department of crappy engineering

the facebook status

2012-05-12T16:59:00.000+08:00

I don't bitch about my bosses online, but once in a while I do post some reflections or share some interesting snippets from the industry and workplace onto Facebook. Sometimes these include things about bosses or coworkers, inevitably (no names have been mentioned though. And I can't possibly keep talking about how much I love my desk or how smelly the washroom is. Wait, maybe I can). And for the slightly more sensitive stuffs, I do limit via the security function on who can see those updates.

Apparently some colleagues whom I can't be bothered about (and thus, never even mentioned them on Facebook) have an issue with it (or rather, they have an opinion about it). One of them couldn't hold it anymore and told me that they find it inappropriate to post about work on Facebook. Perhaps they genuinely care about my career, or they find it unfair cos they couldn't garner the balls to write such things online. Whatever it is, it is an outright intervention of freedom of speech.

What I want to say is, whatever I say online, I dare to stand by it in real life. What my fingers type, my mouth will not hesitate to say again.

The ironic thing about some people is that they find it inappropriate to write about their work, but they find it perfectly natural to write about emotions. When I write about work, the worst is just me myself and I losing my job (unless I'm whistle-blowing); but when you write about emotions, you affect others, spoil their day and you risk losing them. Talk about consequences.

And I dare people who keep posting about emotions, are they as willing to talk about such stuff in real life? Or they think that by hiding behind the computer screen, people really don't see the face connecting to the name? (have you heard of the story of a boy covering his eyes and then goes shoplifting, cos he thought if he can't see the shopkeeper, the shopkeeper can't see him as well) I didn't study psychology and I really can't understand what do people want to achieve when they post about emotions. And those emotional quotes with girly pictures from god-knows-which great learned mind on this planet. A protest? Retaliation at someone whom they can't hurt in real life? Seeking attention? Asking for pity and sympathy?

I just think that if you don't dare to say the things in real life, then don't say it online. Period.

one thing we lack in total defence

2012-04-29T22:27:00.002+08:00

Earlier this month, a full time national serviceman from the army died during training. Subsequently on facebook I caught a post about a girl making a comment that Singaporeans are too weak. While I do not know both the deceased serviceman and the girl who made the comment, but I have some sort of a related encounter myself.

Some time back I attended a call-up. It was short but physically exhausting nonetheless. Many people would apply leave after reservist, but I went straight back to work the next day. Nothing heroic, I'm just stingy over my annual leave balance. So back in office I just remarked that the training was tiring. It wasn't a bid for sympathy, just sharing how I felt. Then a female colleague commented that I was weak, cos she hadn't heard other males complaining about feeling tired after going for reservist.

You see, I'm sorry but I really can't help having some naive shallow people in my social circle. Here we are training hard and disrupting from our daily routine to do our part to protect our nation, and then some people just have to be so cynical. We are not playing boy scouts. We aren't asking for appreciation, we aren't asking for bed of roses or kisses for the heroes. But understanding and validation would be nice. Some members of the other gender find it unfair that males who have served national service get higher starting salary. Turn the table around, are there males who complain that females have too many maternity leave? *shrug*

I'm sure most of us have heard about Total Defence umpteenth times. It won't be total if not everyone is doing his/her part.

throwing spanner and screwdriver

2012-04-08T19:44:00.003+08:00

The other evening I was at a gathering with fellow mechanical engineers at the club. Over dinner we chatted and shared our experience at work.

One engineer, who works at the polytechnic, shared a scene at the school's workshop. A student was asking the workshop assistant where he could find a spanner. So the assistant pointed towards the rack and told the student to grab it himself. The student returned with a screwdriver in hand.

Seriously, I fail to see the similarity between the spanner and the screwdriver except the fact that you use both with your hand. While I did not go through the polytechnic path, I've always have high respect for them because of their relatively richer hands-on experience. This may just be an isolated case, or is it?

Recently there has been some discussions on the newspaper regarding university qualification. Something along the line of the emphasis on technical education during the nation's early years and blah blah... Somehow I find it sad if a mechanical engineer has never touched a spanner or screwdriver. Just the other day, a colleague was surprised I could recognise a crank shaft, even though my industry has no connection with engines. Well, am I not supposed to know, as a mechanical engineer?

At least I can say by the time I received my university certificate, I've touched the lathe and mill before. What about our next batches of engineers? I wonder.

the cityrail in sydney

2012-03-04T21:21:00.007+08:00

During my holiday in Sydney, we used the CityRail extensively and I would say it has left me quite an impression.

People living in efficiency-demanding Singapore should be familiar with hi-tech unmanned rolling stocks or the shiny platform screen doors. But in Sydney we saw some old trains and even older stations. There were station masters blowing the whistle to signal for departure, and every few cars there were crews standing at the driving compartment door. The were vandalism on the train body, carvings on the windows. You can't just board any train that stops at the station, cos one platform serves many lines, and you actually can reach the same destination boarding the train at opposing sides of the platform.

But that's not the point. The point is, I enjoyed the experience!

The trains themselves are unique. How often do we see double-deck for metro-style railway? The trains are exceptionally quiet, somehow. And they stick to the timetable, which you can check online. Some of the drivers wear shorts, which I find kind of cute. As a bonus track, we witnessed a scene of love story :P A guy was chasing after his lover (can't remember if he had flowers in hand), they entered from the front door, and ran out from the next door.

These are the things you can't find in unique Singapore.

the uglyfatchick tag

2012-03-04T20:43:00.002+08:00

Ok I just got tagged by uglyfatchick. It has been a very long time since I last did stuff like this and all. For the fun of it, might as well ask myself these questions as well.

1. What's your dream home like?
Well-lit, cosy, naturally ventilated, maybe a bit zen-like? Or perhaps a cafe, bookshelves, coffee table, food for thoughts, etc. Regardless, a dream home should have someone to come home to.

2. If you could choose only 5 dishes to have in your whole life, what would it be?
This is a tough question. Can I choose 5 dishes that I will never have in my life? :P

3. What are your favourite bands/music?
You can't go wrong with Beyond (if you are Chinese) and Beatles.

4. If you have to leave your country, which country would you choose to live the rest of your life in?
Is heaven a country?

5. What's your current favourite website?
I set google as the homepage, so, yeah.

6. What would you like people to remember you for when you're gone?
I rather people get on with life.

7. If you could talk to one person (living or dead), who would you like to talk to?
*scratch head* but what are we going to talk about?

8. Who would you like to be photographed with?
That will depend on what posture I will be in. Hur hur hur.

9. Anyone who's an inspiration to you?
If we look hard enough, everyone can be an inspiration. Everyone can learn from everyone else.

10. Any bad habits you wish you didn't have?
I kind I wish I am less judgemental and more accepting.

11. How would you define your blog?
Dormant? Used to be active though.

misunderstanding not lifted

2012-02-25T20:16:00.003+08:00

In Singapore many of the lifts have that glass windows on the doors, perhaps to deter any possible mischief happening in the lift. The magic of those little windows is that you can see from outside, and also from inside.

This was what happened. We were inside the lift and the lift doors were closing. Then through the windows we could see this woman reaching right in front of the other side of the doors and desperately pressing the lift button. Most if not all kind people would try to press the door open button, but of course there are some who would similarly desperately try to press the door close button so as not to delay their lift journey. But, while I am not a lift maintenance engineer or designer, I suspect there must be some algorithm in place that tells the lift to proceed once the door has closed fully or something like that. We saw the woman outside the lift staring at us. She must have thought we pressed the door close button.

So transparency may not always be a good thing.

day 5 in sydney

2012-02-11T10:33:00.008+08:00

Come to the last day of our Sydney trip. Was deciding if I should do a Bondi Beach or Taronga Zoo, and we went to the zoo in the end. It didn't feel right not to see a koala if you go to Australia.

We had breakfast at the Museum of Sydney. Since we didn't have much chance to eat really good stuff during this trip, so I thought maybe should at least spend some AUD on a good breakfast. Classy place, but I wish we had time to check out the Museum itself.

We next passed through the Royal Botanic Gardens. It was a pleasant walk where you could see the Government House which kind of resembles a castle. I know it may sound mad to go to another country to visit their park, but isn't that a good way to experience the local life?

From the Royal Botanic Gardens it was also a good route to check out the behind of the Sydney Opera House. Talking about the landmark of Australia, enough said I guess? When up close it seemed less majestic, so it's still better to look at it from afar.

The most common way to go to Taronga Zoo was to take the ferry from Circular Quay, which would take you to the back gate of Taronga Zoo. You can choose to take the Sky Safari (basically a cable car) if there isn't a queue, or to just walk up which isn't that difficult since there are elevators and all along the way. Just a tip, there is a Taronga Zoo coupon in the English version of the tourist guide which you might have gotten at the airport. It admits one only, though. You might consider harming the trees but saving your wallet by getting each member one English tourist guide. Back to the zoo, well I would say it kind of pales in comparison to the Singapore Zoo. Many animals were repeated in different zones of the zoo. But somehow the atmosphere was different. You see lots of kids and toddlers which kind of brings joy to yourself too.

Not much time left before our flight back, so back in Sydney CBD it was last minute shopping time. Shopping for local products at supermarkets like Woolworths or Coles won't cost a bomb and you can't get more authentically local than that. Of course if you are looking for jewellery or handicraft, it's a different story. But we got a fair bit of Australian fruits and candies.

So that's the Sydney trip. While not high on my next destination list, I won't mind going back if I have some spare cash.

day 4 in sydney (hunter valley)

2012-02-04T10:49:00.006+08:00

Another favourite check-out when in Sydney is the nearby Hunter Valley. Australia being an important wine producing country, and Hunter Valley is one of the major wine regions of Australia, naturally you go for a wine tour when in Hunter Valley.
If you drive, you theoretically can visit the wineries on your own and have free tasting. Lindemans, Rosemount, Wyndham Estate are some of the brandnames which you most probably have seen in supermarkets back home and their wineries are in Hunter Valley. But we didn't visit any of these (kind of wish we did, though). We signed up for a local wine tour which brought us to 3 small boutique wineries.
So the tour zipped around the region in a Toyota van. Not the best of comfort, but I realized you can't possibly manoeuvre around with a big coach. To add to the unique experience, there were no more seats behind and so I had to take the front seat beside the driver/tour guide. The tour guide made me "assistant tour guide", and I kid you not I got tipped at the end of the tour! (just so happened I was able to act smart on the topic of wines)
As a wine tour, logically we talked a lot of wines along the way. Like the concept of region, cork vs screw cap, shift in culture, etc. We visited the behind the scenes (I won't go wrong visiting the factory), learned the differences in process between red wine and white wine, wine appreciation techniques, etc. We ended up tasting about 30 different wines, and bought (only) 2 bottles back.
To top up the wine tour, we spotted some wild kangaroos!

While I think it was an interesting experience nevertheless, I find the wine tour not as spectacular as say Blue Mountains or even our DIY city tour in Sydney. Unless you are a wine lover, the day and money could have been spent elsewhere.

day 3 in sydney (blue mountains)

2012-01-28T11:01:00.007+08:00

If you think Sydney is just a city of skyscrapers, then you are missing out the goodies in the wilderness. On day 3 we went to the Blue Mountains, a region some 1 hour's coach journey away. Initially I was considering riding the CityRail to Katoomba and explore Blue Mountains on our own, but that could be a bit tricky if I wanted to check out the nearby Jenolan Caves too. So in the end we signed up for a local tour. By the way not all Blue Mountains tour operators do Jenolan Caves.
The "trade mark" of Blue Mountains probably is to look at the Three Sisters Rocks from Echo Point. An interesting but sad story behind, but also don't forget to look at the sceneries beyond the Three Sisters. They say the "blue" comes from the eucalyptus oil of the forest.

We went to Scenic World next. From there we rode the Scenic Railway, supposedly the steepest railway in the world. It was great fun, riding this old mining rail which was functional as well as thrilling to bring you to the bottom of the valley.

At the bottom is Scenic Walkway, where you can choose which path to take depending on how much time you have and how much energy you have left. Then we made our way to Scenic Cableway which brought us back up to Scenic World's main entrance.

The coach took us to Jenolan Caves next. There is only one eating place there and there was a long queue, limited choice of food. It probably would make sense to BYO (bring your own) lunch which many visitors did. At the entrance there was this huge cave in the hill which the coach could barely pass through (and it did).

We had a guided inspection of Lucas Cave. The natural formations inside were awesome. The guide explained to us the history and background of the cave, how it used to be a chapel, etc etc.

To that's our day 3 in Sydney.

day 2 in sydney (but went to canberra)

2012-01-21T16:15:00.007+08:00

To spend almost 8 hours flying over (and not forgetting the airfare), it does make sense to visit another nearby city. And so I slotted in a day trip to Canberra on the second day, the capital of Australia.

We did it the traditional way, took the CountryLink Xplorer train from Sydney Central to Canberra Kingston which took about 4 hours. Now thinking back, the train journey was equally, if not more, enjoyable than in Canberra itself. We passed by old towns, old train stations, farms, windfarms (which are still farms), very nice scenery from the Southern Highlands. Breakfast was from the train's buffet bar (and man I thought it was a buffet line!) and let's call it the Oz version of train bento.

Our first stop in Canberra was Parliament House, a must-go in Canberra. Maybe I should highlight that it was Christmas Day, so everywhere we went was pretty quiet. Of course, we didn't have the chance to check out the inside of the Parliament House.
Then we crossed the Lake Burley Griffin over to Civic. Seriously most of the shops were closed and we had to have Chinese fast food for lunch, unless we were willing to pay big bucks for Christmas lunch at an Indian restaurant.

We subsequently toured around the Canberra area on a public bus and that's about it for our day trip in Canberra.

I probably should mention that back in Sydney, the street was kind of crowded and we checked out the Christmas projections at the Town Hall. It was pretty cool to see the animated projection on the 100+ years old building. Glad that I caught it.

On day 3 Boxing Day we would be going to the Blue Mountains.

day 1 in sydney

2012-01-14T10:04:00.006+08:00

We took an overnight flight to Sydney. So when we reached Kingsford Smith Airport, coupled with the timezone difference, it was just past 7am. Good timing to start the day.

It was a Saturday, so probably the only chance to catch the weekend markets. Our first stop was Sydney Sustainable Markets at Taylor Square. There are a few farmer's markets in Sydney and I was deciding between Taylor Square and Eveleigh Markets but decided on Taylor Square because I thought we could check out Oxford Street along the way as well. There were 20 odd stalls selling fruits, vegetables, bread, honey, etc. On afterhought probably farmer's market may not be that great a stop for tourist, unless you have ample of time in Sydney.
The next stop was The Rocks. Before that we would pass by Customs House and Circular Quay. Any tourist guidebook would say The Rocks is a must go, and so is The Rocks Market.
My sense of the Rocks Market is that it is one of those doing tourist business. But anyway if you are looking for Australian honey, there is an outlet of Superbee at The Rocks.

From The Rocks you can see the Sydney Opera House from afar, and also you are just next to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. So we crossed the bridge to the opposite side at Milson Point, where the Luna Park is. Milson Point offers quite a nice vantage point where you can see both the Bridge and the Opera House in one frame.
We then went to Sydney Fish Market. Monster crabs, giant lobsters, cheap oysters, they've got them. My advice is, don't get the platter, you'll probably be drown by the fries and fried calamari.

The next stop was relatively nearby Market City (aka Haymarket) and Chinatown. "Skip-able" in my honest opinion but you have to see it to believe it. Nevertheless, Chinatown offers Chinese food (duh!) if you need rice and noodles.
Then we went to QVB (Queen Victoria Building). Must-go, no question asked. It is a shopping mall, very old one. I'm not a shopaholic but I really like the old tiles, the 2 old clocks and the old elevator.

We checked out Westfield and Myer, bought some stuff at Jurlique (good gift idea to bring back). Wanted to go up the Sydney Tower Eye but there was a long queue.

It was Christmas Eve and there was a Christmas Eve Carols and Fireworks at Darling Harbour. We had dinner at Harbourside, one of the few places in Sydney where you can have night shopping (not even talking about late night!) We also strolled along Cockle Bay on the way back to the hotel.

Right, that's about our first day in Sydney. Tiring especially considering the lack of quality sleep on the flight and the number of places we checked out. I was a bit of overly ambitious to pack in so much in the itinerary, and in fact I wanted to check out Bondi Beach on day 1 as well.

Day 2 would be day trip to Canberra on Christmas Day!

sydney 2011

2011-12-31T14:58:00.009+08:00

Hey mate! Yours truly here just visited Sydney over the Christmas period. It was quite an impulsive decision to go, didn't avoid the high season and didn't check the balance in my bank account. It was only a week or two before the trip that the air tickets were bought. Anyway 2011 had been a roller coaster ride for me and I thought why not go for a walk.

I am grateful to all the blogs that I've browsed through which had given me invaluable inspiration on planning this trip. So I thought maybe I should chip in my bit to share my trip, just so in case someone bumps in.

At the airport
Make sure you grab the free official Sydney tourist guide at the Sydney airport. Not the Chinese one, not the Korean one, but the English one, and one for each person. Cos only the English version has discount coupons at the back and each coupon admits one person.

Phone
I would have loved to chuck my mobile phone aside and stay primitive if not for all the planning I've done on Google map. And also for getting around which I will elaborate later. Roaming costs bombs and I needed a local number to arrange for local day tours, so before the trip I actually bought a 'yes' Optus prepaid SIM card. The card itself costs AUD$2, of course would cost more if you need it sent to you before the trip to do the necessary registration et al. Don't activate it too early cos it expires a few days after activation if you don't charge up the credit, which itself also has expiry date. And then you can sign up for which ever prepaid plan that suits you. I chose the 2 Dollar Days plan which basically costs AUD$2 per day for unlimited data and local voice. Oh and my phone almost went out of juice. Better to bring extra battery if you don't want to buy a travel adaptor.

Getting around
If you are a public transport freak like me, you'll love Sydney. You'll need a degree of street-smartness to be comfortable commuting on the various rails, buses and ferries of Sydney. For example, Central Station has dozen odd platforms, even the station near my hotel has 6; But with a mobile phone and data plan, the NSW Government's Transport Infoline website comes in VERY handy. If you want convenience of not having to buy tickets every time you take a ride, I highly recommend getting the MyMulti weekly pass. It allows unlimited rides on buses, rails (except monorail) and ferries. By the way I love the CityRail experience and I shall write on this separately.

Shopping
Depending on what you are looking for, for me it was the local products experience. Checking out the mainstream supermarkets like Coles and Woolworths was great experience for me. This may sound odd for people on trips, but I think this is one close experience (besides the public transport) of life of the locals. Do check out the fruits :) By the way, shops close pretty early, so grab the goodies (same goes for dinner) before they close for the day.

Sun protection
I can't emphasize this more. If you don't wear sunblock, at least wear a hat.

Festivity
This is not really a tip, but a little reflection. It was my first time spending Christmas in a western society (erm, also the south-most and east-most, if you go by longitude and latitude). The festive atmosphere was great, people in the service industry greeted people merry Christmas, even policemen wore the Santa hat on top of their uniform cap. And I think I saw a giant inflated Santa on a navy ship. The bad thing is, almost everything closes on Christmas day. Some even close from Christmas all the way to next year. Inconvenient? But hey we Chinese also take long break during Chinese New Year.

Hospitality (or rather, the people)
You can't beat the Aussie's hospitality (maybe minus the hotel staff I met) Be it supermarket cashier or bus driver or train conductor, they chat you up and they looked like a happy bunch. Happy, relax, friendly, efficient, but definitely not laid-back. At first I was a little uneasy when the supermarket cashier asked "how are you", but subsequently I greeted back and a short but wholehearted conversation began. Almost everytime every counter I went. Now compare this with the hello-welcome-without-glancing-up attitude that some of the service staffs we have in Asia. Man, I think these people really love and respect their jobs!

Maybe I'll share my itinerary another time :)

one A short of being SMART

2011-12-17T09:20:00.002+08:00

As a commuter I always think that SMRT runs buses better than SBS Transit. The reverse is true for trains.

2 train disruptions within a few days. I narrowly escaped the North South Line episode (darn, I have never walked in the tunnel before!) cos I was on the North East Line which is operated by _the_ other transport company. But I was stucked on the earlier Circle Line disruption, resulting in me reaching office late by half an hour. Damn you, you cut short my tea break.

Looking back with 20/20 hindsight, I could have avoided being stuck on the Circle Line. When I transferred at Harbourfront station, the display screen did not show the departure time of the CCL train. That was a sign, which I didn't care about. Everything looked normal, even the SMRT staff at the platform looked normal, telling people not to rush through the closing door and what-not. Then when the train reached Telok Blangah station, it stuck there for I dunno how long. (was pretty fun seeing people running down the escalator just to board a stuck train.) Then some passengers couldn't wait and alighted, and then the train doors closed behind them and moved on, bad luck for them :P

Throughout the whole experience there were only those standard pre-recorded message about how sorry they felt about the disruption. I was expecting them to at least dispatch some free shuttle bus. None. And I pity those of us who reached work late. I read somewhere before that in China, if the train (subway or metro) was disrupted, the train staffs will distribute official letters at the station to the affected commuters so that they can show it to their bosses about being late at work.

When you talk about fare increment you don't even blink an eye. Now something goes wrong and you just say sorry? If sorry is enough, what's the use of policemen?

Hankyu Densha

2011-12-04T17:37:00.005+08:00

If you are the type who believes that things happen on the train and there are a lesson or two to learn, then you probably would like the movie Hankyu Densha (阪急電車, 片道15分の奇跡).

Starring Miki Nakatani, the story revolves around this particular railway line called the Hankyu Dentetsu in Kansai, Japan. A one-way trip from start to end takes 15 minutes. 15 life-changing minutes. You have a grandma who is trying to instil the right values to her granddaughter (oh I love the scene when she shook her head at the train-full of people playing with their mobile phones), a OL whose boyfriend broke up with her to marry her junior, a girl stuck with her handsome yet abusive boyfriend, a housewife who was under peer pressure to join a group of noisy taitais, and a few more characters.

They are daily commuters of the railway line just like you and me, each with his/her own set of life problems. Started off as strangers, they slowly crossed path. One by one they started healing one another, each one turning over a new leaf in life.

No it's not like Densha Otoko, although both movies were adapted from novel of the same titles. There's something to learn from each character's story, and I think one message in common is that we have to take charge of our life, not others.

A return journey may take you back to where you started, but you would have become a different person by then.

train to be gracious

2011-12-02T21:29:00.002+08:00

According to unconfirmed source, the platform of Bishan MRT Station does not have the markings for people to queue up or to stand behind. But yet commuters were seen queueing up orderly before boarding. I don't believe it.

I was standing behind the red line waiting for the next train. A man came to this screen door and stood on the other side, obviously stepping in front of the red line. I twitched a little, and that triggered the man to get closer until he couldn't get any closer to the door. It was like a game of who blinks first.

Dhoby Ghaut Station towards Orchard. A woman cut in front of me as the train arrived (what's new?) I managed to squeeze into the train and got close to this cute looking girl I saw. I kept my hands to myself, of course. But in such a packed train cabin, you don't even need to hold on to the grab poles or handgrips, cos there is no way you can fall. Classical example of "united we stand, divided we fall".

happiness from what you don't have

2011-11-07T13:44:00.002+08:00

Recently there has been this discussion about happiness and the comparison with Bhutan (the country that started Gross National Happiness) in the parliament. Then a Bhutanese wrote in reaction to the example being brought up.

I've never been to Bhutan. I don't know much about that country, so to compare their happiness with ours is like comparing between the Centigrade scale with the Fahrenheit scale.

Are we happy? *shrug*. I guess instead of looking at it from "we are happy because we have...", why not look at it as "we are happy because we don't have..." Does strong economy make us happier? Maybe. Does infrastructure make us happier? Perhaps. Does technology make us happier? Doubtful. On the MRT, I see roughly 2/3 of the passengers are constantly staring at their screens, big or small. Couples going out, each looking at his/her individual screen. Friends gathering at the cafe, each checking updates from the smartphone. Does it make you happier if you have collected all the coins from the what farming games? Does it bring you satisfaction by clearing 3 jewels in a row? How about telling the world you've checked in to places?

I know at this moment I am looking at the screen in my bedroom. I don't do that every single second when I'm in my room with my eyes open. I've spent time and thoughts decorating my room, choosing my favourite lights, arranging the furnitures. So why let the dark computer screen steal the whole show? I glance around my room, enjoying the slowness and idleness, and make sure that it is also my soul and not only my shell that lives here.

I can go on talking about the happy times I had pumping water from the well in rural China. Turning on the tap?

What you have, may not always bring you happiness.

767 goes on the belly

2011-11-05T09:45:00.002+08:00

A Boeing 767 plane from Polish airline LOT landed on its belly on 1 Nov after the landing gears failed to lower.

No one was injured in this belly landing. In fact it looked quite smooth, thanks to the skill of the crew and the close coordination and preparation from the ground, including the foam sprayed on the runway beforehand.

With all the gloomy feelings around, such good news sure clear the air :)

the 18 who did nothing

2011-10-30T16:36:00.002+08:00

The China double hit-and-run case has stirred up a wave of criticism on the 18 passerbys who did not offer help to the 2 years old girl, and the state of moral value in the country. While I think no one will dispute that it was a sad case that such incident happened, but I was quite disturbed by the sudden appearances of so many moral policemen.

It is very easy to make comments when you are miles away from the scene, more bystanders than the 18 passerbys. Have you been to China? How much do you understand the society? Have you heard of cases when drivers stopped to offer help to broken down vehicles on the highway only to be robbed? Have you heard of people helping fallen down old people only to be accused of pushing them? Have you heard of people helping a lost child in the department store then to be accused of abduction? If you haven't, then you may want to think again whether you had make an unfair judgement on the 18 passerbys who didn't offer help. If you were at the scene, would you have done otherwise? (this is a question which I myself don't have a sure answer)

Closer to home, have we always been doing the so-called morally right things? As a student when the invilgilator has said stop, have you reported anyone who was still scribbing away? When you see people tossing the cigarrette butt or tissue paper on the road, have you told them off? Even simpler, do you move to the back of the bus?

Donating a dollar or two on flag day doesn't mean you are a better person than any of the 18.

lesson from the colonel?

2011-10-22T09:18:00.003+08:00

While I am not trying to glorify or condemn him, but how many people can rise to become head of a nation at the age of 27 like Colonel Muammar Gaddafi did? It was also reported that when Gaddafi led a bloodless coup to overthrow the monarchy in 1969, he ended poverty in Libya and brought the living standard to be highest in Africa.

There was this sort-of related incident I had. It was during an International Relations class back in secondary school. The teacher was talking about Libya when he asked the class who was the political leader of Libya. Me being the not-so-innocent student back then, knew the answer and said the answer out. However, I was also NOT the teacher's pet student. So, eventhough I was right in front of him when I gave the answer, he pretended not to have heard it and waited half a minute, expecting his pet scholars-to-be students to give the answer. None given. Sometimes this kind of favouritism and elitism really sucks.

Now I remember, I didn't raise my hand. My bad.

china's revolution, 100 years or beyond?

2011-10-16T15:25:00.000+08:00

This year marks 100th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution (aka Xinhai Revolution). My closest participation (not in the revolution itself) would be checking out the exhibition at Hong Kong Museum of History back in May.

The centennial brings about many relevant discussion. Many countries talk about their historical involvement in the revolution (like how Mr Sun Yat-sen stopped over, etc). Then the debate on PRC and ROC, and Taiwan's identity. I think such discussions are not so straight forward, as they depend a lot on which angle you are looking from, and looking at. Is monarchy really a bad thing? Can you consider the Tongmenhui as a secret society? Was it wrong that Sun Yat-sen sought Japanese help? Was he a rebel? Was Mao Zedong himself counter-revolutionary by overthrowing the Kuomintang, and now China (PRC) celebrating the revolution that they overthrew (or rather, forced to the island of Taiwan)?

Can I bring the flag with white sun in blue background into China? No.

going on circle

2011-10-08T20:29:00.002+08:00

Today is the opening of the full Circle Line, adding yet another mileage to Singapore's MRT network.

We were kind of out of ideas for things to do on this Saturday, so we decided to hop onto the Circle Line and take the chance to visit Clementi, a Western part of Singapore which I haven't been to for a while. Yes, could have gone to Boon Lay but no thanks.

Just to be clear, the Circle Line was opened in stages with the first stage being Bartley to Marymount, second stage the Eastern end of the loop from Tai Seng to Dhoby Ghaut, and now the final portion in the West from Caldecott to Harbourfront. In fact I travel on the Circle Line quite often even before today's full opening, so not much surprise. It wasn't so much about checking out new trains and new tunnels, more like finding out the travelling time to see if I can take this route when I go to work next week. Of course, with the Circle Line it felt less of a mood-spoiler to go to the Western part of Singapore. One weird thing I experienced today was that while the display board at the Station said the train was heading towards Harbourfront, we were only told near reaching Buona Vista that the train would terminate at one-north. This was kind of like once when I boarded a train heading to Jurong East but ended up terminating at Yishun. Bummer.

Just to complete the circle, we took a series of bus rides for the return journey. Interesting journey, we passed by Bukit Merah, Chinatown, Little India, etc. Lots of "street views". No doubt, that would require the luxury of time, but at $1.8 with free sceneries, it kind of beat the $2+ underground ride. That is, like I said, if you have the time.

an apple that changed the world

2011-10-06T20:53:00.002+08:00

It was as if a joke was being played when news of Steve Jobs' passing on came out right after the launch of iPhone 4S.

I'm not a fanboi of Apple, I don't wear turtleneck, the only Apple product I have is probably the free QuickTime player. The closest link I have with Apple is that I got invited to join as a design engineer. In fact I kind of have negative view on people who like to stay glued to the iPhone or iPad screen even in front of the MRT station's escalator. But that does not dispute the fact that Steve Jobs have changed the way people live. From the way people are glued to the screen (again), the way people queue up just to be the first to let Apple earn their money, the way people worship Steve, the way authorized retailers (are there unauthorized ones?) are opening up every few steps in town, the way down the supply chain some workers are committing suicide in a factory in China manufacturing Apple products, etc etc. I am not attributing all these to him, just like no one would dispute the inventor of gunpowder was a great mind. But this phenomena could have been different.

Someone said 3 apples changed the world: one from Adam, one from Newtown, and one from Steve Jobs.

practical engineering problem - washing machine

2011-10-03T21:01:00.002+08:00

After sitting for the Fundamentals of Engineering Examination, I bumped into a real-life practical engineering problem at home.

When I started up the washing machine, it was taking in water so slowly it looked more like dripping. I vaguely recalled previously the washing machine also did act weirdly, so I tried adjusting the drainage hose. No avail. If it was not the out, then it must be the in.

We opened up the top panel and located the inlet valve. The worst fear would be a faulty circuit board of a fuzzy logic washing machine, cos that's pretty much beyond DIY. The inlet valve looks something like the diagram above. It consists of a solenoid which will pull in the diaphragm when a current passes through the coil. It's not simply letting water coming in, it involves some pressure differentiate, etc etc. We tested the resistance of the solenoid, no problem. We bypassed the circuit board and passed a 220v ac current through it, no problem. Ended up it was the rubber diaphragm which was worn and torn, causing the solenoid valve not able to produce the pressure differentiate to open up the valve properly.

Now the next problem is, where to find a replacement diaphragm? (I actually have contacted the manufacturer. But why would they help you when they could very well sell you a new machine? See how it goes)

sitting for the FEE

2011-09-29T21:06:00.002+08:00

The last time when I was in an examination hall, I was an invigilator. :P

Today I just sat for 6 hours 20 minutes of Fundamental of Engineering Examination (FEE) administered by the Professional Engineering Board. Basically the FEE tests you on the fundamentals of engineering, much that has been taught at undergraduate level. Passing the FEE is one of the prerequisites for registering as a Professional Engineer. In a nutshell, if you want to work as an engineering consultant in Singapore, the PE cert is a must-have. As for me, right from the start I took it as a self-challenge to see how much can I keep learning and improving myself. At the moment I don't really need the cert for my rice bowl but more of good-to-have, and that kind of removes the pressure.

Nevertheless, I've made many sacrifices for this examination. I began my preparation from the beginning of the year with quite a structured revision plan. Of course, it wasn't always easy to adhere to it along with work and life commitments. I opted to lunch-in instead of eating out with colleagues so that I could either catch some shut-eye or do some bite-size revisions. Closer to the exam date, I enrolled into a preparatory course run by the Institution of Engineers Singapore. It was a night class and I can tell you it was not easy to rush to class after work, then trying to catch up on precious rest time. This experience also made me reconsider my plan for post-graduate studies. Anyway, I guess the course was helpful cos it was taught my NTU lecturers, so I sort of have 2 engineering education: 1 from NUS, 1 from NTU, albeit unofficially.

Ah the exam. It was quite scary, with people pulling trolleys and lugguage bags of textbooks and notes since it was an open-book exam. The exam venue's lobby was more like the airport. The paper itself was separated into 40 MCQ in paper 1 and 5 out of 7 structured questions in paper 2. By the way, the MCQs were like structured questions themselves. Imagine trying to cramp 4 years' worth of engineering knowledge and trying to answer the questions. Pretty much like searching for a needle in the ocean.

While I think my paper was pretty screwed, but it was a good experience nonetheless. It's like in kungfu, you try to learn every move, then you unlearn them (ie, you forgot) :P. Regardless of the result, I think it was a good experience trying to refresh what I've learned in the university days (honestly, you kind of understand the concepts differently), and also trying to challenge thyself. :P

Well, I've set sight for the next challenge, but for now, I need some rest.

we need trained operator

2011-09-18T14:05:00.004+08:00

A while ago when I read from the news that SBS Transit was appointed the operator for Downtown Line which is to be completed in 2017, I couldn't help chuckled to myself.

For background information, SBS Transit currently operates the North East Line. My cynicism was based on my observation at the way the existing North East Line is being managed. Have you seen 2 out of the 4 station doors at Punggol Station not in working order? Have you seen half of the glass doors at Dhoby Ghaut Station locked even during normal operating hours? Not forgetting the horrible sight I saw in the toilet at the station!

I'm not saying the other operator (read SMRT) is doing a fantastic job. In fact some people deserve a trout slap for saying "People can board the train – it's whether they choose to". However I guess it is not a fair comparison since SMRT is running on older infrastructure and system and very different network. I can't imagine the East West line going on unmanned trains.

So, should we have a third operator?