www.Go To The Mountain - Musings of a Potential Guru

I last wrote to share about Socrates: http://gforce-guru.blogspot.sg/2013/06/an-unexamined-life-is-not-worth-living.html From Socrates To Plato Socrates never wrote anything. Everything we know about Socrates is from what others wrote about him and mostly from his student Plato. They were artistic recreation of Socrates in action. At the time Athens was the artistic and intellectual centre of the Greek world. There was political and social upheavals caused by Persian Wars and wars taught people that they depended on their own destiny not Gods. They invented philosophy as the love of wisdom as mythical explanations were not good enough and believed there were rational and logical explanation in this universe. Socrates was acclaimed to be the noblest and wisest Athenian that ever lived but since he wrote nothing himself it was his greatest and most famous student Plato alone that we came to know Socrates. Plato was about 26-28 when Socrates was put to death. (Sometimes when yo...

I do not go for a holiday every June or at the year's end. Sometimes, no budget, other times no time. Sometimes both. In fact, I have just missed another trip to Bangkok recently where the extended family have been. So I did a local trip which was the next best thing to being there. I went back to Nakhon Kitchen . A good place is one with consistency, be it the people, the service or the food. The Thais working here are very productive and fast workers. Even the decor and utensils give you a distinctive and authentic Thai feel.  We were not hungry or rather we are not big eaters. We are always considerate by eating what we need to haha lessen our carbon footprint. We just had a plate of pineapple rice. Sambal kangkong is one of my favourites any time anywhere and this one here is good. A bowl of fresh clear soup of tomyum is a must! It wakes you up and kills all germs too I suppose. Mango salad, definitely a lady's favourite. St...

The Great Thinkers The greatest thinkers of the ancient world were Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Thinkers call for everyone to care for the soul. That is being philosophical and it means that we must always asked questions and challenge people's thoughts. Plato was Socrates' famous student and he called Socrates "the wisest, justest and best of all men whom I have ever known".  Aristotle was Plato's most prized student. Philosophy is the love and pursuit of wisdom, a sacred quest. When you think ancient Greece, Athens comes straight to mind. They were a great city. It was intellectual and artistic. Like what Sparta did, 20,000 Greeks once defeated 100,000 troops of King Xerxes around 490 BC. Nine years later, Xerxes sent two million men and 1200 ships to attack Greece again. They came from the North and going towards Athens but found the city emptied as the Greeks were waiting for them elsewhere with their fleet. Against all odds, the Greeks triumphe...

Western food stalls are getting trendy even at coffee shops offering a wider range of side orders to go with your orders but by and large most are standard fares. If you are really a lover of Western food fare or you wanted something really good, different and even special  I recommend that you come over to this place in Ang Mo Kio Ave 5 Block 608 where there is this coffee shop called "Mr. Teh Tarik Eating House" where most food here if not all are halal. The first thing you will get intrigued with are the drinks list. You will be spoiled for choices. Anything from old school "Teh Tarik", Bandung to some ...... delicious special lychee drinks. Though I have never been there in the wee hours, the signboard says it is 24 hours. The Western Food stall "Charco" is very good.  The variety of selection is good. They have various types of chickens and many style of side orders. This one - a " Schnitzel" is fabulous. So is the ...

What a difference a day makes. Really have to enjoy each day each moment as we can never take anything for granted. The Twin Evil of Dengue and the Haze got us down.  Dengue The dengue scourge cannot be fought by the authorities alone. By the time they have finished an area, another one would have caught on. By now, every Singaporean is fully aware about dengue but what are we doing about it besides knowing? Can you imagine someone dying or hospitalised because his neighbour did not do due diligence? I can imagine for most people  they will just tell their domestic helpers to ensure clean up of stagnant water but you need to personally supervise it or do it. Never leave it to chance. Bruce Lee said: "Knowing is not enough, you must apply; willing is not enough, you must do". I am sure we have the knowledge and expertise but perhaps there are other considerations but didn't we do it like how Vietnam did using natural foes like introducing a crustaceans into their w...

Many of you love ramen. Some told me that ramen is Japanese so only Japanese ones are good. I have some 1-for-1 promotional vouchers and handed some to friends. After awhile, we headed down 111 Somerset to check things out. I used to know this place well as it was the former PUB Building and next door there used to be a small coffee shop where the popular Goreng Pisang (banana fritters) was. When I was in school, my good friend's dad has a stall at the canteen selling mixed vegetable and curry rice. Now, things are totally different. Coming up from the escalator I saw this. They have sitting areas on both sides. Welcome to "Daruma" Ramen House. One of Hong Kong's Top 5 Ramen Restaurants. Those who received the 1-for-1 voucher from me but did not try it will regret only. Staffs were cheerful and happy when they saw us coming giving you a welcoming feel. That is a good start.  We got seated comfortably and began to think through what to order. M...

We can never take anything in life for granted. Even for simple things like clear blue skies or nice clean air. Everyday is another day n paradise.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt2mbGP6vFI Your routine or daily activities can be badly interrupted as has just happened. My nose detected something was wrong even before they started PSI reading of the haze. Was feeling lazy but made the right decision to go for some workout in the sun as we do not know now for how long we won't be able to do it. Was doing sit ups and thought things looked quite good upside down. I spotted a grasshopper while trying to spot fighting spiders. It was well camouflaged.  A cool shade below a motor bridge offers reprieve. Above it, the clouds dazzled.  In between motorways, a tree stood in grandeur.  I captured some maintenance workers at work on a boat as I looked through the undergrowth.  I saw the water's reflection danced on the walls of the bridge....