One Small Step For The Furry Friends In Boston

Read a little snippet of news that the firefighters in Boston just got a bunch of masks for pets, and that they will implement it to the whole city. It's a tiny little step, and hopefully it will get even bigger with every firetruck getting at least one.

Wonder if the fire brigade here has them....

Mummy Trial?

I wonder if people realise that the murder victim they say is a very motherly person should be called 'mommy' instead of 'mummy'. But then again, articles about the murder victim seem to say that he always wrapped his head with scarves... so maybe 'mummy' might just be the appropriate term.

Good Decision, But Is It Good Enough?

One ruling by the courts I really like, but is it enough? A cat is still another living thing that can only defend itself as much as a baby can.

Be A Smart Customer

After a discussion with Syndyk earlier about the service sector in Singapore, and how bad it is in many aspects, this article proves the one thing I was trying to say; that the customers need to change their mindset when it comes to service.

Other than trying to make people a little nicer by trying to get them to clear the table so the next patron could have a relatively clean one to dine on, it did point out the one bit about people being used to someone picking up after them. I told Syndyk that customers here are also one cause of the crappy attitude of service staff when they've been treated as though they're maids. Maids are, at least, still humans. There are some people who think that service staff are dogs - clapping or whistling is not a way to get our attention. So if my dog ignores me when I whistle at him sometimes, what makes you think I would give you my attention if you whistle or clap your hands?

Haven't people heard about treating others the way you want to be treated? Well if you decide to treat the service staff like crap, what makes you think you'll get the best out of the service staff? Seriously, not all of us might have a great education under our belts, but when it comes to class and culture, I think we can definitely beat the clappers and whistlers.

Another good point the article did put across was the fact that customers ought to change their mindset if they want to start getting prices down. More manpower to clear your leftovers, means more cost to the company, which ends up as cost to the customer. Well, everyone will argue that it might be a whole load of bullcrap and that higher prices is just another excuse to earn money. However, if you think about it, in the days when people in the hawker centres had their assistants to clear and wash their bowls/plates, the prices were much lower before common cleaning crew was hired to service the hawker centre. Now you have to carry your own food to the table, and the stall owner has lost his assistant, yet the price of the food has gone up. If you asked, the answer is the extra cost of the cleaning crew.

So get smart, change your stupid old habit, and just clear your tray. It's not as though you have to carry a pile of plates that might break and make more problems for the staff. It's just a plastic tray, with empty paper boxes, wrappers and cups. If kids can do it, I don't see why an adult can't.

The Pandas Are Coming!!

Finally, we won't have to travel by air just to get a glimpse of the black and white bears! Well, not just yet, but in a few year's time, we won't have to. Check this out!

To think I went all the way to Taiwan, waited in a long line, jostled with the crowd just to get see the bears long enough to take a photo, and then I had to move along with the crowd so that the rest in line behind me could get their turn.

Now they're going to be in the zoo for 10 years (that's if they cope well)! Yay!

Nothing Better To Do Than Stir Up Problems?

Was going about my daily surfing spree when this article caught my eye. The issue that didn't sit right was the quote "Chili crab is Malaysian. Hainanese chicken rice is Malaysian. We have to lay claim to our food,". Particularly "Hainanese chicken rice is Malaysian".

Now it's not for me to say where dishes like the Chilli Crab, Nasi Lemak, or Laksa originated from, but to say a dish named Hainanese Chicken Rice would originate from Malaysia and not China. It's like saying Penang Char Kway Teow or Penang Laksa originated in Johore. Then why bother calling it a Penang dish if it came from some other state?

The article then states "Some creations, such as chicken rice, were introduced to Malaysia and Singapore by ethnic Chinese workers who settled here after leaving China a century ago." - shouldn't this give you a clue where that very dish's origin is?

Other than a lot of other words that come to mind, I think this whole idea is ridiculous. Seriously.... is there nothing better to do?

It's The End Of The World!!

Be afraid... be very afraid....

"Of what?" you might ask.

Well.. be afraid of today if you believe the things being sent around in emails and of people's predictions the natural phenomenon will have on the world.

The first was the email about a tsunami hitting a few countries, and asking everyone to stay away from beaches. Well other than this email being very vague about the exact locations that will be "badly hit" by the tsunami, it does include a predicted location of the earthquakes. Now if the earthquake locations are true, and the tsunami is supposedly starting from that area, it will be one giant tsunami to hit all the way to Australia and India. Even with the unpredictability of water, if it does affect all the places listed, that tsunami would be big enough to wash the whole of Singapore. So soap up and get your life jackets on just in case.

Next would be the effect that the solar eclipse will have on the world today as predicted by the astrologer.

"Mumbai astrologer Raj Kumar Sharma predicted "some sort of attack by (Kashmiri separatists) Jaish-e-Mohammad or Al-Qaeda on Indian soil" and a devastating natural disaster in Southeast Asia.
An Indian political leader could be killed, he said, and tension between the West and Iran is likely to increase, escalating into possible US military action after September 9, when fiery Saturn moves from Leo into Virgo.
"The last 200 years, whenever Saturn has gone into Virgo there has been either a world war or a mini world war," he told AFP."

Honestly, I think what he said just gave the separatists/terrorists an idea of what to do today.

So what are we in for today?

Since he said the attack will be on Indian soil, and it's Iran that's going to be dealing with tension, I don't think we're in for a mini-war on our end. But the devastating natural disaster? Could he have received the email too? Is he referring to the tsunami? If so, like I said before, remember your life jackets today!

Not Good, Not Bad... But Interesting.

Got on to read the news and this article caught my eye. It's not so much the title, which obviously got my attention, but it was the bit about being skinny and having a shorter life-span.

I just wonder what the anorexics and bulimics have to say about it. Then again, if they're in denial about their lives, they'll probably be in denial about the issues brought up in the article.

The article does mention that if you're overly overweight, or obese, you're also in for trouble. That is already a well-known fact. But to say people who are a little on the chubby side can actually live longer than most normal-sized, or skinny people, is actually refreshing news. Now this is one excuse for normal-sized people to have their cake and enjoy it without having to think about trying to lose that little extra weight it would put on you.

So for you girls who have a nice light padding on ur bones, with a little something to cushion you in a fall, stop complaining that you need to lose weight after enjoying a slice of cake with your friend. Be comfortable and happy with what you have because it's probably prolonging your life!

Whatcha Think About That...

Read this article in the papers today and thought that it was interesting enough to blog about. It's not so much that a woman has written a book about sex, nor the fact that Ms. Lootah is a Muslim woman in an Arab country, or that the book about sex is also related to Islamic teachings. It's actually the fact that she went about having her book approved by the Mufti (religious leader) before getting it published. Yet after all that, she still gets death threats. Not surprising that the threats are from conservatives though, they're just living up to their name.

“People have said I was crazy, that I was straying from Islam, that I should be killed,” Ms. Lootah said.

Somehow I think these people are just judging the book by it's cover. Now if the book did quote the Koran ("One of the themes of her book is the danger of anal sex and homosexuality generally, not because of AIDS but because they are banned by the Koran.") then how can she be straying from Islam? Yet it's the men who seem to break the rules - "In Saudi Arabia and other countries where the genders are rigorously separated, many men have their first sexual experiences with other men".

I, personally, think it's time people started accepting change in this world. That women aren't just going to stand behind in the shadows, or hide under their niqabs, and let their lives just past them by. That women are more valuable than some people make them out to be. If everyone wanted sons, sooner or later there won't be anymore women to give you the next generation. Most times, the best advice is from the very first woman you know, your mom!

Finally People Who Actually Get It!

As I previously wrote in the post "You Don't Know Me", I didn't see what the big deal was regarding the video taken from an episode of Britain's Got Talent. Even posting on my facebook status got a reply that didn't seem to know how Paul Potts got his origins from (see quote in red). The same bloody thing happened then, and it's happening now. Even their biggest competitors seem to be the same - a cute little kid that can sing rather well. Finally, I read that I'm not the only one who thinks it's all over-hyped.

"Another TV performance that made the news this week was that of Britain's Got Talent spinster-turned-superstar Susan Boyle, of whom we here at That's Really Week are already sick after the current media overload. (Susan is this week's Octo-Mom.) The dowdy Scottish singer became an unlikely Interweb sensation thanks to a viral video of her allegedly Simon Cowell-shocking reality-television performance. Apparently the idea of a somewhat unattractive person having vocal talent blew many people's minds! But part of the 47-year-old's TV underdog appeal was also her sympathetic back story that she'd "never been kissed.""

Thank you people @ That's Really Week.

Predicting The Future?

SINGAPORE: Some six years ago, former Speaker of Parliament Tan Soo Khoon took a peek into the future when he spoke on the hot topic of Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) during a budget debate.

He said then: "Sir, the Government’s policy has been that the cost of ownership of cars would be reduced over the long run, but the cost of usage will increase. Hence, we have increases in ERP charges. We have ERP almost everywhere, or soon—to—be everywhere, (and) we are going to have ERP day and night. I think very soon, ERP will mean ’every road pay’.

"Sir, the day will be quite soon when the only safe place to leave your vehicle is at home, if you are lucky enough to own a landed property. You can well imagine that, one day, if I drive out of my house, the first thing I hear would be this ’beep’ sound coming from the little device on my dashboard, and everywhere you go, you will be hearing ’beep, beep, beep’, instead of car horns."

Does it reduce traffic jams?
I doubt... the jams just shift to a later time.

Every Road Pay?
Soon to come true

Predicting the future?
Definitely did!

No Hablo Inglés?

The subject was posted in the papers recently when someone wrote in about hiring foreign workers as front-line service staff, and that all front-line staff should at least have some basic knowledge of English. I'm not too sure how the article was written and how it may have offended someone else but I do agree with the fact that front-line staff should have a basic knowledge of English, or at least are willing to learn, and thus, pick it up rather quickly. I'm fine with having foreign workers in the front-line. I actually work with a few foreigners and the first thing we tell them is that if they don't know how to answer or what they're being asked, just call for one of the senior staff to help you out. One reason why we do so is because we work in a rather fast paced environment and the more time u waste, the more frustration you create. Miscommunication also creates frustration, and not only with the customer, you get the wrath of your own coworkers.

Which reminds me...In another reply to the article, the lady wrote that it would be nice to get an answer for your simple queries. The very night I read the article, I had my own experience with one staff who couldn't answer my simple question which was "Do your pizzas have a thin or thick crust?" And I asked her 3 times; 1st try just orally, 2nd try pointing to the list of pizza choices, 3rd try gesturing the difference between thick and thin. She then goes into her native language (which I will not specify so as not to hurt the fragile hearts that the people of the same race might have) and asks if I could speak to her in that language. At this point her coworker comes along and I just asked for his help instead. English didn't sound like his first language either but at least I got my answer and even more information than required. Now in the first place, why do people assume that just because you're of a certain skin colour that u can speak a certain language? Why couldn't she just ask me to wait while she got another person to help me out instead? Well I'm sorry that I cut her off and just called her coworker over, but I was getting frustrated myself and thing is I don't even know how to say what I was trying to ask in the other language.

Wonder if she stays away from the tables she assumes she can't comprehend.

Lost Me Phone

Lost my phone today as I got out of the cab rushing to work. The bloody driver was in a rush too.. and sped off before I can get a good look at his number. Anyhoo, I'm not sad about losing the phone, just irritated that I lost some numbers that I have no idea how to get back at the moment. The phone was the least of my problems, being almost 3 yrs old and having been sent through torture tests. Recently it went free-falling without a parachute, cracking it's head till it kinda sticks out and won't stay down. Later on it decided to go swimming in the sink of water. Well, it was bound to die sooner or later, so good luck to the bugger who actually picks it up.

Anyhoo... to anyone who's reading this and wondering why I haven't replied to your messages today, now you know. I should be contactable at the same number by tomorrow. And to those who get stupid calls due to my phone being lost, I apologise for the shit you have to go through but then I guess you know how to best handle it if they party is dumb enough to let u know their number.

Singapore Gets In The World Cup Finals!

Once again Singapore is in the finals but only to referee matches and not play in one. Shamsul Maidin was named as one of the 23 official referees for this year's final matches. The national team was given a goal to get themselves in the finals by 2010. It's 4 years away and we don't seem anywhere close to that. So for now we should be proud that we got someone there flying our flag.

Steady Lah!