My favourte poet is Robert Frost and in this post, I shall be explaining why and also provide some biographical information about him, including the events which affected his style of writing poetry.
Robert Frost (March 26, 1874 - January 29, 1963) was born in San Francisco, California and he was a student at Harvard university. He had to drop out of school before he was able to obtain a formal degree due to ill health. He married Elinor Miriam White (1872-1938) , one of his schoolmates at Harvard, in 1895 and had six children.
Throughout his life, he experienced many tragedies, which included the death of his father when he was 11 years old and the deaths of two of his children and his wife. These memories filled with grief were reflected in some details of his works sometimes. Home Burial, which is one of his more notable works, described how a couple tries to cope with the death of their child, with the grief and frustration of not being able to come to terms with each other, eventually resulting in their parting. His emotions of losing his own child were largely depicted in the poem and bear many similarities to the feelings of the couple.
He also had a love for nature and a passion for describing the rural landscape of New England vividly. An example of such a poem was Going for Water, which describes how two children went to fetch water at a brook and the magnificence of the stream under the moonlight.
In my opinion, a large part of his poems chronicle the different turning points in his life, also his perception towards life itself. Quoting Frost, "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life — It goes on". Although one, when reading his poems, may not immediately see it, proper inference-drawing would make the message conceived through his poems clear. The most obvious being the one in the poem The Road Not Taken. It talks about decision-making in life and how things cannot be undone once a choice is made ("Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back").
Here are the three poems which I have randomly chosen, out of all the ones which he has written. I did not include the poem itself, as I think that it is unnecessary for me to do so. You can look them up on Google if you are really interested.
The Road Not Taken: To be really honest, this is the poem which I like best so far. The interpretation is mentioned above so I will not repeat myself.
Fire and Ice: This poem examines how the world will end in, whether in fire, which represents desire, or ice, which represents hate.
Nothing Gold Can Stay: This poem is trying to tell the readers that there is nothing in the world that will will remain untarnished forever, which is what the title implies ("...Her hardest hue to hold...But only so an hour...Nothing gold can stay").
Sources:
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/192
http://www.online-literature.com/frost/
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Going for water - Robert Frost
Going for water by Robert Frost
The well was dry beside the door,
And so we went with pail and can
Across the fields behind the house
To seek the brook if still it ran;
Not loth to have excuse to go,
Because the autumn eve was fair
(Though chill), because the fields were ours,
And by the brook our woods were there.
We ran as if to meet the moon
That slowly dawned behind the trees,
The barren boughs without the leaves,
Without the birds, without the breeze.
But once within the wood, we paused
Like gnomes that hid us from the moon,
Ready to run to hiding new
With laughter when she found us soon.
Each laid on other a staying hand
To listen ere we dared to look,
And in the hush we joined to make
We heard, we knew we heard the brook.
A note as from a single place,
A slender tinkling fall that made
Now drops that floated on the pool
Like pearls, and now a silver blade.
"As if to meet the moon", "like gnomes that hid us from the moon" and "now a silver blade" are examples of similes, one of the forms of figurative language. Robert Frost used the two similes to depict the two children who were going to fetch water from a brook (a stream) as mischievous youths ("gnomes") who enjoy playing under the moon. He used the third one to describe the fascinating appearance of the brook in the moonlight, which he said was a "a silver blade".
I like this poem because it is a simple one, and it allows you to appreciate the beauty of the language used without reading between the lines and ponder the deeper meening, which is what many poets love to let the readers do. Sometimes, these poems turn me off as my frustration mounts when I am unable to understand them fully. Looking at Going for Water, you would realise that the poem is rather elegant. Instead of putting everything in crude laymen's terms, the poet masterly uses language which is more subtle and slightly more difficult to understand. The details of the whole process of going to the brook and finallly reaching there are also outlined very vividly. At any rate, Going for Water is a splendid poem and reading it was rather enjoyable.
The well was dry beside the door,
And so we went with pail and can
Across the fields behind the house
To seek the brook if still it ran;
Not loth to have excuse to go,
Because the autumn eve was fair
(Though chill), because the fields were ours,
And by the brook our woods were there.
We ran as if to meet the moon
That slowly dawned behind the trees,
The barren boughs without the leaves,
Without the birds, without the breeze.
But once within the wood, we paused
Like gnomes that hid us from the moon,
Ready to run to hiding new
With laughter when she found us soon.
Each laid on other a staying hand
To listen ere we dared to look,
And in the hush we joined to make
We heard, we knew we heard the brook.
A note as from a single place,
A slender tinkling fall that made
Now drops that floated on the pool
Like pearls, and now a silver blade.
"As if to meet the moon", "like gnomes that hid us from the moon" and "now a silver blade" are examples of similes, one of the forms of figurative language. Robert Frost used the two similes to depict the two children who were going to fetch water from a brook (a stream) as mischievous youths ("gnomes") who enjoy playing under the moon. He used the third one to describe the fascinating appearance of the brook in the moonlight, which he said was a "a silver blade".
I like this poem because it is a simple one, and it allows you to appreciate the beauty of the language used without reading between the lines and ponder the deeper meening, which is what many poets love to let the readers do. Sometimes, these poems turn me off as my frustration mounts when I am unable to understand them fully. Looking at Going for Water, you would realise that the poem is rather elegant. Instead of putting everything in crude laymen's terms, the poet masterly uses language which is more subtle and slightly more difficult to understand. The details of the whole process of going to the brook and finallly reaching there are also outlined very vividly. At any rate, Going for Water is a splendid poem and reading it was rather enjoyable.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Flu pandemics
According to multiple online sources, other than the current H1N1 'swine' flue, notable pandemics which occurred recently were the 1918 Spanish flu, the 1957 Asian flu and the 1968 Hong Kong flu. I shall be describing each of the 3 pandemics briefly.
The Spanish flu was a severe pandemic that spread globally, affecting even minor countries. About 50 - 100 million people were killed in this pandemic. It had an infection rate of 50% and killed about 1/5 of the infected. Earlier, before the flu was discovered, patients infected with the Spanish flu were diagnosed as having dengue or other diseases which had similar symptoms. The most distinctive symptom of the flu was bleeding from parts of the body which produced mucous, such as the nose. The origins of the flu were unknown, but some speculated that it originated from China.
The Asian flu pandemic was actually a type of avian flu which originated from China. Online sources state that the flu was actually developed from a mutation of the flu virus in wild ducks, which then quickly spread to humans. It affected mainly Asian countries, but reached the US very quickly. It spread to Singapore by about February 1957. About 1-4 million were killed in this pandemic.
The Hong Kong flu pandemic involved from a flu, which developed genetically from another category of flu virus. The flu originated from Hong Kong and spread globally, killing approximately 1 million.
By the way, an epidemic is a disease which is widespread throughout a locality (you could think of a locality as a relatively insignificant area, as compared to a country or a continent). A pandemic is an epidemic on a large scale.
The Spanish flu was a severe pandemic that spread globally, affecting even minor countries. About 50 - 100 million people were killed in this pandemic. It had an infection rate of 50% and killed about 1/5 of the infected. Earlier, before the flu was discovered, patients infected with the Spanish flu were diagnosed as having dengue or other diseases which had similar symptoms. The most distinctive symptom of the flu was bleeding from parts of the body which produced mucous, such as the nose. The origins of the flu were unknown, but some speculated that it originated from China.
The Asian flu pandemic was actually a type of avian flu which originated from China. Online sources state that the flu was actually developed from a mutation of the flu virus in wild ducks, which then quickly spread to humans. It affected mainly Asian countries, but reached the US very quickly. It spread to Singapore by about February 1957. About 1-4 million were killed in this pandemic.
The Hong Kong flu pandemic involved from a flu, which developed genetically from another category of flu virus. The flu originated from Hong Kong and spread globally, killing approximately 1 million.
By the way, an epidemic is a disease which is widespread throughout a locality (you could think of a locality as a relatively insignificant area, as compared to a country or a continent). A pandemic is an epidemic on a large scale.
History ACE project
Today, Darrel, Zhu Cheng and I went to Changi Museum and Changi Beach to do our ACE project. The exhibits in the musuem were not too intriguing to me as I was taught quite a lot about the Japanese Occupation in my primary school SS syllabus, hence the things on display only refreshed my memory and gave me nothing really new. However, one thing I found interesting was the Changi Chapel. Changi Chapel was just outside of Changi Museum and it could be seen at the entrance of the museum. According to the brochure, it was actually a recreation of small chapels and simple churches during the Japanese Occupation, which were built by POWs at that time. Families of ex-POWs come to Changi Chapel in remembrance of the deceased. The chapel had a wooden board on the walls, where relatives of Austrailian ex-POWs could pin up notes of the words they wish to pass on the dead or the living. Beside the board was a display of paper cranes and the explanation of the meaning behind folding paper cranes. In the centre of the chapel was a cross, donated by a general of a regiment. Then, beside it, there was a poem dedicated to the people who died during the war, and a box of sand with a few lit candles in it, to remember the victims of Sook Ching who were executed at Changi Beach.
After we were done touring the museum and the chapel, we started filming ourselves. Since the museum did not allow for photography and video recording, we decided to do an audio tour of the museum and film the chapel instead. I started by introducing the chapel, and Darrel went on to describe the objects on display in it. It went quite smoothly, except that before we began there was a small dispute over how the recording should be done.
We had lunch and moved on to Changi Beach. Changi Beach was a well-known spot used by the Japanese to execute anti-Japanese suspects. There was memorial near the seashore, which explained the events that took place at the beach. Zhu Cheng took over as the guide and after we were done recording the place, we went home.
After we were done touring the museum and the chapel, we started filming ourselves. Since the museum did not allow for photography and video recording, we decided to do an audio tour of the museum and film the chapel instead. I started by introducing the chapel, and Darrel went on to describe the objects on display in it. It went quite smoothly, except that before we began there was a small dispute over how the recording should be done.
We had lunch and moved on to Changi Beach. Changi Beach was a well-known spot used by the Japanese to execute anti-Japanese suspects. There was memorial near the seashore, which explained the events that took place at the beach. Zhu Cheng took over as the guide and after we were done recording the place, we went home.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
History of blogs
Blogging is very popular nowadays and according to online sources, the craze began in the late 1990s. In 1998, a person named Cameron kept track of the all the blogs which existed on the Internet then. At that time, blogs already existed but there were very few blogs, as blogging was not popular then. It was actually possible to keep track of all the blogs and there were about 23 in existence in 1999.
Then in early 1999, people took interest in blogs and more began reading them. It was then, the craze for blogging took the public by storm. People created their own blogs and soon it was difficult to keep track of all the blogs on the Net. The earliest definition of a blog was a website with dated entries. Brad Fitzpatrick started Livejournal and Pyra Labs launched Blogger in 1999. Pitas was also created in the same year. Blogging became very popular and continued all the way till today.
Then in early 1999, people took interest in blogs and more began reading them. It was then, the craze for blogging took the public by storm. People created their own blogs and soon it was difficult to keep track of all the blogs on the Net. The earliest definition of a blog was a website with dated entries. Brad Fitzpatrick started Livejournal and Pyra Labs launched Blogger in 1999. Pitas was also created in the same year. Blogging became very popular and continued all the way till today.
Keyboard shortcuts
Acting on the request of Rayson, I have decided to post more keyboard shortcuts for both his and others' reference.
F1: Opens Help pages in Internet Explorer and Firefox, brings out Office Assistant in MS Word
F5: Refreshes opened tab in Internet Explorer or Firefox
Alt-Spacebar: Displays list of actions available with opened window - Restore, Move, Size, Minimise, Maximise, Close (similar to right-clicking on the blue space on top of your current window)
Alt-Esc: Cycles through windows in the sequence of them opened
Ctrl-A: Selects all the text in open window
Ctrl-Alt-Del: Brings up Windows Task Manager
Ctrl-Backspace: Deletes entire word typed
Ctrl-Enter: Appends “www." and ".com" in front and at the end respectively of your typed address (e.g. "example" - ctrl-enter - "www.example.com")
Ctrl-Shift-Enter: Appends "www." and ".org" in front and at the end respectively of your typed address (e.g. "example" - ctrl-shift-enter - "www.example.org")
Shift-Arrowkey Left/Right/Up/Down - Selects text towards the left/right or up/down
Shift-Enter: Appends "www." and ".net" in front and at the end respectively of your typed address (e.g. "example" - shift-enter - "www.example.net")
F1: Opens Help pages in Internet Explorer and Firefox, brings out Office Assistant in MS Word
F5: Refreshes opened tab in Internet Explorer or Firefox
Alt-Spacebar: Displays list of actions available with opened window - Restore, Move, Size, Minimise, Maximise, Close (similar to right-clicking on the blue space on top of your current window)
Alt-Esc: Cycles through windows in the sequence of them opened
Ctrl-A: Selects all the text in open window
Ctrl-Alt-Del: Brings up Windows Task Manager
Ctrl-Backspace: Deletes entire word typed
Ctrl-Enter: Appends “www." and ".com" in front and at the end respectively of your typed address (e.g. "example" - ctrl-enter - "www.example.com")
Ctrl-Shift-Enter: Appends "www." and ".org" in front and at the end respectively of your typed address (e.g. "example" - ctrl-shift-enter - "www.example.org")
Shift-Arrowkey Left/Right/Up/Down - Selects text towards the left/right or up/down
Shift-Enter: Appends "www." and ".net" in front and at the end respectively of your typed address (e.g. "example" - shift-enter - "www.example.net")
NPCC Road Safety Test
On Thursday, June 4th, I had my NPCC Road Safey Test. This test was quite important because if I failed it, I will not qualify for the test which allows me to advance to the next rank. Again, like the Bronze Badge Proficiency Test, it was not too hard and I have a fair bit of confidence that I would be able to pass it.
Anyway, on Thursday, I assembled at Salt Centre in my NPCC uniform and a bus brought the NPCC squad to the NPCC Road Safety Park. The trip took only about half an hour and there, we were brought to lecture hall, where we would be having our Road Safety lecture and test. I learned stuff like the types of signs you see on the roads were divided into three categories: warning, informative and prohibitory. There are a few other categories, but we were only taught three.
After the lecture, we had the test. Here is a question which was in the test:
1. Name the purpose of this sign:
Well, it's obvious that this is a "No Entry" sign, hence its purpose is to prevent the entry of all vehicles into a certain area.
The setters of the test did not state the passing score, but it should be around 5/10.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Japanese_Road_sign_(No_Entry_for_Vehicles).svg/470px-Japanese_Road_sign_(No_Entry_for_Vehicles).svg.png
Anyway, on Thursday, I assembled at Salt Centre in my NPCC uniform and a bus brought the NPCC squad to the NPCC Road Safety Park. The trip took only about half an hour and there, we were brought to lecture hall, where we would be having our Road Safety lecture and test. I learned stuff like the types of signs you see on the roads were divided into three categories: warning, informative and prohibitory. There are a few other categories, but we were only taught three.
After the lecture, we had the test. Here is a question which was in the test:
1. Name the purpose of this sign:
Well, it's obvious that this is a "No Entry" sign, hence its purpose is to prevent the entry of all vehicles into a certain area.The setters of the test did not state the passing score, but it should be around 5/10.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Japanese_Road_sign_(No_Entry_for_Vehicles).svg/470px-Japanese_Road_sign_(No_Entry_for_Vehicles).svg.png
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Tripod '09 CIP
Last Saturday (June 6th), I took part in a CIP event (newspaper collection again) organised by Tripod 2009. Most of the students at the CIP activity were from Bukit View Sec., New Town Sec. and Crescent Girls' Sec.
I arrived at blk. 102 in Jurong East at about 8.00 a.m. and soon I was assigned to a group. It was not much fun as I knew none of my group members and they were talking about things which I was not really interested in.
The newspaper collection began and I discovered that they did not really have an efficient way of collecting the newspapers. Each block had 25 stories, and after each group was done with a level, they were supposed to leave the newspapers at the lift lobby and call up the two people waiting at the ground floor. They would then inform Friedrick (some guy from BtVSS) and I, who would have to rush up to that level and bring the papers down. Two was really not enough to cope with the 'summons' and plus, the organisers neglected the fact that the lifts did not stop at every floor and took moved up and down slowly. I had to rush up an down the block to collect the newspapers. I made a few suggestions but they insisted on going with the plan. In the end, we took much more time than we should have.
This newpaper collection was not as fun as the one at Taman Jurong, and I had less CIP hours in this one. 3 1/2 CIP hours is not too bad, so I guess I should be satisfied.
I arrived at blk. 102 in Jurong East at about 8.00 a.m. and soon I was assigned to a group. It was not much fun as I knew none of my group members and they were talking about things which I was not really interested in.
The newspaper collection began and I discovered that they did not really have an efficient way of collecting the newspapers. Each block had 25 stories, and after each group was done with a level, they were supposed to leave the newspapers at the lift lobby and call up the two people waiting at the ground floor. They would then inform Friedrick (some guy from BtVSS) and I, who would have to rush up to that level and bring the papers down. Two was really not enough to cope with the 'summons' and plus, the organisers neglected the fact that the lifts did not stop at every floor and took moved up and down slowly. I had to rush up an down the block to collect the newspapers. I made a few suggestions but they insisted on going with the plan. In the end, we took much more time than we should have.
This newpaper collection was not as fun as the one at Taman Jurong, and I had less CIP hours in this one. 3 1/2 CIP hours is not too bad, so I guess I should be satisfied.
Chess
I shall talk a bit more about chess in this post.
The main governing body of chess competitions is the FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs, French for "World Chess Federation"). It was founded in France with its first president being Alexander Rueb. It organises major chess competitions like the World Chess Championships and the bienniel Chess Olympiads. The FIDE was also in charge of awarding chess titles like Grandmaster (GM) and International Master (IM) to strong chess players. The first chess players to receive the GM title included Mikhail Botvinik, Paul Keres and David Bronstein, who were all from the Soviet Union.
The Elo rating system, also known as Elo's system, was a set of ratings created by Arpad Elo. It was intended initially for chess players, but the system became widely adopted for other things like sports teams. A chess player's Elo rating was calculated by the FIDE, and currently, as of April 2009, the chess player with the highest rating in the world is Veselin Topalov, Bulgarian chess grandmaster, with a rating of 2812. He is closely followed by V. Anand, Indian chess grandmaster, with a rating of 2783, Magnus Carlsen, Norwegian chess grandmaster and prodigy, with a rating of 2770 and Vladmir Kramnik, Russian chess grandmaster, with a rating 2759. By the way, Singapore is ranked 64th in the world, with 3 GMs and 10 IMs, and an average rating of 2400.
The main governing body of chess competitions is the FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs, French for "World Chess Federation"). It was founded in France with its first president being Alexander Rueb. It organises major chess competitions like the World Chess Championships and the bienniel Chess Olympiads. The FIDE was also in charge of awarding chess titles like Grandmaster (GM) and International Master (IM) to strong chess players. The first chess players to receive the GM title included Mikhail Botvinik, Paul Keres and David Bronstein, who were all from the Soviet Union.
The Elo rating system, also known as Elo's system, was a set of ratings created by Arpad Elo. It was intended initially for chess players, but the system became widely adopted for other things like sports teams. A chess player's Elo rating was calculated by the FIDE, and currently, as of April 2009, the chess player with the highest rating in the world is Veselin Topalov, Bulgarian chess grandmaster, with a rating of 2812. He is closely followed by V. Anand, Indian chess grandmaster, with a rating of 2783, Magnus Carlsen, Norwegian chess grandmaster and prodigy, with a rating of 2770 and Vladmir Kramnik, Russian chess grandmaster, with a rating 2759. By the way, Singapore is ranked 64th in the world, with 3 GMs and 10 IMs, and an average rating of 2400.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Rubik's cube software
I would like to introduce to you a free Rubik's cube software that I came across on the net. The software is developed by Gabbasoft and it is still in beta stage, hence there are not many features available yet, but it is quite good. Here is the link to download it:
http://www.gabbasoft.com/download.htm
It does not take up much space on your hard disk, and the download time is quite short.
The virtual cube is not very user-friendly to beginners, so I will be teaching you how to use it.
Once you start the program, a small window will appear. In the centre of the screen is the virtual Rubik's cube. You start off with an already solved 3 X 3 X 3 cube. At the bottom right corner of the window is a clock to time you when you are solving the cube. At the top left corner are four buttons. The first one has a down and up arrow, which allows you to increase the dimensions of your cube (4 X 4 X 4, 5 X 5 X5, etc.). The second button fixes your messed up cube immediately. The third one is to allow the program to mess up your cube. You will be timed only after this is done so. The last button is a return arrow but I don't know the use of it.
To view the other sides of the cube, just click on the empty space and hold, then drag your mouse. You can only move the top, bottom, left, right, center, and back sides of the cube when solving it. To move the front side of the cube which you are facing, you have to change the view and move it to any of the above mentioned sides.
Here is a demo of the software. Video uploaded by Youtube user "Mattmcd1":
http://www.gabbasoft.com/download.htm
It does not take up much space on your hard disk, and the download time is quite short.
The virtual cube is not very user-friendly to beginners, so I will be teaching you how to use it.
Once you start the program, a small window will appear. In the centre of the screen is the virtual Rubik's cube. You start off with an already solved 3 X 3 X 3 cube. At the bottom right corner of the window is a clock to time you when you are solving the cube. At the top left corner are four buttons. The first one has a down and up arrow, which allows you to increase the dimensions of your cube (4 X 4 X 4, 5 X 5 X5, etc.). The second button fixes your messed up cube immediately. The third one is to allow the program to mess up your cube. You will be timed only after this is done so. The last button is a return arrow but I don't know the use of it.
To view the other sides of the cube, just click on the empty space and hold, then drag your mouse. You can only move the top, bottom, left, right, center, and back sides of the cube when solving it. To move the front side of the cube which you are facing, you have to change the view and move it to any of the above mentioned sides.
Here is a demo of the software. Video uploaded by Youtube user "Mattmcd1":
Keyboard shortcuts
Here are a few keyboard shortcuts which may come in handy:
Alt-Tab: Allows you to flip through windows
Alt-F6: Allows to flip through windows which are of the same program
Alt-Shift: Switches between typing languages (English and Chinese)
Alt-L Shift-Num lock: Switches on Mousekeys (an option which allows you to control your cursor without your mouse)
Alt-Enter: Shows the Properties window of the item that is selected
Alt-F4: Closes the current window
Ctrl +/- OR Ctrl Scroll: Zooms in and out in browser windows
Ctrl-Alt-Del: Brings up the task manager
Ctrl-W: Closes the current tab
Ctrl-C: Copies selected text/item
Ctrl-V:Pastes selected text/item
Ctrl-C: Cuts selected text/item
Ctrl-F: Brings up the Find bar in browser window
Ctrl-H: Shows the History sidebar (contains all the webpages which you have visited)
Win key-L: Allows you to switch user accounts if you are using the Fast User Switching, locks the computer otherwise
Alt-Tab: Allows you to flip through windows
Alt-F6: Allows to flip through windows which are of the same program
Alt-Shift: Switches between typing languages (English and Chinese)
Alt-L Shift-Num lock: Switches on Mousekeys (an option which allows you to control your cursor without your mouse)
Alt-Enter: Shows the Properties window of the item that is selected
Alt-F4: Closes the current window
Ctrl +/- OR Ctrl Scroll: Zooms in and out in browser windows
Ctrl-Alt-Del: Brings up the task manager
Ctrl-W: Closes the current tab
Ctrl-C: Copies selected text/item
Ctrl-V:Pastes selected text/item
Ctrl-C: Cuts selected text/item
Ctrl-F: Brings up the Find bar in browser window
Ctrl-H: Shows the History sidebar (contains all the webpages which you have visited)
Win key-L: Allows you to switch user accounts if you are using the Fast User Switching, locks the computer otherwise
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Blogging scandal
Hi everyone, since we are doing blogging these two terms, I have decided to post about one of the blogging scandals in Singapore which attracted a lot of media attention a few years back. Some of you may have a little memory of this incident. For those of you who may forgotten, I shall enlighten you now.
A man named Derek Wee posted in his blog and talked about his views on certain matters in Singapore (http://derekwee.blogspot.com/). Wee Shu Min, an RJC student at that time, responded with comments (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wee_Shu_Min) deemed inappropriate by some.
This scandal took place in 2006 and received a lot of public attention. Wee Shu Min, after the incident, apologised for her comments and removed the post, also shutting down the blog.
A man named Derek Wee posted in his blog and talked about his views on certain matters in Singapore (http://derekwee.blogspot.com/). Wee Shu Min, an RJC student at that time, responded with comments (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wee_Shu_Min) deemed inappropriate by some.
This scandal took place in 2006 and received a lot of public attention. Wee Shu Min, after the incident, apologised for her comments and removed the post, also shutting down the blog.
Friday, May 8, 2009
George Orwell and Animal Farm
We have done quite a bit of analysis of Animal Farm in this term and I am sure that everyone knows what this short but interesting novel is about. As we all know, Animal Farm was written by George Orwell to show his dislike of totalitarianism. I will not elaborate further about the content, but instead, tell you a little more of book and its author's history.
George Orwell was born in British India and at that time, his father was a British civil servant (a person working for the government). He attended an Anglican parish school and then St. Cyprian's School for secondary school education. His schoolmates came from better famiy backgrounds and unhappy experiences there inspired him later to write an essay called "Such, Such Were the Joys" which described those childhood memories. At St. Cyprian's, he wrote two poems which won him a prize and thus earned himself a scholarship to the prestigious Eton College. Later, as his parents could no longer afford to send him to university, he joined the Indian Imperial Police after passing the entrance examinations.
He wrote the draft of Animal Farm between 1943 and 1944 after the Spanish Civil War, a war that took place in Spain from 1936 to 1939. Many publishers refused to publish Animal Farm because of the politics which were concerned inside the novel. Finally, one publisher, Secker and Warburg, agreed and published the book in 1945. The first edition was released in England on 17 August, 1945. Many years later, it was featured in the Times magazine and also recognised as one of the "Great Books of the Western World".
George Orwell was born in British India and at that time, his father was a British civil servant (a person working for the government). He attended an Anglican parish school and then St. Cyprian's School for secondary school education. His schoolmates came from better famiy backgrounds and unhappy experiences there inspired him later to write an essay called "Such, Such Were the Joys" which described those childhood memories. At St. Cyprian's, he wrote two poems which won him a prize and thus earned himself a scholarship to the prestigious Eton College. Later, as his parents could no longer afford to send him to university, he joined the Indian Imperial Police after passing the entrance examinations.
He wrote the draft of Animal Farm between 1943 and 1944 after the Spanish Civil War, a war that took place in Spain from 1936 to 1939. Many publishers refused to publish Animal Farm because of the politics which were concerned inside the novel. Finally, one publisher, Secker and Warburg, agreed and published the book in 1945. The first edition was released in England on 17 August, 1945. Many years later, it was featured in the Times magazine and also recognised as one of the "Great Books of the Western World".
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Chess
Chess is simply a board game played with 6 pieces each on white and black's side. To win, you have to checkmate the king. If the king is under attack and there is no way to remove the threat immediately, then the king is considered checkmated, and the winning player will gain one point (checkmate 1-0). However, if the game ends in a draw due to insufficient material to checkmate, or because of other reasons, both players gain half a point each (draw 1/2-1/2, stalemate 1/2 - 1/2).
There are 6 pieces in chess: the pawn, rook, bishop, knight, queen and king.
The pawn-It can only advance one square and can capture if a piece is on the immediate diagonal square opposite it. It is able to advance two squares when it is still on its starting square.
The rook-It can move any number of squares horizontally or vertically and can capture if a piece is in its path.
The bishop-It can move any number of squares diagonally and can capture if a piece is its path.
The knight-It can only move in a L-shape (advance three squares horizontally/vertically and move one square horizontally/vertically), and can capture if a piece is on the final square that it lands on.
The queen-It can any number of squares horizontally, vertically or diagonally and can capture if a piece is in its path.
The king-t is only able to advance one square horizontally, vertically or diagonally and can capture if a piece is on the square it moves to. It is the most important piece in the game and if under check (under attack), the check has to be removed in the current move, otherwise it is checkmate and the opponent wins.
On the board, the pieces are arranged in this manner:
Pawn-p, rook-r, bishop-b, knight-n, king-k, queen-q
White-caps, black-small
r-n-b-q-k-b-n-r
p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p
-----------------
-----------------
-----------------
-----------------
P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P
R-N-B-Q-K-B-N-R
Note that the queens occupy squares of their own colour, and kings occupy squares opposite their colour instead.
I have embedded a video of a game between two chess grandmasters. Video uploaded by Youtube user "pearlclouds".
There are 6 pieces in chess: the pawn, rook, bishop, knight, queen and king.
The pawn-It can only advance one square and can capture if a piece is on the immediate diagonal square opposite it. It is able to advance two squares when it is still on its starting square.
The rook-It can move any number of squares horizontally or vertically and can capture if a piece is in its path.
The bishop-It can move any number of squares diagonally and can capture if a piece is its path.
The knight-It can only move in a L-shape (advance three squares horizontally/vertically and move one square horizontally/vertically), and can capture if a piece is on the final square that it lands on.
The queen-It can any number of squares horizontally, vertically or diagonally and can capture if a piece is in its path.
The king-t is only able to advance one square horizontally, vertically or diagonally and can capture if a piece is on the square it moves to. It is the most important piece in the game and if under check (under attack), the check has to be removed in the current move, otherwise it is checkmate and the opponent wins.
On the board, the pieces are arranged in this manner:
Pawn-p, rook-r, bishop-b, knight-n, king-k, queen-q
White-caps, black-small
r-n-b-q-k-b-n-r
p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p
-----------------
-----------------
-----------------
-----------------
P-P-P-P-P-P-P-P
R-N-B-Q-K-B-N-R
Note that the queens occupy squares of their own colour, and kings occupy squares opposite their colour instead.
I have embedded a video of a game between two chess grandmasters. Video uploaded by Youtube user "pearlclouds".
Friday, April 17, 2009
Viewing Chinese characters in the SMB
Hi guys, in case you have been unable to read Chinese words in the SMB. I will be teaching you how to do so in this post. For Internet Explorer 7 users, first press Alt. to bring up the menu bar, then click on "View". A drop-down list will appear and you should place your cursor over "Encoding". Alternatively, you could just right-click on any blank area in your open browser window, then select "Encoding". Click on "more" and this a long of list of encodings will appear. You should be able to see "Chinese Simplified (HZ)". Click on it and refresh the page. Your browser should be able to detect Chinese characters now.
For Mozilla Firefox 3 users, it is the same, except that after you are done selecting the encoding, you should also click on "Auto Detect", then "Chinese". After this, Firefox will be able to view Chinese characters.
For Mozilla Firefox 3 users, it is the same, except that after you are done selecting the encoding, you should also click on "Auto Detect", then "Chinese". After this, Firefox will be able to view Chinese characters.
The Elements Song
Sorry, in the previous post I have embedded the wrong video. It was supposed to be this one instead:
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Elements song
Hi everyone, I shall be telling you a little bit more about Tom Lehrer and the Elements Song.
Tom Lehrer was born in New York City in American and was a talented pianist and a mathematics teacher. He was part of a Jewish-American family and he showed great interest in music at a young age.
After graduating from high school, he went on to study mathematics at Harvard and eventually got himself a degree in math in 1947.
He wrote the Elements Song in 1959 and the song contained all the elements which were discovered at that time; it had up till nobelium. The song was not written in order of the elements in the Periodic Table, but rather in a way such that it went with the tune of the song.
After the song was written, it became rather popular and it was even sung in a talent show. Here is the video recorded and posted on YouTube:
I copied the lyrics for your reference:
There's antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium,
And hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium,
And nickel, neodymium, neptunium, germanium,
And iron, americium, ruthenium, uranium,
Europium, zirconium, lutetium, vanadium,
And lanthanum and osmium and astatine and radium,
And gold and protactinium and indium and gallium, (gasp)
And iodine and thorium and thulium and thallium.
There's yttrium, ytterbium, actinium, rubidium,
And boron, gadolinium, niobium, iridium,
And strontium and silicon and silver and samarium,
And bismuth, bromine, lithium, beryllium, and barium.
There's holmium and helium and hafnium and erbium,
And phosphorus and francium and fluorine and terbium,
And manganese and mercury, molybdenum, magnesium,
Dysprosium and scandium and cerium and cesium.
And lead, praseodymium and platinum, plutonium,
Palladium, promethium, potassium, polonium,
And tantalum, technetium, titanium, tellurium, (gasp)
And cadmium and calcium and chromium and curium.
There's sulfur, californium and fermium, berkelium,
And also mendelevium, einsteinium, nobelium,
And argon, krypton, neon, radon, xenon, zinc and rhodium,
And chlorine, carbon, cobalt, copper, tungsten, tin and sodium.
These are the only ones of which the news has come to Hahvard,
And there may be many others but they haven't been discahvered.
Tom Lehrer was born in New York City in American and was a talented pianist and a mathematics teacher. He was part of a Jewish-American family and he showed great interest in music at a young age.
After graduating from high school, he went on to study mathematics at Harvard and eventually got himself a degree in math in 1947.
He wrote the Elements Song in 1959 and the song contained all the elements which were discovered at that time; it had up till nobelium. The song was not written in order of the elements in the Periodic Table, but rather in a way such that it went with the tune of the song.
After the song was written, it became rather popular and it was even sung in a talent show. Here is the video recorded and posted on YouTube:
I copied the lyrics for your reference:
There's antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium,
And hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium,
And nickel, neodymium, neptunium, germanium,
And iron, americium, ruthenium, uranium,
Europium, zirconium, lutetium, vanadium,
And lanthanum and osmium and astatine and radium,
And gold and protactinium and indium and gallium, (gasp)
And iodine and thorium and thulium and thallium.
There's yttrium, ytterbium, actinium, rubidium,
And boron, gadolinium, niobium, iridium,
And strontium and silicon and silver and samarium,
And bismuth, bromine, lithium, beryllium, and barium.
There's holmium and helium and hafnium and erbium,
And phosphorus and francium and fluorine and terbium,
And manganese and mercury, molybdenum, magnesium,
Dysprosium and scandium and cerium and cesium.
And lead, praseodymium and platinum, plutonium,
Palladium, promethium, potassium, polonium,
And tantalum, technetium, titanium, tellurium, (gasp)
And cadmium and calcium and chromium and curium.
There's sulfur, californium and fermium, berkelium,
And also mendelevium, einsteinium, nobelium,
And argon, krypton, neon, radon, xenon, zinc and rhodium,
And chlorine, carbon, cobalt, copper, tungsten, tin and sodium.
These are the only ones of which the news has come to Hahvard,
And there may be many others but they haven't been discahvered.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
NPCC Bronze Proficiency Badge Test
Yesterday, I had something different during my CCA. Instead of foot drills, we had a test instead. I was not too prepared for it as my senior just emailed me on Wednesday night.
In the email, he said that the content tested only included the five aspects of Total Defence, national symbols, national pledge, Singapore's history before WWII, and nation building after WWII. But in the test, I was also assessed on my knowledge of the Japanese Occupation. I had to depend purely on my memory for this part of the test.
Before the test, I was rather nervous as I did not revise sufficiently for the test. I had only memorised the five aspects of Total Defence, the national pledge and national symbols. I still had Singapore's history to go through, which was making me panic quite a lot. I revised as much as I could until it was time to assemble at SALT Centre.
The squad was brought to the NPCC activity rooms and the test began. I flipped through and discovered that it only had 50 MCQ questions. Most of them were rather easy, and some had really ridiculous answers.
e.g.
What can an aggressor potentially do to Singapore?
a. Cause racial and religious tension by exploiting the fact that Singapore is a multi-racial and multi-religious country
b. Make Singaporeans lose confidence in their defence
c. Kidnap the country's citizens to a faraway place
Option C is obviously wrong so the answer was options A and B only.
What was the wartime currency used in Singapore during the Japanese Occupation?
a. Papaya money
b. Yen
c. Banana money
The answer is C.
I am quite confident that I can pass the test and attain Bronze as the passing mark is 70%, which means that I can have 15 wrong answers.
In the email, he said that the content tested only included the five aspects of Total Defence, national symbols, national pledge, Singapore's history before WWII, and nation building after WWII. But in the test, I was also assessed on my knowledge of the Japanese Occupation. I had to depend purely on my memory for this part of the test.
Before the test, I was rather nervous as I did not revise sufficiently for the test. I had only memorised the five aspects of Total Defence, the national pledge and national symbols. I still had Singapore's history to go through, which was making me panic quite a lot. I revised as much as I could until it was time to assemble at SALT Centre.
The squad was brought to the NPCC activity rooms and the test began. I flipped through and discovered that it only had 50 MCQ questions. Most of them were rather easy, and some had really ridiculous answers.
e.g.
What can an aggressor potentially do to Singapore?
a. Cause racial and religious tension by exploiting the fact that Singapore is a multi-racial and multi-religious country
b. Make Singaporeans lose confidence in their defence
c. Kidnap the country's citizens to a faraway place
Option C is obviously wrong so the answer was options A and B only.
What was the wartime currency used in Singapore during the Japanese Occupation?
a. Papaya money
b. Yen
c. Banana money
The answer is C.
I am quite confident that I can pass the test and attain Bronze as the passing mark is 70%, which means that I can have 15 wrong answers.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
NPCC CIP
Hi again, everyone. Yesterday, NPCC organised a CIP activity for the whole sec. one squad. We assembled at SALT centre at 9.15 a.m. and proceeded to Clementi at 9.30 a.m. for the activity. Our task is to let the residents in Clementi be more aware of saving water. We split into groups of threes and were given brochures and pamphlets. Each group was assigned to one person from the PUB. The PUB officer was to install thimbles (round pieces of silica gel) on to the water taps while we tell the residents tips on how to save water.
We went to the first household and it was a small Malay family. The PUB officer turned on the tap and saw that the water was flowing out at a high rate. Using his spanner, he loosened the head of the tap and removed a small circular piece of rubber, replacing it with a thimble. When he turned on the tap again, this time a light jet of water shot out. Satisfied, he went to the bathroom tap. He did the same and soon every tap in the house had a thimble installed. The owner of the house seemed to a little unhappy with the change and asked the PUB officer a few questions in Malay. The officer answered the questions and seemed to tell him that, with thimbles installed on his taps, he would be able to save lots of water and money. We left and went on to the next household.
We visited a total of about 15 houses and about 11 allowed us in. The remaining 4 either did not answer the door or refused to let the PUB officer install thimbles on their taps.
At about 1.00 p.m., we were dismissed.
I feel that it had been an enriching experience and I have learnt things which I did not know about before. I got to know about tips on how to save water and how to install a thimble on to my tap if the need arises.
We went to the first household and it was a small Malay family. The PUB officer turned on the tap and saw that the water was flowing out at a high rate. Using his spanner, he loosened the head of the tap and removed a small circular piece of rubber, replacing it with a thimble. When he turned on the tap again, this time a light jet of water shot out. Satisfied, he went to the bathroom tap. He did the same and soon every tap in the house had a thimble installed. The owner of the house seemed to a little unhappy with the change and asked the PUB officer a few questions in Malay. The officer answered the questions and seemed to tell him that, with thimbles installed on his taps, he would be able to save lots of water and money. We left and went on to the next household.
We visited a total of about 15 houses and about 11 allowed us in. The remaining 4 either did not answer the door or refused to let the PUB officer install thimbles on their taps.
At about 1.00 p.m., we were dismissed.
I feel that it had been an enriching experience and I have learnt things which I did not know about before. I got to know about tips on how to save water and how to install a thimble on to my tap if the need arises.
Monday, March 23, 2009
March holidays
Hi, everyone. This is my first post and you shall listen to my side of the story for the March holidays. I will begin my post with the most interesting event, the 90th Anniversary celebration, which took place during the one-week holiday.
On Saturday, there was the 90th Anniversary Gala Dinner. The function began at 7.30 p.m. and extended well into the night. It was a huge celebration - more than 10000 people attended the dinner, and I was one of those who turned up on HCI''s sports field that day.
When I arrived, I saw that the clock tower had lights placed at the foot of it and it turned a different shade of colour every few seconds. It was definitely a feast for the eyes and my impressed mother took many pictures of it.
At around 7.00 p.m., guests were told to take their seats and there was the singing of the school song. Food was then served up immediately after that. I found a pink bun, raw fish, sushi and a red ball of meat which was actually a baby octopus on my plate. All of them tasted fantastic. Then, we had shark fin's soup, roasted duck meat and another soup which contained vegetables, prawns and sea cucumbers. While we were allowing the food to grace our taste buds, the chinese orchestra, string orchestra, school band and choir went on stage to perform. I spotted CJ and Wei Yang during the singing of "满江红". The musical groups certainly have both talented voices and skill with their musical instruments.
Sadly, I had to leave at around 10 because I had something urgent going on at home. I left with regret (at not being able to have the fish and dessert) and on my way out, I saw shuttle buses waiting in the school. A bit puzzled, I read Ziying's blog and found out that they were to transport the people at the dinner to Turf City where all their private cars were parked. As I have left early, I was not caught in the jam along BT road.
The Gala Dinner was excellent and everyone who turned up for it was well-fed afterwards. It was pity that many of my classmates did not attend it.
Other than the celebrations, there was the homework, as usual. All the holiday homework that we had was essentially Chinese and Science. The Science worksheets were quite easy to complete but I took a longer to time to complete the Chinese worksheet.
That was basically what I did during the holidays, and I shall end my post here. Bye, folks!
-Shilin
On Saturday, there was the 90th Anniversary Gala Dinner. The function began at 7.30 p.m. and extended well into the night. It was a huge celebration - more than 10000 people attended the dinner, and I was one of those who turned up on HCI''s sports field that day.
When I arrived, I saw that the clock tower had lights placed at the foot of it and it turned a different shade of colour every few seconds. It was definitely a feast for the eyes and my impressed mother took many pictures of it.
At around 7.00 p.m., guests were told to take their seats and there was the singing of the school song. Food was then served up immediately after that. I found a pink bun, raw fish, sushi and a red ball of meat which was actually a baby octopus on my plate. All of them tasted fantastic. Then, we had shark fin's soup, roasted duck meat and another soup which contained vegetables, prawns and sea cucumbers. While we were allowing the food to grace our taste buds, the chinese orchestra, string orchestra, school band and choir went on stage to perform. I spotted CJ and Wei Yang during the singing of "满江红". The musical groups certainly have both talented voices and skill with their musical instruments.
Sadly, I had to leave at around 10 because I had something urgent going on at home. I left with regret (at not being able to have the fish and dessert) and on my way out, I saw shuttle buses waiting in the school. A bit puzzled, I read Ziying's blog and found out that they were to transport the people at the dinner to Turf City where all their private cars were parked. As I have left early, I was not caught in the jam along BT road.
The Gala Dinner was excellent and everyone who turned up for it was well-fed afterwards. It was pity that many of my classmates did not attend it.
Other than the celebrations, there was the homework, as usual. All the holiday homework that we had was essentially Chinese and Science. The Science worksheets were quite easy to complete but I took a longer to time to complete the Chinese worksheet.
That was basically what I did during the holidays, and I shall end my post here. Bye, folks!
-Shilin
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