Xander VS PaperPokes

I have to admit I have poor hand-eye coordination, but still good enough to get a driving licence and drive a car around town. As such, tasks like origami actually pose quite a great challenge to me. Not that I cannot make folded paper cranes though, it's just that I take awfully long to complete them. T.T

Henceforth, papercraft is murder to me.

As usual, I was surfing the web for random stuff when I chanced upon a Youtube video. All the video showed a Pikachu papercraft model flying around the desk for the entire 7 seconds. Obviously, it drew a bit of flak because instead of teaching people how to make a similar paercraft model, what the guy did throughout that 7 precious seconds was to show Pikachu walking around his desk. Bothered.

Fortunately, he put up the link for the papercraft template.

*Stares at link and click*

That was when curiosity killed the cat (read: yours truly)

Half-completed! Only head and body
done by the 3 hour mark

So for the next 6 hours or so, my life was thrown into despair, as I struggled to cut and glue the various parts together. My agony was furthered worsened when I realised all I was equipped is an old gluestick, a scissors, and loads of tape. But anyway, I got it done step by step.

Ta da! After 6 hours, this is what I got!
(Although loads of tape)

Anyway, for those who like to try making a papercraft model, here is the link to the templates required:
http://papercraftprintable.com/free-kawaii-pikachu-pokemon-paper-craft/

7 Jan 2011 -- It's Time To Party!!! :D

As much as this this post is long overdue, there is no way I will forget to post this on my blog.
Last week, we had booked a chalet at Costa Sands Resort to chill out. At around 6.30pm, the core group headed for the chalet first to set up everything and start the barbecue, having earlier went to swim and play soccer before that. As I had something on earlier, I decided to head for the party later with Aaron, not forgeting to chip in some soft drinks and snacks as well.

When Aaron and I arrived at the chalet about 20 minutes later from Pasir Ris Interchange, the party has already started and the smell of barbecued food was simply irresistable. However, our experience in barbecue was left severly wanting. One friend, let us call him 'V', decided to put in half a box of fire-starter into the barbecue pit in the hope of starting up the fire more quickly. Obviously this backfired, while it had achieved the desired outcome of starting the fire quickly, the flames were so big that our whole barbecue pit looked more like an inferno. Have you seen the Foxtrot comic strip where Roger Fox barbecue stuff for his family? Well, I guess we nearly did a 'Roger Fox'.

A bit is an understatement...zzz

Our solution (not a permanent one though) is to douse the flames from time to time, although the flames of fury still managed to break past our defences and threatened to burn our food. As a result, some of our chicken wings and sausages were a bit burnt. FDortunately, the food still tasted good, and edible. I like the satay and the sambal sting ray the most, not only because they were cooked very well, they tasted really delicious as well.


After nearly 2 hours of barbecue, we decided to head in for some fun and games. Lloyd had brought his Playstation 3 and some of the games along and we decided to play a bit of Modern Warfare 3 first. Shortly after, we had a mini FIFA 11 face-off.



Nomnomnom...

First-up, it was my Inter Milan against Vincent's Liverpool. Our match was perpetually disrupted by a bee, which refused to get out of our room despite our persistent 'pleas' (we actaully killed it, so it wasn't much of a plea.) That aside, I won 1-0 thanks to a lucky strike and the fact that Vincent's Liverpool accumulated so many fouls that there were a flurry of red and yellow cards flying around across the Reds camp.

After which, Round 2 features a show-down between my Blackburn and Joshua's Liverpool. Apparently, I had underestimated Joshua and more important, Liverpool's strength (Please don't kill me, Liverpool fans! >.<). My Blackburn had taken an early lead through a powerful strike, but Blackburn's defence gave way in the 2nd half and Torres scored twice to wrap up Liverpool's victory.

After a few more rounds of FIFA11, I had to head home first as I had to be up early the next morning. (From what I understand, the party continued late into the night with drinking games etc.) Despite my early departure, I enjoyed my time at the chalet! It was awesome being with a bunch of good friends and I hope we can have another chalet like this.

(Edit: We WILL have another chalet like this... very soon! ^^ So watch this space! Cheers.)

Rare Talents in FIFA12 :O

Having played FIFA 12 for 3 months, I am still enjoying my time as a manager of Chelsea. As the game progresses, it is imperative for any manager to add value to the squad by buying better players or getting them from youth academy.

As I was playing, I found some real hidden talents that could grow into world-class stars if nutured properly. We are not talking about the likes of Gotze and Messi who are already outstanding players at a very young age, mainly because most of us probably will not be able to offer the sky-high transfer fees or even afford their wages. Instead, we are focussing on obscure young players. Their stats are not exactly brilliant at the start, but if they are played regularly in matches, they tend to gain experience very quickly. These are 5 of the players that are really worth a look...

1.  Roderick (Servette FC) 65 -> 89

Only 20 years of age, this Portugese player is a central defender on loan from Benfica and has already earned himself 15 caps for the Portugal Under-20 squad. He is also able to play as a defensive midfielder in front of the back four.

In FIFA 12, he starts off with an overall rating of 65, with his Strength and Aggression stats being his specialties (at 78 and 70 respectively). He can grow to a potential overall rating of 89, which is a whooping increase of 24 from his inital rating. Best of all, he can be bought a low price at the start of the game.

2. Federik Sørensen (Juventus) 74 -> 88

Valued at 8.5 million in FIFA 12, Juventus is most likely going to let him go at a much higher price since he has great potential (I paid 11.5 million to prise him off the Turin club in my Chelsea save game). And here's why: this Danish centre-back already has an impressive overall rating of 74 at the age of 19. He becomes a monster of a defender if you play him regularly, with a potential overall rating of 88! That should put him in the same bracket as Pique and Thiago Silva. He has the right attributes for a defender, with his Aggression, Strength and Marking all above 80.

He probably won't grow as much if left at Juventus, with Chellini and Barzagli in the starting lineup, so grab him if you can.

3. Cristian Pasquato (Lecce) 74 -> 84

This versatile Italian forward can play in any attacking position (namely CF, CAM, LW and LM), and has played for Italy at every level except full international.

In the game, the 22 year old striker is a awesome speedster and possesses great balance & agility. He is also highly rated for his ball control and dribbling skills. In addition, he improves incredibly quickly and can develop into one of the most dangerous attackers in the game. The only issue I have is that he cannot be bought in the first season has he has just joined Leece, but his stats improve consistently due to him playing regularly.

4. Fernando Lucas Marins (Gremio) 70 -> 87

A natural central midfielder who can only deputise as a defensive midfielder, this 19 year old Brazilian from Grêmio is definitely worth your money. He possesses decent physical and mental stats, with his Interception stats being the highest at 80. He also has superb vision and passing ability for such a young player. Still can grow a lot, and has a potential overall rating of 87.



5. Daniel Johnson (Aston Villa) 60 -> 77

If you are managing lower tiers clubs with decent financial ability, this is one player you should get early in the game to help your club progress to the top leagues.

While he may not grow as much as the rest of the players mentioned in this post, he can make a difference to your team in the first few seasons. The England central midfielder, who can also play on the left, is pretty quick and has a decent passing range & finishing ability for a 19 year old, so it's still not too bad. Plus, he can be snapped up at a pretty low fee.

That's all for now!  I think by now if you have not realised, this topic just came off my mind randomly - I have nothing to write this week actually :D

Farewell 2011, Hello 2012! :D

Yay, the first post of 2012!

Believe it or not, 2011 has been an eventful year for everyone. As we take a big leap into 2012, let us take a look back at some of the events that happened in Singapore during 2011. Just like last year's edition, we will stick to 5 of my favourite incidents. Here we go!

5. "We f***ing did it!"

In order to uphold this blog's squeaky clean image (although in truth, it has been tarnished by a certain suggestive post in the past >.<), the inappropriate words have been well censored.

A 6-minute convocation speech about the highs and lows of university life in NTU became a hot topic of debate when Miss Trinetta Chong ended off the speech with an expletive.

To quote in her own words, "Congratulations to the graduating Class of 2011. We f***ing did it!"

The trouble came only when a clip of her speech surfaced on Youtube and went instantly viral. There were many who question the need to utter the expletive in a prestigious event like a convocation speech. Ms Chong has since apologized and her case for argument was that she was feeling "very emotional and it just came out", hence the expletive. Unsurprisingly, many were fine with it as well, especially in an environment where teenagers nowadays just cuss when they feel like it.

For me? Well, a word is only a word. It only has value, negative or otherwise, to what an individual assigns it based on context. No harm intended.  ;)

Still, a piece of advice for all: be conscious of your surroundings and be responsible & aware of each and every action you do.

4. Heartlanders @ Holland Village

Another classic example of "not thinking of the consequences before speaking", this one went on my list only because it had me laughing for quite a while.

On March 23, a woman, who identified herself only as Samantha, called in to 91.3FM's The Married Men Show. She said Singaporeans living in areas such as Ang Mo Kio and Toa Payoh are "very uncultured and have no manners."

Many people were upset by her remarks.

She has later apologized on air for her remarks.

3. Think before you drink. It's for your own good.

If something you are drinking right now tastes funny, think again.

You may be in for a shock of your life.

In May, a corpse of an Indonesian maid was found abandoned in a rooftop tank of a Woodlands HDB block, tainting the drinking water of 700 residents. Blood stains were found in the 2m-deep water tank. It was understood some of the residents may have unknowingly used the tainted water for household purposes.

As a result, the water supply was cut off and PUB officers were also on hand to hand out water bags. In addition, the town council had to flush and wash the tanks as well as the distribution pipes. Security measures for rooftop access had become stricter since.

Even then, some residents were still a bit edgy about consuming the water after that, to such an extent that Sembawang GRC MP Vikram Nair drank tap straight from the tap during a house visit to residents in order to appease the people.

Scary, isn't it?

2. Lions make highly anticipated comeback in M-League

For Singapore fans who had become disillusioned with our national soccer team, this might be something to cheer about.

In view of the declining standards of our local football scene (imminent signs include poor international performances and even poorer crowd attendances), FAS has collaborated with the Football Association of Malaysia, bringing greater cooperation between the two nations. This will see a selected Singaporean side competing in both the Malaysian Super League and Malaysian Cup, with a selected Malaysian side going the other way to the S-League.

For those who can still remember, it has been 18 long years since Singapore won the 1994 M-League and Malaysia Cup double. The current 28-man squad consists of  mostly the Young Lions, with a few experienced campaigners and capped internationals like Hariss Harun & Sharil Ishak brought in for experience.

No doubt, there is cause for concern, one of which is how the Singapore LIONSXII would fare in a much more competitive Malaysian Super League. Signs have been encouraging thus far in recent friendlies, with the newly-assembled side staging a gutsy comeback to draw 3-3 in a recent match against ATM FA.

There is also the other issue of constant travelling across 11 different states of Malaysia, which could lead to fatigue of the players. Well, look on the bright side. Perhaps through life on the road, the team could gel together better and players bond with each other. Furthermore, they can also expose themselves to different playing styles and standards, which would only serve to make them better.

So don't write them off. Yet.

1. SMRT takes a break(down)

Because this happened quite recently, and the fact that it was so hyped up, I guess I need not explain further.

It is true that there was great oversight by SMRT in the maintenance of our train system, and many were left upset by the way SMRT handled the situation with some even calling for SMRT chief Saw Phaik Hwa to resign. Shortly after the SMRT breakdowns, photos of her dressed up as 'queen' and carried on a chair by half-naked men during SMRT's annual D&D appeared online, and only sought to make matters worse.
 
All these has led to one question.


Did we overreact to MRT breakdowns?

It's up to you to decide.

Note: Coincidentally, if you had realised, once the train system went down, many seemed to have lost their sense of direction and were unable to figure out how to get to their destinations via alternative ways. I guess that very much reflects our over-dependency on the MRT.