xi 部落阁

Spot and Shoot: Feast on the Past!
2008:10:18 21:23

I took part in Spot & Shoot: Feast on the Past, organised by the National Museum, grabbing WeiQing and Charles along. With $2000 as the top prize and no registration fee needed, this competition certainly looked enticing, espcially with the food and photo components!

We were given a list of clues and we had to photograh an item, a place or (even) a road sign which we, after much googling, perceived the answers to be. The questions revolved around the food culture and history (eg. What stands on the location of the first Satay Club now?), and general history of Singapore (eg. Where is the used-to-be-known-as "Black Cloth Road"?). When the correct answers were revealed, we found out that we were fooled by a handful of red herrings on the web.

My fav pic of the day:

A richly and traditionally decorated street, which is sadly commercialised in the name of tourism, is tucked away admist the hustle bustle of a metropolitan country, whose top leaders are strongly calling for a higher birth rate.

At the end of the day, we walked away with no prizes, but a wealth of foodie do-you-knows. Some random advertisment I came across on 8 Days turned into a day of fun and mindless running about.

Sidenote: Canon Photomarathon was held today as well. If not for the clash of the 2 events and an earlier decision to take part in the Spot & Shoot, I would have seized the last opportunity to take part in the YouthCateogry (age =< 20). Next year, hopefully! But too old to be a youth. The 3 assignment themes for this year are: "Change", "Dreams", "Freedom".

Murmurs

Kah Kee Station
2008:10:15 17:59

Following the announcement regarding the 12 stations along Stage 2 of the Downtown Line, the Land Transport Authority invited the public to contribute suggestions for the names of nine Downtown Line 2 (DTL2) stations. Three names have been chosen for each station for a second public poll.

The three names proposed for the station right in front of Hwa Chong's College section are: Duchess, Watten and Kah Kee.

Mr Tan Kah Kee (陈嘉庚) was a prominent businessman, community leader, and philanthropist in colonial Singapore, and later a venerated Communist leader in the People's Republic of China. In 1919, he set up The Chinese High School (now Hwa Chong Institution) in Singapore.

We believe that the name "Kah Kee Station" strongly reflects not only the geographical distinctiveness of the station, but also the history that imbues the surrounding landscape. LTA is currently seeking public opinion on the final proposed name for the station, at talk2lta.lta.gov.sg/Surveys?action=Public.Survey.DisplaySurvey

The closing date for this public vote is 30 October 2008. Vote for "Kah Kee Station" now!

Murmurs

The Real World
2008:10:12 12:18

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1:
Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2 :
The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3 :
You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4 :
If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5 :
Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6:
If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, 'learn from them'..

Rule 7:
Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8:
Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9:
Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10:
Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11:
Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Source: http://www.amazingposts.com/2008/09/important-life-lessons.html

Shoot 'em

Noob's Attempt at the 50D
2008:10:12 00:23

Presenting... a noob's attempt at the 50D!

While trying to get my camera to work how I want it to be, I'm still overwhelmed by the zillion functions sprawled across the camera body. One day, I'll master them all.

Also, I found out that Borders has a good collection of illustrated photography guides! Yumyum!

Books can Fly!

Fluorescent Proteins
2008:10:08 23:03

From a press release available on nobelprize.org:

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2008 jointly to

Osamu Shimomura, Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), Woods Hole, MA, USA and Boston University Medical School, MA, USA,

Martin Chalfie, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

and

Roger Y. Tsien, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

"for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP".

Glowing proteins - a guiding star for biochemistry

The remarkable brightly glowing green fluorescent protein, GFP, was first observed in the beautiful jellyfish, Aequorea victoria in 1962. Since then, this protein has become one of the most important tools used in contemporary bioscience. With the aid of GFP, researchers have developed ways to watch processes that were previously invisible, such as the development of nerve cells in the brain or how cancer cells spread.

Tens of thousands of different proteins reside in a living organism, controlling important chemical processes in minute detail. If this protein machinery malfunctions, illness and disease often follow. That is why it has been imperative for bioscience to map the role of different proteins in the body.

This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry rewards the initial discovery of GFP and a series of important developments which have led to its use as a tagging tool in bioscience. By using DNA technology, researchers can now connect GFP to other interesting, but otherwise invisible, proteins. This glowing marker allows them to watch the movements, positions and interactions of the tagged proteins.

Researchers can also follow the fate of various cells with the help of GFP: nerve cell damage during Alzheimer's disease or how insulin-producing beta cells are created in the pancreas of a growing embryo. In one spectacular experiment, researchers succeeded in tagging different nerve cells in the brain of a mouse with a kaleidoscope of colours.

The story behind the discovery of GFP is one with the three Nobel Prize Laureates in the leading roles:

Osamu Shimomura first isolated GFP from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria, which drifts with the currents off the west coast of North America. He discovered that this protein glowed bright green under ultraviolet light.

Martin Chalfie demonstrated the value of GFP as a luminous genetic tag for various biological phenomena. In one of his first experiments, he coloured six individual cells in the transparent roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans with the aid of GFP.

Roger Y. Tsien contributed to our general understanding of how GFP fluoresces. He also extended the colour palette beyond green allowing researchers to give various proteins and cells different colours. This enables scientists to follow several different biological processes at the same time.

Fluorescent proteins just sounded too familiar to me. I messed around with a relative of GFP in a past research work I did (not having the faintest idea that fluorescent protein was such a breakthrough, and used it like some off-the-shelf ingredient), as described in the methodology below:

Adenovirus were used as vectors to transiently transfect yellow fluorescent protein (YFP)-cytochrome c oxidase into the cells. YFP-cytochrome c oxidase is expressed in the mitochondria, giving the mitochondria a yellow fluorescence when viewed under fluorescent light. After the cells reached 75% confluence, 25 μL of adenovirus-coupled YFP-cyctochrome c oxidase was added to 1 well. The cells were incubated at 37oC overnight.

These pictures show how a cell with fluorescent proteins looks like under normal lightings and under fluorescent light respectively.

Shoot 'em

I Now Own a 50D
2008:10:06 17:15

Canon 50D Kit I (EF-S 18-55mm IS Lens) - $2100.00
Extra battery pack - $35.00
UV lens filter - $10.00
Screen Protector - $10.00
Cleaning Kit - $12.00
Dry Box - $23.00
Silica Gel - $5.00
TOTAL - $2195.00
Experience I will have with my 50D - Priceless!

Finally, after nearly a year of saving up and looking out for what's up and coming, I've gotten myself my first dSLR!

I weighed my choices - between a 50D and a 2nd-hand 40D/450D/400D - and decided on 50D. A hefty investment, mainly 'cos I wanted a camera which can survive through my uni days and onwards, and still has a good re-sale potential, should I consider to upgrade 4 years from now.

I also hugged forums and reviews to help me make my eventual decision.

It was the first time I felt so good over making a purchase (though heartache over the burnt pocket). Getting an item which I really, really long for put a smile on me for an indefinite amount of time. =)

Murmurs

Spot & Shoot: Feast on the Past
2008:10:03 23:03

Happen to chance upon this event:

Quoting from the National Museum Website,
"Spot & Shoot 2008: Feast on the Past! returns at the National Museum of Singapore (NMS) this October 2008. here's your chance to test your knowledge on monuments and historical food places in Singapore! Prove it in this seven-hour photo competition with a twist. You don't write your answers down, you shoot 'em. Decipher the clues provided and capture your answers with your cameras. 7 hours is all you have!"

Deadline: 11 October 2008, Saturday, 12pm

The cross between cryptology and photography got me really interested. Registration is in teams of 3pax. Any interested?

Related Link
Goto "What's On" --> "Other Events"

In the Greens

Yellow Tag for the Last Time
2008:10:01 14:23

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!
Happy Children's Day!

Today, I put on the yellow tag, which has "Company Orderly Sergeant" engraved across it, for the last time.