New Kids On The BLOG

I have decided what I want to do to my blog. I wanted to split up the personal entries from the other articles. For the time being, I have created one other BLOG to house my personal entries, and I’m going to take some time to organize the site and make it more children and family friendly. Oh, and I decided to use blogger over wordpress.

The fact that on presentation, workpress does offer more choice of templates and seems less complicated to use, but that’s also where the problem lies, the simplicity of the blogging tool is achieve by exercising more control on the usable widgets, there are no place I could insert some interesting HTML widgets that I used here. By the way, I am only referring to the free blogging services, I believe the paid service would offer more but I am not prepare for that yet.

One more thing, I am also cutting down the frequency of my entry partially due to my work commitment. And I hope that through blogging, I will continue to improve the content and context of my entries.

Revamping My Blog

I have not been posting for the last few days, I was feeling terrible, and lost. I realize that my blog is not very focus, and needed some sorting out. So I decided to revamp this blog. I will be creating another blog to house my personal collection and leave this one to serve general posts. But due to the fact that my project is in moving into a new stage where my scope covers, it is going to take a while to complete the transfer, I only hope my time management skill would start working.

The Psychological Effect Of Sanction

Our government did not believe in tightening sanctions on Burma which might be counter-productive, we can see in this report a few days back, and the interesting issue, they may be on the right track. But I am still not agreeing to their statements in the press for not supporting tightening sanction on Burma. The fact is the junta is responding to the threat from the world. In reality, the effect of sanction has worked before it starts, you can see by the way junta reacted.

Myanmar trumpets release of protesters ahead of UN meet

Sun Oct 7, 5:49 AM ET
YANGON (AFP) - Myanmar's state press on Sunday trumpeted the release of monks and demonstrators ahead of a UN Security Council meeting to discuss how to handle the junta following its crackdown on street protests.
Security Council members -- under pressure to condemn the military regime after 13 people were killed in its drive to end the escalating pro-democracy rallies -- were to meet on Monday to debate a draft statement on Myanmar.

The New Light of Myanmar newspaper said Sunday that more than half of the 2,171 people arrested after the biggest anti-government protests in nearly two decades has been released, repeating figures given late Saturday on state TV.
The government paper specified that nearly 400 of 533 Buddhist monks detained had been "sent back to their respective monasteries."

The New Light of Myanmar did not mention the UN Security Council, but analysts have said that the regime is trying to make a few token gestures to ward off a harsh Council statement, or possible sanctions.

It is like when I am trying to talk sense to the children, if I simply talk, the words do not get in their head, if I use cane on them, they become rebellious, and my words would get in from the left ear and got out from the right. One of their most attentive moments happens to be when the cane is right beside me or in my hands. I do not need to actually cane them for them to listen to me. This happens to work well psychologically, although I rarely use this method too often in order to avoid thinning its effectiveness.

Meanwhile, ASEAN countries continue to sit on the fence, apparently sandwich by many factors not within their control and issues they did not want to jeopardize. Check this.

Blood Or Freedom?

The world has responded, so did junta. Breaking the links is a shocking news to the online community, it’s like switching off the lighting in a dark alley. Internet connection has proofed to be a fast and effective tool for providing information but everything has its weakness.

Wear red, sign a petition or apply to hold peaceful protest, along with the leader of many nations that have stood up against the squelching operation but the other end of the line remain silence.

Following the lost of links, a more intensified crackdown may be inevitable. Like what Lucky Tan have mentioned in his Blog, the people in Myanmar will have to stand united and get their freedom and rights back from the bullies, with their bare. For now, we could only pray for the best of our ASEAN brothers and sisters, and hope that the history do not repeats itself anymore.

Inborn, Personal And Harmless Behavior But Still A Criminal Offence.

This is what I read in Sunday’s news, because the majority of Singaporean didn’t understand or accept this fact, gay sex is still a criminal offence. But since it is inborn and it is personal, why would anyone wants to punish them for natural human behavior. I thought our government will fix things if they are not on the right side, even when some Singaporean may not understand or accept it, like our CPF scheme. I am quite confused now. I could not understand why we do not decriminalise an inborn and personal behavior which do not cause harm to others.

The Straits Times, 23 Sep 2007
View Divided, So Law On Gay Sex Stays.

Mr Lee said, many people in Singapore were strongly against the viewpoint espoused by the undergrad and this was something that has to be recognised. He said that the government's view was that it should not push forward on this issue, but follow along as societal views shifted.

"Mt view is that gayness is something which is mostly inborn. Some people are like that, some people are not. How they live their own lives is really for them to decide. It's a personal matter," he said.

Why Frown?

I read this article “7 in 10 frown on homosexuality, NTU survey finds” yesterday morning in The Strait Times and felt disturbed by it. I am rather uncomfortable with the way the information is presented, the use of words like frown, disgusting and anti-gay seems to impose negatively on the subject. I really admire how positively Mr Wang accepted the facts. But at the same time, I am surprised that in a country like Singapore where more than half attained secondary or higher education, we are not that open after all.



We all know that gay didn’t choose to be one, they are just different in certain ways, and that’s all. You can see from here and here. In a similar scenario, if your friend is colour blind, flat footed or bald, have premarital sex and is divorced, would you frown or find them disgusting? I do not believe that there is anyone who is perfect genetically or mentally. In fact, a lot of time, gay can be better friend than straight. I know because I have these friends too.

Generous And Spendthrift, Same Or Different?

I was pursuing a Hong Kong Cantonese series 学警出更 last night with my other half. In the last few episodes, a couple went their own way even when they still love one another very much, with the common excuse many use, differences in character.

I remember quoting an article to my wife when I encounter a similar situation before our marriage. The article descried the contradicting differences in the character of a good boyfriend and a good husband. It says that one generous boyfriend, upon marriage, would be considered a spendthrift husband, a boyfriend with the righteousness character would likely be blame for not caring enough for his family, an easy going boyfriend turn out to be a husband that is not firm or easily influence, etc.

The strong points in ones character sometime turn out to be weak links when he or she plays a different role in life. At the end of the series, the girl finally realizes that she was being selfish. She initially felt in love with him because he was a good man, one that is caring, generous with the righteous mind, one who would go very far, do many things for his friend, but the expectation changed after she became his wife, she expected the guy to turn his focus to her, to only her, which he didn’t, giving her the reason to divorce him. It is ironic that the very reason that brings them together also breaks them apart. Although they finally have the same understanding, the girl met with a mishap and died. Seem like they are just not fated to age together.

At this point my wife said to me, “Luckily, you are not like that, I don’t like this type of guy.” Well, whatever you like, whatever I am like, I am happy that my wife has loved me for who I am.

Bravo! OTTO.

A respectable teacher, but more than just that, a courageous person to openly disclose his gay status. I am touch and really admire his courage when I read this open letter, but at the same time, I am also worried for his career.

Our society may not be very forgiving at times; in fact, I would have felt uneasy if my children’s teacher belongs to these groups of brothers or sisters, until lately. I get to know this someone which gives me a chance to know, to understand and to accept them as friends, as part of our community. I used to have these classmates, though kept very low profile, was always targeted by some notorious boys who will never give up any chance to create jokes at their expense. Most others would just stand around and watch, afraid of being tag as a gay if we stand on the “wrong” side. I could feel their miseries since I was once a target of bullies due to my size, I didn’t understand them but I felt sorry for them.

Anyway, I do believe that all human are equal, so best wishes to you, Mr Fong.

A Final Episode

I don’t see my grandmother often, in fact not even a dozen times, and though I wasn’t very close to her, still it is a painful loss. The wake lasted for seven days in Batam. I was there only on sixth day due to my work commitment. It is been years since I last went, I realize only when I saw the age prints on the faces of my aunties and uncles. I couldn’t recognize them all, but they were happy to see me. They just hold my hand and smile and I can feel the closeness of our heart, the bond of our blood.





I could see from far the lantern were red signifying longevity. The Chinese believes that if one hit the age of seventy, or has five generations under them, then one is consider to have enjoyed longevity and the death is not a sad event. The setup was more or less similar what we have in Singapore. Unlike here, there are some restrictions to be followed very strictly, one of which is all forms of gambling activities are not allowed, this included manjong or card games which the authorities in Singapore would not enforce most of the time, so we could only spend the night chatting or sleeping.

After midnight, it was consider the seventh day, everyone have to kneel around coffin to wake the decease up for a shower, change to her new cloths and take her meal, we then burned the paper house, car and money for her to bring along before she move on to her afterlife.

The next day which was the last day, I found out that Band is also in the restriction list. We went through the Buddhism ceremony, before the coffin is transfer to a van, a police petrol car would clear all traffic lights along the way and escort the convoy non stop from the funeral parlour to the crematorium.

I was told that the crematorium uses kerosene and not gas. After a short prayer, the coffin was send into the funnel. The memorial tablet was then brought back and setup in one of the uncle’s house. The ceremony is then considered as ended after we change into our daily clothes. In Buddhism, the living is supposed to let go the sorrow and move on as death is just part of life.






My aunty drove us to the jetty after a short rest, where we book the 5.30pm ferry to Singapore. It was full of people that were there for the “Batam one day tour”, we could see many tour guide holding the little flag, shouting all over the place. Thanks to the human traffic on this last day of the school holiday, our ferry was late for one hour. The sky was almost dark when the ferry left for Singapore, I took some photo with my K810i to kill my boredom along the way.





When the Rasa Sentosa Resort came in view, I know home is near, I am back in Singapore. Each time I attend a funeral, it keep reminds me how importance and precious life is, I must learn to treasure the times I have with my family even more.

Addicted!!! Are You?

Haven’t been writing anything for the last three days, feels like something is lost in my life, I don’t seems to have any mood to work in the day, I don’t seems to have any mood to do anything else in the evening, I feel tired all day, I feels like I am addicted to BLOGGING! But I couldn’t help it, because I was oversea last weekend and my computer was down the last two days, but at last, my computer is up working from today. Right, I must post something today, exclude this one. I will write about my weekend in Batam.

GIANT's Birds

While shopping in Bukit Timah giant last weekend, my little girls were having fun running around, chasing after birds in the supermarket. This makes me remember when I was a kid, whenever bird lost their way and land in my house, my siblings would close all the windows, and tried to hunt it down. Birds have always been a fascinating animal to children, due to the fact that they can escape trouble by simply flipping their wings. Anyway, though the children enjoy marketing this time round, I certainly hope that it will not cause any kind of health issue here, I can still remember the impact of bird flu.

Words Of Wisdom

Quotes from Words Of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda, a Buddhist philosopher.

Present effects are due to karmic causes from the past. However, future effects arise from the causes we make in the present. It is always the present that counts. It is what we do in the present moment that decides our future; our past causes do not govern our future as well. Nichiren Buddhism emphasizes that no matter what kind of karmic causes we have made in the past, through the causes we make in the present we can achieve a brilliant future.

The Little Princess

This video clip was taken when she was one, and until today, my wife and I still enjoy watching it. Since young, she has been our most cheerful girl, she's the apple of our family. Then, time flies and ... ...



Today, she has grown up, still as cheerful, still the apple of our family, but a little spicy. She is attending school now and learning tons of new skills. And she would show off to us at home when she is in the right mood. She seems to be much easier to handle than my two older daughters, and sometime I would wonder if it is because of her easy-going character or due to the experience we had learn from her elder sisters. Anyway, the joy and satisfaction you get when your child hit her milestone is something words could not describe. All my three daughters are attending school, is it their achievement, or mine? Whichever way it is, I am proud of them.

Two Wheels Is Better Than Four

Driving to work this morning is a wonderful experience, the roads were cleared of traffic congestion but it will only last for one week this time. This phenomenon happens every three months, that’s four times a year, during the school holidays. I used to like school holiday when I was young, and today, I like it for a different reason. I can remember barely five years back, I could count the number of cars with my fingers on a Sunday morning drive, but I notice that the traffic these days get congested as early as 9am on Sunday morning. With the number of cars increasing at 3%, and road surface at only 1% every year, I believe I will have to change my traveling habit very soon. Maybe I should get a bicycle soon to practice for my future, where two wheels may be better than four.

Flying Our National Flag

I took a photo of our Chinook flying our national flag last year.


This year my daughter drew a helicopter instead during her art session in nursery. Our schools seem a little out of touch these days. But the massage is the same,

We are Singapore,
We are Singapore,
We are Singapore,
Singapore…an.

Happy Teachers Day

My daughter is proud to celebrate Teachers’ Day today, and no, she is not a teacher, but due to the fact that she making muffin for her teachers rather than buying for them.




Come to think of it, I celebrated Teachers’ Day as a student for more than ten years, but I only know that it was done to show appreciation to our respectable teachers. Today, almost twenty years after I left school, I found out where and how it got started.

"National Teacher's Day history is quite interesting. Read on to know about history and origin of Happy National Teachers Day.

In 1944, an Arkansas teacher, Mrs. Mattye Whyte Woodridge, corresponded with political and educational leaders for a national day honoring teachers. She also wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt, who persuaded the 81st Congress to proclaim a National Teacher Day in 1953.

In the late 1970s, the National Education Association (NEA), its Indiana and Kansas state affiliates, and its local affiliate in Dodge City, Kansas, lobbied Congress for the creation of a national day celebrating teachers. Congress declared March 7, 1980 as National Teacher's Day. But it was declared as National Teacher's Day for that year only.

NEA and its affiliates continued to observe Teacher Day on the first Tuesday in March until 1985, when NEA and the National PTA established Teacher Appreciation Week as the first full week of May. The NEA Representative Assembly then voted to make the Tuesday of that week National Teacher's Day. Since then, National Teacher's Day is celebrated on the Tuesday of the first full week of May.

This is all about the National Teachers' Day origin.

This article is extracted from here."

I have some friends who teach, it is not an easy profession, especially in Singapore today. I wish all teachers a Happy Teachers' Day today, but be happy all year round. Happy Teaching!

Words Of Wisdom

Quotes from Words Of Wisdom by Daisaku Ikeda, a Buddhist philosopher.

One of my favorite poets, the Argentine educator Almafuerte (1854-1917) wrote: "To the weak, difficulty is a closed door. To the strong, however, it is a door waiting to be opened." Difficulties impede the progress of those who are weak. For the strong, however, they are an opportunity to open wide the doors to a bright future. Everything is determined by our attitude, by our resolve. Our heart is what matters most.

Hungry Ghost Festival - 中元节

Today my company holds a ceremony to pray for the hungry ghost festival. While my project is half way through, thing don't seems quite right. There are less contractor joining the event, there's less food, and less offering. Though it's only a Chinese festival, it does reflect the economy status of Singapore in its way, at least in the building construction industry. At this golden period of our nation, we are expecting good amount of contribution to the ceremony. I can still remember ten year back, when the project I was handling was three time smaller in contract size, and the money thrown into the fire was three time more than the current one. After all, the player was meant to be for everybody's well being.

Anyway, my focus today is not economy, but food. I will be going for steamboat dinner with my friends tomorrow, I should train my appetite tonight.

My Theme

When I started this Blog more than a month ago, I did not really know what I wanted to write on. So I simply throw in my latest fishing trip photo and wah la, I am a blogger. From then, I begin to read through more blogs, and realize the amount of new things I need to learn, before my three girls catch up with me.

Now I have decided on my theme, they are “FAMILY, FOOD, FRIEND, FISHING & FEELING”.

FAMILY
It will be a memory of my precious moment with my GIRLS (Wife + 3 Kids). Things we do, food we go after and jokes we make.

FOOD
I like unhealthy food, my wife too. And although my family doctor will not encourage it, I would have to try it before I could blog about it. Right, I’ll sacrifice for my blog.

FRIENDS
This should be everyone and anyone that we know.

FISHING
I like to record all my fishing trips and equipment, so I will be able to know the kind of time and money I have invested in this hobby. Of course, it also helps me to remember the wonderful time and beautiful experience.

FEELING
These will be times when I complain, or share my joys, maybe my thoughts, in one word “my emotion”.

This post should help to keep me on course, I hope. Maybe one day, when I got substantial improvement in my writing skill and acquire sufficient knowledge in web page formatting, I will consider starting start other blog that is more focus. Let’s start BLOGGING…

Hope I am not too late

After reading so many, I at last started mine. I will want to leave some trail behind, before it is too late, maybe this will help me remember something when I get too old. Anyway, here I am.