Narrowband.org

The PPSMI Conundrum

Posted by narrowband - 06/11/11 at 12:11:50 pm

Let’s face it. We are just not there yet. Some teachers can’t even converse fluently in English, and you want them to teach in English? I’d rather have the knowledge imparted to me in a language the teacher feels most comfortable using. The last thing you want is some teachers become too focused on the delivery rather than the content. Just tell me whatever I need to know, in whatever way you feel comfortable, and I’ll do my own translating when the need arises.

If the teacher feels uncomfortable teaching in English, he or she may choose to get the lesson “over and done with” quickly, covering the bare minimum without going the extra mile to include other good-to-know’s or tips. I’m not saying learning in English is a bad thing. I’m all for English as a medium of instruction, even if it’s just for Science and Math. But the fact remains that we do not have enough qualified teachers to do that. Furthermore, I personally find learning in BM is just as effective.

I agree that we tend to use strange terms like “janjang” (“series” in English), “penyahpecutan” (BM for “deceleration”) and so on, but at the end of the day it’s the concept that’s important. It doesn’t really matter how it’s delivered, as long as it gets delivered. And if it helps to make the delivery more effective, the teacher can throw in its English-equivalent terms as an added bonus. I grew up learning everything in BM and when I entered uni, I found the BM-to-English transition both redundant and enlightening.

Everytime I came across a new English term, I felt joy in successfully relating it to its BM-equivalent word. Japan, Germany and China are examples of technologically-advanced nations that do not use English as a medium of instruction in their education system. Practically, I think we should not be too worked up about the whole PPSMI issue. We can instead focus on what is being taught in schools (factual/accurate History syallbus?) rather than how it’s taught.

Honestly, learning stuff in BM is not the end of the world. Many people turned out fine. There are more pressing issues that need our attention. PPSMI is not going to stop brain-drain. PPSMI is not going to stop our kids from having to sit for IELTS or TOEFL when entering universities. I just think that the PPSMI is a little too far fetched an idea and our country isn’t quite ready for it. Don’t you think so?

Peekaboo

Posted by narrowband - 27/09/11 at 11:09:42 pm

Hi. I’m back again. After a long while. You have no idea.

I’m trying to pick up writing again. Because I know blogging helps to keep my brain going, to some extent. And my photography, too. As it is, my camera is collecting dust. For a while my blog went dead, and displayed rubbish. It wasn’t my doing, I don’t know how it became like that. I managed to seek assistance from my hosting provider and restored an old backup. I can’t even remember when was my supposed last post, before I went on the unplanned hiatus.

I embarked on a big journey of self-discovery, soul-searching, and took a big leap of faith and pursued a flying career. I learned about people, about teamwork, management, about relationships, and I learned how to fly a jet aeroplane. Throughout all this, I gained some, and lost some. I lost some valuable friendships, since leaving Malaysia to reside in a new country. Don’t mean to say they’re no longer friends, but we don’t connect the way we used to.

My journey had taken me to Australia, where I did most of my flying. And trust me Australia is a really beautiful country, and even more so when viewed from the sky. Well I don’t even know who still visits my blog. I know I’ve got a little over a hundred RSS subscribers, still. Hello again :)

Launch of Summer Fireworks

Posted by narrowband - 02/12/09 at 10:12:08 pm

I haven’t been going all out taking pictures everywhere I go, since arriving in Perth really. But well of course if you see me on Facebook you’ll notice I’ve some photo updates, but not a lot ;)

4-secs, f/14, ISO100
Continue reading Launch of Summer Fireworks…

2009 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix

Posted by narrowband - 15/10/09 at 08:10:24 pm

Having attended last year’s first-ever night F1 race, I was thrilled that I could make it for this year’s event as well.

Continue reading 2009 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix…

Pimp Dad

Posted by narrowband - 09/10/09 at 01:10:00 pm

Many months ago I needed to see a commissioner of oath for my application of certificate of good conduct from Wisma Putra. You can easily find such offices on either first- or second-floor of a shop lot. So I walked in to one of them and saw a 50-something man who would help me with my statutory declarations and stuff. He was also one of the partners who opened that office.

We chatted for a while, before I proceeded to show my documents. After getting the forms stamped and signed, I realized I had left out another set of documents that needed verification. I decided I would settle that the following day. I could go either go back to him, or to another place. I therefore did not fix an appointment with him.

When I went to a nearby coffee shop for my lunch, I saw him again so I invited him to join me. Things became less formal. We talked about what I’d be doing in Australia and about life in general. And then he related that his daughter also graduated from Australia, and was currently working in Malaysia. He said he didn’t really understand his daughter (who was, btw, single) well, and asked me how do young people think.

I offered him my views, albeit briefly. It was after all, over lunch and inappropriate to speak about things at length I guess. So that was it, not a single indication that I’d see him again after that day. The following day I decided to go back to him again because it was convenient. He was very happy to see me, a warmer reception compared to the day before.

He knew why I was there so it saved me the trouble of explaining. After we were done, he charged me only a minimal sum, much less than what I should pay. Then came the interesting bit. He said something like this; “I see you look like a nice guy. Do you think you can do me a favor? Make friends with my daughter, or introduce some friends to her because she’s at home most of the time and I’m worried she’s no friends”.

He said if his daughter were to expand her circle of friends, it was better to do it through people that we know, rather than strangers. “I now know you already mah”, he added. I honestly didn’t know what to do. He didn’t charge me the full amount for his services, and now he was asking for a strange favor. He then handed me a piece of paper with his daughter’s name and email written on it. “Damn,” I thought, “want meh…”

He said there was no obligation to his favor, just try to make friends and see how it works out. I said I understood, and that I’d see what I could do. As I was about to leave, he stopped me and guess what, he showed me a photo of his daughter on his handphone! I felt it was not very right and for some reason I tried not to look at the picture. But of course, it was shown to me like that already, and I wasn’t blind, so I saw.

What do you think? Since he was willing to show me her pic, obviously she had to at least look ‘OK’ right. It was a photo of her with her pet dog. Quite cute also lah. Both the dog and her. Anyway I left the place and immediately sent my friend an SMS saying some guy just pimped me his daughter. But you know what, it’s been about a year now and I have not followed up with that ‘favor’.

Feeling guilty as I might (for accepting a discount), I certainly didn’t promise anything. It’s probably better to let that girl find and make her own friends. What if she found out her dad had been ‘helping’ her? Sometimes such help is indeed of no help at all. She was 2 years younger than me. I didn’t think her dad should be too alarmed about her still staying single.

The Legend

Posted by narrowband - 06/10/09 at 03:10:12 pm

My N95 has come a long way. It was bought shortly after its release in early 2007, and has become a part of me ever since. The phone was my organizer, alarm clock, camera, multimedia player, portable storage device, GPS receiver, web browser… you name it.

Continue reading The Legend…

That H1N1 Thing

Posted by narrowband - 05/10/09 at 10:10:38 pm

Not too long ago, I found myself coming face to face with the H1N1 virus that hit our shores like a wave of tsunami. I didn’t think that I, or anyone close to me, would come even remotely close to contributing to the alarming statistics that, at that time, was still on a very steep northerly trend. I was in Singapore when when I was told that Sis had fallen ill.

Thinking that it was one of those seasonal attacks, she was taken to our family doctor where she was given antibiotics and other meds for her persistent cough. When her condition did not improve, she was brought to a nearby hospital for an X-ray. The doctor there suspected that she had bronchitis, which startled me, who was 300km away from home at that time of course.

My family never had such medical history! How did this bronchitis even come about? I later learned that the hospital (medical center, hospital, same, no?) did not have anymore rooms for Sis, especially the single ones because her condition was contagious. An attempt at warding her in another neighbourhood private hospital was futile because it was also full house. Luckily a third attempt paid off – a private facility which was not too far away from home.

Because of the fever that came along, we were told that it could be dengue. The various diagnosis that cropped up in a span of just 3 days began to worry me. Then suddenly I received an update saying her fever had subsided. Thinking that she was already warded and that she’d have sufficient medical attention, I actually heaved a sigh of relief. And then the next day came the bombshell. ‘Pneumonia’ was by no means a small word! A quick check on Google with keywords ‘pneumonia’ and ‘h1n1′ only returned frightening results.

In view of the escalating numbers of H1N1 infections reported by the papers, not to mention the number of fatalities, I was worried sick. Within 3 hours after receiving that phone call, I hopped onto the next available MAS plane home, the last of the day, and the most expensive I had ever taken, plagued by anxiety and, believe it or not, fear. I was actually very afraid. I had never been that scared in my life before.

I applied for an emergency leave, and spent the remainder of the week shuttling between home and the hospital where Sis was warded. By then it had dawned upon us that it was actually H1N1 that we were dealing with, but since her infectious period was already over, the question of quarantine did not arise. She responded well to the treatment and the (mild) pneumonia that was detected earlier had gone.

And the fever did not return throughout that period. Her condition improved. By the 10th day or so she was allowed to return home. But because of her weak immunity she was given a further 1-week M.C. to recuperate. Thinking back, I was pretty sure god heard me when I said my silent prayers in my flight seat the night I flew home. Sis has now fully recovered, and everyone else in the family is as healthy as a bull.

The Window Seat, Or The Aisle Seat, Sir?

Posted by narrowband - 05/09/09 at 12:09:47 am

Everytime I hear those words I’ll be torn between choosing a seat with ample legroom and a window seat. You rarely get both. If you get the seat near the exits, the nearest window would be at some distance away. When I was little I always loved the window seats, especially at night. I was a very curious little boy. The buildings, wings, lights on the ground, the flashing lights on the aircraft body, they were quite fascinating to watch. I even wished that the aircraft had bigger windows so I could see more. Then when I grew older I had to learn to appreciate legroom. I remember being given the emergency-exit seat, with all the legroom I ever needed. Despite having the stewardess’ jumpseat right in front of me (facing me), I found myself trying to peek outside the nearest window during various stages of flight. (You could argue she wasn’t pretty enough, but she was actually quite fine.)

“Actually I would prefer the window seat” I heard myself say today, instead of the usual “I’d like to have the seat near the emergency doors”. I traded off legroom for window seat today ;) I don’t usually carry much when commuting between Changi and KLIA, and I’m glad that airline companies recognize this. I paid a ‘Lite’ fare – a return Jetstar that cost a little more than a return Aeroline – where I can’t have check-in baggages. Today was particularly nice because I hadn’t felt this good about coming home in a long time. Important dates are over, the major stresses are gone and I really need a break. Even the lady at the immigration officer was being nice to me. She smiled and looked at my passport, did some stuff and wished me a nice weekend before clearing me. (Btw it’s common to have your occupation and company name written in your passport when you’re a working foreigner). I wished her the same and left for the departure hall.

I realized that everytime I walked through that metal detector I would expect the buzzer to go off. Today was no exception. I can never understand why sometimes the buzzer goes off, sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve even tried removing my watch and wallet but I’d still trigger the detector. But today, even the metal detector ‘gantry’ (Singaporean’s most dreaded word) was ‘wishing’ me a nice trip home. I held my breath as I walked through it and when nothing was heard, I smiled at the officer in relief. He smiled too. My pleasant homecoming didn’t end there… I was typing away on my laptop (gotta love the wifi) when a hottie came and sat next to me. She was in a dressed-to-kill combo of white silk dress and heels. Looked like she was headed for some ball or something. The True Fitness backpack looked a little out of place but it was cute nonetheless. Turned out she sat right behind me on the plane. Naw no exchanges took place ;).

And my seat? No I didn’t suffer a muscle cramp. But it was tight sqeeze. Anyway I wouldn’t have sacrificed my legroom if it wasn’t a short flight ;) Have a fantastic weekend, you!

Shorttalk: Narrowband is to answer a call of duty tomorrow, for his sister’s graduation ceremony. Guess? Free labour!

The Alarm Clock Rant

Posted by narrowband - 29/08/09 at 11:08:39 pm

Here’s an interesting observation. Many people use their mobile phones as their alarm clock. I mean seriously, when was the last time you saw someone using the old school table clock as an alarm clock? And then there’s another even more interesting observation. There’re many people who snooze their alarms a few times before finally getting up.

I, for one, don’t do that. I always want to get the max out of my bedtime so I don’t like to be interrupted until I really have to get up. I’m also a light sleeper, so usually the first ring (which is also the lowest volume) will be enough to get me up and moving. So if I need to get up at, say, 0715 am, my first ring shall be at 0715 itself.

In my lifetime I have seen people who’re very much the opposite. They prefer to set the alarm to ring 15-30 minutes before the time when they would actually get up. There’d be a couple of snoozes. I look at that as a 15-30 minutes loss of quality sleep time. Why’d anyone wanna wake up and press a button (snooze) and only to go back to sleep again?

According to a friend, we can actually set a few alarms on a Nokia phone. Some people would utilize this feature and set alarms to ring 10-15 minutes apart. How does your body recognize if it’s time to wake up, then? If it isn’t the first ring, would it be the second? Do you keep count (in your sleep) how many times the alarm has rung?

Interesting isn’t it. Efforts should be made by scientists to study this behaviour and explain the cause and ways to overcome the problem. By the way, would or wouldn’t you call this a ‘problem’?

P/s. After 15 weeks of hardwork, stress and swollen eyes, it all came to an end with three important days. Don’t know how well I did yet, but I’m very relieved anyway! ;)

Upgrade In Progress

Posted by narrowband - 01/08/09 at 01:08:53 pm

Narrowband.org is being revamped. Thanks to Satkuru for tips on WordPress database backup and version upgrade during a brief discussion last week! (Can you believe that the entire process was completed in about an hour?) Please feedback if you notice any bugs or irregularities on my blog, while I try my best to eliminate them. I know some of the recent entries do not have any categories assigned – somehow the binding was lost during the import/export process. Will get that sorted out soon (most likely manually ;(… ).

I’m supposed to be studying for an exam, lol. Til then, updates will be scarce.

Psst: Love the simplicity of this theme ;p

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