Hallelujah

After reading that another version of "Hallelujah", originally written by Leonard Cohen has topped the charts ahead of the Jeff Buckley version, I had to take a listen.

I conclude that some people do not care what they listen to. Admittedly, the Alexandra Burke version is not that bad. However, she used too much power in her voice. Using that power turned what was supposed to be a soft, personal song, into a blasting power ballad. It totally ruined the very nature of the song, along with the emotion that the original was trying to express.

Go listen to the Jeff Buckley version and be wowed.

Oil

Price of crude oil has plunged to a low of $33.87. This is dirt cheap in comparison to the $147 per barrel in July. Its interesting to see that the price of oil has dropped even though OPEC has cut production by 2.2 million barrels a day. This equilibrium price of oil means that the demand for oil is dropping even more than the supply. Weird in my opinion.

Perhaps the global economic downturn has had a tremendous impact, larger than I ever imagined.

Lets hope it picks up soon....

Courtesy

Haven't blogged in a while, so now I shall say something that I have always wanted to mention but never got around to it.

Having been away in a foreign land for approximately 10 weeks, I can honestly tell you that Singaporean's are lacking in a specific virtue called courtesy. But this, I am not referring to everyone, but rather a small group of people who soil the name of our fellow countrymen

Perhaps it stems from the "Kiasu-ism" in all of us, or the need to be first in everything.

I was reading the basic driving theory handbook the other day and there are only two times you can use the car horn in Brunei. I cant remember the specific details but there is a huge difference between Brunei and Singapore where the horn is used at every opportunity.

In Singapore, it is a fairly common sight for people to squeeze into the MRT when others are trying to alight. Look at it this way. The door can fit an average of three normal-sized people. Wouldn't it be better for everyone to alight in rows of three (not perfectly of course) before everyone alights? I think it will be better than two lines pushing in while one line pushes out. Everyone gets out faster, and everyone gets in with less agrivation. A win-win situation.

Lets all be just a bit more courteous and live happier.

Nikon

Though I have no real brand loyalty due to the lack of lenses, I have always been slightly partial towards a Nikon system. This shows why I really need a D3.

D3 with
AF 50mm f/1.4D
AF-S 14-24mm
AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
AF-S VR 70-200mm
Nikon 2.0x TC 20E II
Nikon SB-900

Maybe I should just be contented with a D90 kit. Maybe not...

Photography

My relationship with the above mentioned hobby is a real love-hate affair. The stress of shooting on demand, the pain in waiting for your shot, the agony of seeing a bad photo. But then, there is the pleasure of taking a great shot, the musical sound of the shutter, the amazing colours.

Anyway, I have many failings as a photographer. My greatest failure used to be portraits. I have since improved due to recent happenings. This is one of my keepers.

Phthalates

Read this article about the fact that phthalates are found in the earbuds shipped with iPhone and iPods around the world.

Phthalates are esters and are commonly added to plastics to increase their flexibility. Experiments involving the exposure of rodents to phthalates have been conducted and high levels of exposure has been shown to cause hormornal changes, causing birth defects.

It has also been known to interfere with reproductive organs, especially for males.

These earbuds are not that fantastic anyway. In fact, they are plain bad.

So for the sake of future generations and your ears, please dump these earbuds for a proper pair of earphones.

Height

Today a paedophillic fellow comrade of mine said that "tall people earn more".

We all called him a cock-assed freak and asked him to shut his ass and start shitting through his mouth.

But I was still curious. So I went to search and found this.

Interesting. Lets hope I am not an anomaly.

For the sake of my vertically challenged friends like Liju and Shuning, lets hope they don't follow the trend. Or maybe go for a knee job?

HIV

I read this BBC News article. It is amazing that such a thing can happen.

I think this discovery could open many doors for HIV cure if it is indeed true. It would help everyone in understanding how this virus works and how it infects the human cells.

Amazing ain't it?

Emancipation

Ok, maybe not total emancipation.

Today is a special day. And that is because...

I'm one year from ORD

Frazzled

Been feeling kind of frazzled these few days.

Anyway, my Brunei number is (+673) 8890xxx where xxx are three whole numbers between 0-9 that I shall not reveal on a public domain. But if you get a call or sms from a +673 number, its probably me.

Rants

Insane.

Bloody insane.

Its seriously crazy.

How?

Why?

Can I?

Am I?

Help...

Macbook

After waiting 7 day for the video podcast to finish downloading, I have finally watched the keynote presentation.

Apple has done it again. They have reinvented their products like no other.

Just look at the merits of the new Macbook over the old one. Nvidia graphics over Intel graphics. New glass trackpad that doubles as a button. Aluminium enclosure.

I just hope that the hard disk and random access memory are still user-upgradable without the voiding of warranty.

Amazing product by an amazing company.

Truly, the key to gaining a market share in todays cut-throat IT industry is through re-invention and good products.

Mole

Dear all,

Today, the 23rd of October marks a very special day. So..

Happy Mole Day!

Alive

Well. I'm still alive. Came back from the jungles with a sunburn and a bad ulcer on my lip thanks to Daniel. But not his fault.

Anyway i'm still adjusting to life here. But brighter prospects await me.

Updates

Anyway, like you guys know. I'm in Brunei. Apart from the PT, life here is quite ok.

Some of you know I was supposed to fly on Sunday morning on an SQ flight. And that I got bumped to a Saturday morning chartered flight by Royal Brunei. Was pretty bummed that I "downgraded" from an SQ flight to a BI flight. And that SAF "ate" my Saturday. Well, turned out pretty well. And that is because.........we sat Business!

The seats were awesome...The meals were warm...When reclined fully, they are a dream to sleep on...

Anyway, I'm going outfield from tomorrow to Thursday. So I will be largely uncontactable. See ya then!

Brunei

Hi. I'm in Brunei safely already.

Thanks to Valerie, XX, Huiying, Alison, Shuning, Lau, Liju, Minyang, Ronald, Eggy, Desheng, Galvyn, Pakheng, Zhongru and Nat for the well wishes. Also to Kangs and Roobs for coming down.

Oh yes, it is free for you guys to sms me from Singapore. You just pay the normal local sms charge. And its free to receive for me. So spam away.... Even though I may not be able to reply all the time, it feels really good to receive an sms from friends back home. Unless you have experienced that kind of warmth, you will never know how it feels.

Sad I may be, defeated I am not, Press on I shall, Victorious I will be.

Leaving

All my bags are packed
I'm ready to go
I'm standing here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breaking
Its early morn
The taxis waiting
Hes blowing his horn
Already I'm so lonesome
I could die

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
cause I'm leaving on a jet plane
Don't know when Ill be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

I'll still be contactable by all the usual means though. Email, MSN, Facebook etc...

Pictures

Marketing

Was browsing the iTunes Apps Store a few days back, prompted by a link posted on another blog. Apps are popping out for free like rabbits spawn their young. Its uncontrollable.

Just think about what a great marketing strategy this Apps Store and the iTMS bring. The apps cost Apple nothing, but will prompt more people to obtain either an iPod Touch or an iPhone. They have also said that they actually earn close to nothing for each song sold on the iTMS. But think about how many people bought iPods just to be able to purchase high quality and most importantly, DRM-free songs. Jobs once said "People want to own their music". How true is this. Some online music businesses merely let you "rent" their music.

Truly, Apple is a marketing wonder. One that almost every other company should learn to emulate. But then again, there can only be on Apple.

Musical

Caught Mamma Mia! on Wednesday. As far as musical films go, this film rates among the very best. Granted that the stage version was better, but comparing musical films against other musical films, no fight. Its among the league of "Moulin Rouge", "Grease" and "Hairspray".

One major flaw was Pierce Brosnan. He is so much more comfortable with himself saving the world. He sounds like a donkey with a cactus poked up its ass.

Overall, I rate it 7.5/10. Meryl Streep gets a 8.75/10 though. She was amazing. Almost flawless performance. Her singing was great. She could put so much emotion and feelings into the song. Its unbelievable.

I should watch Phantom soon though. Never watched it, but I love the soundtrack though.

Binary

Was reading an article and was reminded of a quote I love,

There are 10 kinds of people in this world. Those who understand binary and those who don't.

Service

Till now, I felt that only Apple had a decent RMA procedure where service, location and time taken is considered. Now I have found another company. Western Digital.

Recently I had to RMA one of my drives. Please, no questions asking me which one. But anyway, I went down one day. Admittedly, finding the correct building was not easy without a map, but I managed. Took a temp pass from the security counter and proceeded to RMA my drive.

Before hand, a RMA application would have to be done online. When I met the lady, and gave her my RMA number, she went to a room and printed some documents on which I had to sign. Then. it was done. All in a matter of about 10 mins. And the best part, they deliver the drive to your doorstep. Now, what else can be stopping others from buying WD drives? I see no reason.

Dilemma

What should I do? Decision, choices....

Anyway, finally we see some glimmer of the Manchester United I used to know.

There are two great teams in Manchester. Manchester United and Manchester United Reserves.

Sigh

Another draw....Where is the Manchester United that crushed the competition last season?

Rig

There was a thread about what your audio equipment is like to you. So here goes...

My rig is like a girl. The perfect girl.

Small in size, but with the mental capacity to withstand everything life throws at her.
Warm and bright.
Always singing, never nagging.
Shows you the light when you feel like there is no hope.
Well taken care off.
Big heart (Wide Soundstage).
Dependable.
Sporty.
Analytical.

This should change everytime I upgrade my rig. But it is highly unlikely to change much. Such is the sound signature that I love. Well, customs will just make it perfect. Then my rig will be exclusive! Hmm, maybe I should name my rig...any ideas Mr. Xie?

Friendship

Today I saw Kyne's PM. It read,

"Friendship is like peeing on yourself; Everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling it brings"

This statement is true on so many different levels. How many times was it a friend that saved your ass? Like one coming to call you when you were late for your chemistry exam? A friend is one that won't get angry when you arrow him, whether on purpose or by accident. A friend is one that you will miss. A friend is one that you can make fun off constantly, and know that he will not get angry with you.

Keep your friends close. You never know when you will lose them. It took the departure of Alison to China to realize that your friends will not always be there for you. Taking your friends for granted is something that most of us are guilty of. I am no exception, but leaving for Brunei puts things into perspective. It makes you value them even more.

Pee on yourself today. Better still, pee on your friends. Share the warmth. Treasure your friends, for you never know when they will leave you, temporarily or for good.

Forward

I have passed both my FFI's and thus, I am eligible for deployment to Brunei. Only OM course is between me and the unknown. Of course, clearance must be done. Feels like ORD man!

Recently, I have rediscovered my love of classical music, catalyzed by a friend and her love for "Nodame Cantabile". I really should watch the full series soon. Sounds really good and musical.

On a side note, "Mamma Mia!" is opening soon.

And on another side note, new iPods are being released tomorrow. I hope the audio quality doesn't degrade. When moving from the Video (5G/5.5G) to the Classic (6G), they changed the DAC from Wolfson to some other brand, thereby changing the sound signature from a very warm sounding one to a very analytical one. Lets see what the new one is like.

Joke

Here is "The Perfect Joke" taken from a Forum I frequent.

Once upon a time, a perfect man and a perfect woman met. After a perfect courtship, they had a perfect wedding. Their life together was, of course, perfect.

One snowy, stormy Christmas Eve, this perfect couple was driving their perfect car along a winding road, when they noticed someone at the side of the road in distress. Being the perfect couple, they stopped to help.

There stood Santa Claus with a huge bundle of toys. Not wanting to disappoint any children on the eve of Christmas, the perfect couple loaded Santa and his toys into their vehicle.

Soon they were driving along delivering the toys.

Unfortunately, the driving conditions deteriorated and the perfect couple; and Santa Claus had an accident. Only one of them survived the accident.

Question: Who was the survivor?
(Scroll down for the answer. Trust me, it's worth it)
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Answer: The perfect woman survived. She's the only one who really existed in the first place.

Everyone knows there is no Santa Claus and there is no such thing as a perfect man.

Women stop reading here, that is the end of the joke.

Men keep scrolling.

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So, if there is no perfect man and no Santa Claus, the woman must have been driving. This explains why there was a car accident.
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Men Keep Scrolling

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By the way, if you're a woman and you're still reading, this illustrates another point

Women never listen.

Angels

"Oh I believe there are angels among us
Sent down to us from somewhere up above
They come to you and me in our darkest hours
To show us how to live
To teach us how to give
To guide us with a light of love"

All through life, we will be touched by angels at some point or another. Angels that bring joy into your life. Angels that help you through troubled times. Angels that drag you down the journey of life. Angels that care.

All the time, we are surrounded by angels whether we know it or not. Be an angel. Touch the life of someone around you.

Parallel

Anyone find that parallel lines are really elegant. Perfectly straight (in theory), never meeting, but appearing to converge. Elegance in a picture.

Personality

Interesting. Under Pearlicia's suggestion, I retook the MBTI assessment. Turns out my personality type has changed from ENTJ to ESTJ. Not a major difference, just that now I am more inclined to use my five-senses instead of my intuition to make a judgement.

Adiós

I just came back from the airport sending Alison off. Sad as I am to see her leave, I'm delighted that at least I had the chance to meet up with her. Pity didn't take a photo with her. But like Reuben and I agreed, if its important enough, it will always be in your heart or mind. Will definitely miss her though.

Till we meet again...

"Keep smilin', keep shinin'
Knowin' you can always count on me, for sure
That's what friends are for
For good times and bad times
I'll be on your side forever more
That's what friends are for"

Phelps

At breakfast that day, we came to the conclusion that Phelps looks mildly autistic and that anyone who thinks that Phelps looks good has some serious issues. Below is a picture to prove our point.

iPhone

Dear all, the price plans for the iPhone have been released. They can be found here. Prices were about what I expected.

Hybridisation

I have begun to read up on some basic organic chemistry. Currently still trying to firm up the concept of orbital hybridisation.

The concept is simple. With respect to carbon, an electron in the doubly-filled 2s orbital is promoted to the empty 2p orbital forming 4 singly-filled orbitals. This state is known as the higher energy electonic state of carbon. The 4 singly filled orbitals then hybridise in different combinations to form hybrid orbitals. It is hybridisation that allows carbon to form 4 bonds per molecule.

Satisfied with my understanding, I ran with Colin today. We were talking about chemistry and normality and stuff. Then he asked an excellent question. He wondered where the energy for hybridisation (namely the initial promotion of the 2s electron to the 2p orbital) came from?

Anyone knows? Now I'm unsatisfied.

Rest

I'm at home for reasons which I shall not reveal.

Meanwhile, Berbatov seems to be moving to Manchester United as seen here. Finally we have someone to play alongside Tevez. I feel that this strike partnership will work as they seem to have complementary playing styles. Imagine a formation like this:

Van der Saar in Goal
Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra covering the defence.
Ronaldo, Scholes, Nani/Giggs playing a three man midfield.
Rooney in the hole.
Tevez, Berbatov up front.

And look at who we have for backup. Anderson, Hargreaves, Brown, Park, Carrick, O'Shea, The Da Silva twins, Flecteher....

Looks like we have another serious title contender on our hands.

That being said, I think we need to find a replacement for Van der Saar soon. He is not getting any younger and who knows when he will announce his retirement. Foster looks promising but someone needs to fill the gap before Ben Foster takes his place between the posts. Kuszczak doesn't have the quality to do the job in my opinion.

Cork-Sniffer

To all you cork-sniffers out there. Came across this site. Try it. It has two tracks in mp3 format. One ripped at a much higher bitrate than the other (128kbps and 320 kbps to be exact).

I got it right using the headphone out of my laptop to a pair of Koss Portapros.

Imagine the difference if I used an iMod to a Hornet to a TF10. Pity I can't extract the mp3's from the site and put into my iPod.

Hi-Fi

Stumbled upon this article. Turns out that recording companies are also to blame for the sound quality reduction in music today.

Its a long article and I had to read it slowly to fully comprehend the content of it. It seems that sound engineers these days are making albums louder that they did in the past. Those who have used Sound Forge or Audacity would know that when the volume is increased, detail is lost through clipping. Page 7 of the article which can be found here fully illustrates my point.

Maybe that is why instrumental records mastered in the 1980's and early 1990's sound so much clearer that what can be found today.

Absent

Where are you?

Hidden behind a veil of sadness or totally lost in the abyss of life?

Temporarily missing or away for good?

Why?

Please come back...

Graphs

Was given a link via MSN by The Arbiter about the power of graphs.

Check it out here.

Anyone care to explain the Too Sexy? and the flowchart one.

Life

The fragility of life.

In 6 days, on the 7th of August, I shall turn 19. Being alive is something I am thankful for.

Anyway, stay-in awaits me.

Why

Shit happens

Quality

Read an article yesterday. This article talks about how the iPod has reduced sound quality to "Fisher-Price toy levels".

Well, I beg to differ with almost everything Mr. Neil Young says.

He claims that "Apple has taken a detour down the convenience highway" and this has caused the fall in audio quality levels. To save my live, I cannot see any sense in his argument. Yes, I agree that Apple has made it much easier for mere mortals to gain access to music. Yes, Apple has made it more convenient to not just bring music along with you, but bring all your music along with you. Yes, Apple has made it easier to cheaply obtain music legally through the iTunes Music Store (Though, sadly lacking in Singapore). But in no way can i see how this caused the fall in audio quality.

If music CD's are purchased and ripped into 320 kbps, WAV format or even better, FLAC or ALAC, how does that lower the sound quality? The CD was mastered in WAV format. Essentially, he is saying that making a exact copy of the music in its original format is reducing the quality. Its like saying that taking notes during a lecture will reduce the quality of the instuction.

El Weirdo also says that "We have beautiful computers now but high-resolution music is one of the missing elements". I have two bones to pick with this statement. First, who says that high-resolution music doesn't exist. And second, anyone who has seen an ASUS EEE PC can tell you that it is as far from beautiful as Arnold Schwarzenegger is from being a woman.

Funny enough, he does not blame comsumers from ripping songs at extremely low bitrates in shitty formats like Windows Media Audio (.wma) which i believe is the main cause. If anything, ignorance of the general public should be the main reason.

I'm surprised that someone with the mental capacity of a mealworm is able to identify blu-ray discs as the storage medium of the future.

Pi

Happy Pi Approximation Day.

Anyway, people who have commutted on the North-East Line would know that there are two LCD screens. I found out today that the two screens are not linked in nature. I noticed some discernable lag between the two screens. Weird for SBS Transit not to split one signal into two outputs.

Mutation

Came across a very interesting article about a specific genetic mutation. This New York Times Article talks about a genetic variation called a SNP and how it once protected Africans from a parasite known as Plasmodium vivax. As people without this SNP were at a selective disadvantage, they died out and so did the parasite, only to be replaced by a stronger parasite.

Now, researchers have found that this SNP causes a conformational change in the surface configuration of the receptor protein. Instead of the receptor being complementary in shape to the intended hormone (CCL5), it now is complementary in shape to the HIV virus. However, a large concentration of CCL5 in the bloodstream prevents infection. So while these select individuals are more susceptible to HIV, the virus progresses slowly through their bodies.

Hopefully this will lead to a major breakthrough in understanding the HIV virus. Hopefully.

Shuffle

Today I was on the train and started pondering about the "shuffle" function in my iPod. The shuffle function on iPods are meant to be random, meaning that the probability of any single, specific track being played should be the same as that of any other specific track.

So I came home and used an album with 21 tracks as my sample. Using Track 10 as the starting track, I moved on to the next track and took note of the frequencies. I planned to take 100 readings but gave up at 50. Assuming that the track selection is perfectly random, the probability of any single track should be 0.05(1/20), which equates to 2.5 times per track. My findings below show otherwise.



This obviously shows that the iPod's algorithm for shuffling songs is not concrete enough. Note that Track 11 was played a grand total of zero times. Now we all know why some songs are not played at all, even in shuffle.

Destruction

Why are people in such a rush to change things?

Why the compulsion?

Why change?

Why not status quo?

At the end of this year, the hotel in the picture will be torn down to make way for a new MRT station. Yes, all nine floors of The New 7th Story Hotel will be shattered into mere rubble. Losing such a building that has been standing at the very same spot for the last 50 years will be such a waste. A loss for Singapore. A part of our heritage missing...All in the name of globalisation and progression.

Closure

Maybe I was wrong. A deep friendship or a platonic love perhaps. Maybe not...

Anyway, I've got over it already.

Yesterday is the easiest day. Tomorrow will be the hardest.

I've been having some sort of a creative drought recently. I just can't seem to shoot a compelling image. I hope it is just some passing phase. Its not that I have lost my passion for photography, its just that I can't seem to do anything right with a camera these days. Maybe I have been trying too hard.

Had some really, really weird dreams recently.

Anyway, I was one the MRT when I overheard two women talking about the merits of collagen. About how it made her skin smooth and tight et cetera. Utter bullshit I say. It is pure and shameless commercialism that has driven society into such a downward trend. And like a disease, such "lies" are spread via word of mouth. This disease eventually will infect all of mankind minus those who knew better.

Any partially competent biology student will tell you that a collagen molecule is a protein. It is made up of three left handed helices supported by numerous hydrogen bonds. As such, once collagen is ingested, hydrochloric acid in the stomach is going to reduce a molecule of collagen into mere amino acids. It does not remain as a collagen molecule for "absorption" into the body.

An article written by Times Online confirms what I have been saying for months.

...British Skin Foundation say they’ve seen no evidence that eating collagen will benefit your skin in any way. “Certain products applied to the skin that stimulate collagen production may have the desired effect, but eating it is unlikely to make a difference.”

Using a collagen sheet for surgical reasons is perfectly understandable, but ingesting it? They would be much better off spending that kind of money on some good steaks, since it all works down to amino acids.

Broken

Initially, I was non-chalant about the news. But as I thought more and more about it, maybe I have been living in denial all this while. Maybe it is just a juvenile crush of sorts, maybe more. I will never know now.

Had a short chat with a close friend about this.

But, it was probably never meant to be. And if it is to be, it will be so in the end.

"Love lifts us up where we belong.
Where eagles fly,
On a mountain high.
Love makes us act like we are fools.
Throw our lives away,
For one happy day."
-Moulin Rouge

Ops

I'm back from Brunei.

In short, Brunei :-

-has nothing to see
-has nothing to do
-has nothing to buy
-has pedestrian crossings instead of traffic lights
-has roundabouts instead of junctions
-sells petrol at 53 cents a litre

I have been activated for ops deployment. So I would be away for a while. Still contactable by my mobile.

Hello

I'm in Brunei now. Can't say too much here.

Will be back on the 9th of June.

And my Section IC has just blocked my leave.

And you guys can SMS me all you want. Its free for both you and me. Hahas

Rants

I have been accepted into NUS Faculty Of Science. Now I need to choose.

Go Devils Go.

You...take care.

Dreams

Late at night when all the world is sleeping
I stay up and think of you
And I wish on a star that somewhere you are
Thinking of me too

Cause I'm dreaming of you tonight
Till tomorrow I'll be holding you tight
And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be
Than here in my room dreaming about you and me

Had some pretty weird dreams recently. Won't elaborate on them. But I feel that they have been affecting how I function.

Champions

We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end -
We are the champions -
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions - of the world -

Yes. Once again, Sir Alex proves that he is still relevant in todays footballing world.

Champions '07-'08 by two points.

Now that we have a major, and I say again MAJOR, psychological advantage over Chelsea, maybe a double is in store...

Champions Of Europe '07-'08?

Lancer

My gunner trades course has finished and I have been "un-attached" from Archer Company in 40SAR and posted back to HQ Armour. Now i'm a stay-out personnel. Wonder what life has in store for me now.

It was quite hard to leave Archer Company. No doubt the place had bad food and reeked of cigarette smoke all the time, but the gunners were fantastic. They really made us feel welcomed there.

Anyway, I am going over to Brunei for a period of 12 days, between 28th May and 8th June. Will be bringing my laptop there so I will still be contactable through email and MSN. You can ask me more but no guarantee that I will say anything.

Pictures

Acceptance

Shows that my bullshitting skills are still there. Interview was a piece of cake. Works in my favour that they are selective about the people they take into this course. From my estimate, only about 80 were selected for the interview.

Choices

Well. I'm back in training.

Went for my NTU interview yesterday. Now i'm in a dilemma as to what to choose. NTU Chemistry & BioChemistry or NUS Faculty Of Science. I much rather do life sciences in NUS, but employment will definitely be a problem in Singapore. Then there comes the issue of me not getting the course I want in NUS. There is a possibility that I may get into Faculty of Science, but not get the course of choice.

NTU also has its advantages. The largest of which is that it is a 4-year direct honours program. But i'm also slightly concerned about the employment options. Also many of the better lecturers in NUS have moved over to NTU. The lab also looks mighty impressive.

So many choices to make. Hope I don't make a mistake.

Rest

I'm at home at the moment. Just came back from SGH where I had a wedge resection done on my big toe on the right foot. Was given local anesthetic. As the procedure was carried out, I begun to think about how local anesthetic works. Thought it may have been related to blockage of transmission of an action potential. Came back to wiki and I was right.

Local anesthetic works by inhibiting the influx of sodium ions through the membrane, preventing depolarisation from taking place and as such, the action potential cannot be propagated.

I also begun to think about pain. Often, people think of pain as a bad thing. I on the other hand, think of pain as a good thing,

"Pain is your best friend. Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger"

These words were drilled into me by one of my favourite teachers, Mr. See Teck Hock.

However, pain has a very elementary function. It serves to warn the individual of danger. This story will show that pain is essential.

Pain is my best friend....

Pictures

Went shooting today.



















Would you eat this?

Tankee

Life as a tankee has been good so far. Less tiring physically than i've expected, but way more tiring mentally.

Swift And Decisive.

Presently, i'm attached to Archer Company at 40 SAR. Not too bad. Nothing compared to Ninja though.

Armour

Tomorrow, I will begin life as a man in the SAF. I wanted to go to command school, but that is what life has for me. Like what 2LT Benjamin said "In the SAF, you will go to where you belong." So I guess I belong in armour. However, deep down inside, I will always be a Ninja. Never will I forget the times in Ninja, nor the lessons learnt.

Duty, Honour, Country. Ninja Company

Organisation

I've stumbled on a freeware program called Taskbar Reshuffle. Its a program that allows you to re-order windows on the taskbar. Its a Windows-only program and sadly, only 32-bit. This is a great program especially for a neat freak like me. It really improves productiveness and visual appeal of Vista.

Pictures

Was walking towards Plaza Singapura from the National Library when I saw the most amazing looking sky yet. Here are some pictures.







And this last photo looks like I isolated the red colour either in-camera or through a post processing program, but I swear that it was taken as is. No post processing done apart from resizing.

Random

Nine weeks passed really quickly

The original "Apologize" is much nicer than the Remix-ed Timberland one

I watched a video of a C-section this morning

To you...take care

Memories

P.O.P is over. Like OC said, "After POP, BMT will just be echos and memories". Echos and memories that really stay with you.

Memories like,
-ZhengRong and his mirror.
-Rifle over head during fast march
-POP in the rain
-Platoon party
-Cotton buds

And the list goes on.....

Bittersweet experience it has been.

Well......it certainly helped that I had a very united and strong platoon. Not to mention an OUTSTANDING section. If I had to redo BMT again, I wouldn't have changed a thing.

"Shit happens. Just so happens you're in it"

Results

Well, I can't say that i'm thrilled with my results but i'm not disappointed either. I just hope that I can go to the course of my choice.

P.O.P

1.5 weeks left to POP. It will be a bittersweet experience.

Anyway, Happy Founders Day to all....

Updates

Haven't blogged in a while due to my sickness. Recovering but still down.

This past week has got to be the most tiring BMT week till now due to SITest and route marches.

Field camp and SITest are both over. Now for my re-range, IPPT and SOC. After that, we all wait for 110308 to arrive.

R.I.P

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster. The brutal crash that took the footballing world by storm. The one single error that crippled one of the footballing giants, bringing it to its knees. The world stood still.

It killed some of United's greatest players such as Eddie Colman, Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne and the great Duncan Edwards. Today, as we prepare for Chinese New Year, lets take a minute to think of the Busby Babes, and wonder, what might have been. What success they could have achieved.

Sick

Yesterday I was not feeling well since the morning. Constantly took my temperature. It was constantly hovering around 38.4 until just before dinner when it hit 38.9. My section mates then got me to tell the officer. I was then sent to the MO and then got Attend C till wednesday.

So ya. I'm home and have to take a concoction of 7 different types of drugs for my throat infection.

BMT

Life has been reasonably good in BMT, apart from my knee which has been giving me problems and my strained right wrist and left bicep. Recently tweaked my left calf also. The training has become tougher and the commanders have come down harder on us.

Oh. And now we have no nightsnack. Super sad man.

And I still have problems on the SOC. Just cannot pass the swing trainer. No idea why.

On a much brighter note, I am now able to do three pull ups. By no means will I pass the IPPT diagnostics on CNY eve, but at least there is improvement. Hopefully the PS will allow food in soon.

Oh. And I got marksman at IMT. Now to replicate my results for range.

Will update more on CNY eve which would be my next book out.

NS

Well. I'm back from 17 days of confinement. Can't say it was easy, but can't say it was terribly tough either. Good times enjoy, bad times endure. Of course, it helped that Nat is in my platoon and there were two AC peeps in my section. My section is damn cool. Some of us do chin-ups every night and some do squats every night. I do both. If not how to get huge legs.

Anyway, my platoon is quite a fun loving bunch of people. Of course, like one of my officers said, "There is a time to play and a time to have fun". And I think I talk to the floor a lot.

The status list from my platoon is quite long I must say. However, some of the injuries are plain stupid. Like getting a sprained ankle during 5BX. Bloody stupid right Nat?

SOC is damn fun. Like a huge playground. But I just can't cross the swing trainer. No idea why. Jacob's ladder is where the pussies appear, according to my Sergeant.

And it is in Tekong where the effects of global warming can be fully felt. Try doing 30:60 with a WBGT of 37.2. Its no joke man.

Booking in on monday.

Looking all around us.
People everywhere.
Children having fun.
While we are holding guns.
Have you every wondered?
Why must we serve?
Because we love our land.
And we want it to be free, to be free. YA!

Farewell

This would be my last post before I enlist. 17 days of pure NS training without any external distractions. But it will also be 17 days without my com and my dear camera.

So here I post my final photos before I enlist. Till we meet again....

Change

Went back to MJ to take some pictures. Didn't take a lot and my square crop was ruined by about a couple of centimeters. Still pisses me off.

Anyway, MJ has changed a lot. The field. or should I say grass patch, bounded by the C block, E block, spiral staircase and the LT's is being converted into a fountain.



Hell, even the vision (or is it mission) is changed. They say "A picture speaks a thousand words"
The first picture was taken about nine months back in March 2007 and the second one was taken yesterday.





I also took a series of pictures using a tripod and stitched them together to for this panorama of the gallery. its a little distorted due to the relative distance of the railing and circular panning motion of the tripod, but here goes.



Lastly, Happy New Year! Courtesy of Zong Ming.