DEEPBLUE

Everything has stalled except project DEEPBLUE.

Books read:

Tom Sawyer

Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe(All of em except Mostly Harmless)

Books reading now:

Leviathan (ponderous title. The book is as weighty as the title)

Introduction to Social Networks

-Cap'n Mook

Managed to block facebook, which is no small task indeed. They keep spamming your email, even though you unchecked all options for them to send you updates. Took me awhile to figure out how to do so, and the rewards are paying off.

ARDUINO has currently stalled due to the lack of time, though I am resolute to continue DEEPBLUE. I guess I have to check out some 'must read' lists. There are simply too many books and so little that can capture the general imagination of the crowd. It takes time to pick the right books out, and sometimes, you might not even do so.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml

A couple of books I have already read, though I might want to try for War and Peace. But for now, Dune has captured my attention. Perhaps an alternating read between fiction and non-fiction might do the mind some good.

-Cap'n Mook

Untitled

Pleasure is a state of the body,

happiness is the state of the mind.

Pleasure is being able to do what you want to do,

happiness is being who you are.

Pleasure lasts for the moment,

and happiness, my friend, lasts for a lifetime.

-Cap'n Mook

I have nearly forgotten how beautiful the morning sky is.

-Cap'n Mook

Untitled

Rarely does beauty, intelligence and humility come together in a single marvelous package. Ai, it is my fortune to watch, my luck to have been at that place, that time. Indeed, Fate is a wonderful worker and we ask ourselves, what if xx had not happened? Where would I be now? I think that if we look back, we have tread on the narrow crest of safety with destruction on either sides of that precarious path.

It has, and still is an honour to me indeed to have known such a person. Think back dear reader, of that people you would be most grateful to have known, and you'd know what I feel. Of course, there are others, but I will dedicate them another day, another time, another post.

-Cap'n Mook

This is for NWG.

Update

PROGRESS on Project: DEEPBLUE

I've finished The Invisible Kingdom, which documents and gives a brief overview of the microbe universe and taken with a humourous perspective of a microbe. There are a few fascinating topics touched on in there, including bio-films, using viruses to combat cancer(which are essentially cells which have broken loose of the controls and begun reproducing on their own to the detriment of the whole system. And the ultra-cool Sigma Factor. There are also bacterial colonies, how cells attack each other, pass on genes, and evolve. Awesome? You bet. Makes me almost wishful that I had taken Bio. Almost.

PROGRESS on Project: ARDUINO

Brought some breadboards, wires, LEDs, switches. Built my first circuit on switching on and off a LED. Yay. Primitive, but yes. I will advance.

PROGRESS on Project: SYNCBOT

I have switched by to using LabView. It is much easier to program using that. Far far easier. I got my program running under thirty minutes. Plus, it is much more precise. Now on to testing of the accuracy of the NXT system. I suspect my work will take me beyond 12.

I've been thinking. (And away)

Probably there is no one who comes here to read now. Just as well. Hahah. Anyway, I've been away for months, and I've limited myself to fifteen minutes of recording, so bear with me, future self when you read this, if I don't sound too coherent.

BEGUN on Project: SYNCBOT. I can't tell you the details, but its about simultaneous robotic systems working autonomously together. I finally figured out the code to turn the bot on the spot. It is actually OnFwdSync (x,y,-100). I must also remember to use Stop(B,C) after every command. Ok, now its on the developing the mapping pattern, but this I fear will be rather challenging, seeing that I have a test the day after tomorrow and thus have to study and I have to present my preliminary data on the same day. My bot has also run out of power too. Oh dear.

BEGUN on Project: ARDUINO. This is a personal project of mine to learn about microcontroller programming and possibly use it to construct a bot which allows me to add on modules easily. Examples are ultrasonic sensors, lasers... etc. The nice part is that I can build the robot exactly to my specifications and not be structurally limited. There appears to be a nice robotic set online, Blu Robotic Kit that I might want to check out. It looks quite sleek.

BEGUN on Project: DEEPBLUE. This is another personal project which involves reading about various topics that come my way. This is to develop general knowledge and interest in various fields. For this module(1.1) I will be reading up on Evolution.

COMPLETED: Reading of The Importance of Being Earnest

NetHack

Ignore what I said about ROGUE - Nethack is the upgraded version.

Primary problems still exist though -> no food.

Bah.

Have you tried Rogue?

Rogue - A very old game programmed in the 1980s. It is essentially a dungeon crawler stripped down to the bare bones of just the gameplay itself. You use a DOS screen to move your character around(a smiley face) and hit monsters by running into them. So far, I've yet to get past level 12, as this game mimics being literally in a dungeon. Sometimes, there seems to be no way out and you'll have to search all over the cavern you are in to find an escape route, and there is a slight possibility that you may die from starvation, though I have yet to do so. The game can be very unreasonable at times, throwing a Troll at you when you're just a level 5 character and thus, you die. Sometimes you have 30 hit points and still get killed by a miserable snake. So yeah, download it (0.1mb)

- Cap'n Mook

Heart of Darkness

It is quite a dark book, and it deals with the deeper and more basic impulses of the human soul when the shackles of civilization falls away and there are no rules to limit a person power except his own power against others. It also deals with how we can revert back to ancient practices and superstition when all else falls away from us.

We?

Teachers, students
are mutually exclusive(They hope?)
When one comes to school,
It hopes not to see the other.

©Cap'n Mook

Men In White

Well, it wasn't really radical, as one might have hoped, but it is to be expected after all. The authors tempered the words of the other participants in the history of PAP's making with comments so as to tweak it back to the middle ground. But still, some views were not tempered with, like the one where the deputy prime minister(I think?) challenged Lee's position in the party and was removed subsequently. Very intriguing I must say, written so as to keep the reader riveted to the book and its 'plot'. If not for the historical narrative, it could have made a very good political novel.

7.8/10

-Cap'n Mook

PSLE Weightage.

It was always best to keep silent before your betters.

So I kept my peace during the gatherings upon which we had to complete our long running project, which to this date, and to my strongly held belief that it was never going to finish, but then again, I kept my peace, so no one knew what I thought, and they never did say what they thought, so we continued with the project week after week.

Our group was small, three people in fact, including myself.

The leader was Wei Ti, a boy of lean build and athletically inclined. But despite of the hours spent on the field and open, though he did gain that darker complexion of being out in the sun all day, he did not gain the excessive bodybuilding the others had acquired after shorter times than himself. However, his character was as forceful as the will he displayed on the field, and probably that was why he was the leader.

Li Mei, on the other hand, was the exact opposite of Wei Ti, which was most likely the reason why they both usually worked together, as I suspected, opposites attract. She was fairer, and was blessed with a natural tendency to put people at ease. There was this slow, small smile that she had, and it revealed more than what she said about herself. From what I could glean, she had been and still was, a prolific reader on all manner of subjects, and at any given time, could interject in any conversation with a helpful addition.

Presently, we were at Li Mei's house, and I, quietly tapping away at the computer, nodded from time to time as Wei Ti grumbled about how badly the basketball team played at the recent game last week.

- And no, no pass, just a direct shot, halfway across the court. Halfway across the court! Even an idiot can see that he couldn't have scored. Thank you. Wei Ti finally stopped his ranting when Li Mei came out of the kitchen with two glasses of water, and placed them on the coffee table in the living room which served as our research center on weekends. She sat down on the sofa, opposite to Wei Ti, then shook her head.

Talking about that match again? You've practically been saying the same thing over the whole week. Give it a rest will you?

Yeah yeah. But all I'm saying is that -

As what I said earlier, she said firmly, and Wei Ti finally did shut up, though he still glowered and muttered under his breath. I saw Li Mei shake her head out of the corner of my eye. Boys, she said.

I nodded emphatically, concentrating on the words on the screen.

How is part two coming along?

I shrugged. Which meant that no major troubles had cropped up yet.

Oh yes, speaking of that, did you do the English homework?

Yes. I found it rather interesting.

I heard Wei Ti snort. Then the flipping of pages and then the clink of the cup set onto the glass coffee table.

When have you never did?

A few times, with that -

Okay, that's enough, I don't want to hear any more.

I mean, when have we ever got a chance to write about our education system? I was all against the downgrading of the PSLE mother tongue weightage.

Oh? And I was all for.

You did your work! For once before deadline, she added sarcastically. But still, why?

Well, I always didn't do well for my Chinese subject, and have always struggled. I remember spending an obnoxious quantity of time for that subject which never, and may I emphasize, never, showed any significant improvement despite the effort I put in, and I did everything in my power. I don't see why others have to suffer where I did.

She remained quiet for awhile, seemingly gathering her thoughts, and I realized that for the past four seconds, I had constantly depressed the 'q' button, and now three lines of a string of 'q's had formed. I hastened to delete and continue upon what I had planned to type.

So, this is about you then, struggling? But have you not thought of the other students who struggle in English? Surely they spend the same effort that you have put in and to be discouraged time after time that their results have showed no improvement? Besides, might I add that you are unable to use Mandarin as your first language in the 'O' levels. And correspondingly, English has to be taken into account, no matter F9 or A1. You must concede to my point that those who are strong in their mother tongue, in Mandarin, might already suffer from this handicap and thus, to lower the weightage for mother tongue is to disadvantage these students who are gifted in this aspect, adding too, that we pride ourselves on being a meritocratic society, which means giving everyone an equal opportunity to succeed, and we are only biting the back of our tongue if we chose to give those who incline towards English another unfair advantage.

Unfair? Hardly. English is an essential skill that is needed in this developing world, and it is the medium by which global business is conducted by. Only by placing English as our core priority, will we not lose our competitive edge, and this is reflected in the pragmatic policy of placing English first above all else.

Precisely we are losing our competitive edge as a link between the two great sides of the world, the East - in particular India and China - and the West, must be now enforce mother tongue as our new core priority, as you have termed it.

There was a slight smile on Li Mei's face as she watched Wei Ti struggle with having his own argument twisted and thrown back at him.

You do realise that it is because of this - draconian - policy that have forced families to move away from our country? This is a serious case of loss in talent which we must address and address fast.

Well, encouraging a defeatist mentality is no good way either don't you agree? If these parents wish for their children to have a easier time overseas, it is their choice. Surely you don't think a mere five per cent shift will pull all these families back? No, I believe while this policy plays a part, it is only a small role, as you have neglected to mention. There are other bigger factors at play; better opportunities, preference for another education system other than our country's pressure cooker, incentives and all others. This must be viewed from all sides, and not only from education, for uprooting a whole family to live overseas is no small matter.

You have thought this all out haven't you?

Yes. Thank you.

Another point: I remember my uncle once telling me it was mandatory to pass your mother tongue before you could get admission into a local university and this resulted a quite a large number of local students going overseas for further studies despite their results being quite good for all the other subjects, this matter, I believe, cannot be disputed.

Yes. I agree to a certain extent that it was a little too much to expect of students to be studying at a junior collage level to pass their mother tongue exams. There is up till a certain extent that a language can be taught, and the rest lies in the student and the very basic foundations. That is why it was removed. But for PSLE, it is still at a young age, and teaching can be accomplished, not to say, even at 'O' levels. But will a primary six student slightly weaker in her or his mother tongue go overseas for further studies? Unlikely. The example which you have quote is too far for comparison. Even so, all this noise about talents leaving is rather amusing if you ask me. Talents will excel wherever they are, and if you are really a talent, let us just say that there are ways and means of getting into places.

Wei Ti took in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. I still support lowering the weightage of mother tongue in PSLE, for it will draw away attention and preoccupation with the marks, but rather, inculcate a deeper interest in the mother tongue itself.

Li Mei laughed, and shook her head. Weak argument Wei. Quite the converse, it will act in a vicious cycle, by lowering the bar this one, we will have to lower it again in the future when mother tongue is deemed again, too difficult and troubling for the current generation. What is lost will be the interest in mother tongue as by lowering the weightage, we are indirectly sending a message to the current generation: oh, we know you don't like your mother tongue, it's okay, we'll not make it so important for you to pass the exams. And what will this encourage? Exams bowing to meet the standards of the students rather than students rising to the challenge. Amusingly, it seems as though many things are topsy-turvy these days, with mandarin teachers expected to make lessons interesting rather than focusing on teaching students the language that is the access card to a whole new world to experience on their own.

At this point of time, she drained her cup and stood up, moving towards the kitchen. Wei Ti massaged his temples, eyes closed, and said. I will formulate an argument when you get back.

She threw a smile back, walking towards the kitchen. Be sure that you do.

_

(This article first appeared on Facebook)

©Cap'n Mook

A People's History of Science

Rather readable interesting book. Talks about how ordinary people furthered science in general and not, unlike the popular opinion, the institutions and various other 'Great Men'(Think Newton). While they did advance the theoretical part of science, the physical experimentation always had to be carried out first - Galileo proved that the maximum range for a fired projectile would be when it was 45 degrees from the normal, but this wasn't anything new to the officers at the Vatican Arsenal.

So yeah.

7.9/10

The Physics Anota is Online!

Your latest guide in a handy pdf file you can store on your phone!

http://www.mediafire.com/?mmm2wjqmzjo

Iphone users should download a pdf reader first. If I am correct, there are some free programs out there.

Contains definitions and equations.

However, do note that this version is a working version and does not cover Electromagnetism, Magnetism, and Electricity. I will add them at some later date. Do email comments to me.

-Cap'n Mook

Water World update one

This will be what I hope to compete as a short story.

----Water World 1.1--------

His hand scrabbled on the edge, and caught onto a ledge. With a grunt, he hauled himself up.

He stood up, the wind fluttering his waterproof cloak and he sniffed the air. It smelt of a coming rain. He scratched his chin, a stubby growth there, and then hunched back down to his former crouched shape. The wind blew again, and in the distance, he looked very much like a weary traveler bent over with tiredness.

The landscape looked like the others: dozens of old derelicts, once they had color, they were now grey and tired and leaning against each other like unsteady old men. Some lay down, half submerged in the lapping waves, and across it all, a crazy tangled jungle of twisted metal and wires interlaced below the canopy. This was the highest point he sighted from afar, and below stretched blue and grey. He bowed down, and then looked again at the many shattered windows gaping like sharp screaming mouths in the holes of concrete, forever frozen in time. His hand had many cuts from scaling these structures, and was now rougher than before from the many healed streaks there. A gull cried somewhere far away, and he spotted a few circling in the air some distance away. There must be food there.

He slowly made his way back from where he had came from, careful not to cut himself over the many sharp parts that lay casually scattered about. You didn't want to attract the Watermen, nor the Crazies and definitely not the Titans. He nodded, then murmured softly to himself, and felt something bumping reassuringly against his thigh. But then again, even if you did, Nicker here could protect him, and he smiled wanly to himself, and touched the hilt of his sword to as how one might touch an old friend.

Nicker would protect him.

-------

End

©Cap'n Mook

Beginning download, stand by.

As usual, this year, as I have for every year; I will continue my tradition. However, it seems that this year is harder to copy, but I will see what I can do.

For geog, you might want to look up our text.

_____________________________

SS - wiki would do.

For me, I used three questions:

What is it?

What did it do?

How was it significant to Venice?

Try to change them around a little.

____________________

To be politically correct, please do try out the Chem questions on your own first.

The answers are used at the user's own risk:

D/C/C/A/D/D/B/A/D/D/C/C/B/D/C/B/A/C/A/D/B/B/D/D/C

If there are any disputes, please do contact me.

En Route

Well. Looks like it is time yet again that I have one of those bouts.

Here we go, knife in hand, cloak on head, into the shadows and the shaw winds.

And there the song goes again in that abandoned house in the middle of a sandstorm in the yellow-orange desert, playing on a old radio on a wound tape, drawing on power it has seemingly saved for such an event, and its weak voice plays on in the roar and surge of the thundering sands of the heat-melted hut.

-Cap'n Mook

Character Sketch: Mr Malory

Malory always blocks out a fair bit of light when I peer through the peephole, for his appearance and countenance is that of a bouncy ball. Perpetually cheerful and boisterous, he could be a little irritating at times. But he is always blissfully unaware, so child-like in innocence that the irritation fades after a while, and grows again, then fades. This particular cycle it seemed, everyone who had met him was cursed to go through.

He was good for parties, better if the host had a bad estimate of how much food the people would eat. His eating curve was exponential, which was rather useful, for when the others where done and talking, Malory would be making his rounds at the tables, a perpetual terror for restaurants serving buffet lunches. Being cheerful, he never complained, even though there wasn't enough food at a particular gathering, "I can get more varieties in me at other places then." He winked once when somebody asked if the food was enough. To a black hole; it seemed to me at that time a rather silly question to ask.

Completed:

The Culture of Speed by John Tomlinson

I have many things to say about its readability, and for the fact that it doesn't seem to have been written for the general public in mind. 67.5%

长安乱 - 韩寒

蛮好笑的。可惜最后还是悲剧。故事有些乱，可是也可能因为自己不会读些字。85.5%

Completed Book: Collapse - Jared Diamond

What do we have 'ere?

Here. Hmm. I always seem to forget what I want to say once I come online here. Maybe that I'm collecting various mythical creatures for the time being, perhaps to create a lorebook.

Later when I remember.

-Cap'n Mook

Write! One

Write! One.

On People.

This article assumes that the reader is familiar with the standard nuances of the English language. This article is mainly focused on the first basic steps to getting a piece of fiction up to speed. Of course, I do not claim to have much experience, or much expertise in this field. But still, I wish to share with you, my reader, on how to firstly describe people.

Appearances.

Standard phrase, standard line. SHOW, DON'T TELL.

For example:

He was very strong.

So what? Strong itself does not bring any image to mind. What you want your reader to do is to principally see how is he strong, and that way, you set this very character apart from the others. Use descriptive devices, metaphors, similes, and personification is a good start. You don't have to use excessively flowery language.

For example:

He was well built, a large broad chest and thick logs for limbs.

Now, isn't that better?

Just some simple similes for a start, you drawing parallels with objects that your readers are familiar with. Even the dictionary also contains help. To describe someone as willowy, you bring to mind a tall and slim person, perhaps also suggestive of the movement aspect, where the person moves gracefully as compared to how the drooping leaves of the willow shift in a small breeze. There, with one word, you have already replaced a sentence.

However, vocabulary should be applied accordingly. If you use a word that the readers are unfamiliar with, you've already disrupted the flow of the sentence and thus the story. In some places, short phrases are better than obscure words. Some students overlook this fact and use bombastic words in their essays.

Bombastic: (Of language) Overly pompous words with not much significance.

I like this phrase

"... darkly wise..." - Alexander Pope

Used as a descriptive term, for me, it brings to mind a villain, sitting in a high armchair behind an empty desk set before a flickering fire, the uneven light thrown upon his chiseled features. His palms open and fingers joining each other, with his lips resting upon the tips of his index fingers. And behind those deep set eyes shadowed by the extruding forehead, a great dark mind at work, turning the world over and slowly, very slowly, tearing it apart, thread, by thread.

Powerful isn't it? Even plain language has the ability to create vivid images, and for that, I'm afraid, it is the road that you have to walk on your own.

NEXT: Characterization

-by Cap'n Mook

You all owe me.

Yes, you all owe me. I want and need my reviews asap. Do it. And that is an order.

-Cap'n

Mass Spam

Sounds kinda like Mass Effect. But that is not the point.

Don't you dislike those people who take three seconds to craft a message (the standard blah) then select everyone on their contact lists, and send it out. So 342 people got the same message as you. Oh yay.

Look. If you're too lazy to even craft a proper message to wish others a happy whatever, then don't send it. Yes, too little time, yes, too difficult, yes, you're lazy.

Then why in the world send it at all?

If you have too little time, send it to the people who matter and if they do, you could at least spend some time writing a unique message for each one of them. That shows that you care enough.

Too difficult? Again, limit it down to five or six people who really matter.

You're lazy? Worse excuse. Don't waste my time reading your message, there are another 341 people who will read it anyway, so don't send it to me.

For me, I don't do Mass Spam, so yeah, I'm exempted.

-Cap'n

(Oh yeah, you could Mass Spam this along to your contacts?)

Face Off

Face off your darkest sorrows

Touch the deepest shadows.

Light the torch of hope.

For the end is not nigh.

Firstly, I want to say: Damn you all.

Not you my dear readers, of course not. Now who am I damning? Well, read on.

From the heart: Damn you, this is MY holiday. And I chose to do what I damn well please. Threaten me will you? Hold a knife to my throat and force my head down? Put a test before me and tell me it'll be counted, and I better study during the holidays?

*A whole string of expletives*

I don't give a damn. You hear me? That is MY rule. This is MY life. I live it MY way. The more you force, the harder I fight. Oh no, yes, I seem to bow, but careful! You do not want to face an enemy who smiles at you.

So this is my holiday, leave me alone. I do not want to be bothered by scores. I will do it, but at my own time. You do not have to rush me, I will do my own rushing. Please, I need the rest.

Thank you.

And if you step on the trap outside of the door, good riddance.

*Spits*

-Cap'n

Currently Busy

The Captain is currently busy, so I'll not be doing any blogging as of anytime soon.

*Silent night...Holy night...*

Cheerio!

-Cap'n

Lee Wei Ling

Buy the Sunday papers, if not for the comics section and the pictures of food, then for this author's columns. It shares a life of thoughts and mild lessons to be learnt, yet not being too obvious at times. I sometimes sigh to reach the end.

Go read it, it might invoke something in ye.

-Cap'n

Restablishing connections Captain, stand by.

Well, firstly, I'll start off by saying that I usually skip articles which I see to have more than 3 strings of numbers.

Why?

Those strings of numbers usually represent to me financial issues - who is going to be investing in what and where...etc(You know the story). Furthermore, those statistics usually announce to the reader that the writer has nothing else to go upon and relies on these numbers to drag up old stories to lengthen the article, else, the essentials would be about two, or one paragraph long.

Next, I'll also avoid articles with lotsa, <<*******>> in them, since they represent a book or a title which I have never read before and the author goes on to say how this book is related to the article itself, which makes it extremely confusing to me as I have never personally read these books.

And so on, so forth, am I making sense so far? No? Good.

-When I think up of something else to write later.

A piece of candy

The windows were smeared grey with grime. Hummer approached the building quietly, pistol at the ready. There was no telling what might turn up here. Shades perhaps. Maybe the monsters they called Wraiths. There was no telling.

Wraiths. Strange word. He thought as he closed in on the glass displays. There was a strange sense of detachment, with one mind running through the standard procedures of securing a building and checking for any signs of movement at the same time, while another mind was quietly sorting through the data he had accumulated.

The data that they had given him on these creatures were mostly vague recounts. But from sifting and matching the information, he concluded that it was somewhat of a higher species of Shades, the name they gave to the changed humans. Those were easy to eliminate, they made for you directly, not caring for any obstacles in their paths. They weren't like the zombies they showed in the movies though, they didn't make moaning noises, and that made them slightly more efficient. But something disturbing that was they sometimes looked like perfectly normal humans, and that brief indecision of a second worked to their advantage.

Overall though, they were easier than any human targets he had came across.

He looked around for a moment, pausing before the grimy glass. There wasn't any other sound, except his own, hard breathing. Nothing else.

He raised a hand to rub the glass, then stopped before he touched it. Something didn't feel right here. He pulled his hand back, then hesitated for a moment, before moving it forward to its previous position.

The fingers stretched and relaxed. He looked about again. Nothing.

Hummer laid his hand on the glass and rubbed a small circle.

Inside seemed untouched, the items still on their shelves and neatly placed, although they seemed to be gathering dust. He rubbed a bigger circle with his arm and peered into the store. It seemed as though nothing had been moved in four years, or was it five?

He shrugged, it didn't matter. Looking about again, and deciding that picking the lock on the front shutters was too troublesome, he proceeded to smash the window with the butt of his pistol. He snapped back almost immediately when the window shattered, pistol at the ready to shoot anything that might creep up behind him from the noise, but he doubted it. The monsters, much like their cousins, relied on what seemed to be their sense of smell rather than the usual senses, such as light and sound.

Nothing, silence.

He readied his torch in his hand, the other wielding the pistol. Despite the light of the day, the grocery store was sure to be dark. He crossed over the broken, jagged glass and into the shop.

The dust rose, stirred by his feet. It was a thick layer, and that indicated how long this shop had been left empty. Hummer moved around, the beam of light revealing expired items still on the shelves. He stayed away from the refrigerators.

Snacks... Instant food... Drinks... Ah canned foods

He unfolded the small packet that he had carried along. It became a small but strong bag, prefect for storing cans of essential food. He quickly selected a few that didn't seem expired, although everyone knew that the expiry date was just an excuse to throw out food so that you would have to buy more, but he couldn't take any chances on this one. Having a stomachache in the middle of a freezing wasteland wasn't the best of plans.

He zipped up the bag and hoisted it over his shoulders. He stuck back the torch into his belt and gave a last glance about lest he had forgotten anything.

No nothing.

He turned around and headed back for the bright sunlight of the day.

-

And when he shouts 'Teach!', you say, 'How interesting?'

"And the desire of Singaporeans to master Chinese has grown. Nobody any longer asks, 'What is the point of wasting time on this?''

Obviously this man hasn't been on the ground. Or hasn't heard the cries that I have.

"So in an exam, you can bring an electronic dictionary along and ideally, everybody should have a keyboard rather than have the burden of struggling with the mechanics of memorizing and writing characters by hand.."

Ok, not good. While I support the part about electronic dictionary (YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE LOOKS OF THE CHINA STUDENTS FACES WHEN I SAID THAT WE WERE ALLOWED TO BRING IT INTO EXAMS), I don't really like the part about keyboard.

Why?

Firstly, let me establish that my Chinese is not exactly amazing (Having problems talking in Chinese, disgrace, I know.) but for this point, I am and will be violently fighting against it.

Why?

Firstly, writing the characters by hand is the heart of Chinese language. Look, the han yu pin ying are only placed in to help weaker students like us read the language easier. But take away the writing and hell, what the heck are you testing? The 'mechanics of memorizing and writing by hand' is a part of Chinese. Take that away and why not let us just learn French huh? Or Indian(Another upcoming superpower)?

Look, there is something called Chinese calligraphy, and I'm sure as hell there isn't any English calligraphy.

End of point.

-Mook

Will you look at that.

Did any of you see what was on Life today? One bit of criticism I'll say. Seeing as how many fans there are for Twilight (I'm only putting this name up so I won't have to always refer to 'THAT STORY') this critic might be or not, headed into trouble.

You can very much rely on common sense nowadays. But it varies. A crowd of screaming teenage girls aren't very much imbued with common sense at the moment, as a crowd of teenagers won't be very much imbued with a sense of consideration for others at the moment. Hey, its the 'ME' generation, you don't expect much of them. Except, of course, to further mess up the world for what I suspect to be the 'WE' generation (seeing as how they would most likely have to work together to survive whatever apocalypse the 'ME' generation creates for them. But that is another story.

Back to Twilight. I laud the author for coming up with a vicious attack on the Twilight movie but no, I will not be sending in an armed squad for his protection. Wise of him too, to not include his email in the column, but I believe his name might be marked down for the blacklist no Twilight fans?

Anyhow, I hope I am very much wrong about this and that Twilight fans are mostly sane, level headed people who are just poorly informed of better vampire writers such as Anne Rice.

Who am I to say?

The Cap'n, thats who!

-Cap'n Mook

Where did they go?

I'm always curious to find out where all the youngsters have gone these days. Trust me, I've checked from the Fourth Bridge to the Yellow Depths. But they seem nowhere to be found. Even in that newfangled town on the outer reaches... What was that name again? Facebook? It seems as though they aren't there. Plenty of activities there I'll say, but everyone cooped up in their own homes, not out in the streets, talking, walking, and living I'll say. It seems almost a ghost town.

Brr.

-The Cap'n

Thats great.

After all those years, finally, someone senior owes up to their mistake. But what conclusive fix-up was planned? Only more creative teaching? You've been doing that for 30 years but it doesn't really seem to work does it?

My view, on how we may improve our lingua franca, is that we do not try to be too greedy and stick our hands in two pots at once. Look, I know the policy means well, and I am not protesting for a complete overhaul, but the fact remains: We are not all linguists. Heck, we can barely manage one language, and you demand that we master two? I don't think many will agree that we can master two in a short space of time. And in the end, what do you get? Only a half pot language of each where the world doesn't understand us. And that goes right against the policy's aims.

Perhaps one shouldn't demand. But entice. Make it not a requirement. The minds of students work against their teachers - The more you push them, the more they want to walk the opposite way. Let them discover for themselves, the wonder of each language, and when they push themselves, see them fly.

-Cap'n Mook

Gaming - cause or effect of poor results?

Today, while reading the papers, I came across this article with the title - 'Long hours on the computer linked to poor results: Poll'

Well, they linked long hours to poor results, that meaning, academic results. But what I found consistently missing in the article and subsequent 'study' was the lack of description of the condition the gamers were in before they were classified as 'addicted'. There is no reason one who spends time on the computer would improve his results if the time spent were playing games. Just as if I tried to read English books to improve my maths. It is a moot point actually, to state that long hours on the computer is linked to poor results. And this brings us to my next point.

Computer games are created to be fun, and through fun, it is to transport the player into an alternate reality with different rules which he must play by to 'win'. Developers consistently seek to create engaging game worlds for the player to escape into. Therefore, games are actually a portal to escape the reality of life, it is true across the board, the sense of immersion only being more or less. It is also true, for many developing manuals, that the developer must 'create an engaging game world to provide a total immersion for the player'.

So establishing that game worlds are fantasies that people may escape to, it can be consistently found that students, those that play these games tend to be of poorer academic results as compared to this counterparts. What is it that draws these students to these games? It is the alternate reality which it provides for these students to escape, even if for a moment, from the stresses of life. To talk about it in the opposite way round, who would buy a game which is harder than life itself? Games are made to be possible for the player to win, and thus feel satisfied. When they are satisfied, most players would continue playing the game for that satisfaction and the cycle repeats. If they do not succeed in real life, they at least my succeed in-game.

Taking an excellent student, he or she, it may be found, will most likely to be found to spend less time on the computer than others. Those that perform well in school have less reason to escape reality if life is fulfilling in itself.

Therefore, gaming is an effect of poor results and not a cause, as much studies claim, for they do no formal report on the student's ability before they start playing games.

(Argument fix up pending)

-Cap'n Mook.

Taking the fight to the enemy!

Recently, I engaged somebody else on Facebook on a certain topic concerning what was better - Speech or writing. But that was the aftermath. What really sparked me off was what the other person said about writers. Really un-based remarks.

Of course I replied(or this post wouldn't be here) and thus we engaged in a debate which morphed into the aftermath.

But then, he turned to making nasty remarks on the writer(yours truly) on other places of Facebook in places where he knew I would see em'.

An open provocation.

A wiser man would have said, 'Ignore it.' But the allure was too much to resist. I had to take him on.

So here we go. Gather the artillery! Dust the jeeps and roll out the tanks!

We are taking the fight to the enemy!

-Cap'n Mook

Unknown

Of an unknown beat, a soundless whisper.
Time spun, wound, lost.
Unknown, of what all.
Perhaps the world, that rushes on by.

Lamblasting

My analysis of writers in Trilingual Digest.

Here, I'll be doing a short commentary on the quality of writing found in the trilingual digest with namely, a few well known writers: ShuLei, Ruth, and Silas. I believe and assume the reader should be familiar with these names.

First up, ShuLei. In essence, this writer has churned out a number of works that are commendable in nature, unfortunately, I can't say the same for her latest one. There are a few points which went unexplained in her writing and a few extra terms, such as 'get' right after the hyphen. It will have made for better reading if she had removed this term, as well as 'It would be quite a pleasant...' The would indicates and impossible choice, and this is clearly not the case, as before, she had already mentioned about stepping outside. There was also a general overdose of advanced terms which saturated the writing and dulled the otherwise powerful impact the rainbow had on the reader. ShuLei, a word for you - Don't waste your paint on everything, for when you reach the main picture, you find that your palette is dry.

Ruth. As compared to the above, it was much more readable but also much less believable. While it took place in a school, the storyline was a fantastic one, and it bears a close resemblance to Twilight. For such a storyline, the background must be developed clearly through the use of stereotypes or otherwise. The author failed miserably in this aspect as she tried to derive an alternate storyline of an invalid suspicion within five pages, which was clearly not enough. Also, there were too many characters introduced within a five page essay and this made for poor characterization of most of them, making the writing seem patchy. The ending was a little feeble too, with the teacher not punishing the students for such an act, even though it wasn't malicious, it will not have been what a real teacher would do and this further alienates the reader from the essay. I will generally discourage students to write fantasy in a modern context as such a storyline would frequently clash with its background without strong development of the environment.

Silas. Now this essay, while with its small errors, is what each student should aim to aspire. Assuming that the writer wrote without aid of any material, it will be one of the 'stand-out' essays from the standard mush of others. He provided a clear context of events that occurred in a informative yet interesting manner by introducing irrelevant titbits from time to time. While he might not have explained some things, ie, how does the joke about four-dimensional objects reinforces the notion that the objects described are four dimensional, it can be overlooked easily by the reader.

There you have it, my analysis of the writers.

Should you want a more in-depth review of this, please contact me.

Moving out

After a year on the high seas, I've decided to move out.

Yes. Move out of this ole ship so you may drop a post of (Dead) beside it. It has been fun posting answers and other stuff, but I've found my loyalties and they are not on the seas. I may come back once in awhile to touch the rails and to breathe the salty air, but I don't think it'll be anytime soon.

See ya me hearties!

-Captain Mook, over and out.