As I was doing some research for my art prep today, I came across an article which read:
'A 2000 SPH survey revealed that our (Singaporean) primary students were more afraid of examinations than of their parents dying. '
LOL. Hope things have changed 8 years later :)
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Random Quiz
HEY GUYS! ITS TIME FOR A RANDOM QUIZZZ!!!! (Muyao asked me to do this, he tagged my name.)
Name 20 people you can think of right now. Don’t read the questions until you name them. At the end of this, choose 5 people to do this. Have FUN!
1) Muyao
2) Samuel
3) Theodora
4) Sherilyn
5) Jolyn
6) Alicea
7) Althea
8) Hanhao
9) Andrew
10) Junyang
11) Winston
12) Jourdan
13) Esmond
14) Jian Wei
15) Elroy
16) May
17) Yeejek
18) Kelvin
19) Steve Jobs
20) Bill Gates
A) How did you meet 14?
Photog CCA...
B) What would I do if I never met 1? (Muyao)
If I didn't meet Muyao, I would smash my camera up into pieces. He (and Samuel) were the ones who got me in love with photography.
C) What if 9 & 20 dated? (Andrew & Bill Gates)
Hmm... then that would be the biggest gay story in the entire tech world.
D) How about 6 & 17? (Alicea & Yeejek)
Hmm... I think that might work out well :P
E) Describe 3. (Theodora)
Ah. My sister... she's sec 2 and into running. She likes the TV and has a stuff toy bear named Skunky.
F) Is 8 attractive? (Hanhao)
Oh I'm sure. If I was an indian gay, yup I'd fall for him.
G) Describe 7. (Althea)
She's a fun person, loves dance, in the same art class as me, same IP class as me.
H) Do you know any of 12’s family members? (Jourdan)
I don't personally, but my mum knows his mum.
I) What would you do if 18 confessed that he/she likes you? (Kelvin)
I would... adopt him as my pet puppy. :)
J) What language does 15 speak? (Elroy)
Erm. English and chinese la.
K) Who is 9 going out with? (Andrew)
I don't know. A secret someone I guess.
L) How old is 16? (May)
17
M) When is the last time you spoke to 13? (Esmond)
Yesterday (sat) in school during vsparks meeting!
N) What’s 2’s favourite band/singer? (Samuel)
Celine Dion for now?
O) Would you ever date 4? (Sherilyn)
Sherilyn is my youngest sister. Ya right, as if I don't see enough of her at home. Haha...
P) Would you ever date 1? (Muyao)
I will use the same answer Muyao gave to dating Samuel: We are BFFs. Why not. And he has nice muscles and is smart.
Q) Is 19 single? (Steve Jobs)
Omg. Definitely not. He has iPods, Macs and iPhones to keep him company. Not to mention MobileMe and his vegan diet.
R) What is 10’s last name? (Junyang)
Ng... duh.
S) Would you ever date 11? (Winston)
Erm no please. I'm straight.
T) What is 3’s School? (Theodora)
Cedar Girls :)
U) Where does 16 live? (May)
I don't know. Somewhere in sunny Singapore.
V) What is 5’s favourite thing? (Jolyn)
Ah, soccer and cameras and her new 450D!
W) Have you seen 2 naked?
Oh no I wouldn't want to. I'd leave that privilege for his gf. But he's hot though :)
Ok done. I now tag Junyang, Hong Aik, Alicea, Hanhao and Althea!
Name 20 people you can think of right now. Don’t read the questions until you name them. At the end of this, choose 5 people to do this. Have FUN!
1) Muyao
2) Samuel
3) Theodora
4) Sherilyn
5) Jolyn
6) Alicea
7) Althea
8) Hanhao
9) Andrew
10) Junyang
11) Winston
12) Jourdan
13) Esmond
14) Jian Wei
15) Elroy
16) May
17) Yeejek
18) Kelvin
19) Steve Jobs
20) Bill Gates
A) How did you meet 14?
Photog CCA...
B) What would I do if I never met 1? (Muyao)
If I didn't meet Muyao, I would smash my camera up into pieces. He (and Samuel) were the ones who got me in love with photography.
C) What if 9 & 20 dated? (Andrew & Bill Gates)
Hmm... then that would be the biggest gay story in the entire tech world.
D) How about 6 & 17? (Alicea & Yeejek)
Hmm... I think that might work out well :P
E) Describe 3. (Theodora)
Ah. My sister... she's sec 2 and into running. She likes the TV and has a stuff toy bear named Skunky.
F) Is 8 attractive? (Hanhao)
Oh I'm sure. If I was an indian gay, yup I'd fall for him.
G) Describe 7. (Althea)
She's a fun person, loves dance, in the same art class as me, same IP class as me.
H) Do you know any of 12’s family members? (Jourdan)
I don't personally, but my mum knows his mum.
I) What would you do if 18 confessed that he/she likes you? (Kelvin)
I would... adopt him as my pet puppy. :)
J) What language does 15 speak? (Elroy)
Erm. English and chinese la.
K) Who is 9 going out with? (Andrew)
I don't know. A secret someone I guess.
L) How old is 16? (May)
17
M) When is the last time you spoke to 13? (Esmond)
Yesterday (sat) in school during vsparks meeting!
N) What’s 2’s favourite band/singer? (Samuel)
Celine Dion for now?
O) Would you ever date 4? (Sherilyn)
Sherilyn is my youngest sister. Ya right, as if I don't see enough of her at home. Haha...
P) Would you ever date 1? (Muyao)
I will use the same answer Muyao gave to dating Samuel: We are BFFs. Why not. And he has nice muscles and is smart.
Q) Is 19 single? (Steve Jobs)
Omg. Definitely not. He has iPods, Macs and iPhones to keep him company. Not to mention MobileMe and his vegan diet.
R) What is 10’s last name? (Junyang)
Ng... duh.
S) Would you ever date 11? (Winston)
Erm no please. I'm straight.
T) What is 3’s School? (Theodora)
Cedar Girls :)
U) Where does 16 live? (May)
I don't know. Somewhere in sunny Singapore.
V) What is 5’s favourite thing? (Jolyn)
Ah, soccer and cameras and her new 450D!
W) Have you seen 2 naked?
Oh no I wouldn't want to. I'd leave that privilege for his gf. But he's hot though :)
Ok done. I now tag Junyang, Hong Aik, Alicea, Hanhao and Althea!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Back to routine
Today was my last paper, art theory. I'm quite satisfied with it as I did manage to finish it well, I think. Then we went to watch ZOHAN at Suntec and had dinner together as a celebration for the end of mid-years. Zohan was a good laugh, but not very super duper fantastic. In my opinion, the trailer took all the fun out of it because it included all the funny parts of the movie. It's NC16 btw, due to hilarious sexual connotations. But I think that Borat is funnier.
Hmm so now that exams are over, it's back to routine and life again, almost immediately. All the projects, CCA commitments are piling back on and stress is coming back. Back to reality!
As a side note, I'm looking forward to the release of Hillsong's live album this July, which is very very soon...
Hmm so now that exams are over, it's back to routine and life again, almost immediately. All the projects, CCA commitments are piling back on and stress is coming back. Back to reality!
As a side note, I'm looking forward to the release of Hillsong's live album this July, which is very very soon...
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Gates steps down
As of July this year, Bill Gates will be stepping down from Microsoft and will now be a chairman and advisor while increasing his foundation efforts. According to Microsoft, he will be relinquishing his daily role in the company, but this does not mean he will totally take his hand out of matters.
I think it's an opportune time for Gates to make way for new blood to head the company as it transits gradually from traditional desktop software and operating systems to cloud computing and Web 2.0 technologies. In order to do this, Microsoft has Mr Ray Ozzie, who is the chief mastermind behind recent developments such as Live Mesh and the cloud computing stuff. With his past experience on Lotus Notes, he is clearly the figure who will direct the company to slowly place less emphasis on desktop software. Now that Gates is 'leaving', he can have more liberty to grow Microsoft's internet presence without facing outright objection from Gates, because previously Gates would never have totally approved of cloud computing, since it could cannibalize major software sales such as Office. Ozzie will have the new title of Chief Software Architect.
As Gates steps down, CEO Steve Ballmer will also rise to greater power. In recent months, he has come to be known as the guy who proposed the Yahoo! acquisition, and failed. To me, he is more aggressive a business man than Gates, which is what I feel Microsoft needs to do in the face of increasing competition from companies like Google and Apple.
But more than anything, I think Gates stepping down shouldn't be viewed as a big deal, as this does not mean he has fully withdrawn from Microsoft. He's just moving on with life, and that's fine. I think there are great leaders to sustain the company, and it won't crumble anytime soon. As read on Microsoft's website, Ballmer says that "Bill and I are confident we’ve got a great team that can step up to fill his shoes and drive Microsoft innovation forward without missing a beat. "
All the best Microsoft!
Monday, June 23, 2008
E-X-A-M-S!
Today marks the start of a new school term, and also the start of mid year exams. I'm dreading the first week of school! Today was physics, it was so-so, but as expected time wasn't sufficient. Tomorrow is GP, which is a more manageable subject, Wednesday is math (yeah!), Thursday is chemistry (oh no) and Friday is beloved art. OK no more wasting time, off for lunch then studying...
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Canon update
Canon announces 1000D entry-level dSLR and Speedlite 430EX II flash
Canon launched the affordable EOS 300D in 2003, and over the years, has improved considerably to become the 450D today. Due to increasing competition by other manufacturers to provide budget cameras, Canon announced the 1000D - a dSLR sitting beneath the 450D in the lineup to compete with the likes of the Nikon D60. Hoping to replicate the success of the 300D back then, this camera is both affordable and has a good feature set. Essentially, it is saddled between the 400D and 450D.
It has many features of the 450D, but in a lighter less expensive package. According to dpreview: “The EOS 1000D is a small camera with a big idea: the supreme adaptability and image quality of the EOS system, in an accessible, affordable package,” said Mogens Jensen, Head of Canon Consumer Imaging Europe. “For anyone ready to take the next step in creative photography, it offers the perfect entry point to the world of D-SLR.”
Features:
-10.1 MP sensor (1.6 crop factor)
-DIGIC III image processor
-EOS Integrated Cleaning System
-7 point AF (as opposed to 9 points on 400D/450D)
-2.5" LCD with Live View
-SD/SDHC memory cards
-3fps continuous shooting until card is full
-Compatible with EF/EF-S lenses
The features are actually quite good, and in some ways better than my 400D, such as Live View and DIGIC III. I think Canon has a camera well positioned to take on it's main competitor - the D60.
Apart from the 1000D, Canon also announced a revision to their mid-range external flash unit, the Speedlite 430EX II. This new flash offers 20% faster recycle times and a new quick release similar to that of the 580EX II. Now mounting and dismounting is so much easier, thankfully! Also, there can be full control of the flash via the camera's menu system of compatible EOS cameras, like the 40D.
Great stuff Canon!
Canon launched the affordable EOS 300D in 2003, and over the years, has improved considerably to become the 450D today. Due to increasing competition by other manufacturers to provide budget cameras, Canon announced the 1000D - a dSLR sitting beneath the 450D in the lineup to compete with the likes of the Nikon D60. Hoping to replicate the success of the 300D back then, this camera is both affordable and has a good feature set. Essentially, it is saddled between the 400D and 450D.
It has many features of the 450D, but in a lighter less expensive package. According to dpreview: “The EOS 1000D is a small camera with a big idea: the supreme adaptability and image quality of the EOS system, in an accessible, affordable package,” said Mogens Jensen, Head of Canon Consumer Imaging Europe. “For anyone ready to take the next step in creative photography, it offers the perfect entry point to the world of D-SLR.”
Features:
-10.1 MP sensor (1.6 crop factor)
-DIGIC III image processor
-EOS Integrated Cleaning System
-7 point AF (as opposed to 9 points on 400D/450D)
-2.5" LCD with Live View
-SD/SDHC memory cards
-3fps continuous shooting until card is full
-Compatible with EF/EF-S lenses
The features are actually quite good, and in some ways better than my 400D, such as Live View and DIGIC III. I think Canon has a camera well positioned to take on it's main competitor - the D60.
Apart from the 1000D, Canon also announced a revision to their mid-range external flash unit, the Speedlite 430EX II. This new flash offers 20% faster recycle times and a new quick release similar to that of the 580EX II. Now mounting and dismounting is so much easier, thankfully! Also, there can be full control of the flash via the camera's menu system of compatible EOS cameras, like the 40D.
Great stuff Canon!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Stronger - Hillsong 2008
Did a bit of singing and strumming today and recorded a Christian song that I love! 'Stronger' is a new song in Hillsong's latest album 'This Is Our God', which will be released in July. Apologies for my less-than-perfect singing, but I really enjoyed creating this!
Here are the chords that I figured out by myself:
Here are the chords that I figured out by myself:
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
WWDC 08: First thoughts
Wow. Stayed up till 2am last night (today actually) to catch the keynote live from engadget. Was staring at the screen and constantly refreshing engadget while the rest of my family were asleep. After a while I couldn't take it and decided that I would just catch the video in the morning.
So woke up today and the first thing I did was to check the Apple website. Watched a bit of the video, and my first thoughts are that everything we anticipated came true.
There was a 3G iPhone, it has a plastic back, it's faster, it's thinner, the screen and look is still similar to the old phone, it has GPS, it'll reach Singapore... All these were known before hand. So no surprises for me.
Even MobileMe came true, though I've yet to understand what this is completely.
The iPhone took centrestage in the keynote, but they also talked about 'Snow Leopard'.
Cool stuff! I'll be formally reviewing these announcements soon, so do check back today or tmr!
So woke up today and the first thing I did was to check the Apple website. Watched a bit of the video, and my first thoughts are that everything we anticipated came true.
There was a 3G iPhone, it has a plastic back, it's faster, it's thinner, the screen and look is still similar to the old phone, it has GPS, it'll reach Singapore... All these were known before hand. So no surprises for me.
Even MobileMe came true, though I've yet to understand what this is completely.
The iPhone took centrestage in the keynote, but they also talked about 'Snow Leopard'.
Cool stuff! I'll be formally reviewing these announcements soon, so do check back today or tmr!
10.5.3 known problem
To all beloved Mac users: installation of the latest update for OS X - 10.5.3 might cause problems with iMovie 7.
I installed 10.5.3 on my iMac and my iMovie did not load properly. Tried the fixes suggested online and thank goodness it worked. So till then, avoid 10.5.3 until this problem is resolved!
I installed 10.5.3 on my iMac and my iMovie did not load properly. Tried the fixes suggested online and thank goodness it worked. So till then, avoid 10.5.3 until this problem is resolved!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
WWDC 08: Speculations
Monday (tmr) will be the much awaited Apple World Wide Developer's Conference (WWDC). Steve Jobs will be giving a keynote, and as usual, be announcing several cool products.
This time, he will definitely reveal the new iPhone, which will be 3G, and most probably have new features such as GPS and an Instant Messaging client. Copy and paste remains yet to be seen if it will be implemented. Hardware wise, I think this new phone will be thinner and sleeker, but I doubt there will be major changes to the overall look. This 3G iPhone will be the version reaching Asia, including Singapore.
Secondly, Jobs will also most likely give us a sneak preview as to what's happening with OS X 10.6. They're running out of names of big cats, so I'm unsure what this version will be called. I've heard rumours from cnet that 10.6 will focus on security and reliability instead of adding a ton of new features, which makes sense. With an increasing market share and thus increasing attacks on the Mac, I feel Apple needs to address the issue of security urgently.
So these are the two main topics in the keynote I suppose. Be sure to catch the screencast on the Apple website after the event!
This time, he will definitely reveal the new iPhone, which will be 3G, and most probably have new features such as GPS and an Instant Messaging client. Copy and paste remains yet to be seen if it will be implemented. Hardware wise, I think this new phone will be thinner and sleeker, but I doubt there will be major changes to the overall look. This 3G iPhone will be the version reaching Asia, including Singapore.
Secondly, Jobs will also most likely give us a sneak preview as to what's happening with OS X 10.6. They're running out of names of big cats, so I'm unsure what this version will be called. I've heard rumours from cnet that 10.6 will focus on security and reliability instead of adding a ton of new features, which makes sense. With an increasing market share and thus increasing attacks on the Mac, I feel Apple needs to address the issue of security urgently.
So these are the two main topics in the keynote I suppose. Be sure to catch the screencast on the Apple website after the event!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Quick update
Jun Yang asked me why I haven't updated my blog for quite a while. That's because this holidays have been really activity-packed and intense.
Hmm... my blog's cbox has some weird pop-up ad thingy going around which I don't know why... and I have yet to find how to resolve this problem, really irritating!
Just came back from China on a school exchange trip with Jin Cai High School in Shanghai; it was really an enjoyable time. Processed 700+ photos when I came back, which killed me.
Just started on my art painting and want to finish it fast so that I can study!!
2 pieces of personal achievements for me though: 1) I won the Light of Life photography competition - a consolation prize of $100 (only). 2) My Thinkquest team won HONORABLE MENTION for our website and I'm so proud that our efforts didn't go to waste! Each team member will be receiving a US$750 laptop, and I'm praying so very hard that it will be the HP Mini-Note 2133. My website can be viewed here from Thinkquest server.
Oh oh track samples for the new Hillsong album 'This Is Our God' is now available! Whoo! The songs are really great, I like Stronger (especially the bridge) and Desert Song!
Ok I think I'm going to screw up my mid years, so better get mugging now!
Hmm... my blog's cbox has some weird pop-up ad thingy going around which I don't know why... and I have yet to find how to resolve this problem, really irritating!
Just came back from China on a school exchange trip with Jin Cai High School in Shanghai; it was really an enjoyable time. Processed 700+ photos when I came back, which killed me.
Just started on my art painting and want to finish it fast so that I can study!!
2 pieces of personal achievements for me though: 1) I won the Light of Life photography competition - a consolation prize of $100 (only). 2) My Thinkquest team won HONORABLE MENTION for our website and I'm so proud that our efforts didn't go to waste! Each team member will be receiving a US$750 laptop, and I'm praying so very hard that it will be the HP Mini-Note 2133. My website can be viewed here from Thinkquest server.
Oh oh track samples for the new Hillsong album 'This Is Our God' is now available! Whoo! The songs are really great, I like Stronger (especially the bridge) and Desert Song!
Ok I think I'm going to screw up my mid years, so better get mugging now!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)