The Idiosyncrasies Of My Car's Fuel Gauge

A strange thing happened to my car's fuel gauge the other day. I topped up about 11 litres of fuel to full tank. Usually after a full top-up, the fuel gauge would show 8 bars, i.e. fuel tank full, after I restarted my car. However that day, it showed only 7 bars.

Not knowing whether it was my fuel gauge's fault or the petrol station trying to cheat me, I topped up the tank again the next day. This time, I paid $10.00 (about 7 litres of fuel) before the tank was full. To my great surprise, immediately after I started my car, the fuel gauge showed only 6 bars this time!

I began to think that if the number of bars displayed in the fuel gauge kept dropping every time I topped up the tank, soon my fuel gauge would show less than "3/4 tank filled" even when it was actually full. Alamak! Like that how to go Malaysia?

Lucky for me, I am not a regular visitor to Malaysia so I have no reason be worried. In fact, I have not visited Malaysia for many years be it for cheap food, cheap petrol, cheap groceries, cheap cigarettes, cheap haircuts, cheap naughty massages or pirated DVDs. I don't see the need to shop in Malaysia because whatever I wanted, I could get it in Singapore. (Yes, even naughty massages and pirated DVDs although they may not be as cheap as those in Malaysia.)

But perhaps what is even more fortunate is that the fuel gauge is now back to normal. Sigh, I guess that's part and parcel of driving a cheap "non-luxury class" continental car. What I didn't realise until now is that how a seemingly innocuous problem with a fuel gauge could affect something like one's visit to Malaysia.

Tofu Snafu

In the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand, you could choose to have a personalised or vanity plate for your car:


Here in Singapore, there is no such option. However, you could bid for a car number plate. Before a series of numbers is released, the Land Transport Authority would invite vehicle owners to bid for the numbers they are interested in. The minimum bid is S$1,000/-. Numbers such as "8", "88", "888" and "8888" which are auspicious to the Chinese because the figure "8" sounds like "fa" (发 prosperity) in Chinese, are expensive. Unlike other commodities where more in quantity means that you pay more, for bidded numbers, typically the less the number of digits, the more expensive the number. Hence a single digit "8" would cost much more than "8888" which already may be worth more than S$10,000/-.

A long time ago, I saw a Mercedes Benz with a nice number plate - "EA5Y". The owner of the vehicle had probably asked for the characters to be placed close together so that it read like the word "EASY". Very clever.

I have never bidded for a number before because I don't feel I have a need for one. An extraordinary number won't look good on an ordinary car anyway. Bidded numbers usually go with luxury and flashy drivers cars. Maybe there is a need to impress upon other people that the owners are successful in life. To each his own. Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against people bidding for a car number. After all, they help to contribute to our government's coffers and we should be thankful that they help lighten our tax burden.

For me, I am contented with my allocated number plate. I did once fantasise about having a cheeky number plate though but was promptly admonished for having such a dirty thought.

I was therefore rather amused to read about this piece of news:

April 9, 2009

Denver — One Colorado woman’s love for tofu has been judged X-rated by state officials.

Kelly Coffman-Lee wanted to tell the world about her fondness for bean curd by picking certain letters for her SUV’s license plate.

Her suggestion for the plate: “ILVTOFU.”

But the Division of Motor Vehicles blocked her plan because they thought the combination of letters could be interpreted as profane.

Says Department of Revenue spokesman Mark Couch: “We don’t allow ‘FU’ because some people could read that as street language for sex.”

Officials meet periodically to ensure state plates stay free of letters that abbreviate gang slang, drug terms or obscene phrases.

The 38-year-old Coffman-Lee says that tofu is a staple of her family’s diet because they are vegan and that the DMV misinterpreted her message.

A Train Derailment in Singapore?

We thought it could never happen
A derailment near an MRT station
Did a terrorist attack
Cause the train to jump track?

Never did it happen before
At least not in Singapore
Not even one survivor
The carnage seemed severe

Did Mas come back
And created this wreck?
This is no child's play
Let there be no such day

We should always be prepared
Children shouldn't be spared
They could practise evacuation
While learning about locomotion

What Frannxis mentioned here
Is also what I hold dear
When it concerns national security
We shouldn't take it easy

So be always on your guard
Against terrorism in your backyard
Or even in your front court
For Mas has yet to be caught


Before coming to a conclusion
May I pose you a question
Where in Singapore is this place?
An easy quiz you could surely ace

Need not a railway enthusiast be
Like Peter, Icemoon, Chun See or Stanley
A glimpse you might have caught
While passing by in modern-day transport
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Religion And Alcohol Do Not Mix?

You might have recently read about the Buddha Bar in Jakarta being the scene of almost weekly protests from enraged Buddhists who alleged that the business was insulting their religion. Now you will never find that happening in Singapore. I don't mean that you can never find alcohol in a religious place in Singapore but rather, if it happens here, there won't be any protests at all. After all, Singaporeans have a high level of religious tolerance although they may not have the same degree of alcohol tolerance, at least in the eyes of the authorities. Besides, protests are illegal in Singapore.

YG recently blogged about a Chinese temple which served free Chinese tea here. Nothing surprising about that. In July 2007, I passed by another Chinese temple and saw nothing unusual about it either:


However when I revisited the temple again in November last year, I noticed that there was a bar of sorts set up within the temple's premises:


The sign outside said "Cafe". I did not verify whether the cafe actually served alcoholic drinks or not but at least Wikipedia tells me that "Happy Hour" is a marketing term for a period of time in which a restaurant or bar offers discounts on alcoholic drinks, such as beer, wine and cocktails.

Question:

Is it permissible to serve alcoholic drinks in a place of worship in Singapore?

Religion and alcohol do not mix, or do they?

Can you identify this temple?