Cousin Jacintha's Solo Performance - 29th March 2024 - Inter Continental Singaopore

 

With cousins Dr Rose, her hubby Prof Satku, Ms. Noor Quek, yours truly and Jacintha

29th March 2024.It was a very special evening of Jazz. The lobby lounge of the InterContinental was booked from 8 till 10.30 pm for a virtuoso performance by my cousin Jacintha. The place was packed and there were about 50 people in attendance.

She has a super smooth vocal range and her music, backed by an excellent 3 piece band, was in top form.

She sang favourites from her album Here's to Ben and Autumn Leaves. I had my request for Summertime which was done superbly and it really made my day.

Ja, you are one awesome and super talented lady and I feel so privileged to watch you perform in person.

The audience was awe struck by the perfection of the songs sung by you and the ambience was truly exceptional.  

A wonderful memorable evening. 

Carpe Diem 

Physical Versatility ; Cross Training is so important

 

Last Sunday's karate training emphasises the athlete's desire to cross train. This way the different sets of muscles are stressed and given a workout way beyond what ordinary long distance running can achieve. 

That and fact that the interplay between the muscles and bones structure help my body to maintain its flexibility and strength means that I will be pracitising and participating in karate sessions for the forseeable future.

My first visit to London and Europe in June 1974

 

By Tower Bridge circa June 1974 

I was fortunate to be given the tremendous opportunity to go to Greece and London when my father took me for 2 weeks (if I recall correctly) in the school holidays period of June 1974. That is 50 years ago !

This is a picture of pudgy me in front of Tower Bridge in a red sweater and Nana Mousskouri glasses. I had and still have bad myopia and have been short-sighted since I was 9 years old.

My memories of my first trip to London was that  the climate was cold (maybe high teens) and dry so much so that my lips cracked after a few days upon arrival.

 

ISO 9001 : 2015 Certification for QRA International

QRA International has recently been awarded the ISO 9001 : 2015 for the 3rd time in its history. This achievement has been due to the hard and consistent efforts of the small but reliable and hard working team of people who put their energies, commitment to quality and a resilience to failure time and again to strive for the best Quality Experience to it customers.

We have never compromised on providing quality as well as taking ownership to problems which will surface from time to time when the equipments we provide, the service we offer and the proposals we submit experience issues.

For issues make us resilient and strong. We have and will always overcome any setbacks when we choose to tackle these projects,

QRA provides the following products and services to Biomedical, Aerospace and Advanced Manufacturing industries : 

1. Accelerated aging and Shelf Life Testing - ASTM F 1980 -21 and ISO 11607

2. Environmental Simulation (QRA) and Volatile Organic Compound Chambers 

3. Repair Services of all brands of test chambers

4. Calibration Services

5. Athletic Chambers for Athletes and Rehabilitation

We will strive for ever improving sales and profits through focussing on our core values which are :

1. Integrity in conducting our business

2. Diligence in attending to customer's needs

3.Trust that we will never disclose client's information.

4.Compassion to help the less privileged (we have a social responsibility focus too).   

Let us all sit back and reflect on our journey to greater heights in the years to come ! 

Choose QRA for all your testing and QA requirements 

Website : www.qra.com.sg

Email     : qrasales@qra.com.sg

                mark@qra.com.sg

 

Athletic Chamber Installation in Aspetar Doha Qatar Hospital in 2017 - 5 Years before the World Cup !

 Hard at Work 

Installation in Doha Aspire hospital May 2017. 

QRA International has a flagship product which we will be making a global presentation in 2024. The athletic chamber is the 'secret weapon' for many Western sports associations for the longest time.

Many athletes have been using chamber technology to condition their bodies to get maximal performance for up to 2 weeks after use. This is testament to Singapore's fine performance of its track, sailing, and high jump athletes in the current Asian Games held in Hangzhou China.  

Now,with 2 chambers sold in Singapore (2015 and 2016) plus another 2 sold in Qatar (2017) and Australia (2018) respectively QRA is ready to 'let fly' the athletic chamber to the sporting world.

 

Levelling of the Floor at Aspire Doha 

Essentially the chamber is just a controlled environmental room. The limits of the controlled environment of the chamber is determined by the limits in which our world's environment. However, since there are no ultra marathons in -40 C in Kamchatka or Siberia, there is no need to control the temperature to -40 C. Most chambers which we design reach lows of 0C or -20 C. 

The highest temperature reached is +50 C which can be reached in desert climates like the Sahara and Gobi deserts. 

Temperature Range (Athletic Chamber) : 0  C to +50 C

Humidity levels are typically from 20% to 95% (Singapore's humidity is easily 70 - 80% most times of the year). The humidity in the chamber is controlled using steam generation (100%) and a cooling coil to reduce the RH by condensation. Rather overuse of power, but it generates the necessary humidity nonetheless. 

Therefore Relative Humidity : 20 - 95%

For elite athletes and conditioned athletes to train inside the chamber, QRA employs the use of Amine scrubbers which typically 'catch' the CO2 molecules from the air passing through and 'cleaning' the air to be pumped back into the room by this method. Human beings emit a lot of CO2 out into the atmosphere and a surprising fact if that many people die in enclosed spaces due to Carbon Dioxide poisoning rather than Oxygen deprivation or too low levels of oxygen when they are trapped in an enclosed space (say a closed mine, or skiiers in a crevice).

CO2 : less than 2000 parts per million per m3 of air.   

In summary, QRA INTERNATIONAL can provide the following : 

Walk- In Athletic Chamber for up to 10 people 

Size : 6 m x 6 m x 3 m 

Temperature Range : 0 to 50 C

Temperature Control : +/- 3 C 

Humidity Range          : 20 - 95%

Humidity Control         : +/- 5%

CO2 Control               : less than 2000 ppm per m3 of air inside chamber after 1 hour of intensive use.

Contact us Now for a detailed Discussion and No obligations Quote 

Email : qrasales@qra.com.sg

Website : www.qra.com.sg

Price Range : US$ 200,000 onwards 

Driving a Convertible in Europe - 1997 ( a Repost from Dec 5th 2008 2 - Living Life in the Fast Lane)

 

This photo was taken in June 1997, the year the first signs of the Asian Financial Crisis was starting to hit. The COE (Certificate of Entitlement) in Singapore that year was hovering around S$ 50,000 after having hit a record high of in excess of S$ 100,000 (!). I was in Germany for the agents' Worldwide Sales Conference for a week and my then business partner booked the Mercedes Benz SLK 420 convertible to rent for 3 days for a (then) reasonable sum of S$ 1,200 (about S$ 400 per day after converting from Deutchmarks). Petrol costs on the other hand, were another matter altogether ! Price per litre of petrol was hovering around DM 2 (S$ 2.00) per litre in France and DM 1.70 (S$ 1.70) for Germany.

To drive a luxury car in Europe is frankly one of us guys' pleasures and to drive a convertible at 240 km/hr on the Autobahn - there are no speed limits except for a few stretches near the big cities like Frankfurt, Cologne or Munich, is really something to be experienced. The Germans really DO appreciate and understand the mechanics and decades of technology advancement of the car (this is the country which produced the first petrol fired vehicle - Daimler) and the weather during spring / summer is perfect for this land tourer with the top down. Showy, YES but then LIFE is to be savoured within ones means isn't it ?

There is nothing quite like it over in this part of the world, firstly because of the humidity in S.E.Asia,and secondly there is NO WAY one can get by driving in Singapore or Malaysian highways at 240 km/hr without worrying when the 'Uncle Sam' (traffic police) is going to pounce on you.

Can I get 300,000 views by June 2024 ?

 

In Sevilla Dec 2022