Reflections of a biow's life on her birthday..

Not to say I don't reflect on a daily basis.. but it's during special occasions that prompts me to think about my life.. to assess whatever there is to assess.. this year, i look into myself and see how much i've aged.. though with my petite frame, people seems to think i'm young.. but my critical eyes are telling me otherwise.. i never had double eyelid.. all the while during schooling time, my eyes are single eyelid.. then now, due to wrinkles+sagging skin i guess, i'm having double eyelids now.. trust me, they are wrinkles!.. and having kids just disrupt my sleeping pattern.. i've not been sleeping through straight for more than 4/5 hrs.. and i was such a sleeping beauty, u know.. i'm well known for sleeping through my alarm ringing for an hour.. u know those old type of china alarm clock with 2 bells on top and the small hammer swinging left and right repeately.. during my uni days, i had to print out my exams timetable for my housemates so that they will wake me up for my exams!.. so, i'm really looking forward to the day where I can sleep through..

Then i take a look at my career or the lack of.. ahh.. nothing to show there.. depressing indeed..

i guess i'm proudest of my 2 kids - Ken and Wenn.. I'm really proud of them.. EM like to say i "senang" alreadie cos both of them can now shower by their own, dress themselves though wenn need some help with socks.. and i'm so proud that they are really cheerful kids.. able to play with strangers.. and able to play with their cousins whenever we went back.. also, Ken har learned so much.. he's finally able to read simple words.. able to write better.. show more interest in drawing.. i'm really proud of him.. even wenn, without me teaching he can understand the concept of more and less.. i group 2 sets of items, asked him which is more.. he is able to point out to me.. ahh.. the 2 cheeky rascal..

But, many times i'm affected by my self-guilt, self-doubt.. wondering shd i be spending more time with ken and wenn as it seems they hv grown big without me noticing.. wondering shd i have done more.. but in all, i have more proud moments of them than sad.. i guess i too i must learn to accept that my kids are individuals, and i should not compare them with other kids

In conclusion, i think i'm really truly blessed.. and not to mention a hubby that take my nonsense.. keke.. i love my life..

MOE TV Programme "Education Junior, Hand-in-Hand" on Channel News Asia

If you’re wondering how your involvement makes a difference in your child’s school life, switch on the TV next month and find out what other parents are doing.

Educating Junior, Hand-in-Hand is a two-part series about how parents’ involvement in school affects the learning experience of their children.

Episode 1, which focuses on parents with children in primary school:

Baked this Rich Choco Fudge Cake birthday cake

Tutorial: Black and White with some parts colored using Photoshop CS3

Step 1. Make color pictures into black and white
1. Open your image file in Photoshop CS3.
2. Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Channel Mixer.


3. Click OK.


4. Checked / Ticked the Monochrome check box.
5. Adjust the Red, Green, Blue percentage. These 3 values need to add up to be 100%


Note: If you stop here, this is how you can convert regular color digital photos into black and white photos.

Step 2. Highlight the objects you want colored
1. Select Brush Tool.
2. Set Foreground Color to black and Background color to white.


3. Select a brush size. Here I selected 50 px.


4. Paint over the area which you want colored with the brush. Adjust the size of the brush as needed.


5. Opps, I painted a wrong area. How? Just switch the foreground to be white and background to be black and paint over the "wrong" area. Or you can un-do, of course.

Taa-daa.. so, this is how you can make your digital images or pictures into Black and White with some parts colored using Photoshop CS3.. here are the before and after:

Biow Tutorial: Black and White with some parts colored using Photoshop CS3

See also:
1. Tutorial: Adding copyright watermark to your images using Photoshop
2. Biow Tutorial: Animate series of images with Photoshop CS3
3. Tutorial: Reflection effect in PS
4. Reference: Photoshop Magnifying Glass Tutorial
5. Reference: Add Speech Balloons and Text Bubbles to Your Photos in Photoshop or Elements Tutorial

Singapore electricity tariffs up by 5.38 cents per kilowatt per hour, increase of 21%, highest in 7 years

SINGAPORE: Singaporeans will see an increase of 21 per cent in their electricity bills in the last quarter of this year.

The average electricity tariffs from October to December would go up by 5.38 cents per kilowatt per hour. The Energy Market Authority (EMA) said the increase is due to higher fuel oil prices.

For the last quarter of this year, oil prices were nearly S$155 per barrel, 38 per cent more than the third quarter.

So average monthly electricity bills look set to rise by S$5.70 to S$22.92 for those living in one- to five-room public housing flats.

For those living in the one- to three-room flats, this works out to an increase of between S$90 and S$223 in electricity bills for this year.
... The EMA feels there is more room for Singaporeans to conserve and use less energy. That's because the EMA's surveys and findings show that nearly 40 per cent of Singapore homes are using more energy than they require to. And the air conditioner is one of the largest energy guzzlers in homes here.

Here are some things we have done to conserve and use less energy:

• Switch off the aircond. We no longer use air cond for years. We use fan.
• Replace the electric hot air-pot with a Tiger vacuum flask.
• Turn off any gadgets not in use. Don't let them standby and idle. Example, VCR, DVD player, the speakers for the PC's if you don't need the speaker.
• Switch to LCD TV's and LCD monitors. LCD panels use about half the energy required to power equivalent CRT displays of a similar size.
• Turn off un-used lights.
• Use enery saving bulbs.
• For fridge, leave room around food to allow air to circulate, keeping our refrigerator cool without requiring more energy.
• For freezer, as opposed to the refrigerator, the food in our freezer is packed tight. An easy solution is to fill extra space with water bottles to help retain the cold.
• Let hot foods cool to room temperature before putting them in the fridge. Putting hot food in the fridge will raise the temperature incide, making your refrigerator work harder and suck up more energy.

Actually all these remind me of my parents nagging when i'm younger. When we leave a room (be it kitchen, bedroom, bathroom) we must switch off the lights. Else, my mom will start nagging. Similarly, our family bonding time was all gather in the living room watching tv at night. These days, you find that in a family, a sibbling will be in the room using computer, another in another room yakking on the phone with the wireless phone, the mom watching one tv in the living room, the dad may be watching another tv in another room. Also, last time, we always need to help my mom clear the food after dinner. Those warm soup, we will leave on the table. Wash up everything. Showered. Then keep the food that had been cool into the fridge. My mom's rationale then was not to spoil the fridge. But actually, it's really enery savings. I think, in the old days, when we were poor, we are really made to be thrifty and more responsible to nature. And our CRT TV is so small. 19"? and so happpy. These days, people looking at 42" and above. So, perhaps, we really need to look back to ways of old days.

See also:
1. ABC Guide to Beating Inflation in Singapore and Elsewhere, Part 1
2. ABC Guide to Beating Inflation in Singapore and Elsewhere, Part 2
3. ABC Guide to Beating Inflation in Singapore and Elsewhere, Part 3
4. ABC Guide to Beating Inflation in Singapore and Elsewhere, Part 4
5. Your power bill is standing

Awed by Canon EOS 5D Mark II HD movie clips sample REVERIE by Vincent Laforet

The whole world is really getting excited over this DSLR.. the first EOS with full High Definition video capability.. and it's not difficult to see why after you see this raw footage by Vincent from the prototype EOS 5D MKII that Canon allowed him to borrow over a 72 hour period - REVERIE.

From dpreview.com:
Canon redefines the future of photography: 21.1 MP EOS 5D Mark II offers Full HD video capture - the successor to the venerable EOS 5D, the world's first 'compact' full frame digital SLR. The EOS 5D Mark II boasts a new 21MP CMOS sensor, an expanded ISO range of 50-25,600 and a wealth of improvements and new features including full 1080p HD movie recording, live view, 3.0" 920k dot LCD, DIGIC IV processor, increased battery capacity and sensor dust reduction. UPDATE: Body-only prices: US: $ 2,699, EU: ? 2,499, UK: £ 2,299.

Exciting times ahead.. this is the beginning.. few years down, it will get cheaper for us all.. a new era of cheaper greater tech unfolds..