28 Dec 2023 - Two free Apple IPads for Real

We collected two Apple IPads from Challenger (Bugis) today.  They were absolutely free.  All we did was to apply for a specific credit card via SingSaver website and once the application was approved, simply charged $500 in the first month.  Though it took a while from the time we applied for the credit card (Aug 2023) till we collected the IPad (Dec 2023), it's worth the wait, at least it's REAL!

However, the IPads were taken over by Jerlene and Javier the moment we brought them home.  :-)

26 Dec 2023 - Our Escape Room Kaki getting bigger

Playing escape room before school starts has been a norm over the years.  This school holiday is no different than any other and that's what we did today.  The key difference was that our "escape" party now has grown bigger.  Jerlene's best friend had joined us today.  :-) 

23 Dec 2023 - Christmas is just round the corner

While we were having our lunch at Casuarina Prata shop, members of a choir group from the next-door church entered the restaurant and sang Christmas Carols to the customers.  Christmas is just 2 days away so wishing all a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

13-17 Dec 2023 - CodeDay Singapore

Javier registered himself for a free beginner-friendly app development workshop from 13-17 Dec 2023.  CodeDay was a worldwide event, hosted by National Junior College, where student artists, programmers, musicians, actors and writers get together to learn and build something new. 

The first 3 days of the event were workshops where participants were introduced to beginner projects in the world of Computer Science such as web development, game development and bot development. Participants do not require any coding background to participate in the event.

After attending 3 days of workshops, Javier found it to be too basic and not very interesting.  As such, he decided not to attend the next two days of the workshop, which was mainly a Hackathon-like event.  Will keep a lookout for other more challenging events for him.

2 Dec 2023 - Admiring Nature's Beauty at Upper Peirce Reservoir

After our Prata lunch at Casuarina Curry (Thomson), we drove to Upper Peirce Reservoir via the Old Upper Thomson Road.  Along the way we saw many monkeys sitting along the roadside.

It always feels great and refreshing to visit such place which is away from all the busy districts.  A bit like visiting a park or a lake in overseas.

Though this island is mainly a huge concrete jungle, you can still find some nature's beauty if you are willing to spend sometimes to observe the surrounding.

When we were about to leave, we saw a family of otters swimming in the reservoir.

1 Dec 2023 - Technology Refresh for my personal laptop

It's time to refresh my personal laptop.  My previous Acer Nitro had served me well over the past 3-4 years.  However, it's getting slower and noisier lately so it's time for a replacement.  Today, I received my Acer Predator Helios 18 laptop.  Hopefully it will perform as I have expected and can last for at least the next 3-4 years.  With all the Lazada vouchers and bonuses that I had accumulated, I actually bought it pretty cheap.

Below is the product specification:

Predator Helios 18

13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900HX (36 MB Smart Cache, up to 5.4 GHz, overclock capable)

18" 16:10 WQXGA(2560x1600) IPS, 300 nits, DCI-P3 100%, G-Sync LED-backlit TFT LCD, supporting 165 Hz refresh rate

NVIDIA RTX 4070 8GB GDDR6 (140W)

32GB DDR5 5600MHz RAM

1TB PCIe SSD

Windows 11 Home (64-bit)

Bluetooth 5.2

Killer Wi-Fi 6E

Built-in Webcam (1080p Camera)

3.16Kg, 90Wh Battery Capacity

per-key RGB mini-LED keyboard

Dimension: 405 (W) x 311.61 (D) x 27.15/29.15 (H) mm

3 Years On-site Local Singapore Warranty