He was not just a friend of 8 years, but also a very close buddy of mine. All this while, he has always made an effort to keep in contact and never one to shy away from my dinner or movie invites. Even for such a boring thing to do on a Saturday like applying for the University of Adelaide at IDP, he would accompany me.

Note: the above photo was not taken by me.

I hate goodbyes and it feels all so strange that he isn’t here in Singapore anymore. Obviously I haven’t yet quite come to terms with it, at least for now. Thankfully I can still stay updated about what is going on in his life thanks to MSN.

Come February next year, it would be my turn to say goodbye to all those dear to me in Singapore as I depart for Adelaide. I am still waiting for my offer letter to arrive though.

Everyone of us has a weak spot, in my case spots. I am not referring to areas where you had previously hurt yourself but areas which are slightly more sensitive to the human touch than others.

I would be enjoying the massage in the early beginnings and suddenly out of nowhere, you would catch me bursting uncontrollably in laughter as though the world’s best joke has just been whispered into my ear. It wasn’t my way of acting macho just to camouflage the pain. I didn’t feel any, it was just unbearably ticklish. That was it. The masseur had found my funny bone.

If I were the masseur and I notice my recipient laughing his lungs out during my massage, I would be wondering to myself whether I am doing the massage right. If I get a little naughty, I would apply even more pressure than usual just so the laughter would end.

In my childhood days, I absolutely dreaded being tickled at the sole. I could get really aggressive and end up giving a strong hard kick to the person who put me through the misery.

During my previous massage experience in Taiwan, I was told that if you are feeling ticklish instead of in pain, you are healthy. There is some truth to that, after all I do play football weekly and exercise my feet on a very regular basis.

To date, 2 funny bones have been spotted and I am sure that there are many more. It is my sole and knee. For my sake, I am not going to reveal its definite location.

Once you are done, leave your URL in the comments on the contest page. Or if you prefer you can send a trackback. Whichever floats your boat.

By Chesi – Fotos CC

Meeting WordPress

I was first introduced to this growingly popular blogging platform in its 1.5 days by a webmaster who had unconditionally hosted my site for free. He had a working blog ready in less than 5 minutes and as someone relatively new to the Web back then, I was impressed.

Before that, I was hopping between every single platform you could possibly think of, I couldn’t find one which really worked for me. There was no harm in giving WordPress a shot.

Experience with WordPress

I mean it when I say that I have never had a single problem with blogging since I jumped onto the WordPress bandwagon. Like a Mac, it just works.

Of course, each blogging platform does have its plus and minus points, WordPress is no exception. In the earlier versions, as much of a hassle it was to use the code editor to write posts, that was how I did it – in bare HTML. Blame it on TinyMCE, it was changing my post’s markup to the point that I could no longer recognize it. Fast forward to 2.5, and I find myself supportive of the tool which I very much hated.

There is a whole lot of features I am dying to see included. But let’s be patient, it is just going to get better and better with each update. Automattic does listen to our wants.

6 Reasons to Use WordPress

1. Rapidly growing blogging platform
2. Free to use. All you need is a supported web hosting space
3. Humongous variety of free themes and plugins
4. Amazing community support
5. Extensible (you can create far more than just a blog)
6. Well written documentation on just about everything you need to know about WordPress

I could go on and on about why you should use WordPress but these 6 are more than enough reasons.

WordPress Created the Developer in Me

In the beginning, I was mainly tweaking the rather bare sidebar with the use of my HTML knowledge. When widgets came along, I rarely had to touch the code in the sidebar anymore. Everything was done in the admin and made more easier.

I didn’t stop digging into WordPress themes though. I moved on to customize other parts as well. It required me to look beyond the sidebar.php and into other template files.

In the midst of making all the changes, problems would suddenly show their faces and I had no definite answer to their cause. After extensive reading at the support forums, I found a way to narrow the problem even further. Here’s where XHTML validation comes in handy. Clean code would be better understood by browsers.

With each theme I picked apart, I got more comfortable and confident working with them. It wasn’t long before that I decided to break my duck and come up with my first public WordPress theme. It is a work of mine which I am extremely proud of.

The path to learning is endless, there is still so much I can learn about WordPress and I don’t intend to stop. I do have every intention of going into plugin development and eventually into the source code behind the platform.

By fox2mike

The flight I was on; TR 462 was supposed to open for boarding at 2025 hrs. It didn’t happened and it was not till 2100 hrs before they finally announced that it was going to be delayed till 2230 hrs due to late arrivals at 2 previous destinations. Just when we were already queuing up to board too.

Why weren’t we informed hours in advanced when it was certain that the aircraft was not able to depart on time or at least the moment we checked in? As a result, not only did we have to rush to make it in time for the flight, 1.5 hours was also spent aimlessly waiting.

Just when you thought this was a one off incident, think again. Another delay was encountered when we were about to leave Kuala Lumpur for Singapore.

The status of the gate was ‘open’. What is being shown on the LCD was the exact opposite. It was closed and no one was in sight to handle the boarding. We were queuing at an empty counter. I don’t know which is worse. This or the fact that there wasn’t a single Tiger Airways aircraft.

An announcement was then made that passengers of an AirAsia flight were to board through the gate we were supposedly queuing at. We gave way to them and made our way to the chairs to continue our wait.

After quite a while,  the aircraft finally arrived and in slightly under 20 minutes, it was done refueling and at last we were able to board. The pace at which everything was done when we boarded was so quick that it was not the least assuring.

The situation was very poorly handled on both occasions and I have my mind set on not flying with Tiger Airways again. One bad experience was enough to dampen my holiday mood and my impression of the airlines. They have just lost a customer in me and probably several others too.

It happened during my previous photography trip to the Changi Boardwalk. While composing a picture, I noticed a black speck had mysteriously come up in the bottom left corner of my viewfinder. I was frantic and quickly dismounted my lens to see where it was located. Strangely, it was no where to be seen, not on the lens or on the pentaprism. Thankfully, the speck did not show up on any of the shot pictures and I continued shooting.

I wanted a 2nd opinion and went to John 3:16 for some advice. It seems that the speck had somehow sneaked into the back of the viewfinder. This is puzzling because I had my lens mounted the entire time, I am curious how it managed to get in.

Samuel tried using the blower to force it out but to no avail, he recommended sending it to NSC for cleaning if I am too bothered about it. According to him, this isn’t going to be a one-off thing. It will happen again. The cleaning process which he described was frightening, to get that speck cleaned, the glasses would have to be disassembled and reassembled.

The perfectionist in me has thrown me into a dilemma. It may not be anything major or damaging to the camera, but I can’t stand that small speck tainting my viewfinder screen. I have to seriously consider my next course of action and whether sending it for cleaning at such an early stage is the best way to go. After all, it isn’t really affecting my composition of photos to such a huge extent and the cleaning process does scare me a little.

One thing is for sure though. I will be taking my D90 with me on my short getaway to Kuala Lumpur come this Thursday and any decision I make will be after my return.

On a first glance, there aren’t many noticeable changes except for the different color shade if you are using the blue admin color scheme like I am. 2.8 is definitely faster than 2.7 and speed improvements are always welcomed.

I’m not really excited by many of 2.8’s major changes like the theme updaters and syntax highlighting in the CodePress editor. Not because they aren’t something I would love to see but rather parts of WordPress I do not make use of.

One new feature that does get me excited is the improved screen options for every page. The flexibility of selecting the number of columns or items shown certainly appeals to me. Appearances turn stale easily, at least for me. I might be on 2 columns today, a 1 column next week and possibly 3 columns in a month.

If time is on your side, do take the time to get up to speed with the changes made for 2.8.

I was keeping the faith that being able to insert multiple uploaded images at once would be thrown in for this release. Sadly it wasn’t to be. I will just have to insert images into a post the cumbersome way, one at a time. Hopefully 2.9 would present a pleasant surprise since improved media handling is just one of the many things they are supposedly looking at.

The design is termed Colored Persona and is very graphics heavy, recommended only for the high-bandwidth. It may take some time getting used to this new look but in time I am sure it will become second nature to associate the term ‘illustrated’ with my blog design.

IE6 users will encounter a design glitch which may not make it as visually appealing. If you are still using it, it’s high time you do an upgrade. After all, IE8 has already been released.

I wanted to thank the creative juice behind this design: my secondary school friend and amazing designer, Vanessa. I turned her wonderful work into XHTML and CSS before into a fully fledged WordPress theme. 

It was a challenge for me as I have never actually converted an illustrated layout to XHTML but I am glad I have finally gotten my hands a little stained and have that out of the way. This was meant to be released in mid April and I am sorry it was late by an entire 2 months. 

Any comments on the design? I would like to hear of it – good or bad.

Razlan recommended Ashley Salon with some really positive feedback. Time wasn’t on my side, I had to get a haircut by Friday for my ORD range shoot. Fortunately, a time slot was available for the same day that I called to make an appointment. Lucky me!

The salon is not located in your everyday shopping mall but in an office block called SOHO at Central. Before heading down, make sure you have a ready appointment. To make one, do contact them at 68353769.

To get there, alight at Clarke Quay station on the NEL and take exit E. You should be looking at a Burger King outlet, turn to your right and you would see a glass door leading to SOHO. But wait! You can’t enter just like that. It is locked. There is a listing of all the unit numbers, find Ashley’s Salon and contact them using the intercom to get them to open the door. Take the elevator to their designated unit number and you are on your way.

I have been rambling on and on that I forgot that I have yet to show you how my new hairstyle looks like at a very affordable price of SGD $30:

A tad on the short side but I was forced by circumstances. So far, I have heard nothing but pretty encouraging comments about it. Give me your views too.

On a lighter note, can you spot what kind of goofy expression I am giving out? And yes, go ahead and have a good laugh. I would be glad that you did.

The first phase of the Circle Line will be opened to the public on the 28th of May 2009 instead of the originally said 30th of May 2009. Only 5 stations CC12 to CC16 (Bartley, Serangoon, Lorong Chuan, Bishan and Marymount) will be accessible and the remaining will be progressively opened from 2010. 

If you had registered for the Circle Line Discovery event on the 23rd of May 2009 (Saturday), you would have explored the stations and rode the trains by now. I did not know the existence of such an event till today. My loss.

Taken from LTA (Click to enlarge)

I am excited because there would be more alternatives to get to and from my destination. My having to get onto the bus and cope with unprecedented traffic jams would be greatly minimized. On the whole, traveling would be pretty much more efficient and as a result, let’s not exclude the possibility of lower transport fares spent.

Though the Circle Line does not directly connect Boon Keng station to it, 3 CC interchange stations (Harbourfront, Dhoby Ghaut and Serangoon) are situated on the NEL. The last 2 are a 6 minutes train ride away.

West Coast always looks like somewhere on the other end of Singapore and more than an hour is needed to travel there with the existing transport setup. I would board a train to Clementi station before boarding a bus from the interchange.

On the Circle Line, it is just a mere 4 stops away from Harbourfront station (17 minutes train ride from Boon Keng station). Things are just going to get crazily convenient when the Circle Line is in full operation. Locations for photography may just become a pinch less of a hassle to get to.

Given my future plans in 2010 at Adelaide, I would probably not have the opportunity to see it in action on its opening day. At the very least, if anything I am bound for a pleasant surprise when I return home during my holidays in mid or late 2010.

By Ben Chau

Not to worry, I haven’t been singled out as a possible infected victim and quarantined yet. My friends are still very much welcome to meet me in person.

I have never had the habit of measuring my temperature, even when I was on a possible fever. I would only willingly do it to prove to my mum that I was genuinely sick so I could skip school for the day. That bad habit of mine died during my Poly days.

When Singapore was on the ‘Orange’ alert, we had to clock our temperatures twice a day. What irked me the most was that it could take up to 10 minutes to get a measurement, a huge drag. Why? I am puzzled too. Thank god it lasted a pretty short life span.

Just weeks back, I was on a huge suffering note from a stomach flu and decided to check things out at the walk in clinic at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH). I was not allowed through the Neuroscience Institute entrance like before and was told to head to the main one. “Oh okay fine.” 

To get into TTSH, I had to queue up to get my photo taken and then report the reason why I am entering the hospital. When I knew that the walk in clinic was closed indefinitely, I let out a huge “WHAT! WHY?!”. The only way I could see a doctor was through the A&E department or a private clinic.

Reluctantly, I decided on the latter. I wasn’t prepared to spend a minimum of 3.5 hrs suffering in pain. The waiting time could have been much longer due to the current circumstances too.

TTSH wasn’t just a place I would go to when I’m not feeling well. Thanks to a 20% discount, I frequent their food court often too. I could fill my stomach to its brim with less than $5 spent. That’s how wallet friendly it was. With all that checks that is going on right now, I would rather not get into all that hassle just to perform a daily necessity and that was to eat.

Out on the streets, I am trying my hardest to avoid sneezing or coughing vigorously less I am mistaken for an infected victim and get shunned. This moment of crisis is far from over. For now we just have to do our best to get by it and hopefully soon enough life will return to the way it once was.