Sunday:


Anti-pigeon devices: Utrecht Central Station

On Sunday after arriving in Utrecht I was exploring the streets and saw this small building with escalators running. I thought to pop in to hide from the wind and warm up, but the doors were locked. Gah. What a waste of electricity. I then looked for some vlaamse frites to warm me up, but all the frites shops (actually, probably most of the shops, period) I saw were closed! It was only when I neared the Central Station that I got my frites fix.


Frites mascot

The cathedral in Utrecht, the Domkerk, and its tower dominates the city centre. It's the reason why there're height restrictions on buildings in the city centre (one reason why the area is less bustling than it would be). The area connecting the tower and the choir were destroyed in a hurricane, so the tower is oddly discontinuous from the rest of the building.


Domkerk Tower from Cloisters


Domkerk Cloisters


Domkerk exterior


Ooh, public nudity. Since the inscription below read "1940-45" I assume it's dedicated to those who died during the Resistance.

I tried following a walking tour as laid out in a brochure from Hostel Strowis, where I stayed the first night. Due to the lousy directions, though, I couldn't get past the very start of the trail, and hor lan-ed. Eventually, I wandered so far that purely by accident, I found one more part of the trail, which brought me to the remnants of the old city walls. However, I was unable to follow the trail any further due to the poor instructions.


Last remnants of the 13th-14th Century city wall.


No Dutch public toilets are free. Gah.

Despite my disdain of jeans in Singapore, they would come in very useful now: not only for the usual reasons, but for the very one why I don't wear them in Singapore - warmth.

If a certain someone could last a year and a half in Cambridge being unable to cycle, I should survive for half a year here lacking the same skill! Though one good reason to cycle would be that my feet wouldn't hurt as they would from walking.

I find that since entering Slavery, I had been inured to feeling greatly thrilled, but once in the run-up to this trip and once or twice since I arrived I've been gradually resensitising myself.

Although one might have privacy concerns at home, when one is alone in a foreign land, seeing that CCTV cameras are present is a comforting sight.

Although next to everyone in the Netherlands speaks English fairly well (and probably everyone I've interacted with, though I'm not sure if some who grunted at me in Dutch understood me), having all the signs around you in Dutch, having people greet you in Dutch by default and hearing everyone around you talk in Dutch is unnerving. It's probably slightly better in Amsterdam (in shop opening hours - see below - as well), but doubtless more expensive.


Utrecht Canal

After hearing horror stories from a certain someone, I was expecting the shops to be open ridiculously short times (by Singaporean standards) but the opening hours from Monday to Saturday are decent (some shops are closed Monday morning, but who wants to wake up early on a Monday anyway?) It's the Sundays that are annoying - even on the day I arrived, the first Sunday of the month, which was supposed to be Market Sunday, many shops weren't open. It's going to be a ghost town on the other Sundays in the month. I can guess at some of what people spend their Sundays doing, but I'm sure they'd like more flexibility and choice.

I haven't seen any people eating or places selling herring yet - maybe it's an Amsterdam thing.

Travelling in Europe must have been a real pain before the Euro. And travel much more bothersome before handphones and the net.

Flight to Amsterdam

For some reason there was a lot of traffic around the airport on Saturday. Maybe it was an influx of Chingay refugees, prevented from trawling Orchard Road due to the procession.

While waiting for boarding for my shuttle to KL to commence, I saw this stupid girl using the Internet in the waiting area to look at Friendster. Gah.

Sign of the times: announcements at KLIA are now made first in Malay, then in English, and finally in Mandarin. I also saw more PRCs around than in the last few times I've transited there.

I tried the free Internet at KLIA but it was hideously bad - not only was it slower than dialup, Content Advisor kept popping up when I tried to login to Hotmail, so I gave up in the end.

Despite my quip about their motto, MAS hadn't yet disappointed me. Yet, when we boarded the plane to Amsterdam, it was extremely hot, as if the air conditioning had just been turned on. A good 20 minutes or so later (Schiphol had asked us to take off later), we were still stewing in the heat. Then, someone in the cockpit started playing with the lights and power, turning them off three times (which means the air conditioning was shut down as well), and at one point we were sitting in a dark, unventilated plane for 2 whole minutes. I think they were trying to fix the air conditioning, but the least they could've done was to tell us what they were doing.

MAS served us "Morjus", which they had the cheek to bill as being "Premium Orange Juice", "made with concentrated orange juice and sugar". For me, nothing less than Florida's Natural or Tropicana (or some such) warrant the label of "premium", though in comparison to the watered-down Kordial-identical grog airlines usually serve to Economy class passengers as Orange Juice it certainly shines in comparison.

Some backlog from last week:


Some SAF officer in uniform and in a SAF car made a vaguely rude gesture at me. Ooh.

"Holland Village Homemade Soya Bean", #01-13 at the renovated food centre in Holland Village is scummy. Their pictorial menu indicates a price of 60 cents for Soya Bean and Grass Jelly (Chin Chow), but when you order a cup, they charge you 80 cents. The rationale given to me, on questioning, is that 60 cents is the price for the small cup, but they have given me the bigger cup. That would be fair enough (if still faintly unethical) if the price for the bigger cup were displayed on the menu, but it isn't. This is worse than Long John Silver's "Regular or Large?" false dichotomy (the prices on the menu for their value meals are for Small drinks, and to them a "Regular" is medium).

I saw a "grafitti wall" at Popular Bras Basah, but on closer examination it was just a wall which students from NAFA had decorated. Bah. This is like our "bartop dancing".

I saw a sugarcane stall at Tangs Basement which proudly declared: "No sugar added". !@#$%^&*(). Though on the up side $1.20 was cheap for a cup of it.

There was a guy playing an out-of-tune and off-rhythm (more than is usual for solo performances on the instrument) rendition of Limbo Rock on the harmonica. In the words of my sister (referring to the famous accordian-man in the underpass): "I'd pay him to stop".

"Laughing at our mistakes can lengthen our own life. Laughing at someone else's can shorten it." - Cullen Hightower

***

"The point here is of course, is that a system of censorship, manufactures its own consent. If you are told every day right through school that you are a conservative, immature and volatile populace, you might be inclined to believe it. This makes the practice of surveys to ascertain the views of Singapore “heartlanders” on censorship an almost self-fulfilling act"

***

My parents were saying Amsterdam is very notorious in Europe, so I should be careful. I told them "notorious" doesn't mean "dangerous".

In fact, Singapore is itself notorious in the developed world as a place where you will get caned for chewing gum.

***

The Associate on visiting Vietnam:

"Am in a temple outside ho chi minh city which worships a beholder and whose prophet claims victor hugo and sun yat sen as his first disciples"

"Am on an island where they worship coconuts i must say its an improvement over christ"

***

Someone: what do you think about valentine's day?

does it mean anything?
is it as special as it is made out to be?

Me: http://gssq.blogspot.com/2005/02/valentines-day-special-one-of-two.html

Someone: lol
interesting :)

yes, your analysis is quite accurate
insecurity

i mean, if the only day in the year that i get flowers from my BF/GF is valentine's... time to rethink the relationship
romanticism should be there all the time
not just on Feb 14

Me: nono
why do you need flowers in the first place :)

Someone: it is a metaphor, dear
small acts like that matter

Me: uhh
... women

Someone: i guess that's the difference btwn men and women
men tend to see the big things that women do for them not the small things
we notice if our partner makes the bed in the morning without being asked

Me: and women see the small things
not the big things
hehe

it's clear which is a fairer approach!

Someone: lol
well if everyone was the same...it would be rather boring, wouldnt it?

Me: there's a curse which goes: "may you lead an interesting life"

***

Puppies used as drug mules - "First there were drug mules. Now there are drug puppies. Police have arrested a Colombian gang that planned to smuggle heroin worth millions of dollars into the United States in labrador puppies."

Fear dominates Western culture in the face of militant Islam - "Which leads me to question the extreme tenderness with which so many governments and media outlets in the West treat these outbursts of outrage. It is assumed that Muslims have a common, almost always bristling, view about their faith, which must be respected. Of course it is right that people's deeply held beliefs should be treated courteously, but it is a great mistake - made out of ignorance - to assume that those who shout the loudest are the most representative."
Having been unavailable recently, I'll just post this as it brings up something new.

Dear Praying Friend,

Whether he’s signing new legislation, meeting with the family of a fallen soldier or protecting our nation from terrorism, our President and Commander in Chief, George W. Bush, says your prayers sustain and guide him through the complex decisions he faces daily.

That’s why we’re inviting you to unite with millions of other believers for a special day of focused prayer during our third annual President’s Day Online Prayer Rally on Monday, February 20. Thanks to participant input and comments, we’re sure you’ll enjoy the new and improved features to help you pray for President Bush, other national leaders, our nation and our Armed forces.

The impact of your prayers, combined with those of thousands of others, will be substantial! Click here to choose a timeslot during which you’ll pray on Monday, February 20. Click here to view our inspirational video, “Ordinary People Making a Difference.”

Sincerely,

John Lind
President/CEO

P.S. Please remember to pray for our President this coming President's Day, Monday, February 20, in our President's Day Online Prayer Rally. Click here to invite your friends and family to participate in prayer as well by sending them an inspirational video along with your invitation.


!@#$%^&*()

I hate the millions of standards for power plugs - neither of the 2 power adaptors I brought worked out of the box. Even better, the laptop power plug couldn't fit into either adaptor (damn, should've checked that before I left).

Macgyver I ain't, but luckily, with the aid of 2 rubber bands, a dose of ingenuity and dollops of necessity, I managed to jury rig something with 2 rubber bands - thank god I didn't leave one seemingly useless peripheral behind.




As of this post, I will be using Dutch time for my posts - 7 hours behind Singapore (GMT +1 - Dutch time). I tried changing the timezone of the whole blog but that affects my old posts.

It's cold and drizzling where I am. I didn't know I'd landed in London.

The first Sunday of the month is supposedly market day, so there'll be stuff to see/do today.

Address to send hate mail to from now till late/end June:

Gabriel Seah
Cambridgelaan 777 K.2013
3584 DW   UTRECHT
The Netherlands

"The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it." - Franklin P. Jones

***

Guestbook entry:


Name: spammer

Message: you're
1)fat
2)ugly
3)got disgusting long hair that looks like shit on you
4)think you're smart
5)fat

xiaxue is what better than you!


I must be making too many people think and/or questioning their prejudices, for I also got this in the feedback form:

"u can fuck off"

Someone: you must be doing something right. congrats. i haven't had hate mail since my blog started.


Someone else: do you ever think of it as a ....i dunno.... a calling or something?

i mean... it takes a really really big person to laugh off the kind of things you been getting
and it's not an occasional thing either...

Me: really big person indeed =D

***

Someone: OO [Ed: Open Office] 2.0 is way better than it's previous incarnation and microsoft office too
But um...cross platform formatting not terribly stable

Cross platform formatting is important. Even if you save it in microsoft word or office format it sometimes comes out weird
Maybe it's a law thing but formatting is pretty important for us

Me: in arts we care about content
hehe

Someone: *snort*, content is of course important but we have strict formatting guidelines.
I blame the common law system

***

A Legend - "The session did not go very long before it ended abruptly... 'You are right. I do not need the scholarship at all to go to this (ivy) college. So why am I wasting my time here?' Then she turned around, gathered her file and left the room."

Funkygrad: The Online Teenage Textbook - "Funkygrad.com writer, Sylvia Ang, 21, a second-year social science student in NUS, appreciates that freedom. "The site allows me to explore the theories I learn about, such as existentialism and feminism, and gives me a channel to express myself.""
Exploring existentialism and feminism in a lifestyle mag for tertiary students? Who is she kidding?! They'll run away in droves! And Teenage isn't the right adjective for this age group anyhow.

Muton: Offensive cartoons

"The interesting thing is that there are regularly far more offensive and violently anti-semitic cartoons in the arab press. And racist and religiously offensive lies are viewed as entertainment in the muslim world. The hypocrisy is galling, and the threats of violence are an anathema to anyone who cares about freedom."


MUIS unhappy with caricatures of Prophet Mohammad in European papers

"MUIS says that in Singapore, no one is allowed to ridicule or cast aspersions on the faith of a person under the cloak of free expression."

Does that mean I can't mock the Flat Earth Society?

How about question the Church of Scientology?

Can I object to Creationism, since it is based on people's faith?

Who cares about critical thought? We can throw it out of the window!!!

"The JI is an exclusive group that mistakenly believed that they had found the path to salvation." - Dr Yaacob Ibrahim

Does casting aspersions on Jemaah Islamiah's, or indeed other fundamentalists' extremist and violent interpretations of their faith count? Oh wait. The last isn't "free expression", but "clearing the air" and "promoting religious tolerance and understanding".

"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities" - Voltaire. But then, if we're not allowed to question the absurdities, how do we prevent people from believing them?


[Addendum:

Dhimmi Watch has coverage of how the outrage is unfolding.

Interestingly: Jordan makes the leap

"Meanwhile, a Jordanian gossip tabloid on defiantly published three of the cartoons that have triggered outrage in the Arab and Muslim world.

"Muslims of the world, be reasonable," said the editor-in-chief of the weekly independent newspaper Al-Shihan in an editorial alongside the cartoons, including the one showing the Muslim religion's founder wearing a bomb-shaped turban.

"What brings more prejudice against Islam, these caricatures or pictures of a hostage-taker slashing the throat of his victim in front of the cameras or a suicide bomber who blows himself up during a wedding ceremony in Amman?" wrote Jihad Momani.

He told the AFP news service he decided to publish the offending cartoons "so people know what they are protesting about... People are attacking drawings that they have not even seen.""

I remember Ayatollah Khomenei issued the fatwa against Rushdie without having even -read- the Satanic verses.]

An exchange:

Anonymous said...
Psalm 14:1
Thursday, February 02, 2006 11:43:49 PM

Agagooga said...
Matthew 5:22
Friday, February 03, 2006 12:04:42 AM


Someone: fuck.
thats like playing blind chess.

After that, it became unblind. Whee.

***

Subject: Thanks for your feedback.

Senders email: themindcafe@themindcafe.com.sg

Message:
Hi,
Really thank you for your feedback.
We will look into those problem area that you have mention.
We will strive to be better...

Regards,

The Mind Cafe
@Prinsep
@Boat Quay


Wah, proactive. I like.

***

Why does everyone keep asking me if I've finished packing?! Gah. I feel like eviscerating the next person who does so.

Someone: it's like asking about the weather

Me: gah
it's equally inane *facepalm*


Source: "The slogan for the Sentosa Flower Festival 2006 is 'Let a million flowers bloom' :P"


Someone: (@$^& salesgirl at the apple store in wheelock place tried to evangelise to me.

she came up to us and was like "are you guys pc or mac users?"
then gave us this card "how to switch to a mac" with 10 steps and offering of a free workshop.

this is like church, only worse.

i wanted to say something mean but she looked like one of those waiting for A level results types and i didn't want to make her cry.

i saved the card
i'll take a photo and post it.

my friend was contemplating buying an ipod
but i convinced her that best denki had better pricing and free coupons..... hee

we were only there to ogle and check out the cases....
damn, did not expected to get preached to.

Me: card?

Someone: yes, she gave me a card! 10 steps to swtching and free workshop!
i told you it's like one of those "how can my soul be saved?" pamphlets.

Me: uhh
at least she only pounced when you were in the store

Someone: it was after i told her we were only browsing

***

The Youth.SG Blog » Blog Archive » Guess Who? Post #1

"I am Youth.SG because I represent modern youth who always think of ways out whenever we meet challenges. To me, nothing is impossible if I really want it.

I dare !

I’m a carefree person, open to new ideas and always striving for the best. I love challenges. The more difficult the challenge, the more excitement I get. There is nothing to lose. I have nothing to worry about. I dare to make mistakes and learn to be wiser by making them. I just do my best in everything I do.

As youth in Singapore, we’re really spoilt for choice! It’s easy to find like-minded people who I can spend time with. I’m a very active person who cannot just sit down, always wanting to do something in my free time. I will usually go shopping with friends, watch movies with my girlfriend or play snooker - my favourite past-time. I’m quite good at snooker, you know. :-)

I can also be an armchair sportsman if my favourite sports are on TV eg. the EPL. Most of the time, I hang out at Orchard Road, as it has many shopping centres, and I can also people-watch…"

Me: Do you pluck eyebrows for a living?

ignoreme: do you like yellow color?

Julian: eyebrows… hahahahaha…
might want to drop by tangs and ask him yourself? :)

"If you cannot convince them, confuse them." - Harry S Truman

***

The Universal Packing List

This is good stuff covering everything you'll need (and more). I wish I'd known about it back in 1993 when it was started!


"Hygiene (Other): After taking a sneek look at some womens makeup "equipment", I realize that this list could easily grow to ridiculous proportions."

"Condoms
Can be kind of hard to find in some countries. Don't go abroad without them! As for birth control pills/devices, these can cause some raised eyebrows (or worse) at customs checks in some countries if the woman is travelling alone. Wearing a wedding ring even if you're single is often recommended.

"Bring your own condoms and plenty of them. Buying them in a foreign country can be embarrassing, especially if you're allergic to nonoxynil 9. I bought some in Spain that were small thick and had some of the most powerful spermicide known to man. The words burning sensation should be enough warning to all. Anyhow, condoms are waterproof, if nothing else you can put your money in one and safety pin it to the inside of your swimming trunks." - Christina"

"Music media ( Music cassettes, CDs )
If you bring too many, they take up a lot of place in your backpack. If you bring too few, you get sick and tired of them in a flash. One option is to leave them all at home with your music player. That way all your music will be like brand new when you come home."

***

Someone on sex education in schools: the O-level biology course has bits on STDs, etc. but many teachers are simply too squeamish to teach it effectively as far as I recall

and then there are questions of where and when
I recall NYPS getting some Dr Quek to tell all the 10? 11? year olds about sex
she went into rather too much detail, I suspect, including such tidbits as what her husbands semen tasted like, etc

Me: wth?!
eh how come I don't remember
hahahahaha

Someone: I was hiding under a desk after the first 15 minutes (:
maybe your batch missed out (;

***

You Ignorant Offspring of a Cockeyed Camel! - "Mind Your Language was screened on local TV in the 70's when I was still in primary school... This show would never have seen the light of day in current times because people are more sensitive and less tolerant today."

Despair.com: Addressing Employee Complaints - "The good news is that it really doesn't matter whether the complaint is legitimate or not, because the 'It Could Be Worse' program works whether the complaint is legitimate or illegitimate... I could waste thousands of dollars on unnecessary headsets or I could simply remind my employees that despite their dissatisfaction, it really could be worse, so what I chose to do is I got a brochure from an outsourced call-center... It's one thing to be unhappy with your headset. It's another thing to lose your job. So as a result, complaints about headsets have virtually stopped."

MOE: Literature in English Teaching Syllabus
"Restricted" - Security Breach! Heads will roll!

The Vanishing Tattoo - "A global odyssey in search of the last authentic tattoos"

Toilet Monster - "Scare the crap out of your family and friends with the Toilet Monster! Halloween isn't the only time for scary fun! Painted, rubberized Toilet Monster easily attaches or deteaches to your toilet seat in seconds with 8 built-in suction cubs. It's nearly impossible to tell it's there under the lid, waiting to shock your unsuspecting victim! 13 x 15" and washes clean with mild detergent. You'll scream with laughter as the Toilet Monster scares the crap out of one person after another."

Putfile - Unavailable In Your Region - "Due to persistent abuse we regret we are not providing service to your region at this time."
Balls to you, Putfile.

Top 10 weirdest USB devices ever - The top one's no surprise, really. I'm disappointed - I thought they wouldn't cop out like that!

"Never judge a book by its movie." - J. W. Eagan

Random Playlist Song: Chanticleer - Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant

***

Someone: btw have you been following the papers about the pap and the wp manifesto?

friend of mine at the ST wants to solicit opinions from quote unquote "thinking young Singaporeans" about the debate.

if you have any friends who want to have a say, do ask them to email me at ellayxg@nus.edu.sg.

will make [him] promise not to misquote

***

Someone: tips for sending intimate messages to your boyfriend:

when you are both standing in a bookstore, nudge his shoulder gently. this will let everyone know that oyu are a couple.

and if you are sitting in a group in a cafe, rest your hand gently on his thigh. this will send the emssage that you are his and want to share an intimate moment with him.

walk towards him as he is walking towards you and put a big smile
then as you approach him give him a big kiss
this shows you are welcoming him and really excited to see him cos you are taking step forward to meet him

(relationship advice courtesy of class 95FM)


Me on a joke in a textbook: These Americans are very funny.
Someone: They spend most of their time telling jokes

Someone else: university of california in santa barbara = university of casual sex and beach

Someone (2): i like the one for my ex unit
GSMB
Going Soon to Medical Board


Seen in a school uniform thread in the Cowboy bar: "hello what does SPSS have to do with sale of uniforms? I need a dependent variable, or an independent one. What exactly are we looking for? Are we running a linear progression? Histogram? Normal curve?"

A theory on sexual repression in religion: "At first, these assholes appear merely insane. After careful study, the diabolical nature of their attack on self-esteem becomes apparent. What they seek are sexually frustrated and ashamed individuals to become drones in their money machine. Sexual repression leads to religious ecstasy, shame leads to money in the collection plate. They are morally bankrupt control freaks. Onan forever!"

***

akikonomu informs me that modern historians believe that "the die is cast" was not actually uttered by Caesar, and is a later interpolation for dramatic effect. I also recall that classical histories have a tradition of putting words into the mouths of historical figures, in the absence of actual recorded utterances. Those studying historical or semi-historical documents from this era would then do well to cast aside their pre-conceptions, even if it led to the collapse of their whole discipline; self-indulgent intellectual masturbation in a vacuum is always a waste of time.

What the hell is a digital perm (I'd heard of and managed to find information on ceramic perms, but not on digital ones)?!

I highly doubt there's a difference between hand lotion/cream and the equivalent one for the foot. It's just a scheme to make money.

I thought 8am classes at NUS were bad, but it seems UC Davis has 7am classes. Ouch.

***

NUS Anti-Spam

"What do you do with the Spam?

There are basically a few categories of spam, namely:

* Adult
* Racial
* Make Money Fast
* Phishing
* Commercial
* Bulk

Only Commercial and Bulk spam will be delivered into the Spam folder of your mailbox. The rest will not be delivered at all."

Gah, they censor my mail! And what the hell is racial spam? I've never gotten it.

A great way to raise money. The bid as of time of posting - US$187.50 (S$305.72):


Send an Atheist to his local Church! (item 5660982226 end time Feb-03-06 19:45:27 PST)

I'm a 22-year-old Atheist from Chicago.  I stopped believing in God when I was 14.  Currently, I am an active volunteer for a couple different national, secular organizations.  For one of them, I am the editor of a newsletter that reaches over 1,000 Atheist/Agnostic college students.  I have written several Letters to the Editor to newspapers in and around Chicago, espousing my Atheistic beliefs when Church/State issues arose.  My point being that I don't take my non-belief lightly.  However, while I don't believe in God, I firmly believe I would immediately change those views if presented with evidence to the contrary.  And at 22, this is possibly the best chance anyone has of changing me.

So, here's my proposal.  Everytime I come home, I pass this old Irish church.  I promise to go into that church every day-- for a certain number of days-- for at least an hour each visit.  For every $16 ($10) you bid, I will go to the Church for 1 day.  For $82 ($50), you would have me going to mass every day for a week.

My promise: I will go willingly and with an open mind.  I will not say/do anything inappropriate.  I will respectfully participate in service, speak to priests, volunteer with the church if possible, do my best to learn about the religious beliefs of the church-goers, and make conversation with anyone who is willing to talk.  (Though I do reserve the rights to ask the person questions about the faith.)

I will record my visits through a journal, pictures, or whatever other method of proof you'd like-- I will uphold my promise.

Will I become religious?  Well, I don't know.  I really do have an open mind, but no one has convinced me to change my mind so far.  Then again, I have also never attended a real church service.  Perhaps being around a group of people who will show me "the way" could do what no one else has done before. 

If the Irish Church doesn't work for you, we'll just find some other place local to me.  I'll go to any place of worship-- a Christian Church, a Catholic Church [revision: I realize a Catholic Church is a Christian Church... so let me rephrase.  By Christian, I mean Protestant], a Mosque, a Synagogue, etc.  They're all nearby.  Makes no difference to me, but perhaps it's your faith that could change the mind of this Atheist. 

I also assure you that if you bid on this, I will write an article about my experiences in the newsletter mentioned earlier.  The article would reach over 1,000 college students who share my current views.  Even if you don't end up changing my mind, perhaps you can change theirs.

If you have any questions about this auction, I'd be glad to answer them.


There's also a blog: An Atheist Walks into a Church...