Updates

Our team won at the MPDIV Life Day, but the prize was pretty pathetic compared to what we are used to. A $60 Swensen's voucher, to be split more than 10 ways. It seems we might get more money from the WITs thingy, not cash, but for purchases. 1 GB of RAM for each computer would be cool!

I realized that there is a faster way to get home from Expo, which I took last night. Take MRT to Bedok (which is nearer to Expo than Paya Lebar), then 854 straight home. The bus only took about 45 minutes. The dinner was ok, the food passable, the company not too obnoxious, the entertainment rather lively so somewhat enjoyable. I took the opportunity to dress up.

The signs on the East-West line are very misleading for people going to Expo and Changi Airport. The signs suggest that for the East-bound track there are trains going to Pasir Ris and trains going to Changi Airport. So I waited, and each time the train came it said it was going to Pasir Ris, so I waited for the next train. I assumed maybe since more people would go to Pasir Ris, the ratio would be something like 2 is to 1 or similar. But after a third Pasir Ris train came, and given that I was running late, I took it anyway. When I got to Tanah Merah, I realized that I was hoodwinked!

The reality is that all trains go to Pasir Ris; to go to Expo and Changi Airport, you have to get off at Tanah Merah and switch to the train on the middle track! Imagine the disaster if someone was going to the airport and waited for the Changi Airport train in vain! The signs need to be changed, to say that the East-West train goes to Pasir Ris/Changi Airport, instead of saying no. 1 goes to Pasir Ris and no. 3 goes to Changi Airport, except at Tanah Merah Station (where the signs make sense).

The tennis racquet Eugene bought was defective; it is missing some parts and thus cannot be strung! I think tomorrow I'll plan to stay out instead of coming home after tennis in the morning, since I'll be playing quite early in the afternoon again. A good exercise for the forearm is to bounce a tennis ball on the floor using a racquet. It takes some skill too.

Say Yang is free this Sunday and the next, he says. Went to the library just now on the way home. Borrowed two books, one on evolution (a very short introduction). I realize I know hardly anything about evolution, which is a terrible thing.

The poster for the MINDEF PRIDE Day exhibition is about to be printed, and we can view it before no more changes can be made. The exhibition is in 2 weeks' time. James might be back in time for it. The current CO is going to be gone really soon. There's a new NSF in the other branch, an understudy to Simon. He studied in Japan, and looks really old.

Cool, there are some advertisements in the Straits Times today for computers, there's a desktop system (sans monitor) for less than $400, and a military-strength laptop from $1,999. Both of them come with a Linux OS. I've applied for my Exit Permit already, by the way.