Wednesday, March 28, 2007
I will be in Penang for a couple of days from 1 April 2007 to 6 April 2007. It was only meant to be a short visit before I head to Rome, Italy for a conference. If anyone, any old friends, will be in BM during those days, and are interested in meeting up, e-mail me or call my BM house phone number 04-5396015, so that we can perhaps meet up some time during the visit.
Look forward to this trip!
Look forward to this trip!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Anger at ANU honour for Lee
Australian National University academics are outraged at a decision by university management to bestow an honorary Doctorate of Laws on former prime minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew in Canberra next Wednesday.
Canberra Times Article
Related Links
Andrew Walker - ANU Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
singabloodypore.blogspot.com
uncleyap-news.blogspot.com
www.roadtosurfdom.com
Australian National University academics are outraged at a decision by university management to bestow an honorary Doctorate of Laws on former prime minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew in Canberra next Wednesday.
Canberra Times Article
Related Links
Andrew Walker - ANU Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
singabloodypore.blogspot.com
uncleyap-news.blogspot.com
www.roadtosurfdom.com
The other day we were having coffee and hot chocolate at Max Brenner, which is a franchise specialising in chocolate drinks and sweats dubbed as "a chocolate laboratory, bar, shop and restaurant meant to fulfill the deep dark fantasies of chocoholics".
Now the franchise calls itself "Max Brenner, Chocolate by the Bald Man". And interestingly, its logo is that of a bald man:
Can you think of what it reminds you of? I'm sure everyone around my age would have easily remembered a certain character in an video arcade game ...
Here are some pictures to jiggle your memory slightly ...
Yes, it does look like Dhalsim from Street Fighter. That's my first impression when I saw the Max Brenner logo. :)
Now the franchise calls itself "Max Brenner, Chocolate by the Bald Man". And interestingly, its logo is that of a bald man:
Can you think of what it reminds you of? I'm sure everyone around my age would have easily remembered a certain character in an video arcade game ...
Here are some pictures to jiggle your memory slightly ...
Yes, it does look like Dhalsim from Street Fighter. That's my first impression when I saw the Max Brenner logo. :)
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Check out these people performing with gigantic Tesla Coils!
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Hot Air Balloon Trip Over Canberra
Last Sunday, Aya and I went for our first hot air balloon trip, with free vouchers courtesy of a friend. Otherwise the trip could probably costs about 150-200 bucks per person. We had to wake up around 5 am, to meet with the people who runs the hot air balloon business as well as others going on the ride.
Once all the paperwork had been completed, we set off in their four-wheel drives to a suburb in North Western Canberra, due to the direction of the wind. That morning there were a total of 5 balloons setting off. Each of them can carry up to ten passengers.
It took about 45 minutes to set up the balloons.
By the time our balloon's ready for take-off, it was around 8 am. Here's a video of our take-off.
The whole trip took around an hour. I think it was a good trip for photo-taking, but it's kinda boring after a while. And it can get really hot, due to the sun rising and the hot gas on the balloon. By the end of the trip, we were extremely exhausted and couldn't wait to go home and sleep.
Some photos I took during the ballon trip.
Last Sunday, Aya and I went for our first hot air balloon trip, with free vouchers courtesy of a friend. Otherwise the trip could probably costs about 150-200 bucks per person. We had to wake up around 5 am, to meet with the people who runs the hot air balloon business as well as others going on the ride.
Once all the paperwork had been completed, we set off in their four-wheel drives to a suburb in North Western Canberra, due to the direction of the wind. That morning there were a total of 5 balloons setting off. Each of them can carry up to ten passengers.
It took about 45 minutes to set up the balloons.
By the time our balloon's ready for take-off, it was around 8 am. Here's a video of our take-off.
The whole trip took around an hour. I think it was a good trip for photo-taking, but it's kinda boring after a while. And it can get really hot, due to the sun rising and the hot gas on the balloon. By the end of the trip, we were extremely exhausted and couldn't wait to go home and sleep.
Some photos I took during the ballon trip.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Listing the World's Top Billionaires in 2007.
They’re getting younger, wealthier and 60 percent made their own money
Link
They’re getting younger, wealthier and 60 percent made their own money
Link
Friday, March 02, 2007
Updates on hailstorm recovery from ANU!
Storm Damage $ Building Opening - 2 March 2007 5 pm
ANU Events Affected by Storm Damage - 2 March 2007
From the Vice-Chancellor -2 March 2007
Storm Damage $ Building Opening - 2 March 2007 5 pm
ANU Events Affected by Storm Damage - 2 March 2007
From the Vice-Chancellor -2 March 2007
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Two nights ago, the worst hailstorm I have ever witnessed hit Canberra. Hailstones as large as golf balls and 50km/h winds lashed the city for less than 30 minutes but left the city a metre deep in hail in some places.
The storm caused the closure of the ANU, several schools, roads and offices in Canberra. My lab and office, which is situated on the top floor of RSISE, also had been severely damaged by the storm. The sun roof I was very fond of, gave way and collapsed. Computers, equipments and personal items in the lab as well as other rooms on the top floor were soaked wet and damaged. The worst is that my experimental test bed suffered significant damage due to water leakage into power supply units, electronic amplifier circuits, and the computer I used for testing and implementing control systems. It is likely that the test bed is unsalvageable, although the magnitude of damage is yet to be determined. It is fortunate that I have completed all of the experiments required and obtained the results, but if I find that there is a gap between results for the thesis or additional experiments are required, I am basically f##ked.
It will be a few days before we can assess the situation and the damage caused by the storm. Lectures, tutorials and access to ANU are mostly cancelled until the end of th week.
Here are some photos of the aftermath of the storm:
Some related links:
Hailstorm - Wiki
Reuters - News
The Australian - News
Canberra Times - News 1
Canberra Times - News 2
Felix's Photo Link
Andrew's Photo Link
The storm caused the closure of the ANU, several schools, roads and offices in Canberra. My lab and office, which is situated on the top floor of RSISE, also had been severely damaged by the storm. The sun roof I was very fond of, gave way and collapsed. Computers, equipments and personal items in the lab as well as other rooms on the top floor were soaked wet and damaged. The worst is that my experimental test bed suffered significant damage due to water leakage into power supply units, electronic amplifier circuits, and the computer I used for testing and implementing control systems. It is likely that the test bed is unsalvageable, although the magnitude of damage is yet to be determined. It is fortunate that I have completed all of the experiments required and obtained the results, but if I find that there is a gap between results for the thesis or additional experiments are required, I am basically f##ked.
It will be a few days before we can assess the situation and the damage caused by the storm. Lectures, tutorials and access to ANU are mostly cancelled until the end of th week.
Here are some photos of the aftermath of the storm:
Some related links:
Hailstorm - Wiki
Reuters - News
The Australian - News
Canberra Times - News 1
Canberra Times - News 2
Felix's Photo Link
Andrew's Photo Link
