Such a simple idea, hinged on positivity, AwesomenessReminders.com gets a real person to call you or anyone every day to tell him or her how much he or she rocks. At first I could not believe that people would actually pay or subscribe to this. But they claim that the start up is profitable; Time magazine and Financial Times did a report on them. Some other blogger even came up with 7 reasons why AwesomenessReminders.com is awesome. Here's their blog. I'm amazed at the simplicity of the idea, the effectiveness of the calls, the low frills and the "low tech"-ness of the whole thing. It's like delivering flowers; it comes with sharing happiness with a personal touch.
let's not pay them to do it. pick up the phone now and let the people around you know that they are...
AWESOME!
30.4.11
walk over
I just walked over to Radin Mas SMC for lunch and walked back to Tanjong Pagar GRC to get a can of coke. With so many election posters plastered on walls, hung on street lamps at the other side; it is easy to tell where the electoral boundary cuts the estate. I bet the guy staying at the point of intersection of Tanjong Pagar GRC, West Coast GRC and Radin Mas SMC...
he must be thinking about the same thing.
he must be thinking about the same thing.
electoral boundary
For this election, the electoral boundary has been redrawn such that the block right beside mine is in Radin Mas SMC while I am in Tanjong Pagar GRC. Couldn't they at least have used Lower Delta Road to separate the two wards? Even if I had gotten to vote, I would have asked myself who are these independent people?
walkover. so i'm free on Saturday morning.
walkover. so i'm free on Saturday morning.
27.4.11
Awesome #39 power to decide the pantry's stock
I have this habit of chatting with pantry aunties. They have the power to influence your fluid intake in the office. For the past few months, I have tried several 2-in-1 and 3-in-1 coffee and tea mixes from various brands. Despite this, I am not a big fan of caffeine. They are substitutes for Milo, my beverage of choice. Yesterday, while I was mulling if I should make myself a cup of yuan yang (鸳鸯) by mixing Nescafe coffee with Lipton milk tea; the pantry aunty walked in. After a quick exchange, she asked, "I'm going to stock up the pantry again, what do you want to drink?" I perked up and answered. And guess what I saw in the pantry today? M-I-L-O. (No. I did not even try to ask for beer in the pantry; but I know that some of you would.)
Having the power to decide what drink you want in the pantry is...
AWESOME!
Having the power to decide what drink you want in the pantry is...
AWESOME!
22.4.11
fun read
Got this from Scott Adam's blog.
Donald Trump: Magnificent Bastard
"It has come to my attention that there are still a few people in the world that I have not offended. I'd like to fix that by endorsing Donald Trump for president. But not for the reasons you might think.
This morning I read a news item saying that some folks at NBC think Trump might be pretending to run for president to boost ratings. The story noted that ratings for his TV show are up 20% lately. I laughed out loud because sometimes I forget that at least half the country doesn't realize he's just screwing with the media.
The magnificent part of this whole thing is that he's putting no effort whatsoever into concealing his prank. That's what I love about the guy. He knows that no level of clownery in a field of clowns will single him out as the one clown that doesn't really mean it.
Take Trump's recent empathy with the so-called birthers. That's the most brilliant part of his plan. It's a dead giveaway that he's just screwing with the media, and it has the added benefit of concentrating most of their attention on that one trivial issue. He doesn't even need to study up on the other issues. While Romney is writing position papers, Trump is golfing.
If you are not a student of practical jokes, you might not know they have a specific formula. A proper practical joke is more than a surprise or a lie. The magic part of the prank formula involves leaving enormous clues that are obvious to everyone but the target of the prank.
For example, if you have a coworker who likes to whistle little tunes in his cubicle, his blind spot is that he imagines other people are impressed and delighted by his whistling prowess. You could use that blind spot to engineer your prank. For example, you might have a friend call this fellow at work, pretending to be the director of the local symphony. Your co-conspirator could say the symphony is looking for an accomplished whistler to do a solo when the President of the United States' is in town next month. The payoff is getting the whistler to show up at the local symphony and ask the receptionist where he should go for the whistling audition.
The thing that makes the prank work is that no one in the solar system, except for the whistler, would find this scenario credible. He alone could imagine that word of his whistling talents have started to get around town. And he alone would imagine that the President of the United States would want to hear his whistling solo.
Back to Trump. He's a graduate of the Wharton School, which means his intelligence is in the genius range. He's a world-renowned businessman with attention to details. He's also famous for a trademark form of self-parody that has boosted his brand for decades. There isn't the slightest chance that this man hasn't looked at the birther evidence. He knows the President of the United States is American. That's the hiding in plain sight part of this prank. It isn't the least bit credible that Trump thinks the birther issue is real.
Some of you are thinking he's gone too far with the joke. Or maybe he went too far when he said we should take Iraq's oil by force as payment for a war they didn't ask for. This is not a man who thinks he might someday debate serious politicians in a public forum. This is a man who is winking at the camera and daring you to see the obvious.
Normally I wouldn't call out a prankster while the prank is in play. But this is a special case because the people who think he's serious have made up their minds. In order for them to accept that this is a prank, they'd have to accept that they can't tell the difference between a real candidate and one who is yanking their chains. Brains are not wired for that sort of 180 turn. In the history of humankind, no one has ever said, "I thought I was a brilliant observer of politics but this new information proves that my brain is the size of a tiny mouse turd." Trump's prank literally can't be exposed by anyone but him.
Trump is smart enough to never admit that his presidential aspirations are no more than marketing. To admit the trick would damage his brand. But he has no need to ever expose the prank. Trump, the magnificent bastard, has figured out a way to have his cake and eat it too. The people who are in on the joke find it entertaining. The people who will never know it's a joke have raised their opinion of him so much that he's the leading Republican presidential contender. And his TV ratings are up, so from a marketing standpoint it's working.
Granted, many people are turned off by Trump's pomposity. He knows that. But he also knows that success doesn't come from bland acceptance by the entire world. It comes from the ability to inspire the few. He's nailing that part. I just spent my morning writing about him.
The other genius part of his marketing is that he knows people are influenced by repetition more than reason. The attention he gets for his alleged presidential ambitions allow him to tell you over and over again that all things Trump are amazing. That part of the plan is working too.
Wink."
Donald Trump: Magnificent Bastard
"It has come to my attention that there are still a few people in the world that I have not offended. I'd like to fix that by endorsing Donald Trump for president. But not for the reasons you might think.
This morning I read a news item saying that some folks at NBC think Trump might be pretending to run for president to boost ratings. The story noted that ratings for his TV show are up 20% lately. I laughed out loud because sometimes I forget that at least half the country doesn't realize he's just screwing with the media.
The magnificent part of this whole thing is that he's putting no effort whatsoever into concealing his prank. That's what I love about the guy. He knows that no level of clownery in a field of clowns will single him out as the one clown that doesn't really mean it.
Take Trump's recent empathy with the so-called birthers. That's the most brilliant part of his plan. It's a dead giveaway that he's just screwing with the media, and it has the added benefit of concentrating most of their attention on that one trivial issue. He doesn't even need to study up on the other issues. While Romney is writing position papers, Trump is golfing.
If you are not a student of practical jokes, you might not know they have a specific formula. A proper practical joke is more than a surprise or a lie. The magic part of the prank formula involves leaving enormous clues that are obvious to everyone but the target of the prank.
For example, if you have a coworker who likes to whistle little tunes in his cubicle, his blind spot is that he imagines other people are impressed and delighted by his whistling prowess. You could use that blind spot to engineer your prank. For example, you might have a friend call this fellow at work, pretending to be the director of the local symphony. Your co-conspirator could say the symphony is looking for an accomplished whistler to do a solo when the President of the United States' is in town next month. The payoff is getting the whistler to show up at the local symphony and ask the receptionist where he should go for the whistling audition.
The thing that makes the prank work is that no one in the solar system, except for the whistler, would find this scenario credible. He alone could imagine that word of his whistling talents have started to get around town. And he alone would imagine that the President of the United States would want to hear his whistling solo.
Back to Trump. He's a graduate of the Wharton School, which means his intelligence is in the genius range. He's a world-renowned businessman with attention to details. He's also famous for a trademark form of self-parody that has boosted his brand for decades. There isn't the slightest chance that this man hasn't looked at the birther evidence. He knows the President of the United States is American. That's the hiding in plain sight part of this prank. It isn't the least bit credible that Trump thinks the birther issue is real.
Some of you are thinking he's gone too far with the joke. Or maybe he went too far when he said we should take Iraq's oil by force as payment for a war they didn't ask for. This is not a man who thinks he might someday debate serious politicians in a public forum. This is a man who is winking at the camera and daring you to see the obvious.
Normally I wouldn't call out a prankster while the prank is in play. But this is a special case because the people who think he's serious have made up their minds. In order for them to accept that this is a prank, they'd have to accept that they can't tell the difference between a real candidate and one who is yanking their chains. Brains are not wired for that sort of 180 turn. In the history of humankind, no one has ever said, "I thought I was a brilliant observer of politics but this new information proves that my brain is the size of a tiny mouse turd." Trump's prank literally can't be exposed by anyone but him.
Trump is smart enough to never admit that his presidential aspirations are no more than marketing. To admit the trick would damage his brand. But he has no need to ever expose the prank. Trump, the magnificent bastard, has figured out a way to have his cake and eat it too. The people who are in on the joke find it entertaining. The people who will never know it's a joke have raised their opinion of him so much that he's the leading Republican presidential contender. And his TV ratings are up, so from a marketing standpoint it's working.
Granted, many people are turned off by Trump's pomposity. He knows that. But he also knows that success doesn't come from bland acceptance by the entire world. It comes from the ability to inspire the few. He's nailing that part. I just spent my morning writing about him.
The other genius part of his marketing is that he knows people are influenced by repetition more than reason. The attention he gets for his alleged presidential ambitions allow him to tell you over and over again that all things Trump are amazing. That part of the plan is working too.
Wink."
tetris heaven 2
Remember the earlier post - tetris heaven. Here is the implementation on gudmagazine.
[follow up] after playing a few rounds, i realized that there are a few bugs in the game...
haha doesn't this feels like a dream come true?
[follow up] after playing a few rounds, i realized that there are a few bugs in the game...
haha doesn't this feels like a dream come true?
tetris heaven
Saw this on xkcd/888. This is literally what it means by. Sometimes, things just fall into place.
life should always be like this.
 | |
| "ta da!"-cj |
21.4.11
you should always have time to read
 | ||
| "this is what I will do over the long weekend."-cj |
15.4.11
By embedding a youtube video on Charlie Chaplin's 122 birthday, Google just became cooler.
i'm impressed.
 |
| "just push play"-cj |
 |
| "did they really acted it out?"-cj |
13.4.11
home cook
There's too much things going on lately until I have no time for myself. The only thing I can think of now is..
it's been a while since I ate dinner at home.
it's been a while since I ate dinner at home.
12.4.11
have a nice day
Due to my work-dance schedule, I have not had much time to write posts. So I shall randomly post interesting pictures to fill in the lapse between meaningful posts. I believe the staple below can singlehandedly revolutionize office friendliness man.
have a nice day~
 |
| "don't you want one?" |
6.4.11
Golden Ray Migration
I first saw it here and I felt the need to re-post this on my own blog. In 2008, Sandra Critelli shot this excellent photo of Golden Rays off the Mexican coast:
She said: “It was an unreal image, very difficult to describe. The surface of the water was covered by warm and different shades of gold and looked like a bed of autumn leaves gently moved by the wind.Golden Rays grow up to seven feet across and migrate within the Caribbean.
“It’s hard to say exactly how many there were but in the range of a few thousand.
“We were surrounded by them without seeing the edge of the school and we could see many under the water surface too.
surreal indeed..
4.4.11
.
Truth is I have no idea where this is bringing us. It feels good now. So it is probably the right decision for this moment in time. Let's not think too much.
just go with the flow.
just go with the flow.
3.4.11
hip hop
Hip hop class is not just a dance class. When you rehearse a 2 minute choreography 5 times in a row, it is also an aerobic fitness class. On top of the physical demand, it requires a certain amount of focus, coordination and teamwork to get the moves right and everyone to move in sync. I'm usually dripping with sweat and breathless after it. Recently, my dance instructor brought hip hop class to a new level. He came into the class and announced to us... "Guys, we are going to try back flip."
Hip hop is now a gymnastic class as well..
 |
| "Back flip. No problem. Just give me time to train"-cj |
2.4.11
split second
The van blocked all our view. I popped my head out to clear the blind spot. A split second later, I spotted the incoming car 2m from me and a kid running past me onto the road. I was not able to react in time. The kid is out of my reach. Thankfully, the car braked and brushed slightly against the kid. The driver lowered his window to scold the kid, but the kid had already ran off. Did the careless kid realized that he could have gotten knocked down?
For the mere split second which i was helpless, the kid could have got injured.
For the mere split second which i was helpless, the kid could have got injured.
quote
“One man is unequal to another from the very beginning, and there is nothing you can do about it. The democratic principle infringes the rights of those who are more intelligent, more talented, and harder working; it places them in a position of dependence on the foolish will of the stupid, talentless, and lazy, because society always contains more of the latter. Let our compatriots first learn to rid themselves of their swinish ways and earn the right to bear the title of citizen, and then we can start thinking about a parliament.”
~ Erast Fandorin to Varvara Andreevna in The Turkish Gambit by Boris Akunin
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