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Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Random Thoughts
Mood : There was a couple of stray cats near my block. One is a young tom cat with a broken tail, and the other is a too-old-t0-be-kitten-but-too-young-to-be-cat female. They are always going around together. That's really cute because cats tend to be more of a loner. Both are really under-nourished. So from time to time, my hubby and I would feed them. They probably have been through a rough time 'cos they are very wary of strangers. I saw the tom this morning but haven't seen the kitten for a while. Hope she's alright. Ebbi is fairly tolerant of us stroking stray cats. She'll just sniff our hands and she's ok. I had a cat long time back that wouldn't allow me to pat her after I stroke other cats, not until I washed my hand. I finished watching the entire 2nd Season Starsky & Hutch set. Love it man! But I was a bit disappointed with the DVD set itself. I had the feeling that the DVD set was hastily put together in order to meet some deadline. First of all the episodes were not in the order which they were first aired. The featurettes included were pathetic, consisting only of previews of the Starsky & Hucth movie DVD and other DVDs. The set of original promotions for the episodes, read by Paul Michael Glaser was included but that was so minimal! I thought at least well, include some of the recent interviews of Paul Michael Glaser, David Soul, Bernie Hamilton and Antonio Fargas. Much as I look forward to getting the 3rd season, I rather they take a bit of time to come out with something better. I enjoyed the series very much. I read somewhere it should be out in March 2005. Watching S & H is a trip down memory lane for me. Spent Sunday cycling at East Coast Park with my family. We recently bought a bicycle rack for the car and we transported 4 bicycles all the way there. It's a good thing we stay fairly close to ECP. Pasir Ris Park is nearer. But somehow all of us prefer ECP. We got caught in the rain again last Sunday. I think generally our health has improved. None of us got sick (touch wood!). Been talking about going blading. But still couldn't manage to fit that into my schedule. I prefer to blade by myself and not with the kids. They couldn't go long distance and I need to do long distances in order for me to really benefit. Weekday mornings are out because we need to send the kids to school or my mom's place. After that it's time to go to work. Evenings are out because by the time we finish dinner, cleaning etc., it's rather late. And I don't fancy blading late at night. Too dangerous. That leaves me with only the early mornings of weekend. Still trying to figure out the arrangement. Perhaps I could switch to cycling instead. My hubby is a regular cyclist and owns a really nice racer. Maybe I should join him. Labels: Ramblings
Friday, November 26, 2004
TGIF
Mood : Busy, busy, busy. I should have stayed an employee rather than go into partnership with my boss. He wants to slow down hence the daily operations etc are left to me. I'm a worker. Still learning how to be a boss myself. Don't exactly know how to delegate work and get my staff to work for me. Will have to rectify that soon or else I'll drop dead! I've finished watching the entire 1st season of Starsky & Hutch. Bought the 2nd seson set on Wednesday. Yet to start on it. Read somewhere that the 3rd season will be released some time in March 2005. I think I'll create a separate Starsky & Hutch Appreciation site. Else the whole of this blog will be full of S & H. Was contacted by a local advertising company. They are interested in buying some of my photos. Cool! (oops... better get back to work. Break time over!) Labels: Ramblings, Work
Monday, November 22, 2004
My S & H Fix for the day ...
Mood :
Watched on 22 Nov 04 1.30am
Episode #9 The Bait S & H went undercover as Rafferty and O'Brien, two high rollin' drug dealers, in order to catch an elusive drug dealer named Danner who had a penchant for rare stamps..
Personal rating : 7. Peope always get S & H's names mixed up. Same thing happened even with names like Rafferty & O'Brien.
Episode #10 Lady Blue
Starsky's former girlfriend was murdered and wrapped up in antenna wires. She was an ex-cop who had gone bad and was working as a go-go dancer before she died. Later S & H realised she was actually working undercover. S & H suspected that she got killed because she blew her cover. And the antenna thing was to make it out as though she was killed by a pyscho-killer S & H busted the robbery gang but found out that they had nothing to do with her death. They really had a seriel killer on their hand!
Personal rating : 7.
Labels: TV/Movies
Weird Behavior in Car parks
mood : 
Maybe it's just me (but then again, my hubby said the same thing!). Our carparks get pretty crowded during the weekends, especially at shopping malls. Sometimes, we have to wait near the lifts for people leaving the malls, try to anticipate where they parked their cars and then "intercept" them.
This is where I notice a rather infuriating behavior. These people who are getting into their cars knew we are waiting for them to leave. But more often than not, you will see them taking their own sweet time to load their stuffs, get into the cars, adjust their seats (as if they've grown longer after a day's shopping), or worst you will see the drivers making phone calls on their mobiles. They just simply refuse to budge! They are so reluctant to give up their parking lots even though they longer need them. So it's like a test of patience to see who gives up first. And you can bet that he'll drive away the moment you move off to look for other places to park!
I came across another 2 behaviors, The driver waved to me indicating he's not leaving yet. I drove past. And hey! I saw him driving away 10 secs after I passed him! The driver stayed very quietly in the car. No headlights nothing. I didn't notice that the car was about to leave as there was no sign of it. And the moment I passed him, he drove off. And I had to reverse or make a U-turn to get back to the parking lot.
Very weird.
Labels: Ramblings
Sunday, November 21, 2004
My S & H Fix for the day ...
Mood : 
Watched on 20~21 Nov 04 1.00am
Episode #7 Death Notice
S & H were called in to investigate a death threat on a nightclub stripper, Ginger. She was killed. Later, another girl from the same joint was found dead soon after another death message. S & H managed to track down and apprehended the man who left the death notes. It turned out that he was only trying to warn the girls bacause he overheard a telephone conversation that someone was out to kill them. He didn't notify the police because he had illegally tapped into the phone lines. Personal rating : 7. Tag at end of epsiode - David & Paul singing "Black Bean Soup" .
Episode #8 Pariah
Starsky shot dead a 16 year old boy involved in a holdup. He was cleared of any wrong doing. But a ex-convict Prudholm never forgave Starsky for his son's death in prison. The news triggered him into a cop-killing spree. Prudholm threatened to kill more unless Starsky resign from poilce force. Starsky was very guilt-ridden by the deaths of his fellow policemen and challenged Prodholm to a face-off. Starsky managed to overcome him but decided not to gun him down. A decision he would regret terribly.
Personal rating : 8. Hutch, with the help of a pretty girl, tricked Starsky into drinking his health concoction at the beginning part of the show.
Episode #9 Kill Huggy Bear
Dewey, a friend of Huggy's mistakenly robbed a store which was a front for a mobster named Malinda. Dewey asked Huggy for help. Huggy called up Malinda and told him he would do Dewey a favor and return the money. Unknown to Huggy, Dewey had told his girlfriend Sarah and was overheard by Sarah's new boyfriend Harry. Both killed Dewey and robbed Huggy, leaving Malinda to believe Huggy wanted the money for himself. So Malinda ordered his men to kill Huggy. Naturely Huggy turned to the only two people he can trust.
Personal rating : 7. Hutch told Starsky that the way to tackle muscleman was to "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee". They were ambushed by 2 huge musclemen. Starsky took care of his attacker very quicky and watched on as Hutch tried to fend off his. Hutch wasn't too amused with that!
Labels: TV/Movies
Friday, November 19, 2004
My S & H Fix for the day ....
Mood :
Watched on 19 Nov 04 1.00am
Episode #2 Texas Longhorn
Harris and Chaco robbed Tyler, raped and murdered his young wife. S & H found Chaco but Tyler failed to ID him at HQ. Chaco was back on the streets, only to be shot dead by Tyler who had decided to take justice into his own hands. S & H managed to locate Harris but they had to get to him before Tyler. Personal rating : 6
Episode #3 Death Ride
S & H were assigned to ascort a hoodlum who was about to testify against his friends. After the attempt on his life, he refused to testify. That is, unless his daughter was safely out of the country. Dobey suspected a leak in his office and told S & H that they would be on their own when they pick up the daughter. S & H finally arrived safely with the girl, only to find out they had been protecting an undercover policewoman used as a decoy to catch the leak.
Personal rating : 8. I enjoyed the part when Starsky had to trade his expensive watch for the cab. There’s also a funny tag towards the end when Starsky found out the watch he bought from Huggy Bear was stolen good.
Episode #4 Snowstorm
An informer led S & H and 3 other cops to bust Strykers’ cocaine shipment. The police recovered 3 million dollars worth of pure cocaine. But there was supposed to be 4 million dollars worth of cocaine in that shipment. Strykers thought S & H has stashed the drug and set thugs on them. The turn of events led S & H to conclude that the their fellow cops were involved.
Personal rating : 7. There's a cute tag at the end involving a dalmation and Huggy Bear had a taste of S & H’s jive-talking.
Episode #5 The Fix
Hutch was dating an ex-girl of a hoodlum Forrest. Forrest wanted her back. He kidnapped Hutch and pumped him with heroin to make him reveal her whereabouts. Hutch managed to escape but had become dependent on heroin. Starsky hid Hutch and helped him withdraw from the drug. Hutch recovered slightly and went out on his own to find Forrest. Starsky arrived in the nick of time to save Hutch.
Personal rating : 10. The brotherly bond between the 2 was real intense in this episode. Especially exhibited by Starsky during Hutch’s drug withdrawal. I like the end part of alley shoot-out scene.
Labels: TV/Movies
Huang Na again...
Now it's her parents in the limelight. It is a Chinese custom for relatives & friends to contribute money to help with the funeral expenses. We call this "white-gold", literally translated from Chinese. In Huang Na's case, because of the high pubilicity of her tragic death, many Sinagporeans and even people from neighbouring countries came to her funeral. And many made monetary contributions. It was rumored that the total sum collected is in the region of S$200K.
Recently, a local talking-point show, brought up an issue. At the initial part of the funeral, the parents indicated that they would donate some of the money to charity because they were not hard-up for the money. Now, after the funeral rites were over, Huang Na's parents have kept a fairly low profile. The show asked why didn't her parents disclose the amount collected. The show mentioned that since the public was so immensely involved, shouldn't the public know how much was the total collection?
This led to a very hot debate on whether Huang Na's parents should disclose the total amount of money collected. Many felt that there was no need for secrecy, and that the public has a right to know. Others felt that this was a private matter and there's no obligation on their part to disclose anything. The show was a live-telecast and they tried to call her parents over phone for clarification. They didn't take the calls and that gave rise to speculations and gossips, and even demands that they come forward to explain themselves.
Now. My take is this,
a. Why all that interest in the money? So what if the money is a lot? You mean you want them to share with you?
b. All that money has been given voluntarily. Some donated $4ooo, others $5o or even $4. Her parents had never once asked for money. It seemed so ungracious to contribute and then turn around and question them on how they intent to spend that money. Why do you want to know? Are you saying that you want the money back if you are not satisfied with their "proposed" plans? Come on!!!
c. They are still mouning the death of their daughter. You think this is a get-rich-quick-money-making-scam? Why should they be obliged to explain themselves?
d. The couple claimed they would donate to charity. But in what manner/how and when, is really up to them. Even if eventually they never donate, all you can say is that they never honour their words. But that doesn't mean they should be treated like criminals.
Really!! I'm very disappointed at the turn of events. Although I didn't exactly like the attitude of the step-father and some of the things he said in the papers. But I do sympathise with them now. They don't need this unhealthy pubilicity at this. They sent their daughter from China all the way here, hoping to get a good education and perhaps a brighter future. Yet she was brutally murdered. And people seemed to have forgotten that and were now thinking enviously that her parents have "made" a bundle. For goodness sake, leave them alone!
Labels: Ramblings
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Starsky & Hutch (1975) .....
Mood : I just finished watching the pilot and the 1st episode of S & H Season 1 (I know I know... I had the DVDs for months and only managed to find time to watch it today).
God! I forgot how much I really loved the series! Can you imagine? After 29 years, and the plots were still so engaging. There were so many buddy teams in numerous TV-cops shows, but Paul & David got to be the best team ever! The chemistry between the 2 was fantastic! I'm still as much a fan now as when I was in the 70's.
I wonder if I could get hold of Starsky's sweater.
Watched on 18 Nov 04 1.30am :
Pilot Episode
A young couple was having a little fun in a Red White-striped Torino in the midddle of the night. 2 hitman shot them at point blank. Word on the street was that Starsky was to be wasted. Another guy was shot dead in a 2nd attempt to kill the two. But it turned out that the whole thing was staged by the district attorney to lead the duo into thinking the deaths were case of mistaken identities. It was in fact a cover-up so that no one would give 2nd thoughts on the girl who died.
Episode 1 Savage Sunday
After years of futile appeals to improve the living conditions of their retirement home, an elderly couple decided on a drastic move. They planted 12 sticks of dynamite in the car boot, planning to blow up the city hall. 2 thugs stole their car for a Sunday robbery spree, not knowing that the bomb was set to go off at 5pm. Starsky & Hutch had 4 hours to hunt down the car. Starsky saved the day with some great driving and the last minute leap from the car whereas Hutch caught the 2 thugs with his superb marksmanship.
Labels: TV/Movies
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Starsky & Hutch and the Great 70's
Mood : My brother bought the season 1 DVD set of the original Starsky & Hutch for me soon after the screening of 2004's Starsky & Hutch. Oh how I loved the show then! Never missed a single episode (I think) Good 'o 1975... I was only 9 then (ok, now you know my age) and I had a crush on Starsky played by Paul Michael Glaser. I was like going "SO CUTE!" every time Starsky did something silly/funny/witty. When Paul and David did the cameo towards the end of S&H 2004, I felt kind of sad. How they've aged. How I've aged!
There were so many shows I liked in the 70's.. Charlie's Angels (Kate Jackson!!), T.J. Hooker, CHiPs, The Hardy Boys Mysteries. Had a major crush on Shuan Cassidy & Parker Stevenson. Every time the 2 appeared on screen, I would be trying to decide who I liked better, Shaun or Parker. I skipped recesses so that I could save my allowances for the Heart-Throb magazine then.
Then there was SPACE 1999... some nuclear accident at the lunar-based waste disposal site propelled our moon out of Earth's orbit into deep space. Scientific plausibility? errmmm... but definitely an A+ for originality.
And how about Battlestar Galactica! I recorded the show then, watched and re-watched. Read the novel of the pilot episode so many times that I could still remember the entire storyline to this day. Anyone remembered young Rick Springfield? He played the part of Captain Apollo's young brother Zac who was shot down within minutes into the show. My fav was cocky Starbuck played by Dirk Benedict.
I wonder if anyone recalls Sapphire & Steel. It was a strange science fantasy. I didn't understand what was happening but I definitely remembered being spooked. I wasn't even sure whether Sapphire and Steel were humans. I only knew they were 'elements' (having just learned the Periodic Table in Science class then) who were assigned by ?? to fight against unknown forces trying to break into the "real world" through a weak fabric in the time corrdior. Other 'elements' like Silver, Lead appeared in the episodes. Steel was played by David McCallum (Man fron U.N.C.L.E.) but I can't remember who played the part of Sapphire. I wonder if I could get a copy of the series somewhere.
Good old 70's. Shows nowadays don't seem to be so captivating any more. I can't stand reality shows.
Labels: TV/Movies
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Early Christmas Party
Mood : This Friday is Rachel's last day at KKMC kindergarten. There'll be a Christmas party. 19 November!! That has to be the earliest Christmas party. I guess the teachers are too fond of the kids to call it a farewell party.
My little girl is growing up. She'll be in Primary 1 next year. We went to her school last Saturday for an orientation. One wonderful annoucement was that there'll be no examinations for P1 next year. Instead the kids will be assessed and guided along the way. Not too sure whether is this a nation-wide approach or just for her school.
I don't mind examinations. What I can't stand is the streaming, classifying and grouping. Of course there's that good old explanation that the students are grouped so that they could learn and progress in a pace that's appropriate to their learning ability. But to me, that's the source of the problems. Parents will not want their kids to be branded "slow", teachers and principals will not want their school to have too many "slow" learners. In the end the poor kids suffer. Too many topics are being included into the syllabus with inadequate in-depth coverage. Everybody is so concerned about Band 1, 2 or 3 and not "what have you learned this year?".
Oh well. There's supposed to be a re-vamp for next year's education system. Let's wait and see if things improve.
Hmm... was talking about Christmas party and ended up complaining about education. I digress. Sign of old age. Hahahah...
Labels: Ramblings
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
CSS/XHTML/PHP/MySQL ?
Mood :
I wanted to insert a calendar on this blog which could link to the days I've posted. Some sort of a navigational aid. I've come across sites with those and they looked really nice and I want one too! Did a search, found a site that explained the steps. But he lost me after the CSS part. PHP, MySQL ? No knowledge of those at all. I was hoping to find a free script that I could just insert into the blog. Looks like I'll have to do a bit more reading up.
Bryan is interested in putting his own website too! Will help him set up one. I would like him to but he's too lazy to keep a diary. But he might find the idea of an online journal cool.
Thinking of a holiday trip. A bit late since the school holiday is starting soon. But I checked the papers today and found pages of advertisements. Will try to see if I could book a short holiday trip. We haven't gone for oversea holidays since 2001. Rachel likes Australia. So will try for Gold Coast. She hasn't been there before. Labels: Tech
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
Digital Life's Blog of the Week
Mood : 
Well! This site has been featured in today's ST Digital Life as the Blog of the Week! I'm pleasantly surprised. Hopefully you guys/gals who happened to visit because of the article won't find my online journal too boring. It's mostly ramblings. :)
The sky is finally clearly up! In fact there was an observation session at Dempsey Road carpark last Saturday. Richard called me up at 10.30pm to tell me about it. I couldn't make it. I was too tired after tidying up the house for next day's birthday tea party. But it's so nice of Richard to call especially when I've only just recently joined the astronomy forum. The funny part is, I met most of them only once or twice and it's usually very dark and late (at around 11pm). So I really can't recall how most of them looked like. I'll probably pass them by during the daytime without even recognising them! Anyway I'll be meeting most of the regulars of www.singastro.org this weekend. It's the 2004 SingAstro Festival! Held at Singapore Polytechnic Concourse over 12 to 13 November 2004. So do visit if you are free!
Labels: Tech
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Tired...
mood :  I'm soooooo tired. But I've brought home some work. My handphone rang non-stop today and I had site inspections and meetings. I just didn't have time to do proper work. I haven't even prepared last month's invoices! Everybody's so worried about deadlines. Instead of letting me get on with my work, I had to attend clients' meetings to explain how I could meet the deadlines. This is crazy. I ended up brining my work home instead. But I need to spend "quality" time with my family so I can only start after the kids have gone to bed. Well at least my son's exams are finally over today. So one thing less to worry about. But Bryan wanted a birthday party this coming Sunday and wanted to invite his classmates. I had to set a limit on the number of kids. Last year I had 17 boys kids tearing around the house. I almost went crazy. This year I told him no more than 7. Why 7? Because that's my fav number! So the next few nights will have to be spent making the house more presentable. I have been neglecting the housework. Too busy. Too tired. Too lazy. Will have to think of some games for the kids too. Maybe I could borrow a X-box from Jeff or Gu. That should keep the boys occupied. The Mediacorp Radio's Subaru Impreza WRX challenge ended yesterday. Contestants were required to place a hand on the car for as long as they could and the last person standing would get the car! This was the 3rd year such an event was held. It was really gruelling because contestants were allowed only 5 mins break in every 6 or 7 hours. So for that short 5 minutes, they had to eat, drink, visit toilets, get massage etc. The worst was sleep deprivation. They would be disqualified once they lift their hands off the car. The contest started last Saturday and the weather since was terrible. It was very hot in the mornings with heavy down-pours in the afternoons and nights. So it was really surprising the final 2 persons standing included a girl! The guy won because the girl gave up finally after 74 hours 58 mins. His winning time, 74 hours 59 mins. Last year's winning time was 63 hours. Amazing! I wouldn't even try it. I don't think our body was meant to be punished that way. No telling what long-term effects there might be. I wonder why the radio hailed the two as heros. I always associate heroism with courage or nobility of character. The fact that they could stand 74 hours 59mins is, of course, an astounding feat. But heros? Nah.
Labels: Ramblings, Work
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
Huang Na
It's really sad. She was only 8 year old. She had a life ahead of her. And it's been cruelly taken from her. A badly decomposed body of a little girl was found, naked, sealed in a cardboard box, dumped 30m from the road into the forested area at Telok Blangah Hill. Forensic is trying to confirm the identity of the girl. But it's believed to be Huang Na.
I just can't imagine. How could anyone do such a cruel thing to a young innocent girl?
So far all fingers pointed at Took Leng How, a Malaysian, who worked at the same Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre as Huang Na's mom. Mdm Huang had gone back to China for a short trip, leaving Huang Na in the care of her friend. The girl went missing on 10 Oct and was last seen talking to Took. The police interviewed Took twice and then suddenly Took himself disappeared too.
The media, basically went crazy, digging out all sorts of gossips about Took, Madam Huang etc. The newspapers splashed photographs of a sweet, smiling little girl on their front pages. It caught the attention of the whole nation. And many pitched in to help in all possible manners, offering rewards, printing and distributing flyers, etc., to search for Huang Na. It's heartening to see fellow-Singaporeans coming together to search for a total stranger. I only wish there was a happy ending.
Took had ran off to Malaysia. He finally surrendered himself last Saturday and was brought back to Singapore. 12 hours later the police were led (presumably by Took) to Telok Blangah Hill. He claimed he was innocent. So far no other information has been released by the police except that Took is charged for murder. It'll be death sentence for him if found guilty.
But it won't bring back little Huang Na. Labels: Ramblings
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