Closer to the Edge

Going to the edge at Grand Canyon 2010.

As we come closer to the end of 2010, self-reflection sets in.

One of my philosophy in life is "No regrets" because in the end it makes us who we are..and we have to be true to ourselves. We alone are answerable for our decisions; our choices...
I love to live life to the edge, I thrive on extreme sports, anything with speed, fast with the wind-in-my-face feeling. I indulge in go-karting, mountain biking, inline skating, tracking the car, wakeboarding, rollercoaster rides...basically anything that throws caution to the wind, living life with the possibility of risking the body to  injuries or death. I already have 2 broken bones, numerous scars and many body areas which are void of hair growth due to the amount of scrapped flesh suffered from high speed falls.

But all this will stop and change when we finally have someone that matters in our lives. Our decisions now affect them, like I won't ever want to lose them, they will not want to lose me. So I hope I can find passion in other safer ways. Since I picked up roller skating when I was 7 or 8, I guess I have lived quite an eventful 20-odd years. As I slowly relinquish some of my gears, my go-kart and quite possibly get ready for a safer set of wheels in a couple more years, life's journey has finally reached another stage. I can't wait.

One song which drives passion into my soul, each time I hear it is by 30 Seconds to Mars called Closer to the Edge. And the chorus goes like this:

No no no no

I will never forget

No no

I will never regret

No no

I will live my life

This video blew me away. Watch it, one of the quotes in there echoes my words exactly.

Here we go 2011.

What I really want for X'mas

I seem to have everything I want, that's because one can never have all the Jordan shoes, all the toys, all the sport cars in the world...especially when one is contented and out of space; what I really want for X'mas is something I need.

I finally got what I needed...and now I am complete.
Though I wouldn't mind a Tron toy, especially a Light Cycle! Or a new house...

Fabulous

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my friends in 2011...
2010 started with a bang from a buddy's wedding...and it has been an amazing ride every since.

2010 has been kind to me, with a new journey started and right now 2011 seems like another awesome year ahead.

Party on into 2011 and embrace the unknown gleefully because the hand I am holding on...seems suited and comfortable.

Sometimes technology is dangerous

You know the saying "Fire can be a good servant but a bad master"; well this applies to technology too. Remember the scene in I, Robot starring Will Smith who wears his old school Converse kicks and swear off technology? We all need to be constantly aware of the dangers of people with the knowledge to turn good into bad. For now beware of identity thefts...I am going to leave my Visa Wave card at home for now.

Finally the Bund

Four times I've been to Shanghai, often just in and out for work with no chance for sightseeing. Never been to the Shanghai Bund physically but have heard of it quite often. With frozen hands and without tripod, I took my camera for some shots as I managed to extend a couple of days after business. But totally regretted it, especially with the bad cough and cold weather.

But I still like Shanghai, but it's seriously getting very expensive to live there. Or did I just forgot to not trust the price tags and uniformed sales ladies in legit looking shops...somehow I feel I should just have to start bargaining...

The journey begins

Looking back and it is analogous to a shipwreck washed up onto the shore, the devastation from life couldn't be far worse as we pick up pieces of the wreck and try to live again.Slowly but surely, we find ourselves back; we find motivation to grow, to learn, to mature. It might sometimes take up to 40 lives/experiences to know what you really want, and possibly a million others of what-ifs; but all we really needed was just one to make it just right. Then suddenly you realise, all the "bads" that has happened...happened for a reason. And the reason makes one value what has happened and glad that it happened.... This is the journey of life.

When you find that elusive one amongst the vast what-ifs, your mind takes on a new perspective. From embracing all the past "bads" that has happened, and turning them into preparation; from finding the courage to take on the challenges to be that brave man (with proper upbringing - 家教) who wins the fair lady; from picking up a wreck piece and start to build that ship again with solid rock foundation to set sail into the sun. The journey and experiences were all tough, but it's worth every single effort and somewhat sweetens the deal.
The project engineer finally met the toughest challenge he has so far, and is glad to have survived it, now onto the fun bit!

Lightsaber chopsticks

Saw this at Taipei101 toy store...not cheap NT400 for a pair ~S$17.
Thought it was cool stuff, as you begin your meal you can skip the usual formalities and just tell each other "May the Force Eat with you". If only it could light up,useful for night or camping meals.

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No more Mr. Nice Guy

It's time to take down the big cheese...time to forget friendship...time to finally let go the fact that I will be a bad friend...it just sucks to go through all the emotions of why I made the mistake of trusting someone you thought would have been more credible.
Never lend out $ without considering the fact you will never get it back...Debt collection is worse than loaning $...when people borrow $ from you..they are your best friends, they claim ancestral relationships, they worship the ground you walk..but when you want back your $...they somehow fell off the face of the earth...you are a parasite, you are detestable...it's like I owe them $ instead.

Anyway time to kick ass and no more looking back...I am coming for you Big Cheese, this time no mercy.

Helpless

When I sometimes feel helpless about things, the energy within me have to be expended, either through extreme sports or lots of punches. Hunting down my wooden dummy right now.



Wish sometimes I have the power to do more...instead of just punches.

Step Up or F Off

Seriously...just to end this saga which I have blogged a couple of times about. Here and here. I just hope everybody can see, why it is utmost importance our country has accountability and transparency...and fark say no to paying millions to idiots, it is like a double slap to your face (Screwing up and not apologising yet legit looting off millions in salaries). Enough said, since they now steal from you...LTA/PTC screwed up allowing Public Transport operators to rip S$300k off commuters.

Let me focus my rant on this Mas Selamat Saga. We all now know how he escaped, but now will heads roll for the stupidity and mistakes made? You have the biggest manhunt in history and this terrorist is hiding in his brother's home.

We have this damn "intelligent" question asked in Parliament by an NMP.

Nominated Member of Parliament, Viswa Sadasivan asked, was: “On the day of the escape, shouldn’t it have been standard operating procedure for the security forces to actually go down to the homes of the immediate family members?”

This is your..yes YOUR million dollar reply.

Shanmugam’s reply: “[The Member] will remember that I have said taking into account his family members, which numbered more than a hundred, and with contacts they number many more. I don’t want to go into details on what surveillance was done because they are really operational security matters …”

Fark me.

All good things come in pairs..Here's the double slap.

And then Shanmugam added: “[It] is not in the interest of our country for us to disclose these matters. However, Member can be assured that what was done has been reviewed and I’m satisfied that all the necessary steps were taken.”

Seriously...fark me..this new guy is not just going to fill the shoes of the idiot..incumbent. He is just so right for it. As I love to say..my late grandmother can protect Singapore better than you.

Here we go again, more BS to come.

Ten Rules for Being Human - Live and Learn

1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.
2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life."
3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."
4. Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5. Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6. "There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7. Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9. Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10. You will forget all this.

- Cherie Carter-Scott

For a friend.

Truth in numbers

Like my earlier blog entry, numbers like words can be presented in a misleading way if not known to the untrained eye. Numbers like data can be manipulated. So how well you sieve out the truth depends on how well you read or understand what is presented and why it is presented that way. That is why I love statistics, the art in numbers in this field is very interesting. I have been following this guy, Mr Leong for quite some time...there is little bullshit one can pull when it comes to presenting the truth in numbers. An interesting interview of the man himself and how this dare-to-be-different-Rafflesian thinks in his perspective.

Everyone has to start thinking or decide if the blue pill of blissful ignorance is really the way to go. In order for anyone to have a future, be it for yourself or generations to come, you have to make choices. Or would you rather have none? I remembered my favorite quote in "A few good men" - You want answers? I want the truth...YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH. In all cases, we deserve what we have decided on.

Not an accountant but I think

...we should all put some heart into reading what is presented often in the papers.

Just some points to ponder as I did some additional reading over the weekend, quite a bedtime sleepy companion - The Department of Statistics’ Singapore Yearbook of Statistics 2010.
According to the yawning...book, the amount of CPF contributions from Singaporeans/PR has grown by almost 90%, from S$88 billion to S$167 billion in 10 years (1999 to 2009). Around the same period of the last decade, our public domestic debt has grew by 132% from S$126 billion to S$292 billion. Something to think/worry about?

Other interesting stat is that English newspaper circulation has been dropping aggressively with a 24% drop since 2004 (1.038 mil to 790k), other languages have seen an increase since 2004. So is it because the English readers have all gone online or are we experiencing a change in population racial mix? It would be unwise to think that they are becoming like me, sick of the BS we read in the papers and cancelled it. We only have weekend papers for the adverts...haha

If I had more time and apathy, it will be interesting to study the foreign investments of countries like Myanmar and Cambodia. But I got pissed off just enough to see corporate income tax went down as personal income tax grew; and our Govt operating expenditure especially in the Govt administration portion - it grew a whopping 55% in the last decade (S$689 mil to S$1.071 BILLION). FYI, we spent about that amount on environment and water resources (S$661 mil) and transport (S$372 mil) combined.

Shining Through

Siem Reap 2009

As I take whatever limited time I have from this hectic month to review and edit my travel pictures. I hope you like this picture of sun rays shining through the fields at Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

Angkor Wat 2009

Be patient with everything, else you might lose that anticipated feeling of a wonderful surprise sunrise.

Would you?

Scotland - Skye 2009

If I just lay here

Would you lie with me

And just forget the world?

Don't rush

Grand Canyon 2010

Nature has it's way of creating beauty, when it's left all alone to do it's own thing.

Starting to travel again for work, with no time for photography, hope I retain some sanity.

Slingers match up against Slammers

Will be heading down to the match against Thailand Slammers at the Singapore Indoor Stadium this Sunday 31 Oct. This will be an interesting match up as Thailand trashed Satria Muda in a convincing win 84 to 63 on Oct 16 and 76 to 59 against Brunei. So far they have only lost to Philippines Patriots by a close margin.

My pictures of the previous closely matched win (94-93) against Satria Muda can be found here.

So do come down and support your Singapore Slingers and if you fancy a little early Halloween costume party, do come on down in your best scary costumes! We've heard the best-dressed will get to win a MacBook, and the $10,000 challenge will still go on during half-time.

I will be taking photos of "scary" audience this Sunday, so check back here for pictures of the match and see if you got caught on my camera!

Singapore Elections coming

You know elections are coming when SPH does this.

We can even tweet about it!

Test site should be ready very soon.

Am excited about it...possibly my very first time voting as I approach mid-life crisis age!

Almost bought an iPad after watching this

This is ultimate coolness.

A big hint

Sometimes technology of being connected on the move makes us even more disconnected. Perhaps we should all cancel our data plans, lose the smartphones and just revert back to pagers and snail mails. Perhaps being so connected or contactable makes one more liable to forget the people around us? Well, of late, I had fun doing the simple things of carrying lanterns and flying layangs.

Joke for the weekend

Been a while since I posted a joke, here is one for the weekend.

First-year students at Texas A&M Vet school were attending their first anatomy class, with a real dead cow. They all gathered around the surgery table with the body covered with a white sheet.
The professor started the class by telling them, "In Veterinary Medicine it is necessary to have two important qualities as a doctor: The first is that you not be disgusted by anything involving the animal body".
For an example, the Professor pulled back the sheet, stuck his finger in the butt of the dead cow, withdrew it and stuck his finger in his mouth. "Go ahead and do the same thing," he told his students.
The students freaked out, hesitated for several minutes, but eventually took turns sticking a finger in the butt of the dead cow and sucking on it.
When everyone finished, the Professor looked at them and said, "The second most important quality is observation. I stuck in my middle finger and sucked on my index finger. Now learn to pay attention. Life's tough, but it's even tougher if you're stupid.."

Google TV

With Starhub having no updates on NBA TV, one can only suck thumb. Well, I can't wait for Google TV to come soon.



NBA app on Android market!

Revenge on Satria Muda

Images are copyrighted and all rights reserved.

Can you spot how many people are in awed of Satria's Holden going up for a block on Slinger's Skinner's attempt?

Well who cares, we won.

Watch this space for more pics soon.
Update: Pictures found here.

Simple engineering

Though I doubt I am getting the iPhone 4, this is one cool piece of simple tool.
And the concept of getting funding to get it built through donations, is again another form of creativity. Click on the link for more details and video of the cool usage.



Shared by Daphne on FB.

Little surprises

Sweet?

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What you mean to the other

Clark Kent and Lois Lane

I love Superman since I was a child. The concept of immortality and invincibility is just too cool for a boy, though he had weaknesses with Kryptonite and Lois Lane. Kryptonite is Superman's Achilles' heel, and very often used by his enemies to bring out his vulnerability, similar to Lois Lane. She is Superman's primary mortal love interest and quite often I wonder why a Super-being like him, doesn't date Wonder Woman, Supergirl (Superman's cousin) or some other less frail Super Hero.

Alonso!

So Alonso finally redeemed himself from the controversial win when he was in Renault back in Singapore F1 2008. Taking the 2010 title from start to finish with a tough challenge from Vettel. Prancing Horse!

Remarkable fight for Massa as well from 24th to 10th place. If only Schumacher could have come in top 10...the GP would have been perfect! IMHO,this has to be one of the most exciting GP race I have watched.

Singapore F1 Grand Prix 2010

I secretly really hope Schumy can win...though my heart lies with the prancing horse.

Michael Schumacher's first time in Singapore - Qualifying lap - 9th place.

Alonso takes the fastest lap timing and pole position.

All rights reserved for all photographs found on this blog.

Asean Basketball League Season 2

After a successful 3-0 win in the Singapore Challenge series, the new Slingers line up looks cohesive and this is what we all have been waiting for...another chance at the Asean Basketball League. Below is the schedule for the 7 slated home games at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Go Slingers!

2010/11 ASEAN Basketball League Regular Home Games Schedule
3 October'10	4pm	Satria Muda (Indonesia)		S'pore Indoor Stadium
17 October'10	4pm	KL Dragons (Malaysia)		S'pore Indoor Stadium
31 October'10	4pm	Thailand Cobra (Thailand)		S'pore Indoor Stadium
14 November'10	4pm	Philippines Patriots (Philippines)		S'pore Indoor Stadium
23 November'10	8pm	Brunei Barracudas (Brunei)		S'pore Indoor Stadium
14 December'10	8pm	Satria Muda (Indonesia)		S'pore Indoor Stadium
9 January'11	4pm	Brunei Barracudas (Brunei)		S'pore Indoor Stadium

Love it...first match is our chance for revenge against Satria Muda...who killed us from the finals in the inaugural season. You Slinger fans gotta come 3rd Oct..I definitely will be there!

Oh by the way -  a random draw from the audience to pick 4 participants for a shoot-out challenge. The person who successfully scores from the court will walk away with S$10,000. Time to practise your free throws, treys and maybe half court shots!

What would you do?

Shared by Precious on Facebook. I think everyone should be more sensitive and caring. I know how apathetic we have become as people living in this age where everyone has to be more productive, more hardworking, more stressed out...but never is there an excuse to be an asshole towards other human beings (unless they really are assholes - I wouldn't feel guilty standing up or beating someone mistreating others who can't stand for themselves).

I want a new Body-Kit!

I want a Panda suit for Halloween!

If I can be as mean as this kick ass Panda...I wanna rent a suit for Halloween.

"Post-It" Notes

Sometimes in life, we need little reminders because we forget that we are on a journey, where the destination is unknown. When the road you are travelling on, can throw surprises good or bad along the way, but we just gotta keep going.

Tiger Tavern

Was invited by Daphne to the Tiger Tavern before they close for renovation this October '10. Together with Jase, we took the opportunity to understand about beer brewing and taste some of their fine drafts.

Even if it's only for 30 seconds

Where can I get one of these jetpacks?



The packs are fuelled by the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, providing the thrust/propulsion but also cool exhaust gases. In total, you get about 30s of awesome flight. Hope in the near future, these jetpacks can be a mode of transportation - 30s might get me to my convenience store down the next block!


Never owned an Xbox, and always thought Halo might enter into PS3 platform...but is the game really that good? Can't afford another console at home...

Damn Cool World Clock

Check this out. World statistics....if only I can get this as a Windows 7 widget on my screen.

I Have Acrophobia

There are engineering jobs which requires engineers to climb up communication antennas to fix - it is not for me. I don't care how much they are paid, but no amount can get me to climb up broadcast towers which are 1786 feet tall! That's higher than the Empire State Building (1250ft)!

Anyway check out this video before it's taken off  - sorry I cannot embed it here. As it was just taken off Youtube as the engineer's company came to find out about it, as it was done as a favour to headmount the camera to the engineer's helmet...I had vertigo just watching his climb all the way up. Totally no safety line, just hands and feet going up the tower! Awesome view, just not sure if he fell down, would the video feed put me out to sleep...???

Courtesy of the OnlineEngineer and the current host of this site as it re-host from Youtube.

*Update - managed to find a Yahoo repost and embed the video here (ooh I love the internet) :

A climb up the tallest tower @ Yahoo! Video

Do you know you have been "Smoked"?

Like this article over at Temasek Review which compiles and compare stats given out by our Shitty State Times, and actually give the true account of the painted numbers we read.
Nice quote to end the article -

“There are lies, damned lies and statistics” - Mark Twain.

Apathy

Let's say there is a major catastrophe which takes out all communication lines, internet, news feed or if like BBC decides to axe off it's Myanmar office due to budget cuts.

THE BBC World Service could face drastic budget cuts that may force it to withdraw from Myanmar, a move that critics fear would be a 'gift to the military junta', a report said on Wednesday. 'The World Service is a steady, credible voice in parts of the world where the only other messages blend threats and propaganda,' he told the paper. 'Scrapping the World Service in Burma would be a gift to the military junta, and an insult to political prisoners locked in Burma's jail for no crime.'

Does this mean that the occurrence of events/crimes/disasters etc did not happen? The need for coverage, reporting or "marketing" brings about awareness to the people. But how important is that? What if the people stop reporting or worse - the viewers stop caring?

Does the absence of constant reminders of affection, care and concern take away the love for the event (famine, floods,genocide etc) or the person (minorities, tribes, survivors etc)? Does it dwindle in importance?

Take that altruistic purpose aside and bring it closer to individuals - does it mean if the person is incapacitated, paralysed or in a coma; perhaps just being tight up with work or having a terrible day - does our concern/love slowly dissipate?

Time is becoming very important to everyone despite all the multi-tasking, all the convenience of technology. No longer do we need to walk for miles to meet families and friends for dinner (drive, train, cabs), no longer do we need to buy a pen and paper and put a stamp on it to send a post card or letter (Emails, MMS). No longer do we need to find a pay phone to call and say "Hi, how's life been?" (Twitter, Facebook, Blogs). I feel somehow the convenience and time saving really takes away the appreciation of things around us. We no longer work for things that really matter, and take the time to really care and appreciate. Irony of having more time is akin to having more money but not happiness.

I drove a long way to appreciate this chasm

Somehow from the chasm of life - reality bites and we see it everyday. Apathy is growing everyday and slowly we lose our soul and finally our mind...

Ugly Truth

Do you like someone who is smart or just smart looking?


Do you think how you dress yourself determines the person you are?
Sometimes you think you know yourself, that you are above appearances; that you are not shallow - think again.

Guys and gals, you can learn from this.

A few friendly reminders

Post-It Notes should be filled with such friendly reminders from time to time - make sense and worth remembering:


Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
Don't take yourself so seriously; no one else does!
Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class, but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
Forgive everyone for everything.
Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
What other people think of you is none of your business.
Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends will. Stay in touch.
However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
The best is yet to come.

My little worm

你是我肚子里的虫 (Translates to "You are my tummy's worm") represents a unique or rather demented way of saying how close the person is to you that he/she knows exactly what you ate or drank and goes into your stomach.

Like how my buddy coined out a term "ass-buddies" over 15 years ago when we hang out almost daily. How could such a term "ass-buddy" means better than best buddies or BFF? Well imagine your 2 ass cheeks separated...

You can't...not without a lot of pain ;-)

Haha love this demented, or call it rather insane terms but I like it being deviated from the norm and unique to the individuals involved.

For now, airworm has a little worm.

Work both ways?

Wondering if I can pay the government S$9,000 to stop bothering me for Reservist and IPPT every year?
I don't mind paying foreign workers or talents to do my Reservist and not risk my employers from firing me and hiring one with no 40-days liability instead.

So sick of all this easily thought out $olutions. If money really can fix all issues like work and life commitments, I guess we don't really need a world class- talented government.

Enough said

All close friends of mine know who I like in basketball, and who I particularly not like...so enough said about comparing them...there is no comparison especially in scoring titles and MVPs. Perhaps the only comparison can be on how many women they cheated on.

Source.

Don't lose track

For a friend.

Quite often for new couples, without re$ource$, they will spend lots of time and effort finding a home which belongs to both of them in their new future journey. Very often in Singapore today, money becomes an issue since housing often is very expensive and becomes a 25-30 year liability which adds on to undue stress on top of marriage preparations. Typical woes of new couples in Singapore. Baby? That can wait...the non-conducive marriage life in Singapore. What SDU, what baby bonuses? Singapore Government should help in ways that actually matters...control inflation, control housing, control wage levels...do what real governments do.

Hang in there my friend, don't forget romance, don't over commit, don't forget what really matters and lose track of why and how. Prioritise your life...sometimes what you see ahead won't matter because what's just next to you might all be gone quicker than you think.
Good luck.

Count for something

Taking lots of pictures during vacation...so much so that I wished I  have a DSLR for eyes, capturing what I see, hoping to capture the moment. As I took a long walk today, I forgot sometimes it's best to capture the moment with your soul and have the ones you love in your heart at that very moment, somehow I think it should count for something.

Return to the Valley

4 years ago, I was at the Valley but had to last minute turn the car back and return to work on a Sunday afternoon. But this time I was determined to get to Napa and enjoy myself, doing a  winery tour of my favorite wine maker but unfortunately the difference is that he has now passed on. But still enjoyed every bit of Mondavi's USD$3.5 billion sold wine business; the sights, sounds and more importantly the taste of Napa Valley and Sausalito.

Also did a short lunch at the best winery of Napa Valley - Vittorio Sattui
One can do a picnic on the beautiful grounds, taste all the complimentary wine before buying a chilled white or a full-bodied red wine and enjoy the great summer weather! Do note, V.Sattui wines are not available commercially.

More importantly, glad my folks enjoyed it...

Another year away from home during NDP

Been away from Singapore on National Day for many years now, not sure if that makes me less patriotic but seeing our crescent and stars flag flying at the UN building and at Niagara Falls still makes be wonder.
Wishing all Singaporeans a Happy National Day and here's a blog entry which reflects pretty much how Singaporean I feel.

Just do it

Just got back from Arizona, Grand Canyon, South Rim. Was a long drive up and back, ferrying 5 senior citizens of my family. Was hesitant making the long journey up but felt the need to bring my folks and relatives to see the Grand Canyon after bringing them to see Niagara Falls which they enjoyed after 12 hrs driving to and from New York. Total driving time is 21 hrs, covering about 1330 miles, approximately 2140 km. Singapore to Bangkok is only 1450 km.

I have a habit of falling asleep on the wheel when the drive is long and straight, so the apprehension is calculated. But it all changes when my Uncle said this, "At age 64, this will probably be our last time seeing this."

Carpe Diem, No Regrets.

Lobster Attack!

Heard its flooding everywhere in Singapore, beware of Lobster attacks!

This Lobster from Port Jefferson in Long Island tried to attack me, I ate it up!

If you ever came to Port  Jefferson, go to Steam Room, the seafood is value for money and if I had more tummy space, would have taken their steamers, fish and chips..etc.. Damn I am +2kg already...and it's only been week 1.

The summer nights of NYC are long

Still bright at 9pm. View of Empire State Bldg from Flushings.

Degeneration

Degeneration is a slow whithering process whereby an entire society soon cease to function to its full capability and capacity, slowly weakening and grow smaller; with the possibility of creating social ills, disorders and possibly moral disillusions and perversion. It is the direct opposite of evolution.

Wiiiiii

Wiiii...got my Wii back today from my engineering friend. He helped to bring it to a local shop near his place and though it took 2 weeks, they troubleshoot it like a typical failure analysis engineer. Taking apart part by part before isolating and determining the root cause thus not warrant any unnecessary repair charges.

Anyway,  my console died on me after I tried playing Raving  Rabbids 2 after a year hiatus and somehow it hung and had some sort of power surge, I took it apart and ended in a 2-hr futile attempt to fix it. Anyway my ex-colleague saw my cry for help on Facebook status and recommended a place near his home where they fix all game consoles, Wii, X-Box, PS3, PSPs etc, and at reasonable prices.Easily X0% off the cheapest quote I found online or called. My ex-colleague was an early adopter, getting game consoles on launch/release dates and at high prices, so his recommendation for this place is highly credible.

If you need, give Supreme Power House a call or go head down -  Info found on my receipt here:

Supreme Power House 

Blk 505 Tampines Central 1 #01-349

Singapore 520505

Tel: (+65)  6788 4644 

This is not an advertorial, just think they did a great job and "improved" my Wii at a reasonable price, and since I couldn't find many sites on game consoles repair which does not have some form of biased feedback, thought it will be good to share. Only problem is I have couple of Wii  days before I leave for work and vacation. I won't be back in Singapore till after National Day! Majulah...Singapura!

Leap of Faith

Sometimes we need to just try, and realise that unknown leap across obstacles, which really weren't there in the first place. Sometimes our minds plays tricks on us, so always attempt - never give up. Be thankful that, with obstacles and difficulties, we can know if that's what we really want.

12 Days of Ris-Mas

Watched this last year about X'mas time - compliments of Vicky..Hilarious this Judee Tan acting as Ris Low.

Go Figure

I am all for sports development in Singapore but looking at the numbers on amount spent vs other social budget, does make one wonder...if Youth Olympics is really worth all the money spent - being over budget by over 300%. How does one justify or quantify tourism numbers, media exposure? It's your word against theirs. Perhaps the needy should have a marketing guru to help out in getting some much needed public funding.

S$387 million for YOG.
S$92.39 million for the needy.
S$83.02 million for families and VWOs.

Source.

Another thought, who control the purses here? Dr Vivian Balakrishna - Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports?
Wondering how the Minister reports about YOG overspending to the people, or in our case - the patriarch head.

Viv: "Sorry I overspend by S$200,000,000++..."
Old Man: "What to do, what's done is done...it's an honest mistake, let's move on. I only pay you S$ X000,000 for your cool medical background,I can't possibly expect you to be an auditor/accountant too"

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan was elected MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, which was also one of the Town Councils which lost a lot of zeros in minibonds.
Wondering somehow if our Ministers are shielded from accountability and spared the rod,from losing S$8 million to overspending by S$200 million..I seriously do hope he doesn't join Temasek/GIC boards.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

I'm not sure why I am in constant struggle with the apathetic or self-centred people, who love to think/comment about others who care to even speak up, complain about injustice or ridiculous situations deserve to take shit from their idiotic comments. Shouldn't they remain silent since they seem to be pretty good at that?

These group of people somehow think they are above everyone else or everyone should be just like them. How about those who can't help themselves - like the old, feeble and unspoken for? Are they doing something to help them since voicing out seems to wrong? Or it's pretty much only about themselves? I know there are people who are just all talk with no action, but what's worse IMHO, is those with neither a whimper or movement seems to resemble a dead man just being rolled over to get his daily sodomy fix from men you somewhat deem fit and civil with "betterer" decency to do the right thing.

We forget what's more important

Sometimes, people lose track of what's really important. And do you ever wonder why you let ridiculous things bother you? What if you one day lose it? Why do we often have to lose something before we realise it, cherish it...Utterly ridiculous.

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