Aiden Learning to Flip

Dylan has started flipping over by himself and his neck is getting stronger. As for Aiden, he is still lagging behind, so we are a bit concern about his development. But man how wrong he has proven to us. Angie went to NTUC and I play with Aiden while the maid looks after Dylan.

The little boy kept trying to flip over himself. He tried 4 to 5 times without any success, every time rolling back to his back. All these time, he did not cry nor throw tantrums. He just kept going and going with me beside him encouraging him. It's like as if my encouragement gave him strength. When he finally succeeded, you can see the sense of joy on his face. I am so touch and proud of him.

Oh, now that he found the trick to flipping, he has been doing it nonstop. We have to have someone to jaga Him and Dylan to make sure they dun hurt themselves.

Boiled Ginger Coke

First heard of this strange concoction while reading Sheylara's Changpin trip, where you contracted a terrible flu. Did a research and found that it is a common remedy used in Hong Kong to treat the common flu. Will sure try this next time I had a flu attack.

Distance / Time = Speed

"the Public Transport Council (PTC) revealed on Thursday that travelling time - and not just distance - is also used to charge train commuters under Singapore's distance-based fares system."

Huh? So is it a distance based fare or time based fare? Why call it distance based fare when time factor is taken into consideration? So I expect the petrol or maintenance part of the equation will take effect at a later date lah. Hmmm... probably after the elections.

Interview Woes

For me, going for a job interview is a frightening experience and it is even worse when it a job interview with a knowledge test. I don't know is it my low confidence or a previous bad experience, I am scared that I will screw up and get reprimand by the interviewer.

I just went for an interview recently and was put through a 45 mins technical test follow by another one and a half hour of "interrogation" where I was ask to explain how the I2C protocol works. This is the 21st century and I don't understand why people still uses technical test during an interview. Information is readily available on the net, so what if I know what a linked list is or cab recite I2C protocol. I believe that a person working experience, character and attitude is more important.

And don't they know there is a thing call the Smartphone? I can search for the answers for the questions using my iPhone. (Yes I did that), which make the whole test process redundant. This is one reason why I don't quite like to go for interviews especially the ones which involved technical test.

Seen Or Heard

You will never read or heard this on Channel News Asia or Straits Times. All these are in the net where the government has no way to censure it

1. Flood News Blackout
So flooding is considered a norm in Singapore so much so that CNA or ST dun even bother to report them. Maybe they just want to cover all negative news before the YOG. Rather than feeling moody about the flood at Jalan Besar, this guy took the opportunity to kayak around. Sure save the trip to the beach. To add further insult, the PUB chairman is awarded the National Day award of the Distinguished Service Order, for solving Singapore’s perennial flood problems! The committee that decide the awards must be living in a hole for the past few months.


2. The Army Serve Better Food Than This
Wah! And I thought the food they serve during my national service was bad. This is the food, provided by official caterer Singapore Food Industries (SFI), for the YOG volunteers in return for the volunteering work they provided. If it wasn't for the massive outcry in cyberspace, SFI will not even bother about it and the poor volunteers will still be eating this (Not as if there is much improvement after that). No sauce, no chilly, I spend $2.70 to buy their own mixed vegetable rice also better than this. Not that we are choosy, but at least show some respect to these volunteers who sacrifice their time to help out. On the contrary, athletes and officials were given three daily buffet meals befitting of a king by SFI. As the Cantonese says, really bor dou chu mean.

Dylan Snoring In His Sleep

Turn up the volume to listen. Like father, like son... :P

I Hate YOG

The recent Youth Olympic Games (YOG or "why orgy" as chillycraps puts it) is making me sick. Everywhere I go, everywhere I turn to, I am flush with YOG news, banners and images. The way the government is going out its way to make it a success is a little too much. All the things they do to accommodate the athletes at the expense of inconvenience to the Singaporeans are pissing us off. And they still question the lack of support for YOG. All the things the MIW did to please the foreigners only will make us hate YOG more and boycott it. In fact, there is a "I Hate YOG" Facebook group, that is growing. Goes to show how much we hated it.

When they exceed the initial budget of $105 million for the YOG, did anyone in government raise any issues? No! They just continue to spend and spend until it hits $387 million, then tell us that they are "a bit naive with our initial estimates" WTF!

I feel that we are just being made used by the IOC to find out if a Youth Olympic is feasible. The truth is as long as the Singapore government tries to organize any big events at the expense of its people, it can never be as successful as it can be without the support of its people. No matter how they want to put it, the YOG is considered a failure before it has even begin. Everyone in the world knows it, just that no one in the government wants to admit it.

Updated: By the way, someone found this news article. According to PM Lee in 2007, he has stated that our nation "may not be ready in 2010 because we're just building the Sports Hub. There will be time and opportunities later." In other words, he feel that Singapore is not ready to host such the YOG. Why the turn around along the way and end up with this mess?

Going For A Dip

The boys try out their new swimming pool for the first time ^_^.

Click on photo below for more photos

Is This All A Dream?

Send my car for servicing over the weekend and went to catch the movie Inception rather than waiting aimlessly.

Man, the movie is really incredible. It's a breath of fresh air from all the sequels, remakes and slasher movies that populate the cinemas these days.

I will not dwell into talking what is the story about, as google will do that. Christopher Nolan truly defines himself as THE great director of recent times. There was never a bored moment in the film and explanations are clear and well integrated in the storyline, exploring the realm of sub-conscious manipulation.

The whole experience will be even better if I have not went to read the spoiler for the movie earlier. It kinda reduces the gloss, as I knew what is going to happen next :( Nevertheless, I believe Inception will have the same impact like how The Matrix did minus the cheem theories and philosophies.

The "Increase Price" Solution Again

Once again, our first world government solved problems by increasing the cost and passing that cost to us. Is that the best they can do? Can't they be more creative? No enough parking lots for residents with season parking tickets? Increase the price of overnight parking coupons. Roads too congested? Increase ERP.

They still don't get it, people will still pay for it and the problem will still persist. It makes no difference. Only thing that changes are the wallets of the government will get bigger and our burden will become heavier.