29 Feb is a special day

Yo guys.

2012 is a leap year and today is the reason why we call this year a leap year. Actually there isn't much to talk about. I just decided to submit a post for this blog today as the date is special and happens once every four years.

I just came back from my night's out not too long ago. Went to Lot One shopping mall to eat, shop at NTUC, browsed some DVDs on sale at the ground floor and borrowed a book at the library.

That's all. Goodnight. Till then, it's four years later...

Unriddle 2 trailer

Lately, I have been praying hard that my unit posting would be an office-hour job as I want to book out everyday because of freedom. Another reason why I am so eager for a 8-5 appointment is that I want to watch this drama first-hand on TV instead of streaming it on xinmsn.

If you know me, you would understand why am I so keen to catch it. I have always loved detective shows and all of my favourite local dramas are of the same genre.

Pagani Huayra

The first model of this Italian supercar has recently arrived on our shores and it is available for order since yesterday. The evolution of the classic Zonda, Huayra (hu-why-ra) can travel fly at a top speed of 370 km/h.

Unlike typical sports cars, this beauty doesn't use a dual-clutch gearbox. Instead it utlilizes a seven-speed sequential gearbox and a dual-disc clutch making it weigh lighter and increase the pace of changing gears.

Hmm, but seriously, who the heck in Singapore would own one when it costs you $3.6 million? Nevertheless, we must all agree that it is one of the best supercars in the modern world, both inside and outside.

London derby & Carling Cup final

Two exciting matches await English football fans this weekend. They are the London derby which consists of Arsenal and Tottenham and the Carling Cup final where Liverpool meet Cardiff.

The clash of the two London clubs is particularly mouth-watering. Arsenal, who are the traditional favourites since history, now look like the underdog even at their own stadium. Tottenham are flying high in the league at the moment and see themselves as title contenders.

The Gunners are in need of a win to boost morale after consecutive losses to AC Milan and Sunderland in the Champions League and FA Cup respectively. The third straight loss would look disastrous for them.

Arsenal old boy, Emmanuel Adebayor, will be back to haunt his former employers. He was in top form during Spurs' last game against Newcastle where they ran riot 5:0. Left-flanker, Gareth Bale, would also be a big threat to the Gunners' defence. Two defensive midfielders might be needed to control him.

All in all, it looks like more trouble for Arsene Wenger and his team. Tottenham to clinch a 2:0 victory in this derby.

The other match to look forward to is the Carling Cup Final. Liverpool's best chance of silverware this season as well as in six years arrives this Sunday.

The Reds are favourites to be crowned champions but tend to give people shocks and surprises during crucial games. A perfect example was the FA Cup final Liverpool won in 2006 where Steven Gerrard scored an "impossible" 30-yard screamer in the final minute to equalize 3:3 before going on to win on penalties.

Cardiff might go for a hardcore defensive approach to stretch the game but Liverpool's attacks should be sharp enough to at least clinch a goal within 90 minutes. I have a feeling that Gerrard will be the main character again, netting in the winner.

Liverpool to pull of a slender 1:0 victory thanks to some desperate defending by a determined Cardiff side.

Just completed the final CCNA examination of my course this afternoon. All of us felt very "light" after it ended, like a rock being extracted out of your body. Now, the only high key event left is Exercise Swiftnet (code-named) which will take place next Wednesday. Do not be deceived by the name as this is not an outfield activity. We will be, as expected, seated in a room with air-conditioning.

Today, there was a whole lot of military police or better known as MPs in my camp. If I am not wrong, they were here to learn about radio sets as they need to have knowledge about it when they participate in their outfield activity.

Saw many farmiliar faces among the few hundred MPs who arrived, they were all my platoon mates during BMT in Tekong. That includes my buddy Wei Ru who was rather enthusiastic about being a MP until he started training as one.

The cookhouse was practically flooded with soldiers during noon, the queue ended lasted all the way to outside the toilet at the back. Luckily my platoon reached there earlier when the peak came or else it might be BMT days all over again where queuing for a long time was a norm.

All in all, I have come to realize that Signals plays an important part to the army. Many soldiers of other vocations and units require knowlegde about signalling and find it neccessary to learn what we also learn.

Signals: Voice of the Battlefield.

Pokemon Joke

Hougang SMC by-election how?

I think the whole fiasco about Workers' Party, Yaw Shin Leong, Hougang and the prospective by-election is pretty much like a comedy.

After news broke out that Workers' Party have sacked Yaw, various opposition parties have indicated their decision over whether to participate in the potential by-election. Singapore Democratic Party, Singapore People's Party and Singapore Democratic Alliance have all confirmed that they are not contesting.

Workers' Party and the ruling People's Action Party will definitely field a candidate but nobody knows who would it be. There are two obvious choices from the white team. Either Desmond Choo, the man in white who lost to Yaw in GE 2011, or Ong Ye Kung, another loser who contested in Aljunied GRC, would be PAP's choice.

Knowing that his chances of winning might not be big, Desmond Choo might choose not to represent his party this time. This means that Ong, who is also assistant secretary general of NTUC, might be fielded instead.

However, putting Ong Ye Kung might somehow backfire PAP's chances of conquering Hougang GRC. Hougang residents would be reminded of his infamous defeat to their ex-MP, Low Thia Kiang, in Aljunied GRC last year. Bearing that in mind, the more they would choose to keep their constituency as a non-PAP ward.

Many people, be it politicians or commoners, have urged other parties not to put an oar into this PAP-WP war. However, Tan Jee Say, the man whom I supported in the 2011 presidential election, has indicated that he doesn't rule out contesting there.

TJS, if elected, would be a very outstanding opposition MP (much better than as a president). But I sincerely hope that he will not participate and make it a three-cornered fight. If he does that and PAP ends up winning, I am going loathe him like Manchester United for the rest of my life.

Back to WP, so who should they field? Eric Tan the veteran has left them, Gerard Giam is already an NCMP, so is Yee Jen Jong. Maybe John Yam would be the preferred candidate but he doesn't look formiable enough on his own.

An alternative solution which I propose to this problem is to have WP to step down and allow National Solidarity Party to take on PAP. WP already have five seats in parliament and that is excluding their two NCMPs.

NSP possesses a pool of talents that are capable of giving PAP a tough fight. Secretary-general, Hazel Poa, Hazel's husband Tony Tan, Steve Chia, Jeanette Chong-Aruldoss and not forgetting Nicole Seah are all established names with electoral experience.

Unless they can field a strong candidate, WP should be gracious and let another alternative party contest in Hougang SMC.

The superiority of East Asia

According to a recent report from Grattan Institute in Australia, East Asia is now the base for the world's best education systems. No doubt, the top four countries in OECD PISA (the official "test" for school systems in the world) rankings are Shanghai, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore.

All four countries score way higher than the OECD average readings while big names like the US and UK fare much humbly or even below average in some areas like Maths.

The study also proves that money, class size and culture does not play a part in determining the success of a student.

It is also somewhat evident that less teaching time will produce better results. Shanghai teachers spend about 10-15 hours in classes per week while their US and UK counterparts need 20-30 hours even when the latter have smaller classes than those from the East.

Educators in East Asian countries have more time to plan and prepare their lessons and reflect on their pupils' development and learning. This gives teachers more space and opportunities to help students improve academically.

I agree that Shanghai and Korea have fantastic school systems but for me, the best in the world has got to be Finland. The place where Nokia phones hail from possess one of the most unique education systems where exams do not exist until you want to enter college.

A few months ago, I did blog about the Finnish education and its success. Singapore may produce many mathematical geniuses but people like Apple's Steve Wozniak will still continue to brand us as "uncreative".

A balance needs to be struck in order to fully bring out the best in each and every Singaporean student. Don't just open the floodgates to ungrateful foreign trash (FT) who come and go and conveniently use the economy as an excuse to import more.

Dessert for breakfast?

A recent study has indicated that an effective way to lose weight is to begin your day with a wholesome breakfast before something sweet like a dessert. Tel Aviv University, the college responsible for this study, explained that the body's metabolism is at its max in the morning, making it the best time to consume some sugary stuff.

There is also the entire day for people to exercise in order to burn off calories if you happen to indulge in a little too much sweet things and feel guilty about it.

The study had 193 fat obese adults separated into two groups which had two different diets over a span of eight months. The first group underwent a low-carb diet where they were served a 300-calorie breakfast. The second group was given a 600-calorie morning meal plus a chocolate dessert.

Halfway through the course, researchers discovered that both groups shred an average of 33 pounds per person. However, in the second half, the low-carb group regained an average 22 pounds while the other one lost another 15 pounds.

After eight long months, those who ate a chocolate dessert for breakfast lost an average of 40 pounds more per person than their peers. Scientists claim that a higher proportion of calorie intake for breakfast is logical as it increases one's metabolism and decreases his cravings throughout the day.

Plus, unlike stringent diets which restricts snacking or desserts, a well-balanced diet tend not to make people crave so much which might backfire if the person is not determined enough.

So why not have something sweet for your first meal of the day every morning? Maybe you can start by drinking a sweet beverage like tea or hot Milo.

Goobne Chicken Ad

I was watching this video just now and found it extremely and exaggeratingly humourous. Maybe because I am a crazy person that's why.

Luxury Peanuts

People generally love gold, whether is it investing in it or just wearing them to show off. However, at the moment, the latest trend in South Korea is to eat peanuts which have gold.

Golden Woodo, a Korean company, has been cultivating these gold peanuts for some time and demand has been outstripping supply so far. Currently, the product is only available in the Korea and Japan while China seems likely to be its next market.

The peanuts undergo a gold infused water diet three times daily. Then, some technology is used to infuse nano particles of gold from gold bars to mix with a water solvent which are then absorbed by the roots of the plants.

There, you will get peanuts that contain 2.09 mg of gold per kg. The benefits of consuming this premium food include anti-aging effects and boosting one's IQ.

It will cost you approximately $65USD for a kilogram of these luxury peanuts. It may seem costly but there are still many willing buyers out there.

Social Media Week Singapore

Social Media Week is coming to Singapore for the first time starting today. The five-day event will see various activities and discussions relating to social media occur at different parts of the country.

It first started three years ago in New York and has since spread to twenty-one cities. Since it has been proven that Singaporeans are ranked first in terms of time spent on Facebook, Social Media Week looks set to be a success on its debut here.

The list of events can be found in the schedule section of Social Media Week's website. As for me, I think that the highlights of the week are "How to be a trendspotter with trendwatching.com" (Monday), "Bosch presents 'The Great Food Debate: Food bloggers vs. Food Critics vs. the People'"(Wednesday) and "The Online Citizen & Temasek Review Emeritus Face-off!" (Wednesday).

No doubt, the duel between The Online Citizen and Temasek Review Emeritus is set to be one which will be watched by many. One of TRE's reporters will make an appearance there hence disclosing the identity of its editorial team for the first time in history.

Another interesting event would be "Can Man Live on Social Media Alone?" on Thursday where two strangers from two cities live in each other's country for a week while relying on social media to survive. It is certainly exciting to know how the participants lived during the exchange programme.

Too bad I will be in camp so I am unable to attend any of the events. Well, but there is always social media to keep me updated.

When Mao Zedong meets 大S

Once upon a time when Mao Zedong met 大S and they took a picture together.

Angel vs Devil

This was the topic which I had for my weekly mandatory e-journal entry this week. Unlike others who are definitely going to write about the happenings of the week, I decided to go the unconventional way by writing about something more about life. Here's how it goes, roughly. By the way, it was intended for my sergeant to read.

Everyone, including commanders, has an angel and devil in them. The angel will always tell them to do things which are morally correct while the devil urges them to do stuff that are politically right. When one listens to the angel, he will feel naturally happy and satisfied. When one listens to the devil, he thinks that he is somewhat guilty yet prides himself for doing something justifiable.

An example would be drawing a line, I did not specify if it is from an artistic or philosophical point of view. The devil will tell you to draw lines so that the overall image would look neat and tidy. However, somebody who is inexperienced or new at drawing lines might end up drawing crooked ones thus making the whole picture look unsightly.

The angel will tell you not to draw any lines. This would allow the paper to be blank and pure as it originally is. You can draw any picture you like on the paper without having to worry if it bisects any line.

If you did draw lines in the first place, chances are you might need an eraser for alterations. However, no matter how hard you erase, there will still be a little trace that a line was ever drawn before. So, the most favourable solution for us should be to listen to our angels most of the time.

Good will always triumph over evil.

This might sound impossible or even shocking but at least half of my 42-man strong platoon are currently addicted to the old-school Pokemon Gameboy game. Since popular websites like Facebook, Twitter and Viwawa are blocked in camp, we decided to find entertainment for ourselves via offline methods.

All you have to do is to download an emulator, there is Gameboy Advance, Nintendo DS, Sony Playstation and what have you, from coolrom.com before downloading the desired game you want to play.

There, you have a gaming console right on your laptop without having to spend a single cent and the convenience of playing it whenever you like without using the internet. Now, from the original first generation of RBY to Fire Red and the latest Black, everybody just can't stop throwing Poke balls and fighting trainers on their computers.

Other old-school games that also trending among my platoon mates include Marvel vs Capcom, Metal Slug and even Pokemon Card Game?

I can't believe that I have so many peers who are still so keen to pursue their childhood years in the teenage days.

Summary of the week

Oh yeah, I know, you know and we all know that I have not update this blog for a week. That is due to some internet connection problems I was facing when in camp earlier this week. Anyway, I shall do a summary of what took place over the week.

Monday
Our one and only platoon sergeant was away for some marksman thingy where he would be carrying his rifle from dawn to dusk so that spells freedom for us. The whole day was filled with boring lectures conducted by DXOs (Defence Executive Officers), the non-uniformed civilian staff of Mindef. The highlight of the day happened to be at night.

I was on guard duty that night and the CDSO (the big-gest shot) happened to be quite a fussy person who nags a lot and she's is a female, a female captain to be exact. The guard commanders, BOS and DO had no idea how to handle her. She keeps complaining how messy the guard room was when she arrived and shouted from a distance at people who didn't march properly.

Ok and I cheated. I only prowled one round instead of two during my second shift from one to three in the morning. My partner and I sat outside the library for almost an hour but continued using the walkie-talkie to inform the guard comm that we have reach each station when we were just at the same spot all the while.

Tuesday
Almost a duplicate of Monday except that there wasn't any guard duty for me and I tried out an online browser-based game called Adventure Quest. As many as half of my platoon were hooked onto it. Unfortunately for me, my interest in it only lasted for less than two hours as I realized that the monsters in the game looked hideous compared to Pokemon.

Wednesday
Outing! Woohoohoo! In the morning, we attended a National Education tour about water. It's those typical boring excursions led by a boring middle-aged tour guide talking about boring stuff. First, we headed to the NEWater factory at Bedok. It was my first time visiting the site as I did not know that the factory was located there.

The speaker talked about things like microfiltration, reverse osmosis and ultra-violet etc. blah blah blah. It's a miracle that I can still remember the names. The place was rather cosy to tour around and relax. There was a corner where free bottles of NEWater were given out. I was somewhat slow and failed in getting one as there were surprisingly many other kiasu people.

Next, we travelled southwards down to the city where Marina Barrage awaited us. Again, it was my first visit. How sua-ku can I be in my own country? The tour guide explained how this multi-million project works and its uses but by then, everybody was busy looking around or talking among themselves. Even sergeant also couldn't care less.

The tour guide mentioned that Marina Barrage was responsible for alleviating flooding in areas like Chinatown and Kallang but I was more concerned that it ended up destroying Orchard Road to a certain extent.

Thursday
It was our first ever and only outfield activity. So much so for the word "outfield" when the event is conducted inside camp. Unlike the other signal vocations, we info-systems operators, have the least reasons to head outdoors for training as our job scope confines us to computers and air-con rooms.

This VHF (very high frequency) exercise was just made to let us have a taste of being a signaller. We were split into eleven groups of three plus two groups of HQ and every group had a radio set with them. If you get it, you would have figured out that we had to communicate through radio waves, speaking in a military manner that requires you to use code names.

I hope that is the last time I would have to wear my helmet in NS. It disables me to think properly whenever I put it on my head.

Friday
The toughest physical training to date took place. It failed to rain the entire day although dark clouds were constantly hovering above us since noon. Our hopes of having the event cancelled were dashed but the morale was still high as we were a couple of hours away from booking out of hell. Had to do two sets of circuit trainings instead of the usual one.

What's more, we had to run four rounds in camp this time! I told Ming Hui, my buddy cum the week's platoon IC, that I had to do some big business in toilet hence, escaping from the run. I stayed in the bunk while looking outside the window until the first person came back before walking downstairs and blend into the crowd of sweaty people.

No area cleaning for this week. What a huge surprise and shock for every one of us. That's the way man sergeant, this is only NS, so WSS (why so serious?)