Went there with Val and Wai (both from my company) as it was sort of an annual thing for Wai.

Overall the 5km run was really nice and smooth, great way to see Philly, you get to go past City Hall, run past the Schuylkill river, 30th Street Station and start/end at the Art Museum.

Photos!

So far I managed to find time to visit friends in both Philly and NYC (both really nearby) which was great. Its really good to still have friends based here and to chill with. Still have more friends and mentors to catch up with so I guess I will be hitting the roads soon.

Photos soon! (or already on facebook)

Earth Hour is an annual international event created by the WWF, held on the last Saturday of March, that asks households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and electrical appliances for one hour; Based on an idea successfully executed in Thailand in 2005, it was pioneered by WWF Australia and the Sydney Morning Herald in 2007. (From Wikipedia)

In Singapore there is alot of hype over this. Every morning, it is definitely over the airwaves, I listen to 95.0 FM every morning and I swear, I hear about Earth Hour at least 8-10 times an hour (I could be exaggerating but its just alot).

“Do your part, let us FIGHT climate change!” ~ Earth Hour Ad on 95.0 FM

While all this is nice and dandy, I really wonder if people (or Singaporeans) in general actually know WHY we really have Earth Hour. If you think that you are saving the Earth by turning off your lights and other non-essential appliance for 1 hour (it can be argued in my case that my computer is essential) can actually save the Earth… then as what the guy in White Tiger (good book btw) says, “What a beeping Joke”. I just read this blogpost this morning by Damien Tan, it highlights (although rather anecdotally) that people might not actually get the actual reason behind Earth Hour.

The point is that Earth Hour is just a symbolic act. The real proof is what you do AFTER Earth Hour. Do you return to your normal life? Or do you take ACTION to reduce your personal Carbon Footprint? Have you already done simple actions such as:

• Using the air-con only when necessary and when you do it is set to room temperature (25 degrees Celsius)
• Using public transportation instead of driving
• Even just changing to energy saving devices
• There are many more stuff you can do but I will leave it to you to google that

Just turning off your lights/appliances for 1 hour each year will not save the Earth or even reduce your carbon footprint significantly. In fact it barely does anything to it, what is 1 hour when compared to a year?

The take away message from Earth Hour is that we need to change our lifestyles to something more sustainable, its not about what you do in that 1 hour, but in the hours AFTER that.

I certainly hope people get the message…

Some tips for underwater shots that I learnt:

1) No point going too deep, stay shallow to get maximum sunlight.

2) Aim up. That means take pictures with you below your subject.

3) Get as close as possible (not a good idea if the subject is a shark or trigger fish). Water diffuses the flash from a camera which results in bad shots, to avoid it, get as close as possible.

Alright the pictures!

Titan Trigger Fish

Unicorn Fish (?)

Turtle Upclose

Sting Ray

Nice Colours!

Nemos

Will put up more in another post. Lots more photos to sort out, next time I will be even more selective as to what pictures to put up.

Sunset @ the Great Barrier Reef

The full trip spanned both Australia and New Zealand. Me and Sipei first headed down to Cairns to dive the great barrier reef. For divers its probably one of the MUST dive locations in the world. And frankly it did not dissappoint, the vibrancy of colours, the clarity underwater, reefs teeming with wildlife. In fact you can do snorkelling and already see most of the good stuff. Diving just allows you to get much closer.

Went with the company called Pro Dive Cairns, took up the 3D2N live aboard package. That means for 3D2N you stay on a boat and just eat, sleep and dive. Really simple life yea?

Briefing just before each dive by the DM

Diving equipment

I will really recommend this company for those who wish to dive the Great Barrier Reef in the future. The staff are professional, and the food is GOOD. Lucy the onboard chef really is good at cooking! (And thanks for the curry recipe!)

Some highlights from the dive:

1) Swimming with a school of 30+ bumphead parrotfish. Each fish itself is 1.5+ metres long. This was during a morning dive and the entire school was asleep… until our bubbles “woke” them up

2) Not being able to find Brian (chestnutties will also recall “brian” but this is a different one). Brian is a 100 year old turtle who is a regular feature… but we were unable to find him…. because we got lost during out night dive.

3) Diving without the guidance of an instructor for the first time, being independent sure allowed me to put into practice what I learnt and become more aware of my surroundings. This will make me a better diver in the future.

4) Trying out underwater photography for the first time. Underwater pictures will be in a seperate post.

5) Most importantly is meeting fellow divers who enjoy it and are willing to share all their experiences. Learnt about more dive spots.

With Iggy and Noelia

Allison!

Dion!

Oh yes one more thing I learnt, after spending so long on a live aboard, when you reach dry land you will feel rather dazed esp once you hit the showers. It will feel as if you are floating and the world is swaying. Guess it is because your body has gotten used to the swaying of the boat. Turns out the easiest cure for this is ALCOHOL! Since alcohol makes you all tipsy, drinking it when you are tipsy to begin with will make it all stable again! Minus multiply by minus gives you plus!

Jagger Bombs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Partying with fellow divers!

This forum post was fairly new, would be interesting to see how it develops by tomorrow morning.

How to win @ facebook games

*Click to see full pic*

Well, I guess I am sort of back and getting back into the swing of things. Will be focusing more of the blog on my hobby of beer brewing and “reviewing” (basically keeping a log) of all the beers I intend to try.

In the mean time I will start uploading and blogging about my graduation trip to both Australia and New Zealand. Amazing places to visits, the 7 weeks was well worth it!