Hello 2012!

Today represents a brand new year - a new beginning.

Regardless of how your last year was, it has no bearing on what the future holds. It's an empty canvas for 365 days of your life - you can end up with mere scribbles or a masterpiece, and that's entirely up to you. Decide how you want your life to be, and your goals for the year. There's no shame in wanting to lead a simple happy life; many people wish just to sit back and enjoy the sunshine, and spend quality time with their family and friends.

BUT if you have goals to achieve, write them down and work towards achieving your ambitions with little steps. Do not be caught up in life and forget your ambitions, even if it takes sacrifice and a lot of hard work. Think back on your regrets in life - they are more likely to be about things you did not do rather than those you did! Missed opportunities because you did not bother or were too afraid to do something about them... and we live the rest of our lives wondering how different our lives would be had we done something different?

Fast forward to the day you lie on your deathbed and think back on your greatest regrets, and then come back to the present moment and decide how you want to avoid those regrets. It is that simple - do not merely exist... live a life!

I'm healthy, have a great family and friends, and I'm living in a peaceful and prosperous country. I know the conditions are right for me to seize the day should I want to, and the new year gives me 365 days to make my existence worthwhile. So catch the winds in your sail and push towards your dreams, and don't forget to lend a helping hand to others along the way.

Hello 2012...  :)

Crossing the line

'Only those who could risk going too far can possibly know how far they can go’

Dr Walter Bishop in the TV series Fringe 

I am an avid fan of the TV series Fringe, which revolves around the past experiments of Dr Walter Bishop which threatens to tear the universe apart. He regretted the consequences of his past actions, but he lamented that 'Only those who could risk going too far can possibly know how far they can go’. And I thought that was a pretty interesting line.

We have all heard the phrase “Don’t cross the line.” And that is always accompanied by the unspoken “or else…”

We can understand that there are serious consequences for breaching the limit, and that the limit is a “line” – sort of a metaphor for the limit being a threshold of which everything is fine and tolerable behind the “line”, and all hell breaks loose when you “cross the line”. It’s that fine distinction between staying within the line and going one extra inch and breaching that limit, and getting into trouble. It is like the breaking point of a material… you can push it that far, but an ounce more pressure and it totally gives way and shatters.

To avoid getting into trouble, many of us steer clear of the imaginary line. Of course there are real consequences and thus the line is real to some extent, but the line cannot be visually seen. As such, we have to assume the position of the line or imagine the line, which interestingly means that the line is flexible or relative – depending on the parties on each side of the line. But of course, the line is resolute and firm when it comes to physics, but we are not talking about that.

What we are referring to – is the line of human effort. While mere mortals stay clear of the line, champions and winners dedicate themselves to pushing the line and the envelope of what’s possible everyday. They challenge the convention of the line’s position, stretching the boundaries of the line instead of staying in the safe zone. Champions push harder than anyone else, even though they never can know how close they can get to the line without crossing it – and crashing or failing.

Getting closer to the line entails taking huge risks, but these are calculated risks that winners take. As hard as they push themselves to enlarge the envelope of their performance, even the greatest of champions have doubts lingering in their minds. Just how far is too far? It is perhaps the unique combination of experience, faith and determination that allows them to do further than anyone else, skirt closer to the line than one can possibly imagine, and attain the success that eludes peers with fear of breaching the line.

So while we should not throw caution to the wind, be conscious of how you read the phrase “do not cross the line…” The human spirit has amazingly resilient properties, which means you can push closer to the line inch-by-inch, much more than you can possibly imagine. That is of course, if you wish to. Many of us will prefer to lurk in the safety zone far away from the line, but for those of us who wish to be the best that we can be, treat the line with respect but do not fear pushing the boundaries.

Have you done your best? The fun part of life is that you won’t really know. Only those who've crossed the line will know where the line is.

Stay

Stay motivated
It is difficult to do your best when you’re not motivated. There are things that you may not like to do, but since you’d have to do it anyway, find a source of challenge to motivate yourself. Who knows – you might even appreciate the task even better than you’d imagine.

Stay hungry
The common saying goes that wealth never last three generations, and it has been proven true in many cases. Be it wealth or spiritual contentment, they key to a fulfilling life has always been to stay hungry (not literally of course). A person who hungers for more tries harder, and gets more out of life.

Stay curious
Curiosity kills the cat, but we’re no felines so it’s safe to stay curious. Never stop questioning everything around you. Everything happens for a reason, and it might not be the right reason or best solution. The most outstanding individuals from scientists to businessmen always challenge the status quo with “why?” and you should too. Open your eyes wide, and your mind even wider.

Stay connected
No man is an island, and the most amazing achievements happen when people come together. The sharing of knowledge, contents or contacts can be very helpful in your life, and it sure doesn’t hurt to know more people. Even if nothing else, you’d never know when an innocent remark from a conversation can give you inspiration for something great, or change your life forever.

Stay grounded
Be it politics or business, many have failed because they lost touch with the ground. Always be in touch with the people on the ground, because anything that you do has an impact on them. If you do not understand the mechanics that happen on the ground, you start losing control. Be connected with your friends or subordinates – respect stems from understanding ground operation.

Stay strong
There are many things in life that hit us hard in the face, and force us to bend over. And sometimes things turn out so badly in the blink of an eye, that you might find the odds overwhelmingly against you. When you’re down, the only way is up. Don’t quit, soldier on and bite the bullet. When all is over, you’d see that it is only a storm in the teacup of life.

Stay alive
You can take this literally – to eat healthy and monitor your health. That’s great, but it is just as important to stay alive spiritually. Some people embrace religion, some look towards philosophy. Since we choose to stay alive, we might as well BE alive! Do not spend your days with your back hunched and head drooping. Walk with spring in your step, hold your head high and look at the positive side of life. Look towards the light, and you’d never see the shadows. Be alive!

Queenstown before demolition

While photographers have flocked to cover the rallies, I decided that I'm enochlophobic and thus preferred to check out the old Queenstown estate before they demolished everything. Just to share some photos...

Work, leisure and sleep – can we have them all?

According to my friend Alex, it is possible.

Many of us wish that we have 48 hours a day to do the things that we want to accomplish. We always find our time being limited and insufficient, and that we have to sacrifice our sleep and leisure time in order to finish our work. Given that work is a top priority for survival (unless you have plenty of cash to spare), we often indulge ourselves in leisure after a hard day of work to unwind - a few hours after dinner to catch a movie, have drinks with friends, read a book or surf online. The net result is that we sacrifice sleep in order to accomplish our work and fulfill a bit of leisure.

My friend theorized that if we can categorize our 24-hours into three 8-hour blocks specifically designated for work, leisure and sleep respectively, we will have better control of our time. If we can imagine 9am to 5pm being devoted exclusively to work and nothing else, we’d strive to finish everything within these 8 hours. With careful planning and discipline, we can aim to avoid unnecessary meetings and trivial water-cooler talks, stop engaging in social networks and sending junk emails, to finish our work within the 8 work-hours.

The mind cannot function without a break, and leisure is important for the mind to recharge and refresh itself. It helps the mind to think laterally and be inspired with fresh ways of thinking, and to solve problems at work and at home. Catching up with friends after work also help to strengthen your social network, while reading books or watching a movie helps the mind to build upon new ideas or make sense of the world. You can also take this chance to visit the gym after work to keep the body in shape, which really helps to keep you healthy and your mind alert.

The effect of sleep (or the lack of it) is well documented by psychologists and doctors everywhere, which is why it is important that we manage our sleeping hours and pattern. A good night’s rest energizes one to take on the world effectively and efficiently, giving you the ability to accomplish more within the 8-hour slot for work, and enough energy to enjoy the 8-hour leisure after work. And that is why it is important to keep the allocated hours of sleep and not sacrifice rest for work or leisure.

The 8-hour theory may sound impossible to implement, because we have various obstacles that are external to us – such as unreasonable superiors, incredulous work load or family commitments. The 8-hour theory sets the framework for managing your everyday life, and to instill some discipline in the way we handle our time. Even if you feel you do not have control over your life or time, do not dismiss this framework outright. Try to work towards the 8-hour time block ideal, and see if you can organize the little things at work or at home to move towards the golden goal. There are many self-improvement books about time-management and goal-settings, which works in tandem with this theory to improve your life.

Ignore such advice of time-management and goal settings at your own peril. It is your life after all – if you choose to dismiss such tools as hogwash, you will forever be inundated by work and other demands in life. If you choose you place into practice various techniques and strategies to improve your life bit by bit, you will be able to wrest back control – of your own life!

OCP latest project - Canon Laser Printer video

Are all laser printers made equal? We were commissioned by Canon to create this video to showcase the finest features of Canon printers and All-in-Ones, and you can check out the rest of our works at www.orangecactusproject.com!

OCP latest project - Canon PIXMA Wireless video

My creative and communications firm, Orange Cactus Project - was recently commissioned by Canon Singapore to create a product video to showcase the wireless feature of the new PIXMA photo printers and All-in-Ones. We chose to use a fast and snappy edit to communicate the wireless features of Canon PIXMA, using a white simple background and lots of 3D work to bring across the benefits in a graphical manner.

The storyline is simple - how a typical family can use and share a PIXMA printer wirelessly in their home. Instead of shooting in a home setting, we chose a white background to strip the environment of its context and reduce clutter, and we are able to use 3D to stitch the three characters seamlessly into one continuous sequence.

Enjoy!  :)

Food wisdom

We've always heard that it's better to eat natural food than processed food, and that sounds perfectly logical. Processed food contains higher levels of preservatives and additives to make the food last longer or taste better, and that's probably not very good for health. Cheap sausages and nuggets made the headlines some time ago, with the revelation that they're made up of "rubbish" parts which you'd not normally consume as part of the natural food diet.

In order to maximize their profits, it made sense for the food industry to look for ways to make use of every single part of their produce, so nothing is wasted. Parts like scraps of meat, bones and veins are usually discarded in our natural diet, but they represent inventory in the food manufacture's dictionary. I came across this video by Jamie Oliver who illustrated the junk that goes into the manufacture of chicken nuggets, and I must say that it's an eye-opener.

See if for yourself, and decide if you still want to bite into another tasty morsel of nuggets...

True talents shine through adversity

For all fans of the Rocky series, you'd doubtlessly remember how Rocky Balboa was always cast as the underdog in each of the movie. The character was usually training in some dingy and run-down training gym, while his opponent would have access to the best and most modern training facilities and methods. And as you'd have guessed it, Rocky always beat the odds and come up triumph against his rival who had superior backing.

And if you're a fan of drifting, or just an anime fan, you probably know of the popular anime  "Initial D". The anime revolves around a teenager who's extremely talented in the art of drift racing, who went on to beat various challengers armed with extremely potent rides in his humble and broken down Toyota Trueno AE86 (a mid-1980s car which is old and underpowered in today's era).

The morale of such stories revolves around how talent and determination can beat the odds, winning challenges even though the environment may be adverse to success. You can probably think of some real life examples, perhaps of how a student excels in studies in spite of poor home environment, or how a starving artist can conjure up a world of imagination armed with some cheap brushes and limited paint. Or how a photographer can create stunning works with just one camera and a single lens. The point is clear - talent and determination can never be buried by adversity, not unless you allow tough times to beat you down.

I came across this video on Youtube showing some youths performing some really slick dance moves - on a street corner. In spite of not having professional training or a place to dance, they shared the passion and zeal for dancing, turning a street corner into a dance stage in the rain. Perhaps adversity and the lack of resources do force the individuals to excel compared to being someone else taking everything for granted by being spoon-fed with the best of everything. After all, the tiger in the zoo will lose its instinct to fight for survival compared to his counterpart in the wild who has to fight for every meal.

As Steve Jobs will say, "stay hungry, stay curious."

Back to the future!

There are cool cars, like the new Ferrari F458, which says a lot about you (well, mainly about your bank account). And then there are amazingly cool cars, like the DeLorean DMC-12, which says a lot about your age!

If you grew up in the 80s, the DeLorean DMC-12 will be no stranger, having starred in the massive blockbuster trilogy of "Back to the Future". I remember thinking that I'd definitely wanna have one of these in my garage "in the future", and I sure wanted to install a "flux capacitor" and "Mr.Fusion" - you will know what I'm saying if you're a fan of the movie! But herein lies a little problem (other than the fact that the car isn't actually really a time machine)...

You see, even though the DeLorean DMC-12 was amazingly designed in the 1980s, it ran into a host of problems. The cool stainless steel body was too heavy, and it was a literally a bitch to maintain. Remember those cleaning crew forever cleaning those stainless steel elevator doors with 3M cleaning spray? Try doing that every day with the DMC-12! The cool gull-wing doors weighed a ton, and the gas struts supporting the doors kept giving up. You simply can't look very cool when supporting a heavy door and crawling out beneath the gap to exit the car. The car looked very fast, but it wasn't. The engine could manage only 170bhp, which wilted down to 140bhp after installation of a catalytic converter. The end result was a "sports car" which gets its rear end whipped by a Toyota on the road today, with a century sprint of 10.5 seconds.

When this babe hits 88 miles an hour...

Anyway, the DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) ran into a host of problems, which led to the termination of the car's production. A total of only 9200 DMC-12s were made between 1981 to 1982, and most of them were made in the left-hand drive. Only 16 right-hand drive DMC-12s were ever made, and coupled with the fact that they are nearly three decades old, it's highly unlikely that I'll ever get any one of these rare cars in Singapore, if I manage to find a working piece out of the 16 cars. And that is why the DeLorean DMC-12 can be considered cooler than a modern Ferrari.

But guess what? The DeLorean Motor Company has been revived, and they're now churning out BRAND NEW DeLorean DMC-12s using new old stocks made by the original factory. So you get the same great car, but with updated chassis, suspension and components. You can even specify a iPod-connector for the car audio! Check this out...

So, if you can fork out the dough for the right-hand version of the newly built DeLorean DMC-12 (about US$75,000 before the hefty import Singapore tax), you just might be able to create a movie-realistic version of the car just like this geek did...

Order your DeLorean DMC-12 at the DeLorean website, and I'll meet you at the clock tower.

C'mon Marty, we're going back to the future!

Can we eat to starve cancer?

Cancer is one of the top killer diseases in our modern society, and the exponential growth in cancer cases can be largely attributed to our sedate lifestyle and unhealthy diet of processed food. Many of us hardly exercise in our daily lives, choosing to drive and take lifts/escalators instead of walking. And our diet comprise of processed food which are cheap and easily available. The combination of a sedate lifestyle and consumption of processed food (largely meat-based to make things worse) can be disastrous for our bodies, giving cancer cells the room to grow.

I received this video link from a friend, which I found highly interesting. Basically, the theory is that the body's natural process of angiogenesis is responsible for the fast rebuilding of blood vessels in our body, and that cancer cells require blood vessels to supply them with nutrients and oxygen to grow quickly. The speaker William Li is a doctor whose work in angiogenesis discovered that anti-angiogenesis elements occur naturally in various food, vegetables and fruits, and thus we might be able to prevent cancer from growing by consuming such food groups.

You might think, "haven't we all heard about that before?", but the video is extremely interesting and enlightening, and even if you know that eating certain food groups is good for your health, the video explains exactly why they're helpful in the fight against cancer. It helps that William was speaking a TED seminar, which in the past has featured other notable speakers such as Bill Gates, Al Gore and Philippe Starck, lending credibility to this video's contents.

How good is William Li as a speaker? Well, I watched the video ONCE and I was able to write the synopsis for this blog entry, and I'm a complete medical idiot. That says a lot about the clarity of ideas in this video. Be sure to watch it!

The most effective workout program in the world!

Forget going to the gym and working out for an hour per week. This workout program really shapes you up like no other gym can! Be sure to check it out... and yes... you can localize the program by replacing it with your own prejudices!

Pick your names wisely...

For the guys in the business of making toys for kids, you'd think they'd have been more careful in the selection of names. Perhaps something was lost in translation... oh Fucket!

Our place in this universe

How insignificant are we in this universe? Find out...

The pursuit of happiness

Are the pursuit of happiness and success mutually exclusive?

It is oft heard that one has to be contented with one’s achievement to be happy. Popular media portrays the ambitious to be unhappy and lonely people. Likewise, others who crave material wealth and status symbols are depicted to be in a rat race, doomed to run forever in a event that has no finishing line. The Native Red Indian chief noted wisely that the craving for possessions will doom the white man. Does that mean that happiness will always elude those chasing success? 

The common wisdom goes that happiness belongs to those who’re happy with what they have. Yet social conventions demand that we should always seek to upgrade ourselves and aim for loftier targets. These glaringly conflicting goals seem to indicate that the modern man will always be caught in a bind between attaining personal happiness and satisfying the social expectations, and cursed to be in a constant state of unhappiness. Damn if you’re satisfied with the status quo, and damned if you’re not. 

As such, many people believe that the modern man is caught in a conflict that cannot be resolved, but I feel otherwise. You can still pursue material success and yet be happy, but two criteria have to be fulfilled.

First, success (material or otherwise) should be defined from within and not imposed upon by social expectations. Of course it is neither easy nor even possible, but one has to attempt to analyze one’s personal goal and listen to his heart, to discover whether you truly crave what you are aiming for. Be true to yourself and seek the goals that will make you happy, rather than meeting social expectations and making everyone else happy.

Secondly, rediscover the statement that “one should be contented to be happy”. If contentment runs counter to your personal agenda of upgrading and aiming higher, perhaps that knot could be easily resolved by thinking “one should always be happy with what you have”. You should always be happy with what you already have, be it material wealth, health or relationships. But that doesn’t stop you from seeking higher levels of your own targets. What is important here is that while you seek bigger goals, you should always be happy with what you have around you.

The problem most individuals have is binding happiness with contentment – they are not contented with what they already own and thus seek higher targets, and thus they are unhappy with the status quo. But think about it – if your entire life is spent chasing higher goals (and that is a good thing), wouldn’t you be eternally plagued by unhappiness if you are miserable with what you already have? Is there truly an end point to this race? Wouldn’t life be much better if you can separate happiness from contentment, so you can reach out to greater goals (by not being contented) and yet remain happy while reaching higher?

Think about it – the commonsense approach to happiness and contentment intertwines both irrevocably. But it should never have been so. The pursuit of contentment and improvement is a never-ending process, but the pursuit of happiness is a state of mind. And it is one that you can achieve right now.

Taiwan's answer to Susan Boyle

Remember Susan Boyle? The unattractive and frumpy lady who got sneered and giggled up when she strode up the stage in Britain Has Talent, and then blew the pants off everyone when she sang an incredible rendition of "I dreamed a dream".

Well, Taiwan has talent too! A tubby boy with a odd bowl-shaped haircut stunned the crowd and judges of a talent show "Super Star Avenue" with his rendition of Whitney Houston's "I'll Always Love You". Now most of us are familiar with that song, or rather how difficult it is to sing that song well (if at all). So here... go ahead and see for yourself how talent transcends prejudices...

Launch of new photo website and photo forum!

Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to announce the launch of two major projects I've been working on - my revamped photography website and a new photography forum!

Nelson's Photography Website
(www.nelsontan.com)

My photography website at www.nelsontan.com has been around for quite a while now, but this revamp gives it a brand new look to bring it up to date. In addition, you will also find new articles online as well as some reviews I've done lately. If you know someone who wants to learn photography, be sure to visit the website because I've a great new syllabus to help anyone pick up photography online!

Photomiki photography forum
(http://www.photomiki.com/forum.php)

My buddy David Ng (of GoDigital fame) and I decided to do something for the photo community, and what better ways are there to build knowledge than to build on the immense experience of the photo community? So after much huffing and puffing, we managed to set up the Photomiki photography forum! Remember to visit the photo forum to share your knowledge or ask some questions, or just to buy and sell your camera gear!

Leave some comments on you like my new projects!

Video of new Alfa Romeo Giulietta!

I've said this before, and I'll say it again. The new Alfa Romeo Giulietta (pronounced Juliet-ta) looks absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, especially in white. If you are looking for a compact car, I implore you to check it out when it arrives. Forget about cars without soul and passion - this Alfa Romeo is the real deal!

Still uncertain about it? Well.. check out this gorgeous video of the Alfa Romeo Guilietta!

Instant gratification – Fuji Instax Mini 7s!

Inspired by the relaunch of the Polaroid film, but put off by the exorbitant pricing, I got inspired instead to purchase a Fuji Instax!

The Fuji Instax has been around for a while now, and the movement has been picking up steam since the demise of Polaroid. Maybe the market for instant film is too small for two players, or the end of Polaroid made people treasure the last player in the market more. Anyway, I always felt that the Fuji cameras gave much sharper and more vibrant prints.

About the size of a pair of small binoculars...

So on to my latest purchase – the Fuji Instax Mini 7s. There are other models available in the Instax range, but the most popular model is the definitely the Mini 7s. The camera is the most compact in the range (the others are just too large!) and the film is the most affordable and fits nicely in your wallet.

Tweet... tweet... I tawt I taw a puddy tat...

Ah... yes... Twitter...

Follow "nelsontheone" on Twitter if you're interested. Yes, I apologize for the obnoxious nick... it wasn't easy finding a user name when you enter the game so late.