THE BEAUTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE UNDONE

We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men,
Then shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?

Then one may be that, and three would be those,
Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!

Let's face it - English is a crazy language.
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in
pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England ..We take English for granted,
but if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly,
boxing rings are square, and a
guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce
and hammers don't ham? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but
not one amend. If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but
one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats
vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the folks
who grew up speaking English could be running the danger of being called
verbally insane.

In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?
We ship by truck but send cargo by ship.
We have noses that run and feet that smell. (If the opposite were true, then
we must be built upside down)
We park in a driveway and drive in a parkway.
And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and
a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house
can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out,
and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

And, in closing, if Father is Pop, how come Mother's not Mop? And if people
from Poland are called Poles, Should people from Holland be called Holes?
And those from Germany, Germs?

Australian Open 2009

been pretty hooked on the TV for the 1st tennis grand slam of the year. The Australian Open.

rooting for Nadal for the tournament. and the semi-final was just another classic. 5 hours of tennis. Good serving, good baseline hits. Fenando Verdasco hit a total of 93 winners.

In the end, Nadal perservered and end up winning 3 sets to 2.. Federer awaits..

Ladies final ended a couple of hours ago. Serena Williams defeated.. or i should say thrash Dinara Safina, younger sister of Marat Safin. Anyone know why their last names are different. Anyway, a few surprises along the way. Emotional Dokic, surprise defeats to Ivanovic and Jankovic (I think they are over-rated anyway). Don't really like the way Serena plays. Maybe she should join the Men's tournament next year. ha. Since she won the ladies doubles as well with her sis., Venus.

All in all, it was a good tournament, minus the 43 degrees heat and the late night matches. Congrats to whoever wins on Sunday. and special mention to the ball boys and ball girls. How I wish you guys were there whenever I play tennis. =)

Economy Crisis?

as we all already know, the world is not doing not so well at the moment.

jobs losses, share prices dropping, investment risks, property prices drop.

I guess the worst result has to be job losses. It affects practically everybody.

All of us, in a certain way are afraid of losing our jobs, especially at this moment when supply > demand.

According to my personal views, this also shows how the world, organisations, companies and bosses can be so heartless. Yes, they are the one answering the top questions. But they don't get "laid off", in fact, some of them even get raises. They are afraid as much as us. They are even afraid to lose their parking spots. That's why they will cover themselves first.

PM advises us to put off our salary increase at the moment, telling us job stability should be priority. The next piece of news: Parliament staff gets salary increase.

Nowadays, we read news that whichever country is pumpin' in hundreds of BILLIONS of dollars. Are they going to the right industries? Or are they trying to rescue the bosses asses?

Yes, we hold on our requests but wait, every other thing seems to be rising. Supermarket products, electricity, parking fees, parking fines. Even the chicken shop that I frequent for lunch up their prices by a dollar. So? what's the deal?

As much as I am not that aware of the 'market', is this harsh, heartless world, better stay "garang", "on the ball". Who knows what might happened if you are called into the office behind close doors the next moment. To them, you are just a name on the list waiting to get strike off, not the one working back late when things don't get done, not the one skipping lunch to attend meetings. Nahz, those are what you are getting paid for.

to all working ppl, including myself, be smart or you are out of the door.

Studying or Moving to Sydney ??

Anyone coming to Sydney for studies, work or just a relax holiday trip?

I can offer some advices to those wanting to know Sydney a little bit more.

Remembering when I first reach Sydney, everything is new, nothing seems like those that you see online or in pictures.

Exploring different suburbs tells you different stories.

Shopping for the best deal in town? Having the best "local" food? Places to chill out? Best drives and scenaries?

is always good if you know someone. someone who started similarly as yourself.. foreign to the surroundings

drop me a msg or mail me at lavashotz@hotmail.com

cheers mate... =)

Coogee Beach

Soccer Trading Cards

Some of the soccer trading cards I've collected during the 1994 - 2000 period.

If you are or know anyone who are interested to make a offer for them, pls let me know.

Majority of the cards are past players from Manchester-United team.. from George Best to Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister to Lee Sharpe to Eric Cantona and Teddy Sherringham and many more.

World Cup 1994 cards available as well. Players include Ruud Gullit, David Platt, Tony Adams, Marco Van Basten, Franco Baresi and many more.

If you are interested, pls leave your details by providing a comment for this entry or Alternatively, contact me via email lavashotz@hotmail.com

A list of players name will be available upon request.

thanks

Remember.....

- 1711? when we call and check the right timing

- Singtel use to be call Telecom

- M1 - everywhere under the sunshine

- use to be fascinated by the aquarium @ Wisma Atria and the rooftop playground

- Fandi is my name, Soccer is my game ............

Comments for ERP rise

Few days ago, there was an article on Channelnewsasia.com with the minister commenting that easing up on congestion charging on roads will be detrimental to both motorists and businesses in the long run. That was the response for the recent rise in ERP charges and additional gantries around the country. To a certain extent, thats a fair enough statement but there are some comments he made that I feel that the TM is making a fool out of himself and not being professional

.

Here are some of the statements he made

.

"And on comments that evening ERP charging is taking a toll on family life, he said the alternative would be to get stuck in traffic and still end up getting home late." (source: channelnewsasia.com)

.

My response is: This is telling me that the govt is not giving the ppl any choice (not that it has ever).. either pay up or get stuck in traffic. the thing is, even with the increase, traffic will still be worse. and given the pressure and workload back home, workers are ending at 8pm and given thats a non-peak period, the hardworking souls still need to pay to get home and have a nice warm family dinner.

But I agree that there will be a increase sooner or later given the economy situation. But to make such a statement is just showing how "caring" the minister is.

.

I quote

"We have not taken the populist road. We have said if this is the right thing to do and the situation calls for it, we would do it and in the case of congestion charging, I know it's difficult, it's an unpopular measure, motorists who are affected are unhappy, but it is something that is necessary - something that we will do so as to ensure that Singaporeans continue to enjoy living in a city, in a garden, and not a city in a carpark!" The reality is that as cars try to avoid ERP, other roads get congested and more gantries are put up on arterial roads. So really there is no avoiding ERP." (source: channelnewsasia.com)

.

My comment is

.

1st of all, what a statement, "city in a garden, not a city in a carpark" HELLO! we dont care whether it is a garden or car park, we just want to get back HOME!.. garden is a term used for tourists and we already know the direction that we are in.. continue to impress the WORLD!

.

"Theres no avoiding ERP", once again, this shows how "tactful" our govt is..u either PAY UP and shut up or don't drive. don't avoid??, what an idiotic statement. (why dont we spend less on sponsoring overseas students and use that money to subsidise the drivers? don get me started on that topic!!)

WE wont be enjoying living in a garden that has a gantry at every entry and exit. Drivers avoid expressways and get into arterial roads because they rather be a little bit slower than to pay another 3 or 4 bucks. installling ERP gantries on arterial road until late is ridiculous.

We should become a walking country, thats where we will be taking a stroll in a garden! who knows, we may have still have to pay tax for using the footpaths. FART "Footpaths And Road Tax".

.

Anyway, public transport is the way to go.. thats what happening to every country. More public transport commuters, prices still increase, no. of trains and buses stay the same, still have to squeeze and "excuse me". and the ministers will have a non-congested road to travel on and park anywhere they like.

.

Anyway, my point is made, I'm like the average citizen, complaining about an increase in everyday expenses, but what disappoints me is the kind of Minister we have, who make silly statements, maybe he just doesnt have good enough advisors supporting him. disgraced to have the same surname as him.

Build To Impress

The Flyer
Universal Studios
A380
5 terminals
Casinos > IR....
Marina South development
F1 night race
Youth Olympics

As much as I'm proud of these achievements as a Singaporean, it did make me wonder what is the purpose of winning and building these projects.

To generate tourism? definitely!
To boast our strength as a nation? To impress the world?
To provide jobs? I doubt so..

Why do we need 2 Casinos in such a small country? How many casinos does Malaysia has? Do we really have to go one better?.. These are places that do nothing but harm..to my opinion.. one is already more than enough.. check out the number of cranes on site you are dead sure that they are trying to complete the project as soon as possible.

Whats happening to Sentosa? Whats happening to the environmentally friendly policy of the island. GONE!.. more developments. more modes of transports. car numbers are expected to increase. new connecting bridge. To attrach foreign investors i suppose...

Terminals 1.. Terminal 2.. Budget Terminal.. fair enough.. Terminal 3.. all right thats for A380.. plans for Terminal 4!! thats plain ridiculous.. is that a plan to get back the No.1 spot for being the best international airport in the world? lost to KL, bad loser? why cant they try improving on what they have and not keep on spending tax payers money to build more terminals. I seriously dont believe we need a Terminal 4. maybe the authorities just want to use up every inch of land they have.

Good on them for introducing The Flyer. ah ah.. I don't expect it to last. just not attractive enough. because everyone has it, doesnt mean we NEED to have it. 5 years.. Maintenance Fees will be more than Income.

F1.. impressive, fancy such a small country where traffic is becoming a problem can actually host a F1 race. good for the people. but can we actually handle the event. come to think of it. We, just won't take fail as an answer. what i can expect is, more overtime, less pay, good media reports. We are already not doing very well handling the ticket selling system. all right, is our first, excuse accepted. do we need to fix the CashCard reader on the racing cars? ERP till 10.30pm.

guess being a Foreign Minister wont be that easy in my country. we are continuing trying to impress others. I guess the culture has gotten into the citizens as well long time ago. PSLE, Os, As, Diploma, Degree. remember those days when ur uncles and aunties will call and ask you how well you have done. Thanks for the concern relatives!..

maybe is time to sit down and think how to provide benefits for our citizens, not continuing to trust foreigners, giving residency and benefits to them. population in Geylang will just keep on increasing. even the Tau Huay business is afraid and has shifted further away to avoid the stink.

I've learnt not to believe everything the media reports now. because only the good stuffs are reported. Singapore has certainly changed. Changed for the world.

Public Transport in Singapore > Cabs

Waited for 15 minutes before decided to call a cab for a trip back home from Raffles City Shopping Centre after dinner. 85% of the people that waited @ the taxi stand called for a cab.

Taxi Stand should be re-defined. it is not a location to wait for cabs. It is a location for called cabs to know where to pick up their passengers. Personally, I think it is rather unfair to the passengers for taxis "loitering" around the CBD area, not waiting to pick up passengers, but waiting to press that "$3.50" button on the screen in front of them. yes, as I found out yesterday, many cabs are able pick us 5-7 minutes after we made the cab call. Cabs who got played out did not even want to pick up passengers waiting @ the taxi stand. off they go to their pressing game again.

Both of us happily hopped on the cab after the call. extra charges $6.50. What? before I can figure out what other extra charges are there, the metre has already reach 3 bucks. thats already $9.50. your seats are not even warm yet. Uncle was all right, not the usual grumpy one, upon asking, $3 is an extra charge for services within the CBD from 5pm to 12 midnight. the W word came up again. WHAT!!!! and after 12, there's this midnight charge. i thought to myself: THIS IS HOME, TRULY.

Foreigners says that our cab fare is one of the cheapest in the world. Countries like Australia has the metre increasing like your heart rate. but here back home. Sorry guys, the heart is already pumped before you hop onto the cab.

Public Transport Planners: Is this scheme suppose to benefit taxi drivers or the passengers? is it suppose to encourage drivers to enter CBD area. CBD area should be somewhere accessible, not somewhere forcing passengers to make that call. or is it suppose to increase the use of buses and MRTs.

I guess we will never know the answer, I hope those people making the decisions know the real answers, I'm sure they will never be in our situation. cos they own big cars. Guess at the end of the day, We, the Citizens of Singapore just want to get home safely everyday. No reason is needed which makes your job here much easier.

to own a car, you need a COE
to take a cab, you need to pay EOC > Extra Ordinary Charges.
better stick back to trains and buses
"good" on you singapore, continue to impressed the outside world with casinos, terminals and airplanes. because no one knows the inside world YET! Congrats.

ERP Pricing in Singapore

Went back to Singapore for 3 weeks. Loads of changes. But one issue I can't support is the ERP pricing system in Singapore. Its getting out of hand isnt it? from a traffic engineering point of view.

Yes, I'm proud that we are the 1st country in the world to be able to utilise this system, but this does not mean we have to install it at almost every major road.

First of all, operating the system from 5.30pm to 10.30pm at CTE towards Bishan is ridiculous. Tolls are used for roads maintenance and also to divert traffic away from major roads during PEAK hours. yes peak hours, is quite sad to find out that the peak hours on that road is from 5.30 - 10.30pm (1.5 hours before midnight). Going for prata supper @ Jalan Kayu would cost me another extra dollar.

Second, peak hours does not start at 3.30pm. I find it a joke to find out that I would have to pass a gantry for my trip to Sim Lim Square at 3.30pm where traffic is still smooth. What angers me is that when I decide to make an extra trip to Plaza Singapura. "Beep" there goes another dollar!
I remember before we implemented the ERP system, we would have to buy "coupons" to enter the RESTRICTED AREAS! and gantries are set up to cordon off that particular restricted area to reduce the traffic. Its shit to find out that at current, there are restricted areas within restricted areas. *Bullcrap

third incident > saw a newly installed ERP gantry near Kallang MRT. That's where my family doctor is and the destination is approximately 7 minutes away from my HDB flat. Too add on to my anger, land uses for that vicinity are mainly residential. What is the main purpose of setting up a ERP at this location? to prevent residents from getting cars? I can imagine, next time, I would have to hear that irritating and costly "BEEP" sound when I visit my doctor and making a U-turn back home. Not to mention the ERP at Toa Payoh Lorong 8. Singapore is not a huge country, how can every area be a Restricted Area.

Owning a car in Singapore used to be expensive due to the COEs. I believe that is a very good idea of reducing the number of cars on roads. but nowadays, it seems that the authorities are reducing the price of cars and increasing the ongoing car costs. Really surprised that petrol prices are higher in Singapore than in Sydney. and Sydneysiders are already complaining and pressuring the petrol companies to lower their prices.

just plain pure ridiculous the way the ERP is being implemented.
is hard not to convince me that "they" are starting to be greedy. as usual, not fully taking care of their own people. maybe the money will be used to build Terminal 5 or to sponsor some overseas students from the North-Eastern part of this world. who knows?

Traffic Engineering Advice

if there's anyone who needs advice on traffic matters e.g traffic signals / roundabouts intersection analysis, local area traffic management, pedestrian access and mobility study, crash analysis, public transport system, bicycle plan, traffic management plans, feel free to contact me at the above contacts.

thanks!

Thierry Henry

the picture speaks a thousand words. finally, the king of Arsenal has left for Barcelona. Personally, he has made the right move. Yes, he was the main man for Arsenal, it was Arsenal or rather Arsene Wenger that brought the best out of him. Remember him playing as a left sided midfielder with Juventus? Arsene bought him to Highbury and transform him into one of the most feared strikers in the world.

But age has been catching up on him and what had he achieved from Arsenal? apart from the Premiership, FA Cup, nothing, no champions league medal to show off in his trophy cabinet. I think he has move on at the right time, to achieve something for himself.

now the question, how will Barcelona and Arsenal fare with/without him?

with players like Ronaldinhno, Messi, Giuly, Eto'o, Gudjonsen, Deco and Saviola already in the team, what will Rijkaard do? with only 3 positions up for grabs, will Henry be offered the assured starting place he had in Arsenal? we will only have to wait for the season to start to see whether with his inclusion, would there be any internal issues within the team?

on the other hand, Arsenal has signed Da Silva to "replace" him. Some of the players like Fabregras has committed himself to the club which is good news. With no Henry scoring the "individual brillance" , spectacular, "last minute" goals, would Arsenal still be up there on the league table with Chelsea and the Red Devils at the end of the day. will Arsenal be able to get the Champions League trophy they had been trying for the last few seasons? I hope they will, maybe without being dependent on their former captain, other players would step up to the occasion and win games.

some good transfers for the off season, and more will soon follow after Copa America.

Wimbledon Open

Now that the soccer season is over, as a sports fanatic, attention is turn to any sports that is available on TV.

Wimbledon Open 2007, 1st round starting on Monday, as usual, the king of grass, Roger Federer is the favourite, followed by the clay prince, Rafael Nadal.

Is a pity Federer was not able to complete his Grand Slam collections with yet another failure French Open, this time he got really close. a losing finalist to who else but of of course, the Spaniard wizard.

Would the story have the same ending in London this year? with the Swiss Guy holding that prestigious trophy he has held above his head for the past 4 years? or will Nadal prove that he is not a one court expert? how about a young unknown player re-writing the whole history of Wimbledon.

The ladies open tournament is always up for grabs, sharapova, henin, mauresmo are the few names I expect to be in the quarter finals list.

1st game on the Centre Court, the grass king himself, Federer taking on Gabashvili. will there be an unexpected upset?

enjoy the tournament.