Hello to my soccer Kakis

Or to better phrase it, my ex-soccer kakis.
Back in our NUS days, we were a bunch of friends united by our passion for soccer, despite our less than stellar soccer skills. We played weekly even after our graduation, enduring the occasional spot-checks by NUS security ("Where's your matric card ???") as well as the relentless Singapore Sun (which at 2pm in the afternoon, isn't exactly the best for getting a sun-tan, more of sun-burn...)
With members getting married, having kids, attendance started tapering off and we merged with another soccer gang just so we could have enough to form a team.
With the introduction of Jarren, my soccer days are temporary on-hold as well. Hopefully, I can be back soon...
In any case, just wanted to say hi to any YTFC members who drop by my blog. Do drop a comment as well and vote for my online poll on the right.
Maybe this blog could serve as a good contact point for the old gang and succeed where the yahoo group failed ;-)

Lizard Love Story

Received this video by email and found it to be really hilarious. Click on the link and view it :-)

http://www.mediamax.com/tbgoh72/Hosted/%C2%A8%C3%94%C3%A9%C2%A7%C2%A8%C2%A1lovestory.wmv

Toys for Christmas ?

On the issue of Christmas, read this interesting post about actual toys that made it to consumers before parents realized the actual dangers posed by these "toys" -> http://www.radarmagazine.com/features/2006/12/toys.php

I think I remember seeing the flying barbie doll on TV adverts. But cannot confirm about its lethality since I do not play with dolls (and definitely not in adulthood, since the toy was launched just some years back...)

We too had to be careful about toys for Jarren. What we look out for are sharp protrusions (especially metal parts), small parts that can be swallowed, as well as toxic material (eg plastic) since boy-boy puts everything into his mouth. Probably there will be more to be careful about when he grows up and the toys available gets more complex (and dangerous as well....)

Singapore stabbing on YouTube

Found this video on You-tube.
It depicts the stabbing of a Chinese girl by her ex-boyfriend. Was reported on the news some time back.
Could be rather bloody so be prepared before you click play.

Personally, was shocked just by looking at the video and I wonder what my reaction will be if I happened to be the one standing next to the incident. Would I react and save the girl ? or cower in fright ? or remain too shocked to react ?

I think those 2 gentlemen (not in attire but in action) deserve some accolades for daring to interfere, even if it was not early enough to save the girl from injuries (I think I read that the lady was quite badly hurt...)

"I live in Singapura" MTV

Here's a Singaporean MTV for you to enjoy :-)

Google function

Here's some tips on how to use google for something other than just internet searches ->
http://www.informit.com/articles/article.asp?p=675528&seqNum=1&rl=1

However, not all of the features work since they are US-centric, meaning they only work if you are in US. I'll given them a try and here's the ones that are useful for the rest of us (meaning non-US. Do you notice the pun ???)

Enter the following into the google search box for these functions
1) Calculator: Just type the equation
2) Mathematical constant: Type the constant
3) Measure conversion: Type "X unit in other_unit" (eg 5 inch in meter)
4) Dictionary: Type "What is XXX" (eg try - 'what is meritocracy' and notice its relevance to Singapore...)
5) Glossary: Type "Define: XXXX" (eg 'define: meritocracy' to find other ways we can interpret this)
6) Hard Fact: Type exact question (eg 'Prime Minister Singapore' - Guess what, it returned Goh Chok Tong. Seriously outdated...)
7) to (13) Not relavant for rest of us
14) Type singer name (Doesn't work for andy lau though, in the same way as mentioned in the article. But you still get the usual websites.

Try the last one especially if you are a fan of science fiction ;-)

Sci-fi Santa Clause

Since Christmas is on the horizon, have a read at this interesting article on how Santa Claus could be justified by Science ->
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006570383,00.html

It seems that most things you believe in when young turns out to be myth / fantasy when you grow up. That's where science fiction comes in, I guess, for those of us who want to linger in our childhood fantasy. I would say fantasy is part of that dream as well but many of those fantasy stories (eg Lord of the Rings) are anything but childish.

We brought Jarren to the Xmas light-up tonight. I wonder what will we tell him about Santa Claus when he is growing up. Should we stick to reality or just let him enjoy a few years of fantasy ? I am tempted to do the latter...

Wet Nurse - Nei(3) Ma(1)

Read this interesting article ->
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,118706,00.html?

I know breast-feeding is tedious, having watched my wife gone through it. She had to periodically express the milk, then heat it up and give to boy-boy. During weekdays, we brought the milk every morning to the baby-sitter.

Wonder how she would have felt about such a service...
Could be a great business opportunity to do the same in Singapore, in my view :-)

Vista versions

And lastly, here's an article for those thinking of switching to Vista, the new Microsoft operating system.
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2068721,00.asp

Apparently, there many varieties to choose from but I suspect I won't be switching for a long time more. Am perfectly happy with XP for now.

Surprising comparison

Was roaming through the internet when I found this interesting article ->
http://www.littlespeck.com/content/politics/CTrendsPolitics-061126.htm

Just wondering if anyone knows how true this report is. I never did know our politicians are paid that much more compared to big countries like US and Great Britain.

Ultimately, I know it is difficult to justify exactly how much is enough (well, I am always complaining about my pay) but a direct comparison versus other countries seems to be fair and square. Have anyone read about this in other news report in the papers or elsewhere ?

Total Annihilation, but never dies

Check out this interesting website -> http://taspring.clan-sy.com/

For those who have played total annihilation before, this should be quite an interesting website. Apparently, it is living on as an open source project. Have not tried the game itself yet but if anyone is interested, do download it and let me know how it goes.

Good thing is that it's free. And it's probably still more fun than 50% of the games that cost money, based on my experience with the original TA game.