Survivor 08

Survivor 08 (10th Petaling Scout Camp)...4th December till 8th December 2008...but I went on the 6th till the 8th due to some other events that clash with the camp time...

I missed many activities of the camp...

On the 3rd day of Survivor 08, 6th December 2008, I arrived in the afternoon....everyone were out...they were having an activity named The Survival...something like Amazing Race...where you go around the city(Petaling Jaya) to perform tasks and more...

This is one of the tasks of The Survival...should be checking prices of some items I guess...I did not attend the activity, so I do not know much...this type of activity is to train scouts to know the way around - able to go around cities and learn to ask for directions and more(socialise)...

After The Survival...participants were gathered at school...
After that, the participants cooked dinner and fed themselves well....to train scouts to be more independent - cook for themselves...
Crime Night activity....CSI(Crime Scene Investigation)....

There was a murder case going on....participants need to search for clues to solve the mystery of the crime...
Participants questioning crime suspects....
The detectives(participants) were not able to solve the mystery...and a flashback to the actual time of the murder case was demonstrated by the seniors...
OBH activity....

Where participants were being awaken at night and blindfolded and lead to an unknown place... and sit at a spot for a certain period of time(usually 1 hour+)...this is to train the patience of scouts...
Seniors on duty to keep participants awake - participants are not allowed to sleep during the activity...
After the OBH activity, I went to sleep...

The next morning, I went to my uncle's wedding...and missed many activities...

I came back at night...where the BBQ night(A tradition activity for 10th Petaling Scouts) was almost over...but they left some food for me =)
After that, they had patrol presentation... there were 4 patrols....a patrol is a group of participants in a team...patrols have leader,assistant leader,quartermaster(incharge of equipments and more),timekeeper and more...

Patrol presentation is where each patrol have to prepare songs, claps, cheers, logo, flags, and more...to present their patrol to everyone...to let others know about their patrol..(like introduction)..this activity is able to train scouts to be more creative and improve their public speaking...
Drama act...

Participants have to come up with a drama act to present....to improve creativity and performing skills....
The next day - last day....

Time to pack up...
After that, Footdrill competition...

Footdrill competition a.k.a(also known as) marching competition...where participants have to present their marching skills and get graded by judges(seniors)....
Patrol leaders have to march out and salute(hormat) to the judge(senior) and report(laporkan diri) information(patrol leader's name, amount of patrol members, and being ready and set to perform the task set by the judge) to the judge...
Participants marching...patrol by patrol...

Marching is able to train patience, discipline, synchronisation, and stamina....
Troop leader activity...

Patrol leader or assistant patrol leader of each patrol is said to be acted as a troop leader of a troop....

Seniors will question the acting-troop leader on how he/she would do for a troop...and being questioned with lots of no-answer type of questions..

This is to train participants to be able to control their emotions, tolerance(resist scoldings), think rationally, and also patience....
The "fierce" seniors.... =P
Group photo of organizers and participants...some were not there(went back or doing some other things)....
Weeeee~~ ^_^

Yu Hong : I can fly~

Quek : I am superman !

Lingesh : Yo...I am the boss (look at my body guards) =P

-The End-

My Uncle's Wedding (William Phan)

7th December 2008...my uncle's wedding....

I was at Survivor 08(Scout Camp) before my parents came to fetch me home to clean up and prepare to go to my uncle's wedding lunch...

The venue is a chinese restaurant...well..many chinese have their weddings at chinese restaurants...

The wedding car....decorated nicely...
The wedding cake...many layers.....well...that is usual for restaurant wedding...
Our first dish of the day...variety of food....this is a standard arrival of dish everytime you order set dishes from chinese restaurant...the first dish usually will be a plate with variety of food....
Second dish...yes...soup....many years ago it used to be shark fin soup...but nowadays, sharks became an endangered species....so the soup changes ingredient in it...like crab meat, vegetables or others....that is what you will get for a second dish in chinese restaurant(set meals)...

After the second dish...the dishes will arrive according to the ordered set except for the last dish - usually dessert...

The dish arrive according to the set meal choosed...you might get fish or any other dishes as a third dish and so on....
Next dish....prawns....

And then mixed vegetables...

Followed by "loh mai fan"...which is starchy rice? well I do not know what is it called in english..

The final dish.....dessert....mostly sweet food....which I do not want to consume so much - prevent diabetes....

Time for the bridegroom's family(bridegroom in black outfit) and the bride's family(bride in white dress) to go up the stage....where the bridegroom will yell out "Yam Sing" as long as he could......after yelling "Yam Sing"....everyone that attend the wedding will have to drink up their tea, water, wine, beer, or whatever drink they have on their glass....

End of the wedding...time to go home.... ^_^

-The End-

Taylor's College Open Day

Taylor's College is one of the most successful colleges in Malaysia - and also one of the most expensive colleges... Currently, they established 6 campuses in Malaysia and 1 more will be up by around september 2009 - The Lakeside Campus, heard that it would be great and have a nice pleasant view for students...

Taylor's College Open Day, Friday, 5th December 2008... the open day was on 5th and 6th December 2008...but I only went on the 5th...

The open day was held at Taylor's University College - The main campus of Taylor's College(In Subang Jaya - near Sunway Pyramid)..I went alone to the open day...

For more information about Taylor's College...
http://www.taylors.edu.my/

Another college put up a banner outside of Taylor's University College to advertise their open day ... it is IMU - International Medical University.. on 18th January 2009.. I guess they emphasise more on medication courses...

For more information about International Medical University...
http://www.imu.edu.my/

An outer view of Taylor's University College...
From another angle...
There are various education routes for a student after their SPM examination...

A student is able to choose :

1. Pre-University..(Usually for students that are not certain with their future careers yet.. it is a better choice for them because after graduating from Pre-University, students are able to choose and enter the field they are interested in ..)

Examples of Pre-University education :

*STPM - Government's Pre-University Education System(
*Private Pre-University - Private Colleges' Pre-University Education System(Cambridge 'A' Levels, South Australian Matriculation, International Canadian Pre-University and more)*

2. Foundation..(Usually for students that are certain with their future careers..unlike Pre-University which have more general knowledge subjects, foundation is a better choice for them because it provides deeper education into that particular field.. but upon graduation, students are only able to enter the degree levels for the particular field they chose..)

3. Diploma..(Usually for students that are weaker in studies.. unlike Pre-University and Foundation which needs at least 5 credits or more in the SPM examination, diploma usually needs around 3 credits or more...diploma is something like foundation + degree levels.. just that it have easier subjects and do not study as deep as degree levels.. students are able to enter the degree levels for the particular field they chose.. just that they gain lesser knowledge compared to a student that chose to take foundation..)

4. Overseas..(Studying overseas...rich families are able to send their child to overseas to study)
The few Pre-University packages that Taylor's provide...

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*Cambridge 'A' Levels (In short - CAL or A Levels)*

The Cambridge A Level (CAL) programme at Taylor's is the ‘gold standard' qualification conducted by the prestigious Cambridge International Examinations (CIE)*. It is a high-quality, leading-edge qualification that meets the ongoing demands of employers and educators across the world in today's dynamic, globalised environment. It provides an excellent foundation to international tertiary programmes, opening doors to many of the best universities in the world.

As such, the CAL programme at Taylor's emphasises on reasoning rather than memorising ability, with a focus on a mix of knowledge, understanding, application and analytical skills. Taylor's University College is recognised as the largest and most successful independent centre for the A Level programme internationally. Taylor's University College was the first to be awarded the prestigious International Fellowship Centre Status in Malaysia by University of Cambridge International Examinations in 2004.

An 18-month programme, it prepares students for examinations in two phases: Advanced Subsidiary (AS) level and Advanced Two (A2) level. With this new structure of the A Level examination, students are given more opportunities to phase their learning to gain in-depth knowledge and life-long skills that prepare them for success in their higher education and future employment.

Entry Requirements: SPM, 'O' Levels or equivalent - 5 credits including English and Mathematics/Science. Subject pre-requisites apply.

Offered at: Taylor's University College Duration: 18 months

Admission(Intake): January, March (Express), June

Marks Allocation: 100% on examination, 0% on skills assessment

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*South Australian Matriculation (In short - SAM)*

The South Australian Matriculation (SAM) programme originates from Australia but it is by no means intended only for students who wish to pursue an Australian degree. In this programme, students are given opportunities to investigate and explore options in seeking solutions.

The curriculum and evaluation methodologies, which emphasises lateral and critical thinking skills, creativity and application, will enable graduates to excel at tertiary level. The mode of assessment practiced in the SAM programme involves a good balance of continuous internal assessment and a final external examination.

As a result, students gain hands-on experiences and become more self-directed in obtaining knowledge and managing their time - an excellent preparation for tertiary studies.

Entry Requirements: SPM, 'O' Levels or equivalent - 5 credits including English and Mathematics/Science. Subject pre-requisites apply

Offered at: Taylor's University College

Duration: At least nine months before obtaining the South Australian Certificate of Education

Admission(Intake): January, March (Express)

Marks Allocation: 50% on examination, 50% on skills assessment

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International Canadian Pre-University (In short - ICPU)

The International Canadian Pre-University (ICPU) Programme was pioneered by and has been operating successfully at Taylor's since 1983. It has experienced its greatest growth in the past few years as students have realised that the ICPU opens doors to universities all over the world, not just in Canada. In fact, most of Taylor's graduates go on to pursue their tertiary education in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States and New Zealand. A significant number of Taylor's graduates also opt to pursue their twinning degree programmes right here at Taylor's, and then go overseas to complete their final year of the undergraduate degree.

The programme of study offered at ICPU is exactly the same as the final year of secondary schools in Ontario, Canada – upon completion, students receive the Ontario Secondary School Diploma.

Entry Requirements: SPM or 'O' Level or equivalent - 5 credits including English and Mathematics/Science. Subject pre-requisites apply.

Offered at: Taylor's University College

Duration: 1 year

Admission(Intake): January, March, July

Marks Allocation: 30% on examination, 70% on skills assessment

For your information.. skills assessment is projects, assignments and more...

The registration counter...to allow Taylor's to know more about their future-students(customers?)..

From my point of view...I can see that Taylor's is famous for their Pre-University packages, business courses, and maybe engineering courses too.. there are more but I am not sure about that... just from what I know so far...

A lecturer giving speech in the auditorium to explain more about the Pre-University packages they provide..(CAL, SAM and ICPU)...

The hall where students can search and enquire more about the courses they are interested in...there were lots of people there! Many parents and students too... I enquired more on their computing courses they provide..and also went to the engineering section to ask for some information...

They are not specialised in computing courses which I hunt for... only 2 degree levels choice for computing.. =( too bad..guess I have to look for another college that is specialised in computing courses..

-The End-

Sunway Pyramid Ice Skating

It has been a long time since I last blogged...

I stopped practicing cubing for quite some time...now I am trying to look for more information on computing courses... and also into xPKserver for the time being...


Thursday, 4th December 2008...my friends and I went to Sunway Pyramid to ice skate..
Ice skating works because the metal blade at the bottom of the ice skate shoe can glide with very little friction over the surface of the ice. However, slightly leaning the blade over and digging one of its edges into the ice ("rockover and bite") gives skaters the ability to increase friction and control their movement at will. In addition, by choosing to move along curved paths while leaning their bodies radially and flexing their knees, skaters can use gravity to control and increase their momentum. They can also create momentum by pushing the blade against the curved track which it cuts into the ice. Skillfully combining these two actions of leaning and pushing— a technique known as "drawing"— results in what looks like effortless and graceful curvilinear flow across the ice.

How the low-friction surface develops is not exactly known, but a large body of knowledge does exist. These are explained below.

Experiments show that ice has a minimum kinetic friction at −7°C (19°F), and many indoor skating rinks set their system to a similar temperature. The low amount of friction actually observed has been difficult for physicists to explain, especially at lower temperatures. On the surface of any body of ice at a temperature above about −20°C (−4°F), there is always a thin film of liquid water, ranging in thickness from only a few molecules to thousands of molecules. This is because an abrupt end to the crystalline structure is not the most entropically favorable possibility. The thickness of this liquid layer depends almost entirely on the temperature of the surface of the ice, with higher temperatures giving a thicker layer. However, skating is possible at temperatures much lower than −20°C, at which temperature there is no naturally occurring film of liquid.

When the blade of an ice skate passes over the ice, the ice undergoes two kinds of changes in its physical state: an increase in pressure, and a change in temperature due to kinetic friction and the heat of melting. Direct measurements show that the heating due to friction is greater than the cooling due to the heat of melting. Although high pressure can cause ice to melt, by lowering its melting point, the pressure required is far greater than that actually produced by ice skates. Frictional heating does lead to an increase in the thickness of the naturally occurring film of liquid, but measurements with an atomic force microscope have found the boundary layer to be too thin to supply the observed reduction in friction.

This machine is to resurface the ice of the skating rink so that the rink will be more dry and safe for skaters to skate...

After a while, many of my friends left and went for other activities in the shopping complex...I, too, left and went for my other activities..only a few more friends skated abit longer...

I went to "digital centre" to check whether my neighbour still works there or not - he worked there a few months ago... but I could not find him there...

So I went to search for twisty puzzles' shop - got the information from Malaysian cube forum..

http://www.malaysiancube.com/forum/index.php

I managed to find the shop...it is named "my puzzle house"(one of the stores inside asian avenue, it is located at the highest floor - same floor as digital centre)..it sells jigsaw puzzles, twisty puzzles and many other things... as stated from the forum... they said this place sells megaminx and pyraminx...so I asked if I could try the megaminx and pyraminx ...

With dissapointment...the megaminx and pyraminx suks...even their cubes...2x2x2, 3x3x3 and 4x4x4...all suks and the price is mad... expensive and low quality... but can't blame them...they do not know anything about twisty puzzles...

Well...too bad...guess I got to get the megaminx and pyraminx through internet..

I had my lunch at Friday's, Section 14, Petaling Jaya, Selangor... chicken chop and shrimps(which are prawns !)....

It is my first time trying Friday's... recommended by my schoolmates - Wendy's, Friday's and Shakey's... 3 shops have a similarity.. < 's > behind it.. I tried Wendy's a few weeks ago.. and Friday's - "today - passed many days before posting"... soon I will try Shakey's...

But I did not have a good impression on both shops - it is not my taste... well, too bad for me =(

At last, I went to digital mall - a mall in section 14 that sells most of the digital items (example : mobile phones, console games, computer games, computers, console players, movies and more)...

I went there to get some movies to watch during my holidays...

-The End-

xPKserver

xPKserver...a new server hosted by one of the ex-ero(English Ragnarok Online) pk server members..

For those that do not know... RO (Ragnarok Online) is an online game.. MMORPG(Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) type of online game.. which is based on increasing the level of a character by fighting monsters and so.. it is a game created by Gravity(Company name) of Korea..

Ragnarok Online is the first online game I played(played it since standard 6 till around form 3 or so). I firstly joined the game and after about one year..I switched to a server(server is like a world, different worlds which do not link with one another) named PK Server..it is a server that have the PK(Player Killing) function which enable an individual to kill another player in an open field at any part of the game except for cities..

After a few years of playing(I did not really concentrate on it much after a year or so, just semi playing)..PK Server closed due to the lack of players in the game..the company that host this game for Malaysia is Gameflier(a Taiwan company that eats players' money)..

Well..many people thinks that online game is a waste of time..but you see, I play online games not for the gameplay..I play it to make friends, more like a second msn of mine.. We make friends in school, real life, neighbours, relatives, online, online games, working, hobbies, etcetera.. it is a way of life, relationship with one another is a good habit.. we need contacts for our future..

Why do we need contacts? Ok let me give some examples :

Information - We will be able to obtain information much faster if we have more contacts..

News - News around the world or so would be easily spread to you.. so you will not be outdated..

Job - Easier to look for job if you have more contacts..

Social - When you are bored, you can socialize with your contacts and joke around to solve problems of boredom..

I will only agree that online games are a waste of time if the time spent on it is just for increase the levels of the character or hunting for rare items or so..

By the way, I had already quitted this type of online games for almost 1 year+ now... It was a few days ago, where many of the ex-ero pk server members are bugging me to join the new server hosted by one of the ex-ero pk server members.. it is free of charge.. so, why not?

I get to meet back my ex friends from the game..just like a second msn ! I do not really spend much time on it...just on my account and leave it in the city, anyone can come to chat with me..

Well...thats all for now.. ^_^

For more information about xPKserver...

http://www.xpkserver.com/main/?module=main

-The End-

English..?

I have been studying english novel, poems and short stories today..

where? how? when?

I found an online site with summarized novel, poems and short stories.. thanks to my friend for the information ^_^

http://literature.com.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20&Itemid=35

-The End-

SPM !!

SPM(Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia) has arrived...I will be sitting SPM the coming tuesday 11 November 2008.

SPM is a major exam for Malaysia...for form 5 students(age 17)..or also called Year 11, Grade 11, Secondary 5 etcetera in other countries..

Well...study time..

The time table for SPM 2008..
The subjects I am sitting for are highlighted green in the SPM time table..

Which are Bahasa Melayu(Malay Language), Bahasa Inggeris(English Language), Sejarah(History), Pendidikan Moral(Moral Knowledge or whatever it is called), Mathematics, Additional Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry and EST(English for Science and Technology)..

A total of 10 subjects..from the 1st subject to the last.. starting from 11th November 2008 till 27th November 2008... and of course there are breaks in between those days..

For more information about SPM.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sijil_Pelajaran_Malaysia

-The End-

Cubesmith Stickers

Just received the Cubesmith stickers from cube freak today...


RM6 per set..here total have 4 sets of Cubesmith stickers..

Ok...time to explain what is Cubesmith stickers...


Cubesmith stickers - The current best quality stickers for cubing.. Cubesmith is a company from USA...they only sell cubing stickers... and also cubing tiles..


Tiles are permanent but have a high price to pay..RM20 per set..there are two types of tiles..textured tiles and smooth tiles.. textured tiles have a feeling like sandpaper..while smooth tiles are abit like stickers..but not as smooth as stickers..


Stickers are not at good as tiles..but it is cheaper.. and the feeling is better..and also better than normal Rubik's brand stickers..

For more information about Cubesmith.. http://www.cubesmith.com/index.htm


-The End-