Must wear helmet is it?

When I read about the article published in Channel News Asia on Red Berets win Best Combat Unit once more, it brings to mind the early days of National Service. As I learnt, Commandos usually wear the jungle hat during training whereas helmets are worn during live-firing exercises and at ranges, SOC (Standard Obstacle Course), parachute jumps, heli and cliff rapelling, all these being part and parcel of training safety regulations.

The helmet has come a long way since the early days of soldiering in Singapore. In the past, the helmets comes in three parts – the inner liner made of hard plastic material; the outer protective cover made of steel with the chin-strap; and lastly the camouflage cloth cover that is used as a wrapping cover over the steel pot to provide the camouflage effect. A thick piece of black rubber band is usually placed along the rim of the helmet to secure the camouflage cloth. It also serves the purpose of allowing you to secure leaves, lallang, and a wide variety of flora and fauna so as to break the outline of the soldier’s form inorder to blend in with the surroundings to remain undetected by the naked eye. Those who happen to accidentally have a flower or two, pinned on your helmet will probably earn you some push ups from the field instructor. A walking flower in the middle of the jungle is definitely a presentable target in the cross-hairs of your enemy.

Photocredit: National Archives of Singapore.

For those who served National Service before the kevlar helmet was introduced, you will probably have some stories to tell about the steel pot helmet. This humble helmet serves many purposes from the various army stories I gathered. Other than the primary objective of protecting the head, it can be used as a container to collect rain water; Act as a scoop to gather river water to bathe oneself; boil water using the outer steel pot in case if you forgot your mess-tins; a pillow for your head when you sleep, though it is sure to give you a neck ache in the morning; trench-digging if you forgot your changkul and spades; and perhaps many more purposes during your stint in National Service.

Who knows? The next generation of helmets will enable all the military purposes to be fulfilled and perhaps even come with a variety of added appplications. You may catch the latest movie when you pull down the sun-screen visor to view your favourite movie in the HUD (Heads Up Display) with built-in stereo as you stand-down while in the jungle. Just hope you don’t hear your Segeant screaming through the intercom “You soldier! Who say you can sleep. KNOCK IT DOWN…TWENTY”

Euro2008 Final – Germany vs Spain

With Spain knocking out Russia in the semi-finals with a 3-0 win, it is going to be a showdown between Germany and Spain on 29th June 2008 (GMT). Which team will emerge the winner?

Meanwhile, here’s how Spain destroyed Russia to reach the final.
Spain beat Russia to reach Euro2008 final.
Unstoppable Spain move into the final after destroying Russia.

Magic Wheel

Ever thought how you can ride on a unicycle (one-wheeler) just like you see the performers do in the circus? Balancing and riding on a bicycle is pretty easy to achieve. But for a one-wheeler, what do you think? Here’s an advertisement about the Magic Wheel that caught my attention in TODAY newspaper. Given that SMRT is presently allowing a trial period for foldable bikes to be carried into MRT trains, the Magic Wheel could just be the next thing you see. Eco friendly too.

Magic Wheel: An innovation by a European designer. Environmentally-friendly. Combines the strength of a bicycle and a skateboard. Designed to put you in the spotlight. Set to revolutionise your travelling experience! As a product of outstanding quality, Magic Wheel has been tried and tested by extensive research. It is certified by the highest standards authority in Europe, and bears the CE marking.

Superior quality
Suitable for anyone aged 12 and above
Light and easy to transport
Convenient to bring anywhere
Handy and easy to store away
Fun and cool
Environmentally friendly
Can carry loads up to 150kg

The Happiest Blog

Various blogs were created for various reasons by their authors. From raves to rants, flame-wars in the blogsphere to reporting about wars, past and present. From retro to techies. Whatever you can think of, it is somewhere out there.

Feeling down on a Monday? Here is a blog which the author hopes to put a smile on your face. Sharing an article from My Paper. Now there is a reason to smile.

NEW YORK: Mr Terence Chang wants to promote happiness to as many people as possible. So the Taiwanese began a personal online project, called The Happiest Blog, to collect the most recognised symbol of happiness – smiles. In less than three months, the website www.smilemyday.com has collected more than 150 smiles, reported www.happynews.com. “A great smile will bring happiness to the people around you, which will make you happy too,” Mr Chang said. He had worked as an IT consultant in Phoenix, Arizona, before deciding to journey out on his own as an Internet entrepreneur.

His dream was to be able to travel around the world and help people to be happier. He created a few retail websites and began contributing to business and social networking blogs. In February, however, he hit upon The Happiest Blog project. Said Mr Chang: “Finding happiness isn’t so difficult. And one of the best ways to spread happiness is through smiles.” His goal is to collect photos of as many smiles as he can, and to post them on his site where others can enjoy them. Initially, he found most of the smiles for his blog on Flickr, the Web-based photo-sharing community. Then he started asking his blogger friends to share their happiness with his readership through a photo of their great smiles, along with the answers to simple questions about happiness. “They love the blog and how they become happier by seeing other smiles,” Mr Chang remarked. He intends to continue blogging at The Happiest Blog as long as it takes. He enjoys the project and the opportunity to learn about how different people achieve happiness. He said: “I encourage more people to participate in the happiness project. By answering a few simple questions and submitting a great smile photo, you can help to make the world a happier place.”

World’s first night triathlon in Singapore

Singapore hosted her first night marathon in the recent Sundown Marathon a few weeks back. Very soon, F1 formula race will see those sleek machines roaring down the city streets. And before you can think what’s going to be up…a night triathlon is next in line.

On Oct 18, 11global Singapore, the world’s first Olympic-distance night triathlon, will see athletes tackle a 1.5km swim, 40km of cycling and a 10km run from 6pm.

Read the full story

Exercise to a healthy you…and your kids too

Due to the recent deaths of two military personnel during training, it caused an unprecendented three days stoppage in military training for a review of training safety procedures. Much has been commented if our young generation of today is less rugged than before. Perhaps a more sedentary lifestyle and all that fast-food we consume could be a cause for and unhealthy lifestyle. Outdoor adventure camping activities in schools may be frowned upon by students and even parents unless such activities help to gain CCA points. The paper chase is the order of the day for survivability in the commercial world. Here’s an article on FOCUS ON THE FAMILY which could be a meaningful read.

What should you do when you see your kids getting a little flabby around the middle? Nobody wants to put their kids on a diet. It is no fun for them and it is a bad idea to call attention to their weight, especially at an age when their self-image is so fragile. Maybe the answer is to make it a family affair!

Factors like the lack of exercise and watching too much television have been known to contribute to child obesity in children. But another reason why so many kids struggle with their weight is that meal portions have gotten too big! And kids tend to eat what we put in front of them. Most of us are have more calories a day than we need, so just cutting back the portions at meal times can make a big difference to their diet. Also, get the family on a regular exercise plan, whether it’s going to the gym, riding bikes or just taking walks through the neighbourhood
several times a week.

When it comes to dieting, the best plan is a family plan.

Perhaps, the coming Milk Run 2008 could be a time for the family to put on your running shoes…and for a good cause too.

A quiet Wednesday at Malacca

Last Wednesday was a quiet day. We drove up north to Malacca to spend a day trip soaking in the even more quiet charms of the old town of Malacca. Not the busy tourist spots but the less-than-often seen places and shops. It wasn’t a busy day at Tuas 2nd Link at about 8.30am. Without the hordes of people, we cleared immgration in a jiffy and then it was a 3-hour drive to Malacca.

Map of Malacca

A road intersection at Johor Bahru as we made our way for breakfast.

Breakfast stop at the yummy Ah Koong Restaurant. A must-try for hand-made fishball noodles. Location: Restaurant Ah Koong Sdn Bhd, 266 Jalan Sutera, Taman Sentosa, 80150 Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Tel: 07-3313621 (6.30am – 11.30pm), website: www.ahkoong.com.

Along the journey, it was a `pee’ break at one of the few food and petrol kiosks. What a relieve.

An overcast sky but it did not rain the entire day.

Passing the town of Tangkak.

Another stop at a nursery to view the beautiful flowers on display.

Go Green.

Sighted a red-tailed dragonfly.

…..and his friend with the blue tail.

Looks like a pagoda flower.

Sharp and spikey just like mother-in-law’s tongue.

Soft morning dew on the branches of the pine tree.

Rows of brown clay pots.

Arrival at Malacca central.

Unique license plate that caught the eye. I hope it doesn’t describe the driver.

Buying fruits at Mun Kiong wholesale fruit seller. Watermelons, rock melons, papayas, rambutans, guavas, mangosteen, bananas.

The tummy rumbles which brought us to our popular eating place…Restaurant Bibik Neo serving Peranakan cuisine. It was crowded when we arrived but an advance phonecall reservation to Bibik Neo saw us to our reserved table.

Typical window covers of old.

Once the tummy has been satisfied, it was a trip to Mohammad durian stall for desserts…durians.

Enroute home, it was a visit to Jonker Street where you can find antiques, artefacts, souvenirs, stuff of sorts.

Not forgetting cappucino coffee from Aik Cheong.

Fancy wearing wooden clogs that goes `click…clock…click…clock’ when you walk?

A stop at Johor Bahru for a last bite before crossing Woodlands Checkpoint. Indeed a quiet and tummy-filled day.

A bit more about Malacca if you have not been there before.

Garden Crawlies @ Plaza Singapura Atrium

It has been a long time since I last stepped into Plaza Singapura. I vividly remember that Plaza Singapura was one of the popular shopping malls during the seventies. Retail outlets consist mainly of musical instruments such as pianos, guitars, a few bridal shops, record stores, Times the Bookstore and many more. One of the ‘pull’ factors was the Japanese supermarket known popularly Yaohan.

Its first store to open in Singapore in 1974 at Plaza Singapura revolutionised the grocery shopping experience in Singapore, and it quickly became a household name.

As I take a walk inside Plaza Singapura, the entire facade has changed. Modern names in the food and beverage business are dotted at various levels of the shopping mall. From jewellery to fashionwear, sports to books, whatever you need could probably be found at Plaza Singapura. There was an exhibition at the atrium of the mall. What’s happening?

Black widow spider.

Can you see the spider in its cave?

Displaying the beauty and colours of different types of butterflies.

Blue-winged beauty.

Emperor scorpion…where’s the Empress?

Goliath Flower Beetle.

Kiddies corner.

Perhaps you may like to bring your kids for a day of discovery of the garden crawlies.

Jeff Dunham the ventroloquist

It’s Friday and perhaps the performance of stand-up ventroloquist comedian Jeff Dunham gives you a well deserved break for the weekend.

The recent runaway success of this shrewd, contemporary, and cutting-edge comedy team has now moved Dunham and his three-foot tall sidekicks out of comedy clubs and into sold-out concert halls and performance arenas across the country. Dunham’s team consists of ‘Peanut’, a frenzied and fast self-described ‘comic genius’, who claims origin from an uncharted island in Micronesia. Then there’s ‘Walter’, an everyman-curmudgeon whose opinions on any person or any subject spew forth in a delightfully unbridled fashion; ‘José Jalapeño’ avoided his destiny to be eaten when he teamed up with Jeff after an accident in his home country of Mexico, which permanently placed him, ‘on a stEEK!’; There’s ‘Melvin’, a mild-mannered, no-real-power superhero who wants to save our country from evil, meanwhile he keeps getting locked inside the suitcase; And finally there’s ‘Achmed’, the dead terrorist…Yes, the dead terrorist. Did we mention this show was cutting-edge?

Here’s a bit more of Jeff Dunham from Wikipedia as well as his site at www.jeffdunham.com.

What does these POS, PHAT, MOS, XOXO means?

POS, PHAT, MOS, XOXO…..You may have come across these letters or have seen them in written notes and emails, instant messaging, online chats, forums, bulletin boards etc. For those who are not familiar with what such letters mean, it could be quite mind-boggling to decipher the entire sentence to understand what the sender is trying to say.

POS is not the usual transaction code recorded in your bank passbook that means “Point Of Sale” referring to cashless transactions you have made using your ATM (Automated Teller Machine) card. Actually in the world of chat acronyms, it means “Parent Over Shoulder” referring to the parent of the user who happens to be looking over the shoulder of the user sitting in front of the PC to see what’s going on. A subtle means by the user to inform the other party to be on the alert and not to communicate anything that should not be said given that the user’s parent is standing behind him/her keeping watch.

Chat acronyms are combinations of letters and numbers that stand for certain words or phrases. For example, BTW means “by the way” and G2G means “Gotta go.”

Using chat acronyms makes typing messages easier and more efficient since commonly used phrases can be abbreviated using only a few characters. With the amount of communication people do today using their computer keyboard, using acronyms can save a significant amount of typing, as well as time.

Some common acronyms you may have seen are:
ASL = Age, sex, location
BRB = Be right back
G2P = Gone to pee
LOL = Laugh out loud
LMAO = Laughing my a** off
MOS = Mom over shoulder
PHAT = Pretty hot and tempting
POS = Parent over shoulder
XOXO = Hugs and kisses
🙂 means Happy
😦 means Sad

There is even a rating for each acronym from 1 to 3. A rating of 1 means that the acronym is rarely used, while a rating of 3 means that the acronym is commonly used.

You may like to browse the site for more information at www.sharpened.net or go directly to the links below for a:

1. Glossary of Acronyms
2. Glossary of Emoticons
3. Glossary of Computer Terms

Hopefully, this will help you to understand what the sender or others are conversing in the world of abbreviated communication.

BFN