Laptop decisions

We never had "problems" in industry, only "challenges". Thus I wrestle with my laptop "challenge". My Linux laptop has failed: occasionally it will start, but so rarely to make it unusable. On those few occasions it starts it will likely stop abruptly. All obvious solutions have been tried, even the good "doctors" of Sim Lim Square: but no-one likes intermittent problems.

So do I buy yet another second hand IBM Thinkpad , with maybe the same risks, or a new one?

I am looking at a new very portable Thinkpad X60 or a second hand heavier but cheaper T30.

So now you know.

From the FT (Asian) on Saturday:

"Singapore has tightened regulations this month on leading international publications, including the Financial Times, the International Herald Tribune, Time, Newsweek and the Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER).
The rules, which already apply to the Asian Wall Street Journal, require the publications to post a security deposit of S$200,000 (US$127,000, €99,000, £68,000) and appoint a representative in Singapore who could be sued, and gives the government the power to restrict their circulation".

Just when I had moved to the International Herald Tribune for my news!

Growing Old

Thinking further on growing old, I would mention a book dealing with neurodegeneration that I found useful. "Aging with Grace" by Professor David Snowdon is a long term study of a religious community, told largely by the nuns with wonderful candour and love.

Recommended.

Beetles

Not sure if I could do this!

Neurodegeneration

A distinguished neuroscientist gave a public lecture last night on neurodegenerative disorders, well known examples being Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. I've had an interest in this field for a long time, after a collaboration at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, so have a working knowledge of some of the current research. It was an excellent lecture, the more so as there were many non-scientists in the audience, some most likely sufferers themselves or with relatives suffering these cruel afflictions. I was most impressed by his handling of questions at the end. These illnesses are particularly difficult to understand: though much progress has been made, there are no cures immanent. This is a hard message.
We may reflect that for over 99% of our time on the planet, average life expectancy has been only 20-30 years, largely due to high infant mortality. In the past 100 years, life expectancy has risen, roughly from 50 to 76 years, as infectious diseases were controlled, and we may squeeze out a few more years. But we are likely to only marginally increase the average lifespan. Diseases of old age are not the same as ageing. Old age has no evolutionary purpose so maybe we are uncovering problems for which evolution has not prepared us.
These are not just scientific problems, but challenges to society and to our compassion. We have never faced the challenge of an ageing population and a diminishing working population. I have always felt that palliative care is as important, maybe more important, than research into disease.
Compassion works at so many levels and in so many ways to giver and receiver.

In memory of my Uncle Jim.

Buddhist Temples in Singapore

This list is transcribed from the "Street Atlas Singapore". It may not be complete, nor are all the entries strictly Temples, but it is a start, and will be updated as I explore them. Any input is welcome.

Buddhist Temples

An-Le Temple
BanRuo Jiang Tang Temple
Bee Low See Temple
Bo Tien Temple
Buddhist Heritage Centre
Buddhist Union, The
Burmese Buddhist Temple
Cheng Hwa Cher Siah Temple
Dharma Cakra Society
Fa Hua Monastery
Foo Hai Ch'an Monastery
Golden Pagoda Buddhist Temple
Hock Teck See Temple
Hong Lai Sze Temple
Hong San See Temple
Hong San Si Temple
Jayamangal Buddhist Temple, The
Jin Long Si Temple
Kancanrama Buddhist Temple
Karma Kagyud Buddhist Centre
Kew Hua San Poh Ern Shih Temple
Kim San Temple
Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Temple
Kuan Im Tng Temple
Kuang Chee Tng Buddhist Association
Kwan Im Tng Temple
Kwan Im Tong Hood Che Temple
Kwan Imm See Temple
Kwan Yam Theng Buddhist Temple
Kwang Hua Buddhist Monastery
Leang San King Buddhist Temple
Leng Ern Jee Temple
Leong San See Temple
Leong Wah Chan Si Temple
Lian Chi Ge Si Temple
Lian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery
Man Fatt Lam Buddhist Temple
Mangala Vihara Buddhist Temple
Nan Hai Fei Lai Temple
Nan Hai Temple
Pagoda
Palelai Buddhist Temple
Pao Kwan Foh Tang Temple
Phor Beng See Temple
Poh Jay Buddhist Research Institute
Poh Tiong Kiong Temple
Poo Thor Jee Temple
Pu Ti Buddhist Temple
Puat Jit Buddhist Temple
Sakaya Muni Buddha Gaya Temple
Sakaya Tenphel Ling Temple
Sattha Puchaniyaram Buddhist Temple
Shuang Lin Cheng Huang Temple
Sim Poh Seng Temple
Singapore Buddhist Lodge
Singapore Buddhist Lodge, The
Singapore Buddhist Meditation Centre
Singapore Buddhist Mission
Singapore Buddhist Youth Mission
Sri Lankarayama Temple
Tai Kak Seah Temple
Tai Pei Buddhist Centre
Tai Pei Yuen Temple
Tee Kwee Hood Sia Temple
Thai Buddhist Temple
Tian Kong Buddhist Temple
Tsan Tan Lin Temple
Tse Tho Aum Temple
Uttamayanmuni Buddhist Temple
Wu Tai Shan Buddhist Temple
Yuan Ming Si Temple
Zu-Lin Temple

"Street Atlas Singapore" Periplus Editions 2005-2006

The computer's revenge (part 2)

I knew I should not have written about it: now the Linux computer has packed up completely. Starts the boot process, must be spinning the disc as the boot sector is read, but then it dies, all lights go out. Very occasionally it will boot. Fortunately having just loaded Ubuntu from scratch there is no data to lose.

I'll take it down to Sim Lim Square - nothing to lose.

The computer's revenge

I was up early to fix my laptop: late last night, I took the wireless card out to test something, and on putting it back it Windows decided it was new hardware, and re-installed the driver! "What the ...." - I thought, stopping just short of the expletive! I left it and went to bed and read Amartya Sen's "Identity and Violence" (apt given Thursday's events in London). Never fix anything if the mood is wrong!

I now had two instances of the wireless software running. A sure recipe for confusion and problems. This morning I removed both, deleting the drivers and the application, only to find that D-Link no longer have the driver on their web page. My card is obsolete! I mentally kicked myself for not checking first. By pure luck, or the care of a guardian angel, I found a copy of the driver on a memory stick, having hit this problem some year or two back. So I'm running again.

Then on to the next challenge: I have another laptop running Ubuntu (Linux). I upgraded to the latest version thinking that the effort of getting it back to usable shape would be worth it as Ubuntu 6.06 has long term support. How to get the wireless card working? I know it worked in the UK in the British Library for instance, but here I am using WEP encryption (yes, I know it can be readily cracked). After an hour and much Google searching I was no further forward. Then I changed the WEP key yet again, and lo, it was working. Had I not just done that several times?

A little more maintenance and I'm done - should be good for another year or two! Why these things happen I will call a mystery. They just happen.

Quiet Dawn

By nature I am an early riser and summer mornings in the UK would often see me up well before 5:00 watching the reddening sky. The world from my window was still and calm, the occasional car, a blackbird accentuating the silence as it finished its singing and flew off to do what blackbirds do. I miss those slow awakenings. In Singapore the dawn is short, within 30 minutes it's over, punctuated by the double beep of cars being electronically unlocked in the nearby carpark.

It's a busy world here.

Public Holiday

National Day provided a welcome mid-week break — and a 20% discount on all books in Kinokinuya. I thought I should know more about the region in which I now live, so bought "SouthEast Asian Affairs 2006", dealing with Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam. As a counter balance to national identity, I added "Identity and Violence - The Illusion of Destiny" by Amartya Sen.

Motivated by a MovingMountains audio blog, I found an iRiver 30, which plays music in mp3 and ogg formats, has a radio, and records sound in mp3 (and presumably ogg). I have a well-used Sony recorder, but cannot find a way of converting the proprietary .msv files into a shareable format. Both will have their uses.

"SouthEast Asian Affairs 2006" edited by Daljit Singh and Lorraine C. Salazar, Institute of SouthEast Asian Studies, Singapore (2006).
"Identity and Violence - The Illusion of Destiny" by Amartya Sen, W.W. Norton & Company Ltd (2006)

Troubleshooting

One of the skills I look for in hiring is the ability to troubleshoot. I work in a technical area where things often go wrong, less in the sense of breakdown (though it happens), but more in the sense of something working sub-optimally. To recognise it and then to systematically analyse the problem is not something you are taught, yet it is a crucial skill that makes all the difference. Troubleshooting can be very difficult for intermittent problems and very stressful if not approached in the right way.

I am thinking about this after watching an electrician at work last week: I lost all the lights with a spectacular bang. The first man, local to the apartment complex, did his best but missed the problem: at least he quickly called his mate who arrived within the hour (try that in London!), and then went about the task in a way that really impressed me. The problem was ultimately simple: a sealed long-life fluorescent bulb that must have arced inside and drawn a heavy current to trip the breakers. He reproduced it with an equally loud bang. Fortunately he worked with full precautions!

He recommended I change the "no-name" long-life bulbs for named brands like Philips or Panasonic. Photographers will know that light bulbs have a colour temperature, so I used the opportunity to change from "operating theatre" white to a warmer light — much better!

So a problem became an opportunity - so often the case.

In the dark

Home, I thought, grocery bag in hand. A loud bang as I switched on the lights, and darkness. All the light circuits are out - except one, in the storage room where the distribution box lives! That is forward thinking indeed, putting the one light that matters on a separate circuit.
Yes, the circuit breaker for the lights had tripped and will not reset, so there is a short-circuit in one of the ceiling fittings. It will have to wait, a ladder in the dark is not a good idea.

You never know where the next teaching is coming from!

The Cherry

Remember when fruit was seasonal and not "on-demand"? Mis-shapen, full of seeds and pips and flavour, not just selected for shipping convenience and shelf-life? Tomatoes you could hold to your nose and savour?
The last hope is the cherry! Perishable, short season, a stone to crack your teeth, but full of dark juice and astringency.

Wonderful.

Loss

Through the blog of Alex Ross, the New Yorker's music critic, I discovered the supremely gifted Lorraine Hunt Lieberson: through the same blog I learn that she died on July 4th. She was 52. Saddened and deeply grateful as I listen to Cantata BWV 82 - "Ich habe genug".

Please look at Alex Ross' entry.

Silent space

From Singapore to St John's, Newfoundland via London. A solitary manager in his empty malt whiskey store, a few hardened souls in O'Neill's bar, brisk business at Starbucks. Terminal 3 at 06:40 am is pleasingly quiet. Time to do nothing.

Landing at St John's the mist was rolling in, the rain-drenched runway appearing from nowhere. The real world, I thought, sufficient to itself and a thousand years away from where I had started.

Good chaos

Moving Mountain had a note on The Butterfly Effect the evocative popular name for Chaos Theory. Robert Brady of PureLandMountain who blogs on Life in Japan, has a note on happy chaos that parents will recognise.

On the train last night, I noticed the headline in a passenger's paper "Paralysed by Fear", about a poor soul petrified by a moth. Well, I look at the Atlas moth, and I see two snake heads - I guess the birds give it a miss. I would too.

A cooler place

In a few hours I leave for St. John's, Newfoundland via London - almost 20 hours in the air. There are plans for those arriving early enough on Sunday for a trip to watch the whales, now being a good season. Sadly I will arrive too late, but will be blissfully content with some cool sea air. By all accounts Newfoundlanders are most hospitable people.

Picking up a book in Kinokuniya this morning, I read "Have you said your prayers?" the child was asked. "No" she replied, "I'm going to sleep".

A koan.

Right livelihood?

"Summer heat and demand for biofuels to push up grain prices", says the front page of today's FT. (Israel and Hizbollah make page five).

Biofuels are a fantasy world, except to the City it seems. I begin to think they have either no sense or morals, or both, when you go on to read "Once the ethanol plants open, we will link the price of petrol to the price of bread, because the price of wheat will be settled by who pays more, the oil industry or the food industry," said Christopher Brodie, at UK-based commodities hedge fund Krom River.

Oh really!

Right Livelihood, the fifth way of the Noble Eightfold Path.

Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery

I have posted some pictures from Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery to Flickr.

A few (or all) may disappear as I edit - I'm learning!

Exuberance!

No understatement here!

Part of the temple complex at Kong Meng San Phor Kark See (MMSPKS) Monastery in Singapore.