The Delusions of Yesteryears

 

So I am told by the elderly, that volunteering to enlist for World War 2 in the mid 20th century was seen as obligatory by most to do their duty to nation and society - but in those times it was also an exciting adventure like opportunity to see the World.  Millennials, Gen Z and those following behind the Baby Boomers have had peacetime opportunity to explore overseas without the accompanying dangers of battle.

We have been given authority like advice on the health risks of eating eggs, desired blood pressure points and the benefits of health supplements.  Dissenting voices now appear in cyberspace to counter or modify such advice.  Every one has an individual uniqueness health wise - and to be subject to population averages can be missing the mark.

Many of us must have reflected on the serious loyalty and passion of sitting down to watch and hear the news telecast.   As the internet liberated the expression of and accessibility to information, it has become so clear and evident of how such news content has been cherry picked and emphasised according to the powers of the day (financial, geopolitical and more).  Now the equivalant Town Hall megaphone pundits are doing it by clicks, social media and more.

Nothing is forever.  The impermanence of Things pervades more than ever, despite the tech advance, the addictive distractions and new ideas.   Strive and enjoy the Moment.  A promise can be fulfilled and yet disintegrate due to the consistency of Change.   Excessive attachments interfere with true happiness.  Flora bloom, rot and regenerate.  Politicians come and go, together with whatever inspiration, lies and mediocrities.  The Cloud demands your money payments after you get comfy storing your data having access to it from any device.  Pets die.  And yet we have to carry on.

When young, our brains and inner soul absorb the wonder and fascination of what we are being fed in all respects.   Only later do we realise the half truths of the geopolitical game.   That Prime Minister we honoured in our childhood turns out to be a scroundel.   The public or commercial institution we use has mismanaged our data.  Customers long loyal to a specific entity get rewarded by being screwed with higher charges and bad service.

The romanticisation from movies, travel brochures and legends have hidden realities.   Exotic locales can mean suppression of Indigenous peoples.   History is always recorded ignoring the contributions from humans and human structures not useful to the World as it is According to Those In Power.

When we have been brain washed through the years, essentially we can still hang on to myths, tampered propanganda and blurry impressions of the past.

Were historical leaders that good?

Where we witness a mass of people wailing at state funerals, do we remember the dark side and acts of the deceased indivudual when he or she was in power?  Human beings are easily swept over by overwhelming public emotion.  To realise the truth, even if not downtrodden, is a liberating experience.

The distractions of the past also point a way to better manage the continuing delusions of the present.
If you look close enough, history does repeat.   There are similar characteristics in the personality and pyschological make up of humans and entities out to delude us all the way to the future.

On the bright side, delusions experienced are only a necessary stage on your journey to realisation and awakening.


#yongkevthoughts

Inherent About Numbers

Binary numbers led to the way of automated and intelligent software.

The media quotes numbers to affect our senses - how much our investments have grown or been reduced, the amount of ingredients in our nutrition, knowledge of parameters measuring our society and how we can visualise and realise our personal dreams. 

Numbers can be the true universal language. 

We have hand wearables that spew out numbers on how our physical bodies are performing.  The calendar has facilitated time management, appointments and project planning.  We reflect on anniversaries and the march of numbers has been the ever reliable quiet partner of progress. 

Truly each of us are identifiable by numbers, whether in cyberspace, the devices we register with like mobile phones, government management of its citizens and other residents, our title deeds, financial assets or liabilities or more. 

Banking is indeed a trove, game and use of numbers.  Whether it is based on blockchain, cash or digitised systems, numbers are indeed indispensable.   The relentless daily movement of reported values in currency, share value or trading insights means that one can make gain or suffer loss by paying attention to differentials or dabbling in speculation. 

As with most human devices, numbers can be misused. 

So called elections are won by counting the majority voted for. 

Health diagnoses are decided by whether your count is above or below an arbitrary average.  You pay for wifi and other utilities by the relentless metering of numbers.  

You are a sports achiever by attaining the ninimum time to do it. 

With civilised standards, we trust in recorded or recommended numbers.

However, polling counts can be manipulated.   Focusing on counts can miss the benefits of holistic health assessments.  Numbers are only a tool, not the be all.  Numbers are only indicators and not the rule. 

There can be a human penchant to be fascinated by numbers.  Think of the Guiness Book of Records or how many hits on an app an influencer or singer has achieved.  Numbers can imply how much you are earning  or how well you have used or wasted a limited resource like time. 

We are encouraged to keep our minds active or relax by quizzes involving numbers.   We wrestle with the interplay of numbers as much as with alphabets, abstract ideas, philosophy and technological complications.   Humans inventorise, list and count joys and lesser agreeable things. 

Mobility has leapt by bounds and travel thrives on numbers.   Approvals, documentation and certifications are validated by issued numbers.   Our aircraft has to be flying above a certain measured height in the clouds before we enjoy wifi accessiblity in the stratosphere.  All airlines provide on screen feedback to passengers on how the flight is performing.   

There can be pyschological and emotional implications from numbers.  Society driven addictions like gambling thrive on the utilisation of numbers.  Age old cultures give powerful meanings behind each number.  Passwords are created by using numbers, or part of them - and many use specific numbers meaningful and easier to recall. 

Odd or even numbers are called up for duty in selecting those for national service, use of vehicles allowed on roads of busy cities on different days and in facilitating distribution of limited resources 

There are expressions that echo human kind's inherent ties with numbers. 

One's number is called up.

Age is only a number.

The number of things available does not indicate quality.

I have a lucky number.

The numbers involved make me feel numb.

What is the Number One rule?

A few honest men are better than the numbers.

The numbers are too big to ignore.

Business in the end is about the numbers.

Eight means prosperity, six implies happiness and three exudes life.

Four can mean fortune.

It is all a game of numbers.

The numbers do not tell the full story.

Numbers do not lie.

Numbers do not feel.

There is safety in numbers.

You have to be odd to be Number One.

Numbers speak for themselves.

Numbers rule the Universe.

#yongkevthoughts

Eating Choices Revisited

 I am not sure if public service hygiene inspectors anywhere cover dietary and nutrition aspects.

I do home cooking most of the time.  When eating out across greater Sydney, 

I do find I get more thirsty an hour or two after eating out.

Aussie society is caught up with the American obsession for fast food.

Unhealthy food in Aus is generally accessible, cheaper and made addictive.

Creative ways of making salads using fresh produce are available in my side of the woods at home and when eating out.

It was reported recently that the intake of fruits and veg has fallen amongst kids in Australia, despite the blessings in this continental island for produce from tropical to temperate climes.

Aus styled barista made coffee tastes better than coffee in other western societies.  As such, coffee drinking obsession is evident in the mornings anywhere across Australia.  

How healthy is drinking too much barista made coffee?  The jury is still out.  

What is definitely

unhealthy is the Aussie penchant for having bacon and other processed small goods in their daily intake.  Every society has a historical culinary addiction to preserved, pickled and processed meats like sausages, condiments and marinates.

When not taken in moderation, they can spell trouble for the human body, especially when consumed regularly over as many years.

Another main culprit is deep fried dishes, by whatever label they come to us - crispy, oil soaked or battered.  Southern Chinese Yum Cha has its fair share of deep frieds if one avoids the steamed versions.  Banana fritters, 

deep fried chicken bites, fish and chips in the Anglo tradition, Japanese tempura and supermarket snacks are just some examples. And yes, I got my KFC deep fried chicken wings yesterday.

The ever persistent danger is the sugar level in our constant diets.  Sugar is so cheaply available and can be said to be added in varying amounts in things we eat outside, whether they are, for example, in Thai dishes, French patisserie offerings, Taiwan  bubble tea drinks or in the obvious Krispy Kream doughnuts.

 Supermarkets are stacked aplenty with items "trying to balance" between sugar, salt and fat.

#yongkevthoughts

Immediate Response to SQ 321 22 May 2024

 

A 16 year old  Boeing 777 ER on flight at 37000 feet on 21 May 2024 over the Irrawaddy Delta in Myanmar experienced a sudden encounter with a clear air turbulence.  The aircraft tilted up and then fell dramatically for a very short time, causing spinal and head injuries to 53 passengers and one crew member who were not belted up.  A British subject unfortunately had a heart attack and died.

The injured were thrown up in dramatic fashion against overhead lockers or projected upwards while walking in the aisle or using the toilets.

The plane made an emergency landing in Bangkok.  SQ231 was flying from London enroute to Changi.   Breakfast was served on board when the plane encountered the severe turbulence on a route used by several airlines.

Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport rose to the occasion by offering interim triage to injured passengers on the tarmac once the affected plane landed.

All eyes are on SQ now as to how they handle the aftermath for passengers, crew, airline reputation, aircraft safety and more.

One of the five key pillars for the nation of Singapore is air travel and  SQ.

I reckon the others are the vibrancy of its financial hub,
shipping port, innovation and good governance.This incident can be described as s black swan in risk management speak.

Such a black swan is seen as an unlikely event but when it happens, creates a significant impact.

For passengers and crew, is it covered by air travel insurance? The CEO of SQ immediately offered
an apology on Facebook.

Both the President of the island Republic and its newly sworn in Prime Minister also provided clear unconditional apologies in public as well.

Effective and timely open communication is a hallmark of good businesses and governance.

The official Singapore response and tone from the top is immediately not to get into any blame game, not to push underlings to speak and not to keep quiet in the first critical hours after the incident.  SQ and the Government of the Red Dot moved fast to navigate a business like yet caring response.

The official communication given soon after this event was not just aimed at the passengers and crew aboard this flight, but also for the whole cohort of other existing and potential members of its world wide market.

A quarter of the passengers on the flight hold Australian passports, another almost quarter are Singaporean.  Many boarded SQ231 to ultimately head to Australia.

I noticed the efficient transfer by 22 May on charter flight of uninjured passengers from Bangkok to Changi.

Although there was some uncertainty from the incident, SQ worked on the facts, concentrated on taking care of passengers plus cabin crew and methodically mopped up.

No cabin crew or pilot, aboard the SQ 231 flight from London scheduled to Singapore, spoke or wrote on social media.

SQ ensured any speculation on public media was minimised.

As usual, so called air travel experts appeared on broadcasted media overseas chatting of the possible why and how.

SBS free to air in Australia mentioned that Singapore Airlines had a record of only 3 fatalities during operations  in the past 25 years.

#yongkevthoughts

To Re-Covid or Not

 

Looks like everyone has to be more mindful and cautious again.  Singapore is reportedly facing a spike in another variation of Covid infections

Face masking in close public crowds can reduce the risks, but brings into play cultural, political and emotional attitudes in many individuals I know

Many people I know have had varying concerns about significant and other lingering side effects of mRna Covid vaccinations.
We as lay
persons have been subject to varying confusion and uncertainty about Pfizer.
I tried to get Novavax and non mRna vaccinations
in 2021 and 2022 but they were not available in my side of the world.

Elderly people are always reminded of the higher chances of infection but usually they do not expose themselves to Covid risks everyday as much as the younger generations.

The cynic in me suggests that Big Pharma and its possible conspirators can be hyping up Covid risks with other less honourable aims in mind.  At the same time, governments and medical authorities in general have strangely kept mostly silent about Covid since late 2022.  The logic does not match.

The spike in international travel since 2023 has refreshed businesses, the economy and employment and we are happy for that.
What is missing is for institutions and official experts we would like to trust to make pronouncements on what is truly happening about Covid and continuing dangers.

Individuals have self managed in the cloud of uncertainty and non clarification, especially discouraging for those who have complied with authorities on Covid vaccinations and now facing  a potential situation that those vaccinations no longer provide future effective protection.

The Truth is out There - and needs to be told in this so called advanced civillisation of human societies.

#yongkevthoughts