s'pore blog awards best individual blog finalist

Hiya people! Yours truly here with his crappy blog has gotten into top 10 of S'pore Blog Awards Best Individual Blog category!

From 30 June till 31 July, you can vote for your favourite blogs from each category, and for each category you are allowed to cast one vote each day (ie, you can vote everyday till 31 July). Register as a voter, and stand a chance to win travel packages. (wah, if only election is like that...)

So, go and take a look at the list of finalists, you may find some interesting reads there. And vote for the ones that you like!

(wait, am I supposed to rally for votes?)

firefox 3 loves robots

If you fire up your Firefox 3 and type "about:robots" in the URL bar, you will get this screen...

(the page title "Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!" comes from the classic 1951 movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still")

Technology retard me didn't join in the first wave of people downloading Firefox 3, but only installed it last week. Compared to Firefox 2, FF3 is significantly faster, especially on my pretty old computer (it's old, it's not pretty). But then Firefox 3 still hanged on the first day of use. Bleh. Fine, it hangs less frequently than Firefox 2.

If you haven't switched to Firefox 3 yet, better hurry before the robots come knocking on/down your door.

the seven secrets of how to think like a rocket scientist

It has been a long time since I last so enjoyed reading a book.

In The Seven Secrets of How to Think Like a Rocket Scientist, Jim Longuski talks about the 7 secrets of how to think like a rocket scientist (duh!) His words are humourous, his stories interesting. Chapters are bite-size, usually 2 pages long and you can finish each under 5 minutes, good for people like me who like frequent breaks.

Having worked in NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a mission designer, Longuski gives insights and pointers that are not only for rocket scientists wannabe, but I find them useful for projects, work, even the way we look at everyday life.

Besides telling stories such as how astronaut filled his spacesuit with pee, Longuski seems quite harsh on NASA's shuttle programme and the change in attitude. In his opinion, the space shuttle is complex, expensive and unsafe compared to the good old rocket. (as a side note from me, most of the satellites and all the deep space explorers/probes are launched by rockets and not shuttles. Rockets have far better payload and are cheaper)

Now, don't you want to know the 7 secrets of how to think like a rocket scientist?

singapore toy & comic convention 2008

Went to the Singapore Toy & Comic Convention 2008 today at Suntec Singapore International and Exhibition Centre with rinaz. Man, it was literally breathtaking.

I reached before they opened the door at 11am and the place was already filled with people, the queue winding worse than you can ever try on Nokia phone's Snake. You know why? The first 1000 visitors got a free Be@rbrick figure. Urgh!

You know why it was breathtaking? When we stopped at every booth we gasped and let out a scream at the display, so very soon rinaz and I became dizzy. The crowd didn't help with the oxygen as well. On display were famous toys like Blythe, evirob, to-fu, be@rbrick, Gundam, Star Wars figures, Gloomy, among others. Even Old Master Q (老夫子) was there!

 
 
 
 
Sorry no Barbie.
The convention is still on tomorrow, so if you think you can't resist cute stuff, head down!

open table in mrt train

Photo taken on North-bound MRT train at 11pm.

(note: the guy was sitting right in the middle of a crowded train's walkway)

Homosapiens sure can adapt to environment.
The next thing you know, people may take out teapot and cup set, or even rice cooker in the train!

3.14 quotes of the day

chillycraps: I don't like to work with π (pi)
mr fong: Why? You not hungry?

mr fong: I know why they put pi already.
It's food for thought.

mr fong is a maths tutor.

quote of the day

Or you can give your classic WTF face, the one you always give at project meetings.
-- yk

So that's how my project groupmate views me.

pee and look behind

After having lunch at NUS Arts canteen, I went to the washroom to wash my hands.

There was this guy at the urinal and all this while I was at the washing basin, his head was turned and his eyes looking at me wash my hands. (I could see from the mirror. I not as powerful as him to be able to look behind and do my whatever business) What's so interesting about me washing my hands? I was kinda tempted to do my primary school trick of pushing peeing people to the wall/urinal.

If he had gone through shooting range in the army, he should know "firers watch your front!"

quote of the day

... everyone knows how to BS. BS is making stuff up, telling stories, trying to amuse, and is definitely irreverent. BS knows no decorum, no bound, no fear, and no respect. We all do it. BS is fun, BS is playful, BS is creativity without constraints.

Do rocket scientist BS? They sure do! They love to do it and they love to hear it. Why do they like sci-fi so much?

-- Jim Longuski, Ph.D.
The Seven Secrets of How to Think Like a Rocket Scientist

uniquely singapore disgrace

Some people just like to disgrace themselves at their doorstep.

It was on the day I came back from my trip. The plane had arrived at Changi Airport and had berthed at the terminal. Naturally the passengers would stand up, open the luggage compartment and retrieve their hand-carry luggage. This kid who sat in front of me, some secondary school kid, stood up to take his luggage, and close the compartment door when there were still other passengers' stuff inside (including mine). The whole Airbus A320 all the compartments were opened, why this kid so extra must close it back??? This is not like you are getting ready to take off, kiddo!

Then inside the terminal, I have no idea why he was pushing an empty trolley, then when he reached the escalator leading to the immigration counters, he just abandoned the trolley there and went down the escalator. The trolley almost went down the escalator (I wonder why it didn't roll down and hit the same kid) It jammed up the escalator and other people (which include visitors to Singapore) just stared in disgust.

What are we trying to show to foreigners?
Yeah, uniquely Singapore experience.

making someone's (mon)day

It isn't that difficult to make someone's day, even if it's Monday.

Yesterday early morning I went into Dean's Office of NUS School of Design and Environment for some official business. Not sure was it because of Monday blues or something, the 2 ladies who attended to me one after another had that slightly contorted face on them. But when I said "good morning" to them, their face loosened up (not the flabby kind of loosen up) and managed to smile.

I'm sure some of you have the experience of seeing your superior/boss walking into office in the morning with that stuck up face as if he didn't score a goal the previous night. What's so difficult about smiling (greetings would be a plus) and making everyone have a happy start for the day?

You don't need drastic change to improve productivity in the workplace.

quote of the day

m says:

bee kay is dee kay sister is it?

BK = Burger King
DK = [for me to know, for you to find out]

Was having fun playing with acronyms like Ant Yew Ass, Pea Eye Eee and Kay Eff See.
(dk: no offense ok!)

from terminal to plane - airflown chillycraps

Another video clip, the transfer from terminal to the airplane. 5 minutes long.



If you want to feel like some politicians walking down the stairs at the airport, fly budget airlines.

no point

.
Yesterday a friend asked me what's the point of uploading (or is it recording?) the video clip in my previous blog entry.

I simply answered "no point."

Do we always have to have a point when doing things? Are we always objective-driven? For me I'm more into process-driven. In fact if you ask me every blog entry one by one what's the point, I can't answer you. There's no point.

I think it's more fun if YOU define the points.

3 fast 3 furious - hong kong drift

Weirdo me recorded a 50 minutes-long video clip at the first row of the upper deck of a bus, traveling around the less attractive places in Hong Kong.
Please prepare your own vomit bag.



From Shatin to Tsuen Wan, Tsing Yi and finally Lantau Island and Chek Lap Kok, along the way you are going to find Shing Mun Tunnels and the famous Tsing Ma Bridge, which is the world's 7th longest suspension bridge. If you have sharp eyes you will see Mickey Mouse on road signs leading to Disneyland, and the Ngong Ping 360 cable car. The video clip will end at Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok, where I scrambled to alight from the bus.

Don't expect too much from a video clip recorded using mobile phone. My arm almost went cramp ok!

reunion with keyboard

After some 14 days away from the keyboard, I'm back! To be honest it feels weird to be touching the computer again. The mouse moves so smoothly, the keys seem to be at the wrong positions, the screen too bright, etc etc.

I went to China and Hong Kong (which is part of China btw. Singapore isn't.) during this period, having fun with a 100-year record rainfall and flood that kept me indoor most of the time. Yes, shopping malls are indoor, but you need to get outdoor before you can get indoor. When I was not getting myself wet, I stared at the street scenes and do some self-reflections. Reflections that needed time away from the keyboard. Reflections that I can't remember now.

I was away from keyboard but not away from keypad. I managed to update my twitter using my Nokia E51. The wifi coverage in Hong Kong is superb! The government and the telecom companies (such as PCCW) did a great job in spraying every inch of land with wireless connectivity. Sadly I screwed up my free subscription and had to piggyback people who didn't set password on their router (during the registration I entered my Singapore telephone number. I did include area code ok!)

If you are into shopping, what more can I say if the things there at normal price is cheaper than those in Singapore during the Great Singapore Sale? If you like Bossini, Giordano, Baleno, G2000, then you should go to their fatherland (ie, Hong Kong). I was quite surprised that the design I saw in week 1 was gone in week 2, and different branch has different collection. Food wise, dim sum is cheaper, cafe food (cha chaan teng?) is authentic. Just don't expect less oil or more vegetables. And the wine is tax free.

As for girls, let's say you randomly pick one from the street also will end up be a pretty girl. Sometimes you just have the urge to ask for the phone number at the cashier counter or in the shop... (for political correctness, I did NOT compare girls in Singapore with those in Hong Kong.)

Whatever it is, I'm back.
(I have some 300 odd photos which I risked my life to take. I will be posting them in my photoblog as something like photo story. Stay tuned~)

away from keyboard

Dear Valued Readers,

I will be away from keyboard for a couple of days/weeks with limited or no Internet access. For urgent matters, please find your own solution. Thank you. If not, I will be updating my twitter (the box to the right) when possible, so stay tuned. Oh, I know you guys won't miss me.

Regards
chillycraps
Head of Department
Department of Crappy Engineering

next day delivery

I have this weird habit. I usually sleep early and wake up early. And when I sleep, my handphone sleeps as well (ie, I switch off the handphone when I sleep) So when people send me SMS at night, I will receive it the next morning at around 5+am, and naturally people reply to messages right after reading them.

And when people get woken up by their handphones' message tone, they become grouchy. There was once this girl from Science Faculty wanted to gobble me up.

(and so, now I have to keep reminding myself not to reply to SMS until at least 9am.)

chillycraps strip prawns

The other day I was having lunch with my summer programme mates, and I was taking off the shell from the prawn using a fork and my teeth when this 2 Penn State University girls froze there and just observe me unshell the prawns.

Ermm... can you guys also unshell the prawns without getting your fingers dirty?

That's another lunch at Science canteen, with Elise and Wendy.
No stripping (of prawns) involved.


You know, when you start swearing in front of one another, you know your guys have gotten warm.

(oh well, today is the last day of the summer programme. Finally the intensive course is over, but kinda miss the Penn State students.)

share and don't share

This morning I received a message from someone who claimed ownership of a particular youtube video which I posted in my blog. His exact words were "pls dun take my video and post it on ur site without informing".

I do respect his intellectual property rights. (in fact I have taken down that super duper old post with due respect) But anyone who uses youtube services should know that you have the option to disable embed. It's the industrial norm, if you enable embedding, people will embed. People only embed and share good contents.

It is like you publish a book, I bought your book, but you disallow me from lending the book to my friends.

Still, it's his property. *shrug*

objet eden rapid prototyping machine

Had the chance to touch NUS ME Department's new toy, the Objet Eden (can't remember 350 or 500) rapid prototyping machine, or more commonly known as 3D printer. It's about 1 week old.

Basically you import your CAD drawings into the machine, and just leave it to run. When it's done, you get your physical model. It's called 3D printer cos it works like a printer, just that now you've got X, Y and Z axis to deal with instead of X and Y in the normal printer, and you use resin instead of ink. You will be awed when you see fully movable model made with a one-step process. Argh, I wish I can print a Gundam.


Anyway I have a cooler video clip of rapid prototyping machine. Share with you guys another time.

hunting circuit breaker

The other day the lights in my house were flickering, so we opened up the circuit box and wow, we saw something that we shouldn't be seeing...

Anyway, the Siemens 5SN1 circuit breaker needed to be replaced. Went to the hardware shop in the neighbourhood and we were told that it's an old model and they don't carry it. But the good old storekeeper told us to try our luck with another hardware shop some 20 minutes' walk away. We found the treasure and saved us the trouble of hunting for supplier.

That's the thing about doing business, sometimes referring customers to your competitors/counterpart may not be a bad idea, and you don't always need to have a sale to have a gain. We are really happy with the hardware man in our neighbourhood for helping us solve the problem.

And of course the mechanical engineering brothers fixed the electrical problem again.
(btw, the picture is of Siemens 5SX2. The 5SN1 is so old I can't find a decent picture of it.)

quote of the day

We design a jet engine with 100 million parts, zero failure rate, in 18 months.
You take 6 years for a chair?!?!?!
-- Assistant Professor Matthew
Pennsylvania State University

chemical party

I'm not into chemistry (maybe that's why I'm single) but this clip is really funny!


It's a clip by the EU to promote research careers.

I wonder who can I bond with? No explosive reaction please.

going home at 9am

Sworn to factor of safety, I usually reach school about 30 minutes before lesson time. For this summer programme my lesson starts at 9am daily, so I usually reach school at about 8:30am. Maximizing efficiency, I usually use the time to go to the computer lab.

So yesterday morning I was at the computer lab again and the cleaner uncle chatted with me while he vacuum-cleaned the lab. When it was about 8:55am, I made my move to go for lesson.

"going home ar?" the uncle asked.

8:56am.

soc - squirrel obstacle course

Guys who have gone through national service in the army should know what the SOC is (Standard Obstacle Course, not School of Computing). Now how about Squirrel Obstacle Course?


Isn't it cute? I wonder why the squirrel didn't go straight for the food by the ground route. And the part at the vending machine was classic.

Prof Matt showed us this clip during lesson today as reward for staying awake.

quote of the day

people stop buying your product
cos they are dead
-- Assistant Professor Matthew
Pennsylvania State University

Talking about product safety.

龙的传人 by sco

Went for the performance "龙的传人" by Singapore Chinese Orchestra at VivoCity Rooftop Amphitheatre on Sunday, part of the SPH Gift of Music programme.

They performed nice pieces such as 龙的传人, 在那遥远的地方, my favourite 但愿人长久 and 新鸳鸯蝴蝶梦. Somehow the sound effect was weird, there was lots of resonance, maybe cos of the construct of the amphitheatre. I guess if they didn't use any sound system, it could have been better. Also, we were like sniffing in kitchen exhaust, and there was some announcement from the PA system that was quite annoying. The lack of a banner was also a slight disappointment.

Oh, SCO's music director Tsung Yeh was sitting right at the row in front of mine.

put 2 things you don't like together, and you get...

I don't like the sound from tvmobile on the bus, and I don't like people blasting music from their handphone. But when this 2 things happen together, I actually had some thoughts.

The tvmobile was broadcasting a Chinese show, and a group of passengers was playing Indian music from the handphone. Had the show been one in English, would those passengers still play the music from their handphone? I kind of think the probability is lower than before.

Somehow I feel that they shouldn't air programmes of any particular mother tongues, ie they should only broadcast English programmes; or to be fair, they should rotate programmes from all 4 official languages.

What is your view on this?

bending moment talk

I was walking along the corridor at Engineering Block EA when I saw 3 of my lecturers from Mechanical Engineering Prof BC Khoo, Prof MO Lai and Prof TE Tay standing there and talking about bending moment. (one is a fluid guy, one materials guy, one mechanics guy)

It was amazing that at their level they were still talking about such fundamental stuff. See the importance of understanding bending moment? And they were just talking, no computer, no calculations, no equipments.

That's the beauty of mechanical engineering, it can be intuitive.

stay or leave

A while ago I was talking to a coursemate about organization streamlining. (engineering students can talk intellectual stuff) Cutting positions is one of the ways, but there are different ways to cutting positions. You can either tell your staff who is staying, or who is leaving. Both will result in a slimmed down organization, but each will have different effects.

Take for example, I'm the department head and I announce the list of staffs who will be staying. Those on the list will feel that their presence/skills are being appreciated/valued, while those not on the list will just feel that the situation can't help it, not because they are not good.

On the other hand, if I announce the list of people who have to go, they will feel that they are bad/lousy and so the organization doesn't want them anymore, while those not on the going-list will just be thinking that they are lucky this time round, next round is still an unknown.

Sounds like Survivor.
So you want to stay, or you don't want to leave?