Saturday, August 29, 2009

NTU Y2S1, Week 3 In Review

OH YEAH

I've finally gotten WINDOWS 7!!!

Woohooo~!



You can click here for a list of all new features.




Operating Systems

I attended a "tutorial".

After the class, it felt that I've just finished 1 hour of hardcore lecture.

"Alright? Alright? Alright?"

"Java Washing Machine..."



Database Systems

Bobby~~~ is my tutor!

Wow... he looks really "different" during the tutorial, as in different from what I remembered during the lectures.

Haha.

Maybe seeing someone "close-up" really makes a difference.

Anyway... this subject is tougher than I expected... OMG... I think I need like HOURS just to complete Tutorial 2.

It's A LOT of "tedious thinking".

I have no idea why we have to learn Relational Algebra.

Isn't learning the QUERY itself good enough?! Why do I have to learn something which has HORRENDOUS syntax and rules?

It will all eventually be converted to SQL queries anyway...

So dumb.

It's like after you know how to use Windows XP, they forced you to go back and use MS-DOS. (Not the perfect example but you get the idea)



Computer Graphics & Applications

Of course, this is my biggest concern this semester.

During the first lesson this week, as students start entering the lecture room.

Alexei (The Lecturer) started shaking his head...

"I see you guys have not taken up my advice to drop this course. You all are going to regret it."

...



Programming Languages

Still mangable for now.

According to the lecturer, EBNF (Extended Backus Naur Form) is the easiest topic in this module.

Next topic is C#.



HR Management & Entrepreneurship

Richard is cool.

That's all I have to say.

At least he tried his best to make a boring module interesting.

Kudos!



Forensic Science

Hmm... only interesting thing this week is the lecture on "Blood".

By seeing the blood pattern and the angle, you can re-construct what happen during a violent attack.

Other then that, it's a lot of boring Chemistry stuffs.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

I Am Not Maths Superman

204 will kill me... Can't even do Tutorial 2.

Tutorial 2!!!


为什么做PROGRAMMING, 是那么容易
为什么束手无策啊, 简单的GEOMETRY
为什么我能JAVA, 也能ASSEMBLY
为什么我却没办法, 解开这道数学题

(This is 1 of Mayday's best song IMO. Highly recommend for the uninformed.)


Sunday, August 23, 2009

3D Studio Max!

Wow... It's been like 5 years or something since I last touched this software...




It's crazy... they're churning out versions after versions every year.

Still remember in 2003, I was using 3D Max Version 5.

Now in 2009, they're already at "3D Max 2010"...

If you don't know, you might think there's only like 5 revision since then...

...

But I looked up Wikipedia...

5 -> 6 -> 7 -> 8 -> 9 -> 2008 -> 2009 -> 2010

I've checked out the dates, some have development cycle as short as 6 months from each other.

My guess is this:

When they reached "3D Max 9", they figured that at the rate it's going, they will reach "3D Max 20" within 5 years...

And their evil scheme to leech money from the consumers will be exposed.

So they decided revamp the naming scheme.


Saturday, August 22, 2009

NTU Y2S1, Week 2 In Review

And so, the 2 weeks of "warming-up" session have come to an end...

This is without a doubt my toughest semester in NTU so far. (in terms of AU)

After this sem, I will never need to go through another term with this much AU (and labs) again.

So... I'll do my best!



Operating Systems

Yep... It's just like what the name says. All about Operating Systems.

Processes, Memory, Security, Storage... blah blah blah... every frigging thing you can find in an OS.

Don't really like this subject so far, cause it appears to be a very content heavy subject - aka memorization work.

The lectures doesn't make it any better. Hope to get a good tutor.



Database Systems

Yep... another "System"...

Makes me feel that I'm REALLY studying Computer Science.

This is a more "understanding" kind of subject, which is slightly better.

Somehow... I have this phobia of database due to my bad experience at Poly...

I don't think I'm too good in modeling database...

And the lectures doesn't make it any better.

Hope to get a good tutor, cause I'm having a lot of trouble even with Tutorial 1...

Or should I just tell myself "Not To Worry"...



Computer Graphics & Applications

Last minute drop Artificial Intelligence and retake this...

You know... last time, I was so looking forward to this module.

But now, I realize "Computer Graphics" is just a "cover-up"...

A decoy to entice people.

...

But what is it really?

It's FRIGGING MATHS.

Geez...

This will be my last Maths-related subject in my course.

The lectures are too "beyond my understanding"... really need a good tutor for this...



Programming Languages

Argh... this subject was quite different from what I initially expected.

It's one thing to learn C++, Java, Visual Basic, C#...

But Scheme & Prolog? O_O

Do we really need to learn such "ulu" languages?

Maybe I'll know once this is over...

...

So far, there hasn't been anything too out of this world...

But hard to say once the lab assignment comes...



HR Management & Entrepreneurship

Yea... You can probably tell how crappy this module is just from the name.

It's like, an even bigger pile of **** than Technical Communication. (Because this one has lectures, and worse - exam)

Eww...

The good side? No more FTs... No more, ever.

...

"Only NTU can think that a subject like entrepreneurship can be assessed by an exam with 70% weightage"

Why not give each of us $5K to start our own business?



Forensic Science

And the best one for the last.

Although it is not without boring and technical stuffs, the bulk of it are all very interesting stuffs.

(Boring & Technical = Chemical reactions... Movement of electrons... Quantum Physics... ZZZZ... Totally turn off and want to sleep)

...

...

The first lecture was a general introduction about the many cases and uses of forensic science.

Some fascinate me so much that I will just "wiki" to learn more about the events.

My favourite chapter so far is the "Time of Death" - teaching you how to read how long someone has died.

Do you know that just by reading the temperature, the skin color, environment, etc... you can estimate the time of death, and even tell if the body has been moved after it's dead!

It's really fascinating.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

The Final Choice (204)

After attending both lessons...

Listening to lots of opinion about both of the subjects...

Switching from 204 to 304 and then back again...

And thinking it through many many times...

...

...

...

I've made up my mind to take 204 this semester...

It's a tough and painful decision...but one that I believe is right...

Cause it's not just about the subject itself.

...

It's about doing the right thing after you've gone astray.

It's about getting back on the right track.

 Grabbing hold of the chance to correct the mistakes of the past...

And now is the best chance to do it, because I don't know if I'll still have one in the future.

...

As for the 4 consecutive papers...

I think it's time for me to start believing in myself...

That I have the willpower and determination to do this...

The confidence, the courage to go for it...

...

...

...

...

...

I know...

That there's a possibility that I might come to regret this decision 12 weeks later...

...

...

...

...

...

...

But I will do EVERYTHING within my capability...

EVERYTHING...

...

TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN.

!!!

...

So...

BRING IT ON!!!


Monday, August 17, 2009

The Canine Soldiers

One of my K9 seniors posted this on Facebook today...

Wow. I didn't know there was a documentary about K9 itself. Not K9 in general, but the K9 that I WAS IN.

Haha... Anyway, the place in the video is EXACTLY where I used to work. The people interviewed here includes my old boss. The dogs shown are the same ones I've seen and (for some) worked with...

So, for those who're interested in how I spend my time in NS...

This is it...

But as usual... this video only shows the good side of it... Haha. ^_^



Sunday, August 16, 2009

Restoring My Com From The Darkness

Thursday night, upon reaching home...



ZZZ...



A problem I've been experiencing for quite some time - happens once in a while for the past few months...

Thought nothing of it. And so I click "Restart"...

Still the same.

Restart again...

 Nope.

Again and again...

...

Still "No Video Input".

...

Ho Seh Liao...

...

...



Now I know the true purpose of the laptop; to find out what happen to your desktop.

So anyway... from my diagnosis, it's 99% due to the GFX card...

Thinking back about it, I've been experiencing some weird graphic distortion even for low end games...

...

...

So anyway, went to SLS the next day to hoot a new one...

...

Ah... how much GFX card have progressed...

During my Poly Days... the most powerful of them all was like what... Geforce 6800 and Radeon 9800? (2004)

And then it became Geforce 7 fighting against Radeon X1 series... (2005)

Then Geforce 8 versus Radeon HD2... (2006)

Then Geforce 9 to Radeon HD3... (2007)

And today... Geforce 200 to Radeon HD4... (2008)

Things that cost $500 in the past is worth less than $5 now...

It's progressing that fast.


Anyway... to introduce the one I brought.

HD4870 was the flagship card of ATI (and the fastest single card) at the time of its release in Aug 2008, and remained so for sometime. It was dethroned earlier this year by HD4890 and its Nvidia equivalent GTS285.

1 Year ago, at its release, it cost $360USD... Now? $329.

And, it's on promotion right now - $259.

"2nd best card" at $259? Very worth it...

Not to mention I was able to get further discount using my super
bargaining skills...

(Buy 2 things what... should give cheaper mah...)


1 Frigging GB of Memory... Wootz... And DDR5?

...

Wait a minute... where did DDR4 go? O_O

They just completely skipped it?

Unpackaging the case...

And what's this stupid "Stalker" game that comes with the GFX card?

Never even heard of it.

But 1 look and it's 90% FPS material...

ZZZ... totally worthless.

Why can't they have "Empire Total War" bundle or something? It's more worthy for this graphic card.

Or just take the game and drop the price more.

Anyone want the game?

...

...


Anyway... A picture of HD4870 in its full glory...

...


And here's my dead 7900GS... Sorry old bird. It's time for you to "ORD"...

...



Old VS New... looks frigging cool...

Here's a summary of the stats, so I can track my upgrades...

 XpertVision Geforce 7900GS SonicPowercolor HD4870 1GB
Transitor Count2 Million +9 Million +
Core Clock500Mhz800Mhz
Memory256 DDR31024 DDR5
Memory Clock1400Mhz3700Mhz

...



7900GS... 2 years warranty, 2.5+ years up lorry... Ben one also the same O_O.

They calculate just nice?



After removing the PSU and GFX Card... looks nice and cosy...

...



Had to get a new PSU since the old one cannot support the new card...

Much much better. 600W is one thing... but the main thing is the "80 Plus Bronze"...

That is the hallmark of a good PSU.

For those who doesn't know... Besides considering the wattage, the 80+ certification is extremely important. Some may advertise their PSU as 800Watt but may actually be worth 500Watt due to low efficiency.

The 80+ certification ensures high power efficiency. It has 4 levels that goes from 80+, bronze, silver, then gold.

Silver and Gold PSUs usually cost $400 ~ $800 and beyond... so it's not where lesser mortals like us can go...



Anyway, it's also the first time I'm getting a "modular PSU".

Modular means that instead of having TONS of cable attached to the PSU, cables are separated from the unit itself.

You don't need everything if you don't have 10 HDDs and Crossfire 4 GFX-Card and 5 Soundcards.

You add in only as many cables as you need to power up the system. This not only makes everything neater, it improves the air flow in the case by reducing the wire obstruction.

Awesome right? This is the future standard for PSU!



The GFX card is really frigging enormous... If it goes longer by 1 more cm, it wouldn't be able to fit into my case.

The sad thing is I have to break off those "blue clippers" of my case to accomodate the card... I couldn't clip down with the copper in the way... so just use the traditional screws method.

...

...

And so it's time...

Time for the moment of truth...

...

...

PLEASE START UP...

...

THE ANTICIPATION AND THE ANXIOUSNESS...

...

...

...

...

Beep!

...

...

...

...



YES!!!

YES!!!

WOOHOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...

I almost want to scream out when I saw the Windows screen.

But I couldn't cause it's 2am in the night and I don't wanna wake up the whole neighbourhood.

LOL.



A little bit of cable management... and all is good and done!

Wee~~~

The sense of satisfaction is really great...


...

...

...

...

...

And then I took a look around my room...



...

ARGH!!!

How am I going to clear up this mess... =.=

最近比较烦~比较烦~比较烦~~~连我的电脑
在给我添麻烦~

...

...


Saturday, August 15, 2009

NTU Y2S1, Week 1 In Review

WOW.

It's been more than 4 months since I last wrote a "week in review" post...

The feeling is really...erm... "distant yet familiar"...

It's one thing to break 1 month in December... but it's an entirely different experience to go on break for 3 months...

I'm totally not back in the study mood yet...

One, I still haven't finalize on what modules to take this semester yet...

And two, my video card just went up in flames... I mean fail on me. (More on this in the next post)

...

...

Other than that, nothing really interesting took place this week...

So I guess I'll just end my post here.

...

...

...

...

...

Oh wait.

Went to "BFC hostel" during one long break... with the intention of playing Citadels (A card game)...

But before we could get the game started, Joanne just chiong in the room out of nowhere and forced all of us to play Mahjong...

...

...

Hmm... thinking about it now...

I've been having this "strange affinity" with Mahjong lately...



First time was back around 2 weeks ago.

I went out with the K9 people, and the plan was to "look look see see and shop shop"...

But then after a while, everyone is like 'super sian' and just stopped walking altogether... then come out the Mahjong suggestion. So, we all went to Refrigerator house to play Mahjong...

That was the first time in nearly a year that I play Mahjong in real life (Since Temasek Club), and it's the first time I played with money...

My "Lesson Fees"?

$1. Heh... That's really lucky considering that they're all supposedly quite pro...




2nd time... Just 1 day before school start...

Went to attend Wei Lun chalet... say is say want to BBQ...

But as more and more people arrive...

And as night approaches...

The entire place TRANSFORMED into a gambling den.

2 Mahjong Tables + 1 Blackjack Table.

=.=

Once again kanna pull in to play with them...

But this time, I won $3.50! LOL~ Thanks Edmund!

Actually should be lose de... but Wee Wee helped me spot a "4 tai ping hu" that I nearly missed... Haha.




Hmm... As for the third time at the hostel...

I guess I won a "slightly more substantial amount"...

But seriously, I'm really not good at Mahjong.

I'm really bad at seeing certain combinations, particularly those that involves a lot of sequence overlapping each other.

Example, if you give me something like 122334456, I think I need about 5 minutes to figure out what tiles I'm waiting for. LOL...

That's all I can say... I am a newbie. O_O

Don't bully newbie.

:(


Wednesday, August 12, 2009

More Than You Can Chew...

Haiz... headache...

I was very satisfied with my timetable all along... but I've overlooked some things...

Things which can be very fatal...

The exam dates.

CSC206 23-NOV-09 1300 1500
CBC811 24-NOV-09 1700 1900
CSC204 25-NOV-09 1300 1500
CSC301 26-NOV-09 0900 1100

...

...

This alone can be very deadly if I don't handle it properly...

And I just realized that CSC301 actually has lab. (even though it doesn't have lab lessons) That makes the number of lab modules at 4! That's like crazy...

The "3 Labs Combo" last semester was pretty tough already, and 2 of them I considered light-weight...

This one... I think almost everyone of them requires an excruciating amount of time...

ZZZ...



Drop 204 to take another elective? No good elective left.

Thought of dropping 204 to take the Professional Comm... but then I'll be all alone. No one is taking that this early. I don't want "Tech Comm" history to repeat itself.

...

Want to change it for "Engineers and Society"... Slots clash...

...

I don't wanna drop Forensic Science either... no guarantee that I'll be able to get it again... not to mention it's the only Technology elective I find at least interesting. (The first lecture confirms that)

Really got nothing much I can do now...

Either swallow everything, or drop 204 and let it cascade down...




Argh!!!

If can I also want to eat everything... but I don't wanna get choke to death...

What should I do!!!

ARGH!!!

烦啊!!!



最近比较烦~比较烦~比较烦~~~总觉得读的东西是越来越难~

...

Monday, August 10, 2009

I Don't Want

NTU Musical

Oh my...

No more sleeping at 2am.

No more waking up at 10am.

No more LSK / ECP every week...

No more Settler's Cafe...

No more MJ, K9, Games...

No more...

The past 3 months will be like a dream...

A dream that I must now wake up from...

Even if I don't want to.



Original Title: 风筝, By 孙燕姿
Title: 不要回学校




我不要~~~我不要回去学校
我也知道~~~假期多美妙
请你给我多一妙

三个月假期哪儿去了, 一眨眼不见了
谁把时间都浪费了, 你知不知道

从前学过的哪儿去了, 太久了我忘了
现在又要我回学校, 怎么办才好

...

看你每天等太阳升很高
, 还在床上的我在睡觉, 喔。。
也许你呀不会想到, 不能在睡了, NEXT SEM 又来了~~~~!

我不要~~~回到那学校 
我会微笑~~~眼泪不准掉
我想要~~~永远放假好不好
我也知道~~~已经结束了
很快, 又要MUG到SIAO。。。

我的假期都哪儿去了。。。




Saturday, August 08, 2009

Growing Up, Growing Up, I'm Growing Up!

You talk about old school...

You talk about nostalgia...

You talk about growing up...

...

Well...

If I have to pick 1 commercial that tops them all...

1 advert that will remind me of my childhood...

One that has a more long-lasting memory than anything else...

...

...

This one would definitely be at the top of the list.


成长成长~~我已成长!

比一比看,谁比谁高!

 



Friday, August 07, 2009

GI Joe : Rise Of Cobra

http://www.yourmomsbasement.com/RescuedByNerds/archives/gi-joe-rise-of-cobra-20090127015447900.jpg

Watched this with some quite "unlikely group of people" yesterday night... Haha.

Anyway... this movie...

I am totally not a "action-movie" person, especially if the setting involves guns, lasers, futuristic spaceships and stuffs.

Still... I must say this movie is not bad.

Fair share of plot twists and plenty of CGI effects... my favourite part being the destruction of the Eiffel Tower.

The way they keep using flashback to shine in more on each character past is also kind of refreshing.

That's about all I can say. They didn't resolve everything at the end (in fact, the bad guys kind of won) so maybe there'll be a sequel to this movie.


Note: Low rating is due to my personal dislike of futuristic action films. It probably deserves higher for those who don't have condemn this genre.

Rating: 2.5 / 5
(Add 1 to the rating if you like spaceships, fighter jets, high tech armors and laser guns)

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Embarking On Year 2...

For the past week... each time I login onto NTU network...

I see more and more modules added to the "blackboard"...

Each time I login, I see more "New Content Items", more "Announcements"...

Man...

Really makes me go =.=

...

And then just a few moments ago, I opened my email and saw this...

"Important! CE/CS 2nd Year Start-of-Semester EMAIL Briefing"

...

So I opened it and browse through...

Just full of "bo liao" things telling you to work harder and how you shouldn't "pon" classes...

...

And then this paragraph caught my attention.

"Anecdotal evidence suggests that Year 2 might be one of the MOST CHALLENGING academic years for many students. This is probably because of the significant difference in the difficulty of courses compared to Year 1’s, together with many laboratory projects running concurrently. I am telling you this at the outset with NO intention of discouraging you. On the contrary, I want you to be mentally prepared to rise to the challenges as you continue to strive and make solid progress in your studies."

...

...

...

KNS... Still use what "chim" English... what anecdotal... made me need to go look up the dictionary. (It means personal observation/random investigation)

...

...



Haiz... read this paragraph then feel depress liao.

:(

...

...

Am I really going back to school in 1 week time?

O_o

...

幸福的日子总是那么的短暂。。。

。。。

幸福, 我要的幸福,渐渐清楚~~~!!!

Sunday, August 02, 2009

Ultimate Survivor Kaiji

This is an anime that I came across just a few day ago, mostly because the author is the creator of 1 of my favourite anime (Akagi). Was just feeling bored and 'google' a bit about him until I come across this work of his...

Woo~ And I think I've struck gold!

This anime is, according to Wiki, considered his most famous work. (Longest too with 4 seasons)

This is a MUST WATCH!!!



The genre of the anime is classified as "Gambling", but I certainly don't think that's all to it. It is just a form of way to present the story, even though the gambling parts themselves are very interesting.

This show is very similar to "Death Note", totally has that feel. It's about deception, trickery, conning, strategy, survival, betrayal... Etc...

When I started watching it, I thought this show is "Everything Death Note and more".


When I reached Episode 9... ... that's the point when I felt this show has surpass Death Note. I don't think I've been this worked up over a drama before.

When I saw Death Note, I applauded the brilliance of the characters, I stand in awed at the plot and intellectual battles, etc...

But this anime, in addition to that, it went to an even deeper level; it makes my blood boil and it makes me feel like strangling the life out of the villians. It really made me feel the position of the main character.

I think perhaps in Death Note, the characters are too "godlike". Like Yagami... trying to "revolutionize the world", "create the perfect world"... etc... They're too far away.

In this show, the characters are people we can relate to (commoners). The "strategy" is not extremely far-fetch or "epic". A lot of it is just very simple mechanics/logic, executed in a superb way. That's the best way I can put it.

...

This anime has a very dark feel to it. It is a lot about how "inhuman" humans are. It'll show you the ugliest side of human nature... how people can go all out to kill each other in order to survive... How people make use of the trustful, how people can turn on each other, etc...

I can summarize the whole plot, the intellectual battles, the characters using the following...

"不择手段, 尔虞我诈, 弱肉强食, 钩心斗角, 笑里藏刀, 灭绝人性,禽兽不如, 令人发指"



Anyway, give it a chance and watch just for 20 minutes (Till the first part of episode 2). I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

You'll be so hooked that you won't be able to stop watching!

Saturday, August 01, 2009

A Toast To Friendship

Today is "World Friendship Day"...

In 2009, I've (in many ways) lost many friends...

...

Many of them have left/are leaving Singapore...

First is SH (Feb), then Dominic (Mar), then Leon (Apr), then Geraint is leaving in a month time too...!!!

...

Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!


...

But on the good side, I've got to know a lot of very nice people~

^_^

...


...


This is a post is written for all my friends.

Regardless of whether they'll be seeing this or not.

This post is dedicated to Trust.

To Kindness.

To Loyalty.

To Honour.

To Friendship!





This is for my long time old friends...

Cause friendship are like the river who'll never cease flowing...


问一声我的朋友, 何时再为我吹奏
是否依旧, 是否依旧

...

...

This song is dedicated to the ones who're not with me now...


总有一天你我会再见面啊, 虽然要向着樱花各奔天涯
岁月或许会改变你我的模样, 我的思念永不放假

...

...

This is for my friends who're chasing the same dream as me~


梦想在左手, 朋友是右手, 未来才会变得有看头
软弱的时候, 我不会低头, 多么幸运和你一起走

...

...

This is for anyone who've lend a helping hand... In any way.

I really appreciate it.

I am really grateful for it.


朋友只要你被孤单压的叫不出来, 我第一时间送出关怀

...

...

This song is for lifelong friends!

Especially those whom I've shared hardship with.

For those whom I've stand together with before...

...

Thank you!!!

Thank you for the wonderful memories...


朋友一生一起走, 那些日子不再有

...

...

And who are your friends?

...

Time has made that decision for you.

...

This is for friends I'm shared happy moments with.

Thank you!!!


时间已做了选择, 什么人叫做朋友
...
担心会犯错, 难免会受挫, 幸好一路上有你陪我

与你分享的快乐胜过独自拥有, 至今我仍深深感动

...

...

...

(P.S: Anyone got anymore songs that's about friendship, please share~)