Chronicles oF Those who have not Time Left

dimanche, février 27, 2005
juice concentrate

ok i'm perplexed by juice concentrate, any concentrate, orange juice, plum juice, aloe vera juice, whatever.

i understand why they want to "condense" the volume so that people can store it, then dilute and serve easily.

i don't understand why some, or even ALOT of ready-to-drink drinks make use of concentrates as part of their ingredients. sometimes you see bottles of orange juice made from concentrate, and bottles of orange juice made from 100% juice. and then you wonder if the price savings are sufficient for people to consider drinking dilute concentrate over 100% juice. and i wonder whether the price savings are that great for the manufacturer to make concentrate and then juice, rather than go straight to juice itself. what is going on???

~...~

sometimes i wonder if concentrate = artificial flavouring.

i hate concentrate. and i do read the ingredient list regularly. it is fascinating to find stuff like titanium dioxide in your food.

mardi, février 22, 2005
3 subjects for A levels

does that sound weird to you? it did. it felt so alien when it was mentioned to me last night. it seems like it's never registered in me that most of the JC pple out there actually only take 3 A level subjects. instead of 4. instead of extra S papers. what the heck is going on. ... 3 subs! isn't that like, practically nothing to do. i never knew that the lower down JCs had 3 subs as a standard for their students. different world.
dropping the 4th subject had seemed like blasphemous and an utter embarrassment to me. i dunno. i lived in a more different world than i had realised. what do people actually do with their lives. maybe they spend more productive time making babies. i dunno. and i used to be thinking i spent half of my time doing s paper work. so what do these people really spend their time doing... cheerleading perhaps. it's shocking.
and what did i do with my life. one of those why-do-i-know-so-much times.
4 principal quantum numbers. ..

excellent Emirates Airlines advertisement

nice innovative advert in the papers. 3/4 page spread with 5x3 rectangles, each rectangle containing the picture of one kind of gourmet coffee. all from Europe area. so delicious...

1. Istanbul - Orta Sekerli Kahve
2. Athens - Frappe
3. Manchester - White Coffee
4. Nice - Café Liégeois
5. Larnaca - Eleniko Café
6. Vienna - Wiener Melange
7. Rome - Cappuccino
8. London - Frappé Latté
9. Birmingham - Black Coffee
10. Glasgow - Café Mocca
11. Frankfurt - Kaffee mit Sahne
12. Paris - Café au Lait
13. Zurich - Schwarzer Kaffee
14. Milan - Doppio Espresso
15. Munich - Einspänner

Next time you go to Europe, try something new.
Start with how you fly.

Keep discovering.

My Idea of Headlines

-Jose Mourinho saves betting industry £10 million-
Following Chelsea's debacle with Newcastle, spokesman for a particular London bookmaker said that if it were up to the control of the industry, Jose Mourinho would be immediately knighted, having saved the industry of £10 million through that game.

other fascinating news:
TTSH A&E department is the busiest of all singapore hospitals, receiving the highest number of patients and the larger proportion of serverely ill patients, and also a higher average patient age. The department has to be closed on an average of 7 times a month due to patient load, and patients diverted to other hospitals.
[i was there, the workload they receive is truly insane. and the patients really have to wait ultra long even though it's A&E.]

Picasa 2

Google's free photo manager Picasa 2 is really very good. much better than the previous version. and it's free. it handles huge numbers of photos so well without lagging. and all the controls are so simple. and with integrated blog posting, so much the better. =]

and the photos are much bigger if u click on it to open them.

snake crosses the road.

while i'm at it, creepy crawlies from Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

this one has an absolutely LONG tail. it's like a metre long. goodness.

there's so many of them. and they swim right over each other, so amusing. looks as dangerous as a shark pool though.

!!! Rays. the biggest one in the middle is the Shovel-nose Ray. it looks like another Jurrasic Period leftover. madness. and then to the left there's a relatively tiny one. it's got blue spots! shudder. and then a few more around. this Ray pool is absolutely fascinating. really cool stuff

i was quite sure there was a big Green Turtle when i took the picture... Pool outside Underwater World, with more than 10 big turtles swimming all over each other in the cramped space that's supposed to compensate for the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans

another angle. it just looks like this crazy thing snaking across the beach. Siloso Beach middle island, by the way.

part of the series of sandcastles that are mostly underground with only the entrance and wall sticking out. that's what the castle looks like from the front. and me finishing the tunnel/umbilical cord that connects it to the sea.

Underground Castle No.2

erm, weird picture of peacock. i didn't take this photo.

the bottom, which reads: prob the best beer. and prob the best view in singapore. lame irritating advertisement

i couldn't help taking some pictures of this ridiculous mammoth. it looks so small! i expected something bigger, or rather, more substantial. in there, it's only 1 row of seats facing the window. and it creaks when it ascends. it does rotate slowly though.

according to jx, there are dinosaurs in these trees. ... and that's the skytower pole right in front there. disappointing thing

the big concrete block there is very scary, and really huge when you approach it. it's really freaking big. it freaks me out when the cable car approaches it... and tries to go through it

outing to sentosa. via cable car. bebecoz someone said she has not gone on it b4... $15 for 2 pple, two way, inclusive of entrance fee, after dunno how much discount for DBS/POSB cardholder. quite alright compared to how much a bus ticket cost.

lundi, février 21, 2005
Natalie Imbruglia - Torn

I thought I saw a man brought to life
He was warm, he came around like he was dignified
He showed me what it was to cry
Well you couldn't be that man I adored
You don't seem to know, don't seem to care what your heart is for
But I don't know him anymore
There's nothing where he used to lie
My conversation has run dry
That's whats going on, nothing's fine I'm torn
I'm all out of faith, this is how I feel
I'm cold and I am shamed lying naked on the floor
Illusion never changed into something real
I'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn
You're a little late, I'm already torn
So I guess the fortune teller's right
Should have seen just what was there and not some holy light
To crawl beneath my veins and now
I don't care, I have no luck, I don't miss it all that much
There's just so many things that I can't touch, I'm torn
I'm all out of faith, this is how I feel
I'm cold and I am shamed lying naked on the floor
Illusion never changed into something real
I'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn
You're a little late, I'm already torn. Torn.
There's nothing where he used to lie
My inspiration has run dry
That's what's going on, nothings right, I'm torn
I'm all out of faith, this is how I feel
I'm cold and I am shamed lying naked on the floor
Illusion never changed into something real
I'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn
I'm all out of faith, this is how I feel
I'm cold and I'm ashamed bound and broken on the floor
You're a little late, I'm already torn.

why cant i forget this song

A manic episode is an abnormally elevated, expansive or irritable mood, not related to substance abuse or a medical condition, that lasts for at least a week, and includes a number of disturbances in behavior and thinking that results in significant life adjustment problems. Chronic behavior that appears somewhat similar to manic behavior is more likely ADHD or evidence of personality problem.

It may be helpful to think of the various mood states in manic-depressive illness as a spectrum or continuous range. At one end is severe depression, which shades into moderate depression; then come mild and brief mood disturbances that many people call "the blues," then normal mood, then hypomania (a mild form of mania), and then mania.

Some people with untreated bipolar disorder have repeated depressions and only an occasional episode of hypomania (bipolar II). In the other extreme, mania may be the main problem and depression may occur only infrequently. In fact, symptoms of mania and depression may be mixed together in a single "mixed" bipolar state.

i wish we were grown up. i wish upon a star. i wish for wishes to come true.

terrible terrible terrible terrible terrible.

what is wrong with me.

where does the river flow.

dimanche, février 20, 2005
BBC News | TV AND RADIO | The art of Le Parkour

BBC News | TV AND RADIO | The art of Le Parkour: "new urban sport in France known as Le Parkour - or obstacle-coursing.
Described by adepts as an art-form or even a philosophy, Le Parkour consists of finding new and often dangerous ways through the city landscape - scaling walls, roof-running and leaping from building to building.
'Le Parkour - or the Art of Movement - is a way of using the obstacles found in one's path to perform jumps and acrobatics. "

i am very amused by this Le Parkour thing. it sounds so fun.
apparently the singapore version includes alot of HDB structures, railings, ...
this is what street kids should be doing instead of gangster crap and pathetic ah bengs...

Les Choristes

newspapers says the film Les Choristes is back in orchard. due to some Best Foreign Language nomination or something. hm. ^.^

lundi, février 14, 2005
jargon

well, i seem to have found some clues as to what is wrong with my monitor.
= some bloody pin burnt out after almost 4 years.
and i never knew those repairmen lived with THIS kinda jargon. what the freak.

--
QUESTION NO. P91602-7: Proview 770M monitor, changed burned Q630 and number of other components. Picture is too wide and pincushion at maximum (corners further away from center). H-size, pincushion and trapezoid are unadjustable.

>Not sure of board ID number but you will find a feed diode next to flyback towards middle of board standing vertically on a heat sink. It will either be short or leaky. If not check the free standing transistors close by.

--
QUESTION NO. P51402-7: NEC Multisync C500 monitor (JC-15W1VMA). No control over horizontal width or pincushion/barrel from onscreen menu even though the menu appears to function correctly. Screen picture OK but only 1/3 in width.

>Check for shorted base emitter Npn transistor in horizontal drive stage. Also review answer for Question P5002-10 Packard Bell A720 monitor which will explain how these systems work.

--
QUESTION NO. P1129-3: Samsung CGK5507L SyncMaster 500s monitor has no horizontal size or pincushion control. Buttons on front panel indicate functionality, but have no effect on horizontal size adjustment or side-pincushion and trapezoid adjustment. Q409 and VR401 were replaced.

>Try checking Q407, D405, D404, D412, for reverse leakiness or short, and L402 for burnt/shorted turns or rings badly.

dimanche, février 13, 2005

why is my monitor acting weird. it's looking like a concave mirror or something. and i didn't anything. and i can't change that part of the settings. i hope it's just a temporary strike. it's getting on my nerves.

Worth Waiting For

well the WorthWaitingFor wristband that jx bought for me today. the abstain from sex till marriage movement. *peers* not the Livestrong or SeeingIsBelieving band that i want, but intriguing. visit channelnewsaisa for the news report on the sales of the wristband today.

and she gave it together with a very bitter box of expensive Dark Chocolate. aphrodisac + WorthWaitingFor.

samedi, février 12, 2005

LOOK! it's dead matthew. aww... =p

vendredi, février 11, 2005

today's events: swimming + macritchie treetop walk + shopping at J8

i am horrified that the treetop walk is closer to the whatever country club than to macritchie reservoir. and i walked all the way from the reservoir to find out that people came in from the road, and some even drove so close to the thing. to think i walk more than an hour up and down cross country terrain. bah.
and the bridge is only 250m. and it doesn't swing much. =( and there were no birds. and it took so long to get down coz it's only one way, coz the return bit is such a detour on another trail.
but it's better than getting stuffed with cigarette smoke and lead fumes. and at least those lupins don't throw bananas.

jeudi, février 10, 2005
weird cousins.

more of my intriguing cousins.
other than the one who dropped out of school. today met the wife of one from my mother's side. married so? but he's younger than me/about my age. gosh i dont even know. im absolutely clueless about my cousins, terrible. and he's in NS. and the wife is freaking young also. like maybe not even 20yo. and then he's like not at home most of the time. and the girl doesn't seem very responsible for the baby (4month old). she disappears when he's not at home.
frown.

Olympus price is dropping!!! yay. for those who dont know, dont bother.

P.S. oh, it's nothing to do with cameras btw

mercredi, février 09, 2005
quitting school

no not me quitting school. a cousin quitted school. was supposed to be sec4 this year. N lvl. [sometimes i forget N lvl exists, how could i] he quitted, and is most likely to be entering NS next year. 16+ yrs old.
never had the heart to study in sec sch. chinese family. low education. couldn't cope with studies. no motivation. parents not strict with him. and now he's off doing lion dance. and then he's going to do a handphone repair/modding "shop"/stall. a little corridor stall in Bedok. and the two of them only need $4000? so little? 600 rent a month. dunno them.
and he's got golden hair now. just dyed it for free using friend's leftover chemicals. ... and the last time he pierced his ear, and was putting this drinking straw bit in the hole...
well he's been bottom of the class last year. bottom of N level batch, ie absolute bottom of the cohort. totally absurd results for exams, skipping classes.
what a world of difference in our lives.

vendredi, février 04, 2005
Ep3 opening date confirmation/update

Episode 3 is still slated for release on May 19 in Singapore, as with most other countries.

starwars webpage

jeudi, février 03, 2005

apologetics

a fascinating introduction to the site. not to say that i'll be browsing through much of it, if any. perhaps useful for some people out there who might find it in line with their lives. ^-^

a pity, what a nice word. apologia as well..

mercredi, février 02, 2005
Wheel of Time Book1 - Chapter 1

"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, laving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. Ine one Age, called Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning."