With some new found time before dinner today, let me just spend some time talking about the paper I had today. Engineering Materials II.

[start mindless babber]
It’s TOO EASY!
wahahah it’s really a disappointment, studied and researched so much out of the box and the questions which came out are all repeated from the class! A typical case of overkill? Like using a bazooka to kill a puny ant? But it still gets the job done right?

I was expecting like more application based open ended questions like maybe: “explain the micro sub-atomic effects of intergranular corrosion”, “describe the nuclear decomposition of Cobalt 60 to produce a radiograph of best film sharpness” or maybe a more down to earth “draw and label the hot and cold camber die-casting processes”.

That would be it! The perfect challenge! Well… maybe with exception of half the cohort failing the paper, the possible angry mobs rioting the and burning of the staffroom, but hey they can always take the module again, life is all about 2nd chances right?

But No - the questions in today’s paper are merely just ask you to state-this state-that, there’s even no definition questions! It basically just a regurgitation of textbook answers and repeated identical questions from our tutorials!

And that is bad, why? firstly it is harder to get a distinction when everybody’s mark is all “high up there in As” and secondly, the papers are so trivial, not much is actually useful we can do in application to the industry. Yea they say we are making it great!

Calculating my minimum score, scoring completely zero for those questions I am unsure of, my expected minimum score should be 95/100, I am after all human.

But Mmmmm, but I guess I can’t count chickens before they are hatched, because maybe my extra theoretical explanation of Faraday’s and Lenz law of electromagnetic induction and in the induction hardening question could be too much for the markers. They might mark me wrong as they might not understand that…

Sometimes taking advanced physics before a diploma might have it bad points…I hope my head just don’t explode…

Now for Engineering Maths III… My last paper for the Semester, Next week.
[/end mindless babber]

Millege for the week (7 day period)
SP Gym 3 Light Sets Weight Training + Sunset way Canal Run - Tuesday
Total Millage for week: 6km (20% of 30km/week target met)
Total Accumulative Millage for 2007: 39km

In the mist of all this exam madness, let just catch some local laughs with these ol’ hawker audio clip pranks.

No POK!

Kopi Yi-Pei!

School
Time had been very tight on my side, this semester is very very very short, too short to even breathe I guess, with me just barely making through on most of the modules I am taking. The grades this semester will be very interesting, it’s just all “borderline” for me. Everybody is so busy, even I do not even know how am I doing as the teachers themselves are too busy to release any ICA marks for checking at all this semester, till I bug them the only way to get it is one big blow on march! Anyway, got my ITP posting already, will be working under the company I recommended. On the forefront, wish me all the best for the fast up and coming exams in the next few weeks!

Modules/Papers Left:

1. BA0232 : BUSINESS PLANNING FOR NEW VENTURES
2. CP4094 : THE ART & SCIENCE OF COLOURS
3. LC0520 : WRITING SKILLS FOR ENTREPRENEURS
4. MM2206 MM8221 : ENGINEERING DESIGN
5. MM2308 MM8331 : ENGINEERING MATERIALS II
6. MM2701 : PRODUCT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT II
7. MS003A : METAMORPHOSIS - ILLUSTRATION & BOOK-MAKING WORKSHOP
8. MS6221 MS6226 : ENGINEERING MATHEMATICS III
9. ST003S : PRINCIPLES OF WEB DESIGN
10. PRE-ITP TESTS

On a sidenote, Windows Vista Ultimate OEM is out in stores at $309. Though still expensive, it’s way below my initial thought of it being around $600, together with an upgrade of Norton Internet Security 2007 for $42. Looks I will be getting it and installing it after the exams, then I can go Aero before everyone else! Whee!

Well now, guess back to studying!

With all the rumors and such going on for years, finally theres some official word…

Singapore may join F1 in 2008
Singapore is the latest country rumored to be hosting a new Formula One event, with news that F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone is in negotiations with at least two Singaporean groups about a deal to host the grand prix by as early as next year. Local newspaper, Today, reports that the architect who designed the racing circuits in Malaysia, Bahrain, Istanbul, and Shanghai, German born Hermann Tilke, has already designed one for Singapore.

Estimated costs of hosting a race is estimated at around $50 million, but the level of tourist spending during the events easily offsets this amount. An unnamed Singaporean businessman is said to be leading the group interested in hosting the race. Last year the president of the FIA, Max Mosley, mentioned that a race in Singapore would be welcomed, and the city-state’s wide streets are ideal for racing meaning that construction of a new circuit isn’t even required.

Yes imagine a Monaco like race on our CTE or PIE! Whoa! That will be so freaking cool! Well, too bad M.Schumacher have to retire before having to burn the tarmac here on our little island. Not that I am pro Ferrari, but you can’t deny that he was one of the best drivers around today. Nevertheless, till the time comes, it would be an even more interesting season.

[ Source ]

Well it had been a very very fast hectic week for me & it will get worse - before I know it, it’s 2 weeks left to the exam week. With no running millage for this week (I won’t see myself running, gyming or training so often these weeks now). Sometimes in this mess, I just stop to take alook at the students around me, how can they be so care free and relaxed when the exams are just around the corner? Still for outings and computer games, if you count all the hours left, there is hardly even any left for personal time. It’s just projects projects, deadlines, tests and it goes on.. till early February at least, when internship starts.

Have you read today’s ST Sunday Times article on the iphone? haha apparently it’s something like: iphone for Japanese? Eeew that’s old and dated, catch up on times Steve! Haha yea eat that iphone fans - well, besides the regular Mac loyalist who literally buy and lives on anything with an apple logo stuck onto it, maybe that is something more suited for the average American (or Mountain-Tortoise-Kiasu Singaporean) who are still on the regular 2.5G - 3G platforms (which we are all familiar with). But just not up there on the Japanese “hyperspace” networks. Definitely not a brow raiser for the Japs - “been there, done that!” as they said. Interesting read it was.

On a side note, quite disappointed that I didn’t quite make the Youth.sg first contest for the white PSP. Don’t know whether should I participate in the next fortnight competition with so many exams and tests around. I should prioritise my time and work here. Hope maybe I can win the next weekly random iPod Shuffle just for keeps.

My school schedule for the coming weeks: (For my 9 Modules)

:wink:Well for a note, my town council recently placed some new recycling bins near my home area, Yippee! (considering them being removed previously in fear of bomb threats). Now I do not need to travel out of town to throw my sorted waste away… Yeh!

Okie back to studying…

2 Events to keep ya sports freaks busy for the 1st quarter of Janurary, namely the NTU Surf n Sweat 2007 & the all-usual NTU National Vertical Marathon 2007. More will be coming soon, especially the cross-country season.

Would really love to participate in the Surf N Sweat event, but that’s smack right in between my semester exam papers, but would definitely be running up republic plaza next month. In the meantime, time to get back to studying! The semester exams are just around the corner!

Ahh here I am tucked in the comfort of my room surrounded by lecture notes, library books and stationary, while still typing this post.

Well the exams are just around the corner & I say, this semester is as tough as it can get, in fact it’s the most packed ever, with 9 modules to take (excluding the internship quiz module) and most of them are in-course so it’s jammed pack with reports, assignments and presentations to make. The good thing is that I have only 2 papers to take during the official semester exams week (30th Jan Materials and 6th Feb Engineering Maths III). So theres technically 2 weeks left to clear all of these… grrr. Or I can say that this semester is simply just exceptional short - about 4 weeks shorter than usual, maybe that is why everything is all on hyperdrive now.

Popped by Labrador Park for an evening run, the place is still very popular with families, photographers and a popular fishing spot as such. While Sheena went about taking project photos on her Canon 10D. Commemorated my first 30km for the first week of 2007. Man considering I’ve not really ran in about 2 weeks, the distance is quite demanding to catch up, though this was chicken feet during my pre-marathon training, it goes to show how fast you can get out of tune in running by just a short absence from the sport.

Millege for the week (7 day period 1-7th Jan)
Track & Field Training Macritchie X-Ctry Run - 11km - Tuesday
SP Gym 3 Sets Weight Training + Threadmill 6km - Wednesday
Labrador Park Run 15 rounds - 16km - Sunday-
Total Millage for week: 33km (110% of 30km/week target met)
Total Accumulative Millage for 2007: 33km

The talking about the word “Commemorating”, apparently in response to the spelling mistake on Singapore Marathon 2006 medal (ST Online Forum, Dec 18) - “Commerating the 5th Anniversary” (It supposed to be “Commemorating” instead), the event Director of the SCM 2006 Organising Committee is offering marathon participants the option to exchange their medals for the “right one” with the following details:

On a side-track, Me dreams to win a White Sony PSP!

Internet had been very screwy lately, even can’t even access yahoo mail or even google.com, me wonders how I survived without internet when I was a kid… Oh yea there was still the invention called TV back then…

:mrgreen:At least now I can tell which site are locally based, depending on their access speeds… Those at the other end of the globe - hello Timeout! Mmm a good reason to do homework on a rainy Wednesday night, oh yea did I mentioned that there was track training today? Yea but I went to the gym instead, been 2 weeks since I did so, guess I will have a hard time getting out of bed tomorrow, if I could-just-feel-my-arms…

And now onto topic - Since my Standard Charted Marathon last December, my right second toe had developed an under-nail blood clot. Presumably from the repeated “strike cycles” it gets from my running shoe. Ironically the clot only developed on my master foot/leg & it’s all black & ulgy!

But that was weeks ago. But I woke up one day last week discovering that my toe turned white! (don’t laugh). So it’s unlike the ulgy black duckling, umm - Toe stuck between a crown of jewels - it’s all white now! But heck this is no case of a white swan though - it’s still all wiggly and shaky… like milk tooth, AND that is bad because you won’t stop meddling with it… Well maybe when it pops out, the tooth fairy will come, only if there are nail fairies…

This toe nail thing, remarkably sparked a whole new talk in my track team about toes -toe talk, which seems to be a rather common victim for us runners. For starters just look at yours - is your big toe the longest or your second? it differs greatly between individuals though, then theres the whole assortment of shoes for different feet types, very interesting science of toes, wonder why there ain’t any undergraduate programs for that…

Today is the first prep day for SP Spinnovex 2007. Interestingly if I have not mentioned this yet, my lecturer”die die” want to display my prototype project models - even before it was graded! Bhwarrr! At first I didn’t kinda approve of it considering that it’s a final year exhibition & I am only in second year! But I let it pass as the only words he seems the chant to himself while clenching the model tightly, was: “my preciooousss…”

Other than that, it had been quite hectic lately in campus rushing projects & stuffs, most of seniors are all beyond reach & even the teachers are all too busy for consultation, oh well…

Ah great, my favorite comic strip Foxtrot has ceased it dailies… Brrwrr!

Kansas City, MO (12/05/2006) Bill Amend’s popular FoxTrot comic strip will go to a Sunday-only publication schedule as of Dec. 31, 2006, announced Universal Press Syndicate today. The last daily will be Saturday, Dec. 30. Reruns of dailies will be available for Web usage.

“After spending close to half of my life writing and drawing FoxTrot cartoons, I think it’s time I got out of the house and tried some new things,” said Amend. “I love cartooning and I absolutely want to continue doing the strip, just not at the current all-consuming pace. I’ve been blessed over the years with a terrific syndicate, patient newspaper clients, and more support from readers than I probably deserve, and I want to assure them all that while I’ll be now a less-frequent participant on the comics pages, I’ll continue to treat my visits as the special privilege they are.”

At least it’s not the end of the world as it seems. Foxtrot will only be appearing on Sundays, starting this year.

More

Did a 11km cross-country run at MR today afternoon (Time 1:07). Running there today does bring back alot of old army memories - It’s along the tree top route past the round about MR route into rather familiar training areas I’ve trained during my NSF days, then exiting around the golf course area back through MR then at the memorial for cool down. Despite the continuous rain last week (with a few very muddy spots), it’s a very good cloudy weather today. Been quite out of shape & had not ran for about 2 weeks since I was out of Singapore the last week. Cheers to Elrick and Darius for ran the route together, the rest of the track team did intervals.

Upgraded to Firefox 2.0 last week and after using it since then, I seems slower than the previous 1.5. With all my favorite extensions installed (now called add-ons), tabs & buttons respond slower now & I do not seem to be able get any video fully loaded on you-tube, they all always get loaded halfway and refuse to go further, even after countless reloads. I hope it’s not the taiwan earthquake which amplifies this, but surfing now on FF now reminds me of the dreaded old Internet explorer days. And IE7.0 is knocking on my door as well.

I don’t I should downgrade back to 1.5, I love the improved security features plus the form spellcheck features 2.0 has…

I guess it’s the saying again after all, newer is not always better.

I am @ Youth.SG - Written by Shaun Chng @ shaunchng.com

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It the first morning of 2007 and it’s already nice and sunny around here, nothing much of the long old days of rain back in 2006. Whee! mabe I can get started on my weekly runs again!