~mumbles~

ooo itx been five dayz...
nothing much to say...
prog notes are doing MUCH better.
exam in 8 DAYS!!!
imma start a new blog...

~in.addition~

oh yes.
before i forget, i added in a choc-load of posts from my sch blog.
and this post makes it 100 POSTS!!! :D
yes! finally an achievement!
***ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: CENTENARIAN!!!***

~blehz~

another week is coming to an end.
and yet i have achieved nothing as pertaining to my dip.
i did meet the prog notes teacher,
and he spammed lotsa things i nid to change.
but i havent.

i havent done history
i havent done prog notes
i havent prepared for recital
i havent practised my viola
i havent completed my portfolio
i havent accomplished anything

i cant go on like this.
yet the Lord says:
"Do not fear, for I am with you;
do not anxiously look about you,
for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
surely I will help you,
surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."  
Isaiah 41:10


wow.
a verse that is reallyyyy applicable.
indeed, God is love.
indeed.
nao i'd better get to doing my stuffz or i will nvr get done...

~fonting~

today was rather dull in my opinion.
the ids thingy was kinda draggy, mainly cuz i've learnt all those topics already:
kinematics, motion, velocity & acceleration, muscles, respiration & ATP, material engineering, basic introduction to steroids.
i really hope i wont mess up this round of ids.
i got onli 3 pts for the last one....

im spamming fonts so if you havent seen my profile go and see it here.

~life~

today was not very eventful.
ms choh had a small assembly wif us sec 2 ispark.
she has certainly made some people more motivated to work hard. *sigh*

str orch was okay, i guess.
i feel extremely tired.
im might actually go to sleep early today.
piano exam in 3 wks...must get around to practising.

tom daley is awesome. srsly.
one of the most insane youth athletes i have ever seen.
you got that right. insane.
go search him on google or sth.

~musings~

so i herd imma retry to keep my blog alive.
and so i herd there is an sms feature for blogging
which i may utilize to post.
imma export some of my posts from the other blog into this one so it doesnt seem so empty...

school is messy.
the new ace/op system is totally ridiculous.
obviously the old system was way more practical and possible.
i think half the sec 2 cohort is in 3Q1-3Q6 next yr.
blehhhh.

sabs next wk so imma have a wk-long break fm hmwk!! :D (yes!)

topic of the wk: i have an addiction to...
cave story
fontstruct
colourlovers
facebook
djmax
nao: blogger! :D

~my.take//dbs.banking~

This is my true take on the recent DBS banking problem.

When it was revealed that the cause of the DBS banking shutdown was merely a technical fault due to expired computer parts, I had nothing to say. It was human error, and since technology moves so fast nowadays something that came out a few months ago could be rendered void within the next week. However, this does alert us because the banking system is widespread across Singapore.

The major concern with incidents such as this is that instead of a mechanical fault it was the work of an opposition country, terrorist group or pranksters. Instead of the system of a single banking company going down, it could be the entire economic system of Singapore. Everything would be affected. Credit cards, ez-link cards, ATMs, online banking et cetera would all go dead. Retail outlets would be unable to operate. Stock markets would fail. The impact would be long and hard.

An even more horrific scene would be that the electronic structure of Singapore is invaded. This would cut off all electric supply to the entirety of Singapore, leading to chaos and problems occurring everywhere. It would pose major problems for security. The simplest of all mechanical faults has shown us that such a thing is possible even with today's standards of technology.

In addition, computer hacking is a crime without enemies: it is impossible to find the perpetrator. In 2007, South Korea's internet system was subject to hacking. Although the main internet network was not disrupted severely, the hacker was able to retrieve confidential government emails and information. A report on the hacking identified 86 possible IP addresses coming from 16 countries; however, their prime suspect North Korea was not amongst the list. Without any evidence, they were unable to request any country to do a detailed investigation regarding this; if they were to request that of all 16 countries, their expenditure would be way more than their loss. Anybody with a computer, internet access and sufficient computer knowledge could possibly hack into a network.

All in all, apart from our government taking extreme care when handling its internet security and reducing co-reliance on internet systems, we can also regularly change our password. This is to prevent our computers from being used as a tool to cause massive disruption, and thereby to prevent ourselves from being the framed party of hacking.

~my.take//judicial.punishment~

My current affairs role aside, this is my true take on judicial punishment in Singapore.

Judicial punishment refers to the act of punishment as carried out by a court or similar judicial system. Specifically in Singapore, this refers to the act of caning as a form of judicial corporal punishment. In my opinion, the main reason why Singapore would continue to do such a thing as opposed to signing the Humans Rights Act is because Singapore has to show that, although it is a small country, it is still an independent and stable country, and has its own set of ideals instead of jumping onto an international bandwagon. Certainly this is acceptable in some cases, such as perhaps a murder or rape incident committed by a foreigner on Singapore ground.

However, I do feel that such a painful and scarring act should not be inflicted upon a criminal of a minor offense. Certainly in this case Oliver Fricker did not deserve the caning (neither did Michael Fay a few years ago). The main crime he committed was vandalism of the SMRT train. This action is easily reversible and is not a show of violence. It does not directly inflict harm on anybody either. However, he was still given three strokes of the cane and sentenced to five months jail (now possibly nine months). Indeed, a jail term of nine months would seem more appropriate to vandalism and trespassing, but the caning seems disproportionate to the crime that he had committed. This is also similar to the Michael Fay incident, where vandalism was also the main crime.

The effects of caning are not only the immediate physical and mental discomfort, but also the lifelong scar and reminder of his childishness. While this may be an effective method of deterrence both to him in the future and to others, it is only one of many punishment possibilities. Yes, I know that during the CA session I mentioned that other alternatives such as jailing and corrective work order turn up to be largely ineffective, and fines are too mere an effort to be considered as punishment for vandalism. Still, there are various combinations of methods that could work out as plausible alternatives. For example, counselling in combination with jailing could be a humane and mentality-directed method to curb the recurrence of the criminal actions. It is definitely more effective to sort somebody's thinking straight than to repeatedly cane him.

Judicial punishment in Singapore today seems like an effective way to drive off investors and possible foreign talents due to the strict law regulations in Singapore. If a young graduate fresh out of university were to think rationally, he probably would not choose Singapore as a work arena because one little slip would cost him his entire life. (Of course there are other reasons but I'm not going into that.) Is it alright to sacrifice the chances of foreign talents choosing Singapore over other industrialized countries just to show how Singapore doesn't tag along with other countries?

In conclusion, obviously caning should be used for extremely serious offences, but really, can vandalism be counted?