eek pc

'Tis the season for giving, and I just had to blog about one of the most exciting gifts I received this year. Feast your eyes on the lovely exhibit below, lovingly snuggled in the leather bible case from India that was last year's christmas present ...

It's my new Asus Eee PC! This is something I have lusted after since SITEX last month, but which I didn't get to attend the official launch of because I had too much wedding stuff to do. I probably wouldn't have braved the crowds anyway.

In my college days I was quite a gadget freak, but I suppose after buying the biggest gadget which is my car, I've since cut down a lot on everything else. But this laptop is really a dream come true because I really like little laptops. And compared to the $3k+ I splurged on my 10" IBM S31 in 2001, this little 7" beauty is only $600. Of course it's way slower, but I do all the heavy-duty processing on my desktop anyway. My mini laptops purely serve to surf and remote-control their bigger brothers. (Can you imagine using photoshop through Remote Desktop or TightVNC? I used to!)

Linux really tickles the inner geek in my because I have always wanted to play with other operating systems. Correction: as a computer science major I always felt that I should try other operating systems, but I never got off my lazy ass to do so. Even back in school when all my classmates were customising their Unix shells, I would just go to lab, finish the homework, and leave. Sometimes I think I was a programmer just because it was easy, I never knew another computer science major who was less interested in computers (apart from the girls who were forced into the course by over-eager parents).

So anyway, I figured that since I was already keeping my Linux in a bible case, the most fitting thing would be to install a bible on it. After some quick searching, I identified The Sword Project as the best available free bible for Linux, so I set about installing it. And that was where the problems started.

Firstly, the Eee PC uses a highly customised Xandros implementation of Debian Linux, which basically means it isn't as open source as you might be led to expect. It was only ever intended to be installed with programs that are made available directly from the Eee PC site. It does not come with a C compiler, which is quite essential since my bible comes in API form. So after some muddling around, I managed to install the GNU Compiler Collection on it, and the next step is to figure how to get make working. Not how to use it, but why I don't have it either. Sigh.

Ok, this is taking to much effort. The inner geek will have to wait until after the wedding. I guess I won't have a bible, or much else anytime soon.

grandmother stories

We were all gathered for a family Christmas dinner, and decided it was about time to show my grandmother the wedding gifts we had gotten with her money. My grandmother has Alzheimer's, so although we had gotten the gifts a long time ago, she would just have forgotten if we had shown her too early. So after a superb Christmas spread was consumed, the fiance and I bounced over (in very slow, heavily damped bounces) to present the gifts to her.

We watched her eyes sparkle in the reflected brilliance of the lovely pair of diamond earrings we had purchased with her generous budget. She gave a bright smile and gave her compliments,

"Very nice! Looks like fake jewellery, like this go out safer no one will rob you and steal."

After a split-second stunned silence, laughter erupted around the dinner table. And all eyes were on her, trying to study her body language if she really liked or did not like the earrings.

She continued to go on about the merits of costume jewellery, and how safety is very important. Later one I showed her my watch, but I didn't quite catch her comment in Cantonese. I guess I don't want to know.

food and fun

Last Friday was quite an interesting day of new discoveries and lessons learned.

Before dinner, we were walking around Clementi Central shopping for handphones when we came across an outlet of Munchy Donut. This is a chain my sisters have just discovered - delicious donuts for only a dollar each, and no crazy long line! I haven't yet bothered to brave the queue for Donut Factory, but I'd say they are almost as good as Krispy Kreme and Mr Donut (which we can't get here in Singapore), so need less to say we bought a dozen. All donut fans should go try it.

After dinner, we went to help out at the ARPC BASIC Camp to teach the youth there how to play various kinds of board and card games. After the kids had all settled down, we were ourselves introduced to Ubongo, a simple but addictive fast paced puzzle game of matching shapes. This is one of those rare games that is simple to learn for everyone, highly competitive and extremely addictive. Great for beginners and seasoned gamers alike. So I placed an order immediately.

And lastly, there was dinner. We went of a food exploration of the NUS area first being evicted from the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club for not being members, then finding out that Rolling Wok (near NUS Biz) was having a private function. Finally, the three of us had dinner at subway. One ordered a Subway Club and the other a Cheese Steak, while I had a little of each. Over dinner we laughed at our futile search for food and lamented that the Subway Cheese Steak just could not compare to the real Philly Cheese Steaks.

The next day, the two of them were down with severe diarrhea, but I was fine. This was rather interesting given the fact that I was the one that had eaten the most of both subs, and also because I have a very weak and sensitive stomach. Then I realised the connection.

I had taken out the vegetables.

So what's the moral of the story?

stupid singpass

Our government has finally moved with the times to introduce a security question for the SingPass. But I am utterly disappointed at their choice of questions!

1. What is the title of your favorite movie?
2. When is your mother's birthday?
3. What is the title of your favorite song?
4. What is the name of your favorite restaurant?
5. What is your pet's name?

Seriously, if I forget my password in a few weeks or months, I still won't be able to answer this question because they just have too many answers. The only one with a definite answer is my mother's birthday, and that is quite easily checked out by anyone.

Why can't they just do what everyone else does and let the user define their own question?

music wrap up

I'm going away for a while. A long while. So before I leave, I'm going to record my thoughts on all the various albums I've been testing, so I can buy the right ones when I get back. I was listening to Arcade Fire's Neon Bible for so long, but over the last month I finally started exploring again.

Probably the best songs on my list now would be Plain White T's Hey There Delilah, unfortunately the rest of the album really doesn't live up to it. And then there is James Blunt's One of the Brightest. This is a song I liked on first listen (a very rare feat), and could play on repeat through an entire night of fiance playing bogglific without tiring of it. This is a winner. I'm going to use it for my wedding. And the rest of his album is pretty good too. Kanye West also produced a gem, I am pretty sure he's going to put 50 cent out of business. Gwen Stefani has a lovely, dancy, upbeat album perfect for the pre-party. We're all sick of Wind It Up, but 4 in the Morning and others are really good too.

Worth Every Cent (run to the stores now!)
Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape
James Blunt - All the Lost Souls
Kanye West - Graduation

Still Blossoming Potential (aka I'll buy it if it's China or Singapore edition)
Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long
Athlete - Beyond the Neighbourhood
Air - Talkie Walkie

On the Way Out
Linkin Park - Minutes to Midnight
Silverchair - Young Modern
Foo Fighters - Echoes Silence

Not Worth the Hard Disk Space
James Morrison - Undiscovered
Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad
Bon Jovi - Lost Highway
Plain White T's - Every Second Counts
Fergie - The Duchess
The Poison - Bullet For My Valentine

And finally, there's the album I'm really dying to try after hearing the first two smashing numbers on the radio: Timbaland's Shock Value. Finally he does more than just collaborate.

meet the people

I went to my MP's meet-the-people session to appeal for deferment from my overseas exercise. No, not really.

I was actually there at the MP's invitation (via the baby sister) to see what they do, and explore it as a possible avenue for volunteerism. At least, that was the MP's intention ... I personally had no expectations but was just curious what on earth these MPs do. I expected to spend an hour there but it stretched to three ... really tiring but nevertheless I did gain some useful insights from talking to other volunteers and listening to the peoples' problems.

The role of a writer at these sessions is pretty straightforward. Just talk to the people, listen to their problems and craft a letter to the relavent government agency. (MPs do not write to private organisations.) The MP flits from booth to booth lending her perspectives, asking some piercing questions, and telling the writer what to focus on. It was quite cute to see how the people visibly brightened up the moment the MP arrived at their booth, as though the answer to their problems was at hand.

The sad truth is that the success rate for MP letters is rather low. This is not due to lack of efficacy on the part of the MP, but stems from the MPS usually being the last resort for most people. And the MP will still try, no matter how ridiculous the demands of the constituent - it is then the role of the government agency to weigh the case and issue the appropriate rejection or rebuttal.

It was a very interesting experience, and one I would certainly consider if I had time for a number of reasons. Firstly, it gives me a chance to see the issues and problems faced by a strata of society I would otherwise rarely deal with. Second, it also gives me a worm's eye view into various government policies I would otherwise never have thought about. And third, there is the potential to actually help people, although in many cases the requests seem a little over the top. But there really is a chance to do good and make a difference in someone's life from time to time.
At the end of the whole thing, I just had one question: "So is the role of the writer to present the case in the most favourable light or in the most objective light?" As it turns out, it is somewhere in between, with some political nuancing, but if you want to find out more you can arrange your own info session with Young PAP.

punch buggy

The fiancee has a strange habit. Everytime she sees a VW Beetle she will yell "Punch Buggy No Returns" and hit me in the arm. It is annoying and dangerous, especially when I am driving. But I must admit it can be quite fun when I am winning.

Recently I realised another friend has to suffer the same indignities from his girlfriend. I realised it is not some figment of the fiancee's childhood, so I looked it up and...

[Wikiepedia] Punch buggy (also called punch bug, slug bug,[1] or punch beetle[2]) is a car game generally played by young children in which participants hit each other upon sight of a Volkswagen Beetle.

There is even a website for Punch Buggy Rules and Regulations. Here is an excerpt:

RULE 2: Calling a punch properly. To call a punch, you hit 'em, say Punch Buggy, the color of the 'bug' and no returns. (NOTE: You have to specify an 'old' bug, but not a new bug. You also have to state if it's a convertible, but not a Hard top. You can also say 'Rag-top' instead of convertible.)

So let's say a red convertible passes, you'd yell: "Punch buggy, red convertible, no returns. If ya call the wrong color, not state it's a convertible or not specify no returns, prepare to get smacked back. If it's an old convertible bug you'd say:" old
Punch buggy, red convertible, no returns.

Yeah, it's a bit of a mouthful, but it's worth three hits.

If three of you are in the car, YOU only need to call it once and you can hit 'em both. Of the two remaining people, one has gotta call a proper punch next to hit the last. You obviously then you can't be hit by by either guy for calling Punch Buggy. If there's a fourth guy then tough luck. If ya didn't hit him when you called a hit, then he's free to hit you. See Rule 3

So if you're in the car with her, beware. You never know when you're going to get hit.

ultimate beach party

Saturday morning, I dragged myself out of bed to check out the Singapore Ultimate Beach Party for an hour or two. Since my sister was going down anyway, I figured I would go toss a bit as well. As it turned out, it was competitions all morning and that disorganised brat had been called down to help manage the event, not to play! (Of course she only found out after we arrived.) So I was consigned to be assistant field manager, considering I've never played the sport competitively before.

But sitting on the sand, watching the team run back and forth chasing whizzing discs made me realise just how much I miss frisbee. It is probably the only sport in recent memory that I have been truly passionate about ... at one time I used to play 4 or 5 times a week because every day I'd just drive to the location of random games and join in. With the advent of work and other commitments, frisbee has taken a back seat. And also the lack of people to play with.

There is just something mesmirising about the way the disc flies. Unlike a ball, it cannot travel in parabolic motion. Instead, it glides in graceful arcs far faster and further than a ball, and by carefully angling the disc you can make it perform all kinds of magical tricks in the air. It is easy to block a disc thrown straight, but you can make it loop, float, bounce or drop right out of the air on your intended target. It is beautiful. Of course the other advantages of frisbee are that you can get a really good workout, and it is a unisex non-contact sport so everyone can play together (girlfriends and wives included).

Well, perhaps to make up for yesterday's disappointment, my siblings and I decided to join a group from All Saints Church that we knew through random friends. And that was definitely one of the best games I've played in years! Much more organised and competitive than ARPC, but still equally friendly. The people are in it for the beauty of the game, not to win, but they still play hard and we all had a good workout. So that solves the lack of people to play with ... at least until I pick a team to join regularly next year.

I have definitely decided that after my marriage and after I leave my current job, I am going to strike a better balance. Less focus on work, more time for friends, family, and frisbee!

i said he said she said

I noticed with amusement one day that one of my subordinates had an electronic English-Chinese dictionary on her table. "What on earth are you doing with that?" I asked, trying to squint at her screen for those incomprehensible squigglings that I used to learn in school.

"Oh, I'm just using it to find synonyms for 'said' so I can write my minutes," she said.

Ah, minutes. I haven't written any in a while, but finding enough synonyms to lend variety to the script is one of the most pain-in-the-ass things for any secretary. I mean, there is only so many times that A said this, B replied that, C commented and D remarked. E opined and F averred while G stated his support. Finally, H directed and the meeting ended.

It reminds me of a recent discussion I had with Shadow over whether or not J. K. Rowling is a good writer. Shadow opined that she was not, because her dialogue is bland and puctuated with Harry said, Hermione said, Neville said etc, etc. No variety, no synonyms, no class. Then again, I retorted that I had never noticed this before, and likely neither had the millions of other readers that have made Harry Potted probably the bestselling book of the 21st century to date.

So as long as the storyline (or content) is good, who really cares whether you nuance all the comments from various people at a meeting. So the next time I write minutes, it shall just be said, said and more said. I'll see how that goes down, at least it will be a lot less headache on my part.

Bogglific words of the day: eastings (longest), stymie (most exotic), toenail (cutest)
(Click on the link to see a pretty cool site that ranks all Facebook apps by polularity.)

bogglific addiction

I wanted to write a long and thoughtful entry. I really did. I wanted to share what a wonderful stock Posco is, and why everyone should take advantage of it.

But I've just been too busy with Bogglific. I think it is by far the best Facebook app I've come across so far. Everyone should join Facebook and check it out.

myself yourself itself

One of my colleagues has the most annoying penchant for punctuating all his sentences with the word itself. Whenever a sentence ends with a noun, he uses itself like a full stop. I cringe every time he is giving presentations.

Another more common plague that really gets to me is people using myself in place of "I" and yourself in place of "you". Singlish is inherently a lazy language, where people tend to drop words that do not add meaning (and in the process make sentences ungrammatical by proper linguistic standards). So it is incomprehensible to me why anyone would use words that have more syllables than necessary. It makes myself wonder if it is just my colleagues, or if it an ailment affecting Singapore as a whole.

Is it really that cool to be ungrammatical... what does yourself think?

so how's the wedding?

For anyone who's been wondering why I haven't been writing over the last month or so, there are two main reasons. The first is that I have been so busy with wedding and housing preparations. The second is that I have nothing to write about because everything I do is either work-related (taboo!), wedding-related or housing-related. I haven't even read the news in ages, so I can't make any sarcastic comments.

Anyway, since I have nothing else to write about, and since the most FAQ I always encounter is "so how's the wedding preparations?" I shall attempt to summarise some of the stuff we have accomplished, as a quick reference for all my friend just a few steps behind me, of which there are surprisingly quite a number. Many people comment that we are preparing way in advance, but that is unfortunately because we won't be seeing each other much over the next two months as we take turns to exit the country. So let's begin ...

Finally, we are about to close the chapter on our HDB flat. Ever since we first found our HDB flat in early May, we have hit numerous obstacles that have delayed the entire acquisition process. After making some adjustments to our income status, we finally resubmitted our paperwork to process the HLE (step 1) in July, and we'll be finishing the transaction next week. We managed to complete process that is supposed to take about 14-16 weeks in about nine. Credit to this really goes to all the helpful agents that we have been chasing mercilessly (albeit very politely). And my word of advice to anyone thinking of doing the same is to be nice to them, and while they will not make any promises to speed things up they never failed to deliver things ahead of schedule. Of course, it probably helped that the stock market crashed in August, because apparently lots of transactions were cancelled when the buyers became victims of the credit crunch.

After talking to several contractors, we shortlisted two and are now awaiting their quotations after they surveyed the flat. With some luck, our very minimal renovations should be done by the end of next month.

Now that the flat is finally (almost) ours, we also started shopping for the household appliances in earnest (having already bought the bed and most of the furniture before GST was raised). Some good places we have frequented are Mayer for kitchen appliances. The washing machine and refrigerator are more of commodity items, the big stores like Courts, Best Denki or Harvey Norman offer a good selection for comparison, but we'll be getting ours from Tai Sin Radio & Electrical Service. The fiancee has demonstrated an keen knack for sniffing out the best prices.

So we've practically been working on everything and the kitchen sink. We picked up the latter today at Jalan Besah from Poh Joo Hardware Engineering today. While the Balestier area (Upp Thomson end) had a much wider selection of shops selling sinks, faucets and toilet bowls, we found Poh Joo's range pretty good and prices more competitive. Those areas are even better for people looking for lighting fixtures, but thankfully we don't have to worry about any of that for now.

We've also just taken collection of the wedding cards over the weekend, even before we've worked out the invitation list. Great prices and service on printing were offered by Welon, while our beautiful chruch service cards were gotten from Tecman.

In between all the chores for setting up home and the big day, we also try not to neglect laying the foundations for future family life. Before You Say "I Do" is a devotional book we have been reading weekly, and it often prompts us with thought-provoking questions that help to address problem areas in the relationship. Just today, we read 1 Corinthians 13, and we came across a verse that everyone poor kid who has ever been through Sunday school must have been forced to memorise at some point or other.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrong.

How familiar this verse, that it borders on the cliched. But when I really truly contemplated it today, when I looked back at my recent actions towards her, the depth of its meaning and the impossibility of living up to true love just floored me. In such simple words, it has captured the essence of relationship. If we were able to love like this, there would be no such thing as failed marriages or divorce. And how much harder is it to give such love to others less dear.

And last but not least, we have also completed our wedding photo shoot! The dreary weather over the past few weeks was cause for great anxiety, and we were really praying fervently for fine weather. Thanks to all who were praying as well. We were rudely awakened on the morn by heavy rain, but this soon transitioned into probably the bluest and brightest day that Singapore had seen in a while. And while the actual photos won't be out anytime soon due to our conflicting travelling schedules, here is a little sampler of one of our props.

So if you were asking about the wedding preparations, I hope this answers your questions!

pichon french restaurant & bar

Dinner at Pichon with the family was certainly one of the more memorable meals in recent memory. My father, the birthday boy, had picked the place after hearing good reviews on the radio. And upon arriving, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that their 3-course set dinners (usually $65+++ per pax) were going at 1-for-1! Needless to say, we tucked in greedily.

Between six of us, we had considerable latitude to try lots of different dishes. Unfortunately we were too swift to devour the appetisers, and it was only later we remembered to whip the camera out. Hence there is no visual record of the lovely Mediterranean Fish Soup, Garlic King Prawns, two kinds of Escargots in Garlic and Red Wine Sauce, as well as some vegeterian thing for the mother. They were all duly shared around and proclaimed as delicious.

Salmon Carpaccio was ordered by two, and came in a light pastry crust. Personally I only like Salmon raw, but the two who ordered it gobbled it down greedily so I presume it was pretty good. Admire the lovely view of Boat Quay in the background.

Ribeye Steak with Bearnaise Sauce, of which I had a morsel, was succulent and juicy, and not at all over-cooked even though it was ordered medium-well (out of health considerations). I usually accept nothing more than medium, but it was lovely, as was the sauce.


Duck Confit on Mashed Potato, another popular choice, was what I had myself. The duck was roasted until it simply fell off the bone. The skin and a considerable layer of fat were also ready to melt in your mouth! It really reminded me of KFC's original recipe, and for those who know me that is a very high compliment. The only downside was the helping was a bit too large, and after about halfway through we started to tire of it. Nevertheless I would most certainly order it again to share.

Some more vegeterian stuff. Enough said.

Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream was the first of the delicious desserts. We ordered two of these and one each of the other five items on the menu. It was quite a typical lava cake, well done but not outstanding. (We still prefer the one at Wild Rocket on Mount Sophia)

Profiteroles were light pastry puffs with more vanilla ice cream.

The Lemon Tart had a very strong lemon tang, quite refreshing.

Crepe Flambed in Cointreau arrived aflame, although we didn't get the camera out quite in time to capture it. This was my personal favourite, and probably the most unique of the lot. The crepe still had the lingering taste of orange liquor, most delicious.

All in all, we spent just over $200 for six people, ate till we were ready to burst and the food was delicious. The lovely view of the river provided a great backdrop as well, perfect for that romantic date. I would certainly go back, and recommend everyone else to do so, especially while the 1-for-1 offer is still on.

Pichon French Restaurant & Bar

48 Boat Quay S(049837)

Tel: 6535 9135

Web: http://www.pichon.com.sg

the kite runner

After several strong recommendations to read The Kite Runner, I couldn't resist when my sister placed it directly in my hands. So I took a break from Harry Potter for a while to see what all the hype was about. And I was hooked.

In a nutshell, The Kite Runner is about relationships. It is about loyalty; about decisions and consequences. That sounds like a chick flick, hardly the kind of book I'm inclined to read. But the writing style is so smooth you just get drawn in; page after page, chapter after chapter, and each one ending on a mini cliffhanger. There is a little violence, even sex. But these are dealt with in such a cursory manner, just enough to get the point across, and no more.

The book is sparse on details and descriptions; every chapter is written with a brevity and economy of words that far surpasses even J. K. Rowling's first few novels. Yet, there is superb character development, and the reader comes away with an easy familiarity with Kabul, the capital of Aghanistan before the Taliban, before the Russians. Kabul in its heyday ... and the subsequent chaos that enveloped it. And the plot twists and turns like a snake, and you suddenly realise that every seemingly insignificant detail had a meaning, or a double meaning. And nothing is what it seems to be.

And through it all, the themes of loyalty and friendship, courage and cowardice, morality and obligation shine through - a challenge to all readers to reconsider how they conduct themselves and their own relationships.

Why couldn't we do books like this for Lit? Instead we did Cry, The Beloved Country. Pah.

AHM / SBR 2007

At my first half marathon eight years ago, we trained twice a week and I clocked a respectable timing under two hours. This year, I trained twice, and despite cramps along the way (never warm up), still managed to clock a decent 2:15.

All in all it was a good run, much better than the suffering I underwent last year. I attribute this to getting enough sleep, not having diarrhea, and good energy management. Last year, I was clawing my way down the last 5 km stretch, this year I was relatively fresh as a daisy. 2 bananas, a red bull, and imbibing isotonic along the way kept my energy level sufficiently high to finish the race without too much fatigue. And of course there was the Japanese buffet feast at Hanabi two night prior. Because 21km is a distance you can literally burn all the energy in your body out, until you collapse. So its very important to refuel along the way.

Usually during a run I try to take my mind of the running, aided by my trusty mp3 player, and also turn my thoughts to other topics. Which leads me to the topic I was contemplating during the run. If our brain consumes 20% of the body's energy at rest, it should still be burning up a sizable chunk of it as we run. If the brain consumes even 5% of my energy while running, that is worth 1km to me! Instead of trying to think about other things, shouldn't I be trying to shut my mind off? Put it into power-saving zombie mode.

There's plenty of stuff online to support the premise of this idea, but I couldn't dig up anything to further my enquiry. I guess I have another year to contemplate, maybe while running.

that infernal cat

That infernal cat is everywhere. In restaurants, taxis, petrol kiosks and even bubble tea stalls. Brilliantly obiang in gleaming gold accented by cheap red paint, he confronts you with a quizzical expression, and all the while that infernal paw swings back and forth, back and forth. Like someone bouncing a ball against the wall, in an eternal display of monotony to lull you into mind-numbing hypnosis.

Enough is enough. Take your stand today. Still the infernal paw, that eyesore of the visual senses. Let not one more quiver issue from the feline abominations.

This infernal paw has been stilled

PS: In yet another aberration of nature, the paw must be completely still else it will increase the trajectory of its paw back to the original amplitude of its own accord. It totally violates the conservation of momentum. I say the beasties are possessed.

celebrating national day on facebook

I've been a little too busy to blog, what with work, travelling, and re-reading all the Harry Potter books before I get down to book 7.

And of course, there's Facebook. It's full of little pleasures, adding long-lost friends and re-establishing old contacts. It's so much more user-friendly and clean than Friendster, and the host of customisable applications also make it far more interactive. It also has more facilities to encourage interactions such as alumni groups, interest groups and networks. Although of course, it also opens up the possibility of being spammed in many different ways. So I'm currently caught up in a popularity contest with my fiancee, who is still ahead of me by about a hundred friends.

I blame that on the fact that most Singaporeans (apart from the college kids and ex-overseas grads) do not seem to have caught onto facebook yet. Instead, they are still spamming me with Multiply, Tagged, and whatever other invitations. In contrast, my fiancee is adding her old overseas primary, middle and high school friends by the busload.

The fact that few Singaporeans are on Facebook, and there is a network for Singapore opens up interesting possibilities. A peek into the discussion thread What we hate about Singapore? revealed some interesting insights into the expat communities pet peeves about our island nation. So after reading the 137 posts by 64 people, this is a quick summary:

1. People walking too slowly
2. Annoying cellphone ringtones (esp techno)
3. Shortage of taxis esp around 11:30 pm (ok this one's been done to death)
4. No etiquette in MRT queues, giving way on roads, etc

A bit different from what I might have said, but it did make me see Singapore in a different light. And when you're done reading the rants, there is also What do you love about Singapore? Only 38 posts, but quite heartwarming nonetheless.

Happy Belated National Day

facebook

After receiving comments on my blog and hearing about it all over the news, curiousity finally got the better of me. I got a facebook account.

What intrigued me most was the ability to install application extensions to your page. That's quite cool, and there are certainly some pretty cool applications out there. Photo sharing and tagging looks pretty fun too ... once I get off my lazy butt and upload some photos.

Add me.

trading

Sometimes, I think about what my dream job is. Going by my favourite subject in school, I've often thought it might be consulting; Mckinsey perhaps, or Bain? Alternatively, I could also join the crowd and be an analyst at some investment bank.

Other times, I know that what I would really like to do is be a trader. After all, that's how my grandfather made his fortune. And I really wouldn't mind just reading the news, surfing the net and putting in a few trades from day to day. The best part is probably no need to deal with difficult people, nor having anyone's happiness on my conscience. And it's one of those jobs you can almost turn pure intelligence into money, that has an appeal of its own too.

But of course, you need a sizeable starting capital before you can live off trading. Unless you go for high leverage, in which case the risk might also lead to sleepless nights or worst, roofless nights. Perhaps the main reason I figure I could never be a trader is because you really don't contribute anything to society. It's like gambling, but with a bit more skill thrown in. At the end of the day, you may have money to show for your success, but you haven't built anything, touched lives, or made the world a better place in any way.

Maybe that's why Warren Buffet donates so much money to charity.

synctoy

The harddisk saga was finally concluded when I took the external casing back to the shop and got the defective unit replaced. Triumphantly, I plugged the new unit into my computer and watched gleefully as it was auto-detected and finally showed up in the system. I pulled up the disk management tools ... and discovered that the software RAID option is only available in the server edition, not my Windows XP Professional. Oops.


I also realised that the Backup tools built into Windows are designed more for tape backup, not for mirroring to drives. Double oops.


So instead, I found Microsoft Synctoy to do the job. It's a very simple software that allows you to synchronise files or folders (or even whole disks), on anything from handphones and PDAs to external hdds. It comes with most of the synchronisation options mobile computing users would be familiar with, allowing a few options to customise the sync relationship. In my case, I just chose to echo one drive onto another and scheduled a weekly synchronisation, to ensure I never have to worry about losing precious data.

Microsoft SyncToy v1.4 is a free download for Windows XP and Windows Vista. Users of XP systems may also need to install the .NET Framework Version 2.0 Redistributable Package which is also available for download.

badonkadonk

There are two birthdays coming up in the next few months: the middle sister and the fiance. And a great gift suggestion from the baby sister. Well, she didn't exactly propose it as a gift idea, but it is so timely the implication is obvious.
"So what on earth is that," you may ask, obviously never having seen one of these beauties before. The answer, as clearly stated on Amazon.com, is that this is a Badonkadonk Land Cruiser/Tank, retailing for US$19,999.95, and there are only two left in stock. Better grab yours now.

The applications and advantages of this baby are obvious, especially with regards to my dearest sister. A cursory glance through the 151 raving reviews posted by users shows how this could really benefit a new driver:

Considering the driving habits of the locals in my area, I decided that trading in my sedan was probably a good idea, in fact, something that would improve my health more than eating broccoli and drinking green tea. For one thing, there is little armor on my riceburner, and one local past-time here is for SUV drivers to trundle aimlessly through stop signs while clamping their cellphones tightly to their ears, probably to avoid hearing my horn blaring and some choice swears, too. One woman in a silver SUV seems to have a fatwa against me or else a death-wish--she's run the stop sign right by my house twice while I was in the intersection and once it was on a very rainy day and she had her kids in the car. Rather than call child protective services or the police, I decided to drive more defensively. Now I cross intersections with confidence, knowing SUV's, women ignoring the road while yapping into their cell phones, possums and even Hummer limousines are hapless against the front prow of my Badonkadonk. The cow catcher design is not only aerodynamic, it is quite effective at lifting stray cattle right out of the way.

Now the only question is, how much would the COE cost?

harddisk from hell

About a year and a half ago, when I first put my computer together, I decided to stinge a bit and only bought one hard drive. I finally decided that it's about time to complete my plan of mirroring it, before I run into problems of data loss. So I went out and bought another drive ... that was more than a month ago.

Mirroring my hard drive has got to be the most frustrating hardware issue I have ever faced. I remember when I first mentioned my intention to the Funan salesman and he said, "Software RAID of an existing drive? I'm not sure if that would work..." Well, I decided to try it anyway.

So I bought another 250 GB drive and brought it home, opened the casing and realised that unlike the IDE drives I am more familiar with, the motherboard does not have spare dangling SATA cables. Neither did the new hdd come with one. So I closed it up, went back out to a computer show and bought a SATA cable. Might pleased with my ingenuity not going all the way back to Funan for a simple cable.

The next weekend when I had time again, I opened the computer up and ripped open the anti-static bag. To my horror, an IDE drive was staring back at me. So the next weekend I went back to Funan to change it.

And the next weekend I opened the computer again and stared at my computer's inerds in disbelief when I realised there were no more free 3.5" bays. Cursing myself for not realising this earlier, I shifted the DVD drive to free up room on the 5.25" slot. Then it was back to Funan again, and while most stored told me they no longer sold the brackets to fit a 3.5" drive in a 5.25" slot, I finally found one that did. But when I got home I realised it didn't ... all the holes didn't match and the brackets didn't quite fill out the extra space.

So I finally threw in the towel and went back to Funan to get an external USB 2.0 hdd case. I didn't have high hopes that I could configure a software RAID with an external drive, but what the heck I just wanted to get it over and done with. But when I plugged the USB jack into my computer ... the computer did not detect it. What the hell. I don't know if the problem was with the hdd or the casing, but I was a little bit too tired of the whole thing to figure it out just then.

Part of me refuses to be defeated by a stupid piece of metal and a bundle of wires. Part of me wants to go back to Funan and just throw the problem at them. Most of me just wants to write off the whole thing because I don't have time for this nonsense. If my hdd crashes now it would just be hilarious!

I guess I'll never know if you can do a software RAID of an existing drive.

being a boss

Some bosses can really be assholes. A good friend never fails to remind me, each time we meet, that I failed to warn him what an asshole my ex-boss was. Because now he is suffering under the same person. In my defence, I didn't know he was going there, and in fact I warned another good friend not to go. But eventually someone has to do the shit job.

So recently we met up again, and I told him some of my own fears - that I was beginning to see in myself some of the traits I hated most in abovementioned asshole.

To begin with, I wouldn't say he was a bad person. Just overly demanding. Usually this involved attaining unecessary levels of perfection, usually in the wee hours of the morning. Or preparing contingencies for contingencies for contingencies, at the expense of of other valued personal opportunities. Over time, I came to the conclusion that whatever other bad things I had to say about him, I could not accuse him of being a hypocrite, because if he was in my position he would probably have done everything he demanded of me. So he was merely expecting me to be as committed as he. I rejected this line of argument because if he wanted to stay in the office until midnight, that was his own business. I was going home.

Fast forward a few years, I'm still in the office at midnight a lot too. I suppose one could say I have a choice these days, but of course there are responsibilities to fulfill. And when I see the people under me cracking under the pressure I have transmitted to them, it makes me wonder if I am becoming anything like the man I loathe. Obviously I will never be as demanding as him, but then I'm also not sure if my people will be as tenacious as I was. And then I can't help but wonder if they don't hate me like I once did.

I'd like to take my foot off the gas pedal, but then I still have bosses to answer to too. The bottom line is that I actually do enjoy my work too, and the people around me. Else I would certainly not allow myself to be subjected to all this.

saved by firefox

I almost fell victim to a phishing attack.


Utterly careless, I didn't even notice that the email came from a gmail account and the website is not a paypal address! It also does not include my name. This is exactly the type of fraudulant email we are always warned about, but I never ever got one before so I guess I placed too much faith in gmail's spam filter. I must be getting old and tired.


Fortunately, I was saved by Firefox.

ndp 2007 song

Heard Kit Chan's There's No Place I'd Rather Be (theme song of NDP 2007) on the radio for the first time today.

It really sounds like a cross between her own Home (NDP 2004), and the classic I've Never Been To Me by Charlene. In terms of words, melody, and even the singer's voice. And even without being told, you know it has to be an NDP song.

This is ... home truly where I'd rather be ...

fatty

Maybe this is why I'm getting fat.

Obesity Is Linked to Stress Hormone, Scientists Say
By Simeon Bennett

July 2 (Bloomberg) -- Scientists say they have found a link between
stress and obesity, which offers hope in treating the 1.6 billion adults who are
overweight worldwide.

The brain under stress releases a hormone that activates a gene in fat cells, causing them to grow in size and number, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Medicine. Scientists found stressed mice gained twice as much fat as those fed the same high-calorie diet. The stressed mice didn't gain weight when the gene was removed or blocked.

read more

I'd better stop working so hard.

amnesia

Digging through old files of certificates yielded lots of interesting things I had forgotten about myself. Lots of certificates (of participation) from various science and math competitions. And what was the National Software Competition again?

I discovered that I actually have qualifications for Grade 4 in piano and theory! All this while I thought I was a Grade 3. Not that it really matters to anyone anymore.

But perhaps most startling of all was that I have Air Rifle Club on my ECA certificate. I don't think I've touched an air rifle in my life ... or is my memory just really really bad?

sketchupdate

The work goes on ... it's kind of exhilerating shopping with a budget of thousands of dollars for so many things.

Sketchup will never be able to tell exactly what the house will look like, because only a few manufacturers actually provide Sketchup models for download. But it's good enough to get a general feel, and very good for space management.

felling fowl

I was doing about 50 or 60 on a narrow road flanked by vegetations when two sparrows swooped low in front of my car. One sparrow narrowly skimmed over the bonnet and windshield, presumably riding on the cushion of displaced air. The other bird disappeared with a gentle "thump".

In the rear-view mirror, I could still see the poor birdie flopping around helplessly on the ground. What are the chances of that?

Probably a bit higher than my friend accidentally killing a bat while playing tennis.

eldest smartest

I wouldn't say I'm the most responsible, but I'm not surprised that I'm the smartest ...

Study on I.Q. Prompts Debate on Family Dynamics

The new evidence that eldest children develop higher I.Q.’s than their
siblings has intensified the debate over two of the most stubborn questions in
social science: What are the family dynamics that enhance intelligence? And can
they — and should they — be changed?

read more

the housing saga

I've refrained from writing much about the new flat since we first found it, simply because our entire flat-acquisition process has been full of dramatic ups and downs. It's not over yet, but I hope that by now, we have sufficient assurance that the pieces have fallen into place.

the flat
The drama first began halfway through a wedding lunch when our agent asked us to view a flat ASAP. None-too-happy about missing out on food from the Ritz Carlton, we nonetheless decided he was sufficiently insistant to make the trip back to Serangoon Central. Once there, we were satisfied that finally, we had found a place that met our requirements for good location and minimal need for renovations. We had lost out on previous flats due to indecision (in terms of hours, not days mind you), so after some quick discussion we decided to meet the seller's asking price and put down the $1000 deposit. In the process, we beat out about 3 other bidders, one of whom was right in the flat with us and had offered within $1k of the asking price. This caused the other parties quite a bit of consternation that took a great deal of time to resolve. We went home with hearts beating fast and nerves slightly frayed, but relieved that we had finally secured a place to live. We thought our housing quest had finally ended; in reality it had just begun...

then again
After quite some time writing and re-writing, I have come to the conclusion that some details of this whole experience are a little bit too personal and private to post on the internet. To cut a very long story short, we were fighting very hard to get half a CPF grant (of $20k), and when this was suddenly snatched away from us due to eligibility considerations we could only put our trust in God that he had a better plan for us. Now if everything goes smoothly, we will be qualifying for the full $40k grant, and again I can only say that God works in strange and mysterious ways.

Throughout the whole process, we ensured that we did everything by the book, but because of the complications of our situation we were definitely treading in some very grey areas. Suffice to say that after almost being screwed up multiple times by a housing agent from hell (bad advice, wrong information, soured relationships), we found help from a most unexpected quarter in the form of the hdb officer.

It also pays to be really nice to people, because even though I have never met this lady face to face yet, we have become almost friends. Se says she was driven to go all out to help us because I am one of the only gentlemen she has dealt with. Compared to other people who shout and spit at her when she gives them bad news, I have always been civil and courteous. It's not really a big deal - I never saw the point of offending people unnecessarily - but it really helped!

the finer details
In the process, I'd say we've become quite expert on some of the finer points of HDB policy. So if anyone wants to know the details you can ask me. The best word of advice: always always go back to the HDB website and if it is not clear, best to send HDB and email. Don't rely on housing agents.

cheap loans for more fortunate

Found this interesting article on Eeps and Weexy.

Cheap loans for 'bright' Japanese

A financial services firm in Japan has begun offering lower mortgage interest rates to "intelligent" customers.

GE Consumer Finance Company is giving discounts to people who have good English or computer skills, and work in "high-value" areas such as the law. The company says more highly skilled workers usually find it easier than others to get jobs and to keep them. They are therefore less likely to become insolvent and default on their home loan.

GE Consumer Finance Company claims this is the first time that mortgage rates have been calculated like this in Japan. People who have high scores on a test of English proficiency and officially certified IT skills can apply for a small discount.
Those of them who also have certain jobs - such as lawyers, accountants, doctors and financial experts - can obtain further discounts. If a couple are both employed in the 20 "high-value" professions listed by the company, they will be entitled to a major rate reduction. The skills of parents, children and even siblings could also help to make the mortgage cheaper.

They should really introduce this in Singapore, and it makes perfect sense too. Why do we always subsidise the less fortunate when it makes better economical sense to invest in the more fortunate?

Anyway, I can't be bothered to gripe since I am on my way to securing my HDB Home Loan. Yes, almost 2 months after finding a flat, we are still wading through red tape trying to get the full benefits of citizenship. No thanks to our housing agent from hell, but with a lot of help from a really nice HDB officer, we are reaching the endpoint of our housing journey. I will write about the whole saga in due course, once everything is more or less settled.

letters to forum

I was a bit disappointed to see the ST Forum printing this kind of low-IQ letter. Actually, why should I be surprised ... they do it all the time.

SAF truck OK for cargo but not safe for troops

I REFER to the news article on the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) providing more protection for the canvas covered five tonne trucks ('Increased protection for troops'; ST, May 21). The level of protection is supposedly for low-intensity conflicts. From the picture in the article, it appears armoured plates are attached to the sides of the truck.

The low-intensity conflicts the SAF is thinking of must be against an opposition armed with sticks and stones. That is the only way troops in that armoured truck can survive.

If the truck encounters an improvised explosive device (IED), the consequences will not be good. Generally, an IED blast is not focused and vents upwards.

In the case of the armoured truck, the armoured side walls and wooden plank floor will channel force upwards through where the troops are. The armoured plates now become a liability. If that is not lethal enough, the two spare tyres carried below the truck bed will come crashing through like a battering ram.

Now in the case of a pressure plate landmine, with the truck travelling forward, the explosive force will direct the front tyres, axle and other related automotive parts upwards. All this shrapnel will go into the front cabin with relative ease.

The firing ports are usually overrated and a grenade hazard. A system like a remotely operated machine gun will be safer, for example, a common remotely operated weapon station (Crows). Last but not least, it needs an additional protective sheet to trigger the fuses of rocket-propelled grenades.

If Singapore Technologies can design a armoured personnel carrier like the Bionix, it should not be a stretch to design a vehicle with more protection. After all, the principles of these vehicles are fairly simple: no load above the wheels, smooth and V-shaped hull for the bottom of the truck, and civilian automotive transmission.

The five-tonne trucks should carry cargo, not troops.

Alfred Loo Swee Kian

So Mr Alfred, what do you propose to carry the troops around in then? You may want to share your ideas with the coalition forces in Iraq because they are having a ton of problems with IEDs. You obviously have lots of random knowledge on military systems, so you probably know more than the guys in uniform. Maybe a bus would be safer, and certainly more comfortable. Or maybe we should buy tanks for all the infantry as well. That would probably double your income tax over the next few years, but I'm sure you would willingly pay knowing that it is keeping our troops safe.

When I see stupidity I just need to vent, especially when it is pretending to be smart. On a related note, here is another letter to the forum (not mine) that wasn't printed, but which may be of some amusement.

Speak Good English??

Driving past the MICA building one day, one particular billboard caught my eye. It said, "Speak good English and be understood not just in Singapore, Malaysia and sometimes Bintan". The "Speak Good English Movement" is a nationwide campaign that on the surface, seems like an excellent government initiative to improve English language skills for all Singaporeans. However, even just at at the surface, one can't help but be baffled by this campaign. Why so? Since when do people speak good English? Don't people speak English well, not good? If the campaign name itself isn't even in proper English, how then can it achieve its objective of "encouraging Singaporeans to speak grammatically correct English that is universally understood"?

As a foreigner living and working in Singapore, I am always amazed at how this country seems so advanced with its infrastructure, technology and public transportation. Yet when it comes down to a simple campaign, the name itself doesn't even pass the buck.

I'd like to pose a challenge to the "Speak Good English Movement" team. Perhaps they might like to revisit the English classroom where they learn to speak English well and not good.

good deal brother

I was parking the car when a van pulled up beside me.

"Brother, got a minute to spare or not brother? Brother, I got a good deal for you..."

My new "brother" then proceeded to explain to me how he is a deliveryman for Audio Avantgarde, and he had just received a shipment from the dock. Instead of getting 7 sets of Accusound systems, they had mistakenly given him 11 instead. So now he had 4 extra sets and even though he tried his best to return it, it was not possible. So he was offering to sell me a set at dirt cheap prices.

He seemed very concerned to convince me the goods were not stolen. He showed me the receipt for the delivery he had taken. He showed me warranty cards, registration cards, and even offered to let me make a photocopy of his IC. He even showed me a magazine to prove that Accusound is a really good sound system company.

It all sounded really good especially since I really want a good sound system to outfit the new flat. Sound is very important to me, and of course I'd hate to pass up a good deal. But he was just too smooth, and he had too much supporting documents on hand to support his claim that this was a chance opportunity. And it's not like I desperately need a sound system, or that I even need to save money on it - it's not worth risking breaking the law. So finally I just waved him off.

I guess I'll never know if the systems were real, or if it was illegal at all. But I can't find any company called Audio Avantgarde, even though he had a nice t-shirt with the logo on it. My dad says such ploy are pretty common, especially in public carparks, so I'm quite glad I didn't do it.

buono

We celebrated Father's Day by bringing Father to Buono Bar and Ristorante for dinner. The restaurant is located just outside Serangoon Garden, buried in a private residential area. Once again, I have forgotten the cameras, but the food was really very good. We had

• Seafood Soup
• Escargots with Prawns
• Sliced Prawns with Calamari
• Buono Pizza
• Mixed Meat Skewers
• Ravioli Crustaceous (stuffed with crabs, clams, etc)
• Lava Cake

And all that for $130 to stuff four people. We thought it was really very reasonable.

Most memorable to me was the Seafood Soup and Buono Pizza, which were absolutely delicious and had us licking up every last drop and scrap. The soup was not too thick by extremely rich and flavourful; the pizza came smothered in a delightful creamy sauce. The others were very good too, apart from the skewers which were a bit on the dry side. All in all, this place is highly recommended, probably best for small groups rather than couples so you can try more stuff.

The wait staff weren't that great, perhaps because they were overwhelmed on Father's Day. But the chef came by to personally apologise, and also at various points to check that the food was ok. We gave him a big thumbs up.

Some links:

Asia Wine and Dine Review
Street Directory Food Advisor

travel map

I'm still missing three continents and the largest country in the world. And there probably would have been a bunch more countries in Europe if we hadn't been refused entry at the Bulgarian border.

Click on the map to zoom and pan, pretty cool! Courtesy of www.travbuddy.com

just can't get enough jap

After our last visit to En Japanese Dining Bar, we were on the lookout for any opportunity to go back again before the 30% discount ran out. So today we celebrated two very very belated birthdays there. And this time we brought the camera, so here are 5000 words ...

Half-Cooked Tuna Salad

Grilled Skewers of Scallops and Minced Mushroom & Chicken

Agedeshi Tofu

Crab Fried Rice with Crab Sauce (Chef's Recommendation)

Plum Wine Jello Shots (Chef's Recommendation)

Suffice to say it was very yummy once again. Each dish was quite exceptional except the Teriyaki Unagi which was just normal (picture not included). The crab fried rice was not quite as great as our unagi fried rice the last time. And of course "jello shots" was not really in the menu.

interior design

Buying a house is really exciting, and one of the first impulses of any new home owner is to start planning the renovations and buying furniture. But one of the frustrations is that it takes about 3 months to complete the transaction, so while you are all fired up and enthusiastic, you don't really have access to your new place yet and it's difficult to really make decisions on the interior design. And by the time you get the keys you are too busy with the wedding preparations. Of course some things you can do are to obtain the floor plan, measure the dimensions of all the rooms and take a lot of pictures.

Then there is another way introduced to me by Jed, and that is Google Sketchup. Google Sketchup is a free software with a very easy-to-use interface for 3D modelling. So you can practically draw out your entire home from the ground up, and add in furniture, colours and textures. You can also grab some stuff from Sketchup's 3D Warehouse. So after about an hour or two of tinkering, I was able to produce a pretty good model which I proudly sent to Jed one night. I even popped in a few pieces of furniture for good measure.

The reply I got the next morning was, "I cleaned it up for you". (Notice the addition of windows, door frames, and protrusions in the walls, all nicely superimposed onto the actual floor plan.)

And he spent much less time than I did, too! Oh well I guess that is why he is an architect and I am not. Now I just need to add in the colours, textures and furniture. Of course all this happened a couple of weeks ago, and I'm still trying to find the time to sit down and work on it some more. First, I should also watch the instructional videos which are supposed to tell me everything I need to know. And when it's ready I can have a virtual housewarming before I even get the keys.

the great mattress hunt

The Great Singapore Sale is a great chance to stock up on all sorts of wedding-related items, from jewellery to furniture and appliances or clothing.

We went to Takashimaya to look for little knick knacks and find a cheap bottle opener for our new house so that I can start using it now. Along the way, we stumbled into the world of luxury mattresses and got kind of, well, sucked in.

We are taking quite an economical approach to our first home, since we figure we might not stay there very long. So there's no point splurging on expensive leather sofa sets that might not match our next abode. But one thing we are absolutely agreed on is that sleep is important - and therefore the bed and mattress are probably the most important and exciting purchase we will make towards to our new house.

After spending an hour or more carefully testing all the mattresses in Takashimaya, we soon became highly skilled in discerning the attributes of each mattress. Pillow or latex tops, determine how quickly you sink into the mattress when you first apply weight. Continuous springs are more plush, but pocketed springs offer more support and prevent the tossing on turning on one side of the bed from affecting the other. Most importantly, some matteresses are divided into three or five different zones of stiffness, and this ensures that it wraps to your body contours when you sleep on your side. A good mattress will allow your shoulder to sink in, while supporting your abdomen and head, preventing a sore shoulder in the morning.

We finally came to the unanimous conclusion that Serta would be our choice. Serta mattresses offer us the best balance of comfort and support, and they come with a free sheep. It also comes with a pretty nice bed and foot bench, which saves a bunch of money.


There are places for trying mattresses, and places for buying mattresses. Good places for trying include Takashimaya, Courts (we were at Toa Payoh outlet) and The Furniture Mall @ Parkway Parade. Mattresses we tried include Simmons, Sealy, King Koil, Dunlopillow, Lady Americana, and many others. Big branded shops have lots of variety to try, and nice price tags to go with it.

The best places for buying mattresses are the smaller neighbourhood shops. Two good ones that we visited are Ackerman & Smith @ Toa Payoh Hub and Hommage @ Serangoon Central. Ackerman still has some semblence of a showroom and a pretty good range of Serta to try. Hommage only has a catalogue from which they will order the mattress for you ... but they have the lowest prices of all.

So for anyone else who decides on Serta ... check these out.

Ackerman & Smith Pte. Ltd.
Blk 190 Lor 6 Toa Payoh #03-510 Singapore 310190
Tel : 6255 5575

Hommage Furniture
Blk 263 Serangoon Central Dr #01-65 Singapore 550263
Tel : 6282 6264

17 Jun 07 Update:
We finally went back to Hommage this week to order out mattress, and to our great distress were told that Serta has cancelled his distributor license. "Kena complain too much," he said ruefully. Dammit, it just happened 2 days ago some more. So we went to Ackerman to buy instead.

labels ahoy

Most people would have realised I changed my layout. Those reading through RSS feeds can come look. No, I didn't spend a whole lot of time re-designing the page; that would have been very unbecoming of lazy me. I just slapped on one of the templates offer by the new blogger, mainly because it enabled be to start sorting my posts using labels.

A long time ago, when this blog was barely half a year old, I started the first taking stock post as a quick reference of all the best entries on the blog. Since then I have tried to continue this several times, but each time I am stumped because my writing just doesn't seem interesting anymore. I guess I just had more time to really write when I first started, rather than all my random musings.

Anyway, the labels directory on the sidebar neatly sort out the best of my previous posts into different categories for easy reference. Quality control has been implemented to leave out all the lousy ones, and also to ensure that those with many many comments are included. And so that's what I've been doing this weekend instead of writing.

first prize at the food fair

Prime Rib of Lapin

When used for food, rabbits are both hunted and bred for meat. Snares or guns along with dogs are usually employed when catching wild rabbits for food. In many regions, rabbits are also bred for meat, a practice called cuniculture. Rabbits can then be killed by hitting the back of their heads, a practice from which the term rabbit punch is derived. Rabbit meat is a good source of high quality protein. It can be used in most ways chicken meat is used. Rabbit meat is leaner than beef, pork, and chicken meat. Rabbit products are generally labelled in three ways, the first being Fryer. This is a young rabbit between 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 pounds, and up to 12 weeks in age. This type of meat is tender and fine grained. The next product is a Roaster, they are usually over 4 pounds and over 8 months in age. The flesh is firm and coarse grained and less tender than a fryer. Then there are giblets which include the liver and heart. One of the most common type of rabbit to be bred for meat is New Zealand white rabbit.

japanese infatuation

"Tomorrow let's go for a proper date in a nice restaurant," I said. "It's been a while since we treated ourselves."

"But every dinner together is a nice date," she retorted. "It's the company, not the food, that is important."

At that moment we passed En Japanese Dining Bar, which had newly opened a branch in Crown Centre next to Coronation Plaza. The banner outside read "Opening 30% discount until 31 May". The date was 31 May, so I said, "Why don't you call them and if they are extending the discount we will go tomorrow." Turns out the discount was extended till 15 Jun, so we went. And loved it.

We ordered several items to share of the a la carte menu, and each one was magnificent. First there was the unagi fried rice, which came in a long log dish. The unagi must have been very well blended into the rice, because it was not noticable at a cursory glance. But once on the palate, the rich taste of eel just wafts over the taste buds, leaving you no doubt that the rice is indeed steeped in the fragrance of freshly stewed unagi.

Another fond memory is of the beef carpaccio, which came as thin slices of finely marbled beef. Some slices appeared almost milky white in appearance, and were so rich in fat they simply melted in the mouth.

Even an ordinary dish like agedeshi tofu came with an interesting topping that looked like turnip paste, but turned out to be some sort of tangy chilli. And the sashimi salad on lettuce came drizzled in a deliciously sour dressing that hinted at ginger and fermented tofu. Even a carnivore like I was tempted enough to down some of the greens.

We were really sad that we didn't have a camera for that meal. Usually we each carry one, but sadly we were both travelling light that day, so we could not capture the lovely presentation of each dish.

All in all, it was such a good meal that I just had to blog about it, and remind everyone that if they would like to have a good meal, the 30% offer is valid until 15 June. Better call to make a reservation, because the place is always packed!

En Japanese Dining Bar @ Bukit Timah Pte. Ltd.
557 Bt Timah Rd #01-14/16 Crown Centre Singapore 269694
Tel : 6468 5131

the opportunity cost of ns

Some time ago I attended a talk by an officer from the Ministry of Manpower. It was a report card on our current manpower situation - employment and unemployment rates within different industries, the efforts to draw in foreign talent and the implementation of workfare efforts. In the midst of this, he commented how many poly students with diplomas in IT or digital media design find their education obsoleted after their 2-year stint in NS. That got me thinking.

We all know there are urgent and pressing needs for national service, as it provides the deterrence and security that allows a peaceful military and political environment and a conducive climate for business. But just out of curiousity, what is the true opportunity cost to individuals and the economy of 2 years of full-time national service and at least 10 years of in-camp training?

• 'A'-level students often complain of how the 2 years in NS makes them stupid, and how they have to struggle in university to catch up with their female counterparts who are fresh from JC. What more the polytechnic students who have to find jobs upon their ORD? Many of them would have forgotten much of what they learned. Others in the fast-moving IT fields would find that whatever they learned has already been overtaken by newer and more powerful versions of the software. To make themselves employable, they have to go into retraining again!
• Singaporean employers have commented (both in the forum as well as in personal conversations) how tempting it is to employ PRs and foreign talent over Singapore citizens, simply because their productivity is not interrupted by the compulsory stints of up to a month of NS each year. Their patriotism in choosing to employ citizens imposes a cost as project deadlines are delayed awaiting the return of these people.
• And of course, there are the Singaporean citizens themselves who may be passed over for employment because of their national service liabilities. After all, not all employers are that patriotic.
• On the macroeconomic scale, there is also the lost productivity if you add up all the weeks and months of national service training done each year, taking people away from their regular jobs.
• An additional cost to the economy is that these people are still paid wages equivalent to what they would usually draw, often to do nothing but sit around and wait. Imagine a high-flying lawyer may be called back to perform his role as a rifleman or clerk, and spend most of his time just waiting around or eating in the canteen. Your taxes are paying for his idyll. (And yet, he isn't particularly happy about it either because back home the work in the office is waiting for him and piling up.)

I never really had my questions answered, because the MOM officer just told me flat out that no, he had no idea what the economic cost of NS was. He also mentioned that at the end of the day, the diploma students all find jobs anyway so they are happy.

But what if they are not happy, I countered? I would be most unhappy if I spent my 3 years in poly learning programming and graphic arts, but my dreams of working for LucasArts sour and I end up working as a web designer or in some company's IT support department.

The others laughed, the officer had no reply. I guess I put him on the spot, but I'm still looking for an answer to this question.

hang zhou

I really should be sleeping and I know I'll pay for it dearly tomorrow. But something in me just refuses to go to bed; so I guess now is as good a time as any to resume writing about the Shanghai trip.

We made a weekend trip to Hang Zhou, reputed to be one of the most famous places on earth (from the Chinese idiom shang4 you3 tian1 tang2 xia4 you3 su1 hang2). So we took a 2-hour train ride from an amazingly intricate station. Why can't Singapore have nice public structures like that? Check out this intricate honeycomb of a roof it has ...

I was savouring the thought of some peaceful idyll after the hustle and bustle of Shanghai's busy city streets. It was not to be. Upon stepping off the train, we were mobbed by local tour agents like a pack of jackals. Sensing our indecision (we didn't really have plans, preferring to be spontaneous), they descended upon us trying to push all manner of tour packages upon us until we quickly and firmly retreated to the taxi stand and caught a cab to a randomly chosen jetty on the West Lake (Xi1 Hu2).

To cut a long story short, Hang Zhou was indeed quite beautiful. But it was totally and utterly ruined because of all the locals thronging the place, clogging up walkways and cluttering up the sparse buildings. Did I mention that locals are none to polite? It just became very stressful overall, and we retreated into the tourist enclave to find the most atas restaurant possible for some peace and quiet. At least price was a barrier we could hide behind; and so we found ourselves in a japanese pizza parlour eating tepanyaki and playing Boggle overlooking a locale that could easily be mistaken for Harvard Square or any other American town with boutique-lined streets.

Over Boggle, we observed that the Boggle set was probably older than any of us. A true family heirloom - we wondered just how many countries it had travelled to. And isn't it interesting how personal belongings acquire an added sense of value when they have travelled the world with you? Of course, this led to sibling rivalry.

Sister 1: I really like my Diesel shoes, even though they are so dirty. A kangaroo left a muddy pawprint on it. Did a kangaroo ever step on your frisbee?

Sister 2: No, but a cow stepped on it in Switzerland. And he went to Scotland with me as well.
Me: As the firstborn son I claim the boggle set.