ervine

Did u guys hear of the soya sauce that got it's black colour from human hair?? Yikes!

I've actually heard this countless times, especially from the older folk and goodness knows how many times from my parents... U know the old chinese saying.. "don't listen to old people, will regret later".. er.. something like that.. yah I guess it might be true.. but I'm not someone who always listens to his parents.. haha... Actually the momentum is already lost for me.. in architecture I mean... and I agree that going back is very demoralising which is why it might push me even more to make sure I don't get into a situation where I have to go back... Heard this before too.. but seriously I will not bother to put my qualifications in my name card considering the business I might be going into.. so I don't really think it's a big issue... and I seriously hope people will not judge me based on what paper is stuck to my name but rather the kind of work I can produce... but this is perhaps just being naive on my part... It seems like a lot of people are pretty negative.. well not negative but rather trying to advise me to stay and get my honors... and I know it's probably for my own good... but I seriously seriously cannot see myself staying any longer than this semester... I don't know if you bros can see it from my point of view but it's like when you are going to ORD and they tell u to serve one more year... get what I mean? That's how I feel now...

Apologies but I disagree completely... there are a lot of things in life more important than a piece of paper... Yup back up plan is my 1 year leave... so I have 1 year to try it out before deciding whether or not to go back... but the architecture friends that I have spoken to told me never to come back or even have the thought of coming back so that I will push myself more... I bet if given a choice most of them would want to leave as well... or at least leave this school... Well it's not like I get NOTHING.. I still getting a degree.. though quite a useless one.. haha.. Fan2 ah.. fan2 ah...

works on the principle of resonance right? Cool... can't wait to see pics.. no see video

Oh.. hm.. usually females (don't mean to be sexist or anything here, it's just a trend I noticed) will prefer to get one that's small and handy... maybe even brainless... so best is she go down and see what she likes.. As it is most digicams nowadays are almost on par with one another in terms of image quality.. and without close scrutiny u can hardly tell...

If you talking abt macro reef then maybe even the ability to mount on an external flash and adapting on a macro lens or close up filter would come to mind... Still the canon A series comes to mind.. But if you are like me who are picky abt the design of products, I don't like the look for the canon A series...

Exactly why the paper is in fact useless... just to prove to a potential employer that you are of a certain calibre... sad but true.. Actually if you ask me.. I'm not learning much from NUS.. most of the things I learn myself if at all... I seriously feel I'm not getting my money's worth in terms of an education. Yups... of course.. nothing ventured nothing gained.. Well I know all the advice you bros have given is in my best interest.. really grateful for all the advice.. but I guess it's eventually down to me to make a decision... and the more I think and type the more it seems as if that decision has already been made...

Do NOT get digital zoom.. might as well just photoshop resize... Your decision on a P&S cam also depends on how much control u want with the camera. Generally speaking Canon cameras are pretty decent because of their rather accurate white balancing, the canon A series comes to mind for manual control, the ixus for style... But then again, I've used my gf's olympus mui 400 and the pictures turned out fine at 4R....

That's assuming that the business can be run from home... not all businesses can be run from home

Yes I can breeze thru year 4 and still pull of a decent honors BUT, breezing through is still not easy.. as it is, I'm already putting my studies aside to plan for my future but still I find it difficult to find time to balance the two. Also, I'm not the kind of person who will slack off and not put the required effort into a designated project even though I have lost interest in it... But then again.. what's the point of the honors? To get a job? Coz it's close to useless in architecture (to be an architect) if not it'll be generic jobs which basically don't even require my experience or expertise at all. To get a higher starting salary? Perhaps.. but still.. generic job... I have thought of SEP, it was actually my initial intention, but I rather spend the money to start a business, 1 semester in an European or American university usually amounts to S$10k while a Chinese or Korean one $5k... money which I can spend on other things... not to mention the fees for NUS itself for a year which would be around S$5k... put that together and I have S$5-10k to work with instead. Actually what I'm most worried about is maintaining a reasonable income in the long run... I doubt what we have in mind will last us throughout our lifetimes.. my partner knows that as well... Decisions.. decisions...

Yup got that covered, in any case from what we see from the quality of work the freelancers produce are really quite poor no doubt their prices undercut the pros by more than half. Well you pay for what you get... we don't intend to scrimp on quality to go for a better price, hopefully people can see that and would be willing to pay more. I feel that for services a higher price with better quality/serivce does not equate to losing customers. But if we venture into our product idea then we'll go all out to undercut everyone else... different strategy for both arms of our business... well at least that's in the ideal world...

haha what business bro?

Hi guys, Thanks a lot for all the advice so far... didn't expect so many replies over just one night.. haha.. Well anyway, I realised I did not mention the nature of the business, well not to let too much out of the bag, we are thinking of going into the creative service related line with a small tad of product to supplement. Not intending to rent as yet if we do so it will be an some obsucre location due to the nature of the business. Basically we are aiming to keep overheads low first then see how things go before we start bogging ourselves down with expensive rental and equipment. Manpower wise it's not a problem I foresee, as for finances, we almost have everything which we need, investment wise probably another few thousand will be more than enough to keep us going for at least 6 months or more if we do not rent. Contacts wise we are a little short but once we build up the business plan we'll start to market ourselves a little stronger. I would have expected a few people to advise me on to continue my studies, well just to let you guys know here are the reasons why I don't wish to pursue my honors: 1. because I simply cannot stand the way the school is run, I don't know about other courses in NUS but for my course I can tell you almost everyone I speak to has something bad and nothing good to say about the course. Hard to explain... It's not like my grades are really bad in fact they are considered to be very good but then again I have lost faith in the NUS grading system altogether and NUS (archi) as a whole for that matter. I've already had enough of it's nonsense and will probably go mad if I take on another year or even 2 years to get my masters 2. If you ask me, an honors or no honors, will make a difference only if I'm looking for a job outside my field . In fact I wonder who would even hire me considering the nature of my degree (although I have already had offers for which I am not interesed). Furthermore, from what I understand in the creative fields no one really looks at how pretty your piece of paper is but how impressive your portfolio is. Hopefully this is true. 3. it's something personal but I don't believe that a piece of paper can prove how good a person is and I'm sick of people thinking as such, most people use the paper only to secure their 1st job then chuck it aside for the rest of their lives or hang it up as a piece of decoration. My brother has an overseas masters in electrical engineering but is now slogging away for the government almost like an office clerk.. so what's the point of getting the paper? Higher pay? Coz he hates his job anyways... 4. I don't really care how people see me, masters, honors, degree, or whatever because I don't think I need to prove to them anything except that I can run my own business and run it well. In fact even if I get a masters from my school I don't think I'll feel any pride at all. That said I also forgot to mention that I do have a plan B. In fact I intend to take leave of absence from my course for a maximum of 1 year. So I have that 1 year to make up my mind and make sure things go the way they are supposed to, if in that 1 year everything fails I still can go back to continue my studies. Though I hope that will never be the case. Hm... well for those who have given up something to start their own businesses, have you ever regretted it? Even if you failed? Thanks a bunch guys, need to clear my mind to make a decision. Ervine.

Hi guys, Got some serious things I need advice with especially from other budding or exisitng entrepreneurs.. I'm currently in my 3rd year in architecture at NUS and I'm seriously considering on graduating this year, giving up my potential 1st class honors to go ahead with plans on starting a small business with a few friends of mine. While any sane person would say that I've gone mad because I'm giving up my honors, I feel that it's pointless for me to waste another year of my youth pursuing a piece of paper that in my opinion is worthless because I have decided not to become an architect in future. In addition, I've always, ALWAYS, wanted to become my own boss and what better time than to start now while I am still young rather than to be tied down by family or financial commitments when I'm older. Yes I am aware of the potential risks involved but after looking at the working life of a local architect during a internship stint, I have realised that this is not what I am looking for. I have looked around for other possible careers in the creative lines but all of which would lead me to working under somebody else, while some people might think that I'm a little too over confident thinking that I can go out without any experience, I think that the challenge itself would be interesting enough to keep me going even though my bank account would probably run dry. So as u can see it's a very big decision for me considering the risks involved... any general advice is more than welcomed... Thanks a bunch! Ervine

true true... TV, computer, reef stuff, gadgets, other girls.. etc etc etc

Haha I also would like to know.. i used a plastic ruler smooth here smooth there no use.. so I gave up in the end

Anyway just to help u out in ur sales, I am using this phone now after my T610 got stolen and I feel that this phone is an "upgrade" from the T610, functions, speed, etc wise all better...

hm.. from what I remember from my past experience with aquarama is that there's nothing much to see... I rather go to the fish farms and LFSes... Let us know what you are looking for and perhaps some of us can bring you around... would be much better than trying to go at yourself and getting "chopped" (quoted overly high prices)... Would love to go to new zealand some day though.. hehe...

Ooo.. more macro shots.. what camera and what lens bro? Gramma looks damn sharp!

It's a sooner or later thing I feel... cannot control the lionfish's natural instincts one...

I think some plastics can deteriorate after time.. i used to have a black mesh in the back of my freshwater tank which started to break apart after a year or two... So best is to play safe

isn't the acrylic quite expensive?

Yeah not worth it already... also if you don't use reflectors then it's quite sad coz you will lose a lot of light... I mean individual reflectors

try the seio.. if not u can try my method.. a maxijet with it's outlet sawn off then running on a timer... so every now and then it turns on and jets out quite a powerful but dispersed flow of water...

single 20K blv was and still is too blue for my liking actually.. it sort of mutes all other colours... but if you supplement it with some other tubes then it's not too bad...