Bard Tav go brrrr

Still thinking on a name for them.. Suggestions?

another fanfic ask game post! enjoy!

This time I’m doing these questions!

Inspiration and Reading Questions:

1. How long ago did you start reading fanfiction? Writing fanfiction?

Reading: I’m not sure. Maybe 2011/2012

Writing: 2013

2. How do you spend your time when it comes to fanfiction? Are you primarily fic reader, writer, or a perfect 50/50 split of both?

It’s definitely both, but I wouldn’t call it a perfect 50/50 split. It varies. Sometimes I read more, but write less or vice versa.

3. Are there any fics that inspired you to write what you do.

Not really. I usually just write fics for whatever I want to.

4. Link your three favorite fics right now.

Current favorite WIPs.

All That’s Left by @doriangrayscale

flowers for your grave by @grantairesbottle

Lover of the Light by @areyoumiserableyet

Favorite (four) all-time fics

Ask me no question (and I’ll tell you no lies) by Signe_chan

If you offer salvation, I will run (into your arms) by mornmeril

this is fact not fiction by Rianne

Oh, It’s What You Do To Me by captainskellington

5. What are your fanfic pet peeves? Do they have a huge effect on whether or not you decide to read something.

I have a love-hate relationship with slow burn fics. Like I love them because give me the pining, give me the obliviousness, give me the amazing, sweeping first kiss, give me the angst, just give me all the delicious development that comes with finding common ground and falling in love. That being said, however, and I realize that I’m in the minority here, the hate part comes in when the story is really long, let’s 50+ chapters, and the story gets to chapter 50, but the romance still hasn’t started coming into play and I’m starting to just get sick of it because nothing has progressed to romance. Like there gets to be a time where too much is too much and usually, when that happens, it’s time for me to say adios! to the story.

6. How do you find new fic to read? Where do you primarily read fanfiction.

I primarily read fics on Ao3. I loathe FFN.net with every fiber of my being.

I usually just leave the Enjolras/Grantaire category open on and refresh it like three to four times a day for new stories to read.

7. Do you prefer to read short fics or long fics?

It depends on the ship, but I mostly like long fics.

8. How often do you reblog/comment on fics that you like?

I’m absolutely horrid at commenting (I’m working on getting better), but if it’s a story that I really like (ex. the three WIPs mentioned in question 4), I will comment every time there is a new chapter.

9. Tag 3 fic writers you think are underrated/unknown in the fandom/fanfiction community.

I have no idea. In my opinion, I think all writers are underrated and unknown.

10. What’s your favorite fandom, pairing, or character to read fic for?

Enjolras and Grantaire (Enjoltaire) from Les Mis.

Fanfiction Writing Asks:

11. How do you come up with your fic titles?

Through music or quotes. Sometimes one just comes to me, but mostly through music or quotes.

12. Tell the author your favorite fics title of theirs (not the fics, stricktly the title). Author: what’s your favorite title you’ve come up with and why?

I love all the titles of my fics, I can’t possibly pick a favorite.

13. Do you outline your fics? How much of a headache would someone get if they just look at an outline of yours without reading the fic?

I make some sort of outline, but I don’t think they’d really get much of a headache since it’s pretty much just a basic plot, maybe sometimes a little more than that.

14. Do you have personal word minimum that you hold yourself too? Why or why not?

Absolutely not! I write until I think I’ve found a good quitting spot. That can be 500 words or 20k words. It all depends on how I’m feeling and where my motivation is at.

15. Tell the author your favorite fics of theirs. What’s your (the author’s) favorite fic you’ve written?

Forever Was In His Eyes is my favorite with Begin Again as a close second.

Honorable mention because it pushed me out of my comfort zone: Beating of Our One Heart.

16. Do you research your fics? If so, how deep of a rabbit hole have you down by accident while researching?

I only research if the fic absolutely calls for it.

17. How obsessively do you sit and stare at your fic after you’ve just posted and wait for feedback?

On a scale of 1-100, 100. I’m not motivated by feedback like some writers are, but I do love to know if someone is enjoying my fic or not.

18. Do you have WIP that you keep telling yourself that you’ll eventually get back to, but deep down you know that’s probably lie?

Nope. Any WIPs that are unfinished, will probably stay unfinished.

19. Do you edit your fics after you write them, or do you prefer to just post and run (because it’s someone else’s problem now)?

I edit, and then, I’m constantly editing after it’s posted. If I re-read one of my fics and spot a spelling mistake, I can’t just let it sit there, I HAVE to fix it. I am also currently in the middle of long and giant editing project to make sure all my stories are the best stories that they can.

20. What’s your favorite part about the fanfiction writing process?

Um...I, for some strange reason, love outlining. I love coming up with the sequence of events. How do the characters get from point A to point B. How does the story end.

21. What’s your least favorite part about the fanfiction writing process?

Editing and revising. Always.

22. Do you take fic requests? If so, for what characters and why?

Nope. I don’t get enough attention in my inbox to do that.

23. What’s your absolute favorite trope to write?

Forbidden love. I’ve always been such a sucker for this trope.

24. What’s a trope that you’d like to never hear about as long as you live, let alone write?

I’m sure that there are some tropes that I would never touch in a million years, but I can’t think of any write now.

25. Do you listen to music as your write? If possible, link your writing playlist.

I listen to music, but I don’t have a playlist. Most of time it’s just Taylor Swift.

26. What’s your biggest distraction when writing?

Um...if I’m watching a brand new TV show or one I haven’t watched in a long time, I’ll pay more attention to the screen then what I’m supposed to be writing. This goes for movies too.

27, Do you like to give your readers some warning of what might be coming or just slap them in the face with content at random?

I keep my fics under lock and key until they are finished. No one knows any details about them except me. The one exception to this rule was Beating of Our One Heart. I warned that that fic would feature a polyamorous relationship (something I have never written before) while I was working on the outline.

28. How do you deal with writing pressure (ie: pressure to update, negative comments, deadlines, etc)?

Well, the only pressure I usually feel is worry that people won’t like my story, but I think that’s normal for every writer.

29. Have you ever written for an exchange or event of some kind? Which one(s)?

I don’t write for events.

30. Post a snippet from your current WIP without context - no more than 300 words.

R (11:46 P.M.): I’m not sorry.

31. Of the characters your write for, which is your favorite? Has that choice been swayed at all by your followers/readers’ reactions to certain one?

I love writing Enjolras. I’m sure people who have read my fanfics find him to be OOC, but I don’t care. When I write him, he’s half me projecting and the other half is him being the righteous revolutionary that we know him as.

32. Copy and paste your top three favorite lines/jokes/sentences you’ve ever written. What fics do they come from?

I can’t pick three, I have too many favorites.

33. What do you like writing better: one shots or multi-chapter stuff?

It depends. I like writing both. I also really like writing one shots that are 30k+ and multi-chapter fics that are under 10k. It all just depends on my mood and what the fic calls for.

34. How much of yourself and your life experience do you put into your writing? What do you think your readers’ image of you is?

As stated above, I project onto Enjolras. How much, I’m not saying. I do put my likes and dislikes as the characters’. When I write children, I draw inspiration from my nephews. I use my high school class schedule as the characters’ schedule when I write high school AU’s. The jest of what I’m saying is that I have no idea what my readers’ image of me is.

35. How much has writing fic changed your life?

It’s become my escape when things get too difficult or stressful.

36. Are they any fics or fandoms you’re embarrassed to have written or been apart of?

I’m not embarrassed by it, and I never finished or posted it, but I started writing a Sound of Music fic. I don’t remember what it was about, though.

37. Give an update on your current WIP - if you have one, give a sneak peek to a title or idea that you have and would like to write.

My current WIP is almost done. I just have to finish writing more scene.

38. What does your writing process look like? How chaotic is it on a scale of 1 (very tame) to 10 (you can’t handle this kind of chaos)?

It’s very tame, so 1. I write my stories in order of events, if I don’t I get confused on what’s happen. I start by writing an outline, and then I write and I edit (multiple times) before I post.

39. What’s something about your writing that you pride yourself on?

That I write what I want to. No comments can really influence the story (unless it’s a consistency thing) because I write the whole thing out before it’s posted.

40. How did you come up with the idea for [x fic]?

You can see this answer right here!

41. What’s your most popular fic (with the most notes on Tumblr, most hits/kudos on Ao3)?

My most popular fic based on hits: Somethings Are Meant to Be.

My most popular fic based on kudos: The Enjolras Guide to Weddings and Love.

42. Asker: pick three of the author’s works. Author: rank them 1 (the best) - 3 (the worst) based on whatever criteria you want - this could be something totally random that isn’t quality related ( like simply ranking fics based on how many trains appear in them) have fun!

I’m skipping this question!

43. Talk about a positive experience with fanfiction or the fanfiction community that you will always remember.

Every comment that I get, especially if I get it when I’m having a bad day, is like a little ray of sunshine for me. Again I’m not motivated by comments or feedback, but I can’t deny that receiving it is like a cherry on top of a delicious hot fudge sundae.

44. Ran about something writing related.

How long it takes to write. I wish I could just connect some sort of machine to my brain, and it would just churn out the words for my fics and they could be done a lot sooner. And that fanfiction could come before homework and life, but alas it can’t.

45. Fic specific questions - if you have any weird questions about specific works, here’s your shot to ask them!

Skipping this one, but if you have a question about any of my fics, my ask box is currently closed, but my DM’s are always open.

Kari’s Tom Hardy Writing Challenge

Since I am not hosting a quickie challenge this month I decided to try and do something different. This challenge is dedicated to the awesomeness that’s Tom Hardy. I picked a few of my favorite characters of his you can choose to write for - or you can do a rpf. If that sounds like something you might find fun - keep reading :D

Due Date: April 2nd (don’t worry about timezone. As long as it’s the 2nd somewhere it counts.)

Word min: 500 words

Word Max: 5k words

Style: It can be a drabble, one shot or beginning of a series. Do not put in in the middle of an ongoing series since I plan on reading them and don’t want to read 10 parts of something to understand the entry. If you create a series only part one has to be posted before the due date.

Fandom: Tom Hardy

Will you read and reblog my fic?

You betcha :D I am behind on reading for previous challenges so patience is a virtue here

When Do I Post?

Right now. Sign Ups start now and ends when there are no more prompts or when the due date rolls around

Genre: Anything you want. You have to be over 18 if you write smut and you always have to warn accordingly! Fluff, angst, AUs and crack are all welcome. I prefer none AUs - so fics that take place in the cinematic universe the character you choose is from. I don’t wanna limit you here though so if AU is what floats your boat, make it AU.

Limits on what you can write: No Mommy/daddy kinks, no non/dub con, no A/B/O, no merpeople. No underage. No incest or selfcest. No half animal anything please. No glorification on cheating(it’s okay as a plot device but use it with thought), no wife, s/o (even exes) or actor hate in rpfs! No monster or tentacle porn in Eddie Brock and/or Venom fics - if you got any questions at any time feel free to send me an ask,

Format: State in your A/N that it is for my (until-theend-oftheline) Kari’s Tom Hardy Challenge. And use the # Kari’s Tom Hardy Challenge in the first 5 tags.

Pairing and word count also have to be easy to spot in your header!

Submit: After you posted on tumblr you have to add yourself and your fic to this doc.  If you don’t do this you will not be added to the masterlist I create when the challenge is over. If you got questions - just ask :D

Doc link it case tumblr is an ass: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y_FzXxeqyJZI7bPvv4KLzJlok_jq47DZHeLyUVr_AcQ/edit?usp=sharing

How do I join?

You pick a quote (all are something either Tom or one of his characters said) and a pairing off the list. Send me the prompt number along with a backup just in case and your pairing of choice. ASKS ONLY!! REPLIES, REBLOGS AND IMS WILL BE IGNORED!

There are no limits on the pairings but I only allow 1 person per prompt so think before you sign up. If you don’t think you will be doing it then don’t take the spot from someone else. For now 1 person can sign up 2 times (one prompt per story).

All pairings must be x reader or OC or general fics:

Tom Hardy (rpf)

Reggie Kray

Alfie Solomons

James Delaney

Eddie Brock (you can use venom but no monster porn!)

Max

Forrest Bondurant

Eames

Prompts:

1 “That’s simple really. I just left him in a hole. The rest is history.” @erak-w (Alfie Solomons) 

2 “What on earth are you on about?” @thatfanficstuff (Alfie Solomons)

3 “I’m singing right now on the inside. I’m dancing as well a little bit.” @marvelgirl7 (Eddie Brock)

4 “I like dogs more than people. Apart from the select few who I see as dogs.”

5 “Yes I was. Actually yes I was. Yes. Yeah. I can’t say anything about that.”

6 “I had no idea what we were doing. But I know it was awesome.”

7 “Put that in the swag pile”

8 “It’s quite hard to be Taboo when you got your hands tied. But it shouldn’t be. Paradoxically.”

9 “I’m gonna drink from a very small cup”

10 “We know it’s a drama cause I got my arse out”

11 “He’ll wake up. Granted he won’t have any teeth but he’ll be a wiser man for it” @queen-of-the-avengers (Tom Hardy)

12 “Who fights by the sword fucking dies by it”

13 “You can leave if you need to go to the little boys room or something” @seeingthestarsmakesmedream (Eddie Brock)

14 “Intelligence is a very valuable thing innit my friend? Usually it comes far too late.”

15 “There we must go we who wander this Wasteland, in search of our better selves.”

16 Hope is a mistake. If you can’t fix what’s broken you go insane”

17 “I tell myself they can’t touch me. They are long dead” @docharleythegeekqueen  (Eddie Brock)

18 “It’s not the violence that sets men apart. It’s the distance he is willing to go”

19 “We are survivors. We control our fear. Without fear we are as good as dead”

20 “We lay down for nobody”

21 “Patience doesn’t get you what you want”

22 “I’m not being funny here but the thought of you mom answering that door is a bit shocking so...”

23 “You want me to deliver it? I ain't going for that door”

25 “Nonono let him in. He’s only little”

26 “You musn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger darling”

27 “You’re still working with that stick in the mud”

28 “Your condescension is as always much appreciated. Thank you.”

29 “Arrgh! Who said that?”

30 “Again? You’re gonna get me killed”

31 “No! We do not eat policemen”

32 “Don’t go around the back of the telly without you mom and dad watching you or touch any wires or look for a door”

33 “Making the effort to be good is really really important. But being yourself is more important.” @sillesworldofwriting (Eddie Brock)

34 “Leave me or take me. I’m a bag of twiglets. What’s up?!”

35 “She seems like the princess. In a nice way”

36 “Love all things unless it’s coming at you mate. In which case despatch it with the love.”

37 “I’m not really good with heights” @queen-of-the-avengers (Eddie Brock)

38 “I have a parasite”

39 “This is dead. Dead!” @becs-bunker (Eddie Brock)

40 “It’s a term of endearment” @until-theend-oftheline (Eddie Brock)

Challenge tags

@ifyougetkilled-walk-it-off @captain-rogers-beard @dolphinpink310 @grace-for-sale @docharleythegeekqueen @rebelslicious @thorne93 @hillywooddestiel @peterman-parker @queen-of-deans-booty @acreativelydifferentlove @emilyevanston @blacktithe7 @becs-bunker @roxyspearing @blacktithe7 @cassiefanfic @readitandweepfics @kayla-of-shield @fangirlextraordinaire @thatfanficstuff @danijimenezv @hopes-archer @marvelentertainment_madam08 @averyrogers83 @thelookingglassalice @slowlywithfreedom

I just spent about three weeks bootstrapping a new SaaS as a solo founder. For context, you can read my description of it here, and I’ve talked about the inspiration behind it and motivations here and here.The basic concept was solid: provide an insanely simple way for business intelligence consultants to manage project data.Spoiler alert: it failed miserably, despite the fact that I did a lot of things right:I came up with an idea as a hypothetical solution to a problem, instead of the other way around (you can read my post on coming up with SaaS ideas to understand why this is important)I built this solution with a specific end user in mind, a la Paul Graham’s legendary essay Do Things That Don’t Scale. Specifically, I built it for my dad, who is himself a BI consultant on the UX side of things and actually helped me design and develop the toolI built a quick and lean prototype (front end only) in just seven days, thereby giving myself emotional space to analyze the idea objectively without getting too attached to it. This was a TON of work, by the way — it was a 90 hour week, and the resulting software was around 3,000 lines of code (you can play with it here).After building the POC, I approached people in my target market about it by messaging around thirty BI engineers and consultants on LinkedIn. I was able to have a number of conversations about it to clarify my messaging and understand the market’s need better.I even came up with a sick-awesome name and domain: Bicycle (B I for Business Intelligence, and “bicycle” referencing Steve Jobs’ quote that a computer should be a bicycle for the mind).I was so excited at the start of this project, and I really had a GREAT time building it out and fantasizing about how it would change my life.But I got one thing wrong, and it doomed my project from the very beginning, despite those auspicious yet humble beginnings:I failed to validate my pricing model before I began.The exact moment I realized this was while I watched Jason Cohen’s talk on the formula for bootstrapping a successful SaaS. Jason’s a funny guy and he has a great speaking voice, but neither of those things prevented the point he made in that talk from making me realize I had to ditch my SaaS.So, let’s dive in. I really hope this experience and post will prevent you from making the same mistake that I did. Killing a project is not fun.What was so horribly wrong with my pricing?Given that I had just put a bunch of time and effort into building some totally awesome software, why did I decide to quit working on it, cold turkey?It all came down to some pesky numbers.My initial plan was to charge around $20/mo per customer, where my ideal customer is anybody involved in a BI project (well, it was a little more sophisticated than that, but you can check out my description of Bicycle to learn more). In my ideal world, they’d whip out their wallet and fork over the cash on the spot. Then they’d expense the monthly bill to their company and presto — paying client!This seemed fine for me and was “good enough” in my mind to justify spending the time and effort that I did without digging in further.But then Jason’s video rocked my world: he said you needed to be charging at least $50, closer to $100, per month, per user, in order to make it as a bootstrapped solo SaaS founder.I mean, if you charge less you might be able to hobble along, drowning in support requests and working 90 hrs/wk, but you’ll never really hit escape velocity, and that’s not really what I’m after. I’m after freedom, not just a different and more demanding boss.I won’t go into all the math here, as he’s done that brilliantly already in his talk, but needless to say, I was convinced.Problem is, you won’t find many BI developers who are keen on trying to expense a monthly $75 bill. Most employees don’t have the kind of expense bandwidth to do something like that.Well, I did try to pivot… key word: tryI realized this pretty quickly, and decided to try a pivot: maybe I could sell the software directly to businesses who do BI consulting, and let them provide it for their employees?But after a bit more digging, it became apparent that this really looks a lot like enterprise sales (because it, uh, IS enterprise sales), which is a no-no for first-time or self-funded solo entrepreneurs. Takes way too long to close a sale — enterprise sales cycles often run twelve to eighteen months.If I went that route, there’s virtually no way I’d be able to iterate quickly enough on my product with a feedback loop that long and no runway. I’d have to wait at least a year before my first sale, minimum — and that’s assuming I got everything right the first time around. And given my background in enterprise sales (or more specifically, my lack thereof), the odds of that happening are roughly equivalent to a monkey sitting down at a typewriter and bashing out Shakespeare’s Hamlet in one go.Also, it turns out that the other tools in my market charge absurdly low amounts of money, anywhere from $3/user/mo to $10/user/mo, and those other tools are often addons to existing enterprise software which goes for a lot more.Economies of scale are much friendlier with those larger companies, because they can afford to spend a lot on marketing and even take a loss on the product if it increases their main offering’s value-add.There was no way I could compete with that.Plus, my goal is to hit $2k MRR in the next two months, so if I persisted in the enterprise sales route, I’d have to totally throw that goal out.So, after having eliminated BI firm employees, and the BI firms themselves, the only remaining target market was independent business intelligence consultants, who are both rare and also don’t have a need for this tool (much of this is confirmed by my market research).Given all of that, I decided to pull the plug on Bicycle.I just wish I had known these numbers before I built the darn thing.How can you avoid making the same mistake?I didn’t think through my pricing model thoroughly before beginning, nor did I know what my target numbers should be. My pricing model was as follows: find “a bunch” of users for $10 or $20/mo. Ish. And hope it just worked out.At that rate, I’d need to get between 500 and 1,000 users in order to reach an MRR that would let me go full-time. With that many users, as a solo bootstrapper, I’d be spending all of my time on support, instead of marketing, product development, and learning to play Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier on the Yamaha P-515 I just ordered.I know now that I probably need around 150 users paying an average of $70/mo to land ~$10k/mo in revenue, without drowning in support requests.I just didn’t do the math before I started writing code.And it cost me!So, while you’re vetting your next startup idea, include pricing as a critical success metric from the very beginning. You can have a great idea, even a valid problem and solution, but if the pricing doesn’t work, it’s worthless.Hope this helps!By the way, if this was interesting or valuable to you, you can follow my journey on Twitter. My goal is to hit $2k MRR in the next two months, before my first child is born in July.

Behind the scenes with SBS Transit: How to keep 3,000 buses running daily

SINGAPORE: His paper bus model may not look anything out of the ordinary, but Mr Cho Wen Wei is quite proud of it. By his reckoning, it is one of SBS Transit’s first paper bus models, “so it’s very valuable”.

His hobbies are collecting bus guides and memorabilia as well as exploring old interchanges, so one thing is for sure – he is crazy about all things buses.

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“My family members call me a bus encyclopedia. It’s faster than checking the app,” he says with a smile. It is little wonder that he loves his job, as he gets to live his passion.

Mr Cho is in charge of cleaning and maintaining hundreds of buses – one of the unsung heroes working day and night to keep Singapore’s public buses running on the roads.

He may not be one of SBS Transit’s 6,500 bus captains whom commuters see every day, but he feels that he is “serving the public” no less.

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“The bus industry is 24/7 from Monday to Sunday, even public holidays, so we need to work to support them at the back end, to ensure that the bus can go out and return every day,” he says.

Running Singapore’s biggest fleet – some 3,000 buses – is an immense task, as On The Red Dot found out after gaining unprecedented access behind the scenes of SBS Transit’s operations, from managing its network of routes to unexpected road conditions. (Watch the three-part special here.)

Here is how the bus operator’s teams do it, even if not everything always goes like clockwork:

1. BY MITIGATING TRAFFIC CONGESTION AND UNFORESEEN SCENARIOS

The nerve centres of the bus network are the operations control centres. Every bus on the road is linked to a centre, of which there are seven, each monitoring traffic conditions and the movements of over 500 buses on average.

The centre in Seletar Depot, for example, tracks 27 bus services to ensure that they run on schedule, covering a route network in Yishun, Ang Mo Kio and the Central Business District.

There are seven controllers on each shift, so each of them tracks about four bus services. They can relay instructions to bus captains, who can also report back on any accidents, traffic jams or incidents on board via a microphone.

The operations control centre in Seletar.

In this way, the controllers can adjust arrival times remotely, by telling the drivers to increase speed or slow down.

When one of the buses was ahead of schedule, for example, assistant service controller Francis Nah told the bus captain: “Slow down for two minutes. You’re too close to the front bus, causing bunching.”

Bunching occurs when two or more buses of the same service arrive at a stop together. This makes the service unreliable, creating longer waiting times.

Slowing down the second bus, however, is not the only solution. “If the front bus is too slow (and) the rear bus has already caught up … we’d ask the captain to safely overtake,” said Mr Nah.

Mr Francis Nah.

The most challenging service he must supervise is number 70, which goes to the central business district. “We do experience delays, especially during peak hour,” he said, indicating at one point that its buses were nine to 10 minutes late.

During the peak period, the controllers’ workload “gets doubled or tripled”, in step with the increase in the number of buses on the road.

Overseeing all of them is Service Controller Deng Ziliang, who is in charge of the centre’s operations –the “kingpin” as Mr Nah described him. And he usually has his hands full.

During one “tense” moment, after two buses broke down, another bus captain found a fault with a bus at the depot. “So now we’re trying to mitigate all these by swopping some buses,” he said.

Mr Deng Ziliang (right).

Sometimes his team is put in situations “beyond (their) imagination”, like the instance when the system they use to monitor the buses – the common fleet management system (CFMS), which uses a GPS locator technology – was hit by a connection problem.

Without the CFMS, they cannot communicate with bus captains on the road and cannot determine the actual location of buses.

To keep the situation under control, with peak hour looming, they used their phones to call the bus interchange personnel to continue their co-ordination work.

Once the server was rectified and the system was brought back online, it was business as usual and straight into peak hour traffic. “We need to react very fast because time doesn’t wait for us,” noted Mr Deng.

The common fleet management system, used by all four of Singapore’s public bus operators.

2. BY ENSURING STRINGENT MAINTENANCE 24/7

Public buses can operate up to 18 hours a day and thus require regular maintenance. Each bus goes through a three-hour check every two months.

At the workshop in Hougang Bus Depot – one of Singapore’s oldest bus depots, having opened in 1983 – teams of technicians and foremen are constantly checking and repairing their fleet of 600 buses.

Repair times depend on the bus models and faults. Some buses take 30 minutes to fix; others with major defects can take days.

“For us, a good day means there’s no bus breakdown,” said senior technician Amin Tugiman. “If a bus comes back, then we’ve got a big, big problem.”

The 59-year-old was one of the few technicians at the depot with the expertise to deal with one such bus that returned with an oil leak and in “quite a big mess”.

Despite his nearly four decades of experience, it was a challenge. His investigation found coolant leaks – an issue that, if untreated, can cause the engine to overheat and be damaged – as well as other faults.

He had to remove the water pump assembly, among other parts, clean the gasket area and fit in a new one.

Once the technicians have completed repair works on each bus, they must take it for a road test. The bus must meet certain criteria, such as travelling uphill and negotiating sharp bends.

They have a little help from technology, a computer, to see whether all the signs are good. Some faults, however, cannot be detected by computers, “so you still need the human touch”, said the workshop’s deputy manager Aw Boon Huan.

It takes six years, reckoned Mr Amin, to be a good technician who “understands these engine systems”.

“It’s a good place to work actually, but then maybe the environment (looks) greasy, and the younger ones try to avoid doing all these jobs,” he said.

The workshop has over 100 staff, and its technicians are between 20 and 60 years old. At his age, it can get tiring, Mr Amin admitted. “When we finish work, all our energy is drained out,” he said.

It is a reflection of the fact that the workshop never sleeps. “We operate for 24 hours, seven days a week,” said Mr Aw. “Even when we go to sleep, our phone is still beside us.”

3. BY WASHING THE BUSES METICULOUSLY

Another big operation is the washing of buses. At Bedok Depot, with a fleet of more than 600, this task is split into two sections.

Operation Wipe is the daily cleaning of the floors and windows, and Operation Wash covers everything from tyre rims and mirrors to handles and seats.

With a team of 30, Mr Cho is in charge of this process. To keep to a tight schedule, everything here must run like clockwork. “The constraint is basically the race against time,” said the operations officer (Garaging).

“We make use of the split-shift period to wash the buses. And when the buses come back, we must be fast enough to complete the scheduled fleet for the day.”

On average over a seven-hour period, around four buses are worked on per hour.

“So it’s non-stop for them. They need to continue washing one bus after another without a break,” said Mr Cho, who has five contract cleaners and two parking attendants to assist him.

He will inspect the buses once the washing is done – and he is meticulous. One of the buses was “quite clean”, for example, but he spotted some dirt in the bus captain’s area, and the dashboard was “a bit dusty”.

So he made sure that those areas were cleaned again.

4. BY PUTTING TRAINEES THROUGH THEIR PACES

Every week, there are 20 trainees learning the ropes to become an SBS Transit bus captain. The candidates would have to go through more than 30 days of theory lessons and practice, as well as sit two exams.

They must pass the basic test to proceed to the next level. In the advanced course, the training includes learning service routes and navigating busy bus interchanges.

Trainers like Mr Desmond Au, who joined the company four years ago and has trained over 200 recruits, are seeing more candidates in their 40s and 50s.

Many are making a mid-career switch, and with a failure rate of five per cent, most are expected to make the grade.

Some of them may be experienced drivers who have worked with heavy vehicles, such as tipper trucks or tourist coaches. That does not necessarily make the job of a trainer easier.

“They may look at you (and go), ‘Wah, I’ve got much more experience than you. How are you going to teach me?’” said 42-year-old Mr Au. Driving a bus, however, is another matter altogether, as he explained it.

“Driving a car, our front tyre is in front. You drive a truck – our tyre is below our backside. And now we’re driving a bus. Where’s our front tyre? Behind,” he said. “So that’s where they (make) a lot of mistakes.”

He is usually assigned six trainees in each new batch. And there are four cameras in the training buses recording every moment of the driving sessions, which he uses to review their performances.

Safety is the number one priority. As the trainees also find out, however, being a bus captain is not just about driving from point A to point B.

By his own admission, Mr Marshall Wong has a bad temper. But after his basic course at the Hougang Training Centre, he realised that a bus captain “should be very patient”.

“Previously, maybe I wasn’t at that stage, but now I’m trying to learn. I’m trying my best,” said the 40-year-old.

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8 Times Bill O'Reilly Clashed With Hip-Hop

8 Times Bill O'Reilly Clashed With Hip-Hop

Bill O’Reilly got the boot from Fox News on Wednesday (April 19), after several accusations of sexual harassment from colleagues and former co-workers surfaced against him. The longtime Fox News anchor of The O’Reilly Factor — known for his controversial statements about Beyoncé and, basically, everything else — has also had a history of targeting hip-hop on-air. 

Below, we revisit the 67-year-old pundit’s hot takes on hip-hop and most heated moments with both rappers and R&B acts.

John Legend

In March, O’Reilly called veteran MSNBC reporter Andrea Mitchell “unruly” on Twitter after being escorted from a press conference for asking Secretary of State Rex Tillerson a question about Chinese threats of retaliation for U.S. anti-missile defenses in South Korea during a photo opp with Ukranian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkinon.

“She’s not your granddaughter, Billy. She’s a seasoned journalist asking important questions. You should take notes,” John Legend tweeted to O’Reilly.

She’s not your granddaughter, Billy. She’s a seasoned journalist asking important questions. You should take notes. https://t.co/6RrISQgsEo

— John Legend (@johnlegend) March 9, 2017

Killer Mike

During a May 2015 appearance on Real Time With Bill Maher, Killer Mike had some choice words about O’Reilly. Responding to O’Reilly’s claims about hip-hop affecting Christianity (more on this in a moment), the Run the Jewels MC said, “I like Bill O’Reilly the character, but I hate how white people take him so seriously. He’s more full of s— than an outhouse. I’m gonna go in a black club and see Bill O’Reilly with a stripper on his lap, I guarantee you that. He’s as fictional as those books he writes.”

Ludacris

O’Reilly disturbed the peace when he ripped through Ludacris and successfully had his Pepsi ad campaign pulled in 2002. “I’m calling for all responsible Americans to fight back and punish Pepsi for using a man who degrades women, who encourages substance abuse and does all the things that hurt particularly the poor in our society,” the anchor said at the time. 

Ludacris — who dedicated a line to O’Reilly on his song “Number One Spot” — addressed the fall of O’Reilly (as well as the recent Pepsi backlash) in an interview with Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club.

“The irony of it is crazy,” the Fate of the Furious star said. “It’s not my place to judge Bill O’Reilly the same way that he judged me. That’s how I feel about it. It’s a lot of maturity and a lot of growth. I’ve moved on past it. I’m thriving in life right now and all I can do is hope that Bill O’Reilly settles these issues and learns from whatever mistakes he may have made and also thrives. But it is definitely ironic that both Pepsi and Bill O’Reilly are both under fire right now.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKsAVMTp47Q

Jay Z and Jeezy

After Jay Z and Jeezy targeted George W. Bush at Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2008 and performed their “My President” collaboration that triumphantly states “My president is black” on the hook, O’Reilly and radio talk show host Dennis Miller called the display “low-class.” The Snowman then slammed O’Reilly and Miller on the remix: “Bill O’Reilly, eat a d—, nice try/ You’re really being a racist a–hole in a nice tie/ And tell Dennis Miller his show suck anyway/ And I’d rather watch Jimmy Kimmel any day.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZS88qRu4eA

Beyoncé

There is no place reserved for O’Reilly in the BeyHive. Following the release of her self-titled album in 2014, O’Reilly targeted Beyoncé for promoting sex before marriage to young women within the black community, specifically with the steamy “Partition” video. He said that entertainers like Bey had an obligation to “protect children, not put out exploitive garbage that harms impressionable children.” Luckily, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons was on-hand and defended the singer by calling her material “art” and calling her “a brilliant artist.” Of course, O’Reilly wasn’t having it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kKZ2WBpEsM

Questlove 

Last July, former first lady Michelle Obama delivered a poignant speech at the DNC about how slaves built the White House. O’Reilly’s reaction? Saying “slaves that worked there were well-fed and had decent lodgings provided by the government.” Cue Questlove, who fired back at the Fox News host (without saying his name) in a lengthy post on Instagram.

“Slavery was inhumane. Slavery was sadistic. Slavery was uncomfortable. Slavery was unjust. Slavery was a nightmare. Slavery was a despicable act,” he began. “I dunno if that man’s (never say his name) point is to troll at any cost whatsoever but his entire existence is 5 steps backwards for any progress made in humanity. My dismay is the percentage of people who get their news from memes/headlines/& sources to whom they have 0 clue is feeding them false information.”

  Slavery was inhumane. Slavery was sadistic. Slavery was uncomfortable. Slavery was unjust. Slavery was a nightmare. Slavery was a despicable act. Slavery is the pebble whose ripple in the river still resonates on and on and on and on. I’d like to think most of you have common sense. But there is nothing more dangerous than a man in a suit pretending to be a journalist giving revisionist history on the ugliness that was slavery. What’s so fun and lighthearted about being shackled? being separated from your loved ones? Being molested and raped HOURLY, being branded with hot iron? being property? being castrated? being flogged? being malnourished? living in high stress conditions? forced to lay in your own feces? being sold in a heartbeat? suppressing ANY emotion (with the surprising exception of singing it was illegal —lashes or death–to read, write, “talk back” or “sass”, cry (how many of you heard “you better NOT cry before I give you something to cry about!”), get angry, or even more surprising LAUGHING (a plantation barrel of water was always in proximity to dunk ones head in so one could express emotions and suppress the sound as to not alert your overseer of your “sassing”—deep history I just learned about laughing and the slave period—the first recorded song “The Laughing Song” was the defiant “F%^k Tha Police” of its day (also where the term “Barrel Of Laughs” gets its origin)—I’m getting beside the point. I dunno if that man’s (never say his name) point is to troll at any cost whatsoever but his entire existence is a 5 steps backwards for any progress made in humanity. My dismay is the percentage of people who get their news from memes/headlines/& sources to whom they have 0 clue is feeding them false information. Human Trafficking in any form from today’s underage prostitution, to the private Prison System we exercise here in the US, to the Holocaust to 500 years of Slavery–and all other examples I’ve not mentioned is INHUMANE & Evil. —watch where you get your information from and the company you keep people.

A post shared by Questlove Gomez (@questlove) on Jul 27, 2016 at 10:26am PDT

Cam’ron and Damon Dash

Cam’ron and Damon Dash joined The O’Reilly Factor in 2003 to discuss the affects of hip-hop on America’s youth. While O’Reilly was supposed to be a moderator between the rap moguls and an elementary school teacher, who was claiming music like theirs was negatively influencing his students, the show’s host pretty much broke any illusion of impartiality as soon as he introduced Cam’ron as an artist who raps about “pimping and bitches, among other things.”

From there, it didn’t take long for things to fall apart during the nine minute segment. When O’Reilly consistently interrupts Cam’ron and Dash, the two eventually start to target him, with Cam’ron taunting him, “You mad… you mad… Where you get started Current Affair? I got dirt on you doggy!”

​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oLGjhpY9jM

Hip-Hop in General

In 2015, O’Reilly blamed hip-hop for the decline of Christianity in the U.S. (yes, really). After a Pew Research study showed that the number of Americans who identify as Christian has dipped since 2007, the conservative talking head pointed the finger at hip-hop, saying, “There is no question that people of faith are being marginalized by a secular media and pernicious entertainment. The rap industry, for example, often glorifies depraved behavior. That sinks into the minds of some young people — the group that is most likely to reject religion.” Insert hashtag: #BoyBye. 

This article originally appeared on Billboard.

https://tunecollective.com/2017/04/21/8-times-bill-oreilly-clashed-hip-hop/