Thursday, April 28, 2005

Staying in touch - Mobile phones

The latest development in handphones is a bone-shaped
device that answers on the first ring for owners to speak
to their dogs



Having a mobile phone is child’s play for British kids
nowadays. And the handset’s technological revolution
has even gone to the dogs, literally.

No, it’s not a case of barking up the wrong tree but
bone-shaped devices will soon be made available for
pets too.

It’s amazing but a million children under 10 years in
Britian – one in three – now have their own mobile phones,
double the figure two years ago.

The average age at which a child gets his or her first
mobile phone in Britain is eight, against 12 in the
United States.

Friday, April 22, 2005

The 90/10 secret

Another great article but source unknown. Please do let
me know if you know the source.

The 90/10 secret is incredible!

Very few know and apply this secret. The result?
Millions of people are suffering undeserved stress, trials,
problems and heartache. They never seem to be a success in
life. Bad days follow bad days. Terrible things seem to be
constantly happening. Theirs is constant stress, lack of
joy and broken relationships. Worry consumes time, anger
breaks friendships and life seems dreary and is not enjoyed
to the fullest... Friends are lost. Life is a bore and often
seems cruel.

Does this describe you? If so, do not be discouraged. You
can be different!. Understand and apply the 90/10 secret.
It will change your life! What is this secret?

10% of life is made up of what happens to you.
90% of life is decided by how you react. What does this mean?

We really have no control over 10% of what happens to us.
We cannot stop the car from breaking down. The plane may
be late arriving, which throws our whole schedule off. A
driver may cut us off in traffic. We have no control over
this 10%. The other 90% is different. You determine the
other 90%!

How? By your reaction.

You cannot control a red light, but you can control your
reaction. Don't let people fool you, YOU can control how
you react! Let's use an example.

You're eating breakfast with your family. Your daughter
knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt.
You have no control over what just happened. What happens
next will be determined by how you react. You curse...You
harshly scold your daughter for knocking the coffee cup
over. She breaks down in tears. After scolding her,
you turn to your spouse and criticize them for placing
the cup to close to the edge of the table. A short
verbal battle follows. You storm upstairs and change
your shirt.

Back downstairs you find your daughter has been to busy
crying to finish breakfast and get ready for school.
She misses the bus. Your spouse must leave immediately
for work. You rush to the car and drive your daughter
to school. Because you are late, you drive 40 miles an
hour in a 30 mph speed limit. After a 15 minute delay
and throwing $60 (traffic fine) away, you arrive at
school.

Your daughter runs to the building without saying
good-bye. After arriving at the office 20 minutes late,
you find you forgot your briefcase. Your day has started
terrible. As it continues, it seems to get worse and
worse. You look forward to going home. When you arrive
home you find small wedge in your relationship with your
spouse and daughter. Why? Because of how you reacted in
the morning. Why did you have a bad day?

A) Did the coffee cause it?
B) Did your daughter cause it?
C) Did the Policeman cause it?
D) Did you cause it?

The answer is D.
You had no control over what happened with the coffee.
How you reacted in those 5 seconds is what caused your
bad day. Here is what could have and should have happened.

Coffee splashes over you. Your daughter is about to cry.
You gently say "It's OK honey, you just need to be more
careful next time". Grabbing a towel you rush upstairs.
After grabbing a new shirt and your briefcase, you come
back down in time look through the window and see your
child getting on the bus. She turns and waves. You and
your spouse kiss before you both go to work. You arrive
5 minutes early and cheerfully greet the staff. Your boss
comments on how good the day you are having.

Notice the difference. Two different scenarios.
Both started the same. Both ended different. Why?
Because of how you REACTED. You really do not have any
control over 10% of what happens. The other 90% is
determined by your reaction.

Here are some ways to apply the 90/10 secret.
If someone says something negative about you, do not be
sponge. Let the attack roll off like water on glass. You do
not have to let the negative comment affect you! React
properly and it will not ruin your day. A wrong reaction
could result in losing a friend, being fired, getting
stressed out, etc.

How do you react if someone cuts you off in traffic?
Do you loose your temper? Pound the steering wheel?
(A friend of mine had the steering wheel fall off!)

Do you curse? Does your blood pressure skyrocket?
Do you try and bump them? WHO CARES if you arrive ten
seconds later at work? Why let the blue car ruin your
drive. Remember the 90-10 principle, and do not worry
about it!

You are told you lost your job. Why lose sleep or get
irritated? It will work out. Use your "worrying"
energy and time into finding another job.

The plane is late. It is going to mangle your schedule
for the day. Why take out your frustration on the flight
attendant? She has no control over what is going on.
Use your time to study, get to know the other passenger, etc.
Why get stressed out? It will just make things worse.

You now know the 90-10 secret.
Apply it and you will be amazed at the results.

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Electronics Magazine

Do you have this old mag?

PETALING JAYA: If you have really old electronics magazines
lying around your house or office, you may want to take a
closer look at them because Intel Corp is offering to pay
US$10,000 (RM38,000) for a certain issue of a particular
magazine from 40 years ago.

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - the prequel



If you're one who enjoys sequels and prequels, this is one
prequel you would look forward to. It's the prequel to
the "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" epic that picked up
10 Oscar nominations.

Thursday, April 14, 2005

RM24,667 is minimum salary cut-off point

KUALA LUMPUR: If your pay is RM24,667 or more after
all the allowed annual deductions, get your cheque
books ready.

According to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB), this is
the minimum cut-off salary which places you in the
taxpaying bracket.

IRB public relations officer Rahimah Abdullah said
the onus was on the taxpayers to get their forms
from the board if they had yet to receive the forms.

Read article here.

Sunday, April 10, 2005

Genting and Universal Studios bid for Sentosa casino

Genting Bhd and the theme park unit of Universal Studios
are seeking to run a resort that may include a casino on
Singapore's Sentosa island. Read more...

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

Google Passes On Storage Savings to Users

The e-mail storage war between Google , Yahoo and MSN confirms that competition continues to create better user experiences on the Web. It also shows that storage capacity simply is getting cheaper.

Last week, Google said it would double the amount of e-mail storage it offers through its Gmail service to two gigabytes. A year ago, Google unceremoniously dashed Yahoo’s and MSN’s e-mail storage revenue-generating services by offering a gigabyte of free storage. Both rivals were forced to keep pace with huge increases of free storage for users. Read more...

GMail is on a trial basis at the moment and opening of
accounts is by invitation only. I have a few accounts to
give away so if you'd like one, you can post me a request.
Google