This author is currently on hiatus for the ignoble cause of mugging. The public is advised to remain calm, as this routine protocol has been shown to have no effect on one's violent tendencies in 96% of cases.
| Saturday, August 30, 2008 |
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I realised I haven't posted any pics for quite a bit, so although there's other things on my head right now and other interesting topics ive been planning to blog about (Happy Teacher's Day!) ill share some photos from the final Biology practical of the year - Rat Dissection. I'll admit, it was kinda daunthing at the start to have to cut up those cute mice, but we apprehensively did it anyway. Once you get over the smell and get used to seeing the innards it's not all that bad. Even jiakun got over his fear/love of mice/cute thingies and pulled through the session lor. Looking back at the photos though, i did feel a sense of repulsion towards all that gore, even though we were the ones responsible for it heh. Luckily the mice we got were frozen and not live, so we didn't have to kill them ourselves. Else it would have been much more sick, having to witness the squeals of death. x_x Enough rambling, here goes nothing. Brace yourselves...  ** WARNING: Morbid photos ahead, close this window NOW if you're feeling queasy. And if you want to continue, I'd suggest you prepare a puke bag. Don't say I didn't warn you. **   Some group tried to cut out the brains, but couldn't get through the hard skull. Justin's group succeeded though and got a squishy mess of grey matter. BRAAAAAINNNNSSS Our final product. That long thingy is the intestines btw. The mice who have valiantly sacrificed their lives for the good of Science. And several people's morbid fantasies. RIPCongratulations, you have managed to survived up till here! You win...a nice pic (ive eaten all the cookies) =D  Budget natural air freshener! |
'Twas teh winnar at 4:38 pm.
| Thursday, August 28, 2008 |
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WHO WAS IT I MISSED IT NUUUUUUUUUUU D: (Blogging from sch comp lab after the useless CRPP "life skills" survey.) |
'Twas teh winnar at 12:02 pm.
| Saturday, August 23, 2008 |
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And I'm not even talking about the upcoming September holidays here. HALF OF MY END-OF-YEAR HOLIDAYS ARE ALREADY BOOKED AJKSDGSD. 5 Nov: 'O' Level Higher Chinese Paper 6 - 17 Nov: OB India Camp 17 - 22 Nov: THIMUN Singapore ? Nov: Overseas trip with family (tentatively Taiwan) Dec - Start of JC school year: Part-time work (somehow, somewhere) ???? PROFIT Putting it here for future reference. Just thinking about my upcoming schedule during the time of the year supposedly for rest and relaxation gets me all stressed. I'll post a more substantial post (probably about the industrial attachment) soon. Don't take my word for it though. |
'Twas teh winnar at 12:53 am.
| Monday, August 18, 2008 |
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*drools* I can finally stop going ga-ga \(O_O)/ over Apple products now, since I'm a proud owner of an iPod touch! Ok fine, it's on loan only for five days, courtesy of Apple Asia which I'm attached to for the week.   Ain't that sweet! I thought I would be just doing some simple programming there, but I ended up actually getting to try Apple products as well. But before you say anything, it IS related to my task, in which I'm supposed to execute Project Management together with Tiansheng in planning for the school portal to be cross-platform compatible with the iPod Touch/iPhone. (How many people would actually use the iPod touch or iPhone, AND use it to connect to the school portal anyway?! But for the sake of an easy assignment - we only have 5 days - I guess not being able to actually implement something practical can't be helped.) Well, I guess I should devote some space here to a quick review of the product. The design and "cool" factor certainly wowed me (as that of most other Apple products) and the touch screen is just beyond awesome - I had a lot of fun playing with it. It's very accurate and sensitive and Apple has actually put in measures to ensure you don't touch the wrong buttons by accident. However, beyond the looks, the iPod Touch was disappointingly lacking in functionality. A majority of its in-built features are based on Wi-Fi, and I took three tries restarting both the iPod and my router before it finally connected. While this surfing-on-the-go might be suitable for countries where public Wi-Fi access, it might not be too feasible for Singapore yet considering Wireless@SG in still in its infancy, so I wasn't able to enjoy most of its functions while on the bus home. :( Perhaps that's why the iPod touch is labelled as a stripped down version of the iPhone (which will be released in Singapore in a few days btw.) Then again, I guess it's mainly aimed at video viewing, and it does deliver in this aspect. I particularly liked the Youtube viewer, which actually allowed me to view Youtube videos on a much better interface than Firefox. Alright, enough of digressing, back to the industrial attachment. As I mentioned above we opted for Project Management, so we'll essentially by completing the project at home and submitting the final report on Friday at the end of it. I must say we got a much less stressful job than most others attached to other companies, and poor Nicholas for example has to work from 8.30 am to 5 pm at some engineering firm. Apple's working evironment also appears to be rather relaxed and comfortable, and the first impression I got was when I stepped into the reception area, which was decked out with iPods, iMacs and even a mini recording set. All against a colour scheme of white of course. Y'know, I don't think I'll mind working there in the future. Provided my skills are up to the mark and I can get in lah. =P |
'Twas teh winnar at 11:27 pm.
| Sunday, August 17, 2008 |
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WOOT SILVER! That is all. |
'Twas teh winnar at 9:30 pm.
'Twas teh winnar at 8:08 am.
| Wednesday, August 13, 2008 |
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For the more-than-omnipotent one is not pleased. Thus there shall be consequences, it has been proclaimed. And so I have decided, it's just not worth it in speaking up against stubborn authority. Martyrs have long been extinguished, but I will and must still live to see the day when things will (hopefully) change. Right now, I guess there's nothing to do but to crawl to the one concerned in apologising unreservedly and begging for forgiveness, offering my soul and wives for his grace. That's probably what he would've wanted if he had his way anyway, but it's probably going to be something along the lines of a public apology and permanent censure. It seems all along that the only problem all along was with my sincerity, or lack thereof; At least, that's the weapon my opponents having been using against me without my knowledge. So I say, since my actions and clean records for the past years are apparently not enough as evidence, I will be utterly forthright in future and shower the authorities with praise and flowery flattery till the sky lights up with a dozen rainbows and the Care Bears come running home. Well hey, if that's their idea of being earnest, then I have no problems at all sticking with it. Especially with the sincerity they reciprocate in being oh-so-benevolent towards their charges, in their glorification similar to my aforementioned heartfelt applause, and particularly especially with their extolling of the virtue of respect and sincerity when its directed at them of course. If the school's aim is to quell dissenting voices and turn students into submissive little communist boys (of course they'll deny that), they sure as hell have succeeded in my case. *** DONE in Pacification, this Fourteenth Day of August in the Year Two Thousand and Eight. Hwachongian Declaration on Peace and Security Emphasising the importance of respect, sincerity and tact; Deeply regretting the key violations towards self-delusions of image that have occurred in our midst; Urging the Organisation to take immediate action in identifying and stamping out unconformity; Noting with approval the Organisation's past success in protecting its own image; HEREBY DECLARE:
*** Well, all that's left is to see what the school has to say in its closing remarks. I'll end off here with a couple of quotes, with which we are soo fond of starting assemblies with: "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." ~ Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), President (of the United States) "When a true genius appears in this world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him." ~ Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), Satirist Not saying that im a true genius or anything close of course, but meh. =P |
'Twas teh winnar at 11:44 pm.
| Saturday, August 09, 2008 |
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8.8.08 - Awesome day for most I think. Especially us Chinese. :D So many things happened on this special special day - NDP celebrations, party at Kah Hong's house, Shummy's birthday, BEIJING OLYMPICS. Oh and not to mention the release PM Lee's televised National Day Speech 2008, but who cares on this delightful day. At least the day started out right with a half day from Hwachong's own NDP celebrations. Unfortunately im sorry to say that the parade and concert was rather mundane (as usual), perhaps with the exception of the performances from Wushu and Cavin & crew. Even the NCC precision drill wasn't exactly very exciting unlike past displays. :( After the concert ended, a group of us trooped down to LKH's house for a party of sorts with "4 coms playstation wii 6 tvs and 2 mahjong sets" and Canadian Pizza. Was my second time on a Wii and my first try at Super Smash Bros Brawl, and the game is freaking AWESOME. It sucks because i suck at it though. D: Thankz fer teh parteh! Next up: Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony! Too bad i was out, so i missed the performances and got back in time only to see the (small) Singapore contigent making their entrance, the lighting of the torch cauldron, and of course the fireworks finale. Still, from that and the few clips shown in the news afterwards (and not to mention my mum's incessant praising =P), i must say i was impressed by China's efforts. Guess they really went all out to make this an unforgettable Olympics. =3 I'm hoping to catch a TV encore of the opening ceremony, since Mediacorp likes to use hem as gapfillers, or at least watch it on Youtube though. After he spectacular show put up by China, Singapore's NDP kinda pales in comparison though. Even the fireworks don't seem that dazzling anymore. And the rainnn omg. D: Nevertheless, happy 43rd birthday Singapore! <3 A pity such a wonderful day had to end on a sour note. Re: Your Conduct Sigh, what did i say about the previous post being the last on this issue? Guess not, since the school admin still persists in vehemently defending its image in dragging up the issue again, perhaps in a post-mortem. Looks like that assembly session wasn't quite the final face-off i had expected. So i sent Ms Choh an email telling her i would be glad to meet her but wasn't available due to the Model ASEAN Summit (which i got dragged into as they didn't have enough participants), but she insisted on seeing me on Tuesday at 5 pm after the event had ended instead. Guess she stays till quite late, and who knows i might even get a free ride home if im nice o_O Now ill pause here to say that she's actually a pretty nice person who's willing to calmly reason with logic - even if hers might be somewhat skewed sometimes - without having to resort to aggressively asserting authority *cough*, and much kinder than what some of you might imagine. Still, after hearing Dr. Hon in assembly i realised that some of what he said actually contradicted what Ms Choh told me in our earlier meeting. (Oh dear, even Ms Choh isn't intelligent enough to read Dr. Hon's mind! Or perhaps it's the other way round, with Dr. Hon being too simple-minded to lend himself to intelligent intepretations which are much more logical but much too deep, making it difficult for someone like him to focus - but i digress.) Maybe it's just that she's bound/influenced by the school and her position such tha she's forced into supporting the school's stance, but ill definitely take whatever she'll have to say with a pinch of salt. To end off here, ill just say that i won't be surprised if i don't receive any awards at the end of this year, even if i meet all the requirements, except that of divine intervention from those above (im referring to the authorities here). In any case, my college admission results can not and will not be influenced by them, and that's all that matters to me. However, if i do get say a 'C' for conduct (hinted by the title of Ms Choh's messsage perhaps?) at the end of this term and it's used as a lame excuse to exclude me from any privileges or whatever, you can be sure things will heat up again then. That's especially since my records are absolutely clean (except for a couple of demerit points for being late but that doesn't count! :x) and ive had a good track record with teachers with nothing less than an 'A' for conduct ever, so if this single incident alone - which wasn't even publicly blown up by me - is used to judge my character, there's something seriously wrong with the school. Then again, there's already countless things wrong around here. =/ |
'Twas teh winnar at 12:30 am.
| Thursday, August 07, 2008 |
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Things did not go well, my fiend. Not well at all. In probably my last post on this entire issue, here's my take on the highly-anticipated, highly-feared, high-stakes assembly today, to be immortalised in this humble repository for all of eternity for myself, friends, juniors and any pesky teachers who might have a worrying curiousity in searching blogs. Like i promised, i did prepare for my little face-off today, and here's my "script" for further reference: A very good morning to Dr. Hon, teachers and fellow schoolmates. It’s actually my first time coming up to speak in assembly, which perhaps shows my usual introverted nature. But since today Dr. Hon has very respectfully called upon me to (account for my actions and) provide my opinions on this matter, I guess I must comply. Take note its "respect is ingrained in all of us", not "disrespect is ingrained", especially Dao Yuan if you're rading this. And you would also realise that ive already apologised to Dr. Hon from my previous post. With all due respect, next time please don't base your entire argument on presumptions (they don't even qualify as assumptions) and give the chance to someone else who has more constructive points to go up instead, rather than just trying to repeatedly mindlessly flame someone to make yourself look better up there. But as usual, things certainly didn't quite go according to plan. At least the expected topics were raised: Inclusion of "Respect" into J-TIGER, Haircut issue, and of course the whole case (my case) about respect and all, so at least my efforts weren't in vain. Oh and the theft case was also raised but we never got round to discussing it. What happened was that Dr. Hon spent 40 mins (pretty much all of our dialogue time) giving us a little background, going through lots of posted comments (including the one by Ms Sim on how the school should be run like a repressive monarchy with no room for change), niaoing the original message by the Sec 2, and telling us about how hurt he was from the so-called insults he received (from me obviously) from his very well-intentioned "learning experience". And if not for an extension of time granted due to the cancellation of a scheduled presentation by the Ironman team of students, we would have next to no chance at airing our views at all. Furthermore, I didn't really expect Dr. Hon to be so aggressive when he was on stage, going so far as to known down the sec 2's and my credibility even before i had a chance to speak. So much for personal attacks and earning respect when you don't even accord a student's work due recognition, resorting to grasping at straws and making silly comments on the use of commas at an attempt to be humourous and win support. In essence, what was meant to be a pretty objective and neutral discussion ended in vehement flaming and defending, and even threats of caning against me, with me humbly retreating under much urging from friends. I was seriously a total wreck up there though. Even with trigger points and my script ready at hand, i still ended up shaking/shivering nervously, stuttering and speaking really fast, or so others tell me (I can't quite judge my own performance.) I've gotten quite used to such responses from my body to public speaking already though, and happens pretty often when im presenting albeit perhaps to a lesser extent. Still its quite embarassing to be displaying such visible signs of nervousness when the eyes of the student population are all trained on you. Well, guess this proves my point on me being a helpless introvert. And tough as it is to accept, perhaps im destined to be one of those obedient, conservative followers who isn't blessed with the gift of standing his ground in public, instead striving for change behind the scenes. To those who actually commented that I had the courage to be an opposition MP in future, er...that's kinda far-fetched. A "learning experience" it certainly has been. And I, as the main pro/antagonist, should have learnt the most, no? So allow me to wrap this all up nicely by sharing what I have learnt: 1. If you want to attack someone, you must veil it as subtle messages behind equivocating praises, to ensure that unless the other party is smart enough, he won't decipher the criticisms (while everyone else will). And if he's smart enough he'll probably accept and act on the criticism anyway. Bottom line: Euphemisms help a lot. 2. Point 1 only applies in a bottom-up approach. Leaders in research, industry and government are automatically given not only the rights to launch person attacks to defend themselves, but also the power to use their authority to threaten and intimidate the opposition. This is why PAP can attack the credibility of the opposition and no one complains. No one important, anyway. Also, this is one reason why you should strive hard to be a future leader, young friend. 3. If you're not too sure you've fulfilled Point 1, be sure to send your message to colleagues and friends to vet first to gain differing opinions, since the idea as for where the line is to be drawn varies from person to person, and you certainly don't know the tolerance level of the other party. This saved my ass from further burns after the inital spark. 4. People's comprehension and analytical skills and even intelligence levels are not to be taken for granted. As coherent and well-substantiated as one's argument may be, it's still often better to opt for a watered-down version appealing to ethos in communicating your ideas. Yes, even in elite institutions, the sex drive and laziness/inability to think still overwhelms logic. 5. I do have some very good friends and teachers indeed. Thanks guys! <3 6. DON'T MESS WITH ZA HON. (anagram!) |
'Twas teh winnar at 9:44 pm.
| Tuesday, August 05, 2008 |
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If you're reading this then CONGRATULATIONS! You are officially a dedicated viewer of this blog who bothers to check here for updates and not just some random bot automatically saving new posts. Yep, I've turned off feeds from my blog after some thought given to recent events and data - Apologies for any inconvenience caused, but i can't make it too convenient for certain people to track my blog posts. So this means you'll have to check my blog manually from now on which is actually a well-concealed ploy to make you tag! =P More posts shall follow on Thursday, once all the tests are over. Provided i don't doze off which typing a new post that is. |
'Twas teh winnar at 11:26 pm.
| Friday, August 01, 2008 |
from: Hon Chiew Weng On hindsight and with much urging from the authotirties, i apologised to Dr. Hon for the tone of my message which did come across as rather disrespectful. So i guess it's considered closed...at least for now. I wonder how things will go in the upcoming assembly. But I still stand by the content of my message and shall come prepared, you can be sure of that. I've removed my previous very lengthy message describing my side of the story following some tip-offs, though I'm sure someone's already saved it in the short 9 hours when it was up. Guess there's really people out there who really have so much free time to spread rumours and gossip to try to implicate students, so i had better tread carefully in these deep waters for now. My readers are real resourceful though. Here, ill make it even easier for you guys, with the google search key words as reflected in my page tracking: Lim Zhicong Hon Chiew Weng offensive remarks by LIM ZHICONG (4N) With all due respect I will be happy to find out whether you are intelligent enough to read my mind. Thankfully my teachers have been pretty supportive, though some others apparently not so. I've also got to see the more caring side of my teachers and friends - thanks for all the offers of help and advice, but no thanks for the relentless questioning! =P Had one-on-one talks with four teachers in a day, three personally and one over the phone, wow. The school counsellor would've been on the list too had i not evaded her after PE. Anyway, I will deal with the consequences. On that note, I wonder what my PCME/Conduct grade will be this year? o_O In any case, I am determined to not let my ever-important JC admission grades at the end of this year be affected, not by this incident, and certainly not by Dr. Hon or any teacher, for they can not and will not control my future. I guess I did leave my mark after all, though not in the most glamarous fashion possible. xD |
'Twas teh winnar at 11:15 am.
