End of Work Year 2008

Today is officially my last day at work. Our office is closed except for some skeleton crew for services. Our office will open on January 5, 2009.

I have about 2 weeks of free time, part of which I will use to complete some work related stuff (like some project proposals that are urgent.) 

Still wondering if I should take a short trip, or spend most of my days playing computer games that have been waiting for me for so long... Hahaha..

Oh well, I would have some time to blog too, and write longer ones...

And here's wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year !

More TV to watch

Finally got my system set up for my ISP's free IPTV trial.

I now can watch CNA (International version), Bloomberg, CCTV, Phoenix and a whole lot of other channels from other countries, most of which I can't understand anyway.. Hahaha..

Come 2009, Free-to-air TV in Australia is going to have at 15 Channels, half of which are in HD, to choose from compared to the current 8.

So many programmes, so little time.. hahaha

First Christmas in Australia

Soon, I will be spending my first Christmas in Sydney. I will be having a week plus of holidays, as my company will be closed from Christmas day till 2nd Jan 2009. 

Its forced leave, but ok. I just do not know what to do yet, except try to catch the fireworks...

Will be having our office Christmas Party next Friday, but I don't have much after that. Anyone wanna invite me to their parties ? Hahaha..

More on Medical and Insurance

I have recently gotten myself Private Health Insurance (PHI). I have gotten hospital and extras cover.

The reason is mainly 2 folds - (a) Reduce taxation (b) Get extras that cover part of my dental expenses.

First of all, I am above an income bracket where I will have an additional 1% tax on my income to suppliment the govt's free Medicare if I do not have PHI.

Furthermore, govt will subsidise 30% of the PHI premium. Well, one can say that in most sense, this doesn't make much difference as almost everyone is entitled to get that 30% discount. Thus they are calculated into the premiums already. 

The most important part is, I have additional benefits above Medicare. Now Medicare already covers all doctor's fees (Read my previous encounter) and that's true even for hospital. But for some operations, especially elective, public healthcare doesn't cover for them, or one had to wait in a waiting list for a long time to get it free. 

With PHI, I am entitled to be treated as private patient in public hospital for everything and my PHI will cover the gap (additional fees). That means I can choose my specialist, get faster attention (for non-emergency treatment), stay in better wards, etc.

Also, with PHI, for some operations (depending on level of cover), I can choose a private hospital and choose a doctor and still have everything covered - 100%, less the excess amount. And the excess is capped per year.

Second type of cover included is what we called 'extras'. That is something above the normal hospital cover. It include things like dental, optical (glasses, contacts, etc), massages, therapies, etc.

Now, as everyone knows, dental expenses are higher in Australia compared to Singapore, I estimate at least 50% more expensive. For example, filling for a large tooth here (they measure by type of filling and number of surfaces the fillilng covers) cost me about $150, whereas I can get it filled in my neighbourhood dental clinic back in Singapore for about $70-80.

I bought the basic level of cover, which means I am entitled to claim 65% of my dental expenses, limited to $500 per calendar year. I am also entitled to claim up to $200 for glasses prescription, up to $300 or so for various types of massages (foot reflexology, oil massage, etc, by licensed practitioners), $300 or so for therapies (aromatherapy, physiotherapies, etc, again must be by licensed practitioners) every calendar year. 

My premium for the extra's portion is about $200+ per year. I can claim back about $500 per year - its already an advantage to me. Also, I can claim 100% of 2 x dental cleaning and scaling per year, and 100% of 1 x flouride treatment per year. 

Since I have bad dental history and weak teeth, I would have to use the dental services in Australia sooner or later. Based on history, I spend a few hundred buck a year anyway, back in Singapore. Here, with the claims, my out-of-pocket and premiums, it works out to be slightly more per year (about 30% more) but I can now regularly visit the dentist to repair and also, hopefully, to prevent more problems.

Not too bad a deal, especially when I need to get PHI anyway to save on tax. The amount I save on tax is more than my premiums in the first place !

In future, I can increase my cover, PHI will even include heart operations, joint replacements, and up to 95% of my expenses on dental, etc (and the cap per year will increase too, not just $500).

So in summary, with the govt's Medicare and my PHI, I am covered for all medical expenses (I pay only $500 excess) if I am involved in accident, or develop any cyst or tumour, appendicitis, requires minor eye surgery, or any joint reconstructive surgey, or even to repair a slipped disc.

My Name in Chinese

Haha...

Happen to try out google's translation service.

Take a look at this...

So Calamari For Thought is translated as 汽车工业的思考... Hahaha..

Oh but it has my name correct.

Name: Singapore Calamari
名称：新加坡鱿鱼

Melbourne Cup...

Yeah. Never heard of it ?

Neither have I until recently. Today is Melbourne Cup.

It is touted as the event that stops Australia.

Many companies close after lunch. For those who are still open, more than half are glued to TVs and not really working.

Me, I was working at a school today. Was walking around a high school and at about 2-3pm and noticed some interesting things.

There were a few classes where the teachers showed races at the cup, while having lessons.

And there was one teacher who was trying to conduct a class while showing the race on the project - How does she expect the kids to pay attention to her ?

Anyway, I am not a horse racing punter - Hope I have better luck in winning the lotteries...

Appreciated

Just today, I was given a $50 shopping voucher by a salesperson that I was supporting quite a lot the last few months.

He didn't need to as I was just doing my job well and I don't see any reason that he had to suck up to me. Thus it is a geniune gesture of appreciation which I am grateful for.

Its nice to be appreciated.

There is cold and there is cold...

The weather has been cold for the last few days. And it was announced that last night (or was it the night before...) was the coldest night in October for the last 14 years.

And tonight is cold as well. Cold enough that I needed the heater again, which I haven't used for a few weeks already.

It has been raining frequently the last few days. And yesterday, I had to drive a long journey from Sydney to Wollongong. Along the entire way, I could really feel the car being rocked by gusts of wind. It really was an entirely new experience driving at 110km/h with suddenly jerks by the winds.

Something that I didn't even experience while driving on the Malaysian NS highway.

*~*~*~*~*

Last weekend, I went to view a house for sale. 

Its in a nearby suburb, not exactly near train stations but not too far (my current place isn't near one either.) 2 Level townhouse in a secured complex without facilities like pools, courts, etc.

Its just a few years old , so things are all new. The taps are all what I liked (that is not those 2 taps where one is hot and one is cold.)

More than adequate front and back yards. Though the house is just beside a main road, the master bedroom has double-pane windows to keep the noise out. 

It has walk-in wardrobe, 3 bedrooms in all, 2 toilets, and 2 carpark in secured underground parking.

And it costs below $490k which means I can get all the grants and benefits of first time home owner.

But think about the amount I have to pay as deposit, and the loan and interest, I feel cold...

So, does anyone want to help me out and loan me money as investment ? (Either as fixed interest, or partial ownership of the property, can be arranged.) 

Back to Reality

My friends have all gone back home.

It was a lovely holiday for me. Its been a long time since I have met them.

Didn't feel like writing a lot, but just a few pictures to give a summary of what my holidays involve :

Blue Mountains :





Port Stephens





And Hunter Valley



I will not show you the amount of wine that I have bought. Haha...

Next week, its back to work then.

Holiday

Finally, I have taken my first holiday after I moved here.

My friends came from Singapore and Perth. So in the next week plus, I will be relaxing, going to the beaches, going to Blue Mountain, Port Stephen and Hunter Valley.

Relaxing ! Yeah !

Spring is here...

Its spring !
Weather has changed quite quickly. Now its warm in the afternoon and the wind is not so cold anymore.

Well, the past 2 weeks has been hectic for me.

Exploring remote country side for the better portion of last week. This week was busy as well. But luckily some work things got canceled and I had a breather.

Today I had to work as well.

And tomorrow I will be flying off to Taiwan for a week.

At least, when I am back from Taiwan, a few friends will be here for holidays and I can also take some leave and go on road trip !

Planned to do touristy stuff. Haha.. Well, I have just been here for half a year, I am still entitled to be a tourist.

Battery Life Update

I have been able to use my E71 for 2 days only with one full charge. Claims and many people who say they can go 3 to 4 days on one charge made me investigate more - Do I have a faulty battery or a faulty phone ? 

First of all, I noticed that 8 hours in the office, and it doesn't even drop a single bar. Not that I noticed.

Then when I get home at 6 and by 10 or 11, I noticed it dropped 2 bars. (E71 has 7 Bars for battery indicator.)

I have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on the same setting all the time. And I do have an AP that it connects to at work. My VoIP is enabled on Wi-Fi all the time too. And I get more push mail during office hours.

So, it should drop more when I am in the office. Why does it seem to use more juice when I am at home ?
I downloaded Nokia's Energy Profiler to monitor power usage.

So far, on average during standby, it is consuming about 0.10 to 0.12 W. With everything ON ! This seems reasonable. Battery indicator says that with this kind of average, I can get 50+ hours on a full charge. That's about 2 days, which is what I am getting.

1500mAH battery, 3.7V rated (4.07V when fully charged, 3.8V when half power) - 0.029A drawn at 0.11W usage =>  51.724 hrs

However, on active usage (check mails, SMS, Synchronize via Bluetooth) for 3 mins, the average is 0.25W => 0.066A => 22 hrs.

So if on average, 70% of the time it is on standby, 30% active => Average power = 0.15W => 0.04A => 37.5 hours. Roughly there I guess.

So last night, I left the software on to collect information. This is what it shows at various times.

Midnight :



Average of about 0.02 Watts. That's good. I don't know what the regular 30 minutes interval spike of 0.3W, nor do I know what the 2-hour interval spikes of 1.3W.

My only guess is that it has to be Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GSM related.

Early Morning :



Now the scale is changed.

At 9am, the SEVEN push mail client is supposed to connected to the Server. And I think there were a couple of emails pushed down. They used about 1.5W.

From then on, there is a regular 5-min interval spike to 0.6W. I really do not know what is set at 5 min interval.

I woke up about 9.45 to check on the phone. Thus the backlight was active and had some activities. And I regularly check on the phone to see the data-capture, thus irregular spikes of 1.4W.

Then I sent and SMS at 10:40am, and received SMS a couple of mins after that.
And at 12:05pm I sent SMS and had received missed calls. (Repeated in next chart.)

Noon :



The said SMSes and Missed Calls, using about 3W for Ringtone, Vibrator and lights.

Still the regular 5-min spikes of 0.6W that is unknown.
Between 12:25 to 2pm, I was at the same location for lunch, thus it was just that and my checking on the phone (about 1.2W spikes).

Afternoon :



You can see that I am checking on the phone quite often (1.2W spikes)
Probably a couple of emails that came in as well, which I can't remember when.

Parts of high usage (3:19-3:21 and 3:23-3:24) which I don't know what, cos I was shopping around that time. Maybe the phone was in my pocket and it had bad GSM signal and trying to connect ?

3:53pm onwards, I am probably on the road, from what I can remember.

Evening :



Spikes of about 1.5W, probably due to phone roaming while I was driving. Reached home at 4+. I turned on the AP about 4:30pm.

So you can see that when it detects the AP (I set WLAN scanning interval to 10-min.) it starts logging on and connecting my VoIP.

From then on, you can see the base-line has shifted up. From 0.02W to about 0.05W.

The 5-min spikes of 0.6W (now obviously 0.65W) is still there. So it is not WLAN scanning.. Wonder what it is...

I remembered a couple of emails got pushed down as well, just not sure when.

When the log was downloaded, the Average power usage was 0.06W and the estimated runtime for a full battery was 100+ hours. Wonderful !

Well, its been turned on for 36 hours now and there is 4/7 bars left. Looks like it might last another 24 hours. Hmmm.. just when I am investigating the battery, it looks like its starting to behave...

For the past 2 hours, I logged it with Wi-Fi connected, VoIP connected and some emails arriving. Average power consumption was 0.09W and at this constant usage, full Battery is estimated to last 62+ hours...

My Camera

I have been using an IP Camera at home to monitor my front gate.
D-Link DCS-2120.

I have turned on Motion detection and in event of detection, to email me snapshots as attachments.

Now, I thought when I turn off my internet connection, I would miss those detections.
But it seems like I was wrong.

I left my router off since last night. Now, it seems like the camera made use of its in-built memory to store the snapshots and sent them all at once when internet connection is re-established.

However, it wasn't in chronological order, but then all the attachments dated (via filename) back to last night. Wow.

My New Toy - Nokia E71

I have had the Nokia E71 for a week. No payments, just sign a 24-mth contract. Which I am paying the same amount anyway, and is all reimbursed by my company. So its FREE !

The picture is not my phone - just downloaded it off the net somewhere.

Playing with it about a week, I have got almost everything I wanted and I think I can write some reviews about it.

I won't touch on the technical reviews of specs, as there are many sites that have that already. I will touch on my experiences, and it is all subjective. I will go in the following order - Calls ; SMS ; PDA ; Mails ; Web ; GPS ; Others ; Features that I didn't use ; Features I would like to have.

And since this will be a long article, parts of it are written using my E71.


(1) Calls

Using it as a normal phone is easy enough. As I have used Nokia before, it is no different from the Sony Ericsson that I have used as well.

Quality of the calls are good. No complaints about coverage issues at the moment.

I have also used the built-in SIP for Internet calls (using Pfingo). I have 2 Wi-Fi connection profiles programmed - Home and Office. So whenever it is in range of these 2, it automatically connects and registers with the SIP server and I get to receive and make VoIP calls easily.

I can just press the phone number in the main screen and choose Option -> Call -> Internet Calls.
Or I can find a contact, choose Voice Call or Internet Call or Send text msg. or Send e-mail.

Its that simple !

Answering VoIP calls is just like a normal phone call.

Now the only 'glitch' is the Wi-Fi Scanning selection - I have to leave it ON so that it connects automatically. If I turn it off, I have to manually connect whenever I reach home or the office. Now if I leave the scanning on, obviously it is going to use more battery, as Wi-Fi is more power hungry.

I might also try out Fring next time, though there is no pressing need to use it at the moment.

(2) SMS

SMS is ok. Simple to use as well. The built-in app allows easy switching between reading SMS, to reading your MMS, your email inboxes, Windows Live.

It comes complete with auto-complete, predictive text, etc.

One feature that is lacking here, is threaded view of SMSes. SMS is listed like all previous mobile phones that I have used. So this is not difficult for me, but I guess for those Treo or Blackberry users, this is something that disappointing.

Nokia provided a freeware called Conversation to address this. But this Conversation app only switches between SMS, Windows Live, and Address Book. Thus I can't use this to totally replace the built-in app when I am viewing emails.

So I am using the built-in app most of the time. If I need to show someone the entire SMS conversation between myself and someone else, I will activate the Conversations app.


(3) PDA

I have been using PDA for a long time. Mainly for appointments, contact information, notes, To-Dos, reminders and games.

In that area, the E71 is definitely not lacking in anything. I have been a Palm user all these while. Thus my basis of comparison is with MS Outlook on my PC and the Palm software on my PDA.

In terms of calendar, everything is there. Appointments, reminders, recurring events, day view, week view, month view, etc...

The look-and-feel is slightly different and one can easily navigate and adapt to it almost within a few minutes.

In terms of Contacts, everything is available too. The only complication I had was that I didn't use the Birthday field in my first ever Handspring Visor PDA, as there isn't any and couldn't sync with my old outlook's Birthday field. I had to use a user-defined field to map it and that practice carried over.

So now, my user-defined field goes into "Internet Phone" field of the Nokia. I probably have to covert all my birthdays back into the proper field in Outlook.

In terms of Notes, its there. It syched with my Outlook Notes. One feature it lacks, compared to my Palm Notes, is security. In Palm, I can password-protect some notes. This is not available in Outlook and not available in Notes here.

An additional application E71 has is Active Notes. It has the capabilities of a MS Word Document. Not just taking notes, it's able to add pictures, sound clips, files, objects, etc. It can even link the note to a contact so that when in a call with that particular contact, the note is shown on the screen.

To-Dos and Reminders are integrated into Calender application.

So yeah, I would say all the requirements of mine are fulfilled very well with the E71's full integration with my MS Outlook.

And Games. of course there are games to keep me occupied.


(4) Mails

I'd never used my mobile or PDA for emails before. Thus this is new to me. And maybe my expectations aren't realistic.

First of all, I used the built-in application - Messaging.

Reading and writing emails are quite easy. Nothing much to get used to except small qwerty keyboard. But its definitely better than pecking on-screen keyboard on touch screen PDAs.

The part that the built-in apps didn't fulfill is the push-mail portion. Now, my company doesn't have push mail server, but I guess lots of other companies have them and E71 can't be used to replace their Blackberry as Nokia has removed support for Blackberry Connect.

The built-in app is pull mail and the flexibility is actually, on hindsight, good enough for me. I have Nokia Mail-for-Exchange installed to ready my office mail. I can specify when the peak hours and work days are, and how often it checks for email during peak and off-peak hours - 15 Mins and 4 hours respectively.

It does the same for my private mails using GMail. Scheduled pulls from the server peak and off-peak.

Now, that's 'good enough' but not 'perfect'. Being the perfectionist, I wanted real PUSH, so that I can save on data charges and batteries.

So I tried SEVEN.

Now SEVEN can provide real-time PUSH for GMail, Hotmail, Yahoo, and such, using IMAP. But not my office mail, as it is accessed with POP and is polled by the SEVEN server periodically. So that is not real PUSH but I can live with that.

I can set when the PUSH service is on and when it is off. Once off, no alerts whatsoever.

Now the customization of the PUSH is not what I want. Email alerts are immediate. Now when I get an audible alert, I have the tendency to read the mail immeidately. Something that is just compelling to me and is difficult to curb.

I can't tell the PUSH servers to, say, give me alerts every half hour after office hours, so that I am not always 'on call'. I would like to be alerted, but not IMMEDIATELY. Yeah, I know, that defeats the purpose of a PUSH service...

But I want PUSH service during office hours, and automatically switches to be a pull service after that, giving me alerts at longer intervals such that it doesn't interrupt my life so frequently. And there just doesn't seem to have any software that can fit that... Am I asking for too much ?

Oh and one other glitch with SEVEN's PUSH service. If I get an email alert on my mobile and I used my PC to download the mail, the alert stays on my mobile for another 30-45 minutes or so. According to SEVEN's support forum, only 'new mail' alerts are high priority and are sent to SEVEN's servers. Alerts like mail deleted, or mail read, are not sent and only recognized when SEVEN server polls.

Not sure if that is the same for Blackberry, but I probably just have to live with that and see if its ok with me.

So now it is just deciding if I will continue with SEVEN's PUSH service or the built-in PULL application.


(5) Web

Web browsing on a small screen always takes getting used to. But the default web application is fast and easy to use. I can view normal web pages.

Some users have recommended Opera, but I haven't tried it yet. Maybe I will.

Mobile bookmarks can be sync'ed into my Firefox or IE.

And I haven't been using feeds or any such features regularly, so can't comment here.


(6) GPS

I haven't tried the Nokia Maps much, so I can't comment whether the maps are accurate, or whether it has enough POIs, or whether the routing is good.

The maps are free to download, install and use. But navigation guidance requires purchases of license, that's why. 7-days of free trial is not attractive to me. Looks nice on screen though.

I am used to Garmin, and I have license Garmin Maps already. So I have installed Garmin Mobile XT and have all the maps I need installed.
It works great ! And it is even more flexible to use than my Nuvi. But it doesn't have TTS.

And the screen is a little bit small.

This is where it would be good to have a touch screen rather than navigate by buttons.
And the zooming in and out is mapped to buttons "1" and "3", presumably for other mobile phones without qwerty keyboards. But that means I have to activate the number keypad before I can zoom.

But I might not need to do that when routing, cos it has auto-zoom feature for turn-by-turn instructions, so it might not be that difficult to use.

I didn't use the A-GPS feature and the lock-on time is quick. But then, I have always gotten fast TTFL in Australia - clear view of open skies is the main reason.


(7) Others

Battery - Currently, as I am installing, testing, playing with GPS, bluetooth transfers, etc many times a day, one full charge can last me about 2 days+. Will update as time goes by.

Bluetooth - I am using bluetooth to hook onto my earpiece, sync with my PCs (Home PC - Contacts, Calendar, Notes ; Office PC - Calendar.) SEVEN and Mail-for-Exchange can sync contacts and calendar, but I don't wanna waste data charges for that.

Camera - The camera is a bit of a disappointment though. The colours look faded. I am hoping that a firmware can fix that. But then, luckily the camera is not an important feature. Just something for the 'just in case' kind of situation.

Windows Live - Used that to login to MSN Messenger when I need to be on the road. Not a real necessity, but nice nonetheless.

Active Home Screen - This is where you can turn it on to show today's appointments, email alerts, missed calls, Wireless connection status, etc. This is useful and the only few complaints I have is :
- allow more application shortcuts. Currently, only 6
- allow for more than 2 email notifications.

WorldMate - Provided Free. This is very useful for travelling, currency converter, etc. And this version has Weather and I have set it to announce audibly the weather for the day. At 8.30am and 12.30pm. Sounds kinda cool. And now, the currency rates are auotmatically updated. If Pro version is needed, you will have to purchase it.

Quick Office - I use it to store work documents like price lists, etc. Also some datasheet in PDF as it has a PDF reader. Useful, but the bundled version doesn't support Office 2007 documents. Need to purchase Version 5.0, which is A$46.

Total Recall - This is a phone conversation recorder with indexing feature. 3rd party software that costs about US$13.50. Trying the 14-day trial. And older version of this software cannot be installed on the E71 because the phone says it is 'not supported'. I am guessing that Symbian or Nokia has marked these apps as something undesirable.
* Update : It is because of expired certificate. My Mistake. See Comment *


(8) Features that I didn't use

Switch Mode - This is for switching between 2 "modes" of operations. I guess one for "Work" and the other for "Off Work". You can customize themes in each, the shortcuts and the alerts to different email accounts.

Honestly, its really useless to me. I still want to be notified of my work email after work. Just not so frequently (as I said above). Thus I leave it in one mode all the time.

Security - I have only used phone and SIM locks. I didn't turn on the encryption, as I believe it will slow down the phone a bit. But E71 packs great security mechanisms, including one for remotely locking the phone and memory card should you lose it.

Some other Sync services, Wireless Presenter, PTT, Podcast etc are not used. I guess they aren't commonly used for normal consumer and are only there to support corporate servers, etc..

Advanced Call Manager - This is a fantastic application that filters your call based on Whitelist and Blacklist. If you are in a meeting, you can reject all calls except those in your Whitelist. It will do so in the background and you will not even notice unless you see the quick blink of the screen as the software rejects the call before the phone even rings.

Might use it next time, but at the moment it is not needed.


(9) Features I would like to have

Chinese language support ! Damn, why don't they have it natively in the phone ? The Australia version only has English, Melayu and Philipino ! Now I have to it somewhere....

Touch screen - I know, it sounds stupid, but some applications are better with touch screen. Garmin MXT as I mentioned above, for example. Or even navigation on the main menu. It would be best to have both touch screen AND qwerty keyboard. But I am guessing I am the only few people who wants that.

More flexibility in Profile configs -
So that I can tell the phone to scan for Wi-Fi only from 5pm to midnight, to save battery
So that I can tell the phone to only alert me for emails after dinner and to stop alerts after I sleep.

Ability to use the camera flash LED as a temporary torchlight.

----

I was originally thinking of getting the iPhone as there aren't any other interesting phone already, until I came across this. And I have to say, this beats the iPhone anytime - Not that I have used the iPhone to be fair.

Based on some interesting read here and here, I think I made the right choice.

And if you need more info on E71, this is where I frequently get tips and tricks for.

My First Deal with Medicare

Time for me to talk about my first experience with Australian Healthcare.

A few days ago, I had to see a doctor about an infected eye. So I went to a nearby medical centre.
Registered at the counter and showed my driving license and medicare card.

The first thing that I saw was the sign that says if you wish to get a faster consultation with a doctor, you can opt for 'Private Appointment' and pay A$55 first, and claim a $35 refund from Medicare.

I am guessing that is to 'skip queue' to go to a 'VIP Queue'.

Of course, I opted for the free one. So I waited. The place was crowded as it was located at a high-traffic area. There are at least 20 other people there.
And so I waited.

25 minutes later, the doctor came and called my name. I went in. Told the doctor the problem with my eye. And it has been recurring on the same eye. He dripped an orange dye and used UV light to see if there are any growth in my eye. He can't find anything. And he told me that since it has been recurring, he would recommend to see a specialist.

He asked if I want to go to a nearby private specialist centre, where they are good and the fees is about a couple of hundred dollars. Or I can go to the Sydney Eye Hospital in the city, where it is free. Of course, I opted for the free one.

So I left my car in the garage, and took a train down to the city after my lunch.

I reached the hospital at 3pm. Went to the reception, created a file with the triage - medical details, allergies, etc. Then I was told to sit and wait.

10 minutes later, I was called by a sweet lady to go for an eye-sight test. After which, I get to sit at the waiting area again.

15 minutes later, I was called by another sweet lady. She's the doctor. Did more eye examinations, more dye, more lights in the eye, etc. She called another senior doctor to examine me. Explained more things to me. Final conclusion, not too big a deal, just need to take more care of my sensitive eyes.

Gave me a prescription for an eye-drop. Now that is the only one that costs me money during the whole day. A$25.

Busy...

Yeah, I know I have been slacking of late..
I have been taking my time to rest a little, not using my brains much.

Just probably an update, I will be overseas for my first working trip next month - To Taiwan.

Not that it is my first time there, just my first time flying from Australia. Its going to be a looooong flight...

Lots more TV programmes to keep me occupied almost every night.

Finished 2 novels that I brought over.

Weather's not so cold now, or I have gotten used to it already. Either way, spring is coming in a months time. Guess that would mean I have more opportunities to try my photography skills again.

And while I am contemplating getting my own house and working out how much I can afford, I read this news : Russia billionaire buys world's most expensive villa

*sigh*

Anyway, I promise to be more active in blogging soon... very soon.. :)

NDP 2008

This is my first time watching NDP outside Singapore. And I guess it won't be the last.

I am sitting alone in my living room (my laptop connected to my TV) and viewing the NDP via webcast. Not fantastic quality, but better than nothing. Maybe I will be able to enjoy it more after I get my own satellite dish...

Since my laptop is in front of me, I thought I might as well blog something about it while waiting for the exciting parts to start.

How does it feel ? Am I filled with patriotism and miss being in Singapore ? - No.

I have nothing against the country of course, but I don't feel much too. Maybe remembering the 2 years that I got involved in the NDP because I was still in the army. Other than that, it has just been a reason to get together with friends, and watch the parade together while eating unhealthy snacks and getting drunk.

So here I am, alone at home, eating unhealthy snacks and getting somewhat drunk too.. haha

Anyhow, have a happy holiday !

3 Months and holding

Its been just over 3 months since I came over. Haven't been out to many social events. But still I guess I would like to comment on what I felt so far, and see how my opinion change over time.

(1) Work Culture

Most of the guys here are quite ok. I think its about the same most places. But most of the people leave on the dot. Except for some guys/gals who probably don't want to waste time in the traffic.


(2) Social Issues

Not much to talk about yet, as I wouldn't consider myself immersed into it at the moment. However, based on current affairs programs on TV and the news, recent events stand out :
- Rising cost of living,
- Rising costs of petrol (and the subsequent cut in petrol tax to help a little),
- Pensioners trying to cope with rising cost of rental and living,
- Rising property prices and mortgage rates,
- Putting paedophiles away in jail for life,
- Over-reaction to people taking photographs of children (worrying that the photos will be used by paedophiles)

And if any campaigns were to be used to gauge what is the latest issues, it would be :
- Speeding and Drink Driving
- Pedestrians not using proper railway crossings


(3) TV/Radio/IT

Internet here is not as cheap as Singapore, definitely. And they all have a monthly limit. Even those plans where I don't have to pay extra, anything over the limit most probably will be throttled.

I am probably not one for very heavy downloading. So far, I haven't been really able to exceed the 150GB per month that I have been allocated. Even the 40GB during peak hours (anytime except 3am to 9am) is just about fully utilised.

Free-to-air TV programs are about the same quality as in Singapore. Though it is all DVB and almost all channels have an HD counterpart.

All programs carry a rating warning, and more adult-themed ads and TV shows are late at night (like after 9pm).

TV and Radio programs have openly gay hosts and it is not the end of the world...


(4) Traffic

Peak hour traffic is bad on major roads. Probably not as bad as in Singapore. But comparing peak hour traffic at my previous workplace in Singapore and my current work place, it looks the same - faster to walk out of the business park.

Though Sydney is probably the most expensive in tolls compared to the rest of Australia.

And yeah, the roads are not as well maintained as Singapore roads during the IMF/World Bank Conference 2006.


(5) Neighbourhood

Very quiet. Probably if you visited the city and lived in hotels in the city, it would be more lively. But out in the suburbs, anytime of the day it is usually quiet. How quiet ?

On average, I meet 3 cars per week on my way in and out of my garage and the main service road outside my house.

On the average, I get to say 'hi' to ALL my neighbours (not just the next door) in the whole area once or twice every weekend.


(6) Finances

Interest rates are high, good for savings. Since income tax are withheld at source, don't really feel the pinch other than reading payslips. What I get in my bank is what I can spend.

It's probably too early to estimate yet, but probably I can achieve the same savings at the moment.

Total amount I spend on food is about the same, in real dollars, as I had spent in Singapore. Of course, I get to make my own food more, but I think I am eating a more healthy diet. More juice, milk and veges.

Oh, and I will probably be getting some amount back every year on tax rebates. Just have to pay a little more attention to these details.


(7) Medical

Can't say, as I haven't used any of the medical services yet. But I think I will still pay a bit more for private health insurance.

According to colleagues, some went through things like child-birth and cancer treatments for their relatives - all on public health. Free and not too bad. But of course, that also means you are not able to find the best of the specialist if you want.

Some would prefer taking up the private option, so that they can have elective surgeries done by the doctors of their choice and at a date of their choice, instead of waiting in queue.

Of course, there are horror stories in public hospitals but isn't it the same in Singapore ?


(8) Overall

Overall, I would say it might have been better if I came over earlier. Been hearing comparisons by various people on how they are glad they bought their houses years ago.

As early as 5 years ago, a house probably costs a third of what they costs now. Even with mortgage rates of 18% pa, its much better off than it is today. Mortgage servicing takes up less share of their take home pay.

As global inflation/recession is on the horizon, there's no escaping. I think I wouldn't live in Sydney forever. But for now, I think I am not too much better off (yet) , but I am no worse off either.

Yeah, had to spend a lot initially, but I think that will last me quite a while.

At least, I can still see my net-worth chart (in my MS Money) growing the last few months.

Enjoyable Weekend

Last Friday morning, I had to fly to Gold Coast for work. So I had to wake up real early in the morning (like 4am), take budget flight to Gold Coast.

The work portion wasn't that tough, and I even enjoyed my dinners. Especially on Saturday night where we were the only group of people who were allowed to enter DreamWorld.

Yeah, our dinner was held there. They had the tiger show, and opened a ride just for us. After we had our fun, the sit-down dinner began. It was basically fantastic, to be walking around DreamWorld alone, at night, AND to be taking rides on the Tower of Terror for 2 consecutive times without getting out of the seats. See if you can do that at normal time ! Ha ! Some of my dinner companions rode the ride 10 times !

Anyway, we were there for dinner and drinks and chatted until almost 12 mid-night before we left and went back to the hotel bar for more drinks and chat...



In the face of the MC Ad :

Return Air Ticket from Sydney to Gold Coast - $220
Return Taxi Fares from both Airports - $390
Screaming "ONE MORE TIME !" while being strapped to a roller-coaster, AND GETTING IT - PRICELESS !

Dark...

The days are short. This is what the sky looks like just before 5pm :



I usually leave like 10 or 15 mins after 5, and it is dark.

And another scary realization - mortgage rates here are just too high for me to buy a house. On the flip side, the savings interest rates are high too, which I am enjoying.

Now if only I can have low interest rates from nice lenders in Singapore... Anyone ? :)

Cold Weekend

This weekend was cold. Anyway, just had a nice lobster and steak dinner at a local rugby club. Didn't know that its for 'members' only. But at least the security was nice to ask and then let us in 'just this once'.

Went in, sat in the bistro. Immediately, felt out of place. Yes, all the ang mohs and their family and friends. I think we were the only Asians there. Haha. Ate dinner and left. Quite full and not very expensive.. Well, not expensive in Australian terms I guess.

Bought ice-cream and ate some while sitting on my balcony, enjoying cold ice-cream in the cold 12-degrees night. Haha.

Oh, also been going to open houses, looking at the various properties for sale. Looking out I suppose.

Its all the same...

Seen on the morning show that there are talks on public display of affection and how much is too much, etc.

Just brings back the memories that not too long ago, there was a period in the Singapore media and public about the very same topic.

And here I am, hearing from Australians that holding hands and quick pecks on the cheeks and short kisses are ok, but anything more makes many uncomfortable.

And I recall that the 'conservative' Singaporeans saying that they are still Asian and asking youngsters not to be too influenced by 'western' values, etc. Makes me think, why is it that it is always the decadent west ? There are conservative people all over the world !

Ok ok, so technically, Australia is not the west but the east... But you get what I mean ?

I've done it.

And I also bought 2 dozens of Krispy Kreme so that I can play and eat at the same time. Hahaha !

My First Wii Party

It was last night. After work, a few of us went over to one of my colleagues house for dinner (home made, thanks to his wife), chatted, drank a little, and then party !

Well, other than saying it is my 2nd time playing the Wii, I have to say I was impressed by his huge mansion... at least to me.

Its a 4 bed-room, 2 level bungalow, with new and modern facade, large garden area, double lock-up garage that looks like THIS

Its HUGE ! His lounge (aka living room) is the size of my current living room + dining room + kitchen ! I estimate its about 10 metre by 10 metres.

Told me it cost 2Mil.

Anyway, the Wii was really fun, and we worked up a bit of a sweat. I might really consider getting my very first game console...

My First Hangover in OZ...

Simplyjen posted a comment in my previous post about beer.

Well, last night, our company had a BBQ after work (And my friends, that is the 4th BBQ I have attended since I started work... be envious ! hahaha.). So had meat and of course beer.

Well, it was getting colder as the night went on and I had my fourth or fifth bottle of light beer. And then the beer ran out. Was still chatting with my colleagues from all over A/NZ, took some white wine.

I left around 9+.

Boy, did I get into big trouble... Bad idea to mix I guess. It hit me after I showered and was watching some TV.

Slept all the way and had a hard time waking up this morning. Had my 2nd worse hang-over in my life so far. Felt like puking, headache, shivering, etc. Still went to work and only cleared up around noon.

Cold...

Visited a nearby town fair, for a charity fund-raising. It was small and half the stalls were selling food. Anyway, had a sausage bun that tasted quite nice... maybe because I was hungry.

Anyway, its been almost 2 months since I reached Sydney. This is the longest period I have stayed in a cold place. Previously, it has just been a week or 2, holiday to cold places like New Zealand.

The nights are about 10 degrees and the day is probably about 20 or 21. But it does feel colder if the wind blows, even if I am under the sun.

Need to put more moisturizers and lip balm to prevent cracking of various skins.

Spent money on buying heaters and energy bills heating the room.

After every shower, I come out shivering before it becomes comfortable again, no matter what kind of heater I use.

After washing dishes without using warm water, my hands are so cold that I can't touch any other part of my body or I will shiver.

First 5 minutes in bed is always cold.

This is Autumn in NSW. Winter will be another 5 degrees or so colder.
Still, wouldn't have it any other way. :)

Enjoying HD

Its the weekend now. Enjoying free-to-air HD TV programmes here...

Been a busy week, with a day trip to Canberra (4 hours away). And the coming week will be busy with CeBIT and next week another exhibition out of town where I will be staying in a hotel for 2 nights.

Anyway, posting while watching TV... so its a short one.. haha..

Oh, also, remember the LED bulb that I bought for my MagLite ?

For many days, it couldn't turn on.. Or it would turn on for a while and then turn off. Thought it was the cold weather, switch contacts, etc..

Screwed in the old incandescent bulb, it works fine. Put back the LED bulb, it flashes once and stays dark...

Finally, on a hunch, I swap to new batteries... It worked fine !

I guess I have to change the mindset that LED bulbs behave like normal bulbs... that the light output will dim as the battery goes low. Good LEDs are regulated to give constant power and just cuts off if insufficient.

Lawn Bowling

Had my first experience on Friday afternoon.

Went out with sales to meet customers. Instead of yachting (which was supposed to be the plan until something happened to the yacht) it was changed to an afternoon at a local bowling club.

Probably like golf, except everyone can hang around and interact more, as compared to just 4 per flight at golf.

Was my first time and it was quite fun with all the guys and the gals. In the blazing sun for the whole afternoon, had BBQ lunch and beer while bowling and yet not getting wet under the armpits and sweaty all over is definitely a nice feeling.

Hope that I can go yachting the next round.

What's in a name ?

Was watching the news this morning about a report of a cyclone in Burma...

Wait, I thought they are called Myanmar ? I have been using and hearing that name for a long time now. I thought they had changed it eons ago...

So I checked this morning. According to Wikipedia :

On 18 June 1989, the military junta passed the 'Adaptation of Expressions Law' that officially changed the English version of the country's name from Burma to Myanmar, and changed the English versions of many place names in the country along with it, such as its former capital city from Rangoon to Yangon (which represents its pronunciation more accurately in Burmese though not in Arakanese). This prompted one scholar to coin the term 'Myanmarification' to refer to the top-down programme of political and cultural reform that led to and followed in the wake of this renaming.[6] This decision has, however, not been subject to independent legislation and no national referendum was held to decide this change by the people.[1] The official name of the country in the Burmese language was Myanmar, and the official name of the country in English was Burma ever since the country gained independence from Britain in 1948. Within the Burmese language, Myanmar is the written, literary name of the country, while Bama or Bamar (from which "Burma" derives) is the oral, colloquial name. In spoken Burmese, the distinction is less clear than the English transliteration suggests.

The renaming proved to be politically controversial.[7] Opposition groups continue to use the name "Burma," since they do not recognize the legitimacy of the ruling military government nor its authority to rename the country in English. This name change was recognized by the United Nations, China, India, Singapore, Thailand, Lao, Vietnam, Bangladesh, ASEAN, and Russia. However it was not recognized by many western governments such as the United States, Australia, Canada or the United Kingdom, which continue to use "Burma," while the European Union uses "Burma/Myanmar" as an alternative.

And according to CIA Factbook :

Country name:
conventional long form: Union of Burma
conventional short form: Burma
local long form: Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw (translated by the US Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar)
local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw
former: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma
note: since 1989 the military authorities in Burma have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; this decision was not approved by any sitting legislature in Burma, and the US Government did not adopt the name, which is a derivative of the Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw

So what does it show when you see this :



And this :



Can't see the subtle difference ?

Hint : Note the country name and the city name...

2 Weeks and More

Ok, I missed my 2nd weekend update, so I will give a longer one today.

First of all, I am still staying in the motel. Will be until next weekend, then it is the big move.

I have started working, 3rd day at work today. As I am not really a 'newbie', I guess I am not exactly entitled to my honeymoon period. :)

So taking up things pretty quickly and will be out to face-the-world next week : By conducting a training session.

Things in this office is pretty systematic. At least I would say the new staff orientation and admin work is pretty thorough. I came in my first day with my desk ready with stationery, my phone has been programmed and my name shows on it. Internal phone list has been updated with my mobile and everything. Brand new 17" monitor laptop is all installed and ready to be used.

Getting my bank accounts and all admin work finalized. Now I just lack a credit card.

Have been to Bondi Beach and a smaller Dee Why Beach the last 2 weekends. Been raining recently, so was just there for a while to soak in the mild sun (hidden behind clouds), enjoy the sea breeze and eating seafood basket (how apt).

Not sure what I will be doing this coming weekend. If it rains, I may spend more time shopping for furniture in the malls. Next weekend, is definitely the big move. And I am looking forward to it.

Blogging in office now, so not much photographs to add. I will be putting photos of my new place once I move it.

In the mean time, it is down to work...

1st Week in OZ. Updates

First week was sort of stressful. Especially in the rental section.

Paperwork in Australia is almost quite unwelcoming for newcomers. Most of the paperwork seems like a catch-22 situation. For example, you need a residential address to apply for a driving licence, bank accounts, etc. And I can't get a rental unless a bank statement is attached to the rental application.

Definitely need local assistance to start off.

Rentals are all taken up, and prices are higher than I anticipated. Tight supply and lots of demand in Sydney. Had to activate my 'backup plan' and rent from a close friend.

So definitely had a few bad night sleep due to this stress.

Haven't had time to do any sightseeing.

On the plus side, I bought a new car. Ford Focus Ghia Sedan for about A$28k. Nice, comfortable with all the bells and whistles. Going to pay in full and getting it in a couple of days time. In time for me to get around, get my stuff, and get to work.

Once my new place is ready, I will have to spend another bomb on furnishings. Beds, Sofas, TV, Dining Table & Chairs...

Oh and I already have my NSW driving licence. Talk about efficiency. I filled in the form, queued up, have my photo taken by their computer, and have my credit-card sized licence issued all within the hour (including queue time). Lets see how fast you get your licence in oh-so-efficient Singapore.

Anyway, am now in my new office for a couple of hours, just to get to know the people and the place, and to download emails on my PC.... :)

Guess the next update will be another weeks time, when I start working.

Quick Updates

Ok.. Been in Sydney for a few days.

Still running around trying to secure a living place. That is the critical point before I can settle most of my other stuff.

Without a proper residential address, I can't apply for lots of things.

Wish me luck...

Look what just arrived...

I ordered this late last week. Was hoping it would arrive before I fly off.



Haha.. will be playing with it tonight and see how it goes...

Total Cost of Car Ownership

Ok. I have done the sums.

Period of Ownership : August 2004 to March 2008 (3 years and 8 months)

Total Payment made for car loan : $47,585.80
Total Accessories : $1,452.65
Total Cash Card (mostly Parking and some ERP) : $1,590
Total Insurance : $3,992.25
Total Maintenance : $3,474.09
Total Parking (Home & Office & Parking Coupons) : $7,449.40
Total Petrol : $12,994.50
Total Road Tax : $3,348.50
Total Others : $1,292.37

Grand Total : $83,179.56

Expected Refunds (Insurance, Season Parking, etc) : $400

Total cost $82,779.56
Average Expenditure Per Month (44 Months in Total) = $1,881.35
Average Cost Per Year = $22,576.24

Goodbye, my first...

car.

Just handed it over to the dealer just now.

The feeling was a little tinge of sadness. I will soon work out how much I spent on it these 3 years 7 months and 12 days.

So it is public transport from now on.

Nostalgia ... here and here

Updates and happenings

Ok. Have some time for updates.

Finally purchased my Olympus SP-570UZ with a whopping 20x Optical zoom, and 26mm wide angle.

Very nice, at a very nice price too. much less than what they are selling for at the recent IT show. But of course, no freebies (which I don't need anyway.)




Been busy with gatherings and dinners with various groups of friends, before my departure from Singapore. Finally almost packed and ready to go.

Now I can take nice pictures and post them here.. haha..

Happy Lunar New Year !

Heh. A little late. But wishing all a Happy Lunar New Year !
May the year of the Rat brings everyone health and wealth !

Not really in the mood for blogging much now, as I am busy with lots of my personal stuff in preparation to moving.

So the next time you hear from me, is probably going to be a few minutes before I fly off from Singapore...

2 New Bright Toys

Haha.. I was at first looking at a Surefire M6-CB, but it is too expensive. And I already have a MagLite 2D in my car (which pales a lot in comparison), so I do not need another huge light.

I need a small, portable one.

So I got the Fenix L1T (Version 2.0) which has a max output of 90 Lumens. Good thing is that this is small and uses a single AA battery.

I also got a more powerful Fenix P3D, also a newer version that has a max output of 215 Lumens. This one uses 2xCR123 battery though. A little expensive, but the light is much more impressive.

Just played with them in a dark industrial area. My MagLite now seems like a child's toy. On its website, it is rated 36 Lumens only.

It is not just the amount of light (Lumens) that it is important, it is also the beam-form.


And to those motorist who pisses me off, watch out for a 215-Lumen White LED light hitting your eyes. Hahahaha...



Oh, and if you must know, I spent less than S$150 for both lights. Quite worth it I must say. So now I shall see how durable it is...

Burst Tyre

This morning, while travelling on the expressway (fastest lane), I felt some vibrations on the road. Before I can decide whether it was the road surface, or something wrong with my tyres, the whole car started shaking up and down, while I was travelling at about 90km/h.

Knowing I probably had a flat tyre, I quickly filtered to the road shoulder, put on my lights and the hazard sign plate, and discovered I had a rear flat, on the driver side.

Took out my spare, jacked up the car and changed. All in about 10+ minutes. Surprising, this was my first time changing a tyre and I didn't panic, and know how to use all my tools for the first time. Haha.. All without my morning coffee. *Proud*

When I took down my flat tyre, I didn't expect to see this :



Of course, this picture was taken after I am in somewhere safe. Looks like a burst somewhere and due to the speed I am travelling, it continued to rip half the tyre apart. If there were more cars on the road (luckily it was a Saturday morning), I might have the whole rubber tyre gone and my rims grinding the road. That would be really bad.

I attribute this to the old tyre (being 1.5 yrs old already, and travelled about 60,000+ km) and my recent incident ( Read : Not-so-good End to 2007)

So I replaced all my tyres to a spanking Bridgestone GR-80. This is much quieter and comfortable. Luckily, it was just shy of $600.

And I was just thinking a while ago, that I hadn't had much "drama" with my car. No crashes, no breakdowns, no tyre punctures... and today I have to experience it at the most inappropriate moment. I had a "safety vest" in my car, just for emergency usage, and I forgot to use it !




And one stupid huge truck had to come very close to me and my car for comfort. Lets just say, about another feet or 2, and I might be on the papers... Sometimes, I really wonder how these people drive and hit things on the road shoulder. I was well clear of the first lane.

This is a WTF Moment....

Complaints that Traffic Police, while setting up speed cameras, are hiding on bridges.

See Stomp Here.

I really do not understand the rationale. Yes, the purpose of putting warnings is to "force" motorists to slow down and prevent accident, rather than issue a speeding ticket.

But come on, this is like a drug dealer complaining about an under-cover police. CNB officers should all wear uniform, so that drug dealers will see them around and not commit crimes...

Oh, some might say that drug dealing is a serious crime, it hurts people, etc, and thus warrants a stronger policing tactic.

So a speedster thinking he is superman doesn't hurt anyone when his car crashes ?

Put in another way, drug dealers only sell to "willing victims". Someone gives you heroin, you can say "No, sorry. I don't do drugs."

When a speedster crashes into YOU, you can't say "No. Sorry, I don't speed."

Concept, Ideas, but Laziness rules

They did it in the USA. An idea that myself and KOP once thought of. Slightly different, as wi-fi wasn't that common few years ago. But I am sure we would have thought of using it as a supplement.

What am I talking about ? Using Cell-phones signals to triagulate locations for commercial purposes. The technology has been used by police and telcos - but they all rely on telcos to PROVIDE the location via their own reverse-triangulation method (using multiple base stations find where the phone is).

We weren't depending on Telcos to provide such information, but to war-drive out there to collect such data.

Now its commercially available in USA - SkyHook

I heard another company is doing the same for Singapore and Malaysia. Tapping on end users with GPS-enabled phones. Download application that records GPS locations + GSM + Wi-Fi Signals. Sends the data back to them and they compile into a database. Of course, users are paid for such data - Navizon.

Oh well, ideas are just ideas until you have the capability, time and money to make it a reality...

Eewww. Horrigible Things...

Ok, this is not the most poisonous, or most deadly, or what.. but sure as hell quite yucky...

5 Most Horrifying Bugs in the World

Yeah.. Happy New Year !

Haha.. no, this is not my greetings. It's late, I know.

Just bought a new watch for myself :


(Photo taken from Seiko Site)

Definitely sub-thousand, I am not rich. Got it at a pretty good price. Now I am going to wait for the Lunar New Year to start wearing it... heh heh..


Also quite nice to know that ocassionally, new readers pop in and leave their footprints. I thank you all. :)