Urgent Announcement

Hi,

I believe my other website at http://www.davidpoh.com/ is down since last night.

I am following up with the web host server administrator now.

My apologies.

David

Stray Dogs vs Owned Dogs

Hi,

"I refer to the article, Stray dogs rarely attack or even approach humans, that was published on 23 Apr 08 forum in Strait Times.

I also refer to another article, $100 fine for owner if dog not on a leash, published in My Paper today.

I find it ironic that stray dogs can be allowed to roam freely but yet well trained dogs must be put on a leash!

I strongly feel that stray dogs should be caught and dealt with accordingly; eg put up for adoption.

While the chances of being attacked by a stray dog can be debatable, I do not think that we want someone to be bitten then only we will take action to catch the reported pack of stray dogs.

A pack of stray dogs is even more dangerous as I have seen a documentary on TV that a young boy cycling home was harassed by a pack of dogs.

We should respect that most of us may not be comfortable with dogs so it does not mean that if the dog does not bite, it is acceptable to let it roam freely.

I have been harassed by a ‘stray’ dog in my estate and I have seen it barking at passersby too. This dog was allowed to roam freely.

Thankfully, the owner has now kept it within his premises and leashes it when the dog is taken out for a walk to relieve itself.

My elder brother has been bitten by a stray dog in Clementi many years ago and it took him ages before he could get over the fear of seeing a dog near his path.

So I urge the appropriate authority to take immediate action to catch any stray dogs that have been reported to them.

BTW, I love dogs and have 2 dogs in my house."

I received the reply from them as below :

"Thank you for writing to us. We do appreciate your making the effort.

We receive up to 70 letters each day. Limited space means we can publish only about a dozen every weekday.
This means having to make often-difficult editorial judgments on which letters to publish.

We regret we are unable to publish your letter.

If your letter relates to a matter under the purview of a government department, you may want to visit www.sgdi.gov.sg for a list of officials to contact."

My Paper edited my letter and posted it as such :




Well, I will leave you to draw your own conclusion about the whole matter.

Customer Service - Part 2

Hi,

I forgot to mentioned that I also took my Bluetooth Earpiece to the service centre when I went to collect my mobile, to ask them how to pair it.

Guess what happened?

The service staff at the counter tried to do it but could not or do not know how so he took it to the technician ( the same person who serviced my mobile ). He returned and told me that it is not compatible with my mobile.

So I went home to try it with my wife's Nokia mobile as it was given free during that purchase; my mobile is not Nokia. Also, did not manage to get it working.

I was gogin to give up but tried one last time and by fluke shot, I managed to detect it and pair it. Apparently, I need to press the bluettoh earpiece button and hold it while trying to get my mobile to detect and pair it. I subsequently managed to do it on all my mobiles of different brand.

So once again, I am disappointed at the answer given by the service technician. I think she took the easy way out and said it is not compatible as it is not their original bluetooth earpiece.

So it waws my bad luck to have this technician to service my mobile....!!!

Anyway, I am glad I did not give up as I remembered getting it to work when I first got it.

David

David

Taking Guitar Lesson From Jason

As mentioned in my earlier post, I am now learning how to play one of Jason's favourite song.

This song is now posted as the background music. It may sound fast and loud but the chords and strumming are not that difficult but I am a bit slow in picking it up... ha..ha...ha....

I aim to master it by end of May and we will perform for my brother when we visit him in Melb. Give him a surprise!

Now if the song is not your taste and a bit loud, you can pause in by clicking on the button on the right column.

I was telling him that I will take up drums and we can form a band with his classmates. It seem to be their fad as quite a few of them are playing guitars and some are already playing in a band. One of his friends even own a S$6K Gibson electric guitar.

When I am ready, I will video myself playing and post it on You Tube .....?

Have a good weekend.

David

Customer Service

Hi,

I sent my mobile for servicing as the FM radio could not work last week. This is my second time to the service centre within a year.

The service centre called me on Fri afternoon to inform me that it is ready for collection as it was supposed to be ready for collection on Mon after 3pm. Hmmmm...fast and efficient service?

Unfortunately, I was too busy with my family activities so I went on Mon early afternoon instead.

When I tested the mobile over the counter, I was not convinced that it was fixed as I could not received any radio stations and the method of detecting the radio station was not working! The service person tried but could not get it working too so he went back to the technician for help. He returned and told me that the signals were not strong in the building and his auto-detection of the radio channels was the right way ( I was telling myself what bullshit he was talking about as I did it on my son mobile of the same brand but different model and I got it working that way before..!!! HE said different models so different methods...!!!).

Anway, I knew that I was at their mercy so I agreed to try it outside the building as no point arguing with them. They could make my life miserable and 'screw up' my mobile by fixing the radio and conveniently messing up other functions..... Anyway, I need to run some errands nearby.

Surprisingly, after persistently fiddling it a few times ..... I got the radio channels using my method!!! So I admitted that I could be wrong and then listen to the mobile radio while going to Tampines Mall and White Sands in Pasir Ris. I switched it off when I was in the library.

When I finished my chores, I switched on the mobile radio and it was dead like before. So I decided to go back to the service centre since it is along the way home.
I decided to be nice so that I hope to be serviced appropriately and no point to be nasty and complained though deep inside, I was not too happy about it as I was running late for my other tasks at home that afternoon.

Another service person attended to me and I explained that it is not working again. She took it back to the same technician ( I could see the person as she sat near the door ). This time she looked into it instead of telling me that the signals were not strong in the building.....!!! I waited for 15 minutes and it was fixed. The service person was polite but not apolegetic for the inconvenience caused. I was also nice though a bit boiling inside but I decide to control myself. When I tested it again, I could detect the radio channels immediately and some signals though may not be so strong or clear..... so what was the earlier 'bullshit' about the signals were not strong in the building...!!! And my method of searching the channels worked too...!!!
I enquired innocently whether it was the setting that I could have messed up and she told me that it was some faulty component!!!

Conclusion :

1. It must be my unlucky day as my prior experience at the same service centre was better.

2. Though I was not happy and want to give them a piece of my mind, I know it will not help me so I decided to be nice. Hopefully, they feel guilty about it and be nice to me too!

Well, I think it worked as they could have still insisted that it was ok or just asked me to come back in a few days' time. Or worst still, if I am nasty, they may fixed the radio and messed up another function...??? Yes, it was reported in the papers some time ago on such actions.

I was actually using a very old model mobile with no MP3 or camera features, just B&W for calls and sms. Managed to get by those few days with it, though!

So are we paying a lot for the latest mobile just to look cool or peer pressure.....? I do not use a lot of functions like Internet surfing, emails functions, Bluetooth,....!

Do you have such similar experiences? Care to share it with us?

David

My Sports Medals

Hi,

Must blow my own trumpet a bit now.....!

I found my sports medals and tried my best to polish them as they have tarnished quite a bit..... after all, I won them when I was 14 years old..!!!

I have put their photos in a slideshow below.

I was the Soccer Captain for the Under 14 team and we won the Silver medal at Penang state level.

I was also part of the 4x400m school relay team and we won the Silver medal too. This was a memorable event for me as I ran very well during the heats and one of the 2 coaches came to encourage me prior to the final run. I was too excited to do my best again that I overdid it and fainted once I passed the baton to the next runner, I was the first runner. One of my senior runners told me that I was like floating in the air during my last 100m dash. I missed collecting the medal myself as I was still under medical care and recovering there.

What hurt most was that the coach avoided me after that, instead of comforting me or asked me how I was feeling after having recovered from the fainting spell. After all, I was carried out on a stretcher and got attention from a doctor.

I retired from active sports after that year and was more involved in CCAs like Photographic Society and General Library where I was the Chairman for both of them. I heard from my classmates that the other coach commented that I played hard to get and was waiting for the coaches to invite me back to the relay team etc.... I could not be bothered as the coaches have never invested training on me and I trained on my own but when they needed runners, they came to look for me. I was actually an incidental runner being at the right place at the right time then.

Anyway, I am glad I was involved in sports and soccer teams as it was fun and good to be involved in team events. Exposure was good except that I was not given proper guidance but it was self motivated, unlike now where Jason have proper training and coaches in his school. He also got parental support too.... my parents have never see me run or played in any of the school games like soccer, volleyball and fencing.
Yes, I represented my school in volleyball and fencing too!

Anyway, I am proud of Jason's involvement in his CCAs and he is definitely doing better than me in terms of the medals that he is winning....ha..ha...ha...

But I cannot 'tahan' so must show off my medals too so here they are......
( Pls click on 'X' on the top right hand corner if the slideshow is not activated. )

St. Patrick Secondary School - Sports Day

My dear wife and I attended SPS Sports Day to support Jason who was running for his House - McMally.

He took part in the 100m, 400m and 800m runs and won 2 Gold and 1 Silver medals.

Here is a slide show of a few photos taken this morning ( Pls click on the 'X' on the top right hand corner if the slideshow is not activated ).

A video clip of his 100m run where he won a GOLD medal though it is not his pet event as he is middle distance runner for SPS and not a sprinter.




BTW, I managed to find my own school medals but have to polish them a bit before I can show them to you. Sorry-lah! Must also show off my medals and not let my son get all the limelight...ha...ha...ha..

Father & Son New Hair Cuts

Hi,

Father has his regular hair cut at the Malay/Indian barber shop either at Bedok central or Woo Mun Choo ( where our past and current Presidents have their hair cuts too, in Siglap area ). The recent hair cut cost me S$8.00 only, typical and no fuss hair cut by either a Malay or Indian barber.

My son was introduced to his mother's hair stlylist at Super Cuts last Dec and since then, he was reluctant to go back to my barber shop. His hair cut cost S$29, I think, with hair washing and comfortable setting.

This afternoon, he went for his hair cut at a Malay hairdressing saloon but much scale down compared to Super Cuts but the environment is slightly better than my barber shop. An in-between sort of hair stylist near his school at Roxy Square basement. His hair also got washed and it cost him only S$10, his hair style is called spike short? I am glad he is happy with it and this will be his regular barber from now onwards. Introduced by his classmates......

So here is how we look like after our hair cuts at our respective barbers ........

Our EYES - Floaters, Dry Eye & Cataract

Hi,

I attended an educational talk by Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) on 'Retinal Eye Conditions' and I like to share a few interesting facts that we ought to know.

Your eyes may not be fine even when you are seeing fine especially if you have diabetes. So it is advisable to have your eyes checked not by an optometrist but by an Eye Doctor or Specialist!

1. Floaters & Flashes

Floaters are like dust or cobwebs that you see occassionally and may disappear when you blink ( it is very obvious if you look up into a clear blue sky ). It may be a few or a lot but when you notice a change from your normal vision, it is advisable to have your eyes checked immediately. It is due to coagulation of the gel in the eyeball and it can lead to retinal tear or detachment. A good analogy by the speaker was that our eye gel is changing from agar agar to 'cheng tng'.

This is due to aging and no known prevention. Most of us should have it but we may not notice it, as we age.

My dear wife started wth floaters and then a retina tear about a year later. I have some intermitten flashes 2 years ago. My optometrist friend suspected that it was due to stress but still asked me to see an eye specialist. It was found that I have Dry Eye problem and all seems fine inside the eye. Recently, I went for a 2nd opinion as I have some irritation on my eye and teared often, no problem found but changed my eye drops to one without preservatives and cost double the price. I need to use it daily and for life!

The main message that I want to convey to you is that you will be getting floaters as you age but do not take it too lightly. It can lead to other serious problems like retina tear or detachment and it is good to catch it early.

2. Dry Eyes

As we age the production of tears to lubricate our eyes is likely to degenerate. But the funny thing is that the body will force it to produce tears to compensate for it and you will end up tearing more than usual but it is actually a sympton of Dry Eye!

As mentioned above, the only way is to apply artificial tears which are readily available in places like Guardian and Watson. But if it does not help, then you got to go for the ones without preservatives as you eyes may be sensitive to it.

3. Cataract

This was not part of the topic but there ware questions on it.

Again, this is due to aging and we are likely to get it. The lens turn opaque and a day surgery is requred to replace it with a new lens ( plastic like ? ). My parents and my mother-in-law have theirs done already!

So there you are.... I hope you are now more aware and know what to watch out for and do not take it lightly as I think sight is the most imortant sense.

We were also taken a tour of the facilities including the operating theatre and we saw a mock-up or role play of the preparation for an eye operation. I am impressed.

BTW, SNEC and other heatlh organisations organises such education talks and they are advertised in the papers. Only S$10 per head so I strongly encourage that you watch out for those that you may be interested in.

I have attended talks on Nose Cancer, Colon Cancer and Arthritics over the years.

An annual eye check is recommended by an eye specialist. They will dilate your eyes and use special equipment to look into your eye and if necessary, take images of the interior and even do a scan.

Take care and stay healthy, my friends!

David

My Type of Music vs Jason's Music

Hi,

I have changed my background music again and I hope you like this one, Proud Mary by Creedence Clearwater Revival or CCR.

I started with All I Have To Do Is Dream by Glen Campbell, my favourite song that I learned on guitar many years ago when I was in the varsity. Jason learned to play this song within a few days!

So he is teaching me one of his songs but I have not been practicing much lately. Just like when I started to learn how to solve the Rubik's cube.... slow and steady....ha...ha....

The song that I am learning is Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana.

You can compare the difference between this Nirvana and CCR song....... the pace or rhythm of the 2 songs!

I have one more month to master it as he & I are going to perform for my brother's family in Melbpurne in June....ha...ha...

Stay tune here!

David

Jason's Awards from St. Patrick's School (SPS)

Hi,

My wife and I are proud of Jason's achievements in his CCA and Peer Leadership in his school.

SPS presented Jason and his realy team a Certificate of Merit and a Medal for his efforts in 2007 Track & Field 'C' Division National Schools Championship 4x400m Relay - 7th position in the final.

He was also invited to become a Peer Leader (PL) last December and was given his PL badge upon confirmation recently. In his role of PL, he is a mentor for a class of Secondary 1 students who are new to the school this year. He is also involved in organising activities like camp for them. This will give him an opportunity to learn soft skills like communication and more interaction with students outside his own class.

We are happy that he is able to be involved and recognised for his efforts in areas other than his studies.

Keep it up, Jas!

We love you!

Mummy & Daddy Poh

We Will Rock You - Concert

We went to see the concert on Sat afternoon at Esplanade Theatre by the Bay.

All the songs came from the rock band, Queen.It has been running for 6 years on London's West End.

I am familiar with a few of the songs like We Are The Champions, Radio Ga Ga, Another One Bites The Dust and Crazy Little Called Love. Jason is also into guitar playing and asking for an electric guitar ( it will be his 3rd guitar as he has a classical and an acoustic guitars within 6 months of taking guitar lessons! ).

Well, if you are familiar with those songs I mentioned, we are in the same rock era then. If you have never been to a rock concert and would like to get some kick out of your 'boring' weekend, I strongly suggest that you attend this musical concert at the 'Durian' especially if you have not been inside the theatre.

However, initially, the music is very loud and you can really feel the drums and bass guitar coming at you but once the the musical got going, you will enjoy the beat and may remind you of the old days. For those with kids like my teenage son, Jason, they should enjoy the rock music. Jason enjoyed the music tremendously especially the guitar playing. We would have love to see more of the band playing behind as they were great! My dear wife enjoyed it too though she was not so familiar with the songs.

There is a student price at S$50.00 only.

There is also another musical based on the songs from another popular band, ABBA. The storyline for this musical is much better though. Catch it if it returns to Singapore. We also took our Philipino maid to this concert and she enjoyed it too. ABBA songs are evergreen and fantastic!

So what are you waiting for...? Go to SISTIC in Singapore and get your ticket now!

BTW, I have incoporated their 2 popular songs by Queen into this page, We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions. You can turn it off by clicking on the button to pause it, on the right hand column icon.

Else enjoy the songs......

Guess Who Came To Visit Me in Singapore?

Hi,

Soon Lee, my childhood friend and a neighbour too in my Penang home, dropped by Singapore on his way back to Sydney where he is living now.

The last time I saw him, to the best of my recollection, was when my brother & I took care of his house in Moonee Ponds in Melbourne when we were still students then. More than 20 years ago....!!!

We spent the day updating each other and a successful shopping outing too at Funan IT Mall and Plaza Singapura before we went to Marina Square and Suntec City for afternoon tea cum dinner.

Well, it was good to have seen him again and I hope to catch him in Sydney one day.




This photo was taken from the Esplanad, looking towards the commercial district, Shenton Way.
In the background are the famous Merlinon, Fullerton Hotel ( a former General Post Office built during the colonial days ) and the many tall commercial buildings with banks ( DBS, UOB, OUB, OCBC and Maybank ) and offices.

Building BRIDGES with Your TEENAGERS

Hi,

I was browsing around Popular bookstore at Bras Basah Complex last Wed after running some errands there and bought this GREAT book. I read it over the week, covering a chapter or two before I slept every night and completed it last evening.

I highly recommend it to ALL PARENTS out there as it is very well written and in our local context compared to a lot of parenting books by western authors.

The author, Alice Lee, is a Family Education Consultant and Trainer with 15 years of experience and specialising in children and families. She is married with 2 teenage children aged 17 and 13.

I am able to associate with what she wrote and also her sharing of her own experiences with her teenage children. She reinforces the right things that I have been doing and also gave me new ideas or help me look at some things from a different angle. In short, I find the time spent reading her book worthwhile and I got something out of it.

Regardless whether you are having problems with your children or not, you will enjoy and learn something from her book. Or it may affrim that all your actions are in the right directions then good for you!

So my dear friends with teenage children, do not miss this golden opportunity to pick up this book and get the most out of it. The S$19.26 and hours I spent on it are definitely worth it.

No excuses for claiming that you have no $$ or time, ok!

Have a good day ahead of you....

David