We need a change in management

There has been much said about our Mass Rapid Transit System or the SMRT ; while the goal and tagline had been to make our system "world class" the sad reality is that it is far from that. Breakdowns and trains slowing or delayed for all manner of reasons has made our SMRT a much joked about service. Enough is enough. 

The frustration by the consumers are very fair, why pay decent money to get new and top quality trains only to have frequent breakdowns barely several years after the lines are fully operational ranging from signalling systems,trackside misalignment to water seepage (most recently).  The company is paying top dollar (over US$ 1.2 M) for top executives to manage a relatively new system but the screw-ups come fast and furious. The management while able to pinpoint the faults and enable alternative transportation quite efficiently still is unable to mitigate the regular incidences of failures and train delays.   

The root cause is the hiring of inexperienced people - at top dollar - to run the system. Much has been said by the people and their unhappiness is very clear whenever their are breakdowns and delays for a myriad of reasons. To expect or say this is 'normal' due to our aging system is nothing short of ridiculous. 

With this kind of pay, our SMRT can easily find top executives from anywhere in the world to clean house, ensure a smooth and reliable train system.

What kind of system do we have ?  Nothing to match the efficiency of Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and even Shanghai.

Its time to take stock and make some decisions.     

30 April update - the SMRT CEO has decided to step down ; 

A new chapter in Ken Shin Kai Karate Club ; Introductory lesson at SUSS

Jason conducting the class at SUSS (formerly SIM) campus 

The Ken Shin Kai club is now expanding into new territory with the introduction of karate-do (Shitoryu) class at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) - formerly called Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) along Clementi Road. The fist session was 6.30 to 8.00 pm on 6th October and I was one of the instructors helping out to give the newbies a taste of the martial art.

6 enthusiastic young men and women turned up and Kevin Tan who is a lecturer there, started the ball rolling by introducing karate shitoryu philosophy as well as a way of life. After the short introduction, we had approximately half an hour of basic punches, blocks and kicks to get the newbies into 'gear'. 

The undergraduates were mainly from te 3rd year and we (4 black belters) gave them an insight into how to properly execute a punch (with the waist movement first), a kick, some basic blocks and followed by a couple of stances.  

Jason Chua then conducted some bunkai (application of the kicks and punches) and we broke up the group into pairs to try out the application of the chops, kicks and some punches. The men and women throroughly enjoyed the session from what I could see from their happy faces, and the time flew by.

After about 1 hour of training, we then had a kata (form) demonstration by Kevin Tan with Sienchin performance, and the application of the sienchin blocks as well as grabs and punches. 

Ken Shin Kai is now active at the Tanglin Community Club every Sunday from 6.00 to 7.30 pm (Badminton Hall), for kids, it is held every Saturday at the NUSS Guild House Kent Ridge Campus from 10.00 to 11.30. So we are awaiting the further interest from SUSS to study when we can have the weekly or bi-weekly sessions at the new campus.

Thanks to all the instructors involved, Leck Chye Chuan, Kevin Tan, Jason Chua and our sensei Chia Kwek Fah for giving us this opportunity to take on new recruits to the school. 

We are growing step by step.   

6th Oct 2017 ; Son's enlistment into National Service

     

A last wefie before Andrew steps into military life

      6th October 2017 marked another milestone for our family, my younger son, Andrew was enlisted into National Service today. Just shy of his 20th birthday, he dutifully did his part by shaving his head and preparing mentally for the day - which was yesterday.

    All enlistees will serve their National Service for 20 - 21 months approximately (1 year 9 or 1 year 10 months) and the first station is normally the Basic Military Training Centre at Pulau Tekong camp for recruits.

Barracks at BMTC

Cupboard for each soldier 

    The day began early by all of us (wife, myself and Andrew) waking at 6.00 am, having an early breakfast and leaving the house by 7.00 am. Taking the Pan Island Expressway, the pickup point for all new enlistees is the Pasir Ris Bus Station. When we reached the destination at approxinately 8.00 am, we were ushered into buses and brought to the ferry terminus at Changi Point. The Singapore Armed Forces nowadays is very organized and provides staggered enlistment dates and times to cater for the logistics and seamless point to point movement of enlistees, their family members and friends. 

A balanced lunch of protein, vegetables and carbohydrates

    On the ferry, we watched videos of the early days of National Service, with flashbacks to our then Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew, and Defence Minister Goh Keng Swee making impassioned speeches on the necessity of having defence for the nation. 

    From then on, we went to visit his camp, had a peek into a typical bunk where he would be putting up for the next 6 weeks, had a lecture about what type of training he would undergo (he has several medical conditions, so he is within a lower PES category), the vision for the Armed Forces, safety aspects, typical day (reville is at 5.30 am, and all recruits will need to rest for 7 hours no exceptions). The Commanding Officer of the camp also make a talk highlighting the camp's expectations of the recruits, the adherence to discipline, and made available all means of communication with the camp through email, twitter, facebook and of course fixed line. 

    Finally, we witnessed our boys taking the oath to the nation ; this event made me especially proud because like they say, every Singaporean son goes through this rite of passage where they transform from boys to men. I am proud to have served my part years ago and very proud to see both my boys off into their next phase in life. 

    We had a meal together, a rather poignant moment to appreciate our bond and yes, undiminished love. He is a good son, and will one day become a father (we hope) like me. Now he has to do his duty and we see him back home in 2 weeks with his first stories of what recruit  life is like.

Eating the Cookhouse food ; Not bad, and a balanced diet 

   At about 1pm, the new recruits were asked to fall in in rows of 5 and with a sombre wave, and a right turn , they marched into their new phase of life.


   We went home feeling very proud and thoughtful that National Service is such an integral part of all our young men, regardless of race, religion or gender affiliations (that nonsense about transgender rights from the dysfunctional West). Every male from 16 + years onwards of age will serve National Service for 20 or 21 months.

    While doing their duty, we hope that the service will instill values such as discipline, honesty, integrity, leadership, competitiveness and hard work which will be so important in the later years of their lives.  

The batch of recruits falling in before they go into their barracks 

       

Latest Mass Shooting in Las Vegas shows how little we know about Mental Illness

            The recent mass shooting of people in Las Vegas USA randomly in a cold calculated manner, just reinforces the fact that I live in a gun free society, which though some people may call it slightly restricted in certain freedoms, in actuality it is because of these restrictions, that the ultimate freedom is given to its citizens and the permanent residents who can move around at practically any time of day or night, we can walk into ALL neighbourhoods without the slightest fear of harassment, robbery, being caught in the cross-fire of gangs, drug dealers or worse.

         I am happy that for the greater good of society, Singapore and its Government has advocated tough rules on many things. Guns are totally prohibited, and while the US has their 2nd amendment in the Constitution, don't forget that the Constitution was forged when America was a fledgling society 200 odd years who has fought themselves away from the imperialist rule and carrying arms was a way to protect themselves from the British.

          If the Government is there to provide security for its citizens, then there would be no need to resort to carrying or using firearms. I have had the benefit of shooting rifles and semiautomatic weapons during my National Service and Reservist days. All these were done under a strict controlled environment during live firing exercises.  

          The state of mind of people can never be taken as stable. It fluctuates. Mental illness, depression and instability are in my opinion, so insufficiently covered and known by the general population. When you are down with the 'flu, cough, aches, chest pains, you know there is a medical practitioner you can visit and he can diagnose and dispense the medication for your illness.

          If you are mentally ill, have depression or are feeling down, do you go and admit that you are not well 'up there?' Or do you just shoulder on the day to day existence and plod on ?

Accident waiting to happen ; and with access to all the weapons of mayhem at his disposal

         Stephen Paddock was a typical retiree, but something inside him made him do this heinous deed. It was meticulously planned, but the fact he put cameras in the hallways of the hotel floor he was staying in showed he was sane and calculative. The other question which is on people's lips is "why?".  Did he have a big grudge on society ?  Did he want to go out in a big way so that people the world over will remember his gross deed ?

         Did he discover he had an incurable disease and wanted to right the wrongs ? What did all the innocent people at the country music jamboree do to him if anything ? 

        The society in USA is really reeling from this latest horrible act. If we cannot adequately treat the sick or demented mind, then we should at least curb or totally eradicate weapons which would cause this kind of carnage to innocent human beings who will be scarred for life mentally about the objective of humanity. Nothing will change in the future and people will be giving up on living purpose driven lives since random acts of this magnitude  can and will happen time and again.  

       As Trump would say :  "Sad". 

           

  

  

After the 2 - 0 Away Loss away to Sheffield a resounding 4 - 0 away Win at Burton Albion

The team which lost 2 - 0 to Sheffiled United on Tuesday, bounced back and trounced Burton Albion 4 - 0 on Saturday 30th September 2017. The coach is a very wise man and he changed players and using new players as substitutes, the team is not short of firepower. 

The process has been refined to a team which was unlucky having lost 1 defender to a red card, early on during the Sheffield Utd match the team never really regained its shape. I love the way the team players such lovely flowing football instead of the cross and hope of the English game. Goals from Diogo Jota, Siass, a brilliant individual goal from Vinagre and the final icing on the cake from Leo Bonatini leads me to believe this team has the makings of a great side.



A video blog from a teenager who supports Burton Albion, very balanced and very composed vlog. I am impressed by his impartiality as a Burton fan and able to give a very non partisan assessment of the game. Keep it up son ! 


Mr. Nunes Esperito Santos, 

you have my vote as the best coach Wolves have had for 30 years !!! 

Saturday 30th Sept 2017 Run at East Coast Park from B1 to Lagoon Ski 360 Details

The big hairy audacious goal (BHAG) has been set and now is to focus on the process which entails a lot of sweat, some blood, and conscientious and gritty chasing of the daily runs, massage sessions when the body is tired, eating right, getting enough sleep, cross training, fasting the list is endless. The life of a marathoner is lonely but it is something I am accustomed to, from 2001 to 2007.

Its the chasing of the goals at all corners which is the fun aspect. The true satisfaction is only when the actual BHAG is a reality then I can gloat and say "I did it."

We always break our resolutions, because we are not serious in our goal settings.  

My Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) for 2018

Telling the world my BHAG 

I'm taking a leaf from Mr. Sim Wong Hoo, Creative Technology boss who in his book declared that when you have goals, make them Big, Hairy (I think it means a little over the top), audacious (which is Hairy x 2) and a Goal for a lifetime.

So for 2018, I would like to declare this as my BHAG. I have already bitten the bullet and signed up for the Paris Marathon on 8th April ; I have roughly 6 months to train.

Second BHAG : To record a 4 hour 15 time ; for the full 42 km, this means an awesome (to me of course) average time of 6 minutes 7 seconds PER KILOMETER for the entire 42.195 km !!! 

Third BHAG : To lose like 3 - 5 kg (from a 76 kg), my target is to be a trim 71 kg by then. Yes, I will have baggy and loopy looking pants, but the SACRIFICE is worth it.

1. Clarity of mind (objective) : its clear what I need to accomplish ; I then need to break down the objective to bite sized daily, weekly and monthly objectives for a) exercise, b) diet intake and c) sleep sufficiency.  Its the adherence to the package that makes the whole goal realistic.  

2. Purity of Spirit : I want to do this with a pure heart and tell myself that I am doing it for the best intentions ; I will start looking for a charity to support to raise money. Details will follow.

3. Relentless pursuit of the objective : This will be the most challenging and painful. Time will be short. There is business to attend to, bills to pay, appointments to be met, customer visits local and overseas, a year end holiday, new customers, old customers, meeting and managing new staff and overseeing operations, as well as 1 major project with 2 more in the pipeline.

   Tough ; management of time and energy is critical.   

4. Sacrifice : As mentioned, I will need to sacrifice my love of white wine, chocolates and excess foods and drink with the friends to lose that weight. Its an ascetic lifestyle for the next 6 months. 

5. Focus : the goal is the end result ; the process is the training, cross training and the dieting, plus following up on weekly logging of the kms.

6. Discipline :  This is the further manifestation of the previous 2 process factors above. 

    Achieving or finishing the marathon is 1 thing ; achieving it in a Personal Best time is something out of the ordinary. At 55 years of age. 

   I must be crazy.