Numbers game

A recent post of a Singaporean private tutor (that I came across from Tomorrow.SG) wrote about how the difficulty of Math syllabus can differ as you move across the continents... comparing how a University's test question varies in the Queen's Land against Asia's Big Red Powerhouse.

Now of course, I would dispute the fairness between the quality of each University's syllabus that they picked the papers from... but being married to a very intelligent and competitive Chinese wife, I can attest to the tenacity and drive that top Chinese students have to attain the best scores in their academics (and a lot of other things, like sports - my lady love used to be a fan of Yao Ming ;) .

On the same note, Singapore students don't get it easy either... especially more so these days compared to back when I was in high school! :)

Phew! ^o^

Update: Little mistake corrected, pointed out by Miss Loi! Thank you!
Update 2: The Wife also updated me on her current interests :p

Behold! The secret of the Magic 8-Ball!

Ahhh... the lovely Magic 8-Ball. Don't you just love it? It makes quick decisions for ya - with just a simple shake of the hand! Totally cuts down the need for you to tax your overly-saturated noodle for daily decision-making. Saving brain juice! That's what its all about! ^_^

btw, ever wondered what goes into making this wonderous contraption? I know I am... so here's someone who actually did find out! Click on the link and feast your eyes on the truth!

I have one of these on my desk in office!

What happens when you pull the Heatsink from a SUPER-clocked CPU?

Well, a bunch of guys tried just that. Take a Duron that's o/c'ed to almost 4GHz and pluck the HSF off... well, waddaya know? You get a nice big HOLE in the mobo! :p

Racing exoticars with the Best Motoring crew

Found this lovely BM (Int'l) race video of my fave Lambos racin' their Japanese and European rivals... naturally, Gan-san has taken the mantel of protecting the face of Japanese supercars with the latest NSX-R... :)

Video in Japanese with English subtitles (Narration in English)

Last speed test for Earthlink Cable Internet

So, does the actual download speed of my cable line is as what my cable ISP promised? I decided to give the new Flash-based Speed Test (beta) on DSLreports.com a try, and here are the results:

Cool results pic huh? These are the D/U speed results for my so-claimed EarthLink (Time Warner supported) 5Mbps cable line... for a weekend afternoon, with "best-case" download speeds at around 82% and upload speeds at close to 90%, I think it's ok. :)

Let's see how the cable connect at my new place fares... it's also Time Warner, but this time I'm going with the parent company (coz no other company services that rental community! Grrrr! Despicable monopoly!).

VT shooting: Student victims - R.I.P

Since it's at the top headline of every news outlet in the whole wide world, I thought I'd toss my 2 cents on this matter as well...

/rant-on

First of all, it don't matter if the gunman was White, Black, Hispanic or Asian. He's a mentally disturbed kid. A real narcissist with false perceptions of bravado. Disturbing is also how he meticulously set each step of his attack... even chaining the double doors on the first floor.

I was watching the news about his "manifesto"... that whole line of BS talking about the Columbine killers being martyrs? Or how you wanna die like JC? You're kidding, right? Pffft. You know what, buddy? You're GREAT at throwing excuses for your own problems... problems that you don't wanna face and don't wanna find help for. It's like over-using your credit cards coz you know ya gonna die and don't wanna worry about handling the bills. Geez, I mean if you wanna sh*t yourself into a hole, go on ahead... just don't believe that your 'Hey, check it out I'm the Dual-Pistol Killer' plot of living forever in the minds of people will work as you think.

From now on, your face, your image will be marked as the worst sign of mental & emotional weakness.

From now on, your family will be shamed with failing to address your personal issues. Your parents will be blamed for your upbringing.

From now on, your plot will be known as the plan for a stoopid person who decided to go on a shooting spree for some selfish and immature personal reasons. No better than some misguided suicide bomber.

I'm glad you blew your own face away coz you don't deserve to face anyone of your victims. You better hope and pray that your parents and family members will be able to find peace in all of this fiasco, for many many many years to come...

/rant-off

To the victims, may you rest in peace - you will be missed. To their families and close friends, I hope you will find peace after the storm, and slowly comprehend that this one event truly is nothing anyone could have possibly imagined happening. Our prayers are with you all.

AP photo courtesy of CNN

It's Your Day, my Love!

Crisp morning awakens,
A slight breeze encircles the nap of my neck,
Just the warm and slow breaths of my lover
who slumbers peacefully, and I gently tap on her lap.

"Good morning my beauty,"
I greet her on her special day.
We quickly go thru the morning routine,
as I usher her along the way...

Surprise!



Happi Birthday to my Dear...
Happy Berfday to my Sweet...
Happee Birfdeh to my Dahhhhhling...
Happy Birthday to C!!!

Friends & Family Engagement Party

January 13th 2007 was a memorable night for E & C... it was the night where we invited our closest family and friends to a special dinner to announce and celebrate our engagement! We felt really excited and anxious as weeks turned into days and days turned into hours, closing in onto the set dinner appointment time...

We barely had time to take a breath! From buying the thank-you gifts and cards, ironing out the dinner menu with the restaurant manager (many thanks to Jinji and Cynthia for their help in part-translation - the manager spoke Cantonese!), to getting C's hair done, and me trying to properly tie a tie! :P

Thankfully with the support and help from my bro, as well as our dear friends Jinji, Elana and many others... we were able to pull off the dinner event (plus a bunch of wild and interesting games that they - along with some of our dining guests - came up with) successfully! We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly and we certainly hope our guests found the night to be one to remember by!

Click to see E & C's online album for the night!
Many thanks to Dai Min for his great photos!
Another event awaits us this Saturday... of course, we are better prepared now!

We Live in Singapura!!!

An excellent piece of work by NCH, a local (Singaporean) Flash animatior. Featuring a song written by Edmund Tan, sang by Hossan Leong during one of Mr Brown's shows "Talking Cock at Parliament".

Check it out! If you are not a Singaporean, some of the jokes might seem obscure (Huh??? factor is high), so grab a Singaporean friend and get him/her to translate! :p

We Live in Singapura. The MTV.

Destination 2007: Hong Kong, Singapore!

Home sweet home!

Finally, after 4 years away from home, it looks like I'm gonna return for a 2 week visit! I'll also be stopping by Hong Kong to visit my dad's pad for a week. Woo hoo! Time to eat'n'shop till I drop! Gadget heaven, here I come!!!

Note to self: Mark calendar for February 2007 - THE DAY!

Of course, this visit home is gonna be a real busy one... outside of the obligatory shopping and eating, I have to visit relatives (Chinese New Year mah!), meet up & catch up with all my friends/buddies, get registered for marriage, go thru tea ceremony, apply for my H1B visa, check PR application for spouses of SG citizens...

Marriage? Tea Ceremony? Wa...?

Yep... you heard that right.

'ol E here is gonna get hitched, baby! w00t!

Obligatory cute photo of my niece - again ^^;

Can't help it lah! She has used her cuteness to devastating effect!

*blows raspberry in mocking triumph*

Yummy Dish Selection - Lion's Mane Meatballs

My hon prepared this dish, named "Hong2 Shao1 Shi1 Zhi3 Tou2" - which i thought sounds cooler as "Lion's Mane Meatballs"... hee... Anyway it looks like it and tastes better, as seen above.

Won't you come fly with me?

My hon and I, nestled under the wings of might.
-- Dayton Air Force Museum, Oct 1st 2006 --

Mom & Dad are cominnggg to townnnn!

Oh yyeeeeaaaahhhh!

My dearest Dad and Mom will be paying us a visit in less than 2 weeks time! Woo hoo! Sounds like my Dad has some neato stuff for me again... mwahahahah... I'm like a little schoolboy when it comes to prezzies from Daddy... can't wait! *rubs hands gleefully*

Eleanor just had her first Halloween trick'or'treatin' experience! She dressed up as a adorable BatGirl... check out this EXCLUSIVE OMG-SHE's-SOoooOO-CUTE photo! Heheheh!

Also, this will be the first time my parents will be meeting my lady love, C. She's pretty nervous, anxious and excited. I'm kinda keeping my cool. :P

Mmmmm... looks like it's gonna be a real fun and memorable visit!! C and I are working on a nice menu to let my parents have a taste of her cooking... me? I'm just a helper lah - of the 3 important C's of meal prep - Cut, Cook, Clean - I can Cut and Clean, still haven't mastered the art of Cooking yet. So I'm gonna need a little more time (maybe another 6 months?) to get that part straightened out. Hopefully I'll be ready by the time I fly home next year for CNY (Chinese New Year)!!!

~~ Hungry Hungry Hiippooos! ~~

Public Behavior observed

Saw this article at Tomorrow.SG: "Are Singaporeans pigs?"

For most of us, this is not new... I've seen discussions on this as far back as elementary school, during my home country's Courtesy campaigns (started on the year I was born, no less). Singaporean tourists has had a long history of harsh words from folks in host countries about their bad behavior. Of course, being a tourist and international student myself, I often find that sweeping statement a bit over-reaching. I do agree that there is a percentage (of which I don't know how much, it might be 25~50%) of people who go abroad and act as if the rest of the world owes them something. And I feel that this kind of behavior extends across mostly in folks who originate from a lifestyle that expunges one of these traits: the "getting the most bang for the buck", or "doing the most in the least amount of time" and of course, having the "it's free, right? Just take!" mentality.

Living in the US for 4 years running (I hope to fly home during CNY '07 for a visit!) showed me how the old saying, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" is so important in society.

From every country there will be black sheep, so I believe that it's not fair to use such broad statements to mock folks based on their nationalities. I've heard/read horror stories about the flippant & egocentric behavior of tourists from mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, and naturally, USA... but in turn, I have good pals from China, Taiwan, Malaysia, India who don't not behave like some of the incorrigible 'touristy' folks as described (funny thing is - they too have similar experience observing others behaving badly). But I digress.

So I compared my experiences of staying here in Ohio with my visits to Toronto and California. Big City People 'living in the rat-race' want things to move fast (they drive more agressively, don't hold elevator doors, etc), and they are more -often unwittingly- self-centered (putting themselves and *often but not always* their immediate loved ones as top priority) and materialistic (preferring a fancy house, a fancy car and other luxuries over things that "just good enough"). Such behavior IMHO is most obvious in life-long, metropolis-dwellers with tall agendas (e.g. Singaporeans).

I find myself behaving a little 'nicer' as I acclimate myself to the slower pace of life in Ohio. I use turn signals to change lanes, I stop for pedestrians (not there are that many), I hold lift doors for others, I open doors for people behind me, etc. It just rubs off you when you witness so many others doing it and it brings smiles across the faces of those who observe it.

I certainly hope that in the next century, the pace of life in Singapore will slow down by a few hours, or perhaps a few days… when people will learn that sometimes, once they are outside of their workplace, they don’t HAVE to rush to catch that TV show, they don’t HAVE to beat that red light, they don’t HAVE to catch that train, that don’t HAVE to answer that damn phone call or SMS right away… instead, they can step out to a place like Marina South, just take a deep breath, look up at the clear blue sky, and... fly a kite.

Life is short, so have a little fun, folks! Don’t stress out and know that the most important thing is to stay healthy! Healthy = Wealthy = Wise. I learned that the hard way in college... it landed me in hospital!

Oh and don't forget to take a little time to tell your loved ones (i.e. your spouse/GF/BF, parents, grandparents, kids, cousins, etc.) how you appreciate them! It can be anything, from a warm hug, to a softly-spoken "Thanks and i love ya, y'know?" or simply a phone call to ask "How are you doing?"... I had a good friend of mine remind me of that, so I hope you can try it too!

To my lady-love: Missing you much, hon... I'll look forward to seeing you back in Columbus tonight!

NW-Asses can suck my ballz

DISCLAIMER: Look, this is a rant, so kindly do not take this too seriously... (read: Don't sue me)

/begin rant

As anyone of you who takes to the air when travelling from place to place, I'm sure y'all can empathize when a traveller gets stuck during a stopover. Well, this just happened. My lady love, C, was supposed to be attending a conference @ Kansas, MO for the next 3 days. Well, midway on her journey - during a stopover in Detroit (of all places! Ugh!) - between Columbus and Kansas... guess what? Yep, her flight plan was messed up - it got 'downgraded' and because of that they couldn't fit all the passengers into the (physically) SMALLER plane - KNOWING DAMN WELL that the flight was FULLY BOOKED... Now, let your brain digest this a bit: nwAss REDUCED the number of seats during a FRICKIN' STOPOVER, in a FRICKIN' FULLY-FILLED flight. WHAT THE FRICKIN' HELL is WRONG with them?! *taps head with finger angrily*

So, my dear C has her check-in luggage bag (containing all her clothes, personal effects and essentials) on its merry way to Kansas and she is stuck in Detroit... oh and, btw, the next flight they've got is taking off the NEXT FRICKIN' AFTERNOON (they did put C on a wait list for an evening flight - which was, guess again... FULL... Grrrreat)! Oh swell... thanks nwAss! There goes the hotel arrangements, colleague/official meetings and conference preparation as a whole damn day is lost.

Well, to show how SORRY they are, they compensated C with some airport meal/food coupons and lodging in a nearby airport hotel.. and naturally, some frequent flyer credit for future flights. Pfffffft...

Dear nwAss, when you cock up like that, you had damn hell better give an official apology letter and CASH/CHECK compensation to ALL your passengers that you can't squeeze in because your damn flights won't fit the booked load! You actually give pissed off passengers CREDIT TO YOUR AIRLINE's FLIGHTS so that "DIDDLE-DO-DEE-DUM" you'll get another chance to shaft them from behind again?! Oh right, umm suuuure, thanks.

Sigh. This really bothered me coz this is the second time nwAss cocked up - first time was with my mom's flight back to Singapore - as usual - during a stopover.

nwAss, I hope in the good graces of Gawd that you brush up your resource planning and keep in mind that once you have your planes filled (which is a good thing, no? More passengers means more $$$ / gal of fuel used), they'd prefer to stay on their intended flights. A delay is one thing, but kicking people off their intended flights mid-way is N O T a BRIGHT idea.

/end rant

Humor 1 Maturity 0

Heheheh... this post of a online science news clipping came up on Slashdot. Check out the title:

"Hubble Discovers Dark Spot on Uranus"

(it's just SOOOOO RIPE for humor) Read the comments that come after...

*snicker*

*chuckle*

*muffled laughter*

*LOL*

*ROTFLOL*

I TRIED to be mature about this!

Triplets and a pair

Currently nursing a plethora of ulcers now... a trio of mini-ulcers spot the insides of my lower lip, near the gum and my jawline, while a pair of larger, angrier ulcers attack some prime locations - namely, the tip of my tongue and sneaking behind my upper left molar, at the point where my jaws open and close.

Fun fun fun. And I'm drooling all day like a teething toddler (i know this from first-hand experience )

Tried my good 'ol cure, Zitacin, which helps numb the pain and create a temporary protective layer that's, mmm, good for one meal... before it wears out. Tried Watermelon Frost, an old skool Asian medical powdery-like application which works to cool off the "heatiness" of the open wounds... but as with Zitacin, it's only good for one meal. Washes right off with my saliva like rubber duckies floatin' along a hillside river.

Then my colleague recommended that I rub some salt on them. Literally. I thought that might be too extreme, so I stuck to my mom's recommendation instead, dilute the salt in some water and gargle. I estimate it to be a 90% concentration of salt, 10% water...

Oh the paaaaaiiinnnn...

My eyes were so watery during the 30 second process, I couldn't read off a signboard if it was placed right in front of me But, hell... I've had worse. And the pain kinda gets to ya... it hurt soooo good. The clenching of fists, gnashing of teeth, and maniac laughter...

Gotta be a sucker for punishment, else I'd just crumple in a corner and weep.

Pieces of a jigsaw puzzle

Everytime I look into your eyes,
I discover yet another new piece of myself,
building and building,
to complete a masterpiece of life.

Each time our fingers entwine,
Each time you wrap your arms around my neck,
You afix a new piece of the puzzle in my heart.

Every new morning I look forward to life with aplomb!
Every sunny day I feel refreshed and energized!
Every rainy day I look toward you to share my warmth!

Take this piece of my mind.
Take this piece of my soul.

Piece them together,
and with your gentle touch,
form the final piece
of my heart.

My niece has just spent a year on Earth!

Guess what? Little Eleanor just passed her first life milestone last weekend! Heheheh... Click on the cheeky one's picture link below to access her photo album of the BBQ celebration we had the previous weekend @ Jinji's place (coz last weekend Uncle Jinji and Aunt Cynthia were out in Seattle)... Coochie coochie coo! Ahhhh! Too adorable!

It's my birthday - and I'm cute! ^o^