(Na)tional Serfdom?

The bird swooped in from above, with upmost precision. Landing with such grace and yet swifty. Moving across the table like a ballroom dancer before picking up what seems like leftovers from the previous diners. After savaging from the pile, it then prepared it’s wings for flight..and with a flap, it’s off with it’s journey towards the great unknown.

Many a times, we do want to be like a bird. Besides being able to travel over great distances, we do enjoy that non-confinement.. of which many of us has yet to experience.

I was thinking of this complusory yet seems like hundrum labour I will have to do in about 2 years time. Yes, it’s the what’s known as ‘National Service’ or *coughcheaplabourcough* to some or even ‘2 years of hell’ to others. To me, it seems like a boring thing indeed (for I have not entered NS).
Let’s do some maths here. Every year, there will be 2 batches of males (complusory for males, voluntary for females) entering National Service. Assuming that 10,000 males per batch. 20,000 males per year (Stimulated Figures). That’s like 200,000 fully trained males ready for battle anytime, anyday.
Hey, that’s fucking smart of the government to do that! Force the males to enter, train them as ‘machines-to-counter-war for 2 years’ and then throw them back into society. They will have to relearn whatever they have learnt before they entered NS (if they forget).

Does that suck? It does. What do you learn in NS? Operation of kick-ass guns, surviving on the battlefield, teamwork amongst comrades, erm… Operation of not-so-kick-ass guns..etc. Does it teaches you how to survive in the future, the recession, or even when you lose a job? Yes it does! You join back the army again! Work as one of the officers!

Either way, why does National Service have to be complusory.. and males to enter after secondary school education (after 16 years old) if they did not apply for education at JCs, Poly, ITE etc. The time between 16 to adulthood seems to be the golden years. Where males grow from boys to men (majority). It is also where tertiary education comes in place. 2 years used for National service could have been spent for attaining a degree (take is if you take the Poly pathway).

I do not understand that making it complusory is necessary. Given that Singapore only has people, the government has no ‘other’ choice but to harvest us as resources. The nation owns our body. We are slaves! I am a slave of the country, fighting for the nation and brainwashed since young. I have watched many fight for their freedom. Unknown to choice — nor known to freedom. Have withstood years of pain to get out of here, yet I am still stuck here. So as I wait… Unlimited Slaves Works.
2 years is important. I don’t know man, but that 2 years is really important. How can the country ‘replace’ that 2 years? There’s this ‘Do not ask what the country can do for you, but what you can do for the country’. I abhor that ‘quote’. For what I know. I do not do things for the country. I do it for the community.

Sony NW-E005F 2GB MP3 Player

I just bought this for about 170USD (269SGD).
It’s for my dad actually, as he needed a MP3 Player and Sony was having a nice promotion where you get a free MDR-Q21LP earphones together with a leather case with the purchase of the Sony NW-E005F 2GB MP3 Player.

Features :
– 2GB high capacity storage
– Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery with great Stamina of 30 hours
– High speed battery charge: 3 minutes charging will give you 3 hours playback time
– Transfer up to 90 CD’s onto the internal memory thanks to ATRAC3plus compression technology
– Direct USB plug for ease of use
– Bright and clear 1-line OLED display for easy navigation
– Multiple codec support: ATRAC, MP3 and WMA compatible
– SonicStage 3.4 software for easy music management and transfers of your favourite tracks

Network function
– High speed data transfer YES
– USB connection YES
– Selectable data compression (ATRAC3 / ATRAC3plus) YES
– Data conversion from MP3 / WMA / WAV to ATRAC3 or ATRAC3plus YES
– CDDB automatic music information transferring YES
– Music information editting on PC YES
– Network WALKMAN control on PC YES

Memory
– Embedded flash memory 2GB(2048.0MB)
– MemoryStick MS DUO NO

Data compression
– ATRAC3 66 kbps YES
– ATRAC3 105 kbps YES
– ATRAC3 132 kbps YES
– ATRAC3plus 48 kbps YES
– ATRAC3plus 64 kbps YES
– Atrac3plus 256 kbps YES

Playback & display
– ATRAC3 playback YES
– ATRAC3plus playback YES
– Group function operation YES
– Repeat YES
– Shuffle YES
– Digital sound preset YES
– Digital Mega Bass NO
– AVLS YES
– Hold YES
– MP3 direct playback YES

General data
– Battery life ATRAC3 playback 30.0hours
– Weight 25.0grams

Dimensions
– Width 24.6mm
– Height 79.0mm
– Depth 13.6mm

^ Click Pictures for larger Image
Overall I like the design. It’s about the same size as a thumbdrive which is really cool. Fingerprint marks could be easily seen due to the material used for the case :/

End of Life

A couple of stuff in my household has started to reach it’s End Of Life (at the same time!).

Those include:

Washing Machine

Air-conditioner

Bicycle

Sandals

MD Player

and my missing Watch (Probably lost)
This is rather fucked up. :/

Chrono Cross (クロノ・クロス)

I have been playing Chrono Cross the past few days (During my free time of course). It’s a Playstation RPG created by Square Co. Ltd (Now known as Square Enix) with a story that builds upon Chrono Trigger. I have not played Chrono Trigger before.

Chrono Cross is a great game, of which I would give it 10/10. I especially love it’s soundtracks, including Radical Dreamers ~Nusumenai Houseki~ and Reminiscing ~Uneraseable Memory~. I believe it has somewhat been one of the influences in my life (Evangelion is another), given that my email is radicaldreamers….@hotmail.com.

Anyway, read more about Chrono Cross here.

Chrono Cross OST Composition: Yasunori Mitsuda
Radical Dreamers ~Nusumenai Houseki~ lyrics

Radical Dreamers ~Nusumenai Houseki~

Japanese (Original)

Osanai te ni tsutsunda
Furueteru sono hikari wo
Kokomade tadottekita
Jikan no fuchi wo samayoi

Sagashi tzuzukete kitayo
Namae sae shiranaikeredo
Tada hitotsu no omoi wo
Anata ni tewatashitakute

Toki wa ai mo itami mo
Fukaku dakitome
Keshite yukukedo watashi wa
Oboeteiru zutto

Watashi no mune no oku ni
Itsukaraka hibiite ita
Yotsuyu no shizuku yori mo
Kasukana sasayakidakedo

Itetsuku hoshi no yami e
Tsumugu inori ga
Tooi anata no sora ni
Todoku you ni.

English (Translation)

I’ve followed this far in search of
That glimmering light
Clasped in the hands of a child,
Wandering the brink of time.

I have continued searching for you,
Though I know not your name,
Because I wanted to share
This feeling with you.

Time envelops both love and pain,
Until they fade away.
But I still remember them
And always will.

Though I cannot remember when,
A whisper began echoing
Deep within my heart,
Fainter than drops of evening dew.

May this prayer I spin
Weave through the darkness of the frozen stars
And reach the skies above you,
So far away.

Radical Dreamers ~Nusumenai Houseki~ (5.25MB, for Windows Media Player/Winamp/etc)

基本的な日本語1

こんちわ。 わたしはイーチーです。

わたしわニーアンポリテクのがくいです。

たんじょぶわごがつみかにちです。18さいです。

わたしのしゅみはじでんしやとアニメとえいがです。

まいにちじでんしやでがにうへいいます。

まいしやうきんようび、ともだちとえいがをみます。

まいしやうどようび、どこへもいけません。なにもいきません。

^ Quite bloody incomplete

I editted this from my Japanese classnotes. Well, it’s actually 80-90% similar. Did this to practice writing.

It’s supposed to be an email introducing yourself to someone, but I took out the email parts.