I "kapok" this balloon sotong for my dear sotong. I realize if I type the event I was part of... pple from my unit will find this blog via google. So I won't blog about it here. Lots of things to say about the ugly Singaporeans I encountered there.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Echoes of yesterday
We had a small discussion on whether there is a purpose in recording in blogs the seemingly mundane events that had happened in the week.
The answer really lies in personal preference and lifestyle. For me, I find much comfort in the photos and nuggets of happy memories after a hard day's work. It is reminiscent of being in primary school, admiring my collection of stickers my sticker book made me happy. It is like a scrap book, a photo album, a diary, rolled into one.
These entries also remind me of the different facets and roles we play in our life. On a particularly hard week, they tell me of the love that I am blessed with, the life I have outside of work and the priorities that I have.
So looking through the pictures of families, of my pics with dear, times with friends it brings to mind so much more happy times with people I love but did not pen. And they lift me up.
It is also a reflective process; be it of ideas or opinions we have of issues at work or things personal. For instance, within seven months, the changes that happen to the people around me, in terms of health, looks, etc.
But above all, and I count my blessings, the love has remained constant, unfailing, uplifting. That God has for us, that we have for each other, that we share with our families, friends as well as that we passions we have and share.
The answer really lies in personal preference and lifestyle. For me, I find much comfort in the photos and nuggets of happy memories after a hard day's work. It is reminiscent of being in primary school, admiring my collection of stickers my sticker book made me happy. It is like a scrap book, a photo album, a diary, rolled into one.
These entries also remind me of the different facets and roles we play in our life. On a particularly hard week, they tell me of the love that I am blessed with, the life I have outside of work and the priorities that I have.
So looking through the pictures of families, of my pics with dear, times with friends it brings to mind so much more happy times with people I love but did not pen. And they lift me up.
It is also a reflective process; be it of ideas or opinions we have of issues at work or things personal. For instance, within seven months, the changes that happen to the people around me, in terms of health, looks, etc.
But above all, and I count my blessings, the love has remained constant, unfailing, uplifting. That God has for us, that we have for each other, that we share with our families, friends as well as that we passions we have and share.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Some nice websites
http://educationinnovation.typepad.com/my_weblog/
As the websites says, its a blog about innovation in education. It covers many interesting topics for teachers and principals to think about. Frequently updated too.
http://tcmtechnologyblog.blogspot.com/
A math blog for upper sec-JC maths
http://www.mathtv.com/
Not as interesting but decent. Worth sharing to students i guess.
http://www.ted.com/
Lots of interesting speakers and talks on this website.
Just thought I blog this before i forget. =)
As the websites says, its a blog about innovation in education. It covers many interesting topics for teachers and principals to think about. Frequently updated too.
http://tcmtechnologyblog.blogspot.com/
A math blog for upper sec-JC maths
http://www.mathtv.com/
Not as interesting but decent. Worth sharing to students i guess.
http://www.ted.com/
Lots of interesting speakers and talks on this website.
Just thought I blog this before i forget. =)
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Save the Date (Draft 1)
Made this using paintbrush and with inspirations from http://www.documentsanddesigns.com.
Takes up 1/9 of an A4 size paper.
Takes up 1/9 of an A4 size paper.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Those Who Can: Teach.
For 3 days, I made a daily pilgrimage to NIE, NTU for the Molecular Genetics workshop.
It covered all concepts, procedures and applications of basic recombinant biotechnology. Something like a crash-course revision on year 1 or 2 uni work. Strangely, after 3 years of hiatus, it felt great to be back in the lab again, hearing words like "HindIII, BamI, southern blotting, TBA, TBE.." To revisit the principles from which spawns millions of possibilities.
But that was not new. What struck me was how clear the A/P brought forth these concepts. How simple, elegant, logical, each step or idea was made out to be. Clearly, the A/P is a man of great experience, in research and in teaching. 3 others present who graduated from the same cohort concurred.
While most, if not all of us, have prior knowledge, the A/P was unassuming and took pains to highlight each film obtained from gel electrophoresis, explaining what each band (or absence of) reflects. Two bands because DNA digested, last lane with multiple bands affirm successful random ligation, cannot compare lane from band of undigested plasmid to ladder because former is ccc while the latter is linear, 2 bands because the plasmid could take different forms, shadow because of leaking of well. Band matches so this child's father must be Man 2 not Man 1...
My fellow cohorts recalled how we would be herded into the lab in the afternoons back in uni, follow cook-book protocol and then told by the TAs to submit a report upon receiving our films. On hindsight, we laughed about how we were thrown into the deep end by the TAs and often had to grope through these unfamiliar concepts and interpretations without much response. Not making sense of our bands from gel electrophoresis was a true source of grief!
And this has made us appreciate the A/P of this workshop all the more. I am awed at how he has simplified the concept and method of serial dilution. I am inspired by his incisive assessment of students' concept of homologous chromosomes, how he anticipated misconceptions. Comparison and progression from Southern, Northern Blotting, DNA fingerprinting, DNA profiling, gel elec. His practical advice borne through experience, like agar gel for gel electrophoresis can be reused by microwaving because the DNA denatures after a day, bubbles on gel can be getting rid of by quick flamming. What a good staining of gram negative bacteria should look like.
One may attribute this to class size. Back in the uni, a lab session held about 50 to 70 fresh-faced undergrads in a session. This workshop involved only 8 participants.
But I think that the crux is that, he has a very firm grounding and clear understanding of the subject matter. Together with accumulation of experience, he was able to impart the "fundamental principles", elaborate on what is integral and exemplify by making linkages to applications. The quality of pedagogy can make up for compromise on class size which, in reality, is sometimes a necessary evil.
So i walk away, firmly believing that my mission as a biology teacher is to impart "fundamental principles" (as he calls it) and with this, with today's tools and toys, one may then soar with it. It is also stark to me that for a branch like Genetics, where all creations or products are precipitated from a very "fundamental principal", I have to, all the more, ensure that my students have a very sound foundation. To this end, I would aspire to be like the A/P.
Later in the workshop, and upon some google, I learnt that he was a retired prof from Uni of Malaya, and is currently serving as the Head of DNA centre in NIE, together with his wife, who was training a group of 8 students for International Biology Olympiad today. Both did their PhD in London and he subsequently was conferred DIC too. In uni of Malaya, he used DNA fingerprinting to identify burn victims of plan crash and establish paternity in rape or parenting cases. For one who has seen it all, done it all, he taught us so sincerely and patiently. I feel deeply privileged to be on the receiving end of such fine teaching.
It covered all concepts, procedures and applications of basic recombinant biotechnology. Something like a crash-course revision on year 1 or 2 uni work. Strangely, after 3 years of hiatus, it felt great to be back in the lab again, hearing words like "HindIII, BamI, southern blotting, TBA, TBE.." To revisit the principles from which spawns millions of possibilities.
But that was not new. What struck me was how clear the A/P brought forth these concepts. How simple, elegant, logical, each step or idea was made out to be. Clearly, the A/P is a man of great experience, in research and in teaching. 3 others present who graduated from the same cohort concurred.
While most, if not all of us, have prior knowledge, the A/P was unassuming and took pains to highlight each film obtained from gel electrophoresis, explaining what each band (or absence of) reflects. Two bands because DNA digested, last lane with multiple bands affirm successful random ligation, cannot compare lane from band of undigested plasmid to ladder because former is ccc while the latter is linear, 2 bands because the plasmid could take different forms, shadow because of leaking of well. Band matches so this child's father must be Man 2 not Man 1...
My fellow cohorts recalled how we would be herded into the lab in the afternoons back in uni, follow cook-book protocol and then told by the TAs to submit a report upon receiving our films. On hindsight, we laughed about how we were thrown into the deep end by the TAs and often had to grope through these unfamiliar concepts and interpretations without much response. Not making sense of our bands from gel electrophoresis was a true source of grief!
And this has made us appreciate the A/P of this workshop all the more. I am awed at how he has simplified the concept and method of serial dilution. I am inspired by his incisive assessment of students' concept of homologous chromosomes, how he anticipated misconceptions. Comparison and progression from Southern, Northern Blotting, DNA fingerprinting, DNA profiling, gel elec. His practical advice borne through experience, like agar gel for gel electrophoresis can be reused by microwaving because the DNA denatures after a day, bubbles on gel can be getting rid of by quick flamming. What a good staining of gram negative bacteria should look like.
One may attribute this to class size. Back in the uni, a lab session held about 50 to 70 fresh-faced undergrads in a session. This workshop involved only 8 participants.
But I think that the crux is that, he has a very firm grounding and clear understanding of the subject matter. Together with accumulation of experience, he was able to impart the "fundamental principles", elaborate on what is integral and exemplify by making linkages to applications. The quality of pedagogy can make up for compromise on class size which, in reality, is sometimes a necessary evil.
So i walk away, firmly believing that my mission as a biology teacher is to impart "fundamental principles" (as he calls it) and with this, with today's tools and toys, one may then soar with it. It is also stark to me that for a branch like Genetics, where all creations or products are precipitated from a very "fundamental principal", I have to, all the more, ensure that my students have a very sound foundation. To this end, I would aspire to be like the A/P.
Later in the workshop, and upon some google, I learnt that he was a retired prof from Uni of Malaya, and is currently serving as the Head of DNA centre in NIE, together with his wife, who was training a group of 8 students for International Biology Olympiad today. Both did their PhD in London and he subsequently was conferred DIC too. In uni of Malaya, he used DNA fingerprinting to identify burn victims of plan crash and establish paternity in rape or parenting cases. For one who has seen it all, done it all, he taught us so sincerely and patiently. I feel deeply privileged to be on the receiving end of such fine teaching.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
That the Lord has Made...
"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it!"
Psalm 118:24
Have been trying to find the lyrics online but it seems that the composer kept a very strict copyright.
First heard it at Andrea's wedding last Saturday morning sang by a matured Korean lady and it was oh, so hauntingly beautiful.
Friday, May 2, 2008
D A B F# G D G A
Today's slideshow presentation for PWS 2008 went really well. I didn't even have time to view the whole show from start to finish till this morning, just glad the music didn't receive negative criticisms.
I used 2 varients of Canon in D (One of which was given to me by my dear, the LAPQ version) followed by Snow Patrol's Signal Fire and lastly the ending song of Portal "Still Alive". I realized how hard it was to find appropriate music for presentations and facilitations. Songs with lyrics usually bias sentimental to anarchistic, at least those i have.
E.g.
Josh Groban's "You raise me up"... too common and the opening is too jarring
O Magnum Mysterium?... too religious
5th Element?... too operatic
Thats kinda why i wanted to go with just a collection of Canon in D variations but i left most of them in my hard drive in the office... Maybe next presentations =)
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