Let's see, 41 times 1.25 = 51.25 hours which puts us just short of halfway through the 110 hour course. We only teach 2 weeks in September and are done about Dec 10. which only leaves Oct. and Nov. with a week off in there somewhere. I guess that makes this report card an interim report. Wow, the time has flown by. You have to love the semester system.
Tonight we are off to Subang Parade for a book or mag or two. Dinner out as well as we leave Sunday for Langkawi and do not wish to load the fridge up with food (not that we would anyways but I feel better justifying eating out all the time).
Tomorrow we celebrate Michael Saxe's bday at lunch. We always try to celebrate every teacher's bday especially if they are over here by themselves. It's just a good thing to do.
TTYL,
Jim
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Redang out Langkawi in
While Shelley was at the travel agent she discovered that the rainy season has hit the island Redang early so we decided to go back to Langkawi. Langkawi is on the west coast of Malaysia while Redang is on the east coast. Put some mountains in between and no more rain.
We are staying at the Westin Resort in Langkawi which is part of their luxury collection properties so it should be pretty nice. It has awesome facilities, especially the fitness area so I plan to work out every day. I put on my belt today and was quite depressed that it seemed a little tight until I noticed I was 4 notches in, not three. I let out another notch but I am really close to losing another notch, perhaps in a week. Not too bad, 2 notches in 2 months. We are at the Westin for the first 4 nights and then we are moving to a motel right on the beach on the other side of the island for the last 3 nights. We will meet up with Michel and Amy for those nights.
Today, Thursday is the last day of school for the students and they are all heading back home for the first time in 2 months. They are all quite looking forward to it, being back home with their families. I should take some time in class and poll the students to get some feedback on how their first 2 months at Taylors has played out.
TTYL,
Jim
We are staying at the Westin Resort in Langkawi which is part of their luxury collection properties so it should be pretty nice. It has awesome facilities, especially the fitness area so I plan to work out every day. I put on my belt today and was quite depressed that it seemed a little tight until I noticed I was 4 notches in, not three. I let out another notch but I am really close to losing another notch, perhaps in a week. Not too bad, 2 notches in 2 months. We are at the Westin for the first 4 nights and then we are moving to a motel right on the beach on the other side of the island for the last 3 nights. We will meet up with Michel and Amy for those nights.
Today, Thursday is the last day of school for the students and they are all heading back home for the first time in 2 months. They are all quite looking forward to it, being back home with their families. I should take some time in class and poll the students to get some feedback on how their first 2 months at Taylors has played out.
TTYL,
Jim
Presentations are Over
My group presentaitons are over and for the most part they went well. Some students struggled with language and a few groups struggled with trying to research too much. However, better too much effort than two little. I now have some marking to do over the holidays. I have one final quiz tomorrow morning. Interim marks are due September 10th.
One of the things I miss here is a good old bath. No bathtubs, etc for expensive hotels. I did enjoy sitting in our tub at home, reading a good book.
Shelley is out at a travel agent tonight to get info on where to go during the last week in September. Probably another island paradise of some sort.
I managed to get the 9th book in a science fantasy series I am reading that was just released. It's amazing what they have and don't have in their bookstores. They vary considerably. I frequent MPH which I suspect is of British heritage.
We are currently having a very loud thunderstorm at the moment and Shelley just got back with some soup for me.
TTYL,
Jim
One of the things I miss here is a good old bath. No bathtubs, etc for expensive hotels. I did enjoy sitting in our tub at home, reading a good book.
Shelley is out at a travel agent tonight to get info on where to go during the last week in September. Probably another island paradise of some sort.
I managed to get the 9th book in a science fantasy series I am reading that was just released. It's amazing what they have and don't have in their bookstores. They vary considerably. I frequent MPH which I suspect is of British heritage.
We are currently having a very loud thunderstorm at the moment and Shelley just got back with some soup for me.
TTYL,
Jim
Monday, August 24, 2009
Boxing in Bali
Shelley booked us into a Gold RCI in Bali for a week starting Boxing Day. She has always wanted to vacation in Bali and we are going for a triple sweep by doing Redang in September, Sarawak (Borneo) in late September, and Bali in late December. We are really here for the travel :-)
Jordan and Jaime will be accompanying us to Bali so it should be lots of fun.
Today is Monday and my students start their presentations. I decided to split them up over 3 days and have them work on their game projects which they seem quite interested in. It is really not fair to the group who has to go last in a 75 minute class as the students are really bored by then. Much better to break it up. They agreed with me.
The students are coming up with interesting ideas for their games. It's also fun collecting or drawing the graphics for the games and I have also been teaching about the various graphics formats and how to make gifs and pngs transparent and why they need to be transparent.
We are planning to wait until 7 pm before walking up the road for Tandori (red) chicken as it is quite hot tonight. Time for a nap :-)
TTYL,
Jim
Jordan and Jaime will be accompanying us to Bali so it should be lots of fun.
Today is Monday and my students start their presentations. I decided to split them up over 3 days and have them work on their game projects which they seem quite interested in. It is really not fair to the group who has to go last in a 75 minute class as the students are really bored by then. Much better to break it up. They agreed with me.
The students are coming up with interesting ideas for their games. It's also fun collecting or drawing the graphics for the games and I have also been teaching about the various graphics formats and how to make gifs and pngs transparent and why they need to be transparent.
We are planning to wait until 7 pm before walking up the road for Tandori (red) chicken as it is quite hot tonight. Time for a nap :-)
TTYL,
Jim
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Jordan is Booked
I managed to connect to the Aeroplan web site and lo and behold there were some flights available. I managed to get Jordan out on December 22nd and back on January 9th with Air Canada. It only cost me 75,000 air miles so that was reasonable. His longest leg of the flight is 10 hours along with a 5 hour leg. However that only gets him to Singapore and we will fly him the last hour to Subang Jaya via Firefly, a Malaysian Air subsidiary. If we don't do that we may decide to meet Jordan in Singapore and spend Christmas there. Apparently the Christmas lights in Singapore our wonderful. Jordan arrives on the 34th as he loses a day. Not to worry, as he gains it back on the way home :-)
One of the teachers here just bought a scooter. I am tempted as they can be had for about 4-5K Rinngits and there are special little road, like our bike paths, to travel on. There seems to be as many scooters here as there are cars. It is also not unusal to see 3 people on them at one time. They are all rather tiny 125-200 cc's but they travel flat out all the time.
This week is the biggest sales week of the year with legatimate 70% off. The sale is to commemorate the Sultan's birthday which is probably the 28th. No doubt Shelley and I will participate. We have been eyeing a toaster oven (need to heat up pizza, etc.). We do not have a microwave or stove. No one really has stoves.
TTYL,
Jim
One of the teachers here just bought a scooter. I am tempted as they can be had for about 4-5K Rinngits and there are special little road, like our bike paths, to travel on. There seems to be as many scooters here as there are cars. It is also not unusal to see 3 people on them at one time. They are all rather tiny 125-200 cc's but they travel flat out all the time.
This week is the biggest sales week of the year with legatimate 70% off. The sale is to commemorate the Sultan's birthday which is probably the 28th. No doubt Shelley and I will participate. We have been eyeing a toaster oven (need to heat up pizza, etc.). We do not have a microwave or stove. No one really has stoves.
TTYL,
Jim
2 Months in - The Weekend
I just realized that we have been here about 2 months. This weekend was pretty busy except for Friday night where we just relaxed at home. On Saturday, Shelley was up early and out with Pam. They caught the bus downtown to KL looking to shop for snorkelling gear. They were not successful but Shelley came home with a new douvet cover among other things (household stuff). I slept in and then went for a workout and then decided to walk to Sunbang Parade, (shopping centre) about a 25 minute walk. I managed to get rained on (first time). Shelley texted me to pick up toilet bowl and floor cleaner for the cleaners who come this Friday. They are booked for every second Friday and cost us 40 ringgits for 4 hours of cleaning. They do a great job.
I walked back in bright sunshine and decided I needed a shower (sunshine means hot) before we headed out to mass at 6 pm. Rowena picked us up and Mass was nice. It turned out to be a youth Mass with electric guitars and some good singers. Definitely more upbeat than the last Mass. We then drove back and picked up Michel and Amy, and John (Rowena's husband) and headed out for dinner at a Country and Western bar. Yes, you heard right. The food was Asian and the singers Chinese, but the music was defintely country. It was strange to look at, but if you closed your eyes you could have been in Nashville. We drank some beer and played some pool and mostly laughed a lot. We left for home about 1 ish which is really late for old folks like Shelley and I.
Sunday was a marking day but we found time to head out for waffles for breakfast and then caught a cab to a scuba shop in downtown KL where we managed to get all our snorkelling gear for the week in Redang, coming up this Week. This is a short week for the students as we have a PD day on Friday. Shelley and I fly out of Subang airport on Sunday for a week. Apparently the resort has internet access so I should be able to post to the blog.
TTYL,
Jim
I walked back in bright sunshine and decided I needed a shower (sunshine means hot) before we headed out to mass at 6 pm. Rowena picked us up and Mass was nice. It turned out to be a youth Mass with electric guitars and some good singers. Definitely more upbeat than the last Mass. We then drove back and picked up Michel and Amy, and John (Rowena's husband) and headed out for dinner at a Country and Western bar. Yes, you heard right. The food was Asian and the singers Chinese, but the music was defintely country. It was strange to look at, but if you closed your eyes you could have been in Nashville. We drank some beer and played some pool and mostly laughed a lot. We left for home about 1 ish which is really late for old folks like Shelley and I.
Sunday was a marking day but we found time to head out for waffles for breakfast and then caught a cab to a scuba shop in downtown KL where we managed to get all our snorkelling gear for the week in Redang, coming up this Week. This is a short week for the students as we have a PD day on Friday. Shelley and I fly out of Subang airport on Sunday for a week. Apparently the resort has internet access so I should be able to post to the blog.
TTYL,
Jim
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Thursday is Test Day
Thursday is test day and I usually have a group of students who show up early (before 10:30) to see if they can get any scoop on the test contents. These students are very test savy. It is really too bad that the testing sometimes gets in the way of the learning.
Today I have a 15 minute lesson on arrays as we will be using them a lot in our animations and games. Hey Steve, I will have some great ideas for you for a actionscript gaming workshop by the end of the month.
I have been trying to access the aeroplan site to see if there are any flights available for Jordan in December. However the site or the internet connection is abysmally slow, although this blogger site is fast. I may have to spring for the $1500 return ticket to get him here. Definitely worthwhile as I miss him :-)
TTYL,
Jim
Today I have a 15 minute lesson on arrays as we will be using them a lot in our animations and games. Hey Steve, I will have some great ideas for you for a actionscript gaming workshop by the end of the month.
I have been trying to access the aeroplan site to see if there are any flights available for Jordan in December. However the site or the internet connection is abysmally slow, although this blogger site is fast. I may have to spring for the $1500 return ticket to get him here. Definitely worthwhile as I miss him :-)
TTYL,
Jim
Hump Day
Wednesday is often refered to as hump day as it is the middle of the week and it is all downhill from there. I had a mentor/mentee meeting for an hour today. That is when I get to warp the minds of a new generation of students. I talk about goal setting, getting into the university of your choice, etc. It's all good and some interesting conversations flow. They will believe just about anything :-)
I had my second class on computer animation and games today and we talked about collison detection. I softened it up a bit for the ladies in the class and instead of shooting down a paratrooper we where bursting ballons as they came closer. However, you look at it, a collision is a collision and you have to write code to detect them. There are some wonderful software libraries out there you can use and lo and behold one of the Ministry expectations is the use of software libraries, Sound like a plan as I have a great one I have been exploring over the past few days. It can track hundreds of objects. Let me see, 10 paratroopers and a hundred bullets on the screen at a time. Sounds like one of those combinational factorial math thingies that Larry like to talk about. All I know is the library makes small work of it and the paratroopers are toast.
I thought a good simulation would be the WKRP show where they went up in a helicopter and chucked out turkeys on Thanksgiving to reward the good folks in Cincinatti for listening to their show. Turns out that it was an advertising nightmare as the turkeys plummetted to their deaths. Apparently turkeys can't fly. Who would have thought it. Back to my game, chuck them out and try to catch them with 2 guys and a net. If you miss, make it go splat and if you catch one, you get points and a free turkey. Just the right theme for Thanksgiving coming up. Wonder if they celebrate it here.
TTYL,
Jim
I had my second class on computer animation and games today and we talked about collison detection. I softened it up a bit for the ladies in the class and instead of shooting down a paratrooper we where bursting ballons as they came closer. However, you look at it, a collision is a collision and you have to write code to detect them. There are some wonderful software libraries out there you can use and lo and behold one of the Ministry expectations is the use of software libraries, Sound like a plan as I have a great one I have been exploring over the past few days. It can track hundreds of objects. Let me see, 10 paratroopers and a hundred bullets on the screen at a time. Sounds like one of those combinational factorial math thingies that Larry like to talk about. All I know is the library makes small work of it and the paratroopers are toast.
I thought a good simulation would be the WKRP show where they went up in a helicopter and chucked out turkeys on Thanksgiving to reward the good folks in Cincinatti for listening to their show. Turns out that it was an advertising nightmare as the turkeys plummetted to their deaths. Apparently turkeys can't fly. Who would have thought it. Back to my game, chuck them out and try to catch them with 2 guys and a net. If you miss, make it go splat and if you catch one, you get points and a free turkey. Just the right theme for Thanksgiving coming up. Wonder if they celebrate it here.
TTYL,
Jim
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Great Day Today
I started unit 2 today which is animation, graphics, and games. Wow were the students ever interested! It was time to start blowing things up so we had the parachutists jumping out of the plane and landing on the ground. Now all we need is something to shoot them with :-) We are using a great animation library called tweenlite which makes all this easier for students to wrap their head around. After 7 weeks of variables, conditionals, loops, etc. it was fun to be creative!
If my Math is correct, all the teachers in Ontario go back to work in 8 days and we have a PD day in 8 days followed by a weeks holiday. Shelley and I are booked for Redang Island. I have visions of the beer commercial with the lime at the top of the bottle. Can't remember the brand, all I drink here is Tiger beer and the odd Carlsberg. I think about all you good folks heading back to work (not too long though) as I try to remember to turn over every 20 minutes and put the sun block on.
The initial report cards go out the first week back and then we have some parent teacher interviews, and then guess what? Another week off the end of September. Shelley and I are heading off to Tioman Island that week. Hopefully you will be blessed with Indian summer, but you know what is coming next :-)
TTYL,
Jim
If my Math is correct, all the teachers in Ontario go back to work in 8 days and we have a PD day in 8 days followed by a weeks holiday. Shelley and I are booked for Redang Island. I have visions of the beer commercial with the lime at the top of the bottle. Can't remember the brand, all I drink here is Tiger beer and the odd Carlsberg. I think about all you good folks heading back to work (not too long though) as I try to remember to turn over every 20 minutes and put the sun block on.
The initial report cards go out the first week back and then we have some parent teacher interviews, and then guess what? Another week off the end of September. Shelley and I are heading off to Tioman Island that week. Hopefully you will be blessed with Indian summer, but you know what is coming next :-)
TTYL,
Jim
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Monday Morning after a Quiet Weekend
Shelley and I wanted a quiet weekend and a quiet weekend we received. Friday night I worked out and then we ordered in a pizza and watched a dvd. Saturday was a programming day and I spent about 8 hours at it. Shelley travelled into Taylors and managed to get all caught up on her marking. Saturday night we walked up to a local Indian restaurant and had some rice and Tandori chicken, one of my favourite dished here in Malaysia.
Sunday we were a little bored. I finished up my marking in the morning and then we caught a cab to Time Square (yes, there is no s), a shopping centre with 10 stories, 1000 stores, and an amusement park (huge indoor roller coaster). There were indeed 1000 stores but they all seemed to fit into one of a) shoe stores, b) women's fashion, c) women's beauty, and d) jewelry and watches. It did have a very nice 'Borders' book store and 2 Starbucks. I spent most of my time there.
Shelley and I both had a good laugh when we met up 3 hours later as we had both bought new packpacks. They were both light weight for carrying stuff in hot climates.
Today the students are working on their group SQL projects as they seem to be a little antsy about getting it all done on time for next Monday.
TTYL,
Jim
Sunday we were a little bored. I finished up my marking in the morning and then we caught a cab to Time Square (yes, there is no s), a shopping centre with 10 stories, 1000 stores, and an amusement park (huge indoor roller coaster). There were indeed 1000 stores but they all seemed to fit into one of a) shoe stores, b) women's fashion, c) women's beauty, and d) jewelry and watches. It did have a very nice 'Borders' book store and 2 Starbucks. I spent most of my time there.
Shelley and I both had a good laugh when we met up 3 hours later as we had both bought new packpacks. They were both light weight for carrying stuff in hot climates.
Today the students are working on their group SQL projects as they seem to be a little antsy about getting it all done on time for next Monday.
TTYL,
Jim
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Thursday - come and gone
Thursday was test day. I remember when TGIT was Thanks God It's Thursday (or Tuesday). However, Shelley and I are heading over to Sunway pyramid tonight for dinner. I still can't get over it's cheaper to eat out rather than cook. I will also be looking for a boof now that I have finished Pillars of the Earth. Larry, many thanks, I did enjoy it along with Outliers.
I still can't get over the number of students that thank me for the lesson. Typically it is one third the class. However I have noticed my better lessons get more thankyou's.
Shelley and I met with HR this morning and decided it was worthwhile to spend 182 days within Malaysia so that we qualify as Malaysian residents for tax purposes. It is easily a 20,000 ringitt savings to do so. The tax rate drops from 27% to 11 percent on the first 60,000 ringitts, not to mention you get exemptions amounting to about 15,000 ringitts. I suppose the rationale is if you spend at least 182 days annually in Malysia you are contributing to the Malaysian economy. Shelley and I are certainly doing our best :-)
My students are into their SQL projects big time and are asking for more class time. I may decide to do a pizza night and hold the lab open for 3-4 hours after class. They all live within a 10 minute walk of campus so it should be easy for them to make it. Hopefully only 25 of them will come but I rather doubt it.
TTYL,
Jim
I still can't get over the number of students that thank me for the lesson. Typically it is one third the class. However I have noticed my better lessons get more thankyou's.
Shelley and I met with HR this morning and decided it was worthwhile to spend 182 days within Malaysia so that we qualify as Malaysian residents for tax purposes. It is easily a 20,000 ringitt savings to do so. The tax rate drops from 27% to 11 percent on the first 60,000 ringitts, not to mention you get exemptions amounting to about 15,000 ringitts. I suppose the rationale is if you spend at least 182 days annually in Malysia you are contributing to the Malaysian economy. Shelley and I are certainly doing our best :-)
My students are into their SQL projects big time and are asking for more class time. I may decide to do a pizza night and hold the lab open for 3-4 hours after class. They all live within a 10 minute walk of campus so it should be easy for them to make it. Hopefully only 25 of them will come but I rather doubt it.
TTYL,
Jim
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Wednesday
Hi All,
We woke up to rain this morning, only the 2nd time in 6 weeks. It stopped after 30 minutes and we now have a beautiful clear sky and subsequently a dip in the temperature. It was good that it stopped raining as today is the shortened day where there are all kinds of events going on to raise money for charity. I don't suppose it would have affected the dunk tank. It was suggested that I become a dunk person but I thought 'not'!
Today we are going to thelocal pool hall (they have jugs of beer) to celebrate 2 teachers who have birthdays this week. We will probably also have dinner afterwards and walk home. Yesterday Shelley and I walked to the Subang Parade shopping centre (15 minutes) and had a lovely dinner for 15 ringgits and then walked home (20 minutes). It was all good although we had broken a sweat on the way home, mainly due to our backpacks.
TTYL,
Jim
We woke up to rain this morning, only the 2nd time in 6 weeks. It stopped after 30 minutes and we now have a beautiful clear sky and subsequently a dip in the temperature. It was good that it stopped raining as today is the shortened day where there are all kinds of events going on to raise money for charity. I don't suppose it would have affected the dunk tank. It was suggested that I become a dunk person but I thought 'not'!
Today we are going to thelocal pool hall (they have jugs of beer) to celebrate 2 teachers who have birthdays this week. We will probably also have dinner afterwards and walk home. Yesterday Shelley and I walked to the Subang Parade shopping centre (15 minutes) and had a lovely dinner for 15 ringgits and then walked home (20 minutes). It was all good although we had broken a sweat on the way home, mainly due to our backpacks.
TTYL,
Jim
Monday, August 10, 2009
Christmas Break
It appears that our Christmas break may be from Dec. 12 to Jan. 15th. It's longer than usual and has something to do with the national exams, religious holidays, etc. We have a January intake for students and they can't get acceptance until they get their exam results back. It's all good for us though as the Christams break will be nice especially as our children will be visiting.
I personally would like to spend a weekend in Singapore as they really do Christmas well from what I have heard. Of course we will also need at least a week on the beach on a remote tropical island to reflect on our first winter without snow.
If I remember correctly, my friends and fellow teachers back in Ontario are heading back to teach some time in August. That means they must be looking over their shoulder as the rainy cold summer draws to a close and they have recurring nightmares about August back to school sales. I will think about them as I vacation on a beach somewhere, the first week in September.
Apparently the rainy season moves in about the second week in September and stay until the end of November. The rainy season here means it pours for 30 minutes and then the sky clears and the rest of the day is good. You must carry an umbrella as you are never quite sure of when it will pour. You do not get whole days of rain like we do back home.
My students from Sabah and Sarawak have mentioned that I really have to visit East Malaysia as it is beautiful and relatively undeveloped. East Malaysia is in the island of Borneo. Shelley and I will eventually get there. It is now 8:30 on Tuesday morning so I had better get my act together for my first class at 10:30.
TTYL,
Jim
I personally would like to spend a weekend in Singapore as they really do Christmas well from what I have heard. Of course we will also need at least a week on the beach on a remote tropical island to reflect on our first winter without snow.
If I remember correctly, my friends and fellow teachers back in Ontario are heading back to teach some time in August. That means they must be looking over their shoulder as the rainy cold summer draws to a close and they have recurring nightmares about August back to school sales. I will think about them as I vacation on a beach somewhere, the first week in September.
Apparently the rainy season moves in about the second week in September and stay until the end of November. The rainy season here means it pours for 30 minutes and then the sky clears and the rest of the day is good. You must carry an umbrella as you are never quite sure of when it will pour. You do not get whole days of rain like we do back home.
My students from Sabah and Sarawak have mentioned that I really have to visit East Malaysia as it is beautiful and relatively undeveloped. East Malaysia is in the island of Borneo. Shelley and I will eventually get there. It is now 8:30 on Tuesday morning so I had better get my act together for my first class at 10:30.
TTYL,
Jim
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Monday Aug 10
I just started filling out my attendance sheets for the next 3 weeks and I realized that we have some holidays coming up in September. It's about time as I missed having the summer off for the first time in 30 years :-) We get the first week off and I think the 3rd week as well. Shelley is busy researching where she wants to go. It's my guess if we don't get it booked soon we may be staying at home. We were hoping to connect up with our daughter Jaime but I think we will have to be in Bangkok for that to happen.
We manage to talk to Jaime at least once a day but Jordan is much more elusive. We are lucky to hear from him every 3 or 4 days. However he does have email setup on his blackberry so I can always email him (or text).
Sunday did indeed turn in to be a marking day. The good news is, it is done. I cooked up a chicken stir fry for supper and we actually had mashed potatoes with it. I think that is the first time since we arrived. I decided to research our vacation destination and ended up going to sleep at midnight. I was tired this morning but my Starbucks perked me up.
TTYL,
Jim
We manage to talk to Jaime at least once a day but Jordan is much more elusive. We are lucky to hear from him every 3 or 4 days. However he does have email setup on his blackberry so I can always email him (or text).
Sunday did indeed turn in to be a marking day. The good news is, it is done. I cooked up a chicken stir fry for supper and we actually had mashed potatoes with it. I think that is the first time since we arrived. I decided to research our vacation destination and ended up going to sleep at midnight. I was tired this morning but my Starbucks perked me up.
TTYL,
Jim
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Saturday Night Out
I was up early at 7 am on Saturday morning as I had some internet related programming and the internet is at its best in the morning on the weekends. Turns out I programmed all day except for a brief respite when I worked out in the fitness room. Turns out I missed one of the best days yet. No humidity and about 85 degrees :-)
Rowena, one of the teachers at Taylors picked us up at 5:30 to take us to Assumption Catholic church for mass. John (her husband) and Rowena our both Malaysian residents and Catholics. It turns out there are quite a few Catholics as the church was packed. It was pretty much the same except for 3 Latin recitations. After mass they took us to a very nice restaurant and treated us to supper. Rowena and John have travelled to Europe so we traded travel stories and trips. We also met their 20 year old son Shawn who loves sports and working out so perhaps Jordan will have a friend to hang with while he is here in December.
Sunday will feature about 3 hours of marking followed by a workout and then a swim in the pool.
TTYL,
Jim
Rowena, one of the teachers at Taylors picked us up at 5:30 to take us to Assumption Catholic church for mass. John (her husband) and Rowena our both Malaysian residents and Catholics. It turns out there are quite a few Catholics as the church was packed. It was pretty much the same except for 3 Latin recitations. After mass they took us to a very nice restaurant and treated us to supper. Rowena and John have travelled to Europe so we traded travel stories and trips. We also met their 20 year old son Shawn who loves sports and working out so perhaps Jordan will have a friend to hang with while he is here in December.
Sunday will feature about 3 hours of marking followed by a workout and then a swim in the pool.
TTYL,
Jim
Thursday, August 6, 2009
TGIF
It's been a busy week. We were invited to dinner Wednesday night at Pam and Steve's apartment and Pam cooked up a wonderful meal. Pam just arrived back in Malaysia this week after about a month in North America. Michel and Amy joined us and it was lots of fun. We had heard so much about Pam from Steve it was great to finally meet her.
Thursday was a test for my students. I also introduced their SQL assignment and gave them a bit of what SQL is capable of. For you techies out there, I have set up an application server with Coldfusion and mySQL running on it. Coldfusion also servers as my web server so the course is good to go as far as having all the software available to me and the students. The students are using mySQLqueryBrowser to access the Northwind database that I imported into mySQL.
This weekend I will be marking the test (debugging Actionscript). We are also attending mass at a Catholic church as Rowena offered to drive us. Apparently it will be quite an experience as Catholic masses here in Malaysia tend to be more charismatic or evangelica. I will let you know how it goes. It is a late Saturday mass.
Other than marking and mass, it is a quiet weekend. I will also be finishing off some programming I am working on. I must make time for a workout and a swim as well.
We have a 'newbee' meeting at 3:30 to go over our health coverage and the recommended providers. That's probably a good idea. On thursday we witnessed a bad wipeout by a 30 year old male who was not watching were he was walking. He fell off a ledge and hurt his back and it looked like he needed an ambulance. You really have to watch where you put your feet as there is very little in the way of railings or yellow markers in dangerous areas. I will take a few pics to illustrate what can happen to the unwary.
Tonight Shelley and I will walk up to the Subang Parade mall to get some groceries as we are out of many things. A cab ride back from there is typically 5 ringgits or $1.50. We will probably have supper there as well. They also have a bookstore (MPH) which is quite good, especially for computer nerd books.
TTYL,
Jim
Thursday was a test for my students. I also introduced their SQL assignment and gave them a bit of what SQL is capable of. For you techies out there, I have set up an application server with Coldfusion and mySQL running on it. Coldfusion also servers as my web server so the course is good to go as far as having all the software available to me and the students. The students are using mySQLqueryBrowser to access the Northwind database that I imported into mySQL.
This weekend I will be marking the test (debugging Actionscript). We are also attending mass at a Catholic church as Rowena offered to drive us. Apparently it will be quite an experience as Catholic masses here in Malaysia tend to be more charismatic or evangelica. I will let you know how it goes. It is a late Saturday mass.
Other than marking and mass, it is a quiet weekend. I will also be finishing off some programming I am working on. I must make time for a workout and a swim as well.
We have a 'newbee' meeting at 3:30 to go over our health coverage and the recommended providers. That's probably a good idea. On thursday we witnessed a bad wipeout by a 30 year old male who was not watching were he was walking. He fell off a ledge and hurt his back and it looked like he needed an ambulance. You really have to watch where you put your feet as there is very little in the way of railings or yellow markers in dangerous areas. I will take a few pics to illustrate what can happen to the unwary.
Tonight Shelley and I will walk up to the Subang Parade mall to get some groceries as we are out of many things. A cab ride back from there is typically 5 ringgits or $1.50. We will probably have supper there as well. They also have a bookstore (MPH) which is quite good, especially for computer nerd books.
TTYL,
Jim
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
It's Tuesday and I Survived Monday
Monday after a long weekend out of town is not always the best of times. However I did get through Monday and matter of fact I am quite proud of myself. I managed to figure out online banking here in Malaysia. In order to do some transaction online you need a TAC (not sure what it stands for) which is a six digit number. You simply click 'Get a TAC' and then one is sent to your cell phone. Of course you had to register your cell phone with the bank which is done at the ATM. The TAC lasts for about 30 minutes and then you request another. It's an extra layer of security.
In 30 minutes I managed to pay my Satellite T.V. company, my ISP (Internet Service Provider) P1-WiMax, and my landlord. I also transferred $107 CDN to my RBC account in Canada for a trial run to see if it actually worked and how long it takes. I will check tonight to see if it happened in 24 hours. It's my guess it takes 48 hours.
Larry Brown called from Ottawa to say hi and we talked for about 20 minutes which is long in guy time. I still can't convince him to come visit! Perhaps if I get the Tarheels over for a exhibition game. All I have to do is find a Yow clone.
My Mother called and we also chatted for a while. Apparently is is quite a bit of flooding in Ottawa due to the heavy incessant rains this summer. I hope it does not continue into winter or you could all be in for another record snowfall. I will think of you poolside in Dec - Feb. Brrr ....
Shelley and I are out of food so we have nothing for supper. Yet another casualty of the weekend as we usually shop on Saturday. I suppose it is off to Sunway Pyramid we go ... Oops Shelley just decided we are off to Subang Parade for Apple Crisp for supper. Apparently this little shop makes it to die for.
TTYL,
Jim
In 30 minutes I managed to pay my Satellite T.V. company, my ISP (Internet Service Provider) P1-WiMax, and my landlord. I also transferred $107 CDN to my RBC account in Canada for a trial run to see if it actually worked and how long it takes. I will check tonight to see if it happened in 24 hours. It's my guess it takes 48 hours.
Larry Brown called from Ottawa to say hi and we talked for about 20 minutes which is long in guy time. I still can't convince him to come visit! Perhaps if I get the Tarheels over for a exhibition game. All I have to do is find a Yow clone.
My Mother called and we also chatted for a while. Apparently is is quite a bit of flooding in Ottawa due to the heavy incessant rains this summer. I hope it does not continue into winter or you could all be in for another record snowfall. I will think of you poolside in Dec - Feb. Brrr ....
Shelley and I are out of food so we have nothing for supper. Yet another casualty of the weekend as we usually shop on Saturday. I suppose it is off to Sunway Pyramid we go ... Oops Shelley just decided we are off to Subang Parade for Apple Crisp for supper. Apparently this little shop makes it to die for.
TTYL,
Jim
Monday, August 3, 2009
The Trip Back
The trip back from Langkawi was much more enjoyable that the trip there. Mostly, it was because it was daytime and we could watch the countryside flash by and secondly, we could read if we wanted to. I did a little of both. Overall, it was avery worthwhile trip. Shelley had decided to take a cab to the beach late Saturday afternoon and found it totally awesome. It is very close to the airport and the beach was outstanding. The sand was so fine it was like walking on baby powder. It was definitely a place we will fly to and stay at one of the nice hotels right on the beach. There were also lots of activities for someone like Jordan and Jaime.
We arrived back at the campus at 8:30 pm and we were back at our condo by 9 pm and we made an early night of it as we were bagged. We decided if we could teach our students some problem solving and organizational skills we could make Malaysia a better place to live. They just don't get the details right. My motto for the trip was 'hurry up to wait in line'. I now know why there are ticket dispensers everywhere you go. It seems you are forever queuing up to wait for something (except food, which is everywhere). Have I mentionned there are short tailed cats everywhere as well.
We are now into week 5 and I have another test this Thursday. We avoid tests on Fridays as students are often late to class as they have prayer services throughout the day on Fridays. We also had to pull over to a stop on the way back for a 30 minute prayer service at a rest stop. It is very much part of the Malaysian culture as the country is predominantly Moslem.
TTYL,
Jim
We arrived back at the campus at 8:30 pm and we were back at our condo by 9 pm and we made an early night of it as we were bagged. We decided if we could teach our students some problem solving and organizational skills we could make Malaysia a better place to live. They just don't get the details right. My motto for the trip was 'hurry up to wait in line'. I now know why there are ticket dispensers everywhere you go. It seems you are forever queuing up to wait for something (except food, which is everywhere). Have I mentionned there are short tailed cats everywhere as well.
We are now into week 5 and I have another test this Thursday. We avoid tests on Fridays as students are often late to class as they have prayer services throughout the day on Fridays. We also had to pull over to a stop on the way back for a 30 minute prayer service at a rest stop. It is very much part of the Malaysian culture as the country is predominantly Moslem.
TTYL,
Jim
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Langkawi
We left Subang Jaya at 10 pm and started out on the bus ride from hell. We stopped twice enroute to the ferry and enjoyed a very loud movie (Tranformers). Needless to say we did not manage to sleep and arrived at the ferry at 6 am for a 7 am departure. We then boarded another bus (the buses were great) and then headed out to an outlet for creams and tonics (mostly female oriented) and then proceeded to a chairlift ride to the top of the island. We were basically burning time until the hotel rooms were cleaned and ready for us. We arrived at the hotel at noon and they had a lunch buffet ready for us. Three hours later we were in our rooms asleep. We managed about an hour or two and then had a meeting at 5 om and supper at 7:30 pm which was a steak barbecue which was excellent (I was growing tired of baa and cluck cluck).
We managed to last until 9:30 pm and then were fast asleep. The next morning we were up at 7:15 and onboard the yacht that was booked for the group at 8 am. We however did not weigh anchor until 10 am as the anchor was stuck. Things like this happen quite often in Malaysia as the devil is in the details. After the cruise we had another lunch buffet. Shelley and I then caught a cab to the duty free shopping were we will buying some booze for our visitors for when they come. I may even buy a little scotch for Donny Burke to entice him to the far east (Billy have you ever sailed the seven seas?).
I am logged into the internet at Starbucks and the speed is very good. I am sipping a Grande mild so it does not get any better :-) I have some programming to do so,
TTYL,
Jim
We managed to last until 9:30 pm and then were fast asleep. The next morning we were up at 7:15 and onboard the yacht that was booked for the group at 8 am. We however did not weigh anchor until 10 am as the anchor was stuck. Things like this happen quite often in Malaysia as the devil is in the details. After the cruise we had another lunch buffet. Shelley and I then caught a cab to the duty free shopping were we will buying some booze for our visitors for when they come. I may even buy a little scotch for Donny Burke to entice him to the far east (Billy have you ever sailed the seven seas?).
I am logged into the internet at Starbucks and the speed is very good. I am sipping a Grande mild so it does not get any better :-) I have some programming to do so,
TTYL,
Jim
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