THREE UNFORGETTABLE LESSONS FROM THE POWER OF NATURE

Have you seen a 100-car pile up in fog?

Fifteen years ago, I was nearly in such accident on the highway between Sydney and Canberra. I learnt three important lessons from this unforgettable experience.

ONE, LISTEN TO WHAT THE WEATHER MAN SAY.

TWO, KNOW THE LOCAL WEATHER.

THREE, MAKE SURE YOUR CAR IS WEATHER READY.

I was in school in Canberra and my family was often in Sydney over the weekends. Our boy was 7, and our girl was 5.

Once, when it was time to return to Canberra on a Sunday afternoon, the weather man warned that a storm was approaching.

I recklessly decided to make the 2-hour dash from Sydney to Canberra, and try to out run the storm.

It turned out to be a foolish decision leading to one of the most frightening experiences of my life.

When we set off, the weather was still fine in Sydney.

It was bright and sunny at first, though I did noticed that the highway was unusually quiet.

One third into the journey, a big cloud appeared behind us. It stretched from end to end in the sky like a big black blanket. Now I know why the highway was deserted. Everyone was wisely heeding the weather man’s warning, except silly me!

FIRST LESSON, HEED THE ADVICE OF THE WEATHER MAN. He is here to help.

I stepped on the accelerator and tried to out run the black cloud. The black cloud seemed to know my intention and appeared to be racing us.

It seemed that a giant unseen hand was pulling the black curtain forward. Everywhere around us started to become dimmer and dimmer. Soon the leading edge of the black curtain reached right above our heads. The rain started to pour on us.

I had no choice but to slow down.

The black curtain passed over us and continued to stretch forward towards the horizon in front of us. Soon almost the whole sky was blocked by the black blanket.

All was black, except for a small hole far in the distance where a narrow beam of light peered through.

This too was soon gone. The sky was completely covered by the black blanket. It felt like we were in a box and the lid was pulled over us.

This was one of the scariest moments of my life. I have never seen anything like this before.

SECOND LESSON, KNOW WHAT THE LOCAL WEATHER IS LIKE AND WHAT ARE THE DANGERS.

It was terrifying for me but I had to remain steady and keep my wife and the two children calm. I told them that there was no problem but I was really shaking inside.

I couldn’t see more than 10 feet ahead of me. It was like I had driven into a car wash machine.

The headlights were of no use as they were pointing skywards. The fog lights were on but they too were pointing up and crisscrossed in front of me! I had four beams pointing up aimlessly and couldn’t see the road surface! I didn’t know what the wheels were rolling over and wouldn’t know if I was driving over a cliff! And the road was also slick from the pelting rain.

I was afraid to stop or even slow down by too much as I don’t know what might be coming up from behind me. It suddenly dawned on me how 100-car pile ups happened.

A car lost in fog would forge ahead until it strikes a stalled car in front. Another car blinded by fog will hit the car in front and this chain of accidents will continue until the fog clears – sometimes, not before hundreds of cars came to grief.

THIRD LESSON, MAKE SURE THE CAR IS WELL PREPARED FOR WEATHER.

I couldn’t see in front, but fortunately there were posts on the side of the highway. I continued driving at a crawl by straining my eyes, peering at these posts. The closely planted posts were really life savers. I’m forever grateful to the Australian highway authourities.

I just kept going this way for the next 30 minutes. Those were the longest 30 minutes of my life.

Then gradually a slit opened in the blanket above to let light in behind us. It was like the curtains were slowly drawn to welcome the morning sun. The slit slowly grew wider and wider. The sky opened up above our car and moved forward towards the horizon. Soon the entire sky was bright and cheery again.

What a relief! It was like waking up from a very bad dream. What a fantastic feeling!

I felt extremely lucky to escape unscathed.

There were many lessons for me from this episode. The three main things about nature are:

FIRST, THE WEATHER MAN’S ADVICE IS USUALLY GOOD FOR US.

SECOND, WEATHER OVERSEAS IS NOT AS FRIENDLY AS SUNNY ISLAND SINGAPORE. It can be nasty and deadly, if you don’t understand and respect its nature.

FINALLY, MAKE SURE THE CAR IS READY FOR THE WEATHER YOU ARE LIKELY TO ENCOUNTER.

MARGARET ANNE TORRE PLUMMER

Margaret Anne Torre Plummer, age 28, from Columbia County, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA was a positive person - a role model - who enjoyed living and loved adventure. Everyone around her could sense her infectious zest for life.

Plummer’s mother called her a "Renaissance woman" who lived to experience new things. Plummer was an avid traveller, hiker, rock climber, scuba diver, swimmer, and skier.

Her mother remembered Plummer as a passionate person who didn't like to do things the conventional way. Always going the extra mile, she went to live in Nicaragua to learn Spanish.

Plummer was a 1999 graduate of Ichabod Crane High School in New York. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in 2003 with a marine biology degree. Plummer was an honour student through high school and was on the dean's list throughout university.

After university, Plummer worked on a cruise line in Alaska for two years. When she was younger, she had worked as a lifeguard. She was a swimming instructor at Oakdale Lake in Hudson and also the Oakdale Swim Team coach.

Plummer and her husband had big plans. They bought land in Costa Rica, where they planned to live and open a business. Plummer was studying massage and reflexology, which she intended to incorporate in their business in Costa Rica.

Plummer had a 2-year-old son whom she loved spending time with at home.

All these ended suddenly on 25 June 2009 when tragedy struck with just one misstep.

While looking for new hiking trails with her husband in the Red Rock National Conservation Area in Las Vegas, Plummer lost her footing and fell 120 feet to her death.

Live life to the fullest and know that it comes with risks. Manage your risks well.

FIRST H1N1 FLU CASE IN SINGAPORE

Today, Singapore confirmed its first H1N1 case.

The victim is a 22-year-old female Singapore Management University business student who just returned to Singapore from New York City early on 26 May 2009 morning, after a school field trip. She passed through the airport thermal scanners uneventfully as she did not have a fever at that time. Coughing and feeling unwell, she went to see a doctor later in the morning and was immediately sent to Tan Tock Seng Hospital for tests which confirmed that she had contracted the H1N1 virus.

She is now quarantined in the Communicable Disease Centre in stable condition.

H1N1 is a new strain of flu virus combining genes from pig, bird and human flu viruses. H1N1 infection is mild for most people but proved severe and even fatal for many.

Still, there is no need for panic.

The key to remember is H1N1 spreads from person to person via airborne droplets expelled by a coughing or sneezing person who is infected with the virus.

There are thus a few things we can do to protect ourselves:

- Avoid close contact with people who are sick, especially those who are coughing and sneezing.
- Avoid unnecessary contact with crowds. You never know who has the virus.
- Cover your mouth with tissue paper when you cough or sneeze. Dispose of the tissue paper as soon as possible after use, preferably by flushing it down the toilet.
- Wash your hands frequently with soap, and immediately after coughing or sneezing.
- Don’t touch your mouth, nose or eyes with your hands.
- Clean high traffic public surfaces with disinfectant e.g. door knobs, hand rails, shopping trolley handles, lift buttons, telephone handsets.
- Pay attention to and cooperate with public health advisories from the relevant authorities.
- If you are sick with flu symptoms like coughing, sneezing or fever, see a doctor without delay. On your way to the medical centre, put on a surgical mask and avoid unnecessary contact with others. Be socially responsible to yourself and others.

Stay healthy. Keep your immune system strong. Get sufficient rest, eat a balanced diet and drink enough water.

Take care!

A NEW KILLER ADDICTION – ONLINE GAMING

Never underestimate the danger of online game addiction.

Online game addiction can kill. It was implicated in several tragedies before and it claimed another victim recently, in Singapore.

On 2 March 2009, David Widjaja, a final year engineering student at Nanyang Technological University leaped to his death after a brief struggle in the office of his final year project supervisor. David had earlier slashed himself and stabbed his supervisor with a knife.

Court testimonies provided an insight into the extreme stress David was under before the tragedy.

David’s hostel mates and friends told the court that David was obsessed with online games to the point of neglecting his studies. David could not keep up with his school work and was taken off his scholarship by the university.

Miss Chua Jia Yu, David’s “online wife” said David would play the DESTINY ONLINE game day, night and frequently till 4am. The virtual couple met online in DESTINY ONLINE and “got married” a month later. Throughout their virtual first meeting, courtship and marriage, David and Jia Yu never met in real life.

Like any addiction, whether it is cigarettes, drugs or alcohol, online gaming addiction grips its victims by altering their brain chemicals.

Online gaming produces dopamine surges that produce feelings of pleasure. Online game addicts are hooked because they crave that feeling of pleasure that dopamine surges produce.

What are the danger signs that you, a loved one or someone you know is a potential online game addict? Its time to act when you see someone exhibiting more than any 3 of these symptoms:

- Feels euphoric while gaming
- Can’t stop gaming
- Can’t find time to eat, sleep or bathe
- Crave for more gaming time
- Can’t stop daydreaming about their favourite game
- Spent most of their non-class time on gaming
- Feels empty, depressed and irritable when not gaming
- Neglect family and friends
- Lie to supervisors, teachers and family about their gaming
- Falls asleep in class
- Drops out of social groups
- Become a recluse
- Can’t keep up with school work
- Can’t stop grades from sliding.

Don’t get hooked! Just say NO! before it is too late.

Plot Your Fire Escape