Ivy Bridge

I still remembered how my old desktop came about. It was back in 2006, after my A Levels, and I badly wanted a new desktop to replace the really ancient Pentium III 450Mhz. I was looking at hardware specifications and was thinking of assembling my own desktop, when Starhub came out with PC show promotion where a Compaq Pentium D was offered alongside a broadband connection. Since my father wanted a broadband connection and I needed a desktop, that seemed like a perfect offer. Together with the desktop, I got a LG 19 inch LCD monitor as well.

Over the years, I added more RAM to the desktop, changed its graphics card and power supply unit, added an additional hard disk, and had its operating system changed from Windows XP to Windows Vista to Windows 7. The desktop had served me well; even though I bought a laptop in 2009 when I started my university studies, my desktop was still my main working (and playing heh) machine. Nothing beats looking at my 19 inch screen after a long day of staring at my 14 inch laptop. However recently it began to show its age as it started to break down randomly, so I thought it was time I got a new one, even though I was pretty much broke from my student exchange trip.

NZXT Source 210 casing, Asus P8B75-M motherboard, Intel Core i5-3450 processor, MSI Geforce GTX 560 graphics card, 2 x G.Skill 1333MHz 4GB RAM, Amazon Super Flower 550W power supply unit, and Viewsonic VX2336S 23 inch IPS LED monitor. 

Because I needed to keep my bank account in check, I had to strike a balance between cost and performance, and so avoid more powerful graphics cards such as the ATI's Radeon HD7850, or more popular monitors like the Dell U2312HM. The monitor was my biggest dilemma; my LG was still in very good condition, so the Viewsonic was an addition rather than a replacement. It was really a want more than a need, mainly because of the 16:9 aspect ratio, better colour accuracy from the IPS panel, and simply because of its bigger screen size. Fortunately at $199, it was cheap enough to stomach.

I reused the hard disk drives from the old desktop, because prices are still relatively high from the Thailand floods last year, although once they are back to normal I should be looking for a new and bigger one, maybe even SSD hehe. I wanted to reuse my optical drive too, but was surprised to find out the ASUS motherboard doesn't come with a IDE port. I somehow managed to install everything without the need for a optical drive though.

While I have tinkered with the interiors of a desktop countless times in the past, this is still the first time I assembled one from scratch. Did cable management too, but at the end of the day there's no side window to show off the neatness of the interior haha.

Set up complete! Now my table is too small; I have to put my laptop on the floor until I find another place to put it. And my speakers have to be placed horizontally.

Hope this new desktop will play nice and last long, and SSD prices will drop enough for me to get one and try!

Final days in US

Our original plan was to stay in Boston on the 30th, then take a morning bus on the 31st back to NYC and then to the airport. Ultimately we were afraid there would not be enough time, hence we were back in NYC on the 30th, spending the night in NYC instead, forgoing a US$8 deposit we placed at the Boston hostel.

Boston was the only place that I visited in the entire US to have airport-like departure and arrival information for trains.

They had one for long distance buses too! You have no idea how helpful this was to us.

Since we had time on the 30th, we headed down to Rockefeller Center located in the heart of NYC, a skyscraper where the Top of the Rock Observation Deck was located for us to obtain bird's eye view of the city.

Central Park. As I mentioned earlier, a park right smack in the middle of a metropolitan city.

The skyscraper directly in front was the Empire State Building. Far in the background one can see the new World Trade Center under construction.

We were there till night!

A panorama shot of the area would have been awesome, but crowd levels were too high for me to find a good position to do so. Maybe I can try stitching some of my photos next time.

Going up to the Top of the Rock was a memorable way to end my entire student exchange trip to the United States of America.

My major accomplishments:

1) Raleigh, capital of North Carolina, where I visited the Museum of Natural Sciences,

2) Asheville, North Carolina, where I did ice skiing,

3) Outer Banks, North Carolina, where I saw the iconic lighthouses which basically represent North Carolina,

4) Atlanta, capital of Georgia, where I visited the world's largest aquarium and went to the top of Stone Mountain Park,

5) Richmond, capital of Virginia, where I visited the Maymont Park and visited the Museum of Fine Arts,

6) Washington D.C, capital city of the United States of America, where I saw important structures and buildings like the White House, the Capitol and the Washington Monument,

7) Orlando, Florida, where I visited and had fun at Disney and Universal Studios theme parks,

8) Miami, Florida, where I stepped onto the world famous beaches,

9) Las Vegas, Nevada, where I found out for myself why it is appropriately known as the Sin City,

10) Los Angeles, California, where I saw the Avenue of the Stars and the home of L.A Lakers,

11) San Francisco, California, where I walked a little of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Fisherman Wharf,

12) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where I learnt so much more about the history of the U.S,

13) Boston, capital of Massachusetts, where I visited MIT and Harvard,

14) Salem, Massachusetts, where I visited the Witch Museum and first learnt about the Salem Witch Trials,

15) New York City, where I watched Broadway shows, saw the Statue of Liberty, and felt the hustle and bustle of Times Square,

Besides all these major cities, I also visited the Grand Canyon, the Yosemite Valley, the Niagara Falls. and went whale watching in Plymouth, where I experienced first hand the awesomeness of nature.

Also not to forget, the one week or so I stopped over in South Korea, where I entered the Demilitarized Zone and came closest to North Korea than I ever did, and opened my eyes to a country that could strike a balance between keeping ahead with times and maintaining their own culture and language.

While expensive, I guess my trip had been a worthwhile one, and I am glad to have went on this exchange!

Boston + Salem + Plymouth

Our final major destination before we returned home was Boston, located a good two hour bus ride away. bus fares were so cheap, I wondered who would actually fly from NY to Boston.

Boston, like Philadelphia, has a very rich history, where important historical events like the Boston Tea Party and crucial battles had happened. Hence the main attraction of Boston is the Freedom Trail, a marked path along the streets of Boston that leads to historically significant buildings and events. It starts from the Boston Common, the oldest park in the United States, through churches and graveyards, and ends at the USS Constitution, the world's oldest commissioned naval vessel.

Like all major cities, Boston has a comprehensive subway system that helped us get around places easily.

Our first stop in Boston: JFK Presidential Library and Museum, located in the University of Massachusetts. 

Boston Public Garden.

We walked the full Boston Freedom Trail, starting from the Boston Common.

Old State House. I think this was the balcony where the Declaration of Independence was first read out to the people of Boston.

Site of the Boston Massacre.

Quincy Market. This was quite like the Reading Terminal Market at Philadelphia.

While at Boston we visited MIT and Harvard University as well. MIT felt a little like NUS, open concept style with no clear boundaries. Harvard was the direct opposite. Tall gates and fences marked the Harvard territories clearly.

MIT Museum. There was an impressive exhibition on artificial intelligence, but too bad we didn't have enough time to go through all the exhibits.

The Ray and Maria Stata Center at MIT.

Just outside MIT overlooking Charles River.

Harvard University.

Besides Boston itself, we also took quick train rides down to nearby Salem, which is well known for its witch hunting practises, and Plymouth, where we went on a whale watching tour.

At Salem we went to the Witch Museum, which turned out to be small and rather disappointing.

We had time to kill since the Witch Museum was smaller than expected, so we visited the Peabody Essex Museum, an art museum, which turned out to be better than the Witch Museum.

At Plymouth we went whale watching!

It was an amazing experience!

Following us on the whale watching tour was a biologist who was an expert in whales. Throughout the trip she was telling us more about whales, like how the patterns on the tails of whales were unique, just like our fingerprints, thus they use the tail patterns to tell different whales apart. And I have no idea how, but she had the ability to instantly tell us the name of the whales just by looking at the tail patterns that appeared and disappeared in a moment.

We ended our tour at Plymouth by walking along a breakwater at the Town Wharf.

Boston, for some reason, gave me a rather tranquil feel, even though our hostel was right beside some pubs haha. I guess the presence of educational institutions like Harvard and MIT add a certain feel to Boston. Like Philadelphia, it was easy and safe to navigate and walk around, in the day and at night. But I feel Boston lacks a little of the hustle and bustle that Philadelphia offers. It gets a little..too quiet at night.

Boston + Salem + Plymouth

New York City

Prior to this month long trip, I went to New York City twice; first time was my first night in the United States where I touched down at JFK International Airport. My objective then was to meet two of my friends who were there earlier, so we would take a train down to North Carolina together. My second time in NYC was to attend Singapore Day 2012 at Prospect Park. Both times I didn't manage to have a good look and feel of NYC.

NYC is easy to navigate like Philadelphia, because streets and avenues are numbered appropriately. The difference is that NYC is way bigger than Philadelphia, so we couldn't simply walk from one place to another. The good thing is that NYC has a very comprehensive subway system, so with a map and a 7 day unlimited pass, we were able to go anywhere we wanted.

NYC is exactly what people say it is: the city that never sleeps. Even when it was late at night, the city was still almost as crowded as it was in the day, and the area around Times Square was overwhelmingly bright.

World's best burgers. I think its true.

Ripley's Believe It or Not museum. Not too bad. A little pricey, but I came to realise later that everything in NYC is expensive.

It was like all the movie scenes that I watched displayed right before my eyes.

越夜越美丽。

Central Park. A huge park right smack in the middle of the city.

To get the cheapest tickets to watch Wicked we had to enter a lottery on the day of the show. And very amazingly, we got the tickets on our first entry in the lottery.

When a roadside stall is so successful that there are queues, you know the food must be good. And in this case, cheap too.

We took the Staten Island ferry which was a free ferry that ferries people between  Manhattan and  Staten Island, passing by the Statue of Liberty along the way.

We went to Woodbury Common Premium Outlets on one of the days, but the only shop that really caught my eye was Sony's. I think the electronics there were really cheaper than outside.

We went down to Wall Street! Pictured here is the New York Stock Exchange.

the 9/11 Memorial. It was a pity the museum was not ready when we were there. Till today I still feel sad whenever I get reminded of the attacks.

At the United Nations Headquarters. Didn't stay long there as we decided not to go for the guided tour.

Watched the Mamma Mia...

...and the Jersey Boys, which was highly recommended. Personally liked Jersey Boys more than Mamma Mia.

Watched the Phantom of the Opera too, but was too abstract for me to understand haha.

Brooklyn Bridge. Very impressive architecture.

Panoramic shot of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Nintendo Store! Too bad it was closed by the time I got there.

On board the ferry that brought us to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island!

Statue of Liberty. It was closed for renovations, so we could only take photos from outside.

Ellis Island Immigration Museum. Ellis Island was like Singapore's St John's Island in the early days, where all immigrants into the US had to go to first to get through immigration and get checked for diseases.

The Manhattan skyline.

I don't really have comments for New York. Its a nice place I guess, but maybe not exactly a place where I will want to stay in. The highlight of my New York City tour was probably watching all the Broadway shows, which weren't too bad.

New York City

Niagara Falls

Due to the lack of time and overwhelming school work during the semester, our plans for the rest of the East Coast was a total mess; we spent about a day in New York City, then three days at Niagara Falls, back to NYC for about a week, then to Boston, Salem and Plymouth for a few days, and back to NYC one day before we returned to Singapore. The good thing that came out of this mess was that the hostel we stayed at NYC had luggage storage service, so we could keep our luggages with them while we travelled to other places. Without the service we would have died from all the weight.

Niagara Falls was on my to-go list way before I came to the US; photos and reviews made it sound like a place I could not miss. What I didn't realise was that Niagara Falls was a nine hour bus ride away; I had the impression that it wasn't too far from New York City, because they were in the same state. I was wrong haha.

First shot! Right at the foreground here is the American Falls, one of three falls that make up Niagara.

The Yosemite Falls at Yosemite National Park was the first waterfall I saw in the United States, and the American Falls there at Niagara Falls was the second. Having seen Yosemite Falls I had high expectations of Niagara Falls, but the falls there turned out a little different. They were not as 'powerful' as those at Yosemite, probably because they were not as tall, but Niagara Falls had its own charm.

Like many other waterfronts, seagulls were present in large numbers.

The small one here is known as the Bridal Veil Falls, same name as the one at Yosemite.

Located a short distance away was the Horseshoe Falls.

On a bridge crossing over to the Three Sisters Island. Played with long exposure shots.

Playing with long exposure shots II.

Second day morning we were up at the Observatory. The boat below was the Maid of the Mists which we were going to take, and the bridge is the Friendship Bridge that connects US and Canada.

Tried a panorama shot here, but nothing impressive.

View of all three falls.

American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls from on-board the Maid of the Mist. As it turned out, the raincoat was really needed. Strong winds blew plenty of mist at us.

The Horseshoe Falls. The boat went quite near to it, and the mists really made us wet, and it was impossible to take any photos in it.

We climbed some stairs to get nearer to the American Falls, but the highlight became the double rainbow instead.

After that we went on to the Cave of the Winds. The nearest point to the falls was said to be the same as experiencing an hurricane. I guessed it was true; the winds were really, very, strong and we became really wet.

We went on a little hike, and we reached the Whirlpool State Park. Pictured is the Niagara Whirlpool, where water actually flowed backwards and also in a spinning motion.

As night approached the Falls lighted up, and there was fireworks too. Sadly most of my photos turned out blurred.

On the last day before we headed back to New York, I went to the Niagara Aquarium.

My friend went over to the Canadian side of the Falls, while I stayed at the US side, because I was using a non biometric passport. There were plenty of complications with regards to non biometric passport holders exiting and entering the US again, so to play safe I decided not to follow.

Niagara Falls was a fantastic place; I guess all places with bodies of water will be fantastic.

Niagara Falls