Nokia @Microsoft

Microsoft acquired the mobile phone manufacturer Nokia in September 2013 for US$7.2 billion.

With this acquisition, Microsoft controls all modes of Nokia phones production.

Microsoft manufacture its phones in their own factories located in Brazil, China, Mexico and Vietnam.

In early 2014, Microsoft unveiled plans to produce lower-priced handsets.

And out came the Nokia 105.

No internet, no camera, no nothing. As basic as it can get. S$35 for a phone.

Own time, Own Target

All Singapore males report for full-time National Service upon reaching age 18.

Weapon training include live firing with the SAR 21 rifle.

The shooting target, depicting a charging German soldier, is widely used by most armed forces.

It is more than 60 years after the war but this image is still in use.

It is a case of "if it ain't broke dont fix it" situation. Poor Jerry.

The North Korea military has their own version of the shooting targets.

They have no qualms about telling the world who their mortal enemy is.

Water

Lonnie Johnson invented the pressurized squirt gun.

Larami Corporation and Johnson signed an agreement. Within two years of its introduction in 1990, Larami had sold over 10 million of the toys.

  

 

Fast forward 2012, Japanese and Taiwanese ships shot water cannon at each other on Tuesday in the latest confrontation over tiny islands in the East China Sea.

What little boys (or girls) doesn’t love playing with water?

The Gambler

Promise me son, not to do the things I've done

Walk away from trouble if you can
It won't mean you're weak if you turn the other cheek
I hope you're old enough to understand
Son you don't have to fight to be a man

The man who sang this is coming to town.

Hear his classic and meaningful songs at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on 21 October 2012.

Now that the two casinos are up and running at full steam, the words of wisdom...

You got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them
Know when to walk away and know when to run
You never count your money when you're sitting at the table
There'll be time enough for counting when the dealing's done

The Causeway Kids

A 1980s phenomenon where Malaysian parents send their children to Singapore schools.

Every morning, thousands of Malaysian students cross the Causeway in the familiar yellow school buses to go to schools in Singapore, partcularly in Woodlands Town.

Their day starts as early as 4am as they need to beat the traffic congestion.

For this they are called "Incredible Kids" "Sleepy Kids" or the "Pitiful Kids".

Woodlands residents called them "the 4am kids".

It is usual to see the children walk a kilometre to the Singapore side checkpoint whenever their school buses are caught in the traffic jams.



The reason parents do this is for a better education system in Singapore where English is the teaching language. They endure the high school fee whilst the kids have to endure the extra travelling time to school and often reaching home at 8 pm.

Fast forward 20 years on. These students are now parents themselves. Many stayed and work in Singapore. Those who prefered to remain in Johor Bahru now send their children to the same schools they attended as kids. History is repeating itself.

The Johor State Assembly has revealed that 15,000 students from Johor study in schools in Singapore.

Casino Ruckus

Singapore is a new kid on the casino block.

A Singapore woman went to Marina Bay Sands casino on 18 October 2011.

"Suddenly, I struck the Bonus Cash jackpot of $416,742.11." she said.



A manager of the casino told her that the jackpot machine had malfunctioned.

He explained that the machine's top prize is a car, and that its highest cash payout is only $50,000.

The woman refused to settle with the manager's explanation and followed with a legal letter to Marina Bay Sands.



Sensing bad publicity, Marina Bay Sands casino agreed to pay $416,742.11 which the winner will be donating to various charities.

The woman has vowed that she will never visit casinos again.

Modern Revolution

It began with the Arab Spring protest with major demonstrations across the Arab world.



Tunisia
Egypt
Libya
Bahrain
Syria
Yemen
Algeria
Iraq
Jordan
Morocco
Oman
And yes, Israel too.



And in no small part inspired through the internet, western countries take the cue from the social-media and organize a campaign encouraging tens of thousands of Americans to hold a nonviolent demonstration in Wall Street.

It soon spread worldwide. And it is known as Occupy Wall Street.




New York
South Korea
Tokyo
Hong Kong
Sydney
Stockholm
Berlin
Zurich
Frankfurt
Rome
Mexico
San Francisco
Auckland
Vancouver
Puerto Rico
Spain

The IT Quack

Overheard at a PC shop in a Singapore preferred IT centre.

A customer walked into the shop and asked.
"Do you have Windows 7 software".

The salesman replied "yes, how many pieces ?"

The customer - "one piece."

Salesman "which version? a 32 bit or a 64 bit ?"

"what is the different?", asked the customer.

The reply, "all the same, the difference is the number, sometimes they feel like calling it 32 and sometimes they call it 64"

Halelujah to IT quacks.

After Personal Computers

W.C. short for Water Closet has caught the attention of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

They are pledging US$42 millions dollars in grants to reinvent the toilet, giving the 2.6 billion people in Africa who don't have access to a WC, a safe place to go to.



Only a fraction of Africans, even in large cities, are "connected to sewers with a flush toilet."
"In cities, people use 'flying toilets,'" its director of water, sanitation and hygiene programs, Frank Rijsberman explained.

"They go on a plastic bag and then throw it in the street, which is not only gross but kids walk around and play, and come into contact with the poop and can develop chronic diarrhea, which kills more children under the age of five than HIV/AIDS and malaria."



After the PC, now for the WC.

New Model Launch

Korean cars are fast catching up with Japanese models.

A Friday night, a good evening to launch the new 2012 Elantra.





Some technical pow wow.

Front Wheel Drive

1.8 liters

148 HP / 110 KW @6500 RPM

6 speed manual @29 mpg

6 speed Automatic @29 mpg

Wheel Base 2700 mm

Weight 1207 kg

A Worst Nightmare

Dark Water is a 2002 Japanese drama-horror movie about a elementary school student who had fallen into the water tank on the roof of the building while trying to retrieve her red bag.

In real life on Monday morning 16 May 2011, residents of a Woodlands Estate HDB block found their tap water yellowish and unnaturally foamy.

The cause: a dead woman's body had been found in one of the eight water storage tanks atop their 15-storey block. The dead woman was identified to be a 30-year-old Indonesian maid who worked in the block. A 27-year-old Bangladeshi maintenance worker has been arrested in connection with her death.




So what are the reactions of the affected residents when the nightmare unfolded.




A retiree who lives on the 11th storey said, "This is so disgusting. My whole family finished a big pot of green bean soup I cooked this morning."

Another resident, a 33-year-old housewife said she used the water to cook noodles for her seven-year-old daughter at 7.30am. "I think I'm going to take my daughter to the doctor," she said.

A housewife age 35, threw away a pot of freshly-made soup after she heard about the body. "This is just too scary," she said.

typical water tanks

Residents or otherwise, used these words to express the situation.

Eeewww, digusting. It's gross and upsetting too. This is just awful. The disgust is too overwhelming! Yuckssssssss.

Here is the News

A goods van carrying 26 washing machines and 3 refrigerators burst into flames at 10am while travelling along Penjuru Road near Jurong yesterday.

The Toyota Dayang had just left on its delivery run when it started to emit smoke from the dashboard, said Suresh Govindaras 28, who was sitting in front with the driver.

The two men stopped the vehicle and went out to check and it was then that they noticed flames coming out from the bottom of the front carriage.

"We tried to put out the flames with an umbrella, but it kept getting bigger" said Suresh.

Within a few minutes the fire grew larger, bursting the tyres, breaking mirrors and burning through into the storage compartment behind.

The $27,000 van was delivered only four days earlier to replace an old one that was more than 10 years old said Mr Ravi Sitarengan 46, the leader of the transport team, who had rushed to the scene to help.

His company delivers goods for South Korean brand LG and the van was on its way to Kaki Bukit when the fire started.

He estimated the value of the goods, all from LG at $30,000.

No one was hurt in the incident.

About the Heartland

March 20, 2011 - The Sunday Times

Cisco officer's gun goes off in loo.

An auxiliary police officer allegedly fired his gun by accident at Bukit Gombak MRT station yesterday.

The Certis Cisco officer, a 28-year-old man, was on duty when the incident happened between 6.30pm and 7pm in the staff toilet of the train station.

He was there on assignment, and was not stationed there.

Common assignments for auxiliary police officers include ensuring the safe transportation of money to and from ATMs and banks.

A police spokesman confirmed that they received a call at 7pm yesterday regarding an incident of an accidental discharge of a firearm at the station by an auxiliary police officer.

He said no one was injured and that the police are investigating.



Hmmm...the officer should have drawn the fleshy one.

About The Heartlands

A 29-YEAR-OLD lorry driver died after his vehicle collided with a pedestrian in Pasir Ris on 6 February 2011, the 4th day of the Chinese New Year.

Mr Mohammad Faizal Kamsani's lorry, is believed to have mounted a kerb before hitting the pedestrian, a woman in her 50s.

The woman was conscious when she was taken to Changi General Hospital with hip and leg injuries while the driver was pronounced dead at about 9.20am.


The closure of the kopitiam at Queenstown MRT station will be missed by many who have used this landmark as a meeting point.

Around The Heartlands

Keeping dogs as pets is supposed to be fun.

Not when it become a contention for neighbourly friction.




Has the famous actor changed his trade ?

Mt Faber Landmark

The historical signal towers atop Mount Faber, built during the British colonial government, has been disused for many years.



The towers are now being dismantled, oblivious to the school boys enjoying the game.




And on Thursday 27 January 2011 the first tower is history.



On 7th February 2011 dismantling on the last tower begin.



At the end of the next working day, it is gone.

Voodoo Black Magic

Does black magic actually exist ?

Can black magic explained by science ?

Interestingly, practitioners of voodoo have go online.

For a fee, and submission of your full name, birth date and the manner of the curse you desired, hex spell custom potion in the form of incense, amulet or oil will be shipped to you. The fee ?

US$400.00 !

For the same amount of money, you can order a business spell which could ruin a competitor.

In this age of highly educated society, why would people even think of engaging in such ancient practices ?

You may have read of famous Hongkong actors consulting masters of black magic in Thailand and Indonesia, which is well known for their potent curses.

In 2009 a sensational case of black magic where a two year old boy has 50 sewing needles inserted inside his body. The country ? Brazil. Investigation revealed that the needles were deliberately pushed through his skin.

Doctors said the boy may have to live with them inside his body because of the risk involved in removing them.



And in a second case, also involving a two year old, rocked Brazil where he was also inserted with the slivers by his father.

So does black magic exist ?

A person who resonates at a low vibrational frequency, such as fear, or guilt, are more vulnerable to the effects of black magic.

If you resonates at a high frequency such as love and compassion, you are unlikely to be affected as the spells will just bounce off your psychic shields.

More big ticket Concerts

The economy must be still good. More big tickets concerts are coming this way again.

ERIC CLAPTON live in Singapore

14 Feb 2011 Monday 8.00pm
Singapore Indoor Stadium

Price - S$399, S$299, S$199, S$99



Hot on Eric's heel are The Eagles Long Road Out of Eden Live In Singapore.



23 Feb 2011 Wednesday 8.00pm
Singapore Indoor Stadium

Price - S$499, S$368, S$268, S$168, S$98

The Speed Show

India will be the latest country to host the F1 Grand Prix. It will be held in October 2011 at Jaypee Group Circuit, in Greater Noida, about 50 kilometres from the national capital New Delhi.

The estimated cost to develop the 5.15 km circuit is about US$215 million with a seating capacity of 150,000.


Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, began hosting the F1 GP in 2009. The Yas Marina track will cost an estimated US$1.5b to build.



Singapore began hosting the event in September 2008.

The Singapore government is shouldering 60% of the US$100m cost for hosting the event for the next five years.

The race took place right in downtown Singapore, disrupting traffic and businesses, meant both the cost and inconvenience of staging the event is high.



The 2011 calender.
13/03 Bahrain
27/03 Australia
10/04 Malaysia
17/04 China
08/05 Turkey
22/05 Spain
29/05 Monaco
12/06 Canada
26/06 Europe
10/07 Great Britain
24/07 Germany
31/07 Hungary
28/08 Belgium
11/09 Italy
25/09 Singapore

The Do-Not-Do Month

The Lunar 7th month is here, a day after the country celebrated its 45th National Day.



As usual, the Taoist Buddhist chinese has gone about offering prayers of food and "monetary" items, symbolic of the "do not do this, do not do that" month.



This morning while waiting for the lift to descend to the ground floor, the digital sign declared "OVERLOAD" while continuing its way down.



And out walk five elderly ladies of small built. How did the over weight came about ?