Thursday, February 28, 2008

Wah Singapore very safe! - so say Uncle Wong

In an interesting local news today, I came to realise that Singapore might not be so safe anymore. Why so?

In the tiny island of Singapore known to be of low crime, we actually managed to let a JI detainee escape while being escorted to meet his family. Online version here.

Root cause as mentioned by our Home Affairs minister:

Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng has cited a lapse in security at the Whitley Detention Centre on Wednesday as the cause for the escape of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) member Mas Selamat Kastari.

This should have never have happened. I am sorry that it has," said Mr Wong in an update to the House, adding that an independent investigation is underway.

The Home Affairs Minister went on to say that security at the centre has been stepped up and there should not be any speculation on what and how the escape happened.


Okay I believe they have done their FMEA and preventive measures by now, so hush hush let's not mention about this screw up anymore.One time only! Forgive and forget lar..Singaporeans sure can forget one..

Now come the interesting part:

Mr Wong described Mas Selamat as a security threat, which is why he was placed under preventive detention. But he added that officials are not taking any chances even though there is no information that Mas Selamat has any plans that threaten public security.


1) Mas Selamat is a threat.
2) Our officials have no information of his plans - Wah he bombing or not, we also don't know

Now the key moment of truth why we are no longer safe...as mentioned by Mr Wong in the news:
(Basically all my friends have pointed this out as well)

the security assessment was that the escape posed no imminent danger to the public.


A few points to ponder:

1) Is he or is he not a threat?
2) Did they mean by not informing the public for 4 hours, there is no imminent danger, as in hopefully they will catch him in the 4 hours? And we only know about it 4 hours later or to many of us, a day later, because they have lost him, no way of covering tracks? The police has lost a man whom they have no idea of what he is plotting on.
3) An by saying no imminent aka impending danger - has our officials decided for us how safe we really are?


In other ridiculous news today shared by an overseas friend. This is what I call taking security too far.

Briton jailed for four years in Dubai after customs find cannabis weighing less than a grain of sugar under his shoe


Either he offended someone pretty bad..or he has a damn BIG shoe!

Maybe we live in a communist world where the seriousness of a crime or the safety of the public is dictated/determined by the government.

Monday, February 25, 2008

What's wrong with the Singapore Slingers? Part 1 of the Trilogy Series

Singaporeans are the toughest bunch of people you can find. Local sports have their fair share of going through turmoils of grouses and gripes by the media, the supporters; the fans and the hate groups. Our National soccer team, Youth soccer team, China-born table tennis players, and even our only professional basketball team the Singapore Slingers suffers from shuns and criticism. But without constructive criticisms, no one will grow, or will learn from their mistakes. Unless you are our Water Polo Men's team - dubbed the Golden Boys with their great physique and winning ways (Over 40 years winning streak, Singapore has won every gold medal in water polo at the SEA Games since 1965). You can't really find any critics about them, try google for it! But I bet you one thing, give them some setbacks of losses in the international scene, you will have critics queuing from Yishun to Sentosa (Not that bad, considering our Soccer team has critics from Tuas to Changi -that's 42.8km compared to the other which is about 19km!).



Well 2 Fridays ago, myself and Jason and including Andy, Jean, Alice, Precious, Sara, Andrew, Aaron and Imran on the invitation of Nic were in the Slingers office with Bob, Michael and Ash giving our inputs on how they can help with the blogging experience and also how we felt as spectators and if we can improve the experience of watching a Slingers' game. I feel this is a humbling experience, asking from a bunch of young adults as well as non-basketball players, but it is a bitter pill that is best swallowed. I felt the group in the room were a bunch of people seriously trying to help and give their feedback in the best possible way.


Well except me..I was there just for beer, hahah. As I was late, I did not know which kind soul (think it's Nic) brought the Archipelago beers. Not bad and thank you!



Well I do have my 2 cents worth of comments on this issue on finding out what's wrong with the Singapore Slingers and how can they improve. Normally I wouldn't help out with giving constructive plans on how to aid especially when all I am is someone who flew 10,000 miles to catch the Michael Jordan's last game in Golden State(And yes I am an avid Jordan fan, where I collect his cards, shoes, jerseys, books, posters, DVDs; well every single thing I could grab my hands on. Half my room is room with his merchandise). I am also just someone who plays basketball since I was 9yrs old, having searched and played on at least 70% of basketball courts in Singapore including Ubin and Sentosa. I am also just an avid fan of the NBA, when it was broadcasting only on Malaysian RTM channels during the time Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were playing; and Jordan was but a rookie getting his knocks from the Detroit Pistons. Well the main reason why I would like to give some advice is that I saw this Singapore Slingers Mantra hanging in the room.
Okay I took a bad shaky shot of it. But the Slingers had lots of quotes taken off Michael Jordan and it was used to construct the Mantra, which in case you did not know what a Mantra is, Wiki states it as a religious or mystical syllable or poem, typically from the Sanskrit language and they are intended to deliver the mind from illusion and material inclinations. Well I think they need more practical syllables to deliver them from the losing ways 6-24. I will elaborate my thoughts in a later post which was unshared due to the fact I was stuck in the tight room with too much focus on controlling the beer waiting to get out into the Singapore sewers and into the NEWater bottles.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Love me, spoil me - The Singaporean Women




Stolen off http://www.straitstimes.com



I love Sundays. Besides getting loads of rest or sports, I get my usual crap articles from the Straits Times. I like it whenever they try to explain the high divorce rates and low/late marriage statistics and particularly about Singaporean Women and their gripe on Singaporean Men. Today's front page on their ST Life is about loving them and spoiling them. Read the FREE online article here, if you haven't already flipped the papers.

The Straits Times conducted surveys on what women would like men to do and how many percentage of men would do the things the women like. For example, paying for 1st dates - 80 per cent of women expect their boyfriends to pay during dates, interestingly, 92 per cent of men surveyed said they would pay. Also paying for meals, opening doors, sending them home and even holding their handbags. Besides dressing up for special occasions, the percentage of Singaporean Men actually exceeds all the expectations of what women would liked. So what is actually the problem here? Are there mismatches in relationships? Or has the interviewing demographic been done at wrong locations where the Men were found patiently waiting at shoe shops, car parks?

I think the real problem here is that Singaporean Women are expecting too much. Let's not make a general sweeping statement here, where i would probably thread on many nice warm loving, dutch-paying ladies out there.Seriously the guys I know wouldn't even think about not paying for meals. Besides expecting all these chivalry, women these days that I have met, they seem to have that understanding that men must have a good paying job, a decent ride and best if he comes with a bachelor pad as well. I think to demand all these things, like an expectation of a job - you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. So with all the effort and amount of money/assets you need to have to attract Singaporean Women, are they really worth the hassle?

I just found out that a peer of mine is marrying a Vietnamese. And I have lot more friends already married to Chinese ladies. With Vietnam and China modernising and getting more affluent, it is no surprise they can easily meet the expectations of Singaporean Men and the plus points they have - they can cook, take care of the house, dress well; some of them are lookers too. Now I have absolutely no idea why aren't the Singaporeans looking that way as we move into a globalised nation. Or perhaps they are, so we can free up the Singaporean Women looking to a nice romantic life with the expats here. I would think getting a Chinese or Vietnam bride might even be a good investment or career move as China and Vietnam develops further.

Hmm..getting a Vietnamese wife, so that I can buy some property there for future investments since they do not allow foreigners to own land..sounds like a decent idea. So where shall We Singaporean Men start?

Google points us to
Vietnamese Brides

Beautiful Vietnamese brides seek men for marriage. Join free today

Vietnam Matchmaking Tour

6 Days @ $288 / Marriage @ $4,688 Over 300 virtuous village ladies !

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Food review - Rakeru Omurice

Ok I love food... and I also love to take pictures of food using my handphone's camera. Since it was even on a 0.3 megapixels resolution, I would take pictures of what I ate. My Flickr account has more pictures of food and drinks than pictures of friends or scenery , I could sometimes be considered a glutton to many. This is a backlog blog entry on a food review I should have done long ago on Rakeru Omurice which is suppose omelette wrapped rice. It was suggested by a friend, Vicky to go try it as she read it somewhere that it was good. So along with another friend Yimei, we went to hunt it down. It took us quite a while to find it as we were expecting it to be a restaurant, but it was located in Bugis Junction's food junction

Interesting to know that Omurice(Omu-raisu オムライス) is a contemporary Japanese dish consisting of an omelette wrapping fried rice. Its name is a portmanteau of the French word "omelette" and the English word "rice". Omurice is said to have originated at a western style restaurant called Renga-tei in Tokyo's Ginza district around the turn of the 19th century.

The Rakeru Omurice has many reviews as it is acclaimed to be special for serving on a hot plate with special Japanese sauce to create a crispy, burnt effect. You can see one such review in this nice blog of Jaime-La-Nourriture I found which is done in chinese and has quite a nice "professional-look" picture in it. You can clearly see burnt rice in it.
Strangely, the blog's "professional" picture looks so similar to the one on ST Foodies club. Hmm...while mine has the "non-professional-true-to-life" look. No burnt rice leh! Wondering if it's because I ordered wrongly, I did ask for Okoge and suppose to have it burnt. Anyway it also comes in curry flavoured or tomato sauce as well. Together with Vicky and Yimei, we ordered all 3 types. If the pictures do not look nice, they also actually do not taste as nice as we were expecting.

Yimei's tomato-sauced Omurice that also comes with veggies to complete the meal.

Vicky's curry flavoured Omurice as you can see the brown curry rice. Not much curry sauce around.

Actually it is quite a disappointment as the food was rather not delectable given the fact that we were rather hungry. The next time round, I would try ordering from the many other stores there are in the food junction.

We decide to get some real good desserts from MOF - My Izakaya, which made up for it. And oh by the way, MOF stands for Ministry of Food. They have quite a nice selection of desserts. We ordered just 2 to share.


The fried yam, sweet potatoes which came with the nice soft ice cream which serves with fresh mangoes is nice. Forgotten the names of the ice cream.And we went on to try the many flavours of ice cream they have. That completes our dinner!

Friday, February 22, 2008

Time to book holidays for 2009!

Like all Singaporeans, I always look forward to a long break from work. I try to squeeze a short flight out to Bangkok or China for shopping; or slack out in front of the TV watching my long list of unwatched DVDs, or play the Wii or PS3. Well, I declare 2009 a year of slacking as there will be a bumper crop of long weekends next year.

Here is the list of public holidays in 2009:

New Year's Day -1 January (Thu)
Chinese New Year-26, 27 January (Mon, Tue)
Good Friday -10 April (Fri)
Labour Day -1 May (Fri)
Vesak Day -9 May (Sat)
National Day -9 August (Sun)
Hari Raya Puasa -20 September (Sun)
Deepavali -15 November (Sun)
Hari Raya Haji -27 November (Fri)
Christmas Day -25 December (Fri)

Looking at the dates, by just taking 1 day leave next year, you can get 29 days break. And those who gets off-in-lieu for Sat holidays, you can get 32 days of rest. Or without even taking any leave, you can effectively have at least 8 long weekends!

Okay time to seriously plan my slacker year of 2009. Buddies..any plans??

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

When friends should stop being friends...

I guess when one chooses a friend, a good friend to be more exact. What are you expecting from a friend? Just superficial concerns of how-are-you; how-is-your-day sort of questions? I have been frank all my life and the thought of being appreciate of the truth, of true words coming from a friend is somewhat valued and treasured.

Never have I thought that friends can find opinions and comments or views coming from a friend a nuisance, especially when its out of concern and there is no hidden agenda or edited-for-easier-listening truths. And of late, I have pissed off or actually I got pissed off by 2 close friends.

It's especially painful when you realised that all they want to keep them company is just being a yes-man. Seriously, sometimes it's best we just keep our concerns to those who deserve it. And no point thinking about how best we should adjust to our friends to match them. We should always be who we are, and if things do not work out - like a relationship, sometimes its best to let it go...

To really sum up how I feel about this issue at hand, is through some quotes I find that I can relate to.

A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

My friend is he who will tell me my faults in private.
-- Solomon Ibn Gabirol

An honest answer is the sign of true friendship.
-- Proverbs 24:26

Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty.
-- Sicilian Proverb

Do not protect yourself by a fence, but rather by your friends.
-- Czech. Proverb

One of the surest evidences of friendship that one individual can display to another is telling him gently of a fault. If any other can excel it, it is listening to such a disclosure with gratitude, and amending the error.
-- Edward Bulwer-Lytton


I guess in life, even friendship has a tenure...

Friday, February 15, 2008

The Singapore 2008 FORMULA 1™


Ok no prizes for guessing who will be sponsoring the race - the inaugural 2008 FORMULA 1™ SingTel Singapore Grand Prix is slated to debut on 28 September.
As Singapore is famous for coming in firsts..we are scoring a few for this upcoming race.
A proposed 5.067km long street circuit running through Marina Bay will be the first street race in Asia and subjected to final safety clearances, the race will be the first held at night in F1 history.

Before the freaking prices are listed, here's a few points to consider.

The roads will need to be probably resurfaced prior to the race, and a new 1.2km road that forms eastern section of the circuit will also be constructed alongside the pit building. Work on the pit building is scheduled to be completed by end May 2008. So get ready for lots of jam along the area and if you planning to have your weddings/company functions there during the period- DON'T!
Also expect more tourists in Sep, more road diversions, more road works...etc etc..
Come on, let's cooperate to help put our tiny island on the global map and let the world know we are not somewhere in China or Malaysia.

Ok, now if you have some spare cash to spend, the prices are as such...

Pit Grandstand - S$1,388
Turns 1, 2 and 3 Grandstands - S$1,388
Stamford Grandstand - S$998
Raffles Grandstand - S$698
Marina Grandstand - S$698
Esplanade Waterfront Grandstand - S$498
Bay Grandstand (Lower) - S$298
Bay Grandstand (Upper) - S$248
Walkabout - S$168

Now should I or should I not..

Yes I should..and I did...got myself and some friends some walkabout tics...it's night and no way I am going to be able to afford those tickets, unless I stop driving for 3months..and save on petrol!

TP seriously reading my blog...help!


Ok..I seriously have to be careful with my words. 2 days in a row, I got breathalysed. Though this time I had it passed, had just some tame white wine with my date tonight, the scary part was, the Traffic police seem to know where I lived, because, there were almost camping right outside my place! (Star points to where I reside, and arrow is where they were waiting for me)I had to blow a lot more this time, and given the fact I normally don't blow well..come on..real men don't blow! The officer was being nice, though he kept my IC and driving license again.

He showed me the screen and I had to blow the tube hard and long before the sample is valid. And beep it was green...PASS!
Anyway 2 days in a row..crazy, I am leaving the country for awhile, until this thing blows over.

It appears there are one too many "blow"s in one post.

Or perhaps its my small japanese car..never a chick magnet, always a TP magnet! Time to change my ride or swear off drinking!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Think TP reading my blog!


Okay, seriously I shouldn't blog about speed cameras. Karma came back to me in the form of getting stopped for a spot check for alcohol..

I was stopped at the back lane of Mackenzie Road. I normally don't even take that road.
Arrow points at the spot where I had my virgin breathalyser. Anyway I did come from the Slingers game and there was free beer and wine. Luckily I rested first and had some dinner and tea to bring down the level. There was 3 levels to the breathalyser.

1) You drunk - Come with me to the police station.
2) I warn you - don't do it again. Now go on home and dwell on it!
3) You good boy - now go on home, thanks for letting me bother you.

I was at the warning level.
The Traffic police officer would keep your IC and your driving license and inform you beforehand that if you hit level 1, he was going to keep it and you have to follow him to the police station. He was nice enough to explain to me the alcoholic limit of each person differs from body to body and even gave me the plastic tube I blew in, as a souvenir to remind me how close I came to being hauled into the police station.

Thank God the NBL season just ended. More to come on the field report of the horrendous match. Really busy at work today..

Last loss of the season - Singapore Slingers vs Adelaide 36ers


Indeed, a last loss of the season is the best it can get. If we played on to a 100 games, we probably would only win 20 games. At 6-24 record, we are only winning 20% of all matches played. Another high note before I start the match analysis and report, is that we are NOT last..the Dragons are. Born in a land where importance is placed on coming in #1 always; it is no surprise, a non-Singaporean entity like Air Asia would sponsor the Slingers for the next season. I applauded the mentality of a corporation coming in and growing with a team, grooming it, trusting it.

Just like Chicago Bulls of the NBA, they grew slowly despite having Michael Jordan on the team, they needed a lot of work and practise together as a team before winning 6 titles in the 90s. And the picture of Michael Jordan hugging the trophy for the 1st win, is sweeter through the sheer hardwork which eventually paid off. Nothing comes sweeter than having to work for it.

Look at Miami - get Shaq, get Championship; screwed up and keep losing, ship Shaq away to Phoenix. I think the title is absolutely meaningless in this case. Okay before I get carried away. Let's get on with game proper on why we sucked.

The game started on a high note with both teams trading 3s and were even at 6 each. Interesting thing to note, they had a starter who was asian #8 Darren Ng. He played well, with great defense looking like energiser bunny and is a shooter as well. Seriously an Asian as a starting 5. I guess it might be another reason why, besides being the last game, that our coach decided later on to put in all 3 local guys onto the floor. And man did they choke, and hey I don't blame them, I hardly play all season, you put me in now, of course I shoot air ball lar!


The 36ers were hot in their offense, continued to take advantage of our poor defense, they were up 27-15 at last 4min mark of the 1st quarter. They continued taking 3s fearlessly and with the tight defense on our boys, they were up 35-21. But our boys never gave up, with Helms taking a quick 3. Rod followed up strong after a miss from 36ers, to a pull up jumper just outside the paint,and quickly brought the game to a respectable 28-35 at the end of 1st quarter.


2nd quarter, the 36ers look like they wanted the win more than Slingers though I wonder why as their playoff hopes were crushed before the tip-off with news of the Taipans' win over the Hawks. No calls were being made by the referees as we observed fouls and step out of bounds were blind to their field of vision. And though our boys were feeling some love from the 3 point line (they were hitting 50% in the 1st half 9/18), 36ers were finding our loose defense way too attractive and shot from everywhere, and by the 8min mark, they were up 51-37. They were adopting less dribbling and more passing, while we were dribbling way too much which ensued a lot of turnovers. By the 7min mark, both Michael Wong and Meng Koon were on the floor for a cameo moment (strangely we were only 14 points down). But I guess it drove the team to rally for another shot As Helms was hot! He shot 3s after 3s, Slingers went on a 10-2 run, bring the game to 53-47. By the 4min mark, Helms added another 3 to tie the game at 55 a piece on both sides. He had 23 points by the half topping all scores.Things were so tense, we had to look around for some booze.But as we speak and drink, complacency sets in and 36ers went on their own 10-3 run to end the half up 65-58.



The Singapore Slingers looked like they were on the way for their final loss of the season as they had no defense throughout the 1st half. So let's just focus on the real highlight of the match - The Million Dollar Shot, which was metaphorically, nothing but air.

As the announcer called out names of would be shooters, I thought they were being generous and allowed so many people to try. It was more of a huddle in the middle and pick up a winning ball which indicates you are the lucky shooter. So unfortunately, I was not selected (it's a conspiracy!)






Our fellow blogger Alice was selected for a small crowd of WOULD-BE million dollar shooter. She's the cute petite gal in red cap and pink top.






A Mr Wong, who does not play basketball got the winning draw. So what do you seriously think will be the result? (But I applauded his enthusiasm for coming to watch a basketball game when he doesn't play - seriously its quite fun coming to a live basketball match, you get to scream at referees and shout KAYU like in a soccer match! Brave Mr Wong, shot air balls from the 3/4 mark, to the half court(Corporate Box), to the 3 point line(32in Bravia LCD), to the free throw line($500), to just underneath the hoop($100). And they let him move even closer for a $50 shot. If he didn't make this shot, perhaps they will get Rod to lift him up for a $10 layup! Just kidding...(I actually have great video footage of the million dollar air ball and the follow up misses - if there are requests out there to see it and embarrass Mr. Wong, I'll put it up!)


Start of 3rd quarter, our poor defense continued with no box outs, and we had no defensive rebounds, allowing 2nd chance points from the 36s, quickly we were down 9 points, 73-64. But Mike Helms was still hot. He took on 4 guys around him and took it to the hole. However, his single effort was useless as 36ers were still red hot hitting 8 of 15 3-pointers in the 2nd half with #54 Ballinger dishing them out. He looked like a centre instead of a shooter! Pulling the game forward 78-68, as 36ers kept having good passes and rebounds with great defense. Before we knew it, they were up 88-74 from a dunk from #0 Hodges. He was bothering us all night. With 2min left. Jason specifically told me to blog, that this was too tough to watch and Slingers would be the death of me. Michael Wong then came in for the last 25s of the 3rd quarter - 90-77.

With no defense or rebounds, 36ers start the last quarter 94-77, up 17 points. The coach finally decided to call a time out when he should have earlier stem the momentum 36ers were building up.Mike Helms continued to be the only gem hitting a bang shot, but the onslaught continues from the depth of shooters 36ers were having. #5 Maher was shooting well, he had chalked up 16 points by now and brought the score to 99-79. Frustration could be seen from Helms as he fouled #21 Copeland on a trey and he managed to scored 2 of the 3 FTs. Though we were shooting well from 3-point line, Adelaide has answers to every 3-pointer we took. The team displayed tenacity to attack the rim and the sharp shooting of the 3s and the desire to grab all the rebounds both offensively and defensively. The Singapore Sports School was there but they were rather muted unless the cheerleaders start giving out tees and balls.


The whole school was out in unison gear.


Jase was feeling the pain as we looked around for more beer. This is what we drank to rid ourselves of the bad game being played. You can tell we need a lot of booze also because KP was around, he is the ultimate drinker.

Basically we lost focus of the game, and noted at the last 3 min, all 3 local boys were out there including Pathman. Helms was feeling it tonight, but we can't say that for the rest of the team. He topped all scores at 35pts. While the only Asian scorer Ng from the 36ers had 13 points, scoring another 3 with 30secs left, ending the game 126-97.

Box scores

Though the game looked like a trashing, it was still as entertaining and I can't wait for the next season to start under new management of Dato Tony Fernandes. Let's support local sports and give them all a hand for trying.

And many thanks to Nic for all the invites and Precious for all the hospitality!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Warning speedsters

Just posting a link for those who enjoy a slight 10-20kmh increase over the speed limit in Singapore. This website is updated by the Singapore Police Force on where they employ speed cameras. List of roads where Police Speed Laser Camera may be deployed.

I still think congestions on the road is mainly due to road hoggers with cars that think they can travel fast. My personal offending Top 5 list of worse car-make drivers on the Singapore road:

5)Kia
4)Proton (Only suitable for driving in Malaysia!)
3)Chevrolet (Sorry Jase, besides you, the rest cannot make it)
2)Nissan
1)Hyundai (Not sure because they have tons of Getz/Matrix who think they can go fast without a vibrating steering wheel/or the uncle taxi drivers who have the latest Sonatas, they are extremely dangerous on the road, they drive slow as they pleased, and if you cut them, they race close behind you or even cut you back again - but they top the list)

Let's not even start with bikers...they shouldn't even be allowed to travel on fast lane. I mean since their already going in between lanes, why can' they travel in between the last and middle lanes? I swear if I own a big ass monster truck, I will roll over some of these road hoggers.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

CNY Simpsons gathering@Brewerkz

Okay a late post. Didn't really want to start blogging about the food until I am all full and not ready to eat anymore. The usual gang of KP and boo and KC, Jase and boo, Kun and newly met Cynthia were already at Brewerkz by the time I got there from my relatives. This is my first time joining the drunks on their CNY rituals of praying to the malt goddess. They have already embarked on food and beer before I arrived. And KC being absolutely sure that the most value for $ after 6pm would be the tower, we proceeded to order one.

So here is 4 litres of darkside goddess in a tower. With KP being disrespectful, licking the idol's appendage that's sticking out..hahah








And as Homer would go DOH!.. Cynthia has some fresh Krispy Kreme Donuts from Sydney, that would complete the Simpsonic act of malt prayers. Jase will camwhore with the delicious sweet things.




A lot more different types...but we can only choose one and the heart donut has already been reserved for that special someone..









I chose Cynthia's favorite strawberry glazed donut (it seems that she has a lot of favorites!!). Looking at the beer in the backdrop, that's ultimate sweetness.





Finally after donuts and beer, the tower has been conquered!!!



So looking forward to having this again next year and also the supposedly upcoming Batam trip of cable-skiing, paintball and go-karting!!! woohoo..and of course more drinking.

Now all I need is to figure out where to get all the leave and time despite my freaking busy schedules at work!

Simpsonised! Now give me my donuts!


Hahah, with the beer and donuts session with the Brewerkz kakis over CNY day(You can see the nice pics over at Jase's blog), I realised we are becoming more Homer-like. So I found this cool application whereby u just upload a min 640 x 480 pic of yourself and you can get youself Simpsonised!
Here's the picture of me.

Got look like me meh?

Monday, February 11, 2008

Training for the Million Dollar Shot!

The upcoming Slingers game will be on the 13th Feb, where there is an opportunity for some guy or gal to win a million dollars, that's S$1,000,000!
For those of you who haven't tried..quick register here.
So taking the opportunity we had a ball game on Sunday in NUS..I seriously trained for it..man..was it tough..
Did not managed to get in any after about 10 throws, it was tiring!! Not the throwing but the running after the ball after shooting the missed shots, I do need the workout..but hey we did have a fabulous time playing 3 on 3.
The perfect combination will be either Kels, Ben and myself...we managed to trash the opponents either 7-0 or 7-2. Too bad no pictures..but it was captured in our minds as it brings back old memories of playing there every Sunday during our Uni days. Thus came the term Sunday Boyz.
More blog pictures of the CNY gathering we had at Jem's place after the game..where we have some kickass wonderful Satays.

Friday, February 08, 2008

Watching Korean Dramas..

Ok I admit it..I also watch Korean dramas..but selectively lar..not those sobbing cry father cry mother type...
Was catching glimpse of the Coffee Prince and it is a nice heartwarming and romantic serial.. really liked the background music selection especially in one episode where Han Jie and En Chan went to the beach..


Finally found the title and lyrics of that background music

Across The Ocean by
Azure Ray

now I've traveled across the ocean
with the same shoes just longer hair
still carry that picture in my wallet
from the photo booth
yeah it's still there

just give me some kind of sign
is this the right place or the right time?
is this the right time?

now I've landed in the midwest
where you lived so long ago
remember I was always freezing
and now I'm covered up in snow

just give me some kind of sign
is this the right place or the right time?
is this the right time?


I thought it was by Mazzy Star, who has this sort of nice soothing sonorous voices to their songs. Ok time to get out there and grab the Azure Ray "Hold on Love" album.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Sling-shot down the Dragons!



This is a late post due to the fact that I have been bogged down by Singtel's stupidity. It was finally fixed yesterday after a lot of screaming as I had to deal with the longest Internet withdrawal period I have ever gotten (pockets of free wireless access at Brewerkz and @ Dempsey does not help!)...enough said as I shall attempt to remember about the great game we had last Wednesday.

The game was rather intense as both teams were at the bottom of the league and they were pretty well matched. But it was clear from the start till the end of the game, Slingers were not ready to take the last spot. Nearing the end of 1st quarter, Dragons held on to a slim 23-20 lead. This is mainly due to the poor defense, allowing the Dragons to have easy 3 points shots. They were also penetrating and cutting the defense to the hole. However, things start to turn up in the 2nd quarter with some sharp shooting from Shane and nice alleys oops from Mike to Rod, allowing the Slingers to take their first lead of the game 33-31. It almost impossible to describe the intense atmosphere that was in the stadium. I had to continuously drink wine to keep my cool, perhaps also aided by the fact it was actually quite tasteful. The red (Carbenet Sauvignon) was not heavy and rather attractive and delicate to drink. While the white (Sauvignon Blanc) was rather crisp with good acidity. Both were Chilean and the brand was Morandé.

This is not a sponsored link but I love wine and I actually will do some research on what I drink or eat. In any way, the wines were of the Pionero line and they are of RESERVE-quality wine...


NICE...before I know it, Vicky (my good ole' friend), Jase and Kel(my buddies) and Edmund finished 3 bottles...hehe..





Ok before I digress further and actually reveal my alcoholic nature, let's wrap up with the fact that both teams were at it back and forth with the Dragons still taking the slim lead 53-50 at half time.





As the match was sponsored by Air Asia, we had some lucky audience who managed to shoot some easy shots for free trips to KL and many other destinations. The most surprising news was that AirAsia’s Mr Tony Fernandes, will also become the new chairman of the Singapore Slingers! This is indeed exciting news as I heard that he might consider getting players from Philippines or China. This is indeed a good shot into basketball in Singapore if indeed realized.

Lucky guy getting his 3rd free ticket!











It was from the 2nd half, when the Slingers decided to stop playing games with the Dragons, the intensity was INTENSIFIED! Rod was on FIRE! He was attacking the rim, taking fade-away shots, and getting rebounds on both ends. While Shane was contributing from the 3 point line (he will end the game with 4 out of 5 from beyond the arc). But Dragons' Luke Martin kept them close.

Luke is no stranger in the Singapore Indoor Stadium as Jase and I used to watch him during the exhibition games they used to play while he was still with the Sydney Kings. He is an amazing controller, which was something I was wondering throughout the game when Dragons' coach let him sat on the bench for quite some time - he only played 23mins and sat out most of the 3rd quarter. But hey, I ain't complaining because the Slingers were on a great offensive attack outscoring Dragons 25-10 in the 3rd quarter.

Going into the 4th quarter, the Slingers held on well, with Rod scoring 25 points in the game. Unlike previous game,where we appear tired, the Slingers were actually more energized with contributions coming from everyone. There was 5 players were in double digit scores, while Shane and Mike shot the Dragons down with their back to back 3s. Slingers were up 90-70 and we were 20 points up with just 8mins left in the game. Dragons never could find the strength to match the intensity and started crumbling with poor shooting and defense as the game ended with Slingers for the win 108-93


This was a great matchup with lots of great offense from the Slingers. If they could keep up this momentum, we can win the rest of the games in hope of overtaking the Hawks.

Box scores

Next game Slingers vs. 36ers! This is the final game of the season and it is a must watch because someone will attempt to win a million dollars!!
And the Question for this game is "What's Michael Wong's Jersey #?"
This is easy..just click on the box score link above and you can find it besides his name. Come on...take the $1 million dollars from this man Chow Yen-Lu!

Point to note:
1)Having met Michael at one of the focus groups, Jase and myself had an opportunity to actually talk to him and find him a rathering unimposing and humble guy...
2)And also that his facebook profile doesn't belong to him, someone is stealing his identity, so don't go adding him because he is cute!!!
Would be fun if we can actually shoot hoops together some day.

3) One of the biggest blogger crowd so far, compliments from Nic, we had a great time. The usual suspects would be Simply Jean, Alice, Vandalin, Sara, Nadnut, Sheylara and Goonfather..and a lot more!

Ending Picture - Tiger beer consumed by Goonfather!

Friday, February 01, 2008

Need an Engineering joke to rid of some Singtel modem stupidity

Spent 3 hours debugging the stupid Singtel modem last night. Which I, being an engineer, couldn't figure out. Perhaps because Singtel was trying to create an idiot proof experience, providing no datasheet, no userguide, no freaking anything but a damn CD (and it contains nothing but more idiot-pissed assed proof crap). And to all who might be signing up to the Singtel ADSL plans, there are a few things you have to note.
First, the wireless shit doesn't work til you freaking connect the wireless modem, to the PC to the wall phone line. For a person living on split levels and no phone line in my room, that's a freaking painful experience.
Second, don't expect to find help on the internet when you CANNOT go on the internet with the modem not working!!
Third, fark it..just go and sleep after reading some jokes; bug the helpline tomorrow.

SingNet BroadBand Technical Support
Tel: 1800-848 6933
Mon-Sun & Public Holidays: 8am - 12mn


Found this off a engineering website (We engineers can take jokes about ourselves!)

The Top 10 Things Engineering School didn't teach

10. There are at least 10 types of capacitors.
9. Theory tells you how a circuit works, not why it does not work.
8. Not everything works according to the specs in the databook.
7. Anything practical you learn will be obsolete before you use it, except the complex math, which you will never use.
6. Always try to fix the hardware with software. (Explains why all I get is a freaking CD to fix my Singtel modem issue)
5. Engineering is like having an 8 a.m. class and a late afternoon lab every day for the rest of your life.
4. Overtime pay? What overtime pay? (Now you tell me)
3. Managers, not engineers, rule the world. (Now you freaking tell me!!!)
2. If you like junk food, caffeine and all-nighters, go into software.
1. Dilbert is a documentary. (Isn't it?)

Sick but true..

Q: What do engineers use for birth control?
A: Their personalities.

This one i don't understand..I see people's shoes all the time.

Q: How can you tell an extroverted engineer?
A: When he talks to you, he looks at your shoes instead of his own.

The best one yet:

The graduate with a Science degree asks, "Why does it work?"
The graduate with an Engineering degree asks, "How does it work?"
The graduate with an Accounting degree asks, "How much will it cost?"
The graduate with an Arts degree asks, "Do you want fries with that?"

One for the road if you have a mechanical engineer for Aunt Agony.