My article in today's The Star Newspaper.
OF late, there have been vehicles catching fire in accidents resulting in death. There is a regulation requiring all public service vehicles to have fire extinguishers but not private vehicles.
I think it is high time that such regulation be applied to all motor vehicles for the benefit of everyone.
At the cost of a few hundred ringgit, the fire extinguisher helps to save lives. Whenever a vehicle catches fire, every other vehicle can chip in if they are equipped with a fire extinguisher. Maybe insurance companies can give rebates on this because it helps to prevent a total loss of the insured vehicle which is on fire, thus saving them a heavy payout for the vehicle. I am sure everyone would be proud to help when a car is on fire.
The cost may be a bit stiff for some owners but it is only a one-time payment and a fire extinguisher has a long life span.
The move could start with all new vehicle registration. Like the first aid kits and hazard triangles, a fire extinguisher should be made compulsory.
K.C. KHOO,
Tg. Bungah, Penang.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Make housing affordable to the poor
My article in the The Star Newspaper on September 13, 2010
HOUSING is becoming out of reach for the majority of our population. The price of houses is being raised higher and higher, and from what I have observed, most new housing schemes are unoccupied, which means they are either bought by foreigners or speculators.
The trend now is to build super condominiums or three-storey houses, which are beyond the reach of ordinary folk. Therefore, we welcome the move by the Government to cap housing loans at 80%, which will result in housing being more affordable to the people.
The move will stabilise house prices andwith lower loans, there will be fewer speculators.
The Government should also implement a by-law for housing schemes above a certain acreage to include a certain percentage of double-storey houses and/or apartments. This cap can indirectly make housing more accessible to the poorer section of our population.
K.C. KHOO,
Tanjong Bungah.
HOUSING is becoming out of reach for the majority of our population. The price of houses is being raised higher and higher, and from what I have observed, most new housing schemes are unoccupied, which means they are either bought by foreigners or speculators.
The trend now is to build super condominiums or three-storey houses, which are beyond the reach of ordinary folk. Therefore, we welcome the move by the Government to cap housing loans at 80%, which will result in housing being more affordable to the people.
The move will stabilise house prices andwith lower loans, there will be fewer speculators.
The Government should also implement a by-law for housing schemes above a certain acreage to include a certain percentage of double-storey houses and/or apartments. This cap can indirectly make housing more accessible to the poorer section of our population.
K.C. KHOO,
Tanjong Bungah.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Not a very sporting edge
My article in yesterday's The Star.
Monday July 12, 2010
I THINK the people at the Education Ministry have not done their homework if they want to make sports a compulsory component for those wanting to enter public universities.
This is because each school has a different niche for different sports. If a student is inclined towards a certain sport and his school doesn't offer it, how is he going to shine?
What about the physically impaired, obese, thin and tiny students?
Also, does every school have enough qualified teachers or instructors to cater to different sports?
Unlike uniformed bodies, which a large number of students can participate in, competitive sports cannot handle large numbers.
The teachers or instructors simply cannot cope with individual needs in such sports. Under such circumstances, most of the students will not be able to have qualified guidance.
And how are we going to grade them? Will the champions be the only ones to get full marks? How many champions or top athletes can a school produce?
And how many schools can produce top athletes? Rural schools or those in poorer states would be disadvantaged if the proposal is implemented.
It is therefore not fair to have such a condition when some schools have more qualified teachers or instructors and more money.
KC KHOO, Penang.
Monday July 12, 2010
I THINK the people at the Education Ministry have not done their homework if they want to make sports a compulsory component for those wanting to enter public universities.
This is because each school has a different niche for different sports. If a student is inclined towards a certain sport and his school doesn't offer it, how is he going to shine?
What about the physically impaired, obese, thin and tiny students?
Also, does every school have enough qualified teachers or instructors to cater to different sports?
Unlike uniformed bodies, which a large number of students can participate in, competitive sports cannot handle large numbers.
The teachers or instructors simply cannot cope with individual needs in such sports. Under such circumstances, most of the students will not be able to have qualified guidance.
And how are we going to grade them? Will the champions be the only ones to get full marks? How many champions or top athletes can a school produce?
And how many schools can produce top athletes? Rural schools or those in poorer states would be disadvantaged if the proposal is implemented.
It is therefore not fair to have such a condition when some schools have more qualified teachers or instructors and more money.
KC KHOO, Penang.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Restaurant City Tips and Tricks.
I become addicted to Restaurant City after my friends insisted I join them so that they can get a free ingredient by visiting my restaurant and also to exchange my tomato with them.
I have been playing it for a month and has since gained some insight to pass on some tips and tricks to new comers and those who has no time to digest the game properly.
Today, Restaurant City has introduced a new group of recipe, Drink, from level 15 onwards to the other 3 groups i.e. Starter, Main and Dessert.
What is Restaurant City?
It is a game developed by Playfish on Facebook.
How to get started?
Once you have opened an account you will get a head start for one recipe each at level 1 on the 4 group of recipes and some ingredients and money.
How do you get ingredients?
You can get ingredients in 4 ways. The first is the daily freebie which is automatically given to you as soon as you log in each day. The next is the daily quiz. Each day, you receive a food quiz in your inbox. If you answer the food quiz correctly, you get a free ingredient. The 3rd when you visit a friend’s restaurant FOR THE FIRST TIME ONLY. The last way is to buy from The Ingredient Market. Each day, there are 3 random items for sale and it is between 2 to 5 thousand dollars each! You can also exchange ingredients with your friends.
How do you get GP?
You get GP only when the game is RUNNING. You can minimize and switch to other windows for other works in your computer. While you can gain money even if you’re offline, GP can only be gained when the game is on.
GP
GP means gourmet points. That’s the little status bar on the top of your screen that lets you know when you’ll level up next for a new employee or bigger restaurant.
Quick Coins
Get quick coins by picking up trash and shaking trees. While you’re in restaurant view, scroll around your lot. Click all the trees and some of them will drop coins. Trash appears when you open your game each time. Although, you can shake the trees from other restaurants it is not advisable because your GP stops once you leave your restaurant. A better way is to pick-up trash because there are more and you could get awarded.
Trash
You can collect trash by visiting restaurants at Random Street and also rate them. Spot the restaurants at Gourmet Street with the most trash. The position and trash at these restaurants can move and you should learn to identify them! The maximum number of trash in these restaurant is 15 pieces and they are sometimes hidden from view!
Awards
Awards level are from Bronze, Silver to Gold. You get these awards from a doing a few things like picking trash, visiting friends, exchanging ingredients, beautifying your restaurant, giving gifts, rating other restaurants etc.
Recipes Level
Your restaurant can only serve one dish from each group (starter, main, dessert and drink) at a time. So, choose one recipe, click to make sure it’s the recipe being served, and level that up. The higher the level of the recipe being served, the higher GP you get. Concentrate on each recipe until you reached level 10. Level 1 starts with 1.0 point and every next level has an increment of 0.2 point. Therefore at level 10 you will get 2.8 points from the customer. So stick to one. Unfortunately, a recipe’s level has no effect on money gains which is 2 dollars from each customer.
Update
Restaurant City has allowed the number of recipes to be served as from today! At
level 15 the recipes will be 2 for each group and 3 from level 20 onwards but you still
stick to one each to get maximum GP point!
Number of tables required
Right now I am working on 15 tables and chairs plus 4 Arcade Machines and 2 spare chairs. When the 15 tables are occupied the next customers will go to the spare chairs and then the Arcade Machines if tables still not available. They will leave after that without complaining. If there are too many tables, they will go to the tables and complain when food and drinks are not served and your popularity will drop.
Complaint
The common complaints from customers are: no table, no chair, no toilet bowl, floor dirty, table dirty, food slow, drink slow etc. Once they complaint, your Popularity rating drops.
Popularity Rating
The maximum level is 50 where you have the most patronage. Customers’ arrival will drop as the level drop.
How to keep your Employees Happy?
Monitor your employees’ happiness. The higher the level the faster they work. Once the level drops to below 80% your Popularity rating will start to drop too.
Rest or Feed?
You can rest about half of your employees and feed the other half to 75% level. And, you will get a maximum of 2000 dollars if you close your game and come back again in about 3 hours time. At present, you can engage a maximum of 8 employees after a certain level. If you feed all of them a maximum of 200 each, you will get a balance of 400 dollars only from the 2000 you received. Therefore, feed them a banana each at 160 dollars X 4 equals 640 dollars and you get a balance of 1360 dollars! If you feed them too little or came back too soon you would get less than 2000.
Can I close my shop?
Yes you can. Simply block the door with something like a chair, table or your mailbox. Or you can just remove the door itself.
I have been playing it for a month and has since gained some insight to pass on some tips and tricks to new comers and those who has no time to digest the game properly.
Today, Restaurant City has introduced a new group of recipe, Drink, from level 15 onwards to the other 3 groups i.e. Starter, Main and Dessert.
What is Restaurant City?
It is a game developed by Playfish on Facebook.
How to get started?
Once you have opened an account you will get a head start for one recipe each at level 1 on the 4 group of recipes and some ingredients and money.
How do you get ingredients?
You can get ingredients in 4 ways. The first is the daily freebie which is automatically given to you as soon as you log in each day. The next is the daily quiz. Each day, you receive a food quiz in your inbox. If you answer the food quiz correctly, you get a free ingredient. The 3rd when you visit a friend’s restaurant FOR THE FIRST TIME ONLY. The last way is to buy from The Ingredient Market. Each day, there are 3 random items for sale and it is between 2 to 5 thousand dollars each! You can also exchange ingredients with your friends.
How do you get GP?
You get GP only when the game is RUNNING. You can minimize and switch to other windows for other works in your computer. While you can gain money even if you’re offline, GP can only be gained when the game is on.
GP
GP means gourmet points. That’s the little status bar on the top of your screen that lets you know when you’ll level up next for a new employee or bigger restaurant.
Quick Coins
Get quick coins by picking up trash and shaking trees. While you’re in restaurant view, scroll around your lot. Click all the trees and some of them will drop coins. Trash appears when you open your game each time. Although, you can shake the trees from other restaurants it is not advisable because your GP stops once you leave your restaurant. A better way is to pick-up trash because there are more and you could get awarded.
Trash
You can collect trash by visiting restaurants at Random Street and also rate them. Spot the restaurants at Gourmet Street with the most trash. The position and trash at these restaurants can move and you should learn to identify them! The maximum number of trash in these restaurant is 15 pieces and they are sometimes hidden from view!
Awards
Awards level are from Bronze, Silver to Gold. You get these awards from a doing a few things like picking trash, visiting friends, exchanging ingredients, beautifying your restaurant, giving gifts, rating other restaurants etc.
Recipes Level
Your restaurant can only serve one dish from each group (starter, main, dessert and drink) at a time. So, choose one recipe, click to make sure it’s the recipe being served, and level that up. The higher the level of the recipe being served, the higher GP you get. Concentrate on each recipe until you reached level 10. Level 1 starts with 1.0 point and every next level has an increment of 0.2 point. Therefore at level 10 you will get 2.8 points from the customer. So stick to one. Unfortunately, a recipe’s level has no effect on money gains which is 2 dollars from each customer.
Update
Restaurant City has allowed the number of recipes to be served as from today! At
level 15 the recipes will be 2 for each group and 3 from level 20 onwards but you still
stick to one each to get maximum GP point!
The ratio of Cook, Waiter and Table
The ratio of Cook to Waiter is about 2 to 1 respectively. Arrange your tables in a way that your waiters don’t have to walk too far to serve to cut time. The waiters can serve tables diagonally so as long as the square they’re standing in has contact with the table. The number of tables depends on the complaint received as you progresses to a new Game and Satisfaction levels.
Number of tables required
Right now I am working on 15 tables and chairs plus 4 Arcade Machines and 2 spare chairs. When the 15 tables are occupied the next customers will go to the spare chairs and then the Arcade Machines if tables still not available. They will leave after that without complaining. If there are too many tables, they will go to the tables and complain when food and drinks are not served and your popularity will drop.
Complaint
The common complaints from customers are: no table, no chair, no toilet bowl, floor dirty, table dirty, food slow, drink slow etc. Once they complaint, your Popularity rating drops.
Popularity Rating
The maximum level is 50 where you have the most patronage. Customers’ arrival will drop as the level drop.
How to keep your Employees Happy?
Monitor your employees’ happiness. The higher the level the faster they work. Once the level drops to below 80% your Popularity rating will start to drop too.
Rest or Feed?
You can rest about half of your employees and feed the other half to 75% level. And, you will get a maximum of 2000 dollars if you close your game and come back again in about 3 hours time. At present, you can engage a maximum of 8 employees after a certain level. If you feed all of them a maximum of 200 each, you will get a balance of 400 dollars only from the 2000 you received. Therefore, feed them a banana each at 160 dollars X 4 equals 640 dollars and you get a balance of 1360 dollars! If you feed them too little or came back too soon you would get less than 2000.
Can I close my shop?
Yes you can. Simply block the door with something like a chair, table or your mailbox. Or you can just remove the door itself.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Jail poachers and smugglers
My article in the Star today.
Thursday September 11, 2008
Jail poachers and smugglers
THERE is news every two weeks or so about smuggling of wild animals like pangolins, pythons or poaching of wild animals like tigers, wild boar, honey bears, etc. I believe there are instances where these encounters are not reported or were settled quietly.
These activities are harming our wildlife and threatening their existence. I believe our laws are not strict and deterrent enough. We should pass a law where smugglers will face mandatory jail terms, and buyers or middlemen a heavy fine and their shop closed down.
Only then will the smuggling, poaching and eating stop.
K.C. KHOO,
Penang.
Thursday September 11, 2008
Jail poachers and smugglers
THERE is news every two weeks or so about smuggling of wild animals like pangolins, pythons or poaching of wild animals like tigers, wild boar, honey bears, etc. I believe there are instances where these encounters are not reported or were settled quietly.
These activities are harming our wildlife and threatening their existence. I believe our laws are not strict and deterrent enough. We should pass a law where smugglers will face mandatory jail terms, and buyers or middlemen a heavy fine and their shop closed down.
Only then will the smuggling, poaching and eating stop.
K.C. KHOO,
Penang.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Money No Enough 2
Last night I went to watch this Singaporean movie by Jack Neo.
The movie is quite tear-jerking when the Alzheimer stricken mother played by Lai Ming, is being push around by her 3 filial sons when they are at their worst moments. The 1st son, played by Henry Thia, wants to become a mananger and own a car as soon as possible. The 2nd son, Neo, wants to earn as much bucks as possible by speculating in properties and the last son, Mark Lee, wants to expand his multi-level marketing "bee pollen" product.
I could hear some sobbing among the audience during heart wenching moment.
You can read more of the stories by looking up in the net.
The movie is quite tear-jerking when the Alzheimer stricken mother played by Lai Ming, is being push around by her 3 filial sons when they are at their worst moments. The 1st son, played by Henry Thia, wants to become a mananger and own a car as soon as possible. The 2nd son, Neo, wants to earn as much bucks as possible by speculating in properties and the last son, Mark Lee, wants to expand his multi-level marketing "bee pollen" product.
I could hear some sobbing among the audience during heart wenching moment.
You can read more of the stories by looking up in the net.
Landslides in Penang
I came to know that September is a rainy month several years ago. I am from the public bus service industry and from our record our fare collection is the lowest in September each year.
So, it is no surprise that there are floods and landslides in Penang yesterday. There are landslides in practically all the hilly areas.
Yesterday, I went hiking in the morning from Youth Park to Point No 3 and No 5 towards Point 84 but have to turn back because there was a landslide halfway between No 5 and 84. It is practically impassable. I wonder whether an d when the state council would clear up the trail since it is deep in the hill and used only by hikers and some mountain bikers?
I returned using the trail ending at Moon Gate. I dont know what is the trail name.
So, it is no surprise that there are floods and landslides in Penang yesterday. There are landslides in practically all the hilly areas.
Yesterday, I went hiking in the morning from Youth Park to Point No 3 and No 5 towards Point 84 but have to turn back because there was a landslide halfway between No 5 and 84. It is practically impassable. I wonder whether an d when the state council would clear up the trail since it is deep in the hill and used only by hikers and some mountain bikers?
I returned using the trail ending at Moon Gate. I dont know what is the trail name.
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