Just an update to jot down some interesting phenomena...
Came away from debriefing for camp one today. Went through ups and downs. It's interesting how we all have common feelings/sentiments when we are put through the same situation, down to the fact that all of us are showing pre-flu symptoms - that of the pain behind the nose, which I thought I was the only one to experience throughout my life. Thankfully there are medics among us who have miracle nasal sprays for this problem, and which I have just administered to myself as I'm typing. Must jot down it's name and effectiveness for future reference. Please pray for this nevertheless.
Also on another note, I've been on the great wall twice this camp. To ju yong guan with the hebei teachers, and to badaling with the rest of the isec teachers on our camp.
alright, internet time is quite limited... signing off.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Blogging from china!
Oohh... china does not block blogger afterall!
Hello from a dorm in beijing experimental high. It's been an interesting few days since landing on saturday. Very well looked after - fed well, good facilities (air con rooms!). Went to visit the forbidden city in the first day, visiting the temple of heaven in the second.
Got myself a chinese sim card for 80rmb, arh, havent got the number on me now, will post the no here sometime.
Air quality in beijing is interesting - there's a shroud of smog/mist that's hanging over the city all day, but it does not feel like pollution, it's more like an extended mist. Haven't seen the sun since we arrived... everything here is attributed to the olympics these days, and this is one of them.
yep, about all the interesting happenings since i arrived. hopefully moving out to hebei next week.
signing off......
Hello from a dorm in beijing experimental high. It's been an interesting few days since landing on saturday. Very well looked after - fed well, good facilities (air con rooms!). Went to visit the forbidden city in the first day, visiting the temple of heaven in the second.
Got myself a chinese sim card for 80rmb, arh, havent got the number on me now, will post the no here sometime.
Air quality in beijing is interesting - there's a shroud of smog/mist that's hanging over the city all day, but it does not feel like pollution, it's more like an extended mist. Haven't seen the sun since we arrived... everything here is attributed to the olympics these days, and this is one of them.
yep, about all the interesting happenings since i arrived. hopefully moving out to hebei next week.
signing off......
Friday, June 27, 2008
off to china!
leaving for beijing tonight. gone for 7 weeks, will update here when i can. dont really know what to expect, but should be exciting.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Shanghai Wishlist
Clothes
a cap,
T-shirts,
Shirts,
Pants, Cargo Pants,
Suit/tux
Shoes
Dress shoes,
Sports shoes.
Bags
wallet,
coin purse,
Ruck sack,
Luggage,
Guitar bag
Others
Mahjong set
a cap,
T-shirts,
Shirts,
Pants, Cargo Pants,
Suit/tux
Shoes
Dress shoes,
Sports shoes.
Bags
wallet,
coin purse,
Ruck sack,
Luggage,
Guitar bag
Others
Mahjong set
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Travel Itinerary
I'll be home soon! :)
FLIGHT FROM/TO DATE TIME CLASS STATUS STOPS
------ ------- ---- ---- ----- ------ -----
1. SQ 319 LONDON LHR 14JUN 6.30 PM Y / M OK 0
SINGAPORE 15JUN 2.20 PM
AIRCRAFT TYPE B747-400
1. SEAT:37A NON-SMOKING MAIN
2. SQ 800 SINGAPORE 28JUN 1.10 AM Y / M OK 0
BEIJING 28JUN 7.20 AM
AIRCRAFT TYPE B777-200
1. SEAT:33A NON-SMOKING MAIN
3. SQ 831 SHANGHAI 13AUG 2.30 PM Y / M OK 0
SINGAPORE 13AUG 7.45 PM
AIRCRAFT TYPE B777-200
1. SEAT:34A NON-SMOKING MAIN
4. SQ 322 SINGAPORE 5OCT 11.30 PM Y / M OK 0
LONDON LHR 6OCT 5.55 AM
AIRCRAFT TYPE AIRBUS A380-800
1. SEAT:34A NON-SMOKING MAIN
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
UBER DEJAVU
Whoa, this clip brings back fond memories... I've easily played this opening level a hundred times!
And looks like there's a totally standard way of completing the level - recall taking exactly the same route - heading straight for the ledge at the beginning of the game to pick up the rpg, and making the same falls at the ledge, then subsequently heading for the window into the secret room to pick up rpg ammo, steroids and the atomic health... could go on and on haha...
Also,
Never quite understood the lyrics to the opening song for "Malcom in the Middle"... This clip gives more meaning to that random song...
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
The mystery of consciousness
what constitutes a consciousness? can consciousness be divided into components? where does this consciousness exist? what is an observer? is a consciousness necessarily implicated in an observation?
two intriguing phenomena associated with consciousness:
- that it routinely ceases when we sleep, and is able to come back on again. Is death simply a cessation of consciousness, and could it come back on again?
- this unreliable thing we base much judgment on - our memories. so unreliable yet so real.
two intriguing phenomena associated with consciousness:
- that it routinely ceases when we sleep, and is able to come back on again. Is death simply a cessation of consciousness, and could it come back on again?
- this unreliable thing we base much judgment on - our memories. so unreliable yet so real.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Pride, and responsibility.
An excerpt from downing college's 2006 yearbook...
How I wished my college government had a similar creed. Instead of viewing mathmos as cash cows with no need for attention and maintenance.
Every year when the examination results are published members of the Governing Body initially, and then the Education Committee, examine the results carefully to identify trends and strengths and weaknesses. It might be asked why we do this. It is partly due to a personal responsibility which we all feel following our own decisions to admit these students. But our sense of responsibility extends beyond whether we made the right decision, but extends to whether the potential which we initially identified, sometimes nearly two years before matriculation, has been fulfilled. Sometimes this is called ‘value-added’. This is a demeaning phrase, but one which has a core truth. For that is our purpose as an educational institution, to ensure that, by the environment we provide and the supervisions we give and the personal interaction with our students, we can show that we have added value to their Cambridge experience.
How I wished my college government had a similar creed. Instead of viewing mathmos as cash cows with no need for attention and maintenance.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Orbitury - Bike no.1.
Today saw the last straw... finally decided to retire my ol' bike when the back wheel spindle gave way on the way back from the cavendish. Invest in a new bike, got one with a lock for 90 pounds today. instead of a replacement wheel which would have cost me 15 pounds.
Spent quite a bit on this bike recently - 20 pounds for a new tire and inner tube, 5 pounds on new brake pads which i fitted myself. think bought it from alvin for 80 pounds initially. Served me 2.5 years. other things breaking down - screws sticking out from seat, making a hole in my pants; front wheel rim's been dented, causing the front breaks to be jerk to a stop when it meets the dent; someone attempted to cut my lock before, leaving it slightly breached.
Initially hoped to maintain this bike til the end of the year, and get a new bike when i return next year, so that I wont have to leave a new bike here over summer, when it deteriorates lots. but it looks like the bike's broken down much faster than I had hoped. Hope that this bike can last me the next year, or more, if I stayed here longer.
Here's to the memory of my first bike in cambridge...
Spent quite a bit on this bike recently - 20 pounds for a new tire and inner tube, 5 pounds on new brake pads which i fitted myself. think bought it from alvin for 80 pounds initially. Served me 2.5 years. other things breaking down - screws sticking out from seat, making a hole in my pants; front wheel rim's been dented, causing the front breaks to be jerk to a stop when it meets the dent; someone attempted to cut my lock before, leaving it slightly breached.
Initially hoped to maintain this bike til the end of the year, and get a new bike when i return next year, so that I wont have to leave a new bike here over summer, when it deteriorates lots. but it looks like the bike's broken down much faster than I had hoped. Hope that this bike can last me the next year, or more, if I stayed here longer.
Here's to the memory of my first bike in cambridge...
Monday, April 14, 2008
More Musings
For final year Cambridge students, the Easter holidays are a time when studying for the tripos becomes the de facto activity. Surfing for news, and other forms of entertainment, also increases in frequency as it happens to be the most convenient way to regenerate study manna in the occurrence of study fatigue.
It feels like lately, the news has been dominated by stories of soaring grain/food, oil and gold/commodities prices; and of the gloomy outlook of US and British economies.
Just felt the urge to take some time off my work to consolidate some thoughts amidst this barrage of bleak news.
On food shortages
I recall a time when the world had too much food and farmers were paid to let their land lie fallow [EU 'Set-aside' policy, 1988; China, 2000]. Since then, I've had the impression that modern technology had led to the eradication of food shortages, and that the lack of food in isolated parts of the world (and by the poor) was simply a socio-economic problem stemming from uneven distribution of wealth, and not lack of actual food supplies.
So when I read the reports of increasing food prices due to shortages, I wondered where my original perception stood in light of these reports. Found the above links, and this press release from the European Commission, upon some googling.
Conclusion: it is indeed the case that our food supply is falling short of demand, and that this reversal in trend happened only as recent as last fall. And this has led to the nullification of the 'Set-aside' policy.
[A slightly unrelated link]
On food and oil
With oil prices rising relentlessly, it seems the strain on the food supply might be due to the switch to biofuels as an alternative source of energy.
Recall watching on the news back home an incident about a run on the supermarket for palm oil in Malaysia. Googled for 'Malaysia palm oil rush', and found a more recent incident.
Biofuels are also being made out of grain. And according to the article, if all the corn produced in the US were used to replace oil, it can only offset gasoline consumption by 15%. So it looks like there is enough food to fill our stomachs, but way too little to use on our fuel tanks too.
Even though it encroaches on our food supplies, the use of biofuels actually still seems very appealing - if only the mix of technology and economic pressures would turn desert wastelands that have too much sunshine into palm oil plantations that converted the sunlight and carbon dioxide into fuel which we burn directly, we could bypass the redundant process of turning plants into fossil fuels when we burn them for fuel. Furthermore, what is the point of trying to solve fusion containment problems, plus figuring out how to extract the energy produced from the exceedingly hot reaction, when all we have to do is figure out the latter from our ready source of fusion energy - our sun, which is conveniently contained by it's own gravitational field?
[I recall in Pri 1, asking my teacher a similar question when I encountered two seemingly incompatible facts - why does Singapore, being an island surrounded by water, face water problems? The answer was that the water we were surrounded by wasn't potable (shame). Well, with technology, we have now made sea water potable. Hopefully, in the same way, technology could render today's hostile deserts cultivatable for biofuel producing crops.]
On oil and gold
Just trying to put the recent record gold prices in perspective.
On 2.67
I'm getting tired. I'll just let this article speak for itself :P
Also reading about the desperate situation the poor in Singapore are facing. Giving the excuse that such a topic is off limits for a Singaporean is probably a good way conclude this entry.
Lastly, a more far fetched speculation
With that, i'm off to rest my head (on the pillow :P)
It feels like lately, the news has been dominated by stories of soaring grain/food, oil and gold/commodities prices; and of the gloomy outlook of US and British economies.
Just felt the urge to take some time off my work to consolidate some thoughts amidst this barrage of bleak news.
On food shortages
I recall a time when the world had too much food and farmers were paid to let their land lie fallow [EU 'Set-aside' policy, 1988; China, 2000]. Since then, I've had the impression that modern technology had led to the eradication of food shortages, and that the lack of food in isolated parts of the world (and by the poor) was simply a socio-economic problem stemming from uneven distribution of wealth, and not lack of actual food supplies.
So when I read the reports of increasing food prices due to shortages, I wondered where my original perception stood in light of these reports. Found the above links, and this press release from the European Commission, upon some googling.
Conclusion: it is indeed the case that our food supply is falling short of demand, and that this reversal in trend happened only as recent as last fall. And this has led to the nullification of the 'Set-aside' policy.
[A slightly unrelated link]
On food and oil
With oil prices rising relentlessly, it seems the strain on the food supply might be due to the switch to biofuels as an alternative source of energy.
Recall watching on the news back home an incident about a run on the supermarket for palm oil in Malaysia. Googled for 'Malaysia palm oil rush', and found a more recent incident.
Biofuels are also being made out of grain. And according to the article, if all the corn produced in the US were used to replace oil, it can only offset gasoline consumption by 15%. So it looks like there is enough food to fill our stomachs, but way too little to use on our fuel tanks too.
Even though it encroaches on our food supplies, the use of biofuels actually still seems very appealing - if only the mix of technology and economic pressures would turn desert wastelands that have too much sunshine into palm oil plantations that converted the sunlight and carbon dioxide into fuel which we burn directly, we could bypass the redundant process of turning plants into fossil fuels when we burn them for fuel. Furthermore, what is the point of trying to solve fusion containment problems, plus figuring out how to extract the energy produced from the exceedingly hot reaction, when all we have to do is figure out the latter from our ready source of fusion energy - our sun, which is conveniently contained by it's own gravitational field?
[I recall in Pri 1, asking my teacher a similar question when I encountered two seemingly incompatible facts - why does Singapore, being an island surrounded by water, face water problems? The answer was that the water we were surrounded by wasn't potable (shame). Well, with technology, we have now made sea water potable. Hopefully, in the same way, technology could render today's hostile deserts cultivatable for biofuel producing crops.]
On oil and gold
Just trying to put the recent record gold prices in perspective.
On 2.67
I'm getting tired. I'll just let this article speak for itself :P
Also reading about the desperate situation the poor in Singapore are facing. Giving the excuse that such a topic is off limits for a Singaporean is probably a good way conclude this entry.
Lastly, a more far fetched speculation
Revelation 6The Seals
1I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!" 2I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.3When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" 4Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.
5When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!"
With that, i'm off to rest my head (on the pillow :P)
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Summer plans
As the holidays ebb ever so quickly away, and the exams of Easter term loom near, so too are my plans for summer beginning to take shape.
Am trying to cram two major activities into my finite timetable this summer - a 6 week volunteer program to China (ISEC), and an 8 week internship at DSI.
The dates are more or less confirmed, and will be booking the air ticket soon.
June 17: Flying home from UK
June 18-27: Will try to clock a few days at work at DSI, but also need some time to prepare for the trip to china.
June 28 - Aug 7: ISEC.
Aug 7 - Aug 12: Visiting CK gugu and Ling in Shanghai. (Anyone reading this who happens to be free during this time and wants to tour Shanghai too, pls get in touch! :)
Aug 12 - Oct 3: Will be trying to clock another 7 weeks at DSI, and catching up with everyone!
Bracing myself for one hectic summer! And looking forward to accomplishing much. But first, the tripos :S
Musings
The pound hit fresh lows against the sg dollar - now 1 gbp is now worth 2.67 sgd! Need to buy my air tickets in dollars!
Am trying to cram two major activities into my finite timetable this summer - a 6 week volunteer program to China (ISEC), and an 8 week internship at DSI.
The dates are more or less confirmed, and will be booking the air ticket soon.
June 17: Flying home from UK
June 18-27: Will try to clock a few days at work at DSI, but also need some time to prepare for the trip to china.
June 28 - Aug 7: ISEC.
Aug 7 - Aug 12: Visiting CK gugu and Ling in Shanghai. (Anyone reading this who happens to be free during this time and wants to tour Shanghai too, pls get in touch! :)
Aug 12 - Oct 3: Will be trying to clock another 7 weeks at DSI, and catching up with everyone!
Bracing myself for one hectic summer! And looking forward to accomplishing much. But first, the tripos :S
Musings
The pound hit fresh lows against the sg dollar - now 1 gbp is now worth 2.67 sgd! Need to buy my air tickets in dollars!
Monday, April 07, 2008
Back!
from switzerland...
Good getaway, a fitting pilgrimage for a physicist, to be undertaken once in the course of an undergraduate physicist's life...
Visited eisteinhaus (the house where Einstein lived) in Bern, and Cern in Geneva. Saw the Atlas experiment, the tunnel, the computing facility containing a huge server farm where the data from the experiment is processed, and where the web originated.
Also, switzerland has these very interesting playgrounds filled with very innovative toys (will try to post pics of the toys when i find the time)... no wonder they produce such geniuses!
For now, it's back to the books... Hope I'm more inspired from the visit :D
Good getaway, a fitting pilgrimage for a physicist, to be undertaken once in the course of an undergraduate physicist's life...
Visited eisteinhaus (the house where Einstein lived) in Bern, and Cern in Geneva. Saw the Atlas experiment, the tunnel, the computing facility containing a huge server farm where the data from the experiment is processed, and where the web originated.
Also, switzerland has these very interesting playgrounds filled with very innovative toys (will try to post pics of the toys when i find the time)... no wonder they produce such geniuses!
For now, it's back to the books... Hope I'm more inspired from the visit :D
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Off to Switzerland!
Heading off to the land overflowing with chocolate in a whiles time, to see Einstein's patent office in Bern and the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva.
Here's my and will be contactable on my sg number.
Here's my and will be contactable on my sg number.
Switzerland Itinerary Saturday, March 29, 2008
Flashback to the 90's - Tiny Toons!
Found these retarded cartoons quite therapeutic to engage in in between periods of mugging...
...that's how it all begun :P
...that's how it all begun :P
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The climax of Romans
Did Romans 11:33-36 during focus today. Doxology arising from the case of our salvation that Paul expounded upon up to that point (Romans chapter 1 - 11).
Chapter 1-4: We are justified by grace through faith, not by our effort.
Chapter 5-8: Christ has conquered sin, to give us life.
Chapter 9-11: God has chosen us to be saved, and to share in Israel's blessings.
It was when the summery of the first 11 chapters of Romans was written out explicitly on the board did the meaning of the subsequent verses, the verses in chapter 12, fully hit me.
Was first convicted of the verse around sec 3, when examining what it really meant to worship God. I never really understood why the verse started with the word 'therefore', had seen it simply as a posh literary device, and i hardly thought more about what the words 'in view of God's mercy' were referring to. But today, having covered the book of Romans til this climax, I finally understand the train of argument, and that worship is a response to the entire circumstance that lead to our salvation.
So much for focus today.
Random Aside
I'm now addicted to salty snacks - machos, chips, and sweet drinks - coke, apple juice!
A doxology (from the Greek doxa, glory + logos, word or speaking) is a short hymn of praise to God in various Christian worship services, often added to the end of canticles, psalms, and hymns. The tradition derives from a similar practice in the Jewish synagogue.
Chapter 1-4: We are justified by grace through faith, not by our effort.
Chapter 5-8: Christ has conquered sin, to give us life.
Chapter 9-11: God has chosen us to be saved, and to share in Israel's blessings.
It was when the summery of the first 11 chapters of Romans was written out explicitly on the board did the meaning of the subsequent verses, the verses in chapter 12, fully hit me.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will.- Romans 12:1-2
Was first convicted of the verse around sec 3, when examining what it really meant to worship God. I never really understood why the verse started with the word 'therefore', had seen it simply as a posh literary device, and i hardly thought more about what the words 'in view of God's mercy' were referring to. But today, having covered the book of Romans til this climax, I finally understand the train of argument, and that worship is a response to the entire circumstance that lead to our salvation.
So much for focus today.
Random Aside
I'm now addicted to salty snacks - machos, chips, and sweet drinks - coke, apple juice!
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