Friend or Enemy ? Your Phone

Downhill somewhere in Tomamu, Hokkaido

          The world is experiencing massive changes in very short time periods. Product booms and busts are going from 10 years to 8 to 5 to 3 to 1 year.  Computer hardware like PCs and Laptops are like  throwaway cameras, use it for 1 max. 2 years and out into the trash can. PDAs (Palm Pilots), SLR cameras, pagers, fax machines, voice recorders, CD and DVD players have long since died. The list of dead or dying products is growing steadily. 

          

           Your phone is not just a phone, it is your digital office, your entertainment center, your access to the world. People put up what they had for lunch, where they had their party, or finished something mudane, or significant all through their Bluetooth, 4G enabled wireless phone - organiser - bank ATM - TV - social media platform. Everything is an app nowadays.

           So, people like me are befuddled by the new media, and connectivity. Use it and be connected, but people can then trace your every desired activity, hobby, purchase, location where you had your holiday or dinner. Its Orwellian 1984, but without the unwiedly cameras following you at every turn.

          Your phone is your best friend and your greatest enemy. Like fire, it can be controlled and used to good benefit, out of control and it will ruin your life. 

'Mutt Dou Chee' and 'Mutt Dou Oi'

                                                With my then manager and friend, C.H. Teo 

        We all have at least one such friend who is a Mr. or Ms. 'Know it All', the Cantonese Phrase for this is Mutt Dou Jee. They are the little irritating but generally nice people who happen to know the exact value of Pi till the last 20th decimal.  (pi = 3.14xxxxxx).  

         These people somehow stay up late at night mugging about any useless details about when the next fun runs to get goodie bags and where the best char kuay teow, lor mee or bak kut teh  and prawn noodels  stalls are or when the free $4 coupons come available from the Shell stations. They are by no means penny pinching, but looking out for the best deals.  
        
          In short, they are the Penny Wise people. Good for the details and small numbers. Useful to have around and makes life interesting for Big Picture folk like me.

         Mutt Do Oi are people who want everything in life and more. Again I know my fair share of these people. They scrimp and save and eat the cheapest hawker foods, only to then invest in multi-million dollar properties and continue investing in them ad nauseum like there is no tomorrow.

       I want everything and more. Free is better. 

      Again, they irritate me, but then they are harmless to me.

     To these people, do learn one thing, you are not rich till you start to spend on your family and friends.  Life is indeed short.

     Seize the Day.

       

'At the end of the Day' and other Useless Expressions

          A good friend of mine, James from Australia is very fond of using the phrase 'At the End of the Day'. This in short means, "so".  I have resisted rebutting him as he finds comfort or solace in uttering this phrase so that he ends up sounding like an archaic professor in life.  But when I do get to retort him, it will be either of these 2 below, but I do not want to spoil his
satisfaction from saying it just yet, so I politely listen : 

a) At the end of the Day..... it becomes Night

b) At the end of the Day..... everyone dies 

      Here are a list (not exhaustive by any means) some more of these meaningless phrases of words which are used by people unknowingly as time fillers or wanting to sound learned.
The effect on me is the exact opposite, as it gives me the impression that the person  is trying to sound like and failing to impress the listener. Here goes the top 10. They can be replaced by one singular or two words and I have added them at the end of the sentence.

1. At the end of the Day  ..................   so

2. To be honest  .......................  frankly (you mean to say, everything else you said 
    beforehand was  Bullshit ?!!) 

3. After all thats been said and done ...... finally

4. Let me say something ...........     (man, what have you been doing all this time ? Sleeping)

5.  Lets be clear ..........................  (this is a very common phrase used by lawyers and   
                                                          politicians when they want to fudge something, 
                                                          hopelessly ending up trying to sound articulate.
                                                         This ends up confusing more people, and leaves us the 
                                                         viewers feeling stupid,whence in essence, the onus is on
                                                         the speaker to speak clearly in the first place.

6. Specifically .............................. (sounds impressive, but just get to the point)

7.  So as to achieve ..................... (again another impressive, but leading to some lofty ideals 
                                                          which 99% of the persons hearing it would have some 
                                                          vague or no idea what these ideals are or stand for

8.  More or Less ..........................   its More or its  Less. Not More or Less. Argh ! 

9.    Can I ask a question ? .....................  hey you just did. Next question please ! 
                       
10.  Cut to the chase.................... (what in heaven's name is that, an American poorly made 
        movie cuts to the chase, when the plot is hopeless and hence have to make do    
        with the mandatory car chase, which gives everyone some satisfaction that $11 goes 
         to see some heavy metal getting crunched - its a mind numbing but somehow 
        hypnotic feeling watching cars flipping and getting crunched, and inevitably exploding 
        into a gazillion million pieces with fire, sound and oh so handsome lead actors and 
        voluptuous actresses walking away and fire in the background. 

        So you mean,when I speak, you want me to cut to the chase, and what ,feel satisfied ?

        Americans are so painfully stupid in expecting a car chase or machine mangling scene, 
       so much so it is called a Blockbuster and it has creeped into our everyday language. 

        If it was a period piece with only witty dialogue and some scenery, it would be called a 
        Mind Bender          




         

Wooloomooloo SteakHouse at Raffles City, Singapore Aug 10th 2013

Wooloomooloo Steak 250 g

        On the 3rd Floor of The Westin Hotel, Raffles City, nestled in the corner is a gem of a steakhouse called Wooloomooloo Restaurant. Based on a suburb of Sydney (I am told by a gracious gentleman, Mr. KC Boey), it serves great mouth watering steaks which frankly require no condiments or sauces. We had a fine feast last Saturday 10th August to 'celebrate' the National Day holiday the day before. We ordered 3 steaks and had the Crab Cakes and Scallops as starters. 

                                          Crab Cake with Mayonnaise and Tartar Sauce

      This was my second visit with the family to Wooloomooloo and the experience was just as wonderful, to be absolutely honest. One would think that this restaurant originated from Austalia, but no, this was formed about 8 years ago in Hong Kong, taking the Australian (and American) Black Angus, Wagyu cows as their staples for the steaks. And they did not disappoint. The best of the 3 steaks was the Ribeye, (picture 3 below) flavourful, when done Medium Well, ie. there is a hint of the blood in the center of the 2 inch thick chunk of meat. For medium or even medium rare, be prepared for blood ooozing out once you cut into the steak. 

      Ribeye 250g is good enough for a large person to handle, in my opinion, but as there are 4 of us relatively small eaters, 3 steaks were good enough to fill us, together with starters which incuded 2 servings of French Onion soup. This soup was nothing memorable, and one might be better off ordering the oysters freshly air flown from Australia instead of the soup. The flavour of the Ribeye is one of slightly smoky and salty beef, but with the marbelling (fat), the meat melts in your mouth. Osu !! 

Scallop wrapped with Bacon

2nd favourite (anyway by me) is the Wooloomooloo, which was another Ribeye but done with the Ranch style barbecue flavour which oozes out with every bite. Again, another fantastic steak which requires no condiments or steak sauce, and can fill any large person's stomach quite nicely. The condiments are the mushroom sauce, mustard, red wine, we used them sparingly, such was the quality of the meat. Side dishes would be french fries which I felt was rather small and not bite sized. There are numerous sides such as baked potato in their skins, mashed poatatoes and even some long grained rice for must have rice eaters. 

                                                         Ribeye Steak 250 g 

      The Filet Mignon was the 3rd steak had by us, and it was with little fat, so all lean meat. I would say it is good for people who want a 'healthy' steak. This, we ate with the condiments and sauces.  Portion is 200 g which is also a decent sized one. Flavour was not as tasty as the other 2, because it was lean meat, but a good steak nonetheless. 

My son Andrew and I 

Finally, the house wine (I had the Shiraz) was palatable and the dessest was their signature upside down Brown Cake with ice cream. This was the ultimate in terms of calories, so we ordered just 1 and shared by the 4 of us. Then our weighing scale would not complain the next day !

     Damage for the 3 steaks, 2 starters with 2 soups, 1 wine and dessert came to $440 or roughly US$ 350 for  4. Its pricey but well worth the experience. 

The feeling after a hard run

     I have just finished a 5 Km run around my estate. I started at 5.03 pm and finished at 5.35 pm, roughly 31 minutes and 40 seconds later. I am recording this down for people who have never experienced the 'runner's high'.

     Firstly, as I approach the bend towards my home, every muscle, every sinew, and my heart, mind are pumping and fixated at the end point of the run. The focus is 110 %, sounds of cars and buses rushing by (the last stretch is by the Main Road) are dimmed, and I am enclosed in my own little world of self motivation, every thought is now on the words "Come On, go for it !!:"  as if my life depended on running this race, as the Best Race of my Life.
I am not sure why, but I drive myself this way, every run, except when I am running with little children, will ultimately end up with me pushing every sinew, every breath to reach the finish line with a great intensity.         

      Once I have reached the finish line, (an imaginary line just outside my house), I realise that my heart is beating like 160 beats per minute, I am gasping for air, and I have discovered  how to make a smart retort to some debate on a point on Facebook. Every sinew is aching, loose, and then I realise,   

     " I am alive, This is me. I have done it "

     The endorphin chemicals start to kick in around 10 minutes after the run, and the feel good aspect of relaxing muscles, more brilliant colours around me, and sounds more acute, make me realise that hey, my five senses are suddenly stimulated to the point that 

     It feels Very Good. 

    Every care or concern of the day or the week has dissipated, and I am transported back to the Carefree days of my youth. No pain, no worries, just happiness and warm fuzzy feelings. 

   At least for a few hours anyway.

    This is the feeling I experience after a hard or long run, especially around 10K or longer.

       

View from Eiffel Tower ; La Defense

                                         The View of Paris from the Eiffel Tower, only building is La Defense

      I read some years back, this wonderful story about the German Governor, General Dietrich Hugo von Chiltitz, who was in charge of defending Paris (during Germany's occupation of the France during the 2nd World War), in 1944. Once D - Day came on June 6th 1944, the Germans bid a hasty retreat and sometime in September, the Allies troops were within capturing distance of the city.

      The SS (or Secret Police) had ordered the General to burn Paris and all its monuments, so that the victorious Allies would be left with the hulk of the city. The General, actually disobeyed the instructions and withdrew. It was disputed who actually delayed the planned explosions, but my guess is that the French Resistance and American Allies were busy negotiating this so a major catastrophe had been averted.

      So the title of the book "Is Paris Burning ?" was very apt.

     Paris, the city is full of iconic structures. France probably was once a Great Power during the 1600 -1800s during the Renaissance Period, however, many of its economic and political powers have been much reduced in the last 50 years rendering it to be like a Third World Country with slums and poverty all around. Paris has seen better days. 

     However, as a Fashion Capital, it is still right there at the top. All the brand names, Hermes, LV, Givenchy, Giorgio Armani, Jill Sander, Prada, Balenciaga etc. all have their flagship stores of Europe right smack at Georges V, or Avenue Champs Elysee. The real estate rents or sales are probably in the millions of Euro per month.   

     I find the city quite charming, and the French cuisine is practically the best in Europe. French people can be very welcoming, provided you speak their language. English is a language best reserved when mingling with the shop assistants in the branded boutiques.

     I found this anecdote quite amusing. In 2008, my wife and I went to Paris for several days, and we arranged to meet for lunch at the Printemps rooftop. I had 'learnt' some basic French (French in 1 day), so was using it for all kinds of interaction with the people. I found them quite approachable, back to the lunch, so when we decided to order, I chose the steak and fries and placed my order in French. The chef, was responding to me in kind, in French and even grinned and me. Next behind me, came this burly American, and he ordered the same thing in English. The French chef put on a dour face and handled his order quite rudely, and dumped the steak on his plate !

      In Rome, do what the Romans do, in Paris, same thing, speak French and be treated like a guest of a Once Great Power. Act like a dumb American and be prepared to be insulted !!

     Seize the Day.  

            

I need to do 2 to 3 x 10 K runs from now on

                                          Before my 25 K run at ECP, in 2010, Newton Run

      This morning, on National Day (Singapore's Independence Day ; 48 years old), I did my 10K run at Dalvey Eastate Road. Nothing spectacular, nothing out of the ordinary, but I remind myself ever so often, " time is running fast away, life is now today today, Up and On" from our School Song. I am 50 turning 51 later this year. So every opportunity to do the things I love to do, like running, I will make time for.  

      I also reflected on some of the articles written years ago by the great runner writer Dr. George Sheehan, and how he would dutifully put pen to paper, and write down how he felt after each run. So today on 9th August, I have again put electronic pen to virtual paper and write down how I am feeling after today's National Day Run. 

     I guess I have been running every National Day for the last 11 years now, when I took up running as a serious hobby. Some were great like today, some were just way too hot, like the time I ran one in 2010 and nearly passed out at East Coast Park.

     Every run is different in the sense that I think about random things, which float into my mind. So today, I thought about my committment to my serious hobby and how in the last 3 marathons (2010 - 2012) I have slowed down from a 4 hours 45 minute marathoner to an over 6 hours 5 minutes marathoner. This is inenvitable, I thought. But, when I pulled out my dairies from the earlier years (2009, 2010), I realised that my timing from those years and the timing now is about the same for 5 Ks and for 10Ks. So what is the problem ? Is it slowing down due to age ?

       I do not think so, it is lack of motivation and insufficient training. I have been cruising these last 2 - 3 years in my training, so much so that it reflected in my run times. I take comfort that the gentleman who was pictured during the Boston Marathon in May (he was on the ground just near the finish line) was a ripe 78 years old. His finishing time, was just over 4 hours.

     What ?   If at 78 he can run slightly below 4 hours or thereabouts, what about a young spring chicken like myself !!  I am 27 years younger !. 

     Its time I picked up the pace of training and achieved much better body conditioning. 

    I will need to do at least 3 - 4 10Ks per week and build up the distance from there. I have barely 4 months to my goal early December. Starting today. No excuses. Just pure endurance and persistance. 

    Let me do it again.