SKi Trip

bonjour!

went to Tignes / Val D'isere to ski. Now I'm back and here are some pics.









Au revoir

taxes 2

i think the last time i said that the taxes in singapore and UK are comparable once you consider retirement funds. I was wrong. I now believe that the pension funds in UK are not governmental but by the employers as a form of employee benefits. I am not sure. So forget whatever i said. It was speculation on what i thought. So yeah. Singapore has lower taxes. a lot lower. but not as low as Hong Kong but close. UK and US have similar taxation. erm... anyway... i really dun know my stuff... so yeah. Was reading a book on the workings of the London market when i read something like that. that pensions are not given out by the government. Shouldnt have named figures when i have little knowledge on what i am talking about. Which brings the point on media responsibility and free speech. But thats not on my mind now. But i think that the media has too much power of sway aka propaganda. Which is dangerous since it can be pron to abuse. Nvm...

no school tomorrow. and computing test went great. ciao.

E-Paper and Tablet PCs

Was thinking about it. Tablet PCs have been around for like quite a long time and now we have e-paper or e-ink technology which consumes very little power, has no back lighting like LCDs so it does not tire your eyes after looking/ reading it for a while. It will be just like reading a book. Just wondering why doesn't someone combine the both?? If i had the know-how... I will do it. But i have no patents or knowledge on how this stuff works... so someone else will have to do it. I guess that person will be Japanese, as usual. Anyway, someone has probably already thought of it and is doing something about it already. I honestly expect to see it (e-paper tablets) in the next com-ex or the one after or soon enough.

To be more precise, I am talking about slate tablet PCs, not the convertibles which are the ones that look like laptops but have screens that swivel. Like the ones shown above. More precisely, i am referring to hybrids which are basically slate tablets that comes with stands (to place it upright on the table ) and with USB ports (which they should have anyway) for plugging in a keyboard and a mouse. Then if you like, you can like just disconnect the mouse/keyboard and carry the slate PC and use it with a stylus. Yup, tablets are getting more common place. But just imagine if they had e-paper screens instead of LCDs, you literally have a memo pad with an endless supply of "paper", restricted only by the size of your thumb-drive or SD card etc.!! E-paper technology is also not new and e-books are already on the market. Some are shown below. Its just that no one or cooperation has bridged the gap to make tablets use e-paper tech, to be easier on the eyes (and batteries), or make e-books as powerful and functional as tablet PCs.

Hmm... actually, i do not see why cant we replace all PC screens to e-paper screens and do away with LCDs altogether. Anyone who has ever used a computer knows that looking at a PC monitor screen for more than an hour (probably less) WILL cause eye strains... bad for eyes... bad for health... The good thing about e-paper is that there is no back light to cause eye strain. The displays rely on ambient light just like a normal book or piece of paper hence the name e-paper or e-ink (differing name due to marketing ploys from differing companies). So if you can read an interesting novel for hours on end... why not do that on PC (or mac). Macs are considered PCs too right?? The only problem that will arise is probably framerate. I don't think e-paper has a high enough frame rate, yet, for it to replace LCDs altogether. Then again, CRT monitors which have a higher frame rate than LCDs are practically obsolete now. So who knows. Let the geek in you dream on...

Haha.

Cheers,
Ben

vine(s)

been a long time since i last drew. kinda outta touch. hope u like the texture effect. colourful work to counteract the cold bleak weather outside.


Went to the Temasek Forum on sat. Was worth the time spent, surprisingly. Went there initially for the free lunch. Lunch ended up being the worst part of the day. The talk was insightful, i was inspired. Plenty of opportunities are coming my way. Anyway, have fun... God bless and good bye.

ben

Watz up

Hey,
Just to keep things up to date. And also i dun want the taxes stuff from the previous post to be hogging the top most post for too long. Not very nice to be talking about money and government(s). Can get touchy. I also will like to say that i did not do any research into the matter and do not claim responsibility for any of my statements in my previous post. Facts and figures are not drawn to scale, to put it in mech eng terms.
Anyway, as any Imperial MechEnger will definitely know; below is a pic of my pump project (minus screws and circlips, dun ask y). Its good that mech engineers get to play around with things mechanical once in a while and design something for the sake of it. Which is work but fun, honestly rewarding to get to the final product design. All that is left to do is to build it. I will rather be doing this than all those theoretical stuff like maths and heat transfer and thermo.... Hands-on work is the way to go. Throw those damn books away... dun remind me that i have progress test this friday... no pain no gain... no gain sounds real tempting. Not much to gain anyway. I have also watched 2 musicals. Dirty Dancing (which i feel is a waste of time (and money)) and Mary Poppins which was great! Haha... brings back memories... Used to watch the movie as a kid from those now-obsolete video cassettes. Both are virtually identical. It is sad that Mary Poppins will be closing in January. Pleasant musical that was.
Also went to Nottingham for notts games (a time where singaporeans in the UK wake up at 4am traveled 3-4 hours to meet at uni of nottingham to compete with each other and chalk up bragging rights, hopefully, and travel back again). It was fun? Played floorball, got da bronze medal, 3rd out of the 7 teams, not too bad... should have been better. Could definitely have been better.

Guy Fawkes day fireworks... managed to catch some of it... remember remember the fifth of november... boom... bang... powf... i am game for free fireworks anytime.
Its getting cold here. A lot colder den last year, looks like global warming is taking an extended summer break. Oh well, it will be sub 10 for the rest of the week. At least it is still above freezing. But den again, its only november, its technically not even winter yet. But winter is ambiguous, i admit. A space and time dependent variable, not to mention people dependent variable. Meaning different people at different places at different times will have different understanding of winter. Sub 10 at st. petersburg could possibly mean summer.
Anyway, i wanna sleep now. So God Bless and Good Bye.

Cheers,
Me

Singapore vs UK taxes!!

A:"Working in London is better den singapore, the pay is like so much better den in singapore. Even interns can expect to earn 2000-3000 pounds a month!"

B:"Yeah, but the taxes here in london are also so much "better". Like freaking 40%. Singapore is only 10%. so you effectively get more money working in singapore than here in london."

A:"True... its because of all the bloody pension schemes and welfare policies. haizz..."

B:"Yeah, singapore's CPF scheme is so much better. Why dun other countries learn from us?..."

This got me thinking. Is the CPF really a money saver compared to the pension scheme?? lets do the maths.

lets assume that your gross income is a value $X.
In singapore, the employer has to put an additional 16% to your CPF account. Increasing your effective income to $1.16X.
On top of that, you put another 20% ($0.20X) into your CPF as well as your 10% ($0.10X) tax. Hence the total amount that you put/pay to the CPF and taxes is $0.16X + $0.20X + $0.10X = $0.46X.
Now that we know your effective income ($1.16X) and the amount the you give to the government, be it in taxes or CPF, is $0.46X, we can now find out the effective payments/taxes to the government is $0.46X / $1.16X = 0.396
So, the total percentage that you give to the government for taxes or CPF is 39.6%
which is pretty much the same as that of the UK!!!
Sure, the CPF money is yours and you can choose to use some of your CPF money before you retire (remember that the money used to buy a flat goes back into a government board called HDB) . But the UK pension scheme payouts is yours too and are so much better than the CPF payouts. And you havent even considered the other benefits of a welfare state like free nation-wide heathcare (even for foreign students like me). So, both retirement schemes and taxations are essentially the same. It only differs in how and when you get your retirement money.

So the next time you think that singapore has a low income tax. Think again. Numbers dun lie. Politicians do.

Blogging... what else...

Changed the look of the blog. Like it?? Haha...

Well, i seem to have a lot of time on hand lately. Since i am back here in London. And i have also recently read three books, LKY memoirs, defending the lion city by tim huxley and freakonomics. Which is great! considering that the last time i read a book was probably in sec sch, which sadly seem like eons ago. Hated books and it doesn't help that you are a slow reader. I still remember for GP exams, when everyone else around me are flipping pages and scribbling stuff, i have yet to finish reading the first page. whats the hurry anyway??? So reading 3 books in the last month is an achievement no less. Although i have to admit that i din finish the LKY book ( which i read in Singapore)... it got boring and draggy half way thru. My dad got it for me like in JC in the hopes that i will read it and be 'inspired' or something. I finally read it last month, 4 years too late. It wouldn't have helped much anyway. Its after all a book about political history. Hows that relevant to singapore or a singaporean like me anyway??? *sniggers*

Interesting guy, LKY, kudos to him for making a great many right decisions for the young nation, well done. Its just too bad the book is pretty much a history book and quite irrelevant to present day singapore and the world. Interesting but irrelevant. I wonder what will singapore be like after LKY sleeps (forever). I believe it will be messier, but a lot more vibrant, more dynamic. Why? I think the cabinet will be more daring and experimental without him around. Besides, if the PAP continues its policy of keeping its MPs and ministers young (young as in 45-60 years old), which i think it will, daring and experimental will be the name of the game. I am also assuming that they will continue to hold power. I hope they do. Considering the state of the opposition, they better.

The most interesting book amongst the three will have to be freakonomics. It got me interested in economics. For a while. For a day. Or less... Engines, cars and machines are just way more interesting. =) There is much to learn here, from this book. Especially that things are never what they seem, its important to stand back and look at the bigger picture for yourself, first instincts are usually bad instincts and sadly usually unquestionably followed. Another point is that people are a lot more primal than what we like to believe. We humans are essentially machines driven by motives. We like to believe that we have a lot more control over our decisions and hence our lives than what is true. By understanding the motives and their environment, people become predictable. Thats the only reason why economists still have their jobs, the fact that people are predictable and thereafter manipulatable. Although the book does stress in the end that its not always true. People do like to practice their herd instinct but there will always be those who will go against the odds. Be it for better or for worse. Thats life. The beauty of it.

Bought tix to 2 musicals: mary poppins and dirty dancing. Which happen to be one day apart. Gearing myself for artistic overload.

church

Well, went to KT (kensington temple) for my first sunday in london. But last sunday, i decided to go to HTB (holy trinity brompton) instead because its nearer and i am lazy. The teaching at HTB was basically an anti-atheist message. I say teaching and not preaching because the service message felt like a biblical lecture/teaching rather than a powerful sermon. I was kinda disappointed. Because it once again ended up as a counter to richard dawkins. This must stop. 'The god delusion' is only a book by a man. Its a book by an atheist supporting atheism, which is invariably biased and which is to be totally expected. I basically heard the same old arguments all over again... boring... yawns... richard dawkins is so last year. His witty little book has attacked and offended much of the christian world. And he has gotten an equally vocal backlash from the church world wide. Now that thats over, can we please leave that poor old professor alone and get on with our life? our spiritual life? There is alot more to be learned from reading the bible than arguing with dawkins. What i am basically saying, is that next week i will probably be at KT. =) Sermons should be empowering and not mere reasoning. I am a christian not because of science, but because of everything science is not. Anyway as an engineer-to-be, there is undoubtedly too much science in my life as it is already. cheers.....

London

I am back in London. And my internet is up and running now. School is in full swing and tutorial are coming fast and furious. Its raining now too. Thats why i am here in my room typing my first blog entry in london. Anyway, was fortunate enough to get upgrade to first class (pictures below). And there pictures of my room and house too. Not bad i must say.

SQ first class seat!!

Me taking myself during turbulence

I just had to take a pic of this dessert. So nice!!

Our Kitchen

My room and bed then

My cosy bedroom now.

Anyway, i got no TV here and i dun think our household will be getting one. So looks like i am back to using my PC for entertainment again. The good old days of london is back. Seems to be colder this year than last year. Good thing that i am more experienced now and am more prepared. Cant wait for term to end. Sorry, i din take any more photos. I am just not the kind to carry a camera around snapping at all thats in front of me.

I also thank God for helping me get the top spot in my course, earning myself the Frank turner Wilson award for most outstanding student (and cash!!). I still remember cheekily asking (while blogging for the church webbie) to pray that i get it. And i got it. Speaks volumes.

Life is good. It can only get better. (hopefully)

update

hey... sorry about the lack of updates... kinda like 2 months already... so fast... but with cable tv, i guess there no longer exist the need to write about my thoughts for entertainment... one day soon, when i have the reason to do so (lack of reason to do anything else)... i will once again pen down my thoughts... because i dun think i will have a tv in london. which is a good thing... tv is so time-consuming... its unhealthy... made worse by 2 additional channels nat geo-hd and discovery-hd. giving 6 channels by nat geo and discovery, 11, 12, 71, 72, 301, 302...... oh and the history channel is interesting too... sorry for my taste of geeky tv... haha... i am just being an engineer... haha... but honestly, nat geo and discovery programmes are by far to most engaging and enlightening... bye

nice??

our take on art... modern art... expressionism... on the theme of souls... and it turned out great... better than all the practice runs... i am truely proud of it... all 7x4 feet of it... looks real pro... outstanding work coming from amateurs like myself... learnt a great deal too about art from jia yen's mum... about using the golden ratio... applying focal point(s)... brush techniques... concepts... texture... colour... style...

using the style of expressionism, the painting really grows onto you... the longer you look, the nicer it gets...

The A-Team...

Me giving my worth...

USS New Jersey...

heya... finally got down to doing something that i have been wanting to do since... hmm... JC? yup... to build a model battleship... wanted to get a japanese WW2 yamato-class battleship since its the biggest battleship ever... but cant find... so got an american iowa-class one here... USS BB-62 New Jersey... yeah... its beautiful and rich in detail... unlike the squarish flat-faced stealth frigates of today... it wont be as interesting building a stealth frigate as a WW2 battleship... haha...
Anyway, if you realise in the background is a poster that i got from my NS unit and company... hey... 41 glory... it was placed there on purpose since i found it fitting... army stuff with navy stuff... haha... the poster is really well done and professional... cool stuff... glad my oc decided to do it... brings back memories good and bad... haha... once armour always armour...

when it comes to modelling... battleships are the biggest you can get... at 771mm in length, i actually have no where to put this battleship for display other than my desk!!... my dad feels i should head down to ikea and get a display case... to prevent accidental damage to the model... anyway, its big and the satisfaction is even bigger... the only problem is that... as with everything else in life... you are never quite so satisfied... that even though you have done well... there will always be this feeling that you could have done better... the paint job could be better... the gluing could be neater... the devil is in the details (and that sux!!)... perfection can be achieved if only i wasnt so impatient... but i am impatient... ended up rushing to finish in a day and a half... thank god for quick drying glue and paint... just couldnt wait to see the end product... got a little sloppy at the end... but i am not going pro anyway... so that will do for now... =)
USS new jersey... it was decommissioned in 1991... making it the last war-ship of its kind to be decommissioned... putting an end to an era... huge battleships are now very obsolete... hopelessly unable to withstand against aircraft carriers and air-power... even during WW2... their huge guns and mighty firepower just cant match the speed and range of fighter-bombers...

Anyway... changed my blogskin too... now it looks professional... yeah??... haha... a little too professional looking for a blog perhaps...

Back Home

Well, just to do a little updating on da blog. Anyway, i am back in Singapore. Yup, i'm Singaporean born and breed. and proud of it. Its good to be back somewhere familiar... The year abroad was really about change. And change is always exciting.... Actually, nothing much has changed. London, apart from the surface, really isnt very different from Singapore. people are people be they English or Singlish... we are all, afterall, urbanites in a globalised society. Sure things are different. Lifestyle too may be different. But life itself hasnt changed. London may be 7 time zones away, but it doesnt feel far from home. I still do what i do. I still like what i like. I still am what i am. London hasnt changed me, not yet at least. Anyway, great to see friends, family and familiar faces. cheers!!!

Well, back in the comfort of home... I can finally watch TV, and more importantly cable, once again... and HDTV is here!! maybe i already got it before i left for london, but i cant remember... haha... but only got a few channels... what a waste... and the quality difference is actually quite visible... surprisingly... i initially thought that the difference would be subtle... well, its not very very very obviously... but after watching half an hour of hdtv and then switching back to the normal channels... the difference is really quite stark, extremely obvious... kinda like the difference between VCD and DVD... its kinda sad to think that not all channels have upgraded...

Another surprise is a new desktop... with the fabled windows vista... haha... cool... i finally get to see/use longhorn for myself... and honestly, other than some gimmickry, and nicer looks... its not much different from the XP... its still runs the same... feels the same... so just for its sleeker looks, it may not be worth its buck... some say it copies the OS X... i say it copies the XP... but its ok... i dun like macs anyway... went to the mac store on regent street before i flew back... and honestly, it was big, airy, nice, beautiful and erm... a little too white... ipods, imacs, ibooks and iTV all look the same... i went on to try the imacbook... and was quite sad that the double tap function on the mouse pad doesnt work... i actually had to move my thumb into an unusual position to press that one single button below the mouse pad to click the icon i want clicked... anyway, i should not judge mac based on that encounter, but it disappointed me after just 10 secs... i did see one thing that i really liked though... i am not sure what it is called... iSomething... but it is a flat screen LCD with the CPU behind it in a flat layout... looked really cool... kinda like a tablet laptop PC with the screen facing out... only a lot bigger, sleeker and whiter and ready to hang on a wall... cool... i think it will look great on my wall... haha... the ultimate desktop replacement... anyway... back to vista... for me, the coolest thing about it is the voice recognition. its quite good... with the occasional mistakes... but it works fine... although its not quite up to standard when it comes to dictating... with the inevitable dictation mistakes and correction needed... i think it will be faster to type... maybe its my singlish accent... i dun know... but for simple commands it is great!.. say if i am going thru my e mails... and i decide to open firefox... i just say "open firefox"... and firefox is up and running... going to the start menu to open firefox is no longer necessary!!... and instead of clicking that small little live messenger icon... i can just say "open messenger" and done... cool!.. surprisingly not much mistakes/misunderstanding here... but there are problems with effective voice recognition... for example... do not listen to the radio when voice reg is on... do not surf websites/blogs which have loud music when voice reg is on ... and do not watch downloaded tv shows when voice reg is on... or unwanted voice commands will be perceived by the comp... programmes will be opened and closed without your consent!!!... but it is still cool... kinda like barking commands to your obedient dog... hahaha

ok... apart from TV and PC... i have been meeting up with good old friends... living the life... talking about life... and have done a fair bit of shopping for clothes since many of them are still in london... GSS comes just when i needed it!! haha... God is good... everything planned out perfectly... haha... anyway... i am planning to buy and build a model battleship... i feel kinda too old for it already... but it will be cool... hopefully i can find a yamato-class battleship... the baddest ship with the biggest guns of WW2... i think it still holds the record of having the biggest naval guns to date... anyway... hopefully i can get down to it... its been years since i wanted to get it done...

cheers

well, i will be back home in like another 4 days? yup, haha... great!! cant wait to see how much singapore has changed. i bet it has...

was packing... and now my room looks like really empty... doesnt feel like my room anymore. having boxes lying around is really foreign... its sad to see my room in such a state. but cant help it...

and all the security stuff about heathrow is like not good for health... it just paranoia... its so unpredictable... so i guess i will just have to play safe and be there early... and i hate not knowing what to expect... haiz..

it reminds me of a personality report... where the biggest point it made that i disagreed the most is that it said that i work better around rules... which at that time seem like absolute bullshit... b'cos i hate rules... i always felt that rules are there as a restriction... as a limitation... but now that i think about it... maybe i was wrong then... maybe the rules that they referred to has got nothing to do with the usual connotations like school rules and regulations and the strong arm of law... but more like unwritten rules... like expectations... and in that sense, maybe i do work better with rules...

well... the thing is... rules are there to set boundaries and limits... and that should impede growth and my potential right??.. logical?? so how in the world can i work better with rules? well, i guess that although rules tend to restrict... they also liberate in a way by setting, and more importantly making known, the boundaries... in the sense that now that i think about it... i think that i am more comfortable when i know what is right and what is wrong... when i know the limit and boundaries... when "the mine fields have been clearly marked out"... it just give a sense of confidence... i guess... knowing what is and isnt expected of you and everyone else... yup... it thereafter gives you the freedom to explore those boundaries before you start pushing the boundaries... and maybe, for me, not having rules or any known expectation is kinda like treading in uncharted waters... knowing that you may accidentally make an unknowing mistake... which sux... bcos, by not knowing the rules... i would naturally take a more cautious position... and this is what will impede my potential...

i guess i wrongly dismissed that personality report... and now that i know it... i guess i can try my best to put it into good use... by doing my best to identify the rules and expectations first before engaging in stuff... it will be my resolution... even though its not new year... i just hope that i will remember what i wrote here on this post... because like many other good things in life... they somehow always manage to drift into the background... and disappear forever... hopefully this one doesnt... and it wont if i work on it...

blog

hmm.. decided to change the look of my blog a bit. got bored with the old look. hope it doesnt look too winterish... cos is summer already... haha...

anyway, less than a week before i arrive in singapore. now i am passing the time by watching friends and packing...

just a thought

anyway, about all these post on the electric car and stuff... i really do not want you to think that i have become an environmentalist. although caring for the environment is good and really important and responsible, i think that using green technology for its novelty is stupid. its just that with rising oil prices, its now time for alternative fuels to take main stage. so to me, the main plus point of green tech is not just environmental, but being economical and more importantly, being sustainable economically in the distant future.

was just thinking about this, as in burning fossil fuels like causes global warming and stuff. but if you think about it, all these fossil fuel comes from plants and animals of a long-gone era and basically, they got their carbon based fuel stuff from carbon dioxide in the air too. so burning fossil fuels will simply return the carbon dioxide into the air. sure the temp will rise greatly. but i think that life on earth will survive. to think about it, a higher temp will encourage cold-blooded animals to thrive and it kinda seems that maybe thats why those huge cold-blooded reptiles called dinosaurs used to thrive. hmm... but i can be wrong... anyway, maybe what killed the dinosaurs is global-cooling cumulating in an ice age, "the day after tomorrow" style. and not an asteroid. and maybe in an ironic twist, global warming will bring back large reptilian populations like giant komodo dragons and the monster croc. etc... while killing off the mammalian species like us humans... well... just a crazy idea... that does make some sense (to me at least). but dun trust an engineering student on such an issue... yup... just trust that when global warming does hit... better air-conditioning technology will be on the way!! hahahaha.... just joking...

cheers.

the rebirth of the electric car

well, i cant really fully express/explain myself with the chatbox... but i feel that i should tell everyone why i believe that electric cars and more specifically, battery electric cars will take off... firstly, you should know that at the beginning of automobile history, both electrics and gas cars were on the road... both were very inefficient and very expensive vehicles for the rich... in fact... for a time, there were more electric cars than there were gas cars... then henry ford revolutionised car production with the "factory line" and mass production, and all of a sudden, gas cars became much cheaper than electric cars. technological advancement in the internal combustion engine also improved much faster than battery and motor technology. oil was also very abundant then. and the rest is history.

however, as oil prices increases and that the internal combustion has shown no signs of change/improvement other than getting bigger, gas cars will get more and more expensive. global warming is also an issue and i foresee more tax incentives for zero-emission cars like electrics than there already are. I also see more taxes on carbon-footprint in the future.

on the other hand, with technological improvements like the CPU, out-running brushless DC motors, super-capacitors and the lithium-ion polymer batteries etc.. electrics now make a lot of sense... economically and environmentally as well...

some cool features of electrics are that other than washing the car and changing tires, there is really no oil to change, no filter to clean, no servicing needed... when the car breaks down... just call a mechanic or electrician or whatever... if anyone owns cars... you should know how irritating and costly it is to send a car for 100/500/1000 hour servicing... doesnt it sux to have to send your car to the mechanic when it is still working fine? that stops when you drive electric...

also with regenerative braking, your range on the electric car extends by up to 30% with no extra charge... instead of braking to produce heat... you brake to produce electricity... your motor is also generator... which means better for the flora and fauna too.. also, there is no idling on an electric... when your car stops... the motor stops... no waste of energy... which is great for start stop driving in the city... like singapore... or london... or any city...

that said... everyone knows that the car industry is very very slow when it comes to electrics... and you cant blame them... its a total shift of paradigm for them... of all the electric supercars that i showed you... none were made by car giants... although one was made in collaboration with lotus... in fact one of them, the wrightspeed X1 was built in silicon valley!! this is the stuff of high tech electronics... dun think of cars as mechanical things anymore... think of it as mechatronics... mechanical-electronic devices... thats how big a paradigm shift electrics are... so if you want to buy a cheap mass produced electric... it might take a while... although car makers are looking into it... i have given examples... also expect new players in the car market when electrics kick in... actually, there already are new players in the market... but they are kind of the high-end side of the market... so if you planned to buy a ferrari... why not consider a tesla roadster instead... afterall, it goes from 0-60 faster than a ferrari 360... looks cool too... the poser-value/smug-factor of an electric super car is higher too... haha... buying an electric super car just reads 'i am rich and i care for the environment too'... how smug is that!!... haha... ok... thats not exactly a plus point... but it just illustrates the poser-value...

other than buying an electric car, there are many (in the US) who are building their own electric cars or converting petrols into electrics... because electrics are really simple (if you are not looking for high performance or breaking speed records)... connect batteries to motor and connect motor to wheel... thats about it... its basically just a larger version of the common remote control car you got on your 9th birthday... the development of the in-wheel motor is also interesting and i think thats what the future should be... check out the hy-wire by GM or the mini QED's in-wheel motor by PML... with the motors in each wheel themselves... there is no longer a need to house an engine... and this will revolutionise car design... also more space for passangers...

anyway... i could go on... but its getting too long for a follow-up post...

cheers

Jascha Heifetz plays Paganini Caprice No. 24

you know... like a one or two weeks back... i watched this documentary on Niccolo Paganini... an extremely interesting character... anyway... i found this on youtube and it is crazy... it starts off fine... with the usual classical stuff... the starting sounds really familiar too... but after the halfway mark, it gets more and more crazy... cool stuff... and if you think that hammering and pull-offs are a modern rock guitar technique... hah! you are so wrong... paganini did it 200 years ago on a violin!... and since violins do not have frets like guitars... just imagine the precision required... yup... its crazy classical stuff...

anyway... since paganini existed before the time of videos and youtube... heres a video of Jascha Heifetz playing one of paganini's caprice.

anyway... just find on youtube this like 9 parts of a documentary on niccolo paganini... interesting... and there is also versions of this song by vanessa mae but i find this un-modernised and unadulterated version better.

Comedy

I like comedy... I mean... come on... who doesnt like a laugh... but there is one thing i hate... vulgar comedy... have you even seen those comedies or comedians that use vulgarities like nothing?? sure its kinda funny... but its cheap... and if you/it needs to resort to vulgarity to be funny... den its not so funny... and its cheap... i am not trying to be holier than thou... but its true... i cant stand it...

ok let me explain... vulgarity is basically strong language... or language that hits your nerve... and they are powerful words... i mean... lets admit it... saying 'very good' isnt as strong/powerful as saying 'f***ing good' !! i mean... as civilised as i like to think i am... vulgarities just f***ing works... and hence... in the same way that the f-word works to make your words stronger... it also works to make your jokes funnier... yeah... and hence if you have to resort to using vulgarities in your jokes... den i say that they arent very good jokes in the first place... geddit??? yup... precisely... cheap jokes...

anyway... this is bill cosby... funny guy... you know... someone once said about comedians... "its not the jokes... its the delivery... " good clean funny show thats high on the feel good factor... http://www.tv-links.co.uk/show.do/4/2578 ... yup.. bill cosby in 1983

Internal combustion engines? A time for change.

Hmm... its a long time since i have blogged. Well, remember almost half a year ago, i said that diesel cars were better than petrol in terms of both money and environment? well, forget about it. That was a long time ago and is now old news. Now, think electric cars. I know that there are some prejudice against electric cars. Thinking that they are slow with low range. But things have changed, technology is improving. Thanks to big name companies and electronic giants that produce your laptops and handphones, the cost of a control unit and lightweight high-capacity batteries are now getter not just better, but cheaper too. Below are some cars.

Ok, you should note that the electric cars that i have chosen to show are top of the range and are really expensive. But considering that they can accelerate as fast or faster than a ferrari or porche. I guess that a similar price range is acceptable. As a comparison, the Ferrari 360 Modena with a 3.6 litre V8 engine producing over 300 kW (400bhp) of power accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 4.3 secs. And the Porche Carrera GT is powered by an all-new 5.7 litre V10 engine producing 612 DIN (605 SAE) horsepower (450 kW) and Porsche claims it will accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62.5 mph) in 3.9 seconds. Now compare:

AC propulsion Tzero

300 mile (480 km) range per charge. 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds.

The Venturi Fetish
0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds. a range of 220 miles a single charge.

Tesla Roadster
0-60 mph (100 km/h) in about 4 seconds, able to travel more than 200 miles (322 km) on a single charge.

Wrightspeed X1
0-60 in 3.07 secs! The only production petrol car that can beat that timing is the 1000 horsepower, 16-cylinder, 4 turbochargers, 8 litre engined monster called the Bugatti Veyron at 2.46 secs. Another thing is that X1 is not yet a production car but is an experimental car. It is however just a conversion of an Ariel Atom sports car into an electric car. Probably an expensive 'home-built' project. Anyway its makers have started a company and a production model may come soon.

As with all cars, there are pros and cons to the electric vehicle.

the pros are that sports car like performances are easily attainable, efficiency is great, electricity is a lot cheaper than petrol or diesel (a 150 km charge will cost you less than 3 bucks), little or no maintenance is required (no more 100 hour-servicing!!), of course with overnight charging, you need not spend time at the petrol station anymore ( its just plug and play!) and you do all that while saving the environment. On top of all that, electric cars are very simple compared to huge internal combustion engines, transmission, drive-train etc... in fact, its so simple that people (amateurs) are able the convert their everyday cars into electrics in their own backyard!! Thats why huge car companies should be afraid of electric cars. If amateurs can built their own cars, who needs huge expensive car companies to do it for them!

The cons are that despite their quick accelerations, their top speeds are usually lower than petrol cars at 150 mph or about 200 km/h (for top end electrics) while petrols can reach up to 200 mph and the bugatti veyron can reach 252 mph (400 km/h) which is faster than an F1 racer can go!!! Anyway, 200km/h is more than enough for you to get into jail. The range is shorter, but being able to charge overnight while you sleep, it is really a blessing in disguise. And although the cost of maintenance is very low, the initial cost is very high. Batteries are the culprit here but since the batteries uses everyday laptop-battery technology. There is already a market and economic push towards cheaper better batteries. The cost and performance of batteries will continue to improve.

Some people claim that electric do not reduce green house gases but only transfer them to the oil-burning power plants. However, you must note that power plants are a lot more efficient than car engines. Think about it: car engines are tuned and designed for both efficiency and more importantly, a good power-to-weight ratio. And as you know, there are weight limitations to a car engine that also limits its efficiency. However, power plants have no such weight limitations and efficiency is the most important factor here. Thermodynamic efficiencies for power plants (~80%) are about twice that of typical car engines (~45%). And thats not even considering renewable resources like hydro power from dams, wind and solar power etc...

Also, hydrogen fuel cell cars are hot technology. But i have my doubts. Firstly, fuel cells are complicated and thats why huge car companies want you to buy them... there is no way you can build a fuel cell car in your home garage. And unlike batteries which are common-place in laptops and so many other goods, fuel cells can only be applied to vehicles. So fuel cell prices will take longer to drop. more importantly, you will still have to find a hydrogen pump station to fill up your tanks, unlike the easy overnight charge of battery electrics. Also, no one said that hydrogen is going to be cheap. And one other point, hydrogen production requires large amount of electricity, so dun be fooled, its only as environmentally friendly as your battery electric car.

Anyway, the future is uncertain. Maybe it will be wrong to say that only one type of car will succeed the internal combustion engine. in the future, i believe that all types of cars, be it old-fashioned internal combustion engined, battery-electrics and fuel cell cars will co-exist on the roads... whatever the case, it will be exciting. And right now, battery-electrics seem the most promising to me, simply because in the long run... its cheaper. more so as oil prices rises. (not forgetting the environmental benefits too). Who knows, one day i might just follow the pioneers and build my own battery electric car. there are already many websites on how to do it. cool stuff... so building your own electric car is not new... and battery electric cars make a lot more sense in start-stop city driving conditions like in singapore. And i always wanted to build my own hobby car and its more possible now than ever before... the problem is time, money and space. Anyway, the future as always is exciting.

cheers.

F1 singapore

the news is out... we have all heard it... the question is... when where and how do i get the tix?? and i hope that it will be in sept and not in oct... or it will clash with the school term... i dun wanna decide between school and f1... it will be sad to miss either... so just make it in sept... all singapore imperialist will thank you...

other than that... the london weather is once again living up to its name... spring is nice?? i take that back... from the way its pouring... its feels like back home... only a lot colder...

spring!

haha... some people might recognise this... its spring!! hey... hope u like this drawing...

its 8 but it feels like 5... all these seasonal stuff is unreal... makes me feel jet-lagged.......

its also the season for pollen grains to fly into your eyes... take a deep breath and smell the warm, fresh *cough* *cough*... haha... now you have pollen/seeds in your lungs... pray they dun germinate in their now warm moist environment... haha... joking... studying is a waste of spring... no wonder tourism booms in summer... and although i am getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep a day... i still feel tired... i think it is the early morning sunlight that is destroying my rest... natural light pollution... i realise the importance of a good curtain... a good thick one... i also realise that i lack one... do i need one?? or do i want one?? i dun know... but i know this... i wont get one... not soon enough or never... anyway... thank God for spring... spring is nice... winter only makes it nicer...

cheers

dishes and forks

while washing up after cooking lunch... i was trying to do a better job at dish-washing... but realise that there is actually no way... or rather no efficient way to clean the fork... as in between the 4 pointy-stuff... spooks... i have no idea what you call them... anyway... its dirty... and i bet yours are dirty too... so i think that we should all get rid of forks and use chopsticks for the advancement of human hygiene... either that or someone invent fork floss... or something easier than having to use a sharp object to clean inside...

cheers

mac

you know... i am actually quite irritated by those mac ads with the cool guy and the office nerd... i mean... its not true... macs are not that cool... and all these marketing is wrong... so wrong...

ok... let me explain... so lets just say that you succumb to steve job's marketting ploy and decided to buy a macbook... pro... lets say... and so you decide to use it... duh... and everything looks like so so cool... there are widgets everywhere... the docking function is so visual... and the nice bright white apple logo is so nice... cool... excellent... den you decide to use the lappie for what it was intended to do... firstly to work on... so what do you use?? microsoft office!!!... what?? yeah!! ... mircosoft office for mac!!! it took steve so long to realise microsoft office's superiority... which is good now that macs have joined the bandwagon... but do you really think that the office for mac is better and has more features than the actual microsoft office for windows??.. i dun think so.. but its fine... it may not be as good...but it still works...

but work is boring so you decide to be fun and cool like your new macbook... and you want to play fun and cool games... den disaster strikes... you suddenly realise that despite all the ads saying that mac is so fun and so cool... the only game that is available for you to play on the mac is like what... lemonade tycoon 2003!!... haizz... ooo... how fun!!??... @%*!$%&... hahaha... for starters... all the coolest funnest games out there all run mainly on windows... and even if there really were *gasps* a cool fun game for macs... you will be severely handicapped... why?? simple... you cant right-click like the rest of us can... bwrahaha... we'll be breezing through game play by right-clicking, left-clicking, scrolling, etc etc... while you will have to click... click and hold... and click while pressing the apple icon... haha... its sad... so ok... fine... you cant play cool fun games... so you resort to playing with the cool docking function and the widgets you have... haha... pitiful... sad... and i understand... (not really)... *smirk*... now thats fun and cool for you...

so now that you are stuck with a mac... you try to justify the 500+ bucks more you payed for this cool looking thing... so looking around you find that you got... widgets!!... but i have yahoo widgets... haha... you got safari... i got firefox (although i prefer and usually use IE 7)... you got itunes... so do i... you can dock... so can i... its just not as "cool" and visual... so where did your 500+ bucks go?? to steve and his marketing... yup... the sorry truth...

now that you look at it... the only plus point of the mac is its poser value... the new macbooks run on intel... like all PCs have a long time ago... (what took apple so long!!)... and they dont even make their own laptops... asus got contracted to build the new macbooks... and fyi... i currently own an asus lappie for like 700 bucks less than the macbook of equivalent specifications and performance... so really... what you are paying for is the OS X... but you still end up using microsoft office... you cant play games... and any other cool software that the OS X provides... have been legally copied and modified for PC use... haha... vista... and if its not already copied by mr gates and co. ... it will be copied and improved by all the free open source software out there... like yahoo widgets... firefox... so really... what you are getting is a poser... cool on the outside... but an empty vessel... its marketting... its the poser value...

the real reason (i feel) that PCs and windows are in much wider circulation... is the fact that unlike steve... bill actually sells windows or office to anyone who wants to buy it... while steve will only sell OS X with a mac... and whats worse... instead of opening up OS X to the pc market... steve decides that macs should run on both OS X or windows... haiz... stupidity... so even macs buy windows too... its rediculous... tragic...

if thats not good enough for you... then let the statistics proof my point... last year... despite steve job claims of record breaking sales... macs merely hold less than 3% market share... i mean.. so many people cant be wrong... and even if they are... with so many more people on PCs... there will definitely be so much more support centres, software and products catered to the pc user as compared to the mac user... its just economics and the rule of democracy... and if evolutionists were right... macs are as good as extinct...

anyway... i am enjoying myself slamming mac... but of course... no offense to those who already have a mac... because it really looks cooler and erm... yeah... it just looks cooler... too bad i cant play games with you via network or web... i havent downloaded lemonade tycoon yet... haha... sorry... i couldnt help... haha

so moral of the story is... be smart... save 500 bucks... buy a pc... and thereafter pamper yourself with a new phone... haha... and speaking of phones... the iphone is like the latest news.... but dun be fooled by the hype and everything... because iphone... is old technology... yes... i repeat... stone-age technology... the first thing that comes to mind (for me) of the iphone is... its looks just like the O2 xda II mini which has been in the market since 2004 or earlier... and unlike the iphone where the only way to use the phone is to touch screen and leave finger prints everywhere... the xda gives you the option of either stylus or finger... but of course... functionality aside... the iphone is newer... and hence looks and feels newer... and once again... you cant deny its cool poser value... ooo... haha...

yup... so when it comes to macs or pc... its about form or function... and when it comes to technology... i think it just makes more sense to choose function over form... and if you want both... let me just say that form-wise... there are just so many more options going for pc than macs...

so you decide...

i cant wait for it to start... and i cant wait for it to end... its like a concert... a performance... a musical competition...

you learn your craft... you study the scores... and you improve your skills...
you practise your piece... you know it by heart... and you go through the rehearsals...
then the time comes... and you're finally on stage...
you show off your skills... and you warrant your wage...
then as it started... it has ended... ...
everyone on stage relieved... everyone off stage is pleased... you smile... you bow... and you take your leave...

they will never know how hard you practised... never know how much you sweat... they will never remember the troubles you faced... never remember the setbacks you had... to them... all that ever mattered... was that hour you staged... to them... your worth has been decided... by that song you just played...

you cant turn back the clock... correct the mistakes you made... because your worth has been decided... and so has your fate...

if there is one thing that joining the school band has taught me... it is this... the world does not reward hard work or effort... all that is ever rewarded is the minutes in concert...

the same goes for exams, interviews, presentations etc... ... all the hard work and preparation accounts for nothing... if the results are poor and you're under-achieving... a man is judged by his fruits... as the bible rightly puts... people have claimed that results are not everything... but they are wrong and it is a lie... because when it comes down to results... all that counts is what and not why...

i know that i have put in the effort... that i have run the race... but in 2 weeks time... for each paper i still need Your grace... and i pray that You will be with me... because if You are for me... then who can stand against me!!!!!... oh yeh!!... and amen...

cool stuff on trip

The first sign of greece... erm... literally... haha... ok... let me say something about the greek language... pi-alpha-lambda-omega-sigma-ro-epsilon... haha... greek will drive us engineers mad!!.. density 3.142 wavelength summation stress... wait wait!!... i dun understand!!... argghh... shut'up!!.. haha... ok ok... lame... but i suddenly see the link between greek and geek ... haha... haizz.. reminds me that my exams are less than a month away... haizzz... sianzz sianzz... pi-alpha-lambda-omega-sigma-ro-epsilon... .. ...

The greek guards... tunic.. skirt... tights... and check out those shoes!!! haha... yes... i know... they look totally gay... agreed... i seriously doubt that the greek army will ever re-live the glory days of alexander da great... com'on... just look at them... haha...

Ever wondered why ancient greek statues are usually head-less??? .. well... here is your answer... they are all here!!... this museum has a head fetish... no... seriously...

Arte di contemporari... heh... the definitive italian underground... and this is not an isolated case... almost every tube train is like that... and not just one carriage but the whole length of the train!... i have one word... colourful... two words... very colourful...

Ok... this building is breath-taking... it is huge... super-sized... yeah... just to give you a sense of its atrocious size... just see how tiny the people (at the near bottom of the pic) are compared to this structure... insane!!!!...

another huge structural atrocity commited here at st paul's cathedral... another famous cathedral... just check out the size of the column in relation to the man taking photo!!... and the top of column is not even the ceiling yet!!... madness... clearly, catholic fore-fathers have nothing better to do...

Ok... this is gorgeous... the most beautiful hall way i have ever seen!!... after opening the door... you enter the hallway and your jaw just free-falls... and everyone around you has the same reaction... with their jaws on the floor... yup... no joke... ok... some background info... this hallway leads to the sistine chapel... the people at the vatican really know how to wet your appitite!...

Hey hey!! guess who else was at rome!... it was man u vs roma!... haha... and not as if the easter crowds were bad enough... man u decided to bring their beer-bellied fans along... haha anyway...no... i din watch... which was a good thing since there was a riot in the stands during the match... saw it on the italian news...

St Peters Basillica... the biggest nicest cathedral in the world... yup... check out this huge magnificent architectural master-piece... designed by michelangelo himself... no less... yup... and thats me at the bottom of the pic waving both hands in the air...

i must say... the weather at vatican city was especially 'holy' when i was there... the sun's rays through the clouds is just... ooo... holiness.... haha... nice pic... can just about hear the angels sing... haha... ok ok... joking...

notice anything??... had too much to drink??... seeing double?? ... oh well... all i can say is that two is better than one... apparently... haha.... according to my friend... the two aint identical... one is circular... the other more eplitical... just so that they will look identical at the centre of the square... anyway... i cant tell the diff... so it works!!.. that or i cant be bothered...

haha... check out the swiss guards!!... haha... a.k.a. holy jesters... haha... sorry... couldnt help it... anway... on a serious note... they used to serve as the pope's personal body guard... today they are ceremonial... yeah... these costumes uniforms are at least 500 years old... also designed by michelangelo ... who was clearly no fashionista...

I guess its not just christians who celebrate easter... haha... guess who else was at the st peters basillica... the dalai lama's representitives!!... oommmmm.... haha... hmm... interesting...

ok... this shot is illegal... technically... no photos allowed... but as u can see... it was poorly reinforced... anyhow... this is the celebrated and original statue of david... hero of the renaissance... yup... once again... presenting michelangelo... yeah... his works seem to be everywhere...

Fall!.. tower... fall!!... haha... everyone at pisa just have to take this kinda shot... pretending as if they could hold up the tower... haizz... so this photo was kinda taken out of tradition... lesson learnt: engineering failures can be favourable...

just to show you how bad the tilt of the leaning tower is... yup... its very bad... close to 10 degrees maybe??.. but not to worry... here comes moderning engineering to the rescue... the top part of the tower has been straightened to shift the CG back in... you can see from the previous picture that the tower actually curves upwards... yup... the view from the tower top was beautiful too... :)

florentinian street artist... and there are lots of them around... this one looks japanese... but i din ask... so dun take my word... nice drawing though...

finally... the venetian sunset... the sun... sea... and city... awwww... so beautiful.... its venice... could you expect any less??... anyway... this pic is currently my desktop pic... until next time...

ciao

Trip

Greece: Day 1 to Day 3

Greece

Athens

The olympic stadium and the view on top of a tall hill/short mountain... it was tough climbing up to the top of the hill... felt like a marathon... ok... i exaggerate... but the view was great... din know greece was so built up... always had the idea that athens was an ancient city in ruins... oh well... i was wrong... but there was little town planning i must say... the streets look like Johor Bahru... Nevertheless... seeing the city amongst hills, mountains and coasting the mediterranean... it was beautiful... and the breeze was great... The olympic stadium is not an ancient find but modern... but is quite old... as in a couple of centuries old i think... i dun know its details but one thing i know... its made of marble and is very grand... greece, if you dun know is actually very hilly and its not surprising should marble be a common commodity... it is unique in that for an ancient cradle of civilisation... i dun remember any river that flows through athens... a common sight for any other ancient city in the world... which is wierd... oh well... kudos to the athenians...

Greeko teenage hobby

Vandalism is a problem... but sometimes... it isnt... If only bored adolencents would take up art class before roaming the streets... greece would be so much better... Either that or buy them a TV...

Parthenon

Heh... now this is the athens i always felt it should be... ancient and in ruins... i wasnt expecting the restoration work and scalfolding though... it just spoils everything in the name of restoration... Anyway... the buildings (or whats left of them) are huge with a capital H U G E.... i would guess about 4 to 5 storeys high... the ancients really have nothing better to do but build big stuff... haha... once again... the lack of a TV leads men to greater deeds... haha... piles and piles of hand crafted and meticulously placed white marble... it was awe-inspiring and incredible... just standing there was humbling for me... i wonder what would the ancients have felt... it must be supernatural... the work of zeus himself!!

Acropolis

hey... more ancient stuff... well... all i can say is that i pity the statues... where have all the heads and noses gone??... haha... go wiki and find out... i think wiki has info about it... anyway... the problem is there really isnt much left of this ancient greek city... a few stones here and there and they say it was the temple of zeus... i saw a water well... the sign read.. "ancient water clock"... haha... i dun trust historians... and history is what we want it to be... maybe those stones here and there are part of an ancient toilet and not some great temple or forum... and maybe that water hole is just a humble well... i mean why use a water clock when u can just use a simple sun dial... anyway... the place is full of history... and it is the place where democracy and the modern western education system stems from... rich in culture... a once great city... its great to stand there and soak up the atmosphere... but i admit that a lot of imagination is required...

Santorini: Day 4 to day 5

Santonini

The famous island with all the blue and white houses!! its santorini and they must really love their national colours... haha... but it really looks mediterranean... the blue and white is also very calming and peacful... very nice... relaxing... honey-mooners paradise too... its beautiful and rightly so... the beaches there are black sand beaches... interesting... and the crescent shaped island is the top of a volcanic crater flooded with crystal blue sea water... clearly santorini has both natural and man-made beauty... too bad the water is still too cold to swim in... but at least we beat the summer tourist crowd... and the frenzy and price hike that comes along with them... haha...

Day 5 and 6 were spent on the road or on a boat... :( ... i will never do that again...

Napoli and Pompei: Day 7 to Day 9

Napoli

Well... napoli or naples was and still is an important port... and unlike many of the touristy places where the local economy have eroded to point of being totally dependent on tourism... naples is growing and expanding... becuase it was always such an important port... it has buildings with architecture from every century and age... castles, fortification, cathedrals, modern stadiums, etc... its nice... the people are friendly and the vespas are crazy... reckless driving is the norm... but anyway... its a beautiful bustling city... with rich architecture... with lots of piazzas (squares), parks and fountains to make your just that much better... a city-port with a dense history... and future as well...

Pompeii

Pompeii and a photo of her patron volcano... haha... ok... not exactly patron but they come together... of course, natural disasters are terrible stuff... but if it has not been that ultra think layer of hot ash that covered the ancient city... pompeii would not have been one of, or even the best, preserved archeological site in the world... shedding light on what life was roughly like... giving those historians much to talk and discuss about... both greek and roman architecture can be seen here... and i guess this city must have been culturally rich until its demise... but i am no historain... so dun take my word for it...

Rome and Vatican City: Day 9 to Day 12

"All roads lead to Rome" and hence, after travelling, we inevitably find ourselves there... and anyway since its easter break in europe... we decided we might as well find benedict!...

Rome!

The Coloseum!!

Officially known as the Flavus Amphi-theater... Commonly known as the Coloseum... and known by the ancients as Stadio di World Wrestling Entertainment... hmm... haha... lame... ok... fine... i know... anyway... the coloseum is huge... probably as big as modern day stadiums... its sad that much of the original marble is gone and what you mostly see are reconstructions from restoration works... its sad... just imagine it to be entirely made of marble... and it was all thnx to popes of past who are too lazy to dig up new marble and decided to go green... reduce, reuse and recycle marble from the coloseum... haizz... the vatican city is made from recyled materials... but still... the coloseum is big and grand... and a structural achievement... i can only imagine it in its glory days and state...

Vatican City... St Peter's Basilica

benedict's residence/workplace... and i must say that this is huge!!... its just natural instinct that when you enter... you will look up and go "wwaahhhh"... drool all over the floor... clean the floor and repeat... its magnificent... a grand palace for his holiness... just take the pic on the bottom left... look at the people and use them as a scale for the building ... den realise how huge and high the cathedral is... and then drool, clean and repeat... haha... anyway... its humbling just to stand at the grandeur of it all... its marvelous... its like stepping into the presence of God... but then u realise that this is all the work of man and not of God... and hence you carry on taking photos... haha... we went there on good friday eve... aka thursday... and there was a service... a lot of different kinds of costumes for different kinds of priest and nuns... but the theme seems to be black or white... lots of people... lots of security... and the swiss guards... haha... the nicest costume of them all... will show the pic next time...

Vatican Museums and the Sintine Chapel
Very nice, lots of art, every wall got art... even the ceiling got art... the pope and his merry men like art a lot... very artsy... and they also like statues of naked men and women... lots of them too... haha... just joking... i am sorry but no photos were allowed in the sistine chapel... however you could buy mass-copied photos at the book shop at the exit... haha... commercialism at its most holy... haizz... i say make a whip and chase these merchandising from church courts... and make entry free for people like me!!.. heh...



Pantheon and other stuff
Aparently this is famous... its a catherdral... its still in use... and its crowded...

oh... and check out that zebra crossing... its at least 5 lanes long... no traffic lights... just stripes on the road... and cars will actually give way once you have enough confidence to step out onto this busy junction at a busy round-about... another thing about italian roads... they dun have driving lanes!!! wth!!!... it is own time own target... create as many lanes as you want!... surprisingly, i never witnessed any accident... this is truely the land of ferrari and alfa-romeo...

Florence and Pisa: Day 12 to Day 14

Florence
Another arty farty place...but by this time... its was culture overload... anyhow... it was great to see works of leonardo and michangello and filipino lipi and other great arty farty people... the city itself was beautiful and filled with tallented buskers (and not-so-talented illegal piraters... Gucci/Prada handbags for 30 euros anyone??)... you tot piracy in Singapore was bad... you are so wrong... at least the singapore police have the authority to catch and jail piraters... the italiano polizio are only here to play a cat and mouse game... polizio come, piraters go... polizio go and the piraters are back in half a second... it was funny watching them go back and forth as we queued to go see more art at mesuems...



Pisa and its badly engineered tower

hey! its still there!.. havent fallen yet! quick take picture before it goes!... haha... although its more well know for its inablility to stand upright... i must say that this bell tower with the church and its baptistry are beautiful architectures... made of grey and white marble... and the grass lawns are great for lazying around and soaking up the mediterranean sun... only realised that the lawns were out of bounds when the police came to chase everyone off it... you know... i always felt that pisa sounds like pi3 sai4...

Venice: Day 14 to Day 16

Venice

ahh... the water republic... very beautiful... very nice... and very slow... haha... another day on this island and i will buy a jet-ski... haha... but of course... slow has its advantages... its the ultimate R & R... no traffic jams... fresh air... unique and gorgeous scenery... and lots of pigeons... haha... really... they have more pigeons than new zealand has cows... Anyway... venice lives up to its name as the place of romance... you cant go worng with that much water and no cars in sight... unfortunately that comes with a large price tag... haha... the venetian high life... good stuff... even the cafes at st marks square have bands to play soothing music as you sip your macchiato or Château de Tracy 2005... haha... whatever... my wallet not there yet... life of the student class... got time no money... the life of the working class... got money no time... thats life... haha... the most wait for CNY to fall on a monday... haha..

Murano and its Glaseware in Venice
Venetian glass is really really beautiful... and they are really really interesting... and they are really really expensive... but i guess they are worth their penny because they are really unique and mind boggling... as in the designs are nice and at the same time you have no idea how they did it... interesting stuff no less... you just have to see it for urselves... i dun have the purchasing power to buy one back...