Sunday, July 29, 2007

Today is such an eventful day!

Run-Movie-Blade

interesting events/incidents interspersed the course of the day!

Oh no I realized my blog entries are getting shorter and shorter at an exponential rate.

i took a shine to you at 10:55 PM

Friday, July 27, 2007

Yay... my short 2 weeks break has officially begun!

I am so amazed with my writing zest this afternoon. It was like some kind of essay frenzy!

I think ssa1201 has provided me with a different perspective of our society. Today when I visited the house of one of our kids, many thoughts, primarily sociological ones, ran through my mind.

i took a shine to you at 10:32 PM

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

The more you want something to work... the higher the chances that it would fail.

TOday is such a bad day.

i took a shine to you at 11:33 PM

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Evaluate how the Sg Govt's education policies have supported the state's industrialization since independence. Do you think the state will be able to sustain this in the future?

Every March, many Singaporeans would pay close attention to the news, deciphering clues which may shed light on the kind of goodies or impact the new Government budget may bring. The way in which the budget pie is cut has hardly changed over decades. Education and Defence have traditionally received the lions' share of the expenditure and, in stark contrast, is the distinctly smaller share of the social /welfare services. I read this as a constant reminder that this Government believes in social investment which puts economic development over social welfare. In other words, it teaches you how to fish but will not give you the fish. Thus it becomes obvious that education is closely tied to needs of the economy.

In contrast to a welfare state, a social investment state believes in the investment of education as a supplier labour and skills to the economy rather than a univer sal right. However, some would view social investment as a pseudo form of social welfare as the flourishing of the economy would contribute to higher standards of living and the continued provision of education.

The exit from Malaysia left Singapore left plagued with numerous socio-economic problems. The immediate concern lies in the inability of Singapore to provide for itself. Without natural resources and basic necessities such as water, this nascent state had to purchase everything that was needed. The announcement of British troops withdrawal, which provided 25% of the GDP then, aggravated the economic situation. The financial pressure was huge for the new nation. On top of that, the Government had to make sure that there were enough jobs as the baby boomers were going to enter the workforce in a few years' time. Unemployment would lead to social instability and put more people into the vicious cycle of poverty. Industralization seemed the most feasible solution to those issues. Industrialization would provide large employment, generate an income and provide the impetus for education.

The industrial transformation of Singapore immediately after independence saw 2 distinctive features imbued into the education system - female education and industrial syllabus. Women were rightfully given equal access to education so as to augment the labour force to prepare Singapore for rapid industrialization in the years to come. Schools were brought under the purview of the MOE and were also given a defined syllabus to steer the education system in line with the economy. Emphasis was placed on technical subjects such as Mathematics and Science to equip the workforce with people confident in the operation of basic machines. There was also conscious effort to make sure students had a fairly good grasp of basic English which was important as a working language.

.... no motivation to continue...

i took a shine to you at 10:15 PM

Saturday, July 21, 2007

From a sociological point of view, explain why women are currently disproportionately represented in business and in politics in Singapore. Do you think the situation will change in the future?

i took a shine to you at 11:19 PM

Thursday, July 19, 2007

little creatures

i took a shine to you at 11:44 PM

Sunday, July 15, 2007

MLE1101 Introductory Materials Science & Engineering
PC1431 Physics IE
MA1505 Mathematics I
EG1109 Statics and Mechanics of Materials
CTW

i took a shine to you at 9:43 PM Officership: "A'Harye"

A' Harye, Hebrew for "follow me", is the ethos deeply imprinted in the minds of Israeli military junior commanders from their earliest military training. This philosophy essentially guides commanders in decision making by saying that one should not expose one's men to danger if one is unwilling to expose oneself.

It's always saddening to hear instances of officers betraying the trust bestowed upon them in their duties. Many of us have heard of the LHY's case and much of the focus landed on the issue of him being charged and his background but what drew my attention was, rather, the officer whom he complained against.

My fellow officer, during my NSF days,had recounted an incident also concerning the integrity of an officer he encountered. It's disgusting. Lives of men and women are entrusted in the hands of their officers in war. They makes decisions which would directly affect the mission success as well as their safety. Look.. I am not a sage and I cannot deny that I have lied before. In fact, it doesn't take much to realise that actions and decisions are never distinctly right or wrong in this world. However, I dare say that I have never lied in the course of my duties as officer in order to cover up for my own mistakes. Officership is about decision making. As a force of arms, scenarios which the military normally finds itself in, are mostly complicated. Take for example the story below:

A PLATOON is on a rescue mission. Two members of the platoon are trapped on a hill and under fire. Both soldiers are seriously wounded; within a few hours, they will be dead. Between the platoon and the two soldiers is a minefield, which the platoon must breach or go around if they are to get to the trapped soldiers in time. As the platoon leader ponders his options, he notices a civilian picking his way through the minefield. Obviously he knows where the mines are. The lieutenant detains the civilian, but the man refuses to lead the platoon through the minefield.

In this case, the officer is forced to make a decision between letting the civilian go, in which case the men would die, and torturing civilian to get an answer from him. Of course he can also risk the lives his soldiers by force-breaching the minefield to save their comrades.

From the example above, we realise that decisions which officers have to make esp wartime are hardly simple. Whatever his decision may be, priority has to go to the completion of the mission and the good of his men. I cannot imagine an officer using his legal power to serve his own purpose in making a decision favourable for himself. By letting such an officer exist, his commission is the sentence of death to our men during war; war is not an impossibility.

i took a shine to you at 2:10 PM

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Why are some people just so good at studying? READ today's Straits Times: SMU Valedictorian managed a CAP 4 (max by SMU standards)

HOW THE HELL DID SHE DO IT?? It's a perfect score for heaven's sake.

WEll... I'm quite sure I cannot do it.. BUT THEN AGAIN how did carine do it? MAD... CAP5... wah lao... it only makes me more stressed! As for now... CAP 5 is already impossible for Bizad thanx to !@#$%^&*(!@#$%^&* gek 1535. NONSENSE.. LIFE SUX

i took a shine to you at 12:46 PM

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Rude SHOCK! SO MANY RUDE SHOCKS tonight!

i took a shine to you at 10:53 PM

Monday, July 09, 2007

What's wrong with the world today? Everyone seems to be picking fault at each other. They are spoiling for a fight.

Kids screaming incessantly and upon bumping into me doesn't understand my kind words of LOGIC. Coming online and someone telling me "don't talk to me i am upset".

What's wrong with the bleedy world today?

I wish to be calm but I can't!

!@#$%^&*()_+

i took a shine to you at 9:20 PM

Sunday, July 08, 2007

外面的世界

在很久很久以前
你拥有我我拥有你
在很久很久以前
你离开我去远空遨翔
外面的世界很精彩
外面的世界很无奈
当你觉得外面的世界很精彩
我会在这里衷心的祝福 你
每当 夕阳西沉的时候
我总是在这里盼望你
天空中虽然飘着雨
我依然等待你的归期

i took a shine to you at 11:40 PM

Saturday, July 07, 2007

When kids get locked out... volunteers stay back to take care of them...














And when the trio got bored... they started taking photos... hallucinating about hearing people knocking on the shutters... looking for television.... playing tarzan comp games...



Fall asleep while eating. You should really see how he kept nodding off when my mom fed him. The GONG GONG face upon waking up after every nod was so adorable!

i took a shine to you at 2:55 PM

Thursday, July 05, 2007

http://www.smileforamile.blogspot.com/

JOIN JOIN EVERYBODY JOIN!

i took a shine to you at 2:39 AM
Happy BIRTHDAY!

i took a shine to you at 1:25 AM

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Daddy Daddy... you'd never expect to find your birthday present there. =)

Happy BIRTHDAY!

i took a shine to you at 10:25 PM

Monday, July 02, 2007

Our Pledge

We, the citizens of Singapore,
pledge ourselves as one united people,
regardless of race, language or religion,
to build a democratic society
based on justice and equality
so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and
progress for our nation.

I feel so ashamed for rarely taking the pledge ceremonies seriously. If I have the chance to say it again in morning assemblies, I would say it with more conviction after realising the weight each verse bears.

Meritocracy - justice and equality

Multiracialism - race, language or religion

Common destiny and a stake in the future - happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation

Unity in Diversity - One united people

i took a shine to you at 10:19 PM

Sunday, July 01, 2007

"... to build a democratic society, based on justice and equality, so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation."

A progressive national identity, built on the premises of meritocracy and multiracialism, which seeks to create a stake for all Singaporeans in the future of their nation. The common destiny of one people - though ethnically diverse - and one nation in the pursuit of happiness, prosperity and progress.

From 3rd world to 1st, Singapore has already demonstrated it's economic prowess to the world. However, like how Kwok and Ali lamented, any implication that Singaporeans are staying because of material assets or because they have nowhere else to go, simply demeans the higher ideals of national identity. Happiness is the celebration and enjoyment of the Singaporean way of life. Its indicators are intangible and can never be measured quantitatively. Emotions and feelings cannot be engineered thus the traditional top down approach cannot be adopted. This component of nation building has to stem from every Singaporean and this would, subsequently, work its way up to the community, society and, ultimately, the nation.

In order to embrace a Singapore culture, the average Singaporean must feel involved in the society. Active citizenry and participation ensures that every citizen feels included in the decision making process and this translates to ownership. The nation building project is never complete as world is constantly changing thus active citizenry allows the Singaporean identity to be constantly moulded so as to fit into the volatile global environment.

Participation is a privilege which comes with the trust that mature and intelligent decisions are exercised. Thus Singaporeans should seek to cultivate an active intellectual life which would aid them in dealing with greater issues such as the society and national identity. They should engage themselves in intelligent forums and discussion over such issues for these would reaffirm and strengthen their views.
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i took a shine to you at 11:03 PM