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I believe a lot of people have faced the much dreaded Rising Straw Problem when the bubbles in a soft drink causes the straw to rise automatically and in turn strange evasive actions can be seen around the dinning table. I am glad to announce that this major problem during social meals have been solved.

The above diagram illustrates the strategic position a straw should take when inserted into a normal fizzy can drink. If this tip have helped you in anyway, pls send your donations to nickpan and tell all your friends about it. Together we can solve all the world’s problems.

Being my last semester here in Perth, it means selling off everything including the car. If you have the intention to buy a modest & humble student car which have served me well for the past two years, do drop me a email or comment.

I’m going into a transition phase now, the strange sadness of every step in uni is like a volunteering conscious dejavu. Every view is like deserving sweet memories and I’m trying to grasp hold on to them tightly knowing that my life and this place of education for me will never be like this anymore. Standing at this crossroad, not wanting to move forward, I’m like a silly cat holding onto a ball of paper afraid of loosing something dear. I still have to make a choice and the new phase in my life would still have to unfold.

I’ve short listed a few paths that I might want to take in the next stage of my life and this dreaded anxiety to make a committed choice is haunting me with possible regretful thoughts later in my old age. Although I’m 26 this year, I feel young and old at the same time. Young in a sense because I’m just stepping out of my education life and have yet to really start living my life. And old in a sense as I’ve yet to achieve or contributed anything at all, not knowing how much time I really have left.

I’ve short-listed a few paths that I might want to take and they are as follows:

Business – If I’m gonna be a businessman, the main aim would be to earn lots of money so that I can have the freedom to actually do what I want, but the means to earn those money would be mainly accredited to goodwill and integrity. At the same time, I would like to be a positive influence to my staff and be the kind of boss that is like a friend and establish a sort of kinship with their families.

Academic – If I’m successful to make it in the business world, I’ll very much like to use the experience that I have gained to teach and be an influence to the younger generation. And when not teaching, I would love to do research and introduce concepts to try and improve society in anyway that I can.

Web Developer – I’ve always enjoyed being in a team of passionate individuals who take work as play and get paid while doing it. Life can be a blast when projects are completed and when the team hangs out as friends.

Internet Advocate – The Internet culture and sub-cultures are way too cool. I’m hoping to follow the footsteps of my web heroes.

If you know me, I would love to hear your advice.

yeah! All my assignments are handed in and I’ve only got the exams to worry about now, but I suddenly got a desire to do a thesis. Although I might not need to do a thesis, I came up with 2 topics which I find are worth going into. Steal my ideas if you want, but do send me a copy once your paper is published or if you have seen similar papers, do let me know.

Thesis idea #1

Anarchy in Technological Standards

Most IT people would know for a fact that standards would be the key for the implementation of any technology to a needed critical-mass for achieving economies-of-scale, hence eventually benefiting society on a whole. Only with agreed standards across competing vendors would technology evolve and allow technological reliant products or services to survive longer in the market. Consumers would then be able to finally enjoy a longer life span of the products that they have purchased. The current outlook is that every technology provider is trying to capture the market by marketing their product as the next big thing, but with conflicting interests between competing vendors the industry is in a state of anarchy.

This paper would discuss the parallel between the way a government runs a country with the key intention of bringing prosperity to the country and the way in which IT vendors wish to bring reliable technologies to consumers. The paper would also explore the possibility to establish a governing body for standards and introduce the concept of voting for technological providers to run this governing body for a predefined period just like a government’s “term-in-office”. This paper also aims to put into perspective that anarchy in the IT industry is hindering the evolution of future technology.

Thesis Idea #2

Answering in Exams: writing or typing

Most university students have written essays and reports using a computer and submitted their work either electronically or on crispy clear laser print outs, but when it comes to exams, their traditional writing stamina and skills are put to the test. Are exams about handwriting, spelling and grammar or assessing the level of knowledge after a semester of study.

This paper explores the advantages and disadvantages of using keyboard entry in contrast to writing in exams while exploring issues regarding the implementation of such an option for students and exam markers alike.

In singapore, why no one use the term “Suburb”? I think that the term really rocks and make people feel more… somewhat… like can identify themselves with their area better. Okay so next time when you want to ask someone where they live, say “Which suburb do you live in?”, well i’m a katongitte.