My cat, Windy, is up for adoption. I hate to do this, but circumstances force me to. I adopted her together with my ex girlfriend about two years ago, when she was still a kitten. She’s thusly about two and a half years old, black and white, short-haired. She’s been sterilized and vaccinated, and had a check-up just a week ago and seems to be in good health.

She’s a lovely cat, friendly and playful. She likes to sleep in my arms when I work, or at my feet when I’m resting. She’s a bit scared of strangers, but once she gets to know you she’ll be the most affectionate cat in the world.

The main reason I’m giving her away is that, because of a change in family situation back home, I might have to travel a lot more next year, and I might also have to leave Singapore on short notice. I think the apartment I’m in currently is too small for her, and before I move again, I will have to be out of Singapore for 2-3 weeks. I therefore feel it would be better to find someone who can take care of her, instead of bouncing her between friends and cat-sitters over the next year. Since I will move out of Singapore as well, I most likely need to sort this out sooner or later, and sooner is probably better for the cat.

I would have preferred to give Windy back to my ex girlfriend, but she’s unable to take her in at the moment. It breaks my heart to have to do this to someone who has become a family member, but at this point in time, I don’t see much other choice.

Please let me know if you or anyone you know has room for a cat.

Thanks.

I recently spent way too much money on a gadget I probably neither need or can use properly, but I figured I needed something expensive to keep me exercising. In retrospect, I think it might have been a better idea to wait for Nokia to release their Bluetooth HRM that works with their already pretty good service Sportstracker.

Anyway, after realizing that my new HRM only supports IR, that my Macbook Pro doesn’t have proper IR, and that I have to use the darn thing with Windows anyway since Polar refuses to make Mac software (stupid slackers!) I needed to pick up a USB-to-IRDA device. I found a cheap-ish no-brand one at Challenger for $S15.00 (this guy), but the drivers that came with it were for some random portuguese mp3-player. I ended up trawling the web for the drivers for 3 hours before finally figuring which company that manufactured it, and emailed them. They replied with a completely empty email subjected “drivers” from a nondescript address, with four attachments that I almost threw away fearing they were viruses. But lo and behold, they worked just fine.

Seeing as I spent so much time searching for the damn drivers, I figured I’d put them up here. Hopefully someone who needs them find them useful.

ds620.rar
ks959.rar (the one i used)
MA-620.rar
ww-600.rar

75 Sinaran Drive

#10-01

308322 Singapore

Come visit!

9 Sin Ming Road

#04-05

575630 Singapore

Singapore

This week’s theme on SR Metropol is Christmas. These are the questions that I could use some input for:

• Is Christmas being celebrated, and if so on the 24th or the 25th?
• How is it being celebrated? With family or with friends?
• Christmas presents: Does everybody get them, or is it a thing just for the kids? How much do people spend?
• What do people eat on Christmas?
• To what extent is the city decorated, and with what?

Anyone have any suggestions?

One of my best friends back home, Erik, works for SR Metropol, the somewhat newly formed local radio station, and as some may know, I do some corresponding from Singapore every tuesday morning at 8.30, Stockholm time (that’s 15.30 Singapore time). What I do is basically compare what Singapore is like to what Stockholm is like in different areas. This week there was no show, but last week we talked about interior design and the week before that it was about fashion. You can find most of it in SR’s 30 day archive.

Next week, the subject is the environment, and here are a couple of questions that I’ll try to answer:

• Hur mycket skrivs och pratas det om det i media?
• How much is being written about the environment in the media?
• Hur mycket är det en snackis privat? På jobbet, på gatorna.
• How much is it being talked about privately? At work, in the streets
• Sopsorterar folk?
• Do people recycle?
• Köper man miljöbilar?
• Do people buy environmentally friendly cars?
• Hur är det med dubbelmoralen? Ex. man köper en bil och försvarar sig med att det är en miljöbil. Eller man pikar sin kompis för att hon slänger en glasflaska i soporna, men tar själv gärna flyget på semestern.
• What about double standards? For example, if you buy a car and defend it by saying it’s environmentally friendly? Or if you give a buddy a hard time for throwing a glass bottle in the garbage, but take a plane when going on vacation?

Any ideas?

Just picked up my new Nokia N95 8Gb yesterday! I know it’s not an iPhone, but it’s still quite impressive, feature wise, although the GUI feels a bit… 1996. I really plan to make good use of the GPS, especially after I get a new bike, sometime next month.

My new number is +65 9188 05 06. Finally no more prepaid! HOORAY.

Today is kitten vaccination day. I can just tell how thrilled she will be.

Ok, latest updates:

• I have my EP! And a bank account with UOB. Now I need a proper cell phone account, but I can’t keep my prepaid number. How’s that for a developed country, huh?
• Was just home in Stockholm for ten days. I didn’t meet even half of the people I wanted to, and I caught a cold. But it was still nice.
• I’m renting out my apartment, from yesterday, to my friend Christoffer. Feels good that it’s not a waste of money being empty, but it also feels a little strange having somebody else staying in it.
• Having a meeting with Ogilvy Singapore tomorrow. Hope to do some work with them. More later.

Quick update, since I’m a lousy blogger trying to redeem myself.

• No news about my new visa, the EntrePass. Just checked the MoM website. They have my application listed as “processing” (feels eerily familiar) since October 2. It is supposed to take them 6-8 weeks of processing. Kinda reminds me of the computer from Invader ZIM. PROCESSING! For my application, I wrote probably the grandest business plan of them all. Check it out (92kb pdf)!
• We’re running out of money. Need to rob a bank and/or elderly person soon. Or sell off some funds. Either way.
• I’m about to go on SR Metropol to talk about the housing situation in Singapore compared to Stockholm.
  

“The appeal may take up to two weeks to process”. Four weeks later, after having placed called daily to the MoM, I manage to reach somebody yesterday who, after a couple of quick questions, talks to a supervisor. Gets back to me and says “Sir, how long has your company been registered for?” “Umm, about 4 months.” “Oh, then I regret to inform you that your appeal was rejected” “Uh, what? Why?” “You need to apply for an Entre Pass, since your company has not been registered for six months.” “But… but… what? It doesn’t say so on your website” “Sorry sir, that’s the rules.” And after a few more seconds of stunned conversation, me being completely confused and angry and disappointed, we hang up.