Repairing dual-boot on Lenovo Y500 after upgrading to Windows 8.1

After upgrading to Windows 8.1, my dual-boot on my Lenovo Y500 was messed up. GRUB didn't work, and I wasn't able to boot into Linux Mint for a while. Finally, I managed to get this working.

1. First, you need Boot-Repair. You can get it here.

2. Burn the ISO image into a USB drive. I used Universal USB Installer.

3. Using Notepad, edit the file "/boot/grub/grub.cfg".
Replace "gfxmode=auto" with "gfxmode=1920x1080".
Replace "quiet nosplash" with "nomodeset=1 xforcevesa".
(Actually found this tip here.)

4. Restart the computer into BIOS with the USB drive still plugged in. The easy way to do this is to shut down the computer. Then start up the computer, press F2 once the "Lenovo" screen shows.

5. Under "Boot", choose "Legacy" (instead of UEFI). For priority, choose "Legacy" too. Save changes and exit (press F10), which will restart the computer. Press F2 again to enter BIOS because you still need to change the boot priority.

6. Under "Boot", enable USB booting, and in the priority for legacy devices, move USB to the top (using F6). Once again, save changes and exit (F10).

7. The system should now boot into Boot-Repair. Click on "Recommended Repair" and let it run. Along the way, you may need to open up a terminal and run some commands. Do so. Once Boot-Repair has done its work, click on the power button at the bottom right of the screen. This shuts down the computer. Remove the USB drive.

8. Start the computer, press F2 to enter BIOS again.

9. Under "Boot", change priority to EFI.

10. Under EFI devices, there should be two of them. Go to the second one, press F6 to bring it up the list. Save changes and exit (F10).

11. You should now boot up into GRUB.

Hope it helps! Point 3 above should work for laptops using newer Nvidia cards, though you should change the resolution to whatever is your screen's actual resolution.

Becoming overly confident

Success breeds confidence, that we cannot deny. But in a company, when people work in teams, success tends to breed confidence in an unbalanced manner, with the team leader become ever more confident of himself as he rises up the corporate ladder.

The team leader rises up, growing confident in his abilities, when actually, he moved up the ladder not just because he is good, but because his team is good. Few leaders remember that it is the team that got them there.

By the time they get to the top, they have become overly confident of themselves. They make decisions without consulting others, they base their decisions on what they know, what they think should be the way to do things. They run things by themselves, thinking that is the best for the company. Instead of a team effort, it becomes a one-man show. They forget that they got there because of the team.

That is all the more so when the team leader moves up the ladder at a fast pace. Each success is built upon the brilliance of the team, yet he moves up the ladder too fast for this to sink into his head. Drunken by success, he thinks the world of himself.

Power corrupts. Successful leaders can sometimes do more harm than good. As we succeed, we need to guard against becoming overly confident. We need to remain humble and remember the people who helped us get there.

China's new ADIZ in the East China Sea

Recently, China declared an air defence identification zone in the East China Sea, overlapping existing ADIZs in the region. ADIZs are not new, many other countries have them, and they extend well beyond a nation's territorial airspace. In declaring her own ADIZ, China is not doing anything new, especially when you look at her neighbours, who have their own ADIZs that extend beyond their territorial airspace.

What is different, though, is the media attention given to this, and how China's ADIZ continues to be misrepresented as an "air defence zone", which connotes that China has a right to defend the airspace in that declared zone. Nope, sorry, that's not what an ADIZ is.

But here you have someone create a small flame out of nothing, and the rest of the people fanning the flames. Even Channel NewsAsia, supposedly a leader in regional news, is not spared. It uses the term "air defence zone" and "air defence identification zone" interchangeably, even though they obviously refer to different things.
China creates air defence zone over Japan-controlled islands

Moving ahead, since there is no international law governing ADIZs, those who are fanning the flames should stop, before they put their own ADIZs' legality at risk. After all, if you are going to challenge China's ADIZ, there is no reason why China shouldn't challenge your ADIZ. A healthy debate would be how to come up with international legislation to govern ADIZ (and subsequently realigning existing ADIZs to those rules).

Varying heights

Over the past few months, I had been visiting the medical services for various reasons, and they have been taking my height and weight each time. When my weight varies, that's not really a problem since I do grow a bit around the waist every once in a while, which goes back down when I exercise a bit more or eat a bit more salad.

But my height... that has been the one that I found a bit funny. I am past puberty, so I should not be growing, and it is a bit too early to be shrinking, but my height has been varying. I used to think I am 1.78m tall, but once, my height was measured as 1.82m. Wow, 4cm growth... Then, after a few months, it dropped to 1.78m. And then, today, 1.80m.

Height range now is 1.78m to 1.82m, a 4cm range. I wonder when this "variance" will stabilise...

I was a librarian

I love books. I love reading. So much so, I became a librarian at my school's library. Because as a librarian, I was given the privilege of being able to borrow more books compared to the average student. And I also get to sort out books being returned by others, and I actually get to set aside those that interest me.

Looking back, it was a pity that I didn't do more as a librarian. All I did was man the counter to help people borrowing and returning books, and putting books back onto the shelves (properly sorted, of course). I could have done more, of course. If I were to become a librarian again, I would set up a small corner introducing books. Rotated weekly, a selection of books based on a certain theme each week. The librarian's pick.

I love to read. I still do. Even with e-books, nothing beats having a physical copy of a good book.

My Sassy Girl

This is actually a 2001 movie, which I watched some time ago. It is about a love story with a twist, based on an Internet serial.

I like the scene in which Gyeon-woo tells a potential suitor of the Girl some things about her. Don't let her drink more than three glasses, she will beat up someone. If she hits you, pretend that it hurts. If it hurts, pretend that it doesn't. On your 100th day anniversary, give her a rose in her class. At a cafe, drink coffee, not orange juice or Coke.

The last portion is really touching, about Gyeon-woo going out of his way to make sure that the Girl will not be sad, and eventually, when Fate brings them together once more. Brings tears to my eyes...

My thoughts on self-conceitedness

I wrote about self-conceit and how it hinders our learning process in my taiji blog. While this thought came out from pushing hands practice and in the context of taiji, I think it is also applicable in all the things that we do.

So while it is good to have confidence in ourselves, don't overdo it. A person can never be perfect, he will have his weaknesses, and remaining humble is one way to recognise our own weaknesses so that we can continue to work on them to make ourselves better.

The yin-yang continuum

People like to think of the world in terms of black and white. We think in terms of absolutes, in binary terms, in terms of "yes" and "no". We like to reduce things to such simple terms because it make it easier to understand.

Yet nature rarely follows this simple concept of black and white. Even the concept of yin and yang is not about two absolutes; while yin and yang represents two extremes, they also evolve into each other in a continuum that covers everything in between. A look at the taiji circle makes it very clear that yin and yang is not just about two absolutes, but rather a whole spectrum covering the two extremes.

It is just like the seasons cycling through each other. We don't have hot summer days which suddenly turn into snowy winter ones. The days gradually get cooler, turning into autumn, and then winter, which then slowly get warmer, bringing about spring, and the back to summer. There is a spectrum of seasonal types between the two extreme ends of hot summer and cold winter.

Even our traditional concepts of binary sex/gender is challenged by the existence of the intersexed and the transgender. People are not just male or female, masculine or feminine. There is a whole spectrum in between.

Light and dark may look like two extremes, but there are many shades of darkness as we all know. And while we talk about the seven colours of the rainbow, these are not discrete colours; they are seven distinct colour groups that blended into each other across a spectrum.

We like to classify people into simple terms like tall and short. Yet there is no such thing as all tall people are 190cm and all short people are 150cm. People come in all heights spread across a continuum, and tall/short is a relative concept. Just like dawn is brighter than night, but noon is brighter than dawn. But does that mean dawn is not bright? No, because dawn is still brighter than night.

So while we like to think in simple terms, while we like to classify things into broad groups, we need to remember that the real world is not simple as we would like it to be.

Article on territorial disputes in Asia

This is an article on territorial disputes in Asia. It provides a summary of 5 main disputes, but I would not say it is written from a neutral party's (somehow, the views seem biased against Japan in the 3 disputes written concerning Japan) viewpoint. Still, it does provide a quick background read for those interested to know what these are about. Using this background, I would advise the interested reader to then continue looking for articles to pursue a deeper understanding of the issues involved.

枫雨

枫叶渐红时变秋、
雨点唤醒大地春。

枫雨 is the name I use for my calligraphy pieces. This is a short phrase using the two characters.

Continuing on, I will add on the following two phrases to make it into a poem.

春秋万载年又年、
阴阳相济无始终。

Maybe I should write a calligraphy piece on this some day.

Planes (film)

Don't bother watching this movie if you have watched "Cars" or "Cars 2" before. The story is more or less the same, the difference is only between racing on the road and racing in the air.

It makes one wonder if the next show to come out will be one on racing at sea. That should complete the cycle.

It is using a single plot and making money 3 times from it.

But of course, if you have kids and they are excited by the cool planes flying around, guess that could be a reason to watch it. Still, I would recommend to save the money and get the DVD instead. Better yet, rent the DVD, it's not worth paying to watch this at a cinema and no need to fork out extra cash to keep the DVD after watching.

Coming of age

People used to come of age at a much younger age. Typically, in past ages, a girl is deemed a woman at about 12 (usually when her period starts), and a boy is deemed a man at about 15. Back then, adulthood is recognised together with physical maturity. But does it mean adults back then lack mental/emotional maturity? I do not think so. I think they were deemed adults in all sense of the word.

Then why is it that reaching adulthood in modern days now take so much more time? Nowadays, depending on the country, people are recognised as adults from ages usually ranging between 18 and 21 (there are more extreme cases too). So are our 12 to 15 year olds still kids? Why are they growing up slower?

Is it about the skills they need to survive in a modern age? Back in the past, when life was simpler, a person probably needed education before they could survive in society. Learn a trade (which was probably your parents') and earn a living with that trade. Make the simple things you needed to survive, and trade or pay for these rest.

Nowadays, as we make more and more things, as we specialise more and more, there are many more "trades" that we can use to survive in this world. But to learn these "trades" now, you needed more specific knowledge over a broader base (like a deeper understanding of a wide range of knowledge from maths, physics, chemistry, geography, etc.) Learning all these takes time. And coupled with this is that most people nowadays, given the wider options available on how to make a living, may want to choose to do something other that what their parents did. To give them the ability to choose, we have to provide them with knowledge over a wider range of subjects, some of which they will eventually use to learn their "trades".

But does more time in school, learning these subjects, mean that they are still kids? Does it mean they lack mental and emotional maturity to be adults? Or can they actually develop that maturity, if only we let them? If only we don't shelter them?

Maybe primary/elementary school should be a place to introduce the various "trades" available, for people to start thinking about what they want to do. And from 13 years of age, they start learning that specific "trade" (probably by starting to acquire more specific knowledge in related/supporting subjects before moving on to learn the "trade" proper.) By 15, we can consider them adults and those who have already learnt something to survive in society can start working life, while those that need more time to learn their "trades" can start an apprenticeship, commencing on adult life too.

Maybe it is time to stop sheltering our children and start educating them to fend for themselves at an earlier age.

After all, how many of us actually use all those subjects that we learnt in school in our daily lives? Learning early European history doesn't help the mechanical engineer become better at his job. I am sure the local baker doesn't think about calculus when he is making bread. The bus driver probably has no use for the periodic table when driving around.

Just a spin-off thought that came into my mind as I was walking around today...

What is essential is invisible to the eye

On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux. ("One sees clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye.") [From "The Little Prince"]

How true...

We look with our eyes, but we need to see with our hearts. For everything that we see with our eyes is but its external appearance. That's the limitation of seeing with your eyes. But when you see with your heart, you will be able to beyond what your eyes can see.

But we keep forgetting this, and keep seeing with our eyes, letting appearances deceive us.

When was the last time you saw with your heart?

Know what you want

Do you know what you want?

Know what you want, only then will you know what you need and how to get there. Only then will you know where you are going, and why.

Desire breeds necessity, and necessity brings about action.

Have a vision, then work out a strategy to achieve it. Then work out the details of implementing that strategy, that's the plan. And all this while, the vision provides purpose.

Know what you want. It is the first step in getting there.

That Girl In Pinafore 我的朋友, 我的同学, 我爱过的一切 (movie)

It is not often that I watch a movie and come back straight away wanting to write about it. But today, after watching "That Girl In Pinafore" (Chinese title "我的朋友, 我的同学, 我爱过的一切"), that was just how I felt.

I didn't really want to watch the movie while it was airing in the theatres, but since my friend is the assistant director, and I have been hearing good reviews, I thought, why not? So I went alone to the cinema on a Wednesday night, walked into a theatre that was filled to the brim (even though the movie has already been showing for more than a month) and totally enjoyed the movie.

The song selection was great; they brought back lots of memories. These were popular songs back in my school days; the movie setting was around the time when I was schooling. The various scenes brought back fond memories. And even brought tears to my eyes. The first part of the show was more on songs and was really enjoyable. The second part was more on a love story, which kind of detracted a bit from the song focus of the show, but it was a love story that kind of fit into the period in which the movie is set in. Especially if you had been in school during that period (1990s in Singapore). All the more you will be able to find a sense of affinity to the characters and their stories.

I also like the way some parts were left unsaid. By leaving things unsaid, things are left to the viewer's imagination, for him to drawn on his own experiences and memories. This brings the viewer closer to the characters on screen, striking chords in his heart.

This is a show that needs to be watched on the big screen. Even if you have a great sound system at home, you can't watch this on a TV. A TV is not big enough to bring out the impact of the show, you need a big screen for that.

Go catch it on a big screen!

Accepting yourself

Watching the shows about people who are different from the rest (here and here) has set me thinking about why is it that society is so harsh on those who are different. Why is society so unaccepting of those who are different?

But I think the same shows taught me that in order for others to accept you, the most important thing is for you to be able to accept yourself for who you are. Only when you can look yourself in the mirror and not feel ashamed, can you then be able to face up to the rest of the world and ask to be accepted.

After all, if you yourself cannot accept you, why should the rest of society?

Turn The Ship Around (book review)

I have been recently reading this book in an effort to get ideas on how to improve the workplace. The book has an idea called "leader-leader", instead of the traditional "leader-follower" model. It is about the author (David Marquet) and his experience in turning around his submarine from one in which morale was low and people just following orders and avoiding mistakes, into a unit in which people take initiative and strive for excellence.

The book is structured much like a workbook, with exercises to help your organisation as well. Simple activities like writing ideas on cards and pasting these for all to see are things that we all know; what this book provides are the questions to ask your people so that they can think about what to write on those cards. Without giving away too much, I think this is a book that can make a difference; at least, I see how it can help me at my workplace. In fact, it is similar in idea to what I want to achieve, just that I had difficulty trying to find a way to implement it. This book gives me ideas on how to implement my own ideas on leadership and ownership, on how to achieve excellence.

Definitely a good read for anyone who wants to make their workplace a better place!

IS (drama)

This is a TV drama about intersexuals, people who are born with characteristics of both sexes. The drama is based on a manga series with the same name. It is another TV drama about a not-so-common disorder; the other drama being "Watashi ga watashi de aru tame ni 私が私であるために" which I have recently wrote about and deals with gender identity disorder (GID).

Again, the drama (this time, 10 full episodes instead of the TV short-story dealing with GID) deals with the issue of discrimination against those who suffer from a medical disorder, in this case, intersexuality. It is about how people try to fit in; one is either male or female, there is no room for those in between. To be accepted by society, one must conform to society's expectations of being either sex. This is like saying that you must be either left or right-handed; if you are ambidextrous, you are a freak. Just because someone is born different doesn't mean he or she deserves to be treated like a freak. Similar to those with GID, intersexuals are human beings too. They have red blood, breath air, and experience similar feelings like the rest of us. So why can't we accept them for who they are? Why must we force them to conform to our accepted norms?

After all, norms are what we perceive to be the common baseline. Yet, what if the common baseline is not so common after all?

Official site

Deng Xiaoping's 24-character policy

“冷静观察、稳住阵脚、沉着应付、韬光养晦、绝不当头、有所作为”
Is this still relevant today? Or has China reached a stage that it is focusing on the last 4 characters, becoming a nation that can act and make a difference?

Watashi ga watashi de aru tame ni 私が私であるために (drama)

This is a TV short-story that aired in Japan quite some time ago, back in 2006. I think I watched it in Japan while on a short vacation. It is about people with gender identity disorder (GID), or what is usually known as transsexuality. It is the story about a person's struggle to fit into society, to be accepted by those around her. While in the story, she (the leading actress is a transsexual in real life) was able to be accepted by her family, not many transsexuals can be said to be so lucky in real life.

We are all human beings, just because one's gender doesn't fit his or her physical sex doesn't make one less human. The person still has a heart, still breathes air, still has parents, has likes and dislikes, and loves. So why do we discriminate against these people just because they are not as common as the rest? After all, we are all different in our small little ways. There are people who are left-handed, people who are colour-blind, people who are flat-footed, yet they don't face the same discrimination compared to those suffering from GID. Will we be able to become more accepting as a society? Or will we continue to discriminate against those who are different?

Official page

Time of Eve

This is a movie that explores some of the things that I recently wrote about, the difference between man and machines. Thought-provoking if you really think about it, but then, you probably will only think about this if you have been seeded the idea somewhere else.

Switching radio stations

My car radio used to be tuned to Class 95FM. Recently, the Flying Dutchman, a local DJ, switched from Class 95FM to Gold 90.5FM. I was on Class 95FM for about 10min, then I switched over to Gold 90.5FM. The switch was almost subconscious.

A colleague asked if I switched stations because of the Flying Dutchman. At first, I don't know. But now, I guess so. At first, I thought the selection of songs on both stations were about the same. But upon listening carefully, I guess Gold 90.5FM plays older songs.

I guess I switched stations because I can click better with the older DJ (the Flying Dutchman) and the songs there.

I guess I am getting old...

Road to disaster - Japan's military spending

Yahoo News Japan has an article that talks about recent developments in Japan's military. The acquisition of amphibious vehicles (the AAV7), buying Osprey helicopters, and modifying the Osumi-class LPDs to operate these new additions. Plus adding command post capabilities to JS Izumo (an LHA that will be replacing one of the older DDHs).

All these are not cheap. Yet Japan continues to spend heavily on defence even though its public debt is now twice it's annual GDP. And this is at a time in which the aging population requires more money in healthcare.

At the rate things are going, China's threat to Japan will bankrupt Japan. There is no need for any Chinese troops to land on Japanese soil; just the threat of doing so will eventually destroy Japan. We have seen how the arms race between the US and Soviet Union during the Cold War eventually resulted in the collapse of the Soviet Union. Japan would do well to remember this lesson from history and think about other ways to counter what it perceives as the Chinese threat, instead of heading down the path towards bankruptcy.

Indifference

Indifference is a fearsome thing.

It is one thing to be incompetent. When someone is incompetent, things are not done because the person can't get it done. But when someone is indifferent, things are not done either because:
1) The person think it doesn't make a difference (he doubts his own ability).
2) The person think it doesn't matter (he doesn't care).

When one can make a difference but doesn't want to, it is a sad thing. It means he has given up, either on himself, or on the people around him. He has stopped trying.

He has given up hope.

And if there is no hope, why do we even exist?

Times have changed

Just for laughs, but I can't help but want to share this.
-------------
Nowadays, when we have a new junior officer (JO) come in, the executive officer (XO) would usually talk to him like this:

JO: Hi sir.
XO: Hello . Have your been making meaningful progress in your learning? Are the rest of the officers and crew treating you well? Are you getting used to the life onboard? ... (and the questions go on and on...)

In the past, the same situation would likely be:

JO: Hi sir.
XO: Hi your head, you think I am your friend? BMT never taught you how to greet officer is it? Cannot even greet people correctly, go take X (where X can be any number up to 7).

The next day...
JO: Morning sir!
XO: Of course morning lah! If not evening meh? You think I cannot see it is morning ah? Think I stupid? Go take X.
JO: ...

The next day...
JO: Good morning sir!
XO: What good is there to this morning? The morning so good meh? So hot walk here already sweat so much. You think it is good, you go and jog in this weather now lah.
JO: ...
XO: What you waiting for? Change into PT kit and go and run!

The next day...
JO: Good day sir!
XO: What good day? How you know it is going to be a good day? You prophet? See you already bad start to the day, what good day is there? Spoil my day.
JO: ...
XO: Dumb already? Cannot say anything? I thought you prophet? Now nothing to say?

Those were the "good" old days...

How artificial is "artificial intelligence"?

This one is going to be quite interesting...

"Artificial" means something made by humans. "Artificial intelligence" is thus intelligence that is man-made. We see this in computers and this is a term used to describe computer programs written to exhibit signs of intelligence.

But just what is intelligence? If intelligence is what human beings have, what really is intelligence? It is ultimately a series of behaviour that humans exhibit. But science tells us that humans are biological creatures made up of chemical building blocks observing physical rules. Deep in our roots, we are just complex machines following nature's laws. Our behaviours are thus manifestations of biological machines.

Given that humans are made by humans, subsequent humans that exhibit what we call "intelligence" are then man-made... and thus, should that not be "artificial intelligence" as well? What is the difference then, between "intelligence" exhibited by a biological machine compared to that shown by a mechanical/electronic one? Both are machines exhibiting behaviours governed by nature's laws. Both are complex machines exhibiting complex behaviours. And both are ultimate machines made by humans.

So what separates us humans from computers?

Interesting point about chess and weiqi

I am reading Henry Kissinger's book, On China, and came across this interesting point about the difference between chess and weiqi 圍棋 (also known as go 碁 in Japan and the rest of the world).

Chinese chess (象棋) is a game with in which the objective is the capture of the enemy's general. This is similar to chess, in ends with the capture of the enemy's king. In weiqi, however, the objective is not about capturing the enemy's pieces. Instead, it is about gaining as much territory as possible. While capturing enemy pieces may happen during the game, it is part of the process of gaining territory. Unlike chess, which has a specific end state (the capture of the enemy's king/general), there is not specific end state to weiqi; it ends when both players agree that there is no further benefit to be gained from playing on.

Chess pieces have their own strengths and weaknesses, and thus a key to winning in chess is to be able to exploit those strengths and weaknesses of the different pieces. In weiqi, however, each piece is the same. The key to winning then becomes how one is able to exploit the situation. It is about choosing where to develop one's base, where to pick one's fights.

So chess is about how to win single objectives, while weiqi is about recognising how to achieve long-term goals. Both, I would say, as good mental exercises for the military man, for the politician, even for the businessman.

My thoughts on command responsibility

Command responsibility. That's the responsibility that a commander has to the people under his charge. It means that he answers for everything under his command, even if he is not directly or indirectly involved. It means that by virtue of his appointment, he has significant influence that could have shaped things differently, in big ways and small, and thus, whatever the outcome, it had been influenced by him.

It is a recognition of the amount of power that a commander holds in his hands. Yes, he may not be directly involved. He may not have given the orders and thus indirectly contributed. But somewhere along the line, if he had done something different, said something different, it would have influenced someone, somewhere along the chain, and resulted in a different outcome. His behaviour shapes the people under him. His daily behaviour could have influenced the people who were directly involved, such that they thought differently and acted in a different manner, or made a different decision.

And thus, even if he is not on scene, the commander is always responsible. That is command responsibility. It means being able to recognise the influence that he holds, and being willing to shoulder the results of any outcome that happens under his command. He can't say "It's not my fault." "I wasn't there." "I wasn't told." (the list goes on...) When faced with a problem, he stands up and faces the problem and brings his team to solve it. When something bad happens, he stands up and faces the music. When something good happens, he smiles and pulls up the guy who made it happen and says, "That's him, he's the one who made it happen."

It is about being humble and being willing to say, "It's my fault." and not letting your own ego get the better of you. It means being willing to accept the failures of others as your own failures. It means being willing to accept failures and then move on, without letting pride stand in the way.

It means a lot of things, so much of which is hard to pen down. This short article is but the tip of the iceberg, and it doesn't even get close to describing exactly what command responsibility is. But I do hope it sets people thinking about the command responsibility that they have, because each and every one of us is a commander. Why? Because even if we don't have command over others, we are always in command of ourselves.

Mao Zedong and the God Emperor Leto Atreides II

Those who have read the Dune series will know Leto Atreides II as the name of the God Emperor, part human, part sandworm. It was he who set humanity on the Golden Path, a painful yet necessary path to prevent humanity's destruction. His death eventually triggered widespread suffering and a diaspora known as the Scattering, but eventually, those people returned as Honored Matres and brought renewed strength to the Bene Gesserit, forming the new Sisterhood. There is the clash of humanity with their old machine lords, eventually resulting in a new peace in which man and machine live together in peace.

So what does this have to do with Mao Zedong, the leader of Communist China that led the Chinese Communist Party to victory over the Nationalists?

Mao led Communist China through a series of hardships, designed to continually challenge the Chinese people in order to keep the spirit of revolution alive. He put them through the Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries, the Great Leap Forward and then the Cultural Revolution. Through his campaigns, the entire Chinese society was turned upside down. But through all these trials, the Chinese society actually emerged stronger, surviving the ordeals. It reminds me of Leto's Golden Path and the suffering it brought to humanity. We see the Scattering in China too, where some Chinese left China for better lives outside China. And now, these people are returning to China, infusing China with new blood, with new ideas, new technology, bringing new energy to China.

And what of the clash between man and machine? The machines of Dune were the old masters, much like the West were the old colonial masters. Maybe we will see an eventual clash between man and machine, a clash between the East (the oppressed man) and the West (the machine lord), symbolised by a clash between China and the United States. But eventually, we will emerge into a new peace in which we learn to live with one another.

Mao had set China onto its own Golden Path, it now remains to see where that path will bring China.

Happy 48th birthday Singapore!

Today marks the 48th anniversary of Singapore's independence.

The last time I was able to spend time at home watching the National Day Parade was in 2009. It is good to be able to watch the parade this year.

Off to catch the parade in front of the TV.

Happy birthday Singapore!

Inkling: "Clausewitz vs Sun-Tzu" on war

Clausewitz tells us that war is an instrument of policy, that war is policy by other means. He doesn't discuss the justifications for war; to him, war is about achieving a political aim. He does not debate the morality of the political aim, nor the morality of using war to achieve that aim. War is a tool; we use the right tool at the right time to get the job done.

Sun-Tzu, however, talks about the impact that going to war has on the public. He advises not to go to war unless absolutely necessary, citing the resources needed and thus the burden on the people that war brings. He advocates winning without fighting. Implicitly, he is saying that war is not good, that the wise ruler should not go to war; instead, he uses other methods to achieve his aims. But he does not outlaw war, because war is sometimes needed, and in those cases, he advocates a swift victory.

Could this provide some insight into our cultural views on war? Could it be that the West uses force to force their wills on others, while the Chinese uses force to awe others into submission? One uses force to achieve aims and objectives that are easy to understand, to grasp, while the other seems to be using force more at the psychological level than the physcial. Something to think about and expand on when I have the time.

My neighbourhood, past and present

My neighbourhood was in the papers. I have lived in this neighbourhood for more than 22 years (still less than Sumiko Tan, who has been in this neighbourhood for more than 40 years). But I still remember the old market (shown in black-and-white) and the huge tree behind it.

Brings back lots of memories about this place.

Calligraphy piece - 飲

At the request of a colleague, I wrote this. He likes to drink, so this word, 飲, can be said to be a good word to describe him.

Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine

In today's context, when we talk about modern medicine, we are talking about Western medicine, which is based on the scientific method and gradually moving in the direction of evidence-based medicine. Through hypotheses, experiments and observations, modern medicine has a well developed system for diagnosis and treatment.

Traditional Chinese medicine (sometimes shorten to TCM) is usually looked upon as an alternative method of treatment. It is commonly mistaken as something based on folk wisdom, without as compelling a foundation as Western medicine. And therefore, it is mistaken as being not as effective as Western medicine. I think we cannot be more wrong. TCM has a well developed system too, and it is similarly based on experiments. A lot of knowledge accumulated inside the TCM system is from trial-and-error (which is a form of large-scale, long-term experiment) over the generations. All that knowledge is then encapsulated inside a system which is unfamiliar to Western medicine practitioners but that doesn't mean the system is wrong or ineffective. It is just a different system. Just like we have different cuisines, that doesn't mean one type of food is better than another, since they all fulfil the purpose of filling our stomachs.

In fact, the amount of empirical testing for TCM may even out-number that of Western medicine, given the long history of TCM, and the size of the population over which it was practised in. A treatment that has worked for the past few thousand years can't be that ineffective, right?

In fact, even in science, there can be different theories explaining the same thing. And as long as both theories are able to explain and predict the same outcomes, there is actually no "better" theory. Since both Western medicine and TCM are able to classify illnesses (in their own classification system) and have more than enough examples of successful treatment, there shouldn't be a "better" system. They just happen to be different systems that work.

Who knows, maybe one day, when the pendulum of time swings towards the East, TCM may become mainstream medicine, and Western medicine delegated to "alternative method of treatment"?

Many teachers, many styles

There are many teachers, many styles out there. What is important is to find a style that suits yourself, and a teacher that suits yourself. It is not easy to find a good teacher, someone who possesses the knowledge that you seek, someone who can point you onwards when you exceed what he has to impart.

But even more difficult is to find a student that is willing to put in the hard work to learn what you have to pass on.

Finding a good teacher is difficult, finding a good student is even more difficult.

I am blessed to have good teachers for both taiji and calligraphy. I hope I am putting in enough hard work for them to feel that I am a good student worth teaching.

NDP 2013 Rehearsal

Last weekend, after visiting the Art Science Museum to see the "Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb" exhibition, we were also able to observe part of this year's National Day Parade rehearsal.

It may just be a rehearsal, but was there a crowd! Not just at the grandstand of the floating platform where the parade was, but also the bridge link to Marina Bay Sands and the area around the Marina Bay reservoir.

While we couldn't see what was happening on the floating platform itself, we were able to see other aspects of the rehearsal. Like the Red Lions parachuting down.

The spectacular display by the navy's and coast guard's boats.

It is quite innovative, but we put the artillery on barges and made them practise the 21-gun salute floating on the water.

I have seen the national flag being flown on the helicopter a few times, from various angles (the most recent one before this being from seaward...) but this is the first time I got to see it up close.

And we saw the bomb burst by the Black Knights over the iconic Marina Bay Sands.

And the F-15s treated us to a sonic boom.

At the end of it, as we were walking away, my son started crying. When asked what's wrong, he said he was very touched. Very touched by the display, and now he understands what Singapore's birthday is about.

Wow! Talk about the success of national education.

"Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb" exhibition in Singapore

The British Museum, through the Art Science Museum, is holding this exhibition called "Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb" here in Singapore.

For those who have seen the exhibits at the British Museum, the one being shown in Singapore is not worth the S$13 (for Singapore residents; otherwise, it costs S$15 for an adult). The only real content is the 3D show, which isn't really much. The rest of the exhibition is a short walk with lots of space, few exhibits, and small words that everyone is crowding around to try and read.

But if you haven't had the chance to visit the British Museum before, well, this is better than nothing.

Taking care of my son

Two weeks ago, my wife had to go overseas to attend a workshop, and I was left to take care of my son for 6 days.

While I have taken care of him in the past without my wife around, it was only for a few hours each time. So a period of 6 days was a first. Somehow, we both managed to pull through.

It was a tiring 6 days. But it was fun too. We watched "Monsters University" and "Despicable Me 2" together, played in the swimming pool twice, and went to attend his enrichment class together. We had fast food, local food, even instant noodles by me. We went for my taiji and pushing hands class together, where he would keep himself occupied with his toys and drawing/writing on pieces of paper that I would bring along. We also went to walk around the shopping malls together (okay, this was part of the movie deal...) and explore the Lorong Halus wetlands.

It was great bonding time for father and son. It also taught me to appreciate what my wife does, day in and day out. Between juggling the household chores (yes, someone needs to wash the clothes and keep the house clean, and that's me while my wife wasn't around) and making sure that we are all fed, much of the remaining time was sucked up watching over my son. Yes, he can play on his own, but you never know when he is going to grow bored or need something. So trying to get anything done can be challenging; the only real time that I could use to get some work done was the 3 hours each weekday morning when he was in school.

Being a stay-home mom is a big sacrifice, a tiring job. Still, people do it, even without a salary, because of love. My salute to stay-home moms, and the biggest salute to my wife!

Ah Boys to Men 1 and 2

Finally, months after they have been released, I have managed to watch "Ah Boys to Men" and "Ah Boys to Men 2".

This is actually a single movie, shown in two parts. It is about a journey that every Singaporean son goes through, that of basic military training. It is a show close to heart, because of the common experiences about basic military training that it touches on. The shaving of heads, the bunk inspection, field camp, road march, rites such as rifle presentation, foot drills, and the moment when all these end - the passing out parade.

The initial part of the movie is also heart wrenching, when it shows what happens if we ever get attacked. It is the reason why we all train. The rest of the movie is actually about how young boys grow up together into men. It is interspersed with stories of how basic military training used to be like. My own experience was somewhere in between; not like what it is now, but not as unreasonable as the "flashbacks".

In the end, it is about what motivates us. Why do we serve? It is about love for one's family, for one's country.

This is a movie that Singaporean males who have been through national service will understand. For those who do not have these experiences, it may be harder to understand the jokes, the stories, but it is still an enjoyable movie.

Goodbye, old home

After more than 20 years, my mother has decided to move out from the old house.

It is a nice, quite neighbourhood, though a bit inconvenient since it is quite a walk from public transport and shops. Still, it was the house in which I spent my teenage years, and a few years of my married life. So there are lots of memories to do with the house too.


This artificial waterfall was actually built by my father. So I have posted it to cyberspace, hoping to keep the memory alive.

"It's not my fault" - Why do we always blame others?

I think it is human nature to blame others for our mistakes, for our failures. When things don't go as we would like them to go, instead of looking at ourselves and asking if we had done what we could, if we had done our best, we tend to blame it on the weather, blame it on supernatural forces, blame it on others for not doing their parts, blame it on superstitions that are no more than old wives' tales.

"It's not my fault." How many times have we heard this? How many times have we said this? But is it really not our own fault? Have we really thought about it before we said it? Was it really luck? Was it really that superstition? Was it really because our teammates didn't do their bit?

Or was it really because we don't want to know the answer? Was it because we don't want to take responsibility? Was it because we are afraid of admitting that we are not as good as we thought we were? Was it because we are afraid to face reality?

Are we really afraid of forces beyond us? Or are we just using them as an excuse for our shortcomings, our incompetence, our laziness? Are things really beyond our control? Or are we just not trying hard enough?

Something worth fighting for

My wife and I were chatting, and we got to this topic about determination, about fighting spirit, about drive to push through difficulty, etc.

It got me thinking, why do we fight? Why do we push on even when faced with difficulties?

We fight because there is something worth fighting for. There is something that we believe in, something important, something that we want to protect. It can be a dream, an ideal, our loved ones.

There is always something worth fighting for. Have you found your reason yet?

Remembering our dreams

All of us have dreams, if we work hard enough, our dreams will come true.

How many of us remember our childhood dreams? How many are still working on those dreams? How many are living different dreams? How many have fulfilled their dreams?

And not just about ourselves. What about our dreams for Singapore? What were our dreams for our Singapore? Have we been making progress towards fulfilling those dreams? Have the dreams changed?

Do we still share the Singapore dream?

The video below was aired in 1990, although the song was first written a few years before that. I still remember the video, and seeing it again brings back many memories, of childhood dreams, of schooling days, of inspiring teachers. It brings tears to my eyes.



Count On Me Singapore

We have a vision for tomorrow, just believe, just believe
We have a goal for Singapore, we can achieve, we can achieve
You and me, we'll do our part, stand together, heart to heart
We're going to show the world what Singapore can be
We can achieve, we can achieve

There is something down the road that we can strive for
We are told no dream's too bold that we can't try for
There's a spirit in the air, it's a feeling we all share
We're going to build a better life, for you and me
We can achieve, we can achieve

Count on me Singapore, count on me to give my best and more
You and me, we'll do our part, stand together, heart to heart
We're going to show the world what Singapore can be
We can achieve, we can achieve

Chorus:
Count on me Singapore, Count on me Singapore
Count on me to give my best and more, count on me Singapore

( Repeat Chorus )

Together Singapore Singapore ( X 2 )

Got the Lenovo Ideapad Y500

Old news... but just to let everyone know, I got the Lenovo Ideapad Y500 at the recent (okay, not so recent) computer fair (early June).

It was a good deal. First, it was the new Y500, which came with a Nvidia GT750M (2GB) instead of the GT650M. And, it came with a second GT750M (2GB) that could be slotted in to make it a dual graphics card setup using SLi. Plus the dealer gave me a DVD drive and an additional CPU fan (both are interchangeable with the second graphics card). So I get to choose if I need extra graphics processing, a DVD drive, or just keeping the computer cool. Most of the time, I just use the DVD drive.

Another deal was the RAM upgrade to 16GB. That's 8GB on top of the original setup of 8GB.

What made me really want this was the full HD display of 1920x1080 pixels. That's a sharper screen with a lot more real estate on a 15.6" screen.

And... I managed to get Windows 8 running together with Linux Mint 15. :) That made my day.

Calligraphy piece - 進

My latest calligraphy piece, the character 進, which means moving forward, to enter, etc. It is a gift to a superior at work, who is moving on to a new post within the organisation soon.

"Home" by Kit Chan

Whenever I am feeling low
I look around me and I know
There's a place that will stay within me
Wherever I may choose to go
I will always recall the city
Know every street and shore
Sail down the river which brings us life
Winding through my Singapore

Chorus:
This is home truly, where I know I must be
Where my dreams wait for me, where the river always flows
This is home surely, as my senses tell me
This is where I won't be alone, for this is where I know it's home

When there are troubles to go through
We'll find a way to start anew
There is comfort in the knowledge
That home's about its people too
So we'll build our dreams together
Just like we've done before
Just like the river which brings us life
There'll always be Singapore

Repeat Chorus x2

For this is where I know it's home
For this is where I know I'm home 

------------------------

This is one of my favourite NDP songs. I think it really says it all.

Home, where we belong, where we will always keep dear to heart, whether we are near or far.

Father's Day card

This came in the post the other day.

It turned out to be a Father's Day card that my son made in school.

Made my day. :)

Home-made dumplings

The Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) was just over. It is a tradition to eat dumplings during this festival, so my mother made some and gave a few to me. The home-made taste is always the best!

The fundamentals are the same, but style can be different

This came up at work today, and subsequently, when I was pushing hands. Both seem to be the same thing to me: the fundamentals of what we do are the same, but how we apply those fundamentals depend on our preferred style.

Our preferred style stems from our personality, our experiences (what worked for us in the past, what didn't work), our own understanding of the fundamentals, our perception/assessment of the situation (what the opponent is trying to do, what we can/cannot do). Our style is very subjective; it is a manifestation of the person. Some people's style is more aggressive, preferring to take the initiative and drive things along. Some people are more passive, preferring to wait and see, to respond as things happen. There is no right or wrong; as long as the objective is achieved, the style does not matter.

What remains unchanged are the fundamentals. What are the questions that you ask yourself? What are you watching for? What are you concerned with? Have you formulated your options? What are you trying to achieve? How are you going to achieve that?

Get the fundamentals right. Because style is useless without the fundamentals.

Acer Iconia W5

Got a new tablet/laptop hybrid for my wife. The Acer Iconia W5. Basically a Windows 8 tablet, that comes with a docking station. What I like about it is the ability to install legacy Windows programs, so I was able to help my wife export her Thunderbird emails and Firefox links over to the new device easily. The storage space, though, is a bit low, with only about 24GB left on the device after installing Office Home&Student. I guess that means I need to get a new portable harddisk for external storage. Of course, a microSD card before that should help.

I, I, I and I

There is always the conflict, between who I am, who I want to be, who I am told to be, and who I try to be.

Destiny's path: inevitable or a choice?

I see the path ahead, but I dare not step. Nothing knowing where it will lead me, the uncertainty, the fear of loss, the fear of not being accepted. Yet every time I walk away, somehow, I end up back on this path.

Is this really the path for me?

Do I really have such a difficult road in front of me?

Is there another road that I can take? Or will it lead back here anyway? Just like the other times, when I tried to take another road, and still ended back here?

If you keep ending up on the same path, does that mean the path is for you to travel? That you must walk down that path? Does it mean I will keep coming back? Or maybe, just once, will walking away lead to something that doesn't lead back?

Will the path lead me to my dragon? And when I am faced with my dragon, will I slay it? Or will it consume me?

Am I destined to walk this path alone? Or will I be fortunate to have someone walk it with me? And at the end of the path, will I still end up alone, or will we still be walking together?

Do I have the courage to find out?

Navy Open House 2013

Today's the start of the Navy Open House preview (which will be 16 and 17 May 2013), for family members and invited guests. The public will be able to join in the fun on 18 and 19 May 2013.

There are booths on the navy's capabilities, and about a naval career. More importantly, a booth selling navy goods!

And there are lots of ships to visit. Stealth frigates (3 of them!), tank landing ships, missile corvettes, patrol vessels, mine countermeasure vessels, and you even get a chance to ride on them (okay, only on the smaller ships). There are rides on the LARC V (aka "duck tour") too! Come join in the fun!

Towards BMI 20

My previous post talks about my six pack in a barrel. So I have decided to do something about it, although age is a big barrier. The older one gets, the harder it seems to lose that flab.

So here's the regime. Eat less carbohydrates, which means less rice during mealtimes. Breakfast is salad, it fills the stomach for a while until lunch. And helps the bowels. Cut down on snacking; it helps that the snacks in the office now is a lot less accessible. Plus, every morning and night, I do 50 "leg-raise+crunches", to try and bring the six pack out of the barrel. It is still a barrel, but less flabby now. On top of all that, the usual taiji routine (pushing hands twice a week, taiji routine practice also twice a week) is still there. I think I will also try to increase the frequency of my morning "15min taiji warmup".

The goal: BMI 20. More importantly, stay healthy, look healthy.

Six-pack in a barrel

Recently, my tummy has started to get rounder, due to less exercise and age, I would guess. So when the subject of being fit and staying slim comes in, I like to joke that,

"Yes, I have a six-pack too, but I store it inside a barrel."

But seriously, the reduction in amount of exercise is showing. Literally. I used to exercise very little, but I used to eat very little as well. So I was thin. Then I started taiji, and lots of taiji, and my appetite went up and up. But now, due to commitments in life, I have to cut down on taiji classes, but my appetite has remained, and with the same intake and reduced output, the result shows.

Time to cut down on the intake, and find ways to increase the output...

「既生瑜、何生亮」

『苍天既已生公瑾，尘世何须出孔明？』

Rest in peace, Mrs Thatcher

Former prime minister of UK Margaret Thatcher has passed away today, at the age of 87. She will be remembered as the first and thus far, only female prime minister of the UK.

Former British PM Margaret Thatcher passes away

Busy long weekend!

Good Friday and Easter weekend. Busy busy busy! With some guests from Japan (okay, relatives).

It started with a Friday at Universal Studio Singapore. We thought the crowd would be smaller since we expected people to be at church. We were a bit correct, the crowd at opening was smaller, but it grew towards lunchtime. Still, the weather was okay, it wasn't very hot, with a bit of rain to cool things down. Only thing was the technical errors at the two rides (Transformers, and Elmo) that we wanted to go for; queued for an hours at Transformers only to have to leave when the error closed down the ride, and couldn't even join the queue for the Elmo show.

Saturday was spent catching a movie, The Croods. Something for the kids (ours, and my wife's niece). Then rushed back after dinner to practise calligraphy.

Sunday, Easter Sunday, today, was especially busy. The kid had a performance at the church, and that was followed by some more calligraphy practice (I need to hand in some "homework"). And then it was again off to dinner, to celebrate the kid's 4th birthday. Time flies!

PS. Pictures will follow once I have time to sort them out.

The failing of a genius

One can be a genius and still fail. Why? How?

A genius is great at what he does. He has his own way of thinking, his own logic, his own internal system that allows him to achieve what others, the average guy, cannot.

The trouble comes when the genius tries to help the average guy. He tries to teach the average guy his system; worse, he tries to dictate that the average guy follows his system. He fails to see that his system only works for him... it only works because of the genius.

The average guy trying to use the genius' system may not do very well. He may not even succeed. He may not understand the system. Over time, the system becomes a relic. It may even get in the way.

The genius can help the average guy not by sharing his system with the average guy, but by helping the average guy develop a system that works for the average guy. That way, the average guy owns his own system, he understands his own system, and it works for him.

So if your method works, before you go around sharing it, ask yourself: does your method work because of you, or because of the method?

The Beast

Kind heart,
Fearsome shell,
Waiting,
For Belle.

Going to Navy@Vivo

RSS Intrepid is at Vivocity to support this event called Navy@Vivo. We spent the day walking around Vivocity, taking a look at the booth. What a crowd!

The Sea Hawk helicopter is out on the deck as well, for all to see.

There's a free "dress-up & shoot" section at the booth. You can wear navy uniforms and they will take a photo of your as a souvenir, for free!

Somehow, we managed to get onboard. My son found the commanding officer's chair and took a seat on it. Not easy to get on this chair, it takes years of training and hard work to get there.

昔日故人今不在

昔日故人今不在，
桌上铜镜给谁用?
伤感伤心又伤寒，
夜静无人望月叹。

Flight (the 2012 movie)

"Flight" is a film about facing up to oneself. It is about having the courage to admit to what one really is, and to have the strength to change if need be.

An addict finds it hard to kick the habit; that's why he continues the habit. It takes courage to admit that one is an addict, that the habit is detrimental to oneself. It then takes strength to effect that change, to kick that habit.

That's what the main character in this movie is. He is a hero, an ace; he saved lives. But he is also an alcoholic and drug addict. He could have continued to bask in his hero glory and lived his decadent lifestyle, but he found the courage to face up to this addiction, even though it meant the end of his career.

What he did takes a lot of courage and moral strength.

Do I have that same courage and moral strength to face up to myself and what I am?

RSS Intrepid at Vivocity

RSS Intrepid, one of the stealth frigates from the Republic of Singapore Navy, is now at Vivocity.

It is open to the public from 15 to 17 Mar 2013. Heard that tickets for 15 Mar have all been given out, do make it there early on 16 or 17 Mar to get the tickets for those days. The ticket booth, inside Vivocity, is open from 10am on those two days.

Here's the duty watch raising the navy ensign during the traditional morning colours ceremony.

2 years already

It has been two years already since the 3/11 earthquake/tsunami hit Japan. While economically as a whole, Japan may have seemed to recovered to pre-disaster standards, part of the disaster-struck areas are still struggling to rebuild themselves. For those small towns that lost most of their population, it will be a challenge to attract people back to rebuild those towns.

The road to recovery is long. The shrinking population, the pull of big cities, coupled with administrative red tape doesn't help much.

人去楼空，无可奈何

人去楼空，无可奈何，
故人不走，新人不来。
新欢虽好，不比旧爱。
伴我度过，杜康好友。

* Random ramblings on a quiet Monday night.

You need some slack to turn

In taiji, you need to relax so that you can move.

In life, I think it is the same thing. When you are going at 100%, you cannot change direction. When you are putting in 100% effort, you can't change the way you are doing things. In order to change something, you need to cut yourself some slack. Go at 80%, or even less, so that you can use that 20% (or more) to change things.

Something that I learnt from pushing hands, and something that I think applies in other areas of life too. Sometimes, pushing too hard doesn't change anything. You need to ease off a bit in order for things to change.

Self-discovery: From the heart

Something that I am learning about myself.

I hate people who don't talk straight to the point. To me, it would seem that being straightforward is being sincere. Thus, when people beat about the bush, or try to be tactful, I would most likely take it as a sign of insincerity. If you mean something, say it. If you don't have the moral courage to say what you think, then don't waste my time.

And I hate people who try to be more than they are. People who talk like experts when they do not have enough expert knowledge turns me off. For such people, I would not hesitate to call their bluff and even make them look bad. I prefer humble people.

In short, I prefer people who are themselves, and not try to be someone that they are not.

It's about respect

There is a Chinese saying, 一日为师，终生为父, which translates into "a teacher that teaches you for a day should be treated like a father for a lifetime". Some may think that this is some old, outdated way of thinking, but I think it is something that teaches us respect. If we have benefited from someone's teachings, that knowledge gained will help us in some way, big or small, for life. It will affect our lives, big or small, somehow. And thus, we should respect that person for passing on that knowledge to us. Yes, in this day and age, we may not need to treat him like a parent, but we should still pay him the proper respect.

Exam-oriented

Listening to the radio, I heard an advertisement for enrichment classes in Singapore. It set me thinking: Are we too exam-oriented in Singapore?

Somehow, our education system revolves around examinations, around doing well for examinations. Everything seems to be about results nowadays. I can understand the use of our streaming system to assess the potential of our students so that we group students of similar potential together, so they can learn together at the same pace. But somehow, getting into a "better" (faster) stream seems to be the goal nowadays. Instead of developing our children at a pace suitable for them, we are now pushing them to develop in certain areas (those we test them in) as fast and as hard as we can.

For some (those who originally can learn at fast pace), this helps them develop in exam areas while still giving them enough capacity to develop other, non-exam areas. For others (those who we push beyond the edge), all their capacity is used in keeping up in the exam-areas; they end up without capacity to develop in non-exam areas. In short, their development becomes lop-sided.

I don't think our education system ever started out aiming for lop-sided development. I think we all want our children to be developed all-round, at a pace suitable for them. But in a society that continues to value "scholarships" given out mainly based on examination results, how do we encourage people to develop non-exam areas? How do we convince parents that all-round development is more important than getting good results?

Or are we just going to burn them out with enrichment classes and exams?

Or are we saying, Singapore only values engineers, doctors, lawyers, etc? If you can draw or write, Singapore is not for you, please go elsewhere. Are we saying it is enough for our children to score well in exams, that all their energy should be spent studying and preparing for exams? At the expense of learning important values like cleanliness (we get domestic helpers to clean up after our children), independence (here's the wonderful domestic helpers again), civic-mindedness (studying is priority, at the expense of everything else, everyone else), even fitness (just study).

Has our scholarship-examination-education system been warped into something that is shaping our society into a mindless rat race? Are we pursuing competitiveness (progress) at the expense of happiness? Because if you ask me, competitiveness (progress) was not the aim; it was the enabler for us to obtain happiness. Even our pledge lists happiness as the first and thus implying it as the most important thing that we want to achieve.

Is it time for some soul searching and reflection? As individuals and as a nation?