ElectroCity Game

I came across this online game yesterday where the objective is to build a virtual city using various methods of generating electricity. You start with a small town, growing it by building different structures and feeding it with a steady source of energy while ensuring the environment is clean. You can see the cities I have built by doing a search on "James Ng" as the player's name. The great thing about this game is that you can play it without any registration.

..suMMer teARs..

A friend's Jabber status:- ..suMMer teARs..
My reply:-

    Light shines and the wind blows,
    Let the tears of summer flow.
    Rain drops and the sun peeks,
    Wipe away the tears on summer's cheeks.

Team Singapore @ SEA Games

As the newspapers have reported, Team Singapore has done well in the ongoing South East Asian Games, performing beyond expectations in some sport. Here's my take on the team's performances.

The Usual Suspects:
Table Tennis and Water Polo swept their haul of gold medals as expected, given that their regional opponents weren't so big in these two sport. Nonetheless, their dominance is still quite a feat.

The Amazing Races:
Belong to who else but the swimming team! How amazing their races had been. You have split seconds finishes, record breaking swims, narrow misses, and one-two wins, all resulting in an impressive tally of eleven gold medals. Besides swimming, we even have one gold from triathlon.

The Total Crap:
Once again, the football team disappoints the nation. One question to the team, "Do you know the meaning of playing simple but effective football?" What a bunch of imbeciles trying to show-off skills they don't have. They deserved to be beaten by Thailand and they might as well forget about the third place playoff with Vietnam if they continue to play as they did just now. One suggestion, "If you can't play, get off the pitch!"

It's All Over...

My JLPT 4 exam in the morning that is. "How was it," you might ask? Oh well, the writing & vocabulary section was pretty okay with me not very sure about questions 29 and 33. The listening section definitely would be the killer if I do fail. I had problems processing the words I detected during the listening fast enough and when I tried to shade the answer sheet for a question, I would miss part of the next question's conversation. The last section, reading & grammar, was manageable overall with some questions I answered using my instincts rather than actual knowledge or reasoning.

Anyway, the exam was over and done with, and I also have taken a couple of pictures of the venue, the Japanese School, Singapore (Changi Campus).

The main lobby.

The classroom that I took my exam in.

Examinees collecting their shoes from the wooden racks. One is not allowed to wear shoes in a Japanese classroom.

I will be taking the JLPT 4 tomorrow

Wishing myself and whoever is taking the test too the best of luck! (I need lotsa luck :p)

Congratulations Keith & Mei Chan

Wishing you a blessed marriage with happiness till a ripe old age. The banquet was really very extravagant. The food was one of the best I have taken. Thank you for inviting me to share your big day. Sorry for not staying till the very end as it was late.

JLPT 4 Revision - Give and Receive

JLPT 4 Revision - Question Words (5W1H)

Note: The original post in friendster blog has its image removed by the system hence I tried my best to recreate the content with whatever materials I have.


どれ = which
どこ = where
どちら = which (direction)
どの = which (item)
どんな = what (type)
どんなに = however
どう = how
何 = what
誰/どなた = who

なんの + noun = what kind of item
どうですか = how you feel
どうverbますか = how to do
どうしますか = what to do

何も + negative
何でも + positive
誰にも + negative
誰でも + positive
どこ［へ／に］も + negative
どこでも + positive

なにじん（何人）= which country's person
なんいん（何人）= how many people

I have gotten myself a MacBook!

I have yet to familiarize myself with the user interface as well as explore its functions. So far I am rather comfortable using it though I still keep trying to type certain keystrokes that are either no longer there or have been mapped differently.

Orchard Road Christmas Lights

I went with a friend to look at the Christmas Lights of Orchard Road earlier and I think this year's lights are better than last year's. I have taken some photos using my mobile phone which I have posted in an album here. Sorry that they don't really turn up well as I am not really good at taking pictures. I also tried to capture the first lighting up of the Christmas Lights scheduled at 7pm but it didn't happen on time. I asked the
worker at the spot and he said it should happen at 7:30pm. My friend tried again but it didn't happen on time again. Just as the camera was lowered due to tiredness of her arms, the lights came on. So now I've only got a world's most boring video of a temporary lighting up of the words "Merry Christmas" to show for.

I have taken two other videos of some of the moving displays I had seen there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXFpR7jvo7I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOs45ZB2IhM

My personal computer is down :(

The illness my computer contracted when I tried to do a system update about a fortnight ago is more serious than I thought. At first I thought it was only the power supply unit (PSU) that had fried. Now it seems that my motherboard is affected. It fails to power up even after I put in a new PSU. So I guess there's nothing more I can do except to get a new PC. Should I build a new one with whatever parts I can salvage or should I buy a full system off the shelf? The Eee PC from Asus looks tempting since I mainly use my computer at home for emailing and surfing the Net. Any heavy-duty stuff like programming I can make use of my notebook from work (though I don't bring it home everyday).

JLPT 4 Revision - Measurement of Quantities

JLPT 4 Revision - Degrees of Severity

Positive:
たまに　＜　ときどき　＜　よく　＜　いつも　＜　ほとんど　＜　ぜんぜん

Negative:
あまり　＜　めったに　＜　ほとんど　＜　ぜんぜん

JLPT 4 Revision - Forms of Verbs

F.I.R. 《月牙灣》

I was generating my playlists of music videos on YouTube when I realised I have a preference for pop music with an oriental flavour. My current favourite is F.I.R.'s 《月牙灣》(Feb 12, 2011: Video removed. Listen to it in player below. Apr 13, 2016: Replaced with new video.)

敦煌天空的沙粒　帶著我們的記憶
我從半路看回去　這情關漫漫好彎曲
夢想穿過了西域　包含了多少的禪意
愛情像一本遊記　我會找尋他的密語

＊看　月牙彎下的淚光　在絲路之上被遺忘

◎是誰的心啊　孤單的留下 他還好嗎　我多想愛他
那永恆的淚　凝固的一句話 也許可能蒸發
是誰的愛呀　比淚水堅強 輕聲呼喚 就讓我融化
每一滴雨水　演化成我翅膀　向著我愛的人 追吧

夢想穿過了西域　包含了多少的禪意
愛情像一本遊記　我會找尋他的謎語

repeat ＊◎◎

JLPT 4 Revision - Classroom Lingo

Attached are some of the common phrases that are used in the classroom:

JLPT 4 Revision - Polite Form vs Normal Form

JLPT 4 Revision - Vocabulary (II)

If you are aspiring to be a Japanese-speaking Hannibal Lector, then the following body parts' terms are must-learns:

JLPT 4 Revision - Greetings

おはようございます。Good morning. 

こんにちは。Good afternoon/day.

こんばんは。Good evening.

おやすみなさい。Sleep well.

さようなら。Goodbye.

ごめんなさい。Sorry.

ありがとうございます。Thank you very much.

どういたしまして。You are welcomed.

しつれいします。Sorry for disturbing you.

しつれいしました。Sorry for having to disturb you.

きりつ。れい。ちゃくせき。Stand. Bow. Sit down.

いただきます。I am going to eat.

ごちそうさまでした。I have finished eating.

いってきます。I am going off.

いってらっしゃい。Walk slowly.

ただいま。I am back.

おかえりなさい。Welcome back.

どうぞよろしくお願いします。

御免ください。Excuse me? (Use when knocking on door)

Xさんはいらっしゃいますか。Is Mr. X home?

どちら様でしょうか。Who is it?

お邪魔します。Sorry to disturb.

JLPT 4 Revision - Particles (I)

The following is a summary of the particles I have learned:

Updated April 25, 2011:
I have found a Japanese Particles [Cheatsheet] that summarises most of them.

JLPT 4 Revision - Vocabulary (I)

Below are some Japanese terms for addressing family members:

Sweety 《彩虹眼泪》

I have found the music video of one of my all-time favourite songs. Watch it here and sing along with the lyrics below. (Feb 12, 2011: Video removed. Use music player below. Apr 13, 2016: Replaced with new video.)

彩虹眼淚 - SWEETY
     曲︰陳熙
     詞︰陳熙／陳天佑
     編︰陳熙

     他總是不了解　我那些假裝的無所謂
     關於那些是是非非　愛的疲憊　又有誰能陪
     我總不夠堅決　才會在愛裡面繞圈圈
     我學得會　口是心非不要流淚　哦

   ＊天上的眼淚　他好像懂我的心碎
     懂得輕輕給我一些安慰
     我們應該要了解　傷了心有種愛的美　哦
     天上的彩虹　總出現在天晴雨過
     我已經懂得輕輕的放手
     就算我覺得難過　你會在我身邊守候
     陪我一起去看彩虹

     妳總是不自覺　才會在愛裡面繞圈圈
     讓他去飛　留過淚水才能學會　哦

     重唱　＊

     擦乾了成長的淚水　搭上了幸福的地鐵
     遠方有個聲音　那一定會是你

     重唱　＊

I took a public bus!

It has always been like buying a lottery for me to catch a cab in the evenings at the corner of Pasir Panjang Road and Alexandra Road. Sometimes I strike a small surprise but most of the time frustrating losses. It's end of the month Friday night, there's no taxi in sight. There's a guy waiting in front me so I definitely could take a nap first.

However, I was simply too tired to wait so when bus service 51 came, I looked at the driver for an indication that I could board. I only saw the handicapped logo on the bus a few days earlier so I checked the internet and confirmed that it is a wheelchair accessible bus (WAB). The driver was so nice that he practically jumped off the bus to help me without me asking whether it was okay. So this became the first time I traveled on a public bus by myself.

Too bad I forgot to take a picture of myself on the bus :(

Photo update on 22 Oct 2007: proof of me taking the bus

伍家辉《一人一半》

This is the theme song of the current Singapore hit movie "881". I really love it, the song that is. I haven't watched the movie yet. The music video is located here. Sing along using the lyrics given below:

《一人一半》
演唱：伍家輝
改編詞:小寒 曲:伍家輝

一人一半 感情不散
一人一素故 感情才會久
時光累計 安靜的淚滴
一心去追 愛那么可貴

Chorus：
這樣的人 這樣地等
無非是等個回應眼神
為愛翻滾 不計傷痕
甘心為你一生都浮沉

這樣的人 別笑我蠢
傻傻的 心痛也不覺疼
就算天冷 就算殘忍
等你想起這沒用的人

一人一半 感情不散
已經找到愛 為何要離開

時光累計 安靜的淚滴
一心去追 愛那么可貴

Repeat Chorus*

一人一半 感情不散
已經找到愛 為何要離開
已經找到愛 為何先離開

我报特约专栏读后感

今天读了卓炜峰在我报特约专栏文章《里有余而心不足》，对其内容有同感，但也觉得他还有很多要点可以写出来，可能是碍于版位的限制才没写吧。

我覺的新加坡现在正在失去自我，越来越没有家的味道，只是一个国际城市罢了。我也曾问过，为什么我会有这种感觉呢?我看了他的文章后，突然有个想法。

我认为问题出在新加坡的移民政策。不要误会，我是欢迎外来客的。我本身就有许多外国朋友。
我有意见的是，新加坡的某些移民政策，使到外国人很容易就得到新加坡公民权。这使到我失去了做为新加坡土生土长的人应有的独特感。

另一个问题应该是外国人（包括永久居民）和新加坡人的比例严重失衡。现在乘搭地铁，听到的语言和口音越来越多种类，有如身在异国，新加坡人成为少数人。虽然这并不是一件坏事，但也未必见得是一件好事。

＊＊＊以上观点，纯属牢骚。若有不妥，敬请原谅。＊＊＊

郭静 《我不想忘记你》

I am currently addicted to this song and has been playing it over again countless times. Listen to it here. (Feb 12, 2011: Video removed. Use player below. Apr 13, 2016: Replaced with new video.) The lyrics is given beside the video which I reproduced below:

我在向前走 却像在退后
我在用想念 狂欢寂寞
越快乐就越失落
爱将我们高高举起以后
再让心学会坠落
怀念这宽阔的天空
虽然那里空气很稀薄

我努力想起你 笑着哭泣
让自己深爱你 再学会放弃
我不想忘记你
就算可以
我宁可记得所有伤心
我努力想起你 苦也没关系
用祝福和感激 勇敢失去你
爱你这个决定
虽然艰辛
我不说对不起

一个人不懂 什么是拥有
两个人不懂 怎么把握
越在乎就越脆弱
爱将我们高高举起以后
再让心学会坠落
怀念这宽阔的天空
虽然那里空气很稀薄

No taxis on ECL days

Having difficulty in getting a taxi during peak hours is not news in Singapore anymore. I had not more than once needed to wait for up till an hour to catch one in the evenings just to go to the nearest MRT station. It became near impossible to get one this morning and I suspect it had something to do with the European Champions League football matches being played earlier. More people getting up late for work :)

Selected football matches results I am concerned of:

ECL
FC Porto 1-1 Liverpool FC

AFC Cup
Tampines Rovers 1-2 Al-Faisaly
Shabab Al Ordun 5-0 SAF FC (disgraceful siah)

Sick again!

Took a taxi home today as I am feeling so lousy that I don't have any energy to change to a MRT. I am coughing so badly that with each cough, my head pounds like crazy. I am also feeling cold with my body aching all over. Eyes are dry too. Guess I am coming down with a cold or flu. Still can't quite differentiate except I know one is caused by a viral infection. Oh well, have to take some medication later and have an early sleep... This is the second or third time I am falling sick this year. What's wrong?

Bourne Ultimatum

The Bourne Trilogy is one of the more realistically filmed spy thrillers I have seen so far. I watched the last installment of the trilogy, Bourne Ultimatum, this afternoon and a guy (think he's an American based on his accent) told me out of the blue how he liked the movie while we were waiting for the elevator.

I admit that the movie is very well-filmed with solid fighting, exciting chase sequences, and slick cat-and-mouse game moves. Everything was very basic in terms of the tactics and equipment used but yet shown in a stylish way. It's realistic in what a (former) specially trained assassin with a multitude of skills like Jason Bourne can do. The only thing rather unbelievable is the final car crash scene which ended an extended chase. Don't think anyone can simply walk away from that kind of impact.

For anyone who cannot remember or do not know the stories of the first two installments, I will recall them briefly below as well as give a little spoiler of the third.

[Bourne Identity]
This was basically about the who and the what. Who was the guy known as Jason Bourne? What had happened to him? What should he do to escape from people trying to get him?

• A man with no memory of himself was saved after he failed on an assassination.
• He subsequently found an identity whereby he was known as Jason Bourne.
• A group operating under a CIA project codename "Threadstone" had sent killers as well as the police to hunt him down all over Europe.
• He managed to evade them with the help of a girl.

[Bourne Supremacy]
This was basically about the who and the why. Who were the people from project "Threadstone"? Why did they want to kill Jason Bourne?

• A year had passed. He had married the girl but she was killed soon after.
• He was out for revenge but subsequently was turned into a quest for the truth about "Threadstone".
• The killing was ordered to lure him out of hiding as the group could not let his connection to them be exposed.
• A killer bent on bettering him was killing in Jason Bourne's name to forced him out.
• He found out that "Threadstone" was a CIA project by the group to perform assassinations internationally without protocol and the group was said to have turned renegade.
• The CIA thought Jason Bourne was going to expose their secret operations and tried to stopped him.
• Jason Bourne finally who he was and gotten the head of the group to admit to the illegal operations he was once ordered to do.

[Bourne Ultimatum]
This was basically about the how and what. How did Jason Bourne became what he was now? What is the conspiracy inside the CIA that involved him?

• "Threadstone" had been upgraded to "Blackbriar".
• More high-ranking people in the CIA were involved in the unjustified assassinations of many people.
• Someone in the CIA wanted to expose the secret and leaked information to a reporter about Jason Bourne and the project.
• Both the CIA informant and the reporter were killed before Jason Bourne could extract the information he wanted.
• Jason Bourne was the first voluntary trainee of the project to turn soldiers into assassins.
• The lady CIA agent from the previous installment decided to worked with him to expose the conspiracy.

Super (Simpsons) Saturday

Today is a good day. I watched The Simpsons Movie in the afternoon and am now watching the English Premier League. The Simpsons Movie was excellent, so hilarious. Homer's stupidity was definitely out of this world. I don't think anyone can think of doing the things he did, let alone doing it. It was a corny movie.

"Spider-pig, spider-pig..."

Happy 42nd Birthday Singapore!

I want to wish all Singaporeans a Happy National Day! May Singapore be a better country in all aspects. Now if only there will be no more price increases, at least for the next two years... (Wishful thinking?)

Everyone can watch this year's National Day Parade via the Internet at http://www.ndp.org.sg/.

If my throat can get better and I stop coughing so much, today will be a wonderful day for me.

Congratulations Shili & Gengfu!

祝你们：百年好合，永浴爱河，白头偕老，早生贵子！

Singapore 0 - 3 Australia

The scoreline didn't do credit to the game. Singapore played well and with heart and tenacity. Yes, Australia is definitely a class or two better than Singapore in terms of quality on paper and eventually on the field at the end of the game. But for much of the time in the first half and start of the second half, Singapore matched Australia possession for possession and attack for attack. Australia was supposed to have it easy but Singapore's resolute defense and goalkeeping did manage to frustrate the Socceroos. The scoreline would have been more respectable if not for Indra Sahdan's header off the bar and Khairul Amri's strike against the post. Oh well, The Lions fought admirably with a spirited display and though they lost the game which they are not expected to win, they won the fans with a marked improvement.

I like Gilmore Girls

There, I have said it out loud :p

I know, you must be laughing at how a guy gets to like watching a so-called 'chick flick'. It may be a female-targeted drama but it is really family-oriented-ly nice. I like it for the witty and yet sometimes quirky conversations, the small town setting, the eccentric characters and of course Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel).

I have always wanted to live in a small town with a population no larger than a thousand. Stars Hollow is simply my ideal place to live in. Hahaha... time for me to migrate?

Channel 5 is showing season 6 now but the station didn't announce when they started showing and couldn't stick to the scheduled timing every week. In the end I missed the first few episodes of the season. So I spent a week getting the DVD rips. Now I can watch it whenever I feel like it :D

［港剧］铁血保镖

最近迷上了港剧《铁血保镖》，一下班就赶回家追看。此剧的剧情紧凑，人物鲜明，非常精彩好看。特别是戏里那个“三叔”，绝顶聪明，充满智慧，忠奸分明。他虽然表明只是个闲人，不与人争夺名利，但却对周遭的人和事观察细微，了如指掌。他无需跟坏人硬碰硬，只需用一些计谋，便能使坏人现出原形，受牵制而无法使坏。当然，好的计谋也要有好的人施。所幸这等人物是个好人，否则后果就糟了，谁也对付不了。

How many messaging services do you use?

I am now subscribed to 5 6 (edited on 24 Aug: just found another one I was not aware of) messaging services. Thank goodness to GAIM on my Ubuntu platform, I can access all of them at the same time. It is a nightmare to install 5 messenger programs on my Windows machine so I basically uninstall most of them. Since I can access Y!M and GTalk on their respective email webpages, I don't need to install them anymore. As my company blocks almost all messaging services, I only have Skype running on my company's laptop, apart from my company's own messenger.

So what are the messaging services I use? In summary:

1. Yahoo! Messenger (userid: nghianja) - most of my friends on it.
2. Google Talk (userid: nghianja) - easy to use.
3. Skype (userid: nghianja) - finally subscribed to it because it is the only one to get pass my company's proxy, shh...
4. ICQ (userid: 77392799) - my first messenger but rarely use it now.
5. MSN (userid: james.ng@t-est.com) - forced to register when I wanted to download a software; using it reluctantly.
6. AIM (userid: nghianja): only just found out that it is linked to my netscape webmail.
7. Jabber (userid: id10836) - my company's personal messaging service, so not counted above.

But now that Y!M and MSN are linked and one can message another, we don't really need that many messengers. Hopefully that is a way for me to combine all my messaging services into one.

Shrek 3

Shrek and gang are back and they are hilarious as ever. The comedy is certainly there with the whole cinema laughing. However, the story this time round is more predictable. There is no more spoof of popular movies this time, unless I missed noticing any. Other characters got more show-time too.

Side Note: I finally got to meet Vega's girlfriend, hahaha... truly happy for him.

My Old Blog

I have finally managed to transfer all the entries in my old blog, which was a series of web pages I created. I didn't use a blogging site as I wasn't sure I will keep up the writing. In the end, I lasted a year, fulfilling one of my resolutions for that year. Seeing that I have rediscovered my interest in writing down my thoughts and was not afraid of sharing them online anymore, I switched to this site.

The links to the start and end of my old blog are given here :)

POTC3: At World's End

I had spent a fruitful Saturday afternoon. After going to the bank in the morning, I finally managed to catch the movie Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End. It was an entertaining movie though it could have been much better with more emphasize on the characters and subplots. Instead it focused a wee bit too much on the special effects. Nonetheless, it was funny in a wicked sort of way. Johnny Depp was excellent as usual with the other characters having better display. The moral of the story (yes, I always try to find a moral behind a story, and there is one even for this kind of movie) is any small fries like the pirates united can stand against a corporate monopoly, the East India Company. Think the open source community versus Microsoft :p

Liverpool FC 1 - 2 AC Milan

Sad, sad, sad. My Liverpool lost! We were unlucky to concede the first goal though we shouldn't have given away the free-kick in the first place. And we deservedly lost the second one. The defenders lost track of Inzaghi. Gerrard and Pennant should have scored...

My cousin on TV!!!

My cousin, Fang Fang, was featured on the Channel U programme "Find Me A Singaporean (稀游记)". She was interviewed for her charity work in the remote villages in the mountains of Yunnan, China. Amazing stuff! We are proud of you, cuz.

The programme can be viewed in three parts at http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=287F9A27E957F06A. I have also included them in my profile here.

I have won a bottle of wine!

I was notified via email by The Straits Times telling me that I am one of the winners in their LIFESTYLE / HANNIBAL Contest and won myself a bottle of Bouchard Finlayson Hannibal 2003 worth $39. Wow, it seems that my luck is getting better 'cos it has been a very very long time since I won anything.
:D

A tribute to all mothers...

Happy Mother's Day!

Vain me...

I have changed the name of this blog again. Always thinking up stuff to do for no apparent reason...

Heng ah, no compensation needed

Finally gotten my company's laptop back from repair. Thank goodness I don't have to pay for the cost of a new screen which is S$600+. Company picked up the tab ;p

HD DVD processing key

The HD DVD hidden key has been discovered and programs have been created to crack the DRM on the disks. The key is

09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0

and a sample source code is printed here.

News Reference:
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/02/the_new_hddvdbl.html

Friday the 13th and Saturday the 14th

How bloody unlucky! I thought I had escaped the 'curse' of Friday the 13th but it actually stretched past midnight. I accidentally dropped my company's laptop and damaged the screen. Now I may have to pay for the repair which is S$600+...

Civil Servants and Ministers Pay Rise

Dear Prime Minister,

I understand your concern in retaining talents for the public sector for the benefit of serving fellow citizens. Hence there is a need to peg the wages of civil servants and ministers to the professionals of the private sector.

However, how can we know that these civil servants and ministers (apart from you, of course) are actually performing at the same level as their private sector counterparts to justify the pay increment? I feel that there is a need to demonstrate that the very civil servants we are trying to retain are displaying high work attitudes.

Sorry for being so negative but I simply have heard so many examples of inefficient, inflexible and sometimes even ignorant civil servants that often hinder than help us.

Your Concerned Citizen

Taipei - Final Note

Taiwan is really a beautiful place. Taipei City is vibrant, albeit more chaotic in terms of the traffic. The people are friendly and helpful. Youths are generally trendy and fair. Pardon me for not taking any pictures of those pretty girls that you guys want to see ;p There are plenty of them but you don't expect me to use my camera like a pervert or something right?

Anyway, I sure will like to visit Taiwan again, a different city each time. If anyone don't mind having me as a traveling companion, can I tag along? :p

Taipei - Day 4

1:02pm
I was wrong. My mum still managed to do some last minute shopping. Last chance to grab anything that fancy the eyes. Actually, items here are generally not any cheaper than in Singapore. Food and transport are definitely much cheaper. Electronic goods are on par with Singapore and apparel can be pricier. Books are definitely more expensive.

Note
Some stuff which we used to receive from friends who came back from holidays in Taiwan, such as Muah Chee, are surprisingly hard to find in Taipei. We finally managed to get some at the airport's duty free shops.

10:52pm
Touchdown... (Home Sweet Home!)

Videos
Stupid me! I only discovered how to use the video recording function of my phone during my last day in Taipei. And I have so much storage capacity which I didn't use :(
The links to the few videos I made before I left are as follow:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZwsggAcqfg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXOUN6p_-EI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcudPzZqMlE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZyHRjFAFPI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbegcp9dTeA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVKa4Fyp-ns

Taipei - Day 3

12:57pm
The "Gu Gong Bo Wu Guan" (loosely-translated: Old Palace Museum) is huge. We have managed to finish browsing at most 80% of the exhibits before we have to go. My brother is not feeling well so we cut short our visit to the museum. Thus we don't get to take pictures to show that we have been there.

I am not feeling so well too. Must be either the food we ate yesterday or the water we took at the hotel. The water may not be suitable for us to get used to yet. What we ate must be conflicting with each other as well in our stomach.

6:35pm
Managed to buy some gifts for people at home and work. Nothing much as we can't really carry much stuff. And I really am too poof to walk and shop any further. (Backside pains from the wheelchair going over uneven roads...) Got lost for a second time while walking back to the hotel.

Taipei - Day 2

10:00am
Bought tickets to Taipei 101. Amazing view of the city, a city so huge that I don't get to see the boundary of it even so high up.

2:30pm
Just finished touring the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial. There is quite a large amount of information about this great man that any historian will definitely love to study.

4:30pm
After visiting the 'Ball' mall, we are now walking leisurely in the compound of the Chiang Kai-Shek Official Residence. Given the age and size of the place, one can imagine how extravagant the president was with respect to his citizens. It is now like a botanical garden for everyone to visit.

7:10pm
Shi Ling Night Market - too trendy for me :p
Got to meet up with a friend I know only online. Too bad she had to rush back to work overtime.

Taipei - Day 1

9:23am
Just finished breakfast and am watching the movie "Night At The Museum"... on board SQ872.

2:31pm
Hotel is really what I was expecting -- simply basic. Time to explore the surroundings.

5:43pm
Okay, we have wandered way too far from our hotel and none of us had in the right mind to bring the city map out. The map was lying on my bed. Thank goodness the hotel's calling card contains a small map of the surrounding roads. Now drinking Assam Milk Tea at the 7-11...

10:14pm
Just came back from a food tasting journey at a nearby night market, Hua Xi Night Market. So much food, so small my stomach. Oh well, the famous Shi Ling Night Market tomorrow...

Note
Eat but be mindful that finding a public toilet may not be easy. We haven't seen one in the night market while one my mum found was well-hidden in an office building.

Complaint
The guide that brought us to our hotel was lousy. His jokes were bland and wasn't much help to me on a wheelchair.

Going for a short vacation trip!

Yes, the time has arrived. I will be going on a holiday with my family tomorrow. A 4-day trip to Taipei, Taiwan... Will write about the things I see when I get back;

300

I have just watched this movie and oh boy, how unique the cinematography is! Sensual and sexual; bloody with gore; stylish yet raw. Plenty of up-close shots of the characters' faces. Fighting is very MTV-like. The use of extreme contrast: perfect human body vs deformed monsters to represent the mentality of good vs evil; freedom vs slavery; nobility vs sin. East vs West? The ending speech however is rather redundant in length, reminds me of a certain superpower's presidential speech... sounds a bit like propaganda?

If the warrior culture and fighting abilities of the Spartans are anything like those portrayed in the movie, then I can now understand why my history teacher said that Europe till even after the 2nd World War, was fearful of the rise of Macedonia, the rumored descendants of the Spartans. (If I remember my history lesson correctly that is...)

Mahjong Tournament Not Able To Be Staged!!!

Aiyo... why like dat? Just because a dodo complained to three newspapers, the police has decided not to give out permit for the Yishun Community Club to hold the tournament! This is stupid. Exposure brings knowledge, knowledge brings power; the power to better prepare oneself against doing anything stupid or being easily influenced by others. Besides, mahjong is a more strategy-needed game than poker and yet the world poker tournament is held here! I say this is bias. To the person who complained, I say you go play the game first; know the game and you will see the beauty of it and not be blinded by one-sided reports and hearsays.

International Women’s Day

A tribute to all mothers, aunts, sisters, wives, girlfriends, confidantes, mistresses, etc;

2 years have gone by...

Today is the 2nd anniversary of my being in this company and damn, I lost my eye candy yesterday. What a way to "de-celebrate". Anyway, I still believe one should not stay in one place for more than three years lest one gets mentally stagnant (unless you really have new things to learn), so I shall start planning what I want to do from now on. So what shall I do when there are so much I want to do:

1. Pursue a path in academic, perhaps in another field of study?
2. Start a small business, Food-For-Thought maybe?
3. Work in a different environment or a different scope?

(;_;)

Night as bright as the morning sky,
In the light of a full moon I cry.
Lost in a world I don't desire,
As for the goals and life I dream,
Reality to achieve is harder it seems.

What Say You: Sex Sells?

Someone posted in the STOMP Forums that using scantily-dressed girls to promote IT as in the Tech Chick section or any other products as a matter-of-fact, is degrading and should be prohibited. In other words, this girl below should be banned. I feel that whether to ban such 'exploitation' should depend on how the pictures are shot and the concept of using them is drawn. Obviously one should be able to differentiate between tastefully done and downright cheesy. But then again, that is my brain talking, other parts of me may not agree...

Happy Valentine's Day!

祝愿全天下的有情人能终成眷属，西方情人节快乐。

12 Byzantine Rulers: The History of The Byzantine Empire

Calling all history enthusiasts! "12 Byzantine Rulers: The History of The Byzantine Empire" is a website that contains a series of podcasts written and recorded by Lars Brownworth. He uses the podcasts to introduce the little-covered Byzantine Empire's history. He focuses of events surrounding 12 better-known rulers which spanned across centuries and covers them in great details. He hasn't finish recording the podcasts and is in the midst of arranging his research materials for the last three Byzantine emperors.

CASHFLOW

Have you played the board-game CASHFLOW by Robert Kiyosaki, whereby its concept is based on his series of books that includes "Rich Dad, Poor Dad"? I was asked by an ex-colleague to go along with her for a seminar-like session to play the game and learn about financial planning that allows one to achieve financial freedom. It was rather fun and I got to know some basic concepts which I more or less have ideas of but never quite spend much time thinking about.

Good things must share. Another game-playing session for beginners (CASHFLOW 101) is going to be held on February the 4th (Sunday), if you are interested...

OMG... Liverpool sux!

Losing to the same opponent twice in a row in less than a week is absolutely inexcusable; what is happening? Liverpool fans must be really hurt and disappointed. Ay... "you'll never walk alone"; we never walk alone but the road sure is hard to follow on...

Happy New Year!

May happiness be plentiful all year round all place round...