F r a n k ' s F r a t e r n i t y

Irritating sounds from the pipes below my flat

2011-09-11T10:31:00.002+08:00

The sound comes from outside the pump room, at a raised concrete platform covered on top by some metal covers (with one missing piece in the centre) below:
Through the uncovered spot shows two blue coloured pipes, with meter facings.
The irritating sound is coming from the clickings of the meter(s):

Here is a video and sound from the pipe:

And here is the resultant vibration and sound it caused in my flat's taps:

Gone Fishing - Blog closure (indefinitely)

2006-12-26T10:38:00.001+08:00

Forrest went for a run.

I went fishing.

Phone problem found, but not solved

2006-09-21T17:47:00.000+08:00

Siemens M75

I have been unable to send SMS through my phone for some time now, so if you've not received SMS from me for some time, you know why. Too lazy/busy to get my phone fixed, so I'm living with it. Should be fixing my phone this Saturday.. (I've been telling myself this for the past month or so. :| )

Anyway, I think I've found out why my phone can't send sms! It's because of a certain header attached to the outgoing message (virus??) which caused the message to be unreadable by non-robust sms applications.

If your phone can't read my sms, it's because the sms reader on your hp is clueless on how to handle this header, and simply throws an exception.

For those who can, it can either be because your hp is robust enough to recover from the error, or it simply can't be bothered enough to put a finger on the error (ignores header!).

Here's how I found out:
I sent a message ("Test") from my phone over to a GPRS modem and decipher the received data (which shows a lot of other information!):
------------------------------------------------------------------
SMS (RAW STREAM): 06915689450002440A9156393820140000609072818304230B050A03000408A8E5391D
Service Center Address: 6598540020
Destination Address: 6593830241
Protocol Data Unit Type: 68 <----- BUGGY :: Should by 4. An extra value of 64 denotes an attached header!
Reply Path?: false
User Data Header Indicator?: true
Status Report Indicator: false
More Message to send: true
Message Type Indicator: 0
Data Coding Scheme: 0
Service Center Time Stamp: 2006/9/27 18:38:40 (Time Zone:32)
User Data Length: 11
UDL Checksum: Passed

IEI: 0A <---- ID of the belligerent Information Element in header
IED: 000408 <---- Data of the belligerent Information Element

Message: Test
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Screensaver

2006-09-17T02:00:00.000+08:00

This is a snapshot of my screensaver.
I found it sort of weird when I first saw it. I couldn't make anything out of it till quite some time later (for those who can, don't be smug - the pic is easier to decrypt than the screensaver itself.)

The screensaver has 3 randomly drifting objects - one eye, one bee, and one 'M' character (which reminded me of the day my dot-matrix printer ran out of ink just before project submission. =|)

The eye is always looking out for the bee, the bee is always flapping its wings and moving randomly as bees do, while the blue M is just looking blue - perhaps because its horizontal stripes are making it look fat or something, I dunno.

Now who got what it stands for? =)

Funny....

2006-09-06T22:19:00.000+08:00

Was debugging my GPRS modem application when I noticed this unfamiliar error in my server console:

INFO [Win32SerialPort Notification thread] (ATSMS.java:281) - unknow cmd received =
RING

+CLIP: "91070617",129

DEBUG [Win32SerialPort Notification thread] (ATSMS.java:215) - data availabel on serial port
data received = "P: "91070617",129
"
INFO [Win32SerialPort Notification thread] (ATSMS.java:281) - unknow cmd received = P: "91070617",129

DEBUG [Win32SerialPort Notification thread] (ATSMS.java:215) - data availabel on serial port
data received = "
RING

+CLIP: "91070617",129
"
INFO [Win32SerialPort Notification thread] (ATSMS.java:281) - unknow cmd received =
RING

+CLIP: "91070617",129

Then I found out it was someone trying to call me, cos I was using my SIM card as the GPRS connection source in the modem. :|

君莫悲

2006-08-28T23:40:00.000+08:00

岁月难得沉默秋风厌倦漂泊
夕阳赖着不走挂在墙头舍不得我
昔日伊人耳边话已和潮声向东流
再回首往事也随枫叶一片片落

爱已走到尽头恨也放弃承诺
命运自认幽默想法太多由不得我
壮志凌云几分愁知己难逢几人留
再回首却闻笑传醉梦中

笑谈词穷古痴今狂终成空
刀钝刃乏恩断义绝梦方破
路荒遗滩饱览足迹没人懂
多年望眼欲穿过红尘滚滚我没看透

词嘲墨尽千情万怨英杰愁 (自嘲末尽千情万缘已皆愁)
曲终人散发花鬓白红颜殁
烛残未觉与日争辉徒消瘦
当泪干血隐狂涌白雪纷飞都成空

Working life

2006-08-12T14:19:00.000+08:00

To all my dearest NUS friends who are about to graduate, you might be expecting a culture shock in some ways or another when you join the workforce (I know I have).

As my good-naturedness goes (a long way), I shall reveal some of the trivial yet shocking "don't-you-learn-something-everyday" thingies, so you'd need not sweat on these small stuff later.

1) There is no QUOTA for printing. You can print as much stuffeses as you want, without attempting to print 9 ppt slides a page. No more measly 40 A4 pages / month of PS-printer printouts, or the hassle of going down to the admin office to topup your quota. Yay.

2) You have to wear nice smelling shirts and ironed pants (ie. look smart), which means no bermudas and/or sandals allowed. Unless, of course, you are a budding entrepreneur doing your own spiffy startup in a 6x6 cubicle somewhere in a business incubator.

3) If you think there's a lot of technical lingos in SoC, there's a lot more work lingos coming your way, buddy... One very distressing phrase I find is 'I'll CHECKPOINT with you tomorrow at 9am' - which means you'll have to clear your workload by then. No more free-loading by copying your friends' notes. =(

4) This goes very well with me: THERE EXIST FREE DRINK DISPENSER MACHINES. Yes, I'm talking about those that you put in 40 cents and press a button, and a paper cup comes down with water squirting from the left and concentrate squirting from the right into the cup to make your chosen Milo/7-Up/Coffee. Except you don't need any coins! Shiok shiok. But control yourself, or you'll see a belly forming soon.

5) You can claim taxi fares if you do OT. So please do OT almost everyday like I have been doing for the past #@%$#^ 3 weeks.

Busy busy busy

2006-07-29T23:53:00.000+08:00

The training at TSS is killing. The 7 of us are bunked in a room and given lectures with deliverables, from 9am to 6pm (it's more 9am - 9pm, at least)

SWT Programming, Socket Programming, JNI Programming UML, DLL creation,C++ MultiThreading, Server Programming, card reader programming... oh man, I'm going to be an expert programmer by the end of the 3 month long intensive training~!

But it's good I've been given a T60 with 2 GB ram to cope with all the programming, I would rather stab myself in my right eye if they want me to work on this slow HP lappie.

And yes, I won't have much time to blog (as you might have probably found out).

I still need time to go out with my dear. =P

Journey to the East - carpool needed

2006-07-07T13:34:00.000+08:00

Catch Frank in Journey to the East everyday~!

I got a job @ IBM and I think it's a tad bit crazy already - I'm living in Choa Chu Kang and IBM is at Changi Business Park.

Does anyone have carpool/vanpool/bikepool from the West to the East? Will pay, of course. Call me @ 93830241.

Need more time.

2006-06-25T02:42:00.000+08:00

I don't seem to be having time for administrative issues, including blogging and reading blogs~.

Things to do::
1) Process vietnam photos
2) Vietnam Expenses sheet
3) Find job(s)
4) Attend to AWOL charge, due to missing IPPT
5) Commencement

Happenings::
1) Finding a job
2) Going out with Dear
3) Going out with Dear
4) Having time-constrained things happening to me
5) Long overdued meet-ups with friends

Milk shake

2006-06-12T17:02:00.000+08:00

Daydream delusion
Limousine Eyelash
Oh, baby with your pretty face
Drop a tear in my wineglass
Look at those big eyes
See what you mean to me
Sweet cakes and Milk shake
I am a delusion angel
I am a fantasy parade
I want you to know what I think
Don't want you to guess anymore
You have no idea where I came from
We have no idea where we're going
Launched in life
Like branches in the river
Flowing downstream
Caught in the current
I'll carry you. You'll carry me
That's how it could be
Don't you know me
Don't you know me by now

-- Before Sunrise

Gym

2006-05-05T01:44:00.000+08:00

I find myself in the possession of a California Fitness Gym membership (Raffles Place branch) and a monthly debit of SGD$65 . Zihui also.

Those interested in working out together, please revert.

Yes, I start in June, after I've fattened myself from the Vietnam trip.

Vietnam.

2006-05-05T01:26:00.000+08:00

Will be in Vietnam from 8th May to 6th June. Don't miss me too much.

Cities/towns visiting:
Hanoi
Mai Chau
Halong Bay (Bai Chay shore, Tuan Chau island, Thien Cung Caves, Dau Go Grotto)
Hoa Lu
Tam Coc
Sapa (Cat Cat, Sin Chai village + waterfall, Lao Chai village, Ta Van village)
Danang, Hue, Hoi An (Thien Mu pagoda, Perfume River, Dong Ba market, Hai Van pass, Cham's sculptures, Marble Mountains, Pottery Museum)
Mui Ne (Yellow Sand Dunes, Pink Stream)
Saigon (Cu Chi Tunnels, Mekong Delta)
Siem Reap (Angkor Wat)

It's been a long time...

2006-04-29T14:33:00.000+08:00

Exams are finally over. 18 years of studies for this one paper. Or is it? In retrospective, what is education? What is the purpose of schooling? Foundation work for a job or the government's tactical policies to keep idling hands from engaging in mischief?

"Here, play with this paper clip while Big Daddy here do more important stuff."

Dun care. Not important. Thing is, another stage of my life is about to start and I think it will be preeetty interesting. Heh.

Anyone who is interested to engage my professional services(?), please contact me on my handphone. Hard labour is possible for the price of SGD$1500 a month - but yes, I'm going to outsource.

And no, I still don't know if I'm getting first class or 2nd upper. Sigh. What a drag.

Updates/To-do:

1) Sprained ankle. The hike will be postponed indefinitely or carried out in Sapa, Vietnam.

2) Need to clear up my harddisk of everything NUS-ish.

3) Finish Bleach. Then delete.

4) Sit down and plan Viet trip.

5) Apply for jobs blah blah..

6) Hit the trail/gym to remove spare tyre.

My most feared and inspiring chinese teacher in RI.

2006-04-21T22:59:00.000+08:00

Yong Chai May~~~!

She's a great teacher no doubt, though she sends shivers down my spine each time I see her.

And that's because I'm a lousy student. :p

The end of exams

2006-04-21T17:19:00.000+08:00

beckons and I will soon be in Vietnam for my graduation trip. (I wish it sooner, but I'll have to wait a while more.)

Will be traveling with Ivan and Bui (she'll be bringing me around Hanoi++) for the first leg in Hanoi, and my darhling Hippo will meet up with me while I'm in Saigon. Whoopie.

Can't wait for her to bring me around town, savouring all the delights the charming city has to offer. =)

I hope I don't fall in love with the beautiful viet girls in their Ao Dai while I'm there. Life can get a tad bit too exciting if I do. =p

Back on track

2006-04-14T22:23:00.000+08:00

... time to work hard for my HYP, just so someone won't hit me anymore.

The things I do to avoid punishments.... sigh.

Funny.

2006-04-08T14:31:00.000+08:00

Never.

2006-04-06T12:57:00.000+08:00

Never make promises you can't keep.
Never agree to someone when you know it will disappoint another.

Frank's a no good stinkin' bad ass, there's no two ways about it.

Enjoying Singapore

2006-04-05T21:59:00.000+08:00

Eugene is almost done with his education, like a few other SoC pple who have only the HYP to settle this semester. He has the e-poster on 7th May and the actual presentation to settle, but he's not terribly into doing a good job ("I don't give a flying f**k") for it - he just need to pass.

After the two 'Sons of Ananda' have informally degraded into the 'Bastards of Ananda' where HYP is concerned, we are rather happy this enstrangled father-son relationship will soon come to a full closure with the end of our HYPs.

"Are you sure you don't want to go Vietnam with me after exams?"

"No lah, I'm staying in Singapore."

"And I still don't understand why. You should go out and look-see-look-see, after all, this is one of the last breaks we have before we start work."

"I'm going to enjoy Singapore"

"Mari Kita rakyat Singapura sama-sama..."

Funny it never struck me how you can really 'enjoy Singapore'.

You can go hang around shopping malls, you can watch movies/plays in theatres, you can eat good food, you can do sea sports, you can take long walks in the suburbans, but I never really considered them as 'enjoying Singapore'. It's more like engaging in pleasurable activities to while your time away. Little delights in your life, but nothing great enough for you to shout out in orgasmic joy.

I like travelling.

Duh, who doesn't.

I like to look at foreign maps and figure out where I am, to give loud sighs and headshakes over how inaccurate the maps are drawn, to get myself lost -_-" and found, to stake out precious gems (eateries, chess-playing hangouts) of the local people, to finally say "aiyah, nothing much lah" when they really are something great. I especially love the 'getting lost and found' part, albeit it MUST come with the condition that you won't die even if you get lost.

Confusing city areas peppered with local eateries are good for the food-factor,
Suburban towns with cultural delights/local produce are great for mind-opening,
rural areas with scenic views are best(but only when there're ACCURATE maps!)

So how do you exactly 'enjoy Singapore'?

I'm not really sure, but I'm going for a hike around the forested areas of Singapore (however pathetic they might be in comparison with the great Amazon jungles) right after my exams. I like long walks with green sceneries. There's this nature trail I want to explore, from Lower Pierce to MacRitchie to Bukit Timah to BKE to Mandai to Seletar.

Who's with me?

The perfect solution~!

2006-04-02T01:38:00.000+08:00

Get me one for moi birthday.

The Evil Cat Saga (Part 1 of ... many many more to come)

2006-03-31T10:51:00.000+08:00

Ok, here's the situation.

At my brother's place, there's an evil cat. Really evil one. I'm not talking about evil as evil per se, but more of an insiduous evil which smells you from every corner of your living space, ready to pounce out when you're down on your guards. I'm talking about a real criminal-ish evil which very existence threatens the very essence of mankind, ten times worse than any WMD anyone can be hiding in their backyard. If you don't get what I mean, just take it as Dr. Evil kind of Evil. Now don't put your little finger into your mouth, it's unhygenic, tsk...

So, there's the evil cat. In the house. It has been living so freaking long in the house it thinks it's the master of the house. It surveys over everything in the house with a sly eye as if it has been commissioned to do so, but probably because it has no real purpose in life (we call that 'bumming around') but to look cool and act cool in this entrapped environment and make-believe its mastery of its pathetic world.

It hisses (yes it does. Never seen a cat that hisses so much I'm dubious if it can even 'meow'. Never heard it meow, though.) and shows its bloody paws (with full display of claws) when you go near it, so a lot of things happen when it's at the kitchen doorway and your strawberries are conveniently placed in the fridge and you're in the living room, hungry for strawberries.

It also bites. I've never laid my hands on it, nor has any one else save its owners. And the owners get bitten sometimes by it. Never bite the hand that feeds you? Obviously it never heard of that.

So yesterday the landlord and family went for a holiday at Cameron Highland, and left the Diablo in my care. I've to clear its shit, and feed it at specific timings. And while I'm doing that, it doesn't make my job easier by having a cat that's uncomfortable to be without its owners. It gets crankier and bossier, and surveys over every of my actions like my mafia boss [what mafia boss?]

I've half a mind to wrap it in a gunny bag and give it a good shaking, before I throw it out of the house and let it scratch and caterwaul at the door for at least an hour before I let it back into the house, just to let it know who's boss.

Right now I just had a situation with it, leaving it very pissed and locked up at the laundry area, and me also very pissed blogging about it.

Stay tuned for more updates on the evil cat.

To all my BSing friends,

2006-03-27T00:50:00.000+08:00

look into James Blunt's "You're Beautiful" and you'll see this:

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face,
When she thought up that I should be with you.
But it's time to face the truth,
I will never be with you.

Blinking lights

2006-03-25T00:09:00.000+08:00

looking out of the window I see 5 taxis lying in wait either for the full midnight surcharge, or for their drivers to come back from their kopi break at the adjacent coffeeshop.

The anomaly was the taxis blinking their waiting signals in synchronity - a rare sight.

Blink.

Blink.

Blink. Blink.

Apparently not all vehicles have waiting signals blinking at a constant fixed rate, as they were soon out of sync. Formulas of periodic signals came annoyingly into my mind as they remind me of how I have studied [and remembered] formulas pertaining to them in the past during engineering class [the horrors!], which I have so successfully shut off from my mind since then.

One formula concerning how different signals of different frequency mixed together [yawn] will produce a system that has another different frequency, similar to the "lowest common multiple" principle we know so familiarly from math class [yawn again.], came and refused to budge in my mind.

I was soon doing practical observation of the vehicles, counting the number of flashes needed before they were in sync again.

One minute of intense concentration later, it dawned on me how sick and tired of my HYP I was, that I would even be digressed by such a trivial anomaly.

Time to go back to the grind.

2006-03-24T13:47:00.000+08:00

YC's A+ HYP Report

HYP Report

2006-03-24T13:45:00.000+08:00

My A+ HYP Report

Lame archer jokes

2006-03-23T20:55:00.000+08:00

Q: What did the archer say to his favourite enemy when he didn't hit him?
A: "I missed you"

Q: Does his favourite enemy treat him as an enemy too?
A: Yes, he is his ARCHenemy.

Q: What's the difference between a computer-illiterate archer and a bo-bo computer engineer?
A: One has troubleshooting, and the other has trouble shooting.

Q: Why did the archer hate his OC?
A: Cos he always kena ARROWed.

Q: What is the archer's favourite fish?
A: ARROWana.

Whoppie

2006-03-20T15:35:00.000+08:00

The good news is that I am in possession of a condominium and a car for one full month - My brother just flew over to Indonesia for one full month and he left his car and condo in my care.

The bad news is that I have no (not much) time to enjoy the facilities. Talk to my HYP, please, for future meeting arrangements.

Ahh... time to lead an anti-social life (a la Castaway) in the condo, where your commuting route is strictly between the toilet, the computer, and the bed. I expect a full beard when it all ends.

Yikes.

AXS idiots.

2006-03-20T01:52:00.000+08:00

Me and my bro were trying to check the existence of an AXS Machine at Changi Airport, so we went online to axs.com.sg to search for one...

we found two:

Changi Airport Terminal 1
Airport Boulevard (Departure Hall, check-in gate)

Changi Airport Terminal 2
Airport Boulevard (Departure Hall, near Starbucks),

and we thought "Terminal 2? Where exactly?" - and we saw a "View Location Button" at the side.

How convenient. So we click.

And this is the picture:

It could very well have been a clue card in "The Amazing Race" - relatively useless.

The Johari Window post

2006-03-19T19:02:00.000+08:00

Since this Mr. Johari is the latest "in" thing of the blogsphere (what? You haven't heard of him? Tsk tsk...), I'm in to.

Tell me more about myself here: Describe Frank in his Johari Window
Or you can see the results here: See Frank in his Johari Window

But don't be a peef (whatever that is), do tell me more about myself first before you see the results.

Touch 2006

2006-03-11T04:16:00.000+08:00

The pianist plays a cheesy tune...

Random digressing thoughts in my mind during the piano concert

1) Why, oh why, didn't my mum let me learn piano instead of drawing?!? (I recalled my first landscape painting with BLUE clouds and WHITE sky, and gave an almost audible sigh.)

2) Lemme see who's dozing off... (scans the audience)... heh, so many.

3) If monkeys can read line patterns on leaves and initate some funky dance sequence, would we be as surprised as them looking at a pianist read music scores and play the piano?

4.1) She's pretty, but she's......hmmm... God's fair.
4.2) She's tall and slim, but she's..... hmmmm... God's fair.
4.3) Wah, she can play really well, God's really fair~!

5) My future wife must know how to play the piano, so my child, at a young age, can listen to her play the piano and induce pattern recognition abilities...

6) If one tix is $12, then one theatre is $12 X 300 = $3600, assume costs are.... then....
WAH GOOD PROFIT!

7) Is the musical instrument market as good as zx make it out to be? Can do import/export?

8) Wah shit, my HYP.... die liao lah.

9) Would piano playing still be classy, if they simplify all the description lingo ?
(Adagio =>play slow slow)
(Paventato => play scarily)
(Ponderoso=>whack the bloody keys)

10) Assuming diffraction of sound waves and idealistic reflections on walls, the best sitting positions are....hmmm. Not here.

11) What if the page turner forgets to turn the page?

===================
PS:: I was quite sure the best job ever would be the "page turner" for a pianist in a concert, until N came out as a page turner. Hmm... So pianists actually undergo job rotations as well (pianist<==>page turner), which means there's no permanent position as "page turner".

And I was thinking of what to put on my cover letter and resume already.

Ah Teng

2006-03-10T01:28:00.000+08:00

He had been a loanshark from 1984-1992, making his money to buy a house to get married;

He also has a semi-detached in Malaysia;

He dabbled in Lohan fishes, and is supplying vegetable produce from Malaysia to Singapore;

He is into import/export of almost anything profitable, from torchlights and rosewood furniture in China, to wooden handicrafts by prison inmates;

He is also my taxi driver for the midnight as well.

We exchanged phone numbers and had a 30min conversation in his cab, about how he made and lost and again made his little fortune. He told me how I should try.

He also promised to send me some more details and photo samples of possible import/export products from his contacts in China, once they come through.

Interesting guy.

Two Saucy English Sods on MSN

2006-03-08T17:12:00.000+08:00

White Cow::

seems like pple are mugging for 3211 or some crap

Baba Black Sheep::

you don't say...it's tomorrow!

White Cow::

yeap i know, i m looking for pple to go for a cup of tea, not asking them to join me for some hots or some crap.

Anyone interested in joining me for a cup of tea?

A spot of milk will be fabulous thank you very much.

Baba Black Sheep::

straight from a delicious gal?

White Cow::

Lol. I prefer to do the milking in that case!

Baba Black Sheep::

if you find that too troublesome, I don't mind helping out.

White Cow::

lol

i was trying to act english

how's the weather?

are you interested to join me for a cup of afternoon tea?

Baba Black Sheep::

cuppa tea?

White Cow::

a spot of milk will be greatly appreciated

Baba Black Sheep::

It would be lovely, you charming sod.

White Cow::

and an english muffin to go with it will be absolutely smashing

Baba Black Sheep::

So how'd it be, old chap?

White Cow::

darn

stupid paper

utterly disappointing

White Cow::

why would i care of active feedback UIUC trec 2003 HARD experiments

or model-based feedback in the language modeling approach to info retrieval

Baba Black Sheep::

Whatever you've just typed out from your ditty fingers - whatever it is - I'm sure they are very appealing, if I bothered to give a damn to find out what they are.

White Cow::

Absolutely.. It is just a tad boring, considering this fine weather here where we ought to be frolicking with those damsels..

Baba Black Sheep::

up their skirts..... is where we should be concentrating our efforts, eh?

White Cow::

a tad off, Mr Dear Baba Black Sheep.. I was presuming that the target is to get into their skirts (or pants)

Baba Black Sheep::

that's a jolly thought! For a while, I was acting strangely decent for my own good

White Cow::

whether it is from the front or the back would absolutely be determined on the taste which my excellent Mr Baba Black Sheep preferred

yeap.. we would absolutely be in for a smashing time, ol' chap

Baba Black Sheep::

I'd very much appreciate a change of environment every now and then, lest it gets a diddly bit too boring

How'd about it, old git...?

You and me...

we'll hitch a cunning plan to get ourselves laid sometimes not too far in the future…

White Cow::

ahhh devious!

that is an utterly brilliant thought!

Baba Black Sheep::

…preferably after saucing them up in dashes of the witches' brew in some joint

White Cow::

My word, why didnt i think of that!

sounds naughty!

Baba Black Sheep::

ohh hoo ho.... naughty doesn't even begin to describe the naughtiness

White Cow::

we will be in for a jolly good time …rocking them …ahhhh.....

Baba Black Sheep::

absolutely smashin and delightful

White Cow::

absolutely!

Well, shouldnt we commence into our grand plan soon?

Baba Black Sheep::

ooooh what a splendid time we'll have, jovial fellow..

White Cow::

totally right my dear Baba Black Sheep

Baba Black Sheep::

but there's an old cow I'd have to kill before I can even stop to marvel at my ingenious plan

White Cow::

o lo behold.. which old cow ?

Baba Black Sheep::

I call it the FYP

White Cow::

Oh.

i was wondering whether the lad from down under will be interested in joining us in the fray

he's kinda snobbish with that queer "howdy" greetings he has with him

Baba Black Sheep::

who's this remarkable lad from below?

We'll have to put in a recommendation to get him up soon, then~!

White Cow::

splendid

Baba Black Sheep::

per chance I'd be knowing him in the past?

White Cow::

i am afraid so.. if your memory is not failing u. He has a queer taste for carriages powered by something known as the engines..

White Cow::

mystical instruments from the devil!

Baba Black Sheep::

forgive me, my good sir - my memory hasn't proven it's worth in my capacity these few weeks

White Cow::

ahh i can see that you are getting on with age.. my dear Baba Black Sheep..

Baba Black Sheep::

he wouldn't be Mediterranean, would he?

White Cow::

absolutely not

Baba Black Sheep::

I'd very much guess so

Baba Black Sheep::

so let's ponder a bit more, to spice up the old cells...

White Cow::

you should pay him a visit one day my dear Baba Black Sheep

White Cow::

http://litemax.blogspot.com. that is his abode.

Baba Black Sheep::

AHHH....

White Cow::

humble but cosy

Baba Black Sheep::

at first contact, I thought him to be a native of the land down under

White Cow::

very much soon i afriad

Baba Black Sheep::

my old brain didn't manage to link up with the thoughts of our mutual friend there~! Silly me

White Cow::

n i see with disdain as he feeds on something known as "fried rice" or what he would say "simple Fare"

White Cow::

and give our baked beans on toast a miss

White Cow::

to my absolute horror

Baba Black Sheep::

but with his excellent track records of non-regard for our interests, I'd best think to leave him in his own activities

Baba Black Sheep::

and he's not even into Grey Earl! The thought!

White Cow::

yes horror of horros

White Cow::

horrors

Baba Black Sheep::

shudders down my spine

Baba Black Sheep::

my good sir, in the likely event that my old cow will be done away with in the very near future of less than a quick month....

I'd best put my feet down on a date where we would delight in our cunning plan

White Cow::

till the next full moon, a date it shall be

Baba Black Sheep::

unfortunately not anywhen before then, for I'm still very much obliged to it, for a certain piece of paper I'm not sure if I would even find useful

(I hope the quality is good, lest I suffer abrasion near my exit)

White Cow::

i do understand My Dear Baba Black Sheep

i shall take my leave soon my dear Baba Black Sheep

Baba Black Sheep::

perhaps we should adjourn to our afternoon cuppa, then

White Cow::

the gym beckons afar.. and i have to leave

Baba Black Sheep::

ooh...~! gym~! delightful

White Cow::

absolutely

Baba Black Sheep::

till then, I bide you good time and luck with the ladies

White Cow::

you too my Dear Baba Black Sheep

White Cow::

live merry

Hope

2006-03-08T03:24:00.000+08:00

This is the exact image in my mind, when I think of my HYP.

Out of the loop

2006-03-08T02:27:00.000+08:00

Tammy who?

Je suis le merde...

2006-03-06T22:14:00.000+08:00

I spent 3 hours to just get an icon out on my Tcl/Tk program. How great can the going be?

And it's a plain text icon. * Gasps! *

For Luck

2006-02-24T01:07:00.000+08:00

Temple in the town area of Pulau Ubin.

Brokeback Mountain

2006-02-23T23:43:00.000+08:00

To be fair, the movie was a rather nice one. Excellent cinematography. But if you are as disgusted as I am about gayish tendencies, don't watch it. (Yes, sometimes I act gayish to my friends, but this is done in good nature with the absolute knowledge that I'm NOT one.)

Every time the two main characters hug/kiss each other in the show, I cringe, shudder, and close my eyes like my father does when he sees his tax statement. Very wuss-like, I know - but hey, it was in no way not a horror show to me. I can't believe their gayish behaviour have no effects on N.

Watch another gay-themed show? Nope, not going to happen.

Disclaimer:
I'm not anti-gays. I do have gay friends. It's just that if they try poking me.... somebody's gonna get hurt real bad. Somebody.

Pissed

2006-02-22T10:11:00.000+08:00

NUS admin didn't let me collect Garry's transcripts with an informal authorisation letter written by Garry.

So Garry sent me another:

Dear Registrar's Office,

I, Huang Zhiwei, Garry, NRIC No. S8123456Z, Matriculation No. U027898N, Hp No. +1 650 777 3777, Date-of-Birth 31 February 1981 4:31am, hereby authorise LEE WENG HONG, S8123456Z, Matriculation No. U027890W, Cellular No. +65 6777 3777, Date-of-Birth 08 July 1921 7:32pm, to collect my official transcript from the official Registrar's Office of the world class university known as National University of Singapore.

Yours sincerely,
S8123456Z

Vietnam!

2006-02-21T09:47:00.000+08:00

I'm going Vietnam~!

When?:
8th May 2006 flying off @ 4pm,
31st May 2006 coming back @ 1250pm.

How much?:
Plane Tix: SGD$62 + USD$62 = SGD$160. (Tiger Airways.)
Budget for whole trip: SGD$1500

Travelling:
Whack North (around Hanoi) to South (around HCM) along the coast (Da Nang, Da Lat),
Cut over to Cambodia to hantam Angkor Wat (Pnom Penh, Siem Reap),
Come back to HCM shop and eat,
fly back to Singapore!

Companion:
Ivan Teo Sin Leong

The Nohari Window post

2006-02-20T19:11:00.000+08:00

Since there's a Johari, naturally there's a Nohari (what? You haven't heard of him too? Tsk tsk...)

Tell me more about myself here: Describe Frank in his Nohari Window
Or you can see the results here: See Frank in his Nohari Window

But don't be a peef (whatever that is), do tell me more about myself first before you see the results.

V-day Flowers Offer from NUS Entrepreneurship Society

2006-02-06T21:26:00.000+08:00

Dear all,
12-stalks Rose Bouquet at SGD$45, and other attractive offers? NUS Entrepreneurship Society is proud to bring you premium roses at affordable prices once again!

Follow this link:
http://www.nes.org.sg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62&Itemid=60
or enter from our main website:
www.nes.org.sg

For more enquiries, please email roses@nes.org.sg, or call Frank @ 93830241.

We do bulk sales too. Email for details.

Regards,
V-Day Rose Project Team
NUS Entrepreneurship Society

PS: Do tell your friends about us. They'll love you for it.

2006-02-02T02:28:00.000+08:00

New hp number: 93830241. [Posted a wrong number b4 this =P]
Send me spam and I'll wallop you, still.

I won't be blogging as much...

2006-01-30T13:58:00.000+08:00

...as I intend to engage in a grand-scaled scandalous affair with my FYP for the next 2 months, and we know that everyone keeps mum about scandalous affairs, don't we? =P

It's about time we go out in a glorious bang, I say.

V-day Flowers

2006-01-25T06:01:00.000+08:00

Buying Valentine's Flowers? I got good deal.

But website not up yet. Also not ready to take pre-order. And prices still subject to changes.

Settlers of Catan

2006-01-25T05:04:00.000+08:00

My siblings, and, of late, my motley gang of JC friends, have gathered interest in spending quality time rattling 2 dice and breaking up in vile curses over the improbabilities of their outcomes ("That's impossible! How come you throw a 12 again! --censored-- "), all in the good name of wholesome family entertainment.

We are playing Settlers of Catan, a game where you gather resources via dice throws to build roads, settlements, and cities to win the game (when you will be 'hailed by all as the Lord of Catan' - but we never do carry out the pompous [and ridiculous] ceremony of obeisance though it's part of the rules.)

My brother has the basic set and we've gotten the expansion set, so we're good for 3-6 people without the need of going to the expensive Settlers' Cafe. Do tell me if you're interested in playing the game - we can take some time off our busy schedule to whoop your sorry ass.

But if you're good, you can whoop mine. =)

DXO is going down

2006-01-21T02:37:00.000+08:00

http://www.dxo.com.sg/

Friday night. 10+pm. There were more staff in DXO than customers - the ratio was such that personal concierge service was possible, and irritating waiters keep coming to your table to ask if you need anything else. And yes, they swoosh away your glass less than 5 seconds after you are done with it.

Oh boy, they are going down.

I pity the DJ who spins for an empty dance floor.

再见了，尘世。

2006-01-13T11:33:00.000+08:00

I found a letter in my father's drawer - looks like a suicide note (if my chinese does not fail me in comprehending it) by someone else.

Makes me wonder what actual story lies beneath it.
--------------------------------------

燕! 曾经爱过我也给我爱过的人,
丧钟在我的耳际敲响了, 人生竟是那么苦闷乏味的一回事.
我想了又想,终于决定了: 我要自刎, 一了百了, 回去那无忧无虑的老家!

生不带来美满的愿望, 死又何必带去半点的悲哀?
我于是选择了大海, 让那浪花泡沫来洗尽尘世间所染上的污秽.
我的倔强,我的好胜, 可以鼓舞起我的勇气往下一跃, 了结我的余生, 乘着今天早涨的湖水.

你收到这封信候, 我更没有理由恨你.
总之来生有绿, 我再不会为金钱而葬送我的一生.

祝你新婚快乐,
有明绝笔于孤灯下

Tea Leaves

2006-01-12T16:52:00.000+08:00

It never fails to astound me, how tea leaves have such an aggressive expansionistic nature when brewed. One moment they occupy less than 0.563% of my nalgene bottle, the next moment they have taken over the entire kingdom.

Yummy...

2006-01-06T16:29:00.000+08:00

Chocolate.

The 7 Things Post...

2006-01-05T01:31:00.000+08:00

As per requested by dearest Beatrice,

7 things that scare me:
1) Finding my bank balances (UOB + DBS) at 0 dollars, and no one to borrow money from. (*Nudging Eu*)
2) Losing my memory
3) Finding that there is no one for me to live for.
4) Finding that there is no one living for me.
5) Artichokes, lady fingers, and everything else green on the plate.
6) Final Year Project. This is the scariest of the lot.
7) Public speaking.

7 things that I like most:
1) Most edible food, esp pig trotters. Inedible food include most things green (pui!).
2) Exercise. Esp jogging.
3) Chio bus... heh heh...
4) Travelling
5) Having damn a lot of time and money and no responsibilities (copied from Beatrice!)
6) Playing minesweeper
7) Hanging out with my JC friends, playing bridge and mahjong.

7 important things in my room
- hmm... this is hard, cos my room is not important to me. No place is, actually - I'm ultra portable. Just gimme a sleeping mat, at least.
1) My soft toy pig?
2) My clock?
3) My army duffel bag... argh. There's nothing much that's important.
I'll do another list here to make up for it -

7 important possessions:
1) Wallet
2) Keys
3) Handphone
4) Spectacles
5) My Tevas
6) My Nalgene
7) My watch (which I lost recently. =|)
- with these, I can go almost anywhere.

7 random facts about me...
1) I'm left-handed
2) I have a scar on the left side of my chin.
3) I stand TALL at 1.64m. The air is still fresh at this level, thank you.
4) I have a super bad memory.
5) I was a President's Scout.
6) PSLE: 271.
7) I don't gamble, ching teng bets not included. I only bought Strike! once, and it was to liven the mood for a eat-and-watch-world-cup-together session with my JC pple.

7 things I plan to do before I die...
1) Travel a bit more.
2) Eat more good stuff.
3) Get a gold for IPPT.
4) Run a marathon.
5) Make my peace with God.
6) If time and money allows, own a provision shop.
7) Finish my fyp.

7 things I can do...
1) Write with my left hand.
2) Do 40 pull-ups/100+ push-ups in one go.
3) Catch cockroaches without fear, if with plastic bag. Else will kancheong a bit that the bugger will poke my bare hands with its thorny legs.
4) Cross my eyes.
5) Play minesweeper quite well.
6) Charm old aunties off their... hmm.
7) Walk/sit alone by myself in dark buildings/alleys/cemeteries.

7 things I can't do...
1) Write with my right hand.
2) Do split, cartwheel, hand stand, and any of those acrobatish stuff.
3) figure out what girls are thinking.
4) remember things very well.
5) win zx at bridge.
6) strike a good bargain.
7) talk slowly. Especially during interviews. And when seeing chio bus.

7 things I say the most...
1) 'Can't remember...'
2) 'FRANK-LEE speaking...'
3) 'Shiiiiit.'
4) 'Crap.'
5) 'Uh huh..' + 'Okay....'
6) 'Wanna bet N ching teng that...' - where N is an integer bigger than 0, smaller than 10.
7) 'That is a very good question.'

7 celeb crushes...[none too serious, except Mavis... haha.]
1) Mavis Fan
2) Vivian Chow [wah, so long ago~!]
3) Fish Leong
4) Fiona Xie
5) Michelle Chia
6) Lin Chiling
7) Jeanette Aw

IF i had to pick 8..excluding Beatrice whu got me to do this at the first place..
1) Eu and his queen
2) Yus
3) Kenneth
3) Chee weeeeeee~!
4) Thim
5) Celven
6) Nerissa
7) YY~!

What's up these few days::

2006-01-02T00:45:00.000+08:00

WED::
Dinner with Beatrice and Jiahui! Weird combi, indeed. =)

Frank, Jiahui, Beatrice

Thurs::
Wallace and Gromit with Tjio. Did I say that it is a great movie? =D

FRIDAY::
Was down at the wholesalers' on friday checking out prices and placing tentative orders for the upcoming event in February. It's about time, yes.

Spent the rest of the day at Thomson Plaza reading a book, with a large sunflower for companion - because HY called up and didn't want me to visit (probably mesmerised with her k-dramassss...)

SAT::
NEVER EVER WEAR KHAKIS AND TEVAS TO A COUNTDOWN PARTY AT FRIEND'S CONDOMINIUM COUNTDOWN.

You never know when someone will suggest going to Attica, which will end you up in a pathetic (and unsuccessful) attempt to mingle past the Attica bouncers, leaving you with no other choice but to join other friends for a glorious time at Chijmes dancing outrageously silly dances.

SUNDAY::
Lack.of.sleep. zzz...
Went to town for a chat with old friends.

Wallace and Gromit - Curse of the Were-rabbit

2005-12-29T21:35:00.000+08:00

is a good show to watch. Recommended, if a good laugh is preferred.

Ranting

2005-12-28T02:45:00.000+08:00

Frank's first attempt at golfing.

Played golf at a driving range at Sin ming after Narnia with Kelli, Mike, Lynn, Stanley, and James. Once again felt like a fish out of water/monkey robbing a bank/banana in a teapot, being the charlie chaplin who makes surprisingly accurate hits at the grass patch BESIDE the golf ball.

Does Eu know James Koh, the tennis pro? I have certain impulses to pull Eu into my JC clique, which is surprisingly increasing in members - there's Stanley when Lynn's around; Kenneth's a new mahjong khaki; James' a tennis khaki of Lynn+Stanley's.

Mike is "spreading his resources too thinly" managing his "stocks portfolio", going dragonboating, learning tennis, learning inline-skating, wakeboarding, on top of his MA work at stanchart. Makes me think of myself spreading my resources too thinly as well - jogging, gymming, hanging out with the clowns, windsurfing, inline-skating, wakeboarding(not really for a long time!) But my main resource constraints is more money than time, although I foresee an impending payback period to my FYP. And the v-day roses thingy again. Haiz. But they are necessary evils, for my degree and for more money respectively.

On a side note, I have been watching too much movies/anime. You know that when you have dreams of kongs and little chickens wearing spectacles engaging in the freedom fight in Narnia, with Naruto and his kage bunshin no jitsu on the opposing side - with Jacky Cheung singing a sad love song in the background.

Help. My hat's on fire.

The Biggest Loser

2005-12-26T02:06:00.000+08:00

On Christmas eve, I lost my favourite watch at PA SSC at East Coast after my windsurfing session there. I bought it many years ago, a few months before I sat for my O levels, and it has followed me faithfully for a good 9 years ever since.

For these 9 years, it was my only analog timepiece - being absolutely in love with it, I could not set my eyes on another. Sure, there were occassional eyeing of other beautiful timepieces, but I kept faithful to it as it did to me throughout. During these years, any other watches on my hand were digitals, worn purely for functional reasons. Me and my Seiko, we had a thing. The capacitant died a few times and water seeped in a few times too, but we were good after the repair jobs.

And I am saddened by the loss, like I've lost a part of me. Its chunky metal watchstrap, its scratched and chipped glass covercase, its luminous hands and dial, its constant admonishment when I got lazy (it's a Kinetic which loses power when I stay sedentary for too long), are all so familiar to me. I'm not sure if I can cope with the loss.

And when I get a new watch, it will never be the same as with my favourite Seiko.

Merry Christmas~!

2005-12-24T03:27:00.000+08:00

Ah... how time flies and sting us on our bottoms all the time.

Once again, we are at the festive season where little children whine about not having ridiculously priced toys which existence is based on parents' guilt of inattention; where consumers get to be foolish kings and queens to profiteering manufacturers; where sad sods hope to land (in vain) a kiss from their imaginary cinderellas under mistletoes strategically placed by them beneath every entrance/exits; where happy people gather to be happy together, and lonely people gather to be lonely together; and where picture frames are given, thanked for, and kept forever in the deepest recesses of the most remote cabinet.

If there's anything to be happy about, it's the long weekend of scampering northwards/southwards to restock on DVDs, chewing gums, and a healthy dose of cholesterol.

...and don't forget to make your New Year Resolutions which you will never manage to keep, yah? Have a jovial season with your friends.

Merry Christmas

Definition: Merlion

2005-12-22T02:36:00.000+08:00

1: n. The merlion is a statue with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. Its name comes from a portmanteau of mermaid and lion.

The Merlion

2: v. Eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth; "After drinking too much, the students merlioned"; "He merlioned continuously"; "The patient merlioned the food we gave him last night" [syn: vomit, vomit up, purge, cast, sick, cat, be sick, disgorge, regorge, retch, barf, spew, spue, chuck, upchuck, honk, regurgitate, throw up] [ant: keep down]

Frank merlioned after eating too much briyani rice for lunch

Confusion

2005-12-21T13:09:00.000+08:00

Wah.
When I expect a A- for mobile computing, I get a B+.
When I expect a B for Signals, I get a A.

Wtf?

So I'm still in the middle of no where for my grades. Tmd.

I love the 7-eleven...

2005-12-17T03:21:00.000+08:00

"Ding dong~~!"

at NUH because they sell cheaper and better food than the NUH cafeteria does. Did you know? At the Nasi Padang stall in NUH, a plate of rice + chicken wing + sunny-side-up will set you back by $3.50? Let's do a calculation, shall we?

Chicken wing = (inflated outside price) * (more inflation) = ($1.50) * 1.2 = $1.80
Egg = (inflated outside price) * (more inflation) = ($0.50) * 1.2 = $0.60
Rice = (inflated outside price) * (more inflation) = ($0.50) * 1.2 = $0.60
TWICE INFLATED TOTAL = 1.8 + 0.6 + 0.6 = $3
Selling price = $3.50 = TWICE INFLATED TOTAL + SERVICE CHARGE = $3 + $0.50

=>SERVICE CHARGE FOR NON-EXISTENT SERVICE ON A MEASLY PLATE OF (RICE + CHICKEN WING + EGG) ALREADY CHARGED AT TWICE-INFLATED PRICES= $0.50

"You were expecting this? Fat hope, or $7."

Perhaps they are banking on the patronism of patients from the brain-damage ward, or desperate muslims in need of food less hazardous than normal hospital fare.

Hmm... come to think of it, there's quite a lot of malay stalls selling food at higher than prevailing prices. Thinking aloud if it's because malays can only eat halal food and thus have limited options in sourcing for eligible alternative eating places... Some sort of supply-demand thingy?

Anyway, back to the 7-eleven. After extensive groundwork and meticulous research into the NUMEROUS afterdark feeding areas (3 of them) around SoC, I have arrived at the indisputable (unless you're a vegetarian [in which case you would do well with a pair of shears]) conclusion that the best after-dark makan deal would be the NASI BRIYANI + BIG GULP combination in the NUH 7-eleven. Second place would be the Dodo instant noodles in the same 7-eleven.

WHY NUH wins:
1) Nearest location to SoC.
2) Got ATM to draw money (but this point is now invalid since there's ATM @ SoC)
3) SOMETIMES got pretty nurses. Biggest draw.

Why NASI BRIYANI + BIG GULP win? Cos they got promotional offer at a bundle price of $2.80, which is much cheaper than any food-resembling item sold at exorbitant prices at the cafeteria.

Why Dodo instant noodles? 2 dollars by itself. Good eating, if a drink is not preferred.

All this being said, we must question the motivation for such an analysis given above.

And the motivation is simple: All sad blokes working on their f***king FYP 24/7 in SoC have to feed some time or another.

Having fun working on a glorious weekend

Nothing like a deprived childhood to brighten your day...

2005-12-14T16:55:00.000+08:00

Went back to Toa Payoh (old home) to have lunch last Sunday after church. The food's still cheap there.

It is one of the few untouched hawker centres left in Singapore (the others are mostly upgraded and have lost the authentic taste [and prices] of yesteryears.) where they serve excellent tasting food in the absence of hygiene. Had my favourite pig trotters there, and I have, after sampling a number of pig trotter-serving stalls in Singapore, come to think it as one of the best in this small island.

"Mommy, mommy... I want pig trotters..."

Pig trotters. One of the few foods where you can comment “老板！你的猪脚炖得好烂!" and receive thanks from the cook.

I've always liked pig trotters, but never did have enough of them when I was young. Maybe it was unhealthy or expensive or because no one else in the family liked them? I dunno. But I'm making up for my deprivation now by gorging on them whenever I have a chance to now.

It's the same for Nutella hazelnut chocolate. I'd remember them coming in small rectangular plastic packaging where you scoop them into your mouth with a small spatula of sorts. It's always a source of delight for me after my kindergarten session, but I only have them on days when I'm good. Which is not often. Haha... Hmm.... maybe I should buy a bottle of it, stick a spoon into it, and leave it on my table so I can eat it whenever I feel like it.

"Mommy, mommy... I want Nutella..."

Somehow, I think all of us SHOULD be deprived of some things when we were young. Makes life more interesting that way, and you learn to treasure them when you grow up.

And what can be more satisfying than drinking a 5-pack Vitagen using a single straw, while they are still tightly clinging together in the 5-pack shrinkwrap? Oh.. the envy you see in little children's eyes...

"Mommy, mommy... I want Vitagen..."

2005-12-14T16:33:00.000+08:00

Is it just me or does avocado juice taste like Brand's Essence of Chicken?

I dunno. You try the avocado juice at Science canteen in NUS and tell me. $1.10 only (better than buying all those packaged drinks, IMHO.)

Funny guy.

2005-12-14T16:21:00.000+08:00

He has a rather cute blog.

And no, I'm not gay.

Standard Chartered Run Time

2005-12-06T17:13:00.000+08:00

Distance: 10km
Chip Time / Gun Time: 55m:40s / 1h:5m:58s
PLACING IN THE ENTIRE FIELD: 540TH / 6846 => 7.9% finish faster (chip time)
PLACING IN GENDER (MALE): 444TH / 3725 => 11.9% finish faster (chip time)
DIVISION PLACING (MEN/SIN): 287TH / 2735 => 10.5% finish faster (chip time)

Timing could have been better if I had started earlier (started 10min later) and not be blocked by the massive turnout. Had to zig zag my way/ run on grass sides/ be stopped, while running. Quite fed up about that.

I think the Standard Chartered Marathon is a very professionally organised event. The timing system in place is quite impressive; the roads were good; the water points are adequate; and the chio bus are there... haha...
And the website is good lah~~! Really detailed statistics of your run, and even have a bird eye view of your position at the finishing line.

Only bad thing is the crowd. Too much people who were not interested to be there being there. Companies shouldn't force their employees to go for the event if they are not interested. Ended up blocking the roads, reducing the timings of those behind, like me. Grr...

What will happen

2005-12-05T01:22:00.000+08:00

if 30 years down the road, your teenage son/daughter chances upon your present-days written blog and realises how silly and outrageous you had been?

"Was this you, Dad?!?"

Hmmm....

Room pictures

2005-12-01T05:47:00.000+08:00

Pictures taken of my room before it's gone...

http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2116818042

Action plan.

2005-12-01T00:40:00.000+08:00

This came up when me and SOMEONE was bored studying in PGP and he started telling me about this gal he's interested in, who seems to be interested in him also... haha..or so he thinks. =P

It's sort of a one month action plan to get to know her better. Try and decipher what we are writing about... quite cute. Two relatively inexperienced blokes trying to brainstorm over BGR issues, what can be more sure-fail?? =)

But this plan was never carried out, thank goodness. No prize for guessing whose it is. =D

The Friendster thingy post.

2005-11-30T09:15:00.000+08:00

Oh man... Friendster is NP-complete...

I'm not a Friendster person but it all started when I got curious enough to find out if there are any mutual friends between me and my friends, and if there are any friends I know who are not in my Friends List.

3hrs.

That's how long it took to complete 1 circle of friends, up to 3 degrees. With an addition of 104 friends.

It started off with WPS and somehow drifted over to NUS and RI/RJ, then Scouts. And the discovery process is filled with personal thoughts including:

1) Eh? How come he know her??
2) Wah lau, how come he looks so "act cool" here??
3) Piang, she never look so chio in real life leh...
3) Wah... chio... droolz... (somehow digressed to voyeurism :p)
4) How come got Andy Lau avatar?
5) So long never see him/her, now look so different...
6) How come got Stephanie Sun avatar??

And because of the 2.5 year lag due to NS, I find some of my male seniors knowing some of my female friends (same age), and some of my female friends (2yrs younger) knowing some of my male juniors. How interesting.

If I know you, do add me to your Friendster using the link on the right. So I need not 海底捞针.

I'm a 3rd born. So the test is wrong...

2005-11-30T02:05:00.000+08:00

You Are Likely A Forth Born

At your darkest moments, you feel angry.
At work and school, you do best when your analyzing.
When you love someone, you tend to be very giving.

In friendship, you don't take the initiative in reaching out.
Your ideal jobs are: factory jobs, comedy, and dentistry.
You will leave your mark on the world with your own personal philosophy.

The Birth Order Predictor

To my dearest Kelly

2005-11-28T23:09:00.000+08:00

(WARNING: THIS IS A VERY LONG POST. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO READ IT IF YOU'RE A WUSSY WHO CANNOT TAKE LONG POSTS. YOU CAN TRY TO FINISH THIS POST, BUT IF YOU STOP HALFWAY, YOU'RE STILL A WUSSY. SO WHY START? [ok, I'm trying to make you read it...])

Haha... don't be jealous lah, Kelly.

Just that I've not been mentioning you in my blog doesn't mean that I never think about you leh. It's just that you're in philly having a whale of a time while I'm stuck in Singapore - there's not much interaction to generate anything interesting lah.

I shall reiterate your position here in my heart and a bit of our personal history, ok? Come come, sayang sayang...
All about Kelly:
Kelly's my bestest friend since primary school (I knew Kelly since primary 1~~1988~~!)
(We would wear the same underwear if we could, but our size's just too different... :p)

Ok, THIS PICTURE IS SO GAY...

PRIMARY SCHOOL:
I still remember when all of us in class would borrow his colour pencils (he had one of those Colleen 30-pen/60-colour mega-variery colour pencils) which he lends jovially.. He's the head prefect of WPS and he has been super tall since birth (we contrast a lot, yes.) and we always make fun of him and Qingyi (the also super tall head prefectress who is also his neighbour.) I think Kelly still has a photo of us taken during our childhood. It's a super nice but humiliating one. It showed me as a short, undergrowing (and still undergrown now) boy next to another goony-looking boy who was 1 head taller. Hmmm...

There were many many days after school when I would go to his house in Braddell View and play with him. I shall not boast about his mega tower racks of game collections for him, but they deserve a mention.... Anyway, his house is like a mini funworld, complete with all kinds of gaming consoles, and 2 computers~! That was during a period of time when 2 computers in a house, side by side, was unheard of~! And I love his Transformers. Esp. Victory Leo and Star Sabre. Haha... those were the days.

And yes, the days of ping pongs at the clubhouse, when he would annoy me with his fancy schmancy moves which completely fail to astound me but made me think him an innovative goo goo doll. At least he's innovative. Goony, but still innovative.

"Look at my super duper smash~!"

What about the times spent at the playground with ice cream treats after that? Haha... nice. Except for the fear of spiders and their annoying spider webs.

But amongst all these memories, one thing stood out most to tell that Kelly is my friend for life.

I stole from Kelly before. Yes I did. =| (Frank, you bad bad boy...)

Kelly had limited access to the outside world then, as his maid always brings him home after school - but I was free as a lark to traverse playgrounds and play catching and buy those Dragonball Cards which were so popular then. I wasn't addicted to the DBZ cards, but I was quite mad over the Artist Cards. Quite quite mad.

Son Gyoku

Anyway, Kelly was quite quite mad over the DBZ cards (he has a sizeable collection!), and there were times he bought them through me. Like pay me $5/$10 dollars to buy them. But there was one time when greed overtook me and I kept one of those much prized shiny gold cards.

Kelly found out. But he never got angry with me. He simply asked me why I did it, and it made me feel all the more guilty because I could feel that he was hurt by my actions because I was a very close friend to him. Not angry, but hurt. Not retaliative, but simply asking, 'Why?'

That's a kind of love I've never seen before, and it was then that I thought to myself.. "Rongkang you shithead. This is a friend in the truest sense that you will never come across again in your life. Treasure him."

From then on, even though he can be a pain in the ass sometimes with his idiosyncracies and I do get really really annoyed by him occassionally, I know that I am stuck with him forever. Sigh. What to do? Best friend mah...

And to end off this primary school chapter, I must tell everyone that Kelly can't spell for nuts. Horrigible. He can't even spell if you gave him dictionary.com to reference. :p

But he has good handwriting, so it's a redeeming grace.

Kelly can't spell for nuts

SECONDARY SCHOOL:
Ah... secondary school in RI. Yes. Yes. Yes.

I lost contact with the bugger for a while, immersed in playing catch up with schoolwork, surviving softball training, and trying to be a good librarian (like my bro!)

Then in Sec 3, I quitted softball and joined RI02 Scouts (where Kelly's in) - thus began a new chapter of our friendship.

Going through thick and thin and making a few more close friends between us (TCWITB, for one), we perservered through our Venture years and GC years, leading our scout group through a period of total chaotic anarchism filled with question marks and no answers except for stupid ones. We tried for the President's Scout Award together, but all save me was axed by the SRIC.

Now this is the point where I'm supposed to go 'nally nally boo boo' to them, but I must also reflect that I was the first President's Scout to have 'almost failed because of the final interview' (as admonished by Edmond Tan, our great abominable VSL.)

Yeah, it was fun.

JC times
None available. Kelly chose the alternative path of going Ngee Ann Poly and excelled there with Yusry. But hey, GC years were still on in JC 1, and I saw enough of the Man.

Army times
Can't remember clearly, but I think this is the period me and chee wee and kelly integrated with Kelly's friends over in poly...

Uni times to now
Yup, I see him around school frequently, and have taken 'Principles of Marketing' with him. He's a real good marketing genius, I tell you (though I got A+ and he didn't! nally nally boo boo~~! :p)
But he's the more driven ass, and he's now in philly doing his NOC.

Oh yah, we recently also went for the N.E.X.T Challenge together (with Chee wee and ivan and joey) and got 4th prize! Woo hoo~! N.E.X.T

In essence, Kelly, the friendship between us is unbreakable lah, no matter how sick we are of each other (urgh, puke).

Our friendship is like Gravity - it's all around us and transcends over time and space. And it's the greatest force when summed together!

Post exam blues

2005-11-23T21:34:00.000+08:00

Haiz. NO exams already leh... How am I going to spend all my IDLING HOURS????

Should I try fishing?

Haha. Not really. Don't kill me just yet.

My blues are about the current state of my education career.

At the end of yesterday's MOBILE COMPUTING paper, I knew that my First Class is a goner (regardless of my fluk-ish CA marks); at the end of today's SIGNALS, it is more than less confirmed that my First Class has taken a plane to Timbuktu on first class seating and won't be back for good. I estimate B+ for both - which means my CAP will drop to around 4.48 - quite good for 2nd Upper, but slightly missing the First Class.

To Timbuktu, with Love.

Not that I'm plain just-kill-me kind of sad. I'm rather both sad and happy. I've sort of planned for both the if-and-else cases, but have always been annoyed at the uncertainty of whether it's an 'IF' or an 'ELSE' - but it's quite quite confirmed that I fall into the 'ELSE'-case now, and I'm the happier for it. Though I'm still sad I'm not 'First Class' material (dammit!)

Why the heck am I happier?
Would you not be happier if you didn't have to spend the rest of your academic life slogging in your lab trying to polish up your FYP to A/A- grade, with another module to score A/A- as well? And for what purpose? A first class cert? Yah, it looks good but is it worth the effort?

IF-CASE: (Still in range of First Class)
PIA FOR FIRST CLASS STILL. WORK WORK WORK while worrying that the final result is still a 2nd Upper. Simple but tedious plan. =(

IF-CASE

ELSE-CASE: (Fall to 2nd Upper)
2nd Class => Lots of CAP buffer => Can anyhow do my FYP and CRITICAL SYSTEMS module next semester~~~!
This then means that I can spend time doing things OUTSIDE of academics. Academics is starting to bore me - so, yay.

ELSE-CASE

In essence, I can work up some untidy codes and kiss Ananda [FYP Sup] goodbye by the end of the holidays and spend the next semester doing self-improvementsss:
1) Improving my memory
2) Going for Toastmaster + polish communication skills (which I super lack)
3) Grasp the tacky techniques of windsurfing and inline-skating
4) Salsa?
5) Do some business (Frank has a cunning plan~~~!)
6) Go for unregistered classes (like Marketing, French, ++)

Isn't that infinitely more interesting and wonderful? After all, I'm seriously contemplating a non-engineering career.

My dream career.

Daylight saving hours in NUS??

2005-11-22T04:21:00.000+08:00

PGP people are mad, I tell you.
420am in the morning, got time don't sleep go play swing at playground.

It almost feels like 9pm in the cluster - everyone's light is still on and music is playing on laptops. People are bathing and asking 'How's revision?' in the toilet.

And I looked downstairs, half-expecting Taichi Man to be down there doing his routine.

Crazy people.

--------------

Sidenote:
Now that there are going to be as many cubicles in female toilets as there are the sum of urinals and cubicles in male toilets, I'm led to wonder if male toilets should totally abolish urinals and have all cubicles instead.

I mean, if 4 gals can do their *ahem* MNC at one time, compared to 2 guys doing their *ahem again* MNCs(with another 2 only able to do SMEs) is it still fair? Or is it a case of one being fairer than the other?

Sometimes, the battle for equality doesn't result in equality after all. Perhaps it had always been equal in the macro-scale. Just not equal in aspects where we choose to focus on.

Like:
"cos(90) + i * sin(90)" not being the same as "cos (45) + i * sin(45)" if you choose to compare them in either their real or their imaginary form. But their magnitude and power are the same - it's just a phase-difference between the two.

Who says Singapore don't have seasons?

2005-11-21T07:07:00.000+08:00

T'is the season when it rains and rains
and irritating flying insects with disproportionately long wings
go forth and multiply
and die and end up in your toilet bowls and sinks.

Flush.

And you see gleeful hordes of ants engage in the thriving business of carcass-collecting, in every corner of your room.

Hmm... maybe I won't kill them. For now. =)

The only way to get away with horrific singing...

2005-11-19T10:09:00.000+08:00

... is to package it with some simple and cute animations.

*Frank breaks into horrific singing and juggles 3 balls at the same time*

24 pushing 25 and I'm still a boy??? Sigh...

2005-11-19T09:27:00.000+08:00

Was going for my breakfast at the SoC canteen after a really cold night of sleep in the lab, when I was stopped along the s16 corridor by an SoC admin staff whom I was familiar by face with. She was hanging around the corridor doing the horrific task of shushing everyone into silence, as an exam was going on then.

She shuushed me to stop.

"Shuush, boy~~!" she went.

"Erm yah?" I paused.

"Help me buy coffee. Normal one," and she handed me 50 cents.

I stopped for a while to think how I should respond.

"Nothing like an ol' strong morning brew"

Firstly, I wasn't really chummy with her - I don't even know her. I mean we know each other by face and encounter in the admin office (when I go over to hand in SEP application; to ask about my teaching pay++), but we never did know each other by name or if we really do know each other by a 5-hop link of friends (caveat: your friends' friends' friends' friends' friends can be Bill Clinton...)

Secondly, I AM A BOY??! I'm freaking 24 and I can:
1) drive a car (I'll proudly show you my driving license anytime, especially if you can't drive - guffaws);
2) sign my own consent forms;
3) watch RA movies (more guffaws);
4) travel overseas without holding my mother's hands (hmmm...?)

the only thing that I can't do is earn my own keep (that'll be next year) and that's because I'm still schooling. So which part of my life constitutes a 'Boy'????

But sigh, this frame of contemplation didn't last for more than 15 milliseconds (ok, it was more of an afterthought), before I replied "OK~~!", like a boy who was eager to deliver a package in his local neighbourhood for the DHL man in exchange for a sweet or something. Except there wasn't any sweet in the one-sided bargain.

"You drive a hard bargain.... here's your sweet."

Sigh.... I guess I'm still a boy. At least I'm more chummy with her now. Her name's Devy.

可惜不是你

2005-11-18T01:01:00.000+08:00

歌手：梁静茹

这一刻突然觉得好熟悉
像昨天今天同时在放映
我这句语气原来好像你
不就是我们爱过的证据

差一点骗了自己骗了你
爱与被爱不一定成正比
我知道被疼是一种运气
但我无法完全交出自己

努力为你改变
却变不了预留的伏笔
以为在你身边那也算永远
仿佛还是昨天
可是昨天已非常遥远
但闭上双眼我还看得见

可惜不是你陪我到最後
曾一起走却走失那路口
感谢那是你牵过我的手
还能感受那温柔
那一段我们曾心贴着心
我想我更有权力关心你
可能你已走进别人风景
多希望也有星光的投影
努力为你改变
却变不了预留的伏笔
以为在你身边那也算永远
仿佛还是昨天
可是昨天已非常遥远
但闭上双眼我还看得见

可惜不是你陪我到最後
曾一起走却走失那路口
感谢那是你牵过我的手
还能感受那温柔
可惜不是你陪我到最後
曾一起走却走失那路口
感谢那是你牵过我的手
还能感受那温柔
感谢那是你牵过我的手
还能温暖我胸口

Exam Revision

2005-11-14T05:17:00.000+08:00

It's getting insane over here.

Time left before the start of exam is getting lesser and lesser, and I'm still spending futile efforts wooing Signals, trying to get to know her better - when I should have married her donkey years ago in LT7. The going's not good.

I hate Signals.

Meanwhile in desperate attempts to avoid studies, I survey SoC's toilets as a self-imposed plumber (I'm a closet plumber) and have since fixed 3 toilet flushing cisterns. Maybe I should consider a professional career as a plumber, if all else fails.

Frank starts a plumbing business...

Though I'm constantly led to wonder about the many spoilt toilets in SoC. Is it because SoC students have no life and stay in school all the time ==> shit a lot in school ==> increase utility of toilet facilities ==> shorter lifespan of toilet systems? With no direct association to the above, I know of a SoC professor whom I see regularly in the toilet in the wee hours of the morning - washing up with a full compendium of toiletries, towel included. Felt like laughing at him for having no life, but soon realise that I was there in the same toilet in the same wee hours of the morning. Haiz. Then I got jealous of his nifty set of toiletries, wishing I have something similar to wash up with.

Ha! At least he doesn't have a Standard Chartered complimentary beach mat to use as sleeping gear in his lab.

Or does he?

Here's the (phone) plan...

2005-11-13T21:41:00.000+08:00

vs

My M1 plan ends on 14th Dec 2005, and I'm thinking of switching over to Starhub when it ends.
The configuration should be this:

1)PHONE PLAN - PowerValue 100 (with extra SMSes [students' lobang])
http://www.starhub.com/mobile/mobileservice/voiceplans.html#voice

2)PHONE MODEL -
I'm looking at Siemens M75
https://www.starhubshop.com.sg/asp/e_choose_pro.asp?PID=PRO_00728
or Siemens CX75
https://www.starhubshop.com.sg/asp/e_choose_pro.asp?PID=PRO_00727

I'm prefering M75 because it is a more rugged phone which may last longer, seeing the inhumane way I treat phones...

Hmm... they told me they are blogging.

2005-11-13T21:00:00.000+08:00

So here's the link.

http://sexposingapore.blogspot.com/

I have %#@%@@ lost my phone

2005-11-10T22:13:00.000+08:00

To all my friends,I won't have your numbers anymore.

It's all inside my SIM card.

Please send me an email (native02@yahoo.com) list with all our mutual friends and phone numbers observing the following format (so I can create Excel file):

:list= (:listing :n)*
:listing = :name(, :phone_number)+
:phone_number = :hp OR :house
:hp = [0-9]+
:house = [0-9]+
:name = [A-Z]+
:n = line break

eg..
List =
Frank Lee Weng Hong, 93627261, 68923242
Jonathan Lu, 98218722
Winny The Pooh, 9992415, 9992411

My last sms received is from ZK asking me to go to Xin Yan on 29th. I guess I will be too skinny in the wallet to go now.

Kusok. Sacre bleu. Tmd.

Zouk Halloween Pics....

2005-11-09T01:44:00.000+08:00

...are here

Ignore the "You must sign in...". Just click "View Album".

忘不了

2005-11-08T11:23:00.000+08:00

This is one song that I've heard during my childhood which has lingered in my mind till now. Never quite remembered what's the song name, but the tune has been floating in my mind for...17 years?

Have been conscientiously listening for it whenever 95.8FM is playing, but have only caught it once on airwaves. And I didn't quite catch the name.

Now FINALLY found it. Yay. =)

歌手：童安格专辑：其实你不懂我的心

为何一转眼
时光飞逝如电
看不清的岁月
抹不去的从前
就象一阵风
吹落恩恩和怨怨
也许你和我
没有谁对谁错

忘不了你的泪
忘不了你的好
忘不了醉人的缠绵
也忘不了你的誓言
何不让这场梦
没有醒来的时候
只有你和我
直到永远

Jogging.

2005-11-08T00:25:00.000+08:00

I've been doing regular jogs for some time now, and I have some thoughts about jogging.

When did I start taking up jogging?
Let's see... It started last year January, but disrupted when I went to Vancouver for my exchange program (it was too cold to run there. I tried.) I resumed jogging when I came back, and has since been jogging up to now.

What are the distances you jog?
I started off with the usual 2.4km, from 1 round/week to 3 rounds/week.
Then I grew bored of the short distance and migrated to 4km runs 2 rounds/week.
Now I'm running 4km 3 rounds/week, with a 21km run every fortnight (I've run 3 so far) in preparation for the Standard Chartered Marathon slated in 4th Dec. If I feel too energetic, I up my 4km runs to 8kms, albeit at a slower pace.

But dang, Standard Chartered ran out of space, so I'm looking forward to the next marathon. No need to be Standard Chartered. A person has to do at least one marathon in his whole life and I intend to do more than one.
But I really dig Standard Chartered's slogan, "There's no such thing as bad weather - only weak minds."

What has joggin done for me?
Before Army, I was decent.

BUT Army turned me into a fat bastard incapable of chasing after an ice-cream man. Jogging (and all the circuit trainings) has reversed this situation, and I think I'm quite fit now. My body doesn't allow me to go super fast (unlike Gurkha in his prime of youth), but I think I'm pushing it to decent speeds and distances. But still not competitive speeds.

Bus chasing from one station to the next is quite possible, but I still puff a little. But I do get the bus, yes.

Any injuries?
My knees are slowly going, I think.

The first time I ran my 21km, it was "GOOD LORD, I AM GOING TO SEE YOU TOMORROW...."

But I learned to change my jogging gait to minimise impacts on my knees, and now am able to do 21kms without reporting sick the next day. Really cool. But I must say the running gait looks ugly. It's like all those walking joggers who shake their butts all the time. So there's actually a purpose for the shaking butts... hmmm...

How should I start a jogging regime?

Join me! I'm sick of jogging by myself. Not really. But a companion's always good. Jeremy gave up on me after 1 round around the school. He'd rather stick to basketball.

I jog in school, A2 route. Mostly after 12am, when I can jog bare-bodied in only my jogging shorts. I do my 21kms on Sats/Sundays... Only guys need apply. Or pretty gals. Haha.

Erm, how should I start a jogging regime BY MYSELF?
Start off with 2.4km? I dunno. Once the distance gets comfortable, try to increase speed. Maybe till 1030min or less.

Then you may want to try attaining the 945 IPPT gold standard (generally you run faster and faster for same or shorter distances.) or you may want to try going for distances (you jog slower/same speed for longer and longer distances). The essence is that you move to higher speed/longer distance, once you get comfortable with the current config. Otherwise you'll be a wussy.

Here's a good website for reference

Frank "The Auntie Killer" strikes again....

2005-11-07T23:55:00.000+08:00

"Ooh.. he's so cute~~! I'm going to give him more eggs~~!"

I've got the vegetarian stall auntie @ PGP aircon canteen wrapped around my fingers... heh heh..

She gives me extra stuff at no extra cost, and knows me by face. Everytime I buy stuff from her, she automatically gives me extra scrambled eggs (my favourite dish. She KNOWS. =D)

And sometimes, she charges me less than usual.

Haha... Frank is so good at charming aunties. =P

Nice .swf file

2005-11-04T00:04:00.000+08:00

Thanks to Kenneth the tune is stuck together with the images of romping bunnies in my head now...

Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me

Someone buy me an electronic keyboard?

Halloween

2005-11-02T11:05:00.000+08:00

Above: Zikai, me, Wendy, Kelly. (ZX is the jester well-hidden at the back)

Note to self: Weirdest injury to date

2005-10-30T05:44:00.000+08:00

WTF?
How did I get armpit abrasion from jogging?!?

Inner thigh abrasion, yes. But armpit abrasion???

Qualnet is over!

2005-10-29T12:10:00.000+08:00

No more late nights!

No more pesky mobility models. No more Random Waypoint, Random Walk, Reference Point Group Mobility~~!

NO more AODV, ZRP, DSR, OLSR-INRIA (even though what these routing protocols do continue to elude me...)

No more throughput, end to end delay, delivery ratios

No more spatial dependency, mobility metrics, or connectivity graph.

No more .nodes, .locations, .movements, .configs, .stats.

No more abuse of my lappie with meaningless simulations of Scenarios 1 - 4, 100/125/150 nodes, 600x600/800 terrains.

No more attraction points, source and destination locations.

.
.
.
.
.

But still got exams.

Sigh.

Comp. Engineering..... (let's say it together now) SUX!

Demented show

2005-10-24T23:41:00.000+08:00

Demented Movie

This is so lame, but soooo funny~~~~!

Don't watch it! It's lame!

No no no, watch it! It's so funny!

Argh.. watever, you watch and decide yourself.
Or don't watch it and decide yourself. Huh?

Watever...

Sir Rodney and Kenny (no) G

2005-10-21T23:58:00.000+08:00

NUS piano ensemble presents...
La Chanson Et Danse

The musical performance at UCC on wednesday was quite an event for me to act the high class artsy fartsy dork I am not - other than being most improperly dressed for the event. I should have been fashionably late to pull the act off better, but no... - I was on time. How can I be late for your performance? =)

I am constantly led to wonder if cultural well-behaviour meant the refusal of the best viewing seats located at the sides of the upper levels of the theatre. If it does, I might have been the only ruffian in the theatre to enjoy the best in viewing and listening pleasures that night with me in bird eye view of everyone else, and the piano's lid providing an indirect projection of the acoustics from the soundboard within.

As the pianists played their melodious tunes, my mind drifted to thoughts on the value of Music. ...

What is the value of Music? Music has been a foreign agent to me (I can't tell my Renaissance from my Baroque.) My reference to music here is NOT contemporary music, but those that you hear on Symphony 92.4FM or in Victoria Concert Hall - contemp. music, I can deal with. I have never had any music lessons, unless you consider those immensely short periods of towgay readings and recorders in pri school and sec 1 and sec 2. The only music education I have is from MTV and radio. And from the umpteenth times I sang Mari Kita in school.

In the performance, the pianists played with absolute passion. It is clear the amount of practise they have on those ivories - how long have they been playing at them? 10 years? 15 years? What is the total expenditure for educating a person to reach performance level in piano? 30K? I have always wanted to be able at the piano without considerations of the efforts and costs behind it, but now I am led to consider - if I had the time and resources to pursue piano playing, would I have had played the piano or engage in other more profitable activities? I am not sure. I am quite a realist, and a bit of a dreamer.

Anyway, back to the performance.

I am quite sure half of all expert piano players look quite dorky - from the current sample size. They play well, but move with manners of primary school kids going up the stage to collect their book prizes at End of Year ceremonies. But maybe I am just being dismissive and jealous at their skills.

Sir Rodney captured me with his trance-like behaviour when he played 'L'isle Joyeuse' - he looked quite normal without any artistic bearings, but when he played the piano, it almost seemed like he was natural with the keys.

Sir Rodney

At times, he was smiling, at times he was frowning; at times his body was flowing to the soothing music, head nodding in agreement, at times he was repelled by the erratic rhythm which he couldn't stop playing no matter how hard he tried while his head shake in vehement disagreement - it was almost like watching a possessed being in action. I am in awe of his involvement, I seriously am.

What put me off was Mr. Maksim-wannabe playing Elektrik. Notwithstanding the wayang-ness of his appearance (with ditzy Windows Media Player visualisation on display, he sat on the piano bench and made the audience waited for a good few minutes before a 'We're sorry for the technical error' abruptly ended his first appearance.) His second appearance at the end of the performance played a Maksim-style techno-piano piece, which is, no doubt, quite nice to hear. The only fault I found was the background music being too overwhelming and drowned his piano playing. And his repugnant parakeet hairdo. And his brown coat. He would have been better off wearing a black tee and jeans - that will show a sleek fuss-free style centered at optimal performance, nothing grandiose, nothing superfluous.

The Man himself

Birthday in cluster kitchen

2005-10-21T22:54:00.000+08:00

There was a gathering in the cluster kitchen yesterday late at night which led to the celebration of Gurkha's birthday. Not that anyone knew it to be Gurkha's 21st birthday beforehand.

I was recovering from my jog in the kitchen, when Jeremy 1 came in and chatted with me about how I should go and join him to swim and 'forget about jogging. It's so monotonous'. Then Phu came in with his rice cooker and seafood to prepare for next day's breakfast. And we started talking about how abs almost always develop disproportionately with respect to our body's lateral symmetry.

Then Jeremy 2 came in and we started talking about the Taichi man who taichis almost everyday and how Jeremy 1 would trade his unobstructed view of the Taichi man for my obscured view of the playground (which comes with chio bus sometimes.) We then hitched a cunning plan to ambush Mr. Taichi (just to test his skills), with details being Jeremy 1 jumping out of his window onto him, while I make sure to poke Mr. Taichi into Jeremy 1's landing area, if Mr. Taichi ever come to realise Jeremy 1's diabolical move and step aside.

Taichi Man and his Jeremy Subduing Palm

Soon after our whimsical thoughts subside in decreasing bouts of innane laughters, China Guy came in to cook noodles and we came to realise the gathering to be the most attended one ever (other than the first formal cluster meeting.)

To make things fun, we decided to sing Happy Birthday to the next guy who comes in, just because we were really bored and obstinate about going back to our rooms to study for our testsssssss.

China Guy 2 came in and we sang. Surprised at our misinformation, he was quick to point out the day to be not his birthday (but he would graciously accept any presents we have for him) - and we immediately digressed to examine the Pandoric contents of the upper freezer. To date, none of us present then have laid claim to the unidentified ice-cream box of what Jeremy deduced, after serious inspection, to be bloody fingers from some unresolved murder case.

Cluster leader came in and we sang. Not his birthday. We continued to delve deeper into the lower freezer area, asking for identification of all the possessions in the fashion of handling Katrina's aftermath.

Then Gurkha came in, clad in his shorts and generously endowed natural buffers, holding his toiletries in his hands. And we sang. Surprised at how informed we are, he gave us his usual 1 sec blank look and expressed his thanks to us. Some of us, no... most of us were dubious and thought him to be 'Lamb-Chop-Play-Alonging' with us, and we asked for proper authentication, only to have him properly authenticated by his IC.

Glorious day. 20-10-2005. Some of us should go and buy 4D, using permutations of the numbers.

All of us scurried back to our own room to dig for long-cached universally-accepted presents for Gurkha - Jeremy 2 got him some chocolates, cluster leader too (what's with everyone having chocolates as present reserves??) In excellent and fashionable taste, I gave him the USB-Handphone Charger given out during HSBC's MA talk, reminding myself I SHOULD get some chocolates for federal reserves.

And I walked to NUH to get him a tub of Haagen Daz for his birthday treat as well. He is, after all, my favourite Ghurka.

what Gurkha might have been some years ago..

What do I want to be?

2005-10-18T23:58:00.000+08:00

Sometimes, I want to be something else other than me.

I want to be a bird.
To fly freely in the sky, to make the world my home. I will fly from one end of the world to the other, across vast oceans, across great fields, across timelines; to feel the wind in my wings, the absoluteness of freedom.
Then I wonder where I will stay. In nests? Heavens, no. What happens when it rains?
What will I feed on? Worms? Goodness gracious, no! I want my pig's trotters and mee goreng! Pratas! Pratas! I need them!
So I don't want to be a bird.

I know! I want to be a fish!
To swim freely in the ocean, to make the sea my home. I will swim from one end of the world to the other, over vast distances, over great fields of sea anemones, across timelines; to feel the water in my fins, the absoluteness of freedom.
Then I wonder where I will stay, again. Heavens, I don't even have a nest!
What will I feed on? Other fishes? Planktons? No, I want my fish fillet and Hainanese chicken rice! Pastas! Pastas! I need them!
So I don't want to be a fish.

What about a squirrel?
To hide my nuts like a possessive nutcase, to make trees my home. I will jump about from trees to trees with nuts in my hands, balancing myself with my soft bushy tail. I can make my own Nutella, and I'll have fur that never goes out of fashion.
Then I wonder what I will do other than hiding nuts and jumping around. Nothing much, really. Do I get to see the world? No. Do I get to see anywhere outside my little community of trees? Probably not. What happens when it rains, or snows?
So I don't want to be a squirrel.

How about a tortoise? I'll take life easy...
To live a long life, to see what has been here and what will be here. To move about at leisurely speeds, laughing at the meaningless business of everyone else. Why bother to rush about doing, and miss the enjoyment of quiet peacefulness? Two hands of leisure rather than one hand of business, I'd say.
Then I wonder the usefulness of such a long life, if life is meant to be all so peaceful and non-undulating....
No, I don't want to be a tortoise. I want more excitement to life.

A dragon? I'm a magestic dragon! I'll breathe fire and destroy towns and places - holding princesses and kingdoms in ransom. Everyone will be in fear and awe of me! I'll fly freer than a bird, and I'll live in a cave with people paying tributes to me.
But then, who will be my friend? Who will dare to be my friend?
I don't want to deal with the occasional smart ass knight who thinks himself good enough to kill me for the princess and some stupid intangible he calls 'Glory'.
No, I don't want to be a dragon.

I guess I'm better off a human as I am -
I can fly further and faster than a bird to Cananda and live in East Hastings, living freer than a lark in my rented apartment with Garry and Eu;
I can swim freer than a fish in Ko Samut with Chee wee, and laze on sentosa beach as well;
I can wakeboard/windsurf/kayak with ZK/stef/lele anytime I want (if the weather permits);
I can buy cans and cans of Nutella and eat them with bread in PGP, with Gurka to tell me stories of exploits in Mt. Vernon camp;
I can spend a quiet sunday afternoon by myself in McDonald's, watching traffic pass me by;
I can sit in a park and watch children play whilst mothers scream, hearing the chirping of the birds and marvelling at how everything opposing fits in picture-perfectly;
and most of all, I have my friends.

Who needs to be a dragon when you already have friends who promise their kingdoms to you in times of need? (Though I'm always wondering why we never did have enough princesses to go around...)

Not me.

2005-10-14T07:03:00.000+08:00

'You're the sunshine of my morning, you know that? We started talking when it's absolutely darkness, but now the sun's out and the birds are chirping...'

'then u are my moon shining softly down at me bringing me light in the darkness - cus it was still light when we started talking but now it is pitch dark except the illuminating moon'

I am yours. =)

A movie a day?

2005-10-13T22:08:00.000+08:00

A movie a day?

It'll be really cool if he pulls it through, isn't it? =)

The talk with Permanent Secretary of Education

2005-10-13T20:45:00.000+08:00

yesterday was quite an engaging and informative one. Present were a number of students from SMU, NTU, and NUS who had went on one (or more) exchange program(s) to various countries around the world, and all of us had something to say concerning our experiences.

The main impetus for the talk was for the Perm Sec to better know how exchange programs have benefitted us, and how MOE can step in to further help Singaporean gain a global perspective amidst a globalisation trend that is advantageous for Singapore's growth into the region - but this advantage can only be possible with more Singaporeans willing to venture out into the region. It is with the use of Exchange programs MOE hopes future Singaporeans are more accustomed to the idea of living/working overseas and decrease our resistance to a job abroad later on during our working life.

Already, there will be better conduits for students to access loans/funds for their expenses during the programs - something I find very important for students who have the interests but not the money.

It's heartening to know steps are being taken by MOE to help Singaporean students.

MOE is giving more money for Exchange Programmes!

When I promised myself that I would do some cooking

2005-10-08T00:56:00.000+08:00

in PGP, it was with the supposition that the kitchen will be a functional one.

Up to today, I have done no cooking in PGP. This is because I have been peeved with the state of the kitchen since day 1.

There are dead carcasses of ants in the fridge amongst all the half-opened packets of beef/KFC leftovers, half-used-and-exposed cucumbers; ants crawling over the dirty pots and pans stacked INSIDE and BESIDE the washbasin; ants crawling all over the grease-marked kitchen table top; markings left from greasy pots and pans placed over the dining table top without any mats; and a foul stench that emits from nowhere in particular because it's everywhere.

How to cook in such an environment? I had thought guys would be more professional when it comes to kitchen hygiene - obviously I haven't shared a kitchen with people other than my family members (who are very particular about hygiene), or Eu and Garry (I tot Garry was quite the limit, but I'm obviously wrong again - he's neat in comparison.)

I avoid the kitchen when possible, having no possessions in it except for a bottle of honey I use on my bread (i keep in room) for breakfast. It's disappointing, I know.

I don't think I can perfect my stir-fry techniques or carry out any taste experiments here, much less the thoughts of actually baking something edible to shame my sister's endeavours in Home Economics.

A rather busy week

2005-10-07T22:16:00.000+08:00

These few days have been late night project meetings mulling over Mobile Computing's deadlines, and the group of us have not been having an easy time - but nevertheless, I am optimistic about our overall standing in the module.

We have a crack team of very efficient team members for the tough going: Eu (The Think Tank - he comes up with all the innovative solutions), Kenneth (Mr. Dynamic - does everything chop chop), and Minqiang (The Research Paper king - mention an idea and he knows which paper got mention about it on which page, which line, which sentence.)

(Most times I think I'm leaching off them, sigh... Need.to.be.better. I'll try harder to be relevent.)

On a good note, we have been finishing our projects an average of a day earlier and being the first to do submissions, and I think that's pretty impressive!

Keep it up and I think we can all do very well for the module. =)

=================================

The many recruitment talks in recent weeks have kept me well-fed, but regretful over why I did not do any internships with any companies (my CV's quite short).

Let's keep a tab - Capitaland, Citibank, Top Grads, BP, DBS, and later - MOE HQ, HSBC, Credit Suisse.... assume each night dinner costs $3, that's a savings of 9 * 3 = $27! Heh.

What?? Vancouver is best city to live in?

2005-10-07T05:40:00.000+08:00

Hmm... never did have that perception while living in East Hastings, but maybe it's just because I was living in the eastside of town. And with 2 clowns somemore...(rite, Garry and Eu? ;)

But I do miss the weather; the late-hours studying in Kroener library; and a few other things.

And I will definitely remember the day before prog lang exam when
idiotic Garry ask stupid Frank to go study in SUB around 2am in the morning,
and Frank stupidly agree and pack up his camp and laptop and stuff,
and run from Gage place to SUB to find him,
only to find the whole building locked up and Garry nowhere in sight.

And how he waited there in the cold wintry night,
with colder wind blowing against his cold face,
standing like an absolute fool looking for his sanity,
afraid that Garry is also looking for him,
for about 30min.

Then Frank gave up and ran back to gage place for some warmth in the lounge area,
and Garry came along 10 min later,
and they started mugging for a desperate short while,
before rest is really really inevitable,
and both concussed for maybe 2 or 3 hours (after N hours of mugging before that),
before they had to rush for the 8am test.

And stupid garry came out of the exams earliest after... 1hr..? To go buy stuff before going for a trip or something.. I can't remember. And he still got bloody good grades.

And I finished the exam with the rest... and I went shopping a while before my final hols break in Canada/US too.

Yah, it was all quite a rush to just pass the exams (though we didn't get shabby results) and carry on with the last few days of freedom in that country....

...though idiotic Garry is now having a fun time gallivanting with gwen in Sillicon Valley.

TMD.

We're all retaliating hamsters...

2005-10-03T00:52:00.000+08:00

Either that or our true nature as lazy hamsters prevails.

Since one week has passed and there's no sign of The Box ever going to be around, we've sort of figured that the cleaners are not going to implement the ruling at all.

Shoes are back to normal hazardous placements.

Minesweeper

2005-10-02T15:36:00.000+08:00

If you don't know me, you probably won't know that I'm a minesweeper fanatic.

Not the MSN type where you compete with your friend to click on mines - I'm talking about the classical minesweeper that comes with all versions of Windows. Yes I'm quite addicted to that little insignificant piece of program, when I should really be playing World of Warcraft, DOTA or some other fancy games out there in the market that everyone else is playing.

Why do I play minesweeper?

Other than the blatant fact that I'm quite addicted to it, it takes up much less time than WOW and DOTA to play, and I can stop whenever I want to (not really!) I also like the logic process of if-this-then-that-else-this-but-since-this-therefore-cannot-that involved, and I can be absorbed in it for hours on end!

In my endeavours to cut down on useless clicks and processes to achieve a better timing, I have also come to realise the similarities between situations in life and Minesweeping, mainly:

1. An element of probability is always involved.

To actually get a manageable starting scenario in minesweeper, you'd need the first few clicks to open a significant portion of the space - and none of them should actually be a bomb. This is not possible all the time, and you'd find yourself dead before the game has started, much like you don't always find yourself in a winnable situation in life. What then can you do? You have to move on to the next game and carry on to fight a battle you can win.

2. You'll need experience to be successful.

Winning minesweeper requires you to cache certain patterns like 3-3-3, 1-2-1, 1-2-2-1, so you need not think on runtime. This is much like gaining experience in a field, and being able to carry out repetitive stuff successfully. This is merely the first step to improving efficency, but does not guarantee success in the end.

3. Pre-processing is needed.

To further improve timing, you need to know 2 or 3 steps in advance that you can eliminate the pauses in your look(pause)-think(pause)-click pattern of solving minesweeper. This is because our motion is slower than our brain, and you can asyncronously click and think at the same time. Thinking in advance is definitely necessary to prevent yourself from getting into situations you have no way of getting out of (like taking up an insurance policy without considering possible future expenditure, or agreeing to boss' requests without considering the repercussions)

4. If the going gets tough, the tough gets going.

When approaching complex situations which you know you CAN solve, but extra time is involved such that you can never make it to beat your best score, you should give up and start on a new game.
This is akin to you knowing that you CAN do something, but if the end results doesn't justify the efforts required, you should give up and look for better opportunities.

5. Hard problems are easier to solve if you don't take it head-on.

The best thing to do when facing complex situations is not to tackle the problem directly. Look at the big picture. Flank it from the easier-to-tackle sides, and more clues will expose themselves, and you can solve it in a shorter period of time, or you may find that you need not even solve the problem!

6. You don't need to do everything to win the game!

I started off with marking every mine on the map and double clicking to expose the safe areas. I found that every marking takes a bit of time, and this contributes to an increased overall timing. By eliminating unnecessary markings (through pre-processing, or marking it in your mind), timing can significantly improve!
This is like conscientiously doing all your tutorials without referring to answers and solving all the nitty-gritty details in your assignments - not necessary to understand the gist of the lesson and do well in exam. It's a minimum-effort-maximum-result issue.

7. At the last stage, there is always a 2-choose-1 situation to cock things up. 50% win, 50% lose.

C'est la vie.

8. To get really high scores, your inherent response must be good - techniques can only get you so far.

To be really really good, it is not enough to be hardworking. You also need inborn talent. Unfortunately I don't have fast responses and thus my minesweeping scores seems to have hit a plateau. Sigh.. such is life.

A rather busy week

2005-10-02T14:38:00.000+08:00

It had been a rather busy week, with deadlines (Qualnet!) stealthily approaching from behind and making irritating coughing sounds behind my back; and the CS4274 Quiz to study for. 4274 wouldn't have had such an effect if I had been more studious and not started my initial reads only this week.

Running Qualnet has been anything but nice to me and my comp. The simulations are so freaking labour intensive (and unproductive) that I'm left most of the time working on a laptop seemingly running on a 80286 chip and 2MB ram. Never have I let my laptop undergone a stress test of such long duration (it has been running near a week now, and a good more days to run), with CPU fan running more than half the time. I wouldn't be surprised if police came over and knock on my door, charging me with offences of abusive actions to my computer - I probably deserve it.

And for what purpose to this? a 10% assignment for mobile computing? I am not in agreement with our lecturer on the intensity of such an assignment.

Lecturer states:
1. The simulations are meant to demonstrate the issue of scalability - that the algorithm doesn't scale well.
It is exactly because the algorithm doesn't scale well that we shouldn't run it on too many nodes, isn't it? I think it is quite enough to KNOW that it doesn't scale well - we don't have to do redundant hardwork reinventing the wheel. We don't need to plunge a knife to our side to know we will bleed if we plunge a knife to our side. Furthermore, computing resources are not free - running my laptop like this definitely reduces the lifespan of my comp like siao, and I'm not the only one running simulations. Multiply the effects by the number of people running these simulations, and we get a small-scale global warming just from the heat produced by our computers.

And yes, all that computing has left other high priority projects from other modules hanging in hungry states, waiting for free computing resources. It's a 4-MC level 4000 module, for goodness sake, not a 8 MC UROP. If it is, it would probably justify the 2 projects, 1 (or 2) quizzes, 1 term paper, and a final exam - but it's not.

2. Coming up with the config files are not hard, and running the simulations is easy - He did it during his PHD times and it's simply running and go do other work.
No one say that running the simulation is hard, and if it is not hard, what's the motive for doing it? This is a level 4000 computing module, not some PHD module, and it might be good enough to run the simulations on 100 nodes. If we are given access to adequate computing resources (say, comps in I2R), this would not have proven to be so much of a matter, but we are not given such computing resources. We only have our laptops and home comps to do calculations. How can we fight an army with stones and twigs?

3. We are free to quit the module if we want to.
We are not - it doesn't take any cow sense to know that we've invested too much time and effort to give up at this point of time. We're at the balance point between attainable and breakable. And we're not quitters - the people taking this module are relatively strong performers.

4. IF WE HAVE THE GUTS, we can tell him directly and suggest points for improvement. I think there's a difference between having guts and being foolish. Already Eugene has been shot down for his suggestions (although they are valid ones), and I am led to think our prof doesn't take to suggestions easily. Then what's the point of taking your guts out in full display to a person who will only cut them up and cook curry? The probability of survival is bleak, if not none. What the strong can do now is to grit their teeth and bear it out in resilence. Resilence is required of us now. And of course, our review at the end of the course will definitely be a DON'T TAKE UNLESS YOU'RE A SADO-MASOCHIST LOOKING FOR TROUBLE. Either that or you're a Melvin Zhang. =P

And yes, I'm slightly peeved I'm spending my sunday in my room running simulations and doing work when I should be out windsurfing. Suppose to go windsurfing with the NUS Sub-club, but decided otherwise when storm came in the morning (but it's all sunny now!) and weather report says the next few days will probably be thunderstormy. But I think there wasn't any error in the judgement call - it's just that things don't always turn out accordingly to probabilities.