Bowie fish. Two years ago when we were visiting here we visited Singapore's aquarium, Underwater World. Today we went back, and we arrived at the same consensus: it's too small and overpriced. Alas.

However, while we were out we saw in the newspaper that David Bowie is coming to town in March! So we went and got our tickets already. It can't possibly rival our last time seeing him, but we can't complain too much!

YEA! YEA! YEA! We passed the first hurdle into Australia. We received a request for our character and medical assessments from the Australian Government today, which they wouldn't have bothered asking for if our job skills weren't up to snuff. So, once we get our fingerprints taken and cleared through the FBI and Singapore Police (a process which may take up to two months), and get our chest x-rays and HIV test results, we should be well on our way to getting our visas for migration. This means that our goal of moving to Australia in July should be obtainable.
If you want to come and visit us in Asia, the clock's ticking. We'll be gone soon.

It IS possible to make plans to get away for Chinese New Year, even at this late date, but you have to really want it. I just spent two hours searching ever-changing web fares to Bangkok. I finally found something on Swiss international airlines (new to us), but had to pay about S$100 more per person than I wanted to. However, we're flying business class on the way home so I can't complain too much. Tonight we get to spend time burning up the web trying to find a hotel room in a city that's bound to be booked full. I'm not scared, I am the travel-web master! Any recommendations?

A great read. I read a lot, but not much of what I read do I feel the need to praise here. But I just finished The First American: The Life And Times of Benjamin Franklin, and wow. Putting aside what an extraordinary character he was, this biography was also the first really readable explanation of the factors leading up to the Revolutionary War. And Ben himself -- well, everything he touched, he transformed, it seems; his CV would be the most staggering in history, I think. Truly a Renaissance man. Hard to read without feeling worthless. But I recommend giving it a shot.

Blogging live. About ten minutes ago, I heard a crunch, like a fender-bender, outside my second-floor work window. I looked down to see a young man lying on the road, motionless, next to a white van. He had just been hit, apparently, but there has been no blood. He eventually was helped up (despite my yells to not move him), and now an ambulance is here. (The ambulance siren as it approached is the first siren I've heard here.) It got here in less than ten minutes, and had the guy out of here in about another five. The victim had blood around one eyebrow, was all that I saw. He was awake and alert on the stretcher. The police are now trying to reconstruct the scene with the help of witnesses. They chalked the street to mark the position of the tires and moved the van away. Half an hour later. The police have called in the situation and are presumably waiting for advisement. The driver of the van, a pony-tailed man of about thirty-five, calmy waits. He seems unphased.

I could have been the first to dial 999. I should have been. Luckily the guy seemed to be okay.