Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" was showing on TV last night, so I sat down and watched it, even though I have seen it before. Because it is a great show that showcases naval traditions originating from the age of sail.

Did you know, the show is actually based on a character created by Patrick O'Brian for his series of novels, with the first book being "Master and Commander"?
For me, the plot is not really that interesting. What catches my attention is the research done into the naval customs and traditions that were portrayed in the film. The traditional toast of the day for Saturday, "To wives and sweethearts, may they never meet" is one of them. The use of the boatswain's call to get people to do certain tasks is another longstanding naval tradition that still is in place today. And for those who don't know the origins of the phrase "to show your true colours", it actually came from this period as well, when ships hoisted up the flags of their nations (their true colours) before they engaged in battle. Other traditions, such as striking the bell to signal the change of watch (and using an hourglass to keep time) were also portrayed in the movie.

For a good book on naval customs and traditions, nothing beats Naval Ceremonies, Customs, and Traditions, Sixth Edition from the US Naval Institute.

Toyota Raum

As you know, I own a Honda Airwave. But my in-laws have a Toyota Raum (pictured above) and that is the car that I drive when I am in Japan.

Toyota makes fuel efficient cars.

Similar to the Toyota Vios (my previous car), the Raum is very fuel efficient. I was amazed that it was actually doing 100km/h just going at 2300rpm. Wow! That is so much more efficient compared to the Airwave. A pity that they don't have this car in Singapore.

My niece (part 2)

Born on 22 Apr 08, my niece is now more than a month old. Here is a picture of her sleeping, taken when we recently visited Japan.
All babies look cute!

Real service

I was at the supermarket (in Japan) with my mother-in-law. She had wanted to buy some rice, but the one that she was looking for was out of stock, or at least, there wasn't any more stock on the shelf. So she went to ask one of the store assistants if they still have any stock left.

In Singapore, a typical response would be "if you don't see it on the shelf, then it is out of stock". A more kind service staff would probably take the trouble to go behind into the storeroom to see if there is any more stock and let you know.

The staff in the Japanese supermarket went behind to check, and came back telling us that there is no more stock. However, a new batch will arrive the next day at 11:00, and he asked if we would like to leave him our name, so that he can arrange for a packet to be left at the service counter for us to collect on the next day.

That is what service is about.

A previous post about service in Singapore

Wagyu 和牛 Japanese beef

Japanese beef, aka wagyu 和牛 is famous. It is soft and tender and make delicious steaks. Because it has a lot more fatty tissue compared to beef you get from other countries.
We had a wonderful steak dinner, with seven of us sharing these six huge pieces of steak. Thanks go to my aunt-in-law, who always sends over high quality beef every time we visit my in-laws.

Focus on education, not examinations

After reading about the classes during school holidays, I wrote a letter Straits Times forum but it was not published.

"I read with interest the recent articles and letters on June vacation classes. I must say that I agree with Mr Calvin Ng, who suggested that schools may want to consider making these classes optional. What struck me most about these articles is that the focus of school seems to be making sure students do well in their examinations, rather than to provide an education.

Doing well in examinations only means that a child has acquired some technical skills that may be necessary to survive when he gets older. Yet to survive in life, one cannot just be able to do calculus or understand molecular structures or recite the modern history of Europe. A child will need to learn social skills to deal with the people that we must live with, and the moral values that form the basis of relationships within a society.

Rather than being cooped up in a classroom, a child needs to interact with people outside his fellow classmates to learn a wider set of social skills. He needs to go out and experience nature to see its beauty and realise for himself the need to conserve and preserve. He needs to open his eyes to the wonders and horrors of mankind's doing to see for himself the road set before him.

If a child's calling is not to do well in maths or history, why should we force it upon him? Isn't it more important to find out what he excels in, and develop it to help him move a step closer towards surviving in life? If schools are really interested in providing an education, they should look at providing programmes that develop their students' potential, rather than just help them score well for examinations."