tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52627331551354864172024-03-16T18:53:06.683+00:00OPEN URBANISMadventures in tech, electronics, programming, cartography, geology, data, and augmented realitiesdebbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.comBlogger371125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-21902753821585229732021-02-14T01:51:00.016+00:002021-02-14T11:27:11.076+00:00Unity + Oculus Integration on Mac<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT7CiwQjMGe8QGPkjw1xg3o8r4MAeRONFGQlMQPuh4BRv5LPAoO6aR8Obgz3r3lGWK6Mx275z_g53n8QZZX1-Bwo09HMA5UqxkfRRkbuJG2G3NI0oiu-eUmUTtBH5v1JhCVmtHRwOwUr-N/s0/20210211_213102.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT7CiwQjMGe8QGPkjw1xg3o8r4MAeRONFGQlMQPuh4BRv5LPAoO6aR8Obgz3r3lGWK6Mx275z_g53n8QZZX1-Bwo09HMA5UqxkfRRkbuJG2G3NI0oiu-eUmUTtBH5v1JhCVmtHRwOwUr-N/s0/20210211_213102.jpg" width=100%/></a></div>
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The Chinese New Year Weekend is too short! I want to spend maximum fun time with the Bean, and get some catching-up-with-sleep-time, but I also want to learn how to make something for Oculus using my Mac alone?? I found several posts online claiming to be able to teach you to set up your Oculus device in <a href="https://circuitstream.com/blog/oculus-unity-setup/">10 minutes</a>. HA I suppose they definitely didn't use a Mac for these speed runs (my Mac has now decided that its new calling is to mimic the hideous sound of an airplane taking off). Still, I persist in valuing the retina display+portablity over practicality and doing everything on my Mac. Will I be forced to retreat back to using a PC again after much frustration? Let's find out!<br><br>
<b>FUN FACT: </b>According to Rescuetime I spent 33 minutes in total in Unity in order to complete these steps on my 15" Macbook Pro 2019, including all the downloading and importing. The writing of this documentation is probably taking far longer.<br><br>
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The Oculus is a type of Android device so have to check for Android Build Support in the version of Unity I'm using. Just created a 3D project in Unity in the version of Unity I happen to be using.
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Unity Asset Store has this default "Oculus Integration". Whilst waiting for that to download, I saw there were so many different integration packages out there for VR and more. Actually got lost browsing all the rather interesting sounding "Tools/Integrations" category on Asset Store. Which ones do the most interesting things? NO CLUE. I guess I will just try Oculus Integration first before actually trying the others.
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There are several updates and Unity will need to restart, after which there will be some new Menu items for Oculus like this:
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Under Edit > Project Settings > Player > XR Settings > Virtual Reality should be supported.
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Another step I would add in is to preemptively remove Vulkan Graphics API, because if you don't, it will throw up an error about XR being incompatible with Vulkan. (Alternatively, I suppose one could go into the OVR scripts which is stopping the build and find the lines where it checks for Vulkan and comment out the checks?)<br><br>
So I also went to read up on Vulkan Graphics API and what it does - <a href="https://www.asianage.com/technology/in-other-news/290517/vulcan-api-on-android-nougat-explained.html">the internet says</a>: "Until now, the mobile graphical interface has been using the OpenGL platform. While the platform was suitable for intense mobile applications like gaming and photography five years ago, the old platform isn’t enough to handle today’s AR/VR intensive applications. It is also not possible to pack in massive hardware in a restrained form factor for running intensive mobile applications. The Vulkan API was developed by Khronos to ensure improved graphical performance with lesser resource usage. The new API has been built from scratch for rendering console quality graphics on existing mobile hardware. What that means is you will be able to enjoy the PC-like graphics on your high-end smartphone".
ALRIGHT BUT WE WON"T USE IT.<br><br>
OH WAIT AS OF 1 FEB 2021 the internets say that <a href="https://venturebeat.com/2020/02/01/unity-now-supports-vulkan-for-oculus-quest/">Unity now supports Vulkan for Oculus Quest</a>? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯<br><br>
Ok whatevers. At this point I just removed Vulkan for the time being so I can continue.
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Next is to create a developer account and app ID. Now I definitely have mixed feelings about the Facebook integration, which means I have to take several precautions regarding privacy. If I was buying a VR headset only as a casual user, then <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/10/facebook-hit-with-antitrust-probe-for-tying-oculus-use-to-facebook-accounts/">the issues with forcing users to login with a Facebook account</a> would make me reconsider getting this device. However, the reason I've gotten a Quest 2 is for portability in VR development. Consider all the factors on your own before getting a VR headset device!<br><br>
Go to http://dashboard.oculus.com/ in a different browser and set up the Developer account.<br><br>
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Connect the Quest to the Mac with the usb cable. Under Build Settings > Android > the Quest should now be available as a device.<br><br>
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Build & Run > and when its done, you can put on the headset and it will start to load your scene. Probably could have used the prefabs to make a scene but there are some demo scenes that came with so I just loaded that first.<br><br>
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Wahooey a demo scene!<br><br>
<hr><br>
<h2>NEXT STEPS?</h2>
<b>Tiltbrush?</b> <a href="https://github.com/googlevr/tilt-brush">Building Tiltbrush</a> which has gone opensource?<br><br>
<b>How does I workflow???:</b> <a href="https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/native/pc/dg-performance-workflows/">Workflows: The process flows you should follow</a><br><br>
<b>How to screenshot on Oculus Quest 2?</b> Press the Oculus Button + any trigger button. The app needs to have permission to save to storage beforehand.<br><br>
<b>Where do the screenshots on Oculus Quest 2 go to?</b> Turns out that the Quest is a kind of Android device so on a Mac you have to download <a href="https://www.android.com/filetransfer/">Android File Transfer</a> and find screenshots under Oculus > Screenshots.<br><br>
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VOID started with a bunch of 3D scans. This was the first scan I made whilst waiting at the corner of the void deck for a taxi. The funny thing about this scan was that you got quite a good view of whatever I was looking at, but there's a empty void behind my two legs, where the scanner couldn't reach, which makes it look like sootmark traces in the aftermath of an explosion. There are numerous 3D scanning apps available for iPad Pro and it is easy to export the data as an textured OBJ or glTF/glb and the file can be quickly imported into Unity. <br><br>
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<center><small>Gameplay images from VOID</small></center><br>
These days I spend quite a lot of time waiting for taxis to take me and Beano between places. The timing is such that I frequently end up commuting at daybreak or at night, catching glimpses of dimly lit buildings and sleepy carparks through the darkness. The two destinations I frequent (my house and my parents') are incidentally both what you might consider somewhat complicated places to get to, so there are many opportunities for a grab or taxi driver to become lost or give up the will to find me in the midst of all the one way road systems. So... there is a lot of waiting, during which I've ended up scanning void decks, mining it for material...<br><br>
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<center><small>Void deck waiting area</small></center><br>
When Shih Yun first invited me to show something at OTHERWORLDS, I had several other experiments and drafts that I thought of showing, which I realised over time to be unnecessarily complicated. A good game is not a collage. A game does not necesssarily get better from having more elements in it. I realised that I liked my growing collection of Void Deck scans... and I wanted to make something out of all of them.<br><br>
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<center><small>HDB Scans from Veerasamy Road</small></center><br>
The only weird thing about doing this is that after staring at it in a dream-like state within my game for so long, it is kinda weird to still walk through the same corridors on an everyday basis.
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An obvious reference for the work is "In the Night Garden", a show that Beano has been watching a lot of. Some years ago I remember once attending a lecture in the basement of RCA. The details of this lecture eludes me except that the visiting speaker was a new sleep deprived father who had watched a whole lot of "In the Night Garden" recently with their toddler. He apparently had some near-religious epiphany with regards to the philosophical meaning behind "In the Night Garden" and I only have the merest impression that he had meticulously tied it up with an elaborate history of design or critical design or radical italian design pedagogy from the 1970s or whatever it is that RCA design students get lectured to about (and that I was impressed with the mental leaps of the lecture). It thus seems typical that now in my own sleep deprivation of caring for the Bean, I do not recall that useful gem that this forgotten speaker had wished to impress upon us, that rare and useful tidbit that he had gleaned from the watching of "In the Night Garden". <br><br>
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<center><small>A Screenshot from "In the Night Garden"</small></center><br>
Now as I am watching and rewatching pixelated copies of In the Night Garden via youtube on an old and heavily bumpered ipad, I am only left with questions. WHY IS IGGLE PIGGLE ALONE IN A BOAT AT NIGHT? WHERE IS HE SAILING TO? IS THE NIGHT GARDEN THE FEVER DREAM OF AN IGGLE PIGGLE LOST AT SEA? IS IGGLE PIGGLE ALRIGHT? WHERE EXACTLY IS THE NIGHT GARDEN?<br><br>
Another reference for this work is a scene from another children's show - Steven Universe. Years back I used to catch bits of it and I remember thinking that it was way too childish for me (I probably even said something like "I dont know what people see in it!!!". But when I was on maternity leave I somehow ended up binge watching seasons of it all at one go in the middle of the night. It was when I watched this episode that I was suddenly SOLD on the show, because seeing a nightmare version of the city made me realise that they had done such a good job of painting Beach City to me in the previous episodes. They needed audiences to have built up a good mental map of Beach City before hitting us with a nightmare version of it - otherwise the episode would not have any impact. It is funny that I almost feel kinda nostalgic rewatching old episodes of Steven Universe, because the show now gives me a feeling of Beano being really tiny. I suppose this is the video version of "song that happens to be playing in the background during a defining period of your life". I really love the thoughtful, gentle way in which the show handles topics such as mental health, parenting, and relationships - and I guess I envisioned it being a beautiful cartoon for Beano to enjoy watching with me, one day in the future...<br><br>
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<center><small>"Rose's Room" (Season 1 Episode 19)</small></center><br>
In this episode, Steven discovers that his mother's magical room can fulfill any wish he asks for. After asking it for a bunch of silly things, he is hungry and decides to go get a donut from the shop in Beach City, and he thinks he has stepped out of the room to get a donut, but actually Rose's room has generated a parallel Beach City. Everyone is speaking funny and he runs to the water's edge where he finds the waves are not working properly. Finally after a terrifying time in the city, he realises it is a dream when he tries to eat his donut and it poofs.<br><br>
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Enough of the back story, here is the work!<br><br>
<hr>
<h2>VOID IN THE CAVE</h2>
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Shao from DUDE.SG combined all our works into the CAVE setup for the exhibition at Gillman Barracks - a 3 screen kinect based interactive virtual environment! The boat was self-propelling, but it would turn according to the direction of the user's body.
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Due to safe distancing measures, the gallery could only accomodate a fixed number of people at one time, so queues outside built up to insane levels. Whilst the show was incredibly short, I heard that there were about 600-700 people who came through each day, so at least we know that many people got to try it!<br><br>
<hr>
<h2>PRODUCTION NOTES</h2>
A few notes here on issues I encountered along the way:<br><br>
<b>Water in the Boat - Convex Hull</b><br><br>
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So I wanted to get a boat floating on a sea. I didn't reinvent the sea, no, if you must ask. I did this version with Crest, an existing ocean renderer system for Unity 2019.4.8 and later. A real boat actually displaces the water, so at first when my boat was in the water the ocean rendered into my boat. The fix is to add a convex hull (take the shape of your box and create a shape which is the smallest solid closed convex shape of itself) and then use a script to disable the rendering of the water where the convex hull is located inside the boat. No more water inside boat.<br><br>
<b>Resolution</b><br><br>
One thing I’ve blithely not comprehended before was that on a MacBook with Retina display, the pixel density is twice that of the norm, therefore instead of 72dpi it is actually 144 dpi, meaning for every 1px there is actually now 4px (2px x 2px), hence when I take screenshots/screencaptures that do not account for the embedded dpi setting of 144dpi, they will come out twice as big. A crucial issue when trying to screencapture my game as a gameplay video…<br><br>
<b>Colour / Dropped Frames / Understanding Unity Profiler</b><br><br>
Monosnap is the trusty screenshot app I've used for several years now. Using it meant that I never had to really think about how I really wanted to compress things, because I just trusted it to quickly crop and compress things for me (whether image or video). However, most of what I've been screenshotting with it so far have been things like annotations of images and lectures, for which colour is not much of a big deal. Well, my lazy days are ending. Using it to capture a gameplay video this time around showed me that maybe I need a better long-term solution for gameplay screencapture (possibly even an internal game recorder?) because (1) there is something going on with the colour (probably to do with conversion from 10 bit colour to 8 bit colour, which flatten my subtle purples to black), and (2) there is also something going on with dropped frames, which I am guessing is possibly my macbook pro's gpu being not up to the task of, so it all points to (3) that I probably need to watch more tutorials on how to properly use the Unity profiler to improve the performance of my game... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯<br><br>
<hr><br><br>
COMING SOON: VOID IN VR?debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-58232406344101305572021-01-30T00:23:00.000+00:002021-01-30T00:23:05.047+00:00Singapore Art Week 2021: Where to see Debbie's Works<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAV4xzfbNNacYEKrf1wOmpBMxQxIUFL5OUozu-xGCSTjm9ptUemzWaDSr5143JfY29ODGbRuKw05_u41hA85ssREg9Mlq1m0qShimd8b9J5-_sUwnD8jpuvMqxtIhkcshOG34q1pzwgQDI/s0/Screenshot+2021-01-23+at+8.16.27+PM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1518" data-original-width="2030" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAV4xzfbNNacYEKrf1wOmpBMxQxIUFL5OUozu-xGCSTjm9ptUemzWaDSr5143JfY29ODGbRuKw05_u41hA85ssREg9Mlq1m0qShimd8b9J5-_sUwnD8jpuvMqxtIhkcshOG34q1pzwgQDI/s0/Screenshot+2021-01-23+at+8.16.27+PM.png" width=800/></a></div>
For those in Singapore at the moment, I have a couple shows ongoing/upcoming during and beyond Singapore Art Week. I'm showing them as digital works and video works, so technically your location won't matter once I have properly uploaded all the works later in the year...!
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<h1>1. VOID</h1>
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Void is a small game that's available for download on itch.io (Mac currently / Win coming soon) and you could say it is a translation of my current reality into game form. Since I work full-time but also have a toddler who doesn't quite go to daycare, I spend my days shuttling between void decks, waiting for taxis to take me between my own house, my parents' house, and the office. There's usually anywhere between 5 to 12 minutes of waiting where I don't know what to do and for the fun of it I began scanning the various spaces in a very ad-hoc fashion. I rather liked the bad scans more than the good scans, and I ended up using this material to make an interactive experience in which you're a little boat drifting between ruins, with the pillars looking a bit like the pali da casada (the poles that stick out of the water in front of buildings) in Venice. <br><br>
If you're in Singapore, its also in an awesome CAVE for just 4 days only at Gillman Barracks (9 Lock Road, #03-21, in the former unit of Arndnt), made by the amazing team from DUDE.SG. What this means is that you can navigate through the otherworlds inside it by raising a hand, squatting, flapping your hands wildly in front of you, and swiping. The entire show is a labour of love by INSTINC and altermodernists and all the artists involved, and the CAVE experience is truly seamless. Go and see it!<br><br>
<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5a5wJhg0wYp18WoQyosWEN8aOCt8WFA3WnATB5x83X9IZ1mTJ3gtruooOyQE0tyoeU7NL0iN2PEnxGcpUfXi1NQax6PtP6DSQA6-EoZHcL-gxBoaMPQXtTBSl68xEJwivA0-mNtGfm76M/s0/Screenshot+2021-01-30+at+8.06.38+AM.png" style="display: inline; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1190" data-original-width="1188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5a5wJhg0wYp18WoQyosWEN8aOCt8WFA3WnATB5x83X9IZ1mTJ3gtruooOyQE0tyoeU7NL0iN2PEnxGcpUfXi1NQax6PtP6DSQA6-EoZHcL-gxBoaMPQXtTBSl68xEJwivA0-mNtGfm76M/s0/Screenshot+2021-01-30+at+8.06.38+AM.png" width=395 /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM-3saYKkJXRyDlWKir24rwEspR8Oip_QNBLs2cebEFe9RPywKSKPEjNlnPgRu7e5SMOD0OwaiIafgDD3WxKX5f0K7nordc-AnvD5DXS2LUym-eVn97wif6DAxwDl1x1SUAxJ1I6Ci-T3-/s0/Screenshot+2021-01-30+at+8.06.45+AM.png" style="display: inline; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1190" data-original-width="1188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM-3saYKkJXRyDlWKir24rwEspR8Oip_QNBLs2cebEFe9RPywKSKPEjNlnPgRu7e5SMOD0OwaiIafgDD3WxKX5f0K7nordc-AnvD5DXS2LUym-eVn97wif6DAxwDl1x1SUAxJ1I6Ci-T3-/s0/Screenshot+2021-01-30+at+8.06.45+AM.png" width=395/></a></center>
<b>Otherworlds: non/digital realities</b><br>
Organised by Instinc @instinc_space<br>
Co-organised by @altermodernist<br>
Curated by @hilda_hiukwan<br>
Opening Hours: 28 Jan 2021 – 7 to 10pm 29, 30 Jan 2021 – 12nn to 10pm 31 Jan 2021 – 12nn to 7pm<br>
Venue Gillman Barracks Block 9 Lock Road, #03-21<br>
FREE ADMISSION<br>
8 artists 2 cities<br>
Digital and physical works<br>
Facebook Event Link: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/302803607957276" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/events/302803607957276</a><br>
Debbie's "Void" on Itch: <a href="https://dbbd.itch.io/void">https://dbbd.itch.io/void</a>
<!-- More about the process of "VOID" here: -->
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<h1>2. THE LEGEND OF DEBBIE</h1>
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My vision for this work was to mine myself for material and create a gallery in which all my artworks were magical wormholes into alternate realities where I would tell you ridiculous stories that were both believeable and unbelievable and you would see various crazy visual representations and reinterpretations of my old work. We always talk about digitisation lately especially during covid – but are we really and truly exploring all the possibilities in a new interactive format like a 3d video game? I had some pretty tight time constraints (only working on this on weekends when I'm off work - I mean I do have a full-time job too), and being a one-woman developer team reined in my wild ambitions for this work (initially wanted to make a crazy ragdoll puppet of myself, which I scrapped due to having difficulties with ragdoll physics and rigging and lipsyncing, none of which is my speciality). I definitely feel this work is not even close to its final form and I imagine slowly improving it over time...<br><br>
<b>State of Motion</b>: <a href="https://stateofmotion.sg/" target="_blank">https://stateofmotion.sg/</a><br>
Curated by Syaheedah Iskandar & Thong Kay Wee<br>
Marina One<br>
20 Jan – 21 Feb 2021<br>
Exhibition open 12pm — 8pm daily (Except Public Holidays)<br>
7 Straits View, Singapore 018936
<!-- More about the process of "The Legend of Debbie" here. -->
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<h1>3. MOTHER</h1>
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In the basement of the National Gallery Singapore, I have a project called MOTHER. Try to visit it on Thurs-Sunday when there are helpful little elves to guide you through using the kinect-based interaction. Visually speaking this work is indeed a departure from what I usually make - i guess because of the involvement of form axioms' dev team and my own limitations in Unreal (specifically: having tried to make my part of it on my own without any experience with Blueprints or having watched a proper tutorial or course on it - woops! Yes as it turns out one cannot transfer skills of one game engine to another haha). The background environment for MOTHER was also contributed by the development team; I described it and they translated it in their own way into what you see there. I suppose I imagined in my head something more brutalist and weird and oddball - but what came out was a bit more scifi alien in the end, a bit like walking into a basement lan cafe and you're deafened by the ambient sound of nonstop clicking and shooting. So... yeah, not entirely what I expected, in case anyone is confused how this strange thing is a "Debbie Ding" work. Nevertheless I do feel like I learnt a lot from the progress of making it, especially experimenting with vocaloids.<br><br>
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<!-- More about the process of "MOTHER" here.<br><br> -->
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<h1>4. RULES FOR THE EXPRESSION OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIRES</h1>
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I guess this was my first video work, which I shot in Berlin over a summer, and made foley sound for in the dark scary basement of the ZKU building. The writing that accompanies the work was written about an anonymous city but there are glimmers of other very real cities in it. I'm just showing the video work for this exhibition at SEED space and it opens this weekend Saturday - and I am humbled to be showing alongside the amazing video work by Martha Atienza, Charles Lim, Lim Sokchanlina, Perception 3, Christina Quisumbing Ramilo, and Tromarama.<br><br>
<small>Images above from when I showed the work in Maison Salvan in Toulouse. Will update the pic of the show in SEED space when I can get a better picture!</small>
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Documentation for the works coming soon!
debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-7590457006886912372020-10-31T04:07:00.009+00:002020-10-31T04:33:32.040+00:00I self-studied for 6 and a half hours to pass the Unity Certification (Unity Certified Associate: Game Developer)<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvD6KNyX-h0_SyuGHggzlNeZznXKzCZ7tXRmQCwsntqAwBnFJYFMKkOBv7S191obiBLCNSU8krSs6cYpCcNkA-cI-kOH1WSOb8-Jq7_MX9bWWvUQBA34Q8n9xwekw3nEOZHkS52y7rav1L/s0/Basicgamenityplatform.gif" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvD6KNyX-h0_SyuGHggzlNeZznXKzCZ7tXRmQCwsntqAwBnFJYFMKkOBv7S191obiBLCNSU8krSs6cYpCcNkA-cI-kOH1WSOb8-Jq7_MX9bWWvUQBA34Q8n9xwekw3nEOZHkS52y7rav1L/s0/Basicgamenityplatform.gif" width=800/></a></div>
<p>I just did the Unity Certified Associate Game Developer exam and passed it. Aight, I know this is probably going to sound like a HUMBLEBRAG but, I am writing this post because I was originally pretty apprehensive about taking the exam. Although I’ve used Unity for several years, I wouldn’t describe my job role as a game developer. So I worried that what I had done before wasn't good or "professional" enough. Before the exam, I also furiously googled for people's accounts of how they studied for it, what exactly they studied, so in case there are others who come after me who are doing the same thing, I thought I'd add a description of my experience and what I did to pass!</p><p>I know that the Unity Certified Associate is considered the "entry-level" certification, but even if its the entry-level test, it still needs some studying! Besides my artistic endeavours (which this blog is mainly about) I actually work a full-time job (and not as a game developer), but Unity happens to be something that my work would like me to focus on a bit more. But it is actually a very intense few weeks at work – in addition to which I am also having to care for a very demanding toddler + working on several personal projects on weekends, so this meant I was very busy and only really able to eke out a little bit of time for studying.</p><p>Now, the title of this post is a little click-baity, but it is true. Recently it so happened that I re-installed Rescuetime, so I am able to definitively tell you exactly how long I spent preparing and "studying" for the exam from start to finish!! No more handwaving or vague estimations, I can actually tell you that in total, I spent exactly:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><i><b>38.5 hours</b> preparing for the Unity exam:</i></p><hr style="text-align: center;" width="30%" />
<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b>32 hrs (8 hrs x 4) :</b> Attending a Unity Game Developer course</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>6.5 hrs :</b> Self-studying</div><p></p><p><b>Breakdown of Course time</b></p><p><b><i>32 hrs: Attending a Game Developer course.</i></b> I decided to sign up for and attend a course with fixed hours and a human instructor so it would formally "block" out time in my calendar to study Unity. I could have done it online on Udemy or Coursera or something like that, but attending it with real people also gave me the pressure that I had to finish the course, and I also could hear the sort of questions that new users ask (useful for someone who intends to teach it). Since it was formalised as a course I had to attend for 4 weekends, I asked my parents to help with childcare (thanks mom and dad!!!) during my course hours, so I could really dedicate the time to studying Unity and asking the instructor all the questions I ever had about Unity. I should add that at the point I took the course, I had several years of experience of casually using Unity already, so the material was generally very simple for me but I really appreciated having someone tell me what was the OFFICIAL way to do things. I've been anyhowly doing things for a long while (because I was self-taught but in a very disorganised way) and the instructor Siang Leng showed me many quick fixes for things I had been doing in very weird ways, so this was very enlightening to me.</p><p>For me, my intention when I take a course like this is to eventually reach the level that I could teach the subject, to be able to explain in detail the semantics of the user interface of the program, to understand everything about how the formats are encoded and used, and for me to I fully understand the processes from start to finish and do it in my own way, instead of just copying what the instructor is doing. I like to think that my capture rate (rate in which I absorb what instructor says) is very high, if not 100% at this point. Once I am shown how to do something, I will go and make sure I can do the task myself, and I will screenshot or even make a screen video of myself doing the task on my own after the instructor does a demo, and I immediately <a href="http://dbbd.sg/wiki/index.php?title=Unity_Course_Notes">publish this to my own wiki</a> (my 'Second Brain'. In forcing myself to document everything this way (to be able to use my own demo to teach others), I am pretty sure that I... have more than accomplished the "lesson objectives".</p><p><b>Breakdown of Self-Study time (6.5 hrs)</b></p><p><i><b>3.5 hr : Completing all the quizzes on the official Unity Courseware. </b></i>When I did the course, I was given access to the official unity courseware on gmetrix. Now this courseware is the one for the "zombietoys" project that I vaguely remember trying out yeaaaaaaars ago when I first started using Unity. Not that I ever completed it. A lot of it seems very outdated, as it was done on Unity 5.something. But I decided to do the quizzes at the end of each section. If I got a section mostly wrong, then I went back to watch the video for it (at 2x speed, of course). I think I breezed through the first 10 chapters without getting quizzes wrong, then the second half was the stuff I clearly wasn't so familiar with, things like Animation and Audio.</p><p>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjypju_yx-46qU69tMG5gXnqp8UMHL_2z_L29nuTSQTY0yfqQx5yDJvy91giVoaDvGq1Dt61v4YlUKmLzBvIb3pMLrkFoXacjigMfKqHA3lSmIDy9LiawC-RIMgiBjFXywtRFr4NQcIu6Wo/s0/Screenshot+2020-10-31+at+9.00.23+AM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1448" data-original-width="3304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjypju_yx-46qU69tMG5gXnqp8UMHL_2z_L29nuTSQTY0yfqQx5yDJvy91giVoaDvGq1Dt61v4YlUKmLzBvIb3pMLrkFoXacjigMfKqHA3lSmIDy9LiawC-RIMgiBjFXywtRFr4NQcIu6Wo/s0/Screenshot+2020-10-31+at+9.00.23+AM.png" width="800/" /></a></div>
<br /><p></p><p><i><b>3 hrs : Mock exams.</b></i> I had access to a special 400+ mock exam question bank prepared by my course provider, like a kind of "ten year series". To be honest, I didn't have that much time, but at the barest minimum I decided that I would go through every single mock question once. I checked each question as I did it with the answer key. I did some of this whilst breastfeeding Beano with a split screen on my phone, however, I quickly realised that studying on my phone wasn't the most ideal for certain sections because I really ought to have just done it with Unity open in front of me.</p><p>As I went along, I googled each section on the Unity Manual, googled any words I didn't understand, opened up Unity and used the feature to build a test file. In Unity, I created every single possible asset once, created every 2d and 3d component once. I made handwritten notes as I went along, and later I also 'revised' from these notes by highlighting key words.</p><p>I asked my colleague (Unity guru!!!) for areas he thought I should revise and he mentioned a few areas that I realised I was less familiar with - Animation, Audio, etc. So I tried going through the motions of creating the animator, setting up some audio mixer groups, trying out every single type of light with all the different shadow settings, making different particles, etc.</p>
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<p>I am glad to say that the outcome was, better than random! 644/700 means that I should have scored about 92/100, so yeah, I'm happy with that score. It was on the whole easier than I had expected, but I might have been lucky with the draw of the questions. I recognised several of the questions and topics from the official courseware / mock tests. The time (90min) was more than enough, I sped through it once and finished it within 40 minutes, marking all the questions I was not sure about for review and then I used the remainder of the time to check the 'mark for review' question set twice through, unflagging them as I made up my mind about the answers. Then after having checked it as best I could, I decided I would submit it (20 min early). (I was very glad to have done it on computer instead of at a test centre which would probably have given me a lot of nerves).</p><p>So what does this mean? It means that it is true that the exam is more about your experience and familiarity with the software and scripting. If you are a casual Unity user of several years, it is possible to pass the Associate exam (not professional exam) with basically what is just around 2-3 evenings worth of extra studying (6.5hrs) on top of completing a basic game dev refresher course (32 hrs).</p><p>I hope this helps someone else out there trying to decide if they should take the Unity exam and how to study for the Unity exam!</p>
<small>Many thanks to the Dingparents whose help made it possible for me to study for and ace the exam!!</small>debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-62018723740558688522020-08-23T12:08:00.002+01:002020-08-23T12:14:24.351+01:00My First Vinyl Cutting Project<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj6ZrJYJocRIX_eE6ixpDFtaPQj2b68FuFk_yyeU-i5Ah8dUPm0eSY7OdGBr6tUH-RPlNPsPQ_37idjcOWkp3PsebMxS62NqsTX3ecOCfPadI3Jr71LnG3xjADhB6pOPHGumyzWClmIBKw/s0/20200823_164222.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: none;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj6ZrJYJocRIX_eE6ixpDFtaPQj2b68FuFk_yyeU-i5Ah8dUPm0eSY7OdGBr6tUH-RPlNPsPQ_37idjcOWkp3PsebMxS62NqsTX3ecOCfPadI3Jr71LnG3xjADhB6pOPHGumyzWClmIBKw/s0/20200823_164222.jpg" width=800 /></a></div>
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I've always liked vinyl as a material since the process of labelling and thinking about the text has always felt like a meaningful part of my work. Sometime back I also enjoyed working with cutting acetate-type sheet material, but cutting it by hand was quite a schlep. Whilst mindlessly browsing a certain (ahem) short-form mobile video sharing social media platform, I kept seeing lots of "behind the scenes" shots of people using cutting machines to creating stickers and vinyls as part of their "quarantine etsy home business". Some of them showed sophisticated uses of the machines to do precision things like layering vinyls, foil embossing, heat transfer film, debossing, etc. ie the things that mainly is done at a commercial print shop, even if we've had the technology for ages and ages and it is pretty simple. (The less impressive ones were just repetitions of the same type of etsy product copied from one another, and some pretty basic things which made me say "HOW IS THAT EVEN A BUSINESS? People pay money for this???")
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One of the electronic cutting machines I kept seeing was the Cricut and Silhouette, the latter of which I had used once in NYP's Makerspace, somewhat fruitlessly (because the grip maps were not maintained well in the shared working space). Somehow, I had not really thought about a home vinyl cutter before.
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This class of electronic cutting machine can cut vinyl, paper, cardboard, plastic, stickers, cloth, thin sheets of wood, basically practically any sheet material with perfect accuracy. You can also insert a pen into the slot and it will draw for you, but it is so perfect you may as well have used a printer. There are no errors. I couldn't possibly draw as perfectly as this machine, unlike my experience using more shonky plotters. In fact, when considering what a precision device this is, this makes the line-us look like a toy.
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To be honest, the downside is that the machines are not open-source, and now I've also read that Provo Craft has been aggressive in pursuing legal action against software makers who have tried to reverse engineer their software in order to make the machines cut their files directly (bypassing the default cricut design space). So the machines have their own 'ecosystem' catering to communities of users who are largely home-crafters and small businesses. The cutting files have to be uploaded via their proprietry software (it accepts png/gif/jpg/svg) and sent to the printer via their software. Up to about the 2010s it appears that it ran on a cartridge system and everyone had to buy these pre-set cartridges which wouldn't have been interesting to me at all.
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Probably the weirdest part is that it seems to have created a niche of users who are not skilled or tech savvy enough to design the files, all searching for cutting files and ultimately willing to pay shocking amounts for files that they can cut with. (Cue more of the "HOW IS THAT EVEN A BUSINESS? People pay money for this???")
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Knowing all this backstory to the way it is run, why would I still get a machine like this? Well... although there are alternatives like the KNK Force/Maxx/Zing, Skycut, GCC, Saga, Vicsign, Teneth, Liyu, Boyi, etc (so many), many of these are pricier, all have their own software to deal with, not all are as well documented, and I may not have the time to calibrate the blade settings one by one for each material... so... eh. The most important thing is that I can just send an svg file over and get it sliced, like how I might do with the laser cutter. That's all I really need. So for me, going with the big name machine means that it works out of the box.
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Since Illustrator is kinda my thing, I just did up a quick idea for a metal style name text for Beano's toy piano in it. Some people prefer to use things like inkscape, Sure cuts a lot (SCAL) or Making the cut (MTC - which appears to be abandonware now) to produce the svg files (I also know that SCAL and MTC were the two software makers who were forced to make their software non-compatible with cricut). I think this points to it being a casual crafter user base, not an art/designer user base, where I would have thought that Adobe Illustrator would be considered the industry norm for software used to generate SVG files. Anyway, could also imagine coding up the svg markup too to get the files, maybe through Processing again.
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The shapes in the SVG have to be "welded" together in Cricut Design Space or else it will try to optimise the space and rearrange your cut items all around.
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I bought the cutting machine online, but I did make a trip to Plaza Singapura's Spotlight where Cricut has a big area in the front of the entrance, along with its vinyls. I took one look at the price of the vinyl there and basically made an about turn - they were in the 17-45 range (*spits out my tea*).
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For supplies, I got rolls of Oracal 631 Matte for cheaps online. After doing a bit of research, it appears that a standard vinyl used by vinyl shops is the Oracal 631 (removable) or Oracal 651 (permanent). The adhesive on 631 vinyl is a clear, water-based removable adhesive while 651 is a clear, solvent-based permanent adhesive. Maybe I will get 651 for future projects but at the moment I just got rolls of the removable 631 vinyl which I could then use for household projects as well as screenprinting...
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At Spotlight the Cricut brand removable vinyl was SGD17 for 4 feet of Black Removable Vinyl (SGD 4.25 per foot). But online I got SGD44.70 for 30 feet of Oracal 631 Vinyl (SGD1.49 per foot for the Oracal 631 Black Vinyl). I also got Transfer Tape in a roll online at 24 for 50 feet (SGD 0.48 per foot). For the "default" vinyl, I was a bit wary about getting random chinese brand vinyl just because I wouldn't know what kind of adhesive it would be using, although I guess if I want to experiment more with materials I will need to order more samples from different producers esp when it comes to the weird and wonderful world of HOLOGRAPHIC VINYL.
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I got some tools from the Nicapa brand which was a lot cheaper than the cricut brand tools. I think you really do need the tools to do the "weeding" or removal of excess vinyl. Although, I could have packed in more items in the vinyl sheet, but this was my first try I didn't want to be THAT adventurous. It seems inevitable that there will be a bit of 'wastage' along the way.
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I sometimes try to imagine what a printmaking class would comprise of (Having never studied printmaking or art or design when I was younger (in a formal way). If printmaking mainly was about the psychomotor skill (and not about having to study the history of printmaking or the cultural aspects of the medium), then in the future, would anyone really need to study printmaking or could they also quite possibly totally DIY it with a precision cutting machine like this? A print would be made by simplifying an image into the main regions and colours, and then vinyl cutting those specific areas in the right coloured vinyl that one could obtain. With a physical vinyl, more vibrant or unusual colours beyond the digital printing colours could be obtained - like spot colours, pearlescence, reflective mirror finishes, or holographic effects...
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Actual time spent making the digital file and writing this post was several times more than the time spent on actually executing this project physically. Took me probably a maximum of 15 min from cutting the vinyl, loading it up on the lightgrip mat, cutting the vinyl, weeding, laying over the transfer tape, cleaning the target surface, and transferring the vinyl to the surface. So yeah... precision and speed was achieved.
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The final product!debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-59042242671403710062020-07-11T06:41:00.000+01:002020-07-10T18:40:07.892+01:00Rochor Dream: HSL/HSV colour values and making an iridescent/rainbow shader in Blender<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXhYGODhqstDtJREwqwXhqTdsqSHHnaMi0po8VVHwFeUT2dyHfdbxgMgSDBk1sgCEp5bvF7P2YDNFOGmzRjYtZWCYTWJirDXMSprJeOITjhH6udQr2OwV0tHVic5IQcp9_oZw4IF78sJo6/s1600/colorramp.2020-07-07+11_16_23.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXhYGODhqstDtJREwqwXhqTdsqSHHnaMi0po8VVHwFeUT2dyHfdbxgMgSDBk1sgCEp5bvF7P2YDNFOGmzRjYtZWCYTWJirDXMSprJeOITjhH6udQr2OwV0tHVic5IQcp9_oZw4IF78sJo6/s1600/colorramp.2020-07-07+11_16_23.gif" data-original-width="1080" data-original-height="618" width=800 /></a><br />
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Recently I've enjoyed just playing around in Blender with colour. There are three ways of declaring colors in blender - hex, rgb and hsv - very similar to CSS/HTML where you declare colour in hex, rgb and hsl. In a way its easier to use HSV or HSL because the model is based on the colours themselves but from each colour you can also change saturation and lightness, so it is a lot easier to pick and compare based on how close a colour is to another.<br />
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You can’t possibly do that from just eyeballing the RGB values or worse still the hex code for a colour (hex being the more compact form and thus less human readable way of declaring RGB values). So in a way HSL/HSV is a bit more designer friendly. Most young designers don't really delve that far into digital colour or colour spaces, and it seems more to be a thing that would concern programmers and developers more, but I wanted to get an iridescent colour-shifting hue, so the only way to get it is to look a bit closer at the way in which colour is picked. <br />
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<b>Iridescence</b> is where the surface changes colour as the angle of view or angle of illumination changes. <br />
<b>HSL</b> stands for <b>hue, saturation, lightness</b>, while <b>HSV</b> stands for <b>hue, saturation, value</b>. (Personally speaking, the HSV and HSL colour spaces look pretty much the same to me...)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw7AJXDwdaTQi89cM0E2pCWYglBmdL33zib-7wmAesTqAYfhZHLfNvjd6ipKF-ykZAT4cXjtFIbBxdqYgRzgSUkwRpXwf4sRHoN4-whP_GaMmiDpAjQctemWkTdyC0WhxGI_8Wi4WAl4g5/s1600/hsv.2020-07-08+18_42_50.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw7AJXDwdaTQi89cM0E2pCWYglBmdL33zib-7wmAesTqAYfhZHLfNvjd6ipKF-ykZAT4cXjtFIbBxdqYgRzgSUkwRpXwf4sRHoN4-whP_GaMmiDpAjQctemWkTdyC0WhxGI_8Wi4WAl4g5/s1600/hsv.2020-07-08+18_42_50.gif" data-original-width="1080" data-original-height="1464" width=800 /></a><br />
<small>There's some image compression on this image, so the colour wheel is a bit wack, but you can look at where the selector dot moves as I tweak the H, S, and V values....</small><br />
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In Blender there's the handy color ramp which is meant to map the values of your colour into a gradient. You just define the colours at the ends and then get Blender to calculate the gradient between the two (or more) colours. Now what I found was that you can ask it to map the colours around the wheel either clockwise, counter-clockwise, and also either via the nearest route (when you want complementary colours) or the furthest route around the entire wheel, thus achieving that distinctive "iridescent" look which is very similar to what humans are able to perceive.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbMmI7h-lrBp7aJzkDriPZCQwJ7PS7lqSSwa4veS-z6KGBVgrCw65Q8AneO-QDCI4xJ6aXuWVLWEOK76FvgCS3zx9vd-l9MiSsMh_XHyHewLavJpCbPOjDn24vyjxsX1v4LEPTRV0nTMX-/s1600/Screenshot+2020-07-07+at+11.26.16+AM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbMmI7h-lrBp7aJzkDriPZCQwJ7PS7lqSSwa4veS-z6KGBVgrCw65Q8AneO-QDCI4xJ6aXuWVLWEOK76FvgCS3zx9vd-l9MiSsMh_XHyHewLavJpCbPOjDn24vyjxsX1v4LEPTRV0nTMX-/s1600/Screenshot+2020-07-07+at+11.26.16+AM.png" data-original-width="1460" data-original-height="699" width=800 /></a><br />
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When you change the H(ue) value, your selector goes around in a circle. When you change the S(aturation) value, the selector goes from the centre outwards or inwards. As for V(alue), it goes from light to black. Compare this with the rather confusing mixture of red green and blue to that goes into any colour under the rgb color space.<br />
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To be honest, I'm not 100% sure this is the final colour I am going for, it still feels like an experiment. Anyway, I'm going to try to make a couple more things like this in the coming month; hopefully I can make a few interesting looking prints on the metallic pearl paper...<br />
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<center>Excerpt from Rochor Dream:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGOOlwGHfIP1UJMBpoQt9acVOSQdakRwGD__6sv6qIQVODdkIMqYhg2gVLgvmFKGl7H66p4O9jwd6TFM-0VcE-S4OCPBSm74vCXXICJuz8CZh-0pnKkr-snn0LS4rY_QH5Km38p4RHrAgP/s1600/rochor_excerpt.2020-07-08+10_17_55.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGOOlwGHfIP1UJMBpoQt9acVOSQdakRwGD__6sv6qIQVODdkIMqYhg2gVLgvmFKGl7H66p4O9jwd6TFM-0VcE-S4OCPBSm74vCXXICJuz8CZh-0pnKkr-snn0LS4rY_QH5Km38p4RHrAgP/s1600/rochor_excerpt.2020-07-08+10_17_55.gif" data-original-width="600" data-original-height="572" /></a><br />
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Coming soon on Plural Magazine's 100 Artists!</center><br />
debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-59250979025805944922020-06-15T09:53:00.000+01:002020-06-15T16:50:53.485+01:00New motherhood is like a trip to a foreign country: Flatlands<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYUc6Sw1q8-L6r92Gs2bB32QukOGQbkEh8PVScbJFXMYE-k3mIGISyMLfGObYQbwnlOKt1hooZxUQdIB9U6CGmUDwMNZ64gY5dFE-S77qbFmYPZlfGE4BCfjpUFWKVJ3EZ0ZCrKnM-wWf8/s1600/Screenshot+2020-06-14+at+6.03.26+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYUc6Sw1q8-L6r92Gs2bB32QukOGQbkEh8PVScbJFXMYE-k3mIGISyMLfGObYQbwnlOKt1hooZxUQdIB9U6CGmUDwMNZ64gY5dFE-S77qbFmYPZlfGE4BCfjpUFWKVJ3EZ0ZCrKnM-wWf8/s1600/Screenshot+2020-06-14+at+6.03.26+PM.png" data-original-width="1150" data-original-height="1600" width=800/></a><br />
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Here's a recent visual experiment that I made in the stolen moments of Beano's naps. The setting is the 3-room rental flat we used to stay in, a very mundane 3-room "New Generation" (slab block) default template HDB flat built back in the 70s and 80s. And I think I've finally found a way to explain this thing that I've tried to explain many times before (but struggle to explain, similar to how its hard to explain my experience of taste-shape and mirror-touch synthesthesia).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWsf818ZkKCF1dIDdX3-AH6MXZOzAwgCt3mn0uf_TeSrsBjVC99j9oSkCNxlT2dg2BkvSKmwyMZ1GT66uy8FlnRxQvH-qDhyphenhyphenFf3FgCXvsW-3veBZ80OZ7msDIpDHiisAUeR3rEjyG-9BzX/s1600/screencastamkflat.2020-06-15+16_43_18.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWsf818ZkKCF1dIDdX3-AH6MXZOzAwgCt3mn0uf_TeSrsBjVC99j9oSkCNxlT2dg2BkvSKmwyMZ1GT66uy8FlnRxQvH-qDhyphenhyphenFf3FgCXvsW-3veBZ80OZ7msDIpDHiisAUeR3rEjyG-9BzX/s1600/screencastamkflat.2020-06-15+16_43_18.gif" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="462" width=800 /></a><br />
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For me, at any one time I always feel other superimpositions or juxtapositions of other places that feel a bit like memory palaces where I can store facts, thoughts, and memories of another time. Its hard to explain, but it is like when you have a work phone call, you might start doodling nonsense on a piece of paper. But in my case, when I start to daydream or let the mind wander (also: this happens when I am extremely focused on an urgent task and everything else zones out), I always end up recalling a visual memory of a place I've visited in the past. I am imagining tracing out its contours, I am imagining what the details must be like, what the lighting must be like. Honestly, I can't really explain why certain views for me just keep popping up as the 'memory palace', as some of the locations are pretty inconsequential and emotionally insignificant to me. Yet! My mind returns to them for further rumination. To what end? I do not know.<br />
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I began writing the following some time back when Beano was a much smaller baby. But now that we are all locked down at home for the corona, and I haven't left the house and its vicinity in days, fleeting memories of parks I've walked in come to mind. I found myself scrubbing through these albums trying to find the name of a particular memory that may as well be a dream. There was something oddly compelling about these images I had taken of my walks and frustratingly I COULD NOT FIND THAT ONE IMAGE OF THAT ONE WALK IN MY MIND. And turns out some of these images are pretty weird. Why are there no people in them? <br />
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It was always in the back of my mind to do something with this huge lot of photographs, so.... now they have ended up in this visual experiment. I actually think it looks better than I expected it; so I think I might even make more of them soon...<br />
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<hr><br />
New motherhood is like a trip to a foreign country. Firstly, the middle of the night feedings are conducted in near-darkness, with the endless droning of the white noise machine in the background, and some random show on Netflix playing to sustain your consciousness beyond all normal hours lest you fall asleep on the sofa and baby accidentally rolls off; not unlike when one takes a plane and night-time is arbitrarily enforced upon you, the sound of the engines whirring is ubiquitous, and all you've got to watch are some random blockbusters or episodes of Big Bang Theory on the inflight.<br />
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When Beano was very very small, I found myself trying to claw back a sense of mobility through a series of ever increasingly longer walks with Beano strapped to me. In some ways, this strategy reminds of me of the Capital Ring walk I did in 2017. Living in Greater London makes one feel crushed by one's own insignificance in a big city that is too vast to know by foot, so I thought I'd try to complete a ring around the city.<br />
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Once upon a time I was going to do a detailed expository blog post for each leg but AINT NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT so here are quite simply the photo albums for each leg of the walk...<br />
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<h1>Debbie's 2017 Capital Ring Walk!</h1><i>The source material for "Flatlands"</i><br />
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"I decided to walk the supposedly 78 mile Capital Ring over 6 consecutive days. I say "supposedly", for Debbie does not go "as the crow flies" but rather haphazardly in a squiggly line all over the map, and according to other mapping devices it seems I may have walked more than 150 miles in total. Rather than starting with the traditional route as listed in TFL's maps and David Sharp's guide book to the Capital Ring, I decided to start and end my journey at Stoke Newington's Rochester Castle."<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/albums/72157683564102595" title="14 March 2017: CAPITAL RING Stoke Newington to Woolwich"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48511124526_638119ce86_c.jpg" width="800" height="623" alt="14 March 2017: CAPITAL RING Stoke Newington to Woolwich"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Day 1: Stoke Newington to Hackney Wick<br />
Day 1: Hackney Wick to Beckton District Park<br />
Day 1: Beckton District Park to Woolwich Foot Tunnel<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/albums/72157680458799693" title="15 March: CAPITAL RING"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48511124616_476fd14328_c.jpg" width="800" height="621" alt="15 March: CAPITAL RING"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Day 2: Woolwich Foot Tunnel to Falconwood<br />
Day 2: Falconwood to Grove Park<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/albums/72157680458928303" title="16 March 2017: CAPITAL RING"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48511124756_0e3c1166c6_c.jpg" width="800" height="621" alt="16 March 2017: CAPITAL RING"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Day 3: Grove Park to Crystal Palace<br />
Day 3: Crystal Palace to Streatham Common<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/albums/72157683464143486" title="17 March 2017: CAPITAL RING"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48511304662_a122aac997_c.jpg" width="800" height="625" alt="17 March 2017: CAPITAL RING"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Day 4: Streatham Common to Wimbledon Park<br />
Day 4: Wimbledon Park to Richmond<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/albums/72157680371044624" title="18 March 2017: Capital Ring"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48511304817_57791eacee_c.jpg" width="800" height="621" alt="18 March 2017: Capital Ring"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Day 5: Richmond to Osterley Lock<br />
Day 5: Osterley Lock to Greenford<br />
Day 5: Greenford to South Kenton<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/albums/72157680371289384" title="19 March 2017: CAPITAL RING"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48511304982_76358cf9fd_c.jpg" width="800" height="622" alt="19 March 2017: CAPITAL RING"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Day 6: South Kenton to Hendon Park<br />
Day 6: Hendon Park to Highgate<br />
Day 6: Highgate to Stoke Newingtondebbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-73947066579061528632020-06-07T09:56:00.002+01:002020-06-08T02:11:01.020+01:00A Glorious Bale of Virtual Hay: Second Life worlds and their visual references<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTWzucLbIoibV0XsDr86e0wDP10zDsk1mugX9q7I8Wv9IvOzh0box4jOazs_3cBVzOxucHxBI5Iza5ZnzxLSSbZuDNPYwENQjEMjI-MoGyFHYVAO5GG45R22fEf2d-0-SGlH0zo3YE5OSH/s1600/bale+of+hay.2020-06-07+15_34_59.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTWzucLbIoibV0XsDr86e0wDP10zDsk1mugX9q7I8Wv9IvOzh0box4jOazs_3cBVzOxucHxBI5Iza5ZnzxLSSbZuDNPYwENQjEMjI-MoGyFHYVAO5GG45R22fEf2d-0-SGlH0zo3YE5OSH/s1600/bale+of+hay.2020-06-07+15_34_59.gif" data-original-width="1080" data-original-height="711" width=800 /></a><br />
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My Second Life Avatar is now approaching its teens! Monster Eel is 13!?... (and Monster wasn't even my first character). Every few years when I return to Second Life I'm delighted to find that it has its own life, going on strong. Things are even more detailed now. Who is doing all this? Who is paying for people to do this? Is it all just a passion project for people? Why does this unnecessarily detailed digital bale of hay exist? There's a whole cottage industry of people making exquisite virtual hairpieces and billowing blouses and freckled skin and distressed furniture and plants and antiques and futuristic gizmos for sale (sometimes dispensed via some unnecessarily complicated gacha machines)!<br />
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Over the weekend Beano decided to have a long nap whilst strapped to me (WOW!!!!) so Mummy went on to Second Life to have an adventure without leaving home... and also to look at the types of interactions in these 'installations'. If we think about the references that each of these worlds draw upon, I realised that the places I visited could be divided into 6 different categories....<br />
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<b>1. <i>Depicts an abstract world</i><br />
Betty Tureaud's Rooms</b> - <a href="https://secondlife.com/destination/rooms-by-betty-tureaud">https://secondlife.com/destination/rooms-by-betty-tureaud</a><br />
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<b>2. <i>Replicates real world and has specific references</i><br />
Paris for Ara</b> - <a href="http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Simpson%20Bay/114/79/27">http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Simpson%20Bay/114/79/27</a><br />
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<b>3. <i>Replicates real world but has no specific reference</i><br />
Breath of Nature (Serena Falls)</b> - <a href="http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Serena%20Falls/28/82/22">http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Serena%20Falls/28/82/22</a><br />
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<b>4. <i>Depicts a fictional world and with specific references to fictional works</i><br />
Kintsugi</b> - <a href="http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Runaway/71/123/23">http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Runaway/71/123/23</a><br />
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<b>5. <i>Depicts a fictional world with some realistic elements set in the past</i><br />
Puddlechurch Rye</b> - <a href="http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Puddlechurch%20Rye/128/182/44">http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Puddlechurch%20Rye/128/182/44</a><br />
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<b>6. <i>Depicts a fictional world with some realistic elements set in the future</i><br />
Planet Vanargand Outpost Fenrir & Solveig Village</b> - <a href="http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Amazing%20Island/148/169/242">http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Amazing%20Island/148/169/242</a><br />
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<small>[Admittedly, I have been writing a lot of LESSON OBJECTIVES lately and this might be seeping into the above...]</small><br />
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The categories are not black and white, they blur into one another. Perhaps there are unknown references behind them all that I am not aware of. To what extent are these novel creations, or are they actually faithful copies of weirdly specific things in some specific world of the creators? I... really don't know. Will some of these mysterious anonymous SL creators ever reveal a bit more about their own design process...? Is it recorded somewhere in the world via the odd blogger webpage or flickr group, posted online under pseudonyms that I can find?<br />
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<hr><br />
<b>1. <i>Depicts an abstract world</i><br />
Betty Tureaud's Rooms</b> - <a href="https://secondlife.com/destination/rooms-by-betty-tureaud">https://secondlife.com/destination/rooms-by-betty-tureaud</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi45Q6T2bSpJFWqdw-rhulJuYtuiTFGJxcGq1BtLhvNSd4bjkDnZW-WHyS7Vp50Qgst3D_PhWPSDvc1UEo8MtAC3Eb5n73eLGCSIryNt2yoDG0_U7EI5wsodP3OoMCYDT9SpXYcblcNKLVk/s1600/Snapshot_001.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi45Q6T2bSpJFWqdw-rhulJuYtuiTFGJxcGq1BtLhvNSd4bjkDnZW-WHyS7Vp50Qgst3D_PhWPSDvc1UEo8MtAC3Eb5n73eLGCSIryNt2yoDG0_U7EI5wsodP3OoMCYDT9SpXYcblcNKLVk/s1600/Snapshot_001.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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This is like looking into a early 2000s book on Creative Coding, or Intro to Processing, or looking at a folder of three.js's webgl experiments. Experiments and snippets, I say, because these abstract rooms are more like raw snippets than actual stories or narratives or worlds to explore. <br />
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The iridescent rooms look empty but when you walk into the middle of the rooms (probably triggered by your avatar walking onto the slightly raised surface), this triggers different interactive animations. This reminds me of the SL in the days of yore, when interaction and realism were even more limited, so all you could write a LSL script to rezz up were a bunch of basic geometric forms that were randomly coloured whenever you entered a space, and for interaction you could move these about randomly (although to what end, this would be unclear). In fact, this is EXACTLY what happens in some of the rooms.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNW_P_E6U63iidwoyEcAhRqFh6s3PTHfhGEDm8Lwo3wn9yxdpeaqOh5EOiPjMA_jEF0WmdDtRlL3EvMgSZf3R7LKg6iBecfvPYEXmN7NllHxbj-hAM08ahDk78sfwB2ORfxyCubCdZ8FGs/s1600/Snapshot_003.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNW_P_E6U63iidwoyEcAhRqFh6s3PTHfhGEDm8Lwo3wn9yxdpeaqOh5EOiPjMA_jEF0WmdDtRlL3EvMgSZf3R7LKg6iBecfvPYEXmN7NllHxbj-hAM08ahDk78sfwB2ORfxyCubCdZ8FGs/s1600/Snapshot_003.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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Whilst I love these rooms because they definitely look nothing like real life (and it seem to me that Betty Tureaud’s works over the years have been focused on creating abstract worlds that don’t exist in real life, peppered with statues of human forms), I still think that the interactions for these have come a bit as an afterthought, or isn’t as naturalistic or intuitive as it could be (based on current available technology in SL). Its just like how we don't use marquee or iframe or mouseover or flash anymore and javascript mouseovers and css transforms don't really impress anyone anymore. (It doesn't mean that I don't enjoy walking through the rooms though!)<br />
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<b>2. <i>Replicates real world and has specific references</i><br />
Paris for Ara</b> - <a href="http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Simpson%20Bay/114/79/27">http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Simpson%20Bay/114/79/27</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7MrOsNc7pOCupwlVcu_TfO9aQBiePMr_lGIv2XwxiXVmthlhdeZgvy8UxcpmRmS45XD2TOBHo_25SEyS3F2Tx0EWbpE4RlwPYf5uKHLLR9NA44z-Kp6YcSwz9mFYqIZMDsEEwmWnNycm/s1600/Snapshot_004.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7MrOsNc7pOCupwlVcu_TfO9aQBiePMr_lGIv2XwxiXVmthlhdeZgvy8UxcpmRmS45XD2TOBHo_25SEyS3F2Tx0EWbpE4RlwPYf5uKHLLR9NA44z-Kp6YcSwz9mFYqIZMDsEEwmWnNycm/s1600/Snapshot_004.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /><br />
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</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHYfwmkvKpGO0FNaIvEkE7IDUG-GWGwlmJXqK6_u5gezBcNI44oRf86FsrK413CYJ_F7d4F6HfsQAGX8AsIEowUQ9h8wC36E7igG0LAIihHgYz7RWyMpJGHjboLi4J_xjG44Y4OYJrK1Lm/s1600/Snapshot_005.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHYfwmkvKpGO0FNaIvEkE7IDUG-GWGwlmJXqK6_u5gezBcNI44oRf86FsrK413CYJ_F7d4F6HfsQAGX8AsIEowUQ9h8wC36E7igG0LAIihHgYz7RWyMpJGHjboLi4J_xjG44Y4OYJrK1Lm/s1600/Snapshot_005.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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Paris for Ara is a location in Simpson Bay labeled under photogenic spots, and boy is it photogenic. I'm betting that many a SL fashion shoot has been done here. Although it is supposed to be Paris, it looks a bit more like Carnaby Street in London than Paris per se with all the English signage mixed in, and with the prominent rainbow pride flags everywhere (yay!), parts of it also feel more like Soho. The vision for this is ostensibly to render a real world scene into Second Life. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPl_7ppjjM-CTiDw6ecefdd3jFvklSPMXP5O6_q0x3KT-TMDx5P9-FqbDJ8wjSeThVDXtf-Yo0jMA-LcKU3J0StMzQB-haaStn7vmDLwCS_w8TT_QHAXMbsDSAPoj1vYX1pFqRLANCi-kB/s1600/Snapshot_007.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPl_7ppjjM-CTiDw6ecefdd3jFvklSPMXP5O6_q0x3KT-TMDx5P9-FqbDJ8wjSeThVDXtf-Yo0jMA-LcKU3J0StMzQB-haaStn7vmDLwCS_w8TT_QHAXMbsDSAPoj1vYX1pFqRLANCi-kB/s1600/Snapshot_007.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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Some of the details are crazy amazing even when you zoom in, like for example, these steaming hot beignets (french donut fritters) I found on a cafe table. I'm impressed!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi44YEMqHPXcwWmfjtM0NPimKuH-C3nUXSSfqOMc9DAwxEngHesfnRGFuMMPR_gy4vRq3dSn6UXP-qMhtARbm25zVXtJBpp-jYLN5KLl1Z1iS_fzXMgwVxMGvWmVfui64sGHGSSr5l3fX2P/s1600/Snapshot_008.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi44YEMqHPXcwWmfjtM0NPimKuH-C3nUXSSfqOMc9DAwxEngHesfnRGFuMMPR_gy4vRq3dSn6UXP-qMhtARbm25zVXtJBpp-jYLN5KLl1Z1iS_fzXMgwVxMGvWmVfui64sGHGSSr5l3fX2P/s1600/Snapshot_008.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJESX-eW7PVKM6G4YdiLKO8EO9bPZtliNW0yUidWgdpr2F84OL3doAylB8N4rL7td207q2fbsU6a21ALSz4KwtzKZ6YIl-lp_CenpslMyydZa5-ANIpaPJPL3xJNP0PUt5vXPmNDuEm_sq/s1600/Snapshot_009.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJESX-eW7PVKM6G4YdiLKO8EO9bPZtliNW0yUidWgdpr2F84OL3doAylB8N4rL7td207q2fbsU6a21ALSz4KwtzKZ6YIl-lp_CenpslMyydZa5-ANIpaPJPL3xJNP0PUt5vXPmNDuEm_sq/s1600/Snapshot_009.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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A photogenic spot like this is probably quite universally understood and enjoyed by all, since it has a real world reference (even if its been fudged a bit by mixing elements from different countries, but you know, 'generic european city with street-side cafes and pubs'), and some of the buildings are even faithfully rendered in their interiors, so I would imagine these to be spots designed to be rented out to residents or for retail purposes. I walked into what I think was a cream cake shop and there were 3 floors of empty rooms above, overlooking the street. There was even a torch by the stair, because you might have that in the stairway of a real stairway in reality, but I didn't use it because I had set the environment to SUNRISE.<br />
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<br />
<b>3. <i>Replicates real world but has no specific reference</i><br />
Breath of Nature (Serena Falls)</b> - <a href="http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Serena%20Falls/28/82/22">http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Serena%20Falls/28/82/22</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQNu-gkgqIuMAeaTHjKZXuLWV2JuVzWct7MyKDC-v7xGrQYzgSL9WzgpHXOC-vEMg6G8h1qTWg-eu_17ofTSsGhf6aNL7BxbipXtx9_hk73cf0bFFhK6o2tbPMlFvqHMkLUNBbMM_VZG4l/s1600/Snapshot_010.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQNu-gkgqIuMAeaTHjKZXuLWV2JuVzWct7MyKDC-v7xGrQYzgSL9WzgpHXOC-vEMg6G8h1qTWg-eu_17ofTSsGhf6aNL7BxbipXtx9_hk73cf0bFFhK6o2tbPMlFvqHMkLUNBbMM_VZG4l/s1600/Snapshot_010.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFzumvDMwePX5BakL_XQgYBugi7wL_dCjMwdTj9GM4oxn4jR4SfF6pU748-BqZxJYuU_FsU1AkuDOvB4tUWr8TT_HKr3mJJRozE7KU8ZFawshmXYAYOlHUpBrxnkCeQzGPgkQrGC0tKv_c/s1600/Snapshot_011.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFzumvDMwePX5BakL_XQgYBugi7wL_dCjMwdTj9GM4oxn4jR4SfF6pU748-BqZxJYuU_FsU1AkuDOvB4tUWr8TT_HKr3mJJRozE7KU8ZFawshmXYAYOlHUpBrxnkCeQzGPgkQrGC0tKv_c/s1600/Snapshot_011.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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Next I visited another photogenic spot, Breath of Nature in Serena Falls. A beautiful flower meadow with pastoral elements rendered in loving detail - an endless sea of soft dandelions, a white horse, a windmill, an old farmhouse, some sheep, a rustic wagon... I know, people dig this shit. Can't go outside into nature? Well here's nature for you in Second Life. Oh and with some generic amercian top 40 alt rock country pop internet streaming radio channel playing by default in this SIM... as always. I've always wondered if this is the soundtrack by which the creators of these objects live by. Once in a while a SIM has good radio tastes, but most of the time, its just this not-very-interesting generic internet radio streaming through wherever I go, punctuated by the sound of my avatar thudding against things by mistake (THUNK THUNK THUNK THUNK).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_9G67PWyxmnFDtDeG_1hO2dY7jUgxouQazIjUgVRL41yydrZMCGXKTL-yI41WTnkNtrXTgWGMgE8RCLUJ1dGkD02fPclYnV53bTT0GdbCDwKDKjFwHyLcTF6arOfAcclDb_j4j5xxze0w/s1600/Snapshot_012.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_9G67PWyxmnFDtDeG_1hO2dY7jUgxouQazIjUgVRL41yydrZMCGXKTL-yI41WTnkNtrXTgWGMgE8RCLUJ1dGkD02fPclYnV53bTT0GdbCDwKDKjFwHyLcTF6arOfAcclDb_j4j5xxze0w/s1600/Snapshot_012.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTWzucLbIoibV0XsDr86e0wDP10zDsk1mugX9q7I8Wv9IvOzh0box4jOazs_3cBVzOxucHxBI5Iza5ZnzxLSSbZuDNPYwENQjEMjI-MoGyFHYVAO5GG45R22fEf2d-0-SGlH0zo3YE5OSH/s1600/bale+of+hay.2020-06-07+15_34_59.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTWzucLbIoibV0XsDr86e0wDP10zDsk1mugX9q7I8Wv9IvOzh0box4jOazs_3cBVzOxucHxBI5Iza5ZnzxLSSbZuDNPYwENQjEMjI-MoGyFHYVAO5GG45R22fEf2d-0-SGlH0zo3YE5OSH/s1600/bale+of+hay.2020-06-07+15_34_59.gif" data-original-width="1080" data-original-height="711" width=800 /></a><br />
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There are some gems here though. A bale of hay with an ingenious way of seeming real. I know, these tropes of construction must have been devised years ago, and I admit I have never been deeply involved in building things in SL (and more of a tourist in SL), but there are some cool tricks to be found here. Its not hair particles which gives our hay bale its realistic appearance, it is a few strategically placed strands which do the trick.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy_ky2YxbA8Hlgop_mhzbc35_O6kY5FiTx1DG7UhNWYSZnqZR3TOOM2_23LplVFKp7WhrGyjhaLyCaxLwvFarCNxii1v5yU9kMMHoxxSJ-fisiyhUvosIvo35m4FYj1Oed4rObHzZKw9gx/s1600/Snapshot_013.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy_ky2YxbA8Hlgop_mhzbc35_O6kY5FiTx1DG7UhNWYSZnqZR3TOOM2_23LplVFKp7WhrGyjhaLyCaxLwvFarCNxii1v5yU9kMMHoxxSJ-fisiyhUvosIvo35m4FYj1Oed4rObHzZKw9gx/s1600/Snapshot_013.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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I’m all like, who decided to build this in such detail? How many hours did it take? For them to construct the chicken coop with its wires, its distressed wood texture, to decide on its form. Is it a person with a chicken coop just like this? Did they HAVE to design a chicken coop first or did they use a reference from somewhere? I mean, this is not even a normal chicken coop. Its a set of shabby chic drawers converted into chicken coop. With a pile of rustic bricks by its side.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-hCPEf9-RCYakJrPUmF-nfkmGBAmrJCpZGdXP08AAYdLCU_Zy1BPV8I4X23WJzEmlSdEWZlxg5LhTI3pcDa0H1VMkdfxDldlNzgHlLaLPH4oXKgzNUb1tHd6T6RwRSvGN2jiAXVyY2vTS/s1600/Snapshot_014.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-hCPEf9-RCYakJrPUmF-nfkmGBAmrJCpZGdXP08AAYdLCU_Zy1BPV8I4X23WJzEmlSdEWZlxg5LhTI3pcDa0H1VMkdfxDldlNzgHlLaLPH4oXKgzNUb1tHd6T6RwRSvGN2jiAXVyY2vTS/s1600/Snapshot_014.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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Finally, this bucket of ducklings with a duck about to jump into the water with mother duck looking on. This item even chirps. Yes, the ducklings, they are chirping. The water is cleverly done with just a partially transparent alpha layer on top with a translucent white pattern that makes it look like a reflection on water (not a true reflection of anything, but it doesn't have to be in order to look real enough from a distance!)<br />
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<b>4. <i>Depicts a fictional world and with specific references to fictional works</i><br />
Kintsugi</b> - <a href="http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Runaway/71/123/23">http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Runaway/71/123/23</a><br />
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This parcel is named Kintsugi (the japanese term for repairing cracked pottery with gold) but really it is a tribute to Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away, which I will confess that I can no longer remember the story line for. It is supposedly based on the fictional world in the anime, and this plot relies a lot on notecards and the chat system to distribute information about the world to the user. Personally, I am not so much a fan of notecards, even though I like words - because all these notecards fall into my inventory and become a big mess over time.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzhBp3wLdU68pImHWHuSkE3XX2LbcYEdhjyoKCf3rJwSBD4EOfny-uOYIAOjggfuSBxJg1-c5o5wsrJOItI4xFzSXALPaiH-duKk7rJMbWOz1rYmr9UoiwXO7s_vh_C2RRuCWUARq51C_6/s1600/Snapshot_028.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzhBp3wLdU68pImHWHuSkE3XX2LbcYEdhjyoKCf3rJwSBD4EOfny-uOYIAOjggfuSBxJg1-c5o5wsrJOItI4xFzSXALPaiH-duKk7rJMbWOz1rYmr9UoiwXO7s_vh_C2RRuCWUARq51C_6/s1600/Snapshot_028.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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A magical house on an island....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRFpRbCyOxncjFQjt5tDu9tGJHITiJJu9hoVur1GLwk1ZXz9kIHJg0oWs40ErhKbvY0GnflmaBVk6mYTdOcY6WQRhP91_Yd_U95VU-LuO959Pv_hpl4cWJ5I9HzZ7eMJGgNpXQPM38mSoY/s1600/Snapshot_029.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRFpRbCyOxncjFQjt5tDu9tGJHITiJJu9hoVur1GLwk1ZXz9kIHJg0oWs40ErhKbvY0GnflmaBVk6mYTdOcY6WQRhP91_Yd_U95VU-LuO959Pv_hpl4cWJ5I9HzZ7eMJGgNpXQPM38mSoY/s1600/Snapshot_029.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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A series of red torii shrine gates... because why not, if you already have made one beautiful torii gate?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9NGPIjl2QZFdSmekpiK-6-lU7k-uOvAgHzI64blxgjbKzgZqJBfJGuTsFWYWsvNvJSETPshh9bghXxTaCBXJD_q2ZhGQnYXsvzfFtW6dNIWa5RIdQdVBI72I4wP1AHZ97cJSW5zpsq2Iq/s1600/Snapshot_030.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9NGPIjl2QZFdSmekpiK-6-lU7k-uOvAgHzI64blxgjbKzgZqJBfJGuTsFWYWsvNvJSETPshh9bghXxTaCBXJD_q2ZhGQnYXsvzfFtW6dNIWa5RIdQdVBI72I4wP1AHZ97cJSW5zpsq2Iq/s1600/Snapshot_030.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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The water isn't really Second Life water, but some other object which has these obviously faked water ripples on them which look realistic from a distance but then when close up, start to look very artificial. You can walk on the water, which I think is the point of this magical world (in most of SL, you can walk into the water and ocean and even have a rather long walk into the ocean although it might be quite boring).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheeoqjaTSKj2Uvg43QlHUX2HFGwyMtXCBcA0hdP3s3bRB2mnsVdiVFjOhmuTpYpxtx3VBtC6XzzFuWeBIJ3wQRNi6BhhEml3w9ZMCQ85k4p2a-OkBo0ph-uq95vImEFKb99tukTNKJYmUf/s1600/Snapshot_031.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheeoqjaTSKj2Uvg43QlHUX2HFGwyMtXCBcA0hdP3s3bRB2mnsVdiVFjOhmuTpYpxtx3VBtC6XzzFuWeBIJ3wQRNi6BhhEml3w9ZMCQ85k4p2a-OkBo0ph-uq95vImEFKb99tukTNKJYmUf/s1600/Snapshot_031.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinjWY0d9gEBZrrbZEFPWIeKmIQIMChO-YSbOSQeAyEcPy3CUFOOQQoUgWJaTmdvFTqa6fANDcB5yb7AbuSOKnKjMTIRJ0imnp-O9MT-0yR5tyXhsu3P7_-nQgT1b-aRT4Wtjwhnt8WQaWT/s1600/Snapshot_032.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinjWY0d9gEBZrrbZEFPWIeKmIQIMChO-YSbOSQeAyEcPy3CUFOOQQoUgWJaTmdvFTqa6fANDcB5yb7AbuSOKnKjMTIRJ0imnp-O9MT-0yR5tyXhsu3P7_-nQgT1b-aRT4Wtjwhnt8WQaWT/s1600/Snapshot_032.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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The mist and atmosphere is nice, but once again, like with any role play environment, the reverie of being in a mystical forest is sometimes punctuated by other SL residents walking by. Yeah one thing I don't get is why there are so many SL residents dressed as ladies with big bosoms and big hair and big butt in a tight dress...<br />
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<b>5. <i>Depicts a fictional world with some realistic elements set in the past</i><br />
Puddlechurch Rye</b> - <a href="http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Puddlechurch%20Rye/128/182/44">http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Puddlechurch%20Rye/128/182/44</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2MejG-4pkJHKuhLX9sB27nr9c-JnuzjgK_AIZyLbcWrbDijJHZmv6XCFm-dfwnJx1DmEMzCMuw-OEbSjVvIgo9hRwOYS0kyZ1uiOkUwOv3d-Y1oVbO79GXD3dNuhbyfUJ1pgR028Ny6A1/s1600/Snapshot_016.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2MejG-4pkJHKuhLX9sB27nr9c-JnuzjgK_AIZyLbcWrbDijJHZmv6XCFm-dfwnJx1DmEMzCMuw-OEbSjVvIgo9hRwOYS0kyZ1uiOkUwOv3d-Y1oVbO79GXD3dNuhbyfUJ1pgR028Ny6A1/s1600/Snapshot_016.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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Another photogenic spot, Puddlechurch Rye is an event space which is reminiscent of a warehouse space, dressed up as a 1920s parisan speakeasy cigar lounge with plush carpets, stacks of antique books, delicate chandeliers, a stage for performances, and a gallery space. Reminds me a bit of when I visited the Museum of Everything in Paris (a travelling museum for artwork by outsider artists).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPD023LTyu4UUDIDRdXFF28evh09hV2KxemJYkyQGUa_qTEA5B8wx1xKupaBvln9nuP-okqikC5c5brzLptH_nLbOI6rMC4k7t9zmrVQMOb-I3UjKYuF1Gdy1i1388i2-3icW1h6fURpTV/s1600/Snapshot_017.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPD023LTyu4UUDIDRdXFF28evh09hV2KxemJYkyQGUa_qTEA5B8wx1xKupaBvln9nuP-okqikC5c5brzLptH_nLbOI6rMC4k7t9zmrVQMOb-I3UjKYuF1Gdy1i1388i2-3icW1h6fURpTV/s1600/Snapshot_017.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
<br />
How much of a world like this is actually created entirely from scratch by one person (or a small team of people)? How many man hours goes into designing a world like this? Or, is this in part a very clever curation of well chosen objects from different creators to paint for us this speakeasy ambience?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgfzVkQDjqbK4-ZvhkAw94P-GgB1LePqczwUoO5TiHczyv3vovj090cIYr9RJM_784KT2IXEJxg8o9iE4fYe4pEuJKi4h8IUDo9Aa7hO4TPHvEoAeIP-CSof4vvi_nXAq1fP2c6brcEotK/s1600/Snapshot_018.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgfzVkQDjqbK4-ZvhkAw94P-GgB1LePqczwUoO5TiHczyv3vovj090cIYr9RJM_784KT2IXEJxg8o9iE4fYe4pEuJKi4h8IUDo9Aa7hO4TPHvEoAeIP-CSof4vvi_nXAq1fP2c6brcEotK/s1600/Snapshot_018.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC12JRr1lkp3Zc2uEMAILMgizkAp8J4qGT-N-9pIukzn_PPBFGeiH670XeHZR-N4A3KJCH_WBdNfV8HHj-wX4brCpQS7h3WMxaBQWFYaezqrwHuPjr8NwUWL__6mDamLReIps_zX6OYQOV/s1600/Snapshot_019.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC12JRr1lkp3Zc2uEMAILMgizkAp8J4qGT-N-9pIukzn_PPBFGeiH670XeHZR-N4A3KJCH_WBdNfV8HHj-wX4brCpQS7h3WMxaBQWFYaezqrwHuPjr8NwUWL__6mDamLReIps_zX6OYQOV/s1600/Snapshot_019.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1gxvkObrPaHrhZuNikl_DCpPPtK0vtgp9A6nk8knQaPARVOVSJ7B8x56Ei0JU9-ejVKZfKKtx-1K8aWsMno3q0ciiDGbe5hD8lkqvXI1LVNfiOEZF4flvHxlVvzbZVnffARMc2pTt9qRL/s1600/Snapshot_020.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1gxvkObrPaHrhZuNikl_DCpPPtK0vtgp9A6nk8knQaPARVOVSJ7B8x56Ei0JU9-ejVKZfKKtx-1K8aWsMno3q0ciiDGbe5hD8lkqvXI1LVNfiOEZF4flvHxlVvzbZVnffARMc2pTt9qRL/s1600/Snapshot_020.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
<br />
What’s interesting is the detail to which the exhibition has been set with draperies, with conventional framing and unconventional framing. Can't do a real world exhibition? Well this is pretty close, although the artwork is also the world which has been rendered for us in such detail.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFd-TjGcLW0pt6RBNQnpwQYnsskvoyhmsmbkF0QocjbmcUgQUxSg3cSE6ZrFj-C58imDgyBdgekZfPrvsNjwzJcARcFQHu1HRv2L0XLyHKJknUWXPchEqdzJsHgC7OSk1L1SVYZaIGjxJP/s1600/Snapshot_021.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFd-TjGcLW0pt6RBNQnpwQYnsskvoyhmsmbkF0QocjbmcUgQUxSg3cSE6ZrFj-C58imDgyBdgekZfPrvsNjwzJcARcFQHu1HRv2L0XLyHKJknUWXPchEqdzJsHgC7OSk1L1SVYZaIGjxJP/s1600/Snapshot_021.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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An exhibition space for flat 2D artwork, shown in several different ways...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim4ef1Ho20wafvs89HTCQyIm93In9xcswhEoeISj9fk3p6LavzmzLiG58Vqx9vG6hahReGXmB0PzDYl6ouBKUxwo61PJpQKtV2zN9nJhM9bXuOdQrv8cUey4LQLeS7p0pet1rrpFu_SMeb/s1600/Snapshot_022.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim4ef1Ho20wafvs89HTCQyIm93In9xcswhEoeISj9fk3p6LavzmzLiG58Vqx9vG6hahReGXmB0PzDYl6ouBKUxwo61PJpQKtV2zN9nJhM9bXuOdQrv8cUey4LQLeS7p0pet1rrpFu_SMeb/s1600/Snapshot_022.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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Conventionally framed artworks...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiITZsG0a4DjRJdr6Or2lnp3YkvPC5Yd0GI0aCI16jV1k5gcXlnojPbrqDWKK9AE2mQAurnffj2wgN8Z259Y18EqmLM5EIomWtg_iRauEPzxK1xf6ATndlMSAC1byDHPJvizUW18yCM6GUO/s1600/Snapshot_023.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiITZsG0a4DjRJdr6Or2lnp3YkvPC5Yd0GI0aCI16jV1k5gcXlnojPbrqDWKK9AE2mQAurnffj2wgN8Z259Y18EqmLM5EIomWtg_iRauEPzxK1xf6ATndlMSAC1byDHPJvizUW18yCM6GUO/s1600/Snapshot_023.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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Along with some unconventional framing...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5s44aebndYwHhs_GmiYOO3_TDdWzy839hxnsnvfvkbx51pNS833j5fOkhdZF593EcgxzaAeFEmXK06yu1HlpfhDSNAlYLAN-apfZ0bUfJi-KqgTqoAam2SJHiCo40P0nW9tA8QzEP7-MX/s1600/rotatingframes.2020-06-07+16_01_27.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5s44aebndYwHhs_GmiYOO3_TDdWzy839hxnsnvfvkbx51pNS833j5fOkhdZF593EcgxzaAeFEmXK06yu1HlpfhDSNAlYLAN-apfZ0bUfJi-KqgTqoAam2SJHiCo40P0nW9tA8QzEP7-MX/s1600/rotatingframes.2020-06-07+16_01_27.gif" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="527" /></a><br />
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And finally, some moving louvres to display 2D artwork. Not entirely interactive, but some ideas here on different ways to present a work in a virtual space...<br />
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<b>6. <i>Depicts a fictional world with some realistic elements set in the future</i><br />
Planet Vanargand Outpost Fenrir & Solveig Village</b> - <a href="http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Amazing%20Island/148/169/242">http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Amazing%20Island/148/169/242</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHEfgkSasUWonWCfcxwdJx261WWd3WBxAZ0e5yWArfjChxhU7Iql3ZjhyphenhyphenMIf2jcEjxhx_PS1qq5MX_6lGDwhiXGM8GZjBFLlDk-5cPZbrIYzFfpkwqc0X5xhxdyb1l79I5XnHKZRNIDoGH/s1600/Snapshot_033.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHEfgkSasUWonWCfcxwdJx261WWd3WBxAZ0e5yWArfjChxhU7Iql3ZjhyphenhyphenMIf2jcEjxhx_PS1qq5MX_6lGDwhiXGM8GZjBFLlDk-5cPZbrIYzFfpkwqc0X5xhxdyb1l79I5XnHKZRNIDoGH/s1600/Snapshot_033.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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The thumbnail for this outpost on the SL destinations board was a huge "alien" mountain. But really, mountains are just boring old mountains like the ones on earth unless you say... ITS A SPACE BASE FROM THE FUTURE and here's a space outpost to go with it! I landed in this space outpost floating in the sky (no biggie, not a hard thing to build) and immediately was overrun by other residents rezzing on top of me, skimpily dressed ladies dressed in tight dresses and high heels running around over small old me. Yeah so much for the scifi vibes...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivb_OkBcmtWgXWgHbwyZqhZTrUTlDGatmlLSyvGIJ91-vRyZ84aJyxWpg01g9m2h2jXA9o-ccKDsRy2bMYvTol5XOh0qd17PJC8PWs6AXe40t0G0v8oc6euRdH7Z4oYN2X5YOu_AsYkUAY/s1600/Snapshot_034.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivb_OkBcmtWgXWgHbwyZqhZTrUTlDGatmlLSyvGIJ91-vRyZ84aJyxWpg01g9m2h2jXA9o-ccKDsRy2bMYvTol5XOh0qd17PJC8PWs6AXe40t0G0v8oc6euRdH7Z4oYN2X5YOu_AsYkUAY/s1600/Snapshot_034.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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I enjoyed walking around this space base until I went through a door which said "NO ENTRY" which I assumed was written specifically to entice me to enter anyway. A few metres further down they must have not finished building the space station because I hilariously walked into a big hole in the floor, immediately falling about 3000 metres down back to ground, landing noisily on a giant geodesic dome...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_yMEz-3p4lqRgMY-kC_QBtN0LTCK7bpgE-dV8Z8LLNpNuAXCOuZHqbwNreQtxmzMQZZ_NETksize7xpamsPQrwehFoTYqSygJin4BoHUg-VJzsyk7s2GUkTsd3c3yuTKtLgMVmGOxkcJd/s1600/Snapshot_035.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_yMEz-3p4lqRgMY-kC_QBtN0LTCK7bpgE-dV8Z8LLNpNuAXCOuZHqbwNreQtxmzMQZZ_NETksize7xpamsPQrwehFoTYqSygJin4BoHUg-VJzsyk7s2GUkTsd3c3yuTKtLgMVmGOxkcJd/s1600/Snapshot_035.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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Finally I found myself in an empty carpark in this alien world admiring the detail of the snowflakes blowing past me. No detail has been spared! The snowflakes are not just circles, they are images of SNOWFLAKES.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWcl8c8GsPsTbDkTpcCQSckBHXgeafQZ_NYG47ooGnyUTEtVtBCZu1qtx73R0cKnTwyjTPEbUn2F94-2EIwnR0sY49p3K9CxzRzdvCvmmMHAbFUo5QcCjFGihWV76Ay3WMBOxrDZUUTEND/s1600/Snapshot_036.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWcl8c8GsPsTbDkTpcCQSckBHXgeafQZ_NYG47ooGnyUTEtVtBCZu1qtx73R0cKnTwyjTPEbUn2F94-2EIwnR0sY49p3K9CxzRzdvCvmmMHAbFUo5QcCjFGihWV76Ay3WMBOxrDZUUTEND/s1600/Snapshot_036.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="916" width=800 /></a><br />
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At this point Beano woke up so I had to terminate my adventures in SL...<br />
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<hr><br />
<b>Why haven't I made an 'art' project on Second Life before?</b><br />
<br />
Last year <a href="https://primperfect.net/2019/07/18/the-linden-endowment-for-the-arts-announces-its-closure/">Linden Endowment for the Arts closed</a>. For many years now I have always wondered if I should apply for the land grants in the past, but I never got around to it because Second Life was something I enjoyed as a game, exploring without a specific goal. It simply wasn't high on my priority, since it requires quite an investment of time to build this all, and I've got a lot of real world projects to finish. Second Life was leisure and enjoyment for me, not work, the same way one might enjoy a pleasant walk through nature without the desire to reshape it all. I suppose if you were just dabbling and not too sure on whether you would commit to building such a project, it might have been useful to give you a nudge to go and do it without any financial startup cost. Land tiers aren't cheap after all. And if this is not art per se, then, is this all a 'vanity' project?...<br />
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However, the closing of LEA is not as much a loss as one might expect. I suppose if I am really motivated to create art in SL, I would continue to make it regardless of whether I had a land grant or not, and even with the closing of LEA, there continues to be lots of art on SL. To be honest I never really got into the community for SL artists. Besides a run in with some people in Singapore building an amazing Sikh temple several years ago (what happened to it I wonder?) I don't know what happened to other SL makers in Singapore.... Or maybe if you are out there, give me a holla...?debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-71107570416827878222020-05-26T17:36:00.000+01:002020-05-27T08:29:59.839+01:00Domestic Life in the time of Coronavirus: Sprouting Seeds, Mason Jars & Food Prep, and Not Exactly Bullet Journalling & Productivity<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtUXOnc5deYLJzgIf-kku-4wAf2qNIyFwoCWAdxr3Huc5h11U6HpnBwNI0-Q3s_oEO6BZ5SLBRJClUpKNJnkxOcRr07zlRdhb1LgvoGNk0oETZ_YEtp2pDf_QJVrI9nIWor33zd6dE7cMN/s1600/20200520_103501.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtUXOnc5deYLJzgIf-kku-4wAf2qNIyFwoCWAdxr3Huc5h11U6HpnBwNI0-Q3s_oEO6BZ5SLBRJClUpKNJnkxOcRr07zlRdhb1LgvoGNk0oETZ_YEtp2pDf_QJVrI9nIWor33zd6dE7cMN/s1600/20200520_103501.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" width=800 /></a><br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">This blog has been a little quiet since the circuit breaker in Singapore began I'm a person with too many jobs at the moment. I've been (full-time) teaching all my classes (say hello to 3-4 hour practicals via Zoom!?!) and taking a part-time Specialist Diploma (just because it is circuit breaker hasn't meant the essay deadlines were delayed!), whilst also full-time taking care of the baby human Bean (childcare centres all closed and grandparents advised not to travel over for childcare!!), which has left me with nearly no time to do any of the normal debbiethings I would usually get up to.<br />
<br />
Maybe to build a little momentum and to get the ball rolling on this dusty old blog again, here's a little documentation about some of domestic/productivity-related debbiethings I DID do during circuit breaker in the stolen moments....<br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 1em; width: 600px;"><b>Table of Contents:</b><br />
<br />
<ol><li><a href="#sprouts"><b>Sprouting Seeds</b>: Growing Mung Bean Sprouts</a><br />
</li>
<li><a href="#masonjars"><b>Mason Jars</b>: Advance Food Prep</a><br />
</li>
<li><a href="#notbujo"><b>Not Exactly Bullet Journalling</b>: Improving my To Do List format</a><br />
</li>
</ol></div></div><br />
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<h2><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="sprouts"></a> 1. Sprouting Seeds: Growing Mung Bean Sprouts at home</h2><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuzbVj1TW2qAKjLVPqs9APSJtjDg9uyNA62fZtyG-zOvmBKKA7rFdTtccgZyD19G4IQ8swW6bNgq29Nw1sc3yRMf26KMZ-YTlnDg2rVL6mZaGPVzp2Oyxiv6NFhR6vZs7hdvKoJgGzbx_8/s1600/beans.gif" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuzbVj1TW2qAKjLVPqs9APSJtjDg9uyNA62fZtyG-zOvmBKKA7rFdTtccgZyD19G4IQ8swW6bNgq29Nw1sc3yRMf26KMZ-YTlnDg2rVL6mZaGPVzp2Oyxiv6NFhR6vZs7hdvKoJgGzbx_8/s1600/beans.gif" /></a><br />
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It seems everyone's newest urban growing craze during Singapore's <s>lockdown</s> circuit breaker is Mung Bean Sprouts and yes... even I too have been growing them. I've grown some sub-par sprouts or weird looking sprouts in the past - we forget how used we are to seeing the commercial "taugeh" sprouts being all pasty white and yellow, and somehow by allowing the sprouts to turn green by giving them some sunlight also changes how they grow and how they taste. Growing some fast sprouts for consumption is different from growing bean plants, and websites online all anedoctally point to a few things you can do to improve the quality of your sprouts: <br />
<ol><li>Grow them in total darkness (Under a truly opaque cloth. A hankerchief will not suffice to keep the light out. I used an dark coloured pillowcase folded over twice and draped it over the beans.)</li>
<li>Change their water at least twice a day.</li>
<li>Avoid disturbing the beans too much (Somehow they grow better when they get to really establish their roots) </li>
</ol>Now its not absolutely necessary, but I also got this <a href="https://www.lazada.sg/products/2-pcs-bundle-baba-organic-microgreen-vegetable-cultivation-box-i301844024-s530650909.html?spm=a2o42.searchlist.list.1.f0cd2428rylvMJ&search=1" target="_blank">microgreen tray</a> which has these micropores which is supposed to enable a more even distribution of the microgreen seeds (although the mung bean itself is bigger), and which has two half trays which makes it easier to remove and change the water, and allows for planting two different seeds at the same time with different sowing time. (I'm just waiting to get some more microgreen seeds from local farms to see if there's a microgreen that we will enjoy eating, so later in the year I'll report back on the microgreens...)<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2Scu7ahmHGQy9t4RvnlmWa1TDutHCDin-vK7lqDk05bm39kp7S-z_kfmoeOavBrnQ0Uo2PunkApbQMKY4iiHgW1UtkGR86WLYJai40vcYkUeUYsCqZ7Jc2bnHaNilleGkcODOqWSTdT0/s1600/20200426_100205.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2Scu7ahmHGQy9t4RvnlmWa1TDutHCDin-vK7lqDk05bm39kp7S-z_kfmoeOavBrnQ0Uo2PunkApbQMKY4iiHgW1UtkGR86WLYJai40vcYkUeUYsCqZ7Jc2bnHaNilleGkcODOqWSTdT0/s1600/20200426_100205.jpg" width="800" /></a><br />
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Presoak the beans overnight in a bowl, covered by a cloth. Here I measured out 1/4 cup of mung beans. On hindsight... I probably needed half of that. These aren't any fancy mung beans, just the cheap Redmart brand for everyday cooking.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrO_vx0tmqlW_Qx2oK8fN26beo0KHVGirRsGC4_YT7eyInO9sRYYnifySAAYCTAdGpI8HWsNWGcG3XVwxmrN9Jeri1hwJuFRE6zhqyCQzzSpU-PWI3mw4gAcFqP_t3zMOOuMLY6WdGkx9_/s1600/20200426_114819.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrO_vx0tmqlW_Qx2oK8fN26beo0KHVGirRsGC4_YT7eyInO9sRYYnifySAAYCTAdGpI8HWsNWGcG3XVwxmrN9Jeri1hwJuFRE6zhqyCQzzSpU-PWI3mw4gAcFqP_t3zMOOuMLY6WdGkx9_/s1600/20200426_114819.jpg" width="800/" /></a><br />
<br />
After soaking overnight and skimming off the obvious split beans, the remaining beans were scattered over the tray and water poured in until it touched the mat. 1/4 cup of soaked mung beans fit almost exactly into the two trays.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc83xofmLlHhOEIB_aftAgZBAshlh9RHnRP_b2ffO2_KClLqx1gDvCzEBDL3Yjt8NoU7uZUl2g4XI-qQt19jR-ufZ8nJourKjn2-IXtbXNMMgI5-hiedFeyjiEYzd3huu8jvzEw2zads9u/s1600/20200427_194500.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc83xofmLlHhOEIB_aftAgZBAshlh9RHnRP_b2ffO2_KClLqx1gDvCzEBDL3Yjt8NoU7uZUl2g4XI-qQt19jR-ufZ8nJourKjn2-IXtbXNMMgI5-hiedFeyjiEYzd3huu8jvzEw2zads9u/s1600/20200427_194500.jpg" width="800" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxp5BbKEAMoxepQ19nO6W0cvEBt4v34x0DEw-lJcmrd4jk5W2EElBhPMMd8TJxqEeyY6jLJhi39G3jRvs3d0HtqOwt5tNJ1bQPK6nOY_5fak78edu6np190Xt1lexCm95yzylwWgJogdyn/s1600/20200429_213133.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxp5BbKEAMoxepQ19nO6W0cvEBt4v34x0DEw-lJcmrd4jk5W2EElBhPMMd8TJxqEeyY6jLJhi39G3jRvs3d0HtqOwt5tNJ1bQPK6nOY_5fak78edu6np190Xt1lexCm95yzylwWgJogdyn/s1600/20200429_213133.jpg" width="800" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19T5ZLof4WhBr1eYYku39WEn8RShHvR7glZG-BO3lw_uzE8gd2b0Vm8L6SGR7KiFzX8YPdCzpaQSiOJJg6HJkUWN-aW8FcY__tAjagu2mKYYBN3e96lzGy1V19AHkKQOwXOJ2KDhhBuxd/s1600/20200430_185729.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg19T5ZLof4WhBr1eYYku39WEn8RShHvR7glZG-BO3lw_uzE8gd2b0Vm8L6SGR7KiFzX8YPdCzpaQSiOJJg6HJkUWN-aW8FcY__tAjagu2mKYYBN3e96lzGy1V19AHkKQOwXOJ2KDhhBuxd/s1600/20200430_185729.jpg" width="800" /></a> <br />
The beans then were rinsed twice a day and left to grow under cover of darkness until they looked about ready to harvest on Day 5.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb2nEuVqJTvb4vK1JpST8BANtNVhLZrQmu5a4wT4ucdh2cMg4IPjTUid-XSCsOxoHs_ksiLA6apOfFwYIrp3kGEOJU1U9tz9neRJZuGjyk2KGZiZEl_F9IihxbONnteoGJGw2EE8ZbUxxm/s1600/20200430_190817.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb2nEuVqJTvb4vK1JpST8BANtNVhLZrQmu5a4wT4ucdh2cMg4IPjTUid-XSCsOxoHs_ksiLA6apOfFwYIrp3kGEOJU1U9tz9neRJZuGjyk2KGZiZEl_F9IihxbONnteoGJGw2EE8ZbUxxm/s1600/20200430_190817.jpg" width="800" /></a><br />
<br />
Here the human Bean inspects the Beans.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnmu4Zd404oWp5Im9xqRAFJ84OqJmkuhKuF69lJrHPzMDoK16q0hYxCrHDNaDGti7kzmaAQhR66raNkwwFz37iVHXkmtsEsBVafDuOuAZIM8AsbgbqeSbe_9xptXncboiIUeAswe2Lp6_U/s1600/20200430_191050.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnmu4Zd404oWp5Im9xqRAFJ84OqJmkuhKuF69lJrHPzMDoK16q0hYxCrHDNaDGti7kzmaAQhR66raNkwwFz37iVHXkmtsEsBVafDuOuAZIM8AsbgbqeSbe_9xptXncboiIUeAswe2Lp6_U/s1600/20200430_191050.jpg" width="800" /></a><br />
<br />
The roots are clean so we ate them roots and all. I only rinsed it several times in order to remove the green bean husks which are a little less palatable, texturally, but not entirely inedible.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbC0CNEdk1a90GII7haP59D6CpVDWuR0qZSEk1zgmO4DbsvRHyhgypZYMGw-xa18ZOsW1GZMBtPJLb-9ZdkMz0lEtnBO9eJcsZ9mZrd1fUETKd95nNLU8vTmoG0PvA9a1qWipFdC7K1Xch/s1600/20200430_191736.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbC0CNEdk1a90GII7haP59D6CpVDWuR0qZSEk1zgmO4DbsvRHyhgypZYMGw-xa18ZOsW1GZMBtPJLb-9ZdkMz0lEtnBO9eJcsZ9mZrd1fUETKd95nNLU8vTmoG0PvA9a1qWipFdC7K1Xch/s1600/20200430_191736.jpg" width="800" /></a><br />
<br />
Finally the cleaned sprouts are ready to go in any dish you want. This made enough for about 3-4 meals of sprouts, so next time I'll grow fewer beans at one go as its nicer to eat the sprouts fresh.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibY9o7MQXALyV11hLTwZqPG7xvydXUjGECaKzGlJUbyF7M5DuXrSzI_C-S6E-iRNIZ1kG0t1VQk9Ax3TI1dmq7YXOWBuGeS7I1WOD_JR18PEwteEWtOBR43N3WUwZ31166l40ewYwhU7vo/s1600/20200430_191911.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibY9o7MQXALyV11hLTwZqPG7xvydXUjGECaKzGlJUbyF7M5DuXrSzI_C-S6E-iRNIZ1kG0t1VQk9Ax3TI1dmq7YXOWBuGeS7I1WOD_JR18PEwteEWtOBR43N3WUwZ31166l40ewYwhU7vo/s1600/20200430_191911.jpg" width="800" /></a><br />
<br />
The sprouts were blanched in boiling water for 1 min and then thrown into a big metal bowl of ice water to stop them from overcooking. Then they can be used in any recipe. I loosely used <a href="https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/sukjunamul-muchim">Maangchi's Sukjunamul Muchim</a> recipe to make a sprout dish to go with a big pot of Doenjang jjigae, which was also loosely thrown together with bits and bobs around the house.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivCR6IwP6pWe2sLR0-KKF1GxDa4puk1lecs9Gr4HETQtAlQfVjc3pNzfuJ8-icGUeQJ2Rq6Rv-sOiT61JQEOr1XXKzU13ARpT-kG_ZNyS3c-DsXuqAid4rN7jL1LPD2iD7XXU8EGmms8gq/s1600/20200430_194740.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivCR6IwP6pWe2sLR0-KKF1GxDa4puk1lecs9Gr4HETQtAlQfVjc3pNzfuJ8-icGUeQJ2Rq6Rv-sOiT61JQEOr1XXKzU13ARpT-kG_ZNyS3c-DsXuqAid4rN7jL1LPD2iD7XXU8EGmms8gq/s1600/20200430_194740.jpg" width="800" /></a><br />
<hr /><h2><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="masonjars"></a> 2. Mason Jars: How I make Overnight oats and prep common ingredients ahead of time</h2>I became slightly obsessed with mason jars after trying to find a replacement lid for a regular jam jar that I had around the house and so I wondered about what constituted a standard jam jar lid size. I measured the exterior dimensions of the jar I had and it was 70mm - turns out that this is the size of a "regular" mason jar. And there's another common size that I find myself drawn to even more - the wide mouth. Looks like a drinking glass, but is microwaveable and oven safe? SIGN ME UP! Making overnight oats was the solution to my morning routine; I find that I can no longer skip breakfast without becoming faint and HANGRY, but often I don't have enough time to prepare food for myself when I have to run a 8am or 9am class AND also feed the Bean AND change her nappies AND check work email. So... Jars! JARS! JARS! George seems to think I've reached new instagrammable heights of food-prep-hipsterdom with my functional food prep so here are some pictures that he ended up making me take.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqxWYXYtvTbn2U2vf1PqKacyRIGKphLGQIU-yVpYCxx2-Lr4HzQu6bv_9EnYy8z7tMvjro1aD7Jx2X32VJP1i01eJRht_9wnpH2wc7gotKCcwf3EkN292jcyUmLS1mYO6iP0BVExUF7doM/s1600/20200514_202646.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqxWYXYtvTbn2U2vf1PqKacyRIGKphLGQIU-yVpYCxx2-Lr4HzQu6bv_9EnYy8z7tMvjro1aD7Jx2X32VJP1i01eJRht_9wnpH2wc7gotKCcwf3EkN292jcyUmLS1mYO6iP0BVExUF7doM/s1600/20200514_202646.jpg" width="800" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcF0qCQ1hO6gimnaU8Swo6U1xWtQpBq6i8CwAcqg1W5hBTW44AVVax-ZuUArfnEwb9ji5Q7lganZkJ6Ft_u2KfIqvWIDdvbZqviS6vsnG5Gn8sL_Bdja2ga0xqWqhHxaNY3EUfQvXp0ZVo/s1600/20200514_203517.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcF0qCQ1hO6gimnaU8Swo6U1xWtQpBq6i8CwAcqg1W5hBTW44AVVax-ZuUArfnEwb9ji5Q7lganZkJ6Ft_u2KfIqvWIDdvbZqviS6vsnG5Gn8sL_Bdja2ga0xqWqhHxaNY3EUfQvXp0ZVo/s1600/20200514_203517.jpg" width="800" /></a> <br />
<br />
These are 1-pint jars (476ml) and just the right size for a portion of food (they are also the right size to pour a nice cold drink into!). I got 12 jars online for about S$48 and I also got a stack of both regular and wide mouth plastic lids for about S$5. The Ball jars themselves are definitely oven safe and microwave safe as they were meant for preserving jams, so if you buy random jars online check to make sure they are suitable for such reheating use. (If you dig a little deeper online you'll find a whole lot of alternative mason jar lids which work as fermenters, sprouters, graters, juicers, etc...)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu_UOZCgvxMuXF84s4ekpZi7JxnEj87wn_P9tF4fr9BEpxeb1vvIHroleuQkpr74fP14qith_rizkUduUeEfBZPrBgd9tM8Gg_9fHioHF8qkHsbKb6en2cXm9UAq_jgYs2NiFcahkmCmx0/s1600/20200518_191922.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu_UOZCgvxMuXF84s4ekpZi7JxnEj87wn_P9tF4fr9BEpxeb1vvIHroleuQkpr74fP14qith_rizkUduUeEfBZPrBgd9tM8Gg_9fHioHF8qkHsbKb6en2cXm9UAq_jgYs2NiFcahkmCmx0/s1600/20200518_191922.jpg" width="800" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5fiQHjJWIoYv0YPuKsOZkOPmI4UJLSZnI42TLHluuuE0JDgt4btNjl9ZEUjWjkN9BRwhIn7QwAQQ_shoSsk6ONYdmYXpPnBgf2NZ2sdn96ohyo-tJ70IucO8KF9w1oolbw0LGX07e4wDG/s1600/20200518_192830.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5fiQHjJWIoYv0YPuKsOZkOPmI4UJLSZnI42TLHluuuE0JDgt4btNjl9ZEUjWjkN9BRwhIn7QwAQQ_shoSsk6ONYdmYXpPnBgf2NZ2sdn96ohyo-tJ70IucO8KF9w1oolbw0LGX07e4wDG/s1600/20200518_192830.jpg" width="800" /></a> <br />
<br />
The overnight oats recipe that I made up to my preference and have been using for some time now is this: <br />
<br />
<div style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 20px;"><br />
<b>Debbie's Breakfast</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqxcQtt7ZU0X8b5T49kw50YKETq5coZxK2e2Y4eDMs0BMdbl83T-NqulTKkBN7SDQEk3Hkv3ckvNS2RBMlGW5ywb4_1MAZ-er4vNs1XUcIC2cSDCY1xxw1HmpK-SeC98oyPFp2MeM8k91/s1600/20200518_191922+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqxcQtt7ZU0X8b5T49kw50YKETq5coZxK2e2Y4eDMs0BMdbl83T-NqulTKkBN7SDQEk3Hkv3ckvNS2RBMlGW5ywb4_1MAZ-er4vNs1XUcIC2cSDCY1xxw1HmpK-SeC98oyPFp2MeM8k91/s1600/20200518_191922+%25281%2529.jpg" width="750" /></a> <br />
<br />
1/2 cup oats<br />
1 tbsp chia seeds<br />
1 tbsp flaxseed meal<br />
1 tsp moringa leaf powder<br />
1 tbsp dried cranberries<br />
1 tbsp dried mulberries<br />
2 dried apricots, cut into small pieces<br />
3/4 cup milk a squirt of honey <br />
<br />
</div><br />
When I am eating it, I throw in about a 1/4 cup more of milk and sometimes I throw in some frozen mango pieces, or frozen berries at the last minute, but I try not to leave the fruit in for too long (ie: i don't add it in at prep time) because they can get a little weird and funky in there, like how fruit tastes when it has been allowed to sit in a wet plate for too long. Its like a dessert, and I didn't think I'd be eating this so often since I have a savoury tooth and not a sweet tooth at all (I have eaten savoury breakfasts for most of my life), but I was hoping that oats would aid my milk production (since the Bean is still breastfed) and turns out that overnight oats SAVES TIME! <br />
<br />
<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_JiRk0jbEUPbw0vxGi84NrmnKtaKzqduoqyOVs4uYadf_E5RmoPJEGi7OIUwFsrhZ5MIV3O8y3Mzs9EMtBlKOmCWgd878ocvca-a_Pj0J0MeThPgcWA2CNMTItkz7LVqZCA0pgPtQ0St/s1600/20200520_101803+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_JiRk0jbEUPbw0vxGi84NrmnKtaKzqduoqyOVs4uYadf_E5RmoPJEGi7OIUwFsrhZ5MIV3O8y3Mzs9EMtBlKOmCWgd878ocvca-a_Pj0J0MeThPgcWA2CNMTItkz7LVqZCA0pgPtQ0St/s1600/20200520_101803+%25281%2529.jpg" width="600/" /></a></center><br />
I also use the jars for advance meal prep at the moment. I like to make a big batch of caramelised onions at the start of the work week (2 jars worth, or a 2kg bag) and then stuff them into the fridge so that during the week whenever I make a quick meal or pasta I can just throw a handful of onions in and it immediately makes it feel even more like a meal. <br />
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<div style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 20px;"><br />
<b>Debbie's 15min Lunch</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmcaZg8PVYOdsyjbEPgVbP0xFIebbNFxeRLkRKvyG7KCi1gEF3yxLpfWGzzZSEfLAVSPc9ICCEqbVuGodlyfcbuNYldo0mv6JW1tHQwgMuMj7P5E67OxSn4RL1iR6kAsE4f8oNxpFp3x7Z/s1600/20200513_122221.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmcaZg8PVYOdsyjbEPgVbP0xFIebbNFxeRLkRKvyG7KCi1gEF3yxLpfWGzzZSEfLAVSPc9ICCEqbVuGodlyfcbuNYldo0mv6JW1tHQwgMuMj7P5E67OxSn4RL1iR6kAsE4f8oNxpFp3x7Z/s1600/20200513_122221.jpg" width="750" /></a><br />
<u><i><br />
</i></u> <u><i>Ingredients</i></u><br />
80g of vermicelli pasta<br />
some bacon<br />
4 cloves garlic<br />
handful of baby spinach<br />
smoked paprika<br />
caramelised onions<br />
caramelised red peppers or any other cooked vegetable in the house<br />
and some leftover chilli flakes from when George last bought PIZZA<br />
<br />
<b>Steps</b> <br />
<ol><li>Boil of a pot of water with 1 heaped teaspoon of salt<br />
</li>
<li>Fry the bacon in some oil at very low heat to render the fat<br />
</li>
<li>Slice the garlic thinly and add to the oil. Heat should be so low such that only small bubbles appear on the edge of the sliced garlic.<br />
</li>
<li>Add paprika and chilli flakes to the oil.<br />
</li>
<li>Cook the pasta according to the timing on packet, in my case it is 6 minutes. Set the timer for 5 min.<br />
</li>
<li>Add in the onions and any vegetables to the oil. Wilt the spinach in the pan.<br />
</li>
<li>A minute before the pasta is done, transfer the pasta and a big splash of pasta water into the pan.<br />
</li>
<li>Allow for everything to cook down until the pasta water and everything is absorbed back into the pasta (usually 1-2 min more)</li>
</ol>Lunch in 15 minutes! <br />
<br />
</div><div><br />
</div><br />
<hr /><h2><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="notbujo"></a> 3. Not Exactly Bullet Journalling: Improving my To Do List format </h2>Longtime readers of this blog (who on earth is my audience? haha. hello friends???) will know that I am not so secretly big on GTD/PRODUCTIVITY. Sometimes George thinks I like doing work because it must be that I ascribe some kind of moral value to hardworking (a la protestant work ethic) but honestly I like working because... I enjoy it! I enjoy keeping busy and fiddling with things and doing stuff. I enjoy toiling away at things. (Oh. Maybe that is where Beano is getting her inexplicable drive to EXERCISE NONSTOP). <br />
<br />
<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVH8T2vFK0TddmtO_mxYKU1ja3VxRCsr7H9W8F5cUQDrcKZ52fSExC4IpRSPIQojJIEhSfl3oNw6p1OqIT6MC50t9NAvvSH6ZIf9uCyd-N-p4_JGn_EcnskqnvWcvW1bi22AMwgz8AOwu/s1600/Screenshot+2020-05-26+at+3.32.32+PM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1370" data-original-width="1304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVH8T2vFK0TddmtO_mxYKU1ja3VxRCsr7H9W8F5cUQDrcKZ52fSExC4IpRSPIQojJIEhSfl3oNw6p1OqIT6MC50t9NAvvSH6ZIf9uCyd-N-p4_JGn_EcnskqnvWcvW1bi22AMwgz8AOwu/s1600/Screenshot+2020-05-26+at+3.32.32+PM.png" width="600/" /></a></center><br />
During my maternity leave I had a phase in which I read all about bullet journaling. I also became aware that there's a huge cottage industy of people and instagrammers banging on about their #bujo designs although none of them look particularly productive to me, and if its not productive I don't really need it. My notebook is like a cup I can empty my brain out into so I don't have to hold all that stuff inside my brain where it gets all crowded. I don't really need my notebook to be neat, but I liked being able to physically cross off items on a list and review what I managed to complete at the end of the day (a sort of pat-yourself-on-the-back if you managed to do most of what you planned. Previously, I would write items in a list and then cross them out, which made them quite unreadable. I ain't got time to document everything in a bullet journal, but I have incorporated the format of the checkbox into my everyday To-do list format. I now draw a square and cross out only within the square when the task is done. I also draw an arrow to indicate if the task is carried over to the next page.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipRNs7gtsDNYPE25IyJjQOzRknr_96Z3rzpuNRb7r70W2DRvFFpMzLB_45EBT8QdkTaXPaaKJFMLyAejWFQrGS3avstblYB_tehvzt5weW5cX1nX9bPR7euaQYxTn7TCckA04LPXL80kPQ/s1600/Screenshot+2020-05-26+at+2.42.23+PM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="1390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipRNs7gtsDNYPE25IyJjQOzRknr_96Z3rzpuNRb7r70W2DRvFFpMzLB_45EBT8QdkTaXPaaKJFMLyAejWFQrGS3avstblYB_tehvzt5weW5cX1nX9bPR7euaQYxTn7TCckA04LPXL80kPQ/s1600/Screenshot+2020-05-26+at+2.42.23+PM.png" width="800" /></a>Whether or not you believe in willpower being a finite or infinite resource, I do find that removing obstacles to my morning also helps get things going every morning (especially when I have to rush to feed baby, myself, and start my 8/9am class): <br />
<ul><li>Getting hydrated in the morning - Before I go to bed I set out empty mugs with my tea and spoon, so I only need to add hot water the next morning. Often one needs to muster the will to do this small thing for oneself...<br />
</li>
<li>Pre-measured baby feeds - Before I go to bed, I measure out all of the bits that will go into Bean's first feed of the next day. I've still been using all the travel containers to premeasure the oatmeal and formula for mixing into oatmeal feeds. It saves a bit of time when I'm rushing and multitasking.<br />
</li>
<li>Drafting emails on Google Keep - this is my scratch pad where I draft out bits of emails. It is quickly available on all my computers and devices so I can paste completed emails in quickly at the start of the workday. I don't send work emails after work hours because I think its important to observe the working day (and it is well-known that people will mainly check their email in the morning and so <a href="https://coschedule.com/blog/best-time-to-send-email/">if you want a quick reply, you'll want your email to come in right on top of their inbox for about 10am</a>)...</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div><hr /><br />
<small>In the next post, I swear I will finally complete my series on House Renovations in time for the 1 year anniversary of having moved into this flat!</small> <br />
<small><br />
</small> </div>debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-44339970470860635452020-04-05T06:03:00.000+01:002020-04-06T06:30:29.836+01:00Standards for N95 Respirators and Surgical MasksI'm not a medical professional, but as a mother of a young baby and daughter of parents who are over 60 years old, I ended up doing so much reading up on masks/respirators that I thought I may as well collate my thoughts together in a post like this which might be useful for others to understand the standards for respirators and masks, and the difference between disposable dust masks, surgical masks, and N95 respirators. [Note: this post was many days in the making because I've been caring for a small and very wriggly baby, so do note that I started writing this post <i>before</i> PM Lee announced the 'circuit-breaker' in Singapore. I expect that guidances may change regarding masks over time...]<br />
<br />
It is rather long, so here is a summary so you can skip to the specific sections quickly...<br />
<br />
<a href="#pitta"><b>Pitta Masks</b> and <b>PM2.5 pollution masks</b> do not filter for virus particles</a><br />
<a href="#difference">The difference between <b>Masks</b> and <b>Respirators</b></a><br />
<a href="#n95-standards"><b>N95 Respirators Standards</b> - US Standards (NIOSH) & EU Standards (CE)</a><br />
<a href="#mask-standards"><b>Surgical Mask Standards</b> (EN 14683+AC Medical face masks) vs <b>Non-medical Filtering half masks Standards</b> (EN149:2001+A1:2009)</a><br />
<br />
<hr><br />
<h2><a name=pitta></a>Pitta Masks and PM2.5 pollution masks do not filter for virus particles</h2>Recently I made the decision to withdraw baby from infantcare (having foreseen that there would be a long period where I would be asked to work from home - that prediction has now been confirmed as reality) and as a result my parents have been coming to my house to care for baby whilst I work from home. Because this meant that my parents were exposed more than me because of their transit from their house to ours, my mother expressed worry about taking Grab. So I decided to buy some masks first and foremost for my 60+ year old parents who are in the most vulnerable category.<br />
<br />
Two months ago, my very crafty and industrious mother tried to sew some reusable masks out of cotton - but I just was not convinced that this was safe. Even from my layman perspective, how could a cloth filter the microscopic particles of a virus? So I went online and randomly bought a packet of the first aesthetically pleasing mask I saw online - the Japanese Pitta mask. But since then, I have read the fine print: <a href="https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/pitta-masks-protect-capture-coronavirus-virus/">Pitta Masks cannot filter tiny virus particles</a>. Online you can find people who have done tests on the Pitta masks and found that they <a href="https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/pitta-masks-protect-capture-coronavirus-virus/"><b>"captured an astounding 0% of 0.3-micron particles"</b>.</a><br />
<center><font size=50>😱</font></center>To be fair, the Pitta mask manufacturer does not advertise it for virus protection. It is simply that online sellers are putting it up unscrupulously without mentioning the fact of the matter that PM2.5 is not enough.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuqX8sFOwcTcgDHYIwt6QyOP-iVAP_TOtkNrxQha5LuEk4VyCMSzWg0K74zK5K0Q6uLYFzDbLG1oEWxkVxDajVDFhyWTYC3XHYWOSxSHixyoJ_lf6dBcjoBOfnuAUcnOqaKx-wp74DxYK1/s1600/particle-size-of-coronavirus-and-pm2.5-and-masks.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuqX8sFOwcTcgDHYIwt6QyOP-iVAP_TOtkNrxQha5LuEk4VyCMSzWg0K74zK5K0Q6uLYFzDbLG1oEWxkVxDajVDFhyWTYC3XHYWOSxSHixyoJ_lf6dBcjoBOfnuAUcnOqaKx-wp74DxYK1/s1600/particle-size-of-coronavirus-and-pm2.5-and-masks.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="880" width=800 /></a><br />
Image source: <a href="https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/coronavirus-pollution-masks-n95-surgical-mask/">https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/coronavirus-pollution-masks-n95-surgical-mask/</a><br />
Read more: <a href="https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/pitta-masks-protect-capture-coronavirus-virus/">https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/pitta-masks-protect-capture-coronavirus-virus/</a><br />
<br />
<h2><a name="difference"></a><br />
The difference between Masks and Respirators</h2>Having ruled out Pitta masks, I started trying to understand if I should look for Surgical Masks and Respirators. <br />
<br />
In a <a href="https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/1313143O/respirators-for-protection-agains.pdf">3M document I found online by their "3M Subject Matter Expert – Asia Pacific Region"</a>, they state the different purposes of the masks vs respirators. It also says that <i><b>"for any airborne particulate contamination such as an outbreak of PM2.5 / PM 10/ Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Avian Flu, Ebola Virus etc. only respirators and not Masks, should be used to safeguard oneself from getting any kind of respiratory diseases."</b></i><br />
<br />
<div style="border: 1px solid #000"><a href="https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/1313143O/respirators-for-protection-agains.pdf"><br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUpeiK6FwrpFXNl2FdBHYTYMRZpeHJkH0HlMdYKxmuwu0WY4rMG1lGpbLZtX8rvoRNATFi2eV35xmlJ0ZlGDEaCYPIV9NmMPstINNjAZCwI1yu6hvn9Mmb1WJ0D-YaAom4QK2DMs4MgeZ/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-05+at+8.16.08+AM+2.png" data-original-width="1592" data-original-height="1192" width=800 /></a></div><br />
<center><font size=3><b>Respirators</b> = designed to protect you from the environment<br />
<b>Masks</b> = designed to protect the environment from you</font></center><br />
<h2><a name="n95-standards"></a><br />
N95 Respirators Standards - US Standards (NIOSH) & EU Standards (CE)</h2>WHAT DOES A LESS THAN 0.1 MICRON PARTICLE LOOK LIKE? Does a mask really filter a less than 0.1 micron particle? Sadly, it seems that figuring out which mask can really filter such a tiny particle is impossible to us alone to judge; it is entirely down to a lab test - so you could say then that it is down to the various 'standards' that the batch of masks have to meet when they are tested in a lab. So this it led me to find out - who tests the masks to make sure they are up to the standard they say they are?<br />
<br />
<b>US Standard:</b><br />
N95 Respirator [Filters at least 95% of airborne particles]<br />
N99 Respirator [Filters at least 99% of airborne particles]<br />
N100 Respirator [Filters at least 99.7% of airborne particles]<br />
IS IT A REAL NIOSH TC-APPROVED CERT NUMBER? You can check here: <a href="https://wwwn.cdc.gov/niosh-cel/">https://wwwn.cdc.gov/niosh-cel/</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>European Standard:</b><br />
FFP1 Respirator [Filters at least 80% of airborne particle]<br />
FFP2 Respirator [Filters at least 94% of airborne particles]<br />
FFP3 Respirator Filters at least 99% of airborne particles]<br />
Check for CE cert by looking at the cert's issuing body. Unfortunately, there isn't a centralised data base you can dial it into. For more, read <a href="https://support.ce-check.eu/hc/en-us/articles/360007783251-How-do-I-validate-a-certificate-">here at CE-Check Support</a>. But, I have found that some of the certifying bodies have got sites where you can enter the cert number to verify.<br />
<br />
Besides those standards, there is the Chinese KN95 and Korean KF94 which are supposed to be equivalent in standard to N95. How do we verify them? Is there any way to verify them? I don't really know. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯<br />
<br />
This is where it got murky... So I wanted to buy some working N95 Respirators. I dialed in "N95" on Qoo10, Lazada, Shopee and ezbuy. Here's an example of the first respirator with dodgy papers which I found on Qoo10 from the seller "Collectible Haven":<br />
<br />
<div style="border: 1px solid #000"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47pqpRY9nKeOf2VkVDdYnj0Hj9HpbjsEEIWL6fs0NPIGZkOsubjjYWjUkfeT11zHAyrpuG6a7E_0ZDxCJRVj38nD0E2RhtqsAEg3UEZQ_3hkhYjPTN_h_sr5vo0NvLqGM2xYn7_IJ9rzX/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-03+at+1.15.35+AM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47pqpRY9nKeOf2VkVDdYnj0Hj9HpbjsEEIWL6fs0NPIGZkOsubjjYWjUkfeT11zHAyrpuG6a7E_0ZDxCJRVj38nD0E2RhtqsAEg3UEZQ_3hkhYjPTN_h_sr5vo0NvLqGM2xYn7_IJ9rzX/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-03+at+1.15.35+AM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1166" width=800 /></a></div><br />
<div style="border: 1px solid #000"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgF-KhMsbwRj_GrQkdWjiwnifsnSlsI6QYd4Ypc98_tnF0Rr39T7QvdFqUpVigczAo8yUNeao_Ygv5YPA5_5594BbPgMCWhU8TQjO95aRA8p1TxE6E3Doq9SMCSC9WH4Pmub3N-_-433Ud/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-03+at+1.15.11+AM+an.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgF-KhMsbwRj_GrQkdWjiwnifsnSlsI6QYd4Ypc98_tnF0Rr39T7QvdFqUpVigczAo8yUNeao_Ygv5YPA5_5594BbPgMCWhU8TQjO95aRA8p1TxE6E3Doq9SMCSC9WH4Pmub3N-_-433Ud/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-03+at+1.15.11+AM+an.png" data-original-width="893" data-original-height="1600" width=800 /></a></div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeSda28yuq3MZqeXbEAD0o_BXoQhpuKcBQqYm_6qUx6x79JMf8_VzskwwMmknxS7sCyig26ogmLFSkL5HfLD9nxAE-4rWLaUqsBOgUfk3kd-wfR3KYyMl7GwsG0Z7qRt9Hp66HzCdA_xkl/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-03+at+1.24.52+AMer.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeSda28yuq3MZqeXbEAD0o_BXoQhpuKcBQqYm_6qUx6x79JMf8_VzskwwMmknxS7sCyig26ogmLFSkL5HfLD9nxAE-4rWLaUqsBOgUfk3kd-wfR3KYyMl7GwsG0Z7qRt9Hp66HzCdA_xkl/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-03+at+1.24.52+AMer.png" data-original-width="1580" data-original-height="994" width=800 /></a><br />
<br />
I took it one step further. I took the number they posted and checked it with the Standards body for NIOSH. THE CERT NUMBER THEY PROVIDED WAS NOT FOR THEIR COMPANY OR THE PRODUCT! It did have the same product number 1200F though, but I do feel deceived.<br />
<br />
<div style="border: 1px solid #000"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik7rSQl4fv9fyI8sliJ9hkoYhweCD-E2glfvIbjhKtYIjrs63bnjaTAfV-fH8eCmjE9KUnFmQVeJqacXJF87yV0k3_TnjqD6IuyhoV6J6x-CTjTvs1GyZbvPBC8x9KUXIzHzqKuX3ehEuO/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-03+at+1.28.49+AM+2.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik7rSQl4fv9fyI8sliJ9hkoYhweCD-E2glfvIbjhKtYIjrs63bnjaTAfV-fH8eCmjE9KUnFmQVeJqacXJF87yV0k3_TnjqD6IuyhoV6J6x-CTjTvs1GyZbvPBC8x9KUXIzHzqKuX3ehEuO/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-03+at+1.28.49+AM+2.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1113" width=800 /></a></div><br />
There were several other similar examples online but I won't go through them. You can do the sleuthing yourself if you are concerned. But here is an example where I did buy the mask, and it checked out correctly.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3a8WIyZtjDthzi0roI17xjCAvh9i5foRRqHeVCgpDU0jFll9nd1JTSRgMEASgQ7f-T6JKZSm9tW9oe-_SXsCeCX2JUqSf8wLbCII1o0lTeYl8h012-4-pimLgi2Zk8Gyqe_vC_WFu-Q-s/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-05+at+12.24.08+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3a8WIyZtjDthzi0roI17xjCAvh9i5foRRqHeVCgpDU0jFll9nd1JTSRgMEASgQ7f-T6JKZSm9tW9oe-_SXsCeCX2JUqSf8wLbCII1o0lTeYl8h012-4-pimLgi2Zk8Gyqe_vC_WFu-Q-s/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-05+at+12.24.08+PM.png" data-original-width="1226" data-original-height="1596" width=800 /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlrZzSB_9Ind0xF-BRvpGmO2gb3cfwjzjkAIwBE9H4ikAebhnT2tcxQp31mUzCO94oA84oNwyoGTzGGQK7wQad_T3lvT24ao6QKXzfWhF4F4-7XoHKIqGELuwLhgwKjISNqRskIj6qkfFa/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-05+at+12.24.27+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlrZzSB_9Ind0xF-BRvpGmO2gb3cfwjzjkAIwBE9H4ikAebhnT2tcxQp31mUzCO94oA84oNwyoGTzGGQK7wQad_T3lvT24ao6QKXzfWhF4F4-7XoHKIqGELuwLhgwKjISNqRskIj6qkfFa/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-05+at+12.24.27+PM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1194" width=800 /></a><br />
<br />
Here's an original box of 3M 8210 masks which on the list of N95 masks from the company, along with a diagram of how to tell if the mask is an actual N95 mask.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/topics/respirators/disp_part/default.html"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDPystf70RlmQ7r5bGqVThSywIihNMW1id3s-feF7wUngh9jSwdFhfFTqJSBM4nyf9ULuQzUtrFYRofQjooT6U4vRpmMwB8rJZb69XGCCllFMx0D5-F6muJMTrWClYxNd4a-mzUe30sE5v/s1600/NIOSHMarkings.jpg" data-original-width="900" data-original-height="568" width=800/></a><br />
Source: <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/topics/respirators/disp_part/default.html">How to check the NIOSH marking on the mask (ie: the N95 standard)</a><br />
<br />
After discovering that several masks online that provided "documentation" of the masks which was fake, I decided to see what really constituted a surgical mask. They've been saying that surgical masks are what you need to wear, but that there were many cases reported in the media where people bought expensive 'surgical masks' which were very thin or suspicious. The Health Sciences Authority regulates the importation of surgical masks, and their website (currenly down) had stated that there was a difference between standard face masks (paper or cloth) and surgical masks (medical product, Bacterial filtration efficiency above 95%*).<br />
<br />
<hr><br />
<h2><a name="mask-standards"></a>Surgical Mask Standards (EN 14683+AC Medical face masks) vs Non-medical Filtering half masks (EN149:2001+A1:2009)</h2><br />
Some days back, I preemptively placed an order for what I thought were surgical masks in case we needed some.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFX4ZQ9ktfqOXAH9nRSkWi57La9xG3GRAhfu254FJDvRCtohUHpwZde9LLyV0JguK3h6fP3POKo4KRP4vWbtOczxDOfgGDWuffD3-N8EA9ec_BwduMPqFpwSGMJA2QUqQBd7a9o0j478IH/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-06+at+11.58.11+AM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFX4ZQ9ktfqOXAH9nRSkWi57La9xG3GRAhfu254FJDvRCtohUHpwZde9LLyV0JguK3h6fP3POKo4KRP4vWbtOczxDOfgGDWuffD3-N8EA9ec_BwduMPqFpwSGMJA2QUqQBd7a9o0j478IH/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-06+at+11.58.11+AM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1055" width=800 /></a><br />
<small>These were the masks I ordered on Shopee from miluvs.sg</small><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiiVOF_PrPnlnUSJNi_XZuqnbuwXBe8cx0-KpFC-xkJl-0heCrTqU5lC3LPkpPXIHBy9LI6gsTUGwb8L8tPueDrhmYFW0hi97FdmjKAgIHOfE5VM2PgEr6XTTcqSqCZ35kzy93SJJQJmk/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-06+at+11.58.29+AM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiiVOF_PrPnlnUSJNi_XZuqnbuwXBe8cx0-KpFC-xkJl-0heCrTqU5lC3LPkpPXIHBy9LI6gsTUGwb8L8tPueDrhmYFW0hi97FdmjKAgIHOfE5VM2PgEr6XTTcqSqCZ35kzy93SJJQJmk/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-06+at+11.58.29+AM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1102" width=800 /></a><br />
<small>miluvs.sg posted a screenshot of the cert</small><br />
<br />
These masks said they had a CE mark which I also went back to the original agency to cross-verify. Really strange to go to the effort to see if it was true, but I did and on the http://entecerma.it/ website (a weird marketing-oriented platform which helps foreign/chinese companies bring products to European markets through CE and other certifications) if you dial in the code from the cert - truly the certification comes up as authentic.<br />
<br />
But at the time I didn't check what device they were certifying for. What is "EN149:2001+A1:2009"? If you search for the original definition of the standard, this is for <b>Respiratory protective devices: Filtering half masks to protect against particles</b>. Which translated means it is a dust mask not a surgical mask. For a surgical mask, the European standard is "EN 14683+AC" - Medical face masks.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjahxo2dcFSLezPoGrdN0EfVHIfaLf9jPaYFNG9XwkdKB5LxcrTvpmOiGkKytprIjSUiA1vrk9fVCcsZXa50vZ8hvytxeNqwdeYkDqAlcFdRDdQTotFHBuarqiWH2hDmeOxcJaNebVRvQaq/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-06+at+12.13.44+PM+2.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjahxo2dcFSLezPoGrdN0EfVHIfaLf9jPaYFNG9XwkdKB5LxcrTvpmOiGkKytprIjSUiA1vrk9fVCcsZXa50vZ8hvytxeNqwdeYkDqAlcFdRDdQTotFHBuarqiWH2hDmeOxcJaNebVRvQaq/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-06+at+12.13.44+PM+2.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1087" width=800/></a><br />
Source: <a href="https://shopee.sg/CE-certification-In-Stock!-3-layers-protective-mask-Mouth-Disposable-Three-Layer-Protective-With-Good-Quality-3-layers-protective-mask-i.167906285.4920639167">miluvs.sg on Shopee</a><br />
<br />
Again, this wasn't false advertising on this seller's part on Shopee. They did not say it was a surgical mask / medical product. I saw the picture of the mask and I personally assumed it was a surgical mask but in fact it is only a dust mask. A high quality, authentically tested and CE marked dust mask. Fair enough to them.<br />
<br />
What is more unclear is that there are actually many sellers who DO sell their product as a SURGICAL MASK with CE mark but then the certs they posted show it is not a normal disposable face mask or some just posted nonsense. Here are 3 different examples (but there are countless more examples of this online)<br />
<br />
Eg: <a href="https://www.qoo10.sg/item/3-PLY-CE-FDA-CERTIFIED-50PCS-DISPOSABLE-SURGICAL-FACE-MASKS-READY/642100682?banner_no=1305330">Weilan777 on qoo10</a> - "surgical mask" with disposable face mask cert<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu0gq6u7qd0m_xkMOp0mkNSdwgcPh6LSE3zst-NtYWmKuASUMDCWgGrhDlzQoZDXKxlCTZ1qyTyWs2guNrmlxvyU70JPpppAqlD0hzSUXHobPUvYdNUhfSFTqbQqMUr4ZdWq2_pTJMH5as/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-06+at+12.07.43+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu0gq6u7qd0m_xkMOp0mkNSdwgcPh6LSE3zst-NtYWmKuASUMDCWgGrhDlzQoZDXKxlCTZ1qyTyWs2guNrmlxvyU70JPpppAqlD0hzSUXHobPUvYdNUhfSFTqbQqMUr4ZdWq2_pTJMH5as/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-06+at+12.07.43+PM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1163" width=800 /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0J3Q5q2agG3RuYgRSWyecacsbjsjYTIbpjPD0ScphK4XLCWzMJcoEQuJ78k-pM97M2LtSlXEid9kX4icrkI8u8aTz14B_6OwlKE357McLLzAQ9LMY7WBotO1RCRNlRi6BUVSdKCkmaH-w/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-06+at+12.07.57+PM+2.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0J3Q5q2agG3RuYgRSWyecacsbjsjYTIbpjPD0ScphK4XLCWzMJcoEQuJ78k-pM97M2LtSlXEid9kX4icrkI8u8aTz14B_6OwlKE357McLLzAQ9LMY7WBotO1RCRNlRi6BUVSdKCkmaH-w/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-06+at+12.07.57+PM+2.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1553" width=800 /></a><br />
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Eg: OurFirstStore on lazada - "surgical mask" with cert for their machinery not the mask itself<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJrMVxeKcaIZKrubgDa0N7XpaPTiAEBBRcRyVc2xPzp_LaWqSJMM0_4hPitXGFTtKMr9TOYJWkFiaHoL8aV6A4_v-8ZSXXwnZPfmVwdAERDGSuVEs0nnOPJ5SgmIlz25ON26mmmg9flWt/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-06+at+11.55.14+AM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJrMVxeKcaIZKrubgDa0N7XpaPTiAEBBRcRyVc2xPzp_LaWqSJMM0_4hPitXGFTtKMr9TOYJWkFiaHoL8aV6A4_v-8ZSXXwnZPfmVwdAERDGSuVEs0nnOPJ5SgmIlz25ON26mmmg9flWt/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-06+at+11.55.14+AM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="965" width=800 /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtyMzLSIeg8PIy2TMfn6zIV1t368GwXRO0a-yLuwkm0QdRgraq_hn-kdfw_LP59q6poBhMvy0ypuNJq7TMcGSehJ-iPZaSPD-Lu4MADoJipt15QLwn0LfU-G5uHaNCdKgN-0x06cuLW4V/s1600/OPEN+URBANISM%253A+Preview+%2522%2522+2020-04-06+12-32-10.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtyMzLSIeg8PIy2TMfn6zIV1t368GwXRO0a-yLuwkm0QdRgraq_hn-kdfw_LP59q6poBhMvy0ypuNJq7TMcGSehJ-iPZaSPD-Lu4MADoJipt15QLwn0LfU-G5uHaNCdKgN-0x06cuLW4V/s1600/OPEN+URBANISM%253A+Preview+%2522%2522+2020-04-06+12-32-10.png" data-original-width="1468" data-original-height="1465" width=800 /></a><br />
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Eg: Boslun on lazada - "surgical mask" with cert for different product<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzhKxesyriJc_cmcCg_B44tl5DZp3_ANJq2lKHBgHvWGdScHN-F93_ywkU_oqIXT7MA8mmyVv8Ev3JsvzQT47Q__m_yA5qbACcnUKWFEcCV5M4w5iyTBINx2v6H4s2cERi4efENcqYV6Qs/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-05+at+12.13.31+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzhKxesyriJc_cmcCg_B44tl5DZp3_ANJq2lKHBgHvWGdScHN-F93_ywkU_oqIXT7MA8mmyVv8Ev3JsvzQT47Q__m_yA5qbACcnUKWFEcCV5M4w5iyTBINx2v6H4s2cERi4efENcqYV6Qs/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-05+at+12.13.31+PM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1077" width=800 /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdO5OMM2CN2039DAokXP45DZern5FbfaRiQMomVipPKXOgZ_8ZxLuNcEy1SmNpfn5thPC_17E9sPocvxbGQOgi_-8zAjM5KzANQvHyrWzlijeGHqtBgFxTzn2CQt6ywu-FOW2oKVgJIjg2/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-05+at+12.14.14+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdO5OMM2CN2039DAokXP45DZern5FbfaRiQMomVipPKXOgZ_8ZxLuNcEy1SmNpfn5thPC_17E9sPocvxbGQOgi_-8zAjM5KzANQvHyrWzlijeGHqtBgFxTzn2CQt6ywu-FOW2oKVgJIjg2/s1600/Screenshot+2020-04-05+at+12.14.14+PM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1149" width=800 /></a><br />
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Did the sellers just assume that people would just glaze over looking at the certs and assume it was all good? You could say, "who cares about standards? just get the masks to the people quickly!" but then if you are buying this to protect a loved one, you don't want to feel like you've been deceived into buying it, especially when the masks are being sold at increasingly cut-throat prices.<br />
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(There is also the question in my mind: is it ethical for me to be buying masks when there is a shortage in other countries? I acknowledge the privilege that I have to be in a comfortable financial position to purchase masks/respirators in Singapore where it is very readily sold on many consumer platforms - and also to be in a position to help others. What about people who can't afford masks, or who don't have a good home environment to spend the lockdown in? Since I am not in a position to volunteer, I looked into the organisations who are helping those who would be in need during covid-19. If you can, do consider giving to these groups:<br />
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<a href="https://www.giving.sg/aware/vulnerable_womens_fund"><b>AWARE - Vulnerable Women's Fund</b></a>: The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the already stark inequalities experienced by women in areas such as unemployment, housing, caregiving and domestic violence. This March, AWARE received 619 calls - our highest-ever number of monthly calls - with many callers dealing with emotional and psychological distress, violence and abuse. We need your help to ensure that we can continue to provide our services during this period, to aid these women in crisis.<br />
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<a href="https://www.giving.sg/mwaf"><b>Migrant Workers' Assistance Fund</b></a>: The assistance fund aims to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to distressed migrant workers. The assistance offered ranges from emergency shelter, daily essentials and basic sustenance needs to employment-related issues such as salary arrears. In the event where the migrant workers tragically lose their lives, the MWAF may also provide their next-of-kin with monetary assistance or in kind. The funds collected from our previous fund-raising activities have benefitted many distressed workers and helped them return to their home country. To continue to provide emergency humanitarian assistance and reach out to more migrant workers, who contribute to our economy.debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-28737477356164460532020-03-06T08:56:00.000+00:002020-03-19T18:10:21.594+00:00Quick things to do in Blender: Video Editing, Bake Sound to F-curves, VR/3D Storyboarding, Compositing 3D model into photo, and Motion TrackingI've used (and taught) Blender quite intensively for a couple years now but I haven't really mined all its possibilities yet, and even today when I watch different staff and students work in it I still pick up new things from time to time. My selection criteria for these features is that: YES you could conceivably do all of these, even with just 5 minutes to spare and you are perched on the edge of the bed with your laptop and mouse, half-expecting baby to wake up at any moment...<br />
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<b>Things you can do rather quickly in Blender:</b><br />
Simple Video Editing<br />
Bake Sound to F-curves<br />
Simple Compositing of 3D model into photo<br />
3D/360 Illustration draft with Grease Pencil<br />
Motion Tracking to composite a 3D model into a Video<br />
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<b>1. Edit a simple video with simple edits, cropping, overlays, audio, etc in very little time</b><br />
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Earlier in March I attended a training but because I'm a completer finisher sort of person I ended up doing the training material on two programs simultaneously just to see if Blender could do everything Premiere could do. It turns out that YES you can do video editing in Blender and it is even faster and simpler to do it than in Premiere! The interface looks very very similar to Premiere actually and if you go into the Video Editing view there is really no excuse for having any UI related issues because the interface is just so easy now!<br />
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Features you might need like text overlay, image overlay, offset, cropping, transitions, fade in fade out, panning audio, compositing, motion tracking - all of them are possible in Blender! I think might use this for my next video edit.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic4DORoP2BzH7UVV67lRNv44vMWBuFLw6BvEiJHGtUmg-tmxqUmEoNwipiNQ57H5jn0CUl3ldeam9F1sM7hXTD8RgfVlCRQZfEDta9kk6vVLHlbmrGdWmV-W9RbV5kNqB6WcGrBos7Da27/s1600/20200303_100556.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic4DORoP2BzH7UVV67lRNv44vMWBuFLw6BvEiJHGtUmg-tmxqUmEoNwipiNQ57H5jn0CUl3ldeam9F1sM7hXTD8RgfVlCRQZfEDta9kk6vVLHlbmrGdWmV-W9RbV5kNqB6WcGrBos7Da27/s1600/20200303_100556.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" width=800 /></a><br />
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<b>2. Bake Sound to F-curves</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3RonWi1U0hkJiVS3RdKJ4O6NC4hhT5pblsX9Z-i4QW_mBcCt02WKpGUxElW_o9esOHdfix7b6ExMT3ler16sWiUzLjP7rWbNfVDPMln0sqX56As_Vxx4aEkk1h0ll8Mo3BoYNI8s7KYVp/s1600/blenderaudio.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3RonWi1U0hkJiVS3RdKJ4O6NC4hhT5pblsX9Z-i4QW_mBcCt02WKpGUxElW_o9esOHdfix7b6ExMT3ler16sWiUzLjP7rWbNfVDPMln0sqX56As_Vxx4aEkk1h0ll8Mo3BoYNI8s7KYVp/s1600/blenderaudio.gif" data-original-width="600" data-original-height="338" width=800 /></a><br />
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F-curve refers to the curve of the interpolation between two animated properties or keyframes. Interpolation has modes (linear, constant, bezier) and it has easing equations (linear, quadratic, cubic, exponential, etc), and stuff like that. But the funny feature in blender is the ability to bake a sound as the F-curve, or to make the sound wave the F-curve, such that your animation pulses along with the audio wave.<br />
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<b>3. Do a sketch/storyboard for VR/360 or 3D illustration with the grease pencil</b><br />
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Personally I don't use this quite enough but the grease pencil is super handy for making some rough sketches or even storyboard before you do an illustration work. For example, I saw a interesting video in which someone used the grease pencil to good effect to do a storyboard for a 360 work here:<br />
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<iframe width="800" height="500" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QWt1hXCylL4" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
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You create an empty grease pencil mesh (Shift-A) and then go into the "Draw" mode. You can only draw on the flat image plane that you are facing. But after you draw it, you can move, rotate, and scale the grease pencil drawing at will and move it all around the scene. Many possibilities!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT06z9PuQ0F0hvpGuLUntlQy5g1c8FqD-XIK650FeiSUGRvQ4uHaMKhRAAmDiQ29FHU2xZCryqIO9x9MxDGz2XTKUt8VuLODXaJUmslzkxTpmX3DfWSJaCWa_ZhSf4Pj7x0fGBpRubtsV4/s1600/greasepencil.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT06z9PuQ0F0hvpGuLUntlQy5g1c8FqD-XIK650FeiSUGRvQ4uHaMKhRAAmDiQ29FHU2xZCryqIO9x9MxDGz2XTKUt8VuLODXaJUmslzkxTpmX3DfWSJaCWa_ZhSf4Pj7x0fGBpRubtsV4/s1600/greasepencil.gif" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="494" /></a><br />
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<b>4. Composite a 3D model into a Photo (the simple way)</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8L4H8w4BX2PNwk4-6UtoD4c1yNsa64H0-SI6vS8BgioiUSgkypUkM-v3ptgdM2Kia-4ZXOxqBxmMCtRdYIKLZwKSEVMT0yF238yL7Xz1uq9-6DmjMmF4kZl-8M_V_cGD8aOURHnjqk2FI/s1600/monkey+world+vector.2020-03-17+17_26_18.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8L4H8w4BX2PNwk4-6UtoD4c1yNsa64H0-SI6vS8BgioiUSgkypUkM-v3ptgdM2Kia-4ZXOxqBxmMCtRdYIKLZwKSEVMT0yF238yL7Xz1uq9-6DmjMmF4kZl-8M_V_cGD8aOURHnjqk2FI/s1600/monkey+world+vector.2020-03-17+17_26_18.gif" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="815" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUCQ3-xnv1_7Q-cq8EQajwbtzO1_ucGRoCnlb3NSQJu0mWXqpKSKzlfoxBzDLr71PkCxfus4lZsoK6VHXSbX-86oKXDYEDXCNc3nyx0VjMcS6MGrtJ-ZFm3-KZWDAlHYNnJ_H4G_RJCOu1/s1600/Screenshot+2020-03-17+at+5.11.37+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUCQ3-xnv1_7Q-cq8EQajwbtzO1_ucGRoCnlb3NSQJu0mWXqpKSKzlfoxBzDLr71PkCxfus4lZsoK6VHXSbX-86oKXDYEDXCNc3nyx0VjMcS6MGrtJ-ZFm3-KZWDAlHYNnJ_H4G_RJCOu1/s1600/Screenshot+2020-03-17+at+5.11.37+PM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="971" width=800 /></a><br />
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Somehow it got even easier and easier. You can set the world image background's vector texture coordinate to "window" and when you look at the Render viewport your object is now in the world with all the colour and light from the background image itself. Works if you only had 5 minutes before the baby was about to wake up and you wanted something super simple. :-D<br />
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<b>5. Motion Tracking to composite a 3D model into a Video</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb2aA93ADyqL7RGpzvNigsSKR1MuE9LCOd2xd-pz7-aUeZgjmB_OvEtDiWdyCuqV6Qz9Reed9vWXqTdl5St7Gc22_C5AFJw5swWvLoKXQSCAYO73tejzPGscqawo93fLr1QJds2YB6jz7J/s1600/cameratracked.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb2aA93ADyqL7RGpzvNigsSKR1MuE9LCOd2xd-pz7-aUeZgjmB_OvEtDiWdyCuqV6Qz9Reed9vWXqTdl5St7Gc22_C5AFJw5swWvLoKXQSCAYO73tejzPGscqawo93fLr1QJds2YB6jz7J/s1600/cameratracked.gif" data-original-width="800" data-original-height="550" /></a><br />
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I decided to sit down and spend a few minutes trying out camera tracking which I've always known was a feature. Can you do it in a few minutes? Well yes, in the sense that Blender can do most of the legwork for you with camera solve but you'll need to spend some quality time editing the tracks for best effect (especially for correct rotation). Above is an example of a terrible solve.... but it kinda works!<br />
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debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-15917722612308345332020-02-23T00:06:00.001+00:002020-03-19T18:17:52.091+00:00The Kappa's Izakaya: 360° Illustration Process<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQu9rDlSFVGIgi-06KpzF5TdXcCPEumA218EALTuxSiw4IeWZKGk-Zwl_ZSVQmMNU1B1-fqPY3ELJFmGOS-RpJm6F6_tmUX6BbKZIOZMwefFko3E8ucmYPzccZlB18zM6vBQtcRMGYGMy0/s1600/izakaya+fx+breakdown.2020-02-21+14_00_13.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQu9rDlSFVGIgi-06KpzF5TdXcCPEumA218EALTuxSiw4IeWZKGk-Zwl_ZSVQmMNU1B1-fqPY3ELJFmGOS-RpJm6F6_tmUX6BbKZIOZMwefFko3E8ucmYPzccZlB18zM6vBQtcRMGYGMy0/s1600/izakaya+fx+breakdown.2020-02-21+14_00_13.gif" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="799" width=800 /></a><br />
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Recently I worked on a 360° illustration of an Izakaya in Daryl Qilin Yam's Kappa Quartet and I was asked if I could share a bit more about the process of doing such an illustration.<br />
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Artistic disclaimer: It just so happened that I watched a lot of Midnight Diner at the time when I was doing this illustration, so those spaces were definitely in my mind's eye. There was also the show Samurai Gourmet which was a bit tiresome to watch, but had a few good shots of a traditional izakaya too. Alas, although I have visited Tokyo several times before, at this point I haven't really been to a bar or izakaya in some years now...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi61Blhmsry4zN9X3Xs6gsY0B4ixegTOM3AvFDVaBaJke9sU6xE8IL1W_9ibdk_ghcY2edqQ3zjbNqhtFWTxD3Jn5P5SpKrDMZreWZXF8TWMwEd-Go6kUneVgDsZlAVBLT2qKDWeFfDiL20/s1600/MIDNIGHT-DINER+-TOKYO-STORIES.jpeg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi61Blhmsry4zN9X3Xs6gsY0B4ixegTOM3AvFDVaBaJke9sU6xE8IL1W_9ibdk_ghcY2edqQ3zjbNqhtFWTxD3Jn5P5SpKrDMZreWZXF8TWMwEd-Go6kUneVgDsZlAVBLT2qKDWeFfDiL20/s1600/MIDNIGHT-DINER+-TOKYO-STORIES.jpeg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1067" width=800 /></a><br />
<center><small>From "Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories"</small></center><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV-OT9OU2qxtpql3S3NG9KhXZb_j3IMZj8IgSvz5FrXyGu9EVfcw5kVhdG6W8rsttI6En5sYpmePjJ-NpL6cJMHAzv8NnF1aCINmY7__-Pwc0LETZgiHaYC3-lCoL8zGxZDPDXbRLS9PuW/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-23+at+7.30.00+AM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV-OT9OU2qxtpql3S3NG9KhXZb_j3IMZj8IgSvz5FrXyGu9EVfcw5kVhdG6W8rsttI6En5sYpmePjJ-NpL6cJMHAzv8NnF1aCINmY7__-Pwc0LETZgiHaYC3-lCoL8zGxZDPDXbRLS9PuW/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-23+at+7.30.00+AM.png" data-original-width="1600" width=800 data-original-height="846" /></a><br />
<center><small>From "Samurai Gourmet"</small></center><br />
Some things I realised from these portraits of izakayas is that when in doubt on how to fill the bar space, you can put stacks of tiny crockery or cover it up with a cupboard!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Acw3kbBVFSYYEMu97IzPWxUE4cmZ8EatbPfuI2jUYFx7bcuJzP1VRGL67pRICZiuq76NQRjiVKX-2SpubhSxEvhEYqoIgzOFtPA2MuNvIfzi0niv0lsl8EAmM8MsY-ZOT1RGlVwuBEOK/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-23+at+7.46.55+AM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Acw3kbBVFSYYEMu97IzPWxUE4cmZ8EatbPfuI2jUYFx7bcuJzP1VRGL67pRICZiuq76NQRjiVKX-2SpubhSxEvhEYqoIgzOFtPA2MuNvIfzi0niv0lsl8EAmM8MsY-ZOT1RGlVwuBEOK/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-23+at+7.46.55+AM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1091" width=800 /></a><br />
<center><small>I even made a little crackleware... not that the detail is visible in the final render</small></center><br />
<small><b>Another disclaimer:</b> Where 3D modelling is concerned, I mainly design spaces and architectural/interior renders and I'm not a character designer! This will probably be apparent to people who actually do proper animation / character design because here I chose to render all the other people in the scene in this weird white low-poly form. Personally I thought it a good fix for my weakness and also that it kinda worked for this 'horror' piece...</small><br />
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Initially I thought that I would actually try to do the entire drawing by hand because I have actually enjoyed doing similar illustrations entirely by hand in the past - especially with lens distorsion like this:<br />
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<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvVwUwBrd7I6xVZgRALVvP5f2xteLKrkMb3B6Z4mlk8ULXxtSlSNk-bwrE9atRaWeddabUe_Hhc32nUWOLMBCv7_V_PhSMQckUfKjiqef-4ZIqnWAT7yY_jhSWX2-9Tzhejmft3c4e-UL/s1600/CR_1.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvVwUwBrd7I6xVZgRALVvP5f2xteLKrkMb3B6Z4mlk8ULXxtSlSNk-bwrE9atRaWeddabUe_Hhc32nUWOLMBCv7_V_PhSMQckUfKjiqef-4ZIqnWAT7yY_jhSWX2-9Tzhejmft3c4e-UL/s1600/CR_1.png" data-original-width="1053" data-original-height="1600" width=600 /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkI9WmpZZGWCs9sIjxa_dAOMvI8trxC7-tGV2jQQvb6158Dxv9CjDNKe-EKv8wvjrkpgwNJuDzGjlV2InceSZaryREkK89p9HfHEQVtKOAC8wEu9AasxXSFTNnaDObKUvlESFwN5gzymEY/s1600/CR_3.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkI9WmpZZGWCs9sIjxa_dAOMvI8trxC7-tGV2jQQvb6158Dxv9CjDNKe-EKv8wvjrkpgwNJuDzGjlV2InceSZaryREkK89p9HfHEQVtKOAC8wEu9AasxXSFTNnaDObKUvlESFwN5gzymEY/s1600/CR_3.png" data-original-width="1053" data-original-height="1600" width=600 /></a><br />
<small>2 illustrations from the set of 4 that I was commissioned to do for the Commuting Reader</small></center><br />
I usually work out a lot of the alignment for this kind of illustration by doing a 3d model using a fisheye or panoramic lens. After arranging white blocks in the space and rendering it out, I just use those lines in the render as perspective reference for my drawing. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzzzM4-ddDu2rZFK2puy0TZ0XX0qC7tjhpXYRVY-nVoTsXSBsG-3hPHeQznvj2QmH9ga4OlnUfdnOOLhFZ4Tbgy37vtpMaEQyJnELDhyfjy-Zsda5UilEUFDQbq25GrtSy1q06vioaen_u/s1600/izakaya_breakdown_0005_Background.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzzzM4-ddDu2rZFK2puy0TZ0XX0qC7tjhpXYRVY-nVoTsXSBsG-3hPHeQznvj2QmH9ga4OlnUfdnOOLhFZ4Tbgy37vtpMaEQyJnELDhyfjy-Zsda5UilEUFDQbq25GrtSy1q06vioaen_u/s1600/izakaya_breakdown_0005_Background.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="800" width=800 /></a><br />
<center><small>Example: this plain equirectangular render with no materials...</small></center><br />
And for all other details that you need to fill in by hand, you can rely on an equirectangular grid (here is a link to <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dmswart/26363697850">an equirectangular grid by David Swart</a> that you can use as a template) and think of it as a 4 point perspective drawing as so:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1HO1OpK9LrVKgndqTaymas-OwtUS81zwPTm-zI6v9jPzbxvKMqj7IwfI9PTXCSu4FQ7rNGE2ZGFhIsILf90xFJTK2ATayRqnrzKGt-ikSsXH9zNzLf7z4thXGkB395SyzOlTPM_tuP4Kp/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-22+at+4.41.55+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1HO1OpK9LrVKgndqTaymas-OwtUS81zwPTm-zI6v9jPzbxvKMqj7IwfI9PTXCSu4FQ7rNGE2ZGFhIsILf90xFJTK2ATayRqnrzKGt-ikSsXH9zNzLf7z4thXGkB395SyzOlTPM_tuP4Kp/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-22+at+4.41.55+PM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="822" width=800 /></a><br />
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Here's a 4 hour sketch I made using the grid for the fun of it in 2018... <br />
(Back when I had a lot of free time huh)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO1ffqKW-x3Tim17G4orXJdGdGdt3ZnXhHyYzWuVoKlZO0o_2EyFD7quOAnVQ14tY-vhFhwKf3QSH5zGQmUYuRjiWeghdaowAphLpT9H-qV6c4YC1T5xO38BgV6kXc2dq1bqYbWlW7qEcN/s1600/equirectangular_DBBDWORLD2018.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO1ffqKW-x3Tim17G4orXJdGdGdt3ZnXhHyYzWuVoKlZO0o_2EyFD7quOAnVQ14tY-vhFhwKf3QSH5zGQmUYuRjiWeghdaowAphLpT9H-qV6c4YC1T5xO38BgV6kXc2dq1bqYbWlW7qEcN/s1600/equirectangular_DBBDWORLD2018.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="800" width=800 /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8hLNNtlUu3UcaU4ycPassbR9IO2Tfm3UX8Ld3DJ1TUUbxVT3U4U3aYGE11jE8zbAeMifaqfCrxSSSioUzPQ9cfZ-vcQ_QZrLLdelpKds_6UjYpr_cSrKkzZ14X5I9HOrBsONsrd4MQ1Dv/s1600/equirectangular_DBBDWORLD2018_360.2020-02-22+22_35_46ani.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8hLNNtlUu3UcaU4ycPassbR9IO2Tfm3UX8Ld3DJ1TUUbxVT3U4U3aYGE11jE8zbAeMifaqfCrxSSSioUzPQ9cfZ-vcQ_QZrLLdelpKds_6UjYpr_cSrKkzZ14X5I9HOrBsONsrd4MQ1Dv/s1600/equirectangular_DBBDWORLD2018_360.2020-02-22+22_35_46ani.gif" data-original-width="1024" data-original-height="615" width=800 /></a><br />
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Problem right now is that feeding and caring for Beano made it extraordinarily difficult for me to be able to use the tablet or cintiq. If left to her own devices, she wants to pull on all the type-c cables and gnaw on my stylus and then slap my cintiq screen! Attempts to set up my workstation in the bedroom so I can use the cintiq when she's asleep have failed in baby safety. In fact I've more or less resigned myself to the fact that spending time with the tablet is impossible now - WHO WANTS TO BUY A MEDIUM WACOM AND/OR A CINTIQ PRO IN EXCELLENT CONDITION??? - and I've had to streamline my time spent designing, thinking of the fastest way to get the visual output. Hours spent doing digital painting like in the old days? Not happening anymore. A blender render is all I can muster now, which is great because whilst I feed and entertain Beano, I can easily set a render going so that I feel as if my illustration is partly doing itself whilst I'm busy...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixUmlLiv2z-f0fLKlgQThd8ChkJ6hau2FpUyoezN1fOmZqCz7vjmgXr9np8TyHSHFj0rYOuO8l4LMb1TLHE-av2X5FDzHRo3Bo9umMckl6aY4czmqskCbvE2lgPr2suEJrppBSPCMh9igs/s1600/screencast+2020-02-22+22-54-30.2020-02-22+23_04_42.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixUmlLiv2z-f0fLKlgQThd8ChkJ6hau2FpUyoezN1fOmZqCz7vjmgXr9np8TyHSHFj0rYOuO8l4LMb1TLHE-av2X5FDzHRo3Bo9umMckl6aY4czmqskCbvE2lgPr2suEJrppBSPCMh9igs/s1600/screencast+2020-02-22+22-54-30.2020-02-22+23_04_42.gif" data-original-width="1024" data-original-height="574" width=800 /></a><br />
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I also use a renderfarm to speed things up a bit and I usually do a smaller resolution render to check that things are alright before doing the full size. At the 50% of the resolution I wanted it cost about 40-60 US cents (0.85 SGD) for each one. For the final render at 100% resolution and twice the samples, it cost about 4 USD (5.60 SGD).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxkwTdXhYsXq-qNqLmLx7sOH4vDNUyYrlm1cEh7NEwo8j4aFGR4Sa1ZNr1ltQXhUdvHrwKUB0dzJCMNNTeyWh41x_7_gaxAlXaWuOLq1XHq70dwcUuVMtAkrc6FQ0JIrdZkDPqx_SQMGL5/s1600/Job+List+-+Render+Street+Job+Management+2020-02-22+22-59-13%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxkwTdXhYsXq-qNqLmLx7sOH4vDNUyYrlm1cEh7NEwo8j4aFGR4Sa1ZNr1ltQXhUdvHrwKUB0dzJCMNNTeyWh41x_7_gaxAlXaWuOLq1XHq70dwcUuVMtAkrc6FQ0JIrdZkDPqx_SQMGL5/s1600/Job+List+-+Render+Street+Job+Management+2020-02-22+22-59-13%25281%2529.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1216" width=800 /></a><br />
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I don't know how most people do the next step but I usually go through a process of annotating my renders and then ticking them off in <a href="https://monosnap.com/">Monosnap</a> through as I do the edits:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizWVl6100xkslLvEMGgNRCmYA1K7jmKYBHt4AgSDrMOfW093XvRXQlbPh2aq4ST2wpoPNtIyB7pCN3gpDm_LgdueYscPDlA9VPpUa9thLHoNfoXa58YrOPb0hq0XepwjOL_SelB9kl2gsD/s1600/izakaya17_00001%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizWVl6100xkslLvEMGgNRCmYA1K7jmKYBHt4AgSDrMOfW093XvRXQlbPh2aq4ST2wpoPNtIyB7pCN3gpDm_LgdueYscPDlA9VPpUa9thLHoNfoXa58YrOPb0hq0XepwjOL_SelB9kl2gsD/s1600/izakaya17_00001%25281%2529.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="800" width=800 /></a> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDu5rbmCU00N9lzWEcaBmcQrXoY67tbGqIHaaWR15tPFmbA5G-Yq82O3Li2bTFIAZePwUclc5MPIudwAjszCMfA0QSp5tLqUFZSpXxS1DW7eqVb1XUT2Tj2fNe7I0qZkzI22J_g30p2Hlv/s1600/izakaya20_000012.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDu5rbmCU00N9lzWEcaBmcQrXoY67tbGqIHaaWR15tPFmbA5G-Yq82O3Li2bTFIAZePwUclc5MPIudwAjszCMfA0QSp5tLqUFZSpXxS1DW7eqVb1XUT2Tj2fNe7I0qZkzI22J_g30p2Hlv/s1600/izakaya20_000012.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="800" width=800 /></a><br />
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Finally we end up with the base render onto which I can add faces and other details in Photoshop. I do find that adding a bit of noise (0.5%-2%) also helps make it more 'painterly' because when the render is too sharp it becomes a bit disconcerting and unreal. I also drop the file periodically into <a href="https://threejs.org/examples/webgl_panorama_equirectangular.html">this equirectangular viewer</a> to see if the work is shaping up correctly - usually common issues might include (1) some things in the image that seemed further away may suddenly seem extremely close to the camera view or (2) items may be blocked when you render the specific view - so some time needs to be spent finetuning the arrangement.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQu9rDlSFVGIgi-06KpzF5TdXcCPEumA218EALTuxSiw4IeWZKGk-Zwl_ZSVQmMNU1B1-fqPY3ELJFmGOS-RpJm6F6_tmUX6BbKZIOZMwefFko3E8ucmYPzccZlB18zM6vBQtcRMGYGMy0/s1600/izakaya+fx+breakdown.2020-02-21+14_00_13.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQu9rDlSFVGIgi-06KpzF5TdXcCPEumA218EALTuxSiw4IeWZKGk-Zwl_ZSVQmMNU1B1-fqPY3ELJFmGOS-RpJm6F6_tmUX6BbKZIOZMwefFko3E8ucmYPzccZlB18zM6vBQtcRMGYGMy0/s1600/izakaya+fx+breakdown.2020-02-21+14_00_13.gif" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="799" width=800 /></a><br />
<center><small>Render Breakdown</small></center><br />
This was another work made possible by the Dingparents who came down to take care of Beano on the weekends so I could continue my artistic pursuits! I am grateful to have the time to continue to make my work.<br />
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<hr><br />
Come see the final image at <b>Textures: A Weekend of Words</b>, at Sorta Scary Singapore Stories by Tusitala.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg86RhckxECtiHiOzQr0PoeSH3NPMzoySiJL6e0a2vINdTCnmNQ8ejMcK7-H7LQbhOn45ZSsIPrPDwZBHLasZOk5e64zrw5BSC43m3dqhupNTmQaIfN5av-ZarHQMNyI6Tp9DOZVAh9yHRt/s1600/sorta-scary-singapore-stories-banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg86RhckxECtiHiOzQr0PoeSH3NPMzoySiJL6e0a2vINdTCnmNQ8ejMcK7-H7LQbhOn45ZSsIPrPDwZBHLasZOk5e64zrw5BSC43m3dqhupNTmQaIfN5av-ZarHQMNyI6Tp9DOZVAh9yHRt/s1600/sorta-scary-singapore-stories-banner.jpg" data-original-width="894" data-original-height="435" width=600 /></a><br />
<br />
13 - 22 Mar<br />
10am – 10pm<br />
The Arts House<br />
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Textures: A Weekend of Words celebrates Singapore literature and its diverse community. No longer a solitary experience, reading becomes a shared adventure through performances, installations, and workshops that will take you on a trip through the literary worlds of local authors.<br />
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The third edition of the festival takes on the theme “These Storied Walls”. Inspired by The Arts House’s many identities as a Scotsman’s planned estate, our nation’s first parliament, and now Singapore’s literary arts centre, the walls of The Arts House have been etched with the stories of those who have walked these halls.<br />
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This year’s programming features more installations and participatory activities that invite you to go a step further — move a bit closer and look a little longer. As you discover undiscovered narratives of your own, join those who have come before and weave your story into the tapestry of The Arts House.<br />
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Textures is co-commissioned by The Arts House and #BuySingLit, and supported by National Arts Council<br />
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More about <a href="https://www.theartshouse.sg/whats-on/Sorta-Scary-Singapore-stories-a-360-degree-experience">Sorta Scary Singapore Stories</a>debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-13733006065436443142020-02-22T03:53:00.000+00:002020-03-19T18:19:04.980+00:00Paintpusher: Computer-aided Oil Painting (SUPER–TRAJECTORY: Life in Motion, ArtScience Galleries, 20 February to 8 March 2020)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmix_d0Bfukn6f53yCI1Uz9_o9QkzzqPpR_J6A8E_zrwUvdHEM2pKq9lGC8n2Ty411PLOKltEAISL8zl2hAi1wznnl9E2BXgNrGKieraePHxZnE7uXaQbDjEEpVJpxBd5KW8eptobZ-EO5/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-22+at+8.18.36+AM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmix_d0Bfukn6f53yCI1Uz9_o9QkzzqPpR_J6A8E_zrwUvdHEM2pKq9lGC8n2Ty411PLOKltEAISL8zl2hAi1wznnl9E2BXgNrGKieraePHxZnE7uXaQbDjEEpVJpxBd5KW8eptobZ-EO5/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-22+at+8.18.36+AM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="405" width=800/></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUdFIJHpOD-YODgaOH_UFDcQRRSeO1TdeXMLLjO5bZ9HXHkeMV8XFxNmmRRr0pOoG3E_jOJgZ4nkBOTHA8un_iOZwIAlREa4SgzpZwsxzwLw3st7X0IChjiGFk7nYu-IzZvJThQcEkjl1R/s1600/automaticsketches.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUdFIJHpOD-YODgaOH_UFDcQRRSeO1TdeXMLLjO5bZ9HXHkeMV8XFxNmmRRr0pOoG3E_jOJgZ4nkBOTHA8un_iOZwIAlREa4SgzpZwsxzwLw3st7X0IChjiGFk7nYu-IzZvJThQcEkjl1R/s1600/automaticsketches.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="908" width=800 /></a><br />
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Behold! This is a painting made by me and a little XY plotter which pushes the paint around. (I originally gave it a title with the word "sketches" in it because I like how it starts from a pencil sketch, to a processing sketch, then to this plotter's wonky sketch that pushes paint around on the canvas... but now thinking about it, I am actually thinking I should rename the work to "Paintpusher" because it is not really painting, it is really just pushing the oil paint around on the canvas...)<br />
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Every once in a while I get gripped by a desire to teach myself how to paint hyperrealistic or photorealistic -- just for the hell of it and being able to master it...? - but then I realise it will take me years of muddling along in the good old fashioned, humans-doing-oil-paintings-by-hand sort of way. Additionally, my own approach for understanding and making visual work has always been via the digital, so instead of mucking around helplessly in oils, I thought I would try to do a little "computer-aided oil painting"...<br />
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Doing 'precision' painting of any sort is messy and potentially very time-consuming, and now with a Bean to feed and care for (practically a 24hr job), carving out time to make art has been much more challenging (in addition to my teaching day job). Whilst spending long hours breastfeeding Beano, I had quite a lot of time to plot and scheme up things, but I only had rigidly fixed windows of time where I could personally execute the program (ie: when my parents were available to take care of Beano on the weekends). In theory, I thought that by devising a process for making the 'precise' paintings (and sticking to the process!) it would help me control the amount of time I was spending on "Debbiework"... although the prep work takes the longest in that case. This painting experiment would not have been possible without my parents coming down over a few weekends to help care for Beano whilst I made a big painterly mess. <br />
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<hr><br />
<b>The Mini Line-Drawing Machine</b><br />
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<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ZQXhNPQanb1pIdDxiRi49udkml_mg_wYYN7L8lJffaE4ogmh1af5L-Hc7rnNg8U3lvLtLa7pIkeJYfpf4E4u9whtfwqTLweqbgodN5oB5crGGP1hglG6GXcgtN7mSd7P5dSkL5tV78GS/s1600/line-us-ani-paint.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ZQXhNPQanb1pIdDxiRi49udkml_mg_wYYN7L8lJffaE4ogmh1af5L-Hc7rnNg8U3lvLtLa7pIkeJYfpf4E4u9whtfwqTLweqbgodN5oB5crGGP1hglG6GXcgtN7mSd7P5dSkL5tV78GS/s1600/line-us-ani-paint.gif" data-original-width="512" data-original-height="256" /></a></center><center><small>Line-Us Concept Image</small></center><br />
Some time back there was a kickstarter for a little drawing machine called the Line-Us, which they rather pointedly emphasised on their promotional material as being "NOT A TOY". Well then, what is it exactly? I guess it is a small usb powered plotter in which you can insert a pen and have it trace out an SVG file (you can also muck around by hand on their app and see how it partially messes up your drawing. There was also a concept gif they released, imagining it doing water colours.<br />
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<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJj-ZiTfXN5Pn92jzvm0FoZsJ-UOBUzQqm9rc2eTp4CqFKPfjCHrX25aFAwpH-1nUUilCZlQEr3Ig-WTeISNORJq6CtT7jF8K5r1iLG7e7TC6sj8hDrtlDjEwo4gDOWeQ-tfRixMZSRFN/s1600/20200203_113157.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJj-ZiTfXN5Pn92jzvm0FoZsJ-UOBUzQqm9rc2eTp4CqFKPfjCHrX25aFAwpH-1nUUilCZlQEr3Ig-WTeISNORJq6CtT7jF8K5r1iLG7e7TC6sj8hDrtlDjEwo4gDOWeQ-tfRixMZSRFN/s1600/20200203_113157.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" width=800 /></a><br />
<small>Line-us plotting some random SVG that I made in Illustrator</small></center><br />
The app that comes bundled with the Line-us allows you to draw on your mobile screen to control the Line-us. IT allows you to take a photo, put it in the background, and then you can trace over the image your self. Which ultimately produces something which is not dissimilar to something you might choose to draw with your non-dominant hand. <br />
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I've got to say that drawing on my phone to control Line-us's pen doesn't really seem like the point of having a device like this. I mean it makes for hilarious results from this NON-TOY, but it makes more sense as a SVG plotter, which I'm surprised isn't the function of its main app. Maybe they dont want to get your hopes up of it being able to plot perfect squares and perfect circles... BECAUSE IT DOESN'T. I used <a href="https://github.com/ixd-hof/LineUs_SVG/">this script contributed by another user</a> (Set the IP to 192.168.4.1 and it will connect the Line-US when in red mode)<br />
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The joy of the plotter is really in its "shonky-ness". It gets more and more askew as we progress further away on both axes. It wobbles and trembles and if your pen is tilted on an angle, the distortion from the tilt will become more and more pronounced at the extremes of the drawing board. One of the prominent apps touted for this "NOT-A-TOY" is a game where it will draw something (somewhat badly) and you have to guess what the Line-Us is trying to draw...<br />
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<b>Painting Process</b><br />
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<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEietFCHZ0vQn5fKApUWBS8wNeFy-i8q-CEy7bZkDo40tNIjmvR4hX4m0GF-RyXg1FVqy2D3tOrvnwKOWNJU8fpTTjgSepsVyHWASu4K5ggogxZdapqNWURMa69cZOUfZC4l_fBUg35CGfMW/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-21+at+4.39.20+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEietFCHZ0vQn5fKApUWBS8wNeFy-i8q-CEy7bZkDo40tNIjmvR4hX4m0GF-RyXg1FVqy2D3tOrvnwKOWNJU8fpTTjgSepsVyHWASu4K5ggogxZdapqNWURMa69cZOUfZC4l_fBUg35CGfMW/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-21+at+4.39.20+PM.png" data-original-width="1182" data-original-height="1520" width=400 /></a><br />
<small>Initial Sketches</small></center><br />
I started with some sketches of possible approaches. I had lofty dreams of doing a landscape painting at first, but in reality I don't have that much control (or rather it feels like youre in a constant state of almost losing control of the pen), and I found that with this kind of work, less is more. The more you push paint around, the more it looks like an indistinct mushy grey. Like if you smeared your face over a palette.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlqnXURxatHuhyphenhyphenBVCSi6n22YIMMEMtE3cS5YejM7OfOI_7lXOTK692eKBr5twVXICmCrA-DE-vHfEel6fklTTiS93qTg16oux7Es92gcSErqiyocBq8bhpt9n_TmrFQrhVQ4hpu0FNv9mg/s1600/20200201_120312.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlqnXURxatHuhyphenhyphenBVCSi6n22YIMMEMtE3cS5YejM7OfOI_7lXOTK692eKBr5twVXICmCrA-DE-vHfEel6fklTTiS93qTg16oux7Es92gcSErqiyocBq8bhpt9n_TmrFQrhVQ4hpu0FNv9mg/s1600/20200201_120312.jpg" data-original-width="1600" width=380 data-original-height="1200" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5x0KLJYmPLcicYuSCMvvKQcTwdVVUTwSEpf5xL6IeBicm8KG91tuoTn2YuWuiDVsrIidTRxgWsb7hHpv3eYg7lXUtLYclJRAaimef_GcxXBjqBQT-bfLdajeW6Z6snzlkBX0BgDk4TO02/s1600/20200201_123010.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5x0KLJYmPLcicYuSCMvvKQcTwdVVUTwSEpf5xL6IeBicm8KG91tuoTn2YuWuiDVsrIidTRxgWsb7hHpv3eYg7lXUtLYclJRAaimef_GcxXBjqBQT-bfLdajeW6Z6snzlkBX0BgDk4TO02/s1600/20200201_123010.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" width=380 /></a><br />
<center><small>Line-us Manual Control - painted too long until paint became muddy</small></center><br />
This is the mess it makes when you "overpush" the paint (output now discarded). Using manual control on the app meant that it was no different from me being an exceptionally incompetent painter. The process needs to be rigorously followed for this experiment to be meaningful, and I knew by this point that I wanted to make iterative paintings...<br />
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<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitLaxIN3IR-tlWWSOaS-WSWuhF8VAQDncWXIdHomSNBUXFW6j8faNP8uC89SuUGZQJaIWznBU4VVnkeDNNkAzA4Gzja76V0zKlmnk2azjyDBHACXkgGiYKmyxmpfgzxoQRsUesYSbpf8dy/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-21+at+4.44.38+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitLaxIN3IR-tlWWSOaS-WSWuhF8VAQDncWXIdHomSNBUXFW6j8faNP8uC89SuUGZQJaIWznBU4VVnkeDNNkAzA4Gzja76V0zKlmnk2azjyDBHACXkgGiYKmyxmpfgzxoQRsUesYSbpf8dy/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-21+at+4.44.38+PM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1403" width=700 /></a><br />
<small>Processing Sketch</small></center><br />
Referring to some of my pencil sketches, I wrote a Processing sketch to produce the drawing. I had more intentional and complex sketches at first, but as you can see, I ended up with something exceedingly basic. A super basic bezier. To be honest, everything more complicated just didn't make a good painting. <br />
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In Processing, you can use <a href="https://processing.org/reference/beginRecord_.html">beginRecord</a> to echo the drawing processes to a svg or pdf file. It generates an SVG file which comprises of the lines I drew with the code...<br />
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<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUOnYD65jY4Cg9B5_ZK33D4-oTwtd9Zt1reRHAkuY2DpwRT25dxRooc1yAeXqKbtUfxuNIst1tD8M5RgLyq66uBHNdN3pPk3nmXWKxslsY6GzWdwuDGvAC8o-ZBms0b18TK1Rxo81kpsNs/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-21+at+4.46.04+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUOnYD65jY4Cg9B5_ZK33D4-oTwtd9Zt1reRHAkuY2DpwRT25dxRooc1yAeXqKbtUfxuNIst1tD8M5RgLyq66uBHNdN3pPk3nmXWKxslsY6GzWdwuDGvAC8o-ZBms0b18TK1Rxo81kpsNs/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-21+at+4.46.04+PM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1212" width=700 /></a><br />
<small>SVG Generated in Processing</small></center><br />
And the SVG file is also readable by the plotter as a series of lines of coordinates which when joined up make the drawing. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL_iYewHgSp55uF7EjBKxIYN-KefQjSh3-7GBCzftftftlsgfSkV5D3PLBTD2-hkGc6P-NROx-1tli0ilfYeRr5G8kr-4ztSEYKRtRxqqHmpLkXyCf1ttlLqxD8xcSKeUJ51J4_O_Dn8ig/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-21+at+4.47.08+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL_iYewHgSp55uF7EjBKxIYN-KefQjSh3-7GBCzftftftlsgfSkV5D3PLBTD2-hkGc6P-NROx-1tli0ilfYeRr5G8kr-4ztSEYKRtRxqqHmpLkXyCf1ttlLqxD8xcSKeUJ51J4_O_Dn8ig/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-21+at+4.47.08+PM.png" data-original-width="1595" data-original-height="1600" width=700 /></a><br />
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The plotter outputs look a bit wonky, but the wonky-ness is consistent. If you made the Line-Us repeat the SVG, it would always outline over that same point, over and over again. So... it is very precisely inaccurate.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEZSzkg3B1EOcTttOAxlyUAhPGPUJ1LDGkbzVMvwaWTmD-kbJos5fiRLKXeh8hKIXfAQIVNWtLGxik2EWWIx6LvdRim9KyAiz7fdkHPKDnHGUj6e0zUdZGlVBBEwYObsWPfqFvudGPo-ea/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-21+at+4.37.11+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEZSzkg3B1EOcTttOAxlyUAhPGPUJ1LDGkbzVMvwaWTmD-kbJos5fiRLKXeh8hKIXfAQIVNWtLGxik2EWWIx6LvdRim9KyAiz7fdkHPKDnHGUj6e0zUdZGlVBBEwYObsWPfqFvudGPo-ea/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-21+at+4.37.11+PM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1050" width=800 /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bnKuvjufNDiGsnej08FFUuJ0CVcxvqDV72bDjoaBzUz6MsIGobP13qJ9JruMJ6q4NpNzUmSgyfeN7sL14jjq2xEOPgQNpjlFcXUAk42AUUm1s6rRx98wmUlXusgGPQ5dA6QX-MZsktb4/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-21+at+4.37.05+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bnKuvjufNDiGsnej08FFUuJ0CVcxvqDV72bDjoaBzUz6MsIGobP13qJ9JruMJ6q4NpNzUmSgyfeN7sL14jjq2xEOPgQNpjlFcXUAk42AUUm1s6rRx98wmUlXusgGPQ5dA6QX-MZsktb4/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-21+at+4.37.05+PM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="975" width=800 /></a><br />
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After testing out all the outputs, I prepared the canvas by using a palette knife to lay down a base colour that the plotter would paint over. I also experimented with using masking tape to mask out the area where I would be painting - I think the framing was crucial to the work looking as it does; without the framing, it just felt like a big messy paint blob; similarly without repetition one may not realise this is an iterative work or a work produced by a machine repeating an action over and over again.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmix_d0Bfukn6f53yCI1Uz9_o9QkzzqPpR_J6A8E_zrwUvdHEM2pKq9lGC8n2Ty411PLOKltEAISL8zl2hAi1wznnl9E2BXgNrGKieraePHxZnE7uXaQbDjEEpVJpxBd5KW8eptobZ-EO5/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-22+at+8.18.36+AM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmix_d0Bfukn6f53yCI1Uz9_o9QkzzqPpR_J6A8E_zrwUvdHEM2pKq9lGC8n2Ty411PLOKltEAISL8zl2hAi1wznnl9E2BXgNrGKieraePHxZnE7uXaQbDjEEpVJpxBd5KW8eptobZ-EO5/s1600/Screenshot+2020-02-22+at+8.18.36+AM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="405" width=800/></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Ii3S_1eXBM6cy1dqxGCnCmag5Vj2ya542aC99iV7VbRirFN5r6AK8BOUc0OAYTGNCi1g9fbFjadaInF2OV2gpEzjbw2IWnjdhIujFBXew3zPJ8PbRUKT-TcPd8Gp-aaYirsI_eUe7FKP/s1600/alltheprints.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Ii3S_1eXBM6cy1dqxGCnCmag5Vj2ya542aC99iV7VbRirFN5r6AK8BOUc0OAYTGNCi1g9fbFjadaInF2OV2gpEzjbw2IWnjdhIujFBXew3zPJ8PbRUKT-TcPd8Gp-aaYirsI_eUe7FKP/s1600/alltheprints.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" width=800 /></a><br />
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After generating these tiny prints, I decided to digitise and blow up a set of 4 of them. I was originally only going to blow up one of them, but the output was better than I expected, almost resembling the fronds of a palm, with an organic form.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuveGPufxXYGhVnyU59O4VjCVS6QNOgxP9nDjg1b6DSzqXnkjBGfNRjy3WWvKPGVGPJDLqd4EakTzxdCuSY-95ejPCtMa6V6s_tpF7yKI_Vp7E3Z3yqRximCaD-i8S0vlsfmUD88hJmCLy/s1600/20200218_143229.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuveGPufxXYGhVnyU59O4VjCVS6QNOgxP9nDjg1b6DSzqXnkjBGfNRjy3WWvKPGVGPJDLqd4EakTzxdCuSY-95ejPCtMa6V6s_tpF7yKI_Vp7E3Z3yqRximCaD-i8S0vlsfmUD88hJmCLy/s1600/20200218_143229.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" width=800 /></a><br />
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Initially I was going to get a normal photographic paper print when I happened to see at the printers how well the metallic prints seemed to bring out the colour, giving it more three-dimensionality. So... I decided to try doing my print on metallic and I love it!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQgI_Q1VlfiV8msZ9G1IADmcvjf_lH7HHswkCxvLdZ1T30HzAAWolx5d39eOp0TN2UWCO3bqMrSYQbOKUCefNe1NBrg0rQ-31-hr4dOJqOmBACIv02KNQ5xLpCf3L5P9i1hXMu0yJqNuiA/s1600/20200218_174423.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQgI_Q1VlfiV8msZ9G1IADmcvjf_lH7HHswkCxvLdZ1T30HzAAWolx5d39eOp0TN2UWCO3bqMrSYQbOKUCefNe1NBrg0rQ-31-hr4dOJqOmBACIv02KNQ5xLpCf3L5P9i1hXMu0yJqNuiA/s1600/20200218_174423.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" width=800 /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6B6eRQiPfMpyPBYrvSaWGGOp2RKTo38T-H0vbPGhOuEuNsgNdfImClpX-sDGwitstmQM-ChgHHOGEyz2S4LV52eB7bvrbV9pJandXkXvnRXhHr6V7O4nCuaFpRc5odyaWTMa5UzIOKMxF/s1600/20200218_174412.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6B6eRQiPfMpyPBYrvSaWGGOp2RKTo38T-H0vbPGhOuEuNsgNdfImClpX-sDGwitstmQM-ChgHHOGEyz2S4LV52eB7bvrbV9pJandXkXvnRXhHr6V7O4nCuaFpRc5odyaWTMa5UzIOKMxF/s1600/20200218_174412.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" width=800 /></a><br />
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The work is currently at ArtScience Museum, Level 4 until 9 March 2020. There wasn't an opening event due to coronavirus cancellations. But come and see it when you can and let me know what you think of them. And as for next steps, I think I will build a bigger XY plotter!...<br />
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<hr><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Zob1kdu5pYXZEV0RTppbPxsEyCflL130bTQmKO0Z9Al6XtxbmEmq4-L2i9b4RjiNk1yWGOIqt4IYc9AyvQsXjQnHxJ4Bt2-TS6ucWSbdRYApcaEEFJJGekIbswG5Sv_j8V7sOg1dCd8y/s1600/supertrajectory.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Zob1kdu5pYXZEV0RTppbPxsEyCflL130bTQmKO0Z9Al6XtxbmEmq4-L2i9b4RjiNk1yWGOIqt4IYc9AyvQsXjQnHxJ4Bt2-TS6ucWSbdRYApcaEEFJJGekIbswG5Sv_j8V7sOg1dCd8y/s1600/supertrajectory.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="900" width=800 /></a><br />
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<b>SUPER–TRAJECTORY: Life in Motion<br />
20 February to 8 March | 10am–7pm<br />
ArtScience Galleries, Level 4<br />
Free admission</b><br />
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SUPER–TRAJECTORY: Life in Motion is a presentation of new media artworks from Taiwan and Singapore that reflects on the human experience in an era of instantaneity, transformation and conflict, where speed is the new scale.<br />
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Through a programme of installations and screenings, artists investigate the artistic and cultural consequences of new technologies, reflecting on what it means to be making art in an accelerating, media-influenced world.<br />
The artists, in different ways, explore a digital world that generates itself and our longing for material qualities and tactile connections in our lives. We see Chih-Ming Fan, Ong Kian Peng and Syntfarm employ computational algorithms as interventions to the present moment as we are confronted with new realities; while Debbie Ding, Charles Lim and Weixin Quek Chong engage with the intimacy and agency of touch in an exploration of materiality and physicality in our relationships with technologies. In the works of Cecile Chagnaud, Mangkhut, Hsin-Jen Wang and Tsan-Cheng Wu, we encounter a delicate exchange with the artists’ worlds as they consider the notion of home and memory by mapping their personal experiences against the unprecedented impact of urbanisation.<br />
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Between today’s postdigital condition and the complex yet banal realities of contemporary life, this group of works poses the question: What are the humanistic values and principles in an increasingly formatted world?<br />
SUPER–TRAJECTORY: Life in Motion at ArtScience Museum is a collaboration with INTERーMISSION (Urich Lau and Teow Yue Han), Tamtam ART Taiwan (Vicky Yun-Ting Hung, Wei-Ming Ho and Lois Wen-Chi Wang) and 臺南市美術館 Tainan Art Museum.<br />
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Exhibiting artists include Cecile Chagnaud, Debbie Ding, Chih-Ming Fan, Charles Lim, Mangkhut (Jeremy Sharma), Ong Kian Peng, Weixin Quek Chong, Syntfarm (Andreas Schlegel and Vladimir Todorovic), Hsin-Jen Wang and Tsan-Cheng Wu.<br />
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The first iteration of SUPER–TRAJECTORY, Media/Life Out of Balance (6 October 2019 to 3 March 2020), was presented at Tainan Art Museum, setting out this cross-regional platform for contemporary and experimental media art and exchange in discourses on technology in art.<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/179435049953947">More Info on Facebook</a><br />
debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-54820907732079803512019-12-26T13:59:00.002+00:002020-03-19T18:20:27.073+00:00How to get ready for the 2063 annular solar eclipse<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtYNA-mSG7iOTOEsedopzmaNpmwTEYOallnvsTjfCcxVaWKG7_-PkBuH2tLAMsvWyIImv2FTz6ClNz4gs-iXyWBqyhn4kV_eMY_Kc5jZYovXgKduTRAq3HL1Dbl67mScl2BQ4MMxFWjWev/s1600/20191226_132743.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtYNA-mSG7iOTOEsedopzmaNpmwTEYOallnvsTjfCcxVaWKG7_-PkBuH2tLAMsvWyIImv2FTz6ClNz4gs-iXyWBqyhn4kV_eMY_Kc5jZYovXgKduTRAq3HL1Dbl67mScl2BQ4MMxFWjWev/s1600/20191226_132743.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" width=800/></a><br />
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This morning at about 10am, George alerted me to the fact that the annular solar eclipse of our lifetime was going to be upon us presently, at 1.22pm-1.24pm SGT (Singapore Time). The next one is in 2063 and I would either be 79 years old or dead by then (cue the crying from baby Beano when she finds out that Mummies and Daddies don't live forever), so I decided that I would quickly set up a safe viewing board for Beano (and the adults).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV-hefU6cB-zAhkqLdTsXlyZtf5pSDgJ3fUU_Mz8j_I21bqLdoKa6gvj1j4EWNWwo12Lyko1_YL77B9NZH9HJakmUmVzrYLSaxk03nbu6V0mgkXcwigCS_3HdOXoKZAYNN_I9B7i3jNMaF/s1600/SmartSelect_20191226-152520_INKredible.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV-hefU6cB-zAhkqLdTsXlyZtf5pSDgJ3fUU_Mz8j_I21bqLdoKa6gvj1j4EWNWwo12Lyko1_YL77B9NZH9HJakmUmVzrYLSaxk03nbu6V0mgkXcwigCS_3HdOXoKZAYNN_I9B7i3jNMaF/s1600/SmartSelect_20191226-152520_INKredible.jpg" data-original-width="931" data-original-height="1147" width=800 /></a><br />
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<center>Here's a diagram of my hacky setup...</center><br />
A pinhole camera is doable but the output would be very dim and hard for a baby to see. Probably hard for adults to see too. So I decided to get some binoculars and build a simple projector with actual lenses. Benefits of living 5min from Mustafa is that I can waltz up to it at 11am and say to the man at the counter: "hello which is the best sub-$100 binoculars that you recommend???" And then go back with my awesome new binoculars and make a hacky job with some cardboard and tape, and get to a nearby hdb carpark rooftop by 1pm...<br />
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My top tip for people trying to build this in 2063 is to dispense with the tripod entirely and just hold it in your hands and lap as follows because ITS HARD TO FOCUS ON THE SUN IF YOU DON'T ACTUALLY LOOK AT IT.<br />
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I missed getting the ring moment on camera but I think got a pretty good view (and extremely safe view) of the eclipse anyway. I also pointed my preview camera at it and later when I looked I saw some refraction from the eclipse in my picture.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJYT-UI-Fb9YVvfgwkjY4lLKEAoUtYL6FQImyv5DA0PxB7H-8jlbpVjpIRuRpBzms7G1ETgji2nxJbstsOFky4B6Wp0rGwTKdAP_HwuxM7-F5WDoEvUnYytoyrmIVP3HxfPDFeDJp_Doaf/s1600/20191226_132353.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJYT-UI-Fb9YVvfgwkjY4lLKEAoUtYL6FQImyv5DA0PxB7H-8jlbpVjpIRuRpBzms7G1ETgji2nxJbstsOFky4B6Wp0rGwTKdAP_HwuxM7-F5WDoEvUnYytoyrmIVP3HxfPDFeDJp_Doaf/s1600/20191226_132353.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" width=800 /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwlQb53cQ8Fr14HaRPW7aopC_SK55yxIopz6DhuthjaxWvAFDxGlxi6YOMojzk50NggoC_1yqjFvsYFRod2ZHmLQLTZpNbpJvm7ZoDZJX3ema7S4rpdAsHT563GUsPRtFi59W4OFeQYr0/s1600/Screenshot+2019-12-26+at+9.51.26+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDwlQb53cQ8Fr14HaRPW7aopC_SK55yxIopz6DhuthjaxWvAFDxGlxi6YOMojzk50NggoC_1yqjFvsYFRod2ZHmLQLTZpNbpJvm7ZoDZJX3ema7S4rpdAsHT563GUsPRtFi59W4OFeQYr0/s1600/Screenshot+2019-12-26+at+9.51.26+PM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1189" width=800 /></a><br />
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I don't think baby was very impressed by it (possibly because she does not yet know what is SUN or MOON or SHADOW, etc) but now I have a great pair of binoculars with which to spend hours looking at the strange things people do on the streets of Jalan Besar / Little India when they think they are not being looked at...<br />
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<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhykLMAsUdaIeYpqMuYiQzj8XsXhHxD9aTVLVGY1F_gNeF3E2q3CokF_Ffa2PnXn5TN45j93D84xdGze7St7CYKhPtB60o7eX0ec-z8MucAwbU8EVO4mLcFfTc7khPzP1gMwurOfXULkX3H/s1600/ezgif.com-video-to-gif.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhykLMAsUdaIeYpqMuYiQzj8XsXhHxD9aTVLVGY1F_gNeF3E2q3CokF_Ffa2PnXn5TN45j93D84xdGze7St7CYKhPtB60o7eX0ec-z8MucAwbU8EVO4mLcFfTc7khPzP1gMwurOfXULkX3H/s1600/ezgif.com-video-to-gif.gif" data-original-width="600" data-original-height="338" /></a></center>debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-37063208905794686442019-12-20T07:23:00.002+00:002020-03-19T18:19:42.908+00:00Playing around with Jupyter Notebook, Sketch RNN & Neural Style Transfer<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLIgOby0zjDnqO1evahMm6lDmXqqriiYOkmKXLhFZPEiHfMv5FRmhONpgXCOgd0XXCNfgJzP13nhqHLgo2KdqymCX8h3BYWawR_h18GbTHbFhGjcAkJZDQIOfY-rTw6KCAwsO5WnXu8Fb-/s1600/Screenshot+2019-12-21+at+9.42.13+AM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLIgOby0zjDnqO1evahMm6lDmXqqriiYOkmKXLhFZPEiHfMv5FRmhONpgXCOgd0XXCNfgJzP13nhqHLgo2KdqymCX8h3BYWawR_h18GbTHbFhGjcAkJZDQIOfY-rTw6KCAwsO5WnXu8Fb-/s1600/Screenshot+2019-12-21+at+9.42.13+AM.png" data-original-width="1600" width=800 data-original-height="478" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqVlwlWkAmeCUVOFCiyD19kQA13n8Tqdmhdnh9-KjmAMnQGb2GOvWPK3ord5jdryNxk0qGuVavVUi50ry87uVcVjN8gT6YNkB_rqOjM3xQ_ZmunSUcH2Q4wi2nWT7Igj6jX0BrZc57x2X0/s1600/Screenshot+2019-12-21+at+9.42.31+AM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqVlwlWkAmeCUVOFCiyD19kQA13n8Tqdmhdnh9-KjmAMnQGb2GOvWPK3ord5jdryNxk0qGuVavVUi50ry87uVcVjN8gT6YNkB_rqOjM3xQ_ZmunSUcH2Q4wi2nWT7Igj6jX0BrZc57x2X0/s1600/Screenshot+2019-12-21+at+9.42.31+AM.png" data-original-width="1520" data-original-height="1138" width=800/></a><br />
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This week as part of my work I went to a 2-day crash course in Tensorflow for NLP, which is admittedly ridiculous because (a) 2-days? what can one accomplish in 2 days? would we not be better off slowly studying ML via a mooc on our phones? or the <a href="https://developers.google.com/machine-learning/crash-course">Google Machine Learning Crash Course?</a> and the <a href="https://www.tensorflow.org/tutorials">official Tensorflow tutorials</a>? (b) I am struggling with both the practical side (I have absolutely no maths foundation) and theorectical side (I don't even understand regression models, but, I mean, do I need to understand regression models anyway?)<br />
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Which then begs the question: DO I REALLY NEED TO PEEK INSIDE THE BLACK BOX IN MY LINE OF WORK?<br />
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Or, WHAT IS MY LINE OF WORK ANYWAY? And how much technical understanding do I really need to have?<br />
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Now I obviously don't feel like I'm in any position to design the innards of the black box myself, but I'd like to be the person who gathers up all the inputs, preprocesses it, and stuffs it through the black box myself, so as to obtain an interesting and meaningful output (basically I'm more interested in the <a href="https://developers.google.com/machine-learning/problem-framing/cases">problem framing</a>). But existential crises aside, this post is to gather up all my thoughts, outputs (ironically unrelated to the course I was at, but this is a personal blog anyway), and relevant links for the time being (pfftshaw, with the rate at which things are going they'll probably be outdated by 2020...)<br />
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<h1>Jupyter Notebook</h1><br />
<a href="https://jupyter.org/">Jupyter Notebook</a> is the wiki I wish I always had! Usually when working in Python you're always in the shell or editor and I make my wiki notes in a linear fashion to recount the story of what I was doing (in case I want to revisit my work at a later point). For the purposes of learning I find it most useful to think of it as a linear narrative.<br />
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Jupyter is the new shell where you can do precisely that - write a linear narrative of what you think you were doing - alongside the cells of your code that you run. Its generally quite easy to set up Jupyter notebook via <a href="https://www.anaconda.com/distribution/">Anaconda </a>which will install both Python and Jupyter Notebook and then you can paste the link from terminal into your browser. <br />
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<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhTd8AUnOogd3pwMX6kXCLtENNLAs8bXke0CwtJBp0XACMD0v1bcwGi-sBCBCXObryxbm02u7hkkxAAPCLPgo1gs2f5gbJD_5ecchti0UkflXj9hybyOoztmwd2IfBGDKzV9OC28ZC51Ho/s1600/ch1_introduction_to_jupyter_pandas_exercises+-+Jup.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhTd8AUnOogd3pwMX6kXCLtENNLAs8bXke0CwtJBp0XACMD0v1bcwGi-sBCBCXObryxbm02u7hkkxAAPCLPgo1gs2f5gbJD_5ecchti0UkflXj9hybyOoztmwd2IfBGDKzV9OC28ZC51Ho/s1600/ch1_introduction_to_jupyter_pandas_exercises+-+Jup.png" data-original-width="722" data-original-height="703" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2kPDI5cMDxmQw1ZYOPuqn_pKLYL3JcbP03ql1HVRrh0U9CtyIibTs326cuFm3M-vVueu7IT404IX5y0CEzKkp14RKUU09sL3bHhje9isHMSOqDbm8mc5Tr0qjVeZaUS3bpDPTpv3Ozqm/s1600/ch1_introduction_to_jupyter_pandas_exercises+-+Jup2.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2kPDI5cMDxmQw1ZYOPuqn_pKLYL3JcbP03ql1HVRrh0U9CtyIibTs326cuFm3M-vVueu7IT404IX5y0CEzKkp14RKUU09sL3bHhje9isHMSOqDbm8mc5Tr0qjVeZaUS3bpDPTpv3Ozqm/s1600/ch1_introduction_to_jupyter_pandas_exercises+-+Jup2.png" data-original-width="994" data-original-height="678" width=800 /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGfkAEUA37A_rqBL59iYFX3g16iXCbGLY2QjRg-sZkNaxnicsS3ZEqudlFUTNnhHrp5yqaQmHWr0Tk2qQfeW-hTaXwggqYqvONml7XzPcBT4Pa98rRK2oLHEFCjzDEelIQJ8IOn6sQ1zfr/s1600/nlpworkshop_mnist.ipynb+-+Colaboratory+-+Google+Ch.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGfkAEUA37A_rqBL59iYFX3g16iXCbGLY2QjRg-sZkNaxnicsS3ZEqudlFUTNnhHrp5yqaQmHWr0Tk2qQfeW-hTaXwggqYqvONml7XzPcBT4Pa98rRK2oLHEFCjzDEelIQJ8IOn6sQ1zfr/s1600/nlpworkshop_mnist.ipynb+-+Colaboratory+-+Google+Ch.png" data-original-width="721" data-original-height="753" /></a><br />
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<small>I could have embedded my notebooks instead of screenshotting it but I ain't gonna share my notebooks cos these are just silly "HELLO WORLD" type tings...</small></center><br />
Let's say you don't want to run it on local environment. That's fine too because you can use the cloud version - Google Colab. You can work on the cloud, upload files and load files in from Google Drive. You can work on it at home with one computer and then go into the office and work on it with another computer and a different OS. You can write in <a href="https://github.com/adam-p/markdown-here/wiki/Markdown-Cheatsheet">Markdown</a> and format equations using LaTeX.<br />
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As an interactive notebook there are so many opportunities for storytelling and documentation with Jupyter Notebook. And if you like things to be pretty, you can style both the notebook itself or style the outputs with css.<br />
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<h1>Sketch RNN</h1><br />
I followed the <a href="https://colab.research.google.com/github/tensorflow/magenta-demos/blob/master/jupyter-notebooks/Sketch_RNN.ipynb#scrollTo=iKHL-LmnSLpB">Sketch RNN tutorial</a> on Google Colab to produce the following Bus turning into a Cat...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6NWDqMxnW284SswyVZEXdLnbwiV8K4LdrXuzRjz5dIqb6CxAn6vuxltJ1-gyR-zOZTZORpVcvpjOD3mwipOms61rC_KIWdbiKxduJFMX53JHjv7SwLjPkFzonDMjVZUOnvdrlNFg_eTcL/s1600/bus+to+cat.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6NWDqMxnW284SswyVZEXdLnbwiV8K4LdrXuzRjz5dIqb6CxAn6vuxltJ1-gyR-zOZTZORpVcvpjOD3mwipOms61rC_KIWdbiKxduJFMX53JHjv7SwLjPkFzonDMjVZUOnvdrlNFg_eTcL/s1600/bus+to+cat.png" data-original-width="917" data-original-height="126" width=800 /></a><br />
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Love the <a href="https://quickdraw.withgoogle.com/data">Quick Draw</a> project because it is so much like the story I often tell about how I used to quiz people about what they thought a scallop looked like because I realised many Singaporeans think that it is a cake instead of a shellfish with a "scalloped edge shell".<br />
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I love the shonky-ness of the drawings and I kinda wanna make my own data set to add to it, and perhaps the shonky-ness is something I can amplify with my extremely shonky usb drawing robot which could use the vector data to make some ultra shonky drawings in the flesh. <br />
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<small>Now that I have accidentally wrote the word <b>shonky</b> so many times I feel I should define what I mean: "shonky" means that the output is of dubious quality, and for me the term also has a certain comedic impact, like an Eraserhead baby moment which ends in nervous laughter. (Another word I like to use interchangeably with "shonky" is the Malay word "koyak" which I also imagine to have comedic impact)</small><br />
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<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEdJRjuwlKUuBUG2MQzefQN5hvWB5ZINt9q8Qlz6BFN5pzlUc9nCskSB2ZzWsDmYsF9Y6L8Skt8pOCvRfbGfnFQtRX74lDZb52EgCqE2E_mV0eX7BrHyvDlRjfDHrsZv93oeyuni3PAc-0/s1600/treetrunks.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEdJRjuwlKUuBUG2MQzefQN5hvWB5ZINt9q8Qlz6BFN5pzlUc9nCskSB2ZzWsDmYsF9Y6L8Skt8pOCvRfbGfnFQtRX74lDZb52EgCqE2E_mV0eX7BrHyvDlRjfDHrsZv93oeyuni3PAc-0/s1600/treetrunks.gif" data-original-width="480" data-original-height="368" /></a><br />
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Eg: When Tree Trunks explodes unexpectedly...</center><br />
<h1>Neural Style Transfer</h1><br />
I followed the <a href="https://colab.research.google.com/github/tensorflow/models/blob/master/research/nst_blogpost/4_Neural_Style_Transfer_with_Eager_Execution.ipynb#scrollTo=jo5PziEC4hWs">Neural Style Transfer using tensorflow and keras tutorial</a> on Google Colab to produce the following:<br />
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Beano x Hokusai<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/49245848791/in/dateposted/" title="Neural Style Transfer with Eager Execution - Colab3"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49245848791_d218593872_c.jpg" width="681" height="800" alt="Neural Style Transfer with Eager Execution - Colab3"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Beano x Van Gogh's Starry Night<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/49245378128/in/dateposted/" title="Neural Style Transfer with Eager Execution - Colab4"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49245378128_bb9bdb41be_c.jpg" width="688" height="800" alt="Neural Style Transfer with Eager Execution - Colab4"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Beano x Kandinsky<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/49245378138/in/dateposted/" title="Neural Style Transfer with Eager Execution - Colab5"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49245378138_2f2874e30f_c.jpg" width="690" height="789" alt="Neural Style Transfer with Eager Execution - Colab5"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Beano x Ghost in the Shell<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/49245377468/in/dateposted/" title="Copy of Neural Style Transfer with Eager Execution gots"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49245377468_08dd7006c7_c.jpg" width="677" height="795" alt="Copy of Neural Style Transfer with Eager Execution gots"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Beano x Haring<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/49245377693/in/dateposted/" title="Copy of Neural Style Transfer with Eager Execution_haring"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49245377693_ae10242e84_c.jpg" width="698" height="789" alt="Copy of Neural Style Transfer with Eager Execution_haring"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Beano x Tiger<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/49245377783/in/dateposted/" title="Copy of Neural Style Transfer with Eager Execution_tiger"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49245377783_b44834a588_c.jpg" width="690" height="794" alt="Copy of Neural Style Transfer with Eager Execution_tiger"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Beano x Klee<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/49245377583/in/dateposted/" title="Copy of Neural Style Transfer with Eager Execution"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49245377583_96463cfe27_c.jpg" width="699" height="784" alt="Copy of Neural Style Transfer with Eager Execution"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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How does this work? In the <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1508.06576.pdf">paper</a> it describes how you can try to find out what is the style of an image by including feature correlations of multiple layers in order to obtain a multi-scale representation of the original input image, thus capturing its texture information but not the global arrangement. The higher levels capture the high-level content in terms of objects and their arrangement in the input image but do not constrain the exact pixel values of the reconstruction.<br />
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<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM8j0gyg2wPlQhioEASdLuvSrVFTJED_xcn5tl9FyVvGr7NbH-WdnXvVFi4uoBN1dsIoR8XRCnDpKngtZXp4Gy1LUne92ehaUt1IXF4_62JJVnan6pZDb8WZjHVV_GzaGNR0mwOmQ8ITIo/s1600/Screenshot+2019-12-21+at+7.51.34+AM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM8j0gyg2wPlQhioEASdLuvSrVFTJED_xcn5tl9FyVvGr7NbH-WdnXvVFi4uoBN1dsIoR8XRCnDpKngtZXp4Gy1LUne92ehaUt1IXF4_62JJVnan6pZDb8WZjHVV_GzaGNR0mwOmQ8ITIo/s1600/Screenshot+2019-12-21+at+7.51.34+AM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1104" width=800 /></a><br />
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Image Source: <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1508.06576.pdf">"A Neural Algorithm of Artistic Style" by Leon A. Gatys, Alexander S. Ecker, Matthias Bethge</a></center>debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-69581762309916426642019-12-07T05:32:00.000+00:002019-12-21T02:04:52.352+00:00The Library of Pulau Saigon in "2219: Futures Imagined": Animated GIF Workflow<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcK5ovioqpyUwL8Pz8kwg2uByiCiUjJ2UYRi9_hJ4x7BDjEeWuIL2NMxRPEehn9Pej6An7OOHzICZb9lnSBkIEL7RhhXHOdLVcMLM2cybtbI1NvHnE5zvZR-vHPQDrwS9BBduH5_02waM4/s1600/20191121_183924.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcK5ovioqpyUwL8Pz8kwg2uByiCiUjJ2UYRi9_hJ4x7BDjEeWuIL2NMxRPEehn9Pej6An7OOHzICZb9lnSBkIEL7RhhXHOdLVcMLM2cybtbI1NvHnE5zvZR-vHPQDrwS9BBduH5_02waM4/s1600/20191121_183924.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" width=800px/></a><br />
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<center><small>The Library of Pulau Saigon, Now at <a href="https://www.marinabaysands.com/museum/2219-futures-imagined.html">2219: Futures Imagined (ArtScience Museum)</a></small></center><br />
Over the years I've often told a story about an apocryphal encounter I had with a certain glass case full of items from Pulau Saigon at the ArtScience Museum, back in 2011...<br />
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Back then as a designer, I had been working on some interactive educational games for the education team at ArtScience Museum, and I had an opportunity to also show my own interactive artwork about the Singapore River - in a large cavernous space at the end of the huge Titanic show - a section about Singapore during the time of the Titanic. I was very much delighted to be able to show a work about the Singapore River next to some actual artefacts dug up from the Singapore River (loaned by Prof John Miksic). At the time I knew very little of the history of the islet - except the fact that, well.. not very much was known about it, and that it was plainly visible in some portions of my interactive (which had been based on old maps of the Singapore River).<br />
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I don't really know what I should have expected, but the items were much tinier than I had imagined them when Angeline first told me about them. I recall feeling somewhat underwhelmed by its scale; they were entirely dwarfed by the space. I remember being somewhat confused by the label; and even though they were not my things, I began to feel worried that people would not understand them, or want to understand them. Audiences today have so much media fighting for their attention - they want to be entertained by easily consumable chunks of entertainment; right before this there was the spectacle of the TITANIC! TITANIC! READ ALL ABOUT IT! Could we really get audience to spend time and energy contemplating and thinking about this poky little vitrine full of tiny, rough, broken, complex things which might take more time to understand?<br />
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Anyway, I thought about how I used to obsessively photograph everything even back then. So why had I never searched in my own archives for photos of this purported vitrine that I saw in 2011? So I went back into my photo archives and... successfully dug up these photos!<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/6300812481/in/datetaken/" title="IMG_1439"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/6219/6300812481_f2ec7b9d5e_c.jpg" width="800" height="598" alt="IMG_1439"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<center><small>BACK IN 2011: NOTE THE GLASS CASE ON THE LEFT OF THIS IMAGE!!!</center></small><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/6301367860/in/datetaken/" title="IMG_1444"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/6050/6301367860_3ed8551bd3_c.jpg" width="800" height="598" alt="IMG_1444"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<center><small>BACK IN 2011: Pulau Saigon Artefacts at the ArtScience Museum</center></small><br />
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Part of my desire to make "The Library of Pulau Saigon" stemmed from that encounter with that problematic vitrine. So it feels quite fitting that a copy of this work is finally making an appearance at ArtScience Museum - in the new "2219: Futures Imagined" exhibition.<br />
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In terms of how the work is made, I've always been surprised how far hand waving gets you. The truth of the matter is that models are made from sampling Google Images and me finding individual (and sometimes different) methods to reproduce those objects in 3d by writing Openscad scripts to generate models. Some were straightforward like just producing svg outlines of objects and transforming them into 3D but others involved more... er.... creative coding. As an artist I might like to say that its the machine helping me along in the creative craftsmanship of the object, but actually I'm in the back hitting the computer with a big stick shouting "COMPILE, DAMMIT, JUST COMPILE MY CRAPPY CODE!"<br />
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This time around I decided I also wanted to generate lots of gifs showing the process in order to supplement the existing physical work which I got onemakergroup to help me reprint. Why didn't I do this earlier? It seems people are always drawn to the screenshots of my openscad files for this, although frankly speaking if you are a techie person then you will quickly see that a LOT of intervention has gone into the making of the objects (whilst I'm cheeky enough to say that its an unforgetting machine that is making it, to a great extent the hand and the subjectivity of Debbie the artist is obviously written over all the objects)...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLwz2XkJ7V3r0nLrFFfwgjF_LlrsWToVlE6bJrHcgIreibireXsLk8up2qZy2gywT1cpC3sV7PW6VjEaZUu5F2Qx5fljjz9vYLkkgjYE9rfTH5SSOaprFSN2pxH0E-8NhHB7UcLskP0Qq/s1600/Screenshot+2019-11-12+at+12.08.24+AM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLwz2XkJ7V3r0nLrFFfwgjF_LlrsWToVlE6bJrHcgIreibireXsLk8up2qZy2gywT1cpC3sV7PW6VjEaZUu5F2Qx5fljjz9vYLkkgjYE9rfTH5SSOaprFSN2pxH0E-8NhHB7UcLskP0Qq/s1600/Screenshot+2019-11-12+at+12.08.24+AM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="982" width=800 /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJtxv4Ih1zJTlzW7b0MmtojZ69dcF2B2ESBPYdjsZKGtmVSE0B3ObRvCUrhcbXAKeDMQA0aYJezHR0I4LDFowbis8i1YSxTR4BdXW3GPtSggAuIPcgpPnn9Hot8VSnCyZi0kaKs8NvfX_f/s1600/Screenshot+2019-11-12+at+12.19.54+AM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJtxv4Ih1zJTlzW7b0MmtojZ69dcF2B2ESBPYdjsZKGtmVSE0B3ObRvCUrhcbXAKeDMQA0aYJezHR0I4LDFowbis8i1YSxTR4BdXW3GPtSggAuIPcgpPnn9Hot8VSnCyZi0kaKs8NvfX_f/s1600/Screenshot+2019-11-12+at+12.19.54+AM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="982" width=800 /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw1PFXCmWPyEVC7iiPmBNVzKequs_eG3ZQFZu9hF80WONlLKEzWyE_57h7gIeKehPV22j2R-YGPmEcU8MSIR_bgyOky-FY8Lm8jt_vSC4UGYqjnSwZDzztKdgqU1-2EZmZ6PcwscjckP5h/s1600/32_chinesetypespoon.2019-11-19+13_29_29.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw1PFXCmWPyEVC7iiPmBNVzKequs_eG3ZQFZu9hF80WONlLKEzWyE_57h7gIeKehPV22j2R-YGPmEcU8MSIR_bgyOky-FY8Lm8jt_vSC4UGYqjnSwZDzztKdgqU1-2EZmZ6PcwscjckP5h/s1600/32_chinesetypespoon.2019-11-19+13_29_29.gif" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" width=800 /></a><br />
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<h1>THE GIF FACTORY</h1><br />
Since I did my project in 2015, Openscad has since gotten many more features including an "animate" feature - except that what it does is to render out frame by frame and you still have to compile everything together by yourself, so in the interests of time this wasn't the method I wanted to use. (But if you did want to use Openscad to generate frames that you could compile into an animation, you can look at the default example within Openscad. You just have to create a value $t and then to start the animation, select View > Animate and enter some values into "FPS" and "Steps", like this below)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi39NNzB6fGnVn7KVmc2Q8LmVJpitIFzCVUJXMlin_4lCQ0kFY76HvGjuvgeuz9CIOttxLV_l3W2H775ti_B_eQd4sfDe10xkSbrShrq_uIMwQhMXWrNffd9ES7KHMxRux5iExlAEaQFsIm/s1600/animate+scad.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi39NNzB6fGnVn7KVmc2Q8LmVJpitIFzCVUJXMlin_4lCQ0kFY76HvGjuvgeuz9CIOttxLV_l3W2H775ti_B_eQd4sfDe10xkSbrShrq_uIMwQhMXWrNffd9ES7KHMxRux5iExlAEaQFsIm/s1600/animate+scad.gif" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1002" width=800 /></a><br />
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<b>Step 1: Automatically open and resize application window to specific size and position</b><br />
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First I figured out how to write an Applescript to resize windows so I can screen-capture them quickly. The following Applescript uses assistive access to resize and reposition the window of any app - including 'unscriptable' apps - but you'll need to allow Script Editor to control your computer in System Preferences. You can change the numbers to fit the size you require. In my case I wanted to screencap it at 1024 x 768 but for some reason my screenshot app Monosnap does not start the capture at 0,0 so I adjusted it to fit (pixel by pixel). I also only wanted the app's content so I added 2px to height and width.<br />
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<b>Applescript to resize app window and set position:</b><br />
<pre class="brush: js;">set resizeApp to "OpenSCAD"
set appHeight to 770
set appWidth to 1026
tell application "Finder"
set screenResolution to bounds of window of desktop
end tell
tell application resizeApp
activate
reopen
end tell
tell application "System Events"
tell process resizeApp
set the size of front window to {appWidth, appHeight}
set the position of front window to {5, 0}
end tell
end tell</pre><br />
<b>Step 2: Screen video</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCUEO13B73OyNDf57h5TBib5dMcsSsNyvVMaSz3YeTYY341WMqcU0LFvTji4goqKt5FJm4yg1pV07sZw2PgcfFf_drrGHlzWjZJobarAUK2zK57elx2ja3bZF9CEPsdLoGvxEJTslStJsL/s1600/Screenshot+2019-11-23+at+8.25.07+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCUEO13B73OyNDf57h5TBib5dMcsSsNyvVMaSz3YeTYY341WMqcU0LFvTji4goqKt5FJm4yg1pV07sZw2PgcfFf_drrGHlzWjZJobarAUK2zK57elx2ja3bZF9CEPsdLoGvxEJTslStJsL/s1600/Screenshot+2019-11-23+at+8.25.07+PM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1505" width=800 /></a><br />
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I just used <a href="https://monosnap.com/">Monosnap</a> (Free, Mac/Win) for this.<br />
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<b>Step 3: Convert mp4 to animated gif</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMB1klqAy0VRWw-iJuk2qBsSIR13WFXyXKFpEzZWtL5fysW92z5WVOwzFwYu4H7uAG34DgFuPdND5EIAdarxcSPINiUq3aeY_QCsfakuDT_tktWnAAO2oy_J53iV4UrMkod8o7i7MM83kg/s1600/Screenshot+2019-11-23+at+9.35.24+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMB1klqAy0VRWw-iJuk2qBsSIR13WFXyXKFpEzZWtL5fysW92z5WVOwzFwYu4H7uAG34DgFuPdND5EIAdarxcSPINiUq3aeY_QCsfakuDT_tktWnAAO2oy_J53iV4UrMkod8o7i7MM83kg/s1600/Screenshot+2019-11-23+at+9.35.24+PM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1053" width=800 /></a><br />
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To convert the mp4 files into animated gifs, I used <a href="https://gfycat.com/gifbrewery">Gif Brewery 3</a> (Free, Mac). What is it about the palindrome loop (boomerang) that works so well? <br />
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Anyway I'm glad to have worked out a faster workflow for creating gifs quickly and maybe next time every other image I upload to my blog or website ought to be an animated gif!!!<br />
debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-26162087670807017092019-09-18T11:36:00.000+01:002019-09-30T00:25:27.560+01:00DBBD's 50 Things to do on Maternity Leave<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/8X88u3" title="20190920_163715"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48775399222_85dce4ac23_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="20190920_163715"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Lists! Lists! At the start of this I wanted to think of the maternity leave as a kind of "artist residency in motherhood". Indeed it has sharpened the focus of time, eking out minutes between feeds to finish a task. I decided to not pressurise myself to do something too intensive, and instead to try out new crafty mediums that I've not used before. So... here was my list of things I wanted to do on my maternity leave (and what I actually did in the end...)<br />
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<hr><br />
<b>1. Finish renovations, unpack boxes, and move into new house</b><br />
<i>We finished up everything and moved in the first week of June. See House Reno posts here:</i><br />
<a href="http://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/05/renovation-for-douth-house-part-1-flat.html">Part 1 - Flat Viewings, Online Research, HDB Resale Flat Purchase Process, & HIP Options</a><br />
<a href="http://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/06/renovation-for-douth-house-part-2.html">Part 2 - Budgeting, Appointing Renovation Contractor, House Design Layout, Painting Scheme, Laminate and Tiling Selection</a><br />
<a href="http://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/06/renovation-for-douth-house-part-3.html">Part 3 - Hacking Works, Aircon Installation, Flooring, Electricals, Lighting, Carpentry, Hinges, Doors, Windows, and Blinds</a><br />
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<b>2. Research the baby gear</b><br />
<i>A reconnaissance mission to two large brick and mortar baby stores in Kaki Bukit - <b>BABY KINGDOM</b> and <b>BABY HYPERSTORE</b> - were made, as well as other trips to <b>Mothercare</b>. Mothercare is quite expensive and only great when there's a sale on (eg. GSS). Baby Kingdom has one floor of cots and walkers and strollers, and another floor of small consumables and clothing. As for Baby Hyperstore, it has many floors of strollers if you want to look at them all. After that I still did a lot of internet researching to figure out what I had to buy in order to be all ready for baby. I didnt buy anything from the brick and mortar stores - just their online incarnations instead! But it does put a face to all these baby shoppes...</i><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/057urD" title="20190522_133810"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47933602042_84a8a602ca.jpg" width="500" height="243" alt="20190522_133810"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/21itX7" title="20190522_133935"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47933613326_9e299c8758.jpg" width="500" height="243" alt="20190522_133935"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/k5Y266" title="20190613_112748"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48055272797_4c48345ccb.jpg" width="500" height="243" alt="20190613_112748"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<b>3. Buy the baby gear</b><br />
<i>After doing a price comparison, I made a massive spreadsheet and then bought it one by one from various e-retailers such as <a href="https://pupsikstudio.com">Pupsik Studio</a> (who has a very excellent next day delivery if you make a purchase over $60), Mothercare online, Lazada, and Qoo10.</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTAGzh68pOPC_-AVtSWLYsxARwC9nAHzXOjF5l1iHvJB_lV-BDdEG0505oyjJut_6MnptWXxXE8ixGgRn7YLw-0JMG5FcIaRxBvVLtahNRvhYFeWbedYAB2C4jfOm0BgsGoQlsIsZzLXRR/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-07+at+6.43.07+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTAGzh68pOPC_-AVtSWLYsxARwC9nAHzXOjF5l1iHvJB_lV-BDdEG0505oyjJut_6MnptWXxXE8ixGgRn7YLw-0JMG5FcIaRxBvVLtahNRvhYFeWbedYAB2C4jfOm0BgsGoQlsIsZzLXRR/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-07+at+6.43.07+PM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="897" height=240px style="border:1px solid #bbb" /></a><br />
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<b>4. Sort out finances</b><br />
<i>In progress. Also, I switched to a cashback credit card that was more suited for internet purchases. My FirST CrEdIt CaRd in my life??? At the grand old age of 35...</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrM4QBnSgk9LqgFM8_7dD5_cV7Cs2T5QTIcISGC2eNtEZVieHZNaDTGytUmqNBkY0Cq4BUsdOcBZOGp5ah_82LaR_EKl5wTteg25pVi9TzHYV6Loj0cgL2CQrYhwZo1DEudFxzpp9NW3EA/s1600/dbs-new-live-fresh-student-square-684x630.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrM4QBnSgk9LqgFM8_7dD5_cV7Cs2T5QTIcISGC2eNtEZVieHZNaDTGytUmqNBkY0Cq4BUsdOcBZOGp5ah_82LaR_EKl5wTteg25pVi9TzHYV6Loj0cgL2CQrYhwZo1DEudFxzpp9NW3EA/s1600/dbs-new-live-fresh-student-square-684x630.png" data-original-width="637" data-original-height="429" height=240/></a><br />
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<small><i><b>DBS Livefresh</b>: the credit card product seemingly targeted at university students and millenials doing all their purchasing online. <br />
Wah! Also Got complimentary entry to Phuture & Zouk before 12am.... but zzzzz I already fell asleep</i></small><br />
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<b>5. Assemble bassinet</b><br />
<i>I figured there was no point buying a forevercrib made out of wood or something solid because babyhood is so fleetingly short. So I chose a playpen which also doubles as a playpen when baby is older (just drop the base down!). We've got a Lucky Baby travel bassinet with a changing table and even a little mobile which I thought was pretty shitty but then BEANO LOVES THE SHIT OUT OF IT! Her favourite animal on the mobile is the stripey horse which I think is meant to be some kind of discount zebra, she talks to it all the time. (But what does the stripey horse say?)<br />
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There are lots of Fisher Price playpens, Chicco Playards, and Graco Pack and plays on the market which cost lots more (S$200-500!) but the <a href="https://taime.com/">Lucky Baby range which is designed in Singapore</a> is cheaper (about 180sgd) and does the job. I was telling George that now I can recognise discarded bassinets on the side of the road when previously I didn't know what manner of a bizarre contraption had been abandoned. OUR BASSINET IS ACTUALLY SOME SORT OF WEIRD FOLDABLE UMBRELLA. Also, babies do generate so much waste in a way. How can we reuse this item beyond Beano's babyhood? I still don't know...</i><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/63F6Cf" title="20190612_201116"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48049932891_f7f495d165.jpg" width="500" height="243" alt="20190612_201116"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<b>6. Learn how to use stretchy wrap</b><br />
<i>After looking around online, I bought a Keababies sling wrap from <a href="https://www.amazon.com/b/ref=s9_acsd_hfnv_hd_bw_bBHzqV_ct_x_ct00_w?node=166833011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-11&pf_rd_r=X28QC66YY70R9PVF9XT1&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=a5b5e9ae-3ad4-50c6-be72-e6e2f01f92c1&pf_rd_i=166829011">Amazon</a> because it seemed a far sight cheaper than the other popular ones (before shipping and taxes, Ergobaby is about 30usd, Boba and Weesprout is about 40usd, Moby is about 45 usd, K'tan is about 50usd, etc) - the Keababies wrap cost about 24usd for the wrap + 8usd for the shipping/taxes coming to about 45usd/60sgd total. <br />
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When it comes and you take it out for a prewash, you might be horrified that it is basically all just one long 4m long strip of cloth. "HOW COULD THIS STRIP OF CLOTH COST SO MUCH!" you might be railing, and well the answer is that it is in the weave and elasticity of the cloth, which most other cloths just do not have. It takes quite a bit of practice to learn how to tie the wrap but the stretchy wrap I have works perfectly for having a bit of give but also a lot of support for baby. I liked it so much that I got a second piece!<br />
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Tips for the stretchy wrap: don't bunch it up at the back or overtighten it on yourself or else it is hard to sit down. Wrap it up with the fabric as straight as possible! And it kinda works with friction and will magically stay up with baby anyway without you having to tie it to the point of suffocating yourself.</i><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/Z6TB3r" title="20190904_133207"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48692828092_a3bafc703e_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="20190904_133207"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48752693558/in/dateposted/" title="20190803_202206"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48752693558_b5dbc7c887_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="20190803_202206"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48752694018/in/dateposted/" title="20190807_093208 (1)"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48752694018_b5257e62fd_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="20190807_093208 (1)"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<b>7. Learn how to use structured carrier</b><br />
<i>We have a pre-loved Ergobaby carrier that was handed down from my colleagues Mei Leng and Soren and this proved to be even easier to put on than the stretchy wrap... although less snug - with the stretchy wrap you really feel like one with your baby, whilst with the Ergobaby carrer you feel like you've put on a tactical babywearing vest and now you are going out for a mission.... <br />
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(speaking of tactical, I became addicted to looking up "tactical gear" on internet shopping sites. There is just so much of it. Yes, tactical as a keyword is a thing. TACTICAL!!!! What does it even mean. And who is buying these "tactical" MOLLE (Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment) bullet rounds wallets online anyway? DO NATO ARMED FORCES GO ON LAZADA/QOO10/TAOBAO TO BUY EXTRA MOLLE EQUIPMENT? WHO IS THEIR TARGET AUDIENCE?? HUHH??)<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48662804937/in/datetaken/" title="20190809_155204"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48662804937_1d58ae55f2_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="20190809_155204"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/A65TKY" title="20190824_185157"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48662328603_fdf94fa156_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="20190824_185157"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<b>8. Learn how to use breastpump</b><br />
<i>I plan on returning to full-time work by December so that means that I will need to set up a pumping routine and Beano would be fed my expressed breastmilk during the daytime when I am at work. From Week 3 onwards I started pumping and trying to steal a bit of milk from present-day Beano to feed future Beano and personally speaking I don't think I'd be considered an oversupply mom despite starting early. It was hard at first because the amount I pumped was a measly 5ml at the start but now it has gone up to 50-190ml per session (even whilst exclusively breastfeeding).<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/bC928q" title="20190724_135815"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48421180331_d2034988a1_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190724_135815"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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The powerpumping really works (20 min pumping, 10 min rest, 10 minute pumping, 10 min rest, 10 minute pumping) but I've found that it consumes so much time that it becomes stressful and I lose out on sleep as a result. So I only do it when I really need to.<br />
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Currently I have 2 breastpumps - one is the <b>Cimilre F1 Double Electric Breast Pump</b> (S$159 from Pupsik Studios) and the other is the <b>Real Bubee</b> (S$25.50 from Lazada). It seems that a lot of people go for the Spectra or the Medela pumps which go for an eye-watering 300-400 SGD, but having used the Cimilre I don't think you need to get a more expensive one to get results though. Obviously it needs to be a proper pump, but after that it is also diet, relaxation, and scheduling that determines the milk output.</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1qiHGO8nUP_kDCdilqER5jby4_CJ_ScDslknGKqjla9-2Ld3QjIen_T1f6SdXXpaKJZWbiF9sLmtKdADDu6V-H6tTfjS3SIbxx480aEYNO9kqgfP_5DwB52McJIAKfepLgOy398RVypT5/s1600/cimilre-f1-rechargeable-double-breastpump-babyphoebe-1706-25-babyphoebe%25401.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1qiHGO8nUP_kDCdilqER5jby4_CJ_ScDslknGKqjla9-2Ld3QjIen_T1f6SdXXpaKJZWbiF9sLmtKdADDu6V-H6tTfjS3SIbxx480aEYNO9kqgfP_5DwB52McJIAKfepLgOy398RVypT5/s1600/cimilre-f1-rechargeable-double-breastpump-babyphoebe-1706-25-babyphoebe%25401.jpg" data-original-width="379" data-original-height="329" height=240 /></a><br />
<small><i>Cimilre F1 - hospital grade, portable, very light, lighted timer, 2 distinct modes</i></small><br />
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<i>The Cimilre is a lightweight portable hospital grade pump which seems to be very similar to the Spectra ones and has all the features - closed system, a timer, medela compatible parts. I use it together with the Simple Wishes Signature Hands Free Pumping Bra (S$44.90 from Pupsik Studios). The Cimilre's pumping action is quite solid and can be quite strong so for me I rather use about power 4 instead of the default 5 which can feel like it is about to crush your poor nipples. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz_MXTxWdcwosUQwrTKClXAwmFFhh0zzln_Gf_OIgnQr_tFOS9AkApWHpyFra2JMGBgLQUxcxGnJzcIe4fPtZ1eoVcGsOcugkMN9zW896Y8kwLqCy1Wd8KP-kgspxiCSYosWhczlsnyIun/s1600/realbubee.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz_MXTxWdcwosUQwrTKClXAwmFFhh0zzln_Gf_OIgnQr_tFOS9AkApWHpyFra2JMGBgLQUxcxGnJzcIe4fPtZ1eoVcGsOcugkMN9zW896Y8kwLqCy1Wd8KP-kgspxiCSYosWhczlsnyIun/s1600/realbubee.jpg" data-original-width="425" data-original-height="425" height=240 /></a><br />
<small><i>Real Bubee - USB powered, portable, no timer, basically only one mode</i></small><br />
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<i>The Real Bubee is an even more lightweight pump that must be charged by USB when in use (it can plug into your computer or a power bank) and its sucking action is a bit more frenetic. Despite costing a fraction of what the Cimilre and the other branded pumps cost, I think it does a great job and I'm hoping to use the lightweight Bubee at work... We'll see how that goes!....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinaVZ7tBuo2F5HizJLvnSduM6lzXCcVStRkWBBW5CaamIpmhh3UQoKW8m6igcTftVO7XV-nY-6dRuFxUupQ3ZJwUsnFaUg7U9k1ZTeaIjpnPfo1XnSJSGnUz6I0cwSgMTBPBrmGX7xdT-g/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-10+at+12.49.47+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinaVZ7tBuo2F5HizJLvnSduM6lzXCcVStRkWBBW5CaamIpmhh3UQoKW8m6igcTftVO7XV-nY-6dRuFxUupQ3ZJwUsnFaUg7U9k1ZTeaIjpnPfo1XnSJSGnUz6I0cwSgMTBPBrmGX7xdT-g/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-10+at+12.49.47+PM.png" data-original-width="848" data-original-height="882" height=240 /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnbGFGAEcJEWaPqSWD-0kCXBwb0iqNGerARAXW2-9IIwyr6kdV4jd1dsy8KFAlVVDEX0uwTEtgCrd0PHPPwDN9A26G9spwTHb7GSaXtf3Lgi_YfJbWgELBpMP7ONiM5jtC6LCzbSjSBZt8/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-10+at+12.49.58+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnbGFGAEcJEWaPqSWD-0kCXBwb0iqNGerARAXW2-9IIwyr6kdV4jd1dsy8KFAlVVDEX0uwTEtgCrd0PHPPwDN9A26G9spwTHb7GSaXtf3Lgi_YfJbWgELBpMP7ONiM5jtC6LCzbSjSBZt8/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-10+at+12.49.58+PM.png" data-original-width="828" data-original-height="854" height=240 /></a> <br />
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<small>Naturebond - Milkcatcher. A cheaper alternative to the Haakaa.</small><br />
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Another essential is the <b>Haakaa</b> (S$29.90 on Pupsik) or one of the cheaper versions of it such as <b>Naturebond</b> (S$11.90 on Qoo10). I have 2 Naturebond ones. This is a milk catcher which saves drops of milk from your other boob during the letdown.<br />
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<b>NEXT UP:</b> I'm also going to try out the korean handsfree Imani pump... waiting for that to come. It might be extravagant to have so many of these pumps about - but I feel that anything that will help me in the breastfeeding journey when I go back to work is worth it for Beano! <br />
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It also became necessary to set up a kind of <b>pumping station</b> where the bottles, pump parts, and other valves could live (and dry off when not in use) so here is what it looks like:</i><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/6W970V" title="20190822_122839"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48662678771_6f195f72e5_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190822_122839"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/280766" title="20190816_142534"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48662819372_1b542afd22_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="20190816_142534"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <br />
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<small><b>Hegen bottles</b> (for the slow teat), <b>Philip Avent Storage Bottles</b> (cheap and plentiful and has adaptor to use straight with breastpump flanges), and <b>Tommee Tippee steam sterilizer</b> with two bread bins (Redmart) that have been repurposed as bottle storage.</small><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/w6p63G" title="20190905_201243"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48692657786_0c497dac30_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190905_201243"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<small><b>Mother's Milk</b>: Last but not least, a galactagogue tea which helps in milk production!</small><br />
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<b>9. Learn how to use car seat</b><br />
<i>We got the Cybex Aton 5 Infant Car Seat (S$239), to be used with the carseat attachment (S$49) to add on to the GB Pockit+ (S$269) - all from Mothercare during the Great Singapore Sale. Yes, these cost quite a bit and these were some of the largest purchases we made for baby. We used it for carrying baby home, especially because I had been told that you wouldn't be allowed to take a Grab without one, but the setup is almost too heavy for me and my bad wrists to handle. Weirdly, I learnt 2 months later that the requirement of car seat for baby does not extend to standard taxis... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯</i><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48742561717/in/dateposted/" title="IMG_20190703_160032"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48742561717_d49d2aea8e_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="IMG_20190703_160032"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48742051273/in/dateposted/" title="20190731_133817"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48742051273_0201068390_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="20190731_133817"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<b>10. Learn how to use stroller</b><br />
<i>We have a GB Pockit+ Plus which was $269 from Mothercare. We don't really use this much after all, as I prefer using the carriers and keeping baby close. Perhaps we will get more use out of this when Beano gets too heavy to carry. We only did one major outing to Newton Food Centre with it...</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2X4EbulLNZgceXc_3ydfSdWlUolQ1uqBF-e1uQT3IRKgBN9fibt2ZiMLjgWeQDWLDwdZpE7CbFdTEAYbA5cSkpSFQTluSxRMr43eoqpt9FRo6Fs-hr_DKpRFENObShm8GKOs1jq34Rtgp/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-18+at+2.28.33+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2X4EbulLNZgceXc_3ydfSdWlUolQ1uqBF-e1uQT3IRKgBN9fibt2ZiMLjgWeQDWLDwdZpE7CbFdTEAYbA5cSkpSFQTluSxRMr43eoqpt9FRo6Fs-hr_DKpRFENObShm8GKOs1jq34Rtgp/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-18+at+2.28.33+PM.png" data-original-width="1488" data-original-height="1186" height=240 /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYFKa0urUuORvqUEBXbR7Svkt3Cp7pXU5_0tO1FDojjzMqX6F1zWy2wpa6G8e6tABXCucLihUtirxm_4JtfzMq-LaMbaKBZVXRBSChN0y-m2W3Xdv6BGlqkyOQKNuheQFgU9dAEr9g8d61/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-18+at+2.28.25+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYFKa0urUuORvqUEBXbR7Svkt3Cp7pXU5_0tO1FDojjzMqX6F1zWy2wpa6G8e6tABXCucLihUtirxm_4JtfzMq-LaMbaKBZVXRBSChN0y-m2W3Xdv6BGlqkyOQKNuheQFgU9dAEr9g8d61/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-18+at+2.28.25+PM.png" data-original-width="576" data-original-height="990" height=240 /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ7-R3tTL_3cYsXc9sUC6RorlHggHvY-Gn7uejB9Om_nQU9i9VH6gTnfWCvSAC-I6fGzldhyahdtv4u0nHqGcpo8c7qd6ErFcng12jkVZRgq8x1dRSxOiaPYDe05ucQgII7noQf6C8JfMP/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-18+at+2.28.08+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ7-R3tTL_3cYsXc9sUC6RorlHggHvY-Gn7uejB9Om_nQU9i9VH6gTnfWCvSAC-I6fGzldhyahdtv4u0nHqGcpo8c7qd6ErFcng12jkVZRgq8x1dRSxOiaPYDe05ucQgII7noQf6C8JfMP/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-18+at+2.28.08+PM.png" data-original-width="1330" data-original-height="1162" height=240 /></a><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/0b9e27" title="20190925_200730"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48796716178_eda8b7f04b_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="20190925_200730"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/70v42a" title="20190925_210612"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48797216332_64cbe58792_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="20190925_210612"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<b>11. Figure out how to breastfeed baby and still do some other stuff simultaneously</b><br />
<i>Now this one seems too easy at this point (10 weeks in) but in the first few days it was quite hard. All I can say is that you have to accept that baby will want to nurse basically ALL DAY LONG and if you haven't got a system for letting baby feed on you whilst your hands are free then you will feel trapped. For the first few weeks I struggled with the breastfeeding but over time we made a few adaptations that made life better.<br />
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A good nursing pillow such as the MY BREST FRIEND is essential, and if you are planning on sitting on the sofa or some other armchair, get a rolling laptop table!!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiALBVn_n2lLbolUJ84LDfXW52B0NZdPBl2NpH3RNi-yTh9Kgzq54nk0JO2ySsD1hCjLmWpAE44mXeF_Q7fmgp_Uw8HQwb06mULoRFGpVyOJkKEFUmFg29gjGtXQ2-5wQIDULNSxp1VSsEP/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-10+at+12.11.03+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiALBVn_n2lLbolUJ84LDfXW52B0NZdPBl2NpH3RNi-yTh9Kgzq54nk0JO2ySsD1hCjLmWpAE44mXeF_Q7fmgp_Uw8HQwb06mULoRFGpVyOJkKEFUmFg29gjGtXQ2-5wQIDULNSxp1VSsEP/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-10+at+12.11.03+PM.png" data-original-width="992" data-original-height="800" height=240 /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglwIBc6mFrmoDT7Z2PAmvznu5Uxg7smiohaDPv1pE8RLzJ4rc6gsIQa2H1y7VK2zPp31vGaZp3vuEVeraozUDy9Rs6GyQODVISiQIueTPveaTjoqygYbecs3RYNO305p2CBirvP0Oi6qXI/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-10+at+12.10.30+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglwIBc6mFrmoDT7Z2PAmvznu5Uxg7smiohaDPv1pE8RLzJ4rc6gsIQa2H1y7VK2zPp31vGaZp3vuEVeraozUDy9Rs6GyQODVISiQIueTPveaTjoqygYbecs3RYNO305p2CBirvP0Oi6qXI/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-10+at+12.10.30+PM.png" data-original-width="714" data-original-height="716" height=240 /></a><br />
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Then when you are familiarised with the setup, you can do anything from eat food and even do blockprinting.</i><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48742581492/in/dateposted/" title="IMG_20190906_194243"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48742581492_6c206035d0_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="IMG_20190906_194243"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<b>12. Figure out a Cloth Diaper Routine</b><br />
<i>Speaking to others, I know some felt that doing cloth diapers would be a lot of work and adding complexity to the first few months of motherhood, but I was very pleased that my mother was very supportive of cloth diapers as she had done the old fashioned cloth diapers when I was a baby and she was very keen on helping me with the modern pocket diapers I planned to get. <br />
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Beano has worn cloth diapers pretty much since she returned from the hospital. I started with a set of 24 <b>Moo Moo Kow</b> diapers which came with 2 inserts each (S$390 for 24 / S$16.25 per diaper). The inserts are placed inside the pocket diaper (not outside because they are so absorbent that they might dehydrate baby's bottom too much). We wash them every other day and we use a diaper sprayer (the "bidet" in the HDB toilet) to spray off the large gunk and then the rest goes into the machine. We use the "babycare" setting on the washing machine but often turn it down to 40 degrees as the washing instructions on MMK diapers is for it to be colder not hotter. Sunning the diapers and inserts also help remove any yellow staining on the diapers. She began with one insert but by about 2 months 20 days she had upgraded to two inserts, and I'm also using more charcoal inserts (as they seem more resistant to staining) and hemp inserts (which are more absorbent at nights).<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/9Y4YE3" title="20190918_104834"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48752672018_ce8a4c2b77_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190918_104834"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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The average disposable diaper costs about S$0.25 - S$0.30 per unit. If baby uses about 6-7 a day, that's approximately S$50-60 a month, plus the environmental cost of disposables. On the other hand, good cloth diapers do cost quite a lot, and the market is flooded with a lot of cheap china made ones that are very thin and basically have no form and weak gussets. So I decided the only way was to buy something with a proper name to it. In Singapore, the popular brands seem to be <b>Moo Moo Kow, Charlie Banana, Bambino Mio</b>, and <b>Bumwear</b> and these are all usually about $30 or more. The only way I got the MMK diapers at a lower price was to buy them in bulk of 24. Willow & Sage is about $16. <b>Happy Flute</b> appears to have shut down. I think the price point that I can accept is $16ish, so this reflects what I've purchased. <br />
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[Tip: It also seems that if you are not too picky about colours and prints and will accept solid colours regardless of 'gendered colours' then this is the most cost efficient way to get your pocket diapers! Although on hindsight the many shades of blue diapers may be why everyone keeps congratulating me on my baby boy... EVEN THE GYNAE WHO DELIVERED THE BABY ADDRESSED HER AS A HIM AT THE FIRST CHECKUP]<br />
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Over time I realised that I'd like to wash it every 2 days rather than every other day, so I tried some more cheaper diaper covers to bring my total stash to 45. I tried a <b>Willow & Sage</b> charcoal bamboo with double gussets and 1 charcoal insert for S$16.90 (from the willow & sage store on lazada) which I think is very value for money but not as soft on baby's bum as Moo Moo Kow. Then I also tried <b>alvababy</b> (via alvababy.com), <b>simfamily</b> (via lazada), and <b>elinfant</b> (via lazada). Alvababy came with inserts which seem decent enough, and the Elinfant ones are charcoal but the charcoal is kinda a weird shade of warn brown. These seem pretty similar and seem to do the job but I don't think they will hold up to repeated washing as the MMK ones will, so we'll be washing it only once a week at 40 deg C and more often at 30 deg C, lest all of the elastic disintegrates on these new china cheapies.</i><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/CG076T" title="20190907_183314"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48692836332_f5e43895be_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190907_183314"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<b>13. Binge watch Netflix</b><br />
<i>Since my maternity leave started, I have watched the following non-exhaustive list of series in their entirety, frequently in one sitting:</i> Steven Universe, Tuca & Bertie, Orange is the New Black, Working Moms, The Letdown, Derry Girls, Marcella, Dead to me, Hyperhardboiled Gourmet Report, Happy Jail, Pinky Malinky, Naked Director, Diagnosis, Tiny House Nation, Grand Designs, The Great Interior Design Challenge, Cabins in the wild, etc........</i><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/B1q2N6" title="20190918_170946"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48753627507_2afbb47c40_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190918_170946"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<b>14. Write out Birth Story</b><br />
<i>Forced myself to write out <a href="http://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/07/beanos-birth-story.html">Beano's Birth Story</a> within 2 weeks of her birth.</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWU4Q9hXIjGtKAKjybrWyFRT5Vy5AZiPmeLR9v_wOLQf51W7oRA4C194mwlkogrK3fVnxr40M-LYHQRSbob2x9CLYo33D3RpDLpDpa2GQLJ8E3_AhMHUv2u5EihyphenhyphenfC_bijRZV6J8zBqWeF/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-18+at+5.19.14+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWU4Q9hXIjGtKAKjybrWyFRT5Vy5AZiPmeLR9v_wOLQf51W7oRA4C194mwlkogrK3fVnxr40M-LYHQRSbob2x9CLYo33D3RpDLpDpa2GQLJ8E3_AhMHUv2u5EihyphenhyphenfC_bijRZV6J8zBqWeF/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-18+at+5.19.14+PM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1316" height=240 style="border:1px solid #bbb" /></a><br />
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<b>15. Take photos of baby</b><br />
<i>Private google photos album set up for the grandparents!</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXmBeJMmNqZMrOh0xuuDoApOOZkRJtsKyAkYAZvLpXlIcBvAebrRaQxg0r9P13KEn31rADzaKHPPT7I-b7dRRGdFYT3coqt4DuI1PRwx5EdZ_8_Zd77_4MzqlAuqTNUmF1Sp7UIROkzVge/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-18+at+5.18.09+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXmBeJMmNqZMrOh0xuuDoApOOZkRJtsKyAkYAZvLpXlIcBvAebrRaQxg0r9P13KEn31rADzaKHPPT7I-b7dRRGdFYT3coqt4DuI1PRwx5EdZ_8_Zd77_4MzqlAuqTNUmF1Sp7UIROkzVge/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-18+at+5.18.09+PM.png" data-original-width="1314" data-original-height="660" height=240 style="border:1px solid #bbb" /></a><br />
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<b>16. Make baby handprints and footprints</b><br />
There are kits online for cheap such as <a href="https://www.lazada.sg/-i236930827-s363023647.html?urlFlag=true&mp=1?">this one on Lazada</a> (S$4.82) which consist of a thin inky film that you can push baby's hand or foot through and press onto a paper without ever getting baby's hand dirty.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhK34O9a7muAUK8lpbZ9znx2TNq4hP6MkgGedCrE9LRYzQTXsFeZUUIvPqIrwG2aVI3E39YPVGlxDh3ZbvDENUnM_-GJu7zN8m5fwbLwZw-OITYGYGHHs8GA1VePHMWfYYrB9Zo5gSi4D/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-09+at+10.22.58+AM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhK34O9a7muAUK8lpbZ9znx2TNq4hP6MkgGedCrE9LRYzQTXsFeZUUIvPqIrwG2aVI3E39YPVGlxDh3ZbvDENUnM_-GJu7zN8m5fwbLwZw-OITYGYGHHs8GA1VePHMWfYYrB9Zo5gSi4D/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-09+at+10.22.58+AM.png" height=240 data-original-width="752" data-original-height="682" /></a> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/5bz3Rq" title="20190816_140710"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48662819182_f200d9b5c0_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190816_140710"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
<br />
<b>17. Take baby to the park on a walk</b><br />
<i>Did you know that Fort Canning has escalators now??? Well we went on the escalators to the top... which wasn't that far anyway, so I must confess it was easier to go to the park than expected....</i><br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48752692793/in/dateposted/" title="20190807_095153"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48752692793_730ef0c00a_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190807_095153"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48753212277/in/dateposted/" title="20190824_194616"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48753212277_dc1a700cb3_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190824_194616"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<small>Fort Canning by day, fort canning by NIGHT</small><br />
<br />
<b>18. Find and use a nursing room in the nearest mall</b><br />
<i>City Square Mall has the nursing room on the 2nd floor next to Decathalon. One day Beano wailed when I was out and about and I made a beeline for this room which I had scoped out on a previous visit. On arrival I realised the door was locked with a message outside saying I had to call in to request for it to be opened. There was an intercom button to press but Beano was just wailing and I couldn't hear what the person was saying. Nevertheless I guess the person on the other side of the line totally understood (or must be fielding a ton of people with crying babies trying to get in) and the door to the nursing room popped open magically. After she had calmed down from her feed, I was able to arrange myself and Beano so I could continue to breastfeed her WHILST WALKING.</i><br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/npz1p9" title="20190803_102042"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48475559297_02734e401d_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190803_102042"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48752691738/in/dateposted/" title="Screenshot 2019-09-18 at 2.57.53 PM"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48752691738_279b55d166_m.jpg" width="162" height="240" alt="Screenshot 2019-09-18 at 2.57.53 PM"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<br />
<b>19. Make an effort to get dressed properly</b><br />
<i>Getting dressed properly? I snort. It turned out that what I needed was to have a nursing top that would give Beano quick access to the boob without all that excess fabric flapping about. This meant that.... all of my clothing didn't work. This was when a bunch of tops that a colleague had passed to me suddenly made sense. Previously I was confused about the flappy holes in them but now these made a lot more sense. I also tried buying a few cheap nursing tops from lazada and I tried both a horizontal slit and vertical slit. I found that I really liked the horizontal slits whereas the vertical slits did not seem to account for the fact that women's boobs are all spaced differently. I decided to buy about 5 of <a href="https://www.lazada.sg/products/rayeshop-women-maternity-loose-comfy-pull-up-nursing-tank-tops-vest-breastfeeding-shirtreference-size-chart-i291155035-s476717200.html?">these tops</a> which were about 9-10SGD each and that's all I've been wearing during my maternity leave! Ah... I like a good uniform....</i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHEoJE93JnWg60hvnddeRP_y1_M9LuQdQDYBP0QYwsMEBexf2xfbMlzpEFdUQKwWW-2tetFR61m4uHaDBQIltMU66cUdehQkGqOfBSjX9VdrScLPvDzcGP8gKicfLJUiSaJqMlMq0zHz7b/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-18+at+5.31.00+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHEoJE93JnWg60hvnddeRP_y1_M9LuQdQDYBP0QYwsMEBexf2xfbMlzpEFdUQKwWW-2tetFR61m4uHaDBQIltMU66cUdehQkGqOfBSjX9VdrScLPvDzcGP8gKicfLJUiSaJqMlMq0zHz7b/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-18+at+5.31.00+PM.png" data-original-width="1518" data-original-height="1562" height=500 style="border:1px solid #bbb"/></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>20. Get out of the house everyday</b><br />
<i>Was too difficult to get out in the first month. Then my wrist flexion improved enough for me to handle things on my own and I got better with the carriers! Now leaving the house is no problem!<br />
</i><br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/68ds14" title="20190909_175940"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48705504436_6d6d975e80_n.jpg" width="240" height="320" alt="20190909_175940"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<br />
<b>21. Organise a baby full moon</b><br />
<i>DID IT AT 6 WEEKS. CLOSE ENOUGH.</i><br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/391SXP" title="20190810_165308"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48662307318_957223fa1d_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190810_165308"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/xhR621" title="20190810_134050"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48662805872_614fc31908_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190810_134050"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/LP99w8" title="20190810_150119"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48662306008_ed3bd0913a_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190810_150119"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/cSU6m5" title="20190810_151629"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48662659436_424f74caf8_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190810_151629"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<br />
<b>22. Go to a baby and mommy activity</b><br />
<i>I HAVEN'T DONE THIS YET. I DON'T HAVE ANY MOMMY GROUPS TO FRATERNISE WITH!!!</i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7TDNDo6HZyAWhIrQQ_2GtPbx1amHjjSBQ7HsF6n_Mn0B0lOnjxabTCXJN22qQdqR9IvWKUY3C77mJOnN1mm_hXkvS4yTCKyfMiXJ1mFCTY85q3k5ghysHdjSmtxdMIpdveq6PDFVRN6n/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-08+at+7.25.36+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7TDNDo6HZyAWhIrQQ_2GtPbx1amHjjSBQ7HsF6n_Mn0B0lOnjxabTCXJN22qQdqR9IvWKUY3C77mJOnN1mm_hXkvS4yTCKyfMiXJ1mFCTY85q3k5ghysHdjSmtxdMIpdveq6PDFVRN6n/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-08+at+7.25.36+PM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1268" height=240 /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>23. Breastfeed in public</b><br />
<i>Done it during our first outings to hospital and polyclinic and to ICA because I didn't know to feed baby in advance before leaving. And now I've done it so many times its not stressful anymore, and the other day I even breastfed the baby in a TAXI. The only funny thing was that Beano was so noisy (not a perfect latch) so it was like SLURP SLURP SLURP SLURP. I wasn't embarrassed about public breastfeeding or accidental boobslips, to be honest I was only a little chagrined that my baby was just so loud when eating.</i><br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/3hF80N" title="20190913_095851"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48741522891_ac7a135ba1_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190913_095851"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>24. Eat with baby in public</b><br />
<i>Done many many times now because obviously I wanna eat out like a normal human too. Just put a burp cloth over her head and eat, whilst trying not to spill HOT SOUP on your baby.</i><br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48742561477/in/dateposted/" title="MVIMG_20190801_123604"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48742561477_eca364c815_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="MVIMG_20190801_123604"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>25. Change diaper in public</b><br />
<i>Done it several times now (even with my cloth diaper setup). EVEN AT A HAWKER CENTRE. Here's a pic of a big poo. Look at that! I fed that baby entirely with my boob! And now she made a massive poo. I'm proud.</i><br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/00npYZ" title="20190906_144048"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48692660726_c525302831_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190906_144048"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<br />
<b>26. Visit Dingparents with baby</b><br />
Beano got to meet my childhood toy, squirrel with rashes on his face. They got along splendidly.<br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48753212687/in/dateposted/" title="IMG-20190906-WA0012"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48753212687_5b10f1c336_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="IMG-20190906-WA0012"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48753212202/in/dateposted/" title="20190913_101506"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48753212202_96deb47fb0_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190913_101506"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<br />
<b>27. Mail Southparents a card</b><br />
<i>I made little blockprinting stamps and used them for the envelope. AND I MADE THEM WHILST BREASTFEEDING. I did make an accidental gouge into my table though...</i><br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48742613857/in/dateposted/" title="Photo - Google Photos 2019-09-16 10-35-56"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48742613857_05c8b880c6.jpg" height="240" alt="Photo - Google Photos 2019-09-16 10-35-56"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<br />
<b>28. Write a baby blog</b><br />
<br />
<blockquote><font style="font-family:serif">It's been 5 weeks 1 day since I landed on Earth. Since my arrival, my mission has been mainly to feed for survival, and I am very very hungry indeed. I am fortunate to have acquired two humans who seem bound in servitude to me, although I confess that I don't really know who they are.<br />
<br />
Today, I awakened on my own in my darkened chamber just after midnight and decided that I fancied a midnight snack....</font><br />
<br />
<i><a href="https://diaryofahungryalien.blogspot.com">https://diaryofahungryalien.blogspot.com</a></i></blockquote><br />
<br />
<b>29. Make a baby scrapbook</b><br />
<i>I bought one of those self-adhesive albums from Lazada and a totally generic set of scrapbooking papers and BOOM! A day's work (whilst breastfeeding!!!) and I had done a dozen pages.<br />
</i><br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/AN56CW" title="20190908_112640"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48696969068_7b217722b2_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190908_112640"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/98F7HK" title="20190907_183031"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48692662511_c5b8ca4b9d_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190907_183031"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/04s92Z" title="20190907_182943"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48692662191_0e533972b0_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190907_182943"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/mW35sX" title="20190907_182956"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48692835992_4799b0471d_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190907_182956"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<br />
<b>30. Learn how to oil paint</b><br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48070154137/in/datetaken/" title="20190615_101754"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48070154137_9bceaaec9b.jpg" width="500" height="243" alt="20190615_101754"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/qB5785" title="20190615_105242"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48070098688_f220b1046f.jpg" width="500" height="243" alt="20190615_105242"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/42B0wY" title="20190616_210322"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48091090653_3f6947f560.jpg" width="500" height="243" alt="20190616_210322"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/BD269x" title="20190616_215906"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48091092683_947939984d.jpg" width="500" height="243" alt="20190616_215906"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<br />
<b>31. Learn how to block print with linoleum</b><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/32x6r8" title="20190903_182212"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48673430113_bcb7f29840_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190903_182212"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/6h4363" title="20190903_230337"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48673430528_71d0d493ff_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190903_230337"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/z3t64V" title="20190906_183258"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48692320488_f5a7bf922d_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190906_183258"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/t67zWo" title="20190904_211718"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48692316228_5940db897b_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190904_211718"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<br />
<b>32. Make a resin casted ornament</b><br />
<i>Waiting for my resin kit to arrive in the post from China via slowpost...<i></i></i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSYVDiEx1sPmpCPYuDf4Q6q36N5t86rtBot5IBLI36wpKh5EdIXKUVwtS6oUMU09HYs3XUnyUjllYl1GfQ1dgQiiTsi0rGiEzORdvGiy8Qztg4lsfAdk24d9wlODoDz-c_kl3y77vU8QH0/s1600/resin.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSYVDiEx1sPmpCPYuDf4Q6q36N5t86rtBot5IBLI36wpKh5EdIXKUVwtS6oUMU09HYs3XUnyUjllYl1GfQ1dgQiiTsi0rGiEzORdvGiy8Qztg4lsfAdk24d9wlODoDz-c_kl3y77vU8QH0/s1600/resin.jpg" data-original-width="425" data-original-height="425" height=240 /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>33. Make cards for people</b><br />
<i>Did it using blockprinting!</i><br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/U70236" title="20190904_212357"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48692316548_f87abb6716_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190904_212357"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<br />
<b>34. Read or listen to a book every week<br />
</b><i>I got Audible, Blinkist and Headspace to listen to, but I don't really seem to listen to any of them consistently. BAH HUMBUG. I did get a cheap pair of bluetooth earphones for $16.90 which were LIFECHANGING. Goodbye cables! (but not goodbye to the very essential cable connecting the two - I'm pretty sure if it did not have any cable connecting the two that I would instantly lose one of the earphones!</i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPSFjX4n3QumRW9fM7sj6lDRNmHS_FrK3Ra-aY1Xg_Rpg9QeTyWnSmjjJwGAsOKt4LA9ebRrrlF6PfHGAFTP-16WREq6PY5a68uNaVpTIq7ZP4NAB8fxM-A7Q1-zzi9h2xxK3aDoqoWhL9/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-18+at+3.39.41+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPSFjX4n3QumRW9fM7sj6lDRNmHS_FrK3Ra-aY1Xg_Rpg9QeTyWnSmjjJwGAsOKt4LA9ebRrrlF6PfHGAFTP-16WREq6PY5a68uNaVpTIq7ZP4NAB8fxM-A7Q1-zzi9h2xxK3aDoqoWhL9/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-18+at+3.39.41+PM.png" data-original-width="572" data-original-height="650" height=240 /></a><br />
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<br />
<b>35. Knit/crochet a baby <s>hat</s> sock</b><br />
I crocheted one baby sock. Stay tuned for the SECOND SOCK lol.<br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/Kjd49D" title="20190912_202150"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48741708957_f37a8b3312_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190912_202150"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/M4847S" title="20190915_114255"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48741197888_9e5ec89739_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190915_114255"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/5A5A6C" title="20190915_124337"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48741713112_128cd6b070_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190915_124337"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/19u173" title="20190916_103849"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48741200118_995bbb320e_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190916_103849"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<br />
<b>36. Do some embroidery and make an iron-on patch</b><br />
<i>Still in progress...</i><br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/8g32J7" title="20190926_175643"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48807098838_605680825e_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190926_175643"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/1HutWq" title="20190929_191949"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48813622476_43e6b6b24f_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190929_191949"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
<br />
<b>37. Update my website with 2019 works</b><br />
<i>I finally did it!</i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRio_I0pNzdSZv9KyHR1xgnBi5gHxkPcA5alm02D5FZaGFhE1RumkaMR80i3QNrhMNqKNvbcrPAIxl0OaLUL4qAGD9Xs1k5QVZofhOgVqJ3LCj8Zxs19R5kDOL7jjv-vy_twWVQyfIgy6/s1600/Debbie+Ding%253A+DBBD.SG+2019-09-18+18-10-53.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRio_I0pNzdSZv9KyHR1xgnBi5gHxkPcA5alm02D5FZaGFhE1RumkaMR80i3QNrhMNqKNvbcrPAIxl0OaLUL4qAGD9Xs1k5QVZofhOgVqJ3LCj8Zxs19R5kDOL7jjv-vy_twWVQyfIgy6/s1600/Debbie+Ding%253A+DBBD.SG+2019-09-18+18-10-53.png" data-original-width="1268" data-original-height="754" height=300 style="border:1px solid #bbb" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>38. Make at least one new work</b><br />
<i>I'm working on a new piece which is the result of a conversation with a neuroscientist, tracing the path of fishes which have been alarmed by schreckstoff or "scary stuff". Been experimenting with some very bendy EL wire and PMMA optical fiber... I'm using American spelling because all the shops which sell it spell it as FIBER and sometimes these sites aren't so smart so if you type FIBRE they won't come up in the search...</i><br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/La4M0a" title="20190916_111830"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48741200348_4314bd1bc7_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190916_111830"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/880248" title="20190925_090944"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48790586458_f15a32c640_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190925_090944"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/Zd4Tg5" title="20190925_162125"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48797074616_cdfc7f4270_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190925_162125"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/0y0Qe0" title="20190926_110715"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48796718378_ca4e7301a5_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190926_110715"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>39. Update Family Website</b><br />
<i>Still in progress but started by scanning old photos each time I visit the Dinghaus.</i><br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/ooEv3f" title="20190913_163139"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48741524676_a382a7de84_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190913_163139"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcVo025JqSWJz_pQLeFgaXgZFqs5TDqLVyMVkdkYLDETgVD0zDvsHfNBplQ3mkNTmLX9H5EVs9Cic6LiQrlD_6tu3_w62jgnA7iXeck3ybnqOagq1ioeyDnP3c5NaCvDfN3Di9qnV-c9E2/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-18+at+5.12.39+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img style="border:1px solid #bbb" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcVo025JqSWJz_pQLeFgaXgZFqs5TDqLVyMVkdkYLDETgVD0zDvsHfNBplQ3mkNTmLX9H5EVs9Cic6LiQrlD_6tu3_w62jgnA7iXeck3ybnqOagq1ioeyDnP3c5NaCvDfN3Di9qnV-c9E2/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-18+at+5.12.39+PM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="957" height=240 /></a><br />
<br />
<small>Debbie as a baby!</small><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>40. Get a jamu massage</b><br />
10 relaxing days with Mdm Zita from <a href="http://jamumassage.com">Traditional & Holistic Post-Natal Centre</a> who helped soothe my aches and forced me to carve out some me-time in a day of non-stop breastfeeding.<br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48662348078/in/datetaken/" title="20190831_132427"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48662348078_16e249aef8_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190831_132427"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/6psg79" title="20190831_154507"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48662702451_059ef5c320_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="20190831_154507"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/q829H2" title="20190831_154517"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48662702621_b7d461e5d9_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="20190831_154517"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>41. Eat lots of deliveroo</b><br />
<i>I got Deliveroo Plus and I did use it a hella lot. There wasn't an easy way to export the data but I found out that since 2 June 2019 (Start of maternity leave) to 29 Sept 2019 (last day of maternity leave) I've done a scandalous grand total of...<h1>94 deliveroos!!!</h1></i><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/9Vt63p" title="20190709_124108"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48295355166_11413173d5.jpg" width="500" height="243" alt="20190709_124108"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<br />
<b>42. Drink a beer</b><br />
<i>My first beer in more than 9 months was a bottle of Little Creatures. I waited over 2 hours after that before I pumped milk and fed Beano again. I thoroughly enjoyed it!!! But unfortunately I also could not help worrying it would hurt my milk supply so I don't think I'll be doing it again any time soon until my breastfeeding stabilises!</i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQvwVMJ_2cHvzC4U954fROyTq_Z_NbAHkEShaijPVGtDn_s2DL8rlzr0XV1-ZBtoYNcozKIiO7TPBbIHNRKX-VJsT68zEpcS3C7nkDHRXhlZWrC2VqyCIy_ePn6weDHTe5WI65ADIT-bcq/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-18+at+6.21.23+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQvwVMJ_2cHvzC4U954fROyTq_Z_NbAHkEShaijPVGtDn_s2DL8rlzr0XV1-ZBtoYNcozKIiO7TPBbIHNRKX-VJsT68zEpcS3C7nkDHRXhlZWrC2VqyCIy_ePn6weDHTe5WI65ADIT-bcq/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-18+at+6.21.23+PM.png" data-original-width="374" data-original-height="896" height=240/></a><br />
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<br />
<b>43. Make awesome compilation video of Beano's first few months</b><br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/IHFo-UamfvE"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR5Cy7YwvBv8kt8YjlAfbBOttj8urzKX5xSN_HAEN8vXGLkxFONeVcq-UEb8Vmcx-z0rC54Jsg76ClQiCjCXepahkNnw4bXcUJIphoeBcOw76vdtEDE__A88pCsGvI1QiKZ4iE5Jm80vQ9/s1600/Screenshot+2019-09-20+at+8.54.57+AM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1121" height=240/></a><br />
Beanovision: <a href="https://youtu.be/IHFo-UamfvE">https://youtu.be/IHFo-UamfvE</a><br />
There's a 50 min version of the Beano "FROM BIRTH TO 3 MONTHS" video but I won't bore you all with it unless YOU WISH TO SEE IT.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>44. Bring Baby to a swimming lesson</b><br />
<i>I found out that most places are for 4-6 month old babies. Beano is still too small to go for swim class. Check back in a few months!</i><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/3998e1" title="20190622_200457"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48137565188_445f5b4345.jpg" width="500" height="243" alt="20190622_200457"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<small><b>Jalan Besar Swimming Pool</b> - one day we'll go there!</small><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>45. Label Beano's things for daycare</b><br />
<i>I ordered labels from Brightstarkids so I could label all of Beano's stuff once she starts going to infantcare at 6 months. I looked at a few other places but I wasn't big on them so I went with the slightly more expensive Brightstarkids.</i><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/6z0q9D" title="20190912_180752"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48741521786_4d10746bd2_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190912_180752"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<br />
<b>46. Figure out how to use less disposables and more reusables<br />
</b><i>Since I got cloth diapers for Beano, it figures that I should do the same for myself. So I got organic cotton handkerchiefs, reusable cotton pads for cleaning face, and reusable pads.</i><br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/d4c3Rx" title="20190907_182731"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48692661976_0a1ae704a5_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190907_182731"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/yRWwUC" title="20190916_111402"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48741527986_8ff52b86a4_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190916_111402"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/8365n0" title="20190918_144451"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48752672088_a36bfcde51_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190918_144451"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<br />
<b>47. Pack diaper bag and make checklist for returning to work</b><br />
<i>Diaper bag and Packit for cold transfer of milk!! The Packit is a bag you put into the freezer in its entirety and it stays cold for the whole day if you minimise the number of times you open it.</i><br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/ZZ0MF5" title="20190906_100603"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48692660046_e2e0a8da28_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190906_100603"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/svU7Lb" title="20190905_202702"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48692317578_da81be27dd_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190905_202702"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <br />
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<br />
<b>48. Freezer Stash</b><br />
<i>I have stored 10 full feeds (10x150ml) at this point, which was quite hard to do and mainly done through waking up in the middle of night to pump for hours. It was hard. Now i have dropped the middle of the night pumping and my sleep deprivation has reduced tenfold!!!! I've also got a small fridge which I verified was able to keep a temp that is 20 deg C lower than ambient - to keep the milk cool in the office as I pump it...</i><br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/1D0LWK" title="20190829_121210"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48662340368_2d339e4d8e_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="20190829_121210"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/2XV290" title="20190918_073318"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48753001156_406135191b_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190918_073318"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<br />
<b>49. Write epic blog post(s) about my 50 things to do on maternity leave<br />
</b><i>THIS.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>50. Enjoy my time with baby</b><br />
<i>I'm still getting to know Beano!</i><br />
<br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/c81U52" title="20190907_100335"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48692661386_31cae4c207_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="20190907_100335"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-22536464550240391102019-07-13T16:22:00.004+01:002019-07-14T01:05:07.004+01:00Beano's Birth Story<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgiiG1mD33Y-sHlCWxXmTCsegdgue22y1SVVfMp6XV1sLYytFvECws9c3hibmgz90R9RsUaxfaOym8fDe4hno-vU1woRjmUombQuOwwPGks48WEmFrfhWoK60ucE3hczKz9-Lyp2FWkU41/s1600/IMG_20190629_024954.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgiiG1mD33Y-sHlCWxXmTCsegdgue22y1SVVfMp6XV1sLYytFvECws9c3hibmgz90R9RsUaxfaOym8fDe4hno-vU1woRjmUombQuOwwPGks48WEmFrfhWoK60ucE3hczKz9-Lyp2FWkU41/s1600/IMG_20190629_024954.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" width=800px /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdA32hklE8sS326I79KitqJK-iC9tibWh9EfnC0_fww4pFf2DewUOEpube5hZIgeFlyo1MzTf6nQXyhUSXIpCg0qhT6cNfRhUxfJJDutZ7IgB1kPEY5WG0-Q-mTEgfqSS44b73lBn_kOSq/s1600/20190710_145049+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdA32hklE8sS326I79KitqJK-iC9tibWh9EfnC0_fww4pFf2DewUOEpube5hZIgeFlyo1MzTf6nQXyhUSXIpCg0qhT6cNfRhUxfJJDutZ7IgB1kPEY5WG0-Q-mTEgfqSS44b73lBn_kOSq/s1600/20190710_145049+%25281%2529.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" width=800px /></a><br />
<br />
<b>Beano D. Ding-South<br />
aka "BABY DINGDINGSOUTH"<br />
29/6/2019 2.45AM<br />
40+3 Weeks<br />
Planned water birth that turned into an Emergency c-section<br />
A Positive C-section Story</b><br />
<br />
In the run up to the birthing of the DING-SOUTH Baby, I read a lot of birth stories, especially the positive ones, because all too often we only see examples in the media which portray birth as a very white-knuckle hair-pulling scream-y ordeal, so reading lots of different accounts of birth helped.<br />
<br />
Here is our own birth story! Although this wasn't exactly the water birth that I planned, I was very happy with how everything went and most importantly I felt that we were informed at all times of our options and our wishes were respected every step of the way and George was able to take control of the situation and help me make decisions at the critical moment.<br />
<br />
<h2><b>Choosing a hospital and gynae in Singapore</b></h2><br />
I was originally referred to <a href="https://www.kkh.com.sg/patient-care/areas-of-care/womens-services/Pages/obstetrics-gynaecology.aspx">KKH</a> via the polyclinic - this is kinda like the default public (subsidised) healthcare that Singaporeans will receive if you don't make any specific choices on what kind of healthcare you want. KKH does what they call "team-led care" so you get seen by whichever totally random gynae happens to be on call that day. There are pros and cons to this - you get to see a lot of different gynaes and ask different doctors for second opinions on things, but you also don't have a fixed doctor, and if you have preexisting conditions you'll find yourself explaining them over and over again, and some staff may not be as understanding about certain circumstances (eg: I encountered staff who were dismissive and not very accommodating about my emetophobia and inability to swallow tablets).<br />
<br />
KKH is known for being the best for neonatal care in the country but they also seem to treat the birth process entirely as a "medical event" and in general the hospital seems very risk averse (eg: apparently will only allow women to labour in one of two approved positions on the bed, no water birth, no birthing balls, etc). Also, when I showed one of the team gynaes my birth plan, they looked at me and said rather earnestly "In all my years here (<i>presumably at KKH subsidised</i>), no one has ever presented me with a birth plan..." So welp, I knew I was in the wrong place being someone with many opinions on what I wanted to do when it came to the BIRTH OF THE DINGDINGSOUTH.<br />
<br />
My overriding concern as an emetophobe (translated: fear of vomiting) was to avoid any procedures that might cause nausea or vomiting. Fortunately I did not get morning sickness (neither did my mother when she had me) but I soon realised that other phases of pregnancy and labour involved some more nausea-inducing moments (eg: nausea and vomiting as a side effect of a lot of the pain relief methods and meds during labour, etc), so I was determined to look into alternatives... <br />
<br />
That's how I ended up taking a <a href="http://childbirthodyssey.com/hypnobirthing/">Hypnobirthing course with Yen</a>, since mindfulness had really worked with me when I previously did a course of CBT and exposure therapy with a psychotherapist for my emetophobia. With the help of the hypnobirthing course that we attended, I felt informed about the stages of labour and confident enough to make informed choices about the birth experience that I wanted to have. We decided that if the pregnancy was going smoothly with no medical complications, I wanted to avoid any unnecessary pain meds and go for a natural birth that would avoid pain medication that might cause nausea (which would add unnecessary anxiety to the birthing process).<br />
<br />
So at 30 weeks, I told KKH that I was thinking of switching to a hospital that would do a water birth. "In which case," the random overworked KKH team gynae of the day immediately said to me (almost a bit too eagerly), "most probably you'll never look back or return here. When I hear women say they want to switch hospitals for reasons like water birth, they usually will stick to it! So we'll discharge you and give you all your medical records today!" <br />
<br />
I switched to NUH - one of the two hospitals in Singapore that would do <a href="http://www.parentlink.org/services/water-births/">water births</a> - currently the only options are National University Hospital (NUH) and Thomson Medical Centre (TMC). There are only 4 gynaes who do water birth at NUH, and I went with Dr Anupriya Agarwal, who I felt was very respectful and read through my birth plan thoroughly and discussed every point with me. The only thing that we changed on my original plan was that she told me up front that the hospital's policy was 41+3 days max before they ask you do to an induction, and I was okay with this. I was also required to get a specialised midwife (EMMa Care) who would help me with the water birth.<br />
<br />
I decided that I wanted to labour in a hydrotherapy pool, I got me some yoga balls to bounce on, I started doing a prenatal yoga class and tried all the <a href="https://spinningbabies.com/">spinningbabies</a> moves, I tried to walk for at least an hour every day, I did the perineum massage and breast massage recommended by my NUH gynae, drank copious cups of red raspberry leaf tea for toning the uterus, eating dates - all the <a href="https://evidencebasedbirth.com/">evidence-based methods</a> that was recommended. At 39 weeks the baby was measured at the 50th percentile and everything was on track for a natural water birth. "A good size for water birth!" said my gynae then...<br />
<br />
<h2><b>The Birth Story</b></h2><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHJd8yyLMt6wwmBZx3DReC_Shmy1H571VSIHQseAFjYM2h5wzvRSxA4XbzB60SnlfoGsn-cq8Gms4CD6av_8BjTTys0hd9-YWz6APjlbbTtW9x5jz9XTADX4xGkSZjD94aOaYfFJfCrn8g/s1600/20190619_173242.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHJd8yyLMt6wwmBZx3DReC_Shmy1H571VSIHQseAFjYM2h5wzvRSxA4XbzB60SnlfoGsn-cq8Gms4CD6av_8BjTTys0hd9-YWz6APjlbbTtW9x5jz9XTADX4xGkSZjD94aOaYfFJfCrn8g/s1600/20190619_173242.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" width=800px /></a><br />
<br />
<b>23 June</b> marked the start of the Show with some brown discharge but no contractions. Naturally I was alarmed because this was the first time during my entire pregnancy that I had seen any sort of 'bleeding'. Over the next few days, I had an increase in the lightening crotch scenarios that made me stop dead in my tracks whilst I was walking around. Cue the furious googling of "WHAT ARE SYMPTOMS OF LABOUR?"<br />
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<b>26 June</b> which was the original estimated due date came and went and nothing happened.<br />
<br />
<b>27 June Evening </b> we went for a long walk around the Bayfront and Gardens by the Bay - there was a light show and its funny to think of us ambulating about randomly - since it seems like a lifetime ago - when we got home I had a lot of pinkish discharge (part of the Show) and later that night I lost the mucus plug which looked like a lot of dark red gooey snot. I also began having these cramps that were akin to a menstrual cramp but pretty irregularly timed.<br />
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<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-ggmnQisb8W1KrNXDlH43_fBcq0sJxob9_9CeUjRofErt5K6SUOHhaQxBAjvRdt-zPXACKqNoKvukvsn2-Z95_iXtH6ZlGB_vVXTCQjZsS9ipZx6Fjy9R5RDuPrRiZh-AlmZVoF1l_NO/s1600/IMG_20190626_210825.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-ggmnQisb8W1KrNXDlH43_fBcq0sJxob9_9CeUjRofErt5K6SUOHhaQxBAjvRdt-zPXACKqNoKvukvsn2-Z95_iXtH6ZlGB_vVXTCQjZsS9ipZx6Fjy9R5RDuPrRiZh-AlmZVoF1l_NO/s1600/IMG_20190626_210825.jpg" data-original-width="1200" data-original-height="1600" width=800px /></a><br />
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In the mirror: my maximum fatness before poppage, on a walk around the Bayfront</center><br />
<b>28 June 2AM</b> in the wee hours I was pretty sure these were what you'd call surges now as they were lasting about 60 seconds and 4 minutes apart. I also felt that sitting on the birthing ball really sped things up whereas lying in bed slowed things down.<br />
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<b>28 June 3AM</b> after an hour of 4-1-1 surges (4 minutes apart, 1 minute long, 1 hour), we went to the hospital and proceeded to drop ourselves off at the wrong spot so we walked (or rather, I waddled) quite a distance to EMERGENCY. Looking back on this, the surges couldn't have been that terrible if I could waddle so far on my own. There I was seen by a nurse and monitored for an hour with a contraction and fetal heartbeat monitor strapped to my belly. The doc on call examined me and told us I was only 2 cm dilated, so we were given the option of going home or being admitted. Since we did not live so close to the hospital, we opted to be admitted and I was given a room upstairs first in the ward.<br />
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<b>28 June 8AM</b> - after a fitful sleep (being woken every few minutes by the surges) I was pleased to find out that since I was not in the delivery suite and in a room upstairs, I was allowed to eat as much as I wanted, and food service magically appeared in my room. Housekeeping also changed the sheets which was handy because I was starting to bleed everywhere into the sheets I was sitting on!<br />
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<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFGQOBroVXsoL6jYoahAlvxqbpvpY4dk-kurpWKVSBUOE1C3BHXeckvcQWsrAHWcSUyW0_YRij2hF-oSD_LyVH64n3QCNNBYEpSasepomLiNj_e94tUvC1nXw_ilzTvNesK1DMZWuF-cnN/s1600/IMG_20190628_084633.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFGQOBroVXsoL6jYoahAlvxqbpvpY4dk-kurpWKVSBUOE1C3BHXeckvcQWsrAHWcSUyW0_YRij2hF-oSD_LyVH64n3QCNNBYEpSasepomLiNj_e94tUvC1nXw_ilzTvNesK1DMZWuF-cnN/s1600/IMG_20190628_084633.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" width=800px /></a><br />
<br />
LOOK AT MY PLEASED FACE</center><br />
<b>28 June 10.30am </b>- dilated to 4cm<br />
<b>28 June 12.00pm</b> - was fed lunch<br />
<b>28 June 2.45pm</b> - dilated to 5cm, so they put a contraction and fetal monitor on me again to track for another hour. I was politely asked by my gynae if I wanted a membrane sweep but I declined it and they did not ask me again about it.<br />
<b>28 June 3pm</b> - was fed tea - a green bean soup<br />
<b>28 June 4pm</b> - dilated to 6cm and complaining of a lot of pressure down below, I asked to be able to use the hydrotherapy pool so they moved me back down to the delivery suite below. First I was tracked on a contraction and fetal monitor for another hour to ensure the baby's heartbeat was good, and then I was allowed to use the pool at about 6pm. <br />
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<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAcA9ILGsicSW_QDpIjYgk_Vkh1GsQcQJtrOtJeyM-f9GJ3xIm-MakOKO9GRUVSxK5XGor2FJldAufsO1YZOfZsJR_XoHzH7yc7Qz5Uc7sNIA4hhuCNqJoRFFHYchAS-3DfNZkkGK_qgOd/s1600/IMG_20190628_204246.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAcA9ILGsicSW_QDpIjYgk_Vkh1GsQcQJtrOtJeyM-f9GJ3xIm-MakOKO9GRUVSxK5XGor2FJldAufsO1YZOfZsJR_XoHzH7yc7Qz5Uc7sNIA4hhuCNqJoRFFHYchAS-3DfNZkkGK_qgOd/s1600/IMG_20190628_204246.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" width=800px /></a><br />
<br />
The Hydrotherapy Pool in Room 12</center><br />
The pool! It was a bathtub of water that was exactly body temperature (a small thermometer floating about) and I had two midwives who came in to help scoop water and pour it over me. I also had to wear the contraction and fetal monitor in the pool, but as the device does make a lot of noise (the heartbeat sound being particularly alarming, especially when it dipped or rose for no reason), we asked them to turn the sound off so it wouldn't be so distracting. I really really loved this pool - on land the surges were so strong that I was involuntarily contorting my body off the bed a la exorcist style, but in the pool I was calm, I was peaceful, I was able to do the up breathing and relax quite calmly.<br />
<br />
I came out of the pool to be checked that I was progressing fine (and also so I wouldn't get overly pruney and wrinkly from sitting too long in the bath), but back on land the doc assessed that I hadn't really progressed so much since then. This was always a possiblity, as being in the pool might slow progress, but it also relaxed me a lot compared to when I was on land.<br />
<br />
Since it wasn't progressing very fast, I was asked if I would accept Intravenous oxytocin, which I was indeed happy to do if it would just help move things along. Not long after that, I found that the surges had doubled in intensity. This wasn't so good as I found myself really flailing about each time the surges hit. I was reaching what my gynae had jokingly described as the phase of labour where the surges get so strong that you become completely unreasonable and want to rapidly bitchslap your husband on the face. The breathing exercises were very hard to keep to. <br />
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<b>28 June 8PM</b> I was checked again and it turned out that I still hadn't progressed much so they offered to break the water. At this point I was keen to get things moving as I hadn't really slept in well over 24 hours now and was getting very tired so I agreed to breaking the waters. When they did, we discovered the water was tinged with meconium (baby's first poop), which changed our plans a lot. It meant that I wouldn't be allowed to continue to labour in the pool in case of aspiration of meconium, so my pain relief options were more limited. George took the lead in asking what were our options at this point. They offered gas and we asked them what was the side effects of this, and it included my worst fear, so George insisted that they also put an anti-emetic into my IV first to make sure that any progress we had up to this point wasn't all offset by anxiety or terror.<br />
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<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRrw7Trf-ODI-gwCeQEJRRg6AEeJPhcUgJlPLxJwnI3t4Gl2C4DjeNwrX4DFvxjJb3EHWDyJsL21RM6Ca13MJLkl0vYH8BW7La2Ny1CrYRP4k-Ye_uQlxtW0A4cGid4aFD3YY9fjMLI1gO/s1600/MVIMG_20190628_235451.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRrw7Trf-ODI-gwCeQEJRRg6AEeJPhcUgJlPLxJwnI3t4Gl2C4DjeNwrX4DFvxjJb3EHWDyJsL21RM6Ca13MJLkl0vYH8BW7La2Ny1CrYRP4k-Ye_uQlxtW0A4cGid4aFD3YY9fjMLI1gO/s1600/MVIMG_20190628_235451.jpg" data-original-width="1200" data-original-height="1600" width=600px /></a><br />
<br />
The Nitrous Oxide</center><br />
I have the feeling the gas was more of a placebo because it is meant to only take the edge off things (-30% apparently) and I don't really feel if that it had much of an effect. Or maybe it was because by this point I was becoming so tired that I was spontaneously falling asleep between each surge and thus not inhaling the gas prior to the surges, so this was all quickly becoming very excruciating. I must confess that some more flailing and contortions happened despite best attempts to focus on breathing and keeping the appearance of inner calm. Throughout this the nurses would tell us the good news that at least the baby was doing very well and the heartbeat was still very strong. <br />
<br />
George began to ask them about our options again and the doc on call recommended an emergency c-section because of failure to progress (this also was the final outcome written on my medical report) and because of their concerns with the meconium stained liquor. We discussed this and decided that a c-section might be the best call at this point, and that it would be better to do it before the baby was very happy and not in any distress, and also because the operating team was available to do it. George also prompted me to start trying to remove my somewhat complicated cartilage and tragus piercings between surges in case we had to go to surgery. The midwife nurses also asked me to prove that I could stop flailing about so the anaesthesist could do their job - this I did the best I could, but George later said it was like all the energy was compressed into my face then. Thanks to Nurse Swan Di for maintaining the calm in the room despite all my flailing about and my increasing volume of shoutiness.<br />
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Again my worst fear in all this was of the possibility of nausea and vomiting and we had a conversation with the anaesthetist who said they could do a spinal anaesthesia instead of general. We agreed to proceed with the emergency c-section. Things got moving extremely fast from that point - they verified that the last time I ate was at tea time (many hours ago), someone came in and quickly cleaned me down and shaved me, many a form was given to me to read and sign, and then many a form was also checked again by nurses "CAN I CONFIRM THAT THIS IS YOUR SIGNATURE?" pointing to my horribly illegible squiggles made in the throes of a surge.<br />
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<b>29 June 2AM??</b> Right before I was being transferred to the operating room trolley I was given a small tiny cup of something intensely sour which they told me I had to drink to neutralise stomach acids and ensure that I would not throw up. Ironically, because it was so sour, I had great difficulty drinking it as it triggered a massive gag reflex (comes with the territory of my emetophobia unfortunately). There came a point where several staff were around the bed encouraging me to chug this pitifully tiny cup of goo to help me avoid any nausea or vomiting later on. Failure to chug ensued (Not getting crunk on this Friday Night), and I could only sip at it very excruciatingly slowly with about a half dozen hospital staff watching on, ordering me to just drink it quick in one gulp. After what seemed like an eternity of awful sipping of this horrible sour thing (probably the only truly unpleasant anxiety-inducing part of this entire birth experience really) I was finally ready to go to the operating room. Someone had taken off my glasses so it was quite blurry but the room was very white and bright. I was worried that I would not be able to control myself from not WILDLY FLAILING when the anaesthetist came to do their job, but fortunately there was another nurse to help hold me in place whilst they applied a local anaesthetic before they did the spinal anaesthetic. Within 5 minutes I could no longer feel the surges which was actually a big big relief.<br />
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The surgery itself was very fast, it doesn't hurt because of the anaesthesia, and all you feel is a lot of tugging and pulling, and one's arms might shake uncontrollably. Suddenly a cry was heard and not long after THE BABY was presented in my face! The gynae also told me that it turned out that this baby was a very big baby indeed, which may have explained why I had difficulties progressing in labour. Perhaps my awesome diet of the extra days past her due date had packed on the pounds - this was a baby in the 99th percentile for height (54cm) and over a kilo heavier than the average baby born in this hospital (she was 3.9kg, i was told the average baby born at NUH was 2.7kg)<br />
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<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgiiG1mD33Y-sHlCWxXmTCsegdgue22y1SVVfMp6XV1sLYytFvECws9c3hibmgz90R9RsUaxfaOym8fDe4hno-vU1woRjmUombQuOwwPGks48WEmFrfhWoK60ucE3hczKz9-Lyp2FWkU41/s1600/IMG_20190629_024954.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgiiG1mD33Y-sHlCWxXmTCsegdgue22y1SVVfMp6XV1sLYytFvECws9c3hibmgz90R9RsUaxfaOym8fDe4hno-vU1woRjmUombQuOwwPGks48WEmFrfhWoK60ucE3hczKz9-Lyp2FWkU41/s1600/IMG_20190629_024954.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" width=800px /></a><br />
<br />
THE BIRTH OF BEANOOOOO</center><br />
George later followed them up to the nursery to have her weighed and to have some skin-to-skin time with baby - whilst they stitched me up and took me to the recovery room with some fancy leg massagers. Once baby got the medical all-clear, she was brought down to me for some skin-to-skin and for me to attempt to feed her. The midwife who had aided me all night came over and explained to me how to hold her in bed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2E6XMEaTTKsSgw94NDVLbv1sg1YVt2WD950wd48ll78NHdwrRA8ef-UV0zB024QD-Iqn3tGOpLC-foD-JPEKlWKcHSOp5BfQufSY58N0JsP54xs45DXP0b9IlJnGxnMJ2TEOWOrp7bxk/s1600/MVIMG_20190629_041717.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2E6XMEaTTKsSgw94NDVLbv1sg1YVt2WD950wd48ll78NHdwrRA8ef-UV0zB024QD-Iqn3tGOpLC-foD-JPEKlWKcHSOp5BfQufSY58N0JsP54xs45DXP0b9IlJnGxnMJ2TEOWOrp7bxk/s1600/MVIMG_20190629_041717.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" width=800px /></a><br />
<br />
Thanks to the Emmacare midwives and Nurse Swan Di who were there at the critical stage of my labour and maintaining calm during this full-on process! Although I didn't get to finish my labour in the birthing pool, I appreciated having the chance to try to labour in it and I felt in control of the entire process the whole time even though we had to do an emergency c-sect in the end.<br />
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<h2><b>Post C-Section Recovery</b></h2><br />
I felt awesome after the surgery and very much awake and happy whilst the anaesthetic had not worn off. Although I know I was meant to sleep, I was very excited and I felt like I could stay up all night and listen to baby's weird snuffly sounds. As George slumbered on the weird sofa next to me, I watched the sun come up on Saturday and marvelled at my new baby! What a strange big baby! The foot that had been kicking me! The toes I could feel squished up against my belly! The strange being which had been hiccuping inside, now hiccuping outside! And all the tiny creaky sounds!<br />
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AND THEN.... all of the anaesthetic wore off!!! It is still major surgery which does takes a long time to recover from. Plus I had a terrible racking cough due to a pre-exisiting cold (I shake my fist at you, old person who kept coughing so virulently in my direction when I went for my endocrinology checkup at SGH!). Each time I coughed this gave me a lot of shooting pain near the incision site, and I also have de quervain's disease which meant my wrist tendons were inflamed and I could not seem to use my thumb or wrist to do a lot of things that were pretty much fundamental to baby handling or getting out of a hospital bed. AHHH! The pain!<br />
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<i><b>Abdominal support after a c-section:</b></i> the doctor will recommend that you do at least 5-10 min of walking as soon as you possibly can. It may seem difficult to imagine at the very start but it does get better day by day. NUH also gets patients to buy an abdominal binder - this is meant to help support your abdomen which has internal stitches that take longer to heal than the external stitches. I did not find the given binder comfortable, so I later switched to <a href="https://bellybandit.com/">another binder I bought online</a> which was made of bamboo fabric which would not irritate my skin as much.<br />
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<i><b>Coughing after a c-section:</b> </i> Right now the pain of the cough is fast fading but I know that in the moment it was truly seriously ailing me. I remember asking my gynae several times for reassurance that it was okay to cough. Because it hurt so much, I didn't want to cough, so the phlegm would build up into a HUGE COUGH, which was just horrible. To cope with the pain I found that sitting bent over with a pillow or hand supporting the incision site helped with muffling the sharp rude pains of coughing. Now at 2 weeks post surgery, I can safely say that the pain of coughing will subside truly and yes even a deep hacking cough will not bust your seams if you hold it all together.<br />
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<i><b>Weeing after a c-section:</b></i> During the operation they hook you up to a catheter and after they take it out the nurses will ask to see that you do a wee in a small cardboard bedpan - to ensure that everything still works down there. I wasn't sure if it was a matter of a shy bladder or something else, but this proved incredibly difficult for me. LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE! The floodgates would not open! The river would not flow! The nurse recommended I turn on the sink tap and let it run so I could hear the water sounds, but this did not work. I had drunk many flasks of water and the nurse observed that my bladder was full yet I could not go! With the nurse periodically knocking on the toilet door to check that I was alright, I began furiously googling in the toilet for tips and ideas of what to do; it felt like I spent hours in there. After several very difficult wees (and worrying that the wires might have been crossed forever) I eventually found something that worked for me! - spraying some warm water over the lady parts with the hospital bidet inexplicably allowed the waters to flow although I didn't feel like I had much control over it. Anyway, I was relieved to observe that by the time I was discharged I had regained full control of my, ahem, weeing faculties.<br />
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<i><b>Nursery Station on ward:</b></i> The nurses and the Lactation consultant on the ward were super helpful, as well as the Nursery. Once the baby is born, it is in your room with you, you've got this little caddy on wheels with your baby and hand sanitiser and diapers and NUH swaddle cloths, and its kinda your call to figure out what to do with baby, or to ask the nurses for help with the various things you gotta do, such as BREASTFEEDING? DIAPER CHANGING? SWADDLING? EMERGENCY FORMULA FEEDING? The nurses however can also help take your baby away for a quick bath if you need a rest or sleep. TAKE THE OFFER WHEN GIVEN AND LET THEM BATH YOUR BABY UNTIL THE NEXT FEEDING TIME SO YOU CAN SLEEP.<br />
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<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuE21uKSpnm-hr4gVycg_8JYWdVP0SPBHMuYT3AkAks_y-2SyyFtrNPkd50N646Ejro45sDyvq_kp1rZrHKXlj6KkQQK-iRSbWz_w9vR67P5hSeIxIXtahd7UfPJQWcg5LAdGLpf8eTmqz/s1600/20190701_110312.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuE21uKSpnm-hr4gVycg_8JYWdVP0SPBHMuYT3AkAks_y-2SyyFtrNPkd50N646Ejro45sDyvq_kp1rZrHKXlj6KkQQK-iRSbWz_w9vR67P5hSeIxIXtahd7UfPJQWcg5LAdGLpf8eTmqz/s1600/20190701_110312.jpg" data-original-width="778" data-original-height="1600" /></a><br />
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Beano's mobile hospital crib</center><br />
<h2><b>Afterthoughts</b></h2><br />
<i><b>Why did labour fail to progress along the way? </b></i> I suspect that the baby's position was a contributing factor in the labour's failure to progress accordingly. Beano was stuck in a <a href="https://spinningbabies.com/learn-more/baby-positions/other-fetal-positions/right-occiput-anterior-roa/">Right Occipital Anterior position</a> from about 30 weeks to SHOWTIME, and this isn't regarded as an ideal position - it is noted on Spinningbabies website that baby might rotate to the posterior and if so labour might have cluster contractions with slow downs and stalls (if chin is not tucked). I feel that even with the exercises a lot is left to chance - where the mother and her doula can only try to create room for the baby to rotate but the baby must actively rotate on its own.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Do some research on the possible outcomes</b></i>: f I could do this all over again, I would also have spent more time looking up what were the likely outcomes, such as what a c-section would really entail. There were many things I didn't know about how a c-section worked, because I assumed that I would try my best to avoid a surgical procedure, but obviously an emergency c-section was still a possibility not to be ruled out.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Thank god for Maternity Leave!!!</b></i>: Friends, colleagues and other work collaborators, I was clearly too gung-ho when I said that I was hoping to get back up and running as usual right after the birth. I haven't even figured out how to use the stroller or the baby sling yet!!! THIS IS GOING TO TAKE US SOMETIME TO FIGURE OUT!! HOW DOES I BABY LOGISTICS??? <br />
<br />
<i><small>[Meanswhile the next door neighbour throws her two babies over her shoulders whilst she puts the laundry out to hang in the corridor plus she is also simultaneously able to keep a watchful eye on her walking toddlers and also have a leisurely conversation with other ladieees at the same time; next time you see a stay-at-home-mom with multiple kids don't take this kind of next level childcaring for granted, it requires SKILLZ and its VERY HARD WORK!]</small></i><br />
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<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv1WZ-Uz2rT4_Px9hMmqtbGgy8UeUtdKfgv4AITNAxgk8mEzEwkwNLxdyaBeOYXT64gQcYpkterzj4Y2QY0XMijZk_d8n6EeO1tQVK6TOHZvnLakHM0OmSMfd15__V82s8Rgbq8KeUeVUH/s1600/20190702_201402.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv1WZ-Uz2rT4_Px9hMmqtbGgy8UeUtdKfgv4AITNAxgk8mEzEwkwNLxdyaBeOYXT64gQcYpkterzj4Y2QY0XMijZk_d8n6EeO1tQVK6TOHZvnLakHM0OmSMfd15__V82s8Rgbq8KeUeVUH/s1600/20190702_201402.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="778" width=800px /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaZCTF4rY2LVmS_ePL4-lT9lqQatcmiNaat0__q1b4IskMuXkA8fXI7BuR1yA7tf5Rs4E9RntaGwk2zQTeXg0UsGlh1O9xpmsdguYiyT0YHP6ZbWvODv3ErHscBz2jK8lHMk9E5Kd_ZGo0/s1600/20190708_163342.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaZCTF4rY2LVmS_ePL4-lT9lqQatcmiNaat0__q1b4IskMuXkA8fXI7BuR1yA7tf5Rs4E9RntaGwk2zQTeXg0UsGlh1O9xpmsdguYiyT0YHP6ZbWvODv3ErHscBz2jK8lHMk9E5Kd_ZGo0/s1600/20190708_163342.jpg" data-original-width="778" data-original-height="1600" /></a><br />
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<b>COMING UP NEXT:</b> HOW DOES WE DIAPER BABY? R WE QUALIFIED TO HAVE BABBY??? HOW DID PEOPLE KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH BABY BEFORE THE INTERNET??? HOW LONG IS IT BEFORE THE BABY LEARNS HOW TO VOICE CONTROL OUR GOOGLE HOME??? AND OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS WHICH NO ONE TOLD US...</center>debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-63939927282059610362019-06-17T11:58:00.002+01:002019-06-17T12:11:30.684+01:00RENOVATION FOR THE D'OUTH HOUSE: Part 3 - Hacking Works, Aircon Installation, Flooring, Electricals, Lighting, Carpentry, Hinges, Doors, Windows, and Blinds<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 1em; width: 600px;"><b>Table of Contents:</b><br />
<ol><li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/05/renovation-for-douth-house-part-1-flat.html#flat-viewings">Flat Viewings</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/05/renovation-for-douth-house-part-1-flat.html#online-research">Online Research</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/05/renovation-for-douth-house-part-1-flat.html#resale-process">HDB Resale Flat Purchase Process</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/05/renovation-for-douth-house-part-1-flat.html#hip-options">HIP Options</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/05/renovation-for-douth-house-part-1-flat.html#bathroom-fixtures">HIP Works & Bathroom Fixtures</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/06/renovation-for-douth-house-part-2.html#renovation-budgeting">Renovation Budgeting</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/06/renovation-for-douth-house-part-2.html#appointing-contractor">Appointing Renovation Contractor</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/06/renovation-for-douth-house-part-2.html#house-design-layout">House Design Layout</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/06/renovation-for-douth-house-part-2.html#painting-scheme">Painting Scheme</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/06/renovation-for-douth-house-part-2.html#laminate-tiling-selection">Laminate and Tiling Selection</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/06/renovation-for-douth-house-part-3.html#hacking-works">Hacking Works</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/06/renovation-for-douth-house-part-3.html#aircon-installation">Aircon Installation</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/06/renovation-for-douth-house-part-3.html#flooring-terrazzo">Flooring (Terrazzo)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/06/renovation-for-douth-house-part-3.html#electrical-distribution">Electrical Distribution</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/06/renovation-for-douth-house-part-3.html#lighting-design">Lighting Design and fixtures (fans, heaters, oven switch, etc)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/06/renovation-for-douth-house-part-3.html#carpentry-hinges">Carpentry / Blum Hinges</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/06/renovation-for-douth-house-part-3.html#door-installation">Door and Door Frame Installation</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/06/renovation-for-douth-house-part-3.html#windows-installation">Windows Installation</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/06/renovation-for-douth-house-part-3.html#blinds-installation">Blinds Installation</a></li>
<li>Non-built-in Furniture (Ikea, Hipvan, FortyTwo, Qoo10, etc)</li>
<li>Household appliances (Fridge, Washing Machine, Dishwasher, etc)</li>
<li>Plumbing (Sinks, Washing Machine, Dishwasher, etc)</li>
<li>Moving Day</li>
<li>MORE TO COME...</li>
</ol></div><br />
<h3><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5262733155135486417#" name="hacking-works"></a>11. Hacking Works</h3><br />
<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48049782487/in/dateposted/" title="WhatsApp Image 2019-01-10 at 21.17.12"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48049782487_8d7dafd3e3_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="WhatsApp Image 2019-01-10 at 21.17.12"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center><br />
All of the kitchen walls and floor were to be hacked because the existing tile work was in a poor condition and also exceedingly filthy... This would be the only hacking works to be done for our flat. To save on costs, we only hacked the kitchen tiles, and instead did an overlay of the tile work in the living area.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/q2Q4hQ" title="20190402_083118"><img alt="20190402_083118" height="389" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7849/40562031483_b9e01991d0_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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Our contractor helped us apply for the renovation permit (which takes 2 weeks) and this was straightforward as we were not hacking down any existing walls. If you are hacking any of the walls though, you'll need to submit the plans for approval in advance and this can take longer for the approval of the permit. There are quite a few rules concerning what is hackable and what is not, but if you have looked around the block you will see that a lot of people do quite creative hacking in their HDB flats despite the many constraints.<br />
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Finally when the notice comes you have to stick it at the lift landing or at the door of the flat to inform neighbours of the works - and the contractor/sub-contractors should also keep to the working hours and days on the permit. Since our block is undergoing HIP at the moment, there are always a few dozen of these notices stuck around the lift because everyone is taking advantage of the chaos of the HIP work period to time their noisy or destructive renovations.<br />
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<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/k62Y1L" title="20190402_082239"><img alt="20190402_082239" height="389" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7927/32585661887_eaf82fe798_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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Note the old rubbish chute in the corner...<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48050046127/in/dateposted/" title="SAM_2361"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48050046127_8c915fd7a8_c.jpg" width="800" height="450" alt="SAM_2361"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Replacement of rubbish chute (HIP) only after hacking and retiling</center><br />
Another thing is that we asked the HIP office to delay the installation of our new refuse chute till after the hacking and tiling works, otherwise the new chute would be damaged during the hacking process.<br />
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As for the actual hacking itself, I am always surprised to see that the hacking is often done within a day. Similarly, the HIP works hacking also just takes a mere morning. You would imagine this to take a long time but actually hacking doesn't cost a lot and is pretty quick.<br />
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<h3><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5262733155135486417#" name="aircon-installation"></a>12. Aircon Installation</h3><br />
<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/4U4Pge" title="20190612_112829"><img alt="20190612_112829" height="389" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48047431086_b0d5c7ee6d_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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The finished product - the aircon in its room!</center><br />
The all important aircon! Although it is the main splurge in our monthly electrical bill, without the aircon we might shrivel up and die in a sweaty puddle on the floor. Or in my case, productivity might drop by several points as a result of overheating. For our 3-room flat, we decided to get 3 blowers or a System 3 aircon - one for living area, and two for the bedrooms. We did not use our contractor's aircon contact, instead preferring to do it on our own, so we engaged the aircon installers separately on our own and arranged for the dates to slot into the rest of the works.<br />
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The unit for the blower is <b>BTU or British Thermal Unit</b> (it actually stands for the the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit), and according to Gaincity's website, how you calculate what you need in BTU is as follows:<br />
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<blockquote><a href="https://www.gaincity.com/aircon-buying-guide"><b>Gaincity Aircon Buying Guide</b></a>: "Find the square footage of the room you are trying to cool and multiply by 35. This will give you the ballpark BTUs you should look for. Shady room? Decrease that number by 10%. Sunny room? Increase that number by 10%. Add 4,000 BTUs if you are putting the A/C in the kitchen. If more than two people will be in the room regularly, add 600 BTUs per person."</blockquote><br />
Living Area + Stores: Approx 4 x 6.3 = 25.2 sq m (approx 271 sq ft) - needs at least 9485 BTU<br />
Blue Room: 4.35 x 2.9 = 12.615 (approx 136 sq ft) - needs at least 4760++ (sunny side)<br />
Green Room: 4.35 x 3.2 = 13.92 (approx 150 sq ft) - needs at least 5250++ (sunny side)<br />
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<b>The System 3 units we decided on correspondingly were (Mitsubishi Starmex Electric):<br />
</b>1 x Outdoor Unit MXY-3G28VA2 (for all 3 blowers)<br />
1 X Indoor Blower Unit MSXY-FN13VE (12000 BTU) - for the living area<br />
2 X Indoor Blower Unit MSXY-FN10VE (9000 BTU) - for the blue and green room<br />
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<b>Aircons are usually installed over 2 visits to your house:<br />
</b><b>1st Visit:</b> To dismantle wiring and existing piping and dispose of old system 2 aircon<br />
(In-between which the house painter comes in and does the first coat of painting)<br />
<b>2nd Visit:</b> To install new drainage piping, trunking, compressor, and new system 3 aircon<br />
(After which the house painter comes in again and paints over all the new trunking)<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/33883647488/in/photostream/" title="20190402_094744"><img alt="20190402_094744" height="389" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/33883647488_266db5bcb2_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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We also had to make some modifications to the new door frame design so as to accommodate the way in which the aircon drainage pipe would be run through the rooms. Here we were measuring the frame to see how much extra needed to be left so the big trunking could run across the top of the door frame - we eventually had to ask for the doorframe to be lowered by about 2.5" here.<br />
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Our main contractor initially suggested we tell our aircon installers to do 3 visits - but this doesn't seem to be the normal practice. The only reason you might break it up into 3 visits is because there are very dusty works going on in the house after the 2nd visit (eg: hacking). However, this can be fixed by having them put a big plastic wrap over the blowers after the 2nd/final installation to prevent dust from entering the blower and to restrict its use before the house has been properly cleaned up.<br />
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<b>Our experience buying and installing our first home aircon: </b>The dingparents were adamant that we should stick to a tried and tested aircon installer such as Gaincity which they had used multiple times. With the benefit of hindsight, perhaps this would have been a safer bet. BUT HOW WERE WE TO KNOW UNTIL WE TRIED IT FOR OURSELVES? The main thing we understood at that point was that when picking an installer, we had to ensure that the installer was using the correct types of premium materials for the installation - pvc drainage pipes, the proper wire cables, the right kind of class 1 insulation, and copper pipes. We just assumed the rest would follow....<br />
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George found another installer online who promised the same quality materials and could do it within our rather tight timeline (to fit in with the rest of the works). We saw a number of reviews online that were quite favourable for the company JEX AIRCON so we engaged them to install our aircon. I also got the dingfather to come down help us check that it was done properly. But... I don't know if I can recommend JEX AIRCON again (and I'm not including the link) because there were so many <span style="color:red"><b>red flags</b></span>:<br />
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<blockquote><i><b>Fear for workmen safety and worksite safety:</b></i> On the 1st visit they did not use a safety harness when climbing out to check the existing blower and I don't think the homeowners should be have to be actively worried that the blower might fall off the ledge during retrieval. When we hired someone to do the job we assumed they would follow all health and safety regulations and not let their workmen take unnecessary risks! Only one of the workers really spoke English (the rest of the team was composed of Indian workmen who did not understand English so direct communication with the workmen physically doing the work was difficult for us)<br />
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<i><b>Not sure if installers were actually trained or BCA licensed:</b></i> So on the 2nd Visit, we asked the workmen who came to our house if they were BCA licensed but we were given a blank look and the very worrying response: "What is BCA?" - This made us think that none of the men who were working on it were actually BCA licensed or trained, so I texted the company again who confirmed they were BCA-certified. What can one do that at that point? <br />
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<i><b>Took an unusually long time for standard installation:</b></i> They took from 9am-10pm to install 3 blowers, which seemed bizarrely/ridiculously long. I mean, I really didn't expect people to work at my house from 9am till 10pm. The poor Dingfather had to stay there with them from morning to night because I was at work (and even after I got off work!!) - and actually the poor workmen were just working nonstop. It was hard to be angry at the men on site because they seemed to be really struggling and doing their best but they were just confused and unskilled and ill-equipped to do the job. From what I understood and from the dingparents' past experiences (of which they had many), normal professional installers could install 3 blowers in a morning, but Jex Aircon's men really did not seem to know what they were doing at all, as if they were doing it for the first time and figuring it out on the spot, which was bizarre for a professional company and also made us quite nervous. <br />
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<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsSnPswzY9RxDoO8e7K60j96u5OJnnX6Q8J0HCGBbcJ-1dxkznWjmk62dqRq7N64b64ZVxhf4F3XegCD92qPJel-w2r_7PII2O9ascvQGWwEgTccfv-TwbSrgLp7_MUlDX4LrPZCx0gEmD/s1600/unacceptablelemon.gif" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsSnPswzY9RxDoO8e7K60j96u5OJnnX6Q8J0HCGBbcJ-1dxkznWjmk62dqRq7N64b64ZVxhf4F3XegCD92qPJel-w2r_7PII2O9ascvQGWwEgTccfv-TwbSrgLp7_MUlDX4LrPZCx0gEmD/s1600/unacceptablelemon.gif" /></a><br />
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<small>Again, as Lemongrab might say: "<b>UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!!</b>"</small></center><br />
Finally, after a long arduous installation process on their end, they had finished up everything but were unable to connect it to our power to prove to us it worked, which seemed ridiculous. It was only with the intervention of Dingfather (who originally trained as an electrical engineer) that he instructed them on how to wire it to the mains DB box to test that it was functional. Lucky for them, it was working.</blockquote><br />
<b>Things you'll want from your aircon installation:</b><br />
- Professional<br />
- Securely installed<br />
- BCA-certified<br />
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<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48047484518/in/dateposted/" title="20190612_112742"><img alt="20190612_112742" height="800" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48047484518_2305bcbb59_c.jpg" width="389" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48047498253/in/dateposted/" title="Screenshot 2019-06-12 at 12.48.27 PM annotate"><img alt="Screenshot 2019-06-12 at 12.48.27 PM annotate" height="534" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48047498253_51d1037c45_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></center><br />
Unfortunately... I didn't feel that we got any of those three from our installer, Jex Aircon. Also, er.... I wonder, is it normal for there to be no visible BOLTS connecting the aircon to the brackets??? I mean I don't think a big wind will blow off our blowers, but seriously....... I guess only time will tell if we have any issues with our aircon units as a result of this haphazard installation. In the meantime all I can say if that if you wanna go with Jex Aircon, then... MAYBE.... DON'T?????<br />
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<h3><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5262733155135486417#" name="flooring-terrazzo"></a>13. Flooring (Terrazzo)</h3><br />
<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48049767657/in/dateposted/" title="XxPdLMVDBCnL6P6iLySppC"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48049767657_eaf398e2d0_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="XxPdLMVDBCnL6P6iLySppC"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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BEFORE: Image by Property Agent on original listing<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48049767682/in/dateposted/" title="WhatsApp Image 2019-04-30 at 18.47.24"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48049767682_ff1b4e3f12_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="WhatsApp Image 2019-04-30 at 18.47.24"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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AFTER: Right after the terrazzo polishing</center><br />
George did a lot of research on terrazzo polishing and sealants. Our friends living in Little India had told us a cautionary tale about the importance of SEALING YOUR TERRAZZO especially the new types of terrazzo, which was causing them no end of grief after they discovered how porous and greedily absorbent their terrazzo was, sucking up all the wine and coffee spilt on it, that they were always at attention with their baking soda and cleaning agents and cloths to absorb any stains that they noticed. <br />
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But then.... we got talked out of using sealant because of the cost. The sealant was going to cost more and we have the old sort of terrazzo that is super hardy. Dingparents also told us that if we really needed in the future it would be cheaper to simply repolish the whole lot!<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48050046302/in/dateposted/" title="48050016367_370e51e1c2_k"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48050046302_39de4b1d2a_c.jpg" width="800" height="391" alt="48050016367_370e51e1c2_k"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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One thing we didn't really personally monitor and which was subsequently not done was the polishing of the skirting board which is also terrazzo. As a result, none of the skirting was polished whereas all of the actual floor was polished brightly. The difference is stark in many spots. <br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/AvBx95" title="20190525_122934"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47972379311_93f6879456_c.jpg" width="800" height="389" alt="20190525_122934"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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You would imagine that it would be obvious that polishing terrazzo should obviously include the skirting board area. But no, this is one area that the workmen might cut corners on if you aren't present to insist on it. And we didn't have time to rectify it because the work schedule simply had to move on!!!<br />
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<i><b>Lesson learnt</b>: Either get a better project manager to monitor the terrazzo polishing and check that they do the skirting board too -OR- Come down and monitor the terrazzo polishing yourself and insist that they do the skirting board for you as well</i><br />
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<h3><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5262733155135486417#" name="electrical-distribution"></a>14. Electrical Distribution</h3><br />
We left this part to the Dingfather who drew this out. This distribution ensures that the load is distributed evenly and we won't have an unsafe dodgy electrical situation such as in our previous rental where most of the house light switches, tv, oven, stove, kettle, and a billion other powerpoints and appliances were all on the same circuit, resulting in the tv and lights going out temporarily in one room when someone else turned on a light in another room.<br />
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<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48050057767/in/dateposted/" title="Electrical Distribution Plan"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48050057767_ed3a371bef_c.jpg" width="563" height="800" alt="Electrical Distribution Plan"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center><br />
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<h3><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5262733155135486417#" name="lighting-design"></a>15. Lighting Design and Fixtures (fans, heaters, oven switch, etc)</h3><br />
I didn't know how to do the lighting BUT SOMEONE HAD TO DO IT so I drew up a plan mainly using a rail and spotlight system because, well, I am more familiar with how spotlights work in galleries, and I figured we could point them around as we wanted later, or even wrap them with gels later on to change the colour... and then... welp, I ACCIDENTALLY OVER-LIT THE HOUSE.<br />
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<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48050110788/in/dateposted/" title="HouseLightingPlan_v2b-01"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48050110788_1690875fda_b.jpg" width="727" height="1024" alt="HouseLightingPlan_v2b-01"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center><br />
This is the diagram I produced with my planned lighting which I used to brief in the electrician. We planned for a lot of two way switches and a hella lot of 13A double plugs because we like them. I must have done something wrong because at the end of this endeavour we had a electrical bill of OVER 4000SGD WHAT AND HOW DID THAT HAPPEN???<br />
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To be honest my expectation for the electrical bill was about 2000SGD and when we asked the HIP electrician to give us a ball park figure he said about $2500 for the entire house. THE ENTIRE HOUSE. So how did our electrical bill go so out of control? <br />
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My post-mortem review would say:<br />
- Designer (myself) was blithely unaware that modern LEDS are EXTREMELY BRIGHT so calculating wattage may not be useful<br />
- Designer (myself) was unclear about proper way of calculating lighting required for house<br />
- Bought too many tracks for lights and then proceeded to INSTALL THEM ALL<br />
- Bought too many LED lights for track lighting system<br />
- Too many 13A power points<br />
- Too many two way light switches<br />
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On the BRIGHT SIDE - WE HAVE AN EXTREMELY BRIGHT HOUSE NOW!!! The neighbours probably think of us as the people WHO HAVE THAT INSANELY BRIGHT YELLOW HOUSE (our bright lighting complements our bright yellow living room with BRIGHT YELLOW CEILING TO BOOT! HA TAKE THAT!)<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/K14s1b" title="20190413_182200"><img alt="20190413_182200" height="389" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47595542142_e824d5b395_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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We got our lights from Aspire Lighting in Geylang. They had the simple lights we liked and they were super friendly.<br />
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We also saw this fun little light and I think its my favourite light in the entire house. We put it by the doorway, it is the FIRST TIME I HAVE EVER HAD A FANCY LIGHT.<br />
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<i><b>TOP TIP: </b>Are you using spotlights? Don't go crazy and buy more than the recommended amount "just in case". You will not use that many. In fact you might remove some for sanity's sake. Also, don't ask for multiple two-way switches for everything. You think you're making life easier for yourself but actually EACH BUTTON IS ONE MORE BUTTON YOU HAVE TO MEMORISE THE USE OF. Light switch affordances are harder to design well than you would think... even as an interaction designer I am still facepalming a few of my lighting and button decisions in this house...</i><br />
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<h3><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5262733155135486417#" name="carpentry-hinges"></a>16. Carpentry / Blum Hinges</h3><br />
<b>Carpentry Design</b><br />
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I expected our contractor to design our carpentry with a bit more detail. This... we did not get. We got a less than impressive drawing with no dimensions on it. I was disappointed with this and even thought of using the diagram as an example of PERSPECTIVE FAIL to show to my Drawing students who are being taught the basics of technical drawing and perspective drawing at the moment.<br />
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<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48034181458/in/dateposted/" title="Screen Shot 2019-03-13 at 3.15.14 PM"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48034181458_100ce74685_c.jpg" width="800" height="571" alt="Screen Shot 2019-03-13 at 3.15.14 PM"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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THE 3D DRAWING OF OUR KITCHEN THAT WE GAVE TO OUR CONTRACTOR</center><br />
This is the drawing that we gave to our contractor to show him what we wanted. But as we are not carpenters, we cannot come up with all the interior thicknesses and dimensions on our own, nor could we design how to incorporate things such as the gas and water pipes behind - so we thought this Sketchup model would be a useful starting point for the contractor/carpenter to work with.<br />
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<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48078221737/in/dateposted/" title="Screenshot 2019-06-17 at 4.34.48 PM"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48078221737_bc758621de_n.jpg" width="320" height="278" alt="Screenshot 2019-06-17 at 4.34.48 PM"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48078221737/in/dateposted/" title="Screenshot 2019-06-17 at 4.34.48 PM"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48078221737_bc758621de_n.jpg" width="320" height="278" alt="Screenshot 2019-06-17 at 4.34.48 PM"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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THE DRAWINGS OF THE KITCHEN THAT OUR CONTRACTOR CAME BACK WITH</center><br />
These were the slightly underwhelming drawings I got back from the contractor. Later, despite asking for more drawings the best I got was this drawing plus some dimensions added to it after we had a long discussion on the dimensions and placements. By which time I was very worried we would miss the timeline for completion before our critical moving date.<br />
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<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48078150553/in/photostream/" title="47972385386_1075b68361_o"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48078150553_fef9c6ac69_c.jpg" width="800" height="592" alt="47972385386_1075b68361_o"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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THE NORMAL STANDARD OF KITCHEN DRAWINGS THAT I EXPECTED FROM A CONTRACTOR</center><br />
This is the minimum standard that I had been expecting for a kitchen carpentry design - this is an example that the Dingparents showed me after our reno was nearly completed - the diagram made by their contractor for their own flat. I had seen this before and frankly although I don't need a full render, I expected at least a digitally drawn, accurate diagram with dimensions.<br />
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<b>Clearance for appliances</b><br />
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Attention to detail was lacking in many spots of the kitchen but one critical error was that it appeared that there wasn't a clearance designed for the top of our fridge. We had bought our fridge way in advance and it was quite a tall unit. I didn't think that I had to explicitly say that a clearance had to be added in for our fridge but there just wasn't any clearance and it was only with the help of a muscular cleaner in the house that the fridge was successfully wedged into its hole with probably just about 1mm to spare on the top (gulp). AAHHHHHHHHH!!!!<br />
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<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/tKf93V" title="20190528_163712"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47972352198_55818b18d6_c.jpg" width="389" height="800" alt="20190528_163712"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center><br />
Also, on an aside, who goes and designs such an elaborate torture for cables like this???.... Here is our tortured fridge cable and behold in this picture you can also see the lack of clearance between fridge and top. We have a lot of excess clearance on sides and back to compensate (where I think the actual cooling elements are) so I like to think our fridge is not any worse off from this unfortunate fitting.<br />
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<b>Edge Band</b><br />
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For those who don't know what is the edge band and its in your quote, this is the edge band made of ABS. It is a 1mm strip of plastic ABS used to create a trimming for the carpentry finish. Look I'm trying to find some learning points so I can console myself that this was still a great learning process for us all despite all the disaster.<br />
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<b>Cabinet Laminate</b><br />
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I already mentioned the sad story of the WRONG LAMINATE in my previous entry, but the TLDR; summary of it here is that our contractor somehow mixed up the colour of the laminate we wanted despite it being named and typed out in all the docs and messages correctly - I thought it had a blue film over it thus making it green so I didn't raise a warning flag until it was basically too late and so at the end we discussed it and he waived the extra charge that would have been charged for the premium laminate material. ITS OKAY WE CAN LIVE WITH A PISTACHIO GREEN KITCHEN. It is starting to grow on us.<br />
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<b>Cabinet Inner PVC Foil</b><br />
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<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/kN31AG" title="20190427_151043"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47924274242_bfd3f12672_n.jpg" width="320" height="156" alt="20190427_151043"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/pf13CJ" title="20190427_150339"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47924274833_150be8453a_n.jpg" width="320" height="156" alt="20190427_150339"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center><br />
The inside of your cabinets are lined with a pvc coating, you get to choose from a few inoffensive inner colours like these. We chose grey.<br />
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<b>Worktop</b><br />
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We chose an inoffensive sort of white quartz material for the worktop (see picture below). I like how the light scatters on top of it. You also get to choose different profiles (if you are feeling "extra"), but we stuck with just the normal flat one. Remember that the worktop has to be cut and fabricated off site, so if you need any holes cut THEY MUST BE DONE IN ADVANCE, otherwise, get ready for that sinking feeling of impending worksite disaster....<br />
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By sinking feeling I am also making reference to THE SINK INCIDENT - wherein our silgranite sink (which was EXPLICITLY DESIGNED TO BE AN OVERMOUNT sink was installed wrongly as an UNDERMOUNT sink to the worktop. Nope we weren't happy about this but figured that it would damage our sink to have them uninstall it and remount as OVERMOUNT after they bungled it. Infuriatingly, the installation booklet as well as its widgets were still STUCK TO THE SINK UNOPENED when we found it had been wrongly installed.<br />
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In the end the contractor said he could give a warranty for the sink installation as UNDERMOUNT so we left it as that, although to be honest we always intended this sink to be overmount. If we had known it would be undermount then we might have chosen another sink without such a distinct material (now the material is hidden inside the sink), but I really do like this silgranite sink material. Its like our floor - kinda grainy and rough to the touch yet oddly smooth. It is not slippy when wet and it also dries quick.<br />
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<i><b>Top Tip:</b> MAKE SURE EVERYONE AND THEIR GRANDMA KNOWS THAT YOUR SINK IS MEANT TO BE OVERMOUNT OR UNDERMOUNT. OR GO DOWN YOURSELF TO REMIND EVERYONE ON SITE. DON'T ASSUME THAT BECAUSE YOU SHOWED THEM A DRAWING/PIC AND SAID IT ONCE AND GAVE THEM THE INSTALLATION MANUAL THAT THE INSTALLER WILL DO IT TO SPECIFICATIONS! BECAUSE THE CONTRACTOR/SUBCONTRACTOR/WORKMEN WON'T READ ANY OF THE PAPERS OR MANUALS YOU STUCK TO THE ITEMS!!!</i><br />
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<b>Hinges</b><br />
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If I did this all over again, I would explicitly ask the contractor "PLEASE TELL ME WHAT IS INCLUDED BY DEFAULT IN OUR AGREEMENT, WE'LL PROBABLY HAVE THAT" instead of having them say "oh go choose anything you want from the blum website online". Firstly, it was very stressful and confusing having to acquaint ourselves with the different types of blum hinges. Why can't I just ask for "the blum hinges that close slowly on their own" and leave the rest up to my contractor to do it? Why do I have to spend time going down to the blum showroom and study all the blum hinges myself? In addition to that, to be given an additional bill for choosing weird add-ons... How am i supposed to be the hinge specialist now? Man I don't want to have to get into hinges again....<br />
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So we went down to understand ALL OF THE PARTS OF A BLUM HINGE WHICH IS PROBABLY MORE THAN I SHOULD EVER NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MY HINGE OPTIONS.<br />
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Things I learnt were that for most of the normal casement doors you just need:<br />
107 degree Hinge - CLIP top BLUMOTION - 75B1550 Silver - $4.25/pc<br />
Mounting Plate with 0mm spacing - 175H3100 - Straight with height adjustment - $0.82/pc<br />
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This is not one of those $2 hinges you get at the corner store, this is the slow-closing action hinge with a separate mounting plate that allows you to make height adjustments to your door to align everything up. Most hinges don't let you do that as they are fixed plates (if you misalign them they are misaligned and its hard to fine-tune things). Yes that's why your hinge is so expensive. ARGHHHHHH.<br />
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As for the food larder we chose TBX i5 drawers (above). These are of fixed sizes and go inside your large cupboard to give it structure. Some people say you don't need a drawer, but we kinda liked it. We also asked them why people choose between 30 and 65kg load capacities and decided we did not need the 65 kg load capacity. That would be like having a DEBBIE sitting inside the drawer which is not happening anyway.<br />
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We also tried out a lot of dish drainer mechanisms... but this was included.<br />
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<i><b>TOP TIP:</b> Ask your contractor "PLEASE TELL ME WHAT IS INCLUDED BY DEFAULT IN OUR AGREEMENT, WE'LL HAVE JUST THAT, AND YOU CAN PICK ALL THE HINGES AS LONG AS THEY ARE SOFT-CLOSING KTHXBYE"</i><br />
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<h3><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5262733155135486417#" name="door-installation"></a>17. Door and Door Frame Installation</h3><br />
Doors was another thing that we decided to do on our own. The dingmother recommended we try the shops along Eunos Avenue 4 and 5, which included Siong Doors, Yontat Doors, and PD Doors. The first two do a lot of those veneer doors which are extremely reasonably priced (Within the $200 range each). The only issue I see with these notably hollow doors (not solid) is that they sometimes slip open with the wind because they are very light. PD Doors does a unique sort of Japanese folding door that we might consider but haven't found it so critical to install just yet.<br />
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<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/47708055442/in/photostream/" title="20190406_102548"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47708055442_67e92235c6_c.jpg" width="800" height="389" alt="20190406_102548"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Yontat Doors</center><br />
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Example of Yontat's door selections and door knobs. I chose one that was more ergonomic (although less aesthetically pleasing). A kind of handle you could just slam down with a finger to open.<br />
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PD Doors<br />
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These framed doors can slide open and also fold up.</center><br />
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<h3><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5262733155135486417#" name="windows-installation"></a>18. Window Installation</h3><br />
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We chose a casement instead of sliding windows because we wanted it to be really soundproof. George also initially wanted double glazing but we were talked out of it because of cost. It is not truly soundproof in there either, but a lot of the sound is indeed insulated.<br />
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For the only sliding windows in the house, we had them in the living area. For sliding windows and grills they can be 2 track or 3 track. Note that the 3 track is obviously more costly so if you were quoted a 3 track price check that you haven't received a 2 track instead (which happened to us)<br />
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<h3><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5262733155135486417#" name="blinds-installation"></a>19. Blinds Installation</h3><br />
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We got Korean combi blinds and it was 940 for all 3 windows including installation thanks to Blinds Guru who were super fast in doing the measurement on the day we went to their showroom and installation was really dust-free thanks to their awesome drilling-hoover-attachment.<br />
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<hr><br />
Alright I've got De Quervain's tenosynovitis in both hands and have to wear hand guards now so I AM ENDING THIS POST ABRUPTLY TO GO AND REST NOW. More of the juice in Part 4.....<br />
<br />
</div>debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-88822024135451864162019-06-10T01:45:00.000+01:002019-06-12T05:24:31.382+01:00RENOVATION FOR THE D'OUTH HOUSE: Part 2 - Budgeting, Appointing Renovation Contractor, House Design Layout, Painting Scheme, Laminate and Tiling Selection<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8tHJluKqvA6gzKnk1laC0MfwVlcTDLt9vsI3QrISIDCPvrK-ODaVHzaHoy25Ix42L1Ifhlm2P9RUKDqNa-_XYzUQYv1rQkFJSwEcaDMaeFq0cleaKLe-VtjyQdZgMIyX7OXsqw-Br0fYJ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-13+at+3.15.14+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8tHJluKqvA6gzKnk1laC0MfwVlcTDLt9vsI3QrISIDCPvrK-ODaVHzaHoy25Ix42L1Ifhlm2P9RUKDqNa-_XYzUQYv1rQkFJSwEcaDMaeFq0cleaKLe-VtjyQdZgMIyX7OXsqw-Br0fYJ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-13+at+3.15.14+PM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1143" width=800px /></a><br />
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<div style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 1em; width: 600px;"><b>Table of Contents:</b><br />
<ol><li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/05/renovation-for-douth-house-part-1-flat.html#flat-viewings">Flat Viewings</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/05/renovation-for-douth-house-part-1-flat.html#online-research">Online Research</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/05/renovation-for-douth-house-part-1-flat.html#resale-process">HDB Resale Flat Purchase Process</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/05/renovation-for-douth-house-part-1-flat.html#hip-options">HIP Options</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/05/renovation-for-douth-house-part-1-flat.html#bathroom-fixtures">HIP Works & Bathroom Fixtures</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/06/renovation-for-douth-house-part-2.html#renovation-budgeting">Renovation Budgeting</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/06/renovation-for-douth-house-part-2.html#appointing-contractor">Appointing Renovation Contractor</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/06/renovation-for-douth-house-part-2.html#house-design-layout">House Design Layout</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/06/renovation-for-douth-house-part-2.html#painting-scheme">Painting Scheme</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/06/renovation-for-douth-house-part-2.html#laminate-tiling-selection">Laminate and Tiling Selection</a></li>
<li>Hacking Works</li>
<li>Aircon Installation</li>
<li>Electrical Distribution</li>
<li>Lighting Design and fixtures (fans, heaters, oven switch, etc)</li>
<li>Carpentry / Blum Hinges</li>
<li>Door and Door Frame Installation</li>
<li>Windows Installation</li>
<li>Blinds Installation</li>
<li>Non-built-in Furniture (Ikea, Hipvan, FortyTwo, Qoo10, etc)</li>
<li>Household appliances (Fridge, Washing Machine, Dishwasher, etc)</li>
<li>Plumbing (Sinks, Washing Machine, Dishwasher, etc)</li>
<li>Moving Day</li>
<li>MORE TO COME...</li>
</ol></div><br />
<h3><a href="#" name="renovation-budgeting"></a>6. Renovation Budgeting</h3><br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/46844147865/" title="k3LPqsFWS7fTce4dRmhCXX"><img alt="k3LPqsFWS7fTce4dRmhCXX" height="600" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/46844147865_8b9d4cf8a2_b.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
<br />
<center>ACTUAL PICTURE FROM THE FLAT LISTING (Source: Ben Fan)</center><br />
When we first saw the online listing for the flat, I admit that it crossed our minds that it might have been on fire once. Alarmingly, when we did a cursory google search of fires in the area, there HAD been a fatal fire incident in the block in the recent past, befitting of the sales timeline of the flat. At this point, most normal people might run away from such a flat. BUT WE ARE NO MERE MORTALS. Also we were on a budget. How were we ever going to find an amazingly priced flat in the Central region? Possibly by going against the trend by looking for weird flats that might not attract the typical Singaporean buyer. (On the practical end, the majority of buyers in Singapore are likely to be Chinese just based on demographics, so we just had to think of what the typical Chinese buyer might avoid) So we persevered in digging up more on the story, and found that it was definitely a different flat that had been on fire. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/lighted-joss-sticks-and-candles-may-have-sparked-fire-which-killed-elderly">ST (19 April 2017): Lighted joss sticks and candles may have sparked fire which killed elderly hoarder</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/fatal-fire-in-flat-clutter-likely-hindered-womans-escape">ST (20 April 2017): Fatal fire in flat: Clutter likely hindered woman's escape</a><br />
<br />
We were sorry to read about the Rowell tragedy, but after investigating further: <b>GOOD NEWS EVERYONE, THIS FLAT HAS NEVER BEEN ON FIRE BEFORE!</b> And that totally black Electrical DB box that we thought might been burnt?? It was outdated but actually fine on the inside; it was just that someone had painted it completely black. In any case the flat was not one of those bright cheery viewings poised to sell. It hadn't been maintained in a very long time. The things it had stacked against it were:<br />
<br />
<ul><li><b>Located in Little India</b> - which is not typically known a popular area for 'typical Chinese buyers' - and where the <a href="https://www.hdb.gov.sg/cs/infoweb/residential/buying-a-flat/resale/ethnic-integration-policy-and-spr-quota">ethnic quota system</a> is flipped (Indian quota maxed out as opposed to the usual case of Chinese quota maxed out) - flipped in our favour though, so YAY!</li>
<li><b>Having been on the market for more than 6 mths</b> - garnering very high number of views on all the property listing websites, with signs that it may have been priced at 420 initially but that the price had been lowered - which raised the question of why it hadn't sold for so long? why hadn't someone else seen the value in this humble little flat?</li>
<li><b>Extremely "original condition"</b> - dirt or joss stick/religious paraphernalia smoke marks everywhere, no fixtures, no fittings, might not have been renovated ever since the 80s, kitchen would need to be hacked and completely done from scratch - could we handle or afford doing a very extensive renovation project?</li>
</ul><br />
Since it was in a very "original condition", we knew it would require a lot of renovation works. The next step was to try to intelligently guess the cost of the renovation so we could set a reasonable budget of sorts - by thinking of what were the absolute essentials, like having a BED to sleep on, having the electricals done, getting plumbing done, putting in air conditioning, having a kitchen sink, etc. With the caveat that I have never done a house renovation project before, this was the budget I (naively?) drew up to estimate the cost/budget on my side. All the items in Green were considered necessary, the ones in yellow could be substituted by cheaper off-the-shelf alternatives.<br />
<br />
<style type="text/css"><!--td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}--></style><br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" dir="ltr" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; table-layout: fixed; width: 0px;" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><colgroup><col width="100"></col><col width="265"></col><col width="100"></col><col width="228"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated 3 Room HDB Resale Renovation Cost"}" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) transparent rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold; overflow: visible; padding: 2px 0px; vertical-align: bottom;"><div style="left: 3px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; white-space: nowrap; width: 361px;"><div style="float: left;">Estimated 3 Room HDB Resale Renovation Cost</div></div></td><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td colspan="1" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Living Room"}" rowspan="9" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;"><div style="max-height: 189px;">Living Room</div></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"TV - Already have one!"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">TV - Already have one!</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">0</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"-"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">-</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Speakers and sound system - already have one!"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Speakers and sound system - already have one!</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":0}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">0</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"-"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">-</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"TV Console Shelving"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">TV Console Shelving</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":500}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">500</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated based on hipvan"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Estimated based on hipvan</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Coffee Table"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Coffee Table</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":400}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">400</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated based on Scanteak"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Estimated based on Scanteak</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Sofa"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Sofa</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1000}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">1000</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated based on Scanteak"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Estimated based on Scanteak</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Ceiling Fans"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Ceiling Fans</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":300}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">300</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated based on Lazada"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Estimated based on Lazada</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Dining Set"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Dining Set</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1500}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">1500</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated based on Scanteak"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Estimated based on Scanteak</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Aircon - System 3"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Aircon - System 3</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2500}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">2500</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated based on Daikin"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Estimated based on Daikin</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Lighting"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Lighting</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1000}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">1000</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"GUESS-TIMATED"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">GUESS-TIMATED</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td colspan="1" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Bedroom"}" rowspan="4" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;"><div style="max-height: 84px;">Bedroom</div></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Kingsize Mattress and Bedframe with Storage (englander)"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Kingsize Mattress and Bedframe with Storage (englander)</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2000}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">2000</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated based on Englander"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Estimated based on Englander</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Wardrobe Carpentry"}" style="background-color: #ffd966; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Wardrobe Carpentry</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":4000}" style="background-color: #ffd966; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">4000</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"GUESS-TIMATED"}" style="background-color: #ffd966; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">GUESS-TIMATED</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Bedside tables x 2"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Bedside tables x 2</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":300}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">300</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated based on ikea"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Estimated based on ikea</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Bedside lamps x 2"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Bedside lamps x 2</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":300}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">300</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated based on ikea"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Estimated based on ikea</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td colspan="1" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Second Room"}" rowspan="4" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;"><div style="max-height: 84px;">Second Room</div></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Ceiling Fan x 2 rooms"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Ceiling Fan x 2 rooms</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":600}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">600</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated based on Lazada"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Estimated based on Lazada</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Study Desks x2"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Study Desks x2</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":800}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">800</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated based on hipvan"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Estimated based on hipvan</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Bookshelving Carpentry"}" style="background-color: #ffd966; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Bookshelving Carpentry</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1000}" style="background-color: #ffd966; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">1000</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"GUESS-TIMATED"}" style="background-color: #ffd966; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">GUESS-TIMATED</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Good office chairs x2"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Good office chairs x2</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":800}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">800</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated based on Courts"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Estimated based on Courts</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td colspan="1" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Kitchen"}" rowspan="5" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;"><div style="max-height: 105px;">Kitchen</div></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Fridge"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Fridge</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1000}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">1000</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated based on Lazada"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Estimated based on Lazada</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Washing Machine"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Washing Machine</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":800}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">800</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated based on Lazada"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Estimated based on Lazada</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Oven"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Oven</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1000}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">1000</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated based on Lazada"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Estimated based on Lazada</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Sink"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Sink</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":1000}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">1000</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated based on hoe kee"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Estimated based on hoe kee</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Kitchen Cabinet Carpentry"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Kitchen Cabinet Carpentry</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":15000}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">15000</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated based on dingparents"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Estimated based on dingparents</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td colspan="1" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Extras"}" rowspan="4" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;"><div style="max-height: 84px;">Extras</div></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Painting"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Painting</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":900}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">900</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated based on moneysmartblog"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Estimated based on moneysmartblog</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Professional Cleaning and Polishing Everything"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Professional Cleaning and Polishing Everything</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":800}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">800</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated based on moneysmartblog"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Estimated based on moneysmartblog</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Electricals (Moderate)"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Electricals (Moderate)</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":2000}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">2000</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated based on moneysmartblog"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Estimated based on moneysmartblog</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Hacking (Light/moderate)"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Hacking (Light/moderate)</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":500}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">500</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Estimated based on moneysmartblog"}" style="background-color: #93c47d; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Estimated based on moneysmartblog</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr>
<tr style="height: 21px;"><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"ESTIMATED TOTAL (SGD)"}" style="font-weight: bold; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">ESTIMATED TOTAL (SGD)</td><td data-sheets-formula="=SUM(R[-27]C[0]:R[-1]C[0])" data-sheets-value="{"1":3,"3":40000}" style="font-weight: bold; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">40000</td><td style="overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
When I cross-checked the number with the very experienced dingparents, they had independently produced a similar calculation (although it was with different line items!!!). Anyway in my case, I thought that this was a reasonable number based on the cash savings I had available after paying the deposit for the house, and with George contributing an equal share this was definitely a number we could afford without overstretching ourselves or emptying out the bank (still able to put aside a reasonable amount of savings for emergencies).<br />
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<i><b>Reality: </b>So.... did we keep to this specific budget in the end? No. Not really if you really go and count all the extra bits we had to get outside of the main contractor works. Insert facepalm. Like any good episode of GRAND DESIGNS (ahem) we ended up exceeding our initial cost and time estimate. We were total noobs at this. But I'll do a postmortem of this later.</i><br />
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<h3><a href="#" name="appointing-contractor"></a>7. Appointing a Renovation Contractor</h3><br />
The next major challenge was that we needed to appoint a renovation contractor who could help us with project management and most importantly, the complicated bits in the kitchen - hacking, carpentry, water points, gas, etc. You'll always want to speak to several contractors before deciding on one - as it will be useful to see several versions of the itemised quotation, and to ask all the questions you want about each item they have quoted to understand what they refer to. On a practical note though, it can take a long time to speak to one contractor properly and communicate all your needs accurately, so its not really feasible to speak to every contractor that looks interesting out there - you have to make a shortlist first. We did our research (and the dingparents assisted us greatly with this too) and spoke to 4 contractors in total.<br />
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<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/K7tW4L" title="20190510_075004"><img alt="20190510_075004" height="389" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47814468291_fb0fb056e8_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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Example of Itemised Quotations from different contractors</center><br />
The whole point of engaging a contractor/ID is for their design advice/input. We also didn't want a "yes-man" who would tell us that anything and everything we wanted could be magically built, because we knew that HDB flats have a lot more rules and regulations than private flats. We needed an experienced contractor who could do the project management and also point out where our planned design might encounter issues. Both me and George were working full time as well plus I had a lot of medical appointments and checkups getting in the way of being at the house - which was why we had wanted to hire an ID/contractor to project manage in the first place.<br />
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<i><b>Our Timeline & Reality: </b><br />
25 Feb 2019 - First meeting with Contractor<br />
6 March 2019 - Contractor visits flat with us<br />
8 March 2019 - Contractor drafted out first draft of agreement<br />
13 March 2019 - Meeting to discuss first draft of agreement<br />
18 March 2019 - Meeting to discuss second draft of agreement<br />
23 March 2019 - Appointed Contractor and signed agreement<br />
<br />
It took us 1 month to engage a contractor - from the start of first ever conversation to the signing of contract. Unfortunately, in the middle of renovation works, our appointed ID/contractor went MIA from time to time (uncontactable!!!) and wasn't on site to project manage things at some critical junctions which made it very difficult as subcontractors in the house would ask us what they should do. Confusion ensued and works were delayed as a result because corrections had to be made, and we even had to move to my parents' house temporarily for a few weeks whilst the works were sorted out between our rental and our new flat. If I could do this again, I would have wished for a better project manager...</i><br />
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<h3><a href="#" name="house-design-layout"></a>8. House Design Layout</h3><br />
<b>BUY THE FLOOR PLAN: </b>So you've decided you want to do your own Interior Design. Or part of the way of it anyway. The first step is to purchase your HDB floor plan from HDB - <a href="https://www.hdb.gov.sg/cs/infoweb/purchase-of-residential-floor-plan-for-existing-flat/get-help">For Existing Flats</a> - which costs $5 so you have this handy little PDF file you can edit in Illustrator. In our case the seller's estate agent actually helpfully gave us a copy of this so we didn't have to buy ours. Anyway, in terms of the timeline, we could have started the process of designing everything from the moment we received the key. Except that we were slowpokes.<br />
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<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/32836098047/in/dateposted/" title="Screen Shot 2019-05-05 at 9.30.14 PM"><img alt="Screen Shot 2019-05-05 at 9.30.14 PM" height="1023" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/32836098047_28104ffa4c_b.jpg" width="713" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></center><br />
<b>RE-MEASURE YOUR HOUSE:</b> Even with the floor plan, you'll notice that it is nothing like the actual flat you have. So you have to go and measure everything on your own again. This is really crucial. For me, what was useful was this diagram that the dingparents had made. They might not be designers but I'm impressed with all of their meticulous drawings! I'm teaching the Drawing and Illustration module at the moment and I almost want to show the dingparents sketches to the class as an example of how learning technical drawing can still be useful later in life and beyond design school.<br />
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<b>DRAW UP A DRAFT LAYOUT:</b> This is where the design phase went a little bit mad, as George preferred to work straight on something that he could view in 3D and VR, whereas my first impulse was to lay out everything in 2D on Illustrator, which I am very fast on.<br />
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<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/8t4KFS" title="08-84@200640 - Draft Layout v1 - 27 Feb 2019 - For Contractor"><img alt="08-84@200640 - Draft Layout v1 - 27 Feb 2019 - For Contractor" height="521" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47727368292_5709ed6463_c.jpg" width="800" /></a><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script><br />
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Draft Layout - 27 Feb 2019 (by DBBD)<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48034135456/in/dateposted/" title="Screen Shot 2019-03-09 at 12.11.45 PM"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48034135456_92cc2bc7b2_c.jpg" width="800" height="344" alt="Screen Shot 2019-03-09 at 12.11.45 PM"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Draft 2D of Kitchen - 9 March 2019 (by DBBD)<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48034181358/in/dateposted/" title="Screen Shot 2019-03-13 at 3.18.01 PM"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48034181358_254bc1294a_c.jpg" width="800" height="633" alt="Screen Shot 2019-03-13 at 3.18.01 PM"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Draft 3D Layout of House - 13 March 2019 (by George)<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48034249252/in/dateposted/" title="Screen Shot 2019-03-13 at 3.15.39 PM"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48034249252_38ca4d32dc_c.jpg" width="800" height="551" alt="Screen Shot 2019-03-13 at 3.15.39 PM"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Draft 3D of Kitchen - 13 March 2019 (by George)</center><br />
<i><b>Reality: </b>We got stuck on this for a very long time because we were both working full-time during this time period (I had several exhibitions, having to give talks and speak on panels, plus my full-time teaching job). I found it difficult and overwhelming to start due to a difference in working styles - George preferred working spatially and moving the blocks around in 3D and viewing it with the Vive in VR - but I personally needed to work first from a 2D plan before progressing onto a 3D layout. Also if I could go back in time and tell myself one thing, it would be that there is no need to feel like you have to go to the contractor with a perfect finished design because the design is always changing...</i><br />
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<h3><a href="#" name="painting-scheme"></a>8. Painting Scheme</h3><br />
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/S0GR8A" title="20190415_193339"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47648430761_66a3056586_c.jpg" width="800" height="389" alt="20190415_193339"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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We went down to some hardware store near our flat with a big NIPPON PAINT on its signage and copped a feel of their Nippon swatch. After standing there for a VERY LONG TIME (almost as if we were contemplating stealing their giant paint swatch), the man just dug up a slim paint brochure with ALL the colours in it and gave it to us so we could go home and decide on colours at home with the booklet.<br />
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There are actually a few types of Nippon Paint available - here in order of price:<br />
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- Nippon Paint Matex White - the cheapest generic white - commonly used as the base coat and for ceiling<br />
- Nippon Paint Vinilex 5000 - the standard paint commonly used on walls<br />
- Nippon Paint Easy Wash - the washable paint we specifically requested for<br />
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<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/48034127016/in/dateposted/" title="08-84@200640_PaintingScheme_Cropped"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48034127016_b66b4a1254_c.jpg" width="539" height="800" alt="08-84@200640_PaintingScheme_Cropped"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Painting Scheme for our flat</center><br />
<i><b>Reality: </b>We noted however that during the painting process that the house painters did not use the Easy Wash paint we specifically requested for and instead had used the Vinilex versions of the colours we had chosen!! - so we did ask our contractor to reduce our invoice because Vinilex is cheaper than Easy Wash. Eg: 1 litre of White Vinilex is $20 sgd whereas 1 litre of White Easy Wash is $25 sgd.</i><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/L7i80A" title="20190427_152059"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47924274377_8a36a7683b_c.jpg" width="800" height="389" alt="20190427_152059"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Another thing to note is that things like pipes and door frames will require the shiny Enamel paint. For this we used the Nippon Aqua Bodelac, a water-based acrylic gloss enamel paint, which as you can see from the sample above is a shiny glossy paint unlike our wall/ceiling paints.<br />
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<h3><a href="#" name="laminate-tiling-selection"></a>9. Laminate and Tiling Selection</h3><br />
<h3>Colour Core Laminates for Carpentry</h3><br />
Firstly very early on we chose a laminate colour so we could choose the tiling and other paint colours. This was in a big book of laminates.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/N0tW9E" title="20190325_164350"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7843/46580964465_5d33ebcf47_c.jpg" width="800" height="389" alt="20190325_164350"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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There are many natural/wood laminates with textures such as these. We didn't like these as they were quite artificial.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/R104Q4" title="20190325_164322"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7876/32554254467_81fd719f6f_c.jpg" width="800" height="389" alt="20190325_164322"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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The "default" solid colour laminate was something that had a black core like this. We didn't like this as much either.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/FDWc0y" title="20190325_164114"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7848/33619584788_11cbb90d34_c.jpg" width="800" height="389" alt="20190325_164114"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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We preferred the <a href="http://edleuro.com/product-category/color-core-2">COLOR CORE</a> range which was more expensive (an add-on) but had the colours we liked, in particular, BABY LEMONADE.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/C45i8K" title="20190325_164314"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7870/40530303063_844a9c8261_c.jpg" width="800" height="389" alt="20190325_164314"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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I don't really know how I could have made our laminate colour choice more obvious... because as the story goes, our contractor GOT THE LAMINATE COLOUR WRONG DESPITE THE ABOVE PHOTO BEING SENT OVER (and the code number being written out) in a text message, annotated on whatsapp, in the google docs, literally everywhere. I must have said BABY LEMONADE all the time as well, which as its name suggests, is a light lemon colour. When it went up, I saw a photo of the laminate, and I thought there had been a blue protective film over the laminate hence it being green from afar, since a lot of things in our house also had a thin blue film over it, such as the windows, the HIP gate and the Ikea furnishings, etc etc). However, it eventually became clear that there was no blue film, and that green was the final colour in the end. <br />
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<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK9CkaI6p_rAQ_-RMmhry1cZmanaudRuHruxOPvkUJNHGjtqMOaoQKZHUTCD98oqDAxe_yLdKHtJ0rouajIT3xaJM0QhbH4kprvM5cAx_9z-2SSXceC52BQnmAxd29DGyRGBexJAfGlI-Q/s1600/unacceptable.gif" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK9CkaI6p_rAQ_-RMmhry1cZmanaudRuHruxOPvkUJNHGjtqMOaoQKZHUTCD98oqDAxe_yLdKHtJ0rouajIT3xaJM0QhbH4kprvM5cAx_9z-2SSXceC52BQnmAxd29DGyRGBexJAfGlI-Q/s1600/unacceptable.gif" data-original-width="500" data-original-height="247" /></a><br />
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<small><i>We could have gone all Lemongrab at this point.... <b>"UNACCEPTABLE CONDITION!!!!!!!"</b></i></small></center><br />
As a result the contractor eventually waived the add-on fee as recompense for this extreme oversight. (They're lucky that we can live with Pistachio Green as a major colour in our brightly coloured haus, otherwise we would have had to reject it and redo it all!)<br />
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<h3>Kitchen Wall and Ceiling Tiles</h3><br />
<b>A Kitchen for Asian Food in Hot Climate?: </b>Singaporean kitchens are partially wet spaces which are usually fully tiled, unlike the kitchens in London/Europe which are generally regarded as mostly dry spaces with lots of wood and dry fixtures. There's usually at least one gully hole (small gutter for surface water to drain) in the kitchen floor (as well as the toilets), so you could theoretically sploooooge water all over your kitchen (and toilets) with wild abandon because it will drain off, and I was told that Kitchens are almost always fully tiled because of the type of Asian cuisine cooked in houses - which tends to be of high temperature (trying to achieve "wok hei") and generates a lot of oil or spice vapours. To be honest we don't really cook full-on Asian wok style here in our household (we're more.... fusion? experimental?) but we still decided to tile our kitchen fully to suit the local climate and custom.<br />
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<b>Fully Tile or Partially Tile?:</b> You can fully tile the walls in your kitchen, or to just tile the visible areas. At first we wanted to do the latter and not tile the area behind the carpentry (because no one will see it). However, in the interest of changing designs along the way, if one selectively tiled the kitchen, this might result in MISSING TILEWORK later on if you decide to change the location of the carpentry or choose to renovate several years down the line. So we decided to fully tile in the end. It didn't cost all that much more.<br />
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<b>Size of Tile?:</b> Smaller tiles might mean more grouting lines in the future which might be difficult to clean. Also... according to recent <a href="https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/new-hdb-flats-to-come-with-condo-like-finishings">ST and BT articles</a>, larger tiles were equated with a more "condo-like finishing", as well as "construction productivity and efficiency". <br />
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Dimensions of our chosen tiles were:<br />
Wall Tiles: 60cm x 30cm (laid horizontally)<br />
Floor Tiles: 30cm x 30cm<br />
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<b>Backsplash?</b>: The purpose of the backsplash is functional. In European kitchens I noticed this is the only area that is tiled in order to protect the wall behind sinks and stove from water and oil splashing. <br />
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<b>Glass Backsplash?: </b>We contemplated doing a Kitchen Backsplash in tempered glass but then we looked at the cost. Also we would need to predetermine all the placements of the holes to be cut for power outlets once it has been set against the wall, so this would require a lot of advance foresight and planning which we admittedly tend to lack haha. So... no special backsplash! Just the same old good white wall tiles behind the stove area! If you do feel the need though, you can change the tiles to a different one in the "backsplash" area for design purposes, but in any case our entire kitchen is tiled from floor to ceiling.<br />
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There are many places to get tiles in Singapore but our contractor uses <a href="https://www.sbh.com.sg/">Soon Bee Huat</a> on Changi Road. We went down to the big tiles showroom at Soon Bee Huat with one purpose, and that was to ask them for a mustard yellow wall tile. Unfortunately, you will find that they are much more normal and traditional than we expected with their selection range. When asked if they had anything yellow, they pointed us to something brown. They did not have ANYTHING close to yellow besides these road crossing tiles, and some pasty yellow-brown floor tiles (not suitable for wall).<br />
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So... er.... who wants some tactile road crossing tiles in their kitchen?<br />
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These yellows and browns are only for floors and not really our thing either. Also far too shiny. We don't like shiny.<br />
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Eventually we decided on big white slab tiles which seemed a sensible and modest choice, along with dark grey-brown tiles for the floor. The big tiles could be grouted with white which would make them sort of fade away into the background. We also brought down the laminate book to compare the tiles with our chosen laminate colour.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/0vSH94" title="20190326_122829"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7849/47496416231_ec9c5b12df_c.jpg" width="800" height="389" alt="20190326_122829"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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We asked them to cut two samples for the floor tiles so we could take it home and step on them for a while to see how we felt about them. In our very Scientific Tile Test, we also poured old coffee on the tile samples and smeared belachan chilli on them to see which was easier to clean after the stain had dried (plz excuse our very grotty kitchen sink).<br />
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A clear winner for our tile was found!<br />
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<i><b>Our decision: </b>When in doubt just go with neutral colours like completely white wall tiles and dark floor tiles. I don't regret this at all, you can still put in weird colour accents through appliances and fixtures and other things you fill your kitchen with! We were very happy with the all-white wall tile which from a distance looks like it could all be a perfectly contiguous white painted wall. For the floor tile we preferred a tile with the "sandy" feel (as opposed to a shiny waxy feel) and we found that it seemed to clean more easily. The floor tile with a waxy/shiny feel got quite slippery when wet and we felt that oil also clings more to those kinds of tiles.<br />
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Coming up next in Part 3: the commencement of works in the house with hacking, aircon, electrical, lighting, carpentry, hinges, doors, windows, and blinds. Phew!<br />
<br />
</div>debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-44677461704434197322019-05-02T16:16:00.000+01:002019-06-12T03:14:33.063+01:00RENOVATION FOR THE D'OUTH HOUSE - Part 1: Flat Viewings, Online Research, HDB Resale Flat Purchase Process, & HIP Options<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSF2Oo0JI_G6ZPHtMV7Tit9K30ucghc8Tvh_un98nGfK0kZ-Mxk9pfT7Fik-VxDpsvsxAvjCB0SrqiBfDIaFZuu-T_vSSuXtIexKtdxwI224PbIg7tGziV7WGKmlSw3i7OJ5ntnxKVTqhO/s1600/36249937733_f9836abde7_k.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSF2Oo0JI_G6ZPHtMV7Tit9K30ucghc8Tvh_un98nGfK0kZ-Mxk9pfT7Fik-VxDpsvsxAvjCB0SrqiBfDIaFZuu-T_vSSuXtIexKtdxwI224PbIg7tGziV7WGKmlSw3i7OJ5ntnxKVTqhO/s1600/36249937733_f9836abde7_k.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="900" width=800px /></a><br />
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The documentation on this blog makes a beeline towards the domestic! For we have begun works on what will probably be two very major long-term projects in 2018/2019 - the first of which is the HOUSE PROJECT, which I thought I should document for the benefit of others who have come after us since we too relied a lot on the power of INTERNETS to find out how to do all this. <br />
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The cost of renting a well-located 3-room HDB flat in Singapore actually exceeds that of the cost of a HDB Loan / Mortgage on a 3-room HDB flat (Public Housing), so it was a no-brainer for us to stop renting in Singapore and simply buy a flat here. Naturally, I will start from the very beginning of our search for a flat in Singapore...<br />
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<div style="width:400px; border:1px solid black; padding: 1em"><b>Table of Contents:</b><br />
<ol><b>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/05/renovation-for-douth-house-part-1-flat.html#flat-viewings">Flat Viewings</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/05/renovation-for-douth-house-part-1-flat.html#online-research">Online Research</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/05/renovation-for-douth-house-part-1-flat.html#resale-process">HDB Resale Flat Purchase Process</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/05/renovation-for-douth-house-part-1-flat.html#hip-options">HIP Options</a></li>
<li><a href="https://openurbanism.blogspot.com/2019/05/renovation-for-douth-house-part-1-flat.html#bathroom-fixtures">HIP Works & Bathroom Fixtures</a></li>
</b>
<li>Renovation Budgeting</li>
<li>Appointing Renovation Contractor</li>
<li>House Design Layout</li>
<li>Windows Installation</li>
<li>Kitchen Appliances and Sink</li>
<li>Tiling Selection</li>
<li>Aircon Installation</li>
<li>Lighting Design</li>
<li>Electrical Layout</li>
<li>Paint Scheme</li>
<li>Doors</li>
<li>All the rest of the Non-built-in Furniture</li>
<li>Soft Furnishings</li>
<li>MORE TO COME...</li>
</ol></div><br />
<h3><a name="flat-viewings"></a>1. Flat Viewings</h3><br />
<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/46839287265/in/dateposted/" title="IMG_1406"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/46839287265_3bc68b3a0d_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="IMG_1406"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/32812298717/in/dateposted/" title="IMG_1394"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/32812298717_fc9d2423b4_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="IMG_1394"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<small>HDB HEARTLANDS: ER.... NOT REALLY A ROOM WITH A VIEW...</small></center><br />
We began our house search by doing viewings in earnest. Or sorta kinda. The first few random estate agents whom we had called up also seemed to know that we were NOOBS/NOT YET FULLY FORMED/NOT ACTUALLY VERY SERIOUS BUYERS because they were as awkward as we were. But the point of flat viewing was to accrue an understanding of the public housing flat formats available in Singapore. In order to ease us into the business of flat viewing, the first flats that we viewed were also in the same block that we were renting, so it was like looking into a duplicate or mirror image of the flat we were in - at least this was something we were a little familiar with and could comment on. (Looking into strangely depopulated duplicate husks of our own flat...)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzWpURJnG6LesT1AvTV1XLtGJuBzIP9FN7yYU0YwzxwwkDOckVCSUXtNzt-8azgy4tye2jlo-9wmBJA9FtkXcIy4_n14lfTyCUgiL6fDT_kfE7QPgTQS2I1dFyFos83TBEo_UW3tbOM1BJ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-02+at+5.31.52+PM.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzWpURJnG6LesT1AvTV1XLtGJuBzIP9FN7yYU0YwzxwwkDOckVCSUXtNzt-8azgy4tye2jlo-9wmBJA9FtkXcIy4_n14lfTyCUgiL6fDT_kfE7QPgTQS2I1dFyFos83TBEo_UW3tbOM1BJ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-02+at+5.31.52+PM.png" data-original-width="1402" data-original-height="556" width="800px" /></a><br />
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<center>Source: <a href="https://www.hdb.gov.sg/cs/infoweb/residential/buying-a-flat/resale/types-of-flats">HDB Website - Types of Flats</a><br />
<small>Fun fact: Our flat is an older 3A model which is 796sqft (74sqm), meaning our flat is actually larger than the standard 3-Room or 3-NG flat.</small></center><br />
<b><i>Type/Size of flat:</i></b> Based on our MINI budget we decided to look for 3 room and 3.5 room HDB Resale flats (public housing in Singapore). (This is equivalent to a "2 bedroom flat" in the UK, is usually around 60 to 65 sqm, and has 2 bathrooms). Private/condos were out of the question because I didn't have that amount of savings and also that would be pushing ourselves into a hard financial position. But a very modest HDB flat was definitely within our means. <br />
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In my personal experience, I've always felt that the quality of public housing in Singapore exceeds the quality of private housing in London! During the first year I lived in London, I developed the misconception that the housing stock in London was on the whole extremely ancient and backwards because all the rental flats (private flats, bedsits, House of Multiple Occupation types) I had seen and visited were all incredibly run-down compared to the average Singapore flat, featuring interesting details like holes in the stairs, holes in the exterior boundary walls, rickety and unlevel floors, broken windows, cabinets that were falling apart, and rats the size of beer cans. I didn't know any better at the time, so I very joyfully accepted whatever I could get, leg through the stairs be dammed, nothing could dampen my enthusiasm for living in these weird houses! <br />
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And then at some point I visited a friend's council flat (bought with a generous gift of a deposit paid by parents - a financial feat otherwise impossible in this lifetime for someone working in Design/Advertising in Shoreditch at the time ahem...) and I was surprised as to how similar it was to a normal Singapore flat. SO, NORMAL FLATS EXISTED IN LONDON. But then, there aren't really a lot of council flats to go around. So people are just being screwed by the awful private rental market in London, where the price of rental is extremely high and what you get is very little. It also feels like part of UK government welfare goes straight into subsidising private landlords because of the housing benefit payout, which doesn't go towards really solving any of people's problems. I suppose it would be more accurate to describe London housing as possessing both extremes - a wide range of extremely nice and architecturally interesting flats (aspirational Georgian front rooms! eco-homes! historical houses! art deco! or industrial/warehouse conversions???) and extremely terrible flats (a lot wider than the range of flats you would get in Singapore). Somehow, although the diversity of types of housing in London is so much wider, this also has somehow meant that the average standard of the affordable London flats is far lower than the average standard of the affordable Singapore flats...)<br />
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For public housing in Singapore we had the option of either BTO (Built-to-order) or Resale. It would take an estimated 3-5 years to wait for a Build-to-Order (BTO) flat because you would have to register first and wait for the flat to be built! That also would mean 3-5 years more of interminable renting, plus I was only eligible for a 2-room BTO under the Singles (Non-Citizen Spouse) scheme, so we went straight into focusing our energies on looking for a 3/3.5 room Resale flat (I'd be 'sole owner' under the Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme, George would be my 'essential occupier', and we would still receive a housing grant of S$25,000).<br />
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<b><i>Agent/No Agent</i>:</b> Next, there was the question of whether we would work with an estate agent or not. The good thing about an agent is that they can do all the leg work and arrange for multiple viewings in one evening. However, you run the real risk of it being a sort of psychological game, where the highs and lows of the tour experience may have been designed by the agent to convince you of the virtues of a particular flat, by contrasting different elements, such as seeing a flat with strange or extreme modifications, followed by a normal boring flat, and then another strange flat with a crazy saxophone player outside it who toots away every evening [REAL INCIDENT] - by contrasting an ordinary flat with a TERRIBLE FLAT it obviously helps to make even the most ordinary flat seem a little better than it really is. But hey, we aren't really wanting to see the worse case scenarios here when searching for that dream house... <br />
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<b><i>Criteria</i></b>: After many viewings, we devised our own criteria for what we were looking for. We liked things like the old terrazzo that often came with old flats, but not TOO CRAZY COLOURED. We were also very particular about the view. We liked either a city view, or a nature view, but not really a suburban view. It also seemed that some people liked being able to see their cars from their flat, so they enjoyed seeing a view of a carpark, but we were not those people. A lot of the "FULLY FURNISHED MOVE-IN IMMEDIATELY" type flats were not our style, so their fully furnished nature was not a plus point for us either.<br />
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Big Terrazzo!<br />
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So many different Terrazzos in HDB Flats!</center><br />
<small>* George also pointed out that it was quite odd to him that both me and Dingmother always started talking about visibility of ANTS whenever we looked at surfaces and that maybe people in other countries did not have "VISIBILITY OF ANTS" as a criteria for flooring/countertop colours. But we have so many different ants here in Singapore. CAN WE SEE THE ANTS WHEN THEY ARE WALKING OVER THE FLOOR? THAT IS A SERIOUS QUESTION! [And for those living in cold non-tropical ant-less countries who have never thought about whether ants will be visible on your floor or countertop, the answer is: Yes, yes, I would actually like to be able to see the ants. I do want to know where the ants are. I WOULD LIKE MAXIMUM ANT VISIBILITY!!]</small><br />
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Seeing a lot of the same size of flats gives you an idea of the possible fittings, layouts and modifications of that type of flat. For example, we viewed a lot of 3.5 room flats in the AMK area and these were always the ones that received an upgrade of an additional room at the end of their flats. A lot of them had reconfigured their walls in different ways, such as by knocking down the store or hacking down walls and erecting different walls to make different shapes, which gives one ideas about the possible iterations on the same template...<br />
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On our individual efforts, as well as the help of an agent for some part, and the Dingfather (our honorary agent for a while), we saw a grand total of 22 flats before finding the ROWELL FLAT.<br />
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<b>What we chose: <i>See a lot of flats on our own with no fixed agent</i></b><br />
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<h3><a name="online-research"></a><br />
2. Online research</h3><br />
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<center>The view from the only flat that we really liked in AMK...</center><br />
Unfortunately, all of the flats that we 'kinda' liked in Ang Mo Kio were on the pricey side (nearly 400k / over 400k) which really could not really be justified because it was just so far away from Fun Things in Town and it might result in us having a very socially isolated existence. Some other flats we saw had red flags, such as CCTV cameras being installed everywhere (for what reason did the owner justify to HDB on the installation of CCTV? loanshark? private dispute? etc), weird looking doors and doors which could not be unlocked (was this really a home? why were rooms inaccessible to potential house viewers? why had these unusual office/industrial/shop doors been installed into the residential apartments?), very low floors (potentially affected by smoke from the incessant burning of taoist offerings, and noises from roads, funeral trumpets, construction sounds, schools, etc). All in all, its just not that cheap to buy a flat in the heartlands! And more crucially, some of these flats were older than me (a few were over 40 years old), which could result in loan issues (if you buy or take over a flat with less than 60 years, the housing loan may be disallowed) - and in the distant future, by getting an extremely old flat, we might deprive ourselves of the option of being able to sell and buy a different flat if we so wished to...<br />
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George found Edgeprop's website which had a useful map detailing the per square foot cost of all the public housing in Singapore - <a href="https://www.edgeprop.sg/analytic/heatmap">Edgeprop Analytic Heatmap</a> - which gave us a better picture of the prices in different areas of Singapore, and which areas tended to have the lowest per square foot pricing. AMK Central was far from being the the cheapest zone despite being so far away from the town area.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/32811416657/in/datetaken/" title="Screen Shot 2019-05-02 at 1.41.28 PM"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/32811416657_a7aba704e2_c.jpg" width="800" height="550" alt="Screen Shot 2019-05-02 at 1.41.28 PM"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Inspired by a visit to a friend's house in Little India (an area that both me and George were extremely fond of) we began looking at the lowest price per square foot that could be had in the Jalan Besar District. And to our surprise, there was a unit on the market that seemed to fit all our criteria! It even seemed to overlook my old flat in Rowell Road!<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/33877740798/in/datetaken/" title="Screen Shot 2019-05-02 at 1.40.54 PM"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/33877740798_8e54db7303_c.jpg" width="800" height="554" alt="Screen Shot 2019-05-02 at 1.40.54 PM"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<center>Source: <a href="https://www.edgeprop.sg/analytic/heatmap">Edgeprop Analytic Heatmap</a></center><br />
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<small>FUN FACT: Our transaction is reflected on this list (screenshot taken in May 2019), and yes we did get the best per square foot price for our size of flat. Singaporeans familiar with the square footage of flats here can probably easily guess which one was our transaction...<br />
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FUN FACT 2: The HDB flats on Kelantan lane average about 450 upwards psf to even 500+. As for Rowell Road, the road that I have the most emotional attachment to, it turns out it is the cheapest price per square foot in the whole Jalan Besar area. Well fancy that!...</small><br />
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Thanks Singaporeans with your racially suspect CMIO policies which has resulted in the Indian enclave near central becoming less popular with Chinese buyers - thus giving us (I'm classed as a Chinese buyer) a chance to find the most favourable price! Your loss is our gain!<br />
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<b>What we chose: <i>Little India with per square foot prices as low as SGD 420-440 psf</i></b><br />
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<h3><a name="resale-process"></a><br />
3. HDB Resale Flat Purchase Process</h3><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbcCtVoot3-63NWp7dSKm7ePpP5eJATYvW1fpENHVeZFNbwMvZf_BixVPDTqFXe1S6jv6yZzwDtgdj74DtLaTcOAdGU6zaQoUMHApa7sN7Or0zt3IdnBt8SXN3Y0-mgrw0b92oBha1-g7/s1600/09+-+26+Sept+2018+-+Completion+of+Sale+-+Google+Drive+2019-05-02+16-41-38.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbcCtVoot3-63NWp7dSKm7ePpP5eJATYvW1fpENHVeZFNbwMvZf_BixVPDTqFXe1S6jv6yZzwDtgdj74DtLaTcOAdGU6zaQoUMHApa7sN7Or0zt3IdnBt8SXN3Y0-mgrw0b92oBha1-g7/s1600/09+-+26+Sept+2018+-+Completion+of+Sale+-+Google+Drive+2019-05-02+16-41-38.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1055" width=800px style="border:1px solid #ccc" /></a><br />
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<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/46971369744/in/dateposted/" title="Buying Resale Flat Steps"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/46971369744_3b50f65d8b_z.jpg" width="359" height="640" alt="Buying Resale Flat Steps"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center><br />
Here is a record of our timeline. It took 5 months & 6 days (159 days, not including end day) from start to finish - calculated from the date we applied for the eligibility letter, to the date we completed the purchase.<br />
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<b>20 April 2018</b> - Applied for HLE (HDB Loan Eligibility) Letter<br />
<b>27 April 2018</b> - Received HLE Approval (which will also tell you what is the max loan possible / what is your max budget)<br />
<b>18 May 2018</b> - Registered Intent to Buy<br />
** WE THEN COMMENCED THE WILD VIEWINGS UNTIL THE ONE TRUE HOUSE WAS FOUND **<br />
<b>13 June 2018</b> - First viewing of the Rowell Flat<br />
<b>14 June 2018</b> - Second viewing of the Rowell Flat. Made offer.<br />
<b>15 June 2018</b> - Obtained Proof of Ownership from Owner.<br />
<b>25 June 2018</b> - Owner issues the OTP (Option to Purchase) Form<br />
<b>26 June 2018</b> - Request for Value Submitted<br />
<b>15 July 2018</b> - Exercise Option to Purchase (Seller completes portion of form)<br />
<b>16 July 2018</b> - Submission of Resale Application (Buyer completes portion of form)<br />
<b>20 August 2018</b> - Acknowledgement of Resale Documents (Confirmation of Purchase of Resale Flat, Housing Grant Agreement, Application of Housing Loan), Payment of Conveyancing and Caveat Fees. [Additional: in our case the seller wished to bring forward the date for Completion of Sale due to travel plans so we also arranged for an earlier date]<br />
<b>26 Sept 2018</b> - Completion of Sale at HDB Hub, Opening Utilities, SLA Caveat, Property Tax<br />
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<small>* I wish to also add the note that when you go down to HDB Hub for the final completion, you don't really have to bring any other documents previously submitted, besides your original IDs. Its a formality in which buyer and seller just sign the final papers in each other's presence, the seller get a cute little HDB tote bag full of papers and HDB branded keychains and magnets and swag, and then you go off with the keys. Unfortunately, about 5 minutes before I was to leave the house to attend this momentous event, I became convinced that I needed to bring the original copy of some document that I couldn't recall whether it should be in my possession or the seller's possession. The result is that I tore through the house like a mad person tornado of flying papers (I realised later that the original was with the seller), and I went to HDB Hub in a nervous wreck - only to slowly realise that the completion was more a formality of signing and shaking hands and smiling at each other and receiving the keys... OH WELL NOW WE KNOW.</small><br />
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On hindsight, there are also three other VERY IMPORTANT things that you'll need to do as a new home owner (but no one is going to remind you to do these):<br />
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<ul><li><b>Conservancy Charges</b>: Set up giro/direct debit for conservancy charges to the town council (you'll have to contact your town councils after 2 weeks, or in my case, if you forgot to contact them, they will send you a bill for your overdue conservancy charges ho ho ho)</li>
<li><b>Change of address</b>: Change your registered address to the new one anytime within the next 3 months (or in my case, SUDDENLY PANIC ABOUT THE POTENTIAL ADMINISTRATIVE BOO-BOO YOU MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE CAUSED BY ACCIDENTALLY FORGETTING TO DO IT FOR SEVERAL MONTHS AND RUSH IMMEDIATELY TO THE POLICE POST TO CHANGE IT IMMEDIATELY SO HELP ME OH GOD)</li>
<li><b>Renovations</b>: Start your house renovations so you can move into the flat! DUH. But because I was so busy with my PYT show and the 'accidental commencement of MAJOR LONG-TERM PROJECT #2' I admit that I was unusually slow to start the renovation process....</li>
</ul><br />
<h3><a name="hip-options"></a><br />
4. HIP Options</h3><br />
We were extraordinarily lucky in that the HIP timing coincided with the time we were purchasing the flat, meaning that I had taken ownership of the flat in time to make the decisions on what HIP options I wanted. <br />
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HIP stands for <a href="https://www.hdb.gov.sg/cs/infoweb/residential/living-in-an-hdb-flat/sers-and-upgrading-programmes/home-improvement-programme-hip&rendermode=preview">Home Improvement Programme (HIP)</a>, and HDB flats of a certain age are all slated for this programme in which their 30+ year old plumbings and toilets are replaced, spalling issues and leakages are fixed, and safety features like anti-slip coatings, handlebars and mobility ramps are installed for the elderly who need them - all for what is a mere token sum (if you are Singaporean the costs are almost negligible and can be paid through CPF in a few years time). You also get a new front door and front gate (optional Ease items)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfMamkpq4g9k1PyZqEEs7eLZ1Fy9S81_oX4B-_J5vE3Rx2UTgpbTxbJzOnNA6xSCJqyvp7wgJkj8zRkgfvBqPMdnbkRWMylfNS2zYEBgAzT0yx7MCBu70nxivSS5gIYc9KQ7bjzw_Sh19G/s1600/10+-+5+Oct+2018+-+Option+for+HIP+and+EASE+Improvements+-+Google+Drive+2019-05-02+17-26-40.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfMamkpq4g9k1PyZqEEs7eLZ1Fy9S81_oX4B-_J5vE3Rx2UTgpbTxbJzOnNA6xSCJqyvp7wgJkj8zRkgfvBqPMdnbkRWMylfNS2zYEBgAzT0yx7MCBu70nxivSS5gIYc9KQ7bjzw_Sh19G/s1600/10+-+5+Oct+2018+-+Option+for+HIP+and+EASE+Improvements+-+Google+Drive+2019-05-02+17-26-40.png" data-original-width="1544" data-original-height="424" width=800px /></a><br />
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The HIP contractor will erect a toilet showroom that looks like this masterpiece below (with a bow on the toilets), and you get to choose from a few inoffensive colour themes such as grey, blue, or sand...<br />
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The HIP works are usually accompanied by great upheaval in the block itself, with everyone taking advantage of the chaos to embark on their own noisy renovation projects as the HIP works sweep through the block for the duration of the better part of a year. I must admit that I subconsciously ended up delaying the renovation of our flat because of the knowledge that HIP was coming soon and it would have been ideal to move in after HIP had been completed for our flat, otherwise we would have to endure another round of having to trot down to the common toilets during the shock of the 10-day disruption.<br />
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<h3><a name="bathroom-fixtures"></a><br />
5. HIP Works & Bathroom Fixtures</h3><br />
In Feb 2019 the HIP Works finally commenced! We received a one month advance notice letter and a two week advance notice letter before the date, and someone came around to check the condition of the flat before we started, and where they pointed out to us a few weird parts of our flats.<br />
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<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/33880282178/in/dateposted/" title="20190130_140543"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/33880282178_1a93b03f1e_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="20190130_140543"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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Seems like all the flats in the block have a slightly un-aligned kitchen toilet door. But no big deal... *TWITCHES*</center><br />
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Based on the option form given back in October 2018, they printed out the list of works to be done in the house. With the works commencing, we also had to ensure we had all the new fixtures present for them to install during the process. We visited all the usual megastores for bathroom fixtures in Singapore such as Bathroom Warehouse, Hoe Kee, Sim Siang Choon, but ultimately decided to try the smaller bathroom fixture stores on Geylang. After doing a price comparison with HomeOne and Universal Union, we eventually bought our fixtures from Heritage Bathroom Gallery (we were served by a lady called Irene Chong).<br />
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<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/3652h5" title="Untitled"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7868/32629237867_866dc56585_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/44H24z" title="Untitled"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/1954/45063815364_60bc717acd_n.jpg" width="320" height="240" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center><br />
As the sink and WC were provided by HIP, we just had to supply the rest of the basic fixtures found in a bathroom. Here is a breakdown of the unit prices for which we got our basic fixtures (after comparing at least 6 different shops):<br />
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<ul><li><b>Mirror Cabinet with Internal Shelving</b> - $118 (we chose one that was big enough to hold an entire Listerine Bottle)</li>
<li><b>Instant Heater with Rain Shower, Standard Shower, and DC pump</b> - $249</li>
<li><b>Foldable Towel Rack with additional hooks</b> - $88 (we had seen similar units for over $100 elsewhere)</li>
<li><b>Two way Tap</b> - $33 (we had seen the same unit sold elsewhere in Geylang for $45)</li>
<li><b>Hooks in a row</b> - $42 (we had seen the same unit sold elsewhere in Geylang for $53)</li>
<li><b>Toilet Paper Holder</b> - $28 (we had seen the same unit sold elsewhere in Geylang for $39)</li>
<li><b>Bidet Sprayer</b> - $39</li>
</ul><br />
Other things we got separately from Ikea:<br />
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<ul><li><b>Glass shelf</b> - $12.90 (We didn't fancy any of the designs we saw in the bathroom shops - too fancy! - and we wanted something even simpler. We also weren't sure if this was absolutely necessary, so we got a cheap backup one with an extremely simple design in case we changed our minds about not having a simple glass shelf)</li>
<li><b>Toilet Brush</b> - $9.90 (Don't really need a fancy branded toilet brush considering that its something we'll use and replace over time!!!)</li>
</ul><br />
<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/0N3640" title="20190225_163550"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7844/47496380931_56b1fb1acc_c.jpg" width="389" height="800" alt="20190225_163550"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/fnZTm4" title="20190307_121502"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7924/46580941065_75d63d3317_c.jpg" width="389" height="800" alt="20190307_121502"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center><br />
HIP usually finishes within 10 days and the owner just has to be present on the 1st day, 9th day (when the fixtures go up), and last day (where the entire construction team will come up to take a congratulatory picture with you upon the completion of your brand new TOILETS.<br />
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<hr><br />
In Part 2 of this post I will continue with how we figured out a budget, design layout, and the all important task of appointing a main renovation contractor!debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-33221985137935786042019-04-04T08:38:00.000+01:002019-04-04T10:53:37.059+01:00The Last Meal: Hawker dishes in the future (The Substation, 29-30 March 2019)<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/x6pd80" title="20190330_214912"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7916/47458436762_449b37eff5_c.jpg" width="800" height="389" alt="20190330_214912"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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The documentation of this project, "The Last Meal", comes a bit late - although perhaps a little fittingly because a number of food-related ailments seemingly kept me from being able to work at my maximum potential.<br />
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Earlier this year, I was fortuitously brought together with Chef Ming (of JAM at Siri House) - by The Substation - and thus began a collaboration to reinterpret local/hawker fare into a kind of anxiety-provoking menu. A disturbingly uncanny trip up and down and around memory lane! A speculative vision of our human <s>weakness</s> fondness for nostalgia meets hard future utilitarian compromises! An experimental work for the palate! It was truly an pleasure and honour to be able to work with Chef Ming who took it on with so much energy and so many ideas to take it further, especially the start of the project coinciding with a period of severe fatigue for me.<br />
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I had recently sought treatment (CBT/Exposure Therapy) for what has been a lifelong affliction of emetophobia (a completely debilitating fear of vomiting) and an unreasonable aversion to acidic or vinegary foods (a difficult thing to explain at times, because it can sound absurd to preemptively tell everyone "NO VINEGAR PLZ" in the off-chance that any unknown dish might have vinegar). And I had also seen an endocrinologist to ask if there was anything to explain my ridiculously tiny appetite and aversion to cold temperatures - and was subsequently diagnosed with hypothyroidism (so said all the tests, despite me being an extremely hyper person). And finally, the biggest factor of all that had triggered this intense self-examination was: pregnancy! SHOCK! HORROR! Yes folks, the Ding and South are unexpectedly multiplying (stay tuned for a documentation of this new long-term project), and this meant that for a period of time during the first trimester I developed an strong aversion to my favourite food of all - eggs! This was very hard to live down indeed, compounding all of my food anxieties despite my attempts to deal with them head-on like an adult by following up with all these medical investigations. So all of this was in the background as we began discussions for this food project....<br />
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The starting point for our conversation had been one of my past projects from a Healthcare Workshop with the Kyoto Institute of Design x Royal College of Art, whilst I was doing my MA at Design Interactions (RCA). In a way, that workshop's premise was already a bit like smashing two worlds together: you had that base of a historically practical and functional Japanese approach to researching and designing for elderly care (I remember our Japanese collaborator bringing to us these booklets of amazing innovative mobility aids and novel healthcare aids designed to assist in every aspect of elderly care) - meeting the provocative, parallel realities of a speculative future (as students from our Design Interactions programme used to call it, ahem, a more "DI" approach). <br />
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<small><b>Kyoto 2014:</b> Kyoto D-lab held a Healthcare Futures Workshop centering on robotics in collaboration with the Design Interactions Course at the Royal College of Art - led by Professor Anthony Dunne and James Auger and D-lab’s Professor Julia Cassim.</small></center><br />
Me, Calum Bowden, and Hiroko Narasaki worked on a project imagining a scenario where a robot was to prepare your "last meal", having collected a lifetime of data of your food preferences, being able to robotically prepare the food you wanted in a texture that you could consume despite all your age-related changes in chewing and swallowing physiology. We discussed the ways in which factors such as end-of-life, food preferences, and necessary food modifications could be determined, and surveyed Japanese people on a list of foods they liked most. (Obvs this was also borne from our common interests in eating lots of good food in japan and spending a long time in supermarkets and food halls looking at all the beautiful plastic foods and gorgeous food packagings...)<br />
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At the time we also thought that there might also be the issue where a meal is the sum of many parts and that people develop habits for eating certain foods together with others. But when we collect the data about the meal, the essential connections between unusual connections could also be broken - and odd pairings might be made. For example, in this case someone told us they loved foods such as Annin Tofu, Premium Niigata Rice, and Ashirari Decorations (to liven up the plating of her food). But in reality, no Japanese person would logically make a menu of Annin Tofu (Almond Jelly) together with Rice.<br />
<br />
This was the starting point of the conversations we had to develop The Last Meal in Singapore, and to engage with a wider set of concerns facing the food industry in the near future (and specific to Singapore). Rather than to capture nostalgia in a perfectly rendered dish, the idea was to invoke the sense of the uncanny through subtle means. A twist of presentation, an unfamiliar texture, a physical constraint. The amount of alienation had to be right, and it was good that Ming kept us all on track by focusing on elements that would be universally recognisable by all Singaporeans. <br />
<br />
One thing that was clear was that when we imagined someone eating these foods in a near-future post-apocalyptic bunker, the person in the bunker was very specifically us. A Singaporean, here in the present. It wasn't a baby from the future who hadn't had the chance to gain the lived experience of enjoying hawker food in the form that we eat right now. It wasn't someone from a foreign country being introduced to Singaporean hawker cuisine for the first time. It wasn't about exoticising or fetishising our nostalgia for hawker cuisine and 'heritage foods'. It was instead about transporting a Singaporean living in the present into a distant, uncertain food future where perhaps food security was an issue; where automation and efficiency was top priority to the extent of influencing hawker practices, where alternative proteins had become widely accepted in an era of land scarcity; where steady state foods would be commonplace backups; where a rapidly aging population would seek out enzyme softened versions of favourite foods to recapture the tastes of olde...<br />
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<center><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt7nk0ShASr/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading&utm_campaign=embed_loading_state_control" data-instgrm-version="9" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:33.05555555555556% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt7nk0ShASr/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading&utm_campaign=embed_loading_state_control" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">DONT BE SAD, HAVE YOUR LAST MEAL WITH US! Tickets selling fast. Join us on 29 & 30 March for an interactive art experience with a four-course dystopian take on local hawker fare, designed specially by chef Ming Tan (@maehng), in collaboration with visual artist and technologist Debbie Ding. SAD: The Last Meal addresses Singapore's obsession with nostalgia, by looking at the alleged death of the Singaporean hawker, and the anxiety around losing a facet of heritage that this country holds so dear—our local food culture. Our 7pm slots are nearly sold out, grab your tickets for the 9pm slot at sadthelastmeal.peatix.com. Tickets are $35 per person. #thevanishing #citieschangepeopledie #subafterdark #hawkerculture #sgfood #singapore #nostalgicsg #heritagesg #nolstagicpanic</a></p><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/the_substation/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading&utm_campaign=embed_loading_state_control" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> The Substation</a> (@the_substation) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2019-02-16T05:49:59+00:00">Feb 15, 2019 at 9:49pm PST</time></p></div></blockquote><script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><br />
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Somehow this also needed to be rooted in reality, so we planned to shoot a series of audiovisual stimulation aids to excite (or confuse) the senses and stimulate (or deflate) the appetite. With the help of Cain and the sub team, we shot Ming in his kitchen at Siri House cooking up the originals of the dishes that were about to be reinterpreted (or as Ming likes to say, that we were about to try to knock off the pedestal...)<br />
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Although we had recorded sound on site in the kitchen, the original sound was not usable - it held the sound of a living kitchen with food being prepared and a restaurant during service. If I had used that original sound, it would feel like you were a disembodied spectator looking into some other space when you listened to the video like that. But I wanted the cooking to sound like it was actually happening right front in front of you. LIVE SOUNDS in whatever space you were in. So the sound had to be totally manufactured from scratch....<br />
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I suppose sound design for a video to be played back in an open space is always like putting on overly-dramatic stage makeup so that the details can also be seen under harsh stage lights and from a distance. So I did make some of the sounds very extreme and almost comedic. For example, for a bouncing fish cake, I decided to use some exaggerated bouncing balloon sounds that surprisingly seemed to work. And I cut up a lot of juicy leaves (actually they were leftover strawberry tops and stems) and swished about a lot of polymorph beads and mic-ed everything up painfully closely to get the most goosebump inducing foley sound.<br />
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I was inspired by the foley sound I had heard on the documentary <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANUPINHT5dI">Fruit Hunters </a>and a show about Chaoshan cuisine that has been on Netflix recently, <a href="https://www.netflix.com/sg/title/80991060">Flavourful Origins</a>. And I guess you could say I made it all in the spirit of ASMR videos. <br />
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These were to be screened in front of the audience as they ate the new reinterpretations of dishes... I am a little shy about showing the final mix in isolation online because it truly was a bit over-the-top (I also have to confess that I did some of the final edits in the controlled access machine room with two operational laser cutters and their giant extractor fans whirring noisily in the background so my working conditions were also less than ideal) but I might make a trailer mix when I have more time over the weekend.<br />
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<h3>Some pictures behind the scenes...</h3><br />
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Chef Ming peeks through the curtain to see what guests we have for the night<br />
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Chicken Rice in Kueh Form<br />
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Chef Ron doles out the secret sauce (cucumber)<br />
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Retextured Carrot Cake, first lovingly batch-cooked in a wok with two different varieties of chai por, then brutally blended so to allow it to be hygienically and efficiently reheated in retort pouches; all to be squeezed directly (or sucked up) into the mouths of the audiences.<br />
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Laksa in a dried form, vacuum packed for longevity and easy long term storage.<br />
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A special Laksa rempah coating the puffed rice, ready to be rehydrated at a moment's notice to produce a seriously authentic tasting laksa soup.<br />
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Now that I am writing out this post I realised I forgot to take a picture of dessert - the tau huay!</center><br />
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All of the production of this food was entirely undertaken by the amazing Chef Ming (and his assistant Chef Ron), who are both extremely knowledgeable and superbly skilled and inventive with the food they prepare. The actual realisation of this project completely wouldn't have been possible without Ming's professional and gastronomical expertise and his willingness to do something quite so daring with the food. For most chefs would rather make a pleasing menu, rather than one that draws gasps of shock from an audience; a menu that manages to bring the audience to relook their food with a critical eye. I am not qualified to cook the food and serve it to a public audience for I have not the required basic food hygiene training accreditation to do so, nor do I know the intricacies of how to organise or run a service! My role in collaboration felt much smaller; because ALL the props has to go to Ming's efforts and hard work to make this experience a reality! I only provided the idea and brain fodder for the project, but all of the amazing food (and food innovation work!) was the Chef's work! It was really my honour to be able to work with Ming.<br />
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Countless thanks must also go to The Substation: Annabelle and Si Min for facilitating the entire process and helping to take care of all of the small details, as well as all of the Substation staff (and interns Ariel and Celine) for all their help. Without the help of so many people this wouldn't have been possible!<br />
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<b>Addendum:</b><br />
<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/613573" title="20190330_221934"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7927/40545231993_bbf1e686b3_n.jpg" width="320" height="156" alt="20190330_221934"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/vuy65u" title="20190330_221929"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7831/32568975027_3349f2c64b_n.jpg" width="320" height="156" alt="20190330_221929"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script></center><br />
Some highly observant audience members asked me on the night why there wasn't ice kachang and nasi lemak on the menu. I was puzzled about the specificity of this question until I realised that they were referring to the image they had seen on the promotional material drawn by the designer, which ended up being printed in an unexpectedly huge size and mounted on the wall on the night of the event. Well, the answer is that at an earlier stage the shortlisted dishes originally included ice kachang and chicken rice so that was drawn into the flyer. However, the chicken rice was in a pyramid shape that could have been easily interpreted as the pyramid of a nasi lemak as well. Well spotted y'all.<br />
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In case you were wondering yes to the credit of the designer the portraits did have a rather uncanny likeness...<br />
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<h3>In the Press...</h3><a href="https://pluralartmag.com/2019/03/26/the-hunger-games"><b>Plural Mag -</b> The Hunger Games</a><br />
<a href="https://thepeakmagazine.com.sg/gourmet-travel/sad-the-last-meal-art-exhibition-serves-up-dystopian-versions-of-beloved-hawker-dishes/"><b>The Peak Magazine - </b> SAD: The Last Meal art exhibition serves up dystopian versions of beloved hawker dishes</a><br />
<a href="https://sgmagazine.com/arts-restaurants-things-to-do/news/how-local-chef-ming-tan-interprets-dystopian-hawker-cuisine"><b>SG Magazine</b> - This is how local chef Ming Tan interprets dystopian hawker cuisine</a><br />
<a href="https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/dining/chef-ming-tan-jam-siri-house-park-bench-deli-lolla-11362396"><b>CNA Lifestyle </b>- Kitchen Stories: Fighting insecurity and emotions to prove himself to older chefs</a><br />
debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-57004311553978720522019-04-01T04:42:00.000+01:002019-04-04T10:26:02.427+01:00The Art Space as Signal Processor: Sub-monument, a digital woodcut (Lasalle Praxis Gallery, 5 April 2019 - 5 May 2019)<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/h344G9" title="20190331_092409"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7873/47458437332_a402385690_c.jpg" width="800" height="389" alt="20190331_092409"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<blockquote><h3>"Sub-monument visualises the art space as a signal processor which removes or amplifies specific features of the received signal to generate various artistic manifestations. For the art space to keep on running, this absurdist hardware requires a physical building and constant upkeep from its devoted programmers - the hybrid artist-programmers who translate and parse source material into shamanic code and thaumaturgical scripts inscribed upon oracle bone - in order to resurrect uncanny cultural apparitions from the years before, invoking an eternal cycle of audience and practitioner sighs."</h3></blockquote><br />
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<blockquote><h3>“[Monuments] speak on your behalf, they require your symbolic death.” <br />
<small>- from Janadas Devan's "Is Art Necessary" (Art Vs. Art: Conflict & Convergence: the Substation Conference, 1993. Singapore: The Substation, 1995)</small></h3></blockquote><br />
About a year ago I agreed to work on a show in 2019. THEN A YEAR FLEW BY. AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THAT TIME HAD COME WITHOUT ME REALISING! So... I had to quickly produce the work during my (fortuitously timed) week off from work. I already knew from the start that I wanted to produce a large woodcut using lasercut because I had access to an awesome lasercutter of considerable size, and I imagined it to be a cross between an architectural drawing, blueprint schematic and <a href="https://brbl-dl.library.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3592268">alchemical scroll</a>...<br />
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I wanted to make a mysterious diagram, depicting an arts centre as a kind of haunted machine, or diabolical signal processing hardware; a machine into which all the ideas and intentions of the artists and arts programmers and artistic director trickled into... or maybe not so gently. Maybe the energies of all these artists and programmers and art workers were being uncontrollably sucked up into, brutally chewed up, and then this big machine spat it all out as art, scattering it randomly into the sky, broadcasting it far and wide, without total control on how it rained down or haphazardly drizzled upon the audiences. <br />
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What keeps the arts centre runnning? What kept the artists going? Where did they come from? How was it that there were always new generations of artists and programmers returning to feed it and keep it going? Was it simply the insatiable hunger of the arts machine demanding to be fed more fodder? And as time wore on, I want you to imagine the frightful sounds of the wear and tear on the various essential parts of this strange hardware: the groaning from the repetitive motion of gears, and the creaks from all the pressures of delivering this non-stop service, the echoes of lost voices within this highly emotional social space...<br />
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<center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7JsFa79LWqmPC3PDnIuQ2974Bm4hZPIfOZmPCY0sTwZU2AIBEDzDiKbDW1Uz6KwOlpzJLJTxKy-3M-fURJOLkrbOfvTC9jm5pH-uFbj7FSMv5GqZ1S_StF99gUk6aS3wAxzaL5BnEpk1o/s1600/scheerbart4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7JsFa79LWqmPC3PDnIuQ2974Bm4hZPIfOZmPCY0sTwZU2AIBEDzDiKbDW1Uz6KwOlpzJLJTxKy-3M-fURJOLkrbOfvTC9jm5pH-uFbj7FSMv5GqZ1S_StF99gUk6aS3wAxzaL5BnEpk1o/s1600/scheerbart4.jpeg" data-original-width="290" data-original-height="434" /></a></center><br />
One of my favourite books is a very slim volume - <a href="https://www.wakefieldpress.com/scheerbart_perpe.html">Paul Scheerbart's The Perpetual Motion Machine: A Story of an Invention</a>, wherein he documents two and a half years of his life which he dedicated to his foolhardy attempts to build a perpetual motion machine, complete with 26 illustrations of his prototypes and accounts of his building process, accompanied by countless grandiose digressions into the potential futures he imagined that would follow after he had finally invented a working perpetual motion machine. <br />
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His apparent lack of experience/aptitude for physics and most forms of mechanical or practical engineering seemed to be of no deterrent to him, and he approached the challenge of constructing and designing a perpetual motion machine with a kind of fanatical enthusiasm and earnestness that might be read as either sheer genius or complete idiocy. Perhaps what had induced Scheerbart’s literary prolificness (and his endless tinkering) was the fact that then whenever he met with technical difficulties, he would allow himself to mentally leap over all these impediments and go straight to dreaming up fantastical futures with his perpetual motion machine.<br />
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<center><small>The initial sketch....</small></center><br />
Naturally, one may make one's own conclusions as to which arts centre I am thinking of. It is a very beloved space indeed, yet one that surely many artists in Singapore have conflicting feelings about. This isn't even the first work I've made about it. Does my illustration or mapping of this schematic change anything about how the future will run? I'm afraid not at all. But I am still driven to make something at the end of the day; it unexpectedly surfaces like a recurring motif in a dream.<br />
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<h3>Production Process</h3><br />
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On the practical front, Artfriend sells 35 x 24 in. MDF (approx 910mm x 600mm) which is suitable for the GLS Spirit Laserpro which I had access to. The Spirit has a normal cutting bed of 34 x 24 in. (860 x 610 mm) which can also be extended to 38 x 24 in. (960 x 610 mm). [In the print settings you may need to tick the option "Extend" to get the larger size]<br />
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<h4>Issues encountered when Laser-cutting large works:</h4><br />
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<small>Note the blurry finishing - a sign that it is out of focus!<br />
If the line is not perfectly crisp, you should pause and relevel the machine!<br />
Some of the lines above were cut twice hence the severe burn as well...</small></center><br />
<b>1. Bed or material is not perfectly flat:</b> I do find that with such a large cutting bed there is a tendency for some warp-age which means that you have to level it several times to get an "average" level otherwise either the edges or the centre will be out of focus. Pat material down totally flat and make sure there are no stray bits of nobbly fragments pushing any corners of the wood up. If there is a focus problem, the "burn" will be more diffuse, you'll produce a smoky line instead of a sharp cut.<br />
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<b>2. Material may not be uniformly thick.</b> The first few pieces I cut were perfect but then I noticed that one of the pieces of wood was a different colour, probably from a different batch, with slight variance. And unfortunately, not all wood is the same. Measure it with callipers or just do it the simple way: lay all out the material side by side on a flat table and compare to see which one is slightly thicker. In my case I found that the offending sheet that gave me trouble was more like 3.2mm than 3mm!!!!). For me, I'd say the quick fix is to cut it with a thicker wood setting (eg: 5mm). If you try to cut over an already cut piece of wood, you'll cause a lot of burning and charcoal on the finishing as the cut edges burn for a second time.<br />
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I had to switch the cutting profile from 3mm plywood to 5mm plywood in order for it to successfully cut on the first pass.<br />
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This is what it looks like on the back of that experiment - and what it looks like when it hasn't cut fully through.<br />
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<b>3. Excessive Burning on out of focus areas:</b> If your first cut didn't work because it was out of focus, it may have seemed logical to put it thru a second pass. However, the cut becomes more and more sooty and dirty, as if more of the edge has burnt off! However, reassuringly, I found that you can still sand off the burns entirely if you still wish - it hasn't all turned to charcoal!<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/76KQk4" title="20190329_160524"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7920/46772727314_d081ccab55_c.jpg" width="800" height="389" alt="20190329_160524"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<center><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/4m8142" title="20190331_122136"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7874/47511191951_490250524b_c.jpg" width="389" height="800" alt="20190331_122136"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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<small>Assembly and hanging in progress...</small></center><br />
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<a href="https://www.lasalle.edu.sg/events/bachelorette-machines"><h2>Bachelorette machines</h2></a><br />
Artists: Debbie Ding, Goh Abigail, Vanessa Lim Shu Yi, Victoria Tan<br />
Curator: Caterina Riva<br />
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<b>Bachelorette machines</b> brings together works by four Singaporean artists: Debbie Ding, Vanessa Lim Shu Yi, and LASALLE BA(Hons) Fine Arts alumni Goh Abigail and Victoria Tan. Inspired by the artistic concept of the bachelor machine, the exhibition highlights the ideas and physical labour of these artists’ works.<br />
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In 1913, avant-garde artist Marcel Duchamp made a reference to the bachelor machine as a jumble of mechanical implements and schematic diagrams. In the exhibition, the bachelor of this art-historical definition becomes the ‘bachelorette’, echoing the song written and released by Björk in 1997.<br />
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In the exhibition, the machine conveys the historical and imagined engineering tools which have inspired these four artists. Spanning Praxis Space and Project Space, the exhibition includes sketches and installations, offering different entry points into the artists’ working processes.<br />
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Goh Abigail explores sound through a series of automated sculptures and drawings. Made of ordinary materials and objects, Vanessa Lim Shu Yi’s system of perpetual motion is designed to stimulate the human senses and muscles. In a new series of screenprints, Victoria Tan captures the changing landscapes of temporary sites in Singapore. Debbie Ding presents a prototype of an arts space as a processor, which filters analogue signals in order to generate various artistic outputs.<br />
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Opens on 4th April 2019!<br />
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<b>Date & Time:</b><br />
Opening date: Thu 4 Apr 2019, 6:30pm-8:30pm <br />
Exhibition period: Fri 5 Apr – Sun 5 May 2019<br />
Opening hours: 12:00pm – 7:00pm, Tue to Sun (Closed on Mon and public holidays) <br />
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<b>Location:</b><br />
Praxis Space and Project Space<br />
Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore<br />
LASALLE, 1 McNally Streetdebbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-60092548243176176882018-10-01T01:58:00.000+01:002019-03-17T01:59:47.594+00:00Laser Cutting at NYP's Makerspace<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arielst0rm7/33523189948/in/datetaken/" title="20190317_094220"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7807/33523189948_27fdcbf597_c.jpg" width="800" height="389" alt="20190317_094220"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
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The laser cutter at school's Makerspace has been a godsend since I discovered how easy it was to drop by and cut my materials. Perhaps because I wanted to compensate for previous times where I've gotten others to fabricate work for me - whenever I asked someone else to fabricate things for me I often felt I had lost the chance to handle the material directly as a result, to completely understand how to work with that material or how to make these things by hand. Although much of it could be 'subbed' out to other contractors, I feel there is value in understanding the process. So for this PYT project I decided I had to build all my acrylic things by myself this time around! And this meant many hours spent encamped in the Makerspace's controlled access room...<br />
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<h2>Manual Focus for Laser Cutters</h2><br />
There's this little tool for focusing the laser cutter properly.<br />
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You drop it into the head of the laser cutter like this.<br />
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And then adjust the level using the up and down buttons.<br />
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The world of laser cutting awaits! All you need to use is Adobe Illustrator to make your cut/etching file.<br />
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<h2>Where to find Materials for Laser Cutting in Singapore</h2><br />
The most cost efficient place to buy acrylic is probably Dama, with their FREE GIFT and SNACKS WHILST YOU WAIT COUNTER. Dama covers all the bases, from Acrylic to Polycarbonate and other interesting sheet materials. The default size of most of the 3mm cast acrylic sheet is 1220mm x 1830mm (about $48 + $1 cutting fee) which you can ask to have cut down into 4 sheets of 610mm x 915mm sheets which will perfectly fit larger laser cutters such as the GLS Spirit at NYP's Makerspace!<br />
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However, for everyday purposes, acrylic and MDF is also available at Artfriend at a premium. Out of all the available units, I found that 18x24in is a size that I can easily transport around when quickly buying sheet material. For random everyday projects I find this sheet material from Artfriend works well enough.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD66-IgRy_01e6xobnPxxH0qUOLGhkU-w4scrBWRAXzd65qpeYe788clq1Aaili1mYqIhdwQeoBAHjNPq0UyCcp_2E5SN7KI0K3VTD7X2Efbpj5alx15aIrMFAPuJJvXCXyzwcnFipco9f/s1600/20180714_170314.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD66-IgRy_01e6xobnPxxH0qUOLGhkU-w4scrBWRAXzd65qpeYe788clq1Aaili1mYqIhdwQeoBAHjNPq0UyCcp_2E5SN7KI0K3VTD7X2Efbpj5alx15aIrMFAPuJJvXCXyzwcnFipco9f/s1600/20180714_170314.jpg" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="900" width=800px /></a><br />
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Don't skimp when buying the acrylic glue. Buy the green bottle of liquid quartz for $5.35. The one with the red cap dries with clouding which you do not want. But the more expensive liquid quartz acrylic glue bonds crystal clear.<br />
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<h2>Easy Laser-cut Builds</h2><br />
<a href="http://makercase.com" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2q8HVaNiVKE9qoLVFr5cLoZrXx2MujsIT0dxOJ8pFAXH1Ut9xb8UdR_QNIIa4eODNpfUdCcpYsLjq9KxApXcxXOqr_fCOvNa3Xe9oe6ry6IqV4zSPiutUAlp39Ax3-XyInqrHYCSVnb61/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-09-29+at+6.37.50+PM.png" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1313" width=800px /></a><br />
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Use <a href="http://makercase.com">Makercase</a> to instantly generate simple boxes like these.<br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/gp/arielst0rm7/1z6r9j" title="Untitled"><img src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1775/28896061247_2dde6c0b63_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5262733155135486417.post-11530627506941418942018-09-30T01:36:00.000+01:002019-03-17T01:40:17.880+00:00DIY Mannequin Tripod MountsHow does one mount Mannequin heads on a standard tripod without buying an expensive specialised mannequin mount? Who invented this infernal mounts which don't fit any standard kinds of tripods? I never quite figured out what was the normal way so I made up my own way of producing a mount using tinfoil, hot water, and polymorph - a kind of thermoplastic which often has a material finish that doesn't work for the exterior of a project, but definitely works for an internal part which no one is going to ever look at.<br />
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Here is this offending mannequin mount hole that I can't seem to find a way to fit on the tripod.<br />
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Using tin foil I covered the inside of the hole so that my thermoplastic would not accidentally bond to the plastic of the mannequin head itself<br />
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I bought a bag of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DS3PKQY/">assorted tripod screws / adapters / converters</a> online. There were 30 of these mixed screws in a bag and they are always handy to have!<br />
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Next I just heated up the polymorph with hot water. I bought a few bags of these several years ago, this particular thermoplastic fuses at 60 degrees celsius making it easy to handle and mould into the form you want after it is immersed in boiling water for a short while.<br />
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The tripod screw is embedded into the thermoplastic in the hole.<br />
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And a perfectly functional, custom-made mannequin mount for a standard tripod is made from things found around the house!<br />
debbie dinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16378467492976043277noreply@blogger.com0