The Running Robot

British soldiers fallen in 2009 www.dailymail.co.uk IED www.channel4.com It has been a long while since I had time to sit down to penned a blog post. Work commitments has been keeping me on my toes. Nevertheless, despite the busyness of the day, I have been able to do some research on the war in Afghanistan in the late nights. Books, videos, news were my source of information. In the same way, I have been doing this research on Iraq since September 11, 2001. The British Army has always been one of my favourite source of information on conflicts. They are far more objective than the US and as a ex soldier trained under the British military system used in Singapore. I was able to relate to their hierachy and their tactics. I came across Ross Kemp's documentaries on Afghanistan on Youtube from 2006 to 2011. I am really grateful for his willingness to put his own life and limb at risk to report on the status of Afghanistan. From then on, Ross Kemp became my UAV, my ...

It was a lazy afternoon at a coffeeshop in Bt Gombak. A brief look at the iPhone as my friend Leonard read through the alleged blog of a beligerent friend. A shrug and a smile later. "I know why you are feeling so this way. You are all grieving for the loss of a friend." "We all did what we can to convince him. But it will come to a point where you just had to let go." "He made his choice, and for better or worse, he will face the consequences of his actions. He should know that by doing all this he will lose his old friends. Yet he did it. You can't control another person man. Let him be...We probably don't mean anything to him now. So why bother getting angry over it." I nodded and remembered his words. For a long while, I toyed with the idea of replying to Asingaporean's loaded and aggressive reply to me on the public web. It was full of accusations and with no sense of guilt on his end. He has allowed his friends to be slained online and ev...

After the busyness of the bereavement of my beloved mother in law. I sat alone in bed to take a break from the grieving process. Having been exposed to more Christian teachings during this period, I began to take a review of my relationship with God. I must confessed that in the busyness of life. My faith has taken a back seat. As I went through the belongings of mother in law, I realize how devoted a Christian she is. I felt guilty for allowing my faith to flounder. I watch through YouTube an documentary on the Six Day War. It was a lightning fast war in the Sinai Desert between the strong and numerous Egyptian army and the ferocious Israeli Defence Force in 1967. In all the first hand accounts from the tank commanders who took part in the war. One of the account struck me deeply. It was a scenario that was granted entirely to the grace of God and the grace of man. It was the account from Lt Col Jacob "Jacky" Even, an Israeli 506th Armored Brigade Commander. It ...

Sledge, the gentle boy. Sledge, the war veteran. I had recently watched the the mini HBO series "The Pacific" over a serial marathon in the past weekend. Compared to my favorite series "Band of Brothers", "The Pacific" was messy and hard to grasp. However, I guess it reflects well the nature of the Pacific War. It was messy, dirty, cruel and unrelenting. Being once a trooper in the tropical jungle before, I can understanding the heat and oppressiveness of the jungle. This coupled with the cruelty and unsurrendering nature of the Japanese troops. It must be hell for the Marines. The nature of Eugene Sledge aka Sledge Hammer struck a chord in my heart. Sledge started off the series seeing his friends go off to war, while he had to stay behind in America because of a heart murmur. He was frail, gentle and protected by his wealthy parents who care so much about him. He was frustrated and wanted so much to do his bit for the country but couldn...

It has been quite a while since I wrote any entry in this blog. Life has not been going well lately and I find it hard to pen down any entries that I would like to remember. It has been a disaster in my family and the whole episode though not over yet is something I would never want anyone else to go through. The running robot has also been very busy and working extra jobs to make ends meet. Hence, I have been working most of this weekend too. Something worth remembering came by this week and I felt I should really penned it down. On Thursday, I went for my second interview for a job. It was a job with the Army. Though I do not know if I will get it yet, there is a third round of interview. Some words that were spoken during the interview strikes a chord with my heart. It was one of the more pleasant interview that I experienced since my health gave out on me in 2004. An army major together with a human resource lady staffer interviewed me. The army major was a warm infantry...

Lumia takes flight: amazing survival story from leading smartphone Amazing toughness for a phone...

"Ah Sang, Take the money. You will need it for your renovation and get the house settled. Your Dad and I will do just fine." "But Ma, you will need money for your new place too. I can't take it. " "Take it boy." The words cut into me deeply. I felt like a wretch. Here I am, way long into adulthood. And still a worry for my parents. Shouldn't I be the one supporting them in their twilight years. My eyes teared as I write this post. During my wedding, I gave a thank you speech to my parents, thanking them for helping me through all this years. I told the guests, I have never being an easy son. Not that I am wayward or anything. But the journey I being through makes it hard for my parents too. Their once proud son did well academically and was earmarked to advance well in the Education Service. Mum and Dad were there when he went through his convocation twice for two different degree in two prestigious local universities. Principalship were once the d...

Nokia Lumia 900 launch in New York My first mobile phone arrive at the turn of the century. It was year 2000. I was a undergrad student with the local university, and at that time. SMS was a novel way to communicate with friends and also to date ladies. I was keen to join the club, but budget was limited. A local Telco company Starhub, was just starting its services. Hence, a student friendly package was offered to local undergraduates. The choices of cell phones offered was Nokia, Siemens and Samsung. In those days, Nokia was THE BRAND for cell phones. You either own one or you are a strange chap. Being the strange chap as I always is, I did not want to be seen with the commoners phone. I chose Siemens, a C35 if I remembered correctly. Its a German phone, so to me it felt like a Mercedes or BMW. It felt cool. ;) Over the years, I tried to stick with Siemens but eventually the brand died out. My first Nokia came with my first coloured display LCD. It was a 6610. Only then I realized wh...

WRC Rally Sweden, Feburary 2012 Probably it is my inclination towards long distance running as opposed to track and field. While my motorsport enlightening began with F1, the World Rally Championship (WRC) began to be more appealing to me as I grown older. Rugged, tough conditions, endurance, not to mention immediate danger, come to mind when you talk about WRC racing. Unlike the sterlie environment of F1, where the drivers have helpers and chaperones following them every moment of the race. WRC drivers drives dirty cars, changes their own tyres, roll their own cars back on its wheels when they overturn. The money I am not too sure, but I figured F1 drivers should earn more due to more endorsements. As a driver, I am more of a tarmac person. In Singapore, there are few offroad tracks in Singapore. My experience of offroading was limited to my infantryman days riding shotgun in an Mercedes GD290 jeep in different countries. An excellent offroader, I must say, but easily turned t...

Technical Support for Google Maps 8 bit: Phew...phew phew! Blow hard into the cartridge. Reload and restart your Nintendo Family System. Google Maps 8 bit should work now.