Open invitation to Eric J. Brooks

I refer to this letter by Eric J. Brooks published in the Straits Times.

Thank you Eric for reminding us how lucky we are. He claimed to have known for a long time that no country takes care of its people the way Singapore does. This is after he had lived and worked in six countries.

So I would be grateful if Eric could tell us why is he still holding on to his Canadian passport if Singapore is the best country he had lived and worked in? You cannot recommend something you claimed to be best to a friend but you yourself using something else right? That don't reflect well on one's credibility.

Couple of reasons I can think of why he is not a Singapore citizen yet.

- he has applied but got rejected
- application is still pending
- he plans to
- he never even gave it a thought

I hope to see his pink identification card soon and welcome his hopefully as my neighbour. As the saying goes, walk the talk.

Guaranteed monthly amount is not feasible

CPF Life payouts are for life although the law does not provide for it, assured Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong. But premiums and payouts are at the Government's discretion. A guaranteed monthly amount is not feasible and that it would be adjusted regularly to ensure the fund's solvency.

Does that sound right to you? Two things here.

1. Payouts are for life but not written in law. That means, they can simply say 'thank you for your money' and stop paying you in the future when the fund runs out.

2. The payout can be any amount and just have to suck your thumb if it's peanuts (not Mrs Goh's version of peanuts, mind you)

So do you have a choice to opt out? Sorry. Law says you are in if you have over $40k in your CPF which means they'll take your money and will assure you the above.

And compare this with the one reported by CNA where this crucial information are excluded. Strange? Not not all coming from a state's times.

Previously, the scam scheme forfeits the balance payout if you kick the bucket earlier than than the period covered. After strong objections from the ground, they change to this risk-free (to them) plan.

I am so blessed to be a Singaporean!

Cloning SLES in Citrix Xen

Virtualisation is not only great in production environment but also the best way when it comes to development.

One of the most common and extremely useful feature is cloning of another virtual machine as it will save you a lot of time and also resources. However, when you clone using the the 'Fast' method, you will face problem with the network card as the MAC address will be similar. This affects mostly Linux distros as Windows will boot the NIC as a new card and take in the MAC address assigned by the XenServer.

For SLES, there are a couple of things you need to do overcome this. First, take note of the correct MAC address which is displayed at the network tab of the cloned VM.

Once you have the info, move the network card configuration file to reflect the right MAC address, eg

cd /etc/sysconfig/network/
mv ifcfg-eth-id-5e\:7f\:45\:e6\:46\:29 ifcfg-eth-id-aa\:fa\:53\:65\:40\:92

If you want to make the network card as a DHCP client, then edit the /var/lib/dhcpcd/dhcpcd-eth0.info file. At the bottom of the file, update the entry with the correct MAC address, eg

CLIENTID=AA:FA:53:65:40:92

Save the file, then run the network configuration wizard using YaST and you're good to go.

No shame

I refer to the article Government in talks with Marina Bay Sands over delay where one of the cause is a possible staff shortage as observers note Singaporeans tend to shy away from the gaming industry.

Are there figures to back up this claim or this is just another excuse not to employ locals, the direct opposite why the IR was built in the first place?

Rest poor child

This article is specially written for my love who is still distraught by the death of Michael Jackson.

I have always believed, and still do, that Michael Jackson had a very troubled childhood. Having it robbed by his overnight rise to stardom, he longs to correct it even till his death.

Most do not see the evidence - the ranch, his love for children, his inability to make good decisions when it comes to managing his life; clear cut signs that he is still a child at heart. Instead people are busy milking every single cent in his name while they can. His death means the cash register will be busy for sometime and probably a long time too.

Being a star is not all glimmers. The list of those whose life turn for the worse, even with the term poverty erased from their dictionary, is endless. As a star, just like a politician, you lose your privacy. In order to protect whatever you have left, you tend to be a very private person, with only those close to you as friends or family. Problem is, are those people really your friends or family? We all know how money and greed can make some people do even the most despicable things.

Most people only know him either because of his fame, his weird face or because of his molest case. Those who thinks he turned wacko because of his declining popularity should consider the fact that the main reason for his comeback concert is his children. Those who thinks he is a wacko for performing numerous operations on his face should consider the fact that with a proper advice, no one would want to torture themselves that way. Those who thinks that he a pedophile should consider the that fact that if he was rich and money was involved here.

All he wanted was to relive his childhood, and make it a happy one but many are still blind to the reason why he is weird, strange or whatever label they came out with. They forget that most people who are talented are 'different'. That is reason why they are talented. If they are the same as any normal people, they would be normal and not talented.

You no longer need to prove to anyone anymore Michael. It's time to rest.