Padawan's Ribena Diary

Recalled to Life

IT WAS the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

From Charles Dickens: Tale of Two Cities..

• posted by pàdawan • 11:19 AM  •  link  •  0 comments

A story to remind us that we have the power to make a positive difference in people's lives..

Adapted from The Star Thrower by Loren Eiseley (1907 - 1977)

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one."

More info on Loren Eiseley and extensions to the starfish story..

• posted by pàdawan • 10:11 AM  •  link  •  0 comments

Cell Broadcast Tracker: Ghim Moh Blk 10

Something happened after I gone in to the cold room yesterday. I made a phone call to my vendor over some server settings and after that I noticed that my phone profile display's been swapped with the description "Ghim Moh Blk 10". (map around)

So far I am the only phone user who encountered this and my initial thoughts was it could be some mobile phone virus attack or hoax. I've tried shutting down the phone and switching it on again, but I'm still seeing it on my phone display. It has really made me wonder: what's so special about this place -- maybe I gotta visit it one day! So far I've seen "Holland Village" and the occasional "Alexandra Distripark". Or maybe one fine day it might show up some sleazy place? :p

Someone told me that this is a locator of some kind displaying where you are nearest to. Sure, my workplace is quite near blk 10 but I would have hoped the display would be BV MRT or CSC or even HV :p However, this would also mean that -- like it or not -- I'm being tracked and Big Brother is Watching!

M1 says that they are currently rolling out this Cell Broadcast service to the customers with specific phone models... So what's CB?

• A Cell Broadcast is part of the Short Message Service (SMS) group function known as point to multipoint. It is designed for simultaneous delivery of messages to multiple users in a specified area.

• Cell broadcast on mobile telephones can be used to send traffic reports and local weather information or for early warning systems by Governments. A few countries in the world have already adopted this technique.

Here's how you can enable / disable Cell Broadcast on your Nokia phone!

• Press menu - scroll to settings
• Press select - scroll to Phone Settings
• Press select - scroll to Cell Info Display
• Press select - Choose between ON or OFF
• Press select

• posted by pàdawan • 3:39 PM  •  link  •  0 comments

Thoughts on Bangkok trip (3 - 5 June 2006)

What a difference a week ago when I was in Bangkok, jostling with the crowds in the streets and malls there! Before that I attended the Singapore HR Awards which was a gala award dinner event and upon my return I'm off to a team retreat! Now I truly enjoy the peace and the opportunity to pen down this item!

It's my first trip to Bangkok, but perhaps it's twice or third visit for my pals. We did what most typical Singaporean would do there which was activities such as shopping, eating, mingling with crowds.. However I'm more of a browser than a shopper. My travel mates had a shopping list and they've got lots of fabulous bargains there! And they've each got me a gift there to thank me for shopping with them 8) For me, it was only at the last moment that I got myself a Kipling at the Thai airport duty free shoppe before heading home :p

What I can say about Bangkok is that it's a land of contrasts & extremes and a bargain center haven.. High end to low end. When it means high end, it's even better than ours! At the low end of the scale we have the markets, equivalent to our "pasar malam". The markets, surprisingly, did not "surprise" me as it did for the shopping malls there for I have seen similar ones at Cambodia where they call them "psar". I sometimes wonder how the locals would be able to afford or embrace the extreme in lifestyles?

Perhaps it's about striking a bargaining balance?

As a comparison, a bowl of roadside Won Ton mee is 30 baht (or S$1.20) and that from the hotel is 100 baht (or $4) w/o tax. Or how about a leather bag at the malls compared to the markets: say 3600 baht (or $144) cf to 199 baht ($7.96)? Transport-wise, say to Chinatown, a bargained cab fare is 150 baht (or $6) cf to skytrain 20 baht (or $0.80)?

I guess I will miss Siam Paragon the most because it's grand, posh and spacious! Especially so for Paragon Cineplex which is within Siam Paragon! It's not at all crowded as you would have imagined. The movie tix of 140 baht (or $5.60) is considered by far, the most generously discounted amount than any other cinema operator locally. To sum it all, I would say that the trip was enjoyable and pleasant. Took zero pics coz they were all captured in memory 8)

• posted by pàdawan • 10:12 AM  •  link  •  0 comments

I'm parking a series of sms forwards for today coz I need to free up the phone memory.. Enjoy! 8)

For starters.. 8)

If u feel free, pls press downward






If u feel free, pls press upward...

A simple sms
means I care
to flex a few muscles,
search for ur name,
wait for msg sent,
then tink of u and smile :-D
as i say




5 cents gone....

确定爱上人的八个特性:
1就算在忙也会想起他!
2你喜欢和他单独相处!
3当你们在一起时你会假装不注意他…
但他离开你的视线时你又会急著寻找他!
4当他受伤生病你会关心他!
5当他和别人要好你会吃醋!
6当他把脸粘近你时你会脸红…心跳加速!
7当你看到他开心时你也会扬起一丝笑意!
8当你看完这信息时心里会想到谁呢?
那么很肯定你已经爱上他了!

聪明的女人不可爱，
太傻的女人没人爱，
能干的女人不敢爱，
漂亮的女人不让爱；
看短信的女人是例外，
聪明、漂亮又可爱。
早安您好！

原来日久真的会生情，
我喜欢上你了！
真的害怕有天你会离我而去，
为什么真心选择过，
又不能真惜这份缘？
多想把你永远留在身边，
但爸爸说家里不能养猪！

Ü can buy GIFTS but not LUV.
Ü can pretend SMILES bt not HAPPINESS.
Ü can lie 2 OTHERS bt not 2 YOURSELF.
U can hv FRIENDS bt not as good as.. ahem.. ME. Gd day...

Night has ended for another day
M'ning has come in a Special Way
May U Smile Like The Sunny Rays
N Leave Ur Worries Far far Away
Gd morning! :-D

祝你：
一：笑忧愁跑
二：笑烦恼消
三：笑心情好
四：笑不变老
五：笑心致高
六：笑幸福绕
七：笑快乐到
八：笑收入好
九： ... 停!
再笑牙都掉光了!

一朵云能飘多久
一阵雨能下多久
一束花能开多久
一脸笑能挂多久！
如果问我祝福你多久
我说：“心跳多久祝福就多久！”

Here's a reply from my sms supplier: Hello, ni hao! Well don't have nice messages lately. My sms supplier got no more stock, it seems!

• posted by pàdawan • 10:24 AM  •  link  •  0 comments

Teh Tarik and Stroke

The yummy sweetened beverage Teh Tarik is made with tea dust and a big helping of sweetened condensed milk. In a recent study dieticians attributed the high incidence of strokes in Malaysia to this popular beverage. Use condensed milk that has lesser sugar content, is low fat and made from skimmed milk for a healthy choice.

Click here to read the Bernama article: More Younger Malaysians Prone To Stroke

Comments on teh tarik via sms:

• Can't believe that teh tarik is so sinful.... Can't believe i hv drank so much into my body alr... Must start drinking plain water for better health.

• Wow. A health tip. You sure are full of surprises !

• posted by pàdawan • 2:13 PM  •  link  •  0 comments

A Chinese SMS!

多一点快乐,
少一点烦恼~
不论钞票有多少,
只要每天开心就好~
累了就睡觉,
醒了就微笑~
生活是什么味道,
自己放调味料~
收到我的信息
开心笑一笑…

• posted by pàdawan • 9:49 AM  •  link  •  0 comments