Does Santa Claus really exists?

Taken From Gamefaqs Paranormal Forum

No known species of reindeer can fly. BUT there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer which only Santa has ever seen.

There are 2 billion children (persons under eighteen years of age) in the world. BUT since Santa doesn't (appear) to handle the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist children, that reduces the workload to 15% of the total - 378 million according to the Population Reference Bureau. At an average (census rate of 3.5 children per household, that's 91.8 million homes. One presumes there's at least one good child in each.

Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, and assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 822.6 visits per second. This is to say that for each Christian household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of his sleigh, jump down the chimnye, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh and move on to the next house. Assuming that each of these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course we know to be false but for the purpose of our calculations we will accept), we are now talking about .78 miles per household, a total trip of 75.5 million miles, not counting stops to do what most of us must do at least once every 31 hours, plus feeding and etc.

This means that Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, 3000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle on earth, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second - a conventional reindeer can run, tops, 15 miles per hour.

The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium-sized lego set (2 pounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as overweight. On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 punds. Even granting that "flying reindeer" (refer to point #1) could pull TEN TIMES the normal load, we cannot do the job with eight, or even nine. We need 214,200 reindeer. This increases the payload - not even counting the weight of the sleigh - 353,430 tons.

353,000 tons traveling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance - this will heat the reindeer up in the same fashion as spacecrafts re-entereing the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer will absorb 14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy per SECOND, EACH! In short, they will burst into flames almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them, and create a deafening sonic boom in their wake. The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second. Santa, meanwhile, will be subjected to centripetal forces 17,500.06 times greater than gravity. A 250 pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of his sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force.

Conclusion: If Santa did ever deliver presents on Christmas Eve, he's dead now.

And The Elites continue its decline...

Today, the elite strength dropped again...from yesterday 25 to today's 14. With each passing day the number decline...

But...I am still in the team. And it's probably the finalized one already...

I really...don't know if I should be happy...some say it's better to be normal RP. Some say it's good to have the special buddy...Other information includes probability of being posted to air base... (cause it's the camp that need the elites)

Well, but since It has been chosen for me, I'll just do my best! I'm sure it'll be much more interesting than the normal RP...haha. But It would probably include more work to do... so it's a "double-edge" sword I guess...

Hope I get a good "buddy"...not some "siao" ones that will make me run... =_=

Looking forward to tomorrow cause it's going to be the first day of the "Elite's Course". They'll have their normal RP lesson while we go for the special lesson..whew...very nervous. I think I will get dragged / lead by it instead of me leading it...

Oh yeah! Jason my BMT Section Mate, got transferred into the same camp (RP) after his failed attempt at swimming...Haha! Unfortunately, he's not one of the "Elites"...Well, anyway I met a lot of new friends~Saw my old secondary school mate Hatta~Learnt that Xian Yong, Fahmi and Ivan are doing MP course at the same camp. My secondary buddy Zhi Wei's also assigned to MP course, and only living just 1 floor below me! Talk about coincidence...Then I met some guys from Raven company, who told me about Sergeant Alvin...

Whew~So many things going on...I kind of like the new place, but I also miss my old bunk. Sometimes, I kind of 怀念 my times in the Tekong Bunk...haha. The whole section, sit down together in the middle, eat cup noodles, TCSS~ Ahh...those were the nice times. 往事只能回味 liao...LOL.

Who Let The Dogs Out?!

Hahaha! Hahaha! Wahaha! I am...so...speechless.

世事难料...(Things of the world are hard to predict)...

After I received my posting orders, I've been like, coming up with all sort of funny scenarios in my head. Playing through them, thinking of the good and bad things that will happen, what will happen on the first day, how I would get "tekan", how the people there will be like...

But never, never...did I dream I would land up in what I am doing right now...

Seriously...I don't have a good idea of what to expect...but like what Anthony said - "Be Grateful About What You Have"...

And like our new PC said - Don't be a Pepsi, Be A Nike.*

I'm actually very glad that I'm in a land with no Jacob's Ladder and Balancing Beam...and I won't have to go outfield again...at least in the foreseeable future...I already felt very very fortunate for that.

So, I really shouldn't "hiam" and try to ask for more already. I've met some "can get-along" people there already. Some of them were actually from 5SIR (Respects to them...), and they were so happy to get here...Haha.

We're a very special, chosen batch of "elites"...People do guard duties need 2 people, we only need one person...so we are very "UP"...LOL. That's such a nice and...indirect way to put it. But seriously, very few people will get the job I'm doing now. Asked my brothers and none of his friends got into this unit before...I must be very "heng"...

Lastly...I know some people sure will "Pattern More Than Badminton" (Best quote from CC)...so please try to control yourself...haha.

So...all said and done...I have to ask again...Who Let The Dogs Out?!

*In case you're wondering, it means don't "Ask For More", "Just Do It".

Kiwi-ing my boots...once more.

Hmm...I was sort of packing my stuff around, then I notice my "Cheong Sua" (aka Charge Mountains) boots...still got some mud stains on it...haha.

Reluctantly, I took out my secret weapon, the shiny black kiwi, and began to polish it...The feeling when I was doing it was so...hmm...kind of weird.

It feels like...something that I haven't done in a very very long time. It's a "familiar yet so distant" kind of emotion. Haha. Now that I think about it...I used to kiwi that boots almost every single day. Now almost 2 weeks never do it...a bit out of touch...

A brand new beginning~

Full of uncertainties...

忐忑不安。。。

I don't know what to expect... contradicting information...mixed feelings...

The feeling when I clicked on the "Submit" is like...whew...seriously, the tension and the nervousness is MORE, MUCH more than when I click to view some Poly semester results...

Anyway, I just don't want to think so much right now...

是福不是祸。。。是祸躲不过。。。

Hua Yang Shao Nian Shao Nu - First Impressions

Started watching Ella's new drama series today~Very Nice!

Only watched 2 episodes so far, and already addicted liao...LOL. Started watching the 2nd one immediately after the first. I think the storyline, presentation and cast is FAR better than their previous Idol Drama (aka Reaching For The Stars)

The story starts off extremely typically of 80% of the idol dramas...aka "Girl likes guy, but guy hates her". At first was a bit turn off (I was singing "Same Old Shit Again"...)

But the pace picks up immediately after the first 15 minutes of introduction. A lot of interesting characters gets introduce into the story. Even some of the minor characters have unique personalities and traits that will make them more easily identifiable. (Even when you don't know the names)

There's this big lecher going around campus, the "paparazzi" reporter, the guy with the ability to communicate with beings of the other world...Then there's this mysterious gay doctor that tries to hinder Ella's progress at the start...but later sort of becomes her friend. The interactions (even little ones) makes you quickly grow attached to the characters in the story. Very nice.

The story is kind of like a modern "Hua Mu Lan" - about Ella going into a "Boy's School" using a male's identity, in order to chase after the guy she likes. There's this 2nd male lead (extremely exaggerated acting...but funny to watch at the same time) that "falls in love" with Ella, and soon becomes extremely worried that he's a gay (cause he doesn't know Ella is a girl)...

Overall, very enjoyable drama...Ella's extremely exaggerated and "psychotic" acting is really fun to watch (I was laughing like more than 50% of the time watching the show)...The interaction scenes between the 2 male leads and Ella are the best. Just makes you smile.

Okay...stop rattling liao. Overall I think it's their best drama so far! Far better than the Reaching For The Stars...which was way too "moody" (the overall feel is always so sad in that show). The only good thing about Reaching For The Stars is probably all 3 of them are acting in it...

Alright...think maybe I should watch Episode 3 now? Hee...

Do all living things become ghosts after death?

Pretty amusing stuffs I found on Gamefaqs Paranormal Boards...

Original Topic Creator

"I always hear stuff about ghosts haunting other people and places. And it's always human. Why can't it be a dog or a cat or a lizard. If humans die and become ghosts, wouldn't other animals like dogs or cats, or reptiles, or insects become ghosts? Because they are all living things just like humans. Wouldn't bacteria become ghosts because there are living too? So in other words, the world shoudl be filled with insect ghosts and reptile ghosts and bacteria ghosts, and anything else that is living ghosts."

Poster Number 1

"I have heard stories of housepets coming back (dogs and cats, for example), but I doubt insects can. But...maybe we just don't realize the insects and bacteria ghosts are there.

For example, it's hard enough finding a ghost of a human or pet, right?
Well, imagine trying to find something as small as an insect, that isn't exactly giving off much energy.

Besides, ghosts usually come back (apparently) to people/animals that meant alot to them. I'm not exactly friends with that many bacteria, so I don't know if I'm going to get some visiting me one day."

Poster 3

"Maybe it's a good thing they don't all have ghosts...

Tiny bacterial voices chirping in the middle of the night: "We were just innocent bacteria looking for a good home, and then you took those antibiotics and KILLED US ALL! Now we will haunt you forever to remind you of your guilt!""

Moving into the 3rd decade of my life...

Ahh...yesh. Today is my 20th birthday~Another 10 years slip pass...What would become of me in another 10 years time?

Anyway...birthday. Well, seriously speaking, I don't celebrate it. My birthday, to me, is just like any other "normal day" of my life. Haha...so I don't really plan on doing anything special or what. At most I go out, meet my friends and have a meal. Or better if I can get my mum to cook something good. At worst, I stay home and rot my day away. Haha. There just isn't this "convention" to celebrate birthdays in my family. (At least for my parents and me, my siblings are exceptions)

Thinking about it...

The first 10 years of your life, you basically are a "clueless person". You come into this world, grow from an infant to a small boy and to a kid. You basically follows your parents around everyday and getting into trouble...basically, by the time you're 20, you would have little clue what has happened throughout your 1st decade...So basically, it's just a "stage where everyone has to go through, and is about the same for everyone". (Unless you're some genius kid of course)

Next 10 years is the one that gives you the "foundation" for the rest of your life. There are many paths and decisions you'll make that will shape you into what you are at the end of the 10 years. The friends you come across, the way you handle things, the places you go to. All your beliefs and goals and philosophies of life are shaped during these 10 years. I think it's probably the most important 10 years you have to go through, and the one that has the biggest impact on your life....

Now I've come to the end of the 2nd "10 Years" and beginning my journey into the 3rd...I think the next 10 years will be one where you really grow. Where you move from being dependent to being independent, mentally, spiritually, financially...everything. It's the 3rd decade that you'll meet some of the most important people of your life~

Well...just my two cents worth...let's all look forward to the future~

Assembling the new computer...

I kind of did it in a "fit of fury" but this is the FIRST time I'm spending so much money at one go. Was breaking out in cold sweat when I handed over the money...heart really ache...

Spent almost 1 whole day assembling the computer! (it's my first time assembling a computer from scratch...)

Lots of ups and downs, and met a lot of obstacles and errors throughout the assembling, from hardware to software, stupid craps and in the end I just reformat the H/D, cause the "Change Mobo without reinstalling OS" method didn't work...

But right now, at this moment, I'm finally enjoying my fruits of labor~Medival 2 Total War and Civilization 4 on huge maps, with max settings~not to mention incredible speed across all~

Total Damage: $1200

Luckily, I've gave up the Sound Cards and stuffs at the moment. Decide the Creative XMod isn't so viable because I just realize it cannot be used on the go...so it isn't really "true-portable" in a sense. It can only be powered using USB...I think it's a huge overlook on Creative Part. Anyway, heard there's going to be a warehouse sale near Christmas period, with Audigy 2 refurbished Sound Card going for like $29! Looks like a good deal~

And I'll never forget...

The past 3 months have been one hell of a ride...lots of memories. The good, the bad, the joys we shared, the blood we spilled...the sweat and the tears~and the moments of happiness~

The first day of enlistment, the taking of the sacred oath, sleepless nights, first presentation of PS Wee, getting accustomed to the life, learning the handle the weapons, first aid tests, live range, doing "2 million push-ups", field camp, sit test, all the ST and AGR (s), all the route marches till the 24km~

Thank you Taurus 3! Thanks for all the help and support from EVERY single person in the platoon, else I would never have survive~(especially the route marches and field camp)

Dedicated to my section~

1. Zhi Yang - Always the most "suay"...LOL. Always get called down to so "Sai Gang" cause he's the IC. From the first day till the last day, he'll always be our sleeping IC~And our "Yang ah yang ah yang!"

2. Chris - Laughing Buddha~the nicknamed Sergeant Kenny gave to him. Haha. Always on the phone talking to "Da Sao", 80% of the time in the bunk he's on the phone. Really give it to him. And of course, my "Toilet Buddy".

3. Zhen Zhao - "Zee Zee"...the sleeping monster! Argh!

4. Guan Wei - My great great buddy! Even though he left us after 2 months, he REALLY did a lot to help me, even when he's OOT already. Help me fix Webbing, talk cock with me and we enjoyed listening to each other cold jokes. You'll always be my good buddy Guan Wei! (And the last month, I missed booking in without you!) Hope your back recovers soon!

5. Clement - Always...smiling to himself. Taking his time to savor his food. Play more DOTA, buddy!

6. Jason - The hardcore RPG gamer like me~ with a special trait...

7. David - Haha. And I finally found a friend who's a fan of wrestling! Enjoy your company in the armstoke room. The "Send Arms!" and "Draw Arms!" days are over~forever in our memories~

8. Zac - One of the most knowledgeable guy in our bunk (Previous NCC), help me out a lot, especially when learning how the assemble and strip rifle. Party on~ party on and hope you get your dream car soon!

9. Alvin - Ahhh...my Poly course mate! Alvin, I never forget how you helped me out on the first day of enlistment! Haha. And of course throughout the BMT~You truely deserve the "Platoon Best", although I hope you'll cut down on your "mind wrecking" puzzles...-_-

10. Wayne - Ah Lam!!! The guy who"sings Chinese songs but don't speak Chinese"! Been great listening to songs together and again, thanks for all the concern and help. Try not to act so "aggressive" towards others, ok Teletubby!

11. Xiang Jue - Nicknamed "Banana", aka Xiang Jiao. Don't forget to bring your 11B! Haha. The one that always "report sick"...ok lah...just slightly more often than me.

12. Jack - Jack! The greatest pirate of all time~our company best and the pride of our section. Always will remember his "Monkey God stunt" during the first week of BMT and of course the "Gentlemen, can you predict the future". The "talk cock" king. Seriously, our lives in the bunk will be SO boring without him. Best of luck in OCS!

13. Cheng Jin - Cheng Cheng the Hard Gay~Really appreciate all the concern~thanks for sounding off for me whenever I feel like trying to be "garang"~And I won't forget the Fire Trench we had to dig because of you...

And everyone else from Taurus 3~will be engraved in my memories for a long time~

Bye Tekong!

At long last! At long last! The big day finally arrives~!

"Gentlemen~I only want to hear 'piak' one sound, one sound only!"

Our long hard work finally "paid off"...Even though I only took part in the run in (pity...) but I can still very much feel the atmosphere~Last part with the war-cry and charging forward all high...LOL!

My Dad and Mum came~actually at that part where they suppose to put on caps...I waited very long for them...-_- Thought they couldn't find me. Diaoz. Luckily they did.

After POP, stayed back (like I had a choice) to take photos with all my friends and of course the sergeants. Lots of fun "tossing" sergeants into the air. LOL.

Sergeant Nick last words to me: "Zee Zee, don't sleep so much."

!!! 3 Months! 3 Months! Nearly 3 months together and that is the best he could give me...-_- The ironic thing was...Dean told me nearly exactly the same thing when I left. WTF...

After leaving the Island, went to have a simple meal with my family~then go home and rest for the night~

Ahhh...farewell Tekong...

Forever.

Our last night together...

On the 2nd last day, some event happened that left me very disappointed. It's like the feeling of you totally misjudge a person. I don't know is it due to me being very sick on that day, that I feel this way or what. But at that point of time, my feeling was "Is this the him I know?"

Anyway...One of the weirdest, strangest thing happened...a LOT of people in our platoon fall sick. Our section was the worst...David and Xiang Jue were both down with high fever and ATT C. My temperature was 38.5 degrees, but I try to be "garang" a bit...don't want go see MO (Cause I don't want to miss the important day...). Alvin temperature was peaking 39.5, and went to stay overnight at the sickbay. Later on, Clement was also down with high fever...Gosh! 5 out of 12 people in our bunk were down...and ironically 1 day before POP...

I wonder if it's the after-effects of the 24KM Route march, cause I never really recovered from that (even now as I am writing)...That day after the route march, my temperature was hovering above 37...then next day when I reach home...fever immediately...-_-

Whatever it is...our last night, all those that are still "healthy enough" went PARTYING~~~ outside the bunk...Yeah. Even though I was lying on the bed, I couldn't help listening to their conversations, their pranks on each other and at the end, the "emotional speech" by 2IC...PC also left us with a "No matter how small a role you play, always do your best, at least you can answer to your own conscience"~

Slowly drifting off to bed...until...something happen. A thunderstorm came. A catastrophic disaster struck us and caught me unexpected. Really left me feeling lost...

Whatever we do, we must know the limits...don't go overboard, or you might not be able to bear the consequences...

The 24KM Graduation March!

Wow...woke up at 3am in the morning...We started out at around 5+...I think. With a strength of 35...and prepared for the long journey ahead...

"SGTN~Are you alright?"

First 8KM was alright...cause it's so early and I didn't really feel too shagged. The next 8KM was very demoralizing -_-...The 16KM to 20KM was...the killer. My Webbing came off halfway...sibeh jia lat. LOL.

At that point, I was really..."When my body says enough, my spirit says never!". My legs are on auto pilot, my whole body is aching, my lower back is super painful and my shoulder feels like it's breaking...It's just the mind that keeps telling me to push on...

I got a lot of moral support from all my friends~Thanks to them else I don't think I"ll ever to complete this. Kept visualizing PC walking in front of me, recounting what he's said and stuffs...That's how I pulled through the last 12KM, especially when you look up and saw a HUGE uphill in front...

When reaching the company line, the feeling is...cannot be describe in words. The feeling of achievement and satisfaction, ultimate "shagness" and, the "chills". The last "Berhenti" was especially fulfilling, to know that you've complete the whole of BMT~

We were so high that we splash water at PS during the water parade (Not to mention 2IC, and then we knock it down on our own and ask for permission to continue -_-)

1st December 2006...very very memorable day. I don't recall feeling this tired throughout the 3 months...(滨临死亡的感觉) ...very very tired. Every single part of my body is worn out...When I reach the bunk...I was like, drop dead on the floor. Whew...I will take a long time to recover from this~

Note: Later that night was our Recruit's Evening...most memorable performance is probably the one by "Cindy" -_- ... Dot Dot...anyway, it turned out to be quite a disaster later on...luckily, it didn't get any more serious than it is...Whew...

OC Evening

Hmm...Week 12 of BMT Lo...time really files (as if...each day is like a year)

Anyway, this week basically just keep doing POP rehearsal...nothing much, except for 2 events I wanna mention...

OC Evening: Woo! This one is fun to say the least. Haha. At first we were quite worried about what performance to put up...until Nixon came up with...The "Tekong Fashion Show"! We basically spent the whole afternoon having lots of fun and coming up with all sort of crazy combinations~

That night, platoon 3 put on a OUTSTANDING performance~Audience response was overwhelming and even I feel we really put on a great performance. Who can forget all the wonderful characters that appeared on that night...The Buddha, Hard Gay, Dhalsim, and of course...Statue of Liberty...Just a side note. On my POP day, SGT Thomas actually remembered me and ask if I've taken a picture of the Statue of Liberty costume! LOL!

Our "Tekong Lion Dance" ending was spectacular as well~Really "professional"...

Platoon 4 performance was hilarious too. Basically, they gave out the "Tekong Awards" to all the recruits and commanders, from "Best Tekan", "Most Memorable Lines"...and they acutally have skits performance for each of the nominations. Really entertaining watching them perform (Best part was Platoon 3 "Explicit Sit Up" VS Platoon 4 "Explicit Push Up")

Games Day: Hmm...I actually find this to be quite boring...haha. Maybe cause we didn't win any prizes. The highlight was the Commander's Race where we really start to cheer.

Crazy about quality sounds...

Haha...don't know why recently, I'm extremely into audio quality products, (aka Sound Cards and Speakers) which is why I'm considering buying the Creative XMOD. Main reason is my current "nameless brand" speakers just went "Kapo"...I get sound distortions sometimes, or hissing and "booming" sounds, and sometimes the volume will auto go up and down...super fed up and is GREATLY hindering my enjoyment of music.

LOL Looking forward to pick up some good quality budget speakers (Not some 7.1 Surround Sound System) at the upcoming SITEX next week~

Hearing a lot of different opinions about Creative XMOD, some say it's a piece of crap and can easily be emulated using software (aka, "Software in a plastic"), others think it's worth it and you can really feel the difference in the quality of music. Think I'll go there to try out first before finally deciding...most important reason should be is it suitable for use when on the travel? Else I'll probably pick up a budget sound card~Heh.

I want freedom!

Ahh~I'm confused, I'm fed up!

I'm lost in the tracks of life. I feel that I have no control over my life, my time, even my emotions sometimes.

All the ideals, all the inspirations and ambitions of the past...are...well...really - of the past. At this point of my life, they all doesn't seem to matter any more...why am I feeling like this? :(

I don't have time even for myself, not to mention get-together with my friends...I have never felt so "trying to get by life" before...My life is like 一天过一天 ... Sometimes I feel that I'm in an entirely different world, or that I'm having a dream...a dream that's going to be very very long...Hopefully when I wake up from this, I'll get back all my memories of the past...

I don't even have time for myself, not to mention get-together with friends...I think I just need a long rest~

16KM Route March

Wah...日久见人心，患难见真情 ~

Haha...seriously, after every route march since the 6KM, I feel like like I've grown. Very shagged when I reached the 4KM mark.

Next 4KM I was like...almost couldn't go on, but walking besides PC made me find the will to carry on. Somehow, he have this aura, this...influence over people, that motivates me to go on. My mind just go blank and I just follow his steps...Heh...

Next 4KM...because PC is in the lead. And when he's in the lead, he's going to use his 凌波微步...no way I can catch up. After that I lagged super behind, and SGTK helped me pulled through. That part also made me think about a lot of things...anyway, my policy is "I'll never fall out unless I die." Haha. The thought of having to redo the route march without my friends is too much for me to bear.

Alright. Last 4KM, that was, strangely, the easiest. Again, I was walking beside PC and talking cock with him. Haha. Don't know if he fake me or what, but he talks about how he used to be a fan of S.H.E, how he book cabs with his friends and chase them around...-_- Hard to imagine man. He doesn't seem like a person that will do that, LOL.

Finally, when we reach the last 500m like that, our morale was super high~Haha. And I like the song that goes something like~

A is for Ah Gua~
B is for Ba Gua~
C is for Chao Ah Gua~
D is for Dao Gua~

adopted from the A is for Airborne song...LOL. Nice one nice one. That was one of the few songs that actually made me laugh during the route march, especially when it's sing by Eric. Hahaha.

Cheers!

"Rank is what you wear, Respect is what you earn. You don't need rank to get respect and rapport from your peers."

Standard Obstacle Course!

Week 10 of BMT, Saturday, 15th November...

I...don't know what to say. Today, I came FACE TO FACE with one of the greatest fear of my life - fear of heights. Let me rank the 11 individual obstacles of SOC according to their difficult in my opinion, when not wearing anything.

1. Low Wall - Basically jump over a wall... --> 2
2. Parallel Bars - Bloody difficult...Use your arm power to go over 2 bars --> 3
3. Step Over - You step on a wood, then jump over some concertina wires... --> 2
4. Swing Trainer - Monkey Bars... --> 3
5. Low Rope - Climb up and touch the metal...screw this! --> 4
6. Horizontal Log - Basically it's a log...and you kind of support and leap over it... --> 2
7. Swinging Bridge - Bo liao stuff...looks like playground to me... --> 1
8. Balancing Beam - Ahhhhhh! I'm going to faint... --> 4
9. Gate - You rest your hand on the top pole, gripped the bottom pole and "flip" to the other side --> 2
10. Jacob's Ladder - Oh my god... --> 5
11. Low Ramp - Wee! --> 2

Jacob's Ladder is the ultimate horror -_-...really cannot take it. Like what the PTI said, the first 5 is testing your strength, and last 6 is to test your confidence. How come it seems so easy when he did the Jacob Ladder but I just can't bring myself to walk over it. Walking up was still ok, but the step at the peak is really...horrifying. Ok I admit it I'm a *****...

I did manage to overcome the fear a little bit at the end. The PTI made me walk up to the fourth step, then walk down again. Walk up to 5th, then walk down again. Even then, I'm still very fearful of that ladder. The Balancing Beam comes next...feels especially giddy when you look down...And of course the so called "most difficult obstacle", the Low Rope. No strength to go up, haha.

Live Grenade Throw!

Week 10 of BMT, Saturday, 14th November...

Wow...I did it. LOL. I can't describe how nervous I was feeling before the throw. All along we've been doing those dummy thing (which doesn't even have a RING to it). We had to imagine all the safety pin, safety ring stuff...-_- No wonder we're said to fight imaginary enemies...

When I finally hold the REAL thing and put it into my pouch, I was like..."Geez, what if this thing just explodes on its own...". Haha. Whole thing was over in a minute, and it went very smoothly, except I had some difficulty in twisting the safety ring. You feel VERY safe with the sir around. Haha.

Side Note: Nathan caused a BIG HOLE right next to the bay...LOL. We keep teasing him about "attempting to kill Sir" ever since...haha~

Preparing for POP!

Ahh...don't know why, nowadays get picked on more and more...superiors I already "used to" liao, but now my section mates also called me "TS". Don't know who started one...geez.

And I was forced to fulfilled my promise to perform "Superman" after the SIT Test...-_-.

That aside, we were taught the Infantry Roar and Infantry Song subsequently during the next few days. Again, I was asked to lead the platoon/teach the company how to sing the song...Dot dot dot...I think it's the first time in my life I did anything close to this...

Bleh...that aside, bookout very late this weekend, and had lots of homework to do (Commanders and Peer Appraisal...And I have no idea why they like to "Psyco" us to go to Command School...

Looking forward to the big day~

Organizing My Feelings...

Hmm...today is a very important day. Ok...not that important, but it's a milestone to that very important date. Today is...5th November 2006!

Yep...that means, 1 more month to POP! Haha! Time is a very strange thing I feel. When you look at something of the past, it seems that time flies. But when you look at the future, it's slow. Haha. That's what time, or perception of time is. I really miss my time at the Poly. I miss poly life...

I've changed a lot in the past 2 months - I became more dependent on my friends (and I feel that it is a bad thing).

I think the biggest reason is that in the past, like say in the Poly, I have the ability/skill to do the assignments or tasks given to me. In the army, I'm like a dimwit. I have bad hand coordination and perception of lines/ropes/strings. I can't even sling a rifle or attach an ammo pouch properly ...Haiz, what a sad thing. Thankfully, my buddies don't mind helping me out. Talking about my buddy, Guan Wei is posting out soon...but of course we all still regard him as part of us! Let's stay in contact always, like our Motto - Brothers For Life!

I also grown more emotional, and it's both a good and bad thing I guess. I've learnt to treasure things, and make better use of the time I have (because it is so limited).

All these aside, I'm going to have my SIT test tomorrow (After that, no more outfield). I'm extremely wary of the 12KM route march...I pray for all to give me strength to pull through it. Haha.

Now talk about happy things~Hee. When I come back next week, the DX10 cards will be out! I'm also "terribly excited" about the Medival II (Coming out next week), and the long awaited Civ 4 Warlords patch also came out liao! What's more, Final Fantasy XII on the PS2 is releasing soon as well! And SVR2007! These will be the 4 main games I'll be playing for now till next year. Heh...I guess picturing myself, with my super C2D computer and playnig these games will give me the moral support and strength. Hahahahaha...

1 More MONTH! RAWR!

Tekong Ghost Stories...

Ahhh...how can I miss this out. 7 days of field camp...supernatural encounters? Strange happenings? Weird events?

Noopee...fortunately (of course), but I still want to talk about it. My buddy is a lot of more superstitious than me (In fact he's the most superstitious person I've EVER met). The only one I "took precaution" was "saying excuse me/sorry when peeing". There were a lot of other taboos and things we are not to do supposedly...like...point at the moon, shine on the trees, etc..

Sergeants also told us some of the ghost stories, like how the beings of the 3rd world likes to reside in trees...One was about a Christian who didn't believe in all these, apologizing after urinating on the tree...the ending was he saw a headless ghost hanging above after he's done...Another one was about Night Vision Goggles. One person saw 2 "persons" in front of him with the NVG on, but there was nothing in front of him when he took them down...

This is one of the most scary ghost story I've ever read...(Not for the weak heart)

A hunter had gotten separated from his hunting party and was hopelessly lost in the woods. The sun was setting fast and he needed shelter to protect him from the nocturnal predators. After nearly an hour of mindless searching, he finally came across an old cabin. Night had already fallen, so he had no choice but to spend the night here. He cracked open the door and peeked inside. It was pitch black inside, but he could immediately tell that it was only a single room large. He walked into the center of the cabin, plopped down on the cold wooden floor. The building was very small. While lying down, he only had about two feet to spare in all directions. Even the ceiling was awfully low. He may as well have been lying in a coffin...

However, he couldn't sleep. Something was keeping him awake... making him feel uneasy... What was it? He didn't know, so all he could do was stare up at the ceiling...Soon, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could begin make out shapes on the walls. What were they? He was soon able to tell...They were portraits! At least thirty of them spread out among the four walls... even a few on the ceiling!

They showed a variety of faces - boys, girls, children, seniors... all painted that ghastly shade of black and white. And they all seemed to be staring at him. Yes, they all were staring...Watching him...Observing him...But the man wasn't afraid. In fact, when he wasn't hunting, he was an artist. Therefore, he found the portraits to be quite compelling. Wow, these portraits are wonderful, he thought. That color... so eerie. The unhappy facial expressions... so well done! And something about them... some property within each and every one... they all seemed so real...Well, he thought, I should check these out in the morning. For now I must sleep...The last thing he saw before dozing off was the portraits on the ceiling, staring down at him as he lay himself down to sleep...

The next morning the man awoke with a start. The second he woke up, he remembered the portraits. Oh, yes, I must get a closer look at them, he thought. The sun had barely even begun to rise, and the cabin was still quite dark inside, but he couldn't contain himself. He jumped up in excitement - and stopped...They were gone. All the portraits were gone...All that was left were the frames...Impossible, he thought. They were here last night! He slowly approached on frame on the south wall. He walked slowly... slowly......Until he was right in front of it...Chills went up his spine when he realized...They weren't even picture frames.

They were windows......

Small, square windows...

Stupid haze...

I went to see the doctor (Yes, for the 3rd time since I enlisted) due to the stupid block nose which have been pissing me and affecting my sleep SO much. Went to see the doctor about it the last time already, but the medicine he gives, never completely cure it. It came back every single time and has stayed for like more than 2 weeks already!

It got so bad yesterday that both nostrails were blocked and I had to breath through my mouth...Then I was shivering all over when I tried to sleep, and difficult to breath.

Doctor said, most likely reason could be the haze, which is making my nose allergic (I never had what allergic nose before, what the hell loh...)

Anyway, he gave me some spray stuffs and some allergic medicines...Haiz...sometimes wonder why I always get all those stupid health problems...

I got the tickets!!!

27th January, Saturday, 8:00pm...

Premier Seats...Better than even the most expensive tickets you can buy from sistic right now...

I must pray hard that I can attend this event...

Note: Thanks Trenzterra for wenting through so much trouble for getting such good seats for us.

Upgrading COM During NS Period...

Many people told me I shouldn't do a massive upgrade for the computer during my NS...actually that's exactly what I thought as well...

But...haiz...my current computer is really really really old...and obsolete. It can BARELY run even some of the year 2005 titles at 800 x 600 with everything at lowest...So I am super depressed...Bookout also cannot have an enjoyable time using my computer...And I think upgrading to a better GFX card only doesn't help in the long run, since I'm still running AGP Mobo, and the CPU will most likely be a bottle neck...

Now NS barely started only...how can I "survive" 2 years on this shitty com...So that came my decision to do an upgrade during the Block Leave in december...Besides, I'll be using the own money I've earned during the June - Sept period...heh...

There's a couple of reasons for upgrading in december and I think it'll be a good time...

1) Block Leave - Time off to play!
2) Direct X10 - First batch of cards release in Nov, should push down DX9 cards significantly.
3) Core Quad? - Not sure how much effect this will have, but it MAY affect C2D prices...

I won't be getting the DX10 cards, as I don't see the point yet...Firstly, those premium cards will definitely be freaking expensive, but most importantly, DX10 games will probably take another 1 - 2 years to slowly enter the market. And I have no plans of upgrading to Vista at the moment, since it's a super resource hog and again, probably 2 years for the software to stabalize and accepted in the market...

For now, every bookout I've been closely following the prices of the hardware. I will most likely aim for the C2D E6400, which prices for bundle still hovering around 600 to 700...hmm...
My budget plan is something around like...

CPU + MOBO Bundle > $600
Graphic Card > $250
Memory > $150

Now the most "Wu Hua" (Value for Money) is the Geforce 7900GS...very good performance, and the price is like $300...

Reference Articles...

Q3 CPU Performance Charts

Creative adverts...

Sometimes, I wonder why local ads are so boring...the same own cliche and repetitive ideas used -_-

Take a look at the Cheers Campaign ad...funny like hell. The main thing is the music...sibeh dramatic. LOL.

Some others include an Energy Drink and Titanic...

Overseas commercials are so innovative! Hope one day we got more talents like these...Haha.

Wild Arms: The 4th Detonator, Storyline

The story main character is a young kid named Jude, living in the isolated Ciel Village, unknown of the sufferings in the outside world. Everything change when Ciel was discovered by the Congressional Knights (CK) and the village was destroyed. Jude discovered his powers to control Arms, also known as a "Natural ARM Driver" and got hold of the arm buried in Ciel Village...

He's joined by Yulie (A child who's forced in an orpanage, undergoing experiments to gain the ability to drive ARMS), and subsequently Arnaud (magic user who somehow got drag into the events) and Raquel (Proficient swordwomen, travelling around Filgaia in search of remaining beauty).

First part of the game was mainly the team constantly under the persue of Brionac, elite forces of the CK. Yulie was the "key" to unlocking the Divine Weapon which the CK has evacuated at Illsveil. It seems that Kresnik, Yulie's brother, had joined the Brionac as well...Later, they're joined by Gawn, a man who claims he seeks to persue the War Hero Hauser...He became very good friend with the group.

Later in the game, Jude finally located his mother, who had been captured by the Brionac. On the train, it was revealed that all the "villagers" of Ciel were actually researchers of ARMS during the war 10 years ago...the whole party end up in the Forgotten City (Raquel Hometown) when the train breaks apart. It was revealed that Raquel body was so badly injured that she didn't have much longer to live...

Mid story...Jude mother died , and Hauser saves the party. Gawn later reveals himself as the "secret weapon" of the Brionac and captured Yulie and Hauser. Lambda, commander of Brionac, discovered the true motive the CK. The ministers merely wanted to use the Divine Weapon to gain immortality, so they can be the permanent leaders for Filgaia. By then, only 6 of the 11 Brionac Lieutenants remained due to orders to send them 1 by 1... Lambda was furious and rebelled against the CK, slaying all the ministers overnight... The plan to evacuate the Divine Weapon continues however...

End story...Lambda made Hauser lost his mind and activates the Divine Weapon. Kresnik gave up his prototype arm to Jude before falling into the depth of darkness in the final dungeon. Lambda realized that he was wrong in losing trust in humanity, and trust in comrades, which was the reason the Brionac has lost...He gave his final strength to help the party...

After defeating the Divine Weapon, peace returns to Filgaia...Arnaud left with Raquel in search of a cure while Jude and Yulie stayed behind to rebuild the village. They made a promise to see each other again someday.

Ending, 10 Years Later...Jude became the keeper of the forest living among the animals. Yulie stayed in the village as a school teacher. Arnaud married Raquel and they had a child...Raquel never did find a cure for her illness, but she did find something truly beautiful in this world.

The four friends may not have been able to fulfill their promise to meet again, but even now, Filgaia's future continues onward...

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The 11 Members Lieutenant of Brionac, also known as the Lambda Elite (Meaning Elite 11). Each is equivelent to a battalion:

Lambda: Commander of the Brionac

Kresnik: The "Lance" of Lambda.

Farmel: The "Shield of Lambda.

Heath, Invisible Stalker - Unable to love anyone, even himself. Ability to remove others perception of him to become invisible. Only love Fiore and Asia, his 2 pet dolls...Dead at start.

Enil, Dark Whisper - Bring out a person deepest fear and give them physical forms.

Jeremy, Initial Canceller - Cancels person inheritia and ability to attack.

Scythe, Crimson Noble - Ability to control space and time. Beilai, his lover, is actually the real Noble giving him strength...

Hugo, System Cronos - Ability to compress time, and move just before an attack hits him.

Balgaine, Baron of Gore - Nulifies any support magic, possessed godly strength.

Augst - No fighting ability. The "researcher" of the Brionac...

Gawn - The secret 11th Commander, Trumph Card...

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Senseless Games...

I think my section mates are really, what I called - DEPRIVED of entertainment.

Last week, Jack introduced us to the "Bear game". It's a very fun and entertaining game that's simliar to murderer and can be played in a huge group.

Basically, there are 2 bears, a cuckoo and a priests as special roles (Subject to change depending on number of players), the rest being normal civillians. Only the cuckoo know who the 2 bears are.

Summary of how the game is play: After the gamemaster assigns the roles, Day 1 starts and everyone wakes up. Discussion assues and after everyone is done, 1 person is voted out and everyone sleeps. Then, the bears will wake up and decides who he wants to kill. The priests will wake up and decides who to heal. After that, Day 2 will starts and the game continues until either the bear or the civilian wins. Kind of tough to explain here, but it's kind of a physcological game. Heh. Great way to pass time.

Now the senseless games we came up with this week. Have to take down so I don't forget them...

- I like, But I Don't Like: I will keep listing items I like and dislike, can you figure out what's the secret to the statement?

- The Magic Cloth / UFO: I use an object to hover in front of you for a while...what's the magic number that will appear?

- How Many Meh Meh Jump Over The Wall?: This takes forever to figure out...how many meh meh jumps over the wall... -__-

- The Eyes, Nose and Mouth: I point to 3 locations, naming them eyes, nose and mouth. Can you figure out whose face I'm referring to?

Taurus Motto - Don't Be An ABC

Our company slogan is - Don't be an ABC. Argue, Bargain and Chaokeng.

Interesting? My platoon new tag line is "Tough time don't last, tough men do. When my body says enough, my spirits say NEVER!"

Hmm...for now, I'm extremely worried about the fieldcamp. Full of uncertainties and doubts...don't know if I can survive...

I believe fieldcamp is the "Ultimate test during BMT"...Believe in myself...They say "you'll know who your true friends are during fieldcamp"...Haiz...worst thing is my buddy is OOT -__-

My health is deteoriating...

Haiz...I've fallen sick unpteen number of times...I can "memorize" all the medicines already.

Loperamil, Ultracarbon, Hyoscine Butylbromide, Procodi Syrup...
Danzen, Lactool Fort Capsules, Ibuprofen, Linctus...

Just some of the many many medicines I've eaten so far. Haiz. Screw the haze. I think it's contributing greatly to my cough. I went to see outside doctor again, and it costs freaking $45...HAIZ. (Cause see the MO didn't recover)

So far I reckoned I've spent more than $100 just buying stuffs like Limpsin (Which didn't help), Deflamm (Cost freaking $11 bucks and didn't help!), panadols, africian sea coconut drinking (Limited usefulness...) and seeing outside doctor twice.

Crap man. My fitness is improving, but what's the use if my health keeps getting worse with each day? Now, I cough until I can't get to sleep at night...and when I wake up, my throat is BURNING...Geez!

Gonna take the medication (which cause drowziness...) and sleep liao...Can't even enjoy my short bookout in full health...

Tui Hou MV... (Jay Chou)

Ahh...very interesting MV. At first my first impression was "promotes violence and get the chance to take advantage of Hebe"...

Today just watch the full version of the MV. Nice manz...you have to watch it for yourself. The storyline is very simple, but the "我已经变了。。。但，也已经来不及了" at the end, how the scene flashes back to the past, it shows Jay selling the drinks, then Hebe appearing...Very good MV.

Factors to consider for my computers...

Heh...good. Just updated my bank book and saw the money rolling in. Even though I just splurged $150 on S.H.E concert ticket...I will not cut the budget for my new rig. $1000, reusing all the mouse, monitor, keyboard, HDD, DVD RW and stuffs. Main concern is only CPU + MOBO bundle, PSU, GFX Card and Memory...

Anyway, A LOT of stuffs are coming about. Not long ago the release of AM2, followed by the grand opening of Intel Core 2 Duo (Which cause the MASSIVE AMD price cuts). Soon after, AMD brought over ATI...

But that's only the warm up...the REAL big factor will be the impending Windows Vista release, together with Direct X10. Rumors are circulating that Nvidia will be pushing out the Geforce 8 Series in November, ATI in December, aka the first series of Direct X10 cards.

Haiz...headache. So many crap to consider. And WTF! A Window Vista Premium PC requires 1GB of RAM...what bullshit...1GB just to "start up". Vista is the ultimate resource hog...-_-Anyway, the DX10 cards will confirm be super ex when it get released, which also means the DX9 cards will all see a drop in prices.

Been reading through lot of articles about those stuffs lately (even though a lot can change in 2 months time, so I'm still not going into it yet...)

Some of my most anticipated games coming up...Spore, Medieval II: Total War and possibly Heroes V Hammers of Fate, any upcoming patches/expansion for Civ, and Railroads. Heh. Haiz...all those will require a hell of a machine though...

I passed my IPPT!

Yep! Hard to imagine...I can actually do it...(Yes I managed to jump JUST NICE 216 cm for my weakest station, Standing Broad Jump)

I think I've grown MUCH more in these 1 month of Army then 4 months of my own training...-_-

These are the results I got for the 1st IPPT Cat Test (When I first entered)

Chin Up: 7, 2 Pts
SBJ: 189cm, 0 Pts
Sit Up: 34, 2 Pts
Shuttle: 11.3s, 0 Pts
2.4KM Run: 12.41 min, 1 Pts

These are the results I got this week, 2nd IPPT Test...

Chin Up: 8, 3 Pts
SBJ: 216cm, 2 Pts
Sit Up: 38, 4 Pts
Shuttle: 10.5, 3 Pts
2.4KM Run: 12.07 min, 2 Pts

Heh...so happy~I never ever thought I could jump SBJ. I guess I've learnt the technique quite well now. My goal for the next IPPT is silver! (No money unfortunately...but plan for the future mah. And anyway I can get the badge. Heh)

By the way I am a "Bobo shooter"...so no chance of marksman :(

Drag your boots, Soldiers!

Aha...this week is...what I would say...a "Cultural Shock". We finally had a "taste" of Ninja and what it means...

Basically lot of IMT and IMT this week. Most important event was the 6KM Route March on 12th Oct, which was really...had a great "emotional impact" on me. I felt very very very very weak towards the end but I kept telling myself to push on. I don't want to fall out. I don't want to give up. I must presevere......It's really like a "milestone"...Not to say so much...but I was really overwhelmed that day. I was like in a daze for a long long time...

"I want you guys to leave T3 with memories. I don't want you to think back about of your BMT and say 'Ah...Aiya, T3 ah. Very slack lah.'"

The reasons I don't play online games...

Throughout the last few years, MMORPGs have gained massive popularity...lots of my friends are playing and wanted me to join...From the old Ragnarok, Jin Yong Heroes Online (Chinese), Maple Story, Fairyland to the massive World of Warcraft...

I've tried some MMORPG before, but they never get to me...for a couple of reasons I saw recently on a forum. (which is when I discover they're exactly the same reasons why I don't play).

1) You generally have to pay a fee (at least for MMORPGs) and I feel that once I've bought a game I shouldn't have to incur additional costs to play it.

2) When I did play online, it often become too addictive. I like to be able to turn off the games when necessary without being in the position of letting teammates down. I can already feel this from just playing simple games like Warcraft (Like promising them I'll be joining in for a clan battle) etc...It sorts of become like an extra burden on me. When I play single player, I have the power to start and stop whenever I want.

Heh...It's hard to say whether I'll play MMORPG in the future, but currently I don't see myself doing that...

Meaning behind S.H.E names

Very interesting info someone posted, that I didn't know about S.H.E even after supporting them for so long. Just to quote direclty from the poster in SHEA...

Do you want to know why the trio were named Selina Hebe and Ella? Here is why!

-The name Selina was chosen by her company after taking a personality test; it is the name of the Greek goddess of moon, it also represents "gentleness".

-The name Hebe was chosen by her company after taking a personality test, it is the name of the Greek goddess of youth, it also represents "confidence".

-The name Ella was chosen by her company after taking a personality test, it is the name of the Greek goddess of neutrality, it represents "courage".

S.H.E Moving Castle Concert...

Haiz...stupid cough haven't recover, almost lost all my voice, keep having runny nose...

Then today due to "mysterious reasons", I lost my card. Early morning I took the card out, wanted to transfer money to Trenz account for the tickets, but the queue downstairs was too darn long, so I headed back home.

During the afternoon, I went to causeway to catch up a bit with Toby, but by then my card is gone! What the hell. I went home, overturn my drawers and search through the bags and wallet, all no have.

Haiz. No choice but to report lost. I know it could be lying somewhere around the house, but for me, I rather pay $5 for the replacement to be safe...If someone else find it and draw out all the money, I can go suicide liao. $5 for a peace of mind is nothing...heh.

Woo...so happy! S.H.E "Moving Castle" concert will be held on 27th Jan...which is a saturday, and after my BMT (It was originally scheduled for Fall 2006, but got pushed back to Early 2007)... This I guess will "greatly increase" my chances of being able to make it for the concert.

I really really really hope I can go for this one, cause this time around, I won't be going just with Toby, but with a HUGE group of people! That means we can scream together, laugh together, shout "encore" together! I think it will be damn high~~~~~~~~~ compared to the last one!

What's the best thing is SHEA has become officially recognized by H.I.M Singapore, and Trenz have got them to reserved 30 "premium seats" for us...(Yep, I got the premium) Now is the preorder period only, which means the "general public" still won't be able to purchase them through SISTIC. It's like the "Best of the $148". I pray and pray and pray that I'll be able to attend...

Side Note: Jerry is very crazy about S.H.E right now! He told me he just email H.I.M and preorder the ticket already as well! LOL! Don't know when he become so "on" as well. Could it be due to my influence... -_-

Army songs...

SERGENT 有话要交代 (路边的野花不要采)

送你送到TEKONG岛
SERGENT 有话要交代
CAMERA PHONE 千万不要带 (music)
FALL IN 的时候，别乱乱动 (music)

BOOKOUT 的时候
千万‘麦乱来'
记得MP 天天在等待
既然你已经出去了~
千万不要再被抓进来
千万不要再被抓进来

那OC对我说 (那女孩对我说)

那OC对我说
有没有睡7小时
说这里的人
有谁是NOT FEELING WELL
他问我有没有
DIAHORREA， VOMIT 或 FEVER
全身酸痛的我
整夜都没有睡够

那OC对我说
说我是个CHAO RECRUIT
若有事的话
千万记得要SOUND OFF
我不想这样做
还有MEDICAL CENTER
一步步向前跑
很快就HELI EVAC~~

Bookout Day

Today is our bookout day~
bookout~bookout
Today is our bookout day~
bookout bookout day~
No more 5BX, No more CPT~
Today is our bookout day~bookout bookout day~

Ahhh...why is my computer so crappy...

Now keep hanging, and all the new games I can barely run it above 20fps...

Haiz...my payment FINALLY arrives...(yeah, nearly 2 months after finishing the work they finally "processed" it) but now I cannot spend it. So many temptations... Saw what Fuwell opening sales, insane prices. X800 going at $99 for first 30 pieces... --__--

But now I think about it, from the next one onwards I'll be booking out on Sat and booking in on Sunday...where got time to play game. (I was damn lucky to be able to book out on thursday for 2 consecutive weeks)

I guess this isn't a time for me to splurge on gaming hardwares. Now, I'll go back to playing RPGs on my PS2 first, since there isnt really much games at this moment on the PC. (Luckily, else I will be damn 痛苦

Coming up are Stronghold Legends in Fall (Played the demo, not bad...), Heroes V expansion in October, and a new patch for Civ 4 is planned as well (Man I want my 18 civilizations game). I think I'll do a complete upgrade during my Block Leave... ..leave the darn AGP system behind...then really play to my heart's content. I'll set aside the 1 grand payment for this...this will be the ultimate gift for myself to celebrate my BMT period and my 20th birthday...The games I only really care about is though the Civ patch and its unavoidable second expansion. I might support Stronghold Legends, provided Firefly don't repeat the mistakes of Stronghold 2. Best is delay more to fine-tune the game instead of releasing a half completed product. Other than that, there really aren't a lot of games I'm looking forward to.

And my computer keeps hanging for unknown reason. 2 out of the 4 USB slots are broken, and I think the motherboard is going bonkers. ZZZ. Well, I can let my brother go complain since he's using it 5 out of the 7 days...haha. Hopefully I can make him fork out the money to share for the upgrade...

Role Playing Games (RPG) history...

Towards the end of second week in camp, a conversation led to me discovering that Jason and Wayne from my bunk are hardcore RPG gamers that has played countless games! Wah, I have the 相逢恨晚 feeling when having that talk...

I've been playing games from a VERY VERY young age. Younger than I can remember. The earliest memory I have is watching just sitting there, watching my second brother playing games, particularly RPGs. I've been playing RPGs for as long as I can remember. I don't know the exact age, but when i'm in Kindergarten (6 years old like that, I already have memory of playing Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest...

From then on, from primary school to secondary to poly, I've never stopped playing RPGs. The last time I had a group of friends that play RPG was in the secondary days, but they weren't that "dedicated" as well. They're like "complete this ASAP" kind of play-style.

For me, I like to slowly "savour" the RPG. I want to get immensed into the RPG world, I want to feel for the characters, I want to know what the characters are thinking. When I play, I attempt every side quests possible, I try to collect all the items, I talk to every single townpersons until they have nothing left to speak, I revisit previous locations to talk with them again. Basically I just want to experience the game to its fullest. I'm not those to just "go straight for the mainplot and finish it". But I am not a "level-spammer". I believe it's a waste of time. In fact to me, a very big part of enjoyment from playing RPG comes from the storyline, much more than all the other aspects. Of course good gameplay and presentation are great plusses, but without an engaging storyline, then the RPG simply sucks.

Anyway, I was super surprised that Jason played almost all the RPGs I've played before, even those super "old schools" one, like "Wild Arms" which was released in 1997. Really cool talking about all those things...bring back a lot of memories when I was younger. One thing I'm peeved about is he doesn't like Lunar (and the worst thing is he dislike it because of the graphics), which is my 2nd favourite series. To me, graphics is one of the least important aspect of an RPG (but seriously, I find Lunar 2D graphics to be extremely beautiful...don't know why people doesn't like it. It's MUCH better than some half-*** 3D) In terms of character development, the Lunar series is unequalled, and it's one of the very few RPGs where I can name all the main characters even after half a decade not touching it. The storyline left that amount of impact in me. In fact, I was so touched by the ending of Lunar 2 that I nearly cried when I saw it the first time. (I was like 16) Yeah...I was (and still am) quite emotional, but that scene was just damn sad... It's the first and probably last RPG that will ever affect me on such a deep level.

Final Fantasy is the most overrated series of all time. Popularity != Quality. Just because it's the most well known RPG series doesn't make it the best.

Bleh...don't know why suddenly feel like ranting about games. (Probably cause I just started WA4 today) One thing I regret is that I've forgotten a lot of storyline of past games I played...felt like going through them again someday...

Tough times don't last, but tough men do...

3 weeks in the Army, but it feel like I've been inside for a long time already. I must say I've grown tremendously, physically and mentally, and...my appetite. Haha...My appetite is getting bigger with each passing day I feel. I've decided to keep my first 2 weeks feelings to myself and not post it up here, thanks to Zhi Wei for the kind reminder.

Anyway. this week, I learnt a lot. I'm the armskote man for the platoon, and we were like so "newbish" when drawing arms for the first time. Still got a lot to learnt. Most important event for the week is the "Weapon Presentation Ceremony". I was extremely nervous...luckily it went smoothly. It's sort of like the "7 Core Values Book Presentation", but feels more "sacred". It's probably due to I'm holding a rifle this time (which I never did in my entire life), not a book... Anyway, it's a once in a lifetime experience, saying the "Weapon Pledge" and all.

Did my first ever FBO 4km route march today~ It was very tiring of course (my shoulder was gonna break apart...), but the sense of satisfaction I got at the end was...whew, how to say, just great! I need to build up my physical fitness more if I'm going to get through the longer route marches! Go go go~!

黑夜如果不黑暗 美夢又何必響往
破曉會是堅持的人最後獲得的獎賞
黑夜如果太黑暗 我們就閉上眼看
希望若不熄滅就會亮成心中的星光

My first "Book in"....

Going to army really makes you appreciate a lot of things you used to take for granted...Even the simplest thing. My bed...my computer...homecook food...

Hmm...2 years of blank...I think it will make me forget 50% of everything I've learnt in the Poly...haiz...that's the 无奈 thing. It's not only "losing 2 years", but more about your knowledge deteoritating...

But we don't want events from the World War II to reoccur...which is why NS is a must for a small country like Singapore. Like the National Education talk says...it's the only option. Everyone must go through it. It's a chance for me to grow stronger, become more independent, and more apprecitiative of things...

Song when leaving Tekong...

其实不想走 其实我想留
留下来PT (Physical Training) 每个春夏秋冬
你要相信我 再不用多久
我就可以 PASS IPPT Lo

My first bookout!

2 weeks comes by and go quickly...Anyway first thing I reach home was to go hug my mum! LOL. I really miss her...Chit chat for a bit before I turn on the computer...

I missed my computer! It feels extremely weird holding to the mouse...it almost feels awkward, and even the monitor screen looks strange...I have to like "think for a moment" before I can successfully scroll over to an icon to click it...Geez. My computer is my 2nd life and finally...I get to use it again!

Interesting thing to note is (It's like the greatest coincidence ever) when I login to SHEA, I saw "Number of new posts since last visit: 1212"!!! Got so "zhun" or not...Basically I spending the WHOLE day catching up in the forums, from gamefaqs to SHEA to Wuxia. Luckily I didn't miss much..

P.S: Fallen sick and attend B for the last 3 days. Never ever fall sick in the army. It sucks man. I would rather train together with my platoon together if I can. It SUCKS to sit there alone, watching them...haiz...I must take care of my health man...

Something I learnt during the National Education talk...The SAF is built not to fight a war, but to make sure we will never need to go to war.

7th Sept Enlistment Day...

Enlistment day...I'll probably never forget this day. Big bro drove me with my mum to Pasir Ris...My feeling at that time was...surprisingly calm. Just...the..."Like that lor" feeling. Long story short. We pass through the gate, took the ferry and reach Tekong. Was led to an area where we the "Red IC" was taken away...and issued the "Green IC", together with the sling bag. After that we were brief a bit, then into the auditorium we go. For some reason I was feeling extremely high after the sacred oath taking. I don't remember the exact, but I do remember the last 3, LOUD AND CLEAR - "WITH MY LIFE!!!".

The speech after that really...hmm...makes me think of a lot of stuff. I remembered stuff like "Why do you think your parents are here to see you? You think they're here to see the Tekong scenary? No. Because they're concern about you", "Make a promise that your mum will be the first person you called tonight" and "3 months later when you return, you will be so proud of your sons..." Etc...Very motivating and emotional...

Ate lunch with my mum and brother. After that sent them off to the jetty...I was sitting there...still feeling unusually calm. I can tell my mum like at that time, is like tear-jerking moment for her, even though she doesn't show it. She kept lookin back at me, waving to me. I signalled for her to go......

Immediately after I saw Alvin! What a surprise! At least someone I know...After that is the items collecting session. That time is like HELL for me. The bags were so heavy and I'm so fragile I can barely moved them. Luckily I recieved a lot of help (lot of thanks to Alvin at that time). I'll be totally hopeless tell ya...

The haircut moment. Yes. It's not as "dramatic" or "breath-taking" as everyone thinks. It's like "over in the blink of an eye"...My feelings at that moment was...again, extraordinary calm. I didn't saw myself in the mirror until much much later in the day, and I was like "WTF! Who the hell is this in the mirror. Is this really me?!"

Night time...I can't sleep. I can't sleep. I toss and turn and fall asleep like at 1am, woke up at 4:45am...

Ahh...almost forgot something...

Haha...take one photo of myself before Army.
Before I go botak... :P

Think I will probably never look like this again...Will upload my "After" photo when I return...

See got what difference...

Last wishes...

Before I start...

"Just because we can construct planes and fly, create the computer and internet, go into space, we humans delusion ourselves into thinking we are the masters on this planet, but every once in a while, nature whips our butt badly and reminds us of our delusioned ego and that we are just 1 small species living on this planet amongst thousands of other species.. "

I just heard of The Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin death yesterday...R.I.P. You will be missed.

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Well well...last day. I've really been looking forward to this day and anticipating it. I've done everything I wanted to do. I've not wasted the extra 3 months compared to my friends that enlisted in June as I've done a lot of stuffs. Exercise almost 5 times every week, learnt a lot of things and play a lot of games! (But they still piss me off when they come to show off they've POP...)

Basically, I'm all prepared and ready to go. The only thing that worried me is not the training, the mosquitos, the condition there and stuff. It's how my company people will be, and how my buddies will be.

Hopefully they're really nice people...and best is don't have those "small people" in the platoon...

Things I will miss most includes of course using the Computer...I don't think I've ever stop using the computer for more than 1 week ever since I got it. It's become such a integrated part of my life. And I will miss my bed...a lot. My comfortable bed with bolster... :(

Heh...that's all~Think I will have a lot to write about when I'm back.

Some things about myself...

Hmm...just a little self discovery...

Believing in God - I don't really believe in god, as I don't really think that a "Mystical Being" that overlooks this world really exist. When I (Or other people) go to pray, I think of it as more Psychological thing. They "feel better" to have "something" looking over them but actually it's just that they've adjusted their psychology, thereby reducing/eliminating fear and anxiety. So basically , the "god" lives within yourself. That's what I believe anyway.

Believing in Ghosts - If I have to compare, I'll say there is a "higher likelyhood" of ghost existing than god existing...not that I've seen either. I think it's mainly due to watching too much horror shows...I mean, horror shows protrays ghost. How often do you see a show that talk about god?

Hmm...talk about some of my good points and some of my bad points. Basically I won't say it's good or bad. It's just some traits that's become part of me...

Easily annoyed - I am very very easily annoyed. I don't know if it equivalates to bad tempered. I don't think so, cause I dont' go around screaming and throwing things when I'm annoyed. Annoyed means I don't feel very "comfortable" inside. For example, I will become very irritated when my mum nag me to go to bed (when I'm using the com till way pass midnight). That's one of the big "ARGH!!!" moment for me. I know she's concern about me but when it happens I will automatically go into irritated mode. I will usually just keep quiet or just reply "orh". Same for when I wake up she told me to go buy breakfast...It has almost become a habitual pattern. Everytime X happen, I auto get pissed. Haiz...

Calculative? - Hmm...I also don't really understand this. I can be extremely "don't kay gao" (uncalculative) towards certain thing and certain people, but be totally opposite towards others. Like for example, If I buy this 50 cents thing for person X, I will expect him to pay me (and yes, I will open my mouth to ask for the money). On the other hand, I can pay a few dollars taxi ride but i won't expect my friends to pay me. I've recently realize that this action of mine is LARGELY related to what kind of person I'm dealing with. In short, I will treat the person how he treat me. If he's calculative towards me then I'll be the same towards him, vice versa. Think I just don't like the feeling of being taken advantage of.

Things I would never do - There's a saying that goes 君子有所为，有所不为 (There are something one can do, and one should never do). There are lot of little things (in the eyes of others) that I will never do, even though it seems very stupid of negligible. For example, I would never send someone else a S.H.E Song, no matter what. The person is probably going "come on, make it easier for me. I can get it from 10000 different sources easily anyway".

True, but it's just not the same. I can't find a very good description, but it just makes me feel bad for me, myself, a fan of theirs, to give out their song. The closest analogy would be like, say during an exam - all the class have the answers except you. Even if no one would ever know, I rather you get it from others than me (even though the answers are the same).

On the other hand, there are some things I do that may seems "stupid" in other people eyes. For example, if I see a great game that I love, I WILL buy the original game. If I know a great movie, I will go to the theatre and actually see the movie. I don't listen to the "Heck! This game has no multiplayer anyway. Just download it, don't need to waste money". I think it's just my way of showing support for something I love. Sure I can download it and get the same exact game without paying anything, but...I dont' just feel good. It's a game that I LOVE, surely I need to show some support for the creators?

Whew...tired. Another time.

Everything that needs to be done is done...

Monday went to Beach Road (First time in my life...) with Toby to look around. Wow that place is indeed the "Army Heaven" with all sort of army stuffs...Anyway we looked around and brought most of our stuff from an uncle store (Think I'll just buy all my stuff from him from now onwards, since he seems to be a really nice guy)

Hmm...Tuesday went shopping with my parents for Army Stuff and brought everything.

Wednesday, went to temple to pray and got the talisman. Heh...

Thursday...erm...stay at home and rot.

Friday, packed everything into the bag, went out with my mum.

Almost everything is done. Except maybe I'm too pissed off with Bluff Multiplayer to launch it. Haha. Hope I can find the motivation to finish it.

Meanwhile...I've found the motivation to do some "MSN avatars" so I can use it while in the Army...Hee hee. So cute!

Ode to Gallantry...

Yeh~Just finished reading the novel. This is the 2nd time I've read this novel, and I can now understand everything.

I've forgotten like 80% of the stuff since the last time I read it was like when I was Sec 3. Now re-read again, really 别有一番风味.

Basically, the story protaganist, Shi Po Tian life underwent a major transformation after he was mistook for a evil man that look similar to him. There's no "true villian" or "problem" in this story, so it's really interesting. How can a story like that be good?

It talks about how Shi Po Tian lost his dog Ah Huang and his mother. In a twist of luck, the prized "Xuan Tie Ling" was in his hands when he met the owner Xie Yan Ke. A relatively short story compare to another Jinyong works but I like it a lot. There are some very sweet portions, and some funny parts. My favourite is when Bai Wan Jian arrives to confront Shi Po Tian and he kept making comments on Wan Hua Zi.

I hate that ***** Ding Dang who killed Chi Jian. It's really like what they said, 令人发指! Even though Chi Jian is only a minor character that serves no purpose, the description of how Ding Dang killed her, took off her clothes and try to put it off as Shi Po Tian attempted to rape her and she suicides. That part just makes me hate the Ding Dang character to the core.

Written very well. Although it was not explicitly mentioned, Shi Po Tian finally managed to find out "Who I Am" at the end of the story.

Some funny stuffs on the internet.

Some very interesting stuff I read on the net that I wanted to record down:

1) Kennysia - He is one of the most hilarious bloggers around:

Girls On Valentine - So true about Singaporean girls and the Valentine's Day culture...95% of singaporean girls are just 爱慕虚荣 that want to suck your......money dry.

PMS Poor Man - "Why do they call it PMS? Well, that's because Mad Cow Disease is already taken".

WWE Wrestling - Hilarious to me because I watch Wrestling. Haha.

Weight Loss - Kenny endorse silming products.

Computer In Real Life - Literally...

Most Irritating MTV Ever - Must watch!

2) Talking Cock

I was really surprised to see it being mentioned during the National Day Rally. The news about the "NYP Event" is really hilarious...and gross at the same time.

3) Others

I also found a very interesting site listing "extra-ordinary" local style ring tones. And who can forget this 10 worst company url. There's very pro flash animation that shows you why "Men don't care about quality" when they're drunk...

4) Music

Not funny but I just want to record these down. Talk about some of the most famous songs of the 90s.

台湾音乐大纪事(1980-1990)
90年代以后歌曲回忆录

Yeh! Finally cleared all the junk that is piling up my bookmarks and I don't want to just delete them away.

5 Months Of......Nonstop Collection

Some of my most "proud" achievements and ones that took up most of my time. I reckon 20% is spent on the "Hard Work", 40% on the "Gaming", and another 40% is spent here...

I did a lot of collecting during these 5 months...

1) My MC Skyrocketed

My MC rised from about 729 in March 2006, to a whopping 1110 (and still increasing as of now). That's almost a 35% increase. I first got my computer during Secondary 2, which is like 6 years ago. That means 6 years of time I collected about 729. But in 5 months I managed to collect 300+! That's godly achievement! Even I cannot believe it. On average I think I add about 10 of them per day. Heh...Now I have a very extensive and wide library. In addition, I manage to dig out a lot of old discs when doing my spring cleaning. I'm gonna place them all into my computer and throw the old discs away. Heh. They include some of the rarest ones that it is almost impossible to find nowadays already. At least they won't be lost forever with the passage of time.

2) Media-Monkey

Best music management software ever. I'm so glad I discovered this during my ITP. Thanks to it I manged to complete the tagging of all my files. Year, rating, artist, title, occassion together with lyrics. Sweet. I don't know how I got the energy to do all of these. I searched through the forums and got the best scripts for the program. Favourite nodes, Startup node, Advanced Report, Detailed Info Panel, Song Preview... I edit the export script (Stupid VB) to replace the lame original one...Now it's freaking cool and I can see everything on one single, neat HTML page. It increased my enjoyment of listening to music immensely.

3) Zhou Xing Xing

My favourite comedian actor! Well well...

All Stephen Chow Movies Rated By Class
Top 10 Stephen Chow Hilarious Scenes

All fo them~All of them. Wasted lot of time but it's definitely worth it. About old dramas, here's a list of ALL old Mediacorp dramas. Their name alone brought back lot of memories...

4) Animes

I re-watched 2 of my favourite animes during the holiday season! Ah My Goddess (Melt when I see Belldandy) and Rave (When is Season 3 coming out!) And...Happy Tree Friends! Yep. Heh Heh...Also watching Card Captor (Ahh......still think it's a super sweet anime)

5) S.H.E Video Clips

Ahh...I've really been lagging behind in my S.H.E Collection over the past 1 year. I recently found out that my niece is a great fan of S.H.E, and what's more, she got a whole bunch of their clips...Haha. Really is 踏破铁鞋无觅处，得来全不费工夫. I spent a lot of time filtering out the clips from hers, so that I do not duplicate ones that I already have. Have to rewatch the clips. Adding her new ones together with my already massive collection, I now got a whole mountain of S.H.E videos. I don't think anyone can finish them even if they watch non-stop for 3 days and 3 nights.

Talking about S.H.E...Haiz...I think they're facing their greatest crisis yet. I never felt they were in any "danger" before. Not even when Ella fell. (Even though a lot of people speculate that's the end of them) This time though is a bit different, but I still have faith in them.

Haiz...don't know what's wrong with Ella...she used to be the most optimistic of the 3. Now she's like so easily depressed. Her problems began as early as Encore when she often cried when she went for show recording. Now it just become more prominent. I think it's largely due to her injuries and the massive workload, not to mention the recent Media rumors. The Taiwan media sucks like hell and do nothing but do harm to the celebrities.

H.I.M (Which really, is a small music company that has no other big stars that can roll in as much money as S.H.E) is really pushing them too hard. Way too hard. I hope H.I.M give them more rest. I don't need them to release albums at a crazy speed like they did in the past. 1 album per year I am more than happy. Just don't disband. Please don't.

5 Months Of......Intense Gaming

Ahhh...I've played a lot of games during these 5 months. The most important ones being...

Civilization IV - 2005 Game Of The Year and 1 of the most addictive game I've ever played. Never regret picking up this game and I've conquered the world using both the sword and the pen countless times since I brought it. Learnt a lot about the historical leaders of the past and of course the wonders. Quite disappointed with the Warlords expansion as it didn't really add to the gameplay. Biggest regret is my com specs is not good enough to go to the 18 Civlization World War...god, that's gonna be so cool. The best I can go up to now are 8 civilizations without the game lagging to 2 frames per second.

A true story was made by a famous book author, Iain Banks:

"It's all because I became a serial addict of the computer game 'Civilisation'," Banks said at this month's Edinburgh book festival. I played it for three months and then realised I hadn't done any work. In the end, I had to delete all the saved files and smash the CD. It is very unprofessional of me. I had to ask for an extension for the first time, which made me feel just like I was a student again."

Yes...this game is THAT addictive. Don't even go close to it if you don't want to waste your life away. There's even an organization which help free people from "Civ Addiction"...One more turn...one more turn...geez! The videos on the site are super funny...

Suikoden V - What can beat my favourite RPG series of all time. Great story, great characters and...OK gameplay. Attack on Sun Palace is still ringing in my head.

Try a lot of other games as well...

Heroes V - A great game but annoying bugs spell its doom...Limited towns and creatures, annoying 3D world navigation made it difficult to spot treasure. I still ilke Heroes 3 more, but then this game is way better than 4 already.

The Movies - Ahhh...I think I spent more than 1 week playing this none stop. From the moment I woke up till I go to bed. It was damn addictive at the start and I even made 2 movies on my old (and did the voice dubbing) which was damn funny. Sadly, this game faces many issues, especially late games when the micro-management of all the stars became so frustrating...

Warcraft 3 - Ahh...I can never get warcraft 3 completely out of my life. However, the recent "disbanding" (spirtually and physically) of my "OYA" clan (Haiz...and I finally got promoted to Shaman position after 1 year with them) eventually leads to me losing interest in these game. Still, I enjoy watching WC3 replays as much as ever.

- Grubby is still, the undisputed Orc King and 1 of the top 3 warcraft players in the world.
- Moon is still godly and reigning over all with his supreme power of Night Elves. Seriously he is the only one that can beat Grubby.
- The "4 King" clans lead by Grubby and his 4 Kings 4K.Fury, 4K. Tod and 4K. Zeus and 4K. Fov still rule over Warcraft as the number 1 clan.
- SK Clan experts Sky, Deadman,Insomnia and the dreaded Sk.Sweet.....
- SK.Zacard...I still remember the castastrophic battle between him and Grubby at the WCG Finals...He lost in the end but really great battle.
- 天王杀手 Gostop is still slaying the kings but losing to "no name" players...
- IGE.Remind and Lucifier are still battling over who's the King of Undead.
- Unorthodox players like Angry_Korea_Man are still using unorthodox methods.

Haha...nothing have changed in the WC3 scene after all these years, and I still enjoy watching their matches. Some legendary players have really retired...Madfrog (The former Undead King), Tillerman (He's a WC3 legend in 2003 already) and my favourite human play PerfumeWest are gone. Hope to see them play again some day.

Recently AMD Price Slashing - I was really attempted to upgrade my system. I mean...$459 processors dropping to $199?! Are you kidding me. A lot got more than 50% price cuts. Sadly the comments I got was that I shouldn't buy a system since I'm going into the army. I guess they're right...I swear I'm going to play a 18 Civilization World War one day.

5 Months Of......Dilligent Work

Blink of an eye...and 5 months have passed since the internship. Will be enlisting in about 3 weeks. Decide to do a summary of what I did during the past 5 months, to make sure I didn't waste (or at least "completely waste") my time away.

1) The Bluff Game

First "real game" I did on my accord. Game development was stopped twice but still mangaged to complete it in the end. Very happy with the results. Learnt a lot experimenting with the AI and most importantly Java networking. Did this throughout from April all the way to August.

2) The Comedian Zone

Another important work I focus greatly on during July and August. First site I made completely using CSS positioning. Really learnt a lot about CSS and I think it thought me much more than the WWWP module...Thanks to a great collection of jokes and aspiration stories I saw on Hardware-zone and Gamefaqs forum.

3) "Relearning" PHP

More like "Learning from scratch" because IWED have taught me nuts about PHP. Manage to experiment with the Open source "phpBB 2.0". Programmed quite a number of navigation functions that is not found in the built in Dreamweaver behaviours. Now I actually understand what the hell the Dreamweaver code is doing instead of blindly using its function.

4) MySQL...Again.

Picked up a very good book on SQL from the library call "Crash course on SQL". No bullshit stuff like "History of SQL" and the boring crap. Straight to the point, very practical and easy to understand. Didn't manage to use the more complex stuff in the website though.I also learnt about this thing called "URL-encoding" which did a very good job of frustrating me for days...

5) Originalize My Games

Replace all the "Kope from Internet" graphics from my older games and replace them with "Programmer Art" by me...

6) Update my Portfolio

Basically update my portfolio site to be more presentable...

7) Freelance for MOE

Did 4 flash games in total for MOE...probably for the last time...hopefully the last time.

I really could have done more if I hadnt spent so much time slacking, but "all work and no play" sucks...Can't say I have "fully utilize" these 5 months, but I sure didn't waste them all. I learnt some new skills, refresh my older skills so they don't become rusty, and earned some money...Haha.

Bluff - Multiplayer Version!

I thought the Multiplayer version would never see the daylight. But it did, and I am so glad. Thanks to gamefaqs "Game Design and Programming" forum, their positive comments helped greatly in motivating me to complete the Networking version.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
" Great Presentation. Found the choice of using 1 and a half deck and the ability to call out any value wierd. Guess the local style here is a bit different. I lost bad, but I'll see if I could develop some strategies. " -Grandtrain

" That was a great game, if not a bit easy. My score is 8338 points and my time was 6 mins and 2 seconds (second try). Anyhow, nice job. I'm just getting into programming and would be happy if I could someday create a game half as entertaining as this. ITs a refreshing break from solitaire and hearts :) " -Kram88

" Nice looking game. A little different than the BS I am used to. " -Imperfect Freak

" Great game although a tiny part of the bottom of the screen is cut out for me (can only see top-half of the contact text on main menu). Other than that it's very well done. " -DBZManiax
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But "motivation" alone is useless when I don't even have the knowledge to do Multiplayer. I posted on the forum again, asking for help related to sending game data.

And gosh...They introduced so many things that I never know in the past. I thought all there is are sending strings but and forth, but god was I wrong. They gave a loads of suggestions like designing a "protocol" to read the data, going "all the way" and use XML or using advanced stuff like RMI (Which I never heard of before posting there).

There's this guy called Sabuat who's very helpful. Really appreciate that he took him time to explain to a newbie like me, and give suggestions like how to send "minimum data" and make the client and server in sync with each other.

Anyway, just very happy that I completed the Multiplayer version, although I didn't use all the "advanced methods" (Which wasn't really necessary since Bluff is a very small game). Hopefully I will get a chance to use them if I do a "big scale" game next time.

A day off for myself, and why I don't like to go out

Ahhh~great day. Been a long time since I went out alone, without company. Frankly, I hate going out. I do not understand why people like to go out so often. It's hot, it's tiring and there isnt really much to do. I rather spend the whole day using the computer at home then go out. It's not anti-social, neither is it "no life". To me, going out is more "no-life" than staying at home. Basically, I get more "happiness" from staying at home, so why should I care what other people think?

Anyway, today I felt like going out, alone. Another reason I don't like going out with my friends is because their interests are different from mine. They go out to shop for clothes, look at branded stuff, sport shoes and generally clothings, or the latest phone gadgets etc...I have zero interest in these stuff. They don't appeal to me. I like to frequent book stores, CD-shops, games shops, comic stores and take my time, slowly browsing and basically enjoy the time. Going out with my friends is so darn boring. I basically "stand and 发呆".

Going out alone means I can really spend quality time doing what I want to do. Anyway, I first went to MPH and look around, but nothing caught my interest. Later on I went to Borders (heard there's 30% sales there) and spent almost 2 hours there. Very nice...pick a book and sit down...slowly enjoy. Unfortunately the 30% sales is fake...books too expensive. Went to Kino to shop after that...found the book I want! Woot! Brought it for $25 bucks. Very very nice!

After that went to Yishun to look around. Been a long time since I visited that place and everything has changed...The "Times" bookshop (My favourite hangout place during my Primary School) is gone! Noo~~~Walk around CD shops but spot nothing interesting.

Main purpose was to get a pair of spectacles for my army cause my downstairs ($120) there is quite ex...Then I got this "$50 off if you're a popular member" at "XYZ Optical Shop". I thought I will save a bunch. So I went there. Big mistake. I ask him to give me an estimate how much it would cost and I think he saw me holding the Popular book and asked me if I had a voucher. Then he took out a calculator and anyhow press some stuff. Then he say what "must do this" and "must do that" and turned out to $200. Then he say since I got the voucher he will deduct $50, then he minus $50 again as "extra discount" for me. Full of BS. I look and I know he is a 奸商...

Cause you don't know how they calculate these kind of things. I think he saw me got the $50 voucher, so he just jacked up the price to "eliminate" the discount. I left the shop immediately. I rather pay a little more for good services than let this guy earn. I hope the shop close down. Later went to Spectacles Hut to check the price. Very good service. The lady explained to me in great detail. The left eye is how much and how much because of short-sighted, right eye cost more because of the serious 闪光. Unfortunately the price turned out $165 in the end... Haiz...left the shop again.

Guess I'll just do at my house there. Cheaper and more convenient also. The service is also great. Rather let them earn then let the "evil merchant" earn my money. Heh...

Think it's pretty cool to go out alone once in a while...listen to my favourite songs while strolling the streets or reading a book. Think I'll make it part of my lifestyle. Put some money aside and every few months I'll just do this "ritual". Go out and shop for things I like~