An English Grammar book that was revised 116 times as at 1985

People of the older generations who studied English might remember this book entitled "High School English Grammar and Composition" authored by P. C. Wren, M.A. (Oxon) & H. Martin, M.A. (Oxon) O.B.E.

It was hailed as the best book on English Grammar. In fact, I understand from many Indians from India who are incidentally great supporters of my book, that this book by Wren and Martin, is a compulsory English text in India. May be that is the reason why the Indians generally speak good English, except for the tongue-rolling accent which is hard to follow initially, but you will roll along as you hear them often enough.

The copy I have is the Revised 116th Edition 1985 (680 pages). Yes! It is 116th Edition, no typographical error! But, I have no information as to when it was first published.

It is really a great and excellent book written on English Grammar. How I wish schools today would use this book to teach English Grammar to help raise the standard of English in Singapore!

A S$15 solution preferred...

This kid's bike Isaiah has been using lately is at least seven years old. The multi-speed gear coupling has worn out, bent and could not feed the chain into the gears smoothly anymore. Should the bike be abandoned totally since it is already quite old and perhaps other parts might give way in the near future?

A new bike costs S$95 but a new set of gear coupling costs S$15 (for parts and labour). The latter was adopted and now, for S$15, the bike is back in proper working order again. Should the entire bike become unusable sooner than expected, at least the gear coupling could still be salvaged for future use.

Besides cost cutting measure such as this, knowing some DIY techniques on self-repair helps to save money, too.

Tilapia Fish brought back memories...

My childhood days and memories were immediately and vividly brought back to life when I saw these live Tilapia fish in a pail today. My siblings and I grew up eating this type of fish everyday, which we used to fish from the mining pools beside our zinc-roofed wooden house at the outskirt of Taiping Town in West Malaysia.

Today, I saw a few Malay men casting their nets into Sungei Pinang adjacent to Punggol Park and they seemed to have quite a good catch and it was for personal consumption as I was told by one of their children. I managed to take a snap-shot of their catch in the pail with my mobile phone camera. The fishes were still jumping and flipping in the pail. From my experience in eating Tilapia, this fish somehow has a muddy taste, so they would be more palatable if marinated with curry powder or cooked spicy.



Later on at around 3pm, in one of the canals where the water level was ankle high, I saw two Chinese men in their early sixties looked rather comical in the drain, hanging a net across the width of the canal to block the Tilapia fish from getting past.

One of them walked very cautiously in the precarious canal towards the upstream as the floor was covered with a thick growth of algae, trying to drive the Tilapia fish from the upstream towards the dead end.

The captain told me the catch would be donated to the Old Folks Home. If that is true, I should say, charity begins at home, gets carried into the canal and continues right into old age. These two kind souls are surely not newbies to this business. And, I believe that was certainly not their first time because their skin was tanned and glowing, most likely from their days in the canal.

Two more new shoots out of the soil...

A cork for wine bottle can be used as a fishing float

This bottle cork is rather special in its printed design. During our childhood days, we tied the cork to our fishing line and used it as a float for fishing. They are free and good.

Do you have high EQ?

Most normal people would get mad to different degrees of intensity, especially when being provoked. But, when we get mad, what tells the difference between the one with high EQ and low EQ is, the one with high EQ would know how much anger to vent, for how long and when to cool down. That simply means he can control his madness or anger. He is deemed to be emotionally intelligent. On the other hand, one with low EQ would continue to get mad in an uncontrolled manner and he simply does not know when to stop.

It is worth noting that not all people with high IQ have high EQ. Just take a look at the people around you, you would know what I mean.

Weak muscles but strong spirit

Recently, MediaCorp actor Chew Chor Meng announced that he was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy which is a genetic disease. Though not life-threatening, the disease is incurable and causes progressive muscle weakness. Many friends and fans have offered their prayers for him.

When interviewed by the media, he mentioned that his (Christian) faith has enabled him to live his life positively. He finds joy and peace in his heart and would continue to live a normal life. I think in difficult times like this, it is the person's faith that gives that inner spiritual strength to propel one towards greater heights in life.

I would like to wish him continued great faith and strength in his spiritual walk. As long as he continues to have a simple, child-like faith, it is not imposssible for him to experience a miraculous healing.

Quotes on personal character building

Quote 1 : Look at the weaknesses of others with compassion, not accusation. It's not what they're not doing or should be doing that's the issue. The issue is your own chosen response to the situation and what you should be doing. If you start to think the problem is "out there," stop yourself. That thought is the problem.

Quote 2 : It takes a great deal of character strength to apologize quickly out of one's heart rather than out of pity. A person must possess himself and have a deep sense of security in fundamental principles and values in order to genuinely apologize.

Author: Stephen Covey
Source: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The 20-cent coin of 1980

This 20-cent coin is hardly seen circulating nowadays.

Everything in MODERATION

"Eggs are high in cholesterol! ", "Three eggs a week, that is the maximum.", "One egg a day is good for health." and "Eggs do not cause high cholesterol levels." These are some of the statements we might have heard over the years. Many research studies have been carried out, reports published and the results or findings circulated. I think it is important to determine the source of the information, the purpose of the research and who actually funded the research project. Could the research be funded by the owner of a poultry farm? If so, do you think the report would make negative comments about eating eggs? You may want to think about it.



I once read a report that said we have to drink plenty of water and it is good for health. And shortly after that, there was another report that said, we should not drink too much water, it would cause water intoxification and giddiness. Another seperate report said eating chicken skin is bad for health, but then there was another report that suggested eating chicken skin is good for health.

I think the best practice in life is to eat whatever you like in moderation. Too much or too little of something is usually not good. I have known of people who don't take oil at all, and still suffered from heart disease; on the other hand, I had an ex-colleague who takes two eggs every day and her cholesterol level has been normal.

Merry Christmas to you!

What does CHRISTMAS mean to you?

Have you ever wondered what Christmas really means? Here is my personal thought expressed in the acronym, CHRISTMAS. Jesus is really the REASON for this SEASON because JESUS ...

• Came from
• Heaven,
• Removed
• Iniquities and
• Sins, and
• Turned
• Men
• Around with
• Salvation.

NO FLUSHING is required in this Men's toilet

This poster or rather notice was found in the men's toilet in One Marina Boulevard. The magic of no flushing, I guess, lies in that little cube placed in the urinal. I took a picture of it while I visited that toilet recently.

Some common mistakes in written English...

I am not an English expert, but as I was reading a publication and an application form, I picked up certain phrases and words where I thought there were some rooms for improvement as far as written English is concerned. I would like to share my comments:

Instead of "a" NTUC member, it should be "an" NTUC member because NTUC is pronounced as AN-TUC.

• There is a lack of consistency in writing. The first two bulleted items do not begin with "Coupon", why should the third begin with one?
• "from Mon - Thurs" should be "from Monday to Thursday" or "from Mon to Thu". To use the short form, it should be consistent throughout, such as Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat and Sun, or else just write them in full.
• "Limited to a maximum 6 tickets per original coupon." could be better written as "Each original coupon is entitled to purchase a maximum of six tickets." The word "original" could be omitted because it is generally understood that the coupon printed in the publication should be used. If copy (photocopy) of the coupon is allowed, it would have been stated.

• "Applicable to 18 years and above" could be better written as "Applicable to those aged 18 and above" or "Minimum age to qualify is 18".
• The second bulleted item should be "...must be presented...". But, I believe this was a typographical error because the same mistake was not repeated in the other coupon in the same publication.

The following image was taken from a website. There is a common mistake many people make when using the word "comprise", there is no "of" after the word "comprise". One should write "consists of" or "comprises".

A cycling trip to Punggol End...

Isaiah has just picked up cycling. He learnt it in a couple of days under the instruction of his elder brother, Joel. He is so enthusiastically upbeat about his success in learning to ride a bicycle that he goes cycling almost every night. Both of them have explored many places in Hougang, Sengkang and Punggol on bicycle. He is now quite steady on the road except when negotiating some sharp bends, which he still needs more hands-on practice. We cycled to the end of Punggol and took some pictures.

Rule Enforcer or Problem Solver?

Recently, the town council in our area deposited a notice without letter head and signature on every bicycle that was parked/chained to the pipes at the void deck of the HDB flats. It is clearly a case of enforcing the rule (for aesthetic reason; because such parking does not cause health or safety problem at all!!!), but not finding out the problem and helping to solve the problem.

Look at the first picture below, for the entire block of flats, there are only FOUR parking slots for bicycles, but there are more than 10 bicycles that need to park. For many blocks in this viccinity, the lifts do not stop at every floor, unlike the newer blocks of flats. Those who have to park their bicycles downstairs are usually those whose home unit does not have a lift landing and hence it is hard for them to carry the bicycle up and down a few times a day. Some of these cyclists are senior citizens.

It would be more sensible and acceptable if the town council officer were to invite feedback from the cyclists, find out the problem first and then decide on the appropriate course of action, rather than to deposit a notice on the bicycle and give a grace period of seven days before the bicycle is being removed. This is clearly a rule-enforcing mentality. I remember the government has been encouraging problem-solving mindset.



The rule enforcement was on the bicycle parking. There seems to be inconsistency as well. What about the motorcycle that has been parked there?

What about the enforcement of the No-Smoking Law? A sign such as the one below is displayed in every lift in Singapore. But, has there been any enforcement? I have seen residents bringing lighted cigarettes into the lifts. Where are the enforcement officers? When do they carry out inspection? Would a CCTV be more effective in catching the culprits or offenders?

I remember years ago, when Urine Detectors were first installed in some lifts to catch those who urinated in the lift, those culprits caught were handed to the police, they were fined and their pictures were published in the newspapers. What about those who violate the No-Smoking Law? Has anyone been caught so far? I don't remember reading any news about it!

To put things in a fair and balanced perspective, the town council and the NEA Officers have been diligently following up on all these issues.

May be we should have a public hotline 125 for non-emergency cases

The picture above shows a damaged handrail at the Punggol End jetty. If left unrepaired, it might cause accident to people who walk up and down the stairs especially the elderly. Many people are still not safety conscious and public-spirited enough. I am not sure when it was damaged. Frankly, I was not sure who I should call to report such a problem, so I called 995. The officer attended to me and told me I should call the town council. Is this under the jurisdiction of the town council? I am not too sure.

But, one thing I am sure is, it is quite a norm here in Singapore when you call one party, you would usually get referred to call other parties. May be that is the reason why many people just could not be bothered even when they see things not right or amiss. I think the tai-chi (pushing to others) attitude must change.

May be the authority should install another special public hotline 125 ( want to file!) for people to call and file a report on anything that is non-emergency in nature and the call centre could help channel the case to the relevant authority or department for action.

Replacement of water drainage pipe by Town Council

After 18 years, the cast iron water drainage pipe at the balcony became rusty and corroded and was recently replaced with a PVC pipe by the contractor from the Town Council.

Both serve the same purpose but one is cheaper

Many households, for convenience, are using the electric airpot. But, it would cost about $20 to $25 per month for boiling water and keeping the boiled water warm.



To reduce electricity consumption further, you may like to boil the water using a normal 3-litre water kettle that comes with a whistle for safety and a 3-litre thermos flask to store the hot water. The thermos flask you see in the picture on the right costs just S$28. With this combination, you could save easily S$15 to S$20 per month.

Adopt-A-Park Scheme

A strange-looking tree in Punggol Park, Singapore

A strange-looking tree at Punggol Park, Singapore. What do you make out of the shape? Does it resemble something in your own way of visualisation and imagination? Feel free to share your comments.

Good traits badly used!

Visionary leadership, mission possible, personal conviction, dogged determination, strong mindset, never-say-die attitude, unshaken faith, solid will power, ongoing creativity, single focus, purpose-driven, strong enthusiasm and strategic thinking are the common buzzwords in business and personal success today.

I think we should, and if we can be stricter with ourselves, we better quickly acquire and possess some or all of these good traits and attributes and be successful in what we do whether in our personal or professional life. The reason is simple. The terrorists have possessed and used all of these good traits and attributes but for the wrong cause and wrong purpose, and they seem to have their "Missions Accomplished".

A simple deviation from the norm...

At least, a good attempt to deviate from the conventional way of laying out the concrete slabs!

Could the Foot Massage patch be constructed differently?

The circular structure in the picture below is actually laid with odd-shaped stones grouted into the concrete base and is meant for foot massage using the principle of reflexology. But, I am not too sure how effective it is and whether studies have been done to gauge its effectiveness. I suppose the structure is to simulate the bare ground in the olden days, where the ground surface is usually covered with sand, pebbles or smaller-sized stones. When people walk bare-footed on it, the soles actually get massaged by tens of thousands of grains of sands and pebbles. That is the original form of reflexology I think. But, as villages and plantations gave way to modern concrete buildings and constructions, sandy ground patches have become a rare sight.



As for the above construction or similar ones throughout the island, I think the selection of stones and the spacing of the stones layout should be carefully reviewed. If I were to do it, I probably would just spread a couple of layers of COARSE sands instead of using the current stones that are usually quite big in size and the effect of reflexology would be much better felt when you step on the coarse sands. I am speaking from my personal experience of growing up in "kampung" and walking bare-footed on the sandy grounds. I just like that feeling on the soles.

2009 Calendar - with Singapore Public Holidays

Simply unethical !

There is a tendency for people to resort to unethical practice when they are driven by greed for money. This happens across different walks of life and even in different professions.

I was told that some farmers in China before selling their cordyceps to the wholesalers, would insert a piece of lead into each stem of the cordyceps to increase the weight of the cordyceps as they are usually sold by weight. But, we know that lead is poisonous and it damages the brain. That is the reason why we used unleaded petrol. For the smarter importers, they would probably use a metal detector to check and control the quality of the cordyceps they have imported. I understand Eu Yan Sang is doing it. Be smart when you next buy cordyceps.

Besides the cordyceps farmers, pig farmers also have their own tricks. As pigs are also sold by weight, what some of these pig farmers do is before selling off their livestocks, they would feed them with mess mixed with sand till their bellies bulge. That would help to increase the weight of the pigs considerably. Of course, this practice does not harm the consumers. But, it is simply unethical.

At the other end of the spectrum are the techno-guys. It has been a common secret that some of the IT retailers at Sim Lim Square (SLS) are able to sell their computer systems and products much cheaper because they replace the genuine components in the systems with those that are inferior and cost less. Of course, I believe that not all of them resort to this sort of unethical practice, but somehow the few black sheep have brought a bad name to SLS and hence a lower-quality and lower-reliability perception is held by some if not all the IT customers.

Living Sanctuary Brethren Church - A Community Penetration Church

http://www.lsbc.org.sg/

RTRC Asia Graduation Ceremony 2008

My family and I were invited to RTRC Asia Graduation Ceremony 2008 today. RTRC Asia is a leader in the training and development of early childhood professionals both locally and in the region. My children's mother has graduated from RTRC with a Chinese Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education which is accredited by the MOE-MCYS PQAC at the Diploma in Pre-school Education-Teaching level.

In the world of e-mail...

In the world of e-mail, snail mail still has its Significance, Tradition, Aesthetic, Meaning and Personal touch all so beautifully encompassed in the special collectible item called S.T.A.M.P

Why not let the schools handle the "Used Textbook Project"?

It was reported on Channel NewsAsia on 6 December 2008 that there was a record number of students expected to collect free used textbooks under NTUC FairPrice's "Used Textbook Project". This year, there were more than 150,000 textbooks collected for distribution to needy students. This is certainly a good community project especially for the lower income families and those affected by the economic downturn.

As it was reported, Mr Zainudin Nordin, director of NTUC's Care and Share, said: "We know that the current economic downturn will have an impact on the ground, and that there will be more workers and members of the Union who will be affected. That's the reason why we are doing this in a bigger way. And we are coming in together as a labour movement - all the social enterprise, the community, NTUC - in a big way to help."

I am just curious. Why are the schools not involved in this "Used Textbook Project" that is meant for students from the needy families? The only way schools are involved, it seems, is that only four schools are being used as distribution centres. Is that the only role schools can play? As I understand, for each level, there are several sets of textbooks being used by different schools in Singapore. Would it make better logistic sense if at the end of the academic year, let all those students who want to donate their textbooks leave their textbooks in their own school. The reason is most likely the school would use back the same set of textbooks for next year unless there are revised editions. Leave it to each individual school to administer the "Used Textbook Project". After all, most schools would have an Administrator, Operations Manager and a Parent Support Group (PSG) by now. All of them could work together to administer this "Used Textbook Project" in a more seamless way while fostering a closer relationship between the parties.

I think this arrangement would be much cleaner and neater. It eliminates the hassles of collecting the used textbooks from different sources throughout the island nation and sorting them out when the textbooks used by different schools need not be mixed together in the first place. An effective purpose of the "Used Textbook Project" should be better driven by a more efficient way of collection and distribution.

A good initiative by NTUC for the needy. Keep It Up!

A young man with good EQ!

I had a chance to speak with a fine young man who had just graduated from a tertiary institution and started out in his career in investment banking. Of course, he is keenly aware of the challenges investment banking is facing right now due to the mis-selling of some structured investment products, besides the global economic downturn. But, he is very positive in his career outlook.

Throughout the entire conversation, he had been very cordial and was admirably an effective and interactive listener. At one point, he shared that he was consciously mindful of what his parents have been teaching him about, such as how to relate to people and respect all individuals no matter how lowly they may be in terms of the kind of job they do or who they are. I think his parents have done a great job in imparting good moral values to him and have made him a fine young man he is today.

Furthermore, he is also a humble and forward-looking young man who believes he has much to learn constantly. In fact, when I called at his place, he was in the midst of reading some work training materials. At one point when I told him that he was a smart person, he responded by saying something that impressed me. He told me that his younger brother who is currently serving National Service, is smarter than him especially academically. Frankly, it is not easy for one to say that someone else is smarter than him, in a sincere manner, I mean. It takes great humility and courage to say somebody else is better than oneself because saying such a thing perceivably makes one seem smaller or more inferior. But, strictly speaking, it is great to feel small in our own eyes.

As I see it, this young man would be a good role model for many young people to emulate. I would like to wish him great personal and professional success.

The difference in a matter of two days...

It is interesting to see how a new branch has grown from the middle of the plant and is growing noticeably taller day by day and the leaves are unfolding and opening up gradually. The second and third pictures were taken two days apart. Could you see and tell the difference?

EARS that may not hEAR in later yEARS!

Since the day people started walking with a Walkman and the gadget evolved into Discman and now MP3 and MP4, the latest technology in digital music, plugging in a set of ear-piece into the ears is a common sight on the streets, in the public transports and even in the lifts.

Some would even turn the volume to full blast and it is certainly not a pleasant experience for those passengers sharing the lift with them or sitting next to them in a bus or a train as they could even hear the noise emitting from the ear-pieces. To the person with ear-piece plugged in, it is music, but to the person beside him/her, it is simply irritating noise. Most of them are just too absorbed with their music that they don't even realise the noise pollution they are creating to the people around them. I think it would be good for people to be more considerate especially in public places.

Often times, many pedestrians on the road especially the young ones, if they cannot hear your bicycle bell ringing, you can be pretty sure that their ears are plugged with the ear-pieces. I think the pedestrians should put their own safety first especially when on the road, it could be hazardous when their ears are plugged and bombarded with loud music and they simply couldn't hear the approaching vehicles or any potential danger.

As the present young people age, I think many of them would be suffering from hearing problems as the ear-drums are being constantly and consistently struck with loud sound within such a small and enclosed aural canal. The short-term listening pleasure would certainly create a long-term pressure on the ear-drums.

Why risk the hearing? I know of people who because their hearings are semi-impaired, not totally-impaired yet, are already creating lots of emotional stress at home when they cannot hear clearly and communicate appropriately with their family members. Their inability to hear clearly would inevitably force the family members to speak much louder than normal, and sometimes it could be misconstrued as raising their voices, and that itself could trigger an argument or quarrel. So, if you treasure family harmony, take good care of your ears.

One of my very own Chinese Calligraphy pieces

Meaning of the calligraphy: "I sleep and wake up refreshed because you, LORD, protect me." adapted from Psalm 3: 5 of The Holy Bible, Contemporary English Version.

May be we should have a Food and Beverage Council!

As most of us would still remember, several months ago, when the fuel prices skyrocketed to a record high, almost every consumer-based business immediately capitalised on the situation and used that as a very good justification to raise the prices of their products and services.

For instance, many food sellers in HDB coffee shops almost immediately capitalised on the situation and raised the prices of their food items from S$2.00 to S$2.50, from S$2.50 to S$3.00 and from S$3.00 to S$3.30 etc. I just found out that even the price of McDonald's Vanilla Cone Ice-cream has been increased from 50 cents to 60 cents and now 70 cents. In all these instances of price increase, customers generally have no say but to bear and pay for it, at most, some may choose to boycott the purchase and resort to other alternative choices. For a moment, let's assume that the price increases are justifiable and legitimate. Here comes the question.

Now, the fuel prices have fallen by almost 50% to a very low level for the last couple of months, why are the prices of goods and services not adjusted or reduced accordingly? At least, SP Services has announced that for the first quarter of 2009, the electricity tariffs would be reduced by about 25%. That, at least, is sensible. I think many business entities should follow suit.

What about the food sellers? Should there be an independent body, say a Food and Beverage Council be set up, similar to the Public Transport Council, to regulate the prices of food? Should a formula be designed to calculate and determine the prices of foods? If not, all these businesses would continue to raise the prices of their products and services whenever there is an opportunity seemingly justifiable for them to do so or they would just renovate their premises and that would be another justification to raise the prices or as and when they feel like it. These are unfair practices and the consumers are always the silent victims.

Prayer of Jabez

http://www.allaboutprayer.org/prayer-of-jabez.htm