"No state has an inherent right to survive through conscript troops and in the long run no state ever has. Roman matrons used to say to their sons: "Come back with your shield, or on it." Later on, this custom declined. So did Rome." - Robert Heinlein

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Someone on being frustrated by the NUS administration: the thing is, allowing students to do graduate modules is the practice is most good universities. i duno why they are so adamant about it. im very disappointed. ive been planning this for so long. it's like, if u're a student who actually knows what he wants to learn and have a passion for a certain subject, NUS is the wrong school to go... it's only the right school for those who want to get the credentials, and force fit their educational demands into the constraints by the school.

one can even argue that the school is not doing it's part because what im asking for is perfectly within their resources ... they just have to say "yes" since there are already such classes.

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The Year End Report – The Experience Overseas, So Far.

"The previous semester (the third) we have moved out of dorm into off-campus housing, where the entire Singaporean batch stays in the same place called the Valentine Place. We will be staying together till we graduate from Cornell, and I think there will not be any further changes to our lives in the next one and a half year.

I tried to ask myself to name an ang moh that I knew as a friend over the past one and a half years. I can’t. May be it’s just me – I am a strongly Chinese-cultured person. The non-singaporean friends I have were all Asians...

Due to the large number of us (Singaporeans) taking electrical engineering, it is very natural for us to cluster together during lectures, labs, and tutorials. (I think such a phenomenon is less common for non-EE courses). All the Singaporeans sit together in the front three rows for the lectures, holding discussions mainly among us. Most Singaporeans paired with each other for the labs. There are strategic advantages – first, we know that Singaporean partners are mostly quite good in their studies and wouldn’t drag you down, and secondly, we lived so close to each other (it’s like living in different houses in a chalet), so it’s easy to meet up for discussion. Well, of course, the drawback is we forgo the chance to interact with people from other countries...

The first thing that came to my mind, to illustrate what I think Singaporeans were seen in the eyes of the Americans, were the PRC scholars in NUS/NTU. (hehe sorry Foxy, just a comparison). I was hanging around in NUS last January (well, those who knows why I went there will know what I was doing there), and see a group of PRC people. It came into my mind immediately how I was just like them back in Cornell, for we do share some similarities:

1. Speaking with a slang – the Singlish.
2. Academic “market spoilers” with our GPA.
3. Mainly interacted among ourselves, especially during lectures.

There was one day where we have an exam at night. Before one lecture, the Singaporeans were discussing about the exam outside the lecture room and were late for lecture – it is very obviously, because the first three rows were suddenly empty. I was sitting with my Taiwanese buddy, and I could hear the Americans talking behind me, “oh, it’s those Singaporeans…”, and I couldn’t make out what they say after that. But I could sense some kind of hatred towards the Singaporean gang."

The Singaporean Electrical Engineering students in Cornell sound like the PRCs in NUS.

(More comments on insularity)

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They send us the most wonderful things in our NUS mail:

"Kimberly-Clark Young Marketers' Award

Put your business skills to the test. Be a Brand Manager for a famous feminine care product in a real-world situation! You'll stand to win attractive prizes and you might even be recruited for an internship at Kimberly-Clark.

Participants are to:

1. Conceptualise an integrated above-the-line (ATL) and below-the-line (BTL) program for the launch of new Kotex Dri-Comfort sanitary pads.

2. Conceptualise and execute a campaign to drive trial and sampling of new Kotex Dri-Comfort pads as well as database collection for Kimberly-Clark on campus to female students and the general public."

The only down point is that each team must have at least one member from the NUS Business School. Damn. Though one has expressed conditional interest.

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Dave Holt from AdvancedFightingFantasy.com:

"For everyone's information a Fighting Fantasy Adventure TV series is under development as we speak with a tv production company and I have been involved in its initial proposal with Steve J.

As FF Consultant I am involved in ensuring the FF continuity is maintained in the tv series and presented a proposal outling the basic premise of the show.

The show will consists of a group of four or five adventurers' who are mysteriously transported to an un-tamed, impressive virtual reality and live action wilderness in the lands of Allansia. Hosting the proceedings is Yaztromo the Wizard, a stout, aging guardian of Allansia, with wispy white hair and beard who has a fondness for sweat cakes, and his annoying talking pet crow known as Verminthrax.

Each programme would feature the team consisting of four heroic adventurers dressed as a thief, wizard, warrior and knight, one of which becomes the main leader. The proposed series will consist of 13 episodes set within nine uniquely different environments based upon the popular series of Children's interactive Gamebook by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone and have a plot roughly following the structure of the book in question. The adventurers' would individually and collectively face a series of bizarre and completely unknown situations, with only a map, and Yaztromo or Verminthrax's instructions "to reach the end of their quest".

The programme will have a number of sequenced events, set within a medieval fantasy setting and will benefit from a rich, colourful world with a dark-edge and lots of humorous elements. Each programme will have a consistent rhythm, pace and atmosphere and visually consist of a different theme ranging from a mixture of live-on location sets such as a forest and village to re-usable sets of a dungeon, mine, caves, and frozen waste etc. Within each programme the adventurers' will face over 5 challenges that are true to the original books.

Along the way the adventurers' will encounter a series of tricks n' traps and these will invole problem solving in order to reach the conclusion to their quest bestowed upon them by Yaztromo. Many of their tasks will involve the discovery of objects such as spells, weapons, red herrings and money in the form of King's Regals (small gold pieces), Silvers (small silver pieces) and Bartings (small copper pieces), which are the principal currency of Allansia. The value of these currencies varies from land to land, however typically, a GP (gold piece) = 10 SP (silver piece) and 10 SP (silver piece) = 1 CP (copper piece).

The series `Fighting Fantasy' will also feature animatronic monsters, live actors and real-time locations to create a fantasy world in which 5 adventurers will face a series of challenge games."

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Intelligence from melons:

"in swizzieland, dogs can go anywhere. cable cars, public transport, ferris wheels and even the airport. this gorgeous golden retriever was in the same cable car as us!"

Ooh. Dog friendly country.

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Some joker on Wikipedia envisions future SPD episodes:

23. Zapped - A magician tries to make Sam human but decides to kidnap Syd instead
24. Reflections, Part 1 - Sky buys an evil new mirror
25. Reflections, Part 2 - Jack gets a battalizer to defeat the mirror
26. SWAT, Part 1 - A giant ape gives the rangers new powers
27. SWAT, Part 2 - Z pawns her new powers for new bling
28. Robotpalooza - Tommy returns to be DekaSwan!
29. Daddy - Sky is sad when he realizes his dad missed his first soccer practice at his new school
30. Alpha - Charlie, aka DekaBright, aka Alpha Ranger, comes looking for her boyfriend Sam but is disappointed when she finds out that he's now in love with that guy from Abandoned
31. Clowns - Wicked Clowns from Outer Space invade the earth!
32. BARK! - Cruger gets fleas and it's up to the rangers to get him a flea bath
33. MOOOOO, Part 1 - The Dino Rangers are transported to the future while fighting a cow-monster
34. MOOOOO, Part 2 - Tommy gives his powers to Devin and Cam gives his powers to Bulk, then Bulk and Devin fuse to become Bulkin, who morphs to become Buy-More-Toys Ranger.
35. Resurrection - Cruger's wife returns to informs him that the divorce is final
36. Awww... - Omega uses his fisty thingy on Morgana and she turns into a baby. The rangers argue over who will change the diapers
37. Grumm - The rangers file a complaint with Emperor Grumm's supervisor, Master Vile, who fires Grumm and gives Earth a free gift card to Bed Bath and Beyond for all their troubles
38. PUPPIES!!! - Kat makes the announcement! She and Cruger are parents of a new puppy/kitten hybrid called Puptens. Sam returns to the future to avoid paying back child support he owes Z. Jack and Syd move to America where Jack gets romantically involved with some girl named Natalie Day(if you got that reference then nicely done). Bridge and Sky move to Canada and get married and have 3 children through the miracle of whatever that process was they used in movie Junior. Boom gets a promotion to Red Time Force Ranger while Piggy begins working on his secret weapon, a giant bird feeder. Former Emperor Grumm gets a job working at a convenience store in Minnesota. Ross and Rachel move to Paris or stay in New York or something but they end up together that's all you care about. By episode's end, we realize the entire series was just a big dream that Rita had and she decides to start bugging those stupid Mystic Force Rangers.


Cute.

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Beethoven (1.4m) beats Bono (20,000) in battle of the internet downloads - "Sgt Pepper could well end up as the best-selling online track of all time. But its sales figure of just 20,000 online in the two weeks since it has been available contrasts poorly with the admittedly free Beethoven symphonies. (Sgt Pepper cost 79p on the iTunes website.)"

Using loaf to lose crust - "A crust-free loaf has been invented to cater for fussy kids. Experts spent two years creating Hovis Invisible Crust which will be launched next month."