Words of Wisdom from Bill Gates... Simple Reminders to Stop Being Naive about Life!

Received this email today... sharing it because I think many more people need it.

11 Things They Don't Teach You at High School:

Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this! Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good,politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2 : The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

While you at this, watch the latest microsoft ad featuring Bill gates and Jerry Seinfeld...

Mercedes W124 E-Series Collectors - Feast your Eyes on These Beauties

I am an avid W124 fan and own a 1989 E200 W124. Recently, my 19-year old underwent an "extreme makeover" in the car world and the result was amazing - see pictures of my vintage beauty.

Everytime I am on the road, another W124 would attract my attention. Every once in a while, I would come across another beauty, but given the makeover I did to my car, I frankly have not come across many that come close. The test of the pudding is in the details, the trimming and how well kept the vintage parts of the car would bring out the full flavour of the most enduring car in Mercedes history... the E-class W124. According to the latest issue of the Mercedes Classic Magazine, the W124 is already the most kept car in the UK due to its durable look, ease of maintenance and availability of parts.

I chanced upon an article in WORLDCARFANS.COM tonight that I am sharing with other avid W124 fans. Even the article is largely about the W124 E 500, the article has many beautiful shots of other W124 that is nice to behold. The article also talks about when and how mercedes made the transition from the 500E series to E500 series. Many of us who take an interest in the car would already know that the main difference being the front and back bumber, the location of the Mercedes insignia on the metal engine grill and the side fenders, etc. In any case, enjoy the sight...

Executives need to re-learn how to be away from work

Since Thursday, I have started a short week of leave away from work till next week. This is supposed to be my first trip away together without the children. We planned for a 3-day getaway at Banyan Tree resort at Phuket. However, developments in Thailand triggered our trip cancellation. I had initially thought that I can easily book my wife and i into a nice hotel locally and get into a day of spa and pampering. Again, it was not meant to be with F1 Singapore, with good rooms snapped up and spa packages filled and what remains have exhorbitant price escalations. The ST even reported that escort services are having a jolly good business as a result of F1- not that I am looking for one!

My leave started well yesterday. My wife and I left our home early after a casual breakfast at Serangoon Gardens. After a visit to a watch shop at Suntec City to fix up the bracelet of a watch that I got for my wife for our anniversary, we headed down to pick my daughter from school and had a great lunch at the Straits Kitchen at Hyatt Hotel. The food was so good but the joy was derived from watching how my wife and daughter enjoyed their lunch experience!

However, lunch was frequently interupted by smses, calls and the regular flickering of lights from my Blackberry (new mails...). My peace was increasingly disturbed. There was a update paper to boss that requires my vetting, a call came to ask me to clear a letter to the lawyer, an sms came to tell me that a package for staff has been arranged and asked for my decision on how to proceed, a new arrangement between institutions on outram campus needs to be resolved. My wife looked at me and told me something that i did not enjoy hearing, "dear, but you are on leave, can't somebody else handle it?"... But she is right!

After I sold my iPhone, I had collapsed my mobile phone together with the blackberry. This is the wrong move because it is very easy to pick up a call and then see that you have new mails that may need attention. I decided that this part of my life must be sorted out. I left my wife and kids at Hyatt while i went over to the nearby Far East Shopping Centre and bought myself a handy Nokia E65 - my first used phone! Within 30 Minutes, I got the phone up and running and returned to Hyatt Hotel. I surrendered my Blackberry to my wife and asked her to take "custody" of it.

My distractions improved significantly after the "surrender" of the BB. But, at about 9pm, I decided to clear all the outstanding issues so that I can free my mind for the rest of my leave. I systematically managed every issue on email and was glad that by 12am, I got through the last email. I went to bed exhausted but happy that issues were cleared... but again it left me wondering if this has to be the way I spend my leave.

The truth is, I really like someone else to handle the issues when I am away. But, the way we do things has become quite knowledge based. I will need to spend quite a bit of time doing a mental download to my staff covering me before I leave and often this is not possible. Also, the expectations on speed of response in this internet age have increased significantly. Delays, even shortly, at times can mean that your decision or response will be irrelevant!

Perhaps, I wonder, if I need to re-learn/ un-learn how to be away from work. Even a machine needs a regular down-time and maintenance.

I welcome suggestions from anyone who has all this figured out.

Today seems better - at least for now. I received 5 smses starting from 7.30am to 830am but I ignored them until I finally got out of bed at 930am. Out of the 5 smses, one is a great news that my flights for my Nov trip to Tokyo has been confirmed, one asking for urgent advice and 3 on news on operational status at SGH. The sms on urgent advice has been superseded by time and I happily ignored it.

Blogging is one mode that I "destress" - hence I am writing this entry. Will fly out to have lunch with wife and determined to get to the gym for my planned dose of exercise.

Tomorrow will be better (according to a chinese song)... but executives need to manage the blackberry and manage their peace and recharge!

Why is Melamine such a health hazard?

Image Linked from WikiMedia

By now, Melamine C4H6N6 would have been the undisputed most popular chemical with a complicated chemical name of 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine.

This is the chemical that was unscrupulous added, by chinese companies in China, to low quality milk to boost its protein content and make it look like thicker high quality milk that can be sold at a higher price.



It is widely reported that Melamine causes Kidney stones in children which can prove to be deadly. Indeed a few children in China already died from the adulterated milk. I decided to find out why Melamine is so dangerous.



Melamine in low doses is nontoxic but when combined with cynauric acid can cause deadly kidney stones. The natural question is: can Cynauric Acid be found in the human body that can produce such a deadly combination? The unfortunate but obvious answer by now is YES!



Cynauric Acid could be synthesised by the thermal decomposition of Urea and Uric Acid. The human body produces large quantities of uric acid. This chemical interacts with Melamine found in contaminated milk to produce kidney stones!



This is not all. In fact, experts in various articles that I found on the web is of the opinion that the kidney stones are just the tip of the iceberg. While stones can be removed easily, far more worrying is when melamine starts crystallising in small kidney tubes, or tubules -- long, winding structures that filter blood, reabsorbing what is needed and excreting the rest as urine -- which will block connecting ducts and result in kidney damage and even failure.



Ingestion of melamine may also lead to reproductive and bladder damage and possibly lead to bladder cancer.



Children exposed to Melamine in this China Milk Fiasco will need to be monitored for the long term. The true cost of exposure can only be calculated over many many years...



For now, me and my household will abstain from most form of diary products especially those from China. The consolation that I have is that AVA is systematically combing through the multitude of products and informing the public as test results are out. Let's take personal responsibility too and read the product labels when we buy - for now, maybe not so much the nutrition label but is it "made in China"?

Procurement Economies to Keep Singapore Healthcare Affordable

The SingHealth's Group Procurement Office has applied the tools of strategic procurement and achieved savings in excess of $90 Mil over the last 5 years for Singapore public hospitals. Read this article from the 22 Sep 2008 edition of the Lianhe Zaobao...

China Milk Fiasco - A Sad manifestion of Cruel Greed!

Picture linked from Boston.com News

September 14 saw the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the spark of yet another Tsunami in the financial turmoil that started in the US but soon hit the rest of the world.

Another Tsunami closer to home is now rapidly unfolding... one that I can relate better emotionally with because my kids and those of our loved ones may be exposed to varying degree.

According to Bloomberg.com (Asia), at least 4 children have died and some 13,000 children are hospitalised. A girl in Hong Kong has also succumb to the poisoning.

As we enter into a rapidly globalised world, problems in one country can no longer be contained within its own borders. With the world converging to China to take advantage of the cheaper labour and materials (in this case Milk), China made products are now spread throughout the world, including Singapore. AVA announced the suspension of Chinese imports of 2 China made products tested positive for Melamine yesterday, one of which is the popular Dutch Lady brand of milk. Other popular products with children include the Meiji ice cream are also found to be contaminated. Tonight, according to the Channel News Asia reporting another popular White Rabbit Milk sweet was found to be contaminated. I am sure more products will be tested positive as this fiasco unfolds.

I am outraged because I know that my children have been exposed to this products before. To make things worst, the Bloomberg article states that the milk stations supplying Sanlu have been adding Melamine to their milk since April 2005! This is potentially 3 years worth of exposure - though I pray that stroke of grace and God's protection that they will be fully protected.

Personally, I have raided all milk products in my home and scrutinised the source of manufacture. All China made products are thrown into the bin - including a box of white rabbit milk sweet, Moo Moo ice cream biscuits...

I wonder what will bring a group of human beings to do such devastating acts of cruelty to others especially to children all because of greed? I am disappointed... but more importantly it has made me more vigilant.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - But What a Beautiful one of a kind (in my opinion) E200 W124 Mercedes

The Twentieth Day of the Month of September, year two thousand and eight I completed the final touches to my old charm - my 19-year old Mercedes E200 W124. After 2 months of waiting for a set of recycled rims I decided that a set of new sports rim will do just fine - so I bought one. Let me show you the final product:

The W124 with a fresh coat of paint, glimmering under the sun!

The view from the front... breathtaking :-) The grill is original

The rear view is as nice as the front... notice the solid AMG exhaust, the new rear lights and of course the beautiful and most auspicious licence plate number!

A rare pair of new crystal headlamps to match the new coat of paint on the body... I have not seen this on another Mercedes W124 yet!

A new Masterpiece insignia bought at a steal at another scrapyard at woodlands...

Chrome door handle cover from eBay! If you strain your eyes, you can also spot the chrome rings around the signal blinker on the front sides of the car (also from ebay)

The 16" Sports Rim that sealed the package! Simple elegance and sparkle that goes with the shine of the car!

A Chrome side mirror cover with LED signal light that I bought through eBay

A rare wood steering wheel in fabulous condition added from the inard of another W124... Notice also the 3 chrome rings on the speedometer gauge - secured from eBay

Reused W124 masterpiece door kick plate

Look at the Chrome around the Gearbox... another item reused

A matching middle console box salvaged from another W124...

What remains is a new birth certificate. In Singapore, we call it a Certificate of Entitlement (COE) and the PQP looks set to cost me $14,000 for a 10-year life. This works out to a depreciation of only $1,400 per year - what a deal!

Any other W124 mercedes enthusiast out there? Add a comment and we can trade notes on the car.

A Father's pride

My eldest daughter Brittney was awarded the Royal Academy of Dance's Classical Dance Grade 3 with MERIT. My wife showed me her certificate when she stepped home earlier and I must say that i was filled with pride.

This is a far cry from the time she started her ballet class. During her first class, she refused to dance and in the long moment of silence with the whole class waiting for her, I had to stand up and performed the first move of tip-toeing and turn around a circle. The whole class clapped for me when I finished, but I thought to myself, wouldn;t it be nice had it been my daughter who was dancing. She did eventually joined the class and now 5 years later, she has developed the grace of a ballerina and enjoying ballet.

You can appreciate why this father of Brittney can't stop beaming! It is the Father's Pride and I savour their every achievements.

Happy Days are Back - New housemen's canteen at SGH officially opens TODAY!

SGH's favourite Housemen's Canteen officially opens today with much fanfare and excitement!


I am proud of my team in Operations who helped make this happen. Of course, it was my super Comms team who made this official opening event special for staff and the public.


3 Cheers for Housemen's canteen's return to SGH! Hip Hip Hurray! Hip Hip Hurray! Hip Hip Hurray!

Should we have only Single rooms in Hospitals?

A recent Google search revealed an interesting article from the 27 August 2008 issue of the Journal of American Medicine (JAMA) entitled "Single Rooms for Safety Patient-centred Hospitals". The extract reads:

"In the 19th century and first half of the 20th century, hospital accommodations consisted of large multi-bed wards with as many as 20 patients, and semi-private or private rooms for those who could pay. Patients received care in these facilities for decades after the design had become obsolete. Almost 90 years ago, it was proposed that single-patient rooms were the ideal setting to provide patient care.1 In the last half of the 20th century, new hospitals were built featuring mostly single-, double-, and 4-bed rooms. It is likely that these hospitals may not be able to adequately provide safe patient-centered care over the next 50 years of their life span. Most modern hospitals have public value statements regarding safety, dignity, privacy, and patient-centered care. A tangible way to show commitment to these values would be to give patients their bed with their . . ."

I am calling for the full article before I post more comments. I thought it may be good to put the article out there to get some views on this since all Singapore public hospitals have various configuration of beds A1 (Single room), A2 (2 beds in a room), B1 (4 beds in a room), B2 (6 beds in a room) and C Class (large open naturally ventilated room).

Do we think that having single rooms will largely solve for patient safety issues related to infection control, or do we think that an over emphasis may actually lead to complacency in basic behaviors such as handwashing and cleanliness that may pose an even higher risk? If so, how do we strike a balance? Interesting isn't it?

3G iPhone - Is the Romance Over?

The BIG question that I have been contemplating for the last 30 minutes is ...

"Should I Sell my 3G iPhone?"

The offers are good. Having used the phone for the last 2 weeks, I decided to post a classified ad on MOCCA.com to see there would be any buyer interested in my phone for at least $950. Within 15 minutes of my post, i got the first offer at $850 and the latest offer on the table is $960. Not bad for a 2 week old phone isn't it?

But I am not decided yet. The 3G iPhone still has its sexy appeal to me but the romance is wearing off. As I am writing this note, a colleague who found out that I have the intention to sell the iPhone sent me a message via facebook that reads "... I know it is just puppy love and it did not last...".

Should I sell anyone??

When we live in "paradise", is there room to remember the less fortunate?

The Community Chest of Singapore has a SHARE programme to encourage giving through the workplace. I was at the SHARE Committee retreat today and was introduced to the song "Another Day in Paradise" by Phil Collins.

I checked out the song and music video on Youtube today and found the words particularly encouraging for us to spare a thought in our busy lives for the less fortunate around us. Do we sometimes feel a tug in our heart when we know that we can help someone who is less fortunate, and like the lyrics in the song says, "...pretend that we did not hear..."?

Please spare a moment to listen to the song in the music video and if your heart so tugs, remember that one way that you can give and touch someone's life is through a monthly pledge through your payroll - the SHARE programme. You can also do so via GIRO or credit card. Remember, it is only the "Price of a bowl of rice".

If you are thinking of putting the task off to another time... "oh think twice" - as you will hear in the song...

In the meantime, here is the lyrics of the song "Another Day in Paradise" so that you can follow as you listen.

Thank you for giving!

Lyrics:

She calls out to the man on the street

sir, can you help me?

Its cold and I've nowhere to sleep,

Is there somewhere you can tell me?

He walks on, doesn't look back

He pretends he can't hear her

Starts to whistle as he crosses the street

Seems embarrassed to be there

Oh think twice, its another day for You and me in paradise
Oh think twice, its just another day for you,
You and me in paradise

She calls out to the man on the street

He can see she's been crying

She's got blisters on the soles of her feet

Can't walk but shes trying

Oh think twice... (Chorus)

Oh lord, is there nothing more anybody can do

Oh lord, there must be something you can say

You can tell from the lines on her face

You can see that she's been there

Probably been moved on from every place

cos she didn't fit in there

Oh think twice...

Mosquito Art

This mosquito flew across my LCD against a lighted background and landed on the stack of paper on my printer at home. Its stomach was pregnant with my blood. I carefully positioned my hands and hit the pest against my paper and my blood splattered!

But the mosquito did not die (see first picture). The sight was quite beautiful and could be considered a "Mosquito Art". Of course, the mosquito was killed within a few minutes (last picture).

I think this could well be the first Mosquito Art posting in the world! Ha Ha :-)

On Teacher's Day 1 September 2008, I Honour Ex-RJC Principal Rudy Mosbergen

Today is Teacher's Day. Strangely, I remembered because when I turned up at work today, I received 2 Happy Teacher's Day card from my staff. I did not expect it because of the way I stereotype my work. On one of the card, it read:

"Thank you for your kopi (coffee in English). I must say you do have a way to fire up a person's desire to go beyond his or her call of duty : ) Much appreciate the sharing & nice chat. Will remain charged up. Glad to be here in SGH!"

The sense of appreciation that I felt was sweet. It is nice to know that the time and effort that you've deposited in your staff is worth it, and that they have gone some way in creating meaning for the person's work.

In the same way, today, I want to honour my Ex-Raffles Junior College Principal Rudy Mosbergen. In a sense, I owe who I am able to be today in part to him. Many of us at RJC would remember him as the man who make "famous" the phrase "The Mind is a terrible thing to waste". At the Paterson campus and later the Mt Sinai Campus, it was virtually impossible to escape the phrase because it would be at the locker and even right in front of you at the Urinal. One would have expected the urinal classic "we aim to please, you aim too please" but at RJC during the reign of Mr Mosbergen it shall be "The mind is a terrible thing to waste."

I guess Mr Mosbergen really meant it. Here is my story...

In 1983, I did well enough in my secondary 4 finals to gain admission into RJC for the first 3 months as I await my GCE "O" level results. When the "O Levels" results were finally out, I promptly went to my school to collect my results. My form teacher reached out to me when I was entering the assigned classroom, held me by arms and told me "Hee Jug, it is alright ok...?" I was confused by her gesture but also startled by the fact that bad news may begin to unfold.

True enough, when I collected my result slip, I realised to my horror that even though I scored A's for almost all subjects, I failed my English. During my day, this spells doom as passing the English language was a pre-requisite. My dream of returning to RJC was dashed! I was devastated! I was not able to get into any 2-year JC programme and could only managed admission to a 3-year Pre-U class at my old school. I lost all motivation to study.

With encouragement from my parents, I decided to make an appointment to see Mr Mosbergen to appeal for admission. I was hoping against hope as it would hardly be an exception for RJC to accept a student who failed the English language. Finally, the day of the appointment came. I entered the principal's office and saw Mr Mosbergen face to face. To tell the truth, I trembled. He asked what he could do for me. I decided that I should go straight to the point and asked him to make an exception to admit me. He took a look at my results and after pondering for a while, looked up, smiled and he told me that I would be provisionally admitted subject to me passing my "O Level" English language at the end of JC 1.

He gave me a second chance!

That was the turning point for me. I wasted no time to improve my command of the English language. I started to read widely, scrutinising every sentence that I came across to figure the use of punctuations and grammar. I developed an interest in general affairs through reading the Times, Newsweek magazines and the Straits times. These not only helped me to improve my English but also in my performance in the General papers. When the time came for me to re-take my GCE "O" Levels English language exam, I breeze through the papers and scored A1. The momentum carried me forward. With the help and encouragement from an extremely studious class, I ace my GCE "A" level as well, won a scholarship and the rest is history.

Today, I remember the second chance that you gave me Mr Mosbergen. Perhaps you saw that my mind was a terrible thing to waste, and you gave me that second chance that became my life's turning point. I thank you and honour you for what you have done for me. I wish one day, I will have the opportunity to meet you and thank you face to face.

Happy Teacher's Day to all Teachers, Principals and Educators! What you do shape and save lives... Thank you.