As usual, I'm going to jot down some thoughts with regards to my academic side of life first before I talk about the other tiny-winy bit of whatever that's left of my life~haha~~ Ever since my days in 1st year, I've always been struggling... So~ whenever I had a chance to meet some seniors, the same questions always pops up... "How following years gonna be like?" The answer to my question from different people are along the similar line... "3rd's the worst. If you manage to survive the 3rd, 4th won't be much of a problem." I'm in 3rd year now, half way through... to tell the truth, I actually felt that it is actually not as tough as the 2nd half of 2nd year~ I manage to scrape and passed all my 1st semester 3rd year courses. This is really important for me. Both as a form of motivation and source of growth in my confidence.
Posted at » 4:04:00 PM
Monday, July 19, 2010
In the deepest ocean...
The bottom of the sea...
Before I start blogging about random everythings... I would like the readers of this blog entry to take a trip with me, into the deep blue sea... slowly
... allow the song to fill your imagination... follow the song as you sink deeper and deeper into the unknown world...
The ocean gets darker and darker as light retreats from the abyss
...sinking deeper and deeper,
you wonder if you should turn back...
but the strange world under felt so ever inviting...
here goes...
The Communications and Network Design I lecturer show us this fimilar picture :) One of my favourite motivation too... although this course isn't much of a problem(he recalled everyone to that lecture and made it compulsory to attend...in the end, to fill up his course evaluation forms!) as compared to the first time I saw this picture when my 2nd year Physics lecturer showed us this..
NEVER GIVE UP!!!!
^
EVER
On the fun side, there are polo-tees with funny "Top 10 reasons" jokes sold by students~ back in 2006, they release a "Top 10 reasons to be an Engineer" but I can't find the picture I took off a friend's shirt~ so here's 2008 edition of "Top 10 reasons to date an Engineer"! :D
This is the infamous EEE3069W Control Engineering lecture~ I've gotta admit that this is one course that really is deep and sometimes abstract... but check it out! This "hardworking" student is listening attentively to the Prof(or just staring at him).......... while rolling his zols!!!!! (zols is a slang for homemade cigarettes~ using a piece of 'cigarette paper/wrapper' and raw tobacco(or whatever herbs/weed/chao yao)... haha` I was cracking up badly when I saw this!
The roller is that blue gadget he is holding, the big packet is the raw tobacco, the blue box contains the cigarette paper and the brown sticks are the finished products. I was alittle bored with the lecture so I start to time his speed to roll a single zol~ He took average of 3-4 mins to roll a single zol, and zol probably last 2-3mins or so to smoke it(burns faster than usual 5mins cigarette)~ imagine he rolls 10 zols... that means he just wasted 30mins of his life for 20mins of pleasure, pleasure that probably would shorten his lifespan- faster than usual cigarettes due to the lack of filtering.
Moral of story: Don't smoke.
Although I don't feel as much stress during this 1st half of 3rd year~ That doesn't means gotten easier for me, haha~ actually I felt lazier than before... some of the courses are so dry and I'm feeling that I am almost doing them for the sake of doing them!
I enjoyed EEE3086F Signals and Systems II and EEE3069W Control Engineering, learnt quite abit in EEE3068F Electronic ciruits too~ but ironically, Signals and SystemsII along with Electronic circuits are the 2 biggest headaches amongst all my other courses.
For Electronic circuits, I almost did not make the basic requirements to write the final examination for the course. Even after I manage to acquire the requirements to write the exam, I ended up walking out of the examination hall thinking that I would be back next year again for this course. That was the 1st exam I wrote, it ain't a good start now was it?
As for Signals and SystemsII, I really have no natural flair with signal processing but I have to admit, just like electronic circuits~ I really learnt quite abit in both fields of Engineering. But really struggled when comes to testing my knowledge... especially for Signals, with my poor command of Mathematics(complex numbers to be exact)~ I really felt embarassed when the lecturer literally leaned back and use both of his hands pull back his hair in utter frustration, when he realise how little I know about complex numbers- worst part, yet I made it thus far.
Haha~ I almost thought he had some personal vendatta against the educational system when he designed a little quiz on complex numbers that everyone must do for him when approaching him for questions. He wanted to know if it was just me or everyone~ haha, it wasn't just me, but I am probably the most in trouble! I know it is not a joking matter because he was a ex-UCT undergraduate(got his PHD from London, now a Professor) and he told me that when he was in third year, there was a course called "Complex Analysis".
He plans to take it up to the Maths department with the quiz results, and have a discussion about the current "epidemic".
(Lean back and pull his hair back.... "sssss........" like it is the end of the world~)
haha~ one of the most interesting and scary lecturer I've ever met, have real passion in his work... but he have the tendancy to be late~ he is late for lectures and took more time at the end to cover up the time he lost- 99% of his lectures!! The unbelievable part is... he was also late for his first class test!
For his exam(S&S2), I did 4 past papers set by him~ and I felt that I'm pretty ready(to pass) his course, but for some 'unknown' reasons~ this year's exam is absolutely in a different level than the previous years... I don't blame him because he didn't give us anything that is not taught, just simply things that you don't think would be tested.
I literally came out- destroyed.
Yet once again, miraculously~ I passed.
Nope, this is not a pokemon. And the funniest part is... Mr. Logi willy has absolutely no idea! :D We just came out from the Electronic lecture, and one of his friends poked this 'canadian' leaf into his hair~ btw, he came to UCT bald~ and haven't cut his hair since!!!!!!!! That's the amount of hair you get if you don't cut it for 2 and a half years! So he was walking around and wondering why ppl is smiling and laughing when they saw him, my tummy almost exploded.
I was thinking... where this machine is situated, it really isn't the safest of place in town~ You probably won't want to be around this area at night. Haha~ ironically, why would vendors place such a machine over here when anyone could've simply smash the glass and take the money then! Does this show that this area ain't as bad as I thought? I wonder...
作词：黄素兰/黄立成/黄立行 作曲：Jae Chong 编曲：Jae Chong 合唱：黄立成
Verse 1
（黄立行）Yo Jeff 我知道你知道我比你厉害 想不出来为什么你要跟我弄这条
（黄立成）靠 什么时候变这么臭屁 别忘记我是哥哥你是弟弟 你若赢过我是让你
（黄立行）你是让我？ 以前你也没这么大胆 你若敢 就来拼 看谁第一名
一个猴子带一群狗子 一个狗子跌入沟子
一个狗子回去找钩子 钩那个狗子从水沟出来
（黄立成）那个大家都听过
（黄立行）不然来个新的
那个狗子从沟子自己爬起来 给那整群狗子 知道哪一个狗最厉害
踢那个老猴到沟子里 Jeff 那个老猴就是你嘿嘿
Verse 2
（黄立成）yo 这第二段是我妈妈写的 耶 好好听
（黄立行）我十个月就开始走路 啊你两岁半只知道一句哈啰
（黄立成）黑白讲我两岁就在游泳 啊你呢？
（黄立行）我忘记了 但是我记得你常常放尿在水里
（黄立成）我记得你常常放尿在你的裤子里
（黄立行）我三岁就在骑铁马
（黄立成）我三岁半就在骑真的马
（黄立行）我四岁就是空手道冠军
（黄立成）我也是那天有比赛就有奖品分
（黄立成）别再比 横直我早生你两年
（黄立行）啊 横直你早死两年
Verse 3
（黄立成）Yo Stan （黄立行）Yea what up?
（黄立成）你记不记得 以前大家都分不出我们 说我们是双胞胎
（黄立行）我记得 但是我怎么看都看不出来
（黄立行）因为一个叫缘投 （黄立成）一个叫阿丑
（合 唱）两个都是同样妈妈爸爸生出来
（黄立成）一个小时候坏 （黄立行）一个小时候乖
（合 唱）两个都是同样妈妈爸爸生出来
（黄立成）我是用右手 （黄立行）我是用左手 （黄立成）打枪
（黄立成）我开Machi公司
（黄立行）我帮你投资 我写这个歌给我们两个来唱
（黄立成）给我唱 你来配舞
（黄立行）man forget u
The Devil's Peak Party!
It was early in February when we decided to hike up Devil's Peak, the iconic backdrop of UCT. Well... we decided to take a 'shortcut' from the usual tourist route, climbing steep slopes, going into ravine, balance ourselves along narrow paths with cliffs that you don't want to look down... It was indeed amazing. Makes me want to camp overnight one day or visit the ravine during a raining weather to witness waterfalls... it is a must!
Natural beauty...
We ran out of water supply and then we saw a man-made pipe gushing out spring water~ it was in summer~ but the water is icy cold... and the best part was the taste of the water. I've never ever tasted anything like it. It was literally smooth, clean and just refreshing... very different from the so-called mineral spring water. To have a single gulp of that water would justify all the efforts to get there.
Revitalised!
Man~ You really will get excited after that kind of shower! Showering with natural mountain spring water~~~~ you probably can skip the soaping part!
I am turning 24 this year, somehow I felt like a 20 year old.
Naveed taking the lead up the ravine. Ravine is like a steep valley inbetween mountain cliffs/slopes~ it can become a river during rainy weather, with steep drops at random section of the ravine forming waterfall~~ it is pretty adventurous but dangerous. What we had in mind was as simple as following up the ravine to the peak of the mountain... also very tempting to go down the ravine to the forest down below- which I've proven nearly impossible without proper equipment as I got cut off by a high waterfall edge where I might not be able to get back up if I go down.
Reaching a dead-end at the top of the ravine, right infront of us is a close to verticle cliff leading straight to the peak of the mountain~ Unfazed by the situation, Naveed became adventurous and took off in another path which forces one to walk along side the slope with cliffdrop that can make one think twice before crossing~ along the way, besides the dangers of the cliff was thorny bushes~ and I think my skin was getting used to it as I walked topless through the entire path. It was a far shot, but the path Naveed manage to bash through seemed to be a hidden track that others had taken before~!
Here's a rough idea~
Haha~ if everything goes to plan, I will be 29! 
Warm, sheltered and safe.
I was exploring the side of the slopes hoping to find a way around to the top~ but then I saw this` Look carefully, you will see the huge boulder of rock dug itself into the tree trunk.
Look how flat it had been rubbed down!
At the age of 29, any man with a career would definitely like to find a good woman to move onto the next stage of his life together.
Heading home~~~ I actually lost my camera along the way! But luckily, Jackson manage to spot it after about 1 hour of search~~~ whew.
This is definitely one of the major highlights of the trip- A fossilized imprint of some plant, possibly a fern. At first I can't believe my eyes, I start rubbing the imprints to check if it was just some stains~ but as I observe closely, it was actually infused with the rock! I attempt to take it home with me :D but... it is a big rock, weighing at least 15 kgs~! So I attempt to shatter it by throwing it into the rocks in the ravine~ but as I threw it, it bounces off... out of sight. -_-
This is the first time I saw something like this~ where a spider build a big cocoon(as big as my fist) using leaves to serve as hard foundation for protection for it's egg(s)~ truly ingenious stuff!
"Hello~~ mummy!" Look how tightly packed the leaves are, how the spider even manage to pick the leaves up still remains a mystery to me... motherly love? 
Half way down~
The Suicide Bomber! (yaaaaa.....!!)
The Kid. (any more...? :( hmph! )
The Patriotic Ape. (InNnNn~~ Diaaaa~~ UM?!)
P.S man... what da hell are you up to......
Naveed, Abhi and Jackson. By this time, we are all burnt out.
The power of the wind over long period of time is really something to watch out for.
Stick insect!
Too bad that I was busy with a test, else I would've loved to get out there and took more shots~ it was indeed a rare occasion to find such elusive creature on your window ...
I knew something like this would happen! Living in this shell of dust is this Mr. Hermit! It behaved almost like a hermit crab~ it will pop out alittle to check it's surrounding for danger and will retract itself back to the safety of it's shell as soon as it spotted danger or any fast movements~ in this case, my camera!
"EWWW." is the exact response when I first showed Dear this little creature... well, I find it just as repulsive as her but can't help but admire it's ingenuity in survival skills. I have a gut feeling that the worm made this shell by itself rather than it's parents... that means gathering all the dust particle(even a strand of hair!) and weaving it into a cocoon-like shell...absolutely amazing. hmm...admittably, telling me that my room is in need of a good thorough cleaning!! EWWW for my room too... 
I became a laughing stock when I pronouce this stinging creature as "Sea ENEMY"... hehe~ I think it is called "Sea a-neh-mon-ni"~ hopefully I got it right this time!
My word... finally I get to see the African Penguins T______T... amazing place it is! The penguins are literally less than a arm's length away! Penguins on african soil~!
Haha~ I really have no clue how to describe this adorable baby penguin... looked alittle gong-gong de, just stood there stared into space the entire time! Didn't even blink or flinch~ as if daydreaming... At least entertain me abit ma~~~ like do some happy feet nonsense ma! hahahaha~~~ 
Whenever I see these wild boars, it reminds me of that pig in Lion King` but they are dangerous~ In the army, I've heard stories about them charging at soldiers and one of them knocked a dent in a army vehicle~ my sergeant was injured by one of these pigs charge into his legs~ He has to leave the training due to the injuries- that pig was only a baby.
That must be a skull of an elephant.
Greater Kudu crossing the track... For the first time ever, I finally came to a National Park in South Africa~ this is Port Elizabeth's Addo Elephant Park.
Haha~~... only bro and I are out here... but we found out later that there are only 5 lions in the entire 1,640 square kilometers!! -_- ok... it is indeed an Elephant park.
The funniest part about our trip is... we spent 2 hours looking for a massive creature called the Elephant and couldn't even spot one! All we can see is their dung...shi....! In the end, we turned back in despair, and the gate keeper then told us that we've taken the wrong route for the season! Heading back, following his instructions... this is what we see...
We were travelling down the road then suddenly... we saw a line of cars lining up in opposite direction... something is up~ then... we saw a herd of elephants, majestically walking through the cars~ Mind you, all the animals in the park are wild and elephants are one of the major animals that caused human deaths in Africa along with lions, crocodiles and Hippopotamus.
It was truly exhilarating to have such gigantic creatures to walk past you... the one at the front should be the Matriarch- The eldest female in the herd. You don't want to mess with elephants. A healthy elephant herd would have no natural predator at all~ only the calfs are susceptible to predation.
Cathy on the left was frantically snapping shots while Jennifer is struggling to get the camera shouting "Quick! Quick! Give me the camera, I can take a shot of you with the elephants!" It was really exciting~~~~ My heart was pounding as these giants walked calmly and steadily towards us...
Matriarch.
Look at the small one underneath the big one!
Unbelievable it may seems... I've spent 2 days on this entry......................................
It's time to rest le!! Whew~~~~!
我/
Peter
A.D 1986 -
Adores
Life itself
Always glad to be alive and well. ^_^
DETESTS
Sickness & Death itself
It would be... meaningless. -_-'''
S pirit sings inside
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