Is this a bug or a feature?

Stop Crying Your Heart Out by Oasis

2011-10-16T02:35:00.006+08:00

Hold up, hold up
Don't be scared
You'll never change what's been and gone

May your smile
(May your smile)
Shine on
(Shine on)
Don't be scared
(Don't be scared)
Your destiny will keep you on

'Cause all of the stars have faded away
Just try not to worry, you'll see them some day
Take what you need and be on your way
And stop crying your heart out

Get up
(Get up)
Come on
(Come on)
Why you scared?
(I'm not scared)
You'll never change what's been and gone

'Cause all of the stars have faded away
Just try not to worry, you'll see them some day
Take what you need and be on your way
And stop crying your heart out

'Cause all of the stars have faded away
Just try not to worry, you'll see them some day
Just take what you need and be on your way
And stop crying your heart out

We're all of the stars, we're fadin' away
Just try not to worry, you'll see us some day
Just take what you need and be on your way
And stop crying your heart out

Stop crying your heart out
Stop crying your heart out
Stop crying your heart out

(From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/o/oasis-lyrics/stop-crying-your-heart-out-lyrics.html)

海枯石爛 by Olivia Ong

2011-07-31T00:02:00.024+08:00

這幾天你在那個城市
天氣一定晴朗
因為你就是個太陽

有空想念我的話
就稍信來說晚安
讓夢裡星光燦爛

別再擔心我什麼了
別把我寵壞
只要你平安回來
就夠浪漫

這幾天沒有你在
當然有些平淡孤單
但我感謝這孤單

讓我更加確定你是我缺少的那一半
完成我的那一半

*不怕明天的世界會變成怎樣
每天看見你笑臉我就心安
不管外面的世界想變成怎樣
我們還有我們的小小天堂
喔 ~

我有你放在心上
生命就有了重量
風來也不會飄盪

一起看海枯石爛
一起等地老天荒
慢慢愛不慌不忙

我有你守在身旁
眼睛就可以勇敢
看歲月怎麼漫長

就算真海枯石爛
就算已地老天荒
還相愛就沒遺憾
不遺憾

Never Cry Again by Dash Berlin

2011-05-20T01:02:00.006+08:00

I saw you
Again I knew
Just where you’d be?
I’ll stop this real soon
When you’re back safe with me

When you come home, I’ll stop this
When you come home, I’ll hide it good
I’ll never cry again, when you come home, to me

In picture
I’d see it, you weren’t really there
In truth
I still feel it hanging in the air

When you come home, I’ll stop this
When you come home, I’ll hide it good
I’ll never cry again, when you come home, to me

Resolving the Rural-Urban Disparity

2011-03-19T02:31:00.008+08:00

Ideas to resolving the rural-urban dichotomy.

Reference:

Tomorrow Never Comes by Dot Allison

2010-12-19T03:27:00.005+08:00

You're sailing away, to another shore
My heartache today, I can't tell you anymore

And I thought I saw your shadow in the street today
But that was yesterday, oh that was yesterday

With a little courage, in time
You might forgive me
With a little loving, in time
You might forgive me

Believe me I know it's been hard for you
There's never an easy way to let it go

And I dreamt that you were telling me you dreamt of me
But now I'm waking up, I think I'm waking up

With a little courage, in time
You might forgive me
With a little loving, in time
You might forgive me

And I thought I saw your jacket in my room today
But that was yesterday, oh was that yesterday?

With a little courage, in time
You might forgive me
With a little loving, in time
You might forgive me

ECP Cycling

2010-11-28T17:00:00.009+08:00

Cycling along ECP is part of our training so that we wouldn't feel like "want to die" in the process of enjoying our off-road cycling. Unfortunately due to our different schedules and commitments, the last time I rode with them for the ECP training felt like a decade ago.

Today, Foong could not wake up, and Han cannot join us. But the remaining 3 of us met at Car Park Area B in the morning to start our journey to and from the complete East Coast Park (ECP), continuing into the cycling route that is in parallel with the Changi Airport runway, until we hit the rest point at Changi Village hawker centre.

We encountered a massive crowd of riders on our way to Changi Village as there was a Cyclone Race Series team time-trial going on.

At Changi Village, I saw a stretch of the park which is a popular spot for fishing. It looked very familiar to me, a strong sense of déjà vu, perhaps I have seen it either in Hong Kong, in a movie or in a dream. This is only the second time I have been to this location, first of which was during a night time cycling albeit in reverse direction, and thus, reverse perspective.

The sense of déjà vu when I saw this stretch.

We covered about 40km in total. We were exhausted and thirsty, but the rewards of a prolonged workout are well worth it.

shieldwulf's Activities | RunKeeper

Rodalink Private Sale

2010-11-27T23:35:00.040+08:00

Needing a breath of "mental fresh air" from work, visited Rodalink at their Upper Thomson branch today as they are having an islandwide private sale at all branches exclusively for card members. Actually, the private sale is only for a selected range of items and is not applicable storewide! But if you are sourcing for 105, Dura-ace and XTR components, they have shortlisted a small stock at heavily discounted prices.

Nevertheless, I was interested enough to pay a visit since I have been wanting to equip my hybrid bike (Marin 2010 Mill Valley), with a matching white colour CatEye Strada Wireless, and looking for a good bargain. To my slight disappointment, yes the CatEye Strada Wireless is on 30% off, but it is only for the white with red polka dots version. The sales staff was honest enough to tell me this model is on sale because the design is not popular. I fully agree, and I remembered not buying it on my previous visit all because the white version was not in stock while available on the racks are the white plus red polka dots version. I recalled my head shouting "Bozo the clown edition". Below is picture of it, but I know it's subjective.

Well, I purchased it this time! Because I have very little time for shopping nowadays and heck, selling at $75++ down from an original $105 is just pragmatic enough to ignore the fugliness since it is exactly of same model and quality as the rest of the more "edible" designs. Fortunately, there are no cycling thighs that are of such pattern!

I also spotted one piece only of two models of Fox Racing hydration packs. One is the Low Pro and the other is the Oasis. Being more financially prudent nowadays, it made me think hard before deciding whether to get it, since my trusty Camelbak is still damn good but unnecessarily over laden with compartments(heavier) and warm for short off-road rides where I am still within walking distance from civilisation in any events of emergency.

I cancelled the purchase of it at the counter, before returning to the shop to buy it after some internet "researching" on my iPhone during dinner nearby (despite its heavily discounted price). I hope to double this as hydration pack for long distance runs.

Somebody Is Riding The Highway
Finally, on my return to the shop, I saw a customer who rode here on a Marin Highway One. This is the full carbon version and is also the top model of Marin's "Alp" series of flat-bar road bikes. Because I was shopping for my Mill Valley earlier this year, I had the chance to scrutinise the specs and pricing of the Highway One. It was a beauty of workmanship and performance. But I bought the Mill Valley as it is half the price of this top model.

The owner is Mr. Richard Chng, and with his kind permission, I took some shots of this beauty where he graciously posed it for my iPhone camera. He had the saddle swapped, and changed the tires to Panaracer slicks. This bike is dripping with carbon parts, even the crank arms are carbon made by FSA!

Reference:

Be Thankful

2010-11-23T01:03:00.013+08:00

I tend to remind myself to be thankful for the good moments, even if it does not last - moments of peace, tranquility, happiness, laughter, and the simple blessings of daily life.

For instance, my office have free shower facilities. I am grateful for the convenience of being able to clean-up and refresh myself immediately after an evening's run around office area.

I am also thankful for the understanding colleagues and a hardworking supervisor whom never gets tired of attending to every detail and issues. Despite our differences, I appreciate the different traits, personalities and most importantly, the sacrifices that each member of the team has given, be it time, skills, advice, effort or sharing the "pain" of the tasks at hand.

No doubt the vicissitudes of the project has many times driven us into our own tracks, but all of us still try to "hold the tension" and "keep the sanity" together.

I am also thankful that my father, despite his deteriorating health, hasn't been requiring emergency visits to the A&E the way it was last year and beginning of this year. For this, I am very grateful of the heavy task that my mother has to undertake to care for him and his daily affairs. She gave me the opportunity to focus on my work and studies. It is through her that I can see with my own eyes, the true meaning of love and commitment.

A Paradox Of "Progress"

2010-11-17T02:41:00.000+08:00

In the pursuit of "professionalism", I have seen the negative side apects of it. We were taught, mentally drilled and judged through countless tests and exams, the rules of logic, regulation and order. The results of which the well trained students (a.k.a. professionals) of society knows well what is the right thing to do to achieve "progress", by referencing the rules of logic, regulation and order. Kindness, patience, compassion, forgiveness and friendship are not included. Of course, these "soft" traits, in various degrees, tends to be a part of humanity in general (I hope!). However, a strict examination reveals that these are best left to the values of personal creed, preference and/or culture. I only remembered moral education in primary school, and that's it to academically instilled moral standards.

I have seen "professionals" acting like efficient machines, achieving "professionally accurate" results, but in the pursuit of progresses with reference to the rules of logic, regulation and order, had left a trail of emotionally littered damages and destruction onto others.

Of course, I am not espousing the opposite extreme. For such will be the foolishness that each step will be but an obstacle to getting work done.

The question that I often ask myself is, what is my balance of both worlds? Is it ultimately a matter of personal selection, and an evolution of our choices, based on assessing past choices, the mistakes made, and the lessons learnt?

However, if the "soft" values of our humanity are not factored into consideration while in the act of our professional activities, little wonder why intelligent and high-educated people can continue to do destructive things in more ways than one can imagine.

The idea that progress should be designed to increase human happiness has turned into the assumption that pursuing progress is the same as improving human welfare ... The limits (of Science & Technological Progress) lie in their indifference to a substantive concern for the general good.
RSA Animate - 21st century enlightenment

Land Of Oz by Hilary Stagg

2010-11-14T21:01:00.007+08:00

For more than 10 years since the first time I was introduced to Hilary Stagg's music, it remains an important part of my "musical sanctuary" playlist. The video is from the movie-documentary "Planet Earth".

SharePoint: Cannot Rename If You Cannot Delete

2010-11-04T15:18:00.007+08:00

I just found out about this when a user complained she cannot rename files or folders in the Sharepoint document library. The business policy is not to allow any users to delete any of the uploaded files or folders, but renaming is allowed due to errata or incorrect labels.

Well, guess what? A research by the vendor's Developer revealed the fundamental access rights in Sharepoint are only 2: "Add" and "Delete". Therefore, to rename a file or folder, this access permission falls under "Delete" right.

http://sharemypoint.wordpress.com/2007/12/21/cannot-rename-file-if-you-dont-have-delete-permission/

Being no Sharepoint expert, I would have raised red flag with hand held high if I was aware of this design limitation during requirements gathering phase. Now, I am expecting my users to create fireworks due to this "feature".

A Walk In The Mid-Day Sun

2010-10-30T01:38:00.011+08:00

The Crossroad of Familiarity
Bright mid-day sun. Last track of morning seminar ended. Left the place to attend a lunch invite. Boarded a taxi, driver told me it is near, but it's alright if I choose to continue. Smilingly, we parted. Lugging my laptop bag and haversack, I proceeded walking. Crossed traffic light. Turned on Gothere.sg on my mobile. Walked and occasionally squinted at the screen of the mobile for GPS location in the bright sunlight.

Finally almost reached the destination. Looked ahead the surroundings. Did I ever dream of this place, or did I not? It looked so familiar, but I've never been past this area. It was slightly skewed in terms of my direction of walk. In my mind's eye, I walked towards those vertical slabs of concrete. I made a conscious decision to deflect from deja vu. By turning into the building instead of walking towards the familiar place. It felt familiar. It was this feeling. But finally I will not know if it's deja vu, a mental illusion or just plain normal to feel that way, because I consciously decided not to proceed to "realise" it by not walking towards the familiar area.

So much so just like our life. Each day, we make conscious and sub-conscious choices. By our thoughts, speeches and actions, we create ripples across the surrounding world of our interaction. We receive ripples from the outside, some of which are reciprocated ripples originated from us, across time and space.

Digression
Is it a coincidence? Is there an underlying message? Or a moral lesson to it? It definitely felt like a test of my wills. These ripples ... I have never seen it coming. It began in subtle measures, unassuming, until it began to amplify to an level of which my heart begins to listen in.

I have never anticipated it coming. So is the same that happened years before. Now, this is another unique circumstance. I was naive to think that I am able to achieve what I think I am how I am. It's strange, as the amplitude of the ripples' wave has a considerable amplitude, yet it remains subtle in some kind of dichotomous way, the image of ... alternating between crystal clarity and a blur that I could never consciously control.

Is this a bug or a feature? I hope it has arrived full circle.

DLX Assembly Code-Russian Peasant Algorithm

2010-10-25T02:25:00.024+08:00

Used to calculate the square of the absolute value of an integer in DLX Assembler. Assuming register r1 is used to to store the result.


sqr:     slt  r2,r1,r0   ; if (x < 0)
         bf   r2,sqrL1
 
sqrL0:   sub  r1,r0,r1   ; x = -(-x)
 
sqrL1:   add  r2,r0,r1   ; int y = x
         addi r3,r0,0    ; int p = 0
 
sqrL2:   sne  r4,r0,r2   ; while (y != 0)
         bf   r4,sqrL5
   
sqrL3:   andi r4,r2,1    ; if ((y & 1) != 0)
         sne  r4,r0,r4
         bf   r4,sqrL4
         add  r3,r3,r1   ; p = p + x
 
sqrL4:   add  r1,r1,r1   ; x = x + x
         srai r2,r2,1    ; y = y >> 1
         j    sqrL2
   
sqrL5:   add  r1,r0,r3   ; return p

Feel by Robbie Williams

2010-10-07T22:00:00.002+08:00

Beautiful Worlds by ATB

2010-10-04T20:21:00.001+08:00

CRM 4.0: Update Rollup 13

2010-10-04T20:12:00.002+08:00

"13" is a lucky number this time, for it represents Update Rollup 13!

The Microsoft Dynamics CRM Sustained Engineering (SE) team has released Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 13 on 23 September 2010.

As promised, UR13 resolves the issue described in my earlier blog post as noted in the list of fixes in their KB article(2267499):
- When you change the privileges on a security role, the date in the Last Modified On field is not updated.

Below is a list of all the issues fixed by UR13:

You receive an error message when you set a value in the Duration field of a record in the Arabic version of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0.
The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 client for Microsoft Office Outlook downloads notification events for all organizations instead of dowload notifications only for the configured organization. Therefore, you experience high CPU usage and high memory usage.
When you try to reopen an Opportunity entity, you do not have the rights to complete the process unexpectedly. Additionally, the value in the ActualRevenue field and the value in the ActualCloseDate field are reset to a null value even though the opportunity is not reopened.
If you enable the Duplicate Detection feature for entities that you try to import to Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you cannot use the Import Data feature to import the entities. This problem occurs if the entities contain lookup attributes.
The deletion service cannot delete records successfully because of the inefficient queries in the CleanupInactiveWorkflowAssemblies stored procedure.
When you run a duplicate detection job, the Potential duplicate records grid displays incorrect data.
Consider the following scenario:
- You receive an e-mail message from a router that uses a POP3 e-mail account.
- The e-mail message contains an attachment that uses the UTF-8 encoding.
In this scenario, the attachment shows invalid characters.
When you import an organization to Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0, Deployment Manager crashes. This problem occurs on computers that run the 64-bit version of Windows Server 2008 or that run the 64-bit version of Windows Server 2008 R2.
When you change the privileges on a security role, the date in the Last Modified On field is not updated.
You cannot run the Configuration Wizard in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM client for Microsoft Office Outlook with Offline Access if the user account contains an apostrophe (').
When the Microsoft Dynamics CRM E-mail Router processes e-mail messages from the Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 mailboxes, the current end date is incorrect.
The Microsoft Dynamics CRM E-mail Router does not track the Out of Office (OOF) e-mail messages.
Emails receive a duplicate tracking token when you create the emails from a workflow.
Assume that you run the Beta version of Internet Explorer 9. When you try to create an account, you receive a script error.
Assume that you run the Beta version of Internet Explorer 9. When you run the Print Preview function, you cannot select the All records on all pages option in the Print List dialog box.

Discrete Maths - Recurrence Relations

2010-10-01T09:35:00.001+08:00

DiscreteMaths- Recurrence Relations

Uploaded by innovruksham on WiZiQ Tutorials

Prayer Pop Songs

2010-09-06T20:59:00.012+08:00

Courtesy of Hillsongs. I must say I enjoy quite a number of the Hillsong tracks that I have even purchased from some local Christian stores. The rhythms are sweet, uplifting and contemporary. The lyrics are clearly sang so that it is very easy to sing-along. I listen to these tracks together with the rest of my audio collection while doing programming, doing my assignments or when jogging. How I wished there are Buddhist songs of such genre. Yes, there ARE excellent Buddhist music/songs but not of the "pop" genre. For example, Imee Ooi comes to mind, but the style is totally different, it's definitely not "pop" style.

And of course, we can't miss out Darlene Zschech, now a former worship pastor of Hillsong Church.

Discrete Maths

2010-08-28T12:12:00.006+08:00

This is the hardest mathematics course that I've taken yet. The recommended textbook "Discrete Mathematics 5th Edition" by Ross & Wright is a horrid, maybe good if I am already a computer scientist or I eat discrete maths for a living. It is taking me ages to do the assignments, and there are tons of questions! I haven't completed and dateline is tomorrow! Coupled with my full-time job (with on-going project), it will either take a miracle, or all or my mental and spiritual muscles to pull through. Dare I even dream of doing well in the coming exam?

The frenzy of reference materials lying on the floor are a testament of my own frenzy.

The Tarahumara - Are We Born To Run?

2010-07-25T02:07:00.001+08:00

Threshold Is A Mountain Bike Movie

2010-07-24T18:20:00.006+08:00

Nice film, lovely song "L.E.S. Artistes" performed by Santigold.

DVD of the movie can be purchased from VTT media.

CRM 4.0: Last Modified Not Updated For Changes To Security Role Permissions

2010-07-05T17:16:00.048+08:00

First Issue:
When modifying a Security Role's permission settings. It does not change the "Last Modified By" and "Last Modified On" to the person who made this change to the access permission settings, and it is observed to work when the person is just changing the name of the Security Role.

For instance, if a user with a "System Administrator" Security role (I'm sure there will be more than one such Administrator in any typical organisation) gives the "Delete" security setting to another Security Role, say, for the Account and Contact entities, then users with this Security Role can start deleting Account and Contact records, or perform something damaging. The issue here is both the "Last Modified By" and "Last Modified On" will not reflect this last person who made the change to the Security Role. Instead, it may be another person whom last made a superficial change, say renaming the Security Role name.

Sample screen shots showing Last Modified details were not updated, before and after changing the Security Role settings.

Second Issue (Related):
This same behaviour was noticed when managing a User's list of Security Roles. Adding or removing Security Roles to/from a User will not trigger "Last Modified By" and "Last Modified On" to show who made the change. Well, I could probably live with it, if it is related to add/removing child entity records since the user will implicitly have the rights to do so, based on the sum of Security Roles that the user is assigned with. But in this case, we are touching on the baseline, i.e. changes to User security settings!

Sample screen shots showing Last Modified details were not updated, before and after assigning a Security Role to a User.

Whether it is explicitly by design, or a design limitation of the product, I don't think this is correct, but that's my own opinion. I hope not, that the only way around this may be to look at c360 Audit for MSCRM or custom develop a workflow plug-in to resolve the issues.

I have since brought this to the attention of Microsoft Support, and they have acknowledged that the behaviour of the first issue that I've described above holds true for Update Rollup 10, and even the latest as of writing, which is Update Rollup 11. The team is working on a possible hotfix right now. I have also highlighted my observations of the second issue to them. I'm not sure how far-fetched is this behaviour to the whole system, and I certainly cross my fingers this is not just the tip of the iceberg.

All I can say is the Microsoft Support team has so far, been very prompt and responsive with regards to their investigation on this matter. And I hope for a hotfix to this soon. Or will there be an Update Rollup 12 coming?

Reference:

MSCRM-PLUGINS.COM
CRM 4.0 – Tracking when a lead or account was last modified. « Michael Washam's Tech Blog
Update 14 July 2010: Microsoft Support has responded that their Hotfix Team will address the First Issue as described above, targeted to be included in Update Rollup 13. I can only guess it is too late for them to incorporate into Update Rollup 12. As for the Second Issue, this is a constraint by design, and they can only recommend that we can address it using plugins.

I reproduce below links for some of the workarounds, as suggested by the Microsoft Dynamics Escalation Engineer.
► Knowledge Exchanger - How to audit Privileges changes (Security Role) on MS CRM 4.0
► Richard Knudson's Dynamics CRM Trick Bag - Use Workflows to Audit Deleted Records

Update 23 Sep 2010: The Microsoft Dynamics CRM Sustained Engineering (SE) team has released Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Update Rollup 13 (or read my blog post). As promised, UR13 resolves this issue as noted in the list of fixes in their KB article(2267499):
- When you change the privileges on a security role, the date in the Last Modified On field is not updated.

Nike+ Online

2010-07-04T02:23:00.015+08:00

It all started with a colleague. She is getting married in October, while I'm pending for next term of my part-time course to resume my studies (dropped current term due to work committments). Since she wanted to shed some weight, I asked her how about we go running together in the evenings after office hours. Now slightly more than a month into this, I have to thank her instead, for getting me into running again. And since then, other colleagues have joined us on occasions, and news are gradually spreading in our workplace about our runs ... we expect more of others to join us! Best of all, I have even got my gf into going for a jog together during weekends.

And since getting the Nike+ Sportband and sensor set in June, and signing up for a Nike+ online profile. It has made running slightly more fun and motivating. On 1st July, I've accumulated a marathon distance since uploading my first run, and now my level is orange. It doesn't mean squat to me, but it can certainly be a motivating factor considering I can log all my runs onto the website via my Nike+ Sportband USB dongle, and to track all my accumulated runs online served with graphs. There are even self-training and coaching programmes which I can customise my own targets, e.g. to burn 4000 calories in a month, to cover 60km in 6 weeks etc.

There is even a Nike Mini animated avatar which you can customise (clothing, colour of the hair, eyes etc.) to represent your alter-ego. If you run regularly, it will be happy and active. Else, it may end up sitting duck fingering a playstation controller, behaving like a couch potato of sorts.

I believe that one of the key factor to maintain this sport is to enjoy it, and have fun with it. I don't care about training seriously, as I care more about enjoying the scenery plying the route of my runs. To me, each of the runs along or through the streets of Marina Bay, Clarke Quay and Boat Quay areas immensed myself with the sights and sounds of the activities all summed up within the course of the route. Like a packaged tour of sorts where I get to experience all of what I see and hear without getting directly involved in each of the activities or events happening around. Perhaps its the endorphins, but it just gets me looking forward to the next running session again. Last but not least, I sincerely hope that my part-time studies will not affect my running schedules too much, and vice versa!

Running In Vibram Five Fingers Bikila

2010-07-04T02:07:00.012+08:00

I got myself another pair of Vibram Five Fingers in early July, it's the Bikila. Just in case you'd think why the heck its given such a strange name which rhymes like a bikini, on top of its vomit-like colors notwithstanding. It is one of Vibram's latest incarnation designed for near barefoot running.

I think the name is taken from Abebe Bikila, a barefoot running Olympic marathon champion from Ethiopia in the 60's.

Vibram Five Fingers Bikila

Nike Free 3.0

I have been running in the VFF Bikila, alternating with my Nike Free 3.0, another barefoot running style shoes. However, I have only switched to the Nike Free on days when my calves are too sore from previous runs. Else, I found myself running on the Bikila for most of the runs. The other pair is my VFF KSO, now hardly used of recent, thanks to the Bikila. I intend to use it for normal outings. And as for my pair of Nike LunarGlide, which was purchased only last month, it was great at first, but in the short period since I've switched to near barefoot running style, it's been lying around the home. I no longer find comfort running in it despite attempts to alternate with my Vibram or Nike Free. I've also "cold-storaged" my 3 years old Mizuno Wave Creation 7, for the same reason.

I bet the Five Fingers, or any other near barefoot running "shoes"(for lack of a better term), are a game-changer of the traditional heel-cushioned running shoes market, albeit gradually and steadily. It will accelerate when the awareness reaches critical mass (think factorial growth!) Do I foresee a silent crisis looming ahead for the makers of such "heel strike" running shoes? Time will tell.

Airfix Cup 2010 - The Challenge Returns!

2010-06-26T17:00:00.021+08:00

The annual Airfix Cup, which is a national level scale modelling competition that has its roots since 2007, was held at Ngee Ann Polytechnic for the first time last year, after shifting its venue from the Air Force Museum. Now this year, the event was held again at the same Polytechnic with even more participants!

Compared to last year, Senior Category participants increased by 37% even though Masterclass Category participants decreased by 36%. I guess Masterclass is getting tough and everyone is too busy to complete their masterpiece project in time? However, total participants for this year increased by 31% due to a remarkable growth in participation of 110% for Inter-School Category participants, all 80 of them! (from last year's 38).

Inter-School Category Winners

Senior Category Winners

Masterclass Category Winners

Some Photos of Submitted Entries:

Masterclass Category 1st Prize (Champion).

Masterclass Category 2nd Prize by viper1972. It has working LEDs (wired internally) to simulate those aircraft anti-collision lights and flashing strobes.

Fantastic plastic! The RSAF F-5E Tiger II is my personal favourite of the whole event.

A rare sight at 1/32 scale - RSAF RF-5S Tigereye. Both Tigers were build by the same modeller of the Starfighter which won the 1st prize in Masterclass.

Attractive Israeli camo schemes - Eagle and Fighting Falcon.

Red Arrows turn-out en masse.

I can't take the camera shutter off this super-detailed sweetly painted 1/48 RAAF BAe Hawk 127.

Both Flanker and Pazu submitted 1/48 BAC TSR.2, one of my favourite bird, which is to me like a Concorde with fangs!

Winners and friends posing with their entries and stash!

Special Thanks to both emcees for hosting the Prize Presentation Ceremony, and the Polytechnic students for helping out.

Thanks to sponsorhip by Peter Chiang(left) from Hobby Bounties, with support-and-organisation by Mr. Woon Kok Meng(right), Director of Mechanical Engineering Division.

Reference:

Running Barefoot, Well Almost

2010-06-25T08:30:00.017+08:00

Yesterday, after jogging with a beautiful colleague in the evening around office area (reason why I noted this seemingly out-of-topic point will be self-explanatory later), I went back home to join my girlfriend for a late evening jog around my hometown. This time, I tried on my new pair of Vibram Five Fingers KSO (VFF KSO). I was influenced by the book Born To Run by Chris McDougall, and also after reading all the raves in blogs and articles found on Google. Jeffrey from Feder Sports, which I bought my pair of VFF, advised me to walk in it for the first couple of minutes, then slowly jog no more than 1 to 2 km in the beginning, in the first couple of weeks. Basically, he meant to say, do it progressively. So that's what I intend to follow I also recalled a colleague telling me to "take it slowly" as he is already a VFF "minimalist runner".

Into the first 500m, I felt uncomfortable hitting on the hard concrete along the street, and I was struggling to figure out how to jog in it. Think I was subconsciously trying to adjust my foot strike to seek out the most appropriate moment and position, purely based on my gut feel. My girlfriend, in her Nike Air Pegasus 26, was already about 300 metres ahead, jogging albeit slowly and steadily.

Then, something interesting happened. After discovering my foot-strike "comfort zone" (I think?!), I began to catch-up with her. Finally, at about the 1.5km mark, (according to my Nike+ Sportband), we were finally jogging side-by-side. All the while, I was very prudent and mindful of my left foot, due to fear of the old ailment which may return to haunt. It comes and goes since young, which I suspect was the "dropped metatarsal" in my left foot. Well, fortunately, throughout the run, it didn't come "knocking on the door" of my left foot. In the remaining 150m of the route, I experimented by opening up my stride, after telling her I will go ahead first, I was able to sprint towards the end point.

The next morning, I have slight aches in both calf muscles, but probably credit to my earlier office run (with that beautiful "head-turning" colleague) as a form of warm-up, nothing much happened to my legs. In retrospect, I remembered smiling from cheek-to-cheek during most part of the jog in my VFF. I'm certainly looking forward to jogging more in it.

In the meantime, I will still be alternating the VFF with my current pair of Nike Lunar Glide and my old pair of Mizuno Wave Creation 7.

Below are some photos gf took of my VFF, after the jog.

Vibram Five Fingers, Injinji Performance toe socks, Nike+ Sensor in Marware sensor pouch (the little black square pouch with a "ying-yang" like logo).

In my VFF, but the photo looked like someone wearing gloves and doing a hand-stand.

Side view, with the Nike+ sensor attached on the strap.

Reference:

GSS Acquisitions - Sporting Goods

2010-06-23T17:42:00.015+08:00

Had become a shopaholic no thanks to the GSS. Bought tons of sporting apparels in current and previous month, e.g. running shirts and shorts, outdoor wear, running socks, including a new pair of running shoes, and even bought the Vibram Five Fingers KSO. Below are some pics, trust me, it's just the tip of the iceberg.

Nike Lunar Glide (him) and Air Pegasus 26 (her).

Nike Plus+Plus.

Vibram Five Fingers KSO. "KSO" means "Keep Stuff Out"!

An Update On "Flower" The Calico

2010-06-23T06:36:00.019+08:00

Back in March last year, I rescued a female Calico kitten and named her "Flower". Well, no one responded to adopt her. Just as well. Now, she is part of the family, keeping my mother and aunt company by creating joy, irritation, worry, laughter, surprise and annoyance within the course of each day.

She has since been neutered, vaccinated and micro-chipped. She is healthy, intelligent, extremely curious and at times, downright daring with her exploratory nature.

Here are some pics of her, chronological order.

Pictures taken in March 2010, when she was first rescued and brought to home.

Picture taken in May 2010.

Pictures taken in October 2009.

Pictures taken in February 2010, having a comfy time on my bed and blanket.

Pictures taken today, June 2010.

Sumptuous Dinner

2010-06-22T20:00:00.000+08:00

Woke up in the evening, after 6 hours of sleep, hopefully is sufficient for night shift later. Was surprised dinner table had some of my favourite dishes. Had a sumptuous dinner.

Light brown rice. Low GI and tasty!

Fried Petai ("Smelly Beans") with sambal chilli. I ate half the amount in this bowl, and what you see is the remaining half! After that, my urine smelled like "Parfum de Paris".

Fried sambal chilli in shrimp paste.

Tuna in chilli. This is actually direct from Ayam brand canned tuna.

Just Do It by Lance Armstrong

2010-06-10T01:06:00.004+08:00

With determination, courage and the strive for excellence. Livestrong.

You'll Never Walk Alone

2010-06-05T13:55:00.004+08:00

To this day, and in my personal opinion, this is STILL the greatest comeback in history of European football finals, by none other than Liverpool FC. But then, I'm a Liverpool FC Supporter!

F.C. Liverpool - You'll Never Walk Alone with Lyrics!

Reference:

Little Buddha - The Awakening

2010-05-09T14:44:00.006+08:00

Little Buddha is a 1994 feature film by Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci, starring Bridget Fonda and Keanu Reeves. Made by Bertolucci's regular partner, British producer Jeremy Thomas, it marked the team's return to the East after The Last Emperor.
(Source: Little Buddha - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Notable dialogues from the movie ...

Mara: "You who go where no one else will dare; Will you be my God?"
Siddhartha: "Architect, finally I have met you. You will not rebuild your house again."
Mara: "But I am your house, and you live in me."
Siddhartha: "O, lord of my own ego, you are pure illusion. You do not exist. The earth is my witness."

Marin 2010 Mill Valley

2010-05-03T22:52:00.007+08:00

Finally bought 2010 Mill Valley at Jurong TradeHub 21 branch. The aluminum hydroformed top tube with carbon fork and seat stays made the overall frame feel very stiff, which helped in making the bike feel zesty when accelerating from zero. The carbon seatpost is a bonus, and so is the Ultegra rear derailleur(surprise). Another bonus are the pair of Marin carbon bar-ends.

Only this model and the top-end Highway One of this series don't come with pedals, which can be a good or bad thing depending on owner's preference. The saddle looks and feels cheapo though, haven't tested prolonged rides on it. Wheels look to be quite okay with Shimano rims. Frame paintwork and overall finish is very good.

Decently light for a hybrid. Bottomline, I love the "mountain bike-ish" geometry and the fact that it fulfilled my desire for a road training bike without the "funny" bars. This bike delivered above and slightly beyond my requirements with some carbon components at well considered parts of the bike, without risk of bloating the price tag. The best part is, the choice of factory default components won't make me feel the urge to toss and replace any of them at any time soon, except the saddle perhaps.

What I've Done by Linkin Park

2010-04-16T00:54:00.001+08:00

NWD 10 Dust and Bones

2010-04-02T01:00:00.004+08:00

This is the real deal. For most of the extreme and perfect shots captured on film, are paid with injuries and crashes.

2010 Stumpjumper BRAIN, FSR and Travel Adjust Technology

2010-04-01T00:52:00.002+08:00

The Fear by Lily Allen

2010-03-27T17:09:00.003+08:00

I don't know what's right
and what's real anymore
I don't know how I'm
meant to feel anymore

Trance Music by Estiva

2010-03-19T01:48:00.002+08:00

Estiva - Lifting Leaves (Original Mix)

Estiva - Friends & Enemies

Karate Instructor by Jim Carrey

2010-03-03T23:00:00.000+08:00

A classic hilarious clip...

Tomy Zoids - Deathpion

2010-02-17T23:00:00.009+08:00

Was so busy with looming assignments and personal errands that instead of relaxing and celebrating CNY, the long holiday was spent clearing up and tidying up my roomful of things accumulated over the last few months. I haven't cleared my pile of letters since October last year. It was there and then that I dusted off a piece of classic toy, which was sitting quietly on top of my computer table shelf collecting dust.

From the Tomy Zoids series, it is the "Deathpion" with pilot figure included. With just one AA-size battery, all eight legs will walk, the tail will move back and forth and the claws will alternate between open and close. And when I popped in the battery, it is still working perfectly! I think this toy is an engineering marvel in its own right, and it looks good too. AFAIK, the classic Deathpion is now quite a classic rarity in the world of Tomy Zoids collectibles. Just a quick check in eBay only found 2 of it on sale at 3 digit figures.

My Personal Chillout Tracks for CNY 2010

2010-02-13T17:34:00.012+08:00

Girlfriend not in town. With assignment dateline looming this coming Monday (every week!) Can't do much but stayed at home to complete my programming assignments. But cannot resist to compile some cool trance tracks for personal chillout within the four walls.

Riddles In The Sand (Original Mix) by Ron Hagen & Pascal M

The Fractal Universe by Mat Zo

Bright Morningstar by DJ Tiësto

Without You Near (Coldharbour Mix) by Departure, Gabriel & Dresden & Markus Schulz

Onyric (Stoneface & Teminal Remix Edit) by Cressida

Helpless by Myon & Shane54 (feat. Aruna)

Dash Berlin presents: The Flashback Video Mix 2009 by Armada Music

Gundam Evolve 15

2010-02-11T02:28:00.005+08:00

I love the screenplay of Gundam Evolve 15. Would occasionally re-watch it during times of personal recharge, just to get stoked.

Part 1

Part 2

Specialized Stumpjumper Carbon FSR 2010

2010-01-30T00:40:00.003+08:00

The Specialized Stumpjumper FSR, 2010 model, 'nuff said.

Extreme Mountain Biking

2010-01-30T00:06:00.005+08:00

Totally sick, jaw-dropping, awesome, scary.

Down The Hill Race, Taxco, Mexico, 2005.

Latin-American Urban Downhill from Cuzco, Peru, 2008.

Mount 7 Psychosis Downhill Bike Race - "The world's most demented downhill mountain bike race." How appropriate the description! Totally scary.

Breathe & Fifteen by Taylor Swift

2010-01-24T00:44:00.008+08:00

My friend had this in his car stereo but I never really "dig" them during our numerous weekly trips to ECP for cycling, until this evening. When he finally had his stereo system "properly equalized". The music was sweet, catchy and her vocal was clear and refreshing. Nevermind I'm "too uncle" for this "bubblegum pop". Coz I listen to anything, so long as I like it. Okay, another thing, I don't know she's a famous songwriter, singer, record producer and actress; and had won a MTV Video Music Award.

"Breathe" by Taylor Swift, featuring Colbie Caillat as backing vocal.

"Fifteen" by Taylor Swift.

Reference:

Taylor Swift - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Fractal Universe by Mat Zo

2010-01-16T11:26:00.000+08:00

It's In The Rain by Enya

2010-01-11T01:27:00.001+08:00

The Bicycle Lifestyle Guide by C.I.C.L.E.

2010-01-08T01:00:00.005+08:00

Reference:

Cyclists Inciting Change thru LIVE Exchange (C.I.C.L.E.)

100 Million Mani Recitation Retreat 2009

2009-12-28T14:00:00.005+08:00

Attended and completed the 100 Million Mani Recitation Retreat 2009 at Suntec International Convention & Exhibition Hall from 25 to 27 December 2009. It was organised by Ocean of Dharma Society. My last attempt was a failure back in 2006, which was, during that time, held at Phor Kark See Monastery, I fell ill (which later became very ill) on the first day of the retreat and had to give up (later diagnosed as dengue fever). So, this is my first time attending and completing the retreat as a full-time participant.

At the end of the whole event, which we have collectively & successfully achieved the target of 100 million times of the Mani recitation; myself and my long time friend, Mr. Loo went for a quick photo taking session. The flowers that were offered are now free for the takings. I collected quite a number of them as I found an empty cardboard box, and I know that my mother loves flowers!

Army Reservist - German Style

2009-11-25T00:30:00.006+08:00

Actually it's a "soft" video showcasing the modern German army vehicles. Yours sincerely from Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. My favourite vehicle is the Spähwagen Fennek. I would trade a Ferrari (if I have one) for this vehicle anytime.

The Fennek. All weather, all terrain, amphibious, high-performance armoured military reconnaisance vehicle with detachable recon camera, roof mounted remote controlled self-defence weapon, anti-tank mine protection, nuclear-biological-chemical(NBC) protection, and a mouthful of many other features.

The ultimate all-terrain SUV...

So High by Starchaser (feat. Lo-Fi Sugar) - Martin Roth Remix

2009-11-17T00:58:00.006+08:00

Poppiholla by Chicane

2009-11-16T23:30:00.003+08:00

Sunseeker by Pulser

2009-11-13T01:06:00.001+08:00

Sweet Ibiza chillout trance. Just love it. Nuff said.

Bruce Lee Explains Polymorphism - Be Water, My Friend

2009-11-08T03:46:00.004+08:00

Out Of The Sky by Lange (feat. Sarah Howells)

2009-10-24T00:18:00.001+08:00

Sweet euphoria!

Cream Trance 2009

2009-10-23T23:40:00.002+08:00

Wanted some euphoric musical entertainment, bought these trance compilations yesterday evening. Cool, sweet, melodic, ambient sounds.

Here's a video link to the first track of Cream Future Trance's CD 1, "Infinity 2008" by Guru Josh Project.

XC Riding At Bukit Timah

2009-10-18T23:00:00.017+08:00

Another session. We arrived late afternoon. Small Vincent's rear tire's inner tube's Presta valve was destroyed. Rushed to buy a replacement. Ended up we went XC riding til sunset, literally! It was almost dark (and worrying) towards the end of our route. I had to stop to remove my tinted protective eyewear in order to see my path! By the way, I'm also starting to dislike the Specialized The Captain Control 2Bliss Ready tires even though it has better cornering grip due to the knobbies on the sides, but it is poor in precision tracking as compared to my previous Fast Trak Control 2Bliss Ready tires.

Old Vincent bought a new frame and some "imitation" components during his business trip at Guangzhou, China. For example, instead of "San Marco", his saddle was "San Moanie!" Instead of the well reknowned Chris King headset, his was just "King", and the rest of it looked like the original. It was pure entertainment as he showed us his bike's components, and we all laughed out loud. Nevertheless, and most importantly, his bike survived the ride and performed well for his liking. The frame manufacturer is Mendiz.

After the ride, we headed to McDonald's at King Albert Park for our dinner. Not that we crave for Mac, it was my suggestion as it's kind of nostalgic for me as I used to go there for my exam preps when I was a student at the nearby Ngee Ann Polytechnic many years ago.

Waiting by Dash Berlin (feat. Emma Hewitt)

2009-10-07T01:01:00.003+08:00

Late Evening Ride At East Coast Park

2009-10-04T23:30:00.003+08:00

Another evening training session with Small Vincent at East Coast Park. We started from Car Park B1, all the way to Area H (except we stopped somewhere for a brief photo-taking session), where the cycling route ends before hitting a traffic crossing into Changi Village, and back. Total distance about 11km, and 22km to-and-fro. My average speed was 20.5 km/h towards Area H, and 19.5km/h on my return trip.

My Stumpjumper FSR, with both front fork and rear suspension's Brain inertial valves preset to full firm. Really effective.

Small Vincent's Giant Anthem X0 with newly installed Maxxis Detonator slicks and SPD pedals.

2009 Singapore F1

2009-10-04T02:52:00.019+08:00

I attended the 2009 Singapore F1 last weekend for 3 days(25-27 Sep) from their practice sessions to qualifying and actual race. Myself, Jimmy and Small Vincent had tickets for the Bay Grandstand view at Marina Bay. Old Vincent was there too, but he was with his own group of kakis.

Due to my Father's health condition (that's another story), and other family errands, I was not able to enjoy the full extend of the F1 carnival activities. I had only gone straight to the F1 race, and skipped the BMW, Porsche and Aston Martin Support Races.

Nevertheless, I did managed to catch Zouk's Trance session at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre on Saturday, and Backstreet Boys @ Padang on Sunday.

I must say that experiencing the F1 live was definitely worth it. The explosive power of these racing machines is best experienced at close range, short of driving in one. Gear changes and braking at corners and turns are translated into explosive bursts. Wearing earplugs is a definite must, even though I did took mine off just a few times to listen to the raw sounds of F1 cars as they zoom past, or change gears! It was really, really loud.

XC Riding At Pulau Ubin (Again!)

2009-09-21T23:00:00.011+08:00

Yes, I've just been to this island last Sunday for XC riding, and halfway, we had to ride through a thunderstorm in the forested trails. I blame it on the endorphins, and I think this must be the reason. Coz myself and Small V decided to go there again. Old V flew us "Airbus 380" as he decided he is too tired to go. Foong too lazy to go since Old V decided not to.

So it's left to Small V and myself, together with Shi Qiang and Jimmy for our trip to the island.

Shi Qiang and Jimmy rented pretty decent full suspension Raleigh bikes for $15 each for the whole day of cycling. We split up at the starting point of the Ketam Mountain Bike Trail, in which only myself and Small V rode into the forested "black diamond" trails, while the other two rode the standard off-road and bitumen routes.

Both Small V and myself only managed to do half the route today as the weather was way too hot and humid. It was terrible as the air was mostly still in the forest trail, and we were sweating and struggling to catch our breaths. A number of times we stopped for rest, and I had to remove my helmet, protective eyewear and Camelbak just to improve my ventilation. Throughout the ride, it felt like the inside of a tunnel, where the air is hot and humid. We uanimously decided to call it a day once we came out of the forest trail to rest and hydrate at the "lorry drink stop".

Now as I recalled when both myself and Small V began our XC route, there were two caucasians that appeared physically fit and fast. One of them was riding a Stumpjumper just like mine so I had a good memory of the event. They overtook us, but at one of the descending hairpin turn, as I stopped and moved aside to give way to the second overtaking rider, and just after passing me at the hairpin to begin the descend, his bike tripped onto something (a stump or one of the rocks at the descending slope), and he was in a state of potentially falling off his bike but he resisted. The end result was seeing him hopping single-legged while his left leg was lifted high and over the top tube, while hands still clinging onto his bike. He almost hopped his way halfway down the slope in a test of fitnesse to regain control against momentum and gravity. I couldn't do anything as I can only watch him do this strange "dance". When he finally regained composure, he looked back at me as if in annoyance before riding off. I resisted laughing as much as I could, but I probably snapped some veins in my face doing this.

At one of the smaller sloped descent, Small V's bike tire hit a rock, and according to him, he decided to bail out of his bike. I arrived at the scene late to find there was a decent distance between himself (where he landed) and his bike. Perverse as it may seem, I felt like laughing again. It was funny as the bike is "here", while the rider is somewhere "there". It looked almost paranormal.

My turn came as I tripped onto a stump during a small descent, but again! I was not able to unclip from my SPDs on time (this time is my right pedal and my "chocolate foot"!) and I was throw sideways together with my bike on the right of the trail. Small V was right behind me to witness the event with his concluding statement, "now I can see the danger of using SPDs in this condition". Hahahaha!!! Fortunately, the ground was soft and my newly purchased Evo Lite XC knee guards protected my knee from raw bruising with the ground.

All-in-all, the heat and humidity really sapped our energy and enthusiasm. Shi Qiang and Jimmy rode to meet us at our rest point before we slowly rode back to the island jetty for our return trip.

The seawater kept splashing my bike on the bumboat during our return trip from the island. I had to do a thorough washdown and lubrication of the moving parts that evening as salt is harmful to chains, bolts and moving parts where the metal will rust.

We actually wanted to have dinner at Pengerang, but we realised that the last return trip to Singapore is 4.00pm, which will be too rush for us. We settled to have our dinner at the Ubin First Stop Restaurant, which I found the dishes tasty.

XC Riding At Bukit Timah

2009-09-19T22:00:00.010+08:00

Another riding session, this time, back to Bukit Timah Mountain Biking Trail with Small and Old V, Foong and myself. I think BK in relative to other trails, have more jagged-rock infested long and steep climbs and descents. It was one of the worst cycling event, as we persisted to go riding despite a morning rain storm. We met at the food centre located at top floor of Beauty World Centre, and waited for the rain to subside. Then we drove to the car park area of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve Visitor Centre, and began the dirt ride in the rain soaked terrain. It drizzled throughout the journey, and it doesn't help that my bike's tire knobs are already worn and lack traction; we couldn't stop at impromptu restpoints for long due to mosquito bites; I also didn't have a good nap the night before; and my eyewear lens were fogged most of the time during the ride. I also think SPDs are not so good idea in this terrain.

Reference:

XC Riding At Pulau Ubin

2009-09-13T22:00:00.023+08:00

Myself, Small and Old Vincent hopped onto the bumboat with our bikes from Changi Point Ferry Terminal, on our way to Pulau Ubin. Ticket is single trip, and it costs $2.50 per person, and $2 per bicycle. The last boat leaves the island back to mainland at 7.00 pm.

We didn't sit inside the boat as we wanted to enjoy the breeze and scenery during the short ride.

We proceeded onto the XC mountain biking routes starting on the west side of the island, covering the XC and black diamond trails, and exited on the "halfway" point at about the north-eastern area of the island for a much needed "oasis" of coconut juice, 100plus, and etc.

After our drink stop, we continued into the forested trails to complete the remaining routes from north-east section. We took shelter from the rain at one of the training sheds at Outward Bound School, before heading back towards the south central part of the island near the ferry terminal.

Throughout the XC rides in the forested trails, Old Vincent's bike chain broke (twice!) while the thunderstorm started pouring on us, I almost gone vertically upside-down during a steep climb as I was momentarily unable to unclip from my SPD pedals to dismount, and Small Vincent was thrown from his bike and rolled downslope a little as he missed a footing which we mistaken as the trail's edge, but instead was already the slope's sidewall!

Finished the whole XC ride, and checking out some stuff at the island's Information Kiosk before our late lunch.

A nice rustic traditional coffee-shop restaurant. And we were all exhausted, soaked and feeling cold due to the thunderstorm.

I'm exhausted and hungry, and here doing a lackadaisical "victory" sign pose for the photo shoot.

Goofy shot: very thirsty ... must drink lots of fluids, in this case, it's teh-o ice limau, size "G" for giant.

Reference:

Gadgets by aBowman

2009-09-08T05:00:00.007+08:00

Fish

A really cool gadget to simulate fishes from the top view. Move mouse cursor to make them follow your cursor trail, and click anywhere within the "pond" to drop food particles.

Hamster
Explore what you could make Mr. Hamster do.

Click here for more gadgets by aBowman.

Schumi Is Out Of F1 2009

2009-08-11T23:16:00.007+08:00

Just when the hopes are high, coupled with the excitement of anticipating Michael Schumacher, the SEVEN time F1 champion, to appear at the Singapore GP towards September 2009. We now have news that Schumi has called off his return to F1 due to the lingering injury on his neck from a bike accident which happened earlier this year. Ferrari will now be appointing their test driver Luca Badoer as Massa's replacement. What a total meltdown of disappointment! But his health is priority, of course, but I feel like fainting.

Reference:

Schumacher calls off comeback

A State Of Trance Podcast Episode 83 by Armin van Buuren

2009-08-11T23:09:00.000+08:00

Featuring the sweetest selection of Trance music compiled by Armin van Buuren in his new A State Of Trance 2009 CD. I just started listening to lots of Trance music recently thanks to YouTube.

Till The Sky Falls Down by Dash Berlin

2009-08-11T22:30:00.001+08:00

I enjoy Trance music, well not all, but some. It's especially best experienced on the dance floor, which used to be at the Ministry Of Sound at The Cannery, Clarke Quay (but now no more). My fav was on the rotating platform in the Main Arena, where I danced all night and perspired as if I went for a cycling session. I haven't been to its replacement ever since it disappeared, which is now ZIRCA. Maybe it's now time to "chiong" at the new spot. Trance music makes me feel so inspired to wanna be a Trance DJ instead.

Here's a video of world top Trance DJ Armin van Buuren performing at his "Armin Only" 2008 live concert, the title "Till The Sky Falls Down" by Dash Berlin.

Here's the OMV version. "OMV" is an abbreviation for Original Music Video.

Reference:

Armada Music

Ayam Penyet Dinner

2009-08-09T23:26:00.003+08:00

This was my second visit to the Ayam Penyet Ria chain of restaurants. The first one was at Lucky Plaza, where I had its signature dish, Ayam Penyet. This time, I was at its new branch at basement of Novena Square 2. I ordered Gado-gado instead.

I have been to Novena area very often(daily) due to my Father being warded at the nearby Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Never Fade Away by John O'Callaghan (feat. Lo-Fi Sugar)

2009-08-07T01:30:00.001+08:00

Never fade away
Never fading out
Stars aren’t so bright
When you’re not here
I’ll wait forever my dear

Your light, your light
Your light, your light
May never disappear

Carry on through the night
Tomorrow you’ll find
A healed heart and a calming mind
A ray of light this world will not decline

Schumi Preps His Return For F1 2009

2009-08-03T00:01:00.018+08:00

Looks like I'm gonna have a fever. No, it's not H1N1 Influenza, but the news that seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher will fill in the cockpit seat for injured Felipe Massa for the Ferrari Team, is giving me the highs. Not to sound perverse, I'm looking forward to "Schumi" racing at the upcoming Singapore GP Night Race in September 2009, that is if Felipe Massa is not fully recovered to resume racing for Ferrari by then. With the Concorde Agreement signed between FOA and the Teams just days before, together with the return of Michael Schumacher to burn rubber on the tracks, the current F1 2009 season of 7 remaining races will promise to be a box office hit of mega-proportions.

News video of Felipe Massa's crash caused by head injury, which shows a part (spring) from Rubens Barrichello's car flying off at high speed and hitting Massa's helmet at his top left corner.

Michael Schumacher test running on a Ferrari F2007 with slick tyres (he can't test Ferrari's current season car due to F1 regulations).

BBC Top Gear - "The Stig" is revealed. (But is this for real?)

Reference:

Now Or Never by DJ Shah (feat. Aruna) Intro Clubmix

2009-08-01T12:37:00.013+08:00

Here I am
Starting over
Once again
I lost my place
The edges frayed
The story ended
And its still so hard to face

I wanna cry on your shoulder
But I'll smile and try to find my way

Seasons come and go
Nothing lasts forever
We're all on borrowed time

Seasons come and go
Nothing lasts forever
We're all on borrowed time
And love's not set in stone
But life is now or never
You and I can make the world our own

So here we are
Pushing forward
Pulled apart
And turned around
The ties untied
The world wide open
The ever-after here and now

I wanna cry on your shoulder
But I'll smile
I know I'll be okay

Seasons come and go
Nothing lasts forever
We're all on borrowed time
And love's not set in stone
But life is now or never
You and I can make the world our own

Now is our time to shine
Now is our time to stand up tall
We can have it all
All the stars realigned
Every ending turned around
Cuz it's our time
Startïng now

Other Version:

Now Or Never by DJ Shah (feat. Aruna) - Acoustic Version

That Failed Endeavour

2009-07-31T12:30:00.002+08:00

This is how I feel about our situation right then, and now. Or should I say how we may have collectively felt the same - to nail down whatever tasks we could anticipate to only have the whole thing blow-up right in our face. This is also a final tribute to Team "Nano", before the "lone survivor" is re-organised with Team "Fluffy" for a new Team. Godspeed.

Casper The Commuter Cat

2009-07-31T11:44:00.005+08:00

Apart from the heart-warming feel of this piece of news, this is also a yardstick of an evolved society. I don't think this is possible in Singapore, especially the fact that my country is getting crowdy with the increase in population density. If Casper is here, she may likely end-up at the local animal pound if no animal loving samaritan comes to her rescue, and probably put to sleep if no one comes to claim or adopt her within a certain time frame.

Central Station Antwerp Dance

2009-07-30T15:12:00.015+08:00

Wow ... I mean ... WOW.

And at Cardiff city centre (Wales, UK), another flash mob to celebrate The Sound of Music at Wales Millennium Centre. The coordinated movement of humans are a beautiful visual treat.

Godzilla Soccer

2009-07-18T14:34:00.004+08:00

From my childhood favourite king of monsters of ALL time...

The Large Hadron Collider

2009-07-18T01:00:00.009+08:00

The LHC was halted in September last year due to a damage in sector 3-4. As a result, the LHC operation was stopped and I read that the repairs were completed in July 2009 this year. The latest news is that the European Organization for Nuclear Research is targeting October 2009 to resume its operation.

Will the scientists finally discover the elusive Higgs Boson, a.k.a. "God" particle? Or will it create blackholes that will eventually destroy our planet?

BBC-Horizon - The Six Billion Dollar Experiment

Reference:

Over the Way by Europa Huang (黃建为)

2009-07-17T01:52:00.014+08:00

It's cold in the stream
I jump in and swim
being a dreamer
saying nothing in words...

Music Video Extract

Full Version

The sunshine's come, the flowers dance along the river, the mountain.
It's cold in the stream, I jump in and swim, being a dreamer, saying nothing in words.

Approaching to a child, ignoring the crowd.
I hear my heart beat, it's so real.
Nameless song, I've sung it over the way.

And maybe I'll be alone to be on the tramp with the moon.
So you empty the roads leading the craft for truth.

Ya ye ya ye ya ye ya

'Cause I don't have wings to fly so freely like birds in the sky.
I'll have to let go of mind to soar in the wind and smile.

Approaching to a child, ignoring the crowd.
I hear my heart beat, it's so real.
Nameless song, I've sung it over the way.

Sunshine Cleaning

2009-07-11T15:37:00.025+08:00

Watched "Sunshine Cleaning" at a cinema last evening. It was a random choice because I really needed a mental diversion from work. I thought I might be sitting inside the cinema for the next 2 hours wasted in disappointment, just another typical run-of-the-mill hollywoody script, shaking my legs impatiently for it to end, as the sound system was irritating and of poor quality as there were lots of static during the commercials before the movie. I suspect the sound system may be damaged. I was hoping it was just the comms, but the sounds equally full of static when the movie finally began, then about 30 minutes into the movie...

This was one of the most enjoyable movie I've watched this year. Yes, it's not a blockbuster, and I suspect the movie's total budget would probably only last 10 seconds of CG rendering time in Transformers, but...

It is touching, heart-warming and you either love or hate the way the story is scripted. I love it of course. Because it mimicks the reality of life that events and things don't happen in (your) desired sequence, or the way Hollywood typically formulates it. Things don't happen the way you would expect it to be, and each venture is heavily paid for by the character either financially or emotionally (just like in real life, there's no lottery luck), with risks involved.

Starrring Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. The character developments are patchy but interesting. Revealing each of them in layers, and recalling the dark memories of their childhood, with the thin red line between hope and insanity. You even get to see a handicapped but gentle guy whom we would stereotypically thought that he is a goner spending the rest of his daylight hours in a cleaning chemicals store only to reveal something very interesting in the form of his own hobby workshop behind the store's office door.

Sunshine Cleaning - Official Movie Website

Airfix Cup 2009 - The Ngee Ann Challenge!

2009-06-20T22:00:00.006+08:00

The 2009 National Airfix Aeronautical Model Engineering Competition, also affectionately known among the local scale modelling community as "Airfix Cup", was successfully held this time round, at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. The Airfix Cup was initiated by Mr. Peter Chiang from Hobby Bounties as a scale modelling competition (cum network and mingling session!) for the scale modelling community. And for the past 2 years, it was held at the Air Force Museum, but this time, perhaps due to better accessibility, the event exceeded all expectations, in terms of the total count of submitted works (exceeded 100!), the overall quality of the submissions, and the way it was organised and supported by Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

Can you see the tail of the A-4SU Super Skyhawk in the background outside the room?

While Peter Chiang (an Aeronautical Engineer himself), very generously sponsored the prizes as usual (I would label him as a scale modelling philanthropist!), the running of the event was supported by the staff and students from The Aerospace Technology department under The Mechanical Engineering Division of SoE Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Even the Director from the School of Engineering - Mechanical Engineering Division was highly enthusiastic about the whole event. It was also heart-warming to see the organising staff (a Senior Lecturer & Course Manager) working together with his students to run the show like a romping Dad with his kids at campfire, and seems like they were all very pumped up about it. It was definitely a different academic environment compared to my time when the atmosphere was largely disciplinarian and restrictive.

As would be the case, I expected to see local members from the Plamo forum community submitting their works, and be present on the event day. redflag's heavily detailed Prowler not only stole the show by winning the Masterclass First Prize, the level of his craft had many modellers salivating(or feeling depressed?) and commenting his submission was more befitting to be on the international arena. Flanker's huge 1/32 Sukhoi SU27 Flanker-B won the Masterclass Second Prize, and with his eye-popping super detailed landing gears, it's just impossible for him not to win something. While viper1972's superbly built Phantom was expected to win something, and certainly he didn't disappoint us(me!) by achieving the Masterclass Third Prize. Even the Seniorclass category submissions feature some very amazing works. While the Juniorclass category had some excellent works that made us wonder "is this really made by a kid!!??".

redflag's Prowler - how to beat this level of workmanship!?

Flanker's SU27 Flanker-B - oh, how I absolutely love former Soviet Union or Russian birds. Beware his super-detailed landing gears, with working pistons!

viper1972's Navy Phantom was made with god's hands.

Since 2007 when the event was organised, on each passing year, I can see the significant improvements in the overall quality of the submitted works. As the winners from Seniorclass are promoted to Masterclass category of the next event, adding to that is the gradual rise in the number of submissions on each year, I certainly hope this is translating into a positive spiral for the hobby itself. I meant why not? This hobby helps to develop motor ability of hand-eye coordination, mental attention to detail, planning skills, adherence to instructions, logic, precision and especially patience! And many more!

Local aircraft modelling legend/hero Leslie Choy's Israeli Mirage showcases his flawless airbrushing skills.

I really liked this bikini gal and glider thing!

Impressive duo at 1/48: gb_madcat_sl's RSAF F-16 "Fighting Falcon" and Daniel's Israeli F-16I Sufa, both with conformal fuel tanks.

king_gojulasmk2 (a.k.a. "KGM2") JGSDF was one of the entertainment highlights of the event.

KGM1's funny and creative rendition of "Bombs Away!" By the way, KGM1 is KGM2's Dad, the famed father-and-son collaboration, which is well-known among the local community of modellers!

William Chan's huge Tupolev Bear bomber was the biggest submission! And it's only 1/72!

Pazu's (a local veteran modeller) flawlessly executed 1/48 scale A-10A Thunderbolt II was completed in only 3 weeks. Mind boggling!

The fact that it was organised by Ngee Ann Polytechnic (coincidentally also where I graduated with a Electronics Engineering Diploma), held at The Aeronautical Technology department, with a real retired RSAF A-4SU Super Skyhawk and other really cool aeronautical stuff on display, absolutely added grandeur to the event itself.

Admiring, discussing and mingling with modellers from all walks of life.

Juniorclass Category winners group shot with the officials.

Seniorclass Category winners group shot with the officials.

Masterclass Category winners group shot with the officials.

An adorable boy by the name of Jordyn Hay from USA, 7 years old and currently schooling at UWCSEA, is one of the juniorclass category winner. The competition event awareness outreach went to his school, and he bugged his father to make sure he participated in this event with his MiG-29 Fulcrum. Congrats for winning a prize!

Part of the Aerospace workshop aeronautical devices on display are propeller blades, a model of an airport runway and taxi system, a jet engine and a wind tunnel!

Mr. Woon Kok Meng, Director of Mechanical Engineering Division, graciously allowed me to take a photo of him, the banner on his right is Diploma in Aerospace Technology course. The event wouldn't have made it without his support and enthusiasm!

Mr. Peter Chiang(left) from Hobby Bounties, generous sponsor of the prizes, and Mr. Lee Yong Him(right), Senior Lecturer & Course Manager, the "encik" (or "sergeant major") of the event, called the shots on the floor to ensure the balls rolled smoothly.

All hail to the students for maintaining cheerfulness while keeping the event running and doing the brunt of the work!

I sincerely appreciated the efforts of the polytechnic staff and students to support and organise the event. The Director of Mechanical Engineering Division is even talking about planning to hold another one for next year!

Reference:

New Energy Drink

2009-05-30T03:56:00.002+08:00

A new natural isotonic thirst quenching drink that will rapidly replenish fluids and minerals lost through heat and exertion faster than any other isotonic brands? Some say pet drool may also be included.

(Source: Engrish.com)

Overnight Cycling From Pasir Ris To Bishan

2009-05-24T17:06:00.020+08:00

I joined Xiao Vincent and his girlfriend Db for an overnight cycling, from Pasir Ris to Bishan. Initially, the plan was to cover a large loop from Pasir Ris on the East coast southwards, then along East Coast Park towards the City area, and through the Central part of Singapore North-bound from Thomson Road towards Bishan and Ang Mo Kio and back to the East direction to Pasir Ris. The plan was to also ride along street pavements as much as possible.

I rendezvoused with them up at Pasir Ris West Plaza, and we began our journey around 1.00am on Sunday morning.

In the beginning, the trip was almost cancelled abruptly. Xiao Vincent's bike chain snapped off when we were just almost into the second kilometre. Fortunately, I brought along a Park Tool Mini Chain Brute. We removed the broken chain links and reconnected the chain again. I accidentally routed the chain incorrectly through the rear derailleur sprocket guides, and we had to redo the task again. After which, we rode high and low for the nearest petrol station to wash our hands (especially mine) which were fully grease stained from handling the chain. This event shaved off almost an hour from our trip time.

Along Scotts Road next to the Goodwood Park Hotel before going to Thomson Road

However, probably due to a lack of sufficient sleep and nutrition by Xiao Vincent and Db, they were especially tired that night. By the time we reached Bishan, it was almost 6.00am. We decided to end the session, and had breakfast at McDonalds in Bishan Junction 8. They boarded a cab homebound while I rode back to my hometown nearby where I immediately hit the shower upon arriving home - I stinked.

In summary, these are the prominent routes that I recalled that we covered:

Pasir Ris Drive
Changi Beach Park
East Coast Park
Fort Road
Republic Avenue
Kallang
Mountbatten
Raffles Boulevard
Orchard
Scotts Road
Thomson Road
Braddell Road
Bishan

The bike variety - from Martini to S-Works

Planning for the next invasion?

The exhausted couple.

Xiao Vincent and Me.

On Happiness by Lama Marut

2009-05-22T12:48:00.013+08:00

Why is it that there are some parts of you ...
that doesn't want to be happy?
Maybe the resistance comes from the realisation
that we have indeed ... for our whole lives
just been trying to be happy
but we have been so thoroughly misinformed
about how to be happy
that we recognised that our quest for happiness ...
is superficial

The Buddha summarises this ...
in the old sutras ...
Here's why we are not happy ...
Because we don't get what we want;
We get what we don't want;
And we are separated from what we do want
That's pretty much comprehensive!

Gravity by Coldplay

2009-05-20T01:57:00.002+08:00

And then I looked up on the sun and I could see
Oh, the way that gravity pulls on you and me
And then I looked up at the sky and saw the sun
And the way that gravity pushes on everyone
On everyone...

In Loving Memory of the Departed

2009-05-16T03:00:00.006+08:00

The last funeral wake that I attended was of the late grandfather of a friend.

Based on what I learnt, the majority of the immediate family members are a pragmatic, well-educated and atheistic group of people spanning three generations. I also understand that they are not atheist in the strictest definition of the term, but more like “freethinkers” per se. There are only two non-atheists among them, one is the surviving wife of the deceased, who is the friend's grandmother; and the other is the deceased's only son, who is the friend's uncle.

Prior to attending this wake, I attended various other funerals before: Buddhist, Taoist, Christian and Catholic. But this is a secular funeral, as my understanding from the friend is her late grandfather doesn't subscribe to the ideas of a creator god, a supreme being and neither does he seek protection from deities or understood Buddhism or Taoism. He believed in living the pragmatic life based on the morals and ethics of the socio-cultural context of his time, which at least to me (as a Buddhist) is just as well.

The grandmother is a "traditional Buddhist", or at least that's what my friend categorised her to be. I suspect that her understandings about life, death and the afterlife are largely similar to my late grandmother, and as such, I would think her ideas may be a typical Taoist/Buddhist mix together with the superstitious baggage which comes with our local Chinese culture of her generation.

The uncle also considers himself a Buddhist, or at least, his beliefs are "similar-to-Buddhism" as he had self-declared. He was eager to chat with me after I arrived at the wake and paid my respects to the deceased. He described the organisation which he frequents, what he practised, and shared his paranormal experiences. We finally sat down at a table, and my time was largely absorbed into this mainly one-sided conversation which I was too kind to terminate abruptly. However, he may have been disappointed that I appeared as largely pragmatic in my replies, as I have none of the paranormal experiences to reciprocate.

As this was a secular funeral by definition of her late grandfather's secular outlook on life, there are no religious ceremonies or rites to follow. However, my friend did tell me that her grandmother wished for a simple Buddhist chanting ritual if I could volunteer to conduct one, if possible. So she finally reminded me about it. For a moment, I was hesitant. This was because I have never leaded any funeral rites, even though I "project managed" my own late grandmother's funeral last year. Although I also did bring a Buddhist Puja book along as instinct had driven me to, just in case it was needed, before I left home.

Thoughts ran through my mind, as I made some salient mental considerations. Firstly, the most senior and closest bereaved family member to the deceased is his wife. She should have the highest priority regarding her wishes, which in this case, was for a single session of a simple Buddhist chanting session in the midst of an atheistic funeral wake. Secondly, the deceased is a “free thinker”, I could only infer that he doesn't believe in an afterlife. So technically speaking, unless he has some last wishes on how his funeral is to be conducted, it doesn't matter now because he doesn't believe he will be able to experience or witness his own funeral, nor will how the funeral ritual is performed affects his afterlife or "memory" since he doesn't subscribe to such ideas. This means my consideration is more about the bereaved family than the deceased. Thirdly, and probably due to filial respect, the children and grandchildren didn't object to the mother/grandmother's request, which is very important in my opinion, since the surviving members of the family are "free thinker" by majority. To maintain harmony of the ties when emotions may be high during this period of grieving is more important than anything else considered.

I also asked myself, should I even accede to her request? I am a Buddhist lay person, not a monk or nun, and although it is not uncommon for a Buddhist lay person to lead a ritual, the chief consideration is the fact that I have no prior experiences to do this neither had I even prepared myself for it. I was also worried I may embarrass myself in case I messed it up in some ways or another.

As this request was just quite impromptu so I have to make quick mental considerations of the above points, to arrive at a quick decision.

Considering the factors are favourable to her grandmother's request, and putting aside my personal fear of embarrassment, the only negating factor would be not knowing or not remembering what to recite for the occasion. And since I have the Puja book with me, this is no longer a strong excuse either.

So I yielded to the request with the hope this will make her grandmother feel better, perhaps. I gently requested the bereaved family members to each take a chair, so as to sit around the casket of the deceased. I carefully explained that this will be a short chanting session in which the general goal is to recollect the goodness of the deceased person, whom is a loving husband, a good father and a doting grandfather to each of them. I requested that everyone think positive thoughts about him while I did a simple opening Puja followed by a short recitation of selected passages that I am familiar with, in traditional Pali language.

After this event was over, and weeks had passed, I began to look back at it. "Is this funeral for the living or for the deceased?" I asked myself. Or, more appropriately, my question is, "Is this funeral mainly for the living or for the deceased?" As my friend's late grandfather was a “free-thinker”, my answer would be this funeral is for the bereaved family members and friends of the deceased. It was the time and place for the family members to remember the goodness of the deceased, a time to process the grief of his departure, to ponder on the impermanent nature of life and human relationships in general (and thus how precious they are), a time for the reunion of family and gathering of friends, and even an opportunity for the reconciliation & settlement of past differences among the persons who gathered as hearts unite for the grieving.

The request for a simple ritual is also part of the grieving process. It is with the hope that my friend’s grandmother shall feel assured that her husband will journey on to the unknown (to the next life, in the context of my beliefs), hopefully blessed and protected by the love and remembrance of his loved ones.

Attending this funeral was quite an enlightening experience as it allowed me to remind myself of the realities of life and its impermanence. I gradually developed a curiosity about her late grandfather, in terms of his personality and outlook on life in general, his values, principles and ethics. There is a sense of regret of not having an opportunity to be acquainted with him when he was alive, even though there couldn't be any reasons to know him in the first place. Nevertheless, I am glad to know that he lives on, in the loving memories of the surviving family members and friends. Just like how my grandmother still lives on in my memory, with her reassuring smiles, whenever I'm facing life's challenges.

Steps to Reset a StarHub MaxOnline Cable Modem with Wireless Router

2009-05-09T01:15:00.013+08:00

Some of my friends subscribe to StarHub's "MaxOnline" Internet service. They are issued with a cable modem which has a coaxial cable plugged into the SCV wall socket's TV point. It is quite often that we will see a splitter at this connection point so that the socket access can be shared with a television - this is normal. Another very common add-on to such a setup will be users are likely to want wireless capability with their Internet access. So they will go to Funan or Sim Lim Square to purchase a wireless router if their cable modem do not already have wireless capability. With such a setup, you will see a wireless router (a box with an stick antenna) connected to the cable modem (typically a black box with Motorola logo) which is turn connected to the SCV TV socket.

The challenges I've encountered helping my friends to configure such a setup was the result of: not reading the documentation; lack of prior experience and forgetting what I previously did; not realising that there are some idiosyncratic characteristics between the cable modem and the wireless router if you need to reset their connection, and lastly ... from time wasted in trial-and-error. I've learnt my lesson.

Router configuration and wireless security settings aside, I'd like to document this important and yet simple series of steps which you can perform if all else fails. It happened to me before, that when I didn't follow the steps right, the Internet connection refused to work. Below are the steps to "reset" the connection between the cable modem and the wireless router, which is an adaptation from the documentation of a D-Link Router. This is the idiosyncratic characteristic that I described earlier.

Step 1 - Turn Off System
- Turn the cable modem off (first)
- Turn the wireless router off (second)
- Leave them off for at least 1 minute

Step 2 - Turn On System
- Turn the cable modem on (first)
- Wait until you get solid cable lights on the cable modem (i.e. no lights are blinking)
- Turn the wireless router on (second)
- Wait for about 30 seconds

Now try to connect to the network using your computer/notebook or wi-fi device. Repeat the above one more time if it still doesn't work. And if it still doesn't work, then it's time to request for help!

Thoughts About My Father

2009-05-08T02:23:00.030+08:00

Life's struggles turned a little poetic as I have been thinking about my Father in general, his struggles with past ailments and his gradually failing constitution...

Dear Father, can you hear?
My words of angst, hopes and tears
While I know you're waiting for the day that we dread
After your lifetime of toil to bring home the bread

Now that you are fighting disease and fatigue
While gone are some of your friends and colleagues
As you spend your waking hours at the chair
Seeing me leave the doorway entrance to downstairs

It's with love and tears that I recall
Trying to keep your silence despite the cash shortfall
A silent hope to halt the diseases' crawl
And so the hopeful visits to the medical hall

Pretending that everything is in containment
Until the time came when it became malignant
That I have to drag you to hospital for treatment
As you almost lost your fight against the ailment

Because I'm your son after all
I know and I can see it in your eyes
The tiredness of a life that has seen many truths and lies
Of hopes and struggles that came, and passed by

Dear Father, don't despair
While our relationship may look like it's beyond repair
Indeed because blood is thicker than water
Even as your memories began to fail, my love to you shall not waiver

Even though I am now a man of good health
For in your eyes, I will always be your little child
Sometimes I can sense it in your mind's eye
You wished your hopes and dreams to live on as if they're mine

Dear Father, I know you always try not to be a burden
Even as you worry silently about my life's direction
But worry not, I shall strive with cheer about my future
You can pass your hopes and dreams unto me, and that's for sure

Ayam Penyet Lunch

2009-05-04T13:57:00.002+08:00

As recommended by a colleague, we had ayam penyet for lunch at Lucky Plaza. It is basically "smashed" fried chicken with some kangkong and a large piece of cabbage topped with a generous serving of fried crumbs. The chilli sauce that accompanied the dish is called "sambal terasi", which is sweet and hot. It is made up of chilli (with seeds), shrimp paste, tomato and other spices. The restaurant is Ayam Penyet Ria located at 4th floor of Lucky Plaza at Orchard (escalator exit turn left and walk towards corner end of shopping floor).

Faith and Open-Mindedness

2009-05-03T23:53:00.008+08:00

"I don't know" is a wonderful answer.
It is honest, accurate and requires no faith.
There is no shame in admitting you don't know something.
On the contrary, the only shame is in claiming you know,
when you don't or can't possibly know.

Then what is open-mindedness according to QualiaSoup?

Smooth E Baby Face Foam

2009-05-02T01:45:00.006+08:00

An entertaining and enjoyable a 4-part love story. And it's actually a facial foam commercial! Smooth E, Smooth E, Smooth E!!!

Here's another one of its standalone commercial, entitled "Foam".

Heart Mantra by Various Artists

2009-05-01T11:55:00.000+08:00

May you enjoy comtemplative-peace & quietude, with compassion and loving-kindness during this holiday.

tayata om gate gate pāragate pārasamgate bodhi svāhā

Heart Mantra by Ito Kayo (Japanese artist).

Heart Mantra by Yangjin Lamu Yoga (Tibetan artist).

Reference:

What Forgiving Is and Isn't by Lama Marut

2009-04-30T20:48:00.004+08:00

Forgiving isn't an act of weakness ... you will realise what kinds of strength it takes to do it ... it takes strength to forgive ... and don't think it's an act of capitulation ... oh, if I forgive them then that means that I capitulate, they're right and I'm wrong.

Honest Prayer by Bishop Spong

2009-04-30T01:29:00.016+08:00

... and when somebody's dying, you enter into life at a very deep level if you're gonna talk with them all about that. There's something about knowing that death is imminent that makes all of the game playing that people do in relationships disappear.

... now that forces you to make some brand new understandings of prayer ... I don't even like the word anymore ... I pray everyday of my life, but I don't use the word "prayer". I use the word "meditation" or "contemplation".

I think that prayer time is sitting or standing self-consciously in the reality of the transcendent dimension we call God, getting in touch with it, letting it fill your life, so that you can begin to operate out of it, and as you operate out of it, you begin to live the life of prayer rather than do the activity of prayer. When Saint Paul said that we are to pray without ceasing, he surely didn't mean we are to say prayers without ceasing.

We Need to be Educated About Homosexuality

2009-04-30T00:55:00.015+08:00

For the record, I am straight (I'd better clarify this before a potential friend of the opposite gender clicks on the close window button). But I've learnt enough from medical science that homosexuality is not a mental psychosis, nor it is simply being weird, or perversion. I must admit that I used to have homophobia and would joke about gays & lesbians among friends in a derogative manner, and mindlessly. However, all that changed since I chanced upon one of Bishop Spong's audio talks wherein he spoke about his own encounters with homosexual priests, and how he got the help of medical professionals to educate him about homosexuality, resulting in a proper understanding that these "individuals" were not the result of negative spiritual influence, nor do they need to be "corrected".

Get Educated About Homosexuality. An animated video which serves to explain homosexuality to the man on the street.

National Geographic explains the biology of homosexuality.

What's morally wrong with homosexuality?

Reference:

Bishop Spong on Homosexuality

You Can Shine

2009-04-28T21:09:00.014+08:00

Music is a visible thing.
Close your eyes.
You will see.

Believe it or not, it's a Thai commercial for Pantene Chrysalis. Nevertheless, it is an emotionally "feel good" or inspiring short story. Produced by Grey Thailand. One observation consistent throughout the main character is her beautiful long black hair, maintained with Pantene shampoo, of course.

James Randi Speaks: Charles Lynch

2009-04-25T12:11:00.004+08:00

James Randi is a magician and scientific skeptic best known to debunk paranormal claims. He is also the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation, This time, he is discussing about an event that got him infuriated...something really stupid about the law of his country.

Cycling with Vince Along Old Upper Thomson Rd

2009-04-18T22:30:00.012+08:00

We started at about 3.30pm in the afternoon. The sun was scorching, and the air was extra humid and extremely warm. We barely started the journey and thirst came quickly. We rehydrated as much as we could during our stop at one of the petrol station. I could say that it was a ride in the heatwave. But we continued with the ride through the Bishan Parks, to Old Upper Thomson Road, and covered both Lower Peirce into Upper Peirce Reservoirs.

Vince decided to have a test ride of my bike while we stopped under the shades at Lower Peirce Reservoir.

Riding my bike to show-off. I couldn't ride Vince's bike as its seat height is too high for me, and the seatpost clamp wasn't quick release type.

We ended the evening with nice Masala Thosai dinner at The Casuarina Curry Restaurant.

Chicken a la Carte - A True Story

2009-04-15T13:09:00.005+08:00

This film won in the 2006 Berlin Film Festival as the Most Popular Short Film, directed and produced by Ferdinand Dimadura. It is about the hunger and poverty brought about by Globalization.

Germany Bans Monsanto's GM Maize MON810

2009-04-15T10:07:00.009+08:00

German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner announced recently that Germany is banning the cultivation of MON 810 maize. Monsanto is the producer of the genetically modified(GM) corn MON810. The cultivation and sale of this crop is now prohibited.

"I have come to the conclusion that there is a justifiable reason to believe that genetically modified maize of the type MON 810 presents a danger to the environment," Aigner said.

Based on the news I read, MON810 is the only GM crop allowed in Germany, and since it will be banned, there will be no other GM crops permitted in the country as of current knowledge. France, Austria, Greece, Hungary, and Luxemburg that have already banned the cultivation of this crop.

Incidentally, I wrote a blog article about Monsanto, the world's leading producer of agricultural herbicide and genetically modified crops.

There is also a documentary by Deutsche Welle ("DW-TV") called "The Genetic Conspiracy" available as a 3-part videoclip on YouTube, on GM food products (Part 1 video link below.)

Summer In Berlin by Alphaville

2009-04-15T02:06:00.003+08:00

Open your eyes
And let the sun break in for a while
There may be something
That you've never seen inside

Sometimes Failure Is Inevitable

2009-04-13T11:35:00.025+08:00

In a way which is similar to the Kobayashi Maru test, how we deal with our failures should at least be as important as how we deal with personal successes.

It is impossible for one not to err. For to err is human, as the saying goes. The question is not about making of mistakes, but to ponder on the hows, the whys and how not tos.

There was a time when, despite my utmost, I could not prevent the inevitable failure of a treasured relationship. It is during these moments when how I deal with the grief as a result of the loss, became more important than how I have faced the positive outcomes of successful endeavours in my life.

I think it is very important that we reflect on how it happened, or how it started. Sometimes, the problem arose as a result of the eventuality, or the final eruption of a sequence of accumulated events, which I think can be loosely similar to the Swiss Cheese Model. It could be the day-to-day mismanagement or mishandling of communications, or signs have been ignored or taken for granted until the seams are finally burst.

Next, I will also try to look at the whys or the causes of it. For instance, how I became frustrated and why was I frustrated. It could be that my outbursts of anger was the result of being felt that I was taken for granted, and why I finally burst into anger because of the accumulation of other related events, and personal delusions. Usually, with a clear channel of transparent and honest dialogue, we can eliminate misinterpretations, misunderstandings and doubts, before these things evolve into personal demons and outbursts of anger, which is usually followed by regret. But it is not always the case because of various barriers to the communication.

I will also try to look at ways to prevent the same problem from happening again. Of course, there will be times when failure is inevitable, just like I cannot control the weather, or it takes two hands to clap in a partnership. However, at least I can tune my perspective and attitude towards it, because these are within my capacities.

How I deal with my failures, be it an undertaking, a project or a partnership should also encompass how I should face up to it. To cover up mistakes, wrongdoings or to apply ignorance will not achieve the effective learning experience as compared to facing up to it. Of course, sometimes it takes a large dose of courage and honesty to admit I was in the wrong, or to even point out how foolish I was. But I figured that this is the best way to learn, grow and evolve from this experience. However, I cannot expect the party or entity for which my mistakes have caused harm, by means of being emotionally hurt, angered, or in other ways as the case may be, be readily able to forgive and to accept the admission and recognition of my wrongdoings. Neither can I expect others to have the same level of understanding or courage to accept my admissions, so as to accept and to forgive wholeheartedly. There will be times we pay for our mistakes with the ultimate price of losing the relationship, the trust, the lifelong friendship, career or business opportunity.

Some past failures can be so painful, it can be etched onto our memories like the burnt scars from a hot iron. It is easier to forgive oneself (or to those whom have caused hurt to you) than to forget the memories. This can be a very challenging task, for every slip or mistake that one makes in the current situation, or every sign that resembles the past even if vaguely, can threaten to throw a long dark looming shadow over one's motivation and will to correct the present, and to give up all too readily. I think to have friends with listening ears are very important to help us process our pains and mistakes. It is unfortunate but true, sometimes we don't have any listening ears at all. That's where there are public helplines to throw a lifeline to these people in times of utter desperation. We now live in an age where advices are cheap and plentiful, but good listening ears are rare treasures ...

(incomplete rant, or an inevitably failed article).