Let's Rejoice

Laos (25 Dec, Day 8)

2012-01-03T10:51:00.000+08:00

Luang Prabang to Vietiane

Luang Prabang Airport

Auyong's 2007 YEP Project

Co-operative Orthotic & Prosthetic Enterprise

A very sobering experience.

Wet Market

Laos (Dec 24, Day 7)

2012-01-03T09:08:00.003+08:00

Setting up stalls early in the morning.

Giving alms.

Our guesthouse.

We had breakfast here.

Noodle soup with extra veg at no extra cost.

Going to Pa Ow Cave.

Whisky Village

Tapioca cracker. This tastes better than frying in oil.

Groundnut.

Pa Ow Cave.

It is very dark here. Lucky we have torch.

Kuang Xi Waterfall

First time I see waterfall with such color.

It is the limestone that gives the water a distinct color.

Tarzan and Jane in Kuang Xi

Must bring your swim wear.

And give yourself enough time to enjoy this place.

Hmong Village

More temple.

Poinsettia Flower

Sumptuous dinner.

Laos (23 Dec, Day 6)

2012-01-02T15:34:00.001+08:00

View from our hotel.

Choice of western or Laotian breakfast.

It is still cold inside the building.

Site 1 (nearest to town & best of the 3 sites)

Running round the jars Bollywood style.

This is the largest jar.

This cave distinguishes this site from the rest.

The cave has 3 holes on the ceiling: 2 man-made and 1 natural.

Outside the entrance were fallen rocks because of bombings.

This jar has a lid on.

Bomb crater. This is the most bombed area in the world.

Ant nest. The locals love to eat their eggs.

Xiang Khuoang to Luang Prabang (7 hr drive).

Phonesavanh Minivan station

I was surprised to find clean toilets here.

Pine wood for sale.

Halfway mark.

Lunch break.

Market Place.

Mountain rat.

Minivan to tuk tuk

Up on Puisi Hill.

Night Market

Tilapia & roasted pork for dinner

Rather tight here.

Laos (22 Dec, Day 5)

2012-01-02T12:01:00.002+08:00

Breakfast

Porridge with You Tiao

Monks going around for alms.

Stayed here for the night. Come free with loud music.

Peter Tan

Justin & Ting Feng

Vietiane to Xiang Khuoang

Lunch at Vietiane Domestic Airport

Xiang Khuoang Airport

11 km of very bumpy road to site 3

Plain of Jar Site 3

Mine Advisory Group (walk on the white side)

Site 2

Mine Advisory Group (walk between white tiles)

This tree grew from the jar and burst it in the process.

This lid has a human figure on it.

Our guide

Lawn bowling is popular here.

2-pin plug, 230V

Dinner with huge servings.

Laos (21 Dec, Day 4)

2012-01-01T17:29:00.002+08:00

Stand
up meeting with the principal

For posterity

Peter (left most)

Un-husked rice storage

Selling charcoal by the roadside

Rice storage & Ma Si House

Wood is being burnt inside this concealed hole to make charcoal.

Use water to cool the furnace cover otherwise it might crack and the wood will become ashes.

Charcoal are made from these logs.

Vang Vieng (RR site)

Very loud music, drinking & possibly drugs.

Tubing.

Kayaking

Very tempting.

Hot air balloon floating in the city.

Lying down is cool here.

When in Rome do as the Romans do.

I actually prefer to sit when I eat.

Community Hall (YEP project but unused)

Unused because of politics.

Glass bottles are used to channel light into the community hall.

Vang Vieng Hospital

Rubbish bit made from tire.

The 3 boys were not playing, they were working!

They swam out to drag in the tubers. They were shivering from the evening cold.

We saw thousands of bats flying out from the cave.

Many pubs here are manned by Caucasians.

For free food & accommodation.

Possibly cheap drugs.

Drugs seem to be easily available.

Spoil for choice of food

Korean steam boat.

Die die must try.

We enjoyed it thoroughly.

Laos (20 Dec PM, Day 3)

2011-12-31T23:41:00.002+08:00

Ma Si serving glutinous rice

I liked the center dish best

Tapioca cracker (kie mun do)

Tak Tak

Going to Village Chief's turnip farm

Village Chief in the driver seat

Trust her to bring us down here

Better do it together

Enjoying the ride after getting used to the fume

Turnip farm near Nam Song River

The locals are expert at using knives

The locals eat turnips like we eat apple

Village chief can swim

Can use this boat to go across for picnic

Best of pal

A5-1 Wet market (1 hour south of PS)

Prices are lower in the early morning. Since you can wake up late, you can also pay more.

The floor is wet and dirty

Dried pepper

Tilapia & catfish

A child sleeping blissfully

A river too wide even for a van to cross.

A vehicle ferry to the rescue

This floating platform can carry up to 3 salons

This huge platform is driven by a small propeller

24/7 service

Expect to pay more when the sky gets dark

Inner village school

It is late afternoon & the children have nowhere to go.

Classroom with Christmas decorations.

Students carrying sickle in school.

The sickle is very versatile. It can double up as an axes or as a knife.

They hacked with power.

Going to explore a cave

Stalactites

It is quite cooling inside the cave.

Stop by the driver's home.

Not exactly a sliding door (this is a toilet).

This house has a magnificent view.

Preparing for Baci.

Baci ceremony in progress.

A thank you ceremony.

Ting Feng.

Laos (20 Dec AM, Day 3)

2011-12-30T15:16:00.002+08:00

Vieng Sa Vanh Primary School

Project Site

Tuckshop

Mural by CHIJ

Lower Primary (Background is Mt Mert)

P1 & 2 are in the same classroom

Early Christmas for the children

Toilet

Water tank with proper filtration

Construction Plan

Mr Pong

School Field

Cannot communicate

Very disciplined

NUS students in PS

Village weaver

Output rate is 2m per day

Shuttle

Farmer's tractor

Temple

Village Water Tank

Village tailor

Sample Cloth

Traditional kitchen (tailor's house)

Laos (19 Dec 2011, Day 2)

2011-12-30T14:04:00.001+08:00

Dragon Lodge

Soup noodle for breakfast

Dessert (maize, BBQ banana, glutinous rice)

That Luang

That Laung

Victory Gate of Vietiane

5th of 7 levels

Very Straight roads

Shopping Mall

Laos Fried Rice

Charcoal fire stove in an air-con mall

Alliance International Medical Center

Maria Teresa Hospital

Hinheub Hospital

Vietiane to Pong Song

Pong Song Village

Floor plan of Ma Si's house (level 1)

Ma Si 's house

The guys will take over this area

It is very dark here at night

Mr Pong's house

Behind Mr Pong's house: Nam Song River

The NUS team stayed in Mr Pong's house

Laos (18 Dec 2011, Day 1)

2011-12-29T14:44:00.001+08:00

Singapore & Laos

Laos

Pong Song Village

Laos Airlines (Video but no headset)

Choice of pasta or chicken rice

Vietiane Airport

Noodle Stall outside Dragon Lodge

My 1st Laos meal

Ting Feng, Justin & us

Dragon Lodge Reception

Queen-size bed, attached bathroom + TV

Air-con to boot

Batam (26 Oct, Deepavali)

2011-12-27T11:14:00.000+08:00

Lunch at Golden Prawn. Live seafood.

The layer cakes here are made to order. Very fresh and tasty.

WD & WK go karting

Benny's Wedding at Raffles Marina (15 Oct)

2011-12-26T21:31:00.001+08:00

ECE YEP March '12

2011-11-10T09:26:00.002+08:00

The SoE-ECE division is organising 3 YEP trips to Laos(Vientiane), Vietnam(Hue) and China(Yunnan) during the March '12 vacation. Miss Auyong and I will be leading the Laos YEP. For more information see:
China YEP
Laos YEP
Vietnam YEP
Application form

Eureka 2011

2011-11-01T12:45:00.001+08:00

ECE ran an event called Eureka 2011 on 25 Oct 2011, Tuesday. We invited some secondary school students to our campus for some fun competition. I was very impressed by a group of girls from SCGS. They were obviously very intelligent. I was manning a Jeopardy (Trivia game quiz) booth as part of the fringe events.
When this group of 6 girls came to my booth, I divided them into 2 groups, 3 against 3, to play the game. The leader of one of the groups was very interesting. I don't know her name, let's called her Mary. She was able to come up with very good distractor to confuse her competitors.
Let me give you an example. It was her competitors' turn to answer and their question was to identify a device and it was a Linksys wireless router.
Mary's opponent said, "Linksys."
I said, "No, that is the company."
She said. "I know. I know."
I could see her thoughts converging and the answer is going to come up anytime. But just before the connection could be made. Mary prompted, "Modem".
Her competitor retorted, "No, it is not modem." She went on repeating it a few times. I could see the agony on her face as she was thrown off balanced by Mary.
In the end, Mary won comfortably. I was so impressed by her that I offered to let her choose any of the NP souvenirs. Then came surprise number two. She scanned the collection of colorful highlighters, CD albums and shoe bags; shook her head and said, " I have no need for any of them." She started to suggest to her friend, "You play squash, you might need a shoe bag."
I am very impressed with this little girl because she is way ahead of me in coming up with good distractors ( a skill I needed to come up with good MCQ) and her maturity: she goes for needs not wants.

YEP Leadership Training II at Pulau Ubin, 1-2 Oct 2011

2011-10-08T21:31:00.000+08:00

Other than sandflies, sitting and sleeping on wooden floor, I love the Pulau Ubin experience. It was so intense that I am still thinking about it long after the trip.

YEP Leadership Training at Civil Service College, 24-25 Sep 2011

2011-10-08T21:18:00.000+08:00

Malacca 2011

2011-09-26T08:13:00.001+08:00

Baba House: never choose to stay in windowless unit. It is like sleeping in an air-con store room. I made the mistake and have to endure breathing in my own exhausted air. In the end, we did not enjoy the trip as much as we should.

8 Sept 2011, Malacca

2011-09-13T10:43:00.001+08:00

Runners' Relay 2011

2011-07-30T17:21:00.000+08:00

On 29 July 2011, we were on unfamiliar territory. We finished sixth out of twelve staff teams in the Runners' Relay. As far as I could remember this was our worst performance in the race history. From the start, we were plagued by older runners not willing to run for one reason or another and young ones not stepping forward. We have more female than male runners. On the actual race day, we could only find exactly six men, anything less we could not even field a team!

Granted that as we aged, speed started to desert us and we shy away from competition of the physical kind. But when you trained for speed you would re-discover the joy of having a youthful spring in your feet. With that, you could climb mountains, hike to the end of the world, and run the Marathon and all those things that you had wanted to do before you called it quit.

Looking forward, I invite all of you to come down to the NP track and field every Wednesday, 5 pm. You will run 2.4 km at your own pace. Hopefully, the presence of the other runners will spur you to better timing and a fitter you. Yes, we will train starting from now and for every week.

I hope to see the day where people will fight for a place to be in team 1 for ECE. The ECE Road Warriors will then rise again like the phoenix out of the ashes.

Cisco Networking Academy Activities

2011-06-28T10:17:00.003+08:00

24 Jun (Fri)
Cisco Instructor Re-tooling
Singapore Polytechnic
T932

12 Aug (Fri)
Cisco Academy Council Meeting
ITE College Wst

Climbing Mt Kinabalu 16 June '11

2011-06-27T10:38:00.012+08:00

Mt K Summit Trail

Day 0. Preparation at Mt K Nature Park
15th June ’11, Wednesday, 3:30 pm, raining, wet and miserable
Venue: Rock Hostel
There was an electric water heater at Rock Hostel, so we could have boiled as much water as we needed. However, being kiasu, we bought too much water on the way here and they have to be stored away in the Nature Park HQ. We packed our stuff into A, B and C.
‘A’ for stuff that we carry ourselves
‘B’ for stuff that porters carry for us
‘C’ for stuff that were to be locked away at the Nature Park HQ

High spirit at Timpohon Gate.

Day 1. Climb: Going to the mid-point
16th June ’11, Thursday, 9 am, Timpohon Gate (1866m) --> Laban Rata --> Lagadan (3272m)
Distance to cover: 6 km
Altitude gain: 1406 m
This is my third climb up Mount Kinabalu. The weather was perfect for climbing during my first climb. The only extra-ordinary thing was the very strong cold wind near the summit. For the first time in my life, I felt cold and hot simultaneously. Hot on the side that the sun was blazing on while cold on the other side the wind was blowing at. In my second climb, there was a constant drizzle on the way from Lagadan Hut to the summit and back. This time, it rained the moment we stepped out of Timpohon Gate at 9:02 am.

Drenched to the core.

We ate and drank to reduce our load.

Wei Dong spotted his mother.

We ate and drank one shelter before our lunch point which was at Layang Layang, not because we were hungry or thirsty but to reduce our load. I told my daughter that I would wait for her at every shelter. Unfortunately, it was too cold to wait at the last two shelters before Laban Rata. Wei Kang and I reached the restaurant at 1:56 pm. To my surprise, we were the first among the 18 climbers to reach the rendezvous point.

Happy reunion at Laban Rata

Later, Auyong LS accompanied Wen Hsi into Laban Rata. Wei Dong followed soon after. As I was getting worried about Jia Le, I put on my gears to go and fetch her. Just as I stepped out of the hut, I saw, to my great relief, You Tong bringing Jia Le in. Soon the rest started streaming in. Everyone was in the restaurant by 4 pm.

We paid the porters at Laban Rata and they carried the stuff and locked them up in my dormitory at Lagadan Hut. We ate buffet dinner the moment it started serving at 4:30 pm for we wanted to go to our hut to rest as soon as possible. The rain subsided a bit after 5 pm and the guides led us to Lagadan Hut which is 200m farther up from Laban Rata. Supper which consisted of fried noodle would be served at the next morning at 2:00 am but we were unwilling to go down 200 m and then come up again for the summit. The guides were kind enough to bring bread in lieu of the supper from the restaurant to us.

At Lagadan, I inserted the batteries to the headlights only to find one faulty set among the six that I have. It was not a major problem as I could always borrow a headlight from other climbers who were not climbing the summit. It turned out that I don’t even have to do that as my daughter opted out.

13 brave souls took on the summit.

Day 2 Climb: Scaling the summit
17 June ‘11, Friday, 2:20 am, Lagadan Hut (3272m) --> Low’s Peak (4095m)
13 out of the 18 climbers took the challenge to scale the summit. The 13 climbers were divided into 3 teams; a guide would look after each team. My two sons, Auyong LS and I were led by mountain guide, Jacob. I was a bit concern for my younger son as he seemed to be a bit off. I chatted up with him. His reply: “I did not hike for 5 hours to sleep here.”

Good weather in the beginning
(L-R Siew Hoon & Siew Geck).

The mission is simple: To reach the summit by 6 am to catch the sunrise.
Distance to cover: 2.7 km
Altitude gain: 823m
The weather was fine for the first half kilometer but it started to rain after that. Fortunately, it was not the pouring type, we could still press on. I brought along the thermal flask from NP D&D 2010 and I was very appreciative of the warm water in such freezing condition. The condensation on my glasses was so bad that I could see better without the glasses. Around the half mark, I kept my glasses away.

After Sayat Sayat Hut, the terrain was mainly bare slippery rocks. I started slipping despite having expensive waterproof Columbia hiking boots. It seemed that a kind of stubbed shoes which cost 7 to 9 ringgit a pair, the local fondly called Kampong Adidas gripped better than most branded shoes. Under our headlights, we could see only black and white. Given a choice, always stepped on the white because white meant dry while black meant the surface was wet with water. Being wet was not a problem, what we feared was the slippery moss that grew on the rocks.

Poncho was not effective at Mount Kinabalu. It was supposed to cover everything including the backpack. However, the wind here was so strong that half the time the poncho was flying in the mid-air obstructing one’s vision and allowing rainwater to get into your body. It got worse when we have to climb on all fours because we would step on the poncho more often than not. Raincoat is better as it fit the body more closely. The only catch is that we need to bring along a rain cover for the backpack.

In spite of the adverse conditions, we did better than our guide’s expectation. We were 10 m away from the summit at 5:33 am when unexpected delays started popping up, one after another. I literally kick-started the series of events. My headlights have 3 elastic bands that strapped it to my head and the right band snapped suddenly. I halted the team so that they would wait for me while I fixed the problem. My fingers were so stiff then that I could not fix the problem. Finally, out of desperation, I used the 2 of remaining bands to hold the headlights. It suited me fine so I waved the team to move on. Next my eldest son complaint that his shoe laces came off, we stopped for him. Under the freezing condition, tying the shoe laces is quite a challenge. We waited quite a while for him. I only knew much later that he did not manage to tie his shoe laces, he merely tucked them away.

When he was done, Auyong LS asked me to adjust her hood which I did, and then her shoe laces also came loose. She took off her gloves to tie her shoe laces only to find problem putting the gloves on again. When we were all ready for our final charge, I could feel a surge of adrenaline rushing through my body. I climbed like Spiderman (no rope) to the summit and reached it before 5:45 am.

At the summit, the weather cleared up a little bit, I saw the sun glowed for 1 or 2 seconds and then covered by dark cloud. We took some pictures hastily and descend on another path parallel to the climbers who are making their way up. Even though we could not see the sun, the sky has brightened up so much that we do not need the headlights anymore. Along the way down, Wei Dong spotted his mother from afar and encouraged her to press on. Without my glasses, I could not see my own wife. Anyway, I blindly shouted some encouragements across.

The reward for coming back early is a buffet breakfast at Laban Rata but I chose to stay back at Lagadan Hut to collect all the room keys and handed over the ‘B’ stuff to the porters. The first group of climbers led by Auyong LS proceeded the descend at about 8:15 am. By the time I finished my breakfast, it was already 10:30 am. The sky began to clear up and the sight was magnificent – cloud hovering below us, farther away, we could see tea plantations, farm and different shades of green and blue.

Wei Dong, Wei Kang, Chee Kin & Auyong LS at the summit at 5:45 am

My wife (top) and her sister at the summit at 6:44 am.

Team 3 at 4008 m, time unknown.

Just as I was enjoying myself, I suddenly realized that the lunch coupon was still with me. The first group of climbers would need it if they were to have lunch at Balsam Restaurant. I tried in vain to call and SMS Auyong LS. I tried to catch up with her. It was a mistake as I could not make it and I left my wife behind.

First group to descend.

Leung NB, the hero, bringing the ladies back.

Siew Hoon & Siew Geck struggling to come down the bus.

At the Balsam restaurant, we had anxious moments as we heard that the last group of climbers has 3 injured persons including my wife. Leung NB was the hero of the day. He helped Lian Huay, Mooi Ping and my wife while the 3 mountain guides help Peck Seng who has more serious problems. It was already 6:25 pm when they reached the Timpohon Gate.

We tipped the guides and porters for their good work and for their overtime. We even gave the guides the lunches that we packed for the climbers since we are going to have dinner soon at Sabah Tea Gardens.

Reflections
This was the first time that I organized a holiday trip with people outside my family. The reward of having friends on a trip is that even the side tours were more enjoyable because of the company. I have organized trips for students before. It was a lot simpler then as they followed a standard program as I told them that they either followed my entire program or none at all. Here we have people coming in earlier, some halfway, some wanted to do only certain things; the combinations were mind boggling.
A lot of things have changed since the last time I climbed the mountain. I never engaged porters in my previous climbs. This time, all the meals were catered for in the 3D2N climbing package. Previously, they only catered the dinner and breakfast at Laban Rata and the portions were so small that we have to top up ourselves. The food this time was good and served in buffet style but it also meant that it would be out of reach for most school expeditions because of the inflated cost.

A friend asked me, “So what pushed you on to the summit when it was dark, cold and wet?”
It was my goal to see the sunrise that drove me on. For Wei Kang, he did not want to turn back alone.

The only reason why I would climb the mountain again is to company my daughter up to the summit if she so decide.

Once a reporter asked a mountaineer who has just scaled Mount Everest, “How do you feel now that you have conquered Mount Everest?”
“I did not conquer Mount Everest. The mountain cannot be conquered. What I conquered is the limitations that are within me.”
Mount Everest is twice as high as Mount Kinabalu but the lesson is the same. I will not let age be my limiting factor; I will want to realize my fullest potential.

Back in Singapore, the first contrasting impression is the general cleanliness of the city. Comparatively, Singapore is amazing clean, even in remote corners of the street. Malaysia has abundantly more resources than Singapore yet we are able to achieve more. What counts is not that we have the best of things but instead we make the best use of whatever things we have.

Cost breakdown:

Climbing fee: RM980/pax for 3 day 2 night + food, meals, guide & transport
RM40/pax/nite x 5 = RM200 at City Park Lodge
Sabah Tea = RM195/pax
Mari Mari + Klias River = RM260/pax

Sundown Marathon 2011, May 28 -- My first Marathon

2011-05-29T14:29:00.007+08:00

I thank God for the fine weather that enabled me to fulfill one of my lifelong dreams – to run a Marathon. I wanted the experience: the pain, the training and to inspire my children and students. My Qigong lessons at NP gave me the confidence to take up the challenge. Through it, I knew how to train myself without getting unnecessary injuries.
Before the race, the longest distance that I have ever run continuously was 20.2 km which took me 2 hours and 13 minutes. The Marathon distance of 42.195 km is more than twice my own personal record. I was banking on the support from the race organizers to realize my dream.

The full Marathon flag off was at 10pm and I left my house at Clementi at 7pm. Under normal circumstances, the trip will take no more than 2 hours and I would have an hour to catch up with my friends and students. I stood for more than an hour in our notoriously overcrowded MRT. But the worst was yet to come. The shuttle service from Singapore Expo to the race site at Changi Exhibition Center was jammed packed too. Nobody minded as the ferry was moving at a brisk pace until it got caught in the earlier races which caused the traffic to come to a standstill.
I stood in the bus for close to 2 hours and naturally I was late for the start of the race. I was frustrated that the organizers did not learn from last year experience which was widely reported. I dropped off my bag, a quick warm-up and off I went. As far as individual race timing is concerned, it should not be a problem as everyone has his own start time registered electronically.
Lesson 1: Must be at the race site before the start of the very first race. The 10 km race started at 6pm. How to?

Soon I caught up with the slower runners. I made the first mistake: I should have skipped the first hydration point as this stop caused me to be bunched up with a huge crowd moving at a snail pace. At 7 km, I tried to snake my way out. The maneuverer was too much for my knees, I could feel cramp coming to my left calf. Fortunately, the next hydration point was just around the corner, I took the opportunity to queue up for my drink and to rest. As I wanted to rest more than I was thirst, I queued up patiently for my drink. I could see that this hydration station like the one before it, was not able to cope with the runners’ demand especially for the 100+ drink. The scene was not a pretty sight to witness – temper flared, some even banged table.

I drank 100+ for the salt. 100+ is a gassy drink which caused me to burp and I need more time for my stomach to settle in so I avoided it.
Lesson 2: Bring you own salt tablet and skip the 100+.

There are many overtaking along the way. Whenever, somebody tried to overtake me, I would tell myself to relax and let him overtake, this will prevent a vicious competition that will hurt both runners. Similarly, when I want to overtake someone, I will also relax, if my slower pace is still faster than the other runner, I will overtake.

I was in this 'slow and long distance' mode so I felt good for most of the time until at the 36 km mark. I began to feel the strain. Despite putting in a lot of effort, I was not progressing as much as I thought. I was crawling until the last 2 km when I caught my wind. But that stretch was also one of the most poorly lit areas. We were literally running in the dark. As I crossed the finishing line, the giant clock stood at 5:56. I will need to go to the website to get the final corrected timing.

I must thank Jun Wei for inspiring me to take up this challenge. He reasoned that we are given about 9 hours to complete the run. On the average, we need only clock 5km/hr. With that, I started training in early January 2011. Before 2011, I used to run about 2km everyday quite regularly. My legs almost cramped when I pushed myself to do 5km on my first training. I was tempted to give up at various points in the process but thank God I pulled through.

My wife and I saw her NIE lecturer running the Marathon. Age is not the only wow factor for him, he is legally blind! And he finished the race.

I heard a saying that goes like this: "There is no greater sorrow than regret".
Yes, no regrets for me.
Updated timing: 5 hr 44 min
Close to 10000 ran the full Marathon.
7637 completed the race and I was the 2812th finisher.

IP2URL Freeware from NP-NSS

2011-05-28T09:06:00.003+08:00

As part of NSS outreach program, we have developed a program to allow parents to find out which websites their children visited. I have uploaded the program to my Dropbox public folder:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/11410327/IP2URL.zip
or http://tinyurl.com/3ggw6om
Unzip the downloaded file and you will find 4 files. The main program is called IP2URL.exe which needs Internet connection to work. If you need help, there is a readme document.

IP2URL is a freeware, please feel free to distribute it.

NP-ECE Graduation 2011 -- 25 May

2011-05-28T08:49:00.001+08:00

Cheng Chwee, Hao-ge, Low Chee Kin , Cheng Han Chua , Jason Toh Kah Chee , Lin Xin, Ler Ze Chen , Jingwen Chen @NSS Iconic Lab

ECE Book Prize Presentation, 11 May 2011

2011-05-11T18:03:00.001+08:00

Very Funny Opposition Posters

2011-04-28T14:06:00.000+08:00

http://www.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?90520-rise-of-nicole-seah

Cisco Academy Conference (Singapore)

2011-04-13T13:34:00.003+08:00

Dinner at La Cantina @ Changi Village Hotel, 7 April 2011

Good Web Sites

2011-03-14T13:30:00.005+08:00

wolfram alpha
qwiki
5 loaves and 2 fishes by Corrine May.
http://www.jrsbible.info/bible.htm (Bible in a page)
Google Tan Sri (Dr) Francis Yeoh of YTL

Habits of Mind

2011-02-25T11:48:00.000+08:00

Click here for more photos.

NP D&D 18 Feb at Carlton Hotel

2011-02-22T15:11:00.000+08:00

Cisco Academy Council CNY Lunch at Seafood Paradise @ Singapore Flyer -- 18 Feb

2011-02-21T10:39:00.000+08:00

Qigong CNY Lunch at NP Alumni ClubHouse -- 15 Feb

2011-02-21T10:36:00.001+08:00

CNY Visitation

2011-02-07T12:48:00.001+08:00

Click here for more photos.

Christian CNY greetings

2011-02-07T10:58:00.001+08:00

祝你:
新年蒙恩

愛主更深

Mini Calendar 2011

2010-10-24T15:08:00.009+08:00

2011 New Year resolutions:
1. Sundown Full Marathon, 28 May. Target: completion
2. Climb Mt Kinabalu with family. Target: If weather permits, the whole family.
3. Remain calm, come what may.

OpenNet Coverage Check
https://rollout.opennet.com.sg/signups/postcode

NSS Student Internship:
  March (15 Mar 2011 - 6 Aug 2011)
  September 2011 (5 Sep 2011 - 20 Jan 2012

22 Sept 2011, NetRiders' Competition, Venue: SP

World Skill Competition
IT Network Systems Adminstration
  Recruitment Jan 2011
  Qualifying round Sept 2012.
  Singapore final Nov 2012
  World Competition, Germany, Jul 2013

Melissa's Wedding

2010-10-08T08:46:00.000+08:00

Melissa's Wedding

Hill House

14 Sept 2010

NetRiders' Competition 2010

2010-10-07T13:35:00.000+08:00

Click here for more photos.
1 Oct 2010
ITE College West

PPP & OSC Farewell Lunch

2010-10-04T11:10:00.001+08:00

Mon, 20 Sep
Guilin Restaurant, HomeTeamNS @ Bukit Batok

Another reason why I practice Qigong

2010-06-28T17:17:00.001+08:00

19 June, Saturday, my family and I hiked up Bukit Timah. It is a family ritual; we do it every Saturday morning. While going up the 184-step at the Jungle Fall Track, my youngest son who was leading the pack, stopped to take a breather. To his surprise, I walked passed him without having to take a rest. He was very surprised because I could maintain my fitness despite a 5-day church camp at KL. We ate buffet style at Saujana hotel and hardly break a sweat for 5 days. Most campers gained at least 2 kilograms each.
I must admit that I was also guilty of gluttony but I have one saving grace – Qigong. I practiced Qigong in my hotel room! Qigong is great: it does not require much space and I could do it within the confines of the room.

Mini Calendar 2010 Part II

2010-06-13T21:55:00.011+08:00

6-8 Jan 2011, NP Open House
10-14 Jan 2011, ECE e-Learning week

Good Videos

2010-06-03T13:42:00.002+08:00

Zac's story
http://www.cybersalt.org/inspiration/videos/5175

Photocopier -- a security risk
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6412572n&tag=contentMain;contentBody

Eureka! 2010

2010-05-14T13:05:00.001+08:00

Click here for more photos. Sixteen secondary schools sent in 58 teams to compete in the Mystery of the Body parts and Hovercraft Race in NP Convention Center, 29th March 2010. Presenting the NSS booth ...

Thinking Ahead

2010-05-08T15:34:00.003+08:00

While practicing qigong last Friday, a colleague injured her shoulder; creating a small commotion. She said it was an old injury. After the excitement died down, our principal asked if she could still drive. What impressed me was that he was thinking ahead for her when most of us were still fixated on the injury. I felt good. NP is in good hands.

Tian Mu Gong

2010-04-17T14:11:00.009+08:00

Click here for more photo.
This is an account of my experience with Tian Mo Gong, a form of traditional Qigong. The course was conducted by Mr Cheong, a former Permanent Secretary and assisted by Mr Wong. In the olden days, to be an official of some standing, he must be good at calligraphy. In Singapore today, it was the gift of the gab, Mr Cheong did not disappoint us. We were very thankful that he was so for he was able to explain Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) concepts that we could understand.
The exercises were broken down to simple steps and we were able to repeat them on our own. The first lesson focused on fifteen acupuncture points and a simple exercise. During the second lesson, I related to Mr Cheong about my sinus problem: for the past few weeks, I woke up with running nose and this coincided with the driest season (Feb 2010), Singapore has ever experienced since record keeping days. Because of the heat, I wore less to sleep but woke up catching a cold.
His advice was very simple – wear socks to sleep and massage two acupuncture points near the nose. But what I really appreciated was his explanation in TCM. The Yong Quan acupuncture points (at the bottom of the foot) need to be kept warm especially at night when the blood flows towards the liver and kidney for cleansing. This leaves the body vulnerable to external elements such as wind and dampness. Being an obedient student that I am, I followed his advice to the letter. Lo and behold, I do not have running nose since.
As we practiced a simple Qigong exercise in lesson three, I felt warmth in my hands that I only got to enjoy once in a while. This was very significant to me because I have cold hands and feet since young. I was told that my condition predisposed me to problem like gout (inflammatory joints especially at the body extremities). The reason is that the coldness facilitates mineral deposition at the joints and any area of wear and tear. My hands did fell warm once in a while but such times did not last and the frequency far in between. This time, it not only lasted but I knew how to repeat it.
Knowing that we are desk bound people, Mr Cheong taught us to massage certain acupuncture points to relief the stress on our back and eyes.
In lesson 4, we did a simple experiment and I felt qi for the first time in my life. It was very real, not a bit or maybe. When I first felt it, I was caught by surprise for I had not expected it. I was very happy for it answered the nagging question of the existence of qi. I knew for sure now.
We were introduced an acupuncture point, San Ying Jiao, on the lower leg, which related to three vital organs. When I massaged the right acupuncture point, I felt an excruciating pain but no such pain on the left point. The intensity of the pain is disproportional to the force applied. I examined the right leg for bruises but could not find any. This pain did not go away for the next couple of days. One interesting thing was that there was no pain when I massaged it right after my run. This showed that jogging was able to purge the blocked acupuncture point. Unfortunately, the effect did not last; it reverted to its blocked state not long after the run. I was very happy to note that after regular massages on the point, the pain was mostly gone.
I was held up in a meeting when it was time for our fifth lesson and only managed to get a glimpse of the last 15 minutes so I missed the health tips. In the sixth lesson, on top of the usual Tian Mo Gong, we learnt 3 ways of walking:
1. Lean slightly forward and walk. Land heel first and then roll onto the ball. Kick off with the ball and the toes.
2. Walking backward to strengthen neglected areas.
3. Walk on heels only to counter balance walking on high heels for ladies.
As I practiced the first method of walking, I found that it improved my running as well. I was able to run faster but my muscles also ached a bit more, probably because they were not used very much before. We learnt deep breathing exercises to purge stagnant air in our lungs and another exercise to massage our internal organs in the sixth lesson. On Mr Cheong advice, I am going to place a cactus plant next to my computer to absorb its radiation.

At the end of the basic course, I felt strong. I felt the same way too when I trained for events like IPPT or Project Nutz but the difference is in the past, at the peak of my strength, I felt vulnerable too. As I see my timings improving, I would push myself harder and harder. At some point, something would snap, I would sprain my ankle or came down with something unpleasant. I would be out of action for a while and the cycle repeated itself.
This time, nothing like that happens; the training was not hard, nothing to break. I feel I can stay in his state of strength for a longer period. The good news is this is not the end of the course, I am continuing the training.

Wisdom Tooth Extraction

2010-03-08T21:37:00.002+08:00

I had this throttling pain in my right upper wisdom tooth for about a month now. After 2 visits to the dentists, the pain persisted. I prepared myself for the worst – tooth extraction. I had pain killer last few days otherwise I cannot sleep or consume my meals.
Before going to the dentist, I intentionally took a pain killer an hour before to make sure I don’t have to suffer so much. But this turned out to be a bad mistake. The pain killer messed up the dentisit diagnosis because it masked out the sensation at the tooth. The dentist was not 100% sure which tooth to extract. She needed to guess.
I learned my lesson – let the professions do their work. The dentist was very professional: she used a numbing gel to mask out the pain of the injection. At the end, all I felt was some pressure on my jaw and the throttling pain was gone!

David Ling's response to the eatthatfrogmovie video

2010-03-01T16:34:00.005+08:00

I recommended a couple of my friends to watch this video: http://www.eatthatfrogmovie.com/index.html
This is David Ling's response which I find most humorous:
and two bottles of quality chillie sauce later ..
. . >glup< . .>choke< . . >cough< . . >wheeze< . .
er.. wud anyone like the remaining frog . . ? . . >choke< . .
;-)
ps. somebody should cook that frog first .. !!
pss. looks like vegetarian is the way t go ..
I wrote to David:
You must have picked up some Aussie humor along the way and I like it.
David wrote back: actually, I had Phua Chu Kang in mind .... ;-P
Thanks for the clip :-)

Steam Boat Dinner with NSS students

2010-03-01T13:43:00.002+08:00

Click here for more pictures.
I considered it an honor to be invited by my final year NSS students to have a dinner together. All I was asked to do was to wish them well and toast with them with “Huat Ah”! Thirteen of us including Kim Heng, ex-NSS student, bonded over a steam boat dinner near Bugis Junction on 26th Feb 2010. The steam boat business seemed to be dominated by mainland Chinese; I saw them everywhere I turned.
I liked Raymond’s recommendation of the soup – one side Laksa and the half herbal chicken soup. I have a weakness for Laksa but it can be too spicy for my throat at times so I avoid it during term time. That evening was the last day of the exam so I could have as much Laksa as I desired.
Our conversations focused mainly on army experiences as this is the next phase of their lives. I like one of the stories shared by Zhi Jie: In the army, we practice throwing live grenades. The drill involved pulling out the safety pin and hurling it while shouting “grenade”. But for this generation of army boys who grew up with Pokemon, the cry became “Pikachu, I choose you!”

'Best' CNY Greetings

2010-02-26T14:27:00.003+08:00

一本万利 Profitable

二龙腾飞 Rise like a phoenix

三牛开泰 Abundance

四季平安 Good Heath, safe and sheltered from disaster

五富临门 Opportunities knocking at the door

六六大顺 Unobstructed

七星高照 Blessed from above

八方来财 Good Fortune, Multi-income source

九九同心 Harmony

十全是美 Perfection

NUS 'cut-off' points

2010-02-08T09:21:00.001+08:00

The indicative grade profiles (IGP) of the 10th and 90th percentile of the students admitted into the various NUS courses in the last AY are now available publicly via http://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/gradeprofile/sprogramme-igp.html

Mini Calendar 2010

2010-01-16T15:22:00.004+08:00

Next family dinner location:

Pu Tien, #02-34, Jurong Point 1, tel 6795 2338

Year 2010
SoE INT, 1_2010, 15 Mar to 6 Aug

Netriders Challenge Singapore 2010, 1 Oct, Friday, ITE CCK (18 yr old by 31st Dec 2010)

ECE FIP, 13 - 14 April (Tue to Wed)
ECE FOC, 14 April to 16 Apr 2010
NP Teaching week: 19 Apr - 13 Jun 2010
Graduation: May 2010

YOG: 14 - 26 Aug

2010 Public Holiday
Good Friday 02-Apr-10
Labour Day 01-May-10, Sat (no make-up holiday)
Vesak Day 28-May-10
National Day 09-Aug-10
Hari Raya Puasa 10-Sep-10
Deepavali 05-Nov-10
Hari Raya Haji 17-Nov-10
Christmas Day 25-Dec-10

Cameron Highlands (18 – 22 Dec)

2009-12-24T17:56:00.003+08:00

Click here for more photos.

Day 1: Cameron Highlands was totally different from how I imagined it to be. I had this image of an idyllic farmland with miles and miles of greenery and fresh air. How wrong I was. As I alighted from the coach after more than 9 hours on the road, I noticed that Brinchang Town Central was choked with tour coaches and cars. The air was cold and heavy with the smell of petrol.

The white and yellow hybrid sweet corn is a must try. It is the sweetest maize that I have ever had. The Bird of paradise flower can last for 7 weeks! There are 7 flowers in one bud. After the first flower wither, remove it so that the next one can come out. Each flower is good for a week.

Day 2: Along the mossy trail near the highest peak in Cameron Highlands, I noticed a rope along a metal railing. Why would you need a rope and a railing at the same time, one of them would suffice. But very quickly, I realized the answer – the metal railing is very cold and uncomfortable to use when the weather is cold and wet. The rope is not so cold but the grip is not so firm.

When we rested to replenish ourselves, we had a good laugh at the inflated biscuit packs. My children loved lemon biscuit and we would bring these biscuit with us wherever we go. Due to the pressure difference (we were 2000 meter above sea level), the air pressure inside the biscuit plastic cover caused it to blow up like a puffer fish.

Day 3: From Brinchang to Tanah Rata via Jungle trail number 2, 3 and 4.

Trail number 2 was quite challenging, many a time, we needed to use all fours to get ourselves moving forward. While struggling, the children recalled their Bintang and OBS experience, I felt encouraged by them. My youngest son, in his free spirit manner, picked up a broken branch and used it as a magic wand and started ordering nature to bend over for his family.

Along the way, I came across a step that was higher than normal with a root in front of it. With one foot on the root, I balanced myself gingerly and then leapt across the step. Thinking that I used considerable skill and dexterity to clear this obstacle, I turned around to help my family. Just as I was about to stretch out my hand to my eldest son, he walked across the ‘obstacle’ like a flat ground. I was stunned. I saw it as a problem but apparently it was nothing to someone much taller. Conversely, he may not see any potential problem because it was a breeze to him.

Day 4: Day trip versus night trip

We went to Cameron Highlands by night and returned by day via coaches. I felt more comfortable travelling by day. The most irritating part about travelling by night was the flashes of light that swept past us as the coach sped on, making sleep very challenging.

Before going for holiday, it is wise to check if it is a public holiday in the foreign land. We were caught in endless traffic/human jam at Cameron Highlands.

I had always wished that Singapore could be cooler but my experience with Cameron Highlands proved me wrong. I would rather not sleep on a cold bed, brush my teeth in freezing water, lugged wind breaker wherever I go and have my sleep interrupted by howling wind

Sibu Kelong, 12 – 13 Dec: They should know.

2009-12-15T08:49:00.002+08:00

Click here for more pictures. At the Ah You Kelong, we slept on rows of double deckers like in an army barracks. On photograph, it looked more like a refugee camp. I was trying to ease myself to sleep on an upper deck reading the papers. My elder son was sleeping on a bed diagonally across me. As I was about to sleep, I noticed his cousin moving stealthily towards him. From the way he behaved, I could tell he was up to mischief, I tried to stop him and I said in a no uncertain voice not to disturb my son. Unbelievably, he continued. My son startled and shoved him off, asking him to go away in a stern voice.

On another occasion, a young boy dropped his slipper into the sea and unbelievably tried to retrieve it. That got the adults hopping mad as he might be swept off by the waves or bitten by sea snakes which are plentiful underneath the kelong. When I told my daughter about it, she responded, “He did it because he was only a child.”

I was not so convinced until at a casual talk. A colleague asked, “What would you do if you reel in a sea snake?” I was momentarily stunned. I would probably try to shake it off. My colleague was more insistence: What if it clings onto your rod and won’t let go?” Another colleague came to my rescue, “I will cut off the line.”

Well, what is second nature to some may not be common sense to others. Throughout our lives, we accumulate much wisdom and even take them for granted as if others should also know. At the risk of repeating myself, I would make it a point to say my piece to my charge in case they are not aware of it.

Sibu Kelong, 12 – 13 Dec: Green and White Baits

2009-12-15T08:46:00.002+08:00

The sea is unpredictable: December is in the middle of the monsoon season and it is supposed to be very choppy. One would imagine a lot of fish taking refuge at the kelong waiting for us to catch. However, this time round, it was very calm. There wasn’t much fish or at least they are not biting. In our last trip, the white artificial bait worked very well, bringing in a lot of Selar. But this time the green bait seemed to work better. To even the odds, I will get those that have alternate white and green baits.

NSS related links

2009-11-16T13:23:00.000+08:00

SoE Internship - VPN needed
http://soestaff.np.edu.sg

Internship Information
http://www.np.edu.sg/ss/internship/Pages/local.aspx

NSS Intranet Site
http://soe.np.edu.sg/nss

NSS Facebook Group
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ngee-Ann-PolyNetwork-system-and-security-cluster/65836194421?ref=ts

NSS Website
http://soe.np.edu.sg/nss/

NSS Modules Web Curriculum - VPN needed
http://isoe.np.edu.sg/isoe/ece/nss/Modules/

NSS Students Software - VPN needed
http://isoe.np.edu.sg/isoe/ece/nss/INT

NP "PEARLS" Grading System for CCA
http://mars.np.edu.sg/sdar/CCA/Index_CCA.html

Dip. in Network Systems and Security Prospectus
http://www.np.edu.sg/soe/courses/nss/Pages/nss.aspx

Cisco Academy Login
http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/netacad/index.html

Training Videos from Cisco Systems

2009-11-13T09:30:00.000+08:00

1. Introduction to Call Privilege Segmenting and describes the process for partitioning the Dial Plan and assigning calling search spaces to call-initiating entities using the Line/Device approach.
https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/docs/DOC-5446

There are two videos in this URL: https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/community/certifications/security_ccna
2. Site-to-Site VPNs: Cryptography Basics
3. Hardening Cisco IOS Devices

Useful Links

2009-11-11T08:55:00.004+08:00

New Degree Opportunities for Poly Graduates
www.SingaporeTech.edu.sg

YouTube - Education
http://www.youtube.com/education?b=400

The ultimate customer experience (this is cool)
http://www.cisco.com/web/SG/solutions/borderless/index.html

Cisco Networking Academy
Asia Pacific Academy Council Meeting and Workshop 2009
Singapore, 9-11 December
https://www.conveneit.com/secure/cisco/cnap_09/

Watch movies
http://ikan.pplive.com/

Sing Singapore
http://www.singsingapore.org.sg/songs.asp

The Singapore Song by Pastor Rony Tan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O67SyJiyzY

Pastor David Pawson
http://www.david-pawson.co.uk/

Adobe MOE offer
http://www.mine.com.sg/mall/productdetail/4900

China Vision products
http://www.chinavasion.com/index.php/cName/home-audio-video-digital-tv/

http://computergraphics.blogspirit.com/
http://elearnsg.blogspot.com/
http://singelectronics.blogspot.com/

RP Technology Year Book
http://www.rp.sg/technologyyearbook/2009/

Inexplicable Phenomenon

2009-11-06T13:44:00.001+08:00

This morning, I attended a prize presentation ceremony. I observed a rather strange phenomenon – some prize winners not only did not smile when receiving their prizes, they even walked lethargically towards the stage. I would have walked with springs in my legs and beaming with a mega-watt smile.

Poly to Uni

2009-10-21T16:47:00.004+08:00

Poly graduates vying for a place in the Uni will compete among themselves, i.e. they will not be compared with the 'A' level students. A module from a Poly is not equivalent to a 'A' subject so there is no meaningful comparison, anyway.
The formula for calculating the weighted average is as follows (info from NTU Briefing for Polytechnic Academic Staff on 21 October 2009):
Poly results 80%
GCE 'O' level 20%

Those without 'O' level, will be disadvantaged and will fall under the discretionary admission category. They need to demonstrate passion, creativity or leadership during their course of study during their interview.

Heart-string Pin-up Board

2009-10-19T17:26:00.002+08:00

A suggestion from Chua KC: "A pin-up board for each technology center and named it "Heart-String" or something in this line. This is for Valentine or any congratulatory messages the juniors wish to extend to the seniors or to a group or even to lecturers.

They can decorate the board with the messages, etc. The graduation magazine or video committee could then pick some of these good congratulatory messages and publish them. The committee can then go round and look at the messages in the later part of the semester. It is something that they look forward to when they come back for the graduation party too."

NP Dragon Boat Regatta ’09

2009-10-16T21:22:00.004+08:00

Click here for more pictures.

This morning, I woke up with an aching back and it reminded me of the NP Dragon Boat Regatta ’09 at the Kallang River yesterday (15th Oct). The staff category was won by the Admin team (principal was in it). Truth be told, they trained weekly in the actual venue for one whole month under an experienced coach while most of us trained only once in the swimming pool with just the paddles.
I am not complaining my point is if one wants to win badly enough, one must put in the resources and commitment. NYP has been very impressive in skill-based competitions because they have the resources and coaches who have participated in the contests themselves and therefore have the experiences to share. The next best thing for us to do is to tap on our own participants and make them share with their juniors so that their experiences will not go to waste.
Before the race, I set a target to win the heat and let others (we have a fair number of reserves) a chance to row in the final. It was not that I was that gracious; I just could not recover enough to race again in such a short time. I was happy to achieve the target.
The last time I dragon boated in Kallang River was four years ago. In the heat of the race, water was splashing all over the place and I was grasping for air, inevitably I swallowed some water. I vividly remembered the extreme taste of saltiness. It was the same this time round, I again swallowed some water. But to my surprise, the water was not salty anymore. The desalination process at the Marina Barrage is really working.

Netriders Challenge Singapore '09

2009-10-10T14:32:00.007+08:00

Click here for more photos.
First the good news, NP student team 2 led by Qi Feng came in third in the student category of the Netriders Challenge Singapore ’09. Although we did not win in the instructor category, it was a very good experience for us: it brought the four instructors and the 15 participating students from NP closer together. Ultimately it is all about the human network.
My students posted me this question: “Will NP host the event next year?”
I would like to but we can’t. The event attracted more than a hundred contestants and yet NYP has enough desktops for all of us and still have one room (easily twice the size of our lab and filled with computers) to spare. We just don’t have the capacity. Purchasing PC is a very sensitive matter and it triggered many alarms since every NP student is supposed to have a laptop. NYP was able to justify their purchase because they need to use very expensive software like Oracle. Their director is also very supportive too. He is well known for dropping in on the NYP rep during training to chat with them and solve their problems and needs personally.
I like the story that the MC (NYP staff, Scott) shared about the analogy between the Gold Rush and the Internet Bubble. During the Gold Rush, only a handful of people become rich looking for gold. Many more become rich selling axes, clothes and providing lodgings for the gold diggers. Likewise in the Internet Bubble, many companies went bust but Cisco Systems, the company known as the plumber of the Internet not only survived but thrived.
The story was a smooth introduction to the company that organized this event. Plumbers in countries like England and Australia are making good money; Cisco Systems has every right to be proud to be the plumper of the Internet. I am also very impressed with the ITE staff. I could see many of them either competing or supporting the event like taking pictures, rallying around their students and even giving lecture on Packet Tracer 5.2.

Quote from the 2nd runner team, NP Team 2 Captain, Chan Qi Feng:
“ I thank Mr Lau Wah Kee, Mr Low Chee Kin, Mdm Kannathal and Mr Sunil for their utmost support for our team. I am proud to lead my team members: Tan Deneng and Ng Zekai; they are very knowledgeable and co-operative. In fact, I thought my team could have achieved more but the other competitors were stronger on that day and I congratulate them. I would also wish to thank Cisco Systems Singapore for giving us this opportunity to showcase our talent, bringing back the trophy and joy for Ngee Ann Polytechnic.”

Quote from NP team leader, Mr Low Chee Kin, Electronic & Computer Engineering | School of Engineering
"The Netriders Challenge Singapore ’09 was a great learning opportunity for all who participate in one way or another. As one of the organizers and competitors, I was very impressed with Cisco System’s sense of social responsibility especially in the area of education. It is a joy to see so many industry partners, instructors and students working together to update and sharpen each other. Ultimately, it is all about the human network."
Total Number of Attendees : 200
No of Student Competitors: 123
No of Instructor Competitors : 22

Study Visit to Malacca

2009-10-01T08:38:00.003+08:00

Study Visit to Malacca
(Cubic Learning Factory)
9th – 12th September 2009

As part of my duty, I have the privilege and honor to be part of a 6-member staff team led by Ms Auyong LS to bring 115 final year ECE students on a 4D3N study visit to Cubic Learning Factory (CLF) in Malacca from 9th – 12th September 2009.

9-9-2009 (Wednesday)
In the words of Mr Maniam’s (CEO of CLF) opening speech: “this study visit will enhance your employability because of the overseas exposure and hands-on experience”. For this, we have Ngee Ann Poly (NP) and CLF to thank for.
Before we could begin the factory tour, we have to surrender all our electronic equipment –hand phone, camera, ipod, laptop, MP3 and MP4 players. As we toured the compound, we were awed by its spaciousness: huge warehouse, huge factories and even a university inside CLF. Their students have industrial attachment right inside their own campus.
Cubic engineer, Mr Sik showed us around and related to us his life as an engineer. I am particularly impressed with the followings:
• Mr Sik has not switched off his hand phone since working in Cubic some 8 years ago.
• Production yield target is 99%, if it drops by more 5%, all personnel will be recalled back even for those on leave.
• There is a ‘war’ room to thrash out differences. I will leave it to your imagination as to how it got its name.
• Not a single chair can be found in the production line. A standing operator produces as much as 30% more than a sitting colleague.
• Contract manufacturing: Cubic assembles sunglasses equipped with Bluetooth Technology for a US company. The gadget is a sunglass, headphone and microphone, 3-in-1 package, and retails for a cool US$199 per pair.
• Diversification: One of Cubic factories produces luggage compartments for Airbus. This is a joint venture with a Japanese company.
• Security: Everybody is subjected to security check when one steps out of the factory. Female staff is not allowed to wear metal strap bra or metal hairpin so as not to trigger the alarm when searched.
When we checked into the hotel, we were told that they going to give us different rooms than the ones previously agreed upon. We needed to re-assign 121 people there and then, resulting in a messy congestion at the lobby. To add to the problem, some assigned rooms were not usable – walls, carpet and even the blankets were mouldy and the rooms were filled with an unbearable stench. We only managed to solve all but one by midnight.

Seafood dinner at Sungai Duyong was a letdown. The place was quite a distance from the hotel and it was definitely not worth the trip. Many students did not eat much, preferring to have another meal on their own. Dinner rating: 2/10
The evening ended with a visit to Tamingsar Tower where we spent 7 minutes revolving at the top of the tower overseeing the skyline of Malacca.

10-9-2009 (Thursday)
There was confusion starting from 4am: we have 4 Muslim students and they needed to take their breakfast early because of Ramadan. The food caterer sent the food to the wrong rooms and waking up the wrong people and upsetting many in the process. Apparently, the front desk staff did not advise the caterer properly. The sad thing was that this same mistake was repeated throughout the trip, right up to the last day. As we do not have the updated list for everybody, there was confusion when we tried to contact each other in the morning when we tried to get hold of the late comers.

At the Cubic Factory, there was a lot of waiting and more waiting when the CLF staffs do not know where to put our belongings as we were not allowed to bring electronic stuff into the factory. The room that we used the day before was not available then.
When we were finally allowed into the factories, instructions were passed down to us at the last minute to group the students in fives which resulted in further unnecessary delay – we could have done it while we were waiting had we known the requirement earlier.
After the groups were seated at their respective benches, instructions were intermittent with long pauses in-between either because they needed to fix the PA system or they were having ‘serious’ discussions among the instructors. Even the presence of their CEO did not help the situation much.
The one who saved the day was none other than Mr Sik. Unlike the others, he is technically competent and has many interesting experiences to share. He was able to engage our students and they listened to him. No wonder, Mr Chua BK said that our students should not go to CLF if Mr Sik was not available. The students worked on refurbished speakers, they removed all the screws, inspect the inside and put them back. In the lecture, they learnt about 2.1, 5.1 and 7.1 speaker systems and ported-speaker design.
In the afternoon, every student group made a sales and production process presentation. The students were forthcoming and entertaining in their sales pitch. The topic was very appropriate as hand phone was something very close to their hearts and they talked passionately about it. I was looking forward to the explanation of many terms such as Minimo, CESB but was no wiser after all the presentations. It would have been perfect if there was an immediate debrief on their performance. However, the students got distracted when someone mentioned about dinner and shopping. We mentioned this need to close the ‘loop’ to the trainers but were very surprised that it was not taken up.

Portuguese dinner: The dinner was served at the Old Portuguese Settlement facing the Straits of Malacca. It was much better than the dinner we had the day before but there was no signature dish to distinguish it from the others. I would have passed it off as another seafood dinner if I had not known better. Dinner rating: 6/10
Later, we shopped at a huge shopping centre at Melaka Raya.

11-9-2009 (Friday)
Like typical ‘camping’ youngsters in a foreign land, our students slept very late with many surviving on 2 to 3 hours of sleep. They became restless and noisy during the morning lecture. The chairs that they were using produced a high pitch noise as they swiveled from side to side. The noise was very irritating particularly for the older folks. Even Mr Sik could not hold their attention. The problem was exacerbated by the large group size and their short attention span.
Mr Sik was very kind; he brought from his home a Hi-Fi that cost a hundred thousand ringgit to let us experience high-end music. We were appreciative of the fact that the system was quite heavy and it took a considerable amount of his time to position his equipment for the optimum effect. The machine could virtually transport you to a live concert just by listening to it.
However, only ten students could squeeze into the demo room at a time, the rest of the students were tasked to write their reviews which they would share after the whole exercise.
We could see that the students were getting very restless.
Auyong pushed Mr Maniam to produce more meaningful activities for our students. A visit to the aerospace factory was arranged in the afternoon, the agreed number kept fluctuating between 50 to 60. We have had to keep playing by the ear. Finally, the factory agreed to take 50 people. For those who were not selected for the aerospace visit, Mr Sik activated a production line (no components were used) for them to see. Due to the economic downturn, there was no order for production and not enough qualified personnel to engage our students.
Dinner was at Ole Sayang. This was by far the best dinner we have had in Malacca. Dinner rating: 8.5 out of 10. We shopped at Jonker Street, a World Heritage site. They have Pasar Malam every Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and it was no co-incidence that we were there on Friday, thanks to Auyong.

12-9-2009 (Saturday)
The morning was yet another round of miscommunication: we were expecting coaches to pick us up at 9am but none came. Without the transport, it was difficult to move 121 people from point to point. After much haggering with the coordinators from Cubic, we decided to let the students wandered on their own.
We started checking out of the hotel after lunch and finished the process by 1:50pm. The coaches brought us to CLF for the closing ceremony. We conducted the feedback session there and it was followed by the closing speeches by the various representatives. After picture taking at the main gate, we headed home and reached NP at about 8:15pm.

Netriders Competition preparations tips I

2009-09-20T09:06:00.001+08:00

This is for the Netriders Contestants only:
As the competition is a team event, the whole team works on the same set of questions. I suggest you appoint among yourself a leader and let me know who is the leader of each team. Then the leader assigns someone to focus on router (CCNA2), another on switch (CCNA3) and the last on WAN (CCNA4).
The competition is a divided into theory and practical which consist of MCQs and Packet Tracer respectively. For the theory portion (MCQ), you can only go forward, there is no going back to change your previous answers. This is very similar to the actual CCNA certification exam.
You will enter your answers into a e-Learning called Moodle. We will create accounts for you at a later date.

Cisco NetRiders Challenge Singapore 2009

2009-09-19T10:55:00.004+08:00

The Cisco Singapore Academy Council (NP is a member of this Council) is pleased to host the 1st Cisco Networking Skills Competition, Cisco NetRiders Challenge Singapore, on 9 October 2009. This competition is to provide exposure to the Networking Academy students and to increase interactions among their peers. It is also an opportunity for students to showcase their technical skills and knowledge in the networking field and serves as a platform for trainers and instructors to gauge their students competencies level
The NetRiders Challenge Singapore 2009 is an invaluable and unique learning experience for Academies and students. The experience and results of the competition provide valuable feedback both to the individuals, the systems and enterprises in which they are being trained. For some, it is a recognition for outstanding achievement and while for others it provides the motivation and knowledge to aspire to higher standards.

Objectives of the competition:
· To promote and nurture the development of a knowledge-based workforce that would eventually serve as one of a catalyst for Singapore in moving up the economic value chain.
· To provide exposure to the Networking Academy students, enhance interaction among their peers, and help boost the students' general confidence as they progress towards joining the ICT workforce.

Friday
9 October’09 Description
08:30 - 10:00 Registration & Breakfast
10:00 - 10:30 Opening Ceremony – Irving Tan, Country Manager, Cisco Singapore
10:30 - 11:00 Briefing to all Competing Teams – John Lim, Senior Manager, Cisco NetAcad APAC
11.00am - 12.00pm : Theory Competition (students)
11.30am -12.00pm : Theory Competition (Instructors)
12:00 - 13:30 Lunch
1.30pm - 2.30 pm : Practical Competition(students)
2.00pm - 2.30pm : Practical Competition (Instructors)
14:30 - 16:30 Cisco Techical Information Session – Cisco Systems Engineers
16:30 - 17:30 Prize Presentation & Closing Ceremony – Irving Tan, Country Manager, Cisco Singapore.

Netriders Entry Requirements & Scope

2009-09-16T10:40:00.001+08:00

Entry requirements:
· NetAcad students
· Full time Degree/Diploma/ITE students
· Singaporean/Singapore Permanent Resident
· Age below 25 years old as of 9 October 2009
· 3 members per team

Scope covered based on CCNA 1 to 4 (CCNA Discovery and CCNA Exploration):
· Recognize the devices and services that are used to support communication across an Internetwork
· Describe TCP/IP protocols and services
· Employ basic cabling and IP addressing scheme including VLSM
· Describe the structure of network and how network communication occur between host
· Install, configure and troubleshoot Cisco IOS devices (routers & switches) for network connection
· Troubleshoot problems using an organized, layered procedure
· Describe the OSI model and the process of encapsulation
· Configure a switch with VLANs and inter-switch communication including VTP and inter-VLAN routing
· Implement access lists to permit or deny specified traffic
· Implement WAN links using PPP with authentication
· Configure static/default/dynamic routing protocols on Cisco devices
· Verify and troubleshoot network connectivity

Netriders Competition, Singapore

2009-08-29T08:36:00.015+08:00

We are going to have 5 teams (3 students per team) to represent us. Mr Leong PK will lead a team from the World Skill Singapore (WSS) while I nominated two from my classes:
Team 1: Wong Yong Hui, Brandon Ng, Chen Jingwen
Team 2: Chan Qi Feng, Tan De Neng and Ng Ze Kai
Team 3: Tang Hoi Him, Phua Joon Kai Eugene, Poh Leong Aik
Team 4: Koh Lin Xin, Ler Ze Chen, Chua Cheng Han
Team 5: Li Si long, Zhuo Mingde, Vivian Luah

Date: 9 October 2009, Friday
Time: 9am - 5pm
Venue: Nanyang Polytechnic, Block L, level 5
Coverage: CCNA + 10% CCNP

Goodies:
Goodie bag, T-shirt, notepad, pen and refreshment from Cisco Systems
CCA points & NP windbreaker
A chance to win attractive prizes and represent Singapore.

The objectives of the competition is to
1. reward and recognise top students.
2. encourage interaction amongst students at a national level as they compete.
3. motivate students to study harder to succeed.
4. identify top talent for recruitment prospects.
5. increase awareness of NetAcad program to employers through media coverage.
6. Encourage contestants to continue their studies in the IT field.
Click here for more details.

DIY Remote Monitoring (Science Month '09)

2009-08-28T11:12:00.005+08:00

Update: 12 places taken up. Vacancies still available.
FREE ADMISSION
PRE-REGISTRATION NEEDED
Date/Time: 7 Sep 09, Monday/ 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Target audience: Public
Venue: Ngee Ann Poly, Blk 8 Level 4 Room 3
Have you ever wished you could occasionally keep an eye of your loved ones at home while you are at work? Well, this workshop shows you how this can easily be done.
This workshop will
1. demonstrate and teach participants on the use of web cam for remote monitoring of premises, the elderly, junior or maid at home.
2. teach participants how to setup the PC to observe what their children did on the computer from a remote site. We will be using ICU (freeware) and WebWatcher (award winning software).

Contact person: Mr Low Chee Kin
Send an email to lck2@np.edu.sg to register for the workshop. Registration closes on 3/9/09
Click here for the full list of events during the Science Month '09.

Network Security & Hacking (Science Month '09)

2009-08-22T10:22:00.005+08:00

Update: We have only 11 registered participants so far. Please encourage your friends to sign up. The show will still go on even with a single audience.

FREE ADMISSION
PRE-REGISTRATION NEEDED
Date/Time: 8 Sep 09, Tuesday/ 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Target audience: Secondary School Students
Venue: Ngee Ann Poly, Blk 8 Level 4 Room 3
Objectives of the workshop:
To safely surf & test downloaded software
To choose an RF channel for home WLAN
To hide data using Stenography
To communicate with remote servers, switches and routers.

The highlight is a hands-on online competition called King-of-the-Hill .This is a multi-player online game where participants charge up a 'hill' by telnetting to the router/switch in front of them. Their progresses are beamed live onto the projector for the audience to cheer them on. The first to reach the top of the hill is the King-of-the-Hill. Prizes will be awarded to the first five winners.

Contact person: Mr Low Chee Kin
Send an email to lck2@np.edu.sg to register for the workshop. Registration closes on 3/9/09
Click here for the full list of events during Science Month '09.

Painted Skin

2009-08-15T12:09:00.005+08:00

In the movie, Painted Skin, a lady ghost catcher had a precious sword that could only be unshielded from its scabbard by the right person. Nobody could do it. Not her or her grandfather. Not by strength alone. It piqued our curiosity: Why? Who could do it? What power does it have? An aka King Arthur.
When the answer was revealed, I was all ears. I liked its explanation: the sword could only be unshielded by love not hatred. In a desperate act to save her love, the ghost catcher was able to remove the sword and used its effects. The sword even loses its power when wielded by another person.
Painted Skin was adapted from the original Chinese Ghost Stories (聊斋志异). The author, Pu Song Ling, was way ahead of his time.

One particular lunch I had in Australia

2009-08-10T20:19:00.001+08:00

While watching the 44th National Day Parade, I was reminded of a lunch I have had with a Caucasian in Australia. I worked for a brief period in Sydney, Australia in 1995. One day, I was sharing a lunch table with a total stranger. We started talking, after he realized that I was from Singapore. He started to berate Singapore for all the stereotype that the Western media wanted their readers to believe – no freedom of speech, no chewing gum, no smoking, no picking of flowers, no littering; he went on and on.
At the end of his ranting, I told him that as a child, I stayed in a 1-room flat with four other siblings, my parents did not have much expectations of us. In 1995, I owned and stayed in a executive apartment, drove my own car, a graduate and a decent job. I attributed the transformation for the better to our government and I have great respect for them. I gave him some examples to show that the Singapore government has foresight. After I finished, he did not utter a single word.

Iron Man

2009-08-09T21:30:00.001+08:00

We watched Iron Man yesterday and left feeling good about it. I was expecting a WWII type of setting given that I knew about it when I was a child. It was a pleasant surprise to find that the story was transplanted into our modern day world which would relate better to the younger generation.
The protagonist’s change in attitude was told in a convincing manner. He started off as a cocky and over-confident man who believed that ‘there is peace as long as he has the bigger stick’ to the realization that his weapons were killing those he sought to protect.
His ability to escape was due to his engineering skills – it gave a feel-good effect and it certainly resonance with the engineers out there.
As he was perfecting his suit; it gave the impression that he was on his way to invincibility. I was beginning to wonder what surprise they could churn out to make us want to root for him. The story could well degenerate to what happened in X-Men evolution: The Origin of Wolverine. I remembered my son’s comment on the latest X-Men installment:
“How exciting it is to see an indestructible man grunting his way around?”
Iron Man outdid itself when it came up with a more powerful enemy in the form of his business partner who stole his technology and he had to fight with a his old and depleted power pack.

Ip Man

2009-08-05T08:19:00.003+08:00

After watching the movie, Ip Man, I said, “I enjoyed the movie.”
My eldest son retorted, “But there is no quotable quote.”
I replied, “Well, I liked it when he said, ‘There is no such thing as being afraid of one’s wife, only RESPECT.’”
The next day, I suddenly recalled a funny exercise (a physical exercise for the physically challenged) my wife taught us. It so happened that this son was just beside me. I asked him to do the exercise. He promptly followed my instructions which was quite unusual given his character. It was so funny to see a lanky fellow like him doing that exercise but I had had to put up a straight face.
At the fourteen count (my wife said that the exercise is to be repeated fourteen times), my son sprang up to me, our faces almost touching each other and said cheekily, “There is no such thing as being afraid of my father, only RESPECT.”
Both of us broke into spontaneous laughter.

Keeping Toman as pets

2009-08-03T09:19:00.003+08:00

About two months ago, my son was drying his school shoes on the window sill and one of the shoes dropped into my fiber glass ‘pond’. The freak accident decimated my ‘colony’ of shrimps and with it my pride and joy. The last time something like that happened was many years ago when my wife’s orchid dropped into the same pond. The pesticide in the pot of orchid killed almost everything in the pond, notably my daughter’s school of guppies.
A perpetual optimist that I am, I see it as an opportunity to start something new, something different. I decided to keep snakehead fish or Toman. They are well known for being hardy. I have always enjoyed watching a particular Toman in NP pond (outside NP Convention Centre). Every time, I pass by the garden, I would detour and try to look for it.
My good friend, Quek SK, bought me three snakehead and they have been with me for one week already. I am very happy with them for they are such active swimmers bring much life to my pond. I have no qualm about eating them when they are bigger but my family protests to no ends.

Comment from Quek SK:
In America Toman is a pest not pet.
You have foresight. Spore is trying to reduce food imports thru fish farming.
If every household do what you do Spore can be self sufficient in food.
This morning I saw a toman at BT hawker aquarium fish shop.
About 2.5 inch.
Best Regards, qsk

Update:
My wife booted the snake-head fishes out of the house after they gave my children nightmares. The Tomans swam in the middle section of the water. They were not interested in surface food like flaks or worms at the bottom of the pond. The only food they went for were other fishes. The way they attacked other fishes was so vicious that it upset my wife and that sealed their fate as well.
There goes my Toman dinner.

Project Nutz 2009 (24 July)

2009-07-26T15:45:00.004+08:00

Click here for more photos.
By now, you would have probably heard that we were beaten to second place in the Project Nutz 2009. Even so, we can hold our head high. Four out of the seven original first team runners could not make it this year for one reason or another.
We refused to be brow beaten. We kept faith in our division. We dug deeper to unearth the hidden gems. With efforts from different quarters, we managed to gather not one but two teams to compete in the race. The made shift team of Chew Jing Yuan, Ong Teck Soon, Ong Meng Tiong, Lim Hock Chuan, Low Chee Kin, Tan Wei Lian and Ng Kee Wan (in running order) ran their hearts and lungs out and better last year record with a timing of 39’ 12”.
Team 1 was built on the foundation of the second team which played a very important role of providing a safety net. We are also very happy to note that an ECE student team led by Chun Yang, ex-President of ECE Society, came in seventh while Cai Yin from AE came in fourth with the Dragon Boaters in their respective categories.
Special thanks to Dr Lim, Nancy, Peng Guan and Kok Fai for coming down to support us. Last but not least, the members of the team 2: Yang Chee Yun, Hang Kim Yam, Hee Juay Jiunn, Teo Tat Lee, Chia Yong Poo, Goh Lay Kuan and Ng Beng Kiat.

Game and Simulation for Learning

2009-06-26T23:16:00.002+08:00

Yesterday evening, my wife and I attended a talk on “Game and Simulation for Learning” at the Singapore Science Centre. We were very impressed with a Lego game called “Replica” which went something like this: teams were to make replicas of a model using Lego Bricks. The fastest and most accurate replica wins.
Each team was made up of a builder, 2 architects and an observer. The architects will have their hands behind their back throughout the game and gave verbal instructions to the builder. Only the architects were allowed to see the model which was hidden in a box and then ran to the builder to give him the instructions to build. They can run to and fro the model as often as they want.
On our way home, we thought it would be a good idea to try it on our children. We had a good laugh over what might happen: our youngest boy, WK, would end up as the builder. The brother would give instructions at motor speed, frustrating both of them in the process. The girl would have tripped over herself trying to communicate 3-D ideas and they would end up screaming and crying over it.
Today, after lunch, we got them to do play the game anyway. As expected, WK was nominated as the builder. Being a systematic fellow, he started to arrange his pieces according to shapes and sizes while the other two discussed on the strategy. They played the game with a lot of fun and laughter. No drama, nothing like what we had imagined. They certainly deserved more credit that we had given them.
We all had a good laugh when we discovered that the replica’s color was the mirror image of the original. I supposed it has to do with how we communicate. While it is good manner to talk face to face, it adds to the confusion of whose perspective you are talking about, that is, my left or your left. I think it might be better if the architect goes behind the builder and gives the instructions from there.

Learning Point: Different people use different ways to describe the same thing, for example, imagine a circle and below it is a triangle. Both shapes are about the same size and the circle is just touching the apex of the triangle. Some people will say the triangle is in front of the circle while others will say that it is to the south of the circle.

The meaning of our communication is the response that we get. If someone is agitated at what you said, it is not her fault; it is what you said that made her so.

Pick your own durians

2009-06-17T17:53:00.005+08:00

Click here for more pictures.
I have had 3 days of wind in my face and sun on my back in Pulau Ubin (Granite Island). My family stayed from 15-17 June ’09, in Ubin Lodge, currently the only public chalet on the island. We spent our time cycling, fishing, visiting NPark gardens and durian hunting/eating.
Let me share with you a little secret: here is where you find the cheapest local durian in Singapore. To top it all, the durians are fully organic – no pesticide and no synthetic fertilizer.
If you are adventurous, you can even pick your own durians. The best times for the pickings are during the early mornings and 5-6pm in the evenings.
By the way, wild boars love durians too. After their feastings, all you find are empty durian empty shells laid out neatly under the trees. They eat the flesh and seeds whole.
Durian picking, like fishing, is best to learn from an old hand. I learnt from Uncle William, the caretaker of Ubin Lodge, that the stub of the fruit should be just one section if it had dropped naturally and not prematurely because of strong wind or other factors. The fruit should also have a fragrant smell otherwise it is not ripe. The rambutans are ripening very soon, I could hear them calling me.

Man of Little Faith

2009-06-13T21:05:00.001+08:00

My family would jog or skate along the Sunset Canal during the evenings as part of the family ritual. As the children prefer to skate, they would finish their rounds much faster and go home on their own leaving behind the two old folks.
Today was no different except that it started to drizzle when my wife and I started to make our way home. My wife turned to me and said, “Do you think the children will bring us umbrella?”
I said without hesitation, “Dan gu gu.” (wait long long in Hokkien)
Just when it was about to pour, we saw a lanky figure running towards us with two umbrellas. Our son came to save us from being drenched. I felt ashamed that I have so little faith in my children.

The power of rubber band

2009-06-12T14:39:00.003+08:00

A friend of mine shared with me this little trick: Tie a rubber band around a cup and ants will not climb up the cup anymore! According to him, it works like magic. He had seen ants circling his 'banded' cup and none would climb up. I wonder why?
Do you have any such tricks to share, especially against cockroaches and lizards?

NP-ECE-NSS Internet resources

2009-05-30T05:22:00.004+08:00

NP "PEARLS" Grading System for CCA

NSS Facebook Group
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ngee-Ann-PolyNetwork-system-and-security-cluster/65836194421?ref=ts

NSS Website
http://soe.np.edu.sg/nss/

NSS Modules Web Curriculum - VPN needed
http://isoe.np.edu.sg/isoe/ece/nss/Modules/

NSS Students Software - VPN needed
http://isoe.np.edu.sg/isoe/ece/nss/INT

Cisco Academy Login
http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/netacad/index.html

IAP Admin - VPN needed
http://soestaff.np.edu.sg

Visitation with a difference

2009-04-25T13:34:00.006+08:00

Click here for more pictures.
Yesterday, I had steam boat with some of my NSS students at a coffee shop opposite Shaw Tower. The food was good but the company was better. I thank QiFeng for organizing it. Among the students, I got to meet were four students who are currently on Industrial Internship and under my charge; something I failed to pull off myself as they are frequently required at the customer’s sites.
I lost my hand phone the day before at the NP Convention Centre and I was pleasantly surprised by the support and advices from them. The phone was a very old model and I was quite confident that it would be returned to me soon. But apparently, it was not to be as it was switched off ever since I noticed that it was lost.
My responses to their feedback on my module:
1. I will push for TeraTerm more aggressively from now on for it supports Secure Shell (SSH), a common industry practice. Previously, I let the students choose between TeraTerm and HyperTerminal for they serve our purpose equally well. However, the industry wants SSH and HyperTerminal falls short in this aspect.
2. IOS upgrade is a common task in the industry. While our students knew about TFTP, they did not link the two tasks together. I will put a note in the VCN lab and use Packet Tracer for simulation practice.
3. It is heartening to hear from the students that the exposure to VoIP help them in their confidence. They may not know what to do exactly but they have a toe hold on the problem on hand.
Everyone at the table was inspired by Jackson’s feat – he obtained five professional certifications during his internship. I wish them Godspeed in their quest.
“What is the maximum number of connected switches in the spanning tree protocol?”
“Which has a higher priority: routing or voice packets in QoS?” (routing packets refer to packets sent by routing protocol)
“What is the minimum/maximum load size in an Ethernet frame?”
These are very technical (dry) questions if I were the one asking them. But this time, they were checking each other out. They were all ears. Why? They were sharing questions that their supervisor loved to ask during interviews. This is Learner-centred-Learning (LcL) in truth and in practice.

I dreamed a dream

2009-04-21T10:55:00.002+08:00

Version 1( 47 yearsold singer ):http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALQCkizx4UI

Version 2 (15 years old ): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcMJlTjzZgs&feature=related

Version 3 ( ?? years old ) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt-IBJpEMzA&feature=PlayList&p=DF3A74E6CEC5D5E5&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=2

My opinion score:
Version 1: very entertaining.
Version 2: superior in the delivery but less emotion and less entertaining.
Version 3: very classic, I liked the subtitle, it helped me enjoy the performance better.

Another superstar in the making: Charice Pempengco

Food, taste and hunger

2009-04-21T10:52:00.000+08:00

Winner of the 56th Berlin International Film Festival on the theme "Food, taste and hunger".
http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/1081/Chicken-a-la-Carte

ECE FOC 1-3 April ’09

2009-04-04T09:26:00.003+08:00

Click here for more pictures.
Let me recounted some ups and downs of this camp. Ups and downs, ups come first, so let’s begin with ups. This was the first time we have a real camp fire. The atmosphere was really great when you compared it with a camp fire created by torch lights. The cheers were solid, so solid that I was prepared to receive complaints from the residents. There were variety in the performance and skit. There singing, dancing and acting. This is in contrast to the previous years where students perform mainly hip hop.

As we walked around, it really gratify our hearts to see so many talents among the students:
They showed their enthusiasm and passion in their cheers.
They showed their assertiveness and their creativity when they prepare for the skits.
They showed their endurance and patience when the meals were late.

This was also our first time we used Camp David. We only managed to secure the camp and the trainers quite late. By the time we realized that participants must wear track pants, we have already sent out the welcome letters to the freshmen. We did the next best thing which was to call them up. Unfortunately, the information passed down was also distorted. The message became ‘to bring track pants in case it was cold at night’.

Vulgarity
Throughout the camp, I heard only one expletive and it was uttered when one student mess-up a scene in a skit. The whole camp jeered at the offending student and he apologized promptly. I was very happy with that because it showed that such behavior was not acceptable.

OTOT
We needed to work on the OTOT. I learnt this abbreviation from Wei Hao. It means ‘On Time On Target’. Our timing control was not very good: the camp fire was supposed to start at 9pm but we didn’t get going until 10pm. When Nancy complaint to me about the timing, I told her it was 9 pm, Indonesian time.

Mass Dance
All the campers were invited to perform the mass dance on ECE Induction Day. I looked forward to hearing their cheers again and the Tai Ge Wu (a kind of modern Taiwanese dance). This is once in a life time chance to perform in front of such a large audience of about 700. In all my years in NP, I got to speak to such a large crowd only once when I was the chairman for FOP two years ago. It did not last more than 5 minutes but it was very memorable. I hope the students will feel this way too.

Camp Leadership
I am particularly pleased with the composition of the leadership team which was incredibly diverse and yet able to rally together.

Embedded pipe

2009-04-04T08:15:00.000+08:00

As part of my duty, I was given the opportunity to stay at the Loft@94, a student apartment with condominium facilities for 4 days with a few of my colleagues. On the first night, I was kept awoke by an intermittent yet resonating noise. At first, I thought it was a motor cycle at the car park and it would go away soon. But it persisted and persisted. After tossing in the bed for what seems like eternity, I got up and checked with my other roommates.
The reason for the noise was we shared a common wall and the water pipe was embedded in the wall. When he bath, the pipe vibrated and the noise was trapped in my closed room. On top of that, we were on the second storey; the water pressure was maintained by a pump instead of water tank on the top floor. When water flow, the pump was activated causing the noise I thought was from a motorcycle.
I only got to sleep after my colleague finished bathing, which was close to 1 am.

圣经的用词

2009-03-24T17:10:00.000+08:00

最近我上了一堂华语课，認识到圣经的用词不是我们一般的用法。我的老师要我们做造句，她写了“能”字。
同学们挣先恐后地说，“能够，能耐，等等”。
我也插嘴说：“大能”。
老师瞪大双眼说：“有这样用法吗？”
我说：“有，神就是大能。

Silly Rhyme

2009-03-19T10:56:00.003+08:00

人生本来是 happy
辛辛苦苦去study
不如早点去marry
快点生一个 baby
早上给他吃 roti
晚上给他吃 curry
到了明天就 mati
你说 funny 不 funny
By chance, I again heard the above silly rhyme which was often recited during my primary school days. When I checked with my children, none of them had heard it before so I decided that I must put it down here before it dies with my generation. This is also a good opportunity to practice my han yu pin yin.
BTW, the rhyme must be read in Singlish (exaggerate the first syllabus) to bring out its flavor.

Videos

2009-03-04T09:28:00.013+08:00

Some videos which I enjoyed very much:

Randy Pausch
"Send Ah Kong" ...hilarious !!!
"Current speeches from the WhiteHouse"
Art with Sheep
Did you know?
7 World War ll videos of China
Potong Saga
A big fat lie about Tommy Hilfiger
Till death do we part
Cyber Security Education at Piedmont Middle School

Not so cool

2009-03-02T10:36:00.001+08:00

I was reviewing some grad videos. One of them had a student saying, "In XXX, we slept at 1 am in year 1, 2 am in year 2 and 3 am in year 3!" From his expression, you can see that he thinks it is cool to sleep late.
The truth, however, is the opposite: being able to sleep early is a privilege for the smart and the hardworking. All of us should be competing to see who gets to sleep the earliest and yet get the work done.

Life is transient

2009-02-27T14:47:00.004+08:00

A colleague wrote this to me. It was so well written that it would be a waste not to share it.

"I visited a friend whose wife is suffering from lung and brain cancer in Tan Tock Seng Hospital a few nights ago. It was a good break from marking exam scripts. My friend and I have DownSyndrome children. When I saw him at the hospital that night, he was looking at his wife who was drugged with morphine, his hand on the bed railing, a total picture of calmness and acceptance.
My wife went and stroked his wife's hair, and speaking words of encouragement to her still body. My friend and I spoke. After an hour, we left.
I can still remember these few words from him: "We were retired for a few years and had plans to stay in Australia for a few months with our son who is graduating from the Uni there. My wife is a very healthy person, waking up at 5am, go for walks. Then this thing happen. Life is very transient."
As we journey on this earth, sometimes we think we are in control of our lives. Most times, we find life is transient and we need friends, our wives and for most of us, we need God. "

Another colleague added the following:
"People feel sad when their loved one is leaving them.
When we eat meat, have we thought of the suffering, pain and fear of the animals caused by our greed?"

Chasing Daylight

2009-02-23T15:40:00.003+08:00

I just finished reading a book called 'Chasing Daylight' by Eugene O'Kelly. I would rate it as one of the best books that I have ever read. Before reading it, my preferred way to pass on was to die suddenly while reading, sleeping, jogging or even swimming. Now, I think O’Kelly’s death is even more blessed. His ‘death sentence’ enabled him to have proper closure with first his acquaintance, then colleagues, then friends and finally his family members. He was doubly blessed because he had his wife and children beside him and he did not suffer much pain even right up to his end.
We have lots to learn from him. He took his mentor role very seriously and everyone who read his book became his mentee. He did not give up easily either. The fact that he succeed in entering the alternate state of consciousness despite many failed attempts suggested that he was a very determined man.
I even found an answer to my wife’s complaint when I was courting her. That was 16 long years.

A peacock in the Land of penguins

2009-02-23T11:23:00.003+08:00

Something you may have received before but a good reminder for everyone. Click here for 'A Peacock in the Land of Penguins' video.

Why I believe?

2009-02-16T09:20:00.002+08:00

Recently, a colleague gave me a lift to attend a wake. Coincidentally, the last time, we met outside NP was also at a wake. Invariably, our conversation was centered on health, death and religion. She is a non-believer. While talking to her, I had a deeper understanding of what Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24)

I am more used to talking in a position of authority to my children and to my students. But this time, it was the other way round. She is obviously more successful than I am – she drives a Mercedes while I take the public transport. She is more intellectual so much so that I have no answers to many of her questions.

Unfortunately, religion is not science. Many of the things are non-repeatable and hard evidences are lost in the passage of time. To me, the Bible contained so much truth, many of which took me decades to discover their validity that the Bible must be inspired by a higher being as many of the Bible writers were lowly educated people.

When I was younger, I rejected Christianity and resent it because it wanted to control my life, I wanted to be free and be able to do what pleased me. Only when I have my own children, I found myself wanting to control them. Not because I am a control freak but because I love them. Isn’t it ironic?

What we cannot see does not mean that it is not there. I like bringing students to Sabah for YEP. One of the things I would do was to show them Mount Kinabalu in the afternoon. They would not be able to see anything because the mountain would be completely covered by the mist. Some students would even seriously question what I told them. The following morning, I would take them to the same spot. The mountain would be in full view as the mist needed the sun's heat to build up. I enjoyed seeing their expressions of wonderment and disbelief that they could miss something so huge the day before. I believe God is like that, He is there but due to our limitations, we cannot see Him. We cannot rationalise too much in religion. The way to God is through our heart.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T07:50:00.000+08:00

Today is Valentine’s Day. Let me share with you my first Valentine’s Day in NTU. This happened more than twenty years ago. About a week before Valentine’s Day, our tutorial group rep made a sudden announcement that guys with lady lab partners will buy flowers for their partners in the spirit of Valentine’s Day. I was in EEE where ladies were the minority and in my tutorial group of 15, there were only 3 ladies. I was one of the ‘lucky’ ones.
Everyone knows that my lab partner had a steady boyfriend from Accountancy. He was a six-footer. BTW, the Accountancy Department was moved from NUS to NTU to balance the sex ratio in NTU. But I heard of more success stories of accountancy boys pairing up with engineering girls than the other way round. But that was another story.
I thought my group rep was only joking so I didn’t give much of a thought to it. On Valentine’s Day, I notice that almost every girl was holding a flower. I felt sorry for those without any flowers. In the evening as I was studying in my hostel, I heard knocking sound at the door. Almost the whole tutorial group was giggling outside my room. I was dragged and escorted to my lab partner’s hostel.
I was from Hall 3 and she was at Hall 2. The two Halls were about a kilometer apart. But on that day, it definitely looked much farther than that. What followed were the usual pranks that youngsters played. Many photos (printed ones) were taken. It turned out to be quite an enjoyable experience. How often do you become the centre of attraction? The only another time I felt like that was on my wedding day.

Staff message for ECE Mag 09

2009-02-04T17:12:00.000+08:00

My staff message for ECE magazine 2009:
When the wind rises and the waves are high, where will you be? Looking for shelter? No way! We will soar the sky and ride the waves and also extend a helping hand to the less fortunate for we are from Ngee Ann.

We are like the shrimps

2009-02-04T16:54:00.005+08:00

Every weekend, I will suck out a pail of water from my aquarium and replenish it with fresh water. Among the aquarium inhabitants are some shrimps, no longer than 1 inch when fully grown. In the process of sucking out the dirty water, I will inevitably suck out some baby shrimps which can be as tiny as 1 mm in length. This follows by the tedious process of catching them back to the aquarium. They cannot be caught with normal fishing net as they are too small. We use plastic cup to scoop them in. But it still strains my eyes and back to get them.
One day, when I was struggling to “save” the baby shrimps, my eldest boy came up to me. Looking over my shoulder, he said, “We are liked the shrimps.”
“Uh? What say you?” I thought. I had wanted to protest but knowing better, I bit my tongue and listened him out. He continued, “There you are, trying to save them but they happily run away. We are also like that, God wants to save us but we choose to run away.”

Classroom

2009-02-01T16:34:00.001+08:00

My wife works with children with disabilities. Recently, she attended a seminar which I find worthy of sharing. The facilitator showed a picture with some dots to a participant and asked what it was. After some hesitation, the participant said, “A frog?”
The facilitator moved on to another pupil who did not venture an answer, then the next, also no answer and then the next. When no one wanted to try, he put a small piece of chocolate on the table and declare it as a reward for the right answer.
There were some excitement but it quickly die down. Every time the excitement went down, the facilitator would increase the prize by adding one more sweet. Finally, he offered the entire box. By then, the whole class was filled with people shouting their answers. Mind you, this is a group of highly educated people. The correct answer was eventually given by a young engineer.
What is the lesson? The first person to which the question was directed at, felt a lot of pressure. The take away is to avoid asking difficult question to weak students first otherwise we are setting them up for failure. A sweet or two did not motivate the students. The reward seen through the eyes of the pupils must be proportional to the effort that they have to put in. No matter what the prize is, some people just cannot see it. We need to show them instead of testing them.

School CIP

2009-01-31T10:26:00.000+08:00

My eldest son spent the third day of the CNY at a school for the disabled as part of a Community Involvement Program (CIP). He came back very quiet. When he was quiet, the whole house noticed because since young, he was like a broken-down radio – talking non-stop. Since secondary school, he has toned down considerably. But we all felt uneasy when he suddenly became so silent.
I thought I would wait for a little longer to let him internalized his feelings. He had probably seen something we ourselves could not bear to see. When I finally spoke to him in the evening, he said, “Today, we interacted with a group of teenagers who are 2 to 3 years older than we are. But due to their disabilities, they behaved very childishly with behavior one would associate with lower primary students …”
Then he paused for a while and continued, “But from their perspectives, looking at us with ‘perfect’ functioning brains, we were like gods to them!”
I knew why he felt burdened. Spiderman said so, “With greater power, comes greater responsibilities.” Therefore, much is given, much is expected.

#22 eBooks and Audio eBooks

2009-01-30T11:21:00.003+08:00

Free eBooks are available at the following sites:
http://www.worldebookfair.com/
http://www.friedbeef.com/best-places-to-get-free-books-the-ultimate-guide/
http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/ttp/ttpbooks.html

audio books
http://librivox.org/

NP staff and students should make use of books24x7 which is a service provided by NP library.
You can register and create a personal account via this link, VPN required.

#21 Make screencast using Jing capture

2009-01-30T08:59:00.005+08:00

MD5 checksum is used mainly to verify the integrity of files in transit. It uniquely identifies a file like its fingerprint. Suppose you downloaded a file and its MD5 signature is also known, you can ensure that the downloaded file has not been tampered with by regenerating its MD5 checksum and compare it with the original known value.
The accompany Jing file shows how to create the checksum using a freeware called FreeCommander.
1. Invoke FreeCommander.
2. Select the target file.
3. File -> Create MD-5 checksum -> Ok

Creative CNY Greeting

2009-01-27T09:40:00.006+08:00

牛（扭）来牛（扭）去，牛（扭）过去.
I overheard the above greeting on a Taiwanese CNY variety show which featured a creative greeting contest and each contestant was given Ang Pow for his or her effort. This greeting was from a Russian lady dancer/singer. It can be read in two ways: the first interpretation reads 'niu' as ox (the Chinese zodiac for this year) and the challenges ahead that we will overcome. The second reads the 'niu' as twist which is what she does as a professional dancer.
The other contestants were so smitten by her composition that they spontaneously surrendered their Ang Pow to her. The first few probably did it out of impulse while the rest just followed blindly or succumbed to peer pressure.

#23 Course Summary

2009-01-23T11:22:00.003+08:00

Summarize your thoughts about this program
I was literally conned into this course: the course brief mentioned Blogging, Technorati, Flickr, Web2.0 Awards, etc and one hour at TLC. To my horror, the one hour was only for the briefing; the course actually stretched for three months. Sounded like Lehman Brothers, isn’t it? My first reaction was I have a certification exam coming up so I won’t have time for the course. My excuse was set aside for I was allowed to start two weeks later than the rest.
To withdraw from the course in NPAL was going to be more painful than the course itself so I decided to make the most out of the situation I got myself into. As an engineer by training, my focus was on application. For every ‘thing’ in the list of 23 things, I was driven by this one question: “How does it apply to me?”
The first thing to hit me was the sense of achievement and ownership– my own website and customized gadgets. From the start, I treated it as a real tool instead of an academic exercise. The mid-course face-to-face session was very helpful for it helped me to solve many problems quickly.
I have always wanted to document the little things that I picked up in life especially my holiday but I never got to doing it. Blogging instilled in me this discipline. For the first time, I did it for the recent December holiday. My father was a computer illiterate and yet through my brother, he could to enjoy my pictures on Flickr. I have quite a few of my relatives and friends who are stationed overseas and they wanted to know how my children are getting on. The blog site served this function neatly.
This course is Learner-centered- Learning (LcL) at its best. The facilitators were always hovering around; we learnt at our own pace and from each other and applied the knowledge almost immediately. I enjoyed the course very much and I have no regrets for the mistake I made when I signed up for the course.