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Tuesday, September 20, 2005
2nd Law of Thermodynamics Says that
Irony of the Second Law: Entropy
The universe tends towards more random, disorganized states.
This is a rather loose statement of the second law of thermodynamics and our way of quantifying the disorder and randomized motion in one state versus another is a state function called entropy:
Increasing entropy means increasing disorder and randomized motion.
Melodramatic viewpoint: Every star that burns, every planet whose orbit is slowly decaying, every breath you take and calorie you metabolize brings the universe closer and closer to the point when the entropy is maximized, organized movement of any kind ceases, and nothing ever happens again.
There is no escape. No matter how magnificent life in the universe becomes or how advanced, the slow increase in entropy cannot be stopped – the universe will eventually die.
Irony of the second law: Without the second law, nothing would ever happen at all. With it, the universe is doomed. Darn.*
*this article is not the original piece of work of the author. Freedom to view this article however is not a license to reproduce this article. Copyright © 2005 http://chiuseng.blogdrive.com. All rights reserved. The author urge you to respect copyright and share responsibly.
Posted at 9/20/2005 11:53:53 pm by spancer_aru
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HOORAY!!
Hooray! Bravo! Cheerio! Finally, my long waited semester break has come to me. I can finally let go the burden on my shoulder and take a nice nap! Now, of course, what’s my holiday plan... Hmmm, lets see, oh gosh, do I really need to think about that? Such a hopeless idiot. For sure, is going back to KL, my very home sweet home. Giggling to myself.
To be updated later…
Back to K.L.
Still giggling to myself. My buddy, Kuan Ming, come all the way from KL to visit Shireene and … me. This is double happiness; the feeling of having holiday together with private transport direct to KL is indescribable, far beyond words. Finally, the marathon journey begins.
Good Bye, Ah Sing.
We leave early in the morning hoping that we would end the marathon earlier. We sit in the car, rushing northwards, but the magnificent highway seems to be infinitely long. We seem to be in a never ending journey, time seems to be motionless.
Still the Same.
Finally, I see the twin iron tree. Its KL! Home sweet home. Finally, I have reach KL, my homeland, my hometown. Everything here seems undisturbed since I went to Ah Sing last time. Yes, KL, famous for her odor given by the automobile in the uncontrolled traffic, still the same as last time. The streets are filled with pedestrian but the unhealthy proportion between foreign lower class workers with locals has not improved, yet, still the same. I can still recall one of the public holiday in KL city centre a few years back, where ALL the streets in KL were COMPLETELY packed with foreigners, illegal or not, I can’t be too sure up till now, so pack and dense till the roads were congested with buses, cars and motorcycles.
HOME SWEET HOME!
After landing safely, of course, we must do what KL folks do every day and night, ‘jalan jalan, cari makan’. I really missed the local cuisine, the locals cook differently from the Singaporeans. Really, I am sure you know which one I prefer. Ah, I should go home now, sleep nicely and snore like pigs grunting.
Posted at 9/20/2005 7:41:21 pm by spancer_aru
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Thursday, September 08, 2005
What is Life?
Life is a river of information preserved as it moves downstream. Information arises, branches into countless tributaries, and pools in endless combinations. It flows, from generation to generation, through the bodies of living creatures, shaping and organizing them along the way. The success of each living thing determines the future of the information it carries. The information is sorted and sifted, with most useful reserved as it moves downstream. This flow is evolution.*
*this article is not the original piece of work of the author. Freedom to view this article however is not a license to reproduce this article. Copyright © 2005 http://chiuseng.blogdrive.com. All rights reserved. The author urge you to respect copyright and share responsibly.
Posted at 9/8/2005 5:11:13 pm by spancer_aru
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Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Experience Nanyang - Part 2
Happy Birthday, NTU
For You, I Do.
The sun is dazzling and I look up into the mysterious and endless deep blue sky, wondering what is happening at the other end of the universe. The greens are week and wilt, so am I. Today is the birthday of my alma mater. This old lady, is half a century old, and yet standing strong and still, unstoppable and unbeatable. Her spirit has never faded and her footsteps still remain at the same old youthful pace, facing tough challenges ahead with courage and bravery.
So, here I am, standing under the hot sun (1630), waiting patiently for the ceremony to begin. NTU, for you, I do.
Where are the Natives?
Its quarter pass six, its time for the sun to end her day. Its getting more and more crowed, people are pouring in, to witness this spectacular event. But Wait! Why all the faces are looked so unfamiliar? Where are all the local folks? Don't they wanna share this precious moment of their own alma mater? I see people from all over the globe, but... where are the natives?
Hail the King
Be ready! Stand smart and straight! Be hold, the arrival of his majesty, Singapore "Big Boss", one of the most famous and powerful personnel in the globe and perhaps has the most frequent appearance in the 'TIMES' magazine. He is the Singapore Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong, they call him Uncle Lee (I personally call him 'Tai-ko Loong').
Make Way for the King! And Nothing Other Than Your Legs Should be Standing Up!!
The crowd is waiting impatiently, trying to catch the first sight of the PM. Reload your weapon (I mean fill your camera with battery)! Ready to shot - photos. Isn't him more famous than any other superstars?
"STAND ASIDE, MAKE WAY" Suddenly, there is a group of men in black appeared out of no where and trying to open a path though the crowd. We are all forced, or more accurately, squeezed to aside, making he centre generously spacious. The already crowded area is now even more dense with people. Imagine 10 people, 10 adult human, fat and sweet, slim but smelly, standing within the parameter of a unit area. Oh gosh, never in my life, there are so many girls surrounding me. With all the moist and aroma, we are all attached to a piece. For some of the boys, this is a really a good time to take advantage legally.
There It Begins
The ceremony begins with the starting of fire, representing the never fading spirit of NTU followed by never ending speeches from the VIPs and the not-to-be-missed generous donation from the Alumni. The figure alone is heart stopping, it is the Chinese favorite number, the lucky 8. We shall name one of our lecture theaters under the donor's name, as an effort to show our appreciation towards his generous and astronomical donation.
Shows Only for the VIPs
The following programs are birthday song, candle blowing and cake cutting. I have had a close view for such a giant cake before this. It was years back in my previous but precious alma mater, St. John's Institution, during her centenary anniversary celebration. Of course, the valuable VIPs are given the priority to have the front view, leaving all the poor students behind. There we are, staring at the Alumni’s' grey hair for the next few hours...(actually is just couple of minutes only). Nice view... view of wisdom.
OMG! OMG! OMG!
This is my long waited moment, the highlight of the day! Finally, I shall get the pay off for all the sweat and energy that I have poured in. Its worth it! Sure, its worth it! The energetic and lively Taiwanese Pop group, FIR, is performing Live on stage! Guess what? I am now standing less than 10 meters away from the front stage! "Wow! This is it! This is it!! Oh, here they come! Aaaaaaaaa!" The crowd is yelling like no one's business. FIR sings 6 songs continuously to rock our soul up. The crowd is now so high, high up in the sky, in the heaven. Faye, stands for the letter F in FIR is so much prettier than in the photos, really. This is just a dream come true for me! "FIR, FIR, we want FIR!", "Ouch, stop pushing!"
 
Hey! Come Down to Earth!
Bad time stays; Good time flies. After 30 minutes of breathless moment, it comes to the end of their wonderful performance, a performance that leaves a permanent stain in our memory. The crowd echoes, hoping eagerly for feedback but there isn't any. Finally, everyone is down to the earth. It was a really good performance. Imagine watching FIR LIVE, CLOSE and the most important - FREE!! What could be better than that?

The End
The end of FIR performance marks the end of this large scale celebration. It is now the feasting time. Stalls were set up to serve a variety of food, attracting the hungry crowd to rush for it, emptying the food trays in no time. Now, now, now, all the hungry wolves are over filled, regretting for their greediness, that’s the punishment for taking other people's share. Serve you right!
So, that’s the end of this episode. I am sure you won’t wish to know the details of my journey back to my room?!
Posted at 8/30/2005 7:50:11 pm by spancer_aru
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Friday, August 26, 2005
Experience Nanyang - Part 1
My Life in NTU
I have spent one month here, in a small twin sharing room, situated at one far corner in my hall, neglected, deserted, freezing cold at night, sleeping here or I should say laying helplessly over here , letting the icy winter wind to cut through my skin during the hours of darkness, ouch. That is what you will get in the ancient Chinese "cold-castle" in the Forbidden City, where all the emperor's ugly, dreadful, or sick-of-playing-with-you wives are dumped. Yes, it is. The food, as you know, or you may not know, was prepared neither for human nor even living creatures. I really can't bear the pain; the food really rips my throat off every mealtime. I am all alone... hoping and praying, looking forward eagerly and desperately, one day, I would be saved from this living human hell.
Ok ok, back to reality, the room is situated right at a corner, but I like it; the room is smaller than the one in KL, but this one is tolerable; it is chilling cold, just because it rains heavily every night; the food's sucks, but still won't tear along your precious esophagus.
Generally, I am quite pleased with the current situation. Here, is part of my university:
Posted at 8/26/2005 10:47:32 pm by spancer_aru
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It has been a month since I came to Singapore, the city of garden. If you ask me, I would say Singapore is a really clean, tidy and systematic country, in fact... but Malaysia is good either (in some sense, haha, you-know-what). Everything here is so properly managed, even the toilets, public toilets, I mean, will be cleaned at least a few times a day, not to mention the high-class toilets in shopping malls. Another thing that I like Singapore so damn much is their public transport. It is so damn efficient. The railway system connects the entire island, making it even better! Public buses? Incomparable, no match at all!
One month ago, I came to Singapore, with the perception that Singapore is a country full with the spirit of "kiasuness", ego and self-pride. One month later, I realized that I was wrong, really wrong indeed. After knowing many Singaporean friends, I found out that they are much better than those who came from PRC.
Before I came to Singapore, I used to call the Singaporeans as "Sing-charn" Why? Well, I had been working in Genting Reservation Centre located in KL for a few months, my job was taking down the reservations, serving customers, fulfilling their endless needs, listen to their complains and last but not least: scolded by them for small error(s) (sometimes is their own fault). We had the highest probability to be scolded by the STUPID SINGAPORE GAMBLERS. Well, that’s not all, you wouldn't wish to see their two-sided face. Well well well, as for revenge, we would do something to their reservation or the worst; curse them for losing tones of money, increasing the income of the country (haha). Funny, isn't it. To all my Genting fellows, I don' mean to betray you all!! (to all Singaporean readers, this is only a personal encounter, absolutely no offence, if you are offended, I am now giving you the highest order of apology)
So, here I am, standing on the land of this very concrete jungle, but, I shall never forget where I came form, where I grew up, where I was educated, and I shall never forget that even the water I am drinking now, came form my very homeland, my beloved Malaysia, Malaysia Boleh!! (hahaha, never expect myself to write all these, all my hair is standing up straight now,fuiyoyo) So, I would expect myself to be very busy for the next few months or perhaps the next few years, fighting in the battlefield in this very university, NTU. However, with the Johannian Spirit (the never-give-up spirit, not the do-things-at-the-last-minute spirit), I shall strive, and reach my goal, claming my crown and place at the highest pinnacle (getting crazy), defeating all my superb brutal enemies from all over the world, especially The Great People Republic of China (high already)
Looks like I gotta pen off right now, or else you will say that I am long-winded.
Posted at 8/26/2005 9:06:43 pm by spancer_aru
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