Holidays?

It's December again!

While we're SUPPOSED to be having our holidays, most of us are struggling with FYP!

To date, here are some updates.

Yix has flown to Hong Kong for an interview. Good luck Yix!
Fen will be having her driving test tomorrow. Jiayou gal!
Khim Sing will be turning 27 in a few days time. Happy birthday!!!

Let's all not worry about results yet. Enjoy while we can!

Xmas gathering on 22nd Dec!
More details will be out soon!

They're back!!

Yeah they are finally back!!! I had such a weird weekend w/o them around!

We now have certified divers (basic), certified open water divers (advanced) and wat else? ahha.. I 4gt the term for Phee's certification. MSD?

FYP

Just to keep this place alive hahaha
let's do an update on who's doing wat on fyp

I shall start the ball rolling

Yun
Proj name: Brain-Inspired weaning for mechanical ventilator
Supervisor: A/P Abdul Wahab Bin Abdul Rahman
Lab: Centre for Computational Intelligence

SMRT Challenge

Got this from Campus Buzz

==================================================

Singapore’s Ultimate Travel Race Join SMRT Challenge 2006 for a day of fun, strategy and adventure! Crack clues and plan the fastest routes to checkpoints across or near SMRT's train stations, taxi stops and bus interchanges. Conquer physically-demanding “Missions”. Execute courtesy and safety tasks. Power to the finish line together!

Date 23 July 2006
Time 8am—6pm
Venue Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza

Cash Prizes
Category First Prize Second Prize Third Prize
Student S$2,000/team S$1,500/team S$1,000/team
Family S$2,000/team S$1,500/team S$1,000/team
Open S$2,000/team S$1,500/team S$1,000/team

Registration
Registration is free.

Form a team¹ to register for the Student, Family or Open Category².

Application forms are available at all Passenger Service Centres of SMRT Train Stations (North-South and East-West Lines), SMRT Bus Interchanges at Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang, Sembawang, Woodlands and Yishun and at www.smrt.com.sg

Closing date for registration: Friday, 23 June 2006.

========================================================

Anyone wanna join me?

KL Trip - Day 2

Sorry for this long awaited post! Been busy.. yeap busy "working" offline lah! Since I couldn't do any updates during office hours, I did bit by bit offline. So here's part 1 of Day 2!

Yeah Day 2!

(What a way to start the entry. Nice photo ya? Credits to UG! *wink*)

"WAKE UP WAKE UP!!!" *yawnz* The morning "bell" rang at 7+am. Hahha! And that's KS. Followed by Yix. Followed by UG. UG sounded like a rooster though. *ROFLOL*

When everyone's awake at long last, we proceeded downstairs for breakfast. Prior to that, Yix & UG had woken up earlier to try the hotel breakfast - which was later proven to be a better choice having our breakfast elsewhere.

Breakfast was at a coffeeshop-like place that's 5 mins away from our hotel. Each of us had a bowl of salty-egg/century-egg porridge, 2 half-boiled eggs & a cuppa coffee. Maybe except Yix. lol

Took a lot of public transport today. A RM2 bus ticket allows us unlimited rides on Rapid KL buses for the day. Our first destination of the day is Suria KLCC.

If you intend to visit Petronas Twin Towers, go up to the top, here's some guidelines..


The long-missed A&W Root Beer & Waffle!! You definitely can't get this in SG anymore!

I thot this photo looks cute. Kudos to UG!

Here's our one & only group photo! I can't seem to write much this time round. 'Coz it's mainly walking around to shop. As the saying goes, A picture speaks a thousand words. So.. PictureS speak thousands of words right? wahahha! Here goes!

(*to be continued* I've yet finish editing the photos as yet..)

KL Trip - Day 1 (completed)

Ok I shall start on our journey up north!

Let me see..

Prelude
Original plan was: Fen, Yun & Yix to meet @ Ten Mile Junction bus stop @ 6.30am. Meet KS, Randy, Van & UG @ Departure Hall 7am.

Due to some hiccups, Yix joined Fen & Yun only @ the bus stop @ Custom. 7.15am. UG & KS reached.

Yix called Van to see if she've reached. Confirmed that she's on the way. Where's Randy?

Since there was no mention of Randy during the phonecall between Yix & Van, Yun tried to contact Randy, praying that he has not forgotten about the trip and is still sleeping on his bed. Praying that Yun does not need to call Randy's sis to wake him up.

Called once. No one picked up the phone.

Twice.

Thrice.

Yun lost track of the number of times she called. Until she see Van & Randy coming up the escalator together. -_-"


Off we go
Wasn't quite a long wait @ Singapore custom, but no idea why the queue that I'm at is always the slowest. Van & Randy proceeded on first as they need to check with the bus company the bus that we have to take from Larkin to KL.

When the 5 of us reached M'sia custom, Van & Randy were just about 15 people in front of us, despite leaving Singapore custom about 15mins earlier than us. Heard that they queued at the wrong queue and had to re-queue? o.O

We were still in the queue at 8.30am.

8.45am. Cleared M'sia custom FINALLY. SBS 170 was soo packed that all of us took the Singapore-Johore Express though we didn't buy tickets ( except for Van & Randy ).

9.05am. Reached Larkin bus terminal. Searched frantically for our bus platform, hoping to see the bus waiting. (Our bus was scheduled to be at 9am)

Oh yes we missed the bus! Saw a bus leaving the terminal, chased it, the bus driver told us to check with the counter. Oh wellz..

After checking with the counter, we were told the bus is scheduled to be at 9.30am, not 9am, and we have to wait.

9.30am. No sight of the bus.

10am. Checked with counter again. Told to wait.

10.30am. Checked with counter again. "Bus jalan already" OOFG! ( Improved version of OMFG *lol* ) Since we couldn't get a refund, we got ourselves tickets for the next bus of another company @ 12noon.

On the bus to KL



4pm. Alighted early @ Hang Tuah Monorail station as there was a traffic jam ahead. As the rain gets heavier, we took the LRT ( a different railway from Monorail ) to PuduRaya station. That's where we were supposed to alight if we didn't alight early.

After some hassle of asking most of the bus companies ( they had their counters @ PuduRaya ), Van, Randy & KS finally got us bus tickets from KL back to Larkin.

We started to proceed to our hotel Bukit Bintang Warisan. 'Coz of the rain, we took cab. UG, Fen & KS got on the 1st cab (RM15 for the journey), while the remaining 4 searched for the next one. Yeap searched because we had to find one that doesn't overcharge. Finally found one that quoted us the same fee (RM5 per person). Had to walk a bit to the cab , only to realise that it's a personal car! Not taxi. Hahah!

Finally checked-in
5.05pm. Our driver couldn't find the hotel. Went a few rounds around the area before we spotted the hotel.

Bad news! The hotel reception couldn't find our reservation details. Not even when the reservation number was quoted. They couldn't find it in their database!

*gan jiong*

While we waited, I think they decided to give us 2 connecting rooms. Must uphold their reputation. haha! And that we finally checked in!

After depositing our bags and had a short rest, off we went for dinner!


Night Activities


After the so-called "dinner" is SHOPPING time!!

Went BB Plaza to shop. The gals and the guys split up. Supposed to meet 1.5 hours later at the entrance.

1.5 hours later..
The gals are still on the same level! Hahahhaha! You're talking about GALS. 1.5 hours is definitely NOT ENOUGH! *Rolls On Floor Laughing Out Loud* Met KS & UG. They brought us to the upper floors to continue shopping. LOL! Outcome of shopping @ BB Plaza: Yun bought 3 pairs of shoes + 5 pairs of watches. Fen bought 2 pairs of shoes + 1 watch. UG bought a pair of shoes. ( No idea what the rest bought =P )

Not yet satisfied with the shopping, we went back to hotel to deposit our shopping bags. ( BB Plaza is just 5min walk away ) Short rest, off we proceed for DESSERTS!

Had a durian feast and some nice desserts! *dingdong dingdong*



After dessert.. hmm.. where did we go? Shopping again! There's this pasar malam near our hotel. Went there to walk. UG & Yun bought a name chop each.

Proceeded to walk down the street.

11pm. Yun's too tired, her contact lens giving her problem again! She went back to hotel & rest, while the rest proceeded on for SUPPER!

*As the author was not present for the supper session, she couldn't do a writeup on this part*
*content below was extracted from Van's blog*
What's for supper? The 6 of them walked around, searching for Beef Noodles that Randy had the last time he was @ KL. Along the way, KS saw a stall with a lot of people. "Let's check it out". Turned out to be wan ton soup & shui jiao soup! *dingdong dingdong* The wantan & shui jiao are nice! The char siew was nice as well! In short, everything's nice except the noodles -_-"

After more walking, they finally found the beef noodles!! On the contrary, the beef balls were ok, but the noodles were great! *dingdong dingdong*

And that concludes Day 1 @ KL.

FYP Allocation

FYP Allocation is out!

Everyone got your choices? Except for poor Fen who's one of the 10% who didn't get any of her choices.

Group Photo

@ Petronas Tower

We are BACK!!!

Yeap yeap we finally stepped onto Singapore soil @ 8.30pm. Updates will be done soon! Photos will be up once I do the editing! =P

Singapore to Larkin

BUS NO. 170

The cheapest way to J.B. would be to take Bus No. 170 from either Queen Street Bus Station or the bus-stop along Rochor Canal Road (just after Sim Lim Square). Both bus-stops are just a short walk from The InnCrowd. The bus fare is S$1.60. The service runs from 5.20 a.m. to 12.10 a.m. everyday.

The bus will stop at the Singapore checkpoint. The bus will not wait for you whilst you clear immigration, so take all your belongings with you. Keep your bus ticket and hop on the next Bus No. 170 which comes along. You don't have to pay again.

The bus will stop again at the Malaysian checkpoint, which is at the other end of the Causeway linking Singapore and Malaysia. You will have to get off to clear immigration. Once more, the bus will not stop for you to clear immigration, so keep your bus ticket if you intend to catch the next bus.

After clearing immigration, you have the option of either walking straight into J.B. or to hop on the next Bus No. 170. The bus will take you to the bus-stop outside Komtar Shopping Centre (along Jalan Tun Abdul Razak) first, before stopping at Larkin Bus Terminal (at Jalan Datin Halimah in the outskirts of J.B.).

SINGAPORE-JOHOR EXPRESS COACH

Another method would be to take the Singapore-Johor Express Coach from Queen Street Bus Station to Larkin Bus Terminal in J.B. The ticket costs S$2.40.The Singapore-Johor Express Coach runs from 6.30 a.m. to 11.00 p.m. at 15-minute intervals.

The Singapore-Johor Express Coach travels more quickly than Bus No. 170, which makes many stops along the way to J.B. However, there is no luggage space on the coach, so you'll be asked to buy a second ticket (S$2.40) for your pack!

Just like Bus No. 170, the express coach will not wait for you at the checkpoints. You'll have to take all your belongings with you, keep your coach ticket and hop on the next one which comes along. You don't have to pay again.

i'd suggest taking the 2nd option taking the sgp-johor express coach..cos it will enable us to reach the custom faster and at the same time *touchwood* if jam at the custom we will have enuff time and get to larkin on time for our bus at 9am

if for 170 we meet at kranji mrt..by the time bus reach there alot ppl? cos travelled very long way already..so can get on the bus?

btw the map can click to enlarge to see where the queen st. bus terminal is at..

people..CHOOSE!!!which one ur want..post on tag board or in the comments..

KL Trip - Accomodation & Transport

Accomodation

http://www.numbereight.com.my/eight.html
I've booked a dorm from 12th to 14th May. Check in 1pm, check out 11am. The surcharge for the 7th person staying in the same dorm is RM15. We'll split the total cost :)

yix booking this i suppose : http://www.bintangwarisan.com/roomsrates.htm
it amt to almost the same.. as numbereight

Transport
I've booked bus tickets for the 12th morning. SGD$25 per person.
The bus is at 8.30am.
Eltabina Jaya Express Pte Ltd
200 Jln Sultan #01-25 Textile Centre Singapore 199018
Tel 62926402 Fax 62986059

For transport back to SG, we'll be taking the 10.30am bus on 14th morning. Currently I'm still waiting for Randy's confirmation so that I can book the tix.

got tix from JB at 25RM
bus leaving at 9am FROM JB lar kin (dunno how to spell)
can take the express bus in from bugis area according to my colleague to lar kin or cw2 in

as for the coming back tix..i dunno man..
colleague says KL cfm alot tix back to sgp..
so no need worry.. but i dunno how cfm is his cfm..

:: paisay yun edit ur whole entry ::
:: edited by van ::

========================================

I guess that's about it. With accomodation & transport settled, we should be able to enjoy our short stint in KL. Hopefully. :D

Have a break...

A woman wanted to reach her husband on his mobile phone but discovered that she was out of credit, She instructed her son to use his own phone to pass across an urgent message to his daddy who was on site. After junior had called, he got back to mummy to inform her that there was a lady that picked up daddy's phone the three times he tried reaching dad on the mobile.>

Women!! She waited impatiently for her husband to return from work and upon seeing him in the driveway, she rushed out and gave him a tight slap, and she slapped him again, for good measure. People from the neighborhood rushed around to find out what the cause of the commotion was. The woman asked junior to tell everybody what the lady said to him when he called.

Junior said "The subscriber you have dialed is not available at present. Please Try Again Later"...

KL Trip - Accomodation

EIGHT has replied.

Since it's the cheaper accomodation, we'll be staying there! :D

Will let you guys know when it's confirmed.

KL Trip - Brief Itenary

Since nothing's confirmed.. I shall er.. decide? hahahaha

(to prevent wrong voting, I swopped the plan numbers.. hahaha)

Plan 2 1
12th May
7am : Meet @ Ten-Mile Junction
8am : take bus to KL
2pm : check in hotel & off we go!

14th May
10am : Check out hotel
12noon : take bus to JB
6pm : back to SG

Plan 1 2
11th May
- After work, go home freshen up, pack ur barang barang
- 8pm : Meet for dinner
- 9.30pm : Proceed across the causeway
- wee hours : take bus to KL ( overnight travelling on the North-South highway )
Note: Travelling on the highway is dangerous @ night
- 6-7am : Reach KL, deposit bags @ hotel reception while we go for breakfast
- 2pm (approx) : check in, rest a while & off we go!

13th May
- 12noon : Check out of hotel, go shop around
- wee hours : take bus back to JB
- 6-7am : back to SG

Plan 3
Provided we can book in time - Package

Just checked. It takes about 5 hours to travel along the North-South Highway to reach KL. Taking into account that there will be jam along the causeway, 12th May seems like a better choice.

KL Trip Attendance List

Gals: Van, Fen, Yun
Guys: KS, Yix, Randy, UG

Votes:
option 1 (12th - 14th) : 4
option 2 (11th - 13th) : 2

Hotels
Swiss Inn Family:
Swiss Inn 3D2N:
Nova:
Concorde:
Eight:
City Villa:

KL Trip

Hey guys!

As Randy & Yix have to be back in SG by 14th (Sunday) morning, we have 2 plans:

1) We leave on 12th morning & come back on 14th as scheduled. Let the two of them Randy come back themselves himself :P
2) We leave on 11th night and come back on 13th night.

If we were to leave on 11th night, there'll be an expected jam on the causeway as many Singaporeans will be going across the causeway.


We need to vote. Else it'll be too late to book the hotels le!

============================================

Hotels wise, Yix had searched some info:
1. Swiss inn
- 3d2n RM 220
- no breakfast
- cannot add extra bed cos cannot fit into the room
2. nova
- Per Night RM159
- breakfast included
- extra bed allowed but didn't state how much should be lessthan RM 50
3. Concorde
- Per night RM 158
- should have breakfast?? I not sure
- extra bed allowed but didn't state how much should be lessthan RM 50
- from website picture look like this is the most grand

In addition to the above, here's some additional info I got from the web:
As at 11am, here are the availability of these hotels ( the package I recommend )
1) Swiss Inn
- Swiss Inn Mega Saver - Family Room
- RM135 per night
- Available frm 11th - 14th May
( since this is Family Room, I believe 1 room is big enough to accomodate all of us? lol)
2) City Villa
- Superior Room RM100 per night
- Available from 11th - 14th May

============================================

post-edit:
Randy suggest this: http://www.numbereight.com.my/eight.html
We can get the 6-bed a room @ RM30 per person per night

Quick Updates

Some updates on KL Trip:
[those who voiced their interest to go]

• GIRLS: Van, Yun, Fen
• GUYS: KS, Jerry, Randy, UG

Need to book hotel and bus tixs le...
P.S. UG, get yr passport FAST!
P.S.S SORRY GUYS....YIX not goin with u all liaoz...

Environmental Dilemma (knowledge)

I was watching Channel News Asia on saturday while they were showing a show on some environment problems and found it very interesting.

The term 'global warming' as we know means that the world is getting hotter. However, the 'pan evaporation' (rate of evaporation in the world) is on a decrease. This somewhat forms a paradox because we expect it to increase as it gets hotter, however, it is entirely the opposite. What causes this paradox is known as 'global dimming', which is now considered the cause of famines in parts of the world. 'Global dimming' means that the world is getting 'dimmer' as the amount of light energy reaching us is getting lesser, but it is still getting hotter due to the 'global warming'.

So what causes 'global dimming'? The cause as we all expected - pollution. The pollutants rises up in the air and allows water to condense on these pollutants, to form clouds. Unlike natural clouds, more individual water moledules are allowed to form in these 'polluted' clouds. The increased in these water droplets forms a natural mirror that reflects back the light from the sun, thus, 'dimming' the earth below. Since less photons reaches the earth below, less photons hits the surface of the water and thus cause the 'pan evaporation' to decrease.

However, it is known now that 'global dimming' counters the real threat of 'global warming'. They either have to co-exist or not exist at all. Remove any one, and Earth will face a deadly threat.

KL Trip - 12th to 14th May 2006

info post..

who's goin? 報上名來！！

when goin? - 12th, 13th, 14th..fri,sat,sun..vesek day weekend!in MAY!! *points up too*

where to? *points up to title*

where to stay?

wat/where to eat? *i got a list of makan places in KL!!* send the email to ur soon ba..

roughly how much excluding own expenses? i.e accomodation and 路費 tpt how much?

wat else to add? *thinks*

Birthday Months & you...

---------------JANUARY BABY--------------------
Pretty/handsome. Loves to dress up. Easily bored.
Fussy. Seldom shows emotions. Takes time to recover when hurt.
Sensitive. Down-to-Earth. Stubborn.

----------FEBRUARY BABY --------------------
Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract. Intelligent and clever. Changing personality.
Attractive. sexiest out of everyone. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble.
Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted.
Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Dislikes unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Horny. Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizing dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.

-----------------MARCH BABY --------------------
Attractive personality. Sexy. Affectionate Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Great kisser. Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Observant and assesses others.

------------------APRIL BABY -------------------
Suave and compromising. Funny and humorous. Stubborn. Very talkative. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal. Does work well with others. Very confident. Sensitive. Positive Attitude. Thinking generous. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Able to cheer evryone up and/or make them laugh. Able to motivate oneself and others. Understanding. Fun to be around. Outgoing. Hyper. Bubbly personality. Secretive. Boy/girl crazy. Loves sports, music, leisure and traveling. Systematic. Hot but has brains.

-----------------MAY BABY -----------------
Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered. Attracts others and loves attention. Deep feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally. Firm Standpoint. Needs no motivation. Shy towards oppisite sex. Easily consoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to dream. Strong clairvoyance. Understanding. Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good imagination. Good physical. Weak breathing. Loves literature and the arts. Loves traveling. Dislike being at home. Restless. Not having many children. Hardworking. High spirited.

------------JUNE BABY-------------
You've got the best personality and are an absolute pleasure to be around. You love to make new friends and be outgoing. You are a great flirt and more than likely have an a very attractive partner. A wicked hottie. It is also more than likely that you have a massive record collection. You have a great choice in films, and may one day become a famous actor/actress yourself - heck, you've got the looks for it!!! IN the next 6 days you will meet someone that may possibly become one of your closest friends.

----------------JULY BABY --------------
Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation. Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people's feelings. Tactful. Friendly. Approachable. Emotional temperamental and unpredictable. Moody and easily hurt. Witty and sparkly. spazzy at times. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be alone. Always broods about the past and the old friends. Waits for friends. Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover.

------------AUGUST BABY ---------------
Outgoing personality. takes risks. feeds on attention. no self control. kind hearted. self confident. loud and boisterous. VERY revengeful. easy to get along with and talk to. has an "every thing's peachy" attitude. likes talking and singing. loves music. daydreamer. easily distracted. Hates not being trusted. BIG imagination. loves to be loved. hates studying. in need of "that someone". longs for freedom. rebellious when withheld or restricted. lives by "no pain no gain" caring. always a suspect. playful. mysterious. "charming" or "beautiful" to everyone. stubborn. curious. independent. strong willed. a fighter.

------------SEPTEMBER BABY---------------
Active and dynamic. Decisive and haste but tends to regret. Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality. Loves attention. Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people's problems. Brave and fearless. Adventurous. Loving and caring. Suave and generous. Usually you have many friends. Enjoys to make love. Emotional. Stubborn. Hasty. Good memory. Moving, motivates oneself and others. Loves to travel and explore. Sometimes sexy in a way that only their lover can understand.

---------------OCTOBER BABY -------------------
Loves to chat. Loves those who love them. Loves to takes things at the center. Inner and physical beauty. Lies but doesn't pretend. Gets angry often. Treats friends importantly. Brave and fearless. Always making friends. Easily hurt but recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated. Does not care to control emotions. Unpredictable. Extremely smart, but definitely the hottest AND sexiest of them all.

---------------NOVEMBER BABY --------------------
Trustworthy and loyal. Very passionate and dangerous. Wild at times. Knows how to have fun. Sexy and mysterious. Everyone is drawn towards your inner and outer beauty and independent personality. Playful, but secretive. Very emotional and temperamental sometimes. Meets new people easily and very social in a group. Fearless and independent. Can hold their own. Stands out in a crowd. Essentially very smart. Usually, the greatest men are born in this month. If you ever begin a relationship with someone from this month, hold on to them because their one of a kind.

---------------DECEMBER BABY ---------------
Loyal and generous. Patriotic. Competitive in everything. Active in games and interactions. Impatient and hasty. Ambitious. Influential in organizations. Fun to be with. Easy to talk to, though hard to understand. Thinks far with vision, yet complicated to know. Easily influenced by kindness. Polite and soft-spoken. Having lots of ideas. Sensitive. Active mind. Hesitating, tends to delay. Choosy and always wants the best. Temperamental. Funny and humorous. Loves to joke. Good debating skills. Has that someone always on his/her mind. Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly. Knows how to make friends. Abiding. Able to show character. one guy/girl kind of person. Loveable. Easily hurt. Prone to getting colds. loves music. pretty/handsome. Loves to dress up. Easily bored. Fussy. Seldom shows emotions. Takes time to recover when hurt. Sensitive.