Spymama @ Mamakshop

Do Porn Filters Work?

spymama — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:21:03 +0000

Children nowadays are all PC literate. They play online games, have email accounts and surf the net for information. At home I have a desktop that is used by all family members at home. I have it placed in the living hall because I worry about safety issues like sites that contain unsavoury images. Even though I have increased the internet security filter on my computer, I know these filters do not work entirely. Some websites have popups, advertisements available in cyberspace that finds its way into our browzers. A simple search for a keyword that my daughter mis-spelled could even churn out some unwelcome images.

Sometimes she goes to a relative’s home to surf the net. Worst is, what if the images accidentally browzed are not during online access?

A wave of relief came when I read about SurfRecon, an application that works like a porn filter. What it does is it crawls through your computer and determines how sexual is an image using a sophisticated data matching technology. It is simple to use and can be downloaded direct into your computer or you can even purchase pre-installed on a thumb drive. Sounds like a wonderful idea. Keep your children safe from internet porn. You will never regret it.

Grim Outlook

spymama — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:27:49 +0000

The recent news about Neptune Orient Lines’ to axe employees sent jitters to me. Not that I am an employee but I worry about the effect it will cause in Singapore. Just weeks ago, DBS had made a decision to axe 900 employess in Singapore and Hong Kong. Then banks were talking about how people had defaulted payments on their car mortgages. I’m sure some of those who need to pay bank installments and yet out of work might find themselves in a corner. Then many investors who placed money in some bonds find their nest egg lost overnight. And with the news about NOL, I think things are not looking very positive. Unemployment rate will sent many people in desperate moves.

Yesterday’s COE was historic at $2 for 1.6cc and below.

Dreamhomes

spymama — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:50:35 +0000

It is the school holidays now. School only opens in January so the children will have lots of time doing what they like to do without hoarding school books. As we live on high rise, the only outdoor place we own is the balcony space. It would be nice to live in a home that is landed and one that is individual and stands out from your neighbours. We can have BBQ parties and let the girls have fun on an outdoor swing and have a proper garage.

Having a custom designed home is something that we would love to have. Most homes that we have viewed are designed with similar layouts. Homes in the east usually does a lot of wok-frying and oil splatters are everywhere. In the states, ready homes do not come with an Asian style wet kitchen. Commercialized home developers will not custom build your house as they have been designed for mass buildings of homes.

If you have a piece of land, you might want to seek the professional advice and get Schumacher Homes to help you design your dream home. They have 16 years of experience building homes all across America. Their aim is to deliver quality construction and award-winning design are also met with state-of-the-art processes and technology as well as great value.

Bah! What A Day!

spymama — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:48:47 +0000

What a busy day it has been. I have so many errands to run. I had been to the market, bank, post office, cobbler at the market and the supermarket. I came back, took a short rest and in a minute I am going out again! Yikes! I need to pick up the kids from their holiday class then rush to the car workshop. But I’m not sure if I can make it in time. It is raining too. Arrrgghhhhh!

What makes matters worst this morning was when I came out from my car, I step up to the grass patch to avoid the puddle of water. And I step on some pup poo. Grrrr…!!!! What luck indeed! Then you already can feel the heat of anger and you just have to grit and smile and pretend nothing happened because a neighbour walked past and greet me ‘Hi’ and an old lady will not stop yakking about how the prices of rice did not fall..

Okay, I’m running out again now. Oh cross my fingers!

Missed Calls

spymama — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:41:55 +0000

I’ve been missing my calls lately. Perhaps I need to get a cordless phone at home. It’s usually when I am in the kitchen or in the bath. I do hope it’s not some prank call though. When I see the numbers reflected on the caller id, the numbers are not recognizable at all. If it is really urgent, then I should be receiving another call from the same number again. I remember my friend Tammy who goes into the Canada reverse phone directory to check who the caller is with the phone number reflected. What a great idea. Details of the owner and other particulars such as address, the phone carrier and postal code are among what you can get using this service online.

Perhaps I should try it out and check if the number could be a long lost friend or family member.

A Marketplace Restaurant is a Foodcourt

spymama — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:21:50 +0000

I went to Marche over the weekend. And it was terribly crowded. Sigh… Waiting for food took a while. Marche concept is similar to foodcourt, except that it is a Swiss foodcourt. It is like a marketplace actually.

You bring your cards, order your food, let them scan it in for payment later upon exit. Then you can go browze and buy other food or stand there while they cook your food on the spot. When you order food like grills and steaks and there is a queue, it’s just terrible. If I go back to my table and come back, I won’t know if my food is ready. And if I wait there, I may wait for a while. Terrible, huh. After this experience, I think the next time I want to have a nice grilled steak or seafood, I’d go to Jack’s Place. At least I know once my food is ready, it’s delivered hot to my table. Because by the time I go hunt for a vegetable in Marche, I am lost at where to wait. sigh…

My Favourite Snack

spymama — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 03:13:20 +0000

Spypapa loves chips, especially the Ruffles BBQ ones. He would buy them from the convenient stores in petrol station and brings it back as quiet as possible so that the kids will not know.. It can be very funny indeed because my children has ears that can tell when Papa brings back chips!

I love them too but not as much as Prawn Crackers. My granny always have them in the house and visiting is always filled with memories of Nyonya Kuehs and Prawn Crackers.

A meal at a Thai restaurant last week made me crave for them even more since they served it as appetizer before our dishes were served. And after the meal, I popped by the supermarket to get this box of crackers to that I can have them fried at home! Eat them with chilly sauce, absolutely yummy.

Now I am rummaging through my drawers for that bottle of diet pills that I dumped in there last month! I feel terribly overweight now!

Ask When In Doubt

spymama — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 01:15:00 +0000

We all have our own differences in cultures and language. Even when we do use an international language like English for instance, the people of different cultures and regions have different ways of communication and understanding different terms. Singaporean uses the Singlish way of speaking English and inject lots of local colloquialisms and slang in life. They may learn the proper way of English, but the understanding and usage in every country will always be different. In Singapore, Coffee Shop is a very relaxed, neighbourhood no frills shop. Slippers, shorts, T-shirts or singlets are very much accepted without batting an eyelid. To a friend of mine from the states the term “coffee shop” meant our cafes selling gourmet coffee like those of Starbucks and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

So if you happen to be in Las Vegas, and someone asks you for a las vegas strip map, do not be shocked because what he meant was an area map of Las Vegas and not pointers to places where dances remove their clothes. To be clear, do not fear and always remember to ask when in doubt.

How Many More Hours?

spymama — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 07:10:02 +0000

It had been exciting day since Saturday at Ngee Ann City’s Civic Plaza. This is the 7th year where the Subaru Impreza Challenge is being held again. What is it you might ask. Well it is a contest whereby as many as few hundred contestants challenge to be the last man standing with their palms on the car only getting a 5 minute break for every 6 hourly interval! This goes on for days till the last one standing.. Most of those who quit finds themselves aching and wringing in pain after a day or two. It is now approximately 65 hours already…

This year saw 400 contestants in Saturday’s day 1, quickly diminishing by Sunday morning to 180 left! The last man or woman standing will walk away with a brand new Subaru Impreza worth S$80,000. By 7pm on Mon, there were 38 contestants left!

Last year’s female champion winner stood at a total of 77 hours and 13 mins! The male winner stood at 73 hours 55 mins.

Hang Up or Report

spymama — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:01:31 +0000

For heaven’s sake, hang up that call. That is what hubby usually tell me to when I received some calls that can be a nuisance. Some are pranks and some are actually calls from banks who will chat non stop trying to sell me their financial products. As usual, I try to explain to them why I am not buying and on the other side, hubby asks me to hang up the call. So if you receive such calls that you think is too irritating, why not check out the website: www.reportphonenumbers.com to see if these numbers have been reported online by others as well. Perhaps in future you will know which of these numbers to avoid.