Whatever Stuff

Labor productivity in Singapore

2010-03-03T17:39:00.003+08:00

I know temasekreview std of journalism is a bit dodgy at times, but still this is quite a shocking yet illustrative article. Yet I dont know what exactly is so shocking about it, since it is half-expected with Singapore's approach with its immigration policies, but I guess if the trend is not bucked, Singapore's economy is going to be in trouble in the future and all the spindoctoring in the world will not be able to entirely cover up a troubled economy with pitiful productivity levels

http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/03/03/u-s-labor-dept-singapore-has-steepest-productivity-decline-and-lowest-increase-in-hourly-wages/
http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/03/01/how-pap-screws-up-singapores-labor-productivity-with-its-open-door-policy-to-foreign-workers/

On a semi-related note, I would like to be more productive (in my career and work) too haha :P

Freedom & hope

2010-02-20T17:46:00.002+08:00

For some reason, I was recently reminded of one of the best scenes from one of the best movies ever.

It is much like a freedom & hope Christians ought to have, possessing something that no one can take away from them, something to look towards to

What is real?

2010-01-20T12:43:00.015+08:00

There is a phenomena called 'Avatar depression', where pple -having been immersed in the stunning world of Pandora- feel sad about our reality, and fall into depression.
http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/feature/avatar-perfection-causing-depression/story-e6frfnv0-1225819063598
http://www.popcrunch.com/avatar-depression/

Having watched Avatar not too long ago (having enjoyed it despite several cheesy plot elements), I remember a poignant scene where Jake Sully, having been immersed for quite some time in his new (better) world, says with resignation that "Everything is backwards now, like out there is the true world and in here is the dream"

I kinda feel that way myself actually. But not for the fictitious world of Avatar. Having started experiencing a better reality here on earth, I am starting to feel dismayed too back when confronted with my 'real' life. Its quite disconcerting and it makes me feel a bit dysfunctional at times too. I long to throw myself at and immerse myself in things of this world, like work... but its so much easier to plug in to my own 'Pandora'.

Am I being like the case (Matthew 13:44-46) of the Merchant looking for fine pearls who found what he was looking for? Or a case where my heart is where my treasure lies (Luke 12:34)? Or like the song which goes "And the things of earth will go strangely dim; In the light of his glory and grace"?

I dont know, it could be any, it could even be none. All I know is that it feels quite frustrating at the moment. Things are starting to be a bit backwards now. In this tent, I groan (2 Cor 5). I think I have probably experienced the feeling of disconnect at moments in my life before, but in the past year it has been getting stronger, and now its becoming quite noticeable. Even some of my favorite leisure activities dont quite fill me the way they used to... sheesh... its weird, and I am not sure I feel quite alright with that at the moment.

a touching and meaningful song

2010-01-13T11:09:00.002+08:00

i suppose it can be taken either as a song for couples, or as to God, but taken as to God I find it very moving

The Life You've Always Wanted

2010-01-07T23:01:00.003+08:00

My cell group is starting on a book by John Ortberg of the abovementioned title. Here is a nice poem/hymn found within the first chapter:

Jesus is all the world to me,
My life, my joy, my all.
He is my strength from day to day,
Without him I would fall.
When I am sad, to him I go,
No other one can cheer me so.
When I am sad He makes me glad.
He's my friend.

Profiting in the world in return for one's soul

2009-12-22T13:33:00.006+08:00

A combination of feeling bored, jaded at work, bearing some pple I know in mind, and some stuff that happened recently.. the thought of this bible passage crossed my mind. Its interesting seeing the different versions contrasted against each other in ESV.

Matthew 16
24Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

Mark 8
34And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Luke 9
23And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Why do we work? Is it worth it given that for most pple it is a distraction from religious devotion? It need not even be purely about work, what is it that we are all striving for in life and relationships? (which is probably what the passage is referring to as well, i.e. not just material profit)... It would be great to not live anymore and move on to see the Father, but things typically aren't so simple. The journey is so long and so muddled, and the path so narrow that many if not most fall away. And even if we delight in the precepts and promises we have been given, we cant just sit there and 'worship' all day but still have to go out into the 'real' world, full of constant struggle and murkiness... what is the point of it all?...hm.... maybe one day ill have the answer to this in my heart... but right now, i guess not really

ephesians 6 - armour of God

2009-12-16T23:43:00.002+08:00

During the recent sunday school camp, this passage stuck me a lot

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

- It reminded me that our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil, which we commonly forget. Therefore we do not look at pple from a worldly point of view (cf 2 Cor 5:16)
- Also, that how the various pieces each have a meaning behind them, and are not randomly given, and that each of this plays their role in the battle. Righteousness, that we are right before God and therefore not condemned. Truth, knowing that we have the truth. Faith to trust in the face of accusations, and the security of salvation. The gospel a bit different maybe, a readiness and purposefulness it gives us.

The rich poor divide

2009-10-21T09:10:00.002+08:00

http://www.straitstimes.com/SME+Spotlight/Lifestyle/Story/STIStory_444385.html

To begin with a very clever wording of the article, phrasing it as a social divide (which is less offensive) as compared to the rich-poor divide, which it basically is

MM Lee also is very clever to bring his point across in an inoffensive way, which sounds plausible on first sight, even to me.

But not only is it flawed for several reasons which I am lazy to explain here, it highlights the difference in fundamental principle for the govt vs what things really ought to be
-Govt priority: Economy is the most important
-What it ought to be: The welfare of the people is the most important, which is much easier if the economy is good, but not at the expense of what is most important

lift upgrading programme saga - this kind of letter also can?!

2009-10-20T08:37:00.003+08:00

I REFER to Ms Sylvia Lim's letter on Thursday, 'WP rebuts ministry's reply on lift upgrading', in response to the Ministry of National Development's (MND) earlier explanations on the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) in Hougang.

As we have pointed out, the LUP is carried out and funded by the Government, not the local Member of Parliament. The Government tasks the local adviser to grassroots organisations to work with all interested parties, including the MP, to implement the LUP. This is not a matter of protocol, but because of the need to implement government programmes through persons and agencies answerable to the Government. Opposition MPs do not answer to the Government, and implementing the LUP is not one of their constitutional or legal duties.

We do not expect the Workers' Party to accept these basic facts, and we will agree to disagree. In the final analysis, the people of Singapore will decide. In the meantime, the interests of Hougang residents are best served by concrete actions, not words.

The MND and HDB will continue to work with the grassroots adviser and other stakeholders in Hougang to implement the LUP in the constituency.

Lim Yuin Chien
Press Secretary to the
Minister for National Development

PSLE math hoohaa

2009-10-12T14:09:00.004+08:00

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20091010/tap-464-parents-arms-psle-mathematics-pa-231650b.html

Jim bought some chocolates and gave half of it to Ken.
Ken bought some sweets and gave half of it to Jim.
Jim ate 12 sweets and Ken ate 18 chocolates.
The ratio of Jim’s sweets to chocolates became 1:7
The ratio of Ken’s sweets to chocolates became 1:4.
How many sweets did Ken buy?

its tough but not too difficult to answer, if the kids know how to use models properly, and dont panic, they should be able to solve it.

even if the paper is so tough, parents should grow up. Not only would everyone else find the paper tough, but so what if your kid doesnt get full marks? End of the world? Its only primary school, how to teach your children a proper perspective like that

PM Lee “would not like” to be your platoon commander if you’re 30, 40, 50 years old

2009-10-07T13:46:00.001+08:00

http://feedmetothefish.blogspot.com/2009/09/ungrateful-platoon-commander.html

very tragic event

2009-09-07T09:01:00.002+08:00

http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_424735.html
Dennis Tan's complaint

http://redsports.sg/2009/09/03/singapore-airlines-sponsorship-dragon-boaters/
http://blogs.straitstimes.com/2009/9/4/why-sia-sponsored-an-nz-team
A purely business issue?

http://singaporesportsfan.wordpress.com/2009/09/04/sia-defends-its-sponsorship-of-the-new-zealand-dragon-boat-team/
http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_UK/content/company_info/responsibility/sports.jsp?v=585641128&

as if SIA sponsors anything anyway, I doubt they would sponsor the dragonboat team even if approached. But whatever the reasons it is apparent that Singapore atheletes normally have to self sponsor, maybe have to learn from this and canvas harder for sponsors from 'famous Singaporean brand names'.

But then shouldnt the specific sports governing authorities help with this too? We cant put ALL the onus on the athletes themselves to search for sponsorships.

Ultimately, if the athletes are still unable to obtain sponsorship. Then screw this. Singapore sports is dead. Singapore is dead, only Singapore Inc. remains

example of how to turn bad news into gd news

2009-08-19T17:37:00.002+08:00

Lance Armstrong sucks?

2009-07-29T22:50:00.003+08:00

When Lance Armstrong first won the Tour de France he was like a hero, and everyone likes a hero. I really wanted him to break the record for Tour de France's won and be perhaps the greatest cyclist ever.

But my enthusiasm for him did take a big hit when he left the wife who stood by him through his cancer and started going out with Sheryl Crow. Not cool at all

I havent really followed his story since, didnt care too much for all the doping and whatever nonsense. But this Tour de France has brought him to the media spotlight again and cemented in my mind that he is a bad person not worthy of being admired.

Contador was and should have been the team leader, but for some reason it ended up being up for grabs. If I recall, Armstrong has had countless team members sacrifice themselves for him through the years, and its time he do the same in return. He obviously didnt. Thus spurred a little internet browsing, and it appears im not the only one who is annoyed at Armstrong's antics

http://www.billgifford.com/2009/07/yes-i-called-lance-armstrong-jerk.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/49329/i_am_the_only_american_who_hates_lance.html?cat=9
http://www.askmen.com/top_10/sports/top-10-reasons-to-hate-lance-armstrong_10.html

Is Straits times an english or singlish paper?

2009-07-21T10:29:00.001+08:00

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_404559.html?vgnmr=1
"Fined $30 for eating sweet"

The title gets me more than anything else, but the rest sucks as well. I may be wrong in some places but here is my dissection of this pathetic attempt at writing.

“Fined $30 for eating sweet” – should be eating a sweet, or eating sweets, not eating sweet

“The offender 48-year-old housewife” – should be ‘the offender, a 48 year-old housewife’

“The offender 48-year-old housewife, Mdm Bibi Zaina Binti Mohamed attempts to justify her actions.” – ‘attempts to’ is still maybe acceptable but not the best way to construct the sentence, ‘attempted to’ would be more appropriate, or can also say she ‘explained her actions’, ‘tried to justify her actions’.

“SMRT on Thursday started cracking down on commuters eating or drinking on trains.” – its poor sentence construction. ‘Thursday’ should be at the front or back or somewhere else, not here. More acceptable would be ‘On Thursday/ Beginning Thursday, SMRT started cracking down…..’ for example.

“500 enforcement officers have started patrolling trains for errant commuters and if you are caught consuming, first time offenders could be fined $30.” – bad way of phrasing it. Its like from suddenly referring from 3rd person (‘errant commuters’) suddenly shift to 1st person (‘you’) then back to 3rd person again (‘first time offenders’). Can just leave out the ‘if you are caught’ part, its really slack sentence construction.

“Before this crackdown, SMRT used to counsel chomping commuters instead.” – what on earth is ‘chomping commuters’. I know what the author is trying to say but this is not proper English at all.

“However, when the number offences rose from” – should be ‘number OF offences’

“on board a MRT train or at a MRT station on RazorTV.” – I believe its ‘an MRT train’ or ‘an MRT station’, even if it should be ‘a MRT train’, the first paragraph the author used ‘an MRT train’, so should be consistent.

I REALLY would like to have a pen

2009-06-19T08:26:00.009+08:00

manutd should sign mark cueto

2009-06-17T08:28:00.000+08:00

a cut above the rest

2009-06-06T20:03:00.004+08:00

Pretty disappointed manutd lost to barca in the champions league final, but here's a tribute to the barca player who most impressed me during the final. Congrats

I wish manutd had him (more than any other player right now). Its no wonder fabregas is not a first choice for spain

How true...

2009-05-22T13:20:00.003+08:00

We need help

2009-04-27T08:35:00.001+08:00

IPPT

2009-04-25T10:16:00.004+08:00

Just took it this morning, got silver yeah! 11.36 for 2.4km run.... i actually went for a practice run on thursday but still havent recovered yet (getting old)... so by the start of the second lap my both calves were twitching and i was like "oh shit i hope i can finish".... but i prayed that i would pull thru and managed to finish yay!

Stand up for your rights, do not fear

2009-03-24T20:41:00.003+08:00

This is important news which everyone should know, this account may or may not be true

A blogger was arrested and interrogated and asked to confess to crimes he did not commit. It is a gross violation of human rights, and something we CANNOT afford to allow happen without protest if true

Whatever the case, we cannot allow the authorities to coerce us into fear. It is the right thing to do to stand up for injustice. To allow the unjust to happen without protest is to betray humanity. Thats how the atrocities of this world happen, such as the holocaust. It merely takes inaction and indifference to injustice to perpetrate it. Yes, those who ignore injustice are perpetrators of it! The blood of others might well be on one's hands for indifference!

http://www.xanga.com/PoThePanda/695543424/officialpothepanda-statement-on-cidisd-lim-kopi-session-020309/

Another stunning picture

2009-03-23T23:14:00.002+08:00

Amazing landscape

2009-02-22T19:28:00.004+08:00

Unfortunately, i didnt take this picture, but its so cool!

Income gap narrowed?

2009-01-21T12:24:00.002+08:00

Thats what this article reads http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_328871.html

where singapore's Gini coefficient (which measures income inequality) drop to 0.481

But does this article really give that impression, what it gave to me was that the lower income group is suffering really badly, so much that boosts to their workfare is virtually a necessity

Also, what this article does not say, is the Singapore's coefficient firmly puts it in the range of developing countries (Developed countries typically have much lower coefficients.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality

Here is a list of countries with Ginis from 0.51 to 0.47

Papua New Guinea	23.8	12.6	50.9	23.8	1996	50.9	1996	-
Zambia	32.3	15.3	50.8	32.3	2004	50.8	2004	-
Niger	46	20.7	50.5	44.3	1995	50.5	1995	-
Swaziland	25.1	13	50.4	25.4	2001	50.4	2001	-
The Gambia	20.2	11.2	50.2	20.6	1998	50.2	1998	-
Zimbabwe	22	12	50.1	20.2	1995	56.8	2003	-
Costa Rica	37.8	15.6	49.8	37.4	2003	49.8	2003	-
Malaysia	22.1	12.4	49.2	28.0	2003 est.	46.1	2002	-
Venezuela	48.3	16	48.2	50.3	2003	48.2	2003	-
Madagascar	19.2	11	47.5	19.3	2001	47.5	2001	-
Mozambique	18.8	9.9	47.3	18.8	2002	47.3	2002	-
Nepal	15.8	9.1	47.2	15.6	2004	47.2	2004	-
Guinea-Bissau	19	10.3	47	84.8	1991	N/A	N/A

Hardly in inspiring company are we? USA is 40.8, UK 36, Australia 35.2, Switzerland 33.7, south Korea 31.6, Japan 24.9, Denmark 24.7

Judge not

2009-01-09T14:39:00.001+08:00

http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/our-daily-bread/2009/01/09/devotion.aspx

Just a lil something for those pple who like to tell other pple not to Judge. "People who seldom read the Bible are quick to quote Matthew 7:1 when they want to silence someone whose opinion they don’t like. “Judge not, that you be not judged” seems like the perfect response."

New Home Theatre System

2009-01-03T12:45:00.007+08:00

Been looking to boost the audio output from the 32inch Samsung Series 4 LCD tv that my dad won, and after many months finally found something suitable! Its been pretty fun learning about audio systems and setting everything up, and here's the new stuff for the house :)

A/V Receiver: Onkyo 506

Speakers: Jamo S 416 HCS 3 (in black)

Subwoofer: Yamaha YST-FSW 100

Now just waiting for the chance to order a oppo-980 dvd player to complete the setup, though this part is pretty flexible can just can something simpler and cheaper from philips too

As good as any other place there is

2008-12-26T08:26:00.002+08:00

Was just surfing the net and chanced on this old post back when Laguna Park was privatised

"Its official, Laguna Park is privatised. Real sad if this place has to go the enbloc route. It is at such a superb location, healthy living near the sea, just 5 mins you are at the beach, the foodcourt, the seafood restaurants, the easy access to and from the city, the ambience, the size of the units, the unique rustic feeling of the estate, the sporting activities at the east coast park. I am a long time resident and I dont go for holidays these days, just staying at home in the tranquil resort-like atmosphere is enough for me. It beats the lousy stay I once had at a overseas beach resort some years ago. Nothing like a leisurely evening walk by the beach area knowing you are minutes away from your nest. Laguna Park may be old but it still got a good 70 or so years to go and the buildings are still sturdy. Hard to find a place anything like Laguna. Well at the rate things are moving, it wud appear ultimately money may entice the many fence-sitters to ink the deal, the old will hv to make way for the new I guess."

Out of a home :(

2008-12-15T00:02:00.002+08:00

I am so sad... its a matter of time before Laguna Park is to be sold liao... they got the en bloc vote..

FOOLS !!! greedy stupid fools !!!

i cant believe 80% of the pple staying here don feel that this is their dream home!.. what is wrong with them, why do pple wanna downgrade!?!?!

i think even if this place sells for 3 million per unit, how are you going to find an equivalent (let alone better) place to live in? maybe 5 million la... just maybe...

sigh... this world is not worth living in anymore

how... maybe time to move to australia

Becoming What God Intended

2008-11-24T10:12:00.002+08:00

Just attended a seminar by David Eckman, author of the above mentioned book title, pretty interesting. He addresses an important part of our Christian life, how to manage our emotions and guilt that everyone has.. and on first impression it does feel rather liberating !

I went to the talk not expecting much, but its the first time in ages that I've felt so happy and energized after receiving a biblical teaching... and though I havent read his books yet I hope I can do so soon and hope other Christians can receive his message as well.

On a side note, in light of Manu's failure to win at Villa despite having the better of the game. I jus realized that its gonna be extremely unlikely that Manu is going to win the Premier League this season. They've been playing twice a week since the start of the season yet still have a fixture backlog ... and that is BEFORE their upcoming world club championship !! Goodness the players are all going to be plagued by injury and fatigue this season how on earth are they going to perform to last season's excellence ?!

Malcontent in Arsenal

2008-11-21T11:35:00.003+08:00

A pretty interesting article here on soccernet.... Gallas denounces a teammate for being a trouble maker... and there are several signs that the person in question is Adebayor

I think it is, and it is no surprise... but what struck me was how i rem him (and previously blogged about in April 08) selfishly celebrating a goal that was totally created for him by Walcott... which seems in character for a selfish, troublemaking player

What is of utmost importance for the future of train travel in Singapore?

2008-11-04T16:54:00.001+08:00

Saw Phaik Hwa, president & CEO, SMRT, said: "The importance of the train is to ensure you can pack as many people as possible. People want to travel. One of the complaints’ is not because there are no seats, but it's too packed."

Job hunting

2008-10-31T14:46:00.001+08:00

Blah looking for a job is getting on my nerves... its not v fun.. and i hate selling myself

oh well... hope there is some gd news sometime in the near future

Overpriced but ok at least now the season starts

2008-09-02T10:44:00.002+08:00

Manu finally got the bloody berbatov... for 30.75 million pounds !!! NUTS... stupid man city.. bid 35 million just to jack up the price and make manu pay more ...

really really expensive for a 27 year old...

BUT... manu did need a little something la with so many injuries.. he will give a more well rounded attack... plus manu's finance pipelines are flowing smoothly now thanks to the Glazer takeover so manu can afford berbatov

now starting to feel more excited about the season ahead, esp after the dreary off-season and injuries at the start of the season

I still think more defensive cover is needed though, now that Pique and Silvestre are gone

Oh ya... Stoner crashed out again!! The title is heading back to V Rossi !! yay :)

EEE-VAH !!!

2008-09-02T00:37:00.002+08:00

WALL.E is such a cute movie... makes me want one of these!
http://www.brothers-brick.com/2008/06/30/lego-wall-e-roundup/
http://www.brothers-brick.com/2008/06/26/pixar-animator-angus-maclane-builds-best-lego-wall-e-yet-interview/
http://www.brothers-brick.com/2008/06/17/brickbuilt-wall-e-by-joe-meno/

Lazy blogger

2008-08-30T10:10:00.003+08:00

Heh my first time posting here in quite long ah? kinda got a bit lazy

had gd time travelling to cambodia and australia... followed by watching the olympics haha

lotsa stuff happen in the meantime.. like getting new camera and all that

epl-wise its nice for the season to start again, but after all the protracted ronaldo and berbatov sagas its quite a turn-off and feels a bit flat and disinterested going into the new season

got a motogp race on this weekend, hope to see valentino rossi kick stoner's ass once more which could effectively hand rossi the title he deserves!

touching national day song

2008-07-19T12:03:00.001+08:00

for once, a meaningful national day song, but a v sad one too.... (or at least according to the subtitles since i dunno what he is actually singing haha)

spin

2008-07-10T11:48:00.002+08:00

not bad this is a decent attempt at spinning the IBA report

but..

"These include ratifying the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, easing restrictions on the media and ensuring that its courts are free from government influence.

The Singapore government statement said human rights groups were prescribing for Singapore the 'Western norms of liberal democracy as the only way to bring stability and prosperity'."

i suppose an independent judiciary is lumped together as a western (and hence evil) norm of liberal democracy huh

hmm... which reminds me.... since we like so much to say all things western == evil... should we do away with patents, copyrights and trademarks? since an indepent judiciary is an evil western norm of liberal democracy, arent these things also evil too?

singapore law cmi

2008-07-10T00:14:00.002+08:00

haha.... this was posted on yahoo news by the International Bar Association about how singapore has no human rights

let's see what spin the govt and media tries to put on this... but they might probably jus conveniently shove it under the rug and never mention it again

economic inequality

2008-07-08T00:10:00.002+08:00

Reading these blog posts here and here about economic inequality in singapore, reminded me of why i disapprove of stuff going on in singapore like the formula one race thats about to happen.

as a racing fan, i approve of the night race in singapore. But as a singaporean, events such as the money making circus of f1 might bring in a lot of money, but something that only serves to benefit the rich and the big corporations, it does nothing for the man in the street except to continue to drive up inflation

its a bit like the IR in that sense. Its all catered for the mega rich, the wealthy, the money.... serves no benefit for the pple

I'd much rather no formula 1 race takes place in singapore. To me it merely continues to signify how much my country has sold out its pple for money... a real tragedy

LOL

2008-05-24T08:39:00.000+08:00

penalty shootout drama - manu champions

2008-05-22T12:06:00.004+08:00

all seemed lost but with what ought to have been the winning spotkick, john terry hits the post for chelsea (for the 3rd time in the match!)... and manu goes on to win it instead

its different from 99' in that all seemed lost in the game throughout that game, whereas this was a close tense affair throughout.

But many similarities... post saving manu twice from open play, looked outplayed and flat (in the 2nd half), ought to have lost (ronaldo miss), losing situation with no seeming hope but right at the death a match changing event to overcome a losing situation

poor terry, what a horrible day for him

but fantastic for manu, this 3rd cup really bolsters manus relatively mediocre european record.. + this completes the coming of age for ferguson's 3rd great team and bodes well as they chase liverpool's (now well within grasp) all-time trophy collection in the coming seasons

looking back there were omens aplenty, but its the kind of thing u think about but dismiss either not to get hopes up, or cuz manu is bloody down in a penalty shootout... omens such as winning the league on the last day (as in 99'), being saved by the woodwork twice (luck on your side), going first in penalty shootout (teams shooting first often win)

how are we different?

2008-05-20T10:03:00.010+08:00

imagine if police came knocking on your door cuz you were watching a dvd or youtube video at home of something that was not officially endorsed... a film that could be of any nature, about anything

would you feel that there was a deep sense of injustice at such restrictions and enforcement? or would you agree that what happened is acceptable as we should only watch films that are officially licensed?

whatever the case, this was a film (couldnt embed it properly) that i found on this website that had been seized in such a manner

its a biased viewpoint, but it does raise interesting factual points and perspectives

for example, the issue of just and unjust laws is brought up. That one should obey just laws, while disregarding unjust laws. E.g. Rosa Parks defiance of an unjust law led to a big step forward for black rights in USA.

Regardless if we are Christians or not, I think this makes sense. Our duty and desire should more towards justice and what is just rather than towards laws and following them for the sake of it.

We ought to respect those in authority (and its something i can definitely work more on), but respecting doesnt mean following blindly under all circumstances, without questioning, carrying out immoral orders, as ultimately we are under God's authority.

Lets say if we were to follow everything out govt told us, just cuz its the law and its authority. How would we be different from lets say, Germans who participated in or failed to object against the Holocaust and systematic persecution of Jews leading up to and during World War II? ... Looking back we can judge that it was a horrible atrocity, but people back then could rationalize their actions as following orders, or even that it was normal and perfectly acceptable. Such rationalization is something that could well be applicable to us today.

How are we different?

national service

2008-05-16T00:28:00.005+08:00

happened to come across some comments from this guy in someone else's blog

"What does duty, honour and country mean to male citizens who are treated so poorly as to receive extra responsibilities but few commensurate rights as citizens?

Singapore is a hotel. Make no mistake. It is a place where you can stay for a short-time, do your business/job/career and pack up and go when you are finished.

As citizens you are not significantly treated any better than immigrants who come in without having to serve their corresponding liabilities.

Your 4NTM, IPPT, SOC, RT, BATP, OPS Manning etc count for little when you are trying to prevent immigrants who competing for your job on unequal terms as your own value as an employee gets damaged by SAF100s because organisations cannot rely on your to be AROUND."

Apart from the 2nd paragraph.. i completely agree with his sentiments about NS.. I have always wondered what on earth is the incentive for employers to chose Singapore citizen males for work when they have reservist?

plus public sector might pay guys more, but when you talk about private sector who on earth is going to want to pay you more than an equivalent female or male PR or male foreigner?

Not to mention that you enter the job market 2 years later, when people already have work experience and youth is valued (i know you are not senior citizen yet, but in a competitive setting the years matter)... and unlike you, pple have been working and making money at an age where money is a very important factor (marriage, housing, etc.. unless you like to take big loans and donate money to banks)

I suppose apart from a PSC scholarship, perhaps the best way to get around NS is to sign on.. like many pple appear to have done... but pls.. the army is not everyone's cup of tea, plus it doesnt really contribute positively to singapore's economy, armed forces take money to sustain

finally over project

2008-05-14T16:28:00.002+08:00

phew just finished my last expt and the massive amount of changes to my thesis draft, now it is finally ready for final submission ! yay

i had finished my poster presentation last week but still there was some stuff that i didnt need to do but ought to have done... and now its finally done... and im looking forward to printing it and finishing up whatever admin stuff i need to finish up

then can start to relax a bit and start looking forward for the future, this past year has been so consuming i duno how pple manage studying + looking around alot for jobs

police in singapore

2008-05-06T09:54:00.002+08:00

now that we have all moved on from less important issues related to police work such as attempting to apprehend escaped prisoners..

looks like police are back to their real work of enforcing social control.. how else do you explain such ridiculous events?

i used to have a better impression of the work of police, who I thought worked to enforce the law.. alas i also feel i cannot reasonably keep such perspectives anymore

babel sucks

2008-04-09T09:17:00.004+08:00

ok i feel sympathy for arsenal today.. what a thrilling assist by theo walcott that i think deserved to put them through if not for a great acting display by the stupid ryan babel

arsenal have been pretty hard done by the 2 penalty decisions against them

1 interesting thing is that adebayor didnt go and celebrate with walcott even though the goal was all walcott's hard work.. i thought it made adebayor look like idiotic.....which i noted in contrast to how rooney, after scoring, first sought out park to celebrate with him after a brilliant assist..

ronaldo's crazy gd season

2008-04-04T17:45:00.003+08:00

was just watching this great video on cristiano ronaldo.. i think one of the biggest testaments to his progress over the last couple years is that now the name ronaldo is associated with c. ronaldo and not the ronaldo 'the phenomenon' who is one of the greatest strikers of all time himself

and this season ronaldo has scored like 35 goals!? .. just mindblowing..

its really amazing how complete a footballer he has become, and to think how much i couldnt stand him up till the 2006/2007 season.. the progress he has made makes him a truly worthy successor to cantona, another complete footballer

unlike last season, this season manu have a lot of depth and look stronger and stronger as the season draws to a close.. there is still everything to play for, to win or lose it all.. but while last season they were youngsters seeking a win to signal an arrival on the big stage, this season they have taken on the role of the juggernaut force instead, so its quite different

at the heart of manu attacking prowess is rooney and ronaldo, rooney with his erratic finishing is clearly not as complete as ronaldo at the moment but i like him a lot and think he will come gd in the long term, just as he did in the closing stages of last season... as the heartbeat of the manu strikeforce i think rooney might just stay at manu his whole career... as for ronaldo im not so sure, but if he doesnt stay he risks his career (just like beckham), and he risks his legacy (again just like beckham)... so i hope he does.... as a manu no. 7 i hope he goes the way not of beckham but of cantona, who's legacy i think is partly due to his love for the club

stories of elderly and poor singaporeans

2008-03-26T09:23:00.001+08:00

told by bloggers

bad refereeing

2008-03-09T08:28:00.002+08:00

manu lost to portsmouth last night in unbelievable fashion as they had created enough chances to win the game a few times over, and would have scored several times on any other day..

its just the fa cup so im not too bothered by it, but what bothers me is the ronaldo penalty claim which hasnt been given... it feels increasingly difficult for manu and especially ronaldo to win a penalty, even though the fouls are blatant.. and such refereeing standards do seem rather ridiculous and worrying if manu are going to win trophies this season

its as if his reputation makes him ineligible to win a penalty, which i think is ridiculous

thought provoking events

2008-02-29T13:25:00.008+08:00

two things occurred yesterday that made me think

1) I sat down to eat in a canteen and beside me was this table with leftover trays and food. I started thinking of how it is the norm in a school canteen to return your tray, but we normally do not do so outside in a food court or at fast food joints. I used to have the idea to 'let them (the cleaners) earn their money otherwise we pay them for what' kinda mentality, something I suspect many pple in Singapore would have.

But I kinda changed my perspective after going to US on exchange where everyone returns their tray (except at restaurants). So it made me wonder about why not just do it and return your own tray? Its very simple, and it saves the cleaners a lot of time and effort who themselves are probably overworked and underpaid... unless of course you are of the mindset which says that since you are of a 'higher' social class you 'deserve' to be served by those of a lower social class. Do we look down on the cleaners as being inferior to us? Or do we treat everyone with respect?

One thing I've started to think about when getting angry at everyday pple like cabbies or cleaners is that.. why get angry at them? They are just like you, in the system, fighting the system.. we should see each other as fellow brothers instead.. if we are to get angry at anyone it is the pple up there, the pple in charge, the pple in control... they are the ones who are turning society into a dog-eat-dog world for their own benefit, and making life harder for the common man, when life can actually be much easier for everyone.

(NB: I still get very upset with bad service, but I am more likely to understand now that its not always the cleaners/waiters/whoever fault. Its probably the management too.. or something like dat)

2) When I got off the bus at the interchange, the NUS bus driver said "thank you".. I thanked him back, but was feeling a bit stupid that he had to thank his passengers when it should be the other way around as he was doing a service to us.

So again it raises up the issue of treating one another, and how we view each other. The bus driver has a job to do, drive bus, but that doesnt mean we cannot be gracious to him for helping us. We ought to still treat him with respect for doing us a service, its not like we 'deserve' to be treated. Seriously.. I think even if you pay for service.. you dont 'deserve' to be treated by anyone. We might pay money for a service, but just because we pay money, it doesnt mean that we become a 'king', that we can treat pple like dirt cuz we are paying money. The bus driver is a bus driver, he is no ones personal slave and doesnt need to be viewed as a lower life form by anyone.

So how has singapore society come to be the way it is? where pple feel like they 'deserve' their perks in life, and view other pple as inferior lifeforms? Could it be that the govt has had a role to play in creating such a horrible, selfish mentality? Think about it.. civil 'servants' who feel that they 'deserve' 40-50 times the pay of an average worker.. while imagining that pple can survive in singapore on 300bucks a month (and eat 3 full meals a day at a hawker center with this money).. & A govt who treats its pple as 'human resources', or we might as well call it 'human commodities', pple are pple, we all have our need for dignity, we are all made in God's image, it is a crime to regard pple as resources and commodities, even in a country where are hardly any natural resources.

magnificent manu

2008-02-17T02:57:00.004+08:00

I had a feeling manu was going to win today, and told 2 pple before the match that I thought manu was going to win... I figured having rooney back plus playing at old trafford would give them the edge..

but oh my Manu gave arsenal a real good ass whupping tonight!.. haha shiok.. great to see their hunger to play today, totally overran arsenal

rooney was great, and so was the rest of the midfield, fletcher, nani, park ji sung.. even anderson and carrick.. it was fabulous !

not so fabulous is some of the more irritating arsenal players who are out to kick manu players and have bad arrogant attitude... eboue was deservedly sent off.. and gallas is such a prick i want to punch his face, especially he kicked nani while nani was on the ground! bastard

haha suckers arsenal derseve it for having stupid players like gallas around.. dig that sucka!...go home la 4-0 ! haha :)

(untitled)

2008-02-14T18:35:00.007+08:00

i found this article totally blood curdling... oh the coldness of DVB's heart... will freeze hell

where is the love?

3k pple on welfare.... which i estimate is less than .3% of all singapore households (lets assume 1 million households in singapore)

.3% of the worst off pple in singapore (i estimate at least 2% of pple really need such aid).... expected to GO AND LOOK for their own 290bucks welfare .... pple who can barely help themselves... expected to go through govt red tape to get aid... and cannot be given more in order to not erode the work ethic (!?!)....

lets draw an analogy.... aid workers go to a war-torn, needy part of africa... set up camp some distance away from needy pple where its convenient... without explicit advertising... expect starving pple to come for them to help.... and then only give out a bit of help in order to NOT ERODE THEIR WORK ETHIC!!!

i didnt finish reading the article.. it was too painful... my blood was coagulating already

who needs the evil western values of welfare when we have our noble asian values of money-mindedness, selfishness, nepotism (and others) to uphold

2% inflation !?!

2008-02-04T22:42:00.000+08:00

according to our dear PM, this years inflation might be more than 5 %, while last years was 2%...

err... what the hell... ok if inflation this year is going to be 2.5 times more than last years inflation, that means a normal meal at macdonalds will cost like $15 dollars by the end of the year?

good la.... inflation of property prices too then, only "5%", maybe my current home can en bloc for 6 billion gazillion bucks

which also reminds me of this forum response by the govt which claims that inflation in property prices, means increase in rentals... but since most singaporeans own their own homes... singaporeans are not affected by inflation in property prices..

and most the amazing thing still is that there are countless lapdogs out there ready to lap up all this drivel

armchair critic

2008-02-01T15:48:00.000+08:00

i was reading this blog post today and when i saw the 1st comment by 'wind' i was instantly struck at pple criticizing the poster for being an armchair critic

i was struck cuz i was recently accused of being one as well..

and i find it insanely annoying, which led me to reply that i dont care if pple view me as a hypocrite or not for being an 'armchair critic'

for one, is such an accuser actually doing anything worthwhile with regards to the situation?

also, in a discussion of ideas.. is it fair to accuse pple in order to discredit them and hence their opinions?

talk may seem cheap, and it is certainly easier than action... but at least i have taken the effort to write them down.. and let those who accuse other of being armchair critics take the plank out of their own eye first before removing a speck from the eyes of others... and besides, there is a reason for the saying that "the pen is mightier than the sword"

irony

2008-01-25T11:25:00.000+08:00

in the usa... pple like things to be run by the govt, cuz the std is gd and prices are kept low for the pple... when private companies come in, stds drop and prices increase as companies want to make profit

in singapore... when things are run by the govt.. they want to make profit, and prices/profits outweigh/overshadow the money spent on the people....

i thought the point of taxes to the govt is so that the money can be spent on public stuff like infrastructure and transport... or is the point of taxes to generate money as profit to shareholders.. (as nonsensical as it sounds, it might actually be true)

back to schoolwork

2008-01-22T16:57:00.000+08:00

just had progress report and presentation for fyp yesterday... dont really care about all the criticism I received... jus trying to look ahead and plan for what and how to go about doing the remaining work... quite lost now in a sea of information and a lack of it too

at least now back in hall so can spend more time on it... but argh... hope things turn out well somehow in the end

though i like inter-hall games a lot.. ive not much enthusiasm for it at the moment.. hopefully when the semis and finals for badminton come around ill be pumped up for it and play well and win...

shame about the tennis loss in the semis though... for so long ive been hoping to play a potentially deciding game, in which the standard is close enough to have a chance at winning.... but fell short in my doubles game though it was close.. so many 'what ifs'

went to eat at this place called tao's with minzhi for anniversary yesterday.. its not bad, the place is a lil bit tacky but food is quite tasty, and its quite worth it i guess

new year

2008-01-02T20:08:00.000+08:00

phew havent posted here in a long time... not that there was nothing to talk about, but busy caught up with other things and lazy to post

time to go back to lab soon, plus to start exploring some post graduation options given that this semester should be more free than the previous one.. in theory

would also like to spend more time with God, and exercise more to help cut a bit of weight

its impossible to completely avoid it, but i'll continue to try to avoid getting caught in singapore's relentless material&work ethic

green singapore

2007-11-22T23:24:00.001+08:00

i notice more stuff nowadays about singapore wanting to be green or environmentally friendly

i am all for being pro-environment, but to me this is all a big joke... singapore has never ever paid much attention to or cared much for the environment, the reason given has always been that singapore is too small to big a difference as compared to other countries, so we dont waste time .. blah blah... i.e. it just isnt economical to be environmentally friendly

its always been about the money

and if singapore govt/media whatever is going to start being all green... oh pls.. sheer hypocrisy!... im sure its only cuz there is money to be made or something... its always been about the money, and it will always be about the money... jus look at how the govt makes all its policy decisions, its always about the money

being green? long way to go... it has to start from respect... respect for the environment... respect for others... not some weeklong once yearly media campaign... not just using financial incentives......and definitely not as some new scheme to make more money

i believe that a green mindset will take several years to cultivate... and i cant entirely blame the average singaporean for it.... we've most probably already been indoctrinated by the system to be selfish at the expense of being apathetic to things like the environment

exam time

2007-11-22T18:25:00.000+08:00

after slogging a whole semester to do countless reports.. its finally paid off in the sense that now i have a bit more time than i normally have to study for the few papers that i have to take

although there is time to study now .. still need some discipline to wean myself off watching unnecessary tv or distractions like websudoku and revise my work

hiakz

phew

2007-11-07T15:19:00.000+08:00

a busy past few weeks doing school work and lab work... pretty tiring.. and its been hard to motivate myself over the past week to do report after report :P

but at least some of the work is paying off.... some of the collagen fibers that i produced stubbornly wouldnt dissolve in the (unnamed) solution .. and I was a bit worried at first that if it wouldnt dissolve then whether or not can do the next stage of the experiement .. budden I remembered that this is precisely what I want.. fibers that stubborn wouldnt dissolve in the (unnamed) solution

so its a pretty gd sign for the rest of the project ahead, several of my samples seem to appear to be gd solid collagen fibers, yay! .. almost makes me want to look forward to the weeks of testing ahead

raikkonen.. the new WDC !

2007-10-22T14:30:00.000+08:00

haha im so happy for kimi to have won it after all the times he has come close to winning it with mclaren... his performance wasnt spectacular at the start of the season, but he drove well enough in the 2nd half of the season to allow for 2 crucial rookie mistakes by hamilton to gift him the title... yay .... finally lady luck shines on him for once :)

baby at pgp

2007-10-17T22:07:00.000+08:00

tonight i was on my way to the pgp busstop to take a bus back to shears hall and i saw this black lady lying on the floor and there was this black guy (also negro).. and hmm ok.. apparently she had given birth.. a bunch of pple were sitting at the bus stop and 1 or 2 near the lady.. didnt think there was anything i could do so i went to the bus stop...

curious.. i went back to have a look... then suddenly the bus came and everyone boarded the bus... even this other guy near the lady started running off saying that "i already called the ambulance"... so it was just the few of us left i was like wait-a-minute... everyones running off and leaving them alone just like that how can... then it finally dawned on me that esp with everyone having run off these pple might actually need some help!

so asking a stupid question "could i do anything to help?" the black guy asked if i could get an ambulance so i started calling 995 and asked them to come to pgp (even though i thought the guy already called ambulance, wonder if it was his call or mine which they actually responded to )

after i first called more pple (new pple) started gathering, this time pple who seemed more concerned about the welfare of fellow human beings in distress.... and then the guy asked around if there was something to wrap the baby with then i remembered luckily i had this clean towel in my bag from mz's place so i gave my towel.... and when the lady needed water i gave some from my water bottle (i had wanted to offer water before that but i decided against it cuz my bottle a bit dirty with my saliva)

there was this car nearby and i wanted put the lady in the car cuz the ambulance was taking so damn long to come! budden the others were saying that the car too small la whatever.... so thats why i got nothing to do kept calling 995... kept bugging them every few min about that damned ambulance thats taking so bloody long to drive like wat 500m maybe from NUH..

eventually the stupid ambulance finally came.... by then i was feeling guilty about being so blur, taking so long to respond when there was someone in need... so i apologised to the guy and said i hope everything is fine (luckily no seeming complications), sorry for taking so long to offer my help, and congratulated him on the baby, though i think he was probably jus as shocked as the lady was... he asked my name and i told him, though i doubt he really caught it and i caught the next bus back to my room, leaving the towel behind.

looking back, i think i was really blur and shouldnt have taken so long to offer help, but initially i was blur and didnt think there was anything i could do and imagined that an ambulance was probably on the way..... probably there were those who felt that way too, but i was so shocked that everyone dashed off when the bus came! i mean how can sia! what if something bad happened jus leave them alone like dat!...... and the ambulance take so long to come, dunno whether its NUH fault or if the guy before me did he even make a proper call through!!! either way its at least partially NUH fault for taking to so long to come, at least 10min loh!!! pls PGP leh not tuas!!!

PLUS bear in mind that when i came the baby was already out! babies dont pop out in 2min do they?! it actually took so long for an ambulance to come and/or pple to watch and watch and never call ambulance or even offer physical help!

quite importantly... i suspect and fear for singapore society that it might actually be frighteningly apathetic.... i was blur at first and didnt know how i could help.... but no way im abandoning pple like that when they need help that has no indication of arriving yet !!! yikes !!

homosexual debate

2007-10-17T13:21:00.000+08:00

the recent debate on the laws and stuff is quite interesting.. but i was just wondering... if i was really sexually attracted to little children, could i say that i was born that way so there is nothing wrong with it?

world cup rugby shocker

2007-10-07T16:45:00.000+08:00

The all blacks got kicked out of the rugby world cup by france this morning... they didnt play their usual game, plus they were nervous... yet i think they still probably would have won that match even though the french played well

The referee was such a crucial factor:
- the yellow card for supposed infringement, during which the french scored a try
- a blatant forward pass by the french during their second try
- declaring that advantage was over when the all blacks attempted a drop kick at the end (which was missed)

its going to be tough to find someone else to support for this world cup.... i dont mind the french but though they played well i dont think they deserved to win this time around... whereas i think they deserved their 1999 victory over the all blacks in a similar fashion.... think maybe ill go for argentina.. hope the pumas take it though its a bit of a long shot for them

transport and traffic

2007-09-27T20:32:00.000+08:00

this post reminded me of how i have never been very impressed with singapore's public transport system. I mean its not the worst in the world, but its hardly the best.

Not only that, it was still adequate for 4million pple, but whenever i get stuck in traffic now, and i think 6.5million pple... oh gosh.. how is that possible... singapore is gonna become one big traffic jam

there is this shuttle bus every 30min between nus campus in kent ridge and bukit timah.. there was one day i took the bus to bukit timah to wait for the 48 bus to take me home... by the time the 48 came.... the NEXT half-hourly shuttle bus had already passed by.... i.e. i waited 30min! bloody hell

and the roads too... i bet if u removed the speed cameras and erp gantries the traffic would speed up so much along the ecp loh!... everytime kiasee and kiasu singaporeans approach the area they start driving like snails.. and it really jams up the expressway even when there is no accident!!...

i mean u learn in school rite... volume flow that a pipe can handle = diameter X velocity of flow.... if traffic is gonna crawl along at no more than 60-70kmh on a major freeway.... expand to 10 lanes also no use man... gotta get the cars to drive faster!!! and its not dangerous cuz its a STRAIGHT road with no bends ... so u really gotta be a moron to lose control of your car on a straight road..

6.5 million population !!! siao !!!

amazing bus driver

2007-09-24T23:00:00.000+08:00

da boss was happy with my work on saturday yippee.... hope i dont screw up again this week then my life is a bit more peaceful

moved into shears today... pretty nice room... block A level 6 corner unit east facing... :)

manu beat chelsea but i kinda feel a bit sad/pity for chelsea and abramovich.. its like.. even though he can afford it, with Mourinho gone now it looks like chelsea is about to self destruct with so much disunity and factionalism being reported about the state of affairs in that club.. and all that money poured into the club is on the verge of going to waste

on the other hand... the ever dangerous Arsenal is such a bloody rich club now! argh! im jealous... i hope arsene wenger quits and goes to manage the singapore national team instead so that arsenal will suck

and this thread about some poor dude who was going to play tennis at laguna park but had some thing bad happen to him... and somemore so many posters blame the poor guy for his actions! singaporeans can be so totally befuddling...

haha and one the posters remarked that i almost sound like i stay at laguna park... haha.. for me.. i cant imagine not staying at laguna park

labwork on saturday

2007-09-22T12:55:00.000+08:00

im in school today on a saturday, carrying out experiment cuz i was supposed to do it on thursday but due to an error on judgment on my part the sample wasnt ready for electrospinning... my supervisor seemed pretty cheesed off, eeks he is so scary when he is not happy... not to mention that i also wasted my thursday la crapz... basically cuz i have to share the apparatus with other pple, i can only use it on thursdays and weekends when there is no one else around :(

minzhi jus passed her advanced theory test yay.... next she can get her license and drive me around, + i dont have to send her home anymore haha :P

manu beat sporting lisbon with their 4th consecutive 1-0 goody.... now jus need about 20 more 1-0 wins and the season will be in gd shape

finally managed to get housing, going to book into shears hall on monday... not only less travelling time, i get to spend more time in the lab oh wow super

formula one scandal

2007-09-16T22:36:00.000+08:00

i used to support mclaren but after kimi left i was pretty neutral between the mclaren and ferrari as i still wanted kimi to win the drivers championship...

i never liked alonso as i always felt he was very arrogant

now after the scandal... it is not only obvious that mclaren is a cheater, but alonso is a cheater too.. i really really hope kimi wins the remaining races or even hamiliton.... alonso does not deserve to win another drivers championship!!! go kimi, go massa, go hamiliton.... down with alonso the not-nice person!

sports update

2007-09-13T19:36:00.000+08:00

wow scotland beats france with an absolutely stunning goal by james mcfadden

in rugby world cup japan actually looked really gd against fiji. They got trashed by the aussies but wow they really did well against fiji and could easily have won the game

and this new lamborghini looks more like a fighter jet than anything else

another new week of school

2007-09-10T22:06:00.000+08:00

i guess one reason i was so appalled in the previous post is cuz i feel its indicative of the issue of a govt controlled media and how pple are brought up in an environment where they are not encouraged to think or question whatever media they encounter.. tis sad..

Anyway here is a pretty good article talking about choices that we make and the message our choice makes. its in the context of relationships but the principle can be pretty much extended to a lot of other stuff i think

blah im not enough sleep and feeling very grouchy and its related but not totally

oh the humanity

2007-09-08T22:25:00.000+08:00

today i witnessed internet discussion plummet to new, unheard of lows in the entire history of humankind. Today i discovered a new site called uncyclopedia, which is a parody of wikipedia.. and today, someone quoted entire chunks of content of this page , thinking that it was wikipedia and thinking that it was true. I dont really care if i come out sounding like an academic snob, but i was and am still totally shocked and appalled.. and i was trying my best not to flame him too badly for being so... how do u say it nicely... sheeplike?

(I might be alone in being so worked up over such a small thing... but it kinda goes against the fiber of my being... )

Some people I know find the govt irritating cuz it thinks singaporeans are stupid, apparently and unfortunately, the govt is probably correct. Anyway Today featured an article about Lee Hsien Yang being BOTH chairman and consultant to F&N... while implying that there is no conflict of interest. The article was extremely biased, but at least they tried to report it.

My verdict? there is conflict on interest... and i dont even consider my verdict an opinion, but rather a fact.. based on conventional ethical considerations of such issues. If anyone is going to tell me otherwise then they ought to help me physically purge from my brain my last 3 years of undergrad education as well

a fav hobby - pdl bashing

2007-09-05T00:15:00.000+08:00

B4 my church embarked on purpose driven life i was pretty fine with it until i started reading about the movement and reading the book itself. Rick Warren is trash and I hope that is somehow unequivocally clear to all sincere Christians. And that goes for many of the other funny churches around like CHC too.

Note the comments by Abigale on this website which queries the difference between liberal churches and cults like jw. Apparently jw pple are more christian than christians

(And jus in case if anyone is of the opinion that we should not judge false teachings, even though its relating to pple who are christians (or "christians")... by arguing that the bible says do not judge.. pls go back read the bible and realise the context in which those words are actually written in)

1st day lab work

2007-08-30T01:19:00.000+08:00

My fyp project for the semester is actually sounds quite interesting and im pretty happy that i got it, it was my first choice. Doesnt matter too much that my supervisors are demanding, I think it might be quite a fulfilling fyp after all, even if I have to spend a lot of time on it. My official sup is a German of Indian descent and my unofficial sup is Greek, and the remaining prof in the lab is French i think so its a pretty international place....

So today was my 1st sight of the collagen suspension that my sup prepared, about 8+ liters of approximately 6g per liter of collagen... so thats about 50g... costing about 30k euros... gosh... holding it in your hands... drop it and thats it your project is over, failed, finito...

each fyp student brings along with him a 500sgd amount for his project, which is essentially nothing compared to the stuff that we need for our research. Some other girl from science in the lab is working on embryonic stem cells for her project, i wonder how much thats gonna cost... hmm... wonder if its cheaper than the collagen, which is actually the most abundant protein in your body, about 30% of all proteins in your body

2 weeks of school

2007-08-25T20:40:00.000+08:00

After 2 weeks of school now and the constant travelling back and forth is driving me slightly bonkers and making me quite tired.. Hope can cope with this somehow

Tried out for the ivp tennis team but couldnt get in of course.. im so lousy :(... but I think at the end of the day there is still hope for me to become a good tennis player la. Anyway I managed to trade my old Technifibre tfight325 for a Head fxp radical tour for a pretty gd deal.. esp since I wanted racket with a smaller grip and the other guy wanted a racket with a bigger grip so it was just nice.. Played with it today and think its not too bad, not completely different to the Head classic mp that I got in the usa, and I think i could even use them interchangeably in the future

Got a lot of photos to go through... photos from SEP haha... oops gonna take quite some time before they are available :P

school start

2007-08-20T00:52:00.000+08:00

bleah school start and its kinda scary thinking about all the work ahead that needs to be done while i dont feel like in the mood to do much

manu off to a horrendous start to the season despite playing pretty well actually... the injuries and lack of luck really taking the sting out of having handy new recruits like tevez and hargreaves, while key players like ronaldo and esp rooney gonna be missed

back from redang

2007-08-08T00:38:00.000+08:00

Just got back from Redang.. its a pretty nice place.. get to feast on lamb chops yum yum. 1 thing that struck me was that I saw everyone doing Quiet Time which kinda reminded me how I never do it anymore except using the online Daily Bread and online Bible... oh well..

anyway passage for the day is Psalms 55... its quite a cool passage I think.. esp imagine next time when persecution comes from the guy sitting next to you in the pew during your sunday service.. which doesnt seem that far fetched considering the state of some of the churches that exist in the world today

Anyway here is a nice wholesome clip of a prominent wife of a prominent pastor of a prominent church.. haha she can give whatever excuse she likes la.. like it makes a difference

back in singapore

2007-07-25T11:38:00.000+08:00

finally back in singapore and kinda readjusted to the timezone and the weather liao.. also settling other stuff like waiting 1 whole week to get my ibm back from the shop, luckily my ext hard disk was still functional after all and all my info is still intact.

Coming back gives a kinda different perspective.. not minding going overseas is one thing. But there is also this sense of feeling refreshed from being away and feeling like being more motivated to do something

But still this coming academic year is quite a crucial one.. there are a lot of pieces of the puzzle and it'll take some time to see how everything fits.. or doesnt

stupid hardware

2007-07-17T01:22:00.000+08:00

my computer finally died today... i've been waiting for it to die ever since my external hard disk died on the very first damn day of my roadtrip.. so what am i supposed to carry 2 backup hard disks everywhere i go now? in case 1 dies and i cant do anything about it in the meantime jus like during this trip?

blardy hell..

when i go back to singapore i hope somehow the stuff is recoverable thats all i ask for i dont care if i have to pay money for that to happen

manu transfer scene

2007-07-12T22:27:00.000+08:00

why ah why is there so much hoo ha over the transfer of carlos tevez to manu.. how about the mascherano transfer to liverpool? boo... haha i kinda jealous that liverpool managed to get a gd midfielder like dat so easily loh... investigate them!

but still wah the amounts of money that manu is spending is kinda shocking... i thought they were in a lot of debt.. this either means that their new owners have streamlined operations and a lot more cash is available now... or that the fans are being super milked for cash through ticket sales and tv deals... or maybe both

with 4 new players coming in, it also seems like the squad might have gotten too big.. i sure hope not.. its gonna be a chelseaish juggling act this coming season.. but its also quite exciting so have so many supposed quality players coming in

marnchi in NY

2007-07-09T07:28:00.000+08:00

Having very poor access to internet during my stay here in NY, have not been updating this. Tonight is my last night here in this v v cool city, and having been unable to obtain broadway tickets for today, I am in a city park on my laptop right now.

At least managed to watch a bunch of musicals so far, Les Miserables, Spamalot, Grey Gardens, & Drowsy Chaperone, and visited most of the places that I pretty much wanted to see so far. But before i came here i thought one week should be enough for NY, I was kinda mistaken, I think 2 weeks is more realistic! If i had another week here i would catch more musicals, go to a (prob yankees) ballgame, statue of liberty island, go up empire state building, and see more museums cuz i only visited the met museum of art and natural history museum so far. I think NY really does live up to its hype, its definitely the most happening city in USA by far. Manhattan island is like one enormous cbd/orchard/holland v all mashed into one but with much more stuff

Oh ya and if NY is the best city I have been to so far, Philadelphia was by far the worst. Its the only place my sister has been to so far, & if i were her i would totally not want to be anywhere near the USA as well. The only things gd about that place are the reading terminal market, the franklin mills outlet mall, and the norwegian tourist babes - 2 out of 3 which arent really from the city anyway.

On the east coast

2007-06-27T05:14:00.000+08:00

Just reached the east coast for our first stop washington DC.. damn its pretty hot and more humid here, a bit like singapore so jus waiting out the afternoon for things to cool down b4 we see if there is something we can do after spending the night in the plane..

im pretty glad for the cool samsonite suitcase my mom bought for me b4 the trip cuz it has 4 wheels and is very maneuverable and gives me a lot of mobility cuz unlike a big backpack i have no qualms about walking around with it cuz i dont have to carry a big load all the time which i would be doing with a big backpack... it proved its worth in seattle when the others could not move around and ended up spending a whole day in the airport, while i spent it downtown in seattle instead with michael who had virtually no luggage of his own (cuz he joined us in seattle & going back earlier)

Traveling is fun but also not so fun & sometimes i wish for a change of travel partners cuz i feel like im doing what other pple want much of the time instead of what i would normally want/prefer to do... i guess its a trade-off also for being able to not bother about directions planning and navigation... therefore i am trying out a new tactic which is to run off on my own whenever it is convenient to do so

trip update

2007-06-22T14:59:00.000+08:00

Today was the longest day of the year and officially the start of summer, its probably gonna be quite warm from now on. Our road trip is kinda over now, returning the car tomorrow morning and continuing on to visit Portland b4 taking the train up to Seattle.

I also noticed that Oregon/Portland seems to have quite a number of indians around.. interesting

Road Trip

2007-06-20T09:09:00.000+08:00

This is the errmm... 5th day of my road trip and my first encounter with an internet connection so its a good time to update a lil bit. This road trip was quite fun and relaxing so far.. visited Lassen volcanic national park on the 1st day n 2nd day, reached Arcata (near Eureka)on the 2nd day, Patricks point state park & Redwood national park on 3rd day, Oregon marble caves on 4th day ending at Coos bay. And a slow drive up today till Waldport on the coast while stopping by at a nice beach along the way.

Oregon is nice, no californian tax to pay here which is so refreshing.

My external hard disk is down, think its corrupted, which is extremely frustrating. Now I have no backup, plus all the videos I have been storing are gone now urgh! All I need now is for my laptop hard disk to crash which would be a disaster of epic proportions, since its tough to solve this issue in the middle of a trip.

Got my grades back,, did quite well A & A+ for my bioeng courses and a B for my medieval class. I am so glad that I get to clear my USP arts requirement over here cuz back in NUS ill struggle like mad to get an A- at most, and thats if i am lucky.

Bye to Davis

2007-06-15T12:37:00.000+08:00

I guess here another chapter in my life closes yet again, spent a lot of today packing and generating a lot of recycling material... yes Davis is really siao onz about recycling and i do wish singapore could be a bit more pro-environment as well, they dont seem to give a rats ass about environment cuz we are to small and its not practical or whatever, so much for a highly paid 'visionary' govt huh :P

Out of point, ya anyway my room is looking a bit sparse at the moment, still have a lot of food and condiments that will be leaving behind cuz i couldnt finish in time cuz its so fun to buy n buy groceries when its cheap haha!

A bit of worry with my luggage cuz of the presence of notes and a text book which im gonna be bringing back so thats extra weight and space which might make things a bit tricky hope not.

It was tough getting used to it at first but i guess i grown to get pretty comfortable here, so its a bit sad to go.. but its time to travel yes!

Oh ya and its time to think about fyp and make my choices for what i wanna do... so thats pretty impt hope everything goes well and i get to get a gd prof and project *cross fingers*

Exams over!

2007-06-13T15:35:00.001+08:00

Yay exams over at last woohoo! the never-ending sem has come to an end... theres gd and bad about that... but one thing gd is that i think i did reasonably well in the exams.. but i do feel bad about one thing though..

I was quite tough had a paper monday afternoon and 2 on tuesday, never had so many papers in such close succession before, but i guess NUS system helps train your exam management skills. The last paper was on MEMs (microelectromechanical systems) and had like 5 undergrads and 3 grads in it or something like that, anyway its a small class with undergrads and grads. I thought i messed up the midterms but it (surprisingly) turns out i topped the class, and the undergrads i dont think were doing that well

Anyway todays paper was really tough, but cuz i studied b4hand (cuz i know i got no time to study today) and even consulted teacher on how to do the questions i dunno, i think i was able to do all the questions today. Paper was challenging, but also cuz the preparation helped, i think i found it quite fun and enjoyed the challenge of the paper, which was tough such that the teacher gave us 15min extra after 2 hours, and then another 5min on top of that.

And then i came out feeling gd about it (+ i already had 20bonus marks b4 the final started so i think after bonus can get full score heh)... but then i found out that the other undergrads were all really screwed badly for this paper. The teacher did say that he would curve the grades for undergrads, but i think i have been quite an undergrad curve wrecker for this module so far, and i really hope somehow that their marks are ok and they do not fail or do badly for this module which would be sad

exams argh

2007-06-10T08:33:00.000+08:00

with exams approaching and ending in a few days time.. its finally about time to get down to studying at last after several days of procrastination.. but its so hard cuz im long due for a holiday argh!! v sianz no motivation to study.. + also for some subjects im already guaranteed to pass even if i do the final paper with my eyes closed

no more lessons

2007-06-08T05:04:00.000+08:00

yesterday was the last day of lessons and so its just the exams left to go.. yay! The never-ending semester is almost over... Got 3 papers, 1 on monday 2 on tuesday, so have a few days to prepare for them, and in the meantime can try to settle other misc stuff

Also watching lotsa prince of tennis at the moment, i heard of it b4 but didnt think to watch it.. but wow haha its really addictive :)

final stretch of school

2007-06-02T14:22:00.000+08:00

it feels a bit like the never ending semester, having had lessons since the start of the year up till now.. and with what seems like the last of the school term trips out of the way ( up to seattle over the some memorial day weekend ) .. there is nothing much left to do but wait out the last 2 weeks here and begin to wrap things up while preparing for finals

the seattle trip was pretty cool cuz got to stay with mz's american friend's family and so it was a nice relaxing trip without having to worry about which direction is which and where things are

spring break videos

2007-05-24T02:48:00.000+08:00

universal studios

other LA stuff

Electrico in LA

Vegas & other stuff

Long overdue spring break pics

2007-05-21T15:28:00.000+08:00

A task made exceedingly difficult by crappy internet connection, but the pics are finally up:
LA
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Vegas
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San Diego
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godivah

2007-05-20T13:37:00.000+08:00

jus back from a lil overnight trip to berkeley and stanford.. & had cheesecake factory today, had the godiva chocolate cheesecake... many others have commented that its v rich... but i didnt think it was at all.. i thought it was absolutely perfect!!! in fact it was so yummy that though i was stuffed b4 the cake, after the cake i felt like i could eat more, but i chose not to cuz i wanted the amazing aftertaste to linger for as long as it could.... mmm... yum yum.. later out waiter asked me about the cake and told me that was his fav flavour cuz he was a chocoholic, well... me too! hee :)

and so is my family as well i think... i know my dad likes chocolate, and my mum prob too... and my sis & i are big fans of chocolate... not the sweet white milky crappy stuff.. but the gd solid dark stuff... mm....

manu lost the fa cup final to chelsea... but they really should have won!! really wasteful & lacked sharpness in front of goal despite creating many chances... blah

idol season 6

2007-05-18T23:39:00.001+08:00

Was watching the top 3 idol performances on youtube... Blake isnt that gd a singer but he has great style and sounded like he could replace maroon 5's lead, but melinda got elminated ouch... i think she deserves to win not for delivering good performances every week, but for delivering great performances ever single time, i've not ever heard her sound mediocre, really really amazing singer, compared to the others shes in a totally different league... i also love lakisha's passionate singing and would have loved to see her compete the final with melinda... but now it looks like Jordin is going to win? yucks !! She is too young and has no personality, her singing is boring, and she shouts so much from singing high notes that it hurts my ears, what the hell man.. but i guess even if she wins she is probably going to do a taylor hicks, whose records didnt really sell.... he's not that great anyway daughtry and yamin were so much better

a happy post

2007-05-18T12:59:00.000+08:00

Hmm.. its been some time since my last post.. mz came over and visited Davis for a while then now she is in SF, and then we went to Yosemite, its v different from during winter and the waterfalls from snowmelt are really cool

just last week i had a test, then i didnt know how to do a tutorial question and i asked the prof minutes b4 the class started, but then since the test was starting he didnt have time to explain to me the answer... (i was actually contemplating asking him to take a few min to explain to me the concept while the test started, then i would start the test later)..
then when doing the test the question came out 30marks and i didnt know how to do!!! pissed off.... so i jus drew the exact same diagram and wrote down the exact same values as the tutorial since i didnt know anything else..

but today is happy day cuz i got the test back and i topped my class! lol!! turns out i got 20/30 marks for that question (partial credit) and had 82 marks, with a class mean of 69... and with bonus quizzes from earlier in the quarter factored in, class mean improves to 79 and my score becomes 97 !!! .... :)

i also finally ordered the oscar wegner tennis instructional video set.. wow its great! im playing better than ever before now... plus tennis is more fun and less stressful to play as well... im even able to hit 1 handed topspin shots on my backhand now!! ( i normally play 2 handed)... feeling inspired... i even played 3 half hours of tennis today... shiokz

with my paper for my writing course submitted today, and no midterms in the near future, feeling quite free at the moment... yay... can watch videos... prince of tennis!

amazing comeback

2007-05-05T07:34:00.000+08:00

I know this took place many years ago, but since its nba playoff time i remembered about this amazing play and went to search for it..

A real stand from a real man.. my prof

2007-05-04T16:50:00.000+08:00

During May day there were a bunch of protests going on in school, something that isnt too uncommon over here... there were a bunch on issues, and one of the main ones was the protesting of some employment condition for students... food workers are hired under an outside company instead of directly under the school, and are unpaid and have crappy benefits.... basically i didnt care too much about the issue cuz i reasoned that if they are so unhappy then dont work as a food worker.... find some other job

That day itself, my prof let us off from class early... to let us attend the protests.. haha.. little did I know.. that he was about to join the protests himself!! And later i found at that he and 23 other pple (majority students) had intentionally gotten themselves arrested by the police for civil disobedience for obstructing traffic by sitting in the middle of a road intersection !! HAHA how cool is that!!

I mean he is a really nice teacher in class, and I quite respect him... but the main point of this is that his intention and act of doing this for protesting and raising awareness for the students cause has actually made me rethink my stand on the issue, and now I think that the school should do something to improve at least some of the current issues with employment... (and even more so now i cant help but respect him as a teacher.. for championing perceived injustice for the sake of students, not himself)

Singapore and the usa are not perfect countries, they both have gd and bad points. But one thing here to admire about usa that singapore falls woefully short in... worker protection and respect for people as individuals with human dignity... over here pple will never get paid 3,4,500 a month, working for 2,3 dollars an hour... unlike the case of some unfortunate pple in singapore.. i was deeply saddened reading this article in mrbrown... over here if you are willing to work an honest days work while u can, you will have enough to eat, you will be taken care of, you will not have to live like a dog..... whereas in some OTHER country... the govt doesnt want its pple to develop a 'clrush' mentality... all in the name of competitiveness... you know what, sometimes its jus plain exploitation and lack of respect for pple as human beings... i defiantly raise a middle finger at any 2million dollar a year 'civil servant' who attempts to shove this bs down my throat

Unfortunate

2007-05-03T04:26:00.000+08:00

it wasnt just this game la... it was the 1st leg as well.. manu ultimately paid the price for a gruelling league campaign which saw its 1st choice backline sidelined for the champions league semifinal (as well as the latter part of the chase for the league title)... the midfield wasnt fantastic tonight.. but no matter how gd or bad the rest of the team plays you gonna need a strong steady backline to succeed.... (case in point was manu's late win at anfield, + chelsea also have a gd reliable defense).. esp for a champions league semifinal.. and milan was really able to take advantage of that

a more experienced manu side would certainly not have played as badly as they did in the 1st half... really didnt perform to the standards they are capable of attaining... but to me its more a case of misfortune rather than poor performance... i never really fancied manu's chances with a shaky defense at the san siro... so its a sad day, but not as sad as 2005 when manu was totally outplayed by milan over 2 legs.. ( i might have mentioned it b4... i think that was one of the most heart-wrenching moments as a manu supporter... rem not being able to sleep easily after that)

there is still the league title and fa cup to look forward to... and if manu win both... this season would be still be considered a resounding success in my eyes... (actually even if they just win the league im happy too.. so its almost there)

hmmm... could it well be that the manu chelsea mega-duel this season took its toll on both teams? both milan and liverpool got nothing else to play for can concentrate on this tournament alone... & to make more excuses for manu (lol).... their other injuries have meant that they have had to play their 1st (and only) choice team, over and over again throughout the season, without the option of resting players... which teams like liverpool and milan can afford, and teams like chelsea and manu cant... the milan players were certainly much sharper than the manu players..

i guess treble talk is easy... but to win a treble u really gotta have a perfect season, strong squad, and luck in matches and with injuries as well.... yeah i've made a lot of excuses for manu in this post.. but i dont think the team deserves to be criticized too much over this game... they have played to a high and very consistent level throughout the season, and deserve praise for that...

photos... not

2007-04-30T15:00:00.000+08:00

phew finally finished going through all the spring break photos... like a month after the trip... now to jus find someway to get them all up online... darn it.. this is hard work !!

now to scrape through another week of school up ahead.. with all my weekend spent doing photos and other stuff, time to do work efficiently for the next few days (i.e. the day b4 it is due)

stupid internet

2007-04-30T03:57:00.000+08:00

one thing that i cant stand is crappy internet, makes u waste a lot of unnecessary time on top of the time that you are already intending/about to waste online, which all in all makes A LOT of wasted time !

And on top of the usual wasted time on the internet over the past few days, I have wasted even more time by trying to upload pics from my spring break trip onto bubbleshare, which is utterly unresponsive to my trying to upload pics and which is pissing me off!! grrr.... I wonder if its only my bubbleshare account that is giving such problems cuz the technical problem is quite bizarre to me, I upload the pics but the album is still empty... %$&@%^! !!!!

hell yeah

2007-04-28T21:54:00.000+08:00

I dont believe this... one moment manu is 2-0 down staring defeat in the face, and with chelsea 2-1 up, manu's league chances look all but gone.. life is miserable... next thing you know it... bolton equalize... everton's keeper drops a ball, phil neville of all pple scores an own goal, and the stage is set for rooney to score a brilliant goal off shitty everton defending... what !? wow... what an unbelievably fortuitous turn of events...

with the initiative in chelsea's hands, after the borough stalemate, chelsea finally dropped points at newcastle.. trailing ac milan, rooney strikes a vital winner in stoppage time to claim the 1st leg advantage.... with 10 men, oshea scores an undeserved winner at anfield at the death.... is destiny smiling on manu this season? is it time to start believing?