Last day of Sept

Ahh, finally finished the SC132 presentation, all went well despite some cock up here and there. Luckly, Wei Xian’s demo website saved the day. Roland was quite impressed by the demo. He is quite supportive of the idea though he commented that the qualifications are a bit mismatch; imagine Masters Grads running a small business, luckily I downgraded to those from PhDs… haha~ He also said that the business plan would be better if there is a wider range of products along with more technology integrations. His idea of innovation seems to be 1 + 1 > 2.

4 more weeks to countdown and around 2 more assignments left.
Buck up and get over with “them”

Another day just flew by....

I went to a talk conducted by the Student Counselling Centre. The topic of the talk should be familiar to all, it's on "Prograstination" keke... Well, basically, the whole talk is about some of the causes of prograstination and how to counter it. Most of the materials, I seemed to know but didn't really practise them. So it's sort of like a review on prograstination for me, reminding me to tackle the problem with the knowledge that I already poessess.

"Knowledge in itself, is just ideas, without much use. It's only when we applied those ideas, do we transform it into power"

Around 5 more weeks to exams. Better work on my Exercise "Vengence".

What a "wonderful" week....

Looking back at this week, I wonder how I survived... Thank God for his strength and his wisdom that he bestow upon me.

Last minute collation of the SC132 report, made me felt like in hell, spent quite a bit of time rephasing and reviewing the report, kind of upset that I didn't had this done last week while I have the leisure and the time...

Completing my NAFRA test; I failed it by the way, not enough for pullup, managed 2 only. Except "Sit & Reach", I cleared the rest of the tests quite effortlessly, though more training is required to get my standards up for resumption of service (long term) as well as preparing myself for the Singapore Marathon coming up.

Completing my Control & Instrumentation Lab Report, not really completed it on my own, had to thank Cheng Yao for passing me his last semester's report so that I could work my values into it.

In additional to those, having to teach part time robotics; thank god that the classes are ending next Wed. Not to say that I do not have fun, I do enjoy the moment that the groups in my class manage to get the robot running and to some extent, run autonomously (read - intelligently). Especially all the hardware limitation they had due to the current kit set; sensor's limited range, no feedback mechanism for the robot movement, etc

Well, ending of this week also signify new challenges in the next. Quoting Susan Jeffers - "No matter what happens, I'll HANDLE it"

Recess

Hmm, not sure why, but everytime there's school break, I can't seem to get anything done.

Fall ill for the past one week, maybe too much sunshine during AHM. Other than resting at home and going for part-time, didn't do much of other stuff, well, I did manage to reinstall my computer system.

Plan A to complete most of my stuff during recess didn't work out as thought, so back to the drawing board.

Plan B? Well, can only "拼" lor.

Will be busy completing the SC132 Assignment this week followed by the presentation next week along with the SC206, yet to troubleshoot my ACIA circuitry.

After finishing all the assignments, then it's Ex "爱拼才会赢" - in short, exam preparations. So dear friends, you'll not be seeing much of me during Oct; unless you are going to study with me.

Vengence, vengence, vengence.... I'll pay back what I got to that bloody stupid exam papers. :P

Well, back to work on my SC132 Report.

Army Half Marathon 2005

Yipee, completed my 4th Army Half Marathon on last Sunday. Felt very happy that I've managed to complete it, and in a better timing than my last. Last year, I took 3Hrs, this year slight improvement, around 2:45. Althought it's not as good as my 1st AHM, which took 2:20, consideration must be taken that I was in Army that time and I had a lot physical regimes done to prepare for the event.

Anyway, the unforgettable thing that happened at the end of the event is that I wore an unsuitable clothing (I'll never wear event tee the next time), leeding to extensive abrasion to my nipples. I was like clinging to my tee to prevent that from happening from 7km onwards as I was sweating profusely which made the clinging even worst. Around 10km through the run, my hands just got tired and I thought just to endure the pain through. Guess what, at the end of the run, my skin gave way to abrassion and there are 2 blood streaks on my tee. GROSS!!! (Think I'm kiddin, look here )

Other than having a good time going for the run, I also got myself a new pair of running shoes (Reebok Running Preimier Ultra II) selling at at $79.00 which is a huge discount from the UP of $149.90, though I doubt they ever made loss selling it. I also got myself a new pair of running shorts. Can't wait to start running in them. ;)

Well, the end of the AHM also signifies the coming of Singapore Marathon. Time to buck up and go for more runs, wouldn't want to walk all my way through the run as I did last year. (3 1/2 hrs of walk under the morning sun is no joke) Aiming to complete it in a timing of 5 1/2 hrs this year.

Yeah, yeah... I know... Why haven't I transfered to my new website.... Been overloaded with homework (though I didn't do much) plus my part time plus trying out the new Content Management System (CMS) software....

Especially the evaluation of CMS, I have tested several that my ISP provides (Mambo, Drupal, Typo, etc), hard to know what to get as even the begining stage of getting 1 setup and customized to my own liking is like climbing a steep learning curve. Hopefully, I'll manage to get it up by the end of this Month, otherwise, I'll relegate the task till after exams; as I've designate Oct as the exam preparation month (Classified as Revenge Ops)

Getting really irritated by the way blogger put all the tools, only IE has full access while my favourite FireFox (now DeerPark) is unable to do even simple posting. Sigh~

It's been quite a while since I update my blog, I'll do it more often when possible. This Semester seemed to be a bit packed since I took up an attractive paid part time job ^_^ (sure helps me with the bottom line)

For the next 2 weeks, I'll be progressing with the shifting of my blog over to my own web host that I rented. For those techies wondering what services I used the list below is a summary,
- domain name from www.godaddy.com US$8.20 /annum
- web hosting space from www.zzhosting.com at US$3.90 /mth paid quarterly.

Definitely sounds cheaper than forking out another S$20+/mth just to upgrade my Internet Connection to 10Mbps(download)/1Mbps(upload) in order to do web hosting at home.

And that does not include utilities bill, furthermore, I only have a P3 450 up as a server at the current moment and that doesn't sound really impressive.

While there are quite a number of disadvantages, you can't deny that setting a web host on your own gives you more than just meer satisfaction, you also get the knowledge of server configuration, which you can put in your resume if you are looking for an IT job.

In any case, I'll return soon with a new web blog up and ready, latest 3 weeks after this date.

So dear friends, enjoy the fact that you needn't drop by this pathatic page that often... haha~

It's the third week of school. Ain't that fast, ten more weeks and it'll be the time where our body has endure the pain of sitting on a chair and the brain filled with information which might be interesting, but might not use in the near future.

Have been doing part time teaching robotics in a centre, the money is good but the curriculum that was being taught requires more improvement and depth. Kindda rekinder my interest in robotics once again, hmm, should I spend some money to buy a micromouse to take part in the mm competition; perhaps I'll consider when I have some substantial income.

About this semester, totally uncalled for, should have gone on for IA at Vanco instead. Never the less, it brings in a different experience. Well, I'll just apply for Vanco again and do my best. As for this semester, I'll be back with a vengence against the subjects. Boy, do I feel FIRED UP.

Well, that's all for now, dear blog...
Haha~

Quote of the day:
Reach out for the stars cause that's what you are destined for.

Sigh~

It's that time of year again. (You case you are guessing, I'm moving out of my hostel) Now as I'm sitting here in front of my PC in Hall 12 Blk 60 07-1203 typing; most likely; my last blog in a hostel room.

No further intentions to live in Hall anymore. Though hall is a lively place, I'd think I still lack the discipline factor to live in a hall; moreover, I miss the pleasures of TV in my HDB hall and the beloved invention of the last millinieum, AIRCON, cooling my body temperature down in this freaking hot homeland of mine. Furthermore, broadband at home is way faster than what I get in hall, well, can't really blame CITS, they're doing their jobs; still I hate them for what they're doing to the once speedy network.

Well, I think I'll end off this blog now as I gonna see my student counsellor before I continue packing the mess among the dust in my room.

Chio Friends~ Won't be updating my blog for the next few days till I get the rubbish here back home and reorganised the whole trash to be a clean neat and proper room. Haha~ I wonder how I managed to live among trash for years.

Today's 7th May 2005. One week after my lousy exams and the end of my 1st semester into my 3rd year of studies.

Somehow, my life in University is getting from bad to worse. I guess I haven't been putting efforts into my life or rather, making the correct decisions through my campus life. Think it is time to straighten up and remain that way throughout the rest of 2 years if I still want to graduate by the end of my 4 years of disruption.

Mistakes made, learn from it, avoid it and carry on with life.
Focus on the future unless you still want to live in the past.

You scored as Bright Yellow. You are bright yellow! You love everything in life! You hate to just sit around, you like to make the best of every day. You love everyone. Bright Yellow 75% Carrot Orange 75% Hot Pink 63% Pure White 63% Royal Violet 63% Gloomy Grey 63% Turqoise 50% Lime Green 50% Blood Red 50% Jet Black 38% Which Crayon Color Are Youu?? created with QuizFarm.com

You're excited about life and in touch with yourself and nature. Tell me, do I have this straight?

Virtues: You appreciate humor like none other. Puns might even spark laughter in you (TEHY R FUNNI). You seek adventure and connection with your surroundings. You seek friends who will not only share laughs with you but actually form a deep bond of trust and empathy beneath the surface. You look for adventure and courage in people, and variation is necessary to keep you under control. You see yourself as multi-faceted, so you need people who can see you in your many lights. You're constantly trying to figure yourself out while analyzing the people around you. Silly, silly people.

Aspirations: You can't decide what you want to be yet, but you know you want it to be adventures and interesting, with constant changes. You don't know what love will do for you yet, but it's competing with adventure for a place in your heart. An internal conflict has begun: can you be a successful worker, lover, and parent all at once?

Quirks: Noise of any sort is irritating when you're in the mood. Smacking gum, loud chewing, humming- it's about as pleasing as bodily noises. You dislike emaciated people because of jealousy and just plain disgust. You're a procrastinator but a hard worker, too.

Factors: You need constant attention and support. You're high-maintnence, but a great, reliable friend. Nature needs you and you need nature; it's helped thus far, so keep in touch with the outside world.

Future: Who knows! You absolutely need constant change, so vacationing is surely in the cards. Will you settle down or not? Love will find you eventually, as it does to everyone. Will you choose the sweet home life or the rewarding busy-bee life?

Find your soul type at kelly.moranweb.com

Just finished my task as a general helper at the Ministeral Forum, interesting experience, though too few people turned up coz Dr Vivian ain't as influencial as the PM or MM or SM.

I do think that there are a lot of stuff that we could learn from Dr Vivian as I think he's very knowledgeable and quite wise (for his age). Maybe I'm quite biased towards him because of his stunning CV - I think anyone would be amazed by the profile that he has amased - a President Scholar, the President of Student Union for 4 years during his studies in Medicine in NUS. Wow, how does 1 find so much time to do so much thing.

Anyway, he gave an interesting opinion about the future, sounded a bit bleak for me since I wanted a relax life while he suggested an interesting (read challenging) life for engineers - more innovation, less of copying since India/China engineers can do it at a lower price.

During the Q&A session, he has demostrated his potential by responding very fast and seem to know what he's talking about. A good example to model after.

Well, whole on whole, an interest forum. I'm glad I was there to listen to his opinions ^_^

Summary to today's learning: For things to change, I must change first.

Since I can't change the education system in the stupid NoThing University, might as well, change my behavior to do better in the system and complain all about it when I go to work.

Someone with mental toughness who is able to go through the grill of the Marathon is able to survice and excel in this stupid system when he put his determination into it and he will.

Looking forward to a better now and tomorrow! ^_^

Sleeping habits

Sigh, didn't manage to wake up this morning, missed my Comms and Control & Instr tutorials~ Arg, sharks.... More to work on for tutorial - 5 weeks to count down.

I'm wondering what's wrong with my sleeping habits, don't seemed to feel energetic when I'm awake, kept having the desire to continue on sleeping. Maybe need some relaxing music to help me sleep better, maybe a run can pump some oxygen into my system. I'll do that later tonight.

Tasks to finish today will be:
SC303 Lab experiment and update lab log book.
After that will go for a run and have 5... Hmm, maybe 6 hrs of uninterrupted sleep.

Hmm.... This blog seemed to be more and more weird. Seemed to be more of a diary.

Well, things to do tmr:

• SC301 Lab - finish the lab experiment so that I can focus on the formal report and get on with other reports as well.
• Work hard tmr on all the lectures, take as much notes as possible.
• There a talk on Lenten by Br Michael, hopefully I cleared enough stuff tmr so that I can attend his talk.

End of today's blog.... haha~

Well, now that 132 Assignment is down, there left many more to go. Let me see what's on my list...

1. SC301 Formal Report
2. SC303 Lab Logbook + SC303 Assignment + Report
3. SC206 Project Board + Formal Report
4. SC134 Report of 6 Articles

Seems like I won't be going home for the next few weeks?

Hmm, Exams getting close range (5 Weeks current count) I think I'll just I burn part of my weekend staying in hostel to finish at least partial of the assignment + some revisions.

Can forget about attending the String practice for the next few weeks till I manage to settle at least 80% of assignments that I'm left with. And I think anime and CSI can be left in my harddisk for at least till May.

Why does all this sounds so familliar.... ~sigh~

Went to help Simon on his X-Physique Special Project by the NTU Sports club.

Soon realised that it's a rather torturous alternative way to spent my weekend and a even worse way to earn ECA points.

Sat Morning where I and Cherng went to report at SRC to help with the start/end point setup, the logistics ain't really a big deal, though there are many things, there are sufficient numbers of people to help with the store.

The nitemare (and I mean NITEMARE) starts when the equipment preparation starts. A team of few of us went to get the bicycles stores, had to make 4 trips in order to collect all bicycles Why we need 4 trips? Coz there are 130 bikes and the lorry could only contain around 30+ bikes, since it's a 20 foot long lorry. Haven't had such a horrendous logistic tasks since my army days, though I must comment that army logistics tasks are better due to the larger group, more transport vehicles and the comaradie spirit among my NS friends. The whole transportation lasted from 5pm to midnight. Sigh~

Then the next day, the competition started at 9am and within a duration of 1 hr, all the participants had gone with all the equipments (oh, we had canoes as well, though I'm not part of that logistic team) for the competition. Hmm, then the next horrifying thing happened, all the rest of that station group are reattached to other points for logistic help and I was left there. You might think it's a good thing that I don't need to use any strength for the rest of my day. I though so in the begining, till I was left alone for 7 hrs there to "jarga" the equipments.

What took so long, you might wonder - i only know later that Simon had got involved in an accident. Simon was suffering from fatigue (due to lack of sleep after meetings and meetings) and fell asleep at the wheels, luckily no one was hurt, I think. That accident resulted in leaving 2 vehicles to do the logistic transport and greatly impaired the transition of after race logistic.

That 7 hrs got me metally really bored - having to look after the equipments and since the place is located near Kallang Sea Sports Club, there ain't really that heavy flow of people, mostly students learning how to canoe or students training for ECAs. (Sounds sad, training on a Sun)
Luckily I have my MP3 player with me and beautiful scenary to view, otherwise I think might be dead by the time they came to clear the equipments.

Well, times up. GTG to prepare my SC132 presentation tomorrow.

Had an entertaining time watching movie yesterday, it's a German Movie Screening by the NTU German Club (all thanks to Emerald for asking me along, haha~) and it's FREE - What a cheap way to spend an entertained Friday evening.

The movie is quite interesting (Synosis Below), less some parts that I didn't really get it due to culture differences. Overall, I highly rate this film at 4 Stars out of 5.

Movie Title: "Trains & Roses", with English subtitles

Synopsis: Hannes, a shy and lonely truck driver from Dortmund , dreams of winning the first prize at a competition for readers of train timetables to be held in the Finnish town of Inari . When his leave is canceled, he knocks his boss unconscious and travels to Finland , unaware that his boss has been found dead. A police inspector pursues Hannes as the prime suspect, and finds himself being drawn deeper and deeper into the world of timetables. Ignorant of the situation, Hannes manages to stay ahead and meets a woman who reminds him that life is not always like a train: the fastest and most efficient route may not always be the best way out.

*A multiple award winner at the German Film Awards and Guild of German Art House Cinemas. Won the Prix de la Confédération Internationale des Cinémas d'Art et d'Essai award in 1997. Highly acclaimed at the Max Ophüls Festival and Verona Love Screens Film Festival. Theme: Comedy, Thriller, Romance

Extracted from
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/studorgn/german/ntugs/News.htm

Something that I want to write down before I forget.

Have a great vision in mind and take small steps towards it.

It would be easier to take small step knowing that each small step you make brings you nearer to your goal than taking a huge leap and sprain your leg. Something like a marathon, you don't sprint in a marathon, rather, you jog at a comfortable pace (that's considered a small step)

Most importantly remember, all your journey to your goals starts with a single step - the hardest step to make yet the most essential.

Hmm, haven't been keeping up with my resolutions.
Well, baby steps one at a time.

Getting back to my Tutorial for SC301. Must get at least partial understanding on how the sums work out.

Gambette towards my eventual examination goals. 3As & 3Bs.... maybe I should get 6As instead. Should prove my worth to the counselor who rejected my INSTEP application to HK.

Kz, back to work...

Green You are a very calm and contemplative person. Others are drawn to your peaceful, nurturing nature. Find out your color at Quiz Me!

Haha~

result for the design and development project came out. Finally got my 1st B.... Not really an achievement, but considered good.

Will continue to work hard on my academics this Sem.

What a tough day, 3 tutorials in a go. Did not manage to finish all the tutorials but able to understand what the tutor is saying (think I should put in more effort in completing the tutorials before class)

Went for gym in the noon, did not sweat a lot but do I feel tired after finishing all the weights.

Oh, went for the violin practice today. Realised that I'm still not proficient in reading all the music notes. Require more practice. Tomorrow is eve of public holiday. Yea! Time for some fun before the serious work. A lab report is due next week, hopefully can finish it when I'm done with this Sat Full day Violin practice.

My first post for the week...

BUCK UP BUCK UP!

Wasted 2 days don't know doing what... Worst still missed my tutorial on Tues Morning. Sigh~
Nevermind. Persistance for the better will get me till the end. :)

Okay, enough of frustration, clean up and continue with tomorrow's 3 tutorial.

My new (somehow old) resolutions for this year
1. Get fit... meaning sheding 10kg off the scale (that means 70kg) , a targetted IPPT Silver and Marathon Timing of 5 hrs

2. Get at least 3 As and 3 Bs for this Semester. Will be achieveable as it's time for me to wake up. So complete all the tutorials and past years papers, don't forget to read up before classes.

3. My CCNA certification. This is way overdue.

4. Get an overseas exchange this year.

5. Read at least 1 self-help book a month.

6. Maintain this blog regularly. At least once a week.

More to come up as I complete some of these stuff in my list.

Another month has passed since I last updated my log. Many things have happened along the way, good and bad (kindda stupid, coz no one's life is a bed of roses)

Some summary of the things happened (for future reference... my future reference ie)
1. The irritating DDP is outta e way (quite lag as I didn't really put all my after office time into it. Haha~) actually, I kindda like to do these sort of projects, can learn more than just reading from the text; simply said - learn through application

2. Missed a large number of violin practice, need to catch up a lot if I were to perfrom in the String Ensemble's Concert.

3. Watched a lot TVs; especially after Cable is installed, my favs are 康熙来了 and 身体密码. Nice infortainments. Discovery, Animal World and National Geographic are also interesting Channels too.

4. Completed my first Marathon in a little over 7 hrs on 5th Dec. Makes me feel shag whenever I thought of it. Next year must work harder for a target timing of 5hrs.

5. A friend's sis got married, sort of reminded me that the bio clock is ticking real fast.

6. An interesting Christmas gone, went BBQing with the AEC gang, got a very cool thermo flask during the gift exchange. Plus Mahjong playing over the Christmas nite with friends

7. Nature made a very sad end to 2004, the Tsunami took away thousands of precious life.

8. A very sad thing. I need to retake 2 subj for the new semester. Indicating that I must buck up, well, time to stop the play and be SERIOUS.