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Spent my Halloween night working, brought my camera there this time and manage to catch some shots, but nothing too fantastic since it was REALLY BUSY.

There were a shitload of funny costumes which people came in, there was this girl who was clad up in cupboards designed like a Rubik’s Cube, and people just spun her round and round whenever she walk past anyone. Too bad I did not have the chance to catch a picture of that.

And a point to note: don’t wear huge ass costumes, ppl are just gonna /facepalm when everyone is trying to squeeze through a tiny path and some joker comes along with a costume bigger than anything they’ve seen before.

I think the funniest costume I caught on cam;

Nothing beats watching a giant carrot and chicken stuck in the dance floor. Okay I’m gonna end this with whatever presentable pictures I manage to take amidst my busy work.

A pastime of mine(apart from thinking about stuff like how to get rich / survive an atomic bomb attack) is to head over to TED website and listen to the talks on it, which are usually entertaining and thought-provoking, sometimes educational (subjective). Just last night before I head to bed, I watched a talk by David Perry on video games.

During my lecture for the Operating System module, something caught my attention off the edge of my eyes, someone was playing Final Fantasy 8 on his laptop. So I decided maybe I should just post this up.

It’s an old video dating back to 2006 but the content blew me away, since I’m (or should i say ‘used to be’) be an avid gamer. Enjoy

Keisos ((ºʎº; )) Erik says:
people used to read books to escape the real world
Keisos ((ºʎº; )) Erik says:
were nothing different
Keisos ((ºʎº; )) Erik says:
our books are just a bit more interactive
Keisos ((ºʎº; )) Erik says:
and i can get a adrenaline rush off of it

With 2008 coming to an end, a chunk of special dates comes to mind, such as Deepavali, Halloween, Christmas, New Year, etc etc. And that means WORK. I hope the costume I’m gonna have to wear for Halloween isn’t too silly. Double pay for Christmas and New Year’s Eve = $$$$

But most importantly, the event I’m looking forward to;

ZoukOut, the biggest and most hyped anual dance party in Singapore, attracted over 23,000 guests for ZoukOut ‘07. Looking forward to seeing some of my favourite DJs such as Dirty South and Above & Beyond this year! View its press release here.

Tickets are available from Friday 24th October at the Zouk ticketing booth or through phone bookings. All major credit cards are accepted, call +65 67382988 or fax + 65 67383988 (office hours tues–sat 10am – 3am).

**$38 Advance Happy Hour tickets **entry to ZoukOut venue before 9pm only. Limited to 2000 tickets,available at the Zouk ticketing booth only.
- Live Fresh DBS Visa Platinum Cards enjoy 15% discount off tickets

$48 - Advance tickets (up till 12th December)
- Live Fresh DBS Visa Platinum Cards enjoy 15% discount off tickets and all other DBS/POSB Credit Cards get 5% off

$58 – Event Day tickets on 13th December available from the Zouk ticketing booth (all day) and at the venue (from 6.30pm onwards)
- Live Fresh DBS Visa Platinum Cards enjoy 15% discount off tickets and all other DBS/POSB Credit Cards get 5% off

Advance tickets are also available at www.sistic.com.sg all SISTIC authorized agents, SISTIC Hotline: +65 63485555, and at HMV Heeren +65 67331822 and Citylink +65 62387218.

So… Anyone interested to be a part of the crew (bar staff / service crew) behind this magnificent event? Leave a comment (with your contact) if interested ^^ (it’s pretty good money yo)

explains it all

With the closure of Ministry Of Sound Singapore, the local community now has 1 lesser night-spot to go to, which resulted in the immediate increase in the # of customers that flooded over to Zouk last night.

Probably served a ratio of 5:1 malay:other races during work last night, it was horrible.

Time table is out for the next semester which starts next Monday! Modules for next semester;

DIGITAL MEDIA INTERACTION DESIGN

OPERATING SYSTEMS

JAVA ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT

JAVA ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

JAPANESE LANGUAGE 3

Woot! I love this, more programming modules, lesser theoratical modules please! Looks like it’ll be a good semester ahead

ps: should I quit my job?

I’ve been keeping a close watch on my web traffic and specifically: What are people doing with my cgi proxy.

So as it would appears that people are doing something not so nice through the CGI proxy I’m providing for free.

Don’t make me ban you, whoever you are.

Was supposed to meet Boon for supper, but at 2am last night I received an SMS from him asking if I wanna go into the abandoned Old Changi Hospital(rumored to be ‘haunted’) instead. So I thought, just the two of us? Hell yea! So instead of supper, we made a trip down to the famous ‘haunted place’

Parked by the back entrance and climbed up the shrubby stairways. Right as we got through, a police car came.

First thoughts: “crap, we’re fucked this time” (its a protected state property, tresspassing is illegal)

Turned off our torches and sneaked through the darkness to the front entrance, and then went out to pick our car (fucking 20mins walk). Had to abandon the exploration as it’s not worth getting arrested for doing stupid shit like this.

Went for supper at Changi Village and after we’re done with prata…. We went back to OCH again, this time with no police car around! (heh)

Went into the establishment, climbed through every level from top all the way to the basement but we couldn’t find the mortuary. Half way through, Boon’s torch light died on us, best thing that could’ve happened to us imo. After awhile, the torch came back and we continued to explore the roof, infirmary, and a couple more places before going off.

Scariest thing in the night was the police car that came. I guess two people is the bare minimum we could possibly go with, lol. Went to the ‘red house’ and Changi Beach Club after that and headded home after.

As a follow up to my article about Vodkas, I’m gonna write about Whisky!

Warning: Extremely long article ahead.

Disclaimer: Might have picked up false information, do correct me if I’m wrong

Naming

First off, with regards to its name and the spelling of ‘Whisky’ / ‘Whiskey’… According to Wikipedia;

The word “whiskey” is believed to have been coined by soldiers of King Henry II who invaded Ireland in the 12th century as they struggled to pronounce the native Irish words uisge beatha (IPA: [ɪʃkʲə bʲahə]) meaning “water of life”. Over time, the pronunciation changed from “Whishkeyba” (an approximation of how the Irish term sounds) to “Whisky”. The name itself is a gaelic translation of the Latin phrase aqua vitae, meaning “Water of Life”.^[1]

At one time, all whisky was spelled without the extra ‘e’, as “whisky”. In around 1870, the reputation of Scottish whisky was very poor as Scottish distilleries flooded the market with cheaper spirits produced using the Coffey still. The Irish and American distilleries adopted the spelling “whiskey”, with the extra “e”, to distinguish their higher quality product. Today, the spelling whisky (plural whiskies) is generally used for whiskies distilled in Scotland, Wales, Canada, and Japan, while whiskey is used for the spirits distilled in Ireland and America.

Legal definition

Now, with Whiskies being made all over the world, in this article I’m only going to cover on Scotch / Irish Whiskies. As with all other spirits, Whiskies have a ‘legal definition’ to it as well (criteria to be met before it can be considered a ‘Scotch / Irish Whisky’), according to the Scotch Whisky Order of 1990 (UK), which clarified the Scotch Whisky Act of 1988, and mandates that the spirit:

1. Must be distilled at a Scottish distillery from water and malted barley, to which only other whole grains may be added, have been processed at that distillery into a mash, converted to a fermentable substrate only by endogenous enzyme systems, and fermented only by the addition of yeast,
2. Must be distilled to an alcoholic strength of less than 94.8% by volume so that it retains the flavor of the raw materials used in its production,
3. Must be matured in Scotland in oak casks for no less than three years,
4. Must not contain any added substance other than water and caramel coloring, and
5. May not be bottled at less than 40% alcohol by volume.

As for Irish Whiskies, it has to be distilled and matured in Ireland for a minimum of three years, but as well as being a geographical definition ‘Irish’ is also a generic term for a distinctive style of spirit.

With not much documentation regarding the spirit, I’m just gonna quote off Wikipedia;

The first written record of whisky comes from 1405 in Ireland, where it was distilled by monks. It is also mentioned in Scotland in 1496. However it is thought that whisky had already been around for at least several hundred years prior. When or where whisky was first distilled is unknown and the local, undocumented beverage production during the period makes identification of the drink’s origin difficult. Additionally, it is possible that different groups discovered processes of distillation completely independently of one another.

Some scholars believe distilled spirits were first produced between the 8th century AD and 9th century AD in the Middle East with the art of distillation being brought to Ireland and Britain by Christian monks. It is a popular legend that St. Patrick introduced distillation to Ireland and Scotland, but he lived too early for that to be possible. It is, however, possible that the distillation process was discovered in Ireland and the British Isles (either independently or in precursor to Arabian distillation) by farmers as a way of making use of excess grain after harvest.

And according to Whiskipedia;

The first taxes on whisky production were imposed in 1644, causing a rise in illicit whisky distilling in the country. Around 1780, there were about 8 legal distilleries and 400 illegal ones. In 1823, Parliament eased restrictions on licensed distilleries with the “Excise Act”, while at the same time making it harder for the illegal stills to operate, thereby ushering in the modern era of Scotch production.

Types / Catagories

Malt Whisky - Has to be made from only malted barley and must be distilled in pot stills.

Grain Whisky - Made from grains such as corn / wheat as opposed to the heavily taxed malt at that time. Usually distilled in a column still. As a method of escaping the heavy taxes, grain whiskies were created.

With these being the base of most Whiskies, they are then blended, forming more types of Whiskies.

Single Malt - The word ‘Single’ here refers to the Whisky being made from a single distillery. Blending many different casks and different age of malt whiskies, the age of the whisky stated on the bottle refers to the youngest cask which goes into the blend. (Blending a 20year cask and a 12year cask will still get you a 12year blend). Examples of notable Single Malt Whiskies: Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, Macallan.

Pure Malt / Vatted Malt- Similar to Single Malt Whiskies, except that the malt whiskies that goes into the blend  may come from different distilleries. Notable examples: Johnnie Walker Green Label, Ballantine’s 12years ‘Pure Malt”.

Blended Whisky - Originally created for the English market, both grain and malt whiskies goes into the blend. It began with the levying of malt whisky taxes by England, inexpensive grain whiskies were blended into expensive malts to avoid the heavy taxes imposed on Malt Whiskies. The blend helped to soothe the strong malt flavor, making them easier to drink and eventually becoming a hit around the globe. Notable examples: Chivas Regal, Canadian Club, Jameson.

Scotch Whisky Regions

Highlands - The largest whisky producing region in Scotland, further broken down into Northern, Eastern, Western and Central Highland, each region’s malt have different subtle characteristics. However, most of the Highland malt causes a dry finish to the whiskies made from them as they are usually peat dried.

Northern Highland malts - light bodied with complex aroma.

Eastern Highland malts - medium bodied, smooth, smoky.

Western Highland malts - smoky, peppery.

Central Highland malts - light bodied, sweet, possesses a floral/herbal/fruity fragrance.

Some famous distilleries from the Highlands region are such as; Glenmorangie, Balblair, Glen Ord, etc.

Lowlands - Malts from the Lowlands are able to withstand long aging process without turning woody. Usually unpeated. Grassy, grainy, herbal, floral notes come to mind.

Only three distilleries remain in Lowlands now; Auchentoshan, Bladnoch, and Glenkinchie.

Campbeltown - Between 1880 to 1920s, it was hailed as the ‘whisky capital of the world’, with over 30 distilleries present at that time, it has since declined to only 3 due to economic depression. Malts are full bodied, has depth and salty finish. It got most of its characteristics from its surronding sea.

The remaining three distilleries are; Glengyle, Glen Scotia and Springbank.

Speyside - Known for its River Spey, second longest and fastest flowing river in Scotland, famous for its salmon fishing. It is said to be the home of the most elegant whiskies in the world, with as many as 46 distillery active at the moment, it has the greatest number of distillery in Scotland at the moment. Home to the two best selling whiskies in the world, The Glenlivet and Glenfiddich. Highly fruity and sweet, with little peat.

Well known distilleries; The Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, The Macallan, Speyburn, Glen Grant, Linkwood, Cragganmore.

Islay - Pronounced ‘eye-la’, in this rocky island, peat is largely present in its surrounding, which affects even its water. Barley grown in this region absorbs all the flavor carried by the wind, the resulting malt tend to have very strong smoky, salty and iodine notes. Typically characterized as the strongest flavored malt in Scotland, some people simply love them while some shun them with the greatest disgust.

A glass of Ardberg 10year would be a good classic example of heavy flavor with the unique iodine-like aroma. However, there are ofcourse lightly peated / non-peated whiskies, such as a Bruichladdich 10year would prove to be a contrary to the typical ‘pungent / strong flavored’ Islay single malts. It is light flavored and aroma of seaweed / nuts come to mind, instead of iodine.

Nine distilleries in the region, Ardbeg, Bowmore, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Caol Ila, Kilchoman, Lagavulin, Laphroaig.