Thursday, 30 June 2005 | 11.52am
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
Stanford has posted the text of Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, recent commencement speech from Stanford's 2005 graduation speech delivered on June 12, 2005. This inspiring speech is guaranteed to lift you out of your chair, quit your job and go out there to find your true love. Just joking lah but it will at least make you think twice about what you are doing on a day to day basis. You can also download the audio(mp3) version of the speech. Just beware that it is a zip file that is 16.2MB! However in my opinion, nothing beats listening it through his voice.
I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.
The first story is about connecting the dots.
I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.
And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.
It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:
Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it scinating.
None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.
Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.
My second story is about love and loss.
I was lucky Ð I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation - the Macintosh - a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.
I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me Ð I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.
I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life. During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I retuned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.
I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.
My third story is about death.
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything Ð all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.
This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.
Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
Thank you all very much.
| Audio File | Permalink
I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.
The first story is about connecting the dots.
I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.
And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.
It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:
Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it scinating.
None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.
Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.
My second story is about love and loss.
I was lucky Ð I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation - the Macintosh - a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.
I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me Ð I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.
I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life. During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I retuned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.
I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.
My third story is about death.
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything Ð all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.
This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.
Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
Thank you all very much.
| Audio File | Permalink
Wednesday, 29 June 2005 | 10.06am
Back and 3 Logical Questions
Finally came back to reality after the 1 week break in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. However I was too tired and busy to upload any pictures so in the meantime here are 3 logical questions for you to ponder before my next post.
1. What is bigger than Allah/God?
Clue:
- The dead eats it
- The living will die when they eats/drinks it
2. Prove that in a population of x people, at least 2 person will know the same number of friends.
3. Arrange the following 3 words, NOR DO WE into ONE WORD
(Thanks King Koon for the first 2 questions and Huiling for the last one)
| Permalink
1. What is bigger than Allah/God?
Clue:
- The dead eats it
- The living will die when they eats/drinks it
2. Prove that in a population of x people, at least 2 person will know the same number of friends.
3. Arrange the following 3 words, NOR DO WE into ONE WORD
(Thanks King Koon for the first 2 questions and Huiling for the last one)
| Permalink
Sunday, 19 June 2005 | 1.08pm
Leftovers
Bite-sized posting for the week.
- Woohoo, I am going to Hong Kong and Shenzhen for a week tomorrow.
- I tracked about 80 blogs/feeds but one famous blog I do not track or read is Xiauxue because in her own words on 19 June 2005 'The New Paper', "... I couldn't read beyond a few entries beacuase her blog bores me.". I am glad to say I am sober for 3 months. Hee.
- Finally uploaded the photos I took during the Inter-JC Othello Championships 2005 last week. Check below for the photos
- Woohoo, I am going to Hong Kong and Shenzhen for a week tomorrow. Eh... I said this already, haven't I? Hee.
Tuesday, 14 June 2005 | 4pm
Skype Me
Thursday, 9 June 2005 | 1.34am
Oh The Horror! II
This is a continuation to Cowboy Caleb's funny calculator shite
- A large-breasted woman, 98cm (type '98') wanted her breast to be reduce to, 88cm (type '88') but the doctor says he can only reduce it at best to, 93cm (type '93'). That is '988893' on a caculator.
- So the doctor gave her some medicine and told her to take 2 pills a day (multiply by '2') for 7 days a week (multiply by '7). Should get '13844502'.
- The woman was so anxious that she took 4 pills a day instead (multiply by '4'). Should get '55378008'.
- Turn it over and find out what happened to the woman!
Tuesday, 7 June 2005 | 8am
Double Life
For years, I've lived a double life.
In the day, I do my job -
I ride the bus, roll up my sleeves with hoi polloi.
But at night, I live a life of exhilaration,
of missed heartbeats and adrenalin.
And, if the truth be known, a life of dubious virtue.
I won't deny it - I've been engaged in violence, even indulged in it.
I've maimed and killed adversaries - and not merely in self-defence.
I've exhibited disregard for life, limb and property,
and savoured every moment.
You may not think it, to look at me,
but I have commanded armies and conquered worlds.
And though in achieving these things I've set morality aside,
I have no regrets.
For though I've led a double life, at least I can say:
I've lived
(See if you can deduce what product is being sold before the end)
| Double Life | Permalink
In the day, I do my job -
I ride the bus, roll up my sleeves with hoi polloi.
But at night, I live a life of exhilaration,
of missed heartbeats and adrenalin.
And, if the truth be known, a life of dubious virtue.
I won't deny it - I've been engaged in violence, even indulged in it.
I've maimed and killed adversaries - and not merely in self-defence.
I've exhibited disregard for life, limb and property,
and savoured every moment.
You may not think it, to look at me,
but I have commanded armies and conquered worlds.
And though in achieving these things I've set morality aside,
I have no regrets.
For though I've led a double life, at least I can say:
I've lived
(See if you can deduce what product is being sold before the end)
| Double Life | Permalink
Monday, 6 June 2005 | 2.15pm
Poverty
A heartfelt public service announcement to fight world-wide poverty by one.org.
| Poverty | Permalink
| Poverty | Permalink
Monday, 30 May 2005 | 2am
Mr Hong's Retirement Party
Attended Mr Hong's Retirement party organised by the Science Department. Had a great time there.
Mr Hong's Retirement Party | Permalink
Mr Hong's Retirement Party | Permalink
Tuesday, 24 May 2005 | 11.40pm
Permalink & RSS
For those who understand, I have added permalink and RSS functionality. But since it is not automatic like blogspot or some other blogging software, it is a hassle whenever I update a post. Now if only someone could point me to a php code for commenting such that it appears underneath my permalink.
Sunday, 22 May 2005 | 12.37pm
A Tiring Weekend
Went to Hilda's wedding dinner on Friday and College Day on Saturday. It was especially tiring as I volunteered to come in on Saturday morning from 9am to man telephone enquiries from the public on the College Day. The day ended around 7pm.
Owner's note: Sunday, 4.30pm. Definitely tiring. I just came back from school again because the security alarm was activated and Mr Tham (Operations Manager) was in Jurong. So I went back to school at 2.30pm and found out that it was most probably due to birds flying in the classroom which had activated the motion sensors! Arrggh...I have already informed the attendants on many occasions to make sure the windows are closed. So I had to go around 18 classrooms to close all the windows which took me about an hour. Tsk..tsk...
Hilda's Wedding Dinner | 2005 TPJC College Day | Permalink
Owner's note: Sunday, 4.30pm. Definitely tiring. I just came back from school again because the security alarm was activated and Mr Tham (Operations Manager) was in Jurong. So I went back to school at 2.30pm and found out that it was most probably due to birds flying in the classroom which had activated the motion sensors! Arrggh...I have already informed the attendants on many occasions to make sure the windows are closed. So I had to go around 18 classrooms to close all the windows which took me about an hour. Tsk..tsk...
Hilda's Wedding Dinner | 2005 TPJC College Day | Permalink
Thursday, 12 May 2005 | 7.23pm
$1 Dollar
I went to Hougang Central yesterday night for dinner with Lynn. I ordered a Chicken Chop while Lynn had 'Hor Fun'. A old lady looking visibly tired was walking from table to table selling packets of tissue came to our table but with a shake of my head, I murmured to her that I have no wish to purchase any tissue paper.
I then continued with my dinner and had finished the cole slaw off my plate before I went to purchase extra cole slaw which cost me $1. When I reached my table, a tinge of guilt filled me as here I was spending $1 on extra cole slaw when I could not even forked out $1 for a old lady whom might have walked the whole day trying to make a living selling tissues. I told myself that the next time I see old folks selling tissues, I would not begrudge them a dollar for whatever they are trying to sell me.
I then continued with my dinner and had finished the cole slaw off my plate before I went to purchase extra cole slaw which cost me $1. When I reached my table, a tinge of guilt filled me as here I was spending $1 on extra cole slaw when I could not even forked out $1 for a old lady whom might have walked the whole day trying to make a living selling tissues. I told myself that the next time I see old folks selling tissues, I would not begrudge them a dollar for whatever they are trying to sell me.
Saturday, 23 April 2005 | 3am
First Complete Podcast
First ever podcast by me. Yeh!
Audio file for the tpjc podcast show tpjc_23Apr05.mp3 Note: approx 10MB
Subscribe to the podcast feed by copying and pasting the following url http://staff.tpjcian.net/chu_chee_chin/feed.xml into your audio aggregator (e.g. ipodder).
Audio file for the tpjc podcast show tpjc_23Apr05.mp3 Note: approx 10MB
Subscribe to the podcast feed by copying and pasting the following url http://staff.tpjcian.net/chu_chee_chin/feed.xml into your audio aggregator (e.g. ipodder).
Thursday, 21 April 2005 | 1.11am
Podcast Test
This is just a test for the tpjc podcast show. The full show should be available by Friday night, maybe.
Audio file for the tpjc podcast show tpjc_20Apr05.mp3
Subscribe to the podcast feed by copying and pasting the following url http://staff.tpjcian.net/chu_chee_chin/feed.xml into your audio aggregator (e.g. ipodder).
Audio file for the tpjc podcast show tpjc_20Apr05.mp3
Subscribe to the podcast feed by copying and pasting the following url http://staff.tpjcian.net/chu_chee_chin/feed.xml into your audio aggregator (e.g. ipodder).
Monday, 4 April 2005 | 10.22pm
Lost
'Lost' the acclaimed US television series about plane crash survivors marooned on a mysterious island is yet again being postphoned by Mediacorp TV to June 2005. It was suppose to be aired in March but March came by and left but still no signs of the series. Mediacorp TV then announced that it would be released in May but now it seems that May could mean 'May Not' as the debut is going to be pushed to June. It is my belief that this is because Mediacorp TV is trying to wring every cent out of the advertising dollar by not showing it until 'Desperate Housewives" has ended its season.
'Lost' is also my wallet which I have left in a taxi today after my visit to the Polyclinic for a check-up on my knee which was hurting like hell during the weekends. The doctor said that I had inflamed my tendons and I should not run for a week. Luckily some kind soul found it in the taxi and called my credit card company (by which time I had already cancelled it) to report a found wallet. Everything was intact except for the $100 cash I had in the wallet. Lynn as usual gave me an earful which I thoroughly deserved. God knows how many things I have lost. I should really get rid of my absent-mindedness.
'Lost' is also my wallet which I have left in a taxi today after my visit to the Polyclinic for a check-up on my knee which was hurting like hell during the weekends. The doctor said that I had inflamed my tendons and I should not run for a week. Luckily some kind soul found it in the taxi and called my credit card company (by which time I had already cancelled it) to report a found wallet. Everything was intact except for the $100 cash I had in the wallet. Lynn as usual gave me an earful which I thoroughly deserved. God knows how many things I have lost. I should really get rid of my absent-mindedness.
Sunday, 3 April 2005 | 11.59pm
EPIC 2014
In the year 2014, the New York Times has gone offline.
The Fourth Estate's fortunes have waned.
What happened to the news?
And what is EPIC?
| Link
The Fourth Estate's fortunes have waned.
What happened to the news?
And what is EPIC?
| Link
Saturday, 2 April 2005 | 10.31pm
April Fool's Day Joke
Friday, 1 April 2005 | 9.51am
Bye... ...
Just submitted the letter 10 minutes ago... ... should I be sad... ...or should I put on a smile... ... nothing is forever... ...?
Saturday, 26 March 2005 | 7.16pm
A Family Values Story
Why do reports in the local (Singapore) media on gay related issues almost always include moralistic type quotes by 'family values advocates?' Clarence Singam writes a personal essay in response to a family life educator's comments that the gay lifestyle undermines basic family values.
Clarence Singam, is a human being. He has a Masters degree in applied psychology and is a counseling psychologist who heads Oogachaga a non-profit pro-family sexual orientation affirming counseling and personal development agency. Oogachaga specialises in lesbian and gay psychotherapeutic issues.
| Link
Clarence Singam, is a human being. He has a Masters degree in applied psychology and is a counseling psychologist who heads Oogachaga a non-profit pro-family sexual orientation affirming counseling and personal development agency. Oogachaga specialises in lesbian and gay psychotherapeutic issues.
| Link
Friday, 25 March 2005 | 4.01pm
Anti-teen Pregnancy Ad from Belgium
Wednesday, 23 March 2005 | 8.50pm
Sexy Blogger Project
See my webcam shot of my sexy blogger shot for Mr Brown's "I'm too sexy for my blog" project.
| Link
| Link
Monday, 14 March 2005 | 10.50pm
3 Guys, a ball but no place to play
"Tak Giu" (15mins, Singlish/with English subtitles) is an indie film which follows the journey of 3 soccer-crazy boys. Having taking up the challenge of a friendly soccer match, the boys realize that it is not easy to find a good, free public soccer field in Singapore¡..if there¡¯s any at all. Through their journey they encounter obnoxious care-takers, locked-up fences, deterring weather and a persistent policeman. Will they be able to find their dream soccer pitch?
Visit the website and download the movie. Also available for download are 2 soundtracks from the movie. Highly recommended.
[Link]
Visit the website and download the movie. Also available for download are 2 soundtracks from the movie. Highly recommended.
[Link]
Thursday, 10 March 2005 | 10.06pm
Empty
Something's missing... vacuum... kids?... friends?...
Saturday, 26 February 2005 | 1.09pm
Mr Tell-It-Like-It-Is?
'The New Paper' today has an article on Senior Minister of State Mr Raymond Lim and his firebrand style of politics where he tells it like it is. The article predicts that he would be in line for the Finance Minister once PM Lee decides it's time to hand over his extra portfolio. It goes on to show his numerous top-notch credentials (which Minister does not have top-notch credentials?) and comments made by his friends about how they weren't surprise at all when he enter politics (yada yada... I also know).
What irks me about this article is often we hear about how this or that Minister is in tune with the people (walk the walk and talk the talk) but is it really the case? More often than not, the PAP just select a Minister to be the 'Opposition' to policies which they are about to carry out just to make the masses believe that these policies are good for the people whereby every 'opposition' comments would have ready answers prepared to be mentioned by the Minister of the Ministry which put forward these policies. The whole parliament would then laugh when the Minister make light of the 'opposition' questions.
Well I also have something off my chest and would love to 'tell it like it is'. I just love the ways the various Ministries goes about cutting cost. Example: the cleaning services is contracted to cleaning companies which have a contract for 2 years. Once the contract is up, the Ministries would put up a tender notice for cleaning contractors to fight over each offering the lowest cost. The Ministries would then pick the one with the lowest cost (save money what). What they don't realise is that the lowest cost is then passed on to the contract workers with lower salaries though they are still doing the same job! This happens in my place of work where the cleaning contractor has changed but not the actual workers who clean the place. The just got re-hired by the new contractors with lower wages.
This practise justifies the Ministries agenda in cutting cost but do they tell it like it is? No, they don't tell you all this bread and butter issues. What they tell you to how this year's budget is good for SMEs and so they can attract more foreign companies and foreign talents to replace our own people and older workers. They will show you how some companies hire older workers and interviews with some older people which have found meaningful work. But these are just some, what about the other masses. Arrrrggghhhh.... I can't go on.
What irks me about this article is often we hear about how this or that Minister is in tune with the people (walk the walk and talk the talk) but is it really the case? More often than not, the PAP just select a Minister to be the 'Opposition' to policies which they are about to carry out just to make the masses believe that these policies are good for the people whereby every 'opposition' comments would have ready answers prepared to be mentioned by the Minister of the Ministry which put forward these policies. The whole parliament would then laugh when the Minister make light of the 'opposition' questions.
Well I also have something off my chest and would love to 'tell it like it is'. I just love the ways the various Ministries goes about cutting cost. Example: the cleaning services is contracted to cleaning companies which have a contract for 2 years. Once the contract is up, the Ministries would put up a tender notice for cleaning contractors to fight over each offering the lowest cost. The Ministries would then pick the one with the lowest cost (save money what). What they don't realise is that the lowest cost is then passed on to the contract workers with lower salaries though they are still doing the same job! This happens in my place of work where the cleaning contractor has changed but not the actual workers who clean the place. The just got re-hired by the new contractors with lower wages.
This practise justifies the Ministries agenda in cutting cost but do they tell it like it is? No, they don't tell you all this bread and butter issues. What they tell you to how this year's budget is good for SMEs and so they can attract more foreign companies and foreign talents to replace our own people and older workers. They will show you how some companies hire older workers and interviews with some older people which have found meaningful work. But these are just some, what about the other masses. Arrrrggghhhh.... I can't go on.
Wednesday, 23 February 2005 | 12.15am
Squarebrain
A recently started site I found tonight that is maintained by a writer and a animator. Writings are refreshing and to the point, but the comic strips (7 so far) are outstanding! Will definitely make it into my daily reads just for the comics alone.
[Link]
[Link]
Sunday, 20 February 2005 | 10.55pm
Botero in Singapore
Lynn and I went around the Esplanade Park today for an outing to capture world-renowed Colombian artist Fernando Botero's famous sculptures. Take a look at some of the photos we took if you have missed them.
Botero is a colossal presence in the visual arts world. This Colombian sculptor and painter, endearingly dubbed as "Colombian's soul", is a heavyweight among discerning art collectors, gallery owners, and art afficionados worldwide. he is, without a doubt, a living legend who has charmed the world with his idiosyncratic and inimtable style, and voluptuous and whimsical renditions of human and animal forms.
- Extracted from Singapore Art Museum's 'Botero in Singapore' brochure
[More Photos]
Botero is a colossal presence in the visual arts world. This Colombian sculptor and painter, endearingly dubbed as "Colombian's soul", is a heavyweight among discerning art collectors, gallery owners, and art afficionados worldwide. he is, without a doubt, a living legend who has charmed the world with his idiosyncratic and inimtable style, and voluptuous and whimsical renditions of human and animal forms.
- Extracted from Singapore Art Museum's 'Botero in Singapore' brochure
[More Photos]
Saturday, 5 February 2005 | 9.29pm
Blood Ninja: The Collected Works
Silly, sophomoric collection of old cybersex text pranks that a user named Bloodninja played in AOL chat rooms. I was laughing myself silly by the third cyber.
[Link]
[Link]
Monday, 31 January 2005 | 10.18pm
Livestrong
I own one of these yellow wristband that signify that cancer patients should live strong from the day of diagnosis. And no I did not pay S$20+ for them. Instead I did the correct thing of donating to the Lance Armstrong Foundation which sells them at US$10 for a pack of 10. I kept one for myself and gave the rest to friends who also believe in the cause. Arrgggh, I hate those profiteers who buy them in bulk and re-sold them at S$20+ a piece to fashion wannabees who view them as a fashion statement.
Saturday, 29 January 2005 | 10.00am
NS Reservist Training
Went for NS Reservist training in the 2nd and 3rd week of January. Some photos that I took during my stint.
[Link]
Tuesday, 4 January 2005 | 11.58pm
Youngest Videoblogger In The World
Dylan Verdi was featured in a 'ABC News' segment about bloggers as TIME Magazine annual 'People of The Year'. Link 1 is a short 'the making of' movie posted by her father, Mr Michael Verdi which explains how his 11-year-old daughter became an accidental celebrity. Link 2 is the first videoblog or vblog in short by Dylan that started all this. This is a perfect example of the power, velocity and sometimes arbitrary nature of media attention.
Link 1 | Link 2
Link 1 | Link 2
Tuesday, 4 January 2005 | 10.51pm
Tsunami Satellite Images from NUS
Collection of satellite photos of affected areas, including Aceh and Nicobar.
[Link]
[Link]
| CHIN |
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| Chin is a casual guy living in Singapore. Being a casual person means Chin leads a simple life doing the things he likes. He also enjoys meeting people, new friends or old. |
| WEBCAM |
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| COPYRIGHT |
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| This site in its entirety is not © Chu Chee Chin 2003. You may copy whatever you like since most items in this webpage is easily available on the net. However if you are copying my photos, please use it with respect for the persons in the photos and let me know either by tagging me or by email. |
