Monday, June 28, 2010
In my bid to save Gaia (whoever that is) I shall refrain from switching on the aircon
and sit here and sulk instead.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Do you believe that you can make a decent UHF antenna out of aluminium foil and duct tape?
Now you do. Courtesy of Macgyver (my dad) and Macgyver Jr (me).
Alu foil, duct tape, a length of coaxial and an old piece of perspex with brass bolts on it. Oh, and a crumpled piece of PC Show 2010 brochure that I had used as a spacer to prevent the 2 prongs from touching
Malaysia's NTV 9 is very clear.
Malaysia's TV3
IT's receiving digital channels perfectly.
There's some ghosting on okto and Channel u. Strange how Malaysian channels are so much clearer than Singaporean ones here.
Sadly, I can't receive Batam's RCTI at all, and SCTV is so blurry that it's pretty much unviewable. No football for me then.
For more information, google for folded dipoles. There should be online calculators to let you determine the appropriate dimensions. I used okto's frequency of 543.25Mhz for the calculations.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
School of Rock
teaches us that good movies, as with any art form, doesn't have to obey the laws of logic.
Music is integral to life.
When I was young, the radios at home were switched on pretty much throughout the day.
Now that I'm older, the hifi at home is switched on pretty much throughout the day.
Silence isn't easy; Starsailor lied.
Music is integral to life.
When I was young, the radios at home were switched on pretty much throughout the day.
Now that I'm older, the hifi at home is switched on pretty much throughout the day.
Silence isn't easy; Starsailor lied.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Authenticity
In our bid to be human we often find ourselves asserting our identity, fighting for our rights to be ourselves.
But, what really constitutes this entity called 'self'? How do we remain authentic to ourselves, when our preferences and desires are in turn based on external factors such as upbringing, and the limited variety of options that are actually available to us?
How are you so sure that your choices are true to your own character? How do you know if you really like chocolate, and that you're not subconsciously influenced to like chocolate?
Well, I don't know.
I started this entry, ruminating if I should sport a more popular and palatable short hairstyle (many say that such hairstyles are more attractive). Or I could keep my hair long, and my hair has always been longish ever since I could remember. It feels more in character to continue keeping long hair, somehow, but is that truly, authentically me?
Should I sacrifice aesthetics to be myself?
All I know is that I still feel like keeping my long hair, and keep it, I shall.
I can always change my mind later.
But, what really constitutes this entity called 'self'? How do we remain authentic to ourselves, when our preferences and desires are in turn based on external factors such as upbringing, and the limited variety of options that are actually available to us?
How are you so sure that your choices are true to your own character? How do you know if you really like chocolate, and that you're not subconsciously influenced to like chocolate?
Well, I don't know.
I started this entry, ruminating if I should sport a more popular and palatable short hairstyle (many say that such hairstyles are more attractive). Or I could keep my hair long, and my hair has always been longish ever since I could remember. It feels more in character to continue keeping long hair, somehow, but is that truly, authentically me?
Should I sacrifice aesthetics to be myself?
All I know is that I still feel like keeping my long hair, and keep it, I shall.
I can always change my mind later.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Asia.
Sometimes in Singapore, do you feel like a stranger? Everyone on the streets and public transport speak in strange languages. Hokkien Sri Lankan Tamil Mandarin Teochew Indonesian. Just not English.
Traditional Asian culture is rule based. You do this, you do not do that. It gives you no clues to how you should live your life responsibly. Respect your parents, because you're supposed to! Don't cheat, because you're not supposed to!
But bring in complicated or modern ethical issues that aren't described in their rulebooks and all hell breaks loose. A pity their rulebook doesn't tell them to live responsibly. Asians are the most prolific intellectual property thieves and the most cruel perpetrators of unfair labour practices, for example.
Even in bus queues, you'd find that those who try to beat the queue almost always one of those traditional types who speak in some Asian language. They're the ones who let their children make a din in public. Personally, as a kid, my parents made it clear to me that I must behave in public, and they really did enforce that. I guess they don't do that in traditional Asian culture.
On the escalators yesterday, I found it both sad and amusing that almost all of those who were standing on the wrong side of the escalator were speaking loudly in some Asian language or another. Those who stood on the correct side spoke softly in polite English.
I don't think I need to elaborate why I shun traditional Asian culture and languages.
It's not even my heritage. My parents, my uncles, my aunts, my cousins and literally everyone in my extended family are polite modern people who speak in English.
Traditional Asian culture is rule based. You do this, you do not do that. It gives you no clues to how you should live your life responsibly. Respect your parents, because you're supposed to! Don't cheat, because you're not supposed to!
But bring in complicated or modern ethical issues that aren't described in their rulebooks and all hell breaks loose. A pity their rulebook doesn't tell them to live responsibly. Asians are the most prolific intellectual property thieves and the most cruel perpetrators of unfair labour practices, for example.
Even in bus queues, you'd find that those who try to beat the queue almost always one of those traditional types who speak in some Asian language. They're the ones who let their children make a din in public. Personally, as a kid, my parents made it clear to me that I must behave in public, and they really did enforce that. I guess they don't do that in traditional Asian culture.
On the escalators yesterday, I found it both sad and amusing that almost all of those who were standing on the wrong side of the escalator were speaking loudly in some Asian language or another. Those who stood on the correct side spoke softly in polite English.
I don't think I need to elaborate why I shun traditional Asian culture and languages.
It's not even my heritage. My parents, my uncles, my aunts, my cousins and literally everyone in my extended family are polite modern people who speak in English.
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