Woot!

Rules must be followed:
Each blogger must post this rules.
Each blogger must start with ten random facts about themselves.
Bloggers that are tagged need to write about their own blog, ten things and post this rules.
Don't forget to leave them comments telling them they have been tagged and are to read your blog.

1. I like black
2. I like programming.
3. I am 3/4 of the way through writing a fantasy/sci-fi novel.
4. I love coffee.
5. I am eccentric.
6. I love violin pieces.
7. I enjoy RTS games.
8. I love to read.
9. I would love to earn money writing software, but writing as a job is fine too.
10. I am a proud cardist.

Now tag ten ppl to do this quiz (unfortunately, I will not):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

1.Who's the person that tagged you?
- Sophia
2. Relationship between you and her?
- Unusually good friends
3. Three impressions of her?
- A little hot-tempered, cute, talented
4. If she becomes your enemy, you will?
- Bang head on wall
5. What will you say to the person you like very much?
- I probably did already
6. Characteristic i like about myself?
- Rationality
7. Characteristic i hate about myself?
- Rationality
8. For the person whom you hate, you say?
- Hi
9. What do people feel about you?
- Eccentric is a common adjective
10. Your crush?
- It's been mentioned

The rest, I won't do. Sorry :D


EDIT: Due to overwhelming demand from specialized demographics, I have decided to finish the quiz.

11. Pass this to 10 people:
1. Dalon
2. Jianyu
3. Xinyi
4. Fazli
5. Sophia
6. Ghim Siang
7. Kok Li
8. Weijian
9. Amirul
10. Weijie

12. If 5 & 7 were together?
- Unless something really strange is going on, it's not possible.
13. who does 5 like?
- Me.
14. What colour does 9 like?
- Not sure.
15. Say something about 8?
- Amusing.
16. Who is 2?
- Great friend.
17. Talk about 3.
- Hyper Girl.
18. Who is 10's best friend?
- No idea really.
19. Who's the sexiest among all 10?
- No comments.
20. What colour does 4 like?
- I have no idea.
21. Is 4 single?
- Yes
22. Your relationship with 1.
- Good friends.
23. Are 5 & 6 best friends?
- They don't know each other.
24. 9's surname?
- I'm not sure how surnames go for Malays, so too bad on that note.
25. 7's nickname?
- Don't know.
26. Say something to 8.
- Hello!
27. Say something to help 9.
- Dude, relax, take things less seriously.
28. Who do i admire?
- What?
29. Where does 1 live?
- Singapore.
30. 10 of them know who you like?
- Some do.
31. Say something to 6 when you see him.
- Hi.
32. 10's spouse?
- Don't know.



Anyway, on to topic.

I've gotten a few people asking about my novel. Asking to read it. Really, I Am Not Making This Up!

For any of those interested friends who just so happen to read my blog, here is a short description of the characters.

(Hahaha, bet you wanted the story summary at least ;D)

Name: Andre
Occupation: Student, soon-to-be discoverer of major scientific principle
Role: Narrator
Personality:
A Genre Savvy, sarcastic guy who tries to live a mundane life, but ends up as a Deadpan Snarker and an Action Survivor


Name: Sera
Occupation: Agent, with a cover identity as a student
Role: Protagonist
Personality:
A quiet, enigmatic girl, also a Badass Bookworm. That's all.

What? I said she was enigmatic!

Name: Callin
Occupation: Student, also part-time task-force manager
Role: Mr. Exposition
Personality: Cool-headed, perpetually sober, Andre's best friend and Sera's 'colleague'

Name: Sebilius
Occupation: Leader of opposing task-force only because it suits his agenda
Role: Full-time villain
Personality: An affably evil man doubling as a Magnificent Bastard

Awesome

Wonderful. I've hit 34 thousand words. Or so.

Still got a fair bit left to go. I think I should be able to finish the first draft by the end of the year.

60k words is my target at the least ;)

Writing

Wonderful. I've hit 20,000 words.
I'm keeping 6 backups in total.
Tinfoil hats haha.

Novelisation

A novelisation (is that a word? I hope it is) of a concept that I've had for a couple of years.

I've started to write a lot these past few days. Working on a science-fiction novel, I must say it's extremely challenging to make the physics all work together in a manner that's both interesting and plausible. Aside from that, I've always had a certain interest in what Literature would classify as character development.

Apparently, it is the crux of almost every story. Without developing characters, the story would not be captivating.

I've churned out about 13,000 words already since the beginning of the week. At TNR size 11 this reaches up to about 35 pages of writing.

It's exhausting trying to put all my ideas in words. Yet I can't help but enjoy it.

The main problem now is to organise all the events together into something coherent. After all, sometimes I write in a rather odd fashion: when it takes my fancy, if I suddenly have an idea for a section of the story, I'll just try and write it out. Even if its just a silly idea I have, I cannot toss it away.

Ideas are valuable. I remember how much I panicked when I corrupted my Word document by accident. Even though I had a copy at home, the file I had on my laptop was updated, containing about 3 hours of work.

One would think 3 hours isn't that much to make up for, and that's probably true for a fixed undeviating task.

However it's different for writing. Writing branches your thoughts out for every word you write. Each word takes you down a different path. And each word you put down indicates your approval of the combination of words. Isn't writing simply a reference to 'the right words in the right order'?

Losing 3 hours worth of work means losing a valuable combination of words that has been approved. And it is highly unlikely you will get it back again.

It's difficult being a writer.

Processing

I really am beginning to appreciate the power of multi-threaded processing.

Recently obtained a Quad Core 2.4GHz Intel CPU, and I must say I'm really enjoying the benefits.

Rendering an image takes a fraction of the time. Right now I'm running a batch video conversion job and a DVD conversion job in parallel, with a copy file operation from my hard disk to my SD card, with my antivirus running a scan, whilst opening up a crapload of Youtube videos, and my processor is handling them all without a sweat. No stuttering, no freezes, nothing.

Wonder what would happen if I threw a 3D render with maximum antialiasing, unoptimized volumetric lights and fog with the option of recomputing subrays enabled, into the mess of processes.

I get the feeling my computer wouldn't find it too much of a challenge.

:/

I don't know why, but it's kind of painful when I see them. The feeling is really strange. You'd understand why, right? :/

Tired out of my mind.

Personality Test

Scientifically proven personality test here:
Personality Test


According to the test, I am an INTJ (Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging) type. o.0

To outsiders, INTJs may appear to project an aura of "definiteness", of self-confidence. This self-confidence, sometimes mistaken for simple arrogance by the less decisive, is actually of a very specific rather than a general nature; its source lies in the specialized knowledge systems that most INTJs start building at an early age. When it comes to their own areas of expertise -- and INTJs can have several -- they will be able to tell you almost immediately whether or not they can help you, and if so, how. INTJs know what they know, and perhaps still more importantly, they know what they don't know.

INTJs are perfectionists, with a seemingly endless capacity for improving upon anything that takes their interest. What prevents them from becoming chronically bogged down in this pursuit of perfection is the pragmatism so characteristic of the type: INTJs apply (often ruthlessly) the criterion "Does it work?" to everything from their own research efforts to the prevailing social norms. This in turn produces an unusual independence of mind, freeing the INTJ from the constraints of authority, convention, or sentiment for its own sake.

INTJs are known as the "Systems Builders" of the types, perhaps in part because they possess the unusual trait combination of imagination and reliability. Whatever system an INTJ happens to be working on is for them the equivalent of a moral cause to an INFJ; both perfectionism and disregard for authority may come into play, as INTJs can be unsparing of both themselves and the others on the project. Anyone considered to be "slacking," including superiors, will lose their respect -- and will generally be made aware of this; INTJs have also been known to take it upon themselves to implement critical decisions without consulting their supervisors or co-workers. On the other hand, they do tend to be scrupulous and even-handed about recognizing the individual contributions that have gone into a project, and have a gift for seizing opportunities which others might not even notice.

In the broadest terms, what INTJs "do" tends to be what they "know". Typical INTJ career choices are in the sciences and engineering, but they can be found wherever a combination of intellect and incisiveness are required (e.g., law, some areas of academia). INTJs can rise to management positions when they are willing to invest time in marketing their abilities as well as enhancing them, and (whether for the sake of ambition or the desire for privacy) many also find it useful to learn to simulate some degree of surface conformism in order to mask their inherent unconventionality.

(section omitted, to be mentioned below)

Probably the strongest INTJ assets in the interpersonal area are their intuitive abilities and their willingness to "work at" a relationship. Although as Ts they do not always have the kind of natural empathy that many Fs do, the Intuitive function can often act as a good substitute by synthesizing the probable meanings behind such things as tone of voice, turn of phrase, and facial expression. This ability can then be honed and directed by consistent, repeated efforts to understand and support those they care about, and those relationships which ultimately do become established with an INTJ tend to be characterized by their robustness, stability, and good communications.

Points of interest:

Personal relationships, particularly romantic ones, can be the INTJ's Achilles heel. While they are capable of caring deeply for others (usually a select few), and are willing to spend a great deal of time and effort on a relationship, the knowledge and self-confidence that make them so successful in other areas can suddenly abandon or mislead them in interpersonal situations.

This happens in part because many INTJs do not readily grasp the social rituals; for instance, they tend to have little patience and less understanding of such things as small talk and flirtation (which most types consider half the fun of a relationship). To complicate matters, INTJs are usually extremely private people, and can often be naturally impassive as well, which makes them easy to misread and misunderstand. Perhaps the most fundamental problem, however, is that INTJs really want people to make sense. :-) This sometimes results in a peculiar naivete', paralleling that of many Fs -- only instead of expecting inexhaustible affection and empathy from a romantic relationship, the INTJ will expect inexhaustible reasonability and directness.

That is... unfortunately true. Far more accurate than I'm comfortable with. Also:

Rationals are the least likely types to remember important days, such as anniversaries, birthdays, and holidays. However, they do tend to be steadfast, being among the most committed. Their partners can expect intellectual stimulation, debating from multiple perspectives, and a lot of autonomy. Rationals are the most likely types to treat their partners as equal in adult status.

I hate the first sentence. That part always gets me in deep shit.

People also of INTJ type:
Isaac Newton
Niels Bohr
C. G. Jung
Michel de Montaigne
Michel Nostradamus
Ada Lovelace
Jane Austen (what the bloody hell, I'm doing her book Pride and Prejudice for Literature class)