Myanmar - the junta will fall eventually

i read with distaste the various reports of skirmishes in Myanmar.

when military forces go on a uncontrolled killing spree, it's inevitable that some innocent souls are punished by death or torture.



look at the japanese reporter Kenji Nagai in the video - it's as clear as day, that the soldier shot him down wantonly.

Kenji Nagai

various international news media has issued damning reports on the military rule in Myanmar - such as BBC, calling the generals being "brutal" and increasingly enriching themselves through corruption, while the commoners suffer from inflating costs.

while the USA have been very stern towards Burma, such as banning senior government officials from entering its states, the problem lies with China.

although China is the closest ally, she has refused to issue warnings. Over at CNN, the foreign ministry has only urged restraint. When Chen Shui Bian wants a referendum on UN membership in the name of Taiwan, Beijing flared up with threats of military force. This is utter selfishness as China is only interested in Myanmar's natural resources to forward its own interest, without taking into consideration of human rights of the Burmese.

Singapore is also into the limelight, as the top general Gen Than Shwe was cleared to visit our own SGH in January 2007. The Prime Minister Gen Soe Win has been seeking treatment for sometime here. It's an irony when our own Foreign Minister who is helming ASEAN, issues a stern statement to decry the brutal suppression when one of Myanmar's top echelon is watching TV from SGH wards.

the world is crazy. I don't think Mr Gambari (the UN envoy dispatched to Myanmar) can change anything. Because of China's interests. Plus India and probably Russia as well.

mad rush these days...

once again it is my busiest period in studies - the recess week was totally burnt.

my 3rd aunt is down with dengue, my mum and i visited her on wednesday. Thank god she has been recovering from the bite, with her blood platelets steadily increasing. I met my cousin JW for the first time in at least 5 years. The last time i met him was when he passed me a Celeron and motherboard. That's how i gained the impetus to learn and constantly keep updated with hardware computing. Have to thank him for that =)

there was a missy in the ward that i found to be really familiar, but i couldn't recall where i met her. Eze heard from me regarding this as well.. lolz.


then thursday was the big day - the day where i took my first ippt after Ord in Dec 2005. At Maju FCC. Took it then because Waixin was taking as well, so being first-timers to NSmen ippt, why not have a companion =)

i thought the facilities would be good, since i heard so much. Oh man it is like a typical rundown camp. No showering rooms, even the toilet is like those coffeeshop ones.

and the sadder part was that i failed - even though i was mentally prepared for it. But i did badly for the 2.4km as well, clocking 11:22 only. Really chui.

I *LIKE* the last sentence - TRY HARDER NEXT TIME.........

hopefully after attempting ippt once, the blardy SMSes will stop. These messages have been getting really irritating...

after that we took 151 back to campus, where i showered at SRC and he went home. Then after that, i bought dinner for Kelvin, Wang Yu and myself. Then proceeded back to my favourite haunt. SoC1's PC Lab 1 (or 2) that is open 24x7.

didn't sleep a wink from 9pm to 9am - i was fully awake throughout the night. I had to finish my Security module. The First System Release for CS3214 is coming Tuesday, so diedie have to do. Besides this module, i have 1 more to do.

the biggest pain during the night was to translate the following sentence into program code -

"The entire HRM system is composed of processes. Relationship-wise, a process belongs to a module. A module has 1 or more processes. A process can be accessed by 1 or more departments. In turn, each department has 1 or more roles."

sounds easy right? My foot!!!

i took several hours to crunch the department and role relations into working code. Between 3-6am, i was working like a zombie. Luckily things worked without much fuss, because i had no energy to get angry also. At dawn, i managed to code 95% of my requirements, minus 5-8 bugs i discovered. So when i left at 8am, i was still missing the bugs and the crucial 5%.

went home to sleep, then rushed down in a cab at 1pm to meet CH for a review. Then 3-10pm was spent on killing bugs and finishing the 5%. Now it's almost complete, sans the group integration. The rest are staying in campus tonight. I have to say no, because i'm really tired out - imagine ippt+no sleep thereafter. I'm just a human being after all.


they say CS3214 is a nightmare. Yes it is.

rumour mill

before starting to say what the rumour is, wenqun and ting pls discuss your travel plans soon! My price wizard Kay is going to finalise bookings this/next week.

done a preliminary price search for hotels (versus my primary choice of hostels), found that it's twice the cost of my hostel for 6 nights. Hmm... undecided. Better to leave the decision to coming weekend where my schedule is less tight.


now the rumour. But i need to clarify; i don't know this couple well. The pair were DBI students, 4 years after my batch. The only time i meet them is to chase them out of the project room after closing hours. And given their motivation to stay back in school, i assume they are hardworking and one of the top few in DBI (yes, they are). After graduation, the girl went to one of the big 3 uni locally (the faculty is the only 1 out of 3 to display student photos), and the guy was conscripted to become a soldier.

just now i happened to chitchat with Gary, and heard that this couple has broke up. It couldn't be, because they were still together months ago. Gary had dinner with them weeks back and witnessed some heartwrenching scenes that i also thought so. You know, the kind of scenes where after a breakup one party will feel the loss, then wishes to regain the loss. The actions shown are therefore above the norm.

there are terrible theories as to why they broke up. Such as the guy outliving his usefulness in that period of her studies, thus the breakup. I hope it's not because of current studies that the girl made the decision. It appears to, according to my intelligence.

it's like neglecting your mum or dad for some other matter, and then crying over their loss when they depart from the world. No matter how hard one can cry, these loved ones simply are gone for good. If they are still alive, that person will lose confidence in you totally. No difference too.

in this case, the poor guy has to contend with getting back a lost love while struggling behind the green fences.

i admire the guy's spirit to press on, however when a person's mind is set, things are unlikely to rewind. Especially for girls.

hope this isn't a trend of "marriage of convenience".


appearing offline in msn is now my favourite. Just now i saw a disturbing personal message. I hope it's not intended for me, because i hate indirect messages, especially from the past year. No point for me to ask because i don't see the need to. Because you still carry that impression of yours.

weekend break and sombre CS3214 thoughts

recess week is coming! However, it's the first recess week where i'm going to spend most, if not all my time in school.

team synergy is quite alright. As usual i'm very fussy on the infrastructure, such as common helper functions and client-side validations if possible. The primary reason for choosing client-side is simply to relieve request-response stress on the server, which is very slow in the first place. Sun AppServer 9.0's speed is really a PITA. The secondary reason is its simplicity; given the goal of common helpers i mentioned earlier, there are less server-side codes to integrate.

although CH has mentioned he doesn't want superficial stuff, i would take it that he meant only in non-programming areas such as flowery reports or formal presentations. I believe he has heavy demands in the programming area. In my humble opinion, coding wise it is better to unify common helpers, both client/server side. 1st reason - this obviously shows teamwork - to reduce repetitive and duplication in trying to code (and test, debug these seemingly superficial stuff) small things that are going to be reused all over the place. 2nd reason - experience from the NYP-Agilent workflow project has done all these, and that being an industrial project; once again it is my opinion that we should attain a similar class.

despite these, there seems to be some opposition to this approach - some team members would want to code their own helpers, constants, etc. I shall keep my fingers crossed and won't wish to press for my way, although i trust my own foresight. Trust has to be earned =)

my firm belief is to balance all modules, meaning keeping in view of the CS2250 and CS3265 module. Thinking further, even if i manage an A/B for CS3214 and then flunk the rest by getting C/Ds, the 8 MC reward is useless, since it is used to balance the scale. And i'm not dropping any modules this semester, because it's counterproductive to be only taking 12/16 MCs workload just because of CS3214. Suffer even more later.

deep in my mind CS3265 project is a time bomb waiting to explode. Yet nobody has raised a word.

more often than not, the way of structuring my thoughts and plans are slightly different from the rest, and only a few will understand my style in project work after some time. Anyway, given the limited time i'll try my best. However not neglecting the rest of the modules.


on sat i met my secondary mates to celebrate Trina's birthday at Country Manna, Sun Plaza.

A favourite for many - chicken soup

Ordered salsa salmon and fish meuniere for my main course

1 year older~

Really missed ice cream cakes... too bad this was sponge

My new 500GB upgrade - Western Digital Caviar SE16 AA series

later on, i went to Simlim to get 3 things. My 500GB new drive, mich's 80GB lap drive and wenqun's 2GB thumb. Together with the Goodwood mooncake for jun's family, $400 disappeared from my wallet in just 3 hours.... Xmas is not even here yet.

then the night was spent on cloning my old 320GB-->500GB, then my bro's old 160GB-->320GB. Both of us are happy men, since i gained 180GB more space and he 160GB more. lol...

finally i wish Trina a happy 24th birthday. And good luck to my bro who's going to be a rifleman in 3 SIR from this week. Life will be tough for you....

pasta de waraku

meeting with CH today was close to disastrous.

competition is boiling...

after that i met jiahao, kay and simon. Have not done any guy-talks for 1 month plus. Nice get-together. As usual i always get suan-siao about my mistake. Boohoohoooo.

the waiting time for Pasta de Waraku is terrible though. The waitress told us 30-45 mins of wait. After a game of bowling, we were still 2 queues away! Luckily i wasn't the last in the game thanks to Simon giving me leeway. ha...

25 pics for your viewing pleasure.

Pasta de Waraku!

Special menu

Seasonal menu

Wafu sauce pasta

More wafu varieties, tomato and soup

cream pasta

gratin! Don't know what exactly it is though

Pizza, curry, steak and salads

More affordable set meals, but reduced serving

I ordered the hokkaido corn soup

Drinks, soda, etc

Dessert!!!

Special #1 - Want some black ink?

Special #2 - For eggplant lovers

Special #3 - How about some pasta in ice?


Appetizing salad - not bad... especially the sauce

I thought this Hokkaido corn soup is enough for 4 of us...

The bowl is deceptive. $8.80 for this amount!!!

We ordered anchovy bread. How come no anchovy?

My order - spicy prawn spaghetti. The red "hair" is actually red hot chilli

My friends ordered set meals - this pizza is part of the sets

Kay opted for the carbonara pasta

Jiahao got this bolognese pasta

Simon's choice - Japanese style something

DIY salt

(edited) the damage was $104. i spent around $35. The biggest disappointment was obviously on the Hokkaido corn soup. Too little.

the urge to purge (read: ls)

over the past week, i've been making more frequent trips to the toilet. To "ls".

on monday, i went 2 times.

on tuesday, i went 5 times. Oddly, the first four were separated by 3 hours. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper. After over laughing over Kelvin's joke after eating tomyam soup from Lerk Thai (Arts Deck), i rushed off to the nearest toilet before meeting the CS2250 peeps. Many toilets in NUS have received my token of appreciation already.

on wednesday, nothing happened. Didn't go at all.

today, counted 3 times already. In fact i had to run up from kopitiam because i cannot tahan anymore!!!


after reading online and some advice from Eze, i'm inclined to believe that my digestive system is not used to the sudden infusion of fruits since 2-3 weeks back. Previously, my mum will laugh if i took >1 orange/apple a month. This month, the amount of fresh oranges, watermelons and mangoes in fresh juice is 1500-2000% more than my usual.

but i'm beginning to love orange juice! Especially the science canteen; it's freshly squeezed!

how ar? Continue to detox 3-4 times a day while enjoying that sweet citrus burst?

nyp results out

nyp
by now everyone should have gotten their results - satisfied or think you can do better? My advice is to make your last big dash next semester for graduating classes.

for those who are not going to study after this, it's still important because you won't have a chance to be so carefree again. It's going to be (5days*52weeks - 25days leave/PH) of dull working life, just waiting for the cash to tick in every month. For those who are going to further studies, the amount of effort you put in is just the typical workload for full time university research. No, thinking of playing Maple or Audition? No more chance too, unless you are happy with a pass *hint* =x

based on past trends, many of my poly friends whom swear never to touch books ended up in SIM/MDIS etc. Partially to climb higher up the corporate ladder, to stay employable or simply to look 'better'.

no doubt experience and quick thinking is more important for some sectors such as finance, that piece of laminated paper is not to be dismissed so easily. Employability based on skillsets will be emphasized, more so in an economy downturn. Which should be coming in less than 5 years time.

but then, there is a possibility of banking too much on that piece of paper. You need that paper to look for good jobs, however good jobs may not land on you because of that paper. It's mutually exclusive. And then, there's a cost element to think of. Yes parents can always foot the bill for your education, that car or motorbike you dream of, but i don't believe in depending on parents especially if one is >20 years old. Leave their money alone, since it's for their twilight years.


nus
it's now week 6 of my semester, yet i felt i have been suffering for 12 weeks already. Let me recount my progress. CS3214 has rather intensive. I have packed my locker with maggi, biscuits, tea and sugar. What are missing? Maybe the spoons, forks and a nice cup to hold water. Maybe a sleeping bag and a pair of slippers.

my team members for the CS2250 project are terrific; it will be excellent if we manage to put our inspirations fully into the video. We plan to do our filming next week, so as to rid this project off our schedules asap.

CS3265 is a black horse, because no one has raised questions on how to start the project. 80% of the team makeup are from my CS3214 team though, so i can understand the lag. But no, i won't take up the coordination for this because i'm already doing it for latter module. Someone has to share the load.

GEK1531? I'm blessed with this gem. Furthermore, it was a recommendation from James (Tan), so thanks my friend. Now is to continue with the lectures etc for the 2nd CA. No exams!!!

this semester is special too. Flik is in CS3265 tutorial class, and Victor is in the GEK1531 lecture group. And Joyce from Si Ling plus her friend (oops i don't know how to spell =x) from NYP, in CS2250 tutorial class. ex-NYPians unite!!!


where is my break?
looking forward to the year end vacation. To clear my mind and off to Hong Kong for a break. Good news - wenqun and ting will be joining me there. Planning itinerary wise, i'm only 75% complete. Accommodation? Found them, but no time to book....!

i may insert a solo KL trip 2-3 days before i leave for Hong Kong. I feel the need to be alone for awhile, like the solo Shanghai trip in July 2006. By and large that trip was fulfilling; i achieved what i wanted - to see the buildings that jun didn't allow me to (actually, not her fault since those paid tours are rushy). I covered almost the whole of downtown Shanghai, minus Hongqiao! Looking back, it's hard to believe why i could muster the courage to venture out on my own at that point in time. If you ask me to do it again, i will. But sponsor me =)

fortunately, that burden has been lessened. I find myself more willing to talk about the past, although i still refuse to bring the frame of 32 photos back from my office. To unwrap it is still quite a difficult task for me. Not to mention my mum's reaction when she sees the frame again. She stopped asking about it for some time already, don't want to restart the nag.


v-campus
went down to CPF building on tuesday, to collect the cheque. It was really high; 25 floors up. The view is great! I met Mr and Mrs Lim, and they offered me part time assignments. Thinking in the longer term and considering my results (and the chance of working in NYP is lower because of that), i tentatively agreed. However, not this semester. Mr Lim wanted me to propose my rates, which i honestly couldn't think of any suitable rate. Assuming i'm still doing part time in NYP, this is purely to gain experience in event management. Shouldn't be asking for the sky, right?

let's see whether this will open another career path in the future... although my desire to serve my alma mater is still very strong. Even with a pay cut in view of my poor university results. However if that CAP is what they are going to (solely) look at to judge my abilities, i'm going to knock on other doors.

songs by Rainie 杨丞琳

i chanced upon summers83's blog - when i was in sec 3, IRC was darn hot then. I frequented a channel (oops, i forgot what name. took sometime to remember, it's #xiaobaby_paradiz). My nick was ah_boy15. Then she was one of those who were there too, along with Xiaoyun and Zhenlong. We even met up for channel outing then, took a neoprint together as a group.

there were many interesting memories; when i was in sec 4, i was linked to my juniors (Sec 3A) in many ways. That time, i was on very good terms with ZL because his house is opposite mine (same floor too), so i occasionally went over to fix his comp, network etc. I was the head councillor then, so it seemed odd that i fixed a comp for a pai kia. Nah, i'm not those snob. And he isn't bad anyway. We still meet at the kopitiam once in a while.

another link was to XY. I had a crush on her before Kim (i think it's before). Then, we called ourselves mantou. She was xiaomantou, i was damantou. I thought over time spent online, the feelings got stronger. But nothing happened. There were few links to Richmond, Zaiyi, Xianglin, Shirley, even Huiting =p, as these were my able assistants when i helmed Student Council in 1999.

perhaps the most special link was to jun. I remember i was IRCing at the library's loan PC when i first saw her outside the school library. It was almost love at first sight... took me 2 yrs to capture her heart. =)


moving on, i had my O levels and went on to NYP. Furthermore with my relationship, i gradually stopped going IRC. The channel i owned (#wgs) got transferred in the end, since i couldn't commit my time there too.

yes, i have not forgotten moses-san. In fact he is a person whom i will never forget. Because he has helped me and my bro in some areas for almost 10 years. My motivation to do well in poly came from many people - besides jun, he was one of the prime movers. We are still in contact, fortunately. Except he has moved to Casablanca.

i'm still in contact with some people, such as Wenbin (EVG). Alvin Leong the joker too =x

times in IRC... some details are still retained in fragments. Anyway, summers is surprisingly still single. Hope there's a chance to meet again, somewhere, somehow =)

this song was originally heard at her blog. It's soothing to my ears...



缺氧




春天慢慢一点点发芽
快乐开始都有了想像
城市光合作用的模样
幸福开始组装

夜里满园的茉莉花香
月光洒落看不见忧伤
旋转木马前那个广场
爱情开始滋长

想你有时会缺氧
嘴角不自觉上扬
这是不是幸福的现象
胸口微微的发烫

想你有时会缺氧
脸红呼吸不正常
这是不是幸福的症状
不知不觉又缺氧

夜里满园的茉莉花香
月光洒落看不见忧伤
旋转木马前那个广场
爱情开始滋长

想你有时会缺氧
为何呼息不正常
这是不是幸福的症状
不知不觉又缺氧

无法移动的梦想
就算没有人鼓掌 我也不会受伤
不会稀释的信仰
心穿越砖墙 在你的身旁

想你有时会缺氧
嘴角不自觉上扬
这是不是幸福的症状
胸口微微的发烫

为何呼息不正常
不知不觉又缺氧


左边



总是忍不住寂寞掉下眼泪
你才会给安慰
担心短暂的晴天
随时都可能
被阴狸收回

等待有机会最坏也最甜美
我乐观却疲惫
因为太怕失去你
所以连快乐里
都装满伤悲

Chorus:
{你不曾发觉
你总是用右手
牵着我
但是心却跳动在左边
你和我之间的遥远
永远隔着亲切
爱少的可怜

伸出右手想陪着你
向前走
感受你爱我的心跳在左边
那么深深爱你的我
想信你会了解 (你一定看的见)}

总在埋怨过你的冷漠
之后又急着说抱歉
仿佛向疏远的你
乞求一点体贴
都是我不对

结果有可能最美
也最可悲
我做好了准备
也许太自由的你
心里面那个家
谁也不能回

Chorus {}

Bridge:
我一直相信总有一天
你会用左手
牵着我走向明天
未来很遥远
却会实现
心在同一边
就能够听见
你说的那句
我爱你

mocca ads

i'm sure the advertisers managed to grab your attention. Unless... you're not a male nor a female.


my car has HUGE HID headlamps!!!


i'm a single, 24 and looking for single companion! (omg, i'm just right for her)



the bedroom's over there! the kitchen's over there!

this is my beautiful bathroom. Check out my matching pipes......

eu~~~~~

说一套做一套 II / 小动作 I

if Chevrolet, Daihatsu, Suzuki (and maybe Nissan) get increased sales because of this blog, i want all of them to give me a Honda Jazz! Any colour is fine with me, preferably white or yellow, or even passion red! =x

instead of working on what is really needed, i went for a spin in Mobtv. Thanks to you!

so i downloaded Hey Gorgeous! episode 1 and 2, because i was on night shifts when the shows came on. Going to watch them later. After that, i found 2 very familiar gals in Code Red's last episode. Michelle ar michelle.. why never show your face more in the show *grin*


说一套做一套 II
ok now let's tune the focus back to the 说一套做一套 post.

assuming the pseudo character of Chevrolet, it was a fun 1 hour trying to compose that piece of reel story. But the revelation as observed in the comments section was closer to scary. Following that relevation, i don't know whether to thank or condemn Google, because its search algorithms are simply darn good.

i must see whether i can harness the power of Google too. This is Project 小动作. I'm not going to say how i'm going to do it. Essentially, i turn the tables in my favour using Google's algorithms.

Daihatsu and Suzuki invited me to Sakae, coincidentally a Japanese restaurant for a meal. Daihatsu was angry because Suzuki was called Suzuki, which he preferred something else. Ok bro, i give your sweetheart a new name - Mitsubishi? lol...

Daihatsu and Suzuki had a hard time posing for this photo

Because no matter what problems they have, they are always in sunshine!
I'm like a darn lamp post.

The 3 car makers - Chevrolet, Daihatsu and Suzuki. Oh no er, Mitsubishi.

PS: i have to clarify that Nissan is not you. No intention to stir up the past.

PS 2: don't bother speaking up because you're right - the more you speak the more you reveal yourself. A person's words can cut both ways if the intention is crooked from the start.


editor's note: Daihatsu and Suzuki, i managed to scour Google's netcache to find that stuff. The content is hosted here. It's password protected, so refer to your sms. The userid and password can be redistributed, no worries.

new building added to Shanghai's skyline - SWFC

in mid-2008, Shanghai's metropolis skyline will have a new member - Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC) or 上海环球金融中心.

Conceptual design for SWFC
Note for trapezium hole at the roof

when it is finally completed, it will stand at 492m. It is taller than its neighbour, Jin Mao 88 (金茂大厦) by 72m (rooftop antenna included) and trails Taipei's 101 Tower by only 16m (rooftop antenna included). The topping out ceremony for SWFC is being held today.

the developer is Mori Building (Japan) and designed by Kohn Pederson Fox.

as the building is very tall, it is susceptible to turbulent wind conditions. This building is the first in China to be actively damped by a pair of 150 ton weights.

This was taken when i visited Shanghai in July 2006
The SWFC was nowhere to be found then (actually, hiding behind Jin Mao)

Presto! A year plus later, look at what is beside Aurora!

The night view of SWFC and Jin Mao 88

China's architectural ability is strong - thanks to the amount of construction workers plus the property boom.

phone scam

have you got these calls?

说一套做一套

let me tell you people a story. I'm using the automotive way of naming objects, so bear with me.


there was a time, long long ago in Singapore.

maybe not that long, few months only.

there was a boy called Daihatsu. He was together with a girl called Chery QQ.

initially, Daihatsu and Chery QQ went along fine. However, both of them had different point of views, and had many arguments because of that.

as Daihatsu's relationship is a first for him, there were understandably some times where he couldn't react in the best way. Daihatsu had a friend called Chevrolet. So Chevrolet, Saab, Volvo and etc plus their spouses, Audi, etc sat down with Daihatsu over many kopi sessions. Yes, Daihatsu had faults, but the boys didn't shield him either. They counselled Daihatsu to persevere and let time do the job.

however, there was an incident that caused Daihatsu and Chery QQ to reach the ultimatum. The silly (sorry my friend, just for this post) Daihatsu went to contact Geely under the table, Chery QQ's close friend because the former is going through a bad patch. It was under the table, because Chery QQ had a strict don't-touch-other-China-car-models policy. However the tables got turned upside down, Chery QQ swiftly did something that caught the entire car industry by an even bigger surprise. Daihatsu had to evaluate his relationship with Chery QQ because he was so hurt that the trust was in fact as thin as a parking coupon after all. So he made the decision (to break up).

of course, Daihatsu's friends told him "why you so itchy handed?". However, Chery QQ's response left us speechless. Daihatsu was already disillusioned, yet he kenna this nonsense. We too couldn't offer any good explanation for that.

Daihatsu moved on rather quickly. He had a personality like his father, Toyota, swift and direct. As fate also might have helped out, Daihatsu had the understanding of Suzuki, who was quite a contrast from Chery QQ. They improved on themselves and are trying their best in the new relationship.

one day, Chevrolet blogged about Chery QQ. It was a superficial mention. Yet Chery QQ fired up, serving a notice to Chevrolet to respect intellectual property rights (IPR). Chevrolet gentlemanly complied, even though he only mentioned the brand name.

weeks went by. Daihatsu and Suzuki have been doing well, however there was the Nissan who didn't like Daihatsu (probably car too old, or reputation is poor). Chevrolet prompted blogged about it with a lot of fire, because it could be linked to him.

Chery QQ also blogged. She mentioned how creaky Daihatsu was, now that she has a Volkswagen. Chevrolet is wondering whether Chery QQ is trying to be funny because the post came after Chevrolet's one. Should Chevrolet remind her of the past notices she served?

now, the Chinese's famous 说一套做一套 is verified to be true.


Chery QQ is playing a game in disguise, so Chevrolet is doing tit-for-tat. Now time is telling the truth, for the US, Japanese and German car manufacturers too. Not only yours, Chery QQ.

Saab, Volvo, Daihatsu do inform Chevrolet after reading this parody. He cares about Total Quality Management (TQM) for this article.


(CheryQQ, i'm already patient enough to say only certain things here. Don't bother to serve a notice again. If you're not happy, go read your past notices. If you're still not happy, shut down your factories by pressing Alt+F4. Don't get Daihatsu involved at this time too, if you have some conscience left.)

compelled to blog

i was actually on my bed at this hour, going to meet my dream lover with some love songs piped through my Samsung U600 and my new SonyEricsson HBH-DS980 bluetooth headset. Got this headset because i tested Jason's (Teo) HBH-DS970 3 days back, and it was excellent. Jiayou oh Jason!!! =D

just finished supper with Gy and his spouse, and Eze. I messaged Wenqun then, since we didn't meet for almost 2 weeks.

as i was turning in, received a call from him. As usual some people fell sick because of the flu bug, and he's one of the unlucky ones. Maybe the pigs are in bad shape this period, don't know why. My headaches refuse to go off too. Or maybe someone is trying to 打小人 (i'm rather superstitious, thanks to my mum).

we talked, and i told him my concerns about what i read off the blog. What he said confirmed my guesses, and therefore i brought my laptop onto my bed and started typing.

i'm having different emotions running in me after hearing from him. Although i'm considered a 3rd party and the view is pretty one-sided, there are things i still need to say. I don't want anyone to walk the path i walked and have regrets. Especially close friends. Let's search my heart now:

- angry
- sad
- disappointed

why angry? Because this situation is incredibly nonsensical. Friends are there for us, to act as a pillar of support. If you are feeling robbed of your friend, search your heart. Have you thought for your friend's happiness? What are you concerned with, your friend's happiness or YOUR happiness? What are you trying to do by running someone else's life?

why sad? This part goes out to Wenqun. I'm sad because the relationship appeared to be controlled by external factors (again). Through his tone, i can sense the urgency to solve the matter and move on with you (ting). In case you're still at a loss - Wenqun is prepared to brave the fire with you. He's not trying to press you for a decision, but seeing that you are being tormented by the situation now he has to do something.

why disappointed? If i were you, there is no decision to make in the first place. I told jun last weekend, that the matter is straightforward. Because your life ahead will be with him, not her. Although i'm sounding harsh, but i will be frank - If you need to be selfish, so be it. If your friends are going to blame you for that, so be it. If the latter happens, the years of friendship are worthless anyway. Because they have no confidence in you.

if they have prejudice with Wenqun, so be it either. BUT


i'm spoiling for a fight. Pick on me if i'm the cause of a prejudice towards Wenqun. Don't destroy your friend's relationship because you feel justified in doing so.

system proposal presentation

realised i put Wang Yu's matric number wrongly on the report =x I'm really sorry about it.

the presentation was so-so, except that we didn't field the questions well enough. Perhaps if we have coordinated the flows from the start, it might not be that bad. But oh well, let's recover from this minor setback and attempt to correct our shortcomings! We are already in it, there's no way to do a u-turn or get out of the circuit.

i'm going to step up whatever progress we're making, let's hold hands and move in tandem. Sounds gayish... omg =x


during the CS3265 tutorial today, our tutor Ms Mamata Bhandar told the class something - the lecture group participation during yesterday's seminar was lacking. She said, this is a problem with our faculty at large. This meant that Computing students have been less than enthusiastic in articulating their thoughts in occasions such as seminars, talks and even the IVLE forum.

i tend to agree, although this isn't the case all the time. I may sound off the mark by saying this, but i think our environment has created this oppressive culture.

let us examine our old home at Science, S15 and S17, and the new home at COM1:

1. Our old home: the students and many junior staff are always facing the wall or a shelf. A terrific example are the McDonald tables at S15's level 1 and 3. There are also countless labs where the partitions separating humans are so high up that when you peek into the room, you can only find furniture.

2. Our new home: once again, the problem surfaces itself again. At the basement, countless tables face the window. Since the furniture is reused from the old home, there aren't any improvements in the labs too.

3. The CPU of all workstations are installed on the working table itself.

compare this to NYP's School of IT, although the latter is a less research based tertiary institution. All student labs, discussion rooms and even junior staff rooms are in full view of the common corridor. There are no partitions that anyone can hide behind. So the culture is very open - i can see you working or slacking, but that isn't the point though.

i remembered during my time in Final Year Project in NYP. The CPUs were also installed on the tables, thus the working area was really limited. Not to mention the amount of dust that the fans churned out.

when visitors came by, they didn't see us working. They saw only the computers working. I took a bold step and took all the CPUs of my team onto the floor. When Mr Lam CY, the then-Director/SIT came by, he asked me - "why is your cluster so different"? I explained to him my rationale; and in less than a month the entire 3rd floor went through a major operation - to put all CPUs onto the floor.

the seemingly superficial move changed the image for years to come - SIT is now a more dynamic school where students are not necessarily nerds, always facing big boxes the whole day munching on takeaways. When peers encounter a problem, they are able to interact easily, since there are only the monitors and input devices on the tables. The biggest benefit is the huge table space, where students can work on.

so what's the moral of the story? NUS School of Computing needs this bold step as well. We mustn't be slow on this too. Revamp the furniture. We shouldn't get run over by those big PC boxes too.

being strong in academic credentials is traditionally important for a university and the facs, yet as times change the image needs a makeover too.

never mind about losing privacy, because the closed concept is no longer effective.

new workstations arrive!

2006 and 2007 has been eventful for SIT's labs, because there were so many changes i witnessed, yet were transparent to the users, eg. students and staff.

in Feb 2006 (roughly)
- CL 1: no movement
- CL 2: Compaq Deskpro (P4 1.4/1.5GHz) out, replaced by CL 4's outgoing
- CL 3: Compaq Deskpro (P4 1.4/1.5GHz) out, replaced by CL 4's outgoing
- CL 4: Compaq D500cmt (P4 1.6GHz) out, replaced by CL 5's outgoing
- CL 5: Compaq D510cmt (P4 2.0GHz) out, new HP dc7100 (P4 3.0GHz) incoming
- CL 6: no movement
- CL 7: no movement, because it has been empty all the while
- CL 8: no movement
- CL 9: no movement
- CL 10: new lab creation, new HP dc7100 (same as CL 5) incoming
- CL 11: new lab creation, stocked by CL 2 and 3's outgoing

in Oct 2006
- CL8: Compaq D500cmt (P4 1.6GHz) swapped with CL 10's dc7100 to look nicer

in summary, there were 8 major lab movements across the 2 floors. Why major? Because when a lab is stripped, it means a count of 50 to 80 workstations. No joke...


in Feb 2007
- CL 1: no movement
- CL 2: replacement with new HP xw4400 (Core2 E6300)
- CL 3: replacement with new HP xw4400 (Core 2 E6300)
- CL 4: no movement
- CL 5: no movement
- CL 6: no movement
- CL 7: no movement
- CL 8: no movement
- CL 9: replacement with new HP xw4400 (Core2 E6400)
- CL 10: replacement with new HP xw4400 (Core2 E6400)

in July 2007
- CL 1 and CL 2: entire labs swapped position
- CL 9: dismantled for some programme, then re-setup

now, Sept 2007
- CL 2: HP xw4200 (P4 2.8GHz) out, new HP xw4400 (Core2 E6700) incoming
- DCL: Compaq D500cmt (P4 1.6GHz) out, new HP xw4400 (Core2 E6700) incoming

2007 got more exciting with 9 major lab movements. The year is not yet over, and there are more plans in the pipeline.


what's up with the new revisions of HP xw4400? They pack a punch.

The chassis is tool-less, almost. Easy to work on

Professional graphics - Quadro FX 560

2 pieces of Samsung 2GB DDR2-667 = 4GB

The first HDD - 80GB. Seagate 7200.10

Slim profile for the 80GB. This is neat

The alternative stock came from Hitachi, 7K160

The second HDD is 250GB, also Seagate 7200.10

The stack nearly slid onto the floor as the friction pads were not applied. Phew...

what will 2008 hold for the school? We are already termed a section of lego builders, with the ability to transform and move workstations around with snaps of the finger.

i'm bestowed with the ability to command computers to fly in and out, and cable tie itself. Woooo.

however, i have no choice but to get involved less often. The focus is tuned towards studies for now.

i really like this song

posting this the 2nd time. But i'm going to print the lyrics and practise...

品冠 & 梁静茹 - 明明很爱你



梁: 有多少人在旁边 我们都视而不见
彼此却忍不住多看几眼 感觉强烈

梁: 已经微笑的放电 已经暗示到极限
没勇气的人犹豫的瞬间 幸福就飘过面前

品: 我平凡无奇而你 像灿烂星星 让我担心

合: 明明很爱你 明明想靠近

品: 但是你的身边有人捧花总是拥挤
我凭什幺一一打被情敌 敢大声说要做你的唯一

梁: 我的唯一

合: 明明很爱你 明明想靠近 (明明很爱我 明明想靠近)
为什幺还要浪费时间不把你抱紧
(为什幺还要浪费时间不把我抱紧) 够真心
才是最厉害的武器 (够真心 就是最厉害的武器)
我会拼命让你更满意 (你要拼命让我更满意)

梁: 讲配不配太俗气 说爱不爱要问心
爱由我们自己决定不必理 跌破谁的眼镜

blog is back to normal - major updates

let's close the chapter on studies (for the next 30 mins of typing this entry) and recap what happened this week.

Insurance
WG informed me about an business practice for his insurance company, that made me disgusted. In a summary, we assume there are 2 agents in that same company serving you, A1 and A2. You purchased policies P1 from A1, and P2 from A2 (both commencement dates less than a year apart). Then you felt that the A1 was not attractive after all, so you killed it. The company will actually penalise A2 for that, although it was supposedly none of his business. This meant that the commissions for P2 are taken away, to some effect.

i'm definitely having 2nd thoughts on buying products from this insurance company, since it stifles the freedom to switch (now i know why agents can spend a whole day persuading a customer to take up or to retain a policy).


Lunch out
the second part of saturday was spent with some poly peeps. They are now so free, and i'm just the opposite. But had a nice time out with them. Vicky seemed to be putting on weight =x

Andrew had this sinful mudpie

i settled for my favourite instead, plus choc fruity fondue

Us

We

before i forget, Vicky i need your mobtv's id. *grin*

Jac's iriver is just back. Compugate is no longer doing distributorship for iriver products, quite a waste actually. However if iriver's support really sucked, i have nothing to say too. Already got quite worked up while over the phone with them.


Nice makan after project
then i went back campus to touch up the CS3214 system proposal and slides, and was again at the lab in less than 12 hours. sigh....

Holland V XO Fish Head Bee Hoon - tok kong!!!

steve recommended our pack to this stall at Buona Vista, near the 4D betting outlet. What's so nice about this fish head bee hoon? The XO is really gao-gao. The fish is also very generously cut for us, all in all for just $20 (shared by 4).

do try it if you drive or pass by Buona Vista. It's worth the trip.


New monitor for bro
i spotted a fantastic offer from spinergy in VR-Zone. After some bargaining, i took over his 20inch LCD for $250. It's worthwhile because the panel used in this Viewsonic model is MVA/PVA. The colours are better.

did some cleaning up and reorganised his table. Just in time when he comes back for his week long break on Tue.

Finally i can get rid of all my CRT monitors...anybody want?

there's no heading for this, because i don't want to discuss in great length. During the weekend, we were finally able to get beyond our invisible barriers, and started talking for the first time in more than a year. Although it was naturally not as personal as before, i was happy because i thought such a situation will never happen. Last month, i translated my heavy thoughts by posting up 品冠's songs.

if there's any wish that i hope, i hope we can maintain contact. And both of us will find our happiness, whether or not our paths will meet again. I learnt many lessons and will never make sacrifices i would live to regret, again.