Ink spilled for exams

A graphic way to explain how much she wrote for her econs exams in the morning.

I bought her twelve of this good writing Zebra pens recently. They were going one for one and her preferred writing instrument for the coming A levels.

Curtain down for Bathesda Book Centre

If I cared to search this blog, I must have blogged about Bethesda Book Centre or BBC previously. They have been slowly retrenching themselves from the Christian book selling market. The outlet at Toa Payoh which I used to frequent has been shuttered for a while now. I vaguely recall visiting their Marine Parade outlet once and now that is closing too.

Even as Christianity is adding members (I didn't say believers) they are also showing signs of decline. I don't have to the time to explain myself here but people basically want God as problem server and Santa Claus. So when you are dead when all problems cease and you cannot make use of any gift, I suppose the relationship can come to an end at that point. I didn't feel this as strongly before until March this year seeing how my friend's daughter passed away.

I happened to come across this in my KIV folder which I do not know what to do with it. This would be good a place for it.

Personally I prefer to put it this way from John White, The Cost of Commitment.

"The Way of the Cross is a magnificent obsession with a heavenly pearl pearl against which everything else in life has not value"

Of course as I look around the problem with Dr. White's statement is not that there is anything wrong but how it is lived.

This is most frustrating and on balance I rather see people not putting God as central than pretending to put him on the throne of their lives. The former has hope but the latter I am afraid are likely done for. If you passed off a diamond which is made of glass as the real thing, how is anyone going to convince you that it is fake? You already have your self esteem built on it, are you prepared to tear it down and start over? If you were after the genuine diamond you would never have agreed to the fake in the first place. But people want a God they can control, which perversely they do not want to admit that desire. The Real Thing has a mind of its own then they didn't mind if it was a false god as long as they have control. After a while they believed the false is real. The only practical way I could cope with this is to believe I am never completely sure I am getting this right. I can't handle this.

Zika just might seriously affect the adult brain

Until now only pregnant women and their family are terribly worried about being infected with the Zika virus. Now everyone has reason to be at least a little anxious. The Zika virus just might wreak havoc on us sometime down the road. One possibility is during those moments when our immune system is weakened. These are early days but that is what some researchers have recently discovered and published in their preliminary findings. Much and urgent work remains.

Die before it becomes too dreadful

My sis shared this on Facebook a few days ago and I only just read it. Not easy, it will fill you with grief. We do not know how to handled planned death. Many have outsourced this to religion and forget about it until they are terminally ill. As observers we asked what is the point of extreme suffering if there is no return to health. Death ends everything.

Did Lazarus the dead of three days guy in the Bible tell others what he was living through during the time he was dead and buried. Looked like he didn't know what happened, i.e., nothing happened. There was nothing. It could also be the secrets of death must be left behind if one ever return from there.

A mere few decades away we will find ourselves with the means to prolong life but not afford it. What shall we do? I guess we have no choice and it is also a bridge that you can't know what you are talking about until you are about to cross it.

Additional cooling for IT equipment

A few days ago, I replicated this simple cooling method for our ONT. My mini PC has been using this method to provide additional cooling for several months. I bought 7 and 8 inch Cooler Master fans off eBay. They are very good working with little noise and no fuss. Finally I can replace those clunky Cooler Masters which were built more for Notebook PCs use.

Closest star harbors an exoplanet.

This is so exciting. So near and yet so far. I had often thought we would need to journey much longer distances to see a possible earth like planet. Didn't think that our next closest star to our Sun, Proxima Centauri has a possible candidate.

Perhaps the galaxies are teeming with planets and more than there are people on earth!

See article.

SR Nathan: Multimillionaire President I never knew

Two minutes after Today broke the news on Facebook my tablet beeped. Why did I think he was well and good, at home in his house which I sometimes drove by? Only the breaking news reminded that he was hospitalized at SGH. I didn't even remember Joseph Schooling visit him. Now it dawned on me he is someone to know personally and not at a distance. When he was President many of those who do not know him felt he was over paid for the work he did. Now I bet as the media and those who knew him tell their stories of their relationships and encounters with him, folks will know it was never the money.

SR Nathan was to Singapore what Shimon Peres is to Israel isn't it? I don't know, this is only my starting point for getting to know him. What a shame I do not know my President but I think I would over the next few days. Rest in peace Mr. SR Nathan.

No personality cults or myths making here. The stories emerge only after they are gone.

Update: Aug 23 12:55pm

I have hoped someone will offer this photo which I vividly remember and I didn't have to wait long :-)

Update: Aug 23 9:25pm

Another special one popped up and also a re-acquaintance with this word, "sui generis"

See the full tribute here.


Update: Aug 23 9:40 pm

Just stumbled upon this, an email from our consulate when we were living in Dubai. We didn't manage to go in the end but I heard from other Singaporeans who were there the President was very tired and didn't spend much time with them.