Rants & Ravings

Defective genetic make-up
I strongly suspect that there is something wrong with the gene pool in my family. Especially in the females. All have a) a really really bad temper b) cannot get along with the other females in the family c) will argue in any circumstance. Just set them loose.
My mum will start an argument with my grandma and/or sister, my grandma will start with my mum, my sister will start with my mum.. seriously.. there's a genetic defect.. why I don't like to spend time with my family again? hmm.. I wonder..

When exhaustion kicks in..
I'm feeling totally gone.. not been getting enough sleep this whole week what with school work and readings.. and it doesn't help that I wake up in the middle of the night every night cause I develop some weird rash when I sleep and it disappears in the morning.. been in school from 9-5-ish almost every day this week.. no school tomorrow, no commitments.. yay.. can sleep in...
also when u're exhausted, everything makes sense and nothing makes sense at the same time..

Very interesting sight.
If you're at home now (as in right now.. 9-ish pm on thursday night) take a look outside.. u might catch a glimpse of a red moon.. and its hung really low..

Here's the essay I just wrote.
Give me feedback and constructive criticisms. :D

Objectivity/Subjectivity of Morality

Can’t remember the exact question that was posed in the tutorial class today. Was it that morality is subjective/objective or should morality be subjective/objective? Anyway I sort of remembered and re-arranged what I wanted to say just now but somehow was unable to.
Anyway morality should be objective. Point being if it was subjective, it means it might change somewhere down the road and who knows, it might affect us as individuals. What do I mean? Well let’s see, I noticed that a large percentage of our class wears glasses. Probably the majority. Let’s say that one day we all gang up on the minority (non-glasses wearing people), by saying that it is immoral to not wear glasses. And by not wearing glasses, they all have to sit on the floor. And because we are the majority, we can make it the law and therefore “moral”. To us the majority, it’s not an issue, because we fit the criteria and therefore doesn’t affect us. However, to the minority it will be an issue. In fact it would be viewed as being unfair to them and wrong. Unfairness can be seen as a form of “immorality”.
That’s the problem with a subjective moral standard. It can change. And what is right today can be wrong tomorrow and vice versa. It might not affect us because we form the bulk or mainstream. But what if one day you got marginalized like in my example above? Subjective morality is usually a standard decided by the majority or people in power and thus made into law. I realize that the example I gave above is quite laughable. That scenario would probably never occur because it would make no sense. Even if we wanted to do that, our tutor would prevent it from happening being in a position of authority.
Just remember this, slightly more than 150 years so or (give or take), it wasn’t against the law to treat people of certain skin color as property (slaves). Around the same time, it was perfectly legal that women had no rights or unequal rights. A while later, it was alright to send members of a certain race to concentration camps and gas chambers. They enjoyed the same rights as everyone else until one day someone says that they don’t have the same rights because of race. Morally wrong yes, illegal? Nope. It was endorsed by the government. Now in certain countries, it is perfectly legal to overwork people and give them minimum wage. Why is it minimum wage? Because it is the standard set down by the law. Everything above may or may not be morally wrong to you, but in any case, there is not much you can do because it is not against the law. And all that took place because of subjective moral standards.
Here’s an interesting thought that entered my mind about the law and our moral standards. For example, you can be charged and convicted of murder because the law says it is wrong, but not because it is morally wrong. Morality takes a backseat to the law. Does the law affect our moral standards? Or do our moral standards affect the law?
I’ll conclude with this: An objective moral standard also has its flaws. Or rather just 1 big flaw. How do you set an objective moral standard?

Getting Value for money
In the computer lab now making "full" use of the resources, getting my money's worth like a typical K.S singaporean. Anyway today was a light study day. Had my fave engine mod lecture and the first philo tutorial. Tutor is nice. Class is kinda small with 11 people. But the breakdown of the class is very interesting. I'm guessing 1 Law student, 1 SoC, 3 arts and the rest all engineers.. yes.. ENGINEERS.. haha.. which made a certain Freakier Tan learn to not exclaim "Engineer".. cause will confirm offend a lot of people..
Anyway point was brought up in class today about Morality and something to do about objectivity/subjectivity of it. I stood on the objectivity spectrum with the law guy (yes the irony is not lost on me), but was somehow unable to explain clearly to the class.. My stand is that morality or rather right and wrong is black and white and the shades of grey in between is us just rationalising it. But was unable to get that across. Used a weak analogy so now as I'm typing this blog, I'm typing out my attempt to explain my point of view so can post on the tutorial blog.
So what is your stand on this issue?

2 for the price of 1!
Next item update:
2 x paint brushes

Prayer request
Please pray for uncle Edwin. He's now at Chicago waiting for the next avail flight to Boston. There's a snow storm of sorts there now.. some airports have been closed.

Sorry to all
Just realised that I haven't been posting anything substantial here for a while.. haha.. sorry still adjusting to school starting.. also realised that I got tutorials this week and need to do another round of reading for my soci.. need to start highlighting stuff.. cause from the announcement that one of the tutors(?) made, I might have problem answering the questions cause need to quote concepts/theories.. haha.. which I know almost zilch.. so must wake up my idea.. this mod not as easy as psyche.. also got project drawing submission due soon..
Oh but on the brighter side, I just found out a new piece of good news, SCV has automatically upgraded my broadband speed.. it is now 6.5MBPS.. which is slightly 2 times more than my previous speed.. is that good? you bet your bottom dollar.. but the downside? cursed !@%!@%@!% law prevents me from downloading tv shows.. hey khai ah.. need to ask u .. u still downloading tv shows? I think I keeping my daily download to 100meg.. sigh.. what ur average volume?

Whoa its hot..
The weather these few days have been scorching.. good and bad.. good cause was so dark and gloomy previously.. bad cause now cannot enjoy.. cause school has started.. crap must check if I got tutorials to do..

Update for the day
1 x X-acto knife

Update for yesterday and today
2 x ball point pen
1 x face mask.

2 people have given up.. that leaves Andy, IceNCoke and Elaine? dunno if Michelle is playing or not.. haha..

Update for the day
1 x circuit board holder

Update for the day
1 x table clamp

Movie/tv criminals must work out a lot
I realise that they can run really really fast and for really really long periods of time. Watching this Martin Lawrence show now.. its understandable that the policemen can run.. cause well they train for it and stuff.. their own version of SOC etc etc.. but criminals? Must be they train also.. imagine before you decide to be a criminal, must go and train, SOC in 6 min, IPPT gold, triathelete and stuff.. haha..
Can you imagine a criminals academy? Where people go in to train so they can be good criminals that won't get caught.. that one will be the more physical criminals.. like snatch thieves and robbers.. then got the embezzlers who no need to exercise so much but train the brain.. can train to run also but then rarely do embezzlers "run" away..

Next item update
1 x smooth grit sandpaper

Early update for next item
Later on will be quite busy..so the next item is
1 x rough sandpaper

Latest item update
1 x dremel

What engineers do when bored
We start guessing and placing bets on when another friend will get chicken pox. The losers treat the winner 1 cup of fruit juice each. haha.. Yes its yet another game I started in school
Currently the dates I betted on are as follows
16th Jan (his birthday)
8th Feb (CNY eve)

cause life is ironic.

Fifth Item update
1 x bag of clay

Rejected boat ideas
1) A boat powered by hamsters..
2) A boat that transforms into a submarine and back
3) A boat that can transform into a robot
4) A boat that can transform into a plane
5) A pyramid shaped boat

stay tuned for more rejected ideas after another brainstorming session

Local Tv sucks..
Was watching this local game show called Carlsberg world of friends.. dumb show.. only bright spark on the show was one of the contestants.. this russian lady.. dunno anything else abt her.. but she had lovely eyes.. greenish-blue.. and a nice smile.. other then that.. the whole show is crap.. in fact channel 5 is crap most of the time.. how channel i/u lost to them is a wonder.. they must have sucked more.. curse you ppl who don't let me download tv shows..

Need inspiration!!
Need innovative idea on how to make a unique shape.. cannot be the common looking ones.. was thinking of something that occurs in nature.. which animal/insect/living thing is like a boat in nature?

Fourth Item update:
1 piece of black cloth

Third item update!
1 x pot

Warning to people who cannot stand ghost stories.
Don't read this post.

The story took place during the 7th month of the Chinese lunar calendar and revolved around a young lad named Sam. Sam at that time was working as a general worker, in a small company located at Tuas. During one particular working day, the whole of Sam’s company was requested to work OT in order to meet a deadline due tomorrow. By the time everything was done, it was already past 1 am and Sam was the last person left in the office. He was left wondering whether there were still any bus services at this hour. He decided to try his luck and quickly tidied up the office, locked up and rushed towards the bus stop. The bus stop was situated by a small narrow road with dense forestation surrounding the area. Sam waited for about 20 minutes and was about to make his way to the main road to catch a cab when a double deck bus appeared from nowhere. He hesitantly waved it down, boarded the bus and the only person he saw on the same bus was a frail ghastly looking old woman. The old woman was dressed in white samfoo and black pant, attire favoured by maids in those early days or “Ma Jie” as they were commonly known then. Sam felt uneasy upon seeing her and was about to go up to the upper deck when a voice ranged out in Cantonese, “Young man, don’t go upstairs. Upstairs dangerous.” It was the old woman. Her comment sent a chill through Sam’s bones and he figured that the upper deck might be “dirty”. He decided to heed the old woman’s advice and grab a seat at the lower deck even though he felt uncomfortable by her presence. It was an agonizing 20 minutes journey before Sam reached his bus stop. He quickly alighted and turned to steal a quick glance at the old woman, who stared right back at him by the window. Without further ado, Sam hastened his pace and was fortunate to reach home safely.The next day, Sam was requested to work OT and ended up being the last person left in the office again. It was already past midnight and Sam was contemplating whether to take a cab home but decided against it in the end as money was tight. So he made his way to the bus stop again and after about 20 minutes, the same double deck bus appeared. Sam boarded the bus and saw the same old woman again. He decided to go to the upper deck again when the old woman called out to him, “Young man, don’t go upstairs. Upstairs dangerous.” Even though, he heard it before, he still felt a certain fear inside him since it’s the 7th month. To be on the safe side, he reluctantly took a seat at the lower deck again and reached home with no incidents.The third day, Sam was asked to do OT again. By now he was feeling dreaded and worried as he didn’t want to repeat the same process again. But he obliged nevertheless since it’s his livelihood. He was, you guessed it, the last person left in the office again. He made the same journey to the bus stop, occasionally checking his back as he walked. The double deck bus arrived, he boarded it and saw the same old woman again. As he proceeded to go upstairs, the old woman warned him again, “Young man, don’t go upstairs. Upstairs dangerous.” Sam was fed up with the old woman by now and decided to go upstairs even though he was feeling a bit scared. He saw no one else when he reached the upper deck and slowly made his way to the back of the bus and sat down. Sam’s heart began pounding away as he waited anxiously for something to happen. After 30 minutes, with nothing happening, Sam went downstairs to confront the old woman and asked her why she kept saying it’s dangerous upstairs. The old woman turned, stared at him and replied, “Young man, don’t go upstairs. Upstairs dangerous. Upstairs got no bus driver.”

Contest time!!
Ok.. seeing as how competitions/contests are so happening at the moment.. I shall jump onboard..
Its called "What in the blazes is Joel doing?"
Items so far:
1 x rolling pin
1 x rolling board

Everyday will update 1 item.. then whoever guesses correctly what I'm and doing and the purpose will win.. ah.. a prize.. yes.. that is yet to be determined.. (basically need to see my financial status at the point in time)

Yes so go ahead and try..

Sad and Tired
How can a day which started how semi well end so badly.. sigh.. just dented the side door of the new family car.. can't blame anybody but myself.. parents are kinda mad about it and its understandable.. but there's honestly nothing I can do.. I wish there was a rewind button to my life too but there isn't.. was my fault.. was careless..
Sigh.. if only it was the old car.. then not so bad..

Need some info.
Who here knows what's the cheapest rolling pin one can find? also how to get the board that u use to knead flour on? How much for that too.. yeah.. that's about it. Thanks for your time.

Got a splitting headache now..
Probably due to the series of weird dreams I just had.. it started when I was woken at 5am by the phone.. then after I went back to sleep, I was in the Amazing race.. and my partner was this guy from school.. haha.. interesting.. I remember a snow alps part when I had difficulty breathing cause was tiring.. which caused me to wake up a while and realise that my nose really was blocked and I was bending my neck trying to get more air.. causing my headache now.. then later went back to the dream with other obstacles and stuff.. in the end, it resulted in me R.O.Ding.. yes.. quite odd given that I have for so long already.. probably a combination of what kevin said at lunch and e-mailing an old army friend of mine.. haha.. ouch..

Thank God!
Managed to get all the modules I wanted to do for this coming semester. 6 in all..

Retraction
Been told by a said person in the below post to retract a statement abt a treat never materialising cause I got my free dinner tonight.. haha.. megumi saikoro beef set.. yum.. everyone must try it.. its good.. medium rare beef cubes.. yum..

24th Birthday
Of all my past birthdays, this has to be the most interesting one.. haha.. all thanks to all my friends around me.. not all read this blog.. but nm lah.. not my problem..
Things I have learnt this year already are:
1)24 years old is considered old. This view was expressed by the 2 Jocelyns I know, Andy's sister and Harry.. so ok.. old already.. oh well.. about time the age caught up with how I feel.. haha
2)It is possible to hide the fact of your birthday from people around you. Some people are naturally oblivious.. ahem.. hahaha.. that they only realise after spending the day insulting you.. then while walking at the airport realise then do a 180 degree personality change.. then start feeling guilty and makes promises abt treats (which will probably never materialise.. haha)
3) You can eat steamboat twice in as many days.. haha.. and the guy will recognise you..
4) Swensen's gives u free ice-cream on your birthday and they don't sing the song (which is good), its the crazy friends who sing the songs.. (which is bad)
5) To draw attention away from yourself while they are singing, you should sing along too.. thus misleading the crowd..
6) It's very very hard to buy gifts.. especially for girls.. girls should create a list of stuff they want and post it online... makes it easier.. I've spent almost 2 weeks already and I'm still 3 gifts down..
7)We should all aim to shop in June to save time
8) The above resolution/aim will almost never be done
9) People don't like customised concordances.. :D
10) I have crazy, cool friends. :D

First bright spark of the new year
Was a slow day with me bumming then meeting up Lyndon for steamboat dinner.. yum.. super full then was supposed to meet Jane for dessert.. then something odd happened.. which resulted in a series of "interesting" events..firstly when I messaged if she still wanted to go cause it was quite late, she asked "where are you?".. then I said near her place and can pick her up.. then she replied "nooooooooooooooo".. yes.. very suspicious here.. spider-sense tingling.. followed by call.. which I couldn't pick up cause dun want to get summon.. haha.. then later stopped at a safe place to read messages.. went along the lines of just bath, need time to get ready and wearing a facial mask.. ahem.. yes... since I know her well enough, the last one is confirm not true.. so ok lah.. she told me to go back then will call me.. but I said go home lazy to come out already.. (at this time, needed to go to the toilet so went to Raimah to use the toilet).. (at this pt also still partly believing that she needed time to get ready.. but how long to change and all that? 15 min? so I waited.. then she said no will be longer.. go home.. so I decided to go elsewhere to wait first.. around 1 hr later I msg "quite late already.. think most shops closed".. then she said " come now.."
so ok.. to which I replied "you are being very suspicious".. then she said "I'm waiting outside my house now." 2 phone calls followed asking where I was etc etc.. then arrived.. ah.. lo and behold.. a familiar looking car.. Matthias.. hahaha.. yes.. so I waited in the car and called, then she came out.. and said like (can't remember the order of events but roughly), can my sisters also come for dessert.. I said sure.. no prob.. then she said they need time to change come in and wait, but spider-sense tingling.. so I said nm, wait in car, then she asked if I wanted to collect my guitar bag.. I said nah another time.. by this time, she realised cannot bluff so said "Can you just come in?".. haha.. so I did lah.. then I was told to pretend to be surprised.. haha.. I wanted to surprise them, but my idea was shot down.. sigh no fun one.. so knowing where they would hide (for those who've been there before, its the same place we hid for Joan's b'day).. I just suddenly crouched down and shocked them... haha.. oh what fun.. :D there was a nice cake for me with 2 big candles and 4 small ones.. yes.. I'm 24.. shocking.. crap should paragraph here.. getting long..
Turns out Jane baked the cake.. after obligatory remarks abt cake and plastic knife not being able to cut.. actually at first really cannot cut.. had to use 2 hands and "Hiten Mitsuruji Ryu" when she went to get the napkins.. haha.. candles also quite hard to blow out.. In all seriousness it was a nice cake.. :D Thanks. Although I knew there was going to be a surprise and I didn't want one but got one anyway, it was nice..
So after that stayed till 1 chatting with the 3 Chens.. whom I compare to the Furies from Sandman also called Eurydice? (michelle check on this?? haha)
Thanks to all, Jane, Joan, Jocelyn , Chermaine, Cherlyn, Cheri, Marnchi and Matthias.