As I mentioned in the previous post, I was sunburnt and I realised how nasty Singapore's weather was. It seems like all the bad memories of NS have been forgotten but I believe it is for the better of my mind. Walking under the Sun without any shade during noon is a pain. I would really like to see Singapore been much cooler. Those experiences made me ponder, is there a way to cool Singapore down?
As you know, there is this thing called Greenhouse Effect due to gases like carbon dioxide and etc. These gases lead to global warming and hot places like Singapore gets hotter (dammit). Then I read about the urban heat island effect, where concrete that are used in buildings and roads trap a lot of heat during the day and during nightfall, all these 'concrete forest' traps the heat and makes it unable to escape back to the atmosphere; open spaces lose heat faster. What a pain. There are research done to show that having more trees is good for reducing these heat trapping effect but with Singapore moving towards an increasing population to boost our economy, more land has to be cleared for housing, roads and etc. All these removes trees, grasses for the sake of concrete 'trees'. Even though there are parks or greenery around these buildings, it certainly helps to reduce the heat trapping abilities but it is better than nothing.
So what can we do about it? Building & Construction Authority has came up with new measures so that new buildings will be certified green if they meet the requirements. Incentives are also given for current buildings which adopt ways to make the buildings more green. I am lazy to type the details but you can google for it.
Actually, I don't really know what we can actually do to reduce these urban heat island effect. However, with Singapore being a tropical country that enjoys almost year long of sunlight, a lot of the energy is wasted. I would like to see more improvements to current solar energy generation techniques that does not require a lot of space. There are a few examples, such as solar roads and clear solar panels that might one day be efficient and cheap enough to replace our roads and windows.
Solar roads:
As you know, Singapore has a lot of paved roads and if solar panels are strong enough to replace our current asphalt roads, we will be able to generate a lot of electricity from the Sun. Of course, trees will be planted along roads to reduce noise and dust pollution, which in turn reduces the efficiency of these roads, current roads of flyovers and bridges might be able to implement this technology in the future. I don't want to go into details about the pros and cons unless I feel like it in the future, but currently this is more to raise awareness about this technology so that more research can be done on this area.
Clear solar glass:
We certainly would like to see our smartphones having longer battery life. Instead of improvements to the battery, what if we reduce the use of the battery so that it can last longer? Singapore is a 'concrete jungle' with many windows. If these windows are able to generate electricity for the cooling system of the building, it will certainly help to reduce the carbon emission of our electricity generation since most of our electricity comes from natural gas.
Even though a good way to reduce the heat in Singapore is to grow more trees or maybe even to drape buildings with plants, Singapore is still too small to impact the world with our emission reductions but we still have a part to play, to set an example. Solving the local heating problem will hopefully make living in Singapore more bearable without air condition. Let's hope other countries will also do their part in reducing greenhouse gases emissions so that people like us will suffer less from the rising heat.
Saturday 12 March 2016
Thursday 10 March 2016
A Short Breather
Now that competition is over, I finally have a short lull period of 1 week. This is a very important break as I finally have the time to do some catching up on my school work and also a bit of my sleep. Being in an air conditioned room for a long time, I totally forgot how harsh the Sun can be. It was totally burning my skin, frying me. I think the last time I was sunburnt was during my NS days. Sunburn is no laughing matter, it hurts and I have no idea why it makes my skin itchy too. Luckily, the sunburn seems to be easing up and the peeling of skin seems minimal. Sometimes I am really unsure if I was bitten by mosquitoes or it is just the sunburn that makes my skin itchy. However, it is over now. There is finally time to think about life.
What is life? Why is life so tiring? Sometimes when I have enough sleep, these questions will surface. However, it was answered skilfully by a friend of mine. (Is he a friend?)
What is life?
- Life is about reading japanese light novels.
Why is life so tiring?
- There are too many interesting light novels to keep you going that you forget about sleep and your school work.
Time to "enjoy" the remaining week that I have before it is back to work. Let's hope I will continue to survive and enjoy life in the future (a.k.a. read light novels).
What is life? Why is life so tiring? Sometimes when I have enough sleep, these questions will surface. However, it was answered skilfully by a friend of mine. (Is he a friend?)
What is life?
- Life is about reading japanese light novels.
Why is life so tiring?
- There are too many interesting light novels to keep you going that you forget about sleep and your school work.
Time to "enjoy" the remaining week that I have before it is back to work. Let's hope I will continue to survive and enjoy life in the future (a.k.a. read light novels).
Friday 26 February 2016
The Future Of Our Home
Previously, I was writing about what I would like to see in the future of transport in Singapore. However, transport is not the only thing that I wish will be changed. As human beings, we like to strive to be better, but I strive to be lazier. There are a few things that I would like to see in the future so that it will help me to achieve a reclusive life.
Cooking:
In the near future, I will like to see that cooking be automated. With grocery delivery services, heavy items like rice and drinks will not require us to be carried from the supermarket/ wet market home, but delivered to us. If those items can be easily cooked by a machine, wouldn't it save a lot of time and effort? What I propose is to have a set of recipes that the machine can cook, preprogrammed. As time passes, there will be updates to the software to include more recipes or even fine tune the machine to make the food tastier. Even though I might be picky eater, I dislike some food but overall, as long as the food can be eaten and is not disgusting, it is fine.
Cleaning:
Currently, there aren't many automated cleaning machines or that they are still making progress. The most famous one will be the Roomba. I will prefer a robot that can clean the whole house smartly: the windows, toilets and etc. To clean a house properly requires a lot of time and effort. As a lazy person, my room is usually in a mess and how clean it is, is for me to know and for you to find out (not like I will allow you to find out).
Autonomous domestic helper:
I hope to see that all our household chores are automated by a robot. Cleaning, laundry, cooking.This robot will be a combination of the things that are mentioned. All these mundane chores, if we were able to remove it from our lives, how much time do you think we can save? That amount of time saved will enable me to sleep more or even do nothing more!
Downsides:
There are certainly cons to everything. With these household chores automated, people might question about the taste of the food and how with many things automated, we might lose the skills needed and even grow lazier. With us having to move less, we will grow fatter and more sedentary diseases will afflict us. However, that all boils down to what we want. There is certainly a choice for whatever we want to do. We choose to do the chores and tell the robot to go into sleep mode. That is not the point though, what I would like to do is to slack and continue to be lazy.
Of course with more software involved, there might be hackers trying to hack into the system and try to kill us. Let's hope that cyber security will be able to deter or even be a step ahead of hackers so that my reclusive life can be fulfilled.
Cooking:
In the near future, I will like to see that cooking be automated. With grocery delivery services, heavy items like rice and drinks will not require us to be carried from the supermarket/ wet market home, but delivered to us. If those items can be easily cooked by a machine, wouldn't it save a lot of time and effort? What I propose is to have a set of recipes that the machine can cook, preprogrammed. As time passes, there will be updates to the software to include more recipes or even fine tune the machine to make the food tastier. Even though I might be picky eater, I dislike some food but overall, as long as the food can be eaten and is not disgusting, it is fine.
Cleaning:
Currently, there aren't many automated cleaning machines or that they are still making progress. The most famous one will be the Roomba. I will prefer a robot that can clean the whole house smartly: the windows, toilets and etc. To clean a house properly requires a lot of time and effort. As a lazy person, my room is usually in a mess and how clean it is, is for me to know and for you to find out (not like I will allow you to find out).
Autonomous domestic helper:
I hope to see that all our household chores are automated by a robot. Cleaning, laundry, cooking.This robot will be a combination of the things that are mentioned. All these mundane chores, if we were able to remove it from our lives, how much time do you think we can save? That amount of time saved will enable me to sleep more or even do nothing more!
Downsides:
There are certainly cons to everything. With these household chores automated, people might question about the taste of the food and how with many things automated, we might lose the skills needed and even grow lazier. With us having to move less, we will grow fatter and more sedentary diseases will afflict us. However, that all boils down to what we want. There is certainly a choice for whatever we want to do. We choose to do the chores and tell the robot to go into sleep mode. That is not the point though, what I would like to do is to slack and continue to be lazy.
Of course with more software involved, there might be hackers trying to hack into the system and try to kill us. Let's hope that cyber security will be able to deter or even be a step ahead of hackers so that my reclusive life can be fulfilled.
Sunday 21 February 2016
Recess Week!
It is finally recess week. Actually I am unsure if I am happy or sad. I am happy because there is finally a week of "break" where I do not have to wake up early everyday to go to school. However, it seems like I will still be required to be in school close to everyday. I am sad because it signifies half of a semester being over, yet I still don't know what is going on for my modules. I am just too tired everyday and there is no time to actually absorb what the professors taught.
I am really lagging behind my MA1506 lectures but I realised there are many assignments to do during this recess week. Even though it might seem like I only have 1 Mid terms exam which is MA1506, I have other assignments given which will take up time too.
Things that is similar to Mid Term Test:
GET1021:
Bloody assignment 1 that I took very looooonnnnnggggg to do.
ES2331:
CEP 1 which is a panel discussion that requires you to prepare before hand so that you won't stone during the discussion.
Things to do during recess week:
GET1021:
- Research on Energy Sustainability, Energy Poverty and Energy Security.
- Come up with graphic representation of the topic and present using only 5 slides.
ES2331:
- Reflection 1
EG1310:
- Assignment 2
- Assignment 3
- Write a proposal and come up with a design for our project so that we can give a presentation
MA1506:
- Study for Mid Terms (Chapter 1 "only")
- Catch up on lectures up till Chapter 4 (I am dying badly here) SAVE ME!!!
ME2103:
- Luckily there is no work for this module
- Practise the e- tutorials so that lab sessions will be easier and to familiarise with SolidWorks
EG1108:
- No work either
- Catch up on the lecutres (like wth is transient analysis and Phasors?????)
CCA:
- Work is never ending
Haiz, seems like this "break" will be another tough week. However, for everyone else, enjoy your mini "break" and study hard! I wish to have sufficient sleep everyday...
Good luck to me.
I am really lagging behind my MA1506 lectures but I realised there are many assignments to do during this recess week. Even though it might seem like I only have 1 Mid terms exam which is MA1506, I have other assignments given which will take up time too.
Things that is similar to Mid Term Test:
GET1021:
Bloody assignment 1 that I took very looooonnnnnggggg to do.
ES2331:
CEP 1 which is a panel discussion that requires you to prepare before hand so that you won't stone during the discussion.
Things to do during recess week:
GET1021:
- Research on Energy Sustainability, Energy Poverty and Energy Security.
- Come up with graphic representation of the topic and present using only 5 slides.
ES2331:
- Reflection 1
EG1310:
- Assignment 2
- Assignment 3
- Write a proposal and come up with a design for our project so that we can give a presentation
MA1506:
- Study for Mid Terms (Chapter 1 "only")
- Catch up on lectures up till Chapter 4 (I am dying badly here) SAVE ME!!!
ME2103:
- Luckily there is no work for this module
- Practise the e- tutorials so that lab sessions will be easier and to familiarise with SolidWorks
EG1108:
- No work either
- Catch up on the lecutres (like wth is transient analysis and Phasors?????)
CCA:
- Work is never ending
Haiz, seems like this "break" will be another tough week. However, for everyone else, enjoy your mini "break" and study hard! I wish to have sufficient sleep everyday...
Good luck to me.
Saturday 13 February 2016
What I Will Like To See In The Future Of Transport In Singapore
With Singapore trying to move towards becoming a car light city, I too believe that there is no need for a car. In Singapore, the estimated cost of owning a car is about $200,000 over 10 years. Crazy? Yes and since cars are depreciating goods, the cost of owning a car is really not worth it.
The government encourages people to take more public transport or even walk and cycle more so as to reduce the amount of cars present on the roads. Let's see how feasible these are in Singapore.
Walking:
Pros:
- A good form of exercise since people are getting more sedentary and move less. Walking more will certainly help to reduce weight gain even if it is not significant.
Cons:
- Slow
- Hot weather of Singapore makes it unbearable to walk for long distances
- Not able to travel long distances
Cycling:
Pros:
- A lot faster than walking
- A form of exercise
Cons:
- Cycling is getting more convenient but some routes are still not available for bicycles (eg. expressways)
- Still takes a long time to travel long distances
- Tiring if it is far
- Hot weather is unbearable
Public Transport (Buses and MRT)
Pros:
- Relatively cheap
- Air conditioned
Cons:
- VERY CROWDED ESPECIALLY PEAK PERIOD
- Getting more convenient but who wouldn't want to travel faster if there is a transport within their grasp
What I would like to see in the future will be pod like vehicles which are fully autonomous. It will be owned by a firm but you can request for them and will arrive below your block. Once you hop on, it will go to your destination as you stated. It will be like a taxi, but autonomous. However, the price has to be affordable like the current public transport of buses and mrt or twice the rate with a maximum of $5(?) This will bring in the comfort of not requiring to squeeze with random people and having some personal space to do work or even sleep. These vehicles will come in the number of seats as requested by the user. So maybe in the form of 1, 2, 4 and 7 seats.
Of course there won't be any more chances of meeting pretty girls or handsome guys on the public transport and brightening up your whole day. Or people going home together on the public transport to continue their conversation. Some social interaction might be reduced but buses and MRT should still be present but maybe at current prices.
However, in the near future, hopefully fully autonomous electric vehicles will be cheap enough, say $50,000 over 10 years, such that we will be able to enjoy the freedom of not having to drive. I do have a driving licence but I don't like to drive as it requires a lot of concentration and it does not allow me to do other things like catching up on my sleep. What I would like to see is cheap autonomous cars which will improve our transport system. Hopefully technology will be able to regulate the flow of traffic like allowing more cars to be packed within roads and flow smoothly.
I believe private ownership of cars will not extinct but I think it will certainly drop. Most likely, it will be owned by people who love to drive but it will still have features that allow the car to self drive in case the driver needed rest.
Somehow, I believe that this dream will never come true as it will add on to more cars present on the roads and maybe more roads will be needed to accommodate these. It will run against the car light society that the government envision and the amount of infrastructure needed to support these might be exorbitant. Life is tough, and one can only dream about it.
The government encourages people to take more public transport or even walk and cycle more so as to reduce the amount of cars present on the roads. Let's see how feasible these are in Singapore.
Walking:
Pros:
- A good form of exercise since people are getting more sedentary and move less. Walking more will certainly help to reduce weight gain even if it is not significant.
Cons:
- Slow
- Hot weather of Singapore makes it unbearable to walk for long distances
- Not able to travel long distances
Cycling:
Pros:
- A lot faster than walking
- A form of exercise
Cons:
- Cycling is getting more convenient but some routes are still not available for bicycles (eg. expressways)
- Still takes a long time to travel long distances
- Tiring if it is far
- Hot weather is unbearable
Public Transport (Buses and MRT)
Pros:
- Relatively cheap
- Air conditioned
Cons:
- VERY CROWDED ESPECIALLY PEAK PERIOD
- Getting more convenient but who wouldn't want to travel faster if there is a transport within their grasp
What I would like to see in the future will be pod like vehicles which are fully autonomous. It will be owned by a firm but you can request for them and will arrive below your block. Once you hop on, it will go to your destination as you stated. It will be like a taxi, but autonomous. However, the price has to be affordable like the current public transport of buses and mrt or twice the rate with a maximum of $5(?) This will bring in the comfort of not requiring to squeeze with random people and having some personal space to do work or even sleep. These vehicles will come in the number of seats as requested by the user. So maybe in the form of 1, 2, 4 and 7 seats.
Of course there won't be any more chances of meeting pretty girls or handsome guys on the public transport and brightening up your whole day. Or people going home together on the public transport to continue their conversation. Some social interaction might be reduced but buses and MRT should still be present but maybe at current prices.
However, in the near future, hopefully fully autonomous electric vehicles will be cheap enough, say $50,000 over 10 years, such that we will be able to enjoy the freedom of not having to drive. I do have a driving licence but I don't like to drive as it requires a lot of concentration and it does not allow me to do other things like catching up on my sleep. What I would like to see is cheap autonomous cars which will improve our transport system. Hopefully technology will be able to regulate the flow of traffic like allowing more cars to be packed within roads and flow smoothly.
I believe private ownership of cars will not extinct but I think it will certainly drop. Most likely, it will be owned by people who love to drive but it will still have features that allow the car to self drive in case the driver needed rest.
Somehow, I believe that this dream will never come true as it will add on to more cars present on the roads and maybe more roads will be needed to accommodate these. It will run against the car light society that the government envision and the amount of infrastructure needed to support these might be exorbitant. Life is tough, and one can only dream about it.
Tuesday 9 February 2016
The Transport System That I Would Like To See In Singapore
As you know, the main transportation system for everyone in Singapore is mainly bus and the MRT. I am not a fan of taking bus as the arrival timings are unpredictable due to bugs in the bus arrival time apps or maybe due to bad traffic. Some buses have very low frequency also. All these makes planning very difficult. Hence, I will like to discuss more on MRT.
The current MRT system that is know of: (Purely my perception)
Green line:
- Slow, especially from Pasir Ris to Lavender
- Super crowded (because many people lives around those area and MRT is one of the faster and cheaper means of transport) It is hard to board the train sometimes during peak hours
- Hot, even with the air con, the sun is really bright and because the stations are open, with natural wind, the hot air will displace the cooler air in the MRT when the MRT reaches a station.
Circle line:
- Seems faster
- Less crowded during non peak hours but still very crowded during peak hours
- Colder, with the stations being air conditioned too, the temperature in the MRT can be maintained better.
- Less glaring on the eyes due to the lack of sunlight penetrating into the train. (Allows me to use my phone easier)
Downtown line:
- Less crowded as it is newly opened
- Similar to the circle line
The rest of the link I am not sure as I hardly use them.
Based on my experience of travelling to NUS almost everyday, I feel that the journey is really long -- at least 1.5h, and 3h to and fro. It is really a pain to travel but as a poor university student, I have to make do with it.
Proposal:
I will like to see a parallel train track that will be like an express train. The plan is to have a train that connects from East to South then to West and another one that goes from North to South. So for example bedok is the station for East, City Hall is for South and Jurong East is for West. The express train will only stop in these stations. People who would like to go to Pasir Ris, will have to transfer to green line.
Pros:
- This will greatly reduce the amount of time spent for people who travel across Singapore everyday.
- Just a speculation, shorter time for travelling might reduce the need for cars as cars are mainly used for convenience and speed.
Cons:
- It might not be profitable for train operators as it serves only that specific group of people.
- The extra cost for the building of these infrastructure might not be worth the extra money gained.
- Current Interchange stations might already be at their maximum capacity and any extra usage of these stations might cause congestions and higher unhappiness of the people.
- If a train breaks down, it might be hard for the people to evacuate from the train and find alternative means of transport, unless money is spent on evacuation points along the tracks so that people can transfer to other forms of transport.
If this plan were to go ahead, it is likely that the prices for the express train will be higher to offset the costs involved. Hence, based on the view point of a consumer (hopefully it isn't just me who wishes that this idea might take off), it will greatly help to reduce the amount of life they spent just on travelling. However, based on the business view point, this idea might not take off due to it being less profitable and the cost incurred might not be worth the extra money earned.
This is just my viewpoint on how I would like to see Singapore improve on its current MRT services (I would love to have this express train). Let's not talk about breakdowns of trains and focus on the ideal.
The current MRT system that is know of: (Purely my perception)
Green line:
- Slow, especially from Pasir Ris to Lavender
- Super crowded (because many people lives around those area and MRT is one of the faster and cheaper means of transport) It is hard to board the train sometimes during peak hours
- Hot, even with the air con, the sun is really bright and because the stations are open, with natural wind, the hot air will displace the cooler air in the MRT when the MRT reaches a station.
Circle line:
- Seems faster
- Less crowded during non peak hours but still very crowded during peak hours
- Colder, with the stations being air conditioned too, the temperature in the MRT can be maintained better.
- Less glaring on the eyes due to the lack of sunlight penetrating into the train. (Allows me to use my phone easier)
Downtown line:
- Less crowded as it is newly opened
- Similar to the circle line
The rest of the link I am not sure as I hardly use them.
Based on my experience of travelling to NUS almost everyday, I feel that the journey is really long -- at least 1.5h, and 3h to and fro. It is really a pain to travel but as a poor university student, I have to make do with it.
Proposal:
I will like to see a parallel train track that will be like an express train. The plan is to have a train that connects from East to South then to West and another one that goes from North to South. So for example bedok is the station for East, City Hall is for South and Jurong East is for West. The express train will only stop in these stations. People who would like to go to Pasir Ris, will have to transfer to green line.
Pros:
- This will greatly reduce the amount of time spent for people who travel across Singapore everyday.
- Just a speculation, shorter time for travelling might reduce the need for cars as cars are mainly used for convenience and speed.
Cons:
- It might not be profitable for train operators as it serves only that specific group of people.
- The extra cost for the building of these infrastructure might not be worth the extra money gained.
- Current Interchange stations might already be at their maximum capacity and any extra usage of these stations might cause congestions and higher unhappiness of the people.
- If a train breaks down, it might be hard for the people to evacuate from the train and find alternative means of transport, unless money is spent on evacuation points along the tracks so that people can transfer to other forms of transport.
If this plan were to go ahead, it is likely that the prices for the express train will be higher to offset the costs involved. Hence, based on the view point of a consumer (hopefully it isn't just me who wishes that this idea might take off), it will greatly help to reduce the amount of life they spent just on travelling. However, based on the business view point, this idea might not take off due to it being less profitable and the cost incurred might not be worth the extra money earned.
This is just my viewpoint on how I would like to see Singapore improve on its current MRT services (I would love to have this express train). Let's not talk about breakdowns of trains and focus on the ideal.
Sunday 7 February 2016
Chinese New Year
Finally, it is Chinese New Year Eve and I can take a break from school. However, that isn't really the case. During this long weekend/long break of 4 days, I have many goals to be achieved. I am lagging behind my math lectures by about 4 webcast (Lecture 4 currently out of 8 lectures), my assignments for EG1310 and GET1021. Many tutorials to be done but I feel that this long break is mainly used for me to catch up on my sleep. I did not have sufficient sleep everyday especially the weekdays. I only have weekends to repay the sleep debt. Why is that so? The earliest that I can sleep is 12am and I will have to wake up at 6am. That is the maximum, 6 hours. Which is why I require to drink coffee everyday and the effects of caffeine is waning. In the past, when I first started drinking coffee/tea, I will be able to drink it at around 6+am and I will not be able to sleep until only after 11.30pm. Times have changed, I have grown older and coffee is not working as well already. A comfortable lecture seat with nice background music will help me to sleep very well for at least half an hour. This is also a reason why I don't go for math lectures; I will just be sleeping through half of the lecture and not knowing what was going on. There are also negative effects of missing lectures. As I have mentioned above, I will not have the time and the self discipline to watch the webcast and catch up to the latest video.
How will all these affect me? I believe that our CAP can only go down. How depressing, but that is life. One have to accept that life is tough and persevere on.
How will all these affect me? I believe that our CAP can only go down. How depressing, but that is life. One have to accept that life is tough and persevere on.
Tuesday 2 February 2016
Busy With School
I have not updated my blog for about 2 weeks because I was really busy with school recently. With competitions coming up and CCA getting crazier, it is hard to get enough sleep and catch up with school work. I am also thinking if I missed out any useful advices or tips for people out there who wants to know more about life in NUS. If anyone has any suggestion, you can tell me and I will blog about it if I know the contents and when I have the time. Otherwise, this blog will be back to me typing about my boring and tiring daily life.
Saturday 16 January 2016
Monthly Expenses in NUS for Semester 2 AY 2015/2016
Now that my timetable is fixed, I am able to recalculate what my expenses will be for this semester. I will be using the same format as the one I used previously. Please do not be shocked if this post seems familiar. The post for year 1 semester 1 is here.
Assumption: A month has 4 weeks and 22 working days. This spending is for my Year 1 Semester 2 as different semesters will have different timetable and will affect my spending.
CCA - Co-curriculum activity (which also means activities that occur outside of studies and is something that we chose to do)
MRT concession - $45.00
Bus rides - $1.00 * 12 (about 3 times every week due to my CCA and lessons ending late and the shuttle bus frequency is very low at night)
Daily coffee - $0.70 * 22
Lunch meals - $4.00 * 22 (the prices vary but $4 is about the average)
Dinner meals - $4.00 * 12 (I stay back for about 2 times a month for CCA)
Total - $208.40
Total budget required per month - $250
I like to give myself additional budget as there will be unexpected stay backs for CCAs or for projects. Usually, towards the end of the semester, we will have to rush for the completion of our projects and many weekends will be burnt. All these will add cost as additional lunches, dinners and bus rides have to be accounted for. Hopefully the allocated budget will be sufficient.
Assumption: A month has 4 weeks and 22 working days. This spending is for my Year 1 Semester 2 as different semesters will have different timetable and will affect my spending.
CCA - Co-curriculum activity (which also means activities that occur outside of studies and is something that we chose to do)
MRT concession - $45.00
Bus rides - $1.00 * 12 (about 3 times every week due to my CCA and lessons ending late and the shuttle bus frequency is very low at night)
Daily coffee - $0.70 * 22
Lunch meals - $4.00 * 22 (the prices vary but $4 is about the average)
Dinner meals - $4.00 * 12 (I stay back for about 2 times a month for CCA)
Total - $208.40
Total budget required per month - $250
I like to give myself additional budget as there will be unexpected stay backs for CCAs or for projects. Usually, towards the end of the semester, we will have to rush for the completion of our projects and many weekends will be burnt. All these will add cost as additional lunches, dinners and bus rides have to be accounted for. Hopefully the allocated budget will be sufficient.
Sunday 10 January 2016
Gender Ratio In Engineering, especially Mechanical Engineering
Tomorrow the new semester will start again. We will be faced with similar people and maybe get to know new people and make more friends. While many things are changing, 1 thing seems to be constant - the gender ratio of engineering, especially mechanical engineering.
I have heard rumours before I enter NUS about how going to engineering, especially going into mechanical engineering is similar to the army. My whole company of about 70 people, there is 1 female officer. I thought that it could not be so bad. Some told me the gender ratio of mechanical engineering is about 5~6 males : 1 female. I thought it doesn't seem to bad. A tutorial class of 24 people should have about 4 girls? That was what I thought. Mechanical Engineering is the course with the worst gender ratio with the most guys to girls ratio. I was told that Chemical Engineering has about 60% males and 40% females while Biomedical Engineering has about 1:1 ratio which was the best in Engineering faculty. Even Electrical Engineering which is supposed to suffer the same fate as Mechanical Engineering has a more equal gender ratio. So what exactly is the gender ratio of Mechanical Engineering?
Engineering as a whole, I am not very sure about the ratio as the common engineering modules are taken by people from other faculties for their requirements. However, I do know about the ratio of Mechanical Engineering. Based on EG1109M lectures, the mythical creatures called girls, do exist. How many? I am not crazy enough to calculate but they exist. However, preallocated modules and my EG1109M tutorial group does not have a single female. My tutorial group has about 21 people and none of them are females. At least their names and looks tell me that they aren't females, I wouldn't want to confirm that though. Hence, based on my experience, there seem to be a really bad ratio in Mechanical Engineering.
I have heard about how some girls who only qualify to get into NUS Mechanical Engineering but chose to pay more and go to SIM as they do not want to do Engineering. Makes me wonder if Mechanical Engineering is really that bad.
Some of you might wonder why are there so little females in Engineering. I am not sure either but there are some possible reasons:
1. Engineering = dirty work. People have to go out to the field everyday to slog.
2. Engineering = Math and Science which are stereotyped to be easier for guys and harder for girls to grasp.
3. Engineering is dominated by guys, unless they are out to get their soul mate, the chances of having close female friends are slim due to the lack in numbers.
4. Engineering has no future in Singapore as many jobs are outsourced overseas (sunset industry), demanding, reasonable starting pay but low prospects of job advancement.
Therefore, guys who are planning to study in Engineering and wants to find a girlfriend from Engineering in NUS, you will have to participate in Engin Orientation camps and hopefully you get to go to your course camp too. Most of the females will be given a place in the orientation camps as there is always a need to balance the gender ratio. The girls will usually be with a group of guys from their orientation camp or from halls. If you want to stand a chance, either you have a thick face and approach them (but they might be creeped out if you do it too suddenly) or you join the camps.
I will like to promote my friend's app from DanbooruWorks as the downloads are quite pathetic. The apps are:
Prix - CompareFirst is not just another shopping app!
PriceText – Price searching and comparing made easier
Please do try them and if they are good, do support by using them more often!
I have heard rumours before I enter NUS about how going to engineering, especially going into mechanical engineering is similar to the army. My whole company of about 70 people, there is 1 female officer. I thought that it could not be so bad. Some told me the gender ratio of mechanical engineering is about 5~6 males : 1 female. I thought it doesn't seem to bad. A tutorial class of 24 people should have about 4 girls? That was what I thought. Mechanical Engineering is the course with the worst gender ratio with the most guys to girls ratio. I was told that Chemical Engineering has about 60% males and 40% females while Biomedical Engineering has about 1:1 ratio which was the best in Engineering faculty. Even Electrical Engineering which is supposed to suffer the same fate as Mechanical Engineering has a more equal gender ratio. So what exactly is the gender ratio of Mechanical Engineering?
Engineering as a whole, I am not very sure about the ratio as the common engineering modules are taken by people from other faculties for their requirements. However, I do know about the ratio of Mechanical Engineering. Based on EG1109M lectures, the mythical creatures called girls, do exist. How many? I am not crazy enough to calculate but they exist. However, preallocated modules and my EG1109M tutorial group does not have a single female. My tutorial group has about 21 people and none of them are females. At least their names and looks tell me that they aren't females, I wouldn't want to confirm that though. Hence, based on my experience, there seem to be a really bad ratio in Mechanical Engineering.
I have heard about how some girls who only qualify to get into NUS Mechanical Engineering but chose to pay more and go to SIM as they do not want to do Engineering. Makes me wonder if Mechanical Engineering is really that bad.
Some of you might wonder why are there so little females in Engineering. I am not sure either but there are some possible reasons:
1. Engineering = dirty work. People have to go out to the field everyday to slog.
2. Engineering = Math and Science which are stereotyped to be easier for guys and harder for girls to grasp.
3. Engineering is dominated by guys, unless they are out to get their soul mate, the chances of having close female friends are slim due to the lack in numbers.
4. Engineering has no future in Singapore as many jobs are outsourced overseas (sunset industry), demanding, reasonable starting pay but low prospects of job advancement.
Therefore, guys who are planning to study in Engineering and wants to find a girlfriend from Engineering in NUS, you will have to participate in Engin Orientation camps and hopefully you get to go to your course camp too. Most of the females will be given a place in the orientation camps as there is always a need to balance the gender ratio. The girls will usually be with a group of guys from their orientation camp or from halls. If you want to stand a chance, either you have a thick face and approach them (but they might be creeped out if you do it too suddenly) or you join the camps.
I will like to promote my friend's app from DanbooruWorks as the downloads are quite pathetic. The apps are:
Prix - CompareFirst is not just another shopping app!
PriceText – Price searching and comparing made easier
Please do try them and if they are good, do support by using them more often!
Sunday 3 January 2016
Analysis Of Accommodations In NUS
Residence
Just have to pay money and you will be able to stay. How do they give the slots to students? I have no idea.
Cost - $110 per week (single room)
$75 per week (double room)
Meal plans are not included. For more details.
Pros - You just have to pay money and there is no need to take up any extra module or extra CCA to help you continue your stay.
Cons - There are rumours saying that there will be very little interaction between the people inside and I guess it really depends on the individual? A sociable person can always make friends.
Hall
Similar to residence but if you will like to secure your place for the next year, it is said that you have to participate in 4 CCAs in order to be on the safe side.
Cost - $110 per week (single room)
$75 per week (double room)
Meal plans are not included. For more details.
Pros - You get to socialise a lot with the people as there are camps and it is likely that you will join many CCAs and get to know your neighbours.
Cons - Time management is key and many people find it hard to juggle between CCAs, studies and friends.
Residential College
These are relatively new housing which many people love (as it is new). However, the cost of staying is higher than the other 2 options available.
Cost - $120/$130 per week (no air con)
$135/$145 per week (air con)
Meal plans and air conditioning usage are not included. For more details.
Pros - It is new and it is really nice.
Cons - Expensive and you will be required to take their modules which replaces your general education modules. A lot of time will be spent on extra reading.
For me, I cannot imagine myself with 4 CCAs, I will certainly die horribly. Having 1 CCA now is already taking up almost all of my time and I don't have sufficient time to do work. So hall will be out for me. As for residential college, the extra cost puts me off and as a stereotypical engineering student, I am better with mathematics and science than languages. I will struggle a lot if I have to take the extra residential colleges modules. Thus, residential college is also out. Residence will be a good choice but cost is a very big issue as I am currently in debt. Nobody will lend me extra money just to stay in a residence. Due to my CCA commitments, I cannot really work part time during the holidays either. You might call me a spoilt brat that does not want to work, but I feel that this CCA is really fun and will increase my knowledge in university. It is not an experience that I can obtain just by being a normal mechanical engineering student.
Just have to pay money and you will be able to stay. How do they give the slots to students? I have no idea.
Cost - $110 per week (single room)
$75 per week (double room)
Meal plans are not included. For more details.
Pros - You just have to pay money and there is no need to take up any extra module or extra CCA to help you continue your stay.
Cons - There are rumours saying that there will be very little interaction between the people inside and I guess it really depends on the individual? A sociable person can always make friends.
Hall
Similar to residence but if you will like to secure your place for the next year, it is said that you have to participate in 4 CCAs in order to be on the safe side.
Cost - $110 per week (single room)
$75 per week (double room)
Meal plans are not included. For more details.
Pros - You get to socialise a lot with the people as there are camps and it is likely that you will join many CCAs and get to know your neighbours.
Cons - Time management is key and many people find it hard to juggle between CCAs, studies and friends.
Residential College
These are relatively new housing which many people love (as it is new). However, the cost of staying is higher than the other 2 options available.
Cost - $120/$130 per week (no air con)
$135/$145 per week (air con)
Meal plans and air conditioning usage are not included. For more details.
Pros - It is new and it is really nice.
Cons - Expensive and you will be required to take their modules which replaces your general education modules. A lot of time will be spent on extra reading.
For me, I cannot imagine myself with 4 CCAs, I will certainly die horribly. Having 1 CCA now is already taking up almost all of my time and I don't have sufficient time to do work. So hall will be out for me. As for residential college, the extra cost puts me off and as a stereotypical engineering student, I am better with mathematics and science than languages. I will struggle a lot if I have to take the extra residential colleges modules. Thus, residential college is also out. Residence will be a good choice but cost is a very big issue as I am currently in debt. Nobody will lend me extra money just to stay in a residence. Due to my CCA commitments, I cannot really work part time during the holidays either. You might call me a spoilt brat that does not want to work, but I feel that this CCA is really fun and will increase my knowledge in university. It is not an experience that I can obtain just by being a normal mechanical engineering student.
Analysis Of Time Required For Travelling To NUS
Yay...It is a new year...It means I will be older by another year...
School is going to start soon and here I am doing nothing much during the holidays and totally not prepared for the early lectures at 8am and 9am. Since I live pretty far from NUS, I have to give myself an estimated time of 2h for travelling. As I am someone who bathes before going to school, it will be another 15min. So lets break down the time required to go to school.
Time needed to travel to school from the other end of Singapore.
Bathe + washing up + etc - 15 ~ 30min
Walking to MRT - 15min
Taking the MRT - 1h 15min
Waiting for shuttle bus + travelling to destination - 30min (over estimation but it is to ensure early arrival)
Total time - 2h 30min
Assuming a lecture of 8am, I will have to wake up before 5.30am.
A lecture of 9am, will require me to wake up before 6.30am.
While these does seem to be normal for primary school, secondary school and junior college, it just doesn't work for university. Time spent in school is long, my upcoming timetable will have 2 lessons that end at 8pm. By the time I reach home and finish bathing, it will be 10.30pm. Not funny... With CCAs, we will be overworked and those are the reasons why waking up so early is really tough for university students. Let's hope I can survive through this semester again, though I would prefer to also do well.
Many people ask me, why don't I stay in school. Currently, there are 3 options for school accommodation namely, residence, halls and residential colleges. I will analyse the pros and cons of the different types of accommodations in NUS in a separate post.
School is going to start soon and here I am doing nothing much during the holidays and totally not prepared for the early lectures at 8am and 9am. Since I live pretty far from NUS, I have to give myself an estimated time of 2h for travelling. As I am someone who bathes before going to school, it will be another 15min. So lets break down the time required to go to school.
Time needed to travel to school from the other end of Singapore.
Bathe + washing up + etc - 15 ~ 30min
Walking to MRT - 15min
Taking the MRT - 1h 15min
Waiting for shuttle bus + travelling to destination - 30min (over estimation but it is to ensure early arrival)
Total time - 2h 30min
Assuming a lecture of 8am, I will have to wake up before 5.30am.
A lecture of 9am, will require me to wake up before 6.30am.
While these does seem to be normal for primary school, secondary school and junior college, it just doesn't work for university. Time spent in school is long, my upcoming timetable will have 2 lessons that end at 8pm. By the time I reach home and finish bathing, it will be 10.30pm. Not funny... With CCAs, we will be overworked and those are the reasons why waking up so early is really tough for university students. Let's hope I can survive through this semester again, though I would prefer to also do well.
Many people ask me, why don't I stay in school. Currently, there are 3 options for school accommodation namely, residence, halls and residential colleges. I will analyse the pros and cons of the different types of accommodations in NUS in a separate post.
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