Social Items

Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Last month, an accident happened to a 60-year-old Singaporean Mr John Low when he was doing diving as a diving instructor. His boat sank after being hit by choppy waves. He drifted in South China Sea for four days and three nights with a life buoy and backpack containing his Singapore identity card before he was carried out to sea. He had no food, not water, and no shelter. Fortunately, he was spotted by a passing ship and was then rescued by a helicopter.

Low needed to endure the ordeal of the pain of the beating sun as well as the cold temperature at night on South China Sea. When he was just rescued, he was seriously sunburned. "It's like 1,000 needles poking your face." says Low. He described that it hurts a lot when putting his sunburned skin into the sea water,

During his time stranded in the sea, all Low had as companions were his ring buoy and Rolex Mido Commander, The Straits Times reported. To stay sane, he talked to those items, calling them “boy” and “brother”, the report added.

Low says that thoughts of his family – a wife and three sons – were what kept him going during the ordeal. Low also considered himself religious, and he exclaimed that it was the belief of God that keeps him persevering until being rescued.

On the fourth night, relief finally came when Low saw a 10-storey high ship called Diogo Cao. He became unconscious as soon as he saw the ship approaching him.

After lifiting him out of the waters, ship crew notified Singapore authorities, and the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) deployed its Rescue 10 team to rescue the dehydrated man via helicopter.

In a video posted by the RSAF, Low thanked the team for bringing him home. He said it was reassuring to see the team anxious over him. “I hope there will be no one else for you to save but if you do , keep doing the same thing with your bravery,” Low told the men, before hugging each and everyone who had come to visit him.

Low recovered in the hospital for a month. He got kidney failure from the high intake of salt water, skin burns and an infection in his lungs. However, the pain did not seem to diminish his sense of humour. In an update posted on his Facebook page, Low joked that his face resembled Chinese-style barbecued meat or bakwa.



One month on, Low reports that he has fully recovered from his injuries.

This reminds me of my trip to Sibu in Grade 7. When we went there, the sun was also scotching, but not as serious like needles. Many of my classmates still get sunburned. Although I did not get burned (probably because of the protection of my dark skin color), I was hydrated and suffered from the scratches of sand inside my rash vest. It was like Low's face, when you want to wash the sand with sea water, it just get worse -- the salt in the sea water make it even more painful. My skin started bleeding until I went home for a hot shower and washed the 1-cm-thick sand off (after the trip I found out that some classmates brought baby powder -- it makes your skin slippery and all sands will come off. I immediately felt stupid). It was similar with Low, but I always knew what was going to happen next in the trip while Low did not know what his fate was. All he could do was to pray, be prepared to go back to home and reunite with his family or to go to the other home (heaven).

I felt so lucky that I do not have to face such risk. And the most importantly, I will never forget to put on sunscreen again...

60-year-old Diving Instructor Drifting on Sea for 4 Days


Here's a hypothetical: a telescope detects an asteroid between 100 and 300 meters in diameter racing through our solar system at 14 kilometers per second, 57 million kilometers from Earth.

Astronomers estimate a one percent risk the space rock will collide with our planet on April 27, 2027. What should we do?

It's this potentially catastrophic scenario that 300 astronomers, scientists, engineers and emergency experts are applying their collective minds to this week in a Washington suburb, the fourth such international effort since 2013.

This week's exercise seeks to simulate global response to a catastrophic meteorite. The first step is aiming telescopes at the threat to precisely calculate its speed and trajectory, following rough initial estimates.

Then it boils down to two choices: try to deflect the object, or evacuate. If it is less than 165 feet in diameter, the international consensus is to evacuate the threatened region. What about bigger objects? The plan is to launch a device toward the asteroid to divert its trajectory -- like a cosmic bumper car.

One issue that remains is politics, says Romana Kofler, of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. "Who would be the decision making authority?" she asked. "The consensus was to leave this aspect out."

What if an asteroid was about to hit Earth? Scientists ponder question


Yesterday, May 20, was the National Day of Remembrance, an annual event in Cambodia that commemorates the Cambodia genocide of the Khmer Rouge regime that ruled the country between 1975 and 1979. The Cambodian name of the day ទិវាជាតិនៃការចងចាំ is translated as “Day of Maintaining Rage”. The date was selected since it marked the beginning of mass killings in Democratic Kampuchea on May 20, 1976.



In Choeung Ek “Killing Fields” in Phnom Penh (the one I went to two months ago), many students in black went reenacted the horrors of the Cambodian genocide at the ‘Killing Fields’ on Monday to commemorate the two million people killed by the Khmer Rouge’s murderous, Maoist regime.

Student acted out the scenes of people being killed, children being separated from their parents, women being forced to leave their husbands and many other scenes showing the cruelty of the Khmer Rouge and how much the Cambodians once suffered from the genocide.


It was an emotional day. Many attendees cried when watching the scenes, as the actors pretend to slit open the victim’s throats and throw them into the lakes. Even though I did not see the scenes I could imagine the sadness of the atmosphere through the screen. The scenes reminds me of a book that I just finished on Friday called _Never Fall Down_. It narrates Cambodia under Pol Pot’s governing through the eyes of a boy named Arn, who was just 11 when the Khmer Rouge took over the country and forced everyone to go to the countryside. His struggles to stay alive by obeying everything the Khmer Rouge says, killing people from his hometown, and efforts he made to not lost his true self that always wants to help others, sharing his food with everyone. I feel sad a a bit scared while reading, half hoping that everything could go back to when Arn sings happily everyday, eating ice-cream with his friends, and half hoping that Arn could move on with courage and share his story to the world, letting more people to understand the Cambodians.



“These views brought my feeling back to the Pol Pot era, the killing was heinous,“ said 62-year-old Chan Ren, who lost more than 10 relatives under the regime.

“Today, people attend the event to pray to the souls of people who were killed by the Khmer Rouge,“ she added.

I once felt quite hopeless that no much people in the world know about the Khmer Rouge (In fact, I did not know it too before I went to Cambodia on the Tabitha trip.) , as it has been something that is rarely told even between the Cambodians. I afraid that the reason why Cambodia turned from the glorious Ankor empire into one of the poorest country in the world will remain a secret and Cambodians will be always seen as the lazy once and be discriminated. Today I saw the voice of Cambodia with my own eyes. I wish through the event, more people from countries around the world will know what happened during 1975 - 1979, understand what the death of a quarter of the country’s people was like. I wish the new generation could be more open and confidence to explain these to the others and lead the nation into a brighter future.

The National Day of Remembrance


Thousands of glitzy new gadgets have been launched today at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Some of the innovations could transform our lives — but not necessarily for the better.

Facial recognition cat food bowls that only open for specific pets; freshly baked bread vending machines; underwater drones; self-driving cars. From the ridiculous to the revolutionary: the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has it all.

Opening in Las Vegas today, the event brings together 200,000 tech junkies, journalists and entrepreneurs to try out the most cutting-edge gadgets and technology. Some of the gizmos might just revolutionise our lives forever.

This year, the show is dominated by companies trying to make our lives “smarter” — fitting everyday objects with mini computers, cameras or microphones. This allows them to connect to the internet and complete tasks automatically.

Which machine is making the biggest splash so far? The smart toilet. Designed by manufacturing company Kohler, it connects to Amazon’s Alexa and comes with voice controls, personalised cleaning functions, ambient lighting, speakers and a heated seat.

It is just one of countless intelligent household devices on show, including smart padlocks, smart bottle openers, smart fridges, smart doorbells, smart mirrors and smart baby toys.

While all these things may make life more convenient, some worry that the trend is going too far.

“Putting a computer in everything turns the whole world into a computer security threat,” writes Farhad Manjoo. “In a roboticised world, hacks would not just affect your data but could endanger your property, your life and even national security.”

Nevertheless, many remain excited by what CES has to offer. For example, several gadgets promise to boost our health and hygiene. The Y-Brush supposedly gives teeth a perfect clean in just 10 seconds. Various other innovations could improve sleep, decrease anxiety and diagnose genetic diseases.

Then there is the self-driving revolution — something no longer limited to cars. Visitors will see self-driving suitcases whizzing between the stalls, specially programmed to follow their owner. Self-driving lawnmowers, buses and tractors are also on display.

Which of these technologies will catch on remains to be seen.


Power up
Beneath the glitz and gizmos, important questions arise concerning our relationship with technology. Will surrounding ourselves with “smart” objects endanger our privacy? Are we willing to sacrifice some privacy for the convenience these objects bring? Can we bring ourselves to trust a self-driving car, or a medical diagnosis given by an app?

More fundamentally, just how smart should we let machines become? Artificial intelligence is constantly improving and could soon outpace the power of the human mind. What happens if we can no longer control the machines we create?


Foord, R. (n.d.). Flying cars and iToilets: welcome to the future. Retrieved from http://theday.co.uk/technology/flying-cars-and-itoilets-welcome-to-the-future

Flying cars and iToilets: welcome to the future

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)