Science or fiction: It's better not to 'think' for decision making?

Wow, just read this article on Wall Street Journal online where

...The brain, they have found, appears to make up its mind 10 seconds before we become conscious of a decision...Such experiments suggest that our best reasons for some choices we make are understood only by our cells. The findings lend credence to researchers who argue that many important decisions may be best made by going with our gut -- not by thinking about them too much.

It seems that we should not think before making decisions, especially when the decision involves a lot of complicated factors...

Dutch researchers led by psychologist Ap Dijksterhuis at the University of Amsterdam recently found that people struggling to make relatively complicated consumer choices -- which car to buy, apartment to rent or vacation to take -- appeared to make sounder decisions when they were distracted and unable to focus consciously on the problem.

Moreover, the more factors to be considered in a decision, the more likely the unconscious brain handled it all better, they reported in the peer-reviewed journal Science in 2006. "The idea that conscious deliberation before making a decision is always good is simply one of those illusions consciousness creates for us," Dr. Dijksterhuis said.

It is quite funny in some ways. Hmm maybe there is such a thing as fate after all, which controls all our decision making such that the 'choice' was made even before the conscious mind 'think' about it. So I guess it's better not to 'think' too much in life, just let the gut feel guides one along. So there is some truth to those 'I've a feeling this will works' statements.

Implications for those Toto and 4D buyers... just go for the gut feel. Hee hee wonder what this means for those who played in the 'Who wants to be a millionaire?', perhaps they would have made better choice instead of calling their friends.

Wonder what this means for those 'consultants' who are paid millions to 'advise' their clients for multi-millions project. Does it means they should have 'interview' the clients with hypothetical scenarios and then record down the 'gut feel' results, re-craft these results, and present them back for their clients?

Lolz, ok, so I wonder what set of 6 numbers will come out tomorrow for the Toto... feeling... feeling ...feeling... blank. Ouch...

Singapore Toy & Comic Convention Preview!

Thanks to a friend, I got a preview of Singapore's first ever Toy & Comic Convention this evening. The event is open to the public from tomorrow (Sat) 11am onwards @ Suntec Convention Hall. It's a great event, almost like a toy and comics wonderland... lolz. Ok ok, there are artists of their creations at the booths and you can get their signatures on the toys you buy, posters...etc etc. Even at the entrance itself, I got a live demo of artists at work.

Since we were among the first few into the event, we saw some of the artists being interviewed. I'm sure there will be plenty of reports soon in the media...etc etc. Heh here's a few of the 'action' captured. Heh do you find that the artist for Monsterism (3rd photo below) and the toy in the foreground has some resemblance? lolz.

Personally I'm impressed by the Star Wars displays. Ok ok I'm biased cos' I already like Star Wars... but here goes the photos! Recognise the scene of this setup in the 1st photo?

Other than other big names like Lego, McDonalds, Nintendo, Chuangyi... etc there are also a number of smaller local setups displaying their products. I found this card game "Men at Sea" quite interesting.

Heh heh oh yah, at the convention you could also have a chance to take photos with the Masked Rider! Hmm ok enough photos, and for those who want experience all these yourselves, make your way down to Suntec Convention Hall this weekend! Have fun!

East Coast's New Big Splash!

We went to the beach near East Coast's revamped Big Splash for a picnic on Saturday. A very enjoyable trip (except for the car parking, which is madness...the wait can be very long!)! Guess there is a reason for the large crowd on weekends. The whole place looks very different from the previous Big Splash... *obviously*... *ahem*... *oops I'm really old*.

There was a weekend market at the place, with folks selling stuff displayed from their car booths. Had a cup of kopi-gao from the Old Town White Coffee place, and the taste of the kopi is not bad ($1.60). There was also this made-up playground for tank fights. Yesh... tank fights! These are the toy tanks. The deco of the playground is quite good, and there is even a mini- 'No Entry' military signboard!

I think the tanks can be rented from the AceHobby (should be them, since they have that big big banner at the background of the picture. Saw 2 kids controlling their tanks and trying to 'fight' another tank controlled by the retailer. Obviously the kiddos would be whacked.... lolz.

Ok ok back to the picnic. We had specially prepared avocado sandwiches... and bit of Carls' Jr. The scenery is good, and especially enjoyable with cooling sea breeze. Luckily there was no rain. Saw a lot of folks pitching their tents there for the afternoon. Hmm interesting idea. Oh, we were nearly hit by a friskbee... and i threw it back at the group, which was a bit of a disaster cos' I'm totally so inept ... *ahem*...

Oh, guess it is near to the National Day timeline and there were helicopter flying the national flag around . This fellow is flying a bit low though :) and so we all enjoyed the view. Great way to spend a weekend.

Riverside Indonesian BBQ @ Plaza Singapura

I've tried the BBQ at Plaza Sing foodcourt for a number of times, partly cos' of my sis's strong recommendation when she 'discovered' it a long time back. What is interesting is that this stall continues to be so popular over time and so I guess I should also recommend it to others.

The stall is Riverside Indonesia BBQ.

They offer a number of different choices, ranging from $4.80 (for chicken and fish) to $5.80 for the sotong (i.e. squid). Here's the menu and click for a larger picture.

The queue is really long and snakes round the corner but the food is worth the wait. The service is actually quite fast so I guess it is just too popular. Their chilli is also good...with onion and ikan billis added in. I think the chilli makes the difference, and so this particular BBQ stall is better than others at other foodcourts.

The sotong takes a while (roughly two minutes wait) since they BBQ it only when ordered. The rice comes with egg and vegetables (cabbage), and curry sauce. For those ordering the chicken set, you can get it almost immediately.

Looks yummy right? Hee here's the chicken set. ;) If you don't like grilled chicken, they also have the curry chicken version.

PC Show 2008

Was at the PC Show 2008 (Suntec Convention Hall) on Thursday! Went right after lunch when there isn't a (big) crowd (yet), heh heh. Since I already know what I want, I went straight to the Canon booths, and bought the camera IXUS 860 IS.

Guess they didn't really drop the prices of the products too much, but I got a couple of freebies, including 2 x 4GB memory cards, spare battery, casing...etc. Yupz here's a pic of the loot!

At the PC Show, there was also this demo of a racing car using three LCD TVs. Not bad, especially if we use it to play Daytona like types of games. The device also offers some feedback mechanism so that when you crash there is some movement at the driver seat. Oh well, then again who would put three LCD sets at home right.

There were a lot of other non-IT booths there, saw some credit cards booth, and even Carrefour! Ok ok they were selling PC, but yah some unexpected booths right.

Akashabu @ Kallang Leisure Park

Went to Kallang Leisure Park over the weekend and decided to try out the shabu shabu (see Wiki's explanation on shabu shabu) at Akashabu. I think we were among the first customers in the restaurant for the evening so the service is good. Ordered a number of dishes, including pork, duck (not bad!), mushroom, squid...etc etc. Here's a pic of the spread:

Not bad hor? The food is good. I guess partly cos' of the sauce they use. The brown brown mustard like thingy is actually quite good for the pork and duck. It kills off the heavy meat smell while offering a good taste to the otherwise bland meat. Other than the brown stuff, they also give soy sauce with chilli and garlic, so it's up to individual's taste with the sauces. The food is fresh in general. Hmm the salmon sashimi is also fresh but a bit expensive with $6 for 3 pieces.

Oh, we also ordered crab! Actually we wanted the softshell crab,but they made a mistake and gave us the raw big crab instead. Here's the crab. Big hor? The best part is the crab roe inside... waaahhhhh over-flowing crab roe...!

Overall experience is not too bad. Food is alright if you feel like having shabu shabu. The service is so so, but a bit short of staff when the restaurant is full. I think the general review online for this place is that the service is not great lolz, but well there is still a crowd wanting to eat at the restaurant. The price is...well...shabu shabu price lor... minus off the crab it is about $48 for 2... crab is $25 so total about $73.

Oh, for those shabu shabu fans, the pot they use can be bought at NTUC Fairprice for $50.... and you can get the meat...etc etc as well :)

Fried Carrot Cake at Albert Centre Hawker

Ever wonder where you can get good and cheap fried carrot cake, aka cai tao kuay? There is one near Bugis Village!

I was walking home one day and dropped by the Albert Centre hawker for my dinner. It's located right opposite Bugis Village and Fu Lu Shou complex, and some folks remember the place as 'si mei lorh market' (四马路 market) cos' it's right opposite the 四马路观音堂.While I was there thinking what to eat, i remembered the cai tao kuay at that hawker. The cai tao kuay tastes good, and is cheap! Anyway the queue was too long so end up the hungry me ate some other stuff...but I took pictures of the stall (Guan Kee Cai Tao Kuay) with the long queue. From memory, the queue for this stall has ever been long, day or night. Can never figure it out why it is known as 'fried carrot cake' when honestly I don't see any carrot in it... it's radish right?

The price is about $2-3, though I'm not sure if the uncle has increased the price. While the food is good, and in large quantity ( 1 packet can feed 2-3 pax!), the uncle has a bit of an attitude... lolz but well I think it's alright... good and cheap food in good quantity so cannot 'comprain' right. :)

No more bananas in future (maybe)?

I read this piece of news on The Scientist that bananas around the world are facing a disease that could threaten to wipe out the plant. Seems like there is this Panama disease which will wilt the banana plant. It seems the disease has already wiped out an early commercial banana species known as Gros Michel. If the farmers and their respective governments are not careful, the disease would strike the rest of the banana species.

Wah... then no more bananas next time? I would miss my goreng pisang and banana split... actually I'm not a big fan of bananas, but just thought it interesting when the article said the bananas we are eating are different from those our forefathers eat. Hmm was walking pass Bugis and took a pic of the goreng pisang (70cents each).

Oh... and according to wiki, it seems like the wild bananas got seeds!

Sunday at Little India

Sunday is always crowded day at Little India. There are plenty to see and eat around the place on Sunday. Guess we can read about the food and shops at various blogs.

This is not a post about the food and shops though... it's about how other residents who live around the area may feel about the Sunday crowd. Driving out using car on Sunday is always a challenge from 430pm to 10pm because of the crowd. It's a great driving practice for those new drivers. Often, a car cannot stopped for the pedestrians or else there will likely be an accident where the car behind will knock into the car who stopped. Instead, one needs to move slowly but firmly, with a bit of flashing lights and also a number of car horns to navigate even a short stretch of road. So it's a good exercise of control over both brakes and accelerator at the same time, with good co-ordination for the flashing lights / horns, while watching carefully for the cars and pedestrians around your car.

I took a pic of the pedestrians (I'm not the driver lah). The pedestrians really just simply walked, with no regards that they are on the road meant for cars.

After you parked your car in the carpark and walked to the lifts, you may be greeted by this sight at the postbox cluster.

This added a bit of challenge to navigate around the sleeping bodies in order to retrieve your mails. Don't get me wrong, I perfectly understand the need for fellow workers in Singapore to have a free day where they can chat with their friends and enjoy some drinks. I merely hope that they can observe a bit of traffic safety, and spare a bit of thought for people who actually need to access the area which they made into a temporary sleeping 'bunk'. It is perfectly fine to shop around the area where I live and eat at the various nice eateries, but traffic rules are needed for a reason, and the postbox cluster is definitely not a convenient sleeping place!