Merry Christmas!

Let us share the good fortune we enjoy with others having less...

What a downpour!

According to an article in STOMP（http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/viewPost1020.aspx), the storm over the past two days has resulted in one of the heaviest rainfalls in 75 years in Singapore's history! Floods galore. There was some sunshine to be seen today and it was definitely welcomed.

Syrah

Read off a bottle:

The Syrah grape is one of the oldest varietals grown in the world. It gives rich fruity and spicy red wine which will accompany well all sorts of meats.

Will I be despicable if...

I decide to quit my job during the start of a project due to the fact that I dislike the project manager? Actually, I sort of no longer like my working environment anymore and hope to plan my life differently. Can you tell me whether what I want to do is proper?

Interesting fact that we have been short changed

A colleague sent me the following in an email which I replicate in its entirety:

Hi all,

Let me tell you a story about
13-month bonus......
Why there is a 13-month bonus when it is really isn't a
bonus? The mystery is finally revealed! When the British were in Singapore, they were being paid
weekly & they argued that Singaporeans were actually being cheated into
believing that the 13th month pay is a bonus.

Singaporeans are being paid monthly which
is equivalent to 4 weeks pay coz there are 4 weeks in a month. As the British
were paid weekly, it worked out to the same. You see, there are 7 days in a
week. 4 weeks in a month. 12 months in a year. Then 12 months should work out to
48 weeks only.

But 1 year actually has 52 weeks!!! Hence the 13th
month is your own pay not bonus??!!). So, the British argued that there is in
fact no bonus at all??? It is a very simple calculation that stunned
many!!!!

BONUS??? What
bonus??? .
Now you understand ?

What is important is to be happy at work...

Thanx Alana for your encouragement and advice. A happy work environment with the right people has always been my top priority in finding a job and I will continue to use it as my search criteria. However, I am not going to lose to my present predicament just like that. I will still do my job while keeping my eyes and ears open for any opportunity. Feel free to drop me a note if you happen to have one for me...

I am extremely unhappy…

My work environment is no longer the same. Another colleague has left and she has been one of the few I can trust. The new project manager is micro-managing me and I no longer work as freely using my method. I want out…

“Trust No One, Not Even Me”

How much trust can you have for your manager? Apparently not much. In fact for my case today, I will say none at all. My counterpart at my company’s customer’s side has been a nice friend and she had told me some news regarding her employment and work environment. I know the news were given in confidence. However, when I had to inform my marketing manager about her resignation (as it will affect a project we are working on), the manager actually wanted to call her immediately to query. I let slipped the news to the manager in good faith that the manager can be prepared. But the result was that I was made to look bad. The manager’s character is definitely flawed and I swear I won’t lift another finger to help unless ordered to. Now my problem is how can I make up to my friend…

Cabernet Sauvignon

Read off a bottle:

A well-balanced, fruity red wine produced from the Cabernet Sauvignon grape in the Oc region, south of France. It is perfect accompaniment to white meats and cold meats.

It's so unfair!

I admit I haven't been handling the project well but to say that I haven't been handling the project properly is so unfair. How would I know what is proper when I don't even know what to do? This kind of project is totally new to me! I don't know what are the processes and deliverables needed in a testing project and then expect me to give you whatever report you want just like that? Said I should have gone and asked people but how was I able to ask without the slightest idea of what and who to ask? Idiotic...

What's your name going to be in Brazilian?

The FIFA World Cup may have been over but Brazil still remains one of the most favorite teams despite not winning. Are you one of their fans? If yes, have you wondered what your name is going to be like in Brazilian and printed on the famous yellow jersey?

I came across this website "BrazilName" which will generate a Brazilian 'equivalent' of your name and print it on an image of the Brazil jersey. You get to choose the jersey number too. Below is my jersey with the name JAMINCHA, generated from my name JAMES NG.

Not been doing so well lately...

Ay... I'm not doing well lately, having a hard time keeping up with my work and not screwing up my project assignment. Seems to be easily distracted and not focusing. What's wrong with me?

A poem read off a book...

Magic Word
You may know me
I'm your constant companion
I'm your greatest helper
I'm your heaviest burden
I will push you onward or drag you down to failure
I am at your command
Half the tasks you do can be turned over to me
I'm able to do them quickly, and
I'm able to do them the same every time
I'm easily managed... all you have to do is be firm with me
Show me exactly how you want it done
After a few lessons, I'll do it automatically
I am the servant of all great men and women, and of course
servant of all the failure as well
I've made all the great individuals who have ever been great
And I've made all the losers, too
I work with all the precision of a computer and the
intelligence of a human being
You may run me for profit,
or you may run me to ruin
It makes no difference to me
Take me
Be easy with me and I will destroy you
Be firm with me and I'll put the world at your feet
Who am I?
I am Habit

At the Esplanade

I am writing this (on paper of course) as I am sitting by the bay, looking at a bunch of students taking photos in their graduation gowns. On my right are the two durian-like Esplanade theatres, and on my distant left is the Merlion. With the setting sun in my eyes and a cooling breeze on my back, I squint to have a view of the bay. It is actually quite beautiful. Reminds me of the time I was at the Sydney Opera House but you may beg to differ.

A band is performing while I am writing. Music fills the air accompanies by sweet singing. Tourists are busying surrounding the Merlion with their cameras. Water taxis come and go, ferrying their loads. All of a sudden, I am at peace, forgetting the stress of everyday life. Too bad I don't have a camera with me to capture the memory. Singaporeans should learn to know how they can appreciate the nice places the country has instead of complaining about no where to go; to learn that you don't have to go far to enjoy a stress relieving day, watching free performances.

Oh well, my friends are late for our dinner gathering. I'm going to call them and blast the hell out of them. Just kidding. They are nice people whose company I enjoy anytime anywhere...

Happy Birthday Singapore!

41 years of building and we are still going strong. Who could have thought that a tiny place like this can go on and on like a Duracell battery? Yes, Singapore is a place far from perfection, with a recent study indicating that Singaporeans are one of the most unhappy population in the world. However, there are still many little things to like about this place, although we tend to focus more on the things we dislike. Through most eyes, we are strange and uninteresting. But I say if you look from a different angle, Singapore does have a side which will endear you. May Heavens bless this country and its people always.

Now if only we can change the ways our government think and function...

Cabernet-Merlot

Read off a bottle:

A well-balanced, fruity red wine produced from the blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in South of France. It is perfect accompaniment to white and red meats and pastas.

七夕节的简介与由来传说

农历七月初七的夜晚就是人们俗称的七夕节，也有人称之为“乞巧节”或“女儿节”，这是中国传统节日中最具浪漫色彩的一个节日。

在晴朗的夏秋之夜，天上繁星闪耀，一道白茫茫的银河横贯南北，争河的东西两岸，各有一颗闪亮的星星，隔河相望，遥遥相对，那就是牵牛星和织女星。

七夕坐看牵牛织女星，是民间的习俗，相传，在每年的这个夜晚，是天上织女与牛郎在鹊桥相会之时。织女是一个美丽聪明、心灵手巧的仙女，凡间的妇女便在这一天晚上向她乞求智慧和巧艺，也少不了向她求赐美满姻缘，所以七月初七也被称为乞巧节。

七夕节始终和牛郎织女的传说相连，这是一个很美丽的，千古流传的爱情故事。

相传在很早以前，南阳城西牛家庄里有个聪明．忠厚的小伙子，父母早亡，只好跟着哥哥嫂子度日，嫂子马氏为人狠毒，经常虐待他，逼他干很多的活。一天，天上的织女和诸仙女一起下凡游戏，在河里洗澡，牛郎在老牛的帮助下认识了织女，二人互生情意，后来织女便偷偷下凡，来到人间，做了牛郎的妻子。织女还把从天上带来的天蚕分给大家，并教大家养蚕，抽丝，织出又光又亮的绸缎。

牛郎和织女结婚后，男耕女织，情深意重，他们生了一男一女两个孩子，一家人生活得很幸福。但是好景不长，这事很快便让天帝知道，王母娘娘亲自下凡来，强行把织女带回天上，恩爱夫妻被拆散。

牛郎上天无路，还是老牛告诉牛郎，在它死后，可以用它的皮做成鞋，穿着就可以上天。牛郎按照老牛的话做了，穿上牛皮做的鞋，拉着自己的儿女，一起腾云驾雾上天去追织女，眼见就要追到了，岂知王母娘娘拔下头上的金簪一挥，一道波涛汹涌的天河就出现了，牛郎和织女被隔在两岸，只能相对哭泣流泪。他们的忠贞爱情感动了喜鹊，千万只喜鹊飞来，搭成鹊桥，让牛郎织女走上鹊桥相会，王母娘娘对此也无奈，只好允许两人在每年七月七日于鹊桥相会。

-- 取自 http://www.china.org.cn/ch-jieri/qixi/1.htm

What a tiring...

...and frustrating time the past two weeks had been. I had been trying to set up a testing environment similar to that of a client. But no matter how many times I install the client's software and test packages, or how I tried to mimic the configuration of the client's, even close to the point of transplanting everything, just short of taking over the client's computers. I already don't know what else I can do now. So disheartening and feel like giving up. But I don't want to give up...

Merlot

Read off a bottle:

This varietal wine grows very well in Southern France. Its taste is fruity, its suppleness and its delicate bouquet make a very pleasant and enjoyable wine to drink.

Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest

Just came back from watching this movie and what a movie. Definitely a blockbuster to me. Action-packed swashbuckling at its best. You still get Captain Jack Sparrow and the cursed ship The Black Pearl. And this time round, you also get the legend of the famous ghost ship The Flying Dutchman and its captain Davey Jones. If you think the special effects are excellent in the first installment, then you won't be disappointed in this installment. I simply love Johnny Depp, with his usual portrayal of strange characters. Captain Jack really comes alive because of him, giving the movie a soul. Really can't wait to see the third installment...

Phishing

I have received a phishing email yesterday and I nearly clicked on the link masquarading as a Citibank site. Thank goodness suspicion hit me and I checked the URL. It was close and phishing emails are really dangerous. Then this got me thinking. Isn't there a way that we can make the browser protect us? Can we have a warning system of sort?

I am reading this paper titled The Battle Against Phishing: Dynamic Security Skins and it gives me some ideas as to how to design a security alert system. However, nothing concrete yet. I am wondering whether it is possible to have 1) a standalone Firefox extension without any server change, or 2) a client-server alert generated on the webpage itself.

Extra: Red wine goes well with CSI...

What a letdown!

Le Bleus has fallen, and they have fallen in a bitter manner. What was Zidane thinking? I don't know what insult the Italian player had thrown at him but I am sure it must had been something extremely awful, judging from the reaction. However, it still doesn't warrant a violent action which is out of plain stupidity. Eight more minutes and he could have shown that Italian who's boss by winning...

Can English has simpler spelling?

What if the English we know today undergoes a revolutionary reform? Whut if we all rite like this and spel wurdz the wae thae sound? Don't get me wrong, I am not talking about the shorthands we used in actual abbreviations, SMSes and emails. I am talking about spelling English words phonetically. Allow me to point you to this interesting article by CNN.com, "Puush for simpler speling perzists".

Note: You may get a headache reading that article but you will applaud the effort the writer put in to use a totally new spelling system for a third of the article.

Ghost Whisperer

Just watched the new series starring Jennifer Love Hewitt. It was not bad and I kinda like it. The story was heart-warming and the pace not too slow. Not too scary too, at least not many of those scenes where the director would try to shock you. And unlike the series Lost, I actually can follow the story here and am not lost. Anyone can give me a summary of what was going on in Lost 2?

Don't forget to catch the movie 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl' on Channel 5 this Sunday before going to the cinema to catch 'Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest'.

Australia was robbed!!!

In no way was that last piece of action of the game amounting to a penalty. Yo referee, read my lips: "It was not a penalty!" Use you brain, use your brain.

Idiotic and Irritating

Encountered an idiotic and irritating person on the MRT this evening. He was using a portable DVD player to watch I-not-sure-what and the music playing from that thing was stupidly loud. What was that guy thinking? Oh wait, he couldn't be thinking because he should be brainless to ever do such an selfish act. People were staring at him and he was still oblivious to them. I really had half a mind to tell him to shut the he** up but I let it go as I was a stop away from alighting. Such stupidity is also not confined to him alone as there are people who either let their handphones ring or play music from them. Yo idiots, don't you know what earphones are?

Since I am already on this 'theme', I may as well continue with another story which is less irritating but no less idiotic. This time it involved a non-living thing. Last evening, I went over to my neighbour's to help her configure her new laptop to connect with her router. Since I was the one who set up that router, I thought it will be a breeze. Alas, I was wrong. I forgot that the router's different when I activated the MAC filtering. The router will block any computer that has no MAC address registered in its list, not just for wireless but wired as well. Therefore I couldn't connect the new laptop 'wiredly', leaving me with no access to the router for configuration. How stupid is that! Thank goodness there was another computer connected to it but what if that computer had been down?

Here are more grumblings of mine regarding KDE which I have received good replies to prove my own ignorance :-)

[读后感] 亮的离谱的新加坡

中午睡醒（没错，我睡到中午，因为看世界杯），就在报纸看到了名为《亮的离谱的新加坡》的文章。作者写到：

偏偏在新加坡，没有月光的夜里，当我连星星都看不到的时候，却能够清楚看见夜空里飘游着的云。这个城市亮得自豪，也亮得离谱。

我也有同感，新加坡仿佛是个不夜城；夜如白昼。除此之外，现在的夜晚也缺少了以前的宁静。不论夜有多深，还是会有人影在街灯下。难道我们已经进化到无须那么多的睡眠，还是工作占据了我们太多时间，使得夜晚更加珍贵？

I went, I read, but I don't understand...

Argh!!! I was reading a friend's blog which is in Japanese and I can't understand even the simplest of her posts. And I have been taking lessons for quite a while liao. I guess I have lousy memory for the things I learn and absolutely no talent in picking up another language. Why can't my brain work the same way as in learning English when I was young?

Speaking of brains, have anyone tried the game Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day for Nintendo DS? Can those who have played comment on it, introduce what the tests are like? For those who wanna exercise their minds a bit more, there is a website containing various games like the mind-boggling Point-and-Click/Escape-From-Room/Solve-A-Mystery ones. Enjoy;

The Da Vinci Code

Just came back from watching The Da Vinci Code movie and I would have to say that it is a nicely done piece of filming. It stays true to the novel although some minor details and a noticeable part have been left out. I guess that this is inevitable, given the length of the story is going to be too long for a 2-hour movie. I wonder can the movie be a little longer. Nonetheless, it is a movie with good direction and in some parts, better than the book itself.

Unlike other movies, surprise surprise, the French actually speak French and the Italians speak Italian. Subtitles thus become important and some may say that it is distracting to read the subtitles but I feel that this gives the movie authenticity and realism. I also like the way the movie presents the theme of the story whereby Landon and Teabing discuss the Holy Grail as any academics will over a cup of tea nonchalantly. No heated arguments, just scholarly debate and presentation. No idea has been forced on the viewer. I especially like the part where computer graphics is used to rearrange the seating arrangement in The Last Supper. How powerful the visual impact is!

As for the actors, Tom Hanks is magnificent as usual, though his hairstyle is a tad too tawdy. He is credible as a professor from Harvard. I love how the albino monk is being portrayed. It is exactly how I have imagined while reading the book. And what else can I say about Sir Ian Mckellen. He's definitely the real knight in his own right, acting the bad one this time. As for the other actors, they suit their characters well.

The ending is rather hastily wrapped up but I like one of the changes the script has as oppose to the novel. The movie has been objective with its presentation of the central idea. It is up to the viewer to interpret the theory given. At the end, Robert Langdon gives his view that can be summarized as:

Faith is just what you believe in. As long as you have faith in your belief, no amount of history can change that. In fact, what information history is going to turn up should not affect one's faith.

And I say, "Watch the movie with an open mind while keeping your faith close to your heart."

Liverpool FC has won the FA Cup!!!

Liverpool: 1 own-goal down soon turned into 2 goals down. Steven Gerrard created one and scored one to pull the team back. But disaster striked again to make it 2-3. At the last few minutes of the game, he popped up again to make it level and extra-time. A sensational goal! Extra-time yielded no other goals and shootout began. Reina saved 3 shots and Liverpool lifted the cup. What a match!

Happy Vesak Day to all Buddhists!

Sorry I forgot to write on the May Day holiday, the day dedicated to workers of the world.

Why doesn't it rain now?!?

Why does it rain when I was out of the house but not when I am at home? It's so stuffy and hot now. Wait, I hear thunder. I can smell rain in the air. Can this be real? Is it going to rain? We shall see...

Anyway, time to mess up my computer with a new installation :p

Finally...

my body has lost the battle. I am too sick to work. Therefore, I will be on medical leave for tomorrow...

The Bourne Identity

I loved it in the cinema the first time and now I loved it still on TV the second time. It's IMHO the best action spy movie I have ever seen.

Fedora Core 4 up and running!

After many days of trying out what to install and how to configure the applications, I managed to settle for a simple desktop for home use. I am running Firefox 1.5 for internet surfing, SCIM for chinese and japanese input, and kopete for my various messenging services. Now I will be putting in lighttpd, MySql and Ruby on Rails in to try a bit of web development...

Update: I am running Fedora Core 5 now...

SCIM breaks Firefox???

Spent the whole Sunday refurbishing my computer: replaced the hard-disk, added more RAM, and installed Fedora Core 4. (I know I know, Fedora Core 5 is out but I have yet to download it.) However, a problem has caused me to use most of the evening to find the cause but yet to understand and resolve. Why is it that Firefox 1.5 fails to start when I enable SCIM for Chinese input?

Next day update: The problem is caused by the fact that the new Firefox and SCIM used are compiled with different branches of gcc. I managed to find a workaround on the web and it should be working. Still trying to see what are the limitations...

April Fool's Day

And I slept till 10:30am. Hahaha...

Wine Appreciation

A brief introduction on how to appreciate drinking red and white wines was on the menu today and I have to say I learned quite a bit about wines. Below are some notes I have taken:

White wine (Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon) -> served chilled
Red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz/Syrah, Pinot Noir) -> served in any way

1. Hold glass at stem -> so body temperature won't affect the wine
2. Twirl correctly
3. Smell with nose inside glass

Recommended red wine for beginners: Merlot
Dessert wine/ice wine alternative: Noble Cuvee

Good wines should taste like anything but grapes!

Muthu's Curry

368 for 11. I went with a bunch of colleagues to Muthu's Curry for dinner and it was good. However, the price was a bit on the high end. S$368 for 11 people...

I saw an angel...

Angels do exist and I happen to saw one this morning. I had waited for almost an hour for a taxi but to no avail. I was very late for work and phoning for one was equally hopeless. Desparation and sense of finality were in me... Then something extraordinary happened. A lady waiting for a cab way up in front of me actually got one but instead of taking it, she directed the cab driver to pick me up! Apparently, she spotted me waiting for a cab while I couldn't even see her, being so far away. This was when I saw an angel in disguise;

However, for every angel that exists, there seem to be countless more ugly mortals. During the hour that I was waiting, I actually had people taking taxis in front of me and taxis speeding past me, the drivers avoiding eye-contact. What the hell? If you didn't want to pick me up, the least you could do was give me a wave. I am okay with people taking taxis from me in front as they might done in unknowingly, walking out of the buildings along the road. However, I actually had a couple of people who walked past me from behind and tried to stop a cab right in my face! These were definitely the worst kind of people. It wasn't a nice thing to do to an able-bodied person, let alone to someone on a wheelchair;

Ay... the good, the bad, and the ugly Singaporeans...

I have cable!!!

My brother has subscribed to Starhub Cable TV in preparation for the World Cup. Finally, I am able to watch my favorite team Liverpool FC play in the English Premier League as well as the new episodes of CSI: Las Vegas, CSI: Miami, and CSI: New York. However, showing all three CSI at one shot for three hours is a bit too much for me. So may just catch one or two episodes at a time and leaving the rest for reruns.

How to pursue?

Channelnewsasia has an article on the situation that local undergraduates are reluctant to pursue PhDs. It gives some reasons as to why local students choose not to continue studying and that universities are trying to rectify the issue by giving out more grants and stipends. However, I think there are other concerns the students have.

One reason I feel that is very much relevant is a clause in the agreement for students accepting a stipend. This clause states that if a student fails to complete the study and graduate, he or she has to pay back every single cent he or she has received. I feel that this is a great concern and pressure that is holding potential postgraduates back.

Why is this so? It is because doing a PhD is unlike doing other courses. You may never know whether you can graduate as it depends on inspiration as much as hardwork on a thesis. It thus becomes a huge gamble with big odds. The commitment is great too as it requires 4-6 years. If we are talking about a $2K per month stipend for 4 years, that amounts to $96K. Not every one will have the ability to pay back that amount. And this has yet to include the money one could have earn if not studying; the salaries are for us to keep in exchange for our hardwork.

Therefore, to help alleviate the situation, the stipend for the first one or two years should be given without any condition. After two years, one will have known whether he or she can make it. Then there will not be any unhappiness or regrets. More people will thus be encouraged to at least give PhD a shot.

Kelvin and Betty

Just attended my first wedding dinner of this year. My ex-colleagues Kelvin Foo and Betty Chong got married today. Congratz.

Motivational Phrases II

"Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves."

"A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes."

"A sense of humor can help you overlook the unattractive, tolerate the unpleasant, cope with the unexpected, and smile through the unbearable."

"A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline."

Congratulations to AntGoddess!

And here's wishing you all the best in the new chapter of your life...

"A Quiet Night"

Little unknown star shining in a corner,
Over the distant horizon it shimmers.
Not a whisper from the old oak tree,
Ever silently looking upon thee.
Long has been the view afar,
You see the tree praying to the star.

《元宵月》

元宵夜，圆明月；
众相聚，庆佳节。
桌上肴，嘴里嚼；
唯独少，杯酒倒。

我中头“彩” (I have struck top "prize")

今天中午和几个同事在吃午餐，一共六个人围着一张小桌子。突然，有东西掉在我的头上。原来是鸟屎！！！死鸟！！为什么有那么多人不选，偏偏选中我？

I was having lunch with my colleagues, all six of us around a small table, this noon. Then suddenly, something dropped on my head and it's bird shit!!! Damn bird!! What luck, why did it has to choose me, of all people there?

[Boycott] K-Box

Just came back from singing karaoke with my friends, my brothers and their girlfriends. We were at the Orchard Cathay Cineleisure's K-Box and I have to tell anyone that is thinking of going there: DON'T! The environment is lousy, room is too small, air-con is too cold, equipment is faulty, and everything is a tad too expensive for their worth. As for their service, I will have to say the staff is more of being clueless rather than bad.

Another K-Box outlet which you should avoid is the one in Jurong due to the poor condition of their toilets.

[心情] 距离

人与人之间的距离，有时在你觉得很近时，却会是很远，远到不知道如何靠近。明明在眼前，你却猜不到对方在想什么，对方也未必了解你的想法。

哎，又是到了我多愁善感的时分。。。

Motivational Phrases

I have been receiving emails from Stephanie Goh of The Educated Mind since I attended John Kanary's seminar on 19th November 2005 at NACLI. The daily emails are called Insight of the Day that contained messages which were to inspire me every day. Here are some gems by famous people captured from the messages I got for the month of January.

“All results come from a certain level of thinking. To get a new result you must first move to a new level of thinking.”

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”

“The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives.”

“Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.”

“The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.”

“Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.”

农历新年快乐！

[争锋相对] 新加坡人笨吗？

我觉得新加坡人笨。你一定会说新加坡有许多世界第一，在不同的领域都有杰出的人才，怎么会笨呢？我同意新加坡人在政治，经济，管理及处理问题等方面非常聪明。可是新加坡人在社会，人文和待人处事方面却真的是很笨。

Pssst...我才刚刚被我的弟弟说我笨...sheesh...

[Online Game] Sleuth

I have been playing an online game called 'Sleuth' lately and I have to say it's good enough for me to be slightly addicted. Sleuth is an open-ended detective RPG where you solve mysteries by searching for clues, questioning suspects and interviewing witnesses. Every mystery is unique, with different victims, suspects and clues. All mysteries are solvable, in fact there are always two ways to solve any single mystery, but player skill and a small amount of luck are necessary to nab the guilty suspect. My detective has been doing okay, having 1960 experience points and 63 skill points in 105 days of game-play. You can play this game for free or pay to get more features and play more cases in different cities. Sleuth is found here -> http://sleuth.hypotheticalsoftware.com/.

心情日記015

一連幾天都在下雨。雖然這種天氣挺舒服的，但一直想睡覺，沒心情工作。

[Review] Codex

Author: Lev Grossman

Codex is a slow book to begin with (or it may be me that is losing patience lately). It tried to induce suspense but ended up making the story seemed longer than necessary in the first few chapters. However, where it lacked in narrating a good story, it more than made up for with a special story-line and abundance of information on medieval England. The use of an English aristocratic family and the mystery of a long-lost book belonging to this family is fabulous, keeping in line with other novels about ancient artefacts. This book really increases my interest in studying anthropology to learn more about ancient texts.

The story of Codex opened with Edward Wozny, a young hot-shot banker, taking up an assignment to help organise a personal library of rare books belonging to the Wents. The Wents in reality are the Duke and Duchess of Bowmry. However, the organising of the library is only just the beginning of Edward's eventful vacation. In fact, the Duchess was the one responsible for giving him the task in hope that he might find a hidden medieval codex. This codex was written by a Gervase of Langford and the Duchess suspected that it contained a dark secret that she could use to threaten or destroy her husband the Duke. The secret turned out to be scandalous indeed.

Both the discovery of Gervase's writings and the ending of Codex is unexpected. I recommend you this book just for finding these out, along with the secret and why the Duke desperately needs to destroy Gervase's codex. Maybe if I know more about England in the Middle Ages, I could have guess where Gervase's codex was hidden but that would have reduce the element of surprise.

Selamat Hari Raya Haji and a game for your pleasure

A happy holiday to all of you out there and of course, a happy festival to our muslims friends. I have an online flash game called Chasm. It is an interesting and absorbing puzzle game whereby you guide a little platypus to redirect water back into his town to save the day. Play it here. Enjoy!

[感想] 仁心慈爱照万千

刚在两个多小时前播出的《仁心慈爱照万千》慈善筹款节目已经帮仁慈医院筹得了680万余元的善款。由明义法师和海内外的艺人联手表演的节目，再一次为仁慈医院的穷苦病人筹到了多一年的费用。真得很佩服明义法师的胆量与毅力。明义法师他用不屈不挠的精神，以身作则，冒着受伤的可能去做高难度的表演。他的言语，表情，肢体语言和行动，都让世人们看到了他的爱心及慈悲心。希望大家继续帮助仁慈医院。

不过，在节目彩排时发生了新加坡艺人郑秀珍受伤的事，让人觉得痛惜，但她在受伤后所说的话却让我有不同的想法。她说电视台叫艺人做的表演犹如马戏团的杂耍，是说的有其道理。可是，退一步深想，她说的其实是有一点过分。慈善节目嘛，本来就是除了表演才艺或看家本领，就是表演平常生活中不会做到的东西。她说学斗唱舞，没有一样是行的，你说不安排她表演一些其他的行吗？

老实说，新加坡的很多艺人，在才艺和文化修养方面都很缺乏。因此我希望这些艺人（你知道你们是谁），能多花点时间进修，多看一点文学书籍或者学习几项才艺来充实自己，然后自己想一想还能做些什么演出。只要少一点制造那些无聊的新闻，浪费精力搏出位，就会有很多时间学习。真是非常看不起那些自以为现在靠几分姿色和人气而红的能继续有人支持的艺人。

[Seminar] Teaching as a Career

I attended the above-titled seminar earlier in the day as I wanted to find out whether teaching will be something I want to do. In fact, I have been contemplating a career switch for a long time and teaching seems to be a desirable choice. The seminar is informative but it neither increased my confidence nor determination to try. Given the requirements and training I needed to undergo, I know I can do it minimally with my knowledge base and skills. But I am still not confident in trying my hands in molding the nest generation as I don't know how good a job I can do; I can't foresee how students will turn out to be in my care. The bottomline is: do I have the aptitude and attitude, passion, communication skills, and awareness of the demands of a teaching career?

Web Office Suites

I don't know whether I have shared this before but there is this blog written which gave a review of the different web office suites. You can read the blog entry here: Ajax Office Review.

The list of web office suites reviewed is as follows:
- gOffice
- Thinkfree Writer
- Writely
- Zoho Writer
- WriteBoard
- EyeOS

These apps have been tried out on Firefox 1.0.7 on Windows XP Pro and Ubuntu Linux 5.10.

DeepBurner and DeepRipper

Ever want to use a CD-burning or CD-ripping software without having to pay or carry the guilt of using p-version of the software (yah right)? Now you don't have to feel the pinch for both. You have DeepBurner and DeepRipper, both free for download.

"Create data CDs and DVDs on your PC. The
program lets you burn audio CDs, burn and build ISO images, and create
bootable CDs and DVDs. The program's design is similar to Windows
Explorer: you drag and drop the files you want into a queue, and then
they can be burned. This free version burns all types of data CDs and
DVDs, but it does not burn video DVDs, photo CD/DVD albums, or copy
from disk-to-disk. For those, you have to upgrade to DeepBurner Pro,
which costs (US)$25." -- PCWorld.com

Enjoy;

Volunteerism

Yesterday I wrote about making new year's resolutions. Have you made yours yet? If you have not, can I suggest one for you? If it's not too much for you, I'll like to introduce to you a concept called 'volunteerism'. I know how busy we all are but just by spending a little bit of time a week, not more than 3 hours of an evening, we can bring a lot to the people we are helping.

I know of this volunteering initiative whereby a group of people come together to provide IT training to residents of social homes. Though I belong to this group, I am ashamed to say that I couldn't provide my skills due to some inconveniences (wheelchair + 2nd storey = inaccessible). Hence I wish to do a little promotion of this group called ComputerWorldVolunteers (CWV).

心情日記014

新的一年又來到,時間過得還真快.去年我可以算是做了一些笨事.希望今年會吸取教訓,不會再犯同樣的錯誤.今年也要好好的計劃一些我想要辦到的事,如把我的基本日文課給學好.

那麽大家在新的一年裏又有什麽理想與計劃呢?可以告訴我嗎?不論你有沒有新的計劃,我都要祝你新年快樂,心想事成.

Happy New Year!! My Resolutions!!

2006 is here! A new year means a new beginning. As usual, I will write down a few new year's resolutions to see if I can accomplish any of them, no matter how silly some of them can be. My resolutions for this year are as follow:

1. Complete my elementary Japanese learning. I have been delaying my progress for much too long. I must sit for the JLPT4 exam at the end of this year. 頑張って！

2. Finish reading the books I want to and/or suppose to. I want to make it a target to read a book outside of my study quarterly. Reading is my way to keep my mind as sharp as I can manage.

3. Do more physical exercises to keep myself fit. I am not getting any younger hence it is important that I watch my health. I also try to make subtle changes to my diet, taking a bit more vegetables and fruits than I usually would.

4. Besides physical health, I also have to take care of my mental health. No point losing my mind right? To prevent that, I will take care not to stress myself too much from the rigours of work and daily life. Just live life as it should be. A way to do it is to finish the list of Playstation 2 games I want to play: Shadow Hearts 2, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, etc...

5. As usual, I will try to keep my emotions in check again this year, which I have to admit to have slipped last year. This is done to protect others from myself, to preserve any relationships I have with family, friends, colleagues, etc. Never let the devil in me be released...

So what are your resolutions for this year? No matter what you have planned for this year, I wish you all the best in achieving them. Here's a very nice new year pic, courtesy of an e-pal;