The Field Marshal

How to 'encrypt' your blog Here's something I received in an email today. I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid! Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch taem at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is tah! t the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. Th!e rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Such a cdonition is arppoiately cllaed Typoglycemia. Prhaeps I slouhd udapte my bolg tihs way in the frutue. Haha.....

Ring Ring... You've Got Yourself a New Job Today, I received a very important call from my boss. It is important since the next phase of my career will hinge on it. My boss just told me that my request for a transfer to another department has been approved. Having pretty mixed feelings about this, I am totally at a lost of what to feel. Having been in the same place for the last 5 years, I cannot deny that I am totally at ease with my colleagues, friends and network that I have built around me. Guess this is the one 'BIG' factor that is stopping me from whooping out in happiness. On the other hand, one part of me feels this sense of relief. The relief stems from the fact that I have had too good a life at my current post for too long. Any longer and I'd be too soft and rusty to take up a new challenge. Thus, I am quietly happy that I have the opportunity to move on and learn new stuff. As everything is still not confirmed, I will hang around in my current cheese station and relax a bit more. When the time comes, the track shoes will come on, and it's time to start running again. Here's something that I just drew on my pda's notepad. It reflects what I feel about this whole thing. 'Lost'.

Mydaemon's Granny's Birthday Bash Another year has passed. And it's the time for the great gathering of Mydaemon's relatives for the annual birthday celebration for her Granny. Frankly speaking, despite being the 'Extravert', I don't really usher in this event with much anticipation. Don't get me wrong. Mydaemon's granny is a nice old lady, so I'd be more than happy to celebrate her birthday with her. What I dislike is the networking part. Today's topic centred around the NKF saga. One of Mydaemon's uncle-in-law was so fixated with this development. T T Durai, Mrs Goh Chok Tong, and the venerable NKF became fodder for much bashing and dissection. All this talk made me wonder if this uncle had been a regular donor with the charity. The other issue that kept popping up was that of our house. Everyone in Mydaemon's family suddenly seemed to be on the look out for our house. Their field reports suggested that our house could only be ready by 1Q next year. Hmmmm, since when did they become experts in the construction industry. Others chipped in in analysing the property market, blah, blah, blah. It wasn't that great a feeling to have to put up a friendly face and answer all the questions when one just wants to be alone and enjoy the makan. Talking about makan, here's some shots of the food we had there. Picture quality is as grainy as ever cos it is taken with my trusty K700i. Here's a shot of my hand holding a piece of rose syrup jelly at Mydaemon's place just before we went for the buffet lunch birthday celebration. Her mum sure makes the nicest jelly! Here's our ang bao for "Ah Ma". Wishing her longevity and happiness. T T Durai's face on today's Straits Time. An issue that was discussed with much passion before lunch. Food! Glorious food! There's fried prawns, braised, fried cod, sea cucumber, shark's fin soup, fried hokkien mee and rice. Not to mention, there's desserts too! Here's the perennial favourite. The longevity bun. Wonder if it can be eaten. Have seen it for the last 4 years, and I am still wondering now. Perhaps, I will pinch it next year. :D

End of the NKF Saga? CEO, board and patron of NKF steps down. Is this the end of the NKF debacle, the single development that has ccaused the majority of Singaporean donors to lose faith in charities on the whole? I see these developments as the first of many in the long road to clean up the act of charities in Singapore. One bad apple does not mean a rotten barrel. True. But, it also means that the worms are in the barrel. It is high time that stricter rules and regulations are placed on charitable organisations here. Guidelines simply won't work, since guidelines are not mandatory in nature. After this episode, what I want to see are, (a) greater transprancy - even if it means revealing the pay of the board members, and, (b) greater accountability to donors - who afterall give out of their hard earned money. I am still bewildered that after the relevation of T.T. Durai's admission of a $600,000 paycheck, there are still some voices defending the right not to disclose the pays of CEOs in voluntary welfare organisations. What I am worried about is that the incoming NKF CEO - Gerrard Ee has also agreed with this policy too. In today's New Paper, Mr Ee explained that the resistance was not an attempt to deceive the public, but a matter of staff morale. He said that it has been a perennial problem in social services to attract good talent, because of the generally lower pay. He said "if these people can earn more in the commercial sector, why would they want to join social services? We don't want to affect staff morale further by forcing people to reveal their pay, especially, if they're already not earning that much". I have to agree that statement by Mr Ee is a fair one. But upon closer inspection, I cannot help by see the underpinnings of the Singapore Inc. ethos in it. Basically, having been socialised in the formal education system here, we think about nothing by meritocracy and economic results. Thus, even in the charitable organisations, the boards perceive that talent will be lured by attractive renumeration and perks. From the prospective CEOs' view, the perceived reality is that you want the best person, you got to pay for it. What's lost in this is the compassion and love that should have been the very foundation and reason for the people who 'volunteers' to work in the social services sector. This volunteerism should embodify sacrifice and altruism - the 'I do it freely for the society, out of love for the people'. Therefore, I find it hard to understand why morale should be affected if a CEO's pay is considered as low compared to his peers in the private sector. They should remember that the purpose of the roles, while similar, in that they provide leadership and vision to the organisations, charities are fundamentally different from your run of the mill MNCs. By choosing to work in a VWO, the person should approach the work from an altruistic perspective. One should forget about the perks and huge renumerations that comes from working in the private sector. One should do it out of love. I believe that the satisfaction of seeing their customers - the needy and sick - getting the best care possible should more than compensate for the 'loss' in income. If you ask me, I would respect the CEO that willingly offers to lower his pay packet to ensure that donors' money are well utilised. These are the people who deserve a standing ovation. I am sure the society will show these people their utmost respect. I believe that Singapore is an anomaly, in that we equate everything 'good' with a high price tag. This society is sadly devoid of the compassion and altruism that is the hallmark of a highly developed civilisation. Perhaps it is time to reconsider that values that we imbibe in the next generation, one that has been brought up in MTV, iPods and PS2s.

New Desktop Wallpaper For many months, or years, the wallpaper on my office PC is a picture of the Korean actress Jeon Ji Heon. Was smitten by her sassy and spunky character in My Sassy Girl. As things go, all good things must come to an end. And the end did come quickly today. Not sure what hit me, but I suddenly find myself surfing the net for the officical website for the TV series lost. The first thing I saw on the site was a set of wallpapers. Kate's (Evangeline Lilly) wallpaper immediately caught my attention. Needless to say, that particular wallpaper is now adorning the background of my desktop. This is what I see everyday when I turn on my PC. Now, working late doesn't seem like much of a chore any longer.

There is something fundamentally wrong with way NKF, its board and staff are handling the current saga. Read on and I will explain why. Staff give T.T. Durai standing ovation Extracted from Straits Time, 14 July 2005) They and board rally around him. Patient says many would've died if not for him THE staff at the National Kidney Foundation gave chief executive T.T. Durai a standing ovation yesterday evening after he gave a short address to a packed auditorium at NKF headquarters. (Teddy - I am surprised none of the staff got up and left in disgust. Did they really do any soul searching after news broke that their CEO used donors' money to pay for expensive fixtures and transport perks. What are they thinking when they stood up and clapped? For me, they are either self-deluded, or are just afraid to speak their own thoughts.) As he returned to work, staff and the NKF board rallied around their embattled CEO. 'He told us we have to carry on because the patients depend on us and not to let what happened to him affect us,' said NKF's deputy director of communications Michelle Ang. 'He works very hard and that's the only way anyone can run this place. He is relentless. He really does it for the patients.' She added that apart from one day of compassionate leave, he has not taken a holiday since 1992, when he became chief executive. Mr Job Loei, 41, manager of NKF's patient advancement department, has been undergoing subsidised dialysis for the past 12 years and said he owed Mr Durai his life. 'If the NKF was not around and Mr Durai not driving it, I don't think I would be here today. 'I've seen him work. It's his passion. He works seven days a week, by choice, for a larger cause.' The former pastor said Mr Durai's integrity is not in question. 'He sets very high standards. For example, when we get New Year hampers, we can't take any. They will be channelled to the poor patients.' (Teddy - but has Mr Loei thought of how many more hampers NKF could have distributed to the needy if My Durai did away with the costly bathroom fixtures? They are losing the big picture just to find something nice to say about Mr D now.) Said NKF patient Yeo Say Ann, 36: 'If he was not around, many would have died. It's okay if the $262 million in reserves earns interest... It was always his intention to build up the reserves.' According to both staff and patients, Mr Durai believes able kidney patients should contribute to society, so they do not take donor funds for granted. (Teddy - Wise words from a man who failed to live up to the standards he has set.) Mr William Tan, 42, an NKF patient since 1997, is a case in point. Said Mr Tan: 'When I first met him in 1997 to ask for subsidies, he scolded me. He said he wouldn't lower my co-payment if I didn't work. My impression of him was very bad... But I realised he was trying to tell me not to give up on life.' Mr Durai's words pushed him to get a job and a diploma in computer studies. Added Mr Tan: 'His entire life is spent on building up the organisation. He deserves his pay.' Like Mr Tan, Mr Loei felt that Mr Durai's $25,000 pay and generous bonuses are not excessive. 'The bottom line is how many lives you have saved.'(Teddy - The 'real' bottom line is that more lives could have been saved if NKF unlocked their reserves and provide more monetary assistance to those in need)

NKF's patron's reply when asked if Mr Durai's salary and bonuses were excessive... Asked if Mr Durai's annual salary and bonuses were 'excessive', she (Mrs Goh) replied: 'For a person who runs a million-dollar charitable organisation, $600,000 is peanuts as it has a few hundred millions in reserves.' (extracted from the Straits Times - 13 Jul 2005)

NKF - The richest charity organisation in Singapore Have not been following the NKF trial till Struggling Office Boy started sharing the news with me. I am terribly disgusted with what has surfaced so far in the court case brought on my NKF and it's, now infamous CEO, Mr T.T. Durai against SPH and its journalists. I shall not go into details since most of it can be read in the Straits Times. Instead, I just want to do a simple calculation to show that our fellow citizens with kidney impairments deserve so much more subsidies than what they are receiving now. Fact No. 1 NKF has reserves worth around $220 million in 2003. Fact No. 2 NKF spent $31.6 million on tranplantation and dialysis. Fact No. 3 Of the $31.6 million, NKF collected $24.4 million in dialysis fees. Fact No. 4 $31.6 million - $24.4 million = $7.2 million from NKF's pocket. While I am no rocket scientist, there is something fundamentally wrong with the figures. Wrong in terms of principles and ethics, not numerically. What the figures meant is that for every dollar that goes into dialysis or transplantation, the patients got only a paltry 29.5 cents 'subsidy'. The figure was based on divinding 7.2 million by 31.6 million While this calculation is too simplistic and may not take into account many other costs, it still provides an easy to understand picture of what NKF is not doing. That is, to increase it's per dollar subsidy to those who need it most, their patients!!! I have always thought that charities would at least trickle down 60% or more of the funds collected to those they are collecting for. But NKF seems to be targeting the 30th percentile range. Instead of making guesses, it may be a good time now for charities, especially NKF, to declare their assets, and the actual amount of money that goes to their 'clients' - be it the needy or the sickly. One lesson to draw from all this is that transparency is paramount in any organisation, be it profit driven, or non-profit. Only with real transparency will excesses, such as those we have witnessed in the NKF case, be kept in check. Currently, there are calls for Mr Durai to step down as the CEO. Having lost the confidence of the public, NKF would do well now to reflect on what went wrong. Mr Durai should also do some serious soul-searcing, if indeed, he seriously believes that he has handled everything to the best of his abilities. There's an online petition asking for Mr Durai to step down. Here's the link - National Kidney Foundation Singapore Responsibility And here's the full petition letter. To: National Kidney Foundation Singapore The CEO of the National Kidney Foundation Singapore (NKFS), T.T. Durai, has breached the trust of the people of Singapore and all others who donate to him. He has drawn a total salary of about S$1.8 million over the last 3 years, which averages out to S$600000 per year and this money comes from the donations of people, many of whom do not even earn that amount in 5 or even 10 years. In addition, he has been less than truthful with the public, lying time and again in court before withdrawing his statements. The NKF has also played games to keep the truth from the public, with chairman Richard Yong telling the public that senior executives fly business class for long-haul flights. However, Durai told the court that he indeed flew first-class. The above are only two examples of how the NKF has not dealt responsibly with the public. We, the undersigned, petition that the CEO of NKFS be removed from his position. Also, the NKFS must be made more accountable to the public, always showing how it acts in public interest, and publishing information that will allow the public to see exactly how much of their money goes to the needy and how much ends up being spent on expenses. Currently, expenses shown include the salary cost under 4 different categories, Direct Charitable Expenses, Operating/Administration Expenses, Fundraising activities and Public Relations. This is merely hiding the truth from the public who deserves to know. Until the NKFS shows that it is willing to be more responsible, we the undersigned suggest that potential donors think twice and donate to more deserving organizations such as the KDF, the Community Chest and the Salvation Army. For more information, an article from the Straits Times can be found here. http://www.asiaone.com.sg/st/st_20050712_328079.html Sincerely, While I am happy to note that NKF and Mr Durai has dropped the case against SPH and the journalists, I am concerned with the fallout that this saga will have on the patients who continue to rely on NKF. Concern in that donations may suddenly dry up overnight. Perhaps this is the perfect wakeup call to the NKF board to release it massive reserves, while at the same time, try to win back the confidence of the public that it has surely lost.

My latest gadget - The Tungsten E2 Yup, I got myself, not one, but TWO Tungstens yesterday! Well, actually, I wanted to surprise Mydaemon with a Tungsten on our 1st wedding anniversary, but being the boring me, I leaked the surprise to her. So, we plotted a trip to Funan after WOW to shop for it. Having shop-hopped in Funan, we finally bought our Tungstens at a bargain. Come to think of it, luck was with us yesterday. We actually wanted to bypass the shop, where we eventually boought the palms, as it looked kinda dingy (according to me lah). But to our surprise, this shop quoted the lowest price we have heard for the day, and they threw in a fantastic bundle as well. To give you are better picture of 'the' bargain, most shops around Funan quoted $418 for the Tungsten, without bundling any accessories. Those bundled with a 128mb SD card quoted a price of $448. Some were willing to go down to $378 for the set itself. But this shop quoted $428 for the following: Tungsten E2, original Palmone leather case, protective cover ($22), and a high speed 256 Kingston SD card. What a bargain!!! The salesperson, Richard, was by no means pushy when we queried him about the functions etc. He was a rather pleasant and helpful guy. He even gave us free lint-free cloths to wipe our sets. After observing the shop for a while, I concluded that the shop specialises in handhelds/PDAs. So, if you want to buy a PDA, I highly recommend you go to: EDPOL Systems 109 North Bridge Road #04-23 Funan The IT Mall Singapore 179097 Do look for Richard when you are there. Now, I will share with you my happiness. Here's a shot of the paper bag that carried my prized possession from Funan to my humble abode. In the foreground is the Palmone leather case. The entire bundle. Tungsten E2, 256mb SD card, Palmone leather case and the lint-free cloth in front. Wah, I can't wait to use all of them!!! The cool leather casing that will house my Tungsten for years to come. You gotta admit it's a nice cool brown. Oh, by the way, the thumb, is all you will get to see of me in this blog. Here's the high speed - $65 - SD card from Kingston. And it's FREE!!! EDPOL! EDPOL! EDPOL! Out of the box and into my hand! The Tungsten feels really heavy and solid. The metal's cool to touch too. The feeling is just indescribable. Wah, cannot tahan liao... still must charge 3 hours before I can use it. Why? Why? Why? Charging. Start time - 8pm. 3 hours to go... Fully charged!!! Into the casing you go!!! The final step. My Tungsten being 'hotsynced' with my PC. See the terrible state of my PC desk. A card reader here, the wireless mouse sensor there, but who cares, the Tungsten is the highlight of the table there and then. And the rest is history. :)

War of the Worlds - The Field Marshal's View It's such a beautiful Sunday. The birds are chirping, the air is fresh, and the sounds of families going about their weekend stuff in their homes is just so nice! Now back to what this post is about. Have heard, and read, quite a few comments/critiques, from friends and the experts, on the new Spielberg flick - War of the Worlds (WOW). In general, most of the comments centred around the lack of plot and chracter development, apart from Cruise's character, that is. So, the comments have been generally bad. In fact, the rather poor comments have actually nudged Mydemon to consider giving WOW a miss, despite it being a 'must watch' movie when we heard about it sometime last year. Well, I am just glad that I managed to persuade Mydaemon to catch it with me yesterday. Like what I said earlier, different strokes for different folks. What a bonus when we left the cineme, both highly satisfied, after watching what I would call a great movie. For me, the accusations of thin storyline and poor story development is unfounded. Granted that the story is simple. But simplicity in itself does not denote the lack of a story. Having not read H.G. Wells WOW, I can only comment on what Spielberg tried to express in his film adaptation. The story for me is simple. Aliens burying 'harvest' machines many eons back. Aliens came back and found that earth has changed. Cannot tahan what they saw as human arrogance, while not forgetting the fact that the over-populated earth is sorely ripe for harvesting. Countless of lightning strikes later, tripedal monsters start vapourising and harvesting the humans. Set within this harrowing experience is the quest for survival by a dysfunctional family. Typical of today's social ailment, Ray - Cruise's character, is divorced from his wife. His daughter, well played by Dakota, sufferes from some form of psychosis, while his older son can't wait to break lose from the shackles of family authority. For me, the development of this family unit was the core 'plot' of the entire show. To focus on this aspect alone, is to take away Spielberg's fine attempt at teasing out the humanity's primitive latent potential to revert itself into the 'survival of the fittest' mode in times of social breakdown. The scenes of the mob attacking Cruise's car mirrors the dark potential that we humans will sink to when social order is gone. Aesthetically, the special effects are well rendered. Especially good was the snake-like probe that tried to detect Cruise and his daughter. That scene was really well crafted. I was on the edge of my seat, hoping fervently that it will not find Cruise and his daughter. Come to think of it, WOW kept both Mydaemon and I on the edge of the seat throughout the entire 2 hours. All in all, WOW is one of the best movies I have watched this year. A WOW DVD will definitely find its way into my collection sometime soon.

Saturday Mornings Just finished channel surfing all the channels in SCV, barring the premiere tier ones, which I don't have. This act of inane-city made me realised that Saturday mornings can be a chore, especially one is stuck at home for the day. Thankfully, I have a blog to ramble in, and if I am lucky, I'd be at Mydaemon's place making shots at goal on Winning Eleven 8 - a Xbox soccer title. That practically sums up this morning. Gotta start getting dressed for my movie date with Mydaemon. Don't want to damage my 'J' reputation in the ENTJ! Do come back later for a critique of War of the Worlds (WOW) later in the day. Provided that I am in the mood for that lah. Ciao!

Breakaway may not be the best word to describe this blog. But in view of my limited vocablurary, it will suffice. For those who have been following Twoeggs, this blog - The Field Marshal, is the breakaway blog by Teddy (who happens to be me). Why fix something that's not broken, if you ask. Well, Mydaemon and I thought it would be good to go our own ways - in the blogging sense - and rediscover our very own personal styles. Fret not. Twoeggs will continue to be updated. Posts there will be on stuff that Mydaemon and I have been doing together. We will also use Twoeggs as sort of an 'gallery' where we share our photos and other artistic stuff. So do continue to visit us there. What you can expect from this blog is the no-holds-barred, to the point, caustic ramblings from me. The title of this blog has everything to do with a psychological test which some of you may have taken before. For those who know of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, or MBTI, test, you will know who's the Field Marshal. For a description of my type - ENTJ (Field Marshal) - you can be find under the title of my blog above. Apart from the bouts of neurosis, the description suits me pretty well. Frankly, I have nothing much to ramble about now. There's only 2 things in my mind now. A movie. And the sleek and cool Palm Tungsten E2. The movie is none other than War of the Worlds. Despite having heard so many poor reviews from friends and colleagues, I am still pretty adamant on catching it. In fact, I will be catching it tomorrow. My belief is never to trust another person's critique till I have personally seen the movie. Rationale behind this is that different people have different tastes. So, no one's ever truly right nor wrong. Mydaemon who has kindly purchased the tix will be there with me to catch the show. Her enthusiasm for this movie ain't as strong as mine. So, she will be there under a teeny weeny bit of duress. But she has always been a supporitve wife. We go through thick and thin. So, I will watch whatever movie she asks to me next time. Even if it means no body counts or special effects. Now, the other thing on my mind is the cool and sleek Palm Tungsten E2. I know I shouldn't be splurging on big ticket items since I should be saving for my house, furniture, appliances blah... blah... blah... But I just gotta lay my hands on a PDA!!! Rationale, again?, for this streak of indulgence is that I seriously believe that a PDA will put some much needed discipline in my rather messy and chaotic life. I have to admit that a PDA is a very expensive 'notebook' (as in the paper ones). But what it can do, is everything thing that its paper cousin can't. Tell me, where can you find a notebook that plays MP3 file, videos, or rings when a task beckons. There you have it, traditional notebooks just can't hold a candle to the PDA. Having been blessed with a not so powerful brain for memories, a PDA goes a long way in reminding me the tasks that needs to be done, as well as, the birthdays of my friends and pals. To me, the extravagence is worth it. I have attached a photo of the palm below. Tell me what you thing of it.