Half-way point, how am I doing?

Here's a look back at my 2010 New Year's Resolution. Let's see how things are coming along thus far!

Academic

•I will score 3 As for my A Level. [tbc]

•I will get to a University. Either Warwick, or Exeter, if not Manchester. [Highly likely]

Score so far: 1/2

Athletics & Fitness

•I will log 250km of runs in 2010 on Nike+. [35.9 done. Not good. To be fair, there were a few unlogged runs due to sensor issues. Still, I have to admit, I've not been running much due to the peculiar English weather and the exams.]

•I will run a 10K in under 1 hour. [Far from it]

•I will try to run a full marathon in 2010. [Even further from it]

•I will keep my weight under 75kg. [So far, so good]

Score so far: 2/6

Charity & Church

•I will help at least 5 homeless people in Brighton directly [Safehaven!]

•I will work at the charity shop for 100 hours in 2010. (I have to cheat a bit on this one - I didn't think I'd be doing other sorts of volunteer work, such as Safehaven and Production Team, so I've decided to include those in) [~50h in BHF + ~24h at Safehaven + ~26h on Production Team = 100h!]

Score so far: 4/8

Motoring

•I will pass my practical driving test and get a full license. [Ha!]

•I will buy my first car. [Not likely]

Score so far: 4/10

Music

•I will attend at least 2 live events/concerts/gigs in 2010. [Owl City, Brian Eno, that's 2. And later this year, I'm watching Imogen Heap!]

•I will join a music team, be it the church music team, or a choir in Uni. [I'm putting a 0.5 on this for joining the Production Team at St. Peter's. Technically, it's not what I meant, but it is a form of 'music team', so 0.5]

Score so far: 5.5/12

Tech, Art & Social Networking

•I will not buy any more Apple products. No iPods, iPhones, Macs, iSlate, etc. Only provision allowed: An Apple Remote, since mine is a bit wonky. [iPad]

•I will finish my short film project by the end of 2010. [Oh wait, I did that slow-mo thing! That's a short film of sorts!]

•I will get a new Time Machine HDD. [Not yet. Probably will when I'm in SG]

•I will post at least 200 blog posts. [currently 47. Not even 50%, is it?]

•I will post my 2,000th tweet in 2010. [As of posting, it's 1423, so this one's a no-go.]

•I will get my 5,000th view on my Flickr Page. [Yes]

•I will increase the number of uploads I have on Flickr to 400. [Yes]

Score so far: 8.5/19

Travel

•I will visit 6 UK cities in 2010. [Coventry, Birmingham, Manchester, Exeter, Brighton&Hove, London]

•I will go to at least 4 countries [Indonesia, Singapore, UK - yep. TBC: Malaysia, USA (New York), China (Shanghai)]

Score so far: 10.25/21

Well, that's almost 50%, isn't it? And it's only the first half of the year, so who knows! As the Netherlands vs Brazil game has shown, anything can happen after the second half!

Oh wait, that was a football reference. From me - a person who claims to have no interest in football whatsoever. Surely, that deserves another point on my New Year's Resolution Scorecard!

----------------

Oh, speaking of football, erm, may I recommend these 2 links which have been in my address bar, which I thought you may like as well?

First up, if you're interested in predictions and psychic animals, well, have you heard of Paul the Octopus? Well, The Huffington Post has this story which you should read.

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/30/paul-the-octopus-world-cu_n_630776.html

My second link is related to this Vuvuzella thingy. Have you heard of it? And are you a Rihanna fan? Well, you'll love this link. It's the Vuvuzella Song. Brilliant lyrics like:

"I think I might call Nelson Mendela,

To see if he can order me a Vuvuzella

(ella ella eh eh ...)"

Now, isn't that just the best rhyme ever? Well, there's more of such stuff, along with some football references, in this link:

http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/5live_Vuvuzella.mp3

Original Post:

http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/oddballs/831274-vuvuzela-song-makes-light-of-world-cup-instrument-with-umbrella-mock-up

Well, that's all for now.

And yes, this blog is back from hibernation!

Eno.

Finally, another item off my New Year's Resolution! I was starting to feel I'm not going to meet any of the remaining items on that list!

Yes, I went to the Brighton Dome yesterday to watch "This is Apollo", part of the Brighton Festival 2010 events that's going on from 1 May to 23 May.

It was interesting to hear how Brian Eno feels about, well, the 60's - the era when man tried everything that they could imagine - travelling to space; developing the Concorde; Andy Warhol, who most notably created an 8-hour film, "Empire" (See Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_(1964_film) ), which basically featured the Empire State Building at night, with the lights going on and off as the cleaners roam around the building; and of course, the Apollo Moon Landing Mission itself. He described the 60's as the time when man tried everything - the drugs, sex, and travel.

Eno also talked about the story behind his compositions - Apollo, which turned out to be a project he got involved with after someone who had access to the Moon landing footages used his "Music for airports" tracks as the soundtrack. He made some new compositions for the Apollo Landing clips - one of the challenges he faced was trying to emulate the sound of space, which, as we know, is silence. The result was his 1983 album, "Apollo". [Spotify: Brian Eno – Apollo iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/apollo-atmospheres-soundtracks/id49814746 ]

He also reminded the audience present last night that his music was not meant to be played 'live' - he just composed them on the computer, looping over and adding/shedding layers as he went along. So, he sent his music to some other composer, got him to write the music for performance, and got BJ Cole and Icebreaker to perform the music last night, accompanied by a condensed, 50-minute film of the Apollo mission, from the entering of the shuttle, to take-off, to the time on the moon, and finally the return journey.

It was an emotional roller-coaster, as you watched and imagine how frightening it must be to be sitting on top of a huge bomb propelling you out of the Earth's atmosphere and being the first few to land on the moon. Yet, at the same time, you see the trio floating about out of their craft, then in their cramped shuttle, and once they landed on the moon, you see them having great difficulties holding objects with their thick gloves. Of course, it wasn't all serious and gloomy - you see the astronauts bunny-hopping so care-freely, and occasionally tripping.

And of course, I got to hear one of Eno's most brilliant compositions - An Ending (Ascent) [Spotify: Brian Eno – An Ending (Ascent) iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/an-ending-ascent/id49814746?i=49814688 ] as the astronauts drifted further away from the earth's atmosphere, and finally as they landed over water.

Oh, by the way, I have to say, what a diverse range of musical instruments they had - from glockenspiel to accordion, from piccolo to electric guitars, from double bass to a pedal steel guitar. Pianos to Sax, and all sorts of other percussion instruments. All these, to emulate the sound of space. Talk about irony!

I must say, this has to be one of the most impressive events that I've been to in a while. The only thing that spoiled it for me was Eno's not-so-brilliant voice as he sang a few tunes after the film. But that's minor, really, compared to how immaculately the music and video complement each other. It's just astoundingly brilliant. 

Rating: 4.9/5.

Maybe I should

pose Ryan Lee by posting really short, 1-sentence blog posts to inflate the number of blog posts that I published this year.

Why do I take these New Year Resolutions so seriously?! Urgh!

That darn New Year's Resolution...

First thing I want to get out there - I'm giving up coffee for Lent. 

Also, because I kind-of added this as an after-thought, I'm also forbidding myself from anything above 6 units of alcohol over the 40 days. It's not a complete ban, because I had alcohol during communion, and I drank on day 1 of Lent (Owl City concert). 

To put into perspective, the UK government's limit is 2-3 units a day, and 21 units a week. 10ml of alcohol = 1 unit. So far, I've done 4.1375 units. So, let's see how far I'd go!

Ok, back on topic...

I'm trying to think of how I should execute my plans for the short film project. In the first place, I haven't even drawn up a really concrete plan. And the fact that I've got school + "work" to juggle with kind-of isn't helping either. So that might be one new year resolution that I'll have to put on hold for now.

On a related note, I'm thinking of investing in a Yamaha Tenori-on and Akai APC 20 as my mixing rig. But these'll probably have to wait a while, as I try to clear my personal budget deficit from my iPhone app.

Oh yeah, should probably explain. I use this iPhone app to manage my expenses for each week. Normally, I set myself a certain amount a week for my expenses - food, clothings, books, gadgets, phone top-ups, music downloads, iPhone apps, you name it. I record my transactions (approximately) and make sure I try not to go over the set budget. Hey, if I want to be an accountant/auditor, I have to be good with my own finances, right? 

Anyway, I kind-of went on a spending frenzy last week, because I had to pay off in advance for my practical driving test - I don't have my own car, and even if I do, I'm not allowed to drive on my own because my provisional license means I must be accompanied, so I'll have to use a driving school. That aside, I bought new clothes (really loving this short-sleeved hoodie shirt that I got from Topman). And I did some retail therapy on my birthday (a DJ book and a lomocam).

Man, I really need to stop this BBB syndrome.

Oh, btw, have you checked out my YouTube channel recently? I uploaded the videos from the Owl City & Lights concert. Be warned though, sound quality's rubbish. But visually, it's better than most camera-phone videos out there (because it's shot on an iPhone).

New Year's Resolution...

The New Year's coming!

So, here's a look back at my New Year's Resolution for 2009. Usual scoring technique - Green = 1 point for achieving, Orange = 0.5 points for half-achieving (i.e.: arguable), and Red = 0 for complete non-achievement.

I will get into Bellerby's College.

I will keep my mass under 75kg.

I will grow to above 1.80m by the end of '09. [no. I'm still at 1.7m]

I will not go into overdraft when I am in the UK.

I will keep in contact with my Singapore friends.

I will meet Indonesians in the UK.

I will cook at least once, be it in Indonesia before I leave, or in UK. [I can make a really nice Japanese-style salad and Marmite on toast, but they don't really count as cooking, do they?]

I will post minimum 100 posts in 2009. A low target for a busy year ahead.

I will stop buying physical albums [i.e.: Music CDs] by the last quarter of 2009 [Oct-Dec]. I will, instead, buy online.

I will grow stronger in the LORD, and while I'm at this,

I will find a church in the UK, and go to it regularly.

I will get a new MacBook in 2009.

I will drive with a license in 2009.

I will vote in the 2009 Indonesian Presidential. SBY or Megawati? that's the question at the moment.

I will watch a performance of a choir in 2009.

I will watch min. 3 movies in the theaters / cinema in 2009.

I will still take photos in the UK, but for artsy and casual reasons only.

I will sit on the Airbus A380 for the first time in 09.

I will not be in Singapore for more than 100 hours in 2009.

I will take up music lessons. Specifically, piano. [Guitar, actually.  And actually, I'm self-learning.]

I will run a half-marathon in 2009. [i.e.: 21km. Not competitive, though]

I will run in a running event in 2009, even if it's the London Marathon or Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon. Hey, if people from Africa fly all the way to run in Singapore, why not me? Hopefully, I'll be having my holidays by then.

I will grow more muscles in my arms and the six-pack region. a four-pack would be nice, over the one bulge I have now.

17/23=73.9%.

Now that we've seen the past, let's plan into the future!

Right, here's the New Year's Resolution for 2010! (A bit early, yes, I know. But I'm posting now in case I forget to do it later on. And besides, it's so close to the New Year anyway!)

Broken down into 7 areas...

Academic

•I will score 3 As for my A Level.

•I will get to a University. Either Warwick, or Exeter, if not Manchester.

Athletics & Fitness

•I will log 250km of runs in 2010 on Nike+.

•I will run a 10K in under 1 hour.

•I will try to run a full marathon in 2010.

•I will keep my weight under 75kg.

Charity & Church

•I will help at least 5 homeless people in Brighton directly (i.e.: not through giving money).

•I will work at the charity shop for 100 hours in 2010.

Motoring

•I will pass my practical driving test and get a full license.

•I will buy my first car.

Music

•I will attend at least 2 live events/concerts/gigs in 2010.

•I will join a music team, be it the church music team, or a choir in Uni.

Tech, Art & Social Networking

•I will not buy any more Apple products. No iPods, iPhones, Macs, iSlate, etc. Only provision allowed: An Apple Remote, since mine is a bit wonky.

•I will finish my short film project by the end of 2010. (Oh no. Not another DUE DATE!)

•I will get a new Time Machine HDD.

•I will post at least 200 blog posts.

•I will post my 2,000th tweet in 2010.

•I will get my 5,000th view on my Flickr Page.

•I will increase the number of uploads I have on Flickr to 400.

Travel

•I will visit 6 UK cities in 2010. Possible cities include: Coventry, Manchester, Exeter, Brighton, London and Portsmouth

•I will go to at least 4 countries (Indonesia, Singapore and the UK confirmed, obviously. Maybe I should go visit the States or Aussie?)

That's 21 items on my New Year's Resolution for 2010!

Well, Hope you had a Merry Christmas. Here's to a Happy New Year, 

and may the new year 2010 be a fruitful and blessed one!

And if you are facing major challenges in the new year, be they major exams or whatnots, all the best, and remember that God is with you all the time. 

Mid-year Review: The 2009 New Year's Resolution

As you probably know by now, I can be quite random.

But I like to review things I predict. New Year's Resolutions, Predictions for Apple Keynotes, etc.

So, This is one of those reviews. My New Year's Resolution checklist at a glance. Think of it as if it were the SA1 in your Primary school years, only today.

I will get into Bellerby's College [UK]

Did I do it? Yes. 

I will keep my mass under 75kg.

So far, so good. 

I will grow to above 1.80m by the end of '09.

Nope. Not yet.

I will not go into overdraft when I am in the UK.

Can't. My bank account doesn't allow Overdraft. So, goodie!

I will keep in contact with my Singapore friends.

Yep.

I will meet Indonesians in the UK.

2, in fact. Also met Malaysians, and a staff who speaks Malaysian English!

I will cook at least once, be it in Indonesia before I leave, or in UK.

Nope. Though I can make Miso soup from an instant mix. Yum!

I will post minimum 100 posts in 2009. A low target for a busy year ahead.

Definitely over.

I will stop buying physical albums [i.e.: Music CDs] by the last quarter of 2009 [Oct-Dec]. I will, instead, buy online.

I've not bought a single CD since I landed in the UK. But we'll wait and see. I'm thinking of buying a Beatles album...

I will grow stronger in the LORD, and while I'm at this,

Amen.

I will find a church in the UK, and go to it regularly.

Yep.

I will get a new MacBook in 2009.

Oh, hello, Unibody MBP.

I will drive with a license in 2009.

Oh hello, driving license in Indonesia! And hi, Honda Jazz! (My bro's car.)

I will vote in the 2009 Indonesian Presidential. SBY or Megawati? that's the question at the moment.

Not yet.

I will watch a performance of a choir in 2009.

Not yet. Unless that time I went to the music room counts. Which I doubt.

I will watch min. 3 movies in the theaters / cinema in 2009.

Really can't remember, but my last review in March said I did it. So, I did it.

I will still take photos in the UK, but for artsy and casual reasons only.

Yes and No. I took photos for a school event (the "May Ball", which is like Grad Dinner with drinks and dance)

I will sit on the Airbus A380 for the first time in 09.

Oh yes I did! And I still have the boarding pass to prove it!

I will not be in Singapore for more than 100 hours in 2009.

Fail. O Level Results Release: ~48h. Certificate collection/transit before leaving for the UK: ~48h. And Let's not forget: I have to come back in August for more than 4h, so that's more than 100h in total. So, no other way to put it, except EPIC FAIL!

I will take up music lessons. Specifically, piano.

Again, Yes and no. Should have said guitar instead of piano. 

I will run a half-marathon in 2009. [i.e.: 21km. Not competitive, though]

Oh yes I did, In Indonesia, on a treadmill.

I will run in a running event in 2009, even if it's the London Marathon or Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon. 

hehe... Gonna be hard. Firstly, London Marathon is over. Secondly, StanChart Marathon happens while I still have school.

I will grow more muscles in my arms and the six-pack region. a four-pack would be nice, over the one bulge I have now.

Unlikely. Next!

Oh wait, there's none left?

Ok, then total up...14 green, 2 orange, and 7 red, making a total of 23.

So, overall, I passed! Goodie! No need to review anymore, then!

09 NYR review 1

It's past the middle of March, so I thought I should check out how I'm doing with this year's New Year's Resolution so far...

I will get into Bellerby's College [UK] (in)

I will keep my mass under 75kg. (still under)

I will grow to above 1.80m by the end of '09. (not yet. Probably CMI.)

I will not go into overdraft when I am in the UK. (not in the UK yet)

I will keep in contact with my Singapore friends. (still am)

I will meet Indonesians in the UK. (not even in the UK yet)

I will cook at least once, be it in Indonesia before I leave, or in UK. (Well, I did help my mum make Japanese salad and popcorn, even though it requires little to no cooking skill. Whatever. They count, in my book)

I will post minimum 100 posts in 2009. A low target for a busy year ahead. (29 in January, 27 in February, 16 in March = 72. Very close.)

I will stop buying physical albums [i.e.: Music CDs] by the last quarter of 2009 [Oct-Dec]. I will, instead, buy online. (not yet...)

I will grow stronger in the LORD, and while I'm at this, (this is long-term)

I will find a church in the UK, and go to it regularly. (not in the UK yet)

I will get a new MacBook in 2009. (not yet)

I will drive with a license in 2009. (licensed, and driven)

I will vote in the 2009 Indonesian Presidential. SBY or Megawati? that's the question at the moment. (pending)

I will watch a performance of a choir in 2009. (not yet)

I will watch min. 3 movies in the theaters / cinema in 2009. (Push, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Valkyrie. Done!)

I will still take photos in the UK, but for artsy and casual reasons only. (Probably yes)

I will sit on the Airbus A380 for the first time in 09. (projected to be possible)

I will not be in Singapore for more than 100 hours in 2009. (around 48 h. Probably not gonna make it for this one. Exceeding 100h, with the Founder's Day - Teachers' Day weekend)

I will take up music lessons. Specifically, piano. (probably no)

I will run a half-marathon in 2009. [i.e.: 21km. Not competitive, though] (done!)

I will run in a running event in 2009, even if it's the London Marathon or Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon. Hey, if people from Africa fly all the way to run in Singapore, why not me? Hopefully, I'll be having my holidays by then. (No idea if this will happen. My guess is no.)

I will grow more muscles in my arms and the six-pack region. a four-pack would be nice, over the one bulge I have now.

So, the score so far: 7done+3projected/23. Just need to convert the 3 projected to 3 confirmed, and add 2 more, and I can say I "passed" my New Year's Resolution.

Wait, is that how one determines a great year?

New Year's Resolution '09

For the year 2009, I still do not know what is ahead. But praise the LORD, HE is in control of whatever will come my way. So, with that in mind, I shall come up with my hopes for 2009.

1. I will get into Bellerby's College [UK]
2. I will keep my mass under 75kg.
3. I will grow to above 1.80m by the end of '09.
4. I will not go into overdraft when I am in the UK.
5. I will keep in contact with my Singapore friends.
6. I will meet Indonesians in the UK.
7. I will cook at least once, be it in Indonesia before I leave, or in UK.
8. I will post minimum 100 posts in 2009. A low target for a busy year ahead.
9. I will stop buying physical albums [i.e.: Music CDs] by the last quarter of 2009 [Oct-Dec]. I will, instead, buy online.
10. I will grow stronger in the LORD, and while I'm at this,
11. I will find a church in the UK, and go to it regularly.
12. I will get a new MacBook in 2009.
13. I will drive with a license in 2009.
14. I will vote in the 2009 Indonesian Presidential. SBY or Megawati? that's the question at the moment.
15. I will watch a performance of a choir in 2009.
16. I will watch min. 3 movies in the theaters / cinema in 2009.
17. I will still take photos in the UK, but for artsy and casual reasons only.
18. I will sit on the Airbus A380 for the first time in 09.
19. I will not be in Singapore for more than 100 hours in 2009.
20. I will take up music lessons. Specifically, piano.
21. I will run a half-marathon in 2009. [i.e.: 21km. Not competitive, though]
22. I will run in a running event in 2009, even if it's the London Marathon or Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon. Hey, if people from Africa fly all the way to run in Singapore, why not me? Hopefully, I'll be having my holidays by then.
23. I will grow more muscles in my arms and the six-pack region. a four-pack would be nice, over the one bulge I have now.

There. 23 resolutions. 12 needed to really pass. 09's gonna be exciting!

Composed on 29DEC08, 11:22:32pm GMT+0700

New Year's Resolution 2008 REVIEW

I shall get 5 A1s for my O Level [not over yet]

I shall do badly for CA1, especially for Chemistry. [1 wrong]

I shall make more enemies than I have now in school. [yup]

I shall NOT make new friends in 2008. [wrong]

I shall join minimum 2 study groups gatherings in 2008 [The Tripartite Humanities study group and S.O.S. = yup]

I shall try to apply to go somewhere outside Singapore for my post-OLVL studies [trying, so yup]

I shall go to 4 different countries in 2008, even though it's my OLVL year [Singapore, Indonesia, China, Slovakia, Hungary]

I shall CONTINUE to blog during my OLVL study period! [doing so now]

I shall watch 2 NC-16 movies next year.[Only Juno. So 0.5]

I shall ace English Oral. [yup]

I shall survive choir performances. [morning assembly, Musical, etc.] [yup, except musical, but that was an exemption.]

I will make sure the other PA guys respect Melvin. [hmm...]. if that plan backfires, I willmake sure somebody else takes over. [hmm...]

I guess BenSee is getting pissed with me. That's gonna need a fix. [fixed, since he wasn't pissed]

For the first time in 10 years, I will go back to Indonesa to celebrate Chinese New Year with the family. [I did!]

I will eat a total of 3 pints of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream throughtout 2008.[2pint + 1 cone +1 cup + 1pint = 3.5 pints]

I shall get my blog on the "Blog of Note" list! [not likely.]

and my photo [1 of] will be marked as an "Explore" Picture [even less likely]

I'm no longer buying anymore iPods. Nor iPhones. [heh]

I may buy a gaming console. think PSP... [nope]

I may get a Blu-Ray player to call my own... [no]

I shall make around300 250 posts in 08[exceeded 300, anyway.]

I will change the blog skin 3 times. [3 of 3]

I will not get the things I put on the wishlist [no. no. no. no. no. no. anymore 'no'?]

I will leave Singapore for the UK or US or AU by 2009. [yep]

min.13/24! a projected pass!

Tech predictions...

Every year, I do a series of predictions and resolutions for the new year.

Since I may not be online after 1 Dec 2008 [I do not know the internet connectivity arrangement in my home in Indonesia], I'll be rushing through hundreds of blog posts in the next few days...

So let us begin with my tech industry predictions

1. Snow Leopard will come out in the first half of 2009.
2. Windows 7 will come out at the second half of 2009.
3. Intel Core i7 and Atom will cause AMD to drop their efforts in CPUs. Rather, they'll shift to CPU-GPU combos and standalone-GPUs.
4. Apple will release a netbook [or claim to have done so].
5. Canon will release a 1D Mark IV with HD video shooting capabilities. Sony will also have DSLRs with HD video capture capabilities.
6. Twitter will be bought over by a larger company.
7. Facebook will become outdated in 2009.
8. Google stock will NOT go above 500 points in 2009.
9. Nokia will no longer release smartphones with T9 input [e.g.: most of the Nseries phones] after October 2009. It'll either be physical keyboards or touchscreen.
10. 4G will be widely rolled-out in Singapore and Australia. [FYI: 4G does exist in Singapore. Singtel and Qmax has been doing WiMax trials.]
11. Google Android will spread across the globe the same way iPhone did. Android phones in Singapore, Indonesia, and Australia by 2009.
12. Apple Store - 2 more in Australia, 1 in Singapore, 1 in Jakarta, iPhone 3G in Indonesia on Telkomsel / XL.
13. E-ink, OLED displays, and flexible displays are ... still not widely adopted.
14. I will buy a new MacBook in '09.

music chart of the week: 5*songs from my iTunes Library

I thought of doing my music chart a little differently this time around. Since there hasn't been much that is new in the music scene, I thought I should just look through all the songs I added to my iTunes library in 2008 and pick songs that deserve my 5*s...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Music worthy of the 5* rating...

1.

Life in Technicolor

Coldplay

Album: Viva La Vida

2.

Une Voix

Les Petits Chanteurs De Saint-Marc

Album:Nos Revês

3.

Saviour King

Hillsong United

Album: The I Heart Revolution: With Hearts As One

4.

The Heart Of Life

John Mayer

Album: Continuum

5.

I'm Yours

Jason Mraz

Album: We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things

6.

Soldier's Poem

Muse

Album: Black Holes & Revelations

7.

Miles Away

Madonna

Album: Hard Candy

8.

Shut Up and Let Me Go

The Ting Tings

Album: We Started Nothing

9.

Viva La Vida

Coldplay

Album: Viva La Vida

10.

Spiralling

Keane

Album: Perfect Symmetry

11.

Perfect Symmetry

Keane

Album: Perfect Symmetry

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alright, there you go, 11 of the best of 2008.

[well, the ones in my iTunes library, anyway.]

Watch this space over the weeks leading up to 2009, as I start posting my new year's resolution for '09, my music summary for 2008, and my predictions for 2009. Oh, let's not forget to review my new year's resolution in late January 2009.

The 'O's are over, but the blogging hasn't slowed down at all!

This blog will live on!

Review of New Year's Resolution 08 at a glance...

Because there's just so many resolutions, I'm going to do a 'summary at a glance' now and see how well I've done...

• I shall get 5 A1s for my O Level [not over yet]
• I shall do badly for CA1, especially for Chemistry. [1 wrong]
• I shall make more enemies than I have now in school. [yup]
• I shall NOT make new friends in 2008. [wrong]
• I shall join minimum 2 study groups gatherings in 2008 [The Tripartite Humanities study group and S.O.S. = yup]
• I shall try to apply to go somewhere outside Singapore for my post-OLVL studies [trying, so yup]
• I shall go to 4 different countries in 2008, even though it's my OLVL year [Singapore, Indonesia, China, Slovakia] [one more to go...]
• I shall CONTINUE to blog during my OLVL study period! [doing so now]
• I shall watch 2 NC-16 movies next year.[1 left, Juno watched]
• I shall ace English Oral. [yup]
• I shall survive choir performances. [morning assembly, Musical, etc.] [yup, except musical, but that was an exemption.]
• I will make sure the other PA guys respect Melvin. [hmm...]. if that plan backfires, I willmake sure somebody else takes over. [hmm...]
• I guess BenSee is getting pissed with me. That's gonna need a fix. [fixed, since he wasn't pissed]
• For the first time in 10 years, I will go back to Indonesa to celebrate Chinese New Year with the family. [I did!]
• I will eat a total of 3 pints of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream throughtout 2008.[2pint + 1 cone +1 cup down = 2.5 pints, 0.5 pints to go!]
• I shall get my blog on the "Blog of Note" list! [not likely.]
• and my photo [1 of] will be marked as an "Explore" Picture [even less likely]
• I'm no longer buying anymore iPods. Nor iPhones. [heh]
• I may buy a gaming console. think PSP... [nope]
• I may get a Blu-Ray player to call my own... [no]
• I shall make around300 250 posts in 08[exceeded 300, anyway.]
• I will change the blog skin 3 times. [3 of 3]
• I will not get the things I put on the wishlist [no. no. no. no. no. no. anymore 'no'?]
• I will leave Singapore for the UK or US or AU by 2009. [AU]

Total greens: 11

Total reds / unlikely at all: 8

Swing States [getting all mavericky]: 6

Needed for majority: 13.

total: 25

So, let's see... I can:

finish half a pint of Ben & Jerry's for Christmas,

go for the choir trip to Hungary + Slovakia,

get ≥5 A1s for 'O' Level,

watch an NC-16 movie in the cinema,

and I'm gold, with 15 resolutions considered a success!

w00t!

Darn it, let's do this!

I shall ace English Oral.

--MY New Year's Resolution.

Great tissues of Ronald's nervous system, let us work together in harmony and do this! For the Politburo!

Ya, you can tell I've been learning a bit too much of Chinese politics.!

250th Post of 2008! Music Chart!

To celebrate the 250th post of 2008, and the fulfillment of one of my New Year Resolutions, I am giving everyone a little gift in the form of a music chart, because I haven't done one in ages, and I thought it's about time I make a new one.

I tried to add new music that has never appeared in any previous lists before. See if you [and I] like it!

1.

Rihanna - Disturbia

2.

Jonas Brothers - Burnin' Up^

3.

Duffy - Mercy

4.

Weezer - Pork And Beans*

5.

Jesse McCartney - Leavin'

6.

3 Doors Down - It's Not My Time

7.

Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl **

8.

Paramore - That's What You Get

9.

The Ting Tings - Shut Up And Let Me Go

10.

Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland- 4 minutes

There you go, the most diverse selection of top 10 tracks ever! no cheap-o 'multiple tracks from certain albums' kind of scenario.

^ - can't find the track on Seeqpod. Sorry.

* - Watch the video on youtube when you can. it's good...

** - lyrics and title can be offensive or a little graphic. caution.

With that, I present to you, the 250th post of 2008, the 51st post of July08, the 30th Music Chart to date, on da ron files.

And with that, another one of my New Year's Resolution has been achieved!

fianlly, I can take a break from blogging.

Yes, I will be going on a blogging hiatus to prepare more educational content over at my class blog, 4saints08.blogspot.com. Which means, I won't be blogging crap anymore, and I won't be bloggin here as often anymore. Just blogging study tips and notes at my class blog. You're welcomed to see some of the stuff I've done over there so far, though!

Here's to another 250 posts next year! [cheers]

da ron files is on a semi-hiatus until 13 Nov 2008!

What I want in my next MacBook Pro

I'm probably going to be stuck on Mac OS X for the long run, so might as well just make the prediction that I'll buy a new MacBook Pro in the near future...

Anyway, since I have weird spending problems when it comes to Macs, I might as well bar myself from buying a new mac until most if not all of the things I list below appear in an updated Mac...

In order from most wanted to 'not really a must, but quite cool if it's there'.

1. BD-RE Drive. like, who doesn't want?!

2. New Design / Chassis. yawn to the current new MBPs. REFRESH THAT DESIGN! It's 4 years old, for goodness sake.

3. 4 USB 2.0 Ports. More is always necessary.

4. Wireless USB [final spec. not some draft] -> 480Mbps of wireless connetivity... Don't tell me Bluetooth is out there. Bluetooth is just a baby compared to Wireless USB.

5. Lower Heat: lower than 30Celcius on the exterior in terms of temperature. Lower that heat.

6. Comparative Speed improvement of 450% over the 2.16GHz Core Duo that I'm using, and 500% over my underclocked ATI Mobility Radeon X1600. [by Moore's Law, this should occur by 2009]

7. Battery life rating of 5.5hrs intermittent wifi use. Will be cool, i guess.

8. eSATA slot. It's faster for External HDDs to connect over eSATA than USB or FireWire.

9. new keyboard: more like the MacBook, MacBook air, and the wired / wireless keyboards: more spaces between keys!

10. larger trackpad, smaller left-click button.

11. Touchscreen. 

12. DDR3 RAM support, and hopefully a cap increase up to 8GB of RAM.

13. OS X 10.6 Lynx.

14. iLife '09

15. 500GB 5400rpm HDD. Oh, maybe an option for 256GB or even 512GB SSD.

16. upgraded speakers.

17. REDUCED: Thickness of the dream MacBook Pros: flat 2cm or 0.78". That's "MacBook Air-ish".

18. 1920x1080 native resolution screen. It's currently 1440x900. what's another 480x180?

19. Hookless magnetic latch. I think mine's damaged.

20. an upgraded iSight camera. Not important, but it'll be nice to have 2MP on a laptop.

Apple, Hope you're looking!

08| New Year's Resolution AND Predictions

I realised that having 3 different posts talking about the future is very tedious when reviewing.
Hence, this year, I decided to combine all those crap and put them all in one single post. It's like an entire A Cappella group singing in the same G major! how delightful!

Let's start things off easy for me. the easy thing to do is...

My predictions

Apple will release iPhone in Singapore on M1.

Sony's PS3 will get a refresh.

Refer to Apple predictions for Macworld. [12 points there.]

In Heroes Season 3, Sylar will kill Nathan Petrelli [or try to.]

there will be 10 new Mac Games from the major publishers in 2008 [EA, Ubisoft, Valve, id]

Somebody will become my enemy. It's not betrayal. Did i get you? Good! you're paying attention! now comes the New Year's Resolution!

I may need to remove the tagboard once. On each blog that I have.

My New Year's Resolution

I shall get 5 A1s for my O Level

I shall do badly for CA1, especially for Chemistry.

I shall make more enemies than I have now in school.

I shall NOT make new friends in 2008.

I shall join minimum 2 study groups gatherings in 2008

I shall try to apply to go somewhere outside Singapore for my post-OLVL studies

I shall go to 4 different countries in 2008, even though it's my OLVL year

I shall CONTINUE to blog during my OLVL study period!

I shall watch 2 NC-16 movies next year. [hey, Heroes Season 1 DVD was NC-16, and besides, my 16th birthday is next year.] [HA! to the Dec-bies!]

I shall ace English Oral.

I shall survive choir performances. [morning assembly, Musical, etc.]

I will make sure the other PA guys respect Melvin.

if that plan backfires, I will make sure somebody else takes over.

I guess BenSee isgetting pissed with me. That's gonna need a fix.

For the first time in 10 years, I will go back to Indonesa to celebrate Chinese New Year with the family.

I will eat a total of 3 pints of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream throughtout 2008.

I shall get my blog on the "Blog of Note" list!

and my photo [1 of] will be marked as an "Explore" Picture

I'm no longer buying anymore iPods. Nor iPhones.

I may buy a gaming console. think PSP...

I may get a Blu-Ray player to call my own...

I shall make around 300 posts in 08

I will change the blog skin 3 times.

I will not get the things I put on the wishlist

I will leave Singapore for the UK or US or AU by 2009.

About the last resolution...
It's not confirmed yet, but I may leave Singapore for a different pre-university system. I may take the SATs in the states, I may take the As in the UK, I may do something else different in Australia, maybe IB, but It's quite unlikely that I will continue to study in Singapore. Ya, I guess I did say I want VJC, but my parents seem kind of unhappy with me being in Singapore with my guardians, or me alone in an apartment. either way, they prefer me in the States or UK. or AU. Oh well...

Erm, no, it's not goodbye yet. don't "sayonara" me yet. like I said, it's not confirmed.-

2007 Resolution review.

link: "New Year's Resolution Final Version"

-i shall watch more youtube 

[i did]
-i shall upload videos to the internet somehow... be it vlogs or youtube. 

[i did. Physics project, Art trip video, Esmond's video]
-i shall survive sec 3 life. 

[i barely did]
-i shall install XP MCE 2005 on my Mac, despite Vista's existence. 

[didn't]
-i shall buy no more than 10 albums in 2007. 

[2 furtado, 1 feist, 1 timbaland, 1 agapella, 1 kanye west, 1 mika, 1 Aly & AJ, 1 Natalie Imbruglia, 1 James Blunt, 1 KT Tunstall. that's 11. whoops!]
-i shall watch more tv thanks to my tv tuner.

[SEA Games counts, right? no? oh darn.]
-i shall get someone a birthday present for once.

[erm... Ernest?]
-i shall make more video calls and less smses instead.

[never happened.]
-i shall get cable tv from starhub. no more free-to-air channels for me. btw, i love BBC.

[never happened.]
-i shall watch BBC.
[watching]

-i shall try to ensure a silver for SYF.

[YAY!]
-i shall get a red iPod Nano. PRODUCT ( RED )

[half of it. iPod nano? yes. RED? no.]
-i shall visit Apple Centre 10 times in 2007.

[yup.]
-i shall go out during the weekends for leisure 20 times (or more), without my guardians for once.

[not 20, but enough for this to pass by my definition]
-i shall get a B3 minimum for 'O' Level Chinese Language Exam.

[pending.]
-i shall be an amateur counsellor.

[FAIL]
-i shall change my email address.

[FAIL]
-i shall move away from friendster permanently.

[yup. on FaceBook. sort of.]
-i shall spend S$300 on iPod accesories in 2007. (in 2006, i spent $250 on the Altec Lansing speakers, Silicone case, battery packs, radio remote and charger)

[nope.]
-i shall keep my 5G iPod in great condition.

[ya right.]
-i shall keep my MacBook Pro in great condition.

[yup]
-i shall not buy any new iPods released in 2007. (i can still buy a Nano 2G)

[FAIL. i bought 2.]
-i shall buy music from iTunes.

[hey, i did! OK Go's free treadmill thingy track!]
-i shall join a photography competition.

[did. failed. but i joined!]
-i shall remain a geek.
[lame resolution.]

-i shall be mocked at. (this is easy)

[again, lame resolution.]

-i shall switch to Starhub mobile soon. (Singtel service is good, but not enough)

[erm, 2008?]
-i shall come up with my idea of solutions to political situations that arise on my blog. nobody will care or listen.

[sort of.]
-i shall blog more. blogging appears to have a positive impact on my vocabulary.

[sort of.]
-i shall blog in chinese more often.

[sort of.]
-i shall blog in bahasa melayu / bahasa indonesia more often.
[once.]

-i shall star a vlog.

[FAIL]
-i shall drink more choya.

[i just did. Christmas party 2 days ago. 1 shot glass!]
-i shall drink sparkling drinks in 2007.

[Big Gulps galore!]
-i shall NOT top any subjects anymore. that's plain childish competition.

[oops.]
-i shall not make a crude joke like the resolution i mentioned just before this one.

[lol...]
-i shall pass NAPFA. my hands are somewhat wider right now.

[erm... i don't get the second part of that resolution.]
-i shall not be sarcastic at all.

-ok, i shall try to avoid sarcasm.

[was i sarcastic this year? I think i avoided it quite well this year. proud of you, Ron!]
-i shall remain girlfriend-free for the next 2.8 years. (JC1: i shall learn more about female peers and JC2: I shall choose to like someone)

[one year down, 1.8 to go.]
-i shall forget 2006.

[true...]
-i shall suffer from amnesia.

[huh? where am i?]

Passed: 26.5/42

YAY!!! I passed 2007!

[k, that was retarded.]

Review of My New Year's Resolution at a glance...

Format:
-Resolution
Comments
------------
-i shall watch more youtube
Nope... not really happening... i'm watching less youtube, in fact...

-i shall upload videos to the internet somehow... be it vlogs or youtube.
Not happened yet

-i shall survive sec 3 life.
So far so good...

-i shall install XP MCE 2005 on my Mac, despite Vista's existence.
I want Vista (this one's a failure)

-i shall buy no more than 10 albums in 2007.
At a glance: 1 (The Fray's "How To Save A Life")

-i shall watch more tv thanks to my tv tuner.
Not changed yet...

-i shall get someone a birthday present for once.
Nicholas Low...sorta... SUCCESS!!!

-i shall make more video calls and less smses instead.
Not gonna happen...

-i shall get cable tv from starhub. no more free-to-air channels for me. btw, i love BBC.
err... not yet... my not happen

-i shall watch BBC.
can't

-i shall try to ensure a silver for SYF.
trying... Work in Progress...

-i shall get a red iPod Nano. PRODUCT ( RED )
Not happening anymore...

-i shall visit Apple Centre 10 times in 2007.
Current count: 0

-i shall go out during the weekends for leisure 20 times (or more), without my guardians for once.
Currently: 1 (Photo outing @ Botanical Gardens)

-i shall get a B3 minimum for 'O' Level Chinese Language Exam.
Work in Progress...

-i shall be an amateur counsellor.
Work in Progress...

-i shall change my email address.
May not happen...

-i shall move away from friendster permanently.
May happen sooner than you think...

-i shall spend S$300 on iPod accesories in 2007. (in 2006, i spent $250 on the Altec Lansing speakers, Silicone case, battery packs, radio remote and charger)
Currently: $0

-i shall keep my 5G iPod in great condition.
Still good... even without a Silicone casing...

-i shall keep my MacBook Pro in great condition.
Still ok so far...

-i shall not buy any new iPods released in 2007. (i can still buy a Nano 2G)
not even buying a nano... maybe an iPhone... but that's 2008

-i shall buy music from iTunes.
not gonna happen

-i shall join a photography competition.
not yet...

-i shall remain a geek.
geez, will this ever change?

-i shall be mocked at. (this is easy)
consider this done... SUCCESS

-i shall switch to Starhub mobile soon. (Singtel service is good, but not enough)
not yet... 2008...

-i shall come up with my idea of solutions to political situations that arise on my blog. nobody will care or listen.
not yet... coming soon, though... i wanna step in about the nuclear bomb ideal by Russian PM Vladdimor Puttin

-i shall blog more. blogging appears to have a positive impact on my vocabulary.
-i shall blog in chinese more often.
-i shall blog in bahasa melayu / bahasa indonesia more often.
Work in progress...

-i shall star a vlog.
-i shall drink more choya.
-i shall drink sparkling drinks in 2007.
Not yet...

-i shall NOT top any subjects anymore. that's plain childish competition.
-i shall not make a crude joke like the resolution i mentioned just before this one.
Ya... that was so not fun...

-i shall pass NAPFA. my hands are somewhat wider right now.
No optimism, no pull-up

-i shall not be sarcastic at all.
-ok, i shall try to avoid sarcasm.
so far, so good...

-i shall remain girlfriend-free for the next 2.8 years. (JC1: i shall learn more about female peers and JC2: I shall choose to like someone)
-i shall forget 2006.
-i shall suffer from amnesia.
So far still fine...

OTHER SOURCES:

I won't call ernest nicknames
didn;t work out fine... called him american... but other than that, no other incidents.. so this is half-success!!!


TOTAL SUZZESFUL attempts: 2.5!!!

New Year's Resolution Final Version

-i shall watch more youtube
-i shall upload videos to the internet somehow... be it vlogs or youtube.
-i shall survive sec 3 life.
-i shall install XP MCE 2005 on my Mac, despite Vista's existence.
-i shall buy no more than 10 albums in 2007.
-i shall watch more tv thanks to my tv tuner.
-i shall get someone a birthday present for once.
-i shall make more video calls and less smses instead.
-i shall get cable tv from starhub. no more free-to-air channels for me. btw, i love BBC.
-i shall watch BBC.
-i shall try to ensure a silver for SYF.
-i shall get a red iPod Nano. PRODUCT ( RED )
-i shall visit Apple Centre 10 times in 2007.
-i shall go out during the weekends for leisure 20 times (or more), without my guardians for once.
-i shall get a B3 minimum for 'O' Level Chinese Language Exam.
-i shall be an amateur counsellor.
-i shall change my email address.
-i shall move away from friendster permanently.
-i shall spend S$300 on iPod accesories in 2007. (in 2006, i spent $250 on the Altec Lansing speakers, Silicone case, battery packs, radio remote and charger)
-i shall keep my 5G iPod in great condition.
-i shall keep my MacBook Pro in great condition.
-i shall not buy any new iPods released in 2007. (i can still buy a Nano 2G)
-i shall buy music from iTunes.
-i shall join a photography competition.
-i shall remain a geek.
-i shall be mocked at. (this is easy)
-i shall switch to Starhub mobile soon. (Singtel service is good, but not enough)
-i shall come up with my idea of solutions to political situations that arise on my blog. nobody will care or listen.
-i shall blog more. blogging appears to have a positive impact on my vocabulary.
-i shall blog in chinese more often.
-i shall blog in bahasa melayu / bahasa indonesia more often.
-i shall star a vlog.
-i shall drink more choya.
-i shall drink sparkling drinks in 2007.
-i shall NOT top any subjects anymore. that's plain childish competition.
-i shall not make a crude joke like the resolution i mentioned just before this one.
-i shall pass NAPFA. my hands are somewhat wider right now.
-i shall not be sarcastic at all.
-ok, i shall try to avoid sarcasm.
-i shall remain girlfriend-free for the next 2.8 years. (JC1: i shall learn more about female peers and JC2: I shall choose to like someone)
-i shall forget 2006.
-i shall suffer from amnesia.

New Year's Resolution - Draft 1

Yes, i decided to draft NYRs this year, since i need to blog but dunno what to post...

1. I want to be more open and "social", like a Zune.
2. I want to be more friendly, like Aaron Chua.
3. I want to be more 3D-smart, like Headshot/ZX.
4. I want to pass my NAPFA again. I still can't do chin-ups.
5. I want the choir to get a Gold for SYF.
6. I want to try learning the piano.
7. I want an A1 or A2 for my "Express Stream Chinese 'O' Level exam" next year.
8. I want to win in at least 1 Photography Competition.
9. I want to get into the top 10. My expectations are lowered slightly because i predict that i will not cope in something. (Yes, i had a "Vision" from God in one of my dreams. it's a challenge that i must face. Life's not a smooth sailing, after all.)
10. I want to be out of the "borderline overweight" range and be in the "normal" range.
11. I want to reconcile with all who dislikes me. I don't like to separate people by the tags "Friends" or "enemies", just "good friends" and "close friends". (and "strangers". who's Ian?)