Ta-da!

One other web tool specially designed to facilitate scatter brains like mine, is the Ta-da list! It's this cool web tool that loads as soon as you've added your schedule. It's real easy to manipulate. To get started, you just have to sign up here for free!


A glimpse into my third brain - where I store stuff the natural ones can't find space to fit into.

As you can see, it allows you to pen down your schedule. Even stray thoughts. Categories can easily be created and you get to shift your schedule around accordingly to your priorities and style of arrangement. That's under the "Edit" and "Reorder" option at the top.

It also allows you to share the list of things that you have to do. Like during internships, supervisors have to keep an eye on things happening around so ta-da's one way of letting you access how much your intern's getting things done.

Deciding who to share your list with.


Here's what it looks like after you've shared a ta-da list.


Here's a preview of what you need to provide to obtain your own ta-da list!

It's quick, it's easy and it helps! So get orgaanised with ta-da list today!

How feeds travel

For a computer dummy like me, learning about exporting and importing feeds' just amazing. Danliang and I were supposed to figure it out like 2 weeks ago, but we gave up after failing to discover how it was done.

It's not until today when Siva suddenly wanted me to urgently make the feeds travel that I've finally learned how to do it. It's really simple after he pointed out that the Import and Export functions are under the File tab under NetNewsWire. That was the beginning of the journey of the feeds from my NetNewsWire Lite to my Bloglines account.

Here's a step by step analysis:

First you go under File options in NetNewsWire and find the Export Subscription option.



Second, save it in opml format on your desktop or wherever you want for that matter. Tip: Give the file a specific name so it can be found easily for the steps later on.



Next, go to: Bloglines - Feeds - Edit, and look at the bottom left hand corner of the screen. The option Import Subscriptions screams out at you and you're almost done!



Lastly, having clicked on the import link and coming to the page as shown below, browse through your com for the exported file (that's when precise naming of the file comes in handy!) you just saved minutes ago and import it!



And you're done! The travelling of the feeds made easy to you! And the cool thing about it is that it goes two ways. Travel from NetNewsWire to Bloglines and vice versa. All you got to do's go backwards. Start from Bloglines, export file and so on.

Google Reader's another destination the feeds can travel to too. And the way they travel's universal. So get one method of moving your feeds around and you'll be able to move feeds from whichever feed subscriber you have. =)

Exploring Bloglines

Another web tool introduced to me was Bloglines. So what is it? Here's it all in one breath!

Bloglines is a FREE online service for searching, subscribing, creating and sharing news feeds, blogs and rich web content. With Bloglines, there is no software to download or install -- simply register as a new user and you can instantly begin accessing your account any time, from any computer or mobile device. And it's FREE!

Adapted from About Bloglines.


A screenshot of Bloglines' home page. Kind of like Wikipedia's.

I haven't discovered most of Bloglines yet, but the Feeds section is enough presently to overwhelm me. They allow subscription to sites of your interest right from the beginning so you get started and active on Bloglines straight away.

Here's showing what you can get from the feeds - amazing photos and stories all a click away!

Baby isopod Ceratoserolis. Wonder what it feels like underneath..


Ghostly shrimp-like creature, called Cylindrarcturus.


It's an animal called Ctenocidaris! Thought it was a plant..

Well, that was just a few beautiful pictures I came across while browsing through my National Geographic News : Animals and Nature feed. =)

The feeds section works just like NetNewsWire and Google Reader in addition to other features available on Bloglines. So my guess is that I'm going to stick to Bloglines more frequently!

These feeds can be categorised accordingly to your preferences under playlists. It makes you more organised as your feeds list grows longer and longer.

Another section of Bloglines I stumbled upon's a blog segment. So, now that I'm left to discover Bloglines, I've created another blog for myself accidentally! Like 2 blogs isn't enough to keep me occupied. Then again, Siva has like 16 blogs?! As you can see from the post, I was really lost. I was thinking it could somehow publish a post to the blog over here at the Raffles Museum Internship. Then, the birth of the third blog.

So check out Bloglines and get an account yourself today!

Sweating the little stuff

Internships don't usually involve profuse emission of sweat. However, interning at the RMBR does apparently.

It was a beautiful Saturday morning that I got to know a fraction of Pulau Ubin. I signed up for Pedal Ubin and roped Wen Xian in, knowing her love for exercise. And it was a mighty one she got too.

After getting our bikes, marking attendance and splitting up into four groups, we were all set to go! We were brought to the East side of Ubin after Siva decided our group was up for a challenging morning. And challenging it was! Treacherous slopes; steep ones going up and down as well. The gravel, pits and bumps on the trail were all over, waiting to bump someone off their bikes. Lucky for the prep talk on gears and brakes, or I'd be flying off my bike. Anyway, just like Siva twittered, I don't think I'd cycle up these steep slopes to see these sights. So it's a bonus that we embarked on the East trail!

November, our guide, was really good; telling stories of ubin to us ignorant people from the mainland. We were brought to the Sensory trail which perked us all up with wonderous smells of lemon grass and pandan leaves. Then it was to observe the rivers of ubin, the sluice gates of the prawn ponds, the mangroves and the remnants of a Malay kampong. We got to see special highlights the oher groups missed out on such as vertical malay tombs of the people from the kampong, and a beautiful quarry that's difficult to access. Also, we were prowling under the mangroves to observe viviparies and were treated to a vision of what's left of the kampong.

Beautiful on the surface, gory beneath it (Ghost town of cranes and diggers are all that's underneath).

Ubin has so much to discover. Going along with these wonderful guides makes the whole experience more enriching. So, sign up for the next pedal ubin which happens quaterly every year to discover the little authentic island!

Visit Pulau Ubin Stories to find out more!

Deffered blog

Part of tasks Siva has added on to my list's to blog about my past working experiences. I figured out it wouldn't be appropriate to put my experiences on an internship blog with the museum so you won't find it anywhere in here. No sweat (Siva), it's just a click away!

Bittersweetness

I've just returned from the Museum of Shanghai Toys (MoST) with the full intention of promoting that amazing hideout spot! It's located at 83 Rowell Road. Some little shop along Serangoon road. Check out more details on how to get there in the MoST's blog!

The taxi driver and I had a little trouble finding MoST, but we made it and I was opened up into a wonderful place. Marvin the curator and founder of the museum, was very warm and friendly. The reason why this fairyland exists in reality Singapore, is fueled basically by the interest of Marvin. Find out more by clicking here!

It's amazing how many toy soldiers and dolls you can find there. And the age of those toys go way back to the 20's! The layout of the museum is systematic too. The toys were exhibited by themes and there are three levels to it just like RMBR. The bottom level's mainly full of cuddly stuffed animals that people will buy. Come to think of it, it seems like a cross between a display and a souvenir shop.

One feature I like about the first level's that the music's all Disney themed and mostly tunes that I'd come across as a child. It really makes you sink into the tiny form and brain that was once you years ago (if you're an adult now). Another section of the museum that got me excited was the whole range of turnstile machines that the have. I used to go crazy over them when I was a little girl and even when I was budding into my teenage years. And there they have it all splayed in front of me. Pity the mindless desire's gone, else I could have seeked Marvin's and Siva's permission to camp there and drop $1s in till I'm satisfied.

The second floor was exhibition and a little entertainment room for kids. This was mainly the exhibition part where explanations are decked out in white print on red cards. The fraction of fear I have for dolls derived from my close friend Kim Hong from her experience with the movie Chucky, was partially gone as I saw how much love he put in to explain their origins and the history to be delved from each exhibit. It's pretty much like the exhibits in the RMBR. Each has a local story that never fails to bore a curious child. As mentioned, a tiny space allocated for children, to entertain them with black and white cartoons. This really makes you move all the way back into the old times when TV didn't know about rainbows. It was tempting all the same to grab a chair that's small for people with tiny behinds, and see what ancient cartoons people from my dad's era used to watch about.

I wandered into the third level next and found this cool spot where you can sit and relax. In front of this cosy corner is a classroom for little kids to learn how to make toys. Like creating your own teddy bear. It's really cool just thinking how someone with a passion for toys, is doing so much to open his interest to the world. It's like the saying, "Spread the love...".

That was it. A nice little museum with enormous and generous amounts to share with the kid in everybody.

Lunch Bites

I have been looking forward to lunch these few days since Danliang left. It's the only time when interaction begins! Besides work of course. In fact, it's the time when I get to know more people that are linked to the museum; people from the Department of Biological Science. And essentially, more of Siva of course.

I met Lawrence Gwee, a guy who has interesting heritage. His great grandma's a Japanese and she being a Japanese actually saved his grandad from being murdered by the Japanese soldiers during the Japanese occupation when they were in Malaysia. Just how cool and romantic can that get?

The other really interesting story was that Singapore used to have buses with only an opening. I shan't use "door" because they didn't have doors back then! Judging from the way Lawrence and Siva were gesturing about how they would cling to the two bars at the bus' only opening, the image of those buses in lesser developed countries can't stop propping up in my head. I wonder if they actually climb up and sit on the roof of the buses. That would really be too much.

I guess all dangerous elements always has the same proportion of fun and excitement in them. They seem to be reminiscing about the buses. All the description about the bus conductor with his little box of bus tickets. It kind of feels like the Knight bus in Harry Potter, and a little like my conception of buses in British. Except with a little more rowdiness.

Although lunch's peppered with perky stories like this (that remains in my memory without me jotting them down), it never could escape from work. *Sigh* =P

Siva has told me to check my father's time out by interviewing him about life in Whampoa in the 60's. I guess that's not much work. But before I can do that, I got to read up blogs. Yes, more blog readings. One blog that I have yet to read but sounds reasonably interesting, is Good Morning Yesterday. It's Mr. Lam evoking the memories of the past in the name of constructing a window for the younger generation to have a peek into the heritage Singapore had. It's good, especially A War Time Love Story. Gives you an idea of how war affects and twists fate.

Besides stories, there were discoveries as well. The best food stall in YIH's the first stall you see when you reach the canteen. Regardless of which entrance you use (Just don't use the back door). I've also found some shortcuts in NUS! It's just beside the little garden, beside the slope up to LT32! And I thought that garden was unkempt and breeding mosquitoes. To Siva's shock of course. =P

Also, I've had the opportunity to meet Kai Yang, who commented that I look like Kai Xin just as Airani had said before. I really have to find out how she looks like. Moving on, I met Annee who's at the Department of Biological Sciences. She's really friendly and my mentor to using the scanning machine in time to come. Which reminds me, I have to get down to the Museum of Shanghai Toys to get press articles! It's all about putting these information up online for people to have easy access. Another thing about the museum's that it's the third museum that's blogging besides us RMBR and the army museum! Check out the blog here! In fact, Siva has it up in yesterday.sg's blog. Think he's really excited about it as he can't seem to get more museums to blog effectively.

Alright, I got to fly to the museum now!