Ramen Romps

Who cares about the Olympics and gold medals when there are much more important feats to celebrate. Take the Singapore Ramen championship for instance which was won by Ikkousha Ramen who have sold 100,000 bowls of the stuff in the past twelve months

The gentle art of noodle pulling has apparently become a 'fine art' under their tutelage. Ramen might well be regarded in the West as student fodder but in Asia they take it very seriously.


 And on the subject of matters culinary spare a thought for the FEDEX workers in the States who redefined the meanin of "some like it hot". 
A 19 litre container of liquid capsaicin, a chili pepper component destined for hot sauce was accidentally punctured by a forklift. resulting in a sudden evacuation.  I wonder what the health authorities made of this mishap?
Speaking of health, Bloomberg has just ranked Singapore as having the healthiest population in the world. It nudged out Italy, Australia, Switzerland and Japan for this honour. The country has a very strong healthcare system which means that residents are living longer and death rate is lower than it has been in the past. Get rid of the endemic cigarette smoking by new migrants and the result will be even higher.
Mind you such healthcare doesn't come cheaply so it is essential to have some form of insurance. We found NTUC's policies were best value for money. The added advantage is that they can be paid for out of CPF contributions.

Related articles

• S'pore "world's healthiest country": survey

The Presidential Check List

Choosing a President is never an easy task as many of my Singaporean friends will no doubt tell you.  Later this month they go to the polls once again; this time to choose President Nathan's replacement.

I confess to be living back in a country that doesn't have such an office.  We cling to the last vestiges of our colonial past with a Governor General as our Head of State and the Queen's representative.  There are those who would like to replace the G.G. with a President but I am not one of them.  This preference is based on my observations of the shenanigans that surround the presidential electoral process in other countries -  the States and Italy being amongst the worst examples.

Despite my reservations I couldn't help but wonder what my own checklist for picking a suitable President might be?  I have come up with the following:

1. Pick someone who hasn't been born with a silver spoon on their mouth.
   A man of the people needs to have been fully immersed in the day to day life of the community through face-to-face service throughout their working life. Only then can they truly claim to be the people's president.
   
2. Removed from Government machinations
   Even though the presidential role is largely ceremonial a President need to be perceived to be clearly aside from the ambitions of the government of the day, and to have been so for some considerable time.  Not out of touch nor diametrically opposed to those in power, but able to provide the necessary impartial political checks and balances as and when required.
   
3.  Sound moral fibre
   A predilection to the demon drink and chasing hotel maids (or airline stewardesses) might be seen as an attribute in some European countries but it does not project the country in the best light and such a candidate should be discounted with alacrity. And don't be lulled by the false sense that the average age of most presidential hopefuls is at least seventy; many still have the libido to make themselves a nuisance if they are that way inclined.
   
4. Gravitas
   Pomp without pomposity should be a defining attribute.  The ability to carry out Presidential ceremonial duties with the dignity of the office in tact I see as essential.  A mumbling moron with a slouch, one who doesn't know his knife from his fork simply will not do.
   
5. Fiscal Prudence
   If your Presidential salary is in the millions and you banquet by candlelight most nights of the week it could be very easy to lose touch with reality.  Someone who has been able to manage a family budget in reduced circumstances would have the edge when it came to my pick.  If they knew where the best value for money chicken rice was in the Heartland, even better!

As to the Singaporean election we can be assured of one thing; the next President will be a President Tan.  The questions remains, which one?

Related articles

• Four Candidates Eligible for Singapore President (online.wsj.com)
• The PAP tactic - Tell, Confuse, Apologize, Cry. (javertsworld.wordpress.com)

No Place Like Homing

I had often wondered why there were so many pigeons nesting and congregating around Queens condo and the adjacent Queenstown MRT.

They were the bane of our life fouling the air-conditioning platforms and in turn encouraging a stream of ants and other nasties to their nesting sites.

Now it seems science has provided the answer.  Pigeons apparently sniff their way home with their right nostril according to new research out of Italy.

The Italians are of course good at sniffing out stories themselves, as is witnessed in the ongoing Berlusconi saga -  but that is another story.

The aforementioned pigeons would be severely handicapped if they were to develop an allergy and find their right nostril blocked.

According to the study a blocked right nostril means that pigeons are unable to create the "map of smells" that guides them on their journey.

The scientists plugged either the left or the right nostril of homing pigeons raised just outside Pisa.

They released the birds from Cigoli, 40km away, and followed the birds' return routes using GPS trackers. The 'right nostril disadvantaged' fared worse on the return journey.

Perhaps this same theory applies to Singapore's feathered vermin? The pollution levels around Queenstown got quite bad at times and I figure that the pigeons have this worked out.

By not going anywhere they run little risk of blocked nostrils leadings them astray.  There is the added advantage of coffee shop scraps and nesting sites in the nooks and crannies of the MRT line.

Perhaps the NEA could conduct a similar experiment in the hope, that by blocking the noses of Singapore pigeons, they might fly across the Causeway to Malaysia?

Related articles

• The right way for pigeons to follow their nose home (newscientist.com)