by | § ¶ | trackbackOh No The Frog Is Here!
There's nothing worse than being on the receiving end of an advertisining campaign for the crazy frog except.... having to go through the whole fad ALL OVER AGAIN.Keywords: die,frog,die
by | § ¶ | trackbackCurry Pok!
With the girl out of town (but not out of mind!), I've decided to make a minor foray into the new NLB this weekend to find out about one thing... the humble curry puff.When I had my first taste of cornish pasty aka 'Real Honest Food!' from the university shop a couple of years back. I was intrigued by the similarities between a cornish pasty and our curry puff. Ok so there's no curry in theirs and they're twice as big as anything we get here but when I read that similar pastries were to be found in parts of the USA and even Mexico, I was sold.
From the 1800s, a form of pastry known as the Cornish Pasty (or Pastie) became popular with tin miners in Cornwall. It is an oven-cooked pastry case traditionally filled with diced meat, potatoes and onion. It has a semicircular shape, caused by folding a circular pastry sheet over the filling. The pasty is then sealed with a crimp on the curved edge. The crimp itself isn't purely decorative. The miners would hold the pasty by the crimped edge, throwing it away after they had eaten the body of the pasty to avoid arsenic poisoning.
"The portability of the pasty not only made it easy to carry, but if it should get cold it would be relatively easy to heat up. This was done by putting the pasty on a shovel and holding it over a head-lamp candle. Miners never ate a pasty with a fork, they ate it end to end, and held it upright to keep the juices in. Since entire Cornish families worked in mines and each member of the family wanted different ingredients in the pasty, the Cornish wife would stamp the bottom corner of each pasty with an initial."
As a side, the NLB website seems to have taken quite a beating from the upgrade? NLB opening? Much of its search functions have either been unresponsive or skewed when filtering results. The account query function doesn't work, the signup form for the Digital Library section doesn't work. Argh..
UPDATE: It seems that the higher up you go in the new NLB building, the thinner the crowds.... .I managed a scant 3 hours in the Singapore/SEA collections of the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library over the weekend. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate any references that I needed. However, I did manage to find some really interesting news clippings of Hoo Ah Kay (Whampoa). DId you know he once hosted former US President Ulysses S. Grant at his residence here in Singapore?
In a collection of letters collected from vistors to Singapore in the 19th century, I found many references to durians ('onion juice, rancid, overpowering') and mangosteens ('delightful, delicious') but none about the elusive currypuff. I'll prolly head back that again soon to continue my search. And I'l probably dedicate an entire entry just for the other great stuff I found about the letters and Whampoa.
Keywords: curry,puff,cornwall,pasty,history
by | § ¶ | trackbackMr Matthews From Somerset Needs Your Help
Got this in my email earlier this evening via SACA. How polite of him to offer to cover postage costs!----------------------------------------------------------
Hello and good morning. I work in the local government transport services (strategic planning) in the United Kingdom.
In the UK we are considering using road tolls and congestion charges on a larger scale. I would like to evaluate the impact of such measures on the wider public. The research that I have so far conducted in Singapore has shown that people in Singapore feel that cycling facilities are not very adequate, especially as cycling would help solve some congestion and would be very effective in such a densely populated, flat and small city.
I would be grateful if you would assist me in this research as I understand that Singapore (i have visited many times) has congestion management measures but also provides an excellent public transport system.
The questions I would like to ask your organisation are:
[ QUESTIONS MEANT FOR SACA SNIPPED ]
If you do decide to distribute hard-copies of this questionnaire to members and decide to post these back to me, then I can reimburse you the cost of postage via my contacts in Singapore - it would be better if all the questionnaires were returned in one post.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Many thanks for your kind assistance in this research and I hope to hear from you soon. (more)
Keywords: cycling,survey,SACA
by | § ¶ | trackbackHappy Graduation, my dearest Wandie!
Let's go take tacky pictures!
by | § ¶ | trackbackBrunch Ride Tomorrow
Once again, the Togoparts Brunch Ride welcomes our community members, their/our friends, and friends of their/our friends to have fun with us this fine Sunday morning! An easy-paced ride exploring Bedok Reservoir, Pasir Ris and end at Changi Village (subject to change). Actual details will be made known on the day.Start: 0830hrs Bedok Library
End: 1100hrs Changi Village
Brunch After Ride: We will be eating brunch by 1100hrs at Changi Village.
Note: This is a slack ride. If you want to chiong, kindly join the Thomson rides or head to BT.
Most team members will have some form of spares, or repair or first aid kit. But as we will never know about the incidents which may occur (Murphy's Law) even on a relaxed ride, we encourage you to bring your own equipment to complement the group. Do bring your helmet, and wear it! It is for your own protection and also a good habit to cultivate, which we are happy to encourage.
In case of inclement weather, the more hard-core amongst us will opt to go ahead anyway. No reserve date or postponement is planned.
p.s. It is very likely that we'll be making use of the previously mentioned bridge.
Keywords: togoparts,brunch,ride
by | § ¶ | trackbackMarket Bike for Mum
mum wants bike to ridefrom home to market and back
cheap bike photos please
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If you have one for sale, post a comment! If you just want to join in for some silly haiku fun, post a comment as well!
by | § ¶ | trackbackI Feel Good!
Doesn't it feel good? People power moved the government to step in and nudge the NKF (now colloquially referred to as 'Nation Kenna Fucked') and later to appoint a new (interim) board? It almost makes you forget about the public outcry that went unheeded about public transport fee hikes, about casinos being built, about MRT stations being closed....Don't say the government never listen to the people hor! I'm going to dig out my National Flag and go hang it outside now!
p.s NKF's Wikipedia entry needs your help.
by | § ¶ | trackbackPasir Ris - Tampines Bike Connector Hazard Warning
Being the wimp that I am, I took the park connector this evening to get from Tampines to Pasir Ris and guess what? There were workers installing shoulder height metal bars across the foot of the overhead bridge that spans the PIE/TPE. Please do not ride down the overhead bridge or you'll get a clothesline you'll never forget.Here's a photo of the Pasir Ris side of things taken by Glausy.
I suppose the intentions behind the installation of these barriers were good ones and were meant to stop high speed collisions between bikers and pedestrians but guess what? It's an incomplete solution. Coupled with poor visbility and faulty lamps (on the Tampines side) in the evenings and early mornings, these are quite possibly death traps. The barriers should be installed both at the top and bottom of the bridge and perhaps painted in bright yellow. Perhaps all these are in the works though. After all, they've only started work yesterday. But for one cyclist, it's already too late.
winchester said:
"Sad to say that this morning when i was walking to sch.... This guy was already on the floor with a pool of blood and he broke his leg.... I don't think his awake... As i saw the paramedic trying to wake him up... I think because usually in the early morning the place quite dark and he ride down the slope.... But by the time he saw it... It was to late.... So people be careful when u going down the bridge"
UPDATE: Frontpage news on today's New Paper. "Tampines cyclist may become paralysed after crashing into them."
In a report in 'Today', doctors have confirmed that the man will be paralysed from the neck down while the official LTA response was that the barriers will not be removed. In that case, may I suggest installing barriers not only at the foot of the bridge but also at the top of the bridges and at the top of the curving slope leading down from Tampines to the bridge? Because from the way the blood stained the concrete, it seems that the man was hit going up the the bridge and not down from it.
UPDATE AGAIN: LTA issues press release announcing its regret about the accident and that all such barriers across the island have been removed. Full press release here.
Keywords: cycling,warning
by | § ¶ | trackbackAh Long Visits NKF
by | § ¶ | trackbackPlease Donate, Please!
The online chatter is getting increasingly heated as juicy news of NKF CEO's six figured salary and his expenditures are made public in court. I found this bit hilarious..Small said:
maybe at the next nkf show, they could broadcast videos of the gold tap and the lavish office. then an artiste will appear by the gold tap and say, with tears in her eyes "please, call now. this sink needs a diamond stopper. call now. nkf needs your help now. your call matters now. you call and the sink will have a diamond stopper. please call. please..."
by | § ¶ | trackbackThe Bestest Paper Plane
Sigh. Prompted by Lancerlord's post about 'the best paper airplane in the world'. I decided to dig up on what I felt was better than his best on google. I recall owning a book on really cool and complex (for a 10-year old) paper planes which had a signature piece that was shaped like a boomerang or, as the author calls it, a 'Paperang'. And guess what? The well illustrated book with a distinctive red cover and the flowing title 'Fold it, Fly It!' is now going for US$75.82 on Amazon. I wish I knew where my copy went. :(
Keywords: childhood,memories,origami
by | § ¶ | trackbackLondon Stopped
I'm currently tuned into Radio Five Live on BBC Radio Player online just before the site got fried by the surge in traffic. Four/Five/Six explosions on the undeground.Friendly Blogs closer to London
- Sick Sad World
- Mun's Happening's
Still awaiting news from mum's friend's son who's somewhere near one of the sites.
by | § ¶ | trackbackPampered
You know the world is whacked when your dog's toothpaste costs thrice as much as yours and tastes like chicken. There are children dying in Sudan for crying out loud!
Keywords: pets
by | § ¶ | trackbackHappy Birthday
To My Dearest Reika!
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by | § ¶ | trackbackCountdown Down
OMG Richard Whiteley is dead. :(by | § ¶ | trackbackOneshift Meetup
F1 is back in Europe. France this time. So the Oneshift meetup resumes this Sunday.Venue: Carnaval pub @ Chjimes (next to f.flanagans)
Date: 3 July 05 (Sunday)
Time: 7.00pm
House pour will be happy hours (50%) till 11pm. Wines at special rates.
Lets hope nothing stupid happens this time.
Keywords: oneshift,F1
by | § ¶ | trackbackHappy Slapping != Mugging
Nitpicking ST articles seems to have become a hobby many of us bloggers have picked up.I had a quick glance at the front page of today's papers and found the article about the death of a Singaporean man in Manchester somewhat misleading. What irked me was that the report was filed by someone based in the UK, which I assumed would have meant a more accurate report.
The article suggests that Mr Sutherman may have been a victim of 'happy slapping' but then goes on to describe 'happy slapping' as a mugging or robbery. Happy Slapping is not just about phone snatching or mugging as the article seems to suggest. It's something more sinister than that. Happy Slapping is about slapping or hitting a stranger while at the same time recording the act on a camera phone. I hope the 'fad' never catches on here.
Since ST is off limits online, here's a link to the BBC News article about the case. No mention of happy slappers there yet.