(well the number doesn't matter, does it?)b

OK, people. I'll finally make it official, this blag is moving to a new home, where there are nice little pieces of virtual shortbread waiting for you, (but don't touch the cookies, they're for Santa, whom I was told is a little late this year because he took the public transport to save costs)There's also nice IKEA furniture, and a fresh coat of blue paint.
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The more curious/astute amongst you may already visited the new home, as there were not-so-hidden links in the previous posts in this blag. There are already new updates there, so you can read them while enjoying the snacks and the other virtual housewarming savouries. Just call me if they're any virtual mice there, they may have jumped tabs from the Mousehunt page. I'll have to drag my trap over then, and the ensuing action will be quite a show.
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So, the new URL is ambiguitytheories.wordpress.com , so inform your neighbour, friends, cat, dog, potted fern and goldfish (and remember to remind it once every 10 minutes) that the address has changed, so that they won't be left behind.
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PS: Unfortunately the youtube videos I posted here cannot be imported into the new blag. If you ever need to watch an old video, please watch it on the corresponding post here. Sorry for the inconvenience. Also, the CBox opens in an external window there, so it's a little more difficult for you to chat.

226b Snow?

What snow?
. ................ ........ .
. ........... . ................... .
. ..... ............... ........
. ...... ....... .................. .
Oh, that snow! If it hasn't started actually snowing yet, click here...

(15^2)[b] (a^2 + b^2 = c^2)

The number of this is a perfect square, and so I thought I’d put something square-ish for you:
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There were three medieval kingdoms on the shores of a lake. There was an island in the middle of the lake, over which the kingdoms had been fighting for years. Finally, the three kings decided that they would send their knights out to do battle, and the winner would take the island.The night before the battle, the knights and their squires pitched camp and readied themselves for the fight.
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The first kingdom had 12 knights, and each knight had five squires, all of whom were busily polishing armor, brushing horses, and cooking food. The second kingdom had twenty knights, and each knight had 10 squires. Everyone at that camp was also busy preparing for battle. At the camp of the third kingdom, there was only one knight, with his squire. This squire took a large pot and hung it from a looped rope in a tall tree. He busied himself preparing the meal, while the knight polished his own armor.
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When the hour of the battle came, the three kingdoms sent their squires out to fight (this was too trivial a matter for the knights to join in).The battle raged, and when the dust had cleared, the only person left was the lone squire from the third kingdom, having defeated the squires from the other two kingdoms, thus proving that the squire of the high pot and noose is equal to the sum of the squires of the other two sides.
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PS: If you don’t get the joke, here’s a hint: “High pot and noose” is homophonic to “hypotenuse”… it’s a statement of the Phythagoras Theorem.
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PPS: Oh look! A butterfly, you must catch it!

224b Hmm...

I wonder what's at the bottom of this rabbitho... oh look, a pretty butterfly!
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As I was saying, there's this little rabbithole I found the butterfly has nice shimmering and colourful wings. And then, I looked down the rather curious rabbitholeI followed the butterfly to a rose bush, where it stayed very still. I tried to see where the rabbithole led, but it was very dark and deep, to catch the butterfly with my hands but it flew away. And so, I looked deeper into the rabbithole, and I slipped and fell in, I continued chasing the butterfly until I reached a large river. But, I fell deeper and deeper, but became curiouser and curiouser as to where the rabbithole led the butterfly continued flying, and it flew across the river. At the end, I ended in this place, a new place I have never seen before I returned home without that pretty little butterfly...
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PS: ... but, did YOU catch your rabbi... I mean, butterfly?

223 This Birthday...

...is a little different than the others. Other than the constant reminder that this is the start of my last year as "teen"-ager (yes, it's my 19th one), I actually celebrate a double birthday today.

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For the first time in the exactly 19 years of my existence, my 19th "English" birthday, or my Gregorian Calendar birthday, coincides with my 20th "Chinese" birthday. The reason why the numbers are slightly different is due to the fact that the Chinese count the actual day of birth as birthday number 1. I'm not sure how often the 16th of December coincides with the 19th day of the 11th Lunar Month, but there is a mathematical method of approaching this problem. However, I'm too lazy to work around the figures.

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Note: Of course, by first time, I mean first time since my birth, not inclusive of the day itself.

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Before I move on to a little something else, a big thank you to everyone who wished me Happy Birthday at the stroke of the midnight hour on MSN (I was inundated by no fewer than close to 10 conversation windows nearly simultaneously, and you know how I can't multitask), and the wishes on Facebook, which I'm still receiving from time to time at the moment. Now for a little something in return for the effort:

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I believe the following "game" is meant to be one of those tag games that involve shuffling the music your playlist, but I'm not going to impose this "game" on anyone, but rather let you voluntarily try it out for yourself. Here's what you do, there are no questions in this game. Rather, you write a poem of 20 lines based on the first line of the 21 random songs (the first line of the first song will be the title). I tried it out this morning, and this was the result:

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No Mountain's Too High
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When the vision surrounds you,

the whispers in the morning,

you can dance.

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What if I told it was all meant to be,

I've met so many women.

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If you had my love,

Lying in your arms...

I should have known all along...

yeah...

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Midnight, not a sound from the pavement,

Who are you,

You look into my eyes,

Talking to myself and feeling old.

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Baby, I knew at once you were meant for me,

I have been in love and been alone.
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From the first day,

You are my fire,

Gotta make a move to a town.

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When I opened my eyes today,

You make me feel funny.

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PS: Though only 21 songs were needed, I had to go through nearly 40 songs due to the large number of songs without words (i.e only music) and some foreign language songs in my playlist, which I obviously can't place in the poem without making it sound weird. (An alternative was to translate the lyrics to English, but I was in a bit of a hurry).

222 pǝʇɹǝʌuı

˙ǝɔuǝıuǝʌuoɔuı ǝɥʇ ɹoɟ ǝsıƃoןodɐ ı puɐ 'ʇsod sıɥʇ pɐǝɹ oʇ ƃuıop ǝɹɐ noʎ ɹǝʌǝʇɐɥʍ ɹo 'ƃuıʇɹǝʌuı ɹǝʇndɯoɔ ɹo ƃuıpuǝq pɐǝɥ ǝɥʇ ɥʇıʍ noʎ ƃuıʎouuɐ doʇs ʍou ןןıʍ ı 'ʞo

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˙noʎ ɟo ןןɐ oʇ sɐɯʇsıɹɥɔ ʎɹɹǝɯ 'sʎɐs ɹǝpɐǝɥ ǝɥʇ ǝʞıן ʇsnɾ 'os ˙ʇuǝsǝɹd sɐɯʇsıɹɥɔ puɐ ʎɐpɥʇɹıq ɐ sɐ ƃuıןqnop sı ɥɔıɥʍ doʇdɐן ʍǝu ɐ ǝʌɐɥ ı 'sǝʎ ˙ʇɐɥʇ ʇnoqɐ 'ɥɐǝʎ 'ɥo ˙doʇdɐן ʍǝu ʎɯ uo doɥsoʇoɥd ǝqopɐ ƃuıןןɐʇsuı oʇ punoɹɐ ʇǝƃ oʇ ʇǝʎ ǝʌɐɥ ı ǝsnɐɔǝq ɹǝɔıu ʎuɐ ɹǝpɐǝɥ ǝɥʇ ǝʞɐɯ ʇ,upןnoɔ ı 'ʎןǝʇɐunʇɹoɟun ˙ƃ ʎuuǝʞ ʎq "ןǝou ʇsɹıɟ ǝɥʇ" ɟo ƃuıʎɐןd ǝɥʇ puɐ 'sǝʞɐןɟʍous ǝןʇʇıן ǝɥʇ 'ǝɔuǝɥ ˙noʎ ɟo ןןɐ puɐ ɟןǝsʎɯ oʇ ɹǝǝɥɔ ǝʌıʇsǝɟ ǝɥʇ

ɟo ǝɯos ƃuıɹq oʇ ɹɐǝʎ sıɥʇ ʇıq ɐ ƃoןq ʎɯ ǝʇɐɹoɔǝp oʇ pǝpıɔǝp ı puɐ 'ƃuıɯoɔ sı sɐɯʇsıɹɥɔ

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:sʍǝu ǝɯos ɹoɟ ʍou 'ʞo ˙uʍop ǝpısdn ʎןǝʇǝןdɯoɔ ʇsod ǝuo ʇno ǝdʎʇ oʇ ʎɹʇ ʇnq dןǝɥ ʇ,upןnoɔ ı puɐ pǝɹoq sɐʍ ı ʇnq 'noʎ ƃuıssǝɹʇsıp sı ʇsod sıɥʇ ɟı ʎɹɹos os ɯ,ı

221 The Path of Totality

Come this Chinese New Year, other than the little red packets, round orange fruits and other goodies you'll be receiving, the cosmos has decided to give us South East Asian Chinese a little something extra.
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There will be an annular solar eclipse occurring on the 26th of January 2009, and we will be treated with a sunset we may never see again in our lifetimes. The better half of SEA will lie within the penumbra of the Moon's shadow, while a small strip of land on the island of Sumatra and Borneo will enjoy the privilege of being in the umbra (hence enjoying the full show).
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Unfortunately, unless you are celebrating CNY in Sumatera, we Malaysians (and Singaporeans) will only enjoy a partial eclipse at sunset, ranging from a 70 - 80 % eclipse in Johor - Singapore, to a 50 - 60% eclipse in Ipoh (where I'll be). Here are the details:

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This diagram shows the path of totality, marked in red, and the area in the penumbra, marked in the blue grid. Below are the details of the eclipse for specific areas throughout Malaysia:

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Alor Setar, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Ipoh, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Johor Bahru, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Kota Bharu, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Kota Kinabalu, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Kuantan, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Kuching, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Miri, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Sandakan, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Sibu, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Sri Aman, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation
Tawau, MalaysiaLocal CircumstancesAnimation

The times are given in UT or Universal Time, which is astronomical standard of time. It is nearly equivalent to GMT time, which places Malaysia at approximately +8 UT. However, due to the machination of Dr. M, who standardised the East and West Malaysian clocks, the actual timing is actually between +7 to +8 UT.

The eclipse occurs at about 4 to 7 pm in West Malaysia, and it is about then you should find a place with a relatively clear view of the western horizon, that is, either find an open field or get to a relatively high place. The maximum eclipse occurs at about 4.30 to 5.30 pm. So, drop whatever you are doing, wherever you are about this time to witness this rather rare phenomenon. Feel free to take pictures, bang pots and pans or anything else you fancy.

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Warning: Please, please, whatever you do, don't look directly at the sun. Use polaroid filters, solar filter, film negatives, water reflection, telescopic projection or any mostly translucent object to observe the sun.

220 IKEA

For each of the following names, decide whether it's from IKEA or LOTR (Lord of the Rings):
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(... it actually rhymes!)

1. Faramir
2. Freden
3. Grundtal
4. Boromir
5. Mogler
6. Galdor
7. Freda
8. Agerum
9. Babord
10. Frodo
11. Grima
12. Akurum
13. Brunkrissla
14. Sultan Hogbo

Mmm... this is making me think of Swedish meatballs, yum, yum. Anyway, LOTR fans will identify the character names easily and the same goes for IKEA fa... wait is there such a thing?
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Edit: Yup, IKEA doesn't sell fans, I wonder why...

219 Dagget

Since I'm back in the blogosphere, and since I'm in the writing sort of mood, because I was halfway through my Phoenix work, and stopped pending more inspiration, I'll just do this little tag.

• Do you think you're hot?
  Give me a moment while I go fetch my thermometer
• Upload a favourite picture of yourself.
  I'm in a writing sort of mood, not an uploading-picture mood, but if you insist, it's my Facebook profile pic, at the moment.
  
• Do you like the picture?
  Something about "favourite" implies "like", doesn't it? Wait... it's part of the definition, isn't it?
  
• When was the last time you ate pizza?
  Oh, how random... MM treat... and it's not LKY I'm refering to.
  
• What was the last song you listened t0? National Treasure OST - Trevor Rabin
• What are you doing right now besides this?
  Trying to find something else to do because my Mousehunt Hunter's Journal looks like a rainbow
  
• What name do you prefer besides your name?
  A name isn't your name if it's not your name... OK, that's just me being cranky... Zach
  
• 5 people I tagged
  I'll make it a little mathematical: You may make this assumption for the folowing questions: Let number 1, 2, 3... denote the first, second, third... person I tagged.
• Who is number 1?
  A friend of 5
  
• Who is number 3 having relationship with?
  Number 2.718281828459045..., also known as "e", proof that love has always been a little irrational...
  
• Say something about number 5.
  He had dinner with number 3 last night
• How about number 4?
  She is an arch rival of number 1
  
• Who is number 2?
  The person who kissed 13. (This may or may not be a House reference)

218 Familiarity

You know you're back (home) in Malaysia when:

• Landslides (and floods, but that's just too commonplace) occur whenever the monsoon season arrives, or when it rains for a few successive days in the Klang Valley
• Politicking is the daily staple of the news, and even if it's not on the front page it's in there somewhere after the headlines
• The constant reporting of some bus accident or other, followed by a few days of people urging that something be done, and then total silence.
• The very erratic water supply, and the occasional blackout, put in for good measure to enhance the experience.
• The slightly slower internet speed, but then again, shouldn't compare to Singapore, right?
• The lack of Christmas atmosphere in town, but that's OK, my neighbour's making up for it.
• The presence of motorcycles and wandering cows that act like they own the road, making a total nuisance of themselves. Cows, though, are a bit more amusing to encounter.
• Signboards are placed in the most ridiculous positions, like just after a bend, or behind trees. I am yet to figure out how to get to Jalan Tebrau from the new checkpoint, thanks to that particular typical lack of common sense.

217 Ohemgee

...and I nearly fainted. Instead of fainting though, there was just a lot of ohemgee-ing and a rather strange aftertaste. And it's not that I'm racist or anything, but yeah, TV shows tend to spin off in weird directions sometimes.

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PS: It's from House, by the way, and you don't want to know the details.

216 The Office

As I am typing this, the BBC World Service anchorwoman is reading the latest news about the situation in Mumbai, and the stand-off at the Bangkok airport... My rather beloved Physics textbook, sits open wide on another chair to my right, and my other companion, the whiteboard stands scrawled with equations describing the physics of a capacitors, scattered with some other random equations describing wavefunctions, Kepler's Third Law and superposition on the margin. On the section of the table I occupy lie the whiteboard markers, my faithful Ziploc bag carrying my stationery, and my calculator.

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The room hasn't changed much since I moved in, with the exception of my lecture notes which have returned to my other table in my actual room.

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If you haven't figured out what I'm describing yet, well... it's OK. No one close to me has had the opportunity to see the little room, which I now affectionately call my "office", in the USP study lounge, otherwise known as "Chatterbox" or "Chatter", in short. Most people were under the impression that the place looks and feels like the "Quiet Area" in the Central Library, or the Study Room in YIH. I assure you, it's not filled to the brim with people desperately cramming for the exams we all were so pressured about. It's sometimes just you, the whiteboard, and a little room by the corner. The occasional visitors are welcomed, and I listen with fascination to their talk about Durkheim, and Weber, and the cunning plans of Prospero in Shakespeare's "Tempest" the lust of the Magistrate in Coetzee's "Waiting for the Barbarians".

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I thank this little space, and forgive it for the ridiculously cold nights the air-conditioning has given me, for making my Reading Week and the exam period a wholly bearable one, for the little comforts it provided me in my time of need and the hospitality it has offered.

215.5 Spordniar

Once again, click to enlarge the "poem":

This isn't actually Raindrop Resonance translated into another language. It's an encoded "secret message" written in the form of a poem. Yes, there's always a reason why I write secret messages, I only want certain people who know the encryption method to read it. Notice I always leave the key, yeah, same reason.

215 Raindrops

Click on poem to enlarge:
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214 More Quick Random Notes

1. Overheard at Subways...
• American Man: I'm very happy today.
• Counter Lady: Why?
• AM: The results of the election in my country, erm... the person I supported won
• CL: (pause) Ah, good. Rainy day, today.
• AM: yeah

2. Finished my presentation... for UQR2206, otherwise known as Simplicity, which isn't as simple as the name suggests. A 20-minute presentation in 4 days... not funny. The questions were not difficult and mostly anticipated. So the grilling session was more like a sauna session, slightly uncomfortable, but still enjoyable, and you leave with a nice feeling.

3. PPT syndrome... or the Post Presentation Tiredness syndrome kicked in after the initial happiness from completing the presentation. Went back for a nap, before heading out to PGP for the end-of-sem-party, which is more of an excuse the USP-PGP residents to get free food. Ended in chatter about topics ranging from how all great works of fictions are based on the same Myth structure (see Paper and Politics for more details), and quantum entanglement.

4. It is just a coincidence... that PPT is also the short form for Powerpoint....

5. Did you know... that NUS has its own weather station at the top of E2, the exact place is E2-04-01, which is a very, very, out-of-the-way place which you'll find only if you're really, really lost in the Engin Fac? Only thing is that I wasn't lost, just exploring the deeper, hidden areas of the Engin Fac, that even the final-year engineers don't know about. It comes complete with a rain gauge, barometer, thermometer, anemometer, wind vane (without the rooster), solar intensity reader (or pyrometer) and other interesting stuff. The weather data such as wind speed and direction, rainfall and temperature is uploaded in 5-minutes interval to http://nt2.fas.nus.edu.sg/geog/weather_frame.asp.

6. Why was I all the way up there?... Actually, as usual, I was illegally climbing stairwells and ladders looking for a very high point for a great view. I have the photos with me and I will upload them soon. Going up tall building at night during a thunderstorm offers great display of lightning bolts, but I was not quick enough to take some nice pictures. And, yes, I know it's dangerous...

7. Hmm... Terri... should go back to Malaysia, I think I'll have the time to take care of him during the exam period and I don't want him dying then. But I'll miss a good window sill mate, oh nevermind...

8. I have been getting different songs... stuck in my head on and off lately, either I craving for something to fill my head with or I've been listening to too much music. I don't really know whether it's actually a good or bad thing... stress relief perhaps...

9. I applied to do running... for the USC productions... why do I keep going back doing things that I've done before. Perhaps I love it, or is it just a bad case of lots of inertia, oh well... it might be greater fun if there aren't so many people this time round. And this time, it could be the Drama Centre at the National Library. Ah, another show, another stage...

10. Things to do: PC1141 Lab Report, MA1505 and PC1141 Tutorial. It's the last of everything, and time to gear up for the exam period. Here we go...

213 "I'm very boring"

...is perhaps one of the more annoying phrases commonly heard in everyday conversation. Other than the initial silent laugh when one first hears the phrase, the humour turns little bit more sour after every subsequent time those three words are heard. There are others who have the the merit and privilege of joining this list, like "irregardless of". So if you "borrow me" some of your time, I shall present to you a list of the 10 Most Annoying Phrases in the English Language, compiled by a group of Oxford professors:

1. At the end of the day
2. Fairly unique
3. I personally
4. At this moment in time
5. With all due respect
6. Absolutely
7. It's a nightmare
8. Shouldn't of
9. 24/7
10. It's not rocket science

PS: If you "couldn't care less" about such trivialities, I won't blame you. We "literally" hear these words everyday, and you might believe that "if you can't beat em', join em'".

212 Just Dropping By

Perhaps Physics has a profound impact on how I look at the world around us. Because I found myself photographing raindrops after a lab session one day. It's not that I've never seen raindrops before, but it's because I've never really realised how raindrops look up close, and I was pleasantly surprised when I began examining them at close range.

Has anyone realised how each raindrop looks significantly differently from one another because of the amount of light incident on them, their size, position and the images from the objects around them? ...and it became highly obsessive. I began attempting to take pictures of these raindrops (but more specifically, it's the images they form on due to their property as both a mirror and a lens). The camera doesn't excactly do justice to the pictures, but they still capture some of the more exciting and sometimes spooky features.

PS: Speaking of lab sessions... I ought to be doing my two final lab reports for the semester... but here I am posting pictures of raindrops...

211 An NUS 360: Faculty of Science

Lately, I had developed a strange habit of climbing (climbing, mind you) to the top of the building only known as S17/SOC1 during breaks during and between my Physics lectures. Practically nobody knows about the place, because it involves getting to the 8th storey of an out-of-the-way building, and getting out to a balcony, and climbing a series of ladders (don't worry, there's nothing scary about the ladders because it doesn't involves dangling off the side of the building, climbing old rusty ladders, four storey drops etc.). Being the third highest building in the Faculty of Science, it provides great views of the Science - Medicine - University Hall (Lower Kent Ridge Road section) part of NUS, along with the areas beyond the AYE. Here are some photos:

PS: Unfortunately, the roof of the Physics department building is not as tall and very, very cramped with the airconditioning units and water tanks, as I went up there once while waiting for lab to start. (it's the building on the furthest left in the first picture). So if you need to do this, find some other Physics department:

PPS: The answer is 3.60 m, if you're wondering. I'll leave working it out as a practice, a common line whent the lecturer is running of time...

210 Quick Random Notes

1. The Hairspray Effect - A psychological phenomenon where one finds, plays and/or downloads the songs played in a musical immediately after watching one. May last up to a few weeks, as long as one doesn't watch another musical in that period.
2. Overheard during tea some time ago - "The thing about NUS is that they teach you a new thing, and you try your best to absorb it. But before that new thing sinks in, they go on to the next new thing..."
3. UWC2101P Paper 3 deja vu- I find myself somehow returning to the news story that I've wrote on for my paper 1. Coincindence? I think not...the last time I finished a paper on Anwar, he won the Permatang Pauh by-election, wonder what will happen this time...
4. I find that... I'm better off as person who you go to if need to bounce some ideas off, for some reason I do that a lot better than looking for my own topic for my paper.
5. $750 extra this semester, that should just clear the deficit...
6. What am I going to do... with the potted fern during the December holiday, it'll be quite funny to bring a potted plant all the way home, wouldn't it? I should give it a name... oh well...

PS: I named the fern Terri... after the name of the Phylum that ferns belong to, Pteridophyta, and also because that name bears an uncanny resemblance to someone's name in Sets and Sets is the reason why I've got a fern in the first place.

209 Of Alliteration, Absences and Anwar

An observant reader may realise at least one of the following regarding my blogging:

1. I'm consistently making up title posts following the format of "Of ... and...", where the nouns in between begin with the same letter, (called an alliteration for consonants and assonance for vowels). Yes, I'm bitten by a variant of the "Re-..." bug, and have started messing around with the posts titles for the fun of it. Sue me if you must.
2. This post is written at a weird time. Of course, weird is relative. Waking up at different times to go to school was weird once. So was going to sleep past midnight for no apparent reason. And not forgetting, Anwar getting charged for sodomy. Now, they've achieved a normality approaching routineness... maybe with the exception of the Anwar part, but I'm afraid my USPee paper may disprove that.
3. There was a one month break between post 205 and 206, well sorry for keeping you wondering, but apparently when there's a sudden change in lifestyle, getting used to it is a primary concern, and making remarks (aka blogging aka complaining) about it is secondary. Also, blogging about how little time you have to blog is a kind of funny (in an ironical way, not amusing)...... Wait a minute, am I subtly doing exactly that now? Oh, darn...
4. I like making lists, like this one. Not that I like making lists, in fact I never do make practical lists because they're too mundane (like shopping lists, homework lists etc.). I like making lists of things that are not normally listed, like reasons to justify the different unconventional things I inadvertently find myself doing when blogging. For instance, telling you that I like lists.

A concerned person would wonder about at least one of the following:

1. Why this fellow isn't sleeping yet
2. Whether he has an 8.00 class tomorrow and...
3. Why he's making another list, and...
4. When this will end so he would note that he should be wondering about point 1.

I'm not sure either... how about I end now and leave to you wonder about points 1, 2 and 3?

Yup, that's a good idea...