2014: paenitentia et destitutione

Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Secret War Journal[2014]
It had been a long year. Yet at the same time, it had been a rather short year. Contradicting, yes. Perhaps, that sentence itself describes how this year had been.
At the end of the day, the year balanced out to be somewhat average though that is only on the surface. On closer inspection, there were many negative thoughts throughout the year (yes, even now, evidently, by the theme of this year)

paenitentia

Unfortunately, there were many. The very first was probably the fact that I failed on one of my main goal for the entire 2014.[1][2] I must admit that I was severely distracted by many things. It is not anyone else's fault but mine. For I had allowed my will to waver and derailed from my goals. Money that was meant for other goals were diverted to activities on impulse. That generated a great amount of unnecessary spending.

Another aspect which should not be discussed in great detail but mentioned just in passing for memory's sake. We must always remember that this journal has since been made public.

Sometimes I question my decision to study here. Just sometimes.After all, most of my friends are in NUS. I have few connections in NTU. Yes, it is an opportunity to expand my social network greatly but it would had been a lot easier to meet new people through a mutual friend instead. Nevertheless, I had made my decision. I shall stand firm. Of course, there is an added reason of my closest friends being there...

Some people asks if I miss being in my old home [See here for context]. Occasionally, I do. However, for the most part, I really appreciate the kindness from my best friend's family. If not for them, I really am not sure where I would be today. For that, I have no regrets. On the hand, I do feel a certain level of guilt towards them. After all, I feel that I am being a burden to them, a burden that should not had been imposed on them... For that, I regretted that I could not contribute much. Here, I wished I learned more skills during the past few years, just so that I am more useful.

"I made decisions that I regret, and I took them as learning experiences... I'm human, not perfect, like anybody else." - Queen Latifah

destitutione

Towards the second half of the year, I began to really question the company of friends I am with. I guess it is to be expected as you grow older. You start to wonder if some of your friends are the source of your negative energy and consider going out of your comfort zone to meet people who energise you and nurture you into a better person.

Of course, part of being friends means accepting their flaws. Again, as was said above, I would expect them to accept my flaws as well. If they look down on you for trivial reasons, one naturally starts to look elsewhere there is a more nurturing community.
Disappointment is to be expected. Then again, I simply made too high expectations of them. Ever my flaw. I must always remember that few humans are worthy. As we had often discussed, the new generations are truly pitiful. It is hard for them to make genuine friends because most of them are hypocrites. If you cannot raise their social status, they would not want to be your friends. "Friends" in this age has become mere tools for climbing the social ladder. I wonder what does that make of acquaintance now? Food for thought. :) I can understand that for my current age because most of us are no longer concerned about making meaningful friends but instead trying to be successful. But at primary school? Now that is just sad.
I wonder how the future would be like, if that's the case...

My mood generally this year was not exactly great as well. That is yet another disappointment. While I am proud that I had achieved many goals this year. The fact remains that it all came at a great cost. It was a year of many mistakes, much compromise, much pressure. I lived a year of stress. All the achievements and victories were hard earned. None came easy and without blood and sweat. It may sound nice at the end of the day but it was very tiring, mentally draining.
Yes, it would had brought smiles at the end of the day but much would remain unseen and therefore unappreciated. If only I had more time to hone them, more focused on my task given to me. If only...

All these are just wistful wishing. Faced with the facts, the years ahead will no doubt be tough but in no way not rewarding. I am assailed by many sides but I believe that if I play my cards right, I have a chance in coming out ahead. Ahead. Ahead of those hypocrites and imbeciles.

"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Looking ahead

For all its ups and downs, 2014 is coming to a close. Be it that we are glad or sad, 2015 is coming straight at us.

[See post here]

2014 saw 6 out of 9 of my goals completed. Not a very nice score but satisfactory nevertheless. Some of the goals I might be actually secretly glad that I did not fulfill. One example would be the goal to go overseas this year. Looking at the number of aviation disasters this year. It might not had been a bad idea to give this year's overseas plan a miss. (That said, it should be still safe to travel since they had since beefed up the safety measures.) Looking forward, some of the goals would appear in the 2015 goals again. (I apologise, the 2015 goals is behind schedule and therefore not out yet. I would try to publish it as soon as possible on New Year Day)

Hopefully, I get to see many more people smiling by the end of 2015. :)

Until then, with 2 more minutes left for 2014, I wish you all a merry new year!
Credits: http://creativemisha.com/

Night at the Museum 3

Secret War Journal[31 December 2014]
Happy New Year's eve, people! I finally have some time to catch a movie with Emelia and Johnston. Originally, the plan was to get Emelia's (late) christmas present. We still bought it but we caught a movie first.

To be frank, I did not realise today was New Year's Eve until I realised I could not use any vouchers I had obtained because they were mostly not valid on the eve of a public holidays. -,-

Yeah, I am slow that way. I just took whatever free day we all had. You cannot blame me, right?

Back to the point, after a quick lunch at Ajisens, we went for the movie. Did you know SAFRA discounts for Shaw is not valid on the eve of public holidays? I did not. Dang, so many privileges missing on this kind of days. We must had chosen the wrong day, oops.

The show generally was not that bad. Not groundbreaking but decent. I would say you should spend your money on movie tickets on some other show though. Why? Well, it is my view that one should spend your precious coins on a great movie. Unfortunately, Night at the Museum is not such a movie. It is great for watching at the comforts of your home though.

Whether it is suitable for families to watch, however, I am undecided on this. Much humour is lost on the younger children though I would think the CG would impress them. Ultimately, it is your call whether this show is suitable for your family to watch.

“To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” - Nelson Mandela

The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies

Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Secret War Journal[19 December 2014][Spoiler Alert]
#OneLastTime
The final chapter of the Hobbit Trilogy has finally hit the cinemas! Along with me are Darian, Johnston, Meldon, Qi Xiang, Jie Sheng, Kai Yeat, Joel, Jodie, Jasper.

The movie started right where the previous film stopped at (think Harry Potter) where the dragon flew towards Lake-Town. Personally, I felt that this first scene, while could be a fitting epic start for this movie, would be more of an fitting conclusion for the previous film (I guess the temptation to have a cliffhanger was just too strong, huh.)

The soundtrack for the exchange between Lake-Town and Smaug was a bit lacklustre. It played a sad tune for the sacking of Lake-Town which was appropriate but at the cost of making the fight very dull. The slaying of Smaug felt without consequence even though it did.

The fight scenes throughout the movie felt repetitive after the third fight when you can predict with high accuracy what is going to happen next. Still, it was entertaining to watch.

In the Battle of Five Armies, you could see that each army is only here for their own selfish reasons and that the opinion of a wizard is not very greatly valued. Fortunately, the immediate threat of the orcs quickly convinced them that it is a threat that needs to be dealt with first.

Finally, the values that the characters embody were meaningful. The resolution of the Dwarven King was while rushed, significant. It touched on the temptations of Greed and how it could cloud one's reasoning.

Random: Notice that they did not really show how the remaining armies resolve the problem of splitting the treasure or did I miss it?


That's my dinner! 21 inches baby!

"I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me... All I ask is that you respect me as a human being." - Jackie Robinson

Xperia Z3

Thursday, December 18, 2014
Secret War Journal[10 December 2014]
It has been a little past one year since I had gotten my phone Xperia V. [See here for my thoughts on Xperia V]

I know it has been a short time but it really felt that a lot of time had passed by. In fact, I just gotten a new phone today. (Wow)

Introducing the latest Sony Flagship phone: Xperia Z3.

Specifications

Copper Bronze Version
Weight
152 grams

Dimensions
146 x 72 x 7.3 mm

Battery
3100 mAh
Talk time: up to 16 hours
Standby time: up to 920 hours
Music listening time: up to 130 hours
Video playback time: up to 10 hours

Display
5.2" Full HD (1920x1080 pixels)

On the inside
Google Android 4.4 (Kitkat)
Snapdragon 2.5 GHz Qualcomm Quad-core

Camera
20.7 MP camera with auto focus
2.2 MP front-facing camera
ISO 12800

Durability
Waterproof and dust tight (IP65 and IP68)

Initial Thoughts

The thought process to getting this phone this holidays was really quite nerve-wrecking. Xperia Z3 was released just last month, November. As such, one would imagine the price to be quite hefty. Of course, it is not as expensive as the new Samsung Galaxy Note (I am a bit surprised by that.)

The price tag did make me reconsider if I should get this phone at a later time. However, for some reasons or another, I decided to spend a bit more this time to get it.

The overall monthly mobile subscription is lower, for which I am glad. I may not be getting another phone for the next 2 years if my plan succeeds.

Review

Battery Life
I believe one of the most important features of modern smartphones are its battery life. Initial test with full brightness allowed the phone to last slightly over 24 hours. I am planning to continue to use full brightness throughout though it is unlikely that it will last the whole day if I start to play the more graphically intensive games.

tl;dr: Definitely will last >1 day for casual use

Camera
With a 20.7 MP back camera, few phones can compete with this power house. Using the camera gave very sharp and clear images. The numerous different camera modes available in the Sony arsenal helps to differentiate itself from other smartphones. This allows for a variety of entertainment to you and your friends when taking pictures together or of things.

(One funny thing that happened to me but worth mentioning was the fact that I actually forgot to remove the plastic wrapper covering the back cover, including the rear camera. As a result, the initial images I took were very grainy and poor in quality. I was very shocked then, not aware of my mistake, and I was almost convinced that the phone was defective since the showcase model camera took very clear images. Just as I was about to give up, I realised my mistake. Imagine my relief. Hahas.)

However, the front camera leaves much to be desired. While it is an improvement from previous models, a 2.2 MP front camera is not very useful for taking selfies. Compared to their Samsung Galaxy counterparts, for selfie lovers, it would be better if you consider an Iphone or Samsung Galaxy S5 instead. The pictures taken from the front camera were not as clear, obviously, and are kind of grainy and blurred. It responds poorly in poor lighting as well.

In conclusion, it is a phone that is best for taking pictures of beautiful moments and group pictures. It is not as ideal for taking selfie though it can get by with that reasonably.

tl;dr: Good rear camera, bad for selfie due to front camera's low MP.

Weight
Weight is less of an issue nowadays as all the phones are of similar weight. If you must, this phone is very light, weighing only around 100g. For first time users who are never owned phones of similar weight, it will take some time to accustomise yourself to remember that you are actually holding an phone due to its light weight.

Extras
Unique to Sony Xperia series, though less not with the newer phones from other manufacturers, the phone is waterproof and dustproof. This is useful in the event water seeps into your phone and your prized possession malfunctions as a result.

I had a friend whose phone's motherboard was toast when sweat entered the phone (incredible but it happens). This is why it is better to invest in a phone which is waterproof to prevent such things from happening. (Waterproof does not protect the phone from sweat but the design to allow the phone to be waterproof would prevent sweat from seeping into the phone's inner working. Hence, it is protected.)

With that, I hope I gave you some pointers to consider what phone to get this Christmas. Sony Xperia series may not be the first choice among consumers but it is one of the good phones out there. If you must, I would recommend to only consider between Iphone, Samsung Galaxy series, and Sony Xperia series. See ya!

Big Hero 6

Friday, December 5, 2014
Secret War Journal[5 December 2014]
Big Hero 6 is the latest Disney Movie. I managed to catch the movie during a catch-up session with Meldon and Qi Xiang.

Synopsis
The special bond that develops between plus-sized inflatable robot Baymax, and prodigy Hiro Hamada, who team up with a group of friends to form a band of high-tech heroes.
Trailer

Personal Opinion
It was a pretty standard movie in my opinion. The plot was simple and the ending was predictable. However, one of the greatest flaw of this film was the lack of character development. Based on character development, it is questionable who exactly is the main character - Hiro? Baymax? That aside, there was little love for the side characters, probably due to the limitations of time and budget (seriously, 90+ minutes? Dang) One plot twist got me, the identity of the villain. It would be difficult to guess correctly the villain given the lack of foreshadowing for that character. (Only one! The rest of the suspects had so many 'clues' pointing to them being villain. I feel cheated.) Overall, the decisions made by Hiro generally lacked impact that it otherwise should had. The movie could be better but it is not bad in bringing laughter to the audience.

Verdict: 7/10 (Well, it did bring a good laugh to me for a good part of the movie) *shrugs*

EOY Wishlist 2014

Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Secret War Journal[2 December 2014][Updated 30 December 2014]
And... the holidays are finally here. Finals was a crazy thing to handle. First ever Finals for the University!

All right, while I am at it, I would be continuing my dozens of incomplete posts during the holidays. I owe you guys (and myself) that much.

Things I want / need to be accomplished:

  1. Get a part-time job (this is going to be tough)
  2. Complete Dragon Age: Origins (postponed big time due to finals)
  3. Complete Dead Space 2 (Just got my hands on it. :O)
  4. Study C
  5. Get Xperia Z3 
  6. Watch the Hobbit
  7. Go for AFA
  8. Do up a Combineset V Poster
  9. Celebrate Christmas
  10. Fix my old shoe and trousers
  11. Get a External Hard Disk