Here are a few advice on thing you should not do, with substantiations from Google Video.
You should never add insult to injury. You should even more never add injury to injury:
Never mess around with old people:
Don't try to act smart:
30 August 2006
29 August 2006
Photochromic Spectacles
A few weeks ago, I noticed that even with my spectacles on, my right eye vision could not close in on distant objects. A visit to the optician has, fortunately, indicated that my right eye has decide to make a 25% leap from 200 degrees to 250 degrees instead of my worst fear that my eyeball is mutating into a button mushroom.
As I was browsing through the different spectacle frames, the friendly optician suggested to me on considering photochromic lenses, also known as Transition lenses due to the intense advertisement by the company of the same name. It costs about two times the price of a pair of normal lenses, which is the primary reason for the prolonged battle between the stingy and the inquisitive parts of me. Eventually, the latter won, so I ordered a pair.
Quite frankly, the tint of the lenses is pretty unnoticeable by the wearer. In fact, it is quite hard to visually discern if it is the lenses or the sky that has darkened, unless I take my spectacles off and look at the lenses, or compare the spectacles view with the non-spectacles view.
In addition, the degree to which the lens darken is pretty minimal. This is a consequence, I believe, of Singapore's hot weather, since, in short, photochromism is less effective in warmer surroundings due to the fact that the "deactivation" of the tint is a process fuelled by heat (ultraviolet, on the other hand, activates the tint).
But looking at it from another angle, my spectacles is my new portable UV detector. If my vision turns blacker while indoors (such as in a lab), I should perhaps take caution. Maybe one day I should even use it to test out Wien's displacement law on blackbody radiation.
Yay! I can finally see my favourite colour!
As I was browsing through the different spectacle frames, the friendly optician suggested to me on considering photochromic lenses, also known as Transition lenses due to the intense advertisement by the company of the same name. It costs about two times the price of a pair of normal lenses, which is the primary reason for the prolonged battle between the stingy and the inquisitive parts of me. Eventually, the latter won, so I ordered a pair.
Quite frankly, the tint of the lenses is pretty unnoticeable by the wearer. In fact, it is quite hard to visually discern if it is the lenses or the sky that has darkened, unless I take my spectacles off and look at the lenses, or compare the spectacles view with the non-spectacles view.
In addition, the degree to which the lens darken is pretty minimal. This is a consequence, I believe, of Singapore's hot weather, since, in short, photochromism is less effective in warmer surroundings due to the fact that the "deactivation" of the tint is a process fuelled by heat (ultraviolet, on the other hand, activates the tint).
But looking at it from another angle, my spectacles is my new portable UV detector. If my vision turns blacker while indoors (such as in a lab), I should perhaps take caution. Maybe one day I should even use it to test out Wien's displacement law on blackbody radiation.
Yay! I can finally see my favourite colour!
27 August 2006
How Many Planets Are There in the Solar System?
In increasing distance from the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. In total, eight.
Yep, if you're not aware of recent astronomy news, it appears that Pluto, our eccentric fringe member in the Solar System, has been voted out of the Planetary Club, as a result of a re-definition of the term "planet".
Of course, the status of Pluto as a planet has been in question for a long time, mainly due to its small size, highly eccentric orbit and tilted plane of orbit. The reason why it was labelled as a planet is a long story, which can be simply summarised into two points. One, theoretical calculations based on Neptune's orbit inferred a presence of massive objects beyond, which was assumed to be a planet (though it turned out later to be more than a "planet"). Two, telescopes weren't that accurate in the 1930s when Pluto was discovered, so its size and orbit could not be determined accurately.
So, how will that change things? It won't. Pluto, as a planet or a dwarf planet (its new label), will continue to orbit eccentrically in an inclined plane no matter what we call it. Celestial objects couldn't be bothered with those mundane labellings that morons on the third planet from the Sun are so fascinated with.
Yep, if you're not aware of recent astronomy news, it appears that Pluto, our eccentric fringe member in the Solar System, has been voted out of the Planetary Club, as a result of a re-definition of the term "planet".
Of course, the status of Pluto as a planet has been in question for a long time, mainly due to its small size, highly eccentric orbit and tilted plane of orbit. The reason why it was labelled as a planet is a long story, which can be simply summarised into two points. One, theoretical calculations based on Neptune's orbit inferred a presence of massive objects beyond, which was assumed to be a planet (though it turned out later to be more than a "planet"). Two, telescopes weren't that accurate in the 1930s when Pluto was discovered, so its size and orbit could not be determined accurately.
So, how will that change things? It won't. Pluto, as a planet or a dwarf planet (its new label), will continue to orbit eccentrically in an inclined plane no matter what we call it. Celestial objects couldn't be bothered with those mundane labellings that morons on the third planet from the Sun are so fascinated with.
26 August 2006
Any Opportunist Mee Siam Seller Out There?
Just had this sudden thought: if some mee siam seller has some opportunist blood running in his veins, he'd be quick to introduce the new version of mee siam - Mee Siam with Hum.
It is not only a fresh idea; it will also draw quite an amount of curiosity due to PM's rally blunder as well as the buzz in the blogosphere. I predict that the stall will experience a sharp spike in business for the days to come. Why, one can even ask for "mee siam mai hum", making it a novel order in the hawker centre.
There is already some free publicity from mr brown's recent podcast. And I believe such a dish, if introduced, will spread like wildfire by bloggers.
Of course, it has to be some kind of promotional special, lasting maybe a fortnight or so. I doubt anyone likes hum in their mee siam, or else it would've been in there long ago. It's more like those kind of bubble tea craze, only that it has a shorter duration.
So, anyone here sells mee siam?
It is not only a fresh idea; it will also draw quite an amount of curiosity due to PM's rally blunder as well as the buzz in the blogosphere. I predict that the stall will experience a sharp spike in business for the days to come. Why, one can even ask for "mee siam mai hum", making it a novel order in the hawker centre.
There is already some free publicity from mr brown's recent podcast. And I believe such a dish, if introduced, will spread like wildfire by bloggers.
Of course, it has to be some kind of promotional special, lasting maybe a fortnight or so. I doubt anyone likes hum in their mee siam, or else it would've been in there long ago. It's more like those kind of bubble tea craze, only that it has a shorter duration.
So, anyone here sells mee siam?
The Post of Mystery and Unknown
Perhaps I have been a bit impatient... is it too early to take the next step, to make what is probably an unambiguous confirmation?
24 August 2006
Mee Siam Mai Hum
If you, like me, has been busy of late or does not have a habit of checking the mr brown show website, it is high time you listen to their recent podcast entitled with the innocent title of a harmless podcast.
Between this and the Bak Chor Mee podcast, I can't decide which is better.
Somehow I feel this will be better if it was dubbed as a full song... *hint* *hint*!
Between this and the Bak Chor Mee podcast, I can't decide which is better.
Somehow I feel this will be better if it was dubbed as a full song... *hint* *hint*!
The Itinerant
(This entry is quite overdue... I blame it on my over-packed schedule.)
The Itinerant is a book written by one of my army friends. It is a gentle blend of fantasy, mystery, as well as science fiction (which renders it immune to whatever scientific errors I might have issues with). Its style, for good or bad, deviates from much of the sci-fi books in the market, though, admittedly, I have not read enough of them to be certain how much this book differs.
However, what is certain is that grammatical or spelling errors are bound to surface to the reader. This is a result of the author self-publishing the book in an online publishing firm, Lulu. While this does away with the additional costs of professional editing and removes possible clouding as the book makes its way from the author to the readers, the price he has to pay is the existence of some typographical errors, as well as the loss of perhaps better ways of phrasing certain words or sentences.
In any case, it should not bother me or any other casual readers too much, since it is the storyline in the story that is important. This is how the synopsis goes:
It is a brave attempt for the author to break out of the standard mold of sci-fi books. In my opinion, not only is it brave, but the story is also fairly good for a first attempt. In general, the flow of the story runs pretty smoothly just like all conventionally-published books, though at certain points the flow turns a bit bumpy and dry. Nonetheless, as with most mystery books, once the reader reaches the I-should-stop-at-the-next-page-*flip*-or-maybe-the-next... point, the following pages will become a quicksand.
Another plus point about this story is that it is not overbearing on any particular genre. Though I do consider it somewhat a sci-fi, it does not have spaceships, hyperspace travel, ion cannons and stuff like these as its skeleton. Its elements of mystery may be stronger, but the focus is not on solving riddles and cracking codes. These different genres are mixed together to complement each other.
However, one area which I thought improvements can be made in is its action scenes. While it may be fine to some, my opinion is that these parts could been written in a quicker and more powerful style. Of course, I could be biased since I always favoured gongfu-styled fighting, partly a result of Louis Cha's wuxia novels and partly my preferred way of describing an action scene.
I do recommend this book for the above reasons as well as another: it is cheap: S$1. This book can be purchased online, either by digital form (PDF format) or printed version (which is much more expensive even before including shipping costs). Details can be found here.
The Itinerant is a book written by one of my army friends. It is a gentle blend of fantasy, mystery, as well as science fiction (which renders it immune to whatever scientific errors I might have issues with). Its style, for good or bad, deviates from much of the sci-fi books in the market, though, admittedly, I have not read enough of them to be certain how much this book differs.
However, what is certain is that grammatical or spelling errors are bound to surface to the reader. This is a result of the author self-publishing the book in an online publishing firm, Lulu. While this does away with the additional costs of professional editing and removes possible clouding as the book makes its way from the author to the readers, the price he has to pay is the existence of some typographical errors, as well as the loss of perhaps better ways of phrasing certain words or sentences.
In any case, it should not bother me or any other casual readers too much, since it is the storyline in the story that is important. This is how the synopsis goes:
Byrne has been wandering the globe since the day he can remember. Driven by an inexplicable restlessness that prevents him from settling down in one place for any significant period of time, he wanders aimlessly from town to town without knowing why. It seems like this is going to be the norm for the rest of his life until one day things take a turn for the surreal. His most recent landlord winds up dead, subject to a mysterious ailment known as the Dry Death. He meets an enigmatic man who offers him a job – a job that seems too good to be true. His body starts exhibiting some rather unusual changes. He comes across a strange and elusive lady who seems to be avoiding not just him but his employers as well. As the strangeness starts escalating day by day, Byrne will discover that there are more links to all these events than he initially thought, and in his quest for the truth, he will find not only his fair share of secrets and hidden agendas but the very reason for his itinerancy...
It is a brave attempt for the author to break out of the standard mold of sci-fi books. In my opinion, not only is it brave, but the story is also fairly good for a first attempt. In general, the flow of the story runs pretty smoothly just like all conventionally-published books, though at certain points the flow turns a bit bumpy and dry. Nonetheless, as with most mystery books, once the reader reaches the I-should-stop-at-the-next-page-*flip*-or-maybe-the-next... point, the following pages will become a quicksand.
Another plus point about this story is that it is not overbearing on any particular genre. Though I do consider it somewhat a sci-fi, it does not have spaceships, hyperspace travel, ion cannons and stuff like these as its skeleton. Its elements of mystery may be stronger, but the focus is not on solving riddles and cracking codes. These different genres are mixed together to complement each other.
However, one area which I thought improvements can be made in is its action scenes. While it may be fine to some, my opinion is that these parts could been written in a quicker and more powerful style. Of course, I could be biased since I always favoured gongfu-styled fighting, partly a result of Louis Cha's wuxia novels and partly my preferred way of describing an action scene.
I do recommend this book for the above reasons as well as another: it is cheap: S$1. This book can be purchased online, either by digital form (PDF format) or printed version (which is much more expensive even before including shipping costs). Details can be found here.
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