CXIV

114

The controversy rages on.

Many say global warming is putting the Earth at risk, that the North Pole will have an ice-free summer by 2100, that if it isn't stopped, it will change the world as we know it forever.

And hardly anyone, least those who I know, disputes that.

However, there must be a form of balance in this dispute. That lies in climatology.

Haven't you noticed that all these things about the detrimental effects of global warming have been said, and written, by scientists, as well as influential personalities like Al Gore? Not that I am against their views, but what do the climatologists have to say? Isn't it that, as some say, asking a scientist about climatology is akin to asking a brain surgeon about the respiratory system? Maybe they would know a little of that, but nevertheless, that is not their specialisation.

Scientists talk of the human contribution to global warming, and mention little else of the other contributing factors. Climatologists, however, focus more on the latter, less-talked about facets of this aspect of their profession.

This increase in global temperatures, they say, is attributed more to the natural climate cycle, which states that such temperatures rise naturally before falling (like a balance) and causing a worldwide cooling, in which we know in the form of major ice ages of old, and other such phenomena than humans. And so our actions cannot be said to be conclusive of the detrimental effects of global warming.

In any case, what the scientists have stirred up has indeed brought about an improvement in the way we live. Green energy points to the future (although still in its infancy), and there have been pressure to reduce our carbon footprint in every way possible. In urban establishments, we enjoy fresher air and cleaner surroundings, and why not? Whether or not it would make a real impact in stemming global warming, at least for us living in towns and cities, we can breathe easy, literally.

The real debate between scientists and climatologists does not lie here. I only write about the two sides of this story, to make people aware that, in fact, there are people who believe this isn't our fault. After all, there will always be two faces to a coin.

Where is the debate, then? It could be in the international tribunals, numerous dialogues, or even simple arguments of loggerheads in a chatroom over the internet. The truth to that debate, however, lies in time.

One side has to be right.

Till then~

CXIII

113

Well, it's lost.

No more OC for me ):

Now I'm all for facilitator in the FOC/P! Sean supports me too, hope Jac succeeds as well! xD

School tomorrow, damn. But what the hell, holidays begin on the 12^th, so I'm just holding my breath. So quickly, this year has come, and now going...going...almost gone.

Come on Honour Roll, you're mine!

Ok that's all.

Till then!~

CXII

112

Hey guys.

I have well and truly run out of things to write on my blog.

Unless...

Anyways, I have gone for the SP FOC/P OC Interview just yesterday. Even though I stammered—not to mention quite a bit—my chances are, in opinion, quite good. I'm sure Sean and Jac have done well too. WE WILL GET INTO THE OC! :D:D

But, in the shock case whereby I DON'T, I shall not fret. Facilitator slots are up for grabs, and chances are competition will be low :S

And the rest shall be history.

Also, I will be busy this coming weekend with the YMCA Fencing competition in which my siblings are participating in.

(EDIT) JING XIANG CLINCHED THE BRONZE, AND I HAD A BLAST! WELL DONE BRO!!! :D LI-ING, YOU DID WELL TOO!

There, all there is to write has been written. Least for now.

Oh, and MSTs end on the 11^th of next month, with the time thereafter given free for me to enjoy the festive cheer. That leads to yet another thing: Freeman's New-Year party! That has been a tradition for most of us former choirboys (and gals). Won't miss it for the world (:

Till then!~

CXI

111

I'm watching Lethal Weapon 4 on HBO now, and it's really, really funny.

Swashbuckling kung-fu (ooh, ouch) and sarcastic humour—perfect for a Monday night. After a perfect dinner, of course.

Sarcastic, intelligent humour: what I like about British comedy. From Monty Python's Flying Circus in the 60s and 70s, Fawlty Towers in the latter decade, Blackadder in the 80s, A Bit of Fry and Laurie in the 90s, and Little Britain in the new millennium, Brit comedy has become a class of its own.

It also has a neat cast too, featuring but not limited to John Cleese, Rowan Atkinson, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, and Tom Robinson, and they would give us what would be quintessentially British. This is what I think is cultivated during the Blitz, using humour to get them through their "Finest Hour". 70 years hasn't ruined that, has it?

Whee. Looks I'm addicted to that. :D

So if you're feeling down or out (not surprised if it's homework), watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn15BUFBvu8&feature=related – FAWLTY TOWERS, 1975
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iB8qh0-hGc – BLACKADDER, THE CAVALIER YEARS, 1989
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npjOSLCR2hE – MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS, 1969

The rest? Discover them yourself! :D

Till then!~

CX

110

Cool weather, check. Nice breeze, check. Thunderstorms, ch-. Well, we can see that can't we?

Yes, the annual monsoon season is upon us once again, heralding temperatures as low as 24◦C, if you believe that is so. And I can safely say everyone loves it.

Perfect weather for sleep, for an afternoon indoors. And maybe perfect for a bad bout of cold, it's so cold at times!

Now, finally, I am finishing up the work meant to be done for next week, and I am proud of it. (:

And for IDEA, its Aston's for our experience presentation! That means root beer, mashed potato, and medium-rare sirloin steak! However, that would only come after Graeme and I conquer our CRS article assessment. Which means we're running out of time.

Also, it's only 2 weeks to the MSTs. Accounts is THE module to worry about, as everyone would agree.

So, with that:

Till then! :D

CIX

109

Ok, so I'm down with a bad bout of the cold.

Well, it isn't that bad, is it? Just my 3^rd bout in 3 weeks! Still, I feel absolutely pathetic.

Like I've grown...old. By multiples. It's aging, accelerated. I've even got white hair sprouting out! D:

Anyways, I've got work aplenty to complete, and here they are, in chronological order:

1. POA: Lab exercises 2-5, as well as Tutorial on Float, due Monday.
   
2. Critical Reasoning Skills: My article on Animal Testing, with a cross-reference to Graeme's "Life's a box" conformity article, to be tested on Monday.
   
3. Statistics: Tutorial on Chi-Square (wow), due Tuesday.
   
4. Economics: Tutorial 15 (so much for catching up), due Thursday.
   

With that in mind, I'll enjoy my Friday despite all the lectures. And maybe procrastinate just a tad bit (?!), before I delve in. MSTs looming over the horizon!!!

And on this "bombshell", enjoy your weekend!

Till then!~ (:

CVIII

108

Do bear with me, because it's gonna be really long, but I think I ought to write this out, since it's about someone who has made an impact to not just a few people, but perhaps thousands.

It is the end of an era for Dunman Secondary. Yes, yet another chapter of its 46-year history has been written and set in stone.

2005. I was no more than a freshie there. Dunman by then has become a fledging school, having been from strength to strength since it hit a trough 2 years before. Its principal, Mrs Edelweis Neo, along with the teaching staff then, was the driving force behind this extraordinary recovery. I was worried—it has gone so far already: the pressure was already on us. The question then was: "Can she better it?"

Mrs Neo knew the challenge. And she was ready to tackle it head-on.

Results never lie.

If 2005 was a good year, the next 2, progressively, would be even better. Naturally, 2008 would represent a zenith never seen by the school before. Such success would then pose challenges, which can be likened to the increase in the resistance of air as a plane approaches the sound barrier.

The pressure was on us now, but we were not alone: Mrs Neo was more than ready to take it on. But nobody said it was going to be easy.

And it wasn't. Not just for us and the teachers, but for our principal as well. As the Os drew near, she took time off her (amazingly) hectic schedule to teach us English. Teach! It is something that her job scope perhaps did not warrant. To add to that, she spent hundreds of dollars to buy us little buns and burgers to help us through the nights of endless study. How much better can that get?

This dedication, along with that of the teachers', didn't go to waste—our results were on par with those of the previous year—and I hope this year paid off as well. This principal didn't just take the managerial role, but the PR and teacher roles as well. She to me is a rare breed. And with her leaving Dunman, this breed has become rarer.

She has left a legacy, one never to be erased, one perhaps none can match, one that may not be seen in Dunman again.

For its current students, having a new principal at the helm doesn't mean the honeymoon is over (honeymoon is perhaps the wrong word to use). It just gives all the more reason to bring the school to new heights, under the aspirations and legacy of the old and the fresh goals of the new.

It is indeed the end of an era, but it isn't the end of the honeymoon.

No. It is only the beginning of true success.

Till then~~

P.S. Graeme introduced me to this dynamic way to blog—through Microsoft word! It's excellent, and I could be using this platform to blog here on out. 素晴らしい！:D

CVII

107

hey guys,

changed my layout. seems i'm finally sick of the old. and so, this is how it shall be henceforth.
just a quick update.

till then!~

p.s. mood: excited now. justin, viv, shirong, tb and larry are coming over in 10 hours' time! looks like halo 3 odst's multiplayer platform is gonna be a blast! can't wait! :D

CVI

106

it's been an uneventful week, really.

terribly uneventful. it's like having breakfast with ham, sausages, eggs and a nice hot cup of hot chocolate - WITHOUT the ham, sausages, eggs or the nice hot cup of hot chocolate. to have to drag my weary self to school every morning (cept' for fridays...12's the time: hope you like your book melissa!) and not having coffee help you through your day just turned me into a perpetual zombie. lattes work worse in this department.

but otherwise...it's been a good week for me! not winning food implosion @ sp just means i don't have to execute my promise (or swearing) of never wanting to eat again - which would have been the saddest thing to ever happen in my life.

also, even with me zombie-fied, at least i could plaster a smile on my face. and to top the icing on my expired-yet-still-tasty cake (ooohh this is in SUCH bad taste), i've memorised the entire hiragana alphabet!!! now it's on to katakana and kanji...which i hope would bring me the same joys of memorising it! :)

i hope this coming week can be filled with even more joy! :D homework, be prepared for elimination!

as such, before this post begins to look like an uninteresting essay (if it isn't so already) -
till then!~ :D

CV

105

if there's something i'm seriously losing, its my sense of self-control.

look, nevermind that i was weaned off the laptop - FOR A WHILE - when it was return'd (without a glitch when it went INTO servicing 0.o) i just went...almost nuts. also forget the fact i use it for poly work: after all, isn't it it's purpose?

i saw my results in sept on mysas, and i told myself i cannot afford to slacken. i was so determined...till the term started. something clicked. or snapped. i can't really tell. and now i'm (almost) hooked. how you define hook'd is up to you.

honour roll...i want my name in it, yet i'm doing little to justify my want. *sighs* i need to want. get it? i must want it bad enough to do well, otherwise i'm toast. the inferiority complex will consume me.

ok, now i'm completing my MOB powerpoint, as well as attempting my econs. so before i get carried away, i shall stop.

till then~

OH AND friday is COLOUR FRIDAY! PURPLE TOPS PLEASE :D

CIV

104

as promised (rather late), i've return'd to blog about my trip to JAPAN!!

well, won't say much, cos it was pretty much a pilgrimage. but i have to say, my 2nd trip back there was...exciting. (: who knows, there will be opportunities next year, definitely!

ok so here are a few of many pictures taken...


yes, the plane i was in - an A380! and actually, it put the b747 in perspective: roomier legspace, quieter travel and, of course, a bigger entertainment screen! couldn't sleep, so watched a couple of movies.

fuji! in autumn! and people of numerous countries just flocked here (thus the crowd). beauty uncompromised.

if this bowl of udon isn't perfect, i don't know what is.


same goes for this wonderful bowl of ramen. what's perfection?

the hoando, the largest temple in the vicinity. stepping into it gives an overwhelming sense of tranquility...well of course i'm buddhist (:

~

well it was a spiritual awakening....as well as a shopping paradise, despite the fact that browsing time was already at a minimum (with so many activities to attend) - my luggage was stuffed full of food and souveniors.

~

anyhow, i'm now learning japanese, partly because of how rampant language barriers are there. so, as of now, i know how to introduce myself, talk about about scenery, and write a little. reading is still out of the question.

~

and so, i'll just slowly get acquainted with this language. not hard really, its pretty standard.

~

as of opportunities, there are TWO:

~

1) study trip there (or so rumour has it)

2) backpacking! - which of course me and my friends have to pay for ourselves -.-

~

back to the present. zbrush is giving me plenty of headaches, its so cumbersome. to make things worse, the presentation's tomorrow! zzz. catching up, then, will be an issue.

~

AND, many thanks to everyone who has wished me a happy birthday! its the thought that counts! THANKS GUYS (:

~

well, time for bed. especially since tomorrow's hell day. 8am - 5pm to be exact. yawn.

~

so now,

till then!~