#8 Changing with Time

Things can change very quickly and if we remain in our origin all the time, we may not improve as the others

     Imagine. A bowl of noodles costs a few bucks a decade ago, but the price for the same item today has doubled up or even more than that! Not to mention the price of that bowl of noodles in my parents’ time, it has skyrocketed after dozens of years.

People in the past would satisfy and consider themselves lucky enough if they own a typical road car but we just feel only a luxury car makes us look good today. As a matter of fact, the single element that holds the key to a different environment we lived in today lies within the word – change.

I was clueless with how fast things have changed until I looked back at my childhood photos on one particular day. In fact, it does wonder that how fast time has sneaked without us realizing it.

Many of us would consider every day is just an ordinary day but if you put a tick at the start of the month on the calendar, and, look at it again after some time, you will notice how fast the time has passed indeed. 

Notwithstanding, just as everything around us are changing all the time, are we doing the same for good or stay firm with our way-old life principles? In the construction industry, doing manual and hand calculations was a must for every engineer in designing a project. 

The tide has changed today as engineers are equipped with state-of-the-art software combining the effective spreadsheets to enable them to key in the databases. For engineers who are familiar and used to the traditional methods, they must find a fix to it in order to adapt themselves to the new programs.

Indeed, it is worth realizing that we need to keep ourselves abreast with the latest happenings around us and take the necessary approach to change our way of working or behavior if we want a better outcome of our job – all the time – in whatever endeavor.

One of the differences between the parents of today and the past is the way they treat their children. Parents in the past do not pamper their kids too much and the kids would be caned if they are caught behaving inappropriately. Parents that we see today do not set de rigueur standards at their home and realize the current generation of young people are immune from punishment.

Similarly, in a relationship, our partner is constantly hoping for us to change for the better – with time. For example, if we are bad-tempered, egotistic and inconsiderate, definitely our partner wants us to get rid of our bad traits. We cannot always expect the people next to us to tolerate with our brash attitudes if we desire a harmonious relationship with them, for sure.

There is one golden rule when it comes to dealing with daily problems and if we cannot fully prioritize that practice, regardless of how good we are: We are not perfect. It is never about the people around us and it is always about how we make changes to ourselves to influence effectively. 

By: Vincent Ti

#7 Understanding 2014 Formula One TM Engines – Technical Specifications and Configuration

     I started to watch Formula One since 2007 and my passion for the sport has grown increasingly fond ever since. With so many technical changes and sophisticated tweaks to the entire grid that take place this year, one of the most eye-catching and sporting designs lies within the turbo’s installation in the Mercedes ‘power unit’ that effectively makes the German marque so dominant in the first few races of the season.

     In 2014, Formula One no longer use the V8 2.4 litres engines as what we have seen in previous years, the sport has replaced it with the all-new V6 1.6 litres turbo direct injection engines. In fact, it is referred as the V6 ‘power unit’ instead of the term ‘engine’ that we usually used. The reason is because the engine configuration in the car is no longer consist of a pure engine to run and fire up the entire vehicle but comprises six separates single elements that we classify them as the;

ü  Engine

ü  Motor Generator Unit – Kinetic (MGU-K)

ü  Motor Generator Unit – Heat (MGU-H)

ü  Energy Storage (ES)

ü  Turbocharger

ü  Control Electronics (CE)

     In the new turbo era, not only the reliability and driveability of the car is the concerns, having a car with the most efficient energy management and horsepower is equally important. In order to boost more horsepower to the car, the turbocharger and intercooler (which cools down the turbo) will play a significant part. The turbo in the power unit basically consists of two parts – the turbine (hotter side) and compressor (cooler side). Therefore, it is up to how the engine manufacturer alter changes and install the turbo within the power unit that makes it thick. We take a brief look at how the three engine manufacturers – Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault – in the grid fared in terms of their respective turbos configuration as well as their resultant performance.

Mercedes

With different component installations on Mercedes’, Ferrari’s and Renault’s power units, we can easily differentiate the three engine manufacturers’ fundamental concepts.

Mercedes have split their turbo into two parts in their turbo configuration. As we can see from the picture above, the compressor, the blue part of the turbo (left), is separated from the turbine, the red part of the turbo (right). At the same time, we can see the MGU-H, which harvests waste heat energy, fixed to the compressor and mounted in a ‘V’ between the two parts of the turbo.

a)      Advantages

Since the hot and cool parts of the turbo are being separated, we know that the heat transfers between the components are minimized. To pump more power to the engine, we need to keep the air in the compressor (that draws air in) as cool as possible. When the heat transfers within the two turbo elements are minimized, more power is able to be extracted for the engine.

Moreover, the intercooler will have lesser workload (perhaps a smaller intercooler is adapted) for cooling demand in the turbo. A smaller intercooler used will have the benefit of a better and tighter packaging of the car, making it more aerodynamic-wise. As the turbo compressor is placed directly in front of the engine, there is more room to move their transmission closer to the center of gravity, another considerable advantage.

If that is not enough, the MGU-H mounted in between the two turbo components act to make the whole unit more efficient. As the MGU-H now has the privilege to drive the compressor, the turbo gains more electrical power before feeding it to the MGU-K located at the bottom of the engine. Now, the compressor is able to deliver more, thus reducing turbo lag and increasing power.

b)      Disadvantages

There is no drawback in the designs because basically the heat transfers between the turbo components are reduced, the car is able to have a better aerodynamic package and so on.

Ferrari

I remembered I read something like;

‘Mercedes have a reportedly 80hp more than their rivals engines’

That means Ferrari and Renault may trail the Brackley-based team in terms of power delivery. Nevertheless, the Ferrari’s turbo configuration is somehow slightly identical to the Mercedes’ installations. But it is not known whether the MGU-H is mounted in a ‘V’ as we seen in the Mercedes’ because I could not find much information about that in the Internet.

Anyway, Ferrari are reportedly placing their MGU-H in between their two turbo components like we see in the Mercedes’ case, but the MGU-H is not attached directly to the compressor, instead,  it is mounted somewhere along a duct between the two turbo components. Perhaps related to problems like cooling or fixation hindrance that the MGU-H could not be attached directly to the compressor.

Renault

If we compare Renault’s and Mercedes’ power units turbo component installations, it is notable the arrangement of their concepts are different. Basically to introduce more power to the engine, the more the cool air is, the better it is. Renault have the compressor and turbine bolted together in their set-ups. This means there is heat transfers between the two parts. As a result, a larger intercooler is needed to maintain the optimum temperature of the charged air flowing into the engine.

Next, when the MGU-H is mounted to the compressors, we can see both turbo components are driven simultaneously with a central duct driving through it. (Whereas Mercedes’ solution offers the possibility of driving the two turbo elements independently)

By: Vincent Ti

#6 Have the Wow-factor, Stand Out among the Best

Always be the first one to reach out for the others in whatever situation

     When we were little, we were educated to say ‘Thank You’ when we receive something from someone as a simple gesture as well as an expression of being grateful. 

When we accidentally spill a cup of coffee on the table of our friend, naturally the first thing that comes to our mind is to apologize profusely in order to soothe our friend’s immediate anger. At times, all of us are pleased to mix around with someone with good manner and impress us the most.

The manner in which how we treat the people around us will determine how the others view us. In other words, the way how the others treat us is a blatant reflection of how we treat them in our daily lives. We cannot change the perception of the others on us, but one thing for sure is, our every action and behaviour will change the way they treat us, if not for good.

It is normal for us to feel happy and appreciated when someone treat us good in a way we wanted it to be, and, peeved when we feel we do not get the treatment we deserve. But the perennial question is why certain people among us always stand out and likeable by their peers whereas some appear less amiable? We are all human and our natural instincts favour dwelling in an environment blended with cheerful people and positive vibes rather than the dooms and glooms.

If you greet a colleague in your workplace today but were rewarded with a distasteful reply, and then you greet him whenever you have the chance again tomorrow but still reap the same respond, then it is OKAY and nothing to be dispirited about. The moment you have the opportunity to say ‘Hi’ to him for the third time, fourth and so on, there must be an event that particular colleague will greet you in return because he feels repentant and disgraceful on his past actions.

What I am trying to endorse is not to ask everyone to repeatedly greet every single person we get to meet but we must acknowledge the fact that even the most ‘erratic’ type of person have a soft spot. Referring to this, it brings us back to the first line where I stressed everyone of us would prefer someone who treat us good rather than bad. Therefore, it is always up to us how we treat the people around us no matter what kind of person they are.

Being successful is different from having good affiliation with the people around you. We may be successful in our lives, yet, we may not be successful in building rapport with our subordinates or relatives. By putting everything into perspective, we can be mega-rich – having all sorts of property, cars, cash and almost everything; but that cannot be fully translated as being successful in us, if nobody think that we are good enough and undesirable at times. 

If we want more cash in our pocket or simply own a more luxurious car, we have to work harder to earn more money. But building strong and bona fide rapports with people around us is a money-can’t-buy enterprise. Instead, it requires virtue and dedication from us for a period of time to really win over the heart of others.

And there must always be some criteria to follow in order to achieve that. From my point of view, I have broken the criteria into five simple ground rules:

    Top 5

Always be the first one. It ranges from a multitude of aspects – greetings, carrying out a task, proposing an idea, striking a conversation and many more. Having said that, it does not mean being the second or even the last person of doing something is a failure, but by becoming the first party to do so is simply amazing. 

If we are to meet someone for a meeting during the lunch break, then be the first one to say ‘Hello’ upon seeing that person. If we know we have a mission or a task to complete, take the initiatives to start that task earlier. If we just get acquainted with a new friend, try to find some topic for a conversation rather than being shy and remain silent the whole time. All in all, it takes effort to make it. But considering the final rewards of that change, why don’t we have a go for it?

   Top 4

Take a look at yourself. When the outcome of a labour does not meet our expectations, we blame the others. We seldom think that the failure in a venture or business that we participated in could be our mistakes or fault by some means. Well, I would say it goes both ways because, in the end, wrong is wrong. There is no statement such as who is right most and who is wrong the least. Since we cannot overturn the results of a predicament, it is wise not to point the fingers when things go wrong and instead, focus on our own mistakes to see if any improvements can be made.

    Top 3

Be trustworthy and develop trust. As I mentioned earlier, true friendship and strong networking are impossible to achieve if we are affluent alone. We have the responsibility to uphold the right moral values in us if we want genuine friends in our social activities. When someone request our assistance to help him for the first time, it is imperative that we perform that task efficiently. The goal is not to win over the heart of many but to show that we do not take any things assigned to us lightly. If we think we are not up to that task, then it is better for us not to take it up.

   Top 2

Respect yourself. Coming to the Top 2… arguably one of the most important aspects in human well-being. Think of the feeling of the others and do not neglect your privilege at the same time. In fact, we are all the same in our own rights – we are all unique and irreplaceable in a sense that there is only one of us. Imagine. If we are behaving awfully bad in front of the others, we lose our image and standards. The way how the people around us perceive us change absolutely because our actions and behaviours do not reflect the respects we deserve from the others. There is always no other method to change the perception of the others on us except for ourselves. If we do not respect ourselves by behaving accordingly, then how are we going to expect the others to respect us?

 Top 1

Smile more often. Ha! For Top 1, your guess may be as good as mine. There it is! Smile. The choice is between being a cheerful and happy-go-lucky person and a heavy-hearted person. While researches suggest smiling can secrete a hormone in the brain called dopamine which is responsible for making a person happy, smiling easily beat the blues away and make us look brighter and more confident. Also, we like to mix and talk to people who always appear to be happy. The same thing goes to the people around us, they like to see us smile. There is no boundary between a happy and a sad person, the only exception is their mindsets.

We may not always be the man who can stand at the top because someone can be better than us. At least, the ‘best of the rest’ tagline should be adopted when you feel discouraged. We cannot ensure that we always remain to be the best in our field or work or study most of the time but as I said, be among the group of high-achievers may provide some indigestible food for thought.

By: Vincent Ti

#5 Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

It is always the hardest part for us to explore new things and doing tasks out of our expertise

     We wake up early in the morning feeling as if the new day looks like an endless hurdle.  When the alarm clock rings, we just want to crawl deeper under the covers. 

Be it being tired or because of insufficient sleeping hours, one reason for sure is the reluctance of us to get out of our comfort zone where we feel it is more comfortable lying on the bed longer rather than overcoming the ‘fatigue’ to wake up sooner.

    

Similarly, we would use the same roads to our workplace every day because we know if we follow the same routes it will definitely lead us to the right destination. Exploring different pathways or routes to the same aforementioned destination is therefore viewed as superficial as we are afraid of accidentally turning up at the wrong places and simply do not want to take such a risk, hence, we tend to stick to the former instead.

You are an officer in a company responsible for auditing its account and in one particular day, your boss demands you to take charge of the human and resources department. In this case, of course, the disgruntled of you will abhor at the prospect of switching a task that you are familiar, to another which is something outside your expertise. You find it undesirable because you are doing something not your cup of tea.

In regard to the above statements, we seemed to fancy whatever we have or what we are doing at the moment whereas, at the same time, treat particulars beyond our expertise with disdain. As a matter of fact, the scenarios that seem indifferent to most of us today may lead to a catastrophe in the latter stages of our lives, not to exaggerate the remarks.

Just because we feel that learning some new skills today may prove difficult, we will gradually feel the impacts that hit us hard when we need those skills in our future undertakings.

At most of the time, we find ourselves hard to take the first initiatives in order to begin doing something. When your mother asks you to sweep the floor, you are either engaged in doing your own stuffs or find it difficult to oblige to her. Once you have taken up the broom and sweep the whole house, your brain does not produce the ‘difficult’ and/or ‘reluctant’ mindsets anymore.

The reasons is simply because to take the first step to do anything is always the hardest part, once we start or are in the process of carrying out that particular action we automatically do not feel that task is ‘hard’ anymore. The key is, to constantly tell yourself that we always find it extremely difficult to start doing something is because we are unwilling to step out of our comfort zone.

The next time you encounter something ‘fresh’ to you or tasks beyond your comfort zone, just ask yourself; 

‘Will I suffer any losses in doing these things?’ or maybe 

‘Even in the worst circumstances will doing these be harmful to me?’ 

Then, you just have to evaluate and tell yourself that it is fine to step out of your comfort zone and progress forward. Steps by steps, you will see the differences in you as you get more accustomed to doing something you feel reluctant to explore in previously.

What I said is not the necessities to jump out from one’s comfort zone in our daily lives, but I think should more or less serve as a guide to remind ourselves just how important we can be to the people around us, if, we can be more proactive and not just doing things within our comfort zone.

By: Vincent Ti

#4 Tough Lucks

 It is in the middle of the night. The distant dogs barking break the silence of the night and I am half awake from my semi-sleeping mode, yet again. All of a sudden, there is a sudden urge from me to hit the keyboard.

Recently, my new-found hobbies – humming to musics (Indirectly singing) and writing a blog have increasingly form one formidable part of my life.


If that is not enough, a feisty downhill ride along the park during weekends further embellish my ratherly one-track ho-hum lifestyles. [Muffled laughing in background]

Great, my lifestyles sound good once again and it appear to hit the ground as ever as I could. Whatever it is, no matter what that happens, I felt that, in the end we are always trying to find ways to make our lives more interesting, regardless of what it takes, isn’t it?

All in all, my final examinations have just concluded a few days ago. I remembered during the final day of the examination, as the clock strikes half five and once all of us walked out of the examination hall, there is a big commotion that reverberated in the crowd-packed alley outside the hall’s entrance, produced by a mixture of laughters and clamours.

These situations, which are understandable, because, after all, the efforts and hard works that being put into a single subject over the whole course of the semester have finally paid off, provided it produce excellent results for students.

As for me, I have little comment about my own performance in the final examinations (but I will touch a little bit later on) except for the ways I handled myself when dealing with the peoples around me during the past six months. The thorn in the flesh is that people close to me can spot the noticeable difference in me for the past few months where I rarely talk to the others and always seem to isolate myself.

Not to mention, no thank to the bizarre ‘disease’ which culminates in the form of me today. Ironically, I always dream of turning myself back into the original version of me where I can often poke fun at the others seamlessly and pull the rabbit out of the hat in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

Being involved in a self-exile is not fun as I could not often muster enough courage to speak up what is in my minds. Therefore, it is no surprise to see me partaking various outdoor and community activities today just to forget my previous transgressions as being actively involved with the society provides a good sense of relaxation and state of mind at times.

While my fall from grace in the space of this six months has become a laughing stocks in the eye of certain individuals, I have always face the torrid time and take them as a challenge. Believe it or not, who knows if these obstacles may be the blessings in disguise?

The positives is, there is always a remedy to every problem that arises, as long as we could grab the chances to find out the roots of the problem and find the right solutions for it.

    

When I recently tuned in to a radio programme I heard the radio deejay interviewing a popular actor famous for his outstanding acting skills as well as his flamboyant lifestyles in the entertainment industry back in the 80s about what makes a person happy in his life, his reply was a profound statement which I would not have expected. Replying with short yet succint words, he said in a serious tone:

‘ The best things in life is to live the moment ’

The actor admitted that while everyone will make mistakes in their lives, he argued that we cannot become too engrossed with our past failures and have too much anxiety about the future, which is exactly what I mentioned before in a blog post. (See #3 Think Positives, Embrace with Open Minds)

He cited an example by saying when a person is talking to another person, if his mind is too preoccupied with something else, then he is not enjoying the moment he is living in. I could not help but agreed to his phrases absolutely.

In reality, life is just too short for us to think too much about irrelevant bygone matters of the past and future, the key to attaining happiness in life is to enjoy whatever we are doing right now. I remembered I read something like this;

‘ For every thing that happens, there must be a reason behind it ’.

     

Looking back at the gremlins in the past six months, here is among the four reasons that things have gone so sour for me.

1.      Lack of motivation

For starters, I must admit that I have endured the most difficult period of time in my entire life. To add insult to injury, I chose to keep mum the whole incident and the prolonged nightmare just crawls deeper and deeper. 

While lacking in certain aspects of our lives are tolerable, lacking in motivation is what that metters most. When a person gets demotivated, the fear of failure arises and the driving force that usually spur us on evaporated. In the space of justt six months, my life took a nosedive transforming me from the ever present hot-fire sword-wielding warrior to an ice-cold nimrod.

2.      Lost of directions

At the age of 10, I told my primary school teachers that I aspire to become a civil engineer when I grow up. That ambition appear to have materialised at the halfway mark given that I am currently an undergraduate civil engineering student in a local university. 

But the story took a dramatic turn when I find myself clinging amidst the mid-air as if a bird flying aimlessly without knowing where it wanted to be. Just to mention an example, I always have legitimate A’s scoring ambitions in all my academic subjects. That aspiration remains valid prior to the final examinations which has taken place a few days ago given that I scored a considerably high internal assessment marks for all four subjects I have taken, an average of almost 40 out of 50 marks for each subjects

However, my inability to identify what I really want most of times coupled with some blunders in the exam have compromised the chances in the process. On top of that, what makes a more tantalising prospect is I may have to settle for a meagre outcomes of four B’s (CGPA: 3.0) , a stark contrast to the same period last year where I scored an average of 3.6 something in CGPA. Judging by my own standards, this semester’s results could have hit the all-time low.

3.      Dr Vincent and Mr Ti

In psychology, every mind is split into two parts – The kind nature and the dark side. Of course, I am not a psychologists nor I have any background knowledge in the subject but I do believe there is always a divider that distinguish between the kind an evil nature in a person. For my own fall, I perceive that the ‘Mr Ti domains’ have taken over the fairer side within me. (Laughing)

*P/S: The above statements are entirely my personal opinions and are not extracted from any scholary articles. It serves as a reference for this article only.

4.      PR fiasco

While good interpersonal and communication skills are among the paramount of requirements to deal effectively with the people around us today, I failed miserably in this aspect. When we talk less, we become more inept and slowly and slowly, we find ourselves feeling more reluctant to utter any word when the opportunity of a conversation with someone else come along.

As we grow older, we gain knowledges and know about our strengths and weaknesses. The reasons that I mentioned the downside I had endured is certainly not to magnify my weaknesses to the whole world but to serve as a reminder to all of us that we can go from strength to strength if we can learn and improve from our mistakes even when the worst crisis strikes. Because in the end, whatever the outcomes is, we are the one who face the consequences of our every own actions.

By: Vincent Ti

#3 Think Positives, Embrace with Open Minds

Have good mindsets, forget about the pasts and focus on the future and you will reap the rewards later

     Prior to the writing of this column, I occasionally had some sleepless nights. After decided upon to have this column published to my blog week in, week out, my sleepless nights woes exacerbated. 

This is not purely because my minds keep thinking of what to write in my next column when I pull under the cover on my bed but due to the fact that I have been receiving a deluge of feedbacks from my friends about my previous blog post recently which has taken a toll in my sleeping habits. Granted, there are some good and bad comments over the period and while I find some praising comments quite pleasing which definitely serve as a springboard to spur me on, some criticizing comments have been a forgettable one. 

The tasks of maintaining a blog post consistently does not seem as easy as it look. For my case, it requires extreme dedication and commitment to write a column in addition to handling my routine affairs.

In our daily lives, we have ups and downs. While we often have no choice to determine our own destiny, we are fortunate enough to be able to choose the right path in our lives which eventually bear fruits. Of course, it still depends on whether we take up the so-called ‘right’ pathway or ‘wrong roads’ in our lives. 

Yes, you would argue that no one would like to choose the latter should chances permit. Yes, fully understood. But why not we choose to calm down and contemplate what goes wrong to see if any improvements can be made even in the worst circumstances? No?

When we do mistakes, we often get reprimanded and when we do the right things, little do we see the source of compliment come arising. As a matter of fact, we are trained to learn from mistakes and not to repeat the failure again in the future. Our minds are constantly being wired to handle even the world’s biggest problems. Unfortunately, many of us break down in the midst of shenanigans.

In a 10 km long marathon race, Runner A could jog past all his opponents effortlessly and cross the finishing line in the shortest time due to his physical advantages. In stark contrast, Runner B, who lags behind the others most of the time could only watch helplessly the distant runners in front of him to get further and further away while those lag behind him are starting to play catch up. 

However, despite his measurable disadvantages compared to the others, he is determined to run till the finishing line and he believes that as long as he keeps running, he still stand a chance to win the marathon until the real winner emerges. Runner A, however, would have his winning opportunity compromised if he thinks that he is impossible to be beaten. 

The moral of this story is not to educate us that complacency will cost us and sheer determination to work on things would definitely lead us to glory. Having confidence and self-belief does not guarantee success but if one lacks the self-belief, certainly the downward spiral is inevitable.

Also, the more we take things for granted, the more we lose. This is simply because we do not value things enough, we tend to neglect our own responsibilities which eventually cost us dearly. Because we have too much of regrets and could not forget our past failures, we get embroiled in a dire situation which hampered every single opportunity to take us a step forward. At the same time, when we have too much of anxiety of our future, we stay at the same point where we belongs.

As clearly as I can remember, I used to be severely traumatised by even the slightest enigma and details. Back then, I was always afraid if something bad will happen to myself (which we called anxiety) and constantly reminded myself to be extra careful with my words. As a result, I dare not to deal with people effectively as I ever could, which has severely land a massive blow to my personal self-confidence. 

As time passes, I would constantly reflect at what I have did or spoken to others although all the time I was not doing anything out of ordinary (which we called ‘could not forget about past happenings’). Sound strange? 

Okay, let me tell you the answers. In other words, I had a mild depression. During those time, I was like living in a world of my own as if nobody could reach his hand to pull me out of the h*** gate. Recovering from a state of mental depression is not as easy as swallowing a dosage of cough medicine. It certainly takes time to re-adjust your mental state slowly and tell yourself you just can do it. A few of the measures that I opted for are think positives, have good mindsets and embrace with open minds.

Most often, when we do mistakes, we point the finger to the others just to sway away the blames to make ourselves feel better. The move is almost identical to a harakiri manoeuvre as in the end, we learn nothing. As I mentioned earlier, I am not someone who can offers that sort of best advices when things turn awry but I must say that one of the most vital ingredients to become a happier person is to stay positives. 

Surely, being successful it is not that staying positives at all time that enough. It requires consideration in several other aspects as well. The world keep changing and if we cannot adjust ourselves to fit into the society then we will only take a step backward and witness the others around us improve and prosper.

By: Vincent Ti