Life For Rent

The CPF debate is still ongoing. Recently people are made more aware of the consequence of relying on CPF payouts after retirement. With just the minimum sum, for a 20 year pay out, you get around $300 a month only. Is that enough? With the minimum sum going up as the years go by to cover inflation, my question is, if $300 is not enough today, will it be enough in 20 or 40 years? If I had to rely on that 300, it would be a rather sad case isn’t it. On the contrary, if I didn’t have the bother about the money at all (ie, I can do away with the $300 a month payout), then the CPF scheme did not really work for me did it?

I do think as medicine advances further, we may be able to live longer. Or maybe with technology we will all die from cellular radiation or toxic smoke from factories and vehicles way before our ‘time’. As it is, many have benefited from CPF as a dependent when their parents/aunt etc, passes away. I benefited from it myself when my aunt died of cancer and it helped pay my education and stuff. Is the CPF scheme better, or is a pension scheme better? Today, I have no qualms about using my CPF for my housing loans. Just a few months ago I said let us not use the CPF for loans, simply because while I am still actively working, I should pay off loans with my salary. The CPF was for retirement and I didn’t want an empty nest egg. Looking deeper, how many eggs are there in this nest anyway? Not a lot. And with the government giving an additional % point for the first 60k, does it make sense in trying to keep my CPF holdings within that range? It is not hard to achieve 60k short term, and it is not hard to ensure my CPF doesn’t go beyond 60k. A housing loan makes all the difference. So which is better, CPF or a pension scheme? If I had to choose one out of the 2, I would pick CPF. There is no right or wrong really and every country has its own culture. Some feel that I have worked hard my whole life, and paid high taxes to support the retired and disadvantaged, hence when it is time for me to retire I should get my ‘rewards’ too. And that is a form of a nest egg, that the state will ensure you won’t go hungry. However if you were a talented person, would you want to give away 30% of your monthly salary to the state? I mean look at it this way, why do I need to share 30% of my talent and my money with the state even though I get benefits and pension (not everyone)? So the government says, you work for your own retirement. You put in the effort and we’ll help you. I think this is good and it is a lot fairer in the sense that you reap what you sow. For the minority who sowed a whole lot but reaped nothing, the state will take care of these exceptional cases. The term ‘financial freedom’ is a big term with many different definition. Some say financial freedom is not having any loans. My take is, financial freedom is the day when you don’t wait for your paycheck to arrive. ie you know money is flowing in and you don’t really care when it does come in. That is freedom. Income can be active or passive. A good retirement plan is not just CPF or annuities. A good plan should include passive income, eg rental from a property you own. When I am 65, and say I own 2 private apartments that I bought in 2010 for say a total of 3 million. When I turn 65, chances are it has gone way past 3 million. 10 million? 20 million? Goodness knows. By then it should be fully paid up, and the rental I get from the property is like money falling from the sky. Sorta like dividends from a stock counter. Sorta like keeping a hen for its eggs. Till one day you deicde you want to kill the golden hen for ‘all’ the eggs inside (you sell both property and cash out) only then will passive income cease. However humans being humans, chances are your property will outlive you somehow. So your desendants gets the ‘golden hen’ instead.

Whichever way it goes, you want to ensure your retirement is a golden phase in life, and not having to work because you have to else you starve. You may work because you feel like it, not because you have to. And that is what I want to. The reality is, when you are a student, you do not see all these. I didn’t. When you begin to work, you realise the true value of your work is not in your salary. You can work as a prostitute for a quicker buck but how long is that going to last? What you are working for is what your experience is worth in the end. If you ask yourself, heck, my work experience is not going to gain me much anytime soon nor in the foreseeable future, then perhaps you are not in the right job. And yes, the earlier you start (can be as early as your first pay check), the more time you have to grow your portfolio, and the more risk you can take in your investments. So you can still buy that gucci bag or that prada wallet and still save. But if you’re in your 40s and only then do you begin saving, do you think you can get the gucci bag still?

Time is money. And while money is not everything, it is everything that is not everything. My own quote.

They say money is the root of all evil. I say that is rubbish. The lack of money is the root of all evil. And yes you can be worth 1 billion bucks and stll feel you lack money. GREED.

Here is another area where the rich and singles are disadvantaged. Look at the income tax payable. For males below 55 years of age, you get 1k relief, plus 1.5k for non active NSmen. I only used those 2 figures cause that is all I qualify for, other than study reliefs which give you up to 3.5k. No wife/kids relief. So effectively, until you can claim relief for aged parents/grandparents, you gotta fork out $$ when you hit 50k a year. It might be a good idea to take up courses else you gotta pay $$ to the government anyway. I know HSBC credit cards allow you to earn points for income tax payment. I hear diners allows installments. Not too sure… but for the uninitiated, here is the table for this year. Every year can have different rates, and from what I see the rates have been falling for the past 3 years.

I have been conducting some user training for staff based in Beijing, in mandarin! Those who know me, will know how ‘powderful’ my mandarin is. You’ll be surprised however, the dudes around here said it was fantastic. Perhaps it is the industry I am in that deals mostly in English. Being able to converse is mandarin is one thing, being able to explain technical terms is another. And of course, being able to explain in such a way that is understandable is another. You may not know the technical terms, or be fluent in the language, but if you can relay ‘bits and pieces’ of it across in a way that can be understood, that works fine.

And yes, the staff agreed with me when I commented we ought to ‘cross train’ one another. Like I learnt the term for ‘firewall’ is ‘fang huo qiang’. Actually it is quite straight forward isn’t it? They can better their English with us, while we can better our mandarin. English is our language of administration simply because we have staff from all races and nationalities. So the baseline is, everyone speaks English, and there’ll be no trouble.

It was good to practice my mandarin here and there. Very stressful I must say but I am glad I survived it.

I have been having rather restless sleep these nights. I am fully aware I’ve been dreaming. Routine dreams… of me going about my usual stuff. I don’t get strange dreams that I fly or something. Never. Usually a certain scene forms in my head, and my brain acts accordingly as if it was real. Sometimes I find solutions to stuff I think about (rare) while most of the time it is just something that can happen in my life. I’ve always had a problem with ‘going down’ for the night. Thoughts that I have when I drift to sleep are likely to enact in my subconscious mind. My head is disturbed by a lot of things perhaps. A lot of planning, all waiting for time to do its thing before it can be executed. Being the impatient me, I rarely like it when time is preventing execution of events.

I also did a random BP test in the gym yesterday. I have always known my pulse pressure (difference between systolic and diastolic readings) has been marginally high. Basically a difference of 60 or less is ok. A reading done at rest yesterday was:

Systolic: 147

Diastolic: 71

Pulse: 71

This puts pulse pressure at 76, which is quite high. The debate on the implication of high pulse pressure is not over but a correlation can be done when readings are looked as one. In this case, the diastolic pressure is ok, but a high systolic reading is taken. An average reading should be around 128. My last routine measure at the doctor’s clinic half a year ago was 133. What worries me is the pulse pressure. I won’t get too technical here but in general looking at the numbers, the heart is pumping blood at a high force through the artery and the pressure measured is the pressure on the artery walls. Diastolic pressures is when the heart is at relaxed state between heart beats. Healthy vessels tend to be elastic and results in a small pulse pressure (difference between systolic and diastolic). “If the arteries are thick and stiff, the gap between systolic and diastolic pressure widens. Systolic pressure goes up because the arteries have lost their elasticity and the heart must push harder to force blood through. The diastolic pressure decreases because the stiffened arteries don’t return to their original size as easily between heartbeats.”

Think I gotta give priority to having it monitored. I am waiting for the new group insurance card. Don’t know if the scheme is still the same as before so that I can see the same doctor. And goodness knows when it will be ready. You see it is things like that that bother me too. I am waiting for so many things. Forever waiting. Why can’t things be done more efficiently. I always seem to be at least one step ahead all the time. That does not tire me. Waiting, tires me. And yes, I hate waiting.

Instead of the stock market that I have given up on for now, I have been working on another ’stock market’. The husband is ready for the TP driving test and the initial date available is in mid feb! Everyone else has to book online and basically if you want an earlier date, you wait till someone gives up the slot and you go in right away. With the incompetent ‘vulture’ system where who is quicker than the other,you have to give up your slot before you can take another. This means if you are not quick enough, someone else could take the slot you eyed on, and someone else would have taken the slot you gave up so you end up at the back of the queue.  I have been refreshing the screen every now and then, perform a quick calculation of the odds of getting the slot and if I don’t, the odds of getting the next slot in line that is still EARLIER than the one i wish to cast out.

So far  i have taken from 18th feb to 5th Jan. I missed out on 1 in oct, 1 in nov and 1 in dec so far. Of those 3, I suspect 2 are system errors. Oh well. But I was lucky enough to  snatch my cast-out slot back. Or should I say, quick enough to do so.

Sounds complicating? You tell me.

Standalone thoughts, fragmented with walls that divides. The subconscious act of pretendence that all is fine. The overwhelming whiff of distrust. Emotions that run parallel, like lines that never meet nor cross each other, existing within and only within. The prince is like a pringles chip. One is never enough. Maybe a few of me could do the trick, or maybe a few of me will actually be acidic. Stripping flesh and everything in its path. I am not proud of what happened, but there are no regrets weirdly. I never meant to hurt for it hurts me more, but when the beast in me is brought out I am devoid of all emotions. When rage sets in, pain is but a word coined from mortals. I do not want apologies. I don’t want it to happen again. But how? Where thoughts differ and expectations divide, is there a bridge strong enough to connect both sides? Will it collapse under the weight one day, bringing itself along with both end’s existence into the infinite ditch beneath? Should it be a bridge that separates two sides physically, yet conjoin them through an entity of its own, or should it try to shoulder both ends, hoping it will be able to handle the weight on its own. The repercussions can be fatal.

Whatever has been said has been said. I do not wish to explain things time and time again. Time has proven futility. Why believe only in what you see and what you hear? What happened to the man inside? If I trust what I see and what I hear only, will I see or hear something I shouldn’t? You’ll say there is nothing to hear or see. Have you thought if this is how I want you to see of me too? Is seeing really believing? If seeing is really believing, why are we given 5 senses then? We’ll all do well on just 1 sense then. God gave me the gift of a good gut. I can sense when I should not be too trusting. But i don’t think I have done anything to cause distrust. Convincing time and time again is tiring and draining. As a partner I want to spend more time loving, not convincing. I am not an attorney trying to convince a court of a certain fact or fiction. I have done what I could to protect the trust. I don’t know what else there should be done on my own.

If you had to prove a trust time and time again, is it easier to just set trust aside so the other party can be right for once? How illogical of mankind, to prove a certain fact when it does not exist. To prove fiction as fact is that satisfying? Would you be happier if all you thought was true?

I never want to drift away. I hate that. Yet somehow, it seems to be the only way because I cannot trust you with your trust in me. Convince me otherwise…

I am tired. I have a lot on my head. I really wish it can be halved, but if not I can bear it on my own too. The least I want is for it to be doubled. I seek understanding.. even a pet dog has its own off days. I am only  human. Or perhaps, I am not. Perhaps I am thirsty for blood. How do I look like in my own true form? I shudder to think..

A new pair of specs. $490 (icluding $130 for anti monitor radiation lens).  I needed a new pair of specs desperately and I didn’t wanna search the whole of Singapore for it. Not the best price but what can i do?

I saw a pair of sunnies that I like too. Also from Oakley. Apparently it was the same type Neo threw in the Matrix. Price? $698.  I really like it but i do not think it is worth that price. According to the guy he said oakley prices go up each year.  It used to be 500 odd and now it has gone up to over 600. Is this true?

I do like shopping. I just usually stinge on how I spend. I ought to be thrilled getting my new pair (I wanted a new one in the near future anyway) but not at this price, and not under *these* circumstances. But I am not in the mood to bargain or do some hunting and get irritated further in the process. Even in a subdued state, I think I can be rather ‘deadly’ still.

Most of this aint true!

What Your Bathroom Habits Say About You

You are a very considerate person, but that doesn’t mean you let people walk all over you.You spend a lot on clothes, and you tend to be a very dresser. However, it’s hard for you to throw away trendy clothes when they go out of style. You are a little shy and easily embarrassed. You often wonder if you are normal. In relationships, you are practical and realistic. You have a romantic side, but you only let it out when it’s appropriate.

What Do Your Bathroom Habits Say About You?

Your Brain is Green

Of all the brain types, yours has the most balance. You are able to see all sides to most problems and are a good problem solver. You need time to work out your thoughts, but you don’t get stuck in bad thinking patterns.You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about the future, philosophy, and relationships (both personal and intellectual).

What Color Is Your Brain?

You Would Be a Pet Cat

Independent and aloof, you don’t like to be dependent on anyone. And as for other people, you can take them or leave them. You often don’t care. You live your life by your own rules. And you have deep motivations that no one truly understands.Why you would make a great pet: You’re not needy or greedy… unlike other four legged friends. Why you would make a bad pet: You’re not exactly running down to greet people at the door What you would love about being a cat: Agility and freedom What you would hate about being a cat: Being treated like a dog by clueless humans

What Kind of Pet Would You Be?

 Today’s blog is a technical blog so if you are not interested, you may skip this whole blog post.

I am gonna talk a little about Tor, aka The Onion Router. I’ll look at the Tor in its ability to enable users to communicate anonymously on the WWW. In layman terms, you surf online and the destination addresses you surf to, will not have direct information on your identity.

All you porn lovers and naughty boys may like to know, the original intention of Tor is to protect users from sniff attacks. ie, it prevents people from monitoring your network traffic. To do this, Tor users make use of onion routers. In a nutshell, Tor works by having users run an onion proxy on their system. The software connects to the Tor network and provides layered encryption (hence the term onion), ensuring ‘forward secrecy’ when the traffic hops from one router to another. So you enter the Tor (virtual circuit)network, hop from router to router within the network and eventually leaving the network via an exit node. The data here will be in clear-text, and from there it is forwarded to the original destination, ie, where you want to go in the first place. So it sorta goes through an encrypted ‘private’ network, rather then plain surfing via the internet structure which is vulnerable to ‘bad people’. At the webpage you ’surf’ to, you will present info of the Tor exit node, rather than your own identity. Ie they cannot tell which country you are from, from which ISP etc.

For those who are thinking of using Tor for malicious activity, just know that there are restrictions in place to prevent abuse of the system.

Going through Tor can be quite slow in terms of speeds, cause essentially you are bouncing from router to router belonging to volunteers so you won’t get the kinda speeds you get from your cable provider. The whole idea is to provide privacy, not speed. And it is free, so what do you expect out of volunteers?

For more info, you can go to http://wiki.noreply.org/noreply/TheOnionRouter/TorFAQ and read the information on Tor at leisure. Look at point 7, for info on anonymity and security.

In short, my own summary of Tor is, it provides anonymity and privacy to the user. Anonymity and security are 2 different things. The encryption within Tor is only between the onion routers. Once you reach the exit node, and out of Tor and towards your destination, it is no longer encrypted (unless destination is also within Tor). Therefore, the guy at the exit node can see everything. Your passwords, where you are going, everything. It doesn’t mean mr exit node *will* capture it, it just means the router itself can see the contents since it is no longer encrypted. So if you want security, use end to end encryption channels such as SSL VPN. If you want anonymity, there are loads of stuff from open proxies to Tor. If you want both security and anonymity, then use SSL *and* Tor.

Enough with Tor. Let’s discuss the Markov model. There is a regular model and a hidden model. I am more facinated by the hidden Markov model (HMM). Wiki describes it well “In a hidden Markov model, the state is not directly visible, but variables influenced by the state are visible. Each state has a probability distribution over the possible output tokens. Therefore the sequence of tokens generated by an HMM gives some information about the sequence of states.Hidden Markov models are especially known for their application in temporal pattern recognition such as speech, handwriting, gesture recognition, musical score following, partial discharges and bioinformatics.”

Have no idea what it is about still? Ok, how about a scenario. When Prince Charles Ming goes clubbing, he is happy. If Prince Charles Ming goes to work, he is sad. In AI, these are ‘facts’, and so you have 2 states. Happy, and sad. Therfore if I told you I went to work, you can deduce that I am sad. This info is there, but it is ‘hidden’. You have to deduce it. For humans, this is a no brainer. In computers, we have to teach such information. In AI and knowledge based systems, this is what is done too. The hardest part about comps is to give it the intelligence of a human brain, but that is for another topic… which I have briefly described last year I believe.

So you say, how can I ALWAYS be sad when I am work, or ALWAYS be happy at the club. True indeed. That is why you have probability factors/indexes to calculate the probability. What is the probability that the sun will rise from the west tomorrow? I don’t care what your teacher tells you, but scientifically it is possible. Just that it is remote. There is no absolute. There is a chance you will wake up tomorrow and East Coast Park is no longer around. You’ll just have to do some calculation.

Eg, You observe I went to work.
Probability = ‘Sad’:0.7, ‘Happy’:0.3

Transition probability-
Sad: (if “Sad”:0.7, “Happy”:0.3)
Happy: (if “Sad”0.35, “Happy”:0.65)

So you see, there is no absolute. There is always a ‘grey’ area. AI was used to build MYCIN, which was a doctor’s diagnosis tool back then. If patient has fever above 38 deg, has vomitting, has headache, etc, it tells you what it thinks the patient has. Eg food poisoning (0.7), appendicitis (0.4), or it may ask you more questions so the doctor can check the patient again for a more accurate diagnosis. Really neat work!

I got a call from my boss, who asked me if I was interested in taking up a position in a ‘certain Ministry of something’. This is actually a promotion but I have barely stayed at my current location for a year and I don’t really know if I am capable of the task. I have not gone for my certification (nor finished studying for it yet) courses yet. Imagine, a doctor needs to go for further studies to become a specialist. He begins as an MO, goes and study, returns as a registrar, and then gets promoted along the way toAssociated Consultant, Consultant, and then Senior Consultant. To put it into perspective, I am still an “MO”. Internally, I am a level 1 consultant. This new position calls for a level 3-4. It also means if I accept it, my pay will jump alongside too. But responsibilities? Over there, no one works below me, nor anyone works above me somewhat.

Can I do it? Should I do it? Guess I will take a week to consider, meantime I will check with the current dude working there to find out more, and liaise with his mentor to find out more.

Hmmm..