It’s been 5 days since I did a proper post. Blame it on the army, beer and a lot more beer!! Reservist training has been fun thus far with yesterday being the highlight. The CMR training yesterday was hilarious, fun and silly at the same time. I’ll do it again anytime!

With this reservist training in mind, there’s a campmate that I wanna talk about for just a second. A couple days ago, this campmate purchased 2 items from my online boutique. He doesn’t have tattoos and he sure isn’t a body art lover. Roger, I can’t thank you enough for the support you’ve shown. I am truly touched. The only way I can show my appreciation is by being a better friend.

The Tattoo Boutique is working out better than expected. The folks from the online tattoo community (checkoutmyink.com) have been ever so supportive. It’s always nice to receive positive feedback. Some have thrown in Tattoo Ideas too. We’ve been discussing these ideas and will add new items in due time…

Live the Dream came to an end on Wednesday with Victor i-can’t-sing Tang not winning. What a fucking shocker!! I say…thank the lord! Good riddance to that piece of crap!!!

This week saw me step being the microphone again. Not to sing (lets hope to god that never happens), but to do a voice over project for Roi Strategy Consultants. It was my 2nd time working with them and Videolane and it was a blast!

Rei and Nekobus recently left a comment each on my blog. Both equally nice comments that made me smile. If there’s one thing I love, it’s to hear from people that read this blog. Everyday, I check my stats and I see an encouraging number of new and returning readers. I often wonder who these people are and what they think of my posts. Well, at least I know what the two of them think. Thank you for making my week all the more memorable!

This Tattooed Blogger is gonna chill out and enjoy his Saturday. Look out for my weekly Tattooed n’ Hot post later today. Cheers!

I've seen some really nice cartoon/comic tattoos on people. I've always thought that Spiderman would make an awesome tattoo! Or even one of the characters from Ninja Turtles. Well, I'll let you judge the tattoos below...

Everyday, million of bloggers are hitting the internet with their posts. Some are worth the read and some are well…a total waste of time! I sure hope my blog doesn’t fall into that category.

Nobody can dispute the fact that bloggers are the new voice. The way I see it, every blogger is a voice that is waiting to be heard. Like a lot of people we meet in everyday life, some are plain irritating. You just wanna shut them up for the sake of mankind. On the bright side, there’s a good bunch of blogs out there that I enjoy reading. A good number of them are by Singaporeans.

There are many ways to drive traffic to your blog. Some start blogs that revolve around their sex life. I don’t condone it nor am I against it. These blogs see a good number of visitors for some strange reason. Then there are those that bitch about their family members in their blogs. What do I have to say about that? It’s stupid and it’s lame. When a person whines like a bitch about a family member, he or she is flushing their family name down the toilet. Get my drift?

Like with every damn thing in the world today, terrorism and racism has made their way into the blogging scene. It’s no wonder that governments around the world are closely monitoring the blogsphere. I’m pretty darn sure that there are extremists that have taken to blogging to spread their propaganda. Since they are already using youtube, why not blogs?

My prediction is that we’ll see a good number of bloggers as ambassadors of household brands soon. The simple fact is bloggers are more believable than celebrities. We all know celebs are paid a huge some of $$ to endorse products that they probably have never heard of. The celeb appears on print ads, TVC commercials and would probably attend a product launch. We bloggers on the other hand, are the new voice in advertising. When a blogger says that something is good, readers are likely be curious to find out for themselves why it’s so darn good. For example, what would you do if I told you that the Prawn Noodles at S-11 Blk 504 Bishan Street 11 rocks?

It’s really damn good…

Super Import Nights - "The Ultimate Motorshow" will see the finest import models grace their event. Who cares about cars when you get to ogle at these hotties?! Super Import Nights is happening at the Singapore Expo Hall 5 from November 8th to 11th. Here' s what you can expect at the show...

It’s the weekend and thankfully, we have the weekend off. Woo hoooo hooo!! There’s lots to do today but I’m putting this post first on my things to do list. Reservist training is on the agenda, so here we go…

I, like many of my campmates, enjoy our annual in-camp training. It’s a yearly meet-up session where we get to catch up and relive the good old army days. I would call us a pretty tight bunch. Reservist training is always fun and it wouldn’t be the same without these guys.

Looking back, I miss my army days. I remember the drinking sessions we used to have at a certain coffee-shop. We would book out of camp and take a long walk to this coffee-shop in Jurong. Most of us weren’t good drinkers then but we sure tried to be. I’ll be wasted after every drinking session and a couple of us would puke our way back to camp.

I remember one terrible incident where I got drunk and passed out on a stone bench (near the Padang) on the morning of National Day. Many officers (including my CSM, OC and CO) walked passed and took note of this drunk Eurasian boy sleeping in the rain. Thankfully I didn’t get charged and the National Day Parade was a success.

I used to get into a lot of trouble back then. Each incident would see me sign a couple of extras. For those that aren’t in the loop, signing an extra means you’ll have to be on duty (e.g.: guard duty). I did a hell lot of guard duties back then. Now, I try my best to stay out of trouble. It’s kinda hard to stay out of the radar when you’ve got tattoos all over. Everyone remembers you for your tattoos. That is never a good thing when it comes to the army!

The thing about the army is that it builds a bond. A bond so strong that it can withstand the test of time. When you put a bunch of guys with different backgrounds together for 2 years, you’re gonna have a team that understands each other even though they only meet once a year. I’m thankful that I met Vijay years ago. He has proven to be an awesome best friend. Sure we have had our fair share of problems. All friendships do. Well, reservist wouldn’t be the same without him!

Lots have changed since our ORD years ago. Some are married, some have kids, some are jobless, some are earning more then the commanding officer and some have made their mark in their respective industry. But you know what? It’s great being back together! It’s great reliving the good old army days. We’ve got 15 more days and it’s gonna be a blast!

I've just got back from day 1 of our annual in-camp training. I spent today lying around the bunk, meals at the canteen and hours of nonsensical chatter. We ended the day with beers at the coffee-shop. For some reason, I'm freaking tired. Go figure! Protecting the nation is a tough job ok! GO GUARDSMEN!! I'll do a proper post tomorrow. Nights ya'll!!

I received a SMS from an old friend, William, regarding a fire slightly after midnight. Since it was near home, we decided to visit the area to get some pictures for this blog.

We knew there was a fire but we didn't know it was this big! All roads leading to the market was cordoned off by the police.

A resident we spoke to, told us that the fire started at 9pm and a series of explosions were heard. From the looks of it, the entire market has been damaged by the fire.

Well, here are the pictures...

Please be patient while video loads...

My day started wrong when the morons at Pacific Internet took a bloody long time to attend to my call. Why do they even bother having a customer service hotline when you’ve gotta wait? The more you wait, the more irritated you’ll become. And when I'm irritated, I'll let the person on the receiving end know exactly how I feel. I pity the folks working in call centers but at the same time, they are paid to handle shit!

Alright, let’s move on to today’s post. As the title blatantly suggests, it’s about Facebook. It’s the latest social networking website that has made it huge in the internet world. According toWikipedia, it's 38 million users to be exact. Almost everyone I know has signed up with Facebook. If you have not, what are you waiting for?!

First up, I’ll like to say that Facebook beats the crap out of other social networking websites (e.g.: Friendster, Classmates.Com, Dodgeball and hi5). I still love my myspace.com account though. But I reckon I’ll delete the Friendster account soon enough.

What sets Facebook apart from the rest is that it’s fun. There’s loads of applications online to suit everyone. Some of these applications can also be down right rritating. There’s not a day that goes by where someone isn’t trying to turn me into a vampire or a Jedi! I love the Naughty Gift application. I'm currently ranked 'Smooth Operator'. Heh!

A cool application I found online recently is the Blog RSS Feed Reader. This application allows me to show my latest post titles on my profile. It’s awesome publicity for any blogger. I have seen a fair amount of traffic from Facebook since I added this application. That can only be a good thing.

If you do have a Facebook account, go ahead and add me. I’ve included my profile badge at the end of this post so that you won’t need to search me up .

Well, I’ve got 3 days to go before I have to drag my ass for my annual reservist training. It’s 16 days with my army buddies and I’m sure it’ll be fun. I know the drinking session will be. Heh! Till the next post, here’s Noel Boyd signing out….Peace!

After weeks of hard work, The Tattoo Boutique was launched yesterday morning. The Tattoo Boutique is an online store based in the States that sells tattoo related merchandise and apparel. The primary reason why we chose an online store is because most people shop online these days.

Well folks, if you love tattoos, you’ll probably love the merchandise we have. We designed all the items you see on our page. There’s no chance in hell that you’ll find these items at any other place. We each have our favourites of the lot. I’m sure you will too. Ant loves the Women's Raglan Hoodie and I love the Chef’s BBQ Apron.

When we were in the designing phrase, Ant and I would argue (erm…debate I mean) about the designs. Ultimately, we wanted something that our friends would wear. That’s the direction we took and that’s where we are now.

We’d love some feedback from you. To do so, visit my store and pop back here when you’re done and leave your comments at this post. Thanks for the support and happy shopping!

Hey all, just a short post to wish all my Muslim friends Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri! Enjoy the food and have an awesome festive season!

Sometime back, I plugged an Indian restaurant that opened in my neighbourhood. Today, I’m gonna plug them again. This time around, it’s all about Fish Head Curry. I’ve never been a fan of this popular Singaporean dish. All that changed when I brought some friends to dinner at Wendy’s Spize Hut. Collectively, they decided to order the largest fish head curry set (a little more about the sets later).

When the dish came, I took a spoonful of the curry and it blew me away. Damn did the curry taste good! Seriously, I don’t know what they put in the curry but it’s the bomb! The fish head was good too, white and soft. Nothing beats fresh seafood in any dish.

Well, I guess you’ve got to try out their Fish Head Curry yourself and be the judge. A person’s taste bud is as unique as their personality. That’s what I always believe. The fish head comes in 3 sets and this special promotion ends on the 31st of October. Here are the sets…

Small: $21.00
Small fish head + 2 white rice set + 2 lime juice (Get a FREE ½ Tandoorin chicken)

Medium: $28.50
Medium fish head + 3 white rice set + 3 lime juice (Get a FREE ¾ Tandoorin chicken)

Large: $36.00
LARGE fish head + 4 white rice set + 4 lime juice (Get a FREE Full Tandoorin chicken)

You might wanna try their naan bread, briyani and mee goreng too. Those are my personal favourites and they get me drooling all the time. I’m drooling already! Mee goreng!! Mee goreng!! Mee goreng!!

Wendy’s Spize Hut is located at No.12 Jalan Gelenggang (578192). If you’ve got no idea where that is, it’s at Sembawang Hills Estate, Upper Thomson Road. I’ll give you another hint…Jalan Leban! You’ll be happy to know that it is open 24 hours, 7 days a week. Slurp!

Whenever I think of the 80's and am in a retro mood, this song comes to mind. It's the only song of its kind. Here's Billy Joel with We Didn't Start The Fire!

Hey all, here’s the 2nd part of ‘PSP? We had zero-point and spiders...’ as promised. The following are contributions from Ant, myself and not forgetting the readers (thanks for the emails). Enjoy!


Growing Up

Ant: The Road Safety Park at East Coast Park was the bomb! Parents and school would bring their kids there to teach them about road safety. You could be a pedestrian, motorist, cyclist and so on…You’ll be given a card that plans your route around the park and you’ll have to observe all the necessary road safety rules while trying to complete the route. At the end of it, you’ll be given a certificate. Ant says her dad brought her and her cousins to the park every weekend and she had certificates for all the different roles!

Noel Boyd: I don’t know if you guys will remember this. There used to be this thing called Twinkle Friend. It’s a hotline for children to call when they have problems in school or at home. Even when you’re bored, you can call and talk to someone. There was always a listening ear!

Sue: The Bookworm Club used to come to schools to promote reading and sell their story books. There was membership that children can get. Every year on your birthday, you can redeem your birthday present at their clubhouse in Selegie. Who can forget Porky, Mimi, Fat Ani, Sam Seng, Smarty, Simone, Edison and Louise?

Winston Phua: Western Bar was a kick-ass handheld game! Every kid played this game. The graphics were lame but who cared?!

Chua: Back then, our playground was made up of metal structures. It was a bunch of steel put together for kids to climb. Even the swing was made up of a wooden seat and metal chains.

Chua: Back in 1989, the fastest modem was 300bps (over phone)..

Chua: You listen to songs on LPs (laser disc) at 45rpm or 33rpm, instead of CDs.

Chua: Television programmes started at 3pm on SBC channel 5 and the broadcast ended at 11pm.

Suffian: We could buy paper kites for 25 cents from mama shops. Some of us would buy these kites everyday after school.

Thomas - jpopnut: School boys would gamble everyday while playing marbles. There were different techniques and each game costs 20 cents or so.

Food

Chua: You can buy eggs from door to door salesman. These eggs were direct from the farm.

Noel Boyd: Hawkers would come to our door step. I remember my neighbourhood had a rojak man on his motorbike, a mee goreng man also on a motorbike, these two brothers that would drive around the neighbourhood selling cakes and confectioneries from their van.

Ant: I remember young boys going floor to floor of HDB flats selling “epok-epok” and “goreng pisang”. They would shout “epok-epok” and “goreng pisang” at the top of their voices and residents would shout in-return their floor level to attract the attention of the boys.

Chua: On National day, kids used to get our national flag filled with sweets or chocolate.

Wendy_T: A&W was the in-thing more than Macs and KFC. The famous brown bear was a welcoming sight at every A&W restaurant. I miss their Root Beer float and Curly Fries!!

Ant: “Air Batu” sticks was a common treat for kids after school. It was 10 cents each and they came in all colours.

Noel Boyd: Before “Ice Kacang” came about, there was the ice ball. I would walk all the way to Ang Mo Kio park and buy myself an ice ball. The walk was long but it was worth every step once I had that ball of ice in my hand!

Army Days

Kris_74 : While doing our national service, the bed mattress was made of dirty old yellow foam. You can feel the springs of the bed whenever you lie down. Today, our soldiers get bloody King Koil mattresses!

Kris_74: Our camp food was cooked by national servicemen. Only god knows what they put in the food everyday. Needless to say, it was horrible!

Chee Soon Juan is a pest in our society. His latest arrest only amplifies the fact that he is a nuisance and a disease that Singapore doesn’t need. There are many ways to gather supporters to one’s cause. The first step is to earn the people’s respect. Nobody in their right mind is gonna respect a madman. Anyone can shoot their mouth off. You, me, your grandmother and your next door neighbour. It’s something that even a 3 year old can do without even trying.

As a Singaporean, I’m truly happy living here. The People’s Action Party has done a hell of a job. Sure there are things which we aren’t happy about. But which country is perfect anyway? All one needs to do is to travel the world. After you do that, come back home and compare.

I’m all for opposition parties. They are needed to stabilize a country. There are two prominent opposition party members that have done a pretty decent job so far. They have maintained the peace and harmony that we Singaporeans enjoy 365 days a year while carrying out their job. These two individuals are none other than Mr Chiam See Tong and Mr Low Thia Khiang.

End of the day, I look at Singaporeans and I’m proud. If this was elsewhere, we would have witnessed hundreds or thousands of ding dongs marching behind Chee to the Istana. That didn’t happen not because we are afraid of getting arrested but because Singaporeans are smarter than that. We are an educated bunch that sees things through a different spectrum. We know what’s good for this country and what needs to be done for us to continue growing as a nation.

My only wish is that he’ll be put behind bars for a longer period this time around. Only then would this disease be confined! In a cell that is…


Note: Noel Boyd is in no way connected to politics. On many occasions, Noel has spoken (mostly when drunk) about starting a Tattooed People’s Party. This post is based solely on his personal views.

Hey all, I hope your Tuesday has gone well thus far. I’ve decided to use today’s post to plug a good friend’s business. Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to Adventure Logistics. Spearheaded by Don Tan, Adventure Logistics caters to every marine lover dream dive. Their dive locations include the beautiful island of Bali, Komodo Island, Redang and many more.

With 3500 dives under his belt, this adventure craving friend of mine knows the water like a botanist knows his flowers. 10 years in the industry has seen Don dive in the most exotic of locations. I for one have been envious of his diving trips. The closest I’ve got to these locations are the pictures that he has shared with me over the years.

Currently, Similan and Hin Huang/Hin Muang (Red & Purple Rock off Phi Phi Island) are up for single and group bookings. Hin Muang is known for marine life such as Manta Rays and Whale Sharks that have made the habitat their home. Packages for live-aboard trips to these locations are from SGD$770 onwards for 5 days and 4 nights. On a live-aboard trip, you'll be housed on a luxury vessel (picture on your left) during your stay. The luxury vessel is air-conditioned and will be your home above water. How cool is that?!

Being in weather crazy South-east Asia, you’ll be glad to know that there are dive locations to choose from all year round. So if you’re one that worries about the monsoon season, that’s one reason why you shouldn’t. To accommodate the growing number of divers that frequent Thailand, Adventure Logistics recently opened their branch in Phuket.

If all this talk about diving has gotten you interested in diving, Adventure Logistics conducts diving lessons too. Classes can be modified to suit your busy schedule or catered for single person classes. This should be good news for the ever busy Singaporean.

If you can’t swim like me, there are other packages that Adventure Logistics has to offer. Imagine dining at Jimbaran Bay in Bali with the sunset in the background or having a paint-ball war along the beaches of Phuket. There’s so much to do in South-east Asia and Adventure Logistics can plan your holiday for you while you sit back and anticipate the trip.

If you want to find out more about the trips and packages on offer, drop Don an email at info@adventlog.com or call him on his mobile at 9693 2798.

We've seen some really awesome tattoos on this blog. Along with those nice ones, I've showed you some that would make you go OH MY GOD! In today's post, you're gonna look at advertising in the form of tattoos. I doubt any of these fellas were paid by these super rich organizations. But if you really think about it, this is a form of advertising that will last a lifetime...