Meme Proposal | Tim * Audrey

Meme Proposal | Tim * Audrey from Crazy Monkey Studio on Vimeo.

This is so out of the norm.

Quite sweet I think. But don't really feel the romanticness of this proposal, I guess only the couple knows the joke or hidden meaning behind all the 9gag meme. :)

Gosh, these people are pushing the bar up...



Extras :)

[Update] Timothy Tiah's blog - http://timothytiah.com/2011/12/21/video-of-our-meme-proposal/

[Update] Some of the comments from the 9gag community. :)

开心乐龙龙 - MY Astro 新年万人MV

Footage of every states:
Selangor 0:40
Pahang: 1:45
Perak 2:35
Penang 3:40
Kedah 4:30
Perlis: 5:30
Kelantan: 6:30
Terengganu 8:00
Johor 9:00
Sabah 9:45
Sarawak 10:30
Melaka 11:45
Negeri Sembila 13:00
KL 14:00

A good new year song that showcase different state. Idea! Not bad!

(Just a note, this probably not so "1Malaysia", maybe they should include other races to introduce the "multi-racial harmony" element.)

[9Gag] SMRT used to be good, then they took an arrow to the knee.

My first 9gag post... :p

SMRT used to be good, then they took an arrow to the knee.

Random Notes on Encouragement

Sometimes, it takes just a "add", or "follow", or "add to circle" of those big shot personnel (from Google, Facebook, or even fellows from Silicon Valley) to motivate you and put the drives back to you.

I shall remind myself this.

Next time when I'm succeed in whatever I'm doing, I'll try my best to unconditionally give encouragement to the younger generations, and actively engage them to motivate them.

Google's Driverless Car

The project has evolved so much since the last time I checked (when it was still a DARPA challenge project).

Personally, I like this project very much. Maybe there will be people saying this project is a useless project, with the argument like, "if you are lazy, can just call a cab, take a bus...". But if you think of it carefully, Human makes mistakes, and road accidents are very costly mistakes. It cost not only your own life, and others' too!

And most accidents caused by long distance trips. Even if you are a cautious driver, if others are not careful enough, it will still affects you.

And its fantastic that Chris Urmson and his team made this autonomous system a "very considerate" AI. It slows down and make way for other drivers! Watch the video! ;)

One more note: I'm not a huge fan of driving. To me, driving is just to get from point A to point B. So, yeap, I'm a huge fan of Google's Driverless Car project :p



More Readings:

http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/artificial-intelligence/how-google-self-driving-car-works
Google engineers explain the technology behind their autonomous vehicle and show videos of the road tests

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=14119138

5 words of Baby Language

This is amazing.

No more hair pulling from trying to understand what babies wanted to convey.

Star Trek style door

This is way too awesome. Idea for home next time :p

The details of the mechanics can be found at http://uiproductions.blogspot.com/2010/12/star-trek-door.html.

But, its too overdone by using air-compressor for just a door. I think this be achieved using a simple roller motor.

Still, this is awesome home-hack idea!

Seoul attracts young entrepreneurs back

[Source] http://www.inc.com/magazine/201112/the-returnees.html

Interesting article that touches entrepreneurship in Seoul.

Part of the reason why youngster flock back to Seoul.

"Choi thought about starting a company after graduation, but he had a problem: His student visa had expired. He didn't have the $1 million in cash necessary to qualify for an investor visa, so he figured his only option would be to get a job and hope that his employer would sponsor his application for permanent residence. He went on a dozen interviews at American medical-device companies, but none were interested, and he finally enrolled in a master's program at Cornell to stay for another year. When it was over, he gave up on the States, returned to Korea, and took a job at the pharmaceutical division of SK, one of the country's largest conglomerates."

Of course, Government's initiatives are the key factor.

Fundings

Over the past two years, the South Korean government has launched a series of policies designed to help people like Choi. The Small and Medium Business Administration—South Korea's version of the SBA—has created hundreds of incubators throughout the country, offering entrepreneurs free office space, thousands of dollars in grants, and guaranteed loans. 

Internet Infrastructure.

In the 1990s, the South Korean government invested heavily in the installation of fiber-optic cables, with the result that by 2000, Koreans were four times as likely as Americans to have high-speed Internet access. Koreans still enjoy the fastest Internet in the world while paying some of the lowest prices. The easiest way to feel like an outsider in this country is to board one of Seoul's subway cars, which are equipped with high-speed cellular Internet, Wi-Fi, and digital TV service, and look anywhere but at the screen in your hand.

 Government's participation in bridging the economy.

Last December, Shin was summoned to South Korea's version of the White House—the Blue House—for a meeting with the country's president, a former Hyundai executive named Lee Myung-bak. In attendance were the CEOs of many of the country's largest companies—LG, Samsung, SK, and half a dozen others.  

----

Looking back at Malaysia, those 3 key initiatives aren't really addressed by the government properly.

Internet infrastructure is terrible. The typical home broadband connection is still at ~1Mbps, and signal lost happened all the time.

Well, having said that, maybe entrepreneurship isn't part of the interest of the government after all.

Worth watching

A video that worth watching.

那些年，我們一起追的女孩 插曲 - 人海中遇見你

Nice.

[剪报] 星洲日报-活力副刊

小bb叫我读《星洲日报-活力副刊》。

读了之后，我决定分享这两篇短文。

“要与行为相称”

“沉默背后的危机”

其实整个副刊都很好，只是我觉得对这两篇感触最深。

很多女生表面斯斯文文，花容美貌。不过，打开房间吓死人。说起话来却反映出内心丑陋的一面。（不是指小bb）。

“懒得去讲” - 真是针针见血。哈哈。没看过《犀利人妻》的话，不妨抽出点时间看看，很不错的连续剧。

Salute

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13598607

Salute to these people. 

Really hard to find people who are self-less nowadays. And the only community that values group/teamwork more than individual is Japan.

Straitstimes news

Saw this story from another friend's blog.
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_735263.html

Monks aren't suppose to "charge" anything for the service that they provided, and the supposed "money" given to them should be in the form of a token of appreciation to offer to them.

But what surprised (or should I say "totally shocked") me is the fact that this article even get published into straitstimes.com.

How can junk article like this get published into the news website?

Seriously SPH is getting worse each day. Quite a number a my friends, including some language graduates, don't even consider working in SPH as one of the option. The reason is plain simple, the quality of the articles, the language is just sub-standard.

Update

工作

New 同事. Not very experienced. But thats not an issue. The only problem that I have is her 老公 keep on calling during office hours. OMT, a guy that calls non-stop like a zha bo, once every hour during the day, and once every 5 mins when work ending (and I'm not exaggerating), somemore not teenager. I just cannot take it... sorry, just wana rant...

Samsung Galaxy Note

Android Ecosystem.

The Hardware

The Software

[G+] Android

Today we're releasing the open source code for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich at http://goo.gl/ApIdB. This means that everything from phones to cars to ski goggles can run Android. (No joke, check out these ski goggles here! http://goo.gl/V6ME4)

Thats why I also believed that open source is a better platform for better and rapid and competitive development.

People don't know what they want until you show it to them.
(Steve Jobs)

And... I won't try to convince people that whether Android or iOS (or Samsung, HTC, Apple) is better. Because when they ask you, they already have in mind what they want. And its just useless to try to tell them how good, or make them to foresee the potential and near future development thats coming. In the end, they can't really apprehend what you trying to say, and they will just say "Well, this-something is good, but I'll just stick back to my-current-choice.

Wedding Photos

This is nice! From LightedPixel Photography.

[Source]

[Source]

Definitely in the list of options for my wedding photos next time :p hehehe

Random

Random photo that I found when browsing thru comp just now.

In 60 Seconds.

Nice Color Scheme. XD

LEGO Clock. Cool stuff.

Malaysia, Tanah Air Tercinta.

This is an actual quote from my friend's Facebook post.
‎

Kenny Sim:Eh, wat r u doing now?
Someone: Im working at Astana there, very near to CM office.
Kenny Sim:Wa... Then wat is ur job scope?
Someone: Strategic planning lor, for CM.
Kenny Sim: Aiseh! Then how is ur salary?
Someone: Y u wana know? That's secret.
Kenny Sim: Eeee, y everthg secret? Tell me lar!
Me: Aiya, sure is 5 digits lah.

2 seconds later...

Someone: Actually is more than that...

Wahseh! All of us thinking, we never know making coffee for CM can make 6 digits salary per month! Wahahaha!

The only thought that run thru my mind is... the same as yours.


---

Another news,

Founder of LYTRO, Ren Ng - born in Malaysia, his family emigrated to Melbourne.

Sadly, this is the fundamental problem with Malaysia - people (talent) flocking away.

Spherical Flying Machine Developed by Japan Ministry Of Defense

*Speechless*

This is awesome. Reminds me of the flying machines project that my TA and my PHD friend is doing.

Droid PWNS

[Source] ~aoisora9x

Not a big Apple hater, just find this rendered-image is nice.

Both iOS and Android are great, a lot of functionalities.

But to me, Android are better in contact and calendar management. Example, Android allows you to sync and join (merge) all your contacts from different services, but iOS can't. This is the reason I'm sticking with Android.

And, Android phones always have better (kick-ass) hardware specs, whenever I'm about to renew my phone contract. :)

Miss

You know she is the one, when you feel so lost whenever she is not around.

Miss her nagging at home,
Miss arguing with her,
Miss sitting down doing nothing with her,
Miss watching TV with her,
Miss going for a cup of coffee with her,
Miss the attention that she gave when I'm doing work,
Miss looking at her talking to family,

Miss everything.

Its as if the world disappeared or gone into silent when she is not around.

Gadgets Drop Test

Samsung Galaxy S2 is pretty impressive.

Actually I dropped mine once - shoulder height, no casing, and... guess what, just a hardly-visible dent/crack at the corner. :)

This is the advantage of light-weight, or plastic, whatever you want to call it.

[Quote] Passion

"It takes ambition to go places, but passion to power dreams."
-- Anonymous

Very inspiring.


Reminds me of my dreams (at every stages of life).

(Just little info about me)

When I was in primary school,
I've always dreamed to become a astronaut. I collected and bookmarked articles, photos of space stations, planets, astronauts... but I realized this is a impossible dream for me, as I'm red-green (weak) colour blind. Not very serious that it will affect my daily life, but yeah, I can never pass the physical test for astronaut. Hence, this dream became just a hobby.

When I was in secondary school,
I've developed interest in computer/electrical/circuit hardware. I wanted to be a electrical engineer. I assembled/disassembled my own PCs, modded my own PC, and fixes the electrical appliances at home. At one point, I've realize the same "physical disability" prevents me from go any further with this dream. I could't differentiate/read the transistor colour-code (yellow and orange is too closed); I couldn't read the light indicators (yellow, orange and green are too closed). Hence this dream became just a hobby.

When I was in university,
I'm into programming. Because this is something that is just black and white (hmm, maybe the colour of codes changes code formatter for different software, but this doesn't affect in any way). This is my passion now - software engineering. A field that I dream to be professional/expert in. A dream that drives me everyday!

:)

Gmail - Reply to "email"

This is why I like Gmail, you can reply to "emails" - to help people rediscover the buried email, in case they missed it.

SGD$1000 Photo Contest Oct 2011

Hey friends, please help like this photo on Facebook. :)

It's for the SGD$1000 Photo Contest Oct 2011.

What have you accomplished today?

Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful - that's what matters to me.
-Steve Jobs

Going to ask myself this every night: "Have I completed a small fragment of my dreams today?".

Follow your heart and intuition.

Just re-watched Steve Jobs' Commencement Address for Stanford.

I remembered clearly that I watched this video a year ago, and the phrases that makes most sense to me.

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards."

I watched the video, again, a while ago. Had difference impression on the speech. I find the following touches deep into my heart.

Believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you confidence to follow your heart. Even when it leads you well worn path, and that will make all the differences.

We worked hard, in 10 years, Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees.

I still love what I did... I've been rejected, but I was still in love. 

If you live each day as if it is the your last, someday you will most certainly be right... I've looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?"

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. 

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.

Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

Steve Jobs, a truly inspiring person.

RIP Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs' news is in all channels. Everyone talked about it.

 Among those, these are my favourite.

"Steve Jobs was born out of wedlock, put up for adoption at birth, dropped out of college, then changed the world. What's your excuse?"

"We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent.
Because this is our life.
Life is brief, and then you die, you know?
And we’ve all chosen to do this with our lives.
So it better be damn good. It better be worth it.
Be a yardstick of quality.
Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected. "
- Steve Jobs 

[Joke] iPod, iPhone, iPad... iPaid.

So many version of this comic flying around, but I find this is very well drawn, so decided to share it here. :)

Work

Ah, after 5 days, manage to finish the "coupon code" add-on feature on-top of SimpleCart.

The main challenges are
1. Updating the products in the page and cart after coupon code is entered/removed - in the end, I,used json to get the price and update the promotion items.
2. Cross-domain scripting for the ajax/json calls for payments.

I would say its not very robust yet, but its good that the basic functionalities are up.

And... Finally can shut down my laptop after 5 days. Didn't shutdown because I don't want to close all open files, and FTP paths. In case you wondered, yes, its a non-SVN project, and yes, it PITA to update/merge the files.

Sent from Galaxy S2

Random Text Picture

╲╭━━━━╮╲╲╭━━━━━━━━━━━━╮
╲┃╰╯╰╯┃ ╲ I hate EXAM, if you hate it too,
┗┫╭━━╮┣┛╲╰┳╮copy this in your wall ♥ 
╲┃┗━━┛┃━━━╯╰━━━━━━━━━━╯
╲╰┳━━┳╯╲╲╲╲╲╲╲╲╲╲╲╲╲╲

Work

Felt that my performance at work these few days is declining.

Trying to do a simple update on SimpleCart(js), but just couldn't get the changes done since last Thursday.

Been pushing other task behind, just for this. Although it make sense to put on hold other task, because this project is the highest priority, but felt sorry for the other clients.

Gotta try to finish this at home later. Its just that little more to go.

Update from Galaxy S2

Paypal Phishing Email and Website.

Phishing warning!

Recently, theres this email that got pass Hotmail (lousy) SmartScreen filter. (Hotmail SmartScreen is the worst filter, by right, the email links can be verified very easily by the filter. Imagine how many non-tech-savvy people out there suffered because of this sub-standard system.)

And my friends actually got tricked to key-in their Paypal login credentials into it.

Heres the screenshot of the email and website. Its very professionally done!

Paypal phishing email.

Paypal spoof site.

Phising Domains:
http://www.paypalobjects.com/
http://leod4.altervista.org

胡夏-那些年[完整歌詞版] [那些年，我們一起追的女孩] 電影原聲帶主題曲

哇，很好听！

Love Story - Stop Motion

This is awesome.

Double stop motion.

A very cool idea for videos, wedding videos. :)

hackaton 1

Fantastic meetup with friends today. Although we didn't manage to hack out results, but it provides us a good insight on what we are capable of doing/using. Guess we'll just stick the the more simpler frameworks. At least all of us can understand it. :)

The reason why Malaysia MRT development is slow.

Seriously, if they don't know how to do tunnelling properly, they should consult Singapore!

Here's the reason why Malaysia MRT development is slow, and why there are so many issue/problems with the development...

Seriously, not trying to be racist here, but if the government still holds on to Malay rights, they are seriously ruin the country's future.

If they (the local Malays) wants to be part of the development, or country's economy. Then they got to fight hard, fight equally to prove their worth. Even the government manage to spoon fit them into mega projects, they will still not going to do well eventually, simply because they are not up to it in the first place.

(See all the nonsense comments recently? Including MRT issues. You'll understand what I meant.)

Before I came over to Singapore, I always thought its okay to let them enjoy their "Malay rights". But after 5 years here, I realize the Malays here, those around me are outstanding! They fought hard to be the best and prove themselves in the society, and earned respects from others.

The Malays in Singapore are totally different from Malaysia.

Samsung Galaxy Classes

Samsung Galaxy S, Galaxy Y, Galaxy W....... confusing? Heres the meaning of the classes.

 "S" (Super Smart) – Devices at the very pinnacle of Samsung's mobile portfolio. This class will only be used on flagship devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S, the award-winning smartphone that has already sold 10 million units throughout the world.

 "R" (Royal / Refined) – Premium category models, a combination of power, performance and productivity for the individual who wants to be defined by the technology they carry.

 "W" (Wonder) – High quality, strategic models, perfect for those seeking a balance between style and performance.

 "M" (Magical) – High-performance models at an economic price-point.

 "Y" (Young) – These are entry models or strategic models for emerging markets or a younger audience more sensitive to price.

 Class indicators allow a more specific description of the key selling points of a device:
         

"Pro" – This indicates that the device includes a QWERTY keyboard for speedier email typing and increased productivity for professionals.

"Plus" – This indicates that the device is an upgrade from an existing model.

"LTE" – This indicates that the device is designed to utilize LTE (Long-Term Evolution) connectivity standards, a 4G standard to provide increased mobile network capacity and speed.

References
[1]  http://www.samsungmobilepress.com/2011/08/24/Samsung-introduces-new-GALAXY-smartphone-naming-strategy,-expands-GALAXY-smartphone-range

Family. Home.

Very very touching video clip.

Levitation photography

Source: yowayowacamera.com

• positioning at the right angle for reflection, and
• levitation.

Source: yowayowacamera.com

I think, not sure, this photo is taken using

• Long exposure of the dark background, plus
• flash on the person on the foreground.

Source: yowayowacamera.com

• Pure levitation.

Source: yowayowacamera.com

• levitation

Source: yowayowacamera.com

• Very nicely framed levitation.

So gonna experiment on these techniques when I'm free. Hehe :)

Kenapa pelajar Malaysia meniru

Sebenarnya, pelajar di Malaysia tidak suka meniru dalam peperiksaan. Akan tetapi, tiada ikhtiar nak buat macam mana kerana ini arahan dari Jabatan Menteri Pendidikan.

Sebab, setiap helai kertas peperiksaan tertulis: LIHAT SEBELAH.

:p

Facebook "Related to Your Post" section

Oh, a new section "Related to Your Post" has been added to Facebook. It links up and advertises the related Pages on Facebook.

A good way to increase the value of Facebook Page as a platform for businesses. Seems like they are working really hard to get everyone to stay on Facebook, both normal users and corporates.

Not bad. Its a good feature for them.

androp「Bright Siren」(from the 1st full album "relight" )

This is amazing! Unbelievable!

At first I'm still wondering whether this is an (After Effects) AE post production video or not, but apparently they do have a "the making" video.

Salute!

Re: TechCrunch | HP To Apple: You Win.

Very true. Apple is dominating the market, be it PC, HP, or Tablets, everywhere. (Its going to be "Umbrella Corp" soon... Haha)

 Well, Apple is indeed doing great job at the moment, just like Microsoft 10/20 years back.

 One of the torn for other companies is the patent issue. (Most of it are simple design concepts, which I think the patent shouldn't be granted in the first place.) Thats why there is this Googorola coming up to defend Android, and its developers.

 The only company that is doing great in hardware now is Samsung. The mobile phone (SGS2) are great, but the tablet sales got halted by Apple's patent lawsuit in some countries, preliminary court order though. 

Anyway, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is available in Singapore! The pricing model is exactly as iPad2! Just that hardware specs are better!
1GHz dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor. :)
1GB RAM
7000mAh
3MP (main) camera :(

:)

war in defence of Islam? What nonsense.

"We are saying here that we will launch an all-out war to defend our faith if they (anti-Islam elements) do not stop (and) use their agents -Malaysiakini and Malaysian Insider - which were biadap(rude) towards the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais)."

This is what will happen when people aren't open minded and over-sensitive and over-protective towards religions. (I'm a person that doesn't believe in any religion. I acknowledge those religion that teaches good practices and moral values.)

There are so many other issues that we should focus on instead of fighting over something (nonsense) like this.

For example, global issue - over population.

For example, nation issue - corruption.

The problem is, most of these so called leader aren't well educated. They didn't receive proper higher education (in Science and Technology). They weren't taught to embrace diversity, love peace, accept others, and most important - equal human rights. They always thought themselves as superior.

There are serious hole in Malaysia education systems.

Not sure how long will it takes for those countrymen (those group of people) to accept others, and open up their mind.

Maybe by that time its already too late for them to enjoy peace, because the other global crises, like energy depletion, overpopulation, environment pollution already at its peak.

Google Plus Games

Wow, seems like Zuckerberg is quite active in Google+ Games? :) haha

The Greatest Short Coming of the Human Race is our Inability to Understand the Exponential Function

"The Greatest Short Coming of the Human Race is our Inability to Understand the Exponential Function" by Dr. Albert A. Bertlett, Professor Emeritus, Department of Physics, University of Colorado at Boulder.

This is a series of 8 short videos on the topic of population growth, energy and environmental sustainability.

The video uses simple arithmetic illustration to demonstrate the consequences of overpopulation and some of the false facts that were often fed to us by country leaders, economist, and business magazines.

Highly recommended for anyone (of any age group) to go through the videos.

Hope this enlightens you as much as I do.

Some quotes from the videos,

To be successful with this experiment of human life on earth, we have to understand the laws of nature as they are encountered in the study of sciences and mathematics.

The First Law of Sustainability
Population growth and/or growth in the rate of the consumption of resources cannot be sustained.

Asimov:
In the same way, democracy cannot survive overpopulation.

Human dignity cannot survive overpopulation.

Convenience and decency cannot survive overpopulation.

As you put more and more people into the world, the value of life not only declines, it disappears. It doesn't matter if some dies, the more people there are, the less one individual matters.

Side note: Sometimes I wonder, is it religions that makes most people stop diving deep into problems? Because most of the time people will try to get away by comforting themselves that "things will eventually be better", "its fate", "its all planned", "the day will come"... and then, they stopped crunching their brain.

莫生气

Sharing a poem that used to hang in my house.

莫生气
人生就象一场戏，因为有缘才相聚.
相扶到老不容易，是否更该去珍惜.
为了小事发脾气，回头想想又何必.
别人生气我不气，气出病来无人替.
我若气死谁如意？况且伤神又费力.
邻居乡亲不要比，儿孙琐事由他去.
吃苦享乐在一起，神仙羡慕好伴侣.

What is RAG?

For those who don't know what is NUS RAG, heres a well documented video from Eusoffworks.

The video shows the whole 3-month RAG process in general.

1. Brainstorming
2. Design
3. Construction
4. Cladding
5. Presentation

Of course, the timeline for each halls/faculties are completely different. Depending on the main factor - manpower.

For KRhome (2008/2009), the detailed process is as follow:

Show encrypted text

Guy travels the world and shoots one second of footage in each location

This is very cool!

 Idea for my photo/video when I travel next time! :) hehehe

Deputy IGP: London riots proof against allowing street protests

[Source] http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/deputy-igp-london-riots-proof-against-allowing-street-protests/

What an non-sense accusation by the DIGP.

#Bersih (means "clean") is a organized and peaceful demonstration. And the police (and the Government) just overreacted.

Maybe its really the time to reform Malaysia Government. To wipe out those leaders/heads who aren't serious or put in effort in fulfilling their role to serve the public.

Some (or most) leaders in Malaysia now aren't really aware of whats going on on the ground. They are just puppets that lives in the older communication world - listen here and there or to their superior. And sometimes misuse their power, for self-gain, hence corruption.

Malaysia is really sick, and people need to stand up to reform a clean, equal, and SMART country. All these is essential in order for a competitive country. (Quite sad to read news now and then about companies shifting there production factory or HQ to neighbouring countries).

So if you haven't register as a voter, do it soon! :)

KR(aSH) RAG 2011 - KReaSHion

KReaSHion is the float for KRaSH (for KR and SH) this year. Its the first time in RAG history, halls combined for presentation.

Some of the photos I (shamelessly) copied from friend's FB album.

Lastly, shameless photo - me in the mist of blue+orange crowd. :)

Should RAG Day be held off-campus?

Saw a friend posted about voting Rag to be held in SRC permanently (and not outside of NUS).

Replied to the post, and thought of sharing my thoughts here too.

---

The original idea of RAG is to show appreciation to the public for donating. If its held internally, only NUS students knows about it, then it defeats the purpose of "thanking public" in the form of celebrations and performances.

As for the performances, each float has its own message to convey, sometimes not just to NUS students, but to everyone.

The cost of the floats are so high (comparable to Chingay floats). Judging from the feedbacks (in terms of resources and manpower) from all participation bodies (PB) over recent years, I think this "tradition" will not be able to sustain any longer, if its going to be just "another NUS-internal event". Even this year, if its not a combined effort, how many halls actually agreed to take part.

People generally think that RAG a waste of resources. Its more saddening when those words came from NUS students or the students who participated in the event themselves. They don't seem to appreciate the art behind of float creation, the performances, the dances, the technical details of building float...

I think its worth the effort to push this event out to the public. So more people can appreciate it.

NUS held RAG Day outside twice (the last was at Padang, 2007). If those 2 experiences tells us that its not worth it, and the logistic cost is really so huge that its not justifiable, then yeah, then the PBs should strongly suggest to NUSSU to stop holding it outside.

I actually noticed that there are a lot of tourists (I know they are tourist! Haha!) and exchange students, stayed and cheered till the end. I don't think they know the original purpose of the event. But looks like they enjoyed the performance, as much as I do.

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Side note: Ah, I should remind myself that I've already left NUS and stop worrying about the sustainability of RAG. Just let the younger ppl, who are still involved to decide whats best for them, and RAG. If its going to be transformed, or gone, just let it be. Time changes, people changes.

RAG

I think RAG & FLAG has evolved to a stage where there can only be 2 options for the organizing committees and participating bodies to make.
1. Take RAG to another higher level so that the cost of event is justifiable.
2. forget-about-rag.

Scaling down is not an option.
1. Its meaningless to spend resources on (substandard) performance that you are not going to be proud of at the end of the day.
2. On other hand, its meaningless to spend (huge) resources on performance that is internally held, where the crowd and target audience is so little, and
3. Its meaningless to waste students' time (3 months of hard work) on performance that is not going to reach anyone.

My thought

Since RAG & FLAG has matured enough, why not take it to the national level. I think the performances are something that NUS students should be proud of. It is comparable to most of the charity events out there.

Why not refine it further.

Facebook - start to turn into revenue generating machine.

Just spotted another new type of ads on Facebook - sponsored poll.

I wouldn't say this is a bad thing, Its actually good

• marketing / info channel for companies to research on their brands,
• quick info tool for end users to find out what others think of a brand as well.

There is a notice at the bottom of the poll. Just curious on how "anonymous" is the poll. We will never know if
Facebook decide to sell the info backdoor. 

Well I guess this is part of social media.

[Fail] Google Translate

1. Go Google Translate
2. Select translate from English to Malay
3. Copy paste these sentences:

Do not snatch philippines money
The people of bangladesh are angry
pakistani people hate national row

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The result :p

Revolutionary Business

Image Source: CLEO magazine

Saw this section this CLEO while having dinner just now. Its on the facts about McDonalds and Apple.

The common thing about these 2 companies is -

• Both faced serious criticism about their product "defects",
• Both very very very (yeah, very x100) successful in marketing,
• Both revolutionized in their own industry/field.

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Side note:

1. I like how McDonalds operates - 24-hours :)
2. I like how Apple brings the smartphone world to another whole new level. If its isn't Apple, we will still be stuck and stagnant in the "Nokia" era.

Flag Day

The world would have been a much better place if everyone has the same spirit.

So proud of this friend of mine.

This year's Flag Day Thank-you sticker.