Four years you think for sure
That’s all you've got to endure
All the total dicks
All the stuck up chicks
So superficial, so immature
Then when you graduate
You take a look around and you say HEY WAIT
This is the same as where I just came from
I thought it was over
Aw that’s just great
The whole damn world is just as obsessed
With who‘s the best dressed and who‘s having sex,
Who‘s got the money, who gets the honeys,
Who‘s kinda cute and who‘s just a mess
And you still don’t have the right look
And you don’t have the right friends
Nothing changes but the faces, the names, and the trends
High school never ends
Check out the popular kids
You’ll never guess what Jessica did
How did Mary Kate lose all that weight
And Katie had a baby so I guess Tom’s straight
And the only thing that matters
Is climbing up that social ladder
Still care about your hair and the car you drive
Doesn’t matter if you’re sixteen or thirty-five
Reese Witherspoon,
She’s the prom queen
Bill Gates,
Captain of the chess team
Jack Black, the clown
Brad Pitt, the quarterback
I’ve seen it all before
I want my money back
The whole damn world is just as obsessed
With who’s the best dressed and who’s having sex,
Who’s in the clubs and who’s on the drugs,
Who’s throwing up before they digest
And you still don’t have the right look
And you don’t have the right friends
And you’re still listen to the same shit you did back then
High school never ends
Here we go again
I heard a song I decided I liked the other day, and was told the artist is Kelly Clarkson. In my infinite wisdom though, I forgot the title of the track. Nevertheless, I went to get a copy of Breakaway, only to listen to the entire album and not recognizing any of the songs. Urgh.
Inspired by Ross, I decided to try to get people to address me with a little respect. Unlike Ross, however, I failed miserably. /sadface.
[van] says:
b*******, what's theplan tmr?
(L)(W) says:
can you please address me with more respect?
(L)(W) says:
then perhaps i shall decide to answer your question.
[van] says:
hahaa .. ok ...
[van] says:
b******* SISTEr ..
[van] says:
what's the ans
(L)(W) says:
;_;
b******* - original word censored to protect the young and innocent. If you don't know, ignorance is bliss. If you do, WOE TO YOU AND YOUR HOUSE.
Since I've used up my quota of quasi-intelligent posts for the month with my IP question, here's something absolutely, utterly mind-numbing but is oh-so-compelling in an inexplicable way.
http://home.tiscali.nl/annejan/swf/timeline.swf
If you've ever been to China and gone shopping, you might have noticed that CDs over there are dirt cheap. I forget the price exactly, but they're a fraction of the price we pay here, or even in the States. Mind you, these are the original versions of CDs, licensed by EMI and Sony and Universal China, or what have you. Without going too much into economics, the price point of CDs and other luxury goods has to do with the standard of living, and the absolute amount of disposal income a regular person has to spend on luxuries.
First question - would you buy such CDs, when presented with an opportunity? Their very existence does not violate any IP laws. Their only "problem" - if you can even call it that - is that they have Chinese on the cover art and sleeves. Which to me doesn't really pose a problem, since I rip my CDs onto mp3 and never ever see the actual CD again. Interestingly enough, some retailers in Singapore parallel import these CDs for the local market - you might have seen them in some CD shops. Parallel importing is a different story, however - that might be in violation of trade laws, what have you.
But I think most people would agree with me that buying a CD from somewhere else at dirt cheap price isn't in violation of any IP laws. So here's the kicker:
What if you bought mp3s from an online site located in a different country at a fantastically cheap price?
As you might (or might not) know, iTunes charges US$9.99 for an album. That's reasonable, I guess, though you get DRM-ed music that's only playable in iPods. Some people might argue it's a little pricey, but whatever. But in the past couple of years iTunes copycats have been popping up in countries where the long arm of the RIAA cannot reacch - in this case Russia and China - where full albums can come at the low, low price of a buck. Or somewhere around there.
The RIAA has cried long and loud about these sites, who claim that they sell licensed music. While some sites are rather dubious, it is established that there is a provision in Russian copyright law that allow mp3 sites to sell their entire catalogue, and they do so at local (Russian) prices. Which translates into el cheapo for the rest of the world. I haven't visited any Chinese ones, for obvious reasons.
Assuming that they are selling legal mp3s, is there anything wrong in patronizing their site instead of iTunes or whatever? The RIAA has been twsting arms and all to get them shut down, and it won a small battle when Visa agreed to stop accepting credit card payments to a very popular Russian mp3 site. But try as I might, I cannot distinguish between my earlier example of buying CDs on the cheap from somewhere else while on holiday, and buying mp3s on the cheap from another jurisdiction.
So, IP lawyers. Sharpen your pencils! Why can't I buy mp3s from wherever I choose?
a friend says:
got what.....got guys ask for my number,....but all the wrong ones i dont like
a friend says:
so unfair!!!!!!!!!!!
a friend says:
im feeling sad all over again
a friend says:
haha
a friend says:
kidding
me says:
OK!
me says:
i ask for your number
me says:
can i have your number please?
me says:
oh wait.
me says:
i already have it.
a friend says:
okay....nevermind i tell you again
a friend says:
9XXXXXXX
a friend says:
yay
a friend says:
must memorise okay?
a friend says:
better know it
a friend says:
or you're dead
NB names and numbers changed to protect the innocent.
Or alternatively, Who Wants To Be A Math Geek?
http://www.1729.com/math/integers/PrimeShooter.html
My current high score is 134. Beat it with proof, (screenshot will do) and lunch is on me. And a nice lunch, not BTC -canteen-lunch.
Instructions - shoot the numbers coming down at you with their prime factors. If a number is prime, hit P and the number will disappear. One point for every number you get!
So I hear Sha and Eileen are thinking of dressing up as nurses for Halloween...
Oops, wrong blog!.
Let's try again.
So today I paid a visit to the Wellness Centre thingie cause when I woke up my throat was killing me and I was too lazy to visit a doctor. I just needed some lozenges anyway. This is the first time where I've visited a clinic where the doctor was free/available, but I couldn't see him because the nurses kept goofing up my registration. Gee. There were two of them, and they kept (from what I could tell) confusing each other on what to do, and what to do next. I had to take my weight like, 3 times, cause they kept forgetting the result. Good grief.
Finally things got sorted out and I managed to see the doctor, which took all of 3 minutes - 2 minutes which were spent chatting. Then came the wait for the prescription. The dear nurses spent a while arguing among themselves on what was the correct medicine to dispense, and then they decided they would check with the doctor. After finding out the correct one they had to search for it in the system, (painstakingly entering the drug name on the keyboard. Ouch) find the drug, and then finally dispense it.
Meh. And to think they're open from 11-1 daily (not that I begrudge them, unlikely to be that many sick people here anyhow) I wonder what the nurses are doing the rest of the time?
http://www.gamedesign.jp/flash/dice/dice.html
Cute risk-like game. No explanation needed, just point and click!
The iPod turned 5 today. Or well, yesterday, depending on how you look at it. Say what you will about Apple, etc, but there's no denying that the iPod with it's trademark white earbuds has become one of the icons of popular culture. It revolutionized the mp3 player industry, and it's accompanying iTunes Music Store went a long way to help legitimize music downloading.
Original picture via Engadget, also check out their iPod cemetery for a trip down memory lane.
PS I wantneed a 5.5G iPod. Preferably in black.
Because a picture speaks a thousand words. And Samsung Mobile >>> everyone else.
No, not Elvis Presley. Not by a long shot. Nor Meteor Garden. Eww. But Forbidden City, by Dick Lee. I know Forbidden City is so yesterday's news, and it's come and gone a second time already, but this song was running through my head today (like, over and over. bleh) and I think that despite being exceedingly cynical, there's something oh-so-true about the lyrics. Not that I subscribe to this particular school of thought, but it's something to chew on.
Falling in Love
Falling in love is just that
Falling
Out of control of your heart and your soul
Falling in love is just that
Falling
That's how it feels
Falling head over heels
Why love when hurts?
Why love when love ends?
I know how it feels when it turns and pretends
It ends with the pain
And the making amends
Why love when there's peace
In the making of friends?
Losing your heart is just that
Losing
Too high a cost
When it's given it's lost
Taking a risk is just that
Taking
Been there before
I can't take anymore
Why love when hurts?
Why love when love ends?
I know how it feels when it turns and pretends
It ends with the pain
And the making amends
Why love when there's peace
In the making of friends?
FYI, I actually watched Forbidden City the first time it ran. So I'm not that backward.
... with you.
(Stupid sistic site is down so no pic. Grr)
It's been 20 years since Emil started his career in the music and recording industry and as a tribute to his fans, Emil has put together songs from his past and present to bring on tour a 20 th Anniversary Concert.
With albums spanning over 2 decades, Emil has more than enough hits (not only songs) to sing the night away.
This will be a 3 ½ Hour long concert and a treat for all Emil fans.
WHO WANTS TO GO WITH ME?
I seriously cannot remember the last time where I woke up when I pleased, stayed at home, puttered around doing random things, watched a bit of (cable) TV, had a leisurely lunch, and am now contemplating a nap before Church in the evening.
Hooray for the Deepavali.
Oh and all assignments are done, two modules are almost complete, so all that's left is to study for exams. What fun.
(alternatively titled, Miss Clarity Cafe)
(food blog idea originally from Sandra and Sha, but they didn't seem to be doing anything about it so...)
The potential customer is immediately drawn to the quirky name. Miss Clarity? Whozzat? Whazzat? Well, Miss Clarity Cafe is the name of a quirky cafe-restaurant tucked away along with many other great eateries along Purvis Street. You can tell the place is popular because at close to 9, we had to wait a good 20 minutes for a table. Albeit on a Friday night. But still. It was so crowded they had to set up extra tables along the 5-foot-way , encroaching into their neighbor's space.
Service was friendly with a smile, and reasonably fast considering the crowd. And prices were closer to BTC canteen standards than a restaurant. (Ok, I exaggerate, but not by much!) Main course for $8-$12ish, and you can pay $3 to add a soup/salad, drink and desert.
Soup of the day was Cream of Mushroom soup, which was a bit too mushroomy for my taste, but led my fellow gourmet to comment, "Well at least you know it isn't Campbell's"
For the main course we had Chicken Cordon Bleu and Monkfish & Escargot Ragout with Capellini. Chicken came with a very tasty cream sauce and although very slightly on the dry side was pretty good. The monkfish was melt-in-your-mouth tender, and the pasta sauce was tomato-based with a generous helping of onions, which made things interesting. The capellini was kinda soggy though, which was a let down.
Bread and Butter Pudding rounded out the meal which was delicious but unfortunately, only a teensy portion. Probably was getting late and they were running out!
On the whole the food could have been slightly better but at that price, who's complaining? $25 for three course dinner for two and a drink each!
Because this whole thing was sorta impromptu, no pictures were taken but here are some kopped from their website.
My fellow gourmet would like to add that we sat outside (along the 5-foot-way) and there were cockroaches scurrying about. Rather large ones, apparently. And she was "super damn brave and did not mention it till we left". (Quoted verbatim)
You watch National Geographic right. And the Discovery Channel. (Yes, I know you do, cause you get cable.) And I'm sure from time to time you see documentaries about the reproductive cycle of various animals. Spiders. Fish. Crocodiles. Whatever.
You ever wonder what a documentary about humans would be like? Not just the actual act of reproduction. But the entire hullabulloo.
Going-chionging-to-meet-girls/guys.
Getting/Giving out a girl's /your number.
Waiting anxiously by the phone to decide when to call/for it to ring.
First Dates.
Meeting the Parents.
And so on.
Bleah. Words just do not do the concept justice.
Watch it! Or, hit me up for the DivX.
Well, sorta kinda. I'm probably the last person on the planet to hear about mystery shopping because I'm always so backward compared to the IN things. Anyhow, it works like this: you're assigned to "shop" in a particular store, and while you're there you pay close attention to your shopping experience. When you get home, you fill in some sort of survey/questionnaire about the store - how friendly the salespeople were, the variety of merchandise, the presentation of displays, etc etc. And then.
You get paid for your efforts.
Not too bad eh?
http://www.mysteryshopping.com.sg/ for a local site, http://www.aq-services.com/ the site i originally stumbled upon.
Lunch on me for the first person to solve. You are allowed to fill in regular numbers in the other blanks. Haha.
Original Strip (Foxtrot)
Did I ever mention I absolutely utterly love Foxtrot? It's the best comic strip ever!
How to tell what someone is really doing when they're hunched over a laptop.
Typing in short spurts, punctuated by frequent uses of the enter key. Possibly also smiling to oneself: MSN Messenger
Primarily using the touchpad/mouse, also smiling from time to time: Surfing blogs. Alternatively, internet shopping.
Staring sianly at the screen, long, frequent pauses in between typing for a very short span of time: Trying unsuccessfully to write an essay/assignment.
Perplexed look: Reading a case that makes no sense.
I do not have Chinese input software. Nor do I know how to use it even if I did. And I have no idea how the characters look like.
Anyhow.
Q: What do you call a law student that is regularly conscientious, never skips classes, does all his readings and tutorials, finishes assignments way before the deadline?
A: A figment of my imagination.
;_;
I realize this is the first post which is actually on topic for this blog. Haha. And you can tell how close I am to assignment deadline by the boliaoness of my posts.
If this weren't the internet, where you could find everything because google is your friend, I would ask, "Is monadnock a real word or not?". If I asked the question in a social context I'd wager I would recieve more NO responses than YES.
But. Apparently, a 'monadnock', also known as an inselberg (slightly more believable word) is an isolated hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain.
(Posted during evidence lecture. Ha)
Haikus are easy.
But sometimes they don't make sense.
Refrigerator.
Yes, ladies, gentlemen, boys, girls, I am *finally*, after all these years, going to be able to enjoy what everyone else takes for granted. I AM GOING TO GET CABLE TV! No more going round to peoples' houses on saturday night hoping for charity to watch the Chelsea match. No more wierd looks when I admit, half-shamedfacedly, that I do not have cable at home. In an effort to listen to the government for once, I am going to join the cable revolution. Cable Ready(tm) For The Win!
BUT. Enough of being happy. Time to rant.
Starhub, in all their wisdom, has deemed it fit to discriminate against people based on the type of property they own/live in. Fine, I'll admit that it could be an economy of scale thing. They pay for one line to a block of flats/condo, they can cater to the entire block. BUT WHY ON EARTH DO THEY DISCRIMINATE AGAINST DIFFERENT TYPES OF LANDED PROPERTY!
They have a 2-tier pricing structure. "Exclusive Bungalow", as they call it, and everyone else. And they charge more than double for "Exclusive Bungalow" residents. From $98 a month to $248 a month. (If you want a 2 year contract. For a 5 year contract, it's $50 vs $120 a month)
WHYYYYYYYY?
Which one appeals to you more?
#1
But to see her was to love her,
Love but her, and love for ever.
#2
I love you.
Announcing the formation of a new club, MUGGER! - Muggers Unite, Goal: Get Exam Ready! Club. Other than the (obvious) goal of being a study club, MUGGER! Club also aims to incalcate a wholesome all-rounded lifestyle in law students, including exercise, various game sessions as well as enjoying good food. Contact me for more information. Applications open today! Mugging starts Monday!
PS. It's less than 7 weeks - approximately 45 days to exams.
I don't know where to begin. First of all, I can't stand this. You ask what "this" is.
I'll tell you. "This" is sitting here all day, seeing you doing your thing, knowing that you said you never want to speak to me again.
"This" is watching you walk toward me, thinking you might have changed you mind, only to have you pass by without so much as even glancing in my direction.
"This" is knowing that you'll walk out of here at the end of the day, that I will have no idea where you will be, what you will do, and that an abyss of time will elapse before you walk back in here the next day.
"This"--or should I say, "these are"?-- the countless, uncountable hours during which my mind leaves me, and pursues you out the door, following you in an imaginative journey that leads nowhere, right back where I started, sitting here thinking about "this".
I must've heard this at some point in time or other in my life, but it never struck me as being particularly funny. I heard it again sometime today and for some reason it made me smile.
I can see what's happening
And they don't have a clue
They'll fall in love and here's the bottom line
Our trio's down to two.
The sweet caress of twilight
There's magic everywhere
And with all this romantic atmosphere
Disaster's in the air!
Post will be updated soon. Please check back later!
Today I was teaching my Sunday School class (5-6 year olds - kindergarteners) when something rather... amusing happened. One of the boys was helping one of the girls with her worksheet, and another (rather precocious) child piped up:
"Caleb and Elaine sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G"
Is it just me, or when I was in kindergarten I wasn't really aware that girls existed? Like, in a vague sort of way I knew the world was divided into boys and girls, and that they went to different bathrooms, but I'm pretty sure that then I didn't know you could do fun things with them like K-I-S-S.
But then again, I didn't ask whether they actually knew what it meant to K-I-S-S, so I can only conjecture. But that precocious child knew to connect the two - that when a boy helps a girl, no good can come out of it there's some chance that he might be interested in her.
Just a small chance.
I could say all sorts of things but... what's the use?
She wore it all the time. Never took it off. Then one day she took it off for good.
Because I have a lot of random things to do, I haven't had time to blog. At least, as opposed to sitting down at my comp for long periods of time trying to write for an assignment. Anyway, this is a post I've been meaning to make for a while but haven't got round to it - been saving it up for a time like this - to appease the masses!
Anyhow, the other day my sister was looking through old baby photos and...
Looks like I've been having bad hair days all my life...
Precocious driver!
Meet my friends, Mr. Giraffe and Mr. Bunny Rabbit.
A little older, with the same zeal for driving. It still hasn't gone away!
No, I'm not narcissistic, just to show the world how cute I wasam and to show you how cute ourmy kids couldwill be!
In a nutshell, www.xkcd.com. It's tagline reads: A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.
Health Warning from the page footer: Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors).
A sample of the ones I like...
I was tired of my lady
We'd been together too long
Like a worn-out recording
Of a favorite song
So while she lay there sleeping
I read the paper in bed
And in the personal columns
There was this letter I read
"If you like Pina Coladas
And getting caught in the rain
If you're not into yoga
If you have half a brain
If you'd like making love at midnight
In the dunes on the Cape
Then I'm the love that you've looked for
Write to me and escape."
I didn't think about my lady
I know that sounds kind of mean
But me and my old lady
Have fallen into the same old dull routine
So I wrote to the paper
Took out a personal ad
And though I'm nobody's poet
I thought it wasn't half bad
"Yes I like Pina Coladas
And getting caught in the rain
I'm not much into health food
I am into champagne
I've got to meet you by tomorrow noon
And cut through all this red-tape
At a bar called O'Malley's
Where we'll plan our escape."
So I waited with high hopes
And she walked in the place
I knew her smile in an instant
I knew the curve of her face
It was my own lovely lady
And she said, "Oh it's you."
Then we laughed for a moment
And I said, "I never knew."
That you like Pina Coladas
Getting caught in the rain
And the feel of the ocean
And the taste of champagne
If you'd like making love at midnight
In the dunes of the Cape
You're the lady I've looked for
Come with me and escape
Watch/Listen
For something that I've built my life around these past two weeks or so, and that's been in my thoughts, both waking and sleeping (ok, I exaggerate) the completion of that assignment has left a slightly bitter aftertaste in my mouth. For a module that has started out with so much promise, I am starting to have serious doubts about tax. Not the actual practice of tax, mind you, but well, to put it in a roundabout way, if i want to take International Tax Law next semester.
The amount of work required was bordering on the insane, considering that we started out knowing absolutely nothing about the subject matter in question. Preliminary research took forever and a day, and even well into the actual writing we were still very hazy about our conclusion. 10,000 words is a lot to write about one subject, even if it is split among 5 people. And all this sweat and blood and tears put in, all for a miserly 40% of the final grade for a FOUR CREDIT module. As a comparision, the admiralty paper is a whopping 80% of the grade, and is only 3000 words. I don't need to do the math.
And then there's the fundamental problem with group work. Not that I'm putting down any of my group members, mind you. They were all fantastic and the amount of work put in was staggering (<3 you Claire!). But at the end of the day, I felt that our final product was in no way any approximation of what we are actually capable of. As undergraduates, we have our own lives. We eat, we sleep, we play. We try to do some work, some times. We meet up from time to time to discuss our work, but that's about it. That is nowhere near the level of collaboration required for a project of this magnitude. The result? A paper that reads damn well, if you read about 500 words at a go and pretend that each portion is in no way related to the entire work.Taking everyone's work and integrating it together such that it reads as a very streamlined essay with a clear train of thought was an insurmountable task. Our final paper read more like a collection of essays than an actual scholarly article.
And guess what? I have another assignment exactly like this one, only the topic is different. It's still on something I know nuts about though. What fun.
Oh, and those of you who were sore at not getting biz n finance, be glad. Be very glad. Unless you find what I just described to be a great challenge that you'd like to take up. Be my guest.