Have you settled your life plan?

So last night, taking a break from revision, this guy talks to me after like, 3821931493481 years. I must say I don't particularly like him, which could be an understatement. In every circle of friends and network of acquaintances, you always see people like him. Overly self-confident, minimal actual ability, talks too much, does too little, a general irritating prick.
To give you a rough summary, we were in the same secondary school, same CCA, and thankfully we're now in different polytechnics. This guy, Fas, a malay, apparently has "started" his own business, Just Diamonds by Defred, which uses Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) to expand its business. And his real motive in talking to me (second time so far), I believe, is to recruit me. And I know this because TOFU has likewise been approached, and tricked into visiting the Recruiting Headquarters.

Fas Sup

Fas How are your exams

Giant not started yet

Fas When is it?

Giant friday and next monday

Fas Nic

Fas Nice

Fas Mass Com?

Giant no

Giant shipping and business stuff

Giant so hows your business

Giant recruited anyone recently

Fas Doing great

Fas Recruited?

Fas What are yo u talking about?

Giant defred?

Giant multi-level marketing

Fas How sure ar eyou?

Giant pretty sure, from what i've heard, being used as an example in class, and news articles

Fas De Fred is in your school work?

Fas Nice

Giant no its not

Giant marketing and purchasing is

Fas Well, that's why we're going global bro

Fas 26 different countries

Fas in two to three months time

Giant and would it be presumptuous to say this is part of your pitch?

Giant to try and recruit people? i.e. me right now?

Fas Try?

Fas I never try

Fas I just do it

Fas Recruit doesn't sounds right

Fas Well, you got your own style of living

Fas to get rich

Fas Pretty much, your life plan is settled?

Giant well as they say, beg borrow or steal

Fas Cool story, bro

Giant you keep trying, but if you have the time, do read up on ponzi schemes

Giant ok?

Fas Dude

Fas Don't act smart

Fas I know what I'm doing

Giant its never wrong to err on the side of caution

Fas I'm just checking on how my captan is doing that's all

Fas Caution? That's why Singaporean enver succeed

Giant im not your captain

Fas Used to be

Giant i'm just that fat guy who sits there pretending to be useful during cca

Fas Still

Fas Captain

Giant anyway however you see it

Giant we are a free democracy

Giant come find me when i'm truly broke and bankrupt and desperate

Fas Haha

Fas Dude

Fas I'm nto interested

Fas Seriously

Fas Just catching up

Fas Don't think too far

Giant sure

Giant i'm just being singaporean

Giant and by that i mean being cautious

Fas I'm off

Fas See you

These head-in-the-clouds, get-rick-quick schemes never work, and are never sustainable. Just mention "Ponzi Scheme" and see how his tone changed for a bit. Seriously, wake up and don't get uppity with me, fool.

Growing Up 1

Indeed, nothing really compares... And there's so much more to think about now. No longer the raging hair on fire kind of take on the world persona. Guess I have to be a little bit more reserved and low profile now.

Guess that's part of growing up, and part of having a girlfriend.

Sometimes I do guess I enjoy singlehood and the attention I can give to all the different girls at once. But guess now it's time to grow up and put that behind me.

Well nothing lost though.

MIGRATION: being an owner

I'm currently writing this post using my phone so I'd guess by the end if this post I would probably have made up my mind about swype.
Basically, I'm just going to put some short notes about my first couple of weeks of usage.

1)if you thought from my previous post that my phone is now blazing fast, I'm sorry to (may) have mislead you, but then again I am holding the fastest android phone around. No complaints there.

2)battery life while improved, is still rather woeful. (I just remembered that the 3g I used to hold is 2 years old.) With all the hype of the super amoled being extremely energy saving, it isn't much better. But it lasts more than a day, 2 if I am careful. But from my past experiences, I got kind of sick of being careful with the iphone.

3) with regards to internet, the galaxy s is faster. HOWEVER, the two browsers work differently. The iphone likes to show you the page as if loads while the android likes to wait for the page to be almost done before showing you the whole page. Because of this, it sometimes may seem as if safari loads quicker. Is this intentional?...No contest in youtube though, the galaxy s wins.

4)With the iPhone being so damn ubiquitous in Singapore, if you want something good without making you look like an ignorant ass, this is the phone to get. To protect myself from this, lets make it clear I bought the iPhone 3g on the first month. Thats WAYY before people started hyping (and buying) the 3gs. Plus, with the crazy money Samsung puts in advertising nowadays, its not like no one will know what your phone is. However if you're the brand conscious type, Samsung is a bit..yeah..but still, getting an iPhone now will make you look idiotic. Getting the iPhone 4 NOW won't, but its only a matter of time...unfortunately. Maybe try HTC?

p.s. If you're thinking of blackberry cause all the cool kids have it, DON'T. The Blackberry is not for kids, it makes you look pretentious.

5) iPhone accessories are everywhere, which is good for the iPhone owner. Just trying to be "fair and balanced" here.


6)Do I like swype? for the most part a huge yes. But occasionally it does slew you down when you notice a wrong spelling after racing through a sentence. Did I just type 'slew'?
Damn.

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MIGRATION: journey from apple to android (an update on apps)

I decided to only make this post after I've decided how i felt about the phone after using it normally for a few days.

I installed kies, basically the Samsung program to sync you phone to your computer, again usless for me unless I had the music files on my pc in the first place. But its kind of a must to get updates. (its itunes all over again) Anyway, the new update, (note: its not android 2.2 Froyo, thats in september for the Galaxy S) basically tries to solve all problems relating to general efficiency, theres a samsung widget that helps you uninstall apks (android apps) and an easy to use task manager. I suspect it also helps you automatically kill apps when you back(as in the button) your way to the home screen. So that really helps solve all the gripes I had about lag and battery life. Great.

You must be thinking, I cant delete apps just by holding on the icon and pressing an "x" button? Nope sorry, theres no itunes so theres no app library you can sync to. I think deleting an app means you've got to re-install it from the market. But don't worry, downloading into your phone only takes seconds ;)

Another thing about apps, a paid app store isn't available in Singapore yet, just as how an itunes music store isn't. To get paid apps, you've got to torrent them and install using an "apk installer" app on the market place. Whats good is that unlike the iPhone, you don't have to do any jailbreaking shenanigans. Bad new is, some of them just don't work. I've got a gmaeboy and SNES emulator here and I'm still trying to find the right roms to get it working. But before you make any rash decision, as you'd expect,app content isn't as rich as itunes.(But the Android market isn't bad AT ALL)

MIGRATION: journey from apple to android (day 2)

I just realised how incoherent my first post looked, at least i'm not intending to be a journalist.

Anyway, before I start proper, I'd just want to say that the phone is still slow at times, I find myself having to kill apps frequently. I'm not so sure if this multitask issue applies to the iPhone, but from what I saw from the keynote, I think apple is handling it better. Still, android has 2.2 coming out, we'll see.

At the start of today, I set an agenda for myself.
This included:

1)syncing the address book properly
2)Get my music in the phone organized
3) solve that dumb facebook contacts thing.

The solutions: (note, I synced my iPhone with a macbook, the way Steve Jobs would have liked, if you're using a windows, i'd reckon it'll be easier than this :( )

1) It took awhile to find out how to get my contacts from address book, but its just a simple export in a vcard format to any folder, and importing to gmail from within gmail. I'd link you right here, but I kind of forgot the link.
Anyways, from gmail, it automatically syncs all contacts to your phone, thats great. What isn't great is that I imported contacts from both hotmail(same method but..in from hotmail) and I get a mass of email addresses and phone numbers in my contacts folder in gmail. God knows how much time i spent merging contacts.

I ended up deleting many contacts of people I'm kinda no longer in contact with, this included classmates or acquaintances I couldn't match faces to, ( I had 2 "chris" in there, I don't even remember knowing any chris.

2)I initially downloaded doubletwist on my windows, thinking I could finally not have to turn on my mac everytime I wanted to sync in this 1 song in my head. (keeps happening, damn you music bank) You could export your library from your mac itunes to your windows itunes, and have doubletwist sync from there BUT you must have the same song files in your windows computer. (tl;dr, this libray export only includes song info, artist info, album covers, playlists and the like) not horribly important but with so much downloaded music, (PIRATE)I really can't bear to see it in a mess (track 1 by !@#&* anybody?)
So I downloaded doubletwist into my mac and its working fine.

3) I can just choose to not show those contacts, though my OCD is telling me do do something about it. sigh.

In all, I've solved all my problems and tomorrow will be a brighter day. In case you think the iPhone is wayyy beter, think of ms office editing and pdfs, plus youtube looks a little nicer, I could be wrong though.

MIGRATION: journey from apple to android (day 0, 1)

I was reading many tech websites the day prior to my purchase of an android phone. And I found any semblance of a fair comparison between the iPhone 4 and any other phones in general end horribly in apple fanboyism, don't get me wrong apple makes good stuff that work but they're pretty nazi about everything else.
Or it'll end in the complete opposite. This party usually wins in usual David vs. Goliath fashion (apple is Goliath) but you cant compare things on paper right?

So I thought I'd try and help people out by trying to post regularly here on my journey from the iPhone 3G to the Samsung Galaxy S. Its probably going to end in a mess of jumbled thoughts, but if you find you're in the same situation as me, you'll understand what I'm saying :)

First thoughts:

The galaxy s is the iPhone with android. Thats a good thing. Makes migration easier, but it also makes you miss your old pal a little. The phone is very messy out of the box, same reason why people tell you not to buy HPs or DELLs, same Windows, very different computers.

At this point im missing the silent mode switch on the iPhone.

Build quality is what you pay for really, its plasticky, but I feel I can really thrash this (in a GOOD way) and not have to keep pampering it.
(you know glass cracks easily right? and its on the back of the iPhone 4 right?)

The super amoled is amazing, but the retina display is not far behind tbh.

More video formats usable, thats great, darn mp4 conversion was getting to me. Oh yes, format conversion is going to be a thing of the past.


First few hours:

YOU NEED APPS FOR EVERYTHING, I just downloaded an app to help me delete contacts, err kind of says alot. Its open source for a reason, im reminded of linux here. It shows that all problems can be fixed, but it shows that android still has problems. Which to me isn't a problem. Got a problem?

Widgets are smart, and Samsung chips in too, I'll find good use of them in daily use...eventually. The apps in the "application" menu are arranged alphabetically. Live backgrounds (err things moving) and complete freedom in the pages(places to put your icons/shortcuts,widgets) is welcome, but widgets take up a lot of space. I have my essentials down here and i'm at page 4/7.

This phone lags occasionally. Probably because always has many applications running, downside of its awesome multi-tasking. Got it covered, have an app that kills running apps.(OMG THE IRONY) +1 for android freedom. Then again, the iPhone lags too. I hope it wont get worse after syncing music and videos, expandable memory ftw.

Down to business:

Gmail is wayy better than iPhone mail app, period. Mail however, is not. Chances are, you'd want to use gmail.

Swype, voice commands. I've played with swype and it couldn't detect things like "temasek". Plus, if you toggled between foreign keyboards often in the iPhone, its a little more tricky here. Voice commands are excellent, it practically uses the phone for you.

Touch and go is a great function that lets you update status or message friends with a single input, i forgot if it can be saved as memos..

Contacts is a mess. Once i synced Facebook to social hub, ALL my Facebook contacts appear in my contact book. Hey Tofu, can i add phone numbers to these contact listings? I can see what they tried to do though, i can send these contacts emails and watch their status updates, pretty cool, but I've just realized how many people on Facebook I added I don't actually know. (not alot, but its my phone contact book!!!)

Maps is practically the same thing as the iPhone, but a little faster and has turn by turn voice navigation.

FM radio, nuff said.

Camera, settings and quality machaim digital camera siol. boleh.

Internet is faster, period.


Any regrets?:

A month before this I thought anything below the iPhone 4 would be a downgrade, not true. Android seems a little rough along the edges, because its new and open and all but I'm confident the experience will only get better, it has huge opportunity to grow, but the community has too.
Oh and I've found a well received program that is going to help me manage videos, music and even apps.

http://www.doubletwist.com/dt/Home/Index.dt

Its called double twist, and it resembles iTunes a little.


irony.

The 10 Common Fallacies In Reasoning

Avoiding Informal Fallacies

Informal fallacies are instances of murky reasoning that can cloud an argument and lead to unsound conclusions. Because they can crop up unintentionally in anyone's writing, and because advertisers and hucksters often use them intentionally to deceive, it is a good idea to learn to recognize the more common fallacies.

1. Post Hoc, Propter Hoc (After This, Therefore Because of This)

This fallacy involves mistaking sequence for cause. Just Because one event happens before another event doesn't mean the first even caused the second. The connection may be coincidental, or some unknown third even may have caused both of these events.

Example : For years I suffered from agonizing abdominal itching. Then I tried Smith's pills. Almost overnight my abdominal itching ceased. Smith's pills work wonders.

2. Hasty Generalization

Closely related to the post hoc fallacy is the hasty generalization, which refers to claims based on insufficient or unrepresentative data.

Example: The food stamp program supports mostly freeloaders. Let me tell you about my worthless neighbour.

3. False Analogy

Analogical arguments are tricky because they are, almost always significant differences between the two things being compared. If two things differ greatly, the analogy can mislead rather than clarify.

Example: You can't force a kid to become a musician any more than you can force a tulip to become a rose.

4. Either-or reasoning

This fallacy occurs when a complex, multisided issue is reduced to two positions without acknowledging the possibility of other alternatives.

Example: Either you are pro-choice on abortion or you are against the advancement of women in our culture.

5. Ad Hominem ("Against the Person")

When people can't find fault with an argument, they sometimes attack the arguer, substituting irrelevant assertions about that person's character for an analysis of the argument itself.

Example: Don't pay attention to Fulke's views on sexual harassment in the workplace. I just learned he subscribes to Playboy.

6. Appeals to False Authority and Bandwagon Appeals

These fallacies offer as support the fact that a famous person or "many people" already support it. Unless the supporters are themselves authorities in the field, their support is irrelevant.

Example: Buy Freeble oil because Joe Quarterback always uses it in his fleet of cars.

Example: How can abortion be wrong if millions of people support a woman's right to choose?

7. Non Sequitur ("It Does Not Follow")

This fallacy occurs when there is no evident connection between a claim and its reason. Sometimes a non sequitur can be repaired by filling in gaps in the reasoning; at other times, the reasoning is simply fallacious.

Example: I don't deserve a B for this course because I am a straight A student.

8. Circular Reasoning

This fallacy occurs when you state your claim and then usually after rewording it, you state it again as your reason.

Example: Marijuana is injurious to your health because it harms your body.

9. Red Herring

This fallacy refers to the practice of raising an unrelated or irrelevant point deliberately to throw an audience off track. Politicians often employ this fallacy when they field questions from the public or press.

Example: You raise a good question about my support for sending ground troops to Afghanistan. Let me tell you about my admiration for the bravery of our soldiers.

10. Slippery Slope

The slippery slope fallacy is based on the fear that one step in a direction we don't like inevitably leads to the next with no stopping place.

Example: We don't dare send weapons to these guerrillas. If we do, we will next send in military advisers, then a Special Forces battalion, and then large numbers of troops. Finally, we will be in all-out war.

--

Adapted from The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing by Ramage, Bean and Johnson

One of the more interesting GP exercises I was made to do of late.

We probably hear these fallacies all the time. Some of us can identify it when it is used on us. But for the majority we probably slip into the mushy good feel of a good speaker with flowery language and flowing words.

Anyhow, it is good to recognised these fallacies. Somehow I knowing this makes me feel like a more well-learned man.

Remember that social experiment with the crying kid?

I was at Lot 1 late at night, going to the bus stop to wait for my father to fetch me. There is this walkway on the side of the mall that I always see various Malays hanging out at. As the taxi stand came into view there was this little Malay boy, couldn't have been more than lower primary school age, couldn't have been more than 8 or 9, sobbing and yelling for his mama.

I got no further than 10 metres away from him before I stopped and looked back. 2 minutes I stood there at the taxi stand, maybe a cab driver or two peering curiously at me, while I thought about what we had talked about during our last meet at Rail Mall. Most people would walk on without a second thought.

Kept going to the bus stop, putting a driveway and a line of decorative shrubs between me and the boy. My father would be picking me up here. I still had plenty of time, though. I could go see what's wrong. Or maybe the child's parents were around, they were just punishing him or something. Peeked through a low point in the shrubbery and saw that none of the Malays were paying the boy any attention. Not the couple by the motorbike. Not the bunch of guys. Not the Chinese woman. A bunch of teenagers my age walked by me, dressed in teenager's clothes. The girl's height and pants were alarmingly short but her hair was long around her bare shoulders. Petite; long hair; pretty. I don't know why I cared.

What looked like a young Malay woman - long, loose hair - was now with the boy. There was also a little Malay girl even younger than he. Oh goody, I thought. The woman reached out to the boy. I saw his mouth contort and he slapped something from her hand. The woman picked up the little girl and left.

Time passed. I could ask my father what to do. Or maybe I would get in the car, close the door, and he would accelerate away even as I mumbled out the words. Maybe the little boy was the brother of one of the big Malay guys. Maybe they would challenge me if I walked up to them. Maybe this would make a good short film. I was just trying to bat away the question of what I should do, and I knew it. My backpack made my shoulders ache.

I could hear the boy screaming again. Screaming for his mother. Mall was closed. Should I bring him to the MRT station? Do they have staff there this late at night? Who the fuck leaves their kid alone in a Malay-infested walkway at 11pm anyway? And how would this make a good short film? Without warning, the lights along the walkway shut off. I could still see the crying boy, on the steps of Lot 1.

My father's Nissan pulled up. I got in but left the door open. What if a bus came up behind us? It took a minute, but my father finally understood my babbling and told me to find out if the boy knew where his house was. I put down my bag in the front seat, jogged around the shrubs -

The young Malay woman with the little girl was back again. I halted in the middle of the taxi driveway and watched her carry him up and walk away in the other direction. She glanced back briefly.

After a few moments thinking, I returned to my father's car and drove home.

another one for the cabinet

in sheer SA fashion, Saint Andrews' Junior College came from behind to clinch 1st runners up in the annual Raffles' Economics and Current Affairs Challenge. Really proud to have led this team in what may appear to be my last competition flying the school's flag. Over the past two years, I've played waterpolo, went for math competitions and participated in a host of current affairs challenges.

I must say clinching 1st runner up and coming so close to winning the championship is a sweet way to end my long (distinguished) service to the school. Winning an award for top 5 best individual made the icing on the cake. And it's just a sweet way to round up july.

Well guess my playing days are over, lets get back to the books and show those MOFOs all my As.