Thursday, October 23, 2014

About the legendary Ben Bradlee, a monkey idiom, and gleaning secrets from open sources!

The world of journalism will not see the likes of Ben Bradlee again...

National/global news alert • Tue., Oct. 21, 2014 7:53 pm

Legendary Post editor Ben Bradlee dies at 93

Benjamin C. Bradlee, who led The Washington Post for 26 years and guided its transformation into one of the world’s leading newspapers, has died. He directed The Post’s coverage of Watergate, which resulted in the only resignation of a president in U.S. history, and he was the most celebrated editor of his era.

ST, Oct 23

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Monkeys, they say, are great imitators...

ST, Oct 23

But I thought these two pics that accompanied the story above tell their own story...

Picture 1: Despite what the caption says, these monkeys do not look like they are about to move off!

Picture 2: This pic is even more intriguing. The humans here seem to be very respectful, with arms behind their backs. So are they taking instructions from that monkey there? Who's teaching whom? What's that again about "Monkey See, Monkey Do"?
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Anyway, did you wonder about that headline above? Yes, it is idiomatically correct. But why not "Monkey sees, monkey does"? Someone else asked this question too:

Why Do We Say "Monkey See, Monkey Do"?

http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/why-do-we-say-monkey-see-monkey-do/

I like the little monkey tale that is retold by the writer above:

A somewhat more likely exotic origin suggested on Wikipedia is West African folklore. In a folktale from Mali, a hat salesman has his entire inventory of hats stolen by monkeys, who grab them while he naps under a tree, and then climb out of his reach. Upon waking, he gestures and screams angrily at the monkeys, only to have them imitate his gesturing and screaming. Finally, he throws his own hat to the ground in frustration. The monkeys do the same, and happy ending ensures.

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Finally, I felt there was such irony in this ST story below about a "once-secret" SAF unit that uses open sources for the secret work it does!...

ST, Oct 23

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Dog thoughts.

What are "dog thoughts"? Something like this...

23 Dog Thoughts That Will Change Your Outlook On Everyday Dog Life

http://news.distractify.com/megan-mccormick/dog-shower-thoughts/

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Killer the mini schnauzer is 11 (human) years old. Ever since he was a puppy, I have had to take him down eight storeys come rain or sunshine or come lift breakdowns three times a day to let him do this (he will not do it up in our condo unit)...

So, Killer, your dog thought should be THANK YOU for the thousands of times I must have done this since Day One of your arrival!

I'll like to think that's a look of both relief and gratitude (below)...

Haha! What look? You can't see my eyes.

Brady the beagle is 17 years old (that's about 90 in dog years!)... he is a survivor: he had cancer, he is now blind, and he is arthritic in both his spine and back limbs. But like any true beagle, his appetite is still undiminished. Brady, the spirited four-legged Johnny Walker (Still going strong)...

I'm sure there's one more kibble out there, after I knocked over my dinner bowl!

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Finally, I wish Brady (before he became blind) and Killer could do this!...

Dogs Say Grace Before Dinner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HVkOSnXCko

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Nostalgia! Octopus game, old movie tickets, and banana notes.

Someone posted this online, Angie saw it and sent the image to me:

Memories flooded back to 1981... when these compact hand-held Nintendo Game and Watch devices -- powered by tiny watch batteries -- were the rage worldwide. Angie remembers lying on her maternity ward bed playing furiously on the Octopus game while waiting for Lynn to pop out of the oven (it was an eight-hour wait).

I remember coming home from work at 2am... and if I was not working the next evening, out came my own Octopus device and by the time I was finished, it was closer to 6am!

I don't recall having kept our by-now antediluvian Game and Watch sets. But this YouTube video of someone playing Octopus is so wonderfully nostalgic to relive!!...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPLtkmZ0aGY

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I also wish I had kept as keepsake yesteryear's movie tickets such as these:

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Finally, I was not even a concept when these "banknotes" were issued. But I have some of them somewhere among my stuff...

Monday, October 20, 2014

Monday musings.

How do they show their best... by baring themselves?

So, did Putin "take down" Abbot?

NUS wants to woo the fast talkers, that is, the silver tongued "sell you anything" types?

See this blog commentary...

Are Fast Talkers More Persuasive?

http://www.spring.org.uk/2010/11/are-fast-talkers-more-persuasive.php

So you hope, Mr John Wong, so you hope...
(Clue: It's the nation that gets smarter, not you, buddy!)

Mr Mahbubani has the answer... "build a wise citizenry"!
(Okay, you can waterproof a watch, but how do you future-proof a country?)

Many die yearly? Like phoenixes, they rise again only to die again?

Finally...
If she is the sexiest woman alive, who is the sexiest dead?

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Smart and dumb questions about smartphones.

A letter which appeared in ST Forum piqued my curiosity about smartphones (more on that letter in a bit). What I wanted to know was, "What was the first smartphone and how did this now commonly bandied term come about?"

This link below answers such questions as:
* Was the Apple iPhone the first smartphone? Spoiler: No, it was not!
* So what was the first smartphone then? Was it a best seller?
* What defines a smartphone then? Is the touchscreen its essential feature?

Who Invented the Smart Phone?

https://www.ownmyinvention.com/who-invented-the-smart-phone/

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Now for that letter...

(Distraction: I circled the word "can" because it is a common, and bad, Singaporean usage. Of course optometrists or opticians can weigh in on the issue! What is to stop them from doing so? Anyway, back to the issue...)

The letter elicited a response:

So now you know! If you have young children, take note.

I have one more question: Is it OK to use a cellphone (whether smartphone or dumb phone) inside a lift (or an elevator, as the Yanks call it)? Here's the answer:

Using a Cell Phone in an Elevator

http://microwavenews.com/news-center/using-cell-phone-elevator

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Finally, if you have a smartphone (of course you have... what a dumb question!), do you agree with this statement?...

Saturday, October 18, 2014

A trial in a carpark? And other choice phrasings...

This ad appeared in ST a couple of days ago...

We know that that there is a hospital bed crunch in Singapore, and a taxi crunch may occur just when you need one...

But a courtroom crunch?? What kind of a trial is it that requires a large space like the T1 carpark? Wouldn't the aircraft noise drown out the proceedings?

All became clearer in today's ST (Oct 18):

So, in the ad above, the extra words "for a trial" in the header made for confusing reading! Any elaboration is best done in the text that follows:

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There was this other story a couple of days ago...

It's a great idea to make our streetscape look less drab. But perhaps the relevant authority could have been bolder in the crossing's design. I had earlier blogged about creative zebra crossings elsewhere, like those found in this link:

17 creative street art zebra crossings

http://illusionofboredom.com/17-remarkable-creative-zebra-crossings/

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This sign below is absolutely, totally, unambiguous, but it is almost rude, like someone shouting at you!...