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Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
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8:15 pm - Declaration of the 5.5-day work week
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[Piak] Muahahahae, finally killed a mosquito in my ops room. As promised I’ll squash it into a pulp with much vengeance… I hate them. Always disturb my sleep until I have to put all-round defence, i.e. mosquito light, electric mosquito mat and sometimes anti-mozzie baby lotion.
Anyway, it is officially the term break but then again, it is of not much difference to me, apart from the smaller lunch crowd and less crowded buses. I still work as per norm. Only thing now is that I have gladly declared that Saturdays are now a half working day. In fact I’ve already been working for the past two Saturdays. Work can only be finished when time approaches infinity and I had decided to take a step forward towards the infinitum. Main reason is that I effective will lose every whole of Wed till the end of the semester, due to TA duties in the teaching lab. To further erode whatever time I’ve left, I still have to handle coursework, which I deem as relatively disruptive to research work. Darn, still have 2 more Level 5000 modules to clear… And now our dearest department has increased the frequency of lectures to twice a week, from the previous once a week. One lecture would be 1800-2000h and the other 2000-2200h. Tmd, dunno whose “smart” idea… Think we got so much time. Talk about the classic “taking one step forward and two steps backwards”. You can quote me for this.
World class institution? BS lah. The top only interested in ranking, which is mainly from the research field and so you can guess how much concern there is on “education”… Yes, I’m referring to the classic learning pathway. You can ask any student for their opinion for the “quality” of education they’re getting here… No surprise that not many are interested to pursue a further degree, much less to do it here. For those who wish to carry on like me, we just got to make do with whatever limited facilities and equipment we have here. That aside, as in the end I still agreed to sign on the line to come back here for a least another 4 years (hopefully 3 more years left to go). Why here and not overseas? Simply due to the relative speed in attaining the qualifications and minimal administrative adjustments. Biggest drawback is that a local PhD is not recognised for an academic position here, so need some post-doc (preferably overseas or industrial experience) before I can return as an acad. If you were to ask me, though I am content with what I have now, I still prefer to get out asap.
So… 5.5 days will be the way to go. Effectively on a “divide and conquer” (i.e. hantum / whack all the way) tactic now, to try to squeeze out whatever possible results I can hopefully get along the way. Though I’m mentally prepared to face multiple stonewalls (which I already been facing for the past year!), pray that at least one path would lead to the Promised Land. Also I don’t wish to increase to a complete 6-day working week… (Currently highly unlikely as the canteens only operate half day on Saturdays. Will only work as far as my stomach would bring me.) Still there are some labs which operate on a 7-day basis. Hiaz, is it really worth to sacrifice so much? There’s more to life. Ironically I’m still a self declared workaholic, that for working hours, work is above everything else, including personal time. It is no wonder they call PhD “Permanent Head Damage”. Running, swimming, etc. are the few things that keep my mind sane.
Okay, enough of preaching. Time to get back to reality.
I have been concentrating on the Sb(III) system, as it currently shows the most promise. However one thing’s for sure, nice things don’t last. Just like previously the beautiful bright red a-Se was thermally unstable and would eventually convert back to grey t-Se. Similarly, my current target is Sb2S3, which is effectively grey. I was a little excited when I managed to control the reaction to obtain orange Sb2S3. However though aesthetically attractive, it is of little use to me as it is amorphous and cannot be characterised on the PXRD. I haven’t done the SEM yet but I doubt the morphology would be of anything interesting. The grey crystalline Sb2S3 looks more promising, with the hollow microtubes and radial clusters. Well, pray that I can eventually achieve some form of control for them…
 ![[SEM] JR6202A - Sb2S3 microtubes and radial clusters](http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs268.snc1/9518_144442082372_712502372_3206095_7790133_a.jpg)
(Left)
Orange: JR6204A - Amorphous Sb2S3
Black: JR6203C - Crystalline Sb2S3 microtubes
(Right)
[SEM]
JR6202A - Sb2S3 microtubes and radial clusters
That aside, I just realised that I made a blunder for the previous few reactions. Apparently I used 10x less amount of dodecanethiol (ddT) than intended. On the other hand, those results obtained can serve as additional data entries. Only thing is that I need to repeat all the reactions again, using the correct amount this time! “Mama lemon” indeed… Alright, it would be a busy day tomorrow as I aim to complete another series of back-to-back reactions. Did 3 pairs of back-to-back reaction last Thurs and it was really exhausting… Sianz, to make matters worse, I still have to handle my coursework’s project work… Aragh… Tmd.
Music of the day:
Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata – 1st Movement, played by Wilhelm Kempff.
And that as I say, is that. En Garde!!
22 2127h
current mood:  contemplative
current music: Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata, 1st Movement
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| Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
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11:15 pm - 999 – The longest working day recorded
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On my way home in bus 95, after a long day at work. Today’s date 090909, 9th Sep 2009 can be slanged to 久久久, meaning “long long long”. Indeed today marks a record setting day for the longest working day for me. Arrived in lab at 0645h and left at 2315h, total 17.5h of working hours, as compared to the usual average 14h (0900 – 2300h).
My intention was to perform 3 sets of trial reactions, so that I can work it up in time to prepare the product samples for PXRD. Rationale for the early hours was that I have TA teaching duty from 1000 – 1700h, so practically the whole day is gone for me. Also this week’s PXRD booking is full as the only free slots left were for today afternoon and evening. The plan was to start the 1h reactions at 0700h, followed by about 1h of workup; so should be done by 0900h to prepare the PXRD thin film samples. Then again, as usual things don’t go on as planned… Though I entered lab at 0700h, I spent 30 min to setup the heating mantles and temperature probes in the common fumehoods. Cos tmd, the last user(s) never cleared up the area after use… Haiz, missed those days when I got my own fumehood where I can easily setup everything the night before and just start the reaction proper the next day. So the first reaction was started at 0745h instead and that snowballed the timings. So in the end only managed to complete the workup by 0955h but couldn’t complete the sample preparation. Timings aside… somehow some the unexpected decided to pay a visit again…
Tmd, some nincompoop is smoking behind me at the bus stop and knn the wind direction not in my favour… Thankfully bus 970 arrived in time when I was about to curse and swear…
Anyway back on work… I’m currently working on a new system, temporarily moved away from Bi2S3 for now. New targets suggested by boss are Sb2S3, SnS and SnS2. So I need to synthesize their respective thiobenzoate precursors first. The precursor synthesis should be rather straight forward as they are reported long ago in the literature… but haiz. Sb(SCOPh)3 seems okay as the product appearance looked appropriate, with reasonable yield. However things are not so rosy for the Sn(II) and Sn(IV) precursors… Aragh…
Ccb… How come the fare is 41 cents (after 50 cents rebate)?! It should be 19 cents!! Knn & #@$#%^&!! The stoopid auto fare stage miscalculated my fare again… Not the first time liao… Bloody hell, cheat my 22 cents!!! Diu… Nevermind, shall go for my usual night snack…
Anyway, I’m not certain how come the Sn(II) system is so weird… Sn(SCOPh)2 should be cream coloured but it gradually turns greyish brown over time. Funny thing was that while the colour somehow changed back to cream as I was doing washings with MeOH but again turned brown… The thing is not the entire crop turned brown but some remained cream colour. In short a mixture. Tmd. I prepared SnTeO3 previously and it also gradually turned dark brown over time but further thermal decomposition yielded SnTe cleanly. Whatever it is, I subjected the “Sn(SCOPh)2” precursor under thermal decomposition at 150 deg C, with TOPO and ddT… and I got mixture of dark brown and yellow ppt… Sianz…
The Sn(IV) system wasn’t so bad… but still there are some issues with the precursor. Initially the bright yellow solids were formed which turned darker yellow over time. To up the ante, the filtrate collected was clear bright yellow and upon standing, the entire solution turned cloudy. Obviously incomplete reaction… Anyway, still proceeded to heat the mixture up to drive the reaction to completion but still the solution phase still remained yellow, albeit increase in amount of dark yellow solids formed. Similarly for the Sn(II) system, I kept the filtrate and light yellow solids gradually formed on standing. Thermal decomposition of “Sn(SCOPh)4” yielded dark yellow solids. What is going on…
For once I’m seeing coloured products, after dealing with mainly black products. (Most metal selenides and tellurides are black.) Such that I was initially wondering “no reaction”? Cos the product didn’t turn black? Checking the appearances, SnS and SnS2 are supposed to be dark brown and gold-yellow solids… Hmm… The Sb(III) seems okay. Precursor looks correct. Thermal decomposition product, also looks correct, dark brown, almost black solids but not very well dispersed in PhMe. Only need to run PXRD to check if it is purely Sb2S3. Problem is no slot available… Sianz, how to do research with so many limitations, especially lack of instruments. Haiz.
My 3 reaction mixtures...
[L to R]
White: JR5901 - Sb(SCOPh)3
Brown: JR6001 - Sn(SCOPh)2
Yellow: JR6101 - Sn(SCOPh)4
Anyway, just an update on my work done last week, for preparing t-Se nanorods from amorphous red a-Se. Apparently, the a-Se is thermal sensitive and I cannot do normal high speed centrifugation as the heat generated would convert to the grey t-Se. I got around that by putting the entire centrifuge machine INSIDE the freezer, aka “improvised refrigerated centrifugation”. Somehow that worked but separation ain’t that good. Difficult to let the very fine red a-Se solids settle, as I cannot do prolonged centrifugation. Anyway, subjected a few partially isolated red a-Se for nanorod assembly and low-res SEM images look promising, though monodispersity isn’t too good yet. Still I managed to get rods, which meant that the method worked but need fine tuning.
The choice now is whether to continue to use red a-Se, which ain’t too stable. The entire red suspension in the conical flask was kept in the fridge and the base layer turned grey overnight, which means not recommended for long time storage. Either that I have to really use the toxic H2SeO3 or SeO2, which I been avoiding…
Suddenly it seems as if I have opened up a few new fronts. Hopefully at least one would lead to the Promised Land as I had been hitting stone walls ever since I started. So now the tactic is to divide and conquer.
Just now, stoopid Lappy refused to shut down or hibernate… Even Lappy is trying to be funny… Grr… Anyway, this reminds me to update my “hate-list”, continued from the previous list…
(5) Stoopid and slow Kompooters
I can get rather impatient with machines, especially computers. I can flare up if the stoopid kompooter actually hangs in front of me. In short, “I hate kompooters”.
Remedy: Transform the machine into a living thing which can feel pain, so that I can inflict mortal pain to it… In the meantime, a knock or punch at the machine does help to diffuse the fury…
(6) Mosquitoes
I have no issues if these pests bite and suck blood but doesn’t make me itch. It is the itch that really drives me to hate mosquitoes to the core. Mosquitoes should be eradicated, extinct, wiped out fro our planet. Really no one should miss them… even lizards can turn to other insects for food. There’s one pesky mosquito still lingering in my Ops Room and until I personally kill it, that pest would stop disturbing me, especially in the wee hours… Defences up, mosquito mat, light, repellent are on standby.
Remedy: Anti mosquito repellent. Once I caught the mosquito, I’ll decapitate it, before dismembering it… the wings, legs, everything. Then I’ll mesh it up into a pulp, with added extreme hatred and vengeance… It deserved that…
Time for bed… eyes are shutting down. Later Lappy better be able to shut down… or else.
Music of the day will be Holst’s “Uranus – The magician” from “The Planets”. I really need to perform some magic for my work…
And that as I say, is that. En Garde!
10 0102h
current mood:  cranky
current music: Holst - The Planets, “Uranus – The magician”
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| Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
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1:15 am - Idiotcy and Such (Part II)
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Anyway, nothing irritates me more than 2nd hand smoke. Just got back home and I enter the place with a frown as the entire living room is filled with smoke. My father had picked up smoking again in the recent months (after many years). Basket, he should know that smoke is on my No.1 hate list and still… gaaah. Fed up but no comments since I don’t own the place. What I usually do is to leave the fans of the living room on while I hold my breath and dash straight to my (Ops) Room, which I left it locked whenever I leave the house. Literally declared Cold War and refused to talk. At this rate, I wonder whether I really want to move into the new place, as my current place is on the SERS en-bloc scheme. Meanwhile I’ve been looking out for alternate housing around the area…
Given the choice I rather stay-in campus as seriously this place doesn’t feels welcoming. My ops room is in a mess as I still had no time to perform a massive cleaning. Ironically my bunk back in PLC was one of the neatest and cleanest… Mess I still can tolerate. But to come back after a long day, tired and have to face with all these nonsense… if I can stay out, I’ll rather do so. Gone were the days when I still had the Secretariat to stay but that is another story for another time. Now even though I can stay in my office, it ain’t very comfy. The air-con shuts down at midnight and it gets really hot and stuffy as I’ve stayed in once. Oh well, I can survive.
Anyway, now that I am slightly agitated, perhaps I should list out my “hate-list” and my proposed remedies and solutions, if I have it my way. Beware, I’m no angel and can get really evil and wicked when provoked or irritated.
(1) 2nd Hand Smoke
This one tops the list. I have no qualms with smokers who are considerate, as not everyone appreciates their smoke. I hate it to walk behind someone puffing away, (aka I call them “diesel engines”), so would rather overtake them. So having smoke in my place, hell no.
Remedy: Force Choke (not the one that Darth Vader uses but I’ll rather re-channel the smoke that they puff out, back into them and have them choked from it.)
(2) Inconsiderate idiots who make loud noise in the middle of the night (including drivers)
Though this occurrence ain’t common, still it ain’t that ‘uncommon’ in my neighbourhood, especially when Zouk is just across the road. I suppose it is these irritants that strength my resolve to hate clubbing, as they have been disturbing my sleep since young. Imagine you’re sound asleep when these (often drunk) A-holes start causing a racket downstairs. Sometimes they get into fights or simply just get very rowdy and start screaming or shouting. Sometimes they also like to ramp their engines of their bikes or heavily modified cars.
Remedy: Various. The simplest way is to throw a packet of ‘black gold’ or ‘hot beer / chrysanthemum tea’ at their faces. More evil way is to direct the Force to have a tree branch dropped onto them. This trick works best for those irritating drivers. The impact must not kill them, as I want them to suffer…
(3) Stupid drivers
This doesn’t refer to drivers who don’t know the way nor those “less skilled” drivers. Rather it refers to those irritating inconsiderate, over kiasu drivers, and no… taxi drivers ain’t that bad… The most common occurrence: You signal to declare intention to change lane. That idiot behind you saw that and purposely speeds up to close the gap. When you try to inch in, he/she horns you. Oh come on, how many milliseconds you’ll loose by letting someone change into your lane. You can always overtake…
Remedy: Curse them that they get into a serious accident that got their vehicles entirely destroyed, unrepairable. However, as evil as always, I want the driver to survive (probably with a broken leg) to know that his/her beloved vehicle is utterly beyond repair. I want them to suffer the pain of loosing their car… If they can’t drive properly, then they shouldn’t be driving…
(4) Pple walking very slowly or blocking the way
Only exceptions to this are the elderly or those with problem walking, which I can empathise. However it is those idiots or groups who like to walk slowly in a 3-up formation (extended horizontal line), that irritates me. Sometimes they like to stop halfway and talk non-stop, oblivious to the long stream of pple behind them. This also applies to road hoggers who simply like to road hog on the expressway even when the extreme left lane is almost empty.
Remedy: Force Push (any obstructions will be easily removed by the use of the Force)
Yawns, okay I suppose that’ll be all for now. I’m getting sleepy and it is getting late.
And that as I say, is that. En Garde!
08 0154h
current mood:  blah
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| Monday, September 7th, 2009
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11:55 pm - Idiotcy and Such
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Here I am typing this entry as I wait “patiently” for bus 198 at the AYE bus stop. Oops, speak of it, here it comes… Okay now on the bus but it is going so slowly… on the highway!! Looks like have Lappy with me while I wait for the bus makes be less impatient. At least time seems to pass faster as I either do my work, readings, etc. There’s nothing that can make me more fed up than to wait for the reliable buses, especially SBS bus, when sometimes the bus frequencies can be ridiculously long… say 20 min for bus 5. Travelling can really be a waste of time, so might as well do something productive (other than sleeping) while travelling. It take 45 min on average between campus and home but driving is only 15 min. Ah too bad I don’t have Blue Thunder 1 with me anymore…
Now, I will again going to complain (again) about SBS… Ever since they changed the interface for the Iris system for bus 95, I find it difficult to track the bus arrival times. In the past, it was simply one “95”, while now they split into the service short trips also, i.e. “95D”, etc. Problem is… 95D don’t operate on less regular basis and the last 95 is 95D. So the stupid thing is, while the next incoming 95 is the normal one (e.g. 2nd last bus), the arrival timings for 95D is “not in operation”, even though it is the next one (last bus). So when I finally refreshed the site, only 3 mins left. Tmd, expect me to fly down ah. Knn, this is yet another classic example of “taking one step forward and two step backwards”. All in the name of “idiotcratic upgrading” (i.e. an idiot’s attempt to upgrade / improve, only to have a net one step backwards).
Okay, alighted at Commonwealth area, one of my favourite bus stops as it has the bus arrival display. In fact, all bus stops should ideally have this system, rather than have to make commuters depend on the Iris SMS system… Basket, they really know how to earn extra pocket money. Tmd. Then again, even the display cannot be fully trusted. Here right now, it displays 2x “Arr” (arriving) for 970. Suffice to say, 2x 970 buses are arriving. BS lah, I know very well that the last 970 arrives at about 0009h at that bus stop, so how can be 2x? Looking at the other alternative bus 32, 03 min away… Oops… here it comes. Talk about precision? Phooey lah. Better board 32, in case no more 970…
Anyway, my policy for public transport is to take the shortest possible route and as well as the cheapest route. Every cents counts and I simply refuse to let them earn any additional cent from me. World class transport system? We’re still a long way from them… especially when you have route planners not the ones who take the route themselves. Haiz, what to do… Everyone would like to have a personal vehicle, for the convenience and freedom but $$$ issues lah… Even when I drive, if possible will avoid paying extra (ERP, carpark, etc). There’s a saying, “no money drive what car?!” This came from one angry driver whose car got blocked when the cars queuing for cheap petrol stopped in the yellow box. Haiz, I also personally don’t think it is worth the time spent for that “discount”. Other unseen costs like lost time and the need to spend extra time and petrol to go to that specific petrol kiosk, worth it meh? Unless if your vehicle fuel capacity is 1000L…
Okay, almost reaching at River Valley. Think I’ll stop by at my usual place for my night snack. Ordered fried rice, as usual. Heh, more or less I’m the regular here. In fact, I’m a regular at many other places. I seldom spend much on myself, most of the time I spent mainly on food. Haiz, why I get hungry so easily… High metabolic rate? Maybe. Let’s look at the expense for myself today, on food. I must say that today is a bit overbudget…
1000h - Breakfast @ YIH ($3.70):
2x Half-boiled eggs
Teh C Kosong Peng Gao Xiu Peng (Ice tea with evaporated milk, thicker and less ice)
Nasi Putih (lebih) with Kailan and daging ayam
1400h - Lunch @ YIH ($2.40):
Papaya
Hong Kong Style Hor Fun
1700h - Dinner @ Sci ($2.50)
Guava
Yong Tau Foo (w/ extra rice)
2000h – Dinner 2 @ Sci ($4.10)
Spaghetti Marina (w/ extra spaghetti)
Cream of mushroom soup
0030h – Night Snack @ Sum Kee ($4)
Fried Rice
Total expenses on food - $16.70
Oops, that’s >50% overbudget… but can’t help it. I’ll only work as far as my stomach brings me. Analysis on the spending wise, some cost can be further cut. Eggs and fruits, I can buy on my own at the market, cheaper that way but it is a hassle to prepare the eggs. Well, can be done. I used to prepare my own breakfast, with wholemeal bread, olive oil and green tea packet. If anyone noticed these days, I seldom buy any drinks. I’ll stick to the best drink, H2O (not the isotonic drink). Since I take so many meals a day, cutting on the drinks can save me a lot on a cumulative basis. The only exception I make is the daily morning Teh C Kosong Peng Gao Xiu Peng. The uncle at YIH knows exactly how to prepare my drink, even without me saying a single word. I like my tea thick and not too icy cold. Normally I order “bua sio” (half hot) but YIH don’t have that option.
Hmm, the uncles sitting in front of me are smoking. Basket, think night time NEA don’t catch pple meh… Thankfully the wind direction is in my favour and they are considerate to puff out in the right direction. Ah, here comes my food…
(TBC in part 2)
08 0100h
current mood: blah
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| Monday, August 31st, 2009
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7:47 pm - The Journey Thus Far
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Boss is finally back. Hurrah, finally managed to have a full consultation and discussion today that lasted 1h, as I’m running out of ideas. Then again, Boss will be leaving in a few days again for overseas and we’ll be on our own again. Haiz, so many reactions done but the light at the end of the tunnel seemed to dim down whenever it seemed to appear brighter. Ah, that is research. If things were that simple, then it wouldn’t be research isn’t it? Of course things can get frustrating when things simply do not work out the way you expect it to. Looking at the Periodic Table, you expect trends but we learnt that there are so many deviations from the expected trends.
Resilience, one of my strongest traits, as indicated from the numerous personally tests. Yeah, work could be disappointing and frustrating at times but the key is not to give up. It takes a lot from me to really give up on something. Of course in research we can’t be looking at every single darn thing, as there is no end to it. So… if things don’t really seem to work out, probably just shelf it aside temporarily while looking into matters that look more promising. See the word “research”? At times we really have to RE-SEARCH, re-look into the things we done previously and you’ll be surprised that many a times we overlook certain issues.
My project had undergone numerous changes and even now I’m re-visiting some of older work. From tellurides to sulphides to selenides and back to tellurides. Ah, going to keep my nick as “Dr. Tellurium” since I started the project by working with tellurides. Selenium sounds like Tellurium’s sister though. Anyway briefly, my first work was involving the synthesis of metal telluride nanoparticles. Spent a great deal of time mainly with Ag2Te and PbTe. Of course also dealt briefly with other p-blk metal tellurides like Sb2Te3, Bi2Te3, SnTe and d-blk CoTe and NiTe. (Oops, centrifuge machine beeping for me to collect my Bi2Te3 sample…)
Talk about the twist of fate. Managed to resolved something that didn’t work previously but after that another problem cropped up. Aragh, as usual cannot trust everything the journal says… Okay, I’m supposed to prepare trigonal phase Selenium (t-Se) nanowires from amorphous red alpha-Se (a-Se). First need to prepare solution of Se in ethylenediamine (en) and stir in room temperature (RT) for 4h, followed by addition to water in ice bath with agitation to get opaque red suspension. Sounds easy? I didn’t get the opaque red the on the first try. Tried again today and observed carefully that some grey Se solids remained undissolved in en despite 5h of stirring at RT. So heated up the solution gradually till 70 deg C, and finally got a dark brown solution. I suppose that was the main reason for the previous failed reaction. Anyway I proceeded to transfer everything to H2O in ice bath and literally agitated the system by setting stirring speed to 1250 rpm which caused the stirrer bars to ‘jump’. At first the solution merely turned dark red but after 5 min of agitation, viola! Red a-Se! Yup, beautiful indeed, looks like tomato juice though, only thing it is a lot more toxic. Was so happy at first until I tried to work up… As usual, work up can be every synthetic chemist nightmare. Journal merely said that the a-Se was “readily collected by centrifugation”. So I set the centrifuge to 5500 rpm for 10 min and waited. TMD, majority of the solids turned grey, which means it transformed back to the more stable allotrope. Probably the heat generated from the centrifuge caused that. Hmm, running at 3000 rpm for 1 min also isn’t efficient enough to allow the solids to settle and darkening was also observed.
JR5702
Amorphous red a-Se
Beautiful... but thermally unstable.
Hmm, now stuck again… got my product but TMD cannot separate. Two solutions; either wait for the centrifuge machine to cool down and rerun the centrifuge, (if only I can run it in the freezer and yes the machine is INSIDE my freezer now so that I can quickly cool the machine down…) or to proceed to the next step, aka in-situ synthesis… Seems like the latter is a more viable option but I’m also interested to see how I can isolate the red a-Se. Suction filtration won’t work as the particle size is too small that it passes through the filter paper, so can also forget about letting the solids settle. Ah, worse case I store it in the freezer overnight and hopefully it will settle… (Let me try the centrifuge in freezer again…)
Okay, I was laughing non-stop when I really put my entire centrifuge machine into the freezer. Only concern is moisture built up which may cause short circuit. So far so good, did a trial separation up to 5000 rpm for 2 min. Overall product remains stable, red a-Se. Machine status also good, the inner rotor isn’t too heated up. However I stopped at the trial and kept the bulk product in the fridge for storage. The small sample that I isolated is now wrapped up in Al foil and in the vacuum desicator for drying. I will observe its overall stability during storage in the fridge after drying, before deciding whether to go ahead with the isolation of the rest of the product. I wonder if anyone has a centrifuge machine with a self cooling system (say liq. N2 cooled). I can’t be putting the centrifuge machine into the freezer all the time…
Anyway, I was having some discussions with my fellow graduate friends in lab. Times are bad. Some of our seniors who graduated with their PhD really have problems getting a job. This brings us to talk about Dr. Cai, who is probably the only PhD holder taxi driver in Singapore. For those who are unaware, Dr. Cai got retrenched after being in A* for 16 years. He got his PhD from Stanford and did his postdoc with a Nobel Laureate but was still unsuccessful in getting a similar job. So he is driving a taxi to earn a living and blogs about his work. Though I respect his resolve and resilience, I still think he should try to maximise his talent back in the academia field, probably overseas.
Haiz, sometimes we ask ourselves the question of “study so much for what?!” Ask an undergrad on whether he/she would like to do postgrad studies, most will simply reply “siao ah, study not enough ah?” Then again, a Bachelor’s degree is so common these days. For myself, I only got a 2nd Class Lower Honours, so I decided to get a higher degree to have a higher edge. Then again, a PhD itself is an overkill as itself may be an over-qualification of its own manifest. Heh, perhaps I should also get a taxi license to standby, “just in case”. Who knows in future that it may become common for taxi drivers to have a Bachelor’s degree. Or perhaps I can also open my own logistics company, “PKL Services – You say, we do, we Pao-Ka-Liao”. Heh, that perhaps may come in mind if I decide to take the Logistic Institute’s Master in Logistics and Supply Chain management degree.
Of course things aren’t as simple as it seems. Every job has its own difficulties and rewards. Then again I believe in S’pore as long as you are willing to work, you shouldn’t starve. The job may not be of your first choice but it should be sufficient to earn you a living. The only issue is what kind of lifestyle you want to lead and whether you can afford that lifestyle of your choice. All jobs of honest living should be treated with respect and dignity. Imagine who will be the one who clears your trash should there be no refuse workers working.
From Gustav Holst’s Planets, I dedicate “Jupiter – The Bringer of Jollity” as the music of the day. Been playing it repeated these days but never got sick of it. Let the music of Jupiter bring joy to all in their respective work. One of my favourite performances of this piece was by the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Eiji Oue. I just love the passion Oue-san expressed in his conducting. It really brings out the emotion of the entire piece. Simply amazing and beautiful. Bravissimo! Those who are interested can check out the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B49N46I39Y
And that as I say, is that. En Garde!
(Heh, haven’t used this end phrase for a long time…)
31 2302h
current mood:  determined
current music: Holst - The Planets, Jupiter
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| Thursday, August 20th, 2009
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12:14 am - Reunion II - AHM and Family
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AHM 2009... My 5th half marathon (2003, 2006-2009). (2004 and 2005 only took part in 10km runs.) Definitely the timing is not my personal best but I do not intend to break the record. Age is one factor and also training is another. I didn't want to push myself too near to limits as I did not want to have a painful recovery and also not want to risk any injury. I have been blessed to be relatively injury free and I would want to maintain it this way. With age comes higher chance of a longer recovery period. Also I haven't been going for frequent long runs (>20km) due to time constraints. Usually at most only managed to do a few mid-distance (10-20km) runs. However I did push myself a little for this time, as a guide to how much I had moved away from "the peak".
Officially at 02:05:12, I'm content that it was 10 mins better than last year though I initially intended to push for below 2h. Physically I could feel that my stamina was still going strong, no breathlessness or pains related to respiration. However when my lower legs eventually began to show signs of fatigue and wear, I decided to slow down. First my right ankle then the left and the issue was that it ain’t those kind of “good pain” but rather some “bad pain”. Two possible reasons, either my legs require more conditioning or it is time to change my running shoes. I’m currently running on the Asics Kayano 14, which served me well in the long runs since Jul 08. I suspect that the cause be very well due to the mis-positioning of the additional heel cushioning pads that I added. The pads were supposed to reduce the impacts of landing on each foot but apparently they moved away from their intended locality and caused obstruction to the bore of my right feet. So far I had no problems with the Kayano 14 without the pads. Moral of the story, take out the pads.
My main philosophy in all races is to complete in one piece with minimal pain. Timing doesn't matter to me anymore. What matters is to complete the race comfortably without any injuries and minimal stress. As much as I wanted to complete below 2h, it was definitely more rational to listen to your body and pay attention to any warning distress signs. Performance assessment wise… I would rate as satisfactory The benchmark timing for 21km at 2h still remains realistic and with a little more training, should be able to maintain this standard (as I age). Optimal effort was put into the pacing, with a consistent average speed of 10.1km/h. Overall position puts me in the top 20% of the entire race. Damage assessment wise… Some lactic acid strains on both thighs but recovery is almost at 100%, after 2 days. The only “bad pain” is my edge of my right foot, which hurt a little as I walk but recovery is currently rated at 70%. Swimming remains no issue for me but I’m still off from the track.
Why do I run? My slogan for the Std Chart Marathon 2007 was “Why you ask so much?! Just run LAH!!” For the records, 2007 had the two best timings at 01h 57min for AHM and 04h 37min for Std Chart. Hmm, this year’s slogan would be “I run because I want to, as far as my legs would bring me to”. Frankly, I missed those days when I trained in my unit’s AHM team. The team spirit; the thought that knowing your team mates will all be waiting for you at the finishing line. Ironically I ran all races solo and the only one that I completed together with a buddy was this year’s Sundown Ultramarathon. The 84km and 13.5h of sheer madness… I wonder what it would be like to do it alone. Though I have to admit that it was pure madness, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of going for it again next year, if I can find someone to join me to conquer the madness together. Then again, that is another story for another day.
As I probably had mentioned a couple of times before, AHM does have an additional meaning for myself as I made it a point to attend every single one ever since my first participation in 2003. It is not just any race events that I sign up for. To me, it is a family reunion, an event when I can meet up with my entire extended family from the Force once again at the same time and place. People come and go, posting orders relocate us but this is the event where we would gather again, at the same place, doing the same thing in unison. This is the day and the event when we are one again. We are family. This salute goes out to everyone of my extended family.
Looking back, I cannot image that I once said this after completing my first AHM in 2003 that 21km will be my limit. Never did I know that 6 years later I’m still competing to complete the AHM and also increased the limit to 42km and then now to 84km. One thing’s for sure: never say never. Not many people knew of how my fanatism towards running began with an irony. In the past, running was never my forte. I went for runs but rather short ones. Before I got drafted to my unit’s AHM team in 2003, the max distance that I clocked then was merely 6km. It was the team spirit that kept me going as the distance increased and after breaking the psychological 10km mark, there was no turning back. From there, it was all the way. For my team, for my unit, for myself.
The story of my patented “Charging Wildboar” finisher… Though I often use the wildboar to illustrate my primal self, my callsign was actually “Lionheart”. I did not use “Wildboar” as it was then already used by my first WSM Encik. I also did not change callsign when he got posted out, in honour and respect to my Encik. One interesting story not known to many that I used to “siam” my Encik during the evenings when he tried to jio pple to run with him. Ironically months later after being drafted into the AHM team, it was the other way round when I became the one whom my bros try siam when I jio them for runs. By then Encik Liaw had already posted out of the unit and I was acting WSM for a while. He was remarkable as he is more than 10 years my senior and can run at paces and speeds comparable and if not better than the NSFs. Respect. Heh, 6 years from AHM 2003 and 5 years after my ORD, I’m glad that I am still able to outrun and outlast many younger NSFs. Heh heh. I run because I want to, as far as my legs will bring me to.
Dvorak’s New World Symphony (Symphony No. 9 - Op. 95), Allegro con fuoco (4th Movement) is hereby dedicated to everyone of you out there, my extended family of the Force.
current mood:  nostalgic
current music: Dvorak - New World Symphony, Allegro con fuoco
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| Monday, August 17th, 2009
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10:49 pm - Reunion
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Finally decided to pen something down after the last entry, 10 months ago. Somehow felt the need to type out the words for myself to see what my inner thoughts are...
So... aye, how to start... Okay to summarise, I had been busy at work for the past months. Looking back I'm entering my 2nd year of grad studies and effectively a Year 6... Age is catching up, heh. Always wanted to pen down something but somehow that didn't really materialised. However I did manage to keep some records of my activities via Facebook status updates...
Anyway just to record what else I been up to for the past months; went for 2 ICTs (1 HK in Mar, 1 LK in Jun), the next HK is in Nov and looking forward to it. Flashbacking back to the ICT in Mar, it was the first since Dec 05. Though physically the buildings PLC didn’t change much (aside from the new SISPEC buildings), a lot has changed, and I was having some problems trying to keep up with the new acronyms used. Still it really felt like a family reunion for me when I return to the greens, especially to when I step foot into PLC, my former second home, with my extended family from the Force. This was my first time in 5 years that I entered LCK training area, took a ride on a 5-ton, put on my (old) long No.4 with the old webbing. I was rather ecstatic and excited, as I boarded the 5-ton and entered LCK training area. I took out my map, compass and GPS as I tried to recall whatever local knowledge that I had on the ground. No doubt five years was long and I lost quite an amount of local knowledge but everything seemed to come back seamlessly once I was at the ground. One thing’s for sure, 3SG (NS) Lionheart has returned and I was mistaken as an NSF on a couple of occasions, until I took out my pink IC, heh heh. Haven’t been using my “skills” for quite sometime and I’m really “gian” to use them, even long after Endex.
Sounds crazy? Yes I am crazy, probably because I am en route to getting a Permanent Head Damage (not officially yet though). Nevertheless, it was indeed a family reunion, to see the familiar buildings, environment and of course my family. It was a great indescribable feeling when I met a lot of my former regular colleagues and superiors during outfield, despite everyone being posted out. I was pleasantly touched when I saw my photo collage that I done 5 years ago still existing and it was hung up along the corridors of my wing line. I bumped into my former colleague and some of the current staffs when I was looking at the photos and it seemed as if I just appeared by coming out of the photo. Heh. Well, somehow I don’t know what stories they told about me… Though till this day they called me the Legendary AWSM of NS wing, I would just say that I was just doing my job. Though I ORDed 5 years ago, it still felt just like yesterday when I stepped into my former wing line, wearing green. Yesterday once more, really it is a bittersweet feeling. Sweet to be able to relive in one of my happiest chapter in life; bitter to know that it only lasted for two weeks…
(To be continued...)
current mood:  thankful
current music: The Infantry Song
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| Friday, October 17th, 2008
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8:44 pm - Dr. Tellurium is inspired after meeting Prof. Em. Suzuki
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Was at the Suzuki Coupling seminar at Biopolis this morning, which was conducted by none other than Professor Emeritus Akira Suzuki himself. Well, I was rather excited about this seminar even a month before it. It is one of the rare times you meet a great chemist for a seminar in Singapore. Though I myself am not doing any organic reactions at all, still I made it a point that I have to go for this and I never regreted it. It can be said that it is once in a lifetime experience and of a great honour. Only a pity that I forgotten to take a photo and ask for an autograph from Prof Suzuki!!
Not to mention I saw a few familiar faces in the seminar. Fellow researchers and academic staff from the same level corridor.
Well, in case those who have no idea what Suzuki Coupling reaction is about... In a nutshell, it is a very useful route to couple (aka link) two organic fragments together. The advantage of this methodology is its high purity, yield and mild reaction conditions.
Typically...
RX + R'B(OH)2 ---(with Pd(PPh3)4 and Na2CO3)----> R-R'
ArX + Ar'B(OH)2 ---(with Pd(PPh3)4 and Na2CO3)----> Ar-Ar'
It is so interesting to note that Chemistry itself is a universal language. During the Q&A session, Prof. Suzuki didn't quite understand some of the questions asked by the audience, probably due to different accents in English. All was solved when they took out the paper and drew the chemical structures, much to the audience's amusement. Well, thank goodness for the universal language, that recently I also managed to translate parts of a Japanese Patent Journal written in Japanese.
Well done Sigma-Aldrich for organising this great seminar. I will be looking forward to the next one! I'm definitely inspired.
And so the journey continues...
The Journey Towards the Promised Land III.
current mood:  rejuvenated
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