Saturday, May 19, 2007

Punggol Seaside Trip

I cycled down to Punggol Point today, hoping to do some sun tanning. But when I arrived, the sky had turned cloudy, so I settled for some photo taking instead.


This is what Punggol Point jetty looks like from a distance.

Some birds flying away.

I saw a police patrol boat.


It saw me too.


The patrol boat keeping a safe distance from me. Am I that unpopular?


View of Malaysia's Pasir Gudang port.


A kelong. Old world charm.


A mobile fishing station. I'm so envious!

Saw this man nearby. Omg! He's holding a spade. Post-crime scene clean up? I fled. :D

Punggol Point may look deserted, but there's actually quite a number of people along the shoreline.

See? More people.

Looking back towards Punggol Point jetty.


Looking forward. I live in one of the flats that you can see in the distance.

Coney Island. Do the sea waves look fantastic?
No photoshop, ok? Just great photography skills. =D

Punggol Seaside Trip 2

On my way back to collect my bicycle, I saw a MediaCorp TV starlet --- Chen Chu Xuan!!! She was enjoying the sea breeze near the Punggol jetty area, with at least one of her friends. There were a few other teenagers sitting nearby, but I'm not sure if they know each other.


I would have taken her photos, but my digital camera was out of battery. Tough luck, guys. But this means that she probably lives in the north east sector, because Punggol Point is quite ulu right now, and so the visitors are usually nearby residents.


Chen Chu Xuan's photo. She is the girl in white halter neck attire.

Rain rain go away


Hmm... it seems to be raining, whenever I want to go out for the past few weeks. Or maybe it's just my bad luck that causes the rain clouds to follow me.


I've been craving to get a sun tan, but it keeps raining... From April until now, there doesn't seem to be a good day for basking in the sun shine. This kind of weather really makes me miss summer.

Monday, May 14, 2007

Programmer's development life cycle

Was thinking about my development life cycle...

1) I was born to be a programmer.



2) And I aspired to be the best programmer.



3) And now, I work as a programmer. *sob!*

Cactie!!!

Online pets!!! I don't usually go for these kind of stuff, but I saw an online pet on this blog http://woaixiongxiong.blogspot.com/ . Her online pet is just so cute that I must have my own too! *blush*

So "Hello World!" My online pet is called Cactie! It's the green colour plant residing at the side of my blog. It's so so so cute, ain't it? :D

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Solution for Singnet Problem with Blogspot

For the past 4 days or so, I'm experiencing some problems with BlogSpot. At the 'create post' page, the page layout is out of alignment, and some of the icons are unclickable, so I can't change font colour, style...etc.

After some investigations, this problem appears to come from my Internet Service Provider --- SingNet! Wierd eh? Lolx.
Well, here's the solution for SingNet users:-

Manual proxy settings need to be applied on web browser.

* For IE 7.0 & below:

  1. Tools -> Internet Options
  2. Click on "Connections" page tab
  3. Click on "LAN Settings" button (if you are using Broadband)
  4. Check "Use a proxy server for your LAN ..." checkbox
  5. Click on "Advanced" button
  6. Under HTTP type, input "proxy.singnet.com.sg" for proxy address and "8080" for port
  7. Click on "OK" button 3 times to confirm changes

* For FF 2.0::

  1. Tools -> Options
  2. Click on "Advanced" tab
  3. Click on "Network" page tab
  4. From the "Connection" frame, click on "Settings" button
  5. Select "Manual proxy configuration" option
  6. Under HTTP proxy, input "proxy.singnet.com.sg" and "8080" for port
Now, all SingNet users can use Blogspot normally!
See? My colours are back!

Sunday, May 6, 2007

You're 13? What's your bust size?

Newspaper headlines "You're 13? What's your bust size?"
Men prowl Internet chatrooms and lure young girls into meeting them for sex. Cheryl Tan poses as a 13-year-old schoolgirl and gets one indecent proposal after another.

May 06, 2007
The Straits Times



WITHIN four minutes of introducing himself in a local Internet relay chatroom meant for teenagers, Aauarius asked to feel my breasts. Even after knowing that I was a 13-year-old schoolgirl, he asked for my height, weight, waist measurement and size of my 'top'. Claiming his real name was Eric, 22, he offered to take me shopping and to lunch - both at his expense. 'I treat you everything tomorrow,' he promised. But I had to let him 'feel feel' me.

Eric was just one of 90 men who messaged me within minutes of entering an Internet chatroom. Even after I said that I was 13, the lewd offers still came thick and fast. These men did not seem worried that, under the law, it is illegal to have sex with a girl under the age of 16. The punishment for statutory rape is severe - the culprit will be jailed at least eight years and given a minimum 12 strokes of the cane. Despite this, the number of men reported to the police for having sex with underage girls has shot up over the last six years. Last year, the police received 217 reports of men who had sex with underage girls, almost double the 114 cases in 2001.
Just last month, three men aged between 18 and 23 were in court for having sex with a minor. The girl was only 12. The laws will be toughened soon to deal with such paedophiles.

Psychiatrist Brian Yeo said men who target young girls do so to 'feel in control'. He said they get a 'thrill' and consider it a 'conquest' when a young girl gives in to their request. Psychologist Daniel Koh added that because the young girls are sexually inexperienced, these men think they are 'easier to please'. But not all girls are that innocent, said Dr Yeo, and some crave the attention these men lavish. 'They find it fun to have men go ga-ga over their photos.'

Even though I did not have a photo to show the men who were chatting me up, many still ended up proposing a secret rendezvous. Finding out that I was only 13 did not deter 27 men from doing so. Only 10 dropped out of the chat after I said that I was 13. I could barely keep up with the chat requests and respond to everyone.

Some started slow. They made small talk before moving on to more personal questions such as what underwear I was wearing and whether I had any sexual experience. Others asked for sex from the word go. One man's opening line was: 'Want sex and quick cash?' Another guy wanted to know how short my school skirt was. A few asked for my vital statistics. One man tried to lure me out by saying that a pink bikini and denim skirt would be mine to keep if I went to his home. Some also asked if I had 'petted' before and described in graphic detail what that meant.

One man, Andy, even boasted about his experience with a 15-year-old girl at a hotel. The 26-year-old, claimed to be 'skilful' at sex and promised that I would feel no pain.

Darren, whose pick-up line was to ask if I was keen on earning $1,500, called me 'girl'. He asked for my age, my school, and why I was not in class on a Friday morning. For that amount of money, all he wanted from me was to 'accompany' him.

Going by the nickname Lucifer, the 27-year-old who claimed to be an advertising manager said he wanted us to 'chill out' together at his home. He asked to meet me at a playground near the HDB flat he lived in. He offered to pay for my cab fare to his place, which would have come up to about $20. He said we could have breakfast and watch comedy movies. He gave me his mobile number. When I got there and called him, he asked me again if I was really 13. While I waited on a slide, Darren circled the playground several times. He then disappeared behind a block of flats and hid behind a pillar. My phone rang - it was him. He claimed he did not see me at the playground and asked to meet at the lift lobby instead. When I faked unfamiliarity with the area, he finally approached me. Wearing spectacles, a bright red sweater and black bermudas, the first thing he asked me was: 'Are you the girl I chatted with online?' When I identified myself as a reporter, Darren immediately denied knowing that I was 13. Even as he tried to inch away from me, he insisted that his motive was purely innocent. He 'really just wanted to watch movies' with me at his flat.

Two hours later, a woman who claimed to be Darren's girlfriend called to say that it had been a case of 'mistaken identity'. She claimed that someone had impersonated Darren and posted his mobile phone number on the Net.

Another online chatter, who arranged to meet me at a playground in Bishan, lied about his age. Claiming to be 19, Josh wanted to 'cuddle for a bit' in his home. He later changed tack and said he was actually a 28-year-old basketball coach who trained schoolgirls as young as eight. To entice me to meet him, Josh promised to take me to lunch and shopping at Bishan Junction 8 before going to his home. Dressed in a white polo T-shirt and Adidas basketball shorts, he was calm when I said I was a reporter. Lighting up a cigarette, Josh said he wanted only to walk around with me to 'pass the time'. He also claimed that he had set up the meeting to recruit female basketballers.

The third man who coaxed me out promised a massage and the chance to watch movies which I was 'not supposed to watch yet'. Roger suggested meeting in Hotel 81 to 'get comfortable' and 'take shelter from the afternoon sun'. He brought along a laptop to play his 'movies'. Towering over me, the 32-year-old who claimed to be a computer systems engineer said he has met girls of all ages and that it was only 'for fun'. Roger did not believe I was a reporter. He continued to call me after we parted, asking if I was available to talk to him. After all those were ignored, he sent the SMS message: 'Can't chat anymore?'

tcheryl@sph.com.sg


My say:
It's a scary world out there. Behind all the smiles and greetings that we get from the friendly people we meet in the schools, offices, shopping malls and even churches. How many of them will take advantage of you when they have a chance to?

So sweet little girls, if you want to meet strangers from the online world, remember... always meet them at crowded public places in broad daylight, where there are lots of bright sunshine, and with Parental Guidance.

Hmm... but in this day and age, where gays are increasingly open about their sexuality, and more bold about posting free blow job offers on IRC and websites.... I suppose my advice is applicable to cute little boys too.

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Another 3 charities de-registered

Coming after the NKF scandal, the Commissioner of Charities (COC) has de-registered another 3 charities. The 3 charities are set up set up by the same man, and the COC has discovered serious irregularities and suspicious transactions in the administration of the charities. These are the Children of Singapore Foundation, Children’s Lukaemia Foundation Limited, and Club Sunshine Limited (previously known as Kids-In-Distress Foundation Limited).

Another organisation, the Kidney Fund Organisation (KFO), will not be granted charity status by the COC. The COC felt, after careful scrutiny, that the organisation's intentions were not exclusively charitable as the bulk of donations, amounting to some $110,000 in 2006, did not benefit charitable causes.

It is sad to know that kind hearted people's good will are being abused, but having all these cases of abuse should not stop people from donating generously to charity. After all, there are real people out there who are working hard for charitable causes, and there are real unfortunate people who really need to be helped. So don't stop giving, people! :)

Singapore fastest moving city in the world

Newspaper headlines "Study rates Singapore fastest moving city in the world" by Wong Mun Wai, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 02 May 2007 1745 hrs

SINGAPORE: Singapore has emerged as the fastest moving city in the world...literally.

The British Council conducted a study of the walking speed of pedestrians. And it is official - Singaporeans are the world's fastest walkers!

The British Council carried out the research in 32 cities including London and New York. It calculated the average time taken for people to walk a distance of over 18 metres (60 feet).

Singaporeans clocked the shortest time of just over 10 seconds (10.55 seconds). This was followed by Copenhagen (10.82 seconds) and Madrid (10.89 seconds). New York is at number 8 and surprisingly, London ranked outside the top 10. The slowest in the study was a city in Malawi - at more than 31 seconds (31.60 seconds.

The British Council says people's walking speed is a reliable measure of the pace of life in a city. On average, people are walking about 10 per cent faster now, compared to the early 1990s when it last conducted a similar study. But for Singapore, the pace of life has jumped 30 per cent. - CNA/yy

It's official, Singapore is now the fastest paced city in the world!

I remember Hong Kong people used to be known as the fastest walkers, but now, we have that honour. Well, no choice, we have to keep our corporate slaves busy to maintain our first world city standards.