Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by strategist

How many percent of salary should go into insuranc

strategist — Sun, 18 Dec 2016 00:53:44 +0800

So i just bought medical insurance of RM400 per month, when my net salary is only ~4k. wondering if it is too high.

What if i want to commit to other stuff like house and cars etc, am i shooting myself in the foot

edit: it is covered up until 80 years old. Investment-linked insurance. Cash value roughly breakeven after 30 years, can choose to withdraw or cover until 80 years old. So technically i miss out on investment opportunities.

Accepting a job offer, then quit before job starts

strategist — Thu, 26 May 2016 10:51:46 +0800

Long story short I am almost graduating with two really competitive job offer. I haven't decided between which I want to accept. How badly will I be punished if say, I sign the offer letter saying I accept the job, but then telling them one month before the commencement date saying I am actually not interested in the position?

Will I be blacklisted by the company?

Reason why I am worried is they are two different industry. If I find out that I am totally not interested in one of them, I want to be able to backtrack to the other company that offered me and apply again for their graduate programme.

It is a banking vs engineering job offers btw.

edit: well since we are on the topic, what is the consensus among Malaysians on which industry is better?

Intel vs PWC (Accounting Job)

strategist — Sat, 04 Apr 2015 10:16:13 +0800

Hi all, I will go straight to the point. My girlfriend was offered a graduate job in Accounting for Intel, KPMG and PWC. She is torn between choices and need opinions to make decision.

PWC

Pros:
Reputable name (Big Four).
Work with different clients, lots of things to learn.

Cons:
A foreseeable high amounts of OT, very tough to study for ACCA paper towards Chartered.
KL area, high living cost.

Intel

Pros:
Less OT, more time to study for ACCA
Penang area

Cons:
?

She has ruled out KPMG because PWC is better (is it?). What do you guys think? Thanks.

Lenovo Y50 vs Asus G56JR vs Asus G550JK

strategist — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 14:07:16 +0800

as title, I have narrowed down my choices to the three mentioned. The main use of the laptop is gaming and also occasional use of heavy programs like Solidworks.

Any hidden issues I should know (heating problems, battery lifes etc) before I make my final choices?

Currently leaning towards Lenovo Y50 for its GTX 860m. Asus G550JK has a GTX 850m too but is DDR3 (is there a big difference?). G56JR is in my choice because it seems to provide the complete package.

Some people recommended MSI or Illegear. I am not familiar with MSI, and Illegear does not come with OS, so not considering them. If anyone can give me a MSI model with the same price ranges and specs that will be greatly appreciated.

Is it possible to apply for one-year sponsorship

strategist — Mon, 27 May 2013 05:01:08 +0800

anyone has tried this before?

Monkey

strategist — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 08:39:58 +0800

A guy walked into a bar with a monkey. The monkey grabbed some olives off the bar and ate them. Then he grabbed some sliced limes and ate them.

He then jumped onto the pool table and grabbed one of the balls. To everyone's amazement, he stuck it in his mouth and somehow swallowed it whole.

The bartender looked at the guy and said, "Did you see what your monkey just did?"

"No, what?"

"He just ate the cue ball off my pool table - whole!"

"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me," replied the guy, "he eats everything in sight, don't worry, I'll pay for the cue ball."

The guy finished his drink, paid his bill, paid for the stuff the monkey ate and left.

Two weeks later the guy came back and had his monkey with him. He ordered a drink and the monkey started running around the bar. The monkey found a maraschino cherry on the bar. He grabbed it, stuck it up his butt, pulled it out and then ate it. Then the monkey found a peanut and again stuck it up his butt, pulled it out and ate it.

The bartender asked, "Did you see what that filthy ape just did?"

"No, what?" asked the man.

"Well, he stuck both a maraschino cherry and a peanut up his arse, then he pulled them out and ate them."

"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me," replied the guy. "He'll eat anything, but ever since he had to shit out that cue ball, he measures everything first."

What does the term Special Awards and Honors mean

strategist — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:50:47 +0800

what is meant by the term 'special awards'? does that mean exceptional achievements in various competitions? or awards you can only received by completing special services like being a prefect in school?

will you classify achieving High Distinctions in mathematics competitions as a special awards? i have received so many of them and I have no idea whether should I put them in.

or does being the top ten in school/ highest marks in ICT and Additional Mathematics counted? I was indeed awarded certificates for them by the school.

or getting gold medals in district level sports competition?

or is completing half marathon (21km) counted as one too?

Error 404

strategist — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:28:44 +0800

Which branch of engineering is this?

strategist — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:36:00 +0800

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zqmdv5iyIOY[/YOUTUBE]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zqmdv5iyIOY

uh no idea why the video doesn't work..... just click on the link

and this.... double levitation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyOtIsnG71U

Let's make a circle.

strategist — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 00:24:39 +0800

One day a farmer called up an engineer, a physicist, and a mathematician and asked them to fence of the largest possible area with the least amount of fence.

The engineer made the fence in a circle and proclaimed that he had the most efficient design.

The physicist made a long, straight line and proclaimed "We can assume the length is infinite..." and pointed out that fencing off half of the Earth was certainly a more efficient way to do it.

The Mathematician just laughed at them. He built a tiny fence around himself.....

and said......

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Physics

strategist — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 13:42:38 +0800

[attachmentid=2498082]

help please anyone?

Answer: A

TQTQ

THE World University Rankings 2012

strategist — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 20:53:17 +0800

to whom it may concern.

US and UK remain as the powerhouses for education with 75 US institutions and 32 UK institutions in top 200.

Caltech: 1st
Harvard: 2nd
.
.
National University of Singapore: 40th
Nanyang Technological University: 169th
Monash University(Australia): 117th
University of Nottingham(UK) : 140th

Malaysian Universities: None (within top 400)

Source: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/worl...12/top-400.html

A priest, a preacher and a Rabbi

strategist — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:02:12 +0800

Dunno if it's a repost but..

A priest, a preacher and a Rabbi walked into their favorite bar, where they would get together two or three times a week for drinks and to talk shop.

On this particular afternoon, someone made the comment that preaching to people isn't really all that hard. A real challenge would be to preach to a bear.

One thing led to another and they decided to do an experiment. They would all go out into the woods, find a bear, preach to it, and attempt to convert it.

Seven days later, they're all together to discuss the experience.

Father Flannery, who has his arm in a sling, is on crutches, and has various bandages, goes first.
"Well," he says, "I went into the woods to find me a bear. And when I found him I began to read to him from the Catechism. Well, that bear wanted nothing to do with me and began to slap me around. So I quickly grabbed my holy water, sprinkled him and, Holy Mary Mother of God, he became as gentle a lamb. The bishop is coming out next week to give him first communion and confirmation."

Reverend Billy Bob spoke next. He was in a wheelchair, with an arm and both legs in casts, and an IV drip. In his best fire and brimstone oratory he claimed, " WELL brothers, you KNOW that we don't sprinkle! I went out and I FOUND me a bear. And then I began to read to my bear from God's HOLY WORD! But that bear wanted nothing to do with me. So I took HOLD of him and we began to wrestle. We wrestled down one hill, UP another and DOWN another until we came to a creek. So I quick DUNKED him and BAPTIZED his hairy soul. And just like you said, he became as gentle as a lamb. We spent the rest of the day praising Jesus."

They both looked down at the rabbi, who was lying in a hospital bed. He was in a body cast and traction with IV's and monitors running in and out of him. He was in bad shape.

The rabbi looks up and says, "Looking back on it, circumcision may not have been the best way to start."

Cleverest Dad ever

strategist — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 22:46:51 +0800

Dad approaches son.

Dad: I want you to marry a girl of my choice.
Son: No!
Dad: The girl is Bill Gates' daughter.
Son:Then okay.

Dad goes to Bill Gates.

Dad: I want your daughter to marry my son.
Bill Gates: No!
Dad: My son is the CEO of World Bank.
Bill Gates: Then okay.

Dad goes to the President of the World Bank.

Dad: Appoint my son as your CEO.
President:No!
Dad: He is the son-in-law of Bill Gates.
President:Then okay.

Overall Reputation vs Subject Ranking

strategist — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:23:27 +0800

Hi guys, this thing has been bugging me for a long time.

Most of the time, when we said that xxx university is famous for _____, just because the university is only good for ____ subject, doesn't mean the subject offered is the BEST degree around. Am I right?

For eg. most people may say NTU is better in terms of engineering and technology/business, but does it really mean that NUS is inferior in their engineering/business degree? I have seen many people opting NTU for engineering just because it's supposed to be 'better' in the engineering field, while NUS is much more well-known internationally.

So which aspect do you think that is more important in choosing a university?

P.S. Generalized discussion. Of course MIT/Caltech/Stanford is a much better place to do engineering than Harvard University.

Permutation

strategist — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 20:04:27 +0800

Eight people sit in a minibus: four on the sunny side and four on the shady side. If two people want to sit on opposite sides to each other and another two people want to sit on the shady side, in how many ways can this be done?

Answer is 4608.

my working 2! x 4! x 4P3 = 1152. I think I missed a x4 somewhere...

My alternative working is 4! x 4! x 4C3 x 2 = 4608. Calculation based on splitting both side as two different cases and calculate them separately. Answer is correct, but I think this one is faulty because I don't understand- how can you times 4! for both side when one opposite pair is fixed in their places?

Anyone please?

NO SCHOLARSHIPS FOR SPM?

strategist — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 01:18:12 +0800

QUOTE

PETALING JAYA: A total review of the Public Service Department (PSD) scholarship policy will be conducted next year.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the review would include whether to “reserve” scholarship offers for top scorers at university-entry level and providing small bursaries for SPM-level students for them to undertake pre-university courses such as STPM, matriculation or A-levels.

“We will work out a new policy next year,” he said on Thursday during the one FM Morning Kaki radio show.

His son, Nor Ashman also appeared on the show.

He said the key was to give scholarships to those able to achieve very good results and a place at top universities.

“Giving scholarships at SPM level is not a good idea. Even if students do well in their O-levels, it doesn't mean they will do well in their A-levels,” he added.

Najib added it was important to be “fair and balanced” in the process of awarding scholarships to ensure that all communities benefited from them.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=...1&if_height=535

Finally, a step in the right direction? Let's see how creditable is this statement especially the scholarships for top universities overseas.

Don't underestimate your professors

strategist — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 21:19:55 +0800

I dunno if this has been posted before but...

Instead of studying for the last exam of their college careers, four seniors spent the night partying in the house they had rented off campus.

The next morning they waited until the test would be almost finished, and then made their way to class. Along the way they all put grease on their hands to support the story they were going to tell their professor. The class was almost done with the exam, when all four seniors burst into the room. They report to the professor that they had a flat tyre along the way and could they please retake the test? The professor said that he was a reasonable man, so he scheduled a test date for the following week.Their plan had worked!

They studied diligently for the next week, making the most of their time. The day of the make-up came, and they were ready for anything. Each senior was placed alone in a separate classroom for the test. The first question, worth 5 points, was easy. The second question was worth 95 points, and it simply read:

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Thinking Skills

strategist — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 18:58:51 +0800

Okay here's what happened. Taylor's has just changed the policy for having Thinking Skills as a compulsory subject. Students have the options to drop or continue with the subject. Needless to say the next day hundreds of students flock to the office to drop the subject, but I held back as I pondered about the effects behind this.

We know that it's not easy to get an A in thinking skill. I am assuming that having this subject is an extra bonus, but it's not a vital role in university admissions. Am I right in that? Taylor's claim that TS can help us during when we took our admission tests for Medic/Law or whatever, but I don't see any relevancy for my course (engineering/maths/physics) unless I am applying for Cambridge, where they require Thinking Skill Assessment (TSA), and this particular subject will probably gear me towards the assessment, but they will most probably prefer STEP though.

Personally I don't find Thinking Skills difficult. I have no problem to maintain at least 80%+ everytime without much work or studying, and I don't have the problem of time shortage most students face during exam because I solve problems pretty fast (very fast in fact). But the time for TS lessons can be used to strengthen my other A-Levels subjects, and needless to say the extra free hours every week is a tempting deal to me especially in my current situation.

So, in a nutshell, should I drop or continue with the subject?

Is it possible to get a degree in Economics

strategist — Tue, 10 May 2011 19:26:26 +0800

as title, is it possible?

Will prestigious universities overseas accept someone without an economics background at all for eg. Bachelor in Economics? I know it's possible for business/accounting/finance though.

I am taking 2 maths and 2 sciences subject in A-Levels, and I am just exploring the possibilities available when I applied for universities. Thanks for your help