Facebook is going to make its Timeline compulsory to all Facebook users according to an update I saw from Yahoo Finance

I am not sure about you, but I prefer the old format compared to Timeline (read the post by Smosh- quite funny). When I visiting pages of friends who have installed the Timeline, the entire page sort of hang and the loading time is slow. So usually I do not stay more than a few seconds in those pages with Timeline….probably because my own timeline to surf is so limited. I don’t own a Smartphone (and have no immediate plans of getting one) therefore I cannot surf on the go and while working. And my company has cleverly banned Facebook from its public internet access (something that I am thankful because in my previous company where there was no internet page restrictions, sometimes I find myself mindlessly surfing net and it affected my productivity).

Last time I love to login to Facebook to send comments- but now, I’ve disciplined myself to focus on blogging with the little time I have to blog (after office hours or weekends, divided between family, housework and outings).  Facebook Addiction Disorder (FAD)  is now an officially diagnosed psychological disorder as per what was recently published in the papers- yes, it is easy to get addicted to Facebook and sometimes,Facebook can make you hit rock bottom if you are already down in the dumps.

Well, you cannot control what you don’t own

Facebook is a free access tool- and because we do not own it, basically we have no say of what they want to implement. Well, you can complain and rant all you want- but once the ones on top decides on something, there’s nothing much that can be done. 

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The Jam Tart Story

by Yin on January 24, 2012

Ever since from as young as I could remember, I had been helping my mother to bake jam tarts.  It is an annual thing before Chinese New Year.

The jam tarts would be then distributed to neighbors, relatives and friends… FOR FREE.  We get to take some back to share with our friends. The baking thing lasts almost the entire day- but as we, the kids grow up, we got faster and more efficient in our work so the baking could finish early.

I always wondered why of all cookies, my mom had to choose jam tarts? Jam tarts are one of the hardest and most time consuming cookies to be made. My mom  would put effort to do everything- including:

  • select the pineapples- usually she would buy about 10 big ones
  • take them back, cut and scrape them and cook them. The pineapple are corrosive to the hands and the scrapping is sometimes painful especially if there is a little cut on the hand. My mom would scrape the pineapples with her bare hands, not preferring gloves. Then the cooking takes 4 hours till the jam are dark and they are cooked back in their own juices – the process would take a day
  • another day to clean and line all the tins/ containers with tracing paper
  • prepare the pastry, oil the trays, and bake–and of course the cleaning up
  • distribute the baked tarts

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Happy CNY…and for those who would be spending it alone…

January 21, 2012

Would like to wish all celebrants a Happy Chinese New Year. May all your hopes and wishes come true. Drive carefully, rest well. It’s a time for rest and it’s also the time where most Chinese based companies would require their staff to take long leave, with operation closing down for a week or two. Do [...]

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Many report drop in Adsense earnings

January 16, 2012

More and more web/blog owners are reporting a drop in Adsense earnings- some as much as 70% or more sudden drop in recent months. As Google did a round of algorithm- and wiped out a huge amount of its Adwords advertisers- coupled with the overall economy downturn, bloggers worldwide are affected. The change can literally [...]

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It should not be always about the money

January 13, 2012

When we want to do something, it should not always be for the money, Or what it is in for us. Else, we would just be following like the waves of the world… If people say this is good, we go for it… When people say that is profitable, everyone flock to it. When we [...]

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Designer brands versus character

January 2, 2012

Yesterday in the papers, I read about people flocking to the Johor Premium Outlet in search for branded designer items like Calvin Klien, Coach, etc. Then there’s another article about those who make designer brand shopping part of their holiday plans- sometimes having to travel outskirts of cities to the factories. Sometimes I really wonder- [...]

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

December 25, 2011

Would like to wish all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Have a great year ahead and all the best in your understakings. Photos taken in Central Shopping Complex, Chiang Mai during my recent trip there.

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Keeping a tidy and organized desk will improve your productivity and focus

December 20, 2011

Some of us a naturally untidy people- even though after extensive spring cleaning, the desk quickly become a cluttered mess each time. And after a while, we just give up trying.  Then one day, as again we are not able to find our stuff, this time an important document, we vow to tidy up our [...]

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How much we are meant to have is fated… or not?

December 13, 2011

There is a saying in Cantonese that is passed down from ancient times:  ”How much a person can eat or wear is fated.” Some believe it to be true, some otherwise. Well, it does depend in intepretation. A lazy and weak-willed person would say, “if I am meant to have a million dollars, even though [...]

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Learning a new skill or hobby effectively and quickly- you need to know your learning style

December 6, 2011

Have you ever find that you love a hobby very much but often wonder why was so tough for you to learn up the hobby? Well, you need to first consider what type of learner are you- what is the method that you can most effectively learn: Is it by listening to instructions from others [...]

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