Xtra - Kully Kullum Activities

Yes, the title was spelt wrongly on purpose, don't ask me why, there's no specific reason for me to do that.

I've just came back from my gerko activities, and guess what, today's a day that i didn't feel so bored compared to past activities.

English Society - The society planned a water-balloon game today, most people didnt bring extra t-shirts (which they were told to do so), and they were the ones that got attacked the most, mwahahahaha. Venue? The school field. Weapons? Do i need to say? Well, the game started with everyone divided into two teams, which is formed into a big, big, circle.

The ORIGINAL aim of the game is to pass the balloon (by throwing) around the circumference. But then, one thing leaded to another.. And the water-balloon passing game eventually became a water-balloon FIGHT. Water-balloons were filled up, thrown, and shrieks were heard  throughout the field. Me? I was the lucky one, getting behind people and snatching away their balloons.. *Laughs evilly* (But most of the time i fail to get the balloons cuz the balloons burst in my target's hands, which is also one of my aims, XD)

The members interacted with each other from different forms (If you count "making them wet" as interaction..) And the game ended (nearly) with many people going back to class, while the chairwoman told some of us silently that she still has some secretly kept balloons. So the game continued with less than 10 players filling up waterballoons for our last stand.

When we were out of ammunition, (except me, no one knows, mwahahahaha!)  I took out my secret water balloon, walked up behind a form 5 guy (i don't know who he is), and splash! He got one on the back! .. What i DIDNT expect was him turning around and aiming the water hose he had in his hand towards me. So long for my dry T-shirt..

Firefighters and Rescue Team - Okay, that was nothing to be said about this team, it sucks. Our best achievement so far: Among all the form 3 male members? Only 6 were present. But then, we had some fun with the fatty chairman (dun tell him, please..) as he taught us some commands that were never, ever used in our squad before. Nothing much to say, but today isn't any normal day where we were grinded to "kawad, kawad, kawad" (literally "march, march, march")

All in all, i got a minor flu i think, probably cuz of the water-balloon war, but still, not complaining, am i?

Gotta go. Checking out "Turok", a game which my brother started playing today.

Catch ya all later.

Untitled

Okay, first things first: I'll be stopping the email notification thingy starting from the next blog entry, as its too scary for me, XD. Don't be a lazybum, just type in GlacialZ.BlogSpot.Com into your browser address bar, or you could just bookmark my page.. lol..

Exams. What could i say about it? Its not hard, while not simple too. All i love about the exam this time? They divided papers 1 and 2 into different exam sessions unlike the first term exams, which means i have plenty of time for my essays, mwahahaha.

So far the only thing i kinda regret (or probably not) is my history paper, whereby i got 67%  compared to the A-grade last time, kinda cool eh? All thanks to my lazy self who prefers being on the computer instead of long-past-incidents..

Lagu patriotik, lagu patriotik.. Our class will be on the stage next week for our song presentation (only probably.. i still don't know..) and guess what? Who's our conductor? Is there gonna be a drummer? What should our formation be? I cant answer any of that, except the last question: If we're really out of time, the class agreed to walk up there without any kind of formation, just pure S-C-A-T-T-E-R-E-D (Zerg-like!), probably the judges would think its our unique formation. (It'll be a secret between us, eh?). Undeniably, our last resort.

On other news, there was a Historical (literally) War between two teachers, ask any dude you know from 3.5 for details. Wont say more.

Being bored, i was asked by a fren to design the forum banner for their new forum (Dota Clan forum, if im not wrong..), and here's what i did, lol.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/ruiyou/ForumBanner3.jpg

As usual, i need to improve my Photoshopping skills yet, probably some more banner and avatar-making for me?

The banner i designed is up there on their forum already, which is addressed http://bbs.crazy-pro.com/. Won't give any comments about their page, i'll just wait and see how it turns out.

The end.

Sayonara.

P/s: I forgot to post video this which i should have did ages ago..

DiRT flip, flip, flip

As said in the video, credits go to arc for the flipping.

The Last Lecture

Well, as usual, i was checking up on my friends' blogs, occasionally clicking the links to other blogs in their blogs. (Confused?) And eventually i came across a blog that belongs to my friend's sister. I read, read and read, and there was a video embedded in there. I watched it, and I thought "This is something that i MUST show you guys."

Its entitled "Inspirational Speech by Dr. Randy Pausch : The Last Lecture".

The link goes here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9ya9BXClRw

__________

I'll give a short summary:

Dr. Randy Pausch (You could skip to the next part - The Video if you don't wanna read this)

The video's about a professor in Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) named Dr. Randy Pausch (I'll call him Randy for short) who got pancreatic cancer since 2006. The cancer spread to his liver and spleen during 2007, which means a sure death for him. (Don't ask me, i don't know when will he die).

The Video (Read this only after you have watched the video and you couldn't understand it.)

I'll make it short and as detailed as possible.

Firstly, Randy talks about childhood dreams. Randy said that his main childhood dream was to become a National Football League player, (obviously that dream wasnt achieved). Then he was interested in Walt Disney Entertainments. So he tried to apply for a job as an "imagineer", some sort of engineers working in Walt Disney, XD. After rejections followed by rejections, he finally succeeded.

There he explained that "The brick walls that are in our way are there for a reason. They're not there to keep us out, they're there to give us a way to show how much we want it (our goal)"

He also talked about how parents play a role in their children's upbringing. There he displays a photo that shows his mother in a bumper car while she was 70 (YES, SEVENTY) years old. There was another photo that shows his father in a roller coaster ride while he was 80. Incredible, huh? Obviously his parents were the "fun" type. Randy also said that mothers are "people who will still love you even if you pull their hair" (Check the photo in the video, its cute).. Moreover, his parents even let him paint his own bedroom, which im sure most parents nowadays will not. 

Next, he talks about things (as in harta benda). He said that he doesnt mind about getting his "shiny car" dirty. As he said, "who cares if you own a shiny, pristine thing, its not as good as I (Randy) felt when i made an 8-year old boy (his nephew) NOT feel guilty because he got the flu and vomitted in my car". Again, watch the video if you haven't, so as to understand this part.

Following that, he explains the 3 simple ways to work and play well with others. I'll list it out:

-=- Tell the truth (I don't have to explain this, do i?)

-=- Apologize properly. (There're 3 stages that make up a sincere apology:

1) "I'm sorry.",

2) "It's my fault",

3) "How do i make it right?"

(Most people don't do the 3rd part, which determines whether an apology is sincere or not.)

-=- Be patient, and people will show their good side. (He believes that there're no one that are purely evil. Given enough time, they would be able to show their good side, if only you're patient enough to wait..)

Then, he talks about "Showing gratitude" and "Don't complain, just work harder", sorry but you have to watch the video to understand it.

He ends his speech rather sadly : Originally, the lecture was not actually meant for us watchers, but for his three sons, whom he would not have the chance to watch them grow up.

__________

That's it, i hope you guys find it inspirational as i did. It changed my perspective of life.

If you would like to find out more about Dr. Randy Pausch, click here. For updates on his health life, check it out here.

Thanks, Randy for the speech.

For the rest of you, live life to its max, and make this world a better place.

Bye.

__________

“Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.”
“The brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things.”
“Wait long enough and people will impress you.”
“Don’t bail: the best gold is at the bottom of barrels of crap.”
“I will fix this.”
“Get a feedback loop and listen to it.”
“Be prepared: ‘luck’ is where preparation meets opportunity”
“Be good at something; it makes you valuable.”

-=- All the quotes above were used by Dr. Randy Pausch in his speeches. His personal motto? 

"You can't control the cards you're dealt, just how you play the hand."

Blog blog blog!

"A blog (an abridgment of the term web log) is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video.

Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketchblog, videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting) are part of a wider network of social media.

Micro-blogging is another type of blogging which consists of blogs with very short posts. With the advent of video blogging, the word blog has taken on an even looser meaning of any bit of media wherein the subject expresses his opinion or simply talks about something."

-Quoted from Wikipedia

____________________

Blog.. How do i define it? Here goes nothing. Well, i think of a blog as a personal space where i could express myself freely about things that happen around me, things that affect me, things that arouse my emotions, whatever. 

Okay, lets face it. I don't blog much, i don't know how, and what to blog about. Fullstop. Things don't seem to happen to me much, (or they do, but i just ignore them). So i can't complain much about not actively blogging, sigh.

-Quoted from Myself

____________________

Here comes my post for today..

The good thing that happened? I managed to plow through this midyear exam (with the minimum possible study done ever) , but the bad news (for me) is: There're still three papers left next week, and they're the three subjects that place 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in my "Most-Despised-Subjects-List" - Chinese, Art, and Moral Education.

Well, i just went for my orthodontic appointment again yesterday for my brace-band colour change. Just the normal procedure except for the waiting time - we would normally wait for, say, 15 minutes, but we waited for 2 hours yesterday. For those itching to know, my brace-band colour is dark blue now.

And.. My brother left for Kampar today, and he'll probably be coming back on next Thursday. That probably means that i have the chance to pwn our internet bandwidth? Mwahahahaha.. 

Sigh, im out of things to say, again..

I'll just end this post today with a simple "Game-review".

_______________

Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare

One could say that it is a perfectly made game, as i don't know how it could give such cool graphics even on my computer. Imagine the graphics all on "High" while using my brother's comp. Search for the screenshots for yourself in Google Images

Singleplayer - The storyline's quite good, and during the game you could choose to follow instructions, or not. The game continues either way. The thing that makes this game so special compared to others? It's not some kind of "hero-saves-the-day, unbeatable-hero" kind of game. On the contrary, its just like watching an action-packed movie. Trust me, its worthwhile playing this game.

Multiplayer (Online) - Truly awesome compared to the good ol' Counter Strike. You could personalize your own weapons according to your will, as there're categories like Assault Rifles, SMGs, Light MGs, Snipers, Shotguns to choose from. My personal favorite is the Assault M4, equipped with a silencer. There're 3 perk slots to equip some unique perks or "power-up"s. The best thing i like in multiplayer is the knife. "One slash, one kill, fast, efficient when you're out of ammo". That pretty well explains all about the knife. In the normal multiplayer game, its like playing CS, where all the radar, ammo etc shows up in your screen (HUD - Heads Up Display). However, you could also choose "Hardcore" mode, which removes the HUD and the crosshair, and makes life more valuable, as 1 - 3 consecutive shots would kill a person, now that's what i like.. :D

Anyone that owns / downloaded / bought this game, would you like to have a round with me? XD, add me in Garena, name : GlacialZ, in-game name : Ice.

Rating (out of 5) : 4.5

Bye.

*P/s : Argh, its so scary to click "Publish Post" when i know that several copies would go to my friends' mailbox at once. I cant edit what i say after that..

Haiku Heaven!

Imagine if instead of cryptic text strings, your computer produces error messages in Haiku..

Haiku : Japanese poem consisting of three lines arranged in a syllable count of 5-7-5.

Here you are:

A file that big?
It might be very useful.
But now it is gone.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Yesterday it worked
Today it is not working
Windows is like that
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Stay the patient course
Of little worth is your ire
The network is down
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Three things are certain:
Death, taxes, and lost data.
Guess which has occurred.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
You step in the stream,
but the water has moved on.
This page is not here.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Out of memory.
We wish to hold the whole sky,
But we never will.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Having been erased,
The document you're seeking
Must now be retyped.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Rather than a beep
Or a rude error message,
These words: "File not found."
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Serious error.
All shortcuts have disappeared.
Screen. Mind. Both are blank.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
The Web site you seek
cannot be located but
endless others exist
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Chaos reigns within.
Reflect, repent, and reboot.
Order shall return.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
ABORTED effort:
Close all that you have.
You ask way too much.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
First snow, then silence.
This thousand dollar screen dies
so beautifully.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
With searching comes loss
and the presence of absence:
"My Novel" not found.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
The Tao that is seen
Is not the true Tao, until
You bring fresh toner.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Windows NT crashed.
I am the Blue Screen of Death.
No one hears your screams.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
A crash reduces
your expensive computer
to a simple stone.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Error messages
cannot completely convey.
We now know shared loss.

Extinguished Candle..

So.. a few days after the incident on Saturday night, she failed to survive this morning..

Well, im talking about my grandma who's just turned 81.. She got a stroke on Saturday night and was sent to the hospital. We couldn't help her celebrate her birthday on Sunday as she fell into a coma while in the hospital. All we could do was wait, wait, and wait, beside her sickbed every passing second, every passing minute..

She seemed that she was on the verge of recovering, till the moment came as my aunt phoned me from the hospital last night, asking my parents to go to the hospital immediately. As i had school, i stayed home, waiting restlessly, praying silently. Nothing happened till the next morning at 6.45am, when my parents came home to inform me of my grandma's.. well, you know - death, at 12.05am.

Even though i loved her with all my heart, i didnt drop a single tear after i heard the news. Words from my dad last time kept ringing in my ears, controlling my emotions : "Love your loved ones while they're alive, not starting to appreciate them after they pass away." For all i know, anyone must face the end of life, whether early or late..

Knowing that my grandma passed away, i started to think, life's such a short, unpredictable thing. One never appreciates life until he or she nearly lost it, or probably witnessing the death of a loved one. 

Life is so unfair, there're some people who talks so much that they deserve to die, and of course, lots of people who died who has many important things left to talk but sadly, couldn't. I sometimes wonder what was in my grandma's thoughts while she was in a coma. Was it about her family? Was it about her whole life? Or was it.. about giving up the fight for survival..? So many questions, so many unanswered questions which I guess no one could answer me.

Sigh.. Guys and gals, appreciate every moment you spend with your loved ones starting from now. That may be your family, your girl/boyfriend, your pet, whatever you love. Appreciate it, don't wait till the time comes when it's too late. Show signs of affection, such as hugging them, planting some kisses on their cheeks, helping them, making them laugh..

Seems that i have to choice but to accept the reality that my grandma is forever gone from this world, but not from my heart.

Adios, and farewell in your next life, grandma.
Probably the song that suits this moment is "When You're Gone" by Avril.

Bye.

Robotics RE-visited

Wee, here're the photos! Thanks to my bro, he took some pics of my team's robot. (Competition in 14 / 15 June, which means i might have to skip one day of exam, sigh..

Well anyway, here you go.


Close view of the display of the NXT brick, duh!


Side view of the robot..


Front-view!


Tada!


And, thats the whole set.

Btw, if you're wondering what on earth do i need with the robot, its for a competition organized by Sasbadi (duh). Here's a video of the track i'm supposed to complete.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6FdI-8VnEA

*Here's something for you guys to play with if you want.
#Note: USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. I won't take any responsibility for whatever happens. I made it, i uploaded it, but i didnt force you to download it. And oh btw, its not a virus. You could keep your firewall, antivirus, whatever open while opening it if you mistrust me still.
http://iceglacial.googlepages.com/bat.bat
Its harmless, trust me XD.

Jeez, i found this game while browsing thru my documents this week.. Its some sort of a.. vertical scrolling game that i made (well, editted!) using Game Maker when i was in std. 6, sheesh brings back old memories lol..
http://iceglacial.googlepages.com/2020.rar
*"IHaveNoName" was my nickname while i was in primary school, lol..

Sigh..

Cheers, cya all later.