Reuben Chew

For enquiries, please email me at contact@describee.com.

‘Lush Green’ It Is — The Future of Singapore Buses

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Buses are pretty much the workhorses of our public transportation network. While you hear grumbles of train delays every now and then, or taxi drivers whizzing past you because they have ghost passengers in their cabs while still complaining that UberX and GrabCar drivers are stealing their ricebowls, you seldom hear anything about buses. They …

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Alfero Artisan Gelato — The Best Italian Gelato in Singapore

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During my graduation trip to Italy last June, I binged on gelato every single day of the eleven days I was there. Gelato was the single thing that I missed the most from Italy. Normal ice cream just doesn’t taste the same.

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Electronic Road Pricing 2.0: A More Equitable Solution?

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And so distance-based Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) is finally happening–earlier this week, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) awarded a tender for the next-generation ERP system, one that is based on the Global Navigation Satellite System (of which GPS is a subset). The hot-button issue here is that when implemented by 2020, ERP will move towards a distance-based pricing model. No more stopping your cars at the side of the road one minute before the ERP light goes off, people.

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Galaxy S7: Goodbye, IR Blaster

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The newly launched Galaxy S7 is what the Galaxy S6 should’ve been: a smartphone with class-leading camera performance, a beefy battery, a microSD card slot, and water-resistant, all while still being a decent looking phone. In many ways, it’s the true successor to the Galaxy S5. Only problem? It’s missing an IR blaster.

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Of IRC, ICQ and MSN — An Era Long Gone

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What’s your primary tool of communication nowadays? For me, and I guess for many of you, that would be WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or one of the many other chat apps available on the your mobile phone. I think the mobile phone is the natural end-game for where such apps reside. After all, it was designed primarily to be a telecommunications device.

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National Steps Challenge: A Week with the Actxa Stride Tracker

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Update 10/10/16: Season 2 of the National Steps Challenge is now here! I’ve done a write-up about it here.

Update 17/4/16: I’ve been using the Actxa tracker for three months now and have experienced a few syncing hiccups along the way. Scroll down or click here to find out how I resolved them.

 

In November last year, the Health Promotion Board launched the inaugural National Steps Challenge. As part of the challenge, early birds would receive a complimentary Actxa Stride step tracker (pictured above), whereas those who missed the early bird deal will pay only a nominal fee of $5 (or $20 for foreigners). Of course, this isn’t relevant any longer since registration is now closed. However, I only managed to receive my step tracker in late January, after missing my earlier appointment in mid December 2015.

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Amusement Rides — Making a Comeback in Pasar Malams

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Roving night markets, more popularly known as pasar malams, are a common sight across Singapore. Whenever I come across one, I would invariably stop by and grab a snack or two. I’d also grab a Ramly burger if I was especially hungry or if I wanted to keep it for supper after a long study session at home.

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How GPS Improved Our Lives

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I remember one day, some ten years back, when I had to send a product to a service centre located deep within Ubi for a warranty claim. The logical thing to do back then was to head over to the Street Directory website and print out a map. Yes, print. Even with my printed map, …

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Bias Lighting — A Better TV Viewing Experience

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When watching television in my bedroom, I like to do so with my room’s light shut off. It makes the whole experience cinematic, even if my television set only measures 32 inches across. However, doing that for long periods of time causes eye fatigue. I’m not too sure about the exact science of it, but …

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Waterway Point: The next NEX?

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Truth be told, even as someone who lives in the north eastern region of Singapore, I’ve never set foot outside Punggol MRT before. The closest I’ve ever been to there was when I cycled to Punggol Waterways once back in 2013. Back then, all I could see around me were construction sites. Perhaps one of …

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Digital Photography: Then and Now

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In 2003, my family bought our first ever digital camera: a Canon PowerShot A70. Previously, if I wanted to take a photo and share it online, I had to rely on my 0.3 megapixel Logitech webcam, or a circa 1 megapixel unbranded digital camera bought from Sim Lim Square the year before. At the time, …

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