IPOO

Photo: Wheels

2007-06-30T16:24:00.000-04:00

This photo was taking on my way home from work, stuck in traffic right beside a large truck!

Photo: Commute

2007-06-24T16:43:00.000-04:00

Highway 401, somewhere between Pearson Airport and Leslie Street (my daily commute).

The Children's Place

2007-06-08T16:42:00.000-04:00

A child being locked up. Ironic, isn't it?

Cappuccino

2007-05-11T16:40:00.000-04:00

A drink at this crepe place on Queen Street, Downtown Toronto (Sorry, I forgot the name of the restaurant).

Baseball Game

2007-05-08T22:37:00.000-04:00

I went to a Toronto Blue Jays game at Rogers Centre.

Feelings in Engineering

2007-04-21T04:28:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates, I am currently having my final exams. With that said, the above image shows exactly how I feel at school...

(If anyone know the source or the author of the image, please let me know)

Official BMW M3 Content

2007-04-12T01:42:00.000-04:00

Have you seen the new M3 information on BMW.com?

Also, here are some excellent videos of a red M3!

Epson Packaging

2007-04-07T23:54:00.000-04:00

I recently purchased an ink cartridge from Epson Online Store. It was shipped by FedEx in a ridiculously large box. What a waste of material, storage and handling space!

Happy Birthday to my Mazda 3

2007-03-28T04:20:00.000-04:00

My Mazda 3 is one year old now! Happy birthday!

Scary Sight on Highway

2007-03-17T16:23:00.000-04:00

I was driving on Highway 401 (Canada's busiest highway) and then: Why is the truck facing the wrong way?!?!

The answer:

Haha, I found it pretty funny...

2008 BMW M3 Concept

2007-03-06T10:58:00.000-05:00

From the Geneva Auto Show just moments ago, BMW unveiled the M3 Concept. The production version of the M3 will be very similar to this concept version. This M3 will have a 4.0 Litre V8, producing about 415 hp.

Source: Automobile Magazine

Update: A lot more pictures located at M3Post

Canadian International Autoshow

2007-02-27T19:23:00.000-05:00

Photos of me dreaming away in the BMW 335i Coupe and Convertible:

I will get one... someday.

Photo: Corridor

2007-02-15T09:35:00.000-05:00

The hallway of my apartment, Downtown Toronto

Daily Planet on U of T Campus

2007-02-11T15:20:00.000-05:00

I saw Discovery Channel's Daily Planet crew filming some experiments for their show. This photo was taken at the lobby of Bahen Centre at U of T.

Dilbert's The Knack

2007-01-29T18:26:00.000-05:00

That means I've got it too!

Global Warming

2007-01-23T12:47:00.000-05:00

Someone, though I forgot who, recommended me to watch An Inconvenient Truth, a film about global warming. I admit, its not the most interesting film to watch, but I realized that it directly relates to a course I am taking now, MIE415 - Design for the Environment. Take a look at the trailer below and I think you will understand the importance of this issue.

So can we do about it? What can I do as a future engineer? These are very important questions to think about.

BMW E92 M-Sport Package

2007-01-14T11:31:00.000-05:00

Check out the new M-Sport rims, front and rear bumpers, sideskirts! I personally like the front out of everything, has some of that M3/M6 look!

Source: E90 Post

Parallel Parking

2007-01-11T23:49:00.000-05:00

Parallel parking can be hard, but come on!

What Leads to Success?

2006-12-30T23:41:00.001-05:00

Richard St. John researched and wrote a book to answer this question: Have you ever wondered what really leads to success? After 10 years of research and over 500 interviews, he summarizes success into these eight things:

- Passion
- Work
- Focus
- Push
- Ideas
- Improve
- Serve
- Persist

You can read the explanation here.

He also talked about this topic at TED, watch the video.

Pachelbel Rant

2006-12-26T18:19:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone! Here is a guy who really hates Pachelbel's Canon, a very popular piece played during Christmas.

Improve Your English

2006-12-17T22:00:00.000-05:00

This is an ad for Berlitz, a company which provides language programs across the world.

Source: Fun And Jokes with Morals..

Honda Asimo Falls

2006-12-13T23:57:00.000-05:00

If you don't want to watch the whole thing, fast forward to the one minute mark. Ouch!

Source: Autoblog

Automatic Toilet Seat Cover

2006-12-09T23:50:00.000-05:00

I was in the washroom of a restaurant today with this neat little device. When you wave your hand at a sensor placed on the wall, this toilet seat automatically rotates a new protective sanitary plastic sheet over the seat. This very same toilet is equipped with automatic door, toilet flush, toilet paper dispenser, hand washing soap, towel dispenser as well as the common automatic tap and hand blow dryer - a fully automatic washroom!

Smart BMW Ad

2006-12-04T03:25:00.000-05:00

And it's so true: all the other luxury brands are owned by another company. Did you know that?

Survey of Most-Trusted Professions

2006-12-02T17:19:00.000-05:00

There was a survey done in March 2006 asking Canadians who they trust most. 1500 Canadian adults across the country participated and the results are shown below:

Firefighters 96 (% of participants trust this profession)
Nurses 95
Farmers 92
Doctors 89
Teachers 88
Engineers 88
Police Officers 81
Judges 78
Notaries 75
Bankers 72
Church representatives 64
Pollsters 62
Economists 62
Senior public servants 50
Journalists 49
Lawyers 48
Insurance brokers 46
Real estate agents 42
Publicists 40
Unionists 38
Car salespeople 19
Politicians 14

Source: Canada.com

Goodyear Runflat Tire Ad

2006-11-29T22:32:00.000-05:00

Melted Ice-Cream Truck

2006-11-25T05:48:00.000-05:00

Melted ice cream truck sculpture at Sculpture by the Sea, Australia’s largest annual free exhibition of contemporary sculpture (Nov. 2-19).

Source: Winding Road

Kiwi!

2006-11-20T04:13:00.000-05:00

I recently came across this video from YouTube:

Enjoy!

Photo: Reflection

2006-11-18T23:26:00.000-05:00

My Mazda 3 Sport, in front of my home in North York

World's Most Dangerous Road

2006-11-14T00:04:00.000-05:00

Not paying attention for a split second will send you down the cliff...

Source: BBC News

Photo: Sunset

2006-11-10T00:05:00.000-05:00

Outside My Apartment Window, Dundas St. and University Ave., Toronto

Future BMW Vehicle Speculation

2006-11-08T18:12:00.000-05:00

"BMW Shooting Brake" from Car Magazine

"BMW Z6" from Winding Road

"BMW Four-Door Coupe" from Car Connection

"BMW X-5 Coupe" from Auto Motor Und Sport

Sources: Autoblog, Carscoop

Cardboard Shoe Rack

2006-11-05T16:00:00.000-05:00

What do you do when you have too many pairs of shoes and and an empty closet?

Do what my mom did, make a DYI shoerack!

Tools required: lots of FedEx boxes, packing tape, scissors, Exacto knife.

Photo: Authority

2006-11-04T13:27:00.000-05:00

Toronto Police Vehicle, Outside Eaton Centre, Yonge St. and Dundas St., Toronto

My Recent Favourite Games

2006-11-01T19:27:00.000-05:00

Please click on the logo to go to the game's website.

I beat Half-Life 2 a while back, now I finished Episode One. I can't wait to get my hands on Episode Two. Oh Valve, why do you have to do this to me!!! Why do you have to leave me hanging!!! (Anxiously waiting for the storyline to continue)

This is perhaps my all-time favourite game. I played CS1.3 many years ago all the way to 1.6. Now I am playing Source and it seems like I am never bored of CS!

This one is a different kind of game. It is the best World War II strategy game!!! Oh wait... this is the only WWII strategy game I played! This game really gives you that war feeling, very realistic, very nice graphics, very nice game play!

Photo: Neighbourhood

2006-10-30T19:55:00.000-05:00

Facing Northwest, Dundas St. and McCaul St., Toronto

Designed for Hitting Pedestrians

2006-10-29T13:56:00.000-05:00

I was looking at some information about the new Jaguar XK, a nice British sports car with looks of an Aston Martin (Jaguar and Aston Martin are both owned by Ford). Then I saw this diagram:

It's amazing how such technology has been implemented to reduce the injury to pedestrian in an accident. Or can I say that the Jaguar XK is designed to hit pedestrians?

Image from WorldCarFans.com

Exclusive BMW M6 Convertible

2006-10-28T01:44:00.000-04:00

Here is the newest BMW M6 Convertible ... for kids. This electric powered BMW consists of two 6-Volt batteries with a max speed of 8 km/h in forward gear, and 4 km/h in reverse.

Features include: lots of M badges (just like every other M car from BMW!), electric horn and speedometer, nice set of rims and rubber tires, plastic chassis with metallic-blue paint, dual-brake function, adjustable seats and more!

This M6 will cost 439 Euros from BMW. There is also a pedal-powered version at 289 Euros.

Source: WorldCarFans.com

Getting a Good Night Sleep

2006-10-27T02:06:00.000-04:00

As a university student, especially an engineering student, it is common to not get enough sleep. Personally, I log about 5-6 hours per night compared to the required 7-8 hours. Remember that the lack of sleep is cumulative, so by losing 2 hours a night, it adds up to quite a lot even after a week. I read this article which gives 10 benefits to getting a good night sleep:

- Fewer Colds and Flus
- Weight Management
- Increased Muscle Growth and Repair
- Better Skin
- Increased Energy
- Better Memory
- Improved Mood
- Better Sex
- Better Stress Management
- Faster Recuperation

Many of these benefits actually help with studying and leads to better health. Maybe I should be sleeping more, but that's if I can help it with the amount of workload I get.

Source: Dumb Little Man

BMW E93 Revealed

2006-10-24T17:08:00.000-04:00

The BMW 3 Series Sedan (E90), along with the Touring (E91), was launched in 2005 and soon it went on to become the 2006 World Car of the Year. In August 2006, the 3 Series Coupe (E92) was launched. Now, the last member of the 3 Series arrived (not including the new M3, of course) - the 2007 BMW 3 Series Convertable (E93).

- Innovative folding hard-top roof
- World’s first Sun-Reflective leather upholstery
- All-new petrol engines with High Precision Direct Injection
- World’s first convertible car with through-load luggage storage

Source: WorldCarFans.com

Videos which showcase the features of the car can be found on Carscoop.com. The official page for the 2007 Convertable is now up on BMW.com.

Atlantis Lands

2006-09-21T18:28:00.000-04:00

Space Shuttle Atlantis landed today after its 12 day mission.

Source: Nasa Website

BMW 328i

2006-09-20T18:55:00.000-04:00

I saw this car over at E90Post. Simply beautiful. Its something that I want to get a few years down the road, hopefully.

2007 BMW 328i with Sport Package in Alpine White Beige Leatherette Interior

Source: E90Post.com

20 Years on Earth

2006-09-07T20:57:00.000-04:00

Thank you everyone!

RedFlagDeals.com

2006-08-20T23:42:00.000-04:00

I have been recently hooked on the forums at RedFlagDeals.com, a Canadian bargain shopping community. So far, I have sold my Averatec laptop there. I look forward to continue buying and selling at the RFD Forums, particularly computer components.

Discovery in Orbit

2006-07-12T21:03:00.000-04:00

NASA Space Shuttle Discovery is flying again since August 2005 (see this post). Currently docked with the International Space Station, IPOO once again wishes Discovery and her crew a successful mission and a safe trip back to Earth.

World Cup Reflections

2006-07-11T22:46:00.000-04:00

FIFA World Cup 2006 has come and gone. I had been cheering for England since the beginning and I know that their games were not exactly exciting or impressive. In the end, they didn’t get very far too. Oh well...

After England’s lost, I cheered for Brazil, Germany and France (in that order). Do you see the pattern? Maybe I am just bad luck. Or maybe it was stupid Cristiano Ronaldo, or Ronaldo is getting too fat, or it was Zidane’s headbutt... who knows.

Now I look forward to World Cup 2010, it will be in South Africa! In four years, who knows where I will be in life, maybe I will get a chance to revisit South Africa (My mother originally wanted to visit there 10 years after we left, which is this year, but it’s not going to happen).

Chinese Day at Wonderland

2006-06-25T23:13:00.000-04:00

I went to Wonderland for Chinese Day. It was completely packed with people. My good friend Kelvin got us VIP tickets for the singing contest/concert (with Janice being the guest star). Kelvin took the above photo with his Rebel XT that day.

BMW 8 Series

2006-06-11T02:39:00.000-04:00

I saw this BMW 850Li in Chinatown, rare and expensive!

My Summer Job

2006-05-21T23:44:00.000-04:00

My very last exam was on May 2nd, I started work on May 3rd and have been working full-time ever since. What a busy summer!

The DSC manufacturing facility I work at has over 700 employees and is located near Yorkdale Mall.

My job descripition (or at least my quick explanation of it): I am part of the RoHS Team and I coordinate qualification builds. Now the explanation: The RoHS legislation restricts various substances to be used in electronic products (The company I work at makes alarm systems, smoke detectors, etc). Qualification builds involves using RoHS compliant parts and processes to make samples of existing products. These samples determine problems and issues that arise when converting existing products into RoHS compliant products.

Product pictures from DSC.com

A busy April

2006-04-30T23:59:00.001-04:00

Here is a summary of what happened in April:

Summer job: I was able to find a engineering summer job thanks to INROADS. It was the only engineering position offered, since most people in the INROADS program are business students. My position is Manufacturing Engineering Assistant at a company called Tyco. Well technically, the company I work for is DSC, which is under Tyco Safety Products, which is under Tyco Fire and Security, which is under Tyco International. You get the idea...

Extracurricular: I have been selected to be the Technical Director of the Chinese Engineering Student Association. My job is to help manage the CESA website, forums, email list, members' info, etc. I just think the term "Technical Director" sounds cool.

School: My final exams were near the end of April. I have gotten a stomach flu during this time period and missed my Differential Equations exam. I also did poorly on my Thermodynamics exam because of this. My illness was a valid reason and I submitted a petition to the faculty after getting a doctor’s letter [Update: My petition went through and I got assessed marks for both these courses].

New Car

2006-03-18T18:36:00.000-05:00

This is our new Mazda (shared between my mom and I): a 2006 Velocity Red Mazda 3 Sport GT. Picked her up from the dealership on Friday.

Come Fly with Me

2006-03-01T20:47:00.000-05:00

My dream: 1) Engineer; 2) Pilot.

Flight Simulator 2004 Website

Body Worlds 2

2006-02-25T15:46:00.000-05:00

I went to the exhibit at the Ontario Science Centre. Disguisting and amazing at the same time. I am speechless...

Body Worlds Website

AutoShow

2006-02-24T02:45:00.000-05:00

I went to the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto this year, it is the first time I have been to one. I am sure that there are way better photos of nice cars from the AutoShow all over the internet, so I am not going to post those. Here are a few photos of interest to me.

The U of T solar car:

Zzz.. in a Yaris:

Mazdaspeed 3...based on the Mazda 3 Hatchback (more on that soon...):

I will drive my own BMW someday:

Metric and Imperial Units

2006-01-28T17:34:00.000-05:00

All my life, calculations for problems in school has been in metric units. Well now, in my Solid Mechanics course, I have to use imperial units for some calculations.

One student asks, "Are we expected to know imperial units? After all we are in Canada, we follow SI units."

The TA answers, "In the industry, engineers work mostly in imperial units. Why? Because the United States work with imperial units and it is the U.S. that has the *rubs fingers with thumb gesturing money*."

Students: "..."

Well then...

Need conversion tables? There are TONS (lol get it?), go to: Link

Computer Upgrades

2005-12-27T02:25:00.000-05:00

I upgraded my computer this holiday. Check out my project worklog located at Bit-tech forums!

Final Exams have Arrived!

2005-12-07T18:01:00.000-05:00

Good luck everyone on first term finals! Remember: Coffee is your best friend. Check this out:

Coffee Perks Up Short-Term Memory

[...]

Scientists at the Innsbruck Medical University discovered that 100 milligrams of caffeine, the equivalent of two cups of coffee, increased activity in the part of the brain that is responsible for short-term memory, and improved performance on a test that measures memory function.

"We found modulation of a distinct brain area within the working memory network was more activated under caffeine compared to the placebo condition. This is the specific brain region which would be used for short-term memory function," said study author Dr. Florian Koppelstatter, a radiology fellow at the university.

These functions include being able to prioritize information to manage tasks efficiently, as well as plan new tasks and deal with stored information, he said. An example would be the process of looking up a number in a telephone book, and remembering it so you could dial the number.

[...]

While two cups of coffee might improve your memory, don't think that drinking more will turn you into an intellectual, Koppelstatter noted.

"The positive effects of caffeine don't increase in a linear way," he said, and too much caffeine can make you more anxious, counteracting the positive effects the substance can provide.

Source: Forbes.com

Cup Noodle Timer

2005-11-28T23:10:00.000-05:00

Here is something for a person *cough* who loves Cup Noodles.

It is a 3 or 4 minute timer to tell you when your noodles are ready. There is a red light that turns on during that time to look like its cooking.

Source: Odd things from Japan

Lego Ipod Shuffle Case

2005-10-27T16:20:00.000-04:00

I found this very cool Lego Ipod Shuffle Case. It will be available starting tonight at 9pm EST for $49.99. It is limited edition with 300 units in total.

Sources:
The Cult of Mac Blog
PodBrix
BrixPod Classic FAQ

NYC Taxis in TO

2005-10-26T23:55:00.000-04:00

As I was walking to school one morning, I saw many New York City taxis. What's so special, you ask? Well, they are parked in the middle of downtown Toronto. Actually, it was quite obvious that people are shooting some movie, as there were many trailers nearby too.

Ferrari on Campus

2005-10-25T23:10:00.000-04:00

I took these pictures a few weeks ago. I don't know much about cars, but I do know that this car is nice and expensive. I wonder who is the owner...

IPOO Optimized

2005-10-24T16:25:00.000-04:00

Slight changes have been made to IPOO. The goal was to further tweak the web design and more importantly, to lower file size and improve loading times. The template decreased from 22.6 KB to 13.8 KB. From my own testing, it has been quite an improvement.

Other changes include the search function and the display of archive pages.

Sacrafice for a Leafs' Win

2005-10-23T19:33:00.000-04:00

Last thursday, when the Toronto Maple Leafs won in the final minute of overtime, I cheered and my hand hit the ceiling light in my living room. Here are the results:

I am not exactly sure how this happened. My hand was not hurt and all i saw at that moment was glass flying all over the place.

Anyways, for the recap of that night's hockey game, visit: Leafs' Official Site

Midterm Exams

2005-10-21T01:38:00.000-04:00

I just finished my midterm exams. Courses are: Statistics and Probability; Economics and Accounting; Engineering Analysis. From my experiences, math problems in engineering usually require some long crazy-ass solution and most of the students are clueless. These math problems are completely different from what was taught in lectures, tutorials and in homework problems. The result: we got screwed.

Below is an email attachment I got recently from a fellow classmate - a reminder of how hopeless things really are at times...

My Free Google Shirt

2005-10-06T22:30:00.000-04:00

I attended a presentation by Google today, they came to University of Toronto to talk about their company, technology, full time as well as internship positions. It was quite interesting, even though Google isn't exactly / directly related to mechanical engineering (they do hire mechs though, for certain positions). Anyways, here is a picture of me with a free Google shirt... it's long sleeve.

Back to School

2005-09-25T19:30:00.000-04:00

So I am back in downtown Toronto, in my apartment, about 10 minutes away from the campus of University of Toronto. Here starts my second year of my mechanical engineering program. Workload is going to build up and I am going to work hard this year (at least I hope to).

My Desktop

2005-08-17T01:43:00.000-04:00

Here is a screenshot of my current desktop. Recently, I have this obsession to customize Windows XP. This was done by using an application called WindowBlinds. I chose this particular skin because it looks cool, not because I am in love with a Mac.

Space Shuttle Discovery

2005-08-02T10:45:00.000-04:00

IPOO wishes Space Shuttle Discovery and her crew success on their 12-day mission to the International Space Station.

Sources:
Google News Coverage
NASA Coverage

My (Lack of) Hobbies

2005-07-21T13:14:00.000-04:00

I just realized that I don't really have many hobbies. Sure, there are many things I am interested in and I want to pursue, but I just don't know which direction to go sometimes. I guess that the first thing I can say as my hobby is this weblog, which I started this summer. Another "fun" thing I have been doing is helping to build U of T's solar car. Below are a few things I want to be able to do in the future:

I want to be able to fly. I meant as in taking flying lessons and earning a pilot's license. Wanting to become a pilot has always been a dream of mine, even before I wanted to be an engineer (and this is the reason why I want to be an aerospace engineer, although I have no idea why I am in a mechanical engineering program right now, well I guess its somewhat related...). So someday, and hopefully within these few years, I can save some money and put some time into learning to fly an airplane.

I like photography, ever since I owned a Sony DSC-P50 few years ago. But I recently came across a site called daily dose of imagery, which shows amazing photographs of mostly downtown Toronto (where I live). I find these photographs inspiring, but then my own photography skills are...let's just say "limited". I need to improve on that and also find an excuse to buy a new digital camera (perhaps SLR).

Another website I found recently is called Cooking for Engineers. Yes, I like to cook (plus, I have to since I live in my own apartment in downtown Toronto near U of T). That website looks at cooking in an analytical way, as you probably could have figured that out from its name. I hope to improve my cooking skills over time, being able to make different kinds of (good tasting) food. The funny thing is... I don't really enjoy eating, nor do I eat a lot (people say that I am very thin).

So there you have it, my "reflection" on hobbies. In conclusion, I give you a quote I heard from somewhere: "Learning is a life-long process."

What Driving Skills?

2005-07-17T23:57:00.000-04:00

Auto insurance is unreasonably expensive here in Toronto, especialy for teenage males. We are labelled "high risk drivers" by insurance companies. In my opinion, that is just stereotyping. Not all of us teenage males are unresponsible, crazy, brainless risktakers. Why is it that we all have to suffer with those insurance prices? And for those who don't know, females of the same age probably pay half the price for insurance. I have been driving ever since I was 16, passed my written and both road tests the first time. Heck, thats better than many adults I know.

Plus, I have seen many middle-aged drivers cutting lanes like crazy when they drive or not bothering to care about what other cars are doing around them. Yet they are considered trusted and respected. Why? Is it because they are older? If age is a way to measure driving skills, does it mean a 90 year old man is a better driver? You may argue back that the reason older people are more trusted is because they have more driving "experience". But do you know how many business men I have seen talking on their cellphones while driving? Or what about women that drive while drinking a cup of coffee?

So in the end, I just want to say that age and gender isn't the only factor in being a good driver. But I guess it doesn't change anything, I am still labelled as a "high risk driver." The other facts just gets omitted: I have a full license with no accidents and no tickets. And ultimately, I do not (fully) blame insurance companies, I blame people like the one in the news article below, a complete idiot that is ruining the image and reputation of teenagers even more.

Racing teen desperate for pit stop...

Fri Jul 15, 2005 12:21 PM ET

OTTAWA (Reuters) - A Canadian teenager caught driving at almost twice the speed limit told police he had overdosed on a protein drink and was desperately looking for a washroom, the Ottawa Citizen reported on Friday.

Hayder Mobarak's tale did not impress a local judge, who gave him a whopping C$926 fine ($760) and banned him from driving for 30 days. Mobarak was clocked doing 195 km per hour (115 miles per hour) on a road where the limit was 100 km/h.

"I was going to the gym and I was taking a protein shake and if you overdose it's really painful. This is why I was rushing to the washroom ... I wasn't thinking, I was in pain," the newspaper quoted 19-year-old as saying.

The incident could cost Mobarak even money later on. An insurance company official told the paper that a high-risk young driver would have to pay C$8,000 a year to insure a new car.

Source: Reuters.com

WDT Family Get Together

2005-07-09T23:57:00.000-04:00

Today I had a nice evening with some people I met online through a gaming clan called We Drink Tequila. Orignally, since maybe 3 years ago, we played an online game called Elite Force, which was based on the Quake II engine. Even though we all rarely play the game anymore, we kept in touch through our forums. Being the first time I met up with online friends, this was a good experience.

Stupid Annoying Raccoons

2005-06-23T21:21:00.000-04:00

That picture was taken one hour after the garbage taken out to the front of my house. May I remind you that I live in a CITY. WHY ARE THERE STUPID RACOONS IN THE FREAKING CITY? LEAVE MY GARBAGE ALONE! WHAT A MESS...

Solar Car and Bombardier Aerospace

2005-06-18T17:45:00.000-04:00

Today, I went once again to help build University of Toronto's solar car. The team, officially called University of Toronto BlueSky Solar Racing , is working hard to build its next generation, two-seater solar car.

One of the sponsors, Bombardier Aerospace, has been providing the space for us to work as we continued the construction of the aerobody. For me, going to Bombarier is as exciting as building the car itself. Aspiring to become an aerospace engineer, it was something special to see the airplanes and their parts being put together. However, with tight security, going into the Bombardier buildings requires special clearance and taking photos of the big hanger bays are not allowed.

Wordplay and Ambigrams

2005-06-15T23:49:00.000-04:00

A fellow by the name of John Langdon has a very interesting website called Wordplay. In his 'Ambigrams' section, he shows many of his designs: words that can be read (either the same words or entirely different words) even when inverted, flipped, rotated and so on. Words can't really describe it, so go check out his page.

However, I noticed something else. There is a page that shows ambigrams designed by John Langdon for the novel Angels and Demons, written by Dan Brown (also the author of The Da Vinci Code, described in one of my previous posts). Note that the name of the main character in both these novels is Robert Langdon. Um, maybe Dan Brown came up with the name of his protagonist from John Langdon?

Scientific Phobia Names

2005-06-14T23:58:00.000-04:00

I came across this site, which list all the scientific phobia names along with the fear of the specific objects. Here are some of my favourites from that list:

- Paraskavedekatriaphobia - Friday the 13th
- Peladophobia - Bald people
- Urophobia - Urine
- Venustraphobia - Beautiful women

The Da Vinci Code Resources

2005-06-12T13:14:00.000-04:00

I recently read the bestselling novel by Dan Brown. There is great controversy that surrounds the novel, all of which I find facinating. If you haven't read the novel, more information is available at the offical website.

For those that have read The Da Vinci Code, here are some interesting information I found on the Internet:

Uncover the Code: Apparently, there are hidden messages in the cover of the novel for readers to solve. While trying to find some of the answers to these messages, I stumbled apon this site (SPOILER / ANSWER ALERT). I am amazed... very ingenious.

About.com has some excellent articles regarding The Da Vinci Code, Christianity, Leonardo Da Vinci and other topics. The Opus Dei website has two responses to The Da Vinci Code, check them out here and here. There is also a Priory of Sion website you can visit. Wow, fact or fiction: I am starting to become confused.

The Da Vinci Code movie will be coming out in 2006. You can view the trailer here. From the Internet Movie Database, Tom Hanks will be playing the main character, Robert Langdon.

About

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IPOO started in May of 2005. Its goal is to allow me to have a place to call home on the Internet. Here, I can share to the world random bits in life. Also, I think that developing and maintaining a website / weblog is a great way to improve some of my technical skills.

The coding for IPOO was written using Notepad in XHTML and styled with CSS. Powering the weblog is Blogger: free and simple to use, but has limited functions. Adding to the final touches are images developed from Adobe Photoshop.

October 2006 marks a new beginning for IPOO. With a fully custom design, it is time to redefine IPOO in terms of content, usability, and quality. My goal is to bring better content to IPOO, perhaps turning it into a partial photoblog too.

My Quick Profile

Name: Nicholas Ip
Age: 20
Location: Toronto, Canada
Study:
- Mechanical Engineering, University of Toronto (2004 - Present)
Work:
- Manufacturing Engineering Assistant, DSC (Summer 2006)
- Quality Inspector, CSQR (Summer 2005)

Noteworthy

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My Flickr Pictures

Interesting Videos

Here are some videos I enjoyed in the past, mostly from YouTube:

BMW - Defining innovation Commercial
Top Gear Clip - Aston Martin DB9 Race
Top Gear Clip - Bugatti Veyron Race
Mazdaspeed 3 Adventures Trailer
Flight Simulator X Clip

Contact

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Click here to send me an email. I welcome all comments and suggestions!

You can also post your comments at the end of each blog entry.

I am currently building a list of links to other interesting weblogs, personal websites, etc. If you are interested in exchanging links with IPOO, please contact me.