October 2011
4 posts
4 tags
What I Learned From Launching on HN
So I launched Dive Into iOS on Hacker News over the weekend.
Here are some lessons I learned that I’d like to share:
1) Comments that are targeted at you can be hurtful at first, but don’t take them personally
I was initially bothered by comments like ‘accent not native’, ‘trainer sounds too young’, ‘why teach when he can make money from building...
I don't know why
I don’t know why I used to complain so much.
I should be thankful, thankful for what God has blessed me in this life.
I shall never look back.
Dive Into iOS
Want to learn how to make iPhone and iPad apps in an hour? Launching Dive Into iOS http://diveintoios.com/, short and succinct video tutorials to kickstart your iOS development.
Support Definition
We’ve been nominated as one of Asia’s Top 50 apps!
If you like our app and have a second to spare, why not head down here:
http://asiatop50apps.com/definition/
Have you gotten your free Definition card yet?
September 2011
1 post
We lack innovation
There is not a trace of innovation in many workplaces in Singapore, from the civil service to the private sector.
I’ve talked to many people about why they are working in their current job.
Some people work because of the high salary the job offers.
Some people work because they want to be on par with their peers who are earning money.
Some people work because their parents told them to...
August 2011
6 posts
Solve the world
A lot of times, people bum around till they realize they haven’t done anything productive.
Then they ask me what they should be doing.
Well, it’s really darn simple.
Let me put it in three steps:
1) Look around you.
Wherever you are, on a train, in school, at your desk, just take a minute to observe things around you. Observe the environment, observe the people, observe the...
Apple Loses Another iPhone Prototype at a Bar -... →
What I talked about during Y6 Mentoring
Thought I should post this here as well, in case someone finds this useful. Just a recap of what I talked about, if you’ve forgotten/weren’t listening:
Gap Year
The ‘year’ which you take time off to pursue what you want to do, after high school till NS/university
Rethinking the Gap Year
Does it really have to be the day you graduate? Or the day your exams end? Can you...
1 tag
iPhone Training Singapore - The Pragmatic Lab
Today, I launch my first company: The Pragmatic Lab.
The Pragmatic Lab combines both theory and practice into lessons to provide students with a well-rounded learning experience.
You can choose from a one-day course, two-day, or even a three-day if you want to be more comprehensive. Want to learn some basic iPhone/iPad development? The Pragmatic Lab is the best place to start!
I’ve had...
Spotify + Airplay =
+
It’s like your home turned into a HMV store.
Happy National Day
It’s different this year. This time round, we celebrate it with over 1 million PRCs in Singapore. I’m not xenophobic. It’s just that if your local neighborhood turns into Chinatown, it isn’t very pleasant. No offense to any PRC out there.
It’s just that I’m finding it very hard to find a place in this community.
And in similar news, a China family who moved to...
July 2011
2 posts
A cancer patient
Went for Jayesslee’s concert today. Was awesome as expected. But what touched me was the story they shared about their mum battling cancer. Their mum said, “Praise the Lord no matter what he has done.”, a couple of days before she passed away.
My close friend Joshua also fought and lost the battle against cancer (lymphoma) more than a year ago.
It was one of the most...
June 2011
26 posts
Words
Awe (a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder)
Awesome = some awe?
Awful = full of awe?
A quick google search showed that both words ‘awesome’ and ‘awful’ changed their meanings over history. Now how did that happen?
Life is too exciting for school.
Why bother?
Migrating
So many people have asked me on my decision to migrate after NS, and it’s so tiring to tell them repeatedly. I’m just going to list them down here off the top of my head:
1) Weather
Okay, it’s really humid and hot here. I cannot emphasize that further. I know Singapore is near the equator, but this is one really good reason to migrate. If you live in Singapore, you cannot even...
Life
Life is not about achieving the best grades, making the most money, or becoming the world’s most famous person.
Was listening to Derek Siver’s talk at Echelon that day, and he was really inspiring.
My opinion is, life is about finding your passion and building on top of that, while enjoying life in the process.
Seems to me that many Singaporeans fail to grasp this concept and work...
F.Y.I.
Why does the Singapore government love acronyms?
3 tags
Face time
“The only thing I don’t really like about Singapore (apart from the weather)—and this is probably true of most Asian countries—is the importance of face time at work. You’re expected to be at work a lot even if you’re not doing anything. That whole “appearance of work” thing and regimented approach to work in general (ie being very much concerned...
Move Fast And Break Things
My new motto in life. Still trying to break as many rules as I can.
Received this from my Facebook friend, Sam Odio. Thanks Sam!
Sights in San Francisco
Touched down in SF yesterday, did a couple of stuff:
1) Visited the Apple Store (pretty great, not as good as the NYC one though)
2) Checked out Moscone Center (I realised it’s pronounced Moscon-ey, not Mos-cone!) 3) Met up with a couple of friends from Seesmic and Simple-Reviews :) Great trip so far. Had a couple of interesting incidents near the place I stay (it’s the most...
Goodbye freedom, hello NS
As of February 8th 9am, I’ll be enlisting into the Singapore Police Force. Definition v3.0 has been submitted with a fantastic UI and logo update, so the next update’s going to be in awhile. See you guys soon!
3 tags
Life's been busy
Let me attempt to sum up the previous months: 1) End of high school - like finally! 2) I joined Seesmic, an awesome San Francisco startup. Check out the iPhone app if you haven’t. 3) Made Definition App (100 downloads a day as of today!) 4) Applied to various universities, including Stanford. 5) Just submitted a Christmas iPhone app! More details soon. What’s going to happen...
Definition
An intuitive revolutionary feature-powered dictionary. Download it now at: http://bit.ly/getdefinition. I’ll let the pictures do the talking. See the full gallery on Posterous
NYC Day 2 Part 2
See the full gallery on Posterous
NYC Day 1
See the full gallery on Posterous
NYC Day 2
See the full gallery on Posterous
Bye for awhile
Going to be away for quite a bit. I hope to update this blog regularly for family and friends during my trip.. so catch ya in awhile!
Why you should not buy books
1) Why not get it from the library at $0? 2) How do you know you will like it? Even if reviews are raving, it might not be your preferred style of writing. 3) You wont be reading it more than 10 times. When should you buy a book then? Only when you think you will continuously need it (like a travel guide), for a long period, or the author’s just your friend. Sent from my iPhone
What's Up Next
The next few weeks are going to be packed.. 18 May Driving BTT19 - 21 May iPhone Training Sessions25 May Medical Checkup26 May Imagine Cup (Meeting Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft) 2 - 3 June Patrizio Buanne Concert5 June SAT8 June - 17 June Trip to Shanghai18 June - 2 July Trip to USA! Looks really busy! Better get going now..
iPhone/iPad Spirit Jailbreak Released!
What’s Spirit?Spirit is an untethered jailbreak for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch on the latest firmwares. Spirit is not a carrier unlock.If you currently are using a tethered jailbreak, you have to restore to use Spirit. Do not upgrade if you use an unlock on an iPhone 3G or 3GS. (You can, however, restore to 3.1.2 if you have SHSH blobs for that version.) RequirementsAny iPad, iPhone, or...
Roll Your Own Computer Science Masters' Program
“But for better or worse, I’ve found that in many courses the combination of arbitrary requirements (i.e., the need to be present in class), horribletextbooks, frequently unenthusiastic professors (sorry guys; to be interesting you have to be interested in what you’re talking about), and a highly subjective qualification for success (complete these n assignments and learn these n concepts...
The Next Month
Its going to be a busy time ahead. Going to be playing for Patrizio Buanne, heading to Shanghai for holiday, and then to U.S. (East Coast) for a wonderful time! Life looks good.
Grades
Sometimes it pains me to see scholars in my school so obsessed with grades. I know it matters to them alot because they will lose their scholarship if they don’t do well. But that isn’t what education is. Education is not about achieving high grades, topping that exam, being on the principal’s list. Education is about training students for the working world, equipping them with...
University
I think I’ve found what I love, computer science. I remember in Primary 4, there was a typing class, and I beat the instructor. In Secondary 1, I showed my schoolmate that I could beat Google by typing out the entire link (e.g. google.com/search?q=hello) before he could type it into Google’s bar and hit enter.
Testing how easy this is
Hope this works great! Sent from my iPhone
Hello World!
This looks like a great blogging machine, after spending 5 hours looking for Wordpress and Tumblr themes, I thought of Posterous. Looks like I’ll be blogging from here now on!