My Bicycle Commuting - USB rechargeable rear lights

Recently decided to switch to USB rechargeable lights as this would remove the worry of battery running out and keeping enough but not over stocks at home. However, the rear light failed to work properly after a couple of days.

The light will either dimmed or off after awhile without any triggering event.

Meddled with it for another two weeks and identified the issue that a connection on the circuit board is broken. By clamping a small wire on the board, I have, at least temporarily, solved the problem. It has been working for half a day, though only a short ride to buy dinner during this time.

My Bicycle Commuting - A man using Segway

This was seen in August 2013.

A man on Segway

and a short clip:

Sales without "sales" items

Consumers want to save money. So, the retailers organize sales. However, there are some problems with sales. If the sales are real, the retailers profit become lesser. If the sales are faked, e.g. by putting up an increased retail price before the discount, then consumers lose trust in the company, and even the whole concept of sales. Another problems is that in general, like the sayings that pay peanuts get monkeys, usually items on offer are not the normal items. It might not be intentional. For example, at clearance sales, as the name suggest, these items were the ones that weren't chosen by earlier customers, which could imply that these were likely not the best ones among the batch of products.

Recently, technology helps to make possible and easy the way to offer cheaper products to selective or a controlled number of customers. The idea of giving/selling discount coupons online. Savings.com is such an example. In this way, as the discount is not for all walk-in customers, you don't expect the products and their displayed retail prices to be difference than during normal days. By controlling the number of coupons given out, the retailers can have good control of their discount budget.

Of course, lets hope no retailers are so free and bad to categorized their products between buyers with and without discount coupons.

Is number of disabled people moving around related to developed-ness

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of NMEDA. All opinions are 100% mine.

So far, I have yet to see a wheelchair on Wheelchair Accessible Buses (WAB) in Singapore, while I saw them during my short trips to Manchester (only took a bus twice), UK and Honolulu. May be, many of them drive, while most of them at home.

I work within a hospital, and frequently passes by a shop that sells equipments for patients, or people with mobility problems. As in many other cases, efforts to improve quality in USA by organisation such as NMEDA will eventually benefit the people here.

NMEDA stands for National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association, but also includes driver rehabilitation specialists, and other professionals dedicated to broadening the opportunities for people with disabilities to drive or be transported in vehicles modified with mobility equipment. Thus, it doesn't sell things, but only their dealers do the selling.

NMEDA dealers help you in additional training or product refinements, if you still need to, after a personalized “in-person” evaluation to ensure you are getting the right driving solution customized to your specific lifestyle and needs.

It is the only association promoting safe driving and equipment for disabled people. Their members adheres to safety standards of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Furthermore, to satisfy customers consistently, companies must have a systematic and documented approach to quality. So, there are the Quality Assurance Program (QAP) dealers, where QAP is the only nationally recognized accreditation program for the Adaptive Mobility Equipment Industry.

I tried to find out any of their dealers nearby on their website (hit the dealers locator and type in your ZIP code), but too bad, I am in Singapore.

Natural "disasters"

There is a saying in Chinese, "天灾人祸" combining two types of disasters, natural and man made.

It seems the formal type is much more emphasized when earthquakes occurs, but I wonder if the latter is the main culprit for casualties. The recent earthquake in New Zealand where there isn't a single death, may suggest it is.

Earthquakes don't really kill directly. Most mammals just felt the shake. Most trees don't fall. Most fishes and birds might not even be affected.

Then, how did human beings get killed or injured in earthquakes? I think the recent earthquake in New Zealand quite clearly suggests that earthquakes don't really kill human beings, but many times it was the unsafe/unnatural structures that were designed and built by human beings that killed and injured the victims.

Majority penalized for the minority

Today my family had an experience with a failure of the Distance Fare system.

The bus we took somehow had its fare system not working after a couple of stops. So, all existing passengers could not tap out. After quite some time trying to reset it, and later more time spent trying to resolve the problem by talking to their technical support, still cannot make it work. In the end, almost all alighted and took another bus because we didn't want to waste time waiting for the issue to resolve, which seemed unlikely. Thus, all will be charged the maximum fare, and need to make claim in the following week. Then other bus captain told us that without a ticket from the first bus, we will have to tap in again.

Now, is $ the only issue here?

Wireless technology used in bike sharing

This should be the way. Technology is here, use it.

The Social Bicycle System from Ryan Rzepecki on Vimeo.

The new distance-based fares

The new distance fare reminds me of the good old days (before MRT) when, as a student, I can make as many as transfers as I need with a monthly student bus stamp. With the new distance fare, I can again feel free, almost free, to transfer buses.

Previously, from Buona Vista to Toa Payoh, I used to take bus 105, which waiting time can be as long as 30 mins or more. Now, I have several options. My ultimate aim is to go via Whitley road, so my options are:

Take buses 100 147 196 198 to Mujahidin Mosque, transfer to buses 153 to TPY, or buses 93 855 to Farrer road, transfer to buses 153 to TPY, or buses 48 186 to Whitley road, transfer to buses 105 153 to TPY, or 151, 154 to Jalan TPY, transfer to the many buses that go into TPY.

Another example

A simple idea for forgetful people like me

What's this?

Toilet roll lamp?

Feedback loop

Using the Remote Control on my Omnia II to access a PC that is in turn using Wifi Remote Access to remote control my Omnia II.
Feedback loop

A Lasik patient advocacy

Are you a Lasik patient? Have you been considering having it? Check this out what other are saying or voice out your own experiences at Lasik Patient Advocacy USAEyes.

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This is a sponsored post.

Wholesome solution is lacking

A recent experience on the imbalance of modern medical therapy approach. Son is coughing and some kind of smoke treatment is given, but son doesn't like it. However, as the nurse stressed we have to insist, and anyway, the medicine has already been dispensed, i.e. paid for. Thus, we forcefully held son throughout the process.

Later, we were asked to buy a very simplify and easy to use equipment, which is also used for asthma, for the similar purpose. Too bad, we didn't manage to use it because the earlier incident has left a terrible impression and son is unwilling to sniff it. We are also very unwilling to hurt our bond with him.

Between spiritual/social and physical, I value the former much more.

Never go down. Never slow down.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Nexx Online. All opinions are 100% mine.

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Singapore Cyclist Almost Creamed on Clementi Road

Is the number plate GBA 1059X?I stumbled on this via Google Alert, and find it is worth to be spread. So I blogged here, twitted, and forwarded to facebook. Then, someone saw it on facebook and alerted the Traffic Police, and accordingly, they will take action. So, may be more cyclists can mount video cam on their bike or helmet and post such "reality show" up. Not necessarily bad encounters, but also include happy encounters, which I believe are more common.

Wifi missing or disappeared from Omnia II

This seems to be a common problem that many have encountered since some months ago. Lucky and unlucky for me to have experienced it last night. Nowadays we don't call support to listen to a non-technical person reading out standard scripts that don't help. As usual, I went googling for a while, but still need to browse through discussions on this problem but with issues not related to my case, such as due to SKTools. Finally, found someone with the same problem and solved it

7 new things in next-gen iPhone

I just read 7 new things in next-gen iPhone:

1. New [touch-sensitive] plastic casing
2. OLED screen
3. [5 or higher Mega pix] Camera [with LED flash]
4. New OS
5. Removable battery
6. Video chat
7. RFID reader

I am using Samsung Omnia II and it has AMOLED screen, 5 mega pix camera with LED flash, removable battery (seems only iPhones don't have), video chat (I guess). I supposed no phone has the touch-sensitive plastic casing and RFID reader. Making the back casing touch-sensitive could be useful, but already I find there is too much "sensitive" area on a touch-screen phone. Shall see what are the benefits. I have no clue why would I need a RFID reader.

This really shows the very importance of the OS!!! Sigh...

Be in command

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Charter. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have not paid any television licensing fees. I do so legally in Singapore by not having a television at home. It isn't because the money, which is not much, but my time and selection of contents. I find it difficult to be in command when there is a television set at home.

In a broadcast setting, I can't decide when to watch, what show to watch, watch again fully or partially, pause for a moment, etc. How about you? Do you want to be in command of when, how and what show to watch? Personally, I like the concept of on demand so that I can be

Work and play. Upsized.

Months have passed since I changed my phone from Nokia N80ie to Samsung Omnia II i8000. Another rather big step just as I had previously moved from Nokia 3250 to N80ie.

My verdict after just using for only a few days still stands today, which is that hardware wise, it is a good phone but Windows Mobile 6.1 OS does not match up to it. Now that Apple iPhone 3GS and Google Nexus One just come out more recently, I feel Omnia II is

How to learn to ride a bicycle?

I have an untested idea. It started with the question "Did the inventor of bicycle know how to ride a bicycle before his invention?" It sounds like a chicken and egg problem. Without a bicycle being invented, how would the inventor know he could ride one? If the inventor fell from his first invented bicycle, could he have abandoned the invention?

I did a search and found

Others on comparing Omnia II with iPhone 3GS and Nexus One

Followup to the previous question. I did more searches and I found the followings:

Samsung Omnia II slam-dunks the iPhone 3GS, almost on 15 Jun 2009.
Worthy competitor of the iPhone? on 4 Sep 2009.
Samsung Omnia II vs Nexus One: Specification Comparison on 6 Jan 2010.

Again, I want to say, what is Microsoft doing???