the nclave

a little enclave for me in the vast ocean of the web. here's hoping i'll look back on all these someday, and be glad for it.

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Location: Singapore

Monday, November 27, 2006

movies galore...



Managed to catch two movies over the past week or so - Casino Royale and Step Up.
Watched Casino Royale with Ad, after much persuasion on my part (ie. by making it a condition precedent to watching Happy Feet). It was an excellent movie, and I must say this new Bond definitely has a raw cutting edge, which to me is a more realistic portrayal of a secret agent in hostile territory. I am happy to report that Ad had no choice but to agree that it was an excellent movie, which means I should hopefully have an easier time convincing her to watch the next 007 movie. ;)
As for Step Up, Ad and I watched it with Irks and Gi, which I suppose is part of the ongoing conspiracy to subtly inspire Irks to agree to continue joining dance classes with Gi. It was pretty much along the same vein as Take The Lead, and I'm convinced that America now thinks that the best form of rehabilitation for juvenile delinquents is through dancing. All in all a pretty good show, with suitable eye-candy in the form of a male lead who looks suspiciously like Brad Pitt, and a female lead who looks like...er...some generic Hollywood pretty face... And the dance finale was rather impressive - sort of a fusion between ballet, contemporary and hip-hop.
Ok, enough of wearing my movie critic hat. Will let provide updates if and when we get down to watching Happy Feet. Which should be pretty soon.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

I am a "God sent"...

To my amazement, "Mrs Maryam" actually replied my email in the previous post!! I can't believe she actually thinks I will believe her! Oh my goodness.... might think of some happening way to respond, but will most likely ignore her. Quite a waste of time, unless she really forks over the 1%.... ;)

--------------------------
From: maryam tukur
To: feelingsleepy
Date: 24-Nov-2006 19:56
Subject: RE: From Mrs.Maryam.

Dear Mr.*****,
Good day and thanks for your mail,I have read and understand your mail,please note that before i contacted you for this problem which i found my self in,i prayed over it as a christian and i have the stroung belife that you are God sent to help me,i know that many things happen's now arround the world but please count me out,i am not what you mighty think .
Help me please for God sake,i am waiting to hear from you .
God bless you.
Mrs.Maryam.

Friday, November 24, 2006

I am the Dearest One!

Here's an email I just sent out. Feels great to be the "Dearest One"...haha... ;)

=================
From: feelingsleepy
Sent: Friday, November 24, 2006 12:06 PM
To: 'maryam tukur'
Cc: '*****@spf.gov.sg'
Subject: RE: From Mrs.Maryam.

Dear Mrs Maryam

Thank you for your email below.

I will be happy to assist in your predicament.

However, as my brother's sister-in-law's cousin's son has just passed away, we are tied up with the funeral arrangements at present. In fact, we are deeply troubled due to the lack of funds, and your email comes at a very appropriate time.

Since you will be giving me 10% of the total sum of $10 million, I would be grateful if you could, as a sign of your sincerity, and also to help me in my desperate time, forward to me an advance of merely 1% of the $10 million.

Once I manage to resolve my difficulties with the advance payment, I will then be able to fully devote my time and energy to helping you to take the money out from Abidjan-Cote d'ivoire.

As I am deeply embarrassed by my lack of funds, I would be grateful if you could treat the information I have given you with utmost confidentiality.

I really want to help you, but I really need your help before I can help you.

So please, let me have the 1% advance. I assure you I am telling the truth and you should definitely believe me, just as I have believed you with all my heart.

Thank you and God bless you.

Best regards,
feelingsleepy

PS. I have taken the liberty to copy this email to the Commercial Affairs Department of the Singapore Police Force. I'm sure they will be more than willing to help us ensure that the whole process takes place smoothly and without a hitch. In fact, I think you should get in touch with Officer *** directly as well, just to touch base and make some friends.


----Original message--------
From: maryam tukur [mailto:maryamtukur2003online@yahoo.co.uk]
Sent: Thursday, November 23, 2006 6:11 PM
To: feelingsleepy
Subject: From Mrs.Maryam.

Dearest One,

It is my pleasure to write you after much consideration since can not be able to see you face to face, at first.being the wife of late Dr Ken B.TUKUR, from ZULU in republic of SOUTH AFRICA (S.A) Iam Mrs MARYAM KEN TUKUR and my husband was a limited liability cocoa and Gold merchant in South-Africa .

Before his death after his business trip to Abidjan-Coted'ivoire west -Africa to negotiate on a cocoa business on 6th of February 2002a week after he came back from Abidjan,he was assassinated with my first son by unknown assassins which my son dead instantly but my husband dead two week after in the hospital , on that faithful afternoon I didn't know that my husband is going to leave me after I lost my jovial and intelligent son.

But before he gave up the ghost it was as if he knew hewas going to die .He KEN TUKUR my lovely husband ( may his soul rest in perfectpeace ) he disclosed to me that he deposited the sum of USD$ 10,000,000.00 million dollars with a bank in Abidjan -Cote d'ivoirethat the money was meant for his cocoa business he wanted toinvest in Abidjan-Cote d'ivoire.

Though according to my husband he told me to take care of the money for the future sake of his other children , so he instructed me to seek for a life time investment abroad . As a result of this assassination we cannot stay in South-Africa now .I have succeeded in locating and confirming the existence of the fund in Abidjan -Cote d'ivoire and also with mosthonest and confidentiality.

I am soliciting your assistance to help me on how to transfer this money from the bank in Abidjan Cote d'ivoire to your bank account abroad so that we will invest in a lucrative business in your country . you should understand that this fund is our only hope . I am waiting anxiously to hear from you so that we can discuss the modalities of this transaction.

Although I and my remaining Son Kevin Jr. have decided to give you a 10% interest from the total sumof $10million . Please kingly contact me on the above email address immediately for more discussion.
Thank you and God bless You.
Best regards
Mrs.Maryam.

Monday, November 20, 2006

the best man

18 November 2006, Saturday, was the date of the customary wedding and wedding banquet for Irwin and Gigi.

We started bright and early, went through the overwhelming (and disgusting) obstacles put in place by Gigi's bridesmaids, and discovered, to our horror, that the bridal bouquet had been left behind at Irwin's place. So that cost him quite a fair bit of extra money.

Then it was a looong drive up to Sembawang, and an even longer drive back to Tanglin. For some strange reason, the driver of the bridal car decided to take an extremely convoluted and zig-zagged route back to Tanglin, and in a very haphazard manner, but we stuck to our guns and managed to stay right behind them for most of the journey, except for a brief period in Ang Mo Kio when they left us behind at a red-light after zooming through the amber.

The banquet was fabulous. Very grand, and with a nifty "live-photo" booth, where they instantly printed out the photos taken so the guests could bring them home. And not forgetting the star-studded guest list, including the likes of our DPM, Mr Wong Kan Seng, Dr Lily Neo, Mr Yeo Cheow Tong, Mr Lee Hsien Yang, Mr Kwek Leng Beng, etc etc. Pictures shall be posted in due course when they're ready.

And so of course I was a huge bundle of nerves throughout the night, as I had to present the best man's speech to this very distinguished audience. I think the contents of the speech were fine, but the delivery could have done with some improvement. Guess the nerves of the occasion outweighed even the nerves in Court. Sigh. :(

For posterity, here's the text of my best man's speech:

"Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good evening. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Peter.

I've known Irwin for almost 17 years, and so when Irwin asked me to be his best man I was of course initially very thrilled at the prospect. But it didn't take long for this feeling of excitement to turn into extreme nervousness, firstly because I had to tell Tom Cruise I can't make it for his wedding today, and secondly as I remembered the last time I had to stand up in front of a room full of people. My client was found guilty and sentenced to jail for 3 months.

So I hope you will be a little bit more forgiving and lenient than the last audience was.

I have never been a best man before so lacking any experience I thought that the simplest way to put a speech together was to get one from the Internet, I looked at hundreds of ready-made speeches only to discover that 95% of them always start with the same joke. That being the best man is like dying for your country - it's a great honour - but nobody wants to do it - so I thought I wouldn't use that one.

Actually, being the best man is a big responsibility, and one that I have not taken lightly. I conducted a lot of research to make sure that I wouldn't forget anything, and came up with a checklist of what my basic duties should be:

Item 1 - Arranging the Stag Night

The less said about this the better, but I think you can all imagine that Irwin does look rather attractive in a pink lacy skirt.

Item 2 - On the wedding day, bring a credit card and loads of cash in case there is anything the groom may have forgotten to pay for.

Well, ever since I have known Irwin, I have had to do this so that's nothing new.

Item 3 - Help the groom dress himself.

It took a while, but I did eventually manage to persuade Irwin that Gigi wouldn’t marry him if he wore his favourite Mickey Mouse tie and his Superman cape tonight.

Item 4 - Ensure that the groom is sober, punctual, has his shoelaces tied, his fly done up and uses the toilet before marching into the ballroom - I knew I had forgotten something, Irwin you may go to the toilet now.

Item 5 - It is my responsibility to make sure his face and hair are in order.

I think that this duty is quite unfair, if God couldn't do it the first time what chance to I have?

The rules also stated that I should sing the praises of the groom and tell you all about his good points.
So what can I say about him.
He's Handsome...Witty....Intelligent....Charming....
Er..Er...Sorry Irwin, what's this, I can't read your writing. Oh, yeah and very lean and muscular - sorry.


So it is supposedly customary at this point for the best man to launch into a severe character assassination of the groom and to tell you a bit about the stag night, but I am far too scared of Gigi to do that so I will instead give Irwin some advice, which I hope he will find useful in the years to come:

Irwin:-
1. There are 5 rings involved in marriage: Engagement ring, wedding ring, suffering, torturing and enduring.

2. Always tell your wife those 3 important little word's . "you're right dear".

3. Communication is very important. One of my friends hardly spoke to his wife for two years after the wedding. It wasn't because he stopped loving her. It's just that he thought it was rude to interrupt.

Now, it gives me great pleasure (and immense relief) to hand over the mike to the lovely Maid of Honour, Kimberly, who will undoubtedly guard Gigi’s secrets much better than I have guarded Irwin’s tonight. But before I do that, I just want to offer my very best wishes to Irwin and Gigi, and may your years ahead prosper with love, affection, health, happiness, and of course, many many children.

Thank you."

My best wishes to Irwin and Gigi. Cheers.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

entertainment for the day

The Washington Post held a contest of the "worst analogies ever written in a high school essay". Listed below are some of the winners.

"He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it." (Joseph Romm, Washington)

"The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't." (Russell Beland, Springfield)

"From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and "Jeopardy" comes on at 7 p.m. instead of 7:30." (Roy Ashley, Washington)

"Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever." (Unknown)

"He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree." (Jack Bross, Chevy Chase)

"Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph." (Jennifer Hart, Arlington)

"John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met." (Russell Beland, Springfield)

"The thunder was ominous-sounding, much like the sound of a thin sheet of metal being shaken backstage during the storm scene in a play." (Barbara Fetherolf, Alexandria)

"The red brick wall was the color of a brick-red Crayola crayon." (unknown)

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

erm...

Mensa Singapore has come up with several print ads:







They're not planning to publish it though, due to lack of funds.

Phew.

Monday, November 13, 2006

The Prestige


The title says it all. Caught the show over the weekend with Ad, after much persuasion on my part.

The show is brilliant, and manages to portray with great effect the intense rivalry between the 2 protagonists. Not only that, the twists in the story are enough to rival movies like The Sixth Sense, and certainly mirrors the running theme of the movie very well.

Ok, I'm not a movie critic or reviewer, and so shall not attempt to ramble on too long about it. Suffice to say it's definitely one of the best shows I've watched in recent times. Next? Step Up, and Casino Royale. Can't wait.

construction warriors


Dropped by the worksite again on Saturday, wondering whether they'll be working despite the storm that broke out about noon and carried on as a constant moderate rain for the rest of the afternoon.

And amazingly, the team was still pressing on with the work, clad in what looked like a cross between a poncho and a raincoat. Am most impressed with their ceaseless dedication to finish the work as soon as possible. Whether it was due to a need to fulfill their contractual obligations, that's quite irrelevant to me. What matters is that these folks were braving the rain to build the lift shaft / bomb shelter (see pic - I can't figure out which of the 2 they were building), and that's enough for my respect.

The ground floor of the front block is coming along well. :)

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

The Accused

The Accused:



There is an ongoing uproar over the dangers of rubber clogs such as the ones pictured above being worn on escalators. Personally, I find these clogs butt-ugly, and they deserve to be stuffed into the very bottom of the ugly-fashion bin, never to see daylight again.

Having said that, I should remain objective and state for the record that I am not drawing a conclusion that the recent accidents on escalators can definitely be attributed to these clogs. In fact, I think it's rather silly to declare the clogs unsafe when there are probably thousands of wearers out there, still having their toes intact. For the 2 incidents reported in the media, I would rather think it's the parents' fault rather than the clogs.

I spied this in today's Straits Times forum:

"Specialist team needed to tackle such mishaps

I REFER to the report, 'Toddler's big toe ripped off in mall escalator accident' (ST, Nov 6).

I request the authorities to explain what has been done since August - when the first such incident happened - to make escalators safer for young children.

What further steps do they intend to take to prevent the occurrence of and to mitigate the damaging effects of such accidents?

This incident caused permanent disability to a young girl - a loss that will dog her throughout her life.

There exists a question of potential liability on the part of the relevant authorities for the injury and disability caused by the escalator. However, that is a separate issue.

In the latest accident last Saturday, I understand that the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers found the toddler's toe once the escalator's steel stair panels were removed.

But the officers had to wait for the arrival of another person - the escalator technician, who was not part of any emergency service - before they could get going. He had to unlock the stair panels first.

It took 1-1/2 hours to contact the technician and for him to reach the accident site - time enough to watch a soccer match.

It took nearly three hours to locate the severed toe, minus the bone. By then it was too badly damaged to be re-attached.

Would it have been possible to save the toe if it was found earlier, packed in ice and rushed to the hospital? Would a faster response time have helped?

As Singapore is densely populated and jam-packed with multi-storey buildings where escalators and lifts abound, it would be apt now to think about setting up a properly trained quick-response medical and rescue team that is competent enough to tear apart an escalator or lift system on its own to deal with such accidents.

Chia Ti Lik"

Notwithstanding that Mr Chia is a "learned friend", I find severe flaws in his views. Mr Chia demands for the authorities to "explain what has been done since August - when the first such incident happened - to make escalators safer for young children". He also asks what further steps the authorities intend to take "to prevent the occurrence of and to mitigate the damaging effects of such accidents".

Is he serious?? Is he really expecting the government to convene a special task force called the "Committee for the Protection of Young Children Wearing Rubber Clogs on Escalators"?? Is he not aware that escalators have been invented since the last millenium, and people young and old have been utilising this complex piece of machinery without much harm for decades?

As I had mentioned above, I would think it would be more suitable for parents rather than the authorities to make escalators safer for their kids. Come on, stand up and take responsibility. Yes, your kids were wearing rubber clogs. Yes, the clogs might have been gripped by the edges and yanked a toe off. But who allowed the kid to stand near the edge??

Granted, it is human nature to blame everyone else, but if you do not watch your kids when they are on the escalator, if you do not instruct them properly to hold your hand and stay away from the edges, then I'm sorry, mishaps will happen regardless of any special task force set up by the government.

And yes, while I agree that a quicker response time might have saved the poor kid's toes, it is very easy for such a comment to be made with the benefit of hindsight. Did he not read in the media report that the SCDF personnel had assessed the situation and determined that it would have taken a much longer time to "tear apart" the escalator, as Mr Chia forcefully advocates, than to simply locate the technician to unlock the stair panels?

Let's not over-react. The kids involved have my full sympathy. But given that only 2 out of thousands of rubber-clog-wearers have had their foot unfortunately caught in an escalator, and given that we have lived with escalators safely for decades without any task force, I find more than a reasonable doubt that the fault lies with the clogs or the escalators. The sad and likely truth is, the parents were not watching their kids.

But let's ditch the rubber clogs anyway. They're butt-ugly.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

one down, one more to go!

Been so busy that I have not had time to upload pics from the last 2 visits we paid to the worksite. Progress is excellent, and I really doubt we'll have to wait till Dec '07 to get the keys.

From 28 October 2006:





As you can see, the main structure of my block is completed, and work has started on the second block (see bottom right corner of the lower picture). The little palm tree adds a bit of a resort-feel no?


From 4 November 2006:



This is a view from a different angle. From here, you can clearly see that part of the ground floor of the second block is done, and the workers are starting on the second level.

Well done everybody. :)

relak one korner

As promised in an earlier post, here are some pics of my new office, and the view from said office:









The space is definitely much smaller than my previous room, but the view from my new corner certainly compensates for whatever loss of space suffered. These pics were taken on a clear day, but at the height of the haze a couple of weeks back, I could barely see anything from my window. Scary...

So I had lunch yesterday with a good friend from law school at BK. I highly recommend the French Chicken Sandwich. Food aside, it was fun catching up. Wish I had as much money to copy her travelling habits. She's been to see Wimbledon, French Open, US Open, and next Jan she's gonna watch the Australian Open! (yes, she's a tennis fanatic) Spent some time discussing the likely pay rise next year as well....seems that the various rumours all differ quite significantly....hmmm...

Monday, November 06, 2006

breathing time!

Yes, have finally finished my 1st draft of the darned prospectus, which is now sitting in my boss' office waiting to be torn up into pieces. Hopefully not though. Now it's time to go do a share placement for my listed company, which seems ok, save for the fact that I don't know how on earth to go about it! Yet. But shall figure it out in due course.

Ok, it's been eons since I last posted anything, so shall not bother to do the copious catching-up thing.

But for entertainment purposes, here's the NTU lecturer who seems to have a huge "fan base" among his students. Haha.



And here's how my little jazz will react in a head-on collision. At least the passenger cabin seems to be pretty untouched. Wouldn't want to try it though. ;)



In case you're wondering, no, I did not go on a sudden YouTube browsing spree. These were clips sent to me over the past week which I just didn't have time to share. Enjoy!

Thursday, November 02, 2006

swamped thing

I have so much work it's just not funny anymore.... sigh...