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Ibis Hotel SIngapore on Bencoolen 3

Grade:

3 star

Description:

Ibis hotel is situated at a strategic location that is within walking distance to bugis and little india- two of the cultural rich places with a huge variety of restaurants. Access to other parts of singapore is very convienient by MRT (a train service that connects to many parts of singapore) at bugis MRT station that is only 5 to 10 minutes walk away. The hotel is only 1.5km from orchard road.

If you just need a simpler way to stay at a hotel and do not wish to spend more than what you need, this is the hotel for you. It is a highly recommended hotel to stay that is very reasonable priced and VALUE for money. Very suitable for people with frequent visits to singapore, whether it is for business or leisure purpose. It is quite a new hotel in singapore with clean rooms and more than average restaurant.

Room types:

One queen bed standard- LCD TV with complimentary broadband and Wi Fi access.

Standard two single beds- LCD TV with complimentary broadband and Wi Fi access.

*note: there are some connecting rooms within the hotel so do ask for them early if you need it.

Some rooms facilities:

-data port in room

-satellite/ cable color TV

-free access with phone card

-direct dial telephone

Dining in the hotel:

-Taste: (thematic crusine)

-Le bar

Photos of this hotel:

The bar- damn cool!

Standard two single beds room

Queen bed standard room

TASTE- above average restaurant with incredible dishes

The retro looking hotel lobby

Map and Address:

170 Bencoolen Street (S) 189657
www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-6657-ibis-singapore-on-bencoolen/index.shtml

Video of ths hotel:

coming soon!

Something That I Worked On Is Now Interstellar

September 12, 2013 The Atlantic reports on Voyager 1 reaching interstellar space. I wrote software for a very small part of this project -- but it is still one of the more long-term activities of my life.

UPDATE: A commenter asked for some detail on my involvement with this project. It is one of the weird little parts of my life. During my first year of college at USC, I was frantically looking for a part-time job so that I could stay in school. Tuition was not a problem: the combination of the California State Scholarship and financial assistance from USC covered the entire $2910 annual bill. (Yes, and pterodactyls still roamed the skies.) Books were not too bad -- typically about $300 a year.

The problem was that I needed enough money to cover my rent, groceries, utilities, and gasoline to drive my heap of a 1964 Chevrolet Malibu station wagon back and forth to USC. I received a modest $200 or so a month check from Social Security as a college student dependent on a disabled parent. That was not quite enough to cover the bills. It was close.

But unskilled jobs were in short supply. It was 1975, and the economy was in some respects as bad as it is today. I could not get a job flipping burgers, or any other unskilled job. Nothing was available in the Santa Monica/West Los Angeles area where I lived.

Suddenly, a full-time job opened up with the school district. They needed a computer geek, and I thought: Hey, the first semester was really easy: easy A in English, freshman chemistry, Introduction to Film, and a B in first semester calculus. (This was the hard calculus sequence for physical science majors.) So I took the full-time job...and attended school full-time second semester. And this was not easy. In fact, after two months of doing this, I concluded that it was not practical to define database requirements eight hours a day (and partly at night) and take classes mostly in the daytime at USC. So I quit the day job.

And I forgot that the Social Security check would be cut off as soon as they saw that I was earning a decent wage. But by the time that happened, it was June, and it was impossible to get it turned back on, now that I no longer had that full-time job, so the need to find some sort of job was that much more severe. And all summer long: Jack-in-the-Box? McDonalds? I even applied for a job as a projectionist at an adult movie theater. (No, I had not been in audio-visual club in high school, so I had no idea how to run a projector, but I was sure that I could learn.)

Time was getting short, but it turned out that while I lacked the skills and capabilities to flip burgers, there was one job that I could get at 18: Jet Propulsion Labs. On Monday, I saw a newspaper ad by Telos Computing, one of the companies with a contract to supply software engineers to JPL. I sent my resume. Wednesday they had me come into the office in Santa Monica. That afternoon, I drove out to JPL in my incredibly 1970s powder blue leisure suit, and Friday, they called me, and told me to start work at JPL on Monday. I was paid $1200 a month, mostly because that is what I asked for, and I was even then a pretty articulate if nerdy and introverted sort.

I wrote software for the near-real-time telemetry processing system for what was then called the Mariner Jupiter-Saturn project (MJS), but was later renamed to Voyager. It was a really cool experience. When they hired me, I do not think I was qualified to do the job; by the time they fired me, almost a year later, I actually was qualified to do the job -- and it certainly opened many doors for me in later years.

FACEBOOK WILL END ON MARCH 15th!

PALO ALTO, CA –Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook will be shut down in March. Managing the site has become too stressful.

“Facebook has gotten out of control,” said Zuckerberg in a press conference outside his Palo Alto office, “and the stress of managing this company has ruined my life. I need to put an end to all the madness.”

Zuckerberg went on to explain that starting March 15th, users will no longer be able to access their Facebook accounts.

“After March 15th the whole website shuts down,” said Avrat Humarthi, Vice President of Technical Affairs at Facebook. “So if you ever want to see your pictures again, I recommend you take them off the internet. You won’t be able to get them back once Facebook goes out of business.”

Zuckerberg said that the decision to shut down Facebook was difficult, but that he does not think people will be upset.

“I personally don’t think it’s a big deal,” he said in a private phone interview. “And to be honest, I think it’s for the better. Without Facebook, people will have to go outside and make real friends. That’s always a good thing.”

Some Facebook users were furious upon hearing the shocking news.

“What am I going to do without Facebook?” said Denise Bradshaw, a high school student from Indiana. “My life revolves around it. I’m on Facebook at least 10 hours a day. Now what am I going to do with all that free time?”

However, parents across the country have been experiencing a long anticipated sense of relief.

“I’m glad the Facebook nightmare is over,” said Jon Guttari, a single parent from Detroit. “Now my teenager’s face won’t be glued to a computer screen all day. Maybe I can even have a conversation with her.”

Those in the financial circuit are criticizing Zuckerberg for walking away from a multibillion dollar franchise. Facebook is currently ranked as one of the wealthiest businesses in the world, with economists estimating its value at around 7.9 billion.

But Zuckerberg remains unruffled by these accusations. He says he will stand by his decision to give Facebook the axe.

“I don’t care about the money,” said Zuckerberg. “I just want my old life back.”

The Facebook Corporation suggests that users remove all of their personal information from the website before March 15th. After that date, all photos, notes, links, and videos will be permanently erased.

Source: Weekly World News

On Photo Assignment with a Sony

I was shooting a wedding on Sunday, and as planned originally, the main camera system would be Olympus DSLR E-5 and two primary lenses I use on it: ZD 11-22mm F2.8-3.5 that provides me with all my wide angle needs and ZD 50mm F2 macro for close up shooting and medium telephoto range. The Sony DSLR system that I recently acquired as a back-up tagged along in a separate bag, just in case something unexpected happens (I hear horror stories on assignment on all levels, including a Nikon D3 that just wont turn on to a Canon 5Dmk2 that died halfway through the shoot without warning), I have a reliable camera that I can work with.

Then a thought hit me, why dont I start using two camera bodies? My usual shooting style was quick changing lenses, between two main lenses and that has worked very well for me this far. However, I think sometimes it is good to try something new and different, and see what how that new method or alternative could help or improve the game. I have the 11-22mm fitted on my Olympus E-5 at all times, with FL-50R flash mounted, for most important shots of the wedding day. I then have alongside that, with the Sony A350 and 50mm F1.8 lens attached to it, and I used this combo to capture close up details and expressions (emotions, laughter, smile, hugs, etc). And you know what? I am starting to open up to working with two camera bodies. Not bad at all, and all that trouble of changing lenses, though I am already very efficient with the whole process, still came in handy when I needed to do some macro work, or know that I need the incredible sharpness and superior image quality the ZD50mm F2 macro brings.

Do take note that the wedding only took place yesterday, and I shall not include any photographs that show faces or people from the event, as I have not delivered the images to my clients. I always made sure I deliver the photographs to the clients first before blogging here, and also seeking their permission in advance.

Therefore, I can only show details and close up shots, which I have taken with the Sony Alpha 350 and the 50mm lens.

Nigel Sia, the official videographer of the day. Do check out his amazing work here (click).

The dinner reception was in a hotel sky-lounge, hence the lighting was very dark. I decided to utilize the Sunpak TTL flash (Guide Number 42), together with the Sony A350 and the 50mm F1.8 lens. Camera settings: Manual Exposure with Shutter Speed at 1/80sec to 1/100sec, Aperture wide open at F1.8, ISO400 and TTL Flash at +1.0EV bounced off high ceiling. The results? I quite like the overall color output and balance between available light and flash exposure. It is very crucial to maintain the available light so the images wont appear washed out, and at the same time, using the flash to gently fill in the skin exposure for more pleasing skin tone appearance. I have shot mostly with this combination for expression and close up portraits, which I am not showing in this blog entry. Sharpness from this 50mm F1.8 lens is indeed poor, and falling miles behind the Olympus 50mm F2 macro, which I would use without hesitation for more important shots. However, NOT every photographs have to be critically sharp, especially shooting a large events when you come home with more than a thousand photographs.

Oh and I found a mirror and some time to camwhore.

No doubt my main Olympus system, even if I were using the older Olympus E-520 (if only it was not dying) would have produced much more pleasing colors and consistent results. You have got to admit, Olympus Zuiko lenses are amazingly sharp, and I am starting to really appreciate how wonderful my Olympus main system really is after pixel peeping what the old Sony was producing.

Nevertheless, Sony has come a long way now, they have made many improvements in their latest iterations of cameras (NEX and SLT line) and most of the concerns and complains addressed by the users of Sony older systems have been fixed, and improved further upon in the latest upgrade. I am sure many Sony users (some of my readers also commented the same thing) would say that the A350 was not the finest Sony camera, and was the earlier version which did have some flaws.

Perfection was never what I looked after, not in camera system, not in photography, because chasing perfection is a waste of time, considering the best camera today will be surpassed by a new camera tomorrow, and there is no such thing as perfect photography. Reflecting humanity which is flawed in so many ways, photography as an artistic medium, including the tools to create photographs all come with flaws as well, and acknowledging this fact, it is more important for us to accept the flaws, and work with it. There is no need to complain or go into endless debate/argument (as seen rampant on photography forums and online groups these days) on which system is superior, which camera can shoot better higher ISO, full frame vs cropped sensor, mirrorless system vs DSLR, or whatever common discussion which started initially as something innocent and harmless, turned into war-like crisis. Just choose what works for you, and learn how to make the best out of it.

I think the most important thing is to be happy with the gear you are using. I am VERY, VERY happy with my Olympus gear (if you have not figured that out, you must be very new to this blog, then do take some time to browse my other 1000 blog entries available through the span of years discussing about Olympus system and tens of thousands of photos taken with Olympus camera). And now, I am starting to warm up to the Sony.