More birthdays lately?

Seen somewhere:

If you notice that more people are celebrating their birthday lately,  just know that Valentine day is 9 months ago...

Will you cycle to work in hot, sunny, wet Singapore?

Read:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/10-ideas-to-make/1427468.html?cid=FBSG

With the highs of COEs and heavy traffics on the road as well as on the MRT trains, would you switch to cycling to office?

For me, cycling, NO.

Firstly, my house to office is about 30km and even if I travel at average 30kmh, it will need exactly one hour for me to reach office. And ask any cyclist, to maintain 30kmh and above speed isn't really a easy feat. Trust me.

Secondly, in hot humid Singapore, even if you manage to average 30kmh in the morning, you are likely to end up sweating when you reach office. So unless you have a shower facility at your office or unless you are a gym instructor or a life guard, it's likely you're going to work in sweat-stained skin.

Thirdly, Singapore laws states that you have to ride on the road (not pavement) with the fast moving car driven by anxious, kan cheong, impatient drivers (you get the meaning), so that will put me in a dangerous, to which, sorry, I am not willing to take this risk, not when I am travelling at 20kmh and they are travelling at at least 70kmh.

There is one thing, however, that lure me back to the 2 wheel machine - the electric-ation of bicycles and the introduction of electric skate scooter.

On the electric bicycles, the inconvenience of point 1 and 3 above stays the same but it kinda solves the problem state in point 2. If you do not need to pedal or only pedal when necessary, you are likely to excrete less sweat and hence more likely to reach the office dry (or drier than taking a normal one).

The electric scooters are the interesting ones because they allow for partial journey transportation. Part of my whole journey I ride of the e-scooter and then I simply fold it up and take a train (with it, of course) and then I fold down and continue my journey on the scooter again. Something you cannot do with an electric bicycle. This is extremely good for people who need to walk / take a bus to the mrt station and walk / take a bus from the mrt station to the destination.

Riding to office from home is out for me, but I am still keeping my options open on the electric 2 wheelers to run errands nearby my house or perhaps at the maximum go to the next town.

Des-talk wishes all our Indian readers Happy Deepavali 2014.

Life BEORE and AFTER we have the Internet

(Credits to the producer of the video: TreePotatoes)

This is quite funny, as always from the creative people from TreePotatoes. Do check out their other videos on youtube as well.

Seen: Umbrella Sharing Point @ Yishun MRT

Seen on the floor while walking through the covered pathway to Yishun MRT station. Not sure if this is a new initiative or was this implemented somewhere already. 

I guess generally this is good, it's not so clear what one should do. Do i throw my used umbrella that I don't want in the blue box or do I pass my Burberry umbrella there to a stranger to use after reaching the station, and my contact as well with the hope that the stranger will return the umbrella to me one day. 

   

While I am not serious with the scenarios above, the box will be good as useless until somebody demonstrate or at least explain what the box is used for. I know i sound very Singaporean, everything also need instruction but I don't really can see how this work without.

Having said that, I guess the relevant parties are preparing for the umbrella sharing campaigns and will be pushing them out real soon.

Guinness Book of Records (18+ only)

Seen somewhere on the internet: 

My penis was in the Guinness Book of Records....
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Then the librarian told me to take it out.

Road Safety: Road Crossing for Pedestrians

I notice whenever I am driving or when I am taking a bus that pedestrians crossing the road has this habit: 

Refer to the diagram below. 

In a lane, whenever someone try to cross the road with oncoming traffic, the person will rush/ run to cross 3/4 of a lane (marked as distance 'A') while at the last quarter of the lane, for some reason, they will slow down and walk (marked distance 'B')  

Please note here that I am not talking about dangerous crossing where the vehicle are so near that they have to brake. I am talking more about those crossings where drivers need not brake when these pedestrians are crossing.

So, when a oncoming car is approaching, a pedestrian crosses distance A and even if he/she stopped within distance B, the car will be able to clear the pedestrian without the need to slow down as the driver can veer the car closer to the lane marking on his/her right. However, with a bus or a truck oncoming, they are not able to clear, hence making it dangerous for both the motorist and the pedestrian.

I was in a bus earlier today and witness such a crossing where a pedestrian slowed down at distance B and the bus nearly had to jam brake.

I would like to put the message across to everyone reading this blog that in such crossing, please make it a point to run or walk quickly THROUGHOUT the crossing and not the first 3/4 of it. Although generally it is safe, make 3/4 crossing a habit and you might endanger yourself one day if the oncoming vehicle is a bus or a truck and worse still it might be speeding.

Walk safe, drive safe, don't inconsiderate other road users, no matter if you are a driver or a pedestrian.