Archive for the 'NS' Category

Notes From Myself For Myself (Part 1)

Published
by
Zz85-nds
on July 25, 2007
in About Me, Bloggin, Hobbies, NS, Stories and Thoughts
. 0 Comments

27 June 2007 Wednesday.

I separated from my campmates as we go on our separated ways home. My bus reached Bukit Batok Bus Interchange, and I took a walk into West Mall. A text came from a ORDed friend, saying he has a gift from Hong Kong for me. To stall time waiting for him to arrive home, I went into Bukit Batok Community Library and borrowed a few books quickly. 1 was copy writing, another resumes, a book for writing autobiography and one for writing journals.

[
Side story about my library fascination: My mum used to bring me to ang mo kio's library when I was young even though traveling time took at least 30 mins. (there was where I read about computer programming.) I was a librarian 3 years in my secondary school days. I spent countless time in Yishun library when it was built no more than 50m from my home! After O'levels while working, I made it a point to visit every branch of community library in Singapore - I believed covered almost everyone of them. NYP library was a place we inhabited during exams period, while some studied, some eyed for girls)

Trivial: Spelling and Languages are still one of my worst abilities! Some friends think I'm dyslexia.
]

The book that caught my attention, “Notes From Myself”, subtitled “A Guide to Creative Journal Writing” by “Anne Hazard Aldrich”.

My impressions reading the book, was it teaches you what is journal writing, the benefits and insights, and provides interesting notes and excerpts from other authors and journal writers. The book gives tips for writing, and also reasons to make you do so, and although journal writing would be a mile different with blogging, nevertheless its a read to make you reflect how you write.

Listening to the Morimur album while reading took my thoughts and feelings back and forth many places while I try to complete the book before the due date. Morimur album, btw, is recording done by Christoph Poppen and Hilliard Ensemble rendition of (a remixed) Bach’s Solo Violin Partita and Vocal Music. It has a modern idea, yet a very nice baroque, bach feel.

Back to the book, the last chapter made me reflect on the words of eleventh century scholastic Richard of St. Victor:

A man, who has not yet succeeded in seeing himself, raises his eyes in vain to see God. Let a man first understand the invisible things of himself before he presumes to stretch out to the invisible things of God…
for unless you can understand yourself, how can you try to understand those things which are above yourself.

Excerpts from my Writtings in TAD

Published
by
Zz85-nds
on July 19, 2007
in Memories, NS, Stories and Thoughts
. 0 Comments

Write up on “My Defining Moments in SAFAC”

“I feel it is not easy for me to define my dearest moment in SAFAC. Many precious moments that invoke my memories, thoughts and feelings, as if they were gems I wouldn’t want to lose any”…

…”life started in SAFAC as an ATT trainee at SOA in Dec 05. In 3 months in about 20 other ammo techs to be, we went through”…

“Not long after I was welcomed to TAD, I had my first cohesion”…

…”I feel privileged and am grateful for my high-level NDP fireworks involvement”…

…”Although I had just spent about a year in SAFC, I have gain a large amount of knowledge and experience. One of the reason is because of the people around me”…

“Going back to the main topic of “my most defining moments”, if I really need to give an answer, it would be my ndp involvement and my wits experiences. However I do not wish to stop there. I would give all my enthusiasm each day of having the optimism of which that day would be fruitful, memorable, learning and unforgettable experience I would always remember”

Signed off hastily then

211106
CPL J0shua K0o
TAD

Message on the last day in camp (that’s today)

“Dear all,

The time has come for me to part. This would be my last day in here and I would like to take the opportunity to say thanks. I don’t intend for this message to be touchy feeling but I love to recall the wonderful moments I had in TAD quickly”…

… “and I look back, I always feel the happiness with a slight tinge of sadness in them”…

“My memorable and exiting moments briefly”…

“Memorable duties”…

“Memorable cohesions”…

“As how I feel, time has caught up with me, and its time to say goodbye.” [Thanks to a big list of people, and yet people still ask me why their names are not inside ;)]…

Signed off with the greatest haste,

“Best regards with lots of love and laughters,
3SG J0shua K0o”

Last Guard Duty

Published
by
Zz85-nds
on June 24, 2007
in Memories, NS, Stories and Thoughts
. 0 Comments

“How are you feeling now that you competed your duties?”

“Should be feeling good”

“I would be flying if it were my last duty”

A little talk between a superior of mine and I after my last night duty. Though I don’t really know him well, the previous occasion we had duty together, we talked about life, and past and future of our camp. The past was a little of history lessons, as we recall the people and culture way before I came. The future as we foresee how the people and system were like, and he mentioned I would be missed like a couple of NSFs who served their time well with him.

Frankly, I wasn’t feeling much, yet- there seemed to be a little vacuum, not much excited happiness nor sadness. Perhaps I had been numbed.

I recall vividly the commotion and consequences my “upper study” had after getting into trouble on his last duty. I myself wanted some simple routine stuff, perhaps “slow and steady”, perhaps a “just get over and done with” attitude. No steamboats, no celebrations, no sabotage, just plain routine stuff with a handful of less exciting personnel. At least it ended with a round of applause for me as we fall out.

Now I recall, a year and a half: 18 months with take 6 duties each would sum up over 100 duties. Through the duties I rose through ranks and appointments, from simply carrying out orders to carrying responsibilities.

Imagine 24 hours 100 days, but just take 10 hours, I would be 1000 hours. Actually as the days past, you wouldn’t feel the huge amount of time, but now 1000 hours is not too little either.

In no particular order, during the “spare time”, I..
Slept - Probably huge amount of time
Played games - Chinese chess, Sudoku, Risk, Uno, and other “team games”
Read - Newspapers, Magazines, Browse the Intranet, Novels, Books
Talk - Share some jokes and quizzes, getting to know each other better and stuff
Watch - TV, some CDs and DVDs occasionally

When I started out, I was perhaps more “garang” or ambitious.. did exercise when I had the time, brought a couple of books (esp. non-nonfictional war books).. and did some planning and learning for work related stuff and others.. over time the drive seemed to vanish, and there are certainly things I thought I could have do better - finish a couple of uncompleted books, getting to know others better and sort of stuff, pass down more of my skill and so on…

Anyway that’s for looking back, time pass quickly. I mark the end of my duties, finishing reading the war(ww1) story “Four Weeks in the Trenches”, by Fritz Kreisler (a composer and violinist) and writing this.

Photos from Pengerang Trip

Published
by
Zz85-nds
on June 5, 2007
in Biking, Food, Hobbies, NS, Photos and Stories
. 5 Comments

Some photos about my trip.

Early in the morning, 30km, 2 and a half hours later, I reached the Chang Jetty Point.

Reached Changi Jetty

I enjoyed the tugboat ride, which lasted about 45mins to an hour.

Tugboat to Pengerang

Ashore Malaysia’s Jetty, was a 16km bicycle ride on a almost straight, easy and low traffic road along the coastal line to the Pengerang Town. The sights are almost kampong style, kids stick their heads out of the passing cars, or stand outside their huts and wave to you excitedly. I happen to see certain dead animals on the road.

Pengerang Town Street

At an easy cycling pace, you would hit the town in about an hour’s time. Here’s an impression of the town. Had some chee chiong fun waiting for the rest to gather at a coffee shop near taxi station. Money changing was done at inn nearby.

Lobster King
A huge lobster for lunch. We went to this restaurant call “Jade Garden” which Channel U visited before.

Dishes
More dishes.. with sharkfin soup and drinks, we payed only RM$50 per pax. The disappointment our group had was that the mantis prawns were not going to arrive until evening.

Baber

I went to get a nice RM$7 haircut at the barber while my friends bought Ipoh coffee, huge mangos.. 45 minutes to the Jetty, the return boat ride, and the most challenging part, cycling the long distance from changi home.

Was delayed a little by the rain, slip and fell as a road bike slip traveling across a wet drain cover, as we took a shortcut through hougang back to seletar road. I got changed in time to celebrate dinner for Mother’s day.

Spent no more than $50, tired, yet satisfied, and a comfort for not joining the City Dualthon or the Paya Laba’s 45km Runway Challenge.

My First NDS HomeBrew: Rubik Cube Timer

Published
by
Zz85-nds
on May 1, 2007
in Hobbies and NS
. 4 Comments

Dedicated to my friend Lionel, whom made me revisit my interest in playing the Rubik’s Cube Puzzle.

rubik timer 1.0 screenshot

A Rubik’s Cube Timer, it is created to time time taken to solve the cube (Mine timings are usually between 1 and 3mins so no hours, or milliseconds implemented yet). The idea came after watching speed cubing videos online, we saw they had a special timer which they bang on to mark their completion.

Written in PaLib, here’s the code.
Visit this thread at PALib’s forums to download the files too.

/*

Zz85 Rubik Cube's Timer
App for Speed Cubing, for timing completion of puzzle.

RELEASES
Version 1.0 May 1, 2007 - Labour Day's Treat for my doctor-to-be friend Lionel

PLANS
Use hardware clock
Use nice sprints
Use sounds

*/

// Includes
#include <pa9 .h>       // Include for PA_Lib

	u16 RESET = 0;
	u16 START = 1;
	u16 END = 2;

	u16 status = RESET;

void reset()
{
	PA_OutputText(1, 6, 6, "%c1Ready...");
	PA_OutputText(1, 6, 8, "       ");
	PA_OutputText(1, 6, 12, "    ");
	status = RESET;
}

void start()
{
	PA_OutputText(1, 6, 6, "        ");
	PA_OutputText(1, 6, 8, "%c5Start!");
	status = START;
}

void end()
{
	PA_OutputText(1, 6, 12, "%c5End!");
	status = END;
}

int main()
{
	PA_Init();    // Initializes PA_Lib
	PA_InitVBL(); // Initializes a standard VBL

	PA_InitText(1, 2);
	PA_OutputText(1, 4, 2, "%c4Zz85's %c1Rubik %c2Cube %c3Timer!");

	PA_OutputText(1, 0, 16, "%c2Instructions:");
	PA_OutputText(1, 0, 18, "%c2Press Start for reset. Any keys or touchpad to start and stop.");
	PA_OutputText(1, 0, 21, "%c2Happy Cubing!");

	u32 ticks = 0;
	// Infinite loop to keep the program running
	while (1)
	{
		if (status == END && Pad.Released.Start) reset();
		else if (status == RESET)
		{
			ticks = 0;
			if  (Pad.Released.Anykey || Stylus.Released)  start();
		}
		else if (status == START)
		{
			ticks++;
			PA_OutputText(1, 6, 10, "%c5Time: %c0%d mins %d s      ",(ticks/3600),(ticks/60 %60));
			if  (Pad.Newpress.Anykey || Stylus.Newpress) end();
		}

		PA_WaitForVBL(); // Wait for 1/60 of a second
	}

	return 0;
}

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