I can’t even remember off-hand when was the last time I ever posted to this blog of mine. I think I’ve lost this blogging habit of mine.

I was even a victim of a fraud case, and i didn’t have the motivation to blog about it. Sigh …

At the start of the year, I thought that i might get back to it yet again, but I was wrong. Now, the year’s almost coming to a close. It’s time to let it all go, and start afresh, and to move on from all the bad decisions and worst regrets of the year. Leave them all behind and start the brand new year with new hopes and aspirations.

Is there actually anyone still keeping track? Perhaps it’s via RSS? Anyone?

Cheers to all who are still reading there. Cheers to a better year in 2010.

These photos were taken at my office carpark.

Noticed anything peculiar about the vehicle?

That’s an interesting Austin. Most certainly too big to be a Mini. The engine capacity is bigger too, at 1300cc, if the tag on the front grille is referring to the engine size that is.

Any guesses for the first picture? It’s a left-hand drive vehicle.

Appears I’m starting to be getting all these of late. Then again it’s only two which offers no significance by it’s own merit. Perhaps if it happen again, or two, I should start to take notice.

Unlike the previous dream, this one was about a matter very much closer to the heart. This doesn’t happen very often, and while I can’t exactly remember when was the last time I had this, it can be considered quite vivid.

Then again, I wan’t feeling very well the night before. Throat has been acting up and that probably prevented my brain from getting a proper rest. By the looks of it, it’s probably going to be the same tonight. Sore throat has taken on a life of it’s own, and starting to run amok.

Hopefully some white drug will get it sorted out.

And so, it happened again. One which had not happened in quite some time already. This would have been the second time already.

The first was with some friends when we were at “Disneyland”. Yeah, that’s the nickname that was given to Dan Murpheys.

As it’s stated in all the signs, you’re meant to take it as a compliment if the cashier asks for your photo ID. I should have captured the look on the cashier’s face when I showed him my drivers license. I guess he wasn’t expecting me to be as old as I really am.

My boss from Singapore is presently in the Australia office for a project tender. Looks like it will be a rather interesting project – will not be straight forward, that’s for sure. Only issue is that it will not happen so soon, but if it does, it will probably take up a good year or so from start to end. Of phase one. The airport has a masterplan, and it sure looks as impressive as it is long, stretching for several years down the road.

It was great having the opportunity to visit the innards of Sydney airport. It sure was a mish-mash of many different systems all rolled into one. It will definitely be very impressive to be able to be part of the team handling this project, but like what everyone seems to feel, it will not be at all easy.

Let’s see how it goes. As a friend recently put it, if you hope for it, there’s a very slight chance of it coming true.

I have wondered before, what would have happened if for some reason, not being able to pass second language exams means retaining for another year. That is most certainly going to suck big time, since I’m pretty sure it will never work out.

Everything will probably stockpile, and I’ll end up a drop-out, all because of one silly subject which isn’t exactly at all enjoyable. Every lesson was pure torture, a good hours’ worth of boredom.

Good thing none of that happened.

To think that even after 2 years, I have yet to really see all that I have designed? My work is all about designing, and it helps to be able to see for yourself and to have a feel for what I have designed.

I finally had that chance today. Because what we design are usually in mm, but can go up to many meters, it is not easy to have a feel of the size without looking at the physical product. I know how 1.05m looks like on my computer monitor, but seeing it for real gives me a better appreciation of it’s actual size.

We went to Changi Airport to have a look around, and while I don’t think that I should place the product pictures here, I think I have some which are in fact, better enjoyed.

Clockwise from top left:

1. That’s the Airbus A380 in the background; It’s not often that you get to see a photo taken from this vantage point.
2. Me at the departure hall of Terminal 3.
3. View of the check-in counters
4. Interesting feature which appears to scatter natural light into the terminal.

These photos were taken by my colleague. Pity we didn’t know how to get his camera phone to force fire the flash. Otherwise, the first picture would have turned out great.

Had the opportunity to meet up with an old friend this afternoon on Sunday afternoon. Not that my friend is old, (we are both as young as we can be) but we have known each other for almost a decade already. We don’t meet up often, but when we do, it’s a rather interesting experience.

It’s an enjoyable process of sharing our photos. It’s not just simply viewing the photos, but compared to viewing it from an online web album, the commentary is that much better than simple captions entered just for the sake of filling up the text box. I’m guilty of that too, but that’s the reality of it all. When I used a film camera for my trip to Nepal way back in 2004, I got myself a photo album. It made sense, since I had to process the negatives and develop prints. It’s very different nowadays. I’ve gone thru 2 big trips trips already, and both instances, everything is all digital. The plus point is that without the printing, there’s no cost involved, and less consumption of materials and eventually, less wastage too. However, somehow there’s a lack of personality too. The digital web album provides reach, but lacks that personal touch. There’s only so much that can be entered into the caption; it lacks feeling and emotion that can only be filled be speech.

It was fun sharing about our travels, and experiences.

Naturally, it progressed to something that concerns all of us residents of singapore. There is always this comparison between what we have got, and what can be worse. Thing is, we should constantly be comparing with what’s better, not what’s worse. Only then will there be any progress. If you compare with something of a lower standard, then complacency will start to set in, and there will not be any motivation to improve. Still, at the end, it’s nice to know that someone else shares roughly the same sentiments with me.

Ok, I don’t think that I’m really that twisted or anything, but hey, if you’re going to spend a straight 8 hours a day at one location, might as well make it enjoyable, right?

I actually meant to have this up earlier, but just didn’t get about to taking the photo. I’m very happy with my super huge mouse pad which has taken up a huge chunk of real estate. However, due to the rather poor posture and positioning that I have, I may have partially put my right arm out of commission during work, thus I’m at present mousing lefty. Despite all the shifting, I can’t seen to find the optimal position to be at. This isn’t very good though, since I’ve reconfigured AutoCAD to function at it’s best with my left hand on the typical WSAD location for First Person Shooter gaming. This set-up requires my right hand to move all the way across the keyboard to the key locations. Well, at least we don’t have any huge projects to work on right now.

Check out the close-up shot. Cool, eh?

Your profile summary

Your sleep is fairly well optimised, scoring 57 %.You said you sometimes have a problem with sleep though you are not very sleepy during the day, which means your body is probably getting the sleep it needs. Quality of sleep is more important than quantity. There’s room to improve your score. Your personalised advice below may be useful.

Environment

Your bedroom should be mainly for sleep

• Sleep experts recommend that bedrooms should be for rest, relaxation and a good night’s sleep.
• If getting to sleep is a problem, remove distractions from your bedroom if you can. If you use your mobile telephone as an alarm clock, try to turn off the mobile to avoid getting any late night calls or text messages. The alarm clock function still works when the mobile is off.

Lifestyle

A regular bedtime will help you

• You sometimes like a lie-in, but creating a habit of waking up at the same time each day (even weekends) will help your body know when to sleep – improving the quality of your sleep.

You regularly drink coffee or consume caffeine

• You use one of the oldest and best short-term cures for sleepiness: caffeine.
• Caffeine stays in your system for many hours, but is active in your brain for only about an hour. However, having large amounts of caffeine in your system will disturb your sleep.
• If keeping alert is your goal and you want to cut down your caffeine intake, try taking a short nap when you feel sleepy.
• Current research shows a short 15 minute nap is more effective than a cappuccino at beating tiredness.

There are things you can do to improve your sleep

• Health has a direct impact on sleep.
• Exercise is a good way of improving your the start to the day. But if you exercise too close to bed time, it will make it difficult for you to sleep. After a heavy workout, your muscles may be tired, but muscles only need to rest, not sleep. Your brain will be too stimulated to calm down quickly
• Smoking and alcohol also affect your sleep – causing you to wake more easily out of light sleep (a stage of sleep that occurs for about half a normal night’s sleep)

Try it yourself – BBC Sleep profiler.