Link here.

Cool right? It is actually the heart of a dying star that died and it then formed into a diamond. And hey, that’s like ten billion trillon trillon carats. If I have a girlfriend, her own heart would have stopped if I gave her this, if that is indeed possible. So now we know that after our own sun dies, it would too become a diamond. Luckily for us, that would probably that several billion years, long after we are all gone.

But have you wondered that if this diamond is nearby, what would be the value? Worthless! Why? Because the reason why diamonds are expensive is not because it is sparkly or shiny, but because it is rare. Of course, diamond has a lot of other uses other than being on a ring, it can be used for cutting and lasers and so on. So perhaps not completely worthless, but with the size of the diamond, it would not be that expensive anyway. And with diamond(s) so abundant, we could really find a lot of practical uses for it. Soon, perhaps even bullets will be made of diamonds since they are so hard, you know, those armour piecing kinds?

 I am just wondering how many of such huge diamonds are out there in the universe? Since the universe is so damn big, we will probably see a lot of such “stars” out there. Cool, imagine in the future, we could be flying out in space and suddenly, you see a big huge diamond floating there!

Introducing to you yet another very cool tool - Wink. It is actually a screen capture tool and flash converter rolled into all. This presentation software allows you to easily create basic presentation slides, but it is designed especially for software usage tutorials. You know, sometimes when you visit a website for help, it will provide you with a tutorial on how to do something on your PC and it comes to you in Flash? Well, this software can help create that flash file for you. Certainly very useful for people like me who has to spend hours and hours in explaining to users on how to use a certain software. For example, where to click for which function and so on. This software can help me create a presentation video and help guide the users with detailed instructions. A great time saver.

It can record (using screen shots) mouse movements and it allows you to add captions and explanations to it. The callouts and shapes for the text explanations can also be easily customized. Furthermore, it allows you to add images or photos to the file. You can also add audio to your presentation as well, making it a more complete tool. I find it a very easy to use software. Although I won’t say it is a complete presentation tool, it’s free and it works well. If you don’t need the more flashy and much more complicated tools, then Wink is for you. All you have to do is to record what you are doing, add in the audio (if you so desired), key in all the notes and explanations and then export to flash or even an exe file. You can even export it to PDF as well. Wink produces pretty good quality recordings however, if you need a smaller file, you can always reduce the resolution or quality. They support different languages like French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese and even Chinese.

The latest version is out for download now. Please check it out. You can download it from their website however the latest version is only for Windows. If you are using Linux, then you may have to wait for version 2 to come out. Or you could just use version 1.5.

This blog is certainly getting a much need boost in the traffic department these few days. Wuhahahaha! All thanks to Stumbleupon. Stumbleupon is a social networking site, a bit like Digg, but you will need to install their toolbar (for Internet Explorer and Firefox) first. What you do is find a site or a webpage which you like and then you stumble it. Basically it means you bookmark and allow others to “discover” which sites you have stumbled and they can visit as well. Of course you can rate the site, write a review on the site and so on. However, the best part of Stumbleupon is that you can “channel surf“, something which I am very guilty of doing. Nothing beats a boring day than to click on the Stumble! icon and see what site it brings to you. I have “stumbled” to a lot of great sites, some of which is pretty pretty interesting. You should give it a try. Just download their toolbar (it’s very small in size, free and comes with no spyware or virus!) and sign up for an account. After which you are on your way to discovering great new sites, many of which you normally won’t find without any help.

The best part of Stumbleupon is if you are stumbled, your traffic doesn’t come in huge waves! Usually if this happens, like in Digg, it could simply crash your webserver or use up all your bandwidth, thus down goes your little website and everything on it. One example is to go to Digg and try browsing some of the top sites they have there. You will surely find that several sites could not be reached. But Stumbleupon, unlike Digg, the traffic comes consistently but you won’t be overwhelmed by the huge traffic. I got a very good review for one of my articles and I get consistently good traffic from Stumbleupon. Pretty cool huh? And please keep the traffic coming, we can take it.

So all hail Stumbleupon! My favourite social networking site! It’s just too bad that it requires a toolbar installed on your browser. A lot of people are now afraid of installing toolbars, due to the fact that a lot of toolbars contains spywares. But I am pretty sure that Stumbleupon toolbar doesn’t have any spyware (that sends personal information). I am a bit surprised that a lot of people (probably die-hard fans) spend a few hours everyday stumbling, it has become a hobby for a lot of them. Anyway I hope you guys will join me soon.

Kiasu? Hell yes! But what is a poor guy like me to do? Anyway, one of my friends got infected with a virus the other day and it seems that his current antivirus software (which is completely updated with the latest virus definitions) cannot detect one part of the virus, which is actually a spyware component. Although the antivirus software detected and stopped the virus from installing, it allowed the spyware to run and it affected his entire system. Apparently, the spyware is not a popular one. It’s those you get from visiting the Chinese warez sites and it creates all sort of problems with the system. So, nowadays viruses and spywares come together in a nice package! Ain’t it cool? It took me over an hour to clear the damn virus off. Big big headache and a time waster.

So, this got me worried. If a update antivirus software can allow spyware or virus to be easily installed, then it could be dangerous and a security risk. The best thing to do is to get another antivirus software (free of course) and let it run concurrently with my current antivirus software. So I downloaded AVG free and installed it. Hope that it will add another level of protection against virus. I have Avira Antivirus Free Edition running as well. For spyware protection, I am using Spybot Search & Destroy as well as Spywareblaster. And they don’t seem to have any conflicts. Luckily, all these protection ain’t resource hungry and my system runs reasonably fast. Well, as fast as expected since my system is a bit slow. Hey, it’s just a old Pentium 4.

For over 4 years now, I have been virus free. Thank the gods, but it’s no time to be complacent, especially now. Nowadays, the spread of virus is even faster than before as more and more people go online. People without much experience with computers are probably the risk group here. They are the worse culprits. I have seen PCs which are completely infected with a sort of viruses and spyware known to man and the person owning it thought that his PC was just old (it was like 6 months old)! He never even bother to update his antivirus software (which had expired anyway) and kept on using it, probably infecting others as well. So beware of getting thumbdrives/memory cards/emails/documents from them. Always scan for virus first.

Sad, it looks like my company is not giving me any bonus this year. After helping them set up their email server, they conveniently decided to forget that I even existed. Of course, the other staff (like the sales) got their bonuses (although not much) except several of the employees they deemed as useless. I guess I know where I stand in the company now. Several of us don’t have any bonuses, not even a little thank you for the work we put in for the past few months. It is kind of enlightening to see how much they appreciate your services to the company right? Before I joined the company officially, I had helped them setup their email servers, helped them with a lot of IT problems and never complained at all, but you know how big rich people are. They forget these stuff very quickly. Probably what they do best, forget when you had helped them. Of course, they remember all the mistakes you make (I did a few, who doesn’t? But they are nothing serious) and I am sure they will use it eventually when I go confront them. Ahhh……companies in Singapore. That’s what happens if you live in such a company and it shows how much Singapore appreciates their workers. I am not saying that every company in Singapore is like that, but a good majority of them are. Even big companies have bad bosses but at least they have to maintain their reputation and give out a little bonus. Not small companies like mine. Worse of all, the boss is doing his best to “act blur”. There is no memo about the bonuses at all. It’s sort of like a secret bonus to all those who are in the inner circle. I remembered him claiming that the company is doing very well and things are looking up for the company. But come bonus time, he is as timid as a rabbit.

Well, that’s Singapore for you. Life in Singapore is not really that straightforward, except for the rich and powerful. For the rich and the powerful, you are protected from everything possible. You don’t get much support from the government when your employer abuses you (I am not talking about my post but in general). Although you see labour laws everywhere, they are hardly effective if it is not implemented. The process of getting a little justice is purposely tedious and full of red tape and bureaucracy. And usually, you won’t win anyway, so why bother?

Oh I am pretty sure that Singaporean workers are not super impressive either, but I am certain that they are way better than in a lot of other countries. Everyday, the government is claiming that Singaporeans are being paid more than their foreign counterparts in their own countries, but how do we compare? Look at the cost of living (that is cost of living, not standard of living) in Singapore and compare that to the cost of living in those countries. How do we compare it then? In Singapore, everything is expensive. Even food is expensive now. Transportation cost is already getting worse. And if the government officials would like to compare the salaries of Singaporeans, then they should also compare their own salaries as well, which by the way, is probably the highest among the democratic countries.

Hi there, I am pretty sure by now, you guys know that I live in a tiny island called Singapore. And in Singapore, what we do best is eat. It’s like a national past-time for Singaporeans who are willing to travel for hours just for some great food. Of course, these group of people are probably not working, perhaps due to being too rich or being too retired and should be shot or sent to some concentration camp in Jurong. Anyways, before I get distracted again, I am here to introduce to you Singapore’s great variety of food. We have all kinds of cuisines from India, China, Malaysia, Australia, France, Italy and so on and you will be pleasantly to see what Singapore can offer you. However, if you are think that the prices of food in Singapore is cheap, you are probably smoking too much weed. The food in Singapore is, well, I have to say, a bit on the high side. I won’t say Singapore’s food is expensive as compared to the Europe, but it isn’t cheap either.

The best place to taste the local cuisines, you have to visit the hawker centers. These are just clusters of stores selling food but seats and tables are shared about the tenants. I am sure a lot of you know about the “food-court” concept you see nowadays in the shopping malls. It’s sort of like this, except that it is dirtier and you get to share your seat with birds, cats and dogs. And sometimes, there will be friendly people walking around asking you to buy tissues or donate to charity. Oh, the hawker centers are usually open air and with the Singapore weather, it can get kind of hot in the hawker centers. But Singaporeans like it there, so you can expect crowds there during lunchtime/dinnertime.  What is amazing is that nowadays, we can find exotic food like French food, Italian food and so on in these hawker centers as well.

If you are more in restaurants,  Singapore has a lot of them too. You can find restaurants everywhere, in town centers, in the city area and even in museums. Restaurants are like locusts which you cannot get rid of. And usually they are the most expensive of the lot. But to be fair, if you want some of the best fare you find in Singapore, you can only taste them in restaurants. Those evil hotels have stolen all the best chefs in Singapore, give them fancy unpronounceable names and force them to work in the Hotel restaurants, leaving us mere mortals with nothing but crap food. Okay, I am exaggerating of course but still I have seen it happen.

If you would like to read up more on Singapore and the cuisines we have here, please take a look. Better yet, come to Singapore and enjoy all the great food you can find. Or you can always try Malaysia, where the prices there are much cheaper and the food a lot better.

What do you guys think? I am thinking of brewing my own beer, instead of getting from the store. No, I am not really into drinking and partying, but I think it is very interesting to learn how to brew beer. Everyone knows how to drink beer, but how many of us know how to make beer? Won’t it be kind of cool to be the one at the party who is providing the beer? But instead of just bringing the beer, you are the one brewing it as well! Anyway, I think it is a good experience and for myself, if I go ahead and purchase the beer brewing kit, I will most likely be sharing it with my friends and relatives. My beer drinking days are long over. I am a old fart now and getting high on beer just don’t cut it anymore. Plus, we all get a kind of satisfaction when we brew our own beer and it will taste wonderful, even if it actually doesn’t.

I think a beer brew kit cost about S$180 in Singapore. It has all you need to create your very first brew. It probably consist of the fermenter (that’s like a plastic tub with some airlock thingy), bottles (yes, these are for you to put your beer in at the end), measurement stuff (like thermometer, hydrometer and other shit), tubings, cleanser and them ingredients. The beer ingredients usually consist of sugar (very likely dextrose), yeast, hop and finally the malt. It takes around 2-3 weeks (slightly longer would be better) and you will be able to have a taste of your very own home brewed beer! It is surprisingly easy (or so I was told). You just need to cook the wort (that’s the malt, dextose and hop), then cool it and then place the mixture into a fermenter and add yeast. Then you wait about a week and you are really to bottle the beer. Of course, in order to get the fizz, you need to add some carbonation drops or use a keg to “push” in the carbon dioxide by adding priming sugar. Yes, it’s that simple. The only problem I see is how to make sure everything is extremely clean, especially in a home environment. If I do this, it will usually be in the kitchen and kitchens are notorious for having all sort of little bacteria everywhere.

In Singapore, tax on alcohol is very high, so I guess I could save up to several times the amount if I brew the beer myself. And for the beer brew kit, it is reusable. So all I need to do is to just buy the ingredients which cost like S$35 or so. And this can create about 23 litres of beer! Amazing! If you are thinking of brewing your own beer in Singapore, you need to get a license from our dear government. It’s a 10 buck license but you need to collect it personally.

Well, it’s the second day of the new year (yes, it’s 2008 finally) and I suddenly realize that it is one of the most stressful day for some. It’s the time for school! Yes, thousands of children and parents will be flocking to the schools of their choice (or not). For people who don’t have any kids or children, you won’t notice it but for those with school going kids, they will know. It’s like hell. Why? Well, because a lot of parents have to bring their primary one kids to school and this being a new school (for some), they really need to get used to it. Wake up, bring their kids to school and then rush to work. And parents will often worry about their kids and whether their kids can cope with the new school environment. I guess it is only natural for parents to worry about their young ones. It’s just as stressful as the day when their kids get the exam results.

And for the young kids, especially those going to kindergarten or Primary one, it’s also a very stressful time. I often see kids crying on their first few days. Many refuse to enter the school grounds. One day you are at home, the next day, you are thrown into a completely new environment. This can really be heart-wrenching for parents to be separated from their kids. I can only guess how tough it is for a lot of the children to get used to the school and new friends/classmates. However, from what I know, children are actually very adaptable and in probably a few weeks, they will be eager to go to school and be with their friends. If only Singapore schools were more interesting and fun. During my time, school was nothing but boring. I mean, the lessons were dull and the teachers were uninspired. I had to drag myself to school every morning but it was my friends there which made life bearable.

Anyways, Happy New Year and don’t cry. School can really be fun!