Rant 1116 / Of Temples And Footwear

So an English boxer literally tracked down a troll from Twitter.

Check out the hashtags too. Hilarious! I'm sure plenty of people have wanted to do exactly this but never got the opportunity to. This is practically a dream come true.
























In Season 2 they've been significantly improving the rap, although too frequently it's still bad.

Anyways I think I can see how electricity could be made free, although electrical appliances will have to cost significantly more. It would be like how Blizzard games have free Battlenet access.

However it might become an additional reason for manufacturers to reduce the lifespans of their products.





















No idea why the last rant got that many views. Why don't people link the video's URL instead?






















Playing 仙劍奇俠傳2 (Chinese Paladin 2). Not sure why I didn't finish it but my guess is that I found something more interesting halfway through and then my old hard disk died.

 Still a great game.

I'll finish it and get on to 3, and then I'll have to find 4 and any sequels beyond that.



















Found Knights of Pen and Paper, an RPG that tries to simulate the real pen and paper tabletop RPGs.

I've been waiting for a turn-based RPG for SO LONG! This is fantastic!

But the game wasn't exactly what I expected. For one, it wasn't really story-driven, just mostly grinding.

I've only played this for an hour so far, so this may not be true for the entire game. I don't know.


















That was stupid. I went to SAFRA Toa Payoh before I remembered that not all SAFRA clubhouses have eMarts. Needed to get the jogging shoes using my NS credits for my IPT on Thursday and somehow, I thought that all SAFRA clubhouses have eMarts.

Weird. I should have known better.

Anyway I was just across the road (Kim Keat Link) when I suddenly recalled that it wasn't true.

That annoyed me, and with the sun being so hot at noon then, I decided to just take a cab to SAFRA Mount Faber, where I know for sure has an eMart where I can buy what I need.

I had actually taken a bus from work to get there and had even walked some distance. According to my map app, the distance, if I had walked in a perfectly straight line, would have been about half a kilometre.

Under the afternoon sun. Yep.

But it was interesting because I went past this Buddhist temple that I had always noticed on my way to work but never got a chance to visit. Just wanted to take a look.

It's the one along the PIE at Toa Payoh and it seems to be under renovation at some parts.

Even saw a lone monk in a grey monk attire. I wonder if the colour has any significance.

Very quiet and relaxing even though it's next to a highway.




















Then at SAFRA Mount Faber I got the boots and shoes. Initially thought about getting socks and stuff but decided I still have some useable ones and I could buy more when I go back to camp some time in the coming months.

The lady asked me if I wanted half-leather or full-leather. Since I have no preference for the type of boots I wear during my in-camp training (ICT), I got the full-leather one instead.

The difference between a half-leather and a full-leather boot in my case is that the half-leather is made of some kind of tough woven fabric above the heels and has two holes just above the sole for rainwater drainage.

The full-leather one is almost like weather-proof so I chose it in case I decide to wear these boots to Korea later this year.

These Asics shoes caused me a bit of confusion. The green ones are meant for normal feet with a higher arch support than the blue ones, yet I feel that the blue ones are closer to what I'm used to. The blue ones are also recommended for people with flat feet.

Maybe it's because I've been wearing nothing but my leather shoes for too long so I've forgotten what normal jogging shoes are supposed to feel like. Anyway, I don't think it really matters if my shoes lack arch support.


These two practically wiped out my credits for this year; it's crazy. I even had to fork out another $7+ worth of advance credits from next year. Now I see why so many people had only one pair of boots during my last ICT.

It's now really important that I keep these boots maintained because I don't want to spend $75 cash on new ones anytime soon. I want to spend some credits on towels and such too.

Rant 1115 / Cooking Prawn Heads In Sesame Seed Oil

Best video I've seen in a long while.
























Watched Bernie. A very unique movie based on a true story of a very popular man committing murder in a small American town.

What I learnt from the story was this: If you are popular enough, there is that possibility that you could get away with murder - even if you confess to the police.

The film also felt like an appeal to reduce his charge from first-degree murder (ie premeditated) to second-degree (not premeditated).

Anyways, although the comedy category felt inappropriate for such a recent story (the real Bernie is still alive in jail and looks about 40-50 only), the more appropriate drama genre would mean that it would feel a lot more like a tragedy.

Maybe the director wanted it to appeal to a larger audience because I don't watch drama films a lot.





















Finally made the estate account at DBS after so long. Apparently the bank employees call it an "estate account" while it's technically a crappy current account based on the death certificate number instead of the identity card number.

I say "crappy" because estate accounts do not have the internet banking feature, ie I can't check its balance.

All I get is a chequebook and I checked that this was correct.

As if that's not bad enough, I have to pay $2 maintenance fee on top of the possible $7 or something if I fall below $3000 daily average.

To top that all off, I need to maintain this account for at least 6 months or I'll have to pay a penalty fee of $30.

So I must pay $12 to DBS minimum just to set up an account to settle my late mother's assets. Can't I get a sympathy waiver or something?

And when I want to close the account, I have to go to a DBS branch personally to do it.

I think I can check the balance via phone but I'm not sure because I'm just the "signer" and not the account owner (it's not my death cert number).


Anyways, the lady handling my case in her office was very enthusiastic in telling me how bad her job was. She began by telling me that I was lucky to be there on a weekday because the queue was horrendous on weekends, with one person complaining to her that she had queued for 2 hours.

In comparison, I think I only waited for 20 minutes.

It was funny because there were three rooms in that branch for account opening yet she was the only person using any of the rooms.

Apparently they do get temporary help from other branches but they don't get replaced by permanent staff.

Whatever these bank employees are paid, it's not enough to compensate for the long hours and the strictness of the bank. According to her, one of the temporary staff had to stay till 9.30pm (the branch closes at around 5pm) because there was a FIVE CENT discrepancy in one of her clients' account and she had no idea whose it was.

She had to stay that long to search through all her clients' papers just to see who was missing FIVE CENTS.

I didn't say out loud that it was ridiculous because it might have been rude, but it was true.

I wouldn't give a damn if my staff forgets 50 cents from my office stationery fund that I don't even watch.

Normally, they sometimes had to stay beyond 5. In her many years of working her (she had over a decade's worth of experience there), this is pretty long. Once upon a time, they could leave at 3.

Now, they barely have time for lunch. She herself gets 30 minutes - 5 to walk to the restaurant, 5 to walk back, 20 minutes to order and eat. Toilet breaks only last 15 minutes.

The counter staff are even worse - they almost never have time for toilet breaks and yet I always see a long queue every time I go there. According to her, they drink less water so that they can pee less, and usually, the first thing that comes to their minds when their work is over is the washroom.

Then I asked her if the people above her had better life.

I thought her manager might be able to get off early but she just told me the lunch break starts at 4pm.

Dinner? Work ends at 9pm for the manager.

I just told her straight up that this was one moment I'm glad I didn't get a good job, because I used to want to work in a bank back in uni.

Although I'll probably make less than her manager for many years, I love all the free time I'm getting.






















So I finally got around to picking the lock of a locked drawer in my office. No idea what was inside nor why my mother kept it locked.

After watching some Youtube videos on this topic, I bought two sets of professional lockpicks from DealExtreme and brought one to the office.

But I had simply left it there till a few days ago when I actually used it.

Played another video on lockpicking by HowCast on Youtube to see which pick in the set is used and how.

After about 5 minutes, I finally got it using only two of them. Absolutely no idea why I have about 10 in the set including two of what I assume to be wrenches, one L-shaped and one S-shaped.

The process was surprisingly easy, maybe because it was an old lock. All I needed to do was keep a gentle pressure on the wrench in the correct turning direction while repeatedly scratching the top of the keyhole with the pick to push wherever the real key was supposed to push.

There was nothing important inside, just lots of old chequebooks that don't matter anymore.



As for my other set, it's a smaller one that's packed in a flat case that's poorly disguised as a credit card. Due to the size, the wrench proved ineffective when I tested it with the door locks in my home.






















Finally went to SGX and UOB to settle the estate stuff. UOB was a little complicated because of the mess but I think there shouldn't be any problem once they're done with their checks. I haven't done anything wrong and there's nothing to hide.

SGX was a little inconvenient because it's at Shenton Way. Fortunately, there was a direct bus home so it didn't end too badly.

I had already researched my path for that day starting from my office and expected to visit UOB, CDP and HDB to settle all the estate stuff by 5pm.

First, I took a direct bus to the Bendemeer branch of UOB (for some reason I was supposed to go there specifically just because my mother had set up the account there) at 1pm, but I managed to leave only at 3.30pm.

While waiting there, my bro gave me his girlfriend's IC number so that I could get member's discount at Challenger at Funan because I had previously mentioned that I wanted to get a spare network adapter there this week.

So I looked at the map and found that there was a bus to Funan and a train route from Funan to SGX Centre.

Since it was placed so conveniently in my path, I decided to go there to get the adapter. Moreover, since I was leaving UOB at 3.30pm, I had given up on going to HDB before it closes, so I had more than enough time to shop a little at Funan.

I was right, because I reached SGX at around 4.15pm and got served after 4.30pm. Fortunately it was a simple process of transferring the little bit of shares to me. I could also set up an estate account and then split them between my bro and I equally but I'd have to wait for my bro to set his CDP account and whether I use the estate account to transfer his shares to him or transfer them from my account, I have to pay the same amount of transfer fee of S$10.70 per transfer.

I figured there was the chance that my bro wouldn't give a damn, especially since I had given him the larger share of our inheritance to him, so I decided to transfer the shares to my account. Anyways, I was right that he didn't care whether I gave him his half, so I'm saving the $10.70.

Met two secondary school friends while I was waiting for my turn at SGX. One was an insurance agent with AXA while the other was a trader at PhilipCapital.

As I was quite tired by then, I actually only pretended to look at their namecards and gave a meaningless "Wow, nice," and gave them mine in return only because I think I was supposed to.

The insurance guy then came over to catch up with me even though we barely talked at all back during our school days. The only thing I really could recall about this was that I had a lot of difficulty turning the conversation topics back to himself because he kept trying to probe me and even attempted to try to get me an insurance policy when he found out I had no medical insurance, albeit a very basic one known as "PRUshield".

Honestly, I didn't even realize what he was doing other than make conversation. I just want to practise talking about others during conversations instead of focusing on myself all the time. It was only when I really looked at the namecards at home that I realized what he was trying to do.

The fact that he had asked me if I had any investment-linked products made sense then, mainly because ILPs aren't known to be very good investments among the better-informed investors.

It was good that the queue didn't move too slowly so I didn't chat with him too much, and then I quickly waved them goodbye and left once it was done. The SGX person serving me was really quick even in her speech, most likely because it was almost 5pm.

I'll have to settle the HDB later, then find a Hong Kong lawyer at the end of this year to reseal the Grant of Administration in Hong Kong. I'll also need to settle my IPT which I've already booked for the rest of this month and the next, and I haven't even bought a pair of shoes for the training yet.

This means I have HDB and shoe shopping to settle by Wednesday in time for my first IPT session on Thursday, in addition to my work. Not too much.

Rant 1114 / Can I Print The Innernet?

The Raid: Redemption was a surprisingly good movie. Indonesian film with lots of action. It was actually quite obvious that they were using some kind of martial art throughout but it looked like neither the random stuff usually shown in Hollywood movies nor any kind of Chinese kung fu.

Nor did it look like any other martial arts I'm somewhat familiar with like taekwondo, jiu-jutsu and etc.

It turned out to be silat. That was one of the possibilities I thought of when I watched the movie since it was an Indonesia film but it felt unlikely because silat has never been featured in any movies I've ever seen.

But it was silat.

The strangest thing about the whole movie was that it was good despite not naming any of the characters. Yea, I was impressed after I watched it but realized I couldn't name a single person in there except by common nouns like "the old man" and "the sergeant".

The protagonist doesn't even have that, I think, so I'll just refer to him as "the guy" here.

The guy had superhuman stamina. He could go through all that shit in a single day and the final fight was still epic.

Also, how did they not get high after fighting in the drug processing room? All that white powder blown into their air by their fight should have gone into their noses in large amounts.

Still, very nice action film, lots of action.
















So I've been looking at 3D printers in Singapore and it's still quite unknown. Prices aren't readily available and they aren't cheap either. For about S$1500 I could get a tiny one that can print small objects about the size of a glass.

Theoretically I could use that to print plastic bricks to build anything I want but that wouldn't be as interesting as printing the whole object.

The more professional ones cost S$3k or more but they don't look like they can print many practical items.

























It seems I can't get anything at the coming IT Show.

First, the internet. ViewQwest isn't offering any special promotions for its 100Mbps plan for this fair, so I might as well sign up online.

Second, the internet adapter I was going to get. It's not like the prices there are going to be particularly cheap but I thought I'd get one there since I thought I was going. Otherwise, I could easily get one at Funan or something.

Third, mobile recontract. One of my phones is ready for recontract... but the phone that I want, the Nokia Lumia 520, isn't even out yet. Strange that 620 is out but neither 520 nor 720 is, but whatever.

Therefore, I have nothing that I need to get at this fair.





















This mission I'm on in Avadon is weird. It feels like I'm supposed to hate Avadon right now.

But after some thought, I realized that this probably is probably meant to be a painful moral dilemma.

In this case, the warlord of a foreign tribe is found guilty of helping a wizard perform banned magics including necromancy and experimenting on civilians against their will.

Obviously, I have to arrest or kill the warlord. Yet if I do that, I will leave the tribe drastically weakened and it will probably fall to their neighbours very soon. I cannot simply take the man because his entire tribe has to protect him for their own protection, which is because they don't have a system that allows for quick succession in situations where the leadership is suddenly removed.

Without his leadership, however cruel it is, their bloodthirsty neighbours will not hesitate to strike.

I want to leave them be, because with the wizard dead at this point, he can't do it again anymore. Yet Avadon cannot afford to show mercy to criminals when the peace it protects is already fragile enough.

There is no choice at this chapter of the game. I must kill him and, in the process, kill all of his soldiers protecting him. Clearly, by the time I leave, the tribe will not only lack leadership but also the strength to defend itself.

Neither option is good but one of them, the only one I'm allowed to pick, benefits my side, Avadon.























So my bro finally got a job as a consultant at a small consultancy firm. Not sure if it's good but at this point, I'm glad he has a full-time job.

Rant 1113 / The Sense Of Urgency Is Missing

Tito is going to Mars in 2018.

Technologically possible but very iffy.

Although he just wants to fly around Mars and come back in about 500 days, that's a very long time to spend in a small space. I mean, even those guys living in cages in Hong Kong don't normally spend entire days at home.

I have nothing against the apparent nationalistic move to send his own countrymen to Mars but like everyone else is thinking, isn't this a little too early for that?


















Avadon: The Black Fortress.

Been playing that a lot. Quite a long game, old school length. It's not a bad game either once I started playing it in windowed mode so that I can take frequent breaks. The battles feel a little monotonous like all old games do to me these days.

Anyways, this is one of the few indie games I have that hasn't turned into a disappointment.

























Things change as they always do.

Although I planned to switch my phones and internet to M1 from Starhub, the details have changed.

First, M1 has silently removed the Multi-Line Saver for new customers. In its place, from March 2013 onwards, I can only pick the Multi-Service Saver. The first gives me an overall discount on all services when I have at least 3 with them.

I was going to bring both my phones, my home broadband, my bro's phone and get a mobile broadband plan, totalling 5 services that will get me a 35% discount on everything.

Not anymore.

With the Multi-Service Saver, I will need at least 2 mobile lines plus a fibre broadband contract to get a general discount. In my case, I have 3 so that's 20% off.

Not really a bad deal but still worse than before since my mobile broadband won't count.

However, a new complication has occured: I want to get ViewQwest for my home fibre since it's the best ISP here from all the reviews. The only issue is that it's expensive, with it's lowest price plan of 100Mbps costing $60 a month and it doesn't seem to be too interested in offering discounts for anything.

If I subscribe to ViewQwest, I'll not be able to get that Saver discount at M1 anymore.


...


So I'm prepared to sign up for ViewQwest. This is totally screwing up my plans though, because now that I don't get the discount (the reduced Multi-Service Saver discount just isn't worth the crappy M1 fibre service), I have the option of NOT switching my phone service provider.

However, I'm still inclined to transfer both my phones and a mobile broadband modem to a single service provider for convenience.

The thing is that I have no issues with Starfug phones and mobile broadband, only its fibre, and the sole reason for my initial desire to bring all of them over to M1 is for the Multi-Line Saver discount that is no longer available.



Yet I may just bring them over if I can get a cheaper plan since I don't really use my phone much these days, now that I've almost fully converted all my communications with my suppliers to online. Urgent calls don't take more than an hour or two total in a month, so I can actually just get the cheapest plan for one of the phones.

I'm still looking at Sunshare in order to share the talktime and etc between my phones but I'm now confused about the details. Do both my phone need a Sunshare plan or can one of them simply leech off the main phone's talktime?

Emailed them so that I can get an answer in black and white, but it's the weekend so I'll have to wait for the reply.

Also, the phone. Currently, I don't plan to trade in my phone since its 12MP camera is pretty much unbeatable for the prices I'm willing to pay. So now, I'm looking at budget phones and my bro recommended the Nokia Lumia 520. However, M1 doesn't seem to be carrying it anymore in its online store, so I looked at the 620 instead.

S$48 for a SunSaver (and above) 2-year contract or $349 without any contract.

Both the SunSaver and SunLite plans are available under SunShare but I prefer SunLite which is $6.50 cheaper than SunSaver but doesn't get me the phone for $48.

Did the math and found that it's actually cheaper to get SunLite and fork out the $349 for the phone.

$6.50 for 2 years is $312. Add $48 and I get $360. $11 cheaper.

SunLite actually sucks horribly but since I'm planning to use wifi almost all the time (and with a separate 3G data plan on my mobile modem), I think I can actually handle the rather extreme limits of the plan.

SunLite is just $16.05 worth of talktime, SMS and data in any combination. That translates to 10mins talktime, 300 SMS or 1500kb of data.

SunSaver is 100mins of talktime and 500 SMS.

Hence Sunshare. I practically never use my phone's own 3G even now, so I'm keeping the SunLite for just the data in case of emergencies, although 1Mb really isnt much.

Hmm.. now that I'm analysing it this way, I can see that SunLite is really a bad idea. 1Mb isn't worth crap whether its an emergency or not. If I ever have to use it instead of the modem, I'd definitely exceed 1Mb anyway.

So, SunSaver with a second phone leeching off it and a separate mobile broadband plan, probably the 6GB one for $20. Sounds about right.
















I realize that I must change again. It is clear that I have reverted back to my earlier state of mental fuzziness.

I need to do some workouts again.

But I like this fuzziness. I don't have to think. My mind doesn't wander. I don't even know what I don't remember.

Yet I must change. It is a luxury I can't afford at this stage of my life, this un-thinking state of my mind.

It became clear to me when I met the accountant - I could barely talk coherently. This has gone too far; my survival is at stake here.

First world problems.


















Watched Killer Joe. Not sure if I got it. Very weird to me. Is the stupidity supposed to be dark humour?

Rant 1112 / Affordable 3D Printing? Yes Please.

So 3Doodler is a big hit on Kickstarter. It's really just a glue gun modified to use plastic instead.

Still, it's a great toy to me, particularly when it's associated with 3D printing.

People look at the pictures there and say it's impractical, too flimsy for anything useful.

I don't see why I can't build anything solid with it.

What I currently have in mind is the spiral pillar.

Except with the 3Doodler, I'll have to create flatter spirals.

That is how I think I can use the pen to create real practical furniture.

I'll most likely begin with little things like a tray for documents, and eventually I will build something to replace one of my current laundry racks. Unlike most households, I hang my laundry indoor at my balcony - one of the benefits of having too much space.

People say that hanging laundry inside will make it take longer to dry. I say this is Singapore, where 30 degrees Celsius is the norm during the day.  All I have to do is keep the windows open and the door ajar for ventilation.

Anyways, anyone who can't see the potential of this 3D printing gun is too unimaginative. Heck, I could even draw a toilet roll hanger for my bathroom if I use toilet rolls in there, or a soap tray if I can keep my hand steady enough to draw a flat bottom. Y'know, because a rough surface might catch the soap or accumulate it.

From what I've read, it uses ABS and PLA plastic. While I've been too lazy to read up on PLA, ABS is a great material for all these except for one major flaw - sunlight damages it. Although it's not like the sun will burn it to ashes in a day, it will probably not last more than a year in sunny Singapore unless I keep it in the bathroom or closet or something.

A hanger would be the perfect object to make using the ABS plastic.

As for the PLA, I'll have to google it up later on.

Anyway, it's clear I'm not the one who's excited about the possibly infinite practicality of this toy - it's currently a week since the launch of the KS project on the 19th of this month and it's already hit 6000% of its original target of US$30k.

Personally, I'm throwing in US$109 for the $99 option plus $10 shipping which will get me the gun plus 10 bags of plastic. I'd take the $75 option with just 2 bags if I know where to get more of the plastic. I have a rough idea but exploring Singapore is really not my hobby. I prefer to postpone that part for as long as I can.

As for when I'm getting it, since I pledged late, mine will only be delivered early next year. It says January 2014 there but I don't expect punctuality.

All in all, I'm really really excited to try out 3D printing for myself. Can't wait till it arrives. I'll probably spend at least one bag making trash just to get the hang of it. Hopefully I don't hurt myself or damage anything during the process.


Edit: Eventually I'm going to get a real 3D printer. Eventually.























So the budget is out. The Singapore Budget 2013, that is.

Mostly none of my business but a few can affect me.

The PIC Bonus would have been great if it didn't require at least 3 local employees to allow a cash payout instead of a tax rebate. I don't need a tax rebate since I predict my accountant will be telling me that I really made a loss in 2012 anyway.

Otherwise I would buy a tablet for my employees. Would be great to have the entire inventory updated in real time online, and if any issue occurs that require my personal attention while I'm absent, they could just set up Facetime.

Too bad it's not subsidised in my case.

The WCS is another scheme I can look at but I'll have to consult my accountant before I do anything. I'm sure my staff will be happy to get a raise but unless I can afford it, it's unlikely to happen at all.







Another thing I learnt from this is how people misunderstand things and blame the government when certain changes turn out to be different from what they thought they would be.

For example, I observed people thinking that our property taxes have been lowered so they can expect to pay less of it this year.

That's not exactly true. For the lower income people, the group that doesn't pay property tax has been increased. It used to be that homes with an Annual Value of $6k and below would pay no property tax but for 2013, it's $8k, so the change is that people who live in homes of $6k-8k this year will pay no tax.

For people whose homes have AV of $8k to $55k, there is only a slight change. Instead of paying a flat 4% for the AV of their homes, they still pay 4% BUT only for the AV beyond the first $8k, ie instead of 4% * AV, it's now 4% * (AV - 8000) due to the progressive tax structure.

Those who don't understand this concept will think that the government had been bullshitting them.

Anyways, just found out that the Annual Value for HDB flats is the amount of rent I could get if I rented the whole place out at market rate.

This is my first time giving a damn about the budget btw.

EDIT: oops it wasn't  a flat 4% even before this.

Rant 1111 / PS4 Is AUD900???? Looks Like It Is Going To Be SGD900 Or More Here.

That's what I had been talking about!

http://kck.st/YjegPU



Now lights can be controlled via a smartphone app! What took them so long? It can't possibly be too complicated.

Too bad this particular project is too expensive for me. I want to get the 10-pack (to replace 10 switches) but it's US$499 + $25 for me.































Real North Korean propaganda! With the English subtitles, I can now fully appreciate the absurdity of the DPRK nonsense, and I wonder if the North Korean people actually believe this crap when they see it on TV.

Well, those who can afford a TV anyway.























So I've been sleeping poorly, party due to the old blanket and partly due to my blocked nose, hence my obvious irritation in my previous post.

I did my weekly bed-stuff laundry too late and couldn't get my housekeeper to hang the blanket, bed sheet and etc for me while she was around, and I wasn't in the mood to hang them.

Worse, the washer gave me that beeping problem I mentioned when it was washing them.

After that, I'd been using this huge towel as a blanket that I had used before for the same purpose back when I was staying in the NTU hostels.

Unfortunately, the towel had become so old it was falling apart. Not only does it have lots of holes, my ipad and phone were covered with a very visible layer of evenly spread dust the next morning. In other words, it wasn't very warm.

As for my blocked nose, it's the allergy returning and now it's finally reached the same stage as before I went to the doctor. Except now, I don't want to go back to the doctor because the next treatment I can try will be costing me thousands of dollars.

I'd rather clean my place more thoroughly. In the meantime, I'm wearing a mask (the kind with the wire above to shape around the nose) whenever I'm at home.

The sleep is still not very good though, and coffee isn't doing the trick by afternoon. Good thing business isn't very brisk at the moment, probably due to the poor economy, so I don't see myself going to the office a lot even though I went back on four of the weekdays this week.

But I think after two days with the mask, I'm feeling a little better, although that could have been placebo effect or something.

Rant 1110 / Asian Elves And Black Dwarves

So I've been playing DotA 2 after I got tired of the grinding I needed to do to advance in Path of Exile. After several farming trips with one of the Ledge farming parties, I decided this isn't what I want to do.

I've really lost a lot of skill in DotA 2 after such a long time away from this kind of games but I managed to get back some after several co-op matches with Easy AI bots.

Initially I wanted to play with the Undying but I found that, just like the guides told me, it's pretty bad in late game. Heck, it wasn't even particularly good in the earlier parts anyway.

Hence I'm with the Centaur Warrunner now. He's actually pretty good TBH. His Double Edge does great damage in early game and Return is really effective in late game. Double Edge does damage to both himself and any enemy within melee range, while Return does damage equal to a specific number plus a portion of his strength against each attacker.

As a tank, Double Edge is fantastic against weak Intel heroes. With a tank's health, the damage is not a lot to me while it's a lot to them.

To make things better, he has a stun. Great for ganks.

His ulti is probably one of the most utilitarian I've ever seen. Stampede increases the movement speed of the whole team on the map, removes unit collision (can't be blocked by any unit), slows down all enemies they Stampede over and does some damage.

This means that it can be used to chase enemies or run from them.

The only real catch to this hero is that in late game, if the enemies ignore him, he's worthless because by then, his worth lies mainly in Return which needs him to be attacked first. Double Edge is horrible in late game and barely hurts even Intel heroes, while Stomp is just a weak melee-range stun. This leaves just his Stampede which doesn't really hurt.

Therefore, guides recommend getting Radiance just so that the damaging aura can cause enemies to want to kill him just to stop the constant pain.

So far, I'm still practising on bots so this isn't necessary.























So this new pair of glasses is already falling apart. One of the rubber grip loosened and held on to my ear when I took my glasses off. I can easily slip it back but what happens if it drops outside?

I'm going to need a new pair from another shop.
























Found some really weird stuff from the old cartons I was getting my staff to clear to make space. Some strange vests made of some kind of plastic fabric material. Some only cover the chest. I have no idea what my mother was doing with these.

























So the conversations with my former teachers during CNY showed me a bit of what it's like to teach in Singapore today.

It also appears we are about to get some kind of crisis as we run out of teachers. I don't really know if it's true but it sounds like the turnover rate is rather high among young teachers, so most of them are either very green or around retirement age.

Worse is that other than the old ones, teachers and principals today are more concerned with their careers and bonuses than with the kids.

A teacher who used to be my PE teacher is now a discipline master in a primary school, and according to a former teacher of mine, he's practically impotent in that role. In one incident, the kid was so bad he pulled him by his collar to scold him, and the student kicked him multiple times in retaliation.

Despite his demand for the principal to cane him, the student got just a week of suspension plus counselling for that. I bet he took it as a holiday. The discipline master even threatened the principal that he would file a police report for physical assault, and even that didn't work. I'm sure he would have had a solid case, but that clearly wasn't enough.

I've been caned by a principal for a lot less!

The thing is that principals like that aren't uncommon these days, and it made me wonder about the point of having a discipline master at all if they can't use corporal punishment and principals don't support their judgement in meting out punishment.

If you want merely a loud voice, just buy loudspeakers for teachers.

If all discipline masters can do is shout at students, then the role is now obsolete. Keeping teachers in those jobs is only a waste of blood pressure medicine.

And since corporal punishment is no longer allowed, it's much harder to control students. Apparently, making students stand outside the class is not allowed. Neither is making them write lines. Nor are teachers allowed to make students walk up and down the stairs. Or running laps out on the track/field.

Basically, teachers are only allowed to shout at students. And counsel them, as if it works on everyone. Anything physical, even a hard poke with a finger on the forehead or a light slap (almost a pat) can possibly result in emailed complaints from parents to the Ministry, especially since students today are much more capable at exaggeration. Kudos to the English teachers for that... maybe.

Pokes have been turned into punches by students before when they tell their parents what happened in school, and parents trust their children to tell the truth, often enough that they would send the email without clarifying with the school or the teacher.

One of my former teacher claims to be able to handle them with his ferocity, and I don't doubt that. He'd taught me for 4 years out of the 6 in primary school, and I know he is fierce not just because of his voice. He's just got that attitude when it's necessary.

Another teacher is much more interesting - she simply tells the principal to sack her if he wants to. She's retired anyway. Moreover, like other retired teachers I know, she can easily get a job in other schools. From everything I've heard so far, veteran teachers like her are in high demand and schools are willing to bend over backward just to accomodate them, including really short single-semester contracts that do not require them to handle administrative work and attend meetings, and allowing them to leave (with advance notice) before the contract's over.

At worst, she could always move in with her children over in the US. The elder one is doing very well there, living in a gated community and sending her grandkids to private pre-schools ($800 a month per child! WTF?).

I only worry for the children today. If it is so obvious that the current incentive system for the teachers is a mistake, why does it continue?

I also wonder what happened to principals like the one who caned me back in my primary school days, the kind who would support the judgement of teachers and really drove fear into bad students simply with his presence.

I'm not saying the caning wasn't part of it, but it was not a major factor at all. No, it was something else, something more psychological. The caning was nothing; it was never particularly painful to me.