mrbrown.com

From a Fan of a Fan

Fans. They stand there, doing their jobs, stoically and without complaint, keeping us cool in this blasted heat. They either work or they don’t. I say this because my air-conditioner was leaking and we did not have air-conditioning for a week, so we had to rely on our fan. And boy, did we appreciate our fan.

We have gone through a few fans in the decades living in our flat. We bought so many brands, mostly cheaper ones. Inevitably, the cheapo brands let us down. Either the weak plastic blades did not generate strong enough wind, or one of our industrial-strength metal fans would become super noisy after the kids pushed it down accidentally while playing.

At one point, I threw out TWO industrial-strength fans costing some $250 each, because I could not stand the noise anymore.

You can tell I have much experience with fans.

Then one day, I said, forget it. I am going back to the fan that my mother and her mother owned. Good old KDK fans. I bought one to test. Still good and strong. I went home, and threw out the remaining cheapo fan I owned, and bought a second KDK, same model.

This touching video from KDK brought back memories of the times we spent making robot sounds in front of our fans. It was great for doing the Cylon voice from Battlestar Galactica too (“BY YOUR COMMAND.”), and I mean the old one starring Lorne Greene.

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/in-ymwb3-ws
Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/kdkleaderinfantechnology/videos/857207521036933/

Good times and good memories, man. Even the Cantonese dialogue.

Sponsor Message:

KDK is celebrating family unity and love on this SG50, and honouring the nation’s golden jubilee. Share your treasured moments at the KDK Treasured Moments site, and win exclusive prizes and 6 invitations to a private screening of 1965! Details at www.kdk.sg/treasuredmoments/

My Apple Watch and DBS Paylah!

I got my Apple Watch a day before the official release in Singapore on the 26th of June (ya, I know, big fat hairy deal, haha!). One of the first things I noticed was the DBS Paylah! app installed on it. This was one of the first few Singapore apps I saw on my Apple Watch.

A few months ago, my friend, whom I owed money to because she helped me buy some stuff overseas, said I could pay her with Paylah!.

At first, I thought she was saying, "The money you owe me? Pay lah!".

But then I realized she meant the DBS Paylah! mobile wallet app. I was going to visit the ATM to do a fund transfer to her, but this seemed like an easier option. So I installed the app on my iPhone and linked it to my bank account, and in seconds, I was done transferring the funds.

Also neat was the ability to log into my PayLah! app with my finger via Touch ID. No need to type my password every time. DBS tells me that as of today, more than 40% of logins are being made through the Touch ID fingerprint sensor feature.

The app is available on both Apple iOS and Android platforms, and you link your bank account to your mobile number. All anyone needs to send you money, or for you to send money, is a mobile number. The app even works with non-DBS/POSB accounts now.

The second time I encountered PayLah! significantly was at this year's DBS Marina Regatta. The food stalls there accepted Paylah! as payment and there was even a 10% discount for Paylah! payment, so it was just a matter of sending payment via the app and then collecting our order at the counter.

I roped in my wife and youngest brother to install the app too. The latter was because we were splitting the bill for meal that he paid for (my family's share was $30). As for my wife, my little demonstration cost me $10. She happily pocketed my $10 into her mobile wallet.

Some of the other things you can do with Paylah!: You can use it to pay your bills, donate money to 15 charitable organisations, shop online, send or request money from anyone instantly (even non-DBS/POSB customers), and even send an eAng-Bao (great for overseas relatives).

I know of many small businesses, blogshops and sole proprietors accepting payments via Paylah! because it is easier and faster than asking customers to pay by bank transfer. You can even try paying your kid's tutor this way.

Why am I spreading the word? Because I like the service, and the more people use it, the better the service becomes.

This is what Paylah! shows on my Apple Watch, which is mainly notification data (the app will only display notifications on the Apple Watch if your iPhone screen is off).

This is Paylah! on the phone itself.

Go check it out and let me know what you think!

Bare Your Sole 2015

Guess where Barefoot mrbrown is! I'm doing the #DareToGoBare2015 challenge! Find out more about #BareYourSole2015 at www.bareyoursole.org.sg/donate

Try playing the Instagram below:

A video posted by @mrbrown on Twitter (@mr_brown) on May 27, 2015 at 5:02am PDT

Funds raised will go towards supporting Habitat for Humanity Singapore's Project Homeworks, to improve the living conditions of the elderly, the sick and the physically challenged living in one-room flats in Singapore.

Last year, I went barefoot for a day for Bare Your Sole 2014, and it was very enlightening.

You can find out more at the www.bareyoursole.org.sg/donate or at their FB page: https://www.facebook.com/BareYourSoleSG.

Here are the other two little cinemagraphs I did in Instagram! Can you guess where I am at these locales?

https://instagram.com/p/3Ojf_mOOwq/

https://instagram.com/p/3Q3EfruO3U/

Keep on Doing the Mozzie Wipeout

Dengue, I hate it so much, I went down to the launch of the “Do the Mozzie Wipeout” Campaign for 2015.

In Bukit Gombak.

In the South West of Singapore.

With a coterie of press and ministers present.

On a Sunday morning,

After landing in Singapore from Seoul at 5am.

THAT is how much I hate dengue and the Aedes mosquito.

I found out that Singapore has seen fewer dengue cases in 2015. In the first quarter of 2015, there was 39% less dengue cases reported compared to the first quarter of 2014. But the NEA detected an increase of about 80% in the number of Aedes mosquito breeding habitats found in homes between February and March this year.

Oi, don’t liddat leh. We all like to think it is the work sites that are breeding mosquitoes but it seems that many of the breeding areas are found in homes. So please take the necessary preventative measures at home. Watch my last year Mozzie Wipeout video if you need a reminder.

Also interesting to learn at the launch was that NEA is now exploring the using of Wolbachia-carrying male Aedes mosquitoes to suppress the Aedes mosquito population in Singapore make the wild female Aedes mosquitos eggs unable to hatch. Wolbachia sounds like Chewbacca’s long lost brother hor? But it is a type of natural occurring bacteria found in 60% of insect species like butterflies, fruit flies, dragonflies and mosquitoes. The cool thing is that the Wolbachia-carrying male mosquitoes don’t bite or transmit disease (because they don’t need protein in blood to reproduce eggs), but when they mate with the female Aedes mosquitoes, the eggs laid by the ladies will not hatch into they make the ones that do spread dengue unable to make more evil babies that might spread dengue.

I think it is also nice that more education is happening at the community level. Students will be appointed “Dengue Mobsters” to be roving ambassadors, to go to homes and spread the word and help others fight the good fight against dengue. It may be the only time it is ok for a student to be in a gang. Go and whack those mosquitoes jialat jialat!

I also hear there will be residents appointed as Garden Sheriffs. They will be taught how to maintain make mosquito-free gardens.

I can’t wait for the Mosquito Stormtroopers Corps to be created next. I’d join that.

Residents in the South West CDC were also given demonstrations on how gross mosquitos look like in a transparent box and also given dengue fighter kits by Minister Grace Fu and Mayor Low Yen Ling.

As pointed out in an earlier FB post, I was captured on TV news at that event looking a little out of place and unglam. But hey, it was for a good cause, ok? Dengue must die.

#MyBeerGao – What’s your favourite mix?

So after watching my Beer Gao video, did you guys try it with your buddies at the coffee shop? If you have not, here’s the video for you.

I think it is such a Singaporean thing, gathering over good drink and good food with your best friends, and as usual, arguing over life’s most important questions: Which stall has the best sambal chilli? East vs West — where’s the best place for supper? Which football club deserves our undying support?

One of the great debates of recent times has been over our new-found method of enjoying beer - Beer Gao. I love it half-half, while Marc likes it super-gao with just a touch of beer added to his Guinness . I realized then that this was the perfect premise for a photo contest. I gave the folks at Guinness a ring to see if they could sponsor some prizes and they said yes.

So here’s what I want you to do. Seeing how Beer Gao mixes Guinness with lager to create a very flavourful way to enjoy your beer, I want you to send me your pictures and describe what you think represents the most flavourful mix – enjoying delicious food in the company of friends and family? Savouring the perfect pint of Beer Gao over a bucket of chips and wings? Or perhaps what level of Guinness you enjoy most with your Beer Gao?

Share your pictures via Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #MyBeerGao and I will pick five lucky winners with the best picture & caption to win exclusive Guinness merchandise and of course, a few bottles of the flavourful Guinness Foreign Extra Stout. Submit your entries from now till 17 May 2015.

If you don’t do Twitter or Instagram, you can also send in an entry via email to the address [email protected] with the headline #MyBeerGao. Include your photo and caption in the body of the email.

Winners will be announced via Guinness’ Facebook Page on 20 May. www.facebook.com/Guinness.SG

What are you waiting for? Go forth and share your #MyBeerGao experiences now!

Important Note: The Competition is open only to legal residents of Singapore who have reached the minimum legal drinking age in Singapore. Please enjoy Guinness responsibly. http://WWW.DRINKiQ.com

Beer Gao: a new way to drink your beer

I love mixing things. I used to go to the drink machine and fill my cup with a combo of soft drinks on tap, to see what goes well together. You know, like ice cream soda with cola and orange soda. Fun times.

So I was very excited when I found out from the folks at Guinness that there is a new way of drinking beer, called Beer Gao, which is made by adding Guinness Foreign Extra Stout to your beer. You can see how this is done in my video above.

The results surprised me pleasantly. My lager became flavourful and different in a good way.

This reminds of other ways that Singapore likes mix things together, to create our rich and varied food and drink culture.

Go and try Beer Gao with your friends and see what level of mixing works best for you! Try different levels of Guinness Foreign Extra Stout and mixing the stout with different lagers too! Do let me know the combos you come up with.

I will be sharing food pairings in the coming weeks too, like what food goes with Beer Gao and Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, so stay tuned to my Instagram and Twitter feeds.

IFA 2015 GPC: Malta

Who would have thought I'd ever visit Malta, that little island that, like Singapore, was also a colony of the British Empire, and like Singapore, also has a St John Ambulance service. Except their St John's were really linked to real knights.

This year the IFA Global Press Conference is held in Malta, and it is a perfect time to visit. The European consumer electronics show holds its global press conference in a different Mediterranean city each year and the last time it held it in Malta, it was 2009.

The weather here is sunny and yet a cool 17-19ºC during the day and you can enjoy the lovely old buildings and the beach. I didn't go to the beach because I didn't bring my swimming things. I thought it was going to be cold in Europe during Spring. Dang it.

Miss IFA was here as usual, and the city provided foot soldiers and knights in armor to entertain us. There was even a sword fight the night we had our excursion in the capital, Valletta. At least I hoped it was staged. It could have been a couple of drunk cosplayers, for all I know.

Industry leaders shared insights, shilled new products and talked about trends.

Philips was the first to speak during the Power Briefings, and they showed off their back pain management device that can monitor youur back problems with an app.

My favorite slide was from Gfk's Gerald Tan (Singapore, represent!) who spoke about technology insights in Asia. I always enjoy listening to his presentations, though the Europeans tend to leave the room during that segment. Perhaps they should listen more, since Asia is going to be very important to the European tech and appliance industry.

A special Power Briefing was held by Microsoft, where nothing much was shared, because Microsoft was going to announce major things only at their Build 2015 event, to take place from April 29th to May 1st. So much of what was said was general fluff.

Not many products were on display at the press conference. I guess everyone was reserving it for the actual IFA in Messe, Berlin, in September. But I did check out the cool Grundig VUX (Virtual User Experience) tech for stovetops and other future kitchen appliances.

It is still in concept stage, which explains the giant projector needed to beam the interface onto the table top (recommended to be white and matte). Interesting idea but remains to be seen if it is feasible in a real kitchen environment.

Also of interest to me were the Philips Fidelio M2 Lightning headphones. These cans connect to Apple iOS devices via the Lightning port, taking the digital signal all the way to the built-in DAC of the headphones, before being made analog, bypassing the analog headphone jack.

I did enjoy the sound quality of this device. It was like having a sound card inside my headphones.

I am going to enjoy the rest of my short stay in Malta. My sink-washed laundry is drying nicely and quickly in the Maltese sun, at my room's balcony, and that always pleases me. I know, I am a simple person and easy to please. Like this Maltese cat.

Reunion Dinner: a Photo Essay

Every year, my family gathers for the Reunion Dinner on the eve of Chinese New Year. It is a rowdy affair, filled with food, drink and laughter.

Ma cooks up a storm each time, and we all tuck in. Back in the old days, it was just my immediate family: Pa, Ma, my two younger brothers and me. But the participants grew as we siblings got married and had children.

These days, it is not just my brood and my brother's kids at these dinners. Even family friends, cousins and aunts are here. We didn't have Pa with us for the last three years but Ma felt we should have even more loved ones in the home for this dinner, and so the party grew to as many as 19 people.

It got so big in numbers that we had to buy two folding tables from Giant, so that we could seat everyone.

My second brother usually cooks some of the dishes too, because he is a great cook. And also, it helps take some of the load off my mother, who is already 73 years old. But Ma loves to cook for us, so she still does a fair bit of the cooking. It's in her DNA, I think. She has been making meals for us since we were born, while juggling work as a teacher.

I cherish these Reunion Dinners. I like eating at home with all my loved ones, and home-cooked meals. My children too, are used to this scene because they are at my mom's every weeknight for dinner (we live a few blocks away from my mother).

I am not sure how we would even execute a Reunion Dinner without her hands-on involvement. She has run this show and this household for so long.

Ma is what you would call the Pioneer Generation. When I think of her though, I don't think of the term Pioneer Generation. I just think of her as Ma.

It is nice, of course, to appreciate that generation for their contribution to nation-building and all that. But really, my late father and Ma impacted us in a more intimate way, providing for us and bringing us up.

They were there through all our ups and downs; when we struggled in school, when we failed an exam, when we grappled with work and business, when we got attached, when we went through breakups, when we got married, when we had children of our own, when we had a special child, when we lost a child.

Through it all, our parents were there, a pillar of strength and support. Their contribution to us is beyond nation-building. They are the very foundation of our lives.

This Pioneer Generation video below reminded me of our own family, as we gather for our Reunion Dinners.

Does it remind you of yours?

POSB National School Savings Campaign for kids

When I was growing up, my parents set up a POSB Savings Account for my brothers and me. We deposited our Chinese New Year ang pows into the account every year (well, in the early years, I think it was my parents who deposited it for us, because babies are too short for over-the-counter banking).

We were even taught to save our allowance, to put aside some of it for a rainy day. At one stage, I was so hardcore at saving my allowance, I even went without buying food during recess, bringing food from home instead. Partly because I was saving up for a really cool yo-yo, that the school bus auntie sold on the bus (along with snacks like “rat satay”).

I still remember the old National School Savings Campaign, run by the Postal Savings Bank, later called the POSB. We saved by buying 10 cent stamps, then fixed the stamps on cards until we had $2 of stamps. The filled card would then be dropped off at the bank as a deposit.

I remember there was Smiley the Squirrel, admonishing us to save. I also remember the sticky fingers (mine, not Smiley the Squirrel’s) from handling all those savings stamps. Good times.

So when we had kids of our own, the wife and I also chose to impart this saving ethic to them. I look at their bank accounts now, and feel a little poor but proud. They have quite a bit of ang pow money saved in there.

On a daily basis, they also set aside their allowance. I allow some of the allowance to go towards a toy fund, but there must be some set aside for pure savings.

I lugged some of those coins from their allowance piggy banks to the coin sorting machine recently. It was really heavy but satisfying to deposit their savings for them.

You know what? POSB is bringing back the National School Savings Campaign, supported by MOE. I am quite excited about it. Yes, the saving stamps, the stamp card, and even Smiley the Squirrel.

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Sponsored message:

Find out more about the campaign here and pledge your support.

Parents and primary school students can get their POSB National School Savings stamp card from any POSB/DBS branch, SingPost outlet and at Pacific or Popular bookstores in schools from 2nd February 2015 onwards. Students can then deposit the completed stamp card into any POSB/DBS Quick Cheque Deposit location and earn a $1 bonus (limited to one stamp card per child, per month and only valid for POSBkids account holders).

Sign up here for an ePOSBkids account if your child doesn’t have one.

If anything, stamps will be way easier to carry to the bank than a 5kg bag of coins.


[Image of old POSB stamp card above by Mel Naa, used with permission]

Snoopy Swee's debut on Heartland Hubby

Catch my villain character on Heartland Hubby tonight at 9.30pm, Channel 5.

Here is a little teaser video:

Post by Heartland Hubby.

Me and my new jeans

Truth be told, I haven't been much of a jeans person for a long time. Between cycling to work and traveling, jeans are usually too hot to wear in Singapore, or too heavy to fit into my ultralight packing ways.

So when Uniqlo asked me to try their jeans, I thought, why not? I bought the jeans before my Germany trip last month (only $59.90! Way less than I pay for my branded jeans in factory outlet stores!).

I noticed right away that the material is lighter and stretchier. Wearing them felt comfy and soft, and not warm. What manner of of quality jeans fabric were these?

I read the label and it said it was Kaihara Denim, and it was lovely. It stretched at the right places (there is a touch of spandex in there) and I could wear it all day without feeling discomfort, whether in hot and humid Singapore or the cold mountains of the Bavarian Alps.

I showed the jeans to my wife and she said, ya, she has a few Uniqlo jeans. They are very comfortable and are among her faves, she told me. I didn't even know she owned one, let alone a few pairs.

So far, I have worn the jeans to work, walked the streets of Berlin and Munich, hiked the Untersberg mountain in Austria (it is part of the Berchtesgaden Alps) and even did a few air guitar jumps for fun.

I washed them a few times in the 15 days I was away last month and each time, the jeans dried way faster than my usual all-cotton jeans.

And I don't always get so happy about pants but I liked them so much, I got myself another pair in grey.

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Sponsored message:

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1. A weekly draw to win $20 UNIQLO shopping vouchers – total of 10 to be won every week.

2. A Best Pose draw to win a pair of jeans worth $59.90. One to be won for every activity = total of 26 pairs to be won!

Samsung Unpacked in Berlin: Mobile

I am here in Berlin to cover the Samsung Unpacked event, and they have unveiled a bunch of new devices, mostly centred around the new Note 4.

The Note 4 sports a 5.7-inch Quad HD (2560x1440) Super Amoled display and comes in four colours, White, Black, Gold and Pink (they used fancier names but I can’t remember them off hand lah, simi Frost White or something).

The build quality looks better than the previous Notes, less plasticky. The front camera is 3.7 megapixels and the rear is 16 megapixels, which is fairly standard but the 3.7MP front camera aperture is now F1.9 for better low light use. They also added Smart OIS to the 16MP back camera to take away the shakes, and you can now do Wide Selfies with the front camera, a kind of panorama mode that stitches three portrait mode shots with the front camera together giving you a 120º field of view.

Also added to the Note 4, better multitasking, fast charging (you can get a 50% charge within 30 minutes) and also the Ultra Power Saving Mode inherited from the Galaxy S5.

With three microphones built in (yes, three), the Note 4 has improved ambient noise suppression, and if you use the Meeting mode to record a bunch of people talking around the Note 4, you can isolate up to 8 voices in a 360º circle.

Samsung says the Note 4 is meant to simulate pen on paper and the touch screen now has double the press sensitivity, so the touch and feel is improved and you get more elaborate brushes, like this fountain pen mode I used.

Also new is the Galaxy Gear VR goggles. It currently works with the Note 4 only, and you snap a Note 4 on the front and wear the VR to get a 3D experience to watch movies and play games.

I liked the 3D content I watched but I wonder how much content is going to be available for this gadget at launch. The circus video was in 3D and by turning my head I can see different views of a performance. Look up and see the trapeze artists, look right and see the clowns, turn 180º and see the seats in the theatre. It was pretty surreal.

I think most of us enjoyed the gaming part most. By turning your head to aim and tapping the touch pad at the side to fire, you can play games with the Galaxy Gear VR in 3D. You have to take off your glasses to use the Galaxy Gear VR but there is a built-in diopter to adjust the lens inside till we shortsighted fellows can see clearly.

The new Samsung Gear S watch looks way better than the previous ones. Now with Bluetooth, Wifi and 3G built-in, you can use a nano sim and operate the watch without being connected to a smartphone. The screen is a 2-inch curved Super Amoled display, and there are more apps now, supporting the Gear S. Straps are interchangeable.

And finally, the Galaxy Note Edge, which was quite cool to me. It is essentially the Note 4 with an additional curved screen on the edge.

You can park different menus and info along that edge, like the camera controls in the camera mode so the whole screen can be used for composition. Or watch a movie and if an SMS comes in, it just scrolls across the edge screen instead of interrupting your movie on the main screen itself.

You can even use the edge screen as a night clock (it involved rubbing the edge screen while the main screen is off, which I felt a little strange doing).

I think if you gave me a choice between the Note 4 and Note Edge, I would pick the Edge. That edge screen thing is pretty cool.

I am off to get more food now. I am surrounded by sausages and meats here in Germany. And for some reason, wasps.

Our driver told us, with a totally deadpan face, that it was the end of the wasp season, and they die off by the dozens during this time. And they tend to get a little crazy before they die. I am like lolwut?! Loco wasps?!

Small changes to save the world

Some months ago, my son volunteered me to be a parent volunteer for one of his school outings. When I say he volunteered me, it means I only found out I was to be a parent volunteer after he told his teacher I would be more than happy to be a parent volunteer.

I decided to take the morning off from work to do it anyway. The boys were brought on a social studies tour of Fort Canning Park and since I grew up playing at this very park in the city when I was in the primary school next door, the trip had extra meaning for me.

I had almost forgotten how lovely Fort Canning is. Lush greenery in the midst of the city, clean air and the sounds of birds (and some cars and construction as well).

It made me feel thankful that we still have pockets of nature here in Singapore, filled with history and stories of Singapore. I think it is awesome to have so many trees in Singapore, kudos to our NParks folks.

So when Kleenex asked me be part of their Forest Stewardship Council campaign, I agreed. All you have to do is to take a pledge to make small changes in your own home that will improve the environment for future generations, at their Facebook page, and for every 20 pledges collected, Kleenex will sponsor the planting of a tree in a local park.

You can make your pledge here: http://mrbrwn.co/1rmGzzw

I made my pledge and also placed a wish on the Wishing Tree.

Some of the little things I pledge to do to save the world (and some I am already doing) is to make sure we don't leave the lights and fans on when we don't use them. My kids know the familiar refrain from their father: "Who left the fan on in the room again?"

It is strange to hear myself saying stuff like this, stuff my father used to say to his sons. I guess it rubs off on you.

I also have a slightly bad habit of grabbing more than one tissue from the tissue box each time. I don't know why I do it. Maybe I think two tissues are better than one. I shall use tissues more sparingly from now on.

My children are also taught not to waste water when they wash their hands or bathe. And from their grandma, my kids learn that water used for washing rice and vegetables can be reused for watering plants.

There are so many more small changes I think we can make to save the environment. Share them here in the comments, and do make a pledge and wish at the Kleenex page.

I'd like to see more trees planted in our little island.

mrbrown goes barefoot for a day

YouTube links: http://mrbrwn.co/1lNSZ2g

Update: Online registration is now extended to 10th July 2014 2359 hrs!

Together with Habitat for Humanity Singapore, I decided to go barefoot for a day, to see what it is like. Come July 12th 2014, take part in the Bare Your Sole walk and raise money for those in need!

Details and registration: http://www.bareyoursole.org.sg/

The online registration is until 30 June 10 July 2014 2359 hrs. After that, physical registration will be at The Orchard Central, Ground Floor, 4th to 6th July, 11am to 9pm.

And to make it more fun, share your barefoot photos on Instagram and Twitter too! Tag the photos #bareyoursole14 and I will reshare them!

Here are some from my kids and me!

Kim Huat and HP present: Why Kim Huat Hates Giant Photostat Machines

YouTube link: http://youtu.be/bQch4sUpC40

Kim Huat hates giant photostat machines! Why?

Find out more at: http://www8.hp.com/sg/en/campaigns/hp_valuepage/overview.html

Kim Huat and HP present: Three Ways to Save on Your Office Printing

YouTube link: http://youtu.be/QGNcZuSjFGA

Kim Huat shares three ways to save money when you print in the office!

Find out more at: http://www8.hp.com/sg/en/campaigns/hp_valuepage/overview.html

Finally! The Pioneer Generation Package video in CANTONESE

It pleases me that there is finally a Cantonese version of the video that explains the Pioneer Generation Package (PGP). After I saw the Teochew one, I was wondering if they would release a Cantonese one, since that is my dialect group.

I showed the YouTube video to my mom on the family tv via my iPad/Apple TV. She quite enjoyed it, since she is also Cantonese (she is a hardcore TVBJ channel fan) and also a Mahjong playah. She totally got all the references and laughed at the presentation. She even asked to see the other dialect videos, and enjoyed those too.

It is cool to see dialects being used to communicate policy. But why stop at just online media? Show on tv lah! Show in the cinema lah! Sure, I can show my mother this Cantonese YouTube video on my computer or Apple TV, but it would be so much easier if the dialect videos can be seen in mainstream media too.

Good thing my mother understands and speaks English, so she can learn about her benefits as a pioneer generation citizen from other sources. For other older folk, these dialect online videos may be the only way they get to understand the package. So do show these to your loved ones if they need to understand the PGP in dialect.

Anyway, here are the three videos if you want to watch them all. Which one do you like the most?

Cantonese version: http://youtu.be/q-AtDI5EUqs

Hokkien version: http://youtu.be/cNPXz-xwziQ

Teochew version: http://youtu.be/edk70tCq13A

Kim Huat & OCBC present: Seven Stupid Ways to Earn More Interest (and one smart one)

How does one earn more interest these days?? Kim Huat shows you some bad ideas, and one great idea.

YouTube link: http://mrbrwn.co/1vrx2bW

Sponsored message:

Earn up to 3.05% per year on your money with the OCBC 360 Account by doing things you are already doing:

1. Credit your salary to your account: 0.05% base interest plus 1% bonus interest per year! It's like the bank giving you a bonus to your monthly salary.

2. Pay three bills: get another 1% bonus interest per year! Who doesn't have bills to pay? Conservancy fees lah, water and electric bill lah, cable tv subscription lah (look, that's three bills already!) This one is easy to do too. It's like the bank is paying you when you pay your bills. Sweet.

3. Spend S$400 a month on your OCBC credit card: get another 1% bonus interest per year! You buy some groceries at Fairprice, go for a few nice dinners, make some online purchases, pump petrol and before you know it, you've fulfilled this criteria too.

So, you get more interest for your money that sits in your bank account by doing one or more of the above tasks. It's flexible to the extent that you can do one or all three and get the bonus interest you want. And it's all easy tasks to accomplish.

Find out more at http://www.ocbc.com/360 today!

Do the Mozzie Wipeout!

YouTube link: mrbrwn.co/dothemozziewipeout

After months of working on this secret little project, I can finally reveal our music video entitled, Do the Mozzie Wipeout. This song was composed by me, and arranged by my good friend Seb, to remind the nation to do the Mozzie Wipeout, and stamp out dengue.

My wife got hit by dengue fever a long time ago, and it almost took her life. So we take dengue very seriously as a family. As much as I make fun of NEA posters, the dengue problem is real and that's why I jumped on board to do this song to raise awareness, hopefully in a fun and memorable way.

I hope you enjoy the song and it sticks to your mind. If your kids end up singing and dancing to it all day long, please don't hate me for the earworm. My own children are also singing this and driving me crazy.

Speaking of my children, you will notice that my family is involved in this music video. My wife, bless her soul, agreed to dance with Isaac and Joy for the video. Please be kind, we are not professional dancers, except our choreographer, Claudia Lao Shi. I would love to see you guys dancing to the song. I am sure you all can do a better version of the dance and maybe send me a video of it, I will totally share it.

You can tell we had a lot of fun doing this as a family. Although there were moments that I got a little impatient with the kids when they didn't get the moves right. Then the wife gave me a look of annoyance and I realised I needed to cool off. Sometimes, fathers need to know how to chill out and not be so demanding and perfectionist with his children. (Disclaimer: Joy putting the pail on her head was done under expert supervision. Don't put a pail on your head without adults present.)

For more on how to keep dengue away, go to www.facebook.com/Stop.Dengue.Now

Come and do the Mozzie Wipeout with us!

A surprise Mother's Day song for my mom

Youtube link: http://mrbrwn.co/1scR6dR

With the help of some friends and Gleneagles Hospital, I staged a little Mother's Day surprise for my mom.

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers!