Author: tiger40490

[25]emergMar trip

Posted on by tiger40490

 

FlightNetwork 1054-331-325 stop takeoff arrive
MH610 21:20 Mo 3 Mar T 22:30 KUL 00:40 7am Tu 5TURAL
MF8118 11:10 Th 6  Mar T 2pm XMN 17:50 22:15 NAMZCX
  • S$340 by cimb ccard
  • e-tickets: 2323471537609,,,,7312827678395

— priorities in PEK

  • (when GP is still around) icbc >> Hsbc with birth cert + 派出所 + bank card + his IC + auth letter
  • withdraw in Xiamen

— Thu timing

  • C2703 8:23 ~ 8:51 ( seat 3-14D )
  • by 8 arrive at train station with 2 luggage
  • by 7.30 get on taxi peak hour to 白堆子 (20min). This route is more likely to beat the direct route.
  • by 7.20 check out and hug grandma

 

[25]partialMar [Fr..

Posted on by tiger40490
  1. — G5 progress this past quarter… half ranked /chronologically/ and by noteworthiness ##a form of cognitive self-talk:
  2. ex_china: ChannelX opened; called hsbc.cn to confirm quota; fingerprint set up for icbc/hsbc.cn
  3. 继承: reached out to Wang Fang; asked Y.Yu about account liquidation; called Beijing notary public; birth cert enclosed in double ziplocks
  • wechat log-in practiced and documented
  • unsafe stock PIN removed (for local banks); unsafe 9dot patterns for China mobanks removed;
  • dhost latency .. reported and engaged over several emails
  • dhost migration + DNS .. non-trivial effort
  • emailed Franz and Kate
  • cpfRa greenzone ..multiple calls and bposts
  • end-Mar trip cancelled .. non-trivial effort
  • provided emotional suport to a friend; channelX again
  • NAV finalized
  • FLI15 final installment planned
  • — traditional targets: Every chipaway effort counts .. dental… pills
  • kids
    • Sa: math with meimei 2h
  • work
    • Sa: 1h
  • Stand:
    • Sa: 1h
  • stretch
  • muscle maintenance # current priority: ▼flexible > upper-body strength > ▲full body muscle (endurance) > ▼ CRE #5/wk
    • Fr: chin up 10×3, 15×2,20,15
    • Sa: chin up 10×4, 20
    • Mo: chin up 15×5, 20
  • CRE

[25]4xPEK2025 #model table #todo

Posted on by tiger40490

— todo:

  • plan when to cancel end Mar trip .. may fly again for 1) channel520 2) icbc>>hsbc transfer 3) time with gransparents, or wait till a flight change gives me a refund opportunity.
eTik 9997179282436/7/8/9 arrive seats
CA976 9:30 Su 16 Mar T1 15:45 54DEFH 4D AnnL + 1D Childcare booked
CA969 15:45 Sa 22 Mar T3 21:55 Sat 56ABCD 1PC luggage
NTEPC7 $1874.32 by scsc JetAbout ref: HNPZTO
  • meal selected

— priorities in PEK

  • #1 open new PSBC/CMB accounts with NRIC (+86 10 6833 4197 [M~F 9~17])
  • #2 (when GP is still around) icbc >> Hsbc with birth cert + 派出所
  • PSBC mobank set-up .. should be quick n optional
  • set up ICBC::gm access on mobank
  • withdraw 80k in advance

— SIM choices

  • at airport, get wife a long-term SIM (if fast) or temp SIM
  • at airport, get boy a 30D Unicom SIM (16 doable)…

— wife’s banking choices
#1 PSBC _despite_ NRIC
#2 CMB _but_ 1) long-term mobileNum is a problem 2) need another APP on my phone 3) fewer outlets
#3 ICBC [only if mobileNum hard] _but_ Rmb500/Y of additional ATM fees for one or two years. Tolerable amount to save a lot of stress + legwork. See buy stress-relief #ris`income

— bring SG>>PEK

  • short birth cert, wife’s NRIC, my birth cert (color copy)
  • money belts for Genn (and wife)

7dangerous habits #compliance

Posted on by tiger40490

k_X_compliance

  • [a_numeral = actual count of occurrences , without ambiguity]
  • — (risk of) injury, handicaps
  • [9 G3] crossing street esp. on bike(or foot), esp. at a RED light
  • [0] dangers with power drill .. In contrast, cutting mangos … is slightly less powerful
  • [0] surprise “attacks” on meimei -> hitting sharp objects or losing balance
  • — hurting someone’s feelings
  • misspeaking to a colleague with disrespect, in an unguarded moment.. In contrast, I’m more careful when writing, and misspeaking to a vendor is less damaging.
  • — other items
  • [3 G3] MLP __compliance__  misstep
  • [3 G3] Saliva flying to other people’s face, when I speak passionately… Mask can help
  • [2] My hand accidentally touching someone’s private parts, such as hips or thigh.

Note this list of habits are not all “missteps”.

[13]striking back (long letter never sent)

Posted on by tiger40490

Hi friends,

Just some thoughts to share. No need to reply me.
In Singapore, many of my peers are moving ahead on the management track. Some are rising in rank, running more , bigger projects, leading bigger teams, given bigger budgets, involved in more decisions. I feel left behind. (In fact, my peers in China are even more powerful.)
Most Singapore companies including banks value manager contribution more than technical expertise. The C-level decision makers tend to feel technical talent is cheap and easy to replace.
I feel there’s a deep-rooted, pervasive, widespread perception that managers contribute more and are rewarded more (which is also true on Wall St but more true in Singapore) I have a few Singapore-based friends who worry about me staying on the technical ladder and not on the leadership ladder. Many advise me to move first to project management or architect then to higher management.
But are managers more important than hands-on developers? I feel we had better take a deeper look and dismiss the concept of “importance”. On a tight project every worker plays a critical role, but sometimes the DBA earns highest (why?), sometimes the QA guy earns highest (why?), and sometimes the BA earns highest (though usually manager earns highest). Why? Perhaps the project involves a lot of Database work; perhaps QA is very challenging and stringent and there’s a large and experienced QA team… But ultimately, the compensation depends on “market rate” of the skillset. Best example is WPF (Microsoft Windows Presentation Foundation). For a while on Wall St WPF expertise sometimes commands a higher rate than the highest java developer, because it’s in demand and very few guys are available with advanced skill in WPF.
Managers bring special skill to the team — management skill. (Some managers bring technical insight, but many I have seen don’t have the sharpest insight — out of practice.) This skill has a market rate too. I will just talk about project management skill for now. In the US I feel PM isn’t a highly valued skill. It’s a generalist skill. In many Singapore companies it’s valued higher than technical skills.
For various reasons, I am firm in my decision to stay technical. I’m not talented at managing and I won’t be given such responsibilities soon. However, I don’t want to stand still while my peers move ahead. I am planning to do something with my spare energy (if any) to strengthen my career safety and stability ( bullet proof 🙂
* learn more main-stream technologies. My favorites are threading, c++, socket programming, FIX, C#, swing, …
** go in-depth on important details. These are the differentiation factors between experienced developer vs expert developer or top talent.
* learn more financial math. This skill won’t become obsolete like tech skills. Financial math is the hardest part of financial domain knowledge. I much prefer hard knowledge — “soft”, general knowledge don’t differentiate.
* take up algorithm challenges. Most bank interviewers won’t go crazy on this, but some top employers test programmer’s “coding abilities” with on-the-spot algo challenges. I have seen it in Google, Facebook, Amazon and Wall st employers.
* take some mock interviews once a while to keep in combat form
This is my little “strike-back” plan. It takes a lot of time and energy. I doubt I have any spare time.
— TAN, Bin (Victor) http://blog.tanbin.com

##[18]aft70: spend%%spare time meaningfully

Posted on by tiger40490

k_rikigai_via_nonprofits

Holy grail — Long-term sustainable (hopefully intrinsic) motivation + modest level of expertise, with reliable (albeit low) income and (a bit of) social value.

I need a purpose, a goal to work towards… Without it, the absence of a … job would create a void. Depression, lack of purpose, loss of energy. None of the below is easily achievable or easily available. Whichever I choose, need to work towards it.

  • Research would be ideal. I have proven aptitude in theoretical domains ..
  • xp: I think the RTS/NYSE work has more meaning as it impacts more users.
  • xp: devops effort has proven value to the local team
  • I might consider joining a start-up, which provides employment and learning opportunity for younger workers (perhaps in their 50’s?)
  • Teach (online) — Chinese/English, with emphasis on writing and vocab
  • Teach (online) — programming? threading, data struct, algo
  • Teach — statistical data analysis, If not outdated..
  • Teach — enterprise app design, If not outdated? Too competitive. They may not take in an old programmer.
  • Teach — financial math? After 70?
    • ▼this domain is too competitive and entry barrier too high. A lot of effort to cross it but demand is low.
    • ▼Limited practical value. more specialized, but growing demand.
    • ▼I feel I need interaction with people.
  • Two-way translation service, but I prefer interactions.
  • Chinese medicine?

Tim (RTS), a friend in his 50’s gave 3 points

  1. earn a salary to help kids pay student loan
  2. sight seeing world wide — costs a lot
  3. volunteering

[16]tailor your lifestyle choices to minimize cost/comfort ratio

Posted on by tiger40490

Over the years in Singapore, we have tailored our life style choices to minimize t$ cost; meanwhile maximize comfort + convenience.

Before this happens, those _default_ choices were not efficient utilization of monthly t$ budget.

Need to go through the same customization in US or any new place.

* home very close to MRT
* easy access to exercise facilities
* low mortgage burden. A major recurring cost to many families
* bicycle
* library to borrow books and multimedia
* after-school care
* home (not center-based) tutor to reduce tcost
* low cost IDD
* free incoming mobile plans
* individual swimming lessons
* low-cost restaurant visits
* ping pong in office
* East coast park
* movies

* low cost laptops

* low cost plasma TV
* very few overseas vacations due to $t
* very few renovations – saved $70k
* avoid expensive pre-schools – not worth it at all

[07]Buddhism among other medicines

Posted on by tiger40490

(To be published on my blog)

> I bought/downloaded and am reading the buddhism books you recommended. I try not to rush. Got confusion. One big problem is how to
> incorporate “buddha's teaching” into modern day to day life. at workplace you need to hold your opinions so as to survive or
> advance. it's easy to get frustrated or angry. what do you do and think in these cases, say, to try to be more patient, in terms
> of “buddha's teaching”?

Actually, my own frustration was the subject of my simple Christianity study. Did I tell you i compile a list of “Thank God …”
when I feel frustrated with what I get in life? Again, I have done this more than 10 times. I guess this is how I manage to
“incorporate a bit of Christianity teaching into modern life”

I feel anger and impatience is better treated with Buddhism than Christianity. If you ask me to pick the most effective and valuable
medicine for the modern man, I'm a bit biased in favor of Buddhism, as compared to Christianity, Confucius, laughter/humor,
optimism, “positive attitude” and other ideas of American popular psychology. I realize I just don't have the time (therefore
biased) to study each of these schools of thoughts. It's possible that one of these works better (than Buddha's teaching) for you in
some special context.

So How do you apply any of the ancient teachings on “greed” or “peer comparison”? Give some real stories if you can.

fail`2plan=plann2fail

Posted on by tiger40490

This bpost was extracted from unhealthy longevity

Financially, many people aim lower but end up outliving their nets eggs. I think they become dependent on family members (if they have kids). Many have adult children who struggle financially even without this added burden. Some depend on government or private annuities but statistically, the payout is usually insufficient.

My blogposts about A.Brooks also talk about planning for a late career.

— lifestyle choices affecting healthy longevity

The most fundamental and important aspect of “failing to plan” is wellness

Many in my cohort make lifestyle choices that are likely (by statistics) to reduce life expectancy by a number of months. When we hear that, we often laugh it off. We dismiss 6M (of life expectancy reduction) as negligible, given the numerous bigger factors that are often beyond our control.

I disagree. I believe statistics will prove that most of us die from biological causes such as progressive declines, not external reasons. Most longevity factors are actually within our “circle of influence”. (Even your genetic risk factors can be identified and managed — re Jolie.) Those “lifestyle choices” mentioned above are prime examples.

Life is unpredictable. Even if you do all the right things, your lifespan may still be shorter than average. Well, by the same argument,

  1. Do you tell your school kids to reduce study effort and rely on luck?
  2. Do you ignore dental hygiene and bet your teeth would survive all the “hazards” and last
  3. Do you refuse to drink milk or other bone-healthy foods and bet your young bones would grow well, and after middle age you will be free of bone issues?
  4. Do you skip annual car check-ups and trust your karma will protect you on the road?

[23]dabao wanted2b a bus driver

Posted on by tiger40490

Hi,

I told grandpa Dabao’s stated plan to work as a bus driver or 7-eleven shop assistant.

Grandpa replied “挺好。不好高骛远, 是好事。新加坡老百姓大多数为中低层收入。像你这样高收入的是少数，不能要求你孩子也像你.”

I told grandpa that most low-pay blue-collar workers in Singapore are worker-permit holders from China, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, or other SEAsia countries. Singaporeans seldom accept those blue-collar jobs. Grandpa said 这些外籍民工, 也可以安居乐业。I said we tend to ignore these foreign workers as if they don’t exist, and we compare with white-collar only. That’s unfair.

Grandpa agreed 不应该瞧不起蓝领，或外籍民工.

I said 很多发达国家，比如日本，美国都尊重蓝领工人，赞扬他们坚守岗位，尽职尽责。他们是社会主体, 和谐社会的基础。

Many African Americans often (upbringing) take pride in their blue-collar jobs. It’s an honest job that supports a family, which also supports a nation.

So if Dabao aspires to be a bus driver or shop assistant, I will support him. It’s better than having no concrete, realistic vision.