Here's looking at you, babe.

1 wk to SCM

At about this time next saturday, I ought to be in bed so that I can at least clock in the necessary amount of sleep before running my second and last marathon for the year. This time round, it is entirely different from the overnight one which I did about 6 mths ago. The Stanchart Sg Marathon will start at 0530hrs and if my prediction is right, I should be able to complete it at about 1100hrs. That will be when the sun will be really blazing.

Rewind 6 mths when I ran the inaugural Sundown Marathon. It started at midnight and I finished it at about 0630hrs. Though it was much cooler at night, the difficult part of staying awake and battling the aroma of BBQ food along East Coast did make it difficult. Moreover, the 4 overhead bridges was also a challenge.

Anyway, I will collect the race kit sometime this week. Wonder what will the colour of the running jersey be. However, I am looking forward to getting that finisher T shirt which I hope will be in that classic black.

Christmas Lighting along Orchard Rd

It's really simple. We took a drive along Orchard Rd after dinner just to see the lights. As expected, it was pathetic compared to previous years. Nothing surprising as times are hard. Consumers are cutting back on their spending and retailers themselves are also bracing for a tough year ahead. How long will this downturn last is anybody's guess.

Many thanks to Eric for helping us reinstall the Office software. Now that we are back in business, it would be a good idea to do some housekeeping for my files. Besides this, I need to tidy the study as well since the new term is just about 5 weeks away.

Don't forget the lyrics

This game show is not new. Originated from the US, it has since travelled to many countries and needless to say, it has been a hit. Just like Who wants to be a millionaire, etc etc...This week's debut episode shows that even the Sg Idol winners find it hard as they themselves are not very certain of some lyrics. So my guess is that nobody will win that prize of 500k. Perhaps i could be wrong...

IPPT for this year

I mged a silver and $200 again this year. Seems that getting that extra $200 for the gold is not easy. Static stations is not difficult but it is the 2.4km run. Below 10.15min.....maybe next year?

Thankful for .....

Last Thursday when the PSLE results were released, I was so thankful that the group of merged stream students whom I was helping out prior to the commencement of my BSc passed their maths. Basically they can all proceed to a sec sch as set out since day 1 when I took them for maths. When they first came to see me, they were in the high risk group of U graders. However, i told them that I would like to see them come back to LPS next year in their sec sch uniform. So imagine the thankfulness when my colleague told me that it was a 3 digit and 1 decimal place i;e- 100.0% passes for the merged stream.

I am back

After a week's absence I am back. Well, basically the HDD gave problems and it had to be replaced. Damage was 99 bucks for a 250GB and another 50bucks for labour. However, it is not fully functional yet and I have yet to reinstall the office applications. Thankfully, I can surf the net...
Finished my last paper Algebra 1 last thursday and it was managable. Though there were some parts which were quite difficult, it was ok on the whole. Now the wait till around Christmas when the results will be released then...

Eating grapes

Ambassador for Shing Siong

Esther with her classmate

Laying off staff

Read in the papers about a particular local bank laying off a number of their staff as their 3rd quarter profits dived. It was reported in the papers that some of the staff axed had worked there for about 2 decades. Needless to say, for these group of people in that age category, finding alternative employment is really not easy. What really irked many was the fact that the staff union was only informed of the 'hit list' just 3 days ahead. Even the labour chief expressed his disappointment at the bank's decision.

Was chatting with a friend about this issue and he said that hopefully those laid off did not over commit themselves when purchasing property or cars. We both know of people who will live way above their means by purchasing some posh condo or landed property and taking a huge loan over a long period. Ditto to that of their vehicle hire purchase. Knowing that they wisely should just purchase what they need, due to reasons like image, status etc, they go ahead and buy something way above. If their job is stable and earning sufficiently to maintain these 2 huge liabilities, well and good. But if they happened to be like those axed staff, that spells trouble. Once you fall behind in your repayments, that legal loan shark will have no mercy to repocess or seize your property.

The underlying lesson is simple. Live at or better still below one's means.

Initial plans for the 6-wk break

These are some of the things that I intend to do during the 6-wk break:

1. tidy the house
2. run the Stanchart Sg Marathon
3. wash and vaccuum the car
4. go karaoke with friends
5. ..
6. ..
7. ..

AAM 201 Calculus 2

Overall, it was another fair paper. Most of the questions were alright except for some which were more advanced. That's always the case for maths right? Many of us felt that our lecturer was very kind this time as he set the paper in such a way that was meant to help the masses. Needless to say, those unique few high-fliers should be able to ace this paper. Now for the final paper Algebra 1.....

Cancelled 2 credit cards...

That's it. When I received the notice to renew the annual subscription fee for my HSBC credit card, I decided to cancel it. Since I usually use 1 card for fuel purchases for obvious reasons, the 2 HSBC cards are virtually brand new. So what made me decide to cancel it? I felt it was no point having so many cards and not using more than half them. Yes, I do have quite a number of cards since they were all complimentary when I applied for the basic card. The banks just kept sending me the higher end cards hoping that consumers will spend more. However, that credit card can be a credit cut when usage is not controlled. A social worker friend of mine told me that many cases of poor financial management start from the credit card. Her solution? Go for plastic surgery: Cut the card.

AAM Calculus 1

Overall, it was a fair paper. Many parts were familiar with some the exact numbers. I did the paper in the reverse order by starting from the back up to the front as I was more confident this way. However, there were some questions which stumbled me. Needless to say, some careless mistakes were committed and it was only afterwards did I realise. Compared to last year's paper, this year's was a little more demanding but it was on the whole managable. Now for the next big one which is Calculus 2 on thursday.....

Multiple engine types in the various F1 teams

Force India- Mclaren Mercedes engine from next season

Toro Rosso- Ferrari

Williams - Toyota

Red Bull Racing- Renault

This is despite that fact there are teams like Ferrari (where Massa and Raikkonen are), Mclaren (Hamilton), Panasonic Toyota (Trulli and Glock), Renault (Alonso and Piquet) are also competing. Seems that besides the front runners, the rest of the field is also a competition ground for the various engine suppliers.

Going to puke calculus aldy....

The whole weekend was spent doing just that. Calculus, limts, convergence, differentiation, integartion, series and the list goes on......think I should take limit to infinity and see where do they all converge to. Perhaps they diverge? How about differentiating with respect to algebra and then integrate them by parts to see what other unknown trigonometric identities appear?

Pump prices fell yet again...

It seems that the global economy has certainly taken a toll on many and this can be seen with the 12th drop in fuel prices again since July. Some analysts predict that it may even fall to the levels 4 years ago. Hopefully it will stay put this way. I recall paying over $2.20 per litre which works out over $100 per tankful. Fortunately I did not drive that much back then so it was not that bad. Now that I travel quite a lot from home to Angela's workplace and up to campus, mileage will inevitably increase. However, I try not to use the a/c in the morning and be a little easy on my right foot just to stretch each tankful for as far as possible.

Science paper today

As with typical MCQ exams, it can be quite tricky. However, there were also some that were plain giveaways. Though it was 2 hours, I used all the time to check and re-check some questions and of course attempt those which I could not figure out. In the end, I had to play guessing game for 2 of them. For now, it is full-scale revision on both Calculus modules. I am quite thankful both modules tend to overlap so each one reinforces the other. The only catch is that for Cal 2, some of the questions can get quite complicated which does seem worrying. So this weekend besides trying to clock in about 20+km, it is also nothing else but maths maths and more maths....

1st paper tmw

My 1st paper which is the science paper will take place tomorrow. After that it is purely numbers, numbers and more numbers...thankfully I can leave algebra to the end as I have 6 days in between Cal 2 and Algebra. Back to my notes....

Yes! Obama is the new boss

WASHINGTON - Americans elected Democrat Barack Obama as their first black president Tuesday, in a transformational election which will reshape US politics and reposition the United States on the world stage.
Obama, 47, will be inaugurated the 44th US president on January 20, 2009, and inherit an economy mired in the worst financial crisis since the 1930s, two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and a nuclear showdown with Iran.
Television networks projected his victory over Republican John McCain after Senator Obama solidified traditional Democratic states and cut deep into the Republican territory which his rival needed to control to win the White House.


Obama's historic inauguration will complete a stunning ascent to the pinnacle of US and global politics from national obscurity just four years ago and close an eight year era of turbulence under President George W. Bush.
He will take office with Democrats holding a monopoly in power in Washington, after an epochal election which sparked a rare generational and political realignment and finally snuffed out an era of Republican control.
Obama is promising to renew bruised ties with US allies, and to engage some of the most fierce US foes like Iran and North Korea. He has vowed to pass tackle climate change and provide health care to all Americans.
His presidency also marks a stunning cultural shift, with Obama, the son of Kenyan father and white mother from Kansas, the first African American president of a nation still riven by racial divides.
When he launched his campaign on a chilly day in Illinois in February 2007, Obama forged a mantra of change which powered him throughout the longest, most costly US presidential campaign in history.
With a stunning grassroots political movement, powered by massive multi-million dollar fundraising, Obama first beat Hillary Clinton, and the Democratic Party's then preeminent political machine.
Obama strode towards victory on Tuesday by capturing the states of Pennsylvania, the key battleground which McCain needed to win to keep his long-shot hopes of victory alive.
In a sweet moment for Democrats, he also seized the midwestern battleground of Ohio and captured New Mexico and Iowa, two states won by Bush in 2004 to close out McCain's possible route towards the White House.
Obama had led national and battleground polls and had capitalized on the fear of Americans pitched into the deep financial crisis, especially as he appeared to be presidential in a string of debates.
McCain had argued that Obama was too inexperienced to be US commander in chief and would pursue "socialist" redistribution policies that would leave the economy mired in recession.
McCain, 72, an Arizona senator, would have been the oldest man ever inaugurated for a first term in the White House

Obama or McCain

Americans will decide if they wish to remain with the Republicans or vote for a change to the Democrats. Latest news report that final results are expected tomorrow afternoon Sg/HK time. Though Obama is leading, there is always that swing to either camp especially those who are sitting on the fence. My choice if I am an American? Obama....

2008 F1 season is over

Lewis Hamilton started the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend as title favourite and duly ended it as champion. Ahead of their showdown, Felipe Massa said the pressure would be on his rival at Interlagos - and that’s exactly how it panned out. As the Brazilian romped to the home win he needed, Hamilton and McLaren understandably took a more cautious approach. It so nearly cost them everything, but ultimately gave us the most thrilling season finale in years...

Ferrari

Felipe Massa, P1

Kimi Raikkonen, P3

Massa did everything so brilliantly that no wonder his supporters felt he deserved to be world champion. And for fleeting moments it seemed that he was, but then after he had crossed the finish line Hamilton passed Glock for the fifth place he needed, and the Brazilian lost by a point. Raikkonen said his Ferrari got much better towards the end, but was told not to bother challenging Alonso’s second place since third would be sufficient to secure the constructors’ title for the Scuderia as the consolation prize.

Renault

Fernando Alonso, P2

Nelson Piquet, Retired lap 1, accident

Piquet might have crashed on the first lap, but Alonso drove another great race to take a strong second place, which bodes well for the team’s 2009 prospects.

McLaren

Lewis Hamilton, P5

Heikki Kovalainen, P7

McLaren did not get the best from the MP4-23 as they appeared to aim just for the fifth place that Hamilton needed. Had it remained dry to the end, he would have achieved it without problem; as it was it came down to fate intervening as Glock lost so much ground on his dry tyres on that critical final lap. Nevertheless, a championship is won over a season not one race, and Hamilton and McLaren were deserving winners.

The calm before the storm

As the 2008 F1 season draws to a close later, questions still linger on who will win the driver's title. Though the odds favour that Englishman, what happened last year was something not only him but others did not expect it as well. So will history repeat itself or will that Englishman win it this time round? Let's wait and see....

2009 F1 schedule (chk out round 14 in bold!!!)

01

2009 FORMULA 1 ING AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX (Melbourne)
26 - 29 Mar

02
2009 FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX (Kuala Lumpur)
03 - 05 Apr

03
2009 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX (Bahrain)
17 - 19 Apr

04
FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPANA TELEFONICA 2009 (Catalunya)
08 - 10 May

05
FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DE MONACO 2009 (Monte Carlo)
21 - 24 May

06
2009 FORMULA 1 TURKISH GRAND PRIX (Istanbul)
05 - 07 Jun

07
2009 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX (Silverstone)
19 - 21 Jun

08
FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE 2009 (Magny-Cours)
26 - 28 Jun

09
FORMULA 1 GROSSER PREIS SANTANDER VON DEUTSCHLAND 2009 (Nürburgring)
10 - 12 Jul

10
FORMULA 1 ING MAGYAR NAGYDIJ 2009 (Budapest)
24 - 26 Jul

11
2009 FORMULA 1 TELEFONICA GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE (Valencia)
21 - 23 Aug

12
2009 FORMULA 1 ING BELGIAN GRAND PRIX (Spa-Francorchamps)
28 - 30 Aug

13
FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2009 (Monza)
11 - 13 Sep

14
2009 FORMULA 1 SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX (Singapore)
25 - 27 Sep

15
2009 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX (Suzuka)
09 - 11 Oct

16
2009 FORMULA 1 CHINESE GRAND PRIX (Shanghai)
16 - 18 Oct

17
FORMULA 1 GRANDE PREMIO DO BRASIL 2009 (Sao Paulo)
30 Oct - 01 Nov

18
2009 FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX (Abu Dhabi)
13 - 15 Nov