Hello, it's official... flooding, not ponding!
http://news.insing.com/tabloid/floods-should-not-be-called-ponding/id-c4263f00
The Environment Minister said in Parliament Monday (9 Jan) that national water agency PUB should not have used the word "ponding" during the December floods. On 23 Dec, heavy rains once again flooded areas in Orchard Road, Bukit Timah and Thomson.
The PUB later announced that "there was no flooding at Orchard Road".
Instead, water had "ponded" at the open area of Liat Towers, at the underpass between Lucky Plaza and Ngee Ann City, and the basement of Lucky Plaza.
Many netizens reacted with incredulity, and "ponding" quickly became the butt of jokes and ridicule on the Internet.
Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said, "As far as I am concerned, PUB should not have used the word 'ponding'. I call a spade a spade. A flood is a flood."
My comment: Er, minister, got one more funny term from PUB, leh... "detention pond". Can you tell the PUB's "wordsmith" that people -- not water -- get detained, like I kena (got landed with) detention class in my schooldays. Or pai kia (gangsters) are detained by the mata-mata (police), And since "pond" is out, let's use "retention pool". Can, meh?
--------------------------------------------
About a "gap": SMRT's reply leaves a further gap
http://news.insing.com/tabloid/netizen-mrt-train-doors-opened-30cm-while-inside-tunnels/id-c5263f00
A netizen recently posted that the doors of a Circle Line train opened -- leaving a gap of about 30cm -- while it was travelling between stations. The netizen and his friends said the affected train doors suddenly opened after a passenger leaned on them.
Strong winds were felt blowing into the train from the tunnel.
SMRT, responding to reporters queries, explained that there is a "push back" mechanism in the train doors that allows passengers to push the doors open by 10cm when necessary, such as if passengers' clothes or bag straps got caught between the doors.
The SMRT spokesman emphasised that the train door cannot be opened by more than 10cm unless they are pulled open by someone who is very strong. And if train doors are pulled open by more than 10cm, the affected train and nearby trains will pull to a halt to ensure the safety of passengers. (Source: Shin Min Daily News, 9 January 2012.)
My comment: If indeed there is a "push back" mechanism, why was this not told to the stranded train commuters on 15 and 17 Dec, so that fresh air could be ventilated in? The guy who had to break a train window with a fire extinguisher could have been spared doing so!
Also, I noticed while on the trains today that the front car (and presumably the rear car too) has an emergency exit door which can be opened by breaking a sealed glass plate (to get to an access handle?). Again, why was this not done by SMRT staff on those two occasions?
----------------------------------------------------
Why are women (supposedly) bad drivers? Cos they're shorter than men?
http://news.insing.com/tabloid/study-women-make-poorer-drivers/id-85263f00
An American study has found that women are poorer drivers than men.
The study, conducted by Michigan University, analysed data from 6.5 million traffic accidents in America from 1988 to 2007. It found that 31.9% of traffic accidents involved two male drivers, a number lower than what researchers originally forecast.
Accidents involving two female drivers were 20.5% and higher than forecast. Accidents involving one male and one female driver took 47.6%, close to the forecast numbers.
The study concluded that female drivers have a higher rate of traffic accidents than men.
Reporters spoke to some Singaporean men and found that they tended to agree that female drivers are more dangerous and have poorer driving techniques.
Taxi driver Mr Zhuang, 45, said he once saw a female driver causing a traffic accident while texting on her mobile phone. He said, "This woman driver was texting at a red light. When the light turned green, her car started moving because she did not seem to realise that the car in front was still stationary. As a result, she crashed into the car in front."
Female drivers, however, disagree.
Ms Wang Pin Qing, an image consultant, felt that female drivers tend to be more cautious. She also believes that women do not drive faster than men and are often more concerned about safety.
Researchers attribute a higher accident rate among female drivers to a number of factors, including a lack of experience, shorter height, and being unable to deal with road situations. (Source: Lianhe Wanbao, 8 January 2012.)
My comment: Yet another amazing statistical study. The Lianhe Wanbao story did not say if the "researchers" quoted in the last paragraph were from the US study or were local "experts" the newspaper spoke to. The so-called factors cited were silly ones but the "shorter height" one took the cake!
The PUB later announced that "there was no flooding at Orchard Road".
Instead, water had "ponded" at the open area of Liat Towers, at the underpass between Lucky Plaza and Ngee Ann City, and the basement of Lucky Plaza.
Many netizens reacted with incredulity, and "ponding" quickly became the butt of jokes and ridicule on the Internet.
Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said, "As far as I am concerned, PUB should not have used the word 'ponding'. I call a spade a spade. A flood is a flood."
My comment: Er, minister, got one more funny term from PUB, leh... "detention pond". Can you tell the PUB's "wordsmith" that people -- not water -- get detained, like I kena (got landed with) detention class in my schooldays. Or pai kia (gangsters) are detained by the mata-mata (police), And since "pond" is out, let's use "retention pool". Can, meh?
--------------------------------------------
About a "gap": SMRT's reply leaves a further gap
http://news.insing.com/tabloid/netizen-mrt-train-doors-opened-30cm-while-inside-tunnels/id-c5263f00
A netizen recently posted that the doors of a Circle Line train opened -- leaving a gap of about 30cm -- while it was travelling between stations. The netizen and his friends said the affected train doors suddenly opened after a passenger leaned on them.
Strong winds were felt blowing into the train from the tunnel.
SMRT, responding to reporters queries, explained that there is a "push back" mechanism in the train doors that allows passengers to push the doors open by 10cm when necessary, such as if passengers' clothes or bag straps got caught between the doors.
The SMRT spokesman emphasised that the train door cannot be opened by more than 10cm unless they are pulled open by someone who is very strong. And if train doors are pulled open by more than 10cm, the affected train and nearby trains will pull to a halt to ensure the safety of passengers. (Source: Shin Min Daily News, 9 January 2012.)
My comment: If indeed there is a "push back" mechanism, why was this not told to the stranded train commuters on 15 and 17 Dec, so that fresh air could be ventilated in? The guy who had to break a train window with a fire extinguisher could have been spared doing so!
Also, I noticed while on the trains today that the front car (and presumably the rear car too) has an emergency exit door which can be opened by breaking a sealed glass plate (to get to an access handle?). Again, why was this not done by SMRT staff on those two occasions?
----------------------------------------------------
Why are women (supposedly) bad drivers? Cos they're shorter than men?
http://news.insing.com/tabloid/study-women-make-poorer-drivers/id-85263f00
An American study has found that women are poorer drivers than men.
The study, conducted by Michigan University, analysed data from 6.5 million traffic accidents in America from 1988 to 2007. It found that 31.9% of traffic accidents involved two male drivers, a number lower than what researchers originally forecast.
Accidents involving two female drivers were 20.5% and higher than forecast. Accidents involving one male and one female driver took 47.6%, close to the forecast numbers.
The study concluded that female drivers have a higher rate of traffic accidents than men.
Reporters spoke to some Singaporean men and found that they tended to agree that female drivers are more dangerous and have poorer driving techniques.
Taxi driver Mr Zhuang, 45, said he once saw a female driver causing a traffic accident while texting on her mobile phone. He said, "This woman driver was texting at a red light. When the light turned green, her car started moving because she did not seem to realise that the car in front was still stationary. As a result, she crashed into the car in front."
Female drivers, however, disagree.
Ms Wang Pin Qing, an image consultant, felt that female drivers tend to be more cautious. She also believes that women do not drive faster than men and are often more concerned about safety.
Researchers attribute a higher accident rate among female drivers to a number of factors, including a lack of experience, shorter height, and being unable to deal with road situations. (Source: Lianhe Wanbao, 8 January 2012.)
My comment: Yet another amazing statistical study. The Lianhe Wanbao story did not say if the "researchers" quoted in the last paragraph were from the US study or were local "experts" the newspaper spoke to. The so-called factors cited were silly ones but the "shorter height" one took the cake!
No comments:
Post a Comment