Happy Chinese New Year

Here’s wishing everyone a Happy Chinese New Year! This year would be my year, since I was born in the year of the cow ox, and 2009 is also the year of the ox.

According to astrology.com, oxen are supposed to have a pretty good year. How about you?

I haven’t been celebrating Chinese New Year for a couple of years ever since I came to Singapore (except that time I was in Indonesia while waiting to enter university, and the two years that I was in a relationship). That’s why to me Chinese New Year is mostly associated with the lack of cheap food in Singapore, since only restaurants and fast food outlets are open. Most food stalls in hawker centres and food courts are closed. Sometimes if you’re lucky, you will find one or two Malay or Indian food stalls open near you.

Are you aware that the Chinese has a set of beliefs that they observe during the new year? Wikipedia has a list of them.

Good luck

• Opening windows and/or doors is considered to bring in the good luck of the new year.
• Switching on the lights for the night is considered good luck to ’scare away’ ghosts and spirits of misfortune that may compromise the luck and fortune of the new year.
• Sweets are eaten to ensure the consumer a “sweet” year.
• It is important to have the house completely clean from top to bottom before New Year’s Day for good luck in the coming year. (however, as explained below, cleaning the house after New Year’s Day is frowned upon)
• Some believe that what happens on the first day of the new year reflects the rest of the year to come. Chinese people will often gamble at the beginning of the year, hoping to get luck and prosperity.
• Wearing a new pair of slippers that is bought before the new year, because it means to step on the people who gossip about you.
• The night before the new year, bathe yourself in pomelo leaves and some say that you will be healthy for the rest of the new year.

Bad luck

• Buying a pair of shoes is considered bad luck amongst some Chinese. The character for “shoe” (鞋) is a homophone for the character 諧/谐, which means “rough” in Cantonese; in Mandarin it is also a homophone for the character for “evil” (邪).
• Getting a hair-cut in the first lunar month puts a curse on maternal uncles. Therefore, people get a hair-cut before the New Year’s Eve.
• Washing your hair is also considered to be washing away one’s own luck (although modern hygienic concerns take precedence over this tradition)
• Sweeping the floor is usually forbidden on the first day, as it will sweep away the good fortune and luck for the new year.
• Saying words like “finished” and “gone” is inauspicious on the New Year, so sometimes people would avoid these words by saying “I have completed eating my meal” rather than say “I have finished my meal.”
• Talking about death is inappropriate for the first few days of Chinese New Year, as it is considered inauspicious.
• Buying books is bad luck because the character for “book” (書/书) is a homonym to the character for “lose” (輸/输).
• Avoid clothes in black and white, as black is a symbol of bad luck, and white is a traditional Chinese funeral colour.
• Foul language is inappropriate during the Chinese New Year.
• Offering anything in fours, as the number four (四), pronounced sì, can sound like “death” (死) in Chinese. See tetraphobia.
• Also you should never buy a clock for someone or for yourself because, a clock in Chinese tradition means your life is limited or “the end” which is also forbidden
• Avoid medicine and medicine related activities (at least on the first day) as it will give a bad fortune on your health and lessen the luck you can obtain from New Years

Karangan Terbaik UPSR 2007

Got this off a note in Facebook. I thought it is quite funny. You need to know Malay though.

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Karangan Terbaik UPSR 2007
Karangan budak darjah 4

Pagi itu pagi minggu. Cuaca cukup sejuk sehingga mencapai takat suhu beku. Sebab itu saya tidak mandi pagi sebab air kolah jadi air batu dan air paip tidak mahu keluar sebab beku di dalam batang paip. Pagi itu saya bersarapan dengan keluarga di dalam unggun api kerana tidak tahan sejuk. Selepas itu emak saya mengajak saya menemaninya ke pasar. Tetapi saya tidak mahu.

Selepas emak menikam perut saya berkali-kali dengan garfu barulah saya bersetuju untuk mengikutnya. Kami berjalan sejauh 120 kilometer kerana pasar itu letaknya 128 kilometer dari rumah. Lagi 8 kilometer nak sampai pasar saya ternampak sebuah lori kontena meluru dengan laju dari arah belakang.

Dia melanggar emak saya. Emak saya tercampak ke dalam gaung. Dia menjerit “Adoi!”. Lepas itu emak saya naik semula dan mengejar lori tersebut. Saya pun turut berlari di belakang emak saya kerana takut emak saya melanggar lori itu pula. Pemandu lori itu nampak kami mengejarnya. Dia pun memecut lebih laju iaitu sama dengan kelajuan cahaya. Kami pula terpaksa mengejar dengan lebih laju iaitu sama dengan dua kali ganda kelajuan cahaya. Emak saya dapat menerajang tayar depan lori itu. Lori itu terbabas dan melanggar pembahagi jalan lalu bertembung dengan sebuah feri. Feri itu terbelah dua.

Penumpang feri itu yang seramai 100 orang semuanya mati. Pemandu feri itu sangat marah. Dia pun bertukar menjadi Ultraman dan memfire pemandu lori. Pemandu lori menekan butang khas di dalam lori dia..lori itu bertukar menjadi robot Transformer. Mereka bergaduh di udara. Emak saya tidak puas hati. Dia pun terus menyewa sebuah helikopter di Genting
Highlands dan terus ke tempat kemalangan. Dia melanggar pemandu feri yang telah bertukar menjadi Ultraman itu.

Pemandu feri itu terkejut dan terus bertukar menjadi pemandu feri semula lalu terhempas ke jalanraya. Pemandu feri itu pecah. Pemandu lori sangat takut melihat kejadian itu. Dia meminta maaf dari emak saya. Dia menghulurkan tangan ingin bersalam. Tetapi emak saya masih marah. Dia menyendengkan helikopternya dan mengerat tangan pemandu lori itu dengan kipas helikopter. Pemandu lori itu menjerit “Adoi..!” dan jatuh ke bumi. Emak say menghantar helikopter itu ke Genting Highlands. Bila dia balik ke tempat kejadian, dia terus memukul pemandu lori itu dengan beg tangannya sambil memarahi pemandu lori itu di dalam bahasa Inggeris.

Pemandu lori itu tidak dapat menjawab sebab emak saya cakap orang putih. Lalu pemandu lori itu mati. Tidak lama kemudian kereta polis pun sampai. Dia membuat lapuran ke ibu pejabatnya tentang kemalangan ngeri itu. Semua anggota polis di pejabat polis itu terperanjat lalu mati. Orang ramai mengerumuni tempat kejadian kerana ingin mengetahui apa yang telah terjadi. Polis yang bertugas cuba menyuraikan orang ramai lalu dia menjerit menggunakan pembesar suara. Orang ramai terperanjat dan semuanya mati.

Selepas itu emak saya mengajak saya ke pasar untuk mengelak lebih ramai lagi yang akan mati. Di pasar, emak saya menceritakan kejadian itu kepada penjual daging. Penjual daging dan peniaga-peniaga berhampiran yang mendengar cerita itu semuanya terkejut dan mati. Saya dan emak saya terus berlari balik ke rumah. Kerana terlalu penat sebaik saja sampai di rumah kami pun mati. Itulah kemalangan yang paling ngeri yang pernah saya lihat sebelum saya mati.

Happy New Year 2009

It’s the new year and I’m having a great time at home.

It’s just a one week holiday, but it’s very packed right to the brim with visits to grandma’s place, a volcanic crater, grandpa’s resting place, and cousin’s wedding. Add great home-cooked food. And not to forget the Flight Experience flight that I took just before I went home. Honestly, I don’t even know if I have the time to blog them out at all.

In any case, here’s wishing everyone in Singapore a very happy new year! May 2009 be a wonderful year for everyone.

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Technically, it’s not new year yet at my place, since the time here is one hour earlier than Singapore. But heh, since my blog is set on Singapore time, I might as well send my new year greetings according to Singapore’s time zone.

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And don’t forget, 2008 was one second longer due to the leap second. Did you send your wishes too early?

Happy New Year
ABBA

No more champagne
And the fireworks are through
Here we are, me and you
Feeling lost and feeling blue

It’s the end of the party
And the morning seems so grey
So unlike yesterday
Now’s the time for us to say…

Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every neighbour is a friend

Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we don’t we might as well lay down and die
You and I

Sometimes I see
How the brave new world arrives
And I see how it thrives
In the ashes of our lives

Oh yes, man is a fool
And he thinks he’ll be okay
Dragging on, feet of clay
Never knowing he’s astray
Keeps on going anyway…

Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every neighbour is a friend

Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we dont we might as well lay down and die
You and I

Seems to me now
That the dreams we had before
Are all dead, nothing more
Than confetti on the floor

It’s the end of a decade
In another ten year’s time
Who can say what we’ll find
What lies waiting down the line
In the end of eighty-nine…

Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every neighbour is a friend

Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we don’t we might as well lay down and die
You and I

Flight Experience

Some of you might have known that I am pretty much obsessed with aviation. One of the dreams that I have in the future is to be able to pilot my own airplane.

I am taking one step closer to that dream, and I have booked a 90-minute flight at Flight Experience for this Sunday, 28 December.

Flight Experience brings the commercial airliner pilot experience to normal people like you and me, by providing a fixed-base flight simulator that looks and feels like a Boeing 737-800 cockpit. Supposedly, it is so detailed that even airliners use the facility for training purposes. In Singapore, Flight Experience is located at Singapore Flyer, which is currently having a breakdown.

Here’s how it looks like inside:

Some shots of the overhead panel:

And the Flight Management Computer:

And here are two sample videos of the flights:

I am allowed to bring 2 guests for the flight. One is taken by my brother, while the other is still free.

I would like to invite one of my friends for the flight as a guest.

I intend to make the 90-minute flight a good learning experience. According to the planned itinerary, we will be covering basic flying skills similar to what is taught on a PPL (private pilot license) course, i.e. effects of controls, steep turns, stalls, circuit flying, etc.

As a guest, you won’t be allowed to touch any of the controls. However, you are welcome to listen in and learn a thing or two about the flight simulator experience. Probably, you will also get to understand my obsession with flying. Who knows, you might just be interested in flying yourself!

You don’t have to pay a single cent, the flight cost is on me.

To participate, drop me a message (email, MSN, SMS, comment, Plurk, or in fact any other ways you can reach me) and let me know why you should be chosen. Don’t worry, they don’t even have to be related to flying or aviation. I will contact you by end of day of 4 pm, 27 December if you’re chosen. I know it’s very tight, but I’ve just booked the flight today.

The terms and conditions are simple: you just have to be able to come to Singapore Flyer on time by 9.30 am on 28 December, and bring a photo ID along for identification.

Be aware that the flight is 90-minute long, and some people might experience motion sickness. Also, this is my first time using such a simulator, so don’t expect to get perfect landings on the first few tries.

Merry Christmas

This entry is probably published a little late, but by the magic of WordPress’s timestamp editing feature, it seems to have been posted early on Christmas Day.

Well, anyway, here’s wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

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Actually, the real reason why I publish this entry is because I found a very interesting Christmas song on YouTube.

Have a look.

I mean, have a listen.

The song was done in Mario Paint, released in 1992 for the SNES. Don’t you think that the song produced is rather cute?

What is more interesting is that despite the limitation of Mario Paint (most notably the maximum limit of 3 notes at a time), adolfobaez, the composer, has managed to create a decent rendition of the song.

Here are other songs by the same person.

Summer Nights from Grease.

I Get Around by Beach Boys.

Check out more of his videos. If you like games, you’ll find many of his songs familiar.

In Pursuit of a Suit

Some of you might have known that I will be flying home this end of the year to attend my cousin’s wedding ceremony reception. Among the first things that hit me was that since this is the wedding of my own extended family, I will need to wear a suit.

The next thing that hit me was the headache of finding a nice suit to wear.

A couple of days ago, my flatmate had kindly brought me on a tour of the so-called 4 shopping corners of Orchard Road/Scotts Road (namely Wisma Atria, Tangs, Marks & Spencers at Wheelock Place, and ISETAN at Shaw Towers). I didn’t buy anything from any of those places for two reasons: the price of the suit at those places are rather expensive, and I wanted to have a look at other more economical (i.e. cheaper) places for comparison.

It was only after I met up with Daphne, Sylv, and Darran over dinner at Suntec City’s Sizzler’s, that I brought up the topic of the suit with them.

Less than two hours after the dinner, I walked out of G2000 with a garment bag containing the suit, and a plastic bag containing the shirt, and matching pants. Also in the plastic bag is an extra T-shirt I bought in order to top up the spending to get two free $10 vouchers.

From Random

The gloomy weather and my lousy Photoshop skills didn’t do justice to the quality of the suit.

Total damage? $210.55.

Suit Blazer: $219.00 50% discount: $109.50
Suit Pants: $79.00 30% discount: $55.30
Formal Shirt: $59.00 30% discount: $41.30
T-Shirt: $33.00 Promotional price: $19.00
Garment bag: $8.00

Sub-total: $233.10
10% DBS card discount (for all items except garment bag): ($22.51)
Rounding: ($0.04)
Total: $210.55

Now I know how it feels like when girls go shopping.

Although it feels good to buy something that makes me look good, I also dread 3 February, when my credit card bill is due.

Anyway, many thanks to Daphne, Sylv, and Darran for accompanying and helping me choose a nice suit.

Boss’s Reaction During Recession

Got this from a forwarded email. Thought it was quite cute.

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Boss Reaction During Recession

In the beginning…
Boss: Be good, you will be fine.

After a week…
Must Work Hard k?

After a month…
Must Work Hard for “Lim Peh” you know!

After a Quarter…
Can you hear me? You must work hard!!!

Desires for Egg Nog

The blurb for this drink says:

“Egg Nog Desire

Inhale the aroma of traditional Egg Nog with a unique remix of liqueur coffee. tcc’s special creation just for you!”

I’m trying out this drink at tcc (The Coffee Connoisseur? TOP Coffee Connoisseur? Tantalising Caffeine Concoctions?) Suntec City right now. Don’t you think it looks pretty nice?

The coffee is good. The warm liqueur taste is quite strong, while the bitterness of the coffee is complemented by the sweetness of the chocolate rice. Mix that with eggnog, made of milk, cream, sugar, beaten eggs, and you get the perfect drink for the festive season.

A single-shot goes for $13.80++, while a double-shot one (pictured above) goes for another $1.20.

Email Tip #2327

Ever wanted to irritate the hell out of people you are supposed to send an email to?

Simple.

Just write a simple email, attach a document, and send.

And then, realize that you made a typo error, change that error, and send again.

Then, discover that you shouldn’t put the words “Thank you.” on a line on its own, fix it, and then send again.

Go to your office, and well, just to be sure, send the email again.

And then be wary that the email system may have gobbled up your email, and send again.

Then make sure the email system really gives you an error (even though the email is already sent), and send again.

While you’re at it, let’s send the email one more time.

(Click for a larger view)

Irritating… BTW, this is the second time it happened.

Fun with Time Dilation

Time dilation is a phenomenon where an observer feels that another clock ticks at a slower rate compared to their own clock.

According to Einstein’s theory of relativity, clocks that are moving relative to an inertial system of observation are measured to be running slower. To put it in other words, a clock on a moving object seems to be running slower than one on a stationary object. The dilation is related to the speed, in that the faster the object moves, the slower the clock is.

One popular manifestation of this effect is in the story where one side of a pair of twins go on a journey on a space craft. The other twin, on the other hand, stays on earth. Ten years later on earth, the adjourning twin returns to earth. Although the twin that stays on earth has aged 10 years, the one that went on the space journey has barely aged one year.

Those who know the story of Planet of the Apes may find this phenomenon familiar. In the novel, the protagonist travels a few centuries into the future while on a space ship. From his point of view, he feels as if he is away only for several years on the space ship.

This phenomenon can probably be exploited in other ways. Remember that time dilation states that as you move faster, your clock will seem to move slower to others.

This brings a solution to a problem where an office worker feels bored while in the office, and is waiting for end of office hours to come. All he needs to do is to move as fast as possible, and the one minute that he feels may be ten minutes as felt by others (who for the sake of argument are assumed to be stationary here). From his point of view, he only needs to wait for one minute instead of ten. This brings a brilliant solution, one that will put an end to all office boredom.

The only problem he has to solve now is to figure out how he can move at such a speed (close to the speed of light), while at the same time staying intact and not broken up as he moves through air (and other objects).