Saturday, May 31, 2008
The Adidas Sundown marathon
Tonight is the night...
And this is the route I'll be running, 42km men's open category.
Posted by MK at 12:33 PM
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Software
Software doesn't just appear on the shelves by magic. That program shrink-wrapped inside the box along with the indecipherable manual and 12-paragraph disclaimer notice actually came to you by way of an elaborate path, through the most rigid quality control on the planet. Here, shared for the first time with the general public, are the inside details of the program development cycle.1. Programmer produces code he believes is bug-free.
2. Product is tested. 20 bugs are found.
3. Programmer fixes 10 of the bugs and explains to the testing department that the other 10 aren't really bugs.
4. Testing department finds that five of the fixes didn't work and discovers 15 new bugs.
5. See 3.
6. See 4.
7. See 5.
8. See 6.
9. See 7.
10. See 8.
11. Due to marketing pressure and an extremely pre-mature product announcement based on overly-optimistic programming schedule, the product is released.
12. Users find 137 new bugs.
13. Original programmer, having cashed his royalty check, is nowhere to be found.
14. Newly-assembled programming team fixes almost all of the 137 bugs, but introduce 456 new ones.
15. Original programmer sends underpaid testing department a postcard from Fiji. Entire testing department quits.
16. Company is bought in a hostile takeover by competitor using profits from their latest release, which had 783 bugs.
17. New CEO is brought in by board of directors. He hires programmer to redo program from scratch.
18. Programmer produces code he believes is bug-free....
Posted by MK at 10:03 PM
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
CoolerMaster casing contest
Guess what? There was a CoolerMaster casing contest, and even though I just posted it up mine for fun, it got into the finals!Check it out here: CoolerMaster Casing contest
If you are a VR-zone member help me vote!
Vote here: VRzone
If you are not, then just view the casings! You may see how our local computer enthusiasts deck out their casings. Most of them are still on air-cooling. There were a lot of other very nice casings displayed in the forums, and I thought there were many worthy of being in the finals instead of those who just slapped some stickers onto their casing.
Posted by MK at 10:58 AM
Monday, May 26, 2008
Water-cooling all over again
I've been really very busy, so I'll be posting up back-dated late entries, but true to the date of occurrence.I had many errands and missions to fulfill today, but one of the most gratifying moments was when I finally got my water-cooling stuff. It's all second-hand but at a real bargain! I finally got the following stuff.
1. D-TEK FuZion Universal CPU Waterblock with 1/2" barbs
2. Swiftech MCRES-MICRO reservoir
3. Swiftech MCW60 VGA block
4. Swiftech MCP650 pump
5. Thermochill PA3.120 radiator
6. DangerDen TDX473 waterblock
To me getting this stuff is akin to a girl getting a drop-dead dress @ $19.90 when it usually retails for $190. It may be the GSS, but I got lucky chancing upon this guy who wanted to dump all this precious stuff in an online forum.
I got a Thermochill 3x 120mm radiator, thermochills are like the HKS radiators of the computer water-cooling industry. Plus a Swiftech MCP650 pump. Yeah, no doubt it's not the best compared to the famous MCP655. But with the MCP655 going for $140 and I got this baby for $30, it's 4x cheaper!
Plus 3 great-quality water-blocks, I managed to get like one of the best universal CPU waterblocks in the world, the D-Tek FuZion, together with the MCW60 and a DangerDen TDX. It's completely a steal for every item I bought even without needing them now.
I remember less than a year ago I got the shitty DangerDen Maze4 and a thermaltake bigwater setup for a total of a few hundred dollars. But this time I spent just a little over a hundred on what would have usually cost $400+ on the market.
Okay, so not being contented with my current water-cooling achievements, it's time to up the ante! I am sure I can do much better over my first water-cooled rig, and have already planned and drawn up plans for my next rig. Which will be so much better and more kick-ass at a fraction of the original cost. Stay tuned...
Posted by MK at 1:14 PM
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Preparation for the Sundown Marathon
Today I had the chance to chill out with some close friends, and of course collected my Adidas Sundown Marathon Racepack.It's coming very soon! Inside the pack was the electronic bib with my number tag and the "MK" if you look closely, an adidas singlet and some coupons, drinks and vouchers. The number tag has an electronic non-contact tab behind. Think of it as human ERP. Takes your time when you cross the finishing line I guess, races have become more high-tech. No more collecting of time-chips or reporting your time!
Yes, my current energy stock to prepare for the run. carbo-energy bars, energy-sweets, isotonic drinks...
I haven't been training at all, I'll probably be lucky just to complete this run man. Oh well, will see how it goes then. My last longest run was either a 28km or a 36km. And this will be my first true 42km timed marathon.
Very excited. The race is this Saturday.
I've got 2 coupons which I absolutely have no use for and I am selling them off! It will go to the highest bidder/offer. Message me if you're interested in purchasing these coupons from me. (Very useful if you are planning on getting a Polar heatbeat sensor watch.)
1 x Sports Voucher from Polar Watches. 15% discount. Valid till 30th November 2008. Willing to sell at any price.
1 x Sports Voucher for Key Power International. 20% discount. Valid till 30th June 2008. Willing to sell at any price.
Posted by MK at 12:12 AM
Monday, May 19, 2008
Depleting tolerance.
Today I decided to play a few relaxing games of bowling. Since it is a public holiday, my intent was just to relax and bowl a few games to work on the curl. Half-way through the game a family came by and parked themselves into the adjacent lane.They must be some bowler-family, with father-mom-son easily scoring 140 and above each per game and making alot of noise with every strike they got. They kept intruding into my lane, (the dad teaching the son how to bowl properly), and that 2-person stance kept blocking my lane.
Okay, never mind, I was in no hurry, so whilst they blocked my lane, I sipped my drink and checked my phone. But what really irritated me was when I was about to toss, the damn big-mouth dad came to tell me off that the person on the right lane (his family), should throw first.
He had the audacity to tell me off citing some lame safety reason that the person on the right lane should toss off when both are preparing to enter the lane at the same time. Okay, actually that would have been fine, I'll have taken it that they were very engrossed in their game.
But it was his attitude and they condescending way he spoke to me that elevated my heart-rate. This guy is 1 head shorter than me, probably weighing about the same. Even if he was trained in Silat, I could have taken him on easily.
Okay actually never mind about that too! It was just words after all, you wanna play first go ahead. Then he had the BALLS to put his hand on my right shoulder whilst smirking like a cheshire cat as if he had owned the place and saying that the person(s) on the right lane should always go first as a form of courtesy. He touched me. Like we were long-time friends.
WTH?
If my body was on auto-pilot, he would have been seriously injured. My muscle memory just wanted to wrench his filthy arm off my nice clean shirt, maybe smash his Ulna and radius, and break his metacarpus.
But of course, I kept my tolerance and my cool, so I smiled and pushed his arm gently away, but I just wanted to lash out at him and give that stupid man a piece of my mind. He was like so short. Like a 1.5m or 1.6m or something. But nevermind I am a benevolent person and I brushed it aside, I didn't have any mood to continue bowling anymore, I finished off the last set and left.
As I was leaving, he tried to come up to me again to make amends. But it just didn't sound like it, it sounded more like he embarrassed himself and wanted to be "friends" again. Yeah Right.
I could have destroyed your upper limb you piece of shit. Lets see how you get a score of 140 again. Okay, maybe it was my black face that I returned and he skulked silently back to his pathetic awaiting brood.
First you irritate me, then insult, then man-handle and violate me by touching me?? You are even lucky to be alive. If this was the back alleys of Jakarta, I wonder if you have the same balls to tell off another stranger like that in the face.
Actually I would have not bothered to write this entry at all, but later in the lift, I met all manner of shitty attitude from Singaporeans that really aggravated me for the day.
At the bowling Alley, in the lift, in the Mrt...
People trying to squeeze into the lift, or others in front not letting the ones in the back out, or the ones in the back can't reach the buttons and no one bothers to help PRESS a damn button. I was one of those squeezed into the back, wasn't let out, and missed my level.
That was incredibly irritating I tell you. Plus there was this hostile atmosphere in the lift and everyone is the enemy of the person standing next to him/her.
The same thing happened when I attempted to board the mrt back home. People rushing in as soon as the doors open with complete disregard of those trying to get out, so much so there were actually shouts and vulgarities sprouted at one particular station when there was a 2-way scramble at the doors. Those forcing their way in, and those forcing their way out. It's totally against physics I tell you. And it's not funny.
Never mind about not getting seats, what about standing places! People Can't even MOVE to shift their fat bodyweight aside to let others pass or allow more standing room. Everyone wants to crowd at the door, and those courteous enough to move towards the center find that they can't get out when their station arrives.
We're fast becoming a ultra-dense city like Tokyo or Hong Kong.. Singaporeans are just become slowly intolerable, short-tempered and impatient at public locations. Because of the proximity of the increasing population density in singapore, more and more people are being cramped into the same land area, and because of that people are intruding into the private circles of others more often. It's no wonder why people are getting more irritated and short-tempered. But we can all learn tolerance. Can you imagine if I had retaliated and hit the irritating man in the bowling alley today? There would have been no end to it.
Oh, I do try to be nice when I can. But how can I do it if everyone else out there think I am the enemy? Tell me to be a gracious and courteous Singaporean? Even the "Courteous orange lion" gave up and has left a long time ago...
There should be some major disaster in the selfish land to wake some bloody people up and then people will start becoming nice to one another again.
Posted by MK at 4:33 PM
Sunday, May 18, 2008
The 2nd hurdle.
Okay, today is another big day, I have been selected as one of the few for the 2nd round of tests. Yes! I heard there is a third round before you are confirmed as one of the coveted elite.. So I am actually quite glad the list has been shortened down tremendously!In the morning I was headed to CSC for a slew of psychometric analysis tests. Basically it's a series of tests to test your leadership, problem-solving and cognitive ability. The room was furnished with study desks that were rather immaculate, and had a air of a professional classroom about it. We were first given a cognitive test, where you had to decipher the next possible shape in sequence.
It got progressively harder and there was barely enough time. Next was a terrible math test that was harder than SATS. The questions werent difficult, but it was long and tedious! You had to convert from different units in the same questions or to different values, time-zones or currencies, all without a calculator. I couldn't finish that section and just randomly filled in the last few questions.
I later found out that it was a common sentiment and the other guys faced the same difficulty as well. The last cognitive test was a reasoning and logic thinking test, somewhat similar to the error-finding in SATS.
After that we had a group discussion, where were role-played and made mutual decisions in a fictional futuristic situational scenario and how our responses and decisions were made would then be judged by the observers and 2 accessors from CSC.
I wasn't the first to arrive, and I wasn't the last. There were 6 of us. So these are the other potential candidates.
They've met all the dangerous criteria, not sharing of critical information, keeping quiet to themselves, not being socially open or friendly, not introducing themselves willingly...
They will be major competitors, if we do become colleagues in the near future, after all we're all vying for the same prize. The same goal...
We must be something to have come to the 2nd stage.. I am very sure of it, each of them probably have had equivalent or better academic results as mine, and probably with similar other CCA or leadership achievements to have even come to this 2nd stage.
Am I even in the same league?
They are all notably younger, with the girls a full 3-years younger than me. I am the only poly student to have made it so far!
Poly VS A-level students. Am I reaching for the stars here as a poly student? Why is it only the A-level students get so far and it's always an uphill struggle for a poly student? Maybe the stigma against poly students are still there, and maybe that's why I am finding it harder when compared against other candidates.
Posted by MK at 1:59 PM
Saturday, May 17, 2008
FUSIONMAN
Just to spice up this blog with something interesting. I happened to chance upon this whilst browsing my usual feed of tech websites.Okay, for a long time I've always been dreaming of slapping one or two Jet-Engines onto my bicycle, them Froooooooomppppppp, blast off to 80km/h without even peddling. I may or may not have told a few friends or even posted this idea on my blog.
So then (this idea originated at least 3 years ago), I found out that you CAN buy hobbyist Jet Engines in Singapore. They use these engines in hobbyist RC aeroplanes. I found the most powerful one available was from JetCat, it consumes Jp-7 jet fuel or Kerosene produces about 20kg of thrust and weighs about 3kgs, and will cost a whooping $6,000. The cheapest I found was also from JetCat, producing about 12kgs of thrust for $2,500.
Of course I was damn interested, I even got quotations on the pretext of a University school student. Imagine slapping two of these babies onto a bike together with a container of kerosene and you got 44kgs of forward thrust at full-throttle!!!
Okay so since I don't have $12,000 to spare, the idea fizzled out.
NOW I SEE THIS!!!
This guy actually used the very same engines I've been talking about, he used FOUR JetCat engines of 22kg of thrust each, producing a total of 88kg of thrust. Assuming the entire outfit plus his body weight is about 110kgs, you can get about 0.8 Thrust-To-Weight ratio with this setup, and that's pretty impressive.
This is probably the closest thing you can get to being IRONMAN or Superman.
How I wish I was rich and was like Tony Stark. I wouldn't be spending my money on cars and girls. I'll do crazy things like this.
Yeah, people have called me crazy before.
From the dawn of intellectual thought, man has been contemplating the idea of independent flight, soaring through the clouds, nothing between us and the earth’s surface. What if us humans had wings?
No doubt, airplanes were a huge step towards the independent flight of man, but in order to fly a plane, you have to be a licensed pilot, and who has the time and patience for all of that mess? A Swiss man named Yves Rossy has unveiled his personal flyer, a jet-powered set of wings which allows humans to act as airplanes, even performing plane stunts such as the figure eight.
48-year-old Rossy sprang into the air at 7,500-feet, jumping from the inside of a Pilatus Porter aircraft, with nothing but a pair of eight-feed wide wings standing between himself and the unforgiving Earth below. As Rossy’s free fall slowly evolved into a steady glide, four jet-turbines were ignited, accelerating the man to speeds of 186 miles per hour, or “about 65 miles per hour faster than the typical falling skydiver.”
“I still haven’t used the full potential,” Rossy told reporters, exclaiming his hope to one day use the wings for a fly through the Grand Canyon. He explains how there is almost no stress caused to the body while using the wings, how it’s almost like “riding a motorbike.” Though he still must wear a heat-resistant suit to protect him from the heat of the jet-engines, with the air temperature also assisting in cooling him down.
Rossy and his sponsors have poured about $285,000 and countless hours of labor into producing the personal flyer, and he won’t comment on how much the device might be if it were marketed to the public. Though one thing is for sure, thrill-seekers everywhere just got a glimpse of the future. Something to really look forward to.
Some Videos
Jet Man
Flying Jet Man with a jet engine on His Boots
Human powered flight
JET-MAN...
Jet-man and his wing
Posted by MK at 10:33 PM
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Thoughts of the past
I know this blog hasn't been updated for some time, but I'll still back-track the entries anyway, it does take time to sit down and pen down a meaningful entry instead of just spitting out the events that occurred during the day.I had the chance of meeting up with some good ‘ol friends, and topics of our conversation actually got me thinking about the times back then. It was like taking a walk back into the past, completely envisioning what really happened back then.
Somehow I can picture it all over again, it all started in school, talking about relationships and about others. Somehow even though I am a completely different person now from back then, I can remember the shadow that I once was that I am trying so hard to forget.
I was another completely-forgettable-hopeless person back then, all-talk, poor-grades compared to the others in my class. It surprised me initially, apparently rumors of me back then with others were strife, well-known and wide-spread. It started with one, then another one, and then another one...
Of course the biggest and the most-talked about was the last. Everyone knew we were seeing each other regularly, we've been to each other's places, we stayed back late in school to study and had meals together during and after class. I remember those were one of the best days back then when I totally hated the place.
The model-student-prefect-top-grades student with the irritating-lousy-grades-immature boy was the talk of the day back then ain't it? If there were tabloids, it would have been front-page news. Even the teachers and damn principal knew, and yet we weren't even actually together. I don't know what could be seen in me then, but I won't be sprouting any details here. But somehow nothing good ever lasts and all that went spiraling down the drain with scars that can be felt even till today.
The friendship blossomed and whilst it lasted for a happy while, it deteriorated with shocking rapidity. The person was like an elder sibling to me, and I guess it did cross my mind several times amongst other thoughts. What I can say is that it was happy whilst it lasted.
Sigh, it's all the past now. People talked about us. But we don't even talk or acknowledge each other anymore. She isn't the first that I've lost this way. Many came and went the same way.
All this caused by some loose words by a damned third-party. Maybe I've come to terms with it, maybe I haven't. But one thing's for sure, the culprit who caused all this grief hasn't dared to face me yet. Maybe not anymore.
Maybe it's because of this person that I've changed.
Maybe life isn't all about playing, having fun, going out or playing with computers.
But even up till now I have been trying very hard to prove myself. She's the model-student then, went to a top JC and now graduating from a Uni, no doubt with exemplary grades. Maybe even up till now can I even hold a candle up to that person? Can I even blame myself?
All my achievements in poly must have been a mere joke when compared in scale to this person, probably just a commentary sideline. I feel so artificial, superficial and a complete hoax every time I pen an achievement in my CV or tell a prospective employer during an interview. Whatever I've done from then till now, doesn't even seem to mean anything. When people compare what I've achieved from then till now, it all seems so meaningless. Maybe what I've done is just not good enough.
I think, maybe she's laughing right now.
"you small boy, you think that's good enough?"
Maybe it's the respect that I am trying to earn in her eyes.
The sayings are right. Respect takes a long time to earn, and is easy to lose. Once lost, it's almost impossible to regain back.
Maybe this thirst for achievement thing isn't just stemmed from my family, or from my upbringing. Maybe it's all because of this one life-changing event.
Maybe I've lost my respect for this person as well.
After all, I am not the same person from back then anymore.
Posted by MK at 4:40 PM
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
HIV test
Today I needed to go back to my camp for a HIV blood test because of my return from an overseas exercise. I keep arguing that I had already done an HIV test for my ORD recently; this was really a stupid thing that I was griping about. Can't you be more flexible and take my previous HIV test results without me having to come all the way back for another test?HIV infection has basically four stages: incubation period, acute infection, latency stage and AIDS. The medics don't even know how the HIV works, or the stages, or the incubation periods. They only know HIV causes AIDS and that's bad. Do they even know what HIV stands for?
The initial incubation period upon infection is asymptomatic and usually lasts between two and four weeks. The second stage, acute infection, which lasts an average of 28 days and can include symptoms such as fever, lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph nodes), pharyngitis (sore throat), rash, myalgia (muscle pain), mouth and esophageal sores.
The latency stage, which occurs third, shows few or no symptoms and can last anywhere from two weeks to twenty years and beyond. AIDS, the fourth and final stage of HIV infection shows as symptoms of various opportunistic infections.
I had already taken my HIV test 3 weeks ago, which is less than a month, which means it's still valid, and the result is negative. So if I were to be tested now, and tested positive, that means the infection would have been in Singapore, and not in the foreign country that I went to for the exercise. And I would have already passed my acute-infection stage, which will have physical symptoms (which of course I would have known before even taking a HIV test.) The way the SAF does things is really stupid.
A HIV test 3 months after the probability of infection, really dumb right. Okay, anyway, this time the medic was better, he managed to draw blood on the second try without penetrating my biceps (as compared to the previous n00b medic), they were unprofessional, joking, laughing, gloating that he managed to draw blood from my tougher veins to the other medic who failed previously, and opening doors/handles with gloved hands and blood samples being held.
Ugh.
Posted by MK at 8:08 PM
Sunday, May 11, 2008
SPEED RACER
We caught "Speed Racer" yesterday, it's a remake of an old show, but the story is pretty much the same.Born to race cars, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is aggressive, instinctive and, most of all, fearless. His only real competition is the memory of the brother he idolized—the legendary Rex Racer, whose death in a race has left behind a legacy that Speed is driven to fulfill. Speed is loyal to the family racing business, led by his father, Pops Racer (John Goodman), the designer of Speed's thundering Mach 5.
When Speed turns down a lucrative and tempting offer from Royalton Industries, he not only infuriates the company's maniacal owner (Roger Allam) but uncovers a terrible secret—some of the biggest races are being fixed by a handful of ruthless moguls who manipulate the top drivers to boost profits. If Speed won't drive for Royalton, Royalton will see to it that the Mach 5 never crosses another finish line. The only way for Speed to save his family's business and the sport he loves is to beat Royalton at his own game.
With the support of his family and his loyal girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), Speed teams with his one-time rival—the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox)—to win the race that had taken his brother's life: the death-defying, cross-country rally known as The Crucible.
Okay. Maybe I am an old-fashioned movie go-er. But this movie is just too filled with an overly exaggerated abundance of technicolour, practically every scene (except the home of the racer family) was CGI-ed. The whole movie was probably filmed against a blue backdrop for the duration of the whole movie. The scene transitions were just mind-bogglingly complicated, and the opulence of the Royalton scene was just too extravagant.
Okay, the Crucible race proved to wow audience with several interesting scenes with the powerful T180 equipped with weapons fighting each other. The whole scene was somewhat like the podracer race in "Star Wars Episode 1". Where powerful vehicles raced across the terrain fighting each other in a bid to lead.
I think there were too many bullet-time scenes, too many unbelievable actions that defy physics. (Maybe it's just a movie after all), but the CGI animation wasn't fluid enough to be seamless in it's transition. The movie overall attempted to broach topics like family love, support, evils, greed, morals, determination, frustration, despair, triumph amongst others.
I thought the little brother of Speed was really irritating with the pet chimpanzee. Those scenes were quite redundant though several tried to inject humor into the movie. The story had a very predictable plot, and when Racer-X turned up, one can almost immediately tell that it was Speed's elder brother REX, though when he first took off his mask, we were al l fooled, when the Grand Prix race started and Racer-X smiled, you KNOW it's REX. It was all just too coincidental.
But that kind of brotherly love is really admirable in the movie. Still I didn't like the prismatic dazzling display of colors that filled every scene till the ends of the visible spectrum. Everything was just too colorful like the "Curse of the golden flower" and it puts a strain on your eyes especially when the movie was an excruciating 2 hours 15 minutes!
The movie is too long for the story, there were too many scenes, the whole movie is practically a kaleidoscopic myriad of shimmering brightness and heavily contrasting scene animation and backdrops. The extreme use of CGI was a poor decision over to a point where it dulls the meaning of the show!
Some aspects of the characters were not developed well enough, like Speed himself, too little time was spent on him and because of that, his strength, and determination and will-power were sometimes doubtful and plausible.
3 / 5 for effort.
Posted by MK at 8:58 AM
Friday, May 9, 2008
Frustrated
I guess I am quite irritated. It's been 3 days since I've become a civilian, and I am feeling so damn weak and unproductive.Anyways, I've got this NS buddy who is damn unreliable. It’s been almost 2 weeks that he promised to return what he owes me, always promising to bring it to camp to give it to me, and up till now he hasn't and we've both ord-ed already! Maybe I shouldn’t lent it to him in the first place. F***. Always missing my calls and ignoring my messages. It's damn frustrating to keep demanding something from someone who owes you something. It's not like that item is a cheap trivial thing either.
That's the kind of attitude you get from rich obnoxious stuck-up brats with so much money they can afford to do anything and forget their basic responsibilities. He's those ultra-rich brats who's dad's don't ask whether they want a car, but ask "what kind of car they would like to have."
Here I am useless at his childish whim and fancy because he can afford to buy it ten times over and not bat an eyelid, but I can't. And it's MINE.
Okay, never mind about that my physical fitness is really shitty. I will be resuming my intensive training, just a few hours of training and I am feeling slightly drained. The training today wasn't even intensive and I didn't even spar at all, wth. I can't even hold up against another black-belt.
Maybe it's because I haven't really trained in 2 years, or maybe it's because of the antibiotics that's turning my stool to slush, or maybe it's because I did that 10km+ run around the estate yesterday and felt breathless after that.
I feel that my movements are so slow and useless. Shitty performance today!
Look like it's back to strapping on weights and doing vertical runs, obstacle runs and more intensive training.
Just gotta break that damn mental barrier.
Argh. Dear blog I am feeling frustrated.
Posted by MK at 10:13 PM
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Preparation for UNI begins
Now then, with the last mods in place, new fan, 100% tested cooling setup, reformatted with fresh a fresh OS, I have one "university-ready" computer ready for all that processing that needs to be done when the term starts.Now should I make my other Shuttle XPC "university-ready" as well? It has served me well all these years, but temperatures are running too hot and since it no longer has any more market value, I might as well rip out its guts and install a water cooling system.
Temperatures at 80˚C for the gpu and 70˚C for the CPU is just too hot! Should I water-cool my 5 year old AMD939 Shuttle XPC? It will definitely require another $300 or more in investment and I am not sure if that is worth it.
But I definitely know that even though it’s running smoothly now, it cannot run for long considering all that heat build-up. Now for my main computer, I am somehow keeping my coolant below 40˚C. With the hot weather, the coolant easily hits 39˚C. Its just so damn hot, but at least with the Delta fan, everything is running smoothly and within acceptable ranges.
Looks like I won't be making any changes to my main computer for some time to come. It's finally "university-ready". "gaming-rig?" Bah.
"University-ready" computers must be reliable, smooth, won't fail, won't crash (have redundant storage) so in case of a hdd crash, you don't lose valuable data. Must be able to print/scan/have external usb ports, and of course, sufficient processing power to do crunching when needed.
Of course, if your rig is still under construction, under-testing, or still requires frequent maintenance and frequent down-times, then it's not "university-ready".
Haha, that's just my logic. Are you "university-ready"?
Posted by MK at 11:41 AM
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Now just a civilian
Yesterday is the day I ord, and of course though it is the much anticipated day of every NSF, somehow or rather I feel rather weird that this day has arrived.ORD is a day that is so coveted, being looked forward to by every NSF. But now the day has come that we receive our pick IC. Then what now? I am suddenly an NSman, not knowing what to do. It's not like there was a celebration and everyone is very happy because of a parade commemorating those who are ORD-ing.
My unit doesn't practice that, in fact some of the guys don't even know I am ord-ing! I have this morose feeling, cumulating for a long and now finally being realized. Once you ord, you are not needed anymore, Thank you! Good Bye! And you are then quickly forgotten, all the hard work that you've done and sacrificed over the months will quickly be forgotten in the days to come.
Well, maybe this slight direness felt is because of the leaving people behind. After all you have worked with them for almost 10 months or so, and there is a professional and personal bond formed, no matter how slight. There were the bad worth forgetting, but there were good people worth mentioning too. Don't get me wrong, I hate the damn place, the workload is inhuman, the majority of people are just idiots drawing more pay and doing less work. The "twangers", "slackers", "chao-kengers", "MC-kings", "arrowers", "NATO-ers" (No Action Talk Only)... But it is still the place you spent are year in. A YEAR of your life.
I wonder whether I'll be remembered when I leave. It'll be nice to really hear either one of the PCs saying that. It's nice to know that you are appreciated. I was in the Ops Room doing my last ORD clearance when I saw my pals struggling with some excel thing, and they asked me. That was a nice feeling. I really don't mind helping out, really.
I wonder if I'll be remembered by my men that I've trained, or the specs that I've worked with, or my superiors. Do I even expect such a thing? Will I be recognized when I return? I highly doubt that. I've lost that aura in every organization that I have been with, with everyone moving on with life. It will be the same here in 3Da as well. Another year of my life sacrificed for an organization that will quickly forget about you.
There were many others in the mess we met during lunch that I'll probably never see again. After today, we'll all be forgotten and move on to separate paths, and in time to come, we'll forget each other and each other's names.
I have ORD-ed It's the end of one path, and soon it will be the start of a new one. Somehow I feel that I will be forgotten soon, unappreciated, they'll go back to work fighting fires and I'll be just another lieutenant in the passing. That's ORD in 3Da, there's no fanfare, no ceremony, no parade, no farewells, nothing. You just come, and go, and forgotten.
Posted by MK at 1:02 PM
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
ORD!!!
TODAY is my ORD.ORD!!!
I'll be writing more about it soon. Just don't feel like it now. =)
My ord dinner :)
My ord certificates and testimonials.
Posted by MK at 9:19 PM
Monday, May 5, 2008
Eve of ORD
Today I busied myself with preparing for tomorrow. I printed some photos of my fellow RBS70 WSO officers to distribute to those in 3Da, to serve as a final form of memory and to cement the final bonds forged over the 2 years in NS. Who knows what awaits us in the future? We'll all be going our separate paths.I also finished up my last WITS project report in a 20-page article to give to the Captains, my last and final legacy in my unit My last idea and final project in contribution to my unit. I've worked hard over the past 10 months or so, other than carrying out my usual duties, I managed to finish two projects that I started out from scratch. Well at least that's done.
For those of you wondering what I've been up to today, I spent the day packing all NS stuff for storage, yes I managed to stuff EVERYTHING into my black duffle bag. EVERYTHING, my field pack, all my uniforms, my SBO, helmet, boots, other necessary NS survival stuff that has accompanied me for 2 years through 7 different bunks. (BMT, OCS, OCS-airwing, AFS-basic, AFS-weapon, OCS-Bravo, 3DA-lvl4, 3DA-lvl7) all into 1 single bag. It's an achievement in itself, likened to that of OCS where we had 30 seconds to pack all our battle gear into our small field packs. (Yes the small one, not the 60-litre new zip-fieldpacks those pussies in BMT are getting today). For you new guys out there complaining you can't fit all your basic packs into your new zipper-field packs you can go eat shit.
In command school you had 30 seconds to force a signal set, plus 2 weeks worth of combat rations plus digging equipment, other navigational items and your 8 basic packs into the small field pack and IT CAN BE DONE. Bah, with the 60-litre field pack I can probably fit all my ammo and another 2 weeks of rations AND still have space for a laptop...
The question is where am I going to store this bulky bag? It's about the size of a 3-month overseas vacation trip. Definitely a bomb scare if I were to bring it onto public transport. (Fits all the broad-casted criteria), strange man, big, bulky, black bag...
I'll write a quick summary of my 2 years experience soon.
Finally the cumulative effort of 2 years of my life has come to an end.
Posted by MK at 9:32 AM
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Some thoughts
Today I was thinking about the theater when I watched IRONMAN. The whole theater was full! It was a public holiday, and tickets were $10.50 apiece. So then again, actually Singaporeans are still willing to spend. What was all that hoo-ha and gripes and complaints about price increases that the papers put up?Actually, we Singaporeans are not poor, but neither are we rich. If you actually do some soul-searching. You'll notice each and every one of us have our own form of indulgence. Each of us are willing to actually spend a significant portion of our finances on something that actually makes us happy and we turn a blind eye to it deliberately.
We complain about the $5.00 bowl of noodles and $1.80 cup of drink, but don't bat an eye-lid on spending $60 on a shirt, or $400 on a PSP game console, or a $69.90 computer game, or a $1,800 laptop?
We may gripe, sulk, complain, grumble about a few cents here and a few dollars there, but at the end of the day, our stomachs are still full, we have a roof over our heads and clothes to wear and yet still have spare cash to spend on something else that makes us happy. Be it clothes, or entertainment, or a new toy, or a new gadget, it all still requires money.
Yes rice may have cost another $2 more, like the amazing Royal Umbrella rice now cost $26.80 for a 10kg sack, with the golden phoenix brand $0.50 cheaper. (don't be surprised, I do groceries shopping as well!), but you still can opt for FairPrice's fragrant white rice which is going for $5.60 for a5kg bag, that's half the price of Royal Umbrella.
Okay lets talk about oil.. Okay maybe not. $2.10 per litre of unleaded 98 is a serious burn in my wallet. A litre of petrol is now more expensive than the latest most expensive version of Coca-Cola! A bottle of coke-Zero costs $2, which is consumed in a few minutes, but petrol is another matter all together. Okay fine. Don't drive and don't drive coke zero.
You still have options. There are still $6.50, $8.00 movie tickets available. But given the culture and the unique mixed diversified background we all come from, we are good at whining and complaining just for the sake of it. The Straits Times newspaper recently ran an article and found that a mere 6% of the population would actually go forth and complain any grievances to the management, but as you can see, the majority of the populace will merely whine amongst themselves and not bring it another step forward. Some quote that it's just too much of a hassle or a loss of face if they were to make a formal complaint.
Does this sound familiar amongst ourselves? We keep saying "go complain", but we don't actually get about doing it. We keep whining and griping that we are poor or broke, but we can still afford to go out, go for a movie or go shopping. Don't look elsewhere, we are all guilty, I am. =)
Daily expenses have increased tremendously over the past few years, but we've all grown to adapt to it. We definately can't be eyeing the latest Ferrari or 2-million dollar condominium if we're griping at $0.50cents increase in cooking oil or rice.
I am from the middle class, plain and simple. What I am trying to say is that I am not rich, but we all still have options, and we're not that poor that we cannot afford a small matter of luxuries in our daily lives. We still can go to movies, go out, have meals, and still be happy without being overly spendthrift or exceedingly wasteful. We can still go on being comfortable.
Well, Singaporeans haven't really flinched at another dollar increase in movie tickets. Just when will it stop?
Posted by MK at 10:32 PM
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Britannica Encyclopedia for sale
I have an old set of Children's Britannica Encyclopedia for sale, yes no doubt this can never compete with the latest Wikipedia or Encarta, but it does still have a wealth of knowledge that is useful if you have kids and don't want them to spend too much time on the computer!The print edition is 1990, so it's a little outdated, but nevertheless still a very good read. There are 20 volumes, 1-19, 20 is the index. And the volumes are all in extremely good condition, no torn/written/deteriorated pages, and all volumes are wrapped in plastic cover.
Pages are text with full-colour photographs and ideal for children between kindergarden and primary school. The full-set is for sale at any reasonable price bid. Self-collect only because of the bulk of the whole set.
Posted by MK at 10:13 PM
Friday, May 2, 2008
Ironman
The weather for the past week has been unbearably sweltering and blisteringly hot. It's uncomfortable to do anything, to move, to think, to sleep or to even sit still.It's 34.7 degrees in my computer room and it's giving me a real migraine. Luckily I've already installed my delta fan into the casing's front intake or else my hard drives will be cooking too. It's just so damn hot, and my medicine is making me whoozy and I can't think straight.
Nevertheless, after being cooped up at home for over a day, my family dragged me out to catch "IRONMAN"
It's a much anticipated action movie but turned out to be another disappointment. Lots of action, shallow plot, unbelievable script and jerky non-plausible story flow. The suit was nicely animated though, and some humor was attempted to liven up the scenes. All I can say is that everyone's acting sucked except Robert Downey Jr's. His witty remarks and cracks are really unique to Tony Stark's character.
But other than that, the 2 big robots duking it out as a climax of the movie was totally redundant, all Hollywood action, no real story behind it. And I think the conversation between Tony Stark's mentor with the Afghan leader was pointless as well. Plus I don't remember Stark's mentor building a competing suit of armor in the comic series.
3 out of 5 stars is the best I can give. Another all-action-no-story movie.
But there will definitely be a sequel. The colonel (Stark's best friend) will eventually become WAR MACHINE in the comic series, and remember that agent working for a very long-named organization? He is from S.H.I.E.L.D, the main ally for Stark enterprises, and is led by Nick Fury. We'll see...
Headache I tell you... hot. weak. sick. I feel damn useless.
