Monday, July 28, 2008
Well at least someone's doing something about it...
The search for Mas goes on.. 5 mths later..
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/7/28/nation/21937811&sec=nation
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/7/28/nation/21937811&sec=nation
Labels: current affairs, mas selamat
Sweet MTV - Courtesy of Emerald
Labels: music video, sweet
I need fatter friends... =D
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Funny Tech Support Stories
Story no.1:
Customer: “Hi, I can’t seem to connect you guys are you having a problem?”
Tech Support: “Well sir, what dialup software are you using?”
Customer: “The one you provided.”
Tech Support: “And what version is it?”
Customer: (says the version number)
Tech Support: “Oh, that’s the problem you need the latest version.”
Customer: “Ok, how do I get it?”
Tech Support: “Well, just transfer the file via FTP.”
Customer: “Well that would be nice, but I can’t connect to the Internet.”
Tech Support: (sounding exasperated) “I told you just to FTP the file sir.”
I hung up.
Story no.2:
A friend of mine told me that when he was in junior high school (mid-to-late nineties), they got a computer in the classroom free for the students to use during breaks. The first thing many of them would do to was to change the dull Windows 95 desktop. The school’s IT Manager for some reason thought of this as vandalism, so he frequently fixed it in the only way he knew how — by reinstalling Windows.
I was almost on the floor laughing when my friend told me about how the IT Manager had come into their classroom one day and told the students, “Will you STOP changing the desktop background? I’ve had to reinstall Windows every day for the last two weeks now!”
Customer: “Hi, I can’t seem to connect you guys are you having a problem?”
Tech Support: “Well sir, what dialup software are you using?”
Customer: “The one you provided.”
Tech Support: “And what version is it?”
Customer: (says the version number)
Tech Support: “Oh, that’s the problem you need the latest version.”
Customer: “Ok, how do I get it?”
Tech Support: “Well, just transfer the file via FTP.”
Customer: “Well that would be nice, but I can’t connect to the Internet.”
Tech Support: (sounding exasperated) “I told you just to FTP the file sir.”
I hung up.
Story no.2:
A friend of mine told me that when he was in junior high school (mid-to-late nineties), they got a computer in the classroom free for the students to use during breaks. The first thing many of them would do to was to change the dull Windows 95 desktop. The school’s IT Manager for some reason thought of this as vandalism, so he frequently fixed it in the only way he knew how — by reinstalling Windows.
I was almost on the floor laughing when my friend told me about how the IT Manager had come into their classroom one day and told the students, “Will you STOP changing the desktop background? I’ve had to reinstall Windows every day for the last two weeks now!”
Labels: humour
A touching tale about teaching...
Caught this interesting movie on star world today. Or rather the last 40 minutes of it. It's called "School of Life". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_life
It stars Ryan Reynolds who is known mainly for his comedic roles in 2 guys a girl and a pizza place and Van Wilder. He was also in Blade Trinity.
Anyway, I think it's a touching and inspirational show about teaching. And how teachers should teach in an ideal world. Not just as teachers but people who inspire. Sadly from personaly experience, I've not had that many of such teachers. I've had quite a lot who either didn't care or were too jaded to care anymore. But they were still a lot better than my uni lecturers and tutors (bunch of money grubbing immoral maggots..)
It stars Ryan Reynolds who is known mainly for his comedic roles in 2 guys a girl and a pizza place and Van Wilder. He was also in Blade Trinity.
Anyway, I think it's a touching and inspirational show about teaching. And how teachers should teach in an ideal world. Not just as teachers but people who inspire. Sadly from personaly experience, I've not had that many of such teachers. I've had quite a lot who either didn't care or were too jaded to care anymore. But they were still a lot better than my uni lecturers and tutors (bunch of money grubbing immoral maggots..)
Labels: Movies
Saturday, July 26, 2008
George Bush Joke..
After giving a speech at an elementary school, President Bush allows the kids to ask a few questions. One little boy, Billy, gathers the courage to raise his hand and asks, “How come you invaded Iraq without the support of the U.N.?”
Just as Bush begins to answer, the recess bell rings and he says they’ll continue afterward. Half an hour later the kids come back inside.
“Where were we?” says George. “Oh, yes - does anyone want to ask me anything?”
A different boy raises his hand and says, “I have three questions: First, why did you invade Iraq without support from the U.N.? Why did the recess bell go off 20 minutes early? And third, where the hell is Billy?”
Just as Bush begins to answer, the recess bell rings and he says they’ll continue afterward. Half an hour later the kids come back inside.
“Where were we?” says George. “Oh, yes - does anyone want to ask me anything?”
A different boy raises his hand and says, “I have three questions: First, why did you invade Iraq without support from the U.N.? Why did the recess bell go off 20 minutes early? And third, where the hell is Billy?”
Red Sonja
For Want of a Nail
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
This is an old proverb. It speaks of causality. Cause and effect. One cause leads to one effect and so on and so forth. A small event leads to an even bigger one until in the end, cataclysm. I know it's a pessimistic point of view, but well from personal observation, small events normally lead to big bad events.
Anyway, I've been thinking of stuff recently. Now that work has settled down to a fairly comfortable pace (this week not included), my mind has had time to reflect. I'm now staring at metaphorical domino chain. Do I want to push down the first domino and see what happens or do I want to just stare at the chain until the dominos fall on their own.
Ah... decisions decisions...
"Serve no master but your own ambition" - Illyria
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
This is an old proverb. It speaks of causality. Cause and effect. One cause leads to one effect and so on and so forth. A small event leads to an even bigger one until in the end, cataclysm. I know it's a pessimistic point of view, but well from personal observation, small events normally lead to big bad events.
Anyway, I've been thinking of stuff recently. Now that work has settled down to a fairly comfortable pace (this week not included), my mind has had time to reflect. I'm now staring at metaphorical domino chain. Do I want to push down the first domino and see what happens or do I want to just stare at the chain until the dominos fall on their own.
Ah... decisions decisions...
"Serve no master but your own ambition" - Illyria
Labels: food for thought
When technology crosses a line...
There's a new kind of television coming out (or maybe it's already out). It's a 3D tv. From the description that I read, it makes tv shows become like those omnimax shows or the disney shows that you watch at disney land. Wearing 3D glasses. Personally I don't see a point in having such technology. I mean.. I don't think some shows would translate well to being in 3D. Actually 1 show comes to mind. In fact it was the only show that came to mind when I read about this technology.
The Ring. What happens in that famous scene where Sadako/Samara comes out of the television when it's in 3D? Does she enter the 4th dimension? Time? Would the fabric of space and time bend? Oh.. it boggles the mind..
The Ring. What happens in that famous scene where Sadako/Samara comes out of the television when it's in 3D? Does she enter the 4th dimension? Time? Would the fabric of space and time bend? Oh.. it boggles the mind..
Monday, July 21, 2008
Funny picture
Toughest car in the world. This car survived the recent earthquake in China. It got crushed and it could still start.
Labels: Interesting picture
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Best NDP video ever made!
Well the only drawback is that it's in chinese, but this has to be one of the most honest NDP videos ever. Better than anything that has ever graced our tv screen.
Labels: music video
It's not copying people.. it's called "localising"
NDP video producer: I was localising an inspirational idea
THE new National Day Parade (NDP) music video has stirred more than patriotic sentiment.As the video is an adaptation of a Japanese advertisement, some netizens are up in arms.
A contributor to website Stomp, Daniel, said: 'I think this is unoriginal and uncreative, especially for our NDP.'I feel that any national project should be original and not recycled concepts already done by other countries.'
Another contributor, Shaffezah, said: 'No originality. They should change it. Have they run out of ideas?'But Ms Gloria Chee, the producer of the video, disagrees. She said she was simply localising an inspirational idea.She saw the 1 1/2-minute Japanese video online a few years ago, and it left a deep impression on her.
Said Ms Chee, a freelance producer: 'I liked their message that parents shouldn't censor the ideas of kids. I wanted to localise that inspiring video and share it with parents here. It's a remake of that idea.
'I never thought of it as copying. It's like how Jack Neo's movie 'Home Run' is a remake of the Iranian movie 'Children of Heaven'.'
The 35-year-old said she was commissioned by the NDP organisers to produce this year's videos.
She produced the three-minute video in under three days in May. Ms Chee said her friends, relatives and the NDP committee also knew that she had adapted the idea from the Japanese ad.
Said Ms Chee: 'I didn't do it with the idea that no one will know. From the production house to my friends and my parents, I never tried to hide the fact that my video is a remake of the Japanese video.
'And this is not a profit-oriented video, it's a public service I'm doing for the country.'
She said she only gets a modest honorarium for producing the video.
While she feels that some of the online criticism is harsh, she hopes that Singaporeans will understand her intention behind the video.
She explained: 'My intention was simply to spread the message that one shouldn't censor children's ideas. And I felt that the Japanese video best conveys that message.'
Some netizens like babyhorse defended the producer and said: 'Perhaps the creator of our NDP video was inspired by the Japanese version. Nothing to be ashamed of. If we can import sports talent and call them our own, I do not see why there is a fuss over this video.'
Lawyer Tan Hee Joek said that there's no copyright infringement here.
He said: 'Using the idea is not a copyright infringement. If she had lifted the video and used it wholesale, then it's a copyright infringement. Ideas per se can't be copyrighted.'
Yay... go Singapore. You've just outdone yourself again. World First. You've come up with a new word to justify copying. It's called localising an idea/concept. Ms Chee must have been a student at NUS given how rampant copying at NUS is. Sorry.. I mean localising. Now students have a way out. And all students now and in the future can thank Ms Chee for giving them a magic word.
I can see it now: Timmy, did you copy the answers from your friend during the exam? No Ms Tan, I was only localising my friend's idea. Oh ok.. it's an honest mistake then, let's move on. Ah.. Uniquely Singapore.
Labels: current affairs
Friday, July 18, 2008
I'm going to feel this later at work....
but totally worth it. Batman 2: The Dark Knight is one awesome show. It's dark and gritty. Everything Batman should be. Just that it's a bit long... such that I forgot about the last subplot.. Lots of philosophical/psyche related issues in the movie also. I highly recommend it.
Ok, time to write more about the movie. Lots has been said about Heath Ledger's performance in the movie which is true. He's truely psychotic in the movie. There's a kind of unrestrained madness to his acting. It's as if he's accessing this dark corner of his mind. Anyway moving on to other aspects of the show. It raises a lot of questions about human nature. Like what does it take to push a person to kill another person. What does it take to push a person over the edge. Also philosophical questions like what if everyone had absolute liberty. To do what they want, when they wanted. To have no form of restraint. Would that person turn out to be like the Joker?
Ok, time to write more about the movie. Lots has been said about Heath Ledger's performance in the movie which is true. He's truely psychotic in the movie. There's a kind of unrestrained madness to his acting. It's as if he's accessing this dark corner of his mind. Anyway moving on to other aspects of the show. It raises a lot of questions about human nature. Like what does it take to push a person to kill another person. What does it take to push a person over the edge. Also philosophical questions like what if everyone had absolute liberty. To do what they want, when they wanted. To have no form of restraint. Would that person turn out to be like the Joker?
Labels: Movies
Thursday, July 17, 2008
What's the magic word?
I need a magic word or magic phrase for when I talk to the parents of candidates at work. It's getting to be quite annoying to deal with some parents who refuse to take no for an answer. Had a case yesterday where the kid registered for the exam in march but didn't pay because he didn't realise he had to pay by a certain date and was waiting for a letter from us, even though every page of the registration stated that he had to pay by a certain date. So he finally realised that something was wrong last week (payment date closed 5th April. Late registration closed 30th June.) Yes, all it took was 3 months of waiting and realising that all his friends had gotten their entry proof already.
So in typical Singaporean fashion, he comes down with his mum to appeal. Mum comes down and all, saying a lot of stuff about how her son needs this for poly before he graduates poly. He's only year 1 by the way, meaning he has another 2 years to go. She simply refused to accept no for an answer. So after my colleague talks to her, both of them finally leave. Then after lunch, they show up again. Now her reason has changed. Cause her son wants to change his course. He's currently doing a business course in poly but wants to change to an engineering course so he needs the E maths grade. He's currently getting tuition for E maths. Spent a lot of money. Mum tells us that he's working really hard. Yes, so hard that even though he's online every day, he never bothered to check on his registration status. *shrug*. I view him as a bo chup person who couldn't be bothered and now he's panicking and all. So finally another appeal letter came today with a lot of interesting stuff.. stuff like how the government is letter foreign talent in and all.. (yes I know there's no real link in this case, but some people just seem to throw that in to help them win their argument)
Yes, the government is letting more foreign talents in, but this has nothing to do with it. Even if some foreign scholar came in today, we would still turn him away. So his dad drafts this appeal letter which brings in everything like FTs, serving of NS... sigh.. I wish parents would be able to look at the situation objectively. Firstly, their son is obviously not good at maths. To need tuition for E maths is crazy. And you want to go Engineering when you need tuition for secondary school E maths? Why don't you look at yourself in the mirror first?
Anyway the outcome? In the end, my manager accepted the appeal. Don't know why also. Given that she rejected an appeal letter from Lee Hsien Loong last week.. maybe she too was just annoyed.
So in typical Singaporean fashion, he comes down with his mum to appeal. Mum comes down and all, saying a lot of stuff about how her son needs this for poly before he graduates poly. He's only year 1 by the way, meaning he has another 2 years to go. She simply refused to accept no for an answer. So after my colleague talks to her, both of them finally leave. Then after lunch, they show up again. Now her reason has changed. Cause her son wants to change his course. He's currently doing a business course in poly but wants to change to an engineering course so he needs the E maths grade. He's currently getting tuition for E maths. Spent a lot of money. Mum tells us that he's working really hard. Yes, so hard that even though he's online every day, he never bothered to check on his registration status. *shrug*. I view him as a bo chup person who couldn't be bothered and now he's panicking and all. So finally another appeal letter came today with a lot of interesting stuff.. stuff like how the government is letter foreign talent in and all.. (yes I know there's no real link in this case, but some people just seem to throw that in to help them win their argument)
Yes, the government is letting more foreign talents in, but this has nothing to do with it. Even if some foreign scholar came in today, we would still turn him away. So his dad drafts this appeal letter which brings in everything like FTs, serving of NS... sigh.. I wish parents would be able to look at the situation objectively. Firstly, their son is obviously not good at maths. To need tuition for E maths is crazy. And you want to go Engineering when you need tuition for secondary school E maths? Why don't you look at yourself in the mirror first?
Anyway the outcome? In the end, my manager accepted the appeal. Don't know why also. Given that she rejected an appeal letter from Lee Hsien Loong last week.. maybe she too was just annoyed.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Perfect Love casts out Fear...
Well the actual line is "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear …” But you know what also casts out fear? Stupidity. Stupidity drives out a lot of things. Stupidity working with alcohol provides the best result. Stupidity makes people do.. well.. stupid things. Even stupid things which they are afraid of. Extreme sports, bungee jumping with a very long cord etc... Ergo, stupidity also casts out fear. When coupled with stupidity's good friend alcohol, interesting things happen... people become men/women without fear.. and with an impaired sense of judgement hence drinking and driving is bad...
Sidenote: Anyone seen the new johnnie walker advert? It's quite interesting. The tag is keep walking and the bottom of the screen says don't drink and drive.. so.. it's like saying, don't drink and drive, keep walking.. wonder if it's intentional..
Sidenote: Anyone seen the new johnnie walker advert? It's quite interesting. The tag is keep walking and the bottom of the screen says don't drink and drive.. so.. it's like saying, don't drink and drive, keep walking.. wonder if it's intentional..
Labels: rant
Monday, July 14, 2008
Possible future book titles..
If I ever pen self help kind books, here's what I would label some of them. These came to me awhile back.
Marriage: when you've finally decided you're mature enough to share your toys with other people.
Parenthood: when you've finally decided that you no longer want to own good things.
Marriage: when you've finally decided you're mature enough to share your toys with other people.
Parenthood: when you've finally decided that you no longer want to own good things.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Aw... how precious..
http://www.weirdasianews.com/2008/07/10/predator-and-prey-become-best-mates/
Until the eagle decides one day that it's hungry of course.. then it's just tragic..
Until the eagle decides one day that it's hungry of course.. then it's just tragic..
Labels: cute pic
Taxi Drivers are the Anti-Bartenders
I just had this realization just now. In America (or at least in american tv shows), people go to bars to pour out their troubles to the barkeep. It's like agony aunt or a counselling session in a darker (light-wise) environment with beverages. I think for Singapore it's probably coffeeshops. The uncles and the aunties gather at the coffeeshops to talk about their troubles etc. It's all very communal I assume. It's like pre-internet before facebook, friendster, myspace, msn, icq, mirc, usenet... It's the original social network. :)
Now enter the taxi driver. These guys are the anti-bartenders. Instead of listening to your gripes, they tell you theirs. Anything from politics (no.1 topic) to more local events like fuel prices I guess. I wouldn't be able to comment on whether their menu of conversation topics have broadened since I've not taken a cab in years. Made it a vow ever since their whole fare hike incident. I think they're quite dodgy in their business tactics. Maybe it's justified because of their cab companies, but still, taking it out on the consumer isn't the way.
Now enter the taxi driver. These guys are the anti-bartenders. Instead of listening to your gripes, they tell you theirs. Anything from politics (no.1 topic) to more local events like fuel prices I guess. I wouldn't be able to comment on whether their menu of conversation topics have broadened since I've not taken a cab in years. Made it a vow ever since their whole fare hike incident. I think they're quite dodgy in their business tactics. Maybe it's justified because of their cab companies, but still, taking it out on the consumer isn't the way.
Labels: food for thought
Friday, July 11, 2008
Slavery? You must be joking...
Football: Millionaire Ronaldo backs Blatter 'slave' outburst
LONDON - Cristiano Ronaldo believes FIFA president Sepp Blatter was right to controversially describe him as being treated like a "modern-day slave" by current club Manchester United. Ronaldo was responding to Blatter's comments made earlier in the day, in which the head of world football insisted the player should be allowed to join Spanish giants Real Madrid if he wants to. "I completely agree with the FIFA president," said the player currently resting in Portugal after undergoing an ankle operation.
He added: "The president is correct, but I do not want to say more."Real Madrid are believed to be prepared to offer around 85 million euros for the 23-year-old and pay him nine million euros on a five-year deal. Ronaldo, a boyhood Real fan, has consistently been linked with a move to the Spanish capital since the end of last season after scoring an impressive 42 goals last term as United won both the Premier League and Champions League. "There is no agreement with Real Madrid and I still don't know where I will be playing next season," Ronaldo said on Thursday, adding that he will be out for "10 to 12 weeks" to recover from his operation. Wading into the protracted wrangle over the player's future, Blatter said that the current practice of tying players to long contracts amounts to "modern slavery".
And he urged Manchester United and Real Madrid "to sit together" if Ronaldo wants a move to the Spanish club."The important thing is we should also protect the player," Blatter told Sky News. "If the player wants to play somewhere else, then a solution should be found because if he stays in a club where he does not feel comfortable to play then it's not good for the player and for the club. "I'm always in favour of protecting the player and if the player, he wants to leave, let him leave." Blatter believes the issue raises questions about the way transfers and contracts are dealt with in the game. "I think in football there's too much modern slavery in transferring players or buying players here and there, and putting them somewhere," he continued. "We are trying now to intervene in such cases.
The reaction to the Bosman law is to make long-lasting contacts in order to keep the players and then if he wants to leave, then there is only one solution, he has to pay his contract." United issued a swift rebuke to Blatter's outburst, insisting that all their players were happy to sign contracts with the club and knew the consequences of entering into such an agreement. A United spokesperson said: "All our players - like at other clubs - enter into their contracts after an open and free negotiation. "Most of whom do after taking advice from a FIFA-registered agent. "Many do so on a number of occasions and enjoy long and successful stays at Old Trafford." UEFA's communications director William Gaillard, who serves as special advisor to European football governing body president Michel Platini, was also unimpressed by Blatter's outburst. "It would be useful to remind people that slaves in all of the slavery systems never earned a wage," said Gaillard.
In contrast, Gaillard fears the Bosman ruling, which allows for free transfers at the end of contracts, has given players the upper hand and contributed to spiralling wages. "It seems that both clubs and players are trying to negotiate an exit before the player is free," Gaillard said. "It is a consequence of the Bosman ruling - there is nothing we can do about that. "It is obvious that today, players have a lot more power than they did 20 years ago, undoubtedly, and agents have a lot more power than they did 20 years ago. "It is true that salaries are spiralling out of control. Many clubs have pointed that out." - AFP/vm
Ok, first off I don't watch soccer at all. I do know that the famous players are paid obscene amounts of money . And for that amount of money that they get paid, they shouldn't complain about being slaves. In fact they should be super grateful. Majority of people don't even earn a million when they stop working and these guys are earning so much in such a short time and they have the audacity to call themselves slaves? Slaves weren't paid for one. Slaves weren't living like kings and being worshipped by fans.
LONDON - Cristiano Ronaldo believes FIFA president Sepp Blatter was right to controversially describe him as being treated like a "modern-day slave" by current club Manchester United. Ronaldo was responding to Blatter's comments made earlier in the day, in which the head of world football insisted the player should be allowed to join Spanish giants Real Madrid if he wants to. "I completely agree with the FIFA president," said the player currently resting in Portugal after undergoing an ankle operation.
He added: "The president is correct, but I do not want to say more."Real Madrid are believed to be prepared to offer around 85 million euros for the 23-year-old and pay him nine million euros on a five-year deal. Ronaldo, a boyhood Real fan, has consistently been linked with a move to the Spanish capital since the end of last season after scoring an impressive 42 goals last term as United won both the Premier League and Champions League. "There is no agreement with Real Madrid and I still don't know where I will be playing next season," Ronaldo said on Thursday, adding that he will be out for "10 to 12 weeks" to recover from his operation. Wading into the protracted wrangle over the player's future, Blatter said that the current practice of tying players to long contracts amounts to "modern slavery".
And he urged Manchester United and Real Madrid "to sit together" if Ronaldo wants a move to the Spanish club."The important thing is we should also protect the player," Blatter told Sky News. "If the player wants to play somewhere else, then a solution should be found because if he stays in a club where he does not feel comfortable to play then it's not good for the player and for the club. "I'm always in favour of protecting the player and if the player, he wants to leave, let him leave." Blatter believes the issue raises questions about the way transfers and contracts are dealt with in the game. "I think in football there's too much modern slavery in transferring players or buying players here and there, and putting them somewhere," he continued. "We are trying now to intervene in such cases.
The reaction to the Bosman law is to make long-lasting contacts in order to keep the players and then if he wants to leave, then there is only one solution, he has to pay his contract." United issued a swift rebuke to Blatter's outburst, insisting that all their players were happy to sign contracts with the club and knew the consequences of entering into such an agreement. A United spokesperson said: "All our players - like at other clubs - enter into their contracts after an open and free negotiation. "Most of whom do after taking advice from a FIFA-registered agent. "Many do so on a number of occasions and enjoy long and successful stays at Old Trafford." UEFA's communications director William Gaillard, who serves as special advisor to European football governing body president Michel Platini, was also unimpressed by Blatter's outburst. "It would be useful to remind people that slaves in all of the slavery systems never earned a wage," said Gaillard.
In contrast, Gaillard fears the Bosman ruling, which allows for free transfers at the end of contracts, has given players the upper hand and contributed to spiralling wages. "It seems that both clubs and players are trying to negotiate an exit before the player is free," Gaillard said. "It is a consequence of the Bosman ruling - there is nothing we can do about that. "It is obvious that today, players have a lot more power than they did 20 years ago, undoubtedly, and agents have a lot more power than they did 20 years ago. "It is true that salaries are spiralling out of control. Many clubs have pointed that out." - AFP/vm
Ok, first off I don't watch soccer at all. I do know that the famous players are paid obscene amounts of money . And for that amount of money that they get paid, they shouldn't complain about being slaves. In fact they should be super grateful. Majority of people don't even earn a million when they stop working and these guys are earning so much in such a short time and they have the audacity to call themselves slaves? Slaves weren't paid for one. Slaves weren't living like kings and being worshipped by fans.
Labels: annoyed
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
The significance of the 7th of July?
2 interesting things happened in Singapore on the 7th. That I know of anyway. 1) New ERP gantries came online in Singapore as did new ERP rates. There's now a whole mess of them in the city area. Make a wrong turn and you could end up spending a pretty penny. 2) New bus service 128 was introduced. This bus follows part of the North -South line. Supposedly the busy part. Not too sure of this. Needless to say, the press was covering these 2 changes today. Of course all parties involved were patting themselves on their respective backs. For the roads, LTA claims that traffic was down 30%. Needless to say, they attributed it to the new ERP gantries. Operators of the bus service claim that the bus was fast.
However, here's an interesting thing: Why would anyone implement something in the middle of the month? It's so unusual. And here's the clincher: 7th of July was Youth Day. Ergo it was a school holiday. Traffic tends to be lighter during school holidays. Probably for a variety of reasons, maybe the parents take the day off to spend time with their kids etc etc. Therefore, this is most likely the reason for the reduction in traffic. Interestingly enough, this little fact wasn't mentioned in the press with regards to the new ERP gantries and the new bus service 128. Well, maybe it was an honest mistake and the reporters didn't know it was a school holiday... Or maybe it's just creative statistics.
However, here's an interesting thing: Why would anyone implement something in the middle of the month? It's so unusual. And here's the clincher: 7th of July was Youth Day. Ergo it was a school holiday. Traffic tends to be lighter during school holidays. Probably for a variety of reasons, maybe the parents take the day off to spend time with their kids etc etc. Therefore, this is most likely the reason for the reduction in traffic. Interestingly enough, this little fact wasn't mentioned in the press with regards to the new ERP gantries and the new bus service 128. Well, maybe it was an honest mistake and the reporters didn't know it was a school holiday... Or maybe it's just creative statistics.
Labels: stupid policies, transportation
Thursday, July 03, 2008
The Wave...
Ever got a wave from someone you didn't know (or thought you didn'tt know), then you weren't sure if you should return the wave because you weren't sure if the wave wasn't meant for you? It happens to me a lot at work. A lot of the people who aren't in my department wave at me (I think) when they see me or when they drive pass me or when I drive pass them. Anyway I narrowed it down to 2 possible options. 1) They are really really friendly. 2) They have mistaken me for someone else. I suspect it's the latter but oh well, no harm waving back I guess.
Anyway here's a video for fans of either Chuck (The Tv Series) and/or Hellboy.
Anyway here's a video for fans of either Chuck (The Tv Series) and/or Hellboy.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Typical Reaction to the Revelation That I Do Not Own a Cell Phone, By Year
1998: Solidarity ("Yeah, me neither--I hate those things!")
1999: Envy ("Lucky you; I had to get one for work.")
2000: Indifference ("Okay, what's your home phone number then?")
2001: Encouragement ("You should get one--you can play Tetris on them now!")
2002: Confusion ("I thought you were, like, a tech guy.")
2003: Sympathy ("They're getting pretty cheap. You'll be able to afford one soon.")
2004: Irritation ("So how am I supposed to get a hold of you?")
2005: Derision ("If we go out tonight I'll send you a fax.")
2006: Skepticism ("Are you serious?")
2007: Awe ("Wow, you're like the last one.")
2008: Incomprehension ("You don't ... how ...?")
Courtesy of defectiveyeti.com
1999: Envy ("Lucky you; I had to get one for work.")
2000: Indifference ("Okay, what's your home phone number then?")
2001: Encouragement ("You should get one--you can play Tetris on them now!")
2002: Confusion ("I thought you were, like, a tech guy.")
2003: Sympathy ("They're getting pretty cheap. You'll be able to afford one soon.")
2004: Irritation ("So how am I supposed to get a hold of you?")
2005: Derision ("If we go out tonight I'll send you a fax.")
2006: Skepticism ("Are you serious?")
2007: Awe ("Wow, you're like the last one.")
2008: Incomprehension ("You don't ... how ...?")
Courtesy of defectiveyeti.com
Labels: humou
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
The slow death of engineers
Decline of the engineer
Fears of Singapore heading towards becoming a high cost, low-tech city are not unfounded.
By Seah Chiang Nee. Jun 14, 2008
AFTER more than 10 years of building schools, a young friend, who is a civil engineer, has put away his hard hat to become a teacher in a secondary school.It was a big career switch for him and a loss to the profession. He had graduated from Purdue University, one of the top engineering schools in America.Another friend, an electronics engineer, distanced himself from his computers and became a professional photographer.These are two cases that I am personally aware of in the decline of a profession that was once considered the cornerstone of Singapore’s development.
Many engineers have moved into the more profitable financial sector or sales and service jobs that are in greater demand.It’s happening in the legal profession, too. The number of lawyers in Singapore has been in gradual but steady decline in the last few years.“The attrition rate of lawyers is high, and the supply is not sufficient given the rising demand here,” said a recent report.This professional decline is propelled by globalisation and the state’s move into a service economy. It is beginning to worry parents who sacrifice much to send their children for higher education.Some engineers, I am told, are planning to get on the casino bandwagon.
Two mega gambling resorts are due to begin operation here in 2010.With more than a million foreigners working here in low-level work, this decline is leading Singaporeans to wonder whether the city is losing sight of its high-tech strategy.
Retired civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow, for one, is worried that the country may be heading towards a high cost, low-tech economy like London and losing its competitiveness.Britain’s economic decline set in because ‘their best and brightest from Oxbridge, instead of going into engineering and running factories, went into the (financial) City of London’, he said.“City of London ... they are not creators of wealth, they are just shuffling assets around the place,” Ngiam said.This had allowed the United States to overtake Britain because “while some of their best went to Wall Street, their best still go into engineering,” he added.If Singapore were to follow suit “I think we are done for”, said the bureaucrat, who helped to pioneer Singapore’s economic developmentRecalling the 1970s, Ngiam said: “I used to tell everybody, what I want is 1,000 engineers, 5,000 technicians from the polytechnics, and 10,000 Institute of Technical Education workers. ‘You give me that, I grant you a job’.”
That has worked only too well. At the peak 40% of the university graduates were engineers.Local institutions were meeting domestic demand with “a steady pipeline of 30,000 engineering and technical manpower each year”, a minister said.And according to the Ministry of Manpower, the engineering-related sector still provided the largest number of job vacancies over the past two years.In 2006, a third of the 3,639 top ten professional job vacancies were in engineering, it said.And of the top 50 chief executives in Singapore, a third were engineers by training. An official said there are more than 50,000 practising engineers in Singapore, 50% of whom are women.
It is not known how much of these rosy statistics were made up of foreigners.And as casino gambling and tourism catches hold, the profession’s future has become cloudier. Singaporeans will likely gravitate towards better paying jobs, irrespective of their training.Interest in engineering courses has already been dropping.Five years ago, 30% of the 16,000 polytechnic applicants chose engineering as their first-choice course. Last year, only about 15% of 18,000 students did so.Foreigners are, however, making up for the drop. One economist said: “We may be facing a future where many of the developers of technology and their managers will be foreigners.”Singapore is in transformation and there are few sacred cows that cannot be slaughtered.This means Ngiam has a good reason to worry about the future of the engineer.In his first major speech, new Education Minister Ng Eng Hen said: “More education does not necessarily mean more growth, as most politicians and economists unthinkingly suppose.”
At a time when Singapore is planning a fourth university, Ng countered the argument that having more universities stimulates economic growth,Tertiary institutions, he said, should maintain a “focus on quality”, rather than “expanding education thoughtlessly”.Some economists fear the government may be tempted by quick GDP growth at the expense of building on its high-tech strategy when it imports such a large number of cheap migrants.Years ago, under different circumstances, Singapore had vowed not to allow itself to be addicted – like the Europeans – to cheap foreign labour.After years of strong economic – and population – expansion the country is where Europe is, having an army of low-skilled workers from abroad.Nearly a million foreigners came, not to mention another 700,000 permanent residents.They wait on tables, build our homes, clean our streets and perform numerous tasks that keep the country going.The biggest change, however, is in government strategy, in the view of some commentators.Whatever professional skill was needed in the past, the emphasis used to be to train Singaporeans.Today, this need has all but gone. Instead to save time and money, the government is turning to the world to tap its readily available supply of professionals.One side effect isn’t pretty. While foreigners arrive in large numbers, more of Singapore’s homebred talents are leaving to settle abroad.
(This was first published in The Star on June 14, 2008)
My 2 cents on the above situation: It's not surprising. Engineers get put through a lot of crap. More crap than a lot of other professions which pay a lot better. Also there are a lot of incompetent people who claim to be engineers working as engineers. Speaking from personal experience at my previous job, a lot of the problems that occur happen because there are a lot of engineers who don't know much, thus making things harder for other engineers (not talking about myself) who are very good but end up spending most of their time fighting fires created by the incompetent. In the end, the competent leave and the incompetent stay (because there's no consequence). And this is just speaking from my previous sector. Other areas of engineering also go through their own crap. So if you want more people to go to engineering or even stay in engineering, you need to actually improve the quality of the engineers. Money is merely 1 factor. And the people that are in it for the money, well, probably won't be missed.
Fears of Singapore heading towards becoming a high cost, low-tech city are not unfounded.
By Seah Chiang Nee. Jun 14, 2008
AFTER more than 10 years of building schools, a young friend, who is a civil engineer, has put away his hard hat to become a teacher in a secondary school.It was a big career switch for him and a loss to the profession. He had graduated from Purdue University, one of the top engineering schools in America.Another friend, an electronics engineer, distanced himself from his computers and became a professional photographer.These are two cases that I am personally aware of in the decline of a profession that was once considered the cornerstone of Singapore’s development.
Many engineers have moved into the more profitable financial sector or sales and service jobs that are in greater demand.It’s happening in the legal profession, too. The number of lawyers in Singapore has been in gradual but steady decline in the last few years.“The attrition rate of lawyers is high, and the supply is not sufficient given the rising demand here,” said a recent report.This professional decline is propelled by globalisation and the state’s move into a service economy. It is beginning to worry parents who sacrifice much to send their children for higher education.Some engineers, I am told, are planning to get on the casino bandwagon.
Two mega gambling resorts are due to begin operation here in 2010.With more than a million foreigners working here in low-level work, this decline is leading Singaporeans to wonder whether the city is losing sight of its high-tech strategy.
Retired civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow, for one, is worried that the country may be heading towards a high cost, low-tech economy like London and losing its competitiveness.Britain’s economic decline set in because ‘their best and brightest from Oxbridge, instead of going into engineering and running factories, went into the (financial) City of London’, he said.“City of London ... they are not creators of wealth, they are just shuffling assets around the place,” Ngiam said.This had allowed the United States to overtake Britain because “while some of their best went to Wall Street, their best still go into engineering,” he added.If Singapore were to follow suit “I think we are done for”, said the bureaucrat, who helped to pioneer Singapore’s economic developmentRecalling the 1970s, Ngiam said: “I used to tell everybody, what I want is 1,000 engineers, 5,000 technicians from the polytechnics, and 10,000 Institute of Technical Education workers. ‘You give me that, I grant you a job’.”
That has worked only too well. At the peak 40% of the university graduates were engineers.Local institutions were meeting domestic demand with “a steady pipeline of 30,000 engineering and technical manpower each year”, a minister said.And according to the Ministry of Manpower, the engineering-related sector still provided the largest number of job vacancies over the past two years.In 2006, a third of the 3,639 top ten professional job vacancies were in engineering, it said.And of the top 50 chief executives in Singapore, a third were engineers by training. An official said there are more than 50,000 practising engineers in Singapore, 50% of whom are women.
It is not known how much of these rosy statistics were made up of foreigners.And as casino gambling and tourism catches hold, the profession’s future has become cloudier. Singaporeans will likely gravitate towards better paying jobs, irrespective of their training.Interest in engineering courses has already been dropping.Five years ago, 30% of the 16,000 polytechnic applicants chose engineering as their first-choice course. Last year, only about 15% of 18,000 students did so.Foreigners are, however, making up for the drop. One economist said: “We may be facing a future where many of the developers of technology and their managers will be foreigners.”Singapore is in transformation and there are few sacred cows that cannot be slaughtered.This means Ngiam has a good reason to worry about the future of the engineer.In his first major speech, new Education Minister Ng Eng Hen said: “More education does not necessarily mean more growth, as most politicians and economists unthinkingly suppose.”
At a time when Singapore is planning a fourth university, Ng countered the argument that having more universities stimulates economic growth,Tertiary institutions, he said, should maintain a “focus on quality”, rather than “expanding education thoughtlessly”.Some economists fear the government may be tempted by quick GDP growth at the expense of building on its high-tech strategy when it imports such a large number of cheap migrants.Years ago, under different circumstances, Singapore had vowed not to allow itself to be addicted – like the Europeans – to cheap foreign labour.After years of strong economic – and population – expansion the country is where Europe is, having an army of low-skilled workers from abroad.Nearly a million foreigners came, not to mention another 700,000 permanent residents.They wait on tables, build our homes, clean our streets and perform numerous tasks that keep the country going.The biggest change, however, is in government strategy, in the view of some commentators.Whatever professional skill was needed in the past, the emphasis used to be to train Singaporeans.Today, this need has all but gone. Instead to save time and money, the government is turning to the world to tap its readily available supply of professionals.One side effect isn’t pretty. While foreigners arrive in large numbers, more of Singapore’s homebred talents are leaving to settle abroad.
(This was first published in The Star on June 14, 2008)
My 2 cents on the above situation: It's not surprising. Engineers get put through a lot of crap. More crap than a lot of other professions which pay a lot better. Also there are a lot of incompetent people who claim to be engineers working as engineers. Speaking from personal experience at my previous job, a lot of the problems that occur happen because there are a lot of engineers who don't know much, thus making things harder for other engineers (not talking about myself) who are very good but end up spending most of their time fighting fires created by the incompetent. In the end, the competent leave and the incompetent stay (because there's no consequence). And this is just speaking from my previous sector. Other areas of engineering also go through their own crap. So if you want more people to go to engineering or even stay in engineering, you need to actually improve the quality of the engineers. Money is merely 1 factor. And the people that are in it for the money, well, probably won't be missed.
Labels: current affairs
