Singaporean Tai-tais

This is the first time I have ever won anything- and it’s a million dollars! Are you a winner too?

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Dear Winner,

The Board of Directors of Microsoft Worldwide Co-operation
announces to you as one of our 30 lucky winners this Year’s
draw held on 2nd of May 2008.

All 30 winning Email Addresses were randomly selected from a
batch of 786,000 international emails world-wide.
And your email address emerged along side with 29 others as
the Third category winner. Consequently you have therefore been
approved for a total pay out of US$1,000,000:00
(One Million United States Dollars) only.
Your winnings fall in our United Kingdom collation center agent
Greg is our uk claims manger you are to contact him for your claims,
by providing him with below information:

Mr.Greg Andrew
Microsoft Promotion
Award Team
Phone/fax: +44 7031987567
Email:Email: grgandrewclaims@hotmail.com or mclcmclaims@gmail.com

Payment Processing Form:

1. Full Names:
2. Postal Address:
3. Nationality:
4. Age: 5. Sex:
6. Occupation:
7. Phone/Fax:
8. Country Of Residence:
9. Current Email Address:

Anita Derick
Administrative Manager
Microsoft Promo.
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Last night I watched yet another episode of CSI: Miami and couldn’t believe I sat through it. Don’t get me wrong, I love CSI but I can’t stand one character, the language and pose challenged David Caruso. And yet, this post is not even about that type of CSI.

This is a gripe about the other CSI: Continual Service Improvement. Right now, our business is overrun with people who want anything and everything to be hooked up to an IT system of some sort. I love technology and am all for improving efficiency and lowering costs. But I also believe, at the heart of the business, training and appreciating people is far more important than automating and handling everything with strict processes.

At the end of the day, its the people who actually do the work so whatever CSI is implemented, the staff don’t only need to get certification and MCSE training , as in our case, but also actually believe that the system benefits everyone, internal and external. Without the “buy in”, the organization just runs into a lot of resistance both in training and actual implementation. The talk around the proverbial water cooler also becomes one filled with complaints and jaded comments and just brings everyone’s morale down.

People always resist change unless they can clearly see how it benefits them or others.

Few people make their way to Lim Chu Kang where the cemeteries, fish farms, and NS Men live. You actually can’t tell that training is taking place there save for the occasional sign warning you that you will be shot if you trespass. This past weekend though we saw army boys everywhere and it didn’t dawn on us until later that its because of Mas Selamat who is still at large.

In the meantime, I’ve noticed, and I don’t think its a coincidence, a rise in the number of commercials, documentaries, articles, about Singapore’s army and how sophisticated it is. And yet, this man, who is limping, who the government believes had no help whatsoever and escaped on a whim, is still “eating berries” (LKY’s thoughts) as a free man.

Learn more about Singapore’s Army
Army Museum of Singapore (next to Discovery Centre)
520 Upper Jurong Road 638367

Free entry for all visitors till 30th June 2008
Closed on Mondays

ABOUT
Singapore’s very first army museum has six galleries detailing the history of the army and the contributions of National Service (NS) men. Among the 500 sets of artefacts are collections of medals, personal mementos from ex-NS men and a mock-up of a 1970s trainee bunk. Visitors can also enjoy a 30-minute interactive video, ‘A Day in the Life’, depicting a modern army in battle, complete with the ‘sounds and smells’ of warfare, as well as games on battle simulators.