europe

i had a most interesting conversation with my mom:

me: my friend in uk ask me go europe this december.

mom: i guess you better start eating grass.

follow up

Ministry of health, or its facebook proxy said this 3hrs ago:

Thank you all for the comments on the pre-employment grant. The hospital clusters are in the midst of obtaining feedback on the parameters from the various stakeholders. Some of you have shared on the seeming disparity in grant amount /bond ratio between local and overseas students, and the need for a more conducive working environment, with goodtraining opportunities.

Through a careful consultative process, the hospitals will be able to finalize the specific terms and conditions in such a manner as to attract as many good doctors home as possible. On the whole, responses from overseas trained doctors and students have however been favorable. We will share more updates when ready.

Obviously they did not get my response.

A joke and an insult

No offence to chinny hor, use as generic example only.

I refer to this article: http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20100416-210789.html

In summary, the government is going to tempt people like Jameson and I (overseas Singapore med students) to return to Singapore to work in the public healthcare system. The health minister announced a month or two ago that MOH is mulling some kind of pre-employment grant (note they do not use the term scholarship) to entice us back. Hastily, they came up with something that seems great to the layman but fails to impress anyone in the profession, just like they did with the new residency program.

The article starts with:

To woo them back, the Government is looking to offer them up to $50,000 a year while they are still in university, to cover about 60 per cent of their fees in the last two years of their course.

I interpret that to mean: $50k or 60%, whichever is lower, and only for the last two years. Take my case for example at today's school fees and exchange rate, that equates to $31k a year or $62k total. For that, they want me to serve a minimum of 4 years, it is unclear if the intern year (or postgraduate year 1) is included.

Now lets consider what the government is doing with the local med students, namely YLLSOM and Duke-NUS.

YLLSOM:
According to NUS, tuition fee this year is $107k, of which $88k is paid by the government so Chinny pays $19k and change. Discounting annual inflation, the government pays each YLLSOM student $440k over the course of his/her studies. For that, Chinny has to serve 5 years in addition to a year of housemanship (i.e. internship). Source: https://share.nus.edu.sg/registrar/info/ug/UGTuitionCurrent.pdf

I could not find the full tuition fee for Duke-NUS so I shall use Duke University Medical School's fees for argument's sake, hopefully it is comparable. Duke's fees this year is USD46k or SGD64k (which begs the question, why is NUS so darn expensive?! Harvard is SGD57k, Hopkins is SGD42k, Edingburgh is SGD57k). Duke-NUS charges $35k so the government is topping up $29k per student per year or $116k for the whole program, again discounting inflation. For that, the student serves 4 years in addition to a year of internship. Sources: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/items/04081 http://www.duke-nus.edu.sg/web/admission_fees.htm

To quantify our government's love for medical students/noob doctors with pink ICs, I shall use the Money Invested to Length of Service Demanded ratio. A higher ratio implies that the candidate is able fulfill his/her worth (to the government) in a shorter period of time, hence he/she is more competent and efficient.

University of New South Wales (me): $15.5k/yr
YLLSOM: $73.3k/yr
Duke-NUS: $23.2k/yr

Wow, so I am 20% as competent as Chinny and 65% as efficient as a Duke-NUS guy. Granted I did not get into the former (DOH!) and do not qualify for the latter but UNSW can't be that bad; after all, MOE has all the primary school kids doing our math/sci/english tests.

It gets better:

Writing in his blog, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that the 'pre-employment grant' (PEG) would be based on merit and offered to students of top schools overseas.

bla bla bla

the grant target Singaporeans in top medical schools recognised by the Singapore Medical Council, such as Harvard Medical School, Imperial College and the University of Melbourne

Firstly, I seriously doubt any Singaporean went to Harvard. For the few that went to Imperial, I doubt they'll want to return to Singapore for $92k (which is how much this PEG will pay them) unless they are fanatics who want to build a democratic society, based on justice and equality, so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation. After Melbourne changed its medicine program from undergrad MBBS to postgrad MD, Singaporeans stopped going. The earning potential in UK or AU or anywhere else in the developed world totally owns Singapore. A Singapore Houseman (intern) makes ~SGD2.7k while an Australian intern makes ~AUD5.5k, specialist wages vary too much even within the same country so it would not be a fair indication of median pay. Anyway I doubt the foreign talents MOH dug from India and Philippine graduated from Harvard, Imperial or Melbourne.

As an interesting contrast, the 3 year officer contract with the Army (essentially 2yr on top of NS) pays $10k sign-on bonus, $6k combatant bonus, $6k end-of-contract bonus and ~$10k total difference between NSF 2LT and REG 2LT during the second year of service (discounting pay difference as a REG OCT). Their worth turns out to be ~$16k/yr, and they only need to pass A level/diploma as opposed to graduate from a 'top medical school(s) recognized by the Singapore Medical Council'. Source: http://www.mindef.gov.sg/arc/officers.asp

I'm not done yet.

As we ramp up local training and reduce the shortage, the scheme may hopefully become redundant

This is why they call it a pre-employment grant instead of scholarship, it is just a stopgap measure to get all the people they rejected to go back, there is no bright future ahead like there is for any typical scholar. Call me a sour grape but the government did not help me get my licence to practice so I have no legal or moral obligations to return and serve. If you say MOE provided me a good primary/secondary/jc education to study medicine in uni, I refer you to this blog post: http://angrydr.blogspot.com/2010/04/elite-bashing.html Hopefully, as they ramp up local training, less Singaporeans will need to go overseas. The statement goes to show that the government couldn't care less about our welfare, the whole point of the scheme is to plug the doctor shortage. When NTU medical school starts churning out doctors to fulfill Singapore's needs, there will still be Singaporeans who can't make it to local medical schools and head abroad, by then they will be considered 'redundant'.

Statement of the century:

We are still working out details to develop a package that will be both cost-effective and attractive to top talent.

Wow, what I want pales in comparison:
I need a double cheeseburger and hold the lettuce
Don't be frontin' son no seeds on the bun
We be up in this drive thru
Order for two
I gots a craving for a number nine like my shoe
We need some chicken up in here
In this hizzle
For rizzle my mizzle
Extra salt on the frizzle
Dr. Pepper my brother
Another for your mother
Double double super size
And don't forget the fries.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhlUVyDBusg
All that and a figure like Keira Knightley's.

And for the cherry on top:

Singaporean medical students who qualify for the PEG also have the new residency programme to look forward to, as it presents an additional opportunity for specialty training

Yea, I don't really look forward to the unaccredited and overcrowded residency program, Chinny do you?

Question: Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of CF arrangement

Condittional Fea Arraangementt (CF.A) (spelling mistake is meant so that this article is unsearchable) was introduced by the Access to Justice Act (AJA) 1999 as an attempt to transfer legal funding from the treasury to the private sector. This occurred as a result of an increasing and ridiculous growth in the cost of legal aid, namely from a few hundred million to well over 2.1 billion pounds from the 1980s to 2000. Moreover, it was not because demand was growing. Rather, number of cases relying on legal aid had decreased. Due to the need to control budget, CF.As are used to fund many civil cases which legal aid now excludes, and the issues brought about by CF.As have been debated over the last decade.

Admittedly, based on my research, the only groups of individuals who have really benefitted from this scheme are the lawyers, the claims management companies (CMCs), the banks and the insurance companies, which, is typically the supplier base for this system. In contrast, the consumers themselves have little but complaints, even though the CF.As were targeted to helping them in the first place. The introduction of Lord Justice Jackson’s report this year 2010 is new and the effects have not been visible in the current market, though we may look at the theoretical and legal implications that such an upheaval in the CF.A this would bring.

Firstly, we look at the advantages.

In terms of access to justice, CF.As have provided for many who could not qualify for legal aid. From 2000-2005 alone, personal injury cases saw a jump in a million[1] consumers seeking redress through CF.As. This is likely because of a few reasons. For one, the strict means test introduced by the AJA 1999 has led to the middle income group not qualifying for legal aid, but they are not able to afford legal services either. Secondly, the AJA 1999 has taken away certain civil cases from its funding, personal injury as an example. Thirdly, CMCs have been actively educating the masses as to seeking redress for personal injury cases especially, thus promoting a culture that citizens fight for their rights, and the CF.A is one avenue that they can do it for free. The statistics[2] speak for themselves. Especially in road traffic accidents, sometimes it is not proportional the damage to apply for legal advice but now it is made possible without the burden of bearing those legal costs. CF.As have increased accessibility to justice in a way that legal aid with a budget can never provide.

In terms of cost, in particular the success fee, it has been said to be an incentive, the only incentive for lawyers to ever enter into a CF.A. A huge risk of not being paid a cent should equally mean that there should be a larger chance to earn more[3]. Lawyers themselves are taking this risk and in order to maintain a supplier base, a success fee is a must. Currently, the success fee stands at any bonus amounting to up to 100% of the normal legal fees. However, it does not mean that it is up to the lawyer’s whims and fancies to set the percentage. This sum is decided in an agreement between the lawyer and the insurance company, based on the chance of success in a case. Opposition to this has argued that the success fee leads to perverse profits, but statistics show otherwise. Since implementation of CF.As, two large firms of CMCs have gone bankrupt within a short span of 4 years[4] and this makes us wonder whether doing CF.As are way more profitable than regular legal work.

Next, we look at the disadvantages.

The quality of justice has been described by the CAB (Citizens Advice Bureau) as appalling ever since the CMCs have started to act as middlemen for lawyers and clients in setting up a CF.A in personal injury cases. CMCs use hard-selling marketing tactics which pressures victims into entering into a contract with them. Often, they start by saying that they do not need to come out with a cent in seeking compensation but later on in some tiny footnotes they would write that the client may be subject to some payment. Essentially, not paying a cent is true, where legal costs is concerned, but damages are not always enough to pay back the interest rates of applying for a bank loan, which was meant to supply the insurance premiums. Because of the straightforwardness of some cases, some lawyers also take advantage of the situation to drag the case so that they may be paid more legal fees. Many consumers have complained that CF.A cases are so inefficient that they find it hard to resume their daily lives. Some straightforward cases were said to take up to months[5].

The one-way cost shifting is also a disadvantage for the defendant. If the defendant has failed to take up BTE (Before the event insurance), then he might find himself burdened with high legal costs from the other party when he loses[6]. What is worse is that he also has to pay the other party’s success fee, which means he could be paying up to 2 times the price of a normal fee. This is not fair to the defendant[7]. Another issue is that the defendant cannot control the legal costs of the other party and explained earlier this could be abused. Statistics have shown that the market for BTE is still very premature and hence defendants ending up bankrupt as a result of CF.As are a reality[8].

Next, we look at the former aims of CF.As. CF.As were meant to help those who were too poor for legal advice but failed the means test for legal aid. Recent cases such as Campbell v Mirror Group Newspapers Ltd[9] have seemed to imply that CF.As are available to just about anyone. This issue was brought up in the London Seminar as they said that for “Hollywood actress Sharon Stone, footballer Ashley Cole, supermodel Naomi Campbell… none of these were seen denied justice on financial ground”[10]. While this does not seem to bring about any problems since it is still applied as a CF.A, what we are introducing is a whole new culture of people who tries to take advantage of a no-risk system to earn a quick buck. In the case of Campbell, Naomi sued for breach of confidence, and earned £3500. To note this case, it was also “mortifying to find that… they (MGM) were made to pay legal costs in the sum of £1,086,295.47”[11].

Looking at the efficacy of the CF.A also brings shivers down one’s spine. While it is meant to provide claimants an avenue to seek compensation so that they can use the damages awarded to resume their daily lives or seek medical treatments, most of them end up having to pay for medical fees by themselves. Statistics showed that after the interest rates deduction, claimants were left with a meagre 10-15%[12] of the total damages awarded. Some even had to pay more. This does not seem to be a system to help the poor!

Lastly, on the point of abuse, it seems that lawyers doing CF.As are paid better hourly rates than a normal lawyer. Based on statistics, a CF.A lawyer easily earns 103-115%[13] of the normal lawyer fee based in London. Because their demand is not cost-led, it is easy to see instances of over-claiming and over charging of fees. Furthermore, in cases like personal injury, CMCs act as the middlemen and abuse the fact that there is no regulation stating the requirements of the lawyer. Some unlucky claimants would be stuck with newbie lawyers or lawyers that are not even lawyers at all[14]. However, it is not really the lack of regulation but rather it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to enforce those regulations as the general masses are unaware of CF.As as they are.

The Jackson Report this year has led to many changes to the CF.A scheme and though the effects have not been felt there has been much feedback.

For one, the Condittional Fea Ammendment Act 2010[15] aims to reduce the success fee from 100% to 10% maximum. This is something targeted to help the defendant as there has been much feedback that success fees are perverse to a point of landing people into bankruptcy. However, many such as the Law Society and the Manchester Law Society have spoken up for the lawyers saying that the 100% success fee should maintain. Many lawyers also seem to object to this move[16]. This goes on the grounds that it is important that there are incentives for lawyers to do CF.A work. After all, if they lose the case, they are not paid, and these lawyers are really gambling out there. Based on my opinion, what this amendment does will cause severe repercussions. This will not stop the problem of cherry-picking. Rather, it will result in more cherry-picking because there is a tendency to do almost no-risk work. Also, this would mean that many people would lose the option to enter into a CF.A as supplier base would probably decrease due to less sure-win cases. Next, to look at the problem of dragging cases to increase profits, this might actually persist and get worse in order to earn more. Hence I would feel that this is an effort, despite its good intentions, that would be difficult to bear fruit.

Secondly, there is a proposal to shift costs from the defendant to the claimant. Rather than bearing the full cost, it is suggested that the success fee be paid by the claimant. Courts have shown an apprehensive attitude towards this as the adversarial system has always been one that has a principle that the losers should pay the winner’s cost. This again is a move aimed to help the defendants. However, having this in play would mean that the claimants have less damages to recover. Yet, to look at it from another perspective, this would mean that lawyers can now no longer abuse success fee setting. It would shift the demand of this market to the hands of the claimants. In a way, this provides competition, keeping success fees low and efficient. It would also solve the problem of case dragging, since lawyers would be pressured by claimants not to take so much time. Although this means more lawyers would exit the market because of low profits, I would feel that it is still an advantage as it increases efficiency and cost.

In conclusion, there are many disadvantages and little advantages of the old CF.A system as I have researched and analysed but the new reforms by the Jackson Report might actually be able to solve some of those disadvantages so that CF.As become a good substitute for legal aid.

---

[1] No Win No Fee No Chance - James Sandbach, Dec 2004

[2] As from FN 1

[3] Win first, Pay later - Bob Maynard 2009

[4] UK Personal Injury Litigation 2003, Datamonitor

[5] Opinions expressed and reported by CAB based on 385 evidence reports between Jan 2002 to Sept 2004

[6] see Callery v Gray - [2002] All ER (D) 233 (Jun) Lexis case search

[7] Cardiff Seminar 2009, speech by Sir Anthony May

[8] The Trade Union Congress submission in the Lord Justice Jackson's Final Report

[9] Campbell v Mirror Group Newspapers Ltd (No 2) [2006] IP & T 54, Westlaw case search

[10] The London Seminar Report July 2009

[11] Conditional Fee Arrangement & Freedom of Expression – Thomas Gibbons, 2005

[12] Civil Costs Newsletter 2010

[13] Segmental Analysis Report by Ministry of Justice, data for 2008-2009

[14] The Review of the Regulatory Framework for Legal Services in England and Wales (‘Clementi

Review’), Sir David Clementi, March 2004

[15] Lexis Legislation search

[16] Access to justice: Jackson report is self defeating - ANdrew Tucker, 2010

NS Call Up?

I received a MINDEF notification for a call up yesterday.

Usually, such events are associated with shock, cursing and sadness on the part of the receiver. Mine was more than that.

Part of me thought it was a very very bad joke.

Reason? The date of the ICT was 12/10/2010 to 29/10/2010.
For those of you who are wondering what's wrong with that date, take a second look at the month of the call up.

Like hello? It has been repeatedly clarified to us that those who are headed off to institutes of higher learning(IHL), which is practically the entire RJC cohort, will either be deferred(overseas cases) or be called up during a common black-out window(local cases). That above date hardly complied with that.

It can only mean 1 thing. Someone somewhere screwed something up. And the administration failed to pick it up.

Now half of me feels like posting my NS call up email on failblog and then write in to the straits times demanding an explanation. Usually, i can take things pretty calmly. But with the burden on an unlimited workload, seeing such a mess up is pushing me to the verge of explosion. And if i require a deferment, i actually have to send a copy of my uni acceptance letter, a copy of my course time table, as well as a copy of my exam time table. Of which i have none cause i've missed all my uni briefings so far due to work commitments.

How much trouble is it going to cause me to procure all that? Surely much less than a simple write-up to the straits times. Well, SAF better pray they clear this mess up soon, not just for me, but for 10 of my platoon mates as well, or risk a serious blow-up.

noobify†™
ys

Great 6N swop?

Ok i'm somewhat inspired by this great idea of an event that recently took places in the RI staffroom. To those of you wondering what i'm doing in RI staffroom, you're way behind time, do something about it.

Ok back to the event. This event was called the great RI swop. and to spare myself from having to describe it, i've attached the email that i received instead.

----
Dear teachers,

The SWC is proud to present the Great RI Swop!

Day: Term 1 Week 10, Friday, 12 March 2010.
Time: 10am - 3pm
Venue: Staffroom 3 Meeting Room

What EXACTLY??

Staff are to bring item(s) for swopping with others. The idea is that you get rid of things you DON'T WANT and bring home things that you WANT, and they may even be NEW! For FREE! How great is that??? And how environmental!!

Rules:

1. Bring only items that you do not want anymore and are in good condition. You can bring used CDs, DVDs, books, children's clothes, toys, baby items, UNUSED toiletry items like SHAMPOO, HANDWASH (think Christmas gifts that you just had no use for), photo frames etc etc.

2. If you bring ONE item, you may pick ANY ONE item to bring home with you. If you bring TWO items, you may pick ANY TWO!


FAQs:

Q1. What are some things I can't bring for the Great RI Swop?
Ans: No unethical and/or human-trading is allowed, i.e., you cannot swop marking/timetables/classes, or attempt to swop children, spouses, parents etc. Oh, pets also not allowed! On a more serious note, things for swop should be safe, hygienic and non-personal, which means no expired toiletries/items and no undergarments please.

Q2. Do we all have to be at the venue at the same time to do the swop?
Ans: No. Come in to the SR3 Meeting Room any time between 10am - 3pm and you may pick your item(s).

Q3. If no one wants the item(s) I brought, can I still pick item(s) to take away?
Ans: Of course you can!

Q4. What will you do with the leftover items that no one wants?
Ans: If you want to take home the item(s) that you brought, you may do so, but do indicate your wish to us. Otherwise SWC will donate the unwanted items to the Salvation Army.

Q5. Can I bring my item(s) in earlier than 12 March 2010?
Ans: Yes you can. In fact you are encouraged to do so, so that we can get some simple admin work done prior to the fantastic event! Just pass the item(s) to your Staffroom SWC representative! Please do so only from Week 10 Monday though!

Q6. Can I bring my item(s) only on the day of the Swop?
Ans: Yes you can!

Q7. I brought 3 items but I only found 2 other items that I really want. Is that okay? Do I HAVE TO find exactly 3 items to bring back?
Ans: No you don't have to. As long as the number of items you pick to bring home is less than or equal to the number that you brought.


Here's looking forward to a great swap swop day! :)


Warmest regards,
Your SWC
----

ok as you guys can see, it's quite an interesting idea. and it turned out very well in RI. so i'm wondering, should we, as a class, have something like that too?

ok a few points about it.
1. i suspect part of the reason why it turned out well was because of the large number of staff, which is definitely bigger than our class.
2. another part is that some teachers brought like 46 items and took none, thus starting a huge pile of junk for others to happily grab.
3. logistics could be a problem with the remaining junk(which in RI's case was donated to salvation army). Donating makes us feel good, but bringing it to the donation point could be a problem.

yup that's all. just something to get you guys interested. If it is to happen, we need a class gathering/chalet/whatever, preferably around may to august when the overseas ppl might be back.

Prince of persia

Ok this entire post is going to be my thoughts on prince of persia, game, movie and whatever. Those not interested, just stop reading at the post above, since the post below is rard's post on POP too.

firstly, the game. to be exact, the original trilogy of sands of time, warrior within and two thrones(i'll deal with forgotten sands later). Well, prince of persia is essentially an action-cum-puzzle game. action from the fighting, puzzle from thinking of weird ways from getting from point A to point B. Weird because normal people would never be able to achieve those feats. for example, running horizontally on a wall for a distance, then jumping off before you fall off onto another wall, jump back and forth between the 2 walls to get up. impossible, it may look, but it is precisely these acrobatics that make prince of persia unique. Prince of persia would not be prince of persia if the acrobatics were removed(remember this point).

However, i would not qualify a game as action just because of some fighting time you get. What an action game should do is get your heart pumping like crazy and your adrenaline flowing. Which prince of persia: warrior within does to perfection. It introduces this unstoppable(for most of the game anyway) beast called the dahaka who relentlessly chases the prince to infinity and beyond. ok no, it can't get past water, but water isn't something that is everywhere, so what results is a crazy heart-pounding, adrenaline-rushing chase whereby everything has to be done to near perfection without the luxury of time. This is what i call action(frustration as well, but that's another point), and warrior within would therefore qualify as a really good action game.

However, i doubt the same can be said for the other 2. In sands of time, the dahaka isn't after the prince yet, and in the 2 thrones, the dahaka is gone(and would have no reason to be around either). That said, i've never played those 2 before and cannot comment further(in case there's some dahaka-like thingy).

And speaking of dahaka chases, some of them can get ridiculously long. gerard you know there's some special weapon, which i accidentally found but couldn't spare the time to pick up, in the middle of the longest dahaka chase i've come across so far? the ones when you first defeat kaileena and then u have to escape the dahaka 4 times. 4 f***ing times with no sand replenishment. and the 3rd/4th one, after you've pulled out the 1st stone tablet, is ridiculously long. and there's this white colour weapon that looks like a glove in the middle of it. Crazy. Are there any longer chases than that? I don't think my heart or mind can take a longer chase.

On to the movie. 'Prince of Persia: the sand of time' will be released on the 27th of may, starring jake gyllenhaal and the pretty gemma arterton =). I'm looking forward to it, despite the storyline having nothing to do with the game at all. There are, however, a few potential pitfalls which i hope the movie will avoid.

1. The acrobatics must be there(refer to above mentioned point), else this movie should just be called sands of time. More specifically, the WALL RUN must be there. It's so unique and cool.
2. The ability to control time(if it is featured) must not be messed up. Time travel and control is a very intricate and delicate issue that is very hard to pull off well. (eg if in the future, you're gonna go back into the past to do something, then the something should be happening now)

Let's hope the movie does well.

And lastly, the game. 'Prince of persia: the forgotten sands' need no further intro(if you've watched the trailer rard posted). I have only 3 comments on it.

1. the prince looks very different from all the 3 versions in the sands of time trilogy. In fact, it looks like jake gyllenhaal. It makes me suspect that they're gonna use the movie to drive up publicity for the game, having similar release dates and all, hence the lookalike. Casual players like me wouldn't mind it, but i can hear the murmurs and criticism from the hardcore fans already, that their beloved prince is being changed. If the hardcore fans refuse to support this, this game could fare badly.

2. the game says it's going back to the time between sands off time and warrior within. meaning the prince has released the sands already, but hasn't been punished yet. so will the dahaka make a comeback? I hope so! What a great game it would be!(but no crazy chase sequences please)

3. the trailer shows the prince freezing water to do more imba acrobatics. like wow! now he can freeze water? Is that a stop time skill or a new skill entirely? I sense puzzles getting so much tougher, like when you think there's no way across then u realise u can freeze the water and run along it. crazy.

Ok so i've come to the end of a really long post. feel free to add further comments on this really wonderful game(and hopefully, movie).

Okay I just realized from my membership points that I've spent about a thousand dollars on Challenger over the past 2 years. I must be their favourite customer man. Hm i feel abit stunned that i spent so much, but ah heck -- earn money don't spent then earn for what.

So, the next game i'm awaiting is Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. I'm glad they're finally going back to the storyline of the Sands of Time trilogy. The last one that was just released a year back totally sucked in terms of gameplay. But i loved the ending. Anyway the prince of persia is as imba as a slark with 6x eaglehorns. His acrobatics and fighting moves are quite leet, and the scenery of the environment is quite awesome also. Can't wait for its release.

See here for my review on Warrior Within -- the 2nd game of the series.

I was looking through the posts from a while back and chanced across something gerard wrote. So i decided i'd write something from my perspective.

List of games which I have impulsively bought over the last 2 years and never got down to finish playing:
Zero.

Shit I have no life. (\end sarcasm)
(But actually I really don't)

Personality Type #7

You're an insecure person. You hate uncertainty, especially the uncertainty you face where no one is really sure of their duties and boundaries, and you end up having to play aardwolf at work.

You miss a clearly defined rank structure, where someone much higher than you usually doesn't *********. You miss a competent boss who can discipline you when you screw up, it is a sign of your submissiveness and a possible hint of sado-masochist tendencies.It is clear that you need a dominant woman in your life. (I know Jameson definitely doesn't miss the boss bit about army).

You fear to tread where no man has stepped before, and you find security in rules, routine, regulations and regular results i.e. not risk taker. You feel uncomfortable without a sense of direction or a guiding compass. You feel that SOPs have to be well-oiled, regulations kept up to date, or the world will come to an end in the hands of incompetents.

You probably distrust your own abilities and judgement calls, a probable sign of low self-esteem. This may have resulted from being unable to cope with problems when you screw up, as there was no SOP. As a result, you deride those you deem inferior to you, such as a boss who cannot give clear instructions or discipline their underlings when they play aardwolf during office hours. Also, you prefer to play carry heroes in DotA which usually own without too much difficulty, hence -random agi. In a way, it is a method of self-preservation, and prevents your self-esteem from hitting an all-time low.However, this should be largely mitigated when *************.

Missing army, there is also a possibility that you miss the comfort that an almost all-male organisation provides you, and hate the uncertainty and dangerous grounds posed by frequently unpredictable females.

What you need:
Work:Sign on, or work within an MNC where there are well-established rules and SOP, where everyday passes without a hitch, and every emergency is attended to, if not efficiently, but surely swiftly and with certainty.That, or work in SMEs where you have good connections and the opportunities to rise up very fast. Once you are at the top, you will certainly be free to establish a set of well-oiled SOP, controls, and balances. You will be entitledto be a control freak, if you ever were one as dyS3. Oh, and you'll be free to play as much aardwolf as you like in the office.

Life:If you feel yourself to be completely without direction in life, and feel totally hopeless when you screw up, you can immerse yourself totally in religious fervour, which is not without precedent in our class.Alternatively, you can get yourself a dominant lady.

PS I'm sorry rard this is nowhere as near as Barnum's statements but at least it's personalised. Really.
PPS To others who read this, ***** parts are those which I have deleted on rard's request.

army

As strange as this may sound, I find myself missing army. To be more specific, I miss the organization of army. I miss the system well set in place where everyone knows their duties and boundaries. I miss a clearly defined ranking structure. I miss a competent boss that can give me clear instructions and discipline me when I screw up. I miss having upper-studies whom you can turn to for advice. I miss a well-oiled SOP to follow, with in-built checks and balances to correct you when you make a mistake.

Maybe i should quit and go join an MNC or something.

(So sc what do u think this says about my personality?)

lalala

ok i haven't taken much of a look at this yet. cuz i wanna sleep. today whole day outside damn tired le. but note the presence of 'ity' and 'ing' so 1 glance will give me 'webbing' or 'cabbing'. will think more tmr.

how about this

ok now that the previous guy has gone down in 2 hits(aerobatic and then jeoparded, imba duh), i'm left with this. too much vowels. long words abit tough. i see 'belongs', which is crap.

more

Ok this one really needs help in terms of long words. The letters don't look bad, so i'm sure there's one somewhere. but i just can't get it. aerospace needs 's', projectile needs 'L', and objective needs 'v'. so i have nothing unless u count 'project' as long. Anything cool u can see in there, sc?

one word search per day

hmm. after a few rounds myself, it's time to post an easy puzzle. It is precisely the ease of word forming that these letters offer that you can form long words. 'fraudulent' is missing an 'L'. so best i can see is 'radiance'. any better ones, sc?

more word searches

well it's not everyday that letters are nice. and this is one of them. not so bad yet though, i've had letters where i could only spell 5 letter words. I can still see 'wearily' from this. 7 letters. any better ones sc?

sc can advise?

since sc was so astonishing with his word search, y not help me again! i need an imba word, especially now that imba words give rewards. If your word is powerful(long), you'll get a gem tile(hence all the colours u see there). They give damage boost and add effects. The green one(emerald) heals and does 20% bonus damage, the purple(amethyst) poisons and deals 15% bonus damage, the blue(sapphire) freezes and gives 25% bonus damage, the orange(garnet) weakens and gives 30% bonus damage, while the white one is the imba one. diamond tile. fully heals, gives 1 of every potion, and gives 100% damage boost. I got this from the word citizenry, which now resides in my hall of fame. The other tiles are gotten from weaker words.

so help me get a good word! go for length first. that's the first priority. if u can, put the 'y' in. that's second. third is if u cannot get a really long one, go for either words that are metals or colours. they do bonus damage this round. 'white' is around but is a little short. yellowish is short of 1 L, and stealthily is short of 1 L too. wittily feels very wasted. any good words? use up any of the gem tiles if u have to. try to go for 9 letters and above. uneasily is there wif 8. so is alienist.

and feel free to help too, every other reader!

CNY

Hi everyone!

Wishing you all a happy and prosperous CNY in the year of the tiger! All the best in your endeavours, and for those flying off for studies this year, enjoy your last CNY for a long time :)

It is done

Armed with my old arsenal of tactics, the lvl 7 comp has fallen. yay.



For snivelling critics who think it's a fluke, i let the comp have a rematch.



Tough it may be, but it can be done. wooh.
For those wondering where the 2 draws went to, i'm wondering about the same thing. I'm still very proud of those draws, and i hope they haven't been deleted. I fought very hard for those draws, cuz the comp outplayed me for long periods. oh well. nvm. win is still better.

Girls

Well, sc wanted a post to somehow correct his inet problem. so here it is.

The title is simple enough, and it is one that strikes nearer home than most of us care to admit. but that doesn't mean they don't exist. In fact, they're all over the place. so much that apart from lz and jameson, rard and kel and even sc is discussing about them while i'm still totally clueless. Care to fill me in?

Ok on with the discussion. Every girl, just like every other human being, is unique. There can therefore be no classification for them. How then, can people still classify them? By our own criteria.and when you classify something according to a criteria, you have to first define your criteria, considering everybody has a different set. So something like "I think that girl is damn chio" is ambiguous. Why? Where? How? all these questions remain to be answered.

aiya i feel like sleeping le. it's 11.30pm alrdy.i shall abruptly end this little intellectual discussion. Feel free to continue it if u want to. and i hope this solves ur problem sc.

lalala
ys