Service at the airport

I like to comment about the level of service in Singapore (see this post and this post).

Well, we were at the airport's new terminal today, and were really impressed by the floor manager at one of the restaurants. She is probably Indonesian, by looks and her name tag. She was always looking around the restaurant, keeping an eye out on which table needs to be cleared, which customers need their glasses filled, which customers have yet to place their orders, which customers seem to be waiting longer than they should for their orders.

The most important thing is, she follows up on all requests. If someone's food is not served yet, she checks with the kitchen, and then she goes back to the customer to let him or her know that the order is being prepared and will be served shortly. It is basic courtesy to get back to someone, and it is great service.

It reminded me of an incident in the past. We were staying at a local hotel, but the service wasn't that great. So when they sent us an online feedback form, we gave our honest feedback. The service staff that got back to us invited us to stay with them again, giving us a complimentary stay. We took up the offer. But on the day when we showed up, that service staff was not there to receive us. Talk about service, talk about sincerity.

Knowledge is Power

Knowledge is power... Raistlin knows it better than anyone else.For his story, you can check out the books below.

Self-knowledge

Self-knowledge is power.

Only when you know yourself, when you know your own abilities, your own limits, your own strengths and weaknesses, will you be able to exploit your strengths, while avoid falling into your weaknesses.

The key to power is knowledge, and the first step is to know yourself.

Get Smart (the movie)

So I went out to catch a movie. Not any movie, but "Get Smart", which is a movie remake of the TV series "Get Smart". I used to watch the TV series back when I was much younger, so I was looking forward to catching it on the big screen.
The film isn't really that great. The plot is easy to follow, and what is good is probably the use of phrases that used to appear in the TV series. The cone of silence is of course upgraded from what it used to be during the TV series, but still malfunctions and doesn't allow anyone to hear anyone else outside their own cones. In conclusion, if you haven't watched the TV series before, you probably won't enjoy it as much, since you won't be able to catch the various references to the TV series. If you have watched the TV series, this movie is probably a 3.5-star. If not, it is probably a 3-star.

But of course, Anne Hathaway is one hot Agent 99.

Beachwear nation

An article in The Sunday Times today talks about Singaporeans wearing shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops... basically, beachwear as everyday wear. Well, what is wrong with that? Singapore is a small little island, surrounded by the sea, and the beaches are never that far way.

Sail but can't swim?

Recently, an undergraduate passed away from a sailing incident in the waters off Singapore coast. What struck me was that the undergrad did not know how to swim. All sports have their inherent dangers, some being more dangerous than others. However, there are always ways to mitigate those risks. Learning to swim before getting into a sailboat is one of them. And if you know you can't swim, then you better wear a life jacket, even if it gets in the way of sailing. Because that is what is going to save you.

Water sports are dangerous. Yet, by not observing simple rules and following common sense (such as wearing a life jacket, especially when you don't know how to swim), you just end up putting yourself at greater risk. No one should be watching out for your safety more than yourself.

Even after swimming 15km in the sea before, I myself am careful, and wear my life jacket when on small boats. Even though I can swim in the sea (very much different from swimming in the pool), I rarely swim out more than 100m from the coast, since no one really knows when you can get swept away by the current.

Let's exercise some common sense, take care of our own safety, and not expect to blame others for our own mistakes.

Growing Artificial Societies: Social Science From the Bottom Up

This was the book from which I learnt about Sugarscape, and from there did my thesis (building my Bilateral Trade Simulator). It is a classic work on learning about emergence and mobile agents, about how global behaviour is more than the sum of individual behaviour, all using the world of Sugarscape.

For those interested in mobile agent technology and how it can be used in simulations, this is the book for you. For those who want to know how individual behaviour can affect social behaviour on a larger scale, this is the book for you. It may not be the most up-to-date text now, but it certainly serves as a very good introductory text to bring you into the world of emergent behaviour and multi-agent simulation.

D&D PDF downloads

I found some D&D books in PDF format at this blog here.

The files are actually stored here.

Watermelon sales

The sales of watermelons is about to increase by leaps and bounds...

Watermelon yields Viagra-like effects

Just remember, eating too many watermelons can cause you to have frequent visits to the washroom... and bring about higher blood sugar levels.