An entry about a man of our times, Sir Edmund Percival Hillary.
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary died today at the age of 88, almost 55 years after the ascent that made him and Tenzing one of the great heroes of the 20th century. For one who had reached such lofty heights he was a strange mix of confidence and modesty; bravado and reticence. A beekeeper and amatuer mountaineer from New Zealand, he figured in one of this century's defining moments: the conquest of Everest on May 29, 1953.
Success was theirs. Even before the expedition had reached basecamp news of their feat had made London — in time for Elizabeth II's coronation. Hillary, who had never approved of titles, learned to his horror that he had been knighted and could not demur as the title had been accepted on his behalf by the New Zealand Prime Minister. The euphoria of coronation and conquest combined as a symbol of a new Elizabethan era. In reality it was more an ending. Hillary and Tenzing's accomplishment was the last major earthly adventure and also the last great symbol of Empire. The next great exploratory leap came with a push into space by the new super powers: the Soviet Union and the United States.
Click for full article.
Hindsight and history-writers are always sharp and brutal. Once feted as a hero who conquered Everest, Hillary was soon sidelined to the annals of history as Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space in 1961 (Gagarin died in 1968 at 34 years old when his fighter jet crashed) and US astronaut Neil Armstrong planted the US flag on the moon in 1969. I think the next major breakthrough is when one of our neighbours send their astronauts to plant their flags on the sun. (Too hot? The grapevine says they intend to go there in the night.)
I first read about Sir Hillary in my primary school English textbook. His Mt Everest story was briefly mentioned. Then, he was somewhat a hero. I never thought of him as a hero. My heroes are always those who wear their underwear outside their normal clothes. Or if they can transform into red and silver giants and battle intergalatic monsters. Who would give a man who conquered a lump of earth hero status?
Still, as time went by, Hillary appeared on international radar screens on and off. It was only when I read the full article that I found out he had been also an Ambassador, adding to my existing knowledge that he was involved in philantropy work in the Himalayan regions. Rightly too, in the media was the lump of earth called Everest.
With time, I begin to form my opinion about the man and his mountain. Indifference is quite a good knowledge management tool, especially when you do not know what to do with the knowledge. Well, my own experience also contributed to the opinion of him and athletic conquests, being not athletically inclined myself. I list spectator sports and jaw-exercises (aka munching food) as my favourite sport and exercise respectively.
After Hillary and Tenzing showed that Everest was not impregnable, people thronged to Everest to claim they have topped her. Like the piped piper who used his magic pipe to hypnotise throngs of children - by the way, where is he when I need him to rid those screaming kids from the cinemas, restaurants, book shops, libraries, cafes,... - Hillary's ascent seemed to have thrown up an ongoing "one-upmanship" challenge to the common man, leading many to their deaths.
I read news stories now about how climbers feigned ignorance (of English) to avoid helping other climbers in distress in conquering Everest, how climbers left the weakest or injured to their deaths so that their paid holiday is not ruined, how climbers fell to their deaths in their conquest of the elusive Everest nipple, how the mountain was now a morgue, a trash centre, a desecrated site.
Was there a need to scale Mount Everest when it already existed in all of us? Until now, I do not know if Hillary had mentioned this philosophical insight once in his life or books. (If he did, please let me know. I'll elevate him to a different plane.) Our vices are our Everests. Yet we try to conquer the physical and forget to cultivate the spiritual Everests. Sacrilegious!
But perhaps. Perhaps Everest is there to be sullied so as to also cleanse.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Mental resilience
We are never taught to lose gracefully.
Our forefathers knew how to lose. Gracefully or not, they learnt to bounce back.
We will never want to lose.
Our forefathers knew to treat a win as an exception than the norm.
We cannot consider a loss as an acceptable outcome.
Our forefathers consider a loss as a lesson; an experience on which to build future conquests.
We are unable to live without structure; certainty was needed.
Our forefathers lived without structure; uncertainty ruled.
We will never want to be forced to live a structured life; we wanted to be in control.
Our forefathers lived regardless of structure; they learnt to cope with whatever little control.
We are unable to cope when the structure is taken away.
Our forefathers yielded with the times, like water taking the shapes of the obstacles in their way and slowly wore away the impediments.
We expect only good news - one after another.
Our forefathers hoped to get good news too - if it ever reached them.
We will never want bad news.
Our forefathers were always hopeful that bad news would not come their way.
We cannot even accept bad news as outcomes of our bad decisions.
Our forefathers stoically accepted the outcomes of the decisions, regardless.
We need pats on our backs for our work done.
Our forefathers were only too glad to be able to keep the skin on their backs.
We fret when we do not get it.
Our forefathers were only too glad to avoid the "whips" that could cripple them.
We even fear other people getting patted on their backs when we do our work.
Our forefathers knew one man could never get the whole work done.
We demand attention for ourselves.
Our forefathers were happy to stay out of the limelight.
We will never accept being sidelined.
Our forefathers knew that seeking attention is akin to a moth seeking a naked flame.
We will not accept any work that might not get us the attention we desire.
Our forefathers would have just have gotten the work done.
We have a problem.
Our forefathers had problems.
We will never accept that we have a problem; the problem is someone or somewhere else.
Our forefathers may or may not accept that problems existed but for whatever it took, they owned the problem.
Even when diagnosed, we may not even get help for our problem.
Our forefathers would be only too happy to have their problems diagnosed.
Yet as our forefathers lived to ripe old ages and died natural deaths, we - the baby boomers and after - are dying prematurely. A good number of these deaths are by suicide.
I think mental resilience is the main contributing factor.
While advances in medical science have helped diagnose many psychological and psychiatric disorders, the societal support structure and medical service providers are badly-equipped to handle diagnosed cases.
Our forefathers probably had a decent family unit to look after them. What do we have? Medical social workers? Hospitals?
Our forefathers probably had it really bad and what they have now would still be better than what they suffered in the past. So they suffered willingly. What about us? We enter the world and see it enter its golden age and then right after, it goes downhill. What else is there to give us the impetus to carry on living in this world?
The villages our forefathers came from were probably their cocoons. The world out there is an entire different universe. For us, the world is our cocoon. If our haven is compromised, from where do we seek refuge?
The outcomes for the two "distinct" generations become obvious - our forefathers ask to be kept alive by all means, we try to die when we hit our first major snag.
Our survival instincts are much less acute than our forefathers'. Progress has made us go soft and vulnerable. We lose our "under siege" mentality and the resilience to say "hit me with your best shot, buster!" but "don't count on it 'cos I'll bounce back, and bounce back stronger than you have ever seen!"
In short, Society also needs to deal with the "global warming of the minds". Whereas a cooler period existed in the past, the heat from added stress and not having undergone the baptism of fire through life-changing moments has brought about a few generations of more and more "mental weaklings".
Our forefathers knew how to lose. Gracefully or not, they learnt to bounce back.
We will never want to lose.
Our forefathers knew to treat a win as an exception than the norm.
We cannot consider a loss as an acceptable outcome.
Our forefathers consider a loss as a lesson; an experience on which to build future conquests.
We are unable to live without structure; certainty was needed.
Our forefathers lived without structure; uncertainty ruled.
We will never want to be forced to live a structured life; we wanted to be in control.
Our forefathers lived regardless of structure; they learnt to cope with whatever little control.
We are unable to cope when the structure is taken away.
Our forefathers yielded with the times, like water taking the shapes of the obstacles in their way and slowly wore away the impediments.
We expect only good news - one after another.
Our forefathers hoped to get good news too - if it ever reached them.
We will never want bad news.
Our forefathers were always hopeful that bad news would not come their way.
We cannot even accept bad news as outcomes of our bad decisions.
Our forefathers stoically accepted the outcomes of the decisions, regardless.
We need pats on our backs for our work done.
Our forefathers were only too glad to be able to keep the skin on their backs.
We fret when we do not get it.
Our forefathers were only too glad to avoid the "whips" that could cripple them.
We even fear other people getting patted on their backs when we do our work.
Our forefathers knew one man could never get the whole work done.
We demand attention for ourselves.
Our forefathers were happy to stay out of the limelight.
We will never accept being sidelined.
Our forefathers knew that seeking attention is akin to a moth seeking a naked flame.
We will not accept any work that might not get us the attention we desire.
Our forefathers would have just have gotten the work done.
We have a problem.
Our forefathers had problems.
We will never accept that we have a problem; the problem is someone or somewhere else.
Our forefathers may or may not accept that problems existed but for whatever it took, they owned the problem.
Even when diagnosed, we may not even get help for our problem.
Our forefathers would be only too happy to have their problems diagnosed.
Yet as our forefathers lived to ripe old ages and died natural deaths, we - the baby boomers and after - are dying prematurely. A good number of these deaths are by suicide.
I think mental resilience is the main contributing factor.
While advances in medical science have helped diagnose many psychological and psychiatric disorders, the societal support structure and medical service providers are badly-equipped to handle diagnosed cases.
Our forefathers probably had a decent family unit to look after them. What do we have? Medical social workers? Hospitals?
Our forefathers probably had it really bad and what they have now would still be better than what they suffered in the past. So they suffered willingly. What about us? We enter the world and see it enter its golden age and then right after, it goes downhill. What else is there to give us the impetus to carry on living in this world?
The villages our forefathers came from were probably their cocoons. The world out there is an entire different universe. For us, the world is our cocoon. If our haven is compromised, from where do we seek refuge?
The outcomes for the two "distinct" generations become obvious - our forefathers ask to be kept alive by all means, we try to die when we hit our first major snag.
Our survival instincts are much less acute than our forefathers'. Progress has made us go soft and vulnerable. We lose our "under siege" mentality and the resilience to say "hit me with your best shot, buster!" but "don't count on it 'cos I'll bounce back, and bounce back stronger than you have ever seen!"
In short, Society also needs to deal with the "global warming of the minds". Whereas a cooler period existed in the past, the heat from added stress and not having undergone the baptism of fire through life-changing moments has brought about a few generations of more and more "mental weaklings".
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Committing Suicide
I must, first and foremost, condemn the act of suicide as one of irresponsibility and cowardice. I do not condone the act, even the attempt to do so. - added 11 Jan 08
The irony is, those who always say they will go and commit suicide are the ones who are least likely to do so.
People always think that death or threatening another with death is the surest way of getting their way.
This is so juvenile.
Using death as a threat just to get your way is just a recipe for people to give in to you now, *then* look elsewhere for a replacement for you.
Trust me.
The most brilliant ones die quietly, leaving you to blame yourself for the rest of your living days for not letting them have their way.
Why not?
After note (added 11 Jan 08) - This is, of course, an act of the vengeful on those whom they wish to affect. One class of such people are the terrorists. Fortunately, the peoples have learnt to condemn such act instead of giving them sympathy, which was sporadically shown in past.
The irony is, those who always say they will go and commit suicide are the ones who are least likely to do so.
People always think that death or threatening another with death is the surest way of getting their way.
This is so juvenile.
Using death as a threat just to get your way is just a recipe for people to give in to you now, *then* look elsewhere for a replacement for you.
Trust me.
The most brilliant ones die quietly, leaving you to blame yourself for the rest of your living days for not letting them have their way.
Why not?
After note (added 11 Jan 08) - This is, of course, an act of the vengeful on those whom they wish to affect. One class of such people are the terrorists. Fortunately, the peoples have learnt to condemn such act instead of giving them sympathy, which was sporadically shown in past.
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Are you OLD?
Are you DYING?
Are you a DATIN?
If so, you are the one I am looking for!
Other qualifying conditions:
Owns (and fully paid for) a plot of land half the size of SINGAPORE
Beside the beach (optional - scared of tsunami)
Has an Olympic size swimming pool, an Olympic sized diving pool, an Olympic sized wading pool and lots of deck chairs all around
Has butlers and maids to look after me head to toe (or better still, hair to sole)
Has a 888-bedroom house with 1088 toilets, lifts, sprawling but well-coiffered yard, immaculately maintained, clean and lettable (no need to convert into hotel later!)
Has no offspring (biological or otherwise), no pets, no illicit affairs (with members of house staff e.g. butler), siblings, husband, any other blood relations
Preferably cannot tell the difference between the real thing and a leg of ham
Will die right after but not before less than what it takes for local inheritance laws to kick in
(What else am I missing?)
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Changi Airport Terminal 3 Begins Operations
Singapore's US$1.22 billion Terminal 3 has begun commercial operations.
It is huge and I walked a lot when I went down just now just to soak in the historic moment when SQ1 from SFO (via HKG) arrived at the terminal.
There was not a very festive atmosphere there but certainly, T3 looks quite ready to go.
For one, it did not look like an airport which had just opened its doors. The shops are in, the crowd is in and the car park is full!
And during lunch at Earle Swensen's, which is on the viewing gallery level, we had a good time eating and watching airplanes land.
And the plane that came in as SQ1 rolled out as SQ318 to fly off to London. First flight to arrive and depart T3.
To me, it was a historic event because I was not there when Terminals 1 and 2 turned operational. It was nice to be part of it.
And I'll be flying out of T3 when I visit Australia in February. Oh well, I would have been so familiar with the terminal by then. The only additional experience would really be to finally get to board a plane after the visit and not turn around and return to office or home.
It is huge and I walked a lot when I went down just now just to soak in the historic moment when SQ1 from SFO (via HKG) arrived at the terminal.
There was not a very festive atmosphere there but certainly, T3 looks quite ready to go.
For one, it did not look like an airport which had just opened its doors. The shops are in, the crowd is in and the car park is full!
And during lunch at Earle Swensen's, which is on the viewing gallery level, we had a good time eating and watching airplanes land.
And the plane that came in as SQ1 rolled out as SQ318 to fly off to London. First flight to arrive and depart T3.
To me, it was a historic event because I was not there when Terminals 1 and 2 turned operational. It was nice to be part of it.
And I'll be flying out of T3 when I visit Australia in February. Oh well, I would have been so familiar with the terminal by then. The only additional experience would really be to finally get to board a plane after the visit and not turn around and return to office or home.
T. F. to run for president
Oh, I forgot a ?. It should really be "T. F. to run for President?"
I think it wouldn't be a bad idea.
The man's fixed up and probably has at least one, if not two, excellent terms ahead of him. And after that, he'll buy over the whole of Houston by giving motivational talks and charging US120k per hour.
I think this is what Billy is charging now. Wonder what people ask him to talk about? "How to stay hardly engaged?" I don't know.
But there is a market for him and he is doing well. Small wonder Shrillary gets so much to dispose away without a second thought at her campaigns.
Really, whether or not she garners the Democratic nomination is moot. She could become the next motivational speaker, similar to the ex-HP CEO Carly Fiorina. She should probably talk about "Now I know I hardly engaged."
Well, it's true - folks are only keen for a good show. For the presidency, they need candidates of better calibre. My friend, T. F., probably will fit the bill as a neutral president more interested in fast cars, Christmas tree decorations and festive family gatherings.
He'll bring the zoom back to the econonmy (and maybe help GM and Ford regain top-dog status). He'll spruce up tired looking America (and maybe make the airports look nicer, cleaner, more efficient and less hung up about unnecessary security screening). He'll bring the troops home (after tricking Iran to self-destruct with its nuclear weapons and flatten the entire region).
Maybe it's time for him to throw his hat into the ring. I'd vote for him.
Now, to convince Lucy...
I think it wouldn't be a bad idea.
The man's fixed up and probably has at least one, if not two, excellent terms ahead of him. And after that, he'll buy over the whole of Houston by giving motivational talks and charging US120k per hour.
I think this is what Billy is charging now. Wonder what people ask him to talk about? "How to stay hardly engaged?" I don't know.
But there is a market for him and he is doing well. Small wonder Shrillary gets so much to dispose away without a second thought at her campaigns.
Really, whether or not she garners the Democratic nomination is moot. She could become the next motivational speaker, similar to the ex-HP CEO Carly Fiorina. She should probably talk about "Now I know I hardly engaged."
Well, it's true - folks are only keen for a good show. For the presidency, they need candidates of better calibre. My friend, T. F., probably will fit the bill as a neutral president more interested in fast cars, Christmas tree decorations and festive family gatherings.
He'll bring the zoom back to the econonmy (and maybe help GM and Ford regain top-dog status). He'll spruce up tired looking America (and maybe make the airports look nicer, cleaner, more efficient and less hung up about unnecessary security screening). He'll bring the troops home (after tricking Iran to self-destruct with its nuclear weapons and flatten the entire region).
Maybe it's time for him to throw his hat into the ring. I'd vote for him.
Now, to convince Lucy...
So I chose to stand
I got on to the MRT platform today and there was a train in the station. The seats were all taken and the train was due to leave in a minute. Another train was due to arrive in a minute and would probably stay in the station (the station's a terminal stop) for a couple of minutes before leaving.
I hesitated between waiting for the next train and getting on the full train.
Then something turned the tide and I hopped on the departing train straightaway, standing at a seat occupied by a student in uniform whose school is two stations away.
At the next stop, someone got off and I got myself a seat.
What made me change my mind? It was Mr Halitosis.
I hesitated between waiting for the next train and getting on the full train.
Then something turned the tide and I hopped on the departing train straightaway, standing at a seat occupied by a student in uniform whose school is two stations away.
At the next stop, someone got off and I got myself a seat.
What made me change my mind? It was Mr Halitosis.
Monday, January 07, 2008
And then it went away
A friend from Britain whom I chat with told me to stick a clove between the gum and the cheek above the hurting tooth. I did that. I even left a clove there overnight.
Guess what? The pain went away.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with the tooth today. I have no excuse whatsoever to visit the dentist.
To say I'm stumped is an understatement.
So now I wonder if it could be arthriteeth.
Guess what? The pain went away.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with the tooth today. I have no excuse whatsoever to visit the dentist.
To say I'm stumped is an understatement.
So now I wonder if it could be arthriteeth.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Iowans kicked ass
Hillary Clinton's ass that is.
People should be wary about power hungry women in pants. These are not "just women". They are men born in the wrong body. And they normally have the worst inflictions of the two sexes - the over-ambitious and asshole tendencies of the males and the vain and vengeful tendencies of the females.
I hope the remaining caucuses will follow Iowa's lead. While America should already be ready for a female president, Hillary is not it.
People should be wary about power hungry women in pants. These are not "just women". They are men born in the wrong body. And they normally have the worst inflictions of the two sexes - the over-ambitious and asshole tendencies of the males and the vain and vengeful tendencies of the females.
I hope the remaining caucuses will follow Iowa's lead. While America should already be ready for a female president, Hillary is not it.
And the UL1 ached...
I have a terrible toothache.
I know exactly which tooth is aching. In fact, it is so bad that I could feel the tooth throb.
It is the upper left front tooth.
The last time it happened, I called in at my dentist and he ran a battery of tests on the tooth, including a tooth x-ray. It was not unlike the differential diagnosis that Dr Gregory House would run to diagnose what was wrong with the patient. The ice cube test, the shot of air test, the electric current test, the x-ray and finally the light test. In the end, the diagnosis was suspected tooth trauma.
I had bitten into a chicken thigh bone not too long ago and my trusty dentist had decided that this was the likely underlying cause for the tooth trauma.
So the pain subsided a little with time. And then the aches came back sometimes, got better at other time. Yesterday, the toothache flared with a vengeance. This morning, I could not even touch the tooth. Even my upper lip resting on it send waves of pain out from the single pain source.
I am miserable. I know there is nothing wrong with the tooth - I did a tap test on the two front teeth and both sounded the same. There were no major discolouration, no halitosis, no bleeding, no nothing. Except the tooth is really really giving me a lot of pain.
I could drink cold water without aggravating it. So I can rule out sensitivity. There is no crack, so that should preclude cracked enamel as one of the causes. I could suck in air without pain, so again, it is not sensitivity. I wonder if there is an internal fracture or if the insides of the tooth is infected.
I really don't know what the hell is going on. The painkiller is only working NOT and the pain has not subsided enough for me to feel that it has become tolerable.
I'll pop by the dentist again tomorrow and let's see what he can do. I wonder if there is some tumour somewhere pressing on the nerve connected to that tooth. I hope this is not the case. What I know is the pain is mainly from the cutting edge of the tooth and there is a very minor chip there. I think it was the crabs but I am not too sure.
I wonder if he could just see what he can do with the cutting edge. If that stops the pain, I'll be very thankful. Pain, what a pain.
I know exactly which tooth is aching. In fact, it is so bad that I could feel the tooth throb.
It is the upper left front tooth.
The last time it happened, I called in at my dentist and he ran a battery of tests on the tooth, including a tooth x-ray. It was not unlike the differential diagnosis that Dr Gregory House would run to diagnose what was wrong with the patient. The ice cube test, the shot of air test, the electric current test, the x-ray and finally the light test. In the end, the diagnosis was suspected tooth trauma.
I had bitten into a chicken thigh bone not too long ago and my trusty dentist had decided that this was the likely underlying cause for the tooth trauma.
So the pain subsided a little with time. And then the aches came back sometimes, got better at other time. Yesterday, the toothache flared with a vengeance. This morning, I could not even touch the tooth. Even my upper lip resting on it send waves of pain out from the single pain source.
I am miserable. I know there is nothing wrong with the tooth - I did a tap test on the two front teeth and both sounded the same. There were no major discolouration, no halitosis, no bleeding, no nothing. Except the tooth is really really giving me a lot of pain.
I could drink cold water without aggravating it. So I can rule out sensitivity. There is no crack, so that should preclude cracked enamel as one of the causes. I could suck in air without pain, so again, it is not sensitivity. I wonder if there is an internal fracture or if the insides of the tooth is infected.
I really don't know what the hell is going on. The painkiller is only working NOT and the pain has not subsided enough for me to feel that it has become tolerable.
I'll pop by the dentist again tomorrow and let's see what he can do. I wonder if there is some tumour somewhere pressing on the nerve connected to that tooth. I hope this is not the case. What I know is the pain is mainly from the cutting edge of the tooth and there is a very minor chip there. I think it was the crabs but I am not too sure.
I wonder if he could just see what he can do with the cutting edge. If that stops the pain, I'll be very thankful. Pain, what a pain.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
It's not a writer's block
I have not been writing much because I haven't got the mood to write much.
I've spent a lot of time travelling to and from work. Mostly, I have been a decidedly uninterested commuter who could not care two hoots about his surroundings except for cases where my personal space is invaded.
I'll just share one case, since this is a rather regular occurrence.
There is this guy - late 40s or 50s - who has mild halitosis. Yet every morning, he is sitting beside a lady - a colleague, I think - and he'll be talking non-stop.
I had the misfortune of sitting beside the man on two occasions and had to suffer the stink the entire journey.
Now, I am wiser. I can recognise him and I know to avoid where he is sitting.
My only question is how the female companion can tolerate his stinky breath.
I've spent a lot of time travelling to and from work. Mostly, I have been a decidedly uninterested commuter who could not care two hoots about his surroundings except for cases where my personal space is invaded.
I'll just share one case, since this is a rather regular occurrence.
There is this guy - late 40s or 50s - who has mild halitosis. Yet every morning, he is sitting beside a lady - a colleague, I think - and he'll be talking non-stop.
I had the misfortune of sitting beside the man on two occasions and had to suffer the stink the entire journey.
Now, I am wiser. I can recognise him and I know to avoid where he is sitting.
My only question is how the female companion can tolerate his stinky breath.
Waiting
Waiting now to cut the freshly harvested basil into the loaf of bread.
Could easily tear the basil leaves and dump them into the mixture but they would oxidise and turn brown. I don't think it'll be very nice in the bread after that.
So while I wait, I'll write a little.
Could easily tear the basil leaves and dump them into the mixture but they would oxidise and turn brown. I don't think it'll be very nice in the bread after that.
So while I wait, I'll write a little.
Amish Bread
I read a recipe for making Amish Bread and I tried it.
The sweet smelling, pretty, crusty loaf is now cooling down in the microwave oven.
I honestly do not know how long it is going to last but I'm sure it's going to be well-loved.
I'll be making a few more loaves.
The sweet smelling, pretty, crusty loaf is now cooling down in the microwave oven.
I honestly do not know how long it is going to last but I'm sure it's going to be well-loved.
I'll be making a few more loaves.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Self-imposed Gag Order
It is weird writing this entry. Why would anyone serve a gag order on him- or herself? For a rather long period of time, I served myself a gag order to avoid talking about my plans ahead.
I am not by any measure a conniving person or a scheming one. However, there are some things that are not convenient to write about in an open medium such as the blog. Sure, I trust my readers. But there are times when you do not know who else is really reading what you have written.
I don't believe in hiding behind password protected posts. This would be awkward and extremely discourteous. How would it feel if I password protected every freaking entry I write because I am harassed by shadows and all the readers I link and am linked to are not given any access. I don't think it would be any fun for anyone visiting my blog to feel as though they are walking into shut doors.
There are other reasons why I choose to keep certain plans under wraps. I do not want to be caught in a bind where, despite having a change of mind, I am still forced to execute the plans. This is certainly not something I want to end up facing. Volition is the key.
Announcing an intention early would also give people the wrong basis on which they judge your actions. Rightly or wrongly, people are swayed by their emotions and they make up their minds based on their own interpretation of the situation. Even the best laid plans can be entirely laid to waste, the best intentions entirely misinterpreted and the most innocent actions entirely misjudged. I was there before and I do not want to go there again.
There are always people out there who need to find the roots or the raison d'etre of your actions. Repeated explanations as to why their attempts are futile can fall on deaf ears. They decide for you what your reasons should be for that decision. Sometimes, their explanations for your decisions are so ludicrous that you do not even know how to react.
Yet others try to make you conform to the "norms" or "standards" which they impose on you. In short, you begin to question why you are living your life for them. You get the feeling or you are made to feel that you do not even know how to think for yourself.
What is wrong with choosing a different way to live my life? I don't go killing people or plundering others' wealth. I don't go begging for charity or handouts. I don't need to live like a king nor do I hope to live like one. I just want my sanity back. I want my life back. I want my time back.
I want to elevate myself to new knowledge realms, through further education, through new experiences, by changing an environment, by giving up the tried and tested for something more experimental, by forsaking the safe and mundane for the exciting and esoteric. I want to move from a fail-safe environment to a safe-fail one. No one can, after all, expect to have everything plain sailing all the way. The best kayakers learn survival skills by perfecting the techniques that can neutralise each and every treacherous situation in a safe-fail manner. They assume that getting into trouble is a given; surviving the trials and tribulations is the skill they need to learn. If instead, they were to assume that the treacherous situations at sea would never get to them, then I believe we would be seeing more fish fodder than we would like.
It is not in my interest to divulge since when the gag order was in force. For one, it is not useful for the readers to know. Two, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing - readers may piece together their own version of the happenings and then give all sorts of unintented and inaccurate representations of my thoughts and actions. Three, everything had been in a state of flux and there was really nothing much to say or nothing concrete to share until the issues ironed themselves out. Perhaps when the first real step is taken, more can be written about it.
There you have it.
I am not by any measure a conniving person or a scheming one. However, there are some things that are not convenient to write about in an open medium such as the blog. Sure, I trust my readers. But there are times when you do not know who else is really reading what you have written.
I don't believe in hiding behind password protected posts. This would be awkward and extremely discourteous. How would it feel if I password protected every freaking entry I write because I am harassed by shadows and all the readers I link and am linked to are not given any access. I don't think it would be any fun for anyone visiting my blog to feel as though they are walking into shut doors.
There are other reasons why I choose to keep certain plans under wraps. I do not want to be caught in a bind where, despite having a change of mind, I am still forced to execute the plans. This is certainly not something I want to end up facing. Volition is the key.
Announcing an intention early would also give people the wrong basis on which they judge your actions. Rightly or wrongly, people are swayed by their emotions and they make up their minds based on their own interpretation of the situation. Even the best laid plans can be entirely laid to waste, the best intentions entirely misinterpreted and the most innocent actions entirely misjudged. I was there before and I do not want to go there again.
There are always people out there who need to find the roots or the raison d'etre of your actions. Repeated explanations as to why their attempts are futile can fall on deaf ears. They decide for you what your reasons should be for that decision. Sometimes, their explanations for your decisions are so ludicrous that you do not even know how to react.
Yet others try to make you conform to the "norms" or "standards" which they impose on you. In short, you begin to question why you are living your life for them. You get the feeling or you are made to feel that you do not even know how to think for yourself.
What is wrong with choosing a different way to live my life? I don't go killing people or plundering others' wealth. I don't go begging for charity or handouts. I don't need to live like a king nor do I hope to live like one. I just want my sanity back. I want my life back. I want my time back.
I want to elevate myself to new knowledge realms, through further education, through new experiences, by changing an environment, by giving up the tried and tested for something more experimental, by forsaking the safe and mundane for the exciting and esoteric. I want to move from a fail-safe environment to a safe-fail one. No one can, after all, expect to have everything plain sailing all the way. The best kayakers learn survival skills by perfecting the techniques that can neutralise each and every treacherous situation in a safe-fail manner. They assume that getting into trouble is a given; surviving the trials and tribulations is the skill they need to learn. If instead, they were to assume that the treacherous situations at sea would never get to them, then I believe we would be seeing more fish fodder than we would like.
It is not in my interest to divulge since when the gag order was in force. For one, it is not useful for the readers to know. Two, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing - readers may piece together their own version of the happenings and then give all sorts of unintented and inaccurate representations of my thoughts and actions. Three, everything had been in a state of flux and there was really nothing much to say or nothing concrete to share until the issues ironed themselves out. Perhaps when the first real step is taken, more can be written about it.
There you have it.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Other Recordings
These are two versions of "Song on a Winter's Night" by Gordon Lightfoot. Totally different renditions, new (old) flavours and entirely pop-sy.
This is a version by Joseph Cormier. Very lovely too.
The version by the Robins, from their Christmas CD 'The Robins Sing Christmas Songs' (2007). The Mannheim/Heidelberg based band sing and play their version of Gordon Lightfoot's 'Song For A Winter's Night' with leadsinger and guitarist Daniel Brauch plus Robert Langer (drums), Mani Hurth (bass) and Willy Brauch (guitar, vocals).
The song is mesmerising, I don't know why. But since I found more about it, why not enjoy?
This is a version by Joseph Cormier. Very lovely too.
The version by the Robins, from their Christmas CD 'The Robins Sing Christmas Songs' (2007). The Mannheim/Heidelberg based band sing and play their version of Gordon Lightfoot's 'Song For A Winter's Night' with leadsinger and guitarist Daniel Brauch plus Robert Langer (drums), Mani Hurth (bass) and Willy Brauch (guitar, vocals).
The song is mesmerising, I don't know why. But since I found more about it, why not enjoy?
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Ramblings
Without dismissing the tragic nature of Benazir Bhutto's assassination, I was surprised to read that she was killed when her head knocked into the sunroof lever while dodging bullets. She was not hit by any bullet or shrapnel. Another source claimed, however, that she was shot in the neck and abdomen.
Apparently, she "could not resist standing up and waving to her supporters through the sun roof". Now I wonder if vanity or shrapnel did her in.
Apparently, she "could not resist standing up and waving to her supporters through the sun roof". Now I wonder if vanity or shrapnel did her in.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Pussies with Guns
What the reviewer for the movie "Shoot 'em up" forgot to mention was how the lactating prostitute ripped out a PA from a guy's dick without removing the ends, while trying to extract information.
I'd even think that the hired assassins were like the the baddies in the Matrix - they are killed in one scene and yet new ones keep coming back in each continuing scenes. There were in total 80 stuntmen for the whole movie and I think some of them had to die many times in the show.
My only complaint - the movie was not gory enough. The usual, I guess. But still a good show if you just want to give your brain a rest and your eyes a visual treat.
Utterly brainlessly enjoyable.
- - -
"Do you know what I hate?" asks Mr Smith (Clive Owen). "Pussies with guns." That's not all he hates in this fast-paced over-the-top Tarantino-esque action extravaganza. There are 40-year-old Jack-holes wearing ponytails ("The pony tail doesn't make you look hip, young, or cool"), parents who hit their children, men with earrings, people who park in handicapped zones, unkempt toenails, those who slurp their coffee, and reckless drivers in luxury cars. Dogs and carrots are just about all he likes.
In short, the homeless man with a shady past is one pissed off son of a bitch. So when he is unceremoniously dumped with a newborn baby, who for some reason is the target of an insane hit man (Paul Giammatti) and his seemingly endless army of goons, Smith becomes the most badass carrot-chewing British nanny the world has ever seen.
Aided by Donna Quintano (Monica Bellucci), a lactating prostitute (yes, really), he sets out to keep infant Oliver safe and find out why exactly this child is so important. Of course, in the process our gun-toting anti-hero uncovers a conspiracy that would leave the US of A reeling.
Naturally, this is all just a big excuse for over-the-top action sequences, (including a shootout at 10 000 feet, while in freefall) clever Macgyver-esque tricks and witty one-liners.
It's a ludicrous movie, ridiculous in every aspect from Owen and Giammatti’s Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd interplay to makeshift 'hand' guns to the (quite literally) orgasmic gunfight that adds new meaning to the phrase shooting your load.
But 'Shoot 'Em Up' never tries to be anything else — in fact it's proud to be so damn silly and that's exactly what makes it great fun to watch. After all you don’t watch 'Looney Tunes' cartoons for the depth of the storyline.
Suspend your disbelief and go along for the ride — just don’t expect James Bond or Jason Bourne. They’re only pussies with guns anyway.
Review from: http://www.iafrica.com/pls/cms/iac.page?p_t1=5&p_t2=32&p_t3=176&p_t4=0&p_dynamic=Y&p_content_id=633718&p_site_id=2
I'd even think that the hired assassins were like the the baddies in the Matrix - they are killed in one scene and yet new ones keep coming back in each continuing scenes. There were in total 80 stuntmen for the whole movie and I think some of them had to die many times in the show.
My only complaint - the movie was not gory enough. The usual, I guess. But still a good show if you just want to give your brain a rest and your eyes a visual treat.
Utterly brainlessly enjoyable.
- - -
"Do you know what I hate?" asks Mr Smith (Clive Owen). "Pussies with guns." That's not all he hates in this fast-paced over-the-top Tarantino-esque action extravaganza. There are 40-year-old Jack-holes wearing ponytails ("The pony tail doesn't make you look hip, young, or cool"), parents who hit their children, men with earrings, people who park in handicapped zones, unkempt toenails, those who slurp their coffee, and reckless drivers in luxury cars. Dogs and carrots are just about all he likes.
In short, the homeless man with a shady past is one pissed off son of a bitch. So when he is unceremoniously dumped with a newborn baby, who for some reason is the target of an insane hit man (Paul Giammatti) and his seemingly endless army of goons, Smith becomes the most badass carrot-chewing British nanny the world has ever seen.
Aided by Donna Quintano (Monica Bellucci), a lactating prostitute (yes, really), he sets out to keep infant Oliver safe and find out why exactly this child is so important. Of course, in the process our gun-toting anti-hero uncovers a conspiracy that would leave the US of A reeling.
Naturally, this is all just a big excuse for over-the-top action sequences, (including a shootout at 10 000 feet, while in freefall) clever Macgyver-esque tricks and witty one-liners.
It's a ludicrous movie, ridiculous in every aspect from Owen and Giammatti’s Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd interplay to makeshift 'hand' guns to the (quite literally) orgasmic gunfight that adds new meaning to the phrase shooting your load.
But 'Shoot 'Em Up' never tries to be anything else — in fact it's proud to be so damn silly and that's exactly what makes it great fun to watch. After all you don’t watch 'Looney Tunes' cartoons for the depth of the storyline.
Suspend your disbelief and go along for the ride — just don’t expect James Bond or Jason Bourne. They’re only pussies with guns anyway.
Review from: http://www.iafrica.com/pls/cms/iac.page?p_t1=5&p_t2=32&p_t3=176&p_t4=0&p_dynamic=Y&p_content_id=633718&p_site_id=2
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Introducing Sarah Mclachlan
Hauntingly beautiful "Song on a Winter's Night". Sublime performance, lovely beyond words.
"Song For A Winter's Night"
[Written and first sung by Gordon Lightfoot in 1975]
The lamp is burnin' low upon my table top
The snow is softly fallin'
The air is still within the silence of my room
I hear your voice softly callin'
If I could only have you near
To breathe a sigh or two
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love
Upon this winter night with you
The smoke is rising in the shadows overhead
My glass is almost empty
I read again between the lines upon the page
The words of love you sent me
If I could know within my heart
That you were lonely too
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love
Upon this winter night with you
The fire is dying now, my lamp is growing dim
The shades of night are liftin'
The mornin' light steals across my windowpane
Where webs of snow are driftin'
If I could only have you near
To breathe a sigh or two
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love
And to be once again with with you
To be once again with with you
River is another wonderful recording by the songbird.
I wish I have a river to skate away on. The imagery is so vivid that one could almost feel inside the song.
Sarah Mclachlan really has a voice most suited for the winter. Poignant and superbly expressive. Her voice seems to just penetrate and reverberate in the emptiness that you never thought you had.
Simply divine!
Why don't people understand?
Was at the Upper Pierce Reservoir on 20 Dec. There were many signs asking visitors NOT to feed the monkeys.
These monkeys have become so dependent on hand outs that they are not beneath staking out in the middle of the road to stop cars so that they have a chance of getting something.
Yet there are people feeding the monkeys on the sly. Such flagrant disregard of the signs.
Driving along the road to avoid the monkeys and stopped cars is definitely hazardous to your health and well-being.
Every living thing has a place - the place of the monkeys is in the forest and the forest has more than enough to keep the monkeys fed and full. Why are we playing the food provider here? Once these animals forget how to forage, they will die.
Keep them alive by not feed them.
These monkeys have become so dependent on hand outs that they are not beneath staking out in the middle of the road to stop cars so that they have a chance of getting something.
Yet there are people feeding the monkeys on the sly. Such flagrant disregard of the signs.
Driving along the road to avoid the monkeys and stopped cars is definitely hazardous to your health and well-being.
Every living thing has a place - the place of the monkeys is in the forest and the forest has more than enough to keep the monkeys fed and full. Why are we playing the food provider here? Once these animals forget how to forage, they will die.
Keep them alive by not feed them.
Friday, December 21, 2007
2007 Gathering
What: Annual 4/6 '04 gathering.
When: 21 Dec 5 pm.
Where: 510233
The Menu
1. Salad - Vege-stick salad - cucumber, celery, tomatoes with thousand island dip.
2. Finger food - Modified "tapas" and bagels with prawn roe cheese, liver pate and scallion cheese. Pringles potato chips!
3. Mains - assorted sausages, honey baked ham (oven warmed), char siew pork.
4. Carbohydrates - potatoes, pasta.
5. Desserts - Honeydew pudding with canned fruits. Possibly chocolates.
6. Drinks - coke, coke light, H&E green tea. Alcohol - BYO.
7. Halal station - pizzas.
Help needed
Cleaning up, milk runs (to clear rubbish) after the party.
Others
Please don't bring gifts and food; bring a hearty appetite, good humour and be ready to have fun.
When: 21 Dec 5 pm.
Where: 510233
The Menu
1. Salad - Vege-stick salad - cucumber, celery, tomatoes with thousand island dip.
2. Finger food - Modified "tapas" and bagels with prawn roe cheese, liver pate and scallion cheese. Pringles potato chips!
3. Mains - assorted sausages, honey baked ham (oven warmed), char siew pork.
4. Carbohydrates - potatoes, pasta.
5. Desserts - Honeydew pudding with canned fruits. Possibly chocolates.
6. Drinks - coke, coke light, H&E green tea. Alcohol - BYO.
7. Halal station - pizzas.
Help needed
Cleaning up, milk runs (to clear rubbish) after the party.
Others
Please don't bring gifts and food; bring a hearty appetite, good humour and be ready to have fun.
Cold Storage Meets Hot Dude Part 2
My complaint letter.
Cold Storage Online has provided me the single, most unparalled, and defintely most imbecilic service I have ever experienced.
After my order on 12 Dec, there were many calls between then and 17 Dec regarding items which were not available. I had to agree time and again to wait but still the items were not available. I really question the inventory control processes of the company.
During the first delivery, the delivery guy left my stuff in the rain and stepped into my place without removing his shoes (he did not ask for permission). Your manager, Kelvin, called to apologise and promise that everything would be settled today (21 Dec). The "things to be settled" include exchanging the wet items for dry ones and delivering items owed to me.
Even on 19 Dec, I got calls that a certain replacement item was not available. What? Is Cold Storage a mickey mouse company that I'm dealing with?
This morning (21 Dec), customer service called me and said I provided the wrong address to their delivery guy. How can this be when the first delivery was done successfully?
I checked for your delivery van from my corridor but I don't see anyone. I tried calling your hotline and time and again I could never get through.
Finally, your driver called me and told me he had trouble locating my block, "Block 233 Pasir Panjang". I nearly died - of shock, disbelief and amusement. Never expected my heart to hold out but it did. I am at Block 233, Pasir RIS.
I read and laugh about your CEO's comments about providing service. I quote "“In this highly competitive world, we all need to remember that there is always someone willing to delight your customer if you don’t.” Cold Storage CEO " - (http://www.ps21.gov.sg/challenge/2003_07/focus/services.html)
I guess making innocent customers like me angry and providing us with untimely humour is part of your unbelievable service.
Would I ever shop with you again? Probably after the shock and disappointment wears off, but not before bad mouthing a whole lot about you during my upcoming Christmas parties.
Cold Storage Online has provided me the single, most unparalled, and defintely most imbecilic service I have ever experienced.
After my order on 12 Dec, there were many calls between then and 17 Dec regarding items which were not available. I had to agree time and again to wait but still the items were not available. I really question the inventory control processes of the company.
During the first delivery, the delivery guy left my stuff in the rain and stepped into my place without removing his shoes (he did not ask for permission). Your manager, Kelvin, called to apologise and promise that everything would be settled today (21 Dec). The "things to be settled" include exchanging the wet items for dry ones and delivering items owed to me.
Even on 19 Dec, I got calls that a certain replacement item was not available. What? Is Cold Storage a mickey mouse company that I'm dealing with?
This morning (21 Dec), customer service called me and said I provided the wrong address to their delivery guy. How can this be when the first delivery was done successfully?
I checked for your delivery van from my corridor but I don't see anyone. I tried calling your hotline and time and again I could never get through.
Finally, your driver called me and told me he had trouble locating my block, "Block 233 Pasir Panjang". I nearly died - of shock, disbelief and amusement. Never expected my heart to hold out but it did. I am at Block 233, Pasir RIS.
I read and laugh about your CEO's comments about providing service. I quote "“In this highly competitive world, we all need to remember that there is always someone willing to delight your customer if you don’t.” Cold Storage CEO " - (http://www.ps21.gov.sg/challenge/2003_07/focus/services.html)
I guess making innocent customers like me angry and providing us with untimely humour is part of your unbelievable service.
Would I ever shop with you again? Probably after the shock and disappointment wears off, but not before bad mouthing a whole lot about you during my upcoming Christmas parties.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
So it's real!
I'm lifting extensively from T F's blog because I don't think I can do any better than him, partly because I never saw these so frequently or in such gory details. My favourite parts are in bold.
The first incident was early on in the shift, around three or four in the afternoon. When my senior partner and I arrived the emergency ambulance crew was hard at work putting a bandage wrapping on the survivor’s head; he’d been shot in the middle of his forehead, the bullet followed his skull around to the back of his head and exited creating a small flap that had minimal bleeding.
His “significant other” had been shot with the same pistol they’d been fighting over. The bullet entered near her wrist, traveled along the bones in her arm, bounced around inside her rib cage for a while prior to slicing her lungs and heart; she was dead before she hit the ground. Does that strike you as even a little odd; the one being shot square in the head was the one doing all the talking while the one shot in the wrist was dead on arrival?
Later in the same shift we were dispatched to another family disturbance where the step dad had begun beating his wife and step child. The little girl was around four years old if memory serves and there had been other calls regarding abuse reported. The wife grabbed a small 25 caliber pistol and emptied it into her husbands chest to get him to stop beating the little girl.
I was new to the business, having been a Houston Police Officer for only a couple of months at the time; I didn’t know how thick blood could look as the newly departed lay in a pool of his own fluids. I remember clearly that you could have dropped a half dollar on the points of entry and covered each bullet hole; great shot group, very efficient use of a small caliber pistol.
My favorite of all husband and wife disturbances was almost surreal in nature. We got to a small single family house, the husband was sucking wind from having been shot several times in the chest as he sat on one side of the living room; an interesting word to describe that portion of the house where they tried to kill each other off. The wife sat in a folding metal chair, similar to the kind found in almost any church or overflow auditorium. Her head was resting against the wall, the back part as flat as the black cast iron frying pan which had been used as a club on her; a large red spot dripped down the pale green painted wall.
We entered the house cautiously and wondered why the ambulance crew was just standing around outside. The two combatants were too proud to admit the need for medical assistance, to the point of making it a chicken match; “first one to pass out or die is the looser”, kind of thing. I almost forgot, the woman’s dear sweet mother was sitting on the sofa in between the two cheering for her daughter as we entered, “Shoot him again, shoot him again!”. A lovely home full of such devotion should have warning signs posted. We did manage to get a second ambulance so that both could be treated and transported at the same time without having to admit defeat.
I could go on and on; the time my partner and I made a shooting where a “threesome” had been living together; husband, wife and girlfriend, all under the same roof. It may have worked for a little while, at least until the wife came home from work and found the two locked in fond embrace in her bed; that was the straw that broke her camel’s back.
I could mention the wife beater who expired, his hands still gripping his wife’s hair in his fist. He neglected to remove her purse prior to beating her half to death in the kitchen, the purse that was on the kitchen counter, the purse she kept her pistol in. That pistol made breathing a new art form as we heard his last breath gurgle out; he sat upright, his eyes all glassed over with nothing left to say, in one of those tubular metal kitchen chairs popular in the late 50’s, chrome with two tone red and white plastic seat and back cushions. I don’t recall getting in a hurry to call for an ambulance as we made sure the scene was safe first, removing the pistol, cuffing the wife, bagging her hands to preserve gunpowder evidence and then we asked the dispatcher to send an ambulance; no, husband and wife shootings are nothing new.
So what we see about family violence on TV shows are pretty close to what really happens. Spouses who are head-bashed against the walls, premeditated murders where spouses use their other halves for arms zeroing, blood and gore, injuries... Only one thing did not impress me - if one assailant used the M16 on the other, the bullet would have created an exit wound the size of a man's palm. That would invariably be more exciting. But that's me.
After witnessing TF's excellent writing and style of humour, I am left with one question - why is T F not writing for Desperate Housewives?
The first incident was early on in the shift, around three or four in the afternoon. When my senior partner and I arrived the emergency ambulance crew was hard at work putting a bandage wrapping on the survivor’s head; he’d been shot in the middle of his forehead, the bullet followed his skull around to the back of his head and exited creating a small flap that had minimal bleeding.
His “significant other” had been shot with the same pistol they’d been fighting over. The bullet entered near her wrist, traveled along the bones in her arm, bounced around inside her rib cage for a while prior to slicing her lungs and heart; she was dead before she hit the ground. Does that strike you as even a little odd; the one being shot square in the head was the one doing all the talking while the one shot in the wrist was dead on arrival?
Later in the same shift we were dispatched to another family disturbance where the step dad had begun beating his wife and step child. The little girl was around four years old if memory serves and there had been other calls regarding abuse reported. The wife grabbed a small 25 caliber pistol and emptied it into her husbands chest to get him to stop beating the little girl.
I was new to the business, having been a Houston Police Officer for only a couple of months at the time; I didn’t know how thick blood could look as the newly departed lay in a pool of his own fluids. I remember clearly that you could have dropped a half dollar on the points of entry and covered each bullet hole; great shot group, very efficient use of a small caliber pistol.
My favorite of all husband and wife disturbances was almost surreal in nature. We got to a small single family house, the husband was sucking wind from having been shot several times in the chest as he sat on one side of the living room; an interesting word to describe that portion of the house where they tried to kill each other off. The wife sat in a folding metal chair, similar to the kind found in almost any church or overflow auditorium. Her head was resting against the wall, the back part as flat as the black cast iron frying pan which had been used as a club on her; a large red spot dripped down the pale green painted wall.
We entered the house cautiously and wondered why the ambulance crew was just standing around outside. The two combatants were too proud to admit the need for medical assistance, to the point of making it a chicken match; “first one to pass out or die is the looser”, kind of thing. I almost forgot, the woman’s dear sweet mother was sitting on the sofa in between the two cheering for her daughter as we entered, “Shoot him again, shoot him again!”. A lovely home full of such devotion should have warning signs posted. We did manage to get a second ambulance so that both could be treated and transported at the same time without having to admit defeat.
I could go on and on; the time my partner and I made a shooting where a “threesome” had been living together; husband, wife and girlfriend, all under the same roof. It may have worked for a little while, at least until the wife came home from work and found the two locked in fond embrace in her bed; that was the straw that broke her camel’s back.
I could mention the wife beater who expired, his hands still gripping his wife’s hair in his fist. He neglected to remove her purse prior to beating her half to death in the kitchen, the purse that was on the kitchen counter, the purse she kept her pistol in. That pistol made breathing a new art form as we heard his last breath gurgle out; he sat upright, his eyes all glassed over with nothing left to say, in one of those tubular metal kitchen chairs popular in the late 50’s, chrome with two tone red and white plastic seat and back cushions. I don’t recall getting in a hurry to call for an ambulance as we made sure the scene was safe first, removing the pistol, cuffing the wife, bagging her hands to preserve gunpowder evidence and then we asked the dispatcher to send an ambulance; no, husband and wife shootings are nothing new.
So what we see about family violence on TV shows are pretty close to what really happens. Spouses who are head-bashed against the walls, premeditated murders where spouses use their other halves for arms zeroing, blood and gore, injuries... Only one thing did not impress me - if one assailant used the M16 on the other, the bullet would have created an exit wound the size of a man's palm. That would invariably be more exciting. But that's me.
After witnessing TF's excellent writing and style of humour, I am left with one question - why is T F not writing for Desperate Housewives?
Monday, December 17, 2007
Cold Storage Meets Hot Dude
Cold Storage delivery made me wait from 2 pm to 5 pm before their guy came.
It was raining and guess what?
He took his time to unload and left my items under the rain.
When he came up, many things were wet. The delivery guy entered my place without removing his shoes. He should have at least asked if he could do so. I would have said ok and not made a fuss of it.
The items in carton boxes were relatively unscathed from the rain but items such as my Coke and Coke Light and Pringles were all wet. It's worse than that, but I don't need to bother about stuff in plastic wrappings. That I can accept but not cardboard-y stuff. How do I store them if the cartons are wet? These will make the larder unnecessarily humid and there will be mould!
Hands-up those of you who would like mould to go with your coke!
Eh, hurry up! How come I still see no hands? So you don't like mould with your coke? Neither do I. And so guess what? If you want a mould free can of coke, I would have to wipe them down because some fellow did not keep my goods dry when he delivered them?
No way, Jose! I am so not going to take this lying down and of course, I blasted at the manager for the delivery section.
Wow! It certainly feels good to unload. How unprofessional to mess up the entire delivery. And how incompetent is their inventory control - the supermarket changed my delivery from Friday to today because they were out of stock.
Even at noon today, they called me and told me that they were "only" short of my Olive oil. When I said I could wait for that single bottle of olive oil but they should send the rest of the items, suddenly, they were also short of carrot juice and green tea.
Oh my god! "How do I live life when the convenience I need - which I actually pay for - turns out to provide me with more inconveniences than convenience?" I asked Kelvin the manager.
This is indeed one sucky experience that I'll gladly broadcast to the world - "open your ears, the Bitch has come, let Earth receive his news! (tune to Joy to the World)". This would be easy cos Cold Storage's recent advertisement says "You've got the whole world in your hands, you've got the whole world in your hands..." And the dancing green apple leads the grocery and greengrocery in a cartoony dance - and I thought the jumping cows had the mads - which makes me feel that my broadcasting ain't going to take too much effort.
Kelvin said that they will "settle everything by this Friday" between 9.30 am and 11 am. Let's see what happens then.
Open your ears, the bitch has come
I got the whole world in my hands
Let Earth receive his news
I got the whole world in my hands...
It was raining and guess what?
He took his time to unload and left my items under the rain.
When he came up, many things were wet. The delivery guy entered my place without removing his shoes. He should have at least asked if he could do so. I would have said ok and not made a fuss of it.
The items in carton boxes were relatively unscathed from the rain but items such as my Coke and Coke Light and Pringles were all wet. It's worse than that, but I don't need to bother about stuff in plastic wrappings. That I can accept but not cardboard-y stuff. How do I store them if the cartons are wet? These will make the larder unnecessarily humid and there will be mould!
Hands-up those of you who would like mould to go with your coke!
Eh, hurry up! How come I still see no hands? So you don't like mould with your coke? Neither do I. And so guess what? If you want a mould free can of coke, I would have to wipe them down because some fellow did not keep my goods dry when he delivered them?
No way, Jose! I am so not going to take this lying down and of course, I blasted at the manager for the delivery section.
Wow! It certainly feels good to unload. How unprofessional to mess up the entire delivery. And how incompetent is their inventory control - the supermarket changed my delivery from Friday to today because they were out of stock.
Even at noon today, they called me and told me that they were "only" short of my Olive oil. When I said I could wait for that single bottle of olive oil but they should send the rest of the items, suddenly, they were also short of carrot juice and green tea.
Oh my god! "How do I live life when the convenience I need - which I actually pay for - turns out to provide me with more inconveniences than convenience?" I asked Kelvin the manager.
This is indeed one sucky experience that I'll gladly broadcast to the world - "open your ears, the Bitch has come, let Earth receive his news! (tune to Joy to the World)". This would be easy cos Cold Storage's recent advertisement says "You've got the whole world in your hands, you've got the whole world in your hands..." And the dancing green apple leads the grocery and greengrocery in a cartoony dance - and I thought the jumping cows had the mads - which makes me feel that my broadcasting ain't going to take too much effort.
Kelvin said that they will "settle everything by this Friday" between 9.30 am and 11 am. Let's see what happens then.
Open your ears, the bitch has come
I got the whole world in my hands
Let Earth receive his news
I got the whole world in my hands...
Sunday, December 16, 2007
I too remember...
Never forget this dark and barbaric event in the modern world.
And NEVER ALLOW HISTORY TO REPEAT ITSELF.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Snowball Aussie's case dropped
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22923032-5001021,00.html
By Stefanie Balogh in Breckenridge, Colorado
December 14, 2007 07:36am
AUSTRALIAN student Andrew Thistleton is preparing to celebrate with a beer and return home after assault charges in the US against him were dropped for the farcical crime of throwing a snowball at a co-worker.
A relieved Mr Thistleton, 21, smiled and hugged his mother Kim Anderson outside the Summit County Court in Breckenridge, Colorado, after the case that stunned Australia was dismissed at the 11th hour on Thursday morning US time.
Dr Anderson has spent about $20,000 on legal fees, flights and accommodation to fight her son's case over the last 10 months.
Mr Thistleton refused to accept a plea deal on lesser charges because he was determined to clear his name, saying all he had done was throw a snowball.
What's wrong with people these days? Suing a colleague just because he tossed a snowball at you? Well, might as well - with the wonderful global warming, very soon all you get to toss are plastic bags of rain water bombs.
By Stefanie Balogh in Breckenridge, Colorado
December 14, 2007 07:36am
AUSTRALIAN student Andrew Thistleton is preparing to celebrate with a beer and return home after assault charges in the US against him were dropped for the farcical crime of throwing a snowball at a co-worker.
A relieved Mr Thistleton, 21, smiled and hugged his mother Kim Anderson outside the Summit County Court in Breckenridge, Colorado, after the case that stunned Australia was dismissed at the 11th hour on Thursday morning US time.
Dr Anderson has spent about $20,000 on legal fees, flights and accommodation to fight her son's case over the last 10 months.
Mr Thistleton refused to accept a plea deal on lesser charges because he was determined to clear his name, saying all he had done was throw a snowball.
What's wrong with people these days? Suing a colleague just because he tossed a snowball at you? Well, might as well - with the wonderful global warming, very soon all you get to toss are plastic bags of rain water bombs.
Rock attack ruined my life
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22923723-5001021,00.html
December 14, 2007 01:29pm
BRAVE rock-throwing victim Nicole Miller today spoke for the first time about how her life was ruined by a vicious attack that has left her unable to leave her home alone.
Choking back tears, a fragile Ms Miller gave a moving victim impact statement during a sentencing hearing for rock thrower Peter Lachlan Hodgkins at Wollongong District Court.
The 22-year-old beauty therapist told how she was unable to work, could not properly use her left hand and arm and was left with a constant ringing in her right ear following the attack from a highway overpass at Kiama Downs on July 22.
"Prior to this incident I was very outgoing and looked forward to social occasions," Ms Miller told the court.
"I was a competitive Latin dancer, had modelled bridal gowns ... and was popular local beauty therapist.
"Now I struggle to go into the wider community because of my appearance.
"Often when I dwell on the incident and my injuries I become upset and cry."
Ms Miller was a passenger in a friend's car when a rock thrown by Hodgkins went through a window and struck her in the head, fracturing her skull.
Critically injured, she was in a come and spent months in hospital recovering. She now has a titanium plate inserted in the right side of her head to protect her brain.
Ms Miller's appearance in court today was the first time she had come face to face with Hodgkins, 24, who has pleaded guilty to maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm.
World War 3 has not even taken place and people have resorted to Flintstone era weapons! Looks like Einstein's prediction of stone age to return after WW3 was wrong!
December 14, 2007 01:29pm
BRAVE rock-throwing victim Nicole Miller today spoke for the first time about how her life was ruined by a vicious attack that has left her unable to leave her home alone.
Choking back tears, a fragile Ms Miller gave a moving victim impact statement during a sentencing hearing for rock thrower Peter Lachlan Hodgkins at Wollongong District Court.
The 22-year-old beauty therapist told how she was unable to work, could not properly use her left hand and arm and was left with a constant ringing in her right ear following the attack from a highway overpass at Kiama Downs on July 22.
"Prior to this incident I was very outgoing and looked forward to social occasions," Ms Miller told the court.
"I was a competitive Latin dancer, had modelled bridal gowns ... and was popular local beauty therapist.
"Now I struggle to go into the wider community because of my appearance.
"Often when I dwell on the incident and my injuries I become upset and cry."
Ms Miller was a passenger in a friend's car when a rock thrown by Hodgkins went through a window and struck her in the head, fracturing her skull.
Critically injured, she was in a come and spent months in hospital recovering. She now has a titanium plate inserted in the right side of her head to protect her brain.
Ms Miller's appearance in court today was the first time she had come face to face with Hodgkins, 24, who has pleaded guilty to maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm.
World War 3 has not even taken place and people have resorted to Flintstone era weapons! Looks like Einstein's prediction of stone age to return after WW3 was wrong!
We will we will ROCK you...
Teens stone, kill singer
KAMPHAENG PHET :A cafe singer was killed by a 1.5kg rock thrown by two teenagers who flew into a rage at obscenities she shouted at them.
The attack took place fifteen minutes after midnight yesterday in front of Manida Cafe on Ratchadamnoen road in Muang district.
The victim was identified as Saowapa Phetlek, 20, nicknamed Bia.
Before the attack, Saowapa was sitting in front of the cafe when two teenage boys rode a motorcycle past shouting taunts at her.
In a fit of anger, the singer responded by screaming obscenities at them.
Ten minutes later, they returned and threw the 1.5kg rock which hit her chest very hard and made her lose consciousness.
She was immediately brought to Kamphaeng Phet hospital, but was pronounced dead around 2am.
Pathologists found a large bruise on her chest. They said the impact might have caused internal injuries, leading to her death.
(http://www.bangkokpost.com/131207_News/13Dec2007_news99.php)
Bizarre news one after another.
KAMPHAENG PHET :A cafe singer was killed by a 1.5kg rock thrown by two teenagers who flew into a rage at obscenities she shouted at them.
The attack took place fifteen minutes after midnight yesterday in front of Manida Cafe on Ratchadamnoen road in Muang district.
The victim was identified as Saowapa Phetlek, 20, nicknamed Bia.
Before the attack, Saowapa was sitting in front of the cafe when two teenage boys rode a motorcycle past shouting taunts at her.
In a fit of anger, the singer responded by screaming obscenities at them.
Ten minutes later, they returned and threw the 1.5kg rock which hit her chest very hard and made her lose consciousness.
She was immediately brought to Kamphaeng Phet hospital, but was pronounced dead around 2am.
Pathologists found a large bruise on her chest. They said the impact might have caused internal injuries, leading to her death.
(http://www.bangkokpost.com/131207_News/13Dec2007_news99.php)
Bizarre news one after another.
Can you believe this?
Two former employees of Mitsubishi Motors were found guilty of professional negligence Thursday in the death of a pedestrian crushed by a wheel falling off a truck later recalled by the Japanese automaker. (The Associated Press - 12/13/2007 6:36 AM)
I simply can't rid my head of the chorus of "Jesus Take The Wheel".
I simply can't rid my head of the chorus of "Jesus Take The Wheel".
Are we so gleeful of our doom that...?
Noted Sea Level Expert Accuses IPCC of Falsifying Data
Michael Asher (Blog) - December 11, 2007 4:48 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Claims IPCC estimates are bunk; Observational data shows no sea level rise trend
Note: Dr. Nils-Axel Mörner has been studying sea level change for 35 years. He is the former head of Stockholm University's department of Paleodeophysics and Geodynamics. Dr. Mörner is and an expert reviewer for the IPCC, leader of the Maldives Sea Level Project, and past president of the INQUA Commission on Sea Level Changes.
A noted expert in sea level change has accused UN's IPCC panel of falsifying and destroying data (PDF) to support the panel's official conclusion of a rising sea level trend. The accusations include surreptitious substitution of datasets, selective use of data, presenting computer model simulations as physical data, and even the destruction of physical markers which fail to demonstrate sea level rise.
The expert, Dr. Nils-Axel Mörner, also raps the IPCC for their selection of 22 authors of their most recent report on sea level rise (SLR), none of which were sea level specialists. According to Mörner, the authors were chosen to "arrive at a predetermined conclusion" of global warming-induced disaster.
Sea level changes can be detected by a number of methods. Rotational timing is a very precise method, and is based on the fact that a change in the earth's radius will cause minute differences in it's rate of rotation. A rise in sea level increases the radius slightly, and can therefore be detected by precisely timing when the sun rises and sets. This method can detect changes in sea level as small as one millimeter. Data collected in this manner has shown the ocean to have risen and fallen slightly several times since the early 1900s, without any definitive trend.
Satellite altimetry is another method. Mörner says that, in 2003, The IPCC's altimetry dataset, which had previously displayed no clear trend, suddenly changed, with past readings modified to show a strong uplift. Though corrections to datasets are supposed to be clearly announced and identified, this was done secretly, and not labeled. When Mörner inquired about the discrepancy, he was told the readings had been adjusted by a "correction factor".
Where did this factor come from? The least precise method of measuring sea level is tide gauge records. These are problematic as the land under the gauge may itself be rising or falling. Hong Kong maintains six tide gauges, five of which show no trend. The sixth, located on land where compaction is causing the ground to sink, was chosen by the IPCC as the correction factor for global altimetry data.
Tide gauges kept in the sensitive areas of Pacific and Indian Ocean islands show a different story. In Vanuatu, Tegua, and the Tuvalu Islands, gauge records show no trend at all. In the Maldives, tide gauges kept from the 1950s show a small drop in the 1970s, and no change since.
More shocking is Mörner's claim of the destruction of evidence. A famous low-lying tree in the Maldives has long been a marker for sea-level change, and noted in several research papers. But when an Australian team visited the island on a data-gathering trip, they saw the tree and pulled it down, according to local eyewitnesses. Mörner's team later replanted the tree in the same spot.
Climatologist and IPCC Expert Reviewer Dr. Madhav Khandekar, contacted by DailyTech in regards to this story, also believes SLR is being exaggerated by the IPCC. Khandekar says SLR over the next 100 years will be "insignificant" and pointed to recent research demonstrating SLR had actually declined in the latter half of the 20th century.
Dr. Mörner also had harsh words for the Maldives government. When the Maldives Sea Level Project concluded there was no threat to from rising sea levels, a documentary was made to reassure residents. The government, however, banned airing of the film. According to Mörner, the rationale for the ban was financial. The Maldives stands to gain hundreds of millions of dollars in climate change aid from Western governments. "Because they thought that they would lose money." He said, "They accuse the West for putting out carbon dioxide, so they wanted the flooding scenario to go on."
Mörner says it's becoming increasingly hard to perform objective climate research. In the European Community, a prerequisite for research grants is that the focus must be on global warming. Papers which don't support global warming aren't funded. "That's what dictatorships did, autocracies." He added, "They demanded that scientists produce what they wanted."
http://www.dailytech.com/Noted+Sea+Level+Expert+Accuses+IPCC+of+Falsifying+Data/article9978.htm
Fortunately for me, I am neither a believer of global warming - hey I'm in an aircon room most of the time - or a supporter of the green lobby - though I eat my vegetables without complaining. But to resort to falsifying records to bring incite irrational fear of infernal armageddon is really lowly.
Michael Asher (Blog) - December 11, 2007 4:48 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Claims IPCC estimates are bunk; Observational data shows no sea level rise trend
Note: Dr. Nils-Axel Mörner has been studying sea level change for 35 years. He is the former head of Stockholm University's department of Paleodeophysics and Geodynamics. Dr. Mörner is and an expert reviewer for the IPCC, leader of the Maldives Sea Level Project, and past president of the INQUA Commission on Sea Level Changes.
A noted expert in sea level change has accused UN's IPCC panel of falsifying and destroying data (PDF) to support the panel's official conclusion of a rising sea level trend. The accusations include surreptitious substitution of datasets, selective use of data, presenting computer model simulations as physical data, and even the destruction of physical markers which fail to demonstrate sea level rise.
The expert, Dr. Nils-Axel Mörner, also raps the IPCC for their selection of 22 authors of their most recent report on sea level rise (SLR), none of which were sea level specialists. According to Mörner, the authors were chosen to "arrive at a predetermined conclusion" of global warming-induced disaster.
Sea level changes can be detected by a number of methods. Rotational timing is a very precise method, and is based on the fact that a change in the earth's radius will cause minute differences in it's rate of rotation. A rise in sea level increases the radius slightly, and can therefore be detected by precisely timing when the sun rises and sets. This method can detect changes in sea level as small as one millimeter. Data collected in this manner has shown the ocean to have risen and fallen slightly several times since the early 1900s, without any definitive trend.
Satellite altimetry is another method. Mörner says that, in 2003, The IPCC's altimetry dataset, which had previously displayed no clear trend, suddenly changed, with past readings modified to show a strong uplift. Though corrections to datasets are supposed to be clearly announced and identified, this was done secretly, and not labeled. When Mörner inquired about the discrepancy, he was told the readings had been adjusted by a "correction factor".
Where did this factor come from? The least precise method of measuring sea level is tide gauge records. These are problematic as the land under the gauge may itself be rising or falling. Hong Kong maintains six tide gauges, five of which show no trend. The sixth, located on land where compaction is causing the ground to sink, was chosen by the IPCC as the correction factor for global altimetry data.
Tide gauges kept in the sensitive areas of Pacific and Indian Ocean islands show a different story. In Vanuatu, Tegua, and the Tuvalu Islands, gauge records show no trend at all. In the Maldives, tide gauges kept from the 1950s show a small drop in the 1970s, and no change since.
More shocking is Mörner's claim of the destruction of evidence. A famous low-lying tree in the Maldives has long been a marker for sea-level change, and noted in several research papers. But when an Australian team visited the island on a data-gathering trip, they saw the tree and pulled it down, according to local eyewitnesses. Mörner's team later replanted the tree in the same spot.
Climatologist and IPCC Expert Reviewer Dr. Madhav Khandekar, contacted by DailyTech in regards to this story, also believes SLR is being exaggerated by the IPCC. Khandekar says SLR over the next 100 years will be "insignificant" and pointed to recent research demonstrating SLR had actually declined in the latter half of the 20th century.
Dr. Mörner also had harsh words for the Maldives government. When the Maldives Sea Level Project concluded there was no threat to from rising sea levels, a documentary was made to reassure residents. The government, however, banned airing of the film. According to Mörner, the rationale for the ban was financial. The Maldives stands to gain hundreds of millions of dollars in climate change aid from Western governments. "Because they thought that they would lose money." He said, "They accuse the West for putting out carbon dioxide, so they wanted the flooding scenario to go on."
Mörner says it's becoming increasingly hard to perform objective climate research. In the European Community, a prerequisite for research grants is that the focus must be on global warming. Papers which don't support global warming aren't funded. "That's what dictatorships did, autocracies." He added, "They demanded that scientists produce what they wanted."
http://www.dailytech.com/Noted+Sea+Level+Expert+Accuses+IPCC+of+Falsifying+Data/article9978.htm
Fortunately for me, I am neither a believer of global warming - hey I'm in an aircon room most of the time - or a supporter of the green lobby - though I eat my vegetables without complaining. But to resort to falsifying records to bring incite irrational fear of infernal armageddon is really lowly.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Go Green? Too late!
[In support of T. F. Stern's recent article.]
I believe people are barking up the wrong tree.
Why do we start bitching about going Green now?
We should have started such efforts doggedly once we realised that we will run out of oil in 2050 thereabouts.
We are pathetic! We don't even realise that success comes at a price - a price that is beyond our ken to repay.
What I propose is simple - in our final glory years, burn! Harvest and burn all the bloody oil there is on planet earth. Let Earth burn in the wonderful atmosphere of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Let the temperatures rise and the airconditioners go at full blast. Let the Arctic ice caps melt. Let the water levels rise. Let the plates rumble with unabashed glee and welcome the cleansing tsunamis with open arms.
Rejoice! For after that, when we have nothing left, the world will correct the imbalances by itself.
We, yes we, will form the seed of the new oil deposits for the new world. Our children, yes them, will survive the harshest ice ages. Our grandchildren will rediscover new trade routes, our great grandchildren will start colonising the backwaters and erode the traditions of the very people they view as different from them.
One of our descendent generations will go to war and some nation will reinvent the nuclear weapon to use on the perceived perpetrator of war.
We, yes we, will eventually be all used up and our children of millienia in the future will come full circle when the earth next corrects itself.
So, doggone it! I'm living life in abandon. No one can stop me. As I have always believed, the world will only get better after it hits rock bottom. We are still a long way off!
I believe people are barking up the wrong tree.
Why do we start bitching about going Green now?
We should have started such efforts doggedly once we realised that we will run out of oil in 2050 thereabouts.
We are pathetic! We don't even realise that success comes at a price - a price that is beyond our ken to repay.
What I propose is simple - in our final glory years, burn! Harvest and burn all the bloody oil there is on planet earth. Let Earth burn in the wonderful atmosphere of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Let the temperatures rise and the airconditioners go at full blast. Let the Arctic ice caps melt. Let the water levels rise. Let the plates rumble with unabashed glee and welcome the cleansing tsunamis with open arms.
Rejoice! For after that, when we have nothing left, the world will correct the imbalances by itself.
We, yes we, will form the seed of the new oil deposits for the new world. Our children, yes them, will survive the harshest ice ages. Our grandchildren will rediscover new trade routes, our great grandchildren will start colonising the backwaters and erode the traditions of the very people they view as different from them.
One of our descendent generations will go to war and some nation will reinvent the nuclear weapon to use on the perceived perpetrator of war.
We, yes we, will eventually be all used up and our children of millienia in the future will come full circle when the earth next corrects itself.
So, doggone it! I'm living life in abandon. No one can stop me. As I have always believed, the world will only get better after it hits rock bottom. We are still a long way off!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Damned oranges
Was at the wet market on Saturday to buy some oranges before going to the temple for ancestral prayers.
Bent forward slightly to pick those globes and I heard a tearing sound at my lower back.
I've done my chiropractic round but the pain is still lingering. I'm getting better but still I need rest.
Visited the doctor just now. Sigh!
Bent forward slightly to pick those globes and I heard a tearing sound at my lower back.
I've done my chiropractic round but the pain is still lingering. I'm getting better but still I need rest.
Visited the doctor just now. Sigh!
Friday, December 07, 2007
Singapore hit by Ella
Salmonella, that is.
A well-known Singapore bakery chain, PrimaDeli, was hit by salmonella. More than 140 Singaporeans have fallen ill after eating the tainted cakes.
Apparently, the hazelnut cream and chocolate cream are laced with the bacteria and 4 (or was it 6) workers were carriers.
Let's hope those who have fallen sick get well soon and PrimaDeli can resume selling its cakes. I think the bakery's business is going to take a hit for some time. But they make great cakes and so I'll still patronise them. (Who would be cleaner than them after the stringent rounds of health checks?)
(But somehow, I think some quarters thought we are hit by Ebola.)
A well-known Singapore bakery chain, PrimaDeli, was hit by salmonella. More than 140 Singaporeans have fallen ill after eating the tainted cakes.
Apparently, the hazelnut cream and chocolate cream are laced with the bacteria and 4 (or was it 6) workers were carriers.
Let's hope those who have fallen sick get well soon and PrimaDeli can resume selling its cakes. I think the bakery's business is going to take a hit for some time. But they make great cakes and so I'll still patronise them. (Who would be cleaner than them after the stringent rounds of health checks?)
(But somehow, I think some quarters thought we are hit by Ebola.)
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
On Heathrow
Question: I heard Heathrow is thinking of adding a third runway.
Reply from top gun of a well-regarded airline: They think too long.
Well, it is already 10 years and counting.
Reply from top gun of a well-regarded airline: They think too long.
Well, it is already 10 years and counting.
My favourite bureaucrat
His replies to three questions.
"No authority."
"No capacity."
"No interest."
The Hokkien/Teochew equivalent would be:
Bo guan.
Bo eng.
Bo hew.
When is it my turn to reply in this manner?
"No authority."
"No capacity."
"No interest."
The Hokkien/Teochew equivalent would be:
Bo guan.
Bo eng.
Bo hew.
When is it my turn to reply in this manner?
Speaking Across Cultural Barriers
Mrs Who-who:
"For an airport like yours to be so successful, I notice you have added new infrastructure like terminals. It is important that it's not just the hardware but about the "software" (the people, their work ethics, workplace culture etc)"
An hour later, an airport top-brass said during his presentation to Mrs Who-who:
"So Mrs Who-who is right. Software is very important to the airport. We invest heavily in our computer systems to stay competitive..."
Me: Palm slapmark (own doing) on forehead...
"For an airport like yours to be so successful, I notice you have added new infrastructure like terminals. It is important that it's not just the hardware but about the "software" (the people, their work ethics, workplace culture etc)"
An hour later, an airport top-brass said during his presentation to Mrs Who-who:
"So Mrs Who-who is right. Software is very important to the airport. We invest heavily in our computer systems to stay competitive..."
Me: Palm slapmark (own doing) on forehead...
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Time and place
Since when is it appropriate to hanker after Michelin Star restaurants for lunch at your own expense in the middle of a work trip?
Or for that matter, since when is it appropriate to suggest that some office holder go to such a restaurant for meals when this person is accompanied by the likes of support staff in the order of "smaller than the eye of an amoeba" and whose pay also belong in the same order?
I never figured that out.
And fortunately, logic and good sense held out.
Or for that matter, since when is it appropriate to suggest that some office holder go to such a restaurant for meals when this person is accompanied by the likes of support staff in the order of "smaller than the eye of an amoeba" and whose pay also belong in the same order?
I never figured that out.
And fortunately, logic and good sense held out.
I decide?
Yeah, I was told to make a decision so that if something goes awry, someone would have me to blame.
Thank you very much.
I wrote directly to the someone and asked for instructions. Why should I guess what that someone wants? But now I do know what the someone wants.
Thank you very much.
I wrote directly to the someone and asked for instructions. Why should I guess what that someone wants? But now I do know what the someone wants.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Speechless
I have so much to say but I can only write so little.
There is a need to balance between the need to rant and the need to keep certain things private until a later time.
I'll write in "tongues" (if you would indulge me the conceptual loan) and I'll let you decipher what I am thinking, if you desire.
Pity how this personal space in public is privy to only so few secrets. Nothing is worse than wagging tongues.
There is a need to balance between the need to rant and the need to keep certain things private until a later time.
I'll write in "tongues" (if you would indulge me the conceptual loan) and I'll let you decipher what I am thinking, if you desire.
Pity how this personal space in public is privy to only so few secrets. Nothing is worse than wagging tongues.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Guess is a brand of clothing
It is not a game you play with your subordinates.
If I can guess what you want, then I probably should be a mind reader and not a paper pusher.
If I can guess what you want, then I probably should be a mind reader and not a paper pusher.
Leave of Absence
I'll be in Europe for a work trip from 25 - 30 Nov.
If at all possible, I'd rather give this trip up to someone else. It's to Frankfurt and Amsterdam.
If at all possible, I'd rather give this trip up to someone else. It's to Frankfurt and Amsterdam.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Taiwan lawmaker Li Ao's farewell statement
李敖：「前途有限、後患無窮，可是可以保持這個聯絡，真的你們你們，我覺得你們好可憐，好，再見了，有事情再以後保持聯絡，如果還聯絡的話。」
Loosely translated, Li Ao (who is stepping down as an MP and no longer seeking re-election) said, "My future is limited but the repercussions are many. But we (referring to the reporters) can still keep our contact. Really, you guys, I think you are very pitiful. Ok, goodbye now. We can keep in touch in the future, supposing we are still in contact."
Brilliant guy.
Loosely translated, Li Ao (who is stepping down as an MP and no longer seeking re-election) said, "My future is limited but the repercussions are many. But we (referring to the reporters) can still keep our contact. Really, you guys, I think you are very pitiful. Ok, goodbye now. We can keep in touch in the future, supposing we are still in contact."
Brilliant guy.
Mental Tsunami: 38 Million Dead
If you think the tsunami of 26 Dec 2004 was bad, look at this:
During the Cultural Revolution in China, the three years beginning with 1959 were known as the Three Years of Natural Disasters（三年自然灾害）. Food was in desperate shortage, and production fell dramatically. By the end of the Three Years of Natural Disasters, which was the direct result of the failed Great Leap Forward campaign, an estimated 38 million people had died from widespread famine.
Millions died! All because the leaders were mentally misguided.
During the Cultural Revolution in China, the three years beginning with 1959 were known as the Three Years of Natural Disasters（三年自然灾害）. Food was in desperate shortage, and production fell dramatically. By the end of the Three Years of Natural Disasters, which was the direct result of the failed Great Leap Forward campaign, an estimated 38 million people had died from widespread famine.
Millions died! All because the leaders were mentally misguided.
Monday, November 19, 2007
I ranted at TF's Blog
Here's what I wrote in response to what he had posted.
Well, thank you. "Tasteless Western Humor totally lacking in good manners and most definitely not Politically Correct"?
You need a good talking to when I visit. After that, self-criticism might be useful to lower the culpability of having used your mind to think!
This preposterous act calls for a complete mind-washing session a la the Cultural Revolution.
Take out your farming tools! We probably need to burn your books and brainwash you of the ideas that have turned you into an undesirable element of the society. The party hopes that with a life of farming (or digging iron ore for making steel), we can hope to salvage you, we can hope for you to reform.
Now where are my Madame Mao glasses?
Woo-hoo!
Well, thank you. "Tasteless Western Humor totally lacking in good manners and most definitely not Politically Correct"?
You need a good talking to when I visit. After that, self-criticism might be useful to lower the culpability of having used your mind to think!
This preposterous act calls for a complete mind-washing session a la the Cultural Revolution.
Take out your farming tools! We probably need to burn your books and brainwash you of the ideas that have turned you into an undesirable element of the society. The party hopes that with a life of farming (or digging iron ore for making steel), we can hope to salvage you, we can hope for you to reform.
Now where are my Madame Mao glasses?
Woo-hoo!
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Two Sides of the Same Coin
Rubbish comes along to fill a vacuum.
vs
Don't let it hold you back for thinking what's sensible but don't count on it the whole time.
vs
Don't let it hold you back for thinking what's sensible but don't count on it the whole time.
Size is a matter of perception
I'm referring to the size of a person's ego.
How do we know if our egos are larger than us when the people around us keep stoking their growth by pandering to our whims and fancies?
I want out.
Like the Chinese saying goes, a crow that flies up the top branch thinks it has become a phoenix. It is very important to keep a keen sense of one's true value.
How do we know if our egos are larger than us when the people around us keep stoking their growth by pandering to our whims and fancies?
I want out.
Like the Chinese saying goes, a crow that flies up the top branch thinks it has become a phoenix. It is very important to keep a keen sense of one's true value.
Belated Halloween Stuff
- Courtesy of Common Sense Cowboy
For all you ghouls and goblins, here are some rules to keep you safe on Halloween:
1.When it appears that you have killed the monster, never check to see if it’s really dead. It isn’t.
2.Never read a book of demon summoning aloud, even as a joke.
3.Do not search the basement or attic, even if the power is out.
4.If your children speak to you in Latin or any other language that they should not know, shoot them immediately. Shooting them will save you much grief in the long run; however, it will take several rounds to kill them, so be prepared. This tip also applies to anyone who speaks with someone else’s voice.
5.When you have the benefit of numbers, never pair off and go alone.
6.As a general rule, don’t solve puzzles that open portals to Hell.
7.Never stand in, on, or above a grave, tomb, or crypt. This rule also applies to any other house of the dead.
8.If you are searching for something that caused a loud noise and find out that it was just the cat, get the hell out. Expeditiously.
9.If appliances start operating by themselves, do not check for short circuits. Again, get the hell out.
10.Do not take anything from the dead. No matter how much you like it, it’s bound to disagree with you sooner or later.
11.If you find a town that looks deserted, there’s probably a good reason for it. Don’t stop and look around.
12.Don’t fool with recombinant DNA technology unless you’re sure you know what you’re doing.
13.If you’re running from the monster, expect to trip or fall down at least twice–more if you are of the female persuasion. Also note that despite the fact that you are running and the monster is merely shambling along, it’s still moving fast enough to catch up with you.
14.If your companions suddenly begin to exhibit uncharacteristic behavior such as hissing, fascination with blood, glowing eyes, increasing hairiness, and so on, kill them immediately.
15.Stay away from certain geographical locations, some of which are listed here: Amityville, Elm Street, Haddonfield, Transylvania, Nilbog (you’re in trouble if you recognize this one), anywhere in Texas where chainsaws are sold, the Bermuda Triangle, and any small town in Maine, Maryland, and Massachusetts.
16.If your car runs out of gas at night on a lonely road, do not go to the nearby deserted-looking house to use the telephone. If you think that it is strange you ran out of gas because you thought you had most of a tank, shoot yourself in the head. You are going to die anyway and most likely be eaten.
17.Beware of strangers bearing strange tools like chainsaws, staple guns, hedge trimmers, electric carving knives, combines, lawn mowers, butane torches, soldering irons, and ice picks.
18.If you discover that your house is built upon a cemetery, now is the time to move in with the in-laws. This rule also applies to previous inhabitants who went mad or committed suicide or died in some horrible fashion.
19. If there are supernatural elements going on around you, don’t have sex. Especially if you are a blond.
20. If you are a blond, dye your hair! You have a much better chance of survival if you are a brunette, or redhead. (I guess we don’t taste as good or something…)
21. Stay out of cornfields, woods and bodies of water. These are locations where no one will hear you if you scream, or if the do hear you, they will never find you in time.
22. Stay out of big old scary looking mansions, nothing good ever comes from your visit, no matter how considerate a houseguest you are.
23. Never back slowly down stairs, around corners, or through doorways. You have just been where you are coming from and you should know that the threat is not there.
24. If the phone goes dead just when you are about to call for help, don’t waist time jiggling the receiver cradle and shouting “Hello” into the receiver. Giving away your position while masking the sounds of the opponents approach is NOT a good tactic.
25. For Heaven’s sake, listen to us Moors residents when we tell you to “Keep to the roads, lads!”
26. Stay away from dusty old tomes with questionable fabric covers.
27. Never try to read aloud from books when they are written in some obscure dead language, even if you are a linguistics expert. There are reasons why certain languages are dead.
28. Never say, “It could be worse,” because it will get much worse.
29. Never turn your back on stuffed animals, dolls or clowns. They may seem innocent enough, but they are really demons laying in wait.
30. Do not try destroying same dolls, animals or clowns with fire, water, or exorcism, as this only pisses them off. Just resign yourself to the fact that your life is over.
31. Never invite a ghost or spirit to show itself. It may think that you want it to stay and will make itself at home…
32. Never go camping in the woods on Halloween.
33. Ignore the others who say it will be fun and never go to one of those creepy looking traveling funhouses on Halloween, either. Boo!
34. If the phone rings, don’t bother answering it. Go curl up in a corner and resign yourself to the end. It’s the killer and he is already in the house, or is outside watching you.
35. If you forget/drop/lose something while a monster is on the loose, it probably isn’t the wisest idea to go looking for it later. This principle especially applies to cats.
36. Beware of people in masks. It might not actually be a mask…
37. Never investigate old broken down mansions, especially in Texas. In fact, it’s best to stay out of Texas, New Orleans or any sort of swamp like area all-together.
38. Don’t ever watch unfamiliar and bizarre videotapes.
39. Never let the little bitch out of the well.
40. Never trust computers with little girl avatars
41. Never stroll from room to room, searching for your boyfriend/girlfriend whilst simultaneously calling their name.
Example:
“Tommy? Are your in there? Tommy? Is that you?”
And…if this is happening immediately after sex, resign yourself to your fate immediately and dispatch yourself before the monster gets the chance.
42. Never be the only person at a supernatural outing (whether intentional or unintentional) wearing a red shirt.
43. Never have sex with the overtly horny camp counselor. She will inevitably die first, but you can count on being next in line
44. Donald Pleasance shows up, just recognize you’re in a whole lot of great big trouble.
45. Never help a clown out of a drain hole - all clowns are evil!
46. Don’t make fun of or play with dead things.
47. If you see a town that looks deserted except for children, do not try to ‘help’ them - they will eat you.
48. If you walk into the local abandoned-looking church to seek help or shelter, and you notice that the crucifix is mounted upside down, turn around and go back outside as quietly as possible.
49. Never have sex in the bunk beds of recently renovated summer camps.
50. Whenever you land on a distant planet and find some objects that look like eggs, leave them alone.
51. Do not allow crewmates back aboard the craft if and after you have found a hideous parasite attached to his/her body.
52. Be forewarned that a gun is only good for ALMOST killing the monster, never for COMPLETELY killing it. Be sure to have an extra weapon, preferably one with “flair” (a knife, a harpoon, a heavy box, razor confetti, pop tarts…)
53. Don’t open the closed door, especially if you hear scratching, heavy breathing, or the voice of a dear relative whom you THOUGHT was dead.
54. Never bathe, especially when in the house alone.
55. If you are a female, never expose yourself. Easy women die fast.
56. Never camp or build homes on Indian burial grounds.
For all you ghouls and goblins, here are some rules to keep you safe on Halloween:
1.When it appears that you have killed the monster, never check to see if it’s really dead. It isn’t.
2.Never read a book of demon summoning aloud, even as a joke.
3.Do not search the basement or attic, even if the power is out.
4.If your children speak to you in Latin or any other language that they should not know, shoot them immediately. Shooting them will save you much grief in the long run; however, it will take several rounds to kill them, so be prepared. This tip also applies to anyone who speaks with someone else’s voice.
5.When you have the benefit of numbers, never pair off and go alone.
6.As a general rule, don’t solve puzzles that open portals to Hell.
7.Never stand in, on, or above a grave, tomb, or crypt. This rule also applies to any other house of the dead.
8.If you are searching for something that caused a loud noise and find out that it was just the cat, get the hell out. Expeditiously.
9.If appliances start operating by themselves, do not check for short circuits. Again, get the hell out.
10.Do not take anything from the dead. No matter how much you like it, it’s bound to disagree with you sooner or later.
11.If you find a town that looks deserted, there’s probably a good reason for it. Don’t stop and look around.
12.Don’t fool with recombinant DNA technology unless you’re sure you know what you’re doing.
13.If you’re running from the monster, expect to trip or fall down at least twice–more if you are of the female persuasion. Also note that despite the fact that you are running and the monster is merely shambling along, it’s still moving fast enough to catch up with you.
14.If your companions suddenly begin to exhibit uncharacteristic behavior such as hissing, fascination with blood, glowing eyes, increasing hairiness, and so on, kill them immediately.
15.Stay away from certain geographical locations, some of which are listed here: Amityville, Elm Street, Haddonfield, Transylvania, Nilbog (you’re in trouble if you recognize this one), anywhere in Texas where chainsaws are sold, the Bermuda Triangle, and any small town in Maine, Maryland, and Massachusetts.
16.If your car runs out of gas at night on a lonely road, do not go to the nearby deserted-looking house to use the telephone. If you think that it is strange you ran out of gas because you thought you had most of a tank, shoot yourself in the head. You are going to die anyway and most likely be eaten.
17.Beware of strangers bearing strange tools like chainsaws, staple guns, hedge trimmers, electric carving knives, combines, lawn mowers, butane torches, soldering irons, and ice picks.
18.If you discover that your house is built upon a cemetery, now is the time to move in with the in-laws. This rule also applies to previous inhabitants who went mad or committed suicide or died in some horrible fashion.
19. If there are supernatural elements going on around you, don’t have sex. Especially if you are a blond.
20. If you are a blond, dye your hair! You have a much better chance of survival if you are a brunette, or redhead. (I guess we don’t taste as good or something…)
21. Stay out of cornfields, woods and bodies of water. These are locations where no one will hear you if you scream, or if the do hear you, they will never find you in time.
22. Stay out of big old scary looking mansions, nothing good ever comes from your visit, no matter how considerate a houseguest you are.
23. Never back slowly down stairs, around corners, or through doorways. You have just been where you are coming from and you should know that the threat is not there.
24. If the phone goes dead just when you are about to call for help, don’t waist time jiggling the receiver cradle and shouting “Hello” into the receiver. Giving away your position while masking the sounds of the opponents approach is NOT a good tactic.
25. For Heaven’s sake, listen to us Moors residents when we tell you to “Keep to the roads, lads!”
26. Stay away from dusty old tomes with questionable fabric covers.
27. Never try to read aloud from books when they are written in some obscure dead language, even if you are a linguistics expert. There are reasons why certain languages are dead.
28. Never say, “It could be worse,” because it will get much worse.
29. Never turn your back on stuffed animals, dolls or clowns. They may seem innocent enough, but they are really demons laying in wait.
30. Do not try destroying same dolls, animals or clowns with fire, water, or exorcism, as this only pisses them off. Just resign yourself to the fact that your life is over.
31. Never invite a ghost or spirit to show itself. It may think that you want it to stay and will make itself at home…
32. Never go camping in the woods on Halloween.
33. Ignore the others who say it will be fun and never go to one of those creepy looking traveling funhouses on Halloween, either. Boo!
34. If the phone rings, don’t bother answering it. Go curl up in a corner and resign yourself to the end. It’s the killer and he is already in the house, or is outside watching you.
35. If you forget/drop/lose something while a monster is on the loose, it probably isn’t the wisest idea to go looking for it later. This principle especially applies to cats.
36. Beware of people in masks. It might not actually be a mask…
37. Never investigate old broken down mansions, especially in Texas. In fact, it’s best to stay out of Texas, New Orleans or any sort of swamp like area all-together.
38. Don’t ever watch unfamiliar and bizarre videotapes.
39. Never let the little bitch out of the well.
40. Never trust computers with little girl avatars
41. Never stroll from room to room, searching for your boyfriend/girlfriend whilst simultaneously calling their name.
Example:
“Tommy? Are your in there? Tommy? Is that you?”
And…if this is happening immediately after sex, resign yourself to your fate immediately and dispatch yourself before the monster gets the chance.
42. Never be the only person at a supernatural outing (whether intentional or unintentional) wearing a red shirt.
43. Never have sex with the overtly horny camp counselor. She will inevitably die first, but you can count on being next in line
44. Donald Pleasance shows up, just recognize you’re in a whole lot of great big trouble.
45. Never help a clown out of a drain hole - all clowns are evil!
46. Don’t make fun of or play with dead things.
47. If you see a town that looks deserted except for children, do not try to ‘help’ them - they will eat you.
48. If you walk into the local abandoned-looking church to seek help or shelter, and you notice that the crucifix is mounted upside down, turn around and go back outside as quietly as possible.
49. Never have sex in the bunk beds of recently renovated summer camps.
50. Whenever you land on a distant planet and find some objects that look like eggs, leave them alone.
51. Do not allow crewmates back aboard the craft if and after you have found a hideous parasite attached to his/her body.
52. Be forewarned that a gun is only good for ALMOST killing the monster, never for COMPLETELY killing it. Be sure to have an extra weapon, preferably one with “flair” (a knife, a harpoon, a heavy box, razor confetti, pop tarts…)
53. Don’t open the closed door, especially if you hear scratching, heavy breathing, or the voice of a dear relative whom you THOUGHT was dead.
54. Never bathe, especially when in the house alone.
55. If you are a female, never expose yourself. Easy women die fast.
56. Never camp or build homes on Indian burial grounds.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Trauma Injury
I had an excruciating tooth ache yesterday. I thought all my top front teeth were in trouble yesterday for they gave me such pain. It is as though I just had my braces tightened too hard a day ago. The pain was still there this morning, despite me coating the tooth with some toothpaste last night. (This is a sure way of knowing if it is tooth sensitivity. Coating sensitive teeth with toothpaste can help reduce the sensitivity.)
For two days, I looked myself and my teeth in the mirror to check for any sign of tooth problems that could point out why I am in such misery. Could there be a crack or fracture? There are no lines or breaks or even blood. Could it be gum problems? My gums are healthy. Could it be cavities? There is no sensitivities to cold bursts of air. Could it be root death? Hm...
Finally, I called my trusty dentist today; yesterday being Deepavali, he was closed. There are two Doctor Tans in my life whom I can't do without - my family doctor Dr Tan and my dentist Dr Tan. Thank goodness for the alignments of the stars today. I managed to get slotted in at 10.30 am this morning to see him.
He went through a very very thorough round of checks today. Electrical current test, ice test, light test and even an x-ray. Nothing. The tooth was firmly in place and there are no outward or internal injuries.
He then did scaling and polishing. Man! No blood. Good sign. In fact, it means the gums are not cluttered with tartar, which when removed tended to cause some gum bleeding. The second visit in a row I came off clean. He even said that my oral hygiene was ok, no problem. The nightly flossing pays off!
The tooth problem is still unsettled. And as we eliminated possibilities, I told him that when I told him earlier about my biting into fried chicken, I did not tell him that the chicken slipped and I bit right into the thigh bone. Then the pieces started to fall into place.
His tentative diagnosis is trauma to front tooth. It should heal in a week or so by itself. No worries about hot/cold sweet/sour food. The ligaments holding the tooth will heal and get better.
If not, I'll go back to him.
I think I'd rather get punched in my gut then to suffer another tooth injury.
For two days, I looked myself and my teeth in the mirror to check for any sign of tooth problems that could point out why I am in such misery. Could there be a crack or fracture? There are no lines or breaks or even blood. Could it be gum problems? My gums are healthy. Could it be cavities? There is no sensitivities to cold bursts of air. Could it be root death? Hm...
Finally, I called my trusty dentist today; yesterday being Deepavali, he was closed. There are two Doctor Tans in my life whom I can't do without - my family doctor Dr Tan and my dentist Dr Tan. Thank goodness for the alignments of the stars today. I managed to get slotted in at 10.30 am this morning to see him.
He went through a very very thorough round of checks today. Electrical current test, ice test, light test and even an x-ray. Nothing. The tooth was firmly in place and there are no outward or internal injuries.
He then did scaling and polishing. Man! No blood. Good sign. In fact, it means the gums are not cluttered with tartar, which when removed tended to cause some gum bleeding. The second visit in a row I came off clean. He even said that my oral hygiene was ok, no problem. The nightly flossing pays off!
The tooth problem is still unsettled. And as we eliminated possibilities, I told him that when I told him earlier about my biting into fried chicken, I did not tell him that the chicken slipped and I bit right into the thigh bone. Then the pieces started to fall into place.
His tentative diagnosis is trauma to front tooth. It should heal in a week or so by itself. No worries about hot/cold sweet/sour food. The ligaments holding the tooth will heal and get better.
If not, I'll go back to him.
I think I'd rather get punched in my gut then to suffer another tooth injury.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
The Con Job
Still hadn't found time to update that the air con blowers (the units that spew out the cold air in the rooms) were fixed up last Saturday.
The guys came and we immediately gave them CLEAR instructions that if they needed help with keeping the place clean, we could assist. We offered to hold vacuum cleaners up so that whatever as much concrete dust they drilled out of the wall as possible could be sucked up by the vacuum cleaner to reduce the fall out. We offered wet/damp cloths if they prefer to drill and catch these bits from underneath. Another contractor we use actually pasted an open plastic bag under the hole he is drilling to collect dust.
The two guys declined, insisting that there would not be much dust.
Lo and behold, we ended up having to do a full vacuuming of the whole house, two rounds of mopping with extensive water changing, 4 loads of laundry and a whole lot of other cleaning.
JUST BECAUSE THOSE SON OF A B*TCH MOTHERF*CKERS REFUSED TO FOLLOW SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS.
They were in such a rush they left gaping holes in our walls, they affected our paint works and did not ask for paint to touch up.
We have lodged a complaint and if remediation is not coming soon, we will go on to the consumers' association.
The guys came and we immediately gave them CLEAR instructions that if they needed help with keeping the place clean, we could assist. We offered to hold vacuum cleaners up so that whatever as much concrete dust they drilled out of the wall as possible could be sucked up by the vacuum cleaner to reduce the fall out. We offered wet/damp cloths if they prefer to drill and catch these bits from underneath. Another contractor we use actually pasted an open plastic bag under the hole he is drilling to collect dust.
The two guys declined, insisting that there would not be much dust.
Lo and behold, we ended up having to do a full vacuuming of the whole house, two rounds of mopping with extensive water changing, 4 loads of laundry and a whole lot of other cleaning.
JUST BECAUSE THOSE SON OF A B*TCH MOTHERF*CKERS REFUSED TO FOLLOW SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS.
They were in such a rush they left gaping holes in our walls, they affected our paint works and did not ask for paint to touch up.
We have lodged a complaint and if remediation is not coming soon, we will go on to the consumers' association.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
A letter of complaint to a taxi company
This is a feedback regarding on 3 Nov at about 12.35pm.
My friend was driving along (road) when we saw the above cab travelling along the right lane near the SPC fuel station, in the direction towards (road).
As we needed to make a right turn further ahead, my friend changed lane and went behind the cab in the right lane. Once he did that, the cab slowed down considerably.
The cab driver slowed so much that my friend tooted his horn at him. Only then did he stop at a road opening, switch on his right signal light (it was off all along), move the cab forward by a bit and suddenly stopped. This is despite the other side of the road being entirely clear.
Your driver must have hoped that my friend would follow the cab very closely, fail to stop in time and then hit into his rear.
Seeing that my friend moved into the left lane to drive on, the cab driver carried on driving.
I tried calling your (hot) line to lodge a complaint right after the incident but after being told your customer service officers are busy for 4 min 22 sec, the call was abruptly cut off.
We are very disappointed with the way (company name) hires drivers and with your hotline service. Nonetheless, I'll leave you to decide the best way to remind your drivers on good driving habits and road courtesy.
After all, in this case, cabs are equipped with signal lights, the main function of which are to signal INTENTION in ADVANCE.
A driving theory test for your drivers might really help improve their habits, for when you punish them, they cannot feign ignorance on what is expected of them for driving behaviour.
Please do not cause the cab driver to lose his job for this is not my intention when I write this feedback.
I just hope that if your cabs can't make our roads safer, at least they don't make them unnecessarily more dangerous.
Yours sincerely,
My friend was driving along (road) when we saw the above cab travelling along the right lane near the SPC fuel station, in the direction towards (road).
As we needed to make a right turn further ahead, my friend changed lane and went behind the cab in the right lane. Once he did that, the cab slowed down considerably.
The cab driver slowed so much that my friend tooted his horn at him. Only then did he stop at a road opening, switch on his right signal light (it was off all along), move the cab forward by a bit and suddenly stopped. This is despite the other side of the road being entirely clear.
Your driver must have hoped that my friend would follow the cab very closely, fail to stop in time and then hit into his rear.
Seeing that my friend moved into the left lane to drive on, the cab driver carried on driving.
I tried calling your (hot) line to lodge a complaint right after the incident but after being told your customer service officers are busy for 4 min 22 sec, the call was abruptly cut off.
We are very disappointed with the way (company name) hires drivers and with your hotline service. Nonetheless, I'll leave you to decide the best way to remind your drivers on good driving habits and road courtesy.
After all, in this case, cabs are equipped with signal lights, the main function of which are to signal INTENTION in ADVANCE.
A driving theory test for your drivers might really help improve their habits, for when you punish them, they cannot feign ignorance on what is expected of them for driving behaviour.
Please do not cause the cab driver to lose his job for this is not my intention when I write this feedback.
I just hope that if your cabs can't make our roads safer, at least they don't make them unnecessarily more dangerous.
Yours sincerely,
Friday, November 02, 2007
Drugs
Martina Hinggis is retiring from tennis after she tested positive for cocaine at the Wimbeldon this year.
I still find it hard to believe. Hinggis is not one of the players I like or support - give me Monica "Grunter" Seles any time. Still, to see her in the throes of misery because of this is still painful.
I have always found it hard to believe that tennis players would abuse cocaine as this is definitely not a drug you would use to enhance your endurance, whatever the post-use euphoria that you could get. How does one play when one is flighty and flummoxed? That's why I find it hard to fathom that the Swiss Miss would do something that stupid.
Anyway, hopefully some light would come out of this.
Another drug that I find stupid to abuse is testosterone. If you (guys, of course) inject yourself with synthetic testosterone, you are basically turning yourself into an eunuch except that you'll keep your balls.
The body will recognise the artificial hormone in the body and think that enough of it is there. And what the body does to maintain equilibrium is to shut the factory - basically your nuts/gonads/balls/testicles whatever - down. And over a prolonged period of time, the factory forgets to resume operations even when the hormones are depleted.
Hm... I'd rather keep my ability to enjoy myself than to have strapping muscles or a big one.
Anyhow, I'd meant to dedicate this post to St. Vicodine Fraser Stern. Remember his constant reminder for me to take two vicodin and then call him, get rest, whatever? I just wanted to declare here that I'm off painkillers since last night and I have been feeling fine.
There is no recurring or nagging or imminent pain. I'm happy that I've stayed clean for the past two days and it looks positive that my vicodin (or whatever painkillers I'm on) popping days can stay canned.
But of course, I may speak too soon for part two of the move - my housemate's - is next Saturday.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
I think I found it
Last night, I saw ants, big ones, crawling out of a crack at the sink area.
The entire kitchen area had been given a good once-over and there is hardly any traces of food left, I bet. The ants were lethargic and I noticed a trail of them - sporadic ants in an Indian file about a feet and a half apart between them - but the trail was obvious. It must be the well-trodden path from nest to food.
I sprayed kitchen cleaning agent into the crack where I suspected the nest to be. Once the ammonia enriched stuff hit the hole, more ants, big ones, crawled out. They were rather dazed, from human perspective.
I quickly boiled a cup of water in the microwave - and I was also boiling a kettle of water - and then poured the boiling water over the hole, letting the boiling water seep into the hole. I then repeated with another cup of boiling water.
Then I gave that place a good clean with the kitchen cleaning agent. Yet, I still saw ants making their way back to the nest. I think it must be the nest. So I took the entire kettle of boiling water and slowly and methodically flushed the entire area once over, flushing away the cleaning agent and anything that is still stuck in between the cracks.
After the hot water evaporated, the entire sink area is bone dry. Ok, the last of the grease and grime are gone; if you wish, oil free. Still there is the ant trail on the wall. I had repeatedly squashed many ants on that trail during the time I flushed the sink area with hot water. Still, the ants came.
They must have come from the food area. I have not found the other end of the rainbow, I mean, ant trail and so I do not know where it ends. But once the nest is bust, I think we are close to complete annihilation.
I must think of a more permanent solution to get rid of these ants. I searched around for my ant bait. It was a long hard search but I did finally find four pellets of it. I cut one out and cut the pellet open. I feel so happy - funny I would not even feel the tiniest bit guilty for the massacre that I am about to commit - and carefully spread two parallel lines of bait on the tiles and left the pellet with the remainder in between them.
This morning, the ants were either asleep or asleep. I didn't see any of them crawling around.
I'll just wait and see. And I'll go get some ant chalk - wonderful stuff - to draw all around the house so that it is ant-proofed.
Meanwhile, I'll see if we can "silicon grout" the area. Thanks for the suggestion, Bob.
The entire kitchen area had been given a good once-over and there is hardly any traces of food left, I bet. The ants were lethargic and I noticed a trail of them - sporadic ants in an Indian file about a feet and a half apart between them - but the trail was obvious. It must be the well-trodden path from nest to food.
I sprayed kitchen cleaning agent into the crack where I suspected the nest to be. Once the ammonia enriched stuff hit the hole, more ants, big ones, crawled out. They were rather dazed, from human perspective.
I quickly boiled a cup of water in the microwave - and I was also boiling a kettle of water - and then poured the boiling water over the hole, letting the boiling water seep into the hole. I then repeated with another cup of boiling water.
Then I gave that place a good clean with the kitchen cleaning agent. Yet, I still saw ants making their way back to the nest. I think it must be the nest. So I took the entire kettle of boiling water and slowly and methodically flushed the entire area once over, flushing away the cleaning agent and anything that is still stuck in between the cracks.
After the hot water evaporated, the entire sink area is bone dry. Ok, the last of the grease and grime are gone; if you wish, oil free. Still there is the ant trail on the wall. I had repeatedly squashed many ants on that trail during the time I flushed the sink area with hot water. Still, the ants came.
They must have come from the food area. I have not found the other end of the rainbow, I mean, ant trail and so I do not know where it ends. But once the nest is bust, I think we are close to complete annihilation.
I must think of a more permanent solution to get rid of these ants. I searched around for my ant bait. It was a long hard search but I did finally find four pellets of it. I cut one out and cut the pellet open. I feel so happy - funny I would not even feel the tiniest bit guilty for the massacre that I am about to commit - and carefully spread two parallel lines of bait on the tiles and left the pellet with the remainder in between them.
This morning, the ants were either asleep or asleep. I didn't see any of them crawling around.
I'll just wait and see. And I'll go get some ant chalk - wonderful stuff - to draw all around the house so that it is ant-proofed.
Meanwhile, I'll see if we can "silicon grout" the area. Thanks for the suggestion, Bob.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
It's Midweek
Day 2 of work.
I had to pry my eyes open. Soon, I need something stronger to have them open.
I was so solidly stuck in bed I had problems reaching to my alarm clock under the bed. My arms were numb and as I got up I felt the pins and needles as blood rushed back in. I must have slept in an awkward position again. And not to say I must have been way too tired to even realise that.
The laundry is set down to wash this morning. I'll have them spun dry later this evening so that I can hang them up to dry. Man, I never dreaded doing laundry that much until now. But at least yesterday was no laundry day, which is a small victory for me. This means life is slowly creeping back to its normality. (Oh, please, "normalcy" is not really in the correct form - it is bad English to use it.)
The dust from the floor seems to be thinning out and I am beginning to feel the tile surfaces. The cleaning must be helping.
Finally took out the rubbish this morning. I suppose the best way of remembering to do it is to hang it on the main gate and on the way out, the bags of rubbish go out.
Still monitoring for ant trails. We have battled the ants for a long time and had limited success. I am so really determined to win this battle, so I'm going to do another thorough cleaning of the suspicious places soon.
I have nearly fallen asleep at my desk at work today. That's a bad sign. But on a brighter note, things are moving along. I hope to kill off all the outstanding stuff soon, especially when the deadlines loom. If I had my way, things would have been done a long time ago!
Two more days. Hanging in there...
I had to pry my eyes open. Soon, I need something stronger to have them open.
I was so solidly stuck in bed I had problems reaching to my alarm clock under the bed. My arms were numb and as I got up I felt the pins and needles as blood rushed back in. I must have slept in an awkward position again. And not to say I must have been way too tired to even realise that.
The laundry is set down to wash this morning. I'll have them spun dry later this evening so that I can hang them up to dry. Man, I never dreaded doing laundry that much until now. But at least yesterday was no laundry day, which is a small victory for me. This means life is slowly creeping back to its normality. (Oh, please, "normalcy" is not really in the correct form - it is bad English to use it.)
The dust from the floor seems to be thinning out and I am beginning to feel the tile surfaces. The cleaning must be helping.
Finally took out the rubbish this morning. I suppose the best way of remembering to do it is to hang it on the main gate and on the way out, the bags of rubbish go out.
Still monitoring for ant trails. We have battled the ants for a long time and had limited success. I am so really determined to win this battle, so I'm going to do another thorough cleaning of the suspicious places soon.
I have nearly fallen asleep at my desk at work today. That's a bad sign. But on a brighter note, things are moving along. I hope to kill off all the outstanding stuff soon, especially when the deadlines loom. If I had my way, things would have been done a long time ago!
Two more days. Hanging in there...
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
It's Sunny But It's Raining
This is exactly how I am feeling right now. A mixed kind of feeling.
The painkillers are irritating the shit out of me already. Take it literally - I'm having some mild wind and the runs. Probably also because I had been too hungry yesterday.
The fridge is not stocked with the right stuff. My freezer is empty. I think I need to raid Cold Storage soon for some stuff. Nothing is more comforting than seeing some frozen meat/ham/sausages in the freezer.
We do not have a rubbish chute in the house. We now need to be more alert to take out the trash. I forgot twice already and soon the house will be a dump.
I need to clean the corridor of the wine stains. The movers broke a bottle of white wine during the move on Saturday and I can still see the stains. The wine is very dry - it wasn't even sticky. Amazing!
It's high time to reorganise the boxes in the work room so that I can move the laptops over and set up a proper work area. It is so inconducive for the bedroom to double as a work room.
Given our habits of not putting on more than a pair of shorts in the house, housemate is keeping the windows all shut. Modesty issue for him. Sigh.
I bet the electricity bill is shooting through the roof this month, given that I have the fans turned on at full blast all the while. I'd fry in my own fats otherwise.
The neatest room in the house is the storeroom. A million thanks to the same foursome who really put me to shame in house organisation.
It's been a mad mad mad mad time for the past few days. And I believe things should get better until my housemate officially moves in on 10 Nov. I'll need to do more sanity checks.
The painkillers are irritating the shit out of me already. Take it literally - I'm having some mild wind and the runs. Probably also because I had been too hungry yesterday.
The fridge is not stocked with the right stuff. My freezer is empty. I think I need to raid Cold Storage soon for some stuff. Nothing is more comforting than seeing some frozen meat/ham/sausages in the freezer.
We do not have a rubbish chute in the house. We now need to be more alert to take out the trash. I forgot twice already and soon the house will be a dump.
I need to clean the corridor of the wine stains. The movers broke a bottle of white wine during the move on Saturday and I can still see the stains. The wine is very dry - it wasn't even sticky. Amazing!
It's high time to reorganise the boxes in the work room so that I can move the laptops over and set up a proper work area. It is so inconducive for the bedroom to double as a work room.
Given our habits of not putting on more than a pair of shorts in the house, housemate is keeping the windows all shut. Modesty issue for him. Sigh.
I bet the electricity bill is shooting through the roof this month, given that I have the fans turned on at full blast all the while. I'd fry in my own fats otherwise.
The neatest room in the house is the storeroom. A million thanks to the same foursome who really put me to shame in house organisation.
It's been a mad mad mad mad time for the past few days. And I believe things should get better until my housemate officially moves in on 10 Nov. I'll need to do more sanity checks.
Work
The alarm went off at 5.40 am this morning. I would never have had to get up earlier than 7 am when I was at Telok Blangah Drive.
Seriously, I am so tired now I could fall into a thousand year sleeping spell and never wake up until...
I think I'd need to get out of the house by 6.30 am if I ever dream of being on time. I'll try that tomorrow, since my housemate drove me to work today and I arrived just after 7 am.
I need to get used to this...
Seriously, I am so tired now I could fall into a thousand year sleeping spell and never wake up until...
I think I'd need to get out of the house by 6.30 am if I ever dream of being on time. I'll try that tomorrow, since my housemate drove me to work today and I arrived just after 7 am.
I need to get used to this...
Craziness Revisited
I had to pry my eyes open at 9 am yesterday as I had something on at 10 am. Had meant to take the bus to get there but in the end, gave in to the sloth in me and took a cab instead. Fortunately, it cost $4. Thank goodness! The bus journey would probably cost a third as much but hey, I'm so tired I would break up into a million pieces any time.
Came back at noon and started doing more washing and unpacking before my next appointment at 5 pm. And I had meant to take the train but in the end, gave in to the sloth in me and took a cab instead. Unfortunately, it cost $10.60. Bad move! The bus-train journey would probably cost an eighth as much but still, I'm so tired I would break up into a million and one pieces any time. I waited more than an hour for that appointment but it was still good.
Dinner was a pack and eat at home affair since someone wanted to buy the metal bed frame.
Really, this move was even more unbelievable because of the things that happened - there was a "sale" on our end.
On the day of the move, some lady came and bought the 6 feet wardrobe off me. I had had mixed feelings about taking that huge wardrobe along with me to the new place. One, space was tight. Two, it didn't really fit in - it was more the elaborate 60's type of design which would look really good if you liked wardrobes with elaborate roofs and designs and carvings. I sold it for $250, having bought it at $800. Painful, but somehow, if the old doesn't go, the new wouldn't even have a chance.
On the same day, we managed to dispose off a bed frame for $60. This was left behind by the old houseowner at our request. We had immediately regretted making that request. We ended up with two bed frames which one was supposed to be a free gift with the wardrobe. In the end, this one went.
The black metal one which I had bought for $99 went for $50. Not too bad. And then we sold off a new, completely unopened Ikea table and four legs for $40 (U.P. $90). It was not a spur of the moment sale. I had used one of the tables before but it was not my type - not heavy duty enough for heavyweight users like me. So I was glad it found a good home.
The curtains are up in the new place and I have not managed to get used to the heat coming out of those 32W and 40W lights. Man, they really make me sweat.
The kitchen is almost functional except for gas supply, which I had resisted even now, and for a good reason. Once there is gas, the temptation to cook becomes stronger. Thank you Gerald, Justin, Wei Qiang and Kian Eng for the kitchen session.
The rooms are not functional. Not a single room is functional, though I have been sleeping amongst the mess. The toilets are great. The best rooms in the house are the rest rooms. Those AMS loos and sinks are great!
I have broadband access and TV too - thank you Gerald and Justin for twiddling and getting most of it right. It helped a lot nonetheless.
My electric toothbrush charger is still MIA despite me opening up every single box to check. I really wonder where it might be. I hope to find it soon, before I go mad.
We need more shelves - the teak wood book shelf at the Helping Hands for repair now needs to come back fast. My sliding door wardrobe is bursting at its seams already. I need more storage. I also need to throw away more stuff.
Oh yes, our former landlady who is now our dear friend has returned our deposit after finding her house in a good condition. In fact, over 5 quarters, we replaced her water heater, replaced faulty switches, repaired faulty sockets, and replaced doorknobs and locks so that the entire place is safe. We didn't mind it that much as she was gracious enough to let us have the place at a rental price lower than what she wanted - because that was all we could afford. One good turn deserves another!
I am babbling now. Time to get off.
Came back at noon and started doing more washing and unpacking before my next appointment at 5 pm. And I had meant to take the train but in the end, gave in to the sloth in me and took a cab instead. Unfortunately, it cost $10.60. Bad move! The bus-train journey would probably cost an eighth as much but still, I'm so tired I would break up into a million and one pieces any time. I waited more than an hour for that appointment but it was still good.
Dinner was a pack and eat at home affair since someone wanted to buy the metal bed frame.
Really, this move was even more unbelievable because of the things that happened - there was a "sale" on our end.
On the day of the move, some lady came and bought the 6 feet wardrobe off me. I had had mixed feelings about taking that huge wardrobe along with me to the new place. One, space was tight. Two, it didn't really fit in - it was more the elaborate 60's type of design which would look really good if you liked wardrobes with elaborate roofs and designs and carvings. I sold it for $250, having bought it at $800. Painful, but somehow, if the old doesn't go, the new wouldn't even have a chance.
On the same day, we managed to dispose off a bed frame for $60. This was left behind by the old houseowner at our request. We had immediately regretted making that request. We ended up with two bed frames which one was supposed to be a free gift with the wardrobe. In the end, this one went.
The black metal one which I had bought for $99 went for $50. Not too bad. And then we sold off a new, completely unopened Ikea table and four legs for $40 (U.P. $90). It was not a spur of the moment sale. I had used one of the tables before but it was not my type - not heavy duty enough for heavyweight users like me. So I was glad it found a good home.
The curtains are up in the new place and I have not managed to get used to the heat coming out of those 32W and 40W lights. Man, they really make me sweat.
The kitchen is almost functional except for gas supply, which I had resisted even now, and for a good reason. Once there is gas, the temptation to cook becomes stronger. Thank you Gerald, Justin, Wei Qiang and Kian Eng for the kitchen session.
The rooms are not functional. Not a single room is functional, though I have been sleeping amongst the mess. The toilets are great. The best rooms in the house are the rest rooms. Those AMS loos and sinks are great!
I have broadband access and TV too - thank you Gerald and Justin for twiddling and getting most of it right. It helped a lot nonetheless.
My electric toothbrush charger is still MIA despite me opening up every single box to check. I really wonder where it might be. I hope to find it soon, before I go mad.
We need more shelves - the teak wood book shelf at the Helping Hands for repair now needs to come back fast. My sliding door wardrobe is bursting at its seams already. I need more storage. I also need to throw away more stuff.
Oh yes, our former landlady who is now our dear friend has returned our deposit after finding her house in a good condition. In fact, over 5 quarters, we replaced her water heater, replaced faulty switches, repaired faulty sockets, and replaced doorknobs and locks so that the entire place is safe. We didn't mind it that much as she was gracious enough to let us have the place at a rental price lower than what she wanted - because that was all we could afford. One good turn deserves another!
I am babbling now. Time to get off.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Updates
Here's a quick update before I give in to the Z monster.
The movers came yesterday and they moved most of the stuff over in two trips.
icloud, OKE, Justin and Wei Qiang were such angels - they helped with the unpacking in the kitchen. I am very very grateful for their help.
We went back to the old place to clean up till close to 11 pm before coming back to the new place.
I carried on with the cleaning and went to bed at almost 2 am today.
Woke up and cleaned and unpacked even more today.
I'm entirely bushed now and I'll be hitting the sack once I log out.
Moving is such a pain.
The movers came yesterday and they moved most of the stuff over in two trips.
icloud, OKE, Justin and Wei Qiang were such angels - they helped with the unpacking in the kitchen. I am very very grateful for their help.
We went back to the old place to clean up till close to 11 pm before coming back to the new place.
I carried on with the cleaning and went to bed at almost 2 am today.
Woke up and cleaned and unpacked even more today.
I'm entirely bushed now and I'll be hitting the sack once I log out.
Moving is such a pain.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
The works
The entire house is littered with boxes now.
The move is coming soon.
The backache meds I've been taking prophylactically is helping. My back is sore but I'm not hurting.
I can't wait to move so that I can start living again!
The move is coming soon.
The backache meds I've been taking prophylactically is helping. My back is sore but I'm not hurting.
I can't wait to move so that I can start living again!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Directions
If you can meet up at the bus-stop outside Vivocity at around 10.45 am and then call me, we will drive over and pick you all up.
If you prefer to do the lone ranger, here are the directions.
From the nearest MRT station
NE Line - Harbourfront Station
Bus 131 or 145 on the Vivocity/Harbourfront side.
Alight at the first bus-stop after bus turns right to Henderson Road.
Turn left after alighting.
My flat is the point block that faces the Chinese Guanyin Temple.
EW Line - Redhill Station (most convenient)
Bus 145 on the side of the MRT station.
The bus will turn right and then will go past, in order, DSTA/CMPB on your right and then SAFRA Mount Faber on your left.
From SAFRA, alight at the 2nd bus-stop.
Your bus-stop is opposite the bus-stop above (NE line).
Turn right after alighting. Cross the road at the pedestrian crossing.
My flat is the point block that faces the Chinese Guanyin Temple.
If you miss this, the bus would turn left and you will alight at the 3rd bus-stop after the Shell Station along Telok Blangah Road. By then, you would have passed my block and you'd know how to reverse navigate.
EW Line - Tanjong Pagar (nearest station)
Take bus 131 at the bus-stop opposite the Temasek Towers (the round building) and near a karaoke joint. It's an underground maze to navigate at the station, so.
This bus will go to Harbourfront and follow the instructions from there.
If you prefer to do the lone ranger, here are the directions.
From the nearest MRT station
NE Line - Harbourfront Station
Bus 131 or 145 on the Vivocity/Harbourfront side.
Alight at the first bus-stop after bus turns right to Henderson Road.
Turn left after alighting.
My flat is the point block that faces the Chinese Guanyin Temple.
EW Line - Redhill Station (most convenient)
Bus 145 on the side of the MRT station.
The bus will turn right and then will go past, in order, DSTA/CMPB on your right and then SAFRA Mount Faber on your left.
From SAFRA, alight at the 2nd bus-stop.
Your bus-stop is opposite the bus-stop above (NE line).
Turn right after alighting. Cross the road at the pedestrian crossing.
My flat is the point block that faces the Chinese Guanyin Temple.
If you miss this, the bus would turn left and you will alight at the 3rd bus-stop after the Shell Station along Telok Blangah Road. By then, you would have passed my block and you'd know how to reverse navigate.
EW Line - Tanjong Pagar (nearest station)
Take bus 131 at the bus-stop opposite the Temasek Towers (the round building) and near a karaoke joint. It's an underground maze to navigate at the station, so.
This bus will go to Harbourfront and follow the instructions from there.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
New Chemical Element Discovered
by William DeBuvitz
This bit of humor was written in April 1988 and appeared in the January 1989 issue of The Physics Teacher. William DeBuvitz is a physics professor at Middlesex County College in Edison, New Jersey (USA). He retired in June of 2000.
The heaviest element known to science was recently discovered by investigators at a major U.S. research university. The element, tentatively named administratium, has no protons or electrons and thus has an atomic number of 0. However, it does have one neutron, 125 assistant neutrons, 75 vice neutrons and 111 assistant vice neutrons, which gives it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by a force that involves the continuous exchange of meson-like particles called morons.
Since it has no electrons, administratium is inert. However, it can be detected chemically as it impedes every reaction it comes in contact with. According to the discoverers, a minute amount of administratium causes one reaction to take over four days to complete when it would have normally occurred in less than a second.
Administratium has a normal half-life of approximately three years, at which time it does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which assistant neutrons, vice neutrons and assistant vice neutrons exchange places. Some studies have shown that the atomic mass actually increases after each reorganization.
Research at other laboratories indicates that administratium occurs naturally in the atmosphere. It tends to concentrate at certain points such as government agencies, large corporations, and universities. It can usually be found in the newest, best appointed, and best maintained buildings.
Scientists point out that administratium is known to be toxic at any level of concentration and can easily destroy any productive reaction where it is allowed to accumulate. Attempts are being made to determine how administratium can be controlled to prevent irreversible damage, but results to date are not promising.
Source: http://www.lhup.edu/~DSIMANEK/administ.htm
[Blogger's Note: It's almost 20 years since the discovery of administratium and it is amazing the abundance of this element. If the world ran on administratium rather than on oil, we would live on forever and ever...]
This bit of humor was written in April 1988 and appeared in the January 1989 issue of The Physics Teacher. William DeBuvitz is a physics professor at Middlesex County College in Edison, New Jersey (USA). He retired in June of 2000.
The heaviest element known to science was recently discovered by investigators at a major U.S. research university. The element, tentatively named administratium, has no protons or electrons and thus has an atomic number of 0. However, it does have one neutron, 125 assistant neutrons, 75 vice neutrons and 111 assistant vice neutrons, which gives it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by a force that involves the continuous exchange of meson-like particles called morons.
Since it has no electrons, administratium is inert. However, it can be detected chemically as it impedes every reaction it comes in contact with. According to the discoverers, a minute amount of administratium causes one reaction to take over four days to complete when it would have normally occurred in less than a second.
Administratium has a normal half-life of approximately three years, at which time it does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which assistant neutrons, vice neutrons and assistant vice neutrons exchange places. Some studies have shown that the atomic mass actually increases after each reorganization.
Research at other laboratories indicates that administratium occurs naturally in the atmosphere. It tends to concentrate at certain points such as government agencies, large corporations, and universities. It can usually be found in the newest, best appointed, and best maintained buildings.
Scientists point out that administratium is known to be toxic at any level of concentration and can easily destroy any productive reaction where it is allowed to accumulate. Attempts are being made to determine how administratium can be controlled to prevent irreversible damage, but results to date are not promising.
Source: http://www.lhup.edu/~DSIMANEK/administ.htm
[Blogger's Note: It's almost 20 years since the discovery of administratium and it is amazing the abundance of this element. If the world ran on administratium rather than on oil, we would live on forever and ever...]
I'm just so tired
I feel as though I'm crumbling to pieces like a overbaked cookie...
Too much to do in too little time, too little sleep.
Too much emotions and these outbursts or restraining these outburts take too much energy. They consume you.
I want to just go to bed and stay asleep.
Waking up is like facing a firing squad, which I dread.
Too much to do in too little time, too little sleep.
Too much emotions and these outbursts or restraining these outburts take too much energy. They consume you.
I want to just go to bed and stay asleep.
Waking up is like facing a firing squad, which I dread.
A lull period
I'll be on and off here for at least the coming fortnight.
I've been visiting the place, which is currently under renovation, about 4 to 5 times a week with the owner. We are both getting a little aback by the speed of the renovation. The lack of speed, that is. We are also partly to blame, having bought items in drips and draps and bringing them in for the contractors to put up. It's hard work for them but it is equally hard for us as we scramble to accumulate what we need in the little daylight hours left after we knock off from work.
While the contractors are confident that everything would be done by our stipulated deadlines, I'm more circumspect. I keep a running list of the list of things to-do and the completion. We are not even half in green yet although whatever has been accomplished are very much to our liking.
I'll be moving to my new place on 27 Oct and I've arranged for packing to be done on 20 Oct. Meanwhile, I've designated 22 and 29 Oct as "recovery" days and 19 and 26 Oct as preparation days. I've become a relocation cynic - and I'm most functional when I'm desperately out of time. I'm approaching that.
I hope this will be one move that will last quite some time.
Work-wise, everything is not moving as they should. It is as though the floodgates are still held shut by a straw, which I'm trying to break, before the pressure builds up beyond the point of salvation.
I fear the deluge when the gates finally fly open and I'm caught flat-footed. I've sent a great many chasers but I can only do that much.
I'm intending to see the doctor for this minor throat irritation - I hope it is not what my deepest fears conjure. But then, like all things in life, when god closes a door, he usually slams it in your face. Just don't be blinded by the door knob or you can't find the window he opens for you after that.
Oh well, what will be, will be.
I've been visiting the place, which is currently under renovation, about 4 to 5 times a week with the owner. We are both getting a little aback by the speed of the renovation. The lack of speed, that is. We are also partly to blame, having bought items in drips and draps and bringing them in for the contractors to put up. It's hard work for them but it is equally hard for us as we scramble to accumulate what we need in the little daylight hours left after we knock off from work.
While the contractors are confident that everything would be done by our stipulated deadlines, I'm more circumspect. I keep a running list of the list of things to-do and the completion. We are not even half in green yet although whatever has been accomplished are very much to our liking.
I'll be moving to my new place on 27 Oct and I've arranged for packing to be done on 20 Oct. Meanwhile, I've designated 22 and 29 Oct as "recovery" days and 19 and 26 Oct as preparation days. I've become a relocation cynic - and I'm most functional when I'm desperately out of time. I'm approaching that.
I hope this will be one move that will last quite some time.
Work-wise, everything is not moving as they should. It is as though the floodgates are still held shut by a straw, which I'm trying to break, before the pressure builds up beyond the point of salvation.
I fear the deluge when the gates finally fly open and I'm caught flat-footed. I've sent a great many chasers but I can only do that much.
I'm intending to see the doctor for this minor throat irritation - I hope it is not what my deepest fears conjure. But then, like all things in life, when god closes a door, he usually slams it in your face. Just don't be blinded by the door knob or you can't find the window he opens for you after that.
Oh well, what will be, will be.
Monday, October 15, 2007
And then I found out...
that the Nobel Peace prize (or was it all Nobel Prizes) could only be given to people who are still alive (that's why Ghandi didn't get his Peace Prize - the committee didn't give any award for that year in the end) and that they could only give out awards to people who used "peaceful" means.
Sigh.
Sigh.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Who blinded the Nobel Prize Selectors?
How could Al Gore be a joint winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his works on Global Warming when he is a major contributor to it?
I'd also nominate a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize for Hitler helping with population control!
I'd also nominate a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize for Hitler helping with population control!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Is it going to be a right decision?
Often, when we decide on something that would make us very happy for the moment of the decision, we think we have made the correct decision.
However, there are some decisions that are made in the POINT of time and then, what happens later you have absolutely no idea or control. In such a case, how do we know if we have made a correct decision?
However, there are some decisions that are made in the POINT of time and then, what happens later you have absolutely no idea or control. In such a case, how do we know if we have made a correct decision?
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Fleeting Memories
去年今日此门中,人面桃花相应红。
人面不知何处去，桃花依旧笑春风。
In this house last year, the (people's) faces and the peach blossoms were rosy
The faces are now all gone although the peach blossoms are in full bloom in the spring breeze.
The impermanence of life is very well captured in this four-line poem. It always reminds me that things change very fast. In fact, people come and go so quickly that they hardly make a dent in their environment.
Hanging on is futile. Unless one finds the mythical Shangri La.
人面不知何处去，桃花依旧笑春风。
In this house last year, the (people's) faces and the peach blossoms were rosy
The faces are now all gone although the peach blossoms are in full bloom in the spring breeze.
The impermanence of life is very well captured in this four-line poem. It always reminds me that things change very fast. In fact, people come and go so quickly that they hardly make a dent in their environment.
Hanging on is futile. Unless one finds the mythical Shangri La.
Humans are born to walk in circles
Wonder if there are times in your lives when you felt as if you have gone on a huge detour of the world only to end up at the same place?
A note to myself
A translation of what I had written below. I can only hope I have captured the essence and nuances aptly.
To not slave over a flower in full bloom
To take big strides into the unknown fields
To not pace up and down on a crowded well trodden path
To go out and explore the big world out there
Leaving, letting go, can also bring happiness
To not slave over a flower in full bloom
To take big strides into the unknown fields
To not pace up and down on a crowded well trodden path
To go out and explore the big world out there
Leaving, letting go, can also bring happiness
Monday, October 08, 2007
Double Whammy
Guess what? While battling the aching back and painful inner thighs, I came to my apartment lobby to realise that the only lift serving the 25 storey block of flats was OUT OF ORDER!
@#$*!
One other lift was being upgraded to serve residents on level 25 - the lifts used to call on each floor up to level 24.
So I had to climb 19 storeys up.
What luck!
@#$*!
One other lift was being upgraded to serve residents on level 25 - the lifts used to call on each floor up to level 24.
So I had to climb 19 storeys up.
What luck!
Friday, October 05, 2007
Pain...
My back is hurting. The sides are hurting.
The pain shoots down the inner thighs.
I'm so miserable.
The pain shoots down the inner thighs.
I'm so miserable.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
The Wisteria Lane Slut Didn't Die...
Oh my god, my god, my god.
I was rolling with laughter last night when I watched the season 4 premier of Desperate Housewives.
Bloody Edie Brit didn't die! How can that be? She must die!
And how can Carlos be so dumb? Does he have the IQ of a real moron?
I laughed out really really loud when Lynette puked into another bitch's handbag at her son's play. She was feeling really sick as she was on chemo.
Bree was good as usual but she has competition!
And Mike's plumbing works was great - Susan's pregnant.
I also can't wait for Gabrielle to start her antics.
But most of all, I just want the neighbourhood slut dead.
Oh, I heard they will be introducing a gay couple in this season! It should be interesting. Two new housewives?
I was rolling with laughter last night when I watched the season 4 premier of Desperate Housewives.
Bloody Edie Brit didn't die! How can that be? She must die!
And how can Carlos be so dumb? Does he have the IQ of a real moron?
I laughed out really really loud when Lynette puked into another bitch's handbag at her son's play. She was feeling really sick as she was on chemo.
Bree was good as usual but she has competition!
And Mike's plumbing works was great - Susan's pregnant.
I also can't wait for Gabrielle to start her antics.
But most of all, I just want the neighbourhood slut dead.
Oh, I heard they will be introducing a gay couple in this season! It should be interesting. Two new housewives?
But then I forget...
I don't know about you guys but every time I tell myself that I have something that I must blog about, I log in and can never remember what I had wanted to blog.
A part of this can be attributed to sleep deprivation.
Another part of this is probably the desire to blog about the issue is not as intense as the want to merely bitch about it. Therefore, one does not remember to bitch about the lesser things.
The last part I believe is ageing.
A part of this can be attributed to sleep deprivation.
Another part of this is probably the desire to blog about the issue is not as intense as the want to merely bitch about it. Therefore, one does not remember to bitch about the lesser things.
The last part I believe is ageing.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
I think I am falling...
in love? Maybe not.
sick? Looks that way.
asleep? Bingo.
I'm so tired now but I've got a pile of papers to look through.
Sigh.
sick? Looks that way.
asleep? Bingo.
I'm so tired now but I've got a pile of papers to look through.
Sigh.
Am I losing my marbles?
I thought I read Fraser's entry on "Hillary has lost her marbles" quite some time back.
Was it really only on 29 September that the post was written?
I doubt it. I honestly doubt it.
Am I losing my marbles?
*Checks!* Thank god the balls are still there.
Was it really only on 29 September that the post was written?
I doubt it. I honestly doubt it.
Am I losing my marbles?
*Checks!* Thank god the balls are still there.
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