can't possibly guess the month. He stroke out the improbables. What are left would be.
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July-16
August-15   August-17
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Albert can't possible guess the days in August (there are two), and that leaves July-16 as the most probable answer for students to guess right.
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Back to the main problem in this question.
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To me, the major problem with this question is its inadequate information. I don't know how many contenders were able to answer this problem but I know I wouldn't be able to get it.
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IMHO, if the mock conversation had been such.
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Albert: I don't know when Cheryl's birthday is, but I know that Bernard does not know too because it doesn't fall on the months where he could have possibly guessed.
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Bernard: At first I don't know when Cheryl's birthday is, but I know now.
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Albert: Then I also know when Cheryl's birthday is.
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With the sentence in bold, then Bernard wouldn't have to speculate that May and June are improbables.
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Educated assumptions is good but speculation is not!
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Just a share.

Tired of Private Number calling in at inconvenient time?

If you are tired of receiving spam calls from Private Numbers or any numbers, you have two choices.

First, register your mobile phone number with Do Not Call Registry at Personal Data Protection Commission Singapore. That will prevent unsolicited phone calls, SMS, and fax.

If you don't want to register to Do Not Call and would want to have more control, then the second option would be to utilize your reject list setting on your Android phone (I'm not familiar with other operating systems).

Here are the steps.

Steps taken to set auto reject to Private Numbers (or Unknown).

However, be warned that if you reject Unknown (or Private Numbers), you will not be able to receive calls made from Singapore public phone booths. Strangely, calls from public phones are under Private Numbers (or Unknown).

To add a specific number to reject list, it's easy - Just go to Call Log and touch on this number. A pop up will appear showing several options with one asking "Add to Reject list". Touch that option and the number will be added to the reject list.

To select a number from Call Log to be added in the Reject List. Go to Logs and select the number by touching it. A popup will ask for several options. Select Add to reject list.

The thing about Reject list is that even my three year old toddler can do it. My number was selected in my wife's phone and added to Reject list. When I wanted to call my wife, I would get the "Line Busy" notification. I never thought that my call was rejected until I tried numerous times. This had happened twice (palms on face).