I just read about this show that was on UK TV:
"Ralph is afraid of peaches," the host gleefully announces.
"Ooh," the audience chants.
"He can't come near them."
"Ooh," the audience chants louder. Then, a basket of peaches appears on a big screen behind Ralph. The host points up at it. Ralph turns, swears, screams and jumps up. His 270 pounds of sheer terror races down the studio hall, followed, of course, by the camera crew.
Hysterical laughter from the audience.
Ralph, covered by 3 cameras, cowers in the corner backstage. At the host's goading, the audience begins chanting till he's back on stage.
The crowd applauds.
Why winking at the audience the host asks Ralph why he doesn't like peaches.
"They're fuzzy, they're slimy." Then almost inaudibily, he mutters something about a girlfriend who had peach shampoo.
At that moment, two voluptuous women bring in 2 big baskets of peaches.
...Ralph runs through the audience. They tackle him and succeed in pulling his pants down, which only adds to the ridiculousness of the spectacle. The camera catches the rear view of Ralph crawling away from the taunting audience, on all fours, his trousers around his knees.
Ralph once again crouches in the foetal position in a corner of the studio wings. The host follows and sneers, "Do you know what you are now? A 6-foot tall, 270-pound man cowering in the corner?"
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Easter Song
My Lord, He died for a kingdom,
To redeem the hearts of men,
Now my people don't you weep,
He has risen from His sleep,
He lives again, Alleluia.
Refrain:
Sing Alleluia, the Lord is risen,
He is risen again, Alleluia
My Lord came forth like the morning,
With the splendour of the sun,
Came triumphant from the womb
From the darkness of the tomb,
The victory won, Alleluia.
My Lord united the mountains,
With the everlasting hills,
Now the seasons and the sea,
Sing the song of victory,
Rocks and rills, Alleluia.
My Lord renewed all creation,
That had waited late and long,
Now we all with one accord,
Live and love the risen Lord,
This is our song, Alleluia.
To redeem the hearts of men,
Now my people don't you weep,
He has risen from His sleep,
He lives again, Alleluia.
Refrain:
Sing Alleluia, the Lord is risen,
He is risen again, Alleluia
My Lord came forth like the morning,
With the splendour of the sun,
Came triumphant from the womb
From the darkness of the tomb,
The victory won, Alleluia.
My Lord united the mountains,
With the everlasting hills,
Now the seasons and the sea,
Sing the song of victory,
Rocks and rills, Alleluia.
My Lord renewed all creation,
That had waited late and long,
Now we all with one accord,
Live and love the risen Lord,
This is our song, Alleluia.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Skates broken, Argh!
I tripped and fell and my skates broke today! Ouch! And I was a long way from home, so I had to limp back in broken skates and a bruised elbow! Double Ouch! I'll have to try to get it repaired, failing which it'd be time to get a new pair. Either way, $$$ will have to be spent, sigh...
The only consolation is that my IRiver Mp3 player is still completely intact even though I landed right smack on top of it! Not even a scratch! If I had an IPod Nano I can guarantee you that it would have been smashed into smithereens. Finally verified the durability of the IRiver MP3 players that have been touted on the internet. And mine is the regular model, not even the rubber-coated sports version! Oh well, Easter is tomorrow, something more cheerful to think about ;).
The only consolation is that my IRiver Mp3 player is still completely intact even though I landed right smack on top of it! Not even a scratch! If I had an IPod Nano I can guarantee you that it would have been smashed into smithereens. Finally verified the durability of the IRiver MP3 players that have been touted on the internet. And mine is the regular model, not even the rubber-coated sports version! Oh well, Easter is tomorrow, something more cheerful to think about ;).
View from my room
So, that's the view from my room, ain't it pretty? For u guys in the US, I always told you I lived by the sea, so here's to prove it! There are disadvantages, like things get rusty even though they are stainless steel, and there's the perennial dust problem, but you get used to it after a while. That whole vast patch of green looks like a jungle huh? That's East Coast Park, where I in-line skate regularly. No wonder Singapore is called a Garden City huh?
Friday, April 14, 2006
Good Friday
It's been a rainy Good Friday. Good Friday's a holiday over here, so the faithful typically flock to church in the morning, followed by fasting and penance for some. In the US, religious holidays aren't allowed, so Good Friday isn't a holiday. And cos it isn't a holiday, many of my Christian friends over there don't go to church, and it becomes just another day. Easter Sunday is the big deal, they say (cos of the easter eggs?). Many of my Christian friends over here however, are extremely appalled when they hear of Christians not going to church on Good Friday! How could they not remember Christ died for us? I tend to agree with the latter. The fundamental belief of Christianity is that Christ died for us that we may have eternal life, then followed by He rose from the dead 3 days later. So it makes sense that Good Friday (and of course Christmas) is the one day that all Christians go to church.
Well of course the convenience plays a part in Christian behavior here in Singapore. My church has 4 services today, 1 in Chinese too, and it's a public holiday too. Back at Newman Hall in Berkeley, there's only 1 service at 7pm, it's not a holiday, and you probably can't get a seat anyway. But as my Cathechism teacher once taught me, can't you sacrifice a teeny bit of inconvenience to worship the Lord? Another big turn off in Berkeley was that the veneration of the Cross takes so long! The priest brings out this huge Cross, and some old folks even take up to 5 mins praying while there's a long line behind! You can imagine how long the service would last huh?
In other completely unrelated news, 6 HK women lost their breasts because they injected some breast enlargement gel which caused complications and cant be removed after injection. What a bummer huh?
Not too recently I learned something new about corruption. Why are corrupted officials in government always so eager to push for more and more pork barrel construction projects, even projects that do not benefit anyone? Examples include roads to nowhere, bridges that don't increase capacity, replacing buildings that are perfectly fine, etc. I mean, it seems counter-intuitive because by building these useless things they are not exactly benefiting anybody, not even their supporters or themselves huh? Well, the simple reason is that in many developing countries a huge portion of government expenditure goes to construction, and typically one single developer/contractor executes the project. So by pushing for a large redundant construction project and giving it to ONE crony developer/contractor, you can actually receive huge bribes and only have to deal with ONE (or a few) person! Think about it, for a typical airport terminal costing say $500million, I'm sure the developer can spare you AT LEAST a $10 million bribe? $10 million in the pocket without having to do anything at all huh? Compare this to receiving bribes from businesses: small money, many businessmen (and companies) you have to deal with to earn the same amount, which increases your risk of exposure. Interestingly, by accepting bribes from businesses you will have monopolies and cronyism, but the citizens may not actually suffer as much as having to pay huge taxes for completely redundant public construction projects.
Well of course the convenience plays a part in Christian behavior here in Singapore. My church has 4 services today, 1 in Chinese too, and it's a public holiday too. Back at Newman Hall in Berkeley, there's only 1 service at 7pm, it's not a holiday, and you probably can't get a seat anyway. But as my Cathechism teacher once taught me, can't you sacrifice a teeny bit of inconvenience to worship the Lord? Another big turn off in Berkeley was that the veneration of the Cross takes so long! The priest brings out this huge Cross, and some old folks even take up to 5 mins praying while there's a long line behind! You can imagine how long the service would last huh?
In other completely unrelated news, 6 HK women lost their breasts because they injected some breast enlargement gel which caused complications and cant be removed after injection. What a bummer huh?
Not too recently I learned something new about corruption. Why are corrupted officials in government always so eager to push for more and more pork barrel construction projects, even projects that do not benefit anyone? Examples include roads to nowhere, bridges that don't increase capacity, replacing buildings that are perfectly fine, etc. I mean, it seems counter-intuitive because by building these useless things they are not exactly benefiting anybody, not even their supporters or themselves huh? Well, the simple reason is that in many developing countries a huge portion of government expenditure goes to construction, and typically one single developer/contractor executes the project. So by pushing for a large redundant construction project and giving it to ONE crony developer/contractor, you can actually receive huge bribes and only have to deal with ONE (or a few) person! Think about it, for a typical airport terminal costing say $500million, I'm sure the developer can spare you AT LEAST a $10 million bribe? $10 million in the pocket without having to do anything at all huh? Compare this to receiving bribes from businesses: small money, many businessmen (and companies) you have to deal with to earn the same amount, which increases your risk of exposure. Interestingly, by accepting bribes from businesses you will have monopolies and cronyism, but the citizens may not actually suffer as much as having to pay huge taxes for completely redundant public construction projects.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Restructuring
What a great start to restructuring: I just worked 15 hours today!! Apparently during the transition period somebody forgot that I'm working 200%... Somebody better figure out the handing/taking over process quick!!
Sunday, April 09, 2006
I watched Ultraviolet today. It may sound like a "save the earth" kinda movie (UV rays and all), but really its about a superhero/mutant/"experiment gone wrong" chick called Violet, hence Ultra-Violet. Ultraviolet's full of fast pace action and violence, kinda like a cross between Kill Bill and Run Lola Run, with some fantastic matrix style fighting, though YK was right to point out that some parts were copied right out of The Matrix. It went a little to fast to catch the full story, and the show lasted less than an hour an a half. Didn't help too much that the superhero's a vampire of some sorts (had enough of that in Underworld Evolutions) and appears to be all too invincible. But otherwise an enjoyable movie for a Sunday afternoon with discounted tickets! ;)
Lesson 1 for villians: Don't encircle your enemy in a circle and then try to shoot her, 'cos if she ducks u'll be shooting at your own comrades!
Lesson 2 for villians: If Violet says you're all dead, better start running away!
Yeah it's just a show, but the way Violet starts killing a whole room of baddies it's almost like a reflex action for her. Like she doesn't need to think. Brushing my teeth is almost like a reflex action too. I almost don't need to think. Couple of days ago, however, I realised that I've unwittingly been slacking off and brushing a few strokes less! I guess all that "doing without thinking" just inadvertantly to slacking off huh? Does this happen to doctors in the ER? After many shifts of nightwork doing CPR, do chest compressions seem so much like a reflex action that they skip a step without knowing it? Maybe if you have a sense of purpose and you know something more important is at stake your reflex thinking won't subconciously start to slack off. Or maybe not...
A foreign visitor would naturally concur that Singaporean's aren't a very happy bunch. A ride on public transport is often greeted with disenchanted looks and pushing/shoving to get up the bus/train. Some say it's just the result of being in an overpopulated overcrowded city. But is that really so? San Francisco is pretty overcrowded. There may not be that many people living there, but certainly the number of commuters by rail, car or bicycle is astounding! Just look at the Friday evening jam up the Bay Bridge! I know of commuters who go straight to the bars/restaurants till late night on Fridays just because of avoiding the jam. But San Franciscans (Is that what you call it? sounds like the monks...) seem a much more happy lot...
I think the lack of cheer is largely attributed to diet. Most Singaporean food sold in the hawker centers/foodcourts is unhealthy, no matter how much we swear by the taste! All that salt increases our blood pressure, and all that grease brings up our cholesterol to obscene levels! I see so many young people in the office who have high blood pressure and cholestorol. This is exacerbated by poor working conditions (overworked and underpaid, no time for exercise), super hot weather, and of course the crowded city effect. Which is what accounts for the unhappy outlook. So why do I care? If you look at all those factors above, we can do something about it (except for the crowded bit, which is not so important from the SF example), so we are not doomed to being an unhappy bunch!
Another thing that disturbs me a lot is the "herd mentality". Peer pressure is about people wanting you to conform to their idea of what's cool and what's not. And I must say we have reached the pinnacle of "herd mentality"! Anyone disagrees? Just talk a walk down Shenton Way during lunch time what will you see? See what colour pants all the locals are wearing? All black. How about the shirts? For bankers, mostly white long sleeves with some patterns. Non bankers, standard one tone pastel or dark (for the flashy, but u stick out like a sore thumb in the office). In fact, people in the office are telling me how I should comb my hair, what type of glasses I should wear. If we all follow the same advice won't we just be a bunch of drones? Just take a walk down Wall Street or Market Street, and you'll see what it means to show your true personality, be it dreadlocks in a suit, or grey suit with striped shirt and pink tie, or guys with tied back long hair (and suit). How about that professor who used to skateboard to work at Cal (though skateboarding is now banned on campus)? That's what I'm talking about.
Lesson 1 for villians: Don't encircle your enemy in a circle and then try to shoot her, 'cos if she ducks u'll be shooting at your own comrades!
Lesson 2 for villians: If Violet says you're all dead, better start running away!
Yeah it's just a show, but the way Violet starts killing a whole room of baddies it's almost like a reflex action for her. Like she doesn't need to think. Brushing my teeth is almost like a reflex action too. I almost don't need to think. Couple of days ago, however, I realised that I've unwittingly been slacking off and brushing a few strokes less! I guess all that "doing without thinking" just inadvertantly to slacking off huh? Does this happen to doctors in the ER? After many shifts of nightwork doing CPR, do chest compressions seem so much like a reflex action that they skip a step without knowing it? Maybe if you have a sense of purpose and you know something more important is at stake your reflex thinking won't subconciously start to slack off. Or maybe not...
A foreign visitor would naturally concur that Singaporean's aren't a very happy bunch. A ride on public transport is often greeted with disenchanted looks and pushing/shoving to get up the bus/train. Some say it's just the result of being in an overpopulated overcrowded city. But is that really so? San Francisco is pretty overcrowded. There may not be that many people living there, but certainly the number of commuters by rail, car or bicycle is astounding! Just look at the Friday evening jam up the Bay Bridge! I know of commuters who go straight to the bars/restaurants till late night on Fridays just because of avoiding the jam. But San Franciscans (Is that what you call it? sounds like the monks...) seem a much more happy lot...
I think the lack of cheer is largely attributed to diet. Most Singaporean food sold in the hawker centers/foodcourts is unhealthy, no matter how much we swear by the taste! All that salt increases our blood pressure, and all that grease brings up our cholesterol to obscene levels! I see so many young people in the office who have high blood pressure and cholestorol. This is exacerbated by poor working conditions (overworked and underpaid, no time for exercise), super hot weather, and of course the crowded city effect. Which is what accounts for the unhappy outlook. So why do I care? If you look at all those factors above, we can do something about it (except for the crowded bit, which is not so important from the SF example), so we are not doomed to being an unhappy bunch!
Another thing that disturbs me a lot is the "herd mentality". Peer pressure is about people wanting you to conform to their idea of what's cool and what's not. And I must say we have reached the pinnacle of "herd mentality"! Anyone disagrees? Just talk a walk down Shenton Way during lunch time what will you see? See what colour pants all the locals are wearing? All black. How about the shirts? For bankers, mostly white long sleeves with some patterns. Non bankers, standard one tone pastel or dark (for the flashy, but u stick out like a sore thumb in the office). In fact, people in the office are telling me how I should comb my hair, what type of glasses I should wear. If we all follow the same advice won't we just be a bunch of drones? Just take a walk down Wall Street or Market Street, and you'll see what it means to show your true personality, be it dreadlocks in a suit, or grey suit with striped shirt and pink tie, or guys with tied back long hair (and suit). How about that professor who used to skateboard to work at Cal (though skateboarding is now banned on campus)? That's what I'm talking about.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Which superhero are you?
I tried this test: http://www.seabreezecomputers.com/superhero/
You are Green Lantern.
Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination.
You are Green Lantern.
Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination.
We have been restructured!
So we have finally been restructured! It was supposed to happen on April 1st, but for some reason April 1st came and went and nobody seemed to have figured out anything, as if the Enhancing Business Model (EBM 3.0) was just an April Fool's joke (didn't help that April 1st was on a Saturday too). But finally on Thursday the bosses worked it out and the staff were told on Friday what would happen to them. Just by coincidence I had Friday off though! So I kept receiving text messages and calls all day!
So what's in it for me? Turns out that I'm having a new boss and gonna be working on different projects. Not that its that much difference since I've been doing some part time projects previously with my new boss and the last few months my efforts have stepped up since one of his own staff quit. But still, it's a change alright, and I'm sure some might have found it quite unexpected. I've been working here one and a half years already and its the second time I'm changing project/boss! Some others spend their entire career doing the same thing haha!
DJ Tiesto is in town next friday! He'll be playing MOS. For the uninitiated, Tiesto is one of the world's top trance DJ's. P doesn't really like his music though, and I must say P knows his trance. I've never actually been to one of Tiesto's gigs before, but I've heard its music and I like it, and so do quite a number of people I know. So I'm probably going with M, though I'm sure that the queue is gonna be ridiculously long. They should do it like 1015 Folsom Spundae nights in SF. Let anybody buy and print tickets out online first. That makes it easier for everybody. Anyhow, if you got any comment's on Tiesto's music, feel free to just shout out!
So what's in it for me? Turns out that I'm having a new boss and gonna be working on different projects. Not that its that much difference since I've been doing some part time projects previously with my new boss and the last few months my efforts have stepped up since one of his own staff quit. But still, it's a change alright, and I'm sure some might have found it quite unexpected. I've been working here one and a half years already and its the second time I'm changing project/boss! Some others spend their entire career doing the same thing haha!
DJ Tiesto is in town next friday! He'll be playing MOS. For the uninitiated, Tiesto is one of the world's top trance DJ's. P doesn't really like his music though, and I must say P knows his trance. I've never actually been to one of Tiesto's gigs before, but I've heard its music and I like it, and so do quite a number of people I know. So I'm probably going with M, though I'm sure that the queue is gonna be ridiculously long. They should do it like 1015 Folsom Spundae nights in SF. Let anybody buy and print tickets out online first. That makes it easier for everybody. Anyhow, if you got any comment's on Tiesto's music, feel free to just shout out!
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
ducks
Somebody's got a new blog! Finally, after all the resistance! And it's about ducks or something. So here's a tribute to ducks:
Three little ducks went out one day
Fat one, fair one, skinny one too
But the one little duck with the feather on his back
He ruled the others with a quack quack quack!
Down the river they would go
Wibble wobble wibble wobble to and fro
But the one little duck with the feather on his back
He ruled the others with a quack quack quack!
Home from the river they would come
Wibble wobble wibble wobble ho ho hum
But the one little duck with the feather on his back
He ruled the others with a quack quack quack!
Incidentally there appears to be many different versions of this song, as I have discoverd using a google search. But this is the one we sang in scouts. I don't know and don't care much about ducks really, but they taste so good! Especially Johnson Lock roast duck! But ducks are also so fatty and sinful....
Speaking of good food, I had lots of oysters and escargots for lunch at Jack's Place today, yummy! And the day before I tried lunch at Raffles City Bakerzin. Tried the clam pasta which was good, and we had some of those dessert "tapas" too. The one with chocolate and hazelnut and the ginger jelly with lychee were good. There was one tapas we tried with egg white and chocolate sauce and some fruit. The egg white was good, but the fruit made the whole thing so so sour! Eeeks! And this was served in some weird cup/bowl that can't balance straight up and just keeps rolling on the table! Talk about weird crockery, or shall I say rockery?
Anyway, we are undergoing some huge restructuring right now at work, and anything could happen, anytime. Some people are still trying to convince me that nothings gonna happen, and it'll all be the same. We'll see....
Three little ducks went out one day
Fat one, fair one, skinny one too
But the one little duck with the feather on his back
He ruled the others with a quack quack quack!
Down the river they would go
Wibble wobble wibble wobble to and fro
But the one little duck with the feather on his back
He ruled the others with a quack quack quack!
Home from the river they would come
Wibble wobble wibble wobble ho ho hum
But the one little duck with the feather on his back
He ruled the others with a quack quack quack!
Incidentally there appears to be many different versions of this song, as I have discoverd using a google search. But this is the one we sang in scouts. I don't know and don't care much about ducks really, but they taste so good! Especially Johnson Lock roast duck! But ducks are also so fatty and sinful....
Speaking of good food, I had lots of oysters and escargots for lunch at Jack's Place today, yummy! And the day before I tried lunch at Raffles City Bakerzin. Tried the clam pasta which was good, and we had some of those dessert "tapas" too. The one with chocolate and hazelnut and the ginger jelly with lychee were good. There was one tapas we tried with egg white and chocolate sauce and some fruit. The egg white was good, but the fruit made the whole thing so so sour! Eeeks! And this was served in some weird cup/bowl that can't balance straight up and just keeps rolling on the table! Talk about weird crockery, or shall I say rockery?
Anyway, we are undergoing some huge restructuring right now at work, and anything could happen, anytime. Some people are still trying to convince me that nothings gonna happen, and it'll all be the same. We'll see....
Monday, April 03, 2006
Coffee
Why is it that when i comment on my own blog I have to type in some random letters to make sure i'm not a robot, but when I comment on other blogspot blogs I don't have to? Weird...
Anyway, did you know how much effort goes into making good coffee?
"Coffee bushes must be grown in shade -- neither too much, nor too little. A hillside is best -- but it mustn't be too steep. After 3 years, the bushes will start to produce bright-red coffee "cherries", which are picked, processed to remove the pulp, and spread out to dry for days, ideally on concrete. They are milled again to separate the bean, which needs to rest, preferably for a few months. Only then can it be roasted, ground and brewed into the stuff that dreams are quelled with." - The Economist
Wow, bet you didn't know that huh? Next time I have that Blue Mountain or Ethiopian Harra at TCC I know that it's worth what it really costs! But how about those 50 cent kopi at the coffeeshop? Wonder if it requires as much effort to make those? Does it really require 20 times as much effort to brew a $10 blue mountain? I'm not much of a coffee addict, but I always appreciate a nice cuppa gourmet coffee on a cold rainy day..... ;)
Anyway, did you know how much effort goes into making good coffee?
"Coffee bushes must be grown in shade -- neither too much, nor too little. A hillside is best -- but it mustn't be too steep. After 3 years, the bushes will start to produce bright-red coffee "cherries", which are picked, processed to remove the pulp, and spread out to dry for days, ideally on concrete. They are milled again to separate the bean, which needs to rest, preferably for a few months. Only then can it be roasted, ground and brewed into the stuff that dreams are quelled with." - The Economist
Wow, bet you didn't know that huh? Next time I have that Blue Mountain or Ethiopian Harra at TCC I know that it's worth what it really costs! But how about those 50 cent kopi at the coffeeshop? Wonder if it requires as much effort to make those? Does it really require 20 times as much effort to brew a $10 blue mountain? I'm not much of a coffee addict, but I always appreciate a nice cuppa gourmet coffee on a cold rainy day..... ;)
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Long time no post
Ok, it's been a while since I last posted something on this blog. Don't worry, the blog's not dead yet! It's just that I've been having a lot of strain on my eyes and so I had no mood to use the computer much after staring at a screen all day at work. Anyway, now that I've got a new pair of glasses and a new table lamp, hopefully things will be back to normal! ;)
I was planning on going skating today, but ended up sleeping all afternoon and it started raining when I woke up. Bummer huh? Last night we had a party at G and E's so I came home late. It was a really busy day. Started off with golf lessons at Sembawang, which was really bummer too. I hit 80-90 balls with the 3 woods and they didnt go anywhere at all! Then I realised all i had to do was pull my left arm a little more to the right and voila! 80-100m shots! Such a small difference in your swing makes a big difference in your shot! After golf was huge pork knuckle lunch at werner's oven, followed by promiseworks meeting and dinner at FL's. Then G&E's party when FL's crowd started watching soccer. The berkeley gang of MR, L, KY, SZ, PP, T, YK, S were there, as well as some other familiar faces: K, F, E, KY2, I. The crowd was really interesting, with some ang mohs, some salsa dudes, some djs and some of the dudes I used to see at zouk! And of course, more alcohol than we can finish! :P
Someone at the party kept asking S, the geotechnical expert, all kindsa stuff about soil and rocks. It made me realise that most people out there have absolutely no idea about soil-structure interaction and what you need to do to the ground before you build your building. Anyway, why bother right? Just hire some experts to do the job. Well, for small jobs at least, where there are no real experts, you might end up building your house on some seriously bad ground conditions, and never be able to fix it ever again unless you tear down the house. I guess majority of us live in high-rise buildings, and a majority of those are public housing, so it's easy to leave it as somebody else's problem. More important to make sure you don't have a leaky HDB flat!
Oftentimes I worry that I don't gain enough knowledge at work that is applicable to the outside world. But this week my fears were laid to rest a little. See, my project is now at the stage where the subcon's are doing the architectural finishes such as floor screeding, false ceiling, plastering, partitioning, tiling, raised flooring etc. You don't learn that stuff in school, but my colleague told me that once you handle one big project you should be able to know everything. And to some extent its true. I feel that I can now assess the quality of a renovation contractor's workmanship. Given that everyone has to go through a renovation at some point of time, it's probably a useful skill for myself and for those around me who ask for help haha. As a good civil engineer I always want to make sure everyone's house is built right! ;)
I was planning on going skating today, but ended up sleeping all afternoon and it started raining when I woke up. Bummer huh? Last night we had a party at G and E's so I came home late. It was a really busy day. Started off with golf lessons at Sembawang, which was really bummer too. I hit 80-90 balls with the 3 woods and they didnt go anywhere at all! Then I realised all i had to do was pull my left arm a little more to the right and voila! 80-100m shots! Such a small difference in your swing makes a big difference in your shot! After golf was huge pork knuckle lunch at werner's oven, followed by promiseworks meeting and dinner at FL's. Then G&E's party when FL's crowd started watching soccer. The berkeley gang of MR, L, KY, SZ, PP, T, YK, S were there, as well as some other familiar faces: K, F, E, KY2, I. The crowd was really interesting, with some ang mohs, some salsa dudes, some djs and some of the dudes I used to see at zouk! And of course, more alcohol than we can finish! :P
Someone at the party kept asking S, the geotechnical expert, all kindsa stuff about soil and rocks. It made me realise that most people out there have absolutely no idea about soil-structure interaction and what you need to do to the ground before you build your building. Anyway, why bother right? Just hire some experts to do the job. Well, for small jobs at least, where there are no real experts, you might end up building your house on some seriously bad ground conditions, and never be able to fix it ever again unless you tear down the house. I guess majority of us live in high-rise buildings, and a majority of those are public housing, so it's easy to leave it as somebody else's problem. More important to make sure you don't have a leaky HDB flat!
Oftentimes I worry that I don't gain enough knowledge at work that is applicable to the outside world. But this week my fears were laid to rest a little. See, my project is now at the stage where the subcon's are doing the architectural finishes such as floor screeding, false ceiling, plastering, partitioning, tiling, raised flooring etc. You don't learn that stuff in school, but my colleague told me that once you handle one big project you should be able to know everything. And to some extent its true. I feel that I can now assess the quality of a renovation contractor's workmanship. Given that everyone has to go through a renovation at some point of time, it's probably a useful skill for myself and for those around me who ask for help haha. As a good civil engineer I always want to make sure everyone's house is built right! ;)
Friday, March 24, 2006
Nuclear power
The uninformed often cite nuclear power as the way to go. And why do they say it's the way to go? That's because nuclear power produces very low carbon emissions, therefore we save the earth, therefore it's good. So very wrong! Nuclear power produces 2 major problems. The first is heat. Nuclear fission produces so much heat which gets transferred to water which is used to cool the reactor. So you get lots and lots of hot water which is dumped where? Into the sea, rivers, lakes etc, and trust me, hot water pollutes and kills wildlife. And not only does it just kill the wildlife nearby, but it screws up the salinity and temperature gradient for a larger part of the water body its dumped into.
What is the second problem? Well, that's nuclear waste. Nuclear waste can be used to make nuclar weapons, so that's one thing you have to deal with. Secondly, it takes thousands or millions of years to disintegrate. So how? Just dump into the ground lah! Yah the ang mohs have been trying to dump nuclear waste under a mountain in Nevada, and they have so much problems with that. There is even a whole ship load of nuclear waste from the US that is doing a world tour because nobody wants to be responsible for it. Just this week there is an article in the Economist bout some scientists who discovered a way to shorten the life of nuclear waste to 100+ years and its supposed to be a big deal! 100+ years is still a pretty long time!
I think fuel cells are the way to go. That's probably the cleanest fuel around, though it costs a bomb. And all that production of hydrogen probably has some side effect. What process is used to make hydrogen? Not so sure, but I recall learning in secondary school that it was the Haber process? Haber process also produces ammonia, is that good or bad? Seems like every new scientific process has many side effects that we may not realise in the short term. Guess that's just life....
What is the second problem? Well, that's nuclear waste. Nuclear waste can be used to make nuclar weapons, so that's one thing you have to deal with. Secondly, it takes thousands or millions of years to disintegrate. So how? Just dump into the ground lah! Yah the ang mohs have been trying to dump nuclear waste under a mountain in Nevada, and they have so much problems with that. There is even a whole ship load of nuclear waste from the US that is doing a world tour because nobody wants to be responsible for it. Just this week there is an article in the Economist bout some scientists who discovered a way to shorten the life of nuclear waste to 100+ years and its supposed to be a big deal! 100+ years is still a pretty long time!
I think fuel cells are the way to go. That's probably the cleanest fuel around, though it costs a bomb. And all that production of hydrogen probably has some side effect. What process is used to make hydrogen? Not so sure, but I recall learning in secondary school that it was the Haber process? Haber process also produces ammonia, is that good or bad? Seems like every new scientific process has many side effects that we may not realise in the short term. Guess that's just life....
Monday, March 20, 2006
Never trust the HR!!!
I stole this from a friend's blog. But considering its incredibly funny, and she found it on google, I guess I'm not gonna get sued. Here goes:
A highly successful Human Resources Manager was tragically knocked down by a bus and killed. Her soul arrived at the Pearly Gates, where St. Peter welcomed her: "Before you get settled in," he said, "We have a little problem... you see, we've never had a Human Resources Manager make it this far before and we're not really sure what to do with you." "Oh, I see," said the woman. "Can't you just let me in?""Well, I'd like to," said St Peter, "But I have higher orders. We're instructed to let you have a day in hell and a day in heaven, and then you are to choose where you'd like to go for all eternity." "Actually, I think I'd prefer heaven", said the woman. "Sorry, we have rules..." at which St. Peter put the HR Manager into the downward bound elevator.
As the doors opened in hell she stepped out onto a beautiful golf course. In the distance was a country club; around her were many friends - past fellow executives, all smartly dressed, happy, and cheering for her. They ran up and kissed her on both cheeks and they talked about old times. They played a perfect round of golf and afterwards went to the country club where she enjoyed a superb steak and lobster dinner. She met the Devil, who was actually rather nice, and she had a wonderful night telling jokes and dancing. Before she knew it, it was time to leave; everyone shook her hand and waved goodbye as she stepped into the elevator.
The elevator went back up to heaven where St. Peter was waiting for her. "Now it's time to spend a day in heaven," he said. So she spent the next 24 hours lounging around on clouds and playing the harp and singing, which was almost as enjoyable as her day in hell.
At the day's end St Peter returned."So," he said, "You've spent a day in hell and you've spent a day in heaven. You must choose between the two." The woman thought for a second and replied, "Well, heaven is certainly lovely, but I actually had a better time in hell. I choose hell." Accordingly, St. Peter took her to the elevator again and she went back down to hell.
When the doors of the elevator opened she found herself standing in a desolate wasteland covered in garbage and filth. She saw her friends dressed in rags, picking up rubbish and putting it in old sacks. The Devil approached and put his arm around her. "I don't understand," stuttered the HR Manager, "Yesterday I was here, and there was a golf course, and a country club, and we ate lobster, and we danced and had a wonderful happy time. Now all there's just a dirty wasteland of garbage and all my friends look miserable." The Devil looked at her and smiled. "Yesterday we were recruiting you, today you're staff."
A highly successful Human Resources Manager was tragically knocked down by a bus and killed. Her soul arrived at the Pearly Gates, where St. Peter welcomed her: "Before you get settled in," he said, "We have a little problem... you see, we've never had a Human Resources Manager make it this far before and we're not really sure what to do with you." "Oh, I see," said the woman. "Can't you just let me in?""Well, I'd like to," said St Peter, "But I have higher orders. We're instructed to let you have a day in hell and a day in heaven, and then you are to choose where you'd like to go for all eternity." "Actually, I think I'd prefer heaven", said the woman. "Sorry, we have rules..." at which St. Peter put the HR Manager into the downward bound elevator.
As the doors opened in hell she stepped out onto a beautiful golf course. In the distance was a country club; around her were many friends - past fellow executives, all smartly dressed, happy, and cheering for her. They ran up and kissed her on both cheeks and they talked about old times. They played a perfect round of golf and afterwards went to the country club where she enjoyed a superb steak and lobster dinner. She met the Devil, who was actually rather nice, and she had a wonderful night telling jokes and dancing. Before she knew it, it was time to leave; everyone shook her hand and waved goodbye as she stepped into the elevator.
The elevator went back up to heaven where St. Peter was waiting for her. "Now it's time to spend a day in heaven," he said. So she spent the next 24 hours lounging around on clouds and playing the harp and singing, which was almost as enjoyable as her day in hell.
At the day's end St Peter returned."So," he said, "You've spent a day in hell and you've spent a day in heaven. You must choose between the two." The woman thought for a second and replied, "Well, heaven is certainly lovely, but I actually had a better time in hell. I choose hell." Accordingly, St. Peter took her to the elevator again and she went back down to hell.
When the doors of the elevator opened she found herself standing in a desolate wasteland covered in garbage and filth. She saw her friends dressed in rags, picking up rubbish and putting it in old sacks. The Devil approached and put his arm around her. "I don't understand," stuttered the HR Manager, "Yesterday I was here, and there was a golf course, and a country club, and we ate lobster, and we danced and had a wonderful happy time. Now all there's just a dirty wasteland of garbage and all my friends look miserable." The Devil looked at her and smiled. "Yesterday we were recruiting you, today you're staff."
Cal in The Economist
Thanks CC for pointing out that Leon Powe, Cal basketball player, is on page 57 of The Economist this week. If you are not reading the Asian edition it's probably on a different page. I haven't read the article yet, so I have no idea what his pic is doing there, but I don't think it has anything to do with Cal. Well, Go Bears anyway!
(StanfUrd Sux!)
:P
(StanfUrd Sux!)
:P
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