Title Under Header

.

Thursday, July 31, 2014

PC or MAC?


Art Line Drawing ~ by Gina Weers

I just stumbled on these drawings. Beautiful! Unfortunately, these are probably the only 2 drawings I saw.



Recipe ~ Asparagus?

Not something I'll enjoy, but I'm thinking of someone I know who will.

Well, I don't exactly have a recipe. This is just a picture I found on the internet and I know someone who will like this. Let's be creative and come up with a recipe just by looking at this picture. From the picture, I'm guessing you'll need Asparagus, Tomato, Tofu, and a can of Baked Beans... but I'm no cook so I'm very sure you'll be able to come up with something so much better. Suddenly, the Asparagus looks like something else... hmm... Enjoy!

===.
Recipe? 
~ Asparagus Tomato Tofu with a little Baked Beans Soup

Click on picture to enlarge


===.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Kopi ~ How to order Kopi like a Pro ~ by Burpple-infographic

===.
Click on pix to enlarge.


===.

Favorite Wine

Had this last night. Sweet Wine. I like this better than Portuguese Wine (Port).

===.
.
.
Moscato
Victoria
by Brown Brothers
Milawa, Australia

Moscato will remind you of summer with aromas of musk and freshly crushed grapes. Our Moscato is alive with a vibrant and mouth filling sherbet flavor. A light spritz delivers a lovely refreshing finish. Enjoy it well chilled on a warm summer's day.
.

.



===.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Baba Wins Peranakan Cuisine

Baba Wins
Peranakan Cuisine

Facebook
Babawins' Peranakan Cuisine

Address:
#01-23, The Star Vista
1, Vista Exchange Green
Singapore 138617

Tel:
6-268-9370
9-735-9178

My wife and I went there are few days ago. We had the 1). Ayam Buah Keluak, 2). Ngoh Hiang, and 3). Chap Chai. We were very pleased and at the moment, we think that this is probably the best Peranakan food we've tasted. We are definitely going back to try the other dishes on the menu.

~ For those who are very traditional, you may not like the fact that they've taken out the paste in the nut and mixed it directly into the gravy, so there is NO Keluak nut to dig the paste out from. However, there are certain advantages to this is, as the chicken gets really marinated and the gravy is thicker. I thought I was very traditional and have always liked to dig the nut... but I must say that I'm a convert now. Children who tend to be less traditional will enjoy this convenience.

2). Ngoh Hiang 
~ Taste just like it was made at home by our Teochew neighbor, just the way we like it... and NOT like what is generally sold at most hawker centres or food courts. If you go there, you will have to try this... and it's not salty too. The sweet sauce that comes with it is also good.

3). Chap Chai 
~ The cabbages were too hard in my opinion (I prefer them soft) but I'm sure some other people will like it this way for the crunch. The TauCu (Soy Bean Paste) gravy was a little mild for me but it grew on me and at the end I was slurping till the last drop. I normally don't like the Bamboo Shoots which is in the original recipe and many households do not put it in, but this was prepared very well the the nasty smell and taste of the Bamboo Shoots was too faint to notice.

===.
Click on Picture to Enlarge



===.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

NO More Pull-Ups

"...pull-ups ... no longer be part of the test..." says Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen.

Wow! I can finally, fully pass my IPPT; the Pull-Ups is the one station that I kept failing for 6 out of 7 years in the Army (3 months BMT, 3 months Provost MP Training, 6 months CCU Mindef posting, 5 years RSAF) until I personally, trained on my own during my last year in the RSAF just before I ROD (or ORD as they coll it now). 

I was, what they termed then, a 'Marginal Failure' for not passing the Pull-Ups. Although I've never failed my 2.414km run, I managed my best I also achieved m
.
.
News Article
IPPT to be reduced to 3 stations: 2.4km run, push-ups, sit-ups
POSTED: 23 Jul 2014 12:17

UPDATED: 23 Jul 2014 23:17

URL:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/ippt-to-be-reduced-to-3/1277982.html?cid=FBSG#

Standing broad jump, pull-ups and shuttle run will no longer be part of the test, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen says.


SINGAPORE: The Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) for National Servicemen will be reduced from the current five stations to just three: A 2.4km run, sit-ups and push-ups. The aim of the changes: Getting more NSmen to keep healthy as a lifestyle, and helping them pass their test.

He did not mention when the changes will be implemented, but added that Chief of Army Perry Lim will provide more details on Thursday. Changes to the IPPT format were last made in 1982.

"This new format will make it simpler for NSmen to train for IPPT, and for more to pass. Many other militaries use 3-station tests to keep their forces fit," said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen in a Facebook post on Wednesday (July 23).

"We will also have more age bands and a new scoring system. Instead of a pass mark for each station, points will be awarded and the combined points from the 3 stations will be used. This way, soldiers can make up through more sit-ups, if they are weak in push-ups and running, or vice versa. There’s a limit to how much you can make up, but I like this counting system because it encourages NSmen to max out on each station and it plays to the individual’s strengths," he wrote on Facebook.

The overall passing mark will remain "about the same as before" for Full-Time NSmen, Regulars and Awards, while some adjustments will be made based on past data for NSmen, he said.

He added: "Even though the new IPPT is simpler to train for, it will still take effort and regular exercise to pass. And that’s the idea – keeping healthy and fit should be a lifestyle and it’s good for you. We expect more to pass the new IPPT, as a result. Look out for training apps and programmes to help you"

HOME TEAM WILL FOLLOW NEW IPPT FORMAT

The Ministry of Home Affairs added in a statement that the new IPPT format will apply to Home Team National Servicemen - which includes those from the Singapore Civil Defence Force and the Singapore Police Force - from next year.

“Physical Fitness is a requisite for Home Team frontline officers. National Servicemen are an integral part of the Home Team. The Home Team has been working with MINDEF/SAF on the proposed changes to the Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) and will also be implementing the new IPPT format for Home Team National Servicemen in 2015," the ministry said.

- CNA/es
.
.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Describe Singapore...

This was the description that brought Zubir Said to Singapore.

===.
~ Sailor friend of Zubir Said
~ Zubir Said is the composer of Singapore's National Anthem

First time I heard Singapore being described as a place of... "glittering lights, kopi susu and butter" (kopi susu = coffee with milk). Google was celebrating Zubir Said's 107th Birthday. I was at Wikipedia reading about Zubir Said who composed the national anthem of Singapore, "Majulah Singapura" ("Onward Singapore") and a line there said, {In 1928 at the age of 21, Zubir went to Singapore to make a living as a musician, taking up the suggestion of a sailor friend who had described the island as a place of "glittering lights, kopi susu [coffee with milk] and butter".}

===.
Source:

Move to Singapore ~ In 1928 at the age of 21, Zubir went to Singapore to make a living as a musician, taking up the suggestion of a sailor friend who had described the island as a place of "glittering lights, kopi susu [coffee with milk] and butter". This was done in the face of objections from his village chieftain father, Mohamad Said bin Sanang, who believed music to be against religion. Zubir's first job was as a musician with City Opera, a bangsawan or Malay opera troupe. He became the troupe's bandleader. Thereafter, in 1936, he joined the recording company His Master's Voice. Zubir went to Java to marry Tarminah Kario Wikromo, a keroncong singer, in 1938; they returned to Zubir's home town of Bukittinggi in 1941 just before the outbreak of World War II. Coming back to Singapore in 1947, Zubir worked as a part-time photographer with the Utusan Melayu newspaper[4] while composing and performing music and songs. In 1949 he took up the post of orchestra conductor at Shaw Brothers' Malay Film Production, and in 1952 he joined Cathay-Keris Film Productions as a score arranger and songwriter for the company's Malay films, including Sumpah Pontianak (Blood of Pontianak, 1958) and Chuchu Datuk Merah (Grandchildren of Datuk Merah, 1963).In 1957, he received his first public recognition when his songs were performed at the Victoria Theatre.

"Majulah Singapura" ~ Singapore, then a British colony, had been conferred city status by a royal charter from King George VI in 1951. In 1958, the City Council of Singapore approached Zubir to compose a song for the city to be titled "Majulah Singapura", which was a motto to be displayed in the Victoria Theatre after its renovation. Zubir's song, "Majulah Singapura" ("Onward Singapore"), was first performed by the Singapore Chamber Ensemble during the grand finale of a concert staged in the Victoria Theatre on 6 September 1958 to celebrate its official reopening. When Singapore attained self-government in 1959, the Government felt that a national anthem was needed to unite the different races in Singapore. It decided that the City Council's song, which was already popular, would serve this purpose. After some revisions were made to the song, it was adopted by the Legislative Assembly on 11 November 1959, and on 30 November the Singapore State Arms and Flag and National Anthem Ordinance 1959[8] was passed. This statute regulated the use and display of the State Arms and State Flag and the performance of the National Anthem. "Majulah Singapura" was presented to the nation on 3 December at the launch of "Loyalty Week", replacing the colonial anthem "God Save the Queen". After Singapore's full independence from Malaysia on 9 August 1965, "Majulah Singapura" was formally adopted as the Republic's national anthem. In a 1984 oral history interview, to sum up his philosophy when composing the anthem, Zubir cited the Malay proverb "Di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung" ("You should hold up the sky of the land where you live").

===.

Friday, July 18, 2014

New MediaCorp campus in Mediapolis-AT-One-North

===.
Artist impression of the new MediaCorp campus in Mediapolis-AT-One-North


===.
Here's an illustration picture of the Night view of Mediapark behind our new MediaCorp Campus. Click on picture to enlarge for better viewing.


===.

Chopstick Scissors ~ by PGA

Here's a video taken by my wife.
.
.
Chopstick Scissors ~ by PGA


I actually learned from my mum. When I was young, I saw her do it while feeding me and decided to emulate. It's really just a "scissor action": the chopsticks grip the noodles and then each chopstick goes in opposite direction just like a scissor. Try it with one noodle fist and then to more noodles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVW94UBDvEo

.
.
===.
Here're the comments on Facebook.



===.

My Height ~ 1.81, 1.83 or 1.85 meters?

My height is actually 1.83 meters... give or take 2 centimeters... here's why.

Of all the times at TTSH, this is the 1st time the Nurse gave me the slip of paper regarding my Height, Weight and BMI, after measuring... and my height measured as 1.81 meters (- 2 cm) because  the SHORT nurse was taking my temperature via my ear, and i was trying to help her by NOT standing straight and tall so that she could reach my ear.

This reminded me of another incident during my Pre-Enlistment into the Army when another SHORT nurse measuring my height had measured me as 1.85 meters (+ 2 cm), and this was because she was using a ruler which slanted upward due to her being short. I think in Mathematics, this is called ??? (Urgh! I forgot the term).

===.
My Height, Weight & BMI
~ on Thursday, 2014 Jul 17, at 14:14hrs



===.

Wednesday, July 09, 2014

Singapore $10,000

===.
.
.
SINGAPORE
Indonesia urges Singapore to withdraw all $10,000 notes: Report
POSTED: 07 Jul 2014 13:35
UPDATED: 07 Jul 2014 13:45

"If the bill remained on the market, let's say until five to 10 years after its production stops, Indonesia would still be vulnerable to money-laundering and graft," says Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre official in a Jakarta Post report.

Picture Captions:

Pix 1: Here's what the S$10,000 bill looks like from the front ...

Pix 2: ... and we'll soon be seeing the back of the S$10,000 bill, which will no longer be issued from Oct 1

JAKARTA: Indonesia's Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) has called on Singapore to withdraw all S$10,000 notes from the market, as it would be more effective to curb rampant corruption and money-laundering activities, according to Jakarta Post.

Singapore's Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced last Wednesday it would no longer be issuing the S$10,000 note from Oct 1 onwards, in a move to lower the risk of money-laundering.

A Jakarta Post report on Monday (July 7) cited PPATK Deputy Chairman Agus Santoso as saying that while the MAS move would "meaningfully" help Indonesia curb rampant corruption and money-laundering, withdrawing or imposing a new expiration date on the notes would be more effective.

"If the bill remained on the market, let's say until five to 10 years after its production stops, Indonesia would still be vulnerable to money-laundering and graft," Mr Agus said in the report.

"The S$10,000 bank note, which is not widely used in Singapore on a daily basis as legal tender, is the bill-of-choice for bribe players or graft suspects because they can exchange a large amount of rupiah for just a few bank notes," he added.

Jakarta Post said in almost every arrest of graft suspects, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has seized S$10,000 bills. For example, the KPK had confiscated several S$10,000 bills during the arrest of former Constitutional Court Chief Justice Akil Mochtar and former head of Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force Rubi Rubiandini, the report added.

The Indonesian news agency also said Singapore will continue to print the S$1,000 bill, which is considered one of the world's most valuable bank notes.

- CNA/kk
.
.
===.
.
.
SINGAPORE
Singapore to stop issuing S$10,000 notes
POSTED: 02 Jul 2014 14:38
UPDATED: 03 Jul 2014 12:10

The move is meant to address the risk of money laundering through large value cash transactions: Monetary Authority of Singapore Deputy Managing Director Ong Chong Tee.

SINGAPORE: From Oct 1, S$10,000 notes will no longer be issued in a move to lower the risk of money laundering, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Wednesday (July 2).

Speaking at the ABS Financial Crime Seminar on Wednesday, MAS Deputy Managing Director Ong Chong Tee said the development of more advanced and secured electronic payment systems has reduced the need for large value cash-based transactions.

Mr Ong added that the discontinuation of the note is not expected to create any major inconvenience. “Existing S$10,000 notes in circulation will remain legal tender, including all notes under the Currency Inter-changeability Agreement with Brunei. However, we expect the stock of such notes to dwindle over time, as worn notes are returned to us and not replaced,” he said.

In his speech, Mr Ong also said MAS plans to launch a public consultation on proposed amendments to its regulatory framework to tighten checks against money laundering and terrorist financing. Proposed amendments include requiring banks to screen customers, tightening the threshold for enhanced measures on cross-border wire transfers, and providing a risk-based approach for “politically exposed persons”, he said.

- CNA/cy
.
.
===.
.
.
.
.
===.
.

Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Open The Door ~ Latest Korean Song by Lim Chang-Jeong

===.
.
.
STRANGER THAN PSY: LIM CHANG-JEONG IS QUIETLY HILARIOUS
POSTED ON NOVEMBER 20, 2013 BY MICHAEL JOHNSTONE

Perhaps we’ve all had our share Gangnam Style and Gentleman, but fortunately there’s a new weirdo in town. Say hello, or rather, yeoboseyo to K-Pop’s newest quirky star. 

Open The Door 3If Lim Chang-Jeong is attempting to ride on the comic success of Psy’s Gangnam Style and Gentleman video, then he’s doing an amazing job. His new video subtly mocks the quirky dance moves and gaudy costumes that propelled Psy onto the global pop music scene. Though the song has a vaguely familiar sound, it’s catchy in its own right, and funnier than Gentleman ended up being.

Video 1
Lim Chang Jeong (임창정) - Open The Door (문을 여시오) (ft. Kim Chang Ryul) (김창렬) MV [Eng Sub] HD (Full ver)

Lim’s temper tantrum at the start of the video, launched by being ignored for smartphone-obsessed twenty-somethings is a reaction that many can sympathize with; who hasn’t been ignored by someone fiddling with their phone right in front of you? It’s also adorably reminiscent of a certain angry panda that graced the airwaves with his calmly aggressive tactics.

Video 2
Never say no to Panda!

After his smartphone rage attack, Lim  goes on to right all of the wrongs in Seoul, moving from situation to situation, directing his no-nonsense gaze at those who get on his nerves. And it’s a creepy gaze indeed, somewhere between serial killer and creepy pervert. The kind that let’s you know you’re on thin ice. The video, for K-Pop and Korean TV fans, is also loaded with cameos.

Open the Door 1Open the Door (문을 여시오) is a single from Lim’s new mini album A Guy Like Me (나란놈이란) which is more serious than a song like Open the Door lets on. Like Psy, Lim (alternately and more accurately spelled “Im”) has been in the spotlight for a long time. An actor as well as a musician, Lim (임창정) has been on the music scene since 1995 and acting since 1990.
.
.
===.

Sudoku


Click HERE for answers.
Sudoku ~ with answers by Joy

===.