The second day in the new building went very well. My students are very engaged planning their Game Programming CPT assignment. I did make the long walk down to Starbucks :-)
I have a question for Larry. I heard they are making a change to the Canada Pension Plan and that I may want to rethink when I take my Canada Pension. Larry, if you can check it out and get back to me I would appreciate the info.
Shelley is getting ready to apply for her pension and send in her letter of resignation to the school board. It's a big step for her.
We are about to start hunting around for a new apartment as we want to be able to walk to groceries and you guessed it, Starbucks. There is a new apartment building that would seem to meet our needs exactly so I am looking forward to checking it out.
We will be heading back soon to canada for 3 weeks and our flights are booked. Both Shelley and I are quite looking forward to it. Should be lots of fun.
This weekend is the Malaysian F1 and we have great tickets in the grandstand. We also have invites to the Schumakker (Mercedes Benz) party the night before. I am going to give my tickets to the party to the two young lads as I think they would really enjoy it. The party goes to midnight and that is way to late for Shelley and I considering it is another 40 minutes back to Sunbang Jaya by cab. The boys may decide to make a night of it and stay over in KL.
The internet is slow tonight so no pics. Pics maybe tomorrow.
TTYL,
Jim
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
First Day in New Building
This is our first day in our new building and things seemed to go pretty well, except for the rain between periods 5 and 6 which made many students late if they were heading back/from the main campus for/from a lab. We warned them to bring an umbrella. The building seems to just swallow the 600 students. It is so quiet compared to the other building.
It is also far to Starbucks now, so I may resort to making coffee in my office. My office is about twice as large as my previous office back at the OCSB. It's really quite nice and wonder of wonders I have a new chair that works well! It looks like I get my own printer as well as I have to print confidential material from time to time.
It's all good.
Logan is now teaching full time as appears to be doing a wonderful job. He is filling in for a teacher away at a conference for the next four days and he gets brand new students from the march intake. It will be his first time for that.
TTYL,
Jim
It is also far to Starbucks now, so I may resort to making coffee in my office. My office is about twice as large as my previous office back at the OCSB. It's really quite nice and wonder of wonders I have a new chair that works well! It looks like I get my own printer as well as I have to print confidential material from time to time.
It's all good.
Logan is now teaching full time as appears to be doing a wonderful job. He is filling in for a teacher away at a conference for the next four days and he gets brand new students from the march intake. It will be his first time for that.
TTYL,
Jim
Friday, March 26, 2010
Last Night in Redang
This is our last night in Redang and it has been a great vacation and best of all very relaxing. I have had time to do some research in the programming tools I use and even got some coding completed for my ONSIS work at Taylors. I have also eaten more watermelon this week than I have in the past 10 years. It's really fresh and delicious. The meals were all good, the pool great, and the ocean a beautiful azure color and the sand was fine and white. Highly recommended for anyone looking to chillax at a great price.
We fly out about 12:30 and it's about an hour so we may head over to Taylors to check out our new digs. Everyone is positive and actually looking forward to having our own building. I get an office again, so I will be buying a coffee maker and perhaps a bar fridge (for juices of course). I am farther away from Starbucks so I may resort to brewing my own.
Not that any of you care (except for Stevie), Adobe is once again making their RIA tools free for studenst and educators. They just released Flash Builder 4, and ColdFusion Builder, and ColdFusion 9. I use both Flash Builder (previously Flex Builder) in my courses as well as Cold Fusion.I really like Adobe as a company (sorry Paul) and I really thing they do a lot of things right.
I don't know what Shelley has planned for our last evening but I would think it is dinner, a walk along the beach at night, and then whatever :-) I am currently using the net in the front lobby and paying $10 rinngit an hour which is pretty cheap and pretty fast. Pics maybe on teh weekend.
I think I will head over to facebook now, so
TTYL,
Jim
We fly out about 12:30 and it's about an hour so we may head over to Taylors to check out our new digs. Everyone is positive and actually looking forward to having our own building. I get an office again, so I will be buying a coffee maker and perhaps a bar fridge (for juices of course). I am farther away from Starbucks so I may resort to brewing my own.
Not that any of you care (except for Stevie), Adobe is once again making their RIA tools free for studenst and educators. They just released Flash Builder 4, and ColdFusion Builder, and ColdFusion 9. I use both Flash Builder (previously Flex Builder) in my courses as well as Cold Fusion.I really like Adobe as a company (sorry Paul) and I really thing they do a lot of things right.
I don't know what Shelley has planned for our last evening but I would think it is dinner, a walk along the beach at night, and then whatever :-) I am currently using the net in the front lobby and paying $10 rinngit an hour which is pretty cheap and pretty fast. Pics maybe on teh weekend.
I think I will head over to facebook now, so
TTYL,
Jim
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Laguna Redang
The Laguna Redang Resort is just lovely. The rooms are spacious (3 beds) and the buffet is fantastic. I have actually had steak just about every day. That, and potatoes of all kinds. Simply scrumptious!
We went snorkelling to the marine park and the fish were everywhere (no Nemo however). The coral was in bad shape for whatever reason so I don't know if the fish would be around except for everyone feeding them bread. Does bread affect the coral? We saw a huge ugly grouper (2 foot) and all kinds of fish.
Shelley , Amy, Tom, and Ann went for a jungle trek and found a fantastic secluded beach. They had to call for a ride back in a boat as they were bagged and Ann took a face plant off a rock. Everyone returned okay except for a few scrapes on Ann.
The two resorts we stayed at are night and day. The first was more of a summer camp with lots of young people drinking and partying, and tour groups. The next resort has a few more families, and mid twenties to mid thirties types. There was not a huge difference in the price, about $50 a day. The food at Laguna is definitely worth the $50!
I am on an hourly rate on the net so I will provide more details when I get back to KL,
TTYL,
Jim
We went snorkelling to the marine park and the fish were everywhere (no Nemo however). The coral was in bad shape for whatever reason so I don't know if the fish would be around except for everyone feeding them bread. Does bread affect the coral? We saw a huge ugly grouper (2 foot) and all kinds of fish.
Shelley , Amy, Tom, and Ann went for a jungle trek and found a fantastic secluded beach. They had to call for a ride back in a boat as they were bagged and Ann took a face plant off a rock. Everyone returned okay except for a few scrapes on Ann.
The two resorts we stayed at are night and day. The first was more of a summer camp with lots of young people drinking and partying, and tour groups. The next resort has a few more families, and mid twenties to mid thirties types. There was not a huge difference in the price, about $50 a day. The food at Laguna is definitely worth the $50!
I am on an hourly rate on the net so I will provide more details when I get back to KL,
TTYL,
Jim
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Monday and the Masses have Departed
The resort (more like a summer camp) was quite busy over the weekend as many tourists fly in for the 3 night 2 day dive package. They were quite noisy and tended to stay up all night to maximize their time here. Can't say I blame them. The beach is beautiful but we have not been able to swim yet due to the red flags (hi surf - undertow) conditions.
The boat ride to the resort was quite memorable. I first noticed the sign saying maximum of 12 passengers and quickly counted 30 (same, same, but different). I then noticed everyone had life jackets but us. I then noticed the twin 250 hp motors out back. We quickly headed out of the harbour and hit the open seas (10 metre waves) at which point the throttle was applied and we became airborne. It really was better than an amusement park but some of our party were a little scared (not me :-). We arrived in 15 minutes and then were told we had to walk 15 minutes to the resort but our luggage would follow. The walk was quite nivce as it was along the beach.
The ladies are currently walking along the beach looking for a better resort to spend the rest of the week. I could handle it but it is more like camping that resorting. I will let you know if they are successful.
TTYL,
Jim
The boat ride to the resort was quite memorable. I first noticed the sign saying maximum of 12 passengers and quickly counted 30 (same, same, but different). I then noticed everyone had life jackets but us. I then noticed the twin 250 hp motors out back. We quickly headed out of the harbour and hit the open seas (10 metre waves) at which point the throttle was applied and we became airborne. It really was better than an amusement park but some of our party were a little scared (not me :-). We arrived in 15 minutes and then were told we had to walk 15 minutes to the resort but our luggage would follow. The walk was quite nivce as it was along the beach.
The ladies are currently walking along the beach looking for a better resort to spend the rest of the week. I could handle it but it is more like camping that resorting. I will let you know if they are successful.
TTYL,
Jim
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Friday and Holidays - Yippee Kai Yah!
It's Friday and everyone is busy packing their stuff in boxes for our move to the new building. We pack and movers move. Apparently when we get back the next Monday, everything will be where it is supposed to be. If I was a betting person ....
We fly out via Subang Jaya airport on Saturday morning at 7:30 am. It's a short cab ride of 15 minutes and a short 90 minute flight to the island. Of course, being part of Malaysia, there is no customs to go through. Best of all, despite being a small airport, there is a Starbucks there, my home away from home.
Amy, Michel and their friends will be there as well. We are all looking forward to a week of sun and fun and most of all just 'chillin' as the young folks say.
We also have a dinner/luncheon thingy at 4 pm today at an Italian restaurant at Sunway Pyramid. That should give me time to get a couple of books to read for our vacation.
The boys fly out to Cambodia at 7 am so they are on the road by 4:30 am. I hope they are quiet leaving the apartment. They see Siem Reap and then Bangkok, and then Phuket.
TTYL,
Jim
We fly out via Subang Jaya airport on Saturday morning at 7:30 am. It's a short cab ride of 15 minutes and a short 90 minute flight to the island. Of course, being part of Malaysia, there is no customs to go through. Best of all, despite being a small airport, there is a Starbucks there, my home away from home.
Amy, Michel and their friends will be there as well. We are all looking forward to a week of sun and fun and most of all just 'chillin' as the young folks say.
We also have a dinner/luncheon thingy at 4 pm today at an Italian restaurant at Sunway Pyramid. That should give me time to get a couple of books to read for our vacation.
The boys fly out to Cambodia at 7 am so they are on the road by 4:30 am. I hope they are quiet leaving the apartment. They see Siem Reap and then Bangkok, and then Phuket.
TTYL,
Jim
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Thursday and Midterm Marks are Due
My midterm marks are ready to post and I will do it as soon as I post this entry in the blog. I am enjoying the boys as I now have someone to share a beer with. It's just not the same sipping on a cold one all by your self.
Apparently March madness starts today. If it is at all like St. Patricks day it will slide by unnoticed. perhaps that is what larry Brown is thinking. If the tarheels are not in March madness, does it even happen? Does anyone care? perhaps that is why I have not heard from teh big guy for some time. He may be in denial. Duke as a number 1 seed and the tarheels out of the tournament. Are they calling for Roy's head on a platter? Is Rat Face gloating? Are the Dukies trashing the heels in the forums? Has might Casey struck out? Has an enquiry been held? Coach, I need some answers here! Has anarchy risen it's ugly head in NCAA Div 1 bball?
We head out early Saturday morning for Redang to enjoy a week of beach activities, which is basically eating, sleeping, walking, and turning over every half hour. Of course I will have lots of electronic gear with me and I hope to find some internet access or a bar where I can watch Duke (sorry larry, they're there, their record speaks for itself. I had to work really hard to get are 3 homonyms together, in a row in one sentence. Not that I am bored, just the text analysis program has lead me to appreciate the weirder syntax that appears from chaos of text paraded in front of us. For example, I had a student name the one word in the English languare with 3 double letters all in a row. That would be bookkeeper for the uninitiated. I even had a student last term by the name of Zaakkeeay. I would imagine her mom was probably a bookkeeper.
Another 30 minutes and I will have some students. Too bad for them. It could be one of those days where I go wild with a captive audience who has to listen, unlike you folks who can simply click away.
Yesterday I gave instructions to the students that no teacher has ever uttered before. "Would you please log into facebook'. You should have seen their faces. I had an assignment for them. They had to duplicate the functionality of the personal information profile page in Flex. They did a great job as they are really good at copying stuff. Right up their alley.
Speaking of allies (probably should be alleys, or is that marbles, oh my I feel like Alice in WOnderland, and by the way, that looks like a great movie with Johhny D), Jordan and I went 10 pin bowling while he was here. I think I came out triumphant in the end. He did however, trounce me at archery. All this is available at Sunway Pyramid, the Malaysian home away from home.
We still have yet to see Avatar. I really want to see it before it departs from the theatres. Perhaps this Friday night.
I should have some more beach shots for you when I get back from Redang. I do believe the island is duty free so the booze should be reasonably priced. Oh what fun, just need a little March Madness! perhaps the tarheel gods are mad at larry for not coming to visit me in Malaysia. Could Larry be the cause of Roy's fall from grace? Speaking of Falls from Grace, Tiger is in the Masters. That should provide some good fodder for the cartoonists. Perhaps it will take Larry's mind off the heels :-)
TTYL,
Jim
Apparently March madness starts today. If it is at all like St. Patricks day it will slide by unnoticed. perhaps that is what larry Brown is thinking. If the tarheels are not in March madness, does it even happen? Does anyone care? perhaps that is why I have not heard from teh big guy for some time. He may be in denial. Duke as a number 1 seed and the tarheels out of the tournament. Are they calling for Roy's head on a platter? Is Rat Face gloating? Are the Dukies trashing the heels in the forums? Has might Casey struck out? Has an enquiry been held? Coach, I need some answers here! Has anarchy risen it's ugly head in NCAA Div 1 bball?
We head out early Saturday morning for Redang to enjoy a week of beach activities, which is basically eating, sleeping, walking, and turning over every half hour. Of course I will have lots of electronic gear with me and I hope to find some internet access or a bar where I can watch Duke (sorry larry, they're there, their record speaks for itself. I had to work really hard to get are 3 homonyms together, in a row in one sentence. Not that I am bored, just the text analysis program has lead me to appreciate the weirder syntax that appears from chaos of text paraded in front of us. For example, I had a student name the one word in the English languare with 3 double letters all in a row. That would be bookkeeper for the uninitiated. I even had a student last term by the name of Zaakkeeay. I would imagine her mom was probably a bookkeeper.
Another 30 minutes and I will have some students. Too bad for them. It could be one of those days where I go wild with a captive audience who has to listen, unlike you folks who can simply click away.
Yesterday I gave instructions to the students that no teacher has ever uttered before. "Would you please log into facebook'. You should have seen their faces. I had an assignment for them. They had to duplicate the functionality of the personal information profile page in Flex. They did a great job as they are really good at copying stuff. Right up their alley.
Speaking of allies (probably should be alleys, or is that marbles, oh my I feel like Alice in WOnderland, and by the way, that looks like a great movie with Johhny D), Jordan and I went 10 pin bowling while he was here. I think I came out triumphant in the end. He did however, trounce me at archery. All this is available at Sunway Pyramid, the Malaysian home away from home.
We still have yet to see Avatar. I really want to see it before it departs from the theatres. Perhaps this Friday night.
I should have some more beach shots for you when I get back from Redang. I do believe the island is duty free so the booze should be reasonably priced. Oh what fun, just need a little March Madness! perhaps the tarheel gods are mad at larry for not coming to visit me in Malaysia. Could Larry be the cause of Roy's fall from grace? Speaking of Falls from Grace, Tiger is in the Masters. That should provide some good fodder for the cartoonists. Perhaps it will take Larry's mind off the heels :-)
TTYL,
Jim
Wednesday
A student stopped by after class and said his laptop was not working and asked if I would look at it. I should know better but I felt sorry for him, so here I sit fixing his laptop. I had to take it back to day one, out of the box. It's a Sony and they always have a nice recovery partition. Sure hope he had everything backed up :-) At least his laptop will run like new!
We are heading off to Subang Parade tonight for a bite. Last night we ate at TGIF's and it was good, but expensive. It could be McDonalds tonight.
Logan is now sleeping through the night but Colin is still having trouble adjusting. It appears he is having nightmares about the creature from the lagoon (the lake outside the condo).
My marks are done, and I just have to submit them to the office.
That's about it for now,
TTYL,
Jim
We are heading off to Subang Parade tonight for a bite. Last night we ate at TGIF's and it was good, but expensive. It could be McDonalds tonight.
Logan is now sleeping through the night but Colin is still having trouble adjusting. It appears he is having nightmares about the creature from the lagoon (the lake outside the condo).
My marks are done, and I just have to submit them to the office.
That's about it for now,
TTYL,
Jim
Monday, March 15, 2010
The Boys are Here!
Logan and Colin arrived yesterday morning about 11 am and proceeded to have a 4 hour power nap. We arrived home at 4:30 and chatted for a while and then took them up to our favourite Indian food restaurant 'Taj' and fed them bread (3 types with 3 types of dipping sauce) and Tandori chicken. They seemed to enjoy it but Colin found it hot (spicy) so he may be in trouble here in S.E. Asia :-)
After dinner we walked back (ice cream bars at 7-11 for dessert) and the boys (me included) headed up to the pool for a swim and 'guy' time. An hour later it was time for face booking and phone calls home to tell everyone they arrived safely.
We are now at Taylor's on Tuesday morning and the boys are observing in some classrooms. I volunteered Logan for some private 'Chemistry" tutoring for 3-4 students from last semester who need help in Chemistry. Logan did not seem to mind. What a team player :-)
No doubt Shelley will be taking them to Asia cafe at lunch time, for the dining experience of their lives. I told the boys not to mind the rats. If the rats eat there it must be good.
I video taped a teacher this morning so I am accumulating some footage for my Taylor's promotional video. I will video Shelley tomorrow morning. I also have some individual students being videoed today as well.
With any luck I will have enough footage by the end of the week.
TTYL,
Jim
After dinner we walked back (ice cream bars at 7-11 for dessert) and the boys (me included) headed up to the pool for a swim and 'guy' time. An hour later it was time for face booking and phone calls home to tell everyone they arrived safely.
We are now at Taylor's on Tuesday morning and the boys are observing in some classrooms. I volunteered Logan for some private 'Chemistry" tutoring for 3-4 students from last semester who need help in Chemistry. Logan did not seem to mind. What a team player :-)
No doubt Shelley will be taking them to Asia cafe at lunch time, for the dining experience of their lives. I told the boys not to mind the rats. If the rats eat there it must be good.
I video taped a teacher this morning so I am accumulating some footage for my Taylor's promotional video. I will video Shelley tomorrow morning. I also have some individual students being videoed today as well.
With any luck I will have enough footage by the end of the week.
TTYL,
Jim
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Sunday Leisure Time
Saturday was parent teacher interview day and I had 5 interviews with existing students and 3 parents came by to say hi from last semester's students. It was great fun as I made a couple of the new students squirm a little because they are capable of better performance than they are showing. Of course both of them are boys.
I programmed quite a bit Saturday afternoon and evening and I am also programming today. The programming is going well and I now have a good view into the data of TCIS ad I now know the amount of data cleansing is required and it is significant. After I get the data cleansed I have to write the code that spits the data out in the xml format the Ministry of Education requires for ONSIS reporting.
Shelley wants to head out to Mid Valley Mall to pick up her watch strap that she ordered for her watch. I would imagine the cab ride will cost more than the strap. C'est la vie.
The boys (Colin and Logan) our in the air port lounge having some free brewskies (via face book). They seem to be enjoying themselves. Pretty soon they will be in the air and arriving here tomorrow morning at 9:30 am.
Shelley wants to organize her photos and free up the SD cards in her cameras so,
TTYL,
Jim
I programmed quite a bit Saturday afternoon and evening and I am also programming today. The programming is going well and I now have a good view into the data of TCIS ad I now know the amount of data cleansing is required and it is significant. After I get the data cleansed I have to write the code that spits the data out in the xml format the Ministry of Education requires for ONSIS reporting.
Shelley wants to head out to Mid Valley Mall to pick up her watch strap that she ordered for her watch. I would imagine the cab ride will cost more than the strap. C'est la vie.
The boys (Colin and Logan) our in the air port lounge having some free brewskies (via face book). They seem to be enjoying themselves. Pretty soon they will be in the air and arriving here tomorrow morning at 9:30 am.
Shelley wants to organize her photos and free up the SD cards in her cameras so,
TTYL,
Jim
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Shakespeare a J Hater?
My students are working on software that takes in large quantities of text and spits out stats on things such as the number of words, frequency of letters of the alphabet, number of 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, or more letter words, and average length of words in a sentence. We get the raw text from www.gutenberg.org. I was quite surprised to find out that most of my students did not know who Gutenberg was and what his contribution to society was.
They have to choose 3 literary works and run them through their software and report back with graphs. Our initial tests showed that 'j' was not a very popular letter in most literacy texts. Matter of fact it is the 4th least used letter. My name starts with J so I was a little ticked off. It turns out that Shakepeare wrote a whole play (Henry the 5th) without using one 'J'. I can only suspect he wrote that play right after Romeo and Juliet and was tired of writing our J's. Go figure. You would have to work really hard to avoid using the letter J.
Apart from digesting large quantities of text they are learning how to graph and chart. There is a great freeware product called TeeChartOffice by Steema Software that we use. It is highly recommended.
Shelley is working late at Taylor's tonight and I am doing some programming in Delphi (Pascal) which is something I have not done for a year. I forgot what a great programming environment it is.
TTYL,
Jim
They have to choose 3 literary works and run them through their software and report back with graphs. Our initial tests showed that 'j' was not a very popular letter in most literacy texts. Matter of fact it is the 4th least used letter. My name starts with J so I was a little ticked off. It turns out that Shakepeare wrote a whole play (Henry the 5th) without using one 'J'. I can only suspect he wrote that play right after Romeo and Juliet and was tired of writing our J's. Go figure. You would have to work really hard to avoid using the letter J.
Apart from digesting large quantities of text they are learning how to graph and chart. There is a great freeware product called TeeChartOffice by Steema Software that we use. It is highly recommended.
Shelley is working late at Taylor's tonight and I am doing some programming in Delphi (Pascal) which is something I have not done for a year. I forgot what a great programming environment it is.
TTYL,
Jim
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Wednesday - Moving Announcement
We had a student assembly at noon hour to tell the students that we are changing campus to a new building. Of course they did not like the news. Even 18 year olds like the status quo and dislike change. However after a humorous presentation by Moaz, one of our veteran teachers, they started to see the positive aspects of the move. It is all in the presentation. Job well done Moaz :-)
Life is pretty much the same here. I am pretty busy with stuff outside of the classroom related to my Head of department duties. In hind site, probably not a good idea to accept the position, but it does leave me with the ability to affect some change here at the school. My mantra has always been work smarter not harder and that is desperately needed here. They certainly work hard but often need to think outside the box.
It appears Shelley and I are heading off to the Malaysian Island of Redang for the March break. It will be a beach vacation in a fairly inexpensive hotel, similar to what we do in Langkawi. It is in the South China Sea so we should get to experience the phosphorescence in the water at night. Apparently the snorkeling is great as well. All meals are included which can be good or bad. I need to get some programming done so as long as they have electricity I am good to go.
Logan and Colin arrive on Monday so it should be great fun watching them sweat :-) I am quite looking forward to it.
TTYL,
Jim
Life is pretty much the same here. I am pretty busy with stuff outside of the classroom related to my Head of department duties. In hind site, probably not a good idea to accept the position, but it does leave me with the ability to affect some change here at the school. My mantra has always been work smarter not harder and that is desperately needed here. They certainly work hard but often need to think outside the box.
It appears Shelley and I are heading off to the Malaysian Island of Redang for the March break. It will be a beach vacation in a fairly inexpensive hotel, similar to what we do in Langkawi. It is in the South China Sea so we should get to experience the phosphorescence in the water at night. Apparently the snorkeling is great as well. All meals are included which can be good or bad. I need to get some programming done so as long as they have electricity I am good to go.
Logan and Colin arrive on Monday so it should be great fun watching them sweat :-) I am quite looking forward to it.
TTYL,
Jim
Sunday, March 7, 2010
250th Post - Phuket Pictures
We recently spent 3 days in Phuket at the Marriott Beach Club Resort. Here are some pics.
Hot food for dinner!
Populated beach!
Shelley, Brent, and Jeanine.
Brent and Jeanine in the clear water.
Moi, Brent, and Jeanine.
Shelley and I.
Brent and Jeanine.
Resort gardens.
More of the resort grounds.
One of the many water areas. Keeps it cooler.
Hotel lobby.
6 pm sunset dancers.
Ditto.
Happy hour!
Happy hour bar.
Sunset.
Before dinner drinks.
Towel animals in room.
Tilly hats shrink if you put them in the drier!
Fire dancer.
Sunday and Hot
We seem to be in a hot spell lately with temperatures pushing 40 degrees, however I have seen 43 degrees and humidy in North Carolina when I took a basketball team there in July. Same same, but different. That's a common saying here in Malaysia when you order something like a Quarter Pounder with Cheese and they give you a Big Mac.
Shelley and I went into Taylors today to do a little work. We lasted until 12 noon when the heat became unbearable (they don't switch the aircon on on Sundays). Have you ever used 2 on's in a row like that before? Looks weird.
I also walked to Taylors on Saturday and ran a little experiment. I may have mentioned the Malaysian drivers complete distain for stop signs. They simply drive right through them without stopping. I saw two vehicles approaching an intersection with a stop sign and I was there early and did not want to wait for them to motor through the stop sign, so I said to myself, 'Surely they will stop if someone is crossing there!'. Not, I almost got ran over!
It appears that Malaysian have a complete disregard for pedestrians and consider them lower class (can't afford your own car) and have no respect for them. That and the fact that they consider themself hidden within the confines of the vehicle and so don't give a shit. I have mentioned this to my students and they wondered why I was concerned. It appears it is just part of their culture, along with throwing garbage everywhere, not holding doors for people, getting ahead at all costs, and numerous other things that tend to irk a reflective thinker who cares for their fellow person on this planet (at least from time to time :-)). The students have just given up affecting any kind of change and see the solution is simply to emigrate to another country. I imagine some of them like it just the way it is.
Someone mentioned to Shelley that March and April are the hottest months. Wonder why that is?
Hey Coach, haven't heard from you in a while. WWWHHHAAAZZZZUUUPP?
TTYL,
Jim
Shelley and I went into Taylors today to do a little work. We lasted until 12 noon when the heat became unbearable (they don't switch the aircon on on Sundays). Have you ever used 2 on's in a row like that before? Looks weird.
I also walked to Taylors on Saturday and ran a little experiment. I may have mentioned the Malaysian drivers complete distain for stop signs. They simply drive right through them without stopping. I saw two vehicles approaching an intersection with a stop sign and I was there early and did not want to wait for them to motor through the stop sign, so I said to myself, 'Surely they will stop if someone is crossing there!'. Not, I almost got ran over!
It appears that Malaysian have a complete disregard for pedestrians and consider them lower class (can't afford your own car) and have no respect for them. That and the fact that they consider themself hidden within the confines of the vehicle and so don't give a shit. I have mentioned this to my students and they wondered why I was concerned. It appears it is just part of their culture, along with throwing garbage everywhere, not holding doors for people, getting ahead at all costs, and numerous other things that tend to irk a reflective thinker who cares for their fellow person on this planet (at least from time to time :-)). The students have just given up affecting any kind of change and see the solution is simply to emigrate to another country. I imagine some of them like it just the way it is.
Someone mentioned to Shelley that March and April are the hottest months. Wonder why that is?
Hey Coach, haven't heard from you in a while. WWWHHHAAAZZZZUUUPP?
TTYL,
Jim
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Network Improvements
We use P1-Wimax as our ISP and they use WiMax technology that was invented in Canada. It was not great in terms of speed but they have just made some improvements in their network infrastructure and for the first time, we are getting what we paid for. Our download speed is 1.2 MBS and upload is 450 KBS. What a difference! You may see a lot more pictures in the near future.
I worked late tonight, 7:30 pm and when I left I noticed that there were groups of 3-5 students sitting around tables, working on their homework. Hey, just like back home. These students, for the most part are quite committed to being the best they can be.
Tomorrow I have a one hour PD session with the teachers. IT always gets an armpit slot for presentations and this is no exception. The armpit slots are right before lunch, and right before the end of the day. I have the last hour so I am sure I will have their utmost attention :-)
We are now definitely moving to a new building during march break. The good news is we go from one computer lab to 5 so the school should be able to finally embrace 21st Century curriculum.
TTYL,
Jim
I worked late tonight, 7:30 pm and when I left I noticed that there were groups of 3-5 students sitting around tables, working on their homework. Hey, just like back home. These students, for the most part are quite committed to being the best they can be.
Tomorrow I have a one hour PD session with the teachers. IT always gets an armpit slot for presentations and this is no exception. The armpit slots are right before lunch, and right before the end of the day. I have the last hour so I am sure I will have their utmost attention :-)
We are now definitely moving to a new building during march break. The good news is we go from one computer lab to 5 so the school should be able to finally embrace 21st Century curriculum.
TTYL,
Jim
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Wednesday Morning
Shelley and I attended Chinese New Year celebrations at Taylor's Lakeside Campus last night from 5 pm to 9 pm. It was great with lots of food, live bands, lion dancers, etc. It appears that unlike Canadian New Year celebrations, the Chinese New Year celebration goes on for a month!
Shelley is off to the IB School in Sri Hartemus. She had a job interview and now she has a campus tour this morning. She wanted me to go as well but I have 3 things that I have to get done this week and can't afford the time.
Jordan lost his bartending job as the restaurant bar he was working at closed down right after the Olympics. He now has more time to work on his studies which is probably a good thing as he has the Special Olympics coming up in a week.
We hit 40 degrees this week so it is starting to warm up. I took a basketball team to Chapel Hill in July and we hit 43 degrees for most of the week we were there. This is not much different than the South Eastern states in July and August.
It appears that our move to the now empty Tayor's Business School building will happen during March break. As teachers, we feel that this should happen at the end of the semester but it does not appear that the students are the number one concern. Kind of a shame that 'business reasons' are more important than 'pedagogical, student-based reasons'.
TTYL,
Jim
Shelley is off to the IB School in Sri Hartemus. She had a job interview and now she has a campus tour this morning. She wanted me to go as well but I have 3 things that I have to get done this week and can't afford the time.
Jordan lost his bartending job as the restaurant bar he was working at closed down right after the Olympics. He now has more time to work on his studies which is probably a good thing as he has the Special Olympics coming up in a week.
We hit 40 degrees this week so it is starting to warm up. I took a basketball team to Chapel Hill in July and we hit 43 degrees for most of the week we were there. This is not much different than the South Eastern states in July and August.
It appears that our move to the now empty Tayor's Business School building will happen during March break. As teachers, we feel that this should happen at the end of the semester but it does not appear that the students are the number one concern. Kind of a shame that 'business reasons' are more important than 'pedagogical, student-based reasons'.
TTYL,
Jim
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