Be A Ma.....

As a sign of respect to E.B.O.F. (and because I fear for my life), I'm not going to finish that phrase. But I do believe, that the ability to distinguish cowardice and foolhardiness is essential in any form to confrontation. To do so will not only do your allies right in battle, but the thing is, the crux of any battle is attrition and to win, you must be able to brave the odds.

Today, I had allies who were like this during normal times.
But come battle, they became thus.
So remember, do your teammates a favour and when you are the f*cking tank, don't let the nukers suffer. The CM will thank you for that by disabling the people who are chasing you the next time.

Note - When the low health spell caster has more kills than someone that is build like a tank (Slardar), the only result is a "/ban XXX condemned!!!!". Sorry for the semi-cryptic in-game reference.

Musings

Spending a week in the wilderness that is Nebraska can really give a man some perspective. Before I start reflecting, just in case there are people out there who actually want to visit Nebraska, here are the things you can look forward to.

1. The speed limit is 75mph for the most part.
2. The skies are really vast and clear and blue (when there are no storms).
3. The clouds can do impersonations.
4. The speed limit is 75mph. (Get out while you still can!!)

Ok. With that out of the way, lets start the ramblings proper.

1. 人生最重要的可能是好友。爱人可以分手，同事可以辞职，好友会终生在你身边。I am really starting to miss everyone already. I think it's a cumulative effect of everyone being far away. Advice can be sought online, but the damn time differences always screw with the best laid plans of men. I'm sure that the safety net that is a cherished friendship will be put to use even more from now on, as most ties with college have been severed. Thanks guys & gals. You know who you are.

2. I think I won't complain about my place as long as I go to Nebraska. The place where I go to makes my current digs look like downtown Manhattan. I guess you make do with what you have and believe that however bad the situation is, you can find a dump that's worse. I know I did.

3. 在我的年龄,我是应该注重职业,可是还是觉得很孤单.甚至在一个繁忙的城市里住也会觉得孤单.这是没办法的吧.做朋友以往是不容易的一件事,但我真的希望能找多几个好友...

4. Bleah. I forgot what I wanted to write about already. So no 5. Not much of a 4. even. My bad.

Hope everyone had a memorable Memorial day weekend!

Pirates is a 3 hour long backstab fest. Leave your brain at the door and empty your bladder for maximum enjoyment.

Videos

A couple of cool videos for you viewing pleasure.

The first is Super Line Rider Bros. And it's amazing the amount of dedication Line Rider-er's put into crafting a course. I tried that a long time ago and never got the hang of it. My loop de loop would result in a suicidal crash after missing the gap by like half an inch...


The second is a little comparision of dance moves in World of Warcraft with their real life inspirations. Make sure to watch Peanut Butter and Jelly Time!


Enjoy.

One for the Road

I just can't enough of traveling it seems. After (finally) finishing with one job last week (Friday), I'm going to another job site 600 miles away this time.

But before I go (leaving at 6am tomorrow), I'm gonna say a few things.

1. It's really the end of an era for the Champions of Excellence as I know them to be. No longer will I hear the cross hallway shouting of explicits during late night Dota Extravaganzas. No longer will I be able to meet most of my friends around a table in the middle of the room and eat/steal other people's potluck food. I will miss those good times (not to mention times when people make a fool of themselves reciting the alphabets).

2. Shrek 3 is a refreshing change from the previous 2 in my opinion. It's not a straight parody of fairy tales anymore and instead tries a different kind of plot instead of just playing off stereotypes. There are definitely less jokes about fairy tales this time and more action/drama elements. I think the best of the trilogy was the first Shrek, but I doubt people will regret spending $8 to watch this.

3. STARCRAFT TWO!! If that didn't sink in, I'm repeating it again. S-T-A-R-C-R-A-F-T 2!! I wonder how many people who have forsaken gaming for other things like "life" or "significant other" will find themselves struggling with that pledge to stay clean from gaming after the release date for SC2 is out.

Ok, see you guys next time from Far Far Away...

When all teams are equal

Equally detested anyways. So now there's nothing left to watch in the NBA playoffs. It's really disappointing this year. All the teams that are left are either lousy (Cavs/Nets), whiners (Spurs, Pistons), arrogant (Suns) or have players who are backstabbers and look like serial rapists (Jazz - Boozer). So no more basketball for me til the Draft. Go Mavs!! Go Bulls!! Go Yao Ming!!

Jerry Falwell is dead. Long live Falwell...NOT!!

Haiku for n00bular

n00bular rests now,
Great pwnage was real fun dude,
M-m-monster kill!

Ok, so I might have cheated on the last line. But still, it's good to see a show of self-discipline. I'm sure you'll find other activities to do, like search for girls for me.

His retirement from the game set me thinking. Why do we play Dota? It's a waste of time to bully noobs so real challenges are few and far in between every time we go on Bnet. But I think it's cos we share a sense of camaraderie when we play together. And it's a relatively easy game to get into AND it's free (so WoW goes out the window).

To me, it all boils down to having fun with your friends and that's about it. If you can derive pleasure from that, I think you can game till you die.

Congrats to the Class of 2007!!

電話こなかったちょっとがっかりしてる。だから、来週またいってみて。なにかあったかな。We'll see what happens.

Since everyone I know has finally finished all their exams... CONGRATS TO THE CLASS OF 2007. You guys were fun and the memories I had with you peeps will probably last forever or till I get Alzheimer's (which ever comes first). I wish all of you the best in whatever paths that you choose and hope that you'll let me wash your car when you have made it big and I need employment! The skies the limit for you and I think the only thing you can't accomplished is to be the Class of 06 (the original Champions). Peace.

How Birdshit Can Be Erased With A Telephone Number Solicitation Event

So, I travelled down to visit the plant site again today. And in the 3+ hour drive down and the 5 hours I spent on the site, my car accumulated a total of 5 direct "hits" from avian bombers. I should try to see if someone can get a Warthog the next time I trade in my car. With it's attached GPMG, let's see if any birds try to mess with the Zu31Gm()b1L3.

BUT, all that animosity and belligerence just evaporated like liquid moisture in a 850 Celsius furnace after the encounter I had in the evening.

I was in the chinese buffet that I've visited a couple times during my time here and was chatting with a waitress that I've talked to a couple times before. And then cos I mentioned that I could be leaving for good since the job is (hopefully) coming to a close, the waitresses started talking to me and asking a lot of questions. Did I have a girlfriend? Did I live around the area? And then finally, the resident 大姐 came over to ask for my number to give the "四大美女" of the restaurant. My head couldn't fit into my car after dinner. And the fact that it's 12.30am and I'm still on this post means that it's probably still inflated. Haha. Life is good all of a sudden. Haha.

陈奕讯's "ADMIT IT" is a relaxing album

Comcast is screwing up my internet, I'm too nervous to follow the Mavs-Warriors game, so I need an avenue to vent. I'm kinda late in adding my $0.02 to this issue, but I think that perhaps an apt analogy would be that governance of a country is like a brain. Even though it contains 2% of the body's mass, the brain demands 20% of the oxygen, and hence the blood supply, that a body receives. I learnt that from Bodyworks. It was too expensive but kinda cool to see innards of a human being put on display.

But anyways, as I attempt to ramble to my point, which is that this arrangement works during normal situations. However, when the body exerts itself, it will reduce oxygen flow to other parts of the body while maintaining the same amount of oxygen to the brain. Hence you get anaerobic reactions when you exercise. A bit of anaerobic metabolism isn't a bad thing. It's a sign of a body at work which would be better (in the long run) than a body at rest. However, when the brain (in one of those mind over body instances) "wills" the body past its limit, the body generates too much anaerobic byproducts that could cause a total system failure. Which means that sometimes when the brain pushes the body to hard, the brain gets bitten in it's metaphorical ass.

I don't think there's a real point in that analogy. But I thought it was interesting. And the Mavs are down 8 at halftime. WTF IS WRONG YOU GUYS?!?!

Haha

“帅哥“といわられた“暗笑“しているぞ！Haha.HAHAHAHA. And it's for me to know and for you to ask.

And Happy birthday to Ah Seng! Almost time to "L,R,L,R" liao loh. Get your BKB ready...

On the flip side

I know quite a few of you have heard me complain about certain aspects of my work, but as this project (hopefully) draws to a close, let me highlight the fun part of being on a plant in the middle of corn fields.

1. The best part, I think, of being away, is the fact that the company picks up the tab for everything. In essence, the only costs I incur this month have been on weekends only. So that should save me a bundle.

2. Another thing I liked about being on a plant site was the ability to be up close and personal to the action. Sitting in an air-conditioned room might be better for your complexion and temperament, but it's kinda exciting to be able to crawl into 20m long drums and climb about inside it. I tell myself I'm spelunking. In industrial caves. And it sometimes feels like I'm running around in a jungle gym made of stainless steel and synthetic insulation.

3. I think I learned about the operations of the equipment quite a bit faster on the job site. Being able to see what a diagrammed equipment layout is in real life was a real plus. Also, I could see how an actual control scheme worked. Which was cool, for the first 3 hours or so.

4. Finally, it was kinda fun to be able to do some workshop kinda stuff. It was the first time I drilled holes into sheet metal (for ventilation) and buffed that same metal (to smoothen out all edges). It was tiring but there's definitely a sense of accomplishment after you manage to do something you've never done in your life.

All in all, there are positive experiences to be had working out of a trailer in the middle of nowhere for 4 weeks and counting. But that's not gonna stop me from complaining some more.

2 Taurens & An Undead ...

have too much time on their hands. And you get this as a result. Based on Mahna Mahna by the Muppets.

There's f*cked up & there's F*CKED UP

Well, the week was going along so smoothly until the freakin' equipment blew up in our face. And so the true process of comissioning begins. Working against the clock with limited resources to fix someone else's f*ck up. It's a times like this that I feel so alone, being the only rep for the company here. But then I thank my lucky stars that I'm insignificant enough not to be held responsible for mistakes.

Oh well, as my mentor says, there are good problems and bad problems. Good problems are not yours and bad problems are. That was a good problem for me but a bad problem was that I dinged my camera. Yeap, MoronsVille population: ME. ARGH.

But in the end, that's not as fucked up as this ad from craigslist.

I don't know which pis more loserish, the people who completed the transaction, or the people who made fun of them.

And finally, for those who follow the Dallas Mavericks. This is a hilarious video.
Some classics from that video include:
1. Why did Cinderella get kicked off the basketball team? Cos she ran from the ball.
2. What do you call a pig who plays basketball? A ball hog.

Also, for Starcraft fans, this is awesome.

Hosed by (Mis)Reading...Again...

Or rather, by a lack of research. Although I don't know how much research could have told me that the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ7 DOES NOT HAVE SPEAKERS. I googled the camera and went around to a couple of review sites but did not manage to pick up that bit of information. So now when I have videos recorded, I need to play them back on a PC for sound... What a drag...

Oh well, at least for a point & shoot camera, it doesn't look half bad. But I haven't really tried to do anything with it yet. Maybe I can get a return on it... That's not too much to ask for is it?

Would You Like Cheese With That?

Justs some thought that I had this week. In reverse chronological order.
1. Word of the day - Sombong. It means aloof/arrogant in Indo. Perhaps a more colloquial translation would be "dao".

2. Getting an engineering degree from a (relatively) presitigous university: Approximately USD55,000 per year

Getting a job with said degree: Having the best starting pay (so far) amongst your buddies back home

Getting paid to clean spray nozzles as part of OJT due to OTHER PEOPLE'S INCOMPETENCE: A very WTF feeling.

Translating all the experiences I have had on the job site into my own Knowledge: Priceless. (Also awfully hard to do)

3. Travelling so often has it's drawbacks, but food is definitely not one of them. I think I've eaten Waaaaaaay more luxuriously in the last 2 weeks than I've had in the last 2 months. The joys of dining with older collegues who appreciate fine wine and food...

最近比较烦?

Before I get into the post proper, I'd just like to point out that there's such a thing as Gummi Bears overdose (you have been warned). And you know who you are, you spastic dreamer =D.

Okie, to the post proper.

最近比较烦,比较烦,比较烦,总觉得日子过得有一些极端

So I've graduated and have started working. My friends are scattered all over the world. I'm stuck (till August at least) in a hole-in-the-ground place and the work just keeps getting harder and harder. I've definitely reached a different stage of life that's radically different from the last 15 years or so. And I guess naturally, during this transition, there's bound to be some trials and tribulations. I just never figured they'd come so fast. And so frequent.

最近比较烦,比较烦,比较烦,我看那前方怎么也看不到岸

It increasingly looks like I'm gonna be the designated test-site engineer for the company. And that involves a ton of travel to different job sites when we are starting up our equipment. In the next 4 months or so, I expect to be away from home for at least 8 weeks, or more, depending on how smooth a start-up goes. 8 weeks out in 4 months means that I can probably find someone to sublet my house for summer... That's a very depressing thought. Not only will I not see the comforts of home, but that kind of schedule just f*cks up your social life. Trust me, no one ever builds a ehtanol plant on the hip side of town. In fact, I'd be surprised if an ethanol plant was ever built NEAR a town... Man, travelling it this sucks.

不烦,我不烦,只有一点烦

Well at least that was how I felt. And in fact, I still do now (a little at least). But thanks to an email from a good friend, I feel better. Because no matter how bad the situation is, at least you know that you can always talk to your friends and there are people there who have worse situations than you =D. Like being called to travel to the other side of the world with only 3 weeks notice. (As opposed to 3 months). Thanks. And please don't kill me.

So I guess, in the end, this is a rather exciting transitional period. And I hope to emerge from this phase of life smarter, more well travelled and have a more complete resume. And thanks once again to all the listening ears out there. Cheers.

终于明白笑里藏刀的意识。。。

这个世界上能信谁呢？好友，家人，除此以外，其他人都得争取你的信赖。不能凭表面而说能信不信。由此是在工作方面的人。

这次不算什么大事，可是，某某人的真面目已经被漏出来了。。。

下次要谨慎一点。

P.S. 爸妈，不用担心。当我能用自己的电脑时，我会寄email给您们的。

How Unembaressing Is This?

Before you actually click the video, be forewarned that some of you might find it very OMG-ish. But if anything, I guess u have to admire their guts to be able to do something like that. No matter how small the stage nor what the setting, to do such a thing would entail a 100x critical strike on your dignity I think.

So enjoy?


P.S. I'm not gay.

The Many Faces of the Same Anime Theme...

The original.


The Action Figure version.


My current favourite, the MEGAMAN version.


The MEGAMAN version had me in stitches for quite some time. So I hope you guys enjoy the vids as well.

Appearances can be deceiving...

I'm going to show you a video of an ad. Before the ad is over, try to guess which company it's trying to promote. I'm pretty sure that unless unless you've seen it before, you'll not get it right.

Surprising eh. Even the name of the bank is misleading. When I first heard it, I thought its origins were from Asia. But it's not. (Woah, two examples of "its" and "it's")

Another thing that might be misleading is the concept that the government cares for you. Apparently, to certain government related individuals, the people who pay taxes to the government, but vote for the opposition, do not deserve the government's attention nor care. That's really f*cked up. I'd post the link, but I don't want to get tracked back. So I'll just copy and paste from the Young PAP Blog (www.youngpapblog.blogspot.com).

The self-intro:

I’m an activist in the PAP – Hougang Branch since 2002.

His point of view:

The residents in Hougang appreciate what the ruling party or the government has done all these years since independence. However, they felt that the ruling party did not show sympathy and empathy towards the feelings of the residents in Hougang. Many still bear grudges against the ruling party for its decision to relocate the farmers in Hougang/Punggol back in the 70’s/80’s. Hence, votes were given to the Workers’ Party (WP) all these years as Mr Low Thia Khiang, in their opinion, has shown that he empathized with them.

The kicker (emphasis mine):

This, to me, has to be put to an end. Politics is not a game. There is a price to pay for a decision to choose a political candidate and party. One cannot claim that he is a taxpayer and should benefit from the likes of those in a PAP constituency when he voted for the opposition. Have we taken our efficient and incorruptible system and political stability for granted? Can WP garner its own support and resources to benefit the residents of Hougang instead of whining and complaining that the government is not doing enough?

Holy shit. I'd like to say more, but that's neither here nor there. I leave to the reader to draw your own interpretation of the future of the country if people like that ever make it as a *cough*leader*cough*. I think I'd better start researching about that green card thingymajig.