Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Time for school.
After a week of (smooth) bidding, I have gotten all my desired modules without even planning for backup modules. That's because most of my friends are fighting for applied math modules while I'm taking the unpopular modules i guess. Nevertheless this should be my final timetable, only 2 modules allow me to choose from multiple tutorial slots and frankly I don't have much of a choice given this schedule.
Good luck to everyone else who still needs to do bidding in later rounds :)
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Some Astronomy
In case you didn't know, there was a partial solar eclipse today, the first eclipse of the year.
For more information,
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2011Jan04P.GIF
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_January_4,_2011
Well don't be sad if you missed it, I only found out when it was over. Besides, it's not visible in Singapore.
It's interesting how I found out about it though. I was staring at the Sun in Stellarium, and I noticed the Moon being exceptionally close today. My first thought was, "Ah! Today should be New Moon (day 1 of lunar calendar)", but I thought again, "Wait, the Moon is seldom this close, it almost looks like there should be an eclipse!" Well I didn't get to witness the actual eclipse, but my experience in Stellarium sufficed.
So why was I staring at the Sun anyway? I was finishing up on my analemma banner :). See the banner on top, with the figure of eight and a yellow circle? Yup, that's a simulated analemma that my friend Yong Kian and I came out with. It's amazing what a mathematician and programmer can produce when they work together. I wanted a analemma calendar for my blog so I approached him to help me with the coding. After spending 1 afternoon, we managed to produce it, I did some final touch-up on the Sun (ok it doesn't really look like the Sun but it's a diagram anyway =P) and added in a nice background photo that I captured last week. And there you have it, a really cool banner. Much credits to him.
How does it work? The Sun's position in the analemma changes every single day. This is a simplified rising analemma when viewed from the equator, with exact East in the middle (in terms of length) (it's not the intersection). Come visit my blog everyday and observe where the Sun appears to be :)
If this interests you, feel free to try your own experiment by observing where the Sun rises from as viewed from the same location everyday (you can view it from your own kitchen/bedroom window) Do this for 6 months and see how far the Sun has moved ;).
For more information,
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2011Jan04P.GIF
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_January_4,_2011
Well don't be sad if you missed it, I only found out when it was over. Besides, it's not visible in Singapore.
It's interesting how I found out about it though. I was staring at the Sun in Stellarium, and I noticed the Moon being exceptionally close today. My first thought was, "Ah! Today should be New Moon (day 1 of lunar calendar)", but I thought again, "Wait, the Moon is seldom this close, it almost looks like there should be an eclipse!" Well I didn't get to witness the actual eclipse, but my experience in Stellarium sufficed.
So why was I staring at the Sun anyway? I was finishing up on my analemma banner :). See the banner on top, with the figure of eight and a yellow circle? Yup, that's a simulated analemma that my friend Yong Kian and I came out with. It's amazing what a mathematician and programmer can produce when they work together. I wanted a analemma calendar for my blog so I approached him to help me with the coding. After spending 1 afternoon, we managed to produce it, I did some final touch-up on the Sun (ok it doesn't really look like the Sun but it's a diagram anyway =P) and added in a nice background photo that I captured last week. And there you have it, a really cool banner. Much credits to him.
How does it work? The Sun's position in the analemma changes every single day. This is a simplified rising analemma when viewed from the equator, with exact East in the middle (in terms of length) (it's not the intersection). Come visit my blog everyday and observe where the Sun appears to be :)
If this interests you, feel free to try your own experiment by observing where the Sun rises from as viewed from the same location everyday (you can view it from your own kitchen/bedroom window) Do this for 6 months and see how far the Sun has moved ;).
Re-opening (Again!)
I don't know how many times I have abandoned and reopened my blog, this could probably be the 5th time? But I'm back again! This time with a lighter tone for my background.
Why did I abandon my blog some time last year?
One issue is probably the lack of time. When there is no obligation to write, there just isn't spare time. If there was free time I probably spent it on MSN and Youtube.
A major factor would be Facebook. If my blog serves as a channel for me to express myself, then Facebook does a better job at it. If sharing information, photos, videos, are the reasons why I would post a blog entry, Facebook does a better job. In short, Facebook replaced Blogger in my life.
Why did I come back to my blog now?
Facebook is still an efficient platform for me to share media, but I'm hopelessly addicted to Facebook and I need to ease out of the obsession. I don't want Facebook to be my unoffical homepage. I can't imagine how empty I would feel if Facebook suddenly closed down without notice. More importantly, I think I'm losing my ability to write. Since young, writing had always been a must because of essay-writing assignments. But in Uni, I write equations, proofs, solve math...
How long will this blog last?
It's hard to say. I don't want to commit myself to blog forever. I'll try and post a new blog post at least once a week, probably once a fortnight during critical periods like mid-terms and finals.
So what better time to reopen my blog, the start of a new year, a new semester =D
Lets hope this will not be the only post of 2011 =P
Why did I abandon my blog some time last year?
One issue is probably the lack of time. When there is no obligation to write, there just isn't spare time. If there was free time I probably spent it on MSN and Youtube.
A major factor would be Facebook. If my blog serves as a channel for me to express myself, then Facebook does a better job at it. If sharing information, photos, videos, are the reasons why I would post a blog entry, Facebook does a better job. In short, Facebook replaced Blogger in my life.
Why did I come back to my blog now?
Facebook is still an efficient platform for me to share media, but I'm hopelessly addicted to Facebook and I need to ease out of the obsession. I don't want Facebook to be my unoffical homepage. I can't imagine how empty I would feel if Facebook suddenly closed down without notice. More importantly, I think I'm losing my ability to write. Since young, writing had always been a must because of essay-writing assignments. But in Uni, I write equations, proofs, solve math...
How long will this blog last?
It's hard to say. I don't want to commit myself to blog forever. I'll try and post a new blog post at least once a week, probably once a fortnight during critical periods like mid-terms and finals.
So what better time to reopen my blog, the start of a new year, a new semester =D
Lets hope this will not be the only post of 2011 =P
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