Being an iCOMP member has alot of advantages.
For example, going into a concert free while others pay $10 for it. Haha.
I volunteered for filming duty for this year's Musicfest..one reason is to go for an event where every other Victorian is dying to go before I graduate from the college, while the other reason is to see if Musicfest is really worth $10 per ticket (by going through the balloting) or $20 (by going through the underground black market).
Rotted in school from 11.35am till 5pm, after which I went for a very important meeting, before trooping off with friends to Parkway Parade for dinner. On the way back it started raining heavily when we were mere steps from the canteen, and ended up running for shelter.
Got into the PT after we assured the SCs that we would not sit on the seats. (This is perhaps the only bad thing about going in as part of iCOMP. I have to sit on the stairs.) Set up the camera and tripod, waited for the PT to fill up, waited for guest-of-honour Felicia Chin to arrive, waited for emcees to tell us that she will be late, before the performance started.
Musicfest was spilt into solo, vocal group, dance and band, with 3 person(or group) fighting out in each. I must say that Musicfest is indeed a highly impressive event, because it gathered the best singers into one single event, and the singers were really damn good la. Although there were slight mistakes, like going off-beat and some lack of coordination, the songs were all well sung.
No wonder people were rubbing ultraviolet stamps on their friends' (or so I heard) so as to try to get past the SCs during the intermission.
Interestingly, the black horses were the ones who caught the judges' eyes tonight, while those who received the most cheers did not win. A friend of mine in a duet did not win, although I thought they sang real well, while 2 of my classmates won in the band category. Their group was not bad; I think because the hot favourites Camels were abit too rock for comfort. At least to me.
As for filming, I stationed myself with two others at one side of the PT, raising the tripod to a level where we could film without standing up. So I settled myself comfortably by the side against the wall.
Free coca-colas were given out during intermission, which was a pleasant surprise. Haha.
So my conclusion? Overall Musicfest is one of the better performances out of the many that I see. It is definitely worth going for, even if one has to sit on the stairs. But I still think $10 for a ticket is way too much. Of course, $20 for one in the black market is outragous. So if I was not assigned the job tonight, I may not have gone for it.
Musicfest aside, the eve of April's Fool Day was seen as a major event for Victorians. Early in the morning the plasma screens directed students to gather at the koi pond or drink's stall for assembly, chairs and tables and dustbins were deliberately displaced in weird positions, senseless announcements were made during assembly, and even a Tamil pledge. Fake Musicfest tickets ( $100 free standing Musicfeast tickets) were given out, and booths set up at the canteen to trick people into buying underwear and lucky draws.
-.-''''''''
Today was also the launch of Artery. Basically they hung up some pictures in the concourse, and changed it into a art gallery of sorts. There were even performances to accompany this launch.
What a day. And tomorrow I am going to school for an interview. An important one. And I'm scared.
I'm tired.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Yo.
Luckily ViCOMP 2006 was quite successful. Except for a few hiccups here and there, otherwise it was (surprisingly?) peaceful this year. Rehearsal the day before was horrible, as the emcees were inexperienced and not up to the job, while many others were not even present. But everything just pieced together on the actual day and it worked out well. Maybe my CT "motivating" speech spurred them on? Haha.
xI (where x=R) won this year...ending yCI (where y =H)'s 3 year champion run. During the final round, three of the schools were actually swtiching the champion position at every other question in the fastest finger round, but in the end xI and zCS(I) (where z=A) broke off from yCI.
Programming round wasn't too bad...except that the rules were not clear thus leading to some confusion. Shall take note of that.
Felt abit sad for the yCI kids though..because they did not get the champion they were scolded by their senior for a full 45 mins outside the LT.
"I have seen you all since sec 1......you all did not do your best......."
Aiyo competition only mah....why stress them until liddat....
AHS as usual didn't do well...lol don't know what to say.
I received a birthday card from my class on monday...well after my brithday was over. There was no surprise, as they passed the card right under my nose (or eyes, or mouth, whatever). I even held it once. Haha. Finally on monday it was sneaked into my bag and into my chem tys.
I liked the big words on the front of the card: Anything is possible with a willing heart. Haha.
My friends wrote very interesting and nice comments in my card....I feel rather guilty because usually I only write "happy birthday!" on my friends' cards, but I got a card full of words in return. Haix.
There were the usual stuff on my card..what me being very funny la, me being lame la, me bringing laughter and joy to the class la, wanting to see my face on Time magazine etc etc. A friend even wrote I am the most funny person she ever met. Haha she haven't meet G**.
The comment I liked most will be this: When you talk BIG and we laugh yet we sincerely believe you can do it! ....and continue to dream BIG!
BIG dreams I have talked about before:
1) Beating Bill and making his company collapse
2) Racing Michael and his F1 car using a bus and winning him.
3) Opening a food stall in VJC selling quality food, anything from roti prata to kuay chap to ban mian to ramen
4) Driving a taxi
5) Forgot others liaox.
Haha which one do you people think I can do? Haha.
Tomorrow is Musicfest! And I get to go (I think) as part of filming duty. Some people think Musicfest is a signature VJC event which cannot be missed, as seen by the huge underground black market for Musicfest tickets. Yet many also think that Musicfest is an overrated activity, as it is not as good as it seems to be. Well I shall find out for myself.
Sports season has started! Wonder if I will still get the chance to go to National Stadium this year? Haha.
While many science students are rejoicing over the fact that science SPA will be ending soon, computing students across Singapore have just received their second coursework -.-''. For the next four to five weeks the little heard of community in Singapore will be tearing their hair out trying to create a website within 9 hours. Good luck to them (and me).
I wonder if I have blogged more than I should blog. Blogging seems a sensitive activity these days.
Luckily ViCOMP 2006 was quite successful. Except for a few hiccups here and there, otherwise it was (surprisingly?) peaceful this year. Rehearsal the day before was horrible, as the emcees were inexperienced and not up to the job, while many others were not even present. But everything just pieced together on the actual day and it worked out well. Maybe my CT "motivating" speech spurred them on? Haha.
xI (where x=R) won this year...ending yCI (where y =H)'s 3 year champion run. During the final round, three of the schools were actually swtiching the champion position at every other question in the fastest finger round, but in the end xI and zCS(I) (where z=A) broke off from yCI.
Programming round wasn't too bad...except that the rules were not clear thus leading to some confusion. Shall take note of that.
Felt abit sad for the yCI kids though..because they did not get the champion they were scolded by their senior for a full 45 mins outside the LT.
"I have seen you all since sec 1......you all did not do your best......."
Aiyo competition only mah....why stress them until liddat....
AHS as usual didn't do well...lol don't know what to say.
I received a birthday card from my class on monday...well after my brithday was over. There was no surprise, as they passed the card right under my nose (or eyes, or mouth, whatever). I even held it once. Haha. Finally on monday it was sneaked into my bag and into my chem tys.
I liked the big words on the front of the card: Anything is possible with a willing heart. Haha.
My friends wrote very interesting and nice comments in my card....I feel rather guilty because usually I only write "happy birthday!" on my friends' cards, but I got a card full of words in return. Haix.
There were the usual stuff on my card..what me being very funny la, me being lame la, me bringing laughter and joy to the class la, wanting to see my face on Time magazine etc etc. A friend even wrote I am the most funny person she ever met. Haha she haven't meet G**.
The comment I liked most will be this: When you talk BIG and we laugh yet we sincerely believe you can do it! ....and continue to dream BIG!
BIG dreams I have talked about before:
1) Beating Bill and making his company collapse
2) Racing Michael and his F1 car using a bus and winning him.
3) Opening a food stall in VJC selling quality food, anything from roti prata to kuay chap to ban mian to ramen
4) Driving a taxi
5) Forgot others liaox.
Haha which one do you people think I can do? Haha.
Tomorrow is Musicfest! And I get to go (I think) as part of filming duty. Some people think Musicfest is a signature VJC event which cannot be missed, as seen by the huge underground black market for Musicfest tickets. Yet many also think that Musicfest is an overrated activity, as it is not as good as it seems to be. Well I shall find out for myself.
Sports season has started! Wonder if I will still get the chance to go to National Stadium this year? Haha.
While many science students are rejoicing over the fact that science SPA will be ending soon, computing students across Singapore have just received their second coursework -.-''. For the next four to five weeks the little heard of community in Singapore will be tearing their hair out trying to create a website within 9 hours. Good luck to them (and me).
I wonder if I have blogged more than I should blog. Blogging seems a sensitive activity these days.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Two of the worst things that can ever happen to me happened today.
My handphone crashed.
My computer crashed.
AAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
My phone has been behaving weirdly since not too long ago. Pictures stored inside my phone can mysteriously turn black or get distorted to beyond regconition. White lines appear behind my phone menu. It crashes when one browses through the camera picture folder. Smses also become distorted that the phone returns failure to open them when i try to.
Today after smsing a friend, I placed it on my table and went out of my room. When I returned, the phone has turned itself off and refused to be turned on. The screen does not appear even when I charge it, and no charging appeared to take place because the battery did not warm up.
And the worst of all is that all my phone contacts are inside the phone.
When signs of failing first appeared I have already thought of recording them down on paper, but i kept delaying it because I was busy. Now that it crashed, I cant even do anything.
I'm very sad leh....not just because I may have lost some of those precious phone contacts, but also I loved that phone alot.
Haix.
My computer suffered a similiar fate. The monitor throws out a "no signal input" when I switched on the computer, and nothing else. Once the boot up screen came on, but the memory test did not run and the screen just froze there.
My many years of stuff are all inside that computer...but I'm not as worried since the problem does not lie with the hard disk, meaning my stuff are safe for now.
But with Win XP inside, I don't know if it will still run if I change a new component inside.
Haix. Suddenly the whole world is failing on me.
My handphone crashed.
My computer crashed.
AAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
My phone has been behaving weirdly since not too long ago. Pictures stored inside my phone can mysteriously turn black or get distorted to beyond regconition. White lines appear behind my phone menu. It crashes when one browses through the camera picture folder. Smses also become distorted that the phone returns failure to open them when i try to.
Today after smsing a friend, I placed it on my table and went out of my room. When I returned, the phone has turned itself off and refused to be turned on. The screen does not appear even when I charge it, and no charging appeared to take place because the battery did not warm up.
And the worst of all is that all my phone contacts are inside the phone.
When signs of failing first appeared I have already thought of recording them down on paper, but i kept delaying it because I was busy. Now that it crashed, I cant even do anything.
I'm very sad leh....not just because I may have lost some of those precious phone contacts, but also I loved that phone alot.
Haix.
My computer suffered a similiar fate. The monitor throws out a "no signal input" when I switched on the computer, and nothing else. Once the boot up screen came on, but the memory test did not run and the screen just froze there.
My many years of stuff are all inside that computer...but I'm not as worried since the problem does not lie with the hard disk, meaning my stuff are safe for now.
But with Win XP inside, I don't know if it will still run if I change a new component inside.
Haix. Suddenly the whole world is failing on me.
I have just submitted a very important essay....if I get selected it shall be a life-changing experience for me. Hope I get in, together with my friends.
I watched the table-tennis finals where it was Singapore vs Singapore. I wonder what their minds were thinking of when they have to play against their partners. From the looks on their faces, it seems like friends-turned-enemies where they refuse to regconise each other.
Or maybe they are just too engrossed in their games.
ViCOMP quiz is coming this wednesday and I just realised alot of things are still not done. At least for the programming round. Argh.
Not in blogging mood now. Blog another day.
I watched the table-tennis finals where it was Singapore vs Singapore. I wonder what their minds were thinking of when they have to play against their partners. From the looks on their faces, it seems like friends-turned-enemies where they refuse to regconise each other.
Or maybe they are just too engrossed in their games.
ViCOMP quiz is coming this wednesday and I just realised alot of things are still not done. At least for the programming round. Argh.
Not in blogging mood now. Blog another day.
Friday, March 24, 2006
Sorry for the absence in the past week. Was too drained out after each day to do anything.
Monday and Tuesday were spent first getting back rubbish common test papers, enduring a scolding from the chemistry teacher because the highest scorer in my class got 74, followed by 66, then 60, then 56...... Late afternoons were spent in the robotics lab doing some half-hearted preparations for micromouse.
Spent Wednesday at Ngee Ann Polytechnic participating in Singapore Robotics Games. Watched AJC and ITEs thrash the rest of us with their heavily modified mice and programs, wow-ing at RJC showing off their mouse-sized micromouse, before chey-ing when they crashed into a wall for going too fast. Went back to college for CCA, teaching the juniors how to use Director so they can start creating something for the Chinese Current Affairs Quiz next month, at the same time starting preparations for the ViCOMP 2006 programming round next week.
Spent Thursday afternoon in V23 installing Pascal and C/C++ compliers on some twenty computers, then restarting every single computer to ensure they still exist (because I installed using student account), then testing out each complier on each computer to make sure they do compile.
Spent most of today doing work, before going to a pathetic robotics meeting where only 7 year1s came (out of which only 3 are 2nd intakers -.-''), before ending off with the year2s being blamed for not doing enough to get more year1s in.
What a week!
Year 1 mid year: ADOO C5
Year 1 promos: DOEO C5
Re-papers: -O-E -
Year 2 march common test: CECO C5
Year 2 block test: What optimistic can I go?
Haix.
Monday and Tuesday were spent first getting back rubbish common test papers, enduring a scolding from the chemistry teacher because the highest scorer in my class got 74, followed by 66, then 60, then 56...... Late afternoons were spent in the robotics lab doing some half-hearted preparations for micromouse.
Spent Wednesday at Ngee Ann Polytechnic participating in Singapore Robotics Games. Watched AJC and ITEs thrash the rest of us with their heavily modified mice and programs, wow-ing at RJC showing off their mouse-sized micromouse, before chey-ing when they crashed into a wall for going too fast. Went back to college for CCA, teaching the juniors how to use Director so they can start creating something for the Chinese Current Affairs Quiz next month, at the same time starting preparations for the ViCOMP 2006 programming round next week.
Spent Thursday afternoon in V23 installing Pascal and C/C++ compliers on some twenty computers, then restarting every single computer to ensure they still exist (because I installed using student account), then testing out each complier on each computer to make sure they do compile.
Spent most of today doing work, before going to a pathetic robotics meeting where only 7 year1s came (out of which only 3 are 2nd intakers -.-''), before ending off with the year2s being blamed for not doing enough to get more year1s in.
What a week!
Year 1 mid year: ADOO C5
Year 1 promos: DOEO C5
Re-papers: -O-E -
Year 2 march common test: CECO C5
Year 2 block test: What optimistic can I go?
Haix.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Saturday, March 18, 2006
NOoooooooooooooooooooo..........................
I lost again....................i want to cry................yet another setback......I should have continued, i should not have given up. Haix. Now my heart aches...really aches....
ARGH. I cannot give up. I must continue to fight on...i must presevere................
I lost again....................i want to cry................yet another setback......I should have continued, i should not have given up. Haix. Now my heart aches...really aches....
ARGH. I cannot give up. I must continue to fight on...i must presevere................
Ok, so I finally fixed up my links. Removed the non-existent ones, put in new ones, edited some of them.
Haha sometimes I wonder why I link up to some of them. I don't think they even know I read their blogs, let alone linking me!
As for a couple of them who chose to keep a low profile, I shall respect that too.
Have a nice day ahead!
Haha sometimes I wonder why I link up to some of them. I don't think they even know I read their blogs, let alone linking me!
As for a couple of them who chose to keep a low profile, I shall respect that too.
Have a nice day ahead!
Friday, March 17, 2006
Maybe its just me, but Blogger servers are getting slower and slower. Sometimes even accessing Friendster is faster than accessing blogs. -.-''
Post-birthday entry!
Rounding up, i received ~30 smses (I have a friend who sent me an sms but I didn't receive it, so i use a appox value la hor)
Some interesting smses I have received:
1) Hey the nation celebrates qing wei's birthday!
-- -.-'''
2) Congrats! You're finally 18 n can watch m18 movie le.
-- Haha who wants to join me? =D
3) Stay lame! x2
-- I wonder what wrong have I done that my friends want to curse me to lose a limb. Haix.
4) you first good deed turning 18 will be to give this equally gd friend a massage =P
-- -.-'''
5) i lk forward to seeing ur face in 50yrs' time on the cover of some bigshot magazine.
-- (Haha i told my friends to do look out for me in 50 years time on the cover of last issue of Time
magazine as their Person of the Year.) Well i too look forward to seeing my face in 50yrs' time on the
cover of some bigshot magazine.
6) May sharks b wif u... (and later in a second sms, SHARK UNITE!!!)
-- -.-'''
7) Wah lao, nv tell us today, or not whole of icomp can celebrate for u!
-- That's precisely what I don't want! With a crazy chairman and crazy vice chairman and crazy video
head I'm afraid I cant step out of school alive!
8) you're of legal age to club now.
-- Ahh....who wants to join me? =D
I have collected all my friends' wishes. Hopefully this year will really be a good year for me.
******************************
I spent a little bit of time thinking about my future. Looked through some brochures I have gotten from the NUS open house and I still have not decided what I wanted. I have quite a few problems:
Problem 1: Local or overseas?
I'm a typical Singaporean who thinks that there's a better future to studying in overseas universities. Haha. But the major problem stopping me from thinking of going overseas is $$$$$. Overseas is darn expensive, near to the point of me pointing a knife at my parents forcing them to sell the house. So if I were to go overseas, the only way is to get a scholarship. That shall bring me to Problem 2.
If I do go overseas, I will have to think of which university to go to. That I put aside first.
So no money, (most probably) no scholarship, so how? Stay in Singapore lor. In Singapore there are 3 universities to choose from. I'm not considering UNSW, although its near my house the school fees will mean pointing knife at parents again.
Most prob I won't consider the one in town too, so that leaves me with the remaining two.
Well, both offer very good courses, which all the more makes me difficult to choose!
I for one is siding towards the one in Kent Ridge though, because its nearer to my house (err, relatively), and it offers a solution to Problem 3.
Conclusion: I don't know which university to go to. -.-''
Problem 2: Scholarship
Thanks to myself for slacking throught the entire Year 1, I have no S papers, and that leaves me with almost zero chance of getting a scholarship. Only a few do not require S papers, but without S papers is like going to war without a gun. Still can fight with fists, no problem, but others got guns leh. How many bullets can my hands catch?
However, I have still given my name for the infocomm scholarship; shall wait to see what happens first. Signing up for it throws me with more problems.
First, I'm not sure what's their criteria for their first round of short-listing. If its based solely on academics, I can kiss my ass goodbye liaox. If they look at everything, including my CCA records, maybe I still stand a chance. Another good news is that they will be giving out many more scholarships as compared to previous years, meaning more people can eat the pie.
Second, the infocomm scholarship offers only courses related to computing, which is rather narrow and I have not decided if I want to take or not.
Another scholarship I can try for is the DSTA scholarship. S papers are not required, but are preferred (can bang wall liao). A job in DSTA is very stable and dynamic too...but I haven't decided yet.
Then again, after reading G**'s blog, I wonder if I should even take up a scholarship at all. I don't want to be tied down in a company; secretly (no longer anymore haha) I'm playing around with the idea of starting my own business.
Conclusion: I don't know if I should (or should not) take up which scholarship. -.-''
Problem 3: Course to take
After using the elimination method my primary school teacher taught me to handle MCQs, I am left with the School of Computing -.-''. Even within SoC I haven't not decided which course to take. This is only considering the Kent Ridge university. I haven't even look at the others.
Within SoC two courses I can take are Communication and Media, and Computer Science. CM is definitely more interesting, because they offer stuff like Web technologies and creating games (!). CS is damn boring, or at least in my opinion. Its like repeating my computing A level subject and olympiad training! Then again, almost any Tom, Dick and Harry can create web pages now; web design doesn't seem very important nowadays.
Also I'm considering the possibility of taking a double degree (heh heh),maybe in CM and Mathematics. But after reading the Straits Times article on the Kent Ridge campus only offering double degrees to students with excellent A Level results (bang wall again), and that double degree is very hectic work, I have my reservations now.
I have the option of taking a minor in mathematics as SoC offers it, but then, minor doesn't sound very nice =p
I cannot anyhow choose a course leh...cos it will affect what career I can take in future. The reason why I have not decided to take up computing is because I don't want to be a nerdy programmer who does nothing but typing out text 24/7. -.-'' And my poor performance in NOI is giving me second thoughts on whether I can really do a good job in the IT field.
Then again, what other course can I take up in university? Engineering?
Conclusion: I don't know which course I should take. -.-''
Then again, I think before we think about what course we should take in university, or what scholarship we should sign up for, or what career we should dream for, we should first think whether we can survive
1) the bird flu,
2) a war between US and Iran or North Korea, or both,
3) rising sea levels and air temperatures.
****************************
Its interesting to see a sudden increase in non- politicians being hauled up to court when elections are round the corner. Coincidence or strategy?
Post-birthday entry!
Rounding up, i received ~30 smses (I have a friend who sent me an sms but I didn't receive it, so i use a appox value la hor)
Some interesting smses I have received:
1) Hey the nation celebrates qing wei's birthday!
-- -.-'''
2) Congrats! You're finally 18 n can watch m18 movie le.
-- Haha who wants to join me? =D
3) Stay lame! x2
-- I wonder what wrong have I done that my friends want to curse me to lose a limb. Haix.
4) you first good deed turning 18 will be to give this equally gd friend a massage =P
-- -.-'''
5) i lk forward to seeing ur face in 50yrs' time on the cover of some bigshot magazine.
-- (Haha i told my friends to do look out for me in 50 years time on the cover of last issue of Time
magazine as their Person of the Year.) Well i too look forward to seeing my face in 50yrs' time on the
cover of some bigshot magazine.
6) May sharks b wif u... (and later in a second sms, SHARK UNITE!!!)
-- -.-'''
7) Wah lao, nv tell us today, or not whole of icomp can celebrate for u!
-- That's precisely what I don't want! With a crazy chairman and crazy vice chairman and crazy video
head I'm afraid I cant step out of school alive!
8) you're of legal age to club now.
-- Ahh....who wants to join me? =D
I have collected all my friends' wishes. Hopefully this year will really be a good year for me.
******************************
I spent a little bit of time thinking about my future. Looked through some brochures I have gotten from the NUS open house and I still have not decided what I wanted. I have quite a few problems:
Problem 1: Local or overseas?
I'm a typical Singaporean who thinks that there's a better future to studying in overseas universities. Haha. But the major problem stopping me from thinking of going overseas is $$$$$. Overseas is darn expensive, near to the point of me pointing a knife at my parents forcing them to sell the house. So if I were to go overseas, the only way is to get a scholarship. That shall bring me to Problem 2.
If I do go overseas, I will have to think of which university to go to. That I put aside first.
So no money, (most probably) no scholarship, so how? Stay in Singapore lor. In Singapore there are 3 universities to choose from. I'm not considering UNSW, although its near my house the school fees will mean pointing knife at parents again.
Most prob I won't consider the one in town too, so that leaves me with the remaining two.
Well, both offer very good courses, which all the more makes me difficult to choose!
I for one is siding towards the one in Kent Ridge though, because its nearer to my house (err, relatively), and it offers a solution to Problem 3.
Conclusion: I don't know which university to go to. -.-''
Problem 2: Scholarship
Thanks to myself for slacking throught the entire Year 1, I have no S papers, and that leaves me with almost zero chance of getting a scholarship. Only a few do not require S papers, but without S papers is like going to war without a gun. Still can fight with fists, no problem, but others got guns leh. How many bullets can my hands catch?
However, I have still given my name for the infocomm scholarship; shall wait to see what happens first. Signing up for it throws me with more problems.
First, I'm not sure what's their criteria for their first round of short-listing. If its based solely on academics, I can kiss my ass goodbye liaox. If they look at everything, including my CCA records, maybe I still stand a chance. Another good news is that they will be giving out many more scholarships as compared to previous years, meaning more people can eat the pie.
Second, the infocomm scholarship offers only courses related to computing, which is rather narrow and I have not decided if I want to take or not.
Another scholarship I can try for is the DSTA scholarship. S papers are not required, but are preferred (can bang wall liao). A job in DSTA is very stable and dynamic too...but I haven't decided yet.
Then again, after reading G**'s blog, I wonder if I should even take up a scholarship at all. I don't want to be tied down in a company; secretly (no longer anymore haha) I'm playing around with the idea of starting my own business.
Conclusion: I don't know if I should (or should not) take up which scholarship. -.-''
Problem 3: Course to take
After using the elimination method my primary school teacher taught me to handle MCQs, I am left with the School of Computing -.-''. Even within SoC I haven't not decided which course to take. This is only considering the Kent Ridge university. I haven't even look at the others.
Within SoC two courses I can take are Communication and Media, and Computer Science. CM is definitely more interesting, because they offer stuff like Web technologies and creating games (!). CS is damn boring, or at least in my opinion. Its like repeating my computing A level subject and olympiad training! Then again, almost any Tom, Dick and Harry can create web pages now; web design doesn't seem very important nowadays.
Also I'm considering the possibility of taking a double degree (heh heh),maybe in CM and Mathematics. But after reading the Straits Times article on the Kent Ridge campus only offering double degrees to students with excellent A Level results (bang wall again), and that double degree is very hectic work, I have my reservations now.
I have the option of taking a minor in mathematics as SoC offers it, but then, minor doesn't sound very nice =p
I cannot anyhow choose a course leh...cos it will affect what career I can take in future. The reason why I have not decided to take up computing is because I don't want to be a nerdy programmer who does nothing but typing out text 24/7. -.-'' And my poor performance in NOI is giving me second thoughts on whether I can really do a good job in the IT field.
Then again, what other course can I take up in university? Engineering?
Conclusion: I don't know which course I should take. -.-''
Then again, I think before we think about what course we should take in university, or what scholarship we should sign up for, or what career we should dream for, we should first think whether we can survive
1) the bird flu,
2) a war between US and Iran or North Korea, or both,
3) rising sea levels and air temperatures.
****************************
Its interesting to see a sudden increase in non-
Thursday, March 16, 2006
WARNING: A geeky post!
Its not easy to learn how to use a new operating system from scratch, with no one to teach.
I felt like I was back in primary school days, when I got my first PC, a 80486 IPC running on Win 3.1. I still remembered I just came home from school that day when I saw the PC in the living room. It was switched on and showing the desktop, which was left there for testing to ensure it did not crash. I was curious and clicked on an icon. A window popped up and my heart skipped a beat because I did not know how to close the window. Haha I thought I did some irreversible changes to the computer so i quickly ran off.
Its the same nervous feeling now that I'm playing (or rather, trying to play) around with Fedora Core. I'm afraid a wrong move i make will harm the system. Haha.
Firstly, the documentation is full of words and that puts me off.
Secondly. the help system embedded in the terminal is greek to me, so I could not understand half of what its saying.
Thirdly, Linux is different from Windows in terms of concept; Linux is a multi-user environment and it runs on a tree-like system where everything else, from normal text files to entire hard drives, are nodes linked to the root. So I dunno where all the important system files are located for me to explore.
Fourthly, there's a whole new lot of extensions, so instead of .exe or .bmp or whatever, they are now .out or .rpm.
Fifthly(is there such a word?), the strength of Linux seems to lie in the terminal (aka the DOS-like screen) rather than the GUI. I have no complaints about it, just that its difficult to learn when I can see nothing but text.
I'm not touching Linux for now, primarily because I need to do my homework. Haha. But then again, there are some problems with the updating of my Fedora Core. Two of the components cannot be updated because of "package dependency" problems, then it hung at the updating screen a few times, and now it hangs at the installation screen. I give up.
I don't blame it actually. Its not easy to handle 243 updates.
Good news is that the latest stable version of Fedora Core, the fifth version, will be out next monday. I shall then take out some time to play with it. This shall be my first step to coming up with my own OS. Muahaha.
Its not easy to learn how to use a new operating system from scratch, with no one to teach.
I felt like I was back in primary school days, when I got my first PC, a 80486 IPC running on Win 3.1. I still remembered I just came home from school that day when I saw the PC in the living room. It was switched on and showing the desktop, which was left there for testing to ensure it did not crash. I was curious and clicked on an icon. A window popped up and my heart skipped a beat because I did not know how to close the window. Haha I thought I did some irreversible changes to the computer so i quickly ran off.
Its the same nervous feeling now that I'm playing (or rather, trying to play) around with Fedora Core. I'm afraid a wrong move i make will harm the system. Haha.
Firstly, the documentation is full of words and that puts me off.
Secondly. the help system embedded in the terminal is greek to me, so I could not understand half of what its saying.
Thirdly, Linux is different from Windows in terms of concept; Linux is a multi-user environment and it runs on a tree-like system where everything else, from normal text files to entire hard drives, are nodes linked to the root. So I dunno where all the important system files are located for me to explore.
Fourthly, there's a whole new lot of extensions, so instead of .exe or .bmp or whatever, they are now .out or .rpm.
Fifthly(is there such a word?), the strength of Linux seems to lie in the terminal (aka the DOS-like screen) rather than the GUI. I have no complaints about it, just that its difficult to learn when I can see nothing but text.
I'm not touching Linux for now, primarily because I need to do my homework. Haha. But then again, there are some problems with the updating of my Fedora Core. Two of the components cannot be updated because of "package dependency" problems, then it hung at the updating screen a few times, and now it hangs at the installation screen. I give up.
I don't blame it actually. Its not easy to handle 243 updates.
Good news is that the latest stable version of Fedora Core, the fifth version, will be out next monday. I shall then take out some time to play with it. This shall be my first step to coming up with my own OS. Muahaha.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
EDIT
http://kevan.org/johari?name=thewestdoor
Err yes I have one too! Haha just do for fun la hor. Thanks ah!
END OF EDIT
Hello everyone!
Well today is my birthday. Haha.
[It feels kinda weird cos i usually don't announce my birthday to others. Haha.]
Had icomp today...well I was afraid my icomp friends would know about my birthday and do unexpected things to me, so i came up with some stupid excuse to remove the tagboard. I also changed my friendster profile and refrained from taking out my pencil case today, all in the hope that I can keep as low a profile as possible. =P
Luckily cca went on smoothly.
But I think someone told my class about today, resulting in me suddenly being flooded with a stream of smses while I was lunching. Very sorry I could not reply to all, cos i smsed too much liaox.
All in all, i have received (so far):
21 smses (which includes one on united sharks -.-''),
2 dedicated blog entries (haha),
2 tags from tagboard,
1 msn conversation,
1 angbao,
1 email.
Thanks to all! Really appreciate all the effort in pressing out all the sms texts and uploading of photos and tags and so on. =D
Birthday aside, cca is quite busy these days.
Besides preparing for micromouse competition, icomp will be hosting its annual vicomp quiz, and helping out in the various maths/science/humanities/chinese current affairs quizzes. Since I have done the chinese quiz last year, this year I have to help guide the juniors along.
For vicomp quiz I am helping out in the programming round, and they are thinking of using Linux...so I have to help ensure everything runs smoothly. Argh.
http://kevan.org/johari?name=thewestdoor
Err yes I have one too! Haha just do for fun la hor. Thanks ah!
END OF EDIT
Hello everyone!
Well today is my birthday. Haha.
[It feels kinda weird cos i usually don't announce my birthday to others. Haha.]
Had icomp today...well I was afraid my icomp friends would know about my birthday and do unexpected things to me, so i came up with some stupid excuse to remove the tagboard. I also changed my friendster profile and refrained from taking out my pencil case today, all in the hope that I can keep as low a profile as possible. =P
Luckily cca went on smoothly.
But I think someone told my class about today, resulting in me suddenly being flooded with a stream of smses while I was lunching. Very sorry I could not reply to all, cos i smsed too much liaox.
All in all, i have received (so far):
21 smses (which includes one on united sharks -.-''),
2 dedicated blog entries (haha),
2 tags from tagboard,
1 msn conversation,
1 angbao,
1 email.
Thanks to all! Really appreciate all the effort in pressing out all the sms texts and uploading of photos and tags and so on. =D
Birthday aside, cca is quite busy these days.
Besides preparing for micromouse competition, icomp will be hosting its annual vicomp quiz, and helping out in the various maths/science/humanities/chinese current affairs quizzes. Since I have done the chinese quiz last year, this year I have to help guide the juniors along.
For vicomp quiz I am helping out in the programming round, and they are thinking of using Linux...so I have to help ensure everything runs smoothly. Argh.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Monday, March 13, 2006
I deeply admire my friend for his sheer determination and patience to fix his micromouse. The only antique top-sensing micromouse left in the arsenal, it has already being sent for repairs many times, but it still doesn't work properly, especially the motors. The place to repair the mouse is very far and ulu, so my friend had to DIY.
Since a month ago (he started doing his mouse way earlier than me) he has been permuting the 10 plus motors, chips, circuit boards, sensor boards, frames etc which he dug out from the cupboard, removing the circuit boards, turning the screws, removing the tires, the frames, changing the motors, then putting everything back together again, only to see the mouse crashing again.
On top of that, he has to endure the other 2 teams using the new-er (and the new-est) side-sensing mice running through the diagonals and overcoming long straights without any problem, plus the occasional tease. Thankfully he's a cheerful guy.
He is always the first to reach the lab and the last (at least later than me) to leave the lab.
He was (finally?) on the verge of giving up today, until i sympathise with him and decided to give him a helping hand.
[ I had thought of letting him take my mouse and I take over his mouse, since I have used a side-sensing mouse before and they hadn't, but my selfishness to hold on to my working mouse and unwillingness to use a half-spoilt mouse overcame my generosity. Argh. =( ]
Still, the problem is not quite fixed, for I'm no hardware expert, so he and his teammate are going down to AI tomorrow. Seriously I hope that will be the last time we have anything to do with them (at least for my batch).
I am totally impressed by his endurance to continue and not giving up, despite all these challenges. I don't think I would have survived for so long if I were him. I felt rather sorry for him and i myself feel quite bad, because I thought I could have done much more to help him.
Haix.
Since a month ago (he started doing his mouse way earlier than me) he has been permuting the 10 plus motors, chips, circuit boards, sensor boards, frames etc which he dug out from the cupboard, removing the circuit boards, turning the screws, removing the tires, the frames, changing the motors, then putting everything back together again, only to see the mouse crashing again.
On top of that, he has to endure the other 2 teams using the new-er (and the new-est) side-sensing mice running through the diagonals and overcoming long straights without any problem, plus the occasional tease. Thankfully he's a cheerful guy.
He is always the first to reach the lab and the last (at least later than me) to leave the lab.
He was (finally?) on the verge of giving up today, until i sympathise with him and decided to give him a helping hand.
[ I had thought of letting him take my mouse and I take over his mouse, since I have used a side-sensing mouse before and they hadn't, but my selfishness to hold on to my working mouse and unwillingness to use a half-spoilt mouse overcame my generosity. Argh. =( ]
Still, the problem is not quite fixed, for I'm no hardware expert, so he and his teammate are going down to AI tomorrow. Seriously I hope that will be the last time we have anything to do with them (at least for my batch).
I am totally impressed by his endurance to continue and not giving up, despite all these challenges. I don't think I would have survived for so long if I were him. I felt rather sorry for him and i myself feel quite bad, because I thought I could have done much more to help him.
Haix.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
One bloody bronze was all I got.
I have not blogged for one whole week.
Short as it seems, the past week has been a *very* eventful week.
Besides all the unexpected stuff that (unfortunately) happened, there was also the release of my common test results, the promise letter i wrote, the NUS open house and the NOI results.
I didn't do exactly very well for my common test..got E for my physics, a C for maths, and 20/33 for section A of my computing.
I must work harder.
Went to NUS early in the morning with a friend to attend the open house. We were late for the computing talk, so all I heard was the salaries one can earn in the infocomm industry.
The hall was only a quarter filled during the computing talk, but the numbers swelled to a full house when the talk on the NUS Business School started after that.
After listening half the talk on Law I made my way down to SoC for the NOI prize presentation ceremony.
I was still feeling sore after sitting through the 2 hours listening and watching the Raffles and Hwa Chong clans wiping off all the top prizes (for the record, i meant all 7 golds, top 4 contestants, top sec sch contestants, top sec schs and top JCs). And as if I wasn't feeling bad enough, the top four each received a Mac Mini.
I have made my trainer disappointed; I have made my senior disappointed; I have made my teacher disappointed; I have made myself disappointed. I felt that I could have done better if I have trained harder for it, because this year's questions were not exactly too difficult. I could have solved more questions.
And so, I shall declare that I am NOT giving up in competitive programming. I must take part in NSC, I must win something, no less than the top 3. No one can stop me. This is no longer an issue about what bullshit accepting challenges or what crap about the experience is all that matters. This is about personal honour; this is about glory for the college.
As i have written in my promise letter, I have promised not to participate in any more competitions (the Singapore Robotics Games being the last) until I have proven that I can handle my studies well. Therefore, in order to earn a place in NSC, I must first get good results for JCT.
Last but not least, to the distant yet near friends, rest in peace.
I have not blogged for one whole week.
Short as it seems, the past week has been a *very* eventful week.
Besides all the unexpected stuff that (unfortunately) happened, there was also the release of my common test results, the promise letter i wrote, the NUS open house and the NOI results.
I didn't do exactly very well for my common test..got E for my physics, a C for maths, and 20/33 for section A of my computing.
I must work harder.
Went to NUS early in the morning with a friend to attend the open house. We were late for the computing talk, so all I heard was the salaries one can earn in the infocomm industry.
The hall was only a quarter filled during the computing talk, but the numbers swelled to a full house when the talk on the NUS Business School started after that.
After listening half the talk on Law I made my way down to SoC for the NOI prize presentation ceremony.
I was still feeling sore after sitting through the 2 hours listening and watching the Raffles and Hwa Chong clans wiping off all the top prizes (for the record, i meant all 7 golds, top 4 contestants, top sec sch contestants, top sec schs and top JCs). And as if I wasn't feeling bad enough, the top four each received a Mac Mini.
I have made my trainer disappointed; I have made my senior disappointed; I have made my teacher disappointed; I have made myself disappointed. I felt that I could have done better if I have trained harder for it, because this year's questions were not exactly too difficult. I could have solved more questions.
And so, I shall declare that I am NOT giving up in competitive programming. I must take part in NSC, I must win something, no less than the top 3. No one can stop me. This is no longer an issue about what bullshit accepting challenges or what crap about the experience is all that matters. This is about personal honour; this is about glory for the college.
As i have written in my promise letter, I have promised not to participate in any more competitions (the Singapore Robotics Games being the last) until I have proven that I can handle my studies well. Therefore, in order to earn a place in NSC, I must first get good results for JCT.
Last but not least, to the distant yet near friends, rest in peace.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
I went in so relaxed, no stress, no worries.
As I read the questions, they seem ever so familiar, ever so do-able.
One question down, in less than 15 mins. So relieved I was. So delighted I was.
Yet as i continued, i got more and more stuck.
Irritating bugs are in the way.
Stopping me from submitting any more questions.
And no, they refuse to go away.
Demoralisation. Disappointment. Devastation. All settling in. Slowly and steadily.
As if to play a joke on me, I realised my mistake when there was only five minutes left.
Five minutes. What can I do?
The torture wasn't enough. A guy had to be sent to come and bug me.
Oh how many questions did you solved?
Oh I solved this question!
Oh have you participated in this before?
Oh.
Poof! And all was gone.
All gone. All gone.
Its not over. Yet. More are coming, or rather, going, real soon......
As I read the questions, they seem ever so familiar, ever so do-able.
One question down, in less than 15 mins. So relieved I was. So delighted I was.
Yet as i continued, i got more and more stuck.
Irritating bugs are in the way.
Stopping me from submitting any more questions.
And no, they refuse to go away.
Demoralisation. Disappointment. Devastation. All settling in. Slowly and steadily.
As if to play a joke on me, I realised my mistake when there was only five minutes left.
Five minutes. What can I do?
The torture wasn't enough. A guy had to be sent to come and bug me.
Oh how many questions did you solved?
Oh I solved this question!
Oh have you participated in this before?
Oh.
Poof! And all was gone.
All gone. All gone.
Its not over. Yet. More are coming, or rather, going, real soon......
Thursday, March 02, 2006
WARNING: LONG POST!
Breaking out of the hiberation earlier than usual...cos tomorrow is a holiday!
Yesterday I had the chance to watch the seniors getting back their results. Same as last year, nothing special. First the powerpoint slides, then the top students went up on stage to shake hands, take a photo, then the rest get back from their CTs.
Those who went up on stage were those with 8 or 9 distinctions..I want to go up the stage and see and hear people applauding me leh, but I have no S paper or A1 for chinese.
So the only way is that I do something drastic.
Like topping Singapore for physics.
Somehow people's dress sense have improved alot since graduation from jc, or maybe just that I have only seen them in uniform. Most were very well-dressed, though there were some slippers around too.
Next year I will be doing the same thing too.
I mean getting back the results, not wearing slippers.
VJC did okay for the A levels....though preformance was a slight dip from last year. According to the principal last year's batch complained that the questions were "unusual". As in unusually difficult. That panicked her and she called the RJC principal, who reported the same thing happening too.
So she told us that since our batch is the last batch doing the old syllabus, we can expect "unusual" questions too.
Shit man.
After announcing the A levels' results to us the principal declared today a holiday.....for the year1s. Tomorrow will be holiday for them too..cos "vjc don't have so many computers for them to check their posting results".
For us the year2s, it was as usual, chem in the morning and fmaths and literature in the afternoon. For more than 7/8 of the year2 population today will be the last day of their common test. So the teachers say today take common test, so tomorrow holiday.
Therefore, tomorrow's tests (whom the remaining 1/8 will be taking) will be pushed to monday.
And those 7/8 of them do no need to come on monday (unless they are helping out with the cca walkabout for the year1s).
I belong to the remaining 1/8.
Not too bad also la, because this way I have time to prepare for NOI before chionging computing on sunday.
The only problem is that thanks to a friend who told me today may be a full day off, my mind totally slackened out and my soul was gone when i was studying chem. I know i shouldn't believe in rumours (i'm not blaming my friend either, before that i was already having this illusion), but then given my optimistic nature, i couldnt help but..haha.
And so, chemistry was a complete disaster. Probability of passing it is 0.
Not that i did fantastically well for my maths and physics.
I still remembered my CT saying that there will be no second chance. If i fail any subject again, I will have to drop one subject. So i know i will be facing him next week, with the merciless question of which one to drop (or which poly to go to).
However listen (or rather, read) carefully everyone: I am not giving up!
Hey I know myself best. I know I can handle four subjects, even the S papers if I was given the chance to. Its just that i slacked a little too much last year. This year on I have worked rather hard (my friends can vouch for that! Last week I was already chanting the reagents and conditions necessary to prepare the various organic compounds le leh!)
And according (ya again) to my dear principal the previous students council president got BOOO for his june common test (june leh!) , but managed to get AAAA for his A levels.
I believe I should be given the chance to fight back too right? I just need...more time.
And so I shall try to keep my 4 dear subjects, in a bid to stick to my 2006 new year resolution. I'm secretly (cant do that now) hoping I can bypass my CT and go straight to the HOD Econs, the teacher in charge of dropping subjects. She's better.
What right does the JC has to get students to drop subjects huh!?!?!?! HUH!??! (haha just kidding)
On the other hand if I can secure something good this saturday, maybe *maybe* I can use that as an excuse for my poor grades. *Maybe*
People in my class are dropping subjects...i'm the only one going against the stream.
Please support me when the time comes ok? Help me write a petition or something haha.
I always wonder why my mother doesn't like computers. When she saw me holding two algorithm books I've gotten from the library she got agitated and said I should be studying for my last paper. Instead of wasting my breath explaining it was for NOI (and furthur agitating her), i just told her it was for my computing paper.
Breaking out of the hiberation earlier than usual...cos tomorrow is a holiday!
Yesterday I had the chance to watch the seniors getting back their results. Same as last year, nothing special. First the powerpoint slides, then the top students went up on stage to shake hands, take a photo, then the rest get back from their CTs.
Those who went up on stage were those with 8 or 9 distinctions..I want to go up the stage and see and hear people applauding me leh, but I have no S paper or A1 for chinese.
So the only way is that I do something drastic.
Like topping Singapore for physics.
Somehow people's dress sense have improved alot since graduation from jc, or maybe just that I have only seen them in uniform. Most were very well-dressed, though there were some slippers around too.
Next year I will be doing the same thing too.
I mean getting back the results, not wearing slippers.
VJC did okay for the A levels....though preformance was a slight dip from last year. According to the principal last year's batch complained that the questions were "unusual". As in unusually difficult. That panicked her and she called the RJC principal, who reported the same thing happening too.
So she told us that since our batch is the last batch doing the old syllabus, we can expect "unusual" questions too.
Shit man.
After announcing the A levels' results to us the principal declared today a holiday.....for the year1s. Tomorrow will be holiday for them too..cos "vjc don't have so many computers for them to check their posting results".
For us the year2s, it was as usual, chem in the morning and fmaths and literature in the afternoon. For more than 7/8 of the year2 population today will be the last day of their common test. So the teachers say today take common test, so tomorrow holiday.
Therefore, tomorrow's tests (whom the remaining 1/8 will be taking) will be pushed to monday.
And those 7/8 of them do no need to come on monday (unless they are helping out with the cca walkabout for the year1s).
I belong to the remaining 1/8.
Not too bad also la, because this way I have time to prepare for NOI before chionging computing on sunday.
The only problem is that thanks to a friend who told me today may be a full day off, my mind totally slackened out and my soul was gone when i was studying chem. I know i shouldn't believe in rumours (i'm not blaming my friend either, before that i was already having this illusion), but then given my optimistic nature, i couldnt help but..haha.
And so, chemistry was a complete disaster. Probability of passing it is 0.
Not that i did fantastically well for my maths and physics.
I still remembered my CT saying that there will be no second chance. If i fail any subject again, I will have to drop one subject. So i know i will be facing him next week, with the merciless question of which one to drop (or which poly to go to).
However listen (or rather, read) carefully everyone: I am not giving up!
Hey I know myself best. I know I can handle four subjects, even the S papers if I was given the chance to. Its just that i slacked a little too much last year. This year on I have worked rather hard (my friends can vouch for that! Last week I was already chanting the reagents and conditions necessary to prepare the various organic compounds le leh!)
And according (ya again) to my dear principal the previous students council president got BOOO for his june common test (june leh!) , but managed to get AAAA for his A levels.
I believe I should be given the chance to fight back too right? I just need...more time.
And so I shall try to keep my 4 dear subjects, in a bid to stick to my 2006 new year resolution. I'm secretly (cant do that now) hoping I can bypass my CT and go straight to the HOD Econs, the teacher in charge of dropping subjects. She's better.
What right does the JC has to get students to drop subjects huh!?!?!?! HUH!??! (haha just kidding)
On the other hand if I can secure something good this saturday, maybe *maybe* I can use that as an excuse for my poor grades. *Maybe*
People in my class are dropping subjects...i'm the only one going against the stream.
Please support me when the time comes ok? Help me write a petition or something haha.
I always wonder why my mother doesn't like computers. When she saw me holding two algorithm books I've gotten from the library she got agitated and said I should be studying for my last paper. Instead of wasting my breath explaining it was for NOI (and furthur agitating her), i just told her it was for my computing paper.
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