life
14) Whose eyes are those?
A) One of the smallest eye in the world
B) Eye of Nature
C) Eye of Kindness
D) Sleepy eye
E) Slowest eye
F) Eye of warrior
G) Eye of Night rider
H) Eye of the Ocean
J) Eye of a Hollywood Star
K) Sexy eyes
A) Ant
B) Cat eye stone
C) Giraffe
D) Hippo
E) Snail
F) Tiger
G) Owl
H) Whale
J) E.T
Friend (23) – Falling is Just Another Form of Dancing / 朋友- 跌倒又跳舞
Road, it is born for us to tread on. For a life time, we flatten and walk on it for countless time. Yet, when it is uneven, we start to complain about it, and when we trip on it, we grumble on our own bad luck.
Yet, if you are lucky, you board the broad sunny way with pleasant scenery and you say, “well, I created my own road”. Then, many a times, we step on mud, collide with stones, cross the tough Himalayas, go against the tide of the Atlantic. And again, this is the time you started to question yourself on the road you are travelling.
The day I nearly slip and fell on a mossy floor along the corridor. In the midst of panic, I felt I fell with a beautiful stance, and started to understand the fact that a fall can be swift, yet graceful and poise.
Life is filled with swiftly changes and it is a stage with ups and downs. Rather than complaining it being slippery, why not help things along; have a dancing fall, slide out your steps with a spring, as Spring is not far away from us!
路，它一生下来就被人踩，我们一路踩在它身上，一生一世不知来来去去走过几回。它一不平坦我们就抱怨连天，一打滑就怪自己运气不佳。
如果幸运的话，上了康庄大道，一路上风和日丽，景色怡人，你说路是自己走出来的。但很多时候事与愿违，很不幸地踩到的都是烂泥，碰撞都是石子，跨的是喜玛拉雅山，逆流的是大西洋。这时你又会不竟地问这是一条什么样的路？
那天我差一点在有青苔的走廊上打滑，慌张之余，感觉自己跌倒的姿势蛮美的，领悟出其实跌倒也要跌得优美，跌得韵味，跌得坦然。
人生舞台起起落落，与其埋怨路滑，不如来个顺水推舟，以跳舞的方式跌倒，滑出一个春天，反正春天离我们不远了。
39) 2 sculptures by the bridge
On the left of the Cavenagh Bridge, along the fringe of the Singapore River, there are 5 bronze naked boys frolicking, driving off the bridge for a swim.
This First Generation sculpture halted the movement of olden days kids playing along the river while the river is still polluted by mud and garbage. It is a common sight during those days where children swing on trees and take plunge into the river, an uncommon sight these days.
Sculptor, Chong Fah Cheong designed this lovely piece depicting scenes of early days Singapore. You can see the scene played out all over Asia, though the young laughter of the boys were heard no more.
On the right corner of the bridge, a family of Singapura Cat rest themselves there. Kitty mama watches over her 2 lovely kittens frisking happily by the side, though 1 of her kittens was stolen.
Kitty mama guards the heart of Singapore day and night, never missed a single movement along the busy riverside.
37) Brother Bridges to Chinatown
There are two bridges leading us from the direction of east to Chinatown.
One is on the left, the “Elgin Bridge”, while the one on the right is “Coleman Bridge”.
Elgin Bridge was built as an unnamed footbridge in 1819. The existing bridge was built in 1929 and named after Lord Elgin (Governor-General of India). It was the first bridge across Singapore River that linked two roads to Chinatown core, South Bridge Road and North Bridge Road.
The second one is Coleman Bridge, which was built in 1840. It was the second bridge built across the Singapore River. Designed and named after an Irish, George Drumgoole Coleman, Singapore’s first architect.
In 1865, the original brick bridge was replaced by timber. And in 1886, an iron bridge was built to replace the wooden one.
To withstand the increasing heavy traffic flow, the iron bridge was finally demolished in 1986 and replaced with the present concrete bridge while the iron lamp post and railing were retained under historical conservation.
Day and night, Elgin Bridge stood still as strong as an iron man, bearing travelers without any complaints.
Ferry with tourist sight seeing the landscape of Singapore River.
The little Bodhi tree witnessing the hustle and bustle of our footsteps and the history of the two bridges in the heart of the Singapore river.
12) UFO or USO (unidentified submerged object)?
Is this geometric composition done by UFO or USO? Could it be even man-made?
None of the mentioned did it. It is the puffer fish’s work of art.
Male puffer fish attracts the opposite sex by crafting this “mysterious circle”. This art piece measuring about 6.5ft in diameter is eventually going to be their love nest. According to scientist, the more ridges the circle contained, the more likely more female fishes will be attracted.
This amazing craftsmanship was discovered by a Japanese freelance underwater world photographer, in the semi-tropical region of Amami Oshima.
More information of this article can be found at http://www.spoon-tamago.com/2012/09/18/deep-sea-mystery-circle-love-story/
13) The 3 special features on a Signalized Pedestrian Crossing
Green Man+ is specially addressed to the needs to elderly and Pedestrians With Disabilities (PWD) as this group of pedestrians need more time to cross the road. This is done by tapping the CEPAS-compliant senior citizen concession card or Green Man+ card on the reader (mounted on the traffic light pole). Once the reader verifies the valid card, the system will extend ‘Green Man’ time from 3-12sec depending on the size of the crossing and volume of traffic.
This gratifying thoughts designed by LTA (Land Transport Authority) enable the needy pedestrians enough time to finish the crossing at a gentle pace.
The beeping sound pedestrians hear at pedestrian crossing also known as Pedestrian Audio Signal is to ease the visually disabled cross the road. The volume of the audio signals is adjusted automatically based on the noise level of the surrounding environment.
The Green-Man Countdown Timers indicate the amount of time left in the crossing phase. As balancing the safety of pedestrians is as important as keeping the road smooth-flowing, the timers are usually not standardized. It counts on the length of crossing, the volume of pedestrians and the density of the traffic flow.
Thus, it is good to understand the operation needs, so you wouldn’t be standing under the hot sun waiting and start punching the pole.
11) Who named the “King of Fruits”!
Regarded by many as the “King of Fruits”; durian, is native to Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia. British naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace famously described its flesh as “a rich custard highly flavoured with almonds”.
During his stays in Malay Archipelago (1869) Wallace described “to eat durians is a new sensation, worth a voyage to the east to experience’.
The flesh is best when it’s ripe, though it can also be consumed at various stages of ripeness. The unripe fruit makes good vegetables. It is also used to flavour wide variety of Southease Asian cuisines. The seeds can be eaten when cooked.
Durian is a spiky round or oblong husk containing pods in yellow custard-like fruit. The trees are tall and straight. Durians orchards are danger zones often covered with nets. As the fruit strikes a man in its fall is strong enough to kill.
The fruit emits a pungent distinctive odour, you either like it or hate it. It has a very unique character. Some regard it as pleasantly fragrant; others find the aroma disagreeable. The odour has led to the fruit’s banishment from hotels, airline cabin and public transportation.
It is no wonder Wallace the “father of biogeography” in the letter to Sir William Jackson Hooker stated – “If I had to fix on two only as representing the perfection of two classes, I should certainly choose the Durian and the Orange as the king and queen of fruits.”
Durian flowers are usually closed during the daytime, I believe it is because the King needs more rest than others!
12) Whom do you owe your success as a millionaire?
Millionaire: “I owe everything to my wife.”
Interviewer: “Wow, she must be some woman.
Interviewer: “What were you before you married her?”
Millionaire: “A Billionaire”
12) An Extraordinary Doctor
In National Cancer Center, Singapore, if you chanced into seeing a doctor moving around with a wheelchair, he is Dr William Tan, a medical doctor and a neuroscientist. To many, he is not only a diligent doctor but also one of Singapore Heroes.
Dr William Tan contracted polio at the age of 2 and was paralyzed from the waist down. Life was not easy for him, as his father was the only breadwinner in the family. Despite the odds, Dr William works all way out towards his dreams and challenges.
He is a wheelchair athlete and was the first person in the world to finish a wheelchair push in the Antarctica in April 2007. Same year on 19 December, Dr. William achieved another world record by becoming the fastest person in the world to complete 7 marathons across 7 continents in 27 days. This amazing race took him across countries like Antarctica, Chile, Egypt, Thailand, Japan, Kenya, Italy, England, New Zealand, and USA. Apart from all these achievements, Dr William has raise millions of funds for charity locally and internationally.
Dr William has been diagnosed with end-stage leukaemia in 2009. But with his passion in life, the bone marrow transplant operation is already a success in his mind. The disease is just another mountain to climb and conquer.
Being a sportsman, a medical doctor, a scientist and an inspirer, Dr William Tan has turned adversity to advantage. He said, “I don’t have the use of my legs but I shall make the best of my brain and my arms that are not paralyzed.” By reading so much good Dr William has done, I salute him and say “We can’t hold a candle to you, Dr William, thanks for all you have done for the community!”
10) Walking with Velcro
In 1941, a Swiss man strolling on the Alps after a hunting trip with his dog discovered the seeds of burdock that kept sticking on his clothes and dog’s fur. He examined the burrs with microscope and saw thousand of “hooks” caught on the clothes’ cotton and furs.
This man, Gerorge de Mestral, a Swiss engineer lived in Commugny, Switzerland. He spent 8 years to change the zipping world. He conceived the hook-and-loop fastener by binding two materials reversibly in a simple fashion from the beginning of cotton material to Nylon and polyester, and now even the spaceman and sportsman are practically using it.
The word Velcro is a combination of two French words velours (“velvet”) and crochet (“hook”)
Today, this handy and sticky zip become part and parcel of our live! It contributes much changes to the style of the fashion world!
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