Ever since training has been move to monday, I had to wait for 5 hours before training started. This has pissed me quite much, especially when my friends and I finished homework and have nothing else to do. Thus, I decided to go once every few weeks.
Just last week, the basketball teacher-in-charge had a meeting with us and specially pointed out me and my friend's names for our unbeatable attendance at basketball training. He also pointed out the importance of CCAs and how it is compulsory to attend every session unless with a valid excuse. Well, looks like I have to just put up with this till the end of the year.
I don't think this is very fair. There is a friday training and we are allowed to attend it too. However, regardless whether we attended it, we still have to attend the monday training. Did they ever consider how long many of us have to wait? I say their system is not one of the bests in anywhere...
Without any choice, I just went for training last monday. The coach's face seemed to have change for a third time this year.
He told us to drink a lot of water before we started the excercises, which is naturally right. However, this was because for the next 2 hours, we were not allowed to rest or drink any water. I think that this is a considerably ridiculous way to train endurance, if that is what he wants.
After doing many lay-ups and shooting drills, we did ball handling. In one of the excercises, we were bending our back to pass the ball underneath our legs. Am I already not short enough?
Why did I ever join basketball...
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Back from a Time-wasting Session
Yes, I just returned from some guy's house. What was I doing there? To meet up with this guy and another guy. What for? For a physics project. What project? To build a solar car.
We are learning about thermal physics, yet I cannot see the relavance between that and building a solar car, which to me is more of engineering. So why are we given something irrelavant? There is a solar car competition. So, I suppose the rest is self-explanatory.
These two guys and I went to East Point to get lunch for them and materials for our project. We bought sticks-ice-cream sticks, satay sticks etc. for the framework, and tennis balls for the bottle cap which we used as wheels. The queing up alone at NTUC fairprice burned some 20 minutes and I was getting quite impatient.
We went back to the house and had lunch and started on the project. We had no machines, so all our engineering were based on rough materials, which meant that many parts could not fit. We assembled and dismantled our frame several times with superglue, chisels to widen holes that could not fit (Chisel = hammer + screwdriver) and pliers.
Initially, we tried making a platform with lined up ice-cream sticks, but it was too heavy. We tore it apart and redesigned it a couple of times. Sometimes, our gears could not fit so we searched for more. Finally, we gave up and decided to use a "conveyor belt" system which generates relatively much friction. And later for some reason, one of the jokers took apart a working toy electronic machine gun and took out all the gears inside.
We had all the gears needed now, but still lacked an axle long enough. Someone soldered two pieces of steel axles together with lead which i purposely broke as it would have broken if used in the car anyway.
Finally, we devised a method of placing the motor upside-down under the platform beside the wheels that would possibly work with our lack of materials. It did not work. We put the motor right-side up and it worked thereafter. What a joke.
In the end, we messed up this poor guy's room successfully with wrappers, screws, tools, pieces of wood and tape and toys(including lego transformers, spinning tops and pull-and-go toys), and at last the front wheel drive mechanism was done. Unfortunately, being in the evening already and with the horrible solar panel efficiency, the sun was too weak to power it and we could not test it. Thus, session over.
What a waste of time when I could be doing something better like sleeping.
We are learning about thermal physics, yet I cannot see the relavance between that and building a solar car, which to me is more of engineering. So why are we given something irrelavant? There is a solar car competition. So, I suppose the rest is self-explanatory.
These two guys and I went to East Point to get lunch for them and materials for our project. We bought sticks-ice-cream sticks, satay sticks etc. for the framework, and tennis balls for the bottle cap which we used as wheels. The queing up alone at NTUC fairprice burned some 20 minutes and I was getting quite impatient.
We went back to the house and had lunch and started on the project. We had no machines, so all our engineering were based on rough materials, which meant that many parts could not fit. We assembled and dismantled our frame several times with superglue, chisels to widen holes that could not fit (Chisel = hammer + screwdriver) and pliers.
Initially, we tried making a platform with lined up ice-cream sticks, but it was too heavy. We tore it apart and redesigned it a couple of times. Sometimes, our gears could not fit so we searched for more. Finally, we gave up and decided to use a "conveyor belt" system which generates relatively much friction. And later for some reason, one of the jokers took apart a working toy electronic machine gun and took out all the gears inside.
We had all the gears needed now, but still lacked an axle long enough. Someone soldered two pieces of steel axles together with lead which i purposely broke as it would have broken if used in the car anyway.
Finally, we devised a method of placing the motor upside-down under the platform beside the wheels that would possibly work with our lack of materials. It did not work. We put the motor right-side up and it worked thereafter. What a joke.
In the end, we messed up this poor guy's room successfully with wrappers, screws, tools, pieces of wood and tape and toys(including lego transformers, spinning tops and pull-and-go toys), and at last the front wheel drive mechanism was done. Unfortunately, being in the evening already and with the horrible solar panel efficiency, the sun was too weak to power it and we could not test it. Thus, session over.
What a waste of time when I could be doing something better like sleeping.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
A quick recall of the Hydroponics Farm
Last week, wednesday to be precise, we year 2s went to Oh Chin Huat Hydroponics in Sembawang. 6 people including me talked rubbish on the bus. It was quite hot when we finally reached there, considering that we went in the afternoon.
First was a brief lecture on herbs and spices as we got to smell them. Some of the spices like spearmint and peppermint smelled quite nice, but the smell is so strong that they smelled bad.
After that, we were guided around as we saw "departments" like packaging, onion and garlic selecting and peeling, the germination room and many greenhouses. As we walked around, we were introduced to more herbs. The Lemon Balm smelled really nice with obviously a slight scent of lemon, and the ribena plant leaf tasted between sweet and sour, which was still acceptable by my tongue.
After the whole tour was over, we went into an air-conditioned shade for a debrief. Before we left, we were each offered a bag of hydroponics vegetables, which I do not know why, I did not feel like taking.
On the bus back to school, I was quite tired, thus I tried to sleep but failed. The rest of my class were really noisy at the back of the bus. My friend, who was just beside me, turned around and told them to kindly gossip about him softer as he could hear everything. A nice piece of his mind expressed in friendly terms.
The rest of the journey back to school, MRT station and lastly home was in deafening silence.
Friday, September 19, 2008
第一次出国-第三级
已经很久没提到我上次去台湾旅游的经历。 虽然我没什么动机述叙完这个，但我非常不想半途而废，有一个有头无尾的故事。 事情就是这样。
第三天早上，我和爸爸到台北的街上逛一逛。这些就是我们所拍到的照片。
这就是一所大学的校场
台北的街上都是车子，公司，工厂等。四处好像没什么公园，娱乐中心等，我看台北的孩子就是整天呆在家里。我不住在这儿，应该算是幸福了。下午，我们去参观天文馆。展览都相当有趣，只不过科学术语是用繁体得国语表达的。好多东西不仅是我，连爸爸都看不懂。在那我们也看了三部短片，两部立体的，一部补通的。这三部短片合成一张票，大概只算150台币。值得性和我国比的有2-4倍。
在离开天文馆之前，我们搭了个骗小孩的“宇宙旅游"。
这就是第三天的行程。余言后续吧！
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Bike No. 86
I left home at 12:15. I was late. I walked towards the bus-stop slowly. I went across the overhead bridge as I saw my bus went off, which made me walk even slower. Just at this moment, 359 came. I half-ran across the beam, slid down the railings and caught the bus.
I reached bedok quite fast, considering that I live in the east and from there, my class took a bus to East Coast Park, where we rented bicycles. Joelle and I got the special red bikes for short people, 92 and 86. I had a feeling that my bike was a little too short for me though-my legs could not extend much when pedalling...
We progressed in the direction towards changi coast road. An average distance of 100m was held between the first cyclists and last, and it only increased as time went by. At first I was kind of excited; I kept on moving from the front to the back, speeding up and slowing down, but I got quite tired later, and just cycled at a normal pace near the back. We had neared Tanah Merah.
There was not much to do while cycling. Just concentrate on the track and enjoy the view. I looked in front-gen and dillon leading just like expedition leaders. I turned back and saw two or three tiny figures growing bigger gradually some 400 metres away-Cheryl and kat, riding leisurely and chatting. I turned back and fixed my eyes on the cyclists in front. One of them was recklessly swerving from side to side as rhthymic screams accompanied the bike show-Emman, still terrorizing joelle by moving in front of her bike every now and then. In front, I saw someone on the ground. Jk fell off his bike. I approached and as I was getting off my bike which happen to be still cruising slowly, my foot got stuck and thus my bike fell along with me, directly behind jk. I did not get hurt, but the situation then was rather awkward. Jk had a minor cut, but it was alright after a while.
Everything was going quite smoothly until we went onto the straight part of Changi Coast Road, along side the runway of Changi Airport. At that time, I was not sure why, but I was lagging as last. The others were at least 50 metres ahead of me. Suddenly, I heard a rattling sound below my bicycle seat, the pedals seemed easier to pedal than ever. The back wheel freed itself from the chain and my bike slowed down, finally coming to a halt. Probably those who took any notice was Ben and cmc. The rest shrinked into the distance.
I laid my bicycle onto the floor, ben and cmc watching. The chain was stuck between the axle and the metal frame. I grabbed it from a safe angle and pulled it free slowly from its trap. I tried chaining the chain back onto the back gear, and after several attempts, it worked, but it was set at low gear. I got onto the bike and pedalled, but as soon as I have covered no more than 10 metres, I heard another rattle. It came loose again. I put it back and being quite confident that it would work that time, I told Ben to hurry off himself and catch up with the others. Off he zoomed, and just as I was about to maintain speed, the chain fell off again.
Cmc carried my light bag and I pushed my bicycle as I ran. My speed in comparison with all those cars racing alongside the track on East Perimeter road threw cold water on me. After 100m, I decided that this was not the way. At this speed, we would not get anywhere. Once again, I tried fixing my chain and after several times of getting on and off my bicycle, I successfully got it working in low gear. Cmc and I moved on. Each time I saw a shelter, how I hoped that someone was waiting there with help. My hands were black and I pedalled furiously, yet my bicycle moved as fast as cmc's who was pedalling 5 times slower...
Each time I tried changing gear, the chain fell off. So this had to stop. After passing by the 2nd or 3rd shelter, we saw ben riding back for us. Waiting at the next shelter was Joelle. We four continued on our way and I saw an bright orange light going on and off 100m away. Reminded me of SOS signals. Well, those were just Cheryl and Kat taking photos and waiting at the next shelter. In contrast to the science center experience, I felt very......"un-alone", with so many people waiting.
Cheryl and Kat told us that the rest were turning back (which makes me wonder now why Ben rode off after we stopped as he was going to ride back anyway). If it was because of the lack of time to finish the entire trail, it was quite disappointing as we were going to see the same scenery on the way back. If it was because of me and my wonderful bike, I apologize for that.
At the shelter, we wasted much time trying to clean my black hands with water bottle water and toilet paper to no avail. Four things we wasted: Time, effort, everyone's water and joelle's toilet paper. Oops.
And Joelle, cheryl and kat eating the melted chocolates in a paper packet was disgusting.
While having nothing to do at the shelter, I manually set my bike to higher gear with considerable effort, which meant my hands had to get oily again. Still, there was something queer about the clutches that made them dislodge the chain everytime I change the gear with the handles. Half an hour later, emman and pyq zoomed past. They were on their way back already. After wasting a lot of time making ourselves comfortable on our bicycles, joelle, cmc and I set off as one of the last few people.
Cmc's heavy white zinc bag was weighing him down all the way. Joelle was really kind to help him carry it all the way for around 3-4km. I am really amazed at her perseverance and endurance to carry such a heavy bag, despite her size (ok I am in no position to mention that). I am sure cmc is too, and thankful also. Good job joelle:)
We cycled considerably slowly, partially due to our energy drain, and also because of the bag which pulled all of us back. We stopped frequently for no apparent reason and stared ahead.
Soon, we three were last. Realising that the others were already far ahead, probably even waiting at the bicycle rental shop waiting for us, we picked up speed. However, each time we thought we were near, I saw another landmark that told us we were not.
Ominous clouds loomed over our heads and it started drizzling. We cycled faster, but with joelle carrying the white zinc bag, she could not get any faster. At times, cmc and I suggested either one of us took over the bag, but she insisted on carrying it to the end. The rain escalated and a strong and chilling wind blew against us as we rode. After passing by many bicylce rental shops which to our disappointment was not ours', we finally reached ours' considerably wet. Fortunately we entered the shelter before the downpour emerged.
After some rest, we left East Coast Park. This is so far, the best class outing ever. We cycled approximately 20 km, 10 km less than the others. Nevertheless, I felt happy at the end of the day, especially with the company of cmc and joelle along the way. You two have really made my day, and many others like dillon and ben too, who organized the outing and helped me with my bicycle in many ways. :) Let us go there again in November. This time, let us meet earlier and finish cycling the entire circuit- past changi, loyang, pasir ris, tampines and bedok!
THE END of a very enjoyable day
Lessons Learnt: Never take Bike E86
Never give up or I would have had to push my bicycle for 12 km
How strong Joelle can be
Never Bring a big bag cycling
Never put off anything till later, you never know when a storm is approaching
I reached bedok quite fast, considering that I live in the east and from there, my class took a bus to East Coast Park, where we rented bicycles. Joelle and I got the special red bikes for short people, 92 and 86. I had a feeling that my bike was a little too short for me though-my legs could not extend much when pedalling...
We progressed in the direction towards changi coast road. An average distance of 100m was held between the first cyclists and last, and it only increased as time went by. At first I was kind of excited; I kept on moving from the front to the back, speeding up and slowing down, but I got quite tired later, and just cycled at a normal pace near the back. We had neared Tanah Merah.
There was not much to do while cycling. Just concentrate on the track and enjoy the view. I looked in front-gen and dillon leading just like expedition leaders. I turned back and saw two or three tiny figures growing bigger gradually some 400 metres away-Cheryl and kat, riding leisurely and chatting. I turned back and fixed my eyes on the cyclists in front. One of them was recklessly swerving from side to side as rhthymic screams accompanied the bike show-Emman, still terrorizing joelle by moving in front of her bike every now and then. In front, I saw someone on the ground. Jk fell off his bike. I approached and as I was getting off my bike which happen to be still cruising slowly, my foot got stuck and thus my bike fell along with me, directly behind jk. I did not get hurt, but the situation then was rather awkward. Jk had a minor cut, but it was alright after a while.
Everything was going quite smoothly until we went onto the straight part of Changi Coast Road, along side the runway of Changi Airport. At that time, I was not sure why, but I was lagging as last. The others were at least 50 metres ahead of me. Suddenly, I heard a rattling sound below my bicycle seat, the pedals seemed easier to pedal than ever. The back wheel freed itself from the chain and my bike slowed down, finally coming to a halt. Probably those who took any notice was Ben and cmc. The rest shrinked into the distance.
I laid my bicycle onto the floor, ben and cmc watching. The chain was stuck between the axle and the metal frame. I grabbed it from a safe angle and pulled it free slowly from its trap. I tried chaining the chain back onto the back gear, and after several attempts, it worked, but it was set at low gear. I got onto the bike and pedalled, but as soon as I have covered no more than 10 metres, I heard another rattle. It came loose again. I put it back and being quite confident that it would work that time, I told Ben to hurry off himself and catch up with the others. Off he zoomed, and just as I was about to maintain speed, the chain fell off again.
Cmc carried my light bag and I pushed my bicycle as I ran. My speed in comparison with all those cars racing alongside the track on East Perimeter road threw cold water on me. After 100m, I decided that this was not the way. At this speed, we would not get anywhere. Once again, I tried fixing my chain and after several times of getting on and off my bicycle, I successfully got it working in low gear. Cmc and I moved on. Each time I saw a shelter, how I hoped that someone was waiting there with help. My hands were black and I pedalled furiously, yet my bicycle moved as fast as cmc's who was pedalling 5 times slower...
Each time I tried changing gear, the chain fell off. So this had to stop. After passing by the 2nd or 3rd shelter, we saw ben riding back for us. Waiting at the next shelter was Joelle. We four continued on our way and I saw an bright orange light going on and off 100m away. Reminded me of SOS signals. Well, those were just Cheryl and Kat taking photos and waiting at the next shelter. In contrast to the science center experience, I felt very......"un-alone", with so many people waiting.
Cheryl and Kat told us that the rest were turning back (which makes me wonder now why Ben rode off after we stopped as he was going to ride back anyway). If it was because of the lack of time to finish the entire trail, it was quite disappointing as we were going to see the same scenery on the way back. If it was because of me and my wonderful bike, I apologize for that.
At the shelter, we wasted much time trying to clean my black hands with water bottle water and toilet paper to no avail. Four things we wasted: Time, effort, everyone's water and joelle's toilet paper. Oops.
And Joelle, cheryl and kat eating the melted chocolates in a paper packet was disgusting.
While having nothing to do at the shelter, I manually set my bike to higher gear with considerable effort, which meant my hands had to get oily again. Still, there was something queer about the clutches that made them dislodge the chain everytime I change the gear with the handles. Half an hour later, emman and pyq zoomed past. They were on their way back already. After wasting a lot of time making ourselves comfortable on our bicycles, joelle, cmc and I set off as one of the last few people.
Cmc's heavy white zinc bag was weighing him down all the way. Joelle was really kind to help him carry it all the way for around 3-4km. I am really amazed at her perseverance and endurance to carry such a heavy bag, despite her size (ok I am in no position to mention that). I am sure cmc is too, and thankful also. Good job joelle:)
We cycled considerably slowly, partially due to our energy drain, and also because of the bag which pulled all of us back. We stopped frequently for no apparent reason and stared ahead.
Soon, we three were last. Realising that the others were already far ahead, probably even waiting at the bicycle rental shop waiting for us, we picked up speed. However, each time we thought we were near, I saw another landmark that told us we were not.
Ominous clouds loomed over our heads and it started drizzling. We cycled faster, but with joelle carrying the white zinc bag, she could not get any faster. At times, cmc and I suggested either one of us took over the bag, but she insisted on carrying it to the end. The rain escalated and a strong and chilling wind blew against us as we rode. After passing by many bicylce rental shops which to our disappointment was not ours', we finally reached ours' considerably wet. Fortunately we entered the shelter before the downpour emerged.
After some rest, we left East Coast Park. This is so far, the best class outing ever. We cycled approximately 20 km, 10 km less than the others. Nevertheless, I felt happy at the end of the day, especially with the company of cmc and joelle along the way. You two have really made my day, and many others like dillon and ben too, who organized the outing and helped me with my bicycle in many ways. :) Let us go there again in November. This time, let us meet earlier and finish cycling the entire circuit- past changi, loyang, pasir ris, tampines and bedok!
THE END of a very enjoyable day
Lessons Learnt: Never take Bike E86
Never give up or I would have had to push my bicycle for 12 km
How strong Joelle can be
Never Bring a big bag cycling
Never put off anything till later, you never know when a storm is approaching
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