Woke up at six on tuesday, and I was almost late for school. Fortunately my judgement did not fail me, and I alighted at Dover MRT station, ran to school in the rain. After that, had fits of sneezing during the national anthem, but I was relieved that my sneezing stopped after "Expelling the 'yin' out of my body"(Do not take this seriously, please).
Went to DSO in the afternoon, and ate mee goreng. For the umpteenth time, I know I cannot take spicy food, but I keep on eating them. When I got home, I got the same burning sensation when I poop, supposedly caused by the chemical capsaicin as I have read up, found strands of tough long shits and an orange block which looked rather much like a carrot, and the water in the toilet filled to the brim after an unsuccessful attempt to flush it.
After an hour of watching the lego nxt robot making rounds, jk and I left. It makes many frequent and minor analytical errors and assumptions, due to the rather simplistic hardware and code we used.
Speaking of which the next day, Wednesday, we went there again and kept on running the robot and made changes to parameters, as if hoping that the robot will finally learn how to do its task right after enough trials. Almost fell asleep under the table...
I left and went back to school for aerodynamics. Almost late, and had to run from the Singapore Polytechnic bus stop back to school. Then I found that my bag was trapped in class and ran to the general office trying to rescue my bag. By the time I got to Aerodynamics I was really sweaty, so sweaty that I could smell my own stink (People usually are oblivious to their own smell)
About aerodynamics. I was rather unsure about this at first, because after attending the aerodynamics lecture during the physics camp day 1, I found that I did not understand anything about fluid mechanics. So I regretted it and hoped that I had taken up cryptography instead.
But surprisingly, I found the module really good, so far at least. Tonnes better than the Artificial Intelligence module. And the funny thing was that the lecturer who lectured aerodynamics at the NUS physics Camp was the same one lecturing this module, and the slides he used were exactly the same.
However, ever since I went for the aerodynamics lecture, I came to realise that if aerodynamics and fluid mechanics was to be understood by secondary school students, our air spaces would not be safe at all. So I had my expectations drop really low and I no longer find it discouraging if I do not understand aerodynamics.
As I looked at the course outline, it was similar to the lecture at physics camp, only the topics were more in depth, and spanned across some 10 weeks. So I was rather happy for that glimpse of hope of me being able to understand something.
After the lecture of the first lesson, we played with paper airplanes. A really childish yet fun session.
I am looking forward to the next lesson and upcoming field trips for aerodynamics.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
18 km cycle
I think I have cooled down already. I wouldn't mind going for the bio-resonance test thing now, but I lack my cellphone, which hinders my means of communication. However, like I said, if I keep on regretting my decisions, I will never get anywhere and probably later I will regret that I regretted my decision.
I am a rather short-tempered person actually, but some people except for my family don't really see it. Short-temperedness doesn't mean shouting and starting to swear and curse. I express it differently, and I remember clearly one rather recent event, I vent my frustration by saying a rather insulting statement. Or another time just sitting alone, or what other people call 'being emo'.
I have been trying to kick this habit for long, by forcing myself to stop and let intellect take over for a little time, before reacting. I did that more in primary school, but now, kinda forgotten this exercise. After this, I should practice this more often.
The fact that one appears calm on the surface doesn't mean that one is of patient nature. Patience comes from within, and as long as the usual character is disturbed, cannot be with held by your own will, it is a sign that you have lost your temper, be it expressed vocally or not.
This time, it was expressed as some rather rash decisions of not participating in the research. The consolation I can get out of this is that I have not really done anything wrong, because I didn't promise my friend that I will participate.
Making a promise is dangerous, because anything under the sun can happen, and when that happens, you hurt someone, you've committed a sin and that can be all avoided by not giving people too high hopes by using the word 'promise'. I would much rather say "I promise that I will try my best to attend" instead of, "I promise that I will attend" (Unless someone points a knife at my throat and makes me make a dead promise) Believe that that slight change in phrasing makes a hell lot of difference, for others, if not you.
My holiday traing plan has failed.
At the first half of the holidays, I had chest pains, discouraging me from running daily. Now its over, but the fact that half of the holidays is gone makes me think "What kind of training can I do in one week. Hopeless." Which I know of course isn't true. But its still rather discouraging.
Then recently, I picked up an alternative exercise should I not feel like running. And its easy too, considering that I have a bicycle.
www.walkjogrun.net
I found this website. It gives you user uploaded training routes. The best thing I like this over google maps is that you don't have to follow roads. So I can track where I run into Pasir Ris Park, and I can draw the route across roads which do not exist in Google maps but exist in reality.
Another rather special thing about this site is that it gives you the calories burned. However I doubt its accuracy, because based on the programme the calories burned is the same whether you ride the bike, walk slowly or sprint all the way. I don't think they take into account elevation either, although elevation is shown.
This past two days, I have cycled to the end of Pasir Ris park and back, totalling 10km. Today I tried something different. I saw a route uploaded that was 20 km long which went along Loyang Avenue and Changi Coast Road.
Cycled along New Loyang Link, and down Old Tampines Road.
Whee! As I reached speeds that I can never reach on flat ground.
5 minutes later: *pants* *switches to gear 1* Wrong direction...
Then I reached Upper Changi Road North. Passed by Changi Prison, and many of the red signboards which says restricted area. Everytime I see those sign boards I feel rather uneasy, like someone, like the figure on the signboard, was going to come out and shoot me, mistaking me for an intruder...
Then I finally reached Tampines Expressway, only to realise that there was no way of crossing to Upper Changi Road East.
Unless you cycle along this onramp onto a flyover and wait for the cars to filter out into PIE and then continue cycling, hoping that no cars are behind you.
That guy who uploaded the route really doesn't know sense, and I blindly assumed that they guy knew what he was doing. Perhaps I missed out some hidden crevice that leads to an underpass that goes under the expressways. :O Turns out that I never missed anything, and the uploader probably just traced the route on the map without even trying it out in reality first. Really want to report that guy, but dont' know how.
So I decided to adventure around in Changi. Went to Tanah Merah Besar Road and took a detour from there onto Changi North Way. The feeling of being in such a foresty and deserted place for the first time is rather scary, like any disaster can occur any moment then.
Changi North Way was really long. Wanted to turn back halfway because I didn't know how long it was, but curiousity got over me. Then the road came to a junction, and after turning into Changi North St. 1, I was back to where I was quite some time ago, near the expressway along Upper Changi Road North. So I had to cycle back again.
Reached Loyang Avenue, but I didn't feel very satisfied because I haven't completed my 20 km 'mission'. So decided to prolong my cycle by cycling around Pasir Ris.
'Adventure' in Changi, a place full of slopes, was hard. Finished cycling in 1 hour 50 minutes
I am a rather short-tempered person actually, but some people except for my family don't really see it. Short-temperedness doesn't mean shouting and starting to swear and curse. I express it differently, and I remember clearly one rather recent event, I vent my frustration by saying a rather insulting statement. Or another time just sitting alone, or what other people call 'being emo'.
I have been trying to kick this habit for long, by forcing myself to stop and let intellect take over for a little time, before reacting. I did that more in primary school, but now, kinda forgotten this exercise. After this, I should practice this more often.
The fact that one appears calm on the surface doesn't mean that one is of patient nature. Patience comes from within, and as long as the usual character is disturbed, cannot be with held by your own will, it is a sign that you have lost your temper, be it expressed vocally or not.
This time, it was expressed as some rather rash decisions of not participating in the research. The consolation I can get out of this is that I have not really done anything wrong, because I didn't promise my friend that I will participate.
Making a promise is dangerous, because anything under the sun can happen, and when that happens, you hurt someone, you've committed a sin and that can be all avoided by not giving people too high hopes by using the word 'promise'. I would much rather say "I promise that I will try my best to attend" instead of, "I promise that I will attend" (Unless someone points a knife at my throat and makes me make a dead promise) Believe that that slight change in phrasing makes a hell lot of difference, for others, if not you.
My holiday traing plan has failed.
At the first half of the holidays, I had chest pains, discouraging me from running daily. Now its over, but the fact that half of the holidays is gone makes me think "What kind of training can I do in one week. Hopeless." Which I know of course isn't true. But its still rather discouraging.
Then recently, I picked up an alternative exercise should I not feel like running. And its easy too, considering that I have a bicycle.
www.walkjogrun.net
I found this website. It gives you user uploaded training routes. The best thing I like this over google maps is that you don't have to follow roads. So I can track where I run into Pasir Ris Park, and I can draw the route across roads which do not exist in Google maps but exist in reality.
Another rather special thing about this site is that it gives you the calories burned. However I doubt its accuracy, because based on the programme the calories burned is the same whether you ride the bike, walk slowly or sprint all the way. I don't think they take into account elevation either, although elevation is shown.
This past two days, I have cycled to the end of Pasir Ris park and back, totalling 10km. Today I tried something different. I saw a route uploaded that was 20 km long which went along Loyang Avenue and Changi Coast Road.
Cycled along New Loyang Link, and down Old Tampines Road.
Whee! As I reached speeds that I can never reach on flat ground.5 minutes later: *pants* *switches to gear 1* Wrong direction...
Then I reached Upper Changi Road North. Passed by Changi Prison, and many of the red signboards which says restricted area. Everytime I see those sign boards I feel rather uneasy, like someone, like the figure on the signboard, was going to come out and shoot me, mistaking me for an intruder...
Then I finally reached Tampines Expressway, only to realise that there was no way of crossing to Upper Changi Road East.
Unless you cycle along this onramp onto a flyover and wait for the cars to filter out into PIE and then continue cycling, hoping that no cars are behind you.That guy who uploaded the route really doesn't know sense, and I blindly assumed that they guy knew what he was doing. Perhaps I missed out some hidden crevice that leads to an underpass that goes under the expressways. :O Turns out that I never missed anything, and the uploader probably just traced the route on the map without even trying it out in reality first. Really want to report that guy, but dont' know how.
So I decided to adventure around in Changi. Went to Tanah Merah Besar Road and took a detour from there onto Changi North Way. The feeling of being in such a foresty and deserted place for the first time is rather scary, like any disaster can occur any moment then.
Changi North Way was really long. Wanted to turn back halfway because I didn't know how long it was, but curiousity got over me. Then the road came to a junction, and after turning into Changi North St. 1, I was back to where I was quite some time ago, near the expressway along Upper Changi Road North. So I had to cycle back again.
Reached Loyang Avenue, but I didn't feel very satisfied because I haven't completed my 20 km 'mission'. So decided to prolong my cycle by cycling around Pasir Ris.
'Adventure' in Changi, a place full of slopes, was hard. Finished cycling in 1 hour 50 minutes
Monday, June 21, 2010
So many problems...might as well not participate
I know myself, logically, that this isn't anyone's fault in particular, but I can't help feeling like I am a victim and at times, actually close to angry at this whole thing (Thing, not person), and thus I pulled myself out of participation in some bio-resonance therapy research.
First, minor matters, I started to feel unsure if my friend really knew what he was doing, especially when he mentioned the phrase: 'removing chi channels'. I try to keep the offense level minimal here, so pardon me.
*I am going*
Second, I doubt the purpose of the research, especially after my other friend pointed out, that since bio-resonance therapy is not scientifically recognized, what is the point of measuring its effectiveness without an explanation to how it works. Then it would be in vain wouldn't it? It still won't be accepted.(this was meant as a joke)
Third, electric signals. Hmm, what if the researcher accidentally turned the voltage too high and I get electrocuted?
*Hmm, I'll see who's going*
Fourth, and beyond, was what was really starting to affect me. I saw the parental consent form. Oh my, so troublesome, I thought. Again, I am undoubtedly under 21 so I have to have my parent's consent for participation.
*Hmm*
Seventh, I did not have my phone with me, which made things even more frustrating, because I would have some trouble contacting anyone. Then I tried calling my friend, and he didn't pick up, leaving me feeling rather...in a spot.
*I'll see how things are tomorrow."
Sixth, I couldn't open the files in ms word 2007, which was needed in order to print the forms. I requested my friend to send it in 2007, and I got it once again in the unopenable format (ms word 2003)
*What do you want from me now?*
Seventh, "send a soft copy of the questionairre", which was read-only and locked, so I can't even type a word in it even if i saved it as another file.
*This is ridiculous*
Eighth, no incentive. But I was willing to help.
Ninth, no transportation subsidies. Its at woodlands, I live at Pasir Ris.
*Patient now..1,2,3, breathe out...breathe in...4,5,6. I am just doing someone a favour..*
Tenth, no medical subsidy if subject is harmed as a result of the research. Then my friend explained to me that its because they didn't have any funding, and the risk is so low, and what they meant was that there will be no compensation for injury was that if I was sick beforehand and I did not inform them then its my fault. So that means if they were careless I will have to pay for their carelessness.
*You've gotta be kidding me.*
Elaborating on point ten. There is absolutely no incentive for participation, and that implies that all participants would most probably know the researchers. So the chances are if they are not feeling well they would either quit, or inform the researcher. Because even if they participate, the gain is not much. So I think these researchers should give their participants at least, a sense of security by at least having a clause which guarantees compensation if they were harmed during the research. Under the circumstances I have just set up, any harm or injury is MOST probably a result of the research.
Then I showed my dad point ten and asked him if he thought that this has gone too far already. And then he, who originally did not mind me going, said don't go.
*That's it!*
And so I'm not going.
To other participants who might see this. I am merely abiding by the rule in the form which states "Your participation is voluntary".
First, minor matters, I started to feel unsure if my friend really knew what he was doing, especially when he mentioned the phrase: 'removing chi channels'. I try to keep the offense level minimal here, so pardon me.
*I am going*
Second, I doubt the purpose of the research, especially after my other friend pointed out, that since bio-resonance therapy is not scientifically recognized, what is the point of measuring its effectiveness without an explanation to how it works. Then it would be in vain wouldn't it? It still won't be accepted.(this was meant as a joke)
Third, electric signals. Hmm, what if the researcher accidentally turned the voltage too high and I get electrocuted?
*Hmm, I'll see who's going*
Fourth, and beyond, was what was really starting to affect me. I saw the parental consent form. Oh my, so troublesome, I thought. Again, I am undoubtedly under 21 so I have to have my parent's consent for participation.
*Hmm*
Seventh, I did not have my phone with me, which made things even more frustrating, because I would have some trouble contacting anyone. Then I tried calling my friend, and he didn't pick up, leaving me feeling rather...in a spot.
*I'll see how things are tomorrow."
Sixth, I couldn't open the files in ms word 2007, which was needed in order to print the forms. I requested my friend to send it in 2007, and I got it once again in the unopenable format (ms word 2003)
*What do you want from me now?*
Seventh, "send a soft copy of the questionairre", which was read-only and locked, so I can't even type a word in it even if i saved it as another file.
*This is ridiculous*
Eighth, no incentive. But I was willing to help.
Ninth, no transportation subsidies. Its at woodlands, I live at Pasir Ris.
*Patient now..1,2,3, breathe out...breathe in...4,5,6. I am just doing someone a favour..*
Tenth, no medical subsidy if subject is harmed as a result of the research. Then my friend explained to me that its because they didn't have any funding, and the risk is so low, and what they meant was that there will be no compensation for injury was that if I was sick beforehand and I did not inform them then its my fault. So that means if they were careless I will have to pay for their carelessness.
*You've gotta be kidding me.*
Elaborating on point ten. There is absolutely no incentive for participation, and that implies that all participants would most probably know the researchers. So the chances are if they are not feeling well they would either quit, or inform the researcher. Because even if they participate, the gain is not much. So I think these researchers should give their participants at least, a sense of security by at least having a clause which guarantees compensation if they were harmed during the research. Under the circumstances I have just set up, any harm or injury is MOST probably a result of the research.
Then I showed my dad point ten and asked him if he thought that this has gone too far already. And then he, who originally did not mind me going, said don't go.
*That's it!*
And so I'm not going.
To other participants who might see this. I am merely abiding by the rule in the form which states "Your participation is voluntary".
Sunday, June 20, 2010
A treat to lunch
On Friday, jk and I went to DSO, just like we always do. Finally, on that day, we were given a specific task to embark on. Creating a robot which follows lines going around picking up colored blocks and sorting them in a gathering area. Or rather, when Dr Ang mentioned the idea of it as an application to saving people in a fire, I prefer expressing it as: sorting humans based on their race so as to prevent unrest.
Then Dr Ang treated us to lunch, and knowing that I was vegetarian, he kindly brought Jk, I, mr chan and the indian guy to a vegetarian restaurant in Orchard called Ling Zhi. The food there wasn't too bad, compared to coffee shop vegetarian food stalls, one of them at bugis I remember distinctly I ate at for a week afterwhich I fell sick literally. Anyway, most of them were praises for the food at that restaurant, I guess they have never really eaten vegetarian food before. I felt it was quite okay, but the mocked dishes were not too tasty. Anyway my father commented that it was not a very nice restaurant. Anyway if anyone thought that the food at lingzhi was great, I wonder how they would find Miao Yi vegetarian (speaking of which my family and I just went today, AGAIN). Read a review which mentioned: '(miao yi) surpasses lingzhi at all angles' and that it was good enough to satisfy vegetarians, non-vegetarians and kids. Not just any vegetarian outlet that takes factory ingredients and deep fried them.
But I still say that lingzhi was good enough, especially the dim sum; carrot cake, spring rolls, siew mai...they were really good. Probably the only reason that it surpasses miao yi in this area was that miao yi didn't serve dim sum.
When we returned to DSO, Jk and I started on the given task. It wasn't as easy as it seemed at first judgement. The main problem lied at programming the robot to identify the different types of junctions; bend, T-junction, cross-junction. We tried arranging the flow of logic with a double light sensor system, but then it wouldn't be able to tell the difference between going off the line by accident and meeting a junction. So we tried three, and other problems arised. Then we even considered rotating light sensors to maximise information captured, but it still had it problems, if we used only three light sensors, no matter how we arranged them.
Then we realised that we can plot our current condition on a line, one extreme being hard coding the movements of the robot, the other extreme being able to cater for every single condition that the robot will meet; like varying line thickness etc... and we went too far to the latter.
So we found that if we fix the line thickness, and calibrate the distance between three light sensors such that on a straight line no two sensors will sense the line at any single time, the problem is a lot easier.
Then Dr Ang treated us to lunch, and knowing that I was vegetarian, he kindly brought Jk, I, mr chan and the indian guy to a vegetarian restaurant in Orchard called Ling Zhi. The food there wasn't too bad, compared to coffee shop vegetarian food stalls, one of them at bugis I remember distinctly I ate at for a week afterwhich I fell sick literally. Anyway, most of them were praises for the food at that restaurant, I guess they have never really eaten vegetarian food before. I felt it was quite okay, but the mocked dishes were not too tasty. Anyway my father commented that it was not a very nice restaurant. Anyway if anyone thought that the food at lingzhi was great, I wonder how they would find Miao Yi vegetarian (speaking of which my family and I just went today, AGAIN). Read a review which mentioned: '(miao yi) surpasses lingzhi at all angles' and that it was good enough to satisfy vegetarians, non-vegetarians and kids. Not just any vegetarian outlet that takes factory ingredients and deep fried them.
But I still say that lingzhi was good enough, especially the dim sum; carrot cake, spring rolls, siew mai...they were really good. Probably the only reason that it surpasses miao yi in this area was that miao yi didn't serve dim sum.
When we returned to DSO, Jk and I started on the given task. It wasn't as easy as it seemed at first judgement. The main problem lied at programming the robot to identify the different types of junctions; bend, T-junction, cross-junction. We tried arranging the flow of logic with a double light sensor system, but then it wouldn't be able to tell the difference between going off the line by accident and meeting a junction. So we tried three, and other problems arised. Then we even considered rotating light sensors to maximise information captured, but it still had it problems, if we used only three light sensors, no matter how we arranged them.
Then we realised that we can plot our current condition on a line, one extreme being hard coding the movements of the robot, the other extreme being able to cater for every single condition that the robot will meet; like varying line thickness etc... and we went too far to the latter.
So we found that if we fix the line thickness, and calibrate the distance between three light sensors such that on a straight line no two sensors will sense the line at any single time, the problem is a lot easier.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
World of Science - Artificial Intelligence
It is a course I attended.
Firstly, I seem to be always criticizing courses and programmes. I would like to remind everyone, that I am not a critic, neither am I a pessimist. Remember how I said that orientation, some level camps and all were rather disappointing? Well, it isn't really my fault that they are bad and neither would I like to lie about it, even to myself, just to appease optimistic laughing bouncing bunnies who thinks that everything in existence is lovely like a rainbow.
The truth is, the world is in a mess and no course would be good unless the organizing committees are clear about their objectives and are sincere in carrying it out for the participants, rather than for other advantages. In addition, learning to accept the truth is important too, even if it's against you. So when you see 'leaders' in 'leadership camps' drooling off to sleep as the speaker drones on about the importance of trust and teamwork and respect, you know what to blame.
Perhaps others think that the course was acceptable, but I strongly believe that it could be improved to decrease time-wastage on the participant's behalf.
At first I was rather enthusiastic, I mean, "Haha! All my friends only get to attend ONE YDSP module but I get to attend TWO!" And I was excited about it, but now I think that I have wasted 3 days of my precious holiday, whose days are seeping away like sand among my fingers...
Nevertheless, there are quite a few things that I have learnt.
Day One:
Introduction to AI. Couldn't wait for lunch. Then we hard-coded a tic-tac-toe game, which was rather elementary considering that we did not even code the programme, we just inserted mono-level conditional statements into a notepad file. Fair enough, considering that it was an introductory activity. Next up, was a lecture about machine learning. Personally, I feel that for a machine to truly learn, it requires creativity, and pattern recognition ability, like how a newborn baby picks up language. You show the object to him, and say the word. Consequently, he will associate the two together; that's pattern recognition for you. Creativity is no less important. To advance, the machine has to be able to create new ideas, then test them out, otherwise, it is not doing much, other than following instructions from the programmer. Alright, instilling a machine with creativity is a rather long shot...
Again, I don't find the need for a machine to be that intelligent. All humans need for a machine is to follow instructions to make tasks easier for them, not taking a life on its own. The latter can be done with another human, and unless you are a lonely person who doesn't have any friends to play a computer game with you, machines do not have to be THAT intelligent.
Their vegetarian lunch set was horrible.
We went to NUS in the afternoon. Listened to a few people talk, but the content was minimal. They were mostly presenting about games, like how an AI can work together with human in a co-operative game. Then a orchestra conducting game, which had totally nothing to do with AI was shown to us.
Day 2:
Dad took me to RGS today. Heavy rain, traffic jams, stevens road was flooded to the kerb. I was late by a quarter hour. When I entered, the lecturer was talking about the brain. Turns out that the whole session was about the structure and functionalities about the brain, and how it inspired certain cognotive architectures to be designed. Unfortunately, they were not well elaborated on, which quite defeats the whole purpose of the lecture about the brain.
I disagree on one point however, that the amount of neurons in the brain does not affect intelligence. In craniates, there is a relationship between the ratio of brain mass to total body mass and the intelligence of the organism. Therefore, for animals of the same mass, the one with larger brain mass is more intelligent. The lecturer said that the architecture of the brain was more important, because an elephant has a larger brain and is yet not more intelligent than human, and because the computational power of the human brain and the modern computer is similar. However over here, we are comparing two things, inorganic computer circuit boards and the organic brain, so how is it a fair statement to say that number of neurons does not affect the intelligence of an organism. I think it does.
Next up, introduction to robotics, and applications of AI. It was quite a bit of a repeat to what I learnt when playing with lego mindstorms since primary school, and in DSO office with Jk. Then they talked a little about automated vehicles created to compete in DARPA's challenges, followed by a presentation about the linguistic abilities of AI, which would have been interesting if I understood it, as it included a lot of probability notation, and our school have not touched much about it(other t
Their vegetarian lunch set was horrible.
but the agar was good.
We went to NTU this time. By now, I was getting restless with this AI course, and refused to wake up when we reached NTU even though I'm aware that we are there until Jk called me a few more times. Yes, I can be rather (insert adjective that describes the character of not waking up and waiting for someone to wake you up even if you know that you will have to wake up eventually because you have to alight the bus) at times.
The guide brought us to visit the library to watch students studying, which amusingly made me associate this to a zoo tour, by seeing students discussing and learning in 'cages'. Then we went to the top floor and looked at the books, which was really demoralizing. Upon opening the mathematical journals, I didn't understand what the questions posed meant, or what the english word even meant, let alone understanding the journal. Number theory and topology, to great fields of mathematics that I have never touched and learned in my life.
So after school reopens, I hope to get more mathematics books from the school library and read up. If elementary calculus wasn't that hard to grasp, learning topology and basic number theory wouldn't be impossible.
Then we hopped into the world of advertising. We went to a certain computer lab, where the students/staff at NTU made several presentations on 'why NTU school of computer engineering' is the best choice for us. Then they opened a few computer applications done as projects by students and described them and let us try them, and finally ending the whole session with a Q & A about life in NTU computer engineering faculty...
Day 3
Two mini projects today. First one was a "programming" project. We had to make the bulky robot follow the line and shoot down its target. "Programming" because everything from the logic to algorithm was already done for us. So all we had to do was tweak the parameters...
Then they claimed that it was because they didn't want to do things of too high a standard, in order to cater to every student's needs. But again, if we even got a chance to attend this module, we probably wouldn't be that dumb as to find entering parameters a great programming challenge. And I remember hearing that these YDSP modules were of a high standard, which we would not be able to follow unless we attended every session and pay attention...
Their vegetarian lunch set was horrible.
Second mini project was designing an AI. My acceleration in socializing was pretty low, so I didn't talk much. We designed an AI for a game where you add matchsticks to a grid and get points for enclosing a box. Jk's friend (Not sure what's his name) and I set up a co ordinate system and thought of the code, which was unfortunately, not needed.
For the rest of the time, Jk's friend showed me this mathematical game called conway's game of life, in which there is a grid made of cells, and with a certain set of rules(2 or 3 surrounding cells cause central cell to survive, 3 surrounding causes activation of central cell, 0 and 1 surrounding cells cause loneliness and death of central cell, and more than 3 causes overcrowding and death of central cell). So basically with this set of rules, and a starting configuration, the cells manifest or die out into different patterns. When the grid gets big and cells arrange into complicated patterns, many interesting phenomena happen, like they start oscillating, and they travel as a pack, or grow without limit.
http://www.math.com/students/wonders/life/life.html
Quoting the website:
Why is Life So Interesting?
Life is one of the simplest examples of what is sometimes called "emergent complexity" or "self-organizing systems." This subject area has captured the attention of scientists and mathematicians in diverse fields. It is the study of how elaborate patterns and behaviors can emerge from very simple rules. It helps us understand, for example, how the petals on a rose or the stripes on a zebra can arise from a tissue of living cells growing together. It can even help us understand the diversity of life that has evolved on earth.
Back to the topic.
During the presentation, we missed out on several good, but perhaps irrelevant, points which was quite a pity. Ultimately, those groups that won were those which used ideas and concepts from previous lectures, like linguistic ability, machine learning...etc, no matter how impractical, lame, unoriginal and easy talk they were.
In the end consolation prize winners got a 10 dollar MPH voucher, each. While the top prize was 50 dollar MPH voucher each. Seems like they have got a lot of funding.
Conclusion:
Didn't learn much, but it was quite an exposure to the world of AI, which is good, just that i don't find it that helpful in our programming project.
Firstly, I seem to be always criticizing courses and programmes. I would like to remind everyone, that I am not a critic, neither am I a pessimist. Remember how I said that orientation, some level camps and all were rather disappointing? Well, it isn't really my fault that they are bad and neither would I like to lie about it, even to myself, just to appease optimistic laughing bouncing bunnies who thinks that everything in existence is lovely like a rainbow.
The truth is, the world is in a mess and no course would be good unless the organizing committees are clear about their objectives and are sincere in carrying it out for the participants, rather than for other advantages. In addition, learning to accept the truth is important too, even if it's against you. So when you see 'leaders' in 'leadership camps' drooling off to sleep as the speaker drones on about the importance of trust and teamwork and respect, you know what to blame.
Perhaps others think that the course was acceptable, but I strongly believe that it could be improved to decrease time-wastage on the participant's behalf.
At first I was rather enthusiastic, I mean, "Haha! All my friends only get to attend ONE YDSP module but I get to attend TWO!" And I was excited about it, but now I think that I have wasted 3 days of my precious holiday, whose days are seeping away like sand among my fingers...
Nevertheless, there are quite a few things that I have learnt.
Day One:
Introduction to AI. Couldn't wait for lunch. Then we hard-coded a tic-tac-toe game, which was rather elementary considering that we did not even code the programme, we just inserted mono-level conditional statements into a notepad file. Fair enough, considering that it was an introductory activity. Next up, was a lecture about machine learning. Personally, I feel that for a machine to truly learn, it requires creativity, and pattern recognition ability, like how a newborn baby picks up language. You show the object to him, and say the word. Consequently, he will associate the two together; that's pattern recognition for you. Creativity is no less important. To advance, the machine has to be able to create new ideas, then test them out, otherwise, it is not doing much, other than following instructions from the programmer. Alright, instilling a machine with creativity is a rather long shot...
Again, I don't find the need for a machine to be that intelligent. All humans need for a machine is to follow instructions to make tasks easier for them, not taking a life on its own. The latter can be done with another human, and unless you are a lonely person who doesn't have any friends to play a computer game with you, machines do not have to be THAT intelligent.
Their vegetarian lunch set was horrible.
We went to NUS in the afternoon. Listened to a few people talk, but the content was minimal. They were mostly presenting about games, like how an AI can work together with human in a co-operative game. Then a orchestra conducting game, which had totally nothing to do with AI was shown to us.
Day 2:
Dad took me to RGS today. Heavy rain, traffic jams, stevens road was flooded to the kerb. I was late by a quarter hour. When I entered, the lecturer was talking about the brain. Turns out that the whole session was about the structure and functionalities about the brain, and how it inspired certain cognotive architectures to be designed. Unfortunately, they were not well elaborated on, which quite defeats the whole purpose of the lecture about the brain.
I disagree on one point however, that the amount of neurons in the brain does not affect intelligence. In craniates, there is a relationship between the ratio of brain mass to total body mass and the intelligence of the organism. Therefore, for animals of the same mass, the one with larger brain mass is more intelligent. The lecturer said that the architecture of the brain was more important, because an elephant has a larger brain and is yet not more intelligent than human, and because the computational power of the human brain and the modern computer is similar. However over here, we are comparing two things, inorganic computer circuit boards and the organic brain, so how is it a fair statement to say that number of neurons does not affect the intelligence of an organism. I think it does.
Next up, introduction to robotics, and applications of AI. It was quite a bit of a repeat to what I learnt when playing with lego mindstorms since primary school, and in DSO office with Jk. Then they talked a little about automated vehicles created to compete in DARPA's challenges, followed by a presentation about the linguistic abilities of AI, which would have been interesting if I understood it, as it included a lot of probability notation, and our school have not touched much about it(other t
Their vegetarian lunch set was horrible.
but the agar was good.
We went to NTU this time. By now, I was getting restless with this AI course, and refused to wake up when we reached NTU even though I'm aware that we are there until Jk called me a few more times. Yes, I can be rather (insert adjective that describes the character of not waking up and waiting for someone to wake you up even if you know that you will have to wake up eventually because you have to alight the bus) at times.
The guide brought us to visit the library to watch students studying, which amusingly made me associate this to a zoo tour, by seeing students discussing and learning in 'cages'. Then we went to the top floor and looked at the books, which was really demoralizing. Upon opening the mathematical journals, I didn't understand what the questions posed meant, or what the english word even meant, let alone understanding the journal. Number theory and topology, to great fields of mathematics that I have never touched and learned in my life.
So after school reopens, I hope to get more mathematics books from the school library and read up. If elementary calculus wasn't that hard to grasp, learning topology and basic number theory wouldn't be impossible.
Then we hopped into the world of advertising. We went to a certain computer lab, where the students/staff at NTU made several presentations on 'why NTU school of computer engineering' is the best choice for us. Then they opened a few computer applications done as projects by students and described them and let us try them, and finally ending the whole session with a Q & A about life in NTU computer engineering faculty...
Day 3
Two mini projects today. First one was a "programming" project. We had to make the bulky robot follow the line and shoot down its target. "Programming" because everything from the logic to algorithm was already done for us. So all we had to do was tweak the parameters...
Then they claimed that it was because they didn't want to do things of too high a standard, in order to cater to every student's needs. But again, if we even got a chance to attend this module, we probably wouldn't be that dumb as to find entering parameters a great programming challenge. And I remember hearing that these YDSP modules were of a high standard, which we would not be able to follow unless we attended every session and pay attention...
Their vegetarian lunch set was horrible.
Second mini project was designing an AI. My acceleration in socializing was pretty low, so I didn't talk much. We designed an AI for a game where you add matchsticks to a grid and get points for enclosing a box. Jk's friend (Not sure what's his name) and I set up a co ordinate system and thought of the code, which was unfortunately, not needed.
For the rest of the time, Jk's friend showed me this mathematical game called conway's game of life, in which there is a grid made of cells, and with a certain set of rules(2 or 3 surrounding cells cause central cell to survive, 3 surrounding causes activation of central cell, 0 and 1 surrounding cells cause loneliness and death of central cell, and more than 3 causes overcrowding and death of central cell). So basically with this set of rules, and a starting configuration, the cells manifest or die out into different patterns. When the grid gets big and cells arrange into complicated patterns, many interesting phenomena happen, like they start oscillating, and they travel as a pack, or grow without limit.
http://www.math.com/students/wonders/life/life.html
Quoting the website:
Why is Life So Interesting?
Life is one of the simplest examples of what is sometimes called "emergent complexity" or "self-organizing systems." This subject area has captured the attention of scientists and mathematicians in diverse fields. It is the study of how elaborate patterns and behaviors can emerge from very simple rules. It helps us understand, for example, how the petals on a rose or the stripes on a zebra can arise from a tissue of living cells growing together. It can even help us understand the diversity of life that has evolved on earth.
In Life, as in nature, we observe many fascinating phenomena. Nature, however, is complicated and we aren't sure of all the rules. The game of Life lets us observe a system where we know all the rules. Just like we can study simple animals (like worms) to discover things about more complex animals (like humans), people can study the game of Life to learn about patterns and behaviors in more complex systems.
The rules described above are all that's needed to discover anything there is to know about Life, and we'll see that this includes a great deal. Unlike most computer games, the rules themselves create the patterns, rather than programmers creating a complex set of game situations.
How Complex Can Life Get?
A computer can be built inside the Life "universe". Space does not permit a detailed description, but you can find much more information in some of the references given at the bottom. Briefly, streams of gliders and spaceships can be used to send information just as electrical signals are used to send information in a physical computer. These streams of gliders can react in a way to perform all of the logical functions on which a modern computer is based. It would be very impractical to build a computer this way, but given a large enough Life pattern and enough time, we could run any program that runs on a computer. Several interesting special-purpose computers have been constructed as Life, including one that outputs the prime numbers.
A universal constructor can even be built. This is a pattern that can take a blueprint for some other Life pattern (or its own) and build that pattern. No one has built this yet, since it would be very large, but it has been shown to be possible. This means that Life patterns could exist that reproduce themselves. They could even modify their blueprints just as living things combine and mutate their genes. Who can say what would develop in a large enough universe of reproducing Life patterns?
What is Life Good For?
Studying the patterns of Life can result in discoveries in other areas of math and science.
The behavior of cells or animals can be better understood using simple rules. Behavior that seems intelligent, such as we see in ant colonies might just be simple rules that we don't understand yet. Take a look at this simulation of termites piling up woodchips. There are only 2 rules in this system, and yet, a seemingly "intelligent" pattern emerges. What does this say about the nature of intelligence?
Traffic problems might be solved by analyzing them with the mathematical tools learned from these types of simulations.
Computer viruses are also examples of cellular automata. Finding the cure for computer viruses could be hidden in the patterns of this simple game.
Human diseases might be cured if we could better understand why cells live and die.
Exploring the galaxies would be easier if machines could be invented that could build themselves. Imagine sending a probe to Mars that could build a copy of itself. Although this is theoretically possible, it hasn't been invented yet!
Is Life Alive?
Would living creatures evolve in a sufficiently large Life universe if we waited long enough? We can see that Life, simple as it is to describe, exhibits much of the complexity of our own universe. It is intriguing to ask what would happen in an infinitely large Life space seeded with random patterns. It seems that likely that complexity would emerge beyond what we can see when we watch Life on a computer. Even in our own universe, there is a huge difference between what we know about natural history and what we can observe on a human time frame.
On the other hand, Life has only two dimensions, unlike our own universe, and that is a severe limitation. There are other properties of Life -- the tendency to stabilize locally into oscillators -- that may make it an unlikely place for living things to develop. The answer to this question remains unknown, but Life illustrates at a simplified level the kinds of evolutionary forces that we witness in our own universe.
And I tried it and it was not exactly fun to play with, but it was rather fascinating, when you look at the macroscopic effect of all the millions of cells interacting, then zooming down to the cellular level, and knowing that all these happen due to a few simple rules...Back to the topic.
During the presentation, we missed out on several good, but perhaps irrelevant, points which was quite a pity. Ultimately, those groups that won were those which used ideas and concepts from previous lectures, like linguistic ability, machine learning...etc, no matter how impractical, lame, unoriginal and easy talk they were.
In the end consolation prize winners got a 10 dollar MPH voucher, each. While the top prize was 50 dollar MPH voucher each. Seems like they have got a lot of funding.
Conclusion:
Didn't learn much, but it was quite an exposure to the world of AI, which is good, just that i don't find it that helpful in our programming project.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
First Achievement of the Holidays
I jogged to Changi Village and back to Pasir Ris on Wednesday, totalling 9.6 kilometres! I feel really proud of myself, considering that my previous record of distance covered in one session was only 6 kilometres.
I wasn't too bothered with taking the time, because I was taking this session of exercise more like a rehalibitative exercise for my cardiac pain, but I took around an hour and a quarter. However the next time I attempt more than 6 km, I should bring some water supply.
The doctor said that there was nothing wrong with me, and that it was probably just some cramps in the chest area. Surprisingly, I swam without problems, and by the time I came out of the pool, I did not feel any more pain while walking fast. It came back sometime after though.
So when I gave running a shot, I was thinking of going slowly. At the beginning, I was going and stopping, going and stopping, highly utilizing abdominal breathing whenever my chest started feeling pain. When I reached Changi Village however, crossed the road and turned back, I could run really normally, feeling really good.
Then again, although it is a lot better now, the pain comes back occasionally. So I suppose overcoming my fear of the pain and running the road to recovery will help a lot.
I wasn't too bothered with taking the time, because I was taking this session of exercise more like a rehalibitative exercise for my cardiac pain, but I took around an hour and a quarter. However the next time I attempt more than 6 km, I should bring some water supply.
The doctor said that there was nothing wrong with me, and that it was probably just some cramps in the chest area. Surprisingly, I swam without problems, and by the time I came out of the pool, I did not feel any more pain while walking fast. It came back sometime after though.
So when I gave running a shot, I was thinking of going slowly. At the beginning, I was going and stopping, going and stopping, highly utilizing abdominal breathing whenever my chest started feeling pain. When I reached Changi Village however, crossed the road and turned back, I could run really normally, feeling really good.
Then again, although it is a lot better now, the pain comes back occasionally. So I suppose overcoming my fear of the pain and running the road to recovery will help a lot.
Day after the first day of Physics Camp
In the morning, I went to meet joelle at the usual bus stop.
Then we chatted on the bus.
Then I brought her to LT 27 at NUS, where she became me for the Physics Camp.
Then I started walking to DSO, considering that time was on my side, and a little exercise was good for me.
And after walking 100 metres, I started feeling a little guilty for signing up for this thing, and then not have the perseverence to complete it. However, I thought about it and realised that I almost always felt guilty directly after making a decision, and then a counter-decision. However, this guilt is rather unjustifiable, and if I went on being held back by unjustifiable guilt, I will never go on. So I have to think through my decision clearly before hand, and once I made it, I have to trust myself that it is a good one, and stop procrastinating.
I occasionally have a tendency to make counter-decisions, followed anti-counter-decisionx, then...
And this would have to stop.
Spent the entire morning at DSO downloading and installing lejos, java development kit and netbeans, and attempting to understand several java tutorials. Ultimately, netbeans on my computer could not retrieve certain files even after altering settings and configurations.
So in the end jk and I did a little programming on his com and as he typed I learnt a little bit of java along the way.
We created this button spamming game without the use of multi-threading as we did not know how to do it, which took quite a bit of thinking and time. Following that, we decided to do make another game in which you pressed buttons to make combos to make the robot do certain things.
Artificial Intelligence Module is starting next week. Looking forward and wondering what we will learn there.
Then we chatted on the bus.
Then I brought her to LT 27 at NUS, where she became me for the Physics Camp.
Then I started walking to DSO, considering that time was on my side, and a little exercise was good for me.
And after walking 100 metres, I started feeling a little guilty for signing up for this thing, and then not have the perseverence to complete it. However, I thought about it and realised that I almost always felt guilty directly after making a decision, and then a counter-decision. However, this guilt is rather unjustifiable, and if I went on being held back by unjustifiable guilt, I will never go on. So I have to think through my decision clearly before hand, and once I made it, I have to trust myself that it is a good one, and stop procrastinating.
I occasionally have a tendency to make counter-decisions, followed anti-counter-decisionx, then...
And this would have to stop.
Spent the entire morning at DSO downloading and installing lejos, java development kit and netbeans, and attempting to understand several java tutorials. Ultimately, netbeans on my computer could not retrieve certain files even after altering settings and configurations.So in the end jk and I did a little programming on his com and as he typed I learnt a little bit of java along the way.
We created this button spamming game without the use of multi-threading as we did not know how to do it, which took quite a bit of thinking and time. Following that, we decided to do make another game in which you pressed buttons to make combos to make the robot do certain things.
Artificial Intelligence Module is starting next week. Looking forward and wondering what we will learn there.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Physics Camp Day 1 (And no there won't be a Day 2 to this)
Dear Replacement
As you can see from the title, this is a piece of electronic mail, or email for short.
From the way you said that you weren't really interested as we discussed before the holidays started, I was rather surprised that you took interest when I sent you that message.
I have absolutely no idea, that this phyz camp was going to be this similar to last year. What they had in common were the interactive sessions and lessons and one lecture was a repeated lecture, with repeated jokes, so I knew beforehand what the answer to his jokes were going to be, and when he was about to tell a joke. Nevertheless, I love that lecture. It was a good one.
Tomorrow is going to be- DIY project competition, lunch, then quiz then bye bye. The DIY project competition, as I briefly heard, is something to do with a boat competition. Well, last year it was one of thsoe put a diver in a bottle and squeeze it and let it sink competition, so I suppose the boat competition is going to be something along that standard.
As you heard from me, it has been a rather boring day for me (It got a little better when I started talking to the other NUSHS students), and I don't think that it would be anymore fun the next day. The lecture theatre was extremely cold, and I thought I was going to get hypothermia. The way i stayed alive was by putting my hands in my bag.
I have no guarantee that it would not be a waste of time for you, afterall, who am I to judge, since I have already been through this last year, boredom might be the underlying reason. So, I decided to spend my time doing something more useful like going to DSO to work on IRP. However, considering that you know some of the people there, I don't think it will be that bad for you. :)
Another thing to note. this is how I interprete what I found from the NUS net.
Frequently asked questions
12) What happen if some registered students is unable to attend the session last minute?
Please find replacements for students who are unable to attend as the fees are not refundable.
Firstly, it says last minute. Secondly, Dayna just told me that her sister replaced her without much beforehand notice. I remember quite clearly too that this was how it worked last year. Again, I am not sure about replacements on the SECOND day, because registration is on the first day. However, I dont' see much of a problem with replacement on the second day, so I strongly reckon that it should be okay.
Regarding whose name would be printed on the certificate (well, if you really care about that, which I don't think you are those sort of person who will), and other administrative issues, I am not so sure. But there are not grades or anything, or major implication on any testimonials, I don't think the name on the participant's list really matters.
Of course, if no one replaces me, no harm will be done in any sort of way, so please don't feel like you are doing me a favour. ( I think my tone in this sentence sounds weird, so disclaimer to you: I am saying this in a very friendly tone). So go ahead, replace me, if you believe that it is going to be worth your time. :):):):):):):) (This paragraph really sounds offensive, but since I do not know how else to phrase it, let me just make things easier for myself by telling you that this is said in a happy tone of voice) :)
Information given below.
Venue: 8 30 - 9 00 : Breakfast (so be here at that time)
LT 27 (Lim Seng Tjoe lecture theatre)
how to get there: take 198, stop one stop before school and walk across that gigantic sports field.
Or take 95 and alight at the second bus stop from kent ridge road.
More info here : http://www.physics.nus.edu.sg/~physoc/enrichment/faq.html
If I don't go, I will be going to DSO, which is really near there, so I could pass you the file and stuff for the phyz thing in the morning, and maybe take u there if needed. DSO working hours are really free, and I am not meeting jk until late morning.
There.
Enjoy your holidays
:)
Regards,
Zf
As you can see from the title, this is a piece of electronic mail, or email for short.
From the way you said that you weren't really interested as we discussed before the holidays started, I was rather surprised that you took interest when I sent you that message.
I have absolutely no idea, that this phyz camp was going to be this similar to last year. What they had in common were the interactive sessions and lessons and one lecture was a repeated lecture, with repeated jokes, so I knew beforehand what the answer to his jokes were going to be, and when he was about to tell a joke. Nevertheless, I love that lecture. It was a good one.
Tomorrow is going to be- DIY project competition, lunch, then quiz then bye bye. The DIY project competition, as I briefly heard, is something to do with a boat competition. Well, last year it was one of thsoe put a diver in a bottle and squeeze it and let it sink competition, so I suppose the boat competition is going to be something along that standard.
As you heard from me, it has been a rather boring day for me (It got a little better when I started talking to the other NUSHS students), and I don't think that it would be anymore fun the next day. The lecture theatre was extremely cold, and I thought I was going to get hypothermia. The way i stayed alive was by putting my hands in my bag.
I have no guarantee that it would not be a waste of time for you, afterall, who am I to judge, since I have already been through this last year, boredom might be the underlying reason. So, I decided to spend my time doing something more useful like going to DSO to work on IRP. However, considering that you know some of the people there, I don't think it will be that bad for you. :)
Another thing to note. this is how I interprete what I found from the NUS net.
Frequently asked questions
12) What happen if some registered students is unable to attend the session last minute?
Please find replacements for students who are unable to attend as the fees are not refundable.
Firstly, it says last minute. Secondly, Dayna just told me that her sister replaced her without much beforehand notice. I remember quite clearly too that this was how it worked last year. Again, I am not sure about replacements on the SECOND day, because registration is on the first day. However, I dont' see much of a problem with replacement on the second day, so I strongly reckon that it should be okay.
Regarding whose name would be printed on the certificate (well, if you really care about that, which I don't think you are those sort of person who will), and other administrative issues, I am not so sure. But there are not grades or anything, or major implication on any testimonials, I don't think the name on the participant's list really matters.
Of course, if no one replaces me, no harm will be done in any sort of way, so please don't feel like you are doing me a favour. ( I think my tone in this sentence sounds weird, so disclaimer to you: I am saying this in a very friendly tone). So go ahead, replace me, if you believe that it is going to be worth your time. :):):):):):):) (This paragraph really sounds offensive, but since I do not know how else to phrase it, let me just make things easier for myself by telling you that this is said in a happy tone of voice) :)
Information given below.
Venue: 8 30 - 9 00 : Breakfast (so be here at that time)
LT 27 (Lim Seng Tjoe lecture theatre)
how to get there: take 198, stop one stop before school and walk across that gigantic sports field.
Or take 95 and alight at the second bus stop from kent ridge road.
More info here : http://www.physics.nus.edu.sg/~physoc/enrichment/faq.html
If I don't go, I will be going to DSO, which is really near there, so I could pass you the file and stuff for the phyz thing in the morning, and maybe take u there if needed. DSO working hours are really free, and I am not meeting jk until late morning.
There.
Enjoy your holidays
:)
Regards,
Zf
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
A pretty bad start to vacation
I had plans to work out and improve my fitness level over the holidays, by jogging, at least, on a daily basis, but things aren't going much the way I wanted to.
For an unknown reason, my heart/chest, started hurting on Tuesday. It happens when I start walking at a moderate pace for as short as 30 seconds, and will only subside when I start slowing down and begin abdominal breathing. Then I tried going for a run, and barely lasted beyond 400 metres(Without timing, even without timing, I could not even continue running). It seems that the slightest aerobic activity causes this, yet I experience no fatigue, shortness of breath or pespiration.
It feels as if it beats rapidly and more violently when this happens, such that its pumping is rather observable visually, which is not typical of me, considering that I did my NAPFA test and got a Gold with pretty much ease. It does not hurt so much at the heart itself, but rather more at the sternum, where you should feel a depression between the two ribcages.
I have no idea what is going on, but I am just going to brainstorm a little:
1) I got a pretty big scare the day before when someone suddenly shouted
2) Jumped too much during badminton. i.e vertical acceleration
3) Drank isotonic drinks/ carbonated drinks
4) As my friend told me, running long distance and then stopping abuptly without cooling down properly on a regularly basis
Scarier Ideas:
1) Illness
2) Blood clot
3) ...
Shall not discuss too much. Anyway, I am going to see a doctor soon, but would really like to know others' opinions on possible reasons for this happening.
I played badminton with cheryl lit, jun kiat on monday and tuesday. My badminton racket grip is wearing off rapidly, exposing the wooden handle, causing lots of pain and abrasion on my fingers. I had better get a new grip.
I hope to make use of this month to brushen up my badminton skills.
Today, after the open round of Math Olympiad, of which I only answered 4/25 questions, went to buona vista to meet Jk for lunch. It ended up that I reached one hour before he did, and so even as I asked Joelle about Ghim Moh food center the previous night, I went exploring at Holland village, because the Bus Terminal was at the Holland Village side, and Jk was going to arrive at the Bus Terminal, and then I would be too lazy to cross the road.
I found four coffee shops, and pretty much made a mental map of how the roads in Holland Village connect, after the first, confusing attempt, because the roads were windy and curvy and I did not have a compass, but after the second scout I patched up some loopholes in my map. In the end, it turned out quite accurate.
Then even after we finished lunch, we still had a long time before our meeting time at DSO for internship, so we decided to buy a Slurpee and walk 3km to DSO fromo Holland village, which is at Science Park 1.
DSO was quite stressful, as there were form after forms to fill up regarding security. At the same time, no recording devices or information storage device were allowed, so you get scares if you touch your pocket and thought it was your handphone and then be relieved when you find that it isn't...
Over and over again.
And the project we are dealing with...I am not supposed to discuss it because its DSO we are talking about here, but I have to say that it is not any normal project we do in school and I have a feeling it is going to be fun.
For an unknown reason, my heart/chest, started hurting on Tuesday. It happens when I start walking at a moderate pace for as short as 30 seconds, and will only subside when I start slowing down and begin abdominal breathing. Then I tried going for a run, and barely lasted beyond 400 metres(Without timing, even without timing, I could not even continue running). It seems that the slightest aerobic activity causes this, yet I experience no fatigue, shortness of breath or pespiration.
It feels as if it beats rapidly and more violently when this happens, such that its pumping is rather observable visually, which is not typical of me, considering that I did my NAPFA test and got a Gold with pretty much ease. It does not hurt so much at the heart itself, but rather more at the sternum, where you should feel a depression between the two ribcages.
I have no idea what is going on, but I am just going to brainstorm a little:
1) I got a pretty big scare the day before when someone suddenly shouted
2) Jumped too much during badminton. i.e vertical acceleration
3) Drank isotonic drinks/ carbonated drinks
4) As my friend told me, running long distance and then stopping abuptly without cooling down properly on a regularly basis
Scarier Ideas:
1) Illness
2) Blood clot
3) ...
Shall not discuss too much. Anyway, I am going to see a doctor soon, but would really like to know others' opinions on possible reasons for this happening.
I played badminton with cheryl lit, jun kiat on monday and tuesday. My badminton racket grip is wearing off rapidly, exposing the wooden handle, causing lots of pain and abrasion on my fingers. I had better get a new grip.
I hope to make use of this month to brushen up my badminton skills.
Today, after the open round of Math Olympiad, of which I only answered 4/25 questions, went to buona vista to meet Jk for lunch. It ended up that I reached one hour before he did, and so even as I asked Joelle about Ghim Moh food center the previous night, I went exploring at Holland village, because the Bus Terminal was at the Holland Village side, and Jk was going to arrive at the Bus Terminal, and then I would be too lazy to cross the road.
I found four coffee shops, and pretty much made a mental map of how the roads in Holland Village connect, after the first, confusing attempt, because the roads were windy and curvy and I did not have a compass, but after the second scout I patched up some loopholes in my map. In the end, it turned out quite accurate.
Then even after we finished lunch, we still had a long time before our meeting time at DSO for internship, so we decided to buy a Slurpee and walk 3km to DSO fromo Holland village, which is at Science Park 1.
DSO was quite stressful, as there were form after forms to fill up regarding security. At the same time, no recording devices or information storage device were allowed, so you get scares if you touch your pocket and thought it was your handphone and then be relieved when you find that it isn't...
Over and over again.
And the project we are dealing with...I am not supposed to discuss it because its DSO we are talking about here, but I have to say that it is not any normal project we do in school and I have a feeling it is going to be fun.
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