Why the Update?

Because I have realized that homo sapiens are actually really bored creatures with nothing better to do than come up with ways to self-destruct (fact: Humans have the capability to destroy the human race several times over.). And now that they have entered the Information Age, all they want to do is gobble up immense amounts of information that would not be of any use and does not make any difference to the lives they are leading.

Why do I say this? Hmm... Just take a look at the current blogging trend among the youths. Although this trend is not restricted to the youths only, they in particular are the ones using blogs to post nonsense on the web about their lives. Most of them just type what is roaming around in their minds, what they did for a particular day, what is bothering them or how they managed to clean the toilet bowl using their favorite fizzy drink left over from last night's party. Basically, teenagers rant on their blogs.

And the surprising thing is not the ranting, it's the fact that people actually bother to read these blogs and waste their precious time reading something utterly useless to them. I admit, I too am one of those who reads blogs for the fun of it (or for just getting a glimpse into someone else's life) but there has to be a personal limit to such wastages of time. I'm not one of those crazy people who survive on a diet of reading blogs for an hour each day and gobbling up information that would not affect them at all. Many would claim not be one from that category and yet the demand for this information is still there.

You wouldn't believe me if I say that there is demand for utterly useless information (Like how to clean a toilet bowl with your favorite fizzy drink) but hopefully, statistics would convince you. Take a look at the searches done for the phrase "toilet bowl" on Google. The statistics are provided from Google Trends, a service by Google which is still under construction. Surprisingly enough, the most searches for that particular phrase are from Singapore. And we're leading by a huge difference... Wonder why so many Singaporeans need to search on such weird topics. Anyway, my point is that among those few million searches done for "toilet bowl" online, surely a few hundred might be about cleaning toilet bowls with leftover fizzy drinks from last night's party.

Another case in point - my own blog. This very page you are reading is also one of those (among the few millions) that feeds people with utterly useless information. And the demand is still there. Just take a moment to look towards the right of the screen and scroll through the tagboard. You'd notice quite a few requests to me to update this blog (exactly what I'm doing right now...) even though I did write a few months ago that I wouldn't be posting anytime soon. Why would people want to read crap written by me anyway?

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Well, for those who were looking for an update on my virtual real estate, hope you guys are satisfied now. And hopefully get to realize that you just wasted about three minutes of your life reading my blog. You could have spent those three minutes, or hundred and eighty seconds doing something more useful in your life. (Damn, I just reduced my readership...)

Anyway, the reason I decided to break my hiatus away from this blog just for today is that I wanted to disprove Mariam - she said I'm "immune to the frequent update pleas". Haha... But by posting this post, I just disproved her.

And for all those of you who are posting rather uhm...interesting comments on my choice of "Under Construction" image, please refer to this page. It'd give you the reason behind my decision and also make you laugh with its humorous take on the conventional signs =)

Under Construction.

First of all, I'm sorry for the lack of updates recently. Since returning from OBM camp, I haven't really bothered updating this virtual real estate of mine.

Among the many reasons why this is so, (ask me about the rest personally) one is that I have been reading up on Web Design and using CSS to design sites. And have decided to take up the ambitious task of redesigning this blog. The book that I'm referring to, Web Standards Solutions, is really well-written and teaches extremely useful techniques in a concise manner - a good recommendation to any aspiring designers. I have also been reading up on other stuff, in an attempt to utilize my time during the holidays. But I shall not digress here...

Anyway, as I would be revamping this site for the time being, there probably wouldn't be any new content to read here. Tagboard and comments would still be active, though I doubt people actually bother using those. If you do come back, don't be surprised to see a mess of the layout and graphics here. And now for the official notice...

Under Construction.

On a side note, I'll be on holiday from the 8th of December onwards. Therefore, the site would probably be rotting here for a pretty long time as I would only resume work on it once I return.
And even then, I'd have to juggle that with school and my PDP.
And the rest of my commitments...

You get the idea...

City Lights and Chalk

Don't ask about the title, it's just random.

Went down to climb at Climb Asia with Ahmad today. It felt great to be on the wall once again, grabbing holds that make your fingers scream and feeling that buildup of lactic acid in the forearms. Oh hell I missed the wall!

Basically, we guys did light bouldering today and just conditioned ourselves to climb after a heck of a long time. Met a few other climbers there and did a few routes with them but didn't manage to get their names. Hope I see those climbing kakis the next time I go there because they were really nice people. Shall go climb at Yishun Safra one of these days...

Weird

Wikipedia was initiated as a project to provide an online resource for knowledge, that can be accessed and edited by virtually anyone. It has come under much controversy for the very reason that makes it such a great resource - it can be edited by anyone. Potential spammers (or just really bored people) can use Wikipedia to create entries with the intention to promote an individual or a group, or spread false claims about an individual or a group.

Because Wikipedia allows anyone to edit the content, many Edit Wars have broken out on their site. When someone's claim conflicts with another's the two parties engage in an Edit War to edit the articles on Wikipedia to match with their viewpoint. Most common amongst these are Edit Wars on spelling, statistics and usage of pictures. There's even a page on Wikipedia documenting the Lamest Edit Wars that took place. Now that's interestingly weird!

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And here's something else that's very interesting, but not as weird.

[via]: Nerve Endings Firing Away, [image source]: Flickr

Sometimes, I too feel like that guy who submitted this postcard.

Rain vs Haze

The really bad haze has finally (somewhat) been cleared, thanks to the rain.

But the rain now prevents us from going outdoors. Damn.

The Miniature Earth

Yuan Qing sent me a link to this site for The Miniature Earth project. Quoting from the site itself...

If the world's population were reduced to 100, it would look something like this...

The magnitude of the world's population is so great that whenever we are told of how much of the population is affected by something in particular, we fail to grasp the actual number of people affected. The numbers can be overwhelming most of the times. And for that reason, what this project does is to show you a world where only a hundred people live and then show the magnitude of those living on less than one US dollar a day, those malnourished, those living in poverty, those affected by HIV AIDS, those who have the riches and so on...

The result is a video that brings out the picture clearly and impacts the viewer directly. Personally, I was very moved by this video and decided to create awareness by posting it here (wait a minute, does anyone even read this blog?).

I have also decided to post a video response to this project. More can be found at this YouTube page or the actual site itself.

The world does have a new God now. Money and the economy are driving the lives of individuals today. The world has become so money-oriented that parents tell their children to study hard in order to get a good, respectable job and earn enough to lead a luxurious life. Whatever happened to following your own interests and pursuing a profession that you have great interest in rather than one that gives you a good paycheck? Okay enough digression here... Back to what I was initially addressing.

No matter how clichéd it might sound, we all have a part to play in making this world a better place. It's up to those with the facilities and the fortunes to help those who are not fortunate enough. I hope this inspires most of you reading this to make a difference - it doesn't necessarily mean donating money or anything. You could help in humanitarian efforts in your own personal way.

A Hazy Perspective

Today, on Saturday, the PSI index has been generally low throughout the day, ranging in the 60-ish range. So I thought I might post something related to the haze here. Below is a blog post from eyetoeye :: neogenesis :: blog, a blog managed by a guy named Kelvin.

Indonesia: Singapore Should Be Thankful For Haze (A Parody

The Haze hit unhealthy levels for the second time this year on Saturday, prompting public outcry against the lack of significant action from the Indonesian government to stop the occurrence of haze by taking effective measures against illegal clearing of forest land by burning. The Indonesian government responded by criticizing Singapore, saying that Singapore should be thankful for the haze.

"Singaporeans are always picking on us because they're so rich and think they're so powerful," said Indonesian minister Bibi Osman, putting on a military-style gas mask, "As a matter in fact, Singaporeans should be appreciative of what we're doing for them! It brings some excitement to their otherwise mundane lives, and also gives them something to care about, which they are clearly lacking in." Mr Osman also pointed out that the increase in occurance of respiratory illnesses also represented a significant boost in revenue for the medical industry. Speaking to No News Network, he said, "Singaporeans always complain about us but they never appreciate all the good things we do for them! It's outrageous!"

A survey of Singaporeans on the street found that Singaporeans hold differing opinions on Mr Osman's statements.

"I think he is right in what he said," said student Woo Ming Ta, "Before the haze, i didn't even know where Indonesia is. I thought it was the place in Middle Earth where Hobbits live. Now, thanks to all the news coverage, i finally know that actually, Bintan and Batam are part of Indonesia! My parents will be so thrilled to find out! Maybe the government should hold more hazes like this so that we can learn more about the world around us."

Other Singaporeans were not so sure. "I don't understand what so difficult about putting out a few fires," said university student Matthias Chua, who majors in Bio-engineering, "Can't they, like, just call in more firemen? Or maybe they should erect some giant fans that will blow the smoke somewhere else, like Australia."

[read on...]

-- Kelvin at eyetoeye :: neogenesis :: blog

Just in case some of you may start critisizing the article, make sure you understand the title first. It's a parody guys, take it lightly and with an informed viewpoint - satires and parodies offer much insight too.