Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Wishing everyone a Christmas full of happiness, great health and filled with joy. Have a fantastic year ahead!

Fei Fei Wan Ton Noodle

Fei Fei Roasted Noodle

This is another wan ton noodle with a long queue. Waited 20 minutes just to buy the noodle. It is Fei Fei Wan Ton Noodle at Yuhua Village Market and Food Centre in Jurong East. The noodle costs $3 each.

The sauce of the noodle is average in taste and they do not even add the chilli sauce for you. The sauce is in front of the serving area and it is up to the patron to decide how much chilli he wants. The main attraction lies in the char siew, the roasted pork that they serve. It is chunky and the sauce (of the char siew) is delicately made. The meat is also softer than other stall selling char siew rice or wan ton noodle. The owner prepares it with great dedication and effort to make it unique. In fact, for many patrons who had queue for the dish, they usually ask for more serving of the char siew. However, I noticed that the char siew was roasted beyond the normal temperature, hence it is slightly burned.

Understand that Fei Fei sells roasted duck but it was not available on the day of my visit.

Would I queue for another 20 to 30 minutes again? Probably not as I think a good wan ton noodle must excel in all areas, including the noodle, the sauce and the balance of chilli sauce. In addition, I generally do not prefer burned char siew.

BMW M3 - An Article in Automobile Magazine Nov 2015

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An interesting article on Automobile Magazine about history of BMW M3 in the United States. Author of the article is Ms Laura Burstein.

All rights reserve of Automobile Magazine.

Star Wars - The Force Awakens

Stormtrooper from The Force Awakens

Its showing at the end of the month... Star Wars - The Force Awakens.

I am not sure whether JJ Abrams is able to deliver the flavor of the original trilogy. I don't think it is easy for him as considerations have to be made on the historical setting, continuation of legacy and bring interest in the new trilogy. Each set of trilogy has its own helmet design for the stormtroopers.

Associated with it are all the merchandise, marketing and events associated with the movie.

A promotion event was held at Vivo city and it attracted a crowd.

Looking forward to watching it in cinema.

After Note:
I warched The Force Awakens on 30 Dec 2015. General impression is that JJ Abrams did successfully blend in the legacy of Star Wars, especially the original 1975/6 version, into The Force Awakens. Watching it lets viewer recall the flavor and storyline of the first movie. Things like the monster game on board millennium falcon, the x wing fighter, tie fighter, a bigger death star which were all brought back to screen. The Director introduces new ideas such as stormtrooper who has weapon that can challenge a light sabre, the energy from a star generates power for the death star, ability of the Force to stop a blaster fire in mid air and the cute BB8. The death of Han Solo is regrettable and is similar to the death of Obi-Wan in the first movie.

There are questions left unanswered:- Who is Snoke? How did he come into power? Who is Rey and her ability to use the Force? Looks like she was taken away from her family when she was young.

I think that the graphic representation of Snoke reminds me of Harry Potter Voldemont. I dislike the sudden bomb blasts and surprises from the movie.

Overall I do like The Force Awakens. I just hope that the second part in this new trillogy does not follow the storyline of the Empire Strikes Back.

Updated on 30 Dec 2015

Fish Ball Noodle at Blk 22 Toa Payoh Lor 7

The fish ball noodle at Blk 22 Toa Payoh Lor 7 hawker centre usually has a queue. The quantity is not significant but it is the quality that matters. It cost $3 for a serving of teochew style hand made fish ball noodle. The fish ball, to me, is ordinary although it is bigger in size than the factory produced ones. However, the noodle sauce is tasty and it is this that distinguish itself from others.

Creative Technology

I sold one of my worst investment ever today - Creative Technology.

I bought it for an average cost of S$11.10/share 10 years ago. Today, it is worth S$1.40/share. A massive lost of 87% from the price I had purchased. At its peak, Creative Technology was worth more than S$50/share during the dot.com/technology hype. It lost the fight to Apple on its ipod mp3 media and continue to bleed financially.

A few weeks ago, it was worth less than a dollar. Fortunately, there was recent news that Apple would compensate the Company for some patents that it had. But it had lost its shine and a dying company.

Lost close to S$10,000 on this company. A lesson learnt on poor investment. Warren Buffet had never trusted technology companies.

Back to the Future - 21 Oct 2015

Back To Future II Time Machine showing 21 Oct 2015

In Back to the Future II, Marty travelled in his time machine to 21 Oct 2015.  2015 is 30 years from 1985, the reference year in which Marty first started in the first film Back to the Future. There were many predictions of what 2015 would look like, including prominent innovations like Nike self tying shoe, hoverboard and Black & Decker food hrydrator that could transform a processed packet to a full sized pizza.

The Guardian online gave a comparison between the technologies that were predicted in the film and the current available technologies.

http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2015/jan/02/what-back-to-the-future-part-ii-got-right-and-wrong-about-2015-an-a-z

My Marble Angelfish



Marble Angelfish

My marble angelfish was purchased on 19 Oct 2014. It stays healthy one year in the tank while all my other fishes had perished. It had grown slightly. I love its body colours of white, black, yellow and a tinge of red on its gills.  It also swims gracefully.

Nikkor 43-86mm f3.5 Ais Lens

Nikon FM2n with Nikkor 43-86mm Lens

Under Exposed Photo (Unedited) - Haze in Singapore

This lens has such a strange focal length. There are 2 versions of it. The earlier version has the printed lens data within the inner rim of the filter mount, while the other version is printed on the outer rim.

According to Kenrockwell.com, the earlier version of the lens is one of Nikon worst lens ever produced.

Fortunately, my version is the later version. However, I am not sure the reason but the photso taken were under-exposed. See above for example. The speed of the shutter for this photo was set at 1/4000 which was one of the fastest in the 80s. I must however qualify that the film was kept in the camera for some time (more than half a year) and this could affect the quality of the film. Secondly, I was using FM2n exposure meter to gauge the lighting level. When I had earlier used the camera exposure meter on the 28mm lens, the exposure was perfectly alright.

The lens exterior is quite beautifully designed with coloured lines on its body indicating the range of focus for various zoom length and f number. Zoom is done by sliding the zoom ring inwards and outwards of the camera body. Focus is done by rotating the same ring.

Malaysian Ringgit

Singapore Dollar to Malaysian Ringgit is S$1 : RM3.

Historically new high for Singapore Dollar and historically new low for Malaysian Ringgit.

Good for those who intends to buy assets in Malaysia. Bad for those who had bought assets a few years ago when exchange rate was less favourable.

It is currently a period of financial turmoil with the stock market crashing to below 16,000 (Dow).

Germany Part 29 - Interesting Observations

Munich Hbf at 6:10am- Notice the tactile?

1. Germany has built cycling track next to walking footpath. This is to segregate cycling with the rest of the human traffic and cars. I had seen one cyclist on the road and was horned by driver of cars. But the cyclist didn't seem bother and continued to cycle on the road.

2. Senior citizens working as farmer in fields. I suppose as a form of semi-retirement.

3. Senior Europeans travelling with crutches or trekking sticks. This was not the first time I had seen senior citizens touring Europe. Back in 1994, I had seen an old man lining up for train tickets. Their perseverance is admirable. Nonetheless, Germany had many convenience designs in public infrastructure that encourage seniors to travel.

4. Blind man using tactile at Munich Hbf alone.

5. Munich city trains were not as crowded on a working day peak hour as compared to Singapore and Tokyo. The population of Munich is only about 1.4 Million. Compared to 5 Million in Singapore and more than 13 Million in Tokyo. It was much pleasant to live in with not so dense population.

6. Commuter can eat and drink on city trains, yet the trains are still clean. There is a rubbish bin at the side of the seat for throwing rubbish.

7. Acceptance of graffiti. Plenty of them in the city and train stations.

8. City and suburbs were rather clean.

9. Germany inter-city train could travel up to 250km/h. But it would slow down when it reached residential estate.

10. Gays.

Germany is a country blessed with natural beauty; mountains, lakes, rivers and wealth created f rom its economic and technological power house. One can work on weekdays and over the weekends take a train to various natural attractions throughout the country. Its main problem lies with its current association with European Union which is currently facing the Greece debt crisis. Prior to my visit, each Euro dropped to less than SGD$1.50.

Germany Part 28 - Letomotel Ost

Letomotel Ost Munich

This was the hotel which I had stayed for 7 days during my trip. There was a mistake in my reservation and I had thought the hotel was Letomotel at Moosach. I was told only when I had reached Moosach that my booking was at Letomotel Ost (East) which was at Trudering. This hotel is about 45 minutes from Moosach. I had to plan all my schedule again with a starting point at Trudering.

The hotel was basic with no frills. It provides a basic room and wifi. It was built fairly recently as the room looks new. The bed and pillow were comfortable and clean. The only issue is that it was a 5 minutes walk from the train station to the hotel.  Underneath the hotel, there were a pastry shop, a meat shop and a convenient stall which I found them good. (Haven't tried the meat shop though) Another new convenient stall located just across the road had just opened during the week I was at Trudering which offered reasonably priced daily necessities. The toilet had a shared door between the water closet and the bathing cubicle.

The counter in the hotel was manned 24 hours, hence no problem if you need help. They were very strict with the check in and out time. Check in time is 3pm and check out time is 11 am. There is a room for luggage storage.

The price is also relatively reasonable considering the prices of other hotels in Munich. If you are there to sleep comfortably without need for much amenities, then Letomotel Ost should be fine.

Germany Part 27 - Vincent Van Gogh Sunflowers

Vincent Van Gogh Sunflowers

This is probably the most expensive object I have seen in my trip to Germany - The Vincent Van Gogh Sunflowers being displayed at Neue Pinakothek, Munich. It would retain its value even after more than 100 years from now. The painting was painted in the year 1888.

The feeling of seeing the real Sunflower is different from photograph or image. The actual one has depth as the brushes applied by Van Gogh was thick. One can physically see the brushes coming out of the canvas. The background behind the sunflowers is pastel blue which is different from the more common yellow background. The good thing about Neue Pinakothek was that the Sunflowers was not enclosed or placed at a distance. Visitors could come close to the painting and observe the texture and details. The museum was also not crowded.

The last transacted price of sunflower made in 1987 was 24.75 million pounds. It is not surprising that Van Gogh's painting can be worth more than US$100 million. It was breathtaking that I was looking at a painting of this value. (Although I had seen the mona lisa in The Louvre many years back).

There were many good paintings in Neue Pinakothek. They include water lilies by Monet, ploughing by Giovanni Segantini, Munich Beer Garden by Max Liebermann. They were masterpiece created with skills and patience. These paintings would last generations, even longer than classical cars.

Sunflowers were common in Europe. I had seen some growing between the Hotel I stayed and the train station (Trudering). I walked passed these sunflowers everyday.

Germany Part 26 - F4 Phantom II

An unique airplane of the 60s which was used intensively in Vietnam War. This model is parked at the Deutches Museum Flugwerft in OberschleiBheim.  The museum requires about 20 minutes walk from the train station. When walking to the museum, one will pass through the backyard of Bayerisches National Museum Altes.

Due to its twin General Electric powerplant, it can reach speed in excess of Mach 2. That's make it easier for pilots of the F4 to out run and out climb enemy aircraft of that era. While the F4 can be equip with various armament, it does not have guns, unless specially modified.

The aircraft is easily identifiable by its unique tilted tail stabilizer, long body and pointed snout. As a teenager, I had a model of F4 built and sent it for competition but didn't win a prize.

F4 in formation / Source: War Remnants Museum, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

Germany Part 25 - Munich Marienplatz

A nice city centre filled with restaurants and commercial shops. According to Wiki, Marienplatz has been the city centre since 1158. There are both U bahn and S bahn in front of Marienplatz.

Marienplatz in 2015

Marienplatz in 1933 during Nazi Uprising

Source: Old photo of Marienplatz from Dachau Concentration Camp

Germany Part 24 - BMW E21

There are at least 2 E21 at the BMW Museum.

I made 2 mistakes during the visit to BMW Museum. Firstly, I arrived at BMW Welt only to find out that the museum was not opened on Monday. Secondly, I revisited again on Saturday at 8:45am and thought that it would open by 9am, only to find out that it would open at 10am.

The first E21 was located with a family of 3 series. It was a 323i in gold colour. Back then the '23' in 323 referred to the engine capacity and in this case 2315 cc. This produced a power of 105 kw and 143 PS in the 6 cylinder engine. A maximum speed of 190 km/h was specified. The car was manufactured from 1978 to 1982.

The second E21 was located within a family of 1970s car which also include the 5(520), 6(633 CSi) and 7(745i) series. It was a grey 323i right at the bottom of the stack.

The interior of the grey 323i has a blue carpet and fabric finishes. I recalled my E21 had a black leather seat and cream carpet finishes.  The tachometer in the museum also did not look like mine on the E21. My speedometer had a VDO shown. The other big difference was my car was a right hand drive car. I remember the hazard light next to the air conditioner vent would pop up whenever the weather was hot. The manual window winding handle was so classical. The steering had no power steering.  In memory of my old E21.

 

A photo of my old red E21 can be found in the link below:-

http://e21s.blogspot.com/2008/07/cars-year-1998-2001-bmw-e21-3-series.html

Germany Part 23 - History of World War II

As taken from Dachau Concentration Camp.

The beginning

The Division

 

 

 

The Propaganda

 

 

The In Charge

 

 

Torment in the Camp

 

 

The Dead

 

 

Germany Part 22 - Porsche 911 der Moderne 2004 to 2015

A. Porsche 997








B. Porsche 997 (Hybrid)




C. Porsche 991 (Targa) - Porsche advertisement on the 911 targa which has a black body looks so good. This one on display in Porsche Museum looks plastic.

Germany Part 21 - The Unusual Porsche 911

A. Porsche 993 - A very strange line designed at the front next to headlamp. The rear looks good.






B. Porsche 996 - Not the conventional headlamp. Likewise the rear looks good. For 911 to continue its iconic heritage, the front, rear and the unique C pillar must abide by its ancestry design.







C. Porsche 996 ~ Sally Carrera with a shortened wheelbase.




D. Porsche 911 Flachbau (Slantnose) - No photo available. Again a different front that is different from original 911.