Word Of The Day

Added a new feature from dictionary.com. The main purpose is to help readers and me to learn a new word every day. Hope that you guys reading my blog will benefit from this new feature.

Tags: Cool, Internet

The Percussion Section

This is the Percussion section where I spent two years of my junior college (JC) life with. We are from the National Junior College Symphonic Band. The guy not wearing black, Ming Feng, is our senior. We have 9 members altogether. They consists of:

3 JC 2 students
5 JC 1 students
1 IP student

The JC 2 students are an energetic bunch of people. By the way, I am a Year 2 when this photo was taken. They organise outings for the section and bonding sessions (having lunch together or practising together).

The JC 1 students are lively and enthusiastic. They are eager to learn and not afraid to try new stuff. Some played the tambourine for the first time while others dared to play the drum set.

The most interesting member of the section however, is the IP student. He is talented in the drum set. He was the drummer for the song "The Final Countdown" and "Tubthumping" for the symphonic band's concert. He also tells lame jokes for the section, only to receive stares of "Huh? Was that even funny?" followed by laughter. He is also the object of discriminatory remarks such as "Haha...IP student...HAHA!!" However, I think that he doesn't mind it at all, as they are all family :)

By the way, the IP student is actually a Year 2 student. But is referred as an IP student by the section as he is cute...lol.

Tags: Friends, Junior College

Us At Prom Night

Prom Night. It was on December 2004. We dressed our best, took photos with one another and cried together. For me, it really was sad to spend the last day with the friends that I have spent my 2 years with. Some of us weren't there though. I guess they may be busy with their own personal activities.

There were lame games that we played, great food that we ate and emotional songs that we sang. There was also the crowning of our batch's Prom King and Prom Queen. The most memorable event of the whole event seemed to happen at our table only. I didn't really care about what happened outside our table. For me, it was our table that mattered. This is so as it may be the last day that we see each other.

The food was great, especially the Shark's Fin (my favourite). However, the thought that the day after tomorrow will be the day I get enlisted into National Service really drove my appetite away.

In the end, everything ended. We parted and went home...with memories of our beloved class, 03S21.

Tags: Friends, Junior College

My Class (03S21)

Ah...those were the days. This is my class, 03S21, in National Junior College (NJC). I really miss this class as we had lots of fun together. There are a lot of interesting people in it. For example, there were the "three musketeers", the people who you can find mugging in the library, those who are not in class but in LAN shops and finally, our very own walking Campbell - Mosy.

Hm...our form teacher is not here...I guess she was busy at that time. Sad not to have her in the picture with us.

Now, most of us are either in National Service (NS), working or getting ready for University. Some of us might have the chance to meet again in University. Hopefully I might get to meet some of them.

Tags: Friends, Junior College

Which OS Am I?

Decided to do another test. Guess what? I am a Palm OS even though I have never used nor touched one before...lol.

You can take the test at http://bbspot.com/News/2003/01/os_quiz.php

Tags: Cool, Internet

Which File Extension Am I

.html? Hm...didn't expect the "it can get quite ugly part" though. But it's for fun anyway :)

You can take the test at http://www.bbspot.com/News/2004/10/extension_quiz.php

Tags: Cool, Internet

Prey And Predator

Oh man!! I just saw a lizard ingesting a mosquitoe right in front of me!! Sadly, I don't have a digital camera with me or I could have taken a picture of it and post it here. Oh well, at least I have a better understanding of how big animals eat small animals...haha.

Tags: Others

Lottery

I was working today in the office as usual. Picking telephone calls, taking down messages, buying food for Sergeants and Officers and keeping the office clean. All was monotonous when suddenly the Company Sergeant Major shouted "YAY!!". I was like "huh?".

"OOT! (That's how he address me) Quick come here."

"Why?"

"Come and check! I just won first prize in 4D!"

"Really?"

"First time sia...HAHAHA...YOOHOO"

"Erm...ok."

I checked the prize money after reaching home and found out that he got $4000 from $2.

For me...I don't gamble and not so ambitious. I just hope that my AdSense account will also reach $4000...lol.

Note: The winning number he used is simply his house number.

Tags: National Service, Singapore

"Dr Joe & What You Didn't Know" by Dr Joe Schwarcz

Recently, I have been reading "Dr Joe & What You Didn't Know" by Dr Joe Schwarcz. I learnt a lot of weird things from it. I will share some of the things I learnt here.

01. Did you know that you can actually die by drinking too much water? If there is too much water in your body, water moves from your blood to your cells by osmosis. This may cause your brain to swell as too much water enters your brain cells (I know that having a "big brain" is associated with smartness...but this is something you won't want to have). This leads to lethargy, loss of consciousness, or even death!

02. In the 1960s, James McConnell of the University of Michigan showed that flatworms could be conditioned in a very interesting way. He claimed that if you expose a worm to light followed by an electric shock, the worm would change it's movement path. The worms associate the light with the shock. Next time, if given a light stimulus, the worms would avoid the path that has the shock. Interestingly, if you cut the flatworm and divide it to two, both parts would regenerate to full flatworms and still retain the memory!! Weird huh!! But there's more. He continued his investigation by grinding the conditioned worms and fed the it to worms that were not conditioned. Guess what............the unconditioned worms began to show the same behaviour!! Wow...I didnt'w knew such weird stuff exists. James concluded that the "memory" of the worms are stored in molecules throughout their body.

03. How to make "Brain Sludge". Using an eyedropper filled with milk, slowly squeeze the milk ou into the bottom of a test tube half-filled with vinegar. Lo and behold..."brain sludge" will form. If you add salt to the product, you will get cottage cheese...weird huh? The product is formed as proteins in milk are precipitated by the acid in vinegar.

04. SPF on sunscreens just means Sun Protection Number. It is an indicator of the extent your skin will be protected from UV rays if applied. The higher the number, the higher the protection. I didn't knew this too as I seldom go out for a tan.

05. Snails, spiders and octopuses have blue blood! This is so as they do not have haemoglobin in their blood as we humans do. Instead they have a related compound known as hemocyanin. It has a copper atom in its middle which is analogous to iron in haemoglobin. Hemocyanin reflects blue, which explains its blue colour.

06. There's even a poem for DDT, also known as paradichlorodiphenyltricholoethane (long name huh?). The poem goes like this:

A mosquito was heard to complain
"A chemist has poisoned my brain."
The cause of his sorrow
Was paradichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane.

(Poem taken from "Dr Joe & What You Didn't Know" by Dr Joe Schwarcz)

07. How did adenine, thymine, cytosine and guanine get their names? Well, according to the book, adenine comes from the Greek word for gland as it was first isolated from the pancreas. Thymine was first isolated from the thymus gland. Cytosine was first isolated from cells, and "cyto" in "cytosine" refers to cells. Guanine is much more interesting. It was first isolated from bird guano or bird poop.

08. We often pay little notice to ants. However, ants were used to close wounds during the war between the Greeks and Turks in 1912. First, pull the sides of the wound together. Next, take a red ant and allow it to bite in such a way that it closes the wound together. Cut off the body, leaving the head there. Repeat the process with more ants until the whole wound is closed.

09. There is more to kissing than meets the eye. Studies shows that women subconsciously prefer the smell of men who have genes that code for different immune system proteins than their own. These smells are produced by scent glands on the cheek! (Personally, I didn't know that a simple act could be so complicated.) Mixing immune system proteins results in healthier offspring (lol).

After reading the book, I have sure learnt a lot of things...most of them being weird...lol.

Tags: Knowledge

Tungsten Vapour

Have you ever noticed in older bulbs they have a black deposit on the inside of it afrer long use? Some people may think that it's dust while others think that it's just their eyes playing tricks on them. For me...I didn't have a single clue as to what it was until I found the answer.

It's actually tungsten!! In a light bulb, the gas is an inert one such as argon or krypton. It's not oxygen as it will react with tungsten to give tungsten oxide. This might reduce the efficiency of the light bulb. As the filament gets hot (this is where your light comes from), some of the tungsten evaporates and condenses on the cooler glass surface. Hence the black deposit. This only happens when the light bulb is really old.

Neat huh? So next time you see a dark light bulb, you know that it's time to change your bulb.

(Found the answer from a book from a local library)

Tags: Knowledge

Johann Pachelbel : Canon in D

My favourite classical music is Johann Pachelbel's "Canon in D"

:)

Tags: Music

Any Returning Visitors?

I just registered to blogclicker the other day. But at times I really wonder: Does all of these really bring in returning visitors? Visitors are nice. But it's the returning visitors that really matters right? People who are actually interested in reading your blog...hence they return.

I don't really know how effective is BlogExplosion and BlogClicker in helping to bring in returning visitors. Care to enlighten me on this subject?

Tags: Blog

Terri Schiavo

Her husband wants it removed while her parents don't

Personally, Iwould support Terri's parents.

Michael is not doing his part as a husband. "Till death do us part...through thick and through thin". The oath taken during marriage doesn't seem to have any significance for Michael. Such an event is truly unfortunate. But how could Michael request that the tube be removed? I would be sad if I was Terri.

Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, have spent effort and time in bringing Terri up. So it's understandable that they still want the tube to remain. Even though the chances of a cure seems small, it is however, still possible. I just pray that a miracle would happen for Terri. It's tough to be paralysed and all...especially so if your husband wants to remove your tube.

So how do you guys feel about all of these and who do you support?

Tags: Thoughts

Ending One's Life...Is It Correct?

Should one be given the right to end his/her life?

The following article talks about one individual who wishes to end her life.

"Terri Schiavo has been incapacitated since a 1990 cardiac arrest that damaged her brain.

Her feeding tube was removed Friday after a protracted legal battle that pits Michael Schiavo against her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler.

Michael Schiavo insists his wife should be allowed to die because she told him prior to her cardiac arrest that she would never want to be kept alive artificially. The Schindlers do not believe him, and have questioned his fitness to serve as his wife's guardian."

You can read more in http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/138475/1/.html

On one hand, the individual is suffering and wants to end it as soon as possible. On the other hand, the individual is not able to do so due to complications in legal matters. So the question is: Should the individual be given the right (or at least the choice) to end their life?

There are many arguements to this debate. Personally, I think that taking one's own life does not justify the ends of ending one's life. Life is precious (as they always say). The individual has no right to take away their life as it belongs to God (1 Corinthians 6: 19-20). Logically, only God can take it away as it belongs to Him. Just like my brother's toy. I can't take it as it belongs to him. Taking my brother's toy would be stealing as it's not mine in the first place.

Also assisted suicide or euthanasia is done by doctors. Now doctors are suppose to help Mankind. The Hippocratic Oath binds them to a purpose - to heal patients. If healing is out of the question, at least try to alleviate their suffering. So it's not a doctor's job to END life.

These are just my ideas and thoughts...alternative viewpoints and comments are strongly encouraged.

Tags: Thoughts

Haloscan

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Tags: Blog

PES E

The PES E ppl just graduated today. They don't have POP (Passing Out Parade). Instead, the have POC (Passing Out Ceremony). All I can say is that THEY ARE SUPER SLACK!!

An average day of a PES E chao-keng....
(I know some are really genuine...but somehow PES E is associated with chao-kengness)

Hey everyone...my name is M C Ong (MC King). I am so happy that I am in PES E. I got PES E as I have hearing problems (due to excessive exposure to loud music), knee pains (run too much and I will get tired already) and finally,

5.00 am : Wake-up from bed. Drag my feet to the toilet to brush my teeth...then realised that I forgot to bring my toothpaste. Dragged my feet back to bunk again.

5.45 am : Fall-in with cthe others. Seem small as there are only two platoons with three sections each. Total of 73 pai-kha-pai-chiu recruits.

6.00 am : Went for breakfast. Can feel that we are looked down on as we eat. The stares that we receive from other recruits...haiz...

6.30 am : Walked back to camp...can see that Sgnt S was quite unhappy. Imagine 73 ppl marching like old folks...sure was unsightly. After reaching my bunk, we all slacked till 10...

10.00 am : Went for lecture on how to be a clerk. What kind of lecture is that? Said that as a clerk you will do a lot of paper work for the company (duh!). Then the rest of the lecture...hm...can't remember already. Only remembered waking up after my buddy gave me a jerk.

12.00 pm : Went for lunch after the lecture and marched...I mean walked back to bunk. We had talking sessions and played games with one another. Sure was super slack!

3.00 pm : Another lecture on how to be a BETTER clerk. What kind of lousy talk is that? But at least I am not out in the field chionging all around. Here got nice air-con...comfortable chairs...and...zzzzz

6.00 pm : Went for dinner. This time, dinner was nice. We had Western meal for dinner today. I managed to kup (take) more fish fillet from the uncle.

7.00 pm : Had CRO. Yay!! Tomorrow is POC already. We will also receive our postings tomorrow. So exciting! Wow...5 days pass by so fast. I am sure gonna miss my days as a PES E recruit.

Not only do they get to slack...they also don't have any "half-left downs" (punishments). Neither are they scolded like the PES B recruits. There is even one PES E guy who only spent two days in camp!! What a joke! He went in during Enlistment Day. Then on the next day, he was sent to hospital for some mental issue (no wonder he's in PES E). He stayed until the day he POC. I am truly speechless. His case is a genuine one from what I can see. Saw him today and felt sorry for him. At least he won't be going to Tekong anymore.

NOTE: I don't look down on the PES E ppl even though they have a better life than us. Most of the times, they are looked down on and not very popular. But after staying with them...I find that they are actually quite sad...having disabilities such as chronic join pain, mental instability and super-sensitive skin (the type where you just put them under the sun for 15 minutes and they'll get a fever).

Tags: National Service, Singapore

Poll Thingy

Yay! Got a poll...so exciting!! (Like never see poll b4). Neway...just started a new poll. It seems egoistic (haha...) but it's just a start to see how it goes. Hopefully it works wonderfully. (Wonderfully here equals to ppl wanting to be Stephen).

Tags: Blog

NUS Open House 2005

Just came back from the NUS Open House 2005 at NUS (DUH!). I went to most of the talks and the booths there. Finally...I know what I will do in NUS....ENGINEERING! I also got a lot of the free stuff from there (typical Singaporean...lol). Then there was this booth where if you guessed correctly the names of the alumni they show you, you will get a prize. One correct guess entitles you to a folder. Two will earn you a CD case. Three will get you a NUS teddy bear. I got two correct out of three and went for two folder instead of a CD case.

I met quite a lot of people there. Some from my secondary school while others are from my JC. Saw some of them but they didn't seem to recognise me...lol...must be the new hairstyle I have.

I just hope that I will be able to enter the course I want.

Tags: University

POP (Passing Out Parade)

It's that day finally. The day where Mohawk recruits no longer need to hear Sergeants scolding them, the stand-by beds, half-left downs and many more.

But for me...it's a different story. Being an OOT (Out Of Training), I am on an immediate recourse. The date is on the 8th of April. I heard that I will be in School 2 but as for which company....that I am not too sure. I heard that I will be posted to either Pegasus, Raven or Orion as a recruit. I just hope that I will be posted to the most slack company.

For now, I will be helping my current Mohawk company in their admin stuff and the PES E batch later on this Monday. I am granted permstaff privileges like a Monday to Friday and 8.30am to 5pm job. But I won't be able to board the bus service as it's only for permstaff with the pass card. I tried to get one but HQ didn't give...said something like they no longer issue the cards. Haiz...guess I will have to do with what I have now.

Tags: National Service, Singapore

Tekong And A Level Examination Results!!

A lot of things have happened...events in Tekong and my A Level Results!!

1. CO Night

Quite a nice performance. Personally I think that Pegasus Company performed the best. The worst is Raven Company (sorry to those from Raven Coy).

Pegasus performed the song "I Believe I Can Fly"...a pegasus can fly, maybe that's why they choose that song. The 2 lead singers were superb! They may be the next Taufik. Heard that Taufik joined Singapore Idol after performing for CO Night. He performed so well that they encouraged him to join. In the end, he became a Singapore Idol.

Raven Company did badly because their performance item was long and draggy...it was also not entertaining at all. I heard phrases like "Shoot me!! I can't stand it anymore!!", "Go home lah...you can't perform!" and some other vulgarities which I won't say.

2. Funny Name

I went to the cookhouse one day to have my lunch. It was then that I saw a recruit with the name M C Ong. Well, in Hokkien, it means "MC King" (someone who likes to malinger and skive).

3. J's Posting

J has received his posting. He is going to 3rd Signal. Well, I will be more busy as I will soon be the only OOT after J has gone to the new camp. I will definitely miss working with him.

4. A Level Results!!

It's that time of the year again...the time where people rejoice or mourn. It's the release of the A Level Results. Was in school quite early...so I decided to drop by the band room to see my juniors and juniors' juniors. After that at exactly 2.30pm, I went to the hall to collect my results. The principal gave a talk on I-have-already-forgotten-what-it-is. Then I went to see Mrs Khoo (my form teacher)...(Jaws theme playing). Then I collected my result...BABB. What should I say? I was like "huh?"...don't know whether to be happy or sad...expected a number of Cs but they didn't appear. However, I guess I am quite content with the result as I am typing this entry now. There are others who did better by having AAAA (EM and N from my class)...and some others who did not do so well. The results are known already...it's now time to choose a university and the course of study.

Tags: Junior College, National Service, Singapore

Google Referral Program...Empowerism...ClickCash

I read about the Google referral program at http://www.google.com/referral/ and thought that it would be nice to earn a little more by signing up. So I did. Only to realise later that this program is by INVITATION only...lol...what a joke. So do you guys know how to get an invitation for this program?

I heard and read of many more programs that help you to earn more money. For example, http://www.empowerism.com/e/104102/ and http://www.clickcash.com/. They all sound too good to be true huh? But are they really for real? I guess that's the big question that all of us would like to know. And are there any strings attached to it?

So what are your views and opinions?

Tags: Internet, Money