Fusionopolis

This is a probably useless informative post about Fusionopolis, where I work. It's triggered by a lady who asked me for directions yesterday --- an occurrence I am usually terrified of, because I have terrible sense of direction and often end up having to apologetically tell the person I cannot help.

Anyway, the lady asked where "Fusionopolis 3" was. On my confusion (there are only "Fusionopolis One" and "Fusionopolis Two", no "Fusionopolis Three"), she clarified that she was looking for "3 Fusionopolis Way". We were then at the lobby of my office building, at 1 Fusionopolis Way (a.k.a. Fusionopolis One). I had no idea which building was number 3, but the address I could look up on my Street Directory mobile app... and it turned out to be Symbiosis, which is just another tower in the same building.

Ooooo.

After turning around a little (as I said, terrible sense of direction) I was then able to point her to the tower entrance.

A colleague I told about this was equally puzzled that the towers had different addresses. The buildings and towers around here (and perhaps in most business parks?) are mostly referred to by name, and block numbers are not prominently displayed (if at all; I haven't noticed any) nor remembered by the population. So even though having the company name and street address is sufficient to locate it, it may not be easy without noting the building/tower name. Add to it the similar road names, Fusionopolis Way/Place/Link/... although this feature is of course not unique across Singapore (so-and-so Street/Road/Drive/Ave...).

To further complicate things, the name "Fusionopolis" is somewhat overloaded. It is supposed to be the name of a whole complex, but this has been built in phases, and people who work here have been calling the first completed three-towered building just "Fusionopolis". The building itself has the name "Fusionopolis" on the main entrance, so. =P Its proper name is now "Fusionopolis One", with a huge signboard in front of the building to remove all doubts on the issue. The last completed (also three-towered) building next to it is given a similar signboard proclaiming it "Fusionopolis Two". (Trivia: It was actually phase 2A in the planning, but as it houses scientific labs with very specific requirements, its development was delayed so much that all the remaining phases were completed before it.)

Here is an image from a flyer by JTC, the "master planner and developer" of one-north, showing the whole Fusionopolis complex. The flyer was distributed as promotional material back when the complex wasn't fully completed yet, so not all names were finalized.

Just for fun, I looked up the addresses of all buildings in the complex. There is quite a variation!

Fusionopolis One (Phase 1)	Connexis North Connexis South	1 Fusionopolis Way, S(138632)
	Symbiosis	3 Fusionopolis Way, S(138633)
Fusionopolis Two (Phase 2A)	Innovis	2 Fusionopolis Way, S(138634)
	Kinesis	4 Fusionopolis Way, S(138635)
	Synthesis	6 Fusionopolis Way, S(138636)
Phase 2B	Solaris	1 Fusionopolis Walk, S(138628)
Phase 3	Nexus	1 & 3 Fusionopolis Link, S(138542-3)
Phase 4	Sandcrawler	1 Fusionopolis View, S(138577)
Phase 5	Galaxis	1 & 3 Fusionopolis Place, S(138522-3)
	Pixel	10 Central Exchange Green, S(138649)
	one-north Residences	7 & 9 one-north Gateway, S(138642-3)

Here is a map I adapted from OneMap, showing all the small roads that lead to the addressing of buildings (excluding the residential complex). Why the jumps in block numbers? I don't know.

So... if you ever need to find a particular office in Fusionopolis, maybe this would be helpful! XD In the early days, the name was really unfamiliar to a lot of people, including taxi drivers. And some kept saying "Fusion-polis" instead. Now that it's been around for a while (and that PM Lee has been here twice, for televised grand openings), hope there is no more such problem.

Subsistence

Leaf by leaf it sheds itself bare,
this lanky tree on the roadside,

standing under a harsh sun
on soil gravelly and dry.


Unlike the big lads across the road
it has no air of longevity:

its peeling bark is paper-thin
and its branches mere twigs.


Still it seems to placidly survive,
the scant leaves clinging;

its stick of a trunk stays well upright,
rising above the weeds.


Through long days of heat and dust
and intermittent rain

it somehow manages to keep on sprouting
just enough green.


Standing in the occasional breeze
under a sky never short of light,

leaf by leaf it regrows its crown,
this lanky tree on the roadside.


---


The above is the poem I wrote for and submitted to NLB Read!Fest 2015 Be A Poetry on Platforms Star Poet contest. I got a commemorative EZ-Link card for the participation. :)

While searching for a theme to write on, I remembered Carpark 15, sort of my "comfort reading" that evokes the soothing memory of a pleasant, breezy late-afternoon scenery. I wanted to write something with a similar feel for the contest, hence the "tree" theme and the similar structure.

I'm afraid this piece turned out not as pleasantly evocative as Carpark 15... Then again, I suspect the pleasant imagery I associated with Carpark 15 is really just my personal nostalgia and not much what the words do. Ah well. ^_^;

SGD Fixed Deposit: June Promo

While visiting the websites of a few local banks, I noticed that most of them are having 12-month Fixed Deposit promotions. Apparently there is a widespread need for banks to raise some cash at this time? I'm not financially savvy enough to analyze this, but I do like to keep a tab on FD rates and know my options for the in-between of savings and investment, so I went around and checked out all offerings within my radar.

After considerations, I'm not taking any of them at the moment, but since I have collected the info, I'll just dump it here. This might be useful if you just need to park some money for a short time without risk (other than the bank defaulting, of course). Outside this sort of promotions, I haven't seen good FD rates for a while. I've included the rates of equivalent products from banks that are not having a promotion, so you can compare.

Most of the promotions require a big lump sum, more than what I'm willing to lock into an FD. Where options are available, I have recorded the one more acceptable in my opinion, and noted the alternatives for you to check out if interested. As with all things, do read the terms and conditions including all the fine prints before committing.

Bank	Interest p.a.	Minimum Placement	Tenor	Promotion Period	Remarks
StanChart	1.50%	S$ 25,000	12-month	1--30 Jun 2015
HSBC	1.50%	S$ 30,000	11-month	2--30 Jun 2015	Higher for Premier customers
ANZ	1.50%	S$ 150,000	11-month	1 May--30 Jun 2015
UOB	1.45%	S$ 20,000	13-month	2--30 Jun 2015
CIMB (Step Up)	1.40% (average)	S$ 10,000	12-month	Not stated	Option: 18-month at 1.66% average
OCBC	1.40%	S$ 20,000	12-month	Not stated
Citibank	1.30%	S$ 50,000	9-month	1 Apr--30 Jun 2015
CIMB	1.20%	S$ 1,000	12-month	1 Jun--31 Dec 2015	Options for higher rate with larger placement
Maybank (iLOVE)	1.10%	S$ 25,000	12-month	?--30 Jun 2015	Options for higher rate with longer tenor
ICICI	0.75%	S$ 5,000	12-month	No promotion	Options for higher rate with longer tenor
SBI	0.70%	S$ 1,000	12-month	No promotion	Options for higher rate with longer tenor
DBS / POSB	0.25%	S$ 1,000	12-month	No promotion	Options for higher rate with longer tenor

EZ Replace

After more than a year of unplanned hiatus (^_^;) I thought this might be something useful to write about --- how to neatly migrate EZ-Link-related facilities when switching cards. Applicable to Singapore residents only.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any of the companies whose products are mentioned here. I am just an opportunistic user in constant lookout for extra benefits (i.e., a stereotypical Singaporean).



Background and Overview


My POSB Everyday credit card, which doubles as my EZ-Link card, expired recently. In my understanding, the EZ-Link purse should still be usable after the credit card expiry (it has a different expiry date), but it was better for convenience and security to simply switch all usage to the replacement card (hereafter called "new card") and destroy the expired card ("old card").

The switch, however, involves changes to a few EZ-Link-related functions I have on the card. I've had to chart those things to figure out an optimal order of execution, so I decide to document the steps. After all, the new credit card will expire in 5 years and this will become relevant to me again, although some functions might not survive until then.

The following is structured by functionality, while action items are numbered globally in the order of execution. Hence, there will be numbering jumps within a section. The sequencing is not really strict; some steps can be done in a different order or in parallel. The general direction is towards preparing the new card for use and retiring the old card. Actual dependencies are noted in explanations and illustrated in the summary at the end of this post.



EZ-Link Activate


I use this for transaction tracking / statistics and the free card insurance. I actually registered hoping to check card values off-site*, but that wasn't its intended function, as transactions are not immediately reflected. There are supposedly merchant offers and discounts but I've seen none of them so far.
* The tool for that is EZ-Online, but you'll need your own card reader.

(1) Add the new card to the Activate account

This step is not critical but it is the easiest to do, and it ensures all transactions continue to be tracked. Up to 3 cards can be registered in one account, so it is not necessary to remove the old card at the same time.

(10) Remove the old card from the Activate account

Statistics are up to past 3 months only, so Activate will have nothing useful on the old card when it has been retired for 3 months. It is not really necessary to remove until you need the slot to register another card, but it's a good housekeeping practice, I suppose. One less string of digits to compare in the event you forget which card is which.



EZ-Reload (Auto Top-Up)


I use the auto top-up facility charged to POSB Everyday credit card, because the current rebate for EZ-Reload on that card (2% --- $1 for each $50 top-up) outweighs the top-up fee (25c). The fee itself has been waived for some time now, "until further notice".

At the moment there are cards with higher rebate rate, but I don't want to get one more card just for this, when I can use Everyday for other payments with pretty good rebates too.

To clarify, it is not necessary to use the credit card itself as the EZ-Link card in your travels. Auto top-up of any EZ-Link card will earn the rebate when charged to the credit card. I use the same card just to keep my wallet slim.

(2) Apply for EZ-Reload on the new card

The credit card number (which identifies the credit account) remains the same upon replacement, but the physical card will be embedded with a different CEPAS Card Application Number (CAN), which identifies the EZ-Link purse. It is the purse that EZ-Reload is linked to, so the new CAN needs to be registered for EZ-Reload.

Clearly, the registration should specify the new credit card to charge to. The difference is only in the card expiry date, as no other information is requested. In fact, while the old card was still linked to EZ-Reload, the EZ-Reload system noticed the approaching expiry date and sent me a request to update the credit card information.

As specified, wait for confirmation within 5 working days after registration, before the EZ-Reload facility can be activated.

(3) Activate EZ-Reload on the new card @ GTM

Follow the instruction in the confirmation e-mail to activate EZ-Reload at a General Ticketing Machine (GTM) located at MRT stations.

If you do not plan to use the card for travel before this step (which is my assumption here), there is no need to manually top it up. The EZ-Reload facility will kick off on the first usage, when the EZ-Link purse contains exactly zero value.

(7) Terminate EZ-Reload on the old card @ TransitLink Ticket Office

According to TransitLink staff, the remaining value in the old card's EZ-Link purse cannot be refunded if the EZ-Reload facility is active. (As a refund will zero the purse, I suppose it will confuse the auto top-up system?) Go to a TransitLink Ticket Office to request termination of the facility. Cash refund can be requested (also at a Ticket Office) after 6 working days.



Travel Smart Rewards (TSR)


I think of this as some sort of rebate scheme for MRT travels. This MoneySmart article is a good tutorial on this. TSR's official FAQ with the advanced details is accessible only from within an account, which means one has to create an account first.

(4) Claim TSR winnings that are marked for crediting to the old card, if any @ AVM

If there is any winning with the status "Will pay to travel card xxxx" (where xxxx is the CAN of the old card), bring the old card to an Add Value Machine (AVM) to claim it*. We generally want the amount to already be in the EZ-Link purse for refund at one go, in a later step.
* The claim function is under "INSINC Rewards" from the AVM main menu, INSINC being the former name of TSR, apparently. I had some confusion in my first claim attempt (as a late entree to this game), so I thought I'd mention it here.

Winnings with "Pending" status will remain in the TSR account, so not to worry. After the active card is replaced (in the next step), future crediting will be to the new card.

(5) Register the new card in the TSR account

Right before starting to use the new card, register the CAN of the new card at the Settings page ("Request a new card number"). While it takes time to verify the new card, travels made on the card will be counted from the point of request, so start using the new card on the first weekday after the switch (since weekend travels do not earn points anyway).

Do not cancel the old card in the account (the button for that is appropriately in warning red). If it is cancelled, travels on that card that have occurred but not yet reflected (it takes several days) will not earn points. The old card will automatically be removed when the new card has been verified.

As far as I can infer, there is no harm bumping out the old card (in step 5) while it still has unclaimed winnings (before step 4); the winnings will remain there waiting to be claimed, as long as you retain the physical card to do that. But I prefer to make a clean break and do them in this order.



Any Other Business


(6) Put the new card to actual use

Test the new card for travelling and all other things you use it for, to make sure everything works as before.

(8) Get a cash refund of the remaining value in the old card @ TransitLink Ticket Office

About 6 working days after terminating the EZ-Reload facility, go to a TransitLink Ticket Office to request a cash refund of the remaining value in the old card's EZ-Link purse. In my experience, the staff asked to see my new card before she proceeded, I'm not sure why.

I read from DBS Live Fresh card FAQ that there is an option for "deferred refund" to the credit card tied to the EZ-Reload facility, instead of cash refund, but for some reason it wasn't applicable to my case. The TransitLink staff strictly told me to terminate the EZ-Reload facility first, and get a cash refund 6 working days afterwards.

The same FAQ also mentions that the TransitLink staff will destroy the old card after refund, but in my case, the staff returned the card to me. To be very safe, I would still suggest doing this after you are sure you do not need the old card anymore.

(9) Destroy the old card

As banks always advise, cut up the old card when you have no more use for it. Here's a tip on properly cutting up and disposing of old credit cards.



Summary

RECYClear

With moving out in mind, since some time before Chinese New Year I've been (not spring cleaning, but) spring clearing. As in spending the spring (well, the Sundays up to now) clearing out not-really-needed stuff. Which I've got a lot of. Ha.

So I've been looking up local recycling channels for various materials, especially those that cannot fit into the neighbourhood recycling bins* and those that I think could be better channeled somewhere else. Here's sharing a few channels that I think are useful, as a quick guide; you can definitely find more via Google.

Save That Pen
[Reuse/Recycle] If you've somehow accumulated from conferences / exhibitions more free pens than you can use, or maybe you / your kids have outgrown those color marker pens, this program will help you get them reused, or failing that, pass them on to the recycling bin for you.

StarHub e-Waste Recycling
[Recycle] For electronics. I'm not sure how updated the list of collection points is, but at least the bin at StarHub Customer Service @ Plaza Singapura should still be around for some time, I believe.

Salvation Army
[Reuse] Stuff that are still usable can go here.

Tzu Chi Community Recycling Points
[Recycle] This seems to serve the same purpose as the paper/plastic/metal/glass/other recycling bins, but there are volunteers manning the collection points if you need human intervention to maybe clarify your categorization doubts or the like. I also hope they have a more discerning sorting process, for cases where the stuff can go to a better channel.


* By the way, if you need to locate these bins, there's a handy app on OneMap. Find "Themes" on the top bar, choose "Environment" > "Recycling Bins".

Centum

I think of the word reliable (100).
I think of the word reliant (100:0).

I think of the word division (50:50).
I think of the word collaboration (x:y, x+y=100, x>0, y>0).

Then I think of how my hundred does not equal your hundred.
I think of how one's hundred makes up x < 100.

Then I think

Fifty percent from you and fifty percent from me
is contribution.

But to do this together
means a hundred percent of you and a hundred percent of me.

Benefit of the Doubt

I want to be understanding
But all I understand are my own assumptions
Because I don't know how to ask the questions
Because I don't know if I should ask at all.

I can't say I don't want to do this alone
While I still believe in doing it my way
I can't say I want to rely on you
While I don't trust enough to let go.

I want to give you the benefit of the doubt
But doubt is somehow the operative word here
Not just of you but of me
Because I can't figure how else things should be
Because I can't figure what the question really is.

Tech Trans

So, today's the day I finally left WinXP behind. The free Win7 upgrade (pushed into a partition) didn't make me; hearing about the end of support for XP didn't make me; but now we're developing some Windows library and I figure it's pretty foolish to keep coding and testing on XP, which until today was what my main development PC ran on.

Come to think of it, when XP first came out, I also stuck to Win2K for quite some time. When I first upgraded to XP, I still set the look to Classic. All those square edges looked much neater to me. =D Now, though, they just look old-fashioned. (Or maybe it's the colour?) Which goes to show it was all inertia...

Anyway, I just spent the last few hours installing and configuring stuff on the Win7 partition. It wasn't so daunting as I've installed a number of programs since the actual OS upgrade a long time ago, and some of the other programs can still be run from the XP drive. Migrating Outlook used to be what I hated most about changing systems at school or work, but it's quite easy now that we use Exchange; almost everything stays at the server.

Another recent abandonment, an unwilling one, was iGoogle. This is a greater loss! Now nothing is forcing glimpses of daily news and trivia on me. I checked out a few recommended replacements, but I wasn't motivated enough to create a new account for any of them*. I resorted to bookmarking Google News and Chrome Apps, but then I rarely remember to click on them. -_-0

* It was kind of a wake-up call too, of how much of my online life was hinging on Google and its convenient synchronize feature. Dangerous!

Ah, the nature of technology. Moving on...


[Edit:] I forgot to update that I have since managed to get my paws on The Long War. NLB, you're awesome. (我們永遠支持你!)

[Edit II:] The Long War turned out a rather tedious reading for me, though. =( I ended up not finishing it.

A Day of Kindness

Today I received so many acts of kindness (including material manifestations of it) that I have to write them down to remember. :)

Rushing from my team's exhibition booth to the MRT station, I left my water bottle behind. My colleague noticed and took it back to office for me.

Met Shixuan at the station and she helped me carry my bag while I lugged my laptop along.

Ai Ling fetched the two of us and gave us a ride to the charity dinner, where we were to perform. She also lent me her high heels which were much more comfortable than my own.

I got a bag as some kind of door prize. The draw chances must have been quite generous, as I'm usually not lucky at this kind of thing. :P

Weng Hong won a trolley bag at the lucky draw, but gave it to me.

I somehow won a crystal vase at the lucky draw, despite just telling Hwee Mei that (as I said earlier) I was usually not lucky at this kind of thing. In fact I just went to the restroom as I thought it wouldn't concern me, and Ai Ling went up to collect the prize on my behalf. ^_^;

I saw our institute ED Dr. Tan at the charity dinner as he went up to collect a prize, but didn't think he'd remember me from just a few presentations my team had with him. Hence I didn't go to greet him. It turned out that Mrs. Tan recognized me when we Soracco were up there singing, and they were the ones who came to our table to say hi. *_*

The organizers further gave us perfume bottles and vases as an appreciation token.

The dinner itself was sponsored for us (by Angie?) as we were volunteer performers.

Hwee Mei and Shixuan again helped me haul my stuff (plus all the loot) back to Ai Ling's car.

At the dinner, and at the exhibition too, I was having a good time, surrounded by friends and colleagues I could comfortably talk with (it usually takes me some time to warm up to people). In fact I was slightly worried that in my high spirits I might have been unmindful and blurted out inconsiderate things. :X

All these that I received today felt much more than I was giving back. Guess I can only be thankful to everyone for now, and slowly try to give more in the future. :)

借りてきた言葉

ぶつかり合う時も来るさ　綺麗な事ばかりじゃないだろうから
全てを君と　越えてゆくと決めた

共に歩き　共に探し
共に笑い　共に誓い
共に感じ　共に選び
共に泣き　共に背負い
共に抱き　共に迷い
共に築き　共に願い

ささやかな幸せが　木漏れ日のように　やわらかに降り注ぐ
そんな日々を　描きながら・・・

November: Thunder x Ender x Steam...er

November is looking set on becoming a happy month for my fandoms!

Although, for my own part, some of the happy things may happen much later than that. =/

So, for some time we've known that Thor 2 is going to be released on 8 Nov (in the US).
All the ladies are so fabulous in this trailer, they're reviving my fading excitement for the movie. ^_^

Even more looked-forward-to is Ender's Game the movie, on 1 Nov (again, in the US).
I'm afraid there are too many good parts in the book to all make it within the length of a single movie, so I'm telling myself I'll just be there for the null-g stuff. And shiny visuals.

And I've just found out that the next Discworld book will be out on 7 Nov (UK, I suppose).
Obviously I haven't been a good enough fan because I hadn't heard about its release before its delay was announced. But no matter! What's important is there's going to be more Moist von Lipwig!

But of course, I won't be seeing that book anytime in November. T_T
In fact, NLB, I'm still waiting for The Long War. Pretty please?

(Entry title has to do with the fact that I've recently started reading Hunter x Hunter. Another fandom in the making? =X)

cloudy with a chance of firewalls

clouds overhead are overrunning the sky
dearies, this is really not the time
i'll love you at sunset, and i'll love you at sunrise,
but please won't you let me have my planets and stars when it's night?

Happy Vesak

A couple of personal reflections on this Day for Making Peace with Myself.

Sometimes I just need to give it time.
- Working smart is good when it works, but giving myself pressure to work smart when I can't only makes things worse.
- Not everything can, or should, be solved with a series of shortcuts.
- "Cross the bridge when you come to it" still holds true. Unless I'm supposed to build that bridge; then go ahead anytime.

The To Do list is always long. It's just as acceptable for "taking a rest" to be in there.


May I be well.
- May I always remember how to take care of myself.
May I be happy.
- May I not cause myself unhappiness through anger and worry.
May I be safe.
- May I earn the protection of a clear conscience.
May I be at peace with myself.
- May I always remember to be kind to myself.

May all be well.
- May I always remember to be kind to others.
May all be happy.
- May I be mindful so as not to cause others unhappiness.
May all be safe.
- May I be mindful to help others when I can.
May all be at peace with themselves.
- May I be mindful to accept others as they are.

Indigo

Beautiful world,
Beautiful sky,
Beautiful life;
Why the unhappiness, girl?

Just a hill to climb,
Just a cloud passing by,
Just a matter of time;
Why the impatience, girl?

A hill in bloom,
A cloud golden,
A company beloved;
Why the unhappiness, girl?

Sky Errata

I'd had that quotation* on my banner ("No sky is heavy if the heart is light. -- Winston Churchill") for almost as long as I've had this blog -- but only today it occurred to me to check the authenticity. Alas, the suspicion turned out right: it was mistaken. =X

From the time I first fell in love with that line until the last time I fiddled with its placement on my blog (a few days ago), I've continued being a collector of quotations, and have gradually learned (and thus suspected) that quotations are often paraphrased or wrongly attributed. In this case, it's both. The line originated not from Winston Churchill but from Rev. Charles Churchill, in a verse of his poem "The Prophecy of Famine: A Scots Pastoral":

Nothing but mirth can conquer fortune's spite;
No sky is heavy, if the heart be light:
Patience is sorrow's salve; what can't be cur'd,
So Donald right areeds, must be endur'd.

(Some doubts remain whether or not the comma should be there, as a Google Books result disagrees with the above punctuation. But given the "be", the line looks to me more natural with the comma.)

So now I've fixed the mistake, and posted this in hope that the next person needing to authenticate the quotation can have a more definite starting point than simply the comparative numbers of Google search results. =P


* Also, taking this opportunity, I've finally gone and cleared up** my occasional doubt about the usage of "quote" and "quotation", in both senses of "someone else's words" and "pricing estimate". The widespread use of "quote" as a noun has left me uncertain whether "quote" (n) means one and "quotation" (n) means the other. Well, (in case you want to know) I conclude that there is no such difference: for both meanings "quotation" is the correct noun, and "quote" is the informal noun (while the correct verb, of course).

** Also also, I went to check whether "cleared my doubt" was correct before finally putting down "cleared up my doubt". Obviously I'm now paranoid.

One Third

Only got a hundred years to live

And so much still to be done,
more still that can be done,

that I wonder if the next-life-I
will still be working on what I'm working on now,
adding, improving, (if ever) completing...

But it takes so long to grow up,
    to learn, to understand;
it takes so much to reach this place;

that perhaps the present-life-I

    having grown into the right circumstances,
                                            (I think)
    having met the right teachers,
                                            (I believe)

had better not count on that other hundred,

    not even on the rest of this hundred,

only now--

to do, do, do
as much as can be done.

This day has passed, and your life too has lessened.
Like a fish running short of water, for what do you rejoice?
Strive on diligently now, as if putting out a fire on your head.
May you be mindful of the transience, and be cautious not to be slack.
-- Samantabhadra Bodhisattva

Every Step Is Home

Just returned from CNY vacation in my hometown. Realized that nowadays I often have to rethink the context before using the term "hometown" -- should I say "birth town" instead? While I was here I'd say "go back to Indonesia" but while I was there I'd say "go back to Singapore". =X

Recalled that at my citizenship ceremony, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan said something along the line of belonging to the nation without denying our ancestry or forgetting where we came from, all of which shaped who we are. That point of view really impressed me at that time and had dispersed the conflicted feeling I used to have about my nationality.

A recent article that addresses the topic of the Singaporean identity in connection to the White Paper on Population also resonates with the above point of view:
6.9 million people and an emotional hump

Not sure whether that link will be permanent, so I hope it won't violate any copyright to quote the relevant parts here:

Singaporean is by definition a nationality, not an ethnicity nor a race.

It makes some sense for the Japanese to fear immigration as they want to preserve their ethnic homogeneity. Recently, when Hong Kong’s leaders made similar remarks that Hong Kong’s ethnic homogeneity of Cantonese people will be threatened by more Mainland Chinese immigration, it made sense too, even if one argues they are all ethnic Chinese.

But Singaporean? What is that?

It is neither race nor ethnicity, neither a language group nor even a religious community. Singapore is Singapore precisely because of its diversity, not because of homogeneity.

We seem to have forgotten the Singapore Story. It is a story of an island of immigrants forged from many races, many religions, many cultures. It is a story of a nation that welcomed different people who wanted to make a better life to find a new home. It is a story of a country whose descendants of these original people still celebrate various festivals, where Mosque meets Temple, where Christians live alongside Hindus, and even if most of us speak English or Singlish, we still preserve our ‘native’ tongues.

[...]

In the end, like others, I feel nobody defined it more eloquently than one of our founding fathers and the author of the Singapore Pledge, S. Rajaratnam.

He said, "Being a Singaporean is not a matter of ancestry. It is conviction and choice."

A Trail of Trailers

So there's been much raving about the awesomeness of the Iron Man 3 trailer and I agree; some called it "emotionally scarring" and I agree with that, too ("PEPPER!! NO!!!") --> making an exception with the caps and multiple exclamation marks, just for you, Marvel. Please make everything all right again come April 2013.

I've been thinking that the Skyfall poster I've been seeing at bus stops is also very cool. So are the TV spots. I admit that back when Daniel Craig first assumed the role, I'd shared the opinion of those who thought him rather too short, but looking at the list of all Bond actors to date, he is sorta the coolest-looking in my opinion, heh. That said, I've never had the interest to watch a Bond movie -- the female-objectification image from the old-time Bond movies kind of ruined this series for me -- and I'm not going to start now. Out of interest, though, anyone can tell me how the Craig-verse is on the subject of women?

Since I've decided that this post will be about trailers (and URL dumps), here's a link to a Honest Trailers clip for The Avengers (spoiler warning!) that I've recently enjoyed, by DIsk's recommendation. (When I said I liked deep voices, I didn't mean it quite like that one, but it's awesome anyway. And in case that put you in the mood for more lols as it did me, have some crack!vid.)

And, why not, a quote involving trailers that actually has nothing to do with a trailer:

%
<Meuuh> pleasehelp : are you trying with a dolby trailer ?
<pleasehelp> no... using windows

  -- #videolan

Um, yeah, that's an IRC channel quote taken from VLC's fortunes.txt. I confess to downloading VLC source code just to get updates on the amusing fortunes, even though I'm no longer using it for work. =P Besides, I'd definitely want to know if and when they reach "Vetinari" with the releases.

Huh. That made me Google Jeremy Irons' Vetinari, who's a pretty good fit with Kidby's, i.e., the canon (at least until I find Kirby's, if he ever drew him). But I should stop now before this leads to a Discworld trailer, as I'm really most content just worshipping the purely textual manifestation of m'lord. (For that, I do have The Discworld inspirational p...rintout on my office cubicle wall, in hope to net a fellow fan to squee together, but alas, it's yielded nothing so far. The colleague with the Angry Birds plushie sure has it easy! Maybe I should get me an A'Tuin plushie.)

Gold in Them Hills

Give the world a chance to say
A word or two, my friend
There's no telling how the day might end
We'll never know until we see
That there's gold in them hills
There's gold in them hills
So don't lose heart
Give the day a chance to start

-- Ron Sexsmith, "Gold in Them Hills"


Discovered via Katie Melua, who covered it in her latest album, "Secret Symphony". Fabulous choice for the opening track of the album: in Dorothy Boyd's words, it "had me at hello".

Soothing melody, soothing voice, soothing words -- I have quite a lot on my mind these days so these hit right home. Do listen for yourself in this gorgeous live version.





Side interest: The phrase "There's gold in them thar hills" is supposedly a cliche -- though one I didn't know before and had to Google -- related to the historical gold rush. But in this song I'm guessing Sexsmith uses it as an allusion to hope, in a "silver lining" way rather than a "California Dream" way.

Vista Wireless Connection Problem and Solution

Sharing this, as I've long been bugged by this problem and so glad to have stumbled on a setting that fixed it (internet searches had not been fruitful). Thought there might be someone out there who could use this.


Problem: Computer does not automatically get connected to a wireless network. "Connect to a network" dialogue is not responding. Applicable to computers that have seen some mileage.

Platform: Windows Vista (I didn't check if it's applicable to others)

Cause: The system keeps an ordered list of wireless networks to attempt connecting to. Any wireless network that has previously been detected and tried is automatically saved to this list. When the list is overpopulated (mine reached 100+ after 3 years of usage at various locations), with obsolete networks at the top, the system gets stuck in an endless string of failed connection attempts.

Solution: Open Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Manage Wireless Networks. Clean up the list, and put your preferred wireless network on top. That is all.