A Pseudo Holiday

Last semester ended long time ago, but I just managed to catch a breath or two to update this dusty blog... (*Sweep sweep*)

Hmm, the FYP has been getting so intensive that I hardly have time to rest. But lotsa thanks to all my saviours who have been helping me with their valuable critics and opinions, which have helped me to tide over this very difficult time. (*90 degree bow*)

Haiz, my last semester in NTU is coming soon. As usual, there are mixed feelings. Feel happy that I'm finally going to graduate & work soon. But, my student life is going to end soon. With everyone around me talking about how bad the economy is, more or less I feel a bit worried. But I still hope everything goes well. Yah, just do my best to apply for as many suitable jobs as possible.

As for soft issues, it's still the same, not much improvements. In fact, it has been deteriorating. Maybe it has already reached equilibrium long ago & things will go on to be like that. Somehow there is always a barrier. Hmm, never mind. Somehow I just feel that it's best to ask rather than assuming too many things. Especially for soft issues, it cannot be simply understood by "rational analysis with reasonable assumptions".

A Simple Way of Life

This semester has been really a super busy one. Now I truly understand why our seniors always hogged on the computers in labs. I feel more like a computer engineer than a chemical engineer!

Finally tonight I can sit down, relax & listen to music & watch my favourite Bleach anime. A simple way to experience life! A thing which I have always wished to do everyday before sleep.

Opening Mind, Accepting Changes

I always think that I'm somewhat lucky, in a sense that people come to my aid when I really need it.

After much valuable advice from a friend, I managed to view long-standing problems with a new light. Now I know what I have to do.I'm really grateful and look forward to a better tomorrow.

Hmm, recently many good friends surrounding me are changing. Maybe it's because of the pressure of the final year. It's so fast paced & overloaded to the extent that all of us have been constantly burying ourselves in labs & computers. Well, it's good to a certain extent, but still, people need to 慢一点 to see what's happening in their surroundings, especially take more notice of your precious friends & don't ignore them :)

The only thing which is constant in this world is the change itself

Work-Life Balance. Possible?

I've been wondering this issue for many years. I have come to a summary today.

In poly days, I focused solely on studies, hence no life.

In university days, I focused more on life, hence compromising my studies & work.

My brother told me the way I do things are extreme. I reflected on it & realised it's true. Maybe it's the environment and the things I have gone through which made me adopt this style of doing things.

Now, I really wish I can relax and try to experience what life is all about. But for 1 particular aspect, I have sinked too deep into it, making myself so miserable. I wish I could just ignore and forget about it. But it's simply too difficult.

Again, I clinged onto something too much. Why am I so stubborn? I really don't understand myself :(

中秋节 @ 南大云南园

在这个花好月圆的晚上，我们这一群书生们, 优哉游哉的一同在云南园里散步。

皇上家道!

Oops, 皇上睡着了...

工程与社会 组合 A @ 食堂 B

好难得的和照

提这灯笼的感觉真好！

工程与社会 组合 D @ 云南园

南大 化学与生物分子工程 嫦娥

Wah! 真够 techno!

Jia Yee, 你在做什么?

我们回家了. 再见！

经年的中秋真难忘 :)

Virgoans, 生日快乐!

Phew, finally has time to post this. So busy lar!

Ok, who are the Virgoans? Find it out as you read along :)

It's quite obvious who's the BOSS here right?

Virgo 一号

Virgo 二号

The Rankine Power!

So honoured to have 3 of the ATP Flowers to take this pic with us :)

JY: "Please.. please.. Listen to my 冷笑话"

TK: "I shall ignore you"

SZ: "Zzz.. I'm so sleepy lar"

JY: "Oh no... How can you all ignore me? Hmpf!"

Arigato gozaimasu for celebrating my birthday on 29 Aug 2008 & treating me Seafood Pasta & a cake at Billy Bombers (JP). So 感动 lor!

是误解还是事实？

笑不出
哭不出
表达不出
苦中说不出

已经忘了这么思考
已经忘了这么解释
已经忘了这么回答

他是笨的
他是幼稚的
他是没有用的

他不应该来到这个世界
因为这个世界根本不属于他

My Future, So Near Yet So Distant

I don't know what happened. Nowadays, I frequently had a feeling that I'm so stupid & blur. Felt tired most of the time & had to ask people to repeat what they told or asked me. People must have been very fed up with me. So sorry if you are 1 of them.

Recently the problem of future career plans also surfaced. Before that, I already set my mind on pharma or biopharma industry. But recent discussions with people around me stir up my mind. Will I earn enough if I continue to work in as an engineer? A lot of times, I seriously wonder if I have what it takes to be a businessman or entrepreneur. I thought before that maybe I can become a technopreneur, to satisfy my interest in technologies, at the same time be more entrepreneurial. Maybe I can develop some practical & novel technologies which I can market. Sounds too far-fetched for a person like me? Haha, maybe possible after I got my MIT Masters degree. As if I can get in...

Nowadays, my life is flooded with projects and assignments. I've been trying to be more hardworking than last sem. Somehow I'm still very slack. It's so hard to recover to the super-high enthusiasm level in my poly days.

Never mind, I shall continue trying. Never let failures get in the way to success!

Let Go and Move On

In life, misery is often due to not letting go
Simply because of a ray of hope

Although I know it's impossible right from the start
I still attempted it, with enthusiasm and optimism
When the truth lies flat in front of your eyes
It's pointless to indulge in self-delusion anymore

After struggling for quite some time
I finally decided to let it go, bit by bit
It's time to wake up from that dream
A dream that will never come true

It's alright, we grow when we make mistakes
It's part and parcel of life

A Lazy Week

Just like a small kid starting school after a long holiday, I look forward to the new sem. But I don't know why leh, I feel really lazy, don't wish to do anything, although there are tons of things that I'm supposed to do. Haiz, so 惭愧 to say that. Here are some updates on what I've been doing for this week.

[ KTV No Enough 2 ]

Since Shu & TK hadn't had enough concert time in last session, we (me, JY, Shu & TK) went to KTV again on Wednesday. This time really sang a lot of songs. I finally tried singing all 6 of Yoga's songs available for K-ing! Haha!

It's rare for us to wear so bright and colourful. Lol!

Hmm, think I should listen to more English songs & also female Mandarin songs, for trying out next time, haha.

[ Final Year Project ]

Finally met my 师傅s last Tue to discuss FYP. Haiz, kena sabo by him. It's only the 1st meeting, but I was asked to find out the protein refolding kinetics model, try to program them into MATLAB, plot out the concentration profiles of native protein, denatured-and-reduced protein & protein aggregates in CSTR & finally plot out the yield and recovery. Then by trial & error, try to find out the proper refolding & aggregation rate constants that fit the experimental data from the journal. Walao, thanks sia!

Well, it's a huge challenge for me. I'll do my best.

[ Core subjects & electives ]

Looks like most of the core subject lectures are gonna be boring & info-packed. I just hope that when the long string of assignments & projects roll out gradually, things will get more interesting. As for Formulation of API, on the 1st lecture, I kena arrowed unexpectedly by guided missile (if you know what I mean). Maybe I really look like an easy target for the profs, haha.

Yeah! It's holiday now until Monday. I shall recharge a bit & then hopefully can start afresh motivatedly :)

End-of-Holiday Meet-Up

We had a gathering at Marina Square before final year starts. For KTV, I was glad that I tried a different style of singing, e.g. Yoga's 病态 (of strong Broadway flavour) and also 破天慌 tried to rap (as Tank) in Jade's 我就是这样. Haha, I got a round of applause for totally messing up the rap! The only 扫兴 thing, that damned Marina Square K-box cut short our concert by 2 hours!

Haha, a lot of new juicy gossips sprung out at the Marina Food Loft. Well, me & RJ had the honour of being interviewed by Shu on partner's requirements, to help her enlarge her dating-agency database (*Highly suspicious that only a handful of people actually exist in the database*). I can't help laughing when I recalled how funny & weird the conversation was, lol!

Then we continued our adventure at Suntec, having dinner with free-flow of ice creams, haha! Of course, more gossips & news follow up.

Ok, 话不多说，请看照片!

Xiao Jing Teng & Jolin wannabes

Super happy faces!

Haha, I like this picture the most.

I looked a bit 跩 here! (*Shu is invisible*)

The Famous Couple

A very rare picture wor!

Jolin-wannabe said :

我今天好开心哦。多谢大家的捧场。哈哈!

Shu said "你看, 我多么神奇阿!" and

Zhirui said "我也不差. 我的笑容依然这么灿烂. 哈哈!"

Delightful faces at the end of the day :)

The Trip Back Home (21-25 July 2008)

This trip was probably the last one for this year, since the super-packed schedule for Year 4 may not allow me to go back during the next vacation.

Haha, can you smell it?

I didn’t do much at home, mostly helped to tend the shop & ate. Lol, we had a Durian Feast this time. But it’s so heaty that the moment the feast ended, I kinda having sore throat, felt as if I wouldn’t be able to talk the next day. The cure? A cup of salt water! For best result, pour the salt water into the durian shell & drink it from there. Although this method is of unknown origin, but it’s effective & for my case, the result was almost immediate :)

Haha, as usual, I ate to my hearts content all my favourite dishes, e.g. Bak Kut Teh, Spicy Fried Fish, Pork Cubes with Potato, Fried Fish with Tomato Sauce, Char Kuey Tiaw, etc. Not to forget the delicious Bak Chor Porridge With Egg that I had with my Agong every morning. So healthy & delicious!

The day before, I spent my last bit of salary on a new pair of glasses, since the current one is crooked, uncomfy (as it exerts quite an amount of stress on my head) & also cannot block computer radiation. After some recommendations by the optometrist, I chose a more comfy design with all the standard protective features plus an extra layer for blocking off computer radiation, which cost +/- $67 in total. Hmm, I think it’s quite cheap relative to here.

The good thing which happens every time I go back is that I have to adjust back my biological clock to normal & healthy range, which is kinda impossible to achieve while in Singapore.

About 1 more week left before the new semester starts. I can already sense the intensity of it. But I feel happy as I finally have something meaningful to do, instead of wasting away here. Must really work hard this time!

追星梦

Since young, I've never been obsessed with any idols/singers/artistes. But recently, Yoga 林宥嘉 somehow created an unprecedented phenomenon :)

林宥嘉、刘力扬《神秘嘉宾。就是这样》校园音乐会

I went to see the concert with JY at TP last Thursday. Lol, it's my 1st time watching campus concert! It's great to hear him & Jade (刘力扬) sang live. My 1st impression of Yoga (from his competition performances) was that he's a rather quiet, but passionate person. But that night, he's actually very playful, humorous & high, haha! As for Jade, the actual person was so different from her MVs! She looked very 帅气 that night. Here are some pictures taken (Courtesy of JY)

Jade singing 我就是这样 (1 of my favourites in her album!)

Mary chatting with Yoga

深情对唱 "传说"

残酷月光 (In my opinion, 1 of his best 3 songs in his album, lol!)

林宥嘉+刘力扬《神秘嘉宾。就是这样》签唱会

Again this is my 1st time going to a singer's autograph session. His 迷幻的声音 actually resulted in a miracle! I bought his album! I have never bought a single album before, be it original or fake versions. Usually only my sis buys CDs, so I just listened along. I don't really have the habits of buying CDs, although I still support the singers haha!

Hmm, I don't have the photos for this.

Yes! 93.3FM 25th Anniversary Street Concert @ IMM

Haiz, I couldn't make it to this one, as it clashed with my sis & cousin house-moving. It's a pity :( But never mind, next time I'll go :)

New Roommate

I finally moved into the new place, with a new roomie. My 1st time staying with a close-friend-cum-coursemate. Haha, it's gonna be fun!

Hmm, 7788 with the arrangement of stuffs & also getting used to the new place. Haha, you must be wondering how a room of "2 young lads" will look like for a start. Messy and smelly? Lol, it's exactly the opposite, at least at a glance! However, the 2nd law of thermodynamics dictates that the entropy of the universe is ever increasing (Prof Teo's Golden Words & one of Chemical Engineers' most important mantras), you'll expect the room to be increasingly messy. Well, we'll see how far it can get, lol! But of course, with both of us being "folks who like neatness & cleanliness", we'll attempt to counter the 2nd law.

Hope I'm not a too-boring roommate :)

Laugh Out Loud #3

Haha, enjoy!

^-^ 1

Wife: You always carry my photo in your handbag to the office. Why?
Husband: When there is a problem, no matter how impossible, I look at your picture and the problem disappears.
Wife: You see, how miraculous and powerful am I for you?
Husband: Yes, I see your picture and say to myself, "What other problem can there be greater than this one?"

^-^ 2

Teacher: Chong, you missed school last Friday.
Chong: You're wrong, Sir.
Teacher: Wrong, how is that?
Chong: I was absent, yes but I certainly didn't miss it!

^-^ 3

A boy came home from school with his exam results.

Father: What did u get?
Boy: My marks are under water.
Father: What do you mean 'under water'?
Boy: They are all below 'C' level
Father: -_-||| ... 老婆, 家法伺候!
Boy: Mummy, save me!
Mother: Oops!... You Did It Again (*Well, the mum has been idolising Ms Spears lately*)
Father: I'm definitely gonna spank you today until your results are above sea level next year!
Mother: 早知今日，有何必当初. Haiz... (*Returning to her room to watch Ms Spears' MVs*)
Boy: Ouch! ... Mummy, help!... Ouch!
Mother: Yeah! Baby baby one more time! (*Deeply engrossed in the music*)
Boy: Ouch!

^-^ 4

Patient: How much to have this tooth pulled?
Dentist: $90.00.
Patient: $90.00 for just a few minutes of work, huh?
Dentist: I can extract it very slowly if you like.
Patient: -_-|||

Farewell Dinner for Yang Lin

Clockwise: Phyllis, Lenard, me, Sahara, Aik Leong, Weiming, Yang Lin

Waiting for the seafood.. Haiyoh, how come still haven't come yet?

Finally we had a long-awaited reunion of poly buddies yesterday @ Park Mall Fish & Co. We're all in the same & awesome DCHE/04 tutorial group, haha! Some of us haven't met for 5 years liao! Yang Lin is going to Australia (Melbourne) to do a Masters in Commerce for 1.5 years. She said all of us hadn't changed much in appearance since poly times, except herself & Lenard who looked more mature now. Quite true, haha!

Lenard & me putting our 1st touch on the yummy-looking Spicy Cawfish Spaghetti

Really appetizing appearance & smell lor!

We've had a wonderful time catching up with each other, under the nice atmosphere while enjoying the nice seafood, haha. Bursts of laughter could be heard throughout the dinner while we reminisced our poly times, chatting about work, family & future plans. Ooh, Sahara told me something which REALLY stunned me. She "claimed" that her younger sister (Aida) had a crush on me after their trip to Tanjung Pinang last time! I was like "Huh?! Oh my God!" & laughing countless times. Can't be serious right, Sahara? Haiyoh, how come so many matchmakers nowadays. Someone please save me from those matchmakers!

Sahara with a camera-ready COOL look,

Phyllis didn't know a camera was aiming at her ^-^

& Yang Lin just in time for the shot

Argh.. My hand maybe trembled a bit.

Delightful faces in front of yummylicious & fresh-from-the-oven seafood platter

After the sumptous meal, we continued jalan-jalan at Plaza Singapura. Haha, we went into John Little, which was having closing-down sale. The sales promoters were shouting as if they were in the wet market, lol!

In front of the aquarium at Plaza Singapura before going home

Lol, nice fengshui for photo-taking!

Thanks guys for such a nice gathering. Really had a lot of fun. All the best to Yang Lin for your studies. Hope we can have more gatherings like this in the future. Till we meet again & take care ^-^

A Dream Come True?

I've finally been pre-allocated for FYP by Prof Arvind on the project "Modeling of Matrix-Assisted Protein Refolding". It has always been my dream to do something which combines chemical engineering and biotechnology, which has the potential to improve people's health & life. This project provides an opportunity for me to achieve that. Somemore, with Prof Susanna as my co-supervisor, I couldn't ask for more, since she's also my ex-IA supervisor.

For Prof Kunn, I am really really sorry to tell him that I have accepted another prof's offer. That's really a bad karma to reject first, as I have a very strong hunch that I'll get pre-allocated again. Now that I've learnt a lesson : Don't overplan things & don't be too kiasu. Things may not turn out to be as bad as I think. Too extensive planning is no good at all, especially when it involves other people's trust in you.

My only concern is that there's no lab experimental work for this project & it's entirely a theoretical, conceptual & MATLAB-based modeling & simulation project. Furthermore, facing computer more frequently than now gonna make me even more nerdy. But thinking again, it's important to learn how to model systems, which would be beneficial in the future, since its applications extend far beyond chemical engineering field. Guess I really think too much.

Haha, I should be happy now, as I don't need to worry about computer allocation anymore. Thank God! Hurray!

Laugh Out Loud #2

Here's another master piece which I just found. Haha, enjoy!

^-^ Upgrade from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0 ^-^

Dear Tech Support,

Last year I upgraded from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0. I soon noticed that the new program began unexpected child processing that took up a lot of space and valuable resources. In addition, Wife 1.0 installed itself into all other programs and now monitors all other system activity. Applications such as Poker Night 10.3, Football 5.0, Hunting and Fishing 7.5, and Racing 3.6 no longer run, crashing the system whenever selected. I can't seem to keep Wife 1.0 from running in the background while attempting to run my favorite applications. I'm thinking about going back to Girlfriend 7.0, but the uninstall doesn't work on Wife 1.0. Please help!

Thanks,

A Troubled User

Here's the reply from the Tech Support.

Dear Troubled User,

This is a very common problem that men complain about. Many people upgrade from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0, thinking that it is just a Utilities and Entertainment program. Wife 1.0 is an OPERATING SYSTEM and is designed by its Creator to run EVERYTHING!!! It is also impossible to delete Wife 1.0 and to return to Girlfriend 7.0. It is impossible to uninstall, or purge the program files from the system once installed. You cannot go back to Girlfriend 7.0 because Wife 1.0 is designed to not allow this. Look in your Wife 1.0 manual under Warnings-Alimony/Child Support." I recommend that you keep Wife 1.0 and work on improving the situation." I suggest installing the background application "Yes Dear" to alleviate software augmentation. The best course of action is to enter the command C:\APOLOGIZE. Because ultimately you will have to give the APOLOGIZE command before the system will return to normal anyway. Wife 1.0 is a great! program, but it tends to be very high maintenance. Wife 1.0 comes with several support programs, such as Clean and Sweep 3.0, Cook It 1.5 and Do Bills 4.2. However, be very careful how you use these programs. Improper use will cause the system to launch the program Nag Nag 9.5. Once this happens, the only way to improve the performance of Wife 1.0 is to purchase additional software. I recommend Flowers 2.1 and Diamonds 5.0 !

WARNING!!!

DO NOT, under any circumstances, install Secretary With Short Skirt 3.3. This application is not supported by Wife 1.0 and will cause irreversible damage to the operating system.

Best of luck,

Tech Support

:: Brighten up your day with a laugh ::

Laugh Out Loud #1

Yoz everyone! From today onwards, I'll try to share some jokes, to brighten up the day. I may modify it a bit to make it a little lamer, haha. At the end of each post, there may be a question for you to try & guess the answer.

Haha, enjoy!

^-^ 1

1st thief: Ooh! The police are here liao. Quick lar! Jump out of the window!

2nd thief: But then this is the 13th floor le.

1st thief: Haiyoh, hurry lar! No time for superstitions liao.

2nd thief : Okie... T_T God bless me!

^-^ 2

Girl: Do you love me?

Boy: Yes, dear.

Girl: Would you die for me?

Boy: No, mine is undying love.

Girl: -_-

^-^ 3

Manager: Sorry, but I can't give you a job. I don't need much help.

Job Applicant: That's okay. In fact, I'm just the right person in this case. You see, I won't be of much help anyway!

[ Special Section ~ Extra Laugh ]

Wife: Honey ah, what are you looking for in that paper?

Husband : Ooh, nothing la.

Wife : Har, nothing?? But you've been reading our marriage cert for 1 hour liao le.

^-^ What is the husband looking for in the marriage cert?

:: Brighten up your day with a laugh ::

Give It Another Try

After pondering, I have decided.
I shall give it another try.

Previous attempts have failed,
due to complicated & draggy intertwined factors.

Now it's time to try again.
Start afresh.
Try to be happier & healthier.
Try to be less worrisome & more optimistic.
Tackle problems as they come.

Ok, set!
希望明天会更好 :)

V8 Birthday Celebration

After made appointments with the ATP 大忙人, finally today managed to get all (except ML & L) together for a belated birthday celebration for Regina, Chiu Seng & Tat Kuan, haha!

Basically the theme of the day was food, gossips & matchmaking (again). We had lunch at V8 Bugis & I ordered Black Pepper Chicken Spaghetti, hmm quite ok. After gossiping, we walked around BHG & then had 田品 (Barley with Gingko) at I-also-dunno-what-is-the-name place. Then the hardworking ATP reporters continued to gossip & dig news from Zhirui for 新民晚报 tonight's headlines, led by ATP Prosecutor Mr TK Lim & ATP Queen's Counsel Defender Ms SZ Tng. Haha, obviously there are too many juicy news around!

Ok, here are the selected photos taken today.

Zhirui & Regina (Looked so happy!)

媒婆 from DATES ~ Your Love Catalyst ~ Matchmaking Agency

The Rankine Division (Always calm & cool!)

ATP 全家福

Haha, once again, Happy Belated Birthday to Regina, Chiu Seng & Tat Kuan. May all your wishes come true :)

Digital Water Pavilion

Artist's Impression 1

Source: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/waterbuilding-0711.html

Haha, I usually don't read about architecture. But today I came across a novel concept in urban architecture. Unveiled at the The 2008 Zaragoza World Expo in Spain today, The Digital Water Pavilion is selected by Time Magazine as the "Best Invention of The Year" in the field of architecture. The theme of the expo is water and sustainable development. The fair is part of the city of Zaragoza's broader effort to reinvent itself as a 21st century hub of knowledge, innovation and creativity.

Artist's Impression 2

(Source: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/waterbuilding-0711.html)

Located at the entrance of the expo, it features an entirely-water-based programmable water walls which act as doors which can open & close like a water curtain. It can be programmed to display various shapes & also texts, images, patterns and are able to respond dynamically to input from sensors. The only solid structure is its roof, which is supported by large pistons which can move up & down. The roof location is also adjustable by how much wind is blowing at that time. So advanced!

The water walls are generated by high-speed computer-controlled solenoid valves, about 3000 of them! The water used is fully recycled. But some of it is lost due to evaporation, but it is supplemented by rainfall at the pavilion's site.

A Snapshot of the Expo

If you interested to know what it's all about, here are the links :)
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/waterbuilding-0711.html
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/zaragoza-tt0611.html

Time for Action?

After yesterday night's MSN Chat of The Week of the theme "Random MatchMaking", I kept tossing over my bed for over an hour, couldn't sleep at all! The moment I closed my eyes, snippets of the conversation flashed through my mind. Haiz, what's happening?

Actually I understand what you all were talking about...

It's just that, in my current state, no relationship will be successful. Why?

It's not because of too shy or too scared of being rejected.

It's because I'm not prepared for it yet.

Maybe it's simply because I know myself too well (especially my weaknesses).

If I naively plunge into it, assuming "it may work", then it'll be a mess.

So I'd rather not start it off.

You may say, "How do you know when you never even try it?"

Well, I am willing to try only when I feel :

1) There is a high possibility that it'll work out in the end

2) The feelings are right

If you ask me, are there any suitable ones around?

Probably yes.

But is it time for action?

Hmm not now, after I start working maybe. Why?

Because it isn't my priority now and

I also need time, as I cannot change to be much better overnight

Haha, that's all I can say!

A Kiddy's Affair - Season Finale

From left to right : Yu Mon, Sandy, Kungfu Panda, Wei Jie & me

I finally scanned & got the photos taken at the Taka. (It's a pity that we forgot to pose our newly-learnt kungfu stunts, haha!). S & WJ are from NUS, studying Mech Eng & Life Sci, respectively. YM is from NTU, a Masters student in Biomed Eng! Both girls are from Myanmar (they're Myanmar Chinese) & WJ is from Malaysia (KL). There were a few times my sup teased us that we can form 2 couples. There's once he even suggested us to take leave together so we can go dating. Walao -__-|||

Well, the girls cannot go out of Taka in their uniforms (unless they changed to normal wear), so stayed inside Taka during the breaks. Weird policy... Then for me & WJ, we chatted while walking & windows-shopping nearly the entire walkable Orchard area & its shopping centres during the long 2-hour breaks. Yah I know it's 无聊 & 脚痠, but what to do? Hmm, better than sitting down & stoning for 2 hours.

The Iron Man

This is the cotton-like iron man that I mentioned, haha. But the costume was specially flew in from US & cost > $10K! Don't play play...

The Winx Club Girls (L-R: Flora, Stella & Bloom)

Well, I decided not to post my photo with them, as it's a bit blurred. Believe me, they looked much prettier after removing their make-ups, haha...

To summarize, it was fun working with them, my sup (haha, he's humorous) & other 幕后工作人员. Learnt that teamwork & communication is important in this kinda event. Although I've known them for just 3 weeks, we can hit it off quite well, haha. Hope can go back there for vacation work next time :)

Ooh by the way, JY! WJ is only 20 years old wor. Although not exactly 19, but he's a nice guy. Can consider lor, wahahaha!

Advances in Technologies

:: Striped Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery ::

(Source of image : http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nanocell-0609.html)

Although the use of nanoparticles for drug delivery is nothing new, but how to synthesize nanoparticles to interact properly with cells remain an area of active research. MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) recently discovered that nanoparticles of striped morphology were able to penetrate cell membranes without damaging it or killing the cell itself. Amazing! The trick is to coat gold nanoparticles with alternating bands of 2 different types of materials. Usually when cell membranes encountered foreign objects, e.g. nanoparticles, they'll engulf it into the cell, digest & then excrete it from the cell. However in this case, by mimicking the properties of cell membrane, the nanoparticles are able to bypass the cell defense system to successfully deliver its cargo, in this case, the fluorescent imaging agents into the cell (as shown in background of image).

Well, cells are certainly smart & probably the way to interact with nature without causing damage is to be natural, i.e. to mimic the behaviour of nature.

Reference : http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nanocell-0609.html

:: Nanosensors for Detection of Deadly Gases ::

(Source of image : http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nanotube-0605.html)

Carbon nanotubes are interesting materials with novel electronic properties. MIT has created a carbon nanotube-based nanosensor which is extremely sensitive, low cost & low power consumption. With 25-ppt sensitivity, it's the most sensitive electronic gas detector to date. Sarin, mustard & other nerve agents can be detected. Sarin was the toxic gas which killed 12 people in the 1995 terrorist attack on the Tokyo subway, with lethal dose in ppm range & effects surfaced after 10 mins. In addition, with power consumption of only 0.0003 watts, it can run for very long time with a regular battery.

The principle behind this is that when different gases bind to nanotubes, different changes in electrical conductivity are generated. Hence, the identity of the gases can be established. But how to make the binding reversible in order to detect a series of different gases? The MIT team coated a special type of material onto the nanotubes, which allows the gas molecules to detach shortly after binding. But then how to separate the different gases for detection? The team etched a mini GC column onto the silicon chip which rapidly separates the gases before feeding them into nanotubes. Oh my God, amazing!

Reference : http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/nanotube-0605.html

[ Reflection ]

It's heartening to see that some of our FYP projects are related to these new discoveries, e.g. layer-by-layer system by VC/TT & nanostructured semiconductor gas sensors by TT/CY. It's weird why VC keep discouraging students not to do his projects, saying that it's useless & impractical. Well, they have the foundation for creating advanced technologies, unfortunately the atmosphere is just not there yet. I do feel that NTU can be the MIT of Asia, provided it can cultivate its own kind of atmosphere which stimulates excitement for discovery among ALL of its academic community, not just for the elites of academic results.