The World Of Complex Simplicity

Migrating

2009-08-30T21:27:00.003+08:00

For those who are still visiting my blog after 6 months of inactivity, just want to share with you that I will be migrating my blog to : http://thedifferentshadesofgrey.wordpress.com/

If you have a link from your blog to mine remember to update it! =)

Mind Blasting

2009-02-11T14:33:00.004+08:00

I have been experiencing some sort of "Mind Blasting" experience since I was about 10 if my memories serve me well. It is something like a nuclear reaction that happened in my mind where knowledge creates more knowledge and information creates more information. It is happening more often as I grew older (nowadays it is at least once per day). Might be due to the increase amount of data I am fed with as well as the ever increasing database of knowledge and information in my brain. Data seems to be the trigger to this reaction that I can't really control. It is like I will just go into processing mode when my brain is idle or doing some mundane thinking.

Won't say that it is a bad thing. I am able to gain great deal of information and knowledge about many things, sometimes I can almost "predict" things. But while I am experiencing this "Blasting" I am rather closed to the world around me and often end up ignoring (then annoying) a few people who tries to communicate with me.

I hope this doesn't make me a freak. =)

Chinese New Year!

2009-01-29T18:35:00.010+08:00

If anyone wants to know, Chinese New Year is about the only festival I celebrate through the entire year. With all the publicity and reminders from my family, it is almost impossible to forget since there is no need to remember it at all (which is totally unlike my own birthday which there is always a 95% chance that I treat it like any other day). =)

Chinese New Year is a festival celebrated by all Chinese around the world regardless of their religion, which is unlike many of the other festivals such as Hari Raya and Christmas. Maybe which is why it is my favourite time of the year; a time where people and family are truely important and 'God' takes a secondary role.

Spelling

2009-01-06T00:27:00.003+08:00

Try reading this... =)

----------------------------------------

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid, too. Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe tuo fo 100 anc.

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

----------------------------------------

Interesting eh? But if you can't read it, let me know. I translate for you. =p

Word Cloud - 01/12/08

2008-12-01T00:35:00.012+08:00

CE introduced me this cool online application a couple of days ago. It takes the words from your blog feeds and turn it into a word cloud; with the words that appear more in my blog larger in the word cloud.

If you are interested (especially for the bloggers), you may create your own word cloud here! =)

I will update the cloud again when there are more posts... =p

Stressed...

2008-07-06T21:57:00.002+08:00

I have heard many people claimed that they are stressed. But sometimes I just don't understand why. Even now when I am trying my best to slack, I am pretty sure that I have more things on my hands and mind then they have.

During my stay in hall, some people seemed to be so stressed over school stuff and sometimes I wonder, if school stuff is already so stressful, how are these people going to face the realities of life?

Sometimes, I feel that the main cause of stress is the lack of personal competence. Lack of proper time management, lack of the required skills to get work done, lack of EQ to handle stress, lack of understanding of own abilities by taking up more then what you can handle and lack of judgment (spending extra effort to fix mistakes you made) are usually cause of stress in most people.

Raymond asked me a couple of months ago about how to identify good and capable people. I gave him a somewhat generic answer, but maybe this time I can let him know for sure how to find one. I feel that people who always appears to be stressed and overworked generally lacked personal competence, and the really capable people are usually very composed and at times appears unaffected by their work or responsibilities, or worse enjoy the feeling of stress.

However, most people are still disillusioned by those people who always seemed to be busy and under a lot of stress all the time as being capable and competence. Well, that's good, because it certainly helps me to keep competition off the right fishes in my 'head-hunting' business. =)

So next time if anyone ask me how to reduce work-related stress, my answer would be to advice them to improve their personal competence.

Happy...

2008-06-22T23:42:00.004+08:00

Last Monday, HF cooked Tang Yuan for me. It was her first time cooking it, so I was there to guide her a little.

Small and simple gestures make me happy. It is the thought that counts. I guess I finally found the type of life which I am looking for a long long time. =)

Pleasant Surprise...

2008-06-15T22:59:00.010+08:00

There is something I am really happy about after checking through last semester grades. Something really rather unexpected after checking out the models and the electronics of other groups on presentation day itself. And was expecting nothing more then a B+ for EE2001 Design Project.

Integration Stage (didn't take pictures at prototyping stage)

I remembered spending more a little more then half the semester thinking that the module was worth 4MCs when it is actually worth 6MCs! Which is also why I didn't really work hard on the module until like 2 weeks before CA1 (worth 40%) because I am busy with my other modules.

Well, when I saw the A on my result transcript, I was shocked beyond words! I even relogin to make sure I logged in correctly and there was no system glitch or my eyes are playing a tricks on me. A 6MC module with an A certainly helped me boost my CAP quite a bit. =)

Completed Model at Presentation Day

Personally I felt I deserved it after putting myself through many sleepless nights and numerous hours at the lab tinkering with my little electronic board and accessories. Burnt 1 PIC, 1 LCD screen and I guess the most impressive part of my circuit is that it uses 2 PICs which are able to "talk" to each other and I remembered adding so much programming to the 2 PICs that they ran out of memory!

The Team Of Electrical And Computer Engineers

Well I must say my team mates are a great bunch of responsible people who worked hard on the project and it has been a wonderful experience working with them. Good team members are hard to come by nowadays...

Of course I must also thank my dear HF for being extremely understanding and taking care of me when I am sick or overworked, and many a times being there to listen to my complains of how my circuit refuse to work and my frustrations. =)

Other pleasant surprises include an A- for IT1003 Information System Applications which I initially planned to S/U as I did not attend more then half the lectures and a B+ from EE3208 Embeded Computer System (100% Project) which I spend 4 sleepless nights with Philip to complete.

A truly tiring semester but, I am starting to like my course. =)

Relax...

2008-06-09T23:34:00.003+08:00

Grabbed from Hardwarezone Forums. Just find it kind of funny. =)

There are many things in life which we can do nothing about, so just relax and learn to live with them.

Working...

2008-06-08T20:38:00.005+08:00

I almost forgot about this blog of mine, but from the statistics it collected, there seemed to be a steady stream of reader despite my lack of updates. Really sorry for the disappearance and I will try to update this blog often if time permits.

Been on internship for about 4 weeks now and next week, I will be expecting my allowance. So it time to bring my family and Huey Fen to a good treat! For me, the sole reason for me to work hard and earn money is such that I can provide the best for my family and loved ones. It is not about prestige or about status which many people I know worked towards.

Work has thought me lots of things, and I have learned lots of technical skills. This is very unlike Hall, because for once in a long time, someone actually taught me something! Eusoff Hall never invested anything in me, but at Creative, all I need to do is learn and apply what I learned!

I am blogging from Hall now and in a few moments I will be heading for home. Spend a weekend with the Huey Fen, ate lots of good food and have of fun. This is how life should be and I am enjoying every moment of it. =)

Mugging Tips : Part 1

2008-04-26T10:09:00.004+08:00

The Road Not Taken

Robert Lee Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that, the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Ones will never know how his life would be if he did not lead a present life but choose the other. And, sometimes, I wonder that if I'm no longer a university student nor an educated human, what will I be... working after secondary school life... farming... wandering in shopping complexes and spending daddy-mummy's hard earning... or marrying at the early age and staying at home as a full-timed housewife? I do not know and I think I will never know. There is no turning point. And, I would not want to be like Frost who left the first road and chose the road less traveled. He is brave, as I can say. But, I believe every single decision that I made or the path that I had chosen including my life makes my growth and allows me to discover my own mistakes along the way.

In life, the decision that we made will often receive scowl and disagreement. Strengthening our steps and moving forward steadily are what we can do now.

(Go back mugging!!!)

Third Year...

2008-04-01T02:42:00.014+08:00

The EusoffWorks Family

The committee closing supper marks the end of my 3rd year in EusoffWorks.

3 years of struggle have not gone to waste I must say. Moments ago, while I was wire-wrapping in EusoffWorks Room, I took a moment to recalled the very first time I entered the EusoffWorks Room and saw the apple core. And I look at the 30k+ worth of inventory we added over 3 years. Then I look at Raymond, CE and Joshua, who were working in the room with me. I can't help but say I am still satisfied with some things in hall, despite my disgust for the way the hall is now.

Main Committee Members

In any case, the turn out for the supper was exceptionally good! Almost everyone turned up! And XY made a short film for the supper as well. Food wasn't fantastic because we ran out of budget considering the pathetic amount Hall allocated to EusoffWorks' welfare fund.

One of the Best Teams I ever worked with.

We watched videos, chit chat, took pictures and ate. A simple closing for a year of hard work. Personally, I am really grateful to all the members for their invaluable contributions to the growth of the committee and all the endless hours they spent in the EusoffWorks Room. =)

The above mini short film directed and edited by our one and only XY and premiered on the committee closing supper featuring the life of an old, grumpy video camera voice-acted by JJ; so kindly us pardon the sarcasm and lameness. =)

Internship...

2008-03-25T17:13:00.007+08:00

Will be doing my internship with my dream company in the coming Summer holidays, and ironically, my best friend had to work in Apple.

I was asked to attend an interview two weeks ago as an selection interview was one of the criteria for the internship position.

The night before the interview, prepared my transcripts, CCA Records and various other certificates which, I suppose would help me gain a better footing amongst all the people who will be competing me for the internship position.

I remembered I had a sleepless night as I mentally prepared myself for the interview. The product number and specifications, the company history and recent new news ran through my head again and again.

Then it was the day of the interview. I was all formally dress up and ready to put my best foot forward.

The interview was rather informal I would say, but as the interviewer flipped through my transcript, I was a little nervous. I am not exactly the first-class-honors type and my achievements are mostly non-academic.

I was hoping to score better "marks" when she was about to go into the CCA Records, but just like in the transcripts, the interviewer flip through without even looking at them!

But something caught her eye, and that was my list of "skills". And she started asking me about them and about the projects I engaged and how those skills helped me. For those who know me, my skills are mostly technical: Photography, Video, Programming (C, C++, C#, JAVA, ASM) and good knowledge of databases as a designed one in my NS time. I also have some skills like project management and inventory management while I was in NS as well.

Then the interviewer went down to look at my previous job experience and asked me many questions about my experiences. At a point in time, we even discussed about the organizational culture of the company and its shortcomings in the US.

As I walked out of the interview room, somehow I felt that all the things I done in school seemed useless I would say. People are interested about that I do in the working world, my skills and not my grades, and certainly not what position I held in various committees in school.

All the things I did in school can only serve as a prove to myself of my abilities, and cannot be use to prove my worth at in the workplace.

This is not the first interview where people ignored my transcript and CCA Records. This is the fifth in my lifetime.

I guess the time to prove me to myself is over. Now it is time to improve my worth and value. And learning .NET Framework would be a good start. =)

Disclaimer : Your personal interview experiences may vary from mine. And I am 90% sure that interviewers for scholarships or academic awards DO look at your transcripts, and often CCA Records very carefully.

Family...

2008-03-22T04:50:00.005+08:00

I am really glad that CE put whatever little video editing skills I taught him into good use... =D

After watching CE's masterpiece, I am felt reassured that I was doing the right things all this while.

While most leaders in our Hall focused in building committees, I look in a different direction. In the initial stages (last academic year), the committee wasn't the most productive. Although I received some scrutiny from people who can't even run their own committees properly, I held on to my own belief; although many a times I admit that my faith wavered.

I belief that there is more then just getting the work done... lot more of other things. There is more then just short-term and superficial stuff which our Hall pays attention to. There is more then just using power and position to get others to work for you which our Hall leaders are particularly fond of.

Two weeks ago, I went to the JCRC President Rally and saw the number of people that turned up. The attendance for the second rally was equally bad. In a matter of 2 hours, EW can gather more people then a President Rally for something which is a lot more minor. Why the difference?

I feel that it is time for this Hall and its leaders to wake up. Every year there is talk about Hall Spirit and stuff, and but year after year things remained the same. And honestly I am disappointed because I believed in my leaders.... once.

My plan for EW was never to build a committee, but a community instead. That is one of the many secrets to EW's success. Capturing Memories and Creating Memories, that is the job is EW and that is what keeps the family going.

Poster...

2008-03-15T00:24:00.005+08:00

One of the posters from EusoffWorks series of motivational posters...

And the most funny thing is, everything started when RCYL, CE & I got a little interested in some demotivational posters and was entertaining ourselves with it in the EusoffWorks Room...

The next thing I knew was when saw this poster while helping JW edit XY's "one-night-wonders" PSDs of the posters...

Inspirations can sometimes come from odd places... =)

Changing...

2008-03-09T22:28:00.005+08:00

Was trailing The Malaysian General Election this morning on CNA in Hall. All the Malaysians in hall gathered in B-Lounge to watch as the results unfold one State at a time.

I watched as my fellow Malaysian hall mates cheered when the opposition won over the state governments from the ruling party.

Changes always bring about uncertainty, and people are generally cautious or even fearful of the unknown. Which is why most of the time, people resist change.

But this time is different. Everyone seemed to embrace the change. Where is the usual uneasiness and fear? Somehow, no one seemed to wondered or even thought about the future with the opposition parties in power.

Can they do a better job then the ruling party? No one is certain.

But there is such optimism.

I have been searching for the ways to make people embrace change for a long time now, and my "techniques" always comes with mixed results. But now I have found the answer.

Instead of just making changes, make changes in such a way that gives hope to the people. And with hope, people will embrace change positively.

Make a change, whose one of its many gifts, encompasses hope...

Withered...

2008-02-28T14:32:00.004+08:00

Shot a couple of photos of a bouquet of withered flowers with the Canon 40D yesterday.

There is nothing really fantastic about them other then that they looked colorful! The photos are not very skillfully taken either; my techniques are getting rusty. But it is not about the photos, it is about something which I have forgotten about...

It has been a long time since I took any photos. Conducting workshops, replying emails and doing admin stuff seemed to fill the main bulk of my jobscope nowadays.

But to be able to revisit an old hobby is a nice feeling.

And my thoughts start to wonder.

How I can even forget my love for photography?

Solutions...

2008-02-12T01:43:00.000+08:00

I always thought people come to me for solutions to their problems, because they thought that I am brilliant at finding one.

But I realized that many a times people just want me to listen to them. They are actually more concerned about having someone to care for them and spend time with them, then so solve their problems for them.

There are also people who already have their own solutions in mind, but just needed reassurances; people who needed more of emotional support then practical ones.

I would say that I am fairly competent at finding solutions to many of the problems we face in life, but I always try my best not to share my solutions with those who seek it.

Every time we encounter a problem, it is often we who has the most information about the problem. And all these information about the problem, if organized, analyzed and given some thought, will actually turn out to become the solution.

So why give people an answer or a solution when they themselves already have one? Which is why I believe in helping people to find their own solutions instead of looking up to me to give them one.

From my experiences, giving a solution to someone is a lot easier and definitely less time consuming then helping someone find their own or even at times, just listen to their unproductive ramblings or complaints.

But I don't mind spending a little more time and even at the cost of efficiency I guess; for long term and somewhat intangible benefits of course.

Happy Chinese New Year...

2008-02-05T16:52:00.000+08:00

This year is the Year Of the Rat! Which means I am going 24 this year.

Will be going back to Malaysia for a couple of days and stuff myself with as much new year goodies as I can before coming back to Singapore.

At the moment I am trying to finish up as much work as I could before the new year so I won't get a shock by the amount of work that has pile up on my desk when I am away.

Anyway have a Good New Year ahead everybody and enjoy your holidays. =)

Push Button...

2008-01-30T19:03:00.000+08:00

This afternoon, I brutally murdered and disposed of the body of a push button soldered on the PCB of my DIY 8MHz computer system today.

It all started when I soldered my push button in the wrong orientation. So given no other choice I have to desolder the 4 pins of the button and pull the button out of the PCB. Unfortunately, the stubborn push button refuse to comply and insist to keep its place in the PCB as there were some solder trapped in the through holes.

After 30 minutes of 'gentle' persuasion without any progress, I decided to resort to cruelty. Firstly, I pry out the cap of the button with a plier. Then forcefully remove the springs under the cap with a pincer. After which I separated the button base from the 4 connecting pins using a cutter. And finally desolder the stubborn pins one by one from the through hole.

The whole process took me like 45 minutes, and finally I was able to solder a new push button into the correct position after removing its stubborn predecessor.

I took a sign of relief and look at the remains of the murdered push button.

Lesson learnt : Soldering is easy, but desoldering is ULTRA difficult!

Extra Ingredient...

2008-01-20T21:35:00.000+08:00

Was eating dinner with Johnny, SK, WJ and HF in Eusoff Dining Hall this evening when SK found a cooked caterpillar in her plate amongst one of the vegetable dish! The poor girl he lost her appetite immediately after seeing the dead creature and HF immediately stop 'touching' her veggies as well.

It is about 2cm long dead, which meant that it must have been bigger before it was cooked. I hope the cooks in dining hall wash the veggies properly before cooking them, or maybe, they should start washing them from tomorrow onwards!

Dining hall now has one dish less and the portion of meat is really little. So maybe that is the reason why our IHG sportsman and women have not been winning as much medals as compared to last year...

Anyway, I am not going to reveal which veggie dish is the one that is 'contaminated'... because some things are better to be left unknown. =D

Making Mistakes...

2008-01-18T01:15:00.001+08:00

"Know Where To Make Your Mistakes, And When To Laugh At Them."

Just feel like sharing this with everyone reading my blog.

Knowing where to make our mistakes is what I believe to be one of the most important life skill I learned so far, especially since I tend to make LOTS of mistakes.

Knowing where the costs of mistakes are lower and thus adjusting the amount of risk to take, knowing where you are allowed to make mistakes and most importantly, learning from all the painful lessons taught to us by every single mistake we make, is what I believe to be one of the most beautiful aspect of our lives. Making mistakes and learning from it makes us stronger, and help us grow as a person.

Laughing at our mistakes is not as easy as it sounds. Imagine trying to laugh in pain and sadness. Often acceptance is the hardest part. Whether we able to take a mistake in our stride and laugh at it or not has something to do with our our wisdom and maturity.

Encouragement and forgiveness will help ease the pain and make it easier for us to laugh. But at the end of the day, what I feel is that whether we see mistakes as opportunities to learn life's important lessons and laugh, or as an evidence of our utter weakness and sulk, depends very much on whether we are pessimist or optimists, which is why optimist then to fare better in the 'aftermath' of a mistake.

But it does not mean it is the 'end of the world' for pessimist. They can too master the fine art of laughing at our own mistakes, just that it takes a little more effort thats all. But then again, pessimist are generally more careful and hence make less mistakes. So I guess it sort of balances out. =)

First Post...

2008-01-16T01:12:00.000+08:00

Yup, as you can see, my new blog is more or less up. With changes to the banner and such. Will add some stuff to the sidebar as soon as I have some free time to throw around.

Why a new blog? Well I find my old blog a little messy and for those who know me, you should know very well I LOVE changes and new stuff.

Anyway Huey Fen will be sharing this blog with me, so look out for posts from her as well. =)

Expect some criticisms and the usual stuff I normally blog about. And comments on the blog are moderated so they won't go up immediately, so please be patient.

I am also trying out the new poll system so feel free to come vote and check out the results.

Lastly, enjoy your stay at The World Of Complex Simplicity. =)