Summary

Today met up with the translation group....quite funny pple, but in the end also took quite long. this is one hell of a time consuming module, estimate 9 + 5.5 hours already for 1 single assignment, although part of the 5.5 is bcoz we went OT too often...but still...fun leh


Got back too late, so didnt go out to get that Malay dictionary. Anywayz tonight need to settle 2102s and 2105 tutorials, and the 'findings' from today's meeting. Any leftover time must be devoted to cs3243 tutorial and XML content for cs2102s, I don't think 3 straight sleepless nights is possible although right now im most prob heading into my 2nd...

Mental check of some things that are now KIV: cs1280 lab due on 7th Feb morning, and the cs2105 webcast that i missed today

Summary of a day, and dateline scheduling

SQL commands, simple ones.

Had great lunch after that.

I met friends in java to c++ class.

During break, rain, forgot to bring windbreaker, was really cold.

Translation class is like usual, eye-candy, lame jokes and all

Sa-ma su-ka ber-mai-n catur.

(me recreation play chess)






Still don't have the time to do readings, but really it is just lack of discipline


Side note, I think I'm no longer so shy before girls......but the problem now, some of them may become quite afraid of me, lol.


Hard datelines:

Wed

1-4pm Translation meeting


Thu

10-12pm Database/Network tutorials
Java to C++ lab2 (due Feb 7)


Friday

11am AI tutorial

3pm XML meeting




Last note, if next week turns out to be really slack because of work done in this week, I will be quite happy. I really want to read my readings and go to AI class and XML meeting with superb preparation, for once!


Readings/Prep-to-do list:

0. CS1280

Lab2
Lecture 2: friends and other stuff that I cannot catch and must self-study, and try out included examples

1. CS2102S

*SQL

*XML


2. CS2105

*read that fancy textbook

3. CS3243

*#Searching
Breakthrough project init

4. CL3281

5. LAM1201

watch suria/malay news/channel 5 shows with malay subs (that mobtv subscription could really be useful this time round beyond maggi & me)
get a dictionary with example sentences
start a word/vocab book

* Inexhaustive, to be completed
# Indicates extra difficulty

刘蓓，关雨，张妃：我们不得不说的故事

这个标题适用于好几个不同类型的题材~~

1。历史恶搞 (女三国演义？三国题材确实很泛滥，不过如此BT的题材好像还未出现)
2。美少女偶像伦理 (LGZ三人转世来到现代并成为女性，与周遭的男性发生种种复杂并耐人寻味的关系)
3。成人类 (同上，不过内容方面能喝汤的尽量多喝，老子最讨厌在关键部分打马赛克的伪se文了)
4。社会反讽 (小市民生活另类写照，e.g. LGZ三人为交通所累，延误了前往SDU相亲的过程，此处增若干千字)


个人比较倾向[1]，无奈历史的部分难以驾驭，仅有恶搞不免流于低俗。[2]、[3]的文笔要求比较低，但老子近期内不爽写=。=。[4]在特定的情况下绝对可以有如行云流水般。。不过题材本身比较有局限性

embed audio test

Now....the song that is playing in the background (or using the plugin), is almost as old as I am, but still, just as good. Time flies by, leaving only memories...




6.鸿影

山也苍苍　路也茫茫
飞越无边的荒凉

＃星河悠悠　秋风萧萧
　吹落满怀的忧愁
　浪悠雪香河黄上
　曾披彩云冶晚风

Repeat ＃

＊但愿我像一只孤鹰
　天地任我翱翔
　看穿如鸿影　悲欢如烟云
　何须回首红尘

浪悠雪香河黄上
曾披彩云冶晚风

Repeat ＊

张国荣 拒绝再玩(国语)

Very popular in the eighties! Still popular now for those who remember
Was also featured in old SBC drama Mystery I (circa 1988), sang by Edmund Chen with different lyrics



作词:娃娃作曲:玉置浩二编曲:唐亦聪


戴上面具之后我紧紧抓诅的脚步
(我驾驭着风我向前直冲)
飞奔在都市中找一条自己的道路

在这都市之中有游戏规则需要阅读
(这个不要做那个不能说)
我一定要小心害怕跌入陷阱受苦

就这样我喜欢走八方的路
就这样我呐喊直到游戏结束
拒绝再玩(我不玩)不重复同样的错误

在都市丛林中我追逐也要被追逐
(有时要前进有时要逃避)
疲倦奔波以后我决定做一个叛徒

不管功成名就没有什么能将我拦阻
(我四处漫步我肆无忌顾)
狂傲的姿态中再也感受不到束缚

baby 我喜欢走八方的路
baby 我呐喊直到游戏结束

music

Public Transport in Sinkapore SUCKS!!!

(extremely bad language, read and laugh/cry and forget about it =.=)

Transport MINI STAR, U SUCK!!
SBS, U SUCK!!

everytime price hike, say nice only, say improve service, my ass! bcoz rising oil price neber sae! good service, my ass! bus arrive on time, my ass! public transport running under-capacity, my ass!

have U taken public transport before? seen those pple getting squeezed like sardines on mrt trains? 95? NO!! All u damn bastards noe is to sit in ur cosy office and line your pockets!! 1 million peanuts a year dunno how to spend rite? LIMPEH OSO DUNNO WTF U R GETTING SO MUCH 4 DOING SO LITTLE!! Touch your heart can?? or u just bunch of heartless bastards??

even 48 kenna today! today some big shot's grandfather die-ded issizt??!! or those spirits holding chingay session that us mortals cannot see??!! limpeh tek that bloody bas at 5pm, around 6pm still stuck at tekka, not even past golden landmark! later getonto highway, still stuck! tanjong katong exit, stuck for 4 ROUNDS of traffic lights! bcoz fakking cannot make right turn!! This is fucking incredible, you know???

Yah, world class city huh? my ass!! Only know how to compare with third world countries!

Breakthrough

Okay, this is part of my work for the cs3243 assignment, although I have setup-ed and compiled the given stub files, tbh I have yet to really study the question and think about what to do (aka doing the work), but so far I've spent some time playing the zog implementation and discovered some interesting things. The pieces behave like the pawns from chess....but it isn't really chess due to the different movement rules. As an avid chess player myself, I had no understanding of the defensive methods needed for this whole new 'board' game and lost most of the initial games without knowing what was really happening.

Now, pawn play in chess is a very involved subject that can span several books, books on chess I mean. There are two ways to look at pawns: as individual entities, or their collective structure. Mobility and structural integrity, dynamic and static considerations. There is also an element of central control in chess which is also relevant to breakthrough, but in a different way. Just like defence, the idea of central control is a little different in breakthrough; making 'central' moves do not necessarily result in actual control if structural integrity is not maintained.

Defence/Blocking:
Due to the rules of the game, the first player that sends a unit across the board, would be the winner. If there is such a thing as absolute blocking, the victory condition would be impossible to achieve, so defence is mostly just about blocking and delaying the opponent (since no blockade can be held indefinitely due to zugzwang, yet another important theme in chess). It takes at least two units to block a single unit, and there are several configurations.

Offence/Breakthrough/Combinations:
-more on this later-

"There are teachers and teachers? Teachers teachers everywhere?!"

So, it turns out that repetition in English can be used to achieve different purposes. While 'years and years' simply mean many many years, 'teachers and teachers' apparently fall under the category known as rhetorical devices using numbers, or pseudo-coordination?! I don't recall ever learning such things in English lessons back then, meh

Sources: http://jwc.hrbnu.edu.cn/jpk/jipinke2005/wanghuamin/My%20Webs/jiaoanjxuan.htm
http://books.google.com/books?id=HyBPcvrPg6cC&pg=PA39&lpg=PA39&dq=%22there+are+teachers+and+teachers%22+%22pseudo+coordination%22&source=web&ots=6-cxbpaJth&sig=B6D8yPwat4At1po9Emy_dJVGNzw

Top-level Semi-Slav brilliancy with novelty on move 12!!

Yeah...no love lost as the two ex-world champions refused to shake hands at both the start and conclusion of the game, but that did not prevent them from producing an amazing game. Corus 2008 had clearly been a Semi-Slav festival, but to throw a knight on as early as move 12 (and a novelty no less!) is simply jaw-dropping, even for a Toppy home preparation.



(as usual, subsequent commentary taken from chessdom.com)

Veselin Topalov - Vladimir Kramnik
Corus A, Wijk aan Zee 2008
Round 9
Wijk aan Zee
2008.01.22
Hello! Today we'll see the most expected game on this tournament - between Topalov and Kramnik. They have to decide a lot of personal questions behind the board. In interview for sportni.bg the manager of Veselin Topalov announced that today there won't be a handshake. After the scandal in Elista they've played just one game, finished draw. But it seems that both sides haven't forgot their mutual past. I hope there will be a good game. Enjoy!

1.d4 We were secretly hoping to see Topalov taking another aim at the Petroff defence. He was successful against Boris Gelfand in one of the earlier rounds.

1... d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 Topalov allows the open Moscow variation. Kramnik plays that with white and black, while it is not unknown for the Bulgarians since Cheparinov won a game in this line against Nepomnichtschi

6... dc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5 9.Be2 Bb7 10.O-O Nbd7 11.Ne5 Bg7 12.Nf7 A novelty!

12... Kf7 13.e5 Very fast sacrifice! We blinked and Topalov had already sacrificed a figure!..... All this added to the fact that THERE WAS NO HANDSHAKE promises an exciting game! Yet, a very bad example from two ex world champions.

13... Nd5 14.Ne4 Topalov's idea is to press Kramnik on the d6,c5,f6 points, with support by the bishop from h5 and the queen from g4. The move f4 will opn the black king. Ne4 is better than immediate Bh5+. Black king will be forced to move anyway, because of the Nd6+ threat. Therefore, white will save the tempo to move the bishop to a more convenient square

14... Ke7 15.Nd6 Qb6 A good choice. The queen will watch over 'e4' square, and will help c5 when needed. The rook from а8 will free the queenside and will help the kingside.

16.Bg4 Raf8 Anticipating Bxe6, with idea 17. Bxe6 Kxe6 18. Qg4+ Ke7 19. Nf5+ Rxf5 when black can probably hold.

17.Qc2 Sneaky surprise! Topalov wants to take on e6 and continue Qg6.

17... Qd4 18.Qg6 Qg4 Instead of looking for the sharpest lines, Kramnik is giving back material in order to solidify the king.

19.Qg7+ Kd8 20.Nb7+ Kc8 The material on the board is equal, but the weak black king will be a problem for Kramnik. Time might also be a factor, as Topalov has 54 minutes more.

21.a4 Better than immediate Nd6+ because it breaks the pawn fort on the queenside. 21...Kxb7 22. Qxd7+ Kb6 23. a5+ would be a bad outcome for black.

21... b4 Almost obligatory, as black has to keep the a-file closed. Now the c4 pawn is loosened up, but c4-c3 might be an important deflecting factor is Black's further attempts to defend the king.

22.Rac1 Going after the c4 pawn outright. Kramnik would love to play Qf5 with idea Rh7, but e4 and f5 are unavailable because of Nd6 fork.

22... c3!? Kramnik wants to close the c-file no matter what. Perhaps it was better to first see what would white do with his Queen after (22... Rfg8 23.Nd6+ Kc7 24.Qf7 Rf8 25.Qg6 Nf4!?)

23.bxc3 b3?! (23... Nxc3 was expected, but now e7 is available for white queen. 24.Qe7 Ne2+ 25.Kh1 Nxc1 26.Nd6+ Kc7 27.Rxc1 with idea Nb5+! and Qd6)

24.c4! Chasing away black's best piece. 24. Rb1 was also strong, idea would be Rb3, Nd6+ and Rb7...

24... Rfg8 25.Nd6+ Kc7 Kramnik is dangerously approaching to time trouble, while Topalov is still playing rather quickly.

26.Qf7! Rf8 Now that white queen is touching e6 pawn, white can slip 27. h3 Rxf7 28. hxg4 in, and both Nd5 and Rf7 are hanging. Unbalanced exchange with 27. cxd5 also looks promising.

27.cxd5!? (27.h3! Rxf7 28.hxg4 Nf4 29.Nxf7 Ne2+ 30.Kh2 Nxc1 31.Rxc1 was even easier win. Topalov wants to win in great style, by sacrificing his Queen. He still has to be very careful, though.)

27... Rxf7 28.Rxc6+ Kb8 29.Nxf7 Rh8 is attacked and dxe6 is coming next! b-pawn might be a Trojan horse, but Topalov has everything under control at the moment.

29... Re8 Natural aim in the time trouble - to save both rook and pawn. But Topalov can play Nd6 with tempo... (29... Rc8 30.dxe6! Rxc6 31.exd7 Qxd7 32.e6+ and game over...)

30.Nd6! Rh8 Kramnik can only sit and wait, at least until he reaches the time control.

31.Rc4! wins e6 pawn...Bg3 might be the final executor after e-pawns start rolling.

31... Qe2 32.dxe6 Nb6 33.Rb4 Ka8 34.e7 One of the many ways to finish this game of. 34. Rb3 was also perfectly fine.

34... Nd5 35. Rxb3 Nxe7 36. Rfb1 looks like a best.

35.Rxb3 Nxe7 36.Rfb1! Nd5 Kramnik is desperately trying to cover c7 square, as Nb5-c7+ was threatening.

37.h3 h5 38. Nf7 and 39. e6 might be deadly because of mate threat on b8.

38.Nf7 Rc8 39.e6! a6 40.Nxg5 h4 41.Bd6! Topalov will solidify with Rb7, e7, Nf3, probably exchange one pair of rooks and go for promotion. (41.Bxh4 was also good, although 41... Nc3 42.Rc1 Qd2 43.Rf1 might still cause technical difficulties.)

41... Rg8 R2b3 and e7 are coming in any move order, because Queen can't protect the knight after capture on e7. Immediate Rxg5 is also not a threat since white has mate with Rb8 and Rab7....

42.R3b2!! Qd3 43.e7!! The threat is Rb8+ and e8Q after the rooks exchange. 43....Nxe7 44. Bxe7 is dead lost.

43... Nf6 44.Be5!! Nd7 45. Ne6 with Nc7+ and Rb7 checkmate. It s amazing how fast Topalov played this game! He spent only 75 minutes up to now!

45.Ne6 Kramnik resigned as there is no escape from the mating net! Wonderful game by Veselin Topalov, only two days after the painful defeat from Anand and all distractions around the Short-Cheparinov incident! This game is serious competitor for the brilliancy prize. Thank you everyone for following the live commentary, see you again tomorrow at 13:130 CET!

1-0

Aftermath of "shakehand-gate"

Short, Nigel - Cheparinov, Ivan
Corus-B 2008
Round 8
Wijk Aan Zee
21.01.2008


(subsequent commentary by GM Dimitrov, courtesy of chessdom.com)

This game was suspended on move 1. The reason was Short's protest that his opponent did not comply a recommendation of the Presidential Board of FIDE, still awaiting approval from the FIDE Congress. The Appeals Committee ruled out that after written apology by Cheparinov is submitted, the game should be played today. This encounter already accumulated significant emotional charge, so we may expect an uncompromising fight.

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.Be3 Be6 10.Nd5 Nbd7 11.Qd3 Bxd5 12.exd5 Rc8 13.c4 After an initial delay, the game finally is resumed.

13... a5 Both opponents played rapidly the opening moves. Najdorf variation in Sicilan Defense which we've seen on several occasions in this tournament in Topalov's games with similar positions.

14.Kh1 A new move, as far as I know. (14.Rac1) took place in most of the games in this line.

14... Re8 Standard setup with Bishop going to 'f8' in order to potentially take control of the 'e' file.

15.Rad1 Bf8 It is hard to distinguish the last two moves of Short as a part of some plan. More likely he is not quite familiar with the position, hence his cautious approach.

16.Nd2 g6 Having prevented White's activity on the Queen-side, Cheparinov improves the position of his Bishop.

17.b3 After (17.Qa3 Bg7 18.Qxd6 Bf8) the Queen is trapped.

17... Bg7 18.a3 Short is clearly provoking Black to play 'e4'.

18... h5 After 18...e4 19.Qb1 Qe7 20.Rfe1 Black pieces lack coordination, so Cheparinov attempts to create some weaknesses near the White King before changing the central pawn structure.

19.f3 b6 20.b4 axb4 21.axb4 e4 As Short was already prepared to mount his Knight on 'e4', Black sacrificed a pawn to activate all his pieces.

22.fxe4 Ne5 23.Qb3 Neg4 24.Bg5 pinning the 'Nf6' seems best.

24.Bg5 Qd7 After 25.h3?! Nxe4 26.Nxe4 Rxe4 27.Bf3 Re5 28.Bf4 Bf8 Black is fine.

25.Qb1 Ra8 26.h3 Nh7 27.Bf4 Ne5 28.c5 bxc5 29.bxc5 Reb8 After a forced variation started by 26.h3 Short consolidated and is a healthy pawn up. (29... dxc5 30.Bb5)

30.Qc2 dxc5 31.Qxc5 Rc8 32.Qe3 (32.Qb5) to trade the Queens had its merits as well.

32... Nf8 33.Qg3 Qe8 34.Bb5 Unblocks the 'e5' square in case of 34...Qxb5.

34... Qe7 35.Nf3 Nxf3 36.Qxf3 Rc3 37.Rd3 Raa3 38.e5 Before Black reestablishes the blockade.

38... Rxd3 39.Bxd3 Nd7 40.e6 fxe6 41.Qe2 The time control is passed and Short has winning advantage.

41... Nf8 42.Bc4 Rc3 43.dxe6 Rxc4 44.Qxc4 Qxe6 45.Qxe6+ Nxe6 46.Be3 The exchange sacrifice was Cheparinov's best chance to save the game.

46... Nd4 47.Kg1 Nf5 48.Bc5 Bishop v. Rook in this structure is draw, while Knight v. Rook is easily lost.

48... Be5 49.Re1 Bc3 50.Re4 Kf7 51.Kf2 Bf6 52.Ra4 Ke6 53.Ke2 Kf7 54.Bf2 Short attempts to secure his King a route to a more central position.

54... Ke6 55.Kd3 Kf7 56.Ra7+ Ke6 57.Ra6+ Kf7 58.Ke4 Bb2 59.Rc6 In order to win, Short has to figure out how to transfer his Bishop to 'e5'

59... Bg7 60.Be1 Bf6 61.Bc3 Bh4 62.Be5 Bg5 63.Ra6 Bh4 64.Bf4 Bf6 (64... Be1 65.Ra7+ Ke6 66.g4 hxg4 67.hxg4 Ne7 68.Bg5 Bb4 69.Ra6+) Now after 65.g4 hxg4 66.hxg4 Nh4 67.Kd5 White gets to the 'g6' pawn.

65.g4 hxg4 66.hxg4 Ng7 67.Be5 Be7 68.Kd5 (68.Bd6 Bf6 69.Kd5) +-

68... Ne8 69.Ra7 Nf6+ 70.Bf6 Kf6 71.g5+ Kf7 72.Re7+ Very good game by Nigel Short, where he got an early advantage and in the end finished nicely a difficult endgame. See you tomorrow with the games of round 9 of Corus 2008 live on Chessdom!

1-0

tutorial balloting

Almost perfect except for cs3243 tutorial (an extra hour break incurred by the second choice slot) and the cs2102s recitation which is bound to be cancelled due to system screw-up. At least I can look forward to lacklustre mondays, psuedo break on wednesdays and early fallout on fridays.

You have been successfully allocated the following discussion group/tutorial/laboratory classes in this round of exercise:
CL3281 TUTORIAL DO2
CS2102S RECITATION 1
CS2102S TUTORIAL 5CS2105 TUTORIAL 6
CS3243 TUTORIAL 2
LAM1201 TUTORIAL TYPE 2 TB2
LAM1201 TUTORIAL TA6

The following classes are not allocated to you due to the following reasons:
CS3243 TUTORIAL 1 (No more vacancy in class)

Yet another chess scandal

So now you know, that much can be said about a game that ends 1. e4 c5 1-0
http://www.chessdom.com/corus-chess-2008/short-cheparinov-live

ZB: 巴士服务大改革 所有路线由政府规划

Sounds like good news, but won't really benefit from it anytime soon. Furthermore, if cost is the main cause that resulted in the current frequencies, I fail to see how this can be magically improved with the intervention of the gahmen, unless commuters have been taken for a ride (hah hah) all along!

（2008-01-19）

　　本地巴士路线网络将进行大整合，集中交由陆路交通管理局重新规划，以便同地铁服务和道路网路发展更紧密结合，为乘客提供衔接无间的公共交通服务。

采竞争性投标方式

供业者经营路线

　　此外，政府也将逐步开放基本巴士服务市场，采用竞争性的投标方式，把有利可图和盈利较低的路线“捆绑”起来供业者投标经营，以借此提高业者之间的竞争性和效率。

　　在新运作模式落实后，现由两大业者经营的250多条巴士路线可能出现“大洗牌”（经营权重组）的情况，日后还可能会有新的竞争者。

　　交通部长林双吉昨早为陆交局设在翰莎路总部的新展厅“陆路交通之旅”主持开幕时，宣布了酝酿一年多的陆路交通检讨工作的第一部分结果。

　　其中最令人瞩目的是要彻底改变巴士路线的规划与经营方式。

　　巴士路线向来是由业者自行规划，并根据商业考量向公共交通理事会提出申请经营某些路线，而理事会在接获乘客反馈后，也会向业者建议开辟新路线。

　　西北部地区包括武吉巴督、武吉班让、蔡厝港、三巴旺、兀兰和义顺的巴士服务主要是交由SMRT负责经营，其他地区则全归新捷运负责，两大网络基本上是“各自为政”。

　　林双吉指出，要加强巴士和地铁服务之间的结合，就需把整个公共交通系统视为一体来规划和运作，而不是分开管理。

　　他说，目前由于两个业者是按照所负责的地区来自行规划路线，因而造成全岛250多条路线中，仅有35%是每隔10分钟内川行一趟，有的间隔时间甚至超过半小时。

　林双吉说：“巴士是公共交通系统不可或缺的部分，每天的乘客量相等于总运输量的三分之二，如果巴士服务明显逊色于地铁，整个公交系统将受牵连，乘客也会受罪。”

　　因此，政府决定在明年底之前，让陆交局担任中央规划巴士网络的任务，而公共交通理事会则会继续负责监督巴士网络和服务素质。

　　他说：“巴士路线统一交由陆交局规划将让乘客受惠，因为我们是把整个系统视为一体来规划，乘客有望享有更衔接无间和更方便的车程。例如，以后支线服务会更快捷，方便乘客直透转换站或地铁站。”

　　接下来一年里，陆交局将同所有相关人士包括交通业者共同商讨，决定如何落实中央巴士路线规划及竞争性投标的新模式。

将大刀阔斧提升

巴士车速和服务

　　此外，当局也将大刀阔斧提升巴士车速和服务，及提供更多实时信息，方便乘客更好规划行程。

　　这包括改以车程距离来计算所需支付的车资、增设更多普通和全天巴士道、强制规定驾车者让路给开离巴士站弯道的巴士等。

　　从明年8月起，业者在平日繁忙时段须确保至少80%的车队出车的间隔时间（headway）不超过10分钟，而不是目前每隔15分钟开出一趟。
　　陆交局也将确保支线巴士服务更为频密和直透，转换站的巴士和地铁服务班次也会更好地协调，以缩短乘客候车时间，方便人们转车。

　　林双吉说：“到了2015年，我们的目标是希望80%的公共交通乘客能在一个小时内完成车程，比现有71%的比例高。”

　　本地公路网络目前已占用了12％的土地总面积，而相信接下来人们对陆路交通系统的需求将飙升60%，每天进行的车程预料将从现有的890万趟次，激增到2020年的1430万趟次。

　　这项影响深远的陆路交通检讨工作的大目标，是要到2020年把上午繁忙时段的公共交通趟次从63%增加到至少70%，如果以总车程趟次来计算，增幅相当可观。

　　当局也将在接下来两个星期内，先后宣布有关扩大地铁网络和汽车需求管理的新措施。

Lol...

this is my senseless but academia-friendly blog, basically this means I can post crap here that I don't mind anyone from nus reading, wee~!