Mr Wise Guy Blog

I rode my bike to Comex yesterday.

SHIOK! No long queues for carpark!

I had a double whammy today. A bad day indeed, that turned out to be quite okay in the end. First it started with the rain. Rain is never a good thing for us riders, and it sucks having to put on your raincoat for a 10min ride to school. Just imagine taking 5 mins to put it on, 10 mins to ride and another 5 mins to take it off. So leceh...

Fortunately it stopped raining. And off I go to school, happily thinking it will be another happy day in my life. But it wasn't as rainbow painted as I thought. As I was clearing a hump near to the school carpark, my rear suspension somehow got dislodged from its original position. Fortunately, I was already in the carpark when it gave way and managed to limp to the parking lot. Checked the damage, and went off to attended lecture.

Looks like the washer, that was supposed to keep the suspension seated to the rear, was bent out, allowing the suspension bracket to slip out. Like wth. I wished I had pictures to share with you guys, but oh well... Called dad, who came in to give his assessment of the damage (fortunately home was only 10 mins away), and we managed to fix it enough to make it back home.

Got some stainless steel washers to replace the original one, and the bike is as good as new. heheh.

About my spilt food. Haiz... I bought food from the school canteen, and as I was making my way to the table, some girl came and knocked the plate over. I could've hold on to it if the plate wasn't made of styrofoam though. So, my tempeh and rice went topside, leaving behind the sambal goreng. Not to mention a 1/4 cracked styrofoam plate to go with it. Haiz...

And the girl never offered to pay for my lunch. Said sorry, and walked off. NTU to host the Youth Olympic Games? With students like these, who needs poor facilities to tarnish the image?

So sway... But all is okay in the evening after meeting my buddies. Comex tomorrow! Wooohooo!

I wonder if I am normal....

I come home everyday from school, feeling as if the weight of the Earth has just been lifted off my shoulders. It is tiring at school not physically, but mentally most of the time. Tutorials, lectures, Labs, haiz...

And it doesn't help if you just came back from a 2 year study break all thanks to National Service. It has been 4 weeks in school, and my mind is only 40% working. Whilst the girls were buzzing around their tutorials and stuff, you can see the guys still hanging out, slacking and sleeping in class.

heh

All is set to change though. I can feel the study mood kicking in again... B.Eng, here I COME!

Once again, I rode in the rain on my Honda Wave. And though I mentioned on MSN that I can ride my bike with no handlebars, that is so untrue today. I need my handlebars badly!!!

It was raining heavily. Initially I was quite happy as I get to test out my newly acquired ProGrip raincoat. hehh. But it was too heavy lah!!! The cross winds were a killer and my bike swayed left to right throughout the journey home.

Next post, I'll be showing you what I bought from Ah Boy today! Wooohooo!

Have you tried solving the Rubik's Cube? I bet everyone has seen and touched it. Probably giving it a go while you're fiddling with it. Its a simple toy and doesn't require much explaining to play.

Objective is simple, get a single colour on all six sides. Simple.

And there's even some students who, like me, are given assignments such as automating the solving of a rubik's cube.

Physicists (is that how you spell it?) have always debated about this theory, "Does lightning strike twice at the same spot"? I'm not too sure if the Mythbusters on Discovery Channel have taken on this myth, but hey, in my life, lightning does strike twice at the same spot.

Or rather, not lightning, but riding in the rain.

Just a few hours ago, I blogged about riding in the rain on my bike. Was feeling so moody and stuff. And when I went out again just a few minutes back, it started to rain! HAIYA! Angry ley!

Today marks my virgin trip in heavy rain, on a Honda 125cc Wave. I would say it is not a pleasant experience, one that I hope will never happen to me again having gone through the cold, the poor visibility and the shrinking of your balls. And yes, I mean it literally.

I was cruising on the PIE when it happened and fortunately, I had my Gore-tex jacket on. I thought that would suffice but hell no, I was wrong. When the rain poured, I was drenched in a mere 15seconds. The cold rain got into my bones in no time, and on top of that, visibility was poor.

I remained calm and filtered to the 3rd lane in an attempt to reduce my speed. I was already going at 60km/h but I still feel unsafe. heh. Took my speed down to 50km/h and followed behind a slow moving Kangoo. Ahhhh... Now, all I need was a bridge to chill under.

But!

There wasn't any bridge! Like wth. And I ended cruising all the way to my destination. By then, I was drenched and shivering from the waist downwards. Along the way, some big lorry drove past me and splashed water all over me! That made my underwear wet! lolx!

Moral of the Story: Gotta get those full suit Raincoats which cover the top and the bottom! ANGRY LEY!

This is what happens when the life that we know so well is reversed.


Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

North Korea and South Korea, the two nations with a great history, go to battle. This time, not with the aid of any allies as seen in the Korean War. Rather, this is a fight between the two nations only without any help from the outside world.

This battle took place at the Olympic Archery Green Field in China and it was a sight to behold seeing the representatives from the two nation whipping out their bows and arrows side by side. It is a wonder that these two could put aside their differences for a while in the name of the Olympics.

It is the women's individual archery event which saw North Korean, KWON Un Sil went up against South Korea's YUN Ok-Hee. But it was the South Korean which emerged victorious to grab the Bronze Medal although she was seeded 2 out of 74.

Most of you might have come across the dilemma, should I buy a desktop or a laptop?

It is not an easy question to answer, considering the amount of money at stake. A laptop can cost from a mere SGD$700 to SGD$4,000, while a desktop could be worth about SGD$400 to SGD$3,000. One might immediately notice a vast difference in the price, and would find the answer to the question rather straightforward, but one also has to take into account not only the price factor, but mobility and portability of the chosen system as well.

First thing's first, portability. A laptop is easy to move from one place to another as it is relatively light (I've seen a 5kg laptop before) and compact. As compared to a desktop which comprises of several significant parts such as the keyboard, mouse, display, speakers and CPU set, a laptop is usually a single piece. Might not be true to some laptops that might come with external CD readers, webcams, etc etc, but you get the general idea. A laptop is easy to move around making it mobile.

Secondly, performance. A high-end laptop will never be as powerful as a high-end desktop. This is true as of now (perhaps in the near future, it might not be applicable). Try comparing the specifications of a desktop to a laptop and you'll see the difference. A faster processor, more ram, bigger hard disk, bigger display, bigger everything, all on a desktop. So yeah, a laptop isn't as powerful as a desktop.

Thirdly, price. For similar specifications, laptops are expensive. Desktops are cheap. Period.

Fourth, looks. A desktop can appear to be cumbersome and so unsexy (is there such a word?). Even the sleekest desktop appear to be boxy pieces of electronics, and comes with an all too familiar obiang keyboard. Look at the current laptops in the market such as the Mac, the Portege M800, fujitsus, and you'll see something different.

Fifth, Mr Wise Guy can't fix laptops. So if you got a hardware problem with your motherboard or sound card or whatever in your laptop, I can't fix it! So, get a desktop, and I could fix your comp in no time! haha. Yeap, frankly speaking, desktop parts are cheaper and easier to replace than laptops. Desktops are easier to upgrade too! Let's say you're pissed off with your graphics card, and decide to change it, you could do it anytime. But with a laptop, there's more to it than buying a card from Sim Lim Square.

So, it all depends on your needs to answer this question, Desktop or a Laptop? Which one should I buy?

I'd recommend a laptop if you need it to do work at the workplace (though it might not be necessary for offices with computers), school lectures (tablet pcs are cool and handy to take down notes), impress people (perhaps meeting a client?) or if you need to be connected to the internet all the time. Otherwise, a desktop will suffice like me!

Have a good time shopping! And COMEX 2008 is COMING!!!

I had Technical Communication today, some course I had to take to improve the way engineers communicate to the general public. As you know, engineers are rather quiet people who keep to themselves and are deep thinkers, so, improving our communication skills is a necessity to enable us to be of usefulness in a group.

Apparently Batman faces the same problems as us engineers... Credit goes to SA Sam, a long time army buddy of mine for recommending me this youtube video. ENJOY!

I had a study session today at my alma mater, Singapore Polytechnic. It was much to my surprise to see a half-filled (or is it a half-full) library when the polytechnic examinations are only next week. heheh. This is so unlike NTU's library where you can see rows upon rows of students at the desks doing tutorials and what have you. A scene to behold be it a week before examinations, or even on the first week of school. Like what the...

So, I attempted my tutorials which was doable. Doable meaning, needing constant reference to the lecture notes to do it. Now, that's what I call high level learning. Everything you learn is something new and there is no slight chance that you can do the tutorial with just pure guesswork alone. This is so true for math as I struggled to do question #1 for close to 3 hours.

Tried and tried, but to no avail. I was sooo stressed up, I had to resort to taking a break and went to pray. hahah. Yeah, its that difficult and tedious. Tomorrow, another day in school, 3 hours of lecture, and 2 hours of talking cock.

I got tickets to the Parade this year thanks to my lovely missus! Woohooo! I've never been to an actual day parade, and I was thrilled to hear the news even though I've been to quite a handful of previews. But like they said, nothing beats the real thing as the best is usually kept for the actual occasion.

So yeah, we landed at Raffles Place at around 1430 hours, planning to reach early to beat the jam and the masses who will come at 1645 as stated on the ticket. Had lunch, and we walked all the way from the Raffles Place MRT area, to the seating gallery. It was cool seeing thousands upon thousands of Singaporeans (and foreign workers lazing on the fields like cows) walking towards the Esplanade, massing for the party. hehe. Like what the seniors say, you don't feel tired walking in a group.

As planned, the entry points weren't jammed yet and I came across a dozen of my army friends manning the checkpoints. heheh. Pitiful sight. I really wanted to shout "ORD LO!" but held back as the possibility of getting mauled to death by the gazillions of servicemen was quite high. heheh. Though I'm a risk-taker, I calculate my risk well you see....

Lined up for security screening which I failed miserably as I had a lot of metal objects with me. Handphone, wallet, keys, coins, motorcycle keys, etc etc. Was told to step aside, and the prodded me with the metal detector. Standard Operating Procedure, so to speak.

Lined up again to collect the goodie bags. Standard Singaporeans pushing and shoving to get them even though there are thousands piled high up to be distributed. Like what the hell. There wasn't even a huge queue and people are already pushing from behind. So typical. I hate this.

Got seated, and watched the Parade. I didn't take much pictures of the actual parade as you guys might have watched it on TV. But do check back again for MY pictures aight to be posted sometime next week or on some weekday depending on my schedule. heheh. Though I don't have the pictures now, I do have a video of the fireworks display on youtube! ENJOY!

We bought a toy for Coco and Cika a few weeks back. It basically has a ball which is free to move round and round within the disc and is great fun seeing the both of them prodding the ball. Coco is much more mature nowadays, seeming to develop motherly instincts towards Cika, the younger one. She'd lick Cika as if Coco is cleaning her everytime they come across each other in the house. Check the both of them out here in this video! Enjoy!

This is an overdue entry but who cares?

I passed my Class 2B and it is all that matters! Haha! I'm so thankful to the continuous support, encouragement and prayers that everyone has given me. Without the support, I don't think I will be given the right to ride a Class 2B motorcycle.

I took the test last Monday along with 89 other hopefuls. It was like any other ordinary motorbike lesson. I woke up, had breakfast, get dressed and was soon waiting for my turn on the bike. I didn't feel nervous, and I was acting as if the TP test was just a mere formality to get my license. heheh.

Now, I'm really really excited to own my first bike!

What lies after the Alexandra Arch is the floral walk. It might not be as grand as some might expect, but it'll suffice, so to speak. Lots and lots of flowers line the paths (alright, I do not have a photo of that...), and I was overjoyed to see that there are lots of 'Macro' photo opportunities here. And so I went, from flower to flower trying to get the National Geographic look-a-like photos.







Hortpark lies at the end of the path. Free entry!





As you go deeper into HortPark, you'll realise its like a huge advertising space but in the form of a park. There are a lot of stuff that is placed in the park that promotes the company that built it. One good example is the photo below. This particular company seem to have a knack for 'greenising' the walls of buildings, and they have numerous walls to showcase different designs.


In Hortpark, there are other smaller gardens...









And at the end of it all, there is a greenhouse, that seems to be not open to the public. There wasn't anyone in the greenhouse in the first place and looks kinda deserted. So, with Hortpark already covered, we took the rear exit and walked to the nearest bus stop to get back to Harbourfront.


Along the way back, we came across this old Metro Building. Retro Metro...

That sums up the Henderson Waves Excursion! Frankly speaking, these 4 parts have been the most strenuous undertaking mrwiseguyblog.com has ever taken. I hope you guys enjoyed the photographs!