Minimal Invasive Surgery of Mitral Valve

People born with heart diseases are a minority but it is something we should not take lightly too. In some cases, some developed complications that may require coronary bypass or mitral valve repair surgery. Although abnormal, a leaky mitral valve or stenosis of the mitral valve do happen. As Science and Technology progresses, cardiac surgeons are now professionally able to treat the patients with regugitation to have their mitral valve repaired with a minimally invasive mitral valve repair surgery. This method is less stressful and also some patients actually do return to their normal activity right after a surgery is done.

University of Maryland Medical Center provides comprehensive care and specialty services and departments, such as their Maryland Heart Center that specializes in surgical treatment of valvular disease. Under the professional hands of the cardiac surgeons in Maryland Heart Center, the percentage of patients having their mitral valve repaired are well above the national average of 55 percent. A mitral valve repair (instead of mitral valve replacement) patient has an advantage of a reduced risk of stroke and also freedom from having to undergo long-term treatment using blood thinners and longer term survial rate.

To gain more understanding about this treatment, you may like to read about mitral valve surgery provided by Maryland Heart Center. Insights of the many success stories from the patients who underwent mitral valve repair will be helpful too.

Singapore Green Living

Singapore is trying to make the country as eco friendly as possible. Reduce, Recycling, and Reusable had been the green friendly slogan for many around the world. A website was launched recently on 29 July to make the public conscious about how reuse items can be part of our lives by swopping them. The website, called YouSwop is to encourage Singaporeans to exchange unwanted items they have for those that they need, thus reducing the need to purchase.

Over 700 suggestions from the public was also received over how to create this eco friendly environment. Some contributed ideas about using own containers to buy staples like rice, oil, shampoo to promote reuse and also reduce the need for these plastic bottles. How efficient. I am one for that. I remember The Body Shop is one friendly retail that lets you top up your cosmetic and toiletries by bringing your own bottle. That is what I call friendly to the Earth.

I am sure if they can do it, retails like NTUC, Cold Storage could give it a try by setting up a corner where large bags of staples are. And we can buy those items we need with our own containers.

Where To Find Top Websites

Do you have a website you enjoy going to? Perhaps you might want to share the good things about this website in cyberspace too. There is a place where you can add this site to and if it is already found in the list, find out about why others enjoy visiting it. Make new friends, check out new shopping sites or those that have been reviewed and why it is so popular.

If you have a business, you may also like to add your online store in this Web Site Reviews site and get some increased traffic. Learn about the shortcomings of your online store why it is not doing so well. Your visitors' comments will be a good way to understand how to change for the better. Learn from the Top Websites and you may pick up some useful tips.

Organ Trading in Singapore is Illegal

Organ trading is an illegal business in Singapore. The only organ donation that is legal is only when the donor and patient can show proofs of relation. This is to prevent the exploitation of trading in organs for money especially within poor folks who have the disadvantage of making informed choices.

A recent case involving Singapore's retail magnate had just been heard. Mr Tang, falsely declared that the donor of the kidney was a relative was charged in Singapore's first organ trading case. In Singapore such an arrangement is illegal and the Government usually takes action for such cases to a maximum of 3 years in jail and a fine.

Two Indonesians were sentenced to jailed and fined for their actions to sell one of their kidneys to Mr Tang, for US$16,000. This case was alerted when the sale did not go through when Toni (the donor) had donated his kidney instead to another Indonesian patient before the operation took place. He was paid more than what was offered by Mr Tang. As such it led to some fishy business for such investigations.

There are many Singaporeans who are waiting for kidneys, and there are not many to go around, frankly. What should these people do? In a desperate move to survive, would you consider it against the law? Just like a poor begger who has no food to eat and ends up stealing food from a shop, actually meant no harm. It is all because of the survival instincts. We are humans. The fittest survives, the weakest are sometimes challenged.

Travel With Ease

Singaporeans are well known for their penchant for interest in traveling all over the world. They never get enough of seeing the world since they lived in a small little island and the only way to see the world would be to go all out. Holiday period will see many of them going abroad to popular cities like London and Sydney to exotic ones like Turkey, Rome and Madrid to savour the different culture, sights, food and people of different countries.

During this period, it is a mad rush for airline tickets and accommodation to get a value for money package in their travels plans. To keep prices low, they sometimes will source out the internet for the best bargains, comparing hotels or accommodation with others and also try to look for activities for the whole family during this time.

Instead of looking all over the place, try HotelClub, an online website that provides tourists and visitors the best of everything. With a large choice of over 35,000 choices of accommodation, you will never run out of places to stay in over 5,300 cities worldwide throughout as many as 120 countries. They have a list of budget, deluxe or luxury stay for you to pick from. These include the small motels, boutique hotels, resorts and even apartments for those who may like to travel in a family. It is a great place to look for as you can even find many last minute deals available. They handle everything from car hire, transfer, itinerary, group booking, sightseeing, flights and even travel insurance. There is no worrying about what you may have missed out should you decide to sign up with them. Read the customers' reviews to know how each hotel is fared.

To cater to customers from many regions or countries, they even provide their services in twelve languages such as French, Chinese, German, Italian and more. Make HotelClub part of your life and see the world with ease.

Hello Kitty Lantern Festival in Singapore

Singapore is a magical place when it comes to festive periods. As the 7th month festival of the Hungry Ghost comes to an end soon, we will see the Lantern Festival light ups once again. Like every year, Singapore Chinatown is filled with beautiful lanterns, lightings all in the theme during this chinese 8th month festival. This year, at the Chinese Garden, you will be able to savour the beautiful lights of Sanrio's popular icon - Hello Kitty Go Races! in the Lantern Fantasy 2008.

Here are the details:
Fantasy 8 races with Hello Kitty & Friends

Location: Chinese Garden
Operating Hours: 6pm - 11pm daily
Price :
Non Peak (Mon - Thu) - $12 adult / $8 child (below 12 years)
Peak (Fri - Sun) - $15 adult / $10 child (below 12 years)

Tickets are available at the gate entrance (cash payment) / AXS Stations islandwide.

More information about it can be found here.

Looking For A Web Host

Before you start getting your website up, you will need to look for the right web hosting company. There is no such thing as one that suits all purpose because there are many aspects you need to look into before you decide to register with a web host. If you do a search, you will find that there are many to choose from and each web hosting company will boast about the advantages of their service.

Before you make the decision, look into the kind of website you wish to have. Are you looking into a personal or a business website. How about traffic of your site? If it is simply for friends and family and exclusive, it makes sense to find budgeted or even free website hosting for more value. However, if you are going to be expecting lots of traffic for business prospects or business revenue, you definitely need one that has good bandwidth, unlimited traffic and one that can handle e-commerce hosting well.

Hostings come with different pricing and different value for different packages. Choose one that suits your needs. There are many top hostings that targets different needs like Best Budget Hosting, Best Blog Hosting and more. Most importantly, read the reviews from the real people who have been with them to see how reliable they are or value for money. And lastly, don't forget to do a search for coupon codes for discounts that can help you save some money.

COMEX IT Exhibition in Singapore

If you are in Singapore this weekend 28 - 31 August 2008, don't forget to visit Singapore's largest IT & Consumer Technology Exhibition. It will be located at the Suntec City Exhibition Centre and it will be really an enormous show.

Why? It will cover as many as 5 Levels of exhibition floor space! Opening hours are from 12noon to 9pm daily. As usual, there will be lots of goodies that awaits you. All the major IT brands will be there. It will be just fabulous! From Audio, Electronics, Hardware, Digital Imaging, Mobile, Storage, Multimedia, Gaming, Softwares and more, you will ha Eve lots of bargains from as many as 800 exhibitors! There will be many Exclusive Show Offers, Great Bargains and Huge Savings in the exhibition.

Many IT enthusiasts travel to Singapore just for the COMEX exhibition as they fetch the best bargains in the region. Don't forget to keep the dates free!

Registered Sexual Predators Information Online

This world is becoming unsafe with for many of us. Criminal offences and burglary are a big concern. How would you keep your family safe? Young children are innocent and are unable to defend for themselves. A case concerning a young child by the name of Megan Kanka had been sexually raped and then brutally murdered right in her own neighbourhood. None of her family know that a sexual predator had moved nearby just across the street off the family home. If Megan's family had known that such a person lives nearby, perhaps she could have been protected. As such, a new refined law, named as Megan's Law took effect to protect other innocent young children who could fall into the hands of a repeat violent sexual offender.

With Megan's Law, the public is kept informed of any Sexual Predators who lived in the vicnity or any where in the States. The public can just key in their zip codes and know details such as names, faces and know where these offenders live. Let's keep our neighbourhood safe and be alert.

One World International School For Expat Children In Singapore

In Singapore, the demand for International Schools are high. There are about 40 international schools currently and it is struggling with rising demand. However, the parents who have been on long waiting lists, will be relieved to know that a new foreign school called One World International School will be opening it's doors as soon as September. That is good news to some who had to send few of their children in different schools due to restricted places in current schools. The new school will have a capacity of taking in as many as 450 students when it is opened. The school programmes are accredited by the University of Cambridge. It is also built with facilities in the nearby site like gymnasium, tennis courts and multi purpose auditorium.

One World International School will be located in Upper Changi Road East. It is being set up by Nishant Garodia, a Mumbai based businessman who plans to take his One World branding beyond Singapore.

With the additon of this school, it will definitely relieve the crunch of places for expatriates' school going kids. At present other international schools have even worked in a guarantee fee of up to 6 digits, just to guarantee for a placement in the school. However, One World International School has no plans to do so, much to the relieve of some parents.

Singapore WaterFest

Staying in Singapore means there's always activities going around the island. From 30th Aug to 11th Oct 2008 is the WaterFest 2008. WaterFest is a family entertainment that had been running for the 4th year in Singapore. It covers 6 weeks of exciting water sports activities for young and old. No ticket is applicable and the venue is usually spread out all over Singapore.

Some of the events listed are:



6th Annual REEF Wakefest 30 Aug - 31 Aug
11th Western Circuit Sailing Regatta 30 Aug
Playboating Performance 6 Sep - 11 Oct
Learn To Play Aqua Aerobics Course 30 Aug - 12 Oct
Discover Scuba 30 Aug - 5 Oct


You migh find out more information about WaterFest from this official site:
http://www.waterfestsingapore.com/

Intercity Dating for Singaporeans

Singaporean singles are expanding. Many of them are not gettting married earlier, or not at all. Some had been working hard to build up their careers or did not really find a suitable match for him or her. Singaporean men are also finding it harder to find wives locally because many of the Singaporean women are busy with careers, want men with higher expectations, some prefer to say single and some just didn't have the time. As such, matchmaking agencies in Singapore are also increasing in revenues. However as the demand for singles to seek out these dating agencies increases, dating agencies are seeking many new methods to sustrain the growth.

By expanding it's pool of people, the chances could be higher for Singaporeans to pair up. A dating agency, called It's Just Lunch had also devised letting it's customers from Bangkok and Singapore meet up. This is the first 'Intercity' dating launched by the agency. Their singles client base are made up of high-income singles like bankers, lawyers and doctors.

Perhaps this will aid the growth of our low birth rate society soon?

The Need To Create Awareness

Advertising is an important factor for a business to stay competitive. Without awareness of the product, company or service, the company will lose out to other related or in the competitive market. Among the many methods of advertising are the gifts of promotional gifts. The reason for these gifts is to remind the business associate, customers or even internal employess of the existence of the business or company. Some travel agencies gladly gives out promotional items like small tote bags, umbrellas, passport holders to keep the customers happy and be reminded of the travel agency should they be using these items for a period of time.

Various corporate gifts are also distributed among business partners and associates. They are popular in large organisations and given out during seminars, talks, and other events. Some promotional gifts are distributed free in exhibitions or trade fairs to gain some attention from the public and advertise the company's potential as well. By having the company logo printed on the materials and a contact number or email address, the customer or client will never be short of a call away should he or she need to request for any service or product enquiry.

Overseas Singaporeans Enjoy New Voting Procedures

It is good news for Singaporeans who are based overseas. Voting is made easier in the next General Elections, 2011. Previously, only those who had registered withing the 21 days of the register of election being opened, are allowed. The new rules that were just passed on Monday, in Parliament were to allow those qualified for voting criteria to register online, anytime before the write of elections is being issued. That certainly made things easier because in the past, some Singaporeans who were based overseas were disappointed when they travelled far to the nearest polling stations overseas were turned down because they didn't register during the 21 day window.

Other than new rules like online registrations anytime, these Singaporeans will also enjoy longer voting hours if necessary. If you are a Singaporean, and eligible for voting, you might like to register online now.

Hosting Information

With the popularity of blogs, e-commerce and informative resource available on the net, it makes sense to own your personal domain page. Many bloggers started off writing on free hosted sites for the experience. When they find that there's more to it, many of them decided that they would get a unique name of their choice with a domain and get it hosted. Small, middle and large companies are also getting more publicity and revenue when they have their own online stores because the cyberspace is vast out there.

With so many hosting companies out there, how do you know which one works for you? Trial and error is a task that takes time. Before you should plunge into it, some research about the pros and cons is vital to shortlist the ones that are beneficial to you. There is no point paying an extravagant fee for a blog. However if you are building an e-commerce site, you may want to consider those that provide high security, speed and capacity. Some provides easy navigation for you to seek help in their 24 hours live chat, toll-free number or to access their web hosting tutorials.

Reading up on web hosting articles is one sure way to understand what you need to know before you register with a hosting company. Get to know why the Top 10 Web Hosting company are popular and list out their advantages and disadvantages. Find out the truth about cheap hosting and if they can bring you the value you need.

Women Versus Men Employees

I have this nagging question about maternity issues as a matter of fact. The government is helping mothers in increasing maternity leaves, adding child care leaves, and more benefits. However I do worry about some state of companies about hiring employees. Does that make married couples, especially the women become victims of poor value for employment? If a company were to hire a key management, would he hire a woman (who had just gotten married not too long) with no kids or would he prefer to hire one who had probably married for years with children or would he hire one that is still single. Or would he just give this position up and hire a man instead. No company would let their management be absent for as long as 4 months, I believe. And if the one to replace this woman (while on maternity leave), that would mean, the one on leave can be considered redundant?

I've heard about the value of a male employee is worth more than the woman, thus the men gets a much higher salary compared with the woman. Would that be what becomes of Singapore?

Great Gifts for Moms

Mommies are important. They play the role of caring the young from the birth of their baby. It is tough taking care of newborns and some moms feel unappreciated. Perhaps that is the reason for the low birth rate in Singapore. Of course other factors like cost and help are part of them too. Encouraging daddies to care for the babies take some burden off the moms.

From pregnancy, mothers face some uncomfortable moments. Nausea, backaches and some feel unattractive. It is important to show these pregnant moms that she is every bit as lovely and deserves to have some attention. How about giving her a pregnancy gift basket during this time. She will feel happy with the attention she is getting, the 9 months of discomfort carrying baby will be something she will certainly forget. Momma Luv is one such store that thinks for the mother too. In their site, they not only has gifts for mother but also a unique gift for the new big sister or brother too. If you would like, you can even send multiple gift baskets for the whole family. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Gift baskets from Momma Luv also ships internationally. So during your friend's pregnancy, you may like to arrange for a special gift for her. It will be such a lovely surprise too.

Fathers Are Important Too

All these news about increasing the population of Singaporean babies is by looking at each factors closely and find the root to the low birth rate situation. Some of the methods are to complement solutions and one of it is also focused on the culture of fatherhood. In the news, a sociologist in National University of Singapore spoke about how the people, a mindset change about the responsibilities towards fathering will help in procreation behaviour.

Currently I do see fathers of few friends playing a bigger role in parenting because when but the figures are low. So perhaps if the overall mindset about sharing the role in bringing up children, perhaps we will see an increase of population?

What say you, Daddies?

Health First

Being overweight is an issue to people, young and old. Some want to look slim to look good, some because of health issues and some because of the stigma of being overweight. I know of many school mates, when they were in their puberty stage started to feel conscious about their weights and as they grow into their late teenage life, takes action by exercise and some taking weight control medication. Some of them do so because they want to lose weight fast. There are many types of such oral medication but it is always wise to find out about these pills. Do they have risks? Are they suitable for the gender? And how much in value, effectiveness and the reviews. Some friends of mine actually go on a Phentermine Diet.

I have no idea what this is. I was quite curious about this type of weight control pill so I surfed to a website that does reviews. And some of the information that I found was that this should not be taken should you have an overactive thyroid, high blood pressure, glaucoma, heart or blood vessel disease and several others. This is also not for those under 16 years of age. So please if you are taking any pill of any sort, do find out about the risks involve. I am glad I found this site or I'd never find out about the side effects of Phentermine.

More About HFMD

It is compulsary to keep the affected child at home for at least 10 days to 2 weeks so that the disease is not spread to other kids. In HFMD a child can contract it twice or more if care in hygiene is not taken care. Some parents thinking that their child, after recovery from it in a week, may bring the child out and act irresponsible. However he or she did not realise that even after the child had recovered, he may catch it again from the chain of virus that could come from him in a cycle.

So if you really want to help your child and other kids, keep him or her at home so that the chain is not continued to other child, thus you child is also safe from contracting it again. Such is the case of a 3 year old boy in Singapore that contracted HMFD and died from it. Before it happened, this boy had actually caught it once just few months before! And the following few days after the death of the little boy, the sister was admitted to KK Hospital for showing symptoms of the disease too.

Remember, act responsible.

Verge of Hand, Foot and Mouth Outbreak in Singapore

For parents who have kids in Singapore, it is wise to be on the alert for the Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. According to reports on Saturday, August 23, Singapore is on the verge of an outbreak. Figures of those who had the disease had gone up in the past weeks. Last week alone sees as many as 553 cases, and the week before was 415. Epidemic level is just short of 12 new cases, so last week's figures are very close.

Hand Foot and Mouth disease affects mostly children of ages 6 and below. Severe cases of HFMD has some child contracting meningitis, which affects the brain lining. This can be fatal to the child so a close watch is necessary if the child has fever.

Take Control of Your Finances

In the past months, I have read about the increased figures that many people who have been defaulting on their loan payments. My neighbour also had his car being towed away a year ago because he defaulted on some payments then. Although he had since paid up the outstanding interests and loans, he is now caught in a spot of not being eligible to purchase a smaller car for his use. Many banks do not offer loans to those who had defaulted on loans previously because of a bad record.

Although he has a salary he finds it a hassle when it comes to applying for loans of any kind. It takes years before he is probably rid of this bad credit situation. Definitely he needs to look for some solution on Credit Repair right away. Local banks have very tight stringent control over loans. However there are many financial situations out there that do offer Bad Credit Repair to those in need. DSI Solutions offers Credit Repair Services and their customers are made up of referrals from friends and families. Their success is reputably outstanding and their services has been reviewed as excellent too.

Relieve yourself from the high and unreasonable interest rates that you are paying now. Or if you really are in need to find a Repair Credit services, look up DSI Solutions. Read up on their reviews by the many satisfied customers and control your finances now.

Bad Habits and Social Grace

Singaporeans have been urged to pick up on their social graces in preparation for the Youth Olympic Games in 2010. The government has been playing many roles in educating the people to correct their many habits for the past decades. In the past, some of these education that had been effective were: getting Singaporeans not to litter (now the country is a safe and cleaner place), flush toilets, getting Singaporean to stop smoking in air conditioned places, picking up after the dog in parks, stop chewing gum, stop spitting (signs were everywhere in the 70s) and more. Some of these measures of course were strengthen with lots of fines but that did help to stop and eventually the generation that came after that learnt not to do them.

However some of the things that were taking a little long were the train station escalators, where one has to stand on the left side and keep the right lane free for rushing commuters. This is still hardly practised. The other bad habit that Singaporeans are guilty of, is leaving their empty food trays behind. In fast foods, they are not even clearing up their trays.. Perhaps it stems from Singaporeans for having maids wait on them since young? Perhaps it is time to fine them for that too?

Singaporeans Spoil Their Children

As the figures for Singapore's birthrate goes down, the Singapore Government is seeking new measures to help boost up its young married Singaporeans to have more children. To do so, the Government is giving lots of incentives and bonuses to kick start this. Cash bonuses increase, longer maternity leave, infant and child care leave, more child care and infant care centres are some of them.

As a matter of fact, Singaporeans do love their children. The reason why they had resisted having more children is because of the costs that are involved from pregnancy till growing up and education. Singaporeans are known to spend a fortune on their children. If you go to any mall in Singapore you will see parents, especially mothers shopping for baby and children's products. They seldom compromise on quality and will gladly buy the best and not let their kids be left out. It is also their way of making up for the lost time while the parents are working hard.

Singaporeans enjoys online shopping as some stay home moms do not have time to go to shopping malls or stay in the crowd with other shoppers. Having a young child may prove to be somewhat stressful so online shopping becomes a favourite activity when the kids are in bed.

ShopWiki is an all in one online store for Singaporean parents for their young. Buying clothes, baby accessories and toys are among the favourite items mothers will eagerly shop. Many of my friends already started ordering infant clothes and accessories while they are still pregnant. In ShopWiki you can be also pick up lots of buying tips about any baby stuff you are going to get. They provide many buying guides like for car seats, strollers, clothing, activity sets and even music. And with every handy information they provide, they also recommend you they products that prove to be the best for your child.

Singapore Loves Japan

If you are in Singapore, you will notice that there are many Japanese food outlets and influence around. In fact Singapore is a cosmopolitan country whereby there are many foreigners who come to work, study and live in Singapore. Japanese find the cost of living here lower compared with their country yet it is efficient, clean and safe. The one supermarket that has been dedicated to the Japanese people with it's Japanese products is the Meidi Ya. However, there are shopping malls and many retailers in Singapore that is Japanese influenced too. They are the Takashimaya Shopping Centre, Isetan, Seiyu and you can find many Japanese owned shops like Kinokuniya, Pepper Lunch, Mos Burger, Yoshinoya, Ajisen and more. Singaporeans never get sick with Japanese food and new ones are coming up although there are so many already.

Another new Japanese food street opened in Singapore recently. A Japanese Themed Food Street. This is located in Jurong Point.

Save More Using Coupon Codes

Shopping online has been my favourite activity in the past year. That is because you can always get products that are not available in retail stores locally. Some retails carry a varied and different design, for certain brands of shoes and clothings that I have never seen before. In Singapore, I am an avid shopper of many Esprit retail stores. I used to check the Esprit's clothing and other accessories once every two weeks and during my travels to other country, I'd make a trip to their Esprit store knowing that their designs are very different from those sold locally.

I was delighted to find out from a friend that shopping online has perks such as special online coupons that can take a hefty price off. Some of this coupons that you can use may trim off as much as 25% off their retail online price. If you are not into clothings, you can also find products like toys, office supplies, arts and crafts, electronics, baby and kids, pet supplies and even automotive products. Nothing is left out this Best Online Coupons website. Imagine my delight when I found a Dell Coupon Code that trims a 30% off all XPS M1330 Laptops that cost over $1599 and they offer FREE standard shipping as well. That certainly saves me a bundle.

How does it work? Search for the items that you are purchasing. Take down their coupon code and when you are making your payment, you will be asked to fill in the discount entitlement code. New coupons are being added although some codes expire after a certain period. Besides coupons and discounts that saves you money, you might also find ridiculous but real offer of a 1 Cent Shipping Sale at Designer Linens Outlet when you shop at BestOnline Coupons.com. New online coupons are added daily so they save you huge amount of money when you are purchasing online. Expiring coupons are clearly listed with dates so you know how much time you have to order that favourite brand of item. You may even start looking for festive gifts from this online store.

This website is free to use by anyone, you do not need to register for it at all.

China Won Table Tennis

I was glued to the television this morning at 10am when our local TV aired the Table Tennis for Women's Singles live. It was a Semifinal Match 1 between China paddler Zhang Yining and Singaporean paddler Li Jia Wei. Although it was won by Zhang, I felt that the points between both of them were very close. In the first game, Li won in 11 - 9 but lost her following 4 other games at 8 - 11, 10 - 12, 8 - 11 and 5 - 11.

However, Zhang had the leading edge and seeing her play with full form, it is nerve wrecking. But Li was very persistant and played well it was only a 1pt and 3pts difference in 3 games she lost. She may be out for the Gold and Silver but I think her determination is the winner.

She proceeded to play against China's Yue Guo but lost at 2-4. Undoubtedly, China has always proved to be producing top players in Table Tennis game.

Stainless Steel Lasts A Lifetime

My parents have always insisted on using quality products around the house. In our bathrooms and kitchen, stainless steel fittings are very prominent. I was looking around for a new mailbox when I found one from The Stainless Steel Store. This is an online store offering everything you need that is made of stainless steel and covers many categories of items for your home.

In my search, I found few beautiful looking blomus stainless steel mailboxes that would be perfect for my home. As stainless steel products are lasting, they also do not rust easily and will not corrode. I really love the simple designs of their stainless steel mailbox. In terms of hygiene, they are always easy to clean and they don't chip or fade at all. That means I do not have to worry about having to replace them again.

It is hard to believe that this store has many items made possible with stainless steel, such as the Blomus Stainless Steel Pinwheel for your garden and even beautiful stainless steel fireplace accessories for home. Some of these items can be used as a gift for a friend's housewarming. These designs will never go out of style.

COMPLETE LIFESTYLE WITH COFFEE?

Coffee in Singapore. Well, today I read that Singaporeans are drinking loads of coffee. The urge for this fix of caffeine is growing stronger each year. Last month, news reported that in Starbucks in US had as many as 600 stores in being closed and 12,000 employees being laid off. In Australia 61 outlets was closed.

However, in Singapore, coffee chains are mushrooming. These coffee chains are seeing a growth better than ever.

Spinelli has 28 outlets and still expanding. Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf plans to open a new outlet every month in the next 3 months. Local coffee chains like Ya Kun Kaya Toast are going to add 2 more to their 31 store chain. Ya Kun sells about 28,000 cups a day, and according to reports, this is about 15% increase compared with last year! Wow!

At the local neighbourhood kopitiam, coffee business is also booming. Coffee products sold in supermarkets also reported increase in their sales. Giant went up by 30%, NTUC went up by 20% and Cold Storage went up by 10%.

Does that mean Singaporeans are sleeping less with this much coffee? I, for one, can't live without a cup in the morning, mid day and afternoon. Coffee Completes Me.

Smart Shopping Online

As the months draw closer to Christmas, I can imagine when it come to a point whereby the shopping centres, shops and town area will be flooded with people, all rushing to buy gifts for friends and family. Even though some do enjoy the festive mood, many of them usually buy things during this time to cut down on full price retail as sales are on. It is a smart way to save money of course.

A day after Thanksgiving, the sales for Black Friday starts in full swing. It goes on till the weekend is over and the new week is where the cyber monday sales are on. During these Black Friday period, retailers give good discounts that prompt shoppers to start queing up at the store front from as early as 5 in the morning! However, not wanting to be caught in the morning chill, I prefer to do my Black Friday shopping online. This is done in my home or at the comfort of my office during lunch time, and not have to be caught in the traffic jams at all. At Black Friday online, I found many shop merchants that offer really good discounts such as the GameStop deals of Sony Playstation and Xbox accessories which will be something my nephew would want for a Christmas present. So don't get caught in that crowd. Shop online instead and get the best deals from many shops available. There are many good offers online each year. Black Friday online circulars are being updated all the time.

We Can Learn From China Too

2010 is going to be an important year for Singapore and Singaporeans. That is the year where Singapore will be hosting the Youth Olympics, much to the delight of the Singaporeans for being chosen.

In a speech by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recently, he spoke about the pride that took the nationals of China about hosting the current Olympics event and how the government did a lot to educate the chinese in civility campaigns long before the Olympic's big day.

For example, he spoke about how China dedicated the dates of 11th of each month to 'Queing Up Day' because of the number 1, 1. The date 22nd each month is 'giving your seat to others' because the number 2 looks like a chair and 22 looks like two chairs side by side. At least 100,000 young volunteers were mobilized, made up of men and women, university graduates. He spoke about their national pride, their willingness to go that extra mile and how hard they tried to make the visitors feel welcomed.

Thus, the Singapore Prime Minister urges Singaporeans to work together for support to make the Youth Olympics an outstanding one. it will be a task, a long one in the hopes for a gracious society, for the visitors and for themselves, and for the country.

Sexual Offender in you Neighborhood

Do you worry about leaving your children at home or playing in the neighborhood? As parents, although our home is the safest place, there is no denying that criminal offenses do happen right in your neighborhood.

An unfortunate incident of young Megan Kanka, who was brutally murdered after being kidnapped and raped in a neighbourhood in New Jersey had led to an enforcement act and legislation of Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, or better known as Megans Law.

"Megan's Law" had been fine tuned so that a public record information and location of sex offenders are readily available to the public. These Sex Offenders are listed in the National Sex Offender List and the information can be accessed in seconds by inserting your zip code into the search box. I applaud such a move as it is the first step to making the neighbourhood a safe place for all children.

Air Asia X will fly direct to Melbourne from KL

I just read that Air Asia X will begin their flights to Melbourne, Australia from November 12 this year. This will be Air Asia's third Australian destination. It will be direct from Kuala Lumpur to the Tullamarine Airport and serviced by the airlines first Airbus A330-300 planes.

They will start off with four return flights each week and increase them to daily return flights during peak season from December to the Mid of January 2009. Wow, that means many tourists will be able to take advantage of travelling to Melbourne at a lower cost soon. Melbourne has always been a popular destination for years among Malaysians and Singaporeans. I wonder if on the Singapore side, there will be similar move? I have been waiting for a low cost flight to get to Melbourne for a while. Even though there are some flights to Australia cities from Singapore, the expensive fuel tax had been the one thing that caused me to think otherwise. Since it will be a direct flight, that will cut down on wasted time compared with some low cost flights from Singapore that require you to travel to another city in Australia before taking another transit to reach Melbourne.

I can't wait to bring my family there for a holiday!

Wifey Posts Cheating Husband's Stuff On Ebay

Did you read the news about an Australian woman who auctioned a 'huge' panty belonging to a woman that her husband had an affair with? Apparently the cheating husband did not expect the wife to return home early from work one day. Although the woman that had slept with the husband had left the bedroom, that did not stop the wife from finding a condom wrapper under his pillow and a huge black panty at the foot of the bed.

Furious and seeking revenge, she decided to auction these items, displaying the huge panty and the husband's 'size small' condom packet on eBay instead. However the listing that she posted it out had to be taken down because eBay's policy were against selling secondhand underwear.


With the policy inforced, she is selling the photography of these items instead. This photograph at a starting price of US 69 cents has 47 bids by Thursday and surprisingly the highest bidder offered is standing at US$127.50.. This listing can be found at the bestofebay.com.au if you would like to check it out!

Displaying A Successful Image

Singapore holds many conventions, seminars and exhibition often. As a cosmopolitan country, it has 2 major convention locations like the Singapore Expo as well as the Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Suntec City. Set to be among the world class standards for many exhibitions and events, many traders, exhibitors and suppliers take great pains to display their booths in the most attractive way as possible.

COMEX is an IT fair set to be held in end of August will span as many as 5 floors with over 800 leading manufacturers vying for customers attention with their trade show exhibits. This will be a time where many IT and related products will be displayed in a minimal booth space. It is up to the exhibitor how much he can do to ensure that visitors who walk by the booth get a full view of products and information at arms view from their table top display area as there will be many people crowding the area too. For some exhibitors who are there to promote their service, even placing some simple table covers is better than just having an empty booth with a bare table. This shows how much pride and professionalism about the company he or she is representing.

If you intend to participate in exhibits of any sort and would like some helpful tips and learn more about the many available products about trade displays and show exhibits, Camelback Displays may have the perfect solution for you.

Singapore Carrot Cake

Singapore fried carrot cake is a popular dish among many Singaporeans. It is a traditional chinese dish, mainly Teochew origin. It is usually eaten in the morning as breakfast but nowadays is also being sold at all meal times too. There are two versions of carrot cake, one is fried with dark sweet sauce, and another without the dark sauce.

In the ingredients are radish flour cakes (need to make into these first, but can be bought in ready cakes), salted radish,eggs, garlic, lard or vegetable oil and with or without chilly. The other version sometimes come with prawns too.

Here is a picture of how the Singapore Fried Carrot Cake is like. Try it on one of your visits to Singapore!

Shop Online for Lightings

Five years ago when we decided to move into a new home, we did some minor renovations. We also made sure we had the several basic fittings all installed properly. One was to ensure that we had the houses wired with enough electrical points so that we are able to add light fixtures easily without having to do further drilling and knocking. We fixed up basic light fixtures for the kitchen, bathrooms and bedrooms.

The theme was just simple and contemporary. After five years, we decided to change the lighting fixtures as we were going to get a new coat of paint. As the points were there, all we needed was just to shop for the various lightings we need. I wanted to source around looking for suitable chandeliers for the living and dining. However, by the time I leave the office, most of the shops would have been closed.

Shopping during the weekends is something I don't enjoy as I do not like crowded places. I then decided to shop online for them as it was the most convenient method for me since I work long hours. One of the best place to look for lightings is Farreys.com as they have many choices on home lightings for indoor as well as outdoor at the most reasonable price. You can pick from their many styles, brands and application. You will be spoilt by their extensive choice of home fittings and accessories on their website.

Bringing Up Baby in Singapore

Singapore's recent news sees new measures by the Singapore government in helping the people in their responsibilities in having children, more children. As all Singaporeans know, the level of fertility rate is very much lower than what it was 2 decades ago. The Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is tackling this issue for the second time since four years ago at the inaugural Rally in 2004.

More measures will include additional maternity leave for mothers, tax incentives, subsidies in childcare and more child care leave and not to mention subsidies in assisted reproduction techniques.

Here is a simple outline view of some of these measures:

• Mothers can take up to 4 motnhs of maternity leave.


• Allowed, one week of unpaid leave each year, until the child turns two.


• Extended child care leave is extended to 6 days (up from 2 days) for child younger than 7 years of age.


• New mums get bigger cash grant.


• Tax and child care subsidy up to fifth child.


• Boosting more child care centres by allowing more centres to be built and more subsidy for these centres.


• Financial aid for in-vitro fertilisation treatment.


• Better tax incentives for moms to work


• Match making agencies and SDS join forces to encourage more social networks for couples.
  

Hopefully these new measures will see a baby boom increase among the Singapore citizens.

GPS Tracking On Humans

Some of this questions might make you ponder a little bit. Did you ever felt that your spouse was cheating on you? Did you every felt the urge to tail them in what they do? Some of my women friends think their husbands are cheating on them. Few found out the truth, yes - in fact these men were cheating on them. Some of them only found out after they hired private eye investigators and took pictures. Some found out that these men, supposingly were to travel out on business trips, ended up in resort holidays or love cruise with their mistresses or lovers. How awful.

Most of the women felt that the men in their lives weren't really being very frank with them when they say they are with their men friends. So what is the solution then. It is expensive to hire a private eye to follow. This can take anything from hundreds to several thousands, depending on location too. If you already have people installing surveillance cameras, would you want to track your partner down using GPS Tracking?

If you are a parent and you aren't sure where your teenage child is, would you also have a GPS tracking installed? As a parent, I would. I would not want my kids to be up to some no good mischief. Perhaps not every time, but I might use it when they have disobeyed parents.

On me? Frankly, I don't really mind. If the world had less infidelity and everyone were honest with each other, I don't mind if anyone knew where I am. Unless you need to hide something, perhaps then it would be invading your privacy. But then, to be honest, what do you have to hide? Perhaps it should be made equal for everyone to have tracking device on them. This way, you don't have to worry about police questioning during a crime investigation. The innocent gets to be freed and the criminal ones get caught with their pants down. With a GPS Tracking device, you will be able to know where these juveniles are heading should they ever escape. There would be less crime.

Singapore Fertility Goes Down

Singaporeans are getting old. And the population will see a decrease if the fertility rate drops any further. Like many developed country, more and more citizens are marrying later, have kids later or have lesser children. The Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong voiced his concern as Singaporean women's fertility rate is currently 1.29 children, which is below the rate of 2.1 that is needed to maintain the country's 4.6 million population.

Men and Women need to readjust their attitudes about achieving their goals and work in having children to balance their career and marriage. In this new era, the man that used to be the master of the household is no longer true. Many woman are now working and earning as much as their husbands or some more than their partners. Some of these women care too much about their careers and put aside child bearing and having children early in marriage. Some have also voiced out that they are unable to juggle both career and responsibilities of having kids as both can be equally demanding. Thus, the Prime Minister is suggesting that men should assist their wives in the child rearing duties and the household duties as well.

Perhaps there are more issues that needed to be looked into as well? I'm sure many women are also looking into the financial abilities in having children too. Raising a child in Singapore is not easy, if you need to get your child a headstart in life, lots of money goes into enrichment, childcare and costs that are also increasing. I believe with the slowdown in economy, many are also putting building up a family the last thing on their mind.

Holiday Home

If you are looking for a nice resort home away from home, owning a Cape Verde Property is an excellent choice. Many Europeans have been flying away during their cold and freezing winter months to sunny location to feel the warmth and spend time bonding with their love ones and family members.

What is ideal in the Cape Verde islands is the comfortable tropical temperature that falls in the range of 21°C and 25°F year round. Food is abundant with their excellent choice of seafood variety as well as local delicacies and lots of home grown fruit. Visitors to the islands of Cape Verde will find themselves with a variety of activities for all ages to suit their family. Among the most beautiful city there is the lively Mindelo, with lots of night spots, restaurants, shopping facilities and pretty colonial houses. It is an ideal holiday destination for everyone.

Singapore Brings Home A Medal for Olympics after 48 years

Singapore is feeling jubilant when the table tennis team finally made it to the final of the women's team event. With this, Singapore is already assured of its first Olympic medal after 48years. The last time when Singapore's weightlifter Tan Howe Liang won a Silver was as far back as 1960 and that had been the only medal Singapore had won previously.

The heroine who is making Singapore the second medal is Feng Tianwei by her victorious win after a final tie of 2-2 in the games, by beating Park Mi at 11-7, 12-10, 3-11, 11-9.

The women table tennis team will be playing against China for gold (cross my fingers), on Sunday. I can't wait to watch this event. It will be ever more exciting.

Refurnish Your Home

Whenever a festive occasion is near, Singaporeans will not fail to dress up their homes or refurnish their homes with new furniture. Services to remove bulky furnitures around each town is usually at a peak. I know my neighbour had made some arrangements to have her old sofa and bedroom set cleared to make way for her new Italian Furniture. When I saw the pictures of her new sofa set, I felt inclined to source for a new set of Modern Furniture online myself. The current living room set I have are already worn out, with the kids grubby hands and abuse for the past 4 years.

I was amazed when I discovered EroomService which is a website selling trendy looking furniture. Many of their designs are very clean and simple yet refined. I loved their modern looking Designer Furniture sets such as the Victoria and Albert Sofa by Moroso a great deal. The colours are so bright and cheerful and the sofa has a very modern, unique feel. It is also not confined to traditional looks or how sofas are meant to be like. I really love the simple lines and sexy curves in it.

Thus, in future when you are looking for modern or Contemporary Furniture, don't hesitate to check out EroomService for their unique selections.

Chicken Rice is Singapore's Favourite Dish

When tourists or visitors come to Singapore, one of the most popular dish is the Singapore Chicken Rice. There are many Chicken Rice stalls, outlets, restaurants in Singapore. Many Singaporeans miss this when they travel or move away for business. Many a times, they would long for it and visit their favourite stalls. Some of the famous Chicken Rice are Boon Tong Kee Chicken Rice(Balestier, Upper Bukit Timah, more outlets around Singapore), Chatterbox in Mandarin Hotel (Orchard), Five Star Hainanese Chicken Rice (East Coast Road, Upper Bukit Timah), just to name a few.

Another way to enjoy Chicken Rice would be to buy the ready mix pack when you are here in Singapore.


















Here are two of the popular Chicken Rice mix that you can buy when you are in Singapore. It is very simple to cook, following the methods attached. Try them and you won't be disappointed!

Remedy for Acid Reflux

Singapore is a food heaven for many. As a melting pot in Asia, many of these foods adapt the use of herbs, spices, chilly and coconut in their ingredient. These food may not go down well with some who have a weak stomach. With the array of food available, many succumb to eating more than what their body needs. Hours after their heavy meal, they sometimes felt an unpleasant taste in their mouth, which are actually affects of acid indigestion, as they get a gastric like tightness and feel unwell.

Having said that, I remembered how often I had these symptoms during my last trimester in my pregnancy. My gynaecologist said it is very common during pregnancies but do happen to those who do not watch their diet, eating lifestyle or eating certain foods. Some of these unfortunate incidents lead to a term called Acid Reflux Disease. He also advised that those who had experienced it should understand that some of these symptoms if not cared for may lead to more serious conditions such as esophageal ulcers and esophageal cancer. It is important not to take them lightly and know what are the dangers and also what are the remedy one can do to avoid them. For more information about Acid Reflux and treatments, refluxnaturalremedy.com is a helpful guide.

Kids Getting A Hair Cut

Singaporean treats their children like VIPs. I was in one of the malls in town when I saw this Salon. It is a hair salon, specially for kids. Being a kid certainly has it's perks. Sitting down in this Kids hair salon, you get to watch cartoons while the stylist snips away your little ones's hair. There will never be boredom as one can actually play with the little toys or hold a soft toy while on the seat. They stylists and staff are trained to entertain the kids to ensure he or she will be entertained!

I certainly would want to be in their shoes! This salon in Suntec City is located at the Kid's Playground and is called Junior League.

Reduce Fuel Consumption by Chipping

Increased fuel costs, electronic road pricing and prices of food in Singapore are going up at an alarming rate. All these starts to put a burden on the the average working man. Many of them in Singapore need a car for transportation for family, especially those with young children. Some started to swap cars for smaller cars while there are some who try reduce their reliant in it. However, there are other options available especially for those who uses the car for work, sales, moving of goods. This option is by increasing or getting better fuel mileage by using Performance Chips.

How does it work? Learn all about the easy installation of 'chipping' a car or a truck in a website streetbeatcustomes.com and learn to save more on your fuel consumption whilst getting more horsepower.

Send the Love Bug in a Meme

How can I resist memes that go around the world so lovingly? It's quite amazing isn't it. I received this loving tag from Spymama and would like to share it with the readers of this blog. If you would like to take it further, please do so. It can really make your technorati a blast!

Start Copy Here}


(Pls. don’t remove)Credits: Elements/Paper by Dani Mogstad/ Layout by JennyL
Rules:
1. Don’t remove the credits when you post the image2. Please link back to the person who tagged you and pass this tag to many of your friends3. If you have more than one blog, please post this to all of your blogs so your other blogs can be listed to the master list too.4. Remember to come back here at A SLICE OF LIFE (pls. don’t change this link and leave the exact post url so I can add you to the master list to help increase our rankings and improve our Technorati Authority.6. Spread the BLOG LOVE FEVER!!
BLOGGERS: 1. Jenny Said So 2.) Simply Jen 3.) This and That 4.) Bargain.Sales.Deals. 5. A Slice of Life 6.) Aussie Talks 7. When Mom Talks 8. Me and Mine 9. Creative in Me 10. For the LOVE of Food 11. Little Peanut 12. Pea in a Pod 13. It’s Where the HEART Is 14. Around the World 15. SugarMagnolias 16. Spymama 17. Alamak OiOi 18. Add your blog here.

Practical But Stylish Homes

Singapore home owners are house proud people. They do up their house ever so often. Perhaps it stems from the time when Singapore was a young country and securities of owning their own home were a far away dream.

With the government building lots of affordable homes for each and every Singaporean, many of them felt proud to finally own their living quarters, even though it may be small and makes up as small as a single room flat. Land is scarce and expensive. However, that never stopped Singaporeans from looking at many ways of home improvement tips from the internet, like various storage space and ideas to maximise their living quality. As such you may find practical solutions as well as stylish and trendy homes all built into one. A small studio apartment could be turned into a work office and a little piece of heaven. You can pick up such useful tips from luxuryhousingtrends.com for more ideas.

Fish Spa in Singapore

If you have heard of the recent Fish Spa booming, then you should try one while in Singapore. The fish is also known as Doctor Fish that has been used by the Middle East for years as a way to treat skin disease. The species of the Doctor Fish is the Garra Rufa, that eats on the dead skin of your feet or body. They are freshwater fish in the river basins. This method is gaining popularity in many countries and is now known as a beauty treatment to get the skin of your feet soft and silky. Try one of these Fish Spa in Singapore.

It can be found in
1. Underwater World, Sentosa Island
2. Qian Hu Fish Farm 71 Jalan Lekar, Agrotechnology Park
3. Kampung Fish Therapy Novena Ville 275 Thomson Road
4. Nibbles Fish Spa Manicure and Pedicure Services Blk 34 Upper Cross St #02-138

Household Chores I Hate

Spymama tagged me about household chores.

~~~START COPY~~~
This meme is pretty simple.
Here are the rules:
1.) List down the household chores you hate and why. Do you think you can survive without helpers and nannies?
2.) Copy the image.
3.) Tag as many girlfriends you want, the daddies and hubbies can also join.
4.) Add your blog’s link in the domesticated divas linky love. You can add all your blogs.
5.) Leave a comment at Stripe and Yellow to be added to the masterlist.
DOMESTICATED DIVAS:
Living the Healthy Life / Sripe&Yellow / Vanity Kit / Mind Bubbles / Something Purple / Em’s Detour / Me,Myself+2 / Kidd Designs / FunFierceFabulous / Ozzy’s Mom / Insights from the Grocery Cart / Living A’ La Mode / God’s Best Gift / MommyAllehs Up-Close And Personal / My Precious Niche / Just Me.. Eds / Eds Mommy Life / Aggie Shoots Aggie Scraps / All Kinds of Me Stuff / The Salad Caper / Winding Creek Circle / InkBabyStudios / Joys in Life / Me and Mine / Little Peanut / Creative in Me/ Pea in a Pod / Sugarmagnolias / Notable Bistro / Around the World / I am Mommy / All About The Memories / Enchanted Play / In Depth / A Housewife’s Journal / Life Together Starts / As We Face Forever / My Happy Place /Iam Dzoi / Suburban Sass / To the Moon and Back / Raising Sandy / Walk on Red / All Things Me / Because Life Is Fun / Feels Like Home / Growing up with Bea / My life… my own piece of heaven / Around the World / Hobbies and Such / My life in this Wonderful World /My Online World / / My Virtual Closet / My Views On My So Called Life / The Real Deal The Real Me / Changing Lanes/ Pit Stop/ Around the World / The Fountain Of Happiness / The Joy Of Life Forever / Love Is / Phtographic Memories / My Colorful World / Strawberry Gurl / Quicker8 / Mommy’s Little Corner / The Dawn That Shines / Journey to Prosperity / Homelife / Sheng’s Simple Thoughts / Coriander Dreams / Gorgeous Traveller / A Traveller’s Domain / Lemon Iced Tea / It’s My Party / My Wonderful Life / Simple Life, Simply Me / Sassy Finds / All things Yummy / Shangrila Journey / My Charmed Life / Mommyhood and Me / Crissy’s Zone / Crissy’s Library / Vis Vires /Crissy’s Haven / My Daily Thoughts / Abby’s Way of Life / Princess Bela / Women Xplore / Our Journey to Life / My Planet Purple / And so I am / Arlene’s Random Ramblings / Life’s All About Lourdes’ Mia / Faery Dancing / Purpled Sky /Almanac Queen / Caramel Corn / Sunny Side Up Foodie / Mamakshop / Alamakoioi / OUR BLOG HERE

I hate to vacumm and iron when it comes to household chores. These are the two things I avoid. So what i will do is pay a lady to come over twice a week for that.. I'd get a helper if i can but I love my privacy... hehehe

What do you dislike, Nick, Denze Recreational and Sting?

Latest Rap Ringtones

For every 10 youths I see in Orchard Road, 9 would have their own mobile phone with them. Mobile phones are so affordable nowadays and even telco subscribers are offering them free for signing on with them. With the demand for mobile phones, ringtones are increasing in demand.

There are many types of genre of music and Rap Ringtones are among the hottest among the younger generation. Rest assured that there are sites that cater to music of this genre. Some of the top searches are ringtones by Lil Wayne, Rick Ross and Soulja Boy. There is no shortage of rap ringtones from this website rapmusicringtones.net at all. All you need is to key in your favourite rap artist or song. They update their content daily so you can search for your latest music ringtones

A Medal for Singapore?

Yesterday, Singaporeans were all so excited to see Tao Li swimming towards the 100m butterfly finals. It was pure joy! She came in fourth fastest to qualify for the finals. That is really something the Singaporeans should be proud of! Her record time was 57.54 seconds in the 100m butterfly heats. That means she will have a chance to for a medal and I'm crossing my fingers.
Tao Li done Singapore proud already. She is the first Singaporean to reach the Olympic Swim Finals! She was voted as Sportswoman of the Year in 2007 and 2008 for her determination and dedication well beyond her teenage years.

Besides Tao Li, womens's pair for badminton, Li Yujia and Jiang Yanmei played well against the American pair Eva Lee and Mesinnee Mangkalakiri for results 21-12, 21-12. That was really good. They were both prepared, mentally and physically and they were alert all the time. The next game will be against the Koreans and they are in anticipation.

Singapore may be a just Little Red Dot, but it's flaming now.

Guide on Toaster Ovens

Many school going kids get up early for breakfast before they leave for school. It is important to have a good breakfast so that one can concentrate well in class before they break for a snack during school recess time. I know my kids complain most of the time that the usual bread is boring and request for something else. Having a toaster oven means I can keep their toasts warm and crispy while they get ready for school, and also I can also sometimes include melted cheese which they love.

The only thing that is holding me back is how much should I pay for one. Will it consume a lot of energy? I've always wanted one that I can do more than heating up toasts but getting a big one means I may have to look for a toaster oven mounting brackets as I do not have any extra space on my kitchen top. A toaster ovens guide gives me enough relevant information for all the help I need.

Singapore is 43 today

Happy Birthday Singapore

Singapore celebrates it's National Day today. Singapore is now 43 years old and the grand celebration this year is held in Marina Bay. Many of the roads will be closed during this day and the public are advised to take the public transport to avoid jams. The National Day parade has always been something the Singaporeans feel proud of, and you can see from the many races in the event that they are really proud of Singapore. In the old days, to be able to view the parade, one queues for hours from the wee hours in the morning just to wait for the free tickets given out at different locations each year.

However the past few years in order to get tickets, one just need to send in their request and lucky ones will be ballot. The spirit of Singaporean's patriotism is apparent in the National Day parade. It is easy to see them get emotional during this time. One People, One Nation, One Singapore. Everyones swears by it. I am so glad to see such a united nation. Even those who are not Singaporeans can tell how much Singaporeans are proud of being a Singaporean.

Halal Foodcourt

Singapore is situated in a country where the many races are. There are Chinese, Malay, Indian that makes up the many religion of Buddhists, Taoism, Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims and Christians. As a melting pot, we have to respects each other's culture, religion and practise and live in harmony. Some Chinese are vegans, some restrain from eating Beef, and some only take foods with the Halal certification.

Halal is the global certification that the food has pass the laws regulated safe for consumption according to Muslim rites.

If you are in Malaysia and Indonesia, the majority religion being Muslim, you will be able to find many halal food shops. In Singapore, most of the coffee shops will have a small kiosk or stall that sells halal food too. There is a 100% halal foodcourt in Singapore that those practising Muslim will have no worries at all over which foodstalls they patronize. That is because this foodcourt do not use any ingredient that has pork, lard and non halal ingredient. Thus, all the cutlery can be mixed with no segregation. This is good news for muslim patrons. This food court branding is under the Bagus foodcourt. Look it up if you come to Singapore. Singapore welcomes all muslim tourists!

Holiday Convenience

Singaporeans love to travel. They travel to various countries at least twice a year. Nowadays, they take the road less travelled by going to exotic lands like the Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Spain, Greece, and Portugal. Singaporeans are also known to be one of the most comfort loving people, preferring to drive than to wait for hours in public transportation. Perhaps that is because they are already used to efficient transportation in their country, it is hard to accept any standard that makes compromises for less.

However when it comes to pricing, they are among the most notable for wanting the best deal or value for money. Many travel fairs lately promote travelling to Spain for its culture and sights. I was looking at their beautiful sights which may take hours to travel from place to place. I believe getting around in a rented car is a better choice. Like all Singaporeans, it makes sense to find the Cheapest Car Hire Spain related or at least one from the region. I found carhiredirect.co.uk that has as many as 40 car rental companies so you won't have to worry about not having a car at your disposal. You can book for one by keying in the important information like dates and they can hook you up with the best deal among the many car rental companies to let you pick from.

Peranakan Folk in Singapore

Singapore is a modern city. But she has her fair share of architechtural buildings and conservation homes. The Peranakan culture is an appealing one in Singapore. One can find these apparent in the buildings around Singapore. Peranakan are Straits Born Chinese who adopt some prominent parts in Malay culture. The Peranakan speaks a different language, very much like a mix of Hokkien and Malay mixture. Peranakan culture can be found in mainly the East side of Singapore, like the Katong area.

In Malaysia, these Straits born Chinese also can be found in Malacca and Penang. The Peranakan women folk are all expert in cooking. They enjoy toiling in their kitchens cooking for families, friends and visitors. Some famous Peranakan food are Ayam Buah Keluak, Babi Pongteh and their foods are usually laden with lots of spices.

Criminal Defense Laws

As a blogger one needs to be responsible for words they write. There are a list of Internet crimes that include harassment, cyberterrorism, defamation of a person and even spam. Not being in the presence of the victim does not mean no harm is done. In a recent case, a Californian blogger got into trouble for allegedly accusing a judge in Singapore of 'prostituting herself' was actually arrested and charged. Global cases like these never go unnoticed. It is always best to seek the professional help from attorneys.

For one who thinks he or she has done no wrong, perhaps the best advice would be to seek the help of professional attorneys. Information about Internet Crimes, Drug Offenses, Federal Criminal Law or Celebrity High-Profile Cases in California Criminal Defense Blog Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorneys website.



Dmitry Gorin is one of the partners in Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gornin LLP. He specializes in complex trial work, including white collar crimes and major narcotics case.

The Singapore Transportation

If you visit Singapore, don't forget to travel in their efficient public transport. Among the many countries I've visited, I haven't come across the transportation as world class as Singapore. Their buses run at a peak of every few minutes in the morning and afternoon. In some countries you have to wait for a good half or one hour just for one.

There are many bus services that ply the Singapore roads. You can find a bus stop in every 400 metres away! Some buses ply similar or overlaps the routes of the trains that runs on ther rails above or under tunnel. I enjoy taking buses because you can enjoy the sights especially when you are seated on the upper deck of the double decker. Singapore is a green city, full of trees along the way. So it gives me a relaxing ride and sometimes I love to have a good book or listen to my favourite songs. There are TVs in the buses so if you are sitting in view of it, you can catch some local dramas on it too. Travelling is convenient. Fares are paid by dropping coins in a box next to the driver (actual amount) or you can tap your EZ link card on a scanner as you board. Tap as you alight too, it will auto deduct the actually amount from your stored value EZ link card.

Country Music Performers

Singapore is a melting pot whereby there are many people from come from all walks of life, age and nationalities. As such, there is a varied demand for different genre of music, artists and shows. We have those who loves Pop, Classical, Oldies and there are quite a number of them who enjoys listening to Country Music Artists like Kenny Rogers, Randy Travis, Jewel and even Taylor Swift. There is no shortage of music stores but sometimes it is a little more difficult to look for Country Music Lyrics from the book store. Thank goodness for the internet, we can all hunt for it from websites for all information, lyrics, profile and albums totally pointing to Country Music Performers. A cool feature include ringtones of your favourite artist.