hello, roboto.

http://www.youtube.com/user/dogflips/videos

random things made up on the fly. except of course the JYJ song, and the video of me getting beaten up by some hostile jedi knight

fixed

been too busy to update, but the last repair didn't quite survive the mountain road - although it made it a lot further. blu tack here just isnt the same. A little creative corsetry later and the problem looks to be definitively solved. Until the next mountain ride...

Captain's log

We hit the mountain road today. So it wasn't exactly warp speed 9, thanks to some slow nissan pickup in front of me for most of the way *fume*, but we got some decent Gs nearer the top.

The repair nearly, nearly made it right up to the top... there was one last problem to overcome for the hairpin turns.

Some blue tack later (except in the US of A they only seem to have some strange not so nice to use white colored putty thingiebob) and that last 0.1% of the problem should be sorted.

I think we're at improvement #10 (or so) at the present... till the next mountain roadtrip.

Anyone out there need their PDO carfm modded to stop falling over? :D

*******

I've been looking around online, and noticed a lot of people are having similar problems with instability in the carfm 4... even with it stock out of the box. Two thoughts :

a lot of the products being sold online are fake. If there isn't a PDO printed on it, or if the rubber "flower" flange near the base isn't grey - it's fake. If it can't rotate 90 degrees - it's a fake. Then there's every reason to expect it to be unstable.

But if it's an original, that's a whole different kettle of fish - that means the stock unit itself is defective. And J, who has another unit for her own car says it's been acting up too of late. Perhaps as the grey rubbery thing ages it stops working so well.

Well... for a small fee (negotiable) I reckon I could solve the problem. Even without the blu-tack the last repair will hold up well on singapore roads without hairpin bends.

:D

How to fix the PDO Car FM 4

This is the culprit in question. Exhibit A.






J (now the missus) sent it over via her mahjong kaki , L. Unfortunately, on arrival it was missing the baseplate (that rubber and metal nipple thing at the bottom) which interfaces with the cigarette charger. The friend, L managed to find the fuse in her luggage. No music for JT and I on the drive back from San fran = sadness.

In my opinion the PDO Car FM 4 has a serious design flaw - the base plate spontaneously falls off. J had this once before with her old one (v3?) - she left it in the boot of the merc and lo and behold, the baseplate went walkies by itself, never to be found again. In retrospect I should have checked the emergency tyre recess more carefully, it was probably hiding there. I kept it for a while, but it eventually wound up in the trash after spring cleaning, I think. :( No biggie, because I bought J a v4 (yay, newer, shinier etcetc) for her car, and she got me one for mine.

So it was a knife to the gut to wind up with my own personal v4 from my own car, having traveled the entire pacific ocean to die the same ignoble death as its predecessor. I resolved to resurrect it and rebuild the baseplate.

This isn't as trivial as a task as it seems - that grey rubber flower is there for a reason - the device is very top heavy (especially with phone mounted) and there is a very strong tendency for it to sag in the anterior/posterior axis, breaking the contact with the ciggy lighter. Worse still, the torque forces that build up during a sharp turn are considerable and there is an incredible, incredible tendency for the whole unit to rotate in its socket. This doesn't always break the contact, but makes driving annoying. The rubber "flower" resists all this to some degree, but it wasn't perfect either, especially the way J drives (F1 style). I couldn't replicate the rubber flower because it's not really made out of rubber, and I just can't find a material with the right properties for the job - unless I strip it from the top part of the unit, which I really don't want to. Cardboard proved hopeless, and finding a soft rubber sheet that thin, and soft enough to fold up in the top of the lighter and provide tilt support, yet "sticky" enough to provide rotational support is really tough.

PDO tried to fix it in iteration 5 - no more unscrewable bottom. Fuse not meant to be replaced, if the unit blows its dead. Greater stability through a stumpier, broader base unit, and no possibility of spontaneous self disintegration. Oh yes, did I mention if it disintegrates inside the socket (unlikely) when you remove the unit it can either short your lighter ($5 for a new car fuse) or blow its own fuse ($0.20 for a new 20ma fuse) But a lot of people are still complaining so I guess it didn't quite work out.

It took me quite a few attempts, but this is my best to date, and it didn't cost much. Perhaps someone else will find this useful.

I found one of these in our prototyping lab :


It's a plastic join for garden hoses, available at hardware shops for a buck for four or something. Fortuitously, the thread fits the bottom of the PDO unit almost to a T. I took a bandswa to it and cut off the "top" bit above the hexagon, and shortened the screwthread. A screw through the end of the "hexagon" provides the contact with the fuse on the other side. I initially used a sharp tipped screw but this indented the fuse, and made me uncomfortable - so I switched out to a blunt "flat" tipped screw. The screws are the really tiny ones - about 0.8 cm long available at hardware stores for mounting small thingiebobs.

The unit was still much too long and my intial attempts to stabilize the PDO device with the long pipe connector resulted in loss of signal everytime JT turned the wheel.

External stabilization just wouldn't cut it - the car pulls too many Gs (perhaps because it's an M3) while cornering, and the rotational forces at the end of that very long radius are tremendous - I tried holding it in my hand while he cornered and it was challenging)

So it was back to the bandsaw to cut the end of the hexagon off, shorten it, and superglue everything back together in a vise. I was terrified that the black plastic / PVC would prove unsuperglueable, but luckily "medical device grade adhesive" does the trick.







I did a lot of tweaking, and revisited the lab several times - good old bandsaw and lathe -- and managed to get a pretty decent rig that resisted turning and disconnects. Now for the test drive...

:)


a celebratory plate of $1 oysters from drake's bay...


*******
live test 1 : exceptional performance. no cutouts. However we had frequent cut-ins from passing cars with their own fm transmittors. These sound different because they last for such a short while and are incredibly clear, compared to a cutout when it usually goes to static or low quality radio on the "empty" preset channel. Have moved the set down to 88.1 which is a little less busy.

Till test 2, when we hit the mountain :)

FixIt

We're going to leave this house in better shape than when we got it...


Fixed - sliding thingie under clothes closet door that was broken, using replacement thingie that was in garage and a command strip.
Not shown - sliding thingie under JT's closet door, using a piece we bought for $2





Fixed - curtain rail organizer thingie, using wall screw bracket thingie, hammer and screw. All from garage tool cabinet. Previous owner was a carpenter and has the whole of homefix in his garage :D

Lotus Eater

One of the members on my team is a medical student. Perhaps he was just being a statesman, or perhaps he genuinely meant it :

"This is the paragraph in the book that made me think of you. Perhaps given your knowledge and experience you might actually have a great treatment for vascular insufficiency buried in your mind but you just haven't discovered it yet.

While brainstorming works well in many situations,
there are other effective ways to approach ideation.
Sometimes the “expert problem” in brainstorming can
be turned into an advantage. Medical device companies
frequently use a format where they invite in a “key”
physician (thought leader) to visit the company and
lead a working session. While this type of facilitated
discussion may draw on many of the same aspects of
the brainstorming process described in this chapter
(e.g., having different types of people from engineer-
ing, sales and marketing, etc. in attendance), it differs
in one important way. The purpose of these working
sessions is usually to “uncork” the expert’s mind and
stimulate interesting ideas. Unlike a brainstorming
session in which all participants are encouraged to
contribute more equally, in these situations the group
is asymmetrical, with the expert’s ideas being given
the most attention. Despite this important distinction,
the results of such sessions can be effective and the
approach can be successfully employed by inventors,
entrepreneurs, and established device companies."

Either way it made me stop short and take another look at myself.

This happened after I advised my team against considering diabetic foot as a potential candidate in the "cure for osteomyelitis" realm. I've tried so hard before, and always come up short. Op, and re-op and re-op well past the X rays, well past the MRIs - and still everything turns to pus, if not immediately, then a year later. Diabetic foot + osteomyelitis pretty much = amputate to me now.

And yet, once upon a time I remember asking my boss why not bypass very distal obstructions at the ankle? I remember coming back all starry eyed from a conference in australia. He told me he had dreamed of that too, when he was younger, but after numerous failures he didn't even try any more. He told me that I would want to try too, but it was inevitable - there's just no point.

I remember thinking privately - a ha that's what you think. Perhaps things will be different...

And yet here I am now, becoming him.

I emailed the med student back - I hear you, and well, okay. It won't be easy, but why the hell not - let's go for it.

I guess we just forget how to dream after a while... until someone reminds us.

:D :D

:D

Pet Peeves

You cannot Reminisce something.
You reminisce ABOUT something.

ie you can't reminisce your old school days.

Please, please someone kill all the radio DJs who are corrupting the language, or at least send them to a re-education center.

**********
Demise. You cannot demise.

You can mourn your demise. Well ok technically you can't.

The point being Demise is a NOUN. not a VERB.

Please someone kill all the housemen who are destroying my sanity every friday. Before I do.

Don't break the window

A lot of news space wasted villifying or vindicating the guy who broke the train window eh.

I think we're missing the point.

If I recall correctly, trains in the UK have little axes in an emergency container - specifically for breaking the glass in case of entrapment.

Don't break the window / force the door open, wait for help says SMRT.

So what happens if help doesn't come in time? Or if the train's on fire? Just suffocate or burn to death?

How come there isn't a safety feature in our shiny, shiny trains to let us get out fast fast if we need to?

Brave third new world.

************
'We were sitting there, getting hotter and hotter. People were fanning themselves, it was very stuffy,' she said.

A 41-year-old woman was sent to the hospital after she fainted on the train. One commuter even broke a window using a fire extinguisher to let air in.

Said SMRT's senior vice-president for communications and services, Mr Goh Chee Kong: 'At that point in time we're aware that it was very crowded.

'So when it was very crowded, the ventilation for some people, they do not feel it.'

Hmm.
Ventilation no enough.

Isn't that called... hypoventilation?

Let's summarize :
SMRT : Got air coming in what, only you cannot feel - so you all talking rubbish
Reality : ppl say they can't breathe, someone collaps... i mean faints. Perhaps not enough air because consumption greater than delivery (that's what crowds tend to do... use up air faster and put out more carbon dioxide) and the little trickle of ventilation coming in is getting used up by all the inconsiderate people nearer the air vents?
Meaning... the ventilation system not good enough?

Icarus

Speaking to a prospective medical student the other day, I found myself coming full circle.

I was him once upon a time, speaking to four men in their forties and politely assimilating their thoughts about medicine having a low ceiling, their gripes about the poor pay and long hours, and thinking privately to myself that I was different from them, that my zeal would never burn out.

Well here I am now, the man in his thirties telling some starry-eyed kid what it feels like to look at my peers with their five-figure salaries and five day work weeks, never having to go on call and think... hmm.

Perhaps one of the most sincere things I said to him that I hope he really, really heard and didn't just brush off is this:

You need a reason to get into this at all - and it has to be Personal. Helping the world isn't personal, it's an excuse. It's a line to feed to entrance committees - and it just isn't enough. All the feel good fuzzy wuzzy stuff wears off after a while - for everyone, great and small. It's just inevitable, because optimism can only take you so far.

If you were inspired because of the zeal you saw in an old man's eyes while he was seeing patients, because of the transferrence of hope you saw from him to his patient... it's not enough. Because that old man is special - the zeal burning in his eyes is special - it comes from some deep-rooted conviction - some might say insanity - that is intensely personal.

You can't be him - because he is unique. You have to be you. You need a Reason.

Of course being intensely passionate about helping people might be your reason - maybe that alone is enough, for you. Maybe you'll prove different to all the rest of us -- (unspoken - maybe your flavour of crazy is crazier than ours...) -- but chances are it isn't.

I told him my own reasons - once upon a lifetime ago, I watched my grandmother die in pain, slowly succumbing to liver cancer; and I watched as my father palliated her day in, day out for six arduous months. I watched him make the long trek (well, long by local standards) across the island; I watched as the lay members of the rest of the family failed to understand, and accused him of poisoning her. I watched him titrate the morphine to keep her at first lucid but pain free, then gradually less lucid, but pain-free. I watched the pain and sadness in his eyes and realized - this takes courage, and this is special. To make a difference.

To cure someone, to heal - that's one thing, and that's ok. But to be there when they are in need, even if there's nothing more we can do but titrate a daily morphine dose - that takes something extra.

I didn't want to be my father - I can't be. He's tougher than I am. And unique. But I wanted to try to perhaps be a pale shadow.

When I was in medical school I watched a great man, a GP attend his patients on his daily rounds in his village. The day ended with home visits - not house calls, just home visits. He was geriatric and tended to fall asleep easily. A lot of driving (is he awake, is he awake?!?!) and a lot of cups of tea (ok he's definitely not awake). He brought me to some Tory meetings (god knows why) as a prominent village politician which was... unsettling, but he also brought me to a funeral for one of his patients, a teenaged boy suffering from clinical depression who stopped taking his medication and threw himself in front of a train. He had his head bowed, as if in prayer, but once in a long while a tell-tale tear fell.

Time has passed, and I've changed now - as I told the wannabe - we all change. It's inevitable.

I can't be these people, I'm not strong enough. To tread the thin grey line, and perhaps step over the barrier that divides intimacy from professionalism - perhaps these are just terms the weaker of us coin to preserve our sanity, or to stay within bounds of the law, shrug - I can't do that. My comfort zone is firmly on the safe side of the line.

I save legs now. Nice and impersonal, and I enjoy it. Everything fits - I like the operating, I like the interventions, and I like the woundcare. Sometimes in clinic I connect with the patients who want to be friendly, often-times I don't, and it's just you, left leg, and I. I'm still making a difference, in my own way. And I still have that personal reason, that makes me think on those dark days when I'm 36 hours out from my bed, and falling asleep doing an appendicectomy because my junior colleague doesn't know how to - and wondering about people who never have to experience this ridiculuos hardship, at what, two bucks an hour... well, it makes me think - don't think about it. Don't even wonder why the government underpays us. Just don't think, because well, I have a reason.

Medicine is an insanity. I told him as much.
But the single most important thing I told him was that he had to speak to many, many people - people who had reasons, and people who didn't. People who were staying, and people who were leaving - then decide where his own personality lay. I told him to aim for fifty people, because it was important to know, before he dove in and potentially made a mistake.

I told him it's not prestigious. No, it's not - because the lay public assumes everybody else is glorifying doctors, and they want to be cool and different so they bash them. That's how you get morons writing into the strait's times berating people for writing about good doctors, and saying "the point of this thread is to bash doctors, we don't want to hear about your good doctor, doctors are supposed to be good by default". And it doesn't pay well unless you go private. People will bitch about twenty thousand dollar salaries - but these are end of life salaries in sixty something year olds past retirement age. Nobody bitches about pilot pay (well except pilots) or laywers' pays. How much does a CEO make? How much does a politician make?

Do they ever have to do calls - and are they expected to keep functioning well past the sensible limit of endurance? There are studies that show that its just not possible to remain functional after sleep deprivation - yet we're expected to do it. Without commensurate reward.

And it doesn't require you to be very smart. It's just following guidelines, and being competent. It requires you to be good at following instructions.

It doesn't save that many lives - the true geniuses like the head engineer of Cook who designs new stents - he saves many more lives than we do. And he's a lot smarter than most of us.

I also told him - as a poly student trying to make the jump into med school - it's an uphill struggle for you. Your peers will venerate you, and those with political agendas will proclaim you their poster boy - it gets trying after a while being a "hero" and a pawn. And the JC students who make up the bulk of your contemporaries, well many of them will secretly belittle you. They will keep trying to judge you poor. Acceptance may be difficult to achieve. There will be all this... extra unpleasantness for you to wade through, which only a certain... insanity will help tide you through -- you need a reason.

And without that reason, well - what's the point? Why put yourself through so very much, only to realize one day when you've changed, when you're older - that what your peers are doing does look attractive enough to you that you want to make the jump and start over. That what they do is challenging for someone of your calibre, or earns the rewards you know you deserve.

And as we spoke, understanding dawned in his eyes, I think, and he thanked me for telling him to get a wholistic view before he dove into the unknown.

Attack the Fun Packz (II)

Aiyoyo o o o o yo yo
how come so liddat

NO o o o o o o o I
wan my money back

Come I, also ca-an
laun laun, write xiao-bian
song for, ND pee pee
Confirm bet-ter man

O la, o lala ah
Lam lam, lamparpar
lan lan, lanlanjiao
Ai jio your fun packs

Take out my stick, my di-is-co stick
You can (verb) it, it wont make you sick
Let's wave my stick
Wave wave wave
Let's wave my stick
Take out my light stick, it grows in the dark
It's interactive, means you can (verb)
grows in the dark,
Oh oh oh
grows in the dark

(SPOKEN)
You know that I want to
And you know that I need to
I want it bad, bad, so bad

I wan Newater and I wanna cold drink
And then I think I'll need a shrink
I wan a biscuit and I wanna sweet
oh look we're on Sesame Street

Aiyoyo o o o o yo yo
How did we go so wrong
Aiyoyo o o o o o o
Worse than Elmo song

Tem-po, si be jialat
ly-rics, jialat jialat
syl-la-bles too many,
Black Friday more Saht

I want to (verb) the (verb)er who thought
this song was a good idea
I want a biscuit and I want a sweet
push it up his dairy-air

Kopi-O o o o o o o o o
up his dairy-air
Kopi-O o o o o o o o o
up his hairy-air

Ai-ya ai ya ya
lam par, lam par par
Ga Ga coming la-ah
Attack the fun pack

*********
And for the win,

Attack the Fun Pack (I)

The Fun Pack Song (to the tune of Bad Romance)
- pulled from the NDP celebrations, for, ah, failing to get rights to alter Lady GaGa's lyrics...
apparently even Lady GaGa found it in bad taste...

(Lyrics by Haresh Sharma)

Oh o o o o o o o o
Time for the fun pack song
Oh o o o o o o o o
We like the fun pack song

Let's start with the bag
That's right, grab your bag
It's the fun pack bag
Attack the fun pack

(REPEAT)

Hold up your flag, don't you forget
You can wave it if you feel like it
Let's wave the flag
Wave wave wave
Let's wave the flag
Take out your light stick, it's two of a kind
It's interactive, means you can join
Just pretend
Oh oh oh... It's a disco

(SPOKEN)

You know that I want you
And you know that I need you
I want a wet, wet tissue

I want Newater and I want a cold drink
You and me, let's share a bit
I want a biscuit and I want a sweet
You and me, let's share this treat

Kopi-O o o o o o o o o
Time for the fun pack song
Kopi-O o o o o o o o o
We like the fun pack song

Let's start with the bag
That's right, grab your bag
It's the fun pack bag
Attack the fun pack

I want Newater and I want a cold drink
You and me, let's share a bit
I want a biscuit and I want a sweet
You and me, let's share this treat

Kopi-O o o o o o o o o
Time for the fun pack song
Kopi-O o o o o o o o o
We like the fun pack song

Let's start with the bag
That's right, grab your bag
It's the fun pack bag
Attack the fun pack

************
(Original)







Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh!
Oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh!
Caught in a bad romance

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh!
Oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh!
Caught in a bad romance

Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah!
Roma-Roma-ma-ah!
Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!
Want your bad romance

Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah!
Roma-Roma-ma-ah!
Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!
Want your bad romance

I want your ugly
I want your disease
I want your everything
As long as it’s free
I want your love
Love-love-love
I want your love

I want your drama
The touch of your hand
I want you leather-studded kiss in the sand
And I want your love
Love-love-love
I want your love
Love-love-love
I want your love

You know that I want you
And you know that I need you
I want a bad,your bad romance

I want your love
And I want your revenge
You and me could write a bad romance
I want your love and
All your love is revenge
You and me could write a bad romance

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh!
Oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh!
Caught in a bad romance

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh!
Oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh!
Caught in a bad romance

Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah!
Roma-Roma-ma-ah!
Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!
Want your bad romance

I want your horror
I want your design
‘Cause you’re a criminal
As long as your mine
I want your love
Love-love-love
I want your love

I want your psycho
Your vertical stick
Want you in my rear window
'Cause baby you're sick
I want your love
Love-love-love
I want your love
Love-love-love
I want your love

You know that I want you
And you know that I need you
I want a bad,your bad romance

I want your love
And I want your revenge
You and me could write a bad romance
I want your love and
All your love is revenge
You and me could write a bad romance

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh!
Oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh!
Caught in a bad romance

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh!
http://www.elyricsworld.com/bad_romance_lyrics_lady_gaga.html
Oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh!
Caught in a bad romance

Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah!
Roma-Roma-ma-ah!
Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!
Want your bad romance

Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah!
Roma-Roma-ma-ah!
Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!
Want your bad romance

Walk walk fashion baby
Work it
Move that bitch crazy
Walk walk fashion baby
Work it
Move that bitch crazy
Walk walk fashion baby
Work it
Move that bitch crazy
Walk walk fashion baby
Work it
Imma Freak bitch baby

I want your love
And I want your revenge
I want your love
I don’t wanna be friends

Je deux amour
Et te veux ta revanche
Je deux amour
And I want your revenge

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh!
Oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh!
Caught in a bad romance

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh!
Oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh!
Caught in a bad romance

I want your love
And I want your revenge
You and me could write a bad romance
I want your love and
All your love is revenge
You and me could write a bad romance

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh!
Oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh!
Caught in a bad romance

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh!
Oh-oh-oooh-oh-oh!
Caught in a bad romance

Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah!
Roma-Roma-ma-ah!
Ga-ga-ooh-la-la!
Want your bad romance

The Health Minister Speaketh

I just read the first blog post by our new health minister, and, well, it's not terribly impressive is it.

It's all about how much he's learning about healthcare. There have been no further posts since, and that was two months ago.

This is work redundancy. These are processes that are being relearnt - all the things we need to eliminate to improve efficiency.

I think we really, really need a doctor at the helm of healthcare. Just so that he doesn't have to learn the ropes again, and can't be duped by the soothsayers busy painting a rosy picture of post apocalyptia.

Just my two cents worth.

The Marcus Rhoades Experiment for Dummies (like me)

One of the things I learnt during this past year at a certain local university was that advanced biologists the world over can't teach for nuts.

There is some information on the Marcus Rhoades Experiment online. The best account is here. It assumes you already have a phD-level understanding of the subject.
It was obvious to me that our uni lecturer ripped his slides from here - however he didn't have the requisite phd-level understanding. In fact he completely got it completely wrong - and attributed "what was causing the dotted phenotype?" to spontaneous mutation in somatic cells, although the next line in the text "A reverse mutation of a1 → A1 in somatic cells would be an obvious possibility, but the large numbers of dots in the Dotted kernels would require extremely high reversion rates" makes it quite clear why Marcus Rhoades refused to believe this. I think it's almost criminal that a university lecturer could teach his flock completely the wrong thing because he couldn't be bothered to take the time to find the truth. I found the truth by thinking really, really hard about it. Sadly it didn't come out in the exam.

fig 1 - the offending slides

So now that I've got a little bit of time, I'd like to explain the experiment as clearly as I can for any future generations of "advanced biologists" out there who have to suffer the same incompetent teaching that I did. (It will help to read the immuneweb pdf immediately AFTER this.)

Marcus Rhoades was some guy who liked corn. Specifically Mexican Corn. A lot.
He liked it so much he bred it at home in his spare time, and took note of what colour the kiddy corns turned out. This is the kind of thing people did before the Internet was invented.

Mexican Corn is special - the ears can look yellow, like the type you'd eat, or all-black (yes, like the kiwis) like the type only Mexicans would eat.

The black variety is dominant.

So like all bored geneticists, Rhoades entertained himself with intellectual masturbation by naming A1 the dominant allele for pigment (ie black), and a1 the recessive allele for no pigment (ie colourless, ie normal looking corn.)

He took true breeding black corn (true breeding means you cross with the same genotype, and it keeps making the same phenotype) ie homozygous A1A1 and crossed it with itself.
(Who knows. Maybe he was trying to make devilspawn-corn)
He wound up with a dihybrid ratio. Now if he'd just had pigmented and colourless, you'd peg it to a mistake -- A1/a1 instead of A1/A1, ie non true breeding parents.

What he got was a modified mendelian dihybrid ratio of 12:3:1 for pigmented (black) : dotted : colorless. (dotted = ear has mix of black and normal coloured kernals. like sweet and salty mixed popcorn. kinda.)

So he sat back and thought... whoa. DOTTED? what the f***? (A normal person like you and I would just have eaten the damned corn. And thrown away the black bits.)

So he envisioned a new allele, Dt for dotted, and dt for... not dotted, reasoning that his observations must have been the result of 2 separate events occurring at 2 unlinked (ie not immediately adjacent to each other, so independent) sites:

1) A1 reverting to a1 (to produce the colorless kids, a1a1)
and
2) dt changing to Dt (to make dots where before there were just kiwis. I mean all-blacks. Dt only works when there is a1a1 -- then it makes dots. When there is A1/- (ie A1/anything, eg A1/A1, A1/a1... then all you see is kiwis. No dots. Regardless of whether Dt or dt.)

(confirmed by genetic analysis)

He asked himself "but wait, how is this even possible?"
"I mean, if we have a1/a1... then how the #%@ can Dt/- (the presence of at least one dominant dotty allele) have any effect? There's no pigment being coded for at all! (ie no A1)"

Obviously things were more complicated than they seemed. There MUST be A1 hanging around somewhere in the background, in our presumably a1/a1 plants. This would be explained by a mutation happening after the analysis (which for all intents happens when the baby plants are still little seedies. the analysis that is.)

Then he asked, "what is CAUSING the dots?"
"maybe... if I have a totally colourless (ie yellow looking, ie a1a1) corn and some of the SOMATIC (non sex) cells mutate spontaneously to A1... then I can wind up with a couple black dots... holding the ear in his hands and looking at the thousand or so dots, he then thought "naaaaaaaaaaaaaah." After all the odds of this happening are about as low as the PAP losing the next GE.

So genius corneticist that he was, he presumably ate the corn. Next he took boy-plants KNOWN to be a1/a1, Dt/- (ie the Dotty guys) and looked at their anthers, presumably with a microscope. He took pollen grains and fertilized known a1/a1 females, and lo and behold, some of the progeny were ALL BLACKS.

Meaning the mutation (a1 to A1) in the boy plants that he KNEW were a1 (ie the mutation happened after, or outside his genetic analysis) was in their GERM cells (NOT SOMATIC) and transmissable to the next generation, and it could turn dottys into all blacks. Heavy stuff.

Most of us would have given up by now and gone for a pint. But Rhoades, being made of sterner stuff (or maybe he had no friends to go for a pint with) thought about it some more, and more, and more, and then it hit him...

... it could be explained in terms of "instability".

These mutations from a1 to A1 were a result of some kind of genetic instability.
He noticed that this instability never occurred, unless there was Dt present.
(ie a1a1/dtdt never turned into all blacks out of the blue)
However, when Dt was present, a1/a1 became fairly unstable, and black kids tended to appear. (Oh, the scandal.)
Conversely, when he crossed the new all-black pigmented progeny to breed OUT the Dt, he never wound up with unpigmented offspring. (A1 doesn't go away.) -- this was just his control arm. Not important to understand this.

So maybe... the presence of Dt was causing the instability.

Here's where the genius comes in:

Rhoades proposed a mechanism for the instability -- the inheritence of a mutation caused by a defective transposon.

Think of the transposon (a transposable piece of DNA) as a promiscuous gene who really wants to move from one partner to the next. Only it can't move unless the "Dt" transfactor (not the boyfriend-to-be, but some other... interrim guy who emboldens the transposon to jump ship...) is present as well -- because the Dt transfactor accidentally makes the gene products that enable the transposon to move.
When the conditions are right, off flies the transposon down the genome, to a1 where it bumps out one a1, and turns into A1, effectively stealing his/her girlfriend/boyfriend.

However without Dt around, the A1 transposon remains stable, or faithful, because she/he has no reason to move on.

Tadah. There you have it. The Marcus Rhoades Experiment.

PAP - Political Aptitude Paper

Ok. I'm convinced I have the solution to the countrys woes. It came to me in a flash of light! Ok maybe while I was sleeping. Ok I was drowsing off writing a grant application.

anyway the point is...

...the public is pissed off because MPs and ministers are being paid so much, yet they keep talking like the country belongs to them, right? (not my words. just general summary of feedback from the ground)

So here's what we need to do. Have a course for Politicians to learn how to be Politically correct.
Hold refreshers every three years, just like Advanced Cardiac Life Support. Minus the sweaty thrusting action.

Insert generic lectures by inspirational generic speakers - that's all standard in current PR consultancy firms anyway.

BUT here's the cracker.

At the end of the course hold an aptitude test in MCQ format. 1000 questions
Each wrong answer minus 1/100th of monthly salary.
Negative marking - so can end up paying for chance to stay on in government if aptitude is too poor on paper.

***********************************SAMPLE**********************
Political Aptitude Paper (PAP)
You have three (3) hours to complete this examination
Please read all questions carefully before you answer them.
This examination is negatively marked.

1) You are holding a Meet the People Session. (MPS) Is your priority :
a) to make your voice heard to as many people in as short a time possible since this will save as many pagans as possible
b) to physically cover as much ground as possible since unwalked ground is unwon ground
c) to tell as many people not to vote for the opposition as possible, for their salvation
d) to listen to your constituents' concerns, show them a bit of empathy, and resolve their problems / refer them on to someone who can since they are people who, like you, have real problems and feelings too
e) to correct their misconceptions that are leading them to think they have problems, since in truth their petty problems pale in comparison to the greater problems of state and governance

2) You are talking to a consituent at an MPS. He is courteous and polite, but keeps asking why he should vote for you. Do you
a) for his, and the greater good, repeatedly tell him not to be foolish and vote opposition
b) tell him to read the pamphlet since you are far too busy a man to talk to someone like him
c) deal with the obviously obstructive dissentor with necessary force
d) tell him your dreams, plans and aspirations for improving your constituency, should you win it, for the sake of the people you will be governing / representing in government.

3) You are asked during an interview what single policy you would change, if you had the power to. do you
a) ponder the question before answering from the heart, even at the potential cost to your party's line
b) recognise that answering from the heart is immature and potentially damaging to the greater good, and tactfully find a way to acknowledge the validity of the question without actually answering it
c) state that you have no opinion, and everything is as it always was and always will be, hunky dorey, because the Good Guys are on the throne
d) Throw your hands up in the air, stamp your feet and acknowledge that at this point you're at a loss for words

4) There is a flood. Many expensive cars drown to death in basement carparks. Hundreds of handbags bite the dust. As the Minister for Environment and Water Resources, you tell the public
a) this kind of thing only happens once very fifty years (in other words, it's not your fault, and nothing more needs to be done)
b) this is the will of God
c) there was no flood
d) you will do everything in your power to prevent this from happening again, and spell out your game plan to the public, including projected expenditure and target timelines

5) There is another flood, despite the works your contracters put in. You tell the public
a) it is the contracters fault
b) this is the will of God
c) there was no flood
d) you shoulder all responsibility for your failure to achieve your objectives, and offer to resign dependent on the will of your prime minister, and the public.

6) A terrorist escapes from an ultra-high security facility, putting the lives of innocents at stake not just in your country, but everywhere in the world. Police efforts to locate the terrorist fail after he cunningly hides in the last place anyone expected - at his brother's place, and not in the jungle which is where all self-respecting terrorists belong. As the Deputy Prime Minister the public turns to you for an explanation. You
a) blame the police for their incompetence, since they let the guy escape, and obviously didnt manage to catch him before he snuck from the jungle to his brother's place
b) order all jungles to be redeveloped into HDB blocks to prevent this happening again
c) say that this only happens once in fifty years
d) acknowledge your responsibility for a failing of a systems process which you had overlooked, and seek to redress it without personally blaming specific individuals in that process. Ask for forgiveness for endangering the world at large, and a chance to recapture the criminal to set right what has gone wrong.

7) A pimply faced teenager challenges your authority at a public event, asking why his estate is not getting upgraded unlike the one across the road. There has been growing unhappiness on the ground about what the public perceives as strongarm pork barrel politics. You
a) explain that this is the fault of the residents for daring to vote unwisely.
b) explain that limited resources means that only the worthy receive upgrading
c) take careful note of who this subversive element is
d) state that perhaps change may be on the horizon after due reconsideration, and that resources are adequate for the government to serve all its citizens at the same time, without prejudice.

8) After you answer a to c in the previous question, the pimply faced teenager asks you why then he cannot be exempt from national service, if withdrawal of benefits is the result of his freedom of choice, then so too should his contribution to society be diminished. You
a) order him to be investigated for tax fraud when he comes of age
b) order his family to be investigated for tax fraud
c) order him shot. discreetly.
d) explain that you acknowledge his frustration and empathise with his anger, but that one day when he grows up that anger will fade. Explain that national service - if certain people are allowed to shirk it - where does it end? Sliding down this slippery slope could lead to eventual abolition of national service, without which the country would have to rely on a highly trained, small professional volunteer army for defence.

9) It is a time of great angst and gnashing of teeth (General Elections). There are loud angry noises all over the internet - about problems with public housing, homelessness, unemployment, poverty, influx of foreigners and high ministerial pay. Your team's strategy thus far has been to ignore the noise, since they believe that it is a vocal minority of dissenters and disenchanted who do not pose a real threat. However, an internal committee is convened and comes to a different conclusion - that the numbers are dynamic, and changing by the day, and the tide is turning against you. Do you
a) ignore the advice of the internal committee and continue to tell the public your team has been, and will continue to be stellar and godlike
b) "deal" with the opposition, since they are the root of the evil and they, and not your own team are the cause for the public's faith in you being undermined. Ridicule their opinions/proposals, and cast aspersions to their personal and/or professional integrity. When this fails, consider pulling their hair, or calling them gay.
c) suppress media coverage of homelessness, unemployment, poverty, and high pay. Outlaw foreign media agencies who run stories on poor people forced to live in tents, and publically denounce the tent-dwellers (after naming and shaming them) as frauds because one of their sixteen brothers has a proper house, meaning they can by extension, since money flows like water from family member to family member, afford more than a tent. Consider arresting the tent-dwellers for vagrancy. Set an example to the public. As for ministerial pay, play up the media, and triumphantly announce that it is precisely because of uncontestable "talent', and to prevent corruption and dishonesty setting in that the ministers must be paid the highest salaries in... the entire world, and perhaps the known universe.
d) track every single IP of every negative comment posted, and consider arresting all the subversives. Also, set up a whole bunch of "third-party" (of the pop-up overnight variety) observer sites with the sole agenda of showing the public that the most positive, and least negative online comments are going to your party, and that your largest threat, the Whatever Party has the least online popularity - since this will help sway public opinion back in your favour. (assuming anyone actually looks at these third party sites)
e) take the internal committee's analysis in to account, and humbly apologize to the public for not doing well enough, and promise to deliver in the future.

10) the public has voted you back into power, with a roughly 60% majority - the poorest show of support in four decades. Do you
a) declare a clear mandate of support, come to believe it yourself, and rest easy on your laurels
b) arrest the opposition so that they won't be a threat next elections (under the charges of XXXism)
c) arrest the public who showed support for the opposition, and tell the rest that they are going to repent for the next five years
d) start widespread reforms, reshuffle your cabinet and lose the "dead wood", and try to win back public support; acknowledge the opposition as worthy opponents, and seek to work as allies with them in parliament, with a modicum of civility - till the next elections anyway - for the greater good of the country. Consider abolishment of the ISA, and pardon of all previous political exiles under the previous administration who have ironically been transformed into martyrs due to someone's oversight.

For a bonus $5,000; or a penalty of $10,000 per month :
11) a certain once omnipotent and now slightly demented but still very prominent political figure threatens the public that it will have five years to repent if it votes opposition, and in the aftermath of your close victory loudly proclaims that the people do not know how to be grateful to HIM for all HE has done for the worthless ingrates. You
a) retire him
b) encourage him to retire
c) distance yourself from him publically, by saying, well, I am not He, and He is not Me, and well he says these things, doesn't mean I have to listen to him. even if he's my daddy
d) keep him nice and warm at home, and make sure he has lots of walkies and is surrounded by lots of people who make him feel happy, since in all honesty, he has about five years left - and they shouldn't be wasted being angry and ranting at the world at large anymore.

Stupid Referrals series. Episode #1

"XX year old male... admitted for septic total knee replacement... aspirated... then treated with washout...."

yawn. twiddle thumbs. wait for the punchline, don't get cross...

"... anemia, transfused, white cell count not coming down... still anemic..."

Deep breath. Let's be nice, it's Sunday. Don't actually say Get to the point, just smile and wave boys...

"... transfused... still anemic..."

any minute now, wait for the money shot...

"And today we did a PR and there was melaena!"

Wow. That only took all of three minutes.

"Ok so what have you done for the patient?"

"We stopped the aspirin and clopidogrel!"

"ok-ay. Why is the patient on aspirin and clopidogrel?"

"Oh he had a heart attack three days ago!"

"... I. See. Is he on omeprazole?"

"Yes! 40 mg twice a day!"

"IV or oral."

"Oral!"

roll eyes.

"Is he in high dependency?"

"... do you... want me... to put him in High-D?"

"No. No. it's all right. I'm coming to see him myself."

:\

Dispell Magic

Lim Wee Kiak, as an afterthought on facebook :

"Minister's pay issue is a sensitive one. There must be a balance. After all, capable individuals who are willing to come forward to serve should not do so because of pay and perks," he replied to a user's question about his quote.

He added, "On the other hand, they do have families and dependents and need to consider for retirement, etc."
************

Lim wee Kiak, as an after-afterthought after no doubt getting bitch-slapped for his
"poor ministers need monies to feed their starving families and retire humbly to that little country cottage" remark:

UPDATE

Member of Parliament Lim Wee Kiak of the Nee Soon group representation constituency has apologised for his remarks linking ministerial pay with the "dignity" of politicians.

In a note on his Facebook page on Friday, MP Lim said he would like to clarify the comments he made to Lianhe Zaobao and reproduced in LianheWanBao. The comments had been quickly slammed by netizens.

He had been quoted by the Chinese paper last week as saying, "If the annual salary of the Minister of Information, Communication and Arts is only $500,000, it may pose some problems when he discuss policies with media CEOs who earn millions of dollars because they need not listen to the minister's ideas and proposals. Hence, a reasonable payout will help to maintain a bit of dignity."

In his Facebook note, the MP said, "I withdraw those remarks and apologise for making them. Dignity cannot be and must not be measured purely in monetary terms."

He said he agreed that the example he gave and his comment that there may be loss of face if the minister's salary is low "is inappropriate and incorrect".

The Wonderful Wizards of Crock

I read Lim Wee Kiak's opinion that ministers must be paid in the millions because otherwise they will not be on an even footing with CEOs when they talk to them, and it hit me why the PAP is floundering.

Let's not mince words. The PAP is a sinking ship.

And it's retards like Lim Wee Kiak who are poking holes in it.

GE2011 will forever be remembered by me - not because of the outcome, or the oppositions big GRC win, or because they failed to sweep the PAP out of power. I'm realistic - I figured the result would be much as it was.

It will be remembered by me because so, so many of the PAP candidates shoved their feet so far up their arses they came out their mouths. Literally. It was beginning to look scripted - you could almost predict who was going to say what breathtakingly insensitive thing next.

And when the public reacted with anger, somewhere along the way someone up there said hang on, if we want to stay alive we'd better sing a different tune. Someone up there remembered that the public WAS a threat to the continued existence of the PAP - that the disaffected were increasing by the day -- and suddenly the PAP was singing a tune of contrition and reconciliation. Who knows what might have happened if they hadn't?

Only the problem is - even as the Captain (or rather Brigadier General) placates us - yes, placates, as poor Vikram had to do with his unholy water and the unwashed hoipolloi trick - his minions are continuing to poke holes in his ship.

The PAP's greatest fear is anarchy - that the disaffected will take over because they are more vocal; that they will lead the lambs into rebellion.

I tell you this - the PAP should fear itself.

The problem isn't the disenchanted. The problem is the disenchanTERS. These fuckwits who say the stupidest thing in public - things that are clearly NOT the party stand - things that pop into their heads and out their mouths. Stupid, stupid things bound to make the disgruntled public angry.

Lim Wee Kiak - whoever he is - may be a good MP. I haven't got a clue - I'd never heard of him till today. He may serve his people diligently, and be the best representative of the people this side of the galaxy. He may actually justify his $15,000 a month salary.

I honestly don't care right now. I think people like him have to go. He wasn't quoted out of context - no context could have made that quote right.

"If the annual salary of the Minister of Information, Communication and Arts is only $500,000, it may pose some problems when he discuss policies with media CEOs who earn millions of dollars because they need not listen to the minister's ideas and proposals. Hence, a reasonable payout will help to maintain a bit of dignity,"

A Big part of being in politics is knowing when to shut up - if you have nothing good to say, then for f***s sakes don't say it.

Why are the people so upset? It's because our politicians don't bleeding know how to BEHAVE like politicians. They behave just like the rest of us - thoughtlessly, insensitively - and they just can't empathize with other people. The Opposition said it time and again - the PAP has lost touch with the people.

I put forth that (some of) the PAP has lost touch with EVERYONE - not just the people. They've lost touch with all but their own. If a PAP politician had said something like that to a colleague from another country, I think that politician would have been appalled. And probably amused at his third-world, second-rate colleague -- but he/she would have SAID all the right things... things that didn't make the caveman next to him hate him. And didn't give the reporters a field day sowing hate to the masses. Because that's what politicians DO.

What the PAP desperately needs to do right now is to start shaking down the team. Tell those with big mouths to buck up or hit the road. Tell them that their mouths do NOT belong to them - and that there are some battles the PAP can win on its own merits without the need for halfwit lackeys to step up to the bat and turn public opinion against the mothership. BG Lee was actually making good progress with the public until this fool spoke up... now suddenly everything's looking a little grey again - what good is an enlightened leader if his minions are neanderthals? Or worse still, what if the good General is just saying things to make the public happy, and these are the real words being bandied around behind closed doors?? -- These are the things the public are thinking right now, thanks to this one man's thoughtlessness.

Dignity, indeed.

Dignity is staying true to your principles, and morals - unwaveringly, in the face of persecution. In the face of poverty. In the face of pulic ridicule. Martyrs die with dignity.

Dignity is NOT receiving a payout for doing something dirty. Judas Iscariot will - and MUST never be remembered as a dignified man.

******
Maybe, just maybe - all these MPs and ministers who keep tripping the PAP up are plants. Maybe they've been put there by the opposition, to explode the party from the inside. Just like Tin Pei Ling?

******
So it seems it's Dr Lim Wee Kiak and he's an eye surgeon.

WTF is the PAP doing with all these surgeons?? We obviously have problems with EQ. You want a thinking, caring doctor with brains and tact, you jolly well get a physician on your team!

The Dr is In

I've been wondering for the longest time...

... what happens to the doctor-doctors who make it into parliament?

I'd always assumed that the "Drs" were just honorifics. Two minutes of googling...

... and it turns out :

Dr Ng Eng Hen. Ex - consultant surgical oncologist. Now - Minister for Defence
Dr Vivian Balakrishnan. Ex- consultant opthalmologist. Now - Minister for Environment and Water Resources

The doctorates :
Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan - PhD in Land Management. Non medical. Now a minister of state.
Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman - PhD in... dunno what. Non medical. Now a senior parliamentary secretary.

So... the two medically trained guys are heading up Defence, and Environment/Water Resources.

I wonder who's heading health?

Gan Kim Yong. Masters in Engineering (Cambridge). Now Minister for Health.

And what happens to our military men?
MG (NS) Chan Chun Sing – Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Minister of State for Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts

BG (NS) Tan Chuan-Jin – Ministry of National Development and Ministry of Manpower

*******
Ok. Ok. Hold up. This is getting too much for my simple mind to comprehend.

So we have an engineer in charge of healthcare, a doctor in charge of defence, and a Major General in charge of God knows What.
We have another doctor in charge of the Environment, and a Brigadeer General in charge of National Development.

Deep breath.

What's going on? Musical chairs? Is it me or are we intentionally sticking people into places as familiar to them as an elephant's behind? Isn't this how cockups are GUARANTEED?

Ok. I'm indubitably going to find out that it was intentional all along. There's some rule that I, in my gargauntum, gobsmacked Layman's ignorance am not aware of, that people mustn't be allowed to do what they know.

Well. Frankly, if it was up to me, I'd put a general in charge of defence, a doctor in charge of healthcare, and an engineer in charge of building the country. Because I want the best people for the job. And because I acknowledge that these highly touted and near-venerated Ministers with their Godlike salaries are only people. They are ORDINARY people. Just like you and I. Except that they have talents - unlike most of us - talents in doing the things they know. Experience - a wealth of experience - in the lives they used to lead. Valuable experience that should be tapped, to hone the country into that elusive first-world reality that has thus far eluded us. Opinions on how things should have but weren't being done, in the fields they knew well.

You could argue that it's bringing a fresh-perspective to things, yes. A soldier in charge of the defence will just soldier on, yes.
But frankly all we're doing is making people learn on the job. Isn't that what all of us were so incensed with, with respect to Ms Tin Pei Ling?
Isn't the PAP all about groundwork, and elbow grease, working working working to know the ground?
Well, the soldier ALREADY knows the other soldiers in the army he left behind. The doctor ALREADY knows the doctors in the system he departed. The engineer knows... err.. geometry.

Why waste all that knowledge dumping them in the deep end and patting them on the back for their obvious intellect - you'll adapt me boy, you'll be fine, go do us proud! - when we could put them somewhere familiar - and see how much FURTHER they can go?

I mean, would you put a brain surgeon in charge of transport?
Say, who's in charge of transport, anyway?

Liu Tuck Yew - Graduate in Chemistry from Cambridge University, ex Rear Admiral in the Singapore Navy (we have a navy? We have an Admiral?? wah.) - Transport Minister.

*******
Lui Tuck Yew Shocks a Citizen During His Walkabout
I saw this on my Facebook. The story seems to be getting a lot of attention in cyberspace. It's all about a Moulmein resident's unpleasant encounter with PAP candidate Lui Tuck Yew.


Dear Friends

I am forwarding you an email I sent to the incumbent MP for Moulmein, Mr Lui Tuck Yew, and his subsequent reply. (They are reversed in order below). I have only deleted my name/addresses and Mr Lui's address for the sake of privacy in the event that you may wish to forward this to your own friends. I trust you will not use this email to "flame" (hope I used the term correctly), but instead to educate and perhaps generate informed discussion.


I am sending my friends this because I feel that it is important that you hear what happened to me personally, and how Mr Lui reacted to me during what I thought was a simple, agreeable conversation. Those of you who know me well know that I do not go around deliberately antagonising people or creating trouble of any kind. So the flow of the conversation that took place left me shocked, and I must admit, sad. Mr Lui explains his "disengagement" in his reply attached below. I will leave you to read the whole story and the two emails and then come to your own conclusions.

First, the background to this whole incident.

I have been a resident of Moulmein my whole life, and not once have I ever had the chance or privilege to vote. So you can imagine how excited I was when I realised that there may be a strong possibility that Moulmein would be contested this time round. Prior to Mr Lui being the walkover MP, our MP was Mr Khaw Boon Wan. If Mr Khaw had still been our MP, I would most likely have voted for him as Mr Khaw had made his presence felt strongly in Moulmein, even at a social level, and it had always been a very reassuring presence. Mr Lui, on the other hand, has not had much of a presence.

So, on a recent walkabout in Moulmein, I happened to have what I thought at the time, was the privilege, to meet Mr Lui and get to know him better. He started off very friendly and handed me the Moulmein newsletter. He asked how long I'd been living here, and I let him know that I have been in Moulmein my whole life, and that this was the first time I may get a chance to vote. His immediate reaction was, "Yes, blame the Opposition! I don't know what they ..." and he went on to say something more which I couldn't hear because my brain was trying to process the fact that he had actually openly said, "Blame the Opposition" in a serious tone, laced with annoyance. He might have sensed my confusion (I'm guessing here). I then changed topic and pointed out to him that I had felt Mr Khaw's presence much more than his, and I requested for him to let me hear some of what he had done for Moulmein.

He told me to refer to the newsletter. I then said that I really wanted to hear from him, and not read what other people (ie his grassroots team) had created. He immediately started listing all the playgrounds they had done up (there was always the word "We") and spoke about a unique-to-Moulmein schools programme, which I liked very much. I interrupted him a few times to clarify a few things he had said.

I next asked him to let me know why I should vote for him. (I'm serious about voting, and I have thought this through so carefully. I told myself that no matter what, it was my duty to try and understand each candidate and approach them one-to-one before I cast my vote. And it was, and still is, my resolve to ask each candidate this question - why I should vote for them.)

I'm now going to recount the dialogue word-for-word as it is still clearly playing itself over and over in my head:
Me: Could you please tell me why I should vote for you?
Mr Lui: You should NOT vote for the Opposition because they ...
Me: The Opposition? No, I want to know about you. Please tell me why I should vote for you.
Mr Lui: You should vote for the PAP because we ....
Me: The PAP? No, no. I'm not interested in the PAP or the Opposition. I'm interested to know about you. Why should I vote for you?

At this point, Mr Lui shot me a look of pure anger, waved his hand about in the air, declaring, "We could spend all night talking about me!", pointed to the newsletter and snapped, "It's all in the the newsletter!" He then swung round and stormed off.

I remember standing there, in total shock, wondering what on earth I had done wrong to deserve such an intense reaction. I watched as he couldn't get beyond two or three steps as he was stopped by someone else wanting to meet him. I watched as he switched on his smile, said a few polite words, thrust the newsletter into her hand and disappeared, still angered. (Those who know me well, know I did my MA in nonverbal language, and know how accurate I am with "vibes".) I watched as his posse scurried after him, not one of them daring and/or caring to turn to look at me or say goodbye, not one of them.

I had asked a simple question. I was not expecting rocket science for an answer or any deep psychological profile to be shared. Just a simple answer from the heart would have sufficed, or even a more measured response. But not anger, never in a million years would I have thought anyone would have, or could have, responded to my simple question with anger.

And I feel sad.

Sad that after all these years, what people have been saying has finally been proven true to my face, literally.

I then turned to the Moulmein newsletter, ploughed through it in the hope that perhaps there was a lot about Mr Lui in the newsletter. No, there wasn't. Not a thing. Instead, I was left very impressed with the Moulmein Citizens Consultative Committee, the various Neighbourhood Committees and the Residents' Committees - all of which I am sure will not disappear if there is a change in leadership.

So I sat down, and penned an email, which I have since sent, to Mr Lui. I chose to be polite and measured in the email, and not angry nor accusatory because to be angry would have been to stoop to Mr Lui's response towards me, and that would not do anyone any good. If he's going to continue as Minister (and it does look like he's on the PAP fast-track if he's voted back in), then really, he needs to hear, he needs to understand, he needs to be educated. And he needs to learn how to answer simple, non-threatening questions!

It's such an irony that prior to the dissolution of Parliament, he was the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts.

You'll find the email below, and Mr Lui's response (in reverse order), which I just received a short while ago.

If you should choose to share my experience with any of your friends who need or would wish to read this, I request that you not include my email address and name.

Love and hugs everyone.

-

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Tuck Yew LUI (MICA)
Date: 22 April 2011 16:53
Subject: Re: Moulmein Walkabout
To:


Dear - ,

i am sure this may not apply to you given that you have now taken the trouble to write this note but unfortunately I encounter some people whose minds are made up and whose main intent seem to be to slow us down in our outreach. And nothing, we say, no explanation we give whether to do with cost of living, etc will ever be good enough.
The pragmatic way to deal with this is simply to disengage at an opportune moment.
Dont worry, it didnt leave a sour note with me nor a poor impression of you.

Regards,

Lui Tuck Yew

Sent from my iPad


On Apr 21, 2011, at 10:18 PM, "-" wrote:

> Dear Mr Lui,
>
> We met briefly at the walkabout at xxxxxxxxxx last evening. Unfortunately, I seem to have upset and angered you which was not my intention at all.
>
> If I appeared rude or aggressive in any way, then I apologise. I don't usually take too well to answers that are off-tangent, they tend to confuse me, and I always re-direct answers back to my original question which often means that I can appear too direct or clinical and therefore somewhat aggressive. As a teacher by training, I have always emphasised the importance and merits of listening carefully and answering to the point questions that are addressed to my students.
>
> I hope you understand that this is the first time in my life as a Singaporean I may be asked to vote. I take that responsibility very, VERY seriously, weighing all factors involved. Each political party has its own aims and objectives and track record (or none where some of the opposition are concerned) all of which I am very well aware of. The ONE thing which is not clear, and which is difficult to determine, is the individual politician - the person who will represent me in my constituency. It is this individual politician that I am genuinely interested to know. I need to know and understand what this individual can bring to the table.
>
> That is why I was so keen for you to convince me why I should vote for you. Not why I should not vote for the opposition. Not why I should vote PAP. But why I should vote for you. I was genuinely interested to hear your answers. Instead, not only did I not get direct a reply from you, I caused you to turn away in anger. Maybe it was the end of a very long day for you, maybe my tone and questions threw you off-centre. Either way, it left a sour note behind, I believe, for both of us.
>
> Right after you left, I immediately sat down to read the Moulmein newsletter cover to cover (the bits in English) exactly as you suggested I should do to find out more about you. Unfortunately, it doesn't shed any light on your as an individual or as the leader of Moulmein. It tells me instead about the wonderful grassroots teams and wonderful committees that have come up with truly great ideas, which I like very much. But it doesn't tell me about you. And so I am still left clueless.
>
> The questions I asked you will be the same questions I will be asking whoever decides (if at all) to stand against you in the elections. If the opposition candidate is equally stumped and/or angered by me, then you can rest assured that I will be forced to find another way to come to a decision well-thought through.
>
> Before I end, I would like to stress that I am not against the PAP in any way, nor am I for any particular opposition party. I am merely a Singaporean, proud and excited at the thought of a chance at finally being able to exercise my right to vote.
>
>
>
> With Regards
> -

I couldn't help feeling surprised by Lui's email reply to the Moulmein resident. Specifically the part where Lui wrote: "Don't worry, [the incident] didn't leave a sour note with me nor a poor impression of you."

In my opinion, it is Lui's own behavior which would leave a sour note with voters, and a poor impression on them. Singaporeans don't owe you a living, Mr Lui.
Posted by Gilbert Koh aka Mr Wang

*****
And I have to agree with Mr Wang.
The sheer cheek of the man to write "Dont worry, it didnt leave a sour note with me nor a poor impression of you." The complete and utter lack of insight that this ugly singaporean - yes, he is an ugly singaporean if this account is true - a social neanderthal - dismays me.

Wait, wait - that's not cheek. That's just him speaking his mind. That's a Rear Admiral's candidness...

This is the voice of the government BG Lee is trying to persuade us is going to try to listen harder to us, to empathize more, to be one with the people.

My God. What have we done?