Thursday, January 31, 2008

I am not going to concern myself with anything else for the next month. NS enlistment, A level results and everything else can go take a flying leap and stuff it.

Epic.

Posted by Calvin at 4:41 pm

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Entertainment possibilities will shortly present themselves. We apologise for the inconvenience, but the world has not been as fun as it should have been - and now will be.

Posted by Calvin at 6:07 am

"'Since we decided a few weeks ago to adopt the leaf as legal tender, we have, of course, all become immensely rich.'

'But we have also,' continued the management consultant, 'run into a small inflation problem on account of the high level of leaf availability, which means that, I gather, the current going rate has something like three deciduous forests buying one ship's peanut.'

'So in order to obviate this problem,' he continued, 'and effectively revalue the leaf, we are about to embark on a massive defoliation campaign, and ... er, burn down all the forests.

The crowd seemed a little uncertain about this for a second or two until someone pointed out how much this would increase the value of the leaves in their pockets whereupon they let out whoops of delight.

'You're all mad,' explained Ford Prefect."

-HGTTG

"The best part of the chocolate chip cookie is the chocolate chip and not the cookie. That is why, volume wise, there is less chocolate chip then there is cookie."

-As lucid as I'm going to get at this time of the day

Posted by Calvin at 5:23 am

Thursday, January 17, 2008

"A nebula is an interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen gas and plasma. It is the first stage of a star's cycle. In these regions the formations of gas, dust and other materials 'clump' together to form larger masses, which attract further matter, and eventually will become big enough to form stars." -Wikipedia

Our ancestors envisioned an aeolian universe, and longed to listen to the 'music of the spheres'. They may not be faulted for thinking as such, as these marvels of nature do indeed bring to mind the whalesong of the deep oceans.

As Douglas Adam's wrote, "The deep roar of the ocean. The break of waves on further shores than thought can find. The silent thunders of the deep,"

Beautiful, isn't it? This is Singapore's great failing - the sky is so polluted you don't get much to look at. In Hawaii, I could lie on the beach and gaze up at a sky - no - an ocean of stars. Their sheer multitude giving the sky a depth that I could not have previously understood.

It is the only time in my life I can remember being awed into silence, and also why, gods be damned, I hold science and our universe in the highest regard.

Posted by Calvin at 6:19 pm

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Oh snap!

Posted by Calvin at 11:45 pm

"The history of every major galactic civilisation tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable phases, those of Survival, Enquiry, and Sophistication, otherwise known as the How, Why, and Where phases.

For instance, the first phase is characterized by the question How can we eat?, the second by the question Why do we eat?, and the third by the question Where shall we have lunch?"

-HGTTG

Posted by Calvin at 3:06 pm

Sunday, January 13, 2008

"'What precisely what is you wanted, madam?' she said. 'It's just that I've left the class doing algebra, and they get restless when they've finished.'

'Algebra?' said Madam Frout. 'But that's far too difficult for seven-year-olds!'

'Yes, but I didn't tell them that and so far they haven't found out,' said Susan."

Insofar as most current education systems may be deemed dated and mundane, it should at least teach us that in the presence of overwhelmingly stifling incompetence, it is always better to get the job done yourself.

And better yet, when you surpass the limits that society has been bred to adhere by, you may find that - oh snap! - there are no limits at all.

I might add that from then on, life is like one big party, and it's not even midnight yet.

Posted by Calvin at 6:44 pm

Friday, January 11, 2008

By the way, guys' slack time before NS isn't all it's cracked up to be, trust me. Don't wait till you graduate before you realise how fun school was, and blog a long emotional heartfelt essay about all the good times you had cramming for exams, overnight stays in school, ad infinitum. Trust me on this! I realised this early and am glad of it.

Look at the blogs of your other seniors. You know how there's a tendency to look back fondly on how you got through all those little crises, planned hectic CCA events with your friends? Well no shit, because it's true, stuff like that really is fun!

Better to realise you're having fun while you're still doing the thing that you would otherwise realise - too late - is fun. Only this time - after reading this - you will already have realised that it's fun, won't have to wait till you graduate till you realise it, and will proceed to enjoy the fun right bloody now.

You know how in those movies and stuff, people always realise things like this too late? When the bus with the girlfriend is moving off, when high school prom night comes, when you need to pee and the movie is ending? Well congratulations, now you know and it's not too late!

Gosh! Have fun, you lucky, happy people.

Posted by Calvin at 12:54 pm

"The Olympic aspirations of Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee sprinter from South Africa, may end soon. Track and field's world governing body is expected to announce that he is ineligible to race against able-bodied athletes because his state-of-the-art prosthetics give him an unfair advantage." - The Straits Times, Friday, January 11 2008

"Director of rehabilitation engineering services at NHS Lothian in Britain, David Gow, believes his new i-Limb system (bionic arm, hand combo) from Touch Bionics is so superior to biological limbs that it may have to "scale down its power." - www(dot)medgadget(dot)com

All this news is really very excellent. As you know, I intend to live forever. Hopefully before I die, scientific knowledge will advance to the point where it can ethically prolong my existence.

It's akin to a technological plateau of sorts. Miss it and you're gone for eternity. All you have to do is make it to that era alive, and who knows what the universe has in store for you? I want to see the future. That future.

Think me greedy do you? Selfish? Hell naw! At least I'm not wishing for a magical candyland in the sky, where you eat, drink, sing songs and play mahjong forever and ever. Get off any moral high ground you may have claimed, it's fundamentally the same concept.

All humans are cursed with sentience, and with that sentience comes an awareness that one's existence is finite in length. Ah, to be human. I think, and therefore I am troubled.

Posted by Calvin at 12:23 pm

Thursday, January 10, 2008

You know how dreams can sometimes be weird. Well sometimes they go right past that, out the other side and into the realm of very odd. Take last night, my subconscious was treated to a music video rendition, and my perspective panned around the performers like a camera.

Now that's all well and good, but the point is, I'd never seen or heard it before. Where did the tune come from? Hell, where did the lyrics come from?

Perhaps not surprisingly, I woke up with a splitting headache in the left side of my head. I suppose that's where the creativity node is situated - if only I could find a way to turn it on at will.

Posted by Calvin at 6:11 pm

Monday, January 07, 2008

In Wipeout Pulse, you can create your own customised ship skin and download it to your PSP. I wish I could claim credit for this masterpiece, but some other ingenious chap made that. I may work on one as a little project of sorts.

Posted by Calvin at 5:40 am

"So I died and I went to that place in the sky. Contrary to popular belief, it looks a lot like Terminal 3, complete with restrooms and vending machines.

It was all well and good, until god came up to me and announced he was going to smite me for being a heathen. Would have, too, if Zeus hadn't come along and said he was going to personally turn me to a lump of ash first, for not sacrificing a white animal over a raised altar every Friday. Even his dad Odin came to get a word in edgewise.

There was no end to it, and soon there were tons of gods and deities all clamouring for my head. Adjassou-Linguetor, Baron Samedi, even dead Cthulhu from deep dark R'lyeh.

And so it was that in trying to kill me, everyone killed everyone else first, and I had the place all to myself. I whistled for a cab and when it came near, the license plate said fresh and it had dice in the mirror. If anything I could say that this cab was rare, but I thought, "Nah, forget it. Yo home to Bel-Air!"

I pulled up to the house about 7 or 8, and I yelled to the cabby yo holmes smell ya later. Looked at my kingdom I was finally there, to sit on my throne as the prince of Bel-Air. "

Posted by Calvin at 5:17 am

Sunday, January 06, 2008

I made myself a new desktop wallpaper since I'm pretty free these days. I like how it turned out. The Wipeout franchise has been around for a decade or so, and it will always have a special place in my heart. It's also pretty safe to say that it has defined the racing genre, along with other notable games such as Nintendo's F-Zero.

I could list all the reasons why it's awesome, but if you were the sort to care about such things, you'd probably know them all already. So I won't bore you.

Back when I started this whole gaming thing, I got my first console, a PS1 and - lo! - a copy of Wipeout 2097. I like to think it has shaped the way I approach things ever since, because the franchise is well known for being unforgiving. It's not easy to master, but damn it's good when you finally do.

So I taught myself to learn fast and effectively. You rewire your brain on the spot, training your synapses to fire faster and faster. I'd say it's about as difficult as learning to play the piano. Hey, I would know. I've done both. Either this game is really hard, or playing the piano is really easy. *Hint, it's both.*

Anyway, some friends of mine will be enlisting pretty soon, some next week even. Same here, although for me, 'pretty soon' means sometime in March. Good luck to you all.

Posted by Calvin at 12:35 am

Friday, January 04, 2008

So there have been a little too many cases of NS men dying. How irksome, because on top of wasting 2 years of my life, their going to make it dangerous as well. Well shit.

Now, I'm your average amiable Atheist, but if I do meet my untimely end in NS, I promise you I'll rewrite the laws of Physics on the spot and reincarnate as the unholy howling physical manifestation of Vengeance.

I'm too important to die just yet, and I intend to live an extremely long life during which I provide valuable contributions to the world. My existence is thus far more valuable than some worn rhetoric about obligation to country.

You heard it here first! Look for natural disasters and meteor impacts approximately 15 minutes after my obituary hits the papers. I will hit the north side of Singapore first, since I don't want to damage the infrastructure of the CBD and cripple this lovely country.

I will haunt every single army camp until the whole foolish business is canned, Singapore will then redirect valuable land and resources into research into genetically engineered Pokémon. After all, why recruit conscripts when you have an army of Dragonites, AMIRITE?

Said army camps will then be called 'Safari Zones', and I'll be having a good laugh up there.

Posted by Calvin at 3:33 pm

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Well, 2008 has begun and so I'm going to set down one very simple goal. More accurately, it's a restatement of something I have always lived by. This way, it's official, see?

I intend to be imbalanced in everything I do. In everyday English, "imbalanced" refers to a supernatural level of proficiency. That is to say, totally mad skills. Any game, any vocation, hobby, task, or embuggerance - no problem at all. The first one is - of course - very easy, the latter few, merely slightly difficult. So that's 2008 all sorted.

I have always prided myself on being good at stuff I happen to try, and I intend to keep it that way. It's a good habit - does wonders, and anyone can try it.

That said, I am still enjoying Wipeout Pulse, awaiting with anticipation the release of the acclaimed Brawl. Also, finished watching lots of anime. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and, as of 30 minutes ago, Elfen Lied. Yes I'm late, but it's awesome viewing all the same, and still early in the year so I suppose it cancels out.

Things to do, draw, and accomplish - there better be, because if there's one thing I hate, it's being bored.