Behold the Midyears.
you gain some; you loose some.
like economics, we all have finite resources and finite abilities. what matters than is the allocation of what little we have into what is most profitable to us.
thus in the process, we can priotise either to gain Maximum total production or Maximum average production depending on the wieghtage of the priotities to be prioritised.
of course, the difference is that for one, we arent always rational human beings. by giving a formula to help us make the best descisions, we can than actaully predict the best path one ought to take, essentially undermining the unpredictable nautre of us as human beings. which will than not make us human beings, but programmed robots who are under the false impression that we are thinking and rational, but in actualy fact - are not. of course, that is the perspective of an arts student.
more relevantly, we dont really have finite resources. we can after all expand our capability and capcity to do work. palpably, that is something i have been unable to do this holiday.
i wonder what'll happen if i write this in my econs paper tmr.
it'll be turned into a dsicussion of the relevance of centrus peribus in mordern economics. which raelly isnt so bad. its an econs-s question i think.
as for gp, i got this off robin's blog just before his promos last year.
Oh vile deposits of man, vile deposits of man! The spectre of darkness claimeth me.
ie Sh*t sh*t! I'm dead.
this will certainly be most useful for the incredulous amt of re-phrasing we'll ever need to do tmr.
more stuff:
A new year, a whole new epoch in my life, same old same old. Knn. Still remember how behind and dumb I felt last year one week before the prelims where EVERY mother father son had finished mugging and I haven't even started. Then got unceremoniously raped inside out by the prelims. Now deja vu is setting in already. Normal studious people are already kneedeep into their work and discussing cheem shite like MRP and detente and integration and loci and whatever lan while my mind is still on how to bloody complete squares and LEARNING HOW TO DO FRACTIONAL CANCELLATIONS. Argh I'm so dead for promos. Why couldn't I have got my projected promos result for MYE and REALLY have ppl call me ah kong? At least them fail also got abit of kick.
I REALLY need to find that fabled oil tycoon's daughter before I get my ass hauled outta sch.
and serious stuff
It can generally be agreed that war is almost entirely pernicious. People die, get scarred indelibly, and sink to levels of depravity previously unimaginable. Those Vietnam War vets running out of the cinemas halfway through watching Platoon is indicative enough of how dehumanising and soul-destroying war is. Beyond all the pomp, pageantry and glory it is always the common soldier who bears the brunt of the damage. The biggest ramification of the Vietnam War was not its effect on the American economy, nor is it about how it destroyed the political careers of Johnson, McNamara et al. It is about how the conscience and soul of a great people were mangled beyond recognition. It is about how the soldiers and their families got something precious snatched away from them. This we all recognise.
Yet why are our actions not in consonance with our words? War has, and probably will always play a paramount role in human affairs. Why is it that men � civilized and intelligent men at that (despite what anyone might want to say to the contrary about a certain commander-in-chief) � still insist on resorting to war to reach some purportedly worthwhile objective? How is it that people can still contrive to justify the sacrifice necessary for their actions? If man can agree with one mind that murder/theft or other less serious crimes are ethically objectionable, whatever the end, then why is it that war cannot be placed under this spectrum of barbaric acts?
Personally, despite what my mind (and heart, at times) tells me about war, my rationale still fails me sometimes. There is something intrinsically romantic and fascinating about hundreds of thousands of common Frenchmen volunteering to march off to the battlefield to stand up to the strongest army in the world (and winning). There is just something about acts of bravery and valour and sacrifice in the battlefield, about ordinary men standing tall and proclaiming, �No foreign enemy shall ever desecrate our shores!� that appeals to me more then any amount of bleeding-heart (and I mean that in the nicest possible way) peace rallies ever can. Who can possibly not be fascinated and not stand in awe of Alexander single-handedly sweeping through the Persian Empire, or of how Leonidas and his two hundred gave their lives to fend off a massive Persian army, or even of how Garibaldi forged a united nation through force of arms against insurmountable odds? It is this intrinsic yearning for another Alexander, Leonidas or Garibaldi - great men that we can revere and idolise, that makes us susceptible to demagoguery and afflict us with jingoism and xenophobia, yet also imbues us with inconceivable bravery.
Anyone can rationalize the irrationality of war, but can anyone resist the romance of war? I�ll continue to ignore the tingling in my heart and stand diametrically opposed to any unjust war, but that tingling is there and it can�t go away. It may be selfish to say this, but perhaps human history has already gave us enough wars to satisfy my cravings for vicarious heroism, and I can only wish that I never have to come into contact with it. While I would never wish war on anyone, I�ll still continue looking forward feverishly to watching Alexander after my promos (they BETTER not screw this one up like they did Troy). Sigh I guess the only thing I can resolve here is that I can never resolve nor reconcile (yay quasi-alliteration!) the conflict between the romance and reality of war.
and the not-so-serious stuff. just to list a few:
Things any sensible person (aka moi) should NEVER do.
1) Never trust democracy. It sucks. LKY and Hitler and Stalin and even Idi Amin had it right all along. Or maybe it's just Singapore that can't handle democracy. Of ALL the rift-raft there, they eliminated JESSEA? The shen2 chio, chao1 classy, talented and (this is her most important trait) yoga teacher (*winks*) Jessea? They had a bouncy getai singer, a soulless pretty boy and a faggy cockanardon (according to Deek anw) there and they eliminated JESSEA? For Jove's sake after years of economic developement, attaining quasi-1st world status, and taking great strides towards political liberalisation, Singapore doesn't even have the sense and taste to keep one of its finest foreign talents in the competition? Shit man suffrage is a lost cause in this country. Go revive old Benito and get him here to rule the country. This is a day that will live down in infamy. To quote Alfiaan Sa'at, "Singapore, you are not my country." Someone go to France or something to get a guillotine so that we can weed out all those degenerate elements of our society. Hitler had the right idea with all his eugenics stuff. Ahwell on the plus side maybe I can sign up to be Jessea's next yoga student now that she's not occupied with idol business;)
5) Never underestimate the inaptitude of the administration of your alma mater. A RECIPE? Marks being awarded based on how well you describe the flour-pouring process? I pity my juniors. Like I said, the big problem with the public service system in this country is that it does not punish inaptitude. CMI-ness only begets more CMI-ness.
6) Never neglect your PS2, treat it like your 2nd wife ( or in my case, 1st). Today I walked into a video game stall and I felt a great tingling inside me that I haven�t felt since I played FFX. Gensosuikoden IV, Xenosaga II, Crystal chronicles, Shadow Hearts: Covenant, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, Star Ocean Till the End of Time� damn I almost died restraining myself from robbing the store. Oh PS2, how I have missed you. After the promos I�m gonna spend a lot MORE time with you. For far too long have you wandered around in the wilderness.
7) Never doubt the brilliance of Creative Assembly. Kiss and worship the ground that they walk on. Why? 3 words. Rome: Total war. If there�s anything to can keep me from falling into promo-induced depression, it is this (sad I know). The opulence of the Eternal City awaits me.
9) Never try writing a super-fluffy essay for your GP exam. Your hand will damn near drop off from the sheer length.
10) Never go online and type inane blog entries when you�re supposed to be mugging for the promos. I�m DEAD!!!!
of course he got his 45/50 for gp and his 2 well-deserved S papers after that.
and there was the emotional heart-breaking stuff which i will not publish here and instead selfishly keep it for myself.
Anyone know of a good place selling� cheaper (argh self-censorship) PC games?
tonight
when my head touches pillow
when both my eyelids close
when all from of consious neural activity ceases
is when the fear will grip me
afraid of waking.
like economics, we all have finite resources and finite abilities. what matters than is the allocation of what little we have into what is most profitable to us.
thus in the process, we can priotise either to gain Maximum total production or Maximum average production depending on the wieghtage of the priotities to be prioritised.
of course, the difference is that for one, we arent always rational human beings. by giving a formula to help us make the best descisions, we can than actaully predict the best path one ought to take, essentially undermining the unpredictable nautre of us as human beings. which will than not make us human beings, but programmed robots who are under the false impression that we are thinking and rational, but in actualy fact - are not. of course, that is the perspective of an arts student.
more relevantly, we dont really have finite resources. we can after all expand our capability and capcity to do work. palpably, that is something i have been unable to do this holiday.
i wonder what'll happen if i write this in my econs paper tmr.
it'll be turned into a dsicussion of the relevance of centrus peribus in mordern economics. which raelly isnt so bad. its an econs-s question i think.
as for gp, i got this off robin's blog just before his promos last year.
Oh vile deposits of man, vile deposits of man! The spectre of darkness claimeth me.
ie Sh*t sh*t! I'm dead.
this will certainly be most useful for the incredulous amt of re-phrasing we'll ever need to do tmr.
more stuff:
A new year, a whole new epoch in my life, same old same old. Knn. Still remember how behind and dumb I felt last year one week before the prelims where EVERY mother father son had finished mugging and I haven't even started. Then got unceremoniously raped inside out by the prelims. Now deja vu is setting in already. Normal studious people are already kneedeep into their work and discussing cheem shite like MRP and detente and integration and loci and whatever lan while my mind is still on how to bloody complete squares and LEARNING HOW TO DO FRACTIONAL CANCELLATIONS. Argh I'm so dead for promos. Why couldn't I have got my projected promos result for MYE and REALLY have ppl call me ah kong? At least them fail also got abit of kick.
I REALLY need to find that fabled oil tycoon's daughter before I get my ass hauled outta sch.
and serious stuff
It can generally be agreed that war is almost entirely pernicious. People die, get scarred indelibly, and sink to levels of depravity previously unimaginable. Those Vietnam War vets running out of the cinemas halfway through watching Platoon is indicative enough of how dehumanising and soul-destroying war is. Beyond all the pomp, pageantry and glory it is always the common soldier who bears the brunt of the damage. The biggest ramification of the Vietnam War was not its effect on the American economy, nor is it about how it destroyed the political careers of Johnson, McNamara et al. It is about how the conscience and soul of a great people were mangled beyond recognition. It is about how the soldiers and their families got something precious snatched away from them. This we all recognise.
Yet why are our actions not in consonance with our words? War has, and probably will always play a paramount role in human affairs. Why is it that men � civilized and intelligent men at that (despite what anyone might want to say to the contrary about a certain commander-in-chief) � still insist on resorting to war to reach some purportedly worthwhile objective? How is it that people can still contrive to justify the sacrifice necessary for their actions? If man can agree with one mind that murder/theft or other less serious crimes are ethically objectionable, whatever the end, then why is it that war cannot be placed under this spectrum of barbaric acts?
Personally, despite what my mind (and heart, at times) tells me about war, my rationale still fails me sometimes. There is something intrinsically romantic and fascinating about hundreds of thousands of common Frenchmen volunteering to march off to the battlefield to stand up to the strongest army in the world (and winning). There is just something about acts of bravery and valour and sacrifice in the battlefield, about ordinary men standing tall and proclaiming, �No foreign enemy shall ever desecrate our shores!� that appeals to me more then any amount of bleeding-heart (and I mean that in the nicest possible way) peace rallies ever can. Who can possibly not be fascinated and not stand in awe of Alexander single-handedly sweeping through the Persian Empire, or of how Leonidas and his two hundred gave their lives to fend off a massive Persian army, or even of how Garibaldi forged a united nation through force of arms against insurmountable odds? It is this intrinsic yearning for another Alexander, Leonidas or Garibaldi - great men that we can revere and idolise, that makes us susceptible to demagoguery and afflict us with jingoism and xenophobia, yet also imbues us with inconceivable bravery.
Anyone can rationalize the irrationality of war, but can anyone resist the romance of war? I�ll continue to ignore the tingling in my heart and stand diametrically opposed to any unjust war, but that tingling is there and it can�t go away. It may be selfish to say this, but perhaps human history has already gave us enough wars to satisfy my cravings for vicarious heroism, and I can only wish that I never have to come into contact with it. While I would never wish war on anyone, I�ll still continue looking forward feverishly to watching Alexander after my promos (they BETTER not screw this one up like they did Troy). Sigh I guess the only thing I can resolve here is that I can never resolve nor reconcile (yay quasi-alliteration!) the conflict between the romance and reality of war.
and the not-so-serious stuff. just to list a few:
Things any sensible person (aka moi) should NEVER do.
1) Never trust democracy. It sucks. LKY and Hitler and Stalin and even Idi Amin had it right all along. Or maybe it's just Singapore that can't handle democracy. Of ALL the rift-raft there, they eliminated JESSEA? The shen2 chio, chao1 classy, talented and (this is her most important trait) yoga teacher (*winks*) Jessea? They had a bouncy getai singer, a soulless pretty boy and a faggy cockanardon (according to Deek anw) there and they eliminated JESSEA? For Jove's sake after years of economic developement, attaining quasi-1st world status, and taking great strides towards political liberalisation, Singapore doesn't even have the sense and taste to keep one of its finest foreign talents in the competition? Shit man suffrage is a lost cause in this country. Go revive old Benito and get him here to rule the country. This is a day that will live down in infamy. To quote Alfiaan Sa'at, "Singapore, you are not my country." Someone go to France or something to get a guillotine so that we can weed out all those degenerate elements of our society. Hitler had the right idea with all his eugenics stuff. Ahwell on the plus side maybe I can sign up to be Jessea's next yoga student now that she's not occupied with idol business;)
5) Never underestimate the inaptitude of the administration of your alma mater. A RECIPE? Marks being awarded based on how well you describe the flour-pouring process? I pity my juniors. Like I said, the big problem with the public service system in this country is that it does not punish inaptitude. CMI-ness only begets more CMI-ness.
6) Never neglect your PS2, treat it like your 2nd wife ( or in my case, 1st). Today I walked into a video game stall and I felt a great tingling inside me that I haven�t felt since I played FFX. Gensosuikoden IV, Xenosaga II, Crystal chronicles, Shadow Hearts: Covenant, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, Star Ocean Till the End of Time� damn I almost died restraining myself from robbing the store. Oh PS2, how I have missed you. After the promos I�m gonna spend a lot MORE time with you. For far too long have you wandered around in the wilderness.
7) Never doubt the brilliance of Creative Assembly. Kiss and worship the ground that they walk on. Why? 3 words. Rome: Total war. If there�s anything to can keep me from falling into promo-induced depression, it is this (sad I know). The opulence of the Eternal City awaits me.
9) Never try writing a super-fluffy essay for your GP exam. Your hand will damn near drop off from the sheer length.
10) Never go online and type inane blog entries when you�re supposed to be mugging for the promos. I�m DEAD!!!!
of course he got his 45/50 for gp and his 2 well-deserved S papers after that.
and there was the emotional heart-breaking stuff which i will not publish here and instead selfishly keep it for myself.
Anyone know of a good place selling� cheaper (argh self-censorship) PC games?
tonight
when my head touches pillow
when both my eyelids close
when all from of consious neural activity ceases
is when the fear will grip me
afraid of waking.