Countdown Silicon Valley

9 days to go!

A long day ahead

Indeed, a long day for my parents on the 9th of June.

That's the day when I leave for Silicon Valley, with the condition that I reach Changi Airport by 5 am in the morning. The flight is at 7+ am, so that's just about right.

And that's also the day when my sister comes back from her choir trip to Poland and Vienna. She will be arriving at 1500+hrs, which means my parents have to go back to the airport at that time to fetch her.

Isn't that just fun?

I think NOT

Countdown Silicon Valley

11 days to go!

As Promised... + Countdown Silicon Valley

This is the edit for the list of places I will be visiting!

Day 01: The Tech Museum
Day 02: HP Labs, Intel Museum
Day 03: Autodesk Inc., Computer History Museum
Day 04: Barclays Capital, Stanford University
Day 05: Apple Computer Inc., UC Berkeley
Day 06: Road-trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles
Day 07: Universal Studios
Day 08: NBC Universal Digital, Fox Interactive Media
Day 09: Depart U.S.A. for Singapore

I will be away from the 9th to the 18th (late night)/19th (early morning). But that doesn't mean that I will be totally away. I still will be able to update this blog as both the hotels we stay in have Internet access, one with Wireless and the other without. One of them definitely is free access, however, for the other, I am not too sure!

So stay tuned for updates (writing from America) on this trip!

12 days to go!!!

Wireless@SG

Wireless@SG is something super great.

I am posting this post from Changi Airport...

We really need full wireless for the entire Singapore (must be FREE!!!)

Countdown Silicon Valley

13 days to go!

Countdown Silicon Valley

14 days to go!

1 Infinite Loop

Apple Headquarters: 1 Infinite Loop Cupertino, California

Infinite Loop is a street encircling the six main buildings of Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California. Each building has a number which corresponds to its single-digit address on the Loop, and so Apple's official mailing address is "1 Infinite Loop". The numbers increment in the clockwise direction. Employees often refer to the buildings as IL1 through IL6. The loop connects to Mariani Avenue, which was the former street address of Apple HQ; early printed material contains the address "20525 Mariani Avenue".

Infinite Loop is at the southeast corner of De Anza Boulevard and Interstate 280. The main office, 1 Infinite Loop, directly faces De Anza Boulevard. There are other buildings on Apple's campus which are in the proximity of, but not on Infinite Loop. Apple has purchased a nearby parcel of land on which to build a second campus.

The name was inspired by the programming concept of the infinite loop.

And yes, at the end of Infinite Loop, the famous Company Store where one can buy all sorts of souvenirs with the Apple logo on it, including shirts and hoodies.

As to whether one can purchase the CPUs from there, it's kind of ambiguous. No hard facts and people who have been there tend to disagree with each other.

Hmm, wonder if there are iPhones there too

Silicon Valley Trip 2008

Details for the Infocomm trip have finally been settled :)

Leaving Singapore on the 9th of June, the places I will be visiting are:

1. The Tech Museum
2. Computer History Museum
3. HP
4. Intel
5. Apple (Yay! I hope that I can get to buy something at The Company Store! XD)
6. UC Berkeley
7. Stanford University
8. Fox
9. Universal Studios
10. NBC

That's all I can remember for now! Edits coming for the exact locations of the places.

Posts will follow with the information on the places I am visiting.

SO EXCITED!!! *Faints*

Countdown starts today!

15 days to go.

Results

Here's an update on the latest marks that I got for my academic stuff :)

Literature CCT: 23/25 (highest mark so far!!!)
Chem SPA: 20/23 (quite sad about this...)
Bio SPA: 9/12 (this is even sadder for me)

I think that I suck at SPAs, have not been able to get a single 90% and above for any SPA...

Any hints?

SS

someone help!!!!

I'm positively going to fail the SS documentary...

All my group members are some slacker bastards, need me to push then got something done...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Plus I will be away for two weeks during the hols in Silicon Valley...

DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wireless = Not connected

Well a wireless connection has no wires attached to the router.

Isn't that already obvious?

But what is not obvious is that that makes it simply so easy to go "missing", if you get what I mean.

Why do I say so?

That's because when I went into the Robotics Lab last Friday, our wireless router went, yes you guessed it, MIA...

Gone... And I can't even do anything even though I know where it went...

Blog Explosion

Hey guys!

Wanna drive traffic to your blogs?

Try the link labeled Blog Explosion under my links!

It drives traffic to your blog really well!

Active

Realised that this month, May, has been one of my more active months.

Blog posts have increased, number of visitors have been maintained over 90 :)

But truly, preparation for so many things, such as academic work (bio FPS, bio portfolio, english portfolio, chemistry OBA, chinese mid-years), other non-academic stuff (Open house, iPiC, robotics lessons that I taught), have put so much on my mind that most of these posts have been random ramblings...

Plus, there are ads for the Prince Caspian movie on my blog :)

What an abrupt end.

LONG

wah, i took so long to solve yuxin's quiz...

but must forgive myself cos im brain dead when watching TV :) which is what I am doing right now! wu xia xiao shuo shows damn NICE!

Qns :)

Random quiz for all of you guys and girls bored out there. Some of you might have seen this from Dennis, but since I have provided the answers in an earlier post, this will come above it when posted :)

Read and try to solve! Answers in previous post if required...

Qn. 1: Joe lives in a one-room cabin where all four walls face due South. On his way out one afternoon he is attacked by a bear. What color must is the bear?

Qn. 2: A man has hanged himself from the rafters in a large barn. There is no way to climb up the walls to the rafters and it is well out of jumping distance. The only other thing in the entire barn is a small puddle of water underneath him. How was the man able to reach the rafters to hang himself?

Qn. 3: A man lies dead in a field with a small, unopened package near him. He was not killed by any animal or other person, and he did not die from natural causes. The package did not explode directly injur the man, but it did contribute to the situation of his death. How did he die?

Qn 4: On the side of a snowy mountain, near a frosty stream, 40 people lie dead in a cabin. There were no murders of any type and none of the group died naturally. Every one that entered the cabin never exited, so there are no survivors. How did they die?

No ideas? Scroll down and read the answers!

In response to Dennis

Thanks Dennis for that super easy follow-up quiz!

Here are the answers!

Qn. 1: Joe lives in a one-room cabin where all four walls face due South. On his way out one afternoon he is attacked by a bear. What color must is the bear?
Ans 1:White, cause he is at the North pole, that's why all the walls face South as none can face North...

Qn. 2: A man has hanged himself from the rafters in a large barn. There is no way to climb up the walls to the rafters and it is well out of jumping distance. The only other thing in the entire barn is a small puddle of water underneath him. How was the man able to reach the rafters to hang himself?
Ans 2: He stood on a block of ice then the ice melted, leaving the puddle of water.

Qn. 3: A man lies dead in a field with a small, unopened package near him. He was not killed by any animal or other person, and he did not die from natural causes. The package did not explode directly injur the man, but it did contribute to the situation of his death. How did he die?
Ans 3: He was parachuting and his parachute failed to open. He fell to his death.

Qn 4: On the side of a snowy mountain, near a frosty stream, 40 people lie dead in a cabin. There were no murders of any type and none of the group died naturally. Every one that entered the cabin never exited, so there are no survivors. How did they die?
Ans 4: It was an aircraft cabin :) The plane crashed and all of the passengers died...

Here you go, the answers for those who failed to answer :)

Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk and more talk

Major failing of some people: Talk but no action.

Especially pissing if you are actually trying to get some action from them through thinly veiled criticisms, but all they like is nice sweet emails that have no truth or value in them.

Saying no.

What's so bad about that?

What's so wrong about that?

What's so negative about that?

No, we can't just accept a criticism to ourselves and move on.

No, we can't just stand there, allowing someone to berate us and say nothing in return.

But what stops us from saying no?

Is it fear?

Is it this inherent fear that we might bring something worse upon ourselves?

Is it this nagging, uncontrollable, unending fear that we feel whenever we try to say no?

We have been taught not to be rude, not to defy our elders, not to respond in such a way that might show disrespect to authority.

We are berated, and scolded for defending against the accusations facing us everyday.

We are taught not to say no.

What is authority without people?

What is leadership without followers?

What is life without the people that live it?

Let us learn.

Let us learn how to do so.

Let us learn, to say no.

A dedication to you: the person who says no.

I give up

Responsibilities, responsibilities

What am I supposed to do?

I can't go for one CCA and not go for the other.

Yet I can't go for the other CCA and not go for this one.

I have a responsibility for both CCAs, but when both clash, what should I do?

I cannot take it as merit or core to decide, because that just isn't fair to my merit. Merit CCAs are still CCAs, aren't they?

To those who know what I'm going through, to those who know what I'm talking about, please, help me by just understanding what I feel.

I'm not sure what to do.

I'm not fading away or drifting away from choir, it's just that things happen, and I can't control all that happens. It just so happens that Infocomm clashes with a lot of choir stuff, for example the robotics people have to prepare for competition, staying back everyday. Commitment it is, but this reflects badly on my choir attendance. Mondays are the only time that I can actually sit down and plan something with my robotics sec three Ian, but that is also the time when I have to go for choir.

Granted that I have excuses from Infocomm teachers, but that just doesn't seem right to me. Excuses, in all validity, are still excuses. They are not reasons for anything whatsoever.

I can't be in two places at once.

I can't be singing in LT3 or leading combined in LT2 and still be able to be sitting in the robotics lab planning out the schedule for iPiC (inter-primary infocomm challenge) or sorting out the teams for NJRC.

There's so much to do for both CCAs.

I want to stay committed to both, but if this is the way that things continue, I guess that it's goodbye to one of them. And if you know my position in the choir, you will see that the choice of adieu will be quite an obvious one.

But this is not what I want.

I don't want to be labeled a quitter, labeled a leaver or even labeled as an irresponsible guy. I don't want myself to be labeled a drifter, I want to be part and play a part in both CCAs.

Shit happens, and it happens a lot to the people in the society.

Especially me.

Let me out of this conundrum of responsibilities! I need to regain my sanity and fix my heart that was damaged by comments, comments that perhaps to others did not seem like a serious one, but were comments that destroyed what I had felt for everyone in a certain CCA.

Yes, I am a drifter, but it's not my choice.

Meaningful

‘Let me explain the problem science has with Jesus Christ.’ The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.

‘You’re a Christian, aren’t you, son?’

‘Yes sir,’ the student says.

‘So you believe in God?’

‘Absolutely.’

‘Is God good?’

‘Sure! God’s good.’

‘Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?’

‘Yes.’

‘Are you good or evil?’

‘The Bible says I’m evil.’

The professor grins knowingly. ‘Aha! The Bible!’ He considers for a moment.

‘Here’s one for you. Let’s say there’s a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?’

‘Yes sir, I would.’

‘So you’re good…!’

‘I wouldn’t say that.’

‘But why not say that? You’d help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn’t.’

The student does not answer, so the professor continues. ‘He doesn’t, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?’

The student remains silent.

‘No, you can’t, can you?’ the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax.

‘Let’s start again, young fella Is God good?’

‘Er…yes,’ the student says.

‘Is Satan good?’

The student doesn’t hesitate on this one. ‘No.’

‘Then where does Satan come from?’

The student : ‘From…God…’

‘That’s right. God made Satan, didn’t he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Evil’s everywhere, isn’t it? And God did make everything, correct?’

‘Yes.’

‘So who created evil?’ The professor continued, ‘If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil.’

Without allowing the student to answer, the professor continues: ‘Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?’

The student: ‘Yes.’

‘So who created them?’

The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. ‘Who created them? There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized.

‘Tell me,’ he continues onto another student. ‘Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?’

The student’s voice is confident: ‘Yes, professor, I do.’

The old man stops pacing. ‘Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?’

‘No sir. I’ve never seen Him’

‘Then tell us if you’ve ever heard your Jesus?’

‘No, sir, I have not.’

‘Have you ever actually felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?’

‘No, sir, I’m afraid I haven’t.’

‘Yet you still believe in him?’

‘Yes.’

‘According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?’

‘Nothing,’ the student replies. ‘I only have my faith.’

‘Yes, faith,’ the professor repeats. ‘And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith.’

The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of his own. ‘Professor, is there such thing as heat?’

‘Yes,’ the professor replies. ‘There’s heat.’

‘And is there such a thing as cold?’

‘Yes, son, there’s cold too.’

‘No sir, there isn’t.’

The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain.

‘You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don’t have anything called ‘cold’. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.’

Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.

‘What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?’

‘Yes,’ the professor replies without hesitation. ‘What is night if it isn’t darkness?’

‘You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have. Nothing and it’s called darkness isn’t it? That’s the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, darkness isn’t. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?’

The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester. ‘So what point are you making, young man?’

‘Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.’

The professor’s face cannot hide his surprise this time. ‘Flawed? Can you explain how?’

‘You are working on the premise of duality,’ the student explains. ‘You argue that there is life and then there’s death; a good God and a bad God. You are

viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.’

‘Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?’

‘If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do’

‘Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?’

The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.

‘Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?’

The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the Commotion has subsided.

‘To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean.’

The student looks around the room. ‘Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor’s brain?’ The class breaks out into laughter.

‘Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor’s brain, felt the professor’s brain, touched or smelled the professor’s brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir.

So if science says you have no brain,how can we trust your lectures, sir?’

Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable.

Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. ‘I guess you’ll have to take them on faith.’

‘Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life,’ the student continues. ‘Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?’

Now uncertain, the professor responds, ‘Of course, there is. We see it everyday. It is in the daily example of man’s inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.’

To this the student replied, ‘Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God.

God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God’s love present in his heart. It’s like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.‘

The professor sat down.

One of the more meaningful chain mails that I have seen in my life. This has a message, please do read

Wow, I have an article published

Click here.

Hey guys that read this blog,

check this link out.

It's my solenoid article from my robotics blog that has been published on someone else's website :) Only the fact that the pics are missing sucks...

How cool is that?

hap-hap-happy

14/15 for ss test again!!!

To all ye writers out there

To all the budding writers/poets/dramatists out there:

Copy this link and paste it in your address bar: http://www.thisisby.us/register.php?r=13735

Write for the world and earn some money at the same time :)

Let the world see what you can write and let this be some exposure for your dusty manuscripts left at the bottom of your cupboard/dead blogs

Lolz

Watch: Tesla Car Thief Protection



Really stupid isn't it?

Where the hell do people find time to do such stupid stuff? I can't even find time to update my blogs and they can actually make something to film???

Stupid Singapore education system, make us mug that much.

Is it even legal to do so, making students wallow in the misery of homework and the like? No longer are the days of old when children can do what they want to do, when teenagers can fiddle around with stuff that are new.

Haiz

RANDOM TUTORIAL OF THE MONTH

How to sign up for a Gmail account

Step 1:

Double-click your Internet Explorer icon. This will let you access the internet.

Step 2:

Type http://www.gmail.com into your Internet Explorer address bar.

Step 3:

You will reach the Gmail page.

Look for:

And click on “Sign up for Gmail”.

Step 4:

You will reach this page:

Step 5:

Type in your name in the first box.

In the third box, type in the name for your email address. It can be anything you want.

Then click the “Check availability!” button. If they tell you that the name for your email address has been taken, please think of another name and try again.

Step 6:

Type in your password in the first box. This password is to make sure that no one else can use your email.

Then retype your password in the second box.

Step 7:

Choose a question in the box. Type in your answer in the box below the question. This is to ensure that you are able to use your email.

Step 8:

Type in the word you see in the picture below. This may not be a word that you have learnt, but just key in the letters that you see in the picture.

Step 9:

Go down to the bottom of the page and look for this button. Click on it and you have signed up for an email account!

This btw was a tutorial that I made for some kids at Grace Orchard School, the VWO that B.E.A.T.S. will be raising funds for in a concert that will be held at the end of the year. Please support this worthy cause :)