Date: 28 October 2008. Source: ST.
MR MOHAMMAD Ali could barely walk, yet he insisted on bearing his wife's body all the way to her grave.
The 38-year-old motorcyclist was the victim of an accident which left his 25-year-old wife, Ms Norazirah Ajis, dead and him with severe abrasions on the arms, and an injured right foot.
(more)A reminder to myself not to take safety for granted.
Someone posted a question on an online forum asking why there is unused quota left after every COE auction.
I believe it is because there is not enough COE to go around for the last bid, that's why the COE ended one bid higher.
For example, there are 1,846 Cat A COEs in the last round. The highest 1,846 bidders should get their COE and pay what the 1,846th bidder is willing to pay. However, only 1,835 bidders got their COE.
What happened is that there could be 20 people who bid at, say, $10,900. However, there are only 11 more COEs to go around. Hence, none of them get it and the cut-off point is one bid higher, at the 1,835th bid of $10,989.
The SGS auction works the same way and I must say this is a very fair way to determine demand-and-supply.
LTA, in conjunction with DBS, offers a new scheme where motorists are charged directly on their DBS credit card if they don't have a cashcard in their IU when they passed through a ERP gantry.
This is a very nice feature. The only problem is the monthly fee of $2.50.
I wonder if the IU needs to be powered. (The ID can be read even when the IU is unpowered.)
I hear a tapping sound from my rear wheels in my past few rides. I could only hear it with my window opened, which is most of the time. The sound was quite soft, especially with the high ambient noise, but it was noticeable.
I know it's wheel related because it taps once per wheel revolution and varies with speed. I thought a stone was stuck in the tyre, but I couldn't find one after several inspections.
I finally found the culprit yesterday: a nail embedded in the rear right tyre! I removed it after deciding that it was a shallow penetration.
Interestingly, I still hear a faint tapping sound. It should still be wheel related. However, I don't find any more nails after several inspections. This is even more mysterious.
Date: 22 October 2008. Source: CNA.
COE prices for vehicles fell sharply across the board in the latest bidding exercise.
The Certificate of Entitlement (COE) for big cars (over 1,600cc) saw the biggest fall. It tumbled S$6,811 to S$7,589, its lowest level since February 2007.
(more)It's amazing how much the Cat B COE fell by. This is despite a smaller COE quota. The demand is just not there.
Many people say that they will give way when they are in lane 1 if they see a faster vehicle behind them.
I observed that some people don't give way because they are over the speed limit.
Some people also don't give way because they are the last car in a "convoy", so they think that the car behind them will still be stuck if they give way, so they don't.
Convertibles are supposed to be less than 1% of the car population. However, I see them on the road quite often. I saw four on my way home: 2 BMWs, 1 Mini Cooper and 1 Beetle. A convertible with its top down is a rare sight, though.
ComfortDelgro said that it would remove the 30 cents fuel surcharge when the diesel price goes down to S$1.19 (net) , the level seen in December 2007. At that time, crude oil was around US$100. Today, crude oil is US$70 but diesel price is still S$1.53 (net).
Well, our local oil cartel raises price quickly but lowers it slowly.
When lowering price, the moving average must be going down, the spot oil price must be lower and the future oil price must be lower too.
When increasing price, they just use any excuse to do so. The most typical is the increase in the spot oil price. It's like they hedge when it's low but not when it's high.
It doesn't make sense. It's good to be a monopoly or oligopoly in Singapore.
I was pleasantly surprised when I went to the Toa Payoh town centre and found that the entry gantries have been shortened! I wasn't charged on my exit too.
Is HDB planning to make parking free for motorcycles? If so, that's good news!
Update (18/10/2008): it was too good to be true. HDB installed a new barrier that was longer!
Oil is now under US$80. People have no incentive to conserve anymore. I foresee ERP increasing.
The motorcycle COE went up to $1,889. I doubt it will come down any time soon as the quota was reduced.
Sometimes I wonder if the high COE is to discourage renewal of older bikes.
I was almost hit by two vehicles as they came out of their parking lot today!
The first time, I was going past a pickup. The driver was looking in the other direction. I was very close to the pickup and I braked immediately. The driver finally turned his head and braked. I bet he would never forget my frightened look as I braced for impact.
The second time, I was going past a van parked face-in. The driver reversed out as I went past him — I only saw the reverse lights when I was right behind the van. I quickly swerved to the right to avoid him. Luckily, the driver also realized I was behind his van and stopped.
Some "foreign talent" indian lorry driver hit on the good idea of using his company lorry to ferry people for a fare of $2 after office hours. This undercuts the bus business, which charged $3 for the same ride.
If you're "hungry", you'll naturally think of ways to earn more. Locals are just too complacent and in their comfort zone in this regard.
Date: 3 October 2008. Source: ST.
Her coverage expires this month; another firm quotes premium of $6k
HOUSEWIFE Tan Poo Geok, 50, who has insured her car with AIG since 2004, was told two weeks ago in a letter from the insurer that it no longer wanted her business, citing 'claims experience'.
She had filed claims amounting to over $10,000 for two accidents - one last December and another in June this year. With insurance on her Mitsubishi Lancer expiring at the end of this month, she has been looking around for another insurer.
(more)Nothing to be surprised about. Madam Tan is now considered a high risk driver. Even with a $6,000 premium, the insurer stands to make a loss given her claim history.
If I were the insurer, I would try to earn back the $10,000. I would offer Madam Tan a premium of $6,000, half of which is refundable after three years of accident-free driving.
My vehicles are having problems one after another. Now it's my car's turn.
My MX-5 has been leaking engine oil for a few months! I have been ignoring it because I thought it was from the drain plug. Small case. I finally ran out of engine oil, so I decided to tighten the drain plug.
Unfortunately, it was not. The oil was dripping from another spot. I should have been suspicious much earlier because the oil patch didn't seem to be below the drain plug.
The leak wasn't from the engine. The engine was dry throughout.
The whole bottom was too oily to find the source of the leak. After a few days, I finally found some time to crawl under the car to take a closer look. It was oily all over, including the whole transmission!
I sprayed degreaser all over the place and then rinsed the oil off.
The source was then apparent. The oil was leaking out of a "weep" hole in the transmission. Hmm, why was engine oil coming out of the transmission?!
Luckily, after looking up the MX-5's workshop manual, it looks like the leak is due to the oil seal between the engine and transmission.
(The weep hole is there to drain engine or transmission oil in the event of a leak so that the clutch will remain dry. A wet clutch is disastrous.)
The oil seal is supposed to be around $30, but it is necessary to take out the transmission to access it. This requires tearing apart most of the car! Despite so, the labour charge is supposed to be around $300 "only". (It's really a lot of work!)
I'm advised to change most of the oil seals, the clutch and the slave clutch cylinder at the same time. Plus, my gearbox is not really working well. Perhaps it's time to re-condition it as well.
Looks like a big bill coming up.
(void *) &NHY;