Daylight Saving Time Robs One Hour of Sleep

Today was the day that, due to the start of the daylight saving time, the clocks are moved forward for an hour. And since the change of the day takes place at midnight, my sleep was cut short by an hour: sleeping at 0200 non-DST clock, waking at 0800 non-DST clock (0900 DST clock).

It's quite a dangerous day for them to change the clocks today, considering that the exam period starts tomorrow.

...

Ah well... I think I need more sleep. Or more tea. Gotta mop up my atomic physics lab report.

Rain Rain Canberra

Perhaps due to the evolution of the season from spring to summer, Canberra has suddenly turned extremely wet over the past couple of days. For that matter, it has been raining intermittently for the whole of yesterday, and after a brief period of sun in the morning and early afternoon, there was quite some rain today.

This is quite a change, to be honest. While the rain is not heavy - definitely not the drenching kind - it certainly reminds me of those days-long shower back in Singapore (though probably not as heavy as that). The wet air and chilly wind, with the smell of wet vegetation... that's something quite refreshing.

And one thing for sure, the land here certainly needs the rain. In fact, the sprinklers in the campus has been turned on at night to ensure that the plants and grass do not dry up. In any case, it looks like the rain will be here for a few more days, since it is still so cloudy outside.

Which means I may have to delay my laundry. I've discovered not too long ago that Canberra's dry air and strong sun makes drying clothes on a laundry line very efficient (even thick fabric like jeans and socks need only three to four hours). The dryer is of course an option if this weather persists, but I'll avoid that as much as I can because it is a major consumer of electricity!

Bean Splitter

Created for the draft of my lab report.



Red beans will go on to the caesium cell; green beans will go on to the interferometer. Talking about the superposition of beans!

Turning Up the Heat

On the main page of the ANU students homepage:

Forecast 11°C - 31°C
CANBERRA
3:28 PM AEST
21 October 2007

Erm... okay, no wonder when I took my walk earlier just now, it felt like back in Singapore...

And weather changes real fast. Just about three days ago, I remember the forecast reporting a 2°C - 23°C. That was the time when I felt the weather going colder.

Well, at least I'm warming up to my return to Singapore...

Getting Electrified

Recently, I've been getting shocks in my room when I touched the metal taps or basin. At first I thought the changing weather (which, for some unknown reason, has been getting colder) was causing all the static, but it doesn't seems to be happening to the others, so that can't be it.

The first revelation came when I was told of the possibility that, instead of static charges building up on the objects, it was I who was collecting the charges. Then quickly came the answer: I've bought a new pairs of slippers last week because my old pair had a broken strap. And that is probably the cause of the static buildup on me.

Hmm... I can get another pair of slippers, but I think that'll be a waste of money. So what else can I do? I can try avoid dragging my feet when I walk across the carpeted floor, but that's not gonna be easy to change (and it defeats the idea of wearing slippers anyway). Maybe I should earth myself?

Blog Migration

Due to some reasons, I will be changing the title of this blog and, because I want to retain all the previous posts in this blog, the URL as well. That is, I am moving this blog instead of creating a new blog.

However, a direct change of URL will cause many readers to be lost, especially those who do not visit this blog frequently. As such, I'm creating a transitional blog, which will house my postings for the time being and, in due time, announce the new blog URL. The transitional blog is at:

http://ablogintransition.blogspot.com/

I will leave this blog up at the old URL for about three weeks before changing it. So please change your bookmark to the transitional blog, and then again when the new blog URL is up. I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience caused.

Contradictory Move

I was browsing through some of the signatories of the Repeal 377A Petition when I came across this rather interesting entry by a person called Damien (#3694).

In his comments, he advocates against repealing the law by saying,

I support Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's decision to uphold Section 377A Penal Code as I strongly believe homosexual relations are immoral and contrary to humanity and the natural laws of reproduction, for which is necesary to sustain life and our community.

Well, he's entitled to his own opinion, but I can't help but laugh at his inconsistency of signing the petition while arguing against it.

In any case, I really question the effectiveness of the petition (even if it garners lots of signatories), for many of them are anonymous.

Repeal 377A Petition

A petition, to me, represents two things. First, it gives a rather vague idea of the stand of the population on a particular issue. For example, the petition for the stepping down of former NKF CEO showed the significant displeasure of Singaporeans on that issue. Most of the time, a petition sheds little light on this (simply because the signature collected are not overwhelming enough to deliver a message), but sometimes it does work.

That, of course, is the pragmatic perspective of a petition. Down to a personal and more idealistic view, a petition shows one's stand a particular issue. Specifically, and especially when one does not sign a petition anonymously, it goes to show the committed stand made by that individual. It is certainly more than a stand made in one's mind, because when one chooses a stand before the public, it requires a greater commitment than an internal one.

That being said, with regards to the Repeal 377A petition, I doubt it will help shed light on the pragmatic front, but at least I do think it is a good chance for me to state my stand. Thus if you have a stand committed enough on this issue, please consider this petition.

Nobel Prize in Physics 2007

The results were just out hours ago. The Nobel Prize for Physics 2007 goes to Albert Fert and Peter Grünberg for their discovery of giant magnetoresistance.

The first thought that hit me was: "what the hell is giant magnetoresistance?"

Ah well, according to the Great Storehouse of Knowledge, Wikipedia, it is the mechanisms behind our hard disks. Okay, not the entire hard disk... just that needle head that reads the data.

Free Burma!