Coffee Table Trivia

According to Wikipedia, coffee tables made its first appearance in Britain in the late Victorian era for the purpose of anyone sitting on sofas to place items such cups or books. Today, the coffee table is used for many different purposes. From propping up tired legs to storing odds and ends, there are thousands of coffee table designs suited for different needs.

Here are two important tips to help you narrow down your search for that perfect coffee table.

1) Deciding on the use of your coffee table
Will your coffee table be used for the casual cup of tea or for regular TV dinners? Or is it simply a place to prop up your legs? Would you like it to double up as a storage facility or a display piece? Is it going to be a permanent piece of furniture or just something you might want to think of changing in a couple years' time?

Deciding on the intended use of your coffee table will help determine the kind of table you need. If you are looking for a coffee table to prop your legs, you might want to look for a smaller table of a comfortable height. Rounded edges are also important so that your calves don't end up with ugly marks from resting on the table. If you regularly have your dinner whilst watching TV, opt for a coffee table that is not too low so that you won't find yourself having to bend over every time you reach for your food. You can also go for a cheaper range of coffee tables if you intend to change your furniture after a couple of years to refresh the look of your living room.

Coffee tables are also becoming a popular choice for doubling up as a storage facility or as display shelves. Some coffee tables even double up as aquariums, making it the centrepiece of the living room. If you intend to use your coffee table for storage, opt for pieces that come with drawers. This will help keep dust away from your stored items and eliminate the need to constantly tidy the contents since they are kept out of sight. Choose a practical design if you intend to use your coffee table as a display unit. The best pieces will allow you to reach your display items easily and allow for easy cleaning since you want to keep your coffee table in tip-top display condition.

2) Deciding on your coffee table's intended users
Next, you should look at addressing the needs of your primary users. Who are your primary users? Is your table mainly used by guests or do you have small children around the house? Perhaps you want to make sure your pet is not able to reach the cookie jar on your coffee table?

Deciding on who uses the table is important in determining the design of the table as well as the materials to be used for the table. If you are regularly entertaining guests in your apartment and there are no young children around, you can opt for more intricate designs that might make this centrepiece stand out. However, opt for more practical features such as rounded tables, smooth edges and sturdy surfaces if you have young children around the house. Also, make your coffee table slightly higher if you want to make sure Fido doesn't get his paws on those cookies.

Choosing a coffee table from the thousands of designs can be a rather daunting task especially if everyone in the family favours a different design. Talk to your family members to discuss your needs and follow these tips to help narrow your search. This should point you to the appropriate design and price range best suited for your needs to make that shopping trip more enjoyable.

Mooncakes, Anyone?

The Mid-Autumn Festival or what is affectionately known as the "Mooncake Festival" is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month in the lunar calendar. On this day, the moon is believed to be at its fullest and brightest and symbolises a day of reunion for the family.

There are several versions of the Chinese mythology surrounding the origins of this festival. Typically, it revolves the love story behind Chang'e, the lady in the moon, and Hou Yi, the archer. The most common belief was that the ill-fated lovers could only meet each other on this day, when the moon was at its fullest and brightest.

Over the years, the Mid-Autumn festival has grown into a family reunion more so than a celebration of folklore. Families gather around the dinner table on this day and enjoy traditional sweets such as mooncakes (a sweet bean pastry), pomelos and sip Chinese tea under the moon. Children are the happiest lot as they get to light up their colourful lanterns on this night.

This festival is celebrated by Chinese families all over the world as well as other Asian ethnic groups such as the Vietnamese. And while they may celebrate this day with different rituals in different parts of the world, this day remains a day of reunion amongst family members as well as in remembrance of their ancestors.

Recipe: Malabar Spinach stir-fried with Shitake Mushrooms

Malabar Spinach or "Ti Wang Cai" as it is pronounced in mandarin is a green leafy vegetable commonly used in Chinese cuisine. It is not quite a spinach and has a slimy taste similar to okra. Rich in Vitamins A, C, iron and calcium, it is low in calories and is believed to help remove toxins and mucus from the body.

Stir-frying is one of the simplest ways to enjoy this leafy veg.

500gms Malabar Spinach (soaked & rinsed)

3 Shitake mushrooms

2 teaspoons crushed garlic

2 teaspoons olive oil

sprinkle of salt

handful of dried shrimps

1) Heat olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat.

2) Stir-fry dried shrimps, garlic till fragrant. Add shitake mushrooms and lastly, malabar spinach.

3) Toss vegetables around to cook evenly till it turns dark green. Add salt to taste and a dash of water (to prevent overheating in pan). Give the mixture a couple of tosses and voila!

Recipe: Cod Fish steamed with Garlic & Prawn Chilli

The white, mild flavored flesh of cod makes a wonderful substitute for meat protein.

Cod is not only an excellent source of protein and selenium, it is also a very good source of vitamin B6 and phosphorous. In addition, cod contains a variety of important nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, potassium, vitamin D and niacin. Better still, it is an excellent low-calorie source of protein.

Studies show that people who eat fish regularly have a much lower risk of heart disease and heart attack than people who don't consume fish. Stick to broiled, grilled, baked or steamed cod to get the best results.



2 pieces of frozen sliced cod
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon prawn chilli (or any other bottled chilli available from the supermarket)
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1/2 large lime
sprinkle of salt

1) Marinate the fish with a sprinkle of salt, olive oil and lime juice. This helps to take away the "fishy" smell.

2) Lay the marinated cod fish fillets on a small plate. Spoon prawn chilli and garlic onto the cod fish and cover with aluminum foil.

3) Place the plate in a steamer for about 7-10 mins (depending on the thickness of your cod slices) and voila! Alternatively, you can wrap the cod fillets in aluminum and place it in the oven to bake.

Cash for your baby?

Having a baby in the Volga River region in Ulyanovsk, Russia, (about 900km east of Moscow) might just earn you cash - terms and conditions apply.

According to the Associated Press, government in the Volga River region gave couples a day off from work yesterday to encourage couples to stay home and procreate. Incidentally, if they gave birth nine months later on June 12, Russia's national day, they will receive prizes ranging from cars, refrigerators, video cameras amongst other prizes.

September 12th was officially named the "Day of Conception" and this is apparently the third year the government has held such a campaign to address the issue of declining birth rates. Yes, everyone who has a baby on Russia's national day gets to win a prize and the grand prize (the grand prize in 2007 was a UAZ-Patriot Sports Utility Vehicle) goes to the "fittest parents" selected by a committee. Subsequent births on this day will even earn cash certificates worth $10,000 which can be used to improve living conditions or for the child's future education.

Russia is one of the most sparsely occupied countries in the world. Prior to this campaign, its population was reported to be shrinking by half a percentage point each year since the early 1990s. This year, the region reported improvements of 4.5 per cent in their birth rates compared to the same period last year.

Clearly, as strange as the campaign might sound, results show that it is working and what an innovative solution it is. Not only has it been effective in encouraging pro-creation, it also adds a dash of fun and patriotism as the country celebrates its national day every year.

The Service Issue

Much of the advise given on this subject matter centres around grasping the right soft-skills such as watching your tonality, showing empathy, maintaining the right body language and many others.

Whilst these practical tips are very important in face-to-face communication, they are also fairly subjective and may yield different results and interpretations. As a result, companies and employees find it hard to measure the effectiveness of employing these techniques despite investing thousands of dollars to build up expertise in this area.

Dealing effectively with complaints doesn't necessarily involve spending thousands of dollars. However, it does involve greater effort and synergy within the company rather than leaving it all to the service staff. Just like a CEO needs outstanding executives to deliver that great business idea, great service requires teamwork within the company.

Service staff play a very important role in representing the company. Yet, there is often a communication and information gap between the service unit and the business units. This results in a lack of product information and necessary support, especially in addressing specific complaints from customers. Customers themselves may also be expecting this information gap and service staff now have the additional hurdle to manage a customer's expectation of their competency in handling the complaint.

Here are some simple changes that you can make within your company to deal with complaints more effectively:

1) Designate representatives from each Business Unit to support your service staff

This helps your Business Units to be more service-oriented and enable new product offerings to better focus on customer needs. Train your Business Units on customer service and don't be afraid to allow customers to speak directly to the Business Units for specific product information when necessary.

2) Conduct regular communication sessions between the Business Units and the service staff

This regular feedback channel provides a platform for the service staff to better understand the company's products and allows the Business Units to understand the real customer needs in order to improve or come up with better products.

3) Share performance indicators

In order to cultivate a customer-oriented approach in your company, it is necessary to have the appropriate motivators for all employees to work towards a common goal. This is especially important when different units deal with your customers directly. Share business profits with your service staff since they provide the necessary after-sales support to delight your customers. Tag service standards, such as customer satisfaction indices, to your Business Units since they create new product offerings and service your customers.

Remember, a customer complaints because he or she wants a particular matter to be resolved. Hence, while it is important to engage your customer professionally, it is equally critical that highlighted issues are resolved in order for your service to be effective.

Hungry Ghost Festival

The Hungry Ghost Festival is a traditional festival that is taken quite seriously by Chinese all over the world particularly in Asia. Just like the many myths and superstitions surrounding Halloween, the Hungry Ghost Festival has its fair share of ceremonial rituals. But unlike Halloween, the festival lasts for the entire 7th month of the lunar calendar (30 days).

During this time (typically somewhere between August and September), it is believed that the Gates of Hell are open, freeing ghosts and spirits to roam our world, away from their sufferings in the underworld where they had been banished to. It is believed that these spirits will be hungry for comfort and food, while some may seek out revenge or settlement for unfinished business.

As such, Chinese people usually line up a whole month of activities ranging from offerings of food to entertainment to appease these hungry ghosts. Here are some of the things you might want to look out for on your next trip to Asia:

Festival celebrations
As the term "hungry ghost" implies, offerings of food, such as roasted meats and all sorts of delicacies, can be seen everywhere during the month-long festival. Together with prayers, incense, paper money and other paper possessions (such as paper-made cars, telephones, and even credit cards) are burnt as offerings so that spirits can receive these worldly possessions to have a better life down under.

Such prayers and offerings can be found in households, along common residential areas or make-shift "party" venues otherwise known as Getai. These temporary venues not only offer prayers and food for the roaming spirits, they also offer entertainment such as singing, dancing and traditional performing arts for both spirits and humans alike. At such performances, the best seats in the house at the front row, are always reserved for the "VIPs".

The month-long festivities reach a climax on the 15th day of the 7th month and goes on for another 15 days before the 7th month is finally over. It is believed that the Gates of Hell shuts its doors after 30days and all roaming spirits will return back to the netherworld.

Myths and Superstitions
All spiritual festivals come with its fair share of urban legends and a list of do's and don'ts. Most commonly, the old folks will advise the youngsters not to stay out too late for fear of an encounter with harmful spirits since these spirits are considered most powerful at night. Here are a list of things to look out for if you are visiting the festival for the first time:

• Do not eat the delicacies used as offerings, unless otherwise served. It may be tempting to pick up a piece of fruit at these festivals but avoid this at all cost. These offerings are meant for the spirits and urban legend has seen many cases of mysterious illness striking the people who have pinched such offerings.


• Do not sit in the front row at the Getais (entertainment venues). These are strictly reserved for the VIPs aka Hungry Ghosts.


• Try to avoid stepping on burnt offerings. Chinese believe that burning items is the only way for spirits to receive offerings in the netherworld. Hence, it is believed that the area where the burning takes place becomes an "opening" to the netherworld and stepping on such an "opening" might subject one to ghostly possession.


• Avoid swimming at night during this month. It is believed that hungry ghosts lurk in the dark waters at night, increasing the risk of drowning.
  

Urban legends and festivities aside, this month-long event is also a time for children to show their filial piety. During this time, the younger generation in a typical household offers prayers, food and other wordly offerings to their ancestors as a mark their respect. Appeasing the roaming spirits aside, the Hungry Ghost Festival is a meaningful tradition where people take time out to remember those who have left.

Do Dogs Dream?

Ever noticed Fido wagging his tail or paddling away furiously in his sleep?

Well, our canine companions may be more similar to us than we think. Dreaming appears to be a necessary function that comes with data processing and memory storage. And while Fido has an amazing memory of always knowing where his favourite squeaky ball is, it appears that our dog's memory banks need the occasional purging and re-organising just like ours does!

Dogs and humans appear to have two main sleep patterns - the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep and the Slow Wave Sleep (SWS). The first stage of sleep is the SWS where we retain our muscle tone but our mental processes start slowing down. This is followed by REM where the body is fully relaxed and darting eye movements take place. Dogs and humans can be woken up from sleep more easily during SWS while our fully-relaxed muscles make it harder to wake during REM.

In the SWS stage, brain waves are slow and undulating but in the REM stage, brain waves become rapid and irregular and mental activity becomes heightened. This may explain why Fido would start wagging his tail, whimpering in excitement or even paddle away furiously while his eye's are darting about in his sleep. Try not to wake your dog up during this stage of deep-sleep because, like us, they need periods of uninterrupted sleep for healthy mental activity.

So, what might Fido be dreaming about? That's still a million-dollar question.

We might never find out exactly what goes on in his dreams but what we do know is that with all the snoring and twitching, it makes us want to snuggle up for a quick nap too!

I HATE Ticks!!!!!!

I 'd always thought roaches were the most disgusting pests on earth till I got acquainted with the TICK. And man, they are the most disgusting and resilient creatures I've ever seen.

Probably the only saving grace for pet owners when it comes to these hardy brown pests, is that they are large enough for the naked eye to spot. Here are several things that you need to do once you spot ticks on your pet to make sure they don't infest your pet as well as your living area:

1) De-tick your pet

Unfortunately, the best way is still to comb through your pet manually and get rid of the little suckers with tweezers or bring them to a professional groomer or veterinarian for de-ticking. If you're de-ticking your pet yourself, make sure you don't chuck the ticks in your bin as they are quite a resilient. Instead, fill a container with some apple cider vinegar, dump them in there and keep the container closed. It might take several hours before the buggers actually die (some people actually recommend burning them!). For long-coat pets, its best to keep the coat short for now as its much easier to check for ticks.

2) Put your pet on a spot-on product

Like many have suggested here, frontline and advantix are pretty good off-the-shelf products you can purchase. Such products will ensure that any ticks still leeching on your pet will die after feeding on your pet. Refrain from bathing your pet 2-3days before or after using the product on your pet. Do abstain from areas where your pet might pick up more of such pests or pass on these pests to other pets such as in dog runs.

3) "Bomb" the areas where your pet normally rests

While spot-on products kill the ticks after feeding, it doesn't prevent them from residing in your living area and jumping onto your pet. You will need to use other preventive measures such as off-the-shelf tick "bombs" which are available at all pet retailers. These DIY foggers will get rid of these pests from your living areas as well as your pet's bedding and toys. What's great about the fogger is that they will be able to reach tiny crevices in your living areas where ticks commonly like to hide. Should you still see ticks infesting your living area after the DIY fogging, call your local pest buster for help immediately.

4) Maintain a cleansing routine for your pet

Finally, once you've done all the above, check your pet daily to remove any remaining ticks. They won't all go away at once and you may still get the occasional tick or two for weeks or months to come. Make sure you clean your pets bedding and toys at least once a week and you can use some warm apple cider vinegar mixed with water when cleaning. Some pet owners don't fancy the idea of putting their pets on products like frontline or advantix for an extended period of time. Once you have ascertained that your pet is not at the risk of tick infestation, you may want to consider alternative products for tick prevention such as neem oil instead. You can find these in diluted sprays or in its concentrated form where you can add to your pet's shampoo for its weekly bath.

Keeping a well-balanced diet and a proper cleaning routine for your pet will go a long way in protecting your pets from tick infestations. And a healthy pet is very often a happy one too.

Protecting Yourself Against Credit Card Fraud

That tiny piece of plastic in your wallet is actually more powerful than you think it really is. Banks all over the world are spending millions every year to protect themselves against credit card fraud by adding new security features. But because your credit card is a globally accepted product, it is subject to different merchant practices all around the world, which makes it an easy target for fraud.

Here are some 5 simple tips to protect yourself and your bank accounts from credit card fraud:

1) Reduce your credit limit
Many people are not aware that they can inform their bank to lower the limit on their card accounts. Lowering your credit limit will reduce your financial exposure should you lose your card or become a victim of fraud. Simply estimate how much you are likely to spend on your card each month and inform your bank that you would like to set your card account to this limit. Your bank will be more than happy to increase your limit for one-off purchases should you need to do a large purchase down the road.

2) Know where your cards are
Simple as this may sound, many of us hold a number of cards from different banks and may not even remember how many cards we actually have. Other than limiting our credit on each card, another good practice is to know where all your cards are to ensure that they are securely in your possession. Leave only one or two cards in your wallet and lock up the rest in your safe. Always put your cards back in the same place in your wallet so that you will immediately notice if they go missing.

3)Always check your card after making payment
Make it a point to check that the service staff has returned you YOUR card after you have made payment. There have been instances in restaurants where service staff return the wrong cards to their customers. Make it a habit to check that it is your name on the card.

4) Never lose sight of your card when making payment
Using your credit card at restaurants seem the most convenient way to make payment. After all, the service staff has got everything in control. Yet, this is traditionally one of the most common ways to skim data off your card. Go to the cashier to make payment and witness the whole process for yourself. Your physical presence will likely deter any opportunistic attempts to skim your card data.

5) Do not reveal any important account information to anyone
Critical information includes everything on your credit card statement, including your card expiry date, to the three/four digit code at the back of your card. With pieces of information about your card, it is easy for anyone to pose as you to contact your credit card company and ask for further details. In fact, a notorious credit card criminal has confessed to piecing up credit card details to commit credit card fraud this way even while he was in jail.

Remember, that tiny piece of plastic in your wallet is as good as cash, especially if you have a debit card. So keep it securely in your possession at all times.

Boring City? Think Again.

A city is as boring or as interesting as YOU want it to be.

I read an article today where an author claimed to be the best person to introduce Singapore having been a resident for almost three decades. Unfortunately, he follows up by saying that there isn't much that is interesting in the local scene and goes on to half-heartedly compile a cringe-worthy to-do list.

It always bugs me when people say that their home country is boring and that there is nothing to do where they come from. Understandably, one's home country will always be a place where our responsibilities lie. We spend a good 80-90% of our waking hours everyday fulfilling our responsibilities to our families and at work and this is the routine we get used to whichever part of the globe we are on.

But just because you're used to the sights and sounds of your home town doesn't mean that it is any less interesting for someone who's new to the city. We may find our lives boring but that has absolutely nothing to do with the city!

In fact, there is always something interesting around the corner. All you need to do is to take time out to smell the roses. With globalization, the sights and sounds that one encounters in different countries are getting more similar. But that doesn't mean places are getting less interesting. In fact, homogenization is encouraging more unique expressions in terms of fashion, products, lifestyle and even buildings. Travel shows and tourists are also getting more discerning in seeking out off-the-beaten-road sights and sounds.

So before you start telling people that your home town is boring, think again.

After all, a city is only as boring or interesting as YOU want it to be.