In 007 movies, we watched how skillful the spies obtain information from the internet and various places, including at times activating computers remotely. We think that this must be of movie-kind-of-thing only. Guess what, read this: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090328/ts_nm/us_security_spying_computers
Canadian researchers just found a huge spy network infecting computers worldwide and the implanted malware can activate the web camera and audio recording function of the computer to gain information! O my, imagine your action and your word being recorded unknowingly. It shudders me. Luckily at least I don't have a web camera in my laptop and neither I am that famous to get access. Now I know that turning off my in speaker volume does not really help.
Perhaps being aware of what website you visited and what files you open will prevent malwares into your computer. At least to a great extent.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Earth hour: the irony
Discussed the Earth hour event with some friends, and here are some of our concerns:
1. Is the promotion and marketing of earth hour event carbon offseted? Well, the publicity of earth hour including website programming needs electricity, paper, water, ink, etc. Can anyone ensure that the resources spent to publicize the earth hour event is less than the minute savings of electricity by the participants of earth hour? Or is this the case of necessary evil?
2. How many participants of earth hour end up in shopping mall? Singaporeans are normally fond of air conditioned locations. So, when they switch off their lamps at home, will they flock to the shopping malls and cause the HVAC system in shopping mall to work harder?
Much more efforts should be coordinated beyond earth hour to battle global warming. Hopefully, whatever resources spent by the earth hour event can spur further awareness and get more people to participate in real time. If not, it may end up as another wasteful effort.
1. Is the promotion and marketing of earth hour event carbon offseted? Well, the publicity of earth hour including website programming needs electricity, paper, water, ink, etc. Can anyone ensure that the resources spent to publicize the earth hour event is less than the minute savings of electricity by the participants of earth hour? Or is this the case of necessary evil?
2. How many participants of earth hour end up in shopping mall? Singaporeans are normally fond of air conditioned locations. So, when they switch off their lamps at home, will they flock to the shopping malls and cause the HVAC system in shopping mall to work harder?
Much more efforts should be coordinated beyond earth hour to battle global warming. Hopefully, whatever resources spent by the earth hour event can spur further awareness and get more people to participate in real time. If not, it may end up as another wasteful effort.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Eating medicine daily without knowing
Do you realize that you are taking medicine everyday without knowing? If not, perhaps you can try to read http://www.sciam.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=pharmed-fish-09-03-26
The news is about the research that discovers the presence of medicine in fishes. In fact, there has been many researches establishing the presence of medicine in our food and drink chain. I remembered reading the findings about the presence of medicine in drinking water in US.
The fact I know are:
1. Whatever drugs you take, they are not totally absorbed by our body. Some will go down the drain via our urine or feces.
2. We can only detect what we know.
The sewerage system worldwide (good or bad) interacts with the environment and in many places, waste water (including urine) is treated to produce drinking water. The main issues are that unless there are specific compound to remove, chances are that noone knows how to remove them. Ozone, UV and whatever treatment given to waste water will not take away residual medicine in water. Medicinal residue in the soil going up to the plants (from even the so called organic plantation), will definitely end up in our kitchen. Even if you say that the soil is organic, there is no way to ensure the water is free from all unwanted residues. In short, our food and drink chain has become so entertwined that everything is linked. The amount of possible residues are also so many that it is virtually impossible to track.
Not trying to be pessimistic, I think we need to realistically accept the fact that we will be taking some of the unwanted medicinal residue. Chances are that the residue is in small amount after being diluted so many times, unless everyone use the same medicine at the same time! So, perhaps it is least likely that anything harm will come to us mainly because of taking those residues. The risk of dying from accident on the way to work or choking on fish bones may actually be higher. Nevertheless, there is no zero risk in this world and most of the time, it is really your perception that matters.
Edit: 28 March 2009
Guess what I have just read. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090326100714.htm
The article reported a finding that bottles of drinking water in Germany releases xenohormone, that is chemical that has hormone-like effect. Worse, the chemical behaves like estrogen, primary female sex hormone... the hormone promote some female characteristics, not so fun to have that in male, definitely...
This finding reflect exactly the fear on how much unwanted chemicals have entered human lives unknowingly. I wonder how safe glass bottle is as well.
The news is about the research that discovers the presence of medicine in fishes. In fact, there has been many researches establishing the presence of medicine in our food and drink chain. I remembered reading the findings about the presence of medicine in drinking water in US.
The fact I know are:
1. Whatever drugs you take, they are not totally absorbed by our body. Some will go down the drain via our urine or feces.
2. We can only detect what we know.
The sewerage system worldwide (good or bad) interacts with the environment and in many places, waste water (including urine) is treated to produce drinking water. The main issues are that unless there are specific compound to remove, chances are that noone knows how to remove them. Ozone, UV and whatever treatment given to waste water will not take away residual medicine in water. Medicinal residue in the soil going up to the plants (from even the so called organic plantation), will definitely end up in our kitchen. Even if you say that the soil is organic, there is no way to ensure the water is free from all unwanted residues. In short, our food and drink chain has become so entertwined that everything is linked. The amount of possible residues are also so many that it is virtually impossible to track.
Not trying to be pessimistic, I think we need to realistically accept the fact that we will be taking some of the unwanted medicinal residue. Chances are that the residue is in small amount after being diluted so many times, unless everyone use the same medicine at the same time! So, perhaps it is least likely that anything harm will come to us mainly because of taking those residues. The risk of dying from accident on the way to work or choking on fish bones may actually be higher. Nevertheless, there is no zero risk in this world and most of the time, it is really your perception that matters.
Edit: 28 March 2009
Guess what I have just read. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090326100714.htm
The article reported a finding that bottles of drinking water in Germany releases xenohormone, that is chemical that has hormone-like effect. Worse, the chemical behaves like estrogen, primary female sex hormone... the hormone promote some female characteristics, not so fun to have that in male, definitely...
This finding reflect exactly the fear on how much unwanted chemicals have entered human lives unknowingly. I wonder how safe glass bottle is as well.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
SQ321 flight delay from London to Singapore
On 15 March 2009 10.15 pm, I am supposed to return to Singapore from London on A380, flight number SQ321. Unfortunately, the flight is delayed for 12 hours. I'll chronicle that journey in this blog.
On that day, I reached Heathrow at 8.15 pm but alas, at 9.30 pm, the notice board put up "gate opened at 22.50". And at 9.45 pm, they called passengers to collect 10 pounds voucher for meal. I sensed something is wrong, but still, voucher is good for supper. Amazingly little did I realize that shops in the airport open only till 10.00 pm! By the time I got my voucher (which is VERY early compared to other passengers), "TGIF" is no longer taking orders and only sandwiches shops are open. Slightly fed up, I ended up buying some "innocent" smoothies (which I have been craving for) and lots of snacks to bring home. I still can hold my head high and thought perhaps the flight will take place at 11 pm. I was quite happy when they told us to go into the gate at 11.30 pm. I thought finally we'll fly. So, the long queue to the boarding gate by the anxious passengers start. By the time we reached the gate, the bomb fell. The customer service officers said we are to stay overnight in the hotel since there is a hydraulic leak on the landing wheel. They said update will be available on 6 am the day after and hopefully the plane can fly between 8 to 10 am. So, they gave us a box of snack and told us to wait for bus transport.
Amazing thing happen during the waiting for the bus transport outside the airport after exiting from the custom. Noone seem to do a simple calculation: passengers divide by bus capacity equal number of bus required. So, around 20 of us were standing in the cold night waiting for a bus that never come. Basically a fleet of bus waited for the passengers but one more was required. Another simple math calculation missed is the number of overnight kit required. There were lots of passengers without the kit, which was distributed during the queue. I find it amusing for SIA not to have simple consideration as such in the procedure.
Not only that, apparently business class people is put up in Radissons Edwardian, the economy class in Premier Inn. What a difference. And to act a bit more responsibly (which is appreciated), those of us (economy passengers) waiting in the cold, they ended up putting us in Radissons. I thought, at that time, what a luck that there was no old persons with some problems in the queue. None of the customer service officers actually told us to take comfort in the bus waiting room while waiting for 20 minutes in the cold!
Upon reaching the hotel, we checked in and that's 00.45 am. I finally got my overnight kit at around 2 am I think. The overnight kit has an amusing oversight. It contained XL t-shirt and no underwears. O dear, some one in SIA actually think t-shirt is more important than underwear for people forced to do an overnight due to flight delay. I really want to know who has the hand on deciding the overnight kit and whether a proper need assessment has been done to decide the content!
In the morning, I thought someone will be nice enough to call to inform the arranged flight. But well, guess what, despite all the SIA being "world class", noone calls and people were expected to queue to get more information. What I learned during the queue was disturbing. Apparently the busines class passengers was booked on the normal flight at 10.55 am and they booked the economy class passengers to 10.05 pm for the night. Amazingly, apparently the business class passengers know about their booking into the new flight at 10.55 am from the night! Hence, the customer service officers provided misleading information to the economy class passengers. Now, that does not seem to be any fair to me. Where is the customer service standard? The rich rules?
So, the economy class passengers were told to spend time in the hotel. That's quite a bleak way to spend your day, isn't it? Then I went up to the assistant station manager of SIA in London and commented that I would have spent 60 hours on the same clothes by the time I reached Singapore on the midnight flight and asked for a solution. He amusingly told me that I can try to purchase an under garment and TRY to reimburse. Now, that's only a TRY and we can't even reimburse our trip out of hotel, how on earth would I be able to buy the under garment? No offer to purchase one for me or sort of things... what another minus note in the service. So, I dejectedly went back to my room and continued working.
At 10.48 am suddenly I was rang to be told a bus is coming to fetch the economy class passengers at 11.00 am to get the flight on 1.00 pm since the plane was fixed. Wow, 12 minutes to get down and my socks were wet since I washed them thinking I may be able to dry them by 10.00 pm. While ironing, I forgot about the time and only called the receptionist at 11.07 am to check and to be told that the bus was leaving without me and I was told to go down fast. Now, I was really about to be left by the bus and they NEVER even check the name of the passengers in the bus against the hotel list. What a good service!
Cut things short, we ended up in the plane at 1.15 pm and waited till around 2.45 pm for the plane to finally fly since there were 14 passengers not accounted for. Somehow, someone forgot to ask all the contact number of all passengers and never call all of them before deciding to enter people into the plane. And amazingly, snacks were not served to the starving passengers (remember that we entered the waiting room before lunch) until later than 2.00 pm.
I am strongly unimpressed by the SIA's customer service in London and what disturbs me is that no offer of compensation for the inconvenience is even mentioned. I believe there should be some measure for such but they seem to be avoiding that. My e-mail to them has gone unanswered. This really shows that SIA has a long way to go for the customer service to be first class. I wonder whether the next quality certification will find this issue?
On that day, I reached Heathrow at 8.15 pm but alas, at 9.30 pm, the notice board put up "gate opened at 22.50". And at 9.45 pm, they called passengers to collect 10 pounds voucher for meal. I sensed something is wrong, but still, voucher is good for supper. Amazingly little did I realize that shops in the airport open only till 10.00 pm! By the time I got my voucher (which is VERY early compared to other passengers), "TGIF" is no longer taking orders and only sandwiches shops are open. Slightly fed up, I ended up buying some "innocent" smoothies (which I have been craving for) and lots of snacks to bring home. I still can hold my head high and thought perhaps the flight will take place at 11 pm. I was quite happy when they told us to go into the gate at 11.30 pm. I thought finally we'll fly. So, the long queue to the boarding gate by the anxious passengers start. By the time we reached the gate, the bomb fell. The customer service officers said we are to stay overnight in the hotel since there is a hydraulic leak on the landing wheel. They said update will be available on 6 am the day after and hopefully the plane can fly between 8 to 10 am. So, they gave us a box of snack and told us to wait for bus transport.
Amazing thing happen during the waiting for the bus transport outside the airport after exiting from the custom. Noone seem to do a simple calculation: passengers divide by bus capacity equal number of bus required. So, around 20 of us were standing in the cold night waiting for a bus that never come. Basically a fleet of bus waited for the passengers but one more was required. Another simple math calculation missed is the number of overnight kit required. There were lots of passengers without the kit, which was distributed during the queue. I find it amusing for SIA not to have simple consideration as such in the procedure.
Not only that, apparently business class people is put up in Radissons Edwardian, the economy class in Premier Inn. What a difference. And to act a bit more responsibly (which is appreciated), those of us (economy passengers) waiting in the cold, they ended up putting us in Radissons. I thought, at that time, what a luck that there was no old persons with some problems in the queue. None of the customer service officers actually told us to take comfort in the bus waiting room while waiting for 20 minutes in the cold!
Upon reaching the hotel, we checked in and that's 00.45 am. I finally got my overnight kit at around 2 am I think. The overnight kit has an amusing oversight. It contained XL t-shirt and no underwears. O dear, some one in SIA actually think t-shirt is more important than underwear for people forced to do an overnight due to flight delay. I really want to know who has the hand on deciding the overnight kit and whether a proper need assessment has been done to decide the content!
In the morning, I thought someone will be nice enough to call to inform the arranged flight. But well, guess what, despite all the SIA being "world class", noone calls and people were expected to queue to get more information. What I learned during the queue was disturbing. Apparently the busines class passengers was booked on the normal flight at 10.55 am and they booked the economy class passengers to 10.05 pm for the night. Amazingly, apparently the business class passengers know about their booking into the new flight at 10.55 am from the night! Hence, the customer service officers provided misleading information to the economy class passengers. Now, that does not seem to be any fair to me. Where is the customer service standard? The rich rules?
So, the economy class passengers were told to spend time in the hotel. That's quite a bleak way to spend your day, isn't it? Then I went up to the assistant station manager of SIA in London and commented that I would have spent 60 hours on the same clothes by the time I reached Singapore on the midnight flight and asked for a solution. He amusingly told me that I can try to purchase an under garment and TRY to reimburse. Now, that's only a TRY and we can't even reimburse our trip out of hotel, how on earth would I be able to buy the under garment? No offer to purchase one for me or sort of things... what another minus note in the service. So, I dejectedly went back to my room and continued working.
At 10.48 am suddenly I was rang to be told a bus is coming to fetch the economy class passengers at 11.00 am to get the flight on 1.00 pm since the plane was fixed. Wow, 12 minutes to get down and my socks were wet since I washed them thinking I may be able to dry them by 10.00 pm. While ironing, I forgot about the time and only called the receptionist at 11.07 am to check and to be told that the bus was leaving without me and I was told to go down fast. Now, I was really about to be left by the bus and they NEVER even check the name of the passengers in the bus against the hotel list. What a good service!
Cut things short, we ended up in the plane at 1.15 pm and waited till around 2.45 pm for the plane to finally fly since there were 14 passengers not accounted for. Somehow, someone forgot to ask all the contact number of all passengers and never call all of them before deciding to enter people into the plane. And amazingly, snacks were not served to the starving passengers (remember that we entered the waiting room before lunch) until later than 2.00 pm.
I am strongly unimpressed by the SIA's customer service in London and what disturbs me is that no offer of compensation for the inconvenience is even mentioned. I believe there should be some measure for such but they seem to be avoiding that. My e-mail to them has gone unanswered. This really shows that SIA has a long way to go for the customer service to be first class. I wonder whether the next quality certification will find this issue?
Death on the MRT
Another death yesterday on the train track in Singapore. I wonder why there is quite a number of death in Singapore while there is nothing about death on the track in UK. There are lots more train track in UK than in Singapore. There is a plan to include platform screen door in Singapore to reduce accident in the track. This seems to be a fire fighting response and pretty much, a corrective action. There is no such screen in the upper ground platform in London and yet, everything seems fine. Perhaps Singapore is addressing the issue from the wrong angle?
Passengers should be aware of their surrounding more often to spot their fellow passengers who need help. Most of the time, people in Singapore is too mechanistic and have a race hourse view (blinded from side view). I myself at times feel so when I am waiting for train either due to drowsiness or plain stress from my commuting experience. Being aware at the surrounding surely help, but then again that will take some mindset change, not an entirely easy option. Perhaps the authorities know this and choose the easy way out.
Passengers should be aware of their surrounding more often to spot their fellow passengers who need help. Most of the time, people in Singapore is too mechanistic and have a race hourse view (blinded from side view). I myself at times feel so when I am waiting for train either due to drowsiness or plain stress from my commuting experience. Being aware at the surrounding surely help, but then again that will take some mindset change, not an entirely easy option. Perhaps the authorities know this and choose the easy way out.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Something that SBS and SMRT should consider
Who never complains about SBS's and SMRT's waiting time in Singapore? Let me have a show of hand. I must confess I am not impressed at all by their standard. However, it's also true that their standard is better than the undeground in London. But hey, in London, the distance between station can be easily travelled on foot! In Singapore, unless you have the time (I mean it), strength of will and strong leg power, I do not suggest walking between the train stations outside the business district. So, the bottom line is that both cities are different. Where the options of route and type of transportation are not available, the train and bus service are the only thing that people can take. Hence, it is extremely important for the service to be efficient for the user of the public transport. Sadly, it is not the way it should be in Singapore.
Perhaps the SBS and SMRT can look at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090317143157.htm for some inspiration on how to better their bus services. At least according to the article, heuristic programming allows the Spanish to create a better bus route. Anything that will allow the passengers to have a reasonable waiting time should be tried, provided they are there to serve the public (I know many people think the companies said here do not serve the public, but that is another issue).
Perhaps the SBS and SMRT can look at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090317143157.htm for some inspiration on how to better their bus services. At least according to the article, heuristic programming allows the Spanish to create a better bus route. Anything that will allow the passengers to have a reasonable waiting time should be tried, provided they are there to serve the public (I know many people think the companies said here do not serve the public, but that is another issue).
Nanotechnology: the unknown
People are crazy about nanotechnology. Even household cleaning products tout the presence of nano-sized particle in the mixture. The big issue here about nanotechnology is the pretty much the lack of knowledge on what the result of the interaction between nanotechnology and living organism is. As far as I understand, researchers have been trying to use nanotechnology to kill bacteria. Researchers have also understood by now that nano-sized material behave differently from the big size one (by big size, it can mean micro to few meters). You can easily search for these information in the net. Yet, because of its mass appeal, nanotechnology produces many nano-sized particles that have been rolled out into the market without fully testing whether the particles affect the world in the wrong way. Recently, I came across a report saying that the nano-sized particles in the sunscreen were found to kill the beneficial microbes in the environment. I shudder to think that this is really only on the iceberg.
Technology advancement is crucial important for human advancement. Nanotechnology is indeed one of the forefront in the effort to better human lives. However, researchers need to have the moral and ethical understanding that technology interacts with the environment. Technology should not be made in the expense of the environment. Nothing good will emerge if the environment start dying because of human foolishness and lack of effort to understand their own made technology.
Technology advancement is crucial important for human advancement. Nanotechnology is indeed one of the forefront in the effort to better human lives. However, researchers need to have the moral and ethical understanding that technology interacts with the environment. Technology should not be made in the expense of the environment. Nothing good will emerge if the environment start dying because of human foolishness and lack of effort to understand their own made technology.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)