I'm disturbed by the number of possible ways a guy can get in trouble because of the content he puts up on his blog or website. S'pore bloggers get jailed; Malaysian bloggers get sued, while their PM berates them for spreading lies and sedition; A US teacher gets fired for 'inappropriate content' on his MySpace page, even though he claims a hacker put up the material and he took it down immediately when he noticed it.

It's too easy for a random reader to take offense at a blog, or even a single post, and put in motion a course of action that is totally out of proportion to the situation. It's probably due to the clash between people who don't understand the 'net, and people who use it with ease -- so much so that they forget that the occasional, casual surfer tends to take information posted on the 'net way too seriously. It's probably the same people who are likely to fall for a Nigerian scam email that are also likely to confuse a 'net persona with the real person behind the website.

Taking action in the 'real world' for some offense taken from web content often goes beyond the pale. The web has its own rules about proper 'netiquette, and as such, deals with conduct breaches in its own way. The 'net, after all, is nothing more than a medium of communication, so if someone doesn't like something that's been posted, there is a direct line back to the author through which one can express one's displeasure. That's why bloggers have a 'comment' function at the end of their posts, and some display their email addresses too -- they want to know what people think about the ideas they share.

Commenting opens a door for dialogue and debate, not just between the author and the offended party but potentially amongst a community of interested parties as well who can just as easily voice their views, adding their collective wisdom to the discussion.

It is the community then that will ultimately decide how objectionable the material is, and not just the singular, subjective view of the offended party. And if the content is collectively deemed too objectionable, it can be removed quite easily, unlike, say, material in the print media which once distributed is virtually impossible to retrieve and destroy. In this way, the controversy that arose on the web gets settled on the web without having to spill over into real life.

Still, there's no point for bloggers to ask for trouble and needlessly incur the wrath of the 'real' world. People are more receptive of new (or different) ideas if they are presented politely, mindful of the sensitivities and taboos of 'real' society. We never know who might stumble on our blogs, so while we should feel free to share our thoughts, let's play it smart and try not to piss anybody off from the get go. After all, we blog because we want to communicate, don't we?

At last my campus-issued laptop purporting wireless compatibility shows signs of connectivity. I'm doing the road warrior thing right now, surfing with no strings attached at McD's, King Albert Park. I'm sitting here with the intention of getting a few essays marked (yeah, right), but I'm also pursuing a story for NY conneX. The things I gotta do to keep my promises...

I'm about to rendezvous with the staff accompanying the Outdoors club on their hike along a stretch of deserted railway around the Bukit Timah area. The staff will be stopping here to lunch on Big Macs, while the kids will stay out in the wilderness and eat leaves and berries and things (or so they tell me). It's educational.

Hopefully, I can get some quoteworthy impressions of today's programme from the staff, and some of the kids, if I can find them...

... My contact, SXL and hubby arrived early. Chatted with them while they lunched, then they brought me over to where the kids were -- along the KTM railway line, resting up before the next leg of their expedition. It was raining so we all got quite wet, me because I was unprepared for the weather, the kids because it was fun to splash around in mud and puddles. City kids.

Catch the full story in NY conneX next Thursday! *crosses fingers behind back

Someone June detests wheedled and begged for a benefit he didn't deserve and got it. When she found out about it, she was understandably furious. After all, her work ethic is so much stronger than the guy's and to June, a contract is a contract, so he shouldn't even have had the temerity to ask for more in the first place.

I don't think I helped her mood much when I responded to her story from a Sith-y frame of mind (yes, the Dark Side seems to be strong with this one lately).

I said that if he was dissatisfied and fought for more, despite his contractual binding, what he won was what he deserved, because he was willing to struggle for it. Whereas, in June's case, since she was content with her contract, she too deserved what she got -- and rightly so -- because she worked for it.

OK, so I wasn't sympathetic, but it's time to wake up and realize that the world isn't fair. Corporate management has no time to observe the steady, quiet worker. Management already has enough problems to deal with, so while they're grateful for the busy cogs running in the background, keeping the wheels of industry moving, they also tend to take them for granted. If they're already with the program, there's no need to give them special attention.

But it's the squeaky, wobbly cog that threatens the smooth running of the company's operations that needs to be dealt with. And with labour laws being the minefield they are, sometimes it's easier to just throw money at the problem than fire. So with a quick application of corporate lubricant, the cog is happily running again and management can quickly go back to taking care of business as usual.

Corporate is illogical, brutal and uncaring. Corporate will try squeeze more from you than you promised, and give you less than they promised you -- unless you can turn the tables somehow. So you are either contented with your exploitation, or you risk it all and stick it to the man!

Or you quit the whole thing and take up teaching instead.

The DSTA is offering a $1m prize for designing a robot urban warrior? That's kinda' pittance considering how much they'll make if they ever get such a thing mass marketable for the world's military markets...

Men, listen up! This one is your new platoon mate. He just posted in from the defense lab to assist in your FIBUA ops. His dossier say his name is 'Terminator', but you all can call him 'Ah Ter' for short, lah.

You all chow Hokkien peng now have some tough competition for Best Recruit. Ah Ter very smart -- his results is A*Star one -- and for physical fitness, he is the real Ironman, ok? So you all better give him the proper respect and don't let me catch you programming him to do your area cleaning for you, understand?

Anything you can do, he can do. You can topo in the jungle, he can topo around a building. You run the SOC, he also can overcome obstacles. But he can also do more than you! He is training to negotiate with terrorists, but so far he can only negotiate with the stairs. He can also take lifts -- not like you lazy buggers! If I catch any of you lazy buggers taking the lift, you will all knock it down twenty for me! How to pass your IPPT if you everytime take lift, huh?

And the best thing about our robot friend here is that unlike the remote-controlled bomb-disposal unit, Ah Ter is completely autonomous. A-U-T-O-N-O-M-O-U-S. That means Ah Ter got initiative, not like you useless people...

Eh, Recruit Ah Ter! Sit down! I never authorize canteen break yet! Ah Ter! Come back...!

Please advise women how to deal with MRT perverts
ST (online) Forum Letter

ON JAN 20 at about 7.55pm, my wife took a train from Bugis MRT station heading towards Jurong East MRT interchange.

A middle-aged man boarded the crowded train in one of the stations along the way and stood in front of her.

The zipper of the shorts he was wearing was down. He was moving his folded umbrella around his 'private parts' to attract the attention of passengers seated nearby.

He also stood in a way that enhanced the opening in his shorts.

My wife was embarrassed by the action of the man and did not know what to do. The train was also crowded and it was inconvenient for her to vacate her seat.

For the sake of women passengers, could the MRT authorities advise them on how to deal with such a situation?

Nelson Quah

Dear Nelson,

Your wife should commit to memory as many details about the pervert as she can: dress (or undress, as the case may be), accessories, facial features, identifying marks, etc.

She should alight at the next immediate MRT station and inform the MRT staff about her inconsiderate fellow passenger, give his description, and if possible, which car she last saw him in. MRT staff will board the train at the following station, apprehend whomever fits the description and confine him until your wife can make a proper identification.

If your wife positively identifies the suspect, the MRT staff will arrange for her to make a police report, following which the police will investigate the matter by interviewing both her and the suspect separately. Your wife may face more than 1 interview if the suspect claims trial.

At the trial a few weeks later, if your wife maintains an unwavering testimony and the judge finds the defendant's protestations lack credibility, the defendant may receive a fine, or get his butt thrown in jail, or both.

This is the end of the story as far as the Authorities are concerned. [True story, btw. The perv's MO looks exactly like that of the guy Mrs X threw in jail when she faced the exact same situation not too long ago. Maybe he hasn't yet learned his lesson?]

Or, your wife could just politely tell the guy that his fly is down, putting the onus back on him to zip up. Depends on how brave she is, and how much time she has to waste with the Authorities to assuage her embarrassment.

If for a moment I thought that I have been trying to gain attention with my antics on campus, I'm glad I've come nowhere near the nonsense these HK tutors are up to:

In a highly competitive HK tuition market, tuition agencies are now marketing themselves by showing off their most attractive staff in their advertising campaigns. We're talking 'attractive' as in long-legged catwalk-sizzling supermodel-types with the poise, coiffure and come-hither allure to match. Don't ask me what the men are marketed like, 'cos I've never met an attractive man before, and I don't particularly want to either [ed. careful, your biases are showing].

And this whole image thing isn't just for a one-off photo-shoot either. They maintain their appearance in class too, or I guess the fallout from a false-advertising claim would be quite devastating to the company. So they're all gorgeous and dressed to kill so that they can teach a bunch of horny 14 year-olds English.

While having a swarm of English-speaking Gisele Bundchen lookalikes in my staffroom would do wonders for my morale, I do wonder which demographic the ad campaigns are pitched at. Would the pre-adolescent student have enough decision-making ability in the family to insist on going to a school whose teachers have the most outstanding gazongas? Would a mother trust a teacher who looks better in person than she did in her wedding album? Or does dear, distracted, drooling Dad decide? I dunno enough about family dynamics in HK to say for sure, so marketing the sex-appeal of teachers doesn't make much sense to me.

But so far, all this looks like fun and games. Besides, it's great for the teacher's ego to admire his or her own glam poster put up at the MTR station, and the money's apparently great too -- the best tutors teach up to 4,000 kids, so they must be getting astronomical fees.

But what exactly are they teaching the kids? From the article, as far as I can tell, the one (and only) expert educational point they impart is in "predicting what questions will be asked in the exams." Now, that is absolute crap, teaching kids to memorize and regurgitate on cue. If that's all, I hope the kiddies will get their money's worth in jiggly eye-candy because they sure aren't getting an education.

Nothing like a bit of venting and ranting to sift the mind and the heart and see what it is that's been bothering me lately. Sorry for yesterday's self-indulgence, but I think I've got it figured out.

I remarked before that my current work culture has become a lot more intense than before. Even the newbies are already going flat out, punching in long hours with all manner of purpose-driven activity. And I've been trying to fit in, y'know, group solidarity, that kind of thing. Yes, I have been taking steps to grow up, as per NBS' admonishment.

But I might have overcompensated and seem to have taken greater strides than I have been ready for. I've been offering advice to people who don't need it, and perhaps even attempting to arm-twist others into supporting one or another of my new hare-brained causes of the year. So far, everyone's been polite and tolerant, but looking back I feel embarrassed about what I've been trying to do to make myself "useful around the house," as moms like to say.

To keep my sanity this year, I have to remember these few things:
1) Stop competing and comparing myself with others.
2) We each have our own pace and our own paths.
3) Be myself, and not try to be who I'm not.
4) 1 Cor 13:11 reads, "When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me," and not, "when I put childish ways behind me, I became a man."

Thanks, Taily, for the positive reinforcement.

Perhaps I have begun the year with more idealism than brains. I might have made more promises than I can realistically keep, and my most optimistic way out is if the people who haven't been taking me seriously last year continue to not take me seriously this year. That way I can narrow my focus to just those who do.

With me it's always the big dreams and the foolhardy desire to champion lost causes, but I don't have the ability to manage the organizational mechanisms necessary to make the difference. It's my fatal flaw.

So while I tend to make a spectacle of myself with my, "Hey, everybody, look what I can do," everyone else is like, "Very nice, dear, just don't fall down and break your neck, ok?" And then reality and life revert to status quo as soon as I run out of steam.

My main problem, I think, is that I've been alone for too much of my life. While everyone's charging off together in one direction, I've been off on my own path following the beat of my own drummer. It's an extreme defensive reaction against the herd instinct and it might have been an asset at some earlier time for me, but it certainly isn't helping now that cooperative endeavour is the name of my new game.

It's what happens when the lone wolf unexpectedly finds himself absorbed into a hunting pack. Alone, he's nimble enough to change direction at will, spin on a whim and halt on a dime. In a group, however, things move a lot more slowly and more carefully, with more consideration for others. But old survival tactics and coping strategies are hard to get rid of, while new concepts like social structure, hierarchy, protocol and team dynamics are not so easily learned, or even understood. So it's always going to be a struggle.

June's probably right. I should accept my limitations, just stay focussed on my core business and stop trying to be too clever. Why do I keep forgetting that 1) it doesn't always have to be about "me", and 2) more often than not, less is actually more?

Of late we've seen a movement calling for "S'poreans first" in our public institutions. Due to the perception that S'poreans are slowly being outnumbered by a 'foreign talent' pool that is growing so fast that it's doing our homegrown stock out of house and home, job and country; suddenly and unsurprisingly, S'poreans are pushing themselves to the front again with their "me first" mentality.

So far, the issue of healthcare subsidies has fallen to the will of the people, and in today's ST (online) there's a call for a similar policy for post-grad courses at our local unis.

This idea of "S'poreans first" is distasteful and somewhat meaningless. Though I stand to gain from it as a S'porean myself, I believe our desire to draw a boundary between "local" and "foreign" is going to bite us in the butt in the long-term.

It's hypocritical of us on the one hand to say that we S'poreans have the right to be first because we were here first, and on the other be so critical of Malaysia and it's Bumiputera privileges, which derives from the same basic reasoning. We slam Pauline Hanson's race politics, but we don't recognize that we're pushing for the same thing here on nationalistic grounds. And for the record, the Malays were here first. We non-Malays are practically 'foreign talent' ourselves, give or take a couple of generations.

Our desire to segregate will be our downfall because that will be the killer blow to the goose that lays our golden eggs. S'pore's success has little to do with our smarts, or our training, or our meticulous attention to detail, or in the long-sighted planning and forecasting by the pilots of RSS Singapura. All this activity can only diversify and even out our risk factors, nothing more.

Our success has everything to do with our diplomatic skills, our ability to make friends with pretty much everyone, or at least make friends with the right people on the global stage. We see where potential conflicts lie and we have so far been quite good at working out win-win scenarios for our working partners who have, as a result, been more than happy to pitch their lot in with us and help us grow (or else leave us alone, unmolested). Our open hand and firm handshake are ultimately our strongest assets, far above anything else we can offer.

Now that we're beginning to look at people with the view of distinguishing between "us" and "them", we're closing the valve of the main artery that keeps the heart of our country pumping. The free flow of people has been our lifeblood from our beginnings as a centre of entrepot trade. We grew because everyone from east to west met and mingled here. The currency of both money and ideas were easily exchanged without inhibition, and whether it flowed into or out of our country, we were enriched nonetheless by the exchanges themselves. No one else could top us then in creating a market for such free trade, and for the moment we still have few close rivals in this respect; but with this upsurge of "S'poreans first" our free market isn't looking so free anymore. We'll lose our only edge if we don't regain our senses quickly.

S'pore, being a migrant community (yes, it is, so stop pretending otherwise), is always going to be a competitive place to call home. So what do we have to do as individuals to survive? Like it or not, we play the game. And we always welcome our new teammates, even if they are just playing as subs. Fresh legs are good for our game, and they're on our side.

BTW, please go get your post-grad education in a different city from your undergrad. Tertiary education in a foreign country opens your eyes and broadens your mind to see a world much bigger than your fishbowl, won't you agree, Mr Leong?

CCAs are back to full swing again! Amongst the new crop of debaters who showed up for orientation today, there was an aspiring journo, a true-blue Honors English type, 2 versions of the Elmo TMX, a former (maybe still current, I'm so out of touch these days) television artiste, and the kid who lives down the corridor from my apartment O_o.

These guys are a laugh riot when put together. There's so much animated energy that they radiate, and some of them exhibit scant respect for their seniors. While this brash confidence is accepted as a prerequisite 'tude of a debater, I can see they're going to be a real handful when they start working together. The focus will be just everywhere. I forsee we'll make history this year by fielding a bunch of stand-up comedians instead of a debate team.

Sadly, no one showed up for NY conneX. That's a little worrying since I've got a lot riding on our little newspaper this year, and I need all the staff I can get. We'd better gain mucho cred this term so that by next CCA bazaar people will be clamoring to be wear our nifty press pass. *crosses fingers.

Anyway, we've just uploaded a fresh crop of articles, so do drop in and give us an eyeball, 'k? Thanx so much!

Often, the perception of good and evil depends on how much knowledge one has about an event or the person or persons involved in it. The more information one has, the fairer the judgement of who's right and who's wrong becomes.

In Frank L Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, all the information we get is from the perspective of a gormless farmgirl searching for a way home. Whoever can help her achieve her objective we think of as "good" while those who strew obstacles in her way have to be "bad". It's odd then that Dorothy's benefactor, the Wizard himself, would set the assasination of a rival as a precondition for his assistance, and we accept this morally reprehensible task without question. Means justifying the ends.

But the Oz in Gregory Maguire's revisionist novel, Wicked, is a far more politically complex world than the one Baum presents. The Wizard has usurped authority in the Emerald City from the ruling regent and has embarked on a campaign of eco-political expansion to take the whole of Oz under his control. There is little resistance at first as he seems to bring in wealth and prosperity to the people, but those he represses and exploits he keeps out of sight from the general population. He protects himself with a secret police called the Gale Force which enforces his interests with extreme prejudice on the periphery of polite society.

While there seems to be a growing resistance movement against the Wizard, the focus of Wicked falls on a lonely figure, an anomalous green-skinned girl whose cause is to end the oppression one way or another. But as one effort after another ends in failure, she retreats further and further away from society, and eventually becomes known as the Wicked Witch of the West more by reputation than by actual intent on her part.

When Dorothy arrives on the scene however, her bumbling around Oz destroys everything that Elphaba (aka WWW) holds dear, starting with Elphaba's sister who is crushed by Dorothy's far-flung farmhouse. Even so, Elphaba holds Dorothy no malice (well, perhaps only growing contempt, annoyance and frustration) but instead sees her as an opportunity to atone for past mistakes. But tragically, it is Dorothy's ignorant good intentions to help Elphaba that causes Elphaba's unglamorous death.

Wicked is a discussion on the nature of good and evil, examining the subject from the perspectives of religion, science, and magic. It looks at people's motivation for behaving the way they do, and questions the influence of choice, manipulation and ordination in people's actions.

Wicked puts an adult perspective on a simple children's tale. It fleshes out the relationships of the main players and pre-Dorothy histories in Baum's narrative. Given this additional knowledge, we realize that it can be all too easy to judge a book by its cover.

Been avoiding meeting my fund manager 'cos he gets long-winded and reminds me about things I don't really want to think about, i.e., my financial state now and in the years to come. Considering he's already taken most of what's left of my cash, I don't really have much of a "now". I can only hope that there will be a "to come" as promised.

His news today was mainly to update June and me about the performance of our investments to date, just a little more than 6 months since we let him handle our money. So far, a modest little profit; well, better than bank rate, anyway, so maybe we won't fire him just yet.

The one thing I got out of our discussions today is the realization that under normal circumstances, I realistically only have 13 more years of working life before I reach retirement age. 13 years to build up sufficient resources to see me comfortably into my dotage, assuming accident, disease, stupidity or the economy don't get me first.

Fund managers. They sure are well trained in scaring cash right out of a guy's pockets.

But as I said to TSL on Friday, I don't really have ideals about retirement. The idea of lolling around all day watching people go by doesn't appeal to me. No retirement for me, I told her, I doubt I'll be happy if I don't work till the end. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's being or becoming irrelevant. That's even scarier to me than having no money.

Took a chance on The Wicker Man, starring Nick Cage 'cos there wasn't anything else we wanted to watch at Sun Plaza this evening.

Cage plays Edward Maulis, a police officer who is given time off to recuperate from a traffic mishap, and goes off on a quest to find a missing child in a remote community far, far removed from urban development. Fully charged up with testosterone, the authority of a legal enforcer, and his own mission of righteousness, Maulis wastes no time making his presence felt amongst the rural folk of Summersisle.

The community has ancient roots, with animistic customs, traditions and rituals that are so alien to our modern sensibilities. Like the bee hives they keep to harvest honey, Summersisle is a matriarchal theocracy in which the knowledge jobs belong exclusively to the women, and the men just provide manual labour, or else sit around in the pub drooling into their mead. Though that description sounds like paradise on earth, it all looks like a society gone wrong, from Maulis' prejudiced perspective.

In his quest for the missing child, he charges around the village like a bull in a china shop. His methods become increasingly fascistic (typical male response when things don't go their way) as the villagers refuse to respect his authority and instead just watch him and his antics with amused detachment. They have little time for him anyway, as they are trying to recover from their worst harvest on record.

As Maulis slowly uncovers Summersisle's secrets, he also discovers the reasons for his summons to the community, and comes to realize that he is the best man for the job.

There's also a little cautionary tale there against pre-marital sex: you never know when the consequences of a long-ago tryst might one day come back to burn you.

The Wicker Man isn't a horror movie, but more like a Hitchcockian thriller. It is slow-paced, with very little action, but there's enough going on keep the audience guessing what the villagers are really up to.

Cool, but for my taste in movies, I'd rather watch this one on HBO.

Finally, a proponent of the use of video games as an educational tool! I've always wanted kids to play Civilization for background knowledge on history, geography and politics; and to practice resource management, among other useful little skills. I found KOTOR a stimulating exercise in moral and ethical decision-making. Wildly careening down the crowded streets of the various NFS incarnations has probably honed my driving sense -- that is, to recognize dangerous driving, curb my own reckless behaviour and avoid other mad drivers while in reality-mode (though I nearly got myself, NBS and HP killed the other day. It's not infallible). In real-life, there are no cheat codes.

While video games are no substitute for proper guidance, there is a lot of learning going on without the gamer being aware of it. Although I'm just thinking of knowledge learning, Prof Shaffer is advocating using video games to train students in juggling technology in a multi-tasking environment in preparation for working life in the 21st century.

Shaffer sees even the US education system as not having changed much since the curriculum was put together in the 19th century. Today's world belongs to the innovator, not the assembly-line worker, so he's urging education to move towards the ideas market instead of remaining entrenched in drill-and-practice, the tried-and-tested method of the distant past.

So, our l33t gaming prowess is going to advantage us when we frag our job-hunting mugger-toad competitors to bleedin' giblets in a couple of years' time. Serves 'em right too! Who'd have thunk it?

P.S. Even S'pore has already moved to introduce video games into our learning experience (could they be referring to the Neopets involvement in the NE programme 3 or 4 years ago, I wonder?). It says so in the article: here.

Josh introduced to us a new place to eat: Astons, serving Western food at mostly kopitiam prices. It's a little stall within the last kopitiam on the Maju Ave side of the row of shophouses along which the buses turn into in Gardens.

There's quite a wide selection of carnivore-pleasing items on the menu including steak, fish, ribs and burgers. The side dishes run out quickly, though, so go early.

I had the beefy jack, a tiny but thick burger topped with a square of melty cheese. The patty is made on-site with fresh ground beef and cooked to a juicy medium rare. The faint pink cross-section of the patty is a joy to behold. So few places get their burgers right like that.

I believe we got general approval of the food around the table, Amy and HP included. It looks like we've found a cheaper alternative to Friends and the Cartel in Gardens.

NY conneX Print edition #4 delivered today, coinciding with our recruitment drive for new journos. But before anyone says anything, let's do a self critique of this ish:

#4 is certainly flawed and definitely not our best work, considering what we've been capable of producing before. For an 8-page newsletter, only 2 articles can be legitimately classified as "news" (1 written and photographed by yours truly), the rest is mainly filler and quite possibly blatant propaganda as well.

The cover page is a mess, with the main pix looking static and murky, while the beautifully shot supplemental pix is tiny in comparison. And the main headline is obviously sensationalist but with no relevance whatsoever to the article it refers to. Quite misleading, even.

I think that strategically, we timed our release too early. Being fresh out of the hols, there really wasn't anything much happening on campus to report on. The reporters, themselves, were unprepared and just scrambled to meet their deadline with whatever because they had to submit something.

We should have trusted our past issues and our website to sell themselves and reserved our money sticking to our core business of reporting the news and maintaining the quality of our product, instead of trying to kill so many birds with our one tiny stone.

With all Amy's taught me, this is what I came up with. I feel I've let her down somewhat. Sigh.

Beginning the new year with lots of ideas and a new sense of idealism for the workload ahead. No longer under special dispensation for pioneering a new subject, I'm facing an expanded timetable, and adjusting to head 2 CCAs while being credited as heading only 1.

There's nothing unusual about this circumstance: it happens in the working world all the time. Multiple jobs being handled by several people can suddenly collapse into 1 person's portfolio, and while the 1 person can cuss and swear at his new job scope, he can also be thankful that he still has a job. For me, I can also appreciate the confidence the HR allocation seems to have in me, and I'll do what I must to make it work as I see fit.

The only thing that worries me is that there is a strong work-oriented culture around me at the moment. I sense the last vestiges of mindless, spontaneous fun has left with Vince, thus bringing to a close a cohort of colleagues that made life interesting on campus. But, no, they've not left campus because they've been too playful, but because they've taken up higher responsibilities and moved on. Yup, we all eventually grow up sometime.

As for my current colleagues, they're still a great bunch and I dearly enjoy their company very much. We still make it a point to meet for meals and bitch and jest daily. They're still my inspiration for getting up early in the morning. But perhaps what I'll miss is that spark of wild, unpredictable, crazy energy that once made work such fun.

Perhaps it's just as well. It's time for me to grow up too.

For many of us, there seems to be a serious disconnect between what we learn in school and how we live our lives once we leave school behind. We often tell ourselves that we'll never find a use for calculus or chemistry after our big exam so, subsequently, all our lessons are selectively shelved under the category of "Childhood Trauma" in the filing cabinet of our psyches, forever sealed shut with crime scene tape.

This grim, self-induced amnesia is hardly a surprising reaction, considering that the final exam is the furthest target we aim our learning towards. So we cram it all in as quickly as possible, spew it in the greatest possible quantity all over the exam paper, then mistake the emptiness we feel afterwards for freedom. No doubt our exam scores will be brilliant, but if we can't make the transition from learning to life, can we say we've learnt anything at all?

The Yanks have been thinking about this problem. The states of NH and RI are going to pioneer individualized assessments and adjust the weightage of graduation criteria so that students can demonstrate useable skills in their subject mastery, as opposed to just having memorized the right answers. Sound exciting? Details here.

Are kids and their parents paying attention to employment trends in S'pore these days? There are no "conventional" jobs any more. The reality of our situation is that regardless of our line of study, there is no reason to assume that our career will fall neatly in line with it.

According to this Star article, there is no lack of employment opportunities here, as long as job-seekers are flexible. Our education does not determine our career destiny. Whichever path our parents have set us on -- doctor, engineer, lawyer -- the world is too unpredictable to allow us to be as deterministic about our own futures.

So why study all the way up to the U then? Obviously, because the qualification is often nice to wave around. But if that's all you're after, you're a very sad person. If all you're gonna do is study, then that's all you're training to do. And the career prospects of grads specialized in sitting at a desk pretending to read difficult books are quite limited these days.

Whatever your faculty, studying at the U is a chance to mix around with the best and the brightest people on the planet, including one or two of your professors. You can discuss, argue and debate your theories and ideas with like-minded people and thereby shape an intelligent view of the world; and network with the people you are likely to be working with, or for, in the near future.

And it's not just in the classrooms or lecture halls, either. The pubs, the clubs and the socials present lots of opportunities to talk to people who will become decision-makers in time. So it's best to go make nice with them before they become unapproachable. You'll never know if the dweeb you picked up off the floor after the jocks have stampeded through might become the next Bill Gates, or if your scruffy buddy on the football pitch might become the next PotUS.

Just don't get locked into the "degree = good job" idea. The degree itself is only a piece of paper after all (at the most it'll grant you a job interview) but if that's all you're interested in, that's all you're gonna get. It's the experience and the process of how you obtained it that's more likely to determine what your next step is going to be. Enjoying a varied lifestyle on campus means more flexibility of career options for when Mom starts her "Get A Job" whine six months after your graduation.

First 3 days back at work and already as of right now I haven't slept in more than 24 hours. Partially that's my own fault, but running a newspaper means holding off deadlines until the most current and relevant articles are ready. I'm paying the price for that, I suppose, with last night's all-nighter. Hope it's not an indication of things yet to come.

Need sleep....

Funny that ST should be featuring a front-page article on various career people being unable to take leave because of work commitments. The article is clear that their companies are not forcing them to forfeit their leave, these busy executives just don't feel comfortable or secure enough to take their entitled time off.

It isn't just a local phenomenon, it occurs in other countries like Japan, UK and Oz as well, with staff who would rather trade their leave entitlement for cash or some other benefit, or in some cases are prepared to have it forfeited altogether.

I'm personally ambivalent about the whole thing. I'm just fresh out from my Christmas vacation and I've had a great time in HK, and it's wonderful to have time to just chill, no responsibilities and all. But there have also been empty times during which I thought wistfully about the hustle and excitement of campus life, and the good company I keep in the staffroom.

People who define themselves by the work they do are going to find those days of white leave space so much more dull and lonely than anything I've ever experienced. No wonder leave taking can be so daunting for them.

Also, I wonder if it could be due to a misplaced sense of self-importance. Many of the respondents cited reasons of being so needed at work that they can't take leave. Right. Given our last round of corporate retrenchments not so very long ago, we should have learned by now: no one is irreplaceable.

"Night at the Museum" reminds me that it's time to get off my fat, lazy ass, and get back to work. There'll be so much bedlam on the first day on the job, and just when you think it's all under control, all hell breaks loose again and makes you wonder if you really do have what it takes to make it through another year. But hey, courage, mon ami, we'll turn chaos back to order, we'll eradicate our differences by working towards our common good, and we'll do it all, together! Ya got that, Dumdum?

Apart from the movie, we did lunch at Azabu Sabo, Marina Bay. I would never have expected to enjoy a cold seafood ramen at all. Cold soba already turns my stomach, but here the served-straight-from-the-fridge cold ramen is creamy, fresh and slightly sweet: surprisingly edible. But it's also quite rich and there's plenty of it, so it's a dish to share. Don't be a hero.

And check out dessert! Macha ice cream, red bean paste and tangyuan (glutinous rice balls). It's fun to play with the different textures in your mouth, that is if you can bear to ruin the design it comes in. Refreshing.


Oh, and finally Momo deigns to pose nicely for a portrait. Thought I'd put this up here to mark the historic occasion!

The IKEA cafe's Swedish meatballs ran out on us while we were standing in line. Salmon and chix wings were next to go. We realized that today was an early-closing day, the kitchen being open only up till 1730, and we wound up with empty trays and rumbling tummies.

Next best thing was to run downstairs and grab 1kg of frozen meatballs for a nice, home-cooked New Year's eve dinner for 2. And yes, the meal is quite simple to put together. There are about 50 meatballs in a pack, and gravy powder to which you need to add some whipping cream to thicken. With boiled potatoes, a teaspoon of cranberry sauce and a glass of pineapple juice June bought in the Philippines, we're all set.

Spent the rest of the evening makin' nice with a vacuum cleaner hose, getting our floor spotless again before Old Man 2006 exits, stage left. But in less than an hour's time, it'll be a very "Happy New Year" to everyone!

Count down with me... 3... 2... 1...!

How did we human beings get to become the dominant species on this planet? It isn't because we have opposable thumbs, as some hacks might suggest. If it was, then we'd be facing competition against the other primates and a couple of squirrels in a triple-threat match to be "King of the Hill". But so far, we seem to be the only ones able to survive pretty much anywhere on Earth. For changing the environment to suit ourselves rather than adapting ourselves to suit our environment, no one else is in our league.

I think it's because we've made 6 good friends, and we've been leveraging on their strength ever since. They are: who, what, when, where, why, and how.

Our ability to ask questions means that we no longer have to accept status quo all the time. We can question our current situation, draw implications from conclusions to our queries, and plan ahead to implement our desired predictions, forecasts and outcomes. We dare ask, "how might our future be better than it is now?" No other animal does anything like this.

So asking questions has to be our #1 most important skill to learn. It has helped us crawl out of the mud, climb down off the trees and it will eventually take us to the stars -- if we so desire.

When I look at our approach to education, though, I have to wonder if we are teaching the right skills. School experience for the student is almost entirely just learning what the answers are. But if they didn't ask the question in the first place, why should they care about what the answer is, anyway?

Besides, the skill of answering questions is a nonsense skill. Answers are static, fixed. Answers reinforce the status quo. Answers force acceptance, giving the impression that nothing can or will change, um, because. Answers are always right, even though they may be wrong. What's the shape of the world? What's at the centre of the universe? Whatever the answer, people at one time believed it, though today, we believe in a totally different answer. And whatever we believe must be right. Right? Whatever.

When we teach students to answer GP questions, whether compre or essay, to me it seems like putting the cart before the horse. We ought to be teaching (or re-teaching) kids to ask questions first.

I believe that the right questions will answer themselves. So when they learn to ask the right questions, they'll learn something that's so much more practical and potentially more life-changing than just learning the right answers.

Will try this approach with my '07 kids. Hope they won't kill me for educational heresy.

The staff tour of farmland Kranji was a novel way to begin our 2-day end-of-year workshop. Between dodging raindrops and puddles, I got to handle a live bullfrog (slimy but oddly odourless) and rubbed up the fur of a farm dog and cat along the way. Like my noisy, chatty companions, the animals were equally sociable.

Apart from learning that bullfrogs are monogamous, and new vocabulary like "aeroponics" and "agri-tainment", I was quite taken by the approach of the Kranji stakeholders to deal with their individual and collective problems operating farms in S'pore.

For example, we have farms in S'pore??? Where do we have space to have 1 farm, let alone the 170+ farms that are supposed to operate in the area? Aren't farms far away, inaccessible, dirty, smelly places that are nice to visit but don't exactly offer top career choices for our children?

With public perception as such, they don't get much support from either the market or even our public institutions. Each farm struggles to survive, and people being what they are, S'poreans in particular, the temptation must be great to conflict and compete the hell out of each other, neighbours being at each others' throats for scraps of resources all the time. We all know what that kind of life is like.

But the Kranji collective impresses me with its ability to cooperate with each other, leveraging on each other's strengths rather than exploiting one another's weaknesses. They rightly identify their problems as obstacles to overcome rather than target each other as the source of their woes.

And even more impressively, they rely most on their ideas: always finding new ways to do things better. Our farmers ain't hicks. They're scientists, engineers, craftsmen, artisans and designers; market-savvy, well-travelled and well-connected. They're angry and frustrated 'cos it's a tough line of work, but they're also hungry and unwilling to just keel over and die without a fight.

And what I love is their attitude that ideas are meant to be shared open-source, instead of selfishly hoarded. I've always believed that an idea is only as good as it is shared. The further it spreads, the better it must be. Ideas propagate one another, and I guess farmers are best positioned to understand this simple truth.

Respect the farmer, urbanite!

Meet Swiss Cheese Man a.k.a. Holey Man, my stunt double in one of my earliest productions with MU. He's come home with me after all these years hanging around as a wall decoration at the MU studio in Cairnhill.

Yup, MU is leaving the premises and closing its doors for good. We had our farewell party tonight attended by many of our founding members as well as a number of our latest generation, and a few well-wishers and friends.

It's a little sad to see a chapter in my life close for good, particularly as I had been intending to reopen it at some point in the near future. But that's not going to be so easy now.

In fact, when I began with Education, one option I was toying with was to complete my contract so that I would have some credibility and some experience as a teacher, then return to MU to teach drama full-time. Guess I felt it was more necessary for me to remain in the system, as it turned out. Funny.

As various members took bits of props and equipment home with them as memorabilia, and as the reception table was little by little cleared away of snacks, cheese and wine, it was goodbye to old friends, some of whom are departing for other climes for who knows how long.

My holey shadow is a piece of my history. And he's come home.

Banjo by Weng

Housewarming at Anthony and Wendy's! We got to see the interior of their new pride and joy today after more than a year of anticipation. It's a cozy place, much of the design based on straight zen lines; right down to the entertainment electronics. I like the design concept for its urban functionality, though if June was present, she might find it a little cold if not for the touches of wood panelling here and there.

Potluck dinner for the third night in a row, and no, I did bring a Christmas fruitcake with me despite what I said in my previous entry. Scrooge I may be, but friends are friends after all. The usual crowd of Anthony's showed up for a pleasant evening.

Weng, in his usual fashion, got us to help assemble the presents he got for us. With empty cartons, bits of plank and cord, each represented household got at random an elastic powered wooden rifle or a 3-string banjo. He helped me tune my banjo and even strummed some discernable chords from it. Thanks, dude!

June wasn't able to join the festivities tonight. She had to pack for her flight to Manila tomorrow, returning on New Year's Eve. Safe journey, ok?

My inner Scrooge is acting up. I'm looking back on the last couple of days of stuffed-to-the-brim feasting, and I'm amazed at how much waste there is left after everyone's had their fill. Then there's the ritual of bagging the remains and distributing them as leftovers, knowing that in reality it's all going to the trash anyway. Just not all into the the trash bin of the host's premises.

I'm also looking at the amount of water I'm using to do the dishes and I'm perturbed that every drop that comes out of our taps is potable H2O, which is in such short supply in many parts of the world even in generally clean condition, and I'm using such a torrent of it to get my kitchen back up to passable health standards again. And no, I wasn't even the host.

I wonder if my personal policy on Potluck Socials is so wrong after all? All I do is show up at my appointment and contribute just my pleasant disposition and a healthy appetite. I'm sure to still "bring home" some leftovers since everyone's brought too much anyway.

Oh, and what if more people adopted my policy and there's not enough food for once? Simple. Pool cash, call pizza.

Let's spare a thought for the less fortunate next year.

Q-tip says, "Merry Christmas, everyone!"

Er... you too, Momo.

Arrive late at Christmas family reunion. Get relegated to the kids' table 'cos all other seats taken. Realize that the kids I'm sitting with and I remember as screaming, bawling, running-around in short pants minor annoyances are no longer kids. Some are already at the U, some just starting work. Funny, I don't feel any older but I should, shouldn't I?

For a theme park with limited thrill rides -- 2 mild 'coasters, a flume and a drop tower -- Ocean Park still pulls in the crowd even on a Monday. It's hard to imagine how one could spend a whole day there without getting bored at some point but, surprisingly, the experience was quite enjoyable.

For one thing, there's a lot of space to cover, whether on foot or by some other means of conveyance. The attractions are well laid out: the kiddy rides at the bottom of the hill, the thrills higher up with a glorious Pacific Ocean view, and the aquaria and show areas concentrated together near the peak. And sufficient toilet facilities -- very important. The park is easy to navigate and because it's all on a slope, walking from place to place can be quite a workout too.

Though there's little we haven't seen before in the centrepiece marine show, the presentation was lively and it's nice to see the animals so animated and motivated for their schtik. The carny games gave out enough prizes to tempt participation. It was amusing that a toddler won a large Santa plushie by accident, while Vince and I got zilch for our efforts.

Ocean Park is simple, without the flash and the thoroughness of concept of most American theme parks. Yet it still packs in the people. I hope our own IR on Sentosa can do as well.

Observation: in any given situation, a people can choose to be happy or unhappy. Good government recognizes the people's right to choose unhappiness.

Finally uploaded our HK holiday pix! There's quite a lot to wade through, so only if you're interested, ok? Click here.

HK turned out to be quite the holiday. Tiny freezing hotel room (but snug and warm under the blanket), no actual plan, just doing whatever our inclinations directed, weather permitting. More walking and shopping than I believed we would do. June says shopping in HK in December is 'nothing,' but if this was nothing, I'm all agog at what 'something' might be.

While people in S'pore were drowning in a 48-hour torrential rainstorm, we brought the sun and a nasty cold snap to HK. Although it rained on our first 2 days, we had gorgeous weather for the rest of our stay.

A couple of places of interest:

Ngong Ping 360:
A tourist trap featuring a fake old-style Chinese village, a couple of multi-media presentations, and a climb up to see the giant Buddha statue; but the Skyrail ride up the mountain is spectacular with amazing views of the countryside. Best to take the Skyrail one-way though, unless you just want to hang out with the tourists.

There's a side-deal at the bus terminus where they offer a 1-way Skyrail ride, then unlimited bus rides to anywhere on Lantau Island. We took the bus to Tai-O Village for the sights, sounds and smells of a local fishing port. Lots more photo-ops and interesting local delicacies that you don't find downtown here.

The Mid-Levels Escalator system:
We were looking for the longest escalator in the world (which is in Ocean Park actually), but our map pointed us to this exotic, innovative people mover instead. From Central, a series of connected escalators takes people up a hilly incline. It passes Hollywood Street (antiques and curios), SoHo (western-style bistros, but also where I finally got my hands on some Krispy Kreme sweetness), and up to where the rich people stay.

The escalators start the day going downhill so the rich people can go to work, but the rest of the day they all point uphill so people like us can explore and the rich people can go home at night.

Once at the top though, it's a long trek back downhill again. Considering that we spent the morning walking down from the Peak back to Central to save HK$11 on the Peak Tram, June and I had wobbly legs by the time we hoofed it back to Central -- again.

BTW, Central becomes Manila and Causeway Bay becomes Jakarta on Sunday.

Have a whole load of pix to be uploaded. Perhaps they'll tell the story better than I can. Watch for the link!

It's got Death, whimsy, tragedy and a cutsey kitty. And it's a short little 'toon. Watch "Death Kitty and the Fat Man" (no, NBS, it's not Anthony) here.

We're leaving for the airport in just over 12 hours and we're still not packed yet. At least Q-tip's been taken care of. She's boarding at the Pawfect Companion, which sent a guy over to collect her this morning.

While we're away, my in-laws will come over and cat-sit for us. In exchange, they get to watch free cable TV all day. The cats, though, may not be too thrilled with the prospect of having the TV on all day:

Behind the TV is Kaiser's favourite napping spot...

and Momo's too!

I went to Vivocity in the afternoon (instead of packing like a good boy) where 3 random thoughts came to mind:

1) It's counterproductive to make staff wear Santa hats if they're still gonna look grouchy at work. The effect is quite a turn-off, in fact. An off-season smile works better than a seasonal decoration for brightening a mall any day.

2) Superdog burgers are as fresh tasting as they claim to be. I don't know if it's my problem or theirs, but after polishing off a bacon cheeseburger, fries and coke, I was still hungry. The jury's still out on whether I'm a pig or if the burger's too small.

3) At PageOne bookshop I found myself again looking at books in the Science section though I was looking for books on media criticism. That's odd because I'm usually looking at fiction and other easy-reading material. I think my subject's changing me... and not necessarily for the better. Brrr...

Right. HK, here we come!

It's always exciting to man the reception desk. Look at all the chaos we have to deal with!

In case you haven't figured it out yet, Prom Nite photos are finally in from our official photogs! Check out some of their best pix here.

Only 1 more working meeting tomorrow, and then I think I'll just focus on being on vacation, at least until Christmas is over. Looking forward to departing for HK on Thursday. What's the plan? Eat, walk, shop, Ocean Park, y'know, mindless, fun stuff. Current weather forecasts say it's going to be wet, par for the course for us. Could get chilly, but not freezing.

Have to admit, I am tired. The break is welcome.

We've got Universal Studios setting up shop on the southernmost tip of continental Asia! I got my wish for exciting coaster rides within driving distance after all! That's the good news. The even better news is that by the time it's ready in 2010, I should be able to get in on senior citizen rates! "Please remove dentures and all other prosthetics before riding the Lethal Weapon 6 for your own safety. Thank you!"

While the politicos and moguls are talking about the impact the Genting-Star Cruises deal will make on tourism arrivals and length of stays, I wonder if Universal is considering to use the theme park here for more than just rides and family entertainment. The possibility of Universal setting up a real movie studio here using Asian locations and talent hasn't been discussed yet, but it's worth thinking about. For both Universal and us, there's an opportunity to break into cinemas worldwide with quality storytelling and high production values... can't blame me for dreaming, right?

Looks like we're putting a lot of our economic eggs into the MICE/tourism/hospitality/family entertainment basket in the coming decades. Are our current batch of students being properly prepared for this industry? I'm sure currently we can produce a very able, very competent crew of engineers who can fabricate and maintain the stuff in their blueprints, but who's designing the blueprints? We've got penny-pinching, meticulous accountants who are great at counting money, but whose money is it? And will all the service staff and the guys in funny animal mascot costumes be from our vast pool of foreign talent 'cos our own local employment-seekers are too self-centered, too individualistic and too easily embarrased (paiseh) to entertain our guests?

In our immediate future, our working population can no longer be made of unquestioning assembly-line robots. We need people who can relate to people, understand them and integrate across cultures without prejudice, and be less obvious with keeping an eye on the profit motive. We need people who can respond to rapidly changing situations, and be empowered and able to act on good decisions quickly. We need creative, imaginative people who can weave interesting and credible narratives with whatever abilities and talents they have on hand.

Our schools willl have to make the paradigm switch, as will our students and their parents too. Though our curriculum rigour need not change, our end result needs to be students who are knowledgeable, yet fun-loving, sociable, active and adventurous. All this, and a healthy dose of common sense too.

Am I asking a bit much? Yes, as long as we keep knowledge an individual, competitive, have-or-have-not commodity. Instead, if in our schools we can develop a culture in which knowledge is freely shared and open-sourced rather than individually hoarded (for obtaining meaningless marks on exams, no less) I'd say that would make content learning much less work, then at the same time we can learn to think and have fun too.

"I gave [a lecture] in The Hague, Holland, to an audience of people who teach in English-language independent schools throughout Europe. I should stress that they were not primarily teachers of English, whom I have for the most part stopped addressing, since I came to the conclusion several years ago that they are the educators least likely to depart in any significant way from their pedagogical traditions. I do not know why this is so, but it is a serious deficiency, since English teachers are better positioned than any others to cultivate intelligence."

Postman, Neil. "Defending against the Indefensible." Conscientious Objections (1988).

Ouch.

Thought it would have been fun to grab my laptop and go sign up for the free wireless broadband service that's available to us for the next 3 years. There are already quite a number of locations around the island that offer this service, and the opportunity to surf and blog on location was an appealing idea.

Nice idea, but it didn't work. Quite a number of people have already signed up for the service already, so it's not likely to be a network problem. Somehow, my laptop isn't configured to detect a wireless signal, so I felt like a bit of a chump lugging it around Marina Square and getting squat out of it.

I'll take the laptop back to our campus tech and see if she (what's her name now? I've heard it twice already but it won't stick in my memory...) can help me get unplugged. Or, more likely, she'll tell me it's because of some paranoid company security policy that my wireless feature has been disabled. Grr.

It's a pity our bowling team didn't survive the changes we underwent this year. With 2 of our teammates getting transferred out and 1 leaving the service, when we finally had a reunion today, it was like we'd split into 2 separate factions: Amy and I still with the college, while Anthony and Vince are now in the secondary school system. Yee, gone on his own way since early this year, was too ill to join us today.

It's a pity because the competiton in this year's league doesn't seem as intense as last year's, and we could possibly be flying high as a result. Still, it's nice to be able to bowl for fun and not kill ourselves trying to beat the next team's high game or whatever. Thanks for the game Boyz!

And tonight, we celebrated Adrian's and Mary's birthdays at Long Beach, ECP. We opted for a few simple dishes and none of the messy crab stuff. They have an unusual spinach cooked with century-egg and salt-egg. Looked weird, like a creamy mess, but tasted quite palatable as a topping for rice.

For dessert, we finished nearly half the Goldmine cheesecake which June and I bought from NYDC. The remainder, Jen took back to her office to feed her workers and volunteers. That's staff welfare!

Prom Night this year was at the Fullerton Hotel. And the students really dressed to the theme of "The Red Carpet". Amongst the memorable was the guy in the 1920's gentleman's suit complete with coat and tails, top hat and cane, whom the MC mercilessly made fun of. Most of the women looked sleek in their gowns and dinner dresses, and had their hair and make up professionally done. It's amazing to see our normally drab students transform into unrecognizably glam personalities with just a touch of effort. Ok, maybe more than just "a touch", I understand some of the do-packages were quite expensive. But for a night of good fun, good memories and great pix, it's worth it, right?

Tonight's menu was an Asian-western fusion buffet. I enjoyed the smoked salmon, and the steamed shrimp served on-ice . The sweet-sour fish was tasty too, and the duck confit was... rich (maybe what I mean is deliciously fatty, though I'm not exactly sure that was it). There was a crispy noodle that was oddly sweet, and the consomme was a little more sour than I had expected. By the time I got to the dessert table, there wasn't much left. I scrounged together a decent portion of bread pudding, a crunchy apple tartlet, a smooth chocolate mousse thing on a light cracker, and some healthy fruit for balance.

But what kept the party rockin' was a livewire MC who put together a repertoire of games that were entertaining, yet not too embarrassing for the participants. It helped that the students themselves were great sports and participated wholeheartedly. Makes all the difference in the world. It also helped that the MC had an assistant he kept abusing. Somehow, whenever he called for "Alfred", it was like playing off a foil of himself, so the humour had quite a self-deprecating quality.

If anyone is wondering why we staff at the VIP table did not participate at all in the games, it's because we were there as non-paying guests. Therefore, we had no business trying for prizes that the students had paid for. Good prizes too. Quite a number of shopping vouchers for quality stuff like from Kino, NYDC, Nike, Levi's and VivoCity. We also gave away an i-Pod shuffle and a nano, new models. The top prizes were sponsored: a night's stay at the Fullerton, and air tix for 2 to BKK, courtesy of Swissaire.

Congrats to Errol, our Prom king. He had a retro-aviator look (Top-Gun was what, early 80s?), and he had the showmanship to secure his votes, no surprise there. I don't know the prom queen personally, but I think throwing her fur stole into the crowd boosted her popularity somewhat.

Also, thanks, Amy, for the invite. I know our table was full of your cronies, none of us being senior staff deserving of VIP status, except the P of course, but we only responded after no one else did, so we did give everyone else a chance first, didn't we?

Currently reading Panic Nation by Feldman and Marks. Got through about 6 chapters so far, and so far the authors have been the bearers of excellent news! Everything we've been taught to fear about the food we eat is nonsense, according to them. They suggest that our precautions against consuming foods we think are dangerous to our health are actually the result of an "organized paranoia" perpetrated by well-meaning health-regulatory bodies who would rather err on the side of caution (and avoid expensive lawsuits) rather than good sense and good science.

Feldman and Marks cite study after study, across different demographics and over the long-term showing that there is no significant change to our life-expectancy even if we conscientiously reduce consuming "unhealthy" foods. They systematically debunk our fears through statistical as well as scientific analysis and expose the myths behind fat, "junk" food, cholesterol, salt, sugar and a whole bunch of other supposed poisons, toxins and carcinogens in our diet. In fact, by drastically cutting down on some of these substances, we might actually risk harming our bodies because we need them in certain amounts in order for our bodies to function properly.

Some facts they bring to light are quite eye-opening. For example, the cholesterol we eat does not and can not become the cholesterol that clogs our arteries. The two aren't even the same thing, having completely different molecular structures from each other. Sugar is a direct cause of tooth decay, but only contributes to obesity because it makes food taste better and therefore causes people to eat more food than they need. Salt intake is always properly balanced in the body of a normal, healthy person. If there is too much salt, the body excretes the excess through sweat and pee, but if there is too little salt the risk of heart failure actually rises!

If anything, Panic Nation advocates that we eat whatever we want without having to feel guilty about it. We just need to eat a variety of foods in reasonable quantity, like our ancestors have always done, and quit worrying that whatever we put into our mouths is going to kill us. I'll remember that next time I reach for a Krispy Kreme.

Myth: You can live forever if you only eat healthy food.
Truth: Life is sexually transmitted and always ends in death (Vincent Marks).

Further readings:
BBC News: Is junk food a myth?
A more balanced review: here.

My niece's classmate is a little girl who's so obsessed with gymnastics that she spends most of her life outside school in training. On the weekends, she attends dance classes for variety. Her academics, she just lets slide because she has no time to keep up with her homework, focused as she is on becoming a gymnast.

It seems that at her own birthday party, she disappeared from amongst her group of invited friends, and after a frantic search, was found alone in her room watching the Olympics gymnastics event 'live' on TV.

Currently, she's in Pri 4, which puts her at about 9 years old. It's rare to see such children in Singapore, with such drive, such determination to pursue a dream she has identified and claimed for her own already. And it seems she's good at what she does too, so it's not just empty wishful thinking.

Question is, should we let her get away with being academically ignorant? She may be talented in her own area of expertise, but is it acceptable that she sacrifices her knowledge of the sciences, mathematics, languages, and whatever else we teach in school, in order to excel at just that one thing?

In our society, we're very hung up about everyone acquiring some kind of 'basic education' from which we then determine who deserves what in our 'meritocratic' resource distribution system. But to some, having to demonstrate an ability in 'basic' could force them to lower their personal aspirations and abilities in an attempt to score a pass in mediocrity instead.

It's kinda' like Dexter of Dexter's Laboratory, boy genius in applied sciences, inventor of incredible gadgets, obsessed with attaining Ultimate Knowledge, then having to put aside everything so that he can go to school and learn that 1+1=2. A rigid education system may be great for equipping the unmotivated, but it stifles the high achiever.

I wonder if for our girl gymnast whether her education can proceed in a more practical way?

To complement her kinesthetic development, she'll need to learn bio mechanics in relation to the physics of motion; biochemistry in relation to health and nutrition; sports medicine and physiotherapy to deal with sports injuries; and by opening lines of communication with her fellow gymnasts from other countries she can learn several languages and international relations at the same time. It's just a matter of framing subject content in a way that is useful in supporting her passion.

How flexible might Education have to be to cater to such children? Well, here's one extreme but possible scenario: click here.

Edit 01:

These Finns seem to have got the Great Singaporean Pastime down to an art form! And they do it so beautifully, too! Could it be we're all Finnish(ed)?

It's very dangerous to leave me on my own on the weekend. When I'm left to my own devices, I usually end up spending money.

These I got from the Times bookshop at Marina Square. Should be loads of fun to read, but can also be used as source materials for tutorials.

Also went bowling at the CSC in the afternoon. Not a brilliant session. It was like 144 was my ceiling, attaining this exact same score in 3 separate games. Then there was the crappy 116, 119 and 122, which I will attribute to the pandemonium of a kids' party going on a couple of lanes from mine. Kids were running, screaming, and whooping it up with their noisemakers, occasionally darting across other bowlers' lanes unexpectedly. Pesky, annoying, distracting. Grr... pushing my low child tolerance to the limit.

Thankfully, they left in time for me to finish one last game in peace. Clean game, hitting a 4X4, scoring the lane's high game at 219. Oh boy, all that pent-up frustration.

Final 7-game average: 144. I swear, tomorrow's winning 4-D number will have some permutation of 144 in it somewhere. 1212? 4144?

June came home from work in time for a nice dinner at Tamoko -- mmm... salmon sashimi -- and dessert at Swenson's, Thomson Plaza. Yay!

Goodness. How important it is to use the English language properly. You can be a Hollywood celebrity, have the very best of intentions in seeking to comfort bereaved friends, eulogise a mentor and father-figure, philosophise on the fleetingness of life, and yet people are going to remember what you said with ridicule and contempt because you displayed a very poor command of the language.

Letter of Condolence, full transcript via USA Today.

Ms Lohan has some slight problems with her subject-verb agreement, but gets into more trouble with her use of prepositions. One major howler occurs in her opening sentence which unintentionally casts aspersions on Mrs Altman's fidelity and propriety due to the faulty preposition, "of". Not the most diplomatic way to address a recently-widowed friend, eh?

But her biggest problem is in writing run-on sentences and sentence fragments, which suggests that she transcribes directly from her thoughts. Few of us think in grammatical sentences, but we do bother to edit for linguistic convention in our written communication.

The quality of her writing deteriorates closer to the end of her letter, closing with some bizarre vocabulary.

If this specimen is representative of how people generally write today, then we English teachers can see two possibly outcomes: job security for life, or unemployment. Depends on how optimistic we are.

The school hols are now in full swing. It's also the time we hear horrible rumours of this college or that college decreeing that their staff must put in a compulsory number of working hours every weekday on campus just so that they look like they are still earning their keep.

I personally do not know if such draconian measures are actually enforced, but regardless of the fact that we do not operate under a fixed timetable in this period, there still is work for us to undertake. The difference is, we have to discipline ourselves to perhaps a more flexible work schedule because our deadlines are still fixed.

We also have a choice, to work on campus or off. The staff in our college seem to choose to work on campus, strangely enough, but I rather think it's a choice we've made for ourselves and not something imposed and enforced upon us by some authority.

So why do we rank-and-file employees still report back to our workplace even during the ostensible holiday period? I think it's because our work environment allows and encourages cooperation amongst staff rather than competition between staff. There is time to relax and socialize amongst ourselves in between all the busy-ness that goes on during curriculum time.

In this environment, we've been conditioned to hang out with each other on an almost daily basis, and we miss that camaraderie when we go our separate ways during the hols. Just the possibility of having lunch company is enough incentive for us to drag our sorry butts back onto campus and put in a good few hours of focused, constructive work -- voluntarily.

How does an organization build up a motivated staff? No need for complicated and expensive "team-building" programmes, much less a "compulsory" clock in-out regime -- more like a recipe for building staff resentment. We do need meaningful tasks; clear, reasonable deadlines; an inclusive, non-threatening work environment; "white space" for socializing time; and common mealtime slots while the fixed timetable is in operation. And let the hols take care of themselves. See? We don't ask for much. :D

After a break since September, NY conneXions is back with fresh updates and a new look!

We've had slight problems with our latest server migration (I've already fixed the link in my Blogrolling sidebar) and we've lost a few pages and pix in the process. And granted, the new design is still a work-in-progress, but it's great to be publishing once again.

Since it's the hols, we're presenting less campus oriented articles and more articles from outside sources instead.

Loga and co., thanks for keeping us alive even though you're all supposed to be on vacation! :D

Check out our new quilt cover from Aussino's kids' collection. A lovely pastoral scene that Kaiser can't resist being a part of. Always fancied himself living on a farm, that boy!

Finished my last invigilation duty today. Now I can sit down and plan for next year's programme. Went back on campus to have a think about the future of NY conneX, and a few fresh ideas came up. Would like to chat about them with my current staff first though, and see what they think.

Amy happened to be on campus, and HP was nearby so we lunched at Friends like we haven't done in what seems like a long time. I'm not so impressed with this month's set menu with a choice of fish 'n chips, teriyaki chicken or spaghetti for the main course. The quality is still there, but the options are a little bland this time.

Had a pot luck dinner at Aggie's place. A sort of small farewell for Vince attended by Lucy, NBS, Josh, ZC (special guest appearance!), me and June. We brought the dessert, partly financed by NBS, that June spent much of the weekend making. June makes a good almond jelly served with longans, and a konnyaku-style pandan/coconut layered agar.

Nice to be back amongst friends again!

Shopping at Taka with June who was looking to buy her sister some l'Occitane products as a Christmas gift. Spending over $150 including 1 item from the Christmas shelf gets an FOC handbag hand-stiched in France (so no 2 designs are exactly alike) and a small sampler pack. Sis-in-law should be happy with her eye gels.

Lunched at Ambush in the Taka basement. Strange name for an Italian pasta joint, but since it took us by surprise as we were stepping off the escalator, what the heck, right? Although we were miles from Ikea, we both were craving Swedish meatballs, so we were thrilled to see a Swedish meatball pasta on offer.

It was nice that the cashier informed us that the meatballs were made of beef and pork before we confirmed our order. I was tempted to say, "Thanks for the warning, I'm vegetarian!" but I kept my mouth shut.

The pasta and the meatballs were heavy, in a rich tomato sauce, served in a large bowl. We were already full about halfway through our bowls. That's a what a good pasta does. The remainder we slowly consume as we relax and enjoy each other's company while the meal lasts.

Quite affordable, too. Most pasta dishes are below $10 each, with an additional $3.80 to make a set. We took the garlic bread and soup, the other option being dessert and a drink. The complementary cold water from a dispenser was a thoughtful touch.

Gotta love the Amazing brothers Cho. The epitome of kindness and courtesy on the Amazing Race 10. They're the guys who played the game 'differently', forming an alliance with the weaker teams, sacrificing their own advantages to boost their friends' chances of survival.

They usually finished their tasks first but would wait for the other teams, gather everyone together, share their info and plan some kind of group strategy before moving on. They even gave up a lead they had to a team which without their help would have been eliminated for sure.

This gameplan of the Chos makes good sense in that if the Alliance could eliminate the stronger teams in the Race, then the brothers would face a much reduced competition towards the finish line.

The problem was, they didn't know when to draw the line between social grace and survival. They simply didn't do their math properly in this week's installment. Last place was between them and their final surviving ally. Yet instead of taking the early lead, they chose to wait for the mothers, intending to -- what? Cross the finish line together???

It is no surprise that the mothers ditched them and found their own way to the Pitstop, arriving 2nd last. The mothers know how to play the survival game. The Chos are out. And I'm not at all sympathetic.

Oddly enough, in todays Life! interview, the Chos have the impression that S'poreans are just as nice and polite as they are, if not more so. They haven't been reading our 'papers, lately so full of gripes about how spoilt we are about public transport, how blase we are about littering, how we need another Courtesy Campaign 'cos we don't say 'please' and 'thank you'.

Looks like S'poreans have it backwards. We think it's all about survival while forming cooperative alliances doesn't make sense to us. Social graces take a backseat as we charge ahead with our 'winner take all' neurosis.

Life isn't the Amazing Race. Our species thrives on cooperative endeavour. So yes, we do have a lot to learn from the Chos' game. But there are also times when survival does become a factor. We need to know how to recognize that point, cut our losses and let our self-preserving instincts take over. We're no good to anybody if we're dead.

It's about time to renew my passport. I tried out the Application for PassPort on-Line Electronic System (dear God, APPLES!) and it looks like a pretty straightforward process. Just a few fields to fill in with personal identification details, and the submission of a personal mugshot on .jpg file.

Ah, the mugshot. Here's where it gets difficult. The rules are stringent about getting the shot composed correctly. The second-hardest thing to accomplish is getting the background perfectly white. Try as I might, the best I could get was a grey wash. The lighting in my room simply isn't powerful enough to make my white wall look white. The camera flash doesn't help either.

The most difficult thing to accomplish is getting a nice shot of myself that actually makes me look good. So many imperfections -- the rules are clear against Photoshopping -- so I had to pick the one that made me look least like crap. Noone is EVER gonna look at my passport, got it?

Hope Immigration will accept the photo I submitted in the end. It took a lot more work than APPLES promised.

We should put up a quarantine sign on our front door. June's next to get the bug. What with Q-tip still coughing on and off, June sneezing and me doing a bit of both, our house has become a concert hall for the Influenza Symphonia in D minor.

This morning we both went to see our local Silver Cross medical facility. It wasn't as crowded as I had imagined and we got our consultations without much of a wait. The queue number was 21-22 when we arrived and we got 26-27. And there were 2 doctors available to share the load.

I love the labelling on the medicine packages they dispense. Clear print-outs with the name of the drug, its purpose and dosage. Gone are the days when we had to squint at poorly handwritten labels and guess what the heck we're ingesting. So for the record, I'm on a couple of decongestants, a codine mixture (drowsy warning), and an antibiotic. I don't usually take antibiotics, but this run of cold symptoms tells me some drastic measures are necessary.

According to the manual, there is an occasion in which the car will vibrate, make a strange noise, and will have some difficulty steering. Just as the manual said, it happened to M2. So I pulled over to the nearest parking lot to have a look. And there it was, a flat tyre.

Great! A chance for me to pull out my Mazda-issue toolkit and get some hands-on working on a routine maintenance procedure. One thing about Mazda's toolkit: it's cute, handy, packs away easily, and is almost completely non-functional. Specifically, the tyre iron is far too short and too fragile to unbolt the tyre from the axle. So try as I might, I couldn't get enough leverage to budge the nuts even a little.

So despite having figured out the jack and having my emergency wheel on hand, I still had to seek assistance. Thanks to Amy, I got hold of our local AA, though it was rather strongly impressed upon me by the Association that I should pay for my own membership rather than sponge off someone else's.

It was a case of tyre iron envy when I saw the equipment the AA guy was lugging around. But even then he had to use a makeshift lever extension to get my nuts loose [ok, now this is starting to sound rather rude -- whatever you're thinking, stoppit].

The emergency wheel is certainly no replacement for a proper road wheel. It's a dinky little wheel off a toy car, designed to get M2 to the nearest tyre shop for a new tyre asap. The nearest one was at the Caltex station opposite Nee Soon camp. Quite good service by Mr Shiok (yes, that's his name). He quickly replaced both front tyres and took the trouble to clean up the emergency wheel before stowing it back into it's compartment for me.

What caused the flat? Normal wear and tear, apparently. I'm just relieved it wasn't because I ran over a cat or some other clawed animal. So now I'm running 2 new Falken tyres in front (tyres get replaced in pairs). That, plus AA membership = $300+. It's enough to make me reconsider public transport...

... Naaaahhh!

Whoa. Too much video game addiction, real life got shelved temporarily while my superhero team has been busy kickin' ass in Atlantis, the Valley of the Spirits, Mephisto's Realm, Asgard, the Shi'ar flagship, the Skrull homeworld, and Castle Doom.

The quests are easy to complete on 'normal' mode, especially since you can beef up 1 or 2 of your favourite characters to near invulnerable levels. I did that for Wolvie and he's usually the one to save the day, being the last mutant standing. Invulnerable doesn't mean he's immune to falling off ledges though, it's one of the drawbacks of not being able to fly.

With quite a bit of the environment being destructable, fights are awesomely violent. Bits of scenery get smashed with all the pummelling going on, though sometimes there's too much happening on screen, you lose sight of your character only to find him (or her) again aimlessly bustin' up a harmless statue or some ugly furniture.

Not that I've been anti-social or what, but I'm still nursing this cold that I haven't been able to get rid of for more than a week now. It's been the most persistent to date and as far as possible, I'm trying to avoid passing it on to people. It's also making me irritable, so taking it out on game sprites can be quite therapeutic.