Another Waste of Our Money

Once again, our esteem government has shown us how dumb n stupid they can be in coming up with idiotic ideas that in trying to beautify our city, only to cause more problems for its people. Firstly is the $40 million rejuvenation of Orchard Road.

According to the news article, I quote,

Part of the rejuvenation plans is to expand pedestrian walkways and create Urban Green Rooms, which will be used for art exhibitions, mini performances or major events like the Chingay.

The Urban Green Rooms will be constructed at the existing lane along Orchard Road that faces ION Orchard, Wisma Atria and Meritus Mandarin Hotel."

If you ever have been done to Orchard Road, you know how jam that stretch of road is and the situation are much worse during the weekends and peak hours. And now they are planning to make the traffic jam worse by removing one more lane?!! Alamak, the pedestrian walkway is wide enough for Airbus A380 to land. Together with the open area in front of Takashimaya Shopping Centre, there is more than adequate space for all kinds of events, how much space does these things take? And just because they want more space for some once in a while events, they cause a traffic congestion that is happening everyday to go worse. So is this all the many scholars, the ex-army general civil servants, or the out-sourced design gurus the government employed can come up with? It is very obvious, these people lack of a brain to think anything further away than next week. As musings puts it very well, the gov't pays $40m to create traffic jam.

On the other hand, maybe I have missed the big picture. By reducing one more lane on a busy road, they will have another excuse to raise the ERP there. Hmmm...

Talking about ERP, ERP rates are on the raise again merely a few months after the last raise. It's been the third time this year already. After raising so much, does the condition of the road changes? The only things that change are the pockets of our ministers. And when we take the public transport, what does the public transportation companies do? They raise their rates too. So rather than always using the ERP as a quick fire way to resolve traffic congestion, why can't those smart alecks in the gov't agency think of building or redesign the roads to divert/control the traffic better?

Why Dogs Hate Halloween...

Their faces says it all: "Just kill me..."

More here.

Remember the Dead

Rest In Peace: Angelia He Xueli

Updated: Judge on MC. The case is postponed to either 22 or 24 Oct 07. So coincidence, judge go MC...

15th Oct is supposed to be the trial of Regan Lee, the guy who caused the death of the car sale assistant when he crash the car during a test drive. It's been a long two years. It has been rumoured that Lee is a son of a prominent figure and this case has been delayed hoping people will forget over time. But netizens never let us forget about it, especially after the accident, Lee posted on his online blog asking for views on two high performance cars he had viewed. Remember the dead, I hope justice will be served for once.
Lee officially charged
Netizens keeping watch of the case in forums
Straits Times Report
Straits Times Video

Free Burma!

www.free-burma.org

What a Silly Question? Or Was It?

Angie asks me this question during our flight back from Taipei. Why do all the window shades on the plane have to be raised during take off and landing? Initially I felt that this is a silly question but on second thought, I ask myself, why ah? A question may sound silly but it's not when even you yourself does not know the answer. So dun go laughing at people when they ask something funny. At least they bother to think about it.

As for Angie's question, here's the answer. You learn something new everyday.

You are asked to raise your shade so that in the event of an accident you can see through the window to help you remain oriented (which way is up, etc.). Because of this, it lets you see what hazards there are outside the plane (fires, debris and such), which would be important during an evacuation. It also serves as a way to let light into the cabin and make it easier for rescuers to see inside.

Upon descent they dim the lights to help your eyes adjust to the darkness, so if anything happens and it goes dark, you're not suddenly blinded while dashing for the exits. It makes the emergency path/exit lights more visible, as these might be the only lights you see in an emergency. As with the shades, it allows you to see outside for orientation, because with the cabin lights burning brightly, the glare would make it impossible.

From here

Here's another question: Why are there stones under railway tracks? From Angie's god-daugther, Charmaine.

My poor ah boy. We found that he has some fluid inside his left ear, so have to bring him to the vet today. Turns out to be a blood clot and need to drain it out and have it bandage. Like human, old dog got a lot of problems. Feel so sad for him. Nowadays he look so moody all the time, sleeps the whole day. Furthermore, he is becoming a bit senile and blind. Feel so sad for him.

Melissa Theuriau

Lucky French. I believe the men there dun mind watching the news all day as long as it's reported by her.

Taipei Again

Been back from Taipei for almost a week. Yeh, I know... Went there last year. This trip is some short of a make-up trip for all the things that I did not visit the last time, namely 九份. Although I did visit the place as well as the Lover's Bridge in 淡水 this time round, I still failed to visit other places like Miramir Ferris Wheel, Taipei 小巨蛋, 庙口老街 @ 基窿 and the Toilet(马桶) Restaurant (more like can't find the place for this one). Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable trip, a break away from the depressing Singapore life. We even met up with my ex-colleague and friend, Alan, who is working in Taipei, giving us a very good insight of the life and culture in Taipei.

It could have ended badly. Weather reports shows that it will be raining during the days while we were there. On the day of departure, both my father and father-in-law came to send us off. We chatted and overlook the time, almost missing our flight. We have to dash to the departure gate when I realise that the gate is closing. :p And when we arrived, the journey from the airport to the hotel is jam all the way. The traffic jam is bad that Angie started to have a very bad headache. And if it wasn't bad enough, when we reach the hotel, the receptionist told us that we are at the wrong hotel. Can you believe that, same name but different location. Both are named 万事达旅店 but one is call Wonstar while the other is Onestar. -_-" Luckily the hotel is not too far away. So the both of us have to drag our luggage in the drizzle, searching our way to the hotel. When we finally arrive at our hotel and got into our room, we realise that it does not have a bathtub. Just a shower room. :( All in all, it was a turbulance day one for us. However, we are not angry or even flare up. We did not let any of these incidents affect us. And the entire ended up on a happy note. All in all, it was a wonderful trip. This is the 3rd year in a row I visited Taipei. Angie says this will be the last time we will not come here for some time. I am planning Macau next. ^_^

Real Life Bat-Man

Unbelievable. Although he lost his sight since young, this boy still can do things as per normal. What's amazing is that he uses echoes to help him find his way around n identify things around him. He is really a human bat. A proof of the triumph of the human spirit. By the way, there is a documentary on him on Arts Central this coming Monday (24 Sept).

A Near Death Experience

I was almost killed in an accident just now. I was on my way home, crossing a zebra crossing. The street is clear before I made my way across. As I was halfway across, a speeding motorcycle came out of nowhere and heading right towards me. I can see the surprise on the face on the rider. At that moment, I was totally stunned and tried to step back to avoid the oncoming vehicle. It got so close that at that point, I thought to myself, "This is it..." Before I knew it, the rider sped past me and sped away. I tried to take down his vehicle number but it was speeding so fast that I was only able to take down the first few numbers, FT 96XX. I was totally left stunned standing there. What really piss me off is that the rider don’t even bother to stop or look back to see if I am ok. Bastard m$*&%f#&ker.

I have a number of similar experiences where I saw drivers do not slow down as they approach a turn where there is a zebra crossing, assuming no one will be there. Most of the time, they will emergency brake when they see the pedestrians at the last minute. But this is the closest I experienced. If it was any closer, I won't be here posting this. This is really a very reckless and inconsiderate behavior from the drivers. They knew there is a zebra crossing there but they just dun bother to slow down. Damn all these reckless drivers.

Apple New iPods

So much for the iPhone. I guess many people who bought the Apple iPhone, not so much for its phone function, but rather its multimedia and WIFI capabilities, will feel cheated after Steve Jobs announce the new iPod yesterday. The new iPod have a striking resemblance to the iPhone. Other than lacking a phone function, all the other functions on the iPhone can be found on the new iPod Touch (seems like starting to run out of i-Names). Other than adding in WIFI and video playback on a larger screen, it still does not have FM radio or voice recording. Furthermore, a check on the local Apple website shows that the new iPod Touch cost a whopping $498 for 8GB! The biggest memory size they got is 16GB. How much stuff you can put it there? And for that price, I rather get the Meizu M6 which by the way is much cheaper, have better sound quality and at least have a FM radio or something that has a bigger memory size. Some may argue that if you want a bigger memory size, you should get the iPod Classic instead. Then why come out with the iPod Touch then? Why made 3 products that lack of something the other two have? Apple sure knows how to con the dough out of people. Anyway, as Apple fans will say, it is a lifestyle as they are paying for.

Oh, Apple also reveals a new iPod Nano and it looks horrible. The Apple design team fails big time for this one. Already people are nicknaming it as FatPod or iFat, according to Mr Brown. Bring back the old slim and slick iPod Nano please.

Real Life Dumb Blonde

Recorded from a Miss Teen USA contest. After listening to her answer to the judge question, i go "HUH???" A true blue dumb blonde. Oh by the way, she is named the 2nd runner-up. Proof that you dun need brains to be a beauty queen. World peace anyone?

Paper Munching Dog.

I bet most of us have read about the news of the “cardboard buns” story. Luckily the news turns out to be made up by the relevant news agency reporter to generate sales and ratings. Well even if the story turns out to be true, I think nobody will be hurt. Best proof is my mischievous dog, Mickey. Every time when he is left alone at home, he will go round biting newspapers, magazines and anything made of paper. We still unable to explain why he likes to chew cardboard so much (maybe it’s the taste?). The most amazing thing is after swallowing so much paper and cardboards, the little bugger show no signs of pain. All the undigested papers end up in his poo. So there you have it, if you happen to eat some cardboard, don’t worry. My dog has proven that you will be fine. Ok, maybe a bit of indigestion. ^_^

Stop Calling Me!

Getting real piss off by all those telemarketing calls these days. Everyday I will receive at least 1 - 2 such calls, promoting credit transfers and credit cards. I usually will stop them halfway and tell them straight that I am not interested. I wonder whose the one who gave them my number. Not as if I dun have to pay for whatever bills I charge to it. From now on, I will reject any unidentifiable calls with a landline caller ID. Why do I need so many credit cards in the first place?

Heck, I am even canceling my UOB credit card because of their stupid billing system. They are so fucking retarded that they create 2 separate account numbers your main and supplementary card? It makes it so troublesome when you need to pay the bills to the correct account number. The most ridiculous thing is that any outstanding payments you made on one account will only deduct from the next one AFTER they charge you with late payment charges on it. Yes, they are such dumb ass. Can't they follow other banks, whereby you only have one account number? Two cards is more than enough liao. Owning more cards will only result in incurring more debts.

Don't you hate it when you wanted to resolve something but resulted in causing more problems instead? My sis laptop started to run very slowly lately. Worrying that it may crash, I tried to create a clone of her hard disk as backup. Ended up killing the lappy and almost my sis :p Literally gave her a heart attack as she has a report to submit on Thurs. So it is a mad dash to the service center plus a lot of begging and pleading for them to repair it ASAP. Luckily, it is just a hard disk failure. A change of hard disk and the lappy is alive again. Unfortunately, the old hard disk is gone together with all the data in it. Feel very bad about the whole episode. If I do a data backup rather than a hard disk cloning, we won't have so much trouble and my sis data will still be there.

Was preparing to go to work this morning when I happen to see the 2 finalist of the Campus Superstar2 on TV. Just as I predicted a few weeks ago, one of them is Shawn Tok and I believe (you heard it here first) he WILL be the overall winner. Not that I heard him sing before nor do I follow this silly show, but right from the start, I knew he is already earmark by the Mediacorp's producer to be the winner. Why? One thing about these types of competition is that they all follow the same pattern. The eventual winner usually is someone who has a huge following, been kicked out of the competition and came back through the 翻身赛 or revival round. It has all gone too familiar. If this chap commands such a strong followings, how he managed to be kicked out in the first place? This is after all a popularity competition and the judges’ scores dun really matter. My guess is this is a ploy by the TV station to boost up the call numbers. I really pity the parents whose children frantically watch such competitions and waste so much money calling in the votes. It is plain silly and a waste of money. It is Mediacorp’s money making machine. Who is gonna remember these so-called superstars one year later?

P.S. Here’s another prediction from me. The eventual overall winner will definitely be the guy. Reason being most of the youngsters watching such shows are the girls and they normally support for the guy rather than the girl. How many boys even bother to watch these shows? It is a waste of time for them.

Updated: 27 Aug 2007: See I told you right. Shawn Tok won. The whole bloody competition is fixed.

Which Transformer Are You?

I AM
57%
STARSCREAMTake the Transformers Quiz

My colleague sent me a the above link. As much as I want to be Optimus Prime, I end up becoming Starscream, the despicable Decepticons. Damn.... Well luckily it is only 57% nia...

Starscream
Starscream has delusions of grandeur. He chose to resemble an F-22 jet because it’s the pinnacle of human technical achievement. He serves Megatron but longs to fill his shoes.

Like Starscream, you are not compassionate and harbor evil thoughts. Your leadership skills are weak at best. You will never be the commander of the Decepticons. In addition, you enjoy technology and are aware of the latest trends, but you stick with what works for you.

The 8 Lies of A Mother

This post titled "The 8 Lies of A Mother" is a touching story someone posted in the forums. After reading it, it really touches my heart and reminds me of my mother. My mother is a thoroughly great person, often sacrificing herself for her children and family. Although she has little or no education at all, her thinking and views are way more advanced and open than an educated person. It is a pity that fate has to take her away before she can enjoy her life in her latter years. Maybe this is her greatest sacrifice for the family for after she left, my family relationship has become even closer. My father is no longer the stern looking father figure, who often distances himself from his children. Nowadays, he will talk to us about his daily routine or ask about how we are doing, something which he seldom does when mum's around. We also show more affection to him and not left him out of the loop of anything we do. I guess mum from the heavens will be very happy to see the progress we made. Her only regret must be that she can't be here to share our happiness. Thank you mum for all that you done and all that you gave....

P.S. This has been a very emotional week for me. A lot of things have happen around me and made me did a lot of thinking. I am actually quite a pessimistic person. I do hope that everything will turn out well for everyone. The sky might be dark now but the sun will shine again one day. After all, it don't rain all the time, the sky won't fall forever ;)

A bleak week it is...

Only half-way into the week and yet news from our media is already full of gloom. If you read carefully into the news, public transport fare set to increase again. "Meanwhile, ahead of the August 1 deadline for annual fare increase submissions to PTC, SMRT has confirmed that it will be asking for a small increase" it says. If you ask me, that is a clear indication that the next time you tap your Ezlink card, it will deduct a few cents more. As usual our government agency and media is trying to play down this fact by claiming that they will implement stricter regulations on our transport services to justify the increment. But how many times this has been said while we still got the same crappy services? Car owners are also not spared with renewed ERP rates. As a matter of fact, ever since the New Year, we have been bombarded by news of increment from GST to the price of sugar cane. It's no wonder that the rainy weather looks gloomier than it seems these days. I always tell myself and people that it won't rain all the time, the sky won't fall forever. But now, even I am beginning to doubt that myself. My family and friends are curious why I want to learn market trading and be stressed when things does not goes well. My answer is this is THE only way to a better life. I am tired of scrapping through each day to make ends meet. It is not like we have a choice. Our pay will not increase overnight. What can we do? Pray to the gods? Truth is I have lost my faith in religion, especially when people starts to abuse believer's trust. So where does that leave us? We are still standing here; the bills are still stacking up. My wife and I are in the process of starting a family. Sometimes I wonder should we go through it. Why bring a life here to this world and be a prisoner to the system?

Queen No More

Pregnant Zoe dropped by MediaCorp! Imagine my surprise when I saw this news heading. On further reading, it is found that her contract is suspended during this period of time. The reason for doing so...? She is pregnant!!! Actually I have no interest in what happen to this over the hill actress. Her time has passed. It is just another piece of news to get attention. What's more concerning is the reason for her suspension. What kind of ridiculous excuse is this? This is pure discrimination against pregnant women. Just because she is pregnant and she is unable to perform her duties (even though she does not have any these days :p ), the company has no rights to suspend her contract and cut costs. To think that this is from one of the more prominent media company in this region. What kind of example does this set for other companies? And how can our government allow such things to happen? On one hand, they are encouraging the population to have more babies while on the other hand they are letting this to happen.

As for Zoe, her worries that she will have no income is total bull. Cut down on your high life, Zoe! Welcome to the middle income family life.