An Endless Stream of Consciousness

The Wonders of 3D Face Modelling

Ever wondered how you would look like in a 3D game? I did, and for the best part of this past evening I have been fooling around with this new software that enables you to map your face onto 3D models used in computer games and software. Although I was unable to add in lots of accessories and features (i.e. hair, glasses, hats etc.) due to it being only a demo version without the full license, it did give me a rough image of how I would look like in a game such as Pro Evolution Soccer or Lord of the Rings. And although the images are not 100% alike (i.e. for some reason I have double eyelids when I actually have only single, there is still an uncanny likeness to the real person). Since then I have tried making face models of my mom and dad as well. I have included my works of art below so check it out...


My Face from different angles and expressions...


Mom (Clockwise from top left): diagonal right profile, diagonal left profile, side profile right, sleeping, smiling, angry


Dad (clockwise from top left): front profile, talking, side profile right, diagonal left profile, asleep, diagonal right profile

here it is... video courtesy of KTN from soccerpulse forums with minimal editing by me as well as tweaking the audio... Singapore is in blue and Malaysia in yellow. Enjoy!

ONWARD SINGAPORE!

Yesterday was truly a 'soccer day' for me. First, I played field soccer for the first time in months when I joined Aloysius (Sheila's bf) and his pals for a kickabout at the Tanglin field. This was followed by a mad rush to the Singapore National Stadium with Cathy, Sheila and Aloysius for our national team's ASEAN Football Championship Semi-Final second leg derby clash with arch-rivals Malaysia. Finally I made it all the way home just in time to catch United beat Portsmouth 2-1 in the FA Cup.

Sounds like a bit of overdose of football eh? lol. Well, there has never been too much of football for me. Though I may be a bit less die-hard about it nowadays, I am still an avid fan and nothing fascinates me more than the beautiful sport--the universal and true international language amongst every race and country.

Having started watching soccer from the days of the Malaysia Cup back in the early 1990's, it is a bit surprising that I have not been to any of the matches live during the Lions' golden era, a team then littered with star players and household names such as Fandi Ahmad, Abbas Saad, Malek Awab, David Lee, Khadir Yahya etc. The only 2 times I have watched our National team play at the national stadium were against opposition from the premier league (losing to Nottingham Forest 1-3 in 1995, and the 1-8 trashing by Manchester United in 2001). So it was indeed that this was the first time I could consider myself a patriotic supporter of our country in a tense match.

Although witnessed by a partisan home crowd long forgotten since the Malaysia Cup days, the match itself was still very scrappy, with not much value in terms of trickery or skill. In fact, what happened on the terraces was of greater interest and to a certain extent, cause for more concern. The traditional jibes and mockery between our fans and opposition supporters quickly turned the atmosphere into a hostile one and there was a period where food items, cardboards, posters, cigarette lighters, and even drinks were hurled at each other. One such incident involving a flying umbrella launched by an angry Malaysian supporter left Aloysius with a cut on his hand whilst trying to parry it away from other Singaporean fans. Thank goodness for Singaporean police then, for when they realized what was going on, security was stepped up in our area threefold.

In the end, after a gruelling 1-1 draw (2-2 on aggregate) Singapore sneaked past our rivals via a tense 5-4 penalty shootout. This sparked wild celebrations amongst the supporters, an unforgettable scene for someone who has been to very few live matches to consider himself an avid soccer fan.

I will try to upload the highlights from the game via embedded wmv soon when I successfully figure it out!

Ok ok... I promise that this will be the final time I change my blog layout.... but I just wanted something simpler and lighter coloured and less of all those moving stuff like marquee etc....

Paintball Action!

Lol. Went for a session of paintball yesterday afternoon with my long time pal Leon and his classmates. It turned out to be more fun than I remembered it to be. Perhaps coz the last time I went for paintball was in OCS where training was the main focus and the being hit by a multitude of paintballs by your instructors isn't exactly my idea of fun....

Anyhow, although I played with literally a group of strangers, it was fun. And his friends were nice in a way. I did not feel totally left out... I was on Team 2 of the three teams that we split up into. And our team won and lost our fair share of games :) Below I have posted some photos from the day's action for your enjoyment....


Our paintball group... excluding the 3 or 4 ppl who were not in this picture...


That's me on the right preping for our first game of the day...


Our team (team 2) doing battle with team 1, a game in which we were disqualified when we thought we won...


Me with Leon, brother and friend for 18 years. Knew him since we were 5 yr olds taking the pre-school bus...