Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Exams are over. Time to start studying.

Phew! Exams are over, people! Technically they were over nearly 48 hours ago, but hey, who cares man. Certainly not I - mostly because the exams didn't really feel like exams in the first place, plus I didn't actually study for these so...whatever, I'm just happy that exams are over, because that's how I'm supposed to feel when exams are over.

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That said, there are quite a few customary things that must be done after exams end. Unfortunately, the titular exams being the Prelims restrict the possible options. After all, despite the fact that most of us (save for the unlucky ones) are 18, boozing, partying and all other synonymous activities are not really an option because of the fact that we only really have one month left before our real exams.

Putting things into perspective, we have approximately 40 days left, and considering we sleep about 5 hours a day (worse for me because my body functions at a minimum of 7 hours of sleep), we have...let's see...570 hours left. Also considering about an hour for meals (which is really an underestimation) and we have 540 hours. Also considering that we spent about 5-6 hours in school, of which perhaps 4 are actually productive, we waste another 1 hour until the 15th of October, which is lets see...oh forget it, about 2 weeks away. Now, we have about 700 hours left, rounding to the nearest hundred. Since we all have 5 subjects (except for you poor souls who have a 3rd language), that limits us to 140 hours per subject. Which is effectively 5 days per subject. And note that this doesn't even include screwing around, trips to the arcade. OH JOY.

So. Screwed.

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Okay, now that we've killed our egos a la Siddhartha via the limited hours of studying we have left, let's move on to something more...exciting? No, that's not the word umm...oh forget it, I can't think of anything to describe it.

In other news, I now have a copy of The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke. STRIKEEEEEEEEEEEE! And goddamn, this is mouth-watering stuff here. There are so many stories that I remember, so many stories where the twist (and I love ACC's twists) are on the tip of my consciousness and can barely remember it, and wow, all the White Hart stories are immensely entertaining. I'll probably write about this stuff in a new blog post, because it's just so awesome to put into one post.

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In further news, Starcraft has gotten a lot more entertaining for me, not because I'm getting better at it (okay, so its true that I've doubled apm (actions per minute), which wasn't very spectacular because my initial apm was like...10? I dunno.), but because I've gotten into the culture of the sport. I know the Federers, the Nadals, the Agassis, the Jokeovics. I know all the stories, memes, and insider jokes.

And wow, I have to say that Starcraft is goddamn awesome! It has everything - controversies, dedicated sites (teamliquid.net), famous personages, old timers, playing-for-fun games, hilarious personalities - the list goes on and on! Oh, I know of thousands of people that'd laugh at the very idea of Starcraft as a sport - not a game, but a sport - and hundreds more who just don't really care even if it was. But I tell you solemnly - you've really got to let go your prejudices and let yourself get into the groove! The world of Starcraft e-sports is pretty epic, with all sorts of notorious plays (Boxer triple bunker rush against Yellow), comedic moments (Stork's One Piece and WoW jokes), and Epic Titles (The Six Dragons, the Tyrant Killer, the Emperor) - it's a really amazing world out there. Maybe one day I'll write an entire blogpost about it.

Alternatively, you can read Slayers_Boxer's biography (yes, I know, the very idea of a progamer writing a biography must be galling. I know it was to Jarrel, and Jarrel is one of the most unflappable people I know) at boxerbiography.blogspot.com. It's kind of touching really (yet another remark that will garner hate), because if you think about it, pro-gaming really is one of the most misunderstood and stereotyped things in the world (gaming addictions and added violence, anyone?). To be honest, I think I've grown a lot more accepting of the world at large because of it - I mean, if I want people to understand Starcraft, I've got to try and understand the rest of the world as well, right? Read: Ellen Degeneres and all sorts of other weird people I should know but don't.

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Hmm...I think that's it for tonight. Tired and have to prepare for OSL PRELIMINARIES TOMORROW! MST today was quite bad, because none of the old-timers made it out of their groups with the exception of JulyZerg and Daezang. But heck, it's all made up by the fact that HYUK ALSO QUALIFIED! GO HYUK!

Oh yeah, before I sign off, does anyone know what's the difference between shutting down and hibernating? They seem the same to me, the with the exception that hibernating it actually still keeps browser windows open and stuff. I dunno, maybe I missed something or other.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Fire and Ice

Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know of enough hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

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I think that this is a bloody awesome poem. It's pretty short, kind of like Route 62, but you know - I find that short poems generally have the most meaning in them. Plus, the subject matter of this poem is pretty interesting, and is pretty damn abstract as well. But heck, that's cool.

Also, for some reason, this poem gets me fired up somehow. Makes me want to write a commentary on it! O_O

Maybe later...for now though, I wonder what you guys think of it. It should be pretty interesting to see what kind of ideas you guys can come up with. Unless, of course, you see the same things as I do. Even then, the poem itself is cool. I like.

Oh yeah, and it's by our favourite poet - Robert Frost