On my way to work, I saw a beautiful sight

A flock of Litte Egret in the far end.

Zoom-in view of the flock of Little Egret.

Little Egret

School of Tilapia

Today, as I was walking to work, I saw a flock of Little Egret feeding in the canal while crossing the Kampong Java Green Bridge. The beautiful sight lifted up my spirit and it stayed there for a long time.

ECE Book Prize Award Presentation 2013 (18 Nov)

Outing with International Students to Sungei Buloh

On 9th Nov ’13 (Sat), See Pan, Dr Chen Ming and I brought 13 international students to Sungei Buloh. See Pan shared with us very nice rambutan from his garden. The Chinese students were very appreciative of it because it is new to them and they like eating it. See Pan even bought Attap seeds for the students to try. He related that he had a hard time looking for it in the supermarket because it was manned by foreigners. The first one that he approached for help was from Philippines and the second lady was from China. Both have never heard of Attap seeds.
There are a lot of Attap plants in Sungei Buloh. In the olden days, houses were built with Attap leaves. This is why such houses were called Attap house. The sap from the bud gives an alcoholic drink called toddy. The fruit has edible seed which can be found in ice kacang.
On the bus, See Pan lectured and conducted a pop quiz with instant prizes to be won.  Students, who gave the right answers, have an array of snacks to choose from.
The board walk that goes right into the swamp area is made from the wood of mangrove trees which have adapted to the local conditions like extreme humidity, muddy soil and seawater. This is a brilliant engineering solution: sustainable, economical and environment friendly.
On the way out, we saw a hornbill bird which is quite rare in Singapore. Apparently, it is not shy of people. It stayed calm and collected while the many of us were clicking away and chattering noisily.

HOME TEAM FESTIVAL 2013!, 8 Nov, Singapore EXPO Hall 4

A. Snow-blind Stun Gun

B. Walking Stick for the Elderly

C. Tracker Ball

A. The SP student was holding a snow-blind stun gun that was made by a 3-D printer. Using LED, the gun can momentarily blind a person with its powerful beam. No live ammunition is allowed in the exhibition hall so we did not have a chance to see it in action.
B. This walking stick for the elderly comes from HCI. It features a torch for the user to see in the dark and a blinking light for others to be aware of a physically challenged person.
C. Skunkworks Electronic Camera Scout: An Android controlled tracker ball that can send live video back to its controller. The tracker ball can be driven around remotely using an app and was modified from a toy!

The ECE Staff Team in NP Regatta 2013 (1st Nov 2013, Friday)

Rowing on land

Kiss the dragon for good luck.

Leaving the pier.

Click here for more photos.
After we arrived at Marina Barrage at about 1 pm, we gathered at a corner for a pep talk, followed immediately by dry simulation as we were lacking in practice. The rowing action involves a lot of body twisting movements and Yoga is the perfect warm-up exercise for it. All Yoga lessons begin with conscious breathing exercises and opening up of the spine’s 6 degrees of moment. That was what we did minus the breathing part. As we still have time on our hand, we went for a jog to get us in the mood for a tough fight. We came in second in Heat 2 and therefore qualified for the Final. However, rain cut short the event and we did not have the chance to show our mettle in the Final. Even though we did not win based on timing, I saluted Nancy and Khee Peng for their tenacity. A lesser soul like me would have sought the easier way out by combining with another division to form the staff Dragon Boat team. At the end of the day, it is still more meaningful to form our own team however hard it is, as we would be rowing for ECE.
I am the parachuted-in captain who did not know much about Dragon Boat race. I learnt a lot in the process, from YouTube, Chong Kit, Karthikeyan, Kee Long, Nan Bun, etc. Khee Peng is the real captain and figure head. My role is that of a sergeant.
 I want to express a big Thank You to the ECE Management for their support and encouragements besides the other goodies like T-shirt, lunch and drinks.

Scones and English tea at Suzie’s house

I followed my wife and daughter to bake with our friends on 26 Oct. With so many girls in the kitchen, it was too hot for me so I stayed in the living hall, watching TV instead. After a while, Carol came to me and showed me her Facebook. She had just uploaded pictures of their freshly baked scones and almost immediately it received many ‘Likes’.  Now I really know the meaning of Social Influence.

ICM (Infocomm & Media) Horizons 2013 conference

I have attended the ICM Horizons 2013 conference on 9 Oct and I was quite impressed with how the South Korean convert wall space to shopping space:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJVoYsBym88&feature=youtu.be

Kiva system where the items go to the man instead of the usual way round.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr6Rco5A9SM&feature=youtu.be

NP-YEP Cambodia March '14

Baray District, Phnom Penh

Work

Play

Click here for presentation slides on YEP Cambodia (PowerPoint).

Click here for Application Form.
Click here for PSEA Form.
Click here for slide for YEP Timeline.

25 March (Tue) to 7 Apr 2014 (Mon)
Baray District, Phnom Penh

Interested? Contact us:

lck2@np.edu.sg (Mr. Low CK, x6189)

tcs22@np.edu.sg (Mr. Tey CS Billy, x7535)
Host: http://khmerhomestaybaray.com/
The cost is $510 at 50% subsidy and it includes all airfare, meals, accommodation and cultural visits at Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. Participants must to take part in all planned activities; there is no opting out!

ECE Cycling Day (29 August '13)

Start-End Point

Cycling Trail

Sunny smile.

Click here for more pictures.
We thank God for the wonderful weather: no haze, no rain on 29 August '13. On our way to Punggol Park from NP at around 1:25pm, the sky opened up and it poured dogs and cats at Hougang and Ang Mo Kio. I could hear some of our staff already making plan B: checking out the nearest coffee shop with their smart phones.  Amazingly, it was completely dry at Punggol. As the coach turned from Buangkok Drive into Hougang Ave 10, we were so happy to see Khee Peng and Director waiting for us there.
We have 104% attendance because Dr. Lee NH joined us in the last minute made possible by Jiun Pink who volunteered to use his own bike. As the last man, I don’t get to see much action but I could see that Dr. Li Yan, Leh Ee and Yeow Whatt are very comfortable on the 2-wheeler.
Along the bicycle trail, we shared stories that we would probably never do in our normal day-to-day routine. We stopped at Punggol Point Park (bus no. 84 goes there) to give our bum a break and take in the view of the Johor Strait and Serangoon Island. At Lorong Halus Wetland, we learnt how the government overcame the problem of having a former landfill just next to the reservoir.

Some asked me to compare this trip to the Bukit Lambak trip that I organized last year. The Lambak trip is easier to organize, the only problem is getting the 3 quotes and after that, the selected agent handed all the details.  For this trip, we have to go through all the processes of buying the snack, arranging the transport and paying for the bikes.

Cost:
Cereal bar: $80.25
Bike and helmet rental: $486 (Glen and Jiun Pink used their own bikes)
Transport: about $100
Drinks: leftover from the Runners' Relay + from ECE general office
Total number of participants: 28+1

Contact: Joe Chua, HP: 96440180
Email: jcauto180@gmail.com
Address: Jomando Adventure & Recreations
Punggol Park, Hougang Avenue 10

Opening hours for Jomando Adventure & Recreations
Thursday / Friday: 2 to 8pm
Sat / Sunday / P. Holiday: 9am to 8pm
Close on Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday

Refrigerator Door Alarm Project

This video was created to inspire students taking the 'Refrigerator Door Alarm' project in the Fundamentals of Electronics. Click here.

NetRiders' Competition 2013

Date: 30 Sep 2013, Monday
Time: 1030 to 1700 hours
Venue: Nanyang Polytechnic
Form teams of 2 NSS students who will work jointly on answering theory questions (MCQ and fill in the blanks) and practical using Packet Tracer.
Attractive prizes and refreshment from Cisco Systems.
NP Wind Breakers for top 2 teams from NP (this is on top of the prizes from Cisco).
CCA points for all participants.
Results: Lau Kok Tiong and Dorwin Yang Junwen came in 9th.

NP Runners' Relay 2013 (19 July)

Click here for more photos.
Team A led from start to finish. Alan grabbed the pole position and never looked back, he pulled ahead with a yawning gap from the rest, Sze KL stretched it farther, Mark Wong a bit more, Chee Yuen even more.  Zekun ran like crazy so that Liu Qi will have an easier time, Billy the 7th runner was competing against the other 6th runners.  He almost overtook me (6th runner in team B) at the finishing point. Team A won in a record time of 37+ min. For the record, this is the first time we managed to retain our title. Well done, ECE! This calls for celebration.
Team A: Alan, Sze KL, Mark Wong, Zekun, Chee Yuen, Liu Qi, Billy (Wai Sing, reserve)

Team B played the catch-up game like what Team A did last year by putting the lady runner ahead in the running order. The strategy worked beautifully. When you chase and overtake a fellow competitor, you will feel a sense of focused energy and a surge of adrenalin as you pass that person. I have my kicks.
We ran our guts out and came in fifth. Do you know what? There are only 5 prizes in the staff category and we got the last one! We are so grateful and thankful.
Team B: Ong TS, Janet Goh, Ong MT, Calvin, Khee Peng, Chee Kin, Yang Yu. (Jen Hong, reserve)

We won because we have the 3 elements of success on our side:
1. 天时: Zekun and Liu Qi are leaving us next month. Had the timing been against us, we would lose 2 key members. Billy and Teck Soon will not be available had the race been postponed a week later.
2. 地利: We are physically closest to the running track compared to all other divisions so it is easy for us to hold training.
3. 人和: We banded together to bring glory to our division.
Team A has its strong foundation in Team B and Team B benefited from the overflow of talent from Team A. Teck Soon and Yang Yu can easily replace any Team A member (other than the lead and anchor runners) with minimum impact.

Many thanks to our supporters:
Wei Lian, our cheer leader, camera lady, store keeper
Wai Sing: team 1 lap time keeper
Jen Hong: team 2 lap time keeper
Amanda, Kou LP, Eric Koh, Chua KC, Yang Yu's wife: camera man
Boon Kee: cheer leader and prize handler

The power of Yoga

My running speed and stamina have been declining over the years. From my youth where I chased 2.4 km under 9 min (never succeed) to struggling just to go under 10 min and before I knew it, I was even happy when I could clock under 11 and then 12.
After the last campus run, I noticed I slowed down significantly. I have to seriously push myself just to go under 13 min. I even began to accept it as part of my aging. Recently and for the first time, I was able to reverse the decline. My secret? Yoga.
At my wife’s urging, I signed up for a Yoga class with her. The package is not cheap and I struggled. I realized that I did not practice what I preached. I always say beside God, my health and my relationship with my wife takes precedence over all others. But in real life, I put money ahead of them.
Ever since the first Yoga class, I have not regretted the decision. I fall in love with my wife all over again and I am courting her every day.  Now I am back to challenging the 12 min barrier and spending time with my wife. It is money well spent.

Cisco NetAcad Partner Meeting 2013 at Bali, Indonesia, 30-31 May

I was quite nervous actually. This is my first time that I attended such a conference and most people were strangers to me. I should have taken my time to show off the examples that we had. Poor time management on my part. I was given half an hour and I did not make the most out of it.
Nonetheless, I am very thankful to Cisco Systems for giving me the opportunity to speak in such an important conference. It is an honour and a very good experience for me. I hope the same for my counterparts in the other institutions.