eric introduced this brain-teaser/puzzle to the jc gang. it involves rolling 5 dice and guessing the score. you have to figure out how the score is calculated.
you can crack your brains here.
i took about half an hour and after 10 throws before i started to get the answers correct. my solution involves addition and subtraction. while ky’s solution even includes multiplication!
then i realised we only got the “algorithm” and not THE solution.
have fun!
Friday, November 18, 2005
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
harry potter and the goblet of fire
one of the much-awaited movies of the year, and as usual, johann organised the outing and booked the tickets for jc gang.why must it always rain when i go to gv grand to watch movie?
i remember it rained when we were there to catch the premiere of star wars episode 3 earlier this year and i had to dash across the traffic crossing.
was slightly late as i grabbed dinner at mcdonald’s together with doris and thomas. luckily, we were still on time for the movie. ky couldn’t turn up at the last minute so janet’s ticket went to waste.
although i’ve read all the 6 books so far [my sis is a fan], i only have vague recollections of book 4 [which remains the longest of the entire series] so the movie gave me a chance to “re-discover” the story all over again.
i find the movie well-paced covering the main highlights of the book but there were some criticisms from those who haven’t read the book saying that the movie was moving a tad too slowly.
highlights of the movie include the yule ball, 3 tasks of the tri-wizard tournament and of course the neurotic mad-eyed moody who was a hoot, especially the scene where he transfigured draco as a punishment.
the girls from beauxbatons academy looked like a bunch of singing and dancing flight attendants when they first made their appearance at the great hall. while the boys from durmstrang institute seemed to be from some militant, monastic order.
the uproar surrounding cho chang was a non-event, just another new character played by an asian actress that’s all. perhaps i’m not a hormonally-charged teenage girl crazy over daniel radcliffe.
the yule ball saw everybody dressed to the nines. the transformation of hermione wasn’t as dramatic as in the book since she’s already looking pretty enough in the movie. ron was uncomfortable in his dress robes while harry looked dashing in his tuxedo.
the tri-wizard tournament with 3 tasks for the champions from the 3 schools culminated in the showdown with lord voldermort.
it’s always a joy to see the book transformed into the enchanting world of magic in the movie, albeit a very distilled version. nevertheless, muggles wouldn’t understand the allure of the magical world coming alive before your own eyes.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
hong kong café
my phone rang when i was walking home from the mrt station.
it was eric on the line… he said tracy is hungry and asked if i wanted to go hong kong café for supper. his curiosity of the café was obviously aroused when we were talking about it earlier in the evening. probably piqued by the café unconventional operating hours at a not-so convenient location.
my first reaction was “huh?!”
i had just came back from the east side of the island. now still walking home with my stuff and skates and feeling hot and sweaty from the day’s activities, and he’s asking me if i wanted to traverse halfway across the island again when i haven’t even stepped home yet?
on the other hand, it seems like a good opportunity to check out the place since eric and tracy are so keen and doris and thomas are at the nearby chalet.
i said yes on the condition that he comes and pick me up after i had the time to shower and change. he agreed readily. trust eric to trudge all over the island for good/interesting food.
very soon, i was in eric’s car with my hair still wet from my shower on the way to pick up doris and thomas at the chalet. after failing to locate the café “using the force”, eric referred to his trusty street directory to get us there.
the café was bright and easily spotted from the road. the tables outside were all taken. a very good crowd considering it’s around midnight. thankfully, we didn’t have to look too hard for a table.
everything on the chef’s recommendation menu look good. i almost wished i was more hungry! you have to write down the item number on the order chit and place your orders at the counter. the funny thing is, they don’t require you to pay up first.
i ordered the instant noodles in soup with pork chop, bo luo bao and tea with milk. the noodles came with a slice of ham and a fried egg on top. the pork chop, tender and well-marinated was given a unanimous 2-thumbs-up by all present except for thomas who didn’t get to sample it.
tracy looked like she could finish the dry noodles with pork chop and luncheon meat all by herself until she exercised some restrain and push the bowl over to eric.
doris’ french toast was sinfully buttery. while the mini bo luo bao were good too. tracy proclaimed her dumplings with almond paste, “nice!”
my tea with milk was done, traditional hong kong-styled, with lots of evaporated milk. satisfying. thomas likes his yuan yang too.
too bad the hot drinks were not served in those big, white ceramic tea cups typically used at such cafes in hong kong. that would have made the experience truly authentic with the canto-pop playing over the air.
doris noticed that the crowd seems rather young, mainly in their twenties. very similar to one which you’ll see at fong seng. guess the older crowd is not into instant noodles and canned food! hehe…
overall, the food was good and up to our expectations. doris and thomas think it’s way better than central at takashimaya. and i think so too.
a pity that i couldn’t be back often due to its location.
sigh.
it was eric on the line… he said tracy is hungry and asked if i wanted to go hong kong café for supper. his curiosity of the café was obviously aroused when we were talking about it earlier in the evening. probably piqued by the café unconventional operating hours at a not-so convenient location.
my first reaction was “huh?!”
i had just came back from the east side of the island. now still walking home with my stuff and skates and feeling hot and sweaty from the day’s activities, and he’s asking me if i wanted to traverse halfway across the island again when i haven’t even stepped home yet?
on the other hand, it seems like a good opportunity to check out the place since eric and tracy are so keen and doris and thomas are at the nearby chalet.
i said yes on the condition that he comes and pick me up after i had the time to shower and change. he agreed readily. trust eric to trudge all over the island for good/interesting food.
very soon, i was in eric’s car with my hair still wet from my shower on the way to pick up doris and thomas at the chalet. after failing to locate the café “using the force”, eric referred to his trusty street directory to get us there.
the café was bright and easily spotted from the road. the tables outside were all taken. a very good crowd considering it’s around midnight. thankfully, we didn’t have to look too hard for a table.
everything on the chef’s recommendation menu look good. i almost wished i was more hungry! you have to write down the item number on the order chit and place your orders at the counter. the funny thing is, they don’t require you to pay up first.i ordered the instant noodles in soup with pork chop, bo luo bao and tea with milk. the noodles came with a slice of ham and a fried egg on top. the pork chop, tender and well-marinated was given a unanimous 2-thumbs-up by all present except for thomas who didn’t get to sample it.
tracy looked like she could finish the dry noodles with pork chop and luncheon meat all by herself until she exercised some restrain and push the bowl over to eric.doris’ french toast was sinfully buttery. while the mini bo luo bao were good too. tracy proclaimed her dumplings with almond paste, “nice!”
my tea with milk was done, traditional hong kong-styled, with lots of evaporated milk. satisfying. thomas likes his yuan yang too.
too bad the hot drinks were not served in those big, white ceramic tea cups typically used at such cafes in hong kong. that would have made the experience truly authentic with the canto-pop playing over the air.doris noticed that the crowd seems rather young, mainly in their twenties. very similar to one which you’ll see at fong seng. guess the older crowd is not into instant noodles and canned food! hehe…
overall, the food was good and up to our expectations. doris and thomas think it’s way better than central at takashimaya. and i think so too.
a pity that i couldn’t be back often due to its location.
sigh.
Saturday, November 12, 2005
fun @ east coast
doris booked a chalet at east coast costa sands resort and invited the jcgang to join her for some sea, sun and sand.
sl [wong], ky and i shared a cab there from clementi. eric arrived shortly after us. we just lazed around watching tv in air-conditioned comfort while waiting for janet and cayden. johann and diane surprised us by arriving before janet did.
doris, ky and i were just kitting up for our skate so johann and diane joined us on a rented “family” bike. that’s a tandem bike with a child seat right at the back.
janelle had been clamouring “bicycle, bicycle!” earlier. she seems pretty excited by it all since it’s her first time at east coast. i think she enjoyed herself very much today.
we skated/cycled over to bedok jetty. took a short break there to enjoy the sea breeze. we didn’t skate too badly considering that we haven’t been practicing for a few months. :) nobody fell. :P
after that we split up as we wanted to skate a bit more in the other direction while johann and family returned to the chalet. i was told later that janelle kept asking for “uncle mun yue” on the way back.
this is proof that nice cookies can buy your way into children’s hearts. :) haha…
dinner was at pasta fresca since we needed a big table and a child seat. unfortunately, it wasn’t one on the beach under the stars. after that, we bought desserts from the food centre back to the chalet.
i recommended my favourite cheng tng to eric and he likes it.
janet mentioned about cayden’s head being slightly big. the paediatrician will measure jason’s head at the next appointment to determine if it’s in the genes. then the talk went to cayden’s smelly poop.
doris wondered if that’s in the genes too. :) we couldn’t stop laughing... it was hilarious… haha…
we left at around 10-something. ky and i got a ride out to bugis mrt from eric since he’s going to pick tracy up.
and i thought i’ll be going home for a good night’s sleep…
sl [wong], ky and i shared a cab there from clementi. eric arrived shortly after us. we just lazed around watching tv in air-conditioned comfort while waiting for janet and cayden. johann and diane surprised us by arriving before janet did.
doris, ky and i were just kitting up for our skate so johann and diane joined us on a rented “family” bike. that’s a tandem bike with a child seat right at the back.
janelle had been clamouring “bicycle, bicycle!” earlier. she seems pretty excited by it all since it’s her first time at east coast. i think she enjoyed herself very much today.
we skated/cycled over to bedok jetty. took a short break there to enjoy the sea breeze. we didn’t skate too badly considering that we haven’t been practicing for a few months. :) nobody fell. :P
after that we split up as we wanted to skate a bit more in the other direction while johann and family returned to the chalet. i was told later that janelle kept asking for “uncle mun yue” on the way back.
this is proof that nice cookies can buy your way into children’s hearts. :) haha…
dinner was at pasta fresca since we needed a big table and a child seat. unfortunately, it wasn’t one on the beach under the stars. after that, we bought desserts from the food centre back to the chalet.
i recommended my favourite cheng tng to eric and he likes it.
janet mentioned about cayden’s head being slightly big. the paediatrician will measure jason’s head at the next appointment to determine if it’s in the genes. then the talk went to cayden’s smelly poop.
doris wondered if that’s in the genes too. :) we couldn’t stop laughing... it was hilarious… haha…
we left at around 10-something. ky and i got a ride out to bugis mrt from eric since he’s going to pick tracy up.
and i thought i’ll be going home for a good night’s sleep…
Friday, November 11, 2005
another reply
johann’s invite continues to inspire our creative juices to flow…
here’s the reply from doris:
My humble greeting to the Holder of the Milkbottle and Guardian of the Wet Nappies ? Royal Wizard of the Court of Princess Janelle.
I have read with much interest on your invite to the prestigious Triwizard Tournament on 16 Nov. I do not have the aptitude for such flowery language like my fellow wizards so I will not babble on too much. I wish I have a wand to raise but alas, it was destroyed when I had to loan it to this fellow named Harry Potter. This will be a good occasion to remind him of my contribution to his triumph over he-who-must-not-be-named. Thence, do expect the presence of me and my lord Sir Thomas at the Tournament.
Yours enchantingly,
Doris
Beholder of the wand that-triumphed-over-he-who-must-not-be-named
here’s the reply from doris:
My humble greeting to the Holder of the Milkbottle and Guardian of the Wet Nappies ? Royal Wizard of the Court of Princess Janelle.
I have read with much interest on your invite to the prestigious Triwizard Tournament on 16 Nov. I do not have the aptitude for such flowery language like my fellow wizards so I will not babble on too much. I wish I have a wand to raise but alas, it was destroyed when I had to loan it to this fellow named Harry Potter. This will be a good occasion to remind him of my contribution to his triumph over he-who-must-not-be-named. Thence, do expect the presence of me and my lord Sir Thomas at the Tournament.
Yours enchantingly,
Doris
Beholder of the wand that-triumphed-over-he-who-must-not-be-named
Thursday, November 10, 2005
child of our time
this interesting documentary tracks 20 different children for 20 years starting from the time they’re born around year 2000 to attempt to answer the question “are we born or made?”
tonight’s programme asked the little ones whether they would like their dads to be handsome or kind. all the girls wanted theirs to be kind while the boys wanted theirs to be handsome.
this question was supposed to determine the emotional maturity of the child. the girls’ answer showed that they’re more mature while the boys just wanted a trophy dad.
so it’s already evident from the young age of 5 that girls are indeed more mature than boys of the same age!
i know you gals will be like...
duh! this type of thing still need to test one meh?! hehe...
catch the season finale [for the time being] next thursday @ 10:00pm on arts central if you're interested.
tonight’s programme asked the little ones whether they would like their dads to be handsome or kind. all the girls wanted theirs to be kind while the boys wanted theirs to be handsome.
this question was supposed to determine the emotional maturity of the child. the girls’ answer showed that they’re more mature while the boys just wanted a trophy dad.
so it’s already evident from the young age of 5 that girls are indeed more mature than boys of the same age!
i know you gals will be like...
duh! this type of thing still need to test one meh?! hehe...
catch the season finale [for the time being] next thursday @ 10:00pm on arts central if you're interested.
replies to invite: janet & i
johann’s invitation prompted us to crank our creative juices to come up with suitable replies. janet was pretty amused.
here’s her reply:
Salutations Holder of the Milkbottle and Guardian of the Wet Nappies.... I hereby raise my wand & declare my interest to attend the Triwizard Tournament on 16 Nov. Kindly purchase one precious ticket for myself alone as Sir Wizard Jason has gone to the Magical Oak Forest on the island of Rockhampton to search for a very special wand for our Prince Cayden.
As Prince Cayden was born in the period Jun 10 - Jul 7, his wand is to be made from the King of the Forest - the mighty Oak tree. I know Sir Wizard Jason will be very disappointed that he missed the tournament but no worries... I will record the event and Silverhead will deliver the disc to him. Sir Wizard Jason can then view the tornament on his holly PSP.
Your Royal Highness.
Janet Chew Royal Guardian of Prince Cayden
and here’s my contribution:
greetings to my fellow wizard and dear friend, johann pang, royal wizard of the court of princess janelle
i see that you must have perfected the spell for checking your usual sloven spelling habit. no names have been mis-spelled in your invitation! per chance you've acquired a more powerful wand from ollivander's at diagon alley?
how time flies... the triwizard tournament is upon us again. and to have harry potter represent hogwarts must have been our dear old professor dumbledore's idea since harry is underage. then again, who else but harry who had stood before he-who-must-not-be-named and triumphed. i'm sure he'll do our alma mater proud.
speaking of which, the rumours that he-who-must-not-be-named has returned is utter rubbish!
any wizard or witch worth his hogwarts education would feel it in their bones the putrid sense of dread that now pervades us. the dark lord is back! no question about it. we must not let our guard down nor succumb to his death-eaters underlings!
that said, do count me in for the tournament for i can't wait to re-visit hogwarts after all these years.
yours magically,
mun yue
guardian of the yummy-licious cookies, friend of the royal court of princess janelle
here’s her reply:
Salutations Holder of the Milkbottle and Guardian of the Wet Nappies.... I hereby raise my wand & declare my interest to attend the Triwizard Tournament on 16 Nov. Kindly purchase one precious ticket for myself alone as Sir Wizard Jason has gone to the Magical Oak Forest on the island of Rockhampton to search for a very special wand for our Prince Cayden.
As Prince Cayden was born in the period Jun 10 - Jul 7, his wand is to be made from the King of the Forest - the mighty Oak tree. I know Sir Wizard Jason will be very disappointed that he missed the tournament but no worries... I will record the event and Silverhead will deliver the disc to him. Sir Wizard Jason can then view the tornament on his holly PSP.
Your Royal Highness.
Janet Chew Royal Guardian of Prince Cayden
and here’s my contribution:
greetings to my fellow wizard and dear friend, johann pang, royal wizard of the court of princess janelle
i see that you must have perfected the spell for checking your usual sloven spelling habit. no names have been mis-spelled in your invitation! per chance you've acquired a more powerful wand from ollivander's at diagon alley?
how time flies... the triwizard tournament is upon us again. and to have harry potter represent hogwarts must have been our dear old professor dumbledore's idea since harry is underage. then again, who else but harry who had stood before he-who-must-not-be-named and triumphed. i'm sure he'll do our alma mater proud.
speaking of which, the rumours that he-who-must-not-be-named has returned is utter rubbish!
any wizard or witch worth his hogwarts education would feel it in their bones the putrid sense of dread that now pervades us. the dark lord is back! no question about it. we must not let our guard down nor succumb to his death-eaters underlings!
that said, do count me in for the tournament for i can't wait to re-visit hogwarts after all these years.
yours magically,
mun yue
guardian of the yummy-licious cookies, friend of the royal court of princess janelle
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
invite to harry potter movie
johann wrote this interesting invitation to watch the latest instalment of the harry potter movie together:
Salutations my fellow Wizards and Witches …..
Just received my Daily Prophet from my pet owl Fluffy and read that our most esteemed colleague Professor Dumbledore and his students will be fighting for the honor of our Alma Mater Hogwarts in the prestigious Triwizard Tournament. Amazingly, Harry Potter at such a young age has been chosen to represent Hogwarts (well he did defeat “he who must not be named” after all and by the way, speaking of “he who must not be named”, there are rumors that he and his Death-eaters are returning …. Oh by Merlin’s beard I hope not). In any case, I will be able to obtain precious tickets to the Triwizard Tournament on the 16 Nov (Wed) at 9.50pm (we all know it is a portal to Hogwarts but the Muggles call it GV Grand). So a raise of wands on who wants to go see the tournament. Tickets are running out fast so let me know quick if you are keen … by owl mail.
Yours Humbly,
Johann Pang
Holder of the Milkbottle and Guardian of the Wet Nappies – Royal Wizard of the Court of Princess Janelle.
Salutations my fellow Wizards and Witches …..
Just received my Daily Prophet from my pet owl Fluffy and read that our most esteemed colleague Professor Dumbledore and his students will be fighting for the honor of our Alma Mater Hogwarts in the prestigious Triwizard Tournament. Amazingly, Harry Potter at such a young age has been chosen to represent Hogwarts (well he did defeat “he who must not be named” after all and by the way, speaking of “he who must not be named”, there are rumors that he and his Death-eaters are returning …. Oh by Merlin’s beard I hope not). In any case, I will be able to obtain precious tickets to the Triwizard Tournament on the 16 Nov (Wed) at 9.50pm (we all know it is a portal to Hogwarts but the Muggles call it GV Grand). So a raise of wands on who wants to go see the tournament. Tickets are running out fast so let me know quick if you are keen … by owl mail.
Yours Humbly,
Johann Pang
Holder of the Milkbottle and Guardian of the Wet Nappies – Royal Wizard of the Court of Princess Janelle.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)