Monday, December 29, 2008

The World Ends With You

Every once in a while, I will play some games that are so engaging, creative and fun that inspire me to want to work in the game industry, so that I would be able to work together with these genius to produce something that will provide as much enjoyment to the world.

 

The World Ends With You is such a game. 

 

There are also some games that are unique to different platforms and that, if you possessed that platform, you cannot ever miss that game.

 

The World Ends With You is such a game to NDS just as Patapon is to PSP. 

 

Anwz The World Ends With You is an RPG made by Square Enix and that says it all. (And if you don't know Square Enix, well... I would just say that you missed out on some of the best things in life. Haha!) And if anymore proof is needed, a visit to Gamespot.com should be sufficient.

 

 


 

Hmmm... the department I am in now don't make games exactly... but close enough. One day, I will ......

 

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Meaning of life 2

For the 2 ENTIRE days of the past long weekend, both Sunday and Monday, I had been WORKING non-stop!

 

As you know, I am in the flight simulation industry, hence, it is part of my job to learn more about the various types of aircraft, their performance, and different flying maneuvers and combat tactics (so as to create good AIs). And, lo and behold, I had been doing just that during the past long weekend!

 

Flying and fighting against different aircrafts, such as F-16, F-5E, F-22, MIG-31, SU-37 etc etc, practicing maneuvers such as split-s, immelman, lead pursuit etc etc, aiming and firing missiles and gun... on my old PSP. Work had and will never been this much fun!

 

Suddenly I had an epiphany regarding why I had been feeling so depressed and felt the meaning of life missing:

 

'COS I HAVE NOT BEEN PLAYING GAMES FOR THE PAST TWO MONTHS!

 

Last Friday I met up with Jiahong and Soonguan, two of my best friends. Our conversation gradually shifted from work to games. When Soonguan asked me what games I had been playing and I told him I don't play games anymore, he paused for a brief second. Soonguan, though he didn't say anything in this brief second of silence, loudly 'exclaimed' something that abruptly woke me up:

 

"Bro, what the f*** happened to you man?!? You are not you anymore! You are losing yourself!"

 

His 'words' led to me to my PSP, and the MEANING OF LIFE.

 

Meaning of Life is nothing more that the latest distraction that makes you stop finding the non-existent meaning of life for the moment.

 

Damn. life is so God-Damnned empty. Well, gonna play more games...

 

In my search for the meaning of life for the past week, I have heard some interesting answers - Singying's "Role in life", Jiahong's "Girlfriend", a friend I know will say "God", and lastly a colleague told me "Still need to ask?? Of course is to reproduce la!" (WTF)

 

Thanks everyone for your answers, but I have found mine...

 

"Fun and GAME."

 

... at least for the moment. LOL!

 

PS. My Macbook spoiled and I can't find my reciept on Sunday. I took a cab from AMK to NTU (work purpose) and forget to take receipt yesterday.
 

"When shit happens, it sometimes comes as an unrelenting case of bad diahorrea."

 

Well said, Jiahong. But who cares anyway, now that I found my meaning of life. Haha!

 

 

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Random

Felt damn down these days -

Two friends who tried to release aeroplane on the same day, people who take forever to reply sms, program which simply refuse to compile successfully, a friend who rejected job offer by my department, etc etc etc.

Somehow, when you are feeling down, your resistance to everyday's bad news is abnormally low. Even little things that usually don't have an effect hit you twice as hard. It sucks.

A saying: "When life hands you lemons, you make lemonades. When life hands you peanuts, you don't have to work for the rest of the year!" (The second part I add myself, by right should be "...you make peanut butter". A stupid joke. Haha.)

I guess I shouldn't be feeling so down. After all I am much more fortunate than most people. Most of my friends around me are working like hell. Two are already thinking of or had already changed job in a period of less than 6 months after graduation. My job may not be the best job around, but at least I don't have to work like hell. What's more I just took a leave last Wednesday to rest and coming Monday is a holiday. Then I got good friends who tried to cheer me up (by suggesting I get a girlfriend).

What more do I want??

I guess I am just tired. Hopefully my mood will be like the background of my blog after these few day's rest - bright and sunny.

Cheers!

P.S. Yeah! I finally got used to using my Macbook!


Monday, December 1, 2008

Meaning of Life

This is my nth entry on the elusive meaning of life. To a student, meaning of life may be getting good grades and having good fun. To others, meaning of life may be neverending pursuing of more power or more money or both, either for material wants or survival needs.

 

I am fortunate. I am well provided for throughout my life. I live within my means and have little wants. I don't have to struggle to make my ends meet. Power is something I think I might enjoy, but it comes with so MUCH hussle that I never thought it is worth the effort to go after it. And I am not a student anymore, so having a goal of getting good grades is also not an options anymore.

 

This leaves me with a little problem: What is my meaning of life???

 

That is actually a rhetorical question. I have already concluded to myself long ago that there is no inherent meaning to life. But having no meaningful goals in life actually really make life super empty, boring. Imagine every week's routine: Weekdays work until 6; surf net, watch tv until 11, sleep. Weekends meet friends, go out, read comics, watch movies, shop, write blog. Repeat this until the end of your life.

 

It is a good life, I admit. At least I can still do, and capable of doing, (most of) whatever I want, unlike some other less fortunate people. But it is boring! I figured it won't help even if I go Europe or some other very fun countries for a long holidays. It won't help if I watch a very good movie or read a very good book or comic (and I read plenty of good books and watch plenty of good shows these days). The empty feeling will still be there, cos

 

There. Is. No. Meaning. In. Life!

 

......

 

Perhaps, just perhaps, the meaning of life is to search for the ultimate Meaning of Life!

 

Yeah! I will go and seek my meaning of life! Yeah!

 

......

 

Another stupid and meaningless entry. *Yawn*

 

 

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Future

Today, a friend asked me, "If you know a guy has a history of being playboy, will you let your daughter marry him?"

 

I said, "I will let my daughter make her own decision. Maybe he will change and be true to my daughter? One never know what the future may bring anyway."  

 

Future.

 

Now thinking back, "One never know what the future may bring anyway"  may not be so correct. Is it really true that we can't predict the future?

 

 

Do you know what will happen to you and the things around you the next minute? Of course!

 

Do you know what will happen to you and the things around you the next day? To a large extent.

 

Do you know what will happen to you and the things around you the next week? Most probably.

 

Do you know what will happen to you and the things around you the next month? To a certain extent.

 

Do you know what will happen to you and the things around you the next year? Roughly.

 

What about things not around you, the things you don't know about?

 

 

We can all predict the future to a certain extent. The accuracy is determined by only 2 factors : Time and Knowledge.

 

We predict the future all the time. Our actions now are all determined by our prediction of the future.

 

 

But when we predict the future, we often do not factor the actions we take now. By 'we', I mean me and all the people around me. Of course, to factor in all the actions people may take, we also have to factor in how people predict the future.

 

Psychology. Sociology. Economics. Etc.

 

 

Remember? Accuracy is directly proportional to Knowledge/Time. Knowledge may includes Psychology, Sociology, Economics and others.

 

 

Sounds difficult? No. It is pretty easy to predict the future. Imagine you can't predict the future. Everything that happens to you is unexpected. Floor that is under you this minute is not there the next! That would be fun. But you will go mad.

 

 

Time.

 

The shorter the time frame, the more accurate it is. The floor is more likely to be under you the next minute compared to hundred thousand years later. Who says long term equals less risk??

 

 

Play chess. A game of prediction. What your opponent might do next determine what you will do now. Lay a vicious trap for him! 

 

Stock market. 

 

Can you predict what I am going to write next? 

 

 

A famous poker player once said, 

 

"Five minutes into a poker game, if you don't know which sucker you can earn money from, then that sucker is you."   

 

 

I want to be a Forecaster.

 

Daughter marry a playboy?? Will I have a daughter in the first place? Lol!

 

 

Random Ramblings.

 

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Stupid

This week has been pretty peaceful so far. Except for the fact that I lost 7 days worth of salary within a few minutes on Monday night.

It was on impulse, based on nothing but the news that AIG received a larger amount of bailout funds. The stock gapped open at $2.77 from Friday's close of $2.11 and shot up to $2.84 a within few minutes after it opens. Then it come down and fluctuate around $2.60s. I bought 4000 shares at $2.68. A few minutes after I bought, the stock plummeted straight down to $2.50s region.

I cannot believe my eyes. This is way more than I was prepared to lose. I quickly sold my shares at $2.53 while recovering from my shock. A quick calculation factoring in US exchange rate and brokerage fees told me that I lost about a third of my salary. I went to sleep wondering if I should quit trading.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I don't mind telling everyone my fiasco. You all can think I am stupid if you want.

I admit I am stupid.

You may think I am even more stupid than stupid if I am not going to quit trading. And yup, I am NOT going to give up trading.

Go on, think what you want.

I have come to terms with my loss. Now I know what my mistake is - I trade impulsively. I am really gambling! Hence this crushing defeat. Now I VOW I will follow my own trading system to the letter and never make any impulsive trades again!

Tomorrow will be better! =)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I have been pondering long and hard on this strategy that many common investors have been using - "Buy and Hold". Everyone adopt this strategy these days - friends, my mom, and even me. "Buy and Hold" works pretty good when the market is good, but led you to Hell when the market crash, as many of you will have experienced now if you did some investing of you own.

Talking about my own experience, 6 months after I bought my China fund, I have a whooping 90% profit! But now, not only the profit was all gone, 30% of my capital has vanished! All thanks to the "Buy and Hold" strategy. I wondered, what could be done to prevent this from happening and even keep the profits. Market timing (as stated in my previous post) , perhaps?

Yesterday I have a flash of insight after reading books on stocks trading! The answer is surprisingly simple! It involves nothing about market timing, chart reading or complicated technical indicators. No rocket science.

It is a simple money management technique called Trailing Stop Loss!

Simply put, it is to constantly set a maximum amount of money you will allow yourself to lose / eat into your profits. A rough example: when I first buy my fund, I should set my stop loss at -10%. That is to say, if the fund loses 10% of its value, I sell. (Rationale behind being, if I lose 10%, that means I am WRONG to invest in it! Better correct it before it become more 'wrong'!)

Then as the fund goes up, my stop loss level go up. Eg. when my fund goes up +20%, my stop loss will be increased to +10%, when my fund goes up 30%, my stop loss will be increased to +20% and so on.

Back to my China fund example: Hence when my fund reach +90%, my stop loss level will be +80%. So when my fund price drop to +80%, I should have sold, keeping 80% of my profit! This is much better compared to the situation now, where I loses 30% of my capital!

Of course, discipline plays a large part - you MUST sell when your stop loss is reached. But the Trailing Stop Loss concept isn't too hard to understand, isn't it?

Now then I think of it, damn! I am so stupid. Some lessons in life are so goddamn expensive!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Change topic: Gundam 00 Season 2 is out! Woohoo!

Intellectually cool. Explosive actions. Emotionally engaging. Wow graphics. Intriguing plot. What more do you want?

 

Oh ya, Madagascar 2 is damn funny! "I like to move it move it!"

 

Friday, November 14, 2008

A LIGHTER LOOK AT MARRIAGE

At the cocktail party, one woman said to another, "Aren't you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong finger?" The other replied, "Yes I am, I married the wrong man."

Man is incomplete until he is married. Then he is really finished.

Marriage is an institution in which a man loses his bachelor's degree and the woman gets her master's.

A little boy asked his father, "Daddy, how much does it cost to get married?" And the father replied, "I don't know, son, I'm still paying for it."

Young Son: Is it true, Dad, I heard that in some parts of Africa a man doesn't know his wife until he marries her? Dad: That happens in most countries, son.

Then there was a man who said, "I never knew what real happiness was until I got married; and then it was too late.

When a newly married man looks happy, we know why. But when a ten-year married man looks happy - we wonder why.

Married life is very frustrating. In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens. In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. In the third year, they both speak and the neighbors listen.

After a quarrel, a wife said to her husband, "You know, I was a fool when I married you." And the husband replied, "Yes, dear, but I was in love and didn't notice it."

A man inserted an 'ad' in the classifieds: "Wife wanted". Next day he received a hundred letters. They all said the same thing: "You can have mine."

How do most men define marriage? A very expensive way to get your laundry done free.

The most effective way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once.

When a man steals your wife, there is no better revenge than to let him keep her.

Eighty percent of married men cheat in America. The rest cheat in Europe.

Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence. Second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience.

 

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Life

"Hi, I am JF, and I am a gambler."

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Weekends. Whenever I didn't go out to meet friends, I love to sit alone in somewhere quiet, a cafe or foodcourt, to drink and read, and to think about life. Btw, I just had a cup of coffee.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Life. Work. Money... Gambling.

 

On 22/10, I lost $168 in stocks market (SGX).

On 23/10, I earned $180 (St Engg).

On 24/10, I lost $527 (CapitaComm & ST Engg).

On 31/10, I earned $455 (St Engg).

On 03/11, I earned $70 (SMRT).

On 04/11, I lost $120 (Alcatel Lucent).

Yesterday, I earned $300 (AIG). 

 

Money. Easy come, easy go. People say life is full of ups and downs.

 

How true.

 

(I can happily say that I learnt this without having to pay school fee, yet. Hee.)

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Risk. People think: short term trading = high risk, long term investment = low risk.

 

Bullshit. (Financial planners, ahem...)

 

Investing blindly, OR, not watching your investment, OR, invest but don't know when to exit = HIGH RISK.

 

Nothing goes up forever... Nothing.

 

Ups and downs. Remember?

 

(The school fees for learning this is VERY expensive.)

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

I read one article on Weekend Today a few weeks ago. It goes something like this.

 

"Don't sell now. If you sell now, you are doing what is called 'Market Timing'. By doing this, not only you are assuming you know when to sell, but also when to buy. It is ok if you don't want to invest anymore after you sell. But If you do want to invest again, how do you know when to enter the market?"

 

At that time, I thought it quite make sense, so I hold. But since then, the loss of my Unit Trust has escalated from hundreds to thousand plus. I am trapped. Then I realised something:

 

Ignorance costs A LOT (...and will cost alot more in the future).

 

My philosophy: If I don't know something I need to know, I figure it out.

 

'Market Timing'?? Doesn't sound too difficult, does it?

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

I have some very professional colleagues at work. When I asked them what do they do when they go home after work, they reply they read books on technical knowledge. I am impressed, and a little guilty.

 

I also like to read. Nowadays I read analysis reports, news, stock charts, books on trading, and Batman graphic novels.

 

My mind can never be too focus on one thing. I can never be a truely professional professional.

 

I am fated to be a jack of all trades. (trades... haha!) Sad.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Feel, a sense that many neglect.

 

In art exhibitions, I feel the place's atmosphere and the artists' motives. In nature, I feel the life of the trees and the wind on my skin. In stock market, I feel the pulse and emotions of the players in the market.

 

Greed, fear, uncertainty.

 

I realise, I also feel exactly what the market is feeling.

 

Greed, fear, uncertainty. (Ups and downs... and sideways.)

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

No one comments these days (except for some stupid people who advertise on selling WOW gold, f***). Is it because I can't relate to people anymore?

 

I know I have friends. I meet up with people.

 

But I am in a world of my own.

 

 

Ha! Effects of coffee.

 

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Update

Went to the remaining Singapore Biennale place, South Beach Development, today with 2 jc friends. Photo here. (Oh btw, if anyone wants to go can jio me... I may want to go again. =)

 

I know I sound very arty-farty in recent my blog entries. But nope. I am not seriously an arts person. I am not art-trained. As a result, I cannot understand 100% the meaning behind the exhibitions. But I like these exhibits, simply because these are creative things that no one else will even dream of doing. I heard that people comment in exhibitions - "I can also do this!" No. The point is not whether you can do this or not. The point is whether you can think of doing this, and actually do it. This is what differentiate people who can only talk from real artists.

 

I admit I am not an artist.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

The way I "appreciate" the exhibits -

 

First I read the caption, then I look at the exhibit, think a bit... 'hmmm'... read the caption again, look at the exhibit again, and think a bit again... 'Wa sibei chim, good good, very interesting (but I don't really understand)'... then I walk off. Most prob the entire process won't take more than 5 minutes.

 

Time.

 

Inside the exhibition hall, be it City Hall, South Beach Development, Central Promontory Site (at Raffles Place), or any other museum, you will feel that you entered another world, another time-space. At the site itself, time moves slower. Not everyone can adjust himself or herself in the space at first -

 

Some still walk pretty fast around the exhibits and miss lots of tiny details. (I am guilty of that.) Some still keep punching or talking on their handphone/PDA phone, unable to unplug themselves from the real world outside. Some complain that they don't understand what the hell is the artist trying to do and quickly move on to the next exhibit. (I am guilty of that too!)

 

But sooner or later, everyone will slow down their pace, sometimes stop and sit down, to listen to what these exhibits are trying to tell us. To appreciate. Time slows... stop.

 

Peace.

 

Then, you will find that you don't really need to conciously understand what the exhibit is trying to tell you.

 

Your heart already understood.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Anwz for updates. These days my world have been revolving around stocks trading. Most of the time after work was spent on reading books on stocks trading and analysing stocks and stocks markets. For years I have been trying different ways to predict the future - Palmistry, Tarots, I-Ching etc etc. Now I have decided to put my future-predicting obsession to good practical use -

 

Predict the Stock Market.

 

I will find the secret, the key, the Holy Grail, to unlock this huge treasure trove that is the stock market, one day. MONEY MONEY MONEY!!!

 

Oh btw, I have started another blog on stock trading in Blogspot, consolidating all the knowledge I scraped from the many many different books and websites that I read in one place before I forgot. (Some of the books cost hundreds of dollars in bookstores!) My knowledge repository.

 

Currently it is only for invited readers (as there are lots of copyrighted contents, sshhhh...), and there is only one invited reader - ME. Haha! But if anyone who is also interested, no matter you really want to trade stocks or not, feel free to ask me for invitation. It is hard to find friends who shared the same interest as me to discuss such things...

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Sing to the Dawn

 

      




 

I LOVE this song! It is beautiful!

 

"You never know, if you never try, you will make it a long long way, if you believe..." 

 

 

(But the movie sucks.)

 

 

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Singapore Biennale Art Exhibition @ City Hall

Went for the Singapore Biennale Art Exhibition in another venue (City Hall) today. Here are some of the photos -

 


 


Did you see a gourd with human face that holds a camera?

 

 


 


I love the caption - "...Tractatus Logico-Philoscophicus... floats about in the middle of the tank kept buoyant by the undercurrents of philosophical obscurity"

 

 


 


This place is damn spooky...

 

 


 


Seems ordinary household items at first sight. But, look carefully at the words.

 

 


This installation is named Teratoma II: War of the Worlds. Notice the "flying saucer" behind?

 

There are others exhibits that are also very interesting, many in the form of short films, hence no pictures. Really worth the trip down. Next will be the one at South Beach Development. =)

 

 

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Singapore Biennale Art Exhibition @ Raffles Place

Had been wanting to go to see these exhibitions around Singapore but was too lazy to find out where they are, until today, when I saw one the exhibition in a very wulu part of Raffles Place by chance. Quite nice. Art cleanses the soul. That is why I loved them. Anwz here are the photos 

 



"...there was an exact identical city that was clearly discernable during certain days of the year, only this one hovered in the sky. Hence the "earthly" Manas was an exact copy of the "heavenly" Manas." 

 




close ups of one of the towers and the caption

 

 

 

An igloo like structure and the long walkway to....

 


... a different world.

 


 

Ex-prisoners' slippers on sticks - Singapore Prisoners 

 

 

Battle between the Bulls and the Bears

Last night I just laid on the bed for while at 9pm, and I fell asleep. I fell asleep, and dreamt...

 

It was a chaotic battlefield. Two medival armies were fighting fiercely. One was raising a flag with a symbol of Bull, the other was raising a flag with a symbol of a Bear - The Enemy. I joined the Bulls as a newly recruit, and had been fighting fiercely since morning. At my front of the battlefield, the fighting was very intense, one inch gained in this minute was lost in the next minute. I don't know why. I picked my 'front' properly, it shouldn't be such a difficult battle...

 

In the afternoon, more and more warriors from my side fell tragically, and we were steadily losing more and more territory. Seeing that the situation was very wrong, I turned tail and exit the battlefield, hurting my finger severely as a result. From outside the battlefield, I surveyed the battle. To my surprise, ALL other fronts had already suffered a crashing defeat and had retreated hastily... and that is why my front faltered! I lost track of the entire battle, that was why this happened. Lesson learnt.

 

I woke up today. The dream was fiction. But did it really happen?

 

(The battle was fun. Hahahaha!)

 

 

Friday, October 17, 2008

The Moon

Swing Trader.

 

This is what I am learning to be currently. Every morning and evening, during my trip on the MRT to and from my work place for the past 2 weeks, I have sacrificed my time for reading comics or playing NDS, to read books on stocks trading. To date, I have devoured 2.25 stocks trading books, and still going strong. I planned to read at least another 2.75 books more. It really takes effort to study trading during 2 of the sleepier periods of the day. How many times I wished I had bring my NDS instead.

 

It will worth it. I hope.

 

 

Swing trading, in which the position is held on the average of two to five days... Swing traders strive to ride up or down price "swings" made by stocks... Many hold full-time jobs and complete their research before or after work, or on the weekends.

 

-Short Term Trading in the New Stock Market by Toni Turner

 

 

A friend, Jiahong, told me to stop keeping on thinking about getting rich. I am NOT thinking about getting rich. I just want to 'work' my money myself, instead of leaving them in the hands of financial planners, or even worse, leaving them to rot in the bank. (Ermm. Given the financial situation now, actually I dunno which is worse, paiseh.) And of course, I want to supplement my income!

 

I chatted with a friend about marriage. I told my friend that next time, I will be staying at home looking after baby while my wife will go out to work. She gave me the 'down' look, as in, looked down. Upon seeing her reaction, I quickly added, "I stay at home to trade stocks la. Haha!" Come to think of it, it really might work! In fact, maybe 3 or 4 years later, I might quit my job and become a full time trader. I really might!

 

Future. Wonder what will it bring... =)

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

The same friend above told me that by reading my blog, one can know that I am a "thinking" person. Yup, I am a thinking person.

 

Think...

 

My job requries me to think a lot everyday. 'Where can I find out how this program should work?'  I can feel my brain flashing through the tens and hundreds and thousands of possibilities. Swish! 'How to implement this feature into my program?' Swishh!

 

'Why THE HELL is this program NOT working as it should?!?'  SWISHHHHHHHH!

 

Besides job related stuff, I also think about other things. 'If S&P Futures is the leading indicator of the US stock market, what is the leading indicator of the Singapore Stock Market?' 'The US stock market has crashed last night, will Singapore stock market crash today?' 'STI crashed through the support line at 1900 points today. Will in bounce back on Monday or crash further? *' Swish! Swish! Swish!

 

Think...  

 

I think... I think too much.

 

How do I know that? Cos I suffered from minor headaches in office almost everyday for the past week. I leave at 6pm almost everyday, not because I don't want to work OT, but because I CAN'T work even if I continued to stay.

 

I know I like to think. And my job provides me with lots of thinking 'opportunities'. It suits me very well. But today, while I am walking back home after a dinner with Jiahong and Chintau, I asked myself, 'Am I happy?' The only answer is

 

'I am tired.'

 

I guessed I must have lost my soul somewhere along the way through the 4+ months I am working, leaving only an empty souless body. Just like a computer. Where had my soul disappeared to??? I walked and walked, until I was about to reach my home, then, I saw the moon in the sky. Its brilliance shining through, even though it was behind the clouds. 

 

It was beautiful.

 

I went home and took out my camera and attempted to capture its beauty. At that moment, 

 

I think... I am happy??  

   

 


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

 

   

 

My best 2 attempts out of 10+ photos. =P One with flash and one without.

 

 

* My prediction of coming Monday's Singapore Market (just for fun, hehe) - It all depends on tonight's US stock market. If US stock market continue to go down, Singapore market will go down too. Vice versa. And the movement will be big, in terms of 100 points and above. - 18 Oct 12.24 a.m.

 

Damned... I am thinking again.

 

 

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Some life tips for my studying and working friends

 

 

Cheat and Never get caught






How to cheat on any test






How to do nothing at work and still get paid






Sunday, October 12, 2008

Videos

Two amazing videos I found on the net. Too bad MSN Spaces cant embed Google Videos.

 

Mr Mario Frustration - This video shows how one person clear (or din clear) the hardest Mr Mario game in history. Damn funny! (WARNING: Full of coarse language... But can't blame him. Hahaha! )

 

Incredible Machine - This shows the creativity and ingenuity of Japanese. It is mesmerising!

 

 

FAT!!!

My troubles started 4 months ago. T_T

 

These days, I have been snacking away happily while sitting in front my computer screen, working. Bug cannot solve. EAT. Bug solved. EAT. Hungry. EAT. Twisties, biskets, tapioca chips etc. 

 

Next are the tea breaks. Mac ice-creams, Old-Chang-Kee curry puff etc.

 

The first signs that I had put on weight started when my mum commented that my tummy is SOOO big. After which friends start commenting one after another. Here are my testimonials:

 

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"You looked fatter! (Opps) Errmmm... you had been very thin all along la, fatter looked better. Haha!" -Peifang

 

(Just moments after we met) "Hmmm... I think you had grown fatter..." -Shiying

 

"Your company must be not bad... cause you have grown fatter! Haha!" -Sufang, Hall 11 ex-JCRC chairperson, know each other but seldom talk one. EVEN SHE OSO SAY I FAT!!!

 

"Fat meh? No la... just face become rounder only. Last time is sharper." -Yuting, yesterday

 

"HIYO! You see your tummy so fat! Breasts also so big! Exercise more!" -Mum, just now.

 

 

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Hahaha! Thanks friends for straight forward comments! You all will spur me towards greater THINNESS! I am going to exercise 2 times a week! One day to the gym. One day to jog.

 

I GOTTA TO BE THIN!

 

......

 

Who the hell is fat anwz?? I am NOT fat, and I know it! I just became "fatter". Haha! I exercise cos I want to pass my IPPT... and my window is closing! T_T Who will want to exercise if there is no IPPT???? Siao!

 

I think by Nov I gotta step up to 3 exercise sessions a week. Who else wanna go gym? =)

 

 

Monday, October 6, 2008

Survey

Doing a short survey - Assuming you are working now and earning a monthly income that let you live comfortably, your official knock off timing is 6pm, and there is no deadline to meet the next day.

 

Rank the following afterwork activities that you will most PROBABLY do (note: NOT you like to do most) on an EVERY NIGHT basis, from most probable to least:

 

A. Stay in the office and do work until 7-8+.

B. Go jogging or gym or other exercise.

C. Trade stocks the whole night for a profit of at least $50-$200 per night.

D. Pursue own hobby, eg. practice drawing, singing, taichi, calligraphy, musical instruments etc etc. 

E. Play PC/Xbox/PS3/PS2/PSP/NDS games until sleep.

F. Watch TV until sleep.

G. Study more about profession/work related topics OR doing additional masters/diplomas.

H. Chit chat with family.

I. Surf net/ blog.

J. Others. Eg?

 

There can be activities of equal ranking - That means you are doing these 2/few activities every night... or you will NEVER do these activities at all.

 

Just wondering what do people do every night. Will most people stay in office to work voluntarily until 7-8pm? Or will people willing to sacrifice time learning and playing with stocks to earn a few hundreds dollar every night? Will you do it? Or you will spend the time doing more meaningful things?

 

What should I do?

 

Wondering...

 

 

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY!!!

It has been quite a while since I update. Not that I am very busy. Still knocking off on average 6.10pm. I am VERY grateful for this. From what I heard, not many of my friends, be it engineers or auditors, are allowed to knock off on time. Oh well, seems like I made the right career choice. Haha!

 

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Anwz, for the updates: These days I had been devoting quite some time writing macros on MS Excel to help simplify my dad's accounting process. Now at a click of a button, the things my father keyed in the Invoice meant for the customer will magically appeared on the Invoice and Delivery Order records. Cool huh? Haha!

 

I just finished this project a few days ago. Next one I am going to write a script to pluck stocks infomation automatically from the net into my excel sheet and do some number crunching. The result will be which stocks are the BEST buy. My colleague once mentioned that it can be done, plucking infomation from the net automatically, but... I don't know how... Well, there are 2 things we do most often in my profession -

 

Solving bugs (Arrrghhhh! *pulling hair*) and FIGURE OUT!

 

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Besides the project, another percent of my time, perhaps 1%, is devoted to monitoring the market... and financial planning (Arrrrghhh! Those financial agents!!! Stop coming after my blood!!!). *Calm down* No offence to financial planner / insurance agent friends. Just my hyperactive imagination acting wild. Hee. Actually talking to them is quite enriching. They possess knowledge that EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW. But, just keep in mind that...

 

While they are sharing knowledge, they are also trying to earn a living. 

 

Enough about financial agents. Anwz I had just bought my insurance. Unless you have ways to earn money, DO NOT approach me anymore. Anwz now is an exciting time, and it will get more exciting in the future. Latest news: US Senate to vote on revised bailout package on Wednesday. I just submitted a form that allows my to trade US stocks last sat. Better faster finish processing!!! (And maybe you will see me blogged about me becoming bankrupt in my next entry. =P)

 

Craps aside. If you take a few steps back from the turmoil and look at the overall global economy, you can see that everything is corelated and interlinked. Different forces are at work. The Bailout Package failed, but the market didn't crash as much as expected. Why? If you can see through the smoke, you will come out ahead. Too bad I didn't study Business and Economy, but I thought they are quite interesting. Anwz this will be where my professional habit kicks in...

 

I will Figure Out.

 

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Pardon me for talking me abt such boring stuff above. Today is CHILDREN'S DAY! Let's talk about comics and games! Yeah! (This is where I spent 90% of my free time on. =P)

 

But on the down side, comics are so adult orientated these days. =(

 

Marvel Universe - The US Government approved a legislation which forces all super powered people, including all heroes, to register. This divides the Super Hero community right in the center - Ironman, Mr Fantastic, Spiderman etc on one side (pro-registration),  and Captain America, Daredevil, Punisher etc on the other (anti-registration). The Civil War ended with Captain America's surrender and assasination. Yes, the beloved Captain died.

 

DC Universe - Gotham was totally abandoned by the US Government (I am not sure for what reason) and the city descends into a dark age resembling warring states. Batman, the Police, Penguin, Poison Ivy etc all control a part of the city, fighting each other. After this story arc, when the city was rebuilt, Bruce Wayne was thrown in jail for killing his girlfriend. Even Oracle and Nightwing had doubts about his innocence...

 

Naruto - The long awaited truth of why Itachi killed his entire clan except his brother Sasuke is revealed. Sasuke vows to destroy the Fire Village.

 

D Gray Man - The Exorcists' Headquarters were invaded by one of the Noah's clan members. Akuma Level 4 was borned and kill everything in its way in the headquarters. 

 

One Piece and Yu-Gi-Oh R Series - Still reading. Haha! 

 

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One of the first major items I bought after I start working is Nintendo DS. In my opinion its games are more interesting than PSP, which made use of touch screen and mic. Played Pokemon Pearl, Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales, FF IIISuper Mario Kart (who wants to challenge? Haha!) etc. Now playing FF IV. One major reason why I seldom blog anymore. Games.

 

 

Ahhh! Life is Great!

 

(Oops, I advertised for the company I bought insurance from. Haha!)

 

Happy Children's Day! =)

 

 

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Mamma Mia

 

 

Crappy and absurb story. Haphazard and loosely connected plotline. Mostly old actors and actresses. BUT... for all the wonderful classics you will hear in this musical, and the joyous energy you will experience from the songs and the cast, Mamma Mia is highly recommended! (Especially so for ABBA fans.)

 

Nice movie!

 

 

Monday, September 8, 2008

MAF


 

 

People say Mid Autumn Festival is a night of Reunion. How true it felt on HwaChong's MAF!

 

"...the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young."

 

A quote from Baz Luhrmann's Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen). I strongly believe it. These are the people I knew when I were young. The girls for 8 years. The guys for 10 years or more. How good it feels to see them! =)

 

As for the place... Our class bench had disappeared to God knows where over the years, but the one we were sitting in the picture holds alot of memories too! We had all sat here outside the Chinese Society Club Room at one point or another during our 2 years in HC. 8 years ago Chinese Society is our Class CCA, almost everyone joined. You are looking at ex-Huang Cheng director, actor, actress, script writer, props head, publicity head (<- me me, haha!) and subcoms here.  

 

Anwz after eight years it is quite surprising to see quite a lot of my batch people still going back for MAF. First time I exchange namecards! Most of us have finally step out into the society now. This is our Age. It is finally our turn to make a difference in this World. Let the World tremble!

 

I FEEL THE POWER (of youth, compared to those working for years) !!!

 

(This is a crappy entry, I know. Haha!)

 

 

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Science, Art, Engineering

Science is like Fire. Constantly expanding the technology frontier, cutting edges, making breakthroughs. Reseach and the burning urge for new knowledge. Scientists advance the World. 

 

Art is like Air. Ever up there. Elusive. You can't see it, but you need it. Art cleanses your soul, quenches your thirst for beauty. Artists make the World more interesting.

 

Engineering is like Earth. Down below your feet, providing the foundation, the infrastructure, the basic needs. Engineers are down to earth, but they keep the World running.

 

~ Some thoughts from a colleague

 

P.S. I guess he left out Business.

 

Business is like water. Water = wealth. Wealth = money. Money is business. Without money is like without water. Can die! Businessmen and accountants are the lubricant of the World.

 

 

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I quite admire some of the engineers in my office. They possess God-like mastery over machines. I guess to them, writing codes is like creating art master pieces.    

 

I wonder when can I be like them?

 

Or is it better to be a Jack-of-All-Trades?

 

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My colleagues and I agreed that ADM girls generally look more chio than girls from other faculties, partly due to the fact that they have good dress sense.

 

One of my colleagues raised a question:

 

Will ADM gals prefer ADM guys who are just as hip, or down to earth engineers, like us?

 

Disclaimer: This question doesn't apply to me. I am an engineer in training, an artist in spirit, a scientist at heart. But out of curiosity, I would like to know the answer. Hahahaha! 

 

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There are three major genres that are defined by how they affect the audience emotionally, namely: Comedy, Tragedy and Horror. Think about the different combinations for those three. Tragi-Comedies, Horror-Comedies and Horror-Tragedies.  

 

Why only Tragi-Comedies are successful? What about Horror-Comedies and Horror-Tragedies?

 

I never seen any Horror related plays in plays. Why? Is it possible to scare people in plays? Actually horror is a very powerful emotion. Combined with a good story you will get a very powerful film/play.

 

Just some ponderings when some colleagues and friends recommended that the movie 4-bia is very nice.

 

 

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Interesting Videos

Found this circulating in Facebook. It is soooooo cool!

 

Music using ONLY sounds from Windows XP and 98!

 

  




 

 

This video demostrate how the spirit of Web 2.0 can be applied to real life.  

 

Haircut2.0 - Get a Free New Hairstyle

 

  




 

 (Facebook is the most impressive site that applied the idea of Web 2.0, that is why I am so impressed with it.)

 

Btw the recent 2 podcasts from mrbrownshow.com are damn funny! Go take a look! =)

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Olympic Thoughts

Olympics.

 

Superhuman speed. Unbelievable reaction. Tremendous Strength.

 

Strategies. Tactics. Psychology battle. Mental contest.

 

Struggle. Stress. Tension. Concentration. Relax.

 

Unpredictability. Unexpectedness. Surprises.

 

Hope. Anticipation. Luck.

 

Skill. Form. Movement. Rhythm. Beauty.

 

Cheering. Support. Love for Nation.

 

Excitment. Exultant. Jubilant. Release. Emotions.

 

 

Ain't those the essential characteristics of a good story?

 

 

Anwz, my new idol, Table Tennis World's Women No.1, Zhang Yi Ning :

 


 

Too Fast. Too Furious. Too Unpredictable.  =)

 

 

Friday, August 15, 2008

Interesthings from the Web (Cut and Paste)

An Unfortunate Accident


Status: Undetermined
This news clipping has been doing the rounds:

 


 

Is it true? It does have urban-legend qualities to it, but a search of LexisNexis reveals that it was widely reported in April 2002. English-language papers credited the story to the Danish newspaper BT. The surgeon was identified as Jorn Kristensen. The Sun had this line:


Surgeon Jorn Kristensen said of the chain reaction: "No-one considered the possibility."

 

So, given the specific details, I'm going to say that it appears to be true my hunch is that it's true, but I'll list it as undetermined.

 


 

P.S. "No one considered the possibility." ?!? Hahahahaha! ~iw

 

 

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Killer Whale vs. Penguin

 



Killer whales do eat penguins, but I'd say this has been photoshopped. For a start, if you look closely it appears that the killer whale already has something in its mouth.
 

I have no information about who created the photo or where the original images came from.

 


 

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$1000 iPhone App Does Nothing

 

Customers at Apple's online iPhone store recently had the opportunity to buy a program called "I Am Rich." True to its name, it cost $999.99.

 

The program, created by Armin Heinrich, a German software developer, displayed a large red ruby on the iPhone's screen. And that's it. Nothing else. The product description read:

 

"The red icon on your iPhone always reminds you (and others when you show it to them) that you were able to afford this. It's a work of art with no hidden function at all."


Eight people actually purchased the program before Apple removed it from the site. One of them complained that he bought it thinking it was a joke, only to discover a charge for $999.99 on his credit card.

 
This program walks the fine line between a prank and a scam. The concept is kind of funny, but Heinrich is apparently keeping the money that people paid. I wouldn't find that funny if it was my money.

 


 

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mini rickshaw in beijing


~ Design Boom

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 nike (burguer) air max 90 by olle hemmendorff

 


 


 

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Magic Trick With Google

 


 

This should be quite fun! Haha!