Blow Wind Blow~

A LARGE thorn in the side of Singapore-Malaysia relations was removed yesterday as leaders of both countries took big strides towards resolving a two-decade-old dispute over land owned by Malayan Railway (KTM) in Singapore. The two prime ministers told reporters that they had agreed to move the existing railway station from Tanjong Pagar to the Woodlands train checkpoint by July next year, and had sorted out how the redevelopment of the railway land left behind would be dealt with.

The old station was completed in 1932. It's kind of sad that the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station will be relocated as the railway station is full of history but I read that the building will be preserved by the National Heritage Board. I have never been to the railway station but I hope to visit the railway station in the near future before it stops operating or when it reopens as some sort of heritage building. Moving the railway station is probably a win win situation for both Singapore and Malaysia as Singapore can maximize the space for future developments and Malaysia can also build a station nearer to their coast so that it will be more convenient.

source: http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_530957.html

"Every step I take is finally toward the biggest goal of my life, to stand on top of the world,"

A 13-year-old American boy on Saturday became the youngest person ever to climb the world's highest peak, Mount Everest, a statement on his website said. Jordan Romero and his father and stepmother reached the summit early Saturday, fulfilling a dream the Californian boy had harboured ever since seeing a mural of the mountain at school aged just nine.

Some experts said Romero, who climbed with his father and stepmother and a small team of sherpas, was too young to understand the dangers of scaling a mountain that has claimed the lives of many adults.

What were we doing when we were 13? This boy at the age of 13 has achieved so much more than many older than him has. It is an amazing feat to conquer the highest mountain at his age and he appears to be the youngest doing so. I don't agree with what the critics said about him being too young to understand the dangers of scaling a mountain that has claimed lives of many adults. Romero climbed the mountain with his father and his stepmother, his father would have stopped him if he thought that it was too dangerous. Besides, Nepal did not have any age limits for climbers, so Romero did not do anything wrong.

So, Congratulations to Jordan Romero!

source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/1058368/1/.html

First hit, now slash. What's next?

TWO years ago, Koh Kim Swee, now 23, hit his mother on the head with a hammer and was jailed 15 months. The unrepentant son hurt her again two months ago. He slashed his 49-year-old mother's forehead with a 19cm-long knife along the common corridor outside their flat at Jurong East Street 21 on March 18 - over a trivial matter.

There is a lot of violence cases appearing in the news recently. The actions of this 23 year old, barely a man, is very wrong. Even though I do not know the whole story and the mother might be at fault too. I believe that a man should never lay a finger on a woman unless it is for self protection. It is not right to do it to anyone and let alone your own mother. This man clearly has no respect for his own mother as he had hurt her twice. I am glad that he have received the rightful punishment as he was jailed 30 months and ordered to be caned six strokes. I hope that he would reflect upon himself when he is in prison and be a better man when he is released.

source: http://news.asiaone.com/News/the%2BStraits%2BTimes/Story/A1Story20100513-216112.html

Would you put your child on a leash?

"Children of kiln workers at a brick/tile factory in the town of Dingqiao in Haining, some 125 km west of Shanghai, have been leashed to the workshop's windows with rope by their parents. It is believed that the parents of these children do not have time to look after them while they are away at work. They have resorted to these measures because they are afraid that their children will get into an accident if left unsupervised. It is also understood that these children are leashed for nearly 10 hours every day."

Personally I feel very disturbed by this article. I understand that the parents might not have the time and financial ability to take care of their children by themselves or to hire someone to do the job but is there a need to put their kids on a leash while they work? I've seen the pictures attached to the article and the child only has a mat and a blanket with them as they are leashed to the walls. I also think that the children are really deprived of many things such as companionship and what if they need to use the toilet? I hope that their parents do visit them at least once in two hours. I pity the children but at the same time I don't think the parents have a choice as it is probably very difficult to make a living in their area. I do hope that the parents would come up with a better solution to taking care of their children instead of leashing them on a rope.

source: http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20100507-214781.html

Let's play musical chairs!

IT IS almost like a comical musical- chair routine, played out on Singapore's public-transport services. A passenger boards the bus or MRT train and rushes to occupy seats other than the priority seats, which are usually a different colour from regular ones. The 'slower' ones who get the priority seats had better give them up to pregnant, old or disabled people who board the bus after they do. Otherwise, they will be bombarded by disapproving stares from other commuters, who hope to force them to give up their seats.

This is something that I have seen happening often in the train. In the article, the writer also directed these questions to the readers, "Yet, has Singapore really become more gracious? Or have we merely shifted our civic responsibility to others?" I have witnessed inconsiderate commuters who still continues to sit at the priority seats despite having a pregnant lady just standing right in front of them. Honestly, I really want to know what they were thinking at the moment when they chose to ignore the lady who obviously needs the seat more than they do. I think that our government have tried hard to educate and promote the citizens regarding graciousness on MRTs but Singaporeans still has a lot to improve on when it comes to it.

source: http://motoring.asiaone.com/Motoring/News/Transport/Story/A1Story20100506-214540.html

$500,000 to catch durians!

"Developer plans to preserve durian tree with a S$500,000 net-like structure. IT IS is known as The Durian Catcher. That’s precisely what it does – catch durians. The structure consists of a funnel-like netting surrounding the tree, which will catch the durians and channel them down to the ground. Below the funnel, a second layer of netting will provide space for children to play on."

The Durian Catcher seems to be of a good cause which is to protect the aging Durian Tree but I am very surprised with the exorbitant price tag that comes along with it. The developer managed to "kill two birds with one stone" by building this durian catcher, they are able to preserve the tree and at the same time, the structure would serve as a playground for the children. I am sure that the developers will ensure the safety aspects of the structure and that no one would get hurt by falling durians while playing around the structure. The ripe durians would be shared between the residents of the estate as well and it probably is the only estate with a durian tree so I think that it's really amazing despite the price.

source: http://www.soshiok.com/article/11512

Super Tottenham, from the lane!

"Tottenham booked a lucrative place in the Champions League in dramatic fashion as Peter Crouch's late header clinched a 1-0 win against Manchester City on Wednesday. A fixture dubbed a 50 million pounds play-off for a place in Europe's elite club competition lived up to its billing as both sides went for broke, but it was Spurs who were deserved winners."

This is the fourth season I have been following the English Premier League and it is the first time I've seen another team next to the Big Four (Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool) in the top four positions. After winning this match, Tottenham will now have the chance to fight among the Europe's elite for the Champions League next season. I am happy that Tottenham won as I believe that they are the better team compared to Manchester City and I prefer them way more than the other club. However, I am also sad that Liverpool would not be qualifying for the next season's Champions League. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of Liverpool but the club definitely has a lot of experience and history. The article also says that the club has not taken part in the European Cup since the 1960s so I think that they really deserved this win! So for now, all the best to Tottenham in the coming season!

source:http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_sports/view/1054726/1/.html

Team brings glory to NYP

A TEAM of Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) lecturers and students emerged as the cream of the crop, winning an international ice cream award on Wednesday, trumping major players such as Dreyer's Grand and Haagen-Dazs.

The NYP team's 'green tea laced with aloe vera' recipe beat industry names from Slovenia and the United States to emerge tops in the best new ice cream category at the inaugural IDF Dairy Innovation Awards in Austria.

NYP's winning ice cream flavour was developed by four students and two lecturers from the Food Science Programme of the polytechnic's School of Chemical and Life Sciences (SCL).

I think it is a great honor to be awarded with such an award and not to mention we even beat Haagen-Dazs which is an international brand and also popular throughout the entire world. Winning this award also brings global recognition to our country and our school (NYP). I believe that this win will also be a great factor in attracting students into the Food Science Programme and this will make a determining factor for students when NYP is compared with other polytechnics.

Green tea laced with aloe vera flavor of ice cream sounds very interesting and I would definitely try it if the ice cream is being commercialised. However, I do think that the recipe name should be changed as the it is too long and it does not sounds attractive at all. The team should come out with a name that will make everyone interested so that they will purchase the product.

source: http://news.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20100503-213791.html