俺はエルヴィンだ！

Final Year Project - 10 Days Thesis Challenge

2012-02-09T21:50:00.000+08:00

There is no more time for procrastination!

I am initiating a 10 days thesis challenge, to finish my first draft of thesis within 10 days.

To be completed, dead or ~~alive~~ dead.

Operation: Cruel Angel's Thesis
Chapter 11

What's Wrong with using MSN?

2012-02-09T20:32:00.001+08:00

The awkward moment when you realized there is lesser and lesser people on MSN nowadays, and then logging into facebook to find there swarming with people.

Seriously, how behind the time am I?

I fcuking fcuking hate facebook.

6AE Once Again

2012-02-07T01:24:00.002+08:00

10 years on...

..and counting

This is 4 years ago.

10 years ago.

(I mysteriously cropped out of this photo somehow.)

And this, 11 years ago.

And you realized it is a more than a decade since 2001.

Seriously, how can I not feel old?

月迷風影

2012-02-06T21:41:00.000+08:00

My Resume

2012-02-03T23:03:00.001+08:00

Elvin Koh

Education
Aug 2008 - Present
National University of Singapore (NUS)
Candidate for Bachelor of Science (Honours)
- Major in Life Sciences (with Specialisation in Molecular Cell Biology)
Completed Special Programme in Science (SPS)
- A multidisciplinary science programme that aims to nurture young researchers
Completed University Scholars Programme (USP)
- A interdisciplinary academic programme that admits the top 3% of each cohort
Current CAP: 4.19 (Expected 2nd Upper Class Honours)
Expected date of graduation: May 2012

Jul 2011
University of Tokyo
Attended International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) Global Summer Program
- Completed a course on Nanoscience with grade A

Jun 2009 – Jul 2009
Peking University
Attended USP Summer Program at Yuanpei College, Peking University
- Completed a course on Chinese Thoughts and Culture with grade A

Research Experience
May 2011 - Present
The Role of Ubiquitin in DNA Repair
- Current Honours project
- Supervisor: Dr. Norbert Lehming

Jun 2010 – Apr 2011
Genetic Analysis of Ubiquitin
- Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme in Science (UROPS) project
- Supervisor: Dr. Norbert Lehming
- Awarded grade A

Jul 2010 – Nov 2010
Current Trends and Future Directions of Synthetic Biology
- Independent Study Module literature review
- Supervisor: Dr. Victor Tong
- Awarded grade A+

Aug 2009 – Nov 2009
Monomer Synthesis of Telomerase-Inhibiting Ligand for Binding to Telomeric RNA G-Quadruplex
- Interdisciplinary Chemical Biology project
- Supervisor: Dr. Zeng Huaqiang
- Awarded grade A-

Work Experience
Aug 2010 - Present
Special Programme in Science, NUS, Student Mentor
- Facilitator for small group discussion between students
- Leads group projects in literature review by undergraduate students

Aug 2008 - Present
Volunteer Experience
- Regular volunteer with NUS Community Service Club, MINDSville@Napiri
- Held committee role as vice-chairperson for AY09/10

Other Information
Proficient in Microsoft Office
Familiar with Molecular Biology laboratory techniques and bioinformatics tools
Fluent in English and Mandarin (both spoken and written)

1st February 2012

2012-01-31T23:59:00.001+08:00

By one way or another, I managed to complete another year of my life. Thank you very much.

Well, 2012 to me will be a crucial year. Getting melancholy any moment. Either way, I have to move forward. Although it is just questions after questions, uncertainties after uncertainties.

Wanted to post some of my plans, but then decided not to.

But, anyway, Happy Birthday!

Anonymous

2012-01-31T21:16:00.000+08:00

Quote #10

2012-01-31T21:15:00.001+08:00

From the movie, V for Vendetta,

"Ideas are bulletproof."

Indeed.

Crossroad

2012-01-28T12:54:00.000+08:00

And, thus, the time is here.

My turn at the crossroad. Which means it is time for me to give some serious thoughts about my future. Although the procrastinator in me is asking me to postpone it as far as I can. But come to the end of the day, I have to make a choice. Be it going to be industry, academia, research or graduate study locally or overseas, I hope I don't leave any regrets. Well then, enough said, time to think seriously.

Seriously?

2012-01-27T22:33:00.000+08:00

I lol'd

My first reaction is something like, wow this guy is a Prof?? I still got chance!

This guy claims himself to be a descendant of Confucius. I think Confucius just turned in his grave.

For the uninitiated, the story.

I can empathize with the Hongkongers. Imagine having them right at your doorstep. Well, I don't even know where to start.

How on earth can you demand people to speak your language on his land? I don't really understand what kind of logic is he using. If you are well read enough (apparently, he isn't), Mandarin was just a dialect among all other dialects in China. It only become the standard "Chinese" because of the CCP government's wish to standardized the language. Or, in other word, ostracized the remaining dialects, languages and the minority cultures along with it.

And please, don't start going on the long old story of sharing one common ancestor. In fact, if you think about it, Hong Kong is just another place they abandoned in the past. In that case, why will the Hongkongers have any pride of being a Chinese? They aren't as brainwashed as you people. And why should they suffer more shyt under you? Who exactly is the one thinking that he is superior over his fellow race? What on earth justify this kind of rubbish elitism?

If Hongkongers are dogs, why will there by so many of them dying to give birth across the borders in order to get citizenship of Hong Kong? If your people are all dying to be citizens of a place you refer as dog, won't that make you worse than dog?

I can totally understand how he choose to totally ignore laws. Look at the state of that country. Lawless. And you think they have any morals to speak off? Think again. Going by the direction of this particular country, I think they will have no quality, regardless of there being reliance on law or not. Seriously, I see the kind of Confucianism that he is promoting having more loopholes than a fishing net.

I read his profile on the Wikipedia, well, it seems that he is a close-minded person who used his self-proclaimed position as Confucius descendant to promote the CCP ideology. It could be just me, I don't see how CCP politics have any link to Confucianism. The CCP is merely using Confucianism as a springboard to promote their influence within ignorant citizens. And, he is supporting it. Now, who is the dog here? Who is the one licking the boots of his government? Who is the one who sully the name of his ancestors? And yes, he is a professor at PKU. Shame on you. One word, 贱.

The only thing about that country is its sheer size. If not for its economic and military power, I am sure many people in the world will believe it is better off gone. And precisely because of its economy and military, they can be such a headache.

Therefore, the last thing I will like to say, 草泥马.

Printing Notes

2012-01-19T22:56:00.001+08:00

Standing behind year 1s who are printing notes is sometime so painful to watch that I have to do a facepalm. Twice.

. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . ,.-‘”. . . . . . . . . .``~.,
. . . . . . . .. . . . . .,.-”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .“-.,
. . . . .. . . . . . ..,/. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ”:,
. . . . . . . .. .,?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\,
. . . . . . . . . /. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,}
. . . . . . . . ./. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,:`^`.}
. . . . . . . ./. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,:”. . . ./
. . . . . . .?. . . __. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . :`. . . ./
. . . . . . . /__.(. . .“~-,_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,:`. . . .. ./
. . . . . . /(_. . ”~,_. . . ..“~,_. . . . . . . . . .,:`. . . . _/
. . . .. .{.._$;_. . .”=,_. . . .“-,_. . . ,.-~-,}, .~”; /. .. .}
. . .. . .((. . .*~_. . . .”=-._. . .“;,,./`. . /” . . . ./. .. ../
. . . .. . .\`~,. . ..“~.,. . . . . . . . . ..`. . .}. . . . . . ../
. . . . . .(. ..`=-,,. . . .`. . . . . . . . . . . ..(. . . ;_,,-”
. . . . . ../.`~,. . ..`-.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..\. . /\
. . . . . . \`~.*-,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..|,./.....\,__
,,_. . . . . }.>-._\. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .|. . . . . . ..`=~-,
. .. `=~-,_\_. . . `\,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\
. . . . . . . . . .`=~-,,.\,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . `:,, . . . . . . . . . . . . . `\. . . . . . ..__
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .`=-,. . . . . . . . . .,%`>--==``
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _\. . . . . ._,-%. . . ..`

True story.

Final Year Project - IRA2 SUT2

2012-01-09T15:00:00.002+08:00

Alright, some progress in FYP at last.

I am depending on you, IRA2 and SUT2.

Operation: Cruel Angel's Thesis
Chapter 10

You Can (Not) Redo

2012-01-03T12:51:00.000+08:00

But they can certainly remake.

!!!

Can't wait!!

1st January 2012

2012-01-01T16:14:00.003+08:00

Another year.

2011 is pretty much an interesting one. It got its fair share of ups and downs. Mostly downs, as usual. If I must say, I guess the best moments of 2011 will be 1) the completion of my UROPS, and 2) my Japan trip. Not much to boast about, but anyway, at least I got to do something I enjoy.

And let's not forget, it is also the year I entered year 4, the final year of my undergraduate education. Not much changes, but it does sound the alarm bell that I will be graduating soon. And this alarm is clearly louder by seconds.

And so, come 2012, the year of my graduation.

I shall be starting thinking of my plans soon. (To be continued one month later.)

Lastly, new year resolution? Simple. How about something like,

to continue breathing?

Cheers, Happy 2012!

How to Get A+ in NUS?

2012-01-01T04:01:00.001+08:00

If you get here from google, then shame on you again.

The very first SMS I got in the year of 2012 is along the line of asking me this question. Which is making me quite pissed off that I am postponing my replying to it.

I wish I got the answer too. Who don't?

"Which module is easy to score A+?" Well, I guess it totally depends on how good your brain is.

I don't have the answer on getting A+ in NUS. But I do know how to avoid getting F in NUS. It is simple. Just get the fcuk out of the university.

(New year post will be up after I wake up)

CORS Rant - Episode VIII

2011-12-31T16:17:00.000+08:00

Finally, I reached the last semester of my undergraduate education in NUS.

And, so, I present you the very last of my CORS ranting post. The eighth.

Where do I start? Well, again, in this semester, I have people asking me to help bidding modules. People asking me which modules to take. People asking me which is easy to score. Oh, seriously, do we have to go through that all over again?

I shall talk about CORS in a different light this time then (the system, not the people).

I guess I will miss playing around with CORS. Like manipulating the systems and points. My finest moment being winning against 1200 points for the final and last vacancy in a modules during round 3A, using a mere 600 points (was bidding for someone else then, though). Unlike most people, I enjoy CORS somehow. Probably, it is also due to the fact that I am rarely outbidded.

Maybe, being life science major has its merits. The programme modules are all cheap (1 point each), and I don't have to ballot for tutorial slots. That's to say, I almost certainly get the tutorial slots I want for elective modules because of how the system works. That means I have a lot of surplus P account points. Can I, like, auction them off? 1 point for 10 cents. I will make a neat 400 bucks.

Oh well, and now, to the last and final CORS (Actually nothing much to do).

My Ancestors

2011-12-24T08:49:00.001+08:00

Back from Taiwan. It is a great country. But my trip sucks.

The initial aim of this trip was to visit my ancestral hall (祠堂) in Kinmen. Probably to go and thanks them for having sex. Initial is the keyword here.

The plan blew. After the air tickets and stuff were all settled. Why? Because they stupidity disallowed us to visit the ancestral hall at all.

Guess who and where they are from.

Their reasoning being that our family is from a branch house and not the main house. Sound like the tragedy of Hyuga Clan to me (i.e. stupid). The irony being that they are not even Taiwanese in the first place. We traveled all the way there to be forbid from visiting the hall, and worse, not even allowed to look at it. What sort of logic is this? Well, that's something expected from them after all. I got a new found personal grudge against them now.

What the f*ck are they thinking off? Establishing stupid rules as if they still own the place. According to some sort of thinking, they even consider Singapore as part of the Greater China. Now, you know why. It shames me to share the same surname as some of them.

As far as I am concerned, I have absolutely nothing to do with them. My paternal grandfather is born to a Taiwanese man and Thai woman. My paternal grandmother is adopted by a local family of a quarter Peranakan. My mother is born to a Thai Chinese man and local-born woman. The amount of blood I shared with any of them will probably be lost with a single mosquito bite. Don't even suggest me sharing lineage with them. You might as well say that my ancestors came from Africa.

I saw this mural there. It reads, 還我山河. If you understand history well enough, you know what they are referring to. I interpret it as ~~Taiwan~~ Republic of China wants their mountains and river back. What about the people? I don't think the ROC, or anyone, want them.

I will gladly throw the 1.3 billion of them into Pacific Ocean, they will probably form a new landmass there.

~~Taiwan~~ ROC is a great country. It acts as a mirror that reflects the possibility of that place if KMT had won the war. But, alas, they don't have the economic and military power. I believes they are better off cutting ties with that place and moving on by themselves.

Who the f*ck cares about heritage.

AY11/12 Semester 1 Results

2011-12-21T18:48:00.000+08:00

Back.

LSM4199: IP
LSM4232: B+
LSM4242: A-
LSM4243: A-

Overall CAP: 4.19

Can't find my summer programme module somehow. Anyway, the CAP went up by 0.01. Not much, but better than nothing. An average semester I will say. So, whether I can reach my goal of 4.20 or not will depend entirely on my FYP.

Bell Curve God (?)

2011-12-19T23:29:00.002+08:00

(Another scheduled post.)

Since the results will be out tomorrow, I decided to write on something related. My friend showed me this during the examination period. link

In short, it is about a China student studying in Singapore posting on his social network page a comment, that translate to,

"There is a lesson we can learn from the recent Singapore vs China soccer game - and can apply in our final exam. No matter what, do not give up, because there is always Singaporean will perform worse than us."

in response to the world cup qualifier match between China and Singapore.

It caused an uproar. Myself included. My first respond is something like, if memory serve me right, "FU*KKKKK YOU!!". Then I realize, actually we are all the same.

When we come to university education, we end up in a system where we inevitably step over one another, under the name of bell curve.

This is rather interesting if you think about it. In your entire education, it is straightforward, either you score, or you don't. Either you are the extreme smart people, or you are not. But in university, it becomes something like, either you score more than the others, or you suxk. Either you are smarter than the others, or you suxk. Eventually, somehow or another, we stop bothering how much we learnt, but rather, how much more we learnt than the others. I don't understand how this end up being "university education".

It leads to another interesting thing being that we expect our results to be good, even if we suxk, as long as the remaining of the cohort perform badly. Once or twice of this later, we will be looking forward to A+ every modules. In fact, we end up believing that, as long as we work hard, we will score. Even if we are purely working hard precisely because we don't understand it well. We expect efforts to be rewarded. It is quite the ironic if you can see it in my way.

Let me share some wisdom by wg.

1) Hard work is not proportional to your performance during the exams. You can still flunk your exams despite working hard for the module. The other situation can still hold. A person may work less as hard but be extremely exam smart, so he stands to get the best of the grades.

2) Relative performance is not an indicator of where you stand on the bell-curve, and hence your grades. My friends are telling me that the cohort is quite weak because the average is very low and so-and-so didn’t do very well for the mid-terms. They must be thinking that people who flunk their mid-terms will go on to flunk their finals, and if their little sadistic desires go on, they might have secretly wished that they flunk their lives.

via his blog

All in all, my point being, not to depend on this so-called bell curve god. Start to look at what you are actually learning yourselves. This is hard, especially in NUS (i.e. Singapore). I, myself, being a repeated offender too.

Lastly, even if all things considered, it does not justify that ~~ah tiong~~ ~~cheena man~~ China nationality student's comment. While it is true bell curve exists, the way he put it is totally looking down on Singapore. I suggest two things here. Firstly, to him, please get the fu*k off Singapore. Secondly, to other students in School of Computing, please rape him, literally or not.

Module Review #7

2011-12-19T08:43:00.063+08:00

(Scheduled post, because I won't be back home until 20th.)

My second to last semester, it will probably be the slackest of all my semesters in NUS. I took 5 modules this semester, technically 3, since FYP is not graded until next semester. Not only that, because my FYP is no progressing much, I end up having nothing much to do. I simply choose all the MCB modules, 3 out of the 3 available. On hindsight, I should have done more modules. But then again.

Anyway, here goes, the seventh!

LSM4199: Honours Project in Life Sciences
My FYP. As said, not much progress, which is definitely a bad bad bad thing :(
Expecting: IP (In-progress grade)

LSM4232: Advanced Cell Biology
My least favourite module of the semester. I had expected it to be similar with LSM2103 Cell Biology. But it ended up being a free-for-all Prof's-showing-off-their-research session. There is next to nothing coherent between the contents. It is almost like they expect us to understand their entire life works within 3 lectures. ~~And whatever that is taught has nothing to do with us at all. Unless you are working in their lab, of course.~~ Actually, I consider some of the Profs aren't teaching, they are not even lecturing, they are just giving a presentation.
Expecting: B

LSM4242: Protein Engineering
I will love this modules, except I took this module with an asshole. This module has the most to do with my FYP, being technical laboratory stuff and the likes. So I thoroughly enjoyed the lectures. This is followed by half semester of individual presentation. Well, the story being this guy from my lab who also took this module. He skipped all the lectures, then expect me to help him along the way, including last minute rescheduling of his presentation slot with the Prof (he contact me via facebook, no less). When happened in the end, he plagiarised off my presentation slides. He retorted with "What's wrong with that?" when I confronted him. Good game. In one way or another, it kinda ruin my experience for the module. I still have to face him for one more semester in the lab. But other than that, I enjoyed this module. It gives the vibes of a true MCB module.
Expecting: A

LSM4243: Tumour Biology
This module is out of my expectation, being that it wasn't as bad as I imagined. I had thought it will be plain old boring pure memorization. But it was not that bad. Best of all, they scrape the project. So it end up being a rare level 4000 life science module that has no project. This is both good and bad, depending on how you see it. At least, I got a friend taking this module with me. So, overall, I guess I enjoyed it.
Expecting: B

IARU GSP: Nanoscience (To be mapped to SX1996)
Almost forgot about this module which I have done during the summer programme. I got the result slip a few months ago, A+. Not too shabby. Well, to be honest, I took it because it allows me to travel. So, initially, the course wasn't much on my mind. But, it is beyond my expectations. Content-wise, I barely understand much, especially the engineering science part. But, what that impressed me was probably cultural shock about courses in another country. Plus, it comprises of visits to labs and industries. It is more of the experience than the knowledge that I learnt of. That's to say, I enjoyed myself.
Expecting: A+ (CS, since it is exchange module)

Alright, finger-crossed while I am off to vacation. ciao

Updates and Away

2011-12-12T00:09:00.001+08:00

My penultimate examinations were over last week. The lack of posting is due to the fact that I am busy with ~~playing Pokemon~~ my FYP before I leave tomorrow for vacation. Flying off to Taiwan tomorrow morning, so expect more hiatus on the blog (unless it is so boring that I end up playing my laptop somewhere with internet connection).

And so, bye!

Black Curry

2011-11-29T02:06:00.002+08:00

Weird food for mugging #3
(Recipe for #1 and #2 here)

Add coffee mix into cup ramen (curry flavour).
Taste like ~~junk~~ I-don't-know-how-to-describe-it.

Pros:
-Instant awake due to the unique taste.
-Caffeine intake with food to save time.

Mugger Rule #378: Everything better with caffeine.

(Never done so since 6 years ago. I must be too free. LOL)

Quote #9

2011-11-21T22:27:00.001+08:00

Another quote I saw off the same site. Unknown author as well.

"The real world does not start when you leave high school, when you can legally drink or when you get a job.
You have been in the real world your whole life.

So go live it."

Seemingly strange for an idealist like me to quote it though.

Final Year Project - Examination

2011-11-21T19:21:00.000+08:00

Don't study for your examination in the lab.

My boss is epic. Talked to me for an hour right before my paper.

LOL

Operation: Cruel Angel's Thesis
Chapter 9

Black Cow

2011-11-18T23:36:00.003+08:00

Black Bull strikes back!

2 times Kopi-O Kosong plus Chocolate milk.

Black Cow.
(I think most people call it Mocha though.)

Justice

2011-11-18T01:05:00.000+08:00

Read this particular part in Plato's The Republic (book II) some years ago.

They say that to do injustice is, by nature, good; to suffer injustice, evil; but that the evil is greater than the good. And so when men have both done and suffered injustice and have had experience of both, not being able to avoid the one and obtain the other, they think that they had better agree among themselves to have neither; hence there arise laws and mutual covenants; and that which is ordained by law is termed by them lawful and just. This they affirm to be the origin and nature of justice; --it is a mean or compromise, between the best of all, which is to do injustice and not be punished, and the worst of all, which is to suffer injustice without the power of retaliation; and justice, being at a middle point between the two, is tolerated not as a good, but as the lesser evil, and honoured by reason of the inability of men to do injustice. For no man who is worthy to be called a man would ever submit to such an agreement if he were able to resist; he would be mad if he did. Such is the received account, Socrates, of the nature and origin of justice.

Full text here.

I am no expert in philosophy. But this is my own interpretation, from my very shallow understanding. The best thing that can happen to a man is to do a wrong-doing and get away with it. The worst thing that can happen to a man is to suffer a wrong-doing and not receiving any compensation in return. The former is to commit an injustice, and the latter is to suffer an injustice. From individual point of view, committing an injustice is the best thing that can happen, whereas suffering an injustice is the worst thing that can happen. We generally agree that it is good to have the best thing to happen to ourselves, but we do not want the worst thing to happen. However, that is not possible, for we cannot avoid one without avoiding the other. Furthermore, we see that the bad of suffering injustice greatly outweigh the good from committing injustice (frankly speaking, I find this debatable, see below, but anyway). Hence to avoid the bad of suffering injustice, we choose to avoid both altogether. And that is to create the ideal of Justice, where committing and suffering of injustice are condemned.

Hence, Justice is not the best thing that can happen. Instead, it is a compromise to avoid the worst thing, at the expense of the best thing.

Imagine this. On a scale of "Goodness", suffering injustice will be (-1.1), while committing injustice will be (1). And they must occur together. This will give an nett of (-0.1) to the overall. Whereas Justice will be (0). Thus Justice is preferred over any form of injustice, in term of "Goodness".

However, personally, I think that suffering injustice amount to (-1) and committing injustice being (1), thus overall of (0). This means that there is no difference to the overall whether there is Justice or not. But anyway.

So, back to the topic. Basically, Justice is not the best, but we have to make do with it. To make matter worse, Justice doesn't come in a single form. The most common question being, "Who are you to judge?"

Indeed, that's the most common retort to deny the Justice of another. Sadly, no one can agree upon a single set of universal Justice. We can at best make use of the majority and ignorant to create a Justice that everyone is submissive to. Willingly or not.

In short, I want to illustrate the point that everyone views Justice differently.

Therefore, you can hardly be able to be just on one, without being unjust to someone else. Furthermore, very often your act may end up becoming a source of unjust for someone else without you noticing. Here's a quote from a novel to illustrate the point.

珠晶微笑起来。

“供麒，过来。”

受到笑脸的召唤，供麒跑了过去，珠晶像要抚摩似地招羞手。供麒很懂事地曲着膝，抬头仰望着永远是一副小孩外表的幼稚的主人的脸庞。殊不知给供麒的竟是一巴掌。那一声响亮的巴掌声听得下官们浑身一颤。

向一国的台甫伸手的珠晶夸张地用力吹着似乎甩痛了的手。

“我想要一只像雁国的台甫那样的比自己小的麒麟。每次想要推倒你的，却发现连手也够不到，真是让人生气。”

“主上……”

“那个……”珠晶一阵窃笑。

“祥琼也受不了了吧。原本地位那么高的一个人，竟然去干奴仆的活，一定感到很屈辱吧？可是如果不是这样就没意思了。因为我想虐待祥琼嘛。”

“主上！”

“一国的公主成为奴仆，从早到晚不停地工作着，平伏于人前生活着。因此愉了东西逃出去也是没有办法了吧。麒麟的怜悯只不过如此，所以我笑了。”

“哼！”珠晶猛抬起头，脸上像是罩了一罢寒冰似的，环视着跪伏于地瑟瑟发抖的各级官员们。

“为什么你们麒麟的那分怜悯针对的只是奴仆或下级官员呢？难道从来不觉得这是对坚强正直活着的人的侮辱吗？”

珠晶俯视着瞬间僵硬了的男子。

“是没有比一国的王族过得还好的人。我过得比奴仆们优裕是因为我肩上担负羞比他们重得多的责任。因此尽管我每天穿的是绫箩绸缎，吃的是山珍海味，奴仆们却没什么抵触。他们向我低头称臣。如果不这样做，就会像峰王那样被斩首示众。有错吗？”

“是的。”

“祥琼并没察觉到这分贲任，也没有尽到这分责任。野外的工作是很辛苦，大扫除也很累，说因为忍受不了就擅自出逃的人我绝不原谅。这是对那些认真工作的人的侮辱。同样都是从早干到晚，如果把她视作和从来没有偷盗出逃的人一样处理的话，那如何来面对那些辛勤工作的人的诚意呢？”

不屑地看着似乎刚恍然大悟的麒麟，珠晶长叹一口气。

《风之万里·黎明之空》ー第六章
小野不由美

To sum up, unnecessarily placed sympathy will end up be the source of injustice towards other people. You might believe that you are helping someone, yet by doing that, you cause an injustice to people you missed.

In a related concept of fairness. No one says life is supposed to be fair. But if given a chance, I believe we should work towards it. That's something we should adhere to, even if the entire world does not. Even if it is futile. Even if nothing will change. Even if your effort is going to be totally insignificant. Why? Perhaps because that's a virtue. Or because that's Justice. And that's the right thing to do.

I am mostly anti-establishment in many things. But strangely, I view Justice as an important concept. But then again, I define things in my own way. So I defend my own kind of Justice.

And to end off with a quote from a manga,

"Justice" is about as vague a word as there is. It has a great ring to it. "Justice" is beautiful. Everyone loves "justice". And whoever uses the word first wins.

O, the irony.

Shitty Pool of Shit

2011-11-15T11:43:00.004+08:00

SPS. It is full of shit.

Before I start ranting, here's something for my dearest year 1 juniors.

死ね！
Die!

For stealing my ream of paper over the past semester and acting like nobody business. Fcuk you! Moron strawberries. Or more like monkey. What's the rubbish justification that everyone is using it so you can use it too. Not everything lying around in the SPS room is free. Fcuk you x2!

Next, something for my dearest year 2 juniors.

死んだ。
You're dead.

Okay, just joking.

This is the first batch I mentored. So it feels like watching the kids growing up. Congratulation people!

Anyway, grade moderation yesterday. Please imagines this to be a 10 thousand words long ranting post. Because whatever that was discussed is classified. Anyway, all I can say that, it is very problematic. The system is totally kena sai. Full load of shit.

But of course, as I always said, no one says life is supposed to be fair.

11.11.11 11:11

2011-11-11T11:11:00.000+08:00

Who the fcuk care about it.

LOL

わたしは。。。#16

2011-11-05T00:19:00.000+08:00

Victim of plagiarism.

(Realize it has been long since I use this tag.)

Marriage

2011-11-01T23:08:00.002+08:00

So, the first peer of my age got married yesterday.

Congratulation, Jessy! May a blissful marriage!

It is weird to recall that the girl donning the wedding dress, used to sit behind me and was always dozing off during class. Time flies. The days back then still feel so near, but yet distant somehow. Maybe I should spend more efforts in connecting with old friends.

Nostalgia and reminiscence.

Anyway, for me, I set a goal last time, that I will get marry by 25 or else never. So that leave me exactly 3 more months before I reach 25. ~~Let's see if miracle happens.~~ Which is totally impossible.

Macross Frontier 第七弾！

2011-10-30T21:24:00.003+08:00

Sheryl wins hands down!!!!!!11one

Watched the last movie yesterday. The fanboy in me is awoken yet again! Sheryl! :3

禁断のエリクシア

Full version here.

And a bit of Ranka to be fair.

虹色クマクマ

LOL @ AltoXVajra

I Don't Care

2011-10-29T12:53:00.001+08:00

Some time ago, I wrote this on facebook.

They should come up with an "idc" button for facebook

I don't care. Seriously, I don't care.

I just realized that everything in facebook can be replied with a single "idc". In fact, everything in the world as well.

Just for examples.

"I just want to be left alone. [or some other emo-ing lines]"
Yeah right, nothing gives you more privacy than internet.
I don't care.

"[Some random quote from bible]"
Just f*** off, thank you.
I don't care.

"I haven't finish my tutorials! More test tomorrow! [more ranting on school]"
Why don't you log off facebook.
I don't care.

"Today is Friday! It is time for [insert activities]!"
And tomorrow is Saturday. Sunday comes after.
I don't care.

"[Encrypted message using some metaphors no one understand]"
I don't understand.
I don't care.

I can go on and on. Of course I know that those post aren't meant for me to read. But, that is exactly how facebook operates. You just announce everything to the world. It is just the same as photos of nonsensical so-called motivating statements. It don't really make you look philosophical. Just for example how absurd it is, take a look at this picture.

Maybe, I am just apathy. But who said being apathy is wrong. Of course, I don't mean that I ignore everything. It is just that I don't care for things that I shouldn't care about. Not just on facebook, but everything as well.

Some time earlier, a friend SMS-ed me about another guy's grandfather passing away, together with the address of the funeral. Well, the problem being,

1) I don't know him very well (we are like even much lesser than being acquaintances),
2) I haven't seen him for more than half a year nor do I wish to (and you telling me to find him for a funeral?),
3) I don't really like him (in fact, we probably despise each other).

So, I don't really get the point of telling me that. I would have thrown one or two sarcastic remarks if not for the circumstance. Anyway, maybe this particular guy who told me "oh okie" years back was thinking similarly as me now.

All in all, I don't care. I don't care for people that don't matters to me. That's not wrong if you think about it. But for people who do, I won't mind throwing away my life to care about it.

Lastly, to end with a picture that describe another situation I don't care about.

via Poorly Drawn Lines.

What is SPS?

2011-10-24T04:22:00.003+08:00

A tribute to SPS.

Got the certificate of programme from SPS last week. (This post is delayed since I had been quite busy over the week.)

SPS can be said to played a pivotal, if not central, role in my undergraduate life. Indeed, it is no understatement to say that my life in NUS for the past few years revolved around SPS amongst other things.

What is SPS?

I had never asked this question myself, even at the time when I applied into it. On hindsight, I should. But anyway, let me answer this question now as someone who had graduated from SPS.

SPS is hell. It is totally hell. Few will disagree with me. I totally lost track of how many times I died in there, and how many people I killed in there as well. It is not unusual to find yourself waking up in SPS room wondering if you are dead, or still alive but going to be dead soon. Before coming to university, I won't dream of staying overnight in school, yet I have been doing that every semester since. It has practically become part of my routine in NUS.

SPS grind you. I have no idea how, maybe it just happened. You enter SPS, your work somehow become somewhat better quality. Of course, after dying numerous time, it is hard to expect zero improvement. SPS certainly put me through the mill and throw the crap out of me. I probably lost a megajazitribillion of brain cells within the first and half years in there. Let me not even get started on report rushing period. But, what I really learnt, is not the hard knowledge knocked into me, but rather those soft skills which I am deeply grateful for.

It is also the place where we start scratching the surface of research. And it somehow transform into a lunch time gathering point and hang out for ranting on the labs and everyday life, which is interesting considering the diverse majors we are from. Not to forget board games (Thank you, Weiding!). It is also a place where I get to know majority of my NUS friends. On hindsight, it is lucky I got somewhere to hang around, and not with another certain programme.

Started mentoring a year ago. I enjoyed ~~killing~~ ~~torturing~~ ~~screwing~~ ~~toying~~ ~~playing~~ mentoring ~~those annoying freshmen~~ the cute juniors. Which is weird when your ex-classmate is among them (and we call them kids). Which remind me, that I used to battle evil mentors as well. Then again, I am not leading any project group. No idea if that is good or bad. But, the wtf moment is when I end up doing IS mentor for a module in quantum physics.

Anyway, SPS has come to change over the years. I have absolutely no idea which direction is it heading for. The SPS culture might even be lost. We can only wait and see. But I will probably miss the old SPS, with the old SPS room included. The very place where my nightmare of NUS began.

Celebrate it, dear peers, who had survived with me. We wrote the history of SPS as the last batch from the old SPS room, the first batch of mentors under the new curriculum, and the only batch to witness the transition of SPS. All in all, in SPS, we find the lives in us who lead the lives of no life, and it had became the place we love to hate.

Lastly, a thank to everyone who helped me in one way or another. Special mention to the following group partners and mentors.
SP2170: Dhava and Shir Nee (partners)
SP2171: Lu Bo and Chun Zhen (mentors)
SP2172: Ouyang (partner), Jian Hong and Jin Hong (mentors)

Viva la SPS

Final Year Project - Crazy

2011-10-18T20:48:00.000+08:00

Honour year students are crazy.

We twisted the lab culture. Other people go into lab when light, come out when dark. We, go into lab when dark, come out when light, then go back and come out only when dark again.

Operation: Cruel Angel's Thesis
Chapter 8

ACID Camp 2011

2011-10-17T16:27:00.004+08:00

Went away for ACID camp during the weekend. Back now sleep deprived and ~~mosquito~~ sand fly-bitten. However, I certainly enjoyed myself.

Well, I seldom blog about my volunteering activities since there is the privacy of the trainees to consider. But, here, let me show my appreciation to fellow volunteers for once.

A big thank you to all volunteers from MINDSville!
Your dedication is admirable!

Someone once asked me this a long time ago. "Why do you volunteer?" I wondered, but never got an answer to it. For now, let me continue with it until the day I get an answer for myself.

P.S. A seemingly unrelated video.

Life is Cheap

2011-10-17T10:00:00.007+08:00

Done with the rabbits, they are now crushing little girls.
That bloody hell of a country.

(Extreme graphics, NSFW)

Maybe morality is overrated and it never existed in the first place.
Or maybe it is just the problem of that particular country.

P.S. I read this interesting comment online, which I found it to be true.

Sadly, I am from China ( techniqually the place I am from wasnt part of China until 1997.) I know how insane people are in China. I can tell you guys China is a shit hole and no way in hell I will ever get out of the border of Hong Kong and set foot on the other side. This is why I always tell people that the only race I dont trust is Chinese. I blame the commies for destorying the good old Chinese culture. My grandpa told me that back into his days, if someone got robbed, the whole village would jump on that guy. Today is a totally different story. When I was younger, I tried to think how can I change that country into a better place. After I got older, I know there is no way in hell unless you nuke that place. I'm not saying all Chinese dont have souls, but there are more than 1/2 of them dont have soul, 1/4 of them do whatever those 1/2 do and only 1/4 of good folks. To be honest, Im really ashamed of being a freakig Chinese.

Strange

2011-10-16T21:54:00.000+08:00

It feels strange. Not bad, but strange.

Maybe I missed the flag.

But either way, just plain staring is going to get me nowhere.

Final Year Project - Digestion

2011-10-13T23:06:00.004+08:00

Each digestion is unique.
But all is a pain.

I take back everything I said in my previous post.

:(:(

Operation: Cruel Angel's Thesis
Chapter 7

Final Year Project - #48-1

2011-10-12T18:26:00.001+08:00

At last,

My FYP is going to see a bit of light,
after n number of tries.

:):)

Operation: Cruel Angel's Thesis
Chapter 6

Presentation is a Piece of Cake

2011-10-11T17:30:00.000+08:00

After years of training in presentations in NUS, I can,

Narrowly finish the slides 15 minutes before the presentation starts
Completely animate the slides in 2 minutes without a single mistake
Not rehearsing at all

And still manage to pull the presentation through without much of a hitch.
Thank you, SPS!

LOL (It is not advisable for anyone to follow in my footsteps.)

Singapore, You're Doing it Wrong

2011-10-10T00:34:00.004+08:00

I had posted my views on politics in Singapore during the General Elections period.

I must said that my views changed somewhat after a discussion with my friend the other night. The one article that made me rethink the most is this. Well, that's not all. Browse that website for yourself, and read on the woes of unemployment in Singapore. From the point of view of someone who is graduating in half year time, the future certainly looks bleak.

I know this kind of articles are inherently biased. But then again, it is not as if they do not speak any truth in them.

It is somewhat disheartening to know that after freaking 16 years of education, you still sweep floor. Because you are a Singaporean in Singapore. It is funny how Singaporeans can end up being the second-class citizens in their own city. After all the bullshyt on meritocracy, we aren't really competing on equal grounds, are we?. If we are, and I lose out, I will have nothing to say. It is survival of the fittest. Yet, we lose even before we started, simply because we are local, doesn't make much sense to me.

But of course, no one ever said life is supposed to be fair in the first place.

I said before, I won't make unnecessary comments on people doing it wrong if I can't point out the correct way to do it. Now, I can't. Nor am I going to pinpoint all faults on the government. So I will just stop at here.

But, if the trends continue to be so, I believe it is better for me to walk off and out of this place. I don't mind being the so-called quitter. Until, perhaps, the day I can come back to correct the issues. Or, better still, coming back as a FT. I believes a lot people too, like me, are feeling lesser and lesser attachments to this city gradually.

In the process of attracting people here, you turn away those from their own land. Well done.

Home doesn't feel like Home anymore nowadays,
does it?

Here's to Steve Jobs

2011-10-07T08:09:00.000+08:00

I don't know him. And I am not in the Apple Cult. Now, he had gone on and announced iDied, so just good bye and RIP.

Universal Studios Singapore

2011-10-06T20:54:00.001+08:00

Battlestar Galactica: Cylon: 6
Revenge of the Mummy: 3
Enchanted Airways: 2
Battlestar Galactica: Human: 1
Canopy Flyer: 1

Total: 13!

Went up to feel the gravity. It exists.

OMG, I am still floating!

P.S. If I am TPL's parent, she will have no more regret in life. Lucky I am not.

P.P.S. KAT Y U NO GO CYLON 3 MORE TIMES!?

eLearning Week

2011-10-03T00:45:00.001+08:00

I took 3 science modules this semester.

For eLearning week, one module will be doing a live conference, since presentation was scheduled for this week.
The remaining 2 modules just cancel their lectures altogether.

So tell me, what's the purpose of eLearning week.
(Not that I hate it though, it is recess week #2 for us. And it works in my favour.)

But the system is clearly not working.

6 Long Years

2011-10-02T01:00:00.001+08:00

I saw some girl studying for her N-levels Chemistry TYS in McDonald's.

I went "WTF". And started trying to reminiscence how long had it been since my O-levels and A-levels.

Then, I realized I was reading my chim chim journal paper.

I went "WTF" the second time. And I was speechless.

LOL, the good old days of TYS. Suddenly I miss it so much.

Final Year Project - Yeast Mating

2011-09-30T10:52:00.003+08:00

Helping my yeasts to have sex.

Now, they are no longer ~~virgins~~ haploid.

Operation: Cruel Angel's Thesis
Chapter 5

ズー

2011-09-29T21:29:00.004+08:00

It is strange that how a single email can make my heart skip a beat.

Oh well, nevermind.

Obnoxious

2011-09-26T02:09:00.002+08:00

No one ever says that I am not a gooddamn obnoxious bastard.

I won't say I am evil, but I just don't care to be nice.
Oh, that makes me pretty much evil anyway.

Haha

Maybe I just don't like to sugarcoat over stuff.
Being frank and straightforward.
Looking things at it most primordial form.
Then, pointing out the darkness in everyone.

That's being me.

Obnoxious FTW!!

Bootcamp

2011-09-23T23:39:00.000+08:00

By the grace of Bootcamp,

Windows XP.

It feels so nostalgia.

Contract

2011-09-21T23:47:00.002+08:00

(This entry will not tell the whole story, for I am bind by a contract. Read on.)

I received a call yesterday asking me to attend an event this morning. I had previously received their invitation via email a week before, but decide against going for it since I will be in school doing my FYP.

Anyway, in the call, I reject going to the event. Stating the same reason. The in-charge retorted that I have a contract with them, and that makes it compulsory for me to attend it.

Having no choice, I end up cancelling my planned experiments for the day, to join their event. What did I do? I end up sitting there for an hour listening and be the background for photos. Well done.

I have no objections about attending the event if you ask me. But, what is the point of a first invitation that gave me a choice, followed by a threat using contract that left me none? Why not just state it right from the first place? And to make matter worse, only calling to threaten me the very day before the event. The participants I talked to during the event were similarly grumbling about only being told in the last minutes. Yes, we are students. But that doesn't mean that we have no commitments to speak of. Have she no idea what is FYP? Or perhaps she is yet another business major failure who knows nut?

Not helping it, she sent me an email shortly after the phone call. It goes something like this,

Hi Elvin, I am so glad that you can be at the [event name] tomorrow.

[...small talk...]

I note that you’ll attend the event and have attached the programme and directions to [event venue] for your reference.

[...event details...]

Thanks again for accepting our invite. We look forward to meeting you tomorrow!

Thanks and regards,
[sign off]

Or so, according to my friend, "sibei hypocrite the email!" Well anyway, that's all I can rant about.

Seriously, her predecessor was doing a so much better job than she is.

Final Year Project - RIP

2011-09-13T18:10:00.000+08:00

Stands for

Research In Progress

Operation: Cruel Angel's Thesis
Chapter 4

Inspiration

2011-09-11T23:56:00.007+08:00

This is not.

I hate it whenever there is something like this. When they portray a "Greek tragedy" in order to gain sympathy from the audiences. And the stupidity stem from the audiences feeling so touched that they fail to see it beyond the layer. And they got inspired.

Similarly, in this case.

Seriously, what is inspiration?

"Wow, he can do [insert normal feat] even though he is
[insert disability]!
I need to do better in my life too!!
I am inspired!!!"

Isn't it just a false sense of security you feel just to know that there are someone out there who are worse off than you? You stepped over whoever that is, so that you can feel a little bit better about your life.

Well, it is not like no one doesn't do that. In life, we step over one another in the social pyramid. Yet, I can't stand the ignorant of what you are doing when you said you are being inspired by a certain someone, without knowing the fact that doing so means that you are looking down on that person.

When you said you are inspired by a certain someone who can accomplish "fantastic" feat despite his disability, then let me ask you, will you change you life for his? Just like this guy, do you think he is speaking through his brain when he feel that he can't be any happier?

And the whoever who "inspired" you, who is going to inspire him instead? Going further down the social pyramid?

Now, if anyone tell me they feel inspired by me, I will tell them, Fcuk off

You Call this God Bless?

2011-09-08T19:22:00.001+08:00

Well, I rarely log on to facebook, not to mention making a comment. So if you see me making a comment to a post, it is probably because the post is made by a good friend, or the post annoys me too much.

In this case, it is the latter.

I don't know what goes through that pea-brain of this Randy Goh, who think getting an cochlear implant is the happiest thing in the world.

If there is any Christian reading this, please, don't use "God bless" like some -desu. Use your brain instead. Think before talking nonsense.

And to this Randy Goh, I hope your future child will experience the happiest thing in the world. ~~Fcuk you~~ God bless.

Japan Trip 2011: Epilogue

2011-09-07T21:33:00.001+08:00

OMG, it has been more than a month since I am back (I only realize time past because new issues of Weekly Shounen are out, haha).

Wheee! I had been to Japan!

Hahaha, here's a checklist of things I had done, seen, experience or whatever. Alright, let's see.

1. Traveled oversea alone for the first time.

Well, I know it is fairly late. But this is the first time I traveled alone. I had been with friends on school trip for 3 times before. But, without friend and family, this is the first. I can say that I like the freedom of roaming around alone.

2. Backpacking at Japan. (Sort of)

Well, my initial plan was to roam all around without any plan. But, the day before I left, I realized the hotels at that period were almost fully booked. Then, that's when I started planning my travel plan. But most places I went was pretty much on impulse (including Mt Fuji). So, I was pretty much wandering without aim most of the time anyway. Lesson learnt: plan your trip early next time.

3. Gone to Tokyo,

Tokyo live up to its name as a metropolis. It gave me the impression of those of a city. So it is a stark contrast when I travel out to the more rural part. And I miss the city already.

4. And to Hokkaido,

Technically, Sapporo. I went there because 1) I want to experience bullet train, and 2) the weather is freaking hot at Tokyo. But, I end up liking this city the most, although I spent the least time there. (And, ya, I drank Sapporo beer in Sapporo.)

5. Then to Kyoto,

Kyoto is the city of temples. According to the innkeeper, there is over ~~9000~~ 90 temples in Kyoto. 90 don't sound a lot, but each temple can occupy as much as one hill! Even the streets are named based on the temples around them. Haha, but I love the ancient feeling the city gives.

6. Finally to Osaka,

The only city I didn't spend a night in, since I took train there and back from Kyoto. Yes, they stand on the right side of the escalator. And hence, it cause total mess in Kyoto where people from both side come together. On hindsight, I should spend longer time here, since half a day is really not enough. (Osaka takoyaki is overrated.)

7. Not to forget, some other random smaller cities.

Kanagawa

Technically, Kamakura and Hakone. Gone there as part of course field trip. So not really the chance to roam around, hence didn't get the chance to see much about there.

Yamanashi

(I can't find a good picture.) Well, I went there on my way to Mt Fuji, so more accurately, Kawaguchiko.

Wakkanai

On my way to the Northmost point, Capa Soya.

And some other places I stopped by while making transfer, namely
Narita, Chiba

Yes, the main airport of Japan is NOT in Tokyo. It's a pain to travel to there.

Aomori

Youkuso Aomori e

Hakodate

No good photo again. But this is the first ekiben that I ate, which is at Hakodate. Haha.

8. Climbed Mt Fuji.

Let's not forget the cup noodle that cost me 600yen. But sunrise on Mt Fuji rocks (pun not intended).

9. Reached the Northernmost Point of Japan.

Arguably.

10. Joined a summer program,

Namely, the IARU GSP. Classmates from the course. From left, Jia Fang, Phoebe, Melissa, Tiffany, Tiffany, Shangqian, me.

11. At University of Tokyo, no less.

That will probably cause all Love Hina fan to be green with envy.

12. Met really nice Japaneses.

The couple who own the ryokan I stayed. The lady actually drove me to the bus stop after I checked out. Some strangers even offer to help me with my rotten shoes while I was on Mt Fuji, without even me bothering to ask. Not to mention helping me up when I skid off the rocks. I even met elders who guard by the sign board in park to show people the way. Seriously, how can you not like them?

13. Stayed in capsule hotel.

Pigeon holes. (They aired p0rn on the television. LOL)

14. Stayed in ryokan.

Futon and tatami! But, I didn't stayed in high-end one with onsen. That's pity. But another thing on the to-do list for next trip ;)

15. Took Japanese bathe.

42 degree Celsius is no joke. This is the private one in the ryokan. They is another public bathe in the capsule hotel (no photo for the obvious reason).

16. Took the Shinkansen

~~Hatsune~~ Hayabusa.

17. Rode a sleeper train.

Hamanasu.

18. Travel with the impressive transport system.

I can go on and on with the trains. But, then it is better that I don't. I took no less than 11 planned long-distance trips (probably costing me 100k yen if I don't have the JR pass) and many minor one. I am totally impressed by their transport network. Well, no thanks to a certain programme from denying me the chance back then. What impressed me the most is the behaviour of the people on public transport.

19. Survive disasters.

Technically. Magnitude 3 earthquake. Typhoon Ma-on. And a few near-death falling from Mt Fuji.

20. Otaku pilgrimage to Aikahabara and Den den town.

Nuff' said.

21. Attended a matsuri.

Takoyaki in Singapore sucks.

22. Visited Shinto shrine.

I got an omamori on my bag now.

23. Visited Ghibli museum.

This is the very first place I thought of going once my trip was confirmed. Ahhh, the Ghibli magic~

24. Saw a shooting star.

For the first time in my life. On Mt Fuji, no less. (Please imagine this photo is a star-filled night sky. Blame my camera.)

25. Saw snow.

On Mt Fuji too. Next trip should be in winter ;)

26. Wrote a tanabata tanzaku.

来年に、も一度日本で来ます

27. Ate really nice Japanese food.

I took a while to decide which photo to upload. Ok, fake Japanese food in Singapore, please go sweep floor.

28. Spent like crazy.

Well, it is Japan.

29. ~~Picked up~~ Helped a girl in Kabukicho.

Ok, here's the story. I saw a male host (you know what they do) harassing a girl while I was at there. So, I pushed him away and shouted something in English (magical word that can momentarily stunned the local there). LOL.

30. Fall in love with Japan.

Need me say more?

P.S. I can go on and on with the list. But this post has been dragged too long. So I will just stop at 30.

Buffalo DriveStation Axis USB 3.0

2011-09-04T22:12:00.000+08:00

Get.

2 TB at 129 bucks.

P.S. The girl at the Comex booth is very chio.

Quote #8

2011-09-04T01:46:00.001+08:00

Saw this quote off this site. Seems to be floating on internet, so I don't know who said it.

"Apologizing doesn't always mean that you are wrong and the other person is right.
It just means that you value your relationship more than your ego."

Grading

2011-09-01T15:01:00.000+08:00

I am doing this.

From PHD Comics.

Except, I am ten times more cruel than Cecilia.

Courage!

2011-08-30T10:20:00.001+08:00

You just have to ask for it.

(Sorry, Weiding!)

End of Elections

2011-08-29T00:29:00.003+08:00

General election, over. PAP "win", I lol'd.
Presidential election, over. TT win, I T_T.

Seriously, I think both elections were a joke. Come on, you boast 5 millions strong population, yet the voters stand at less than half the number. I am totally speechless and disgraced by that fact.

Anyway, one last thing I want to say to future politician wannabes.

Don't use MY national reserve, to further YOUR political ambitions.

Seriously, wtf with that many promises during their campaigns. I doubt they can even do half of them. Not to mention, some is actually outside the premise of their authority. You are telling me you are going to abuse your authority once elected?

And stop with those popular policy as a carrot. For example, raise NS pay by 4 times? Are you out of you mind? (No wonder you only get 4% T_T)

Seriously, don't they realize what they need to do is to let those keng recognize what they are doing is a duty? You think raising their pay will achieve that? The soldiers must realize they HAVE and SHOULD to do it. You are not going to tempt them or to pacify them with money. If the soldiers only fight with pay raise, I think you are better off getting mercenary to defend your country.

Politicians of Singapore, please go and study your politics.

I T_T.

I Love My Curry

2011-08-29T00:01:00.002+08:00

For the uninitiated, here's the story.

(There is some mass curry cooking event on facebook last Sunday. I decide it is not economies cook for a single person, so I had it at some Thai restaurant.)

Anyway, my first reaction to the news is "WTF?! ~~F*ck you cheena!~~"

On second thought, I realize there won't be as big an uproar if the family involved was not from PRC.

Well, I don't think that was without reason. I used to don't have anything against Chinese nationality, until I entered NUS and actually worked with one. But, of course, I don't want to stereotype, I got friends who came from China too. But I have to admit that the number of them who annoyed me far exceed all other nationalities.

Of course, if they come here to live to stay, I have nothing to say. I will welcome them with opened arms. But, if you come here merely to leech off us, and mock us at the same time. I will say please GTFO. Seriously, this kind of incidents get on my nerve.

Insensitive need to has its limit. Cultural differences need to be acknowledged. When in Rome, do as Romans do. Please left those kind behaviours like elbow shoving, talking loudly in public, exposing your seaweeds and whatever inconsiderate actions back in your country. And stop building a social enclave for your own insecurity.

You adapt to the place you live in. Not the world adapt to you.

Little wonder I thought of China when the lecturer was teaching about hallmarks of cancer.

To me, being Chinese involves two different thing. One is as a race, another is as a nationality. I will forever stand proud as a Chinese (by race), but being a Chinese (by nationality)? Over my dead body.

A xenophobic, I am.

All is Tan

2011-08-27T15:14:00.001+08:00

I voted!

Basically, I choose the one out of four who annoyed me the least (hint: his surname is Tan).

QUICKENING!

2011-08-27T09:21:00.003+08:00

Today, will be remembered, not for the Presidential Election. Not for my first time voting. But for the announcement of the air date of the 3rd Evangelion movie!!!!

Asuka!!!!

Omg!

AD2012 Autumn

Presidential Election 2011

2011-08-25T21:47:00.003+08:00

I guess there is no surprise that the Presidential Election don't generate as much buzz as the General Election. Anyway, my 2 cents worth.

Presidential Election can go and die for all I care.

Do Singapore really need a President? Forgive the view of a ~~peasant~~ ~~commoner~~ ~~civilian~~ normal Singaporean, but I don't see what exactly is the role of our president. And what exactly justifies his salary. Well, it is no secret that our president is just a figure head with ~~no power~~ power that are never exercised. Someone whom we pay 4 millions a year. That's like simply the best job in the world, even better than the PM.

So, the problem I have with Presidential Election is the role of president itself rather than the candidates.

Anyway, the candidates. I don't really ~~bother~~ know much about them. The only one I find funny was this guy. Come on, you want me to pay you now, so that you can have a job that earn 4 millions? I think you are worst than TPL. Seriously.

They may pledge to donate half of their salary. But, please, the other half is still going into their pocket. And that half of that is astronomical.

My take? F*ck it. Just vote for the one you think is best-looking. A figure head got to look good for it to be effective after all. Or, if you will rather, pick the best symbol. Seriously, wtf with those symbols?

Glasses: too nerdy
Heart: too boring
Palm tree: too NYJC
Speech bubble: too wtf

Concluding statement: It is my first time voting.

Quantized Bible

2011-08-25T14:09:00.003+08:00

Random doodle. (How to prevent your christian friends from erasing your vandalism.)

Let there be light.

Make your own poster here.

Final Year Project - Facepalm

2011-08-25T11:32:00.001+08:00

Boss: How long was your UROPS presentation?

Me: 4 months (ago).

Boss:
. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . ,.-‘”. . . . . . . . . .``~.,
. . . . . . . .. . . . . .,.-”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .“-.,
. . . . .. . . . . . ..,/. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ”:,
. . . . . . . .. .,?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\,
. . . . . . . . . /. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,}
. . . . . . . . ./. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,:`^`.}
. . . . . . . ./. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,:”. . . ./
. . . . . . .?. . . __. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . :`. . . ./
. . . . . . . /__.(. . .“~-,_. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,:`. . . .. ./
. . . . . . /(_. . ”~,_. . . ..“~,_. . . . . . . . . .,:`. . . . _/
. . . .. .{.._$;_. . .”=,_. . . .“-,_. . . ,.-~-,}, .~”; /. .. .}
. . .. . .((. . .*~_. . . .”=-._. . .“;,,./`. . /” . . . ./. .. ../
. . . .. . .\`~,. . ..“~.,. . . . . . . . . ..`. . .}. . . . . . ../
. . . . . .(. ..`=-,,. . . .`. . . . . . . . . . . ..(. . . ;_,,-”
. . . . . ../.`~,. . ..`-.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..\. . /\
. . . . . . \`~.*-,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..|,./.....\,__
,,_. . . . . }.>-._\. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .|. . . . . . ..`=~-,
. .. `=~-,_\_. . . `\,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\
. . . . . . . . . .`=~-,,.\,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . `:,, . . . . . . . . . . . . . `\. . . . . . ..__
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .`=-,. . . . . . . . . .,%`>--==``
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _\. . . . . ._,-%. . . ..`

Operation: Cruel Angel's Thesis
Chapter 3

Stinkie

2011-08-18T22:06:00.001+08:00

When you realize, you see familiar people every where you go in the campus (for, even worse, someone like me), you know you are officially stinkie.

Year 4!

OMG, I feel so old.
zz

We Win

2011-08-10T22:20:00.001+08:00

"We have the fossils. We win."

Nuff said.

CORS Rant - Episode VII

2011-08-08T14:02:00.006+08:00

"All the CORS's a battle, and all the men and women merely bidders. They have their bids and outbidded, and one man in his time bids many modules.

- ~~William Shakespeare~~ The Puppeteer

Blast from the Past

2011-08-08T11:48:00.000+08:00

My friend uploaded this on facebook. Cookie to whoever who can spot me.

I miss the old people.

MSJ-06II-A Tieren Ground Type

2011-08-05T11:34:00.002+08:00

~~Zaku~~ Tieren

This is the first cannon fodder type mobile suit I made. Look quite good after I finished with it actually.

Tried cement and finisher this time round. Messy stuff. Messed up certain parts while at that. Especially the finisher. Applying too much caused the plastic to bubble, the inking to run, and worst of all, the colour to dust. Zzz.

On the brighter side, Bandai is smarter in design this time round. Most of the seams are covered or hidden up.

僕と妻の１７７８の物語

2011-07-27T17:53:00.002+08:00

I love this movie.

Watched it on the plane on my way back to Singapore. Got me shedding a tear.

My favourite scene in the movie.

第１７７５話　　「話を読む」

今日の分を書き上げた彼は　万年筆を置いた
妻は眠っている
この三日ほど　ほとんど眠っているのだ
彼が書いてたのは　短いお話である
妻が病気になった　しばらくあとから毎日書いている
こうして　もう読んでもらえないかもしれない
原稿を書きながら　彼はその間だけは
妻との思い出を頭から　振り払うように努めていた
それよりも　どのくらい妻が　面白がる話にするかに
専念したのである
気がつくと　妻が目を覚ましている

読もうか？

妻はうなずいたようだ
彼はイスをベッドに寄せて読み始めた

「今日の分を書き上げた彼は　万年筆を置いた」
「妻は眠っている」

そこで目が覚めた
彼は書き上げた原稿を前に　居眠りしていたのである
妻は眠っていた

夢か

夢か　彼はイスにもたれた
彼は妻がこっちを　見ているのを知った
原稿に目を向けてし
「読もうか」　とかれ言った

読もうか？

「今日の分を書き上げた彼は　万年筆を置いた」

そこで夢だと悟った　妻は眠っていた
１時半　午前１時半だった
眠ると妻に原稿を読んでいる夢を　見ることだろう
けれどもいつかはそれが　夢でもなく
現実になるかもしれない
それを侍てばいいのだ

~~Maybe I should try doing that too.~~ No time.

IARU GSP Nanoscience Essay (Part 3)

2011-07-25T11:13:00.002+08:00

Part 3, theme being Nanotechnology.

I will be surprise if the physics god of quantum mechanics don't turn in their grave after reading this.

Summary of Lecture:
Nanotechnology - New Science World of Nanostructures

In 1965, Gordon Moore observed the Moore’s Law, which dedicated that the density of transistors on an integrated circuit to double approximately every 18 months. For the past four decades, the development of transistor has been faithfully following the Moore’s Law and decreasing in size towards the nanoscale. Transistor is a semiconductor device uses as a fundamental block in electronics. It is a key component in electronic system involving in the amplification and switching of electronic signals. However, the inevitable limitation of the Moore’s Law will approach as transistor size get smaller and smaller toward the atomic scale.

The scale of transistor has been rapidly been decreasing and has approached the nanoscale today. As the size of transistor continue to decrease, we may come to the so-called “single electronics”, involving only a single electron across the transistor gate. This transistor can be turned on or off just by a single electron. The advantage of this transistor is such that it involves low power and can be highly packed into high-density integrated circuit. However, the most potential usefulness of the single electron transistor is its ability to quantize the electron.

Quantization of electron enables a new and effective unit of information in computing involving quantum mechanics. This unit of information, known as qubit, involves vector representation of quantum information of the spin of electron rather and binary representation of the presence of electron. The quantum state of the electron enables it to be in a superposition of both spins of the electron at the same time. This superposition allows the possible infinite many states to be stored in a single qubit.

Furthermore, quantum entanglement between electrons will enable a greater speed of processing of the qubit. This is due to dependence between the states of the qubits, thereby decreasing the need to make every observation of the qubits. Hence, it translates as an increase in processing speed of the information.

Taken together, the down scaling of transistor towards single electronics will not only enable an increasing in density of transistor within the integrated circuits, but also leading to a new technology involving quantum computation. However, there is inevitable technology barrier to break through before that can be achieved. Most importantly is the ability to manipulate the quantum information, as well as the physical constraint of the single electron transistors. Nevertheless, this will enable us to go beyond the classical information computation, leading to better and effective computation tools.

IARU GSP Nanoscience Essay (Part 2)

2011-07-25T11:11:00.000+08:00

Part 2, theme being Biomedicine and Nanotechnology.

Demand Characteristics of Biomaterials

Biomaterials are matters or surfaces that interact with the biological systems. Synthetic biomaterials are used in regenerative medicine by providing scaffolds for the biological systems to work on. Hence, interactions between the biomaterial and the biological system at the so-called “biointerface” [1] are an important determining factor in biomaterial science. Effective biomaterials must be able to ensure the healing of the biological system. [1] This is achieved if the biomaterials can mimic the behaviour of the living system at the interface.

Hence, there are demand characteristics of biomaterials that allow it to work effectively. These characteristics include, biocompatibility, biosafety, biodegradability, regenerative capacity, workability and mechanical strength.

As biomaterials act as scaffolds within the living biological system, two factors are necessary. Firstly, the biomaterials must minimize damage or stress to the biological system, and secondly, the biomaterials must be able to initial or be conductive to regenerative capability of the biological system. The demand characteristics of biomaterials are necessary to ensure this.

Firstly, biocompatibility of biomaterials with the living biological system is necessary such that the biological system does not result in immuno-rejection of the biomaterials. Biosafety is to ensure that the biomaterials have low toxicity to the biological system, and the toxic does not cross the biointerface to enter the biological system. Biodegradability involves the degrading of the biomaterials by the biological system as the healing progress. This will enable to the biological system to take over the role of the scaffold, thereby eliminating the need of the biomaterials. In other word, the biomaterials will take the role as conductive towards the healing progress. This will mean that it needs to have regenerative capacity as well. These characteristics are necessary for the interaction between the biomaterials and biological system in order for the biomaterials to be effective in regenerative medicine.

Other characteristics such as workability and mechanical strength of the biomaterials are more concerns with the material factor of the biomaterials. It enable the biomaterials to be worked and mould for use and able to withstand the mechanical stress within the biological system, especially in locations such as the joints. These characteristics will depend more strongly on the shape of the biomaterials rather than the interface between biomaterials and the biological system.

As an example, the micro-tetrapod bone implant [2] is shaped similarly as wave-disspating blocks on seashores at homogenous size. This prevents the formation of irregular pores and dead spaces as observed in conventional method. The advantages of the tetrapod-shaped bone implant is such that the mechanical strength is increased due to the ability of the bone implant to interlock with each other and hold together. Yet, this still allows the formation of interconnecting pores that allow cells to pass through. In addition, as the tetrapod-shaped bone were in milli-scale, they can be shaped as bone fillers with ease. These advantages arise due to the shape of the tetrapod bone implant.

In conclusion, we can observe that an effective biomaterial must be successful in ensuring two objectives. The first being its ability to bring about an effective biointerface interaction with the biological system, and the second being effective physical shape that can fulfil the demand characteristics of the biomaterials. Taken together will allow the biomaterials to carry out the role on regenerative medicine on the biological system.

Reference

1. Sun, T. & Qing G. 2011. Biomimetic Smart Interface Materials for Biological Applications. Advance Healthcare Materials, 23: p57-77.
2. Tei/Chung-Ohba-Yano Laboratory. Micro-tetrapod bone implant. URL: http://www.tetrapod.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/eng/research_english.html. Last accessed: 23rd July 2011.

IARU GSP Nanoscience Essay (Part 1)

2011-07-25T11:08:00.001+08:00

Rushing the essays straight right after I came back. Well, not quite a job well-done. I nearly even forgot about the timezone difference, and almost being late.

This is part 1, on the theme of Biotechnology.

Future of Natural Product Chemistry

In the words of Tom Knight, senior research scientist from MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, “Biology is the nanotechnology that works.” [1] Indeed, living biological systems present themselves as readily available complex nanoscale systems waiting to be exploited. Genetic engineering is one of the best examples to illustrate this. In genetic engineering, scientist hijacked the natural transcription and translation biological systems into producing desired protein products. This is achieved by insertion of foreign DNA into the biological systems. Genetic engineering enables the manipulation of the cells to achieve the synthesis of protein products.

However, why stop at just protein products?

According to the Central Dogma, genetic engineering modification to the DNA information will be transcribed and translated into the protein products. However, cellular pathway does not end here. The protein products, most often enzymes, can continue to be involved in biosynthetic pathways in the cell. By modifying the enzymes, novel biosynthetic pathways can be created. The products of these biosynthetic pathways will not be limited to proteins, but will include a variety of organic natural products that the cell can produce.

Natural organic compounds produced by living organisms, proved to be a trove of useful products. These compounds can be used as pharmaceuticals involving in the production of an array of drugs. These drugs include, but not limit to, antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, antiviral, anti-Alzheimer, anti-cancer and immunosuppressant. [2] These drugs have limitless potential in both medical and economical aspects.

Yet, we can go beyond with genetic engineering. The range of these naturally products can be potentially expanded.

In the particular example with type III polyketide synthase (PKS) [3], polyketides synthesized can be modified by the genetically changing the DNA information of the gene coding for the PKS. By genetically engineering the PKS gene, an unnatural PKS will be synthesized. This in turn catalysed the synthesis of a novel polyketide. Hence, the class of polyketide natural products can be expanded through a rational directed evolution of the PKS. This is achieved by site-directed mutagenesis of the wild type PKS at strategic residues that can vary minute chemical reaction between the enzyme and its substrate. These products will in turn become potential drug candidates.

The advantage of using enzyme-based biosynthesis over chemical organic synthesis in creating novel natural products is due to the specificity of the enzyme. The enzyme is able to catalyse complex reaction with specificity in intracellular environment using low-cost culture method. This is in contrast to chemical organic synthesis that involve in brute chemical reagents, which is often highly limit in term of specificity. In analogy, it may be useful to think of the enzymes as nanoscale machines that can specifically perform molecular reactions within the cells. We are able to modify these machines by altering the genetic information, thereby changing the molecular reactions.

Continuing the analogy, it will not be hard to think the cell as a nanoscale factory, and the biosynthetic pathway as a production line. Going beyond, a future research direction of natural product chemistry may involve in modification of not just one, but also various enzymes within the cell to catalyse different reaction of a biosynthetic pathway. In other words, the metabolic pathway will be engineered to create a novel multi-steps biosynthetic pathway to synthesis novel natural products. Furthermore, this can be combined with synthetic biology to maximize the yield of products.

Of course, it will be no mean feat to achieve that. It will involve different fields including natural product chemistry, molecular genetics, bioinformatics and synthetic biology just to name a few. Complexity is expected given the dynamic cellular environment especially in elucidating the biology-chemistry interface between enzymes and its reaction.

While the challenge may be daunting, however, this can further increase the possible range of useful natural products synthesized at low-cost within the culture medium. Furthermore, it will serve as a platform where the biology-chemistry interface can be further understood. In addition, an entirely novel class of natural products may be discovered this way.

Given the potential usefulness and infinite possibilities of natural product chemistry holds, it will be necessary for continue efforts to drive this particular field. The future of natural product chemistry will likely to be increasingly complex and involves more and more novel natural products. We can expect this will lead to increase in potential drug candidates, as well as an in-depth understanding of the cellular enzymatic activities in terms of both biologically and chemically.

References

1. Brown, C. 2004. BioBricks to help reverse-engineer life. EE Times. URL: http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4049196/BioBricks-to-help-reverse-engineer-life. Accessed: 13th July 2011.
2. Butler, M. S. 2005. Natural products to drugs: natural product derived compounds in clinical trials. Natural Product Reports, 22(2): p162-95.
3. Wanibuchi, K., Morita H., Noguchi, H. & Abe, I. 2011. Enzymatic formation of an aromatic dodecaketide by engineered plant polyketide synthase. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 21(7): p2083-86.

Japan Trip 2011: Day 19 and Final Day

2011-07-22T16:25:00.001+08:00

A~
KI~
HA~
BA~
RA~~~

Don't ask me why I only went there on the last day of my trip.

Anyway, I didn't get anything there. It is more of catering to Type B otaku. LOL

And, finally.

It has been a nice trip. I am already missing the place. :(

さようなら、日本！

ただいま！！！

Japan Trip 2011: Day 18

2011-07-20T23:03:00.002+08:00

Ghibli Museum!

迷子になろうよ、いっしょに。

Kabukicho, aka red light district of Tokyo.

No, I didn't have any fun there (on hindsight, that's a pity).

Anyway, I will be returning home tomorrow. I will definitely miss this country.

Before that, let me introduce my trusted life-saver.

The Mt Fuji walking stick which saved my life literally, and the umbrella which shielded me from the typhoon.

Japan Trip 2011: Day 17

2011-07-19T23:36:00.002+08:00

OOOOSAKA!!

I don't really know what's the landmark of Osaka, but I suppose another tower will do.

Although I should go to the Sun tower, but not enough time for that.

"I am Gun~~dam~~pla."

Den Den Town at Nipponbashi.

Jump Shop

And, I went to this Fushimi Inari Taisha at Inari ~~sushi~~ in Kyoto as well.

Quite the best shrine I have seen so far.

The typhoon got quite strong today, disrupted a number of trains. And made the school girls went "KYAA" along the train platform. LOL

Japan Trip 2011: Day 16

2011-07-18T21:01:00.001+08:00

I got a mikuji yesterday.

大吉！(Someone help me translate btw.)

Well, it seems to be so accurate that I am so lucky that it end up raining the entire day (might be due to coming typhoon). I was soaked ~~twice~~ thrice.

Anyway, Kinkakuji.

This is the number of their exits from train station.

Technically, two train stations. Linked by underground tunnel. Which sort of defeat the purpose of the train. ~_~

Japan Trip 2011: Day 15

2011-07-17T20:31:00.003+08:00

The lack of update was due to the mad transfer of train. I had taken 12 trips of train/bus since I left Tokyo. Average of 3 hours each.

And finally,

Kyoto!

Seems like every city need its own tower.

Haven't really travel around, but it looks like Kyoto is the city of temples and shrines.

Staying in a ryokan now. Cheap one of course. Like 10% of what it takes to stay in those expensive one. That's like cheaper than a hotel, but as expected, it doesn't come with an onsen.

Japan Trip 2011: Day 14

2011-07-17T20:19:00.000+08:00

Inspired by a fellow blogger,

Northernmost station of Japan Railway.

Wakkanai

It looks much better than the Southernmost station.

Upgrading work was undergoing by the side and expected to be finished by 2012 April.

The Northernmost railway.

Also a visit to Cape Souya.

There's a lot debate on whether it is most northern or not (but I don't care.)

Northernmost monument

Northernmost shop

Northernmost phone

Northernmost lighthouse

Northernmost eatery

Northernmost postbox

Northernmost hostel

Northernmost bus stop

Okay, whatever.

From the highest, to the northernmost of Japan. ;)

Japan Trip 2011: Day 13

2011-07-15T20:44:00.000+08:00

After an insane 11 hours of train,

Sapporo!

I think I will like this city. Although it is kinda cloudy.

And so you think you stay in pigeon hole?

Japan Trip 2011: Day 12

2011-07-14T20:58:00.000+08:00

~~Tokyo-3~~ Hakone

Did I really climb this thing?

IARU GSP ended today. Well, maybe I will miss it. Traveling tomorrow onwards!

Japan Trip 2011: Day 11

2011-07-13T22:23:00.000+08:00

MA~TSU~RI~~

I have to think of how to ~~dispose~~ take care of these two goldfishes.

Japan Trip 2011: Day 10

2011-07-13T05:26:00.000+08:00

Whee! Day 10!

Japan Trip 2011: Day 9

2011-07-11T21:39:00.002+08:00

At Ikebukuro.

Disney Store.

A shop selling Ghibli stuffs.

Japan Trip 2011: Day 8

2011-07-11T06:56:00.000+08:00

The goal is the highest point of Japan.

That explains my disappearance over the weekend. I went up on the night of Saturday and came down in the noon of Sunday.

The aim was to reach the submit by sunrise. But I seriously underestimated Mt Fuji and I was totally drained from walking around Odaiba in the day. I only reached half way before the sunrise.

3:47am

4:00am

4:03am

4:19am

4:38am

4:40am

4:47am

Eating cup noodle on Mt Fuji,

is damn expensive. Cost 600yen (9.20SGD) (WTF??)

Yuki!

First time I see snow.

The entry shrine on the submit

Whee!

Oh wait! You mean I have to walk down again?!
Took me around 13.5 hours to go up and 4.5 hours to go down. Plus 6 hours of transport to Tokyo. Seriously, I won't recommend wasting your time to go unless you really want to experience it. ~_~

(BTW I totally wasted my shoes from the trip. LOL)

Japan Trip 2011: Day 7

2011-07-11T06:30:00.000+08:00

Late update. Here goes.

Saturday was free day, so I was wandering around in the city.

I rode in this train. LOL

Toukyo Biggu Saito

未来館

I managed to xian another free entry. This time being their anniversary. Haha

Saw this from the monorail on my way back. Should have gone over to take a look.

I think One Piece is damn damn damn popular in Japan.

Japan Trip 2011: Day 6

2011-07-08T21:02:00.001+08:00

Well, I didn't travel around much today. (Don't ask me why.)

Here's photos from yesterday.

Dinner in theme restaurant.

Befitting for a science student.

Drinking from the conical flask. Try that in chemistry lab next time.

The waitress is freaking hot BTW.

The restaurant is in Shibuya area.

Love hotels around everywhere there. LOL.

Nothing much for today. I shall wander around on my own next time.

Japan Trip 2011: Day 5

2011-07-07T23:26:00.001+08:00

My friend asked me,

"When are you going to complete the world?"

I wish I will know soon.

Lazy to blog today. Planning trips for tomorrow and next week now.

Japan Trip 2011: Day 4

2011-07-06T22:34:00.008+08:00

I went to walk a dog today (more like getting lost in the park).

Well, somehow (I don't know how), I manage to xian a free entry to the Japan National Museum of Nature and Science.

Seriously, they win Singapore Science Centre hands down.

Anyway, went to get my JR pass.

And a brunch of Shinkansen tickets.

They cost like 65,000yen. Will be making full use of my JR pass ;)

Dinner at night in a mer-meido cafe (!) with the class.

Well actually, we were served by a butler (dressed by a girl luckily), since she is the only one in the shop to speak English. But, kawaiii~ They also gave us a piece of paper to write a tanzaku for the Tanabata tomorrow.

来年に、も一度日本で
来ます！
(~~~~)

(P.S. Just experienced a slight earthquake. According to the news now, magnitude 3)

Japan Trip 2011: Day 3

2011-07-05T23:24:00.000+08:00

This is me today.

Stone-ing away.

Visited a Shinto Shrine today.

Well, actually we went to a total of 5 different temples today. (And I saw miko!) But didn't stay long at each place to do anything worth saying. That's lame.

Ultimately, I guess it is best to travel together with a group of like-minded people to enjoy together. Won't be that restrictive. Much better than traveling with a group of people you just met.

And hence, enlisting people for my next trip! wheee

Japan Trip 2011: Day 2

2011-07-04T21:02:00.000+08:00

Ever try paying for your McDonald's meal with coins?

This is 500yen. Imagine SGD7.70 in a single coin.

Took a dozen of train today. I restate my impression of Japan transport system. It is extremely convenience, but well, if you understand where you want to go well enough.

Impression of the day: I am not the sort to socialize. I don't really enjoy talking for the sake of talking. Make me feel disgusted. I didn't do that two years ago, don't think I will be doing it again this time round. Well, maybe it is my ability to communicate well. Not much people got the patience to understand how to talk to me. Much so with a person that you just knew of. So it can't be helped. That's sad. But.

Anyway, let me not be depressed. Looking forward to the traveling plan after the lessons.

Japan Trip 2011: Day 1

2011-07-03T19:46:00.001+08:00

Took the plane yesterday and arrived in Narita in the morning at 7:30am. Wheee!

The very first thing of Japan I saw from the air.

My very first purchase here, the train ticket from Narita to the city (Ueno). Well, Narita is technically suburban quite far away from Tokyo. Cost me a freaking 1000yen (SGD15.4). Well it is true when they said Japan is expensive. Maybe I will just live on cup ramen (which is expensive also).

But anyway, transportation in Japan is kinda confusing. Took me a while before I figured out which way to go. But nevertheless, I am impressed. Especially about the mannerism of the people on train. Just as rumoured. Thanks god, I don't have to live with shouting voices and wrestling elbows of a certain nationality for 3 weeks. Nor people standing on the right of escalators. Oh, they can eat on the train. LOL

The room that I am staying at. Well, not the best. But good enough for me. Let me just live with it for the next two weeks.

Adventures await!
(IARU GSP starts tomorrow. LOL)

Welcome to Japan.

Japan Trip 2011: Day 0

2011-07-02T21:15:00.000+08:00

Flying off in two more hours. Leaving home soon. Well, the flight is 5 minutes before midnight, so I guess this will be Day 0 anyway.

Hopefully all will be well. Japan, here I come!

日本へ！

2011-07-01T23:00:00.001+08:00

I am going to Japan!

That's like a dream come through. Furthermore, I will be going on the trip alone. Come to think of it, this is the first time ever that I will be doing so alone. That's an adventure awaits! (Although I haven't packed, nor arranged my accommodation ~_~)

Whee!

(Temporarily changing into travel blog tomorrow onwards.)

Sign Language

2011-06-28T12:35:00.002+08:00

The blog... seems neglected. LOL.
I haven't blogged this little a month since I restarted the blog back last year.

But anyway. (Let me try posting something so that I don't get rusty from blogging)

I met an ex-resident from where I volunteered at. To my surprise, he knows how to sign. And much better at me. Looks like I got to practice more. That's another thing which I have been neglecting.

Started taking sign language course last year during my summer too. Well, it has been a year. Well, don't really know for what reason did I do that. Perhaps, it is due to fear that one day I might need to rely on it in the end.

I even considered bringing the sign language course to NUS as a CCA. But seems that I gave up in the end. HAHA.

Anyway, skipped the two previous courses due to schedule conflicts. I probably got much more to catch up with.

Haha, randomness.

Compaq

2011-06-21T16:03:00.003+08:00

And, hence, my Compaq laptop reached the end of its life.

I thanks its 5 years of service. And, farewell. RIP

Quote #7

2011-06-13T23:23:00.001+08:00

Saw this off my friend's MSN personal message.

From a guy call Jonathan Davis,

"You laugh at me because I'm different, I laugh at you because you're all the same."

(To be continued)

Final Year Project - Horror

2011-06-13T23:16:00.001+08:00

When doing research, the horror does not end when things go wrong.

But when you have no idea where it went wrong.

O the horror, the horror~ That's a month worth of work gone.

Operation: Cruel Angel's Thesis
Chapter 2

The Last Summer

2011-06-11T00:18:00.000+08:00

Holiday.

Let's see, what had I done?

Hmm hmmmm hmmmmm.
Nothing!

I guess I would better start planning my trip.

日本へ！