The Heartlander
It's an interesting situation we have here in Sillypore. People want financial advise but do not want to approach financial advisers aka insurance agents.

They want financial advise but don't want to pay for it. Insurance agents offer it for free, risk getting pushed products. PIAS (google it) offers it, but people think paying more than a thousand for financial advise is too expensive. Seldom do they know that they are paying more than that in terms of commission to the financial products agent.

It's uniquely Sillypore, where we demand the best for less, if not free. Then when they get it, they complain they are being conned.

This is how I felt when I surf around reading about people complaining about how they get conned by insurance agents, get conned by bank etc etc etc.

I like one particular phrase. "If you see MDRT, TOT or COT, you must avoid them like HIV!" hahahaha...

I've finished mugging maths for mid-terms... taking Sunday off to rest. Shall mug matlab for tomorrow and take the test on tusday!! yay.

talking about matlab, I felt quite disappointed about the tests. NUS is training compilers. I've read the past year papers, most consists of a few lines of code and asks you what are the output. I have no idea why this is the testing format for a programming module. Are you training a compiler or a programmer? I suppose next time the test will ask you what is the expected error code...

perfect living on 2009-09-28, 12:03 a.m.


I think I've mentioned this before. After my recent ventures into Austrian economics, I begin to understand why Singapore is successful and why certain economic policies are good, bad, and inevitable.

In another blog, people are considering limiting work hours to "increase employment".

Mr Tan's blog

I wrote a comment on that page but has yet to be approved.

You can educate yourself by reading this two links from Mises.

Shrink the economy

Wrong Way

If you're reading, write your thoughts in the shout box!

perfect living on 2009-09-27, 11:40 p.m.


wow, i've neglected this blog for some time.

spot the fallacies in this article.

it is very shocking that the writer of the article has a phd in economics and is probably a prof in a local uni. some of the articles regarding bailout and stimulus spending are even more... "thought-provoking". peterschiff was right, it's amazing the new paper even publishes them...

perfect living on 2009-09-24, 3:09 a.m.


it's been busy these few days.

i shall waste another post on nude webcam advertisements.

weijian says:
hello
Angela says:
hi how are you today?
weijian says:
do i know you?
Angela says:
my name is paris I'm doing great today I'm 21 yrs old how old are you?
weijian says:
...
Angela says:
listen hun, I am just about to start my webcam show with jen, come chat me there in my chat room? We can cyber, I will get naked if u do..lol!
weijian says:
test
Angela says:
I can show u how to watch free if u promise not to tell anyone else how to do it???PLEASE
weijian says:
test
Angela says:
well since its free the law that u gotta be 18 (nudity involved), u have to sign up with a credit card for age verification! BUT .. Once you are inside, just clikc on "Webcams" let me know what name you use to sign in with so I know it is you babe! http://www.delraypartying.com/alina2 fill out the bottom of the page then fill out the next page as well and u can see me live for free!
weijian says:
test
Angela says:
Please dont mention anything about that in the chatroom once u get in ok?
weijian says:
test
Angela says:
OH SHIT.. k I am late to start my show, I gotta get off msn...I will see ya inside my chatroom babe.. remember not to mention that I am upgrading u for free... You can use your msn name to sign in so i know it is you..
weijian says:
test
Angela says:
AUTO-RESPONSE: hey just in the middle of my free webcam show if you want to watch click the link http://www.delraypartying.com/alina2
weijian says:
test
test

perfect living on 2009-09-09, 10:21 a.m.


I feel very lonely. I'm like the only 21yr-old around that's interested in singapore stocks and the us economy. everyone is more concerned about soccer or some korean drama :(

just opened my trading account today. still have to wait for a couple of days before I'll receive anything. now i'm ready for the next crash.

perfect living on 2009-08-30, 12:38 a.m.


went for another class 2A lesson. failed the lesson though. but i had great fun hahaha.

only 2 of us... and both of us drove to the school to take class 2a, and haven't been riding for more than a year. i'm more screwed up than him, i couldn't even complete the crank course the first few tries.

ok got to sleep

perfect living on 2009-08-20, 12:22 a.m.


yay ponned mass dance and night games.

time to check on my progress of learning nonsense.

1. Class 2B
2. Class 2A in progress
3. Class 3
4. Class 4
5. Kayak 2 star
6. Sports Climbing Level 1 on Monday, 10 August
7. CMFAS Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Rules and Regulations
8. Geekstogo GeekU Senior (another few months to "graduation")
9. CCNA

That's about it. I'm really quite multi-purpose now. I can advise on insurance, become a network engineer, giving tuition, attend a course to be a 1star kayak trainer, remove malware from your comp...

my next targets.

10. PPCDL

I am really going to get this. Just you wait. hahaha, always talk about this but no action. keep getting distracted.

11. Kayak 3 Star

I'll attend at least the course. I want to learn Eskimo rolllllllll. whether I pass the assessment is a side issue. The requirement for 3 star includes 5 journeys of i think 8km each (or 6km, can't remember).

12. Class 5

Getting this when ssdc moves to woodlands in March 2010. or should i do this when it's still in jurong? From NUS to jurong driving centre is quite close. that would mean i have to take night lessons. weekend lessons would be damn shag.

as you can see, I'm running out of targets. I've dropped jlpt from my list cos I think I'll just learn the language for fun. "koping" notes from friends would be a good way to start.

perfect living on 2009-08-05, 9:09 p.m.


damn fking busy, damn fking tired. went down with flu yesterday. popped a panadol and slept at home instead of slogging it out in school.

i'm going to treat oweek like a stay out camp. every day book out.

perfect living on 2009-08-05, 12:07 a.m.


I am finally a Geekstogo senior. yay. after almost 8mths of struggles and thoughts of giving up.

now onward to clean some real computers!

perfect living on 2009-07-30, 1:18 a.m.


had wanted to update since I came back but was damn shagged. came back on Friday after a series of talks in school, followed by tuition and morning coastal road ride on saturday and kayaking on sunday.

and it's already wednesday. kayaking this saturday and sunday. just bought my "booties" too. i have no idea why they're called booties, it sounds horribly wrong.

wore my trusty new balance shoes for kayaking last saturday and I almost drowned. the kayaks we're using, Dancer, has some buoyancy in the middle between the feet. whenever I did a capsize drill, my feet would get stuck between the kayak and the buoyancy. my size 11 feet didn't help. and trust me, having your feet stuck in the cockpit with your entire body in the water and unable to see is not fun.

learnt eskimo bow recovery. fun fun. i want to learn eskimo roll but the instructor said it's only taught in 3 star :(

i was quite enthusiastic about sp night during orientation. disappointed in the end. she lied all the way :( sadded. she was not even a nus student so I was pretty much toyed with throughout the 3 nights.

oh well, looking forward to O-day tomorrow. I don't even know where and when to report.

perfect living on 2009-07-29, 6:05 p.m.


I'm going for chem engine orientation camp tomorrow.

Although I dislike orientation camps in general, I guess it's a necessary evil.

anyway, in more delightful news, I've gone for my first class 2A lesson.

vroom.

and somehow I passed the first lesson in one shot. there are only 3 lessons for 2A and I just finished the first one with one session. I don't know how I did it. There were abt 8 of us, a few doing class 2, the rest 2A. so I was like the 3 left behind who managed to pass the lesson.

I performed well when the instructor is looking and taking down scores. I screw up when no one's looking.

when I first did the bumpy course, I didn't know how to control the bike and I just rolled off the course. lucky no one's looking. took me a few tries before I got the hang of holding at half-clutch, rear-brake and throttle while half-standing on the bike.

I truly feel like a clown already.

i stayed on the narrow plank for 9.4 something seconds when the time needed was only 8. so I supposed I impressed the instructor there. but I crashed on one of my attempts. I supposed he closed an eye.

and for emergency brake, wayang king does it again. I did so perfectly that the 3 instructors there all laughed. I mirrored exactly what the demonstrator did, so I kicked out my left leg and put it down, which to them looked very funny. i have no idea.

it rained somewhere right in the middle of the session and so we put on the raincoats... and after 5mins having done so, the rain stopped. the rest of the session was spent in the sun, in raincoats. when I took them off, my shirt was wetter than the raincoat. had to call my father to fetch me back home else my sweat would flood the bus.

so that's how I passed my first class 2A lesson.

haven't booked for the second one, the last weekend packed like crazy and had to waste another 4 days starting tomorrow. I better get laid by some hot chick or something to make my time worthwhile...

perfect living on 2009-07-21, 12:35 a.m.


Next few days will be action-packed. I have appointments lined up, bicycle rides, orientation camp, a birthday party, and motorbike lessons.

yes, I'm doing CLASS 2A!!!! woohooo...

I'm seriously considering starting a financial blog. ok, maybe not a blog, but an informative website with everything you need to know about cpf, insurance and other financial matters. It will be beneficial for myself and others. I will be forced to keep myself updated with the latest changes and others can receive much-needed education. Most people are just grossly under-educated when it comes to money matters. this problem stems from our defensive stance towards advertisement and salespeople in general.

we are bombarded by advertisements everyday. we have become numb to these and it's only second nature to reject an insurance agent. this is an unfortunate situation but it's boh bian. I have my fair share of total rejections, maybe not that "fair" yet. I've met quite a number of people and I would say about 80-90% do not end up becoming my clients. These 80-90% of people gained knowledge, which is good. However, knowledge has to be applied before it's power.

A reason why part-time agents like me should be preferred over full-timers, I am not out to earn your money! Even if you don't purchase anything, I don't lose my job, I will still have rice to eat, I'm not poorer in any way. moreover, the commission I earn for the products I'm actively introducing are pathetic. it's unfortunate that it's these pathetic commission products that are the real stuff.

ok, set, I'm going to come up with a money matters blog. hopefully it will draw traffic from google. :)

perfect living on 2009-07-16, 1:01 a.m.


oh ya, wanted to add something and forgot.

went to attend some syog volunteer briefing yesterday. as usual, I always end up joining such things alone cos very few people have the same principles as me.

and it's always very awkward to be the only person you know in a crowd which is busy with itself. you know, like "hey! you! long time no see!" or "you come for this too?" or "how's last week's event?" that kind of thing.

but it's easy to spot the loners.

so I went in for the kill.

or rather, just tried to establish some acquaintances.

as I reached the place rather early, there was only a malay couple and me. so the husband walked around some displays and I just smiled at him and we talked.

ok, not much of a trouble there.

then the briefing started. the seat on my right is empty but a lady sat on my left. i looked many times in her direction but she either purposely looked away or just plain oblivious. i mean, it's weird to start talking when you don't have the eye contact.

it was tense man. the entire 2 hour session she didn't say a word. she's a loner like me, doesn't know anyone in the group. to her right sat a girl, probably like... sec 3 or something? but it's just weird to talk across someone like she's invisible.

anyway, the thing ended. and on the way out towards the bus stop, I spotted another loner. asked him for his name, asked if he joined alone, exchanged contacts, and I carried on. so at least there's someone I can call the next time there's some event.

as I got off the train at hougang mrt, i saw the "sec 3 girl" that sat two seats to my left. she was listening to some mp3 player, so i had to like tap her shoulder.

i tell you, she looked like as though she saw an insurance agent.

haha, laugh now.

asked her for her number and she said "maybe next time."

huh? what was she thinking man.

i have no idea.

perfect living on 2009-07-12, 3:25 p.m.


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==========================

isn't this obvious enough that it's a virus/phish/scam? today I log in my email to find 9 people sent me this.

and of course, being the stalker i am, i kept those that did not have the "To:" field removed. =D

perfect living on 2009-07-12, 3:00 p.m.


peiyi offered me a chance to take experience for myself a buddhism study session. so yesterday I took the opportunity.

initially, I had hoped that buddhism has to be somehow different from the other religion. even before the session officially started, I was convinced otherwise.

it may be a fruitless attempt to convert me by peiyi but a fruitful experience for me. If I had any inspiration at all, it would be to further reinforce the need for rational and logical reasoning.

he was disappointed i wasn't converted that night. I told him, if I had converted so easily I would have been a muslim today. or even a christian.

this is what I've observed. all religions, to my limited knowledge, have, in one form or another, an afterlife. this would mean the existence of the soul has to established. the popular "evidence" they like to put forth is, they'll paint a picture of a dying person. and the next second he dies. what's the difference between these two bodies? their answer: soul.

i'm allergic to this kind of arguments. my skin cringes and my hair stands. yes, I agree there is something different between these 2 bodies. while I may not know what it is, there is definitely a difference, period. according to the bipolar people, their version of the difference is a soul which undergoes reincarnation or ascends to heaven if enough enlightenment is attained. I do not understand why these assumptions are made when nothing points to those. I could have packaged my version of "soul" with my own fables and insisted on it.

So he said that not everything has to be proven scientifically. You just have to believe it. The problem with faith is when you start believing in irrationality, where do you stop? Where do you draw the line? It's a slippery slope. Do you start believing in santa claus? pontianak? UFOs? that there are telephone bugs in your house? that there's a camera behind your TV screen? that there's a pinhole camera in your aircon? and your neighbour in the next block is spying on you through the window?

then another person told me abt people having a pig leg for his left hand and snakes with human heads. however, pictures taken were blur and they could not find it again.

I could have provided better bullcrap. so what does the picture above prove? humans on mars? or god lives on mars? or someone is trying to contact us from mars?

the human mind is obsessed with spotting patterns and we are very eager to identify especially faces.

so if I see such a pattern, do I conclude or even put it forth as a possible consideration for the flying spaghetti monster?

OF COURSE!!! arrrr!

then the personalised discussion with me went into the "preacher's" personal life story. how she moved the buddha figure and placed her photo there and hence caused her father to get stroke.

I've talked about this before. it's just statistics. people are being shortsighted when they do not see the millions of other people who still get stroke, cancer, heart attacks even though they do not move some buddha figure and replace it with their pictures, which is let's say 99.999%. even if I'm that 0.001%, having understood the grand scale of things, it would have been easier to keep my sanity.

of course, 15 years of rote indoctrination won't be easily recovered by one night's of reason. my friend is still just as devoted as he was before that night.

another thing humans are obsessed with - purpose. There must be a purpose to everything, they say. purpose is only meaningful if the item is man-made. what is the purpose of the watch? what is the purpose of the air plane?

however, for natural occuring things, it is not a meaningful question. what is the purpose of Mount Fuji? what is the purpose of tornadoes? what is the purpose of trees? what is the purpose of humans?

one must first understand that humans are no different from the simplest plants, as long as both replicate DNAs. this is another conflict with the buddism belief. soul is supposed to be only in animals and humans. but again, where do you draw the line? having appreciated the beauty of the gradual selection process of nature, there is a fundamental similarity among all living-things (except viruses and things that I don't know yet of course), and that is DNA. we are all passing on DNA and we are the representation of the mighty machines these ancient code codes for.

enough for today, I need to sleep. and I keep procrastinating class 2A, not good. :(

I believe that doing good without any fear of the "cause and effect" or animal reincarnations is true good.

perfect living on 2009-07-10, 12:22 a.m.