Apple Latest Product - iPad

People say it looks like a giant iPod/iPhone/iTouch, I say it sounds like some high-tech sanitary pad. As Mr Brown says, the 2.0 will come with wings. LOL... Anyway, it cost US$499 for the lowest end model. Well for that amount of money, I can get a netbook with 3G functionality. Yeah design wise it is nice, user-friendly and typical Apple clean look and ease of use. Functionality wise, I still prefer my Lenovo S10.

Getting Kicked

I got kicked by my sons for the first time yesterday. Well, it wasn't the first time they kicked but it is the first time I felt it.

Was stroking Angie tummy when suddenly I felt like something poke out from the inside. Blur me, still ask Angie what's that.

"It's your sons kicking, silly." ^_^

I feel delighted and surprised at that very moment. LOL. According to Angie, the two of them have been kicking her repetitively these few weeks. Seems to be most active at night. My first thought is "Oh dear, does this means we will have very active boys? I'm going to do a lot of running then..." :P

Town Council Taichi Respsonsibilities

Another example of taichi by our government agency when they screw things up. After realizing that the newly installed bamboo holders are too small, the town council proceed to taichi the blame to HBD saying that they based their changes according to HDB design requirements. How convenient!

So does this mean all the other flats that uses the old dimension are dangerous? If someone gets hurt because the thinner bamboo snapped, I wonder what's their excuse then. PSB? Cause they din do proper certification for the bamboo?

I Am A Cruel Man

Went down to Sheng Siong this morning to buy groceries for dinner tonight. We decided to have steam fish and so I went to the seafood section to take a look. There, the fish monger are fishing some live fished out of the tank and dump them on the table in front for potential buyers to choose.

The poor fishes are grasping, struggling for live while we look out. The scene is actually quite heart wrenching. I decided to quickly get this over with and told the fish monger I want a golden promfret. He then took one that is still struggling for live from the table and proceeds to slaughter it (the slaughtering process is out of sight).

After getting the processed fish, we continue our shopping. Then suddenly I felt the bag holding the fish shake in the hands. Initially, I thought maybe I knock it something as the place is crowded. Then it shakes again! It is at that point that I realize that the fish is still ALIVE!!!

The poor bugger has its organs removed and is now twitching in pain in my hands as it struggle with the last few minutes of its life. Though I am not the one who killed it, I feel so guilty that it is my order than resulted in getting it to suffer in such extreme pain. I rather it die by suffocation than being cut open while alive and have your internal organs removed. I feel I am such a cruel man at that moment.

Slowly, the fish twitch a few more times before its life finally exhausted. After this horrible experience, I told myself that I will never buy any live fish from Sheng Siong or any other places ever again.

Samsung Laptop With See-Thru Display

Samsung shows off a notebook with see-thru display at the recent CES 2010 in Las Vegas. Though it looks cool and high tech, I can't think of a logical reason behind it. Given that you'll be able to see what's on the screen as well as what's behind it, there goes whatever privacy you have while using the notebook (Read: Can't surf porn with this notebook) :P

Only Green They Concern Is the Color of Money

"If the climate was a bank, a capitalist bank, [the West] would have saved it by now." Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the recent Climate Change Submit in Copenhagen .

These words are never truer judging from the near failure at the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit. All the nations who attend the summit arguing over money issues and aids on how to go about cutting emissions and saving our world. Everyone is just concern about their interest and how the issues will affect their bottom-line.

This is our environment we are talking about, the world we live in. Look at the recent climate changes we are seeing. US, Europe, China and South Korea are seeing record snowfall. Locally, we are seeing freak floods that are supposed to occur "every 50 years". Yeah right, 50 years my ass! If we keep on polluting our environment, we will be seeing freak floods every month!

As for the final agreement, it fell short of what the submit sets out to achieve. Cutting emission levels of 10 years ago by 2020 is as good as trying to retain the current emission levels by then. But then, it is better than nothing right? But it is sad to know that comparing with the way the world economy has recovered from the sub-prime crisis in less than 2 years, where billions of dollars are dumped in saving it, it seems like the future of our environment is not as significant.

Making Money Out of Something That is Free

Thanks to A L V I N O L O G Y for pointing this out. Turns our that our Singpost is moonlighting by offering a service, Admail, to chunk junk mail into our mail box.

Damn, doesn't this defeat the purpose of installing those anti-junk mail devices on our letterbox? Well, maybe those devices are installed not for our conveniences, but rather act as a way to earn extra revenue by forcing the advertisers to use their Admail service.

Save our trees and our environment by cutting down junk mail. Call SingPost’s hotline on 6845-6210 to request to be taken off Admail service. For your info, all unwanted mails be it junk or not are recycled. In addition, we recycle all paper, glass, metal and plastic material if possible.

NOTE: FYI, Opting out of the service will also remove the Ikea catalogue and fast food coupons in the mail.

What A Way To Start 2010

It seems that I announce too soon that the madness of my work is over. First day of work today (I was on leave on Monday) and I was hit by a tsunami of work. Every issue wants to have top priority. It almost makes me regret coming in.

I guess 2010 did not start well for me. US market shot up last night (I am aiming for a correction). Manchester United lost in the FA Cup third round to their fierce rival, Leeds, who by the way is a League 1 side. Home ground some more! It's not the lost that pisses me off; it's the way the match was lost. The players totally have no pride or passion in it. This is not the first time the team lost in this way this season. I think this is getting too much.

Enough of football then. Now, I really dread going back to office tomorrow. Tomorrow I still need to go babysit the new engineer. The director put it so nicely. The new guy supposed to lighten my load but I have to guide him along at the same time. I wonder how that helps in lightening my load. Furthermore, my knowledge on the project is also half bucket (maybe even less), so how am I qualify to guide others? I too need a guide.

Paying More For Less

I was shopping for groceries at the newly opened Sheng Siong Supermarket near my place the other day. I was standing next to the rolls of Chili Sauce when I notice something. Normal Chili Sauce cost 5 cents cheaper than Chili Sauce with less salt. Hmm.... this doesn't sound right...

If the chili sauce has less salt, it means the cost of ingredients used to make the chili sauce should be lower. Then the cost of less salt chili sauce should be cheaper than normal chili sauce. Why is it the other way round?

Just like for HBD flats. 5 years ago, new 4-room flats are bigger yet cheaper than the current new 4-room flats. Other than having the same name, the newer 4-room flat look and feels like a 3-room flat. Why are we paying more for something less? Less construction materials are used for building smaller flats, so isn't it supposed to cost less or at least around the same?

Why are we paying more for something less? Why are we paying through our nose for a small pigeon hole with 50th-storey skybridge, pretty surrounding areas or condominium-like design? Where's the logic in that?

A New Year, A New Journey

As we end year 2009, we welcome 2010, starting another new journey. 2009 has been one hectic year for me. Mostly I could remember for 2009 is work. It's a non-stop roller coaster ride at work for the entire year. I am just glad it is all over now.

But luckily 2009 is not all bad memories. There are also memories of knowing that I am going to be a father. The shock of finding out we are going to be parents of two tiger cubs still bring a smile to me.

So as we bid farewell to 2009, Angie and I welcome 2010 with excitement and nervousness. It is the year where we step into another stage of our lives. It's the year where we are no longer children of our parents, where we become parents of our children. It's the year where we begin our journey of parenthood.

I spent my last few minutes of 2009 at Old Hong Kong Tea House having supper, cossing into 2010, with the three persons I hold most dear to. So here we go, continuing our march in life, continuing my Tales of A Tiger.