harry potter

i've finished the 3rd book!! (ok i know i'm slow) and seriously i've noticed more things this time round. and i'm absolutely certain that this is my favourite book in the series. it was, and always will be =D too early to say though haha, there's still the 7th :) here are some things that i noticed (or wondered about) this time round.... well, non harry potter fans can stop reading at this point. i just need some opinions about some unanswered questions pertaining to the story heh.

[edit: added a number 7 :)]
1) the vanishing cupboard was mentioned in the 2nd book! it was thrown and damaged by nearly headless nick in the hopes of distracting filch from giving harry detention. (when filch caught harry 'befouling the castle' with mud splattering everywhere after his quidditch training, and when harry was brought to filch's office and saw the qwikspell letter just when filch went out of the office to check on the noise, this noise which was in fact caused by the crashing of the vanishing cupboard! then rmb in the 6th book, malfoy had to repair the vanishing cupboard, the one montague got lost in previously (was it in the 5th book?), and was travelling to and fro non stop unable to escape. the exact same cupboard that malfoy used as a means for his fellow death eaters to enter hogwarts.
(note: did i get it right? the cupboard was called vanishing cupboard, right? not too sure about this)

2) in the 3rd book, when the trio were at hagrid's just before buckbeak's execution, and they were led out of the house through the backdoor when the ministers+dumbledore+executioner were arriving, harry stepped out and felt "unreal". haha this is just one particular foretelling by jkr that i've never noticed =D the unreal feeling must have been the fact that harry felt that someone was watching him, which is in fact true, cos his future self was hiding somewhere. brilliant, isn't it!
(note: i clearly need to read more times!)

3) i'm wondering.... when lupin appeared in the shrieking shack (right after sirius brought them all into the shrieking shack by force), harry asked how did lupin know where they were, and lupin said he was studying the marauder's map, and that he saw 3 people going into Hagrid's, but bringing a fourth person out with them out of Hagrid's house, the someone else being peter pettigrew, of course. but im wondering, at that point in time, the future self of hermione and harry were hiding near Hagrid's house right before the time of the execution that should have happened, preparing to free buckbeak when the time was right. why didn't they appear on the map as well? lupin would have been shocked to note 2 harrys and 2 hermiones, right?

4) the cursed opal necklace (claimed the lives of 19 muggles up to date) and the vanishing cupboard (and the hand of glory too, but this one is obvious) was mentioned in the 2nd book when harry ended up in Borgin and Burke's by accident when he floo-ed wrongly. :) the vanishing cupboard being the twin, the one that helped death eaters enter hogwarts in book 6.

5) notice how the books always emphasize some sort of telepathic connection between filch and mrs norris? i'm really curious about that. wonder if jkr will clear that up in the 7th book. i've this suspicion that mrs norris might actually be an animagi =\

yup! that's all so far :) just wanted to share them haha.

[edit]
6) ron claimed in the 5th book that prefects can't take points. but in the 2nd book, percy threatened or really did take points from them when he saw harry and ron sneaking near myrtle's toilet thinking they were up to no good.
(well jkr cleared that up heh. in an interview she said, "Prefects can take points; Ron got it wrong in Order of the Phoenix, which makes him a pretty poor prefect, eh?")

7) in the 2nd book, nearly headless nick suffered the full blow of the murderous glare of the basilisk but he couldn't die again, but he saved justin from receiving the full blow and so justin was merely petrified, and so nearly headless nick was like this floating black mass that had to be moved by ernie (or someone else) using a large fan to fan the ghost to the infirmatory (haha i found this part really cute!) the petrified victims were then revived by giving them mandrake potions, but how does a ghost take the remedy? haha!! they didn't exactly clear that up... it's not a very important detail though :)

and here are some other things that i found on mugglenet which jkr mentioned in interviews and can't be found in the books. interesting stuff!

• Fred and George Weasley were born on April Fools' day (no joke).
• Dean Thomas's father was killed by Death Eaters when he refused to join them. Neither Dean nor his mother know.
• James Potter was a Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team (although the movie claimed he was a Seeker).
• The Gringotts' goblins return the Muggle money they acquire back into circulation. (note: this is so econs LOLLLLL. circular flow of money.)
  
• The approximate value of a Galleon is about five pounds ($7.30 or 8.00 Euro), though the exchange rate varies.
• A few of the Hogwarts professors have spouses, but that information is restricted for reasons we will find out about later.
• To remove the tail that Hagrid gave Dudley in the hut on the rock, the Dursleys went to a private hospital where the staff was very discreet, and said that a wart had gone out of control.
• There is more to the cats in the story (Crookshanks, Mrs. Figg's cats, Mrs. Norris, etc.) than meets the eye.
• A magical quill detects the birth of every magical child and records it in a book and Professor McGonagall sends an owl to each child when he or she turns eleven.

helium

The voice of a person who has inhaled helium temporarily sounds high-pitched. This is because the speed of sound in helium is nearly three times greater than in air. Because the fundamental frequency of a gas-filled cavity is proportional to the speed of sound in the gas, when helium is inhaled there is a corresponding increase in the resonant frequencies of the vocal tract.

Although the vocal effect of inhaling helium may be amusing, it can be dangerous if done to excess since helium is a simple asphyxiant, thus it displaces oxygen needed for normal respiration. Death by asphyxiation will result within minutes if pure helium is breathed continuously. In mammals (with the notable exceptions of seals and many burrowing animals) the breathing reflex is triggered by excess of carbon dioxide rather than lack of oxygen, so asphyxiation by helium progresses without the victim experiencing air hunger.

Inhaling helium directly from pressurized cylinders is extremely dangerous as the high flow rate can result in barotrauma, fatally rupturing lung tissue.

Saga of 6Nations Birthday Posts

Before all else first:
1) Have a safe journey and have fun Gen!
2) Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes and the presents! Am happy :)
3) Thanks Mr Chong for coming down and performing with your guitar!
4) Ok Yong Sheng your description of mansion has convinced me as to the income inequality in S'pore =P
5) Happy Birthday Yiting!
6) Sorry for this rather belated birthday post, got held up due to certain restrictions on use of computer. Pardon me if it's rather low quality, I don't write well under deadlines and without inspiration.
7) This is dedicated to Yiting, and to all the teachers out there.
8) Enjoy.

A single, flickering candle flared within the darkness, bathing the chamber with its inconstant glow as wavering shadows chased each other across the walls. Buffeted as it was by the winds of magic that flowed strongly within the chamber, a small gesture steadied it immediately. Though dawn was slowly breaking over the Academy of Magic, it yet remained dark within the shrouded room.

Ms Tick dressed quickly, preparing herself for a new day. Dark, shoulder length hair swept to either side of a chiseled and well-shaped face, she cut an imposing, and somewhat daunting, figure at the height of 1.8m. She was dressed severely; drab clothing that consisted of the robes of a sorceress draped over a dress that reached all the way to the floor.

Ms Tick gathered her things with a sharp, well executed gesture that brought the threads of magic, which were attached to different objects, together. A rather worn, but lovingly polished, tome of magic. A small jade crystal, her focus of magic. Parchment, pens, and other miscellaneous objects all hovered momentarily in the air, carrying themselves, if it was even possible, with a touch of their mistress’s dignity and pride that seemed to have rubbed off on them.

Amused, she twitched her fingers ever so slightly, and the objects, without hesitation, though with a slight touch of chagrin, disappeared into her bag. Together with her bag, Ms Tick passed gracefully over the floor, flowing smoothly, almost as if her feet did not touch her floor, almost as if she was levitating. Certainly, it was well within her means to keep on a permanent levitation spell, to reach new heights and view things from a different perspective…

A softly whispered command, and Ms Tick summoned the day’s messages in her inbox, which included a well-wrapped package. It was a box, filled with shimmering, multicolored crystal star shards that contained various well-wishes from different people. She exhaled sharply, emotions roiling within her mind. She had forgotten. It was her birthday. Within the overlapping network of stars, a name glowed, and her heart leaped.

Uncontrolled, images flooded her mind, images that she had tried so long to block out. She imagined that face, those eyes…enough.

Her iron discipline kicked in, and her will clamped down on the flow of images. Ms Tick rebuked herself angrily, annoyed at her lapse of control. As Queen Goansoo had dictated when she gave her blessings as Ms Tick left her service, there would be no pairings. No fraternizing with males. No violation of the foremost law of Ulutootkia, the one strict commandment that all adhered to. But yet, those feelings…almost with a sense of wistfulness, she blocked them out, and focused on the stars from her family, from Goansoo, Treesha, all the Ulutootkians who loved her, and whom she was free to love in return. I will do my best, she promised them silently. I will not fail you.

Her birthday. Ms Tick remembered a horoscope from long ago, one she had read in passing and dismissed from her mind. It had been from some blind seer in Ubercoolkia, she remembered vaguely. Such horoscopes, especially from males, were perfunctorily dismissed as flowery nonsense in Ulutootkia. But yet…what had it said? “Those born on this day are thrice blessed indeed, for these are the people who will come to shape the future of the entire world, who will be destined for all the great things in life. Those born on this day, are beyond the shadow of a doubt, pros.”

Indeed. As the sun fully crested the horizon, bathing the entire Academy with its radiance, Ms Tick slowly passed through the door, preparing herself for the momentous event ahead of her, the great task she must complete, the one that she would use to change the world, and the fates of its people, irrevocably. She went to teach.

Teaching, the noblest profession.
---

In another decidedly remote area of the 6Nations, one unexplored, where humans had not set foot on for years, the same sun was unseen, shrouded by dark, swirling clouds that vaguely boomed of thunder. It was late afternoon here, a different time zone from where the Academy was located.

He tilted his face towards the sky, eyes closed, just in time to catch the first, refreshing drops of rain as they pattered upon the ground. The black storm clouds were not oppressive, rather, they were strangely liberating. For the first time in decades, he felt free, as if a great burden had finally been lifted from his shoulders, as if finally discovering that he possessed shoulders he never knew he had.

The drizzle intensified, and all at once, it metamorphosed into a storm of gigantic proportions, one of such magnitude that was seldom seen even within the 6Nations. The raindrops hammered down upon the leaves, and he felt, rather than saw, the lightning flash across the sky. Within seconds, everything was soaked. It was beautiful, magnificent, experiencing the storm in all its raw power and fury. The rain fell so hard and fast that it shrouded the hills with a white curtain in an instant, one that the naked eye could not penetrate.

Not that it all mattered to him anyway. The roar of the storm filled his ears as he looked within, his mind’s eye seeing that which others could not. Within the 6Nations, chaos was only starting its reign. Frantic, panicking citizens hurriedly packed their belongings and fled. Across the scarred, battle-torn land, armies continued to wage their endless wars. Families were torn apart. Politicians schemed and plotted among themselves. The 6Nations were on the brink of collapse, even as the ugly side of humanity reared its monstrous head, as the people struggled desperately in their bid for survival.

So it starts with me, he thought bitterly, a cynical smile twisting his lips. My prophecy, the harbinger of doom, which has eclipsed their sanity. They think they can escape it by fleeing to the ends of Sixan. They cannot. They think they can change it, by conquering the other nations. They cannot. In the end, everyone, including me, will be drawn back in, will all be consumed by this prophecy. In the end, the effects of the prophecy will be so far-reaching, that they will be felt even in other lands, and it will change the fate of the peoples of Sixan irrevocably.

But in the meantime, I’ve got better things to do.

He stood a moment more, and then turned, disappearing into the storm. Seeking, for once, not for the fate of others, but for his future. His destiny. For, unlike what others had come to believe, he was human too, and he shared the same human needs as they did. I'm an escapist. I don't care.

Through the roaring of the storm, he imagined that he heard the Author laughing at him. His own future? Did he presume to think that he could break free from what had been otherwise dictated? The games Fate played were complex. It would not be so easy. He told the Author to screw off.


PS Yay. I'm going to slack off in writing for now. And since Gerard intervened, I've edited some parts (or rather, one particular part).

Whatever lor, Anything lah

Went down to city hall ytd with my family. ate dinner at the place beside the esplanade. New York New York was as crowded as ever, though i dunno wat's so special bout that place. then watched some fireworks. for some reason( i dunno what), that esplanade area has a complete lack of teenage girls. any girl u see there are with their boyfriends. so i was like like qte amazed when i managed to chance upon this girl who was alone at a bus stop. The girl was looking down at her handphone and a bit of her hair was hanging down, so i cldn't see her face. But two thoughts came to my mind, one after the other.

The first was that the girl looked familiar. The second was that the girl was probably good looking =) And the combination of these 2 factors made me walk past the girl in a weird way lah. anyone who saw me at that time probably tot i was some buaya shit attempting to hook up that girl or smthing, cuz i walked past her with my gaze transfixed on her. The kind where u walk past and ur head turns as u walk so u can continue looking at the same thing.

And then she lifted up her head. but by that time i had walked to behind her alrdy, so i still cldn't see who she was and whether she was indeed good looking or not. And then i heard her voice, as she called out to her friend, and i knew who it was le. Both my thoughts have been correct(wooh i rock). She is indeed someone i know, and she is indeed chio.

And before those jameson-like ppl come and ask me who she is and that they want to see chiobu, let me first tell u that her name is kelly and she has a boyfriend called gavan who is so manly that he can do pull-ups with one finger from each hand. which means he can crush ur balls with just two fingers, so i advise u not to try. Apparently, she was there planning for some walkathon.

Anyway, though i've wrote like a hell lot, that's not what this post is supposed to be about. so as i was going home, walking along citylink, i saw two things which made me think of two things. lol. The first was a newurbanmale shop which reminded me of ellen(bobo num!). The second is what i saw inside the breadtalk shop. To Xun Yong, the Anything and Whatever drink is not some expensive joke, it's for real. Those two drinks were being sold in that breadtalk shop. yup, and so i found out that Whatever is non carbonated drink which consists of mainly water, sugar and fruit juice concentrate, and Anything is a carbonated drink that consists mainly of carbonated water, sugar and permitted flavoring and colouring. yup.

So yah, next time ppl ask u waht drink u want, it's not so advisabl to say anything or whatever anymore.

On a side note, ppl are at the airport sending gen off while i type this post, because i checked my hp for my sms too late. anyway, even though u wun see this till u're back, nevertheless, i wish u a safe journey there! take care and hav fun!

With that i conclude my triple post in less than an hour =)

Marie's house

Well, I'm sure all of us have heard of the word mansion. But have any of us seen it first hand? I havn't, not till the night of 18th may 2007. It finally gave a physical dimension to the word mansion, which till then, had simply been a word in my dictionary.


And well, for those who want a glimpse of it, u hav to wait(i'm sorry, yiting and anyone else who are curious), because the only person who i know has pictures will fly off to chiang mai with gen and many other ppl today. so we hav to wait at least 11 days before getting pics of the mansion. so well till then then.

As for now, all u need to know is that, they have chandeliers in almost every one of the bigger rooms, over 40 paintings hung around the house, over 40 sculptures placed around the house, over 50 rooms, a lift in the house, an electronic automatic mahjong table(shuffles the tiles and everything for u), a karaoke room with over 70 000 songs(smash any kbox standards anytime), a pool table, a driveway that can easily fit more than 6 buses, and the list goes on and on. one of the bigger rooms in the house is nearly as big as my whole hdb apartment. and they hav a lot of rooms pls. oh crap.

Wait for the pics then get awestruck. lol. anyway, that whole area is like mansions all over. when we were walking in, we saw 8 cars parked in one of the mansions, some had ferrari's, some had mclaren F1s. now we know what is the extent of sg's income inequality. haha.

Full circles

Handover for astro took place two days ago, 25th may, while handover for odac took place a week ago, 18th may. And the thing about coming to the end of smthing is that it always make u think of what u've done while u were involved in it, whether u hav met ur targets, ur objectives, if u hav any at all. or at least that's for me and some of the slightly more emo ppl. the more nonchalant ones will simply be like, yay, it's over, time to move on in life.

But for these ppl, i must say, just, spare a thought, just a moment or two, and think about what u've done, what you've achieved. Most of us should be nearing the end of our terms in our ccas, or like me, hav ended our terms in our ccas. so just spend a little time, and think. what hav u done? what hav u gotten out of it? what hav u achieved? It can be anything, be it a trophy, or simply additional friendships. and think about whether it had been ur target. whether there has been any shortcomings. and learn frm ur mistakes. don't ever repeat them next time.

For me, both my terms hav not been good. but they hav not been that bad either. let's start with astro. it's a cca that's too small to hav much a credibility. i took a look at the number of j2s when i first joined astro, and decided not to join the exco, despite knowing that with nearly the whole j2 exco being my friends frm ri sci club, i was virtually guaranteed of almost any position i want in astro. my point was that the j2s who turn up for astro session were all exco, not a single member. It goes to show how sad astro is. Those who did not make it to exco are simply not bothered wif it anymore. The farewell was all exco ppl, what rubbish. What's a cca wif no members?

I wanted to change that. I had hoped that by showing that members do still turn up and help out, other members will follow suit as well. I was wrong. With the new exco selected, the remaining candidates who did not get a position, who had spoken so passionately for astro during the election speeches, simply disappeared. completely. All that they had said during those speeches were all lies. just a bunch of lies. I hope they screw up in life next time. bastards.

With that, what i hoped for was all gone. dissipated, gone. and i was left wondering why i had not simply went for a place in exco and get a pretty testimonial. but having nvr ever cared abt how gd my testimonial looks, that tot was soon gone. but it still left a lingering thought. that what i had set out for, what i had hoped to accomplish in the cca, had been a failure. and come ytd, during farewell, it was the same story as last yr's farewell. to be exact, it was even worse. the total strength of the j2s numbered 5. 4 exco and 1 member. impressive.

But at least i know i tried, and i do not hav any regrets. not so much for odac though, but the regret is on a lot more personal level, which i am not abt to reveal on this blog. I may tell closer friends, but such personal stuff do not make it onto blogs generally, so yup. what i say on this blog then, will become no regrets as well. yay.

Odac, a cca viewed by many as a tough and hard one. yet, it wasn't long after i joined odac that i realised that it was nowhere near tough. The amt of pt we hav falls far behind that of other sports grps. and furthermore, most of our trainings are on mondays, which i hav h3 physics during that time. every time i rush off to odac after h3 ends, odac ends in 5 mins time or has ended as well. so i pretty much miss out a lot on odac, since i'm the only person in odac taking h3 physics. This distanced me frm most of the core odac members, since most of my best friends in odac faded off to council, while i faded away frm the remaining due to not seeing them often. yet, i can say that i've made enuff friendships during my time in odac 22. for while the core odac members are close within themselves, there's always a grp as large as the core odac members themselves who are not close to the core odac members as well. Together, this grp forms smthing of an outsiders grp, where we are a somewhat close-knitted bunch. So, my friendships are there, and it enabled me to hav a great and fun time in odac.

Where i learned many things, especially on the australia expedition, where i saw just how much our aussie guides conserved and treasured their environment. pretty much why i took up the topic of nature and animal conservation for gp topic. This, coupled with the many other things i've learned frm odac, have enriched my life, i don't have any regrets.

And with the concluding of both ccas, it has came to the end of one whole year of exciting activities. I'll miss odac very much. But the A-levels loom. and that's one more obstacle to pass. though once that is over, amidst the fun and play and all that, it just means the end of two years of jc, and while i'm sure and hope that many friendships will be preserved, it is nevertheless still sad to be parting ways with many others.

Heck though, studying for A-level is top priority and now, those emo stuff can come later.

And i still want a house that's at least 1/10 of marie's hse. A lot of hard work still needs to be put in.

Anyway, happy bday yt and sc!

sweet 18

happy birthday yiting and shuncheng! haha sc i'd write a bdae post for u, cos u deserve it after writing so many for other pple, but i dun seem to be in a creative mood now and a suitable inspiration is eluding my compository faculties. anyway, may u have a great 18th year ahead. 1 year smarter to take on the As, 1 year more cunning to play dota, 1 year more mature to handle what life throws at you. haha yay.

well, i dint take many photos during bdae celebrations on fri, seeing as i dint really feel like it, but nvm that. ya'll just have to wait for someone who did to be feeling generous enough to upload it. Anyway, Pair of the Day.

oO BDSM....haha tsk kel

and now we explore the solubility of candy floss in water at room temperature and 1atm.

conclusion: highly soluble! IP << Ksp

now for some personal updates. haha i watched the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie this morning, it totally rox la, pwnz 2nd movie hands down. i think 3rd movie would suck too =\ anyway, much <3 for plentiful fencing, witty lines, and commitment to pirate traditions, which 1st movie had. boo to commercialism.

Elizabeth: Under the terms of parley, i wish to negotiate the cessation of hostilities against Port Royal.
Barbossa: ooh plenty of long words in there, miss.
Barbossa: I am discinclined to acquiesce to your request.
Barbossa: Means no.

Saga of 6Nations - The Eaglehorn featured!

Damn. Why am I writing this the night before GP common test. Someone tell me.

I've been thinking, no one character really suits that of an archer, so I just picked one character without a fixed weapon and dumped this on him.

Bow of Alacrity
The heavy doors to the arcane vault swung open ponderously, and the blind seer passed through, at home with the surroundings. Kevlin hesitated a moment, then stepped past the threshold into the dark interior.

The vault left Kevlin awestruck. Though Kevlin had seen his share of wonders before in his life, the arcane vault was by far the most breathtaking, leaving Kevlin gaping at the countless wonders like a small child, easily overwhelmed. The vault was not completely dark as he had believed, but dimly lit by glowing, intricate runes carved upon the walls.

Kevlin shifted his gaze to a darker part of the room, and as if sensing his eyes resting upon them, dormant runes, previously hidden within the darkness, now flickered to life, bathing the surroundings in a soft glow. The vault was filled with countless wonders, powerful magical artifacts that belonged to another age. Strangely carved figurines, sleek and graceful, fascinated Kevlin, and wondrous orbs drew his gaze, but what most attracted him most was the central pedestal, and the magnificent object that rested upon it. Almost unthinkingly, he reached for it.

“Pay attention!” the seer snapped, drawing Kevlin out of his momentary daze. That phrase…not unlike a certain god I know, Kevlin thought resentfully. He's not even a god, why do I even put up with him? The seer led him closer to the centre, and Kevlin saw that the object of mention was in fact a finely crafted longbow, elegantly shaped, sleek and deadly. Intricate, flowing runes wove around the bow, arcane runes that marked the bow as a powerful magical artifact.

The seer’s fingers ran lightly over the runes, stroking them almost reverently. He intoned, “You asked for a weapon to aid you in vanquishing the Minions and the six elite Minion Guards. This is…Falconstrike. The Bow of Alacrity. Crafted by the master mage Argarus from aldurswood and dragon sinew, this will serve you well in battle…”

Kevlin recognized the name of Argarus. Renowned centuries ago as a master craftsman and wizard, it was said that he only ever created magical artifacts of great power. And aldurswood…wasn’t that the rarest type of wood, famed for its superb quality, strength, and magical properties? “Imba,” he breathed in wonder.

“…that is, if you ever manage to use it properly.”

Intrigued, Kevlin asked, “How is this bow hard to use? It’s just like any longbow, right?”

Fixing Kevlin with a stern glare (as stern as those blind eyes could manage), the seer retorted, “It’s not just any longbow. It is one of the most powerful magical weapons within our possession, and as with any power, you have to first prove yourself worthy of it. And so far, no one has yet been worthy. Not a single person has ever successfully drawn it…”

“You mean it’s so beautiful that even your best artist has been unable to reproduce on paper?” Kevlin, stung by the seer’s condescending look, bit back sarcastically.

Ignoring him, the seer continued, “…in fact, it has been prophecised that the first person ever to draw this Bow of Alacrity will…” here, he paused momentarily for effect.

Unable to restrain his curiosity, Kevlin asked eagerly, “What?”

“…dislocate his shoulder,” the seer finished.

PS Yiting tell me early if you want a birthday post. Or Gerard, you can request one for her.

no time

ok i wanted to blog on odac handover one, but i got no time le. i know it's early for most of u, but it's way past my bedtime. lol. n i know i dun hav time for many many days to come, all the way till next sat or sun i think. so i shall make a filler post to remind me to do so. whee.

and i just need to get smthing off my mouth, i'm like dying to say it after getting awestruck by its sheer imbaness since friday night.

After seeing marie's hse, i think rjc is small.

Enuff said =)

Zomg

Omgwtfbbq

Guitar Concert! and the triangle performer!

xy looking cool...














jameson shaking xy's hands...















a more complete photo.. with me in it!




















[ The Beautiful Pin ]





















guitarist!




















multi tasking!





















all focused..




















star performer!




















:)


okie.. i realised my captions are really lousy.. but ya. guitar concert was quite good! good job Pin! i was like omg! its Pin with the encore! hee :) so cool. anyway, its a triangle that pin's holding.. in case some of you can't see :P um should get a bigger one tho.. :P more ringing >< sry din make it there the first half.. had choir elections.. ooops.. sry sry! hope the performers had a great time..

inhaling helium

Cool flying videos!!

Woohoo!~ i finally learned how to embed youtube videos in blogger

2 very cool videos with nice accompanying music

navigation


physics

hp counter

i just couldn't resist it lol! placed a live counter at the top of this blog that counts down the minutes and seconds to the hp movie and book 7 HAHA! shall remove it after july 21st :)

ps. I HAVE FINALLY FINISHED DRACO'S TRILOGY!!! after 6 months and 5 days. omg. i must have started reading it after promos last year lol! for those who don't know what it is, draco's trilogy is a 2900-page fanfiction. and okay, pin, narishka and gerard read finished the entire thing within one month last year but that doesn't stop me from rejoicing =D and now this leaves me free to reread all 6 books before the 7th is released. i sound like i have so much time =\ lol. of course, i'll fit studies in, somehow. -cough- :)

Andy Mckee - Africa - Toto

Aaaaannnd... my second attempt at posting a youtube video! Sorry, couldn't resist it. Heh.

This one's a real treat! I'm quite sure a lot of you know this song. It's quite addictive, I couldn't stop listening to it for a while.

And if you're free enough to browse around youtube a bit, you might get a nice surprise if you're going for the guitar concert. Which, incidentally, is on this fri, 18 May. 7pm at the PAC. If you want tix, HURRY UP AND TELL ME BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!! By today 5 pm latest latest latest pls. It's free, btw.

Yay enjoy! :)

(71 more days!)

flying

its the forth time weather fouled my area solo(meaning going up to the training areas myself, only) and my wiser self senses that i'll screw up big or really big if i attempt to operate a piece of high tech equipment(the camera phone) and a low tech machine(the plane) at the same time. and of course there's the small matter of me running out of blue-tec to secure the phone with. i'll post some videos from youtube instead. with 3 weeks and 6 flights left, im really feeling the heat. havn't finished studying the aircraft systems and this morning's navigation exam was less than confident. nevertheless, the end is near and i'll get through it one way or another.

my very 1st flight was on 27/4/06, the day before my birthday, can't remember how i felt, excited i suppose? following that i can't say that the excitment faded but anxiety built up. each flight has new objectives, briefing/debriefing, assessment by the instructor and improvements demanded by him. its very easy to *t00t* up. an angry indian shouting constantly into your ears amidst the engine noise is definitely not good for health. frankly im quite suprised i made it this far, 1/3 pass medical, 1/4 pass interview, 5/25 pass phase 1, 2/5 pass phase 2. the remaining 0.00667(3 s.f) of initial applicants whom are in phase 3 will almost definitely get the licence. hmm...but maybe im not suprised, they say you either have what it takes or you don't...hai~ im just naturally pro:p jokes aside, flying(as the pilot) is very - do i say, systematic? - there are well defined procedures everything and checklists to save my ass in every situation but when the wings drop off. its not at all romantic like in pearl harbour, the bright sun and clouds make you think its hot but actually you're freezing in that inadequate flight suit at altitude. (temp dec at 1.98C/1000ft) i'd expect all of these to get worse next time, airforce or commercial, except for the freezing-my-ass-off part since any plane less pathetic than the current 1 i fly has climate control.

after all the ranting, do i feel its worth it? hell yea?!~ where else in the w0rld do you get paid $500 for getting a private pilots licence? maybe 1 of the 6Nations. having this licence also allows me to skip the Basic Wings Course in airforce where the majority of n00bs are sent packing, not that i've no confidence in myself nor am i a n00b. pratically this licence is useless in sg but its a intermediate step to something higher, a necessary step. in a few weeks time, the 1st chapter of my would-be career would have been written. till then, i have alot of things to study~.~

Lishan(if you read this at all): syfc.sg says you need to be singaporean, i don't know if pr will do

Generviefe: pilots really do say [you have] and [i have], its 1 of the many rules. for multi-crewed aircraft, there's a [pilot flying] who flies and a [pilot not flying] who talk cock on the radios.

skip the other vidoes if you're lazy, but this is a must watch - eh, for econs! Star Alliance - The Airline Network for Earth. These planes can't be more majestic, maybe flying is romantic afterall: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCd5KW1ojiI

this guy from syfc took a video of a glide approach, meaning throttle idle and landing the plane without power to simulate an engine failure emergency. apparently he didn't use blue-tec: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYk-HL4ijzk

here's a flight sim 9 video with actual atc voices of an approach into kai tak(old hk airport). kai tak is considered to be 1 of the most challanging approaches and the few airports where the autopilot can't land itself. too bad i can't do this for real as its closed in 98: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6Gkpxz_2ts

building the A340-600 in under 2min: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HTtkgiw9pI

thai A346 t/o. if you listen carefully, the engines spool up to a intermediate power before going full. throttles advanced to 40% N1 and the pilots see that its stabilized, then they go full. during the t/o roll, you can see the sluggish wings lifting itself 1st before hauling the 300t goliath. at V1~140kt, the pilot removes his hand from the throttle as beyond this speed the plane must t/o even if an engine drops off. at Vr~150kt, he pulls back on the stick to raise the nose. after rotate, the plane climbs out initially at V2+10~170kt. got to love the sound of the engine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VVfUzVpB6o

thai A345 landing. touchdown was really smooth, auto brakes and reverse thrust(when the engines open up) slow the plane to 80kt, the pilot brake manually at his discretion to taxiing speed~10-20kt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NHZ0gNCeeg

pin: you should have flown in style with thai last december, tiger's puny A320 is no match!

crosswind landings: extreme winds demand extraordinary techniques and excellent skills. respect!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KewDaYDG1i0

this combines the difficult kai tak approach with difficult winds, he should have gone around though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY9Dr7U9ZWE

to sum up, this is what happens if i screw up really big: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pS4ne7R7es

god saith youtube!

syf

heys guess i shall write a lil post here just to upload some photos in my hp. and also cos i'm in a writing mood. well, maybe not really, just a moody mood. haha does that make sense. anyway, tada! our wonderful CTs working hard to plan our cip comm. hurray for them (:

wahaha i shall erase wdv u write!!!

woah powerlady gen hahas

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haha ok well, as some of ya'll might alr know by now (ok actually most prob all of u since by the time u read this post it'll be tmw night), choir got silver for syf yups. i dun really have anything to say actually, and i dunno wad to say either. maybe chinny will write a post about it. he's prob in a better position to do so anyway. anyway, dun try to comfort me in sch (once again, none of u will read this in time anyway ahaha) i'm fine yups. as chinny once wisely said, "the SYF is a festival, not a competition." Our goal isnt so much the gold, but rather the process, the hard work, the fun times we shared together, and the music we created and enjoyed on stage. and i dare say we have met that goal. so anyway, thx for all the support from u peeps, hope ya'll are not too disappointed by us heh. time to jiayou for As...hoho.

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Of course, we cant forget the inevitable picture of the day. Chinny and trish all dressed up and ready to go watch phantom of the opera (: hope ya'll enjoyed yourselves!

<3

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Ocean

I feel so guilty pushing the OotP trailer down...
:(
but oh well.

After 5 times of frantically trying to post one youtube clip on the blog, and failing, I have decided to post the url instead. stupid youtube. or blogger. whatever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xZw9D9c18E

The song's called Ocean, performed by John Butler on the guitar. Takes a while to load, but it's worth the wait. It's the kind of song that tugs at your heartstrings. Not that your heart is a guitar, but you get the idea.

If you observe carefully, yes, that's an 11-string guitar. Don't ask me how to play it, cuz I'm quite as clueless. >.<

You might want to check out the band's (John Butler Trio) other songs as well, especially Better Than and Zebra.

Enjoy! :)

(On a more HP-related note, 74 days to go! wheeeeee)

which leads to...

HP QUOTE OF THE POST
"I enjoyed the meetings, too. It was like having friends."
- Luna Lovegood, OotP

harry potter and the order of the phoenix!

Online Videos by Veoh.com

global issues

Hihi 6N! Haha, just wanna bring up to you that http://www.globalissues.org/ is a fantastic source of info for GP, especially since we're doing global issues now. Have fun reading! (: