Monday, April 13, 2026

5827: Mandai Wildlife Reserve photography

Yellow-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier) at Singapore Zoo. Very common resident.

Size: 20-20.5 cm

Identification: Adult has brown upperparts, dark crown and loral stripe, broad white supercilium, white throat, whitish underparts with vague streaks and yellow vent.

12 Apr 2026. 10.16am
Canon R5, 300mm, 1/2000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 2000

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SINGAPORE - 12 APR 2026: 10.08am.The sign of Mandai Wildlife Reserve near the entrance of Singapore Zoo. Mandai Wildlife Reserve is a nature destination housing world-renowned wildlife parks—Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, River Wonders, Bird Paradise, and Rainforest Wild ASIA. It offers immersive animal experiences, educational interactive exhibits, and free-to-visit public spaces with dining and retail.

Canon R5 75mm, 1/100 sec, f/16, ISO 160
12 Apr 2026. 10.08am

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Mandai Wildlife Reserve in Singapore is a premier nature destination housing world-renowned wildlife parks—Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, River Wonders, Bird Paradise, and the upcoming Rainforest Wild ASIA. It offers immersive animal experiences, educational interactive exhibits, and free-to-visit public spaces with dining and retail.

Key Attractions & Activities

Bird Paradise: Asia's largest bird park featuring massive walk-in aviaries.
Singapore Zoo: Famous for open-concept enclosures and diverse animal species.
Night Safari: The world’s first nocturnal wildlife park.
River Wonders: Features freshwater habitats and giant pandas.
Rainforest Wild ASIA: Offers adventures like the Wild Apex harnessed, guided trek.
Curiosity Cove: A new nature-themed indoor playscape for kids.

Plan Your Visit

Location: North Singapore, accessible via MRT to Khatib Station followed by the Mandai Khatib Shuttle.
Best Time: November to February for cooler weather, ideally early mornings or late afternoons.
Tickets: Purchase tickets online in advance via the Mandai Wildlife Reserve Website to avoid queues and secure entry.
Tips: Wear comfortable walking shoes and bring insect repellent.

Visitor Services

Dining/Shopping: The public Mandai Wildlife WEST area offers various dining and retail options.
Connectivity: Shuttle services are available between parks.
Membership: "Friend of Mandai" annual memberships are available for discounts.

5826. Creating video tips by Google Maps

You can now share videos on Google Maps. You can use the camera within Maps to shoot a 10-second video or upload a 30-second video from your camera roll. Here are a few tips:

Capture the atmosphere: Give others a feel for what it’s like to be there. Use your video to capture a sense of a place's design and atmosphere.
Seek well-lit spaces: Lighting can make all the difference. Poor lighting can downgrade a video's quality. Natural light is best, this is true for still photography too.
Don't forget the exterior: Try to shoot when the weather is nice and inviting. Capture details like the front of the building, parking lot, or garden.
Focus on details: Showcase the services or products a place has to offer. Try a close-up of a particular product or someone reaching for an item, do not show someone’s face directly. Stick to one product per video and keep the frame tight on the subject.
Food and drink: Showcase the dishes the restaurant has to offer, especially any visually interesting signature dishes. Try an action shot of someone digging into the food, but keep the frame tight on the dish (avoid people’s faces). Stick to one dish per video or a view of the entire table with multiple dishes from above.
Personal review: A personal review showcasing a particular dish or interesting tips for visitors is a nice way to highlight a place. Add details, information, and your opinion is fine too, but please be aware that videos and written reviews have the same review policies. Learn more about prohibited and restricted content.

5825. Sunday at Zoo with grandchildren and Grab taxi man.

Sunday 12 Apr 2026:

Grand daughter M didn't want to go to the zoo. E also didn't want to go. I put my foot down and told M that she would not be going to the Airport to welcome her Dad back. She cried. E unlocked the door as she asked him to go to the Zoo.

Sunday sunny. Grandma and Gema got ready to go to the Zoo.

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Grab Taxi man, 74 years old. Around 2010 he netted $4000 per month working 5-day 8-hourly per day taxi trips. Hotel guests filled up his list. Back and forth hotel. Now, barely able to net $2000. Macau trips twice a year with friends to gamble. Favourite was roulette.

Saturday, April 11, 2026

5824. Bioluuninescent snail

Native to Southeast Asia, including Singapore, this species flashes while moving and, in some cases, feeding. Light is emitted from an organ in the head-foot region.

Quantula striata (Dyakia striata) is a terrestrial gastropod. Juveniles and adults are bioluminescent, giving off flashes of green light. Eggs glow in the dark.

9 Apr 2026, 8am
Canon R5 300mm, 1/320sec, f/5.6 and iso 5000

5826. Final Video. Dog hip dislocation - FHO. Femoral head osteotomy case study

Final Video. Dog hip dislocation - FHO. Femoral head osteotomy case study

A comprehensive discussion of dog hip dislocation - diagnosis and treatment at Toa Payoh Vets.

https://youtu.be/6XM2TcioIg4

5825. Asota caricae caterpillar

SINGAPORE - 8 APR 2026: 6 pm. The caterpillar of Asota caricae moth has prominent black and white markings and a prominent red or orange head capsule. Its bold patterning warns predators it may be unpalatable or toxic. It is a voracious feeder of plant material, often leaves. It often causes much damage to fruits and agricultural products.

8 Apr 2026. Lots of caterpillars on the floor and ground.
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voracious eaters of leaves, skeletonising them.
Canon R5 160mm, 1/10 sec, f/16, iso 500
9 Apr 2026, 8.15am. Rain overnight.

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Canon R5 190mm 1/2000 sec, f/5, iso 10000.
8 Apr 2026. 6pm

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Canon R5, 150mm, 1/160 sec, f/16, iso 1800
9 Apr 2026. 8 am

Description

The wingspan is 51–58 mm. Palpi with black spots on 1st and 2nd joints. Forewings brownish fuscous. There is a basal orange patch with two subbasal black spots and a series of three spots on its outer edge, that matches the coloration of the scales of the thorax. The veins are streaked with white. There is a white spot at lower angle of the discal cell. Hindwings are orange yellow, with a black spot at the end of the discal cell, one beyond, one below vein 2 and a submarginal irregular series which sometimes becomes a nearly complete marginal band. The veins crossing the band are yellowish. Larva black above, with two dorsal white bands, a sub-dorsal black spot on each somite. A series of lateral black specks present with sparse black hairs. Ventral coloration brown, head capsule is reddish.^[2]

Ecology

The larvae have been recorded on Ficus, Broussonetia, Mesua, Tectona and Shorea species. Pupation is in a slight cocoon, fixed to a leaf. The species is found in forest and agricultural areas.^[3]^[4]

5823. 75 - 300mm lens. Blood-veined Moth

SINGAPORE - 8 APR 2026. The Blood-veined moth (Timandra comae). Buff-coloured wings. A pinkish-red line runs across the wings. The wing span is 30-46mm.

8 Apr 2026.
Canon R5, 300mm. 1/320 sec. f/5.6 ISO 5000

5822. PODCAST. @solastories - My Daughter-In-Law Lay On My New Bed And Said “I’m Taking It!”—Then My Son Called The Movers.

My Daughter-In-Law Lay On My New Bed And Said “I’m Taking It!”—Then My Son Called The Movers.

When I opened the door that morning, the first thing I saw was the moving truck parked in front of my house. The engine was running. Two men were waiting for

8 seconds

instructions, and my son Mark was standing next to Samantha, my daughter-in-law, with that expression I knew so well. That mix of poorly hidden

17 seconds

guilt and cowardice that kept him from looking me in the eyes. Samantha smiled at me, a fake, bright smile, as if she

24 seconds

were doing the whole world a favor. I took a deep breath. I felt the cold morning air fill my lungs, filling me

31 seconds

with something I wasn't sure was rage or just the exhaustion of so many years of putting up with it. So many years of silence. So many years of being

40 seconds

invisible in my own life. The movers looked at me waiting for a signal. One of them, the younger one, was holding a

47 seconds

clipboard. They probably already had a list of what they were supposed to take.

52 seconds

Mark had probably given them precise instructions.

55 seconds

as always, without consulting me, as if I didn't exist, as if this house wasn't mine, as if my voice didn't matter. But

1 minute, 4 seconds

that morning, for the first time in a long time, my voice was going to matter.

1 minute, 9 seconds

I slowly approached the men from the truck. Samantha stopped smiling. Mark took a step back as if sensing that something had changed, and he was right.

1 minute, 19 seconds

Something had changed. I had changed. I looked at the movers and told them calmly with a tranquility that surprised

1 minute, 26 seconds

even me. Good morning, gentlemen. You can load everything you need. There's no problem. But you are not taking the

1 minute, 33 seconds

furniture. There was a silence. One of those heavy, uncomfortable silences where everyone waits for someone to

1 minute, 40 seconds

speak, but no one dares. Samantha was the first to react. What do you mean?

1 minute, 45 seconds

No. Eleanor, we already talked about this. The bed is perfect for our room.

1 minute, 51 seconds

We'll leave you your old one. Don't be difficult. Difficult? That word? As if asking for respect was complicating

1 minute, 59 seconds

things. As if defending what's yours was a whim. As if existing was an inconvenience. I kept looking at the

2 minutes, 6 seconds

movers. I didn't answer her. It didn't make sense to talk to Samantha anymore.

2 minutes, 12 seconds

She had stopped listening to me a long time ago. Gentlemen, I repeated with the same calm, you can load up, but not the

2 minutes, 20 seconds

furniture. Take these two with all their things. The silence now was absolute.

2 minutes, 26 seconds

Even the birds seemed to have stopped singing. The truck's engine was still running, a constant hum filling the void of that frozen moment. Mark finally

2 minutes, 34 seconds

spoke. Mom, what are you saying? Don't start this now. Now. As if there were a convenient time to defend myself. As if there were a correct hour to say enough,

2 minutes, 45 seconds

as if my dignity had office hours,

2 minutes, 48 seconds

Samantha approached me. Her smile was completely gone. Now, there was only that hard expression, that cold look she used when something didn't go her way.

2 minutes, 57 seconds

Eleanor, I don't know what's gotten into you today, but this is ridiculous. The bed is already decided. Mark already

3 minutes, 5 seconds

promised it for our house. You can't back out now. Promised. as if my bed were something he could promise. As if

3 minutes, 13 seconds

my things were his property, as if I were just another piece of furniture in this house, something that could be moved around without asking permission.

3 minutes, 21 seconds

But I wasn't that piece of furniture anymore. I wasn't that woman who nodded in silence. I wasn't the mother who swallowed humiliation just to avoid

3 minutes, 29 seconds

problems. That woman was dead. And in her place, there was me, the real me,

3 minutes, 35 seconds

the one who had always been there, but whom I hadn't dared to let out. I took an envelope out of my apron pocket. An envelope with papers I had found two

3 minutes, 44 seconds

days earlier. Papers I had forgotten existed. Papers that changed everything.

3 minutes, 49 seconds

Samantha, I said, looking her directly in the eyes. This house has a deed. And that deed is in my name. Only my name.

3 minutes, 58 seconds

Every piece of furniture here, every plate, every scent that was used to buy anything in this house came from my

4 minutes, 5 seconds

work, from my hands, from my years of effort. I showed her the documents. She looked at them as if they were a trap.

4 minutes, 13 seconds

As if I had invented something to ruin her day. Mark turned pale. I think in that moment he realized everything. All

4 minutes, 21 seconds

the years he had allowed his wife to treat me as if I didn't matter. All the times he stayed quiet when he should have spoken. All the humiliations he let

4 minutes, 30 seconds

pass because it was easier to ignore me than to defend me. So yes, I continued,

4 minutes, 36 seconds

the gentleman can load up, but you two are leaving with your things, with your clothes, with everything you brought into my house because this is my house,

4 minutes, 48 seconds

not yours. Samantha tried to speak, but I raised a hand. I wasn't going to let her interrupt me. Not this time. This time they were going to hear me out.

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I felt sadness for Mark. For the son I had lost somewhere along the way for the relationship we never managed to build

1 hour, 15 minutes, 7 seconds

as adults. But I also felt relief, a deep true relief. I got up and went to the kitchen. I made coffee just for

1 hour, 15 minutes, 15 seconds

myself. I poured it into my favorite mug, the one I had put away because Samantha always used it without asking.

1 hour, 15 minutes, 22 seconds

I sat by the window and watched the garden sipping slowly. The phone rang.

1 hour, 15 minutes, 27 seconds

It was Helen, my neighbor. Eleanor. I saw everything. Are you all right? I'm all right, Helen. Better than all right.

1 hour, 15 minutes, 36 seconds

Do you want me to come over? Do you need company? I thought about her offer.

1 hour, 15 minutes, 41 seconds

Company sounded nice, but so did solitude. Chosen solitude. The solitude that isn't abandonment, but freedom.

1 hour, 15 minutes, 49 seconds

Maybe later, I replied. Right now, I just want to be with myself for a while.

1 hour, 15 minutes, 55 seconds

I understand. When you want to talk, I'm here." I hung up the phone and went back to looking out the window. The sun was

1 hour, 16 minutes, 2 seconds

shining brightly. The plants in the yard swayed in the breeze. Everything was the same, but everything was different. I

1 hour, 16 minutes, 11 seconds

knew Mark would try to come back, that he would call, that he would send messages, that he might even apologize.

1 hour, 16 minutes, 19 seconds

And I would have to decide then what to do. whether to open the door or keep it closed, whether to give another chance or protect my peace. But that was a

1 hour, 16 minutes, 28 seconds

decision for later, for another day, for when I was ready. For now, I just wanted to enjoy this moment. This moment when

1 hour, 16 minutes, 36 seconds

Eleanor, the invisible, had become Eleanor, the defender. Eleanor, the one who says no. Eleanor, the owner of her

1 hour, 16 minutes, 46 seconds

own life. I finished my coffee and washed the mug. Then I went to my room and changed my clothes. I put on something comfortable. I looked at

1 hour, 16 minutes, 54 seconds

myself in the mirror and smiled. I was the same woman as always, but I was also completely different. I was the woman

1 hour, 17 minutes, 1 second

who had finally learned that loving yourself isn't selfish, that setting boundaries doesn't make you a bad person, that defending what's yours

1 hour, 17 minutes, 9 seconds

isn't being mean. That night, I lay in my new bed with the windows open. The cool air filled the room. The sheets

1 hour, 17 minutes, 17 seconds

smelled clean. The mattress was firm beneath my back. And for the first time in 72 years, I felt completely at peace

1 hour, 17 minutes, 25 seconds

with myself. I had lost my son. At least for now, I had lost the idea of family I had always wanted to have. But I had

1 hour, 17 minutes, 34 seconds

gained something much more important. I had gained myself back. I had regained my voice. I had regained my space. I had

1 hour, 17 minutes, 42 seconds

regained my life. And as I closed my eyes to sleep, I thought of all the women like me. All the mothers who make themselves invisible. All the ones who

1 hour, 17 minutes, 52 seconds

give in and stay quiet. All the ones who confuse love with submission. And I wish that they too would one day find their

1 hour, 17 minutes, 59 seconds

own bed, their own boundary, their own voice. Because we all deserve to sleep in peace. We all deserve to have our own things. We all deserve to be seen,

1 hour, 18 minutes, 11 seconds

respected, and valued. And I finally after so many years had learned that lesson. I closed my eyes and fell into a deep sleep without pain, without fear,

1 hour, 18 minutes, 23 seconds

without guilt, only peace.

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