Another blog or Google Site is already using this address

If your domain is registered with Google (which means your DNS is pointing to Google) and you receive "Another blog or Google Site is already using this address" error when you tried to add your own domain name to Blogspot, do the following

1. Log in to your Google Apps at www.google.com/a/yourdomain

2. Under Dashboard > Service Settings, see if Sites is listed. If it is, skip to step 4.

3. If Sites is not listed,  click on "Add More Services" and click "Add It Now" for Sites.

4. Click on Settings > Sites > Web Address Mapping and remove any mappings there.

5. Under General > Uninstall Service, click on Uninstall Sites.

You can now add your own domain in Blogspot.

To pay off or not to pay off

"Since the interest rate for the 1st $20,000 in your CPF Ordinary Account is higher than the interest of the HDB Concessionary Loan, it would not be prudent to transfer the funds from your CPF Ordinary Account to pay off part off your housing loan as the yield earned on the CPF Ordinary Account is higher than the interest expense of the housing loan"

- http://www.moneytalk.sg/2009/03/cpf-and-hdb-loan.html

"An additional 1% interest will continue to be paid on the first $60,000 of a member’s combined balances, with up to $20,000 from the Ordinary Account (OA). The additional interest received on the OA will go into the member’s SA or RA to enhance his retirement savings"

- http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg/Members/Gen-Info/Int-Rates/Int-Rates.htm

So it make sense to keep the first 20k of your OA as it will earn higher interest compared to HDB loan interest rate. Anything above 20k are better off used to settle our HDB loan.

Faulty instrument approved for use

My wife recently had an assisted delivery in KKH with the use of forceps.

The first attempt failed because the forceps were not in working order. We were fortunate that the doctor that delivered our baby, Dr John Tee, was experienced enough to sense that something was not right with the instrument and quickly removed it and asked for a replacement.

The time wasted could have place both mother and child in a life or death situation. Even if it was not life threatening, both had to endure unnecessary pain. They could have possibly suffered serious injuries as well should it had been an inexperienced doctor instead.

I am appalled that such an important instrument for use in a critical situation such as labor was not checked thoroughly before it was approved for use. I expect a hospital synonymous with childbirth would have strict procedures to ensure that all instruments are safe for use.

Such lapses are inexcuseable.

This woman I call my wife

My wife is a cry baby. She can get upset by the slightest of things and her cries can range from just sniffles to out right wails that can scare even the crows.

Sometimes the things that upset her invokes the wrath in her. When it reaches a level beyond any medical or theological understanding, the frown on her face will make any plastic surgeon raise their hands, palm facing out, saying "We don't have the technology to rectify this".

But it won't take long before silence takes over for a while and slowly her emotion compass points to a different direction and the tears start well up in her eyes.

As her husband, I am privy to all of her various states of emotion. I inherited that privilege from her father who had been the person she went to for comfort when she is in need of that emotional hug.

If it was me who upsets her, then that means I will be in for a marathon console session that sometimes feels like eternity.

No doubt, the passing of her father last Sunday triggers one of her major emotional switches yet again. Seeing her deal with it reminds me of how fragile one can be, no matter how strong a person is, as the case with my wife.

You see, in spite of her emotional frailty, she is one determined woman. When she sets her target on something, she'll do all it takes to reach it. Put stacks of hurdle in front of her and she'll work her way around it. And if all else fails, she'll just bulldoze through it all. 

So she'll be alright, that much I know of her.

If moving on with her life is her next destination, she'll be there, even if it means she'll show up with healed wound marks that will remind of all us of the things that she had to go through in her life. And I'll be right there beside her.