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More points of suspicion regarding Alvin’s appeal into NUS

More points of suspicion regarding Alvin’s appeal into NUS

While Alvin finally bothered to rectify some of the misleading facts regarding his admission into NUS on his appeal site, many netizens began to raise suspicion over the “Hungry Hippo” final year project created by Alvin.

Firstly, he claimed that Microsoft Surface was “poorly documented” at that time. This might not be true as Microsoft seldom release any “poorly documented” SDK to developers.

Next, let’s look at a video of one of the first game that some Microsoft engineers threw together as part of a demonstration of the technology.
View the video

Finally, we look at the design of Alvin’s page, and the uncanny resemblance it has with this page, an appeal website by a 19 year old in Slovakia.

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Untruths Behind Alvin’s Appeal Revealed

Untruths Behind Alvin’s Appeal Revealed

In my earlier article, I raised questions regarding a site created by one particular Alvin regarding his appeal to get into NUS. Looks like my suspicion is confirmed.

Although Alvin’s site is all about “helping Alvin get into NUS”, Alvin was ALREADY given a place in NUS even before he started the appeal site. This was reported in a Today’s article.

Mr Wang, who was… offered a course in Information Systems at NUS, is hoping to use this website as part of his official appeal… to pursue a degree in Computer Science

In other words, this is NOT about Alvin not being able to get into University, or NUS being lousy in their admission process. This is about a guy not being happy with the course he have gotten, and trying to garner the support of so many people deceptively.

Information Systems and Computer Science in NUS shares many same modules, and they even have the exact same programmes during freshman year.

Yet, Alvin seems adamant about the whole thing, saying that he does not intend to enrol in university should he fail in this appeal and that, “To me, it is not so much about… getting that paper qualification.” Huh? Then what is this about?

Are you one of those misled by his half-truths? Perhaps he is better suited working in a advertising agency.

Finally, let’s take a look at the weird resemblance with a campaign by a 19 year old designer from Slovakia

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Help Alvin become a chipmunk

Help Alvin become a chipmunk

Recently a dude who goes by the name of Alvin created is own site to tell the whole world that he wanted to get into NUS, but couldn’t. Many people supported this by spending 2 seconds of their time to click a “like button”. I thought otherwise.

Before we get overly emotional and applaud him for his perceived courage and stuff, let’s think about this rationally and logically and decide whether this is indeed a cause for support.


  • He graduated 2 years ago, he had 3 years to apply for NUS computer science and also to explore alternatives. Did he do that?
  • Since he claims to be so passionate about IT, why did NUS reject him? Did he provide the reason? Did he ask NUS what the reason was? Did any of you who give away your “likes” freely think about what the reasons might be?
  • NUS is not the only school that offers a degree in computing or computer science in Singapore. So why NUS and NUS only?
  • Does he view NUS as the only way to pursue his interest? Is his passion really in IT? Or is he really just passionate about going into NUS? In other words, is NUS a mean to pursue his passion, or does he view it as an end?
  • If he love NUS so much, has he given some thoughts as to the position he’d place NUS in. If NUS relented and grant him a place, would this open the floodgates for others doing the same? If NUS did not grant him a place, what could the possible media backlash on NUS be?
  • If he loves NUS so much, why is he placing NUS in an impossible situation?
  • Does he think that the university admission process is there just for fun?
  • After coding in multiple languages from 13 years old, his Final Year Project was a hippo game on a touch screen device?
  • After so many years in IT, he didn’t know that white text on yellow background is one of more risky color combinations in UX/UI design?
  • If he were to apply for a job, and his employer reject him, would he create any website?
  • Don’t get me wrong, I am not against this if it can be proven that his passion in IT is genuine. Right now there are more questions than answers, and I am withholding my support for this until when support is deserved.

    I am hungry for your answers.

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    You make me smell.

    You make me smell.

    The problem with being me, is that I’m mildly dyslexic.

    And when my girlfriend dropped me a sweet SMS, I replied:

    Dear, your msg makes me smell.

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    The 3 types of Muggers

    The 3 types of Muggers

    I am not a mugger in all sense of the word, but I have lived among them for nearly 10 years. After observing muggers for 4 years in The Chinese High School (now known as Hwa Chong Institution), 2 years in Anderson Junior College (the No.1 mugger JC with NO results to show that fact) and 3 years in Singapore Management University, I realized there are actually only 3 distinct types of muggers. Let’s see.

    The Serious Muggers
    The Serious Muggers are the most rare breed that you can find. They can be found in huge abundance in The Chinese High School but I don’t really see them in Anderson Junior College. A small number of them can be found in Singapore Management University, but they are the exceptions rather than the norm. Serious Muggers are muggers who meant business. These people spend the bulk of their life studying. They look exactly the same and have the exact same posture whether or not it is 7am in the morning or 11pm at night and you would have sworn they are mannequins if not for the occasional rise and fall of their chest when they decide to input something other than knowledge into their body and output something other than grades.

    The Closet Muggers
    No, they don’t literally hide in closets, even though if they can find a closet large enough with sufficient lightings, they probably would. These muggers are seriously in need of psychological evaluation, as they often have issues with coming to terms with their own identity. Their favourite phrase to their peers is “Why mug? Don’t need mug lar…” Some may say that this is a smart application of game theory, but we may never know the truth. Some Closet Muggers are also Serious Muggers, and Serious Closet Muggers are the most scary muggers in existence because they give a whole new meaning to the words “zombie”, “no life”, and “bell curve”.

    The Social Muggers
    Social muggers love to mug in plain sight of their peers and in fact, prefers to mug with their peers, who are also Social Muggers. They are characterised by their loud chatters and abundance of food and beverages during mugging sessions and tend can be randomly encountered in places with lots of good books or cheap food, such as Libraries and McDonald’s. Sadly, like any other pests, they multiply and displaces the natives in any environment they go too. Avid library goers stop going to libraries because of the huge noise population that Social Muggers produced, and McDonald’s customers have to take out as there are no more seats in the restaurant. One may argue that Social Muggers aren’t really muggers at all – they spend more time eating and talking than studying. Social Muggers can never be confused with Closet Muggers, since the lack of good books and cheap food in closets make closets unlikely habitats for Social Muggers.

    So this is it, these are my 3 classifications of muggers. Can you think of any more?

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    O, Rose Tea

    O, Rose Tea

    O, my sweet sweet rose tea.
    Thy fragrance engulf thee,
    and makes me want to pee.

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    The first day I hear of you is also the day you die

    The first day I hear of you is also the day you die

    Mocca Perks, the first day I hear of you is also the day you die.

    Executives in local companies simply don’t understand that execution is the key to success. They think that throwing money in to hire some random people to run the show and spamming money into marketing can get you a sustainable business.

    OMGWTFBBQ LMAO.

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    Mac to PC: Look, no condoms

    Mac to PC: Look, no condoms

    All of us software developers know that all software will have vulnerabilities. To err is human and software are created by human. There will always be bugs, loopholes and possible exploits.

    So why do Macs have such a good reputation when it comes to security? Simply because so few people use Mac that it is not economical for hackers to attack Macs by creating viruses and malwares for it. Hackers are smart.

    Sadly, many Mac users (not ALL Mac users, mind you) are at the other end of the intelligence spectrum. So they go around telling people, “Hey, look at my Mac, I ain’t need no anti-viruses on, because there are no Mac virus!” However, the Internet is a treacherous place, with viruses floating everywhere. Mac users’ proclamation sounds to me like dickheads waving their dicks around and yelling “My dick has never gotten Aids before, so I don’t need condoms!”.

    We, the smart, all-knowing, all-wise PC users can only look at them in disgust, perhaps sometimes with envy. After all, putting on anti-viruses sort of slows down your system, taking something away from the somewhat amazing computing experience just like what condoms did to sex (I am guessing on this one, sex is not my area of expertise). And when we look at some of the more recent Apple advertisements that proudly proclaims how “safe” Macs are, we can only hope that some malignant god that governs the ethical realm will be kind on Apple and gullible Mac users one day…

    Well, that day has come sooner than expected. Sadly, society is structured in such a way that there are more gullible than rationale people, so more and more users switched to Mac. The value of writing viruses for Mac has increased tremendously.

    And with that, came this, this and this, the fun is just beginning.

    Look, no condoms.

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    Don’t work. Be Hated. Love Someone.

    Don’t work. Be Hated. Love Someone.

    This is a commencement speech written by Adrian Tan, author of The Teenage Textbook (1988), was the guest-of-honour at a recent NTU convocation ceremony. This was his speech to the graduating class of 2008. Reposted from Half Half. This speech resonances very strongly with me, having been inspired when I was 14 by the movie Dead Poets’ Society.

    I must say thank you to the faculty and staff of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information for inviting me to give your convocation address. It’s a wonderful honour and a privilege for me to speak here for ten minutes without fear of contradiction, defamation or retaliation. I say this as a Singaporean and more so as a husband.

    My wife is a wonderful person and perfect in every way except one. She is the editor of a magazine. She corrects people for a living. She has honed her expert skills over a quarter of a century, mostly by practising at home during conversations between her and me.

    On the other hand, I am a litigator. Essentially, I spend my day telling people how wrong they are. I make my living being disagreeable.

    Nevertheless, there is perfect harmony in our matrimonial home. That is because when an editor and a litigator have an argument, the one who triumphs
    is always the wife.

    (more…)

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    The Truth About IT Helpdesks

    The Truth About IT Helpdesks

    It is sad yet sometimes undeniable truth that many enterprise workers are only aware of an IT helpdesk and its value when something broke down and a phone call has to be placed.

    Since budget allocation to each department would be relative to the perceived value of each department in an enterprise, it follows that IT helpdesk staff have to ensure that things constantly break down so as to maintain awareness of their existence and to give themselves perceivable value.

    In short, because they are paid to solve IT problems, it is in their best interest that you face IT problems regularly.

    If you don’t face IT problems, then their career is in jeopardy.

    Conflict of interest is so interesting.

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    “Immoral Discrimination”

    “Immoral Discrimination”

    Immoral discrimination in job application process occurs when additional criteria that are not related to the job (such as gender, age, race, disabilities, wealth, sexual orientation, weight, height) are used in selection of employees.

    Therefore, those who select their relationship partners based on age, race, disabilities, wealth, sexual orientation, weight and height are not discriminating immorally – those attributes are job related.

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    “I don’t care about GPA”

    “I don’t care about GPA”

    Recently, it seems that there are some displeasure regarding my claim that “I don’t care about GPA”. Let me clarify.

    “Don’t care about GPA” does not imply absolutely not studying. We are all students; we have to put some effort into studying. It doesn’t make sense to totally not study given that I am putting myself in such a huge tuition fee debt. What differentiates someone who “cares about GPA” and someone who doesn’t is the extent to which they mug for examinations.

    People who care about GPA give up sleep in order to hug their textbooks for a little while more. While these people are enjoying their pratas supper at 3am, I am curled up in my bed in fetus position dreaming dreamy dreams. I have never gone to that extent. I sleep 8-11 hours every day during exam periods and this mantra had never been broken during my 3 years in SMU. It is only after exams where I will sleep only 4 hours a day to have more time to play games, watch anime and do development.

    After serving as a Teaching Assistant for 3 modules, I would also like to point out that IN GENERAL, individuals who are very motivated by GPA tend to participate in class more (class part). Well, for those who took modules with me, the only module I bothered to class part out of all the 20+ modules I have already taken in SMU was Architectual Analysis, and that module has negligible class part component.

    (more…)

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    More points of suspicion regarding Alvin’s appeal into NUS

    While Alvin finally bothered to rectify some of the misleading facts regarding his...
    article post

    Untruths Behind Alvin’s Appeal Revealed

    In my earlier article, I raised questions regarding a site created by one particular...
    article post

    Help Alvin become a chipmunk

    Recently a dude who goes by the name of Alvin created is own site to tell the whole world...
    article post

    You make me smell.

    The problem with being me, is that I’m mildly dyslexic. And when my girlfriend...
    article post

    The 3 types of Muggers

    I am not a mugger in all sense of the word, but I have lived among them for nearly 10...
    article post

    O, Rose Tea

    O, my sweet sweet rose tea. Thy fragrance engulf thee, and makes me want to pee.
    article post

    The first day I hear of you is also the day you die

    Mocca Perks, the first day I hear of you is also the day you die. Executives in local...
    article post

    Mac to PC: Look, no condoms

    All of us software developers know that all software will have vulnerabilities. To err is...
    article post

    Don’t work. Be Hated. Love Someone.

    This is a commencement speech written by Adrian Tan, author of The Teenage Textbook...
    article post

    The Truth About IT Helpdesks

    It is sad yet sometimes undeniable truth that many enterprise workers are only aware of...
    article post

    “Immoral Discrimination”

    Immoral discrimination in job application process occurs when additional criteria that...
    article post

    “I don’t care about GPA”

    Recently, it seems that there are some displeasure regarding my claim that “I...
    article post