FEAR AND LOATHING IN SINGAPORE
May. 28th, 2010 11:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
defrogYou may not have been able to tell, but I’ve been broadcasting from Singapore the past few days.
I’ll prove it. Here’s my view for the next few hours.
That’s Chijmes yr looking at, a trendy nightlife compound with bars and restaurants, one of which has a cosplay theme. And hookers. I have seen several over the last few days. And I'm not counting the Triple Breakfast Cleavage incident.
As is typical of these trips, I spent most of my time sitting in PowerPoint presentations for 12 hours at a time. This trip’s theme: trunked radio – i.e. the radio systems that the police, fire department and military use to communicate with each other.
Which means I’ve been sitting in a room with lots of cops in it – one of them named Jolly Wong. (I’m not kidding. And yes, he was, actually.)
Anyway, I’d like to be able to say that it was a scene straight of out Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas where Raoul Duke and his attorney are covering the National District Attorneys Association's Conference on Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. But it wasn’t, actually.
That said, it was admittedly a bit surreal to hear a technology manufacturer speak of the growing trends of urbanization and industrialization on a global scale, which ultimately meant more social tension and violent crime to the point that you couldn’t possibly hire enough cops to handle it. (Which is why you need an automated police communications system to cover the bases and watch everyone.)
I also learned that in Europe, “video surveillance” is now referred to as “video protection” because it sounds less frightening. So at least they mean well.
Anyway, not much else to report. I’ve been sequestered in the hotel with the usual deadlines, which I was up til 4am meeting.
I do have a law-and-order travel tip for you though: when you come to Singapore, the following is not allowed in the underground train system:
I like seeing durian lumped in the same category as flammable goods. Interesting that there’s no actual fine for it.
These are the rules,
This is dF
I’ll prove it. Here’s my view for the next few hours.
That’s Chijmes yr looking at, a trendy nightlife compound with bars and restaurants, one of which has a cosplay theme. And hookers. I have seen several over the last few days. And I'm not counting the Triple Breakfast Cleavage incident.
As is typical of these trips, I spent most of my time sitting in PowerPoint presentations for 12 hours at a time. This trip’s theme: trunked radio – i.e. the radio systems that the police, fire department and military use to communicate with each other.
Which means I’ve been sitting in a room with lots of cops in it – one of them named Jolly Wong. (I’m not kidding. And yes, he was, actually.)
Anyway, I’d like to be able to say that it was a scene straight of out Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas where Raoul Duke and his attorney are covering the National District Attorneys Association's Conference on Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. But it wasn’t, actually.
That said, it was admittedly a bit surreal to hear a technology manufacturer speak of the growing trends of urbanization and industrialization on a global scale, which ultimately meant more social tension and violent crime to the point that you couldn’t possibly hire enough cops to handle it. (Which is why you need an automated police communications system to cover the bases and watch everyone.)
I also learned that in Europe, “video surveillance” is now referred to as “video protection” because it sounds less frightening. So at least they mean well.
Anyway, not much else to report. I’ve been sequestered in the hotel with the usual deadlines, which I was up til 4am meeting.
I do have a law-and-order travel tip for you though: when you come to Singapore, the following is not allowed in the underground train system:
I like seeing durian lumped in the same category as flammable goods. Interesting that there’s no actual fine for it.
These are the rules,
This is dF
