Mobile phones

Pagers were the rage in the 1980s and 1990s.  I bought my first pager when I first started looking for a job.  How fast things have changed in Singapore.  Mobile phones are now very common. It changed so fast that this generation of children, that is Lynn and Sera, had never seen what a pager looked like. 

I bought my first mobile phone in the late 1990s with the first bonus that I got from the company that I was working at that time. That mobile phone cost me $300+.  It was a simple thick phone with an antenna and keypad. The screen size was small. That was considered cheap then and with a subscription plan (classic plan) of $40 per month!

Subsequently, when M1 and Starhub came into the picture, subscription fee had gone down to $28 per month for classic plan as Singtel wanted to keep their subscribers. 

Now, you can get a smart phone with touch screen at prices less than $100 with many functions and applications on an average price plan.  Phones are now slimmer too. Nearly all smart phone comes with a camera (which I like).  In the past, there were times that I felt like taking some pictures but couldn't because I did not bring the camera. Now, we will definitely bring our mobile phones out so we can take pictures any time we want as long as the phone is not low on battery.

Mobile phones had gone from being thick and big to slim and small with small screen size, and now to slim and big with big screen size.  That is the only irony (big to small, then to big).

If you compare the phones then and now, yes, prices of mobile phone, in relative terms, had gone down.  For the same price, you can get better quality phones.

Haze in Singapore - Part 2

We were really glad that the PSI remained below 100 for the whole of yesterday afternoon and evening.  We were able to visit my parents and go to our place of worship. 

In the evening, we went out for dinner. After that, we went to Cold Storage supermarket for grocery shopping. There were news reports on Friday that said that the N95 masks and surgical masks were out of stocks at many places. Since we were at Cold Storage, I thought we could buy some masks if they had stock.

We had been advised that the N95 masks are the most effective for protection against the haze, which is predominantly made up of fine particles. However, I did not see any N95 masks at Cold Storage. Instead, I saw many cartons of surgical masks. These masks were sold in boxes of 50 pieces and cost $12.90. 

We thought the surgical masks would be sufficient for us. We bought one box of the masks just in case we needed to walk outside for 15 to 20 minutes when the PSI level is very high. This was mainly to cover our nose so that we need not suffer from breathing in the burning smell, not so much for protection against the haze particles. We were also concerned that wearing an N95 mask would be very uncomfortable and cause breathing difficulties. N95 masks were not certified for children, so children were advised to minimise outdoor activities when the PSI level is very high. Click here for details. So, it makes sense for us to just get the surgical masks since we were more concerned about the smoky smell. The children can also wear these surgical masks too.

I watched the 11 pm news on Channel U last night.  Pregnant women were advised to wear the N95 mask for not more than 20 minutes. 

Haze in Singapore - Part 1

For the past few days, Singapore was hit by haze resulting from forest fire in Sumatra Indonesia with the PSI (Pollution Standard Index) hitting as high as 400 on 21 Jun 13. This was hazardous level.  Ardon and I happened to go out on that day.  I had to wear sunglass so that my eyes would not be hurt by the smoke.  We did not wear an N95 mask because we did not have one.  Luckily, none of us fall sick.

With the PSI at such high levels for days, we had no choice but to close all the windows and doors.  We tried to switch on the air-conditioner only when the heat was too unbearable because we did not want to incur a high electricity bill. We also did not want the air-conditioners to get damaged from overuse. Luckily we also had two water based air-purifiers that we could use to clean the air in our home and get rid of the smoky smell indoor.

We were so happy yesterday to see that the PSI had fallen to below 100.  However, we were warned by the news caster that this was temporary.  

I wanted to bring the kids to some places this June holiday but we could not go anywhere outdoor because of the haze.  We can only go to shopping malls and other indoor places.  Clothes that were hung outside to dry also had a burnt smell.  Very fed up too.