Martianlightsaber

Selling A level books!

2008-07-21T15:03:00.002+08:00

Hello! This is directed to my darling juniors in J1 or 2 who, at this late juncture, might still want to stock up on extra practice papers. Or perhaps the sec 4s who would like early preparation.All listed books have marginal to zero usage since me being typically me, I failed to study when I was supposed to. And all listed prices are about half of the original, or less [original price in

Just Look Back

2008-07-17T17:29:00.002+08:00

I was being bored and re-reading my past entries and realised that I'd never actually had a 'farewell' kind of post after JC. There were reflections and stuff but not really a farewell, because we'd still be hanging around each other for another 8 months or so since A levels ended.So since some unis are starting and many of us will be flying off soon, here's dedicated to my classmates, juniors,

Chalet!

2008-06-30T18:17:00.003+08:00

Short post:Thanks muchly to those who came for chalet (And for the really amusing/adorable/cool/sweet gifts)! Because I am lazy and did not take any photos myself I shall thusly also thank the twinses for being impromptu photographers!And so photos are now up on facebook with exorbitant amounts of tagging. Sincere apologies for facebook-email spamming, I seem to be doing a lot of that lately.Also

Elitism or Immaturity?

2008-06-09T09:07:00.002+08:00

Rowling's Harvard Speech Doesn't Entrance All"You know, we're Harvard. We're like the most prominent national institution. And I think we should be entitled to … we should be able to get anyone. And in my opinion, we're settling here. ""From the moment we walk through the gates of Harvard Yard, they constantly emphasize that we are the leaders of tomorrow. They should have picked a leader to

Tutoring!

2008-06-07T22:38:00.003+08:00

Wow I'm asking for tuition after telling my mum for four years that I didn't need it.Who knows OOP (Object-Oriented Programming) specific to Java! Need crash/introductory course in early/mid July, probably 2-3 lessons, will pay.=D(x-posted to lj)

Phoenix Touchdown

2008-05-26T10:53:00.005+08:00

Omg omg *squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee*PHOENIX TOUCHDOWN!It must've been really great for the team considering the original of the Phoenix clone, Mars Polar Lander, just failed mysteriously just before touchdown. Heartiest congratulations to the Phoenix EDL team!For those who don't know what Phoenix is, it's a landing probe sent to the higher latitudes of Mars, designed to dig up

IYA 2009

2008-05-19T19:35:00.002+08:00

Woah I'm completely zonked so I'll make this a one-liner:Thank you to all who came for IYA meeting today! I know it's Jurong and it's a public holiday and all so thanks for taking the time =).

Sleep Study Socialize

2008-05-03T10:52:00.003+08:00

I realize that some people are harder to talk to than others even though they're just as friendly/sociable as the next guy (or girl, for the sake of neutrality of language), similar interests etc. Wonder what makes the difference...Have reverted to spending inordinate amounts of time on MSN and hence sleeping less lol. Facebook chat totally doesn't help matters. And I suddenly have all manner

Blue Moon

2008-04-28T07:08:00.002+08:00

Put it in my MSN nick cuz it was one of the songs during Jazz concert. I knew there were several different definitions for it but never realised there were SO MANY (thanks jy):Second Full Moon of the Calendar Month - by far the most common definition, though actually an erroroneous interpretation of the original 'Blue moon' of the Farmer's Almanac.Extra Full Moon of the Season - definition of

Change of Pace

2008-04-26T23:14:00.002+08:00

I have started my first week at the Damn Secret Organization and love it very much =D. It feels really really good to finally be spending time struggling to understand things again, yet without the pressure of exams to test that understanding. It's even more comforting to know that the people at the forefront of research don't really understand it fully either. I won't say that it's any better

One Week Break

2008-04-17T09:19:00.002+08:00

I am now on a one-week hiatus from work! Primarily due to clearance issues at DSO but it's a blessing in disguise I suppose - FREE TIME!The primary problem with having free time, however, is you don't know what to do with it. I wanna go out and do stuff but all my friends are working/schooling; wanna study but can't bring myself to read past 5 pages of physics in a day; wanna watch movies but

Enchanted Take 2

2008-04-12T16:44:00.003+08:00

I just watched Enchanted again since the disc is out - it's quite possibly nicer the second time you watch it, like the old disney classics. The singing and dancing reminds you so much of cartoons like Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. However, one exchange in particular between Robert and Morgan struck me this time:"She's (Nancy) gonna take you to school for some grown-up girl bonding time.""

Cuteness!

2008-04-04T11:52:00.001+08:00

New Toshiba Remote Control RobotSqueeeeeeee!

Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

2008-03-30T08:29:00.005+08:00

This was a trip with the sec 1s so it was somewhat more chaotic but still very productive =). Didn't see half of what I saw in sec 4 due to us not going on the trails, but still an exciting trip.Sec 1s gathered at the Visitors' CentreBracket FungusDiseased leaf 1Diseased leaf 2Diseased leaf 3 ^_^Spider 1Spider 2 (and by now you would have realised my absolute lack of prowess in naming anything)

Labrador Nature Reserve

2008-03-30T06:54:00.013+08:00

I have finally uploaded the pics! But nothing really fantastic this time 'round; I think I took better pics in sec 4 Env Bio. Labrador and Bukit Timah pics separated due to length. I don't think blogger has the equivalent of an LJ cut...The shore as it appeared when we arrived at 5pmDead coralAlexis overturning a stone covered with... sponge, or sea squirt, or somethingDefinitely a sponge this

The Space Pen

2008-03-28T21:39:00.004+08:00

Emily just posted a link to a cool article on the Planetary Society blog, so thought I'd replicate it here for reference ^_^"It takes a special pen to be used in space. For one thing, most ballpoint pens and all fountain pens use gravity assist to pull the ink down. Anyone who has tried to hold something against the wall and write on it has quickly found that they don’t get more than a few words

Skiving

2008-03-23T00:35:00.003+08:00

Haha I wasn't technically skiving! I just happened to be fortunate enough to be roped into several fun trips this week, starting with:bringing Cambodian exchange students to Science Centre on Wednesdaythen going to Labrador Park on Thursdaywatching Step-up 2 with Aud then going for A2008 meeting on Friday then finally going to Bukit Timah with the sec 1s for geog on Saturday!Am too lazy to

Astronomy 2008

2008-03-17T22:46:00.003+08:00

A little bit of shameless promo here:Astronomy 2008 is an event organized by Singastro this August aimed at raising awareness of Astronomy here in Singapore. It'll be held at the Singapore Art Museum and will feature exhibits, talks etc.Since it's a pretty large scale event, Singastro is calling for volunteers to help out with explaining/logistics, so anyone interested to help out, please drop

Astro photos

2008-03-15T20:52:00.006+08:00

Haha I just realised I didn't blog about astrigue properly and I've got quite a few photos of my students, with the RG juniors and with the Astrigue current and senior comm =D. The rest will be sent out to the relevant parties, please msg me if you know I have a photo of/with you but don't get it by next Friday!

Damage Control!

2008-03-15T11:40:00.004+08:00

Haha oh man after reading today's papers my scores sound quite sad lol. But I think the whole 9 distinction thing is really quite unfair cuz it completely excludes everyone taking 4 H2s.Anyway now I really dunno how to phrase what I want as a career during interviews after they print "a career in science". Who's gonna believe me if I tell them that what I actually said was I would like to do

Planetary Nebulae possibly no longer be misnomers

2008-03-13T22:40:00.003+08:00

Haven't read a really cool Space article in a long while so this is certainly post-worthy!We've all learnt that 'planetary nebulae' are misnomers, named for their similarity to the planet uranus during the old days of fuzzy telescopes, but now they're saying that these nebulae may really get their shapes due to planets or low-mass companions!Read The Article =)In other news, Congrats to the RG

What now

2008-03-08T19:20:00.003+08:00

Hmm I'm surprised hardly anyone has blogged about results... is it really that anticlimatic for RJians? But in any case, congrats to 6Rians for generally doing well =).Will hence indulge myself in going for Cosmocraft in June! But it suddenly seems so surreal. Like from P1 onwards it was so clear-cut that for 12 whole years we wouldn't have to think about where we were going; it was a given -

=D

2008-03-04T19:39:00.002+08:00

Haha it's the last week of term!!! This week is particularly slack because of the new timetable due to many teachers going for resilience camp with the sec 3s. Been watching too much tv too lol, cuz can't bring myself to do marking. It really is never ending! Mentioned my newfound respect for teachers in a chat with mr lim. Oh and I realised I have no talent in giving holiday homework. One

石榴石, 1 Litre of Tears

2008-02-22T18:38:00.003+08:00

Gacked off Yuxin's msn pm, really nice song, loved the show 時をかける少女 too. Feeling extremely bored and angsty due to the impending release of A level results...Just watched 1 Litre of Tears (the movie, not the drama), would recommend everyone to watch! It's touching without being overly dramatic with the swelling music like the americans tend to make their movies into. Makes it more real, more

向左走向右走

2008-02-19T04:53:00.002+08:00

孙燕姿 - 遇见听见冬天的离开我在某年某月醒过来我想我等我期待未来却不能因此安排阴天傍晚车窗外未来有一个人在等待向左向右向前看爱要拐几个弯才来我遇见谁会有怎样的对白我等的人他在多远的未来我听见风来自地铁和人海我排著队拿著爱的号码牌我往前飞飞过一片时间海我们也曾在爱情里受伤害我看著路梦的入口有点窄我遇见你是最美丽的意外总有一天我的谜底会揭开Very random I know but was just surfing youtube and came across this rather old song and it reminded me of 《向左走，向右走》, the picture book by 几米 that we were supposed to read in sec sch. Pretty <3 <3 <3.Never did well in chinese but

Need Motivation

2008-02-17T22:17:00.003+08:00

Haha yes I really need motivation. Stacks and stacks of the same thing to mark really isn't improving my mood though I must admit it's highly educational.Solution: Movies, trips!Some lucky people *cough angst cough* I've noticed have already watched Sweeny Todd / P.S. I Love You / Jumper and all those cool new movies that just came out, so would like to know who still hasn't watched and wants

Break!!!

2008-02-08T22:40:00.000+08:00

Hahahaha it's CNY! This year's family celebrations were pretty much more sedate, no card games and such, but all the kids loved playing the Wii =). Then had class gathering at the twinses' place which was really cool cuz their condo has the most amazing landscaping! The swimming pools, ponds, trees... all very artfully arranged.In any case absolutely love the 4-day break, never realised that

Planning

2008-01-29T19:41:00.000+08:00

Ok before I start on the actual topic, I believe some of my enterprising young students may already decide to search for this blog, knowing the address of the blog that I use for science class. In which case Suanning is expressedly forbidden! xDAnyway back to the topic, am suddenly thrown back into the world of Astro syllabus planning >.<. and looking at this year's Astrigue coverage, I'm just

Chek Jawa!

2008-01-19T22:25:00.000+08:00

Went to the Chek Jawa boardwalk today with 67, XT, GGY, Noelle and Yijun! Fun stuff, have never been there before and have never actually seen marine life in Singapore. Would really like to go for a guided tour so we won't get stuck on the boardwalk though, hopefully sometime in the March holz since the new tours are all on weekdays and highly inconvenient for people who're working =(.Anyway,

Settling in

2008-01-16T15:56:00.000+08:00

I've been wanting to write this for some time but everytime I try, I realise that whatever I have to say is in some way compromising the identity of the school or the students whom I teach. So, I shan't name names and shall generally talk about the happy/good things that happened over the past week or more so that it's really not a big deal if anyone knows who/what I'm talking about.Rubik craze!

Remembering Lower Sec

2008-01-07T17:59:00.000+08:00

Things to remember about sec 1s:- Do not assume that they know how to conduct group discussions. Explicitly state that one must turn one's chair to face one's partner, then join with the adjacent pair to form a group of 4.- Bring a microphone if you ever intend them to present anything. Really.- Do not speak too fast lest it scare them, being fresh out of P6.- Count to 3 to get the class to

Chek Jawa

2007-12-31T19:32:00.000+08:00

Outing to Chek Jawa on 2nd weekend of Jan! Details to be sorted out at a later date but drop a note on the tagboard if you wanna go. So far interested peeps:- GGY- Shengnan- Liewqi- Noelle- XT

The Year in Review

2007-12-28T19:30:00.000+08:00

I doubt I wrote anything at the end of last year, and rightfully so because the two years of JC were essentially a continuum. Having finished the 12 years of standard schooling, it feels almost surreal, so much so that I think most of us aren't really sure where we're headed and have just been applying to university and scholarships because the tutors said so and everyone is doing it anyway.I

Merry Christmas

2007-12-24T15:14:00.000+08:00

To all my friends,Hope you guys have a great year ahead, good luck with finishing holiday homework/uni apps /exams etc.! Thanks for being great classmates/juniors/seniors over the past few years, for the fun we've had together, for the help you've given me and for being there for me, even if it was just over msn. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!May the Force be With You.Wei Lin

Science Centre + IDAT + Mummies

2007-12-23T19:20:00.000+08:00

Just went to Science Centre after a long long while today! They haven't really added very many new exhibits besides one on Nanotechnology, as well as the not-quite-so-new iSpace.Not really in the mood to type very much since I only slept 3-4 hours last night, so shall just say that the Mummies omnitheatre show was not bad - most people talk about the tomb of Tutankhamen all the time but this one

Enchanted + National Treasure

2007-12-20T21:29:00.000+08:00

I have finally watched Enchanted after much bugging! And was pretty happy that National Treasure came out at about the same time.ENCHANTEDIt ended Happily Ever After - what a surprise. But it was a nice and unique kind of twist to the fairytale ending, since I've never liked the plots behind older shows like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty where the Prince Charming turns up and slays the evil

Geminids 2007

2007-12-15T15:32:00.000+08:00

Woo! Just came back from an overnight at Changi beach for Geminids 2007, and the show was great!It wasn't really novel having been for last year's watch; it was so similar and yet not because the people who came for the watch were different, and it was as interesting to watch the people as it was to watch the sky. Twinses came for a while this year! Haha you two still missed the good show tho,

Time flies

2007-12-09T12:19:00.000+08:00

It's already nearing the middle of December and I have no idea where the time went since As ended. Sure there was prom, there were a few outings, but it's not that I've accomplished anything in that time span =/Anyway, CONGRATS to the team from IOAA, with a Silver, a Bronze and 2 HMs! You guys are amazing, considering that there wasn't even any training.In other news, Geminid Meteor Shower

Over a week since...

2007-11-30T16:16:00.000+08:00

My brain has been rotting away for the past 10 days since As ended and I can't seem to bring myself to do anything productive. I've only written one essay so far, and haven't even gotten through one chapter of Astro stuffage that I've been wanting to learn. Started reading "Idylls of the King" by Tennyson, but this one really is Old English, so it's hard to read but still quite fun.Had a couple

The Shortest Day

2007-11-20T13:19:00.000+08:00

As are over! Hah, and for the celebratory mood, a little Midwinter poem by Susan Cooper:And so the Shortest Day came and the year diedAnd everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white worldCame people singing, dancing,To drive the dark away.They lighted candles in the winter trees;They hung their homes with evergreen;They burned beseeching fires all night longTo keep the year alive.And when

Beowulf

2007-11-17T22:53:00.001+08:00

I don't get it - that's 3 versions of Beowulf in 8 years. Granted the first one was kind of a sci-fi version but still the same story. The last one was in 2005, entitled 'Beowulf and Grendal', so isn't 2007 for the next remake a bit soon much?

Calling any TDiR fans!

2007-11-14T23:26:00.000+08:00

Okay so I'm sort of still in mourning over The Seeker, but am glad that so many reviews have been tragic. Really, TDiR was the first ever non-picture book that I read, it rightly has sentimental value to me. The funniest review was arguably:"Rated PG (fantasy violence, scary images, literary desecration)" by the Boston Globe.I suggest the makers of "The Seeker" enter a witness-protection

The Seeker

2007-11-03T16:57:00.000+08:00

Just watched 'The Seeker' after Math paper on Friday just to see what they changed. Apparently it was everything except the names of the characters.As a movie it wasn't too bad - a little bit rushed but with decent special effects and suspense. As a book adaptation, however, it was TERRIBLE.To begin with, Susan Cooper's children fantasy novels are well-known for their strong basis in existing

Hannah Montana

2007-10-24T16:44:00.000+08:00

Hm I remember watching her on Disney Channel before... anyway thought one of her songs made a pretty cute Contestshipping AMV on youtube:Uh Oh!There you go again talking cinamaticYeah you!Your charming...Got everybody star struckI know how you always seem to goFor the obviousInstead of meBut get a ticket and you'll seeIf we were a movieYou'd be the right guyAnd I'd be the best friendThat you'd

P-Shipping, C-Shipping and other forms of time-wasting

2007-10-16T20:39:00.000+08:00

While scouring my harddrive for long-lost essays, pictures and anything that would jog my memory of events that I've been trying to write about for applications, I came across an old obsession of mine in the form of pokeshipping and contestshipping. From the sound of that, some of you might gather that it originates from that cartoon a lot of people used to watch back in primary 4 or 5 -

One Liner Part 2

2007-10-15T19:12:00.000+08:00

ohcrapallmyrecommendationlettershavebeenmailedandihaven'tevensubmittedmymainapplication. angst.

One liner

2007-10-14T22:34:00.001+08:00

I. Have. A. New. Phone! *bounce* It is Truffle Brown and 3.2 megapixels =D. Yummmm.

Cool news

2007-10-13T14:17:00.000+08:00

Undular Bore waves above Iowa:http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/images/undularbore/saylorville_timelapse.movNanoparticle Exposure:http://www.spacemart.com/reports/Nanoparticle_Exposures_Happen_Says_Expert_999.htmlPredicting the Evolution of Language:http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Harvard_Scientists_Predict_The_Future_Of_The_Past_Tense_999.htmlFuture Cars:http://www.spacemart.com/reports/

Of Phones

2007-10-11T22:10:00.000+08:00

My mum made a suggestion today: "Why don't we just get rid of all the land lines? No one calls us on them anyway."That's a good point. Why don't we? I haven't received a call on my house phone in months except from pestering property agents trying to cash in on the en bloc craze. I don't use it except to order pizza in once a month.It's funny how it all goes obsolete so fast; that the

Linkageness

2007-10-04T02:47:00.000+08:00

Microbes gain strength in space: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Microbes_Gain_Strength_In_Space_999.htmlDark Matter has a long lifetime:http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/The_Dark_Matter_Of_The_Universe_Has_A_Long_Lifetime_999.htmlI realised I had this in drafts for quite some time and forgot to post it ^^. Also, how totally COOL is it that there's a Star Wars PSP being sold with the new Star

Pokemon! DSTA! and other randomness

2007-09-30T19:35:00.001+08:00

Haha so I've been playing pokemon throughout the prelims for purpose of stress-relief. Am now playing Diamond on the DS, but it occured to me to look back at the original Blue/Red versions on the gameboy and goodness what a difference in visual quality! 13 years sure makes a lot of difference in videogame technology, not that that needed to be spelled out but it's still a wonder how much

Tests and more tests

2007-09-27T19:43:00.000+08:00

Haha! It occurred to me last night that I had my final theory test today and consequently panicked about my ignorance about road usage and clutches and brake pedals and the like. But! The test room has nice posters so I was verily distracted by them. They're those usual motivational posters but I particularly liked the quote: "If today was perfect, we wouldn't need tomorrow"Figuring that my

cough

2007-09-26T14:00:00.000+08:00

Well here's a wonderful time to get sick, just after exams when the rest of the class is playing at Sentosa.But no matter, I had a good time watching Ratatouille with the twinses yesterday. It's a rather... strange pixar show I must say. More sinister and more real-world than any of the previous shows where they were very obviously kid-friendly with none of the (albeit simplified) politicking

Cuz it's almost over.

2007-09-21T15:51:00.000+08:00

Most people, most people finished prelims today with the traumatizing chemistry MCQ. MOST people.Those of us who ventured to take H3 math are of course NOT free yet but I have taken the liberty of giving myself Friday off from mugging. As such, I have finally watched many movies!1. The Reaping (Hilary Swank)2. Fracture (Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling)3. Secret (Jay Chou, Kwai Lun-Mei)All

Prelims

2007-09-10T13:09:00.000+08:00

It is now, officially, less than 24 hours away from the second prelims of my life - the first being in p6 when it was a norm to get above 90%. The physics TYS taunts me, TAUNTS ME I tell you, with its confounding mcqs and cryptic explanation questions about trains and carriages and alpha/beta/gamma radiation tracks. And electrons that go through walls! Photons that have momentum! Semiconductors

Silk Road and the Solar Eclipse

2007-08-27T14:22:00.000+08:00

Who wants to go to Silk Road next year to watch the Solar Eclipse in August? It's a trip organized by the Planetary Society (I think, or at least promoted by it) and will last for 3 weeks of July, touring and sight-seeing the western region of china, culminating in a view of the solar eclipse on the last day.Anyone up for it? Pretty ex though, 3k plus US dollars.

Something to look forward to

2007-08-19T23:22:00.000+08:00

I am supposed to be panicking about IS. Verily panicking about IS.But I feel the need to record down all the things that I want to do after A levels, before I forget all of them, so that I'll have something to look forward to after all the panicking and mugging. Of course considering the length of the list, I won't get around to most of it.1. Driving lessons2. Japanese lessons3. Space Technology

Minerology

2007-08-14T00:23:00.001+08:00

w00t. Just as I was thinking how on earth to link my interests in chem to geog to matsci, I see this!:http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/What_Makes_Mars_Magnetic_999.htmlImagine the applications in the electronics industry by studying natural magnetic materials of the Earth with unusual characteristics...Okay so I'm just dreaming.

H-E-L-P

2007-08-12T23:10:00.000+08:00

It occurred to me that I could potentially post my entire KI IS here and demand that people critique it. Is that even allowed?But not that I've even finished it.

National Day celebs

2007-08-07T23:06:00.000+08:00

Today was a rather eventful day! The events were well-planned imo and I think most people had fun. -Most-. But since I'm falling asleep, I shall keep it very short.Discovered that I can actually use chopsticks! To pick up ping pong balls. Still can't use them for fishballs though, sadly.The Laser show was good, quite impressive! And good music to go with.Raffles Dance did a gig to Se7en's "

Disturbia

2007-08-05T23:20:00.000+08:00

Just watched Disturbia! Another one of those my-neighbor-is-a-murderer type shows, and I think this one's sole purpose is to promote Shia Lebeouf. Typical save-the-world/neighborhood-then-get-the-hot-chick storyline (like Transformers). This time he even has a sidekick named (gasp) Ron! Actually they call him Ronnie, but same difference. And the actor is a 28-year-old American-Korean playing

Hogwarts: The Next Generation

2007-08-04T06:55:00.000+08:00

Been reading the next generation fanfics lately and it occurred to me (although this is a highly unoriginal thought) that Harry Potter might just become the next Star Wars. Just like in the Expanded Universe of Star Wars where new authors write prequels and sequels of the main sixlogy, anyone could jolly well pick up a pen and start writing about the historical magical world all the way back

Impatience

2007-07-30T23:58:00.000+08:00

I swear the e-learning for highway code is deliberately designed to test your patience. They spent 5 slow-motion slides telling you that GREEN MEANS GO. aaarggggghhhhhhh!In other news, Goong S is finally out! But I refuse to part with 40 bucks for it when there is no particular reason to indulge. Not to mention with audio in Korean and subtitles in Chinese I'm unlikely to understand anything

Big Brother is Watching

2007-07-27T13:05:00.000+08:00

"The average citizen is not aware that they are carrying a location-tracking device in their pocket"Not that we haven't known for a long time but they've announced that they're tracking people using the GPS in everyone's cellphones. Was just talking to my parents about spy technology and the amount spent on defence budgets in every country and wondering just what marvels these overpriced

New Medicine

2007-07-23T23:32:00.001+08:00

Okay I have no idea why I'm actually blogging about new medicine but I find the rate of change in my medication slightly alarming. Like as if there's something wrong with me that my cardiologist isn't telling me. Anyway switched beta-blocker from Atenolol to Concor (bisoprolol fumarate, marginally more expensive too) which has the usual scary warning labels:This medicine may mask the symptoms of

HPDH + other random updates

2007-07-23T14:45:00.000+08:00

HPDH! After being reminded by the twinses about 5 times today to stop talking about possible spoilers since they refuse to read the book (and still can blame us =.="), I shall... just speak in general ^^.It was a nice end to the series, even though I've seen better-written fanfics, it was very Rowling and rightly so. I've seen cool plot points in many fanfic versions of post-OotP Harry Potter,

Boredom

2007-07-19T13:47:00.000+08:00

Makes you think funny things. Been exceedingly distracted the past few days, especially after IS consultation. >< So far have played Pokemon Diamond and re-read half of HBP, stuff I normally only do during the holidays. Revision lectures are completely pointless but math tutorials are actually becoming more interesting.But anyway, some interesting articles:- Eating Beef causes more Greenhouse

Order of the Phoenix

2007-07-12T23:46:00.000+08:00

Okay, so I'm not going to post any spoilers but I felt it worthy to blog that the show won't disappoint readers of the book since the book itself was so boring to begin with. The show is at least good at picking out the entertaining parts ^^.Casting was good, didn't expect Luna to be pulled off so well. This director had the sense not to give Daniel Radcliffe so many (annoying) close-ups, and

This is My Year

2007-07-07T23:17:00.000+08:00

Ahhh! Se7en's single "This is My Year" would have debuted today (07-07-07!) if it wasn't for the internet leak. But then again it might be a blessing in disguise, that song wasn't really very good, too much like Usher. The guy has weird idols. (Justin Timberlake? Usher? ...)A lot of stuff was happening today, like RI Philosophy dialogue session, Civil Service Scholarship Fair and such. The

B'day Chalet! +++

2007-07-04T18:43:00.000+08:00

Firstly, Happy B'day to our happening senior twins L & S! Independence Day is an apt day to be celebrating a 21st =).w00t so CTs were finally over and I had a nice b'day chalet over the weekend, courtesy of my perfect-planner parents! Invited various bunches of people including 6Rians, Astro (junior/peer), 412ers and seniors, who are all happening people!Spent dinner playing Texas Hold'em (sp?)

Last day of holz

2007-06-24T15:29:00.000+08:00

An utterly unremarkable topic indeed, and yet the heralder of much panic in all JC studs who've yet to complete their CT studying (or in my case, begin).Then again, here I am blogging and reading about "Eye on Nye", Bill Nye the Science Guy's 2005 series on such random but interesting topics as Pseudoscience, Astrobiology, Sports and Antibiotics. The guy's an eccentric genius - he developed some

Of Time-wasting...

2007-06-13T00:58:00.000+08:00

and other useless traits.Wonder how they survive natural selection?Was reading "Why People Believe Weird Things" by Michael Shermer, recommendation courtesy of Hong Jia, and found it exceedingly entertaining. He pokes fun at just about everyone, from alien abductees to psychics to the people who believe psychics... without actually poking fun at them; it's just if you read it that way.One

CAVES!

2007-05-24T22:21:00.000+08:00

Okay my blog evidences my mood-swingyness.Have just read the latest Planetary Society blog on CAVES ON MARS.Followed the link to El Zacaton Cenote (http://geology.com/zacaton/) World's Deepest Sinkhole.Discovered that sinkholes can actually form from BOTTOM UP.And that they can form ROCKS from TOP DOWN.(This thing called a travertine layer, some sort of surface precipitate of calcium carbonate,

"Will My Dream Come True?"

2007-05-20T23:09:00.000+08:00

A tantalizing carrot indeed, by Hype Records, Singapore. Simply send in a write-up about you and your dream, and stand a chance to go for auditions and potentially become a STAR.What's in a dream?In the recent Insight on Elitism in Singapore, we see the myth of Elite = Elitism get debunked, but we also have someone spell out to us what our everyday lives are all about. Being better-than-thou.

Lyrid Meteor Shower Watch

2007-04-22T16:55:00.000+08:00

Never thought I'd be able to say that I went for another overnight before A levels but hey, ECP was too tempting to resist.Generally speaking, Lyrids were quite a disappointment after the great show we had with Geminids at Changi Beach. It was also with totally different company (whole new batch of J1s) with the exception of the J5s from ACS watch and Kiaboon from... well he appears just about

Scitare in its 4th year

2007-04-07T20:44:00.000+08:00

Wow it's hard to believe that four years have passed since twinses and I were fighting with RGS PE department over the setting up of a science club. And now they're really official, it's like a dream come true... sort of.Went back to RG for the first time in a long long time to do an Astro intro session for the current Scitare batch. There was a turnout of about 20 people, which I must say is

Language and Knowledge

2007-04-02T22:02:00.000+08:00

The new topic in KI which is just so terribly ironic.The gist of it goes something like: Language consists of symbols separated from the physical world to which they refer... not free from bias... essentially does not communicate what IS, and is rather dependent on the interpretter.In which case whatever I write in my essay is not really conveying my thoughts or ideas but creating a general

Back-tracked thoughts

2007-03-24T15:06:00.000+08:00

Woah, so much has happened since I last blogged. CTs are almost over, with the exception of KI which I requested to postpone, Astrigue Challenge is over, KI IS proposals have been approved...Yup so point by point.1) Astrigue ChallengeI promise I'll put the photos up soon! Just that most of them aren't with me, they're with GGY/Daniel/Mr Ong, so I'd rather put them up in one shot after

Do you simply... cease to exist?

2007-03-11T22:28:00.000+08:00

I've always wondered about the subject of death and afterlife - got into it after reading about the Egyptian traditions of embalming their pharaohs and their concept of afterlife. Was later introduced to the Christian concept of afterlife and then the Mayan and a few other cultures'.The topic came up again while discussing KI IS topics with whizzy (I can't help thinking of my old pri sch

Addictions

2007-02-25T22:32:00.000+08:00

I've somehow become addicted to SH22 (Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century) fanfics again, so sue me. It's surprising how many philosophical issues a cartoon like that can raise:- if you revive and rejuvenate a dead person, does his soul return?- Holmes always prided himself on knowledge of his context. In the 22nd century can he still work the same wonders as he did in the 19th?- Can you really

Astrigue Camp / Valentine's Day

2007-02-15T19:30:00.000+08:00

All right, stress is temporarily over for one day!I realise I have yet to blog about Astrigue Camp, which was held on Saturday, 10th Feb. It's the first time RJ Astro organized such a camp and for a first try I feel that it went pretty well, though there's of course much room for improvement.In terms of the running of events on the day itself, it went pretty well. In fact we finished early, which

Destress

2007-02-02T22:38:00.000+08:00

What with KI IS due soon, lots of CCA stuff to handle, influx of lecture tests and SPAs, it's no wonder lots of people in my class are going nuts. NUS H3s certainly don't help, not when they eat up your time and money on transport and have such obtuse scheduling. Practicals from 6-9pm!Just had a history of astro session today which was rather enlightening, didn't know most of what was talked

Sinking of Japan

2007-01-28T00:47:00.000+08:00

Just watched another movie at long last! Borrowed the VCD for Nippon Chinbotsu (2006) and was strongly reminded of The Core.There's just something really iffy about the geological concepts they used in the show. E.g. 'megalith' isn't something that forms in the mantle, it's a human construct using large boulders and stone like stonehenge. Bacteria don't exist in the mantle itself. And it's highly

Of Astro, H3 and randomness

2007-01-21T06:59:00.000+08:00

Astro's been good! A big thank you to all the J2s (in and out of RJ) for your support, and to the new RJ Astro J1s for your enthusiasm! Hopefully we'll find a day to ask the seniors down too =) We shall also aim to make timing better for more people though, right now I understand that Friday night is kinda late for a lot of members.I hear Friday night's sky was good at ECP but unfortunately

2007

2007-01-08T19:07:00.000+08:00

Well I haven't really got new year resolutions, and neither am I starting off the new year on the right foot, what with SRP due last-minute and all.But today was a fun day! I finally got http://rjastro.sitesled.com up! And um, again got re-acquianted with c, which I shall promptly forget but nvm. I'm a n00b for a reason.1111111112222221123333211234432112344321123333211222222111111111is utterly

Geminid Meteor Shower

2006-12-15T17:18:00.000+08:00

Every night a shooting starDarts across the twilight sky...- Hercules, BoyzoneLast night was the peak of the Geminid meteor shower and it was really beautiful. After an extended dinner waiting for various parties to arrive, we just stood at the beach for a couple of minutes and counted almost 10 at a go.The turnup was quite amazing, but that's probably cuz so many parties were involved. 9 from RI

The Night Out

2006-12-10T20:16:00.000+08:00

So last night was my first overnight stargazing. I'm not sure what I really expected from it but it was very peaceful and relaxing =).Started with dinner at Ghim Moh hawker centre with Gary, Grace, Linus, Silvanus, Leslie and Audrye, spent a long time talking, and the j4s spent a lot of time catching up. Since it was drizzling we had to wait for it to stop. Then it was suggested to only go into

What a girl wants, what a girl needs

2006-11-29T14:49:00.000+08:00

Haven't really had the inclination to blog over the past two weeks, though much has indeed happened.Firstly, Business Orientation at GIC was a blast, met new friends, learned tonnes and tonnes and got exposed to a whole new career choice. I know I didn't really seem very enthusiastic about it but that was because I was suffering from severe lack of sleep. It was a Very Educational Experience and

A Year in Review

2006-11-12T15:21:00.000+08:00

So it's the end of the school year, and J1 has really flown past. Just one more year left till the end of structured education. I reckon this is making some of us feel old.This has probably been the most interesting school year I've had in 11 years, and it's really all down to the happening people I've had the fortune to meet in RJ. A rather uneventful year in terms of achieving anything (not

Escape

2006-10-29T23:53:00.000+08:00

It's difficult to resist the lure of the world of fiction at a time like this. Its therapeutic nature comes from allowing you to escape to a world that is not your own.My mum used to tell me when I was young that people take drugs to escape from their worries. Apart from its much more benign nature, Fiction is really no different. It transports you to an alternate reality where your worries are

Did someone say holidays?

2006-10-28T21:48:00.000+08:00

Sometimes I wish at least something would go right.The busyness of the holidays just seems so meaningless and I kind of just wish I could do absolutely nothing the whole of November; go for a holiday in US and wait for the school year to start before doing anything productive again.But like they say, wishes on a star just don't come true do they?It's so much easier to float along than to climb

Curry Puffs are a source of Low Entropy

2006-10-21T13:23:00.000+08:00

It's been an interesting week, and I still cannot believe that the school year is coming to a close. Time flies when you're having fun.Speaking of Time, Electronics club held a very interesting lecture by A/P McInnes on new ideas about Time, in which he spoke of the passing of time in terms of increase in disorder in the universe. A very entertaining lecture, so thanks muchly to Cheryl for

whinebitchmoan

2006-10-17T19:45:00.000+08:00

I can't remember exactly what Minggy classified her blog categories into in commonwealth essay last year but I believe it was something to the effect of Whine Bitch Moan.And that is what I intend to do.I shall whine about CHEM. Chem and physics are like now officially the bane of my existence, simply because I'm supposed to be studying for them but I HATE STUDYING. Yup. There are about 45 people

Random enthuness

2006-10-09T22:00:00.000+08:00

Yeahhhh babeh! I realised I haven't blogged about all the happening things lately.Of course, promos are long over and no one wants the papers back, but that's a different story. What's been happening is the bunch of happening J4s who have been, and will be, coming back to RJ to give us physics olym training! Honestly I don't put as much effort into it as I should be, but since they came around

Roving Mars

2006-09-18T21:20:00.000+08:00

So much more than just a show to me. Perhaps 40 minutes was too short, but what really gratified me was what I overheard from the family sitting beside us in the omnitheatre. That they could feel the excitement and the joy that came with the successful landing is enough, even if they didn't catch what the whole mission was about. Sometimes I wish I was back in JPL again, being close to all that

Timing Sucks man.

2006-09-16T11:55:00.000+08:00

So many cool astro things (Pluto, MRO, Indonesia's first satellite, Malaysia's first astronaut, Eris...) are happening and we can't talk about it/raise it in club cuz it's friggin PROMO TIME. Like wth man. Then post-promo there's so much to do that part of me doesn't want promos to end.And then my holz are gone due to attachment, and my mum wants me to go for physics, chem and math tuition (like

Conflict of Interest

2006-09-10T13:09:00.000+08:00

I want to go for APAO, I really do. But:1) My mum won't let me2) It clashes with SChO practical (for which I will try my best to qualify)3) I have 2 research projects to complete during that time4) We don't know how many countries are even going to participate this yearCan you blame me for considering pulling out?Sorry LT, I'll try. I really will. Till the end of this month.

The Hidden Motives

2006-09-03T12:29:00.000+08:00

Of late, whenever someone tries to talk to me about the Shuttle missions, I flare up; and often I've been asked why and could give no coherent response. I just ran through some of the latest entries by Louis Friedman on The Planetary Society Blog and I think the following entry quite fully encapsulates my disdain for NASA at present:http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00000682/I've never quite

The Devil Wears Prada

2006-08-27T14:40:00.000+08:00

Watched the midnight show with my mum and found it surprisingly meaningful. I don't know what I really expected from the movie, it sounded more like some comedic thing than anything serious but it turned out to be one of the most serious shows I've seen in a while.Of course, it's nothing new - If you wanna win, someone else has gotta lose. How ambition gets in the way of happiness: "When your

Is Pluto a Planet?

2006-08-24T23:00:00.000+08:00

And the verdict is out! Pluto, along with many other small, round bodies in the Solar System which go around the sun, is officially a "dwarf planet". This puts it on a somewhat lower status than the rest of the 8 planets which have managed to retain their titles as "Planet". So how do people feel about this?"who wants to be up there with the big boys when u can be something cooler like a cubewano