24 September 2011, Saturday
Life in London - Take Two - The Day I Was Truly Blessed


Today I woke up at 12pm and went to work. Had a shot that I need to get out by Monday. Reached work at 1.30pm. Mengdi and Francis were at work. Francis said he went to St Paul's Cathedral and so just dropped by back at work to "fool around". I think he was reading up and trying to familiarise himself with lighting pipeline, getting ready to move onto his new show.


At the end of the work day, 8.30pm I still had not finished the shot, but I did leave a good deal of simulation jobs for the farm. Tomorrow I'm going to have to go back and check on the results.


I had dinner with Skeel Lee and Alvin Yap. We went to a Spanish restaurant called Andalucia just behind Leicester Square.


As we were walking back to Oxford Cirus tube station, something very fortunate happened to me. I did not realise it but somehow it must have rained while we were having our dinner. Because of that, the roads were wet and there were puddles of water. 


We were walking along Oxford road, and there was this guy walking in the opposite direction, him closer to the road, and myself on the inner side. He walked very close to me when he passed, and just when he passed me, I felt him push back in my direction. It happened quite fast, I thought he misjudged the distance between him and myself, or lost his balance. Then I heard "ooh!" from other passers-by behind me. Skeel and Alvin were looking at me in disbelief. 

It was at this point when I felt a bit of wetness at the tip of my hoodie and at my heels. What had happened was that a passing vehicle drove by at a considerable speed and splashed a huge wave of water in my direction. At that point in time at the precise moment, the guy got caught between me and the splash, and of the water had hit him full-on, instead of me.


Skeel told me that guy had unknowingly took the splash for me, right at the critical moment, at the precise position. It seemed like an accident, but it was such perfect timing, that it is hard to think it was just a coincidence. Of course I would sound stupid if I said the guy meant to shield me.


Now as I write I am somehow lead to be reminded of the cross where Christ Himself paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, and died for us, so we do not pay and suffer the wages of sin (romans6:23), but have eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. 


In my case, I did not even realised that I needed the protection until after it happened. This is the same for many of us. We do not realise that we ourselves are in sin, thus we do not see the need to be rescued. But God so loved the world, that even when we do not yet know His goodness, He reached out to us first, and give up his Son for our salvation. We need God's forgiveness and redemption because we cannot be righteous by our own strength. It is like trying to clean an oily pot with greasy rags. We will never get the job done. 

Personally I am going through some uncertainty, thinking about my job, my giftings and how these things will play out in my future, career and otherwise. Some things have happened that made it look like other people are getting undeserved favour while I am left behind. It just happened that I was talking to Christina about this, hours before this incident.


I think God uses things like that to make us think about how He is in control, and He sends help in His own time, and that He has a plan for every one of us, if we trust Him  with submission, and let him carry out His perfect plan.

3D-Coat

http://3d-coat.com/what-is-3dcoat/

3D-coat is an application that works on the principle of voxel-sculpting. It can take your model from the first bit of digital clay up to the textured, sculpted state that is ready for production. In other words you can create your model, sculpt, displace, and re-topo, create UVs, texture and even render your model, all in the one single application.

It is interoperable with Adobe Photoshop, preserving layer information on textures and transparency. It runs on all popular OS platforms (Linux, Windows and MacOs). It allows you to reorganise the topography of your sculpts, and even supports Disney's Ptex system. It also supports rendering with multiple lights (including area lights / ambient occlusion) right in the application.

There are professional node-locked and floating licences available, Non-commercial licenses, educational licenses as well as non-professional (hobbyists, elderly, unemployed) licenses.

There is also a friendly community and a good pool or learning resources on the website.

I'll definitely keep an eye out on the development of this product.

Interestingly enough the creators of this product has really strong Christian beliefs and principles. It is really encouraging to see Christian professionals successful where they are in their fields, and at the same time professing their beliefs in Christ.

Here's the write-up of the creator of the software: http://3d-coat.com/company/about-us/andrew-shpagin/

09 September 2011, Friday

Life in London - Take Two - Self-amusing statement


I sent an internal message to the Singaporean guys: "Guys, I have a lunch appointment today, so I have to dis-appoint you by not being able to join you for lunch today".


You can call it lame but I thought it was quite witty ;)


As I expected, nobody caught it. YC said intellectual jokes are not funny. Stupid jokes are. Hahaha... What can I say?

With the purchase of my new wireless Blue Track laser mouse, I was interested to find out how optical and laser mice work.

While going through this topic on How Stuff Works (http://www.howstuffworks.com/mouse4.htm), I learnt that CMOS stands for complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor.

09 August 2011, Tuesday

Life in London - Take Two - Going back to Singapore for a Week!

Finally the day is nearing, when I'll be flying back to Singapore the next day! Going to see my wife! :)


The company is extending our visa to November, so we need to exit the country and return again for the extension to take effect. 

So I'll be flying back to Singapore for a week, before going back to London again, till November.

The Meaning of "Sekali" and the Singlish Language

Today I happened to think of the word 'sekali', and wanted to look it up on Google. ;)

It's a malay word, but its crept into the Singlish vocabulary. I do not know if it's used in Singlish the same way its used in Malay. So I decided to find out.

So my search led me to Wikipedia's article about the Singlish language:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singlish_vocabulary

The word is pronounced as scar-ly, and I believe a lot of Singaporeans (especially non-Malays) wouldn't know its correct spelling.

The way 'sekali' is used in Singlish is to give the same meaning as: Lest, what if. Eg, "Sekali he dunno what to do then press the wrong button."

Christianity and Fengshui

For some reason I went to search the internet on apologetics. I came across topics of apologetics regarding cults, superstition, theories. 

This led me to think about Fengshui. I searched for "Christian and Fengshui" on Google, and here's a site I stumbled upon: http://journal.equip.org/articles/feng-shui

It gives a very detailed overview of Feng-shui, the origins and how it became widespread in the present day. Then it goes on to give a reason why the fundamental belief system that Fengshui is based on, is opposed to the biblical principles of God in the Bible. 

It is definitely a good read for people who want to find out whether Fengshui, as it is very widely believed, to be part of the chinese culture, a science, a practical set of guidelines for harmonious living, tradition or something else. It is also a good place to read it from a Christian context.

I remember thinking about this because I was reminded about a conversation I had with a few of my fellow Singaporeans who came over to London on this working trip with me. 

It looked like things were not going very well with me. Being genuinely helpful in their own way, they suggested many things I could do to "change my fortune", or "alter the course of my luck". Suggestions like "Don't continue to wear the dark-coloured clothings all the time, change to something bright and auspicious", or "re-arrange your furniture", etc.

They seem to think of bad aura or bad luck, are real forces, and doing things to change the outcome of circumstances with these tips are tried-and-tested to work. One of them is a Catholic. I asked to confirm if he was Catholic. He gave me a ridiculous look and said, "This whole thing about Fengshui, aura and luck is a totally different and separate. It has nothing to do with whether you are Christian or Catholic". He said it as if it was the simplest truth that even a child would know. I think he means that practising Fengshui and observing the principles of luck and practices to bring good fortune to oneself, is not a religion, and thus, not mutually exclusive to any existing religious beliefs that a person already holds.

Now I am not a Catholic (but my wife was, my parents-in-law still are). I cannot say I understand the Catholic teaching, however similar or different from Christianity it is. If they base their faith on the Bible, which is the Word of God, it should be opposed to luck, auras and Fengshui as well. I really pray that this person can get to understand the truth about the concepts of "luck", "good fortune" and the religion that he holds. 

Like many other practices we Singaporeans get involved in, many people (and Christians) attribute them to being part of tradition and culture, and are reluctant to stop practising them, even if they go against the principles of the word of God.

In the case of my friends genuinely trying to give good advice for my situation, I get the general idea of what they were saying. I think they mean that the way things were turning out unfavourably for me, was due to how I operate. Hence the logic of, if you keep using the same formula, you will keep getting the same result. That I can agree with. I believe that a more practical approach was to examine myself and see if there are things I can change about myself, to bring about a more positive result to my work and my life. 

Of course the most practical thing to do for Christians, but we always use it last, is to submit our anxiety to God, and give up our burdens to Him, in exchange for the peace in knowing that He guides our paths, and He is in control, at any point in our lives.

Dear Lord please help me be still and know that you are God. Quiet my anxious heart and raise my eyes to You. Remind me that You work all things for the good of those who love and obey You. Help me see through the eyes of faith, and see how You look at circumstances. Let me be satisfied in Your presence alone. Amen.

05 August 2011, Friday

Life in London - Take Two - A Response Message to a Situation


About a month ago, Raymond began to mention that he'll bring a French guy that he knew, to stay at our place. We figured it was just an acquaintance to him. 


Raymond did not ask us, but rather mentioned how he was going to accomodate the friend. He told us he was going to buy a bed for him, or some mattress. So some of us were wondering why Raymond did not ask us. Afterall the house is the company's property, and a person who is not a close friend staying in the house is a potential security risk.

Now we have 5 people staying in the house. Mengdi is going to move out this weekend, to stay with Skeel. However, a month ago, we didn't expect to have anybody moving out.

Last evening before he left the office, Raymond sent a message over our office machines, to the rest of the Singapoeran guys telling us that his friend will arrive at this day, and please say hi to him because he is a friendly guy.

At that point it looked like nobody was going to say anything despite all the worries we were having by ourselves, so I sent the following message to all of us, but addressed to Raymond.

"Mr Raymond, we must tell you that your friend, if he comes, you must remember we are living in company property. If anything he does intentionally or accidentally, results in any damage or loss to our personal property or the rented house which translates to company property, we are going to hold you accountable since you are vouching for him.

This is taking into account that all our doors do not have locks on them. It means if you let him into the house there is absolutely no way we can protect any of our belongings.

If we are not comfortable with any of his behaviour at any time, we will tell you and you must convey that message to your friend. If he does not agree to conform, then we reserve the right to stop him from staying at the house at any point.

You know that property was acquired for the purpose of housing dneg staff from Singapore so we can work here in UK. So the opinions and consensus of dneg staff (namely the 5 of us sg people) are very valid and will carry weight in decisions like setting house rules and such. You can let him conduct himself in any way you like, when he is in your room. However, if we are uncomfortable with any of his behaviour within any other parts of the house, we will expect you to keep him in check and make him conform.

This sounds like a nasty message. But we must have a baseline of agreement. You know we are not nasty people, and we are friendly. But we need to agree on worst-case scenario, when things happen. You can now laugh laugh say everything 'will' be alright. But we need to agree what will happen if he accidentally sets fire and burn half the kitchen away. Who is going to pay for damage. If he runs off with YC's and my laptop, fly back to France, forever uncontactable, who can we hold accountable? He is your friend after all, and we know NOTHING about him. You vouch for him, you pay for consequences.

Of course we hope for the best, but we must be prepared for the worst.

So are we in agreement with the above?

Patrick"

Raymond replied something like, "Yes, I agree. I will keep him in check if he misbehaves".

The message did sound a little formal, the way it was worded. But I believe it was necessary to bring home the worst case scenario, if things go wrong. That's to give Raymond something to think about.

Happens that the same morning before I wrote that message, YC and Francis have already been talking to Raymond about that. So my message was in fact reinforcing whatever they told him that morning. According to Francis and YC, Raymond insisted that he told us he had this friend who was coming over. The difference is that he told us by mentioning that the guy was coming over, but he did not ask if it we were fine with that idea.

24 July 2011, Sunday

Life in London - Take Two -Cast and Crew Screening of Captain America: The First Avenger

On Friday, 2 days ago, in a surprising announcement, we were told that there was to be a cast and crew screening of Captain America at the Empire Theatre at Leicester Square. So we got ourselves tickets for 5 of us from Singapore. 

The actual film will be released on 29th July 2011, but we get a cast and crew screening 5 days ahead of time. How awesome is that?? :)

The screening will start at 10am, but they will start letting people in from 8.30am. They said there would be security screening for people who enter the theatre.

YC, Francis and I arrived at Leicester Square at 8.15am. Mengdi left the house later than us. There were a few familiar faces hanging out in front of the Empire. Still too early to admit people, so we went to grab breakfast, at Macdonald's Leicester Square.

My breakfast: Sausage egg mcMuffin meal

The queue

I've gone to cast and crew screenings before, on Hellboy and 10,000 BC. So it wasn't new to me, but I still felt the same excitement. I am sure YC, Francis and Mengdi felt much more excited than me! :)

Everybody was given a pack of popcorns an a bottle of mineral water. We were still early when we entered the cinema. They had asked for us to surrender any device that was capable of recording images and sound. These were put in a zip-lock bag, tagged and a corresponding tag given to us. Just before entering the theatre, there was security with a hand-held metal detector to make sure we did not have electronics on us. After we were seated, we had to wait about 40 mins before the film started.

The show was quite entertaining and the visuals were quite well done. My name was on the credits! :) I was doing a bit of TD work for the film. The thing that surprised me, was the huge number of studios that worked on the film. If I am not wrong, Double Negative was the main vendor for visual effects.

From Facebook, I knew Alvin had gotten himself tickets to the screening as well, so I asked him for lunch after the show. We met up and decided to go Bodeans for lunch. This place was known for ribs, but we decided to go for their Prime Beef Burger.

Thats the Prime Beef Burger

Alvin's hotdog with all-beef sausage

Me and Alvin with a monkey painting behind us

More photos from the same week here: 

Finally, here are some more pictures of me and the movie posters at a tube station. (I think it was Balham tube station)

Helping to hold up the shield ;)

21 July 2011, Thursday

Life in London - Take Two - Going home late


Today's the first time I went home after 10pm. I left work at 10.45pm and rushed to Leicester Square Tube Station to take a Northern Line train to Kennington, and from there I change trains to Balham Tube Station.


From there I go up to Balham National Rail Station. I arrived at the platform at 11.27pm. Not all trains that stop here travel the same route. There are plenty of destinations that the trains go, Sutten, Tattenham Corner, Epsom, etc. Therefore, not all trains stop at Norbury, which is my intended destination.


The train that I was waiting for kept delaying. Before I knew it, many other trains passed, and the time was approaching midnight. I had waiting for 30 minutes without a train. People who waited for a while began to go back down, out of the station. 

So there I was stuck at Balham National Rail Station, fearing that the last train has passed. I explored the possibilities and how I could get home, or at least not get stuck in the middle of nowhere after all the transport has gone.


Norbury was just 2 stops from Balham, but this is the National Rail we're talking about. Distances are quite far compared to 2 tube stations. I could go back where I came from and spend the night at work, or I could try and look for bus stops and explore bus services. Maybe I could even hail a taxi, if they accepted card payment of course (I did not have a lot of cash on me). 

Worst case scenario would be for me to try and walk my way back, but now as I contemplate the distance between the two stops, it meant that I would probably have to walk along some highway or roads that are hardly lit.


So I approached an information kiosk, and spoke into the mic, asking for information on the next train to Norbury station. The man at the other side (yes there were still people working at that hour), he told me there would still be trains to Norbury. All I had to do was wait again. 


Finally the train came and I got up and arrived safely at Balham station. From there I had to walk about 10 minutes to get home. Even at a fast walk, it did take me about 10 minutes to reach. I arrived at home at 12.40pm.

18 July 2011, Monday

Life in London - Take Two - Awesome Invention with Pitta Bread!


Went home after work today, and I don't know what to eat. I looked through my stash. 

My stash at present

I had pita bread in the fridge, some Iceberg lettuce, an egg, a block of cheese and some hotdogs left over in a jar. The pita bread is empty inside, like a pocket. So I decided to stuff the pita bread with lettuce, hotdog. I beat my eggs and pour them into the pita. Then I put them into the oven. The pictures below show the process of cooking it, and eating it ;)

The bread cooking in the oven

10 July 2011, Sunday

Life in London - Take Two - I went on Google+

YC signed up for the Google+ preview almost a week ago, and 2 days later, I also signed up for it. A few days ago he got invited by Google and yesterday he invited me to Google+. 

So now I'm officially on Google+ while it is still not publicly released yet! :) So here's my bragging rights ;)

Willy Wong posted this on his Google+ so I snatched it too ;) 

8 July 2011, Monday

Life in London - Take Two - Shopping at Oxford Street

We went for Lunch today, buying food at Yoshino, a Japanese takeaway store that offers a large variety of sushi, and some hot Japanese food as well. I bought a 8-pieces pack of Mackerel Sushi from there.

We then went to St. Anne's Churchyard to consume our lunch.

My mackerel Sushi! Quite filling actually :)

After the food, we went to buy the cheapest coffee we know, from a very authentic Algerian coffee place that mainly deals with coffee beans and makes coffee too!

After work (and carrying my laptop in Raymond's bag), we went for dinner at Oodle Noodles. The food was not too bad, but it was more expensive than the food we always go for weekday lunch and dinner. Francis and Raymond did not find their food amazingly tasty. YC observed that the food was not as well done as it was when he was last in London.

That's me on the phone with my wifey!

Raymond decided to go for a drink with George, while Francis, YC and me took a stroll down Oxford Street. I "helped" Raymond carry his bag home (so I can start setting up my Dell laptop). We went to get a PC game from a store called Game. We bought Hunter: Demon's Forge. It was going for £29.90, but now had a special price of £14.98. We were thinking of selling it to a second-hand game shop after we're done playing.

The sales guy at the Game shop was really nice and chatty. He asked if I had higher than average hardware to play the game. I told him I just got a new laptop so it should not be a problem. He began to sound worried, and asked what kind of specifications my laptop was (because most laptops cannot compare to desktops in terms of processing and graphics processing power). I told him it was a Dell Studio XPS 15, which is a desktop replaecment. He said "Ok I will stop talking now, seems you know what you are doing". :)

I saw the game being assembled right in front of my eyes. The guy took an empty casing with the label, went somehwere else to grab the actual disc, and from elsewhere he grabbed the booklet that should come with the game, and then he closed the box and sealed the box with the special seal that comes with games. When YC and I opened the box at home to inspect the disc, we found that the surface was scratched. We suspected it was a second hand copy. But then again the game came with some one-time activation code for downloadable content, so it might not be second hand after all.

All the while we were in the Game shop, Francis was eager to move on to look for the Disney store. He was talking about the one at Covent Garden. But I remembered that there was one along Oxford Street. So we headed for the Disney store along Oxford Street. 

This toy really has strawberry scent if you push your nose to it :) Just like in the movie!

Life-size Captain Jack Sparrow! :)

After Disney we went to Primark to do some shopping! I bought a "Superman" wallet under the "Off season" section, for £2. I think it used to be £5 or £8.

Took this photo on my bed, when I got home

Yes, yes I know its childish but at £2, who could resist? ;)

I also bought a hoodie for.... £3!! It used to be £7, then it was £5, and now finally it's £3!

No Brighton bear, you can't fit into that hoodie.