Fedora for the home PC!

Just installed linux on my pc at home. Thanks to HCH for helping me with the installation and orientating me to the interface. Intending to use it mainly as a server for me to back my data up.

Gotta equip it with and test out the following:
LAMP - Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP, to provide the web serving capabilities, mainly to provide nice interfaces for the data I'd be backing up (e.g gallery2 for pictures)...

Ftp Server (filezilla maybe) - to upload my data for backing up.

Telnet perhaps, so that I can execute commands on the computer remotely.

The kind of data I intend to back up fall mainly under into the following categories:
1) Pictures + clips.
2) Music.
3) Movies + games.
4) other files, like word/excel/pdf documents.
5) Installers - I'll back up the installation files of all the programs that I find reliable on my home computer, so that whenever I reformat my computer, I'll have a one-stop location to download the installers I need. Gotta make a list of programs that serve well. Currently looking for a gif animator, and it's been quite difficult to find a good one, I need flash! Also, just found a good Audio File Converter Program, Switch and wavepad.

Have been using them to work on the webpages I'm mastering... Which has been occupying me since I returned.

CCCF website: changed the banner, added a little icon, changed the music, and now I'm hoping to create a little flash applet to synchronize changing pictures with the music. Did a little javascripting on it.

Temasek website: Touched up the look of the 'latest articles' and 'latest comments' panels, and hoping to touch up on the banner, and the aesthetics of the page in general. Did some MySQLing on it.

Back!

Just returned in the morning after 2 weeks of traveling... loads to consolidate - pictures, the trips, my belongings, my work, the internship.

Airport experience was interesting. Checked in rather late, though still within the stipulated time, but was held back by immigration due to an increased alert level (perhaps because of the bomb scare in London). Queued for immigration till past the flight timing of 12, and was given an "advance to go card" soon after 12pm.

Thankfully was able to check in my slightly over the weight limit baggage, perhaps because the airport staff was concerned with the above stated more pressing matters. Upon check in, we were instructed to go straight through security and immigration, and not to loiter in the shops.

K, lots to do now. Trip pics to be up soon (hopefully).

sigh... 2-2 ;(

in austria now..

just found out my result... not good at all... but guess that means there´s more room for improvement next year... tough year this one was... :(

hope i can still do theoretical physics... ok time´s running out...

Ok, this is it...

moving the remaining life support systems out of my room soon - my laptop, fan, bedsheets. Will be down to my bare traveling necessities.

wont be able to access the internet so frequently til i reach home, but there should be internet cafes along the way.

Departing tmr morning at 3, and my itinerary is as previously posted.

Will be contactable on my sg number.

Also, just realized that I'll be exceeding the weight limit by a lot (my luggage weighs 35 kg, and that's not counting the laptop, and traveling baggage), from all the goodies I'm carrying home. Daddy, can help me ask SIA for extra baggage allowance? thanks.

Back from portugal, with a bottle of Port!!!

Just returned from Portugal this morning - visited Porto, Lisbon & Sintra.

Quite a packed trip... felt like we accomplished a lot in the short span of 4 days.

The highlight was perhaps visiting a brewery in Porto. Sandeman, the brewery name was.

Appreciated how Port is actually grape juice that is partially fermented (as compared with wine which is fully fermented grape juice), to produce alcohol yet leaving some sugar to give it the sweet taste. Bought a bottle, for everyone back home to try! So prepare to get drunk :P

Also learnt that Port wine is named after the city of Porto, which is so named because it's a port. And a port is a gateway or entrance.


Will be packing up, and leaving in the next few days for Eastern Europe.

Also, got the reply from astar, and will be doing an internship with them again over summer. Quite looking forward to that...

yup, not too long now, will be home in another 2 weeks! see everyone soon...

Leaving for Portugal in a while

Consuming simple ovened dinner and leaving for portugal in the wee hours of the morning. Will be gone for 3 days, back for 3 days, gone for 12 days, back for one night, and finally departing for home!

Here are my itineraries for Portugal and Eastern Europe.


Was reading through my post exam posts last year. This time last year, Chai Seng gugu was here! Took them round cambridge, and drove up to kings lynn.

Went to London with ken, lionel and serene for a few days the following week, packed up and left for Italy on the 21st, learned of my result on the 24th, and was home on the 29th. Coming full circle this time round, with London replaced by Portugal, and Italy by Eastern Europe.


And... My room looks like a warzone!

Consolidation

Have been done with exams for close to a week now... And have been quite productive since then...

Sorting out stuff, packing my room, looking into travel arrangements, buying goodies to bring home, just consolidating my two years in Cambridge. I'm quite glad to have the time to do these leisurely...

Lets see, since the exams ended on friday morning, i've...

Friday, 1 Jun:
slacked friday afternoon away, recuperating.
Crashed garang sheep, helped them cook. visited joel's place after cg...

Saturday, 2 Jun:
Slept til late. went for brunch, think i slacked the afternoon away, prob listening to bbc and cbs podcasts. Had dinner with keng rui and irene. Went to Shawn's place to watch "Troy". Daniel was there too... "War is young man dieing, and old man talking". Stayed til 1.30 am.

Sunday, 3 Jun:
Brunch at 9 with joel, su-ann, celene. Made french toasts and pancakes.
Church, lunch, didnt really do much the afternoon. Dinner with keng rui.

Monday, 4 Jun:
settled errands, returned the library books, booked formal hall tickets, practiced a little for cf worship. Went to town to leave guit with WS, did some banking. was listening to bbc podcasts. Went to help with the food prep for cf at 1630, got some boxes from sains, had worship practice at 1800. CF til late, went to play com games at daniel's place after til around 2am.

Tuesday, 5 Jun:
Sorted out travel arrangements, went to print documents (hostel bookings, maps) at the CMS... Attended focus, went to visit aloysius to do maths. Thought of traveling on a cheaper airline here next year, emirates, say. And thought of going to Greece, Cyprus and Turkey next Christmas, and France, Germany and Belgium next Easter.

Wednesday, 6 Jun:
Did some packing up, bought goodies to bring home, found out about national express tickets, going to buy them soon. Suddenly felt like i was spending a lot of money. Now trying to keep track of all my expenditure.

For the goodies,


The big boxes of cookies were 2 for 5 pounds. (5.00 x 2)
Short cake was 0.79. (0.79 x 2)
Milk chocolate butter, the one on the left was 2 for 2 pounds (2.00 x 2)
Shortbread was 2 for 3.50, i think. (3.50 x 1)
McVites Boasters was 2 for 0.99. Bought 6. (0.99 x 3)

Spent 22.05 on goodies to bring home. You guys back home, please tell me if the bargains were good and if i should buy more of them back. But my luggage is already half full with the food. Going to be hard to squeeze more in it.

For the packing, thinking of getting a plastic box for my "lever arch files". They cost 10.99 pounds. Need to get more boxes too. And transport to caius will cost another 11 pounds.

Then there's money to be changed, and tickets to be bought.

Kinda looking forward to going back in summer to work, and make a little living for myself. Also thinking of all the other things i need to do in summer - go through the materials for this year and next, gre's, tuition, playing - all the movies to catch, and showing sam what i've learned this year :D

Towards the near future:

Tomorrow:
Continue with all the preparation and packing, and going for a briefing for a demonstration i'll be going for on friday.

Friday:
Taking part in a school visit to do some science demonstration. will be interesting, and will occupy my mornings and afternoons.

Saturday:
Preparing for the trip on sunday. Make sure all the errands are run.

Sunday to Tuesday:
Will be in Portugal.

Wednessday to Saturday:
Will be back in cam, attending garden parties, and packing up for good.

Sunday, 17 to Thursday, 28:
Will be in Eastern Europe.

Thursday, 28:
Arriving back in cam.

Friday, 29:
Departing for Singapre!!!

Saturday, 30:
Will be sleeping on my bed for the first time in 9 months!

Wow! that was an entire month in one post!

Done. Phew!

An update on the exam:

a couple of bad papers - Adv Physics Paper 2, Physics Paper 1.
a few not too bad papers - both math papers, Adv Physics paper 1.
and a good paper - Physics Paper 2, a little miracle, i must say...

feeling average, on the whole...


About Physics Paper 2, had read up the part 2 quantum mechanics and found the first 4 lectures a very good summary of the stuff we need to learn for first year, plus got inspired to the rationale behind some of the calculations, and was able to do the 2 questions required quite fully during the exams... :)

Thank God for that...


Now there's so many things to do... Had a bad post-exam start today... cg formal didnt work out... they changed the schedule, so now we'll have to take stock and see what can be done about it... Sigh.. think i'll go cg first, have a good rest tonight, and start to see what else needs to be done tomorrow morning...


To those still mugging away, jia you!
To the people back home, I'm on the home stretch! See everyone soon!

"The brain is not a receptacle"

I remember the advice my JC principal used to give during assembly on study technique - she would urge us to understand the material and not try to cram the material wholesale and regurgitate it during the exams. Well, I'm now finding myself doing exactly what she advised against - frantically copying my notes by the topics in the hope that some of it gets retained.

Less than a week to the exams, and i'm tossing the learning habit that has brought me to cambridge out the window - waiting for the lightbulb to illuminate understanding to a topic, the apple to fall on the head, simply aint happening fast enough to keep pace with what i've gotta know...

Just realised how badly I lack knowing the content, and frantically trying to make up for that.

Ahhh!!!

pebble bed nuclear reactor

just came from a research seminar on the future of nuclear power, took back this interesting development - a pebble bed nuclear reactor...

basically uranium enclosed in a shell to keep the hazardous by-products inside.

Theoretical Physics Material

To occupy me over the hols...

Theoretical Physics 2

on the Cavendish Teaching Page

Resupply

Hm... That didnt quite last me through the exams. Went to tescos today to get resupply.

Laid out in its full gory

An interesting paper

Hey HCH, check this paper out...

The Ghost in the Browser - Analysis of Web-based Malware

Written by guys at google researching malicious websites.

=)

A medical account

Just a log of what can happen from drinking too much milk... Writing it in response to Sam's post.

The incident happened last week, 5 May 07, incidentally exactly two years after my ORD'ing.

Was rather stuck with work last Saturday, felt kinda cooped up in my room because there was little happening - the usual Saturday frisbee session had been canceled from lack of response. Impulsively, I took myself on a jog.

Didnt take me long to find my legs quite dysfunctional.

Along the way, bumped into keng rui and yaofeng, a first year medic. They were also running. Yaofeng advised that drinking milk should help in the recovery of orthopedic problems, because of its calcium content.

Went to sains with Keng Rui subsequently, to get microwave dinner. Got myself 2 pints of milk too. Proceeded to keng rui's to make dinner, and in typical me fashion, from the after exercise thirst and hunger, and the desire to fix my leg, I finished the two pints of milk over the course of the dinner.

Back in my room, two hours later, I felt a churning in my stomach... Moments later, I was, putting it as euphemistically as possible, vomiting milk through the excretory opening at the end of the alimentary canal.

The call to nature felt particularly urgent when it happened, but it wasnt tormenting. In fact, it was a rather interesting experience :P

Eugene, a second year medic, explained the phenomena as the kidneys displacing the milk, instead of filtering it. Wonder if that is what happens to lactose intolerant people when they drink milk...

10000th hit, and dim haircut 2.0 =D

Taking Stock

EXAMS!!!
Ok, 3 more weeks to the exam, and the fact is starting to hit me hard!

3 subjects - maths, physics, advance physics, and all i can say is that i think i'm only decently prepared for maths, and still need to do a lot more work for both physics. Still cant do quantum mechanics!!!

On a bright note, received my lab report last Friday at the "Head of Class Meeting", and the Head of Class was rather pleased with my work! A great contrast to the lab report I handed in last term.

Looking beyond the exams, summer and MIT plans did not work out, but that's good too. Means more time back home, and will be a comfortable year ahead.


Summer
- Looking for something worthwhile to do over summer. Eying two Astar research institutes - Data Storage Institute, and Institute of Micro Electronics, or perhaps a DSO internship. Could pop by the Quantum Computing Group at nus too! Will be borrowing the book "Structure Computer Organization" home over summer, and hoping to gain lots from it!

- Also thinking that I might like to teach, either at SAJC, or at NUS High School. Could also take up a few tuition students. But hope that I'd still be able to teach properly despite not having teaching as a day job.

- And think i'd attempt the GRE's this summer, in case I decide on graduate studies in the US after my third or fourth year.

- Just received an email from the Investment Club about an investment game. Thought it might be a good way to be introduced to the stuff of investment banking.


Wild Idea
Next year will be a lot more comfortable now that I wont be going to MIT. Should be much better prepared for the work I'd be facing. Thinking of how I might make more full use of my time next year, and a wild idea came to mind - Rowing!

Physiotherapist appointment last Tuesday diagnosed cartilage problems with my right knee and left ankle, attributed the problem to flat feet, and wear and tear of the joints, probably arising from prolonged marches with heavy loads. Tried running today, out of sheer lethargy, and found the legs still rather problematic.

I thought that with my legs in this state, rowing might be a good low impact sport to engage in. And what better way to experience the Cambridge tradition, plus enforce a disciplined routine and a healthy lifestyle than rowing?

Might try it in Michaelmas, and see how well my life wraps round it. If my whole routine collapses on me from the commitments, then I'd just cease it after the term.


Immediate Future
As of now, need to craft emails to the A-star Institutes, and beg them to give me an internship. Then it's off to mug, *wheeze*, mug ,*deep breath*, mug, *exhale*.

Ahhh!!!! Cant do Quantum Mechanics!!!!

Ah!!!!!!

Cool Site

guitarpraise.blogspot.com

Beyond Basics

I went nuts today, and got myself this:

1.7 kg of chocolate!

Laid out in it's full gory!

To last me through the exams and beyond!

Laptop Spring Cleaning continued

There's something wrong with Live Messenger, and it's rather annoying.

For some reason, after a while (in the order of days), there would be connection problems by the name "81000306".

Tried searching windows live account help to solve the problem, but the documentation's quite unsatisfactory.

Tried signing in on webmessanger, and it worked. Worked on the old windows messenger as well. So figured that the problem was the IM Client itself - Windows Live Messenger. Reinstalled it, and now it works. But I wonder how long this will last before giving more problems.

Thus, I'm now looking for alternative IM clients. Found Google talk, but havent found out that they support msn, and I'm thinking of gaim, but not sure if it's compatible with windows.

Addendum:
MSN fouling up again.
Installed Trillian.

Addendum 010507:
Dangit! The problem was indeed Norton anti-virus!
This page was helpful, though rather retarded.

Changed the setting on norton for MSN messenger to "Permit All" and now it works.