Battered newbie cyclist I was quite alarmed to see the battered leg of one of my kakis. It’s the third time in a short time that she has come off worse after picking up off-road cycling. Or trying to pick up, more like it. She’s now asked me to order lots of Brave Soldier the next time I do purchasing, which is not a good sign! Apparently she thinks more falls are in store ahed of her. I’ve asked her to consider going for the Dirtraction Bike Clinic. When I started off-road mountain biking frequently, I attended a bike clinic myself and found it useful because it was structured and comprehensive. When I posted “Advice to newbie MTB riders” after teaching others, I suggested the clinics for acquiring a foundation. There is the more painful way and the less painful way. Still, I admire her gung-ho spirit and she’s not complaining. Blood donation drive in NUS Obviously trying to spice up a protist lecture The Nikon Paramecium video was lovely too. My links are on delicious. How millions have been displaced by the floods in northern India “How monsoon changed India’s geography.” BBC News, 24 Aug 2008. “Until last week, the Kosi, a tributary of the Ganges, curved westwards out of Nepal in a C-shape. But in the torrential rains that have hit the region, the river burst its banks and diverted southwards through the state of Bihar, into a channel it had followed 200 years previously.” ‘It is the worst flooding for 50 years, displacing 2.5 million.’ More reports on the situation at the BBC News webpage. New Orleans evacuated in preparation for Hurricane Gustav Right now a hurricane is heading for the US - and is picking up speed in the Gulf of Mexico after passing through Cuba. Hurricane Gustav is now a category 4 hurricane, i.e. with winds 210-249 km/hr and storm surge generally 13-18 ft above normal. At Category 5, the highest in the scale, winds are even faster and storm surges higher. The last Category 5 hurricane to make landfall was Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Hurricane Katrina had weakened to Category 3 when she hit the US Gulf Coast. New Orleans has begun mandatory evacuations - “Mayor Ray Nagin called Gustav “the mother of all storms,” and says anyone ignoring calls to leave would be on their own. Mandatory evacuations have also started in parts of southeast Texas, and are set to continue through midday across a three-county region stretching to the Louisiana state line, with the last mandatory evacuation starting at noon in Beaumont.” [CBS News]. OS X users who want to monitor the hurricane’s progress can use the WeatherBug Hurricane Watcher dashboard widget. But at this heightened state, simple googling will reveal relevant resources immediately, like the U.S. National Hurricane Center. A must see - The Fall (2006) See IMDB and Amazon (can pre-order) - not the usual studio fare. See the trailer on the official site. The movie is peppered with amazing natural scenes shot in several countries (see special effects (etc) supervisor Adam Howarth’s photos on Flickr and this fan’s details of the various locations) over four years, piggy backing on the director’s (Tarsem Singh) commercial jobs. Lots of borrowed mythology influence this very touching story inspired by a Bulgarian film from the 80’s and underscored by the heart-wrenching music of Beethoven (Symphony No. 7 in A Major Op 92. Allegretto). Gave me a vibe like Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil” did and then there is the cutest possible child actor - who doesn’t even speak English. She rocks the house and might just make you cry. I rated it a “9″ on IMDB. Kallang Roar the Movie! The alternative medal tally Five alternatives are reflected on this BBC page! Now, how many of these countries can you place on a map? Sumatras Have you noticed frequent short bursts of rain recently in the mornings? Are these “Sumatras”? “Sumatras are line of thunderstorms which usually occur during the Southwest Monsoon season from May to October each year. These squalls develop at night over Sumatra or the Malacca Straits and move east towards Singapore and the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia during the pre-dawn and early morning. They are often characterised by sudden onset of strong gusty surface winds and heavy rain lasting from 1 to 2 hours as they move across the island. Maximum gusts of up to 50 knots have been recorded during the passage of a Sumatra squall.” - NEA FAQ. MSN Spam: “I cant upload my pics to msn for some reason!” I have been getting random messages to my hotmail’s messenger whilst on Adium X. Then Chen Kee says he got such messages from my account. So I did the following: Change password on my hotmail account. Change my privacy level to in Adium X to ‘Allow only contacts on my contact list’ (In Adium X, Privacy Settings is “cmd-option P”) Thanks to Cormac Moylan’s 16 Aug 2008 post of the same title. Scheduling site - Doodle still rules the nest Kevin Lim highlighted a new scheduling website this morning: whenisgood.net. I took it for a spin to compare it to Doodle and found that whenisgood Does not need registration - same as doodle Email notification also same The setup page for the Scheduler look messy - not good But it is easier to setup with many hourly options (I usually limit to a few with some pre-made phone calls) Attendees need to click to see choice highlighted - ok Scheduler can unclick names (listed by least options) to see if there is a date match - useful for very large meetings - good But I cannot see individual choices easily - bad So I prefer doodle still: I can eyeball everyone’s choice on list easily, make a phone call to have one person succumb to persuasion I find it easier to setup! I have an account that keeps track of schedules I posted. Does whenisgood have a niche? It looks like it could be useful for use for very large meetings in an office used to very specifically timed meetings blocks. And for offering many, many choices for a large number of people to chose from. I’ll keep it in mind for a future meeting though to see if that uncovers more. Homes needed for the Science Canteen cats! How to resist? Rescued from an inevitable death, these lovely home-grown strays are up for adoption. See AppleMilkly’s webpage for more details. Pandan mangroves Photos from the recce which was for my ecology and marine biology classes, the International Coastal Cleanup (lots of trash nestled in the forest) and the mudskipper survey. Catching and identifying mudskippers and crabs for me were Theresa, Marcus, Paul and Daniel. It was a safe 30 minute ride from Holland Village. Would have loved to have had my totobobo mask with me as I rode at 9am and the air needed filtering! My replacement’s in the mail though - I just gave Chu Wa my address and he popped it in the mail. Can;t wait to try it out again! Padawan tries Jedi mind trick Theresa tries Force Persuasion on mudskippers but unfortunately they must be an “inherently resistant species”. Company in the evenings Mozzie menace during field trips I don’t appear to get bitten by mosquitoes so wander most areas comfortably in shorts. However, I have field and teaching assistants with me who look like they have been mugged after accompanying me without an application of insect repellent. The forest areas, even the mangroves are fine, but when chatting at an urban site at the edge of a forest or prior to entering a field site, I have seen them grab their ankles when everything else is covered in proper field attire! So I learnt to be alert to the vulnerability of others. Which is useful when you send loads of students (about 300 over two modules) to the field repeatedly. One of things I do is check for updates on the most common mosquito-borne viral diseases. Students (even the vulnerable ones) will forget to bring or apply repellent and get mauled by mosquitoes in the process. At the very least it means they can’t concentrate on the lesson but at the other end of the spectrum is having someone come down with a viral disease. Yes, best avoided. Besides warning students about repellent application during the lecture, by email and just before we set out for a field trip (the TAs do the latter), I look at the NEA webpage to see if we need to escalate our warnings. It’s easy these days with www.dengue.gov.sg. It has all sorts of useful information and links to relevant, existing pages, e.g. see this about repellent. Only thing I wish it had was a link to the archives, so I have written in to ask. This week the west appears clear. It’s a guide and not definitive, I must emphasise, but still useful: Right now of course, there is also Chikungunya to be alert about. Even if their home may be a greater threat than anyplace we visit, monitoring all of this information is part of a standard procedure that helps me prepare for and hopefully avoid problems. “Four more down with chikungunya,” by Sujin Thomas. The Straits Times, 20 Aug 2008. [NEA press release, 19 Aug 2008] A 62-YEAR-OLD housewife from Choa Chu Kang is among four new people confirmed to have caught chikungunya, officials said yesterday. The new cases stretched from Kranji to Pasir Panjang, bringing the total number reported this year to 128, according to the Ministry of Health and National Environment Agency (NEA). The most recent cases were in three areas - Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre, Kranji Way and Sungei Kadut - that have been battling outbreaks of the dengue-like disease in recent weeks. The woman in the latest case developed symptoms last Saturday and was hospitalised the same day. She tested positive on Monday for the virus, which causes fever, nausea and muscle aches. In rare cases it can be fatal. This comes about a week after her 32-year-old daughter and 61-year-old husband also tested positive for the virus. Her daughter, who developed symptoms on Aug 8, has since recovered. Her husband remains in hospital. The three had not travelled overseas recently and had stuck around their home and their workplace, the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre. Officers from the NEA have fanned out across the Pasir Panjang fruit and vegetable distribution centre and the surrounding area. So far, they have found and destroyed five mosquito-breeding sites. In the Kranji Way cluster, a 34-year-old Indian national who works and lives at Kranji Crescent tested positive for the disease. Up to 70 NEA officers have been deployed in the area around Kranji Way, covering Kranji Loop, Kranji Road, Kranji Link and Sungei Kadut. In the Sungei Kadut cluster, a 36-year-old Chinese national who works and lives at Sungei Kadut Street 1 and a 48-year-old Singaporean who works at Sungei Kadut Street 6 tested positive. Yang Peiyi, China’s most famous playback singer I was bemused by the news about China’s Politburo-sanctioned (or ordered) switch of a more attractive kid for the role of the serenading child performing “Hymm to the Motherland” (a patriotic ballad) to the billion-audience at the opening of the Beijing Olympics. The news reports were rabid of course since controversy sells. What struck me was the fact that the “show’s musical designer [Chen Qigang] felt forced to set the record straight … in an interview with Beijing radio.” (Telegraph, 12 Aug 2008). Wow, really? Really appreciates talent, he does. Americans like Jon Stewart are wondering what the fuss is about - apparently this is staple at major events like the Super Bowl. Mind you, this is beyond lip-synching - not only was the singer not singing live (even if the kid thought she was, in this case), it wasn’t her voice. This setup sounded vaguely familiar until it dawned just now - Indian movies! Playback singers have been a staple in movies from the subcontinent for decades. The actual singers are well known to the adoring masses who enjoy the collusion of eye candy backed by heavenly tones. Just like fans of professional wrestling, they are happy to believe. There is enough reality in life. The funny bits then were the indignant journalists (”why didn’t you tell us”) and the IOC officer’s defense using a poorly applied athletic analogy. Luckily there actually was sporting action to distract us. And I’ve learnt to cycle with my knees pointed inwards since! Tiger snoozes on the fridge …showing off his ticked tabbiness - yup, there are whole bunch of them out there. Classic Xylo pose I want to ride my bicycle IYOR celebrations I was at the International year of the Reef celebrations on the eve of National Day and at the exhibition the next morning. I was certainly surprised by the number of people who came! I had another round of excitement as I changed my presentation the last minute, or rather in the last hour. Also held the first pro-tem meeting for Envirofest 2009. Wrote it all up on the Toddycats blog. National Day songs - bring the magic back My FOY kaki Wei Chong comments that while the recent National Day tunes are pleasant, he misses the simple words and tunes from the earlier years. They emanated sincerity - see his post with the embedded videos - link. Well yes, the newer songs go well with the videos but we watch and forget. The older ones got everyone singing. A snoozing Mr Bats Dolphin carcass on Labrador beach Another dolphin carcass turned up on Labrador beach. See details on Habitatnews. I received the call while at the wake so I asked Eslindah (NParks) is she’d have it buried for me to recover later for the Raffles Museum, and she did, nice! April’s article on Mr Harry Tan Biology graduate April Chong, now in The Straits Times, joined us at the wake yesterday to pen a remembrance for Mr Harry Tan. We’re hoping the news will reach more old boys now. The Straits Times is sporting a new look and subscription is free for two weeks now so the link is available to all: Link Sat 09 Aug 2008 - Reef Celebrations! Click to view details Saints at Mr Harry Tan’s wake Worried we could not make it down in the evening, Shahiran, Chien and myself went down to Mt Vernon in the afternoon to pay our last respects to our secondary school principal, Mr Harry Tan. It was good having my buddies with me when our secondary school teachers turned up - we jumped to our feet when they entered and did the drill - step forward, declare our names, year of graduation and the classes they had taught us. You see, while we know their full names, we do realise they’ve taught a couple of thousand boys since our time! They’re sweet to us and can get by just calling us Saints. They all still teach in the school which illustrated the wonderful continuity we had discussed being blessed with. Chien related a recent foray into the secondary school when he had fun fair ticket sales duty (his son is in the primary school. So he visited the earmarked secondary school classroom to do his bit. Now Chien’s a strapping lad and towered over her the teacher, who was quite surprised he knew her name. He then announced to the boys in the class grandly that he’d been taught by the very same teacher and they should count themselves lucky - the boys cheered at this admission but some invariably asked, “teacher you so old ah!” We also chatted with some boys from the ‘88 batch as well and left surprised at the extent of what we shared in common. It was no fanciful reflection it seemed, all of what we had talked about. RIP Mr Tan and you’re remembered well by the boys. Mr Harry Tan, fellow Saint, RIP Heavy heart this evening. My buddy Chien forwarded me Mr Yee Teck Peng’s SaintsDYK newsletter which announced that Mr Harry Tan, our principal and Additional Mathematics teacher from St. Andrew’s Secondary passed away this afternoon (Harry Tan Ho Swee, 1941 - 2008). A boy’s school is a tough setting to teach in with most of us boisterous. The school had many big-hearted teachers who also knew to wield the strong arm of discipline. The important backbone of that discipline was wielded by ol’ Harry. Even the scent of his distant approach would quieten a rowdy class! His sermons were as fiery as his speeches and I enjoyed them all. I also loved his exhortatory Founder’s Day reports. So much so I came back while in the army to listen to him speak and to soak in the ambience of the school’s quadrangle. The unappreciative boys would only simply groan in embarrassment at part of the talk - like his pet statement that e were the “best swimming school amongst schools without swimming pools!” The school achievements were highlighted in such occasions - and held up with great significance were things like service to the community. Events from the past like the help offered to Potong Pasir residents during the flood were still recalled, decades after it happened. Fiercely proud of our traditions, he also reflected a strong, independent spirit - probably why he always mentioned JBJ amongst the luminaries amongst our old boys! Imagine the impact such a strong figure had on a cohort of boys - his reminders of the the significance of the school, its spirit and history certainly got to us. It did great things for our esteem, producing a bunch of confident boys aware of the need of service to the community. And will last us a life time. One afternoon, I saw him holding fort at school entrance. In response to a query from a passing staff member, he said he was waiting to greet his Dunman High students. They were spending time in St. Andrew’s under the immersion programme, and were leaving early that day as it was Chinese New Year’s eve. The school had a wide diversity of academic ability and Harry and his teaching staff were yanking up ‘O’ level passes dramatically from the doldrums in the late 70’s and early 80’s - while each percentage point was a dramatic victory, somehow we never felt any unpleasantness but only to be as good as we possibly could. “My university classmates and I played snooker the night before our exams and still aced them,” he’d roar in an anecdote about preparedness. I recalled his boast years later but no, I still needed the nights before the exams! I consoled myself with the clam and dignified walk into the exam hall I at least managed! We were blesssed with many extraordinary teachers in St. Andrew’s and Harry did rank amongst them. We had little direct contact with our principal, the dreaded Harry Tan until Additional Mathematics in Secondary 4. We greeted that class with great trepidation of course, but when the session began, we realised that he was a very good maths teacher! I can see scenes of him poised at the head of the class, lit by the morning light streaming in through the large open windows of the old school building. He’d attack the problem vigorously, delighting in the short cuts that were exposed and finally striking the board with a triumphant air. He’d scribble QED with a flourish at the end and he’d announce “Quite Easily Done,” with a vengeance, often breaking the chalk in the process! Heady stuff for us boys. His strong-headededness got him into trouble, I believe, more than once. Long after we left, news trickled down that he had left too. So I was glad to see him in May 2003 at the cutting of the Stamford Fig. For the boys of my time at least, the memory of St. Andrew’s is well entwined with that of ol’Harry. RIP Mr Tan! See also (with updates): The St. Andrew’s Family facebook thread. “Farewell Again, Mr. Tan,” by Erwin Chan. The Dinner Table, 6th August 2008. “Goodbye Harry” in…Between Lost Memories, 6th August 2008. “Former St Andrew’s principal Harry Tan passes away (1941-2008).” The Singapore Sports Fan Says…, 8th August 2008. “Saints at Mr Harry Tan’s wake.” Otterman speaks…, 8th August 2008. “April’s article on Mr Harry Tan.” Otterman speaks…, 8th August 2008. 29 May 2003 - Mr Harry Tan (grey shirt) at the ceremony to makea cutting of one of the Stamford Figs to plant in the new school campus,as had been done after the shift to Woodsville in 1940.Canon Wong (white shirt, collar) is on his left. The Saints Alumni webpage posts: THOSE WHO PASSED BEFORE US I am sad to announce that our fellow SAINT, HARRY TAN HO SWEE former student and Principal of St. Andrew’s School, passed away peacefully today, Wednesday 6 August 2008 in the early afternoon. Our deepest sympathy to his family, Mrs TAN HOON HWEE and his 2 sons. The wake will be held at Mt Vernon Funeral Parlour 1. Services will held on Thursday & Friday at 8:00 pm Funeral Service on Saturday at 11:00 am. The Cremation at 1pm , Mandai Hall 1. I went down to his wake today (Thu 7th August 200 with Chien and Shahiran in the afternoon, talked to Mrs Tan and several of our secondary school teachers. David Attenborough’s 1973 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures “The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures have been held in London annually since 1825.” [see Wikipedia] Michael Faraday (who is quite the man) is the star of the series which continues to this day, for he lectured a record of 19 times between 1827 - 1860! The scene of one of his lectures is depicted on UK’s 20-pound note and is a scene I remember from my childhood. In 1973, Sir David Attenborough, who has inspired many a naturalists’ career including more than a few in Singapore, participated in this grand event by giving a series of five lectures over five days, on “The Language of Animals”: “Beware” (Wed 26 Dec 1973) “Be mine” (Thu 27 Dec 1973) “Parents and children” (Fri 28 Dec 1973) “Foreign languages” (Sat 29 Dec 1973) “Animal language, human language” (Sun 30 Dec 1973). The videos are available at the Royal Institution of Great Britain’s webcast archive (you have to “shop” and “checkout” but can watch the webcast all for free). Part 1 (of 5), 1/6 Earlier today (and the reason for this blog post), honours student Martin Chew pointed out to me that this excellent series of videos (and a dashing David) are available on YouTube courtesy of threespeed. Due to YouTube’s 10 minute limitation, the series is in 30 parts! I’ve already highlighted the mudskipper clip to Theresa; besides highlighting these clips to the biodiversity and animal behaviour students (with appropriate credit to Martin) the series also serves as appropriate inspiration for me just before term begins. My significant teaching load kicks off again so let me soak in ol’David and stoke those flames! Hungry Ghost festival - too good a moniker to change Chiang Bak Hoi wrote to The Straits Times (23rd July 200 to complain, HUNGRY GHOST IMPROPRIETY ‘Call it the Seventh Month Festival.’ CHIANG BAK HOI: ‘The seventh lunar month begins on Aug 1. The English media like to refer to it as the Hungry Ghost Festival. The name may arouse curiosity for those who hear or read it for the first time, but it is not appropriate. Chinese all over the world who observe, celebrate or believe in it do not call the festival or month by that name. All Chinese media do not use the name. If we cannot come up with a better name for the festival, I suggest we call it the Seventh Month Festival or Zhong Yuan Jie. Perhaps the Taoist Association or other Chinese associations can help to come up with a better name.’ The Taoist Mission responded (1st August 2008): MASTER TAN ZHIXIA, TAOIST MISSION (SINGAPORE): ‘I refer to the letter, ‘Hungry Ghost impropriety’ by Mr Chiang Bak Hoi (July 23). The Taoist Mission (Singapore) shares the same sentiments as Mr Chiang. The Hungry Ghost Festival is an inappropriate term for the Seventh Month Festival. The Taoist Mission calls this festival Zhong Yuan Jie or ‘Festival of the Middle Season’, as it is the second of three festivals.’ I had read both letters but had problems recalling ‘Festival of the Middle Season’ just now. When I googled seventh month festival I realised any other title didn’t stand a chance. The moniker was just too strong a PR tag and is widely used. Now this local movie, “A month of hungry ghosts” is going to cement that name even further and probably extend it internationally as well! Check out the FAQ, even though they incorrectly use ‘lah’ instead of ‘ah?’ or ‘hah?’ Sheesh!