Politicians get Golden Number Bonus.

Singapore political appointees have been rewarded with the new National Bonus which would be 1.618 months salary. (Read news report here)

1.618 is a Golden Number!

In mathematics, the 2 greatest ‘irrational’ numbers are   

    

(Pi) and 

(Phi.)

From our early school days we learned that Pi =3.142,

but lesser is learnt about Phi or that Phi = 1.618.

or 1.618 is also known as the Golden Ratio.

It is believed that this ratio is the perfect balance that human eyes can perceive.

I will not go into the mathematical background as I am hopeless at maths beyond my calculator, but I do know about it from a visual aspect.

There are many structures and buildings that are built to this ratio, i.e. the length against the height of a building will result in a 1.618 ratio, for example, the United Nations building in New York. Another is the Taj Mahal.

The ratio of the low rise to the high rise is 1.618

It has also been calculated that the features of your face is perfect if it falls in the 1.618 ratio. Actors known to have this facial ratio include Brad Pitt, Claudia Schiffer and Angelina Jolie.

The Marquardt Mask is based on the Phi 1.618 ratio.
If your face fits the mask, you are a natural beauty.

Leornado Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, made more famous recently by Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code, is also based on this ratio. You remember the Vitruvian man? The sketch of the naked four arms four legged man within a circle inside a square?

This ratio seems to be the perfect symmetry and most pleasing to the unconscious human eye.

Being a mathematicians favourite number, is it any wonder why the statisticians in the government came up with this bonus number?

I’ll bet the next ministerial bonus would be 3.142.

Here are some more examples of  the occurrence of the 1.618 golden ratio.

Views from the Well

I know people complaint a lot in Singapore but lately it seems the complaints are of the most frivolous in nature.
Just yesterday, Stomp reported a young lady for Bukit Batok kicking up a big fuss (besides kicking chairs at the outlet) over a late phone delivery order.

Today, I just couldn't stand by to read this letter in the Straits Times.
I wrote back to the editor, though I doubt if it will get published.

Dear Editor,

I refer to today's Straits Times Forum (Page A19) letter "What's wrong with peering into Wicked orchestra pit?".
I am bemused by Ms Scofield's query which was unintentionally answered by herself. Just because they had done it at the Esplanade theatre does not imply they are entitled to do so elsewhere. If there were no attendants around, would she have also visited the make-up rooms or costume dept just to satisfy her natural curiosity?

Imagine the crowd following her at the Wicked who would ask why the Scofields are allowed to peer in and not them? The organisers have drawn a line and ticket holders should know what that ticket entitles them to. It certainly does not give them the extra rights to visit the make up rooms, costume dept or even peer into the orchestra pits if the organisers so deem it as such, perhaps on grounds of security or otherwise.

7-11-12-17-30-31-41

I am not an addict nor a compulsive punter but I do buy 4D and Toto regularly.

It seems like I am helping to supplement the govt’s coffers more often than my own bank account. 

But we all have the same dream of striking it rich, right?

For 4D, I only buy 2 numbers each draw.

One is the last 4 digits of my NRIC and the other is my address.

For Toto, I have a system! So who doesn’t? haha.

The last few years I have collected the results of all the previous draws and buy only the numbers that are regularly drawn. I even have a chart showing the pattern of numbers drawn (not that it helps but it assuages my own bruised ego)

Can you see Jesus?

If you are not aware of it, I'll let you know that the the top 7 (most frequently) drawn numbers in the past 3 years are:

7-11-12-17-30-31-41.

My own great theory (ha ha) is that I would have a better chance if I select only numbers that appear most often. 

So for the last few years, I’ve been basically playing around those numbers within the top 10, on the great theory that eventually a day will come when these numbers will fall in line during one particular draw.

Guess what numbers were drawn yesterday?

Dressed in your Sunday Finest?

St Anthony's Church at Woodlands dropped its controversial dress code last week.

Cool heads have prevailed and I think that’s the wisest move at this time.

The idea of a dress code is acceptable. After all,  there are dress codes for temples, mosques, social functions, even for business. A proper dress code ensure propriety for that particular place or event. 

It's just the enforcement that I object to. 

The thing I personally dislike is that some wardens have become the morality police. 

Aren’t they infringing my rights as a catholic to receive communion. 

Are they sure they wish to take the responsibility of denying me the sacraments just because I may be in shorts or wearing sandals?

Dress codes are a guide and should never be a deterrent especially in a church.

 It’s not going to help if there’s no accepted standard definition, and rules are unilaterally laid down according a particularly perceived idea of decency. Ultimately the loser will be the church when parishioners stop attending simply because their dress styles or values differ slightly from the rules defined by the local parish.

What would St Francis at his tiny church on the plains of Assisi have said?

Don’t come in! You smell of sheep, your feet are covered with mud from the fields,

or would he have said Come and share in the Lord’s table?

Most Catholics know the boundaries of being dressed properly for church. 

Some do test the limits, but while most may not be in their Sunday best , they do try to maintain an  acceptable level of decency in today’s societal norm.

Of course, it helps if the pastor comes out once in a while to remind everyone. 

Keeping silent too long may simply compound the issue.

Sunday Rantings. 19 Feb 2012.

I got a buzz from my sis yesterday,"Hey tomorrow's Sunday. Where's your Sunday Ranting? It's been awhile!"
I'd been focusing my energies on my heritage blog lately that's why!
Some friends even 'pushing' me to compile it into a book. You kidding me, who's gonna do the work?
But I did put up a post just last Friday on the stuff from the week's papers, didn't you read it? Click here if you didn't.

Anyway, just to keep my baby sis off my back for a while here's something from today's paper.

HOME: PAGE 14 NIGHTMARE AFTER D&D NIGHTS

All in fun and jest. Nothing in black & white so now all red-faced after colorful event. Another non-apology apology from UOB (hmm. seems to be the trend nowadays, I mean the non-apology apologies).
Nothing much from Yen Feng's generic column about company D&Ds but what was more interesting relating to this event is found on Page 42:think.

There were 5 letters today on this UOB mis-event. Some on the offense and some defensive.
I liked the  how would you feel if Indians came painted yellow for a shaolin theme party ...with scotch taped slit eyes...You decide.


Page 43:think  IN SEARCH OF OLD ROCHORE
Toh Yong Chuan went in search of the missing 'e' in Rochore, his old neighbourhood now spelt Rochor.
Nice article. I didn't know the cess pits were where Albert Complex now shits, i mean sits.

Hey, that reminds me. My heritage blog is missing a Park as well ! I am not joking. I gotta blog about this later today! Besides having an entire house going missing, Princess Elizabeth Estate also lost a whole park and nobody knows why. When I say lost, I mean disappeared, gone, missing!

(Okay, ok, I admit i am unabashedly just trying to get you all to browse my heritage blog....hee hee.. hey, it's good ok... here it is... click here or here or here.)


WHOA! NEW ORTHODOX BISHOP FOR SINGAPORE
Gotta send him a note before he goes visiting some sister Catholic churches.
Got to remind him to make sure his vestments are of correct length or he may not be admitted.
Some of the 'wardens' are empowered like prison wardens. What they say goes! Don't f*** around with them! Pardon my Latin.
What happened to the days when 'wardens' were 'welcome ministers'?

Click here and see what happens.

Better behaviour for pleasant journey

LTA (Land Transport Authority) is studying better design features to encourage commuters to move inside the MRT cabins, according to a report in the TODAY broadsheet, 17 Feb 2011.

I commute on the trains almost daily so I wish to put in my 2 cents.

I must have put in almost a few dollars already on this topic but I still see no improvements on the trains on the issue of overcrowding at the doors.

I must admit though there is a marked alleviation of the general overcrowding problem on the return journey in the evenings at Jurong East Station. This is due to the separation of the incoming passengers from Boon Lay side to platform A, while the incoming passengers from the city are directed to platform D.
Thank SMRT for little mercies.

I am not sure of the situation at other stations.

However, the problem of the squeeze near the doors during peak hours still persists.

My suggestion is controversial but I feel it merits some consideration.

Make the exits and entrance ONE WAY ONLY.

There are 4 doors to each cabin. Alternately, make each door an ENTRANCE or EXIT only, not both ways, as is the current practice.

This will surely make the commuters move further in on entry knowing that they must reach the exit farther in sooner or later.

Currently, there is no compulsion to move in as staying near the door makes it easier to exit on arrival.

My other suggestion is to remove the vertical grab poles in the center of the cars. They actually obstruct the passageway and is not conducive to proper spread of passengers standing in the cabin.

DO place more overhead handhold, even near the doors, for SAFETY reasons.

There will be passengers who are unable to move in during peak hours but SMRT still have to bear in mind their safety during the ride.

The reason of NOT placing more handholds at the doors to encourage movement inside does not hold up to reason, as passengers are not motivated to move in anyway. Their safety is compromised without any means of support if they are caught unwittingly on their part being squashed at the door areas.

The news this week

WHY MAN STILL BEHAVE LIKE SCUM.
The German Osnabruck University this week confirmed Charles Darwin's comment to his friend Dr Joseph Hooker 140 years ago that life most probably originated from a tepid pond and not from the ocean as commonly believed.
Conditions in the primitive oceans were not conducive for life to evolve from its primordial soup but the scum in warm tepid ponds were ideal for it.

I guess this explains why some people still behave like the scum of the earth. It's genetic. Mystery solved.

http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC120215-0000023/Darwin-was-right-on-origin-of-life-on-Earth---in-a-warm-little-pond

MAN HAS HEART ATTACK AFTER EATING TRIPLE BYPASS BURGER.

The Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas offers a 1.5 lbs burger free to anyone weighing over 159kg. One customer was hospitalized on Wednesday after the massive meal.

The irony of this excess gluttony is an article directly below this report: 1 in 4 children worldwide are malnourished.

I am sure it's for us to take note of the social ills and imbalances that still pervades our societies.

kawaii ! (I mean the girl on the right)

SLOW WALKING LEADS TO DEMENTIA.

American Academy of Neurology will publish new research data this coming April to show that slow walking leads to a greater chance (1.5x) of getting dementia.

I hope I can remember that in future.

But another Swedish research from Linkoping University found that curry, esp the spice tumeric, decreases by 75% the chance of dementia in fruit flies. Good news for curry eating fruit flies!
But it also did say that there are fewer demented old folks in India than in European countries.

Get my running shoes out, I am going for fish head curry today!

SINGAPORE FLOPS ON SEXUAL SURVEY

A global survey on sexual satisfaction by Durex found that Singapore rated only 58% in satisfaction in the bedroom. This is just ahead of Japan at 34%.

 Just ahead? What happened between 34 and 58%?

Bukit Batok's 'Mt Fuji'

For many visitors, Bukit Batok still remains a very confusing area to navigate. That's probably because Bukit Batok is divided into 2 separate 'zones' - Bukit Batok and Bukit Gombak. The town is divided by a small hilly ridge which completely separates the town into two distinct precincts.Today , the 2 zones are connected by roads skirting both ends of the ridge as well as the MRT track that tunnels through the ridge itself.

When I was asked which part of Bukit Batok I live in, my reply would be 'across from the MRT station'. But in the past, I would say 'next to the Fuji Hill'.

Yes, there was (is?) an officially named "Fuji Hill' located at Bukit Batok.
Though today most residents do not call it by this name, it was a landmark in the early 1990s.
I guess it's a bit of an embarrassment to call it" Fuji'

Here is an old picture of the hill without its covering of trees found today. It's easy to see why people called it such in the earlier days.
The road in front of this hill (in the picture below) is Bukit Batok St 21. The wayang stage on the right stands across where the chinese temples are located today.

Fuji Hill around 1980, before someone went berserk with tree planting

Today, Fuji Hill is covered by trees and looks like any other park. It was my neighbourhood park.

This how 'Fuji Hill' looks now.

Bukit Batok New Town was built upon a hilly area and one of those hills left remaining where it stood was commonly referred to as the Fuji Hill due to its conical shape.


Related blogs:
My neighbourhood park
Bukit Batok, my neigbourhood

Double Rainbow

Auspicious sighting?  A double rainbow!

The pot of gold must be at Guilin View Condominium !

A sign of the covenant between Me and the Earth.

Sunday Rantings. 15 Jan 2012.

Frontpage: Headline today was the presidential election in Taiwan. Candidate Ma won. Boring.


Home Pg 13.  DEAD BOY'S PARENTS WANT ROAD MADE SAFER.
Schoolboy Lee Yu Heng was tragically killed by a speeding vehicle while crossing the street near his school last Friday.
His grieving parents started a petition to get answers from the school and the MOE. "We are angry and we want answers," said his father Mr Lee. We understand the grief that the Lees are going through with their loss.

But in his confused state, I think he is barking up the wrong tree. It is not the school's fault. It is more likely the fault of the driver, than the school authorities in failing to prevent the situation from happening. Perhaps the petition should go to the Traffic Police or LTA instead.

We are all very familiar with the state of mind of local motorists. Many have that "king of the road' attitude and always believe they are the better driver than the others out there. The other drivers are always inconsiderate and reckless and lousy drivers but not themselves.

From my own observation, the school zone sign is routinely ignored. I live along a street with FOUR schools beside each other. The school zone sign is prominently display, but it makes NO difference. Buses, cars and motorcycles speed through the street with utter disregard to the sign. It's just another thoroughfare to them. No motorists make any attempt to slow down along this stretch.

I once posted a photo of that school zone sign in a tongue-in-cheek blog called 'Useless Signs".  I received a comment from a reader calling it a "stupid and boring!" photo. That's the sad attitude some people have and so I don't wonder why such accidents happen.

Pg 29. SORRY IS MY HARDEST WORD.
Rachel Chang has a nice lighthearted take on the recent spew of apologies being meted out. Go read her bit about her sorry situations.

Seems true that we have been getting lots of sorry people lately.
From LHL's election apology to SMRT, DBS, PUB, from politicians Seng Harn Tong to Ministers Yacoob and Grace Fu. Seems a whole slew of high profiled people are apologizing.
In some cases though, the apologies come with a few 'buts', in other words, a non-apology apology.
Seems Singapore is in a very sorry state at the moment.


* Sunday Rantings are my thoughts on a lazy Sunday morning after reading the Sunday papers. This may or may not be a regular feature depends on whether I have the energy after breakfast. Also Sunday Mass has a calming effect, so the more I pay attention to the sermons, the less I rant. The long rants probably mean I fell asleep during Mass.

Sunday rantings - 8 Jan 2012

DON'T RAIN ON MY PARADE, PLEASE!
Urghh! What a disappointment for me!
Today all 162 pachyderms from the Elephant Parade are gathered at one spot at the Botanic Garden for public showing and it has to rain on the parade. I am still hoping it will clear by afternoon though the sky doesn't look so inviting. There goes my video opportunity.

Anyway, for those of you who also can't make it today, it'll be at the Eco garden near Botanic Garden MRT entrance till 11 Jan 2012. (9 am till 8pm) Sadly I got lots of work these few days and so today was my only chance, sob sob.

Luckily, thanks to my sister Sue, I have this for my Christmas present.

POLICE CLARIFY RULES ON CLUSTER CYCLING
Finally, after years of complaints and virtual non-replies, the Traffic Police (TP) has clarified the rules for cyclists.

Rule 7(1) - prohibits a cyclist from riding on the right right of another vehicle (which is not another bicycle) unless the cyclist is attempting to overtake that vehicle.

Rule 7(2) - allows for only two cyclists to ride abreast in the same direction on a public road, except when overtaking.  If three or more cyclists are riding in a group, they are required to ride in pairs or in single file.

Rule 8 - cyclists should keep to the left-hand edge of the roadway and not in a manner as to obstruct other vehicles moving at a faster speed.

Rule 10 - requires cyclists to cycle in an orderly manner and with due regard for the safety of others.


All well and good, and this is a step in the right direction.
However, I am not a cyclist. I am a pedestrian.
My own concern is with Rule 28. When is the TP going to enforce Rule 28 ???
Rule 28 needs to be clarified asap. My life is in danger otherwise.

Rule 28 is supposed to say cyclists are not allowed to ride on the pavement.
Supt Ho Yenn Dar, can  you come again, please.



DEEJAY TO CHAMPION STROKE PREVENTION. 
ROTFLOL !   DJ Rod Monteiro suffered an acute stroke last week while at work.
Technically, he's my colleague at work (different divisions) so I wish him a very speedy recovery.

But (not laughing at him, I must clarify), it is so funny that some party (no mention of whom) has made him the Ambassador for Stroke Prevention!
It's so laughable because it's getting someone who did not do anything to PREVENT his own condition to advise people about stroke prevention?
It's like asking OJ Simpson to talk about knife safety or Saw Phaik Hwa to do MRT crowd control during peak hours...
He is the antithesis of stroke PREVENTION.
Instead he should volunteer as a case study for POOR STROKE PREVENTION attitudes.
I await his learned wisdoms.



DBS BANK ADVISES CUSTOMERS TO CHANGE PASSWORDS
I am happy that DBS managed to handle the incidences of unauthorized withdrawals in an expeditious and transparent manner. Kudos to them.
What I didn't particularly like was the spokespersons' suggestions that we are responsible to regularly change our passwords. It seems he's throwing the onus of responsibility back to the customer.
It's my fault if I don't change my password?
If a masked robber cames in and takes the money from your cashier, it's my fault also because I was standing in the queue?
DBS was robbed, not me! You lost the money from your bank by some virtual masked robber!
My money is secured with your bank and you owe me. It's your responsibility for the loss.


* Sunday Rantings are my thoughts on a lazy Sunday morning after reading the Sunday papers. This may or may not be a regular feature depends on whether I have the energy after breakfast. Also Sunday Mass has a calming effect, so the more I pay attention to the sermons, the less I rant. The long rants probably mean I fell asleep during Mass.


p.s. By the way, if you noticed I haven't been updating this blog, it's because I've been focusing on my heritage blog on my old homestead Princess Elizabeth Estate (here). But I'll be here regularly i assure you. Thanks for visiting my blog.

Us against them, again?

I woke this morning to read some pretty disturbing development in the Home section of the dailies.
"First time curbs placed on 24-hour restaurants here" read the sub heading.

I am not a patron of the A&A Restaurant nor its neighbors Azya Restaurant and Beancurd City. Neither am I associated with the Euphony Gardens condo. In fact, I don't even know where these places are located in the Sembawang area.

The gist of the news report is NEA's imposition of restriction on the operating hours of these establishments from being opened 24 hours to mandatory closure from 10.30pm to 6 am each day.
This was due to complaints from nearby residents about the noise, littering and parking issues supposedly caused by patrons of these food establishment.

Being 'open air' eating establishments, I am sure the shop owners have little control over these issues and rightly do not have any jurisdiction over it. Yet these very reasons are cited by NEA for its ruling.
Even their MP Lee Bee Wah seems more pre-disposed towards the residents than to the plight of the shop owners. "Eateries can move elsewhere, but you cannot ask the residents to uproot".
Another feeble attempt  to resolve issues by throwing out the baby with the bath water.


My concern here is the rising incidences of "us against them" problems that seem to be more prevalent nowadays. Just last week, a private estate at the west coast area complained about heavy vehicle traffic driving through 'their' estate and demanded that their MP and the authorities impose restrictions.  Guess what happened?

Are we seeing more elitist attitudes being condoned? What happened to helping entrepreneurs and small start ups? Who's standing up for the minority? Or do residents prefer cookie cutter malls where everything is kitschy and ordered inside?

We already have 'over-policies' by so many governmental authorities. People complain about it yet when they don't like something they use this strong arm tactic to impose their will.
Is this right? Are we becoming a more generous society?

Sadly, I guess I gotta live with this. I am one of the 39.9%. Sigh.

Related links:
Straits Times

Hot and under fire (again)

Please note the term fire here is used figuratively, as we are aware the subject is a bit sensitive to  'fire'.  (For the uninitiated, the Free Online Dictionary defines Fire as 1. combustion, etc ...and..  5. A severe test, trial, or torment.)  And please note that this is not to flame anyone here, it's just my own opinion.


MP Mr Seng Harn Tong went on blogTV public and using his 15 mins of fame lambasted Malay and Indian MRT staff as not having the ability to speak proper English, or as he said it himself "because some staff are Malay, they are Indians, they cannot converse in English good, well enough".


Not surprising are the immediate 'feedback' from the public over his insensitive remarks. What was most surprising was that his fellow MIW quickly distanced themselves by coming out and firing him from all sides. Again today, in the papers he got grilled and roasted by other fellow MIWs.

Yes, he made an apology.
But an apology that to me sucks.
If you are going to apologize and say sorry, please don't say sorry, but...
Whether you are Chinese educated or Cambridge trained does not mitigate an apology.
Just say sorry and be sincere about it.
Mistake made, say sorry, no buts, no ifs.

If you do that sincerely, nobody will fire you.

Sunday Rantings. 18 Dec 2011.

As expected, after the 3 times failure of the rail operator within this same week, I am joined not just by a chorus  but a full choir of rants this weekend.

FRONT PAGE:  PM ORDERS INQUIRY AS TRAINS BREAK DOWN AGAIN
First time, we would put it to bad luck. We accept things do breakdown. Just bad luck if it happens to you.
Second time, we are irritated and frustration goes up. You should have known better, ete, etc,
Third strike, you're out! No excuses can justify the lack of vigilance. Not when it happens 3 times in 4 days.

The rail disruptions affected me yesterday.
My trip from Bukit Batok to Novena took 2 hours instead of 40 minutes.
This included being 'de-trained' at Toa Payoh where the line for the bridging buses were snaking 200meters long! Frustrated commuters switching over to the normal bus services were not any better due to the sudden surge of commuters overloading the system.

I was one of those who had no choice but to join the line at Toa Payoh.

SMRT CEO Saw Phaik Hwa should shake off her complacency, get off her high horse and truly realise the frustration of commuters. "I can't see anything significant... People can board trains, its whether they choose to..." does not bode well  for your so call empathies with commuters' frustration over the bad service.

Personally, I feel Saw is not the right person for the job. Her specialty is in Retail and she has proven this magnificently by making the retail component of the SMRT revenues a whopping 45% of the profits it generated. But SMRT is not a retailer! Its core business is transportation! You are a people mover system, first and last.

Here's a little trivia I'll confess to you.
Saw Phaik Hwa was my classmate. We were in the same Pre-U batch in school.
As an ex-classmate, I wish her all the best in getting the system to work, but as a commuter, I think maybe someone else who specializes in transit might be more suitable.

Here's another bit of interesting facts I picked up reading the reports and complaints.
When the commuters were complaining of packed trains, SMRT used the figure 1400 per train as the norm. When the trains got stuck the last few days, this figure mysteriously went down to 1000 per train..?
I check  Wikipedia and the stated maximum capacity for the train was 1920.
Interesting? Different figures are used for different justifications?


PAGE 35 THINK:  WHEN DOCTORS INVOKE GOD'S WILL
Dr Lee's amoral piece on why doctors cop out when they defer decisions to 'euthanize' patients.
However, I must thoroughly disagree with Dr Lee's morality.
She may not believe in a God but that does not give anyone including medical professionals the right as well to decide who lives or who dies. By saying you won't consign people to further suffering, you are already playing God.

It's a very slippery slope when one starts to be firm in deciding who is normal and who is not; who is suffering terminally and don't deserve to live; and that those suffering or who are not 'normal' should be put out of their misery?
Using our reasoning, our logic and our innate moral sense does not necessarily mean we should take 'God's will' out of the equation. I am a Catholic and I believe in God's will.


Page 34 YOUR LETTERS: IT'S LEGAL TO RIDE TWO ABREAST
Two letters on the same issue this week.
Never a week goes by without someone highlighting the bicycle/pedestrian, bicycle/motorist issue.
Someone in authority must take up the issue and clarify matters. LTA? SPF?
Nobody seems to want to touch this hot potato despite the endless calls in the weeklies.

* Sunday Rantings are my thoughts on a lazy Sunday morning after reading the Sunday papers. This may or may not be a regular feature depends on whether I have the energy after breakfast. Also Sunday Mass has a calming effect, so the more I pay attention to the sermons, the less I rant. The long rants probably mean I fell asleep during Mass.

My first job.

I had my first full time paying job when I was 18 on completion of my GCE A levels.
While most of my other classmates were being drafted into the army for their National Service (NS) stint, I was starting on a new phase in my life.

I joined Lockheed Aircraft Company as a trainee aircraft mechanic.
In 1973, Singapore embarked on a new economic front and focused on building up its fledgling aviation industry. Lockheed Aircraft had won a contract to refurbish 40 used Douglas Skyhawk aircraft from the US Navy for the RSAF. They offered an apprenticeship scheme which included diploma study at the Singapore Polytechnic. I was one of the selected candidates. Joining this scheme deferred me from my NS liabilities.

At Lockheed, which was based at both Seletar and Changi Air Bases, I had to undergo training for 2 years with an intensive familiarisation course before being qualified to work on the Skyhawk project.  This included getting through all the theoretical and practical tests conducted both by the company and the Dept of Civil Aviation (now called CAAS). It was grueling!

These are some of the old certificates which I have kept.

On completion, I qualified as a mechanic to work on the Douglas A4 Skyhawk powerplants (i.e. engines) and airframes. We were some of the first local aircraft mechanics. Most of the experienced guys came from the Philippines, Taiwan or India.

We converted these to
these!

From the US Navy's A4B to the RSAF A4S.

Unfortunately, in the late 1970s, an event called the Arab Oil Embargo occurred resulting in several casualties in the aviation industry. Lockheed Aircraft was one of those badly hit.... but that's another story, ...another blog in future.

Photography as my hobby - Part 3 Been there done that

As my dads' interest waned, I 'inherited' his cameras. His favorites were the Polaroid Land camera and the twin lens Rolleiflex but what I wanted was only his SLR - the single lens reflex camera. It was an Asahi Pentax Spotmatic II.

The Asahi Pentax was the camera that revolutionized two things.
It was the 1st SLR camera. It used a prism to reflect the image directly to your eyes and you saw exactly what the lens saw. Secondly, it had the 1st built-in TTL (through the lens) exposure metering. This meant you not only saw the picture you are going to shoot but could also adjust the exposure settings on-the-fly.
Today, all these are taken for granted but at that time it was at the leading edge of camera technology.

For years this was the only camera I used. I bought extra lenses like the 35mm wide angle and 135mm telephoto, which was all I could afford at that time.

In secondary school, I started the Photo Club and persuaded the Principal, Mr Rudy Mosbergen, to allow the Photo Club to take the annual class photos for the school. This was previously done by a professional and we explained that we could do the job not only cheaper but the profits from selling the class photos to students would go towards buying equipment for the Photo Club. All the class photos were shot using my Asahi Pentax camera.

After my school and college days, I continued to upgrade my equipment and by this time Japanese manufacturers had all but cornered the camera market. Going into adulthood and working meant more disposal cash for equipment purchases.
By then, I had become a Nikon die-hard.

The Nikkormat FTn was my 1st Nikon

My Nikon FM was a spare camera

Eventually my top end camera was the Nikon F2Sb with motor drive.

In November 1984, an event was to happen that would thereafter change my outlook towards my photography hobby. Something that was so momentous, so consequential,  that I was not to take up photography again for almost 2 decades - I got married!

In Part IV, the final part, the digital re-introduction to my hobby in photography.

Related links:
Part 1 - The beginnings
Part 2 - Developing skills

Photography as my hobby - Part 2 Developing skills

My dad was a photography enthusiast. In his days, he dabbled in cinematography and was an avid outdoor photographer. He picked up his skills working for a professional studio in Chinatown in his youth and it became his life long passion. I guess his enthusiasm rubbed off a little on me but I wasn't all that interested at that time, I remembered.

I became a little more interested only after he set up a little darkroom in our small flat at Princess Elizabeth Estate. He converted the tiny bathroom into his darkroom. That resulted in our toilet having to become the toilet cum bathroom.

As a young boy, I was fascinated with how the mixture of chemicals together brought out the images on paper. Voila, photographs!  The standard 'recipe' at that time was a formula called Kodak D-76.  To make the formula was like a chemistry lesson. You had to weigh chemicals in the correct proportion, mix it with filtered water and ensure correct temperatures using ice. In those days, there were no pre-mixed formulas. You had to mix your own developers, stop-baths and fixers. It was a skill that would become useful as I grew into my teens years.

My own darkroom was similar to this set up.

In my teens, the family moved out of the tiny flat into a house at Fuyong Estate.
Having more space now, I persuaded my dad to build me a new darkroom. It was purposed built with proper ventilation and running water and of course, completely light-tight.

I had a modern colour enlarger called the Durst F60.
You learned to 'read' a colour negative and correct color before printing.

In the meanwhile, as my interest grew, I picked up more skills along the way.
I attended colour photography and processing courses ran by the Lembaga Gerakan Pelajaran Dewasa. How many of you can remember that term Lembaga?
The LGPD was the Adult Education Board and they had a studio and darkroom facilities at the Fort Canning Cultural Centre. I was trained by Mr Wang Su Fah, a local photographer.

I also joined the Photographic Society of Singapore and mingled with young people like David Tay, Foo Tee Jun and Yip Cheong Fun. You may not recognize these names now but they were mini celebrities in the local photography scene those days.  Joining special interest groups allowed you to pick up tips and pointers from the more experienced. However, I left after some time as I found that most tended to focus on the arty-farty stuff which was a genre which I disliked. Their work tended to look like chinese art in photos. My own preference was for more candid social events. My idol at that time was a German named Helmut Newton.

Apologies if this article sounds more like an autobiography.
My next blog will focus on the equipment I collected and then finally gave away.


Related links:
Part 1 - The beginnings
Part 3 - Been There Done That

Photography as my hobby - Part 1 The beginnings

My interest in photography started when I was given my first camera, a Kodak Brownie 127 on my 10th birthday back in 1965. It was a simple little plastic box camera but to me it was the coolest gadget ever.

It literally used a roll of film in a protective light-proof wrapper which you had to carefully unroll to avoid accidental exposure and fit onto the rollers inside the camera. As you took each picture, you had to turn the rollers manually to advance the film. 

It was the earliest WYSIWYG before the computer era termed it "What you see is what you get!" - there were no adjustments possible. You just pressed the shutter and hope for the best. Only 12 pictures could be taken with a roll. 

Photography during my young days was an expensive hobby. That's probably the reason why so few amateur photos of those days are around now. Most people would balk at the cost of developing and printing photos. You were charged for both developing the negatives and printing the photographs.

A black and white 'postcard' size photo would cost about 40 cents and a colored print would be $2! Multiplied by 12 in each roll, it was a fortune in those days. So each and every picture was always considered carefully before being snapped! Most pictures would actually be printed in 'half' postcard size, approximately 2-1/2" X 3-1/2" which would be around 20 cents each.

Pictures taken with those pinhole cameras, which was what it really was, was quite acceptable. I still have some pictures taken with that camera with me today. Some of which I have posted in another blog about my old housing estate (see the b&w shots taken here). This is a picture taken with that camera.

A couple of years into using my Brownie 127, I was given an 'upgrade'. 

My dad bought me a Kodak Instamatic camera! 

The Kodak Instamatic was 'hi-tech' - it used a pre-loaded film cartridge instead of roll films. You could now get 20 exposures from each cartridge, and the neatest thing was that it had the latest photographic technology - Flash Cubes! The disposable flash cubes had 4 flashes and you could take pictures indoors now.

In my next blogs, I will tell you how I progressed to developing and printing my own photos, buying my first SLR camera and finally going digital in part III.

Related links:

Part 2 - Developing skills.

Part 3 - Been There Done That.

The house always wins.

Here's an article in Yahoo today that you might be interested in reading, especially if you have that occasional itch to try your luck at the casinos.

Click here to read the whole article.

Doesn't actually say much more than what we already know. That the casinos always wins.

In the Yahoo writeup, they cite the report from Wynn Las Vegas Casino which stated that their average take from each gaming table was US$7117 per day, while the slot machines were US$273 per day. They win at every game everyday!

Mathematically, the odds are always in their favor.  

The funny thing about this is that some casinos in the US actually brazenly advertise these odds in full glare.  Gullible gamblers, mainly tourists like you and me, never stop to think of the implications.

In Las Vegas, to attract customers, some casinos outrightly announce 98% payouts at their joints. What gullible people don't realize is what they are really saying is that the casinos will always earn $2 out of every $100 you play. The longer you play the more they win! 

Yet, we are still so gullible that that we always think we have an extremely HIGH chance (98% wow!) of getting back our money! The old adage of  "There's one born everyday".

I have not been to the casinos at MBS nor RWS yet but I have been to Las Vegas six times. Gosh, how I miss Las Vegas. Was last there in 1997.
OMG! That's like so 20th century !
The Bellagio and Venetian were not even built then!

In fact when I was last there, they were filming Con-Air and I saw them filming the part where they wrecked the old Dunes Hotel by crashing the plane into the building! Who remembers Nicholas Cage in ConAir? The Dunes Hotel was imploded later to build the new Venetian Hotel.

Back in my dinosaur era, I made an annual trip to Las Vegas. Not to gamble but to attend the COMDEX IT convention. That was the largest gathering of IT people at that time.

I miss Las Vegas. I wanna go back there! sob, sob.

I was a 'Super Rider'.

Sounds like a piece about motorcycles and the thrill of speed?
No, the term was used by the then transit operator, MRT Corporation and the Land Transport Authority (LTA), when they were looking for volunteers to test the new contact-less payment cards in 2000.
I volunteered and was given this.

Volunteers were known as "Super Riders' and we had to make a minimum of five trips on the train each week. To make it worth our while, we were given a 10% rebate for all our trips at the end of the test period from Sept 2000 to Feb 2001, We were also entitled to a special commemorative contact-less card when it the system was launched in 2002. 

After the initial MRT tests, the scheme was extended to include the contact-less system on buses. There were more problems I remembered using it on the buses as some drivers at that time were still not familiar with the new cards.

The contact-less system was introduced in 2002 and was called EZ-Link. This was been replaced in 2009 with the current EZ-Link CEPAS card which can be used for more mercantile transactions.

The old magnetic store value card

The new EZLink CEPAS fare card.

Related links:
Shitty service replacing my MRT card.

Hillview Railway Bridge Revisited

Today, on my way to Woodlands, I stopped by Hillview Road to re-visit the site of the old railway bridge which was dismantled on 26 Nov 2011.
I was just curious to know if any further removal of the remnants took place.

The Hillview Railway Bridge July 2011

The bridge was dismantled on 26 Nov 2011.

Bridge removed with only the collision barrier remaning (26 Nov 2011)

The collision barrier removed (12 Dec 2011)

Photo taken 12 Dec 2011

The height warning gantry still remains.

It's so typical of the way the various government bodies function.
One is responsible for dismantling the bridge, another to remove the collision barrier and finally some other has to remove the height warning gantry.
Wouldn't you expect that a coordinated tender to remove all three at one go?

I would expect the next development would be the widening of Hillview Road once the Hillview MRT station situated there is completed by the middle of 2012.

Related links:
Passing of an era.