5 implausible things

I got tagged by shang lee, to write 5 implausible things (of which 4 are false but 1 is true). While I don't usually like these chain things, it does give me something to write about once in a while. So here goes.

1. I used to skydive when I was in Japan, but not anymore.
2. I used the cane to hit my brother when he was a baby.
3. I have a baby crocodile as a pet.
4. I own my own private jet which I use to fly around Southeast Asia.
5. I plucked off all the feathers from my grandfather's canary before.

That's five. I don't tag people in turn for this, but nothing is stopping you from writing five implausible things about yourself on your own blog and tagging others (but don't tag me, I have already written mine).

Be nice to taxi drivers

Just a thought... I saw a taxi driving around my carpark today, trying to find the exit. In the past when I was still living with my mother, when I took taxis, because of the mess of roads in the estate where my mother lives, I will always give directions to the taxi driver on how to get to the main road just before I get off. That way, he doesn't have to waste time getting lost in the mess of roads (when I first moved into the estate, I got lost trying to walk home...)

I think it is basic courtesy to do so. It probably took me less than a minute to explain the way out, but it probably saved the taxi driver more than a few minutes of having to wander around the estate.

A sad day

A few weeks ago, I wrote about something sad. Today, another sad thing happened.

When I was in Japan, I enjoyed the hospitality of two families. One of them even taught me calligraphy. The other family has a small eatery and always treats me to dinner.

Today, I was informed that the owner of the eatery has passed on. I last met him when I went to Japan recently, and he was getting a bit senile but still recognised my wife and I. We had a chat, and then we sent him home after his dinner. That was the last time we saw him.

Although I had very much wanted to go to his funeral, due to work, I am unable to. But I am glad that my wife happens to be in Japan with my son, and they will be attending the funeral on my behalf. We didn't have a chance to show him our son while he was around, but at least our son can be there to send him off.

Master, rest in peace. I will never forget the kindness that you showed me.
マスター、安らかに眠ってください。あなたのことを永遠に忘れない。

First swim

The baby has yet to been to the pool, despite being almost 5 months old. So we decided to let him try out the swimming trunks that my wife bought.
As you can see, the swimming trunks managed to fit (more or less...) although it was a bit tight at the thighs...

So after trying out the swimming trunks, we decided to let him try out the pool.
As a baby that enjoys the bath (he sits in his baby bath like a boss), he enjoyed his first swim as well. With his natural floats (also known as his thighs and belly), floating was easy. He didn't cry even when his face went into the water (we found out that his head doesn't float as well as the rest of him).

And here he is, trying to swim by himself.
After drawing some attention to himself (a little girl, a couple, and a old man came over to play, etc.), it was time to head home. And here he is, tired from his first swim.

Hi-res Daggerfall

One of the popular searches that brings people to the blog recently is the search for running Daggerfall in a higher resolution, compared to the original 320x200 resolution in 256 colours. Especially since it is now available free for download in commemoration of its 15th anniversary.

Firstly, to disappoint everyone, there is nothing you can do to get a higher resolution out of the game itself. It is 320x200 in 256 colours and that's it.

However, when you run it under DOSBox, you can get DOSBox to help you display it in a better resolution, using the scalers available under DOSBox. To do this, you can either run DOSBox with a specific parameter, or edit the configuration file for DOSBox.

With parameter:
dosbox -scaler normal2x
will run DOSBox with the scaler "normal2x", which can be replaced by a variety of other scalers, such as normal3x, advmame2x, advmame3x, advinterp2x, advinterp3x, hq2x, hq3x, 2xsai, super2xsai, supereagle, tv2x, tv3x, rgb2x, rgb3x, scan2x, scan3x.

"2x" means it will scale the resolution by 2, so 320x200 becomes 640x400. "3x" is by 3, of course.

dosbox -forcescaler normal2x
will force DOSBox to use the scaler specified, similarly, the choices are as above.

Editing configuration file (under heading [render]):
scaler=normal2x
will cause DOSBox to run using scaler "normal2x" everytime it starts up. The same choices of scalers are available.

For me, I prefer advinterp2x or advinterp3x.

Here's a page showing the differences between the different scalers. Seems like 2xsai is the best scaler to use... but do play around with the different scalers to see what works best for you.

Of course, you can't get 16.8 million colours out of this method, so I guess we all have to live with Daggerfall in 256 colours.

Da Vinci the Genius exhibition

We managed to sneak in a visit to the Science Centre over the long weekend to see the "Da Vinci the Genius" exhibition, which has been going on for some time and will end on 16 Aug 09.

It was quite a disappointment, actually. The last time we were at the Science Centre was for the "Lord of the Rings" exhibition, which was very interesting as it showed how the different props were made and how the film was shot.

But the Da Vinci exhibition paled in comparison. Exhibits were all over the place, and while many of his ideas (found in sketches) were made into exhibits, I felt that there was too little explanation accompanying the exhibits. For example, there was an exhibit of a machine used to translate circular motion into lateral motion. If it had come with a further explanation on how this is now being used in car engines (but in reverse, for translating lateral motion into circular motion), people would be able to better appreciate the genius that Da Vinci was.

And while one of the centre attractions was supposed to be the secrets relating to the Mona Lisa, I felt that it wasn't striking enough. They should just have done away with most of that, and showed how the Mona Lisa should have looked like.In short? Not worth the time, unless you like to wander around in a hall with exhibits strewn all over the place, and having to figure out on your own what these exhibits all mean.

Singapore baby

There was a celebration for National Day at the estate today. As part of the celebration, they gave away Singapore flag tattoos and small little Singapore flags. Guess who got the tattoo?

National Day Parade 2009

This year's National Day Parade (aka NDP) was very well done. It makes last year's parade pale in comparison. Last year's parade was after the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, and I thought it lacked a central theme.

This year, my wife commented that the NDP was sort of like a crash course in the history of Singapore, probably to help assimilate new citizens into the Singaporean way of life. I thought that this lent a central theme to the whole show, bringing the various events and items together. The performances were like a history lesson starting from the change from Temasek to Singapura, and subsequently the development of Singapore from the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s till the present day.

The use of terrorism to showcase the Home Team's ability to meet unconventional threats was a good idea and very well executed. The showcasing of the SAF's assets to meet a particular threat, rather than rolling in the tanks in normal parade fashion, was a well executed demonstration of the SAF's warfighting capabilities which sends a very clear deterrent message to everyone watching. The economy may be bad, but don't use Singapore as a punching bag, or try to pull a fast one here, because we have a well-trained and well-equipped team that will make it hurt for those who try.

The recitation of the pledge and the singing of the national anthem is always a very emotional event for me. It reinforces what it means to be Singaporean. At 8:22pm, when the Pledge Moment was telecast, I could hear my estate reciting the pledge together with the rest of Singapore.

"Home is where the heart belongs."

The Singapore Pledge

As the nation stands up to recite the national pledge together on the nation's 44th birthday:

We, the citizens of Singapore pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language or religion, to build a democratic society, based on justice and equality, so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation.

Something that I have been reciting since young, something that when recited, somehow brings to heart a feeling of pride in being Singaporean.

Japanese Calligraphy - Hiru ha kite 昼は来て

昼は来て
夜は別るる
山鳥の影みぬときぞ
音はなかれける

Japanese Calligraphy - Ima ha tomo omoi na 今はとも思ひな

今はとも思ひな絶えそ
野中なる
水の流れは
ゆきて尋ねん

Japanese Calligraphy - Mizu no ue no ha 水の上のは

水の上のはかなき数も
おもほえず
深き心し
そこにとまれば

Japanese Calligraphy - Haru no yo no 春の夜の

春の夜の
夢のしるしは
つらくとも
見しばかりだに
あらば頼まん

The Silk Road travelogue part 6 - Dunhuang 敦煌

The next stop along the tour is Dunhuang 敦煌.

It was just a brief stop. We went to the sand dunes nearby, know as Mingshashan 鸣沙山 (sounding sand mountains) and Crescent Lake, or Yueyaquan 月牙泉. It was in the middle of a sandstorm, which is quite common in the area.See how the sandstorm obscured the picture?

We even managed to catch a camel ride here. After the ride, we went back to the hotel in Dunhuang city, where we spent the night before proceeding on with the tour.

Next stop, Hami 哈密.

The Silk Road travelogue part 5 - Jiuquan 酒泉

The next stop along the tour is Jiuquan 酒泉.It is an oasis, a stop along the Silk Road. The name literally means "wine spring". Below is a short phrase dedicated to the town.
What it means is that:
If heaven does not love wine,
The wine star would not be in the sky;
If the world does not love wine,
There should not be Jiuquan (wine spring).
A scene of the lush greenery that you can expect to find here. Quite an exception from the bare desert all around it.

Next, a brief stop at Dunhuang 敦煌.

The Silk Road travelogue part 4 - Jiayuguan 嘉峪关

Next stop along the tour is Jiayuguan 嘉峪关.

Jiayuguan is a key stop along the Silk Road. It was built along the Great Wall of China, which still stands today. It is the first pass found at the western end of the Great Wall.
The pass is still in good shape, despite its long history.
See the blue sky overhead. The view from the courtyard is majestic yet serene.
Remnants of the Great Wall continues to the west, into the desert... Beyond this pass, to the west, lies what the ancient Chinese would term as the land of the barbarians.Next stop, Jiuquan 酒泉.

The Silk Road travelogue part 3 - Zhangye 张掖

The next stop along the tour was Zhangye 张掖.

We made a stop at the famous Big Buddha Temple here. You can see the photo of the main hall below.

The drum tower of Zhangye.
The wooden tower of Zhangye.

We went to a vacation dwelling too, to experience how a minority group, the Yugurs, live.
Out in the countryside, living within the majestic mountains, living inside yurts. So much different from the hectic city life that we are so used to. We managed to get a taste of tea with goat's milk mixed in. It is their staple drink, just like coffee to us.
And of course, we managed to get a ride on their ponies as well. They brought us around for a short trip on ponies around their surroundings for a better view of the plains and mountains.We also visited the grottoes near Zhangye. These are shrines built into the faces of cliffs, like the photo below. Don't you think it is an amazing engineering feat? Some of the shrines were dug into the caves on the cliffs, while others were built protruding out from the cliffs.And one of the more famous grottoes, Ma Ti (Horseshoe) Temple.Next stop, Jiayuguan 嘉峪关.

Something sad

A fellow student from pushing hands class has met with an unfortunate incident.

Report from The Straits Times
Report from Lianhe Zaobao

He only recently joined our pushing hands class, probably after seeing the article in The Sunday Times.

Life is full of the unexpected.

Out of chart

At 9.68 kg, the baby is now out of the chart for weight. Still somewhere between 90-97 percentile for height, which is now at 68cm.

The doctor commented that he looked like a one year old.

We met another couple with their baby at the clinic, thought the two babies were about the same age, though the other baby was much smaller (probably about 7kg?) Turned out that the other baby was older by a month...

My back is going to break from carrying the "sack of 10kg rice"...

Respect the sea

An article in The Straits Times today.

CEO dies in triathlon

This has nothing to do with the actual cause of death or anything, since investigations are still going on and nothing is certain yet. Just that this article triggered a thought in me. So the rest of this post is not a speculation but rather just a generic thought.

Having swam in the open sea before, my only thought on this is that we need to respect the sea. While it may look relatively calm when you are on shore or in a boat, when you are in the water, things look very different. Surface currents (which affect boats on the surface, and are a result of both current/tidal streams and wind) may be different from undersea currents (which will affect the swimmer more). To someone standing on a boat, a 30cm wave would look very small (may not even reach your knee level), but when you are in the water, a 30cm wave will be taller than your head.

Swimming in the pool is not a good way to train. Nothing beats going out to sea and training in the sea, since besides training your swimming ability (muscular strength and endurance), you need to overcome your fear of the sea, which comes into play once you start seeing wave after wave that is taller than your head (even though they may just be small, 30cm waves...)

Eg. A person is training for a 2km swim in the sea by swimming 2km each time in a pool. He knows how tired he becomes after completing a 2km swim in the pool. Out at sea, after swimming 2km through water (but actually moving geographically only 1km because the current was against him, I can talk more about this but it will need to lengthen the blog post considerably as I talk about navigation, speed through water and speed over ground), he gets the same feeling of tired as he has when he completed 2km at the pool. But he looks around him and see that he is only halfway there. The psychological factor may then kick into play, causing panic ("can I complete the swim?") or helplessness ("oh no, I am so tired, I can't swim anymore").

Maybe something we can all draw from this is that we need to train in the correct environment.

At the beach

Today, we went to the beach with the baby. We tried out the type B stroller as well, which we bought from Japan (via Amazon Japan, and brought over here by my sister-in-law when she visited in Mar). It is the same one that my sister-in-law uses for her daughter.


We tried out the hat too... didn't manage to get a good shot, though. He wasn't too excited about the beach, and was kind of sleepy most of the time.


Looks a bit like Paddington Bear, don't you think? Especially with the round face...

Serious gamers => casual gamers

An article in the print edition of The Sunday Times talks about how serious gamers never die, they only become casual gamers.

I sort of agree. I am what you would call a serious gamer in my youth. I remember playing Romance of the Three Kingdoms 2 and Dune 2 for hours on end, until my monitor burnt out. Then we had a modem, and it is BBS door games like Barren Realms Elite (aka B.R.E.) and Legend of the Red Dragon (aka LORD). And when the Internet came into the picture, I was caught up in MUDs (with the Forgotten Kingdoms being the one that I liked most, and spent most of my time on). Then we had The Sims. After which things sort of die down, because of studies, work and life. So I sort of became the casual gamer, playing simple online games like Runescape and the occasional Neverwinter Nights. I tried dabbling in World of Warcraft but gave it up because it was taking up too much of my time. Nowadays, I spend my free time reliving the good old days, with old games like Daggerfall and even Sword of the Samurai (which in my heart can never be replaced by Shogun: Total War).

Are you a serious gamer turned casual gamer? Care to share what games you play now?