Hmm...has it really been that long?

1010 days. Lol i was away on 1000th day so I shall blog today. Haha.
Wow. I know this is both our first relationship so we share the first of everything together but it still amazes me every time we hit a milestone. 1st month, 100th day, 6th months, 1st year anniversary, Valentine's, 2 yaer anniversary, now 1010th!

I can't say 1000 cos.... well that day has passed lol. Our 1000th day together was the day I travelled back from Penang to Malacca so... that was a good day ^ ^ Hey it was also Perly's birthday!!!! Lolness.


In our many many days together, you have always been there for me, cared for me, Loved me, Patient with me (VERYYYY), treated me like a princess, let me have my way, most of the time. You made sure I was happy and whenever I wasn't, you would be sad too. You have become such a big part of my life, I wondered how I ever was happy before I met you. I guess what I never felt I really don't miss. Now that I have tasted how life is with you, it sucks that you are leaving soon.

Does anyone believe in long-distance relationship? Do they really work? Or is it just a bluff we tell ourselves until we are no longer so attached to the other person in order to deal with the inevitable? Somesay I think too much. Somesay I am just being logical because I know myself so well. Somesay love is made of much stronger stuff than what I give it credit for. Somesay it's just all me.


Love is overrated. Hollywood is overrated. Everywhere you look, you can't help but see love being enterprised. Every 2 minutes on the television there will be something about love. Every movie, every series has a love story. Even action movies, gore movies, horror, haunted.... everything!


Actually it's not that Long distance don't work. It does. It's just different kind of relationship. Even when both parties remain faithful and honest, people change over time. Loneliness is a bitch. The effort to stay in contact is exhausting not to mention an expense.

I guess it's all about expectations... and sacrifice. Of course, trust is a must.

I've been going over it in my head time and time and time again until it's driving me a little nuts. There really is no point, is there? Thinking about it doesn't make it easier. Not thinking about it...makes me dream about it haha.

I guess it's time to grow up,or man up, whichever works. Being adult is tough work. Not many want to do it but most of us just... do it.


Fate is a nice person to blame, eh? Anything gone wrong, Fate's fault. Any missed opportunities, Fate again. Something gone right? Oh it must be Luck. lol.

Poor Fate.

When you first said that you wanted to migrate for 7years, I thought that you must be mad to think that I would wait that long. Then funny thing happened. A simple question lead me to realize that although we have been together for almost 3 years, it doesn't seem so long. Time flies. So perhaps 7 years won't feel that long too. There is still the fact that I am not the person I was 3 years ago and I will not be the same person I am today compared to 7 years later. Neither will you be. So, the question of surviving the dreaded LDR is still unanswered but I will say this: Come back to me as fast as you can.I ask nothing from you, only that you are with me

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Longest Holiday Yet

Wow. Finally I am home.....HOME!
Home for only the next month. Home for the past 3 years. Another place where I can call home. But this is for another blog. Today's post is about something else. Today is about my most recent long and fun holiday! At first I was afraid I couldn't pull it off but...hehe.... I did it!


The adventure started on Sunday (23rd May 2010) at the wee hours of 7am. 730am bus to Bukit Jalil which is the worst bustop I've ever went to if I may add. We arrived at 9am. Due to miscalculation, we had to wait until 1030am for the Genting bus. Which was a long wait since the place was shabby and non air-conditioned. Time finally crawled past and we boarded the bus. Napped a little and I arrived at the cable car station around 1130am. The queue for the cable car was .... lengthy to say the least. Twas entertaining tho... haha. Ho Chiak was on the tv and there were 2 clowns making balloons for kids nonstop. As hard as I tried to get a poodle, there is always a kid around to take it from under my nose. Sad.....


We checked in to the hotel immediately. This is my second time staying in Theme Park Hotel. It is of course bigger than First World but my, everything is so much further! Since Victor Wong has never been to the Genting before, we decided to show him around first. We took many pictures, checked out Coffee Terrace (this place and I go way back...hehe). Anyway, the first day was just about kai kai.... take pic..... and visiting my first Genting Casino. For dinner we tried this Steamboat place. It was an all you can eat so... the boys went a little nuts.... and regretted it haha. Nobody wanted to listen to me.....

The next day, we started the day early with buffet breakfast at 7am lol. Then went back up to snooze a little while waiting for 9am to come. Roller Coasters here I come! Victor is already 25years old but he has never been on a roller coaster hehe..... Imagine the fun we had with him. The Spinner was his first ride. Although its a harmless ride....hehe Victor was terrified...It left him wanting more tho haha. We went after the Cyclone next and then.... Corkscrew!!!

It was a blast. If we wana do something, go for the extreme right? We put victor in the front seat with me and Howard haha. By the end of that ride, Victor was a convert. He is now an adrenaline junkie hehe. We saved the best for last: Spaceshot. Me, Victor and Howard were strapped on facing our hotel. All the way up and all the way down me and victor screamed AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! haha. It was fun. When we landed, all Howard managed was Oh Fuck! It's such a party pooper when someone holds all the excitement inside. Since we were early, for the first time we didnt have to queue for any of those rides! We were always a minute ahead of a throng of tourist from India. My god, after we played, the length of the line will deter anyone except first timers lol. Since we did not have to queue (hehe), we were done by 11am. Some rules have changed since I last came.... for instance, the bumper cars and the 4D shows are no longer included in the Outdoor ticket. NO FAIR!!!! For the first time I went to Genting and did not bump any cars, did not watch and 4D movies. T_T

Since it was early, me and Howard decided to explore the souvenir shops. There are now a lot of new shops added since I last went to Genting. All of them are unique special skills hehe. If I had money, I would've bought them all but I don't so... I will just stand and watch. Many of them come from China. Guess back there they are just one in 6million but here, they are the first Ive seen. After that we went back for a nap and round 2 of the Outdoor games hehe.

Dinnertime came soon enough. =) The part of the day Ive been looking forward to. We were heading to Coffee Terrace!! Perhaps I will include the pictures later when they are ready but for now, let's just say it is the best international buffet ever! Really, it is international. There is a corner for everything and in that corner, the best of that cuisine. They have also added entertainment for us diners that previously wasn't there. They added bellydancers. I assure you, nobody was looking at their food when they were eating. Especially the guys lol. Typical male.

There was not much to do in Genting at night so we basically ended our nights in various casinos. Going into casinos with friends are fun. In the end some of us break even, some of us lost a little. It is all for the fun of it actually. In fact, just standing by and watching people play is facinating enough. These buggers will bet 800 on some number, win 800, and then lose it all on the next hand. Amazing. These players don't feel a thing when they win. Or when they lose. To them, it is just chips haha.

The 3rd day came to Genting soon enough. I was the most reluctant to leave because despite everything, Genting is still as cold as I last went 3years ago. The weather was marvelous. When it rained, WOW. We reluctantly said our goodbyes and checked out. Making our way back to Bukit Jalil was rough. The bus driver apparently did not learned that when there is a bump, you slow down. Lousy. But we all made it back in one piece, we said goodbye to Victor and Lisa for they are heading back to Malacca. I wont be seeing Victor for a long time now cos he just moved to Shah Alam and I won't be back in time to see him off. The holiday was a sweet way to end things tho ^ ^

Me and Howard made our way to Rawang via KTM (longggg way) where Perly was waiting for us ^^ Somewhere between enjoying the cold wind and pulling sheets from each other when sleeping in Genting, I caught a cold. So I was not in the best of shape to be travelling but I soldiered on. Mr Peh cooked for me that night. I must say, cooking skills run in the family. It was a very nice meal. We got to see my new home, for the next 2years at least, how it is like and how will I be living. There is now a double-decker bed in Perly's room. I get the bottom bunk! We stayed in the first night, just watching tv. I got really hooked on some tvb, again haha.

The next day Perly took us out Kai kai. I had the best char siu wan tan mee outside her house! and then we head to Ikea. We managed to get presents for the wedding which me and Howard will be attending on Friday. Perly provided me with a bed and a table but no chair, mattress, cupboard. So I found myself the most comfortable chair from Ikea under rm50! I was tired so instead of going out, we ate in Perly's house again. My nose and headache was killing me, I had a fever. Mr Peh coincidently, cooked porridge! Ngam sai ler...... hehe. Again, dinner was superb. I have a feeling I am going to love staying in Perly's house....hehehehehe. After dinner though I felt better. So we went to pay Mei Mei a visit! She just landed from Hong Kong the previous day. Mei Mei lives in Kepong, which isn't very far away but the way to her house....my gawd. Lols. After we hung out at her place for awhile, Mei Mei took us to a nightspot that is called the WaterFront. Kinda kool place. We went for nice dessert afterwards before we sent her home.

The third day me and Howard were suppose to travel to Nelson's place via KTM again but we decided to spend the day with Perly first. I was very reluctant but I knew when to give in. I kept my pride and asked for Perly to stop by some place for me to buy Panadol. You see, for me falling sick is a sign of weakness and taking medicine is a sign of defeat lol. Ive tried everything to make it go away but usually you don't heal when you are travelling and going out all the time and having fun. So I bought Activefast and wow, it works. One of the advantages of not always taking medicine is that a low dose will be enough to cure ya. So despite being an adult, 1 ActiveFast was enough to keep the fever/ sore throat / sniffles away for 4hours and I didn't feel sleepy. We went to have some chinese food which was cheap but the portion was enough to feed 2.5 me. lols. My shoe opened its mouth...so we bought a shoe glue to keep it shut. Then we went back home and played Mahjong for the next....3hours hehe. Perly then sent us to the KTM. I forgot it was a thursday, day before the long weekend, so we had a horrible time at the KTM. It was 5pm. Rush Hour. WHOA. The amount of people. You really see the worst side of people. Really. Anyway, we arrived in Klang, almost in one full piece (I'm sure some of me got squished out and left behind) and Nelson was there to greet us. Like a gentleman he was, he introduced Syvia to us, his soon to be 6 year long gf, for the first time. Took him long enough. We went to Kim Gary where he bought us dinner. We crashed at his place and went straight to bed. Tired.

The next day started very slowly and built up pretty fast. It was the eve of Syvia's eldest sisters wedding. The reason we were invited was because Howard was asked to be the official photogapher for the whole event and I was there as his date. As per customary, the bride side will have it's celebration on the eve and the groom on the wedding itself. Since she is the eldest and the first of 4 siblings to get married, the father of the bride went all out to celebrate. The lunch was deliciously prepared by all members of the family, we went errand running with Syvia and Nelson (Syvia is the maid of honor and Nelson is the best man) (It's like a wedding rehearsal for them lol) the whole afternoon. When all was done, we got to go back to Nelson's to rest an hour or two before getting ready for dinner. The dinner was held in a local restaurant. SIXTY SEVEN tables! That's a lot of celebrating. Howard was very busy, the bride was stunningly beautiful, the food was marvelous (I never knew that Klang was a food haven but now I am fully aware), there was a lot of booze going around but I didn't touch any. The night was awesome. Me and Howard learnt a very eye opening lesson though. Planning a wedding is terrifying. So much so that... you don't want to do it anymore lol. Everything that can go wrong, does. Haha.

The next day started really early. 7am early. We were all in a daze.... but when you see 5 girls sitting in the kitchen,scheming, you know something no good is up. They were planning the games to play when the groom arrives to pick up his bride lol. Oh the things they made them do..... VERY amusing. Finally he got in the house. Then there is the games they made them play to get the door open. hahaha. After the door is open, he gets to look at his bride.... There is more games to play before he can bring her down to be married. Lmao. According to Hokkien people, the point of you crossing over from being single to being married is the tea ceremony. That was a nice thing to witness. After that, we all had to go over to the groom side to perform the tea ceremony again. Then we were all dismissed to go home and rest. Nothing spells long day without a disaster. Nelson went through a porthole and came out with a punctured tire. Haha. Thank god for spare tires. Oh another lesson to learn: Men move SLOWWWWWWWWWW in a situation. All fivr of us present have never changed a tire in our life before but man, those two males cud shake a leg! They were so slow until I got fed up and took over. At least I was trying to be fast.... -.-

We all went back and took a nap...tiring lol. My fever all but left me with a little sniffles when I wake up. That night dinner was no longer the bride's side hosting so we were all just guest. It was all the way at Bukit Jalil, some golf course. Took us an hour to get there. The place was nice. Syvia's sister is a Taoist but the groom is a Christian. I am not sure which one but there were 3 Pastors in that wedding. It was my first Christian wedding and also my first fusion wedding lol. The ceremony usually done in the church was to be performed before dinner. That's the point of transition for the Christian from single to married. So I watched.... and again, it was educational lol. The food was not as excellent as the night before but it was still delicious. We sat together, had a good time. All the kids in the family treats Nelson like their personal toy haha. They were beginning to mess with Howard too. It was cute. When the night ended, all was relieved and happy. Happy because everything has gone according to plan,it had been a joyous occasion and relieved cos finally all can sleep until kingdom come and no one is allowed to wake anyone else up haha.

The next day was Sunday. We were gonna take a bus from Klang to Malacca. Syvia's dad wanted to buy us Bak Kut Teh for breakfast (they have it for breakfast *gasp!*). So we joined them and went straight to Klang Sentral but alas! all tickets sold out until 430pm. What to do? We went back to Nelson's and played Rummy hehe. It was fun. Finally we left and head home....Malacca.... it didn't end there though. Howard wanted to dinner at MMU korner, that's where I had my first Cheese Wan Tan Mee and Mai called me. She was stranded at Sentral with no bus to go home with. So I went down to pick her up..... and FINALLY, my week was over. WHEW


It had been a long long LONG week. It had been an eventful week to say the least. I've learnt a lot of lessons, gained many many experiences and a few new friends. Heck, I was around Syvia's elaborated family for nearly 48 straight hours, I am actually missing them now lols.

Oh one more thing, her grandma taught me what Go Fish the card game is lol.


All in all, it was a great week.

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Colebrook Equation - A simple Excel Macro to solve this implicit equation

Excel has several methods of solving for implicit equations, which is what the Colebrook Equation is, used for calculating the Darcy friction factor, which is then used with another equation in order to get the pressure drop due to turbulent flow in a pipe.

The first is by turning on the Iterate option inside the Excel worksheet then using circular references (eg the equation refers to itself) and iterating such that the values converge. It can however cause some problems if the values DON'T converge or zero errors. Dismally, as the calculations involved with  Colebrook is quite sensitive, it's necessary to change the default settings so that changes between iterations have a low maximum value (in the region of 1e-6). Crucially, changing the values of ANY cells causes the spreadsheet to recalculate all the information, and in a large spreadsheet, editing can quickly become a pain especially with the increased sensitivity requirements.

Another method is via nesting, whereby you design the equation such that the results of one is nested into the same equation. However, designing such an equation is not trivial especially using computer systems (parentheses quickly become a pain), although the process is relatively straightforward. The advantage of this is that you do it once and never have to go back and do it again, and you are limited only by how tenacious you are in nesting the equations (after about 5 or 6, it gets really long). The advantages are that you can iterate exactly how many times you need, and that it's hardcoded into Excel as an equation, so no problems with recalculating or error when moving the file around.

Finally, a simpler method has been devised by Diddler Clamond, written in a paper called Efficient Resolution of the Colebrook Equation. This relatively recent paper (2009) outlines a simple algorithm that produces, in the words of the author himself, extremely accurate results (around machine precision). The trick of the equation relies on two magical numbers, 0.123968186335418 and -0.779397488455682, of which the specific derivation can be found in the paper. Its a statistical method and seems to work really well, and quickly solves the equation.

The macro is:

Function Colebrook(R As Double, K As Double) As Double
    Dim X1 As Double, X2 As Double, F As Double, E As Double
    X1 = K * R * 0.123968186335418
    X2 = Log(R) - 0.779397488455682
    F = X2 - 0.2
    E = (Log(X1 + F) + F - X2) / (1 + X1 + F)
    F = F - (1 + X1 + F + 0.5 * E) * E * (X1 + F) / (1 + X1 + F + E * (1 + E / 3))
    E = (Log(X1 + F) + F - X2) / (1 + X1 + F)
    F = F - (1 + X1 + F + 0.5 * E) * E * (X1 + F) / (1 + X1 + F + E * (1 + E / 3))
    F = 1.15129254649702 / F
    Colebrook = F * F
End Function

Simply insert this into your Excel worksheet and you can call up the function =Colebrook(Re, Rel.Roughness) and it automatically returns the Friction Factor. Note that the values of Re and Rel.Roughness needs to be in the Double format, otherwise the macro will scream.

In my tests with the equation, it seems to be very accurate as the author claims. Using values of Re = 165000 and Rel.Roughness as 0.00453, the traditional Iterative method gets the results as 0.030097679 while the statistical method yields 0.030097700. Not bad for a simple two-step iterative statistical method, and you will definitely see this being applied into numerical and CAD/CAE systems very soon, especially those simulating pipelines where millions of the equations are being calculated, and the small processing savings of an improved algorithm will quickly add up over the course of the simulation.

Definitely a much improved method to get the F.F compared to traditional ways of either using the GoalSeek Excel function (the least efficient process, thus not discussed here) or, gasp, the trial and error method.

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