Update: Renaming of SBS Transit Bus services

All posters are taken from SBS Transit Website. Visit www.sbstransit.com.sg for more details.

Basically, these trunk bus services have alternative routes operating at certain hours in addition to or in place of the original route. All these alternative routes are now placed a suffix of M besides the service number to let commuters know that the bus is currently plying the alternative route instead of the original route as it arrives at the bus stop.

Divisibility Tests of 7, 11, 13, 17, 19

Today, I want to share some divisibility cum remainder tests that I have created myself for 7, 11, 13, 17, 19. There are more to come.

Reference example:
Prime Number (p) ( a, b, c, cycle goes on. )
Take a number for example:

966 mod p = 6a + 6b + 9c = Answer
678966 mod p = 6a + 6b + 9c + 8a + 7b + 6c = Answer


7 ( 1, 3, 2, -1, -3, -2, cycle goes on. )

Example: 678966 mod 7 = 6 + 3 x 6 + 2 x 9 - 8 - 7 x 3 - 6 x 2 = 1

11 ( 1, -1, cycle goes on. )

Example: 6789 mod 11 = 9 - 8 + 7 - 6 = 2

13 ( 1, 10, -4, -1, -10, 4, cycle goes on. )

Example: 678966 mod 13 = 6 + 6 x 10 - 9 x 4 - 8 - 7 x 10 + 6 x 4 = -24 mod 13 = 2


17 ( 1, 10, -2, -3, 4, 6, -8, 5, -1, -10, 2, 3, -4, -6, 8, -5, cycle goes on. )

67896623 mod 17 = 3 + 2 x 10 - 6 x 2 - 6 x 3 + 9 x 4 + 8 x 6 - 7 x 8 + 6 x 5 = 51 mod 17 = 0


19 ( 1, 10, 5, -7, 6, 3, -8, -4, -2, -1, -10, -8, -11, 5, 4, -6, 9, -2, 3, 7, cycle goes on. )

678966231 mod 19 = 1 + 3 x 10 + 2 x 5 - 6 x 7 + 6 x 6 + 9 x 3 - 8 x 8 - 7 x 4 - 6 x 2 = -42 mod 19 = 15

A trip to the hospital (Perspective of a patient)

Last Saturday on 26th of January 2008 at the morning, my dad and I brought my grandpa to SGH ENT centre for his appointment. My grandpa had been complaining for the past week for ear pain. So, my uncle had brought him down to A & E for an investigation followed by an appointment made by the SGH staff to ENT centre.

We arrived there 45 minutes earlier than the stipulated time which is at 0945. So, we registered and put the referral letter into a tray provided. After waiting for about 0.5 hrs, we knew from the counter staff that his appointment was actually scheduled on the day before instead. So, she wanted us to come back on monday instead for the appointment because they only saw private appointments on Saturdays. However, the appointment was given by the A & E staff with the stated date and time. Later, we knew that the A & E staff had written the date wrongly. Luckily, the doctor in duty had kindly agreed to see my grandpa to get medications and also to know what the diagnosis of his ear pain. However, the screw up had caused us to waste one to two hours of our time.It was likely that his ear pain was caused by the two ulcers in his vocal cords that radiated to his ears. In addition, using their special equipments, the doctor had shown to my dad and I that his ears contained a lot of wax and some strands of hair which might also be causes of the pain. An eardrop and some pills had been prescribed by the doctor. Fortunately, it was nothing serious but to play safe, my grandpa was to come back in a month time for a follow up appointment.

This trip tot he hospital had enabled me to see the perspecive of the patient. Usually, in the medical centre, I will make the appointment to the NSman, writing the appointment date, time and the venue. So, any discrepancy to any of the above following will cause great inconvenience to the serviceman and indirectly to myself.
This trip to the hospital had made my grandpa happier as it was the first time that I accompanied him to the hospital.

Minor fantasy route changes in service 17

Click on the image for an enlarged version.

Fantasy route change
With effect from 3rd of February 2008, service 17 will ply Sengkang Ctrl instead of Sengkang East Road. This is due to the rising number residing along Buangkok MRT and Sengkang Ctrl. In addition, it provides a new link from Buangkok estate to to the nearest MRT station. The image shows more details on how the change is done.

Rename of the alternative route parent route

Just a note, some of the SBS Transit alternative bus services like 98A, 162#, 163A will all use the suffix M instead. For 98A and 162#, they will start from 28th January 2008. They may still be other alternative bus services which will be renamed too which I couldn't confirm yet as of now.

In my opinion, it is a bad idea to use M as a suffix. Last time, before the Nite owls the Ns come out (1N to 8N), the previous Nite Owls services contain Ms as the suffix. 162M is used by SBS Transit not long ago as a Nite Owl service. Besides, it doesn't make any difference by renaming it for services which already have a suffix behind it like for example 98A and 163A. Commuters differentiate the different bus services simply just by seeing whether the service has a suffix behind the parent bus service.

Just a thought.

Long and Winding Routes?

The picture entitled "Long and winding route" appears in The Strais Times on the 19th of January 2008, it shows a long and winding route if she takes public transport and a shorter route if she has taken taxi.

In my opinion, the information regarding about the choice of bus-mrt-taxi route being circuitous is incorrect as there is a shorter route. If her choice is bus/MRT, I will recommend her to take 165 at her house to Commonwealth Ave West Blk 410 which is the bus stop immediately after the bus turns right into Commonwealth Ave West, cross the road to transfer to 183. She can stop at Science Park Rd B01 bus stop. According to SBS Transit website, the in vehicle timing is 72 mins and her fares will cost around $1.81 which is faster and cheaper than the bus-mrt-taxi route as mentioned in The Straits Times.

Besides, this route is not as circuitous as the above route mentioned. I just feel that it paints a very bad impression on the option of bus/MRT or even LRT given the fact that this option is available. Commuters are not informed of the availability of this option.

One reason for this is that trunk service buses simply pass by too many bus stops which are hard to differentiate. Luckily, there are bus service guides installed at every bus stop now to guide the commuters around. However, it is not enough to guide the commuters to their exact destination since the bus stop only describes the nearest landmark.

In addition, the current electronic directional inquiry is isolated to buses or MRT only. Hence, the commuters have to waste a lot of time to plan out a suitable and the best route for themselves to their destinations.

I hope that there is a 3 in 1 (Bus/MRT/LRT) electronic directional inquiry service which can be accessed through the cellphone or the internet to advise the commuters the best route to take to their destinations.

Perhaps a directional inquiry hotline can be set up to advise commuters the best way to get from place to place subjecting to feasibility and costs.


My comments and opinions about recent land transport reforms.

302, 976 changes

Click on the image to view the enlarged version.

302 will be reintroduced plus 976 will have some minor route changes with effect from 27th January 2008. 302 frequency will be the same as introduced in Transitlink Bus Guide 2007. 976 will ply Choa Chu kang Central instead of Chao Chu Kang Way. In addition, 976 will not go into Choa Chu Kang interchange. Passengers who wish to board 976 to Bukit Panjang or to Choa Chu Kang Crescent can board at the pair of bus stops outside Choa Chu Kang interchange/MRT station.

Night Owls services enhanced to enable travelling between or within HDB towns.

Link: http://www.sbstransit.com.sg/press/2008-01-14-01-L.aspx
Adapted from SBS Transit. Click on the image to see the enlarged version. Visit SBS Transit website for more details.

Even though SBST has improved its Night Owl services, I still prefer the way Night Riders work. Night Riders is a bi directional night service which transfers between different its services are free. Besides, they pass by more bus stops and can act as basic bus services late in the night. However, they only operate on fridays, saturdays and eve of public holidays.

Roads Closure affecting service 400 with effect from 7th Jan 08

Link: http://www.sbstransit.com.sg/press/2008_01_14_01.pdf
The link is taken from SBS Transit website. Click on the link to see the image. Visit SBS TRansit website for more details.

In short, some parts of the road Marina Grove and Marina Park will be inaccessible to vehicles, thus, service 400 will be rerouted with effect from 7th January 2008.

转角遇到爱 Corner with Love

I have just watched the show and a written article entitled "Corner with Love". Both storyline is slightly different but both of them are touching stories.

Link to the written article: http://ent.sina.com.cn/v/h/f/zhjyda/

In life, sometimes we are forced to do things due to certain external circumstances and hence, because of that, we give up certain things that we really cherish. Communication is very important in expressing one's thoughts and feelings pertaining to any events that have occurred.

I admire Xin Lei as she is able to stand up despite encountering many hurdles. She was previously living a wealthy life. After her parents became bankrupt due to cash flow problems in their business, life for her have been going down. However, all the things that she has gone through have let her realised that simple life has its benefits too.
Xin Lei is full of pride even before and after her life has completely changed. She is always very confident in doing things. After encountering many problems and numerous temptations, she has managed to overcome all of them. She would rather live a simple life and to give up a luxurious life just to be with the one she loved.

I admire Qin Lang too. When Xin Lei was down and out, he was the one that cheered her up, provided her accommodation at his house. He even lied to his grandma that they are lovers so that Xin Lei would not be chased out of the house by his grandma.
In short, Qin Lang was a guy that treasured friendship and he was very helpful towards friends. Even Xin Lei only knew him a few days only, Qin Lang is still willing to help her as mentioned above.

An excerpt extracted from the article which I feel the most touching in the article at http://ent.sina.com.cn/v/h/f/zhjyda/: “我知道你喝醉的时候，总是会胡言乱语，喜欢高声唱歌。所以，我一定会让你好好的唱个过瘾，绝对不阻止你。”秦朗对着尚东说着，画面彷佛回到心蕾喝醉酒的状态。

　　“我知道刮风下雨的时候，你会害怕打雷闪电，虽然你总是倔强的说你根本不怕，但是我还是会在你身边保护着你，不让你受到一点惊吓。”秦朗笑着，想到了在山上的时候，心蕾害怕又不承认的表情。

　　“还有，你早餐的时候喜欢吃肉松，但是不喜欢吃酱瓜。你心情不好的时候，嘴巴会嘟起来，不想和人说话。你的嘴巴很坏，喜欢和人抬杠，但是心肠很好，又非常有正义感，看到不平的事情一定会挺身而出。我还知道……”

　　望着尚东，那一句句的声音虽然是出自于尚东的嘴，但是心蕾彷佛看到了秦朗的脸孔，透过了尚东，对她深情款款的诉说着这些话语。心蕾迷惑了，她的眼眶湿润了起来，这些小事情，为什么尚东都会知道？

　　“你怎么都知道？”心蕾有些哽咽，她深深的看着尚东的眼。

　　“因为……我爱你。”我爱你，所以我在乎你的所有事情。这样的话，似乎是秦朗的心意透过了尚东的嘴，在她眼前，确实的告诉了心蕾，让心蕾的眼眶，一下子就亮盈盈的充泪了。

　　心蕾低头看着尚东交给她的戒指，那枚戒指，让心蕾好象看到了秦朗，这个世界上，除了秦朗之外，没有这么了解她了，但是秦朗却不要她，反而要她嫁给尚东。"

Driving Test

Today is the fateful of whether I can obtain a Class 3 License. With a little bit of luck and skill, I successfully passed the test. Actually, I had 18 demerit points, 2 points to failure. Looking back at my test results, there is one part which I feel unfair and I shouldn't have obtained that 8 demerit points. Actually, my car has stopped at a junction between a minor road and a major road and I am at the minor road. There is a "Stop" sign over at he road. So, at the time which I have reached the junction, a lorry was approaching from the left to the right. The tester wanted me to turn right at the junction. However, I stopped at the "Stop" sign. While I was decelerating halfway, the tester wanted me to brake slow and turn right straightway. He had given me permission to ignore the rule of stopping at "Stop" sign. I wanted to wait for the lorry to pass by me before turning right. I had looked out for other cars and there were none at that moment in time. However, since the tester insisted on me turning right straightway, I turned right and caused the lorry to slow down and take evasive action to prevent an accident. So, it became my fault and hence the 8 demerit points arose.

I will like to thank Mr. Heng Ngu Ang Meng, my driving instructor for teaching and imparting me his driving knowledge to me. I remembered my first lesson that the car engine had stalled many many times which some almost result to an accident. Perhaps, it is all because of these dangerous incidents that I had encountered, driving is something I think I must concentrate and be prudent. Thank You Mr. Heng.

71, 86 and 140 changes (fantasy routes)

The above picture is a fantasy change by me. It will take place on 11th February 2007.

Service 71 which is created by 1 or 2 years back is quite heavily duplicated by the current service 86. Hence, service 71 will be withdrawn with effect from 11th of February 2007. Service 86 and 140 will be amended on that same date to cover the areas which service 71 has plied. The exact details are shown on the picture.


Punggol <-> Fernvale: Service 86.
Punggol/Sengkang <-> Bishan St 22: From Punggol: Service 74 or 86 to Punggol Rd at Blk 298A and transfer to 88. From Sengkang: 88 direct.

Rivervale Drive <-> Jalan Kayu: 140

Romantic Princess

I have started to watch Romantic Princess on Youtube even though the show will be broadcasted on Channel U on the 24th January 2008. I am probably anxious because I am bored at home and also just wanna to see how the show is like. Wu Zun and Angela Zhang acts as Jin and Xiao Mai respectively in the show itself.
The show depicts how love and romance develops between the two of them even though they quarrel and bicker at the first time they meet each other.

Even though I have not finished watching the whole show, some times, I do wonder in a native way, the moment you wake up in the next day, you realise that you can be a princess or prince living in a palace, no need to worry about earning for a living. That's very good. After watching this show, it tells me that in reality, it is not as easy as ABCs. Friendships, social networks, family relationships, are all brought into the context now. Which one is the most important? Are you willing to sacrifice one for the other?

That is something that perhaps even I can reflect on. Anyway, that show is nice. You guys should watch it.