Sung to the tune of "Have you ever seen the rain" by Creedence Clearwater Revival (and we really need that clear water to revive our air)......
Someone told me long ago
There's a fire before the smog,
I know
My nose is stuck everyday.
When it's over, so they say,
It'll cloud your sunny day,
I know
Tears flow down like water.
[Chorus]
I want to know, have you ever seen the haze
I want to know, have you ever seen the haze
Comin down on a sunny day
Yesterday, and days before,
Cannot breath and so i snore,
I know
Cannot sleep and stare at the time.
'Til forever, on it goes
Try to build a fan to blow,
I know
It can't stop, I wonder.
Chorus
Wednesday, 19 June 2013
Tuesday, 18 June 2013
Haze 2013
Every year, we seem to put up with it, the smoggy air, the poor visibility, the feeling that breathing is such an effort, etc, and we dun seem to be able to do anything about it! PSI readings hit 155 yesterday evening, and is currently 145 today, which means (from NEA):
The following groups should remain indoors and keep activity levels low:
•People with heart or lung disease
•Children and older adults.
Everyone else should avoid all physical activity outdoors.
Considering the number of people affected by the haze, shouldn't our government do something about it? Following Mr Wang's post about national productivity, i wonder how many man hours are lost through the actions of farmers in a neighboring country, considering that the haze goes on for much longer and has greater impact on the health of the populace. Which then begs the question again, what is our government doing about it? I would prefer to avoid the standard knee-jerk reaction of setting up a committee of very smart people (who can be very well paid) to investigate this or find a solution (short of installing giant fans), and I sure as hell do not want the creation of a ministry of haze (ministry song: smoke gets in your eyes). Sending a diplomatic note expressing our displeasure that this deplorable act of polluting our air would only go so far, but at least it would seem that our government cares enough to say something, but no, we mustn't offend our neighbor(s). What if the situation were reversed and say one of Singapore's oil refineries started producing smog on a daily basis that blows over a neighboring country? You can bet that they'd be all over us like a cheap suit.
Maybe we should consider alternative energy sources, like wind energy, and post a chain of wind turbines out at sea facing the appropriate directions. Then when the situation arises, instead of getting power from them, we send electricity to them and use them like giant fans to blow it all back. Now that's an idea. Hmmmmm.....
Update: our government did say something. yay. The note about our military and civil defence helping out during the Tsunami is a nice touch. Prepare to be ignored again (unless its election year, then its the "how dare you" retort.
The following groups should remain indoors and keep activity levels low:
•People with heart or lung disease
•Children and older adults.
Everyone else should avoid all physical activity outdoors.
Considering the number of people affected by the haze, shouldn't our government do something about it? Following Mr Wang's post about national productivity, i wonder how many man hours are lost through the actions of farmers in a neighboring country, considering that the haze goes on for much longer and has greater impact on the health of the populace. Which then begs the question again, what is our government doing about it? I would prefer to avoid the standard knee-jerk reaction of setting up a committee of very smart people (who can be very well paid) to investigate this or find a solution (short of installing giant fans), and I sure as hell do not want the creation of a ministry of haze (ministry song: smoke gets in your eyes). Sending a diplomatic note expressing our displeasure that this deplorable act of polluting our air would only go so far, but at least it would seem that our government cares enough to say something, but no, we mustn't offend our neighbor(s). What if the situation were reversed and say one of Singapore's oil refineries started producing smog on a daily basis that blows over a neighboring country? You can bet that they'd be all over us like a cheap suit.
Maybe we should consider alternative energy sources, like wind energy, and post a chain of wind turbines out at sea facing the appropriate directions. Then when the situation arises, instead of getting power from them, we send electricity to them and use them like giant fans to blow it all back. Now that's an idea. Hmmmmm.....
Update: our government did say something. yay. The note about our military and civil defence helping out during the Tsunami is a nice touch. Prepare to be ignored again (unless its election year, then its the "how dare you
Monday, 17 June 2013
Soccer on Sundays
Have been playing regularly with a group of guys on Sunday mornings. While the timing is not ideal because it can get rather hot at the later part of the morning, the people playing are friendly and understand (largely) that its social soccer, and we are all conscious of staying injury-free.
The smaller form of the game is suitable for old fogeys like us (at least one guy is above 50!), as long as we adapt ourselves to the game accordingly. There is no shortage of skills on display, and it is tempting (which i do, especially when i'm out of breath) to just sit back and watch the play unfolding around me. I tend to either hang around the midfield waiting to play the ball through (and move forwards) or hang out in front although time on the ball is rather limited (and i dun really fancy playing with my back to goal).
I did manage to contribute a rather nice individual goal from midfield though, which was rare enough. A throw from our keeper dropped over my shoulder while i was running and by some freak occurrence, the ball hit my left foot mid-stride, bringing it down nicely in front of me and leaving a defender stranded. A short sprint after the ball was demanded and duly delivered by your truly, and I managed to get a left boot to connect solidly with the ball. It wasn't a powered shot mind you, more of placement, and the ball dinked nicely to nestle just inside the far (right) post, spinning in the netting, with the goalkeeper out of position. Felt like I had scored the winning goal in a cup final and left a silly grin on my face for the rest of the day. =)
The smaller form of the game is suitable for old fogeys like us (at least one guy is above 50!), as long as we adapt ourselves to the game accordingly. There is no shortage of skills on display, and it is tempting (which i do, especially when i'm out of breath) to just sit back and watch the play unfolding around me. I tend to either hang around the midfield waiting to play the ball through (and move forwards) or hang out in front although time on the ball is rather limited (and i dun really fancy playing with my back to goal).
I did manage to contribute a rather nice individual goal from midfield though, which was rare enough. A throw from our keeper dropped over my shoulder while i was running and by some freak occurrence, the ball hit my left foot mid-stride, bringing it down nicely in front of me and leaving a defender stranded. A short sprint after the ball was demanded and duly delivered by your truly, and I managed to get a left boot to connect solidly with the ball. It wasn't a powered shot mind you, more of placement, and the ball dinked nicely to nestle just inside the far (right) post, spinning in the netting, with the goalkeeper out of position. Felt like I had scored the winning goal in a cup final and left a silly grin on my face for the rest of the day. =)
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