http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/business/management/project-management.html http://www.articletrader.com/business/management/project-management.html Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500 Calculate the total number of days you need to have the work done, and the number of people you need in the team. For South-East Asian country, it is sensible to add one additional day for project which requires 30 days to complete or more. This is for the rainy days. If your project needs 12 months to complete, add another 12 days, unless there is really no choice.

In your written contract agreement with the subcontractor, make it in writing that all technicians in your team must be certified ones and that should you remove any one of them, the subcontractor must be able to send a replacement by the following day. Unless this clause is included, you cannot complete your project on time, and without rework because when you sack a certain bad apple, the subcontractor will not send in a replacement. It is your project that will be delayed, not his. His employee will be working at other places by the next morning. It is also common in this part of the world that contractors show you a list of qualified technicians in your office. But those who turn up to work are different from the ones listed in the agreement.


For example, you have a job going on board a rig. The rig is leaving in three days, and your welders are caught smoking in no-smoking area on the rig. The superintendent catches them and kicks them out of the rig. You will not complete the job on time and the subcontractor will be laughing at you. You pay the compensation, not him. Verbal agreements are legal in some countries. Never accept an agreement verbally. You stand to lose, not the subcontractor.


Always have three subcontractors to quote for your project. It is the only way to find the best offer. It is also a good way to tell the contractors that they need to be cost effective. Make sure all the three quotations that come in are genuine ones, say, from Mr. Abdul Magha, Mr. Baskaran and Mr. Charlie AngMoh. It is common for a corrupt contractor to quote a project at exceptionally high fee, and he can still tell the other two contractors to quote very much higher than him. The three contractors take turn to suck money out of your company.


The above swindling method may seem negligible if only one industrial concern is doing it in a country. If there are more than one thousand MNC doing it, it could be the starting point of a global financial crisis. Do you need a Bachelor Degree in economics to understand this?


The normal working hours must be adhered to. You cannot say because the lump sum has been paid and therefore the subcontractor's crew can start work or stop work as they wish. If this is the case, the crew can come in to work at 1.00 pm and stop work at 9.00 pm. Won't this schedule upset you project engineer or team leader's routine?




Make sure that whatever job you want to proceed are clearly stated, especially in the blue prints so that the subcontractor have no chance to bother you. If the subcontractor's crew is not able to interpret those blue prints, that is his problem. You have the right to cancel the agreement and look for a substitute. You do not have to act as an instructor on site, nor do you have to roll up your sleeves and help the subcontractor carry the 8 inch ball vales, gate valves etc from the jetty up to the rig.


I have seen cases where the supervisors of the contractors were not able to fill up a hot work permit forms or to communicate properly with the clients who speak English. So the team leader or the project engineer need to step in to have the jobs done.



Project management means delegating jobs to all those under you who you are sure are able to carry out the jobs successfully. But unfortunately, in many parts of the world, the greedy contractors will tell your boss : Look, Johnny, that project engineer is so free most of the days. Why can't he roll up his sleeves and help us to complete the jobs faster? If that contractor has given some corrupt money to Johnny, definitely Johnny will agree with the greedy contractor.



Your materials and equipment must be all ready. Have a full list of who can provide you with a replacement should your equipment break down while the project is on. It will be very expensive to look for replacement of equipment once the project is on, unless you have contacts who are not greedy. Be honest, all materials must be genuine ones. Honesty is still the best policy. Your competitors cannot pull your tail, unless you have one.


No contractors, their representatives, or other visitors should be allowed to loiter around the company premises. Each visitor's arrival time and departure time must be recorded and each visitor must be accompanied to the exit door by a company representative.

The team leader or project engineer is an authorized representative of the company. He is there to make sure that the job is done in accordance with the contract as agreed between his company and the subcontractor. He is not there to help the subcontractor carry pipes, oxygen and acetylene bottles and so on. Remember, if a subcontractor wants you to do these, ask him to have a written statement duly signed by your company manager.

All personnel working on your project must be from the subcontractor. If you find your workers working on the project which has been contracted by the subcon, tell your manager about it. List all the workers who left your company workshop, in the morning and the time they returned to the workshop of the company you work for. The subcon will have to pay back to your company for every worker seconded to him from your workshop. It is common for a subcon to take away more than ten workers from your workshop and do not have to pay one cent at the end of the project because there is no document to prove that your company had provided him with employees from your company.

Nothing comes free in this world. If you see greenbacks, stuffed in an envelope, placed on your hotel room table, call the reception people to remove them. If the police check on you and the serial numbers on those backs tally with the list produced by the police, you are in for great trouble.


If you have a serious complaint regarding the integrity of your managers, it is best to write directly to your CEO. Never trust a complaint site set up by the company, e.g baskaranservices.silentwhistle.com. You never know, this could be a camouflage set up by the dishonest managers, so that they know before hand, which subordinate is complaining about them. How do you know the materials mentioned in the silentwhistle.com will reach the CEO?

Do not commit yourself, if you find free one-night stand coming into your room, turn down the offer politely. You don't know what those crooked people are going to do. If you need a partner, go out and arrange it yourself, it will still be cheaper in the end. Moreover, you will owe nobody anything, and nobody will be able to tell you to do things as they wish.



--
Mechanical engineer with over 40 years experience. Please visit http://www.helium.com/users/115869 for more articles of this nature. Feedback is welcome.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/society/religion/sakyamuni-buddha.html http://www.articletrader.com/society/religion/sakyamuni-buddha.html Tue, 07 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0500 He lived from 566 to 486 BC. His teachings were passed down orally and they were only committed to writing in Sri Lanka around the middle of the first century BC. They consisted of three baskets or divisions called Pitaka. It has been estimated by scholars that if all the main points of the three baskets were listed in book form, that set of books would be equal to 360 copies of our average encyclopedia today.
The Pitaka consists of 1) the discourses or sermons of the Buddha, 2) the Monastic rules, and 3) the Abhidhamma.
He was born as an average person. This was a good sign because it means you and I can also become a Buddha. You don't need to be the most intelligent ones in the nation like the top 0.000001% of the population to be able to understand the Dharma to became a Buddha. If He was very intelligent, He would have attained Nirvana earlier, because as a child (aged 7) He sat under a rose-apple tree watching His father carrying out the opening ceremony for the ploughing season, He crossed legs and went on meditation and was believed to have reached the different levels of the Jhanas. He could have continued and practised harder and successfully attain Buddhahood without spending the six years which He did later on.
His most learned disciple was Ananda and Ananda was the last of the 1250 disciples to attain arahanthood. Manjusri was the brightest of the 1250 disciples but he was not the first one to attain arahanthood.
The Buddha never claimed there was a royal road to Nirvana. However, He did teach that if a person should develop sincerely (The Noble EightfFold Path ) in the way He described, for seven days, he or she would attain full Enlightenment or the state of non-returner. For more info, please log on to http://satipatthana.org/satipatthana_sutta.html

There are 31 planes if existence, and our human world is the fifth one. This is the only plane where, we the humans can see the things around us with our naked eyes. From level 6 to level 31 are all heavenly realms. From level 1 to 4 are the realms of the ghosts. The ghosts are only able to frighten the humans but are not able to physically hurt us. Otherwise, many people would have been dead, taking into consideration that the ghosts can see us but we cannot see them. The access to those 26 heavenly realms are within the reach of humans who are performing good deeds on this earth. No god hold the keys to those heavens and no god decides who goes there and who goes to hells.
Meditation will strengthen your faith on the religion. After a few months of constant practice, many meditators can see brilliant lights, colours, beautiful images, Buddhas and celestial beings. Please tell yourself that these are your own creations and are therefore not real. Sakyamuni Buddha said it very clearly that He would not be able to return to this earth, knowing that after His era many fakes would appear. The next Buddha will be born as a person when Buddhism no longer exists on this earth. He will practise on his own as a common being and eventually attain Buddhahood and will be able to enlighten others.
When Sakyamuni attained Buddhahood under the Bohdi tree, the Dharma He discovered was very hard to understand and He was thinking of leaving this Earth at that moment. Fortunately, Brahma Sahampati came down from heaven to invite the Buddha to expound the Dharma.
Quote:
"Those Enlightened ones of the past, those of the future, and those of the present age, who dispel the grief of many – all of them lived, will live, and are living respecting the noble Dharma. This is the characteristic of the Buddhas."
Unquote.
Perhaps during His previous life He made a wish that for His final birth as a man, He would be an ordinary being, grow up, get married and have children to show the public that they need not shave off the hair to attain nirvana, just like one couple did during the Buddha's time. This couple was both acrobats, earning a living around every part of India. One day they were fortunate enough to come to perform in front of the Buddha. They both were doing the somersaulting on top of two different bamboo poles, and they both attained Arahantship while on top of the poles. When they came down, the Buddha ordained them on the spot because when a person attains arahanship that person will leave this world automatically within seven days unless he or she becomes a monk or nun.
The Buddha also encouraged His followers to continue earning money. He said every body must put aside some of the profits for the rainy day (our CPF today), and spend a portion of the remaining amount for family maintenance, and another portion for doing Dharma, and invest the remaining portion to keep the business or economy growing.
The Buddha was not a vegetarian. The Buddhists need not be vegetarians. There was one fisherman who invited the Buddha to a dinner of curry fish. The Buddha personally went to the fisherman's hut to accept the meal because He wanted that poor fisherman to have the chance to receive the merit. The Buddha did not tell the fisherman to change the profession even though the Buddhists were and still are advised to refrain from killing. The Buddha also clearly stated it was the citizens’ duties to take up arms to defend their country.
However, if a country attacks another country for selfish reason, and a citizen joins the armed forces, in the process he kills some of the so-called enemies, he creates the personal Karma of killing.
Fixed Karma is committed with speech, mind and body. The example would be a premeditated crime. Every thought, utterance, and deed is a seed that ripens over time. Every one has the potential at every moment to alter the course of the future Karma, by doing good deeds. The Buddha personally said “ If there is no way out, I will not be teaching you today”.
Collective Karma is created when a group of people, for example, go and set fires to destroy properties and living beings. The resulting Karma will be about the same for the future of this group. They will be burned to death in their future live and their properties will be destroyed by others.
Karma means the retribution or reward, in current or future life. Poverty and want are the results of miserly thoughts and actions in past lives. There are common Karma, fixed Karma and Collective Karma. It is the law of nature. Every good action will result in good Karma and every bad action will result in bad Karma. No one can escape it except the Buddhas and the Arahants, whose actions will create no further Karma.
The area covered by the Buddha when He was teaching was about 250 miles from East to West and about 150 miles from North to South. He was able to fly into the air unassisted but very few people ever saw him flying. He walked from place to place most of the time.
The Buddha died at a small town called Kusinara. It was mistakenly reported he died of food poisoning after eating a meal of pork donated by a lay follower. Some people who disliked the Buddha even said He was poisoned by the lay follower.
This was most unlikely because a Buddha or an Arahant could see what was in the food, just like they could see the viruses in the cup of water. There was no way a person could poison him. For whatever reason the food was contaminated, the Buddha knew it because after the meal He told His disciple to dig a hole in the ground and bury the remaining food because no humans or animals could consume that food without being harmed. The Buddha ate the meal because He wanted the lay follower to receive the merit. Eating animal flesh and be poisoned was common during the Buddha's time and it is still common even today just as what we see in the TV every day.
After eating that meal the Buddha became ill but he recovered later on. During that time He was 80 years old. Naturally, He died of failing health later on.
Before attaining parinirvana, the Buddha asked His disciples and all the lay followers if there was any question they wanted to raise. No one raised any question. This proved that He had taught us every thing we need to know to attain Buddhahood. When Ananda wanted to know if there should be a successor, the Buddha said the Dharma should be the guide after He was gone.
The Buddha's last words were:
" Decay is inherent in all things
be sure to strive with clarity of mind for Nirvana. "
(unquote)
Nirvana doesn't mean emptiness because when the Buddha returned to His hometown, the throne was still for him. He refused it and did not want His son to inherit it either. Would a person give up a coveted kingdom for emptiness?
Sakyamuni was the only religious teacher who had said that to protect other people’s religion was to protect your own religion. He never said that to attain Nirvana, a person must be a monk. During His time, there were many lay followers who attained Arahanthood, which was actually Nirvana. The bliss is the same except that the arahants are not able to enlighten others. The Buddha also never said there was a Royal Road to Nirvana, as claimed by some people today. The chanting of certain Sutra alone will not lead you to Nirvana. But if you chant that Sutra and at the same time practise the Noble Eightfold Path earnestly, you will attain Arahanthood. The Buddha clearly stated that regardless of religion and race, a person who had eradicated greed, hatred and delusion would attain Nirvana.

The Buddha never said He wanted to save every living being and He never said He would return to this planet, but He did predict that another Buddha would be born on our present planet and that would be the 5th and the final Buddha for our planet Earth.

Copyright© 2005 Poh Tiong Ho



--
http://stores.lulu.com/pohtiongho/

Mechanical engineer with over 40 years experience. Please also visit http://www.helium.com/users/115869

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/technology/safety-engineering.html http://www.articletrader.com/technology/safety-engineering.html Sun, 01 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0500

The shocked incident happened on March 23, 2005, at BP Texas City Refinery’s octane-boosting isomerization (ISOM) unit. The blow-down unit was vented directly to the atmosphere. A nearby idling pick up truck, caused the explosion and fires through the unit and the surrounding areas, killing 15 people, destroying 13 trailers, and damaging 27 others, some were parked 479 feet away. Safety standard of BP had always been very high on my list until 2005. The first question I asked was: Why was the pick up truck not fitted with a spark arrester? The next question was : why were the trailers allowed to parked at an area where combustible gas could present?
If this sort of accident can happen to BP, just how safe are all the other engineering concerns?
Less than 50% of the industrial accidents in most countries are ever documented or reported in the local media. If an accident happens, the victim is normally the one to be blamed and for the temporary workers, the employers simply terminate their service. Often, it is only when the nature of the accident which can not be covered up, that the accident is covered by the media.
One resident engineer openly said that he did not want to see accident reports documented because he wanted to show the number of accidents in his yard as zero for the whole year. Quick surprisingly, he was able to cover up all the accidents. No wonder there were cases where the corpses of illegal foreign workers were reported.
The safety officer must report directly to a government body and not to the resident engineer (RE), because the RE can bias against the Safety officer since the RE may enjoy substantial benefits from the contractor like getting free lifts every day from house to office and vice versa. Other benefits are normally the payment of the house rents, the laundry bills and the bills from restaurant. At the moment, in many Asian countries most safety officers only appear on paper. They are actually people who are doing something else for the employers.
Majority of our Asian contractors still think of industrial safety as a burden and a waste of time and money. They must be educated to understand that industrial safety will actually increase their productivity and lower the production cost.
As the average education level of the workers grows higher, a day will come when many of these workers are able to sue the employers for damages like noise-induced hearing loss, loss of eye-sight etc. The subsequent compensation claims could be very high.
Non-compliance must be treated severely and the responsible parties heavily fined in terms of money or sent to jail for an appropriate duration. Otherwise, the Government can not protect its citizens from unscrupulous employers.
Stop work orders must be issued for any non-compliance audited. The construction yards or factories must be audited by the Government personnel at least once every two weeks. Containers which are meant
for transporting cargoes must not be used as living quarters for the workers. Can you imagine how dangerous it could be for a 20-footer-container, 10 feet wide, and 8 feet high to be used as a quarter for 12 persons? During an emergency, how do the workers escape, since there is only one door? I saw only one electric fan and there were seven persons with lighted cigarettes in that container.
All engineering courses in universities must include industrial safety as a compulsory subject and all undergraduates must undergo three-month industrial training on Safety with local companies before they are allowed to graduate.
For the non-graduate, a ten year industrial experience and a Secondary School Education must be the minimum qualifications a candidate should have before he / she is allowed to take an industrial safety course and to receive an industrial safety certificate. The industrial safety course must run for one year with every Saturday as a compulsory attendance for the candidate. The pass marks for all the papers must be 80% or higher.
The construction industry must liaise more closely with the Government and the Government personnel must go more often to the yards to carry out more thorough checks. For example the local contractors use crawler cranes without safety certificates. But when the Government personnel went to the site office, the safety personnel were shown a bunch of certificates from somewhere else. If this sort of practice is allowed, then one certificate of fitness can be used for millions of equipment.
Safety cannot be learned in the classroom. Just like the best training for soccer is to go into the field and practise. Safety is best learned in the field. Of course the safety officer must be around to train the workers. It is his/her duty to assist the workers to identify the hazards, to take precautions, to prevent and to carry out the protection from those hazards.
The best trained workers are the ones having a good knowledge of the jobs, with good skills and experience. They are most valuable to the company because without them, the company will not survive.
Each new recruit must be informed of the company safety policies and he/she must be shown around the new surroundings. The places where written entry permits are required must be briefed and those places clearly indicated.


--
Mechanical engineer with over 40 years experience. Please also visit http://www.helium.com/users/115869

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/self-improvement/spirituality/buddhist-monk-xuanzang.html http://www.articletrader.com/self-improvement/spirituality/buddhist-monk-xuanzang.html Sun, 01 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0500
He was born from Confucian family, in Henan Province, in 602 AD. At the age of thirteen, he was one of the fourteen monks who were selected to be trained and supported by the State, at his brother’s monastery. In 622 AD, at the age of twenty, Xuanzang was a full-fledged monk. In 618 AD, Li Yuan seized the throne and started the Tang Dynasty. The two brothers left Changan when their monastery was burned to the ground.

Xuanzang realized that he must visit India to collect the original copies of the Sutras. He started taking Sanskrit lessons from Indian monks and also gathering information on the Silk Road, used by the merchants.

In August 629 AD, at the age of twenty-seven, Xuanzang left Changan secretly, because he did not obtain the permission of the emperor, to leave the country. At Guazhou, his guide Pantuo left him, leaving Xuanzang with an old horse. Xuanzang soon lost his way in the desert and also spilled his only water left in the water bag, into the desert sand.

He turned back but after a few miles, he remembered his vow : Never take one step back towards China before reaching India. He was lost in the desert for four days, without a drop of water. On the fifth day, he fell on the sand, even the horse fell. It was believed he then prayed to Guanyin: I don’t seek riches, worldly profit or fame; my heart longs to find the true law. Oh, Bodhisattva, who forever yearns to deliver all creatures from misery, I am in such danger. Can’t you hear my prayer?

Xuanzang then began to recite the Heart Sutra, the final two lines consisted of :

The world is ultimately empty.
The wisdom of the Bodhisattva is such that he has no illusions in his mind, hence, no fear.

After the recitation, he felt better, and surprisingly the old horse was able to stagger up. They slogged for nearly four miles, when suddenly the horse turned in a different direction. The horse was leading and soon Xuanzang saw a pool of water. The horse and Xuanzang were saved.

Xuanzang arrived at Gaochang, a Buddhist kingdom. The king requested Xuanzang to stay on and offered his sister as a bride for Xuanzang. Xuanzan refused both offers knowing that the punishment would be death.

In order to convince the king, Zuanzang began to fast. He meditated and refused to take food or water for three days. He was very weak on the fourth day and had trouble breathing. The shocked king begged Xuanzang to eat and promised to let him continue his journey.



It was 628 AD when Xuan zang arrived at Kucha. Storms raged over the desert. It was winter and the Silk Road was brought to a standstill. He waited there for two months, hoping the storms would recede. But nature was against him and he continued with the journey. He and his crew which was provided by he king of Gaochang, had to suffer to bitter cold and strong winds for seven days. Fourteen of his men were dead, many oxen and horses were also dead, and most of the supplies were destroyed by the bad weather.

When Xuanzang came to the Ganges, his ferry was ambushed by pirates. All the passengers on the ferry were told to strip off their clothes.

These pirates worshipped river Godless Durga and they thought the handsome Xuanzang would make a good sacrifice. The pirates built a terrace with tree branches and mud and and put Xuanzang on it. This time death was certain. Xuanzang prayed to Maitreya Buddha. Xuanzang wanted to be reborned in the Tushita Heaven, and he wanted to come back to earth again to propagate the Dharma for the benefit of all beings.

Miraculously, a gale blew up, filling the Ganges with huge waves, overturning all boats. The pirates were shocked and asked the other passengers who the priest could be. They told him Xuanzang was from China and the the River Godless was offended. The pirates released Xuanzang and returned his robes to him and asked for forgiveness.

At the International University of Nalanda, Xuanzang met Venerable Shilabhadra, the master of Nalanda. Xuanzang kowtowed in front of Shilabhadra. When Shilabhadra heard that Xuanzang was from China, he cried. Shilabhadra had a dream earlier that a Bodhisattva of Wisdom told him a monk from China would come to learn the great Dharma from him.

Nalanda at that time had 10000 monks studying there, many of them were from Korea, Mongolia, Tibet and Central Asia. Xuanzang studied the sutras and doctrines of Mahayana and Theravada schools.

During his twenty years in India, Xuanzang and his team of selected scholars, translated a total of seventy-five sutras and commentaries in a total of 1346 chapters. In summer, 641 AD, Xuanzang was riding on a elephant presented by King Harsha of India, on his way back to China.

The Chinese understanding of Buddhism, five hundred years after the Parinirvana of the Buddha was still very lacking. For example Emperor Taizong was laughing at Emperor Liang Wuti, saying that Wuti preached Buddhism so well to his officers, that they were unable to mount their horses to defend Wuti against the rebels. Taizong’s minister, Fu Yi, suggested that monks should marry the nuns so that they could bear children to serve in the army. That was more than 2000 years ago. Today, some countries encourage their citizens to have children so that these children can serve in the armed forces !



The Buddha officially preached during a sermon that to take up arms to defend oneself or one’s country was acceptable. Killing during such unavoidable incidents would not create bad Karma. But he went on further. He clearly stated that when the enemies fell and cannot hurt us anymore, we must help and save them.


--

Mechanical engineer with over 40 years experience. Please also visit http://www.helium.com/users/115869

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/the-shanghai-graduate.html http://www.articletrader.com/society/politics/the-shanghai-graduate.html Sun, 01 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0500

At the age of 16, David obtained a scholarship from the University of Shanghai to read for a 1st degree in Mechanical Engineering. He left his poor hut at Kumpong Bugis and was very happy to leave Singapore and have a chance to have a better look at the other parts of the world. He studied hard and was able to graduate with flying colours. While he was doing his practical training in Shanghai, the emergence of the Red Guards forced him to flee for his life. His target was Hong Kong. A bribe of one thousand Hong Kong dollars allowed him to sneak pass the sentry and swam his way to Hong Kong which was then more crowded than Singapore. At Hong Kong, the British Secret Service recruited him to spy on the Chinese affairs. After four years of intensive training at Scotland Yard he went to Nanking where he set up his office, and his profession was Foreign correspondent. This terrific young man, 1.75 meters in height, weighing 70 kg could be the next movie star to act for James Bond. He was quiet and serious and seemed to have only one interest, to have as much as he could out of life.
" I’m David, a British correspondent from Fleet Street, London," he introduced himself to the editor of the New China daily.
" Glad to know you, David. What can I do for you?" Mr. Tan stared at David.
" I’m working for the betterment of the Chinese," David studied Tan from head to the feet, wondering if he should tell the truth, which means risking immediate arrest.
" We’re always looking for bright ideas from young people like you," Tan’s words assured David that this editor might be interested to corporate.
" Please tell me Tan. What do you think of Mao Tse Tung?"
" Chairman Mao was a soldier. If the Chinese had assisted him to go to the University and study for a degree in Economics, the fate of China would have been very much better. No doubt he was the greatest soldier. But after a war, what else can the soldier do?"
David knew his chance had come. He found the person who might be willing to corporate with him. He therefore frankly went on:
" If communism can prevail in Asia, it has to be successful in China. And men are by nature selfish. I don’t see how communism can benefit majority of the Chinese. You’re Chinese and I’m Chinese, let’s work together so that the Chinese can one day walk with their heads high and therefore respected all over the world. My father had to flee China after Sun Yat Sen took over from the Manchus. The Manchus were people from the mountains. What did they know about governance? The British were unhappy with Sun and the Americans who helped him were not sincere. There was string attached. There were chaos all over China."
" What are my rewards?"
" USD50,000 now and a monthly salary of USD3000 plus an English Cottage with a garden in the English country side all under your name."
" How do we begin?"
"Employ me as a reporter with your Daily. Assigned me to visit the Chairman of the Nuclear Power Board and give me a column to write about all the glories about the NPB. I’ll need two months to have my works published. By then the new government will think of me as a young loyal Chinese and will allow me to travel freely within the country. I shall be doing a lot of welfare work to raise my social status."
The chairman of the NPB was Dr.Tee, a bold headed scientist who worked his way up the ladder by whatever means he could think of. He did not believe in retribution. He said when a person dies, that will be the end. There could not be anything else. Those after lives were all nonsense as far as he was concerned. Dr.Tee disclosed that by the 1980’s, the existing nuclear plants would be able to produce all the power needed by all the major towns in China, bringing shame of the so-called advanced countries like the USA, Britain, Germany and France.
" Could you please show me round the plant? " David enquired.
" Yes. You will leave the camera with the guard house," Dr. Tee assured him.
It was impossible to destroy all the seven nuclear plants scattered all over China in one mission. David had two small size time bombs hidden in his shoes. The guests led by Dr.Tee visited the plant at Nanking on Monday morning. In August 1976. The sentry guard collected the passes and showed the guests to the main entrance. Dr. Tee took them round and answered all the questions raised. David sneaked to the reactor core telling the technicians he was going to pee but did not manage to find the toilet. He had enough time to stick the time bombs on the wall of the reactor and hurried off. Ten minutes later, as Dr. Tee and the group was on the way to another part of the plant, the reactor core exploded frantically. People living within 10 kilometers thought the whole world was going to an end. Debris were blown sky high. There were roadblocks everywhere. Dr.Tee and all the visitors were detained. The evening paper reported that nine capitalists were arrested for blowing up the main artery of the nation.
David thought of other plan even though he was in the jailhouse. The other eight companions slept so soundly that they could be mistaken to be dead. With the hand grenade, David threatened to blow up unless the guard open the gate. This guard had heard of suicide bombers in the Middle East and therefore did not want to take the chances. As David was dashing out of the room, he punched the guard so hard on the solar plexus that the guard dropped dead. He dashed off without looking back and after about one hour of running, he noticed there was a house on a hilltop. He slowed down, staggered over to the house and knocked on the door.
" Please hide me in your house. The police are after me," David told Ah Yun, who was still keeping the door only slightly opened.
" Why do they want you?"
" For blowing up the nuclear plant!"
" Oh, you traitor. I’ll report to them now," she ran out of the house towards the police station.
David fired two warning shot into the air. The girl jerked forward. David grasped at her hair and gazed into her eyes and promised to shoot everyone at home unless she offers him a hiding place for a few days.
A group of soldiers and policemen were approaching the house.
" Anybody came here about an hour ago?" the inspector asked, at the same time staring round and round the house as if someone was going to hurl a hand grenade at him.
" No, Sir, no one was here," the farmer felt the chill ran down from the neck to the feet.
The party searched everywhere but found nothing. They marched off, obviously exhausted by now. David came down from the ceiling to assure the farmer that none of the family would be harmed and that he had to wait for a day or two to catch a train to Shanghai.
" Mr. Chin. I’ll need the corporation of your daughter. She’ll have to travel with me to Shanghai to avoid the attention of the police."
" That can’t be done," Chin declared, very much annoyed.
" I’ll pay you USD10,000.00," David persuaded.
" I can’t allow my daughter to endanger her life," Chin pretended to hesitate.
"I’ll take care of her. When we reach London, I’ll bank another USD10,000.00 into her account. That’s a lot of money. She can then come back to you and no one will ever know anything about it. That is the reason I do not intend to return to Singapore. It will attract a lot of attention. I have not the slightest intention of hurting China. Only the political principle stands on the way. You see, when majority of the foreign countries wanted to see the Chinese government goes bankrupt by refusing to buy Chinese goods, we the Singaporeans kept on buying. Isn’t this a sincere gesture? "
Chin pretended to persuade his daughter but was actually forcing her as could be understood from his tone.
The night train arrived from Wuxi heading to Shanghai. Police surrounded the station. All passengers were scrutinized thoroughly one by one. David pasted a false mole on his forehead above the right eye, exactly as it appeared on his passport. He disguised as an oversea Chinese coming to China to fetch his bride. A senior immigration cast a hard look at David. David nodded at him and quickly moved forward. The train shrilled and the driver pushed the button. The fast speed and the darkness gave David a sense of security. Ah Yun was worried in the cabin. She could lose her life for collaborating with a foreign devil.
" Come, sit up and have a chat," David studied her body carefully.
She sat up, still very afraid. David began to be ravished by her beauty. Are women more beautiful at night? She had a well-shaped figure and a voluptuous bust.
" The train won’t reach Shanghai until tomorrow night, " David assured her.
" That doesn’t matter."
" Ever been traveling before?"
" Never."
" The first time on board a train?"
"Yes."
" What’s your age?"
"22."
" Educated where?"
" Nanking Girls’ High School."
They chatted for more than an hour. Ah Yun lied down to sleep. David woke her up few minutes later. She lied there, watching the ceiling. She was healthier and better developed than an average city girl.
" Ever been in love before?"
" Never."
" Why?"
"No suitable one."
"What about me?"
" You are a foreign dog."
" Yes, and a better dog."
" Chukok gave you scholarship to study here. Why do you want to hurt the lands of your grandfathers?"
" I don’t like the communists because they could only bring chaos to the world.
David pulled her up and embraced her. She did not resist. He unbuttoned her blouse and kissed her on the lip. She put her arms round him, surely a sign of approval. David gently pulled off her skirt and began to massage her calf and thigh and then her abdomen, chest, big and beautifully shaped boobs, nipples, and her neck. She was there ready for him. She would cry if David did not get on top of her. Blood flew out between her thighs. The bed was smeared with it. They went to sleep. It was dawning.
Two security men from the Railway Company were checking the passengers on board the train in the morning as instructed by the police. They questioned David as to what he was doing in China. David said he came to fetch the girl who he married yesterday. The guards wanted some concrete proof. Tears could be seen coming out from Ah Yun’s eyes. David pointed to the blood stained towel on the bed. The guards laughed and walked to the next cabin to continue their job.
For their first morning as husband and wife, David ordered four eggs, two cups of Chinese tea, two plates of onions fried with pork, and some bananas. Ah Yun ate quietly, as if some serious thing had struck her.
" What about staying at London with me?"
" Why do we stay at London? You told me you came from Singapore?"
" Yes, I’m from Singapore. But we have to hide in London for a few months. Later on I’ll take you back to Singapore. You can find a job and will be offered a Singapore PR."
From Shanghai they flew to Hong Kong, obviously free from the dangers now. Unfortunately David received a second order to go for another mission to destroy the nuclear plant at Canton.
" Hong Kong calling London. Mr. Heath, small size shoes are very popular in China. Please airfreight two thousand pairs."
" Wait at Kaitak airport tomorrow at 1200 noon. Our representatives will hand over the bills for you to sign," Heath confirmed at the other end.
As arranged two men fetched David at the airport. They arrived by Air Vietnam via Singapore. The three men went to the Mandarin Hotel after a ride on the Star Ferry to Room 502 on the fifth floor. David began to sense he was trapped. The two men Chong and Wong were Chinese spies stationed in South East Asia. The robust Chong pointed a pistol on David’s neck, and moved five steps backward and shot at the bulb at the ceiling to show off his skill. The bulb shattered and pieces of glass were scattered all over the carpet of this sound proof room.
" Speak or we’ll make you do," Chong told David.
" My shoe is hurting me, may I take it off?"
" OK, but don’t raise your hands above your waist or I’ll fire," Chong agreed.
David bent down to pull the pin on the hand grenade and flung the shoe at the enemies and dived to the farest end of the room. The heads of the enemies were partially blown off. David cleared the dust on his body and hurried off through the emergency exit to catch the boat to Kowloon within ten minutes. The nuclear power plant was fifteen kilometers from the town. David killed one of the guards, as that guard was alone outside the gate. The corpse was dumped into the nearby drain. The other guard happened to march out from the main building. David fired the .2 pistol at the guard and pulled the body away to avoid attention. He moved very carefully wondering if this was to be his last few minutes to live. The two nuclear scientists were in their air-conditioned room. They noticed David was there and told him to get out since not even the guards can be there. David apologized and went off, but not before planting the time bomb on the wall near the reactor core. That was late evening. At 10.00 pm the second nuclear plant explosion shocked the whole world. Foreign critics intimated that he Chinese nuclear scientists did not know what they were doing.
All foreigners in China were detained and questioned. No radio communication with the outside worlds was allowed. David was on board a bus when the armed forces investigators arrested him.
"You look like that wanted guy, " the tough private told him.
" I’m a sales man from London," David argued.
David was brought to the 30th Battalion in Canton.
Col. Chua studied him thoroughly, from the boot to the head.
"You are the man. What have you got to say now? We the communists won’t kill. We’ll have some fun out of you. Look at this British spy of yours. We caught him in 1964 and cut off both his hands." The colonel stared at David.
Two executioners were called in. The chain saw was still running. David pretended to faint. They propped him up and revived him.
" I must take off the shoes. I prefer to die without the shoes on," David begged.
" Do anything you live. My guards are around with guns. If you move away from that spot, they will open fire, but only to bring you down," the colonel laughed scornfully.
David pulled the pin and flung the shoe at the guards and the colonel. Col. Chua was thrown out of his armchair. For the first time in his life, Col. Chua realized that he was not invincible.
David dived towards the guard and snatched the gun from him to pump some leads into the colonel to make sure he would die. To avoid the approaching guards, David had to run upstairs to the tenth floor and then slid down to the street by using the sewage pipes. He was lucky because the military jeep was there with only one guard. He opened fire and instantly killed the guard. He went to the driving wheel and sped off, pieces of leads could be heard still dropping at the back of the jeep.
David dumped the jeep into a valley and hurried back to Victoria hotel where Ah Yun was waiting. The couple boarded a Royal Thai Airline and spent the honeymoon at Pattaya before leaving for London.
At Pattaya, two Chinese Nationals wanted the Thai authorities to deport the couple to China. They were under arrest by the Thai police. It seemed death was the only sure thing to happen to the loving couple. However, just as the couple was to board a plane heading to Shanghai, a couple of representatives arrived from London with a British passport for David and one for Ah Yun, proving beyond any doubt the young couple was innocent.
As David and Ah Yun arrived in London, they were very surprised to see Ah Yun’s father and mother waiting for them at the airport. They were British citizens.
The truth was two tourists assisted the old couple to leave China, knowing that death within the next few days was surely to occur to them.
END
(2919 words)

Copyright © 2003 Poh Tiong Ho




--
Mechanical engineer with over 40 years experience. Please also visit http://www.helium.com/users/115869

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/self-improvement/motivation/good-english-guidefor-college-students.html http://www.articletrader.com/self-improvement/motivation/good-english-guidefor-college-students.html Mon, 26 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0500
Write and speak Standard English, command respect and admiration, gain confidence, and be effective. Express your ideas clearly.

This book will definitely improve your life.

You may download it into your laptop and have it with you while traveling.

Please view this book at http://www.lulu.com/pohtiongho
This book consists of over 3000 basic English words you are expected to have mastered before going to the university college. Each word is explained in details and is accompanied by a full sentence to indicate its meaning beyond any doubt.

Write and speak Standard English, command respect and admiration, gain confidence, and be effective. Express your ideas clearly.

This book will definitely improve your life.

You may download it into your laptop and have it with you while traveling.

Please view this book at http://www.lulu.com/pohtiongho


--
Mechanical engineer with over 40 years experience. Please also visit http://www.helium.com/users/115869

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>