This week is Bush-week, which is the orientation week for the second semester. For some odd reason, the Bush-week this year is held on the second week instead of the first. Their orientation is quite different from NUS's. It is less organised: instead of the proper groups and activities all day sort of stuff you'd find in NUS, it's more like a random collection of activities over the week which anyone can participate if they want. It is also different in the way that it has very few participants and a lot of spectators, who happened to pass-by or have just finished their lessons. And most markedly different is that it is extremely wild and crazy, to the extent that it makes SOW looks as tame as an earthworm.
I haven't been paying attention to the ongoings of Bush-week, knowing that I would not like them at all, but today I happen to be in the Union Court (the central area of ANU very much like the Central Forum in NUS) for other stuff, and there were some Bush-week activity going on. I didn't really pay attention since I was doing something else, but I noticed that it has only a handful of participants - say, maybe ten? - and a whole lot of spectators (at least two hundred) since it's lunch time.
But really, it's difficult not to notice what they were doing, since they were in a rather visible area and there were speakers projecting the emcees' voices. One of the activities the participants were supposed to do was to compete to see who can give the best haircut to their team members in one minute. Yep, so they really started cutting off their team members' hair.
If that's not bad enough, then this is: I was not paying attention to what's going on, but a guy (perhaps out of a challenge or a forfeit) stripped naked and ran to the street about 300 metres away and back. Yes. Completely naked. Under the eyes of hundreds of people.
Perhaps this is normal in Australia. Perhaps not. But it does make the supposedly crazy stuff I did in SOW look mild, isn't it? Then again, I suppose different orientation caters to different people. I mean, I doubt there would be someone in NUS who would, even if it's not illegal, go naked under so many eyes.
Maybe not.
26 July 2007
23 July 2007
About Harry Potter
I pre-ordered my copy from Borders in Canberra Centre about a week prior to the release, where it offers the best deal (A$29.95 + a beanie owl). Interestingly enough, when I collected my book, I took a close look at my receipt and realised that my order number, which I'm told is a running number, is:
Well, I suppose it's magic.
Oh, and in Canberra, a man dived into Lake Burley Griffin after his pre-order receipt got blown into the lake. Gosh, he must really be desperate. It's only A$29.95!... as compared to a ticket to hospital which he went.
Well, I suppose it's magic.
Oh, and in Canberra, a man dived into Lake Burley Griffin after his pre-order receipt got blown into the lake. Gosh, he must really be desperate. It's only A$29.95!... as compared to a ticket to hospital which he went.
22 July 2007
The Deathly Hallows
So it ends.
An end that was anticipated by an unprecedented degree.
The Harry Potter series.
What I was most intrigued about in the last book was the allegiance of Severus Snape, and I was most amazed how much some fans got right. They, from very broken hints of interviews and scattered pieces throughout the first six books, constructed a very logical conjecture that would explain the greatest questions left unanswered at the end of the sixth book: who is Snape loyal to and why did Dumbledore trust him?
And again, the ultimate move between the protagonist and the antagonist, the very final twist at the end, was very subtly hinted, shown to the readers halfway in the book, yet it is likely that most would miss it until it was revealed. That, the very slick way of slipping information that would cause you to slap your forehead and wonder why you didn't see it then, makes the whole ending all so worthwhile.
An end that was anticipated by an unprecedented degree.
The Harry Potter series.
What I was most intrigued about in the last book was the allegiance of Severus Snape, and I was most amazed how much some fans got right. They, from very broken hints of interviews and scattered pieces throughout the first six books, constructed a very logical conjecture that would explain the greatest questions left unanswered at the end of the sixth book: who is Snape loyal to and why did Dumbledore trust him?
And again, the ultimate move between the protagonist and the antagonist, the very final twist at the end, was very subtly hinted, shown to the readers halfway in the book, yet it is likely that most would miss it until it was revealed. That, the very slick way of slipping information that would cause you to slap your forehead and wonder why you didn't see it then, makes the whole ending all so worthwhile.
20 July 2007
Gruber Cosmology Prize
This year's Gruber Prize for Cosmology is awarded to Saul Perlmutter and Brian Schmidt for their discovery of the accelerating universe, a very startling discovery that throws a spanner, hammer and screwdriver into the cosmological model physicists thought was an accurate description of the universe.
In short, physicists, up till the discovery in late 90s, believed that, after the Big Bang, all the matter flying apart at high speeds were slowing down due to their gravitational pull on each other. However, these two guys found that the galaxies were not decelerating but accelerating from each other instead, which means there is something that's pushing galaxies apart (one possible source of this repelling "force" is empty space). It forces cosmologists to reconsider the cosmological constant back into Einstein's field equation (for general relativity), a term introduced by the man himself to act as "anti-gravity" and was declared by him later as "the biggest blunder" in his life.
Well, Brian Schmidt happens to be my lecturer for one of the courses I'm taking here at ANU. It's an astrophysics course called Galaxies and Cosmology. He's pretty interesting alright, but I do find him sometimes a bit too... personal about some historical developments. For example, he bears some sort of a dislike for Edwin Hubble and Sir Arthur Eddington.
Edwin Hubble of course was the one who, according to popular literature, discovers that the universe is not static, but moving apart from each other (which lead Einstein to declare his blunder). However, as Brian said during his lecture, Slipher and other astronomers have already documented and understood this. Hence, Hubble is getting, in his opinion, more than what he deserved.
Sir Arthur Eddington is the English chap who went to Africa to take photos of a solar eclipse and returned to announce that Einstein's general relativity triumphs Newton's law of gravitation, making Einstein an overnight celebrity. However, analysis of Eddington's data today showed that the error in his photographs were too large to make any conclusive statements, but nonetheless he was often credited as the first to verify Einstein's theory, something Brian was not quite happy about either. He said, "When a theoretician does an experiment, he gets what he wants."
Ah well, but other than having some opinions about these historical "injustices", he seems pretty sure of what he's teaching, and he's quite good at it as well. Best of all, the assessment of his course is 100% assignments! Whoa!
In short, physicists, up till the discovery in late 90s, believed that, after the Big Bang, all the matter flying apart at high speeds were slowing down due to their gravitational pull on each other. However, these two guys found that the galaxies were not decelerating but accelerating from each other instead, which means there is something that's pushing galaxies apart (one possible source of this repelling "force" is empty space). It forces cosmologists to reconsider the cosmological constant back into Einstein's field equation (for general relativity), a term introduced by the man himself to act as "anti-gravity" and was declared by him later as "the biggest blunder" in his life.
Well, Brian Schmidt happens to be my lecturer for one of the courses I'm taking here at ANU. It's an astrophysics course called Galaxies and Cosmology. He's pretty interesting alright, but I do find him sometimes a bit too... personal about some historical developments. For example, he bears some sort of a dislike for Edwin Hubble and Sir Arthur Eddington.
Edwin Hubble of course was the one who, according to popular literature, discovers that the universe is not static, but moving apart from each other (which lead Einstein to declare his blunder). However, as Brian said during his lecture, Slipher and other astronomers have already documented and understood this. Hence, Hubble is getting, in his opinion, more than what he deserved.
Sir Arthur Eddington is the English chap who went to Africa to take photos of a solar eclipse and returned to announce that Einstein's general relativity triumphs Newton's law of gravitation, making Einstein an overnight celebrity. However, analysis of Eddington's data today showed that the error in his photographs were too large to make any conclusive statements, but nonetheless he was often credited as the first to verify Einstein's theory, something Brian was not quite happy about either. He said, "When a theoretician does an experiment, he gets what he wants."
Ah well, but other than having some opinions about these historical "injustices", he seems pretty sure of what he's teaching, and he's quite good at it as well. Best of all, the assessment of his course is 100% assignments! Whoa!
17 July 2007
First Day in a Different School
So after quite some anticipation and, when the vacation days are drawing to an end, dread, here I am into the second day of school at ANU. Okay lah, things are operating pretty much like in NUS. Major differences: classes are smaller, at least for the four courses I'm taking, having at most 50 people. Also, lectures are one hour, and a typical course has three lectures a week.
However, administrative matters are still, well, rigged with all sorts of tape. I still haven't gotten my two courses to appear on my WebCT, meaning I have no access to the lecture notes and whatever announcements related to the course. I have spoken to the lecturer of one of the course, but I'm not sure how much he could do. And I kinda got quite confused with the philosophy course I'm taking. Apparently there are two different "streams" going on at the same time, each having its own lectures, tutorials and assignments, and I was supposed to choose one. The instructions were far from clear, and I was running around attending both "streams" before one of the lecturers clarified (though, to my defence, I wasn't the only one).
And one thing good (and in some cases, bad) about CORS in NUS is the auto-detection of clashes of lecture. Here, if my lessons clash, too bad for me. I've gotta work around one way or another. However, that can be good as many courses are recorded, and I can always selectively go for the lectures I want. In any case, it seems quite common here that people have clashes.
Anyway, this Friday I'm gonna head to some Mount Stromlo Observatory, which I hear is the observatory of the astrophysics department here at ANU. It is a trip organised by an astrophysical society called the Black Hole Society (queer, but interesting name). Hopefully, cloud cover will be low.
However, administrative matters are still, well, rigged with all sorts of tape. I still haven't gotten my two courses to appear on my WebCT, meaning I have no access to the lecture notes and whatever announcements related to the course. I have spoken to the lecturer of one of the course, but I'm not sure how much he could do. And I kinda got quite confused with the philosophy course I'm taking. Apparently there are two different "streams" going on at the same time, each having its own lectures, tutorials and assignments, and I was supposed to choose one. The instructions were far from clear, and I was running around attending both "streams" before one of the lecturers clarified (though, to my defence, I wasn't the only one).
And one thing good (and in some cases, bad) about CORS in NUS is the auto-detection of clashes of lecture. Here, if my lessons clash, too bad for me. I've gotta work around one way or another. However, that can be good as many courses are recorded, and I can always selectively go for the lectures I want. In any case, it seems quite common here that people have clashes.
Anyway, this Friday I'm gonna head to some Mount Stromlo Observatory, which I hear is the observatory of the astrophysics department here at ANU. It is a trip organised by an astrophysical society called the Black Hole Society (queer, but interesting name). Hopefully, cloud cover will be low.
14 July 2007
13 July 2007
More Encounters with Administratium
After a series of administrative headaches during my enrolment, I hit some more today. Being an exchange student, I would naturally have none of the prerequisites for the courses I am taking, so the staff would have to waive the requirements for me. I saw them do just that for all four courses I am taking, but only two turns up on my WebCT (the equivalent of IVLE).
This resulted me in spending about an hour, first in the International Education Office (IEO) to fill up a form, then to the office of the Physics Department about ten minutes' walk away to get the signature, during which I was interrogated by a professor on my knowledge of quantum mechanics (that being a prerequisite to the courses I needed waiving). Then I returned to the IEO to find out that I needed a department stamp, leading me to shuttle to and from the department again.
And all these is a bit of a waste of time since all the courses should have appeared on my WebCT in the first place.
This resulted me in spending about an hour, first in the International Education Office (IEO) to fill up a form, then to the office of the Physics Department about ten minutes' walk away to get the signature, during which I was interrogated by a professor on my knowledge of quantum mechanics (that being a prerequisite to the courses I needed waiving). Then I returned to the IEO to find out that I needed a department stamp, leading me to shuttle to and from the department again.
And all these is a bit of a waste of time since all the courses should have appeared on my WebCT in the first place.
12 July 2007
Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
After quite a long break, The Feynman Boson sees a new post!
My Run-In with Administratium
I did my enrolment on Tuesday and Wednesday, thus making me officially an ANU student for this semester. But the enrolment was far from smooth. Firstly, the first counter was a little messy, with me lining up at a queue for international students for fifteen minutes before realising that I was supposed to queue at another counter for exchange students (which was hidden at the corner behind that snaking queue I was in). Then, for some horribly odd reason, the course advice booth for the College of Science was totally crowded while the others were pretty empty. I had to wait an hour before it was my turn.
When I first applied for exchange, I had to put down a list of courses I intend to take. Two of them were rejected, and there was one I didn't want to take. The vice-dean attending to me told me to seek departmental approval, which leads me to go all the way to the Physics Department, just to find out it deserted. By then, I had enough and decided to put things aside for the time being. The next day, I talked to someone in the department, who told me to return sometime later as the head of department would be back and he may help me. So I thought I might as well try and complete my enrolment first, but it turns out that another person who attended to me said there was no need to "approve" the courses I need to take so long NUS does so. Guess I went to the wrong guy in the first day...
Well, anyway, at least these administrative hell in over for the time being. Guess administratium is pervasive globally.
When I first applied for exchange, I had to put down a list of courses I intend to take. Two of them were rejected, and there was one I didn't want to take. The vice-dean attending to me told me to seek departmental approval, which leads me to go all the way to the Physics Department, just to find out it deserted. By then, I had enough and decided to put things aside for the time being. The next day, I talked to someone in the department, who told me to return sometime later as the head of department would be back and he may help me. So I thought I might as well try and complete my enrolment first, but it turns out that another person who attended to me said there was no need to "approve" the courses I need to take so long NUS does so. Guess I went to the wrong guy in the first day...
Well, anyway, at least these administrative hell in over for the time being. Guess administratium is pervasive globally.
03 July 2007
Car Signs
While in Melbourne, at the Queen Victoria Market, I came across a stall which sells yellow signs to be placed on one's car:
(Click for larger image.)
Heh heh, enjoy!
(Click for larger image.)
Heh heh, enjoy!
02 July 2007
Cooking My Meals
In ANU, there are 8 halls and 1 residence. 4 of the halls are catered, while the others plus the residence are not. Initially, when applying for my accommodations, I chose the four catered halls because to cook every meal is simply too time consuming. If I don't cook, I'll either have to eat at the eateries in ANU (which, if memory serves me right, has only one cafe and one restaurant), or cycle out to the city centre to have my meals there (it is, by the way, not feasible to take the bus, since there's only one service running through the school and it has a frequency of one hour). Either way, it would be quite expensive, averaging out to about A$8 to A$10 every meal.
Of these catered halls, two are reputed for their good food (Yao is staying in one of them). The other two simply sucks. However, my application to those former two were rejected because one of them needs more females to balance out the sex ratio, while the other has no more rooms. Facing the option of supposedly mediocre food, I quickly changed my accommodation application.
Therefore, I will now be cooking most of the meals. It should be quite fine, actually, since ANU's timetable, as from what I've heard, is pretty loose, giving sufficient free time in between lectures. It is also a great "motivation" for me to sharpen my culinary skills. In fact, while backpacking around Australia, I stayed at the YHA hostels and cooked there as well, so at least I know I'm capable of basic stuff beyond instant noodles.
Of these catered halls, two are reputed for their good food (Yao is staying in one of them). The other two simply sucks. However, my application to those former two were rejected because one of them needs more females to balance out the sex ratio, while the other has no more rooms. Facing the option of supposedly mediocre food, I quickly changed my accommodation application.
Therefore, I will now be cooking most of the meals. It should be quite fine, actually, since ANU's timetable, as from what I've heard, is pretty loose, giving sufficient free time in between lectures. It is also a great "motivation" for me to sharpen my culinary skills. In fact, while backpacking around Australia, I stayed at the YHA hostels and cooked there as well, so at least I know I'm capable of basic stuff beyond instant noodles.
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