. . der! . .

2010-04-20T20:23:00.001+08:00

BLOG MOVED.

RELINK @ http://www.der-rick.tumblr.com

Bye Bye Blogger®

2010-04-19T19:31:00.002+08:00

I am frustrated with all the problems associated with Blogger®. Too many uploading errors, paragraph phasing errors, posting errors and other random errors which appear occasionally.

Tumblr® on the other hand, has a very intuitive, simple and easy to use interface which captured my attention. It will still use my original URL, though it would be slightly different. www.der-rick.blogspot.com will be changed to www.der-rick.tumblr.com; without any modifications and imports of any kind from my Blogspot blog.
I will be using Tumblr® to post any random posts, pictures, status updates, quotes, videos and all other sorts of nonsensical junk, therefore please visit my Tumblr® blog and abandon my Blogger® one completely.
Similar to Blogge r®, I will not be updating this blog frequently, but I will update when I feel like to, or simply update for a need to. Don’t worry, there will still be videos, computer-related tips, random jokes as well as bits and pieces of my life on the blog — so do come by often while you can.

Photography spree!

2010-04-17T23:48:00.002+08:00

Into the dark
Olympus E-450; 14-42mm

Random

2010-04-17T21:17:00.004+08:00

Night Road
(Olympus E-450; 14-42mm)

Life and School

2010-04-10T20:50:00.004+08:00

Difference between school and life:

In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.

Those Golden Times
(Olympus E-450; 40-150mm)

PW

2010-04-06T19:06:00.002+08:00

I love my PW group. It's like one of the best combinations of people you can ever have!
2 Guys and 3 Girls makes it a perfect combination.

Corridors
(Olympus E-450; 40-150mm)

DSLR

2010-04-04T00:55:00.001+08:00

Finally bought my DSLR hooted at Courts JP with a discount of $200 and freebies.

Random Photos

2010-03-29T14:33:00.006+08:00

Showcasing my random photography skills. Keneth, please don't kill me.
First one was taken during a primary 6 study gathering at Jurong West library. The next 3 were taken during the 1SD1 class outing.

Rachel and Marilyn

(Digital Camera)

Ryan

(Nikon D3000 18-55mm)

Smile

(Nikon D3000 18-55mm)

Isolation

(Nikon D3000 18-55mm)

Riceballs

2010-03-21T00:40:00.001+08:00

Teressa you're so gifted.

Welcome the holidays

2010-03-13T01:14:00.002+08:00

It's finally the end of term 1. Well, everything seems to pass quickly and before you know it, it's the end of the term already. The amount of homework given everyday is (kind of) insane. Imagine finishing an entire lecture in one hour, and completing two in a week - leaving the holidays for you to complete 2 sets of tutorials...

Well, it's not exactly THAT bad, hopefully I'll still have time to play and rest. There will be an OG outing, a class outing and some other outings which aren't confirmed yet.

Anyway, I got into the rifle team. Though not really a great achievement and something worth boasting (we weren't ranked in the top 4), it's still worth mentioning as there're limited places! I was one of the five who made it, and obviously I made it because I had prior experience in shooting. The seniors told me that I could help 'guide' the J1s and told me not to 'die of boredom' in the first few introductory trainings.

Well, I entered the team for various reasons, and one of them being to be able to lead the team into the top 3 (Hopefully). The other being able to be the Captain for the boys rifle team.

Drifting off topic now, the school seems to scam people increasingly these few days. A t-shirt costs $7, and I think I have spent more than $100 on t-shirts alone. (Let's see: $30 for orientation tee, $20 for collegiates, $40 for PE, $10 for Fun-o-rama tee, $7 for air rifle tee)

All notes approximate to around $30, plus other miscellaneous items which adds to around $20. In one term (2 months) I have already spent $150... Food stuff in the canteen aren't cheap too! Yong toufu costs $0.35 a piece, chicken rice at $2.20 and other overpriced items... Compare the prices with another JC and you'll get what I mean.

On a side note, I need to seriously (really, seriously) lose weight. I need to get out of ACtive. I am inactive (in active). Get the pun?

So...

Holidays are here, so sleep at 11pm everybody. (I sleep at 8pm usually).

Random: Ellipsis

2010-03-10T16:44:00.001+08:00

I just happened to come across a good read from Wikipedia. Here's something interesting:

In linguistics, ellipsis or elliptical construction refers to the omission from a clause of one or more words that would otherwise be required by the remaining elements.

Varieties of ellipsis have long formed a central explicandum for linguistic theory, since elliptical phenomena seem to be able to shed light on basic questions of form-meaning correspondence: in particular, the usual mechanisms of grasping a meaning from a form seem to be bypassed or supplanted in the interpretation of elliptical structures, ones in which there is meaning without form.

In generative linguistics, the term ellipsis has been applied to a range of phenomena in which a perceived interpretation is fuller than that which would be expected based solely on the presence of linguistic forms. Central examples drawn from English include sluicing as in (1), Verb Phrase ellipsis (VP-ellipsis) as in (2), and noun phrase ellipsis (NP-ellipsis or N’-ellipsis) as in (3).

    (1) John can play something, but I don’t know what.
    (2) John can play the guitar; Mary can, too.
    (3) John can play five instruments, and Mary can play six.

In each case, the second clause can be understood as in (4)-(6).

    (4) John can play something, but I don’t know what John can play.
    (5) John can play the guitar and Mary can play the guitar, too.
    (6) John can play five instruments, and Mary can play six instruments.

Some examples of other elliptical phenomena are as follows:
* Example: Jessica had five dollars; Monica, three. (The verb "had" was omitted at the comma).
* Example: What if I miss the deadline? (The verb phrase "will happen" was omitted, as in "What will happen if I miss the deadline").
* Example: Fire when ready. (In the sentence, "you are" is understood, as in "Fire when you are ready.").

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipsis_%28figure_of_speech%29

I probably should... update

2010-03-05T21:18:00.000+08:00

Well, I went for ACShooting trials today at HometeamNS this evening for both rifle and pistol.
I would say I fared fairly mediocre in Pistol and average in Rifle. Since the selection trials will be based purely on grouping, I think I would probably get into the rifle team than the pistol team. The J3 who conducted the trials said I would "definitely get into the Boy's Rifle team" but "it depends on the coach". I do want to join pistol as it is a new air weapon I get to learn, without donning on the heavy shooting suit, shoes and gloves.

Fun-O-Rama is coming up soon, on the 27th of March. Anybody interested please get your tickets from me at $10. Drop me an email or call me if you have my number.

Congratulations to all those who did well for GCE A' Levels.

Photo update for 24/2

2010-02-27T23:51:00.000+08:00

Here's a photo update for my birthday (24/2)

Class photo at WCP

My birthday cake

After gobbling up everything

This is how disgusting it looks - but it tastes otherwise

Come on, we need to pose for the camera, right?

The cake was 'melted' by the sun

THANK YOU TERESSA

2010-02-26T21:13:00.002+08:00

Her wonderful birthday present for me - a hand-sewed bear.

THANK YOU. I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR HARD WORK, TIME AND TALENT!
I WILL TAKE CARE OF IT!

Well, the not so nice birthday

2010-02-25T17:31:00.001+08:00

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who wished me a happy birthday yesterday!

Here's a list of the people who thanked me (well not all but just to name those I remember)
IF YOUR NAME ISN'T HERE PLEASE DO NOT BE SAD.

- Karen
- Darren
- Dad
- Mum
- Shao Lun
- Junyan
- An Hua
- Richard
- Leonard
- Qin Li
- Hongzhang
- Timotheus
- Huiyan
- Mabel
- Roshan
- Nadiah
- Ivan
- Candis
- Huai Shen
- Dennis
- Jing Wen
- Shermain
- Qin Ying
- Malcolm
- Wei Nian
- Darren Teo
- Teressa
- Rachel
- Clarence
- Leon
- Jingyi
- Aloisius
- Liqin
- Anyi
1SD1
- Hui Yi
- Edison
- Ryan
- You Zhuan
- Sophy
- Shu Zhen
- Lynn
- Celestine (thanks for the cake)
- Amelia
- Carmina
- Winston
- Ryan De Cotta
- Olivia
- Tze Jin
- Nandini
- Mariko
- Vanessa
- Jiaying
- Jeremy
- Jia Ying
- Lilian
Nam
- Aloysius
- Wen Tjun
- Samantha
- Nicole
- Youjin
- Gregory
- Shu Zhen
- Mdm Beena

THANK YOU FOR YOUR WELL-WISHES

Anyway, it wasn't really a fantastic birthday except for the cake (thanks 1SD1). Though it isn't really nice looking - which the photo when uploaded, will show - it really tastes awesome!

My birthday 'gift' from the school was the best - 3 runs in one day. The first run involved running to school as I was almost late for school. The second run was during Mass PE. The final run was during Cross Country. It ended at 6pm and hence when I reached home it was around 8pm. There wasn't much time to celebrate. When I reached home, I just fell dead in bed at 8.10pm.

I slept for 9 hours.

* Pictures will be uploaded once it's on Facebook *

[Video] Meltdown

2010-02-20T18:51:00.000+08:00

A visually impossible penetration of a Singapore-dollar note through two ordinary rubber bands.

[Video] CNY Special - Spinx On Phone (Performance+Tutorial)

2010-02-16T21:19:00.000+08:00

Welcome to Spinx

Spinx (pronounced Spin-ex) is a phone manipulation technique. Basically, it allows you to rotate your phone (or any device rectangular in shape) continuously by 'bouncing' off your hand. It is a demonstration of skill. People have asked me how to perform this phone bouncing technique. This is a video that teaches you how to 'bounce' your phone.

It will take about 2 weeks of practise to get it well executed. Before trying, ensure you have a soft landing surface such as a bed in case you'd drop your precious phone. Spinx is best done with a ice-cream shaped phone that isn't as wide as the phone in the video. However, with sufficient practise, any phone/device is able to 'bounce' off your hand.

Happy Chinese New Year!

2010-02-15T19:37:00.001+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year!

1SD1

2010-02-13T13:48:00.003+08:00

1SD1 - 14 pretty babes & 9 hunks

My Ultimate Blue Laptop

2010-02-12T19:35:00.000+08:00

I finally bought my Vaio laptop from Harvey Norman with a 5-year warranty.

Specifications:
Sony Vaio VPC CW26FG
Core i5-520
4GB DDR3
500GB Harddrive
DVD supermulti
Nvidia GT330M
Multicard reader
Wireless LAN a/b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
14.1" WXGA
1.3 MP webcam
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
2.4kg with batt

And pictures -

The entire set of goodies; from left to right: Bag, Mousepad, 8GB Thumbdrive, Bluetooth mouse

Laptop

Closer look at the Bluetooth mouse (free but worth $99)

Free 8GB Sandisk thumbdrive

Steelseries mousepad (not free - bought from school $13)

The classic laptop casing

Open it and you'll find a quick start guide and a manual

And the laptop

AC adapter and power plug

My new beautiful purplish-blue laptop

3 H2 and 1 H1

2010-02-04T18:00:00.002+08:00

I am taking 3 H2 subjects and 1 H1 subject for A' levels!

H2 - Economics (yay!), Chemistry and Physics
H1 - Math (yay!)

I chose H1 math because I hate math! I cannot stand doing so many math problems and sums, and there seems to be no logical reason for me to take H2 math as Economics/BA in university only requires H1 Math OR O' level A math. However, I chose to take H1 math instead of no math at all because I need an easy A for my A' levels. H2 economics and H2 chemistry were what I wanted since the start. As for H2 physics, I had to think between H2 Bio and Physics. Despite getting A1 for Bio and A2 for physics at O's, I took H2 Physics as I was more interested in it.

Just sharing some of my thought processes in choosing my subject combination. It all boils down to interest and whether it will be of use in the future (in University perhaps).

Today was just another boring day with several talks related to P.E in AC. There's mass PE (a.k.a. Hell) where everyone will just die during that 40 minutes of P.E. Then there's swim P.E.

Guess what, I lost 2 kilograms and gained 1 cm BUT I AM STILL OVERWEIGHT.

Oh well, guess I am in ACtive (a nicer name for TAF club in AC.)

Do something with your computer series #7

2010-01-31T20:15:00.001+08:00

This is a new series which will teach you certain things you can do with your computer.

It may consist of tutorials you can learn, including speeding windows up, minimizing clutter in your computer, shorten daily tasks and many more!

Do something with your computer #7: Learn how to play almost all video/audio files

This is already the seventh part of this series, and I hope readers have picked up something from this series. In this part, I will teach you to play almost all video formats and audio formats easily without any incompatibility problems and codec errors.

It is actually very simple. What you need is the required codec for the file format you are attempting to play on your computer. Codec is actually short for compression-decompression, which actually decodes the file format you're trying to play. Hence, without the proper codec, you cannot play that specific file format.

To allow playing the file format, you must have that codec for that specific file format. Hence, a good place to look out for codecs is http://www.free-codecs.net.

The site may seem a little scary at first, as there are many available files to download. Here are some files you might want to consider.

K-Lite Codec Pack
This codec pack allows you to play almost all video formats on your PC. Just download, install and restart your computer.
http://www.free-codecs.net/download/K_Lite_Codec_Pack.htm

Media Player Classic
This is a free video/audio player which has built-in codecs to play various videos and audios. Just download, install and play a file using that program.
http://www.free-codecs.net/download/Media_Player_Classic.htm

Now you can finally play everything without problems!

ACJC Orientation

2010-01-29T20:04:00.005+08:00

I think I should start blogging something about Orientation. Well, today was day 2 of our epic-high plus epic-mad plus epic-crazy orientation. Let me talk about day 1 first.

Well, school was supposed to start at 7.25am, and we had to assemble by 7.15am. I woke up at 5.30am and started packing my stuff, bathed and got ready for school. I left at 6.20am to meet An Hua at Boon Lay interchange. We took bus 198 from BL - and this was the WORST moment and decision made in the day. 198 got stuck along the road of Hua Yi secondary in Jurong West, and at around 7am, we were still at Hua Yi! School was supposed to start at 7.15am and it's at Buona Vista.

We couldn't make it on time. So we got down the bus, took a cab and rode it there. The cab was also stuck initially along the same road (the road was bloody packed). Finally, when we got to AYE at around 7.10am, we heaved a sigh of relief. The cab fare amounted to $14 including peak hour surcharge (there goes my pocket money) and luckily we split the cost.

Though we weren't the last ones, we were relatively late. (We reached at around 7.27am). First day of school and this had to happen. Anyway, we had an introduction to the school via various speakers - the Principal, Vice Principal, Level head and the acting Discipline Mistress. Following that was the orientation introduction.

I was posted to Voda (a clan in ACJC) out of the four clans available. My OG group was Nam. At first, we weren't very enthusiastic, but it became better after rounds and rounds of ice breaking and cheering.

There were many many many many cheers learnt and several games played during the first day. We had an entire day of orientation (7.30am-6pm). Got to know a few friends there from my OG - with people from ACSi, Gan Eng Seng, Methodist Girls, Crescent girls, SJI, Jurong West Sec, Swiss Cottage sec, Commonwealth Sec, TKGS and GMSS.

What a mix!

I started day 2 off by meeting Karen at the MRT station (YES, I LEARNT MY LESSON)

Day 2 was not as exciting as day 1 as we had introductory lectures on GP, KI, Math, Economics and Chemistry in the morning. Each introductory lecture lasted for an hour. After some deliberation, I decided to take the following subjects - GP, PW, CL, H1 Math, H2 Chemistry, H2 Physics H2 Economics.

I decided not to take four H2 subjects as I didn't want to study like mad again (actually I was quite a slacker in Secondary school but who cares). I chose H2 Economics over H2 math because I was more interested in Econs than Math. Moreover, Business Admin/Econs in NUS/NTU/SMU requires only H1 Math knowledge.

In the afternoon we had the same old cheering lessons, learning how to cheer clan cheers as well as AC cheers. I screamed till I am running a sore throat now. We also learned the moves for the mass dance, well not all. At least the dance moves are pretty solid but easy to learn.

Hopefully orientation doesn't get too boring with the repetitive cheers, dance and games. How I wish school and lessons (tutorials+lectures) start soon!

P/S: I am starting to like ACJC a lot! THE BEST IS YET TO BE!

Tutorial: How to fold CNY cards in bulk

2010-01-22T20:55:00.002+08:00

I was a little bored in office today and I came up with an idea of teaching people how to fold Chinese New Year (CNY) cards in bulk. Basically, it is just folding the CNY cards for people (very simple) but I am showing you how to fold many at one go and keeping everything tidy along the way. The normal way of folding one card at a time would take a long time to fold about 250 cards, hence, I thought of showing you how to fold about 10 cards at a go in less than 15 seconds.

This is not an official tutorial, so do not ask me for concrete explanations. I just merely took pictures of myself doing it with one hand. So, without further ado, let's get started.

Grab a stack of Chinese New Year cards (about 8-10 cards)

Start by giving the cards a bend in the center with two hands. I showed the bend in one hand because I was using the other to photograph this

Apply enough pressure with your hands to arc the cards

Hold the cards in your right hand and use your left hand to peel off one card at a time

Use your thumb and left forefinger to pinch the card that is peeled off from the pack. This creates a crease on the card

Another angle (Of course you will still be holding the stack of cards with your right hand)

Continue sliding your thumb and forefinger down the card to crease the center of the entire card

Once the first card is completed, use your other fingers to peel the second card off the stack

Finger positions to peel cards off

How to hold your cards you've already creased

Complete creasing the stack of cards

To get this

Holding the cards from the crease, you'll get this

Drop the cards one at a time into the first card (just drop, it will automatically sit into place)

Like this! It's magic!

Arrange all the folded cards in order to complete

Review: X-mini portable speakers

2010-01-21T19:49:00.000+08:00

I don't know why I have this craze on posting reviews. But let's just go right into the review on these wonderful portable speakers. The X-mini I am currently reviewing and using is an old version of X-mini.

AESTHETICS

The X-mini is a very small gadget which is about the size of a ping pong ball. It fits into any bag and pocket (well not really) perfectly and is a breeze to carry around with its light weight. It weights less than 500g on my hand. It comes with a wire which outputs to two ends - one as a USB port for charging , while the other outputs as a 3.5mm audio jack. The X-mini is stylishly simple and easy to use - just twist the capsule and the vacuum part will pop out, which will produce the bass.

SOUND QUALITY

The sound produced is very powerful - almost as good as a 2-channel speaker. At that size and portability, it is really something worth considering. The sound produced though doesn't have that extreme clarity, it still is a good supplement for your bulky speaker at home. It is good at parties when you need to have a portable speaker around to blast music. The sound output is actually from the top of the speaker hence it gives a very wide range of audibility.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Well worth it for the price, especially useful when it comes to parties and gatherings and when you don't have a full-powered speaker around. Very easy to use, very portable, quick charging available. X-Mini 2 is also out to link the X-minis together for a greater surround sound effect. A must-have for those yearning to blast music everywhere they go.

RATING

8.5/10