Random RumblingsDecember 31, 2011 11:27 pm
Please go to the new site at http://moresanityisfortheweak.wordpress.com as the blog hosting service on Blogsome will be closing.
Be seeing you 
Gamer Dad vs Baby - A New Challenger Appears!
Shoryuken!
Ian has been home with us for almost six weeks now, and we’ve kind of settled into a predictable routine. With both parents shambling about in a zombie fugue, he’s starting to make his demands known more insistently. Just like his big brother, he doesn’t really like the pacifier, spitting it right out after a few sucks and yelling (only not as loud as Sion used to do). Also, he’s no longer shy about yelling (a little) louder for feeds - still nowhere as ear-shattering as big bro, but it gets attention.
Building a House, Building a Home
Things have been going at full speed at the construction site, and ther workers are now getting the place liveable and putting in the final touches. We’ve had the inspectors coming in, and we should be getting our TOP soon.
Sion certainly seems to like the new house, if this reaction is anything to go by:
All that’s left is to finish up the wiring, lights, and the kitchen, final polish on the wooden floors, exertior shades, final coat of paint and landscaping. We’re looking forward to moving back somewhere in Nov (hopefully).
Whee!
… that’s good enough for me!
Now that Sion’s almost two, we’ve been exposing him more and more to TV to supplement the stuff he picks up at school. And by TV, I mean educational programmes and shows which teach rather than just entertain. However, given recent reports of how certain children’s shows do more harm than good *coughspongsbobcough*, we’ve been rather selective on what we do allow him to watch.
Strangely enough though, the shows that we used to know and love, like Sesame Street and Electric Company seemed to hold the best learning opportunities for the little one. Ever since I discovered that Sesame Street has video podcasts for free on iTunes, I’ve been downloading them religiously - and it’s been great blast for the eldest as he’s quickly picking up letters and numbers through short 5-10 minute segments rather than staying glued to the TV the whole day (not to mention it keeps him entertained and quiet for some peace and quiet for mummy and daddy).
Random Rumblings, BabySeptember 20, 2011 5:02 pm
Hello World. Please welcome little Ian.
The newest addition to our family was born at 2.22pm on 17 Sep 2011. After just a few days, we could see a marked difference between Ian and when Sion was a baby - Ian seems quieter and better behaved; we have yet to hear him yelling for a feed, whereas when we were in the hospital with Sion, we could always tell when the baby was coming… he’d be yelling from all the way down the corridor!
Big Bro Sion came by for a visit, and he doesn’t seem too put off by the idea that he now has someone else to vie for mommy’s attention. Time will tell I guess, as we head home and mommy has to spend more time feeding and taking care of the youngest. In the meantime, we hope the toys that we prepared and handed to him at the hospital saying that it’s a gift from his lil’ brother will keep him occupied and happy.
In the meantime, it’s back to midnight watches and nappy changes.
With the baby due anytime next month, and the fact that Sion’s getting tall enough to climb out of his cot, we decided to “upgrade” Sion to a larger kids’ bed and recycle the cot for No.2. This of course meant a trip to the local Swedish Furniture Porn Shop. This decision to do so was also highly influenced in that the original baby cot did not have collapsible sides, so it was getting harder and harder for mummy to attend to Sion, especially since he insists on having only mummy feed him his milk at night.
So aided more by the little one’s enthusiasm than his inexpert help, we had the bed put together in short order:
The work all done, Sion decided that a reward was in order, and so decided to help himself to some pizza we had set aside for lunch.
And people wonder how he grows so tall….
Building a House, Building a Home
Separately, while we were shopping for his cot, we were also keeping an eye out for new furniture for when we move back to the completed house, probably some time in November. This week should see the paint work going in, as well as the floor and bathroom tiles delivered.
Strangely enough, it seem that we were impacted by the Japan Quake in April, as the suppliers informed us that the deliver of air-con compressors would be delayed by about two weeks due to shortages of parts in Japan.
Oh well. Adapt, React, and Overcome.
We’ll be looking at lights, as well as door handles next…
As the in-laws are away for these two weeks for a holiday, I’ve gone back to cooking our meals like before.
Last night’s dinner was a simple affair, rice with sides of grilled stuffed Portabello Mushroom with some pan-fried Spam and stir-fried Baby Corn and Lady’s Fingers with Miso sauce.
Of the lot, the mushrooms turned out the best, and it’s a relatively simple thing to make. Just finely chopped tomatoes placed on top of an overturned portabello mushrom cap that’s been rubbed with olive oil and topped with some grated Parmesan cheese and grilled in an oven at 240 deg C for about 10-15mins. Some herbs added into the chopped tomatoes would add flavor, but is not really needed.
Building a House, Building a Home
The house is coming along nicely, with the workers finally adding the roof after torrential rain delayed works for a few weeks.
This week will be plumbing, electrical work and plastering the walls, in addition to finishing up the tiling on the roof. We’ll swing by later in the afternoon to check up on the work.
Taking the car for some TLC on this well-earned rest day.
Imma gonna go Volcano at Kamurocho for some Pachinko later…
Gamer Dad vs Baby - Round 6 (Family Vacation)
We went on a family vacation last week for the very first time. After considering the various pros and cons of travelling overseas, particularly the prospect of having a cranky baby on a long flight, as well as the logistical needs to support said 17 month old baby, we settled on a five day cruise to Port Kulang and Phuket. Of course, the fact that the liner was offering a “kids cruise for free” package was also a powerful incentive, but we like the fact that there’s lots to do onboard to distract the little one.
And a good thing too, for it looked like the little one enjoyed himself throughly:
Separately, Sion appears to have taken a liking to golf when he found the mini course onboard.
You know, when I said I’ll teach you to swing metal bits around, I meant swords and not golf clubs. Also, when I said we’ll play games together, I meant board games and RPGs, and nothing about being your caddy!
Random Rumblings, HomeMarch 28, 2011 7:11 pm
Building a House, Building a Home
After weeks not not much happening, the ground floor and bomb shelter suddenly went up at the worksite like mushrooms after a storm.
Two weeks later, we went back again and saw that the construction company was getting ready to build the second floor:
That’s FAST.
Last weekend was spent looking at sanitary fittings: basins, taps, toilets, shower etc. Who knew that the shiny ones would cost a bomb? But on the upside, I picked out a very nice kitchen sink and a funky tap with a pull-out nozzle. Happiness.
It’s getting exciting, as we see visible progress on the house. And the speed at which the place is going up could mean that it might actually be ready to move in by the time the second baby comes along!
We went to the Art Science Museum today, mostly to look at the Genghis Khan exhibit.
Along the way, we dropped into Marina Bay Sands resort to have a look, and grabbed lunch at Mozza Pizzeria.
Interestingly enough, the entire menu is in Italian - which we had a little trouble with, but being cosmopolitan Singaporeans we are, we managed to get by with what little we knew. I liked the way they presented the cutlery in a brown envelope with a little card which you can use to write your friends.
Lunch was a shared antipasti of grilled calamari, with a shared fungi pizza. We were too hungry for shots - the food disappeared almost as soon as it came. Highlight for me was that they serve beer from Brewerks:
As the pizzas are hand-crafted and wood fired, a process which takes about 45mins, I recommend ordering more appetizers to ease hunger pangs while you wait. But believe me, the pizzas are worth the wait. Each is about 10″ across, just about enough for one to two to share if not overly hungry.
Recommended.
Random Rumblings, FoodFebruary 6, 2011 5:50 pm
Will be a potato and onion Gratin, with some minced meat and spinich thrown in.
Something simple yet hearty and healthy (probably), seeing as how the lunar new year goodies aren’t really good for our waistlines.
Going to check on the oven now and then change the baby. Later ~
Random Rumblings, BabyFebruary 3, 2011 11:19 am
Wishing All A Happy Lunar New Year
Happy New Year of the Rabbit, everyone!
Wishing all our friends and family a healthy and prosperous year ahead.
Random RumblingsJanuary 26, 2011 6:16 pm
Look what I found!
We managed to dig this up during the packing up to move to the current place.
What a lot of memories!
Random Rumblings, HomeJanuary 15, 2011 6:20 pm
And so, with the beginning of the new year, work finally started on rebuilding the house so as to house all of us comfortably.
We managed to go back for a final look around before work started.
And then the following week, the demolition crew came in and started working.
I’ll post pictures of the work in progress as things go along, but hopefully, it should look something like this when fully built:
Hopefully, we’ll be able to move back in by the end of the year.
Random Rumblings, HumorJanuary 2, 2011 11:37 pm
Round and round we go, when it ends we’ll never know.
It’s difficult to believe that another year has gone by in just a blink on an eye. The kid is now a year old and is walking about under his own power.
Many changes have taken place, the most exciting of which is that we have moved, not once, but for a second time this year. We moved for the first time to stay with the in-laws so that the little one has someone to look after while mummy and daddy goes out to earn money for his diapers and milk. We moved for a second time so that we could tear down the old house and have it rebuilt bigger than before to house everybody comfortably - it should be ready in a year or so - we’ll have a picture diary of the project as it progresses.
Also, with a too-young kid in tow, we’ve had to give up going to the movies and travelling for a while, as life seems to revolve around the little one. Also, the weekly gaming sessions and sword classes have had to take a back seat to the little one, though things have settled down somewhat, for me to start thinking about going back to these. In fact, I managed to kick off the new year with a game of Shadowrun with the regular group - a very good sign indeed.
Here’s hoping for more good years ahead.
Happy New Year everyone!
2010 New Year’s Resolutions
+ Continue learning to be a great dad! - Getting better at it day by day
+ Exercise, exercise, exercise - err…. I think I gained a few more kilos this year.
2011 New Year’s Resolutions
+ Exercise, exercise, exercise
+ Back to regular gaming
+ Start swinging the sword again!
It’s been a week since we’ve moved and I think the whole family has settled in nicely, just in time for Christmas. The good thing about the new place? It’s got lots of room for the little one to run around and play with the furry kids:
So here’s wishing everyone a joyous and blessed Christmas, and a Happy New Year !
No, not that zettai ryouiki. The original version.
Or rather, the new baby gate we installed at the new place:
For the second time this year, we packed up everything and moved, this time for a one year stay while the house is pulled down and rebuilt to a bigger version. Strangely, the new place seems to be built in a open plan concept,with a corridor running right through the house. Sion seems to have a thing for running right into the kitchen, either because he’s got a thing for cooking like his dad, or because there’s lots of shiny things to play with.
Perhaps when he’s older, I’ll teach him to cook…
Vipers! I see Colonial Vipers! No, wait…
The first two minutes of the new Space Battleship Yamato movie.
Stylistically, it seems to draw heavily from recent western sci-fi shows - the most obvious being Battlestar Galatica and Babylon 5, with the massive dogfight/beam spam/bullet hell opening sequence, as well as the 70’s interiors styling, although it might be argued that the original Yamato series probably inspired the original BSG way back then.
It should be noted though, conceptually Yamato is very different from the typical western sci-fi plot. As a friend remarked, Yamato is very much more in line with the typical Japanese console RPG. Get ship (gather party members), journey to a distant planet to get technology (dungeon crawl) come and save the Earth, along the way beat up the bad guys (grind for XP and kill Final Boss). Best description of BSG that I’ve heard was “刘备bringing a couple of cities’ worth of civilians along with him while running away from 曹操”.
Now I’m really chuffed - actually highly tempted to go get plane tickets to Tokyo, watch the movie, get merchandise and fly back the next day, though the fact that it original movie website now has an English version probably means that there’s a possibility that one of the US distributors has probably picked up the rights for the movie.
Hmmm… decisions, decisions…
Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, Sion is now one year old.
As a treat we brought him out to the Singapore Flyer for his birthday, and unlike his old man, the little boy doesn’t seem to have a fear of heights - happily toddling about in the cabin and checking out the views. He was quite upset when the ride was over!
It doesn’t seem all that very long ago when he’s still a helpless babe in the arms, and 12 months just went zooming by in midnight feeds and soiled nappies. Now, he suddenly as tall as the dinner table and he’s happily walking everywhere under his own power. He’s beginning to form words, and has a firm opnion of when his bedtime ought to be (no earlier than 10pm, so it seems)
It’s a joy to watch our little boy grow and learn, and terrifying to realise how much responsibility and influence we will have on his life and contributing to what he may become.
In the meantime, Gaming and Combat training shall commence shortly.
New movie!
It looks kinda like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but with Cowboys and Aliens. I mean, how bad can it be? It’s got Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig!
Random RumblingsNovember 13, 2010 9:31 pm
And so, I’m 38 today.
Still not much wiser, but feeling my joints and every ache and pain just *that* little more.
Ah well, at least I spent it wth family and friends, for which I am very grateful.
Next up, Sion’s 1st birthday at the end of the month.
Taking advantage of the long weekend, we went out for a nice lunch at Oomphatico’s.
I had an excellent soy sauce glazed cod, and the wifey a pan-fried tofu with mushrooms in creamy garlic-cheese sauce.
Things have been hectic, especially now that the baby is starting to walk:
Now that he’s discovered the joys of mobility, he’s been crawling, toddling and shuffling all over the place. Also, the house looks a lot cleaner and less cluttered as the grandparents have had to baby-proof the house. Even the dogs are starting to look harassed:
Random Rumblings, HumorSeptember 24, 2010 3:47 pm
“I still Live”
- John Carter, Warlord of Mars
Yep, yep.
Just sayin’, despite two weeks of sun- and sleep deprivation.
Random Rumblings, HumorSeptember 3, 2010 9:36 am
Almost fell off my chair at a meeting yesterday when someone relatively senior presented a slide that said “….. To Enhance and Maintain Readiness and WTF.”
Leaving aside that he probably got pranked by his staffers for the WTF bit, even the first half of the sentence is an oxymoron. One cannot both enhance and maintain at the same time; both are mutually exclusive events.
But hey, it kept me awake for the rest of the meeting 
Random Rumblings, HumorAugust 25, 2010 4:10 pm
I gave a friend a lift home the other day, and this conversation occured while we were cruising along and listening to Queen.
J: Queen makes great music.
Me: Yep.
J: How come they don’t come out with any new music anymore?
Me: ……..
Me: …… because Freddy Mercury died?!?
J: …. Oh. I didn’t know that.
J: …. When did it happen? I haven’t heard anything recently.
Lordy, I know that my personal worldview is that “Growing Old is Inevitable, Growing Up is Optional”, but some days are just harder that others to do so.
My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am.
~Author Unknown
Random RumblingsJuly 17, 2010 9:57 am
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don’t give up the fight!Preacherman, don’t tell me,
Heaven is under the earth.
I know you don’t know
What life is really worth.
It’s not all that glitters is gold;
‘Alf the story has never been told:
So now you see the light, eh!
Stand up for your rights. Come on!Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don’t give up the fight!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don’t give up the fight!Most people think,
Great God will come from the skies,
Take away everything
And make everybody feel high.
But if you know what life is worth,
You will look for yours on earth:
And now you see the light,
You stand up for your rights. Jah!Get up, stand up! (Jah, Jah!)
Stand up for your rights! (Oh-hoo!)
Get up, stand up! (Get up, stand up!)
Don’t give up the fight! (Life is your right!)
Get up, stand up! (So we can’t give up the fight!)
Stand up for your rights! (Lord, Lord!)
Get up, stand up! (Keep on struggling on!)
Don’t give up the fight! (Yeah!)We sick an’ tired of-a your ism-skism game -
Dyin’ ‘n’ goin’ to heaven in-a Jesus’ name, Lord.
We know when we understand:
Almighty God is a living man.
You can fool some people sometimes,
But you can’t fool all the people all the time.
So now we see the light (What you gonna do?),
We gonna stand up for our rights! (Yeah, yeah, yeah!)So you better:
Get up, stand up! (In the morning! Git it up!)
Stand up for your rights! (Stand up for our rights!)
Get up, stand up!
Don’t give up the fight! (Don’t give it up, don’t give it up!)
Get up, stand up! (Get up, stand up!)
Stand up for your rights! (Get up, stand up!)
Get up, stand up! ( … )
Don’t give up the fight! (Get up, stand up!)
Get up, stand up! ( … )
Stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up!
Don’t give up the fight!- Get Up, Stand Up, Bob Marley and the Wailers
Yep, and all of a sudden, even before he’s managed to crawl more than a few steps without toppling, he just grabbed the sides of the cot and playpen and stood up.
Random RumblingsJune 1, 2010 12:02 pm
*** General Disclaimer ***
*** The following comments are personal observations, do not reflect the sentiments of my government, nor that of the organisation I work for. ***
The world (or at least the Islamic and activist half of the world) appears to be in an uproar over the raid by Israeli forces who stormed MV Mavi Marmara yesterday.
It will be difficult to say the least, to ever find out what really happened onboard, but this is not an exercise in finding out who attacked first nor who is in the right.
While that the incident occured some 40miles out at sea (and thus in international waters) does make the legality of the action somewhat questionable, the same could be asked of what was the motive of these activists.
It is well known that there is a bockade in the Gaza since 2007. Additionally, the vessel in question was met earlier by the Israeli Navy and invited to enter the Ashdod port, north of Gaza, with a reported offer by Israel to transfer the humanitarian aid to Gaza under the observation of the activists, according to Israeli authority regulations. While the existing amount of aid going into Gaza is likely limited, it has to be noted that the amount transfered has actually increased from previous years.
Certainly, while the reported 10,000 tons of aid carried onboard would likely be of help to the residents of Gaza, one has to wonder why 750 activists are onboard as well? By conventional estimates, simply running a passenger ship would not require such amounts of people (and by all reports, the vessel in question was so overloaded that people were sleeping on the decks). Add into the fact that every extra person onboard means less capacity for more aid to be brought into Gaza due to the space he occupies and food he eats, one then has to question what is the intent of such a move. Is it to “break the seige“, as claimed by the organisers?
If so, to what ends? An olive branch of sorts was offered - the flotilla was in fact invited to offload the supplies, under the supervision of the activists, no less, but was rejected and the vessels pressed on to their confrontation. Certainly the actions have moved public opnion away from Shalit and why the blockade was enforced in the first place. If that were their objective, then certainly they have “broken the seige” on public opnion - at a cost of several dead and injured, and managed to force the hand of the Israeli government.
For the time being, MA Mavi Marmara will likely be detained and the more cooperative activists released - probably to be hailed as “heroes”.
:Links:
+BICOM Briefing
+Weekly Supply Delivery Reports Since Jan 2009
+Flotillas and the Wars of Public Opnion (This report is republished with permission of STRATFOR)
5 May 2010 marked the 43 anniversary of the Republic of Singapore Navy, and instead of the usual parade, we celebrated with a Quarterdeck party that also included family members and guests.
Of the three services, the RSN has always taken pride in the close-knit “Navy Family” spirit of its’ service-men and women, but it’s nice to have our loved ones take part in the celebration, as I’ve always believed that the Navy Family isn’t simply limited to the boys and girls in uniform, but also the ones who stand behind us and give their full support so we can go to sea and do our jobs.
So Thank You, to the children, spouses, parents and siblings of our little navy, for your sacrifices and kind understanding for our men and women of the sea.
Funny thing was, dressed as he was in a little sailor suit, Sion seemed to have picked up a fan club among the IMOS trainees:
Looking forward to the Navy Open House, happening 22-23 May 2010.
Messing about with the Blackbird Fly
Finally got around to developing the second roll of film from the Blackbird, Fly. I particularily like the picture of Stanley with his goofy grin above.
We also managed to find a roll of film during the packing up to move, soI had that developed as well, and it turned out to be pictures from the wifey’s Lomo during our honeymoon trip to the Maldives.
That really brought back memories, though I suppose that it’s going to be another five to ten years before we can bring the little one along for more dive trips….
