just sent my car in for 45k servicing yesterday, but the mileage was actually 49++k.
i was thinking, "wow my car was registered only on feb 09, so how was it possible that i had driven almost 50,000km in 2 years?" and mind you, out of those two years, i was overseas for at least four months! (japan, germany, egypt, germany)
so after doing a quick calculation [49000km / (30 days per month on average x 20 months)] = 81.67km = how the hell did i clock that much mileage on a country that measures just 42km by 24km?
by signing on, that's how. i mean, if your camp is in sungei gedong, then i mean its quite obvious already.
mercredi, mars 23, 2011
dimanche, mars 20, 2011
tr(ee)
i was driving to camp the other day when i saw this huge tree along the tengah highway which had all its leaves and branches pruned. i had wanted to take a photo, but obviously i was unable to stop so abruptly and plus i did not have a camera with me. in any case the tree looked something like the one in this photo i found on the net.what was unusual was that it seemed to be the only tree in the vicinity to have been pruned in such a "cruel" fashion. indeed, to me it hardly seemed like a tree anymore! so that got me thinking as well:
why do defining characteristics matter so much? and does that mean that a person/thing's worth is reduced when he/she/it no longer possess those characteristics?
mardi, mars 15, 2011
samedi, mars 12, 2011
inflation blues
you know that inflation has really hit the top in singapore when wala discontinues its since-time-immemorial 1-for-1 happy hour promo.
i was so shocked that the waiter had to inform me about it a few times before i could finally register the info.
me: "6 pints of tetleys, serve 2 now and hold 10"
waiter: "erm.. Sir we no longer have the 1-for-1 happy hour promo, just happy hour prices"
me: "serve 2 now and hold 10 please"
waiter: "but the 1-for-1 happy hour promo is no longer valid"
me: "what do you mean? i ordered 6 and its before 9 so i should get 12 beers"
waiter: "the 1-for-1 happy hour promo is no longer valid"
me: "but its before 9.. WHAT!!!"
food prices increase, i can eat less. petrol price increase, i can step lighter on the accelerator. but beer price increase?
i.am.so.seriously.fucked.now
i was so shocked that the waiter had to inform me about it a few times before i could finally register the info.
me: "6 pints of tetleys, serve 2 now and hold 10"
waiter: "erm.. Sir we no longer have the 1-for-1 happy hour promo, just happy hour prices"
me: "serve 2 now and hold 10 please"
waiter: "but the 1-for-1 happy hour promo is no longer valid"
me: "what do you mean? i ordered 6 and its before 9 so i should get 12 beers"
waiter: "the 1-for-1 happy hour promo is no longer valid"
me: "but its before 9.. WHAT!!!"
food prices increase, i can eat less. petrol price increase, i can step lighter on the accelerator. but beer price increase?
i.am.so.seriously.fucked.now
jeudi, mars 10, 2011
samedi, mars 05, 2011
irreligious
was browsing for innovation books in the library the other day, when i came across a book on religion. for the most part, it was about a conversation between an old man and a young man. what the book title is, and who the author is, is less interesting than the point that the fictional old man makes:
The old man leaned toward me, resting a blanketed elbow on the arm of his rocker.
“Four billion people say they believe in God, but few genuinely believe. If people believed in God, they would live every minute of their lives in support of that belief. Rich people would give their wealth to the needy. Everyone would be frantic to determine which religion was the true one. No one could be comfortable in the thought that they might have picked the wrong religion and blundered into eternal damnation, or bad reincarnation, or some other unthinkable consequence. People would dedicate their lives to converting others to their religions.
“A belief in God would demand one hundred percent obsessive devotion, influencing every waking moment of this brief life on earth. But your four billion so-called believers do not live their lives in that fashion, except for a few. The majority believe in the usefulness of their beliefs—an earthly and practical utility—but they do not believe in the underlying reality.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “If you asked them, they’d say they believe.”
“They say that they believe because pretending to believe is necessary to get the benefits of religion. They tell other people that they believe and they do believer-like things, like praying and reading holy books. But they don’t do the things that a true believer would do, the things a true believer would have to do.
“If you believe a truck is coming toward you, you will jump out of the way. That is belief in the reality of the truck. If you tell people you fear the truck but do nothing to get out of the way, that is not belief in the truck. Likewise, it is not belief to say God exists and then continue sinning and hoarding your wealth while innocent people die of starvation. When belief does not control your most important decisions, it is not belief in the underlying reality, it is belief in the usefulness of believing.”
“Are you saying God doesn’t exist?” I asked, trying to get to the point.
“I’m saying that people claim to believe in God, but most don’t literally believe. They only act as though they believe because there are earthly benefits in doing so. They create a delusion for themselves because it makes them happy.”
“So you think only the atheists believe their own belief?” I asked.
“No. Atheists also prefer delusions,” he said.
The old man leaned toward me, resting a blanketed elbow on the arm of his rocker.
“Four billion people say they believe in God, but few genuinely believe. If people believed in God, they would live every minute of their lives in support of that belief. Rich people would give their wealth to the needy. Everyone would be frantic to determine which religion was the true one. No one could be comfortable in the thought that they might have picked the wrong religion and blundered into eternal damnation, or bad reincarnation, or some other unthinkable consequence. People would dedicate their lives to converting others to their religions.
“A belief in God would demand one hundred percent obsessive devotion, influencing every waking moment of this brief life on earth. But your four billion so-called believers do not live their lives in that fashion, except for a few. The majority believe in the usefulness of their beliefs—an earthly and practical utility—but they do not believe in the underlying reality.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “If you asked them, they’d say they believe.”
“They say that they believe because pretending to believe is necessary to get the benefits of religion. They tell other people that they believe and they do believer-like things, like praying and reading holy books. But they don’t do the things that a true believer would do, the things a true believer would have to do.
“If you believe a truck is coming toward you, you will jump out of the way. That is belief in the reality of the truck. If you tell people you fear the truck but do nothing to get out of the way, that is not belief in the truck. Likewise, it is not belief to say God exists and then continue sinning and hoarding your wealth while innocent people die of starvation. When belief does not control your most important decisions, it is not belief in the underlying reality, it is belief in the usefulness of believing.”
“Are you saying God doesn’t exist?” I asked, trying to get to the point.
“I’m saying that people claim to believe in God, but most don’t literally believe. They only act as though they believe because there are earthly benefits in doing so. They create a delusion for themselves because it makes them happy.”
“So you think only the atheists believe their own belief?” I asked.
“No. Atheists also prefer delusions,” he said.
mercredi, mars 02, 2011
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