Okay here's some good news!
My prof recently spoke to me and told me to fill up a form that qualifies me as a graduate research student!
This means i get paid by the hour (up to some maximum number of hours each week)!
This is really quite surprising... and in some strange way I actually feel more motivated to concentrate my efforts into creating more efficient hours..
But things are getting dicey.. I still have modules to undertake and this means exams to study for..
Sigh now I know why the coffee is good. It HAS to be, or the researchers would be rioting...
Onward.
Saturday, 27 February 2010
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Guess who's back... Back again...
Okay i haven't been blogging for ages but this post is just for me to get used to the idea again..
And i guess i should change the look of this for fun..
And i guess i should change the look of this for fun..
Sunday, 27 December 2009
Monday, 21 December 2009
Friday, 6 November 2009
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
Friday, 23 October 2009
Thursday, 1 October 2009
Trial time
Am sitting here at my office table after a quick lunch alone..
I've had quite a lot of help on my project so far..
one guy (Thinh) who is doing something related actually went through an entire paper with me, answering all my little questions (some of which really illustrate my lack of technical skill)..
a phd student (Yimin) who took a look at the paper i was studying and said that generalising it to 4 dimensions isn't too hard, and she'll have a look at it too.
So technically these great brains (and some people in the Group who have been spending more time on other things rather than bother about my stuff) have more than what it takes to finish MY project.
!@$@^^!&!*&
After some time emo-ing last night, which lasted about 5 minutes (woohoo record time), i decided to attack it head on and start working on those things i still don't know.
Then came this morning, where i found out i completely forgot about a homework assignment for one of my modules. BLEAH. A good thing the prof said that he'll take the best 3 homeworks out of 4. So i guess I'd better ace the next two..
Planning for YPM camp is another thing.. We have so many ideas, but its like holding in a Rasengan when it all threatens to fly apart in a million directions. Are our foundations laid right? Will it stand the test of time? Do we have the resources to tap on and harness, producing a massive directed effort?
A million worries and only so many hours a day.
Onward.
I've had quite a lot of help on my project so far..
one guy (Thinh) who is doing something related actually went through an entire paper with me, answering all my little questions (some of which really illustrate my lack of technical skill)..
a phd student (Yimin) who took a look at the paper i was studying and said that generalising it to 4 dimensions isn't too hard, and she'll have a look at it too.
So technically these great brains (and some people in the Group who have been spending more time on other things rather than bother about my stuff) have more than what it takes to finish MY project.
!@$@^^!&!*&
After some time emo-ing last night, which lasted about 5 minutes (woohoo record time), i decided to attack it head on and start working on those things i still don't know.
Then came this morning, where i found out i completely forgot about a homework assignment for one of my modules. BLEAH. A good thing the prof said that he'll take the best 3 homeworks out of 4. So i guess I'd better ace the next two..
Planning for YPM camp is another thing.. We have so many ideas, but its like holding in a Rasengan when it all threatens to fly apart in a million directions. Are our foundations laid right? Will it stand the test of time? Do we have the resources to tap on and harness, producing a massive directed effort?
A million worries and only so many hours a day.
Onward.
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Sunday, 13 September 2009
The goal
I hope to be able to say this at the end of this disgusting project...
Well I'm sure my prof isn't trying to be hard on me but it seems damn impossible..
Sigh.
Onward
Well I'm sure my prof isn't trying to be hard on me but it seems damn impossible..
Sigh.
Onward
Monday, 7 September 2009
Saturday, 5 September 2009
Siandiao-ness
Hello everyone..
I decided to start posting cause my blog life is left hanging... mostly due to my massive inertia in posting about all the places I went to.. There's just too much to say..
So just ask me about anyplace you want to ask me about and I'll try to say what I can.. (If there's even anyone who wants to know LOL)
Anyhow, I manged to get a little cosy corner in the CQT, which is an acronym for Centre for Quantum Technologies. You'll note that there's a little article in today's papers, about someone working there.
My research project is not about lasers but about quantum correlations, and that would take ages to explain (mostly because I'm still not sure how exactly to view and understand quantum correlations).
Buutttt anyhow I have to give a presentation about what I've done before the semester is up, so maybe I'll put up the presentation time and place here when I know about it.
It feels nice to blog again.
Onward
I decided to start posting cause my blog life is left hanging... mostly due to my massive inertia in posting about all the places I went to.. There's just too much to say..
So just ask me about anyplace you want to ask me about and I'll try to say what I can.. (If there's even anyone who wants to know LOL)
Anyhow, I manged to get a little cosy corner in the CQT, which is an acronym for Centre for Quantum Technologies. You'll note that there's a little article in today's papers, about someone working there.
My research project is not about lasers but about quantum correlations, and that would take ages to explain (mostly because I'm still not sure how exactly to view and understand quantum correlations).
Buutttt anyhow I have to give a presentation about what I've done before the semester is up, so maybe I'll put up the presentation time and place here when I know about it.
It feels nice to blog again.
Onward
Saturday, 8 August 2009
The Grand Canyon
Picking up where we left off, we went to the Grand Canyon after Vegas.
We took a drive there, awfully long drive, but it was kinda fun.. I had to be V-commander.. Slightly nervous, but we got there alright..
We passed by the Hoover Dam on the way.. (Think Transformers 1)
The road trip was an awesome sight, with rolling plains and even a few cows and horses.. (don't have pictures of them sadly)
But, when you finally get there, oh boy is it an AWESOME sight.
We woke up at like 430 in the morning to catch the sunrise.. But it was a cloudy day, and it was a real shame that we didn't see the sun..
You can note the little winding river at the bottom of the canyon..
More Canyon pictures to come! We took a day hike down into the valley... We didn't hit the little river RIGHT at the base of the canyon, but we walked quite far nonetheless....
Mel
We took a drive there, awfully long drive, but it was kinda fun.. I had to be V-commander.. Slightly nervous, but we got there alright..
We passed by the Hoover Dam on the way.. (Think Transformers 1)
The road trip was an awesome sight, with rolling plains and even a few cows and horses.. (don't have pictures of them sadly)
But, when you finally get there, oh boy is it an AWESOME sight.
We woke up at like 430 in the morning to catch the sunrise.. But it was a cloudy day, and it was a real shame that we didn't see the sun..
You can note the little winding river at the bottom of the canyon..
More Canyon pictures to come! We took a day hike down into the valley... We didn't hit the little river RIGHT at the base of the canyon, but we walked quite far nonetheless....
Mel
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
Sudden wave of emo
Some songs really hit me hard..
I wish there really was some way to make it all better, to fix it, to bring colour in again.
If only I was a better man some years ago.
I think I need some quiet time, amidst all the bustle of this trip..
Mel
I wish there really was some way to make it all better, to fix it, to bring colour in again.
If only I was a better man some years ago.
I think I need some quiet time, amidst all the bustle of this trip..
Mel
Monday, 20 July 2009
SMRT munchers
We interrupt our regular program for a special telecast.
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.
Well, one of the stupidest.
Friends, here's a question for you. If you see a mother feeding her baby from a milk bottle, will she get fined?
Of course not!
It was the baby who was drinking milk. Fine the BABY $30. The mother is innocent.
Duh.
How can anyone NOT know the answer to this?
Backward.
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.
Well, one of the stupidest.
Friends, here's a question for you. If you see a mother feeding her baby from a milk bottle, will she get fined?
Of course not!
It was the baby who was drinking milk. Fine the BABY $30. The mother is innocent.
Duh.
How can anyone NOT know the answer to this?
Backward.
Thursday, 16 July 2009
Las Vegas
Continuing the story, we move on to Vegas..
Not called Sin City for nothing, Vegas offers MANY forms of entertainment. (Heh heh heh) In fact, you can even start gambling the moment you touch down in Vegas, before you even leave the airport.. That says a lot I guess..
We stayed at the Stratosphere.. Its not really expensive, but its comfy. If you intend to put up there, you should try to check in early. We got a smoking room, and it was pretty horrible..
The buffet was amazing, as you can see below.. heh..
In Vegas, the food isn't that expensive. The rooms aren't pricey either... Not in our hotel, at least.. I came to the conclusion that the entire industry is focused on one thing.
Entertainment.
Everything else is created JUST to support that focus.
It made me think about school, and how some people have to fight for housing, and worry about CCA and whatever not.. It made me think about church too..
Wouldn't it be easier if we just stopped for one minute, and thought about how everything fits into the entire system?
We also did some shopping in some premium-outlets place.. Basically its some place that has tons of factory stores, and we just went around grabbing cheap stuff.
Get this.
15 USD Levi's jeans.
=)
Mel
Not called Sin City for nothing, Vegas offers MANY forms of entertainment. (Heh heh heh) In fact, you can even start gambling the moment you touch down in Vegas, before you even leave the airport.. That says a lot I guess..
We stayed at the Stratosphere.. Its not really expensive, but its comfy. If you intend to put up there, you should try to check in early. We got a smoking room, and it was pretty horrible..
The buffet was amazing, as you can see below.. heh..
In Vegas, the food isn't that expensive. The rooms aren't pricey either... Not in our hotel, at least.. I came to the conclusion that the entire industry is focused on one thing.
Entertainment.
Everything else is created JUST to support that focus.
It made me think about school, and how some people have to fight for housing, and worry about CCA and whatever not.. It made me think about church too..
Wouldn't it be easier if we just stopped for one minute, and thought about how everything fits into the entire system?
We also did some shopping in some premium-outlets place.. Basically its some place that has tons of factory stores, and we just went around grabbing cheap stuff.
Get this.
15 USD Levi's jeans.
=)
Mel
Thursday, 9 July 2009
More of San Francisco
Continuing the story after Day 1 and 2, this is more about San Francisco..
We walked around a bit in the morning, exploring San Francisco, and then we went north to Fisherman's Wharf.. Fisherman's Wharf is THE place for seafood. San Francisco is also the place to go to for sourdough bread.
We also had Ghirardelli ice cream!
Ghirardelli is the name of a chocolate maker and the ice cream is SUPERBLY good. (But I'm guessing its due to the chocolate..)
The important part of the day was the trip to Alcatraz Island!
Alcatraz island was the super maximum security prison of its time. Basically, from a quote I think I remember, written on the wall,
'If you messed up outside, you got sent to prison. If you messed up in prison, you got sent to Alcatraz."
So you can imagine what kind of super crazy place it was.. (That's where they filmed The Rock, by the way)
The place is absolutely freezing. The currents are insanely strong and I can only shudder at the kind of desperation it must have required to even dream of escaping.
By the way, the slamming sound the doors make when they shut is really very spinechilling.....
Mel
We walked around a bit in the morning, exploring San Francisco, and then we went north to Fisherman's Wharf.. Fisherman's Wharf is THE place for seafood. San Francisco is also the place to go to for sourdough bread.
We also had Ghirardelli ice cream!
Ghirardelli is the name of a chocolate maker and the ice cream is SUPERBLY good. (But I'm guessing its due to the chocolate..)
The important part of the day was the trip to Alcatraz Island!
Alcatraz island was the super maximum security prison of its time. Basically, from a quote I think I remember, written on the wall,
'If you messed up outside, you got sent to prison. If you messed up in prison, you got sent to Alcatraz."
So you can imagine what kind of super crazy place it was.. (That's where they filmed The Rock, by the way)
The place is absolutely freezing. The currents are insanely strong and I can only shudder at the kind of desperation it must have required to even dream of escaping.
By the way, the slamming sound the doors make when they shut is really very spinechilling.....
Mel
Thursday, 2 July 2009
New format
Since I screwed up the daily report for my trip ages ago, I have decided to change the format of my trip updates and start writing about whatever place I want to...
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