Our special guest on campus today was Sir Ian McKellen whom his hosts, SRT, brought over. The RSC's on tour in the region and this was an opportunity to get up close and personal with the people in their host country, and our opportunity to interact with a real theatre professional with years of experience under his belt.

His audience were most of our lit and Drama Club kids, all of whom have bought tix to watch King Lear tomorrow night, and Seagull on Sunday afternoon. So this was an opportunity for them to thank us for our enthusiastic support.

There was a lot of excitement among the kids, and LT3 was buzzing right up to the time our guest walked in. The most keyed up must have been Mel, who played hostess to the event. She looked to the furniture arrangements, refreshments, liaison with SRT, and even as she assigned us staff with various duties to carry out (I got to be official PowerPoint slide clicker) we all took terms to calm her down. For the last couple of days as she was arranging this visit, she was a nervous wreck.

Sir Ian was a gracious guest. He thrilled the Drama Club's "Othello" main cast by identifying each one in the audience and addressing them in turn. Very few people can make this combination of literary, theatrical, arts kids quiet for long, but as he spoke, the kids hung onto every word. Whether he shared his personal theatre experiences, his observations of the Hollywood film set, or the real need for the world to seek acceptance for diversity, or his delivery of a 16th Century speech by Sir Thomas Moore, he had the crowd in awe.

Sir Ian's purpose was to promote theatre among the young people, and I hope that what he saw of "Othello" in the pix we showed him showed him that Drama is alive and well in NY! His other message to us was about welcoming the stranger, the foreign-born visitor to our land, which is a highly pertinent one for us to remember. For one thing, we commemorated Racial Harmony Day (not that I think he knew anything about it) today, and for another, it's important to remember that we are an immigrant nation after all, so if anyone needs to be nice to foreigners, it's us!

More pix:

Bade farewell to Gerald's dad who lived 6 more years after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. June and I dropped in at the wake for a short while, then had to go up north to help M-i-L begin her move her new house. Fortunately, the new place is only a few blocks away from the old one, and with the 2 trips we made with M2 stuffed to the brim with odd bits of barang-barang, we officially commenced the exodus.

The APEX people have finally uploaded their comments about NYconneX: "Intriguing presentation of very well-written, involving content -- a site full of appealing stories, reviews, news, and staff biographies makes for an interesting and very inviting site."

Not sure where they got staff bios from, but at least we know what worked. Now it's time to ramp up quality control for the new management team. APEX has linked our URL to their site, and we're already starting to get hits from the outside world.

The 'Swarm Theory' article in Nat Geo (07/07) has redefined the way I view leadership. (Warning: this entry contains more than a little self-indulgence, prolonged perusal of which may cause headaches or narcoleptic seizures).

I was observing Mel today and couldn't help wondering how it was that she could initiate a project that would cost students nearly $100 each, and she still had over a hundred students sign up for it. Similarly, Amy just announces on the quiet, "Let's go watch Shrek," and 500 kids sign up, pay their money, and Eng Wah's never seen a better afternoon crowd on a Monday.

If I tried something like that, I'd probably get about 12 kids signing up in total, and 8 kids will call me on the day to tell me they're dropping out, and can they have their money back, please.

Now I see the answer possibly lies in our different styles of leadership philosophy, and paradoxically, while their styles are particularly suited to lead people, my style works more like how Swarm Theory works.

First, I'm actually quite horrified with the 'hive-mind' mentality. There's no individuality, no free-will, just mindlessly doing the bidding of a central intelligence that does all the pre-thinking for the collective. Star Trek's Borg collective, for example, purports itself as functioning under a hive-mind. There is only one Queen who makes all the decisions, while the individual Borg do whatever she tells them to do, then go back into their closets when they're done. Often, they wind up dead.

But, surprise! The above scenario is quite the opposite from how swarms operate! The scenario is more reminiscent of how human beings organize themselves. A central government, often under the leadership of a charismatic personage, that rules by limiting the choices of the people. And people, while in love with the illusion of 'self-determination', actually like to be told what to do because it takes the responsibility and burden of choice off their shoulders. Life, after all, is complicated enough as it is.

This sort of leadership requires careful planning on the part of the central deciding body. It anticipates problems; plans contingencies; allocates resources; draws up SOPs, rules and regulations; and concerns itself with the 'fairness' of job allocation (you can abuse people however you like, as long as they still have the inalienable freedom to complain).

Each stage of planning reduces the choices people can make. The more detailed the plan, the more structured and organized it is, the fewer options are left for the individual worker to deal with. Hence, people gravitate towards micromanaged organizations which make the masses move more or less forward towards a predetermined objective. Predetermined, that is, by the leadership.

While Mel and Amy set very admirable objectives that benefit their students no end, other less selfless leaders have used central control to build monuments to themselves at the expense of their followers, or leave legacies of horror in their wake. In situations where individuals need to exercise thought and moral consideration, central control switches off the individual's mind, and absolved of choice, the individual simply "obeys orders". Think of the central controlling agencies of the Nazis, or the blind obedience of extremists to fatwahs issuing from dubious authorities with questionable motives, and we see how the system fails its followers, and harms others that are not part of the system.

On the other hand, it is the characteristic of swarms to have neither management nor organization that is held within an exclusive group of individuals that sets itself above the mass. The Queen bee simply lays eggs, and doesn't "control" the movements of any other bee, worker, soldier or drone. Each individual simply does its job based on the need.

No individual has a collective "big picture". They only see what's in front of them, but this information is relayed in an ever expanding chain (of information and not command, mind you) so that the collective group "knows" what needs to be done, what actions need to be taken, even if the individual has no clue what's going on.

When decisions have to be made for the group, personal evaluations are made of the options given, a simple voting process takes place (see experiment with how the test bees choose their new hive) and the majority wins with no repercussions on the losing voters. By swarm intelligence, the decision is almost always the correct one.

It seems odd to me that in a swarm, every individual exists as an individual and is respected as an individual. Every individual is trusted to do what is necessary at the time it is needed, without having to be told what to do. There is way more freedom in a swarm than in a democracy. How about that?

Unfortunately, human beings cannot move like a swarm. People place too much vested interest in themselves and so they can never feel equal to anyone else around them. People either desire to rise above their neighbours and dictate their desires for the group to comply to, or they feel powerless and refuse to make decisions even for themselves.

I certainly am no leader of people. I am a swarm of one.

Just brilliant. I get upset by a printer that refuses to print, and I take it out on the first person to say the wrong thing to me. And NBS was, I believe in all sincerity, just trying to be nice. My response was uncalled for. I wasn't being ironic, sarcastic, or even remotely humourous, as I am on the rare occasion. It was pure bile and rudeness, and immediately regretted the moment it came out. Way ta go, idiot. You really know how to push people away.

Fortunately, NBS isn't the over-the-top emo type. I don't think she took it to heart. Apologies for being such a piss-pot this morning.

I've always preferred the company of women. When a bunch of guys get together, there's very little else they can do except compete with each other as to who the biggest jerk is. The winner gets to be the leader of the pack, then they go looking for another bunch of guys to prove how big a bunch of jerks they all are.

There, in a nutshell, is how basically every gangfight, battle and world war starts. It's just testosterone frothing wild and unchecked, and civilizations get swept away by the hormonal tsunami. Just point to any place on the map that is experiencing some kind of conflict today -- Pakistan, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, southern Thailand, southern Philippines, Nigeria -- these are all hotspots for all those in contention for the Jerk of the Year award. These are also places in which testosterone has completely overbalanced estrogen -- either by physical demographic or by willful repression -- and there's no holding back the tide any longer.

Whether it's a government-backed army, a people's movement, a rebel force or terrorist organization, it's usually a large number of grizzled, unwashed, female-deprived males making up the main body. Maybe that's why God created Eve. Adam didn't need a 'helpmate' for assistance dealing with the animals around him, he needed help reining in the animal inside him.

Women, I find, are a civilizing influence, when they have the power to be themselves. For the sake of female company, men take the effort to smell nice, look presentable, practice basic courtesy, and have the opportunity to think of someone else besides ourselves. Ok, there are women who will observe that men are still seriously lacking in chivalry here in civilized S'pore. True, but we're not exactly the Taliban either.

Still, Asian society is something of a concern seeing as how our traditions place more value on boys than girls even today. Somehow, Asian families are finding ways and means of tipping the odds towards bringing forth offspring of their preferred gender, leaving a disconcerting numerical discrepancy between boys and girls growing up in the years to come.

It's bad enough when boys compete against each other for "fun", but when men compete with each other over women, that's when the s**t really hits the fan. That eventuality looks like it's not going to be long in coming:
Hainan's missing baby girls
Why baby boys are more sought after in Asian societies
Who will marry us?

Doh! Let's enjoy civilization while it lasts.

When I drive down Braddell towards Thomson, it always amazes me that the authorities actually bothered to split the road to preserve a giant angsana tree that's been standing in that exact spot for the last 80 years. It also amazes me that the tree is one of the oldest of its kind on our island. 80 years. My grandfather lived till he was 90. And by Sunday, this well-weathered octogenarian will be on the chopping block, yet another victim to Singaporean impatience and inflexibility.

Because, despite signposts and warnings, my fellow drivers refuse to slow down to accommodate the road diversion, thereby posing a danger to themselves and to other drivers on the road. It isn't like the little island the tree stands on pops up like a surprise, forcing drivers to slam on their brakes to slow down. The signs are clear and given well in advance, but still... around here, 'slow' is a worse profanity than that other 4-letter word.

And so, because our drivers are stupid, we lose yet another connection to the Earth, another reminder that our planet doesn't exist for the human species alone. In our mania to travel in straight lines at great speeds, we forget to bend, to sway, to enjoy being flexible and appreciate the variety of pace and rhythm, and everything else that makes life interesting in its diversity. And we shrug our shoulders while we complain how stressful life is.

It isn't just about a tree -- although that is sad in itself -- but there's a price to be paid for such callous treatment of things that inconvenience us in the slightest. The immediate punishment is to bear the shame of being associated with the many drivers that ultimately signed the old tree's death-warrant. The longer-term consequences that will befall us as a people for harboring such an attitude, I dare not even speculate.

You have to respect Dolores Umbridge. Of all the teachers at Hogwarts', she may be the most facistic, sadistic, self-righteous, self-aggrandizing, pain-in-the-butt on the staff roster, but you really must take your magic hat off to her grasp of pedagogy and how she applies it.

None of the students in the Defence of the Dark Arts ever learned the subject faster than when she was in charge. Her strategy is simple, straightforward, but most importantly, effective. She alienates herself from most of the student body (except for the students looking for empty titles and commissions), rules by decree and terror, clamps down on freedom, withholds knowledge, emphasizes theory over practice, and instead enforces study solely for the sake of passing exams. Hmm... sounds familiar.

Umbridge is such a horror, Harry and co. decide they aren't learning anything useful from her and they start teaching themselves, designing their own curriculum, and by fusing both theory and practice in their study, they are producing their own patronus by year-end -- advanced stuff for their level. People may hate her affected mannerisms, but, boy, the Umbridge Method brings quality results in the shortest given time!

Wonder if our students would take their subjects into their own hands if we stopped being nice to them, and started behaving more like Nazis and less like their friends? One thing I'll say about the Hogwarts' kids is that they trust and respect each other enough to accept teaching from their peers. What I worry about is that our kids have been raised to be so self-deprecating, so teacher-dependent they won't be able to do likewise.

Welcome to Urban Pooch -- a doggy day-care, grooming, supply store and cafe catering to the discerning palates of both human and K9 companion. Urban Pooch is at Monville Mansions, off Balestier Road. It's a tranquil little oasis compared to the heavy traffic of the main thoroughfare.

Finally, an eating place that's totally dog-friendly and specially licensed to welcome the likes of Q-tip's species. Here, people and dog may eat in peace at the same table. They won't necessarily eat the same food, but the doggy portion looks just as well presented as the human. Chix or lamb, Q-tip?

Service is very personal, since Raye seems to run the operation by herself. I think one of her perks is meeting all sorts of dogs and giving each one an adoring pat on the head. She's quite polite to their owners too.

Main courses come with a side of sup du jour. Today's happened to be a creamy homemade mushroom soup.

I ordered a honey pepper chicken and it came with a colourful side salad. Doesn't it look attractive?

One thing about the food, though, the doctrine here is to go big on taste. The chicken marinade is very generous, thick and rich. Personally, I prefer a more subtle flavour. I like my meats to speak for themselves, but then, I'm a purist about this sort of thing.

I believe the portions are cooked by the order, so next time I'll just remind Raye to go easy on the sauces and keep the meat simple.

If I had a superpower, it would probably be a very limited ability to warp reality to suit my whims and fancies. But it's not a power I have any semblance of control over, though.

Just last Sunday while shopping with June, I had a sudden inexplicable craving for donuts. I must have had a mental flashback of the Krispy Kreme in HK, but since there was no outlet within walking distance from Causeway Point, I had to settle for a plain sugared donut from BreadTalk. It wasn't bad, but not quite what I had in mind.

It takes about 2 days for my reality-warping power to kick in. Awaiting me on my desk at work this morning was a huge box from the Donut Factory containing a chocolate glazed and a plain glazed just for me. It was a Department treat and a motivational boost from Cynth. Must thank her for bothering to line up for them, and for somehow guessing the one item that would perk me up the most. Thanks, Cynth!!!

Then later at dinner with my in-laws, May, who just returned from the US miraculously produced 2 more donuts from... the one, the only, Krispy Kreme! How amazing is that?

So here I sit, stuffed full with a grand total of 4 quality donuts in a single day, eyes glazing over from the sugar rush that's kicking in right about now. What a great superpower!

Now, this is looking like the height of terrorism paranoia:

JI turns to business to help fund activities
It is believed to be selling magazines, VCDs, fertiliser, bread and coffee
By Leslie Lopez, South-east Asia Correspondent

JAKARTA - REGIONAL terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) appears to have gone into business to help fund its activities.

Suspected JI-linked groups have been selling magazines, VCDs, industrial items such as fertiliser and even everyday goods such as bread and coffee, an investigation by The Straits Times showed.

These businesses operate mostly in Indonesia. (ST, July 9, 2007)

'Ey, brudder, come inside lah. Don’t shy. Going shopping for the wife, ah? You come to the right place, man! What? Ya, ya, we just open shop. Everything also we got.

Groceries? Ya, we got bread. White bread, no problem… it’s my pleasure to take out my knife and slice the head off for you first, wait ah… Oh, you want the long one, izzit? Ah, that one very good for roti bomb, I mean, roti John, right? Can, can.

And coffee? Don’t worry, I got the best kind! It’s so strong, it can keep you awake long enough for you to drive your car through an infidel checkpoint just to see some fireworks! A once-in-a-lifetime experience, guaranteed!

You want to see some of my special stocks? Behind that shelf are our more… ahem!… restricted magazines and VCDs. Everything you want to know about the art of stripping weapons and laying bare the secrets of how to be the bomb at parties, I got!

I also got the latest Playjihadist™ where the centerfold model is fully spread out in little bits and pieces all over a public road. She's so hot, she's still smokin' -- show you everything she’s got under her ski-mask, and more!

Oh, fertilizer for your garden, ah? I tell you what, this one I specially import from that kuching kurap little red dot neighbour in the north. Ya, they call it the Straits Times™ but you and I know it’s really compost, correct or not?

Wah, your shopping basket is quite full already. Come, let me total up for you… Hmm? Oh, haha, this is a picture of my uncle, Osama. Ya, he’s my favourite uncle because his bins are always laden with good things. In fact, I get most of my supplies from him! I'm doing my best to support him in his old age, lah.

Brudder, if you don’t mind me saying, ah, why you let your wife make you go shopping for her? You should be more of a man, man! Eh, I know a place where you can get all the virgins you want, who exist just to give you pleasure. Come, follow me into the Men’s Department. There’s this extinguished, I mean distinguished, vest I’d like you to try. Ya, of course! You can’t make a big impression unless you’re dressed to kill…'

We're at Sun Plaza for the Canberra Family Day Cold Dish Cookout

June and M-i-L get busy dicing fruit

A short break to say something nice about the sponsor's products.

Phew! All done!

Ta-dah! It's our ever-popular Waldorf Salad!

But, whoa. Check out what the competition have produced.

We had to leave before we knew the results, but M-i-L hasn't called, so I'm guessing we didn't win this time 'round!

This friendly fellow welcomes diners to Beaulieu House, the little eatery in Sembawang Park. I was feeling bo liao myself, so to take some refuge from the remnants of mid-year exam marking that's currently frying my brain, I thought I'd have a little lunch here.

Odd that this place isn't that far from where I live, relatively speaking, but this is the first time I've ever attempted to eat here. Then again, when I'm here I'm usually with Q-tip who isn't allowed inside most eating places. Today, I was flying solo.

There's a warm, rustic charm to the interior. A little country, and a little history, after all, this quaint little Colonial house is supposed to have been the residence of some European Admiral at some point in the past.

On the menu is the option to go Chinese or Western. I was in the mood for a Western set lunch.

Despite the atas name and setting, the food is neither posh nor pretentious. The starter was a simple pile of fresh tossed salad covered over with French dressing. The main course, a chunk of boneless roast chicken, smothered in a little mountain of fried onions and garlic; chips; and more salad and French. Dessert was a serving of chilled sliced pineapple, watermelon and papaya.

The cuisine here turned out to be more of the home-cooked comfort food variety. There's quantity, and there's the feeling that someone you know, maybe Mom or Grandma, cooked this meal for you. That, and the iced tea, hit the spot this afternoon. Mmm...

The JC1 kids are off honing their leadership skills over at the MOE Labrador Adventure Camp, so I went over to snap a few shots for NYconneX. Can't have an award-winning mag if it isn't constantly kept up-to-date, right?

This batch of kids got to play on the high-elements while the other batch went topo-ing around outside base camp. All the climbing and descending from great heights looked like so much fun, I felt like joining in. Perhaps next time there's a training for instructors...?

But today I had an appointment with JY and Jo in the East. I promised to help Jo with 'blading, and for a beginner she seems to have learned the basics quite quickly. She's already able to walk forward quite confidently without support, so all she really needs is to work on her aesthetic. One thing at a time.

Both JY and I are so exercise-deprived we jumped at this opportunity to de-mothball our 'blades and get moving once again. JY's elated that after only one session, Jo is already tempted to go shopping for her own gear. Definitely some female bonding is imminent.

We, sans Jo, met Mel, B-lo and Haze for dinner at NYDC, Wheelock. Company's a bit different from the usual crowd, but no less engaging and noisy. NYDC offers a reasonable baked pasta/rice dish. I tried the "Three Amigos" variety, the "Three" referring to a meatball, Itie sausage, ham combo. Coated thickly with mozza, plus my own liberal sprinkling of Parmesan, it was quite a substantial meal for only $10.90.

Took M2 back to Mazda. They're recalling all M2s in batches to replace the front coil spring. I believe that's something to do with the shock absorbers, though what the problem actually is, I'm not clear about. Still, it's a free service and they gave M2 a long overdue wash and vacuum too. Job done in less than 3 hours. Didn't feel any different driving home, but will keep monitoring...

I found this little surprise in a UPS package on my desk this morning. Looks like NYconneX has finally got some recognition, at least from this organization that looks at the effectiveness of corporate communications publications and gives out this yearly award.

This award didn't exactly come out of the blue, though. I sent our favourite college newsletter webby in as a entry a few months ago, but considering we were going up against professional corp comms departments, all I could hope for was some constructive advice from the judges about how we could do better next year.

But to receive a Grand Award plaque was totally unexpected. Considering what our fellow awardees produced -- Flash animation, slick layouts, big attractive pix, layouts optimizing use of space, easy navigation -- for the moment I'm still wondering what we did right to impress the judges. The judges' comments will appear on the Awards website "in the days ahead", so I'll keep checking in until they say something about us.

This award belongs to Loga and the journo batch of '06-07, for with their faithful updating of content, with Christine's web design, with the variety of articles ranging from the thinking to the bimbotic, we are really getting a behind-the-scenes view of the college from the students' perspective, and perhaps that "inside" information about our college organization was what got the judges' attention. Just speculating for now.

Coincidentally, today was the inaugural meeting of the '07-08 journos headed by Clara. I just had to wave the plaque at them during the meeting to spur their ambitions a bit more. Hope I didn't overdo it with my gushing... heh.

I intake wine in very small quantities, very infrequently. Especially now that I drive, I've seen even less of the stuff than previously. A little vino looks good at the right occasion on the table, but generally, I'll pass on it if offered. My past experience with alcohol isn't a happy one: just a tiny amount of beer makes me puke my guts out, vino knocks me right out.

With this past history in mind, I signed up for the Wine Appreciation session Linc organized for the staff this afternoon. He promised cheese and crackers in between sips of a few different wines, plus I believed I would be in good, jovial company, so I couldn't resist paying $40 for the experience.

I honestly didn't expect to be impressed with the wine selection. Don't all wines taste the same? No they don't, as it turned out. For every bottle opened, I accepted enough to wet the bottom of my glass, but also enough to savour the different aromas and tastes of the New World wines the supplier brought.

Guess as an inexperienced drinker, I liked the lighter wines better: the sauvignon blanc and the merlot; while I poured away most of the shiraz and cabernet sauvignon. Taste-wise the latter were too tart for my mouth to enjoy. The surprise was the last bottle, an expensive, award-winning Old World Italian wine. In an instant, I learned that expensive wines taste expensive, and I understood why people would pay money for a good bottle. This one would have been a waste to pour away, so what I couldn't drink, B-lo cheerfully finished off for me.

The cheese that Linc bought also kept us good company. The cheddar was standard, but the spiced cheese, brie and camembert went well with the Carrs (both regular and peppered) as always. Fun as it was to crunch cheese and crackers between refills of wine, I'm glad we paced ourselves so that our supplies lasted the entire afternoon.

Oddly enough, all that vino didn't affect me like it usually does. I didn't drink much, but combining the 6 bottles we sampled, I must have consumed more than half a glass, the amount of which usually puts me right out. Guess it must be due to the pace we were going at: swirl, sniff, sip, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, sample cheese, sample cracker, sample cheese and cracker, sip some more, repeat a couple more rounds, then we're ready for the next bottle.

Our $40 fee also bought us a bottle of merlot and a bottle of shiraz to take home. Think they'll make nice Christmas gifts for the right people.

Not a day after the release of the iPhone, we are already getting reports that some people's motivation to fork out US$500-$600 for this shiny new piece of gadgetry is to smash it up just to see what's inside. Then they show off what they've learned by publishing their research on the 'net, like the folks at Wired mag did. Granted, 'Wired' probably used a corporate account to finance the operation, but other regular joes paid out-of-pocket too.

Would we S'poreans ever do such a thing? For a few weeks, I even kept the protective plastic layer on my Samsung's glass panel, just to keep pristine (*blush). And I paid a comparative fraction of what a new iPhone would have cost me for it.

See, the difference is that we S'poreans are ultimately end-users. We pay retail for a gadget, we max out its functionality, occasionally we personalize its aesthetic to suit our tastes, and when it gets obsolete we dump it and get the next-gen model. We don't care what goes on inside, we don't care what makes it tick. We don't work on it, we want it to work for us. We get maximum benefit, wring it dry, love it and leave it. There's a word for this kind of behaviour: superficiality.

We do the same thing with people too. Our maids, foreign workers, employer-employee, vendor-customer (both ways). We don't bother with what's going on inside them, what they're thinking about or what motivates them. As long as they work to our specifications, there's no trouble, but as soon as there's friction we're already thinking of a replacement.

For them Americans, they're willing to pay good money to settle their curiosity. They think about how it works, while we're busy wondering, "why doesn't it work?" They're busy tinkering, innovating, and making lots more money when they come up with a new device. We're just happy to buy new stuff. I ask you, between the California blonde and the SPG, who's the real bimbo?

If innovation is to be our future, how do we stop being a nation of sarong-clad bim-bots? It starts with what we teach our kids (ya, ya, I know, groans all-round). Each of our subjects have a certain amount of content, but we've got to deliver the content in such a way that the kids can engage it with curiosity. They gotta want to question the content, take it apart, and see how it works for themselves. We gotta stop emphasizing that simply repeating content back to us is evidence that they know their stuff.

We can start by getting rid of our biggest crutch: the "ten-year series", which gives the faulty impression that the questions will always be the same, hence the answers will always be the same. We should get rid of our reliance on 'model answers' -- t'ain't no such animal. We need to teach the kids to respect every question on its own merit, and help them develop the skills to systematically work out their answers, rather than spew out everything they can remember on the topic, which only shows how well they memorized their stuff but says nothing about their ability to deal with the problem.

We gotta teach them how to relate to people better too, too see people as people and not just another appliance to be used for convenience sake, or whatever. Of course, all easier said than done.

And, no, I'm not gonna start by smashing up my Samsung. Nice try.

ST asks if S'poreans are bad drivers. It's a valid question, after all the number of traffic fatalities is still high, incidents of road rage are on the increase, and we all could list a number of poor driving habits we encounter by our fellow drivers on our roads.

Generally, I encounter the impatient sort, the tailgater, the no-signal lane-changer, the idiot who speeds up to close the gap when I dutifully signal I want to change lanes. The morons who think my minimum safety distance is sufficient space to cut into my lane. Each incident raises driver alertness, but it also causes an emotional response as well -- anger, which often triggers a desire for vengeance or at least competition. All very dangerous impediments to safe driving.

There'd be a lot more of us still alive if we were a little more patient with each other, a little less in a hurry ourselves. Good luck with that in modern, busy S'pore, you say. Perhaps the problem isn't that the roads aren't safe enough, but rather, that our roads are too safe. According to the theory of 'risk compensation', animals and people tend to take greater risks the safer they feel in their environments.

Perhaps we need to remove our numerous traffic lights, our speed limits and warning signs. Get rid of our lane markings and do whatever else we can to raise the threat level on the road. Then perhaps our drivers will start taking more personal responsibility over the way they drive. Roads don't have to be safe. Drivers do.

Think I got this idea because I'm crazy? It's an idea that seems to work. Check out this article by Anne Casselman in Discover mag. Click.

Our popularity waxes and wanes like the phases of the moon. When nobody wants us, crickets chirp blissfully in the background. When we're needed, well... today for instance:

We finished mashing our egg-salad last night and took a 3-hour time out to sleep before buttering 17 loaves of bread this morning. Each slice thinly spread with an even coat of butter just so, in order to complement the flavour of the egg filling without overpowering it. We quarter each sandwich, so our target was to make 600 quarters before noon. Mission accomplished... just barely!

Showered and dressed, delivered the sandwiches to Bro in Geylang, then on to Queenstown to attend the wedding of Josh and Jan (pix left). In a compact little service involving lots of singing, they finally tied the knot in front of us (they had already tied the knot in front of Jan's folks in Bangkok a year or so ago). I always thought Josh reminded me of Bert, but as he sang to Jan, his easy-listening vocals reminded me then of Kermit's. Random thought.

Couldn't stay long, though the reception was quite yummy. We had a pot luck at Jen's place and we still had to go pick up dessert. Jen does a beautifully light pie-tee that we put together ourselves. She also cooked her Peranakan specialties while Adrian improvised an exotic chicken dish though he only returned from HK past midnight last night. Our dessert: Ritz apple strudel, hastily bought from Parkway Parade. We were late, and we'd just run out of imagination. Fortunately, Jen had a couple of tubs of Tiger Sorbet and Chendol ice-cream from Island Creameries to make our contribution a little more exciting. She's a great hostess!

Busy, busy day.