Jere's

oasis. forever.

2009-04-07T11:06:00.001-07:00

Oasis on sunday night. bloody brilliant. I thought the crowd wasn't as on as 3 years back, but oh well no matter. was right in front as where i should be. all that jumping....getting too old for this shit, by the end of the night my clothes were soaked, eardrums gone, voice gone, body ache, but no way would i give it up for anything.

I'm not kidding when i say that i am genuinely moved when i hear oasis live. when the indoor stadium sings don't look back in anger together, for some reason, i don't know why, but it just reasonates with me. maybe its because their songs remind me of times gone by, good times, bad times, but times which will never come to past again. times which have been lost forever. and i miss those times....started listening to oasis in sji, so if u think...sec sch..jc...army...uni....and now....its been a long time, and it just brings back memories of everything thats past, all my friends, many of which i've lost contact with, many of which i hardly meet now because everyones so busy with work and life that it just passes us by. so yes. oasis. i grew up with them. and i never want to forget the past. i listen to their lyrics, i sing along with the songs, and it brings me back to simpler times, when life wasn't so complicated.

because i want to live forever, and tonight, just tonight, i want to be a rock and roll star. i believe.

Dylan Thomas

2009-02-24T17:51:00.000-08:00

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

charge of the light brigade

2009-01-22T10:38:00.000-08:00

attended meeting on monday at ntuc. chaired by deputy sec gen heng chee how, whos also MP for jalan besar grc, which is right next to my street. aniwae during the meeting, i forgot in what context, he mentioned

we don't go running into a thunderstorm holding a lightning conductor in our hand do we

which i thought was hilarious for some reason. aniwae he seems like a genuinely nice guy, for what its worth anyway

quote:
Ours is not to reason why. Ours is but to do and die

in the context of our everyday lives. Its about duty. its about doing ur duty without question, to push all doubt out of ur mind, and do ur duty, without fear of consequence
we always take this in a military context, but in our daily lives, its all the same

Neither here nor there

2009-01-22T10:17:00.000-08:00

I miss perth rather badly

place yes people, frens all that, but most of all, i miss the freedom. I miss being free to do whatever I want, whenever I want, be it myself or whoever I want to do it with.
Back in Singapore, for the past few times, its alrite, cos its transient, I come back, at most a few months, and then i go back to Perth again. At the time, this transient state of cos wasn't ideal as well because you're never really here nor there. Just as u settle into a routine, you have to uproot urself again, and it gets tiring after a while.
This time though, I'm back for good. And i've missed Singapore, thats for sure. But its stifling. everything seems to be coming together and I don't see whats next. Its a feeling of being trapped, of not being able to breathe, of asking myself: 'is this what there is to life?' and not liking the answer that I give to myself.
I don't know what I need or even want, but i know this isn't it, but then again, its what I have to live with, this life. We make the best of what we have don't we.

So why do I keep thinking about Perth

work

2009-01-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

well for those that don't know and are interested..
I'm currently working as in Industrial Relations Officer at NTUC, seconded out to the electronics union, namely the United Workers of Electronics and Electrical Industries (UWEEI).

will post on what it is exactly that i do later, quite tired now

Old times

2008-12-27T22:56:00.000-08:00

Dbl O after a long long absence..nice sofa table at the corner
1 bottle Johnny Walker
1 bottle Smirnoff
1 bottle illusion shooter
1 bottle cava
1 Jaegerbomb
1 Blue Mountain (fire fire!)
1 Sex on the pool table shooter (nv heard of b4)
= Jere is smashed, not for the night, but i have a headache right about now

I'd take an mc tmr but i don't have sick leave i'm still on probation

days of yore

2008-10-30T16:13:00.000-07:00

I used to listen alot to techno and trance, back in NS, back when 91.3 was still playing techno and at night u get all the brilliant songs that are get dedicated by DJ Ah Boy DJ Ah Girl and goodness knows who else....good music to drive to...and for some reason it relaxes me, listened to it on the way back from camp in NS everyday and jus fell asleep...
So anwiae, don't really keep up with it nowadays, and especially now that my bunch of CDs was stolen from my car (along with everything else) back in perth, hardly listen at all, but just now went to find some live performances on youtube, listened for over an hr, brought back memories, tiesto, armin van buuren, ATB, i love ATB...those were the days

snappy

2008-10-27T18:01:00.000-07:00

because i enjoyed it so much , i watched tropic thunder again in the cinema....audience was dead...didn't laugh, i think i enjoyed it so much the first time was cos the cinema was packed and everyone was laughing like crazy and that was what made it enjoyable...i still think the movie is really funny, i think robert downey jr was brilliant...everyone has their own opinions......and...i don't know...i don't know who or what exactly i'm pissed at, but i'm not happy...and to whoever i'm not happy at...although i have no idea who...go fuck urself

yeah i'm weird...whatever

Get SOME!!!

2008-10-24T10:12:00.000-07:00

Tropic Thunder is without a doubt one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long long time.....laughed so much by the end of the film I was exhausted...Oh goodness, I'm still smiling as i type this..:)

Oh and Tom Cruise might be nuts up there in the head but boy hes one funny fellow

The explorer

2008-10-22T10:57:00.000-07:00

The Explorer

There's no sense in going further -- it's the edge of cultivation,"
So they said, and I believed it -- broke my land and sowed my crop --
Built my barns and strung my fences in the little border station
Tucked away below the foothills where the trails run out and stop:

Till a voice, as bad as Conscience, rang interminable changes
On one everlasting Whisper day and night repeated -- so:
"Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges --
"Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and wating for you. Go!"

So I went, worn out of patience; never told my nearest neighbours --
Stole away with pack and ponies -- left 'em drinking in the town;
And the faith that moveth mountains didn't seem to help my labours
As I faced the sheer main-ranges, whipping up and leading down.

March by march I puzzled through 'em, turning flanks and dodging shoulders,
Hurried on in hope of water, headed back for lack of grass;
Till I camped above the tree-line -- drifted snow and naked boulders --
Felt free air astir to windward -- knew I'd stumbled on the Pass.

'Thought to name it for the finder: but that night the Norther found me --
Froze and killed the plains-bred ponies; so I called the camp Despair
(It's the Railway Gap to-day, though). Then my Whisper waked to hound me: --
"Something lost behind the Ranges. Over yonder! Go you there!"

Then I knew, the while I doubted -- knew His Hand was certain o'er me.
Still -- it might be self-delusion -- scores of better men had died --
I could reach the township living, but....e knows what terror tore me...
But I didn't... but I didn't. I went down the other side.

Till the snow ran out in flowers, and the flowers turned to aloes,
And the aloes sprung to thickets and a brimming stream ran by;
But the thickets dwined to thorn-scrub, and the water drained to shallows,
And I dropped again on desert -- blasted earth, and blasting sky....

I remember lighting fires; I remember sitting by 'em;
I remember seeing faces, hearing voices, through the smoke;
I remember they were fancy -- for I threw a stone to try 'em.
"Something lost behind the Ranges" was the only word they spoke.

I remember going crazy. I remember that I knew it
When I heard myself hallooing to the funny folk I saw.
'Very full of dreams that desert, but my two legs took me through it...
And I used to watch 'em moving with the toes all black and raw.

But at last the country altered -- White Man's country past disputing --
Rolling grass and open timber, with a hint of hills behind --
There I found me food and water, and I lay a week recruiting.
Got my strength and lost my nightmares. Then I entered on my find.

Thence I ran my first rough survey -- chose my trees and blazed and ringed 'em --
Week by week I pried and sampled -- week by week my findings grew.
Saul he went to look for donkeys, and by God he found a kingdom!
But by God, who sent His Whisper, I had struck the worth of two!

Up along the hostile mountains, where the hair-poised snowslide shivers --
Down and through the big fat marshes that the virgin ore-bed stains,
Till I heard the mile-wide mutterings of unimagined rivers,
And beyond the nameless timber saw illimitable plains!

'Plotted sites of future cities, traced the easy grades between 'em;
Watched unharnessed rapids wasting fifty thousand head an hour;
Counted leagues of water-frontage through the axe-ripe woods that screen 'em --
Saw the plant to feed a people -- up and waiting for the power!

Well, I know who'll take the credit -- all the clever chaps that followed --
Came, a dozen men together -- never knew my desert-fears;
Tracked me by the camps I'd quitted, used the water-holes I hollowed.
They'll go back and do the talking. They'll be called the Pioneers!

They will find my sites of townships -- not the cities that I set there.
They will rediscover rivers -- not my rivers heard at night.
By my own old marks and bearings they will show me how to get there,
By the lonely cairns I builded they will guide my feet aright.

Have I named one single river? Have I claimed one single acre?
Have I kept one single nugget -- (barring samples)? No, not I!
Because my price was paid me ten times over by my Maker.
But you wouldn't understand it. You go up and occupy.

Ores you'll find there; wood and cattle; water-transit sure and steady
(That should keep the railway rates down), coal and iron at your doors.
God took care to hide that country till He judged His people ready,
Then He chose me for His Whisper, and I've found it, and it's yours!

Yes, your "Never-never country" -- yes, your "edge of cultivation"
And "no sense in going further" -- till I crossed the range to see.
God forgive me! No, I didn't. It's God's present to our nation.
Anybody might have found it, but -- His Whisper came to Me!

Rudyard Kipling (1898)

zzzz

2008-10-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

jus dled and watched sex n the city movie...yawnnn one bluddy big bore....the series was so much better...

7/38 Kings Park Road, WA 6009??? whats the post code i can't rem

2008-10-10T12:24:00.001-07:00

seems that noones blogging much anymore, seems that its died down, with everyone busy with their own lifes and the things that we all do. Everything's changed alot

used to blog quite alot too, but i dunno feeling ain't there anymore i guess

Looking back, it seems that my first few years in perth were ones that were really good for me, not only in perth but also the months i was back in sg, i'd say 05 and 06 hmmm? 07 was kinda alrite, this year's been shit, but yes, King's Park was good, I kinda miss it.

was looking for a pic of my room at King's park to put up but i think i deleted it all, thats sad...

lived on the ground floor, theres a big tree outside my room, and every morning ard 5 or 6 when i go to sleep, cos thats when i go to sleep....theres this stupidass bird that chirps and chirps, and i actually visualise shooting it with a rifle as i go to sleep...just something that i remember....isn't it funny how things that are so freaking irritating when it happens turn out to be awwww when u look back at it, kinda like an old relationship, u hated the bitch/bastard...she/he cheated on u, did the utmost fucked up things ever, but after the break up and everything u look back and think hmmmm she/he wasn't too bad eh

people are funny we are

4 years on

2008-10-08T19:00:00.001-07:00

4 years ago i waited with bated breath to see if Americans could actually be trusted to choose a president that was right not only for them but for the world as well. Needless to say I was horribly disappointed. 4 years down the road, same thing. Funny thing is i actually do respect McCain, I jus think Sarah Palin is absolutely the female version of Bush; a dumbed down airhead who, if Hilary Clinton was the Democratic nominee, would still be the unknown governor of a state with the population of Toa Payoh, Ang Mo Kio and Jurong put together.

Katie Couric: You’ve cited Alaska’s proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?
Sarah Palin: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and, on our other side, the land-boundry that we have with Canada. It’s funny that a comment like that was kinda made to … I don’t know, you know … reporters.
Couric: Mocked?
Palin: Yeah, mocked, I guess that’s the word, yeah.
Couric: Well, explain to me why that enhances your foreign-policy credentials.
Palin: Well, it certainly does, because our, our next-door neighbors are foreign countries, there in the state that I am the executive of. And there…
Couric: Have you ever been involved in any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?
Palin: We have trade missions back and forth, we do. It’s very important when you consider even national-security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right next to, they are right next to our state.

fffing brilliant

got this from a blog - Mooiness

I have played literally thousands of hours of Halo, so I have valuable military experience.
I had this cab driver once who was from the south of India. I talked to him for, like, ten whole minutes and WOW I have such great foreign policy experience. I’m totally ready to be VP.
I can see billions of stars in the night sky, which is comforting, as it makes me very prepared for the aliens bent on our destruction.
I go to Taco Bell for lunch pretty often, so I am the Ambassador to Mexico, si?

with regards to the Serangoon Gardens thing....for those who criticise the residents, lets put a thousand foreign workers on ur doorstep and see how u like it. Now i don't know how to put this such that i don't sound xenophobic, but how did it get to this? How is it that every night if i walk out my house onto Balestier half the people i see are from China, how is it that suddenly Balestier's become another Joo Chiat? I come back at night and i see China girls on the streets, i see every third building becoming a budget hotel (of the others, 1/3 are light shops and the rest are food, so thats good). i hate it. and i can't really say much more than that. If theres a skills shortage in Sg, so be it, but there isn't is there.

..

2008-09-23T11:15:00.000-07:00

who still cares that Singapore's won a medal at the olympics...see? hah

went for an interview at mediacorp for a broadcast journalist thing for radio....got an interview at mindef for defence policy officer on the 6th...other than that nothing much...still very much unemployed....and we're gonna have a recession they tell me...oh well..that can't be too good can it....

stomach update

2008-08-24T22:21:00.000-07:00

today is monday, diarrhea still bad, just came back from doc, i've put on 4 kg since i've gotten attached...not good

was thinking about the table tennis thing, and i don't know which is more pathetic, that we have to hire essentially what are mercenaries to win our medals for us, or whether we actually think that the rest of the world actually gives a shit that singapore has a medal, but oh well whatever, couple of weeks down noones gonna remember, ain't that a bitch

Da dum dum dee dum

2008-08-22T09:26:00.001-07:00

Good day ladies and gents, haven't been posting much so far, suffice to say this year has been one of the worst to date.
Anyway, let me tell you about the past 2 days of my life.

Wednesday night - dinner at miss clarity's cafe with the girlfriend (not too sure if theres relevance, you'll see later)

Yesterday (thursday) 21/8/2008
7am - wake up, walk to macs, buy Big Breakfast with milo, came back ate, proceed to vegetate on couch watching olympics.

8am - 3pm : watch olympics, going off periodically to the toilet because of diarrhoea, start thinking if it was dinner last night or the macs

3pm - call irvin to tell him that i'm not feeling too good, might have to postpone the night cycling.

4 - 5pm : try resting, don't work, pple keep calling the house

5 -7 pm: bathe, change, make my way to kallang mrt to meet irvin

7pm: irvin is late, i start worrying that the bicycle rental shops might close by the time we get there

7.15 pm - irvin arrives, blaming me (!!), take 31 to east coast

8 pm - arrive, walk to rent bike, start cycling

8.40pm - dinner at east coast lagoon, against my better judgement, i eat satay, soto ayam, and wanton mee, amazingly, diarrhoea doesn't come back

9.40pm set off for the eastern park connectors, first time trying this, excited, decide to go along east coast, to changi and then make our way back thru tampines, bedok etc.

1140pm - cycling along changi coast road, parallel to the runway at changi airport, cruising along, feeling good, suddenly i feel my bike wobbling, turns to the right, i grab the handlebars and turn it to the left, i overcompensate, bike collapses under me, i go sailing over the front and land on my side. hurts, blood on my hands and knees, lower back starts to hurt because i probably aggravated my slipped disc. i sit on the ground feeling sorry for myself, irvin is laughing at me. as i get up, i realise that theres a piece of glass on my berms, i wonder where it comes from, horror of fucking horrors, i look at my watch and realise that the face is smashed, first thought is that girlfriend will kill me and hang me out to dry (watch was present from her, a rather expensive burberry one), realise that i shldn't be fucking wearing it while cycling.

1145 - 1215 - we find out the brakes on my bike is damaged by the fall, wheel isn't aligned, can't cycle properly, spend half an hr trying to fix it, irvin finally rips out the brakepad, wrestles everything into place temporarily

1215 - stuck in the middle of nowhere, decide to head back to east coast, ride slowly, irvin is kind enuff to ride my bike while i ride his

2am - reach the rental shop, lock the bikes, comtemplating whether or not to leave a note about the brakepad since they have my particulars, decide not to. irvin calls his brother to come save us.

215am - irvin's brother comes, bless his heart, i'm in a world of pain, irvin sends me back, right now my knees, palms and back are aching

3am - back, bathe, go online a while, sleep

Today (friday 22/8/2008)

11a, - wake up, think whether or not to meet rae later, decide to since shes pissed at me, need to grovel and apologise

11- 130pm - hang ard the house, head out to meet her at orchard, grovel, lunch at coffeeclub at taka, sucky food, stomach feels alrite, body is aching

230 pm - lunch over, diarrhoea comes back, rae accompanies me to the service centre at pacific plaza for my watch, find out that the case will take 2 months to arrive. shit. feeling sorry for myself.

4pm - took a cab home, decide to nap for an hr or so

530pm - wake up feeling feverish, body aching, diarrhoea comes back, i start popping charcoal pills.

730 pm - mom is back, i get the car and head to suntec to meet elaine and nick, decide to eat at soup restaurant, eat alot. big mistake. diarrhoea comes with a vengeance after meal.

930 - 1015pm - off to pick up sam who is at arab st, get caught in jam for 45 fucking minutes beacuse of some dumbass fireworks thing at marina

1015 pick sam up, head to holland v, to go 2am dessert bar, stomach is feeling weird

1015 - 1145 - not eating anything, feel like dying, off to the toilet 3 times, finally tell them that i need to head home before i collapse

1230am - home, typing this before i bathe and sleep. i think i have a fever, my stomach hurts again so i'll need to shit again after i post this, and my lower back hurts like a motherfucker. feel extremely sorry for myself

1245am - wallowing in self pity as i type this

1250am - done typing, off to bathe and shit.

sigh

2008-04-26T16:04:00.000-07:00

this sem is really not my sem...car got broken into again, but not at home this time, was while i was parked outside....smashed the window, and this time they took everything...took everything from the boot, took from the glove compartment, took my seat covers, the radio, my stuffed toy on the dashboard...you get the idea...

there wasn't even anything for them that was visible...don't think there were any valuables in the car though....took all my cds thou...oh and i had a bag with a towel and some clothes...took that...why i have no fucking idea...sigh...i don't know....just my fucking bad luck...what can i do...need to bring it in to the workshop again...hopefully when it opens on monday...dunno man..i'm just bummed out...fucking sick of perth

In our hearts and minds

2008-04-15T11:37:00.000-07:00

was back in Singapore for a couple of days, almost a week actually. Came back last night, being monday night. went back for my uncle's funeral. Got a call last Tuesday telling me that he passed away. He found out that he had a couple of blocked arteries a few months ago, in November i think, when i went back for the Summer holidays. Went to hospital, scan, stuff like that, supposed to have an op to correct it, angioplasty or something to that effect if i remember correctly, don't quite know. Well anyway, they weren't able to do the procedure because of some stuff, can't rem, think maybe related to his blood pressure? So gave him some medicine, but didn't really work, then as time went by some complications occurred, kidneys couldn't work properly..wanted him to go on dialysis but he refused cos he didn't want to do it for the rest of his life...but got worse so he went on it i think,

so anyway, got weaker and weaker, was a strain on my aunt as well cos of the worry and stress and tiredness involved in taking care of him and working as well. She gave notice and was planning to quit her job in June so that she could take care of my uncle.
back to last tue, got an sms in the morning from my Mom while i was sleeping saying that Uncle George had a heart attack and was in NUH, but I wasn't sure how serious it was and neither was she. Went back to sleep, got a call about 12 or so telling me that he passed away, so i called Qantas, managed to get a 325 flight out in the aftnoon...got back...spent next couple of days at the wake, funeral on Sat, then on Sun we got a boat to go out to sea to scatter his ashes cos thats what he wanted.

before i left for Perth at the end of Feb, me and my parents had dinner with my Uncle and Aunt, me being the favourite nephew and all, this was the day before i left, and as i dropped him off, told him i'll see him in a few months. but well obviously not.
i don't really know what i wanted to get down in this post, my uncle was someone that, all u had to do when u met him was say hello, get him a drink, an ashtray, and then just sit down and enjoy all the stories that he'll tell u and the rants that he had against whoever
but anwiae
when someone dies, pple say, oh he had a good life, but so what if he did, no matter how good or bad a person lived his life, at the end of the day, hes not around anymore, and all we're left with are memories and images of the person and events that remain in our mind. give it a few years, and these memories become a footnote in our minds, i guess what i'm trying to say that pictures and memories will never replace the loss that we feel when a loved one has passed.
I know that its been very hard on my aunt and my cousin, especially so for my aunt cos my cousin's married and my aunt will now have to stay alone. I don't know how she'll be able to deal with her grief and sadness in a place where everything are memories of the one that she loved.
Anyway, i can't talk about all that i feel, cos i just can't, so this is the only means that I'm able to do so, so I just want to say a prayer for everyone that has lost a loved one, i'll always be thinking about my Grandaunty, my Grandad, whom i still think about alot, my Godfather, whom over the course of a few months i saw transformed from a healthy man into one stricken by cancer, and my Uncle George

May Eternal rest be granted unto them, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace, and may all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen

Psalm 23, 1-4
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me besides quiet waters, he restores my soul
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

On a side note, Reign Over Me is a rather good show. Plot wise it feels a little off, but the performances are very good. Adam Sandler is someone that shuts out the world after losing his family in 9/11, and theres a scene in it thats very powerful, when Adam Sandler talks to his in-laws for the first time since the death of his family

A.S: I don't need to talk about it, or look at pictures. cos the truth is, alot of times I see her, on the street. I walk down the street I see her in someone else's face, clearer than any of the pictures you carry with you. I get that ur in pain, but you've got each other. You've got each other, and I'm the one that whose gotta see her and the girls all the time, everywhere I go. I even see the dog. Thats how fucked up I still am. I look at a German Shepherd I see our Goddamned poodle.

fuck

2008-03-06T10:24:00.000-08:00

u know what...i just realised that the bastard took my favourite jacket as well...which i fucking left in the backseat...fucking hell

bummer

2008-03-05T11:10:00.000-08:00

hullo there...long time no post...i'm back in perth....thesis going badly......
so i come back on sat

today is wed....at about 4 i get in my car to go off.....i sit down in the seat and start the engine...then i realise, hey how come the cap to the cigarette lighter/power source is on the passenger seat, i didn't leave it there, then i wonder, hey what happened to the compartment below the radio that holds my coins, how come its not there...then i wonder, hey where the cable that connects my IPOD to the power source.....then i wonder....hey wheres my IPOD.....then i look behind and see glass bits all over my backseat....and then i wonder...hey wheres my FUCKING WINDOW

fucking cheebye....sigh.....called the police non emergency line to make a report....but no free operators, so the girl that answered said they'll call me back.....but they called as i was driving to the workshop....so they said just give them a call, but its more for insurance purposes then anything else so fuckit, oh and btw i don't have insurance....good ah....so car's in the workshop...think about 200 plus for the window and labour.....

best thing is.....this happened when i was awake...cos i was awake the whole of last nite, but the car park is quite isolated so can't see or hear.....and i was thinking of goin to the car to get my IPOD to listen to while playing game but decided not to...shit happens eh......i was quite stunned when i saw the window....i remember thinking "are u fucking serious"

so i'm kinda bummed right now, but can't take my frustration out on anybody or anything, so as a poor substitute...i'm back to blogging....sigh

sighhhh
sighhhh

perth is a fucked up place....fucking junkies....i hope that guy OD's on his drug of choice

hic

2007-12-26T11:03:00.000-08:00

i've realised that i don't drink enough nowadays. Whereas in the past when i drank myself into various states of alcoholic stupor and woke up wanting more, now i get a headache after 2 glasses of wine. This is dangerous and downright embarassing.
But oh well...Whateveerrr
goin kl tmr
merry xmas...may the world be less fucked is my hope
31st back on!...got cancelled, but now back....just a normal room though if i'm not wrong, and venue changed to pan pac, wonder how the view is.

christmas doode christmas

2007-12-18T11:06:00.000-08:00

in the blink of an eye, another year has come and gone eh....seems like yesterday we were all worried about the millenium bug...this years been alrite, good and bad just like always...
i know i say this alot but time seems to be passing rather too fast for my liking...you know the shit about time and tide waiting for no man, well i'll be the one thats hanging on to the jetty trying not to be swept away...
everyones getting older, and i don't think thats a good thing, people all moving on with lives, too busy to slow down, and once i graduate that times gonna come for me too.....recently realised that..i dunno...my parents look...old....like the years have caught up with them, and its not a good feeling, can't really explain it though.

ah well...whatever....merry christmas everyone....don't engage in too much mindless consumerism.......goin kl on 27th...this is i think upwards of the 20th time i'm going, but somehow i always stick ard the bukit bintang area, anyone know of a good place or two?

ow

2007-12-10T17:05:00.001-08:00

time now is 0905..woke up at 0815..went for a jog...legs feel like jelly now...think everyone can go buy 4D

bleah

2007-12-09T10:19:00.000-08:00

saw an ex channel 8 actor in the lift today, one of the older ones, no idea what his name is but once u see him u'll recognise him immediately, stays on the 9th floor...ah well

petrol prices nowadays are fucking ridiculous...fucking 5000 fuel at esso is 2.006 a litre...wtf man....bluddy madness...i blame Bush for this i tell u....fucking idiot

gonna get started on my thesis soon i hope...been doin absolutely nothing so far....getting fat too...need to start to do...i dunno...something

The man who saved the world

2007-12-05T16:03:00.000-08:00

Stanislav Petrov, a Strategic Rocket Forces lieutenant colonel, was the officer on duty at the Serpukhov-15 bunker near Moscow on September 26, 1983. Petrov's responsibilities included observing the satellite early warning network and notifying his superiors of any impending nuclear missile attack against the Soviet Union. If notification was received from the early-warning systems that inbound missiles had been detected, the Soviet Union's strategy was an immediate nuclear counter-attack against the United States (launch on warning), specified in the doctrine of mutual assured destruction.[1]
At 00:40, the bunker's computers reported that an intercontinental ballistic missile was heading toward the Soviet Union from the US.[3] Petrov considered the detection a computer error, since a United States first-strike nuclear attack would hypothetically involve hundreds of simultaneous missile launches to disable any Soviet means for a counterattack. Furthermore, the satellite system's reliability had been questioned in the past.[4] Petrov dismissed the warning as a false alarm, though accounts of the event differ as to whether he notified his superiors[5] or not[3] after he concluded that the computer detections were false and that no missile had been launched. Later, the computers identified four additional missiles in the air, all directed towards the Soviet Union. Petrov again suspected that the computer system was malfunctioning, despite having no other source of information to confirm his suspicions. The Soviet Union's land radar was incapable of detecting missiles beyond the horizon, and waiting for it to positively identify the threat would limit the Soviet Union's response time to minutes.
Had Petrov reported incoming American missiles, his superiors might have launched an assault against the United States, precipitating a corresponding nuclear response from the United States. Petrov declared the system's indications a false alarm. Later, it was apparent that he was right: no missiles were approaching and the computer detection system was malfunctioning. It was subsequently determined that the false alarms had been created by a rare alignment of sunlight on high-altitude clouds and the satellites' Molniya orbits, an error later corrected with cross-reference to a geostationary satellite.[6]
Petrov later indicated the influences in this decision included: that he had been told a US strike would be all-out, so that five missiles seemed an illogical start; that the launch detection system was new and, in his view, not yet wholly trustworthy; and that ground radars were still failing to pick up any corroborative evidence, even after minutes of delay. [7]

Aftermath
Despite having prevented a potential nuclear disaster by refusing to acknowledge the computer system's warnings, Lt. Col. Petrov stood accused of disobeying his orders and defying military protocol by the manner in which he handled the possible nuclear threat. He later underwent intense questioning by his superiors about his actions during the distressing ordeal, the result of which was that they no longer considered him a reliable military officer.
Col. Petrov's commanders blamed him for the incident in the ensuing inquiry and held him responsible for what had happened.[8] His actions had revealed imperfections in the Soviet early warning system which showed his superiors in a bad light.[5] He was given a reprimand, officially for the improper filing of paperwork, and his once-promising Soviet military career was permanently ruined. He was reassigned to a less sensitive post, took early retirement and suffered a nervous breakdown.[8]

The incident involving Petrov first became known publicly in the 1990s following the publication of memoirs written by Col. Gen. Yury Votintsev, the former commander of the Soviet Air Defense's Missile Defense Units. Widespread media reports since then have increased public awareness of Petrov's actions.
Petrov is now a pensioner, spending his retirement in relative poverty (US $200/month pension) in the town of Fryazino.[9] He has said he does not regard himself as a hero for what he did that day; nevertheless, on May 21, 2004, the San Francisco-based Association of World Citizens gave Colonel Petrov its World Citizen Award along with a trophy and US$1000 in recognition of the part he played in averting a catastrophe.[10]
In January 2006 Petrov traveled to the United States where he was honored in a meeting at the United Nations in New York City. There the Association of World Citizens presented Petrov with a second special World Citizen Award.[11] The following day Petrov met with American journalist Walter Cronkite at his CBS office in New York City. That interview, in addition to other highlights of Petrov’s trip to the United States, will be included in the documentary film The Man Who Saved the World,[10] which is expected to be released in the summer or autumn of 2008.

Anyone wishing to write a letter to Stanislav Petrov — or send a contribution to help him (he is experiencing health problems; see The Moscow News) — can do so through this address:
Stanislav Petrovc/o Association of World Citizens55 New Montgomery Street, Suite 224San Francisco, CA 94105USA
Those choosing to send donations to Stanislav Petrov should make their checks payable to WORLD CITIZENS FOUNDATION. The Association of World Citizens, in cooperation with The Moscow News, promises that all letters and the entire amount of all donations will be forwarded to Stanislav Petrov. More information is available on the Association of World Citizens Web site.