vancouver

geek-land

crashing the international conference for robotics and automation in pasadena, california, where my brother's presenting a paper. truly a geek gathering, an environment totally alien to any of the other cities that i visited recently; but an environment that i miss and find myself very comfortable in :)

found that methods of enquiry (abstraction, theory-simulation-prototyping), problem-solving concepts (linerization and state transitions), are very similar regardless of engineering specialization. wonder how much of these modes of thinking are universal, and how much is merely anglo-saxon.

pit-stop Singapore

three day stopover in singapore before flying off for a family holiday. been in 29 cities since may 2007, and counting. totally identify with george yeo's "singapore's a hotel" metaphor. it was a time to catch up with close friends, distribute the chocolates and wine, down some chilli crab, stroke corrections with ronald, "qi-gong" massage, and then its back to departure-point changi (naval base/airport). during the college years, it was not surprising that we were scattered around north america, western europe, and parts of asia.

today, we're all around the world for work/grad school. perhaps the pit-stops are more transitory compared to college time, but the steady-state flow of singaporeans out-of-country at any time is quite incredible. today with budget flights and out-sourcing of production and global service chains, almost every young working singaporean is "cosmopolitan". this creates different opportunities and problems compared to the late 90s when we were arguing about the "cosmopolitan" and "heart-lander" dicotonomy.

some short impressions and notes about the recent places that i visited.

cannes, france: lunch at l'annex. best japanese tuna and tiramisu (homemade, smooth and subtle taste, and huge!) ever. absolutely delightful. compared to any other french town (including nice and monaco), cannes felt really touristy and obstentatious. which came first - the cannes film festival or her irreverence?

avignion, france: my second success at matchmaking. more accurately, "creating the conditions for people to come together". i find myself better at doing this than hardcore match-making. Probably because ex ante, the victims don't know what they're being put through. truly, it's a question of "dare and do".

arles, france: roman town, not too exciting. made up by the excellent bouillabaisse (soupe de poisson) at rue porte de laure. try it!

marmaris, turkey: secular behaviour in a muslim state. a replicable model, or a unique product of geography (between europe and the middle east) and history (legacy of the ottoman empire)?

ephesus, turkey: pathetic preservation of historical ruins. thankfully only 5% has been excavated. brings to mind recent economist articles about sustainable tourism - do developing countries have the capacity to preserve their geographical treasures for future generations at a cost of the current? how do we extend the planning horizons of these government agents to beyond their own tenures?

mumbai, india: energy in the streets, even at midnight. pure hunger and drive of her people - from slum dwellers to the billionaires. people who prefer to be in a crowd than alone. minimal concept of personal space. importance of establishing power relations. impetus to read up more about the indian psyche.

and two other cities that i'll love to talk about, but only off the record.

join the navy and see the world indeed!

Aster!

Been busy over the last two weeks in earnest preparation for our Aster Live Firing; and the arrival of Minister, Chief of Navy, and the entire Food Chain between them and us to witness the Firing.

There was so much co-ordination, planning, co-operating, leading, to do. Also went back to Nice and Monaco over the weekend. We drove round and round the Monaco F1 track, which was really good fun. Also went to this really cool eatery in Old Nice. It's the top-of-the-list recommendation in Lonely Planet, but we stumbled upon it only because of the long queue. Top dish was the Socca which is something like roti-prata made of Chick Pea flour with a thin crust of Olive Oil. Eaten on its own, with fingers. Its a speciality of the Provence/Nice region - with both French and Italian influences. Come to think of it, every society has its own version of Roti Prata. Popiah, Roti Prata, Roti Canai, Crepes, Egyptian Bread, Pancake, Burrito...

But back to the Firing proper. I can now talk about it because it's now all over the Mindef web page and the Straits Times. See http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/news_and_events/nr/2008/apr/03apr08_nr.html. Yup, this is why we sailed all the way - through 4-6m high waves, through many weeks away from home - to Toulon, France.

(all pictures from the Mindef web page)

Aster leaving launcher!

Missile arc-ing over the ship

Post firing: Minister talking to ship crew

As noted in the Straits Times, our firing was successfully conducted. To all of us onboard - the ship crew which had sailed many miles to get here, and is spending many many weeks away from home; and the entire technical team - it was a huge relief. Really enjoyed the post-firing Champagne and Tiger Beer toast. The Yam Sengs were carried over the cold French winds 'mistrals', and echoed throughout Toulon Naval Base.

This experience really adds to the many "special moments" that I've had with the Navy. Operational time in Iraq (http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/publications/cyberpioneer/features/2008/feb08_fs.html) , 3 missile firings, calling on the US Chief of Navy in his Pentagon office, and excellent dinner with Daryl and Say Yong in Halifax, Canada,...No, this is not an attempt at recruiting any of you to switch careers. :)

Glad to be here.

Marseille, Monaco, French Gorges

Just a couple of scribblings about the places we visited on recent weekends

monaco: the place has nothing much going for it. without the f1 track and casino, its really just like any other sea-side attraction. for me, being there first hand really showed the combined power of these two attractions... and puts singapore's decisions in a different light.

marseille: out of nice, monaco, and marseille, i found marseille most real, and hence most interesting. had an excellent time wandering about the arab quarter (which reminded me of bahrain), buying the cheapest tomatoes and bananas that i've seen in france, watching the kids play soccer, visiting the atas but beautiful notre dame cathedral, the fish market by the port...

french gorges: super long day trip with the "definitely safe to travel agency", or dsta, over easter weekend just to see these pieces of rock, but was worth it. thought it would be just like the grand canyon, but it was more breathtaking and had more varied scenery. also less touched by tourism. worth a visit if you are in the area.