we, the citizens...

Pet Peeve

2008-09-06T23:53:00.000+08:00

Don't.
Ever.
Use.
The.
Word.
"Pre-prepared".

Quantum Limmericks

2008-08-30T19:07:00.002+08:00

Ronald Knox:
There once was a young man who said "God
Must think it exceedingly odd,
If He finds that this tree
Continues to be
When there's no one about in the Quad."

Bishop Berkeley:
Dear Sir, your astonishment's odd
I am always about in the Quad,
And that's why the tree
Will continue to be
Since observed by Yours faithfully, God.

For mathematicians/computer scientists only...

2008-06-09T12:05:00.002+08:00

There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who know binary and those who don't.

Err. Duh?

2008-04-14T21:29:00.002+08:00

"I can't say we are the best in England but I don't think there is a team stronger than us"

- Avram Grant

Sigzilla!

2007-12-10T00:48:00.000+08:00

Cheeck out the miniature camera on the end of it!

(various internet sources)

Things your 老师 didn't teach you in chinese class

2007-11-05T21:10:00.000+08:00

顺时针 - clockwise
逆时针 - anticlockwise

Feeling bored?

2007-10-28T23:34:00.001+08:00

Graph 4(x^2+y^2-2x)^2+(x^2-y^2)(x-1)(2x-3)=0 on computer.

Enjoy.

Pictures from school trip to Sungei Buloh

2007-10-24T23:09:00.000+08:00

Quote of the Day

2007-10-20T23:15:00.001+08:00

The secret of teaching is to appear to have known all your life what
you learned this afternoon.
- Anonymous

More XKCD

2007-09-26T09:05:00.001+08:00

New unit of time

2007-09-13T10:57:00.000+08:00

"Ohnosecond" - the (infinitesimally) small period of time between the instant you click "delete forever" and when you realise the file was of vital importance.

XKCD

2007-09-13T10:55:00.000+08:00

Postcard material

2007-09-09T22:51:00.000+08:00

Sentosa as seen from Vivocity

New Cambera

2007-09-07T23:32:00.000+08:00

Got a new DSLR and fun lenses to go with it. Here are a whole lot of random images. Full size is much more but i'm not publishing those. =)

Candid shot of one of my students

Candid shot of two of my students

Night shot from my room - 30s exposure

Rubber ducky...

Macro Flowers

Guilin Park

Macro Leaf

Macro Flowers2

Zoom Pigeon

Zoom Swans

Random statue

Zoom Squirrel

Waterfall

Dilbert

2007-07-08T19:08:00.001+08:00

From http://www.dilbert.com/, a wonderfully circular argument:

This from Boon

2007-06-20T12:46:00.001+08:00

http://mathworld.wolfram.com/TuppersSelf-ReferentialFormula.html

Some random pictures...

2007-06-19T22:54:00.000+08:00

Haven't been blogging for a while - busy and generally boring life... =P

HN spoil. AGAIN.

Rayner Chia managed to finish this ginormous triple-patty burger from Botak Jones.

Went to Bandung for 11 days - check out the rice sold by KFC!

Quote for the day...

2007-05-30T23:12:00.001+08:00

"Exam buang cannot get into uni don't get your mum to kaopei for you
in forum la"

- Jaesson

Quote for the day

2007-04-16T22:29:00.001+08:00

I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.

- Internet

Seen in some LPs...

2007-02-28T14:30:00.000+08:00

"Pre-prepared".

Pun for the day

2007-02-28T09:59:00.000+08:00

Q: What do you call a sailing vessel full of professors?

A: A scholar ship.

Pun for the day

2007-02-24T19:36:00.000+08:00

What is Spiderman's day-time job?

Webmaster.

Quote for the day

2007-02-17T13:30:00.000+08:00

"He who slings mud generally loses ground."

- Adlai E. Stevenson

Woohoo.

2007-01-31T23:56:00.000+08:00

Can drive!

Yay!

Pun for the Day

2007-01-20T00:49:00.000+08:00

Now matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.

Metacognition...

2007-01-15T11:28:00.000+08:00

I think I think, therefore I think I am.

Pun of the day

2006-12-29T15:06:00.000+08:00

The high priest was arrested on drug charges.

Pun for the day

2006-12-26T19:00:00.000+08:00

I dropped out of my communism class because of lousy Marx.

From www.xkcd.com

2006-12-11T23:38:00.000+08:00

From Boon!

2006-12-11T12:46:00.000+08:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire/content/articles/2006/12/06/divide_zero_feature.shtml

Shudder.

Quotes on Communications Technology

2006-12-05T15:00:00.000+08:00

The worst thing about the miracle of modern communications is the Pavlovian pressure it places upon everyone to communicate whenever a bell rings. - Russell Baker

It seems rather incongruous that in a society of supersophisticated communication, we often suffer from a shortage of listeners. - Erma Bombeck

Trivia

2006-12-01T22:39:00.000+08:00

The Isetan store in Singapore does NOT carry Hugo Boss fragrances.

Sigh.

Casino Royale

2006-11-23T00:37:00.000+08:00

Great show. Lots of plot twists.

Won't reveal plot details though, in case some of you actually want to watch it...

Quote of the Day...

2006-10-31T23:52:00.000+08:00

Paraphrased from Desmond:

I've finished my 6 assignments due in 8 days!

I now have time to... erm... do more assignments.

Know or Know Not

2006-10-30T23:19:00.000+08:00

He who knows not,

and knows not that he knows not,

is a fool...

Shun him.

He who knows not,

and knows that he knows not,

is willing...

Teach him.

He who knows,

and knows not that he knows,

is asleep...

Awaken him.

He who knows,

and knows that he knows,

is wise...

Follow him.

-ancient proverb.

Physics Concept Quiz

2006-10-25T22:50:00.000+08:00

http://www.intuitor.com/physics_test/PhysicsSavvy.html

Take it! See if you fail Physics.

Symptoms and Diagnosis

2006-10-21T18:52:00.000+08:00

Neck cramp

Eyes watering

arms aching

fingers twitching

legs muscle atrophy

backside itchy and cramp

therefore...

assignments are bad for health.

-Weipang.

Pun of the Day

2006-10-11T18:02:00.000+08:00

What do you call a arrogant fugitive falling from a building?

Condescending.

(Mis)Quote of the Day

2006-10-11T12:11:00.000+08:00

"I think, therefore I headache"
-Desmond Lau

Quote for the day part 2

2006-10-09T09:04:00.000+08:00

"Draw a visual diagram."

- kept anonymous to protect the blur.

As opposed to the non-visual type?

Quote for the Day

2006-10-09T08:20:00.000+08:00

"This week I achieved unprecedented levels of unverifiable productivity"

- Wally

Engrish

2006-10-02T09:54:00.000+08:00

Q: How do you pronounce haute couture?

A: Horticulture.

QED?

2006-09-27T13:52:00.000+08:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q.E.D.

Fail Engrish

2006-09-15T10:55:00.000+08:00

Guess where this one is from!

I want to Comprain Protest!

2006-09-14T21:32:00.000+08:00

From Reuters:

To make their point, civil rights groups plan to use the square on Saturday to protest against not being allowed to protest, and will demonstrate quietly with gags over their mouths.

!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Quote for the Day

2006-09-13T12:58:00.000+08:00

Build a man a fire and you keep him warm for an hour
Set a man on fire and you keep him warm for the rest of his life

- Boon.

Fun link for today!

2006-09-11T09:54:00.000+08:00

http://www.mste.uiuc.edu/murphy/MovingMan/MovingMan.html

Is Fun!

TLLM?

2006-09-04T09:33:00.000+08:00

But if I TL, they LL!

Happy Cher's Day

2006-09-03T15:26:00.000+08:00

Happy Teachers' Day to all teachers, past, present, and (most
importantly) to be!

Optical Illusion

2006-08-16T23:20:00.000+08:00

Believe it or not, square A and square B are the same colour!

Click here for the proof.

Source: http://web.mit.edu/persci/gaz

Pun of the Day

2006-08-11T18:34:00.000+08:00

What do you call a mean Ancient Egyptian leader?

Un-fair-oh.

Pun of the Day

2006-08-04T20:28:00.000+08:00

Did you hear about the vampire who used to torture his victims with music?

His Bach was worse than his bite.

2006-07-26T18:18:00.000+08:00

Don't be fooled by our competitors! Only our French Donuts come with *real* filling.

Sobering Thought of the Day

2006-07-24T23:02:00.000+08:00

A friend from JC recently remarked to me about my teaching profession:

"How do you empathise with them (your students), considering that you don't know the feeling of not understanding what is being taught?"

Ouch.

Pun of the Day

2006-07-21T18:16:00.000+08:00

Jackhammer operators are always breaking new ground.

English is a funny language...

2006-07-19T22:14:00.000+08:00

Why is "a part" separate while "apart" together?

Update

2006-07-10T18:20:00.000+08:00

Not that nothing's happening in my life, just that I'd rather not blog about work.

However, here's an entertaining joke:

***

WIFE : You tell a man something, it goes in one ear and comes out of the other.

HUSBAND : You tell a woman something: It goes in both ears and comes out of the mouth.

THE PHYSICISTS' BILL OF RIGHTS

2006-07-06T19:28:00.000+08:00

(Author Unknown) We hold these postulates to be intuitively obvious, that all physicists are born equal, to a first approximation, and are endowed by their creator with certain discrete privileges, among them a mean rest life, n degrees of freedom, and the following rights which are invariant under all linear transformations:

1. To approximate all problems to ideal cases.

2. To use order of magnitude calculations whenever deemed necessary (i.e. whenever one can get away with it).

3. To use the rigorous method of "squinting" for solving problems more complex than the addition of positive real integers.

4. To dismiss all functions which diverge as "nasty" and "unphysical."

5. To invoke the uncertainty principle when confronted by confused mathematicians, chemists, engineers, psychologists, dramatists, and other lower scientists.

6. When pressed by non-physicists for an explanation of (4) to mumble in a sneering tone of voice something about physically naive mathematicians.

7. To equate two sides of an equation which are dimensionally inconsistent, with a suitable comment to the effect of, "Well, we are interested in the order of magnitude anyway."

8. To the extensive use of "bastard notations" where conventional mathematics will not work.

9. To invent fictitious forces to delude the general public.

10. To justify shaky reasoning on the basis that it gives the right answer.

11. To cleverly choose convenient initial conditions, using the principle of general triviality.

12. To use plausible arguments in place of proofs, and thenceforth refer to these arguments as proofs.

13. To take on faith any principle which seems right but cannot be proved.

What your Maths Teacher really means when he says:

2006-07-06T19:14:00.000+08:00

CLEARLY: I don't want to write down all the "in- between" steps.

TRIVIAL: If I have to show you how to do this, you're in the wrong class.

OBVIOUSLY: I hope you weren't sleeping when we discussed this earlier, because I refuse to repeat it.

RECALL: I shouldn't have to tell you this, but for those of you who erase your memory tapes after every test...

WLOG (Without Loss Of Generality): I'm not about to do all the possible cases, so I'll do one and let you figure out the rest.

IT CAN EASILY BE SHOWN: Even you, in your finite wisdom, should be able to prove this without me holding your hand.

CHECK or CHECK FOR YOURSELF: This is the boring part of the proof, so you can do it on your own time.

SKETCH OF A PROOF: I couldn't verify all the details, so I'll break it down into the parts I couldn't prove.

HINT: The hardest of several possible ways to do a proof.

BRUTE FORCE (AND IGNORANCE): Four special cases, three counting arguments, two long inductions, "and a partridge in a pair tree."

SOFT PROOF: One third less filling (of the page) than your regular proof, but it requires two extra years of course work just to understand the terms.

ELEGANT PROOF: Requires no previous knowledge of the subject matter and is less than ten lines long.

SIMILARLY: At least one line of the proof of this case is the same as before.

CANONICAL FORM: 4 out of 5 mathematicians surveyed recommended this as the final form for their students who choose to finish.

TFAE (The Following Are Equivalent): If I say this it means that, and if I say that it means the other thing, and if I say the other thing...

BY A PREVIOUS THEOREM: I don't remember how it goes (come to think of it I'm not really sure we did this at all), but if I stated it right (or at all), then the rest of this follows.

TWO LINE PROOF: I'll leave out everything but the conclusion, you can't question 'em if you can't see 'em.

BRIEFLY: I'm running out of time, so I'll just write and talk faster.

LET'S TALK THROUGH IT: I don't want to write it on the board lest I make a mistake.

PROCEED FORMALLY: Manipulate symbols by the rules without any hint of their true meaning (popular in pure math courses).

QUANTIFY: I can't find anything wrong with your proof except that it won't work if x is a moon of Jupiter (Popular in applied math courses).

PROOF OMITTED: Trust me, It's true.

Source: Internet

Pun for the day

2006-06-28T21:35:00.000+08:00

The dead batteries were given out free of charge.

Quote for the Day

2006-06-25T22:29:00.000+08:00

Bigamy is having one wife too many. Monogamy is the same thing

- Anonymous

The leading two recipes for success are building a better mousetrap and finding a bigger loophole.

- Edgar H. Schoaff

Age is a high price to pay for maturity

- Tom Stoppard

Education... has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading.

- G.M. Trevelyan

Committee: a group that keeps minutes but squanders hours.

- Anonymous

To get something done, a committee should consist of no more than three men, two of whom are absent.

- Robert Copeland

We owe a lot to Thomas Edison - if weren't for him, we'd be watching television by candlelight.

- Milton Berie

Two in every one people in this country are schizophrenic.

- Graffito

I read in the Reader's Digest that cigarettes are bad for you. So I gave up reading the Reader's Digest.

- Anonymous

Cricket - no wonder only the English can understand it...

2006-06-25T22:21:00.000+08:00

Cricket

You have two sides: one out in the field and one in. Each man that's in the side that's in goes out and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out.

The Amazing Technicolour Exploding Laptop

2006-06-23T21:52:00.000+08:00

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=32550

Thought for the Day

2006-06-16T22:38:00.000+08:00

Positive Thinking is like this:

A little bird in the sky.....
You look up & it shits in your eye.....
You don't mind & you don't cry.....
You just thank God cows don't fly.

Source: The Internet.

What's Cool and what's Not Cool.

2006-06-03T18:22:00.000+08:00

Not Cool!

(note the spoiler on the Cefiro.)

Cool!

Pun for the Day

2006-06-02T14:35:00.000+08:00

My rechargeable batteries are revolting.

Superman!

2006-05-21T22:29:00.000+08:00

From youtube, reference by the brudder.

2006-05-21T00:02:00.000+08:00

Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's SuperVan!

2006-05-21T00:00:00.000+08:00

The world's bgigest bass tubes or just the air-con system at Expo?

2006-05-20T23:59:00.000+08:00

Internet Down!

2006-05-20T23:55:00.000+08:00

This one very the patriotic... and located in Raffles City somemore...

For RPG Lovers

2006-05-20T00:13:00.000+08:00

This is one of the more amusing Munchkin (enhanced) item yet:

The Self-Cleaning Blessed Poisoned Rat on a Stick of Doom With Spiky Bits of My Grandfather

Thought for the Day

2006-05-05T23:45:00.000+08:00

ORD loh!!!!!

More from my favourite comic!

2006-05-01T23:44:00.000+08:00

From Dilbert

Seen today:

2006-04-27T18:44:00.000+08:00

Please make an appointment for a medical checkup at the walk-in clinic.

This is so: Please flee in terror in an orderly manner.

Victor Borge Links

2006-04-24T23:04:00.000+08:00

http://www.youtube.com/results?search=victor+borge&search_type=search_videos

The first two hits are hiliarious, even if you don't know much classical music.

The Acronym-isation of Singapore

2006-04-20T23:06:00.000+08:00

J T Hall? No wonder people can't understand us when we use so many MLAs (Multi-letter acronyms)...

Would much prefer if the sign read: Works Ln 3 Aft Exit xxx

Much more understandable than J T Hall.

Quotable Quotes

2006-04-19T12:21:00.000+08:00

Vegetarian is an old Indian word meaning "bad hunter." -- Anonymous

"I am in shape. Round is a shape." -- Anonymous

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real
tragedy is when men are afraid of the light." -- Plato

Consciousness: That annoying time between naps.

I've taken a vow of poverty. To annoy me, send money.

Today I will gladly share my experience and advice, for there are no
sweeter words than "I told you so.

I no longer need to punish, deceive or compromise myself. Unless, of
course, I want to stay employed.

Quote for the Day

2006-04-10T17:45:00.000+08:00

"I used to have an open mind, but my brains kept falling out."

- from Internet

A Maths Teacher's Headache!

2006-04-04T12:40:00.000+08:00

Thanks to Luminosita for this gem!

Inappropriate Thought Bubble

2006-03-31T21:16:00.000+08:00

How Inappropriate!

Saw this ad in an MRT station. I know the gahmen has 'sanctioned' inappropriate single-sex relationships, but.... erm...

In other news, check out this link

Clear Leave Loh!

2006-03-27T22:15:00.000+08:00

Have commenced the long-awaited clearing of leave!

Have lots of time to do stuff i've always wanted to do.

Like sleep.

2006-03-19T21:45:00.000+08:00

The biggest darn apple in the whole wide world!

2006-03-19T21:44:00.000+08:00

As aptly mentioned by a friend - the Rafflesification of ACS

2006-03-19T21:41:00.000+08:00

The New Building of the Red Blue and Gold School. With White walls and Green windows, no less

Quote for the day

2006-03-16T17:45:00.000+08:00

The only reason that anything ever gets done is because there are pockets of competence in every organisation. The key is to find them...and then exploit the hell out of 'em.

- from internet

Stainless Steel Heels

2006-03-08T18:08:00.000+08:00

If your girlfriend is wearing these heels, don't upset her...

Thought for the Day

2006-03-06T17:29:00.000+08:00

Remember when .com refered to an executable file?

Update!

2006-02-28T23:07:00.000+08:00

Apologies for not posting for that long. We, the Citizens, have been, well, workingforthegovernment.

Update: We, the Citizens... will with effect from July be workingforthegovernment in NIE!

Pun for the day

2006-02-19T21:27:00.000+08:00

"an unemployed jester is nobody's fool"

These are good ones...

2006-02-15T20:40:00.000+08:00

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

Condoms should be used on every conceivable occasion.

Energizer Bunny arrested - charged with battery.

Le theif
Recently a guy in Paris nearly got away with stealing several paintings from the Louvre. However, after planning the crime, breaking in, evading security, getting out and escaping with the goods, he was captured only two blocks away when his Econoline van ran out of gas.
When asked how he could mastermind such a crime and then make such an obvious error, he replied:

"I had no Monet to buy Degas to make the Van Gogh."

A Dog Named Mace
A mechanic who worked out of his home had a dog named Mace. Mace had a bad habit of eating all the grass on the mechanic's lawn, so the mechanic had to keep Mace inside.
The grass eventually became overgrown. One day the mechanic was working on a car in the backyard and dropped his wrench, losing it in the tall grass.

He couldn't find it for the life of him, so he decided to call it a day.

That night, Mace escaped from the house and ate all the grass in the backyard. The next morning the mechanic went outside and saw his wrench glinting in the sunlight.

Realizing what had happened he looked toward the heavens and proclaimed,

"A grazing Mace, how sweet the hound, that saved a wrench for me!"

The smallest and most sexy USB drive yet...

2006-02-15T20:35:00.000+08:00

Drool......

One of the better innovations in the memory card arena. Everyone must be kicking themselves now... "Now why didn't I think of that!"

It has all the works - standard SD card functionality, and it folds up to reveal a USB connector, which is da bomb!

Wonder how the Gahmen security agencies are going to stop people from bringing these around.... hmm.

And it comes in 512Mb and 1Gb sizes. Now that's a wrap. However, it's currently only available from Harvey Norman. Some kind of exclusive distribution rights. Hmph. Now i can't go to SLS and haggle. Bleah.

Good (or bad) Pun

2006-02-11T18:16:00.000+08:00

There was once a very influential farmer in a remote part of China, who had a problem. His chickens were losing their feathers and dying. H sought the counsel of the two wise men in town, Hing, who was a scientist, and Ming, who was a sorcerer.

Hing, who has had many advanced course hours in poultry science, consults the classic text in poultry disease, "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Diseases of Chickens, But Were Afraid to Ask." In the book Hing finds a reference to the report of a study showing that feeding the chickens with an infusion of gum tree leaves is often a remedy for chickens losing their feathers. Meanwhile Ming reads obscure writings of ancient wise men, he meditates, and he reads tarot cards and examines the entrails of a pig. Getting no inspiration he uses his old standby, reading tea leaves. In a spark of discovery, it comes to him that an infusion of gum tree leaves is the cure.

So the two wise men report back to the influential Chinese farmer. Ming says, "As gum sticks to tables and chairs, so shall an infusion of gum tree leaves make feathers stick to chickens." Hing agrees, saying "Studies show that infusions of gum tree leaves alleviate feather loss in chickens." The influential Chinese farmer is ecstatic, for the two wisest men in town are of a single mind. He decides to follow their recommendation. It does not work.

Moral of the Story: "All of Hing's courses and all of Ming's ken couldn't get gum tea to feather a hen."

Headline News

2006-02-11T18:11:00.000+08:00

Pint Sized Fortune-Teller escapes from Jail

Small Medium at Large.

Alice in Wonderland

2006-02-09T19:20:00.000+08:00

Alice asks, "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" The Cat replied, "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to." "I don't much care where-," Alice said. "Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat. "So long as I get some-where," Alice added. "Oh you're sure to do that," the Cat replied, "if you only walk long enough."

Pun!

2006-02-09T19:04:00.000+08:00

Q: What's the difference between ignorance and apathy?

A: I don't know, and I don't care.

Reagan Carrier Strike Group Makes Port Visit to Singapore

2006-02-07T21:09:00.000+08:00

As reported on the "Official Web Site of CVN 76", the USS Ronald Reagan, the US's newest Nimitz-class aircraft carrier is visiting Singapore.

In the spirit of "friendship-building" and "goodwill-generating", the USN has invited members of the RSN to tour the carrier *hint hint*.

=)

Gandhi

2006-02-06T22:05:00.000+08:00

Seems the season for reminiscence (did i spell that right?) and revisiting old memories...
---
Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him ....

(This is so bad, it's good) .....

A super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

Anyway...

2006-02-06T21:38:00.000+08:00

Thanks Boon for this. It did make me think and remember the times this was read at devotions...

---

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful you will win some false friends and true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
- Mother Teresa

Friends

2006-02-04T22:18:00.000+08:00

Ever had the occasion where you meet your old classmates and people who say they'll show up end up NOT showing up?

Or those who say they'll be _SLIGHTLY_ late and phone you 4 hours later to ask "where are you?"

Or the man who, despite a 12.30pm meeting time, answers the phone at 12.45 with "Err i just woke up..."? And then promises to show but doesn't?

Thanks to those who bothered to show up anyway. It was fun.

Sigh.