inertia is a sin

Moving to wordpress

2006-10-31T20:02:00.000+08:00

After a talk with otterman, moving everything there.

So new posts up at chengpuay.wordpress.com

Will miss the tagboard. Oh well, it was nice for a while.

Thanks blogger.

hibiscus

2006-10-30T23:42:00.000+08:00

hibiscus.jpg
Originally uploaded by _Cheng Puay.

Nice flaming petals.

The cost of climate change

2006-10-30T21:08:00.000+08:00

If the prediction of biodiversity loss, environmental damage is not enough a wakeup call. Perhaps dollars and cents will do.

Something from the Herald - "

Al Gore to advise Gordon Brown on climate change

"

Another article from thisismoney.co.uk - Economy faces climate 'calamity'

Here are some figures from the article -

CLIMATE CHANGE BY NUMBERS

£3.68 trillion - the total cost of tackling climate change per year unless drastic action is taken, according to the Stern report.
1% - how much of global gross domestic product (GDP) must be spent if climate change is to be tackled now.
200 million - the number of people who could become refugees after their homes are hit by drought or flood.
40 - the percentage of species that could become extinct due to climate change.
0.5% - the temperature increase across Africa in the past 100 years.
20% - Britain's current target for reducing carbon emissions.
30% - the EU's target for reducing carbon emissions by 2020 under proposals by Gordon Brown.
£10.6bn - the total amount the Stern report recommends should be spent on global research into carbon emissions.
1 in 6 - the number of people in the world whose drinking-water supply could be affected by climate change.

Best Wildlife Photos 2006 and short stories

2006-10-27T23:38:00.000+08:00

Its finally out.

The top prize went to Göran Ehlmé from Sweden who captured this amazing image of a walrus hunting for molluscs.

For more images, check out the National Geogaphic site.

Read this from Neil Gaiman's blog. Something interesting from the Wired magazine, a story in just 6 words. Just learnt that Hemmingway wrote one of these - ("For sale: baby shoes, never worn.").

Worth reading.

Next week is packed. May be joining the Roots and Shoots program, or at least help out with guiding next Saturday. Now I am late for the Ubin field trip.

Back soon.

Last lap

2006-10-25T08:44:00.000+08:00

Marking is finally done. After 40 to 50 scripts or so, it becomes mechanical. Still its good good scores, especially those I know had put in effort. Had some funny answers too, but this is not a place to comment. Next week will be wrapping up of the school term and planning for next year.
Need to think through 2007. What should I do?

Meanwhile Cambodia is getting closer. Hope the team will be ready.

Been a long time since I took a good photograph. Need a breakthrough there as well.

Around the corner, Jane Goodall is coming again to Singapore to promote her Roots and Shoots programe. Possible that I can convert the nursery into this. That will be fun.

Back with mac

2006-10-21T22:19:00.000+08:00

Got my logic board replaced. So apparently that is what was causing all the minor glitches with the touchpad.
Well now hopefully it will be stable and running for years to come.
Back to marking.

Away for a while

2006-10-19T08:02:00.000+08:00

Sent macbook in for another haul over. I will not be online for the time being. Meanwhile trying to do work on whatever available PC I can lay my hands on.
Being offline is great. Finished 3 books of Artemis Fowl, kindly supplied by gy. I am immensely grateful.

Will be back. Hopefully all macbook hardwire glitches fixed then.

Planet Enters 'Ecological Debt'

2006-10-10T12:32:00.000+08:00

Now with the haze enshrouding us. It is good to look at some ecological problems in a global perspective.

Hence this BBC article "Planet Enters Ecological Debt" is worth a read.

Some exerpts of this BBC article:

"The authors said this year's global ecological debt day meant that it would take the Earth 15 months to regenerate what was consumed this year.

"By living so far beyond our environmental means and running up ecological debts means we make two mistakes," said Andrew Simms, Nef's policy director.

"First, we deny millions globally who already lack access to sufficient land, food and clean water the chance to meet their needs. Secondly, we put the planet's life support mechanisms in peril," he added.

For further reading, the series of articles under this section: "Planet Under Pressure", gives a good overview of the current situation our globe is facing.

Something from the introduction of this series:

BBC News Online's Planet under Pressure series takes a detailed look at six areas where most experts agree that a crisis is brewing:

Food: An estimated 1 in 6 people suffer from hunger and malnutrition while attempts to grow food are damaging swathes of productive land.

Water: By 2025, two-thirds of the world's people are likely to be living in areas of acute water stress.

Energy: Oil production could peak and supplies start to decline by 2010

Climate change: The world's greatest environmental challenge, according to the UK prime minister Tony Blair, with increased storms, floods, drought and species losses predicted.

Biodiversity: Many scientists think the Earth is now entering its sixth great extinction phase.

Pollution: Hazardous chemicals are now found in the bodies of all new-born babies, and an estimated one in four people worldwide are exposed to unhealthy concentrations of air pollutants.

Let me end this post with a passage by Alex Kirby, BBC news online environment correspondent.

Living within the planet's means need not condemn us to giving up what we now assume we need for a full life, just to sharing it.

The challenge we face is not about feeling guilty for our consumption or virtuous for being "green" - it is about the growing recognition that, as the human race, we stand or fall together.

Ingenuity and technology continue to offer hope of a better world. But they can promise only so much.

You do not need ingenuity and technology to save the roughly 30,000 under-fives who die daily from hunger or easily preventable diseases.

And facing up to the planet's pressure points is about their survival, and ours.

Food for thought.

Stomach flu

2006-10-07T22:33:00.000+08:00

Not a good experience. Was comatose the entire afternoon, slipping in and out of conciousness and my body cannot hold any fluids in.
Fever just broke. Hopefully can recover by tomorrow.

Haze

2006-10-06T23:41:00.000+08:00

The haze is really bad. Enshrouding everything into a gloomy shade of grey which blurs things and gets into the eyes.

And creeps into the mind as well. Gloomy.

Journal club

2006-10-04T11:06:00.000+08:00

Need to read this for tomorrow's meeting. Heh, hope this journal club will be interesting. I need more of this.

Fight Global Warming

2006-10-03T20:22:00.000+08:00

http://www.fightglobalwarming.com

Where's the draco?

2006-10-03T19:11:00.000+08:00

Saw 4 of them last Sunday along Anderson road. Really amazing such lizards can be found at the heart of town.

On the back of a postcard

2006-10-01T18:32:00.000+08:00

Reeling and giddy from Fragile Things I shall write
of how i forgot my adapter and collected my
thesis at Queensway and headed back school
for my adapter and walked
down Anderson where I saw four dracos and
wandered into Lido, bought a ticket for the Banquet
at 315 and sat down on a bench and finished
a burger until I had to find
a piece of postcard in my bag and write these down
word for word,
moving on to the next line when my pen reached the
edge of the card, scribbling down the rush of words
pouring out of my head

Fragile things

2006-09-28T21:39:00.000+08:00

After a long wait, its finally in Singapore.
I want to savour every word written. Slowly. In small sips. Lingering and pausing, relishing every letter.

Just to share a small segment of it (hope Mr Gaiman won't mind).

... Stories, like people and butterflies and songbird eggs... are also fragile things, made up of nothing stronger or more lasting than twenty-six letters and a handful of punctuation marks. Or they are words in the air, composed of sounds and ideas - abstract, invisible, gone once they've been spoken and what could be more frail than that? But some stories, small simple ones about setting out on adventures or people doing wonders, tales of miracles and monsters, have outlasted all the people who told them, and some of them have outlasted the lands in which they were created...

Completion

2006-09-27T21:06:00.001+08:00

Had to take another cup of coffee prior to first block. But then things got better.
The day floated by with on very good lesson on GM food. Could feel everyone intent on finding out more, asking questions and considering all points of view of this sticky issue. Well hope to do a good round up tomorrow. If only every lesson is like this.

Then was the last minute frantic correction of the manuscript. Was so caught up in it that I actually heard the wrong bell and barged into the dance studio wondering where the team was. But managed to correct the last verse and also settle all other changes before the meeting though by then my mind is only 30% working. Of course had fun scaring the team during the vaccinations.

I now have inactivated typhoid, influenze and hep A swimming around in my blood. Both arms are sore. That means I might not be joining the interhouse closing activities.

Had a good walk in Orchard helping with the Horticulture options. Hmm shall try to have more classes like this.

Need more sleep. But then still some more stuff to clear. Maybe Sunday. After the guiding session at Lower Pierce this Sat. Hope to see the banded leaf monkey.

Now that will be great.

Completion

2006-09-27T21:06:00.000+08:00

Doing for others

2006-09-27T00:36:00.000+08:00

Got this quote off a show. By the author Albert Pines.

What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal

Wrong file

2006-09-25T23:41:00.000+08:00

Spent the last 2 hours correcting my thesis on a wrong file. I need sleep seriously.

Monday

2006-09-25T20:30:00.000+08:00

Today was exhausting. But the last 4 hours was worth it. Got interviewed by the people upstairs today too. One question is, what do you see yourself in a few years time?

I have no idea. This year is intense enough.

Thesis correction and submission due next Monday. Probably will hide in NUS to correct it tomorrow. Hope I have enough time.

Douglas Adams and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

2006-09-23T11:23:00.000+08:00

What am I doing in school on a Saturday? Hmm just don't ask.

Had a good time in the mangroves yesterday. 2 of the Avicennia seedlings planted by us 2 weeks ago germinated. They are now about 5cm tall and happily waving their cotyledons. It was fun truding about in the mud again. Shall consider taking a pay cut and just go work in the mangroves. Life will be much simpler then. Just let me hold this thought for a moment.

Have been reading "Don't Panic: Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". An autobiography of one of my favorite author written by another of my favorite author. What more can one ask for?

There is a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Game. Said to the fiedishly difficult to solve. Which is now available online. Took a look and wow. Old school stuff. Just a text interface where you type in commands and check your progress through responses by the computer. Brings back memories of hours of fun playing through DOS based games. Shall give this a try... after I clear my other stuff at hand first.

Leaf poem

2006-09-21T13:47:00.000+08:00

l(a

le
af
fa
ll

s)
one
l

iness

By E E Cummings.

The Coup

2006-09-20T22:33:00.000+08:00

A coup happened in Thailand. Not a single shot was fired. The king since then has endorsed this move by General Sonthi. All in a space of 24 hours. When the report came in this morning, was on the bus enroute to school. Then I realised dad is there. So had to pass the day with the gnawing anxiety chewing inside and had to be present enough to carry out meetings and lessons as per normal. How can one manage it is really a mystery.

Was glued to my macbook the whole time. Checking for updates to the situation. Could only find generic ones as I was very happy when otterman gave a summary of the situation and provided links with better updates. Such as 19sep.

Amazing how blogging has changed the way news spread.

Well still need to work tomorrow. Will see how things goes.

Snake hunting

2006-09-16T11:48:00.000+08:00

Went to help out with snake sampling Thursday night. Signed up with the project at the beginning of the year but kept putting it off due to various committments. Until this email came down stating in plain terms that yes the permit was applied and when am I going to show up?
So I decided, against every protest coming from every inch of my sleep deprived body, to go down no matter what.

So I did. After an ardous day where I have only half an hour break, witnessing my first mental blank out in one of my favorite classes (they were kind enough not to chew me up) and changing into mangrove wear, grabbing an early lunch and rushing off to the reserve to meet up with the rest of the group.

Realised that I am sometimes quite a linear person. There is this track of thought which I move along in class, hard to adjust to any jumps in the thought process. Shall blame it to lack of sleep for the moment.

So I nodded off while talking to my friend lunchtime, nodded off on the train while standing and nodded off while waiting for the rest at Kranji station.

We started walking down to the sampling site at nightfall, with the sky overcast due to an earlier shower, all was wet and cold. Yet as I walked, I find myself getting more alert. The smells of the plants of mangrove and the act of shining my torch into the vegetation to look for interesting animals seemed to waken another self. A person not so long ago, trudging in mud, forest, senses awake, just being present in the moment.

Arrived at the hut after 20 minutes of walking and collecting a mass of cobwebs on the face. Went down the mud and after a short while, found the first snake, Cerberus rynchops, laying in a small puddle amidst the mud. Then the world became very simple, just youself, the beam from your headlamp illuminating the area in front and your senses looking for the next snake. Before long caught 12 of them, fewest catch in the group (we totalled 60 snakes amongst the 4 of us).But the experience was really good.

Miss this kind of activity alot. Where things are so much simpler. Well shall savor them when I have the chance.

What happens to all my posts here I wonder. I have about 200 plus of them now. Anyone knows how to retrieve and do a backup from blogger?

World Press Photo 06

2006-09-15T16:13:00.000+08:00

World Press Photo. The oscar of photography.

Exhibition details:

8 - 28 September 10am - 9pm daily
National Library
Level 7 & 8 The Promenade
ADMISSION: FREE

Will go down one of the afternoons to admire the photos.

An inconvenient truth

2006-09-14T13:09:00.001+08:00

A film all should watch.

Dissertation

2006-09-13T21:19:00.000+08:00

Got back my dissertation corrections and was pleasantly surprised that my examiners had been kind and had favorable comments for my work.

So the past year of trying to sneak in every free moment to complete the report, sometimes waking up in the middle of the night just sweating over the possibility of not being able to meet deadlines has been worth it. Could still remember the many times where you just feel like throwing in the towel and get on with life. Well as I used to jokingly tell my friends,'Good things come to those who wait'.

Well can't see if it is really worth it. But then grateful for the experience and thankful for the patience many have shown in allowing me time and space to complete it. Ironically I long for this time and space now.

Oh well, another chapter soon completed. Time to move on. Things will get interesting again soon.

Predation and extinction

2006-09-11T14:19:00.001+08:00

The day went relatively well. Though still groggy from 3 hours of sleep only but you somehow pick yourself up when you enter the class.

Lessons went well today. Various energy levels in each class but on the whole we moved along fairly well. Ecology is a pet subject, so I was not worried about lack of examples on a good day.

Of course your day is made with questions like this, "If you were an ecologist, and you know that is species is going to be extinct due to natural predation, would you take steps to save it?"

Truth to be said, I do not have a direct answer. This is an age long debate on whether how much meddling with nature is tolerated. Since it is a natural process, should we sit by and watch the extinction of a species?

But if you probe deeper, you will ask yourself, why is there an excess of predators to prey in the first place? What happened to upset this balance? Is it a natural cause or a man-made cause?

So this question may require at least 10 minutes of discussion. And can be answered at various levels, addressing proximal and ultimate causative factors.

I love lessons like this.

Term 4 Week 1

2006-09-11T14:19:00.000+08:00

Back for the last lap

2006-09-11T01:13:00.000+08:00

Back and now 10 more weeks.
Its sometimes scary to think that your life is compartmentalized into 10 week blocks.
This will be a interesting one. OSL is coming around the corner. Time to shift gears up another notch.
Missed ICCS this time round, but I think otterman et al did a splendid job. Well next time then.

A Million Pieces

2006-09-07T23:48:00.000+08:00

Another good recommendation from the dear neighbour.

Newsboys \ Million Pieces

They all fall
Like a million raindrops
Falling from a blue sky
Kissing your cares goodbye
They all fall
Like a million pieces
A tickertape parade high
And now you're free to fly

Carryin' a millstone malaise
It's been pulling down your gaze
You pound the pavement
It don't give or care
This weight ain't yours to bear

Why you holdin' grudges in old jars?
Why you wanna show off all your scars?
What's it gonna take to lay a few burdens down?
It's a beautiful sound

When they all fall
Like a million raindrops
Falling from a blue sky
Kissing your cares goodbye
They all fall
Like a million pieces
A ticker tape parade high
And now you're free to fly

When that muffled sigh
Says you're barely getting by
Cut your burdens loose and just simplify
Simplify

This is not your floor
You're going higher than before
Drop the weight now
Wait for the lookout guide
Look outside

As they all fall
Like a million raindrops
Falling from a blue sky
Kissing your cares goodbye
They all fall
Like a million pieces
A ticker tape parade high
Now you're free to fly

You've gotta lay that burden down
You're gonna lay that burden down
It's time to leave your burdens in a pyre
Set a bonfire

'Cause when you lay your burdens down
When you lay your burdens down
When you drop them burdens
What a free-fall
What a thrill
Bury them all
In a landfill

A pleasant meal

2006-09-05T23:11:00.000+08:00

Its interesting how so many of us went into education after taking Biology. For some, it means a switch from moving in the field, collecting specimens, making sense of data to moving into the classroom, trying to keep abreast of things and thinking of ways to maintain interest of students

So it was really a good session when we managed to get together, talk about work, about old times and find out how each is doing. Was in a semi concussed state after attending camp from Monday but found that as the discussion went along, all of us forgot our fatigue and just went on and on.

Time flies when we are having a good time. So we left, each back to our own schools, own reality.

Lets hope for another meetup soon.

To Steve Irwin

2006-09-04T14:40:00.000+08:00

Here's to a passionate naturalist. Really a pity to see someone go like this.

Report from Chicago Times.

Obituary: Steve Irwin

Australia mourns 'colourful son'

Thank you

2006-09-03T22:45:00.000+08:00

Got this in the email today. Heh a pleasant surprise. Thanks.

1st September

2006-09-02T00:49:00.000+08:00

Actually slept for most of the day. Which I was really grateful for. Last week was so draining at times that it hurts. So it felt really good to just sleep the day in. Something which I had not done for a long time.

Went out for a while later in the day and found the paperpack version of Terry Pratchett's 'Thud'. Was waiting for the book for a year.

So good things come to those who wait.

That makes my reading list even longer but I get the feeling I might just finish Pratchett first before I leave for Phuket. That will mean "Zen and the art of motorcyle maintenance" over there.

Shall treasure this while it last.

Thank you all.

2006-08-31T23:13:00.000+08:00

Thank you everyone. Thank you. :)

Bizzaro

2006-08-25T09:26:00.000+08:00

Saw this on the newspaper.

And then there are eight...

2006-08-25T08:22:00.000+08:00

From BBC news
What makes a planet?

Long time back, if you can detect it on a telescope, it's fine.

This was how Pluto became our solar system's ninth planet after Clyde Tombaugh discovered it.

Now with much more powerful viewing devices, it's become more important to define what exactly a planet is. Otherwise far off objects bigger than Pluto will have to be added to the original list of nine planets orbiting the Sun.

Astronomers have decided on the following criteria, a planet must:

- be in orbit around the Sun
- be large enough that it takes on a nearly round shape
- has cleared its orbit of other objects

In a historic and very likely highly emotional meeting, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) reclassifed Pluto as a dwarf planet. A brave rational move. Pluto is now classified as a dwarf planet.

So now there are eight. Well its an auspicious number.

Rana hosii

2006-08-23T10:37:00.000+08:00

Rana hosii.jpg
Originally uploaded by _Cheng Puay.

Found alot of these frogs on the trees overlooking a fast flowing stream. They seemed to be content perched there. Possibly enjoying the cool moist air which only torrents bring.

This photo sends me back to the sound of rushing water, the cool spray of water on the face. And of the frogs serene perched there. Waiting.

Storm

2006-08-18T00:46:00.000+08:00

Flower Gathering - Robert Frost

2006-08-18T00:31:00.000+08:00

Flower-Gathering

I left you in the morning,
And in the morning glow,
You walked a way beside me
To make me sad to go.
Do you know me in the gloaming,
Gaunt and dusty gray with roaming?
Are you dumb because you know me not,
Or dumb because you know?

All for me and not a question
For the faded flowers gay
That could take me from beside you
For the ages of a day?
They are yours, and be the measure
Of their worth for you to treasure,
The measure of the little while
That I've been long away.

200

2006-08-13T09:52:00.000+08:00

Well well. 200th post. Not a bad experience so far. Seems fitting to mention 'Fragile things' in this post.

Been scuttling between "Collapse" by Jared Diamond, "Beak of the Finch" by Jonathan Weiner, Tim Flannery's "The weather makers" while Edward Wilson's "Nature Revealed" waits on the shelf.

I need a good story.

Tioman

2006-08-12T23:07:00.000+08:00

Back. The 4 days was good and much needed. Now need to re-orientate myself back for next week.

Change

2006-08-06T10:12:00.000+08:00

August will be a month of saying farewells. A good friend is leaving for further studies, another batch of students are graduating soon. Just another 4 more weeks and even my routine will have to be adjusted. Went for one for the odac farewell yesterday. Another meaningful photography assignment. Just hope that the pictures will do justice to the legacy they left behind, to the memories and friendship. So when its my turn, I hope to leave without a trace. A passing breeze not leaving a ripple in the pond. Will it be possible? Let's see.

Watching fireworks overlooking the esplanade was interesting. Could finally see the floating platforms where they launched these magnificent displays. Will not be taking photos this year. In fact, I think this is the first time I am away for National Day. Lets hope that it will be a good trip.

Oriental Pied Hornbill

2006-07-31T23:58:00.000+08:00

This is the pair which I saw again last Sunday in Ubin.
I live for moments like this. Yes

From Buena Vista Social Club

2006-07-31T22:36:00.000+08:00

From Buena Vista Social Club -

On the trunk of a tree
A young girl carved her name,
Overcome with happiness and joy,
And the tree,
Touched to the core
Let fall a flower for the girl
I am the tree.
So sad and moved
And you are the girl
Who hurt me so
I’ll always treasure your dear name,
But tell me
What became
Of my poor flower?

Since June, a whole host other things have filled in, so now one wonders whether if life in the past when you are focussed on one major thing is better or now when others things of equal importance all come swarming at once.

Kayaking

2006-07-28T17:26:00.000+08:00

A quick post before i disappear for retreat at Changi. Went kayaking with the odacians yesterday and as usual one find out the limits of your strength and endurance in a short 2 hours out at sea. We started off quite happily, fine weather, amazing beautiful cloud formation where the sun was peering through the cloud's edge thus creating this amazing iridiscent rainbow that is circular. Moving in a loose diamond formation, we paddled our way towards kallang and back.

That was when the adventure began. I was happily capsized and surfaced without my spectacles. In trying to right the canoe, I foolishly turned it upright while it was still submerged. Lesson 1 which I forgot after so many years, never upright a over turned kayak. Drain the water first. So we rafted and tried to haul the water logged doubles up. The students could not do it, so I took my turn and heaved with every ounce of strength I could master. Only managed to get the bow up before the kayak I was sitting in started to submerge and take in water too. Had to let go of the boat and try again. This time Kenneth took his turn. He can't do it either.

So we had to re-arrange the seating arrangements. 2 odacians had to hang on the bow of the boat and be transported back suspended on the bow. I took a doubles while Kenneth hung on to the submerged kayak and the plan was to tow him and the kayak back to shore. Losing my specs was good, I have no idea we were really far out. I started paddling and every stroke used up every muscle on my upper body. After 20 hard strokes, I had to rest and pull on the water, dragon boat style. I think we just moved the boat by 50cm with all my exertions. Still I kept trying knowing that we have only 30 minutes of daylight left. While we are trying to move to shore, the other singles boat capsized. So we had to detach the submerged kayak and row over to help. Came into dange of capsizing my doubles while doing the rescue. In the end we changed arrangements again, now with myself and kenneth rowing the doubles towing the submerged boat. Rachel is now the towing it while holding on us. Even with both of us rowing, progress was really slow.

So it went, a doubles kayak half filled with water, towing a submerged kayak held on by rachel.

Daylight was fast going. Without specs I had trouble making out where the shore was. Every stroke was a struggle and I was gritting my teeth and just trying my very best to keep on going.

This was when help came. Siti arrived with a tow line and a pump. We quickly tried to recover the submerged kayak and this time round, it worked. Half the kayak was out of the surface and we franctically pumped water out of the bottom half of the kayak. Suddenly we had 2 doubles kayak and can tow in the spare singles. The feeling of rowing without resistance was really good. It was amazing I could row at all after all the hauling and straining.

Without the added weight, it took us 20 minutes to row our way back to shore. It was when the possiblity of being stuck there for the night hit on me. I was so glad that all of us made it safely back.

After cleaning up and returning the kayaks, we went to change. Found that I had trouble pulling up my shirt. The arms felt like lead after all the rowing. The last time I felt like this was 16 years ago during dragonboat training. Despite the ache, it was a good familiar feeling. Shows that I need to shape up more too, heh.

Thanks to all the odacians for helping us recover the canoe and pitching in to help. Hope to be able to come along for future canoeing sessions.

Ok, lets hope I am awake enough for the retreat.

Oriental Pied Hornbills

2006-07-22T17:32:00.000+08:00

Update from ubin trip. We arrived mid morning and the first the thing I did was to cycle down the path where I sighted the hornbills.

Was really really lucky, just as I entered the path, the first hornbill glided down from a tree to my right and swopped across to the rambutan tree on the other side. It casually hopped from branch to branch, picking up rambutan fruits and have a nice morning feast. Just when I was grabbing my camera, two others glided across and joined the first hornbilll for breakfast. The birds did not seem to mind our presence and continued hopping from branch to branch searching for fruits. Eventually 2 left for the durian trees and fish tail palm further away from the path. And 5 minutes later the last hornbill joined them.

Went back and finally found the proper name for the hornbill in Prof Wee Yeow Chin's bird ecology study group Blog. Anthracoceros albirostris convexus. Apparently the original nucleus came from Johor in Malaysia and was since sighted in many areas including Kent Ridge and Bukit Timah. From my own experience, there is at least 6 of them in Pulau Ubin.

Chek Jawa was closed for maintanence, there was this big barrier erected over the cycling path with someone guarding it. So we detoured and went to the beach south of it. This small stretch of sand was covered with a layer of Ulva and lots and lots of litter. A friend commented that we should organise cleanups for these beaches and I said we are. Once a year the International Coastal Cleanup group gets everyone together for a massive beach cleanup and data collection.

On the way back to the jetty, met grace and blue water volunteers getting people for a Chek Jawa beach cleanup. Happily pointed that to my friend. Yes, in small urban Singapore, we have people who devote their time to keep whatever nature we have in good condition.

Good day this is. Photos of hornbill soon.

Ubin

2006-07-22T08:04:00.000+08:00

Nothing noteworthy to blog about so far. Been caught up with overseas learning and work in school. Not much photos also. Perhaps this is how I am adjusting after slogging at my dissertation for 1 year. The mind just wants to relax a little. Time to start gearing up again, still quite a number of things I need to clear.

For today, will be doing a little informal guiding for my friends at Ubin. Hopefully some nice photos will come.

Ninki Nanka

2006-07-15T15:43:00.000+08:00

A dragon like creature is believed to exist in the swamps of Gambia. 50 meters long by 1 meter wide, with a face resembing a chinese dragon, it is said to inflict death on eye witnesses. A team of dragon hunters from UK is currently launching an expedition in search of it.

This is different from discovering news species of mammals. For undiscovered animals of this size, I'll put my money in the ocean's fathoms.

Coffee

2006-07-15T08:46:00.000+08:00

Chinese orhcestra concert yesterday was superb. Nice flowing melodies, grand resounding crescendos; makes one yearn for a nice cup of oolong and maybe breath of fresh air.

Need coffee badly. Week has been intense with long hours.

Shall go get my fix now.

Impermanance

2006-07-13T22:28:00.000+08:00

Reading about relics left by past civilisations, which has collasped and died out due to environmental damage which leads to shortage of resources and food eventually leading to declining living standards and starvation or war. Jared Diamond did a really impressive synthesis by compiling data from the Polynesians, Mayans, Anasanzis and even presented case studies of modren day studies in his recent book, Collapse, how societies choose to fail or succeed.

Archeologists found out alot about these past through carbon dating of architecture, palynology, looking at pottery and other remnants of civilisation left behind. These relics survived several thousand years of change and surfaced again to offer us a glimpse of what life was like then.

What do we have?

Terabytes of infromation, pictures, art pieces, all converted into binary which were stored in servers which can one day crash and just become a piece of meaningless metal and plastic. Increasingly our information is in a 'disposable' form. We can simply erase days of with a click of a button. We store our writings onto servers. Our clothing are meant to last only a few years, I need to mention our shoes.

Most valuable items now are insured with hefty sums of money. What insurance do we have for our history? What happens when our era comes to a past? How will we be judged and assessed? Or will we have nothing at all? Just rusting pieces of metal of a civilisation which vanished into thin air and left no records of their language and culture. Or even more interestingly, we might be evaluated on the relics we preserved. So scientists may be puzzling over how we can create such sophisticated machines like air planes but only use rudimentary symbols to communicate.

That will be interesting.

Intense

2006-07-11T17:34:00.000+08:00

Today was intense, 4 blocks of assessment plus another hour of discussion about research projects. Then had to complete 3 reports in between breaks.

Only time I could breathe was a ten minute lapse before the last lesson. Plugged into itunes and chose a song, closed my eyes and drifted away. A space of your own can be found anywhere.

Tioman is confirmed. 4 days of bliss awaits. Small group, no fuss, will just have a nice trek, hunt for Rafflesia and chill out under the rock pool.

I can't wait.

New battery

2006-07-07T23:10:00.000+08:00

Macbook's battery died on Tuesday during an important presentation about overseas learning. So while my friend is holding fort answering queries, I ran back for my power cord to revive my mac. Fortunately the presentation went smoothly after. But I had to send my mac in to check what's wrong and ended up without a computer for 2 days.

It was strangely liberating, not sitting in front of the computer screen at night. You really detach yourself from work and luxuriate in this space by yourself. Work can wait. But still glad to have my mac back, Ishop was vry fast. Replaced my faulty battery within a day. So now life goes back to normal. So now I know why I was advised to stay offline during the hols. Good advice.

Discovery Team Tour de France 2006

2006-07-03T11:47:00.000+08:00

Tour De France happened quietly admist the hustle and bustle of World Cup. The French teamselves were probably more worried about the coming France semi finals match. So there will be more soccer jersey than yellow jerseys around.

This Tour de France is special. Its the first after seven years without Lance Armstrong. I am rooting for Discovery's George Hincapie. The quiet and industrious partner who helped Lance Armstrong to many Tour de France titles. Allez Hincanpie.

Finding your way home, Ant style

2006-07-03T09:36:00.000+08:00

How do we navigate from one point to another? Age old method - direction and distance. You check your direction and bearings either using landmarks or compass and estimate the distance using maps or plain simple pacing. Navigation in the jungle during my navigation exercises consist studying the compass studiously and praying that my mind did not wander off when I was studiously counting my pacing.

Now with GPS, the rules of navigation has indeed changed.

How do ants navigate from one point to another? By chemical trails, but when chemical trails are not effective, for example when you are a desert ant, you have to rely on other methods. What other methods? Simple, by bearing and pacing too.

We know that ants can use the Sun for navigation. But as we know in navigation, this is only half the story, ants still need to know that they have travelled far enough to reach home.

It turned out that desert ants, Cataglyphis sp. have very accurate pedometers. How can scientists prove that? Wittlinger et al did, by lengthening the legs of the ants using bristles glued to the ants legs. Those with longer legs went past their nests on the way back. Simple and elegant experiment.

For more read:
Wittlinger, M., Wehner,R. and Wolf, H. 2006. The Ant Odometer: Stepping on Stilts and Stumps Science 312 (5782): 1844

Ants find their way home using pedometers The Economist

Nursery is finally taking shape

2006-07-01T22:23:00.000+08:00

After thesis, another thing which I have been worrying is the state of the nursery. Many of the seedlings have spent to about 11 months cramped in bottles lacking in proper drainage and compacted soil. They need transplanting. The nursery also badly needed cleaning up, something which is difficult just by myself.

So I am very glad for the new team of students who so enthusiatically signed up for the reforestation project and turned up this shady Saturday morning and proceeded to transplant over 40 seedlings into proper planting bags. Not minding having soil and mud on their shoes and uniform, they caught slugs, picked up litter, cleared away old containers and swept up the dead leaves, leaving in their wake all the plants merrily transplanted and a sparkling clean nursery. So despite recovering from fever, it was a really good Saturday morning spent.

Lets hope this team will continue their good attitude. There is still along way to go.

walking towards the mountain

2006-06-29T21:55:00.000+08:00

Rinjani. On the way up to basecamp at 2100m above sea level. All we can see is an endless stretch of grass. Sun was beating high up and many of us were starting to feel the heat. All of sudden this puff of cloud just rolled across from the left.
Beautiful.

Fever

2006-06-28T12:09:00.000+08:00

A little fluctuation of the body temperature, by one and a half degrees higher, can immobilise one completely. So read the mantra on Homeostasis which I am perfectly aware of.

Am experiencing it firsthand again after a long while.

Had been holding back a bug since the climb from Lombok and happily dived back into work; school, friend's wedding and volunteer stuff, without listening to the little aches and protests in my body. And so now I am paying for it. Since Sunday, had been drifting in and out of conciousness, nerves were raw, every sound too loud, every contact too painful, every breeze too cold. You just huddle in your blanket but you can't sleep because so many things were wandering through your hyperactive heated brain.

Just hope I am well enough to go back tomorrow.

Teacher Man - Frank McCourt

2006-06-26T09:14:00.000+08:00

Chanced across this book, Teacher Man, when I went visiting Borders. Was adjusting back to urban life after the rolling hills, wide open skies, silent crisp fresh air from Lombok. Its a book about teaching. A chronicle of Mr McCourt's 30 years of high school teaching. Just perfect for someone who just started off. 2 years into teaching 10 classes of hyperactive girls, is there anything I can gleam from his experience? I received a copy of Angela's Ashes as a birthday present years back, but laid it aside, figuring that I was depressed ebough already with my thesis than to sink further in it. Maybe its time to read the book now.

Here's a glimpse of the amazing prose of McCourt and how he struck a chord with me.

... f I hadn't written Angela's Ashes I would have died begging, Just one more year, God, just one more year because this book is the one thing I want to do in my life, what's left of it. I never dreamed it would be a best-seller. I hoped it would sit on booksellers' shelves while I lurked in the bookshop and watched beautiful women turn pages and shed the occasional tear. They'd buy the book, of course, take it home, loll on divans and read my story while sipping herbal tea or a fine sherry. They'd order copies for all their friends.

In 'Tis I wrote about my life in America and how I became a teacher. After it was published I had the nagging feeling I'd given teaching short shrift. In America, doctors, lawyers, generals, actors, television people and politicians are admired and rewarded. Not teachers. Teaching is the downstairs maid of professions. Teachers are told to use the service door or go around the back. They are congratulated on having ATTO (All That Time Off). They are spoken of patronizingly and patted, retroactively, on their silvery locks. Oh, yes, I had an English teacher, Miss Smith, who really inspired me. I'll never forget dear old Miss Smith. She used to say that if she reached one child in her forty years of teaching it would make it all worthwhile. She'd die happy. The inspiring English teacher then fades into gray shadows to eke out her days on a penny-pinching pension, dreaming of the one child she might have reached. Dream on, teacher. You will not be celebrated.

You think you'll walk into the classroom, stand a moment, wait for silence, watch while they open notebooks and click pens, tell them your name, write it on the board, proceed to teach.

On your desk you have the English course of study provided by the school. You'll teach spelling, vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension, composition, literature.

You can't wait to get to the literature. You'll have lively discussions about poems, plays, essays, novels, short stories. The hands of one hundred and seventy students will quiver in the air and they'll call out, Mr. McCourt, me, me, I wanna say something.

You hope they'll want to say something. You don't want them to sit gawking while you struggle to keep a lesson alive.

You'll feast on the bodies of English and American literature. What a time you'll have with Carlyle and Arnold, Emerson and Thoreau. You can't wait to get to Shelley, Keats and Byron and good old Walt Whitman. Your classes will love all that romanticism and rebellion, all that defiance. You'll love it yourself, because, deep down and in your dreams, you're a wild romantic. You see yourself on the barricades.

Principals and other figures of authority passing in the hallways will hear sounds of excitement from your room. They'll peer through the door window in wonder at all the raised hands, the eagerness and excitement on the faces of these boys and girls, these plumbers, electricians, beauticians, carpenters, mechanics, typists, machinists.

You'll be nominated for awards: Teacher of the Year, Teacher of the Century. You'll be invited to Washington. Eisenhower will shake your hand. Newspapers will ask you, a mere teacher, for your opinion on education. This will be big news: A teacher asked for his opinion on education. Wow. You'll be on television.

Television.

Imagine: A teacher on television.

They'll fly you to Hollywood, where you'll star in movies about your own life. Humble beginnings, miserable childhood, problems with the church (which you bravely defied), images of you solitary in a corner, reading by candlelight: Chaucer, Shakespeare, Austen, Dickens. You there in the corner blinking with your poor diseased eyes, bravely reading till your mother pulls the candle away from you, tells you if you don't stop the two eyes will fall out of your head entirely. You plead for the candle back, you have only a hundred pages left in Dombey and Son, and she says, No, I don't want to be leading you around Limerick with people asking how you went blind when a year ago you were kicking a ball with the best of them.

You say yes to your mother because you know the song:

A mother's love is a blessing
No matter where you go
Keep her while you have her
You'll miss her when she's gone.

Besides, you could never talk back to a movie mother played by one of those old Irish actresses, Sarah Allgood or Una O'Connor, with their sharp tongues and their suffering faces. Your own mother had a powerful hurt look, too, but there's nothing like seeing it on the big screen in black and white or living color.

Your father could be played by Clark Gable except that a) he might not be able to handle your father's North of Ireland accent and b) it would be a terrible comedown from Gone With the Wind, which, you remember, was banned in Ireland because, it is said, Rhett Butler carried his own wife, Scarlett, up the stairs and into bed, which upset the film censors in Dublin and caused them to ban the film entirely. No, you'd need someone else as your father because the Irish censors would be watching closely and you'd be badly disappointed if the people in Limerick, your city, and the rest of Ireland were denied the opportunity of seeing the story of your miserable childhood and subsequent triumph as teacher and movie star.
Copyright © 2005 by Green Peril Corp.

Rinjani

2006-06-24T22:52:00.000+08:00

Only slept for 2 hours since Friday. So will revise this when I am more awake.

The beginning of the trek was beautiful. Walked through fields cast golden by the rising sun.

Clear blue skies for the first day. The moon was still visible even with the Sun up. Amazing experience.

Beautiful clouds on the way up.

Crater Rim - our camp is just on the edge of the crater. Really beautiful.

Stars over our heads at night. Amazing.

We woke up at 2am to make the summit climb. Rinjani was kind enough to provide us with a safe passage up.

That's Amore - to Odac

2006-06-22T22:12:00.000+08:00

To Odac, thanks for Rinjani. Remember and cherish the memories and the lessons learnt. Lets be light from stars and continue shining even after we die out.

Dean Martin - That's Amore

In Napoli where love is king
When boy meets girl here's what they say

When the moon hits you eye like a big pizza pie
That's amore
When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine
That's amore
Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling
And you'll sing "Vita bella"
Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay
Like a gay tarantella

When the stars make you drool just like a pasta fazool
That's amore
When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet
You're in love
When you walk down in a dream but you know you're not
Dreaming signore
Scuzza me, but you see, back in old Napoli
That's amore

(When the moon hits you eye like a big pizza pie
That's amore
When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine
That's amore
Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling
And you'll sing "Vita bella"
Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay
Like a gay tarantella

When the stars make you drool just like a pasta fazool)
That's amore
(When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet
You're in love
When you walk down in a dream but you know you're not
Dreaming signore
Scuzza me, but you see, back in old Napoli)
That's amore
Lucky fella

When the stars make you drool just like a pasta fazool)
That's amore
(When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet
You're in love
When you walk down in a dream but you know you're not
Dreaming signore
Scuzza me, but you see, back in old Napoli)
That's amore, (amore)
That's amore

Back

2006-06-21T23:23:00.000+08:00

Back from Rinjani. It was really an eventful trip. I was very glad to once again to accompany odac for their yearly trek. This time round the mountain we scaled was a 3700m live volcano. The terrain was different, the soil was crumbly and dusty, the river beds, dry during June, was filled with black dust and pebbles. If you look at them closely, you'll see shiny specks of mineral catching the light, much like small diamond fragments. The trek up to crater rim base camp was fun, filled with jokes and laughter. Walking under the clear blue sky, enjoying the silent tranquil air and savoring the feeling of walking amongst the clouds was really one experience I will not forget.

We hit base camp at crater rim and prepared for summit push at 2am. It was then I had the most trying experience. Was down with food poisoning and fever halfway up the trek. The pain in the stomach made walking difficult. Under the cold wind, I gradually lost strength. Every step up was a great exertion. As I sat down to recover my breath, it was really disheartening to see the rest of the team slowly pulling away and getting closer to the summit. Try as I might, I seem rooted to the same spot.

The mind start to play tricks when one is at his limit. You take longer breaks, you start telling yourself that this slope is good enough, there is no need to go to the summit. You should conserve energy for the journey back.

Saw my friend heading down towards me. It was when I got up and started climbing again. After a few laborious steps I had to sit down again. A hand reached out and started pulling me up. In the effort not to tire my friend further, I started to make my way up again. Bearing the pain, willing my limbs to move.

It is amazing how having someone beside you can push you further. Sometimes in our lives, we need this push from someone else, then we can accomplish things we would not have imagined doing alone.

This climb is something like this.

Photos next time.

Always on your side

2006-06-14T23:49:00.000+08:00

Nice song sent by a nice neighbour (TIWR). So shall post it up.

Always on your side - Sting and Sheryl Crow

My yesterdays are all boxed up and neatly put away
But every now and then you come to mind
Cause you were always waiting to be picked to play the game
But when your name was called, you found a place to hide
When you knew that I was always on your side

Well everything was easy then, so sweet and innocent
But your demons and your angels reappeared
Leavin' all the traces of the man you thought you'd be
Leavin' me with no place left to go from here
Leavin' me so many questions all these years

But is there someplace far away, someplace where all is clear
Easy to start over with the ones you hold so dear
Or are you left to wonder, all alone, eternally
This isn't how it's really meant to be
No it isn't how it's really meant to be

Well they say that love is in the air, but never is it clear,
How to pull it close and make it stay
Butterflies are free to fly, and so they fly away
And I'm left to carry on and wonder why
Even through it all, I'm always on your side

But is there someplace far away, someplace where all is clear
Easy to start over with the ones you hold so dear
Or are we left to wonder, all alone, eternally
But is this how it's really meant to be
No is it how it's really meant to be

Well if they say that love is in the air, never is it clear
How to pull it close and make it stay
If butterflies are free to fly, why do they fly away
Leavin' me to carry on and wonder why
Was it you that kept me wondering through this life
When you know that I was always on your side

Going to Rinjani tomorrow. Till then.

break

2006-06-08T09:40:00.000+08:00

Submission of manuscipt seemed eons ago. The feeling of exhilaration as you walked out of the student affairs office was sweet. Went for a coffee at the local cafeteria. Took out my powerbook for a quick viewing of email and messages, feeling strange that I do not have to open up my manuscript document for editing, now the possibilities are endless. All the things which I have postponed and delayed in view of my masters project can finally be back on track.

Main focus now is on overseas service learning. A few things to get in order and started. Cambodia is a harsh beautiful and simplistic place. It'll be a challenge for the team in Novemeber. But I think we will be able to get things going.

Still have about 1 week left from the break, where I need to clear a fair bit of work. But should be able to do it. So far I am luxuriating in the process of being able to enjoy my morning cup of coffee in the relative quiet of my house. Everyone is gone, the city is just waking up to another day and my only link to the rest of the world is my mac and the radio in the background. And of course the air permeated by the nice smell of coffee.

Sometimes you really don't need to go to far off places to get away, just need to create a space for yourself. Think I am going to turn into a hermit. This is just too enjoyable.

Going off to Gunung Rinjani next week. It lies along the Wallace's Line, this abrupt and inexplicable split between the asian and australian flora and fauna. Lombok lies on the eastern side of the line. Which means we will be experiencing australian flora on the island. As far as I can know now, the most exotic will be the edelweiss or bunga abadi with the locals. It will be an exciting trip and a good way to start the second half of the year.

Cambodia

2006-06-03T14:28:00.000+08:00

Back from a short recce trip to Cambodia. I learnt so much. Will write more soon but for now photos.

Doors

2006-05-30T00:13:00.000+08:00

Doors.

Fern

2006-05-28T23:56:00.000+08:00

I love the holidays. Busy still but had time to indulge in phototaking.

This was taken after a meeting at Chinatown. A close friend is getting married next week.

Colugo

2006-05-25T23:18:00.001+08:00

Sighted a Culogo at the BTNR visitor center 2 days ago. We just had a quick hike from Macritchie and was cooling down at the visitor center. It was early evening, around 7pm. The night sky will filled with birds flying in to roost. A culogo just glided past the seated students and landed silently on Syzygium tree. It made its way slowly up into the branches, rested for a moment before gliding another 10 meters to a bigger tree across the path.

I was only 1 meter away from where it first landed. The feeling was magic.

completion

2006-05-19T16:53:00.000+08:00

Finally sent in my project. After a long time, one aspect which have been at the back of my mind is finally settled. Can now focus on other projects which need my attention.

Could feel the adrenaline wearing off and the fatigue creeping in. But yes, the mind feel relieved and light.

On finishing

2006-05-16T17:56:00.000+08:00

Still feel wide eyed and awake but yet edgey cagey after a long session of preparing for the final draft. It feels like the last leg of Kinabalu. You can see the summit cresting yonder, yet every step you take does not seem to get you any nearer.
No cause to pop the champagne yet, not until the pixels on the screen materialise as burnt carbon on sheets on paper. Not until I can feel how heavy a 3 year journey is in my palms.

New genus of monkey discovered in Africa

2006-05-12T10:24:00.000+08:00

Again another demonstration of how little we know and how complex Nature is.

Naming a new genus is not the end of the story. More information is needed. How does the monkey feed? What is its lifespan? How does it find its mates? Does it care for its young? What forms its diet?

What are its ecological roles?

How does it fit into the grand tapestry called Nature?

Read - New Genus of African Monkey Found

Ok back to my slides. 2 days more.

Final lap

2006-05-10T21:22:00.000+08:00

Finally can see the end of the road. One long chapter in my life is finally coming to an end.

Would I have done things differently? Well, looking back, I would not have given up anything for the incredible people I have met, the oppotunities I had.

Sometimes it is worth putting your life on hold for a while. You really never know how things will turn out. So maybe one need not think too much, but listen to your inner voice and choose what you think is right at the moment. And sometimes, it is worth the delay.

Just hope I can clear this final hurdle on Monday.

Extinction and conservation

2006-05-03T23:09:00.000+08:00

The new Red List (see report by BBC) is out. And polar bears and hippos are amongst the new members in Red List of Threatended Species. This means that they are at risk of being extinct. In fact, the organisms listed numbered 16, 119. This number is one third of the total number of animals surveyed.

99% of the cause of decline for aniamls such as the polar bear and the hippo is human activities such as habitat degredation and climate change.

The increase in the red list is both a indication of intensified studies by researchers and also a sober indicator of how little we know about the environment around us.

Why should we care? One may ask, when we had already lost 90% of species that ever existed, due to mass extinctions. In fact as Tim Halliday (BBC writer) aptly put it, maybe it's time we just try to document whatever we can before the species disappear completely. That was the feeling I got when I had this chance to join RMBR for an expedition to Natunas Island, catch what you can and document everything. At least the organism is not lost to science before it disappears completely from the face of this earth. Sometimes one just do what one can.

Yet all is not bleak as Jeffrey A McNeely, the chief scientist at IUCN-The World Conservation Union, rightly pointed out. No doubt there is a limitation to our resources. How do one decide whther to invest money in saving biodiversity vs budgetting for healthcare and treatment of diseases.

Where does conservation stand in the myriad of issues which surrounds the world? Yet I think there is no lack of resources. Sometimes you do not need alot of money to conserve a species or a habitat. Like how a few courageous and determined minds got together to try and conserve Chek Jawa in Singapore. These people really do have my respect. They act, do what they can, and hope for the best. Sometimes the reward could be so fulfilling, such as granting an extended lease to a rich marine habitat, conserving the organims living there and also enriching the lives of the countless visitors who had since visited this beautiful place.

Elections are coming, it is will be interesting to see if any candidate or party brings up conservation of Singapore's natural habitats as an election topic.

That will be the day.

A new clean interface

2006-05-01T13:53:00.000+08:00

Changed to a white minimalistic skin (must be a mac thing). Did away with the moon but left the counter, still interesting to see how many actually drop by. Need to think through my entries also, maybe shall try to do a Carl Zimmer but he is really good. Perhaps after 17 May.

sublimal messages

2006-04-29T12:02:00.000+08:00

Lipton Ice anyone?

Read this - "Sublimal messaging may work afterall" by New Scientist.

Thank goodness for the long weekend.

Midweek

2006-04-27T10:55:00.000+08:00

Pretty amazing week so far.
Had a trek with odac last Thursday - good to go back to Bukit Timah, especially the places where I had research with na and ca. Good memories.

Then Special Olympics Bocce competition at Yishun ITE. Everytime I attend Special O meetings, I feel very priviledged to be able to do a little for the event. Took about 280 shots. Had an interesting encounter, but its sounds too much like a movie script. So shall just leave it as that heh.

Weekend was spent trying to grow new skin back to replace those killed during Special Os and a frantic search for insect keys for Nature Learning Camp.

Monday - meeting with thesis supervisor. Need to submit by 17 May. How am I going to do that, well shall think after this week.

Tuesday, went to set up the insect traps for Nature Learning camp. Was downloading and preparing maps and also printing handouts.

Wednesday, ran down despite the torrential rain to Upper Seletar. Had a good time collecting insects and interacting with the various students. Of course it is very good to see old students like jh coming back to contribute.

Woke up today feeling as if a truck ran over me several times. It is amazing to feel where all your joints are each time you turn and move. I am getting old.

Off for training trek for Mt Rinjani at Bukit Timah later.

Life is good. :)

Ten Tall Oak Trees - Richard Edwards

2006-04-21T23:59:00.000+08:00

Heard this poem presented during Earth Day presentation. Was very moved.

Ten tall oak trees
Standing in a line,
'Warships' cried king Henry,
Then there were nine.

Nine tall oak trees
Growing strong and strait,
'Charcoal' breathed the furnace,
Then there were eight.

Eight tall oak trees
Reaching towards heaven,
'Sizzle' spoke the lightening,
Then there were seven.

Seven tall oak trees
Branches leaves and sticks,
'Firewood' smiled the merchant,
Then there were six.

Six tall oak trees
Glad to be alive,
'Barrels' boomed the brewery,
Then there were five.

Five tall oak trees
Suddenly a roar,
'Gangway' screamed the bypass,
Then there were four.

Four tall oak trees
Sighing like the sea,
'Floorboards' beamed the builder,
Then there were Three.

Three tall oak trees
Groaning as trees do,
'Unsafe' claimed the council,
Then there were two.

Two tall oak trees
Spreading in the sun,
'Progress' snarled the bypass,
Then there was one.

One tall oak tree
Wishing it could run,
'Nuisance' grumped the farmer,
Then there was none.

No tall oak trees,
Search the fields in vain,
Only empty skylines,
And the cold, grey, rain.

Unphotographable

2006-04-20T17:12:00.000+08:00

Unphotographable

This is the picture I did not take...

A walk in the rain

2006-04-18T23:22:00.000+08:00

Ever trekked through the forest in the rain? Where the mist shrouds the path ahead and everything takes on this dreamy hazy quality. If not you should try it sometime.

Ever saw a young praying mantis nymph? Barely larger than your fingernail, still white, still delicate, but already with its beautiful claws in shape. I let it crawl on my palm for a while before letting it clamber up a tree. Hope it grows up well.

Hoping for more days like these.

A typical conversation

2006-04-15T10:22:00.000+08:00

A typical conversation with friend from HKU. This time on pandas. Good way to spend a nice Saturday morning.

CH
oh, by and by, was talking to a post doc about pandas

Bankai
uh huh

CH
he was commenting, the sexual inefficiency could be an evolutionary trait to the physiological inefficiency to ensure species survival
»
quite.... interesting

Bankai
HOW?

CH
less breeding less animals to compete lah

Bankai
hmmm.... you dun see koalas or sloths behaving this way

CH
u know how much resource EACH panda need or not?

Bankai
or slow loris
yah i know
hmmm yes interesting concept

CH
Hv mah. u see how koalas are affected by their diet choice?

Bankai
yes they are lethargic

CH
if not the competition and depletion rate would hv be doubled as least

Bankai
but they still mate.
true
»
but it should select for slow reproduction frequency, not shyness wat....

CH
u can't pull an analogy across the board that way also mah
arguement wise
should only focus on panda and their lifestyle

Bankai
yah true

CH
well, isn't it more appropriate to hv a psychological change rather than a physiological change?

Bankai
genes man

CH
the amount of rebuilding needed

Bankai
what gene code for pyschological change?
if there is, then it is evolution,

CH
i would say it's basically hormonal

Bankai
if not, its an acquired character.

CH
so we are talking about quantity change at most

Bankai
hmmm true

CH
physiological change involves rebuilding of physical structure

Bankai
but resources are still there

CH
they are FURTHER endangered by human destruction
but on their own, without these inefficiency traits

Bankai
is there an adequate selection pressure to favor this hormonal change

CH
they would hv bred themselves to extinction

Bankai
and is there enough time

CH
'cos there's no predation on them
they didn't become sexually inefficiency only now wat

Bankai
statement imply that pandas know/ sense they are endangered
which might not be the case

CH
it's not a post human intervention trait
»
no, i never said that
»
i jus said they hv survived to the stage of being endangered by humans b'cos they could maintain a small stock till now
»
and that might be due to the sexual reproduction inefficiency
10:14

Bankai
ah true

CH
case of otherwise they would hv bred themselves to death b4 we came around
or evolved to something else

Bankai
ok i accept that.

still trying to grapple how the selection favor non horny pandas.
cos if you let them run loose, horny pandas would have bred more. and then dominate non horny ones
then all die before humans came about. :P

CH
haha... a two strategy at play loh... not all pandas are horny, but some are to propagate the species

Bankai
how did the horny ones become less dominant

CH
so we talking about proportion

Bankai
but you look mathematically, all of them being alike, but one bred faster than other
the faster breeding one would have dominated wat,
resources being abundant or not.

CH
u forgot the female factor
»
horny panda may not equate to successful breeding also mah

Bankai
yah i agree
10:17
»
but question is what favors less horny pandas

CH
i am not too sure if females will comsume their young in resource competition
10:17

Bankai
we see in hindsight that yes, less resource competition.
10:17

CH
it's known to be so in rodents, and panda ARE omnivoures

it could be a control measure post reproduction to keep horny gene at check too
10:18
»
less horny panda, less babies
10:18

Bankai
true
10:18

CH
less competition, more survival rate, panda are territorial
so u secure an area of survival in non-horny panda areas
and a population kept in check for horny areas with resource limitation

Bankai
AND the population remains viable!
oko k
10:19

CH
it just might equate out
10:19

Bankai
yes yes hahahah
yes it might

Mirrormask

2006-04-14T15:44:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was a 3 cups of coffee and 2 cups of tea day.

You can guess how fired up my nerves are. Was walking around with a hunch, staring intently into space. Thank goodness my class went alright. Teaching is really a 2 way thing, on one hand you try to make lessons interesting and interact with the students, but you find yourself responding when you see them responding to you. Hope this makes sense.

So the day ended with a late night meeting at Students' Care Service. Was planning activities for the 2 coming events, and gosh, my team have been doing this for 6 years. We have been pestering the social workers to recruit new volunteers to replace us old work horses and finally saw a list of 5 undergrads who have indicated interested. Lets hope they can continue the job.

Today is a holiday. Very grateful for the chance to have some quiet time. Now as I type, I was accompanied by the sound of rain and a light cool breeze carrying the scent of newly cut grass. Life could not be any better.

Good news, Mirrormask is showing in local theaters. This time, no matter how busy, I must go watch.

Nature learning camp next week, I need to read up on my insects.

The Man Who Planted Trees

2006-04-12T19:37:00.000+08:00

Earth Day is coming. Time to share a story.

So what seeds do we sow in our life? Which seed will grow, flower and bear fruit? What kind of fruit will it be?

JEAN GIONO

The Man Who Planted Trees

Translation from french by Peter Doyle

In order for the character of a human being to reveal truly exceptional qualities, we must have the good fortune to observe its action over a long period of years. If this action is devoid of all selfishness, if the idea that directs it is one of unqualified generosity, if it is absolutely certain that it has not sought recompense anywhere, and if moreover it has left visible marks on the world, then we are unquestionably dealing with an unforgettable character.

About forty years ago I went on a long hike, through hills absolutely unknown to tourists, in that very old region where the Alps penetrate into Provence.
This region is bounded to the south-east and south by the middle course of the Durance, between Sisteron and Mirabeau; to the north by the upper course of the Drôme, from its source down to Die; to the west by the plains of Comtat Venaissin and the outskirts of Mont Ventoux. It includes all the northern part of the Département of Basses-Alpes, the south of Drôme and a little enclave of Vaucluse.
At the time I undertook my long walk through this deserted region, it consisted of barren and monotonous lands, at about 1200 to 1300 meters above sea level. Nothing grew there except wild lavender.
I was crossing this country at its widest part, and after walking for three days, I found myself in the most complete desolation. I was camped next to the skeleton of an abandoned village. I had used the last of my water the day before and I needed to find more. Even though they were in ruins, these houses all huddled together and looking like an old wasps' nest made me think that there must at one time have been a spring or a well there. There was indeed a spring, but it was dry. The five or six roofless houses, ravaged by sun and wind, and the small chapel with its tumble-down belfry, were arrayed like the houses and chapels of living villages, but all life had disappeared.

It was a beautiful June day with plenty of sun, but on these shelterless lands, high up in the sky, the wind whistled with an unendurable brutality. Its growling in the carcasses of the houses was like that of a wild beast disturbed during its meal.
I had to move my camp. After five hours of walking, I still hadn't found water, and nothing gave me hope of finding any. Everywhere there was the same dryness, the same stiff, woody plants. I thought I saw in the distance a small black silhouette. On a chance I headed towards it. It was a shepherd. Thirty lambs or so were resting near him on the scorching ground.
He gave me a drink from his gourd and a little later he led me to his shepherd's cottage, tucked down in an undulation of the plateau. He drew his water - excellent - from a natural hole, very deep, above which he had installed a rudimentary windlass.

This man spoke little. This is common among those who live alone, but he seemed sure of himself, and confident in this assurance, which seemed remarkable in this land shorn of everything. He lived not in a cabin but in a real house of stone, from the looks of which it was clear that his own labor had restored the ruins he had found on his arrival. His roof was solid and water-tight. The wind struck against the roof tiles with the sound of the sea crashing on the beach.
His household was in order, his dishes washed, his floor swept, his rifle greased; his soup boiled over the fire; I noticed then that he was also freshly shaven, that all his buttons were solidly sewn, and that his clothes were mended with such care as to make the patches invisible.
He shared his soup with me, and when afterwards I offered him my tobacco pouch, he told me that he didn't smoke. His dog, as silent as he, was friendly without being fawning.

It had been agreed immediately that I would pass the night there, the closest village being still more than a day and a half farther on. Furthermore, I understood perfectly well the character of the rare villages of that region. There are four or five of them dispersed far from one another on the flanks of the hills, in groves of white oaks at the very ends of roads passable by carriage. They are inhabited by woodcutters who make charcoal. They are places where the living is poor. The families, pressed together in close quarters by a climate that is exceedingly harsh, in summer as well as in winter, struggle ever more selfishly against each other. Irrational contention grows beyond all bounds, fueled by a continuous struggle to escape from that place. The men carry their charcoal to the cities in their trucks, and then return. The most solid qualities crack under this perpetual Scottish shower. The women stir up bitterness. There is competition over everything, from the sale of charcoal to the benches at church. The virtues fight amongst themselves, the vices fight amongst themselves, and there is a ceaseless general combat between the vices and the virtues. On top of all that, the equally ceaseless wind irritates the nerves. There are epidemics of suicides and numerous cases of insanity, almost always murderous.

The shepherd, who did not smoke, took out a bag and poured a pile of acorns out onto the table. He began to examine them one after another with a great deal of attention, separating the good ones from the bad. I smoked my pipe. I offered to help him, but he told me it was his own business. Indeed, seeing the care that he devoted to this job, I did not insist. This was our whole conversation. When he had in the good pile a fair number of acorns, he counted them out into packets of ten. In doing this he eliminated some more of the acorns, discarding the smaller ones and those that that showed even the slightest crack, for he examined them very closely. When he had before him one hundred perfect acorns he stopped, and we went to bed.
The company of this man brought me a feeling of peace. I asked him the next morning if I might stay and rest the whole day with him. He found that perfectly natural. Or more exactly, he gave me the impression that nothing could disturb him. This rest was not absolutely necessary to me, but I was intrigued and I wanted to find out more about this man. He let out his flock and took them to the pasture. Before leaving, he soaked in a bucket of water the little sack containing the acorns that he had so carefully chosen and counted.

I noted that he carried as a sort of walking stick an iron rod as thick as his thumb and about one and a half meters long. I set off like someone out for a stroll, following a route parallel to his. His sheep pasture lay at the bottom of a small valley. He left his flock in the charge of his dog and climbed up towards the spot where I was standing. I was afraid that he was coming to reproach me for my indiscretion, but not at all : It was his own route and he invited me to come along with him if I had nothing better to do. He continued on another two hundred meters up the hill.
Having arrived at the place he had been heading for, he begin to pound his iron rod into the ground. This made a hole in which he placed an acorn, whereupon he covered over the hole again. He was planting oak trees. I asked him if the land belonged to him. He answered no. Did he know whose land it was? He did not know. He supposed that it was communal land, or perhaps it belonged to someone who did not care about it. He himself did not care to know who the owners were. In this way he planted his one hundred acorns with great care.

After the noon meal, he began once more to pick over his acorns. I must have put enough insistence into my questions, because he answered them. For three years now he had been planting trees in this solitary way. He had planted one hundred thousand. Of these one hundred thousand, twenty thousand had come up. He counted on losing another half of them to rodents and to everything else that is unpredictable in the designs of Providence. That left ten thousand oaks that would grow in this place where before there was nothing.
It was at this moment that I began to wonder about his age. He was clearly more than fifty. Fifty-five, he told me. His name was Elzéard Bouffier. He had owned a farm in the plains, where he lived most of his life. He had lost his only son, and then his wife. He had retired into this solitude, where he took pleasure in living slowly, with his flock of sheep and his dog. He had concluded that this country was dying for lack of trees. He added that, having nothing more important to do, he had resolved to remedy the situation.
Leading as I did at the time a solitary life, despite my youth, I knew how to treat the souls of solitary people with delicacy. Still, I made a mistake. It was precisely my youth that forced me to imagine the future in my own terms, including a certain search for happiness. I told him that in thirty years these ten thousand trees would be magnificent. He replied very simply that, if God gave him life, in thirty years he would have planted so many other trees that these ten thousand would be like a drop of water in the ocean.
He had also begun to study the propagation of beeches. and he had near his house a nursery filled with seedlings grown from beechnuts. His little wards, which he had protected from his sheep by a screen fence, were growing beautifully. He was also considering birches for the valley bottoms where, he told me, moisture lay slumbering just a few meters beneath the surface of the soil.
We parted the next day.

The next year the war of 14 came, in which I was engaged for five years. An infantryman could hardly think about trees. To tell the truth, the whole business hadn't made a very deep impression on me; I took it to be a hobby, like a stamp collection, and forgot about it.
With the war behind me, I found myself with a small demobilization bonus and a great desire to breathe a little pure air. Without any preconceived notion beyond that, I struck out again along the trail through that deserted country.
The land had not changed. Nonetheless, beyond that dead village I perceived in the distance a sort of gray fog that covered the hills like a carpet. Ever since the day before I had been thinking about the shepherd who planted trees. « Ten thousand oaks, I had said to myself, must really take up a lot of space. »
I had seen too many people die during those five years not to be able to imagine easily the death of Elzéard Bouffier, especially since when a man is twenty he thinks of a man of fifty as an old codger for whom nothing remains but to die. He was not dead. In fact, he was very spry. He had changed his job. He only had four sheep now, but to make up for this he had about a hundred beehives. He had gotten rid of the sheep because they threatened his crop of trees. He told me (as indeed I could see for myself) that the war had not disturbed him at all. He had continued imperturbably with his planting.
The oaks of 1910 were now ten years old and were taller than me and than him. The spectacle was impressive. I was literally speechless and, as he didn't speak himself, we passed the whole day in silence, walking through his forest. It was in three sections, eleven kilometers long overall and, at its widest point, three kilometers wide. When I considered that this had all sprung from the hands and from the soul of this one man - without technical aids - , it struck me that men could be as effective as God in domains other than destruction.
He had followed his idea, and the beeches that reached up to my shoulders and extending as far as the eye could see bore witness to it. The oaks were now good and thick, and had passed the age where they were at the mercy of rodents; as for the designs of Providence, to destroy the work that had been created would henceforth require a cyclone. He showed me admirable stands of birches that dated from five years ago, that is to say from 1915, when I had been fighting at Verdun. He had planted them in the valley bottoms where he had suspected, correctly, that there was water close to the surface. They were as tender as young girls, and very determined.
This creation had the air, moreover, of working by a chain reaction. He had not troubled about it; he went on obstinately with his simple task. But, in going back down to the village, I saw water running in streams that, within living memory, had always been dry. It was the most striking revival that he had shown me. These streams had borne water before, in ancient days. Certain of the sad villages that I spoke of at the beginning of my account had been built on the sites of ancient Gallo-Roman villages, of which there still remained traces; archeologists digging there had found fishhooks in places where in more recent times cisterns were required in order to have a little water.
The wind had also been at work, dispersing certain seeds. As the water reappeared, so too did willows, osiers, meadows, gardens, flowers, and a certain reason to live.
But the transformation had taken place so slowly that it had been taken for granted, without provoking surprise. The hunters who climbed the hills in search of hares or wild boars had noticed the spreading of the little trees, but they set it down to the natural spitefulness of the earth. That is why no one had touched the work of this man. If they had suspected him, they would have tried to thwart him. But he never came under suspicion : Who among the villagers or the administrators would ever have suspected that anyone could show such obstinacy in carrying out this magnificent act of generosity?

Beginning in 1920 I never let more than a year go by without paying a visit to Elzéard Bouffier. I never saw him waver or doubt, though God alone can tell when God's own hand is in a thing! I have said nothing of his disappointments, but you can easily imagine that, for such an accomplishment, it was necessary to conquer adversity; that, to assure the victory of such a passion, it was necessary to fight against despair. One year he had planted ten thousand maples. They all died. The next year,he gave up on maples and went back to beeches, which did even better than the oaks.
To get a true idea of this exceptional character, one must not forget that he worked in total solitude; so total that, toward the end of his life, he lost the habit of talking. Or maybe he just didn't see the need for it.

In 1933 he received the visit of an astonished forest ranger. This functionary ordered him to cease building fires outdoors, for fear of endangering this natural forest. It was the first time, this naive man told him, that a forest had been observed to grow up entirely on its own. At the time of this incident, he was thinking of planting beeches at a spot twelve kilometers from his house. To avoid the coming and going - because at the time he was seventy-five years old - he planned to build a cabin of stone out where he was doing his planting. This he did the next year.

In 1935, a veritable administrative delegation went to examine this « natural forest ». There was an important personage from Waters and Forests, a deputy, and some technicians. Many useless words were spoken. It was decided to do something, but luckily nothing was done, except for one truly useful thing : placing the forest under the protection of the State and forbidding anyone from coming there to make charcoal. For it was impossible not to be taken with the beauty of these young trees in full health. And the forest exercised its seductive powers even on the deputy himself.
I had a friend among the chief foresters who were with the delegation. I explained the mystery to him. One day the next week, we went off together to look for Elzéard Bouffier, We found him hard at work, twenty kilometers away from the place where the inspection had taken place.
This chief forester was not my friend for nothing. He understood the value of things. He knew how to remain silent. I offered up some eggs I had brought with me as a gift. We split our snack three ways, and then passed several hours in mute contemplation of the landscape.
The hillside whence we had come was covered with trees six or seven meters high. I remembered the look of the place in 1913 : a desert... The peaceful and steady labor, the vibrant highland air, his frugality, and above all, the serenity of his soul had given the old man a kind of solemn good health. He was an athlete of God. I asked myself how many hectares he had yet to cover with trees.
Before leaving, my friend made a simple suggestion concerning certain species of trees to which the terrain seemed to be particularly well suited. He was not insistent. « For the very good reason, » he told me afterwards, « that this fellow knows a lot more about this sort of thing than I do. » After another hour of walking, this thought having travelled along with him, he added : « He knows a lot more about this sort of thing than anybody - and he has found a jolly good way of being happy ! »
It was thanks to the efforts of this chief forester that the forest was protected, and with it, the happiness of this man. He designated three forest rangers for their protection, and terrorized them to such an extent that they remained indifferent to any jugs of wine that the woodcutters might offer as bribes.

The forest did not run any grave risks except during the war of 1939. Then automobiles were being run on wood alcohol, and there was never enough wood. They began to cut some of the stands of the oaks of 1910, but the trees stood so far from any useful road that the enterprise turned out to be bad from a financial point of view, and was soon abandoned. The shepherd never knew anything about it. He was thirty kilometers away, peacefully continuing his task, as untroubled by the war of 39 as he had been of the war of 14.

I saw Elzéard Bouffier for the last time in June of 1945. He was then eighty-seven years old. I had once more set off along my trail through the wilderness, only to find that now, in spite of the shambles in which the war had left the whole country, there was a motor coach running between the valley of the Durance and the mountain. I set down to this relatively rapid means of transportation the fact that I no longer recognized the landmarks I knew from my earlier visits. It also seemed that the route was taking me through entirely new places. I had to ask the name of a village to be sure that I was indeed passing through that same region, once so ruined and desolate. The coach set me down at Vergons. In 1913, this hamlet of ten or twelve houses had had three inhabitants. They were savages, hating each other, and earning their living by trapping : Physically and morally, they resembled prehistoric men . The nettles devoured the abandoned houses that surrounded them. Their lives were without hope, it was only a matter of waiting for death to come : a situation that hardly predisposes one to virtue.
All that had changed, even to the air itself. In place of the dry, brutal gusts that had greeted me long ago, a gentle breeze whispered to me, bearing sweet odors. A sound like that of running water came from the heights above : It was the sound of the wind in the trees. And most astonishing of all, I heard the sound of real water running into a pool. I saw that they had built a fountain, that it was full of water, and what touched me most, that next to it they had planted a lime-tree that must be at least four years old, already grown thick, an incontestable symbol of resurrection.

Furthermore, Vergons showed the signs of labors for which hope is a requirement : Hope must therefore have returned. They had cleared out the ruins, knocked down the broken walls, and rebuilt five houses. The hamlet now counted twenty-eight inhabitants, including four young families. The new houses, freshly plastered, were surrounded by gardens that bore, mixed in with each other but still carefully laid out, vegetables and flowers, cabbages and rosebushes, leeks and gueules-de-loup, celery and anemones. It was now a place where anyone would be glad to live.
From there I continued on foot. The war from which we had just barely emerged had not permitted life to vanish completely, and now Lazarus was out of his tomb. On the lower flanks of the mountain, I saw small fields of barley and rye; in the bottoms of the narrow valleys, meadowlands were just turning green.
It has taken only the eight years that now separate us from that time for the whole country around there to blossom with splendor and ease. On the site of the ruins I had seen in 1913 there are now well-kept farms, the sign of a happy and comfortable life. The old springs, fed by rain and snow now that are now retained by the forests, have once again begun to flow. The brooks have been channelled. Beside each farm, amid groves of maples, the pools of fountains are bordered by carpets of fresh mint. Little by little, the villages have been rebuilt. Yuppies have come from the plains, where land is expensive, bringing with them youth, movement, and a spirit of adventure. Walking along the roads you will meet men and women in full health, and boys and girls who know how to laugh, and who have regained the taste for the traditional rustic festivals. Counting both the previous inhabitants of the area, now unrecognizable from living in plenty, and the new arrivals, more than ten thousand persons owe their happiness to Elzéard Bouffier.

When I consider that a single man, relying only on his own simple physical and moral resources, was able to transform a desert into this land of Canaan, I am convinced that despite everything, the human condition is truly admirable. But when I take into account the constancy, the greatness of soul, and the selfless dedication that was needed to bring about this transformation, I am filled with an immense respect for this old, uncultured peasant who knew how to bring about a work worthy of God.

Elzéard Bouffier died peacefully in 1947 at the hospice in Banon.

Jane Goodall

2006-04-11T21:09:00.000+08:00

Here is someone I respect and revere. She spent all her life studying and campaigning for conservation and protection of her beloved chimpanzees and in the course touched and inspired the lives of many.

Was surfing through the Jane Goodall Institute website when I realised that they have a blog too!

This entry do not do justice to Jane Goodall, but I again on a caffeine induced stupor. Will try to regain balance soon.

Commencement

2006-04-10T19:37:00.000+08:00

Many things to talk about. B div match, coming OSL and the coming term. Well all in due time.

To the B div. I know you all did your best, and I am honored to be a small part of this august ensemble. Do hope that you will continue to strive and ascend greater heights next year. Trust jiaolian and trust yourself, you are definitely capable and ready. Feel very lucky, bball is one CCA where I see ex-teachers, teammates coming back to support the team even after they had left. Well I am really fortunate to be part of the team.

Saw this commencement speech today to Havard class of 2000 by Conan O'Brien. I have to share this:

Commencement Speech to the Havard Class of 2000
by Conan O'Brien

I'd like to thank the Class Marshals for inviting me here today. The last time I was invited to Harvard it cost me $110,000, so you'll forgive me if I'm a bit suspicious. I'd like to announce up front that I have one goal this afternoon: to be half as funny as tomorrow's Commencement Speaker, Moral Philosopher and Economist, Amartya Sen. Must get more laughs than seminal wage/price theoretician.

Students of the Harvard Class of 2000, fifteen years ago I sat where you sit now and I thought exactly what you are now thinking: What's going to happen to me? Will I find my place in the world? Am I really graduating a virgin? I still have 24 hours and my roommate's Mom is hot. I swear she was checking me out. Being here today is very special for me. I miss this place. I especially miss Harvard Square - it's so unique. No where else in the world will you find a man with a turban wearing a Red Sox jacket and working in a lesbian bookstore. Hey, I'm just glad my dad's working.

It's particularly sweet for me to be here today because when I graduated, I wanted very badly to be a Class Day Speaker. Unfortunately, my speech was rejected. So, if you'll indulge me, I'd like to read a portion of that speech from fifteen years ago: "Fellow students, as we sit here today listening to that classic Ah-ha tune which will definitely stand the test of time, I would like to make several predictions about what the future will hold: "I believe that one day a simple Governor from a small Southern state will rise to the highest office in the land. He will lack political skill, but will lead on the sheer strength of his moral authority." "I believe that Justice will prevail and, one day, the Berlin Wall will crumble, uniting East and West Berlin forever under Communist rule." "I believe that one day, a high speed network of interconnected computers will spring up world-wide, so enriching people that they will lose their interest in idle chit chat and pornography." "And finally, I believe that one day I will have a television show on a major network, seen by millions of people a night, which I will use to re-enact crimes and help catch at-large criminals." And then there's some stuff about the death of Wall
Street which I don't think we need to get into....

The point is that, although you see me as a celebrity, a member of the cultural elite, a kind of demigod, I was actually a student here once much like you. I came here in the fall of 1981 and lived in Holworthy. I was, without exaggeration, the ugliest picture in the Freshman Face book. When Harvard asked me for a picture the previous summer, I thought it was just for their records, so I literally jogged in the August heat to a passport photo office and sat for a morgue photo. To make matters worse, when the Face Book came out they put my picture next to Catherine Oxenberg, a stunning blonde actress who was accepted to the class of '85 but decided to defer admission so she could join the cast of "Dynasty." My photo would have looked bad on any page, but next to Catherine Oxenberg, I looked like a mackerel that had been in a car accident. You see, in those days I was six feet four inches tall and I weighed 150 pounds. Recently, I had some structural engineers run those numbers into a computer model and, according to the computer, I collapsed in 1987, killing hundreds in Taiwan.

After freshman year I moved to Mather House. Mather House, incidentally, was designed by the same firm that built Hitler's bunker. In fact, if Hitler had conducted the war from Mather House, he'd have shot himself a year earlier. 1985 seems like a long time ago now. When I had my Class
Day, you students would have been seven years old. Seven years old. Do you know what that means? Back then I could have beaten any of you in a fight. And I mean bad. It would be no contest. If any one here has a time machine, seriously, let's get it on, I will whip your seven year old butt. When I was here, they sold diapers at the Coop that said "Harvard Class of 2000." At the time, it was kind of a joke, but now I realize you wore those diapers. How embarrassing for you. A lot has happened in fifteen years. When you think about it, we come from completely different worlds. When I graduated, we watched movies starring Tom Cruise and listened to music by Madonna. I come from a time when we huddled around our TV sets and watched "The Cosby Show" on NBC, never imagining that there would one day be a show called "Cosby" on CBS. In 1985 we drove cars with driver's side airbags, but if you told us that one day there'd be passenger side airbags, we'd have burned you for witchcraft.

But of course, I think there is some common ground between us. I remember well the great uncertainty of this day. Many of you are justifiably nervous about leaving the safe, comfortable world of Harvard Yard and hurling yourself headlong into the cold, harsh world of Harvard Grad School, a plum job at your father's firm, or a year abroad with a gold Amex card and then a plum job in your father's firm. But let me assure you that the knowledge you've gained here at Harvard is a precious gift that will never leave you. Take it from me, your education is yours to keep
forever. Why, many of you have read the Merchant of Florence, and that will inspire you when you travel to the island of Spain. Your knowledge of that problem they had with those people in Russia, or that guy in South America-you know, that guy-will enrich you for the rest of your life.

There is also sadness today, a feeling of loss that you're leaving Harvard forever. Well, let me assure you that you never really leave Harvard. The Harvard Fundraising Committee will be on your ass until the day you die. Right now, a member of the Alumni Association is at the Mt. Auburn
Cemetery shaking down the corpse of Henry Adams. They heard he had a brass toe ring and they aims to get it. Imagine: These people just raised 2.5 billion dollars and they only got through the B's in the alumni directory. Here's how it works. Your phone rings, usually after a big meal when
you're tired and most vulnerable. A voice asks you for money. Knowing they just raised 2.5 billion dollars you ask, "What do you need it for?" Then there's a long pause and the voice on the other end of the line says, "We don't need it, we just want it." It's chilling.

What else can you expect? Let me see, by your applause, who here wrote a thesis. (APPLAUSE) A lot of hard work, a lot of your blood went into that thesis... and no one is ever going to care. I wrote a thesis: Literary Progeria in the works of Flannery O'Connor and William Faulkner. Let's
just say that, during my discussions with Pauly Shore, it doesn't come up much. For three years after graduation I kept my thesis in the glove compartment of my car so I could show it to a policeman in case I was pulled over. (ACT OUT) License, registration, cultural exploration of the
Man Child in the Sound and the Fury...

So what can you expect out there in the real world? Let me tell you. As you leave these gates and re-enter society, one thing is certain: Everyone out there is going to hate you. Never tell anyone in a roadside diner that you went to Harvard. In most situations the correct response to where did you to school is, "School? Why, I never had much in the way of book larnin' and such." Then, get in your BMW and get the hell out of there.

You see, you're in for a lifetime of "And you went to Harvard?" Accidentally give the wrong amount of change in a transaction and it's, "And you went to Harvard?" Ask the guy at the hardware store how these jumper cables work and hear, "And you went to Harvard?" Forget just once that your underwear goes inside your pants and it's "and you went to Harvard." Get your head stuck in your niece's dollhouse because you wanted to see what it was like to be a giant and it's "Uncle Conan, you went to Harvard!?"

But to really know what's in store for you after Harvard, I have to tell you what happened to me after graduation. I'm going to tell you my story because, first of all, my perspective may give many of you hope, and, secondly, it's an amazing rush to stand in front of six thousand people and talk about yourself.

After graduating in May, I moved to Los Angeles and got a three week contract at a small cable show. I got a $380 a month apartment and bought a 1977 Isuzu Opel, a car Isuzu only manufactured for a year because they found out that, technically, it's not a car. Here's a quick tip, graduates: no four cylinder vehicle should have a racing stripe. I worked at that show for over a year, feeling pretty good about myself, when one day they told me they were letting me go. I was fired and, I hadn't saved a lot of money. I tried to get another job in television but I couldn't find one.

So, with nowhere else to turn, I went to a temp agency and filled out a questionnaire. I made damn sure they knew I had been to Harvard and that I expected the very best treatment. And so, the next day, I was sent to the Santa Monica branch of Wilson's House of Suede and Leather. When you have a Harvard degree and you're working at Wilson's House of Suede and Leather, you are haunted by the ghostly images of your classmates who chose Graduate School. You see their faces everywhere: in coffee cups, in fish tanks, and they're always laughing at you as you stack suede shirts no man, in good conscience, would ever wear. I tried a lot of things during this period: acting in corporate infomercials, serving drinks in a non-equity theatre, I even took a job entertaining at a seven year olds' birthday party. In desperate need of work, I put together some sketches and scored a job at the fledgling Fox Network as a writer and performer for a new show called "The Wilton North Report." I was finally on a network and really excited. The producer told me the show was going to revolutionize television. And, in a way, it did. The show was so hated and did so badly that when, four weeks later, news of its cancellation was announced to the Fox affiliates, they burst into applause.

Eventually, though, I got a huge break. I had submitted, along with my writing partner, a batch of sketches to Saturday Night Live and, after a year and a half, they read it and gave us a two week tryout. The two weeks turned into two seasons and I felt successful. Successful enough to write a TV pilot for an original sitcom and, when the network decided to make it, I left Saturday Night Live. This TV show was going to be groundbreaking. It was going to resurrect the career of TV's Batman, Adam West. It was going to be a comedy without a laugh track or a studio audience. It was going to change all the rules. And here's what happened: When the pilot aired it was the second lowest-rated television show of all time. It's tied with a test pattern they show in Nova Scotia.

So, I was 28 and, once again, I had no job. I had good writing credits in New York, but I was filled with disappointment and didn't know what to do next. I started smelling suede on my fingertips. And that's when The Simpsons saved me. I got a job there and started writing episodes about Springfield getting a Monorail and Homer going to College. I was finally putting my Harvard education to good use, writing dialogue for a man who's so stupid that in one episode he forgot to make his own heart beat. Life was good.

And then, an insane, inexplicable opportunity came my way . A chance to audition for host of the new Late Night Show. I took the opportunity seriously but, at the same time, I had the relaxed confidence of someone who knew he had no real shot. I couldn't fear losing a great job I had never had. And, I think that attitude made the difference. I'll never forget being in the Simpson's recording basement that morning when the phone rang. It was for me. My car was blocking a fire lane. But a week later I got another call: I got the job.

So, this was undeniably the it: the truly life-altering break I had always dreamed of. And, I went to work. I gathered all my funny friends and poured all my years of comedy experience into building that show over the summer, gathering the talent and figuring out the sensibility. We debuted on September 13, 1993 and I was happy with our effort. I felt like I had seized the moment and put my very best foot forward. And this is what the most respected and widely read television critic, Tom Shales, wrote in the Washington Post: "O'Brien is a living collage of annoying nervous habits. He giggles and titters, jiggles about and fiddles with his cuffs. He had dark, beady little eyes like a rabbit. He's one of the whitest white men ever. O'Brien is a switch on the guest who won't leave: he's the host who should never have come. Let the Late show with Conan O'Brien become the late, Late Show and may the host return to Conan O'Blivion whence he came." There's more but it gets kind of mean.

Needless to say, I took a lot of criticism, some of it deserved, some of it excessive. And it hurt like you wouldn't believe. But I'm telling you all this for a reason. I've had a lot of success and I've had a lot of failure. I've looked good and I've looked bad. I've been praised and I've been criticized. But my mistakes have been necessary. Except for Wilson's House of Suede and Leather. That was just stupid.

I've dwelled on my failures today because, as graduates of Harvard, your biggest liability is your need to succeed. Your need to always find yourself on the sweet side of the bell curve. Because success is a lot like a bright, white tuxedo. You feel terrific when you get it, but then you're desperately afraid of getting it dirty, of spoiling it in any way.

I left the cocoon of Harvard, I left the cocoon of Saturday Night Live, I left the cocoon of The Simpsons. And each time it was bruising and tumultuous. And yet, every failure was freeing, and today I'm as nostalgic for the bad as I am for the good.

So, that's what I wish for all of you: the bad as well as the good. Fall down, make a mess, break something occasionally. And remember that the story is never over. If it's all right, I'd like to read a little something from just this year: "Somehow, Conan O'Brien has transformed himself into the brightest star in the Late Night firmament. His comedy is the gold standard and Conan himself is not only the quickest and most inventive wit of his generation, but quite possible the greatest host ever."

Ladies and Gentlemen, Class of 2000, I wrote that this morning, as proof that, when all else fails, there's always delusion.

I'll go now, to make bigger mistakes and to embarrass this fine institution even more. But let me leave you with one last thought: If you can laugh at yourself loud and hard every time you fall, people will think you're drunk.

Thick headed people

2006-04-02T22:18:00.000+08:00

Children with thicker skulls by the age of twelve tend to be smarter, as this interesting study reported by BBC News tells us. This study was conducted by the US Institute of Mental Health on 307 children. A thicker skull means a longer thime for the children to develop higher level brain circuitry (whatever that means, I am not sure). However, the interesting question is what triggers the skull thickening? Genes or the activities the child was engaged in?

Time to take out those callipers...

Quarter finals

2006-03-30T22:43:00.000+08:00

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

2006-03-30T01:23:00.000+08:00

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

2006-03-25T08:53:00.000+08:00

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

2006-03-24T14:30:00.000+08:00

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

2006-03-24T09:15:00.000+08:00

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

2006-03-23T15:37:00.000+08:00

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

2006-03-19T09:26:00.000+08:00

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

2006-03-18T19:00:00.000+08:00

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

2006-03-18T10:54:00.000+08:00

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

2006-03-17T22:10:00.000+08:00

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

2006-03-15T21:44:00.000+08:00

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!

2006-03-10T11:36:00.000+08:00

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

2006-03-10T11:34:00.000+08:00

From New Scientist

Zone finals

2006-03-08T23:06:00.000+08:00

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