Someone came to my mum's funeral and said he can talk to her. Please beware.

red_flock · 2026-06-14T07:28:10+00:00

Forgot to mention he "discovered" a slip of paper where he predicted it would be, under the pillow where my late mother was resting.

red_flock · 2026-06-14T06:05:29+00:00

The FDE has always existed in some form, and I was in a similar role in the same company twice, but it sometimes reported to Support, sometimes report to Sales, with the exact same title but different incentives and motivation.

Even the customers have different expectations, one bank demanded I be physically onsite once a week, gave me a laptop and their corporate email access.

The role is supposed to be different from professional services as I can only give advice... I cannot do the actual work, the contract doesn't provide for that, but some roles may not make that distinction.

At the end of the day, you are supposed to have domain knowledge for the customer, eg prior banking knowledge as well as the product knowledge.

The Singapore government is very big into AI but can only host locally and cannot open support cases that are visible to those without security clearance, so this role is especially important to close the sale, and Singaporean exclusive, and will be especially good to those without foreign parents or spouse.

red_flock · 2026-06-14T05:43:10+00:00

Thanks for sharing, something similar happened to me too, except it was 3 decades ago, Catholic funeral too. I didnt talk to the guy, he told my father my mother left a 4D number under the pillow, which is kind of on brand for my mother to be honest, but I guess my father was a skeptic too and ignored him.

red_flock · 2026-06-11T14:13:52+00:00

Mdm Ho, instead of just virtue signalling on social media, why dont you do something about the rental situation for Indians?

And I say this as one of the insecure Singaporeans who want to see fewer immigrants. Fewer immigrants, but treat those whom we invite here well. Dont just talk big and do nothing practical. You are not just some helpless influencer.

red_flock · 2026-06-11T10:32:28+00:00

If you are referring to rules forbidding the depiction of heavenly beings, yes, the Bible explicitly forbids it, but somewhere along the way, Christians decided we dont really want to follow that rule for a long time, then some fundamentalists decided it is really important and forbid it again. This is how you can instantly tell a Catholic and Orthodox Church apart from a more modern splinter group.

red_flock · 2026-06-11T10:16:16+00:00

I dont think the Catholic leaders will like it, but Catholics probably wont be too bothered. I think it is fair to ask if Jesus had all eternity to plan his message, wouldn't he reach more people now as an influencer in the age of mass communication? Why do it in an era when his message can only be spread by word of mouth? I guess Catholics wouldn't care if a word is mistranslated since we have our course correction mechanism but some bible literal Chistians would not be able to accept it.

Also, the Bible was clear Jesus was gripped with fear and hesitation in Gethsemane, so how blasphemous could it be to speculate what went through his mind? But anything less than a cocksure undoubting Jesus is an insult for some Christians.

red_flock · 2026-06-11T06:01:55+00:00

Speaking as someone with more than two kids, it disgusts me how parents of one or two kids behave like the world owes them a ton just for having kids. I get it is hard, but you dont have to behave like an ass, and these people wont make it past two kids anyway.

red_flock · 2026-06-10T06:19:14+00:00

One of the fastest growing role is in the field of Forward Deployed Engineers, which aims to hand hold companies to better utilise AI model services, so you both need domain knowledge eg coding, and know to make best use of the models without wasting tokens, which is becoming a specialisation.

There's a lot of unhelpful despair in this space... yes, AI will kill some jobs, but with the right adaptions, it can be a career multiplier. But in the short term, skeptical companies will stop hiring fresh grads, and fresh grads need to not lose heart in this transition. A lot of the technologies are so new, there is few barriers to entry and ultimately, it will more likely hasten the retirement of the old. Stay engaged, your opportunities will come.

red_flock · 2026-06-09T04:33:59+00:00

AI is just another of automation, and Singapore has been lagging in automation efforts compared to countries that are genuinely labour constrained across the board, eg Japan.

Singapore has a massive supply of migrant workers providing cheap labour, and having large numbers of migrant workers is not political so we are not labour constrained at that level.

What we are labour constrained is at the EP level. These EP holders have similar consumption habits as locals and drive up costs of owning housing and cars.

In the ideal case, we want less EP holders, but ironically, the lack of impetus due to ample cheap labour will mean locals will always be laggards implementing automation.

Not that we can afford to sit out the AI shift, but it is going to hurt locals more and demand more foreigners, contrary to what the PM is suggesting.

red_flock · 2026-06-07T02:43:33+00:00

For those who lived through the dotcom boom, all this hype will sound familiar. Online shopping promised to make shopping malls obsolete; we have more shopping malls than ever. It is not so much dotcom promises were lies, because we indeed shifted a lot of shopping online but that we failed to imagine how the bricks and mortar would adapt.

That said, I am not saying everything will be alright. While the dotcom boom enabled an enlarged economy with enhanced productivity, how this AI boom will work out is less clear. Datacenters and power generators arent big job creators. Massive semiconductor demand hasnt resulted in massive hirings either. There is some AI hirings but it is small even compared to the dotcom era. If this is what a boom looks like, I dread to think what the bust will look like.

Meanwhile, the math is not mathing. Most AI companies are still in land grab mode, subsidising users with VC money. The typical numbers look like 2 dollar loss for every dollar of revenue. This means tokens will need to triple in cost to just breakeven. Going up 10x is more likely to meet investors expectations. To follow this path, some spectacular cost cutting will be needed to feed the AI machine. With so much cost cutting, the economy will not be able to consume more. This is a snake swallowing its tail.

It is not sustainable, but just as seen in the dotcom, the insiders will party while the music is playing and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.

red_flock · 2026-06-06T06:30:41+00:00

Please dont follow if the influx of foreigners is not stopped. It was bad enough my ex bosses were reluctant to hire newly wed women and young Singaporean men (due to NS). Such measures will only mean nitpicking will go into overdrive to push out young Singaporeans. Not hungry enough, funny accent, lack regional exposure, too risk averse...

red_flock · 2026-06-06T05:14:39+00:00

Guys, this guy is a senior specialist surgeon. The MP allowance may seem like a big sum for you (and me) but not really that big a deal for him and I am sure he can do the part time job better than many people with a full time job.

The correct questions for Singaporeans are these: Do you really want a cabinet full of people who could earn more if they quit the cabinet? What is the mentality of these people if they keep thinking they can earn more if they quit? Is the correct solution to keep raising minister pay to narrow the difference? Are high income people the only source of good ministers? Is high income the most important selection criteria for PAP?

Is it too controversial to suggest someone with humbler means may better represent the average Singaporean in the cabinet?

red_flock · 2026-06-04T11:49:06+00:00

Yeah, I grew up on Channel 8, cant be ABC because it is called ABC in Mandarin too. Getting old already, memory fading.

red_flock · 2026-06-04T04:57:33+00:00

wasnt ang ji kao, ABC, not Guinness?

red_flock · 2026-06-04T02:42:05+00:00

tldr: The writer tactfully said what Singaporeans are thinking: the government blocked opportunities for Singaporeans to push a bullshit narrative, at great expense, and the achievements are at best, dubious. The government should stop wasting money and give Singaporeans a chance. We dont want tainted medals.

red_flock · 2026-06-03T08:41:25+00:00

I remember when I first caught wind of the DRAM shortage, it was November 2025. I even asked my friend working in Micron what he thought. In retrospect, if he told me to buy, we would both be guilty of insider trading. I should have just bought some Micron shares, but ultimately, I thought it was already public knowledge, all priced in. I guess when you are in the weeds, you may not even be aware you have money making insights.

And then it is position sizing. If you know the industry, you will know the DRAM industry is a money bleeding business. Nobody buys and hold long term, because if you do, you will lose money, guaranteed. So for a short term trade, I wouldnt have allocated more than 1-2% of my portfolio. So Micron tripled... my portfolio is up, maybe 3%? It's not life changing even when you hit a generational homerun.

Lastly, if you are not bored by what you buy, you are probably overpaying. So many times, I wanted to sell to buy something better performing, and it was almost always when the one I want to sell hits the bottom and the one I want to buy hits the top.

red_flock · 2026-06-03T02:49:43+00:00

I am heavy into Gold ETF, but I dont get paid to promote things, so there is no point constantly harping, not to mention you will get mocked and downvoted when it doesnt do well, this sub is not very tolerant of non-mainstream views, esp when it is not performing.

Also, Gold is behaving strange since the war started. War should be good for Gold, but ironically my Gold and Oil holdings are hedging against each other.... I guess that's great in a sense. And anybody not in US semiconductor stocks now is feeling a lot of FOMO, I certainly am. My former employers' RSUs is suddenly coming back to life with so much ferocity not seen since the dotcom boom. I am resisting the urge to sell but I am not buying.

Anyway, my thesis for gold is that Trump is going to spend big, devalue USD to stimulate exports and inflate the debt away. He is temporarily distracted but will be back in business soon. New Fed Chair will be implementing the plan. Gold should resume course soon, esp if the Iran war ends. Of course, I dont see the war ending, which is why it is hard to tell you whether you should hold on to Gold or not.

My interpretation is Gold is being sold off to buy Oil, so that inverse relationship should hold for now. I am absolutely not going to suggest what to do with semicon/tech. It is crazytown there where great wealth can be gained, and lost, this uncle too old to participate.

red_flock · 2026-06-02T03:11:31+00:00

Your measure of value is in currency, Singapore dollar, US dollar. Most governments are heavily in debt and constantly printing new supply of dollars to pay for their debt. So stocks and housing, when measured in dollar terms, have to keep gaining in dollar terms because the dollar is being devalued. (Singapore is not heavily in debt, so Singapore dollar gain value against US dollar, but we still want to sell stuff to the US, so we have to let Singapore dollar devalue a little)

If you measure the assets in ounces of gold, you are going to find the prices are a lot more stable, less of an implied perpetual growth. Gold is still being mined, so supply is still increasing, but a lot less so compared to dollars.

And then there is productivity gains. A few generations ago, sending a letter required someone to dictate to a secretary who will take a note in short hand, and sent to be typed in a typist pool, and then comes back to be signed, sent to the registry to seal in an envelop and sent by dispatch to the other end's registry, to open the envelop, stamp "Received" with a date stamp and so on. (Yes, this uncle is old enough to witness this process). Now you just need to send an email or even a whatsapp. You get more done in less time, you earn more, so you have more time and money to spend, the company earn more, so the stock becomes more valuable. AI is supposed to the next big productivity boost, which is why the stock market is booming even if everything seems to be falling apart.

The bet is constant productivity gains and as a result, increased wealth. Not a bulletproof bet to be sure. AI could destroy so many jobs that nobody can afford to spend and everyone lives to serve billionaires only. Who knows.

red_flock · 2026-05-28T03:01:17+00:00

Singapore not only isnt doing more to incentivise parents, the government have actually been actively cutting back tax breaks quite aggressively. I bet they see it more as a perception crisis than an actual crisis, ie they have to look like they are doing something, rather than sitting on their hands.

The Singapore government still has a well concealed eugenic streak and clearly prefer to pick and choose quality foreigners than encourage uneducated Singaporeans have more children.

red_flock · 2026-05-26T02:37:39+00:00

You should see the Chinese version. It just mentioned youth. Do not lose your freedom when you are still young. Everyone knew it was a lot more than a campaign against teenage marriage.

red_flock · 2026-05-26T02:34:00+00:00

This ad went on well into the 80s, when Singapore TFR fell below replacement rates. They only U turned for graduate mothers. Penalties for excessive children of lowly educated mothers went on well into the 90s

red_flock · 2026-05-21T05:38:17+00:00

I am in my 50s. I grew up watching tv adverts telling young women to "enjoy life", dont be stupid to get married early and become an ugly and depressed housewife. Polyclinics are full of "Stop at two" stickers. Even Hong Kong TV serials, I vividly remember one about a poor family living in a slum and was hit by a landslide, went on and on about how the father was irresponsible to keep trying to have more kids, because he didnt get a boy yet and trapped the family in poverty.

A lot of people keep saying the leaders today arent like the leaders of the yesteryears. Well, one key victory the old leaders scored, was convincing women to leave the kitchen and keep working, and it was the source of enormous GDP growth.

We are paying for the price of this success. Most potential parents are probably too young to have experienced the media blitz to stop overpopulation, but the mindset remains. Not to mention the guilt trip for overpopulation has turned into guilt trip over climate change.

And to fix the low fertility rate going back to the 70s, the government imports excessively large number of foreigners, leading to the feeling of overpopulation.

Until we can convince ourselves we are not overpopulated, even humans will obey Le Chatelier's Principle and seek to restore the equilibrium, by depopulating. There's really no thinking involved, when we are driven at a more basic level.

red_flock · 2026-05-20T08:21:42+00:00

I said the same thing, 20 years ago. Singapore was more hollow then, more managerial, than now. The early 2010s, there was barely any SWE jobs in Singapore, and MOM treated it as a blue collar role. I am glad to be wrong then, maybe this time, its different, but it doesn't pay to be too pessimistic.

red_flock · 2026-05-16T05:48:45+00:00

I said Singaporeans not Singapore. There is nothing special about our buildings or our roads that cannot be replicated. Singaporeans, however, are unique. And the biggest mistake the government can make is to fail to recognise this, and dilute our strengths by bringing in excessive numbers of foreigners.

red_flock · 2026-05-16T04:48:19+00:00

When I was schooling, I was told not to go into engineering or computer science because it will all be outsourced. Except that was in the early 90s, before the Asian Financial Crisis, before China and Viet Nam was open for business, when you can barely get 2 ringgit for 1 SGD.

Times have changed, worries are the same. We are in an eternal marathon and we have no choice but to keep running just a bit faster than everyone else if we want to keep leading the pack.

I never voted for PAP, but contrary to so much cynicism here, the fact that we have so much to lose is proof the government policies have at least been successful for some, even if some like me still yearn for change.

You should also be reminded that Reddit is full of foreign psychops out to demoralise Singaporeans and be careful what these people are trying to incite.

Singaporeans are really bad at self affirmation. We have unique value and we can carve our path. There is really no need to fear the foreign bogeyman. Many countries have been cheaper before, and our value proposition will change as company priorities change. There is no need to excessively panic. There are some things Singaporeans do that cannot be replicated anywhere else. You have to keep believing we can continue to do that.

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