A Cookie's Life

Warning: This is mostly a crappy blog. Crappers and crap-accepting folks alike: Welcome! To all others: Warning. Danger! Keep Out! Read On At Your Own Risk! The author shall by no means be liable for any damage caused directly or indirectly, implicitly or explicitly as a result of the reading of the contents of this blog.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Strange Engineering Logic

Yesterday, I was in the computer lab doing my Computer Aided Design (CAD). After I asked the professor to vet through my assignment so as to declare it as done, this interesting conversation took place...

[After some discussion and grading of Glass Cookie's CAD assignment for the day...]

Prof: So, are you Singaporean, or are you Indonesian?

GC (somewhat taken aback at the abrupt switching of topics, but later convinced himself that he should get used to such a question, considering its frequency): Erm...

GC's thoughts (interrupting within a few seconds): Hmmm, looks like it's another +1 to the Indonesian category [Fyi, GC's nationality/race has usually been mistaken to be one of the following (all but Singaporean, sadly): Indonesian, Korean, Japanese, Hong Konger, Eurasion... etc.]

GC (continuing, after a short pause after GC's thoughts interrupted): I'm... Singaporean? [well, GC didn't exactly retort back a question. Rather, it was more like his expression was such that he tried to convey a question about how the prof came with that conclusion]

Prof: Oh, I see. You see, because I don't hear any singlish coming from you, I thought you're probably Indonesian or something.

GC's thoughts: Huh? That's... new...

GC (trying not too reveal that it felt/seemed/'logic-ed' strange to him): Oh, OK.

And with the above taking place, perhaps to establish my nationality, I should consider asking him in this manner, "Eh... prof, you know hor, I finish this question already leh. So, you come see and mark, can? See got anything wrong or not? Thank you ah..."

And of course, just in case you thought that the engineering prof who was there in the lab had some strange logic, well, that's not exactly the main gist of this post. Well, if you noticed at the start of the post, I mentioned that I was doing CAD (ie. usage of computers to create 3d models for prototyping). That was actually one out of three modules that I have to do for this crappy school term in order to come up with a physical "engineering innovative design" (EID - the name of this crazy project) prototype. The other two modules are Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD, using computers to solve for aerodynamic flows over an object) and Non-Destructive Testing (NDT, techniques used to scan for cracks without having to damage the component being tested, through surface dyes, x-rays, ultrasonics... etc). And yup, for 5 whole weeks (OK, maybe not 5 whole weeks considering that I have an audition at the end of this month. Perhaps 5 days less of 5 weeks), I have to be in school to go through these 3 modules and meet with my group to discuss as to how to create some prototype of some sort, which in my opinion, is a total waste of time and exploitation of students. Hmmm, just in case I end up talking about my grievances instead of the original intended content of this post, I'd better get back to the topic...

As I was saying (or rather, typing), considering that my group came up with the idea of improving the current powder dispensing machine for drinks, and that the three modules have got to be applicable (I mean, why else would they teach something totally unrelated and non-applicable to students for this EID project, right?), I tried to reason the rationale of having these 3 modules. And after some thought with the help of the crappy side of me, I came up with the following flow of thoughts/conclusions:

- These three courses must be applicable considering that those big guys at the top, being part of engineering college and hence deduced as logical people supposedly, decided upon them.

- In engineering, I have been thought that the stages of design are: concept, design (CAD), analysis of design (CFD), and then the prototyping. In aer*space, maintenance is also required, and detection of defects for maintenance is done via NDT.

- The only possibility of these 3 modules applicable and used is such that: 1) The dispensing machine would be modeled with the help of computers using CAD. 2) Following that, analysis of the aerodynamics and performance of the dispensing machine at around Mach 1 or beyond would be done with the help of computers (considering that I was taught turbulent flow in CFD and you need high enough a velocity to reach turbulent flow). 3) After all that is done, we take the prototype and send it flying at that kind of speed to test the accuracy of the CFD analysis. 4) Finally, NDT is used to test for any cracks or defects that might have occured due to the harsh conditions experienced by the prototype.

Thought: I hope the poor dispensing machine would be able to last its maiden voyage...

posted by Glass Cookie @ 9:32 PM 



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List Of My All-Time Big Stunts In M&D

30 Jul 2006 - When Silence Is Golden 2
It's funny how history repeats itself in a different form. This time, I minimised the volume of the keyboard to zero to try out a new song "I believe in miracles". And for yet (again, miraculously, ironically) another bizarre reason that I know not of, I actually turned the volume up WITHOUT knowing - and CONTINUED practising. Somehow the amplifiers were turned off by the sound guys (probably a safety measure against stuntmen like me?) until they could finally silence it no more and suddenly, out of the nowhere (oh, sorry, that would be the keyboard) came a loud note that penetrated the silence. I jerked in shock (very obviously). And yes, once again it's during the announcement time when silence is definitely golden.



04 Jun 2006 - Time and Congregation Waits For No Man
It was another faithful day in church, playing the keyboard for morning service, 9 and 11 a.m. After the 2nd service praise & worship session, it so happened that no one else could make it for the closing song. Well, since I was pretty free, I was asked to play it. So, I went down, charted out the chords, practised the piece in the tabernacle. On my way up the stairs, the first thought in my mind was: "Hey, it's so crowded. I need to get up the stairs. Now, how do I queeeeeze my way through?". The second thought in my mind was: "Hey, why is there a crowd coming down at this time? ... ... ... NOOOOOO!!!!!!" Man, time passes fast when you're practising the piano in church, and painstakingly slowly when it comes to exam pieces.



[No date] When Silence Is Golden
It was during the announcement, when pastor was giving out announcements before the offering song. Silence was observed as the pastor spoke. I retracted my hand from the score folder beyond the keyboard. For some amazing reason, my hand retraction path headed for the keys of the keyboard. And since the word 'fast' to describe the retraction rate was an understatement (for yet another reason I know not of)... you know the rest of the story.



[No Date] When Silence Is... Anything But Golden
Hmmm... once the amplifier on my side was switched off for some reason during praise & worship. And for some other reason that I know not of, I thought that the keyboard sound couldn't be heard. So, I tried pressing some keys. Didn't hear anything - drums were too loud. I proceeded to bang some keys repeatedly until... hmmm... I thought I heard something. Oh oh... ONLY my amplifier was turned off. (Note: Instrument: Brass sect 1, volume - max.)




List Of Other Small Stunts/Experiences In M&D

Fastest Fingers First
As a keyboardist, one usually comes into contact with different instruments within the same piece. It usually varies from strings, brass, violin to organ sounds. The funny thing is that sometimes, it is possible that your mind suddenly goes blank, and when the next instrument is required, I go "Oh no, what's the number combination for brass???!!! Wait wait wait wait...". And as usual, time and tide waits for no man. No. More accurately, a drummer waits for no number-fumbling keyboardist. Yea, that's the description man. Solution (ok, this is not a solution but an undesired consequence): Play a brass part with strings, or an organ part with brass, or none at all.



Cold Fingers
Usually, the atmosphere in the sanctuary is very cold to me. Sometimes, the atmosphere in the sanctuary is deep-freeze cold. Under cold or colder conditions, the fingers may or will harden and lose its dexterity. Then again, stuff could still be played, however stiff the fingers may be (with diminishing quality). Solution? Rub them while resting, or else, take off one playing hand and rub it vigorously without catching too much attention. I mean, what else can i do? I remove both hands when I need them ON they keyboard!!! Oh, I missed out that hand-clapping would be a sure kill to whatever heat you may have desperately tried to generate.



Record Breaker
Well, each week CD-RWs and envelopes used to contain the scores passed to musicians would be recycled. They are returned back to the musician's basket in the metal cabinet so that they can be used again. Of course, each time a person would return his/her envelope and CD used the previous week. Well, just somewhere in the 3rd week of June 2006 I returned a record holding of (prehaps of all-time in Lighthouse Evangelism's 16 years of establishment) of 9 envelopes with 3 missing somewhere at home. Oh well, you can't really blame me cause for the first time in my life, I saw the word "envelope" in the sms reminder about recycling. Or at least I would like to think so, about my first time noticing that word (fingers crossed).



Stubborn Pedal
Do you have any idea what it is like to have a pedal refusing to budge when moved with your feet, only to exceed its ideal position when you decide to set your adjusting strength to "brutal level". At that kind of rate, it just never gets to the position that you want it to be. Last resort: Bend down and move it with your hand just before the drummer starts his 4-beat intro to the next song.



Moving Pedal
Amazingly, although the pedal refuses to budge when you want it to, somehow it also refuses to stay in the spot when you want it to. And the more you pedal, the further it gets away from you no matter how you position your foot. And in extreme cases you may find yourself almost starting to slouch or slip from your seat, not that the keyboardist seat is any immobile than the pedal to begin with. Solution: Try to kick it back (this is the time when the above experience suddenly comes in again). Just what's with the pedal, I wonder?



Confession...
Take a look at the following score:

=)

Well, since strings sound somewhat soft, and somewhat muffled such that demisemiquavers are not to distinct, and considering it does take up time and there are 5 other pieces to go, and considering this is but 2 bars in a 100 bar piece, and considering blah blah blah... sometimes I play just a note. (OK, most of the time, happy?) Hey, I'm not the only keyboardist around guilty right? Someone tell me I'm not the only one... pleeeese....



Lame Invention List + Misc

Inventions
- Metal-coated tea bag to help with the sinking (Edmund Lum)

- Sound-powered telephone (Edmund Lum)

- Sound-powered telephone (Edmund Lum)

- Plug-in phones for plugging into a payphone to call - unable to recieve call. However, 10 cents will still be needed and you pay your monthly phone bills as usual (Edmund Lum)

- A clean dirt-free rubbish chute (Edmund Lum)

- A touchpad keyboard similar to the touchpad on a laptop, with letters on it (Edmund Lum)

- USB-portable touchpad (Edmund Lum)

- A square CD for better storage (Edmund Lum)

- Battery-powered book (Edmund Lum)

- Disposable dustbins (Edmund Lum)

- A "short circuit" switch that help save electricity when there is nobody at home (Edmund Lum)

- A white/black highlighter (Edmund Lum)

- Safety deposit box made of pure diamond for hardness. It is transparent to allow better visual of objects within it (Edmund Lum)

- An optic mouse combined with a decorated ball placed inside like an old-school mouse to allow any surface usage (Edmund Lum)

- DIY handphone to cut cost (Edmund Lum)

- A plastic knife - no rusting and it is lighter (Edmund Lum)

- Quick dry glue, only 0.2 sec of dry time (Edmund Lum)

- Doorless toliet for faster access (Edmund Lum)

- A pen with wider pen hole to prevent that all-time infamous ink jam (Edmund Lum)

- A 5-mm thick paper to prevent paper cut (Edmund Lum)

- Water-proof toilet paper to prevent wetting the entire roll when dropped on a wet floor, or easy breakage (Edmund Lum)

- A thermal panel powered heater (Edmund Lum)

- A faq list for patients who do not want to reply to any visitors (Edmund Lum & Glass Cookie)

- A deodorant that puts people off (Mustard seed)

- An umbrella with a wire connection (to attract lightning) that's earthed (Edmund Lum)

- An earthquake detector that sounds when there's an earthquake (Edmund Lum)

- A water sensor at the shoreline to detect an approaching tsunami (Edmund Lum)

- A energy-saving fridge that switches itself on via a smell senser specially for detecting certain rotting smells (Edmund Lum)

- A fire extinguishing bomb that creates a huge area of vacuum (sounds familiar?) so as to deprive the fire of oxygen (Edmund Lum)

- A solar powered torchlight

- A power-saving exit sign that lights up only when someone is around (Gabriel Goh)

- A self-locking door that locks itself when no one's around and unlocks itself when someone's near (Edmund Lum)

- Pencil lead harder than steel to improve on its fragility (Edmund Lum)

- A water-proof teabag to prevent breakage over long periods of soaking (Edmund Lum)

- A manual powered air conditioner (Glass Cookie)

- A water-sensitive sprinkler (Edmund Lum)

- A auto retractable roof via light and water sensors, hidden in the wall for protection (Edmund Lum)

- An anti-burglary system with the switch and sensor in the same room (Edmund Lum)

- A wooden barbecue pit (Glass Cookie and Edmund Chen)

- An acrylic oil rig and drill bit to save $$$ (Glass Cookie and Edmund Chen)

- A windows based DOS command prompt program (Glass Cookie)

- A wired handphone (Jackson Lum)


Misc
- A birthday breakfast celebration (Glass Cookie and Jackson Lum)

- A domesticated grizzily bear (Glass Cookie, inspired by Amanda Low)