A new road named Albert Winsemius Lane

A new road has been named after Dr Albert Winsemius, Singapore's Chief Economic Advisor from 1961 to 1984.So who is Albert Winsemius?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Winsemius

Albert Winsemius (1910-1996), a Dutch economist, was Singapore's long-time economic advisor from 1961 to 1984. He led the United Nations Survey Mission to Singapore,^[1] and was to play a major role in the formulation of Singapore's national economic development strategy. In 1960, Dr Winsemius led the United Nations team to examine Singapore’s potential in industrialization. At that time, Singapore had just attained self-government and was facing high unemployment and growing population. He presented a 10-year development plan to transform Singapore from an entrepot trade port into a centre of manufacturing and industrialization.

Albert Winsemius Lane as it is called is located off Clementi Road/Sunset Lane. It is not quite a road as you would expect a road to be. It starts from the entrance to the soon to be completed Centre for Aquatic Science Research CASR Blog, squeezed between the NEA South West Regional Office and the Eastlodge Hostel. Set up by Singapore-Delft Water Alliance (SDWA) at the bank of Sungei Ulu Pandan along the the Park Connectors, the centre is set to be the hotspot for freshwater research and is the first if it's kind in Asia. It will be open to the public showcasing their projects and technologies for public education.

Credit: SDWA

SDWA is multi-national, interdisciplinary research Centre of Excellence for Water Knowledge involving PUB (Singapore), National University of Singapore and Deltares (The Netherlands), established through an initiative of the National Research Foundation in Singapore. SDWA is hosted by National University of Singapore and provides research home to scientists and engineers from all partner organizations. 

View CASR location in a larger map

Doggie Parkour - "Barkour"

In the recent President's Star Charity, Mediacorp celebrities like Gurmit Singh (picture), Daren Tan, Adam Chen and Paul Foster showed off their gravity-defying stunts of leaps and  vaults along with Parkour performance team Ashton Movements. So what is "Parkour"?

From howstuffworks.com

Parkour is an international discipline, sport and hobby that is best described as the art of forward motion in spite of obstacles, or to put it simply: the art of movement. Parkour's chief aim is never to move backward but instead to overcome obstacles fluidly, with strength, originality and speed. The number of possible movements is endless, but here are the basics:

	Cat Leap This move consists of running and leaping from a take off point. Before leaping, the traceur spots where his hands will grab hold of the wall. He launches from the take-off point at a 45-degree angle. As he approaches, he moves his body into landing position that appears as if he's almost sitting in mid air. With legs bent to absorb shock, the traceur makes impact and grabs hold of the ledge while his feet grip the wall. From there, the traceur bends his knees for the power to push up and climb over the ledge.
	Roll Landing from a jump, when the traceur is traveling forward, he lands and bends his knees to absorb the impact. As he does this, he uses the forward momentum to go into a roll over his shoulder to transfer the shock of the landing. He places his hands on one side of his head to ensure minimal impact between his shoulder and the ground and, in the meantime, protects his head. The momentum of the jump enables him to land, roll and continue moving so that he is back on in his feet and in a running position. He does all of this in one fluid movement.
	Precision Jump The traceur balances on the edge of a wall, rail or roof, and spots his landing point. After sizing up the distance, he leans toward his landing point while bending the knees. As he jumps, his arms go up and he straightens his body. As he approaches the landing point, the traceur brings his legs forward to make contact while his descending arms provide necessary counterbalance. Upon landing, he bends his knees to slow down and makes a precise jump from point to point.
	Kong Vault Traceurs use this move to propel themselves over a wall when running toward it. The traceur jumps with a good amount of space between him and the wall, and stretches toward it, planting his hands. By this time, he has made his legs parallel to the ground. As his legs catch up with the rest of his body, he uses his arms to catapult him forward. Before landing, the traceur makes sure his posture is correct and spots where he'll finish the move with either a roll (if executing from height) or will carry on running (if the move is executed at a low level).
	Speed Vault This move allows traceurs to launch over a wall without compromising speed. As the traceur approaches the wall, he lays one hand down and leans sideways as he jumps. His hand briefly touches the wall to keep himself stable, he completes the jump and continues running without any break in momentum.

 

Whilst Parkour is a human endeavour., train a dog in Parkour and you have "Barkour" haha. Most of us would be familiar with Dog Agility - doggie obstacle course. But compared to Parkour, Agility would be child's play. Parkour is an extreme sports that is physically demanding as you can see.

TreT, a 33 pound, 4 year old American Staffordshire Terrier wonder dog from Ukraine is a hit at YouTube doing the doggie version of Parkour, attracting over 480,000 views.

Nature right in our backyard and neighbourhood

We may be living a urban jungle with all the high rise buildings all around us but if we would just open our eyes and keep a look out we'll find an amazing variety of critters and nature around us.

I found this rather unusual Grasshopper at the back of my house one evening. It is not your usual grasshopper as you can see. Looks like some kind of Alien from another planet lol. I have probably come across this species of insect a couple times before. After doing a little research I learned that it is a species of Katidids. Curious about the hook shaped belly at the rear, I searched and found the answer - it is a female and the "scythe-shaped ovipositor" is where the eggs will come out. 

This type of snails I have not seen for a long time. Recently spotted a few crawling in the neighborhood grass patch. Anyone knows what the name for this species?

I have seen squirrels many times in pretty built-up areas. This one at Chip Bee Estate.It has a rather longish snout, longer than others I've seen.

Wild mushrooms anyone? I've seen many different types of wild mushrooms but that's one subject that I am totally unfamiliar with. Any mushroom expert?

Spotted this common Kingfisher in a HDB neighborhood, Commonwealth Cresecent. White Throat Kingfisher? Too bad I don't have a long lens but I am glad today's mobile phone comes in real handy with it's camera feature. I have a Sony Ericsson VIVAZ and I like it very much. Give me a mobile phone with a good camera in it. That's all I ask : )

This unusually large lizard, 8" long head to tail, and the skin texture and markings unlike our regular house lizards had been spotted a number of times in our kitchen before I decided to capture it for a closer examination. Unfortunately the tail broke off as they always do. I remember when I was young every time we catch a lizard the tail would invariably break off. I found out that it's a self-defense mechanism. If a predator is chasing them and grabs them by the tail, it'll break off, allowing the lizard to escape. The broken tail will wriggle for quite some time. I released it afterward. I have been told that the tail will regrow.

Being a nature lover I somehow have a heightened sensitivity about their presence. I have seen many different types of Parrots and Parakeets in the Bukit Timah district. Once I spotted a Hornbill perched on a rooftop TV antenna. I am beginning to see one of the many benefits of blogging; it pushes me to seek answers which otherwise I would not have bothered.