Astrophysics!

Why didn't i mug my astro space exploration notes? Why? Why? Why?

Ok here's something i have to tell you, shun cheng. my astro may look damn pro, but i based them mainly on messier catalog, black holes, stars, astrophysics, and blah blah blah the list goes on and on. But two things i've always neglected to put much time and effort in are NGC(new general catalog) and SPACE EXPLORATION. Back in RI, Ee Sin was supposed to cover these two topics for me during competitions, so i nvr worried abt them. Didn't study them much last year for NUS-NTU astrochallenge either. only know basic things like first dog in space and stuff.


And oh how i regretted my decision today when i saw the physics paper man. Polar orbit! And yes, i rmb seeing those two words in my space exploration notes when i glanced through them long time ago. So i went through my notes just now, and i'm damn sian diao now. let me quote my notes.

"Polar orbits are orbits that pass closely over both poles of the earth. These orbits have an inclination of close to 90 degrees, allowing them to cover virtually every part of the planet as the planet rotates. As such, these satellites are commonly used for mapping or surveillance operations. Polar orbits over the earth can also be used to measure the ozone concentration due to the altitude which they're at when they make their orbit. An example of a satellite with a polar orbit is that of the Magellan spacecraft orbiting Venus.

However, launching a polar orbit around earth would require more energy and hence more propellant, as its orbital inclination is high and such orbits cannot make use of the earth's rotational motion to give it a speed boost. "


WTH! everything is in there. This piece of info was supposed to have been ingrained in me since sec 3. damn it. i suck.

take a break

Take a break from studying, and de-stress for a while. Here's a funny video on youtube.




And for all you 18-year olds looking forward to driving (lol gen =p), here's an interesting email i received.

Disclaimer: I am in no way supporting the authenticity of the following content. So yongsheng, if the chain mail is in any way inaccurate/lousy/false/untrue, feel free to blast it. just dont blast me kthx.

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I've been in the petroleum pipeline business for about 31 years, currently
working for the Kinder-Morgan Pipeline here in San Jose, CA. We deliver
about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period from the pipe line; one day
it's diesel, the next day it's jet fuel and gasoline. We have 34 storage
tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons. Here are some
tricks to help you get your money's worth.

1. Fill up your car or truck in the morning when the temperature is still
cool. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried
below ground; and the colder the ground, the denser the gasoline. When it
gets warmer gasoline expands, so if you're filling up in the afternoon or
in the evening, what should be a gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the
petroleum business, the specific gravity and temperature of the fuel
(gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products) are
significant. Every truckload that we load is temperature-compensated so
that the indicated gallonage is actually the amount pumped. A one-degree
rise in temperature is a big deal for businesses, but service stations
don't have temperature compensation at their pumps.

2. If a tanker truck is filling the station's tank at the time you want to
buy gas, do not fill up; most likely dirt and sludge in the tank is being
stirred up when gas is being delivered, and you might be transferring that
dirt from the bottom of their tank into your car's tank.

3. Fill up when your gas tank is half-full (or half-empty), because the
more gas you have in your tank the less air there is and gasoline
evaporates rapidly, especially when it's warm.

(Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating 'roof' membrane to act as
a barrier between the gas and the atmosphere, thereby minimizing
evaporation.)

4. If you look at the trigger you'll see that it has three delivery
settings: slow, medium and high. When you're filling up do not squeeze the
trigger of the nozzle to the high setting. You should be pumping at the
slow setting, thereby minimizing vapors created while you are pumping.
Hoses at the pump are corrugated; the corrugations act as a return path for
vapor recovery from gas that already has been metered. If you are pumping
at the high setting, the agitated gasoline contains more vapor, which is
being sucked back into the underground tank so you're getting less gas for
your money.

Hope this will help ease your 'pain at the pump'.

---------

Okay, back to studying haha. All the best for As people! As much as gp doesnt seem important to study for, try and do a practice compre + essay over the weekend to get into the writing mood yups.

Thanks everyone!

It sucks to be caught off guard. really.

but heck, i completely didn't mind it today. cuz on this occasion, it just rocks. yeah.

erm my handphone can't type smses properly(u'll know what i mean if u tried typing a msg with my phone. the keys are a bit spoilt.), so i shall type here!

And so, to
(insert warcraft III pic here, i no time to make another one like ellen's)

Chin Ee, Ellen, Gen, Gerard, Kelvin, Tricia, Yiting, and Zann,

A BIG THANK YOU! I really dunno how to show my appreciation enough, so excuse me for saying 'thank you' for like 10 plus times liao. but yah, really appreciate you ppl for actually coming to school just for this, and all the time and effort put in. Especially ellen and tricia, who just came school and then left le. so yah. and hey ellen, i'm not childish k. Funny comics are funny! they aren't childish. they're just like jokes. take this sherman's lagoon for example!

and this one too!

Ok the second one isn't so funny, but it's meaningful =P haha. and eh, u read comics also mah! the one you posted on ulutootkia. oh well.

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And so, for all the time and money spent buying cake, bag, photo stand, and printing photos and writing msgs, yet another thank you!(muahaha i'm gonna cross the 20 mark soon). Thanks for the best bag i ever had(my favorite colour somemore), and of cuz, one of the best memories =)

A levels coming soon! Everybody study hard!

Love you all!(yes kelvin, treasure it, doesn't come out of my mouth that often)

-

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And apparently icefrog wanted to give me bday present too, dota version 6.49 is out. lol.

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To my wonderful class,

-

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All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost.

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

-

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Winter is coming, hope your roots are deep! Good luck! and keep going!

Your home is a

Four-wheeling Gamer's Retreat

Your kitchen is stocked with chips, dips, and assorted caffeinated beverages. There's a pantry with emergency backup caffeinated beverages. You also have some breakfast cereals in there, but you haven't had breakfast since last Spring. Your master bedroom has blankets printed with images of Mario and Link. Your study includes unread copies of various gamer magazines, each purchased for the free demo CDs. One of your garages is home to your ATVs, hangglider, snowmobiles, and jetskis. It also containts a truck the size of a boat, which pulls a boat the size of a bus.

Your home also includes a robot repair bay, where your mechanized servants are routinely fitted with new restraining bolts. (It's just a precaution.) Your guests enjoy your collection of every console and associated game ever made. Except the Intellivision -- those controllers drive them NUTS. Outside is your radio telescope, listening constantly for alien transmissions. Especially invaders. They'll come eventually, even if nobody believes you. (Nobody does.)

Below is a snippet of the blueprints:

(:

(: lalala (:

People keep your 26th of Nov 2007,Monday, free okies? yup.. you're booked till er 27th 12 noon. hahaha! yea. details in email too!

Class chalet! pasir ris! somewhere near the beach! got grass, got water, got tree.

i'll send out the how to get there soon..


tentatively:

morning: go somewhere walk walk.

afternoon: go somewhere to eat as a class man!

by 2: check in! wohoo!




all invited, better come..
if not.. you'll be banned! muahahahaha! at least tell me in advance! hahaha thx thx!


by order of Noobhost

p.s this is so not a hoax.

10 dyas omg

Trehe rngis for the eveln-kgnis udner the sky,

Sveen for the darwf lrdos in tiehr hlals of stnoe,

Nnie for mtarol men doemod to die,

One for the Drak Lrod on his drak tnohre,

In the lnad of Mdoror werhe sawhods lie.

One rnig to rlue tehm all, One rnig to fnid tehm,

One rnig to birng tehm all and in the dsenrsaks bnid tehm,

In the lnad of Mrdoor werhe shwaods lie.

Dman I need taht one rnig so bdaly if I am to do wlel for my A lleevs man. No tmie laio...

lallaa

great minds? really?

I just read the post on ulutootkia. Before u read this pls go read yiting's latest two posts.





And i realised that such chain mails(even some smses) are very very very effective at convincing people simply by citing a credible source. which is actually what i do in my gp essays, so my arguments look pro.

I received that email which yiting received long time ago. It was slightly different, but then again people like to change things abit before forwarding them on. But the main quotation of a Cambridge researcher stays.

Most people will read these things, think it's interesting, and forward them on. not me. Frankly, u can call me a freak if u want to, whenever i receive such emails, i always double check their citations before i believe them. I don't know of anyone else who is bo liao enough to do that, but to me, it ensures i can only useful info registered into my head.(sorry, my brain sucks, can't hold much things, so need to ration.)

But these checks r useful. Because just like my essays, the quotations are all fake. There is no cambridge researcher who has ever stepped up to claim that particular research work, or show the rest of his/her research to anyone. It could be that the researcher is very humble and shy, but this is rarely the case. So in simple words, the claim is fake.



Let me cite another example. You people might have seen this in ur email or sms inbox before.

Subject: Important News from Dubai Gov.

Dear All, If you receive a phone call on your mobile from any person, saying that, he or she is a company engineer, or telling that they're checking your mobile line, and you have to press # 90 or #09 or any other number.

End this call immediately without pressing any numbers. There is a fraud company using a device that once you press #90 or #09 they can access your 'SIM' card and make calls at your expense.

Forward this message to as many friends as you can, to stop it.

All mobile users pay attention if you receive a phone call and your mobile phone displays (XALAN) on the screen don't answer the call, END THE CALL IMMEDIATELY, if you answer the call, your phone will be infected by a virus.

This virus will erase all IMEI and IMSI information from both your phone and your SIM card, which will make your phone unable to connect with the telephone network. You will have to buy a new phone. This information has been confirmed by both Motorola and Nokia. There are over 3 Million mobile phones being infected by this virus in all around the world now.

You can also check this news in the CNN web site.

I know ellen received an sms like this, but then i've long received this email before she did. This one cites motorola and nokia, huge handphone giants which everybody believes in. It also cites the very reliable CNN website. And being my usual self, i checked it out.

And the final info? Both nokia and motorola label this as a hoax, and a search of the CNN website turns up no stories of such a virus. The origins of this virus dates back to 1999, when it first appeared on the internet. It cautioned cell phone users to beware of answering calls from "UNAVAILABLE." In 2002 the hoax was revived for another run, that time cautioning mobile chatters against taking calls from "ACE-?". In 2005 it came back once again, in that instance to warn the cell-enabled to not accept calls from XALAN.

There is no such threat. No mobile phone viruses capable of infecting cell phones and erasing SIM cards have yet been discovered.


Moral of the story? Most people just read, see the name of an authoritative source confirming the story, and believe it. No one really bothers to check. Your cambridge examiners are probably like that too. And so? Spam sources and studies from authoritative sources that support your argument. Your gp might rock! haha kidding. don't try. later ur gp screw up u come and blame me. don't hor, i am hereby not responsible for any damages that may result from following my unwise remarks. yup ok.

And anyway, it's a fact that people usually believe these chain things as long as they don't attempt to weed money out of them. The Australian Psychological Society(APS) has published a report on how people easily fall for chain messgaes as long as they see that the mail has been forwarded to many people. They assume that if many people receive it, it's bound not to be a hoax. so there you are.












HAHA, for all those who still fell for and believed my last paragraph, please raise your hand and slap yourself! learn pls! And according to a cambridge researcher, i'm part of the 55% of people who have a strange mind =S

lalala, damn long post man.

slideshow

Pressure

The picture says everything. A thousand words to be exact. so jia you for the A levels. Become a diamond, not a basketcase. yup.

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And here, i shall have a special poem composed specially by me.

And the thing special about this poem? It's composed purely from warcraft III voices.(almost purely actually)

So it means the quality sucks, cuz i only have limited options to choose for my lines, but i still think i did a good job. so well, here it is. Italised words are actual voices from warcraft III. normal words are added by me to make it flow(or have some meaning).

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Storm, earth fire, heed my call,
for the winds of war(A levels) draw near.
We humans need to stick together,
and we’ll go through this together.
We may have failed before,
but the moments have passed,
it’s time to even the scales.
For those who have done well,
Keep going, we can’t afford to lose ground.
For those who’ve done badly'
At last, we shall have revenge.
And whatever it is,
Victory will be ours.

For victory!

-

Credits:

line 1: orc shaman

line 2: Warcraft III: reign of chaos, opening cinematic

line 3: Lord garithos

line 4: Priestess of the moon, some campaign

line 5: Illidan, some campaign

line 6: Dark ranger

line 7: Dark ranger

line 8: my own line

line 9: Maiev shadowsong, campaign

line 10: my own line

line 11: Demon hunter

line 12: my own line

line 13: human sorceress

line 14: DotA, chaos knight

-

ok now, back to mugging. cya ppl.

Rjc open house

Rj is having open house tomorrow!

Ok that is probably the least of your concerns now, considering the make-or-break obstacle ahead, but i just thought it would be worth mentioning that tomorrow will be a NOISY day in rjc. so if u wanna go school to study, hide deep in the library. else you can enjoy the noise.
I had first hand experience of the noise today, when i went school to photocopy cca records and collect chem prelim papers. And the befrienders will be dancing the same befrienders' dance(i think) which i've forgotten about 70% of it alrdy. Chin ee pangseh me so i collected my own chem prelim papers. He was supposed to collect for the class and then pass one copy to me. so yah. wing dun come chase me for money pls. i very broke now. i owe pin $32, while my wallet has like $12. so yah.

Refering to the tags, chin ee, why the heck would graphite be better than coal? so what if can conduct? coal worth more as a diminishing supply of fuel, and enough pressure can turn it into diamond(woah mayb A levels pressure can turn shun cheng into diamond). Graphite in the meantime can do what? lubricant. lol.

And erm, shun cheng, u still havn't told me bout the competition money, but nvm, not interested in chasing it now, got A levels. And two people owe me $4.60 for physics prelim papers. I've forgotten who you are, but pls dun cheat me just because the part of my brain meant to chase you for money is now preoccupied with things like this.
So yah, pay me whenever you see me, i'm in serious need for money(see above). I'll probably be at almost every revision lecture, so not much excuse about not seeing me. yup thanks.

And erm i'll conclude by telling you i'll be posting another post soon. which you'll probably have read before you read this anyway. oh well.