Sui Generis People in the world today, especially in Singapore, are too willing to settle for fitting in with the status quo and just doing what they are told to do. Here's my thoughts on society, education and life in general; and my views on being significant. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 0 0 37 1940

Articles from Sui Generis

Mi Casa es Su Casa 2007-12-27 10:06:00 Ok, maybe not my literal house. But this blog, my "virtual home", if you will, is yours as much as mine. And in the spirit of Christmas, I thought I'd mention this.This blog is licensed under Creative Commons. Without going into too much legalese, here's what it means for you. It means you can take my content, and use it in any way you want, with just two conditions. Firstly, if you give me credit by linking to the site. And secondly, if you're using it for a non-commercial use.Why this license? Because I would love for you to take my content. I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions on what I write. But I'd love credit and a link, not only for my ego (though it does play a part), but also to make it easier for me to track the conversations. So I can join in any conversations instigated by the things I write.So please. Take my content. Reproduce it. Add your thoughts. It'd be an honor to have my content out there.Like my blog? Make a donation. For more information, click here. ...

Scheduled Personal Start Pages 2007-12-26 10:33:00 Was thinking about Netvibes and iGoogle and the like. "Personal start pages", if you will. These services allow you to set up a page and read numerous feeds and email, etc, from one page. Sort of a way to organize surfing, if you will.But most of us don't have just one fixed collection of things we do/want to see when we go online, do we? We have schedules. Some of us wouldn't want to see our work email on weekends, for example. Or comics if we're accessing during work hours (when we're likely in the office).How hard would it be to build in a scheduler for these personal start pages? I think it would be quite useful. A optional setting for when you add a new feed to the page, to select certain time periods when it will show, and when it will not. By day, or even by hour/time if you want to be anal about it. But it should be possible. And not particularly hard to do.What do you guys think? Decent/interesting idea? Would it be useful for you? Or do you think I'm way off the mark?Oh, ...

Lessons from the Mona Lisa 2007-12-26 09:38:00 An interesting video on the Mona Lisa, and why she is famous. It's a small painting, whose subject isn't even a significant historical figure. So what makes the painting stand out so much? As the video shows, it's about the small, but revolutionary changes in the painting. Small details, done in a way that nobody had done before, is all you need to stand out.Like my blog? Make a donation. For more information, click here. ...

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 2007-12-25 05:03:00 Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays to all!Like my blog? Make a donation. For more information, click here. ...

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays! 2007-12-24 10:34:00 Mobile post sent by derrickkwa using Utterz. Replies. mp3Like my blog? Make a donation. For more information, click here. ...

Christmas Gift Guide 2007-12-23 09:28:00 With Christmas just 3 days away, I thought I'd share this:The Financial Aid Podcast Holiday Free Gift Giving GuideCheck it out. A short but really good guide. A good reminder of the true meaning of the holidays.Like my blog? Make a donation. For more information, click here. ...

Social Media - Changing the World 2007-12-21 08:46:00 Yet another inspiring story about how social media can make a difference. Blogs, Twitter, Podcasting, etc aren't tools being used to waste time. They aren't just about being heard, and getting your voice out there. It's about relationships. Connecting with people.I personally haven't gotten involved in this too much partly because I haven't been on Twitter that much in recent weeks, and partly because I personally don't know how I can really help (can't donate online because I don't have a credit card).Susan Reynolds is an artist, author and just a really creative person. She's been quite involved in Twitter and Second Life, and just building relationships in these digital realms. Recently, she has been diagnosed with cancer. After a "full afternoon and multiple stab wounds", as she put it, she needed something cool to help keep bleeding down and relieve the pain, and finding traditional ice packs too heavy, she decided to use a bag of frozen peas. She took a photo of it, and ...

The Best Way to Get Traffic 2007-12-20 10:49:00 A new, free ebook by Seth Godin. You can download the ebook directly from here.It's a short ebook, that will only take you 5-10 minutes to read. But it has a good message. It's about how to gain traffic to your website (or blog/podcast/whatever content you're creating).Yes, there are a lot of articles on search engine optimization, etc. But I agree with Seth, that the best way to get traffic and clicks "is to create content that is updated, unique and useful".I can't say that I've mastered this yet (I've got less than 60 subscribers). But hopefully I improve with time.Those of you who don't create online content might be wondering what you have to gain from this ebook. Well, the principles apply in pretty much any field. No matter what your message might be, and where your field is, you'll probably want to have people listening to what you're saying. And Seth Godin here shows us the best way to achieve that.Yes, you can try to game the system. You can come up with all sorts of ...

Your Opponents Weaknesses or Your Strengths 2007-12-19 22:57:00 No matter what you're doing, you'll always have competition. In games, in business, even in relationships. There's always competition of sorts. How do you deal with this competition? There are 2 general ways people go about dealing with competition.You could focus on your opponents weaknesses. Target where they are weak and adjust what you're doing to hit them there. Or you could focus on your own strengths. Don't think so much about what they do, but just do what you're the best at. Of course, it's best when your strengths align with your opponents weaknesses, but that's not always the case.A good example of that was the Sunday EPL matches. Liverpool vs Manchester United and Arsenal vs Chelsea. Liverpool and, to a lesser extent, Chelsea, typify the first approach. They change their system and the players they use based on their opponents. They try to identify weaknesses in the opponents play and plan according to those weaknesses.Manchester United and Arsenal, on the other han ...

Problem = Opportunity 2007-12-18 19:45:00 I know I said I'd do a podcast. But I'm having a cough and all, and my throat isn't too good. So I'll just write what I intended to talk about.It's been a really interesting past week. A lot of ups-and-downs. But one thing it has thought me is that with every problem, there's an opportunity. An opportunity to try something new, to do something else, which might work out even better.My Windows system had been screwing up a lot last week. And it got really annoying, so it pushed me to change to Linux. I've been wanting to try out Linux (Linux Mint, to be specific) for quite a while, but never got around to it, because well, Windows was doing just fine. So with Windows starting to screw up, yes it was a problem, and yes it was annoying. But it pushed me to switch. And it's a switch that so far has proven to be really good. The response speed and boot time is a lot faster, and I'm loving it.Another thing that went wrong is FeedReader. I've been using FeedReader, the desktop appli ...

Friday Flip-Through: The Butterfly Hunter 2007-12-14 11:02:00 A common theme (at least an intended common theme) in this blog has always been about pursuing your dreams, and your own passions. To not just settle for what others do, or what society expects, but to chase after what you believe in, and to find your own meaning in life.And that's why I love The Butterfly Hunter by Chris Ballard, the subject of today's Friday Flip-Through. In his book, Chris talks to 10 people who have found their life's calling, doing really unusual jobs. These are people who have beaten the odds, pursuing a career that few even consider. But it's a career that they love. They love what they do. More than just "what they do", their jobs are who they are. It's a part of them.10 people. Among them a lady lumberjack, a train geek, a building climber, a NFL kicking coach. 10 very different professions. But one thing in common. They are doing what they do best. They are living their dreams. And most importantly - to me, at least - they are fulfilling their passions.T ...

Students 2.0, and some personal updates 2007-12-14 07:46:00 Sorry I haven't been around much this week. My laptop's been sort of screwing up lately. And my feed reader doesn't work now, so I don't have access to my RSS list at the moment. So it's been kind of frustrating and tough for me to get in the flow of things - a lot of my inspiration comes from other blogs. Still trying to figure something out about how to retrieve the list or something.I also won't be around over the weekend. It's my birthday weekend (I turn 17 on Sunday! =D ), so as much as I enjoy blogging, I think I'll take some time off. And besides, I'll be quite busy celebrating, I think (will be out most of the weekend). I'll post the Friday Flip-through later, in a couple of hours. But there won't be a Saturday Sharing or Sunday Shortlist. I'll return with a new podcast episode on Monday, to update you guys on everything that's been going on.In the meantime, I just thought I'd point out something that I just came across, thanks to Andrea Vascellari. Something for ...

What's going wrong with Arsenal, part 2: Passion 2007-12-12 10:38:00 After thinking more about it (and reading more forum posts), I wanted to add another point about Arsenal. There's a lot of fans talking about how the players who are coming in don't seem to have the drive and passion of the opposition. They're commenting how the likes of Newcastle and Middlesbrough wanted the win more than Arsenal. And that's why they won, even though technically - on paper - the Arsenal players are (arguably) better.It wasn't just a desire to win. But it's partly because they (Newcastle and Middlesbrough) have been in a slump of form. And they want to prove themselves. It's not just about winning, but it's about standing up and being counted.I think it's a great point. Sometimes ability isn't all that matters. Passion and desire is just as important. If you really want to succeed, you need to have a passion for what you're doing. You need to be willing to stand up for yourself, and prove yourself.It's not just your ability, but what you do with it.How do y ...

What's going wrong with Arsenal 2007-12-11 10:08:00 Arsenal, my favorite football (the one which you actually play with you feet), have been going through a slight dip in form lately. With 3 of our best 4 midfielders out injured, the team's struggling to click, and it just isn't going for them.My personal take on what's going wrong? Playing Diarra and Gilberto in the center of midfield together. These are two defensive midfielders, who do a similar job. And they offer nothing going forward. There's a lack of creativity. And a lack of options and variety to our play. Because the two players are so similar, the partnership does not work.For those of you who aren't football fans, my apologies. But there are lessons here for all of us. In all teams, there needs to be variety. Having people doing the same thing doesn't help the cause. A team works best when everyone is doing their own thing, and complementing each other. So don't try to do what other people are doing, but do your own thing. And it also highlights the importance of cre ...

Sunday Shortlist #2 2007-12-09 09:38:00 Here's another Sunday Shortlist, for you. 5 links for today.Tip: Breaking Schoolhouse Habits - Behance ArticlesBehance is a great network, with some awesome articles. This is one of them. 3 habits that formal education teaches us, which in fact set us back. As the article says, "Nothing extraordinary is ever achieved through ordinary means."10 mistakes that changed the world - HELLO, my name is BlogMistakes aren't all bad, if we learn from them and make the most of it. Scott provides us with 10 examples of that. I'm really starting to like his blog, and highly recommend that you subscribe to it. Consistently produces great articles.HomeTips: There's a Lot to Like - How to Change the WorldGuy Kawasaki takes a look at the winner of Google's Adsense Story Contest. Good lessons that we can all learn, including doing what you love and finding a niche for yourself.The Age of Microcelebrity: Why Everyone's a Little Brad Pitt - Clive Thompson from Wired MagazineIn today's world, with th ...