Thunderstorm this morning

Some sixteen hours ago, my block, the trees around my block and myself experienced one of the worst and most unforgettable thunderstorms ever. It was only three in the morning when winds that are as strong as a hurricane came blasting right into my apartment, forcing me to wake up from my sweet dreams and stop the situation from aggravating.

The speed at which the wind was travelling created a powerful "wooo" sound that will pressurize you to be fully alert. The energetic air currents kept spraying rainwater at the windows leaving me with no choice but to shut them tight. Lightning was flashing every seven seconds like some gigantic LED signboard. My ears had to anticipate for the thunder whenever a lightning occurs and that was a total distraction.

However, the worst has yet to arrive. My house encountered a blackout! It was early in the morning when the moon was still shining so a blackout might not be obvious during then. But that damn meter box (the one which calculates how much electricity you use) outside my flat got burnt or you could say exploded. I saw it with my own eyes from tangent fifty-six degrees via the window (exaggerating) when sparks burst out like a mini fireworks showcase.

I was unsure if my house was the sole victim in the entire block because the corridor lights were still working. It was also impractical to knock on my neighbour's door at such a time to check with them. Heck, I would be drenched by the time I walked along the corridor to the units juxtaposing mine. Left with no choice, I decided to visit the toilet while continuing to brainstorm about this thunderstorm.

But, in the end, I was only paying attention to the flashing bolts which kept discharging from the sky like some mass production taking place. I decided to ignore everything since I had already tried doing everything and went to bed. Luckily, I was still able to enter sleep mode and woke up in the morning to see some uncle fixing the meter box outside my flat. By the way, my block is featured in STOMP, but not for positive reasons.
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Taken from stomp.com.sg

Transparent House in Japan

The phrase "there is nothing to hide" recently had a new meaning to it. Enter the Transparent House in Japan, that's what they call it. Japanese architects Sou Fujimoto Architects have built a house which is constructed entirely out of glass. During daytime, this Tokyo-based house offers plenty of light but zero privacy.

It is made up of 21 rooms or platforms. As the house was built on the concept of a tree, all the rooms are connected to one another by movable or fixed stairs, making one think that the whole structure is actually just one room.

The transparent house would be a great choice for family and friends to gather and experience what it means to get exposed without harbouring any fear. But finding somebody who is willing to spend a couple of nights there would be hard.

Army Open House 2012

Visited the Army Open House (AOH) this morning. They call it an organized visit but it is an open secret that they are trying to get more numbers to fill up the place. I am not sure but it seems that the army is emphasizing on comfort these days because there were two buses catered for transportation when one is sufficient to contain all of us.

In the end, everybody was entitled to occupy two seats in the bus and there were still a number of empty seats remaining. We arrived there a little after nine and could only be released at half past twelve. So, what to do to kill that three odd hours? We toured around and saw lots of familiar things which we have been seeing on almost every weekday.

The female secondary school students and some others might tell you that the event was interesting and full of fun. Here is my honest opinion and experience about it. The volunteers, or rather NSFs who are kena arrowed work at AOH, showed little interest in entertaining fellow NSFs like us. They were friendlier towards the students on "organized visits".

I stared at them and they just acted like a mirror and reflected back what I was doing. No smiles, no approach, no words spoken. If I wore a school uniform, chances are one of them will be busy explaining to me the military stuff which they are trying to boast about. Unlike many other units who wore army fatigues, we were dressed in the Armour polo tee but the logo on it gave us away.

After strolling past most of the places, we decided to end the tour by heading to the Singapore Flyer. It was my first time visiting the Singapore Flyer building and it wasn't impressive at all except that I could enjoy the air-con while resting there. Honestly, the best place at the entire Singapore Flyer/F1 Pit Building area was the SF toilet. It had air-con, music, low human traffic and was sparkling clean.

We paced around the circular building for quite a while before going to Subway for a meal and continued resting there. Saw quite a lot of tourists there like the photo-snapping ang mohs, the fascinated-at-everything Indians and of course, the irritating and noisy China people. However, they are completely outnumbered by the sheer amount of soldiers who are, like me, eating snake there.

I cannot really say if the AOH was a success or not because today (and yesterday) is for organized visits. Most of the visitors did not come on their own accord. Let's see what will it be like on Saturday and Sunday. Maybe regulars will be "encouraged" to bring their family and friends there.

If that happens, the organizers are bound to brag "What a huge turnout!".

Fortunately, I don't play Diablo

Finding the shouting leader

This is a game that can be used to prank someone on his birthday or anyone else on April Fools' Day.

The game begins with selecting a detective, example John, who will find the leader that shouts the loudest. John steps aside first while the rest of the group discusses who the leader should be.

The game master will then reveal the conspiracy to the rest of the people. The victim of this game is actually John which people want to prank on. So nobody or you can say everybody is the leader and the game starts.

The game master counts 1, 2, 3 and everybody starts to shout at the top of their voice. John is given three chances to find out who is the leader that is shouting the loudest. John points to the first person and everyone says wrong.

He points to another person and everybody shouts wrong again. The third and final time, the game master requests everyone to shout as loud as they could to make life easier for John and everybody starts screaming again.

After the shouting had come to an end, John picks another person, say Jane, and everyone including the game master answers yes with exclamation!!! Since Jane is aware of the conspiracy, she plays along and it is now her turn to be the detective.

The game master chooses John to be the leader this time since he managed to get it right as a detective. Jane returns and everybody starts to shout, Jane deliberately points to the wrong person and this happens for during the second attempt.

Before Jane's last try, the game master again asks everyone to shout really loud in order to help Jane. John prepares to yell with all his might and the game master counts 1, 2, 3. John shouts super loud like he was in great pain while everyone else kept quiet.

It is sure funny to see John shouting at the top of his voice by himself. You can make the game more interesting by asking John and everyone else to shout something stupid or vulgar. The game can also be altered to have two victims to shout together.

Hougang by-election preview

When GE 2011 came to an end, people thought that it would be another five years before they could poke fun of politicians. However, come next Saturday, Singapore is about to witness a third election in a year. That is the Hougang by-election in case you are still playing Diablo 3 all day.

A straight fight between a PAP and Workers' Party candidate with many supporting actors, directors and scriptwriters is what I think this by-election is all about. At a time when WP looks vulnerable, this is PAP's best chance of reclaiming Hougang.

The men in white for this contest is Desmond Choo, who was the loser of this ward during last year's election. Brave or maybe naive enough to go for round two, he has continued to work the ground even after GE 2011.

He started a Job Hub, provided free Teochew porridge and even launched a free legal clinic that includes Singapore's most famous (and maybe hairiest) lawyer, Subhas Anandan. He also stressed that he is independent and doesn't need help from his party's big shots.

Desmond claimed that, if elected, he wants to build a new market in the constituency but people wonder where the heck he is really going to have it constructed. Although some of his election promises may seem impractical, I am sure he will make it a clean and dignified fight.

The young man's campaign looks set to be a smooth one but DPM Teo Chee Hean somehow complicated things when he urged voters to pick PAP since WP already has seven MPs in parliament. This explanation can easily be turned around by stating that PAP has a whopping 81.

On the blue side, WP decided to field Png erm, Eng Huat? Png Eng Huat was definitely not what people expected. He did contest in GE 2011 at East Coast although that doesn't seem to be remembered by many.

Other than being a political candidate last year, Png was also the guy who collected Tan Kin Lian's nomination forms for the presidential election last year. Both Png and Tan are good friends so it really bothers me to understand why isn't Tan openly supporting his pal?



Png doesn't have to sweat a lot to retain the Hougang seat for the opposition. He just have to speak well during rallies, make sure Low Thia Kiang shadows him whenever he appears and victory would come by at ease.

Though, man for man, Png Eng Huat loses to Desmond Choo in terms of presence in Hougang, he is still poised to win since he is not wearing white in this twenty-year opposition ward.
I bet Desmond would be the winner if he contested under another banner since he gives an affable impression that is bound to win some auntie votes. Fact is, this by-election is more of a mini referendum on the performance of the government and Desmond is expected to be the scapegoat.

Champions League 2012 preview

The grand finale of Europe's top cup competition has finally arrived. On the night where Chelsea's manager and their senior players are probably having the biggest game in their careers, Bayern Munich will be playing the match at their very own stadium.

As a matter of fact, football has come home for the German side while Chelsea are desperate not to let history repeat itself when they lost to Manchester United in that 2008 all-English final.

The Blues employed a young coach before the season to rejuvenate the squad. Ironically, it was the senior players who kept the Blues going and this young coach got sacked a couple of months ago.

Bayern's dominance in German football came to a halt for the past two seasons which saw Borussia Bortmund won the league twice. Dortmund went one step up this year by winning the German Cup as well, thrashing Bayern 5-2 in the final.

In what might seem as a disappointing campaign, Chelsea finished sixth in the BPL while Bayern have not won anything so far, the Champions League final is the last chance for both sides to gain some glory before the season comes to an end.

Chelsea face some problems in defence as captain John Terry and fellow centre-back Branislav Ivanovic are suspended. Gary Cahill and David Luiz, still in recovering mode, are doubtful. That might result in seeing a wing-back or holding midfielder deployed in centre-back instead.

Jupp Heynckes, Bayern Munich's manager, has won the competition with Real Madrid in 1998 and odds are on him to make it double this year. Bayern can exploit Chelsea's weakness by focusing on attacking through the area outside the penalty box.

They have players who are suited to do that. Arjen Robben, a left-footer, can start on the right and cut in with his natural foot. Same applies to Franck Ribery who is a right-footer. Bastian Schweinsteiger (I had to google this name) can launch attacks from the centre in a dynamic way.

All the Bavarians need is a big scoring striker, think Mario Gomez, to keep the Chelsea defenders at bay and they will be able to create space to shoot from outside the box. Schweinsteiger is the kind of "German Tank" who can shoot from distance.

Given the trickery of Robben, he is bound to give his former team a headache by constantly drifting infield thus, freeing up space for captain cum right-back Philip Lahm to advance forward like a typical Brazilian wing-back.

Chelsea might start with Fernando Torres to exploit Bayern's Daniel van Buyten's lack of pace. However, the latter's towering height means that long-ball tactics might not be effective.

The Blues look likely to start with three central midfielders to gain advantage in midfield. But their final third still lacks a bit of spark. I believe both Torres and Didier Drogba will play together at some stage of the game after one is substitued onto the pitch to salvage the situation.

I am going for a 2:0 win to Bayern. Both goals will be scored via diagonal runs from the flanks. Robben looks likely to be one, if not both of the goalscorers.


Lastly, I would like to dedicate this picture to Jose Mourinho, the Special One.

Alphabet Song

You might not notice or realize that whenever we recite the alphabet song, we tend not to sing it at a constant speed. Don't believe? Try singing it in your head now. Still can't figure it out? Well, sing it again and take note when you are at L, M, N, O, P.

I think the reason why homo sapiens say the alphabet L to P really fast is because our mouths and tongues are not designed to utter the sound of the alphabet L before M and N. Plus, we have to do it in a rhythmic manner so things can get a bit tedious.

If you look at the musical notation of the original alphabet song, the letters L, M, N and O all share the same note. That would explain why we are in a hurry to complete the L to P part since we already know that we are going to use the same tone.

No matter how hard (or slow) I try, I just could not resist myself to slow down whenever I reach the alphabet L. Also, after saying the alphabet P, there will be an inevitable slight pause before I continue with Q. How about you?

Amazing Alex

After the huge success of Angry Birds, the maker of this popular game is set to launch a new one titled Amazing Alex. Rovio, the developer of Angry Birds, will release this physics-related puzzle game within the next couple of months.

Amazing Akex is based on Rovio's recent accquisition of Casey's Contraptions. The latter was took off from the App Store after the Angry Birds creators "ate up" the company which was originally behind the game.

Amazing Alex is anticipated to be out in July on Android and iOS platforms. Support for other platforms should be released at a later time. The main question is actually whether Amazing Alex can be a worthy successor of Angry Birds.

I think the name Amazing Alex should be changed to something that sounds more attractive or unique. Amazing Alex sounds rather similar to Bob the Builder and both of them are about building stuff. Rovio should come up with a title that doesn't have any human name in it to look universal.

Speaking of which, let's put Amazing Alex aside first and congratulate Rovio for acheiving one billion downloads for Angry Birds.

New kits for 12/13 season

Manchester United and Liverpool have launched their new kit for the 12/13 season one after another. No offence, but I did the Red Devil one is really a joke as compared to the Anfield jersey.

Liverpool's new kit sponsor, Warrior Sports, have opted for yellow fonts instead of the usual white. It switched to being traditional by featuring the Liverbird as the badge. That makes Warrior Sports's first effort look as if they are creating a retro-look for the Kop.

On the other hand, Manchester United's new kit has garnered more dislikes than praises in cyberspace since it was unveiled. Man U have claimed that it is historical and unusual while fans think that the checked design makes the shirt look like a tablecloth.

In my opinion, the club which has the coolest jersey for next season is Arsenal. Their new home kit includes blue on the sleeves, collar as well as socks. Plus the usual red and white, the Gunners' attire inevitably exudes a distinctive British feel.

No matter how nice or ugly supporters think their clubs' jerseys are, the fact that millions of them will be sold worldwide will never change.

Food Revolution 2012

If you think Singapore is boring, think again. This is because many people will agree with you. Erm, but that is not what I am trying to say. If you are really bored, why not spare some time between the 25th to 29th this month and visit the Food Revolution 2012 held at Suntec Convention Hall 401?

As the name of the exhibition implies, you will get to see and taste food that are re-defined from the conventional stereotypes which we always thought they were. Food Revolution is blend of fusion delicacies, future food as well as traditional delights.

The unique thing about Food Revolution is that it displays a wide variety of creative dishes that will wow you. Unlike those typical eat-and-drink food shows held at Expo for people with no "taste", Food Revolution boasts a large array of exhibitors which you don't normally see.

The exhibition is split into three zones which are themed as the past, present and future. The older generation will be pleased by the presence of traditional goodies like the highly endangered ding ding candy while the present gives you the chance to savour innovative food from different countries.

The future zone is aimed at impressing all visitors with revolutionary food preparation techniques. Famous dessert chef Janice Wong will also be present to thrill you with her advanced food-making skills.

So what are you waiting for? Mark it on your calendar now!

P.S. I am not advertising for them and the present and future zones cost $65 and $35 respectively. The past zone is free of charge.

A Medical Day

First time in my life today, I went to two medical institutions, consulted three doctors and burned up a total of four hours of my time. The process of going through all the hassle and inconvenience really bored me but being able to get a two-day MC at the end of the day more or less made me forgot about all the trouble.

Visited the Sungei Gedong Medical Centre for the first time this morning. Met Teck Cheong there by coincidence and it turned out to be even more coincidental when I discovered that both us were there because of our eyes. The medical officer was sort of helpless plus hopeless because he instantly referred me to NUH without even looking at my eye thoroughly.

I headed back to the medical centre at 1.30pm where I will be driven to NUH. We were supposed to set off at 2pm but ended up leaving the camp only at 2.30pm. If you were to ask me which department is the most screwed up in the army, I wouldn't hesitate to pick Medical Services as my first choice. The journey was a long plus uncomfortable one as military vehicles can only travel at a certain pathetic speed and there was no air-con.

By the time I sat down to wait for my queue number at the A&E, it was already 3.15pm. The waiting time was unexpectedly much shorter that what I dreaded and within half an hour, I was already in a doctor's room. However, that was not the end of the story, it was just the end of a chapter. Like the medical officer, the A&E doctor was unsure about what to do hence, I was referred to an eye specialist.

A nurse brought me to another corner of the hospital where the eye clinic was. Over there, I was asked to take a refraction test, the one where you are tasked to read out alphabets of different sizes while having one of your eyes covered. I find it rather pointless. If I am able to walk properly, I don't see why I need to waste time undergoing that test.

The entire waiting area was made up of mostly banglahs, some pinoys and senior citizens so I looked quite out-of-the-place since I was the only Gen Y Singaporean there, not to mention that I was in army fatigues. Almost thirty minutes (seems like thirty years) have passed before I finally heard my legendary name being called by one of the nurses. I was so happy at that moment like I was the winner of Singapore Idol.

The eye specialist turned out to be another female and she spoke in such an ang moh accent that will make  Channel NewsAsia's newscasters look plain. Fortunately, I was still able to understand her as we both communicated in medical language instead of English if you catch my drift. She prescribed Fucithalmic for me and told me not to use that (lousy) Chlortralim again.

I was always given two boxes of eyelid wipes for cleansing. The counter girl at the pharmacy looked a little impatient when I kept using medical terminologies instead of layman terms to converse with her. After collecting my medication, I had to walk a big round back to the A&E department to acquire my MC due to renovation works. I was wondering how do those with walking problems survive the long distance.

Anyway, the feeling of booking out and breathing fresh air is still the best.

2012 FA Cup final

Congratulations to Chelsea on winning the 2012 FA Cup! You guys played well and had a little bit more luck so it is right for you all to be the champions. The talk of the match was not the glam and glory Chelsea had on them after lifting the trophy but a "half-goal" by Liverpool's Andy Caroll which ended not being a goal after the referee thinks that the ball didn't cross the line.

Good job Chelsea and I wish you all the worst in the Champions League final, I am going to become a Bayern Munich fan on that day.

Swollen eye and Chlortralim

I am having a swollen eye now and it is extremely irritating like two China men talking loudly to each other on the MRT. Due to the fact that there will be graphic content present if I post a picture of it, I decided not to reveal any form of evidence here.

So, it is up to you to believe it or not but one thing you can be sure of is that having a swollen eye and listening to two China men talk are equally annoying. Alright, maybe having a swollen eye is little bit more bothersome.

Consulted a doctor yesterday and he prescribed two kinds of eye drops for me. One is the ubiquitous Eye-Mo (Cheapskate! Less than two bucks only) while the other is Chlortralim. I do not study medicine but I can tell you something which I know about this Chlortralim which I got.

The moment I uncapped the Chlortralim, the lotion started oozing out without me having to squeeze the tube at all and this continued until I surrendered and capped it back. I have yet to even apply it on my eye.

The second time I uncapped it, I did it with speed and swiftly positioned the tube above my lower eyelid and the lotion automatically came out without pausing. However, it ended up curling up all around the tube instead of into my swollen eye.

If my condition does not improve, I will just make a trip to the medical centre in camp and see what the medical officer there has for me. I am so gonna protest if I were to get the same tube again.

The Voice 2 : Anthony Evans vs. Jesse Campbell - If I Ain't Got You

This is definitely a must-watch or rather a must-hear. Two black guys taking on a classic Alicia Keys song with a twist of their own. They are supposed to sing as a duet but ended up having an intense competition with each other which is the fact in reality. I think Christina Aguilera made a grave mistake by pairing two great vocalists together as she had to eliminate one of them after that breathtaking performance.

Singaporeans will always be top priority?

 See what see? I know my smile can fight with Elvin Ng. Ding! Ding!

During this year's May Day Rally, prime minister Lee Hsien Loong assured Singaporeans that they will always be of top priority when it comes to employment policies.

He made his point clear by saying that the government seeks to maximise the advantages for its citizens, and to provide them with jobs and a share of the nation's success. A rather indirect way to escape from the topic on the influx of foreign workers.

He did acknowledged that the pace of foreigners coming here to work need to slow down significantly in the near future because Singapore aka the little red dot can't import 80000 of them every year.

It has been almost a year since Singapore experienced its most competitive election ever which saw PM Lee's people's action party embarrassingly lost a GRC for the first time in history. PM Lee vowed to acknowledge the concerns of the people after the polls.

So what has he done? Continue giving excuses about the influx of foreigners and being reluctant to implement a minimum wage policy, something which Malaysia just announced (on 30 April) it would have.

The simple concept of introducing minimum wage to ensure the lowest-paid workers are guaranteed a certain amount of salary seems to look too difficult for PM Lee and his ministers to comprehend.

Other Asean countries like Vietnam and even the unsettled Thailand have some sort of law which is similar to minimum wage. Even Hong Kong, which possess an economy similar to Singapore, implemented a minimum wage somewhere around this time last year.

So what is the government waiting for? Waiting to get kicked voted out at the next election? Probably.

Starry Starry Night Awards Show review

Once upon a time in Lion State, three friends known as A, B and C, were discussing about the recently concluded Starry Starry Night Awards Show.

A: First time the show held at the marine casino there but still the same old things happening every year
B: Ya la, some more got big upset!
C: You mean the best actress award?
A: Oh yes, that Joanna P?
B: Walau, she's the darkest horse among the nominees!
C: I was expecting Fannie to win
A: Me too, even if Fannie lose it to the queen of kaldekott, I also nothing to say
B: I support ice princess, I can't believe she lost to Joanna of all people. Pui!
A: Confirm is rigged one. Confirm that Joanna kena some unfair advantage from on top
B: Maybe people the PR skills good mah
C: That's right, unlike that nyonya princess who don't know how to wayang in real life
B: That's why she no show at all for the whole of last year!
A: Now kena kick to Tiger State and act with those unknown Mayalasian actors.
C: Plus now she being thrown to the alphabet Mandarin channel to act in comedy. Sho low crass!
A: So we alll agree that Joanna is a level above nyonya princess now?
B: At least two levels lah. Joanna score two goals liao. Nyonya still nil.
C: Mr Uniform Hui deserves the Best Actor award right?
A: Yes, he waited for so long after years of acting as police, soldier and even in civil defence
B: I think he should just continue the Ah Beng kind of role which won him the award
C: Yup, years of being a uniformed man in dramas was fruitless
A: He was the real star that night, he also bagged the all time favourite artiste award
B: Funny sia, the person who presented the award is a man in white minister, Uniform Hui is also a man in white
C: Like some typical man in white plus another man in white wayang-ing show
A: That old Teochew hag Uncle Chen finally won something for the first time in his career.
B: But he talked too much on stage liao, can tell that he suan-ing Midiacorpse
C: @#$% sia, how could he have won the other Chen? That versatile actor from Tiger State.
A: I believe it's some kind of consolation prize for the older Chen
B: Hmmm, I agree. The best supporting actor award is destined for the younger Chen to win no matter how you look at it.
C: Best supporting actress also quite a big upset. That VV Lai looks like a dark horse.
A: I thought Auntie Song would win
B: I was betting on Eeevonie Lim.
C: Maybe the judges are also FT...from Dragon State, that's why VV Lai's character appealed to them.
A: Ya la, now everything also FT. Even the female host also choose the daughter of that Hongkie short potato.
B: Lion State really no more eh sai the female host meh?
C: Got, but TV station like to waste resources mah
A: That's why the productions all more and more KNS these days
B & C: HAHAHAHA!