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&changes;Sunday, August 8, 2010This is a log of changes made; it perhaps will occur that I have to come back and edit this page somewhere in the future.8/8/10 Total rehaul of the blog skin. I found the old blog skin too messy and it squeezed all of the content to two tiny columns in the middle of the page. After fiddling around with the Merchant Of Venice plot map, I gave up and sought for a newer skin that would give me sufficient space to work with and yet keep a nice, clean layout. This new skin exactly fits my description. I brought back tabbed browsing because it keeps my information neatly stored where I need it, and thus the elimination of a mess on the page with the posts, profile, links, tagboard et cetera. Additionally, it has a cyan/navy colour scheme that looks really nice. Practically all the content and preferences were copied over from the last time, so everything should work out fine. I hope.4/3/10 Names, times and dates are finally showing as they should, I hope. 27/2/10 After spending a good few days scratching my head while staring at the miniscule line of single-width characters filling up my screen, some minor bugs in the HTML are finally corrected! :) Firstly, the two white textboxes which happened to strangely float away somehow was put back in their supposed positions and are currently kept under lock and key. Secondly, the sidebar was revamped with new info and a chatbox to match the colour scheme of the blog. Thirdly, the archives problem was finally sent into the chasms of a black hole that roams...why, just outside your window. Finally, the paragraphing was fixed with the help of the trusty tool called the human body. 5/2/10 Even though I have changed the blog skin, I still brought some of my preferences into the new blog. After pondering over this choice, I have, again, scrapped everything. Here is a brief summary of these new new changes. Firstly, comments were put back on. Previously, I disabled commenting as I felt that it would result in much spamming and/or flaming which would be very inconvenient for me to handle. In order for me to accommodate both comments and purity, I have reenabled comments, and changed the settings such that I will moderate all the comments that come in, and thus be able to filter any inappropriate material. Secondly, archives were put back on. Previously, my blog was set to having no archive, and thus having every existent post on the blog itself directly. Now, as I have changed the skin, this is no longer practical as the already miniscule scroll bar would be extremely hard to manipulate. Thus archives came back to life and appear within the sidebar on the right. Thirdly, the chatbox was put back on. Previously, I had removed it due to some corruption in the data which could not be resolved. Honestly, the reason why it stayed off was that I was too lazy to examine the problem. Well, after this major revamping this has been one of my goals, which I have achieved within this short span of what... ~5 days. Lastly, I removed the tabbing style of the previous blog skin. I decided that an image map of the cat would be too complex and difficult for a viewer to find, so I just placed my info in the textbox at the right-hand side which used to just hold the chatbox. 1/2/10 I decided, after the multiple complaints, that the blog skin was way too illegible. The main cause was that the background was black and white, which conflicted with any colour placed on it. I tried bolding the font, increasing the font size and even changing the text colour to blue, but the problem persisted. Even though the layout was nice and the navigation was cool, I found it to be unreadable too, so I scrapped the entire template and sourced out a new, neater one from blogskins.com. This new skin depicts a black cat on a red background, both ominous signs of impending doom. This shows my newfound enjoyment in doing things that are opposite of the norm, and taking delight in challenging traditions. Of course, they have to be logical and rational, or...whatever. It also removes the problem of navigation, as the previous blog was slightly subtle in revealing its navigational format. 8:46 PMmy.take//dbs.bankingFriday, August 6, 2010This is my true take on the recent DBS banking problem.When it was revealed that the cause of the DBS banking shutdown was merely a technical fault due to expired computer parts, I had nothing to say. It was human error, and since technology moves so fast nowadays something that came out a few months ago could be rendered void within the next week. However, this does alert us because the banking system is widespread across Singapore. The major concern with incidents such as this is that instead of a mechanical fault it was the work of an opposition country, terrorist group or pranksters. Instead of the system of a single banking company going down, it could be the entire economic system of Singapore. Everything would be affected. Credit cards, ez-link cards, ATMs, online banking et cetera would all go dead. Retail outlets would be unable to operate. Stock markets would fail. The impact would be long and hard. An even more horrific scene would be that the electronic structure of Singapore is invaded. This would cut off all electric supply to the entirety of Singapore, leading to chaos and problems occurring everywhere. It would pose major problems for security. The simplest of all mechanical faults has shown us that such a thing is possible even with today's standards of technology. In addition, computer hacking is a crime without enemies: it is impossible to find the perpetrator. In 2007, South Korea's internet system was subject to hacking. Although the main internet network was not disrupted severely, the hacker was able to retrieve confidential government emails and information. A report on the hacking identified 86 possible IP addresses coming from 16 countries; however, their prime suspect North Korea was not amongst the list. Without any evidence, they were unable to request any country to do a detailed investigation regarding this; if they were to request that of all 16 countries, their expenditure would be way more than their loss. Anybody with a computer, internet access and sufficient computer knowledge could possibly hack into a network. All in all, apart from our government taking extreme care when handling its internet security and reducing co-reliance on internet systems, we can also regularly change our password. This is to prevent our computers from being used as a tool to cause massive disruption, and thereby to prevent ourselves from being the framed party of hacking. 6:33 PMmy.take//judicial.punishmentMonday, August 2, 2010My current affairs role aside, this is my true take on judicial punishment in Singapore.Judicial punishment refers to the act of punishment as carried out by a court or similar judicial system. Specifically in Singapore, this refers to the act of caning as a form of judicial corporal punishment. In my opinion, the main reason why Singapore would continue to do such a thing as opposed to signing the Humans Rights Act is because Singapore has to show that, although it is a small country, it is still an independent and stable country, and has its own set of ideals instead of jumping onto an international bandwagon. Certainly this is acceptable in some cases, such as perhaps a murder or rape incident committed by a foreigner on Singapore ground. However, I do feel that such a painful and scarring act should not be inflicted upon a criminal of a minor offense. Certainly in this case Oliver Fricker did not deserve the caning (neither did Michael Fay a few years ago). The main crime he committed was vandalism of the SMRT train. This action is easily reversible and is not a show of violence. It does not directly inflict harm on anybody either. However, he was still given three strokes of the cane and sentenced to five months jail (now possibly nine months). Indeed, a jail term of nine months would seem more appropriate to vandalism and trespassing, but the caning seems disproportionate to the crime that he had committed. This is also similar to the Michael Fay incident, where vandalism was also the main crime. The effects of caning are not only the immediate physical and mental discomfort, but also the lifelong scar and reminder of his childishness. While this may be an effective method of deterrence both to him in the future and to others, it is only one of many punishment possibilities. Yes, I know that during the CA session I mentioned that other alternatives such as jailing and corrective work order turn up to be largely ineffective, and fines are too mere an effort to be considered as punishment for vandalism. Still, there are various combinations of methods that could work out as plausible alternatives. For example, counselling in combination with jailing could be a humane and mentality-directed method to curb the recurrence of the criminal actions. It is definitely more effective to sort somebody's thinking straight than to repeatedly cane him. Judicial punishment in Singapore today seems like an effective way to drive off investors and possible foreign talents due to the strict law regulations in Singapore. If a young graduate fresh out of university were to think rationally, he probably would not choose Singapore as a work arena because one little slip would cost him his entire life. (Of course there are other reasons but I'm not going into that.) Is it alright to sacrifice the chances of foreign talents choosing Singapore over other industrialized countries just to show how Singapore doesn't tag along with other countries? In conclusion, obviously caning should be used for extremely serious offences, but really, can vandalism be counted? 1:03 PMfontstructFriday, July 23, 2010Recently I stumbled upon this really cool website called FontStruct (really cool for my design-oriented dark side). Basically what you can do on this website is create fonts out of modules. The main tool is called the FontStructor and it allows you to place modules onto a grid for ~2000 different text characters. Here you can see it at work: Apart from creating fonts, you can also share it with the font community, and view and download others' works as well. And the best part is: all this is for free! :D The main reason why this website interests me is because I have always been wanting to make fonts but unable to find suitable software to do so. Additionally, this website has really intuitive tools, but has even more functions and stuff for more advanced font-makers. I myself have created a serif font with loads of support for additional and extended Latin groups. I really like the look of it (obviously because I created it myself). You can find my font here. 9:08 PMpalettes//8Monday, July 19, 2010 In a far corner of the room... A sprite lurks, hidden in the shadows. A sprite lurks. Good night. /*I cant think of anything to write about my palettes any more D: I'll just post a whole bunch of them and if I have anything to say I'll say it. */ /*Maybe...I won't post any more.*/ 10:58 AMhow.to//blog.skinHow to create a blog skin: a 12-step guide.Step 1: Choose between a geek and a nerd. Yeah yeah, this thing again. If you chose a geek then you are probably well versed in coding and you will use Notepad (or any text editor). If you chose a nerd you probably know lots of stuff but nothing computer related. So you probably can't create a blog skin cuz Dreamweaver does not have most of the required elements. Adios. Step 2: Decide on your layout: what you are gonna have on the screen. You could draw up a design plan on a sheet of paper first. How are you going to sort the information? Tabs or no tabs? Any images? Here are a few common/simple layouts:  Step 3: Choose a theme. Although grabbing a theme isn't strictly necessary, it will help you to get hold of ideas more easily. You can choose something as specific as cake, watermelons or muffins, or something as generic as blue, flight or ambience. Always keep your theme in mind. Step 4: Create a background. If you are planning something complex on the foreground, choose a really simple one, like a pattern or a gradient. If you have something simple on the foreground you can experiment more here. Step 5: Create any other images you might need. This includes images for the tag board, for the title, a decorative border et cetera. Make sure they fit into your layout. Step 6: Build your code: Part 1. Code in your structure. All tab bars, nav bars, and div/span blocs are to be put in at this stage. This forms the base where you can build stuff up. Test your site to see if it fits your supposed layout. However, resist the temptation to style your skin first, as we have to add in all the other content stuff first. If you style your skin now and something messes up later, you are in deep sh1t. Step 7: Build your code: Part 2. Grab all of Blogger's defined elements:
Step 8: Build your code: Part 3. Upload all your images to a reliable source (such as flickr or photobucket, or even tinypic as a last resort). Put in all the images into your code and be sure to test it out. If any of the links are wrong, change them at this stage before cramming in all the other stuff. Step 9: Build your code: Part 4. Style your skin. Yes, go crazy. Do not use external style sheets, however, because it would be troublesome to upload, especially if you are thinking of sharing your skin on BlogSkins. Remember to repeatedly test your code out, and save multiple copies in case you mess something up seriously. Step 10: Build your code: Part 5. Add in scripts. This is put for the last because it is the thing that most likely could utterly destroy your work, so SAVE MULTIPLE COPIES!!! If you do not need scripts, all the better. Step 11: Upload this to a test blog. Try it out and see if the posts and images et cetera work out as they should. If not, try to identify the error and correct it. I find the Firebug addon for Firefox really helpful here cuz you can go to the faulty div itself and see what styling/scripting has been applied to it and made it messy. Step 12: Once your code works, upload to BlogSkins.com. Share it with the community. Who knows. your skin may become popular! Use it on your blog also, to show off your own skin. And that's how you create a blog skin. Labels: How to 10:46 AMgame.review//cave.storySaturday, July 10, 2010Cave Story (tribute site here) is a Japanese freeware PC side-scrolling platformer game (wow that's a lot of adjectives), built solely by Daisuke Amaya, a.k.a. Studio Pixel. Don't worry, it has been translated into English by the team at Aeon Genesis. It is an example of a retro-style game, with pixel graphics and chiptune music.In this game, you play the character Quote, a robot sent from 'the surface' to a floating island to eradicate the evil force of the Demon Crown. Along the way, something happened and you fainted, and your revival begins this game. The natives, Mimigas, are growing red flowers for the Doctor, the current wearer of the Crown, for evil purposes: these flowers, if consumed by Mimigas, will turn them into frenzied forms capable of massive destruction. AND THAT'S ALL FOR SPOILERS!!!! Through the course of gameplay, you collect weapons, items and health capsules, and meet both friends and foe. You have to advance through seven areas and defeat not one, not two, not three, not four ... many bosses. Pixel spent five years working on this project, developing intuitive controls, a smart plotline, a host of characters and monsters, 2D artwork and great music. In addition, there are three alternate endings, easter egg items, bonuses and challenges. Combine all these together and you get a Cave Story experience not like another. It is a rather lengthy game for freeware, though you could probably complete the best ending in one day with sufficient spammage. This is probably one of the most addictive freeware games I have ever played. I totally love Cave Story. There is just so much to do! Unlike brainless killing games like Halo, Cave Story actually requires some thinking and intelligence, and its complex structure of sub-plots and quests make it a really indescribably boomz game. Go play it. Seriously. I bet even a (boring old) teacher would like it. If you are a teacher, I dare you to play this. Also, the tribute site has a whole bunch of other stuff to fiddle with. The soundtrack is up for download. There are music editing tools. There are map and game editing tools. There are hacks. There are other Pixel works. There is artwork. There are walkthroughs. There are cheats. There are fan works. There is even a huge forum full of information about and around the game. I personally love the OrgMaker music editing tool cuz I love music. This is a really clever and simple editing tool with built-in sounds and drumsets. Oh, have I mentioned that this was built by Pixel too? All in all, Cave Story is really, really, really, REALLY a pretty cool game. Final verdict: 10/10. Not a single bad point to pin up. A must-play. 1:09 PMhow.to//piano.diplomaMonday, July 5, 2010How to get a piano diploma: a 12-step guide.Step 1: Firstly, you need to actually decide to take the diploma. Seriously. If you have doubts about this, then make sure you are certain before going, cuz once you've started you can't stop. Step 2: Choose between a chicken and a cow. If you chose the chicken, go for DipATCL. It is sufficient meat, and it is also easy to rear, making it a simple way. If you chose the cow, go for DipABRSM. It is chunky and full of meat, but a tough one -- you need the grass to graze, clean water, comfortable environment... Step 3: Look at the diplomas available. I know that the DipABRSM has Music Performance, Music Direction and Teaching, and what they are generally about are: music performance, music direction and teaching respectively. I chose Music Performance, so the rest of this guide probably pertains to that the most. Step 4: Submit the application form. On time. This is probably the most important step, cuz if you don't do this, you probably can't take the diploma. Step 5: Choose your pieces. Preferably choose one from each period -- Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Contemporary -- and get one or two lengthy pieces like a sonata or something. My personal choices were:
Step 7: Love your pieces. Listen to them on the bus. Dream about them. Get to know them really well, perhaps even memorise them. This step may seem superfluous but trust me, it's necessary. Step 8: Step 9: Make sure your pieces and prog notes are perfect. Consult a teacher/senior/friend/parent/uncle/cat/dog/umbrella that is proficient in music and has (probably) taken a diploma before. Apart from giving a copy to my piano teacher, I posted my prog notes on Facebook for my friends and schoolmates to comment on. This happens to be a really good method of getting suggestions and improvements to your notes. Step 10: Prepare for your viva voce, also known as the examiners-asking-you-random-difficult-questions-about-your-pieces part. Again, Step 7 comes in handy. Look a the ABRSM website for sample questions, or ask your teacher/senior/friend...whatever. Step 11: Anxiously await the arrival of the letter of doom. Nah, not really -- by now you should be prepared and ready for the message detailing the time and place of your examination. Just make sure you get it. Step 12: Take the diploma examination. Duh. What did you think? And that's how you get a piano diploma. Labels: How to 12:25 AMEυγενήςWednesday, June 30, 2010It was a clear night, and stars shone through the layer of clouds. The moon, however, was nowhere to be found. Johnny trudged down the brick path, and stepped into the train station. He looked at the time signboard, and continued on his silent walk.The next train would be due in two minutes, just enough time for Johnny to reach the platform. As the train rumbled deeply into the station, he sleepily yawned and entered the carriage. A gust of cool air hit him as he held on to a handrail. Just then, two foreign men hurriedly entered the carriage, and upon seeing two empty seats in front of Johnny, quickly plonked themselves on them. Well, there was still one empty seat next to them, but this was a reserved seat, and Johnny obviously would not sit there. As the train rumbled on, the men began to converse. They were speaking in some foreign language, which sounded strangely familiar to Johnny. He did not have to strain his ears, though, because their volume seemed to uncontrollably be turned up to max. "You can't consider it eavesdropping," thought Johnny, "if they are speaking so loud for you to hear, right?" At that moment, they appeared to turn to him and the taller one said, "Asseyez-vous, petit garçon, s'il vous plaît!" and they burst out into peals of laughter. "Venez, il y a un place ici!" the shorter one continued. Johnny was not the slightest bit amused, but he kept this to himself. He proceeded to turn away from them and concentrate on the view outside. The stars had illuminated the roads and the buildings, and the pseudo-mysterious atmosphere was appealing. The obnoxious foreign men, however, were reluctant to give up their persuading and kept on mocking Johnny. As it neared his stop, Johnny happily stepped over to the door, ready to be free from their nonsense. As they laughed away, however, a fat woman situated herself right on the reserved seat, looking at the men, and sensuously said, "Hello." The men suddenly fell quiet. The doors suddenly slid open. Johnny stepped out, but turned back his head and said, "Non, merci. Bonne nuit!" Oh, it was a clear night indeed. 9:18 AMΣύν-αἴσθησιςThursday, June 24, 2010He walked coolly down the street, his arms cradled around a young child. He peeked out from under his jonquil cap. The street signs blared at him, fighting to outdo each other. He finally reached his destination, and stepped into Springfield Medical Research Institute, smiling fondly at its familiar and yet awkward pink and blue signboard.No, they said, many years ago. He didn’t have a medical problem. It was just a trait, like those people who could roll their tongues or had green eyes. He wasn’t abnormal, he was unique. When he asked why the letter ‘V’ was yellow-ochre, they couldn’t answer him. They didn’t have an answer. They found out back when he was only five. One of them, Igor, was sitting in for one of the kindergarten’s lessons, to examine how their teacher connected psychologically with her students. They were revising the alphabet when he raised his hand cautiously. “Miss Simpson, this is so amazing! I can turn a ‘P’ into an ‘R’ by adding a stroke! A red letter can be changed just like that to a blue one!” She stared at him quizzically, pondering on what he had just said. Slowly, he repeated what he had just said. “See, like this, a red letter became a blue letter!” Igor raised an eyebrow in curiosity. He listened to the young boy patiently reiterating his words for her, and decided that it would be good to talk to him during their break time. As the recess bell rang and the toddlers scrambled to their seats for a snack, Igor stepped over to him, and holding up a table of alphanumeric symbols, requested for him to name the colour for each grapheme. He carefully chose each colour from a separate chart, containing (nearly) every possible non-compound colour word, from alizarin to ecru and verdigris to zinnwaldite. As he pointed innocently to a colour and symbol in turn, Igor jotted down his responses immaculately on his fallow notebook. Miss Simpson had, once or twice, given him an odd stare, but he swatted them away with a quick flick of his hand. At last a full list was compiled, and before the bell had rung too; Igor magically produced a bag of sweets for him to share with his classmates. Satisfied, Igor turned and left the classroom discreetly. Igor met up with his parents. They knew about his strange perception of colour in letters, and were worried if it was a neurological problem or something of sorts. Igor assured them that he was alright; he was just a synaesthete. Reading their blank faces, Igor explained that synaesthesia was the condition in which the stimulation of one of the five senses or brain activity leads to a reaction in another. The specific one he had was grapheme colour synaesthesia, in which the recognition of an alphanumeric symbol would trigger a reaction in which he would perceive a colour. They seemed concerned, but Igor was calm, and asked if they would permit him to take part in a psychological research programme conducted by the SMRI. They were hesitant, but finally agreed, hoping that it would make significant contributions to science. All they wanted was for him to be happy. Every weekend, Igor would bring him down the street to the Institute for a group of neurologists and psychologists to conduct tests or ask questions. It was merely a short half-hour period, and the friendly scientists would always give him a small bag of sweets to enjoy. He was naïve but content, and soon grew to look forward to this weekly trip. He would shout excitedly whenever he saw the jasper ‘I’s and the cerulean ‘E’s of their signboard. He mentioned once that the “vowels always jump out at [him], but the consonants would sit there quietly, just like [himself].” His parents could only smile and say “Good boy,” but they never really understood what that sentence meant. Only Igor did. Soon, the Institute became a second home to him. Apart from school and home, this became his third arena of learning. Igor was as much a guide to him as any of his school teachers, and almost as much as his parents. They were not so much mentor and mentee, but more like best pals—they could identify with each other. As he grew up, he began to understand himself. Synaesthesia no longer seemed like a far-off concept, but a tangible reality. He appreciated his uniqueness. When he was twenty, he signed up on a research internship with the Institute in which he used to be examined. Igor served as his helper and coach, teaching him the tools of the trade. They grew closer and eventually became inseparable. One day, as he stepped into the Institute, Igor called him aside. Quietly, Igor said, “I…I have decided to tell you something. I…I am also a synaesthete.” He stared at Igor in partial shock. So that was why they were able to understand each other so well! He embraced his teacher in a loving hug, and playfully demanded more of his background. Igor was also a young kid living in the neighbourhood. Igor used to be that young boy called from the kindergarten room by a big, mysterious guy. Igor took a good look at him, and laughed. “You know, you remind me of when I was young. I was just like you—spunky, innovative and daring. A bundle of trouble.” They both burst out laughing. “You will always be my boy,” added Igor. As the days whizzed by, he matured into a fine young man, full of potential for goodness. But on the other hand, Igor was getting old. It was not long before Igor hit retirement, and settled down into a small mansion at the edge of town. He visited Igor as much as he could, and they were just like father and son. Their relationship was priceless. Morning broke when he received their call. He rushed over, but it was too late. Igor had passed peacefully in his sleep, and was discovered this morning by the maid. He fell to the ground, crushed. But “No,” he thought, “Igor would not want to see me in this state.” He picked himself up, and dried his eyes. The SMRI offered him one week of paid leave just to tame his emotions, but he said that he was fine, and did not just want to be given free money anyway. He worked harder than ever before, digging up old cases and dusty files in the hopes of compiling a comprehensive resource on the condition. But there was one thing he lacked: someone else to share his joys. Due to his hard work, he was assigned a post of Investigative Researcher, and, like Igor, went around schools in search of potential psychological enquiry subjects. A gloomy day, he stepped into his old kindergarten. His gaze immediately turned to a small child, raising his hands to ask a question. “Miss Green, look at this! My name perfectly fits a rainbow!” His eyes brightened. This had to be another one. This was his boy. 12:10 PMwar//concept.graphTuesday, June 22, 2010refer to here for my concept graph on the similarities about war through a few films, novels and memoirs.sorry for the poor resolution but i'm having some problem with bubbl.us. i can show you a clearer one direct from my account if you want :D. 10:21 PMprofilei'm alvin. i come from hwa chong institution in singapore. i'm in class 2i2. yes, i'm a sparkie. i'm 14+ years old; celebrated my bdae on feb 12. my hobbies r simple: reading, piano, com games. i like animals, especially enjoy my blog. thx. style
archivesBy post:&changes; my.take//dbs.banking my.take//judicial.punishment fontstruct palettes//8 how.to//blog.skin game.review//cave.story how.to//piano.diploma Eυγενής Σύν-αἴσθησις By month: March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 January 2010 February 2010 March 2010 April 2010 June 2010 July 2010 August 2010 linksno links for you.you cant run away nao. taggiftsgifts....nawt nao i guess. soon. i promise. |
