Source:
Monday, June 30, 2008
Oxy-moron theory of IT Industry
Stage one - You don’t know much
You are in awe of all the other techs. You make a lot of dumb mistakes. You feel like you are swamped all the time. You have to read a lot before you dare try anything for fear of breaking something. Everybody dumps on you because you are the new kid. Things take longer for you to accomplish. You work a lot of overtime, often without pay. You don’t get paid a lot. You wonder if you’ll ever get a break. You realize that school didn’t quite prepare you for the real world. Work hard. You’ll make it.
Stage two - You know a lot of stuff
You’re good and you know it. So does everyone else around you. They can see that you are good. You don’t have to tell them. Things get done quickly. You even amaze yourself sometimes. You are valuable and can command a good salary. The managers and business owners want to keep you on board. They want you to be happy and offer perks to entice you to stay. You get calls from headhunters all the time. It is very flattering and a nice position to be in. Life is good. Enjoy it while it lasts.
Stage three - You don’t know much again
Technology is passing you by. The young techs seem to know so much more than you. It takes longer to figure things out again. You are probably in a position where you can delegate so you do. You are most likely in a management role and spend more time with people issues than tech issues. You are looked on as wise and experienced. You seek input from other techs before making big decisions. It’s not a big deal that you don’t know all the details anymore. You’ve got the big picture. Let others work out the details.
Source:
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/techofalltrades/?p=145&tag=rbxccnbtr1
In short, Jack of all Trades, Master of none.
You are in awe of all the other techs. You make a lot of dumb mistakes. You feel like you are swamped all the time. You have to read a lot before you dare try anything for fear of breaking something. Everybody dumps on you because you are the new kid. Things take longer for you to accomplish. You work a lot of overtime, often without pay. You don’t get paid a lot. You wonder if you’ll ever get a break. You realize that school didn’t quite prepare you for the real world. Work hard. You’ll make it.
Stage two - You know a lot of stuff
You’re good and you know it. So does everyone else around you. They can see that you are good. You don’t have to tell them. Things get done quickly. You even amaze yourself sometimes. You are valuable and can command a good salary. The managers and business owners want to keep you on board. They want you to be happy and offer perks to entice you to stay. You get calls from headhunters all the time. It is very flattering and a nice position to be in. Life is good. Enjoy it while it lasts.
Stage three - You don’t know much again
Technology is passing you by. The young techs seem to know so much more than you. It takes longer to figure things out again. You are probably in a position where you can delegate so you do. You are most likely in a management role and spend more time with people issues than tech issues. You are looked on as wise and experienced. You seek input from other techs before making big decisions. It’s not a big deal that you don’t know all the details anymore. You’ve got the big picture. Let others work out the details.
Source:
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/techofalltrades/?p=145&tag=rbxccnbtr1
In short, Jack of all Trades, Master of none.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Decline of engineer
Trend
Decline of the engineer
Fears of Singapore heading towards becoming a high cost, low-tech city are not unfounded. By Seah Chiang Nee.
Jun 14, 2008
AFTER more than 10 years of building schools, a young friend, who is a civil engineer, has put away his hard hat to become a teacher in a secondary school.
It was a big career switch for him and a loss to the profession. He had graduated from Purdue University, one of the top engineering schools in America.
Another friend, an electronics engineer, distanced himself from his computers and became a professional photographer.
These are two cases that I am personally aware of in the decline of a profession that was once considered the cornerstone of Singapore’s development.
Many engineers have moved into the more profitable financial sector or sales and service jobs that are in greater demand.
It’s happening in the legal profession, too. The number of lawyers in Singapore has been in gradual but steady decline in the last few years.
“The attrition rate of lawyers is high, and the supply is not sufficient given the rising demand here,” said a recent report.
This professional decline is propelled by globalisation and the state’s move into a service economy. It is beginning to worry parents who sacrifice much to send their children for higher education.
Some engineers, I am told, are planning to get on the casino bandwagon. Two mega gambling resorts are due to begin operation here in 2010.
With more than a million foreigners working here in low-level work, this decline is leading Singaporeans to wonder whether the city is losing sight of its high-tech strategy.
Retired civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow, for one, is worried that the country may be heading towards a high cost, low-tech economy like London and losing its competitiveness.
Britain’s economic decline set in because ‘their best and brightest from Oxbridge, instead of going into engineering and running factories, went into the (financial) City of London’, he said.
“City of London ... they are not creators of wealth, they are just shuffling assets around the place,” Ngiam said.
This had allowed the United States to overtake Britain because “while some of their best went to Wall Street, their best still go into engineering,” he added.
If Singapore were to follow suit “I think we are done for”, said the bureaucrat, who helped to pioneer Singapore’s economic development
Recalling the 1970s, Ngiam said: “I used to tell everybody, what I want is 1,000 engineers, 5,000 technicians from the polytechnics, and 10,000 Institute of Technical Education workers. ‘You give me that, I grant you a job’.”
That has worked only too well. At the peak 40% of the university graduates were engineers.
Local institutions were meeting domestic demand with “a steady pipeline of 30,000 engineering and technical manpower each year”, a minister said.
And according to the Ministry of Manpower, the engineering-related sector still provided the largest number of job vacancies over the past two years.
In 2006, a third of the 3,639 top ten professional job vacancies were in engineering, it said.
And of the top 50 chief executives in Singapore, a third were engineers by training. An official said there are more than 50,000 practising engineers in Singapore, 50% of whom are women.
It is not known how much of these rosy statistics were made up of foreigners.
And as casino gambling and tourism catches hold, the profession’s future has become cloudier. Singaporeans will likely gravitate towards better paying jobs, irrespective of their training.
Interest in engineering courses has already been dropping.
Five years ago, 30% of the 16,000 polytechnic applicants chose engineering as their first-choice course. Last year, only about 15% of 18,000 students did so.
Foreigners are, however, making up for the drop. One economist said: “We may be facing a future where many of the developers of technology and their managers will be foreigners.”
Singapore is in transformation and there are few sacred cows that cannot be slaughtered.
This means Ngiam has a good reason to worry about the future of the engineer.
In his first major speech, new Education Minister Ng Eng Hen said: “More education does not necessarily mean more growth, as most politicians and economists unthinkingly suppose.”
At a time when Singapore is planning a fourth university, Ng countered the argument that having more universities stimulates economic growth,
Tertiary institutions, he said, should maintain a “focus on quality”, rather than “expanding education thoughtlessly”.
Some economists fear the government may be tempted by quick GDP growth at the expense of building on its high-tech strategy when it imports such a large number of cheap migrants.
Years ago, under different circumstances, Singapore had vowed not to allow itself to be addicted – like the Europeans – to cheap foreign labour.
After years of strong economic – and population – expansion the country is where Europe is, having an army of low-skilled workers from abroad.
Nearly a million foreigners came, not to mention another 700,000 permanent residents.
They wait on tables, build our homes, clean our streets and perform numerous tasks that keep the country going.
The biggest change, however, is in government strategy, in the view of some commentators.
Whatever professional skill was needed in the past, the emphasis used to be to train Singaporeans.
Today, this need has all but gone. Instead to save time and money, the government is turning to the world to tap its readily available supply of professionals.
One side effect isn’t pretty. While foreigners arrive in large numbers, more of Singapore’s homebred talents are leaving to settle abroad.
(This was first published in The Star on June 14, 2008)
Source:
http://www.littlespeck.com/content/economy/CTrendsEconomy-080614.htm
Decline of the engineer
Fears of Singapore heading towards becoming a high cost, low-tech city are not unfounded. By Seah Chiang Nee.
Jun 14, 2008
AFTER more than 10 years of building schools, a young friend, who is a civil engineer, has put away his hard hat to become a teacher in a secondary school.
It was a big career switch for him and a loss to the profession. He had graduated from Purdue University, one of the top engineering schools in America.
Another friend, an electronics engineer, distanced himself from his computers and became a professional photographer.
These are two cases that I am personally aware of in the decline of a profession that was once considered the cornerstone of Singapore’s development.
Many engineers have moved into the more profitable financial sector or sales and service jobs that are in greater demand.
It’s happening in the legal profession, too. The number of lawyers in Singapore has been in gradual but steady decline in the last few years.
“The attrition rate of lawyers is high, and the supply is not sufficient given the rising demand here,” said a recent report.
This professional decline is propelled by globalisation and the state’s move into a service economy. It is beginning to worry parents who sacrifice much to send their children for higher education.
Some engineers, I am told, are planning to get on the casino bandwagon. Two mega gambling resorts are due to begin operation here in 2010.
With more than a million foreigners working here in low-level work, this decline is leading Singaporeans to wonder whether the city is losing sight of its high-tech strategy.
Retired civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow, for one, is worried that the country may be heading towards a high cost, low-tech economy like London and losing its competitiveness.
Britain’s economic decline set in because ‘their best and brightest from Oxbridge, instead of going into engineering and running factories, went into the (financial) City of London’, he said.
“City of London ... they are not creators of wealth, they are just shuffling assets around the place,” Ngiam said.
This had allowed the United States to overtake Britain because “while some of their best went to Wall Street, their best still go into engineering,” he added.
If Singapore were to follow suit “I think we are done for”, said the bureaucrat, who helped to pioneer Singapore’s economic development
Recalling the 1970s, Ngiam said: “I used to tell everybody, what I want is 1,000 engineers, 5,000 technicians from the polytechnics, and 10,000 Institute of Technical Education workers. ‘You give me that, I grant you a job’.”
That has worked only too well. At the peak 40% of the university graduates were engineers.
Local institutions were meeting domestic demand with “a steady pipeline of 30,000 engineering and technical manpower each year”, a minister said.
And according to the Ministry of Manpower, the engineering-related sector still provided the largest number of job vacancies over the past two years.
In 2006, a third of the 3,639 top ten professional job vacancies were in engineering, it said.
And of the top 50 chief executives in Singapore, a third were engineers by training. An official said there are more than 50,000 practising engineers in Singapore, 50% of whom are women.
It is not known how much of these rosy statistics were made up of foreigners.
And as casino gambling and tourism catches hold, the profession’s future has become cloudier. Singaporeans will likely gravitate towards better paying jobs, irrespective of their training.
Interest in engineering courses has already been dropping.
Five years ago, 30% of the 16,000 polytechnic applicants chose engineering as their first-choice course. Last year, only about 15% of 18,000 students did so.
Foreigners are, however, making up for the drop. One economist said: “We may be facing a future where many of the developers of technology and their managers will be foreigners.”
Singapore is in transformation and there are few sacred cows that cannot be slaughtered.
This means Ngiam has a good reason to worry about the future of the engineer.
In his first major speech, new Education Minister Ng Eng Hen said: “More education does not necessarily mean more growth, as most politicians and economists unthinkingly suppose.”
At a time when Singapore is planning a fourth university, Ng countered the argument that having more universities stimulates economic growth,
Tertiary institutions, he said, should maintain a “focus on quality”, rather than “expanding education thoughtlessly”.
Some economists fear the government may be tempted by quick GDP growth at the expense of building on its high-tech strategy when it imports such a large number of cheap migrants.
Years ago, under different circumstances, Singapore had vowed not to allow itself to be addicted – like the Europeans – to cheap foreign labour.
After years of strong economic – and population – expansion the country is where Europe is, having an army of low-skilled workers from abroad.
Nearly a million foreigners came, not to mention another 700,000 permanent residents.
They wait on tables, build our homes, clean our streets and perform numerous tasks that keep the country going.
The biggest change, however, is in government strategy, in the view of some commentators.
Whatever professional skill was needed in the past, the emphasis used to be to train Singaporeans.
Today, this need has all but gone. Instead to save time and money, the government is turning to the world to tap its readily available supply of professionals.
One side effect isn’t pretty. While foreigners arrive in large numbers, more of Singapore’s homebred talents are leaving to settle abroad.
(This was first published in The Star on June 14, 2008)
Source:
http://www.littlespeck.com/content/economy/CTrendsEconomy-080614.htm
First ride to Pulau Ubin
1320 set off from home to Kai's house
1345 arrived at Kai's house
1430 Changi Village Jetty.
We were supposed to cycle with Kai's colleagues but only 1 turned up. We took the boat heading towards Pulau Ubin.
1 way trip
$2.50 /pax
$2 /bike
GPGT our bikes inside the boat.
Changi Chalets.
Welcome to Pulau Ubin
Map of Ubin
Look like Fillipino?
Is that JB? Why got HDB flats.
Ketam Bike Trail
Dangerous starting point
Steadily controlling his bike.
Here I gooooooooooo!!!
Attacking the slope.
Kelong in the middle of the sea. I wonder how the postman deliver the letters?
The address would be Straits of Malacca, SE of Johore, Bearing North, East ...
Map of the Bike Trail
Scenic view of the Quarry
Me attacking the slope.
I love this pic, looks so professional poseur LOL!
After we riding at Ketam, decided to get some drinks at one of the villager's house. The weather was scorching hot.
Fat cat having its afternoon nap, ignoring all the noise. PS the cat is not harmed in anyway. Thats the table leg.
Picture of the village's house. It belong to an old man think around 60s yo. It really bring you back in time compared to what we are living. Air-con, LCD TVs, Home theatre systems, Computer, Internet Broadband, Cable TV ...
I challenged Kai and his friend would they want to live in Ubin for the rest of their life without leaving the Island but given $10,000/month. No answers LOL!
We are a the border of Ubin, behind steel fencing. Closeup view of the Kelong.
My new pimped ride, see if you noticed any differences.
Next is to a place call Secret Garden. It's located not too far away from the Jetty. Just behind the Police Station.
Looked like little tombstones.
Do you dare to eat Laksa?
Sweet cooling leaves with multiple benefits.
Scenic view.
Kai ready to dance Hip-Hop, with his make-shift banana, oopss Bandanna.
Relax one corner.
Another scenic view.
Kai despite being a Hip-Hop dancer, he getting ready to join Bollywood, dancing around palm trees.
I saw a huge monitor lizard.
I saw a flying cockroach LOL!!!
Then we headed back to Changi Village for dinner and cycled back home via ECP.
Reached home, my ass hurts so much, got to miss the next day ride with C2C people. Pity.
1345 arrived at Kai's house
1430 Changi Village Jetty.
We were supposed to cycle with Kai's colleagues but only 1 turned up. We took the boat heading towards Pulau Ubin.
1 way trip
$2.50 /pax
$2 /bike
GPGT our bikes inside the boat.
Changi Chalets.
Welcome to Pulau Ubin
Map of Ubin
Look like Fillipino?
Is that JB? Why got HDB flats.
Ketam Bike Trail
Dangerous starting point
Steadily controlling his bike.
Here I gooooooooooo!!!
Attacking the slope.
Kelong in the middle of the sea. I wonder how the postman deliver the letters?
The address would be Straits of Malacca, SE of Johore, Bearing North, East ...
Map of the Bike Trail
Scenic view of the QuarryMe attacking the slope.
I love this pic, looks so professional poseur LOL!
After we riding at Ketam, decided to get some drinks at one of the villager's house. The weather was scorching hot.
Fat cat having its afternoon nap, ignoring all the noise. PS the cat is not harmed in anyway. Thats the table leg.
Picture of the village's house. It belong to an old man think around 60s yo. It really bring you back in time compared to what we are living. Air-con, LCD TVs, Home theatre systems, Computer, Internet Broadband, Cable TV ...
I challenged Kai and his friend would they want to live in Ubin for the rest of their life without leaving the Island but given $10,000/month. No answers LOL!
We are a the border of Ubin, behind steel fencing. Closeup view of the Kelong.
My new pimped ride, see if you noticed any differences.
Next is to a place call Secret Garden. It's located not too far away from the Jetty. Just behind the Police Station.
Looked like little tombstones.
Do you dare to eat Laksa?
Sweet cooling leaves with multiple benefits.
Scenic view.
Kai ready to dance Hip-Hop, with his make-shift banana, oopss Bandanna.
Relax one corner.
Another scenic view.
Kai despite being a Hip-Hop dancer, he getting ready to join Bollywood, dancing around palm trees.
I saw a huge monitor lizard.
I saw a flying cockroach LOL!!!
Then we headed back to Changi Village for dinner and cycled back home via ECP.
Reached home, my ass hurts so much, got to miss the next day ride with C2C people. Pity.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Haig Road Western Food
I wonder you guys watch a Channel 8 programme where hosts, Zhou Chong Qing, Quan Yi Feng and Kym Ng help to revive those stall-owners. Apparently 1 episode showed a western stall near Haig Road.
Their specialty was having cheese and ham between 2 pork chops. My sis had always hinted she wanted to try it.
The place not hard to find. Internet forums state its a coffeeshop beside BLK 23. If you know where is CDAC, its just behind it, 5mins walk.
The speciality IIRC "Cordon Bleu Pork Chops"
$6, abit too dry but the quality of salad surprised me.
3.5/5
Grilled Chicken Chop in mushroom sauce with rice and egg.
$4, generous serving, using the meat near the thigh very tender, fantastic mushroom sauce, not those Campbell sauce. Rice cooked just nice.
5/5 best western i ever eaten.
Beat Botak Jones in taste
Beat Astons @ Bedok in portion.
Closeup of the Cordon Bleu Pork Chops, can see the cheese oozing out.
My new pair of cycling gloves. Fox Digit, color suits my bike. Bought from C2C, thanks Ben.
Their specialty was having cheese and ham between 2 pork chops. My sis had always hinted she wanted to try it.
The place not hard to find. Internet forums state its a coffeeshop beside BLK 23. If you know where is CDAC, its just behind it, 5mins walk.
The speciality IIRC "Cordon Bleu Pork Chops"
$6, abit too dry but the quality of salad surprised me.
3.5/5
Grilled Chicken Chop in mushroom sauce with rice and egg.
$4, generous serving, using the meat near the thigh very tender, fantastic mushroom sauce, not those Campbell sauce. Rice cooked just nice.
5/5 best western i ever eaten.
Beat Botak Jones in taste
Beat Astons @ Bedok in portion.
Closeup of the Cordon Bleu Pork Chops, can see the cheese oozing out.
My new pair of cycling gloves. Fox Digit, color suits my bike. Bought from C2C, thanks Ben.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Check your personality
Here
You are Black Monkey, whose character is cheerful, amiable and simple.
You possess both smartness and gracefulness.
Your appearance is youthful, and no matter how old you get, you will always have a young heart.
You don't worry much about someone being late with appointment, or your subordinates making mistakes.
Nevertheless, you tend to be proud, so when you face troubles that hurt your dignity, you suffer a great shock.
You tend to be rather faddish.
Even if you are talking with someone you don't like, you can show smile on your face, and actually inside, you are being hard on your preferences.
You hate to lose.
You put in great effort not to get behind others.
You have a tendency to show yourself big, by saying that you know things, even if really, you don't.
In the atmosphere where you can relax, you show great natural sense of humor, and amiableness.
You have a huge dream, and will work hard to make that come true.
You will not get in a rush, and will follow your own pace.
You are good at handling numbers.
You can persuade other by using data, and therefore, you tend to have a bottom-line thinking even in private matters.
You are not good at reading deeper thoughts.
If you can overcome this weakness, you will have far greater chance of success.
You are Black Monkey, whose character is cheerful, amiable and simple.
You possess both smartness and gracefulness.
Your appearance is youthful, and no matter how old you get, you will always have a young heart.
You don't worry much about someone being late with appointment, or your subordinates making mistakes.
Nevertheless, you tend to be proud, so when you face troubles that hurt your dignity, you suffer a great shock.
You tend to be rather faddish.
Even if you are talking with someone you don't like, you can show smile on your face, and actually inside, you are being hard on your preferences.
You hate to lose.
You put in great effort not to get behind others.
You have a tendency to show yourself big, by saying that you know things, even if really, you don't.
In the atmosphere where you can relax, you show great natural sense of humor, and amiableness.
You have a huge dream, and will work hard to make that come true.
You will not get in a rush, and will follow your own pace.
You are good at handling numbers.
You can persuade other by using data, and therefore, you tend to have a bottom-line thinking even in private matters.
You are not good at reading deeper thoughts.
If you can overcome this weakness, you will have far greater chance of success.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
First time Tampines Bike Trial
First Half ECP and Coastal
Mavic 717 rims
After lunch at Changi Village, wanted to visit the Tampines Bike Trail
New Downtown East
On a park connector bridge, remember to put cash card. ERP gantry ahead.
Virgin visit to Tampines Bike Trail
Looking professional attacking the trial.
Opps damn sia suey fall down, but must remember to smile !
Champion Poseur
This not New Zealand or Pasir Laba Camp. Very scenic place.
After Bike trail headed to L&T. Bought a helmet there. Saw many nice bikes there.
From there headed to Bedok Reservoir.
My new helmet, later found out not for MTB as got no visor.
Finished rowing!
The reservoir bed. Very clear waters.
Ripples and pair of feet.
Meditating and relaxing, enjoying the scenery.
Very nice shot.
XT Cranks
Chiong Sua pedals!
XT Front D
XT Rear D
My chiong sua cassettes.
Mavic 717 rims
After lunch at Changi Village, wanted to visit the Tampines Bike Trail
New Downtown East
On a park connector bridge, remember to put cash card. ERP gantry ahead.
Virgin visit to Tampines Bike Trail
Looking professional attacking the trial.
Opps damn sia suey fall down, but must remember to smile !
Champion Poseur
This not New Zealand or Pasir Laba Camp. Very scenic place.
After Bike trail headed to L&T. Bought a helmet there. Saw many nice bikes there.
From there headed to Bedok Reservoir.
My new helmet, later found out not for MTB as got no visor.
Finished rowing!
The reservoir bed. Very clear waters.
Ripples and pair of feet.
Meditating and relaxing, enjoying the scenery.
Very nice shot.
XT Cranks
Chiong Sua pedals!
XT Front D
XT Rear D
My chiong sua cassettes.
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