Mid-Term Paper

Now is a very stressful period so I'm sharing some comics to reduce stress. As usual, credits to my all-time favourite cartoonist, Bill Amend.

I quite like this one. If only I'm as unique as Jason Fox, I will not have to bother about writing my name on my assignments anymore. Lazy? Yes, I am. HAHA

This is the typical act of the kind saboteur. They pretend to help you but backstab you instead. LOL

Bill Amend is actually an Apple fan - it is evident from the fact that Jason's desktop is called an 'iFruit'. There are also a lot of comics he drew that are related to the iPod. However, in this particular comic, he is poking fun at iPad's inability to support Flash videos.

One of my favourite pieces of work from Bill Amend.

Internet Security, I Need You

The topic of my group project focuses on some aspects of online hacking by highlighting the flaws that are mostly avoidable. Therefore, the lectures on security on the Internet were quite important to us and I took quite a lot of notes, especially those stuff concerning worms and viruses. I'm not very tech-savvy because most of the problems that I encounter with my computers (be it my desktop or laptops) are all settled by my techie brother. Therefore, it is an understatement to say that I know nuts about protecting my computers against the vulnerabilities that the Internet (or rather, the hackers) presents. However, I try to be as careful as I am because I am very scared that I will lose all my fortune due to my carelessness. For instance, before I registered for an online banking account, I double-checked multiple times to confirm that the security of online banking services provided by DBS is really reliable and secured. Basically, what my brother told me was that the double-password system of entering the PIN and then the number on the IB token makes the procedure extremely secure. Although I still do not entirely understand the technicality behind this double-password thing, I hope that it is indeed secure or I will be in deep trouble.

Credits to my favourite cartoonist: Bill Amend

One of the funniest things I heard in lecture was about how some people would reply scam emails to scold them. It is not advisable to do so because the sender will probably know that the email account is active and the spam mails will not stop. The most ridiculous thing is that I am one of those people who will reply and tell the senders off. HAHAHA. I have been receiving some scam mails from an organization that claims themselves to be the Canadian Trust. I ignored them initially but I got irritated after the repeated flooding of my mail box and told them to try some better tactics because their scam was such a loser thing since I do not even own a account with said organization. I didn't know that I could filter out unwanted mails at that time so you probably will think that I am the stupidest thing ever alive who can use the computer. I don't blame you for that. I think so too. HAHAHA

Screenshot of the scam mail

Anyways, I subscribe to this channel called 'Howcast' on Youtube and they are a bunch of people who come up with reallygreat and sometimes ridiculous videos. They have videos like 'How To Fold A T-Shirt' and 'How To Break Up With Someone on Valentine's Day'. This video that I am going to share is a little old but I do think that some parts of it are very much relevant, like that password component. It is on 'How To Protect Your Computer From Snoops'. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVWfg6je5Ow&feature=fvsr

Common Internet Tools- Google

Yes, I know that Google was mentioned a million times during the lectures on Common Internet Tools but I cannot think of anything else that I am familiar with. I use Google every single day, as long as I switch on my computer and have access to Internet. The Google search engine is my homepage so it is the very first thing that I see whenever I go online. The top right hand corner of my browser is dominated by the Google search engine tool bar - it is plain laziness on my side because I can skip the step of clicking on the 'Home' icon to go to Google, and just type whatever I want to search into the tool bar on top. However, I am not using Google Chrome or Gmail because I am already so used to my Hotmail account and the Internet Explorer browser. I tend to inculcate brand loyalty very easily.

The one thing so cool about Google is that they have this remarkable ability of creating something that looks so simple on the outside - the search engine page is so clean and easy to use. However underneath all that simplicity is a complex concoction of technical ingenuity. Another lovely feature about Google is how they often have very cool logos for special days and occasions. And when you click on those specially designed logos, they bring you search results of what the logos represent for the day. The most recent one was for Robert Bunsen, the German chemist who developed the Bunsen burner for laboratory experiments. All those times when I was doing science experiments, no teacher ever mentioned that the burner was created by Robert Bunsen and I only learn of it from Google, 10 years after I first used that thing. That is another flaw of the local education system.

Google is the teacher outside our classroom and I love it because it is so easy to consult. However, this 'teacher' may not always be the most reliable source of information thus it is up to the 'students' to establish the credibility of what is give to them. A lot of information that we obtain from the Internet, regardless of the search engine we use, are not as credible as we would like them to be (well, Google did create a really superb April Fool joke this year and I look forward to the next one). For instance, although many of us refer to blogs to get more information on the latest electronic gadgets or cosmetics, we can hardly use these sources for our research papers. Neither can we quote from Wikipedia due to the nature of editorship on the website. Yet, these sources are the most common links that Google provide when we search for anything. We can probably look to Google scholars for more reliable information but most of these links are inaccessible unless we pay for the information. Therefore, I was thinking maybe Google should buy rights of scholarly magazines instead of all those other fun things. It will make our researching routes far more easy. =D

The Flawed Concept Of E-Learning In The Local Education System

I remember that the first time I heard of E-learning was when I was in Secondary 1, which is at least 8 years ago. The principal announced that we will be taking a day off so that we can test-drive the new E-learning system. It sounded like a holiday initially, until I got to the E-learning day itself. Every student in the Express stream had 9 subjects: English, Mathematics, Science, Chinese Geography, History, Literature, Social Studies and Art & Music. When every single subject teacher posted just 1 homework each, the holiday was as good as any other normal school day. And when core subject teachers (English, Mathematics and Science) posted more than 1 assignment each, the school day just turned into a living nightmare.

This flawed system continues even till today, as I see my tuition kids struggle the complete the online assignments, as well as the paper assignments that they received from their teachers. I highly agree that consistency is important in the pursuit for knowledge but I think my tuition kids deserve a well-earned break after all the mental labour they had to endure during the entire school term. I deserve a break from all the torment of explaining and clarifying all their doubts for their homework. School holidays should not be homework days. I think that the current Primary School teachers have abused the E-learning system by only uploading homework, instead of using the extremely interactive features that the Internet boasts. The way I see things now, E-learning is just a means of saving paper because the material uploaded are exactly the same as the paper assignments that my tuition kids get.

There are of course exceptions in this disgustingly flawed system. When I was in Secondary School, my Science teacher used to make crossword puzzles using the scientific terms that we went through in the chapter. If I typed in a wrong answer, pop-up boxes would appear with hints to the correct answers in them. I exceptionally adored the hilarious celebratory dance that would appear when I managed to answer everything correct on the very first try. The crossword puzzles were not only excellent ways to test and revise our understanding of the concepts, they were also very engaging and fun. I enjoyed learning online so much.

There is hardly any point in implementing E-learning if the results generated are going to be the same as a classroom setting. I wish the local teachers will wake up and do something constructive about it. Stop finding excuses and claim that those interesting assignments are too difficult to create because there are so many online resources available to make things easier. All one has to do is to learn how to use them. Is it not a contradiction that these teachers are supposed to help students learn but they themselves reject learning how to use those online resources? I say, stop those ridiculous online assignments and inject a bit more vibrancy, creativity and attitude into the education system!

Making MORE $$$ on the Internet

Most people who know me will also know that I'm learning Korean language now. I started picking up the language in 2009 so it has indeed been quite a while since my K-craze started. I have always wanted to learn another language and was contemplating between Japanese and Korean. Then I settled for learning Korean language because of a really ridiculous reason. I had bought this HUUUGGEEEE load of extremely cute Korean stickers and I realised that I could not understand the little Korean words on the stickers. And yes. I started learning Korean just so that I could understand what my stickers were talking about. LOL! In short, shopping made me learn Korean and learning Korean made me shop more. Why? Because I find this: This thing here is called GMarket and it works similarly to Ebay. However, GMarket is dominated by products manufactured in Korea so if there is something you need that is made in Korea and you cannot find it on Ebay, you will probably find it here. They even have GMarket.sg now because they realise that a lot of Singaporeans are buying stuff from them and these foreign consumers are unable to read Korean characters. You can choose English instead of Korean for the website language but the English description is really far inferior to that of the Korean ones. At times like this, I am grateful for my understanding of very basic Korean. I like that the buyer can combine shipping from different sellers because the items are sent to the HQ by the individual sellers and then packaged and sent to the buyers all over the world. It is cooler than Ebay in this aspect. Although incredibly successful, there are a few annoying aspects of GMarket.

1. The website does not work well with Firefox. Best on Internet Explorer.


2. They accept payment via Paypal and credit cards but the exchange rates for these 2 are ridiculous.


3. They sell GMarket points which consumers can purchase and then use these points to pay for their products. It gives the buyer some extra bits here and there, which is the benefit. But it annoys me that I cannot 'sell' the points back.


4. Shipping is so expensive and because they go by volumentric measurement as well, it does the buyers no good when the sellers pack every single item in an individual box. Waste of boxes and shipping space! PS: You can find tips on many websites like:

• http://lotuspalace.blogspot.com/2008/08/tips-for-ordering-from-gmarket.html

That's all then. Enjoy shopping!

Making $$$ on the Internet

I guess it is no big news that one can make big money on the Internet. Just looking at Facebook and Google, it is not hard to imagine the potential of a virtual world. Many online retailers are also doing exceptionally well, like Amazon and major fashion houses F21 and ASOS. These online retailers provide international shipping thus making it convenient for online shoppers who do not stay in US or UK. However, I did not expect simple blogshops in Singapore to achieve impressive results that estimates to millions in revenue (no, I am not kidding) and a perfect example is Love Bonito. They are so prominent that they were featured on Urban (The Straits Times weekly supplement) alongside other successful blogshops.

Love Bonito started out as BonitoChico and they are a blogshop that sells clothes for girls. The initial concept of the blogshop was to get rid of some of their impulsive buys and this slowly built on to sourcing for clothes in Thailand to sell. Subsequently, they designed and manufactured their own clothes because they wanted to establish a reputable fashion label and maintain the individuality of their clothes. Now, their website is only for selling their own label and they continue designing their own clothes, shoes and bags. Love Bonito is doing so well and even Calvin Klein and Essential are marketing some of their products through their website. They regularly get sponsors from Lo'real as well.

I think that their winning formula is the price and quality of their products. Most of their clothes do not cost more than $40 and they are comparable to major fashion houses like Topshop. Another component will be luck because they are some of the forerunners in Singapore and they have already established a large client base when every other small blogshop is jumping the bandwagon. They have even created a range called COVET which is supposedly the higher end range of their designs.

You can check up their websites here:

http://bonitochico.livejournal.com/

http:///www.lovebonito.com/

Repent & Gain Forgiveness

Sorry Mr Choy, I have been preoccupied with all sorts of things these past weeks and haven't met my basic academic obligations. I will catch up on the blog posts from now onwards.

Please forgive my tardiness and continue to read my boring blog. I promise I will be consistent from now onwards. Pinky promise!

NO NO NO! THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN! I PROMISE THAT I WILL REALLY KEEP MY PROMISE!

My 4-Phased-Facebook

As compared to my peers, I was actually slow when it came to Facebook addiction - I was still living in Friendster world when everyone started stalking on FB. In fact, I was trying hard not to get into it because I saw how it killed the GPAs of so many people. A lot of my course mates were struggling to keep their eyes open because they were too busy posting comments on their friends' photos or status the night before. I used to think 'what a waste of time and brain cells' but it was not long till my friends forced me to open an account.

The addiction did not kick start right after I opened an account on Facebook because the found the whole fad to be extremely overwhelming. The initial phase was just like a culture shock because it is astonishing to see what pictures people put on FB. Of the pictures that I saw, photos of drunk people were the most incredulous ones - why the hell will anyone want to share explicit details and hit-by-hit account of their disgraceful nights? I was in the events department in Council then, and we held the UB pageant at Zouk. Tonnes of pictures I saw were of people partying away and some were of drunks who were carried out by the bouncers. The comments below the pictures teased the drunk guy's lack of grace but the true lack of grace was the one who posted that picture. And the drunk guy was stupid to not untag himself. So my first experience with FB was plain revulsion because FB = NARCISSISM. If you know the story of Narcissus, you will remember how he was so preoccupied with the reflection of himself in the lake that he died of starvation. These FB people will die of attention.

After the first phase of revulsion, I decided to stay away to keep my eyes clean. The avoidance phase was not as hard as it seems because I heard tonnes of mean things that people say on facebook, like the news of a particular girl who killed herself because of the cruel comments on her social networking page. I do not want my real life to be affected by the idiocy that occurs on a virtual world that will end once I delete the account. For the love of all things good, there is so much in the real world that we are missing out on because we are sticking our eyes on the lives of someone through FB. Plus there are just too many random facts about people on FB, it is TMI (too much information). If you're only a very very distant relative that I only meet once a year, I don't want to know that you have your belly button pierced and that it is a secret from your parents. I understand that FB is to keep people connected but after looking at most of the stuff that people post, I want to ask them "And your point is???" For me it was such a waste of our lives - we are created for bigger things. Like capturing all the terrorists. Or finding the cure to whatever disease there is. Avoidance allowed me to keep my time to myself and it helped to preserve my sanity.

Then came the phase of reviewing my option because my friends were all going to the UB campus at Buffalo last year. It turned out that the easiest way to find out more about their lives over in America was through the photos they posted on FB like the weather, the school, the dormitories. They also posted trips they took to Nigara Falls and various fun spots. Events and festivals like Halloween and Christmas seem more vibrant over there because their pictures looked so cheery. I was envious but at least, I could partake in their joy through FB.

The forth phase that I am going through now is regularity. Don't get me wrong, I still hate FB. However, I shall not deny that it proves to be an excellent platform to catch up with my friends. Quite a number of their features irk me and I wish that with time to come, this FB craze will die so that I won't have to be obliged to stay on it.