Graduation Pictures

Graduation Pictures, originally uploaded by kenornot.

After a long time, the pictures are ready crisp and fresh. With the dark-wooden frame and a oil-painting feel, the pictures are really surreal. And I thought I will see such pictures in shows.

After a long deliberation, the family was loss for words.

We have no place in this house to put up the 2 mega pictures.

See me fly

Bird Form, originally uploaded by kenornot.

A little taste of what my game is about. I am a druid and I can shift-change into a storm-crow. Flying is my mode of travel in the Outlands. But this is a slower one. 60% increase in speed.

I just gotten myself the Epic Flying Form. 280% increase in speed. Will post soon.

Feeling Zen

Shandong 2007 Nanshan, originally uploaded by kenornot.

I do agree a little rest do bring someone further. We all need that occasional rest in order to rejuvenate our mental strength and spirit. I just feel that this generation does not subscribe to the prior era mentality of hard work and more hard work.

There need to be work-life balance. But to what extend? I dread to think of it. With the influx of other nationalities, who are willing to work 7 days and 18 hours and thinks that S$4.50 and hour is more than enough, how will Singaporeans compete? I don't suppose that we are willing to do that. Seriously. Not me. Yet, it is a chilling truth and the effect is obvious. Recently had a talk with someone, he lamented that his wife's workplace, an auntie was replaced by someone younger and cheaper.

Of course, the comparison must be durian with durian. I am not going into the technicalities and thesis aspect. Just that, as my dad loves to say, do you want Bitter first then Sweet or taste all the Sweet now and stuff yourself with Bitterness later.

I can now post short clips onto Flickr. I have been using Flickr for quite sometime and have paid for the premium account. It has served me well because it is easy to use and good place to share photos. Now there is video. Wooo Hoo...btw...there are people who are comparing Flickr video to Youtube.

Youtube has too wide a usage. We see 10 min of serials, mtvs and a host of other silly stuffs. But Flickr video is designed for real short videos of yourself, your family and friend. And other little stuffs. Short is the word.


UPDATE (10/04/2008): It seems like there is an uproar within the Flickr community. Read on.

The Internet

Do anyone hear that the Internet may face obsolesce?


 Coming soon: superfast internet - Times Online

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Was thinking of.....

....the future of Singapore.

This is a random thought that is currently on my mind. There is a heightened sense of urgency with regards to the brain drain issue. MM talked about it. SM talked about it. PM talked about it. The cabinet and parliament talked about it. It is still an issue not be relegated to the back-seat, even with the news of the escape of Mas something-Mat raging on now.

There were talks about the brightest kids not returning to Singapore after completing their overseas studies. They contributed their talents to helping other countries to grow intellectually and financially. Singapore, on the other hand, has to rely more and more on foreign "talents". With Singaporeans not as "
reproductive" as before, the nation faced a detrimental outlook of limited human resources. And with those brightest kids not returning, and ever lured by the "brighter" prospects of other countries, Singapore faced severe talent crunch.

With Baby bonuses and incentives failing to induce Singaporeans to get more "reproductive", the government dished out carrots after carrots to lure China and India nationals to Singapore. Of course, Singapore is trying to get as many "talents" in as possible, just that the mostly are from the above two mentioned countries.

Furthermore, in this peaceful times, generally, people will leave the running of the country to another people. For some, they would refuse to give up their current jobs, salaries and lifestyle, in exchange for a life being under constant public scrutiny. True, our ministers are among the best-paid, but the private sector pays even more.

Hence, in the future, in whose steady hands is Singapore being left to?

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"Daddy, what is a CD-Rom?"

The new digital format was officially won by Sony. Blue-ray will replace DVD to be the choice content holder. Toshiba, sadly, has to write off billions of dollars worth of investment. To others, it would seem that at least, once this war is over, the world will settle on a settle format to deliver contents. And all the economies-of-scale yada yadas will come in. Sony would seem to secure a steady source of income in the near future. Wal-marts, Poh Kims and HMVs can safely import Blue-rays and the economies-of-scope yadas yadas will set in. Bottomline, Consumers win.

Or so it seems. If indeed the world is that great.

While the outright war between HD-DV and Blue-ray raged on, a silent killer emerges. Like a battle between good and evil, which ever blazes on, the silent killer is a paradigm shift by its own right. Yet, it is only an improvement, to be truthful. Come to think of it, the shadows of this silent killer has already worked its magic. The Americans, Europeans , Japanese and more Ang Mos have already relied their daily dosage of songs and videos on this silent killer.

From gramophones to cassette tapes to large LDs to CD-Roms to DVDs to Blue-Rays, this path of evolution will morph quickly to nothingness. Nothingness? Yes. Nothing is something that is basically nothing but once you realise that nothing is something, then that something will become nothing. Ok, I want to say is that from plastic discs, the next generation will live in a world of nothingness. Where songs and videos are delivered through the web. Where I buy songs and videos directly online and have them downloaded to my iPods, MacBook Air and iMac.

Therefore, to Sony, it is of no gratification that they have won the High Definition format war. The battle still rages on. I have read that, the industry only expected a life-span of 1 to 1.5 years for Blue-ray. An extremely short period, considering the amount of capital used for R&D and marketing efforts. Can't even recoup the initial capital outlay.

This is one area that is of fundamental shift in the industries that deal with deliverance of contents. HMVs, Poh Kims, Warner Brothers, Play Music, Hollywood and the long, long list of whos and whos. Up this point, I must complain.

I have waited for iTunes Music Store to arrive for more than 3 years. 3 years. Gasps! Apple has made a foray into the online retailing of music and videos and it has proven its strengths. The potential is unlimitless. No longer would anyone has to pay for the whole album for one song, no longer do we have to tolerate the pain of storing CDs or DVDs, and no longer do we have to painstaking making sure that my brother, Desmond, has put my CD back to the exact CD case. All contents would be downloaded to the computer, preferably a Mac of course. Furthermore, with videos, I can download the shows into my iPod Touch and carry them with me on my trips.

Of course, the reason for the long 3 years wait is because of the tough resistance from the industries which I have mentioned above. True, we are talking about wiping out of a long line of established companies and shops, but ultimately, we are talking about consumers' satisfactions and needs and I can't fathom the resistance.

But, this is a resistance that is bound to crumple. To be utterly destroyed. The reason? When is the last time you have bought a CD? Sharing of songs are so common between people. One person buy it and the whole HDB will have the songs. One trip to China alone will allow one to get shows and serials at dirt cheap price. So what are the establishments protecting against? Resisting against? It is a war lost. As demand decrease (for normal piece of original CD), yada yada, supply will contract. Once supple is reduced, naturally, the costs will be driven higher. All these yada yadas can be learned in schools. I am just want to say, PLEASE GET iTUNES MUSIC STORE INTO SINGAPORE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok. As a conclusion. Online distribution of Contents Rules!

Anti-Social

Seems like its becoming a visual tag to my name. Anti-Social. A middle-name if you would prefer. Kenneth Anti-Social Kong.....aka.....Kenneth A Kong. Like a locust invasion onto the helpless farmlands, the fields are swiftly destroyed within seconds. While I do agree that my actions may seem "anti-social", but the very truth is that I am not. If I am anti-social, I would not even be talking to people.

What does anti-socialism entails? General dislike of humanity and the avoidance of any contact with humanity. Hermit perhaps? Maybe it is the deep down phobia of human.

Could it be Xenophobia? I generally react in normalcy when faced with strangers or foreigners, of course, unless they wrap bombs to their bodies or look weird in a bad sense.

Could it be Venustraphobia? Yes, it could attribute to the fact that I am average looking. Hence the innate instinct to shy away from beautiful women. But alas, I have not seem any beautiful women yet.

Then it must be Sociophobia. But hey, I do go out and bask myself in the boisterous and madness of the crowded shopping centres. And I do have to interact with people to buy things, interact with my online friends when raiding dungeons or even interact with the security guard when I forgot to bring my condo pass.

Then?

Maybe it is my extreme hatred for humanity, constantly praying that Armageddon will arrive and the Rapture begins (fyi: there is no biblical source which points to any Raptures). The evilness of people in expressing their hypocrisies through portrayal of masqueraded goodness, by means of actions that totally contradicted to what they actually think. Seriously, I am part of this humanity that in susceptible to evil thoughts, evil actions and hypocrisies. Unlike other people, I repent for them. Day in, day out, I evaluate my actions for the day and decide whether to sleep in peace or guilt myself to nightmares. To be truthful, I love humanity. The small steps in evolution, have resulted in the Internet, Spacecrafts, World of Warcraft and the Desperate Housewives. I am thankful of it, especially since I am born in this era.

So what's the problem then? Why do some people tagged me the invisible title, "Anti-Social".

Perhaps the problem lies in them? Hey I am just speculating. I believe they are just speculating about me whether am I anti-social or not.

I think by not eating lunch together does not mean I am anti-social. It is just how I choose to express myself. I don't have to eat lunch together with my colleagues as proof my un-Anti-Socialness. Just like I don't have to get myself a girl-friend to proof that I am not gay.

I just enjoy making friends at my own pace and my way. I like to socialise in my own little way, albeit, seems strange and arcane to other people. To me, I enjoy making friends one by one, meaning, I like to get to know one person deeper before knowing another in a deeper manner. It takes time, but the friendship I build, as far as I know, last pretty long (winks at FY, CY and SB).

So the next time when you see me sitting alone by myself at a corner, eating my pathetic, albeit expensive, sandwich or potato salad, please don't label me as anti-social. I just socialise in a way different from you.

"So, let us not be blind to our differences - but let us also direct
attention to our common interests and to the means by which those
differences can be resolved." - John F. Kennedy

"If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity." - John F. Kennedy

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如果有如果的话。。。。

。。。我想我会尝试和自己、和你做一个约定，纵然这个约定也许会有解约的一天。你的笑容依旧如常。你的眼睛依旧的那么开心。记得那年你还是一个爱哭的小女孩，考试完时痛哭一场。在泪水于喘气之间哭着说没把考卷写完。那时的我真为你伤感。但一听到你得了97分，好想痛扁你一场。你就是这么的可爱。

那年分流，我们大数人已选了第一班。你却选了第二班。我也纠缠了老师帮我换去你那班。当然我也叫了那几个蛇鼠一窝一同换班。你说很巧。我却暗笑了。

那一段日子真的要谢谢你。一起读书、一起活动、一起讲人是非。想起了也会唯心一笑。

你有了你的另一半，我也祝福你。我想悄悄的从你身旁隐形而去。但你在和他分手的时期，我也默默的陪在你身边。你也许是把我当好朋友，信得过我。我也告诉自己，你也只是一位朋友。那年，你去了于我不同的学校。我告诉自己你也只是我的一位朋友。三个月不到，又让我再次看见 你的笑容。

我坚持着你还一位朋友。但很珍惜我们在一起的疯狂、的大笑、的无里头。

我以为这是永远。静静的、默默的安于现状、开不了口。你和他开始了你们的永远。

我真的对我自己认输了。纵然问个明白，好过静静的、默默的度过。好像一个木偶，让自己的白吃和蠢蛋牵制着自己。

明天是你的生日。生日快乐。我也悄悄的离队了。