The Flying Saucer At Sunset

Lenticular clouds (Altocumulus lenticularis) are stationary lens-shaped clouds with a smooth layered appearance that form in the troposphere, usually above mountain ranges. One was spotted in Singapore recently...

Eyes Of 30,000 Honeycombs

With 30,000 individual facets, dragonflies have the most number of facets among insects. Each facet, or ommatidia, creates its own image, and the dragonfly brain has eight pairs of descending visual neurons to compile those thousands of images into one picture...

A Kaleidoscope Of Colours, Shapes And Patterns

Spectacular and innovative in design, the Flower Dome replicates the cool-dry climate of Mediterranean regions like South Africa, California and parts of Spain and Italy. Home to a collection of plants from deserts all over the world, it showcases the adaptations of plants to arid environments...

Lightning Strikes, Not Once, But Many Times

Unlike light, lightning does not travel in a straight line. Instead, it has many branches. These other branches flashed at the same time as the main strike. The branches are actually the step leaders that were connected to the leader that made it to its target...

Are You My Dinner Tonight?

A T-Rex has 24-26 teeth on its upper jaw and 24 more on its lower jaw. Juveniles have small, sharp blade-shaped teeth to cut flesh, whereas adults have huge, blunt, rounded teeth for crushing bones. Is the T-Rex a bone-crushing scavenger?

A Hazy Red Sunset

3:52 AM  , ,  

Singapore
June 2013

With the haze came stories about a famed "pink sunset" visible from only certain parts of Singapore. Merlion Wayfarer took out her camera and waited.

This was the "best" shot she had before the sun disappeared behind the horizon...




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SG Haze - Low-Cost Odour Removal Without An Air Purifier

1:29 AM  ,  

Singapore
June 2013
Hazy Hazy Hazy

Having some spare time after completing her blogs for the Singapore Blog Awards, Merlion Wayfarer decided to catch up with her friends. She was on the line with a friend who used to work in the Housekeeping department of a hotel, when she heard about the "secret".

Apparently this hotel used to have smoking and non-smoking floors. In a move to promote non-smoking in their premises (Kudos!), this hotel faced a problem with removing the odour of cigarette stench from their rooms. After all, a hotel can not lease out rooms which are "non-smoking" and have a smoke odour.

(Source : TheOzoneMan)

So this Housekeeper asked around for ideas - friends from the industry, friends who are housewives, mahjong kakis, etc etc etc. And one of her friends shared with her this brilliant idea - to use charcoal.

Merlion Wayfarer read up some websites on this :

Charcoal is carbon. Activated charcoal is charcoal that has been treated with oxygen to open up millions of tiny pores between the carbon atoms.

The use of special manufacturing techniques results in highly porous charcoals that have surface areas of 300-2,000 square metres per gram. These so-called active, or activated, charcoals are widely used to adsorb odorous or coloured substances from gases or liquids. ­

Activated charcoal is extremely effective at odour control. The tremendous surface area of activated charcoal (1 teaspoon = a football field) quickly adsorbs unpleasant scents - not just masks them. So, while other odor control techniques just cover up the smells, activated charcoal actually eliminates them permanently.

Activated charcoal is good at trapping other carbon-based impurities ("organic" chemicals), as well as things like chlorine. Many other chemicals are not attracted to carbon at all - sodium, nitrates, etc. - so they pass right through. This means that an activated charcoal filter will remove certain impurities while ignoring others. It also means that, once all of the bonding sites are filled, an activated charcoal filter stops working. At that point you must replace the filter.

And Merlion Wayfarer questioned her further, "Is the the normal type of charcoal, or the special type?"

She replied simply, "Just ordinary charcoal will do. The BBQ type."

Next question she asked was, "How much do you need for each hotel room?"

"Just 3-4 pieces per room. It will take some time to be effective, maybe several days."

Now charcoal can remove stale cigarette stench, there is no reason why it will not help in absorbing the impurities from the haze. Merlion Wayfarer is game for a try!

She hadn't BBQ-d in ages, so she Googled for the cost of BBQ charcoal - 3kg at S$4.95 from NTUC:


(Source : NTUC Fairprice Online)

Which is very affordable!

Think about it... despite the severity of the haze this round, if there are no at-risk members in your household, and it's just the "smell" with some mild symptoms, it's really no point getting an expensive air purifier to use only several days a year, right?

Now. Merlion Wayfarer has not tried this method yet. In fact, she is only going to try today. So do try this suggestion with an open mind!  

Oh yes. In case you prefer to use activated charcoal, your expired charcoal pills can be an alternative odour absorber, albeit on a smaller scale.

(Source : Kebun.com)

Sources




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PSI 401? - Merlion Wayfarer's Guide To Hiding Out

10:37 PM  , ,  

Singapore
21 June 2013
Hazy Hazy Hazy

The PSI is at 401 today! New hazardous high... In one week of hiding in huge airconditioned public spaces (See "Haze Is Here - Hide In Aircon?", an article on reducing one's carbon footprint in this hazy weather), Merlion Wayfarer has bit-by-bit compiled a guide on where to hide this week if your house has neither an aircon nor an air purifier...

Criteria for "Guide To Hiding Out"...
  • Lots of aircon, strong strong aircon
  • Near an MRT station, as near as possible to have minimal exposure to the elements
  • Must be cavernous, so huge until the air inside is relatively fresh enough for you to take big gulps of well-needed fresh air
  • Preferably no windows, or the sight of disappearing neighbouring buildings will psychologically affect your perspective of the situation
  • Have lots of eateries, especially those where you can stay a looooong time with just a drink
  • Have good ventilation, so that you can't smell the smoke inside nor the cooking of food
  • Have a variety of food options catering to different tastes, especially affordable options
  • Preferably without a centre airwell to minimize airflow from outside
Here are the options...

313@Somerset
  • Many, many eateries including quite a few coffee places as long as you keep to those in the basement or on higher floors
  • Right next to the MRT
  • A good option to shop and drink, drink and shop
(Source : YourSingapore.com)

Changi Airport 
  • There are 3 huge terminals here with ample basement retail and dining space.
  • Aircon here is strong, so strong that Merlion Wayfarer sometimes brings a jacket along. 
  • Next to the MRT and weekday parking is discounted at S$2.50 per 3 hours
  • The eateries found in town can also be located here.
(Source : YourSingapore.com)

City Square Mall
  • Merlion Wayfarer likes this mall because of its green features.
  • Relatively near housing estates and still within 2 MRT stops to town
  • Lots of glass to allow natural daylight in yet external airflow is limited to ground level exits
  • Family-friendly mall
(Source : YourSingapore.com)

ION Orchard
  • Air here actually smells nice because of the fragrance used!
  • Huge shopping mall
  • Quite a few coffee places for those brand loyal coffee connoisseurs
  • Easily accessed from the MRT (right next to the exit) and is even joined to a few other shopping centres via underpasses
(Source : YourSingapore.com)

Plaza Singapura
  • Although this mall has a centre airwell, the recently expanded annex does not have similar exposure.
  • Next to the MRT with two basement levels filled with affordable eateries
(Source : YourSingapore.com)

Raffles City Shopping Centre
  • Recommended for its variety of basement eateries which are well-sheltered from the elements
(Source : YourSingapore.com)

Traditional options like Suntec City mall and Marina Square are a no-no for now as these are undergoing massive renovations with many retail areas closed and some noise from the renovators.

Merlion Wayfarer is also not including the neighbourhood malls here are many of them are relatively smaller in size with an open space in the centre of the mall, thus increasing airflow from the outside. But if you really need to stay in the neighbourhood, do hang out in eateries that are not near exits or roof gardens to breathe in fresher air.

Breathe well!


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Epilogue - Singapore Blog Awards 2013

8:43 AM  , ,  

Singapore
June 2013

Last weekend, Merlion Wayfarer was asked what does "eco living" mean to her?

It was a head-scratching answer that required loads of reflection, followed by some pondering by the waterfall before verbalization. 'Twas hard, because it is already so much of her lifestyle.


There are lists that one can compile on the 10 things that everyone can do for the environment. Or even 101 things. But if lists are not your way of life, will you do anything out of your normal lifestyle to try save the environment? After all, the end of the world may not happen in your lifetime.

(Source : NDTV)

To Merlion Wayfarer, eco-living means to incorporate green habits into her daily life. It is not an article, nor even a series of articles. It does not require drastic changes. Instead, it is about a way of life, thinking about the impact you create for your environment with each little thing you do.

.A.Way.Of.Life.

.Each.Little.Thing.You.Do.

It often means inconvenience at the initial stage. For example, to walk 10 metres or to take a lift downstairs to the nearest recycle bin to throw a single bottle or a bag of recyclable trash, instead of just dumping it into the wastebasket in front of you.

  
But in the longer term, it means a lifestyle, a way to be. For us, and the people around us.


.A.Way.To.Be.For.Us.And.The.People.Around.Us.

Because what we do today does not affect only us. It affects people from all over the world...


   

Sustainability of one's current lifestyle should not be taken for granted.
   


What if... one day even the humble apple is a luxury to a child in Singapore?

  
A NatGeo spokesperson once said to Merlion Wayfarer, the "real world" is not about dollars and cents. It is about the environment we live in, the trees that photosynthesize the fresh air that we breathe, and the plants and animals that inhabit the land and water we depend on for food.


True enough, you need to exchange "money" for "things". Yet, money is just a medium of exchange. 
   

With all the money in the world, can an extinct animal be brought back to life?
   


It is important to protect the world we live in so that our kids can see yet another sunrise.


And not destruction caused by fire, smoke and water...



  
Or our world today will just be a memory in the dust...


      
Who is responsible for Gaia?
  

You yourself. If you believe that the people after you have a right to the same quality of life and resources as you, then
Think.Act.Share the message of eco-living...


It also means ensuring that the next generation grow to love and appreciate the surroundings which we all live in. Merlion Wayfarer ever heard parents tell their children to "Be careful of that komodo dragon at MacRitchie or it will eat you up!". Kids then shy away, or worse still, throw stones and sticks at the Water Monitor Lizard that lies peacefully by the water because it needs to bring up its body temperature in the heat of the day.

 
When is a living thing more than "that brown butterfly" or "that red dragonfly"?
  

It is when the children of tomorrow know how to identify these little creatures, and grow to appreciate the fragility of the eco-system that Man is at the apex of.


The children of tomorrow need to be shown how to love their environment. How then do you "teach" them love?


Invoke in them a sense of curiousity about the world around us. 


Intrigue them to ask questions. 


And show them that Man is just one small part...


Of the whole wide beautiful world we live in...


Merlion Wayfarer feels honoured that she is selected as a finalist for the Singapore Blog Awards' Eco-Challenge category.

(Source : OMY)

Meaning recognized means a lot to her. It means that she is now able to share her messages with even more people.


And with each one shared, change happens - one by one. For a better world tomorrow.



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