liberté

Load Testing Comedy

Mark Tan — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 03:16:43 +0000

Kinda of bored with work, surfing the web for some potential performance testing tools… in the end, watching this funny clip…

Beware of Facebook scam

Mark Tan — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:17:21 +0000

Beware and be careful! Try not to be too trustworthy to the new friends you made online, they may not even exist.

SINGAPORE: Social networking sites have increasingly become a prowling ground for cheats.

At least five men in Singapore found out the hard way, after they were conned of over S$1,500 in total.

The men were approached through Facebook by a “Nicole Tay”, who appealed to them for help with her rent.

“Nicole” disappeared after getting the money.

When the victims went to where “Nicole” lived, they were told by the flat owner that the girl never existed.

The victims are in their 20s, and a few have made police reports.

When contacted, three of them said they agreed to lend “Nicole” money as they had never encountered an online cheat before.

One of them said: “At first, she didn’t mention money. We talked normally as friends. One day, she said her landlord was going to kick her out. She also said she was from Hong Kong and somehow that made it more believable. So I gave her S$50″.

extracted from Channel Newsasia

Android User: Virus Alert

Mark Tan — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 02:13:51 +0000

For all droid users, beware! A new virus that disguise itself as a media player application is sending costly text messages without the users’ consent.

SAN FRANCISCO : Mobile security firm, Lookout, on Tuesday warned that a booby-trapped Movie Player application is infecting Android phones in Russia with a virus that sends costly text messages.

Russia-based Kaspersky Lab discovered the malicious “Trojan” code hidden in a media player application people are enticed to download onto smartphones.

“The new malicious program penetrates smartphones running Android in the guise of a harmless media player application,” Kaspersky said in a blog post.

“The Trojan uses the system to begin sending SMSs to premium rate numbers without the owner’s knowledge or consent, resulting in money passing from a user’s account to that of the cybercriminals.”

The Trojan has apparently only affected handsets operating on Google-backed Android software in Russia.

The Media Player program does ask users to authorize “services that cost you money” prior to installation, according to Lookout, which advised people to protect themselves by refusing to grant such permission.

“With the discovery of this new Android Trojan, it is more important than ever to pay attention to what you’re downloading,” Lookout said.

“Stay alert to ensure that you trust every app you download”.

- AFP/jm

extracted from Channel NewsAsia

Prawning Ponds in Singapore

Mark Tan — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 14:42:13 +0000

Prawning is becoming a increasingly popular hobby in Singapore.

The charge rate is quite standard across the board, $30 for 3 hours. You are able to keep unused hours for subsequent visit.

Below is a consolidation of ponds in Singapore

Punggol Marina [My favorite, at good days, I manage to catch 40+ in 3hrs]

Fresh Water Pond ( Big head prawns)
# 1 hour – $15
# 2 hours – $25
# 3 hours – $30

East Coast Park

Sea Water Pond (Lobsters/Tiger Prawns and Flower Crabs)
# 1 hour – $20
# 2 hours – $35
# 3 hours – $45

Fresh Water Pond ( Big head prawns)
#1 hour – $15
# 2 hours – $25
# 3 hours – $30

Yio Chu Kang

Fresh Water Pond ( Big head prawns)
# 1 hour -$14.50
# 2.5 hours – $29.00
# 4 hours – $43.50

Bishan

Fresh Water Pond ( Big head prawns)
#1 hour – $15
# 2 hours – $25
# 3 hours – $30

Geylang

Fresh Water Pond ( Big head prawns/ Crabs)
#1 hour – $15
# 2 hours – $25
# 3 hours – $30

Pasir Ris

Fresh Water Pond ( Big head prawns)
# 1 hour -$14.50
# 2.5 hours – $29.00
# 4 hours – $43.50

Prawning Guide for Newbie

Mark Tan — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 14:42:41 +0000

# How to setup your prawning rod line? FishingNewsroom

# How to prawn, tips? Sharpion, Fishing Kaki Forum

Sleep: 7 hours a day…

Mark Tan — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 02:53:54 +0000

Latest study of sleep is out… A 7 hours of sleep a day can improve the well-being of our body.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – – People who sleep more or fewer than seven hours a day, including naps, are increasing their risk for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States, a study published Sunday shows.

Sleeping fewer than five hours a day, including naps, more than doubles the risk of being diagnosed with angina, coronary heart disease, heart attack or stroke, the study conducted by researchers at West Virginia University’s (WVU) faculty of medicine and published in the journal “Sleep” says.

And sleeping more than seven hours also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, it says.

Study participants who said they slept nine hours or longer a day were one-and-a-half times more likely than seven-hour sleepers to develop cardiovascular disease, the study found.

The most at-risk group was adults under 60 years of age who slept five hours or fewer a night. They increased their risk of developing cardiovascular disease more than threefold compared to people who sleep seven hours.

Women who skimped on sleep, getting five hours or fewer a day, including naps, were more than two-and-a-half times as likely to develop cardiovascular disease.

Short sleep duration was associated with angina, while both sleeping too little and sleeping too much were associated with heart attack and stroke, the study says.

A separate study, also published in “Sleep”, showed that an occasional long lie-in can be beneficial for those who can’t avoid getting too little sleep.

In that study, David Dinges, who heads the sleep and chronobiology unit at the University of Pennsylvania school of medicine, found that 142 adults whose sleep was severely restricted for five days — as it is for many people during the work week — had slower reaction times and more trouble focusing.

But after a night of recovery sleep, the sleep-deprived study participants’ alertness improved significantly, and the greatest improvements were seen in those who were allowed to spend 10 hours in bed after a week with just four hours’ sleep a night.

“An additional hour or two of sleep in the morning after a period of chronic partial sleep loss has genuine benefits for continued recovery of behavioral alertness,” Dinges said.

In the study about sleep and cardiovascular disease, researchers led by Anoop Shankar, associate professor at WVU’s department of community medicine, analyzed data gathered in a national US study in 2005 on more than 30,000 adults.

The results were adjusted for age, sex, race, whether the person smoked or drank, whether they were fat or slim, and whether they were active or a couch potato.

And even when study participants with diabetes, high blood pressure or depression were excluded from the analysis, the strong association between too much or too little sleep and cardiovascular disease remained.

The authors of the WVU study were unable to determine the causal relationship between how long a person sleeps and cardiovascular disease.

But they pointed out that sleep duration affects endocrine and metabolic functions, and sleep deprivation can lead to impaired glucose tolerance, reduced insulin sensitivity and elevated blood pressure, all of which increase the risk of hardening the arteries.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that most adults get about seven to eight hours of sleep each night.

Shankar suggested that doctors screen for changes in sleep duration when assessing patients’ risk for cardiovascluar disease, and that public health initiatives consider including a focus on improving sleep quality and quantity.

“Sleep” is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.

extracted from Yahoo News

Dan Brown – Lost Symbol

Mark Tan — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:39:51 +0000

Ho ho ho…

Dan Brown – The Lost Symbol Paper Back version is finally in major bookstores.

Just bought it today at Popular bookstore, they have 20% off on Dan Brown series.

A High Price Comedy

Mark Tan — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 14:39:38 +0000

This is an interesting, comical clip showing the reality of our market.

True Spa Business Profile

Mark Tan — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 02:55:15 +0000

For those who are filing to CASE and/or SCT.

True Spa Business Profile can be found below, thanks to Liina (Time-Out Singapore).

True Spa Biz Profile

True Spa – “Truly amazing”

Mark Tan — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 06:23:02 +0000

I am tired of complaining about True Spa which is now under Subtle Senses. They simply know how to irritate and annoy people.

As quoted in another forum “they promise you sky before you sign up, and make sure you fall hard to the ground after you’ve sign up”.

With all the complaints floating around, I guess I am not the only one. The way they do their business, I doubt anyone will patronage their service at all. It is unscrupulous, simply blood suckers! Still can’t believe they earned the “Singapore Excellence Award”.

Here’s a list of places that houses the disgruntled