Wednesday, June 30, 2010

stamp camera

Saw this new gadget on yankodesign and I thought its a pretty fun thing to have. You can chop it anywhere you want! It's the poor man's Polaroid!

"
Why would you want a digital camera that doubles up as a rubber stamp? Why? The answer is simple….just for fun! As of now digicams offer a variety of options and modes (sepia, landscape etc.) to take pictures and edit them. Stampy Digital Camera gives you the option of creating a rubber-stamp version of your photograph, so that you stamp it onto any sheet of paper or surface. If you ask me, the best way to tweak this concept will be to have it stamp out pictures in multi colors instead of the single red. What do you think?

Designer: Jinhee Kim

"

i want one..

Sunday, June 27, 2010

result

Caught the Germany - England match? If you have seen the first goal by Germany and compare it with the styles described.. yar? yar. Spot on right, the German style.

4-1. i decide to not watch any more.

sunday. quiet.

How about a happy wedding video for a sunday?


"the JK Wedding video"-cj

so many things happening this weekend. But I choose to do nothing instead.

right now

i have no mood to type anything.. :(

self justification

From BBC. By Emma Jane Kirby.

"
In Paris, the customer is not always right The idea of service is taken very seriously in France where any feeling of subservience is strongly resisted.

Paris is in a bad mood.

The sullen, steel-grey sky seems to be permanently snivelling sleet. The Seine, swollen against its banks, pushes and squeezes its way through the city like an irascible woman in too-tight shoes. And the January depression has even sucked some of the glitzy dazzle out of the Eiffel Tower, leaving it looking - at least from a distance - like a rather cheap, left-over Christmas decoration. It may be the city of romance and a mecca for tourists, but right now Paris feels and looks like it just cannot be bothered any more to turn on the charm.

Not that this city is exactly known for its sense of service. The customer is allegedly always right in London but, in Paris, he or she is little more than an irritant.

Cab 'service'

A couple of months back, I broke my leg in a skiing accident and became completely reliant on Paris's taxi service. Wobbling precariously on my crutches after a family dinner in a local restaurant, I hailed the first cab in the rank. He drove up, glanced at my plastered leg and drove straight off again shouting: "I don't take cripples. Your crutches might damage my paintwork!" Somewhat stupefied, I hailed the next cab in line and politely asked the driver if I could sit up front as it was easier for my leg.

"I'm not arranging my whole damn cab to accommodate you," he snapped. "I've got all my personal things piled on the front seat!" As he drove off at an angry speed, I got a glance of the front passenger seat and saw it was adorned with one folded newspaper. The taxi driver who finally chauffeured me home was pleasant enough, although a stark notice on the back of the seat reminded me that it would not be wise to push my luck.

"Do not use your mobile phone in this cab," warned the hand-written sticker, "it annoys your driver." Under the circumstances, even though I was paying for this ride, I felt unable to ask this clearly sensitive man to turn down his deafening rap music.

'I'm not your slave'

The fact is Parisians employed in any service industry simply do not buy into the Anglo Saxon maxim, "He who pays the piper calls the tune." The revolution of 1789 has burned the notion of equality deep into the French psyche and a proud Parisian finds it abhorrently degrading to act subserviently.

This Sunday, a Parisian friend of mine waited in line at the fruit and vegetable stall of his local market.When it was his turn to be served, he asked the seller for a kilo of leeks. "They're at the other end of the stall," snapped the vendor waspishly. "Take a bit of exercise and get them yourself." There is no mistaking the undertone, "I'm not your slave."

At my doctor's, the two dour receptionists are quite delightful when we meet on the street, sharing jokes and asking kindly after my broken leg. Back behind their desk, however, they brood and scowl. There is not even a gesture of recognition, let alone a friendly smile.

On the street it is acknowledged that we are equals but, once back in the surgery - in that uncomfortable position of service provider and client - the receptionists become wary of a potential shift of power and are quick to squash any assumptions of superiority.

Blunt honesty

In America, your waiter comes to your restaurant table to tell you his name is Joe. Here, your waiter expects to be addressed formally as Monsieur, in exactly the same way he will address you. It is made clear from the start that no-one has the upper hand. The strict code of manners in Paris is a deliberate class-leveller.

Perhaps Parisians are just being honest.

Our American waiter Joe, after all, only promises to give us "good folks a great time" because he wants a terrific tip but, in Paris, providing quality is a matter of personal pride. In the boulangerie next to our office, the baker spends a good 90 seconds skilfully wrapping up my plain brioche into an artistic cornet, even though she must know I will rip it open the second I leave her shop. When I ask the local greengrocer for an avocado, he asks when I plan to eat it before dutifully feeling every avocado in the box to find the one which will be perfectly ripe on that day.

Last week, as I waited in the damp gloom for a taxi to take me home after yet another hospital appointment, I decided to shelter in the expensive dress shop next door. I held up a woollen dress against me and admired myself in the mirror. The shop assistant, nonchalantly blowing bubble-gum bubbles, looked narrowly at me and shook her head.

"Don't even think about it," she said bluntly, "not with that big fat leg."

"

reliving paris through the writing of others.. i try hard to remember if paris was nice enough to justify what happened?

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

banking on volunteers

That was the catch phrase we wore on our sleeves as we walked through the gates of a home for the disabled. It was heart wrenching when we first stepped into the room. My heart swelled. The residents were unable to take care of themselves; some had limited ability to interact. Through interactions were pretty much one way, we managed to get them to warm up. Simple hand gestures and key words helped us understand the messages which they were trying to convey. It felt good to see them laugh. Christopher was so amazing that I had to see if for myself to believe. Given a date, he can actually tell you the day of that date. We tested. He was able to give us the exact day for a particular date in 2006. When asked how he managed it, he simply replied,"I count." I gave him a hug. I felt I needed it.

Everyone's special.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

OT

Overtime in changi is a big thing. Firstly, most of the food stalls close before 6. Secondly, changi is on the far side of singapore. Thirdly, everyone else knocks off on time. For the past few days, I had stayed in the office past the regular hours, hacking away at the desktop. Today, was exceptionally frustrating. After narrowing down the problem to a single line, I was not able to find a solution to it (at least not an elegant one). I try not to believe that the brute force way is the only way to get my program to run on firefox and comply with the w3 standards. Let me struggle for another morning before I resign to my fate. 3 plus more weeks left! One thing I know for sure. By the end of this, I would be competent to do up a decent website.

Anyone looking for web designers?

world cup update. 40min into the game... France 0-2 South Africa

Monday, June 21, 2010

today

I was told that I need to ..
..be more sensitive ..
..be less rational..
.. be more empathetic..
.. be less tolerant..

honestly, i dun understand some of them.

Results

Portugal 7-0 N.Korea

seven kosong wor.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

window shopping

I scrolled through the Buy/Sell forum for Nikon Equipment on clubsnap form, eyeballing the prices of the two cameras in particular - the Nikon D90 and D300. I think I gave a new meaning to window shopping as I Alt+Tab my whole evening away. Changing windows and surfing through the various WantToSell ads, I am half hearted when it comes to connecting with the sellers. (Hur. yar browser window shopping if you actually missed the pun). If I were to follow through with the scheduled expenditure I would be incurring a significant deficit. Big tickets items such as Cambodia YEP, dslr and CFA1 means that I would have to be a scrooge again in July. Without deep pockets, I am starting to think that maybe Cambodia is not such a good idea. I am unwilling to liquidate my securities as regular deposits into investment accounts are meant as a control for my expenses. Money is so hard to earn and so easy to spend. I tightened my resolve to not liquidate my shares..

I paced around the room for a while; trying to decide which one to let go. I'm not a fan of spending money.

glasses are hip

These were yr 2006 ads for Oogmerk Opticians. Glasses can change your image. Next time you see a bespectacled, bearded old man, he could well be a truck driver who wears glasses. So how do you differentiate one from the other? If he has a sense of humor that you cannot understand, then he is more likely to be a Dr. professor.
"with glasses, you can look smart"-cj

"surprising. i like hard."-cj

"hur"-cj


"the blot there actually looks like both paint and blood.."-cj

i actually wish that I do not have to wear specs.

in reply

"There are two types of people in the world, those who divide people into two types and those who don't." - Edward A Murphy.

"Eh, actually, people in this world are all one kind." -cj

you all one kind one ah.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

seletar again

the weather was not too good this morning. so I try to take some overexposed photos instead. I have seen how some overexposed photos turned out pretty. Too bad I was not too good at it. :p So voila, my the only decent overexposed shot after trying for a morning.

"playing with over exposure"-cj

"last shot. 745am."-cj

"bad weather.."-cj

"night lights"-cj

too early morning.. shouldn't have watch that England match.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

like

"like."-cj

like.

decline of linguistics

"wat?" -cj
Over the past 5 years we saw, the devolution of asking a question among the young. wat? -> o.O ? -> ??

how scientists see the world

Taken from Abstruse Goose. I see chemical equations, gravitational equations, magnetic and electric fields and propagation equations, Fourier, fluid mechanics Bernoulli's equation, quantum mechanics Schrondinger's equation hahaha?!? and even matrices. hahah wth. Guess one good thing about having studied chemical engineering and electrical engineering is that you can recognize all the basic equations. Bet I apply this and can come up with more equations during BBQ later. I can add in more equations from heat and mass transfer.

"suddenly the simplicity is lost."-cj
How many did you recognize?

$62

He excused himself from drinks with his friends to go home to pack for the night's stay over. It was Friday. It was the world cup opening match. He did not feel bad about it, since he only had $62 left in his savings to tide him through the next 6days till pay day. That itself was enough reason to not go for drinks, but to his credit charging friends, broke was not an excuse. Watching world cup with his football kakis, on the other hand, was a cheap activity. So how did he end up with just $62 in his account?
He was not a spendthrift. Expenses were mainly limited to food and books. His current penniless predicament tells a story of poor money management. His $62 was not a solvency problem, but a liquidity problem. It is not wise divert your income else where and to hold just $500 in cash every month. Some months, you tend to spend more. *ahem GSS *erhm IT fair. Ideally, one should hold at least 6 months salary worth in liquid cash in case of emergencies. So for all of you who have not done so, please start building this up first before the other components of your portfolio.
With one birthday dinner scheduled this week, he will have to be home for every other meal possible this week.

BP not as evil as Goldman Sachs

"negative"-cj

"I love this chart from BrandIndex, showing responses to the question “If you’ve heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, was it positive or negative?”.

To get a score of -40, where Goldman Sachs seems to have fallen to, you’d need 70 people saying they were hearing negative stuff about the bank for every 30 saying they’d heard something positive. BP’s not there yet: I do wonder who’s hearing positive things about them.

But it’s interesting that BP was cruising along happily in positive territory until the spill, while Goldman has been negative for all of the past year. And both have deteriorated significantly in the past couple of months. Chances are there will be some kind of reversion to mean in the future in both cases, but it seems that BP has more upside than Goldman, whose public reputation is likely to stay in tatters for the foreseeable future."

- copied from reuters

not the least surprising.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Results

Argentina 1 - 0 Nigeria

the styles

This is for the ladies and the guys who do not watch soccer in case you find yourself caught in a conversation involving the various styles of play of each country.
"click to enlarge." -cj

Vamos EspaƱa! (I have forgotten how to type the inverted exclamation marks in front..)

IT fair and World Cup

As the world cup opening match ushers in the tournament with a boring 1-1 between south africa and mexico, i cannot help but wonder the economic effects of world cup on south africa. The publicity it has raised for itself has not been flattering either. While it brought african nations to a new sporting heights, while it tries earn back some tourist money to cover the government spending which has gone into the infrastructure, it has been said that the World Cup only benefits the rich. News of big companies buying advertisement spaces in preparation made the local authorities chase away local peddlers who had frequent the streets in the past. World Cup revenue is meant for Big Companies which has earned the rights through sponsorships. Building of the sporting infrastructure and sprucing up of Johannesburg's images saw many housing estates, residents and slums being relocated. As a result, some local workers were displaced 8 to 10 km away from their work place. The price of the world cup, though marked down significantly, were still above the reservation price of the average. But let us not forget the cause and dreams ignited by this world cup. 1Goal its a noble plan to provide education for 72 million children world wide.
How I wish I were able to provide a more indepth analysis, but I am not not an economist. But so what if I am? Economists are known for be smart in retrospect. All they do is to try and make sense today of why their prediction 2 days ago for yesterday went wrong.
IT vendors in singapore are affected by the World Cup too. I was at the IT fair 2 days ago and I noticed many people lugging around 42 inch plasma or LCD TVs. Seriously, was the IT fair strategically times to coincide with the start of World Cup, to help boost the sales of LCD TVs?
the fair's crowded as usual. but among the chaotic human traffic, something caught my eye.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

the ride

He sat quietly by her side, watching her sleep. Silently, he looked on with slight amusement as her hair bounced along with the rhythm of the bus. He was distant, yet close at the same time. Not wanting to make any abrupt movements to disrupt her sleep, he moved himself closer slowly; offering a protective arm to catch her in case she hits herself against the glass window. She looked so tired that he was not sure she should carry on with what was planned for the evening. As the bus neared its destination, he softly roused her awake.
He himself was tired as he let a yawn escaped from his mouth. Right at that moment, he felt a soft knuckle punch on his biceps.
"Eh, wake up alreaeedy. Don't sleep aaanymore. We have reeeached." So now, he's the one who has been sleeping.
He mused at her ironic remark and the slightly uncouth mannerism.

Monday, June 7, 2010

thinking

Over the past few weeks, I talked to many banking senior managers. The things they say made me think long and hard about the career choices I am about to take. One thing for sure, I am not going to pursue a career in academics. Academia thrives in the name of integrity which it assumes its members to possess. Unfortunately, peer review as a form of self regulation is not as effective and transparent as one may think. It may well be subjected to peer pressure. So if not academia then what?
IT seems like a solid career, as technology now runs the live of many people. There's always an avenue to use technology, thus generating an persistent demand for technologists. My resume, education and internship experiences have boxed me me. If I were in HR, I would love to hire someone like me for IT as a developer. But do I want to be doing development for the first 6 years of my life? Given the pay, I won't mind. But I would rather do something else.
One of the most engaging conversation I had was actually with director of prime services IT. He told me the evolution of career goes through 3 phrases. The execution phrase, the management phrase and the strategic planning phrase. So does that naturally makes me want to focus on becoming a management consultant? Yes. But. Management consulting is probably a murkier industry than academia.
Here is where I will slip in the practical advice which I had been consistently hearing for the past few weeks. If you are not able to decide on your career now, why not just join the financial services and draw the attractive salary while you decide? If you are just planning to work very hard and put in long hours anyway; regardless of the kind of work you do. Why not join the financial services and draw a better pay than you can get else where? Many people do not enjoy the work they do, so why not draw a high pay while you are at it? Bottom line. As long as you are undecided, you should just join the financial services.
I'm currently still undecided.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

sigh..

"This actually shows you how important your button is."-cj

my handwritting really doesn't look very impressive here. haha. Please do not go and do some graphology analysis on it. Results will show you that i'm actually a 6years old.
i need an external keyboard..

errant cyclist

I was poised to over take him; as I picked up my speed along the two way road. A quick check to make sure that there's no car coming in too close behind me; I swerved out into the middle of the lane. Right at the same time, he made a quick swerve into my path! wth. Instinctively, I jerked my bike right and drifted past the solid white center divider line. Thankfully, there was not any incoming traffic. When I over took him, I looked back to find out why..
There was no pothole on the road. He was sms-ing!
wth.

in reply

"I always think of you first in eveything I do." -lc

"and I always think of you last, so that there's no other thoughts left to interrupt it. I can think of you longer."-cj

We are so unbelievable in the things we say that we do not believe each other.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

say - one republic



"it's in paris!" -cj

lately i've been planning a europe trip for my friends. i'm just PARISensitive now.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

world cup fever


i support teams with pastel colored jerseys!