The Noose: National University Orientation Game

ROTFLOL!!!! Check out other "The Noose" vids on youtube!


Cheers,

Matrix

I think i got a pretty good bargain in the end......

It has been confirmed. As of now, i will be graduating a full semester later than all my buddies and fellow mechatronics students.

I messed up my right arm from a stupid biking accident. I kinda don't get why most people gape when i cooly tell them,

"yeah, i won't convocate with you guys"

Cause really, is trying to graduate early really worth all the trouble? Ok, i'm taking 7 modules this semester, 6 of which are examinable and i'm only going to sit for 2 exams.

Reason is, even though i know i can recover in time for exams, i hvae not done any prep for any exam barring the 2 i want to sit for. My arm was toasted and i can't write much, hence with minimal prep, i am not going to risk sitting for 6 exams.

Instead, i will sit for 2. Its a trade off actually. Relax and do them, try to get off with 2 B+ s, and what i get in return is a final semester in which i need only do 5 modules, only 3 examinable and one Human Resource Management.

Confused?

Okay, this semester, i will sit for only 2 exams, one mechatronics systems interfacing (sounds cheem, but its really quite simple cept for the last 2 chapters) and one circuits and electronics module.

I will then continue with my syllabus as usual, going through years 3 and 4 and doing my Final Year Project.

After which , i will stay back for another semester completing my year 2 modules and one year 4 one i want to take later which is Human Resource Management. A module a lot of final year students say is a drag and wastes times you could utilise for your FYP.

So, i get a final year without a Human Resource module taxing me, and i can do it in style in my final relaxing semester.

I have decided not to overload the next 2 years with modules in a bid to graduate early. Going out on stage decked in robes and being with your pals on a supposedly special day that is called the Convocation is totally not worth 2 years of excruciating stress. I am not a genius and need time to absorb and learn and also:


I CANNOT FREAKING SIT AND MUG ALL DAY, I HAVE A LIFE, I WANT TO BIKE, I WANT TO PLAY SPORTS AND GET INVOLVED IN PROJECTS!

I think its a pretty good bargain. Just drafted out my proposed 2 year plan and sent it off to the Assistant Chair of Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace. Chap actually liked the detailed plan a lot and promised me he will push the Academic Services blokes to approve it.

*sits back and heaves a sigh of satisfaction*

Now i only hope the modules i planned out don;t get changed or something. That plan took some time to work out (not been studying for a week, what with running about and sweet talking profs and the beureaucrats in MAE who can get things moving).

Pretty good training for negotiating future administrative webs actually, me like.

Rights, i am proud to say the 26 stitches on my arm has been removed by a grumpy nurse , and i hvae been lambasted by my doctor to stay as inactive as possible, and I CAN TYPE WITH 2 HANDS!!!!!

On the downside, my bandaged arm is now caked in dead skin and smells......interesting. 2 weeks until my next batch of X rays and tests.

Final say: Nothing is gonna keep me from going about life as usual XD. And i will buy a better bike when i hit full form in the next one year.

FYI: I love the 2009 Jamis Durango. This time i'll get Avid Juicy 7 hydraulic disc brakes, Mavic rims, Kenda tyres and a full deore XT setup. Should have cash after my industrial attachment XD.

Cheers from a upbeat and bouncy,


Matrix

The Crisis of Credit Visualized - Part 2

Part 2


Matrix

The Crisis of Credit Visualized - Part 1 ...

Do watch!!!


Matrix

I cannot understand the 5.0 mentality

I used to be an underachiever. I used to settle for so much less. I mean this in quite another way. Truth be told, i wasted my time trying to always be the best at academics throughout my school life. I think it would have been relevant back then, but i could have done so much more and still retained my grades.

And i vow this shall not continue.

it truly sickens me when almost everyone i meet on campus are paranoid about getting a cap of like 4.5 plus plus. I guess it stems from the general perception that a first class honor means better job opportunities and pay grade.

Now i do not know how relevant that is to other degrees. I know this for sure, mechanical engineers, get your fat arses off your books and get your hands dirty in projects, even small ones that seem insignificant.

People in industry want balanced people. People with knowledge from books, and at the same time, apt enough to know what the hell is an M4 screw. I will be frank here. I am no longer aiming for a cap of above 4.0 . Will take any GPA above that now as a bonus (currently on 4.12)

Its tiresome to keep mugging to keep ur GPA high for some pointless reason and simply to satisfy your ego. I have bigger fish to fry. I want to design products in my free time and i want to enter them into the numerous online design competitions i see whenever i go visiting my favourite design websites.

I want to break free from the monotone that is a mugger's life on campus. A person obsessed with grades. A person with hardly any sense of adventure, fun and is not a risk taker. And i shall. Keep watching this space...



Cheers from a very clear about what he wants,


Matrix

Accident prone....

I am accident prone. Mostly during sports. ESPECIALLY during a sport i have just picked up. Me thinks it stems from my gung ho, "I must conquer this sport ASAP" attitude, leading me to a state where i'd try to copy stuff i see more experienced people doing, quite naturally leading me to trouble.

All of which have never actually been serious. At most, a scraped knee or a twisted ankle at worst (when i tried to chip a football really really high but my foot dug into the ground instead).

I bought a mountain bike 3 months ago. Always wanted one after last June's 128km bike rally where i fell absolutely in love with my rental 21 speed Polygon. I used 2 bikes btw during the rally. The first one died after numerous jumps off curbs and hard pumping and rapid gear shifting 30 clicks into the rally. The replacement was a similar bike.

And then i started reading mountain biking blogs and websites A LOT and the desire to own my own machine grew and grew until i finally splurged on a spiffing new Jamis Trail X2. I wanted something unique , and Jamis' are pretty rare in Singapore. Something cheaper and different from the armies of Cannondales, Treks and Scotts i normally see.

I loved it. My first foray was a long ride to NUS, followed by a feeble attempt at the notorious Kent Ridge trail.

Immediately the following weekend, i rode to the Bukit Timah area and tackled the trail alone. And my gung ho attitude got me my first tumble and an expensive repair. The rear wheel was dented and the poor bike had to be half carried/half wheeled almost 3 clicks out of the jungle.

And i started toying with the idea of upgrading. My Shimano Alivio rear derailleur could not keep up with my demands on the Bkt Timah trail. And so i made the switch the Deore LX.

By now, i had infected my Roomie with the bike fever, and he splurged 200bucks to tune and fix up his Wheeler and we made expeditions into the Clementi area and around Boon Lay for supper and shopping.

By now i had plans to go really serious into biking. And i signed up for a 20km bike bashing Bike Hash through jungles with a group of like minded crazy bike fanatics called the Singapore Bike Hash. The ride was supposed to be on last Sunday, and then this happened:

Yeah, those are paramedics trying to move me into an ambulance

Now I kid you not. I am good at controlling my bike downhill and at high speeds. The tuesday before the bike hash, i was training for the killer pace for 20 clicks by pushing my bike uphill on NTU's notoriously long hills without using the low gears.

There was this one particular favourite of mine, cos it had:

1) A long steep, hard climb
2) A longer steeper downhill with 2 tight turns i normally tackle full speed.

And i so, i broke out my bike gloves at 10.30pm and very soon was huffing up said hill. And then i switched to my high gears for the descent and was flying when i came to tight turn # 1. Problem was, the rode was wet and when i touched my brakes to check my speed a little for more control, the front brake stuck to the rim and the bike started wobbling.

I panicked and pressed gently down on my rear brakes. They stuck as well and the bike's tyres screeched as the bike slid downhill at almost 30km/h. The turn came up fast. I made the decision and shift my weight to the left to prepare for a controlled fall and skid downhill. Will probably escape with a badly scraped leg and arm, but my expensive derailler on the right would be saved.

And then the darn bike gave a violent wobble and flipped onto its right. I flew and stupidly put out my right arm to stop myself. Hit the ground hard and flipped over my head before sliding a bit more downhill. Lay there for a while and slowly picked myself up. And my right arm was wobbling like Jell-O and i saw bit of white poking out with something that looked like tar on the end of it.

I felt faint and sat down again. Headlights pierced the darkness and i saw a van with 2 men jump out. Campus security.

They moved me to the roadside and in the process, tortured me quite unknowingly. My bike was picked up and heaved to the side as well.

Now i was in deep trouble. I had no phone, no wallet, and my exams were a month away. I called one guy over and asked him to call my handphone. It was one of those lucky days my Roomie actually picked up the phone and immediately sent word out to Garen and Raj and Ain whom were in the South Spine at the moment, and then he rushed out.

Garen, Raj and Ain arrived first. Roomie came second and the freaking ambulance was last. There was this paramedic i quite liked, cos she was crapping most of the time to keep me occupied while she fastened my mangled right arm to a splint. And then she finally told me to do the decisive action:

" Hey, try to move your fingers"

I struggled and moved all 5 and my Roomie heaved a sigh of relief. And then i was quickly picked up like a piece of fish and tossed onto a strecher and then into the ambulance.

I was pretty depressed at this point with thoughts of exams and of losing an arm and what not. Garen called Audrey and handed the phone to me. It was very comforting to hear the familiar cheerful voice.

I was wheeled into emergency. My brother had already been called and he came in after they injected me with morphine.

My folks were called and the doc explained what happened and that i needed surgery. He explained the procedure and got the go ahead.

I have a bone to pick by the way with one chap doing his housemanship in emergency. Chap tried to inject a saline drip into my hand, made a furious click after some time and gave me a sympathetic look:

"Dude, this is the worst day of your life"

Chap had failed to locate my vein and mis injected me. The first needle was pulled out, the bleeding was stopped and a second succesful attempt was made.

And then i was sent for an xray which was torture. X Ray dude twisted my arm in various positions to get a proper shot for the surgeons. And then i was wheeled into surgery and i went into a blissful sleep.

Woke up and saw my brother's face looking curiously at me. Apparently i had been blabbing under sedation. No idea what i had let slip.


Extent of Injury


(consults medical report)

err....open fracture on right radius and closed fracture on right ulna. I hit tarmac hard and my right hand buckled. The bone tore through the skin and muscle and dug slightly into the road. Apparently there was some tar on it and the surgeons had to saw off that bit.

My arm has been reinforced by 2 stainless steel plates, measuring 9cm and 7cm in length respectively. They will remain as a permanent addition to my arm. Maybe now i can be like Wolverine or something hoho.

Boy, getting thru customs now would be quite a challenge.


Hospital is depressing. At least for someone used to good health and an active lifestyle. And i sure was glad when my besties came around to visit me on both days of full hospital stay. I was formerly of opinion i can take any lonely condition i can be dumped into. Being in pain and boredom, having people laughing and joking around you really helps.

I guess the cutest person i saw whom really brightened my day was Wenyan's 10 year old sis i saw on thursday night. Woman, if you're reading this, thanks for the cereal and crackers and that act cute sis u brought along.


All in all, I have got to be one of the luckiest chaps around. No head or neck injuries, hardly any abrasions, tons of close pals who stuck by me in a time i really needed them all and an uber responsible big brother.


Right, tired out from one hand typing, so am out.



Cheers from a glad to be alive,


Matrix

Little Boots Stuck on repeat (Radio Edit)

Got this song off roomie's facebook post. I think its awesome and never really noticed it while he was playing it in the room.

Neways, Enjoy!


Cheers from the,

Matrix

Bike friendly? Guess not...

Singapore is called many things. Some good , some rather unflattering. But bike friendly this place aint.

Truth be told, it is safe to cycle on the road here, as long as you keep your cool and are a confident rider. But there lies the problem. The average cyclist dares not ride on the road, and sticks to pavements instead.

The government is adressing this issue by introducing  whole network of park connectors, which just goes to show the patronising attitude of everyone in parliament. The park connecto network is fine.....if you want to cycle for leisure, NOT for the person who is seriously using his bike as a form of transport. 

But i'm not gonna blab on about bike lanes and pavement widening. I find it pretty fine to cycle about in the city. I do have a major issue with the folks from SMRT. Somehow they don't quite get the whole bike friendly issue.

The cycling community has clamoured for longer trains with special carriages at the ends to cater for bikes, but we get the , "SMRT has to deal with the grime and mud etc from bikes".

Ok fine, understood. The least you could do is NOT harass us when we disassemble our bikes and bring it in a large bag onto the trains.

But no.

We get threatened with fines and the SMRT employees give us dirty looks. It really defeats the purpose of a bike when u can't use it beyond 20 clicks for an average rider cause of fatigue. I tried to bring my disassembled 19 incher Jamis to Boon Lay yesterday to test the claims of biker forums which if given the chance would tie all the SMRT buggers to their fork suspensions and go careening down the Bukit Timah trail.

I was stopped and told, "Eh, cannot bring that in, go go!"

I mean dude, you could be more polite to a chap  taking the whole, "Cycling is good!" campaigns by the government seriously. 

I won't be deterred. Thiong Hin (bike shop in Upper Serangoon with apparently the cheapest and best deals in town according to Roomie) is stocking up on bike bags at the end of this month. 

If any SMRT person tries to stop me then, he'll get the finger.

Cheers from a rebellious,

Matrix

Tis the season to be injured....

Over the past 3 years, i have done the following:

1) Busted my right ankle after a stupid tackle during football in Form 5

2) Stepped while in full flight on a baby durian, totalling my LEFT ankle causing me to hobble about for nearly a month before the A Lvl finals

3) Miskicked a football , reigniting my right ankle injury.

4) Fallen onto concrete KNEE first after a mistimed basketball layup.

5) Fallen headfirst onto rocks after taking a spectacular tumble on my bike in Bukit Timah (thank god for my Giro helmet) , wrenching my right shoulder and having my left knee crumple under the weight of the bike as it followed my body.

I swear, though the face twisting pain was existant, no lasting injury remained, until quite recently everything is starting to give way.

My right shoulder is feeling stiff of late since i started cycling long distance a lot.

My ankle pains have returned , especially during badminton and football (i skipped last week's badminton cause of it).

My right knee hurts, though its not stopped me from cycling every other day.

Excuse the whining, but its frustrating. Not very much the pain, cause its pretty much minimal, but its the body parts working issue. They just don't want to be pushed anymore.

I FEEL OLD :(

Perhaps its high time i really spent and went to see a good physio. This cannot be prolonged anymore.

Cheers from a very frustrated and injured,

Matrix

Marilyn Manson - If I Was Your Vampire (Instrumental)

this is the only Marilyn Manson song i really enjoy so far. The great guitar rift and drumming, i just think its an uber cool piece of music.

Embedding blocked, so , listen to it here

The song with his singing is pretty awesome too, but would not sit well with a lot of people not used to heavy metal, so try this version!


Enjoy!

Cheers from the ,

Matrix