Happy 2026

 

              With Darian, a very good friend of our son Andrew. 

This is the first day of 2026. As a young elder person (elder I would categorise at 70), so I have only few more meaningful years left.

My parents left in me a spirit to contribute to society at large, and apart from the usual one off small donations here and there, I feel this year will be a very significant year for me both professionally and personally.

I must make use of the little precious time to be the best version of myself to my loved pnes and friends.

Have a meaningful and successful 2026 readers !

Lets get to 500, 000 views by end 2026 beginning 2027 ! 

 

300,000 views in December 2025 Thank You !

 

I am filled with much humility and joy to announce that we have garnered over 300, 000 views in the 17 years since I started writing my blog. I wish to humbly say thank you to all who visited this blog and penned their comments, I am just a small business owner and this is one way to express my ongoing feelings about life, some current events (non political and religious) as a means to documents my views and thinking in the various life stages.

I may have some earlier views which may reflect how I felt about certain things at that point in time, but over the decades (1 decade and 7 years later), my thinking has matured a lot, as well as my assumption of the certainty of many things has also been weakened. Sometimes, it is best not to make predictions without proper analysis. If I get the outcome right, its most times due to sheer luck and after some deeper analysis with experts. If I get the outcome wrong, well then I put the result to user experience, which can be called upon in the future when similar scenarios crop up. 

When I first started, I recall we had about 200 views a month. Today, we easily get over 1000 views per day on certain weekends. I aspire to get around 30, 000 views per month in the near future,so that means 1000 views per day. Which is not so difficult nowadays. 

I never knew my little blog could be of interest to other people, many of whom are linked purely by wanting to know how the other half of the world lives.

Bachelor of Information Technology. Any company needs a motivated IT executive ? 3 prior internships 2 in Singapore 1 in Australia

 

This is the proudest moment for us parents. Our younger son, Andrew, graduated from the Queensland University of Technology recently on 9th Dec 2025 with a Bachelor of Information Technology. 

Andrew is a hardworking young man of 28 and he is at present looking for an IT or Computer CyberSecurity job in Singapore or Thailand.

If you are looking for a hungry, hardworking young IT executive with a decent CV and 3 previous internships, please drop me an email. 

Email :  (a) r1828mark@gmail.com

             (b) mark@qra.com.sg

 

A proud day for the Abisheganaden family

 

Yesterday 9th Dec 2025 was a proud day for our son Andrew Hao Jie. He graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Information Technology from the Queensland University of Technology or QUT. We are very proud and honored to tell all our readers and followers this represents a milestone for us. 

My wife and I flew in specially for his graduation and we then had a slap up lunch and dinner together with a good friend from Korea (thanks Quon for coming !). 

Life is made for these special unforgettable moments, which mould us. As a proud parent my wish for him now is to land a job, find a nice person and settle down, either in Australia or Singapore.

Our part in supporting him will always be here, that is our promise. 

One key takeaway from this wonderful experience is this. Like I have stated numerous times in my earlier post. There are many steps to success, perceived or real, which one needs or must do to 'get there'.

1. Be used to being uncomfortable daily and for the long run. This is the only way you will grow. 

2. Every small victory, savour it and smell the roses. Then move on. The road is long and upwards.

3. Be present in good and bad times. Show up. Give no excuses

4. Try your level best. The rest ? Leave it to God.

5. Don't sweat the small stuff. They will always be there. In 5 months or 5 years its just a bump in your road.

6. Never underestimate the threats to you. Always manage the small problems lest they grow into unmanageable fires.

7. Be stoic in tough times. Tough times mould character. Only the toughest survive let alone thrive. We have no other choice. 

One life one path one vision many goals. 

Carpe Diem 

Multi Cultural Brisbane and Gold Coast Dec 7th 2025 ; Anyone needs an IT Cybersecurity executive or engineer ?

 

Eating a Korean BBQ meal  at Borngo 

Brisbane gives off a very 'chill' or a rather laid back vibe. This is my second visit to this city in 5 years (the first one was in Feb 2020) and I can say that apart from the downtown CBD, the traffic around the main part of town including the walking street is one of festive cheer and tourists watching the tourists. While it is multicultural, it is not as diverse in ethnicity as say Melbourne or Sydney.

The mainland Chinese, Indians, S Koreans are very visible,  and I saw a nice mix of Latinos, Eastern European and many people of Arab descent mingling in the city, testament to the many Kebabs and Middle Eastern Fare. There are plenty of Chinese restaurants serving Mala Hot Pot soups and local Chinese fare, so there must be plenty of Mainland people living or visiting here.

The weather is rather similar to tropical and Dec is early Summer, as Australia  is in the Southern Hemisphere.  The temperature these 2 days varies from mid 30s by noon to low 20s in the night, so it is pleasant most times of the year.

Today we decided to drive 1.5 hours to the Gold Coast to do some shopping and catch up with a close relative of ours, who lives here and could be counted upon if my son Andrew ran into some trouble.

Thank you Stella for being the rock in case, Andrew needed some listening ear when the going got tough. Thankfully he did not and we met up for a happy high tea today.

Kangaroo Point Bridge off Charlotte Street 

In a couple of days, we will witness a very happy occasion, Andrew getting his degree in front of all of his Uni mates.

We as parents wish him the best for his current job hunt (Any one looking for an IT Security analyst or executive in Australia or Singapore ? Please email me).

I can truly vouch that Andrew is of good heart and posesses a strong and intelligent mind. When he puts his mind to it, he can truly pull off top quality for his employers.

E : mark@qra.com.sg

A week in beautiful Brisbane 5 - 12 Dec 2025

Finally a break of a week, one week in early December and another in perhaps after Christmas for me. We are here to witness the graduation of my younger son Andrew from his Comp Science undergraduate degree course at the Queensland University of Technology.

He has been in Australia for coming to 5 years, and has been living in this very liveable city by the river and has moved 3 apartments in the last 5 years.

The summer is in full swing and the tourists (mainly from other Australian cities) makes this town quite bustling and full of life. 

I can get used to this lifestyle one day once I retire. 

Carpe Diem. 
 

A review of my most dramatic marathon finish in 2005 when my body gave out !

The date was 5 December 2005 morning, I can still remember the incident as clear as yesterday. This was the 3rd full marathon I was attempting and it was HOT and humid.

I had my arranged supporter, N. Kannan, from Malaysia who had come all the way from Malacca to help supply me the Gatorade drinks and Powergels. We had arranged that he meet me at specially designated locations to hand me the "life savers" (Powergels) as I estimated there would be a thousand runners in front of me, and probably many thousands behind me. This was the most dramatic ending to my marathon runs which I am not going to forget soon.

The race started at 6.00 am, it was smooth sailing for me for the first 10km or so, I was near the faster runners - not the elites, nor the chasing bunch, but somewhere in the first 25% or so. I had been pacing myself and had trained religiously for this run which I thought would be a managable distance,as I had run it 2 times previously, once in Penang (2003) and once in Singapore 2004.

I WAS SO WRONG.

The first 10 to 14km was the stretch from the Esplanade Bridge right down Shenton Way to all around Marina Bay area and back before looping back to Robinson Road and head towards the Padang and the Esplanade Drive and down to Raffles Avenue.

The race was carried out on a hot morning, and by the 23km mark, I had a cramp on my right calf. This occured somewhere around the 6 km mark at East Coast Park. "Oh Oh",  I thought, "Not Good and so early into the run." 

By this time, at 8.20am or so, the first Kenyan runner had finished the race. This fact starkly differentiates the best in the world from the rest of the pack, and I am considered to be in the mid pack. 

I was only half-way through !!

I managed to squeeze some Counter Pain Gel on my leg and carried on. At around the 30km mark, I had a another muscle strain, this time on my left calf. Again I stopped and applied some stretching and some muscle cream. The time was about 9.30 am and I had met Kannan once but had missed seeing him on the 20 km segment, as there were just too many runners passing by for him to spot me and I was probably bunched up with my eye on my leg rather than people or supporters.

By the 32km, I was pouring water down my head to douse myself and try to ignore the ache. BAD MOVE. The water trickled down to my legs and seeped into my running shoes. As I was hot, I intitally felt relieved with the water energising me.So I started drinking a bit more and pouring plain water down my head. My shoes by this time were squishing in water and I was literally running in SQUISHY SHOES.  

It was awful and so uncomfortable but I willed myself to press on. 

Finally, the end point could be seen, 40km, just 2km more to go. I was preparing myself for the photo opportunity and with the thousands of spectators cheering us on, it was a massive boost to my very tired limbs. With 100m left to go, I thought to myself "Go for it buddy, break the 5 hour mark !". So I started to accelerate with about 80m left to go.

The exhilaration was with me, I was taking the cheering and shouting and started to move faster.60m, 50m,40m, ..... then WHAM !

My left hamstring tightened so very tightly that I pulled up and stopped totally. I was in extreme pain and lost my balance, and fell flat in front of thousands of cheering spectators !! The announcer who was announcing the numbers started shouting my Bib number and by sheer willpower, I tried to get up. I was blocking the other runners who were making their way to the 'chute'.

Another runner stopped by to help me back to my feet, but he let go of me after 10 seconds and I was practically 'legless', my legs were all rubbery and I could not even stand let alone run.

I fell back again on the road, and the announcer and the people were going crazy. I was doing a crazy stand up and fall down routine and runners were passing me and I almost knocked one down. Finally, a quick thinking medic ran to me and together we ran across the finish line which was probably 20m away.

I had slaps on my back and strangers coming up to shake my hand, all I wanted to do was sit down and I sat down with my aching body for 45 minutes and drank about 2 bottles of 100+. I had never felt so awful and relieved after a run in my whole life !

The experience left me so drained and contemplative of my life. I realised that to push beyond one's limits may mean me crossing the divide between life and death. It is a very real scenario, decisions dictate and eventually shape our immediate and future lives. 

Finally when my body recovered, I was able to pull myself up, get my medal and find a taxi home. 

REAL DRAMA. RESPECT THE DISTANCE.

Happy Birthday Papa Geoffrey Abisheganaden.

Geoffrey (London circa 1979) 

Today, 23rd November happens to be my late father, Geoffrey Abisheganaden, birthday. He passed on 15 years ago on 20th Sept 2010, through old age. He lived 91 years, many of these years were very fruitful serving both God and his ministry as well as many organizations in Singapore's nascent years of independence since 1965.

Geoffrey was a devout Anglican and he regularly sang at the St Andrew's Cathedral church choir every Sunday. He was blessed with a deep baritone voice and during his early years, I was told and shown certificates of his oral singing excellence from the UK. He won many a singing competition in the early to mid 50s, where he started studying as a lawyer at the Grays Inn in London.

I believe he was called to the Bar around 1950 or 51, and he had many English friends. An Anglophile, he fondly remembered the UK as his adopted 'motherland' and I always wondered why that country had such a hold on him.

The UK I know now, is a sad reflection of what it was even just 60 to 70 years ago, a pale shadow of its former imperialist ambitions and empire.  

                                                         With an unamed friend. 

During his salad days, I have pictures of him as a young man, (maybe the late 1930s) dressed to the nines (I will post pictures of his 'salad days' soon). My father had many friends, who were very successful, but he also remained loyal to those who did not make it in life, as he treasured friendship without judgement.

As I recall and have data from current and past records, my Papa sat on the board or was President of numerous clubs and societies in Malaya and Singapore, most notably :

1. National University of Singapore Society (1967 - 1970) - President

2. Singapore Bible Society

3. YMCA

4. St Andrew's School and St Andrew's Junior College 

5. St Andrew's Cathedral

6. Singapore Swimming Club (legal advisor)

7. Singapore Cricket Club

His selfless nature, while apparent, did not let him lose sight that the focus of his work was to serve God and give of his talents. This is one trait which I wish to follow soon, as time is of the essence.

                                                A much treasured  1969 family picture 

Happy Birthday to my Papa Geoffrey Abisheganaden !  Forever remembered by your children and grandchildren Noel, Andrew and Hannah. 

May you be blessed in heaven.

You would have been 106 years old today. 

Love, your beloved son. 

  

Goodbye Mr. Liew we had good times and you were a great colleague

 

Liew Hon Nyen and his wife Eileen 

Dinner at End of the World Seafood Restaurant (Telok Bahang, Penang)

Today I say a sad yet respectful farewell to an ex colleague of mine who passed on in Penang on Friday 14th November 2025. 

Liew Hon Nyen was a staff in my previous company called Upstar International back when we did business in the mid 1990s till 2003. When I left the company, and started my current business QRA International, we still maintained contact, and he was instrumental in providing key services support to several companies such as Flextronics Penang and Nidec Penang.

A no nonsense straight shooter, Liew never shirked hard work and always did his level best to support me, through the good times and the bad times. I could not have asked for anything more and he would give no less. A true professional whom I would be happy to recommend his company and services to. The company in Penang the last I know of it is called Upstar  Instruments Sdn Berhad.

He leaves behind his lovely wife Eileen (above) and 2 children. 

                                                  2007 Ingolf's Knipe Pub - Happy Times 

May God grant you Peace, Liew. 

 

Face your greatest fear. Overcome it and Be Free

 

I wrote about this slightly more than 1 year ago. Jim Morrison, of the Doors fame, had so many personal demons with his drugs, sex and rock and roll life had this to say about fear. Such wisdom and at such a young age. He died tragically at 29 from a drug overdose.

Face your ultimate fear. Be it, failure in business, in health, in marital relationships, in humiliation from doing something wrong and getting punished (jail or something equivalent).It is a bitter pill to swallow and understand that at the end of the day, no one cares enough about you to walk in your shoes, with you. You face up to your failures by your own self. 

When you face your fear, accept your fate, and still rise up after each episode. You will have a certain feeling of being free from everything, of everyone's expectations about you.

I am free. Free to think independently of my life, my health and my goals.

I am blessed that I do not have the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). Not a single bit. 

There are a number of friends who seemingly seem to be on an endless soujourn of holidays visiting here and there and posting their holiday pictures on Facebook, Instagram. Well good for them. Are they free from their supposed 'golden life' if they can't even put down their phones for more than 5 minutes without taking a selfie about the 'beautiful' cherry blossoms and sushi / sashimi ? 

Like my long runs in the heat of the day at East Coast Park, I play my deepest fears in my head again and again like a record. Then I collect my senses and say to myself. Why the hell do I worry about the What If ?

If the "What If" happens, then I will face it. And overcome, else I face the consequences. 

I will be truly Free.  

Buying an Environmental Chamber ? Look for QRA International and watch this video.

 

                                   This video has hit a cool 50,000 views in a span of 7 days. 

We are by no means Youtube stars, but my son was the brianchild behind this homemade video. We did 2 takes, I put up the Youtube video on short,  and 'Bingo' the views started slowly. 

After one day, the views climbed like 5,000 to 10,000 each day. I couldn't be;ieve it, I still can't believe it today. 

So if you are looking to buy a new or used environmental chamber. Contact below : 

QRA INTERNATIONAL PTE LTD. (23 years and counting).

1. Leading Environmental Chamber provider for S.E. Asia.

2. Leading Testing Laboratory for Biomedical Industry since 2015 

3. 1 of only 4 Athletic Chamber manufacturers WORLDWIDE.

For more information, please email :

E : mark@qra.com.sg

W : https://www.qra.com.sg

Quality is in our DNA. 

A wonderful day in the bright sunshine 01 Nov 2025.

I have just had a great time out riding in the sun today. No I have not lost my marbles. I am just penning this post to reflect on how even just one day of strenuous exercise can change one's state of mind.

Me with my SPF 50 sunscreen, helmet and gloves 

The last few weeks has been strenuous both mentally and physically. As I approach the 6()_ year of life in a months time, I have noticed certain ostensible changes in my health, and am taking many steps to arrest the decline in physical health.

1. Tiredness - I force myself to walk (up to one hour) every evening for digestion as well as to boost cardio vascular circulation.

2. Flexibility - I had a bad LCL pull just 2 weeks ago and had to go for Chinese Tui Na or physiotherapy which entailed using moxibustion (burning of dried moxa) to deliver heat and stimulate energy flow. In addition, I went to see a Chinese sinseh who did some massive pulls on my leg to alingn them. Yes.  

One key takeaway for me. I need to exercise, or run. This is like breathing well to me. I know there will be a time when I can't run and I am looking at alternatives to this exercise which I have been participating these last 30 odd years and not a single one comes close to giving me the endorphin 'high' which running has done for me.

Back to today, I started my bicycle ride at roughly 10.30 am. I went at a rather fast pace and made it almost 3 / 4 to Changi Village. The sun was shining in the sky, the sky was blue with some cirrus clouds, the sea was a gorgeous greenish blue and there were birds chirping in the distance. 

The ride up to near Changi village was near perfect. There were only a few bicycles I overtook and a couple on road bikes who overtook me. I'm chill to the fact that at this age, being alive is more important than being fast. Enjoying the beautiful sunny environment with nice cool sea breeze is such a privilege. 

I recall a run similar on my birthday last year. I did 8 km at East Coast Park, starting at around 10 am and ran 4 km up and 4 km back from B1 carpark. As I was making my way back at the 7km mark, I recall just wondering, why am I running and baking in the hot blazing sun ? The sheer absurdity of it all, but I needed to be alone with my thoughts, and not to be inundated with the numerous well wishes from all the social media,LinkedIn, whatsapp, phone calls, FB and Wechat. 

My birthday belongs to me. Just as when I was born and when I do leave this earth, it is a solo trip and all my cognizant thoughts about my ride here on earth will go with me.

So last year, at the 7 km mark, in the bright sunshine I stopped. And walked to a stone table and bench facing the sea and just lay down, in all my sweat. I was so happy - alone - and in my own endorphin charged state, I lay down, closed my eyes and thanked God for my life.

I meditated for a good 15 minutes, being still and listening to the crashing waves just less than 100 feet from me. A small squirrel saw me, and made some grunting noise. He was obviously hungry. I picked up some nut which fell from the tree and threw it to him. He came down close by, gave the nut a smell and attempted to gnaw at it. I felt a sense of calm that on my birthday my time truly belongs to me and to no one else. 

That interaction with the squirrel and nature on that bright sunny day comes back to me today.

I feel the same sense of calm.

I finished by near 3 hours ride up to the 3 / 4 mark to Changi Village and back. I stopped several times by the picture perfect seascape, rested, and sat with my knees in lotus position.And meditated. 

I listened to the waves, the birds chirping and the sea breeze. Occasionally I would hear the roar of the aircraft flying overhead every 10 minutes. There were ships in the azure blue sea in the distant horizon, and something like 3 to 4 windsurfers doing their thing. I was where I wanted to be. 

It was indeed a perfect day.

And I Seized It.

Change your habits for the Good

 

6 Rules for Success - Daily Improvement 5% daily.

    Clarity of My Goals

   Have clear goals. Set the goals early, start small and work at it every day.

   Discipline to Take Action 

   Show Up. Do the work day in day out. Do not shirk.

   Communication to Connect with People

   Do more

   Talk Less

   Listen More

   Connect 

   Emotional Control to Stay Balanced

   Improve this. Keep your tongue and ego in check 

   Never let your emotions get the better of you.  Keep your emotions  in  check

   Many things are meaningless 5 days, let alone 5 months from now.

   Practice Mindfulness

   Practice Gratitude

   Ability to Learn and Adapt with Circumstances and People. 

    Never stop learning. Every single day.

a) Go for classes. Read Listen Observe. Ask Questions. 

b) Learn to swim in new waters.

    Be like bamboo.

    Learn from mistakes.

     Have a Sense of Urgency to finish day to day week by week month by month goals 

    This is self explainatory. Go for it my readers and friends. 

  

When we were born, we came with our body and our brain - and no user manual

 

I realised something just the other day. Our bodies and brain, when we were born, we did not know the first thing we had with us. 

Our cognitive awareness was around the age of 5, where we knew we existed - this is as postulated by Carl Jung.

And from that day onwards, we knew like we know now that we have a brain, and the cognitive functions which go along with it. We know we have something called memory, logic, and sensory awareness, which for a large part cant be controlled,  the 5 senses, sight sound taste smell and hearing and as we aged, we knew things like emotions which are human and can be muted or amplified. 

The amazing thing is that for our brain, each of us has one which is totally hardwired to who we are, and we take a lifetime to first understand what our brain is like, how powerful or weak it is, how adaptable it is, whether it has capability to learn new things - for 99% of us we can learn new things - its whether we want to learn new things.

I am still learning how best to maximise my brain, that is the wonderful thing. Coupled that with the years of earned or lived experience and I put than earned or lived experience in my data bank, called wisdom, it is indeed a wonderful thing.

So we create each and every one of us, a personalised user manual of our brain and our body which is only best operated by ONE person. YOU.

If your brain and your body is put to optimal use, feed it the best nutrients, put in the best servicing (exercise), give it enough rest, in theory your brain and your body - like a machine will last a lifetime.

Sounds so simple and rudimentary isn't it ? 

So why oh why do we abuse our body and brain ? 

 

Sales Manager Makes the 1st order, the Service Engineer helps ensure the 2nd 3rd 4th and 5th order

 

Here is a video of Jason, our Service Engineer onsite at a client's location providing service support to an equipment. We offer the following services at very competitive prices :

1. Warranty - warranty for both parts and labour is offered up to 3 years for every new equipment we QRA sell to clients in Singapore and overseas. The client has complete peace of mind knowing that his machine will function in tip top condition for as long as he requires, and sometimes as long as 10 years.

2. Preventive Maintenance  (PM) - We offer PM for the equipment we sell after the 1 year warranty is over. It is very competitive and one of a kind in the markets which we serve.  

3. Calibration - Calibration is recording the readings of the client's equipment and benchmarked with sensors and recorded down for auditing purposes. This means that the reading set at (say) 50 C is actually within an acceptable temperature (normally +/- 1 C) when measured with an audited thermocouple instrument certified according to ISO 17025 or Singlas Good Certification Standard. 

Therefore, when you purchase your equipment, no matter how good the brand of equipment you purchase, do remember, it is the quality of the after sales service which matters so importantly at the end of the day. 

For more information ; visit 

https://www.qra.com.sg/our-services.

or Email : mark@qra.com.sg

Why do Environmental Testing for your Products ? Watch this Video.

 

Why do Environmental Testing for your Products ?  3 Reasons.

1. To enhance your product's quality.

2. To lengthen your product's reliability.

3. As a result your Brand will be boosted through good customer reviews and word of mouth engagement. 

Sudoku End Game Tactic 1 - Gwendolin's Thread

 

Here is one end game tactic which I use pretty successfully after correctly filling in 80% of the blank spaces in the 9 x 9 sudoku game. Its called Gwendolin's thread. Gwendolin was a little girl who went into the forest to pick some flowers. As she went deeper and deeper, she realised she was lost. 

Rather than panic, she used this tactic whereby she pulled out a spool of thread (OK, I know its far fetched, who goes into the forest with a string of thread, but you get my point right ? Its just a fairy tale !).

So she walks with the thread, ties one end at a random tree, and walks in the direction where she thought she came from. The moral of the story, if she came to another junction and there was a thread, she would quickly realise that she was walking in circles ! So she would backtrack and where there was no thread, she would then continue in the opposite direction until she made her way out of the forest. OK its just a fictional fairy tale but the concept is to use markers, and thread so that you know if you had made a wrong choice, you can BACKTRACK your move and try the opposite direction or use the alternate number.

For the Sudoku game, if the square is a 50 / 50 (50% either a certain number or the other), then I will use shortform LETTERS in place of numbers and play along.

So in the game above, I have about 18 unfilled squares, an then I can choose ar an unfilled square to use either (for example) a 9 or a 7. I would proceed with 9 and then write in that box the number N. This is the arbitrary number which I have taken as a 50 : 50. Each Uncertain Number I will put in the 50% chance of that number (a guess)  in LETTER format. 

Therefore 

1 : O

2 : D

3 : T

4 : F

5 : V

6 : X

7 : S

8 : E

9 : N.

Try it. If there happens to be to of the same letters on the same line or column you realise you have the wrong path (say 2 Os)  So I will backtrack and change ONLY THE LETTERS from when you started. The key is note down which square when you put in the first letter, and once you encounter a wrong path, backtrack and replace the letter with the other possible letter.

So, the rule of thumb should be, for me anyway, is when I have a 50 % chance it could either be the number One or 50% of the number Nine. 

I will start with using One, or O and play on. If I reach the end of the game with no duplicate, essentially I have WON the game. I will then replace the letters with the number and that is the end game.

if I reach a line where there is 2 of the same letters, I will backtrack to the first square where I put the O, and delete that, and add in the other possible number, say Nine or N.

If my earlier steps were all correct, that should lead me to the path of winning. 

This is called Gwendolin's Thread.

Enjoy your Sudoku readers ! 

Life is like a Sudoku Game

 

I have been playing Sudoko for close to 20 years now. In the blink of an eye, 20 years has elapsed and I still enjoy the stimulating challenge of a diabolical Sudoku, sometimes every day. 

First developed in Japan I believe in the mid 80s to help the bored salarymen and women who take the train rides from their hometown into Tokyo or another major city, this game helps develop and maintain cognitive abilities such as :

a) logic

b) deduction

c) good guesswork

d) Charlotte's thread

e) elimination

f) perseverance

In many ways, like today's game which I have just finished, Sudoku reminds me of life. Yours and Mine.

1. In many ways it can and does get complicated

2. You make mistakes and you mess up the game

3. You make mistakes, check back where you went wrong and continue

4. It gets too hard to finish and you abandon it

5. You fly through it

6. You muddle through it with a lot of perseverance, grit and bloody stuborness.

7. It gets messy (like above).

At the end you either 'win' and finish all the 81 squares with all the numbers represented in each box and every single row and column.

Or you lose, when you a) run out of time b) make some error and there are duplicate numbers along the same row or column.

Do play it ; I play this, mental maths, wordle (NY Times) and Spelling Bee. I am now learning 

a) Mahjong.

Life's learnings never ever stops. 

Why Test your Biomed and Biotech Products ? And Why send them to QRA International ?

 

Why QRA ?  

Let me state the reasons :

QUALITY 

The "Q" states Quality. Quality in our mission, our ethics, our people, our products, our services, our procedures and our prices. 

Customers come to QRA for Quality. High Quality. For our :

a) Consultancy - we have over 30 years of testing and equipment distribution expertise and know how to advise most of your issues regarding reliability testing, accelerated aging, shelf life testing. We offer them with respect, and with humility so that both parties, you the client and we the vendor can get maximum leverage on cooperating with each other. 

b) Services - we provide prompt, cost competitive, and reliable service to every client big or small. Yes, we do have limitations in our resources, but we are nimble and try our very hardest to accommodate to each and every enquiry from all everywhere in the world. No client is too small for us to ignore. Our commitment to serve you is in our corporate DNA.

c) Products - we source the world over and select only the best, based on our 30 odd years of seeking, auditing and providing quality, assured. 

d) Reliability -  a quality of the products over their entire lifespan. That is normally a 10 year commitment. 

RELIABLE 

"R" stands for Reliability. Customers can rely on us to provide the stated test services, our repair services, our products and our people can stand up and be counted upon. We show up when the chips are down, on the table and up. 

ASSURANCE

We assure you of nothing but the best from us. Our products, our services, our people and our pride in giving you the assurance that you can count on us every time and at any time. 

That is the WHY QRA answered.