Wei Kiat's Blog

Common Test
Hopeless beyond word

Love
Being nice to others isn't nice to yourself

Muggers looking for jobs
I don't know what to do now, I only know what you(MOE) told me to.

Conclusion
Life sucks.

1st July 2005 - A BLACK DAY FOR COMMUTERS

We urge all S'poreans to wear Black on 1 July to register their displeasure at the public transport fare hike, and also ERP charges. We wear Black because mere words cannot express our disappointment. We have become speechless at this administration which time and again choose to ignore public feedback. We want to make our silence visible.

SO Please! Wear BLACK!!!

Click here for more information

Qict
Making major changes to the code and making many improvements to it. Qict now runs much faster than before and has a better dictionary entry processing algo. Properties of each qict windows, such as transparency and dockability can be configureed individually. Qict now comes with a customizible background, where you can set any JPG image as the background for Qict. I've made a nice 22*233 image of me and my gf and use it for background for my own copy of Qict. Qiz now comes with a revision quiz functions that allows you to take quiz base on words that you answered wrongly in tyour previous quiz.

More changes will be made. Stay tuned for the release of Qict 3.0 Public Beta

Slack
Too slack. Didn't really study maths. Die liao. Tml study phy. Common test screw and flunk. End of story.

Love
Love my dear... She really good to me and i appreciate it very much.. I love Si hui!!!

iPod Shuffle
Just acquired an iPod Shuffle as a free gift because i subscribed for a new singnet internet plan. Loaded iTune on my comp. IT SUCKS BIG TIME! Don't understand why so many people praise it and prefer it over sony's Sonic stage, which i use to transfer songs to and fro my hi-MD player. Sonicstage is much more userfriendly than the sucky iTunes which looked so cheapskate and junkie. Sound quality from iPod is not bad, not as bad i predicted, however i can get that kind of sound quality using sony's Atrac3plus 64kps format on my MD instead of MP3 128kps. In other words, i can store 4 times as many similar quality songs in a single 1GB Hi-MD than in a 512mb iPod shuffle The difference is amazing. Isn't it amazing that 64kps Atrac3plus on my Hi-MD (plus all equaliser settings/ VIRTUAL SURROUND SOUND SYSTEM) sounds alot better than 128kps MP3 on iPod. So why are people all buying iPod? All idiots! iPod's quality sucks! Battery life sucks! Lithium battery only has lifespan of 3~5years, so iPod are actually "disposal" devices that you have to throw away after a few years just because its battery cannot be replaced. Sad isn't it?

Ya ya... iPod looks nice, design is nice... So what? For a music player, what matters most is Audio Quality! Not looks! You propably keep yr ipod in yr bag or pocket most of the time anyway... you won't be staring at it every second.

iPod is just out there to con stupid consumers who noe nuts about audio quality and who are willing so much for a device that fails terribly as being a MP3 player. Whenever i see a iPod user, i laugh at them. They noe nuts about good sound quality. They are stupid.

Get a life, get Hi-MD. And ya, the quality from those white signature iPod earphones that made such a big Hoo-haa sucks big time. To me it sounded like a radio playing underwater. Another final convincing evidence that ipod users noe nuts about sound quality. They suck.

Most likely i'll be dumping my iPod shuffle to my sis to use. Hi-MD for me.

hey guys, please be more active on my tagboard leh...

After much downloading and skinning... This is my new desktop! And I love it alot! Looks very nice! Click to enlarge!

Qict Version 2.0 Beta is now available!
Updates:
-Interface improvement
-More stable
-Faster dictionary lookup
-Includes update manager
-Includes Qiz, a companion to Qict that can automatically generate MCQ Vocab test from words stored in Word Vault!

Download it now!
http://thecomputer.inoru.net/files/Qict.zip

Cant remember the last time i blogged, so it must be a long long time ago. Time flies, and life just zoomed past me, before i could even feel its existance at all. Looking back, i could faintly recall where i spent my time on, first PW, then harmoc concert, then i was down with mild fever and flu. After that there was this mentality of "everything is over and i need to start getting out", hence the series of late nights. Didnt really have time to study proper until today. Holidays are halfway past now and if i dont address my hopelessly lagging tutorials, which includes 6 maths tutorials, all but two physics tutorials behind etc, it is going to show on my block test.

Was appointed vice-president of harmoc some time last week. Rationally, it was okay considering that i didnt prepare for the exco selection day at all and even had a hangover the day before. But i knew that if i were running for exco at all i will be going for presidency. And i did. Interview was more than okay, thought i cruised through it, i just talk about my qualities, things in harmoc that needs improving and how i would address the problem if i was appointed the president. However, there was this lingering feeling that i screwed up my speech and lost a lot of the J2 votes. I mean, it cant be helped if i were overly critical of the harmoc spirit because that's how i felt. In the end, I suspect that they decided not to give it to me because i appeared to be too slack, overconfident and unstructured.

Then my mum decided to restrict me from late nights. It was totally not my fault that she bolted the door shut carelessly and i had to wake her up in the middle of the night so that i could enter. It's not like she didnt know i was coming home late. But whatever it was she did come up with a list of crap reasons on why i shouldnt continue with my midnight excursions. Told her that i'll reduce my frequency but she just wont listen. The irony was that she mentioned that both parties need to compromise during arguements. Heck. Most probably i wont go out next week because i m broke anyway. However, i m quite sure that i still need a nightlife and a curfew just isnt right for me, so i'll see what i can do then.

Well...i have blogged...after a long time. Shall blog again when i m more free.

Homewor
Did abit of computing work... the rest untouched.
What are tutorials? I've totally forgotten about them... :P

Vice-President Of cXtreme
1)Got contact for the club for possible cooperation with Media Production Club Of HCI
2)Sent Mr Hong some possible suggestions to stamp out gaming in the club
3)Sent Mr Hong some possible suggestions to organise more IT competitions for the club
4)Showed off Qict Version 2.0 Beta to Mr Hong
5)Try to be friendly with all the Department Heads

Qict
Version 2.0 is ready... but i don't intend to release it yet. This is because this new version may be unstable. Version 2.0 includes a new program called Qiz, that can automatically generate vocabulary test for the users to take. Prehaps for this new version i intend to ask for some donation or something before letting users to use it. I need MONEY!

Anyone willing to donate $2 to me in order to have the new Qict combined with Qiz? Please please!

WishList
-A new Sony MZ-DH10P Hi-MD Player with built in Camera!
-PSP (didn't won it at iHPC)
-iPod Mini Hello Kitty Edition (To give to my girlfriend)
-A TV Tuner for my laptop
-A better 2.1 or 5.1 speaker system
-Hopefully don't fail my common test.

iHPC
WE LOST! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! WE LOST! EVEN THE OTHER TEAM FROM MY SCHOOL, WHICH FAKED THEIR RESULT, GOT BEST PRESENTATION AWARD!! HAIZ.... :( :(
WAT ME GOT IS ONLY A PIECE OF CERT OF PARPICATION AND A SENNISHER EARPHONE which i am giving to my dear. I have much better earphone than this:P

PW
PW is quite screwup and the feasiblity of the project is in question. But sometime should be able to be worked out so that the project still works. Sorry Zhi Min for using some strong words on you. You have kept the group running for so long and i noe u can continue doing it well.

LOVE
Haven't go out wif my dear for a very long time. This wednesday we are going east coast for pinic:P She might be cooking some fried rice. Yeah! Finally can taste her cooking. She very pro one leh... noe how to cook alot of things... while i only noe how to cook instant noodle and campell soups. There is no Home Econ lesson in my sch, so its already very li hai that i noe how to even crack an egg. The rest of the students in Chinese High are as helpless as a piece of shit without their maids. Especially one particular Teo Kao Jun. Hey... I do housework at home, wash my own uniform and shoe and bag. Even not all girls bother to do that. I'm make a good husband:p Even though i don't have the look.

But wat's the use of been good looking, it can't bring happiness, it can't make u feel more loved, it can't make you rich... It doesn't do anything. Why is everyone seeking that? Haiz... Stupid people. Me and my gf chose each other because both of us are good good people:P Hehe... But i can be bad sometimes, so can she. No one is prefect. Haiz.. but we are still very good to each other! Hehe... Ok enough about my rumbling.

The Prefect Combination Of Lameness and Originality
Thats me. But someone don't like me to lame. So i try to be less lame. But really, been lame and not serious about anything immune me to many things that may otherwise hurt my heart and pain my soul. However, i now have a serious commitement. And you guys should noe who i'm commited to. :P

Extract 1
We all find ourselves at times in situations in which it is difficult to say no. For instance, you’ve planned to go skiing over Thanksgiving and your parents write you saying how much they’d like you to have Thanksgiving dinner with the family. Your boss asks you to work overtime and you have plans for that evening. A professor asks if you can do some extra work for her on a research project she’s working on. You have just bought a new sweater and a friend asks if she can borrow it. Someone asks you out that you don’t want to go out with. If you repeatedly find yourself acquiescing or agreeing to these types of requests and feeling unhappy about it you might want to look at some reasons why you say yes when you prefer to say no. You might fear the loss of the relationship or be afraid of damaging the relationship in some way. So you end up treating the relationship as fragile and dependent on your constant compliance. You, like so many people, may feel guilty about saying no since you have been taught to go out of your way to avoid hurting people’s feelings. So you end up feeling responsible for the other person’s feelings as if their happiness depends on your agreeing. This takes away their right to be responsible for their own feelings. You might feel you are a bad person if you refuse - selfish and self-centered. You have been taught the virtue of self-sacrifice and self-denial. So you end up being more concerned and more considerate of others than you are of yourself. You may feel flattered at being asked. It makes you feel important and you’re afraid if you say no this time you’ll never be asked again. These are examples of emotional hooks that can interfere with your freedom of action.

What are some ways to make it easier to say no? Much of it is cognitive work. The first thing to do is to identify the emotional hooks or beliefs that are getting in your way. For example, if a friend wants to borrow your favorite records to take to a party, what are the negative consequences you anticipate if you say no? Are you afraid he or she will never speak to you again? If you say no to an employer, do you fear being fired from your job? If you say no to a professor, do you anticipate getting a bad grade in the course?

Once you have identified your catastrophic expectations, the next step is the restate them more realistically. For example, you might tell yourself if I say no, my friend will be disappointed not to be able to borrow my records, but our friendship is not contingent on this. He or she will likely respect me more for having said no clearly.

My employer may not be happy about my not staying overtime, but it is reasonable to refuse when it is inconvenient for me. If I agree to do something I don’t want to do I will probably feel dissatisfied with myself. I may also feel angry and resentful at the other person. In this case the no may come across non-verbally, in missing deadlines, being unpleasant or silent, thinking of other things when with the other person. Self-denying behavior will probably reinforce the unwanted behavior of others and encourage them to keep making unreasonable demands of me.

After you have restated your beliefs more rationally so that you feel ready to say no and fell good about doing so, the next step is to say it directly to the person, with a sense of assertiveness in your voice and manner. Make sure the non-verbal message is the same as your words. Are you making eye contact? Is your tone non-apologetic?

Because you have been socialized from early years to be acquiescent and compliant, saying no will undoubtably be very difficult for you the first few times. To make it easier, begin by saying no in some low risk situations where you’re perfectly assured of your right to say no and with this practice you’ll build up confidence in yourself and an ability to say no in more difficult situations, appearing confident at times when you may be feeling uncertain of yourself inside.

It is usually easier to say no to certain people than to others. For you these may be close friends or maybe strangers or family. Anticipate a situation you think will come up and practice what you will say. Rehearse saying no in a clear and direct way. Be aware of your entire manner and tone of voice when you do so.

In more difficult situations when you are unsure of what you want to say or how you want to say it, try giving yourself time, by telling the other person - can I think about it? Then sort out what you feel and what your irrational beliefs and expectations are to your saying no.

If your have said no, but someone persists, like a broken record, not listening to your first no, you may need to persist in saying no. Are you simply the kind of person who gives in? Or do you tend to get angry? You may need to get their attention by touching them and saying - you seem to be invested in getting me to agree, but I’ve said no and I really mean it.

Despite the messages many of us get when growing up about being accommodating and going out of our way for others. It is important to realize that there is healthy selfish behavior. You have a right to say no and feel good about it. As you attend to your own feelings and needs you will have a lot more willingness to say yes at other times.

There are many good books written about assertiveness that have sections on saying no. Among these are:

When I Say No I Feel Guilty by Manuel Smith

Don’t Say Yes When You Want to Say No by Tenserheim

Your Perfect Right by Alberti and Emmons

You might inquire about assertive groups that are offered on your campus or in your community. If you would like to discuss this area further, please contact the University of Florida Counseling Center (if a UF student or student spouse) or a mental health agency in your community.

Note: This document is based on an audio tape script developed by the University of Texas, Austin. With their permission, it was revised and edited into its current form by the staff of the University of Florida Counseling Center.

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Extract 2
* We say "yes"to others because we want to please them. But when eventually we can't continue, we let them down and we feel guilty. Both parties suffer. Recognize that a desire to please often prevents us from saying no.
* Stick to your plan. If you have a written set of goals and strategies, this gives you a reason to stick to your course. ("Thanks, but I already have an investment plan, so you don't need to send me a newsletter about stocks.")
* When someone persists, repeat your position, perhaps in a slightly different way. ("As I already said, our policy is to donate to charities that help children only.")
* Make sure you understand exactly what is being asked of you before you respond. Perhaps the task is more time consuming than you thought. On the other hand, it may not take much effort at all.
* Excel at just a few things, rather than being just average at many. Don't try to do everything.
* You have a right to say no. Remember that others may take you for granted and even lose respect for you if you don't.
* Be polite, but firm in saying no. You only build false hopes with wishy-washy responses. For instance, the phrase "I'll try to be there" in response to a party invitation is giving yourself an excuse to avoid a commitment. It doesn't do anyone any favours.

* When a superior asks you to do a new urgent task;

* Remind her that you are working on other projects that she has already identified as top priorities
* Ask for help in deciding where the new task should fall on the list of priorities
* Ask "What you like to give up in order for me to do this?"
* Point out that you might be able to do everything, but not to the usual high standards that are expected.

* Some experts recommend keeping your answer short. This way, you can say no without feeling the need for a lengthy justification. ("I'm sorry, I'm not available that night.") On the other hand, others say that giving a longer answer with reasons reinforces your credibility. Let the situation decide.
* Provide suggestions or alternatives to the person who is asking. ("I can't do that task today, but how about next week," or "How about asking John instead?")
* When in doubt, it's easier to say no now, then change your mind to a yes later, rather than the other way around.

Qict Version 1.2 is ready!

Some changes:
-Various bug fixes
-New Word of the Day feature
-Ability to change transparency of the main window
-Installer now included

Download it from the Software section of my website.

Holiday Homework
Just started LOOKING at computing homework

iHPC
I think we screwed it up big time. This friday is our prize giving. All students and teachers involved are invited to go. However, Irene, the seceratory of the event called members of my grp up personally to ask if we are attending the prize giving. Hm... she seems to be making sure that we are going to be there this friday. No everyone involved in HPC got that call. So with luck, our grp may be able to get smth... hm... but don't get our hopes too high yet.

LOVE
I love my dear gf! Hee! Love her so much... everytime when we are going home after we went out wif each other, we become se bu de each other more and more each time... so much that i started to be so sad that i almost felt like crying when its time to go home. Life just feels incomplete without my girlfriend.

Qict
5 stars rating from topshareware.com
5 stars rating from mostshareware.com
Certified 100% Clean by softpedia.com
5 stars rating from sofotex.com
4 stars rating from filetransit.com

Yeah... And i suspect more are coming... :D

HPC Screwup
Very sian.. screwed up report, screwed up program, screwed up presentation. End of story... Die le lah...

Homework
Basically unchanged.

HPC Quest
Wrote my part of the report. Started working on flash presentation which is due this friday. Later today going down to science park to do program verfication test.

Qict
Version 1.1 is ready, which much better GUI and visual effects. Download it from the "Softwares" section of this webpage.

Life
Stressed and shity.

Love Life
Wonderful and amazing.