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Saw this article in the ST and it kinda resonated with me on how my life thus far has gone by considering the challenges and what I live to appreciate. Amidst the chaos of life, we tend to forget that we are mortal and our time here is finite. A good reminder that our time is ticking and as we think and reflect of what is to come, we can be more fulfilled and HAPPY. Peace and to a better 2016 amidst the gloom now! To Be Happier, Start Thinking More About Your Death Arthur C. Brooks JAN. 9, 2016 WANT a better 2016? Try thinking more about your impending demise. Years ago on a visit to Thailand, I was surprised to learn that Buddhist monks often contemplate the photos of corpses in various stages of decay. The Buddha himself recommended corpse meditation. “This body, too,” students were taught to say about their own bodies, “such is its nature, such is its future, such its unavoidable fate.” Paradoxically, this meditation on death is intended as a key to better living. It makes disciples aware of the transitory nature of their own physical lives and stimulates a realignment between momentary desires and existential goals. In other words, it makes one ask, “Am I making the right use of my scarce and precious life?” In fact, most people suffer grave misalignment. In a 2004 article in the journal Science, a team of scholars, including the Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman, surveyed a group of women to compare how much satisfaction they derived from their daily activities. Among voluntary activities, we might expect that choices would roughly align with satisfaction. Not so. The women reported deriving more satisfaction from prayer, worship and meditation than from watching television. Yet the average respondent spent more than five times as long watching TV as engaging in spiritual activities. If anything, this study understates the misalignment problem. The American Time Use Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that, in 2014, the average American adult spent four times longer watching television than “socializing and communicating,” and 20 times longer on TV than on “religious and spiritual activities.” The survey did not ask about hours surfing the web, but we can imagine a similar disparity. This misalignment leads to ennui and regret. I’m reminded of a friend who was hopelessly addicted to British crossword puzzles (the ones with clues that seem inscrutable to Americans, such as, “The portly gentleman ate his cat, backwards”). A harmless pastime, right? My friend didn’t think so — he was so racked with guilt after wasting hours that he consulted a psychotherapist about how to quit. (The advice: Schedule a reasonable amount of time for crosswords and stop feeling guilty.) While few people share my friend’s interest, many share his anxiety. Millions have resolved to waste less time in 2016 and have already failed. I imagine some readers of this article are filled with self-loathing because they just wasted 10 minutes on a listicle titled “Celebrities With Terrible Skin.” Some might say that this reveals our true preferences for TV and clickbait over loved ones and God. But I believe it is an error in decision making. Our days tend to be an exercise in distraction. We think about the past and future more than the present; we are mentally in one place and physically in another. Without consciousness, we mindlessly blow the present moment on low-value activities. The secret is not simply a resolution to stop wasting time, however. It is to find a systematic way to raise the scarcity of time to our consciousness. Even if contemplating a corpse is a bit too much, you can still practice some of the Buddha’s wisdom resolving to live as if 2016 were your last year. Then remorselessly root out activities, small and large, that don’t pass the “last-year test.” There are many creative ways to practice this test. For example, if you plan a summer vacation, consider what would you do for a week or two if this were your last opportunity. With whom would you reconnect and spend some time? Would you settle your soul on a silent retreat, or instead spend the time drunk in Cancún, Mexico? If this year were your last, would you spend the next hour mindlessly checking your social media, or would you read something that uplifts you instead? Would you compose a snarky comment on this article, or use the time to call a friend to see how she is doing? Hey, I’m not judging here. Some might think that the last-year test is impractical. As an acquaintance of mine joked, “If I had one year to live, I’d run up my credit cards.” In truth, he probably wouldn’t. In a new paper in the science journal PLOS One, two psychologists looked at the present value of money when people contemplated death. One might assume that when reminded of death, people would greatly value current spending over future spending. But that’s not how it turned out. Considering death actually made respondentsless likely to want to blow money now than other scenarios did. Will cultivating awareness of the scarcity of your time make you grim and serious? Not at all. In fact, there is some evidence that contemplating death makes you funnier. Two scholars in 2013 published an academic paperdetailing research in which they subliminally primed people to think about either death or pain, and then asked them to caption cartoons. Outside raters found the death-primed participants’ captions to be funnier. There’s still time to rethink your resolutions. Forget losing weight and saving money. Those are New Year’s resolutions for amateurs. This year, improve your alignment, and maybe get funnier in the process: Be fully alive now by meditating on your demise. Happy 2016!

As above I am looking to buy merc C class with the promo of paying b class price for C class. Did a check on second hand ones as well but they are all in the range of 120-130K when the new one is 139K. Hmmm it seems like it is a good deal to buy brand new? Feedback anyone?

Thinking of bringing my baby girl to see fishes there tmr but got a few questions. 1. Where to park nearest? Is there a central car park for all attractions? 2. Would it be crowded since its CNY and most ppl away for holidays? Thanks

Malaysian Minister's home hit by robbers By M. Kumar The Star/Asia News Network Monday, Jul 01, 2013 KUALA LUMPUR - Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has become the latest victim of robbers when his home was hit on Saturday afternoon. Three men scaled the wall of the bungalow in Jalan Setiabistari, Bukit Damansara, at about 5.30pm before breaking in through the front door. Khairy and his wife, who live in the house which belongs to his mother, were not in when the robbers struck. The only person in the house was a maid, who said the three men ransacked the place, including the master bedroom where most of the valuables were kept. The robbers took off with several laptop compu

Recently went overseas, saw the good old BMW E39 5-series - once rated the best car in the world back in 2000 (10 years ago!). It really DOES look good even today, has that solid and no nonsense feel. I have not seen the car on any second hand website in Singapore though.. wonder if anyone here might have one and interested to sell? I would only be interested if it's a straight-six or... dare I say it... M version.. Let me know! I am definitely interested

Running my own business was a tedious affair that eventually went belly up, so was left with no choice but to return to the job market seeking employment in my mid-30s. Attended a few interviews and somehow felt the interviewers were looking down on me for having ran a company which failed. Haven't received any job offers, still on hunt for a suitable gig. I estimated that I lost around 300k purely in opportunity costs accrued from not taking up a salaried role during this entire period, which needless to say makes for sufficient dough to buy a humble HDB flat to nicely settle down already. I realised that once your resume makes mention of you having dabbled in a business venture previously or took up a self-employed vocation such as being a private hire car driver, your standing immediately takes a huge tumble in the eyes of prospective employers; you are deemed much less employable, ie expect to be basically grouped within the same category as former bankrupts and former convicts. Why do I say that? Because its true. In their narrow-minded wisdom they expect a former bankrupt to become bankrupt again, a former convict to return to a life crime, a former business owner to forever dabble in uninspiring enterprises, a private hire car driver to remain a lowly chauffeur all his life. More at Thinking of starting your own business? I failed miserably, consider yourselves warned.

I don't like the stock rim, but don't mind keeping the size for FC/comfort... Should I consider change rim but keep the size and use back tyre? Anyone done such move before?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWhtf4Xp4IY What are these drivers thinking ! Retards ? What had happened today ... The grey Toyota has overtook both my car and the BMW in front of me, but had caused the red car exiting from his parking lot unable to maneuver out from his place because the red car need to reverse a little aback to make the turn out. Interestingly, the Silver Mark X was also exiting from his parked lot right in front of me. It is obvious that the BMW would already saw there was an empty lot once the red car exited. He could had taken the red car's lot instead of the lot exited by the Silver Mark X (right in front of me ) If only the BMW could just park at where the red car had exited, and I take the Mark X lot, all would be so smooth and fine. Yet the BMW chose to park at the Mark X lot, having me to reach for the further lot where the red was at. What are these drivers thinking ? Seriously !

what is the Japanese manufacture thinking and decided to put a Manuel winding window for the rear when this is already dated back to 10- 20 years back. http://www.sgcarmart.com/used_cars/info_photos.php?ID=527638&CUR=1#photo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUQQ8I2xT1E I really don't know why she can do this... What will you do?

For choosing a pedo bear as a mascot? Picture kop from HWZ-EDWM , http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/eat-drin...dp-4051213.html

well done mediacorp ... this one must give credit .... lolz 20 years later also cannot get a wife, cannot buy hdb, cannot have children, cannot .....

main attraction - the thin form factor, even though to be frank, i dont really carry my laptop ard except only during weekend (but i do drive though). Have wanted to go for Mac BookAir, but after thinking a while, think the high price may not justify it.. I would think my preferred laptop brand would be Asus. Few noob questions: - anyone of you regretted switching over to ultrabook? - usually how many USB ports would ultrabook have? - do ultrabooks have the usual ports that a normal notebook would have? - since ultrabooks are using SSD nowsadys, would i be able to plug in a normal 2.5 inch external hard disk and USB thumbdrive to read the contents? - are the battery lifespan generally better? Many TIA

Like topic title states, I'm itching to switch to an affordable convertible (well, within my means anyways hehe) from my current Atrex. Had enough of whacking around with my current ride, and the fact that its a big time fuel guzzler is beginning to drain me out lol. Would like to hear other bro's opinions on this switch. There are many times where I really wished i was driving a top down especially at night with my gf next to me Or, chionging down places like blue valley with the wind between my hair. Plus, the fact that I wanna take corners with a rear-powered car too hehe

Only 3 of us in a family. Driving Mit Grandis MPV. Do you think shd downgrade to 2L saloon? Anyone need more space like to exchange?

The main reason being we've got a baby coming. I was thinking of S3 initially but the maintanance would be horendous if the DSG fail. So should I change to a Caldina??? Its got all the ticks for the 2nd car criteria. 1) 4 cyclinder = cheaper registration and should have better fuel consumption 2) 2L = same as above 3) AWD 4) Cheap to maintain 5) 5 Door + wagon 6) Looks ok at least not like Stagea so boxy 7) Turbo. At least still got a bit of go to it. Caldina 2003 Opinion people?

Weirdly, I have no idea what the car in front is trying to do... 1) Turn out from the right side of the road...then go to the middle... 2) And starting reversing... (No signal, no display intention that you want the lot on the left) 3) Worst. Reverse all the way and keep so close....expecting me to give way?? I'm happy to give way if there's space....but there's cars on the right, can't expect me to reverse and give way because you want to take the lot without signaling your intention?

http://alvinology.com/2011/10/30/bbc-news-...s-in-singapore/ BBC News: Every Hour, There are 5 Births, 2 Deaths and 16 New Immigrants in Singapore At this rate, i wonder how long it will take for Singapore-born Singaporeans to become the minority in our own country, not to mention become extinct altogether. Growth is outnumbered 1:3! Rachel and I must be two of the extremely rare Singapore-born Singaporeans who got married and give birth to a true blue Singaporean son who has to go through the discriminatory NS policy when he turns 18. My baby Asher is a rare breed.

Just test drove the Fiat Dolbo Panorama. Any owners out there? How's your FC like, at $65,000 it's a bit on the high side. OMV 17k. 77 horses 5 speed MT. If i were to buy, it's for the lower road tax and hopfully good FC. Please provide me your advice. Thank you.

Angry couple thrashes fortune teller's stall 15 Sept 2011 Shin Min News A couple thrashed a fortune teller's stall outside the popular Kwan Im temple at Waterloo Street yesterday afternoon. The fortune teller, known only as a plump man in his 30s, had allegedly swindled the couple and had sex with the couple's daughter in a supposed exorcism. The Chinese couple (age 50s) has a sickly daughter in her 20s. They had gone to the famous Kwan Im temple to pray for their daughter's health and were approached by the fortune teller who offered his help. The couple was surprised when the fortune teller somehow knew that they have a sickly daughter. He told them their daughter was possessed by spirits and had to be exorcised. He offered to exorcise her at their home. After the deed, the couple paid the man a few hundred dollars for his "help", only to find out later from their daughter that she was made to have sex with him. The furious couple went back to the man's stall to confront him but could no longer find him. They resorted to thrashing his stall. The duo created a commotion as they overturned tables and chairs, then smashed the stall's altar and incense burner. Eyewitnesses say the couple was swearing loudly and the woman was heard wailing "You cheated our money and took advantage of our daughter!" No one went up to stop them from thrashing the stall. There are more than ten other fortune tellers in the area, many of whom say the missing fortune teller is a con man who knows nothing. The man has also been missing for the past few months.

I am seriously comtemplating such a move. But it has to be part time. So i am thinking will doing it part time reap any substantial gains (if any at all)? My day job is not too busy at the moment Any thoughts?

thinking of switching job to a headhunter/recruiter I think I got the personality for this coz I enjoy interacting with ppl and coaching. Biz Degree with post grad Psychology background with no sales experience though. Anyone has any comments on this? Is it a tough job? Sales driven? Which headhunting firm has a good work culture?

Hi, What is the price of Honda CRV now? think almost 160k, can buy BMW 2 years ago. hmm....which is the 'most worth it' SUV? some threads said forrester but..... anyway see a lot of CRV on the road, think its the most popular SUV. sgcarmart said its SUV car of 2010, why? HELP!!! Rgds.

Was thinking of becoming more family oriented and switching to an SUV. looked at many including murano 3.5, Q5 etc... and it came down to X5 and Cayenne. In the end, i think X5 is a better choice overall. Anyone with experience of this car or a truly better suggestion, plse kindly advise/comment. Thank you Fellas