please keep the receipt

The girlfriend and I had a gift exchange this Christmas. When I reached home I received a SMS from her. "I found the receipt in the bag."

FAIL.

Many of us have this habit of removing the price label when giving gifts, be it a box of chocolate or a bunch of fruits from the supermarket. It's an interesting habit. When you think of it, it isn't that difficult to find out the price if the receiver wants to. But then again, it's the thoughts that count.

Do you have the habit of removing that sticky price label when buying gifts for others (and leaving behind the sticky mark)?

quote of the day

chillycraps: are you a "coffee Nazi"?
cartcart: I'm an Italian.

Ok, that's one level up.

A few of us met up for dinner and coffee with rinaz and cartcart who just came back from Italy. It's great to see them again and to know that they are doing fine :)

And interestingly + coincidentally, when I reached home, I received the postcard that rinaz mailed from Italy.


Considering the distance between Rome and Singapore, the snail was pretty fast already.

Thank you for the postcard and the meet-up, rinaz & cart!

certified professional elf

Here is a specification sheet from a certified P.E. (professional elf). Click to enlarge. You don't need to be an engineer to understand the jokes on it :)

Man, lately I have been reading lots of spec sheets and manuals.

Merry Christmas!

pushy salesperson

Something very related to my previous post happened today.

I was in my bedroom. I've locked my house's main gate, and the wooden door was closed, although I didn't lock it. Then suddenly I heard clicking sound of the door closing. If it was already closed, how could it close again? (I may seem deaf at times to human voice, but I can pick up certain frequency range better)

So I went out to the dining room to investigate. True enough, a man was trying to push open the door but there's the door-closer installed on my door. I pushed the door shut and asked what the man wanted. He was promoting those weld-on holder for extra locks, and cited something about some unit in the neighbourhood. Blah blah blah.

I didn't think salespeople have the cheek to turn the door knob and open people's main door. What next? Battering ram?

(and so, it makes sense to install door-closer in residential apartments too)

he who sells the lock, breaks the lock

Have you ever considered that the person selling locks can be the one breaking locks?

The other day a salesperson came to my door, trying to sell those locks for the main gate. He said something about a unit at a nearby apartment block had a break-in recently, blah blah blah, and while he was talking his eyes were constantly peering into my house, looking from floor to ceiling, walls to beams, scanning around like a security camera. This is the biggest turn-off.

Questions: How does he know there was a break-in if it was not reported in the newspaper? (perhaps he was the one doing it?) Why did he have to scan around the inside of my house? (a recce trip to see where the dough is?) And if I really need to buy a lock that does not require installation, why must I let you know where I live? Who knows if you have a duplicate of the key? Anyway it isn't that inconvenient to buy a lock from hardware stores.

I have nothing against (some) salesperson, but it doesn't harm to be on our toes.

125 years of swiss army knife

2009 marks 125 years of Swiss Army Knife. I'm not a collector but more like an user, and the Swiss Army Knife is one of the most handy tools I have.

I was reading this design magazine and one writer talked about universal design. He cited the Swiss Army Knife, saying that it has many functionalities, but is good at none of them. I agree with that point. A proper pair of scissors definitely cuts better than that mini pair on the knife, the same goes for a conventional screwdriver vs the nail file that doubles as screwdriver. And as you pack more features into the Swiss Knife, it grows thicker just like a hamburger with more patties.

But the good thing about the Swiss Knife is not about being good at everything, rather, have the useful tools handy. I don't need a Big Mac kind of Swiss Knife, I just need the main knife, can-opener and a pair of scissors. In fact I never use the tweezers and the toothpick.

The bad thing about the Swiss Knife? You can't bring it onto a flight. Maybe some designers can come up with an x-ray evading Swiss Knife. Nah I'm just kidding.

double-decker lift part 2

After writing about the double-decker lift, a coursemate of mine who is currently working in a Japanese elevator manufacturing company shared with me more information on the system. He told me that the twin lift (ie, 2 lifts in a shaft) is more efficient. (don't worry, he wasn't promoting to me. I don't buy lifts)

Being a total noob who only knows how to press lift buttons, I asked him how does it operate. The lower cab uses an underslung system (like machineroom-less lifts) while the upper cab uses 1-1 rope. (ok, enough lingo to fry my brain circuits) Then how about the counterweight? They are side by side at the side.

As for efficiency, I guess it is more like a real estate problem. You free up the space of 1 shaft and you can use it for whatever other purposes. It's like double-decker buses on the road. Even if the passengers on the upper deck are heading for the very last stop, they still have to wait for passengers on the lower deck to board and/or alight at the intermediate stops. Oh well, it's relative, maybe such system is useful in buildings where they have high flow of human traffic and need to disperse crowd quickly, but you won't need such lifts at public housings, I suppose.

double-decker lift

Double-decker buses are common in Singapore, but how about double-decker lifts?

So I was pretty amused when 2 friends working at Temasek Tower told me that the lifts there are double-deck. I've heard of lifts sharing the same shaft and operating independently, especially in tall buildings, but not 2 lift cars sticking together and moving along.

So I asked, does it occur that the lift will stop at one level but not open its doors cos someone from the other lift car is getting out? Yes, and it will say something like "serving other deck". Can you tell if you are in a different lift car? Yes, the button layouts are slightly different, one can reach the top but the other cannot, and one can reach the bottom while the other cannot.

Then I realize, if a Diehard-style movie takes place in such lifts and the hero climbs up the lift ceiling, he may end up seeing legs and not the lift shaft.

save hunting for the remote

Now you can skip hunting for the remote, cos they are going to discontinue TV Mobile from next year.

When I saw the news I was like, wow finally. The TV Mobile was a major source of disturbance to my peaceful bus journey, until they launched the Scania bus which is not installed with the TV set. You can talk about value-adding bus rides, providing timely infotainment, but what about the public's rights to turn off the TV or switch channel or mute the sound? Closing your eyes is easier, closing your ears isn't.

Now they are stopping the broadcast and they only cite "resources" as the concern. What about public's feedback and reaction? (if they continue earning, they continue airing)

In other places such as Hong Kong which introduced TV on buses much earlier, they even have movements to remove TV on buses, or to "hush the bus".

To be fair, I do like the morning news on TV Mobile, but other than that I prefer a more peaceful bus ride.

at the bottom of the christmas tree

Sometimes I feel that when you are at the bottom of the hierarchy, it is difficult to defend your rights.

Someone close to me got bullied at work. Even blue collar workers can become victims of office politics. An old bird talked behind her back, and the boss called her in. Barely a few weeks into the job.

First sentence, "why did you take leave?" Instructed by the supervisor to take forced leave and still get questioned... Next, "people say you are unhappy with work." Seriously, this is not a clown job, why must put on a smile from 9-5? Next, "coworkers say you are antisocial." Just because I don't follow them to go shopping during office hour and you tag me as antisocial?

Then the usual convenient offences: bad attitude, disobey order from superior, blah blah. And the usual threat: performance bonus. (seriously, people nowadays don't understand the meaning of the word "bonus", do they?) And the usual final words: "if you can't cope, you can write a letter and that's it. Give me a reply by tomorrow". Just because it is harder for you to sack the person you make her resign herself, and even so, you make it difficult by making her write a letter. If she can write a proper resignation letter, why would she take up this job in the first place?

The lower you are, the harder it is for you to seek redress. Sometimes I think getting a good education and climbing up the hierarchy is also for protecting yourself.

bunga bukan sekaki, teksi bukan sebuah

Living in this region with many different ethnic groups, I think it is very useful to learn other local languages.

Yesterday we went to a certain neighbouring country for a short day-trip. After clearing the immigration we went to look for a taxi. One came, and the Chinese driver quoted us a price which we felt unreasonable. C'mon, it is not like a new scientific discovery that some taxi drivers do overcharge. A second taxi came, driven by an Indian driver. Before we could approach the taxi, the first taxi driver shouted across to the second one in Malay Language, telling him to quote us the same price that he quoted.

Here's the thing: I speak to you in Mandarin doesn't mean I know kosong about other languages. It's like you can't see my underwear but yes I'm wearing it. He can be some union leader or what, but I really don't like the way he told the second driver how much to quote us. I started lashing out in Malay and the first driver went mute (perhaps he was shocked by my worse-than-pasar-pasar-melayu). I could see that the second driver was in a difficult position, but eventually he took us at a more reasonable price. Somemore along the way I had an enjoyable conversation in Malay with him when he told us more about the town.

Somehow I feel that language is my biggest barrier in liking a country. Before I learned Malay I've always disliked visiting that country, everywhere was words with strange arrangement of alphabets. (why would petrol kiosks sell 24 kinds of jam?) Now at least I can appreciate the place more.

The best time to learn a new language is when in university, cos it is examinable and grades are counted, you would want to take it seriously.

connecting male and female

Maybe we do realize it, maybe we don't. A male thread can fit into a female thread, but not a male-male or female-female thingy. Unless of course you use a coupling between the 2.

Sounds like metaphor on sexual orientation huh?

But some pipe fittings have male thread on one end and female thread on the other. Erm ok.

yes/no

I remember attending a seminar by Dr Edward de Bono on Six Thinking Hats. During the session we tried to apply the method, and when we put on the "white hat", we were supposed to give facts and information, leaving out personal feelings and emotions in our answer such as "I think hor", "I feel that"... A lot of the times questions only require a yes/no answer. (I hope I have grasped the idea correctly)

I'm the type who finds it difficult to stop at yes/no.

I find that giving one-word answers is like killing the conversation. A lot of the times you try to continue the conversation but the other party gives you one-liner, and you are like, erm, ok. Then you hear silence. And going by that method, many essay questions will only require a one-liner answer. ("Do you agree with the author's view?" "Yes." That's why nowadays they always include "Elaborate" or "Explain your answer" at the end of the question)

Of course, adhering to yes/no answers saves a lot of nonsense and you really are answering the question. But don't we like to value-add to things?

(nowadays even primary schools are teaching the six thinking hats method. I better pick up)

quote of the day

Q: 呢個係英制定係公制?
Supplier: "窿中"係中國制!
(Cantonese.
Q: Is this in imperial unit or metric unit?
A: All are made in China!)

turning down an offer

Recently I turned down a job offer.

It was an M&E engineering related job, relevant to my final year project. Not hardcore engineering but more of business development. 6 months oversea posting at one of our nation's biggest oversea projects. Lots of networking and personal development opportunities. Super generous oversea allowance. And the appointment name has the word "senior" in it. Many friends told me to go for it as these opportunities don't come by often.

The best time to take some risk and be adventurous is when you are still young and can afford to switch track in the event something doesn't go right. I guess on the job front, I'm less adventurous. Engineers take calculated risk. (but I'm not an engineer, hur hur hur) Also, it's not just for myself alone (non mihi solum), I have to consider the feelings of people around me.

Regret? A little. Imagine sitting for hours of qualifying tests with hundreds of other applicants, writing essays after essays just to get to the interview panel, and after 3-4 rounds of interview you tell them over the phone a "no".

I guess in life, we can't go on with our tails dragging behind. After a moment of regret I'll just have to shut up and move on. Well at least I can be proud of making thus far and seeing that draft letter of offer.

Case closed.

carbon brush

My Makita cutter's carbon brushes have worn out, so I went to the hardware store to get new ones. Guess what, the brush's brand is called Nakiya.

Reminds me of using non-original ink cartridges on your printer.

Come to think of it, I've forgotten how an A/C motor works. Commutator, split ring, carbon brushes... Woohoo, new vocabularies.

ah bengs are economical

I observe that many mixed vegetable rice (aka economical rice) stalls like to hire ah beng-lookalikes as helpers.

There's nothing wrong with ah bengs seeking employment anywhere, in fact they have their rights to employment. But when you have bad experience being served by them, then you start to ponder.

There's this mixed vegetable rice stall that I patronise frequently. There was once I saw a lady ordering two styrofoam boxes of rice, and as she was choosing the vegs, the stall helper kind of forced her to have two boxes having the same stuff instead of different vegs, citing that there was a long queue behind her. I don't think she was taking all that much of time. Anyway after that observation I made it a point to state clearly when ordering more than 1 serving of rice. Another time, I observe the same helper making some rude remarks at an old man just because he was taking a bit of time when choosing the vegs, making fun of him, imitating him. Then another time, my turn, < sarcasm > I overestimated the helper's standard of English < /sarcasm >, so I ordered in English, then he demanded that I speak in Mandarin. Does it mean that non-Mandarin speaking customers cannot patronise the stall?

It could be just that particular stall, and that particular stall helper who happens to look like an ah beng.

Of course, if you are so unhappy with their service, you can always go to five-stars hotel for lunch. There is a price to pay to be economical.

how 3d printing works

3D Printer manufacturer Z Corporation has recently published this complimentary whitepaper How 3D Printing Works for download.

It is quite an informative paper talking about how 3D printing has evolved over the years, how it works, its features, and applications. I've played with such system before and it's really amazing how it can transform a CAD drawing into a physical prototype. Rapid prototyping is an important part in rapid NPD (New Product Development).


It's a good leisure read and maybe good source for your term paper.

kl on rails

I've always been interested in the rail/metro/subway/underground/rapid transit/wadeva system in different cities, so when I visited Kuala Lumpur I took the chance for some joyrides.

Anyway, taking the rails is one of the most convenient ways to explore Kuala Lumpur. There are a few lines operated by different companies. There's the KL Monorail that highly resembles our Sentosa Express, then we also took the rapidKL LRT that doesn't look very light.



Overall riding the rails in Kuala Lumpur was quite alright, you get to see the train zipping through the middle of CBD, above ground. Some of the stations are directly linked to major shopping malls too. But then riding as a tourist can be quite different from riding as a daily commuter. Also, I observed that some stations don't have automated ticketing machine, so passengers have to queue up at the counter to purchase tickets.

Maybe next time I should try the KTM Komuter trains.

chillycraps in kl

I was on a 3-day trip to Kuala Lumpur with the girlfriend and her family over the Hari Raya Haji long weekend.

It was my second time visiting the capital of Malaysia, the previous time was when I was 9 years old, so there's nothing much to compare. Overall it was an interesting trip, experiencing the happening life in Kuala Lumpur, admiring their infrastructure (no sarcasm meant), eating the great food there, speaking Cantonese and half-bucket Bahasa Melayu to locals... I was expecting it to be a break to relax after my previous job, but my body seemed to be more exhausted from the walking around the capital. The mind is very refreshed though.

By the way, we tried to go up the Twin Towers but guess what, no one was working on Hari Raya Haji (except the security guards at the lobby), so no visit. We did visit the Cold Storage at basement though.