ckwongb

インドネシア

2010-08-08T13:35:00.001+08:00

双是物理

2010-08-07T01:08:00.006+08:00

时间过得真快. 这张照片是四年前在国大物理部门所拍的.

Optics

2010-08-02T00:15:00.001+08:00

くるま

2010-07-04T20:00:00.003+08:00

新加坡

2010-06-30T00:43:00.003+08:00

Cover?

2010-06-27T23:58:00.002+08:00

Akan Datang.

Science

2010-06-24T06:48:00.000+08:00

影片

2010-06-20T22:30:00.000+08:00

Short Film

2010-06-07T23:34:00.001+08:00

By Royston Tan.

Back Cover

2010-05-29T00:19:00.002+08:00

Solid.

Entertainment

2010-05-26T22:54:00.000+08:00

Something different.

Facebook?

2010-05-18T22:20:00.003+08:00

Should I post this photo on Facebook?

Speech

2010-05-17T23:50:00.001+08:00

A long video clip.

Trailer

2010-05-15T07:53:00.000+08:00

Still remember this movie.

Textbook

2010-05-12T13:41:00.002+08:00

New book by Prof. Masahito Ueda.

Movie

2010-05-07T22:08:00.000+08:00

Would not mind watching this movie again.

Photo

2010-04-26T19:07:00.002+08:00

Large Hadron Collider? Nope. Photo from Train along North East Line, courtesy of Dr Joseph Nebus.

Video

2010-04-24T11:52:00.001+08:00

Professor Brian Cox.

Humour

2010-04-22T12:35:00.002+08:00

Calvin and Hobbes.

新的鞋子

2010-04-18T23:25:00.002+08:00

今天买了一双新鞋子. 十分开心!

Reward

2010-04-18T14:57:00.000+08:00

Like this!

Website

2010-04-09T00:18:00.003+08:00

Interesting link.

Success Story

2010-04-03T13:31:00.004+08:00

Something to share:

=========================================
Rick and Kay Warren, age twenty-five, moved to Orange County from Texas in January 1980 to begin a new church. Arriving with a four month old baby late one Friday afternoon in a U-hall truck, they stopped at the first real estate office they found. Warren introduced himself to the only realtor in the office: "My name is Rick, I'm here to start a church, and I need a place to live … but I don't have any money!" Realtor Don Dale laughed and said, "Well, let's see what we can do." Within two hours, the Warrens had rented a condo with nothing down and getting the first month's rent free. Warren asked Dale if he attended any church He said "No," so Warren replied, "Great! You're my first member!" The two families began Saddleback church meeting in that condo. The small group quickly grew to fifteen people.

To announce the first public service on Easter, 1980, Warren wrote an open letter to the community. The letter announced, "A new church for people who've given up on church." The small group of fifteen hand addressed and hand stamped 15,000 invitations to Easter. Ten days later, 205 strangers showed up at the first service at Laguna Hills High School. A church was born.

At the first service, Warren announced his forty year commitment to leading the new congregation and laid out a vision for the future.

Over the next fifteen years, the church kept outgrowing rented facilities, requiring that they use 67 different locations to accommodate the growth! Members joked, "This is the church you get to attend IF you can figure out where we are meeting this week!" The churched used four different high schools, numerous elementary schools, theaters, restaurants office buildings, recreation and community centers, parks, and stadiums, eventually holding four weekend services in a 2,300 seat high-tech tent. Saddleback is the only American church to grow to over 10,000 in attendance without owning a building. "We wanted to make the point that a church is people, not a building," explained Warren, "so we put off building until we had no other choice."

Today, as Saddleback Church begins its Decade of Destiny, Saddleback holds weekend services in many cities, and over 4,000 small groups meet weekly in every city of Southern California. Try one this week!

====================================

from this website. :)

Entertainment

2010-04-03T08:13:00.000+08:00

Victor Khoo.

Yummy!

2010-04-02T23:11:00.003+08:00

Good Friday Dinner with Dad at Eng Hoon Street.

Song

2010-03-27T18:39:00.006+08:00

Lyrics:

======================================

I'm not a perfect person

There's many things I wish I didn't do

But I continue learning

I never meant to so those things to you

And so I have to say before I go

That I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me

To change who I used to be

A reason to start over new

and the reason is you

I'm sorry that I hurt you

It's something I must live with everyday

And all the pain I put you through

I wish that I could take it all away

And be the one who catches all your tears

That's why I need you to hear

I've found a reason for me

To change who I used to be

A reason to start over new

and the reason is You [x4]

I'm not a perfect person

I never meant to do those things to you

And so I have to say before I go

That I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me

To change who I used to be

A reason to start over new

and the reason is you

I've found a reason to show

A side of me you didn't know

A reason for all that I do

And the reason is you

================================

PubMed

2010-03-23T18:26:00.003+08:00

Found out more about PubMed, which can be accessed here. :)

Meeting

2010-03-20T22:32:00.006+08:00

Happy that the meeting with Professor took place today at the above venue, and have this to show as a memento.

Proposal

2010-03-16T12:39:00.000+08:00

Check this out.

Photo

2010-03-10T23:22:00.003+08:00

Nice bike!!

Comic

2010-03-07T01:47:00.002+08:00

Haha..

Hiatus

2010-02-27T17:33:00.002+08:00

First riding practical lesson at Bukit Batok Driving Centre today, after a hiatus of one month. :)

Meeting

2010-02-26T23:51:00.002+08:00

Wonder if the meeting with Professor will take place?

Apartments

2010-02-26T23:45:00.003+08:00

Photo of apartments near my home. The Developer is UOL Group Limited.

Richard Dawkins

2010-02-21T23:59:00.001+08:00

Video. :)

Memory

2010-02-21T00:08:00.001+08:00

An unforgettable video clip.

Something Good

2010-02-16T19:04:00.004+08:00

Happy that the headphones at the National Library computer terminals have recently been upgraded. This means greater listening pleasure.

Lo Hei

2010-02-13T21:54:00.005+08:00

Huat Ah! (Let's prosper!)

Carrot, Egg or Coffee?

2010-02-13T11:39:00.005+08:00

A carrot starts out firm, but when you put a carrot in boiling water, it becomes limp. An egg starts out with a hard shell and is soft in the middle, but place it in boiling water and the inside becomes hard. And when you put coffee in boiling water, it changes the water completely.

Some people are like carrots. They act tough enough, but the challenges of life soften them, they wilt and won't stand up for themselves anymore.

Other people are like eggs. As they confront challenges, they get hard on the inside. They are calloused, and become unable or unwilling to feel and do not allow themselves to connect and relate with other people.

Leaders are like coffee. When thrust into the challenges of life, they actually CHANGE the situation.

An interesting website to check out. :)

Interview

2010-02-07T19:14:00.002+08:00

Interview with Slavoj Žižek.

Article

2010-02-04T00:57:00.001+08:00

Cool article.

Linkway

2010-01-30T13:11:00.005+08:00

Was at Woodlands Bus Interchange earlier today, and found the name of the above Linkway very interesting. I wonder why it is called 'Linkway of Excellence'? According to Wikipedia, 'Excellence' is defined as the state of excelling.

Poster

2010-01-23T18:40:00.002+08:00

The way forward in scientific publishing!

Website

2010-01-19T00:14:00.001+08:00

An interesting website. :)

Visit

2010-01-09T23:46:00.003+08:00

Paid a visit to Republic Polytechnic today, as can be seen from the photo above. Happened to be the day of an Open House, so there was a free shuttle service from Woodlands Bus Interchange.

However, in preparation for the start of a course next week, decided to take bus 911 instead to familiarize myself with the route. The Open House was in full swing when I arrived at around 3 pm, and there were various performances being put up by the students, including a taekwondo demonstration.

Was impressed by the well-designed campus buildings, and found some of the booths set up by students pretty interesting, such as one with motion-sensor devices at the exhibition by the School of Health and Sports Science.

Was unable to locate the main office of the Continuing Education and Training (CET) department, which was the main purpose of the visit. However, it was still a unique afternoon spent visiting an institution renown for its Problem Based Learning (PBL) approach.

Looking forward.. :)

Takeaways

2010-01-09T14:19:00.008+08:00

Three important takeaways from today's Riding Practical 3.01 lesson.

1. Once the bike has mounted the narrow plank, open throttle so as to maintain speed. Do not slow down.

2. While riding on narrow plank, ensure that knees are tucked in and gripping the fuel tank.

3. When riding on narrow plank, keep body upright at all times.

Bowyer Block

2010-01-06T21:35:00.002+08:00

Was at Singapore General Hospital 'Bowyer Block' today, and found this interesting poster. Learnt that 'Bowyer Block' was named for Dr John Herbert Bowyer, chief medical officer of the then Outram Road General Hospital, who was killed during the Japanese Occupation in 1944.

Mist

2010-01-02T21:12:00.003+08:00

Interesting photo of a pot emitting mist, taken at the Safra Mount Faber swimming pool today.

Change

2009-12-30T22:37:00.000+08:00

Was at Boon Lay Bus Interchange today, and pleasantly surprised by the new air-conditioned facility. What a change from the old Interchange three years ago!

Farewell 2009

2009-12-29T00:23:00.003+08:00

What a year it has been! This is the last post with a Christmas tree photo. Looking forward to 2010.. :)

Christmas Tree

2009-12-26T23:52:00.005+08:00

Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree..

Graduate Record Exam

2009-12-25T11:52:00.005+08:00

'The Graduate Records Examination (GRE) General Test measures certain developed verbal, quantitative, and analytical abilities that are important for academic achievement. In doing so, the test necessarily reflects the opportunities and efforts that have contributed to the development of those abilities.

The General Test is only one of several means of evaluating likely success in graduate school. It is not intended to measure inherent intellectual capacity or intelligence. Neither is it intended to measure creativity, motivation, perseverance, or social worth. The test does, however, make it possible to compare students with different backgrounds. A GRE score of 500, for example, has the same meaning whether earned by a student at a small, private liberal arts college or by a student at a large public university.

Because several different forms (editions) of the test are in active use, all students do not receive exactly the same test edition. However, all editions measure the same skills and meet the same specifications for content and difficulty. The scores from different editions are made comparable to one another by a statistical procedure known as equating. This process makes it possible to assure that all reported scores of a given value denote the same level of developed ability regardless of which edition of the test is taken.

Since students have wide-ranging backgrounds, interests, and skills, the verbal sections of the General Test use questions from diverse areas of experience. The areas range from the activities of daily life to broad categories of academic interest such as the sciences, social studies, and the humanities. Knowledge of high school level arithmetic, plane geometry, and algebra provides adequate preparation for the quantitative sections of the test. Questions in the analytical sections measure analytical skills developed in virtually all fields of study. No formal training in logic or methods of analysis is needed to do well in these sections.'

The above extract was taken from this book.

Sign

2009-12-19T18:22:00.004+08:00

Came across this interesting sign at the NUS Central Library today. The meaning of 'shush' being 'to urge to be quiet'.

Encouragement

2009-12-05T23:28:00.004+08:00

Two words of encouragement for all Standard Chartered Marathon participants. :) Looking forward to my first half-marathon!

Countdown!

2009-12-03T00:26:00.002+08:00

Less than one day to presentation. Looking forward. :)

Not Easy

2009-11-28T18:10:00.004+08:00

Riding Practical lesson 2.02 is not easy indeed. Three takeaways from today's lesson:

1. Only one bike at a time can turn right from minor to major road.

2. Beware of gear changes so as not to stall the bike.

3. Compulsory to stop at the stop line.

Reminds me of the reflection process..

Photo above taken during today's lesson. :)

Memories

2009-11-27T16:19:00.004+08:00

Spent the afternoon at Central Library at NUS, which sure brought back memories of my undergraduate days. :)

Poster

2009-11-25T22:40:00.003+08:00

Came across this interesting poster at the Singapore General Hospital Lifestyle Improvement and Fitness Enhancement (LIFE) Centre today.

Success!

2009-11-23T23:17:00.007+08:00

Pleased to receive the signed agreement for Prof. Igor Novak's book project today, which can be considered as my first successful acquisition. :)

Lights

2009-11-21T01:15:00.002+08:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go.. Photo above taken just outside Tiong Bahru Plaza. :)

Quote

2009-11-11T20:17:00.003+08:00

"Wisdom is knowing what to do next; Skill is knowing how to do it, and virtue is doing it." - David Staff Jordan

Thanks!

2009-11-08T00:00:00.002+08:00

Thanks to Wayne for this entertaining video.

Office

2009-10-31T18:49:00.005+08:00

Went down to Commonwealth Drive today to look for the International Christian Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) office, which turned out to be in an industrial estate. The office was closed, and might give them a call on Monday to register for the conference.

Upload

2009-10-28T06:56:00.004+08:00

Have uploaded the source files of the Proceedings of a Summer School held in Canberra to our in-house file transfer protocol site. Do feel free to browse. :)

Birthday

2009-10-21T06:58:00.003+08:00

Here's the birthday cake for my 28th birthday yesterday. Now, if only there was someone 'special' to share it with me. :)

Wasted Trip

2009-10-17T15:39:00.002+08:00

Made a wasted trip to Bukit Batok Driving Centre today, as managed to book riding theory evaluation online, but turned out that the main building was locked. :(

Refereeing

2009-10-14T22:02:00.001+08:00

An interesting way to have a paper refereed.

Riding

2009-10-10T19:02:00.003+08:00

Photo taken at Bukit Batok Driving Centre today, during riding practical lesson. Happy to have cleared it.

Difference

2009-10-06T06:52:00.004+08:00

Found out the difference between an erratum and addendum after referring to the following website. It sure is an important point to take note of! :)

Confirmation

2009-09-29T01:30:00.005+08:00

Finally! The cover design for Prof. Nikolai Bogolubov's book 'Introduction to Quantum Statistical Mechanics (2nd Edition)' has been finalized, thanks to Chin Choon. Inspiration for the design came from this movie. Hope that Dr Phua likes the book cover too.

Swim

2009-09-13T21:04:00.004+08:00

Just came back from a swim at Safra Mount Faber, and took the above photo of the pool. Found the swim relaxing, and looking forward to a restful week ahead.

Book Review (again)

2009-09-06T00:20:00.006+08:00

An interesting book review for 'Quips, quotes and quanta', contributed by Prof. Daniel Terno, to appear in Volume 7, Number 7 (October 2009) of the International Journal of Quantum Information.

Happy reading!

First Lesson

2009-08-15T22:02:00.003+08:00

Attended the first lecture at NUS today, and had the opportunity of communicating with our instructor, Juris Doctor Barry A. Berger through a 'live' webcast. The video feed was seamless, although the audio could have been better. Looking forward to the next video conference in lesson 3, as next week will be a video on the historical background of The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), and an introduction to product liability.

That's all for now, as need to email Mr Berger regarding a query.

Notes

2009-08-08T13:27:00.003+08:00

Managed to prepare some notes on the regulatory process for new drugs, in preparation for the course starting next week, which can be found here. Wishing all readers a Happy National Day in advance!

Large Hadron Collider

2009-08-06T23:13:00.004+08:00

Came across the following article in The Straits Times yesterday, and found it relevant to my current work:

======================================
New York: After 15 years and US$9 billion, the biggest, most expensive physics machine in the world is riddled with thousands of bad electrical connections.

Many of the magnets meant to whizz high energy subatomic particles around a 27.4 km underground racetrack have mysteriously lost their ability to operate at high energies. Some physicists are deserting the European Project, at least temporarily, to work at a smaller, rival machine across the ocean.

Despite a showy "switch-on" ceremony last September, the Large Hadron Collider, the giant particle accelerator outside Geneva, has yet to collide any particles.

This week, scientists and engineers at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) are to announce how and when their machine will start running this winter.

But scientists say it could be years, if ever, before the collider runs at full strength, stretching out the time it should take to achieve the collider's main goals, like identifying the dark matter that astronomers say makes up 25 per cent of the cosmos.

The energy shortfall could also limit the collider's ability to test more exotic ideas, like the existence of extra dimensions beyond the three of space and one of time that characterise life.

"The fact is, it's likely to take a while to get the results we really want," said Harvard physicist Lisa Randall.

The collider was built to accelerate protons to energies of seven trillion electron volts and smash them together in search of particles and forces that reigned earlier than the first trillionth of a second of time, but the machine could run as low as four trillion electron volts for its first year. Upgrades would come a year or two later.

Physicists in both sides of the Atlantic say they are confident that the European machine will produce groundbreaking science - eventually - and quickly catch up with an American rival, even at lower energy.

All big accelerators have gone through painful beginnings. "These are baby problems," said Dr Peter Limon, a physicist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, who helped build the collider.

But some physicists admit to being impatient. "I've waited 15 years," said Dr Nima Arkani-Hamed, a leading particle theorist at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

"I want it to get up running. We can't tolerate another disaster. It has to run smoothly from now."

The delays are hardest on younger scientists, who may need data to complete a thesis or work towards tenure.

Colliders get their oomph from Albert Einstein's equivalence of mass and energy, both expressed in the currency of electron volts.

The CERN collider was designed to investigate what happens at energies and distances where the current reigning theory, known as the Standard Model, breaks down and gives nonsense answers.

It got the nod in 1994 after the Superconducting Super Collider, which would have been 87 km around and with an energy of 20 trillion electron volts, was cancelled by Congress.

However, retraining magnets is costly and time consuming, experts say, and it might not be worth the wait to get all the way to the original target energy.

Dr Steve Meyers, head of CERN's accelerator division, said he thought the splices as they are could handle four trillion electron volts.

Dr Pauline Gagnon, an Indiana University physicist who works at CERN, said she would happily take that energy level.

"The public pays for this," she said in an e-mail message, "and we need to start delivering".

========================================

Fell asleep while typing the post, and just finished it this morning.

Visit

2009-07-22T20:24:00.004+08:00

Paid a visit to the Department of Pharmacy at NUS today to check on my application status for the short course on food and drug law offered by the Singapore Academy of GxP Excellence. Tentative start date for the course is 15 August, and looking forward to being offered a place.

Padas River

2009-07-20T22:47:00.002+08:00

Here's a video taken during a recent trip to Kota Kinabalu, which shows the Padas River. Still vividly remember our white-water rafting experience on the 29 of June, and would not mind attempting Endau River in future.

Improvement

2009-07-18T22:12:00.004+08:00

Went down to Botanic Gardens again today for some exercise, and managed to make my way from Tanglin Core to Central Core for a leisure run. Photo above was taken at Symphony Lake, which features the Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage in the middle.

Ran along Tyersall Avenue and Holland Road before heading back to Taman Serasi Food Garden at Tanglin Core. Felt happy exploring the Gardens, and am more familiar with the place compared to the 21 June visit.

Theoretical Advanced Study Institute (TASI)

2009-07-15T20:32:00.004+08:00

Theoretical Advanced Study Institute or TASI for short is an annual summer school held for advanced theory graduate students working in the field of elementary particle physics. Am currently handling the Proceedings for the 2008 meeting, which will cover the following topics:

====================================
Section 1: The Standard Model And LHC Phenomenology

Chapter 1
Introduction To The Standard Model And Electroweak Physics by Pail Langacker

Chapter 2
LHC Phenomenology for Physics Hunters by Tilman Plehn

Chapter 3
Collider Signal I : Resonance by Tim M.P. Tait

Chapter 4
Collider Signals II: Missing ET Signatures and Dark Matter Connection by Howard Baer

==================================
Section 2: LHC Experimentation

Chapter 5
A Short Guide to Accelerators, Detectors, Objects, and Searches by P. Wittich

Chapter 6
Dealing With Data: Signals, Backgrounds, And Statistics by Luc Demortier

==================================
Section 3: Advanced Theoretical Topics

Chapter 7
Strings for Particle Physicists by Gary Shiu

Chapter 8
Particle physics in extra dimensions by B. Dobrescu

=================================
Section 4: Neutrino Physics, Astroparticle Physics, And Cosmology

Chapter 9
Neutrinos: Theory by M.C. Gonzalez-Garcia

Chapter 10
Experimentation of Neutrino Physics by K. Scholberg

Chapter 11
Inflationary Cosmology by William H. Kinney

Chapter 12
Particle Dark Matter by Dan Hooper

======================================

Has been some time since my last PHYSICS post, and am still enjoying work at the publishing house. Have just sent an email chaser to Prof. Tao Han, so as to confirm the submission date for the camera-ready manuscript.

Honda Mega Pro

2009-07-05T23:46:00.003+08:00

And so, this is the view from a Honda Mega Pro 160 cc motorcycle used by trainees at Bukit Batok Driving Centre. According to this website, the bike is manufactured in Indonesia, where labour costs are relatively lower.

Enjoyed the first practical session today, and look forward to booking practical training subject 1.02 shortly.

Botanic Gardens

2009-06-21T21:51:00.005+08:00

Went down to the Botanic Gardens today with my Dad, and managed to find a parking lot at the Botany Centre. Decided to go for a short jog, which extended to almost an hour, as I got lost at the Central Core. Fortunately, a friendly NParks ranger on duty, Mr Lim, offered me a ride on his buggy back to the Tanglin Core. Really appreciate the outstanding service provided by the park warden, who also offered assistance along the way to an Indian family looking for directions.

Had dinner at the Taman Serasi Food Garden before heading home after a long day out. Need a good rest tonight before heading off for battle tomorrow.

Nonlinear optics

2009-06-14T07:04:00.007+08:00

Nonlinear optics is the term given to phenomena describing the behavior of light in media where the dielectric polarization responds nonlinearly to the electric field of light. Noticed that the Wikipedia site did not have a link to one of our optics journals, and have just added it.

Book

2009-05-23T19:46:00.005+08:00

Recently received the cover design for Professor Wolfram Schommers' book entitled 'Quantum Processes'. According to the author, the blue sky represents empty space, the clouds represent probability densities, while the net over the cloudy sky is the mathematical continuum. The asymmetrical cuts between the words 'Quantum' and 'Processes' represent quantum uncertainty, together with the half-transparent white insets.

All these elements are connected with quantum processes. Topics covered in the book include the nature of time, the meaning of wave function and its behavior within a non-linear theory.

Might put forward the suggestion of featuring a book review of this title in the International Journal of Quantum Information.

Membership Card

2009-05-16T17:09:00.008+08:00

Went down to Bukit Batok Driving Centre today for theory practice, and was disappointed to learn that my membership card had yet to be printed, even though it has been more than three weeks since I signed up for the course. Feel that such service standard is way below par, and was simply unable to accept the reason given that their printer has been down. The onus should be on the management to ensure that service to students is not compromised in the event of hardware failure. Anyway, will be expecting delivery of the membership card via post by the end of May, and will definitely consider lodging a formal complaint should the card not arrive by then.

Quote

2009-05-09T23:07:00.004+08:00

Went down to the Science Centre today, and came across this interesting quote on the phenomena of symmetry. Might consider inviting Prof. Hans Walser to write a book on this subject.

Tired

2009-05-05T22:43:00.004+08:00

Feeling quite tired of late, possibly due to the course of antibiotics I'm currently taking to prevent infection due to Onychocryptosis. Thankfully, the big toe on my left foot feels better now. Anyway, its work as usual with shoes at the office.

Irony

2009-05-01T23:56:00.008+08:00

Oh, the irony of Labour Day. Had an extremely relaxing day, with work being the last thing on my mind. After a relaxing afternoon swim at Delta Sports Complex, went down to Tanglin Halt Food Centre to check out some stalls which received good reviews at a website.

The three stalls were:

1. Tanglin Halt Original Peanut Pancake (Stall 16)

2. Delicious Duck Noodle (Stall 23)

3. Wei Yi Laksa & Prawn Noodle (Stall 20)

As can be seen from the three images, all three stalls were closed on this Public Holiday, so headed down to NUS to attempt wireless Internet access. Realized that NUS Open Network is not accessible to alumni, and feel that this should not be the case.

Finally, headed home and managed to catch more than half of the movie 'Facing the Giants', an inspirational tale of overcoming the odds through faith.

In the News

2009-04-30T23:46:00.008+08:00

Was browsing The Straits Times yesterday, and came across the following article:

======================================
New Scheme to Help Turn Print to Film

By Tay Suan Chiang

To boost the export of local creative work, home-grown publishing companies will receive generous help to adapt their printed works into other forms of media.

Under a new initiative called Spearheading Publishing Innovation for New Enterprise (Spine), the Media Development Authority (MDA) will partner publishing companies to develop content such as children's books, comic books and graphic novels into television programmes, film and animation, which can then be sold to other countries.

Mr Kenneth Tan, MDA's chief operating officer, said: "We will co-invest up to 50 per cent of the total qualifying expenses directly associated with the project, over and above existing operational expenditures, during the specified project duration."

Publishing companies have until May 29 to submit their proposals. MDA says projects will be evaluated on several criteria, including the quality of the original works, reach and size of the target market, and regional and global potential.

World Scientific Publishing, which began developing electronic versions of its academic journals three years ago, is considering participating in the scheme. Its marketing manager, Ms Khoo Yee Hong, said it costs the firm "several hundred dollars" to develop an electronic version of each of their titles. It currently has 2300 titles online.

The scheme was announced yesterday by Rear-Admiral (NS) Lui Tuck Yew, Acting Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts.

He was the guest of honour at the official opening of Nanyang Technological University's School of Art, Design and Media (ADM) building.

In his speech, RADM Lui said that Freedom Formula, a science fiction comic mini-series by Singapore's Edmund Shern, was recently acquired by major Hollywood studio New Regency for development into a live-action feature film.

He said there are still many job opportunities, "especially in emerging sections such as interactive digital media, which has shown continuous growth". Since 2005, the sector in Singapore has grown by 22 per cent annually and has provided 3500 new jobs.

==========================================

Not everyday that our company appears in the news, and felt that the idea of film adaptation for academic books is not too far-fetched. However, the book should take the form of a narrative, such as 'Playing with Planets', written by Gerard 't Hooft. The tie-up with the Media Development Authority signals a breakthrough for the publishing industry in Singapore, and is definitely a sign that exciting times lie ahead.

Petronas

2009-04-17T21:00:00.005+08:00

Visited Kuala Lumpur two weeks ago, and managed to capture this photo of the Petronas Twin Towers.

Three interesting facts about this architectural marvel:

1. The towers are still the tallest twin buildings in the world.

2. They were officially opened in 1998, and were designed by Argentine architect César Pelli.

3. The towers stand at 450 metres, and have 88 floors.

Anyway, did not have the opportunity to visit the skybridge, but had dinner at Nippon Tei Japanese Restaurant.

Hope to ascend the tower one day for the breathtaking view.

Book Review

2009-03-30T22:04:00.005+08:00

Received a book review by Professor Harald Fritzsch for the above monograph today, which is as follows:

======================================
Gerard ´t Hooft is a theoretical physicist and professor for theoretical physics at the university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Already in his Ph.D.-thesis he made important contributions to particle physics, in particular to the theory of the electroweak interactions. He received the Nobel Prize in 1999 together with his Ph.D advisor and professor at the university in Utrecht Martinus Veltman.

His book “Playing with Planets” is written in a simple language, suitable for the general public. The book deals with speculations for the future, concerning computers, planets, stars, space travel and genes. It is not a science fiction book, but a book, mixing science fiction with scientific facts, which ´t Hooft likes to call “science faction”.

Chapter 1: Countdown
Chapter 2: Take Off
Chapter 3: Inside

´t Hooft remembers that he had built a spaceship with paper, when he was 9 years old. In his imagination he had visited planets in distant star systems. But unlike all science fiction writers ´t Hooft obeyed in his imaginations the laws of nature. Thus his spaceship could not exceed the speed of light. Newtons law of gravity had to be obeyed. Antigravity was considered to be nonsense. A Perpetuum Mobile did not exist. Heisenberg's uncertainty relations had to be taken into account. But the physics in the future will continue to surprise us and will lead to remarkable technological developments.

Space travel started with the travel to the moon by the American astronauts in 1969. The book includes a discussion of rocket engines and of metric units.

To detect very small particles, one needs very large instruments like big accelerators, i.e. the accelerators at CERN near Geneva in Switzerland. According to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle large accelerators are needed to observe the matter at very small distances.

Matter consists of atoms, and they consist of electrons and nuclei. Atomic nuclei are composed of protons and neutrons. Neutrons and protons are not elementary like the electrons, but consist of three quarks. The interactions among the quarks are mediated by gluons and are described by the theory of quantum chromodynamics.

Chapter 4: Computers
Chapter 5: Paper
Chapter 6: Robots

´t Hooft writes about the introduction of the email after 1980 in the physics community. Later the Internet was created by engineers at CERN to coordinate the work of the physicists in several different continents. After the year 2000 the Internet became an important tool not only for the scientists, but for the general public. The information revolution started.

Richard Feynman in a lecture at Caltech in 1959 did foresee, how fast the information revolution might change our daily live. With the help of memory chips the tunnel microscope was constructed. ´t Hooft describes a chip assembly machine, using a comb with teeth of atomic scale. A new field of physics, called nanotechnology, started. Computer chips with a size of a nanometer are being constructed. Quantum computers might be built in the future. The Word Wide Web, which was started at CERN near Geneva, is now used by almost everyone, who has a PC. Despite the progress of the computers paper is more used than ever. But paper is a medium that can be written on only once and then has to be discarded. Paper should be replaced by computer displays.

Robots became smaller in time. They can be used in houses, in factories or in building a tunnel. Tiny robots could become important useful in the medical sciences.

Chapter 7: Victoriamaris
Chapter 8: A Malleable Earth
Chapter 9: Flying Kites

Victoriamaris is the name for an artificial city, floating on water, in the middle of the ocean.

The climate change is discussed. The rise in temperatures on earth is due to the greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide. Ice in the Arctic and Antarctic regions melts. One consequence is the rise of the sea level, a big problem for the low-lying Netherlands.

The increase of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the main reason for the climate change. Burning coal, oil and gas in the power stations increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. But nuclear power stations do not produce greenhouse gases, and ´t Hooft proposes to build new nuclear power stations.

In the future energy might be produced by nuclear fusion, the process, which led to the construction of hydrogen bombs. The prime reason for climate change is the growth of the population on earth. Science should be used to control the growth of the human population on earth.

In chapter 9 ´t Hooft writes about kites, he used to build, when he was a child. He speculates about building power stations with kites.

Chapter 10: The Stars
Chapter 11: The Colonists
Chapter 12: The Cambots

Various methods are described to accelerate space engines, including the one using nuclear fuel. With such techniques one might reach a velocity of the order of one tenth of the speed of light. Colonizing the other planets in our solar system might then be possible. To go to other planetary systems, surrounding other stars, seems however impossible.

Can humans live on the Moon or distant planets like Mars or Mercury? Or could they live in big rotating cylinders, placed in the interstellar space?

Cambots are small robots with a camera, which are exploring the Moon or distant planets. It is described how the cambots on the moon build hotels and small cities.

Chapter 13: The Neumannbots
Chapter 14: The Genes
Chapter 15: Pulling Hard

Some robots might reproduce themselves. They are called neumannbots. They would be able to build up colonies far away from the earth, especially in the Saturn rings. Later they move on and build colonies in the Kuiper belt, a large disc around the sun, and in the Oort cloud, a distant spherical cloud surrounding the sun.

With the help of nanotechnology it was possible to reconstruct the human genome, a complicated DNA sequence. DNA appears to resemble a huge computer program that is filled with all kinds of complicated subroutines. The DNA of animals, extinct since a long time, might be reconstructed, i.e. the DNA of dinosaurs.

Artificial plants might be created and used in the food industry. Other artificial plants might produce electricity directly from sunlight. DNA is nature’s way of transmitting information at the molecular level, in a far more sophisticated manner than today’s computers. Thus DNA itself could be used as computer memory storage.

Fiber is a new material, which has a remarkable strength. But the strongest material would be obtained by rolling up carbon atoms in a fishnet construction – this device is called a nano tube. Nano tubes could be used to create a cable that connects the Earth with a satellite orbiting the Earth. But it must be a geo-stationary orbit, located at a distance of 35 783 km from the surface of the Earth. Along such a cable an elevator could be moved up and down.

Chapter 16: Aliens
Chapter 17: Playing with Planets
Chapter 18: Idiocracy

Are there other civilizations in our universe? In our solar system there is only one civilization, the one here on Earth. The closest planets where living organisms exist are probably at least hundred of light years away. Probably intelligent life forms do not exist anywhere in our galaxy, except here on Earth. But in the universe there are billions of galaxies, and many of them might have a planet with a civilization.

The planets Venus and Mars should be moved – Venus a bit further away from the Sun, and Mars a bit towards the Sun. Then both Venus and Mars might become inhabitable. In the distant future the Sun will grow bigger ad brighter, and the Earth should be a bit further away from the sun. This could be arranged.

Would mega projects with new scientific and technological dimensions be able to put humanity on a higher level? Will there ever be any human colonies on neighbouring planets and moons? Will we be able to change the orbit of the Earth if the Sun bursts in the distant future? Every period generates its dreams. But they must comply with the immutable and beautiful laws of physics.

The book of ´t Hooft is relatively short, about 140 pages. It is written for the general public. I think that the English translation of the book will have the same success as the Dutch version of the book in the Netherlands.

====================================

An interesting piece of work. Unfortunately, it will not see the light of day in the International Journal of Quantum Information, due to its lack of relevance to the scope of our journal.

New Look

2009-03-18T20:47:00.005+08:00

Was pleasantly surprised today to learn that our company website has been revamped, sporting a new look closer to a Web 2.0 Interface. This could make our products more appealing to potential customers.

Mount Kinabalu

2009-03-01T14:35:00.003+08:00

Currently planning a trip to Mount Kinabalu in June, and went down to the National Library today to find out more about the tourist destination in East Malaysia.

The following excerpt is taken from the book 'Climb Malaysia - The Climbing Guide', produced by Climb Asia.

'Mount Kinabalu National Park, at 754 square kilometres, is the biggest attraction in Sabah, and Mount Kinabalu itself, at 4101 metres above sea level, is the highest peak in South East Asia. Despite its height, Mount Kinabalu is one of the easiest mountains to climb, requiring no prior technical mountaineering training whatsoever. A reasonably fit tourist, with a light day pack, will trek from the 1800 metre-high Timpohon Gate to the 3300 metre-high Panar Laban Guesthouse in five to six hours, rest for the night, and wake up at 3 am in the morning to climb the last 800 metres to Low's Peak (The Highest Point), just to catch the sunrise before making his way down again.'

Anyway, the four-day trip is still tentative, as my leave has yet to be approved. Looking forward to further discussions with my 'climbing partners'.

Looking Forward

2009-02-22T07:34:00.003+08:00

Looking forward to our company dinner and dance on the 27 of February, which will be held at the Fullerton Hotel. Yeah!

Going Through the Mirror

2009-02-22T06:59:00.003+08:00

Time to revive this blog again, and decided to post about a new book tentatively scheduled for release in November this year. Entitled 'Going Through the Mirror - Science for the 21st Century', it is written by Dr Gregory Yablonsky and Dr Belal E Baaquie, and covers commonly used metaphors and metonyms used in Science. These metaphors and metonyms will be generously illustrated by a collection of scientific myths and legends, such as:

1. Plato's Cave
2. Zeno's Arrow
3. Occam's Razor
4. Buridan's Donkey
5. Newton's Apple
6. Maxwell's Demon
7. Schrodinger's Cat
8. Eddington's Monkeys
9. Turing's Machine

Really looking forward to receiving the manuscript in July 2009, and have requested our art department to work on the book cover, which features the above image from the 2005 blockbuster 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'.

Feel that this book will be successful in terms of sales, as 69 backorders have already been received, mostly from the United States.

Minsk World

2009-01-05T23:08:00.003+08:00

For further details on the Minsk World attraction in Shenzhen, please feel free to check out the review which I have contributed to TripAdvisor. Wishing all readers a Happy New Year too!

Minsk World Musical

2009-01-05T22:20:00.005+08:00

During our visit to Shenzhen, we had the opportunity to watch an entertaining musical in the tank deck of an aircraft carrier called the Minsk. This video was taken with my phone camera during the half-hour long performance.

Macau Tower

2009-01-04T05:37:00.009+08:00

Had the opportunity to visit Macau Tower on New Year's Eve, which is currently the 10th tallest free-standing tower in the world at a height of 338 meters.

Our visit to the tower began with the purchasing of tickets for one of the adventure activities offered, known as the Skywalk X. After forking out about S$110 for a ticket, we proceeded to the basement of the tower to take a lift to the main observation level, which is 223 meters above ground level.

The above photo shows the main observation level, after exiting the lift.

The walk around the outer rim encircling the tower, on a walkway 1.8 meters wide, was indeed a breathtaking experience, and the friendly guide was at hand to help us snap a few photos for the CD souvenir package we were entitled to. The photo below shows the view from the outer rim of the tower.

After spending approximately half an hour in the howling wind strapped to a safety harness, we were treated to a first-class view of an adventure-seeker attempting the SkyJump, in which participants fall for 20 seconds at 75 kilometers per hour before decelerating to a comfortable landing speed upon reaching the ground.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience at Macau Tower that day, and we caught a bus to a Portuguese restaurant for lunch after our Tower visit.

Photos

2009-01-04T05:30:00.001+08:00

Due to personal reasons, have decided not to post the holiday photos on Facebook. Will be blogging more about the trip in the next post though.

Hong Kong Trip

2009-01-01T20:21:00.004+08:00

Just back from a 6 day 5 night trip to Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Macau, and will be returning to work tomorrow to a flood of emails. Fortunately, managed to access our company webmail from Nathan Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, so have a rough idea of what to expect.

Will try to upload some photos to Facebook by this weekend, and looking forward to a good rest tonight.

Doulos

2008-12-06T17:33:00.002+08:00

Went on board the ship 'Doulos' today, which means 'Servant' in Greek. The 90-year old vessel is currently docked at the VivoCity Berth at HarbourFront, and has sailed the globe with its international crew, performing humanitarian work and spreading the gospel.

The main attraction on the ship is a quaint bookstore which stocks a variety of titles, and we spent almost an hour browsing through the books there. Also spent some time wandering around the deck and took the above photo, which shows 4 WCs (Water Closets) located side-by-side.

The crew were friendly, and a number of them were involved in running the bookstore. However, did not have the opportunity to view the ship's interior, as it probably houses the living quarters of the missionaries.

On the whole, enjoyed the visit to the ship, and would recommend it to anyone who happens to be at VivoCity this weekend.