Gravity [grav-i-tee] An attractive force which all matter possesses. Every bit of matter attracts every other bit of matter. The strength of that attraction depends on two things — the mass of any two objects, and the distance between those objects.

Gravity effects (or Gs in short) are mostly experienced by aerobatics and military (fighter) pilots. It is the kind of feeling not many would like and am able to take it. For those who take commercial flights, one would experience mild G effects during turbulence.

There are a few alternatives to experience G effects apart from taking an air plane. One method is to pay S$30 for a five minutes reverse bungee jump. The other cheaper and easier way is to take a TIBS bendy bus which I found out recently. By sitting at the rear of the vehicle and when the bus is travelling at a relatively fast speed on an uneven road, the bus tend to bounce and this in return will cause the passengers, especially those sitting at the rear to lift off their seats literally. Try this the next time you take a bendy bus!

# gfet health thrill

Many Singaporeans would know how expensive it is to obtain a driving license as compared to elsewhere in the world. It is known for the fact that one have to fork out a pretty sum of between S$800 for private coaching and up to S$1500 for professional school lessons — all of these does not guarantee that the candidate would pass the driving test on first attempt. So, one would asked that why does it cost so much to obtain a driving license in Singapore? One of the good reasons which I can think of is that this could be a good preventive measure put in placed by the governing authority to ensure that the drivers are professionally trained and accessed before allowing them on the road. It could also help to curb the number of people getting involved in accidents.

Now that I’ve reached the required age for obtaining a driving license, I’ve decided to start off with the theories (Basic and Final) before setting aside some time to take the practical lessons and eventually go for my driving test. Most of my friends obtained their license while studying in polytechnic but at that time, it wasn’t a priority in my list. So, what made me changed my mind? Well, I thought that since I’m now in military service and might need to drive in future, it seems logical to obtain a driving license now as I wouldn’t have any idea when I would need it and how to find time to learn driving when I have greater commitments in the near future.

Having passed my Basic Theory Test today, I’m looking forward to clear my Final Theory Test in less than a month’s time. Although I might not be able to (or will never) own a car, having a driving license is like an investment and it might come in handy, especially when travelling to a foreign country where public transport may not be as accessible compared to Singapore and driving may seem to be the best alternative.

# driving life test

While scrolling through my bookmarks in del.icio.us, I came across this interesting quiz and thought of sharing it here.

Oh well, the results says I’m HTML but I don’t quite agree with it. Feel free to take the quiz here.

# quiz 1

It didn’t took me long enough to realise my Chinese language of command have degraded substantially since graduating from secondary school. I hardly have the opportunity to “keep in touch” with it, less reading or even writing it. The only time I’m able to use it is during interaction with friends or family.

Our government have been actively prompting the use of proper mandarin, placing emphasis on the post-65 generation where the majority comes from English speaking family. Everyday, I read from the newspaper on how China is rapidly expanding into the global market and why is it important to master the Chinese language and even the culture to stay competitive. I have to admit that I dislike Chinese for the numerous strokes in characters and difficulty in using the words correctly. I’ve always barely passed my Chinese tests and exams while in school and I regretted not putting in more effort. Unlike English where one can roughly try to spell the words correctly by placing the letters around, Chinese requires a little more patience and understanding of the culture in order to master it.

With my current job, there’s almost zero possibility of using Chinese at work. All the presentations, briefs and even conversations with superior are in English. This made it tough for me to practice and master my Chinese language. However, I’ve thought of alternatives to counter this problem and could help me to improve or at least maintain my Chinese language standards. One of the most efficient and effective way is to read Chinese newspaper. I know it’s going to be tough as most probably, I would have to refer to the dictionary for every few words I read. (Yes, this is how bad I think it’ll be). Another way is to read from past Chinese textbooks and even well written composition books. I guess all of these would help to maintain my Chinese and speaking of proper mandarin.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to kick-off this idea and this shall be one of my new year’s resolutions for 2007.

# 2007 culture language resolutions