First time in my life...

Was travelling along CTE towards AMK just out of the tunnel behind Orchard road at ard 12am when I saw a motorcyclist lying on the road...instinctively, i pulled over and tottered over to help. I tell you, i've never seen so much blood (except in movies maybe) in my life. Blood was like on the road and on the concrete perch he was sitting on. It looks really red...sigh...

After stoning for a while, i called for an ambulance for the poor old uncle who was sitting at the side. While I ran back to the car to get water ,the other person who was helping the poor uncle decided his work is done and scootered off...leaving me alone with the uncle!

Luckily, he was concious and able to speak, just that he had serious open wounds on his leg... all i can do (and dare to do) was to help clean off the blood around the wounds.

Luckily for me, the ambulance arrived shortly so i just took the opportunity to sit beside the concrete perch considering that not alot of people can have the chance to sit along the CTE and admire at the passing cars. I wondered about all those drivers that was passing along, how many of them would come to the conclusion that I was probably the one who knock down the uncle. Sigh. i hate being wronged... but nevermind...

Once the old uncle was safely in the ambulance, i pulled off from the accident spot on my merry way and running slightly late (oops...sorry pud!).

It turns out that a lorry had hit him and ran away...sigh... i guess once you are frightened, you will have a tendancy to run bah...luckily, the uncle is fine, just that he needs to be kept under observation over the new year...

What a way to end 2006.

KL

Will be away in KL from today till thursday. During this time, you cannot contact me via phone (all thanks to the fact that I forgot to activate autoroam) but I shall try to check my email (not office mail definately) at least once to see if there are any urgent emails (like maybe the sky is falling or something).

Might need to bring more phonebooks to KL, i don't think my Singapore S$1 dollar stamp will work over there...need malaysian stamps maybe...

Botak Jones @ Christmas Eve... I tell you...the fries...it's 不必花生 one....i swear off fries for the rest of the year! Fish and Chip is good, lamb chop is good(esp the mint jelly, it numbs your tongue), the chicken is tough according to pudding (but i think her mouth "tougher" aka meanie) and my two tower burger isn't exactly facinating .

Ok ok...got to sleep....

Trust. Don't betray it. Please.

Merry Christmas...ZZzzzzzz

No...this wasn't a christmas eve dinner...this was way before that....like Friday night...heh...nice. simple. cheap. Good company.

I realise...so many outings happened over the last few days that I forget where I went, what I did or what I do...

All i remember was taking an exam paper....brood over it and panic over it...cos I dun get the fundamental reasoning behind them(it took a while) and wonders if the exam can fail one or notz...then i realise first question i was racking my brains over it, frowning over the second question, mathematically crappy by the 3rd question and pretty much brain dead by the fourth. hahaha...moral of the story, never take exams at 4.30am.

In other story,I found this paragraph lying somewhere in my brain:

Every relationship starts in a frenzy, in essence. They follow a parabolic (assuming nothing is done to sustain the relationship), Y=BX-AX^2 , where X is from 0 to + inf. Y is defined as intensity, X as time and A (intensity),B(time) are variables. However, If sustaining the relationship (commitment etc) is on both person’s agenda, then the variables A, B will increase and the parabolic takes on a far gradual decline and finally tapers off. Naturally, in the course of the relationship, the variables A, B can vary, changing the health of the relationship. But they are all still parabolic. This means that as long as one/both are not committed enough (small A,B), the curve will eventually be 0 in a short time, marking the end of a relationship. But as long as both are committed, i.e; the variables A,B will be large, when Y=0, X=0 and X = V, where V increases with increasing A,B, prolonging the relationship period matching the couple’s life time and beyond.

2001 A-class

Elk test. The one incident that sticks out like a sore thumb for the A-class during it's development. Coupled with the fact that Mercedes was cutting development work down to 2 years (or was it 5 years?) instead of 7 years during that point in time meant that this car had a shoestring reputation (and perhaps development budget) attached to it.

So how did this baby mercedes fair 5 years down the road? And to answer that, I've driven the A-class over several occasions during the period of the past few years and decided, well, riding on the reputation of a mercedes (even in brand concious Singapore) isn't gonna get me all excited about this toaster on wheels.
















To be honest, mercedes has always meant solid engineering, solid quality and solid reliability to me. Yes, the car is still solid (you need muscular arms to open the door), the engine is solid (decent charm from the 1.6L engine if you wrangle it by it's neck) and the ride feels quiet and comfortable on well paved roads.

What I cannot accept from this mercedes is it's less than solid quality of built, it's solid woodblock handling on the roads and the-utter-lack-of-common-sense coming from engineers who is clever enough to squeeze the A-class engine underneath the passengers to give it a low CG but not smart enough to figure that having an armrest right above the handbrake isn't exactly very clever at all.

Let's talk about the quality of built. Being a mercedes, you would expect reliability but strangely, I can't find that anywhere in the A-class. The brake grumbles and groans, the indicator stalk creaks (yes it actually creaks like old floorboard), the needles in the speedometer are actually plastic needles with the tip painted orange and the most amazing of it, the car emits a buzzing noise in reverse gear.


Handling. Well, being a small car, trust me, the turning radius is as large as a cargo ship's at full port rudder. The steering feels detached from the road, the semi-auto gearbox sluggish and retarted, the suspension announces the arrival of every minor bumps on the road by crashing through it and everytime you make a turn at slightly higher speeds, it feels as if the car prefer to go around the bends lying on it's side.

Now the minor (but very irritating) gripes. As mentioned, the handbrake is located under the arm rest and you have to lift the arm rest up all the time to get to the handbrake. The rear seats have very nice headrest except that it's blocking the entire rear window view. Why would Mercedes put in 3 big headrest when it completely blocks the rear view? At full lock, the wheels will not straighten itself and you got to turn the steering yourself. Very nasty if you are caught unaware during a U-turn.















As they always say, u sow what you reap. And Mercedes efforts in cost cutting (cutting corners and earning more porfits) showed in this car. As a person who is facinated by cars, it is a dream to even drive a Mercedes. But sadly, the A-class crashes the euphoric feeling of driving a mercedes (like it's suspension) . I still remember 4 years ago when I first drove it, I was bordering denial that such a well respected marque would produce bread toasters on wheels.


A-Class it might be called. But A class, it sure isn't.

Pictures to do the talking .....

Yellow Flowers sitting pretty in the sunlight...













View of the City from Mt Faber, actually it's more of a shot of the omnious rain clouds



















pretty flowers!















Faber Point














parliament house and the Supreme Court where supreme control and judgement is made













B is back! Hee... miss this cute little furry, fat and pampered dog! A definate Babe Magnet! hahaha... *grins*

2008 Mitsubishi Lancer and Aged Tawny

The long awaited Mitsubishi Lancer good for 2007 fall launch. No details of the interior yet but I hope it is as modern as it gets. To be honest, the new design is slightly of a let-down, after their stunning Concept X. The 2008 Lancer seems to have lost a tad of the aggresiven stance that made the Concept X design an all alluring one.
































A Vintage Year! Penfolds Aged Tawny. Absolutely marvellous! A pinch of Bitterness followed by sweet after taste. 3 of us finished a bottle in a night...

Jingle Bell *grins*

Jingle Bell Jingle Bell Writing Draft ML
All my fun is to write ML to CliENTs Hey! (x2)

Jingle Bell Jingle Bell Writing Draft ML
Write ML give client a nice christmas day Hey!

Working through the night,
Getting your facts right,
filling in the TOD
And failing TOE! Hey!

Jingle Bell Jingle Bell Writing Draft ML,
All my fun is to write ML to Clients Hey! (x2)

Coming Christmas Day,
Rushing out MLs,
Just to give our lovely friends,
ML as present!

Jingle Bell Jingle Bell Writing Draft ML,
All my fun is to give ML..... As..... presents!

Of whole line fish and a stupid expensive !@#$% EZ-card

It's been almost 1 year since I last ate this whole line fish from Fish & Co. And it is still as good. The fish meat is still as fluffy and light. The taste still has the lingering freshness of the ocean.

It lifts the soul after a bad day at work.

I bought a new EZ-link card as the NUS card expires the end of the year. I thought I was cheap enough to get a new card after my NUS card has a negative value (-0.40) in it. Sadly, the EZ-link card company is cheaper than me by selling me the card at S$15!!! With $5 unrefundable!!!!!

But the worse thing is, I found an EZ-link card in my old wallet at home.....I. Feel. So. ARGHHH.

Sweet lil childhood song!

歌曲：拥抱我 歌手：光良

当我还是小孩的时候

最快乐是你牵我的手

一起和这音乐自由跳动

那么简单不需要理由

一年一年张大了以后

我们不再容易被感动

是否世界变了你也变了

记忆中的旋律却依旧

温习回味你曾拥抱我

想念只在这一个角落

生命中最美最美的那一刻

笑容藏在你我的心中

Memories of the simple life we had as a kid....sigh~ nothing but a memory now....

Nat. Museum Opening on Sunday || Charm

Interior of the National Museum of Singapore





















Outdoor performance

I accidently deleted the nicest shot of the museum ceiling ...so the above is all that I have that is presentable (nearly)

















Yippee! Dude gave me this baby blue charm from Japan! Suppose to be for happy blessings or something... The charm is actually writeen on a piece of paper kept within this nice baby blue pouch....

Thanks dude!

Cheap expiring medicine?

I knew it sounded wrong the moment i read it.

True meaning not withstanding, the impression of being there because it's all you got at that moment came to mind.

Once there is a better and more effective medicine, you would then take the new medicine because the old one doesn't serve your purpose anymore.

All i did was to stare numbly at the words and smile.

Of Pizza and a grass eating turtle (or tortise)

This yummy "Pizza" is from SPIZZA ! It's unique because the ingredients was encased into the dough instead of them being the usual "toppings" that all pizza ingredients should be. In my opinion, it looks like a giantic puff up curry puff. And boy, is this italian curry puff delicious! Ham, cheese and i-can't-rem-what-other ingredients wrapped moistly give this unique looking pizza an overall juicy flavour!

















I found this turtle/tortise eating grass at the 8km mark around macritchie reserviour. It stopped eating (as if it was concious that someone is watching it, or that it doesn't want people to know that it is a fat greedy grass muching turtle/tortise, given it's size) as soon as i took pictures of it eating.

And it's going to be monday soon....i wonder what other surprises lies ahead....

Christmas is around the corner!

It's christmas...and I can't resist doing a list of what I want for chirstmas for the fun of it...i've categorize them into different categories as follows:

Must-have-items wishlist
1. New specs (my old one is 2 years +)
2. New Teva Sandals (same as above, but i can't bear to throw it away...too many journeys with it...)
3. White long sleeve shirt for work
4. A tie

Nice-to-have-items wishlist
1. Tivo or Navman GPS
2. A gaming PC
3. any Cannondale mountain bike
4. Whole line fish at Fish & Co.

Dream-like-mad-also-cannot-get-items
1. F430
2. A trip to the South pole


But.... actually,

All I want this Christmas is just...

For my family & friends to be happy.

Then i'll be happy.

That is a feeling I have not felt in a long time.

Dinner and dance @ Raffles Plaza

Lab. park

Went for a walk in quiet solitude. Events of the last few weeks wearied my heart and soul. Hence, I needed some time away from everything. And to allow the sea breeze to blow away the emotional baggage in my heart....

Wonders the symphony of crashing waves and blowing sea winds can do to uplift one's mood =)

INFJ revisit!

ok ok...re-did the Jung Metric test again...and I got INFJ again...

Description from "http://typelogic.com/infj.html", credits goes to the site authors.

Introverted iNtuiting Feeling Judging
by Marina Margaret Heiss

INFJs are distinguished by both their complexity of character and the unusual range and depth of their talents. Strongly humanitarian in outlook, INFJs tend to be idealists, and because of their J preference for closure and completion, they are generally "doers" as well as dreamers. This rare combination of vision and practicality often results in INFJs taking a disproportionate amount of responsibility in the various causes to which so many of them seem to be drawn.

INFJs are deeply concerned about their relations with individuals as well as the state of humanity at large. They are, in fact, sometimes mistaken for extroverts because they appear so outgoing and are so genuinely interested in people -- a product of the Feeling function they most readily show to the world. On the contrary, INFJs are true introverts, who can only be emotionally intimate and fulfilled with a chosen few from among their long-term friends, family, or obvious "soul mates." While instinctively courting the personal and organizational demands continually made upon them by others, at intervals INFJs will suddenly withdraw into themselves, sometimes shutting out even their intimates. This apparent paradox is a necessary escape valve for them, providing both time to rebuild their depleted resources and a filter to prevent the emotional overload to which they are so susceptible as inherent "givers." As a pattern of behavior, it is perhaps the most confusing aspect of the enigmatic INFJ character to outsiders, and hence the most often misunderstood -- particularly by those who have little experience with this rare type.

Due in part to the unique perspective produced by this alternation between detachment and involvement in the lives of the people around them, INFJs may well have the clearest insights of all the types into the motivations of others, for good and for evil. The most important contributing factor to this uncanny gift, however, are the empathic abilities often found in Fs, which seem to be especially heightened in the INFJ type (possibly by the dominance of the introverted N function).

This empathy can serve as a classic example of the two-edged nature of certain INFJ talents, as it can be strong enough to cause discomfort or pain in negative or stressful situations. More explicit inner conflicts are also not uncommon in INFJs; it is possible to speculate that the causes for some of these may lie in the specific combinations of preferences which define this complex type. For instance, there can sometimes be a "tug-of-war" between NF vision and idealism and the J practicality that urges compromise for the sake of achieving the highest priority goals. And the I and J combination, while perhaps enhancing self-awareness, may make it difficult for INFJs to articulate their deepest and most convoluted feelings.

Usually self-expression comes more easily to INFJs on paper, as they tend to have strong writing skills. Since in addition they often possess a strong personal charisma, INFJs are generally well-suited to the "inspirational" professions such as teaching (especially in higher education) and religious leadership. Psychology and counseling are other obvious choices, but overall, INFJs can be exceptionally difficult to pigeonhole by their career paths. Perhaps the best example of this occurs in the technical fields. Many INFJs perceive themselves at a disadvantage when dealing with the mystique and formality of "hard logic", and in academic terms this may cause a tendency to gravitate towards the liberal arts rather than the sciences. However, the significant minority of INFJs who do pursue studies and careers in the latter areas tend to be as successful as their T counterparts, as it is *iNtuition* -- the dominant function for the INFJ type -- which governs the ability to understand abstract theory and implement it creatively.

In their own way, INFJs are just as much "systems builders" as are INTJs; the difference lies in that most INFJ "systems" are founded on human beings and human values, rather than information and technology. Their systems may for these reasons be conceptually "blurrier" than analogous NT ones, harder to measure in strict numerical terms, and easier to take for granted -- yet it is these same underlying reasons which make the resulting contributions to society so vital and profound.

Godiva Raspberry Chocolate

If I were to sum up the kind of life I had all these years, it would be similar to a bar of Godiva Raspberry Chocolate.

It looks nice on the outside.... smooth, dark and ever so seemingly, a sweet and delicious riot of cocoa intoxication...

But.

When you really do bite into the bar of Godiva raspberry chocolate, you will soon realise that beneath that layer of chocolate lies a layer of raspberry. A mixture of sourness greets you as you sink your teeth into the raspberry core of the chocolate. That is the true essence of the Godiva Raspberry chocolate. The sourness.

And that is, deliciously, how my life over the years was.

I'll let the pictures do the talking for once....

Ba Ba Black Sheep.
















Read if possible.




















65 Chulia Street, OCBC

Taiwan Goodies. AHP.

7% GST

No no no, before you peeps thinks that i'm at it again ranting about my disatisfaction about the government, i'm not. What i want to achieve in this post is simple. After reading the CNA report, there are some confusing facts that I think is worthwhile highlighting (in bold)

GST to be raised to 7%: PM LeeBy Farah Abdul Rahim, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 13 November 2006 1832 hrs

SINGAPORE: The Goods and Services Tax will be increased to 7 percent from 5 percent presently. This was announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Parliament on Monday. However, when the rise will be implemented, will be decided later. Speaking in Malay, Mandarin and English, Mr Lee explained that the hike was necessary to finance the enhanced social safety nets, needed to help the lower income group and he emphasised that the offset package would more than counter the rise in GST. While Singapore's current model to tackle the widening income gap is sound, Mr Lee said the government would take on two approaches to deal with the new environment - to strengthen the safety nets and tilt the balance in favour of the lower-income groups who do not benefit from the fruits of economic growth. To do this, government spending will have to go up. The government now spends some 15 percent of its GDP - one of the lowest in the world. "This is inevitable over the next 5 to 10 years. Infrastructure investments will cost money - R&D is to cost $5b over the next 5 years; as medical technology improves, people age and more will go to hospitals to get more treatment, so spending is bound to go up. As we tilt the playing field across the board, the lower income will be getting another boost, not just once in a while. Therefore its better to start building resources now so that when we spend more, we have the means to do so," said Mr Lee. To finance this, indirect taxes or the Goods & Services Tax will have to go up. "It will give us precious extra resources to implement social programmes like Workfare later on. Our aim is to help the lower income groups and the elderly, not to increase their burdens. When we implement the GST increase, it's not just the GST increase, it's the package which will fully offset the impact of the GST increase and begin to strengthen the social safety nets and tilt the balance in favour of the low income groups - we will not just raise the GST but we will have a comprehensive offset package," said Mr Lee. This package will be weighted more to the middle and the low income groups, especially the elderly, and it will more than offset the GST increase. "It is not just an offset package to deal with the GST. It is a whole set of measures which we are taking in order to tilt the playing field in favour of the lower income group, which is what we have to add and tally in the balance, and my purpose is to help the lower income group. For the middle income, it will be generally about ok; for the higher income, I think the higher income should end up paying more overall. It's part of being one society. I'm not going to tax 15% on income tax, I'm not going to tax 25% from GST the way the Scandanavians do, but I have to make the adjustments of 2% which I think is fair and I think Singaporeans will support," added Mr Lee. He explained that it is better to do the increase now when the economy is doing well, rather than wait till later. This will give the government time to see how this adjustment can be managed, and to cope better with the unknown forces of globalisation over the next 5 to 7 years. More details of the GST increase will be announced on 15 February 2007, which is Budget Day. Mr Lee added that Second Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam would deliver the Budget speech. Another change will be the amending of the Constitution to allow the government to tap the capital gains received from investing the national reserves. - CNA /dt

===============================================
Question to ponder 1

"It will give us precious extra resources to implement social programmes like Workfare later on. Our aim is to help the lower income groups and the elderly, not to increase their burdens"

From my limited knowledge of economics, GST is a form of indirect taxes and indirect taxes are regressive. They do not help the lower income groups but serve to widen the income gap. This is because GST is like a widely cast fish net. The rich and poor alike will have to buy a packet of rice. If 2 persons needs 100 dollars worth of food to stay alive in a month, an increase in GST will meant that they would have to pay $107 dollars. if the rich earns $10,000 and the poor earns $800, a $7 dollar increase will mean an increased expenditure on food for the rich from 1% to 1.07% of monthly income. However, the poor will experienced an increased in expenditure on food from 12.5% to 13.4% of their monthly income. The rich pays 0.07% more but the poor pays nearly 1% (0.9) more. 1% vs 0.07% ! The poor pays 14 times more than the rich to stay fed. So, on this bombshell, how does a regressive tax scheme like the GST really help the poor?

Question to ponder 2

"we will not just raise the GST but we will have a comprehensive offset package," said Mr Lee. This package will be weighted more to the middle and the low income groups, especially the elderly, and it will more than offset the GST increase. "It is not just an offset package to deal with the GST. It is a whole set of measures which we are taking in order to tilt the playing field in favour of the lower income group, which is what we have to add and tally in the balance, and my purpose is to help the lower income group. For the middle income, it will be generally about ok; for the higher income, I think the higher income should end up paying more overall."

What is this "comprehensive offset package"? does it include tax bracketing? It sounds like a scheme similar to tax bracketing considering that the PM state that the higher income should end up paying more. But, like my first question, GST is a widely cast net, so how is this "rich pay more, poor pay less" works? Let's hope it's really something concrete and not another Progress Package" which is utterly useless.

Question to ponder 3:
"He explained that it is better to do the increase now when the economy is doing well, rather than wait till later. "

The last GST increase was 4 years ago, from 3% to 5%, during the 2002 recession. And if i remember correctly, that GST hike was deemed necessary to counter the bad economic times. But moving forward to 2006, if you look at the above statement quoted from our PM, he is now singing a different tune. He says now, that since the economy is doing well, it is deemed necessary to increase the tax rather then wait until the economy is bad. So... that means bad economic times we need to raise GST. Good economic times we also need to raise GST. I dunno about you but this logic of reasoning sounds more like a convenient excuse to raise GST then anything else.

City by the Bay

Pretty.