Formula One in Singapore - A NIGHTMARE FOR MANY!

I for one support those who are really affected by the Singapore F1 in town, with all the traffic diversions and all, it is not something I am looking forward to.

However, I do support the F1 being in Singapore, since they create tourist arrivals which means more money for some, hoteliers alike. However, this is my latest suggestion to the F1 committee…

 

BE REAL, GET REAL… RACE ON THE LIVE TRACKS, meaning you do your racing on the actual streets , with real traffic moving in and out of the area.  Just as any illegal racer will do…

The best and suitable location:
TUAS CHECKPOINT , TUAS MARINA with the AYE open for real use (so ok, we cordon off special zones for them)

The time?? 5.30pm – 9pm when the Singapore Malaysia traffic is the most heaviest and you get to race against the real racers of East Asia – The Malaysian Commuter Motorcyclist… NO SPEED LIMIT for everyone! So you get head to head and race on the live 3 lane with cars and bikes and the Causeway Link CW3 & CW6 buses trying to get home….. Little modifications will be made..so you get to race from Ahmad Ibrahim PIE roundabout to Tuas , turn left at Coca Cola, Zip Zap again onto the main highway , hairpin U turn into the road again.

My Suggested Route:

Flag off at JALAN AHMAD IBRAHIM Southward (so ok, close that road, go against the flow )

Tuas Road, Right into Tuas Ave 3, Right into Tuas Ave 3, into AYE Heading Tuas Checkpoint (MAIN FLOW – LIVE TRAFFIC!!!)

U Turn at Second Link (WATCH OUT FOR THE CW3 BUSES) into AYE and HARD LEFT U TURN into PASIR LABA ROAD

U Turn at PIE Upper Jurong Road, Head into AHMAD IBRAHIM (LIVE TRAFFIC!!!)

STRAIGHT ON, Pit stop at COCA COLA!

 

That with no POLICE CORDON or special check etc…

 

That … is what I can call, RACING….

Of course, they have to redo the Pasir Laba Road…but it is worth it…

 

Grandstand at AHMAD IBRAHIM  stretch, Pasir Labar and a few others…

Many can watch on the side with no guard rails….

 

How much it will affect the traffic.. none..but the F1 drivers better be super careful with the crazy riders and bus drivers and more…..That will test their skills and nerves…

Make it 200 laps….DAY TONA racing… on F1….

Only make ONE LANE RED ZONE …so no one can enter just like the Red Bus Lane…. Give them a bit of safety if they want to use ONE lane..they want to test their luck, overtake on live road….

 

What say you, FORMULA ONE? TONY FERNANDEZ? RICHARD BRANSON??? ALONSO?

 

 

Wallet in your phone

Be prepared Malaysia, your wallet will soon be a thing of the past. A current research & development by a Government Linked Company here based in Kuala Lumpur boasts the disappearance of your wallet in the near future. Why? Because of the new payment system which boosts the number of micropayments within the commercial and consumer entities. With transactions less than RM100, all you need to do is to WAVE your phone onto the device, be it an Android or iPhone , it is SIM-DEPENDENT.

WHY MY MOBILE? Because, you never leave home without your mobile phone, as it’s the blood line of the 21^st century. Of course, it will be tagged to your Savings or Current / Bank accounts and also your favorite Visa, Mastercard or Charge Card. Security wise, it will be far more secure than you think, since there will be more than 3 Factor Security Authentication tagged in place.

 

For micro payments, it takes just as how your Touch-N-Go card or VisaWave/Paypass works. You just wave it. It is tagged directly to your e-wallet and if you lose your phone, it won’t work because you have black listed it, so the SIM Registration is the first security factor. It can be tagged to your PREPAID SIM CARD just as how you load your Phone Credit. Usually for less than RM50. It does not hurt much if you loose RM50 right?? Your data on the SIM CARD is also stored offsite. This may be used to PRE AUTHORISE YOUR FUEL PURCHASE. Great for Mamak shop, Petrol Station or  Groceries Shop. Also great to pay for your parking and toll.

 

For Payments between RM50-RM250 such as Supermarkets, Departmental Stores, Utility and Government Dues like PTPTN or MARA or LHDN, the user can either call in to a short code / Toll Free Number or SMS the transaction code for the final amount.

1)Merchant Enters Amount

2)User Enters Phone Number

3)User Select type of payment (PREPAID/CHARGE/FAST DEBIT/PAYPAL/OTHERS)

4)Enters Payment PIN CODE

5)Enter TYPE OF ACCOUNT for others (Maybank2U SAV/CHECK etc etc)

6)SWIPE FINGER PRINT for Auth.

Terminal will then run the PREAUTH TAC CODE to be sent to the customer phone

Customer will then enter the 2^nd Level code in and it will complete.

 

For payments between RM250-RM2000, Voice recognition will occur. System will call the customer if it is against the standard fraud detection. In this instance, at the point of registration, BIOMETRIC recognition will begin, full fingerprinting and Voice recording be done. Recording A-Z ,0-9, Customer FULL NAME, Identity Card Number, Mother Maiden Name, etc… A security Word like a Alphanumeric password that only the customer will know. The system will ask for the certain Alphabet/Number of the word, just as banks do.  For example Code word is WHOAM1 and the request code is 1,2,4, the reply will be W,H,A

 

Why this happen? Because sometimes we borrow our fathers, brothers, sisters, wife/husband card/phone/topup card etc… so no one can forge your voice genetic or even your finger print.

 

Just in case you lose your phone in the middle of the night or been robbed or left everything… you can pay your cabby for your ride home and your fingerprint will be the authenticator for the payment. There will be a little buffer like say RM50-100 just in case we ran out of cash, or if the pre-auth have not been lifted. We all know that we are at times, been in a tight fix, waiting for the pay at the end of the day … so this is the human side of things. Something like SOS-TOPUP

 

The system will also have a DEMAND PAYMENT for a PEER-to-Peer payment, just as how you pay your friend. Be it he in Malaysia or overseas, USSD request can be made just as how it is done on Paypal. You will probably know how SHARE-A-TOPUP or ASK-A-TOPUP  on your prepaid mobile. So when the other party receive the request, he can accept or deny by doing a short code auth. (*100#/*118#/*128#), Select the menus, Enter AUTH CODE WORD.

 

This is going to be great to the merchant because the P2P rate is so low (about 5-20c) per transaction, less than 0.5% (About RM1) per Debit transaction just as MEPS or 1.5% for Charge. It reduces the cash on the till at the merchant, and if the merchant allows it, CASH BACK service, like NETS-CASH in Singapore. It charges maybe RM1-RM2 to the customer which the merchant can cash out up to RM500 or so, depending on their comfort level. Supermarkets may like this. There will no longer a clutter of so many machines on the till. Just one. ONE TO PAY, and One to sell PREPAID, ALL SERVICES, ONE to PAY BILLS. ALL BILLS. Merchants get 10-30c for bill payment, so it’s a good service. No excuse NOT to pay your PTPTN MONEY. No need to go to Post Office to cash your Retirement / Pension Warrant. You can also topup your Touch-N-Go/EzLink/NETS-Flashpay/CEPAS and accept SINGAPORE CUSTOMERS.

 

What may happen later on, is you can pay for your toll using your phone….. and even buy tickets.

 

So who is handling this?? Like I said.. government linked agencies.. since they want money back from borrowers. No more excuse too far to go to the bank, post office , BSN etc. It’s just round the corner. Like PAYPOINT in UK. I say it’s call ONE2Pay.

 

This is really Service!!!

Termination of TM Prepaid Homeline

Just to let many of you know, the old RING RING program which relies on the home user to prepay their home line for calling and rental credit is coming to a close. I have been swamped with many customers who are still on the prepaid program, on how and what will happen after this.

 

What it is, actually is the number of inactive number of customers (me included) who use the RING RING CARD (aka iTalk Card) to purchase airtime for their residential landline phones. Though the actual calling rate is 40c for local and mobile phones (Same Zone), and between RM1.20 to RM2.40 for outstation calls (aka long distance), the savings is on the line rental which is actually RM3 per month, and it must be recharged every 30days. If one relapsed the recharge period , they have a grace period of 30 days before the incoming call facility is TOSsed (Temporarily Out-of Service – TOS) and a new Starter pack is needed (RM30) obtainable from TM Point outlets (not dealers).  Recharge coupons are activated by purchasing iTalk cards (RM10/30/50).

 

However, due to many relapses and the lack of recharge starter packs (RESTART PACKS) , TM are running out of numbers in many areas , such as Penang , Kulim, Seremban, Melaka, Muar , Bahau and the regions. Thus , the termination of contract or automatic conversion process for all. Any have loads of money prepaid into their account, and this is the issue. As such, from what I was told and saw, by end of September 2011 or Early October, all Prepaid Numbers are converted and Normalised into POST PAY services at standard call plans.

 

What is means, is that the current rental plan will be RM25+RM4 (itemized billing , Paperbilling and duties) per month and that is supposingly the minimum. There is another stealth program, which is RM15 for DOMESTIC CALLS ONLY, meaning within the same exchange. For example, if you are in Seremban 06-677xxxx, you can call the same exchange of Seremban, Senawang and Rasah ( 677/766 ) zones only and no regional or mobile calls. It only allows free incoming calls. It is good for those who don’t use much. But contrary to what many people say, it’s quite dangerous, if you need to call your next of kin etc.

 

Another package is the ITKS plan for STUDENTS. This has no rental but prepaid card is needed to call out and no incoming calls accepted (HOTLINE SERVICE). But honestly, this is not good. Streamyx or UNIFI packages offer free landline call plans for RM110/mth!

 

If you need more details.. please ask!

BLOGGING NOT FOR MONEY!

Salam Aidil Fitri to all…. And hope everyone is enjoying their days!

It’s tiring and I’m quite poofed! Then I was going thru my daily job tasks ..which btw, today is still operational…. And I saw the posting on NUFFNANG about RUMAH AMAN…which needs to raise RM20,000 (about US$8000 or S$10,000) for the rewiring.

So thus … I am pledging FULL HEARTED to the cause… and all my earnings to date (which is nothing, few ringgits)…  is to be donated to the cause.  So do help out.. do click on the NUFFNANG AD and support the cause.. so there is the Singapore Ads and Malaysia Ads… support whichever you feel is great! If you are not from either…. Then tell me..and I help U sign up.

Each click is worth 20c so please every click do count. This MERDEKA… I am supporting the charitable causes…since I cannot do much…. I want to help out….

This raya…there are happiness all over. Not to forget those who are less fortunate…so please help out…

Thank you

Happy Holidays...

Salam Aidil Fitri to all my friends, family and foes alike. Despite what happened for the past year or so… I am still me.. struggling with all the tasks I am given and it’s been a challenging year so far. Tomorrow is the Singapore Presidential Election #SGElect as they put it on twitter ( or #SGPresident / #SGElections hash tags) but mostly… I am not bothered to vote this time round since the 4 candidates are just goons to me.. worthless clowns who aspire to be the Singapore Prime Minister…but failed to get the job. They are too much affiliated to the PAP…so it’s not worth it. I’m anyway excused since my address is in Malaysia (Home Address)…so I can opt not to vote since my passport …. Is with the home ministry for renewal of the Expatriate Pass / Permanent Resident application process.

 

About Eid.. this year.. to me it’s about being able to understand how those unfortunate souls suffer throughout the whole year, with less than what they can live on, be it Muslims or not. It saddens me that the Muslim Zakat can’t be used to feed the non-Muslims… but in following of the Prophet himself.. he fed many Jewish beggars with it… so it’s all about HUMANITY. It’s sad when there is media exposure, only then we see Sharizat and the UMNO people coming to help… and not the MCA or otherwise. I was referring to the article on the Star that 2 school kids got to sell their books just to buy rice.. it’s really sad… where is the CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY of the supermarkets such as TESCO, ECONSAVE, GIANT and alike???

 

Anyway, do drive safe.. where ever you are and where ever you are heading. Plan ahead..and give EXTRA TIME. Be happy.

 

Salam Aidil Fitri is what I wish…

To all my friends, Readers, Family, Foes alike….

Forgiveness, Closure and remorse is all I have to ask….

To you who read this … I bid you and your family well…

Wish you a safe trip… and Salam Shalom Safe and be well...

 

 

 

Difference between Streamyx and Unifi

First off, Telekom Malaysia has been trying to get things moving for us in Malaysia, offering the fastest broadband so far to the central regions, Johor and Penang Island.

Streamyx is the ADSL which offers download speeds of 384kbps, 512kbps, 1Mbps, 2Mbps and 4Mbps for the consumer and it had been known to be able to stream up to 8Mbps for some line. Since it is ADSL, the upload speed is capped at 384kbps due to the upstream frequency allocated by the ITU G.Lite which is at 25-130KHz and the download at 140-1100KHz having said that the audible bandwidth of 6- 1200KHz is what our copper and ears can take without much loss of signal. SDSL is a different thing all together, which is the reverse of ADSL.

UniFi or United National Internet Fidelity service offers Video, Internet and Phone at the same time to the consumer and majority of which are served by FTTHx technology or Fiber To The Home Technology where a piece of fiber optic cable is split into many pairs (usually 8) and then split / spliced for sharing at the terminator unit. This is usually allows up to 500 homes per dark fiber cable which has 4 pairs in them.

The main difference with Streamyx and Unifi at a glance is the Price and Digital IPTV Set Top Box that is provided with the service. For RM149, it offers 5Mbps service and a Digital TV box for you to watch TV on the RESIDENTIAL PACKAGE. Among other freebies are a free DECT Phone, Free Unlimited Landline Calls, WiFi Router and which is all guaranteed by TM for up to 12 months, whereas your contract is 24 months. Streamyx is 12 months contract.

Unifi also offers packages of 10Mbps for RM199 and 20Mbps for RM240 although the fair usage policy is about 60Gb , 75Gb and 90Gb for the VIP5,VIP10 and VIP20 respectively. There is no capping for business users, but the price is at RM249, RM599 and RM899 for the BIZ5,BIZ10 and BIZ20 with Static IP assigned for the Biz 10 and Biz 20 with calls worth RM50 and RM100 included respectively.

In terms of downloading and Uploading.. here is the good thing:
THE SPEED IS UNCAPPED so if you have VIP5 package, then you get 5M upload and Download speed!

I copied this without permission from ViVr2.com ...as I can't find a 20M line to test.

So if you want either streamyx or Unifi.. please sms me 017-4648814 with your details and I will get it registered and done up for you soon.

Do note that UNIFI waiting period is as long as 3 months due to the lack of contractors to install the service. So don't say I did not warn you.

Happy 4th of July

Today is the Independence Day for our American friends, and last week , the First of July was Canada Day for their northern neighbours and so.. I wish them all..

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY
HAPPY 4th of July!!!
 
(from the British and the Colonists)

Just to let you know Hostgator is having a 40% discount on EVERYTHING except domain names, so you might want to grab that one, unless you want to use the special codes.

Pondering over a DELETE BUTTON IN LIFE.

Something a ponder of the day... Thanks to my friend Amos Dong who wished for a DELETE button in life.

Here is to you bro... a point to ponder.
I learn a way...after very painful ones...and this is an advise from my late wife ...

Hubby,In life .. we have many skeletons that we buried and shoved in our closet of life.. which must never be opened or uncovered for you will live your life like a walking zombie... so if you have to go thru again a place that has sad memories..and not to remind yrself of that past.. bring someone who brings you happiness and joy... for that will over write the sadness that is within, something like a video tape.. and thus ... your walk in life is no longer haunted by those very feelings and that "langkah kita tidak akan pendek lagi untuk elak tempat tersebut" (meaning we won't try to avoid that place again in phobia)... and if someone says so and so.. let it be so..for stick and stones will break my bones but words and slurs can't.

Remember these words for you will never be imprisoned again by life.. for the most cruel prison is where we live with regrets , shame and melancholic feelings.

 

Those are so thru and just better than going for AA Meetings. Pain is there..but far less than ever...

ODesk English Test.... A fraud?

Something I have to ask, as I did this test out this particular test after I noticed that one Pakistani guy who can't speak right was the TOP of the candidates.. in fact he scored 100% and I decided to give it a try, after I feel it's rigged.

Why I made those claims? I did TWO tests.. on TWO Accounts and the answers were checked by the MS Word Dictionary and it gave 98% for a 40 question test... and 2% is what? For time? There is no Multiple Choices in that set of questions where you need to tick 2 or more and I feel it's defective.

As a Toastmasters Member and a WAOE Council Member, I am obliged to follow by the code of ethics and practice good public speaking methodologies including proper use of grammar and spelling and pronunciation and in my books, these tests are fake.

Anyone with a MS Word opened on the side or even a blogger screen can type the word in and see what is the wrong one. I did that in the first set, checking EVERY QUESTION and it comes to 98% and within 20mins and the second time, it's a no brainer... and within 10 mins.So my point is, why a spelling test when you can cut and paste and cheat?? The only way I see it is to derive a page, with proper AMERICAN ACCENT SPEAKER pronouncing the words out and we spell it out, something like Part One of the GCSE English 1119 Paper or like the IELTS.

That itself will show us who is the boss.

For the employees of oDesk..sorry I offended you, but this is deserving...and I have to say the truth. The Honest Truth, and it sucks.

Condolences to my cousins....

It was just after dawn that it dawned on me my sister rang me up to say that my only male uncle (heir/waris) to the family, Mr Abdul Hamid bin Mahadi @ Leman had passed away this morning. He was just 58 or so.

It dawned upon me of a silly joke that he said to me last year, the last time I saw him at the funeral of another relative, Puan Hajjah Norhayati Abdullah, which I quote, "Once you reach 50, all of us are waiting for the bell " which means, on reaching 50, we are all waiting for our number to be called by Izrail, the Angel of Death.

It is that, I seldom cry at funerals, but this particular uncle, is just the like of my dad, only their way of life is different and that what makes me sad this morning, is that he is at an early age, and I was not able to know him far better than what I knew of him 30 years back.

Being my father's elder brother, of course there are some misunderstandings, but what make me sad, is that they never buried their differences, and now, one of them is waiting for his turn to the other world, to be buried in the grave, that one did not able to ask for forgiveness or so.. when he was still alive.

That he reminds ourselves to be humble, that during the last time I saw him with my family, was at Tesco Bukit Indah and I did not even notice him, until he shouted out my name..and I was searching about to who was it.. and that is how bad I was.. I can't even recognise him until I saw my aunt...who was just as the same as 20 years ago.

To my cousins, Azhar (Kek), Azman..and my other cousins who I did not get to know.. my deepest condolences to you.

Al-fatiha.