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Dear Fellow Reds, Nearly a year ago, I started the 2018/19, wishing that Klopp powers us to greater heights. That was achieved when we bring back number 6. But I think a lot of us is wishing for him to end the 30 year wait. So this time round, for season 2019/2020, it shall be our dream. YNWA.

hmmmmmmm sth brewing? @tianmo https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/a-level-results-students-apply-polytechnic-skip-semester-courses-11245456 Singapore A-Level results out next Friday; graduates who opt for polytechnics can skip semester image: data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw== File photo of students at Singapore Polytechnic. (Photo: TODAY) 15 Feb 2019 11:22AM (Updated: 15 Feb 2019 12:21PM) Share this content BookmarkSINGAPORE: The results of the GCE A-Level examinations will be released next Friday (Feb 22), the Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Friday. Students may collect their results from their schools from 2.30pm on that day, while private candidates will be notified of their results by post. The ministry also announced on Friday that A-Level graduates who choose to further their studies at polytechnics can now skip the first semester for more than 100 courses. Currently, most A-Level graduates apply for and enrol in a polytechnic only one year after getting their results. This is because most polytechnic admissions exercises would have closed by the time the A-Level results are announced. READ: O-Level grades will no longer form part of admission scores for Poly grads applying to NUS, NTU from 2020From Academic Year 2019, eligible A-Level graduates can be admitted directly to Year 1 Semester 2 each October for 110 polytechnic courses, up from the current nine. This will reduce their polytechnic course from three years to two-and-a-half years. Advertisement The 110 courses make up about half the diploma courses offered by the five polytechnics, and span several course clusters. “A-Level graduates who are not enlisting in National Service will be able to enter the polytechnics in the same year that they receive their A-Level results. As a result, this group will be able to graduate one year earlier,” MOE said. image: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/image/11245562/0x0/819/511/72007b68a9c769b719a86efa69bb462d/Df/polytechnic-admission-for-a-level-infographic.jpg Source: Ministry of Education Interested A-Level graduates will be able to apply to the polytechnics directly for these 110 courses in mid-August, for matriculation at the start of AY2019 Semester 2 in October this year. More details will be available on the respective polytechnics’ websites by March 2019. 200 A-LEVEL GRADUATES ENROL IN POLYTECHNICS ANNUALLY Places for A-Level graduates will be separately catered for, and there will be no impact on the number of places for O-Level graduates or ITE graduates, MOE said. "The number of places for A-Level graduates will depend on the demand from and quality of applicants, and hence will vary from year to year," it said. According to the ministry, about 200 A-Level graduates are admitted each year to the five local polytechnics – Nanyang, Ngee Ann, Republic, Singapore and Temasek. "These are students who are keen to pursue an applied pathway at the polytechnics, that matches their area of interest or aptitude," it said, adding that the number includes both A-Level graduates who have applied and those who did not apply to the local universities. READ: Better pay, job prospects for polytechnic graduates in 2018: SurveyFor most polytechnic courses, A-Level graduates would need passes in two relevant H2 subjects to receive module exemptions. These requirements may differ for specific courses. Courses which offer module exemption have "sufficient commonalities" between the A-Level and polytechnic curriculums, MOE said. The exemptions are mostly for polytechnic foundational modules, and students would have covered similar curriculum in preparing for the A-Levels. For example, A-Level graduates in Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Diploma in Information Technology may be exempted from the modules on Computing Mathematics and Programming 1 if they have passed H2 Computing or Computing Science, and H2 Mathematics. Similarly, A-Level graduates in Temasek Polytechnic’s Common Engineering Programme may be exempted from the modules on Engineering Mathematics 1, Engineering Physics, Digital Fundamentals 1 and Circuit Analysis if they have passed H2 Mathematics and H2 Physics. Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/a-level-results-students-apply-polytechnic-skip-semester-courses-11245456

Hi bros, I've been calculating but not sure which is the more economical option for me. Appreciate your thoughts and advise which is an overall more economical decision. I'm currently driving a 2008 Stream, COE expiring March 2018 with $15K loan left and OMV $20,486. Is it more economical to change car now or wait till COE expire? If I were to change now, I will likely go for 5+2 cars such as Wish & Touran. Putting aside COE fluctuations, let's assume COE remains at current level from now till 2018. 1) If I wait till COE expire (20 mths fm now) Outstanding loan : $15K Scrap Value at end of 10 Yrs : $10K Nett Cost if usage : $5K Annualised depreciation : ($15K-$10K)/20 * 12 = $3K 2) If I change car now Expected selling price of existing car : $27K (is this a reasonable assumption?) So I basically loose $17K for using this car for 20 months which works out to be $10,200 annually. so which is the more "correct way" of looking at the cost of ownership? The other thing is that assuming I use the next car for 10 years, Option 1 will allow me to drive the new car till 2028 option 2 will allow me to drive the new car till 2026 how do I consider that 2026 to 2028 difference for this decision?

Hi, need some advice and your rationale to see if I got my sum right. I bought my Aug 2007 Stream in Jan 2012 for $55K. The OMV is $20,500+ and I understand I can get back around $11,300 if I ride it out till the end. So, at that point, I was thinking my depreciation is around $7,300 per year. That is OK for a 1.8 litre car that sits 7 people. With today COE dropping and hopefully it will goes further south, it seems that should I replace it, I will enjoy a better depreciation and enjoy a new car. Of course I may not be getting back a 7 seater and 1.8 litre Honda. If I go for a $85K normal saloon car (Kia, Mazda, etc) and trade in my present car. This is my calculation. Value of new car $85,000 Trade in current car $20,000 ( $11, 300 + $9K for the balance 1.5 year is very reasonable or I should get more) $55,000 For the new car, if I ride out the 10 years, I am sure I should at least get back $5K. So, if I depreciate the $50K over 10 years, my depreciation for each year is $5K. Did I get this sum right? On top of the above, for the balance 1.5 years, my depreciation of $7,300 is reduced to $5K per year, a saving of another $2.3K or more. Of course now I got to see what $85K I can buy. Any views or advice? Thank you

This post in EduMatters features one of the coolest Hulk Buster Gif so far!!! http://edumatters.sg/how-to-make-your-child-study-hard-for-their-mid-year-exams/

My car is reaching 10 yr old mark in Oct. Does it make sense to renew COE at additional cost due to it being more than 10yrs old or scrap and replace? Should I replace the car now or wait until closer to COE expiry for most cost savings?

Anyone tried the Yong Tau Foo located at #01-23, Ang Mo Kio Food Centre, 724 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 ? The taste was good but the queue was bad !

Incoming!! http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s_4-review-907.php

Hello, not sure if it is just me or everyone felt the same but i realised that nowadays since 2-3months back our train service is getting worse. Morning have to wait for 2-3 trains before manage to squeeze in and then in the evening another rounod of wait for 4-5 trains squeeze like sardines again. Working life in SG sucks without a car!

Hi guys, As of now, i had waited 4.5 months for my Kia Soul and the salesman had no idea when it is coming. Sigh.... I had heard stories that some had waited 6 - 8 mths for their kia cars. Why is the wait so long?

Over the weekend, Asiaone ran this article VW to open new service centre in MacPherson, where it also stated the following tidbits:"A Volkswagen Centre Singapore spokesman said that currently 90 cars are serviced a day. 'This will rise to 120 and later 180 with the new facility,' he said, adding that for standard service bookings, customers now wait for up to seven days but VW will bring this down to three days.... ...But according to some VW owners, the waiting time now is between one and two months... ...The VW spokesman said that the waiting period could be even longer if there were other issues that the customer wanted VW to look into. 'For standard servicing, it is within seven days,' he said." And that is bullcrap! I don't think I had a 7 day service wait in the past 2 years. I've driven my car to 95,000km, and with a 15K service interval, that's 6 servicing in the past 4 years, which is fortunately not too often (compared with my previous Japanese cars' 10k service intervals). Go ask any friend who owns a VW and I'm sure they'll tell the same story... 1 month is already lucky. Call today (+65 6305 7299) and the service assistant will politely inform you that the earliest she can slot you in is in April! And a standard servicing for 60k might take 2 days! And the numbers are telling. 13,000 VWs need at least 1.5 service appointments a year each = 20,000 appointments a year. Add the expected 3000 cars they will probably sell this year (16,000 cars, 24,000 appointments) and you know that they do not have the capacity to handle servicing, much less repairs and other car-related work. (In the article, they stated that they can only do about 90 cars a day, and that I presume is including repairs...) As a previously satisfied VW owner, I can only give a word of advice to prospective VW buyers... DON'T BUY VW!

I'm pretty much sold in getting the A5.... Should i get the current model or wait for the 2012 model??

nowadays everyday can see full page property / condo advert on newspaper... all big big ones what does this mean? to buy or to wait?? are developers panicking now and want faster get rid of their stock? or time to buy??

Need advise whether to buy S60 now or wait until next year for the COE to drop... Current S60 is going at $156K with immed COE and will get the car before end Dec. It's still a bit steep for me and still wondering whether want to wait longer. But i expect LTA to cut COE quota again and CEO will go up higher. I was told Cat A might hit 70K and Cat B above $100K. All thanks to Taxi and FTs. Please give constructive advise. Appreciate all the input.

PLs comments.....However, I just found out it probably applies to foreign work permits holders only. Dun flame me. Anyone knows about it?pls clarify. Thanks

From ST Forum: http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/...ory_690001.html Most bosses accept MCs from any doctor WE REFER to last Saturday's letter by Singapore Medical Association president Chong Yeh Woei ('Change law to make firms accept MCs from any doctor'), as well as recent letters on the same issue. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) would like to reiterate that employers should recognise medical certificates issued by any registered medical practitioner for the purpose of being absent from work due to illness. However, in order to take sick leave with pay, the Employment Act states that an employee needs to obtain a medical certificate from a company or government doctor. This is only a minimum requirement, and does not stop an employer from recognising a medical certificate from any doctor. Provisions on sick leave with pay are included in collective agreements or employees' contracts of service. In a survey conducted by MOM in 2009, three in four private establishments accepted medical certificates issued by all medical practitioners for the purpose of granting paid sick leave. We thank Dr Chong for his views. We will take the views of all parties, including employees, trade unions and businesses, into account in future reviews of the Employment Act to ensure a balance between statutory obligations and business needs. Farah Abdul Rahim (Ms) Director, Corporate Communications Ministry of Manpower

what are the tyres u guys/gals cannot wait to try them on? for me. the bridgestone s001. pirelli p zero, ( the new model , back and front different pattern ) and the new goodyear asymmetric 2.( coming soon) pls share what tyres u guy are waiting to try on .

hey bros, need some guidance :) thks in advance. My 1.5L (2007)coming to 5th(2012) yr Liao. Mileage 96K+. Major servicing is due soon. Is it a Good idea to change my ride n get a used car? New car prices are crazy due to COE. Cos my thinking is after 100k major servicing, subsequent servicing will be major. Cost some $$$. Is it saving some $$$ if I change my ride from 2008-10, mileage from 30-50K mileage? Servicing is cheaper in that sense. Had check with some dealer, sell off, I get at least $40K. Outstanding around $16k. Take back $24K. Using that to buy another ride. Still looking at 1.5L and below. Now interest is low as compared to my 2.5%. My concern is also to reduced my mnthly installment. But with low interest, still not possible to lower than now. My loan is 7yr for current ride. Then should I keep status quo? Should I itchy backside n change or wait till fully paid off my loan n drive for full 10 yrs but will spend some $$$ on maintenance. M In a dilemma. Or to some bro, very clear cut change or remains. Frankly speaking used car has it's limitation in terms of colour, model. I still love my ride. None is as good unless it's a conti car but I will not consider conti car for now due to higher $$.

Extracted from http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=102...pe=1&ref=nf Quoted from one of his ex-colleagues: "it was the marketing department of the admin and research unit of NTUC umbrella union. he was there in '05 as deputy director or something, a rising star so to speak, "young and talented, up and coming"... yada yada yada. Let me just cut to the chase: there were no less than 2 girls who worked there the same time i did who told me of their sexual harassment experience with this guy. and as far as i know it went unreported, undisclosed.. and there were many others who also knew of it. but it seems not enough people stood up for themselves or for the others to make it known."

My iPhone 3GS got stolen!!! So friggin pissed!, but nothing much I can do. Police said that the chance of recovery is slim. So gonna break the thief's face if i ever see him again. Should i just go ahead and get the iPhone 4 or hold on for the iPhone 5 release?

Sui bo?? ..... where Copen is retro, this Honda Beat will be more up-to-date and slight bigger in size...... go in it to jio MM, sure can! http://blog.roadandtrack.com/2012-honda-beat/ Quote: (from an US article) There are rumors swirling around Japan of the possible return of the Beat, Honda

Notice nowadays private buses wait in public bus bay along the roads for their passengers and these buses usually just park there for 10-20mins even during peak hours.... for example the Sentosa Resort World buses at bus stops along the main road near Vivo city etc etc. The result is that normal public buses have no place to pick up / let out their passengers in the bus bay so they just stop along the road, causing traffic jams behind.... It is ok if private buses just stop and move off like public buses at these bus bays, but they just simply park there to wait for passengers to fill up the seats ... ignoring the traffic jam they are causing

Dear forummers and friends, I have a question of some grave personal consequence which I would like to put to the various professionals here. You see, I'm in some sort of a squash. The classic story of the gen x guy getting pressured to settle down and have an asset to his name. So here goes. I've never thought of getting a HDB since young. The general thought was, 'Why pay good money to rent four walls which is essentially not yous to begin with?" The sincerely innocent goal was always to work hard and save enough to migrate to NZ. However, I've been under pressure from the missus and parents to shift my sexy ass out of the parental home and get my own love nest. While the idea has it's appeal, given that the property market in SG is a generally rising asset over time, my inherent prejudices about the state of affairs in this sunny(and and currently hazy) island regarding big ticket desirable items are essentially holding me back. Given my nonchalant attitude regarding this particularly nagging issue, I sheepishly admit that I have almost zilch knowledge about HDBs in SG. So coming back to the nagging question, would any experienced forummer kindly advise me whether I should buy a 5 room flat now or wait until the market drops and the historical timeline for such a drop, given the economy right now. I've done some research and the index looks to be at an all high at 167.8 for 2010 from 2007 which looks to be an abnormally inflated price. Would it be impertinent for me to assume that in the next 5 years, I would have a high chance of seeing this index drop to pre 2007 levels given the rise and fall of the market index over the years? Or would this bubble become self sustaining from influences and cash inflow from various developing mega nations? Appreciate your advice. **I'm looking at a reseale 5 room unit around the Serangoon North/Hougang Ave 8/9 area. Though I'm keeping an open mind about new units around Sengkang abeit the smaller floor space and higher PSF. Thanks, Me

used to use shell ave 8 carwash. average wait time always 10 to 15mins at most n i like the blow dry wax device also.. but ever since it close down i cant find a similar carwash... shell ave 6 carwash damn jialat!! wait time 40mins to 1hr... been there 3 to 4 times.. off peak or peak oso like tat... n the staff there sibei slack...really not worth paying. bros can advice usually go where for carwash? not 40mins to 1hr wait time. amk area or queenstown area.. thanks