Residing in sunny Singapore where the food is great, weather is either too hot or too wet, where the worst drivers in the world are found and cars prices so high that car owners feel they own the road.
Just when I thought Transformers is way cool/must watch kind of movie for me..... take a look at this! You gotta watch a movie that Chow Yun Fatt says "Welcome to Singapore!"
Yup, I'm 99% going to sell my Stupid4 (Honda CB400) and getting the lengendary VFR800. The problem is, there's 2 good deals around and I can't really decide. Help!
This year is an exciting year for comic/cartoon movies!
Recently screened is 300, a film adaptation of Frank miller's graphic novel. Then very soon is TMNT (or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, for the younger generations). It is also this cartoon that introduced to my world the word 'wacky', to the American teens culture nd the way they talk, and the food known as pizza.
And of course, in my last post, the much awaited Spiderman 3. Not forgetting Harry Potter....something.
And now, ladies and gentleman, presenting a cartoon adaptation that truly will only be remembered by people older than 25 this year. Where the word Starscream refers to a whiny coward and Optimus as the noble, kind hearted warrior. May I present...Transformers - the movie!
I started watching MotoGP in 2005. For the ill-informed, MotoGP is the ultimate motorcycle race event, akin to the status of F1 for cars. Racers will compete in 18 circuits around the world, in million dollar prototype bikes and the winner of the championship, is declared World Champion.
And there's one name that dominated the MotoGP right now - Valentino Rossi. Generally regarded as the best motorcycle racer of our time, he has won 5 straight championships (2001-2005) at the tender age of 28. Yes he's the same blardy age as me.
Anyway, he's also the reason I stoped watching MotoGP in 2006. Cos he made it boring. He made it look easy and even when he left Honda (which produces the RC211V MotoGP bike, the bike that's generally regarded as the best bike) to join the not-so-kilat Yamaha, he showed to the world that it's the monkey behind the steering bars that made the difference, not the mechanical monster between the monkey's balls.
But, to my disbelief, he DID NOT attain the world champion in 2006! Some will say bad luck. Rossi says it's complacency. The new champion says...well, actually nobody bothers with what he says.
Which brings us to 2007. An exciting year, as we awaits the Revenge of Rossi. And it's also this year that the clowns in MotoGP realise that the older 990 cc bikes is too powerful and hence reduce the engine capacity to 800 cc. Sure, laptimes may suffer a bit because the bikes are less powerful, but it'll make the sport safer and maybe more competitive.
Their decision was right, but not in the way they had anticipated. Yes the bikes is less powerful and yes, by changing the engine capacity, manufacturers have to redesign the bikes and that means manufactureres like Suzuki, Kawasaki and even KR Proton can stand a chance at beating the battle-proven of Yamaha, Honda and Ducati.
But as the first race for 2007 is over, we realise that reducing the power and engine capacity of the bikes DID NOT slow down the laptimes! The bikes are now lighter, more nimble, and in the hands of world-class motorcycle racers, can carry a higher corner speed than the 990 cc monsters of 2003-2005. Furthermore, now the tires can handle the power produced by the bikes. So although less peak bHP, but it results in more useful power. Just take a look at this screenshot and compare Rossi's lap record in Qatar in 2006 (on the 990 cc, 240 bHP bike) against the winner of the Qatar 07 race (on a 800cc Ducati, about 200 bHP).
In case you're wondering how did the demi-god Rossi lost, he lost because his Yamaha was slaughtered by the Ducati on the straights. The Doctor tried his best and overtook the Ducati 3-4 times on the corners but when it comes to the straight, no amt of late braking or corner speed is going to beat the Ducati. Watch the clip and see for yourself! http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=380163608596191849&hl=en
Yup, it's gonna be an exciting year again for MotoGP! One more justification for my broadband subscription then!
Firstly, the silence in this blog doesn't infer that I was in another catastrophic bike accident. Nope, it's just that things got a bit hectic, with Valentine's Day, CNY and a new job. And basically there's nothing much to blog about really, now that I cannot take leave and my work schedule starts at 7 am and ends like 5 pm.
Also, this blog may get less updates as I have another blog, dedicated to the blood spewing career of a secondary school teacher in Singapore. Ladies and gentleman, may I present:
Greetings! Another fruitful year has passed and as we look forward to 2007 with high hopes and great aspirations, let us take stock of our glorious past performance at the square table (see here for details).
Executive Summary
A total of 48 games were played since the inception of the mahjong stats board till 31 Dec 2006. The total fund accumulated by wins is $986.90, which brings the mean fund generation to $20.56.
Table 1 shows the raw performance figures:
snowparang
OWLS
Alex
Han Siang
+12.30
+5.30
-11.20
-6.40
+16.70
+5.90
+12.20
-34.80
-0.30
+8.40
+4.50
-12.60
-6.50
+16.40
-13.90
+4.00
+14.00
-16.10
-1.60
+3.70
-4.50
-1.90
+20.00
-13.60
+10.50
-1.80
-1.70
-7.00
+16.50
-22.80
+10.40
-4.10
-21.50
+32.40
-8.80
-2.10
+6.90
+1.40
+0.10
-8.40
+7.60
+0.60
-8.00
-0.20
-17.10
-7.70
-2.80
+27.60
-7.40
-0.40
+22.50
-14.70
-13.90
-3.70
+19.70
-2.10
+9.90
-2.70
-18.30
+11.10
+25.20
-12.50
-13.30
+0.60
+7.10
+17.90
+1.50
-26.50
+9.90
+2.70
-5.50
-7.10
-5.10
+22.30
-1.10
-16.10
-3.10
+9.00
+5.80
-11.70
+10.90
-2.50
-11.10
+2.70
-4.10
+1.40
-5.30
+8.00
-15.90
+4.20
+25.10
-13.40
-17.30
+39.60
-1.70
-20.60
+2.20
+1.80
-18.00
+14.00
-9.80
-6.10
-4.10
+20.00
-13.10
+36.20
-15.10
-8.00
+22.30
+25.70
-5.20
-42.80
+24.20
-22.50
-0.30
-1.40
+5.10
+15.30
-10.30
-10.10
+37.50
-2.50
-10.30
-24.70
+5.10
-1.90
-15.20
+12.00
-41.40
+12.80
38.90
-10.30
+5.00
-0.80
-10.80
+6.60
+3.70
-20.80
+10.10
+7.00
-9.20
-9.20
+14.20
+4.20
-9.50
-5.10
+7.50
+7.10
+11.00
-0.70
-19.30
+9.00
-7.50
+0.30
-8.70
+15.90
+3.50
-3.40
-5.30
+5.20
-17.10
+26.40
+3.60
-12.90
+7.70
-9.30
+6.10
-4.50
+0.50
-1.40
+4.90
-4.00
-10.30
-11.70
+11.00
+11.00
-4.10
+10.40
-7.80
+1.50
-2.60
+6.40
-1.40
-2.40
-0.80
+6.70
+1.10
-7.00
+3.90
-1.60
+7.80
-10.10
+37.10
+140.40
-9.10
-168.40
Table 1 - Raw performance figures 2006
Performance Details
1. snowparang
snowparang's performance at the Square Table are shown in the 2 charts below:
Review snowparang's performance sees sharp rises and falls almost periodically, resulting in a low mean output of $0.77 per game. The trend is slightly on the downward slope, mainly attributed to the high losses and low wins near mid till the end of the fiscal period.
The cumulative graph display an almost cyclical/seasonal trend. Sharp rises and sharp falls are common and overall the trend is on the slow but positive side.
Outlook and forecast Following the cyclical nature of snowparang's performance, we expect good yield in 1Q2007 and 3Q2007. Long term forecast is positive but with little yield.
2. OWLS
OWLS's performance at the Square Table are shown in the 2 charts below:
Review OWLS has manage to produce high revenue while keeping low loses consistently on the battlefield. This results in the highest mean output of $2.93 per game as well as the highest average winnings of $12.90. The trendline is almost level but remains firmly in the positive regime.
The cumulative graph display a unique 2 stage, almost sigmoidal curve. Though lacklustre performance are recorded at the start and end of the fiscal period, an impressive sharp rise of revenue in the middle helps to give a strongly positive trend for OWLS's cumulative performance.
Outlook and forecast The strongest so far, OWLS look set to maintain his current high earnings by continuing to minimize losses and captalizing on winning situations. The mid of 2007 will prove to be interesting for OWLS as he will no doubt attempt to repeat his stellar performance ala mid 2006.
3. Alex
Alex's performance at the Square Table are shown in the 2 charts below:
Review Alex's performance in 2006 has been disappointing. With more losses than wins (28 losses, 20 wins), Alex has manage to stay very nearly afloat by amassing occasional huge winnings to offset the previous losses. The trendline is almost level and has stayed close to the axis, which corresponds to the very low negative yield (-$0.19 per game) for Alex.
Alex's cumulative graph depicts a negative trend. This is attributed to a sharp increase in losses at the mid period, offsetting the rewards of the initial stable performance. Coming to the end of 2006, Alex gives a more predicatable and positive performance.
Outlook and forecast More is yet to be seen of Alex's performance. Being a stable performer, Alex should gain positive albeit low yields in the long run if he can overcome and minimize the 'dark' periods of heavy losses.
4. HanSiang
HanSiang's performance at the Square Table are shown in the 2 charts below:
Review Everyone's favorite Battle partner, HanSiang was a newcomer to the Square Table and this clearly shows in his initial and subsequent performance. With only 19 wins out of 48, HanSiang average yield per game is -$3.51. Not only is he failing to win, he has clocked some of the greatest losses, including the highest loss per game of $42.80. However, HanSiang is the only performer that has managed a positive slope on his trendline.
Correspondingly, HanSiang's cumulative graph stayed below the axis throughout. He displayed great consistency in the negative direction, although towards the mid-end of 2006 there are signs of a revitalisation in performance.
Outlook and forecast Despite the odds, HanSiang is resilent that he will reverse the current trends for 2007. As shown by the positive trendline and distinct improvement at end 2006, his claims may not be entirely unfounded and overstated.
Summary of achievements
Conclusion
It has been an enjoyable year at the Square Table and I hope you will find the performance review useful and inspiring. As we step into the new year 2007, we shall give a fresh start for everyone and reset the mahjong data.
It was raining for almost 2 full days in SIngapore, from 18 Dec till 19 Dec. Bugger, cos I was planning on a trip to the Pasir Gudang track on the 20th. With the rain still coming down relentless even on the night of 19th, it seems the trip was not meant to be....
But hey, Singapore is not known for consistent weather, and miraculously the shine shone brightly on 20 Dec morning! So I met up with Steven at the JB custom (he was 30 mins late, while I was 15 mins late....) and we proceeded to the track.
It was a first time for Steven, but here you can see his enthusiasm! His timing ain't fantastic but it's his first time and he only had a 30 min session, so it's kinda understandable.
After Steven's session, we were waiting patiently for the 'guest stars' of the day. Finally, FHM has gotten a track kaki to join him in the mindless wastage of rubber on Malaysia's grounds. And a faster car at that - a Subaru WRX STi. Though they were late due to jam, we were not disappointed with the action...
