I Am @ Youth.SG

UPDATE:
This entry has made it into the top 11 of the competition.

You can endorse what I've written by VOTING HERE.

Remember, I am B9 of Round4.
(Goodness, I can't believe I'm resorting to Singapore Idol tactics...)

This is a late submission, but heck, I'm submitting this anyway because as youths, we are always late for something. Plus, I think this is a darn good entry. Good because it is good information for youths, especially those schooling, to know.

Oddly enough, I got invited by Youth.sg because "this is one of the better-known blog in Singapore". (Yes, the grammatical error is intentional as it came straight from the email.)

So in sporting spirit, (and probably lots of gullibility to think that I have half a chance to win a Nintendo DS from hordes of teenage bloggers with tons of supporting schoolmates/secret admirers/non-secret admirers/potential stalkers punching the vote buttons,) here is my blog entry to this blog festival. (Because on second thought, people would rather blog their fingers raw for the cooler PSP, right?)

I'm not going to talk about the games I play, but I'm going to tell you something about games parents and teachers don't want you to believe.

Playing computer games is good for you.

Yes, you read me right. And it can be proven with statistics and academic research reports. If you are lucky, you might even talk your way into having your parents endorse your computer gaming. You know you want to be a professional gamer, so read carefully.

Tell your parents that playing games is good for your brain development

Let me start with a very basic game of Tetris. Research as shown that children that played tetris perform better in spatial relationship tests compared to children who don't. Spatial relationship is necessary for understanding space. So if you haven't been playing enough computer games, you might be lagging behind in the fundamentals of brain development. If you were in the western countries, you might even be able to sue your parents for obstructing your path to achieve your fullest potential.

For First-Person-Shooters, you can debate that they prepare you for National Service, because the US Army trains their soldiers with simulators similar to FPSs. Trust me, parents want an officer or an elite soldier to show off to their friends. Plus, you get more allowance for those vocations too.

For real-time strategies like Warcraft, Command & Conquer, SimCity, they train you in planning and strategizing.

Hell, even playing Pokemon is good. It trains your mind to store a huge database. Perfect if you want to be a research scientist.

Tell your parents that you can make money playing games

You've read about it in the papers. Gold farming, selling high level characters or accounts for MMORPGs. People pay good money for them. More importantly, you will love doing it.

Tell your parents that playing games trains you in decision making

Research has shown that children who played computer games frequently are more decisive. Meaning they are better and faster at making decisions. That's something top management requires. So debate that your playing computer games is intrinsically training an important trait required in future as top management for MNCs.

Tell your parents that playing games can be a profession

More importantly, it is a profession that you will enjoy and make money out of, as opposed to doing something you don't like for money. In Korea, professional gaming is so huge that the professional gamers have publicity managers, endorse sponsors and even dress up like the characters in the games they play. No, I don't think you want guys dressing up as Dead or Alive girls, please think along the lines of Counterstrike instead.

Corner Tell your parents if they love you, they should tell you that it is ok to do anything (so long as it is legal) to be happy.

Tell your parents it is a way of making friends/socialising networking

I emphasize the term "networking" because it is adult speak. Because "making friends" has somewhat zero economical value to parents. But "networking", that's talking business, it's about opportunities to make money. Our parents are a pragmatic bunch. So using "money words" help. Plus, you might get lucky and find yourself a "steady" along the process.

Lastly but most importantly, I need to tell you about where you can get all these claims supported by an academic.

Read up Marc Prensky's articles. Even better: Print them out and show your parents. By the way, he even justifies why we can't concentrate in class nowadays, mostly thanks to the Internet. So really, it's not us, it's the education system.

I'll be interested to know what will be parents' reaction too. You can post them as comments.

Thanks for reading.

And remember to vote for me at youth.sg if you support the views I've shared.

My Happy Valentine's

It's nice to have someone special to spend time with. Valentine's Day saw the Girlfriend and I have crabs at the kopitiam in Sunshine Place. We had figured it was more worthwhile and less restrictive to have something we love at a casual setting. Above all, it was more fun. It also means that I can buy her something to use or keep.

One thing I learnt from last Valentine's was the problem of commercialisation, or the more updated term, capitalism. This simply means over-priced mediocre food and cramped seating because the restaurant wants to maximize their profits. Worst, you get a time limit to dine in. The wait staff will politely chase you out of the place should you run over the timeslot.

Compare it to dining at a kopitiam which serves good local food all year round. The kopitiam gives you the all the time and freedom get messy with the food, ample seating space and an al fresco dining experience at appropriate prices. After all these, there is still money left to spare for a decent and functional gift for the special someone.

Of course, this tip is provided that you are fortunate to have a partner like mine, who simply prefers food to frills. If you have a prima donna for a partner, well...

But the most important thing I want to say in this post is really, "Thank You and I love you." to the Girlfriend who has shared the past one year with me and put up with all the crappiness and nonsense that I have intentionally and unintentionally put her through. It has been a wonderful year with you and I want you to know that I really appreciate you and your being around during my stressful times. Thank you for sharing those wonderful times together, thank you for being there when I needed you most. I sure there will be more to come, and I look forward to spending them with you.

Muackz~! :p

Randomly interesting stuff from the Internet

I shall pen two new words to describe bloggers who own DSLRs AND shoot good pictures - "blographer" and "blogtographer"

We've heard about SAF's directive for a 3G Army, but this is how the US Army takes it to a whole new level. For the uninitiated, Bogden (first from the left) is holding an xbox 360 controller. Think this picture will be the most effective in recruiting naive boys to sign on the Army.

Here's a really well-made game: http://cdx-thegame.com/

Here's a tip for people going for a tattoo:
Always get someone who REALLY knows the language that you might ink on yourself.
Why? Because you wouldn't want really want to be in such embarrassments:
http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/A61106/high/bmepb386093.jpg
http://www.hanzismatter.com/2006/11/it-means-eternity.html
http://www.hanzismatter.com/2007/01/sad-happy.html
http://www.hanzismatter.com/2006/12/stop-woman-flow.html
http://www.hanzismatter.com/2006/10/kimberly.html

Lastly, here's an anagram generator from www.wordsmith.org where bLog By Pixels can be BIG BY SEX POLL

Just passed by 2 seconds...

I had been out of action for about 6 months. It was a weird feeling going for IPPT unprepared, mentally and physically.

I only managed a minimal pass at all stations. But I guess it is a good showing, since I have literally not even sweated it out for 6 months, thanks to work and part-time schooling commitments. At least I don't have to worry about the dreaded Remedial Training, I think...