Ok, mid week post... monday started my first lab (way hee!). Though here they don't tell you what to do, but they do give the sheets for the experiments ahead of time so we can read through and understand. Unlike things in Malaysia, people here won't repeat what was already written in the booklets they give. So, a lot of the stuff must read one... no one to tell you what to do. Ask also they will just tell you to read it up. So anyways, went for first lab and met lab partners, one Singaporean and one Hongkie (I think). Nice fellas, good partners...
So, this week we were doing Amplifiers and it got progressively harder each day. There were demonstrators around which basically are post-grads paid to supervise us. No need to hand up any report (yay!) but must get them to okay each experiment before we could move on. Sometimes, got lecturer there also to help. Oh, bought ticlets to Halloween Disco Night organized by MASSOC!! Don't really wanna go but, hafta campaign, what to do? Never mind, good experience...
Tuesday! Torture day... not only 4 hours straight of lectures and tutorials, but got lab in the afternoon also! Only finish at 5pm. Waited for friend coz too tired and boring walking back alone. Discovered 2 more friends in library so 4 of us walk back together. Good thing we all live nearby each other. Next day, did some last minute checks and went for SHIPS meeting with group members. Now, we are narrowing down our selections (61 ideas down to 12!). No lab in the afternoon so came back to do work. A couple of friends came over to A: use online connection and B: train chess. So, lepak in friend's room for a while and pick up a few good chess tips. At night, totally forgot about the bible study meeting! Luckily friend reminded me... then, went and watch the most slow chess game I've ever seen... 5 moves later and the layout of the board haven't change much at all!! haih...
Ok, that brings us to today. Went to lecture and tutorial... (today pure maths only, how cool is that =P) then went for last lab for the week (finally!). Finished it about 5:30 pm then went back to Halifax. After dinner, went up to friend's room to watch Malaysian No. 1 Starcraft player do his thing! wah.... really fast he move... use all the shortcut keys to speed up his game considerably... couldn't really make out what was happening on the screen, too fast... did my laundry and saw how the Halloween Disco in the bar went on... looked pretty fun, hmm.... hopefully tomorrow's one will be more fun. Now, late already so sleeping...
Goodnight all!!
P.S. for all the Malays who reaad this blog... Selamat Berpuasa!! May you be bless this Ramadan...
Friday, 31 October 2003
Wednesday, 29 October 2003
I'm like Apollo?
Apollo
?? Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ??
brought to you by Quizilla
hmm... picked this up in Dave's and Wen-liang's blogs... not bad, finally got pic on my site!
I'm walking in the rain...
for those of you who think i'm joking, think again. =P
today was the second day of lab work and work so long.... until 5 pm. but, boringla if walk back alone so, waited for friendlor...
wah! come out only start to rain! some more, so dark. yes, 5 pm and it's dark. lucky, got 4 of us, so pretty ok. the walk back was interesting... though it was raining but like drizzling in malaysia only. so, jumper good enough. also, all the cars on the road, interesting walkla... you all should try it sometimes =P. anyway, so reach back in time for dinner and now... watching Man U thrash Leeds!!!!!!
goodnight all...
today was the second day of lab work and work so long.... until 5 pm. but, boringla if walk back alone so, waited for friendlor...
wah! come out only start to rain! some more, so dark. yes, 5 pm and it's dark. lucky, got 4 of us, so pretty ok. the walk back was interesting... though it was raining but like drizzling in malaysia only. so, jumper good enough. also, all the cars on the road, interesting walkla... you all should try it sometimes =P. anyway, so reach back in time for dinner and now... watching Man U thrash Leeds!!!!!!
goodnight all...
Saturday, 25 October 2003
Hustings
Vote for me! Adrian for president!!
Eh? Why am I campaigning to people in Malaysia? For those of you who are shock beyond words or just wondering what I am talking about, let me just say this.
I'm running for MASSOC presidency! Yes, it's true, it's true. Of course, I don't think I'll get it, got better nominees.
Anyway, tonight, I had to go for the hustings which is basically a Q&A session where members could ask the nominees questions and just assess them.
So, that night, arrived at the union at 6.30 pm. First of all, we were briefed on the running of the night. Seems each one will come out, give a little speech and then, get fired. Well, so it went. Funnily but not surprisingly, most questions came from the previous committee and seniors. Guess us juniors have pretty much decided on who to vote for already!
Arrgghhhh...! can't tahan some of the questions, really bordering accusing. They ask questions like MASSOC only takes the best so do you think you are the best? Helloooooo... you think you can get the best every time? Dumb question, the new committee have to DO their best for the club. It's up to YOU to decide who is best suited for the job. Some more, how do you define best? In relative to what? Apalah...
The other question that really steamed me up is the treasurer question. Same one always, what will happen if you ran out of money for a certain event and you need more? One girl answer hold charity drives or wash cars event (you know, those fund raisers) and the 'smart' questioner keep saying that you still charging the members. Wei, cannot get other people to pay for their car wash ah? blur to the maximum... this kind of questions seems to imply that the treasurer never kept good account and ended up with not enough money!
heehee... well, actually neither question was directed to me, just frus that's all... one of the previous committee did come up to some of the nominees after that to apologize if it was too harsh, guess they also trying to get the best fella for the job. Anyway, after the entire thing, went back to Halifax and sleep...
Goodnight!
Eh? Why am I campaigning to people in Malaysia? For those of you who are shock beyond words or just wondering what I am talking about, let me just say this.
I'm running for MASSOC presidency! Yes, it's true, it's true. Of course, I don't think I'll get it, got better nominees.
Anyway, tonight, I had to go for the hustings which is basically a Q&A session where members could ask the nominees questions and just assess them.
So, that night, arrived at the union at 6.30 pm. First of all, we were briefed on the running of the night. Seems each one will come out, give a little speech and then, get fired. Well, so it went. Funnily but not surprisingly, most questions came from the previous committee and seniors. Guess us juniors have pretty much decided on who to vote for already!
Arrgghhhh...! can't tahan some of the questions, really bordering accusing. They ask questions like MASSOC only takes the best so do you think you are the best? Helloooooo... you think you can get the best every time? Dumb question, the new committee have to DO their best for the club. It's up to YOU to decide who is best suited for the job. Some more, how do you define best? In relative to what? Apalah...
The other question that really steamed me up is the treasurer question. Same one always, what will happen if you ran out of money for a certain event and you need more? One girl answer hold charity drives or wash cars event (you know, those fund raisers) and the 'smart' questioner keep saying that you still charging the members. Wei, cannot get other people to pay for their car wash ah? blur to the maximum... this kind of questions seems to imply that the treasurer never kept good account and ended up with not enough money!
heehee... well, actually neither question was directed to me, just frus that's all... one of the previous committee did come up to some of the nominees after that to apologize if it was too harsh, guess they also trying to get the best fella for the job. Anyway, after the entire thing, went back to Halifax and sleep...
Goodnight!
Tuesday, 21 October 2003
SHIPS
ok, first of all... no, it has nothing to do with ships. On Monday, I went for my SHIPS industrial visit. For the benefit of the mass, I will now explain SHIPS to you.
Ok, here we go. For my 3rd semester, we have to do a project. This project is a real life problem set by a real company. The project is to last throughout this semester. And this project is under the SHIPS which stand for Sheffield Industrial Project Scheme (I think).
Well, like I said, this afternoon me and my group went to a local company named Inductelec Ltd to learn in depth about our project. This company produces induction heaters but our project was not related to it. It seems they use a transformer to control the power supplied to the heaters and sometimes, depending on the load to be heated, the power to be supplied will vary. The problem is, switching between the taps on the transformer is a tedious job so the company wants us to find a way to make it more efficient thereby increasing the functionality of the product.
So basically, we went on a bus (40 seater bus, 10 of us!!!) to the company and there, they told us the problem and showed us around the factory. Later, they showed us a model of the transformer. Then, we went back. Yes, it’s not very interesting but, up to you to decide that one.
Would like to put a picture of the transformer but… anyone know how to copyright it?
Ok, here we go. For my 3rd semester, we have to do a project. This project is a real life problem set by a real company. The project is to last throughout this semester. And this project is under the SHIPS which stand for Sheffield Industrial Project Scheme (I think).
Well, like I said, this afternoon me and my group went to a local company named Inductelec Ltd to learn in depth about our project. This company produces induction heaters but our project was not related to it. It seems they use a transformer to control the power supplied to the heaters and sometimes, depending on the load to be heated, the power to be supplied will vary. The problem is, switching between the taps on the transformer is a tedious job so the company wants us to find a way to make it more efficient thereby increasing the functionality of the product.
So basically, we went on a bus (40 seater bus, 10 of us!!!) to the company and there, they told us the problem and showed us around the factory. Later, they showed us a model of the transformer. Then, we went back. Yes, it’s not very interesting but, up to you to decide that one.
Would like to put a picture of the transformer but… anyone know how to copyright it?
Sunday, 19 October 2003
church
hi ya all!
hehe, by now, none of you would have read my 3rd entry. why? coz i just put it up! hahahaaaa....
anyways, paintballing was yesterday and today, i went to the chinese church in sheffield. the worship was very moving and the sermon was ok. met a lot of my friends there like chen sern, chin seng and others i met here. the church seems very nice and the people are very friendly. also, they have quite a number of activites for youth and many opportunities for participation. the only thing is i will probably miss breakfast at halifax and it's so far, have to take bus there, so cannot come later...
so, now i'm in a quandary, go to the chinese church or go to the sharrowvale one? hmmm... gotta think about this one... anyone got suggestions? sharrowvale is later (11 i think) and is near halifax so can walk there. more british like but got quite a number of other nationalities. however, chinese church got more people i know... oh well, will decide next sat...
hehe, by now, none of you would have read my 3rd entry. why? coz i just put it up! hahahaaaa....
anyways, paintballing was yesterday and today, i went to the chinese church in sheffield. the worship was very moving and the sermon was ok. met a lot of my friends there like chen sern, chin seng and others i met here. the church seems very nice and the people are very friendly. also, they have quite a number of activites for youth and many opportunities for participation. the only thing is i will probably miss breakfast at halifax and it's so far, have to take bus there, so cannot come later...
so, now i'm in a quandary, go to the chinese church or go to the sharrowvale one? hmmm... gotta think about this one... anyone got suggestions? sharrowvale is later (11 i think) and is near halifax so can walk there. more british like but got quite a number of other nationalities. however, chinese church got more people i know... oh well, will decide next sat...
Paintballing
i'm moving through the woods, quiet as a mice. SUddenly, i hear the pfft of a silencer... that's when the darkness falls...
nolar, actually that will never happened in real paintballing (not with this gungho bunch of Malaysians and Singaporeans anyway) Well, let me start from the beginning make it easier to understand...
got up early saturday morning (ok, so it was 7.30 but who cares). got ready real quick and then dash down to breakfast... (the breakfast only starts at 8 and we had to be at the Student Union at 8.30. yes, it takes 20 - 30 minutes to walk there...) anyways... grab a couple of bananas and a muffin together with a glass of orange+apple juice (it's really nice). the amount came up 20p less the quota for breakfast which is not that bad...
ok, so got our breakfast but some of them took the whole meal like cereal, bacon etc. so, waited for them. got a bit late but was ok... bus also just there... (you know lar malaysian and singaporean... hafta use their time...)
so, finally got there and got on the bus... took the ride to the paintballing place. it was in the woods and you had to walk up a dirt road from the road so when the bus stopped, i tought we had gotten lost! well, apparantly we weren't so we started to hike up...
finally at the paintball site! actually, if this place was in malaysia, we'd be complaining about the dirty floor (dirt floor) and the toilet facilities... *shrug*
so, got into the coveralls they kindly provided for us and share rent a locker with friends to keep wallet and handphone in. then, sign the disclaimer form and got registered. then, they gave me a number for my group. then, came the long process of waiting till they got us sorted out... had a safety talk before we went out, man, those paintballs can travel at 200mph! no wonder we had to have goggles. accoding to the guy there, those paintballs can make you blind. luckily the goggles are very strong and can take an impact even at point blank (and by that i mean... right in front of the goggles) anyways, we are not allowed to shoot at the head also, so any CS freak wanna practise head shots also cannot.
finally, we were gonna start! because all of us was too big (114 people!) they split us up into 6 groups. so, group 1 vs group 2 for all the games and so on... i got suited up with the head protecter and the goggles, collected my gun and off we go!
for the first game... it was basically capture the flag. so, when the signal was given we all rush head on towards the red team's base. wah, cannot be quiet oh... too many gunshots going off... actually, i was behind the frontline at that time. about to go forward when saw a couple of sneaks trying to capture our flag... so, what would you do? i let them have it!! of course with my 'superior' aiming, i missed both of them... nuts.... luckily got the girls defending the base, knock them both out... hahaaa.... ran out of bullets so just took cover...moments later... one of our guys came back with the enemy's flag! yahoo! oh yeah...
so, went back to starting point to clean goggles and fill up on bullets (5 pounds per 100 bullets)what to do? gotta buy... then, we traded places with the red team and again we were off! funnily enough... they managed to get someone into our base and calmly take our flag! the girls there didn't even fire at him! weird... ini mesti ada konspirasi...
well, didn't get killed yet but didn't kill anyone either...
the next game was more intense... definitely everyone would be killed at some time or another... it was basically like the scene in saving private ryan. one team will start in a landing craft while the defending team will place themselves in 10 huts. each hut had a suitcase and there was a union jack flag at the end. so, the attacking team had to clear each hut, throw the suitcase out into the street (1 point) and after getting all the suitcases, bring the union jack flag out to the land rover in front of the landing base... the defending team will of course, defend only. to make it even worse for the defenders, they cannot come out of the hut and the attackers had multiple lives! oh well...
my group started as defenders first. it was real carnage! managed to kill a few attackers but of course, soon got killed (for the first time!) nuts... so, followed the actioned from the outside. i was in the 3rd last hut and saw that the last 2 huts were defending pretty well, 19 against 4 and still they almost managed to last through to the 10 minutes... too bad it was too overwhelming. never mind, time for revenge...
when it was our turn, we plan strategy, half take out the 1st hut on the right while other half take out 1st hut on the left. once cleared, go on to the next hut... plan worked like a charm, took them all out and managed to get the flag to the land rover much faster than the other team... proof of our greatness....
we were going to try another field when we heard that the other groups wanted a merger for one final battle (bus coming already...) so, we all got together, and well, onward! it was fighting as you have never seen before... both teams (red and yellow) went at it with full force. shot were fired at everyone and at no one in particular. of course, since this was the final battle, we did it quake style - if you get shot, just run back in to your base and restart. The battle was fierce and intense. neither side could advance. The few brave ones who managed to get nearer were quickly gunned down (though they technically stood up). the battle only stopped when most of us either ran out of bullets or had enough of being shot. so finally, we all went back to the main building and return the kit. then, we paid for our extra bullets and finally, just waited for the bus home. most carried some form of injuries (me with the defend attitude also got slight injury so...). some got head shots... others were shot in the mouth...(think all this is like accidental, don't think got anyone that good).
overall, it was pretty fun and exciting. will definitely recommend anyone to take it up. good nice fun with the extra bonus of whacking your friends for any particular reason! too bad i didn't hit any girls...
p.s. didn't take camera so no pics of our heroic victories. at least, not yet. will put them up on this article when they come. now if only i can figure out how to put pics in blogs...
nolar, actually that will never happened in real paintballing (not with this gungho bunch of Malaysians and Singaporeans anyway) Well, let me start from the beginning make it easier to understand...
got up early saturday morning (ok, so it was 7.30 but who cares). got ready real quick and then dash down to breakfast... (the breakfast only starts at 8 and we had to be at the Student Union at 8.30. yes, it takes 20 - 30 minutes to walk there...) anyways... grab a couple of bananas and a muffin together with a glass of orange+apple juice (it's really nice). the amount came up 20p less the quota for breakfast which is not that bad...
ok, so got our breakfast but some of them took the whole meal like cereal, bacon etc. so, waited for them. got a bit late but was ok... bus also just there... (you know lar malaysian and singaporean... hafta use their time...)
so, finally got there and got on the bus... took the ride to the paintballing place. it was in the woods and you had to walk up a dirt road from the road so when the bus stopped, i tought we had gotten lost! well, apparantly we weren't so we started to hike up...
finally at the paintball site! actually, if this place was in malaysia, we'd be complaining about the dirty floor (dirt floor) and the toilet facilities... *shrug*
so, got into the coveralls they kindly provided for us and share rent a locker with friends to keep wallet and handphone in. then, sign the disclaimer form and got registered. then, they gave me a number for my group. then, came the long process of waiting till they got us sorted out... had a safety talk before we went out, man, those paintballs can travel at 200mph! no wonder we had to have goggles. accoding to the guy there, those paintballs can make you blind. luckily the goggles are very strong and can take an impact even at point blank (and by that i mean... right in front of the goggles) anyways, we are not allowed to shoot at the head also, so any CS freak wanna practise head shots also cannot.
finally, we were gonna start! because all of us was too big (114 people!) they split us up into 6 groups. so, group 1 vs group 2 for all the games and so on... i got suited up with the head protecter and the goggles, collected my gun and off we go!
for the first game... it was basically capture the flag. so, when the signal was given we all rush head on towards the red team's base. wah, cannot be quiet oh... too many gunshots going off... actually, i was behind the frontline at that time. about to go forward when saw a couple of sneaks trying to capture our flag... so, what would you do? i let them have it!! of course with my 'superior' aiming, i missed both of them... nuts.... luckily got the girls defending the base, knock them both out... hahaaa.... ran out of bullets so just took cover...moments later... one of our guys came back with the enemy's flag! yahoo! oh yeah...
so, went back to starting point to clean goggles and fill up on bullets (5 pounds per 100 bullets)what to do? gotta buy... then, we traded places with the red team and again we were off! funnily enough... they managed to get someone into our base and calmly take our flag! the girls there didn't even fire at him! weird... ini mesti ada konspirasi...
well, didn't get killed yet but didn't kill anyone either...
the next game was more intense... definitely everyone would be killed at some time or another... it was basically like the scene in saving private ryan. one team will start in a landing craft while the defending team will place themselves in 10 huts. each hut had a suitcase and there was a union jack flag at the end. so, the attacking team had to clear each hut, throw the suitcase out into the street (1 point) and after getting all the suitcases, bring the union jack flag out to the land rover in front of the landing base... the defending team will of course, defend only. to make it even worse for the defenders, they cannot come out of the hut and the attackers had multiple lives! oh well...
my group started as defenders first. it was real carnage! managed to kill a few attackers but of course, soon got killed (for the first time!) nuts... so, followed the actioned from the outside. i was in the 3rd last hut and saw that the last 2 huts were defending pretty well, 19 against 4 and still they almost managed to last through to the 10 minutes... too bad it was too overwhelming. never mind, time for revenge...
when it was our turn, we plan strategy, half take out the 1st hut on the right while other half take out 1st hut on the left. once cleared, go on to the next hut... plan worked like a charm, took them all out and managed to get the flag to the land rover much faster than the other team... proof of our greatness....
we were going to try another field when we heard that the other groups wanted a merger for one final battle (bus coming already...) so, we all got together, and well, onward! it was fighting as you have never seen before... both teams (red and yellow) went at it with full force. shot were fired at everyone and at no one in particular. of course, since this was the final battle, we did it quake style - if you get shot, just run back in to your base and restart. The battle was fierce and intense. neither side could advance. The few brave ones who managed to get nearer were quickly gunned down (though they technically stood up). the battle only stopped when most of us either ran out of bullets or had enough of being shot. so finally, we all went back to the main building and return the kit. then, we paid for our extra bullets and finally, just waited for the bus home. most carried some form of injuries (me with the defend attitude also got slight injury so...). some got head shots... others were shot in the mouth...(think all this is like accidental, don't think got anyone that good).
overall, it was pretty fun and exciting. will definitely recommend anyone to take it up. good nice fun with the extra bonus of whacking your friends for any particular reason! too bad i didn't hit any girls...
p.s. didn't take camera so no pics of our heroic victories. at least, not yet. will put them up on this article when they come. now if only i can figure out how to put pics in blogs...
Thursday, 16 October 2003
The norm of things
Ok, this post is basically connected to what wen-liang said in his blog but bears resemblance to my studies as well...
currently, i have to take a course in human resource management. in this course, i basically learn how to manage a group of people (more for training for SHIPS project). So, basically, wen liang said that some things are the norm. well, after all that i learn, it's hard to see whether is there any norm for the whole world.
you know, it isn't just language that separates the different countries, but culture too. many a times... the norm in one country is never the same as in other countries...
the actual course is pretty interesting... we learn about how groups are form... how to motivate them, the norms in a group etc. it's really interesting to note that groups not only behave according to how the norm is in the country, but they also develop their own culture, within the group. this group idea, is not limited to the groups that are form
A: to do a certain project
B: groups of friends
but also include bigger groups such as an entire company! in fact, multinational companies might even have different cultures within the company due to different geographical locations. in addition, there exist different cultures within the company too. there is the scientist group... the accountants group etc. the groups are form coz the people are doing the same thing or have something in common...
so, in short, the norm for 1 group maybe not be the norm for another. so many people, so diverse the norms... even within a group, each member has their own set of core values.
so, it's safe to say that one cannot generalize things... what maybe true and right to you might sound wrong or bad to others. that's why we always must go for the majority, very rare is the decision unanimous (unless you are in a small group...)
currently, i have to take a course in human resource management. in this course, i basically learn how to manage a group of people (more for training for SHIPS project). So, basically, wen liang said that some things are the norm. well, after all that i learn, it's hard to see whether is there any norm for the whole world.
you know, it isn't just language that separates the different countries, but culture too. many a times... the norm in one country is never the same as in other countries...
the actual course is pretty interesting... we learn about how groups are form... how to motivate them, the norms in a group etc. it's really interesting to note that groups not only behave according to how the norm is in the country, but they also develop their own culture, within the group. this group idea, is not limited to the groups that are form
A: to do a certain project
B: groups of friends
but also include bigger groups such as an entire company! in fact, multinational companies might even have different cultures within the company due to different geographical locations. in addition, there exist different cultures within the company too. there is the scientist group... the accountants group etc. the groups are form coz the people are doing the same thing or have something in common...
so, in short, the norm for 1 group maybe not be the norm for another. so many people, so diverse the norms... even within a group, each member has their own set of core values.
so, it's safe to say that one cannot generalize things... what maybe true and right to you might sound wrong or bad to others. that's why we always must go for the majority, very rare is the decision unanimous (unless you are in a small group...)
Monday, 13 October 2003
1st entry...
Yahoo! Went to Manchester on Saturday and visited the Theater Of Dreams!!! Man U fans, eat your heart out...
nolar,.... don't mean that... but Old Trafford was cool. Saw the entire stadium... the players dressing room... the bath... even the directors lounge! too bad no MU players around...
next we went to trafford centre, that's a shopping mall in manchester. didn't do mucch there, just like shopping malls everywhere... ate McD there, the prices were ok but the burgers are smaller than the ones back home... guess that's what you get for the cheaper price...
next, Chinatown! again.... nothing to do, chinese food so expensive, sheffield ones cheaper so decided to buy dinner when go back. a lot of my friends bought food stuff, even the ones staying in halls! oh well... oh, tim nam i called hsiu lye up and guess what? she visited Old Trafford already! argh... couldn't reach her when at chinatown ( saw the umist sign nearby there..) but managed to contact her back in sheffield... go figure...
well, that's it for now... will write more next time!
nolar,.... don't mean that... but Old Trafford was cool. Saw the entire stadium... the players dressing room... the bath... even the directors lounge! too bad no MU players around...
next we went to trafford centre, that's a shopping mall in manchester. didn't do mucch there, just like shopping malls everywhere... ate McD there, the prices were ok but the burgers are smaller than the ones back home... guess that's what you get for the cheaper price...
next, Chinatown! again.... nothing to do, chinese food so expensive, sheffield ones cheaper so decided to buy dinner when go back. a lot of my friends bought food stuff, even the ones staying in halls! oh well... oh, tim nam i called hsiu lye up and guess what? she visited Old Trafford already! argh... couldn't reach her when at chinatown ( saw the umist sign nearby there..) but managed to contact her back in sheffield... go figure...
well, that's it for now... will write more next time!
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