Where's the Chinatown crowd?

Went to Chinatown for the Chinese New Year bazaar on Friday evening with Joyce and some of her friends. It wasn't as crowded as expected. Today, on the way to work with Kelvin, he asked about the bazaar. Acknowledging that there was more variety of stalls, I also lamented that it took away the competition between stalls. Everybody jacked up their prices to the extent that people are better off buying from their neighbourhood supermarkets. I don't think I want to squeeze through the crowds, risk being pickpocketed only to find out that all the stuff they sell there are more expensive than my neighbourhood supermarket. The Chinese New Year bazaar at Chinatown was crowded because it was a place for bargains, I can't be so sure now.

<swear word>, Flickr Cheat Got Limitation...

Although the email upload managed work, it has also pushed out my old photos...

Power Rangers

Yup, we were up to some mischief again...

Another reason to why I love photography. :)

Chinatown Bazaar

The waxed meats section of the bazaar. By far the more interesting thing to photograph there.

Another reason to why I love photography. :)

Flickr cheat

Heheh~! For those who have been frustrated by the miserable monthly upload quota of Flickr, help is here! Apparently, the email upload and email upload and blog feature doesn't have a quota! So to load all your crazy photos up on to Flickr, send them to the specified email address, and viola! Unlimited upload quota on Flickr! Use this with gmail and just go "Woah~"

THE PAK TOR FUND

For the good people who are happily attached or unattached but looking, may I suggest you set aside an amount of your income/allowance for the development of your future happiness. This little hoarding will be labelled the PAK TOR FUND. How is this PTF used? The PTF is constantly being used to during peace time so as to maintain the perception of peace. The PTF is usually converted into items relevant to the parties in mind (PIM). For example, flowers, shiny trinkets, cute and cuddly soft toys, nice smelling stuff, candlelight meals, weekend getaways and anything that may be remotely romantic. How often should the PTF be used? The PTF be converted as frequently as possible. This is also highly dependent on the PIM.If the PIM is bochup-positive, honestly, save up your PTF, work like crazy to grow your CPF, ROM with the PIM and buy a big house.Or if the PIM is bochup-negative, do the same, but forget about the ROM and big house.For all other cases, the recommended frequency of conversion is once a week. Also recommended is to have variety and variation in your conversions. What if I have no PIM? The purpose of the PTF is so that you will be ready in times of uncertainty. This means that you will be properly funded when the PIM comes along. With a strong PTF, you can kick start your plans to bring about the stability and peace that you may seek. Alternatively, your PTF can be diverted to other more low risk funds. Also, if you reach the age of 35 years, the PTF can be used to fund a hip and happening 3-room HDB flat, renovation included. What is the risk level of PTF? The risk level of PTF varies from PIM to PIM. But the track record is for this fund has been -23.6% p.a. from the dawn of the pak tor era. Sharp declines have been recorded on specific like 14 February, 25 December and 31 December. At least 2 additional sharp declines are also registered annually. From a survey of 3 people, the causes are birthdays and anniversaries. Reasons for other sharp declines include parents' birthday and parents' anniversary. Another happy reason is the marriage proposal Should I start a PTF? Most definitely. The PTF is extremely versatile. It can be used for a spectrum as wide and vast as your imagination. But the most important benefit is the positive lifetime relations between you and your PIM. What if I am already married? Is the PTF still relevant to me? Yes. In fact, the PTF will be even more important than before. PTF for married couples is recommended to keep the fire of passion burning. PTF here will make your PIM attractive, loved and possibly in the mood for love more often. This in turn helps to reduce divorce rates. So what are you waiting for? Start your PTF now!

Planning

Went for lesson last night. It went rather well. Managed to catch most of the cheemiology that was bombarded to the class of three.

• Talked about Deterministic Finite State Automata and Non-Deterministic Finite State Automata
• Learnt that a union of two Deterministic Finite State Automata will create a Non-Deterministic Finite State Automata
• Learnt how to derive a Deterministic Finite State Automata from a Non-Deterministic Finite State Automata
• Learnt about combination subsets

Then Dr Teo talked about planning. He compared Professor Yap and himself. How different their situations are despite both holding Ph.D.

Prof Yap is an NTU lecturer specializing on Compiler Theory with a wife who earns more than him. In short he is financially secured, works for fun and has half the workload of Dr Teo.

Dr Teo is the sole breadwinner for a family of five, teaches at Informatics and has double the workload of Prof Yap.

So the lesson learnt here:

1. find a capable wife (?)
2. if you plan well as a dual income family, the couple can retire early and happily.

Wonder how Joyce will react if I talk about it. :p

I am not a celebrity blogger, I am not a celebrity blogger...

I am not a celebrity blogger I am not a celebrity blogger I am not a celebrity blogger I am not a celebrity blogger I am not a celebrity blogger I am not a celebrity blogger I am not a celebrity blogger I am not a celebrity blogger I am not a celebrity blogger I am not a celebrity blogger Spent too much time blogging, now I'm bearing the consequences. Late nights. :p

Taking Time Out

Caught these fellas in action along Orchard Road on Sunday.

Another reason to why I love photography. :)

I'm an uncle all over again

It's always a joy to see a new addition to the family. My brother's a father all over again. That makes me an uncle all over again too.

As part of welcoming the newborn and the mother's return, a series of dishes is prepared. So it's not everyday that my mum makes this specialty dish that involves pig's trotters, ginger and bottles of black vinegar. Yup, pig's trotters braised in vinegar. Weird you say? Try it, the taste might just grow on you.

Creatively Challenged

It's seems that I'm running a little low on nonsense... Maybe because too much fibre in my diet. Been eating fruits and vegetables during lunch. Now the shit's sort of all cleared.

A Lesson on Chivalry

Read Xiaxue's entry on this molest incident during the NYE. Highlight of the entry was her slamming of Singaporean guys for not standing up for their girlfriends. As far as Singaporean guys are concerned, I have to admit that we have been brought up in an environment so sterile, we think twice before every move we make, the cause and consequence. Sometimes, it is even to the extent that we think twice to do even the simplest of things, let alone to stand up for your loved ones against adversity. Very often and unfortunately, rationale preceeds courage and chivalry. And if I may use this term to simplify, "don't dare to take risk". Basically, that's quite sad lah. I mean, the course of action a guy takes directly reflects how much or little he cares. With that said, I also want to add on that it is also the guy's upbringing that determines his course of action. Sometimes, there is a problem of what's right, what's wrong and what the law says. Standing up for the weak - right. Beating someone up for the wrong he did - wrong because one must not take law into your his hands. For that matter, the Botak Ah Beng & Co mentioned by Xiaxue's earlier entry was simply somebody with a good upbringing, someone who knew what was right. In the case of "what ifs", molesters are more likely to be cowards to begin with. They do it now because they had gotten away with it before. Don't let them get away again and again. So the girls in the incident had chickens for boyfriends. And for that they had every reason to cry about. Guys reading this, what would your stand be if you are thrown into this kind of situation? Like what Yin Kiat would say, "Do the right thing." And of course not to forget Botak Ah Beng & Co. :)

My Most Recent Catch Phrase

Don't Complicate My Life

Simple?