CAUTION : Random thoughts may cause neural storms in recipient grey matter.

PROFILE

EarthStar The name originated during one of my musings about Earth being an astronomical unit away from a star. Two words clicked into one. I am quite sure this is not a unique event since the net lists many who have came up with the same combination. A fine example of i.d.i.c. There is also a Walt Disney production entitled "EarthStar Voyager".
Astronomy START The moon was trailing my Dad's car. No matter where he went, how he turned, it was always there. Singapore is too light polluted then and now to visibly produce stars that would impress the young mind. I never saw beyond the moon. Not until I discovered Star Trek on prime time. Star Trek gave me my first glance into the universe, embellished with adventures, and alien cultures. I was about 9 then and highly imaginative. Then Dad started the family weekend trips to Malaysia where the skies were awashed with a thousand suns. My curiosity completed the addiction. I started out with no books, no optical aids, equipped only with my imagination. Later, Dad got a pair of Pentax 6-22x40 zoom binoculars and my first astronomy books: David Block's "Starwatch" and the "Usborne Spotter's Guide to the Night Sky". (I still got lost since the star maps in those first books are nowhere near as comprehensive as the night skies of Malaysia.) There was no turning back. The addiction turned religious. I spent my early teenage years voraciously reading science fiction and all astronomy materials that I could find in the library. My first astrophotographic attempts began by manually attaching the Pentax binoculars to my Dad's Rollei 35S camera. To a kid, those were exciting moments. I never knew what happened to those first shots, but I sure wasted a lot of film. My parents were supportive since that meant they never had to fuss over my studies, especially in the areas of science and math. So begins my fervour in astronomy.
Astronomy IN PROGRESS Over the teenage years, I pioneered an astronomy club in college, joined the Astronomical Society of Singapore and got involved in editorial work. Later, I joined the National University of Singapore Astronomical Society and did some more editorial work. My interest in astronomy waxed and waned several times over the years. I became interested in a lot more activities like languages, canoeing, and travelling. My pursuit of astronomy only returned sometime early 1998 as I got involved in the proto-formation of NUSAS. Astrophotography became a serious addiction, thanks to a teenhood friend who reintroduced me to piggyback photography. Suddenly, there were a whole new set of challenges. So begins the conquest of the astrophotographic realm. Things progressed quickly; July 1999, I bought the Contax S2 system. The point of no return, equipment purchases mounted and considering the photographs in archives now, it's an amazing achievement in the span of six months. Serious astrophotography is NOT a cheap pastime (although I often comfort myself that it's lots cheaper than collecting Ferraris) but the rewards at the dawn of it all transcends any monetary value. This is the excuse.. *ahem* I mean, justification for my purchase of the GPD / SS2K combination by May 2000. As 2000 draws to a close, I am pioneering new projects for the advancement of city astronomy due for release in 2001. If all goes well, every child will see the stars amidst the citylights. Astronomy 2001 Singapore

Last update : December 2000
Astronomy ONLINE EarthStar Continuum was launched on 13 August 99 and sited at Virtualave. On 31 August 99 it was relocated to Htmlplanet.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Something ID would tempt EGO to do. People write these all the time thinking that others would actually be interested. I wonder what defines "an interesting profile" or "an exciting life". I am neither to be frank.. Although life seems to enjoy mushing my prosaic existence with its personal blend of Quad-Espresso.

1976 ANNO DOMINI. That seems like a long time ago. History, as it should be. I cannot claim to have had a life if I did not have these numbers and its chronological nuances.

18 years of formal education. Graduated 1998, National University of Singapore. I have this piece of paper that says "B.A." somewhere. Majored in Southeast Asian Studies and Psychology. The latter is one subject that everyone thinks they know. The former is a potent conglomerate of subjects ranging from history to politics to economics to philosophy to sociology to languages. Truth be told, I did not study much when I was in the university, but I did learn a lot. The university gave me a chance to explore and make a big mess out of this place the adults call "The Real World".

Personally, there is no such thing as a personality. Amazing how humans try so hard to classify everything. My opinion : If I cannot even begin to understand my self, what are the odds that another can? The continuing subject of "self".

INTERESTS

Travelling. The world is a small place. Singapore is even smaller. Being mobile is a great way to expand any horizons. There is so much to explore out there. I enjoy hosting my backpacking friends from abroad. Through them, I have discovered more about my country in a few days than in all the years that I have lived here.
Music. Nicholas Gunn. Chris Spheeris. David Lanz. Phil Collins. Billie Myers. Marc Anthony. The list goes on.. I have a preference for music that either keeps me awake or defines an ambience. The flute, the piano, the guitar are some of the most beautiful instruments humans ever made. Cross-cultural music is another wonder of mankind. Ever heard the Indonesian gamelan?
Reading. Highly varied. I will read almost anything I can get my hands on. Calvin & Hobbes, a couple of chapters on qualitative chemistry, and the latest bills for my mobile phone and internet subscription. I'm re-reading the Dune series. And yes, I finished the Harry Potter series.
Photography. I am inspired by the photographers of moments, of people, of life.
Design. My outlet for creative expression. I enjoy improvising on things. There is a vague sense of accomplishment when I create something. I like to draw, be it freehand or graphic. Then there's interior designing which is spurring me on to getting a place of my own that I can mess up. As much as I love to construct, I can also be a destruct. But that rarely happens.
Food. Bread. Potato. Cheese. Chips. Ice-cream. Spaghetti. Roti prata. Naan. Pizza. Onion rings. Ketchup. Lettuce. Hot Dogs. Lemonade. Barbeque. Sushi. Laksa. Doritos. Ice Mocha. Hot Chocolate. Marshmallows. Need I say more?
  And we are barely skimming on the multitude of interests.
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Mailto Lin

Passages of Life

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry : Letter to a Hostage "I like being a traveller, but I should hate to be an emigrant. So much that I learned at home would be useless to me anywhere else."

Frank Herbert : God Emperor of Dune "You, the first person to encounter my chronicles for at least four thousand years, beware. Do not feel honoured by your primacy in reading the revelations of my Ixian storehouse. You will find much pain in it... I only know that my journals have suffered oblivion and that the events which I recount have undoubtedly been submitted to historical distortions for eons. I assure you the ability to view our futures can become a bore. Even to be thought of as a god, as I certainly was, can become ultimately boring. It has occurred to me more than once that holy boredom is good and sufficient reason for the invention of free will."

 

 

 aptly written by someone else...

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less wisdom; more experts, but less solutions; more medicine, but less wellness.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too little, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; we've cleaned up the earth, but polluted the soul; we've split the atom, but not our prejudice.

We have higher incomes, but lower morals; we've become long on quantity, but short on quality. These are the times of tall personalities, and short characters; steep profits, and shallow relationships.

These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition. These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom.