Things You Never Knew...

I wrote the previous post then went to take a nap. When I woke up my own arguments didn't seem too convincing anymore, and for the average student it does make sense to go to Poly. I suspect the 6 pointers will still want to go JC though. Plus there are all them thru' train and IB students that don't have a choice either.

Anyway, reproduced below (for all of you who don't read the papers) is another article from today's Sunday Times that sheds more light on the issue, and I think argues more convincingly than that Gen Y one.

Poly or JC? Time to relook admission policy
The Straits Times (Singapore) March 18, 2007 Sunday

Sandra Davie, Education Correspondent

FIVE years ago, a parent rang me in desperation, asking for advice on how to talk her son out of enrolling in a polytechnic.

His O-level scores were good enough to gain him entry into one of the top five junior colleges, but to her dismay, he wanted to study mass communications at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

Her reason for worry: At that time, only one in 10 poly students made it to local universities, compared to seven in 10 JC students. To her relief, her son was eventually persuaded to take the JC route.

But things have since changed.

Last week, about a dozen parents rang me for the exact opposite advice: how to secure a polytechnic place for their teenagers.

Poly places are getting scarce, a reflection of their popularity among teenagers.

Polytechnics and junior colleges used to have an equal share of O-level school leavers - between 12,000 and 13,000 a year each - in the late 1990s.

Then more polytechnics were built, bringing the number to five, with the result that they now enrol more than 20,000 students. The 17 JCs take in about 15,000 students yearly.

The quantitative boom in numbers is accompanied by a qualitative rise in student calibre.

About a third of those entering polys this year are eligible for JCs, says the Education Ministry.

This has led to several parents complaining that their children with average O-level scores are being squeezed out of courses of their choice.

One key reason for the polys' popularity is the wide number of courses they offer - from just a few dozen courses, mainly engineering and IT-related, previously, to more than 150 now.

They range from digital animation and Web design to film, sound and video - so-called new economy courses which cannot fail to captivate a teenager.

In contrast, the A-level curriculum, although revamped to stimulate creativity, still seems too conventional to the average O-level student. Also, some students are not confident that their command of the English language can see them through subjects such as General Paper.

That the polytechnics have become an established route to higher education and better-paying jobs is another reason for their burnished profile among students and parents.

The latest polytechnic employment survey of the class of 2006 showed that 91.3 per cent of them had found either full-time or part-time jobs within six months of graduating. They also earned $1,711 on average, a notch higher than the $1,659 drawn by the 2005 graduates.

More university places have been opened to polytechnic students too. Last year, more than 2,000 poly grads or around 10 per cent of their batch entered the three universities, double the number five years ago.

The authorities have promised that 15 per cent of the poly cohort will make it to the three local universities by 2010.

The number of poly students moving on to university will be boosted with the government's plan to bring in up to 10 renowned foreign specialised institutions to partner the polytechnics in providing degree programmes in fields such as hospitality management, film studies, digital animation and sports management.

These institutions will offer thousands of poly grads more choices and opportunities to pursue quality degree studies locally at a lower cost.

For those who have no choice but to opt for a foreign university, the polytechnic route provides the faster track.

A typical junior college student spends two years studying for his A levels before entering the university for a three- or four-year course.

Polytechnic students spend three years on their diploma programme. But because many universities overseas offer advance placement which allows applicants to go directly to the second or even third year, they need to be abroad for just one or two years to land a degree.

And many return with first- class honours or at least second- upper degrees.

But how do they fare in the job market?

As yet, no large-scale studies have been done to compare the employment prospects of university graduates who took the two different routes.

But a survey by this newspaper in 2002 showed that employers have a preference for those who had taken the poly-university route.

Half of 214 publicly-listed companies surveyed said they had no preference. But of the other half, a significant 35 per cent said they preferred graduates who had taken the poly route. Only 10 per cent said they preferred to hire those who went to junior college.

Employers say the poly-university route is the best combination - the three years in the polytechnic would equip the youngsters with the basic technical and practical know-how, and the two or three more years at university would give them the theoretical and conceptual knowledge.

So it is clear that in a very short period of time, teenagers, parents and employers have changed their perceptions about the benefits of a poly education.

Given this, is it time to relook the way places in both sectors are allocated?

The entry bar for junior college is higher - students must have an aggregate of 20 points or below for their first language and relevant five subjects.

For polytechnics, the score cannot exceed 26. This is based on the English language, relevant two subjects and best two subjects.

But students aiming for the popular courses in the polytechnics are finding it easier to get a berth in a junior college than to land that preferred place in the polytechnic.

Shouldn't the admission criteria for both sectors be based on students' interests and aptitude, rather than O-level results?

This might go some way in solving the problem of talented students being squeezed out of the fields they can excel in.

There are other issues as well.

If indeed a polytechnic education prepares a young person well for university and the workforce, perhaps the Government should look into how even more young Singaporeans can be routed through the polytechnics.

Should the balance be tilted further in favour of polytechnics, with the number of places boosted to 25,000 yearly and JC intake pared down to 10,000?

What are the implications for the future should students, including bright students, shun the more academic JC route?

It might well be a good idea for the JCs to follow the poly example of self-marketing and promotion to teenagers and parents.

They might want to make Knowledge and Inquiry, Macro- economics and History of South-east Asia sexy again.

sandra@sph.com.sg

In the Sunday Times today there are a couple (well, two) of articles that convey a rather startling message - people who do well at their O levels would rather go to poly than JC. Back in my time - not so long ago, but 10 years can seem a long time (Especially in relation to something as fluid as Singapore's education policy) - if you had 19 points or less for your L1R5, you would go to JC. Otherwise, it was off to poly for you. (Let's not consider those who got in excess of 30 points and wouldn't qualify for either)

I had friends who couldn't make it to JC, yet their parents wanted them to have a university degree so what they would do is take a course at Poly, hopefully do well enough to get into some nameless university (usually in Australia, but if you're rich there are zillions of 'universities' in America that will gladly take your money in exchange for a degree) and return home, Bachelor of Engineering.

Now, it seems, people with decent grades (not stellar, mind you) choose the road-which-used-to-be-not-less-travelled-but-seems-to-be-getting-more-popular. Their reasons? The Sunday Times gives 5, all of which don't seem very convincing.

Studies relate more to future goals
I'm in my last year of law school, and I still don't really know what I want to do with my life. What makes you so sure the decision you make at 16 is really what you want? Future goals at 16? Geez, youngsters nowadays are so results oriented.

Alternatively. So you play a mean game of CS/DoTA? You can wtfpwnzorz all comers, so you think you have it made in Multimedia Game Design, or whatever they call it? Think again. Game design is not easy, and it's next to impossible to make a decent living unless you are extremely talented. This is just one extreme example, but I get the feeling there are many who think this way, especially in relation to 'new economy' courses - IT, web design, what have you. (Word taken from another article in the papers about the same issue) Mind you, I'm not disparaging these courses. All I'm saying is that if you're bright and talented, there are other (possibly better) ways to get to your dream job.

Better off in the working world
Well in a very twisted sense, yes, I guess. If your ambition in life (which raises it's own question, see above) is to be a say, low-grade technician, then that electronics engineering course would serve you in good stead in your quest to qualify as Product Service Technician. But really, with an L1R5 of 11 you can do better for yourself.

Less stress at poly
If it's because you don't have to take Chinese or GP, then this has a smidgen of truth in it. But hey, school is school is school. It's as stressful as you make it out to be. To be the best, you'd better put in your time.

Okay, so I've never actually been to Poly so I don't know how stressful it is, but in any educational environment you create the stress for yourself. If you want to slack of in JC and lead a stress-free life, be my guest. Contact me for tips!

No equivalent at JC
(This is a rather longwinded argument) In the United States of America, when you go to university you have a year or so to make up your mind on what you want to major in. In that first year, freshmen are encouraged to take any module that catches their eye. The broadness of their education is stressed, and depth can come later. (though I don't have statistics offhand, lots of Americans choose to go to grad school) What's important though is the learning skills gained.

So that's the reason why at JC they make you take broad subjects like math and physics and economics - the hard knowledge gained might not be of any use at all (so much for all my F Math) but the skillset acquired will serve the student well in all his future learning. So, true, in JC they don't teach you biomedical engineering, or financial analysis, but they equip you to excel while learning in the future.

So that's how he does his hair. Whad'ya know!

(from wikipedia. where else?)

The phrase "It was a dark and stormy night", made famous by comic strip artist Charles M. Schulz, was originally penned by Victorian novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton as the beginning of his 1830 novel Paul Clifford. The phrase itself is now understood as a euphemism for a certain broad style of writing, characterized by a self-serious attempt at dramatic flair, the imitation of formulaic styles, an extravagantly florid style, redundancies, and run-on sentences. Bulwer-Lytton's original opening sentence serves as example:

The annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest was formed to ironically celebrate the worst extremes in this style. The contest is sponsored by the English Department of San Jose State University, in which the worst examples of "dark and stormy night" writing are recognized.

So today I was doing some research, but my laptop wasn't on. (we all know how distracting and counter-productive to work those can be) Anyhow I took down some references to check up later. Except I seem to have totally forgotten what I wrote.

I have:

KG 4095 Die 2006 - the Diedriks-Verschoor Intro to Air Law book on RBR at the library. This was the easiest to track down

5 A&S L 3 (1991) which i think is (1991) 5 Journal of Air and Space Law 3. It could be the McGill Annals of Air and Space Law thingie but at least I only have two to check out.

And then. The clincher.

1997 11(3) International asdlkfhjsadljlsadf Journal 389. Of all the words to scribble illegibly, I seem to have missed out the MOST IMPORTANT ONE. Like, "Journal" is a given. "International" shouldn't be too hard to track down. But. International WHAT Journal?

>_<

Here's something else from the other end of the spectrum.

Drawn to you I have been,
Your beauty I see is not just within,
Your kindness given to all who ask,
On my knee I begin my task.
I tremble as I hold the ring,
I just want to be with someone so caring,
I hold my hand up toward you as I prepare to say,
Darling will you be mine this day,
I only worry knowing the fearful fact,
That you will say no to this love abiding pact,
But my heart I must put on the line,
For someone who is of the most divine.

From time to time in the course of my research I will come across certain articles (especially on scholar.google.com) with a header like this, and I'm wondering do I, this insignificant nobody also have to contact the author to quote them in my paper?

"Hi, I'm a final year at the Law School of NUS and I'm doing a research paper on yadda-yadda. I would like to quote such-and-such from your paper, is that ok?"

I mean, why publish on the internet if you don't want to be read/quoted?

although this one wasn't even meant to be arty, i think it came out decent. and just so you know, they were as heavenly as they looked.

This is a test.

I take up my pen and write The Letter.
To say goodbye forever and ever.

I say sorry, and I love you.
There is nothing you could do.

I wish I could care, but that's a lie.
All that's left is the will to die.

Fighting the unreturned love, hurt, and pain.
It makes everyday feel like rain.

You tell me it will get better someday.
But I don't want that is all I can say.

You would think it would matter.
But I don't want to be sadder.

I'm told that it's stupid and very selfish.
But it's what I want, all that I wish.

This darkness sits deep down inside.
To you this I confide.

My world is gone it has left me.
I just don't want to be.

I will miss my friends and family.
But to stay here is beyond my ability.

The time has come to end my life.
With steady hands I pick up the knife.

Two quick slices and blood runs red.
Soon, not much longer and I will be dead.

The darkness is here steadly coming.
Ahh, yes, I'm so tired of running.

I took up my pen and wrote The Letter.
This is it, Goodbye forever and ever.

That this year marks the 50th anniversary of the European Union. Well, to be precise, the European Economic Community, which was the predecessor in title of the EU. The anniversary is in slightly under two weeks, on the 25th of March, when the Treaty of Rome was signed in 1957. All you people who took EU, take note!

And how do I know? Because Man U is playing some charity match to celebrate the occasion. Don't ask me why though, because for the life of me I can't figure out either.

So today I was turning right at some junction when this car appears on my left. (which is of course, not a proper filter lane) I turn to look and fweh! it's some old uncle (grey hair and all) in a Hyundai Getz. Before I knew it, the green arrow was on and this old uncle was off like a rocket! AND THEN HE CUT IN FRONT OF ME. OF ALL THE CHEEK AKLDJFAO WVN LSKN NA MNG LRBNA OUBN VNDL VNDSVN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, I don't exactly drive a very sporty sports car with fantastic acceleration, but most of the time I can get the better of anyone who is not a chiongster in a souped up lancer or civic. So well, I put the pedal to the metal to qie him back. Except that I couldn't! I was accelerating steadily, but the HYUNDAI GETZ was slowly pulling away from me. When I was doing 120+ the distance was constant, except he was already way ahead, and I was left eating his dust. And then I got caught in some traffic so I lost sight of him forever and ever.

OH, BUT THE PAIN, THE HUMILIATION!!!

All the lights, are misty in the river...

I hadn't done it for a while, but it was surprising how familiar everything looked, the inherent sameness. That slight crack in the pavement where a tree-root had come up, the couple of places to duck where a branch had grown too low, places where the curb sloped slightly so it's a good place to cross at.

The way the streetlights cast weird shadows over everything, the odd twisted shapes in the dim orange light. How if you look up and stare for a while, you can see the stars, but you gotta be careful to shield your eyes from the evil orange light.

The legs felt different though, leaden after only few small steps. The heart, laboriously working but knowing the futility of it all. Strange aches and pains developing in places that previously worked fine. We work hard to tone our bodies, yet it rewards our effort by atrophying so easily.

Sucks. IPPT in 6 weeks.

*huff* Gotta *puff* work *huff* harder *puff*

And now I'm all alone again nowhere to go no one to turn to
I do not want your money Sir I came out here 'cause I was told to
And now the night is here, and I can make believe (s)he's here.

Sometimes I walk alone at night when everybody else is sleeping
I think of him(her) and then I'm happy with the company I'm keeping
The city goes to bed, and I can live inside my head

On my own...

From some readings I was doing:

"Delta Airline executives were shocked to learn that eliminating decorative lettuce from meals served on their airplanes produced annual savings of $1.4million."

Uhh. Somewhat-related question. Is decorative lettuce meant to be eaten?

Sha says:
anyhow, let's just decide on miramar as the restaurant of our bet
lw says:
hahaha
lw says:
what about sandy then
lw says:
does she have a share
Sha says:
i'm not paying for her
Sha says:
wait
Sha says:
i'm not paying for anyone

Sensivite New Age Guy, or in my world, Sensitive Nerd, Artistic Geek :)

In an attempt to get in touch with my artistic side yet stay true to my geek self, aside from music I have decided to dabble in a new hobby, photography. It's the perfect hobby for this in that there's more tech and science (especially physics) than I can swallow, yet allows for plenty of artistic expression. Furthermore, roinjag jfgnas sdvlks...

Okay, I can't even kid myself. While visiting the IT fair at Suntec (to get an AIO laser, but that's another story) I famous-last-words-ly stopped by a camera booth just to 'take a look'. Next thing I know, I was the proud, somewhat sheepish owner of an Olympus e-500 dSLR. Yippee.

Now, to rediscover my artistic side...

Shevchenko nod on, sweetly taken Ballack shot, GOAL! What more can one ask for?

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And then 5 minutes later they clash comically on the edge of the Porto penalty area. Haven't they heard of only one man going for the ball? Anyone who plays street soccer knows this!

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Robben is a fantastic dribbler, but sometimes why he doesn't pass earlier is beyond me.

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Because I'm somewhat of a loser, I managed to catch the Porto goal, but missed both Chelsea goals because I was (i) watching a shambolic Barca try to beat Liverpool and (ii) visiting the bathroom. Oh, the tragedy! I watched them both on instant replays, BUT IT IS JUST NOT THE SAME.

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Sighbomb@Barca. At one point it was Liverpool with 9 shots on goal versus none for them. WHAT IS THE WORLD COMING TO! Talk about free-frag.

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You'll Never Walk Alone is just about the best thing about being a Liverpool Fan.

Addendum to the previous post:

I've always wanted to get a Steinway. Other than the fact that they make just about the bestest pianos in the world, I had the opportunity to perform on one at UCC - the University Cultural Centre at KR - a couple of years back and the feeling was indescribable. The feeling, touch, action was all exquisite and I felt much, much more skilled and accomplished playing a Steinway than I feel playing any old piano. And the sound... Mmmmhmmmm.

Fast forward to this weekend and I was again back at UCC (though not performing this time) I had the chance to tinker on the piano again. Pure bliss! In an interesting coincidence, I was just thinking about Steinways when a saw a link (well RSS feed) to this article. Well, whadya know!

I figure if Singaporeans (young lawyers in particular) don't bat an eyelid plonking down $150,000 or whatever for a shiny new car, I can probably keep my old car, and spend half of that on a Steinway. Plus, it actually appreciates in value, compared to the car which will be worth a fraction of the original price in 10 years. The only problem would be where to put it.

Oh, and that other slight problem of actually finding time to play it and enjoy it. At least you can drive your shiny new car to and from work. But I kinda suspect that once I get home I'll be too shacked to want to play the piano.

Note to self. To be added to list of qualifications for spouse - 'accomplished concert pianist'. Or at the very least, 'enjoys playing the piano'.

Businessweek writes...
Steinway: Worth Much More Than a Song

Behind the beloved piano's glossy exterior is more than a century of inspiration, craftsmanship, and hard work

by Maya Roney

The image of a tuxedoed concert pianist tickling the ivories of a shiny Steinway grand piano could not be any more disparate from the scene at the Steinway factory, located in the Long Island City section of Queens, N.Y. Here, the floors are coated with wood shavings and the air—humid to keep the wood from cracking—reeks of fresh ebony lacquer. From 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., tattooed men in tank tops wrestle wood rims into shape, and rows of women in colorful smocks assemble intricate felt hammers.

Never mind their informal appearance—these are expert artisans, some of whom have seen the trade of piano-making handed down through their families from generation to generation. Henry Z. Steinway, the 91-year-old great-grandson of Steinway & Sons' founder Henry E. Steinway, has been known to attribute his family's success to the many talented craftspeople who come from all over the world to work at the New York City factory.

"America provided the opportunity to attract the best and the brightest," says Bob Singleton, president of the Greater Astoria Historical Society and Steinway factory tour guide. "The artisans and the artists inspire one another. That's the magic of the Steinway."

Old World Skill

If the Steinway family had stayed in Germany, Steinway pianos—played today by more than 90% of concert pianists—may have become just another high-end instrument brand. Heinrich Engelhardt Steinweg (Henry Engelhard Steinway) was an illiterate cabinet maker when he left Seesen, Germany, in 1853 for a loft on Varick Street in Manhattan. It was here that Steinway & Sons began manufacturing pianos using cutting-edge scientific research and Henry's master woodworking skills.

In 1866, Steinway & Sons opened Steinway Hall, a 2,000-seat auditorium on 14th Street that housed the New York Philharmonic until Carnegie Hall opened in 1891. By this time, the Steinway factory had been established in the Astoria section of Queens. An entire community called "Steinway Village" subsisted on the availability of factory work.

When Henry died in 1871, sons C.F. Theodore and William took over. C.F. Theodore, an accomplished pianist, earned the company 41 patents, including one in 1875 for the modern concert grand piano. William established a showroom in London and opened another factory in Hamburg. Both the London showroom and the Hamburg factory are still operational today.

"Steinway was ahead of its time as a multinational company," says Singleton. By 1880, the company was taking wood from the U.S., shipping it to Germany to be assembled, and then sending the finished products to London to be sold.

New World Business

Today, Steinway & Sons is a unit of Steinway Musical Instruments (LVB), a publicly traded company with annual revenues of about $375 million. The parent company, which also owns orchestral and band instrument manufacturer Conn-Selmer, is constantly looking for ways to improve its instrument-making, whether it's investing a few million in a new machine, or offering extra training to its workers.

Some things, however, haven't changed in a century. One hundred years ago, Steinway manufactured about 2,500 pianos a year at its New York factory; today, the factory produces about 2,200. Worldwide, the company crafts approximately 4,000 pianos a year from 12,000 components. All told, it takes about a year to handcraft and assemble these components into a piano.

The finished pianos are sold by a select number of exclusive authorized dealers. Most fall in the $40,000 to $100,000 price range. The Alma-Tadema Steinway, a re-creation of the original piano by that name created more than a century earlier, retails for $675,000. At auction, pianos fetch even more outrageous sums: The most expensive piano ever sold at a public auction was an upright "Model Z" Steinway that once belonged to John Lennon. The former Beatle is said to have composed the song Imagine on the piano, which was purchased by pop star George Michael for about $2.08 million.

Quite an Appreciation

Of course, Steinway insists its pianos are wholly worth the steep cost. The meticulous manufacturing process creates both impossibly perfect instruments and a scarcity (4,000 made per year) that drive up prices. So if you pass on a Steinway for its sound quality and aesthetic beauty, you may want to consider one for its investment value.

If you bought a 9-foot concert grand Steinway in 1975 for $25,000, for instance, it would sell for more than $100,000 today, says Leo Spellman, senior director of communications at Steinway & Sons. The very oldest Steinways command as much as 13 times their original price, and many are still in good condition—the durability of the instruments makes them very hard to damage.

"We have pictures of Steinway pianos having survived earthquakes," Spellman says. "It's a tremendous investment. And it's not like you won't get some use out of it in the meantime."

In a extreme case of weirdness, I experienced deja vu while dreaming. Either that or I'm going to have a strange recurring dream.

The oddest thing is, I only have newsworthy dreams when I sleep at night, at regular times. Maybe I dream the most from 7am to 8am so only if I wake up at 8 can I remember them.

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Because I am such a procrastinator, I only paid season parking for March yesterday, which was the 5th. It hasn't been updated in the system yet, so yesterday I was charged $5 or so, and I anticipate paying roughly the same amount today. Yay for me for paying half a month's season parking in two days.

Since I've been using the internet, I've been reading soccernet for all my football related news. Back then. it was simply www.soccernet.com, before the original guy sold out (not that I blame him!) to ESPN and it became soccernet.espn.com. Slowly I watched the site get more and more commercialized, adding more and more (mostly useless*) features. Sadly, I think I've read soccernet for the last time.

I don't mind the odd advertising banner on sites I read. But, guess what? For a while now, they've been running video advertisements, which AUTOMATICALLY PLAY as soon as they're loaded. AND THEY ARE )(#@*)(*@#)(%*)# IRRITATING. If you know my surfing habits, you will know I have a gazillion tabs open at once and I DO NOT appreciate random advertisements playing when I least expect it. No thank you.

Apparently there's this option on the soccernet front page that says to send feedback to some email. Guess what else? They do not respond! I sent a perfectly civil reasonably worded email (yes, I'm capable of that. We all are) writing about how invasive video advertising is, and what did I get for my efforts? The cold shoulder. Not even a simple 'thank you for your feedback, blah blah' but just silence.

So. I am now looking for a different website for all my soccer related news. www.chelseafc.co.uk is good, but it only gets me so far. Any reccomendations? Right now BBC is ok, but I don't like the site for some reason.

*One thing that really really irritated me a while back was the launch of the My ESPN or some cockamamie service requiring registration. You used to be able to set a cookie to tell them your preferred team so you could automatically see team-related news on the front page, but now they make you register to do that. Bahhhh. Not that I have anything against registering, but I don't see why I now have to register just to get the same thing I used to be able to get just by setting a cookie.

Edit - for all my issues, I've actually come to really like Soccernet's reporting style and all, so if someone can figure out how to stop flash movies (I think they're flash) from automatically playing, I'll be happy too. Although I've thought about it and it doesn't seem possible, since the technology is designed to be autoplay.

Just so you know, the funky I'M thing on MSN actually has a meaning and purpose behind it. Depending on which word you use (there's more to it than *help) Microsoft will donate a portion of advertising revenue earned from Live Messenger to a charity.

The different options are:
*red+u - American Red Cross
*bgca - Boys & Girls Clubs
*naf - National AIDS Fund
*mssoc - National Multiple Sclerosis Society
*9mil - ninemillion.org (AIDS charity)
*sierra - Sierra Club (Environmentalist Club)
*help - StopGlobalWarming.org
*komen - Susan G. Komen for the cure (for breast cancer)
*unicef - UNICEF, duh.

Since Microsoft is a US company, the charities have a US slant. But hey, at least it's going somewhere and not into Bill's pockets.

But, yeah, don't blindly copycat without knowing what's going on. Although stopping global warming is a very worthy cause. Kinda.

i'm making a difference

don't try this at home. or worse, at the office. really.

you have been warned.