Quarter finals

The B div made it to the quarter finals. Something to celebrate about. Now the next grouping is not going to be easy but if we manage to clear that, things will be easier. Good thing is I feel that this team can is capable of achieving much more and that they are growing game by game. They are in good hands too.

Things should be fine.

Mid week

I am on a caffeine driven frantic edgey cagey state. Just trying to stay on top of things, keeping things down and trying to function properly at work. Well one day at a time.

War of the online references

Britannica seemed upset by the comparison (read Wiki survives search test) with Wikipedia and demanded that Nature retract its article. However Nature is standing by its findings.

Read this : 1. "Wiki study fatally flawed" BBC News
2. Britannica's response
3. Nature's response

Think this is one post with the most hyperlinks in one sentence.

A blade of grass - Brian Patten

A blade of grass

You ask for a poem.
I offer you a blade of grass.
You say it is not good enough.
You ask for a poem.

I say this blade of grass will do.
It has dressed itself in frost,
It is more immediate
Than any image of my making.

You say it is not a poem,
It is a blade of grass and grass
Is not quite good enough.
I offer you a blade of grass.

You are indignant.
You say it is too easy to offer grass.
It is absurd.
Anyone can offer a blade of grass.

You ask for a poem.
And so I write you a tragedy about
How a blade of grass
Becomes more and more difficult to offer,

And about how as you grow older
A blade of grass
Becomes more difficult to accept.

Water Water Day 22 March

It was World Water Day 2 days ago. Theme for 2006 is Water and Culture coordinated by UNESCO. Here's the write up from the Word Water Day website.

We plan our cities near water; we bathe in water; we play in water; we work with water. Our economies are built on the strength of water transportation - and the products we buy and sell are all partly water, in one way or another. Our daily lives are built on water, and shaped by it. Without the water that surrounds us - the humidity of the air, the roughness of the river's current, the flow from the kitchen tap - our lives would be impossible.

In recent decades, water has fallen in our esteem. No longer an element to be revered and protected, it is a consumer product that we have shamefully neglected. Eighty percent of our bodies are formed of water, and two thirds of the planet's surface is covered by water: water is our culture, our life.

The theme 'Water and Culture' of WWD 2006 draws attention to the fact that there are as many ways of viewing, using, and celebrating water as there are cultural traditions across the world. Sacred, water is at the heart of many religions and is used in different rites and ceremonies. Fascinating and ephemeral, water has been represented in art for centuries - in music, painting, writing, cinema - and it is an essential factor in many scientific endeavours as well.

Each region of the world has a different way of holding water sacred, but each recognizes its value, and its central place in human lives. Cultural traditions, indigenous practices, and societal values determine how people perceive and manage water in the world's different regions.

Count your blessings

Along the path where all the things are piling up, trying to find equilibrium and trying to get ready for the coming term; sometimes a nice flower will bloom and release its heavenly scent, offering a brief respite and allow you to collect yourself and enjoy the moment.

Such a flower bloomed 2 days back, when I received an email from an ex student just sharing how life has been and recounting the good old times back on a certain sunny island where worries seem so far away. Really appreciate this small gesture, made my day. Thank you.

Had a meeting with a group of teachers who are passionate about nature. One of us in the group has this magnificent house at Chestnut Ave. We had wine in the veranda, lighted by flickering T lights in glasses, enveloped by a tranquil silence punctuated by the call of the night jars and grass frogs. What a way to talk and share ideas. It was indeed a priviledge and luck to be part of such an august assembly, I hope for more such meetings in the future.

Now Nature learning camp and mangrove reforestation project starting. Lets hope we can get something meaningful running.

In the hardwood groves - Robert Frost

In the hardwood groves
Robert Frost

The same leaves over and over again!
They fall from giving shade above
To make one texture of faded brown
And fit the earth like a leather glove.

Before the leaves can mount again
To fill the trees with another shade,
They must go down past things coming up.
They must go down into the dark decayed.

They must be pierced by flowers and put
Beneath the feet of dancing flowers.
However it is in some other world
I know that this is way in ours.

Blue Bayou

This song ran through my head many times during the trip.


Blue Bayou
I feel so bad I got a worried mind
I`m so lonesome all the time
Since I left my baby behind
On Blue Bayou

*
Saving nickels, saving dimes
Working 'til the sun don't shine
Looking forward to happier times
On Blue Bayou
I'm going back some day come one May
to Blue Bayou
Where the folks are fine
And the world is mine
On Blue Bayou
Where those fishing boats
With their sails afloat
If I could only see
That familiar sunrise
Through sleepy eyes
How happy I'd be
*

Going to see my baby again
going to be with some of my friends
Maybe I'll feel better again
On Blue Bayou

(Repeat *)

Oh, that boy of mine
By my side
The silver moon and the evening tide
Oh, somesweet day
Gonna' take away
This hurting inside
Well, I'll never be blue
My dreams come true
On Blue Bayou.

Tioman 2006

My first time to this place was in 2000. Subequently been there, at least once, each year and never got tired of this beautiful place. Each trip there now is like a visit to a dear old friend.

This trip was good, like all others, more so with the students. Always makes me very happy to see them slowly being more aware and appreciative of the beauty of nature around them, looking at the faces of delight when they first tried sniffing a leaf, holding a frog and catching a snake. Even if they forget all the names of the plants and animals learnt there, I hope they will not forget the beauty of the place and keep the wonderment of experiencing nature with their senses.

Photos are finally up.

Endurance

Back from Tioman and heaed straight for OSL selection camp, a whole day affair, intense with observation feedback, scenario construction and also facilitation. I am very humbled by the abilities of the teachers and mentors who really carried the camp and hope that one day I will be able to join their ranks.

It is interesting to find out how people behave when they are really tired. Things have taken a surreal perspective for me now, not sure when reality ends and when dreams are seeping in.

What an intense week. 5 days of sun, sand and sea and 2 days of soul searching, trying your best to facilitate learning under quite trying conditions.

Was very priviledged to witness a simple birthday celebration amongst a group of close friends. The way the surprise was engineered and how much thought and effort was put in the presents was really touching.

I need sleep heh. Photos later.

Back

It was a good five days in sun-kissed Tioman. Wonderful to be back to the place where everything started, my first reptile capture, first expedition, first eye opener to the amazing world around me. And it is a delight to witness some of the students being 'infected' in the same way as well.

We bagged the British Council award for the SEF competition, very happy for the team as they have put in alot of time and effort in preparing for this. Shree also got an award in the student conference in Penang for her re-forestation project. Congratulations ladies.

Could feel the tiredness creeping in. OSL camp tomorrow. Another new meaningful venture. Shall see how things turn out.

Pictures of Tioman later.

Good luck!

Will not be able to be with my teams for competition tomorrow but all of them put in a lot of work for it. Ladies, all the best for SEF!

Our gas guzzling planet

From New Scientist

Zone finals

Was very happy for coach and B div. All the sweat and tears did not go to waste. Congratulations.

Loss

My backup harddisk broke down today. After I confidently transferred a good number of my documents and photos there, thinking that this is a safe place to store my hard work.

In the blink of an eye, 4 years worth of photos were wiped out. Well one must learn to accept loss and move on. Even the best do fail sometimes. Its how one cope with it. Luckily my dissertation is still intact. Sometimes you just have to be content with what you have and ask for nothing more.

Good game

Very good B div game today. Tenacity under pressure, composure, constant lookout for open man, hustling for rebounds, driving in to draw fouls and the fire in everyone's eyes. This is the team that is ready for big things. Kudos to the coach, Jo and of course all the players with the fire shining bright in their eyes.