NUS Staff Float 2010 These days, NUS Staff get involved in the festivities of the Rag too. Marjorie Doggett, RIP THE STRAITS TIMES, Aug 17, 2010 OBITUARY: MARJORIE DOGGETT SPCA founder fiercely protective of animals up till her last days By Amresh Gunasingham After arriving from England in 1947 with her husband, Victor, Mrs Doggett co-founded a voluntary service which rescued stray cats from Singapore's streets. That initiative later morphed into the SPCA. — ST FILE PHOTO SHE was born thousands of kilometres away, in Britain. But once she arrived here, Mrs Marjorie Doggett took up a cause that was closest to her heart – preventing human acts of cruelty against animals – and left a legacy for Singaporeans in the form of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). On Sunday night, Mrs Doggett died at her Toh Heights home of 33 years, after years of ill health. She was 89. Her key achievements after arriving here from England in 1947 include co-founding a voluntary service which rescued stray cats from Singapore's streets, which later morphed into the SPCA. Thanks in large part to her efforts, the organisation has grown significantly, a far cry from its early days, when funding was scarce and supporters fluctuated due to a predominantly expatriate membership. Mrs Doggett was so keen on protecting animals that in those days, she did much of the work herself. For example, qualified veterinarians were a rarity here, so she often resorted to rescuing cats from the streets and whisking them by car to the government's sole Animal Infirmary in Kampong Java. 'She started the ball rolling – and was still at it 60 years later,' said Ms Deidre Moss, SPCA's current executive officer, paying tribute to Mrs Doggett's passion, knowledge on animal issues and willingness to mentor younger volunteers. 'She was a walking encyclopedia, keeping so much literature on animal welfare,' added Ms Moss. Policymakers also had the benefit of tapping into her knowledge on issues ranging from the wildlife trade to the use of animals in science laboratories, noted Mr Madhavan Kannan, former head of the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority's Centre for Animal Welfare and Control, who first worked with Mrs Doggett in the 1970s. 'She was one of the early pioneers among people who championed the cause of animals,' he said. She also raised awareness of the issue by writing frequently to The Straits Times' Forum pages about the cruelty dealt to some animals here. Mrs Doggett's relationship with animals started early. She grew up surrounded by them at her home in Sussex, England. By the time she was in secondary school, she was taking up the cause that would define her life, fighting for the rights of animals. Mrs Doggett moved to Singapore with her husband, Victor, who was posted here by the Royal Air Force. They subsequently decided to settle here permanently, becoming Singapore citizens in 1960. Mr Doggett died five years ago after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. Besides animals, Mrs Doggett also had a passion for photography, and particularly liked capturing historical buildings, many of which have since been demolished. In 1957, a book entitled Characters Of Light was published, showing some of her collection. But animals were far and away her first love. The couple's only son, Nicholas, 52, told The Straits Times that even as the end drew near, his mother maintained her fondness for critters, often surrounding herself with the family's seven pet cats. He said that she had remained fiercely protective of them, even when her capacity to walk was hampered. 'We had a cat who would bully the other cats. She took me aside one night and said, 'you'd better stop that cat from terrorising the others. Otherwise, I will do it, even if I have to crawl out of my bed on all fours'.' He added: 'She was strong willed in the things she believed in.' 'We had a cat who would bully the other cats. She took me aside one night and said, 'you'd better stop that cat from terrorising the others. Otherwise, I will do it, even if I have to crawl out of my bed on all fours'.' Mrs Doggett's only son, Nicholas, on his mother's fondness for animals up till her last days Thanks to Singapore Heritage Mailing LIst members Chua Ai LIn and Lai Chee Kien for the alert. Ah Ma’s dog I think this dog belongs to the lady who sells coconut water next to the Jelutong Bridge in Pulau Ubin. He nuzzled me in the midst of an explanation about mangrove plants. I trailed off and remembered the dogs who would appear in the middle of nowhere on solo field trips here and overseas and companionably accompany me during my trek. I remembered too the black dog who appeared out of the night during my platoon’s first overnight field camp in Pulau Tekong. I had heard the stories and curiously volunteered to stand guard in the most unearthly hours. The dog kept me company until he ran off into the dawn. The joy of company. Well, this handsome chap walked with us around central Ubin before parting ways at the village. At one point, when we stopped to examined a cocoa fruit, he frolicked in the sunny grass.  It was such a wistful sight. Wed 25 Aug 2010 @ NMS – “The Lighter Side of History, Chek Jawa: Our Natural Heritage,” by Alan Tan (free admission) Registration is required. Please email nhb_nm_lectures@nhb.gov.sg with your name and email address. [NHB Webpage link] Source: Rachel Chen, NHB. The western park connector on a cloudy Sunday morning A cloudy Sunday morning I woke late this morning and did chores. When it was still really cloudy at 9.30am and the NEA forecast did not suggest rain, I activated Kevin and we agreed not to let the lovely Sunday morning go to waste. We cycled down Ulu Pandan and after a muddy link to the opposite side of the river, we began the Western PCN – without the benefit of Zendogs like Chi or Ladybug, I was going to rely on my memory of the last ride ( see Wetstward Ho! on the Cycling in Singapore blog). I really only meant to show Kevin the bridge over the PIE but we kept going further until I lost the PCN somewhere in Choa Chu Kang. We stopped over at a 7-11 shop in a Shell station, I bought a$68 Samsung GT E1390 phone to replace mine which is the third this year (1 lost, 2 destroyed). Teething blues By this time we had adjusted Kevin’s seat pole, changed my rear-light batteries, figured out my chain issues and realised my tyres were bald – they had caused my accident in off-road terrain earlier in the year. I later found the new tyres from KMY behind the door and will change them finally. Anyway dealing with these loose ends are good prep for a longer ride in future. Then we swallowed a can of Milo each and continued. Wandering the west I did a dead reckoning along some pleasant roads and suddenly we were back on the best part of the Western PCN. And soon as it got better, Kevin’s camera ran out of batteries or memory. In Zhengua Park, a bunch of hard core mountain bikers well encrusted with mud dovetailed with us and we were such a contrast! At that point Kevin and his foldie on slicks were treated to some off-terrain roads and thankfully he cleared the route without a flat, phew! By this time, Kevin said he had not been to some of these neighbourhoods and the ride was a touring experience for him. It certainly has a sight-seeing value and the experience up close allows you to recognise the characteristics of each neighbouhood. It is a good way to explore Singapore. Pavement Cycling I had kept to the pavement as far as possible for this ride since Kevin has newly resumed cycling. However, in some areas, riding the PCN was essentially cycling the pavement. I found pavement cycling tough – the many intersections in some portions of the path had us looking out for and giving way to vehicular traffic, certainly a counter-intuitive situation. Pavement cycling may even be less safe than cycling on the road as vehicular traffic is actually more predictable than human traffic. This is solved largely by slowing to a crawl – you never know when a pedestrian will appear in conflict with your position and speed will reduce reaction time. I always slow down for pedestrians well in advance and never ask them to move aside, so it would not be a fast ride. Construction sites threw up many obstacles and extremely narrow paths but Kevin’s BMX past surfaced and he easily handled everything we encountered. We did go off the pavement on occasion and traffic in neighbourhood roads on a weekend is not unpleasant. Many areas did have reasonably wide pavements. So riding back with a stopover at Albert Park’s Mc’s was straightforward. What’s in your neighbourhood? All of this means the offroad paths in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, along with Chia Chu Kang and Jurong are all part of Kevin’s “backyard”. Weekend explorations of a Singapore is certainly fun and as we rode about, we saw some kids out with their parents exploring these areas on foldies and scooters. Finally a sense of space in the heartland! Now for some bike maintenance.Photos and Tweets by Kevin Lim. Youth Olympic Games begin in Singapore! Lovely photos from the singapore2010 @ flickr (Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games’ photostream) via their twitter account. The official site is at singapore2010.sg. Click each image to get to the relevant Flickr page with the photo description and credit. International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said in this opening speech, “Tonight we open a new chapter in the history of the Olympic movement.” “From this moment on, young people around the world have a chance to participate in a global forum that combines sport, education and culture.” The Games, which feature athletes aged 14 to 18, are a project Rogge has championed since becoming IOC chief in 2001, with the event designed as a stepping stone for youngsters striving to compete at an Olympics proper. – CNA Jacques Rogge had also said that Singaporeans will warm up to the games with boys soccer win and the opening ceremony. And Ivan Chew was moved by photos and ceremony enough to blog – “Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG): History, today.” “It’s easy for some of us to forget that Singapore is really a tiny country, relative to the geographical giants out there. Whenever I’m in a foreign airport, clearing immigration, I’m reminded of one stark cold fact: outside of my country, the name ‘Singapore’ means little to many. The next time I’m in a foreign land, faced with puzzled looks when I tell them I’m from Singapore, I’ll add that I’m from that country that hosted the world’s first Youth Olympic Games.” Wikipedia featured article on 9th August 2010 – “The flag of Singapore” Wikipedia’s featured article for today was the “Flag of Singapore“: Thanks to Alvin Wong for the alert. A useful link to go along with this article – a pdf of the Singapore Arms And Flag And National Anthem Act (Chapter 296, Section 2), 2004 Edn. Meanwhile, the Google search page (Singapore domain) featured James Rotanson’s illustration, the competition winner of Doodle for Google 2010, whose theme was “Our Singapore”. I hear via spoonrabbit’s retweet of uniquefrequency’s note. Now when will they disappear, 0000 hrs on 10 Aug 2010? Rag & Flag honours for Faculty of Science 2010 From Brenda Chai on the Faculty of Science Facebook page: “At National University of Singapore’s Rag and Flag 2010, the Faculty of Science walked away with the following awards for Faculty Clubs: NUSSU Challenge Shield for Best Total Coin Collection NUSSU Challenge Shield for Best Per Capita Collection NUS President’s Challenge Shield for Best Total Collection NUSSU Challenge Shield for Most Environmentally Friendly Float NUSSU Challenge Shield for Best Presentation NUS President’s Shield for Best Rag Performance The NUS Chancellor Shield – for being the Overall Champions from the Faculty Clubs.” Wow, we used to feel happy with the best coin collection for faculties in the late 80′s and early 90′s. I was involved in the detailed planning which deployed wiling volunteers to all corners of Singapore but we were hard-pressed to beat the collection by the halls and their very active alumni. The current FoS students have outdone all of that, well done! A favourite photo of Tiger the cat “The Malayan Emergency” on History Channel in August I know very little about the “Emergency,” essentially a war between the British and the communists in the jungles of Malaya that threatened to engulf the country – only it did not. The various strategies employed by the British government were considered successful and gave rise to “New Villages” amongst other things. As a case study, it has been suggested to the Americans for application in Iraq. My introduction to the the Emergency was in the form of a upper primary school text in the backyard cupboard. I must have been in early primary then and would not use this text when I grew up for we would no longer study local history by the late 70′s. In a few pages I read in fascination about the assassination of Henry Gurney, the post-war British High Commissioner in Malaya, by the communists on 6th October 1951. Much later, I read another book that was lying around also in the backyard cupboard, this time the dedicated tome, “The War of the Running Dogs” (1971) by Noel Barber. This book painted a more vivid picture, filling in many details about various players and would form the mainstay of my impression of the period of insurgency between 1948-1960. Images from Noel Barber’s book scanned by Redstorm @ malsingmaps.com forums I still can recall a black and white photo from the incident which occurred at Fraser’s Hill. That left enough of an impression for the memory to come to the fore every time we travelled up the winding road of the Gap. I never knew the exact spot and a new signboard was erected by malaysian officials last year. Ironically, it has been suggested that Gurney had not been specifically targeted by the communists who only found out about the identity of their victim later. More recently, Leon Comber filled us in with “Malaya’s Secret Police 1945-60: The Role of the Special Branch in the Malayan Emergency” (2009). Yesterday, Kenneth Pinto scooped all of us in Friend of Yesterday.sg by alerting us to a 2-hour documentary, ” The Malayan Emergency,” produced by Novista Sdn. Bhd. It will be shown on History Channel (401) in August and I am certainly looking forward to it. Novista lists the following broadcast times: Sunday, 15th August – 8pm Monday 16th August – 1pm Saturday 21st August – 10am Sunday 22nd August – 3pm Monday 23rd August – 10pm Tuesday 24th August – 4pm Sunday 29th August – 10am There are more time slots listed on the History Asia webpage here. The synopsis from novista.tv reads, “In 1948, an undeclared war on terror exploded in the jungles of Malaya. British and Malayan security forces fought a formidable guerilla army determined to create a Communist republic. They failed – but by the time the war ended 12 years later, tens of thousands of people had been killed, both combatants and civilians. Yet against this terrible background, Malayans from all races and classes joined together to form a new nation – independent Malaya. The Malayan Emergency was an education in fighting together – the crucible of independence. The Malayan Emergency is a 2 hour special documentary that tells this epic and inspiring story – uniquely, from both sides. The film features unique archive film and photographs which cast a brilliant new light on the often traumatic human experience of jungle warfare. Many veterans agreed to share their remarkable stories. In Thailand, former Communist guerillas tell the story from their point of view. The Malayan Emergency puts on screen the vibrant drama and suspense behind this war on terror – and how close the British came to defeat. It reveals the radical new strategies, like resettlement and counter espionage, that in the end turned the tide. It introduces us to some of the great personalities of the time – from courageous front line policemen, Chinese, Malay and Indian to the big players like Sir Gerald Templar, Tunku Abdul Rahman and their wily communist foe Chin Peng.” I find that the facts and significance of many significant events only reveal themselves after exposure to multiple sources over time and re-reading some of the earlier books I once thumbed through. It looks like this documentary will certainly contribute to that understanding. August smtp error for OS X users in NUS (unable to send out emails): add domain name to your userid I have been getting this error when trying to send out emails with my NUS account since 2am on Wednesday: I called NUS IT Care and they say their engineers are working on it. They suggested a workaround which works: insert the domain name in the smtp settings. E.g. for Microsoft Entourage, this means going to Entourage > Account Settings… > Accounts > Edit Account (you can double-click the relevant account). to see this window. Change receiving mail settings by adding the domain name to the userid like so: for staff – “nusstf\userid” for students – “nusstu\userid”. My smtp settings will adopt these changes. This is because in the advanced sending options for “Sending Mail,” I have selected “Use same settings as receiving mail server”. That worked for me. There were other internet problems, like inability to use gmail and google docs, some said MSN was inaccessible. These seems to have since been fixed. NUS ITcare should have a twitter account, would be useful. A mangrove episode Adrian Loo was digging through his 2006 albums earlier when he chanced upon this photo and just emailed me. A bunch of us had gone to Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve to assist/watch the BBC crew film mangrove tree-climbing crabs (Episesarma spp.) at high tide. The clip was part of the crab-eating mangrove snake story for ‘Life in Cold Blood’, which would air some two years later in Singapore. Whilst setting up, the BBC crew whom we had worked with months earlier muttered to themselves and finally came over and said they needed a guy in the water. Since I was dressed in my usual bermudas, belt and polo-T, I happily jumped in as we all knew I would. Krish from NParks SBWR later gave me his extra change of clothes for the journey home. Adrian, careful not to disrupt filming, took this photo as we manouevered to an alcove below a now very famous Rhizophora tree at the SBWR VC boardwalk. Hearing that familiar voice waft through our tiny mangrove was certainly lovely. And there was a special mood amongst the BBC, NParks and NUS people there on the boardwalk. The final footage may have only lasted seconds on the documentary but we still remember the cooperative and genteel atmosphere of the session year later. I guess you can’t go wrong when a bunch of people who love the mangrove come together. The Singapore crew at the mangrove that day loved David and remember him fondly. Ladybug says, “I love David Attenborough’s excited grin – looks like a kid taken on an exciting amusement ride. ” Adrian says the complete photo is his desktop picture now. “Just cant erase the mama pulling the sampan..” Southern Ridges Walk with nature and heritage kakis In May 2008, NParks first opened the Southern Ridges trail to crowds. At the time, Kenneth & Winnie walked the longest interpretation of the trail, an entire 15km route from West Coast Park. They are still the only people I know who have walked that long version. I walked the ~5km route version from Kent Ridge Park last May and found it too short to work up a sweat. So this morning, Ladybug dropped Kevin and me off at NUS’ University Cultural Centre and headed to Vivocity for brunch. This route is 9km according to Kenneth Pinto’s Runkeeper’s iPhone app: I had decided not to offer the July Heritage Fest walk which would have taken place today so the previous two weeks were free of the publicity and registration effort that precedes such a walk. Instead, after Yu-Mei initiated this walk, I simply extended the open invitation to friends and a group of nine turned up from amongst my mac, heritage and naturalist kakis, almost all of whom are on twitter: @acroamatic @bubblevicious @budak @brainopera @nokoso @sivasothi @spoonrabbit @steelwool and Anand. It was overcast and the distant sky was hazy, so it was not a great day for photos or birdlife. But the weather kept us cool and the rains held off as suggested by the 4am weather report twittered helpfully by @neasg. The group walked at a comfortable pace and took a couple of breaks where we chatted, took in the sights and the photographers experimented with angles. I’m at a far cry from my fitness of the regular briskwalking Sundays which pretty much ended for me in 2007, when I switched to full-time teaching at the uni. So this relatively mild walk was a good way to break back into shape in the hope of eventually resuming the Mac Ritchie-Bukit Timah walks. The Southern Ridges walk is a pleasant walk that I hope to encourage the first year life sciences student to enjoy. Previous graduates might not be aware Kent Ride Park even exists, so from last year, I have the semester 1 biodiversity cohort walk from the department to Bukit Chandu [google map link]. I encourage them to explore the rest of the trail [pdf map link] subsequently and it’s a lovely morning or evening walk with friends. Animal and plant life can be rewarding when the weather’s cooperative too. We had begun at 7.15am and were done by 10.30am. Vivocity was all abuzzz with Hair for Hope and the regular weekenders at 10.45am. Still feeling alert after brunch and a coffee session, I headed to Queensway Shopping Centre to finally get a replacement backpack. By the time I got back home, the crew had posted their photos to facebook and several had already woken up from an afternoon snooze. Yu-Mei blogged and Facebook photo albums were posted up by Marcus Ng, Liana Tang and Kevin Lim. All the photos below from the three of them and a paserby . Kai Scene appears like the Flash on the dot at 7.15am and we head off. Kent Ridge Park by 8.00am – no need for guiding, only inane chatter. ‘Interview’ by celebrated author at Kent Ridge Park. Marcus’ funny lens effect. Canopy walk at Kent Ridge Park heading to Reflections at Bukit Chandu Elevated Walkway from Alexandra Arch to Telok Blangah Hill. Telok Blangah Hill Park – we yakked and munched along the way. Henderson Waves ‘Class Photo’. My knees are bushed at Mt Faber Park as we take another break. Happy crew at endpoint – end of Marang Trail, Mt Faber Park, at approximately at 10.30am. Singapore Science Centre – budget constraints, so no shift until 2014 “New Science Centre: Plans delayed for 4 years,” by Victoria Vaughan. The Straits Times, 24 Jul 2010. Centre head cites lack of funds; still under discussion, says MOE PLANS for the new Singapore Science Centre have been put on hold for four years due to budget constraints, according to the centre’s new head. This year was supposed to see the launch of a design competition for the centre, with its construction beginning next year. However, its chief executive, Associate Professor Lim Tit Meng, 50, has been told by the Ministry of Education (MOE), which funds the centre, that it will now be delayed until 2014. ‘The Science Centre has been postponed, as there is no money, until 2014. We are ready to put out a design brief but the Ministry of Education has the final say on when that will be,’ he said. One of Prof Lim’s main roles in taking up the post seven months ago was to oversee the development of the new Science Centre. But the delay has left him ‘neither here nor there’ as he intends to stay in the post for only seven years, and doubts he will be able to implement any educational programmes at the new centre. He added that the reason for staying for only seven years is to allow new talent to come through. When contacted, an MOE spokesman said: ‘The plans for Science Centre Singapore are still under discussion. More details will be provided in due course.’ The Straits Times understands that the new centre, tentatively set to be built near the Chinese Garden and Lakeside MRT stations, will cost around $500 million. It will replace the current building at Jurong, which was built in 1977 at a cost of $12 million. The omnitheatre was built at a cost of $17 million a decade later. Prof Lim says the new Science Centre will be a green building and will require a doubling of its current staff strength of 150. As well as overseeing the new centre, Prof Lim was appointed to raise the Science Centre’s profile and develop a learning initiative with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research and the MOE called Cradle, which has also been put on hold due to a lack of funding. With money being the barrier, Prof Lim is planning to push for commercialisation at the centre. ‘I want to get the Science Centre staff to be more entrepreneurial and not to rely on government funding, but to be innovative. ‘We are non-profit, but that shouldn’t stop us from being entrepreneurial,’ he said, adding that such plans are in line with the Government’s Public-Private Partnership model. With this, he hopes to see Science Centre inventions on store shelves soon – such commercial enterprise would be a first for the centre. One such invention is a table-top replica of the flame tornado, developed by the centre’s resident inventor, Dr Tsai Her Mann. The original 6m-high flame vortex will be the centrepiece of the upcoming fire exhibition. A replica will be ignited at the Youth Olympic Games next month as a final torch. Once it is built, the new centre will be part of the 360ha redevelopment of the Jurong area, called the Jurong Lake District. The area is set to be completed in eight to 13 years, and was announced by National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan in April 2008. The Science Centre, which saw more than a million visitors last year, is Singapore’s third-most visited attraction, behind the Singapore Zoological Gardens and the Night Safari. It was built following the advice of the former Science Council of Singapore for the Government to convert the National Museum into an art and history museum and to build a new centre for science and technology education. The current centre, which sits on a 6ha site in Jurong, was designed by Mr Raymond Woo, the architect of the building. It was officially opened on Dec 10, 1977 by Dr Toh Chin Chye, the then Minister-in-charge of the Science Centre Board. vvaughan@sph.com.sg Xylo on sofa Fri 23 Jul 2010: 11am @ NParks Botany Center Lvl 3 – “Borneo’s Last, Mysterious Civet,” by John Mathai Click for larger image My first floppy diskette – a single-sided, double density 5.25″ Verbatim The brand name Verbatim invokes a magical feeling within me, even until today.  My first floppy disks for the 6502, 1Mhz Apple ][ running Apple DOS 3.3 were a pair of two black-sleeve encased floppy diskettes in their hard cardboard pink-holders. Each one cost $12 at the time, a minor fortune for a school kid in 1981. And yes, I still have them. They contained so many delights in the forms of games and utilities as well as programmes I wrote using BASIC and the 6502 machine code (hmm that had us 'poking' before facebook).  I think it was my classmate Colin Nah who persuaded me to join the St. Andrew's Secondary School Apple ][ computer club. Later it was the Serangoon Gardens Community Centre gave me space and time to explore programming and world of Apple ][ in the company of neighbourhood kids - a couple of whom were geeks and information exchange was a lovely thing. By 1983,  I had  conducted my first course at the CC for younger kids from the neighbourhood with the help of my friends. Although we were course instructors, we had not been formally taught but had read, experimented and learnt from peers, teaching each other quite a bit. Until the night guard chased us out after 10pm. I remember slotting these diskettes in to box-like external floppy drives called Disk II. Although single-sided, these Verbatim 5-1/4 disks were double density and thus error-free even when you forced their use as double-sided disks. this as accomplished by cutting out a copy-protection slot in the side with a penknife, like I had done with this first diskette. Later I learnt from some older kid that simply using a paper puncher would do. Well that doubled the value of the resource.  Of course, the price of 5.25" disks would eventually plummet, well and when I reached my 10th diskette, they were cheaper.  I think there were ?40 tracks in each diskette which contained data. Vaguely memories depict a programme reading data sectors on a flickering green screen  I think it was called Locksmith. It helped you examine the actual content of each track -  while the first one or two? were used for system software which made a disk bootable, you could write over these in a non-bootable data disk and recover the space. I have hazy memories of the kid who introduced me to Locksmith. The Apple 16 sticker was meant for 16kb RAM cards which could be slotted in to the flexible Apple ][ motherboard (a Wozniak classic of elegance and possibilities) - someone had handed these out to us eager school kids like candy. I still have unused stickers which I paste on my current macs every now and then to remind me of the good  times of exploration and discovery. Otherwise,merely spotting the brand name Verbatim in its distinctive font is enough to trigger some good vibrations. A pretty, new Google Forms template for The Wallace Talk: Blue Birds Amongst the many things Linda Goh from NParks talked to me about on Wednesday was the opportunity to feature an old friend of the lab, Paul Spencer Sochaczewski in a public talk about Wallace. Paul had come by the Systematics & Ecology lab during his hunt to trace Wallace’s footprints in the 90′s and wrote an article about Singapore’s endemic freshwater crabs and Peter Ng in the process. I had read a lovely book he had written with Jeffrey McNeely called “Soul of the Tiger” – I relished this as an undergrad for Paul is an effective communicator. NParks was in contact with him and apparently he would be passing through Singapore late next week and was game to give a public talk. Linda said they did not have a suitable venue and asked if we could provide one. Certainly Paul would be well received by staff and students and I procured an LT yesterday, on cold turkey day – our department’s admin and support staff were all away at a retreat, leaving most of the academic staff curled up in a foeatal position. I decided not to be adventurous and once I secured LT22 for next Friday at 6pm, I did not try to think of a better venue. While preparing the registration form, I found a lovely form design called Blue Birds. Suitable for this talk which is entitled “An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles,” it was lovely enough for me to ignore the general rule of sticking to san serif fonts for registration forms. It will be an entertaining and informative talk from what I remember about Paul. The registration form is at wallacetalk.rafflesmuseum.net and you can see talk details on The Biodiversity Crew blog. Two of the Raffles Museum Toddycats have already registered, boy are they quick! Unfortunately most of the honours class will miss this public talk but they will be having fun in Pulau Tioman. Singapore’s national blood stocks still low despite the appeal in June The Singapore Red Cross and the Health Sciences Authority called for continued blood donations three weeks ago. They put the low stocks down to a decrease in blood donations during the school holidays and increased use. Despite the appeal, a check with Donor Web's Singapore Blood Stocks Indicator reveals that blood stocks are still low. Are you able to donate blood? See relevant pages at the Health Sciences Authority webpage. You can either donate at the National Blood Centre opposite Outram MRT or catch a bloodmobile at a location near you – just check the Donor Web Bloodmobiles Calendar (it is a Google Calendar you can copy) – in addition to CCs and organisations, I see that the bloodmobiles will be situated at various public libraries in the afternoons; it's never been more convenient.  Status on morning of 8th July 2010 Tiger the cat loves being groomed Happily Xylo is a willing deputy! Countering the proposal to legalise commercial whale hunting Avaaz appealed for support to counter a proposal to legalise commercial whale hunting, which was banned 24 years ago. “A group of influential countries are negotiating the proposal right now in Florida. Once they make the proposal public — submitting it for adoption by the International Whaling Commission in June — it will be too late to influence its contents. An outcry now–in the days and hours before the proposal’s release–could stiffen the spines of negotiators who want to protect whales by keeping whaling illegal. Avaaz has launched a last-moment petition which will be hand-delivered to the negotiators each time it reaches 100,000 signatures. To parties of the International Whaling Commission: As citizens from around the world we call on you to retain the International ban on commercial whaling as the core policy of the International Whaling Commission in its pursuit of conservation for whales. The proposal was happily dropped and Ricken Patel of Avaaz.org sends an update: Dear friends, We did it! The proposal to legalise whale killing went down in flames in Morocco — and our campaign helped to tip the balance. In a few short weeks, we built the biggest whale-saving petition in history, signed by an extraordinary 1.2 million of us worldwide, and delivered it directly to key delegates at the International Whaling Commission meeting. In the end, the 24 year old whaling ban was upheld. The pro-whaling lobby tried to use political favours to win a so called ‘compromise’ that amounts to a quota for hunting whales, but as tension grew in the closed-door talks, our massive petition became a top story on the BBC’s world news, and we worked with friendly negotiators and other allies to put pressure where it was most needed and draw greater global attention. The Australian environment minister Peter Garrett received our petition for like-minded governments in front of the world’s media and said “Thank you very much Avaaz. It is a great pleasure to be here and accept this petition … I believe the people of the world’s voices need to be heard. I certainly hear them today.” The US delegation greeted us saying — “Avaaz! We saw your billboard at the airport!” and delegates were overheard excitedly discussing our giant real-time petition counter outside the meeting as it blew far past the million mark. After the meeting, one European negotiator told us: “We’ve managed to keep the ban in place…I’ve been checking the petition online. I was very impressed by how fast the numbers are rising and seeing people signing from across the world.” This is an important victory for whales — and for global people power — together we demonstrated that international decisions can be shifted by a little bit of well-placed effort from a lot of people everywhere. Over its short lifespan, our movement has exploded through a simple democratic idea: that people power can stand up and win against powerful special interests. Whether it be protecting whales, countering corruption, supporting authentic democracy movements or fighting for a global climate deal, we are coming together to bridge the gap between the world we have and the world most people everywhere want. Now, if enough of us chip in just a small amount for Avaaz’s member-funded campaigning, we’ll have the strength to win even more victories. Click here now to donate – https://secure.avaaz.org/en/whales_reportback_2 With hope, Ricken, Alice, Paul, Mia, Ben, Luis, David, Graziela, Milena and the whole Avaaz team “PULAU HANTU” tonight, Sunday 27 June 2010: 10pm on Okto If you're not a soccer fan there are other delights on television. This is Esan Sivalingam's "Pulau Hantu" (2008) – this is not about coral reefs or the like but some favourite Singapore fare. See the IMDB listing here. I have yet to see it myself but the trailer looks like it would be fun to watch! I can't change the channel from the England vs Germany game as there will be several English fans with me, glued to the set.  The blurb goes: Pulau Hantu (lit. translation: Ghost Island) tells the tale of a group of ragtag soldiers who, whilst searching for an AWOL section, inadvertently disturb an unholy grave site. Day turns to night and the mildly forested area becomes a thick, dense jungle. Ill-equipped and without an inkling as to why these supernatural events have cursed them, they race against time within the cursed island in their fight for survival uncovering past mysteries and hidden secrets – while being terrorized by the revenge-seeking spirits of a native woman and her child who were victimized and murdered by a witch doctor over a century ago. Xylo the cat suns himself after a bath A bath was possible with the return of the sun on Sunday. A soothing shampoo was applied to see if that's what he needs to reduce his excessive grooming, a recent problem he has displayed. Mr Bats and Tiger were spared, since they had a bath some months ago. The boys are lovely, so it's not life-threatening.  Meanwhile for Xylo, more observation and behavioural enrichment.  Lyssa zampa, Kranji Nature Trail, 19 June 2010 Do send your records to http://lyssazampa.sivasothi.com/ And photos if any to: habitatnews@sivasothi.com For more about Lyssa zampa, see Habitatnews Posted via email from otterman’s posterous A 24-year old rivalry revisited tonight: Huh Jung-moo & Maradona (South Korea versus Argentina, 7.30pm) I’m looking forward to the Argentina bs South Korea game and rounded up some kakis to watch it together. Scenes from the 1986 World Cup are vivid in my mind, as I watched every game with hungry eyes that year. It was South Korea’s first World Cup match and against the glorious team of Maradona & co. – exciting to see the Koreans give a robust account of themselves. However, the South Korean defender tasked to mark Maradona took it too far – he was chopping and slicing the slippery eel. Admirably, Maradona shrugged it all off in disbelief, taking the blows pretty well which the first part of this video highlights: Huh Jung-moo who ‘kicked, grabbed and tripped’ Maradona was apparently known back home as “Jindo-gae,” a Korean hunting dog ["An Old Rival of Maradona's Earns a Shot at Redemption," by Timothy Martin. Wall Street Journal, 16 Jun 2010]. He apparently admits, “”It was difficult for us to mark him; it was all a little bit too much!” ["Argentina v South Korea: Diego Maradona fears Korean assault squad," by Ian Chadband. The Daily Telegraph, 16 Jun 2010] South Korean was punished for these infractions with Maradona assisting in all three goals of their 3-1 victory. In fact, two of the ensuing free kicks from the fouls resulted in goals. The match highlights from the first-half below features the first two goals: Fascinatingly, that same South Korean defender is now a coach like Maradona and his rival in the game tonight. Maradona said last year, “I remember Huh very well. In 1986 the Koreans played taekwondo, not football, against us.” The South Koreans have come a long way since and I am looking forward to some great soccer tonight! Lyssa zampa outside Lab 7, NUS Biological Sciences While moving in and out of Lab 7 to sort specimens, I spotted a single Lyssa zampa on one of the Lab 7 notice boards. As I was typing this I saw that giant clammer Neo Mei Lin had submitted this record 45mins ago. Nice! Do send your records to http://lyssazampa.sivasothi.com/ And photos if any to: habitatnews@sivasothi.com For more about Lyssa zampa, see Habitatnews Student asks a random question – yes, it’s Lyssa zampa! Margaret Hong, a student who read LSM1303 Animal Behaviour asked me about a moth she encountered recently at Kent Ridge Hall: “I came across this beautiful black moth; can you help me identify it? The moth has been coming back quite regularly in the past 24 hours except during the daytime. I’m starting to grow fond of it, despite the initial scare it gave me when it perched right beside my door, staring at me near eye level. I took two pictures but the lighting’s quite bad cuz I was afraid the flash would startle it.” Margaret Hong’s photos of a Lyssa zampa moth at kent Ridge Hall She also sent me a clearer picture a friend of her had taken and posted on facebook. Yes, they were all photos of Lyssa zampa, the tropical swallowtail moth. It was lovely that she wrote to ask. I will ask her to submit her record via the link provided in the note about Lyssa zampa in Habitatnews; five people have submitted records from Serangoon, Carpenter Street, Holland Close, Jalan Besar and Bishan which adds to our sighting at Bukit Timah yesterday. I’ll be compiling all of these for an update in Habitatnews later. Lyssa zampa at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve this morning The Biology Refugia went for a walk today with some visitors from out of town and lo and behold, a Lyssa zampa appeared on cue after we told the story. Photo courtesy of Lim Cheng Puay (the young ‘un). Do send your records to http://lyssazampa.sivasothi.com/ And photos if any to: habitatnews@sivasothi.com For more about Lyssa zampa, see Habitatnews The hunt for Lyssa zampa 2009 seems to have been a decent year for the tropical swallowtail moth, Lyssa zampa, with 8 records submitted by various people. Some posted their comments to this blog and sent me photos. This year, I suddenly received two records over the past two days. It’s already June (the moth has appeared mostly in May in 2005 and 2009) but I thought I’d see what I can gather. So I have posted a note in Habitatnews, “Lyssa zampa, the tropical swallowtail moth, returns.” Help me look, thanks! Send your records to http://lyssazampa.sivasothi.com/ And photos if any to: habitatnews@sivasothi.com For more about Lyssa zampa, see Habitatnews NUS Digital Library: Circumventing the Wiley InterScience Cookie Error window In order to access a pdf of paper in a journal that NUS has subscribed to, staff and students insert the NUS Digital Library proxy into the root URL and type enter. If already logged in the user will be granted access to the pdf. If not, relevant windows will first request an NUS userid and password before redirecting to the now accessible pdf.  With Wiley InterScience journal sites, however, the proxy cannot immediately be inserted as this only leads to a Cookie Error window. Clicking the pdf link doesn't help as redirection leads to a subscription userid access window instead – no point inserting the proxy here. Instead what is needed is to login to NUS Digital Library separately, copy the pdf link from the Wiley site (it will contain ‘PDFSTART’), paste that into the URL window, , insert the nus proxy and hit enter. Access granted.  Normally though, I simply click the pdf, grab the URL in the short second it is displayed, ignore the subsequent redirection, paste the pdf URL back, insert the proxy and hit enter. Just a little more exciting.