ChurpChurp | Social Share » Check out what Berry you are today! (Preview)
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
ChurpChurp | Social Share » Take the Nestle Wellness Profiler test today! (Preview)
ChurpChurp | Social Share » Take the Nestle Wellness Profiler test today! (Preview)
Hope you will enjoy this post, subscribe to my RSS or mailing list or follow me on blogger or twitter. :)
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Socso Malaysia
EMPLOYMENT INJURY INSURANCE SCHEME
Employment Injury Insurance Scheme provides protection to employees who suffer from accidents arising from work. Employment injury means personal injury to an employee caused by an accident or an occupational disease arising out of and in the course of employment in an industry to which this act applies.
COVERAGE
The Employment Injury Insurance Scheme protects employees from:
1) Accidents which occur while in the course of the work.
* Accident which occurs while working at the work place and was caused by the employee's job.
2) Accidents which occur while traveling
* On a route between his place of residence and his place of work.
* On a route between his place of work and the place where he takes his meal during any authorized recess.
* On a journey made for any reason which is directly connected to his employment. (on condition the accident does not occur during any interruption or deviation of the journey).
3) Accident during an emergency
* Accident which occurs during an emergency at the employer's premises while in the course of assisting, rescuing, or protecting other people from disasters such as a fire breakout.
4) Occupational Disease
* Disease that results from his occupation. The list of diseases and cause agent can be found in the Fifth Schedule of the Employee's Social Security Act, 1969. Examples:
Loss of hearing due to exposure to continuous excessive noise.
Respiratory diseases or industrial asthma as a result of exposure to dust for employees in sawmills, powder factories, flour mills, and others.
THE BENEFITS PROVIDED UNDER THE SCHEME
• Medical Benefit
• Temporary Disablement Benefit
• Permanent Disablement Benefit
• Constant Attendance Allowance
• Rehabilitation Benefit
• Dependent's Benefit
• Funeral Benefit
• Education Benefit
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MEDICAL BENEFIT
* Protection for employees who meet with an accident or suffers from an occupational disease. These employees are entitled to free treatment at SOCSO panel clinics or government clinics/hospital.
* The employee receiving treatment from a SOCSO panel clinic must continue the treatment there until he recovers.
* Transferring of treatment place to a government hospital can only be made if referred by the panel clinic.
* For serious injuries, treatment should be obtained at a government hospital and the employee is eligible for second class ward treatment. Specialist treatment will be provided, if required.
How to claim
To apply and receive the medical benefits for the first time, the following documents must be completed and submitted to a SOCSO panel clinic:-
• Form 21 (Accident Report)
• Form PKS 68 or PKS 69 (Occupational Disease Report) or
• Identification Letter from employer
Reimbursement Payments
For treatments received from a clinic which is not a SOCSO panel, the employer or employee can submit application for Reimbursement Payment to the relevant SOCSO office for approval subject to rates determined by SOCSO.
How to claim
To apply and receive the Reimbursement Payment, the following documents must be completed and submitted to a SOCSO office:-
• Form PKS (P) 24 (Reimbursement Travel Claim Form)
• Form PKS (P) 26 (Reimbursement Payment (General) Claim Report)
• Original receipt
• A copy of the Appointment Card
• A copy of the Medical Report (if any)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TEMPORARY DISABLEMENT BENEFIT
Benefit To Be Paid
* This benefit is paid on employee who has been certified by a doctor to be unfit for work for not less than (4) days including the day of the accident.
* This benefit is paid for the period the employee is on medical leave. However, no benefit will be paid for the days for which the employee works and earns wages during this period.
Rate of daily benefit to be paid
80% of the average assumed daily wage.Subject to:
• A minimum of RM10.00 per day (for employees who earn less than RM10.00 per day)
• A maximum of RM78.67 per day (for employees who earn more than RM2,900.00 per month)
How to Claim
Claims can be made by submitting the following documents:-
• Form 21 (Accident Report)
• Form 10 (Claim Form)
• Doctor's Certification (Form 13) or the original copy of the Medical Certificate
• A copy of Identity Card
• Attendance Record/Punch Card/Employer Certification
• Form PKS (F) 1 (Statement of Wages/Contribution details)
For accidents which occur while commuting, please also submit the following:
• Police Report
• Sketch map of place of accident
For Occupatioal Disease claims may be made by submitting the following documents:-
• Form 68 (if the employee is still working)
• Form 69 (if the employee has stopped working)
• Original copy of the Medical Certificate (if any)
• Form 10 (if there is any medical leave)
Completed forms and documents must be submitted to the SOCSO office where the employer was registered.
Duration for Report of an Accident
The employer must report an accident within 48 hours and any report received later than 12 months will not be entertained.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PERMANENT DISABLEMENT BENEFIT
Permanent disability is defined as a lasting disability due to an employment injury.
The employee may continue to work while receiving this benefit.
Duration of a claim
Claim must be made within 12 months from the date of final Medical Certificate issued.
Rate of daily benefit to be paid
The daily rate is 90% of the average assumed daily wage of the Insured and subject to a minimum of RM10.00 per day and a maximum of RM88.50 per day.
How to Claim
The Insured must submit a written application to the relevant SOCSO office for reference to the Medical Board. Please include the following documents:-
• Application Form
• A copy of Identity Card
• Medical Report (from hospital/clinic which treated him)
• Form 10 (Claim Form)
• Form PKS (F) 1 (Statement of Wages/Contribution details)
• A copy of the saving's account book for direct payment of benefits.
How the benefit is paid
The case will be refereed to the Medical Board for disability assessment. The decision of the assessment will be notified to the Insured.If the permanent disablement is assessed at 20% or less the employee can claim that the benefit in the form of a lump sum payment. If the assessment of the permanent disablement exceeds 20%, the benefit will be made in monthly payments. However, the employee can apply that1/5 of the benefit to be paid lump
sum, while the balance to be paid in monthly payments and as a monthly pension for life.
The Insured may continue to work while receiving this permanent disability benefit.
If the Insured or SOCSO is not satisfied with the decision of the Medical Board made, an appeal can be made to the Appellate Medical Board within 90 days from the date notification to the Insured.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONSTANT ATTENDANCE ALLOWANCE
This allowance is paid to an employee who is suffering from permanent total disablement (i.e 100% loss of earning capacity), and is so severely incapacitated that he constantly requires the personal attendance of another person. The allowance is equal to 40% of the rate of permanent total disablement benefit subject to a maximum of RM500/-. Eligibility for this allowance is determined by the Medical Board or the Appellate Medical Board and the payment is made directly to the recipient of the benefit.
REHABILITATION BENEFIT
Facilities for vocational and physical rehabilitation are provided free of charge by SOCSO to an employee who suffers from permanent disablement. Physical rehabilitation includes:
* Physiotherapy
* Occupational therapy
* Reconstructive surgery
* Supply of artificial limbs such as artificial leg, hand, eye and dentures
* Supply (as well as repair and replace) of other orthotic equipments such as wheelchairs, crutches, hearing aids, spectacles, calipers, and orthopedic shoes
* "Return to Work" Programme Vocational rehabilitation includes:
* Vocational training in courses such as electrical wiring, tailoring, radio/TV repairs, metal trade, refrigerator and air-conditioner repairs, plumbing, typing and secretarial work. All expenses incurred will be borne by SOCSO based on rates and conditions determined by SOCSO.
DEPENDENT'S BENEFIT
If an employee dies as a result of an employment injury, his dependents are entitled to this benefit.
Rate of daily benefit to be paid
90% of the average assumed daily wage.Subject to:
• To a minimum of RM10.00 per day (for employees who earns less than RM10.00 per day) an a maximum of RM88.50 per day.
How to Claim
If there is widow, widower or children, the claimant must submit:
• Claim Form (Form 24)
• Death Certificate of the employee*
• Birth Certificates of all the children*
• Marriage Certificate*
• Widow/widower's Identity Card (whichever relevant)*
• A copy of the savings account book of the claimant
*Please bring along the original documents for SOCSO's verification.
Allocation of the benefit
The following is the allocation of share based on priority:-
| Dependant | Divide on full daily rate | Condition |
| Widow or widower | 3/5 | Receives benefit for life even though widow or widower remarries on or after 1st May 2005 |
Children - All eligible children are entitled to receive benefit which includes natural, dependant step-child, adopted child or a child out of wedlock | 2/5 | Receives benefit up to age 21 or marriage whichever occurs studying in a institute of higher learning, he/she will receive benefit up to completion of the first Degree or marriage (whichever occurs earlier). If a child is mentally retarded or physically handicapped and is unable to support himself, the benefit will be paid as long as the child is unable to support himself. |
If the Insured dies and doesn't leave any widow or widower or children, the dependent's benefit will be paid to:
| Parents | 4/10 | Receive benefit for life |
| Brothers and sisters | 3/10 | Receive benefit up to age 21 or marriage (whichever occurs earlier) |
| Grandparents (If parents have pass) | 4/10 | Receive benefit for life |
If there is no widow, widower or eligible children, the claimant must submit:
• Claim Form (Form 24)
• Death Certificate of the employee*
• Birth Certificates of the deceased employee*
• Birth Certificates of all brothers and sisters (if relevant)*
• Identity Card of parents or guardian or grandparents (if relevant)*
• A copy of the savings account book of the claimant
*Please bring along the original documents for SOCSO's verification.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FUNERAL BENEFIT
An amount of RM1,500 will be paid if an employee dies as a result of an employment injury or while receiving disablement benefit. Payments will be made to the eligible next of kin. If there is no next of kin, the benefit will be paid to the person who incurred the funeral expenditure. The amount paid will be the actual amount incurred or RM1,500 whichever is lower.
How to claim
To apply and receive the benefit, the following documents and their certified copies must be completed and submitted:-
• Claim Form (Form 26)
• Death Certificate*
• Other relevant documents which certifies the next of kin*
*Please bring along the original documents for SOCSO's verification
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Monday, November 08, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
cosmetics buying guide
Right click to download the PDF:
https://sites.google.com/site/oudateduncle/EWG_cosmeticsguide.pdf
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
2 choices
你會怎麼做？請你作出你的選擇，這不是什麼機智問答。總之讀下去，我的問題是：你會作出同樣的選擇嗎？
在一個學習遲緩兒童學校的募款餐會上，在場的所有人永遠忘不了其中一個學生的父親所說的話。
在推祟學校和教職員的付出和貢獻後，這個家長問了一個問題：
照理說在無外力干擾下，大自然所創造的一切都是完美的。
但我的兒子，西恩，他無法像別的孩子一樣的學習，他無法像別的孩子一樣的理解事物。
在
我孩子身上，大自然的法則何在？
所有聽眾都啞口無言。
這個父親繼續說。我相信當像西恩這樣有身體及心智殘缺的孩子來到這個世界，是一個展現人類真實本性的機會。
而這一次體現在別人如何對待這個孩子。
接著，他說了下面這個故事：
西恩和我走過一個公園，裡面有些西恩所認識的男孩正在玩棒球。
西恩問我：＂你想他們會讓我一起玩嗎？＂我知道大部份的孩子不會想要有西恩這樣的孩子在自己的隊上，
但身為一個父親我同時也知道若他們能讓我兒子參加，這會讓他得到他所迫切需要的歸屬感並建立起自己
雖然是殘障仍能被接受的信心。
我走近一個男童（不抱太大希望的）問他西恩可否參加，他看看周圍的隊友然後說＂我們輸了6分而現在正在第8局上，
我想他何以參加我們的隊，我們會在第9局設法讓他上場打擊。”
西恩帶著滿臉的喜悅困難的走向他的球隊的休息區，穿上該隊的球衣，我悄悄的滴下眼淚而心中有滿滿的溫暖。
而那些男孩也看出了我對於兒子被接納的喜悅。
在8局下，西恩的隊有追了上來，但仍然還輸3分。
第9局上半場，西恩戴上手套防守右外野，雖然没有球往他的位置飛來，
但能在場上他已經很高興了，我從看台上向他揮手他笑的合不攏嘴。
在9局下，西恩的球隊又得分了。
而此時，二出局滿壘的狀況，下一棒是球隊逆轉的機會，而西恩正是被排在這一棒。
在這個重要關頭，他們會讓西恩上場打擊而放棄贏球的機會嗎？
讓人驚奇的是他們真的把球棒交給了西恩，大家都知道西恩根本不可能打到球，
因為他甚至不知道怎麼握球棒更別談碰到球了。然而當西恩踏上打擊位置，
投手已經明白對手為了西恩生命中重要的這一刻放下贏球的機會，
所以他往前走了幾步投了一個很軟的球給西恩讓他至少能碰一下。
第一球投出來，西恩笨拙的揮棒落空。
投手又再往前走了幾步投出一個軟軟的球給西恩。
當球飛過來西恩揮棒打出一個慢速的滾地球，直直的滾向投手。
球賽眼看就要結束。
投手撿起這軟軟的滾地球，他可以輕易的把球傳給一壘手讓西恩出局而結束這場球賽。
然而投手把球高高的傳往一壘手的頭頂上方通過，讓他所有的隊友都接不到。
每個站在看台上的人不管是那一隊的都開始喊著：＂西恩，跑到一壘！跑到一壘！跑到一壘！＂
西恩這輩子從來没有跑這麼遠過，但他還是努力跑到了一壘。
他踩上壘包眼睛張的很大而且很驚喜。
每個人都喊著說：＂西恩，跑向二壘，跑向二壘！＂
剛喘過氣，西恩蹣跚的跑向二壘，很辛苦的往壘包跑。
這時，就在西恩往二壘跑時，右外野手拿到了球，這個全隊最矮的小子第一次有了成為隊上英雄的機會了。
他大可把球傳向二壘，但這個全隊最矮的小子了解投手的心意，所以他也把球故意高高傳過三壘手的頭頂過去。
當前面的跑者往本壘跑時，西恩跌跌撞撞的往三壘跑。
大家都大喊著，＂西恩，跑,下去，跑下去。＂
西恩能到達三壘是因為對方的遊擊手跑來幫忙將他帶往三壘的方向，而且喊著，＂跑到三壘，西恩，跑到三壘。＂
當西恩抵達三壘，雙方的選手和所有的觀眾都站起來，高喊著，＂西恩，全壘打！全壘打！＂
西恩跑回本壘踩上壘包時，大家為西恩大聲喝采就如他打了一個大滿貫並為全隊贏的比賽的英雄般。
＂那一天＂，那個父親兩頰淚流滿面輕柔的說，＂兩隊的男孩子把真愛和人性的光輝帶進了這個世界。＂
西恩没能活到另一個夏天，他在那年的冬天過逝，但他從没忘記他曾經是個英雄而且讓我那們高興，
以及他回家時看著媽媽流著淚擁著她的小英雄的那一天！
現在；是關於這個故事的一點附註：
我們不假思索的用email把數以千計的笑話傳來傳去，但當我們遇到要傳送有關生命的選擇的信件時，我們反而感到猶豫了。
粗俗、野蠻和經常是有點淫穢的東西每天在網路上無限制的傳播著，反而高尚的事情的討論卻在學校裡及辦公室裡被壓抑著。
如果你在思考著把這封email轉寄出去，可能你會在你的連絡人上挑選出那些不適合收到這封信的人，
然而把這封email寄給你的人相信我們可以讓世界變的不一樣。
我們每天都有無數的機會可以協助去體現大自然的法則。
很多人與人之間微不足道的互動都是一個選擇的機會。
到底我們是把愛和人性的光輝傳遞下去，或者放棄這些機會使得這世界一點點的更冷默。
有一個智者說過；要評價一個社會就要看這個社會如何去對待他們之中最不幸的人。
所以現在你有兩個選擇；
1. 刪除
2. 轉寄
但願你的每一天都是西恩日
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Where is Malaysia universities?
Although we can argue about how they do the ranking, but none of Malaysia university make it to top 200! We have:
1. world top 10 tallest building
2. own Formula1 team
3. top 3 most expensive country to own a car
4. etc etc etc..... many more world top, but look at the result here:
http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2010/results
WHERE IS MALAYSIA BOLEH?
Friday, August 20, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Do not SMS or text while driving
Treasure your life, don't SMS/text while driving.
p/s: also wear seat belt:
http://ahsiangboringdiary.blogspot.com/2010/03/embrace-life-always-wear-your-seat-belt.html
pp/s: see also other love life posts:
http://ahsiangboringdiary.blogspot.com/search/label/love%20life
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
How to cancel your credit card in Malaysia
Because of Malaysia government impose a credit card tax for every credit card you have yearly (during the anniversary of the credit card), many people choose to cancel their card(s). Although the banks can waive your annual fee, but the credit card tax still have to be pay by the consumers. Some banks can 'compensate' the credit card tax somehow, but some don't, you have to pay the RM50 for principle card and RM25 for sub card. I have a few cards because I was greedy on the gift the credit card promoter hand out :P Now it is time to cancel my credit cards. During the process, I found out that different bank have different ways of cancellation for credit card. This list is what I know:
Group 01 - you can call to the bank to cancel your credit card(s) and they will fax you a cancellation form:
a. Citibank
Group 02 - you have to fax, or email a cancellation letter, or walk in to the bank to fill up a cancellation form
a. UOB
Group 03 - just call and they will cancel your card
a. CIMB (provided by ~y3nch1ng~)
Do leave at the comment if you know how to cancel your credit card at other banks. :)
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Public Mutual report: Market Wrap 06 04 10 (MG)
Public Mutual report: Market Wrap 06 04 10 (MG) - for the month of June 2010
Click to see the pdf:
Market Wrap 06 04 10 (MG).pdf
p/s: see other related posts:
http://ahsiangboringdiary.blogspot.com/search/label/mutual%20fund
Two Suns, really?
My Friend forwarded an email saying there will 2 Suns appear on the sky.... Apparently it is a hoax... See the link:
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/star-aderoid-two-suns-hoax.shtml
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Creative Japanese school kids
Mario video by creative Japanese school kids:
p/s: see also other blog post regarding games
http://outdatedpenanguncle.blogspot.com/search/label/game
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Forward email: ATTENTION :KILLER HOUSE PLANT!
Not sure how true, but better be safe than sorry later!
Dear all,
Please read below. The message is true. I almost lost my daughter who put a piece of the leaf of this plant in her mouth and her tongue swelled to the point of suffocation. This is one plant but there are others with the same characteristics of coloring. Those are also poisonous and we should get rid of them. Please watch out for our children. As we all leave our children home in the hands of the helpers, we should give them a safe environment where they can play.
"This plant that we have in our homes and offices is extremely dangerous!
This plant is common in Kenya , Rwanda , Uganda in plant nurseries, many offices and homes. It is a deadly poison, mainly for the children. It can kill a kid in less than a minute and an adult in 15 minutes. It should be uprooted from gardens and taken out of offices. If touched, one should never touch ones eyes; it can cause partial or permanent blindness. Please alert your buddies.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Don't fall in money trap
See the ads below? Sounds like the bank is willing to help you at raining day. Yes?
NO! Don't fall in money/debt trap. No money then don't spend anymore! Read the money tips:
http://ahsiangboringdiary.blogspot.com/2010/04/5-money-mistakes-you-might-be-making.html
Public Mutual report: Market Wrap 05 14 10 (MG)
Public Mutual report: Market Wrap 05 14 10 (MG)
Click to see the pdf:
Market Wrap 05 14 10 (MG).pdf
p/s: see other related posts:
http://ahsiangboringdiary.blogspot.com/search/label/mutual%20fund
Monday, May 24, 2010
I got lucky!
I switched to Standard Charted credit card because I wanted the cool hard money that they gave during the promotion. It was RM100 went that they gave. After Mr Rosmajid implement the credit card tax, then the bank give RM150 to their customers to offset the credit card tax.
Anyway, there was another promotion to pay the bills online at Standard Charted online banking between 11March, 2010 to 09April, 2010. 30 lucky winners could win up to RM200 cash back when paying bill using Standard Charted online banking.
Actually I have already forgotten such a contest, until I get the letter from Standard Charted congratulating me for being one of the 30 winners. I seldom get this lucky! :)
I think it was the TNB bill, costing RM196.40, now it is free! :)
Here is the letter (click to see bigger picture):
Find out how to get the free RM150 from Standard Charted bank:
http://gotfreestuffs.blogspot.com/2010/04/free-rm150.html
Thursday, April 29, 2010
5 Money Mistakes You Might Be Making (and How to Avoid Them)
If you could have more money in your checking account, you'd definitely take it, right? It probably comes as no shocker to you that it's really easy to let your funds slip away. But what you might find surprising is how simple it can be to turn things around for the better. Here are 5 common money mistakes with doable solutions.
Money Mistake #1: My Money Is Disappearing
No one starts the month planning to fritter away a small fortune, but that’s what can happen when minor expenses spiral out of control. It’s not just shopping at Saks that gets you into trouble. Seemingly innocent purchases — $15 jeans at Target, a few things for the kids at a two-for-one sale, the occasional Frappuccino — can do real damage to your bottom line.
What does it take to waste $10,000 a year? Just $27.40 a day. “You can undermine some of your most important goals with purchases you’ll never remember,” says Suzanna de Baca, president of Private Capital Solutions Group, a Des Moines, IA, investment advisory firm.
The fix: Know thyself financially. First step: Take five minutes and read through your latest bank statement. If the transactions seem unrecognizable and you have no idea why you went to the ATM a dozen times, spend a week tracking your spending (longer, if possible).
You can use a notebook, keep receipts in an envelope, try software like Quicken, or check out an online budgeting tool. Whichever you choose, find a money-tracking method that lets you see your purchasing patterns with fresh eyes.
Money Mistake #2: I Throw Away Cash
Who would pass up free money? Maybe you, if you make only the minimum contribution to your employer’s 401(k) savings plan — or opt out of the plan on the grounds that money is tight. According to the 2008 Wachovia Retirement Survey, only about a quarter of women with 401(k)s contribute the maximum allowed. Puny 401(k) contributions mean you aren’t taking full advantage of any free matching funds your company offers. Says De Baca: “If your boss offered to add $25 to your weekly paycheck, would you turn it down? Of course not.” Most employers match all or part of the first 3 to 6 percent of pay employees contribute.
That might not sound like much, but take a look at the math: Assume your company will kick in 50 cents for every dollar you put in, up to 5 percent of your salary. If you’re 40 and making $40,000 but decide not to fund your 401(k), you could be giving up almost $230,000 over 25 years.
The fix: If money is so tight you can’t imagine saving two bucks, start small. You don’t have to put in the maximum $15,500 annual contribution ($20,500 if you’re 50 or older). Instead, increase your contribution by 1 percent of pay a year, until you get the full match. One painless way to save: When you get your next raise, use all or part of it to bump up your 401(k) contribution.
If your employer doesn’t offer a match, that doesn’t mean you should skip making contributions. Remember, a 401(k) lets you put away money tax-deferred. This doesn’t just lower your current tax rate; your earnings can really grow, because Uncle Sam isn’t taking a bite out of them.
Money Mistake #3: My Kid’s Budget Runneth Over
Many parents find themselves wrestling with financial discipline when it comes to their children, says Galia Gichon, creator of “My Money Matters” Kit, a box of financial tips and workbooks. Whether it’s snacks for the little ones at the market or new skate shoes for your tween, “it’s amazing how quickly saying yes can add up,” says Gichon, a New York City financial planner and mother of two.
The fix: Rather than simply saying no to your kids’ endless wish lists — which can lead to wrenching battles — protect your budget and sanity by teaching your children Money Management 101. “Distract and delay” tactics work especially well for children age 6 and under. If your young daughter is jumping up and down for something she wants at the store, says Gichon, “try focusing her attention on something else, or acknowledge what she wants and say that you can talk more about it later when you’re home.” You may have to endure a little complaining, but your child gets an important message about not buying things on a whim.
Money Mistake #4: I Never Saw a Windfall I Couldn’t Spend
Whether you receive a raise, a tax refund, or a generous birthday check from Aunt Dotty, it’s hard not to view a windfall as an excuse to go shopping. Splurging can be fun, but that’s rarely the best use of your extra cash. “Few Americans are saving enough to cover day-to-day crises, never mind the future,” says Jonathan Pond, author of Grow Your Money!
The fix: To make sure you don’t feel deprived, earmark some of the newfound money for a modest treat (Aunt Dotty would want it that way). Gichon suggests using 5 or 10 percent for something fun: “That way you do something for yourself — while deciding what to do with the rest.”
Put the remainder of the money where you won’t be as tempted to touch it. Consider an FDIC-insured, high-yield online savings account such as the one offered by ING Direct. It has no minimum balance requirement or fees, and this account typically pays higher-than-average interest rates.
Next, consider where the money would do you the most good. Tackle any small, urgent problems first — a sore tooth, the clunking sound your car makes, leaky windows. This will help avert the hardship of paying for a string of bigger expenses later on as little problems snowball into debt.
Set aside some of your windfall for expenses that you can’t predict precisely but you know will be coming sometime. “You may not know when your cell phone will quit or the water heater will break, but they will,” Pond advises.
Money Mistake #5: I Forget What I’m Worth
If you’re a stay-at-home mom or you work part-time, you may not have enough life insurance. Many women are underinsured because they’ve underestimated their income or the value of their contributions to the household. De Baca recalls one client whose wife died in her 30s and had only a $100,000 life insurance policy, which didn’t cover the need for child care for the couple’s young children or the housekeeping chores the client then required.
The fix: A rule of thumb to determine the amount of insurance coverage that you need — multiply your annual expenses by the number of years until your youngest child will turn 18. (Some parents may also want to factor in the future cost of their kids’ college.) Life insurance premiums actually have plummeted in recent years. So if you’re a healthy nonsmoker in your 30s or 40s, you can now buy a $500,000 term insurance policy for about $40 a month.
You and your partner should revisit your insurance coverage annually — or at least after a major event, like the birth of a child. “It takes a lot to run a household, and you want to be covered,” says De Baca.
Source: http://shine.yahoo.com/event/financiallyfit/5-money-mistakes-you-might-be-making-and-how-to-avoid-them-1308080/
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
GOLD IS NOT A GOOD "INVESTMENT"
Gold is a lot of things to a lot of people.
To some, it is a threat. To some, it is a "trade". To some others, it is an "investment." And to yet others, it is a store of value, and - oh yeah - some people look at it as a currency, too.
The funny thing is that all of these are correct. Gold is indeed all of the above - but the question is: which function does it fulfill best?
We do know from history that gold has always been the ultimate store of value. We also know that gold has fulfilled its role as currency in a most admirable way - whenever it is allowed to do so without under or overvaluing it, and without government/banker interference.
We also know that gold is a most formidable threat to those who want to cement their power and control over populations by monopolizing the issuance of currency without full accountability to free-market principles.
But what we do not realize is that, as an "investment," gold absolutely sucks.
That may sound like a strange statement coming from me, a vocal gold-advocate. Maybe I am following the lead of Al Greenspan and have completely sold out for a few perks and a little bit of status and some power?
No. Sorry. Nobody has offered me any perks, nor status, nor any kind of power.
I haven't changed my mind on gold, either. I am still as pro-gold, pro-precious metals, and pro-freedom as I ever was. It's just that I have realized that gold is not a good "investment". And that is so not because there is something wrong with gold, but because there is something wrong with whatever it is you get back when you sell your gold "investment."
What do we do when we "invest"?
We exchange some paper (or computer-blip) cash for something else, and then we wait, in the hope that the demand for whatever it is that we bought with our paper will increase over time, or that a supply shortage will happen, or that some other event, like maybe a currency depreciation or planned devaluation will happen, so that we can then, at an opportune time, exchange our "investment" back into cash and make what we normally refer to as a "profit."
Profits are great, don't get me wrong. Everybody wants to make a profit - but what are we really doing here?
The focus of an "investment" is never the thing itself. The thing itself is just a medium, a vehicle for a (hopefully) bigger "return", of whatever we have put into it, at some time in the future. Maybe our return will be ten, twenty, fifty, even one hundred percent. We might even triple or quintuple our initial outlay in the process.
If that ever happens, we hold our heads up high and tell our friends and anyone who can't run fast enough at a dinner party that we "made a killing" on such-and-such in the blankedy-blank market.
But, in the end, we still want the cash. And that's okay. Nothing wrong with that in principle.
The problem is only that, if cash is no longer "king" because
* when your country's currency is rapidly declining in value compared to other currencies,
* and when it is the currency of "the" country that consumes everybody else's products, and for that reason cannot be tolerated by everybody else to so decline in value,
then your hoped-for cash-winnings can run into a bit of a challenge.
This problem gets especially protracted when your currency is also considered the reserve currency of the world, the one the other countries use to underpin their own issues. In that case, a falling value makes these other countries less likely to want to hold your currency on reserve.
Instead, since there is now an alternative, the euro, they prefer to exchange whatever amount of their reserves they can to the new euro currency that has no debt load and is not burdened by a trade and current account deficit like the US is.
This desire to hold euro instead of dollars is tempered by only two things, really:
* They still need dollars to buy oil and most other goods on the international markets, and
* If they export to the US, they cannot allow the dollar to fall too low, or they will lose their ability to get US consumers to buy their products, since a falling dollar makes foreign goods too expensive for Americans.
So particularly the Asian exporters like China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, etc., are in a difficult situation. The whole world is moving toward the euro, and so are they, but the falling dollar makes it necessary for them to buy dollars and US treasuries to keep their own currencies from rising against the currency of their number one export market.
This creates the well-known phenomenon of "competitive devaluation". Even the EU will at some point be forced to join this game.
What is most significant is that the US itself, for purely structural reasons, currently actually likes it when the dollar drops. The US hopes its own exports will thereby become more attractive, cranking up manufacturing at home, and - hopefully - produce some job growth in the process, and better soon!
The problem: despite the rapid depreciation of the dollar since September, the current account deficit has not contracted. December's figures blew way past what the "experts" predicted ($42 billion, instead of 38, as they thought)
When will this process of competitive devaluations end?
Answer: When it's convenient for the US to support its own currency again.
And when will that be? When the US economy gets strong enough so that it can hold its own and produce jobs in sufficient numbers without a protracted, artificially low interest rate regime.
No sooner, and no later.
The trillion dollar question is: will that moment ever come, and if so, will it come in time?
In other words, is there any chance at all that this can occur before the dollar drops so low that prices start rising so fast and so obviously at homethat even the most carefully massaged domestic CPI numbers will no longer keep Americans carelessly borrowing and spending (and stock-buying) like there's no tomorrow.
The next trillion dollar question is: Even IF that moment comes in time, will it help at all with the US trade and current account imbalance? It doesn't look like it will. If the economy starts adding jobs and Greenspan can raise rates a bit, the dollar will get stronger, which means Americans will buy even more foreign stuff and rack up an even higher deficit. Problems, problems.
Sorry for the detour.
The point of all this is: gold-advocates all share a very dim view of these matters, and of the US' ability to eventually extricate itself from the past decades and decades of rigging and brow-beating of free markets.
So, from that vantage point, the question is: will the dollar ever recover? Will any currency be able to extricate itself from this web of competitive devaluations?
If your answer is "yes" - what are you doing looking at gold? Go and invest in stocks, instead.
If your answer is "no" - what are you doing "investing" in gold - for cash??
What are gold-advocates doing investing in gold, or even worse, trading in gold, when all they will get out of it is what they already know will soon be worth less?
Cash is trash. If you're angling for cash, you are asking to crash. (Do I sound like Dr. Seuss?)
If you "invest" (medium to long term) in gold, you'll get back trash.
If you "trade" (short term) in gold, you'll get back what soon will be trash.
Only if you buy and hold physical gold will you get value in exchange for trash.
Which one is the better bargain?
Yes, of course, cash is what we pay our bills with, so we all need it. But accumulating physical gold is the absolute best way to deal with the current (and future) situation. All currencies will depreciate against gold.
You work to make money. You spend what you need to spend, and the rest you use to buy gold. Do this every month, from now on. When you lose your job or need to liquidate some gold because you don't have enough trash to buy whatever you need in the future, liquidate only what you need, and keep building your "hoard" whenever you can.
By all means, buy some good gold and silver stocks, too - especially of companies that keep metal on reserve instead of cash. Maybe invest in a gold ETF. But make physical your mainstay. That way, you build value. If you don't trade gold, you deprive the enemies of gold of their number-one weapon.
And, what's more, you don't get wobbly knees every time gold dips a bit because some CB official somewhere is spitting hot air at the markets.
Currencies are in a downward spiral; even the "strong ones" will eventually follow. The dollar is no longer as pivotal to the world monetary system as it once was only a few years ago. Because of that, gold is no longer as "repressed" as it once was. It is still being "managed", to be sure, but the direction is now slowly upwards. It is no longer being suppressed at all costs.
That's why gold is not an "investment". It needs to be held for its own sake, not to make a stash of trash.
A suggestion: if your fingers are itchy, and you just have to trade something because it's so exciting, trade stocks. That way, at least you won't play into the hands of the bullion and central banks in their attempts to make gold look like trash - for the time being.
Then, if you're lucky and win in the stock-trading casino, take your winnings off the table and put them into gold. Physical gold, that is. But, when it comes to gold itself, the best advice is:
Don't trade it.
Don't "invest" in it.
Just buy it!
Got gold?
Source: http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_04/wallenwein022104.html
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
FW: 浴室排水孔是生命線
救難志工：浴室排水孔是生命線
>> 多位義消、防火宣導和緊急救護志工，昨日在立法院呼籲民眾，平時要學習在火災時如何正確逃生，以避免傷亡。緊急救護志工陳澤淵表示，如果沒辦法逃出去，跳樓反而容易致死，只要躲在浴室把全身噴濕，靠著排水孔的新鮮空氣，就可以等到消防隊員前來救援。
>>
>> 臺北縣蘆洲大火，部分民眾不諳逃生常識導致嚴重傷亡，有些民眾企圖用繩索逃生，結果直接墜下樓。
>>
>> 防火宣導隊志工陳音芝表示，這次火災看到很多民眾不會用逃生器材，平常他們在社區宣導防火常識，在民眾配合意願不高下，很難挨家挨戶順利宣導，甚至有民眾不讓他 們進去宣導，如果大家都能有正確防火知識預防火災，就不必付出這麼大的人命成本。
>> 陳澤淵表示，火災時如果沒辦法逃出去，從高樓跳下反而容易致死，這時候應該躲到 浴室把全身噴濕，用濕毛巾把門縫堵好，然後身體蹲低讓鼻子盡量靠近排水孔的新鮮空 氣，耐心等待消防隊員前來救援，消防隊員逐房搜索時都會先搜索浴室，獲救的機率很高。
>>
> 請轉發出去，救自己也幫助別人
Monday, April 12, 2010
Fwd: If you get RM10.00 in your car door handle
Forward email:
Dear all,
Do pass this on to your list of people especially women who drive.
If you get RM10.00 in your car door handle, use tissue paper or cloth to remove it without opening it and if possible bag it. Drive away immediately.
Don't check the note until you are in the company of your friends or relatives. The note could either contain powdered drugs to knock you out or make you wonder if some guilty motorist compensating you for a knock or scratch on your car, while you are still wondering, the robber(s) will attack you as you check the car.
This had happened in Johor.
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Asia's Susan Boyle
So what if you fat and ugly, as long as you know your strength and use it wisely, you still be success!
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Know your right!
Head down to nearest post office today, register for voter, know your right!
Vote for your choice, decide the fate of our country!
If you at KL or nearby, do drop by, these people really working hard for this campaign, support them!
http://dosomethingepic.net/
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
FW: 請讓所有人知道此事
請讓所有人知道此事
大約三個星期前，我在加油站加油。那時大概是晚上十一點半左右；有一部車朝我接近，車內有兩男兩女。
開車的那個男人問我： 『妳擦哪種香水？』
我感到有些疑惑，然後我問：『為什麼問這個？』
他說：『我們有在販賣一些較便宜的名牌香水。』
我回答他我身上並沒帶錢。
接著他從車內的一疊紙中抽出一張遞給我，上面寫著很多香水的名稱。 我快速的瀏覽一遍之後還給他，並再說明一次我沒錢買。
然後他告訴我沒關係，他們有收支票、現金、或信用卡。
結果車內的其他人開始大笑。
我接著進入我的車子跟他們說謝了不用了。
之後，就在昨天，我收到這封 e-mail ，它讓我整個人都寒起來了。
請仔細閱讀以下這封信。這不是笑話 。
希望男性朋友也可以將這件事提醒讓你們的太太、女兒、母親、姊妹等人知曉。
這世界似乎已變得越來越瘋狂了。包裹內放置炸彈和停車場出現販賣香水的神經病。
但請務必要小心。
我昨天下午在停車場，有兩個男人過來問我擦什麼香水。
然後他們接著問我要不要試用一些他們正在販賣的很棒的香水，而且價錢公道。
但是如果我幾個星期前沒有收到一封詐騙的警告信 '要不要聞聞這香水？' ， 我真的很有可能去試用 。
這兩個男人依然站在車道上，我想等看看有無人經過這裡。
我向前制止了一位正走向他們的女士，指出他們的位置，告訴她 有關我收到一封 email 的事。
若是有人在商場或停車場接近妳 , 推銷較便宜的香水要妳聞的話 。
'! 這不是香水！那是乙醚！ ' 當你聞到它，你就會昏倒。!
然後他們就會拿走你的皮夾、你身上所有的值錢物品、甚至天知道 還有些什麼。
! 如果不是這封信，我很可能會去聞那' 香水 '。
謝謝寄這封信給我的好心朋友，使我免遭到原先有可能遭遇的事。
所以我轉寄這封信給你們。請務必轉寄出去給你所有的女性朋友，並且請提高警覺，注意此類似事件！
如果收到此封信的是男性，請你們轉寄給你們的女性朋友們！
這是真的！相信我，我經驗過！我當時正在停車場上， 那時正是午餐時間。
這種事在白天夜晚都有可能發生的。有三個男人走向我。我回到我辦公室時立即報警。
就如上述 email 所說的，' 讓所有人知道此事 ' 。
讓你的朋友、家人、同事、甚至是任何人都知道此事。
因為這封信幫我很大，當時遇到的情況，我的第一個念頭便是此信的警告
Fw: 发生在泰国的真人真事：女生一定要读
[分享] 发生在泰国的真人真事：女生一定要读。
大家好。这是我第一次在这里发帖。
想跟大家分享，我今天收到的一封电邮。是一位泰国朋友转发给 我，我读了觉得很难
过，也觉得应该翻译出来，让大家知道发生在泰国的这一桩事。
以下的【我】，是代表原作者。
我不需要把我的名字 说出来，接下来的事件，就是我不能把名字说出来的原因。
大概在新年过后的2个星期，我的太太辞去工作，打算换新工作。那天，她就到
Central（曼 谷的一间著名购物商场）的一间书局，去找她喜欢看的书。
正当她在看书的时候，有一个年级大概30岁的女人走过来跟我太太攀谈。 说，她也喜
欢那类型的书。然后又跟我太太分享几本很好看的书。
整个交谈的过程非常的愉快，过后 对方给我他太太她的名卡 ，而我太太则给了对方电
话号码，因为觉得大家都是女人，防备心就没这么强。
过后，她们常有通电话，最后更相约出来见面聊天喝茶，也顺便借 书给我太太看。才
把书交给了我太太，就行色匆匆的离开，说要赶着去上班。
但是这本书，我太太已经读过了，于是我太太就得再约对方出来，以 把书还给她。
她们第二次的见面，也是在Central，那时已近中午，对方就约我太太去foodcenter共
进午餐。到了那边，就介绍 一位也在那儿坐着等的一位男子，说这是她的同事，这男
子也喜欢读那一类型的书。
男子问我太太要吃什么吗？他可以去买。太太不好意思，就叫 了跟他们一样的粿条
汤。而我太太一直说要去买水给大家，但是那个女人就抢先去买了。
吃着吃着，大概吃了半碗，喝了一些水，我太太就觉得有 点头晕以及疲累。
再过没几分钟，就无法自控了。那女人就过来扶着我太太。然后告诉那男子，说我太
太可能是晕倒，来我们一起扶她到外面，空 气比较好。
那时，我太太说不出话，也几乎站不起来。他们扶着我太太，来到停车场。途中，男
子打电话叫车来，还不到一分钟，一辆 van就到了。
然后，他们两人合力把我太太推上车，然后关上车门。车上还有另外两位男子。
当车子开出去的时候，我太太尝试喊叫， 但就是喊不出声。而车上的男子，也用手来
盖住她的嘴巴。
车子开了不久，那位在food center遇到的男子，就开始把我太太的衣服脱下。太太奋
力挣扎，但是却敌不过他们。另外两位男子，也帮忙脱。
接下来的事，恐怕无需 我继续描述下去。而那位在书局遇到的女人，就负责拿相机拍
照。也不知过了多久，当再次情形的时候，才发觉自己被丢在油站的厕所。
我去把太 太接回家，询问她发生了什么事，但是她什么也不说。只是在家里坐着
哭。。。。。。
就这样过了三天，太太的母亲打电话来说，家里收到一封挂 号信。要我去拿。我去到
打开一看，只见有一叠照片，以及被勒索现款40万泰铢，作为赎回照片与底片的费
用。我愣住，什么也说不出。。。只 是觉得心很痛、很难过。
我跟父亲以及一位当警察的朋友商讨此事，他们都觉得应该向警方报案。因为这40 万
泰铢对我 们两夫妇来说，可不是一笔小数目。我们只是普通的上班族。
在约见交赎金的那天，我们也联通警方的配合，结果成功的捉到2个人。但是只拿到一
部 分的照片。
而警方则继续追踪另外的3个人，但是还不确定还有多少照片在对方手上。
不久我也接到他们的党羽的两次电话，恐吓我，他 们将会把照片上载到网上。
目前，我太太也没有去上班了。只是在家里难过的坐着，也不想再见任何人了。
而我也不敢到什么地方，一下班我就立 刻回家陪她。我们的生活，就只有恐惧、惊
慌、胡思乱想，就像是精神病一样。
因此，我才把我们的经历写出来跟大家分享，
现在，那些 【在别人身上建造痛苦，以换来金钱】的做法，已经是很普通的事了。
希望大家在读了这篇文章后，有多一些的警惕。
愿我这次分 享的功德，可以为我家庭带来多一些的幸福。
也希望，大家可以转载文章，让更多人可以知道。
谢谢。
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Why be a vegetarian?
Read the pdf below:
http://sites.google.com/site/oudateduncle/Whybeavegetarian.pdf
If you can't be total vegetarian, try to reduce the dairy and meat consumption.
Thursday, March 04, 2010
用心祝福身邊所有人事物-感恩
p/s: see also how I convert the powerpoint to Flash
http://outdatedpenanguncle.blogspot.com/2010/03/free-powerpoint-to-flash-converter.html
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
E-mail is Making You Stupid
– Joe Robinson, a business coach and trainer, is the author of “Work to Live” and the audio CD “The Email Overload Survival Kit”. This article originally appeared on Entrepreneur.com –
The research is overwhelming. Constant e-mail interruptions make you less productive, less creative and – if you’re e-mailing when you’re doing something else – just plain dumb.
Within the heart of your company, saboteurs lurk. Disguised as instruments of productivity, they are subverting your staff’s most precious resource: attention. Incessant e-mail alerts, instant messages, buzzing BlackBerrys and cell phones are decimating workplace concentration. The average information worker – basically anyone at a desk – loses 2.1 hours of productivity every day to interruptions and distractions, according to Basex, an IT research and consulting firm.
That time is money. Computer chip giant Intel, for one, has estimated that e-mail overload can cost large companies as much as $1 billion a year in lost employee productivity. The intrusions are constant: each day a typical office employee checks e-mail 50 times and uses instant messaging 77 times, according to RescueTime, a firm that develops time-management software. Such interruptions don’t just sidetrack workers from their jobs, they also undermine their attention spans, increase stress and annoyance and decrease job satisfaction and creativity.
The interruption epidemic is reaching a crisis point at some companies and shows no sign of slowing. E-mail volume is growing at a rate of 66 percent a year, according to the E-Policy Institute. More people are texting. More are using Facebook or Twitter for work.
“It’s worse than it’s ever been,” says Michelle Rupp, owner of NRG Seattle, an insurance brokerage with a staff of 12 who feel pounded by the avalanche of messaging. “It’s so hard to stay focused. Everything bings and bongs and tweets at you, and you don’t think.”
Yes, it is possible to blunt the interruption assault. But business leaders must go on the offensive in a realm most are oblivious to: interruption management.
The Myth of Multitasking
Human brains come equipped with two kinds of attention: involuntary and voluntary. Involuntary attention, designed to be on the watch for threats to survival, is triggered by outside stimuli–what grabs you. It’s automatically rattled by the workday cacophony of rings, pings and buzzes that are turning jobs into an electronic game of Whac-a-Mole. Voluntary attention is the ability to concentrate on a chosen task.
As workers’ attention spans are whipsawed by interruptions, something insidious happens in the brain: Interruptions erode an area called effortful control and with it the ability to regulate attention. In other words, the more you check your messages, the more you feel the need to check them–an urge familiar to BlackBerry or iPhone users.
“Technology is an addiction,” says Gayle Porter, a professor of management at Rutgers University who has studied e-compulsion. “If someone can’t turn their BlackBerry off, there’s a problem.”
The cult of multitasking would have us believe that compulsive message-checking is the behavior of an always-on, hyper-productive worker. But it’s not. It’s the sign of a distracted employee who misguidedly believes he can do multiple tasks at one time. Science disagrees. People may be able to chew gum and walk at the same time, but they can’t do two or more thinking tasks simultaneously.
Say a salesman is trying to read a new e-mail while on the phone with a client. Those are both language tasks that have to go through the same cognitive channel. Trying to do both forces his brain to switch back and forth between tasks, which results in a “switching cost,” forcing him to slow down. Researchers at the University of Michigan found that productivity dropped as much as 40 percent when subjects tried to do two or more things at once. The switching exacts other costs too – mistakes and burnout. One of the study’s authors, David Meyer, asserts bluntly that quality work and multitasking are incompatible.
Brian Bailey and Joseph Konstan of the University of Minnesota discovered that sleeve-tugging peripheral tasks triggered twice the number of errors and jacked up levels of annoyance to anywhere between 31 percent and 106 percent. Their interrupted test workers also took 3 percent to 27 percent more time to complete the reading, counting or math problems. In fact, the harder the interrupted task, the harder it was to get back on track. (A Microsoft study suggests it takes a worker 15 minutes to refocus after an interruption.)
The damaging effects spread well beyond the office cubicle. Kate LeVan, a communications consultant in Evanston, Ill., coaches executives whose brains are so scrambled by electronic interruptions that they stumble during key face-to-face interactions: board meetings, investor pitches, sales presentations. “They can’t have an extended conversation for more than a few minutes,” LeVan says. “That’s the impact of having all this data going back and forth. They have problems in conversation because they can’t focus.”
Here’s how the brain behaves when your attention slips away from a task: The hippocampus, which manages demanding cognitive tasks and creates long-term memories, kicks the job down to the striatum, which handles rote tasks. So the gum-chewing part of the brain is now replying to the boss’s e-mail. This is why you wind up addressing e-mails to people who weren’t supposed to get them. Or sending messages rife with typos.
The striatum is the brain’s autopilot. And no part of your business should be allowed to run on autopilot.
Paying Attention to Paying Attention
In her 2009 book Rapt, Winifred Gallagher argues that humans are the sum of what they pay attention to: What we focus on determines our experience, knowledge, amusement, fulfillment. Yet instead of cultivating this resource, she says, we’re squandering it on “whatever captures our awareness.” To truly learn something, and remember it, you have to pay full attention.
E-interruptions are making it so hard to do that that Google, Microsoft, IBM and Intel are members of the Information Overload Research Group, formed in 2008 to collaborate on research, develop best practices and host forums to share new approaches. It’s self-preservation as much as anything; computer engineers were among the first to show symptoms of e-interruption exposure.
Ten years ago, Harvard Business School’s Leslie Perlow famously chronicled the interruption of a high-tech software company. Its engineers were interrupted so often they had to work nights and weekends. After studying the workplace for nine months, the source of the dysfunction became clear: No one could get anything done because of the bombardment of messages. Perlow came up with an intervention: Quiet Time. For four hours in the morning, the 17 engineers worked alone. All messaging and phone contact was banned. In the afternoon, communication could resume. Given time to concentrate, the engineers got a project for a color printer completed without the graveyard shift.
Intel is using Quiet Time at two of its sites. Other companies, including U.S. Cellular and Deloitte & Touche, have mandated less e-mail use, encouraged more face-to-face contact and experimented with programs such as “no e-mail Friday.” The results often are surprising: employees build rapport with colleagues–and they save time. Co-workers can settle something in a two-minute phone conversation that might have required three e-mails per person. Each change reverberates throughout a company, especially since–as a University of California, Irvine, study found – 44 percent of interruptions an employee experiences are from within the company.
Nearly everyone needs such boundaries to get anything done in this 24/7 work world. Count Chad Willardson among the converted. He’s a senior financial advisor at Merrill Lynch Private Wealth Management Group and operates a financial services practice with a partner for Merrill in Riverside, Calif. He used to check for new messages every five minutes, a potential 96 interruptions during an eight-hour day.
“The more I checked e-mail,” he says, “the more anxious I would feel over every request and question.” Now he checks e-mail manually, and only four times a day at prescribed hours – the schedule that Oklahoma State University researchers describe as optimum. He says he gets a lot more done, is more in control of his calendar and feels much less stressed.
In fact, stress-management seminars often reveal executives driven to wits’ end by their own inboxes. During one session at the aerospace company Lockheed Martin, many managers vented this frustration–until one raised his hand. “It’s not a problem for me,” he said. “I’ve gotten my e-mail checking down to twice a day.”
He explained that his staff knew he preferred to communicate by phone and they don’t send him e-mail unless it’s important that the information be in writing. And because he checked e-mail only twice daily, they had been weaned from the idea that they’d get an instant reply.
Chances are this wasn’t just good for the manager, but for all his employees, too. By modeling interruption-management, he was likely reducing the volume of interruptions throughout his division. Everyone understood that he viewed excessive messages as a drain on his performance – and by extension, theirs.
One thing was clear that day at Lockheed: When the manager volunteered his solution, it was as if he’d levitated. Other managers looked stunned. And envious.
6 Mind-boggling Info about China That May Interest You
From stocktube.blogspot.com:
#1 » 40% of Chinese small businesses either went bust or almost went bust during crisis
A report mentioned that just after 9 months China claimed its small business sector was surviving the global recession, new figures surprisingly shown that about a whopping 40% of them either failed or close to failing between Nov 2008 and Mar 2009. This is indeed a big headache to the Chinese government who was considering withdrawing the huge stimulus packages late 2010.
While the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences reported 20% of small businesses had crashed and another 20 per cent went "to the brink of bankruptcy" during the climax of the global financial crisis, Chen Naixiang (economist and director of the academy’s research center) also reported that most of the 20% businesses on the brink of failure have been revivied thanks largely to the recovering economy.
#2 » Buy Chinese stocks if you wish to finance Chinese government
China has three main stock exchanges – Shanghai Stock Exchange, Shenzhen Stock Exchange and of course Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Of course unlike Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Shanghai Stock Exchange is still tighly controlled by the Chinese government. The Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges have over 1,500 listed companies with combined total market capitalization of US$ 2,658.2 billion (2008) rivaling Hong Kong Stock Exchange (US$ 2,121.8 billion) as Asia’s second largest stock market behind the Tokyo Stock Exchange (US$ 3,925.6 billion).
However eight of the ten top largest stocks are state-controlled companies:
- PetroChina (RMB 3,656.20 billion)
- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (RMB 1,417.93 billion)
- Sinopec (RMB 961.42 billion)
- Bank of China (RMB 894.42 billion)
- China Shenhua Energy Company (RMB 824.22 billion)
- China Life (RMB 667.39 billion)
- China Merchants Bank (RMB 352.74 billion)
- Ping An Insurance (RMB 272.53 billion)
- Bank of Communications (RMB 269.41 billion)
- China Pacific Insurance (RMB 256.64 billion)
Deutsche Bank’s Chief Economist for Greater China, Jun Ma, told an investment conference in Hong Kong that China's growth will be underpinned by a rapid expansion in emerging market economies, which will account for about 70% of global GDP growth in the coming decade. China will "massively invest" in these emerging economies using its nearly $2 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, extend its leverage by extending loans to the International Monetary Fund and allow the yuan to appreciate in preparation for the currency's potential reserve status.
Jun Ma further added that by early 2020, China’S nominal GDP growth could surpass that of the United States within ten years, a period which will likely be accompanied by a gradual appreciation of the yuan. Ma also expect a final GDP recovery (quarter on quarter basis) to start by middle of 2010 (hopefully this fella is correct).
#4 » By 2025, China will have 10 New York-sized cities
According to a research done by McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) in “Preparing for China’s Urban Billion, China is projected to have a staggering 40 billion square meters of floor space by the year 2025. In another words China will be constructing 20,000 to 50,000 new skyscrapers of which each will be more than 30 floors. This is equivalent to a mind-boggling 10 (ten) New York Cities.
Also by 2025, up to 170 cities in China could meet planning criteria for mass-transit systems – more than twice the current number in Europe. Additionally, China will have up to 5 billion square meters of road and up to 28,000 kilometers of metro rail. China will also need to construct between 700 and 900 Gigawatts of new coal-fired power between 2005 and 2025.#5 » By 2030, China’s cities will add 350 million people, more than the entire U.S. population
From the same research done by McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), it was projected that China’s urban population will expand from 572 million in 2005 to 926 million in 2025 – an increase of 350 million Chinese city dwellers which is larger than today’s United States entire population. By 2030, China’s urban population will reach 1 billion people.
Urban investment thus will reach over 24 trillion renminbi by 2025 or 93% of total Chinese fixed investment compared with about 79% in 2007. The urban consumption share of GDP will rise from 25% (or 3.9 trillion renminbi) in 2005 to 33% (or 32.7 trillion renminbi) by 2025. The township of Huaxi in the Yangtze River Delta is a great example of how the Chinese government embraced capitalism to lift 300 million people out of poverty during the last 3 decades.From a farm community with bamboo huts and ox carts in the 1970s, Huaxi is now an industrial and commercial powerhouse with many live in mansions and most have a car with per-capita income of 80,000 yuan (US$ 11,700) making Huaxi the China’s richest village.
#6 » China has cash to buy 20% of S&P500
United States is still worry about China’s military strength. Of course there’s no way China will reveal her real (military) statistic since it’s so fun watching U.S. sending its intelligence gathering information. Can you still remember the detention of 24 U.S. crews after the collision of U.S. EP-3E Aries II spy plane with Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea back in 2001? United States demanded the return of its spy plane but China said it would only do so after completing its own inspection and collection of evidence. China was having fun stripping the spy plane naked for whatever military technologies or knowhow that China could use.
But the strength of China may lies on its economy after all. Instead of engaging in wars, China may just start buying countries with its huge crates of cash. China’s central bank recorded foreign exchange reserves of US$2.399 trillion as of end 2009 (23% jump compared to 2008) and this was achieved during global crisis, mind you. With this type of money China can buy almost 20% of S&P500, if the Chinese government goes crazy.
Original post: http://stocktube.blogspot.com/2010/03/6-mind-boggling-info-about-china-that.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)