Odds & Ends

Can someone please tell Chen Shui-Bian that the microphones are there in front of him so he doesn't have to shout himself hoarse every time he makes a speech? Saw him on the news again today, and once again, his voice broke at several points in his speech.

Cringe-worthy much.

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In today's ST Forum (login required - never thought I'd see the day):

Nov 16, 2004
This & that

COMMUTERS TUMBLE DOWN ESCALATOR
ON THE morning of Nov 11, an escalator in Bugis Station that was moving upwards reversed its direction suddenly. Many commuters, caught off guard, fell and hurt themselves.

A few of the injured had to go to hospital by themselves, after which they were expected to call SMRT's corporate communications department to make a claim for the medical expenses incurred. No apology was extended. My mum was one of those injured. Thank goodness, she suffered only some abrasions.

According to SMRT staff, such an incident had happened before. What if the accident had occurred during peak hours, when the escalator was fully loaded with commuters?

Carlson Chong Kah Sen

Uh, right.

"What if it occurred during peak hours?"

Then perhaps morons will read the signs and hold onto the escalator rails instead of being gungho, standing in the middle, and posing.

PLEASE FLY FLAGS CORRECTLY
I APPRECIATE that Geography and History do not feature too highly in Singapore's school curriculum, but if we really want to demonstrate to the world that we are serious about getting friendly and doing business, then the very least we can do is to display flags of other nations properly.

Many times, I see the British flag, the 'Union Jack', displayed upside down, back to front and, in a quarter-page ad in The Straits Times last week, in a totally new design.

The NTUC FairPrice supermarket in Bedok recently had a Japanese food section. What I did not understand was why it featured imperialistic Japan's 'rising sun' flag. I would have thought that if anybody should know the meaning of that outdated flag, it should be Singaporeans.

On the other hand, we also see very many instances of the Singapore flag flying upside down or back to front in the run-up to National Day, so I guess one should not be surprised at the displaying of other nations' flags incorrectly.

Robert Frederick Burch

Um, how is it possible for the Union Jack to be upside down? From this diagram, it would be impossible to have it upside down at all (believe me, I tried it on Photoshop):


Union Jack
Originally uploaded by Terz.

Top: the flag, right side up. Bottom: the same image, rotated 180°.


Union Jack - Upside Down?
Originally uploaded by Terz.

Spot the difference? This flag is as perfect a design as a flag can get. There's no way it can be upside down.

Help me out here... Neil? Anyone?

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On a more frustrating note: contractor who promised me new shelves, is screening phone calls from me. I'm keeping a calling log.

After the tenth call, I'm calling CASE instead.