Scorpions: Silent and Effective

On my way home this afternoon, the cab passed by Bedok Camp at the eastern end of East Coast Road. Bedok Camp was home to the Scorpions (3SIR) for the last few decades, but now it stood silent and deserted, ready to be torn down. I haven't gone by this area in ages, but it still seemed the same, and I could almost hear the men of the 8th mono chanting "Scorpions, To be Respected!" in the parade square after their Saturday 8km run. Across the street was our favorite "Bedok Corner" hawker center, which has now been renovated and given a name: Bedok Food Center. I wonder if they still have my favorite salted fish fried rice (Giam Her Char Png), ching tng and Hokkien mee. And right next to the camp was that little patch of "forest". They didn't allow us to dig holes in the camp, so myself and the Mortar Platoon were marched to this "forest" outside to practice "digging in". It's funny how the Mortar men spend most of their time during an exercise just digging and digging, and then digging again; but when they are finally done, its time to cover up, redeploy, and start digging again. What good training for a second career as a gravedigger!

Since the appearance of the Main Battle Tank (MBT) in WWII, armies throughout the world regarded the infantry as second class soldiers whose only role was to clean up after the armor had finished its job. The blitzing tank was too fast for artillery, and could run down infantry. It was practically invincible in large numbers on the battlefield. That perception changed in 1973....

In the opening days of the Yom Kippur war, Egyptian infantry inflicted devastating losses on the Israeli tank divisions at the Sinai front. The armor fought valiantly, but were no match for the swarming infantry armed with saggers and RPGs. Limited Israeli artillery batteries did not do much damage to the dug-in Egyptian troops (that's why infantry practice digging when they are not moving...), while themselves being subjected to counter-battery bombardment. The tank was king no more...

Alrite, enought depressing war talk already. It appears that I'm very likely to be joining PromiseWorks. If anyone else is interested, just let me know!

Unetaneh Tokaf

This is the prayer every Israeli chanted on the morning of Yom Kippur, 1973:
"On Rosh Hashana it is written and on the day of the fast of Kippur it is sealed... who shall live and who shall die, who in his allotted time and who not, who by water and who by fire, who by the sword..."

The Yom Kippur War: The epic encounter that transformed the middle east

I have finally started reading "The Yom Kippur War" by Abraham Rabinovich! I've been anticipating this book for months, and even ordered it on acmabooks.com.sg a month before its official release. Yet, when it finally arrived, it sat on my bookshelf for a whole month, 'cos I was just so busy with other stuff! I finally opened the wrapper yesterday. I was motivated to buy this book after reading "The Six Day War" by Michael Oren. That other book was really deep and analytical, so deep that most people thought I was crazy reading such stuff, but it was really good. So I opened "The Yom Kippur War" expecting another round of deep analytical reading (I'm an engineer, bring it on!). Surprisingly though, its been quite a pleasant read so far! Just the right mix of analysis and narrative, concise and precise, just the way I like it! Michael Oren critiques that it's not as analytical as most readers would like to see, but what the heck, it makes for a good bedtime story.....

The background:
Israel was formed some 50 years ago by Jewish immigrants leaving Europe for Palestine after the Holocaust. These Jewish immigrants received weapons and ammunition from the US for being an ally during the Cold War. The Arab countries, resentful of the Israelis, received military aid from the Soviet Union. In 1967, a whole bunch of Arab countries decided to attack Israel in what was known as "The Six Day War". The main culprits were Egypt to the West, Syria to the North, and Jordan to the East. Though largely outnumbered, Israel destroyed the entire Egyptian airforce on Day 1, and subsequently won the war in 6 days, capturing the Sinai in the West, Golan Heights in the North, and the West Bank and Jerusalem in the East. Small skirmishes followed in the coming years, but Israel pretty much became complacent after they established military superiority in the region.....

The setting so far:
The year is 1973. It is the week before Yom Kippur, one of the holiest days for the Jews.
Egyptian infantry, armed with water cannons, RPGs and sapper missiles are preparing to rush east across the Suez in a daring raid on the Israeli outposts at the edge of the Sinai peninsula. Anticipating an onslaught of Israeli tanks, the amount of antitank weaponry they are carrying will allow them to create a beach head with the densest antitank defences ever faced by any military. Meanwhile, SAM sites on the west of the Suez are ready to provide anti aircraft coverage, while tanks positioned on ramparts provide a barrage of fire on the incoming Israeli tanks.
On the east of the Suez, the Israeli outposts are thinly manned by reservists behind 60-ft high sand embankments. Fortified tank positions (known as "fins") are unmanned, and the Israelis are not anticipating an attack.
The story contiunes......

Quotable quotes from the Today paper

"Rich or poor, each of us has only one life to give to protect what is ours."
- Raphael Leong

"GEPer, leper -- I wonder why the words look so similar. Coincidence? Perhaps not... It's nice to have brains, nice to have a label recognising that you're not doing badly in school. What would be much, much nicer would be not having the ego to match."
- Edric Sng (former classmate)

Conformists

Just read this in the Today paper:
"One problem is that "gifted" individuals are often "non-conformists" who have difficulties blending in..... Gifted individuals are the ones who scan the environment and decide what is worth doing and what is not..."

It is unfortunate that GEPers and the GEP program have been getting a lot of flak from the public lately. A recent issue of The Economist described Singapore as a "highly conformist society." A couple of people I spoke to actually thought that was a compliment. Trust me, The Economist had absolutely no intention of singing our praises! It would actually do us some good to have "non-conformists" who are able to think creatively and out-of-the-box.

Then there is the accusation that "they become so comfortable with other GEPers that even outside the classroom they prefer each other's company." Hello! At that age who doesn't hang out with their own kind/classmates? Ah Bengs prefer each other's company, so do secret society members. What about the jocks who do sports training everyday? Or the "english-educated" rich kids? Or those in SAP schools? Hey, boy scouts and girl guides hang out in little cliques too! I can't believe anyone could be so narrow minded as to think it is a problem for kids at that age to hang out and form cliques with others who they see in class everyday.....

Italy's economy/ growing old

Just read this in The Economist:
"The World Economic Forum in its annual competitiveness league table recently ranked the country (Italy) a humiliating 47th, just above Botswana."
Botswana?? Super ouch!

Quite a few ppl have commented that I look older than I really am. The usual questions I get are, "So you've been working here for quite some time already?" and "Are you married?". And you should see the shocked look on their faces when I say no. Ok, this is usually at work, not in a social context. Is that a good or bad sign?

Longkang Jwee

Today is possibly (and probably) the last time I'll see YW before he wanders off to north (and south) America for the rest of the year. I still can't believe that somebody can enjoy Whistler-Blackcomb on the pretext of work while work for the rest of us ordinary folks means slogging away in our cubes! Anyway, to celebrate the occasion, we had steamboat, chou dou fu and drinks in the Bras Brasah area. What better way to chill out after a hard day's work? Of course, as always, the company was more important than the food!

It's funny how chou dou fu (aka smelly toufu) just smells so bad, almost like longkang jwee (drain water), but once it enters your mouth, it just tastes soooooo good!!! It's crispy, and once u take that first bite the smelly juice just flows around your tongue and you get that "high" feeling! Just close your eyes and let it get to you.... So how does this correlate with the theory that 80% of taste is smell? Sometimes the best things in life are those that appear the least desirable....

Anyways, enjoy yourself YW, and remember to bring back the Sam Adams! Bonus points if you can find the special "Winter Brew"!

Villa Bali

I had dinner at this place called Villa Bali last night. Getting there was like going to some place in the middle of nowhere... Dark unlit streets with no sidewalk and all (maybe we just happened to get in by the back door)..... It was a pretty nice place, Balinese architecture and decor although the food and music wasn't the least bit Balinese. Food was Kashmiri or something, basically like Indian. The ambience was great, the music was soothing, the cushioned seats were so comfortable, but most of all, the company was excellent! A wonderful night out indeed!

Engineers

I'm posting too many posts at one go now. But I've just read a real interesting quote and how can I resist?
"Mechanical engineers get paid to make weapons; civil engineers get paid to make targets."
- Ray Seed, UC Berkeley Professor

California Dominates Stanford In Big Game, 27-3

Headlines today:
"California Dominates Stanford In Big Game, 27-3"
"Cal's inspired defense sacked Stanford's two quarterbacks eight times in another one-sided edition of Northern California's biggest college rivalry"
Does StanfUrd's football team suck or what?
Go Bears! We got the Axe!!

California Dreamin

"If you want a laidback lifestyle, I begin to think, you should go to Perth; if you want beautiful beaches, head to Thailand; if you want cutting edge youth culture, turn to Japan. But to say all this is to be shortsighted about aspiration. We are as dogmatic in our dreams as in our beliefs. We need to have a place we can retreat to in our imaginations when we're sitting under house arrest in Burma, or battling traffic in Lagos. This place is called, naturally enough, "California," and it has a life more resilient than any reality, and is sustained by every rerun of Baywatch or reprise of "California Dreamin'," every new screening of City of Angels...
... It's hard for many of us in California to accept that we're leading lives that other people dream of. But the evergreen Shangri-La dreamed of and diligently preserved in every corner of the global imagination is the place where we're hanging up the wash and going to see the lawyer this afternoon."

- Pico Iyer, California Monthly, Nov/Dec 2005

Read read read!

I have lots of things to read this weekend! There's California Monthly and the latest issue of "The Economist" on my desk right now (it came in time this wk ;) ). And there's 3 books sitting on my bookshelf that have been waiting for me for more than a month.

One of the books that is in my list of favorite books is actually on my bookshelf and I haven't read it yet. Does that make me an untruthful person? I haven't read the book but it's my favorite huh? Well, i've read an extensive review with excerpts and quotes, does that count? I better go read it soon to make sure its really a favorite hahahaha......

Ouch!

This week's issue of "The Economist" describes Singapore as a "highly conformist society". Ouch!

Service with Honor

I was a Far East Square again last night for Belgian beers, and there was this group of youngsters nearby doing hip hop line dancing! I didn't know hip hop and line dancing could go together...

Anyway, that's not the real point of today's blog entry. I was in church this morning and we had a gospel about the Master and his three servants. The Master gave his servants 5, 2 and 1 "talents" respectively and went away. The first 2 servants went out and invested their "talents", doubling their returns. The last servant buried his in the ground. When the master returned, he was mad at the last servant for being lazy, and took away his only "talent".

Father Patrick was rather blunt in his sermon following the reading. He said that God gives us many talents, but many of us keep it and use it for our own selfish interests. He further said that such people are like the servant with one talent buried in the ground: lazy and good for nothing!

By that definition, if I look at myself and many of those around me, we are indeed "good for nothing" huh? How many of us have lives that revolve around wearing the coolest clothes, drinking or dining at the most happening place, clubbing at the most hip club, or just chasing the 5 C's? How many of us actually believe in serving some greater good other than the occasional donation to some celebrity charity show? Cheers to M & HB, who are always so enthusiastic and dedicated to their volunteer work. May you inspire others to join your ranks and serve with honour!

Make me a channel of your peace
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
In GIVING, that we receive
And in dying that we are born to eternal life!

SJ has made it big!

My NUSSU Union Camp "Pyron" groupmate is now a famous singer! See page 11 of the Life section in today's papers for more info on Kaira Gong! Best of luck SJ!