Resurrected in Facebook

I almost forgot, Facebook has reinstated my account.

Hi,

Your name has been changed, and we have reactivated your account.  We apologize for any inconvenience.  Enjoy the site.

Thanks,

User Operations
Facebook

This was March 25, 2009. Unfortunately, I’ve moved on to check something else, which is Twitter and haven’t logged into Facebook ever since.

I hear that twitter is becoming quite a fad now. Not sure why. That’s why I’ve moved on to something else. It’s not my fault that Facebook has a ridiculous security system.

Adventure 200’s Dennis Kweh on CNA

Show your support! =)

To know more, visit the official Adventure 200 website at www.a200.sg

We Be Runnin

ADVENTURE 200 Singapore - Support Dennis Kweh Soon Huat

25 Feb 2009

Dear Sir/Madam

ADVENTURE200 Singapore – 1 Person, 1 Metre, 1 Dollar, 1 at a time… is all it takes.

Allow me to introduce myself, I am Dennis Kweh and I am a librarian. I suffered from a rare genetic disorder Morquio Brailsford Disease, Spinal Sclerosis and blinded on one eye due to Glaucoma. I count myself among the fortunate few who lived a respectful and meaningful life. Now at 47 years old, I hope to return to the society by reaching out to
help fellow disabled in this Adventure200 challenge in April 2009.

I plan to travel 200km over 3 days (21-23 Apr09) within Singapore on a battery powered wheelchair, covering places like East Coast Park, MacRitchie Nature Reserves, Orchard, Shenton Way, HortParks, South Bouna Vista Rd etc. I will be on the road continuously for at least 10 hours a day to achieve this aim of covering 200km. To make this quest even more meaningful, I hope to be able to raise S$1 for every meter I travelled.

If I am successful in this quest, I will be able to raise S$200,000 for the Spastic Children’s Association of Singapore (SCAS) to help people with cerebral palsy under their care.

SCAS was chosen as the beneficiary due to its specialized intervention and rehabilitative
programs for cerebral palsy in Singapore. Cerebral palsy (CP) is an umbrella term
encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious diseases that cause physical
disability in human development. While cerebral palsy is a physically crippling disease,
it is not a humanly crippling disease. The human spirit will not be discouraged. With
assistive technology gadgets, they empower the person with greater confidence, enhance
independence and improve abilities. Take the good example of Stephen Hawkings, who
is not hampered by his disability to be one of the finest scientists in this century.
On a personal level, I cannot just keep still and go about my daily life when I have seen
what cerebral palsy patients went through during one of my visit to SCAS. Thus, I have
made a personal challenge to do something for them and improve their lives through my
wheelchair marathon.

Singapore Therapeutic Assistive & Rehabilitative Technologies
(START) Centre Pte Ltd
49 Kaki Bukit View, Singapore 415973
Tel: +65 6743 0262 Fax: +65 743 0263

The fundraising of this project will be managed by the START Centre Pte Ltd who has
graciously come forward to join me in this worthy cause by offering their services free of
charge. Your donations will go directly to the Spastic Children’s Association of
Singapore.

This letter reaches you with an appeal to help raise funds for the people suffering from
cerebral palsy. I believe being disabled is no barrier to help other people with disabilities.
I hope to be able to do my part, and despite the current belt tightening economic situation,
I hope you will join me in this good cause and give generously or within your means.
Your donation will mean a lot for them as well as for me.

Should you need more information, you can visit our website http://adventure200.abletribe.org/ or the personnel listed below.

Every amount is appreciated. With this donation drive, the people with disabilities are given a chance and a hope to reach for greater heights. I count on you to make this happen for them. 1 at a time. Thank you.

Yours sincerely
Dennis Kweh
Wheelchair fundraiser
Adventure200 Singapore

[Straitstimes.com] – 200km in 3 days

[Abletribe.com] – ADVENTURE 200 Singapore

—

In support of Dennis Kweh and his cause, I signed up to join him in Day 3 of his marathon. And get this, it’s a 15Km run.

How far is a 15Km run? I’m guessing at least 7 PIE exits. (I think I got myself in trouble again, huh?)

Anyway, I still think it’s good to join Mr Kweh in his marathon. I’m not sure if he’s going around Singapore in his motorized wheelchair or he’ll be using his hands to wheel himself, but it takes a lot of dedication to be in the forefront of this. And I say that Dennis Kweh needs all the support. So I’m doing my part.

That’s why I started to get back to training by running everyday. Hopefully twice a day if I have the time and focus. Maybe I’ll be able to get myself into shape and get back into a healthy habit. Maybe.

That’s why I see this opportunity as a win-win scenario.

If you see this as I do, we hope you’ll do your part to support this outstanding cause.

Good luck to all of us then =)

Facebook wants me to be real

Do you know that I have a facebook account?

Do you know that it was recently disabled?

My disabled Facebook account

Wanna know why? Because I used a different name… “El Guapo.”

Wanna know what Facebook says with regards to using fake names?

Facebook terms and conditions

Wanna know what I did? I sent them an email to ask of what happened. Asking them to what extent did I do that my account was disabled without even any warnings.

Here’s what the Facebook Team said:

Hi,

Unfortunately, our systems detected that the name on your account might violate our standards. Facebook requires all profiles to be associated with a full, real name that corresponds to a single individual.

Please provide the following information, and we will gladly re-evaluate the status of your account.

First Name:
Last Name:
Primary use for account:

Thanks,

The Facebook Team

Like, um.. what?!? Their systems detected that name on my account might violate some of Facebook’s standards?!?

Can you believe that Facebook has such an advanced system that can pre-empt such cases based on names. I mean, if you put up a name such as “El Guapo” then you’re in deep sh*t. And if your name is like this fellow, what then?

If Facebook can detect such things that can happen in the future, shouldn’t they be working for the military by now? Scary thought, huh. Imagine, the military can just.. poke you for thinking of bad things to your country.

Okay, given that Facebook means well, forcing users to be transparent to other users/groups.. then this I ask. Shouldn’t they be disabling accounts of authors who have pen names, or celebrities with their stagenames? If the Pope has a Facebook account, shouldn’t he be registering his real name?

And if Facebook would like to enforce such rules, they should ask of legal documents from users to ID themselves. Documents such as birth certificate.. or social security numbers.. etc.. should be given upfront by the users.

Why I registered for a Facebook account in the first place is to do research on this new online social networking platform. How Facebook, as a new fad that is now more popular than Friendster, affects how people socialize in the web.

There are various reasons why people like me do not put in their real name in the cyberspace. Reasons like for security measures or for anonymity, are the few that come into mind. And I think the Facebook team has overlooked an important matter.. if people can give out false information about themselves in real life, why should they be different in the cyberspace?

I just hope no one lawyer gets an idea to help me sue Facebook because of emotional stress (wink wink).

Revisiting the Field of Dreams

Tonight showing on HBO…

We recently caught up with 1989’s hit movie “Field of Dreams” on HBO and, like how I felt when I first watched it, the film still hits something inside me.

Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) is a farmer in Iowa who built a baseball field in the middle of nowhere all because he heard a voice telling him that “If you build it, He will come.”

He risked everything from foreclosure and bankruptcy.. to alienating his family.. to being the town’s humiliation.. and so on and so forth, all because of a belief to do one thing. To build a baseball field.

And for whom?… Now that’s the whole point of the story.

Twenty years later after they’ve shown this film and a couple of economic downturn, here I am again watching the Field of Dreams. Watching Ray Kinsella make sense of all the things that life has thrown at him. Going through the obstacles not knowing for sure what’s in store for him. All he knows is.. that there’s something good for him at the end of it all.

If you look at this movie closely, you can find some ways in the story to connect with him.  Ray is in his 36th year and is looking for a meaning in life. One night, he thought to himself that he is turning into his father. A little league pro who never quite made it in his heydays until life caught up with him and left his dreams to work to pay the rent.

Ray told himself that he doesn’t know what the voice is telling him, but deep inside him, if he doesn’t do it, he’ll end up with nothing just like his dad. Nothing to pursue. Nothing.

But in this story, Ray had his family’s consent to draw strength from. To say, “Go ahead, Ray!” To give him that extra push.

This is a feel-good story that I know is still relative to today’s situation. In this trying times, anyone should have that drive to pursue his dreams. No matter what others think or say.

But no one can make through this journey alone. As they say, no man is an island.

You need your loved ones to support you by any means.. even with kind words. Trusting you all the way. Hoping that you’ll never give up.

Ray have drew strength from his wife, Annie.. his daughter, Karin.. and Boston-based author, Terrence Mann. From these three people, he pursued his calling that lead to a happy ending.

I know you’ve heard this before, but this much is true. Everything happens for a reason. But never just leave it all to that. Things happen for a reason because it leads to a greater good. You have to go beyond it. To resolve whatever there is that needs resolving. To achieve whatever there is to achieve. And to believe that in the end, you did everything and live life without regrets.

Blind faith.

There’s a lot of things in the movie that may be illogical, like Ray time-traveling to 1972 to meet Moonlight Graham. But this does not matter. All you need to do is listen to their conversations and you’ll repeatedly hear how faith can lead to many things. Good things.

I personally like this movie quote from Ray’s wife, Annie, when he went to Minessota and called her to check on them. She was wondering why Ray was in Minessota and all he can say is that she won’t believe him how they ended up there. All she can say was ok, and.. “someday, explain to me what is going on.” She bid her farewell and asured him that everything’s ok eventhough it’s not.

Blind faith.

And things have their funny way of working out for you. I hope you’ll find it in your heart to trust in life no matter what.

—

Okay, there is one thing that I can’t get over with this film, and that is James Earl Jones. It’s not that he’s bad for the part. No. He is quite a good fit for it, like being the voice of wisdom over Ray.

Funny thing is that he still sounds like Darth Vader. Whenever I look away from the TV and hear him say his lines, I can’t help but wonder that it’s Darth Vader who’s saying his lines. And these are the lines that I imagine Darth Vader play Terrence Mann.

“I’m gonna beat you with a crowbar.”

“You’re from the sixties. Get away! You don’t belong in the future!”

“I’m not going to get rid of you, am I?”

“I want a dog and a beer.”

But this is the one that I like and take seriously..

“I like your passion. Misdirected, but still passion.“

R.I.P. Francis Magalona

We'll miss you, Kiko!