1 week of school left! Most other students will be rejoicing because of no HW and no exams left (of course in HC I still have the same, if not more homework). Of course, very little people (i think) actually reflect on the last 6 months (not saying that its not time to have fun of course). However, the EOYs are coming up (some may say that I'm thinking too far in advance) and to ensure a good score for progression into sec 2 (or whatever) I believe that a reflection is a very important task. So, I will write out the plusses, minuses, interesting things and future plans according to the template set by my most revered LA teacher.
Plusses: 1I1 v2.0, lots of HW =), HC wushu, IS Media (Adobe Flash, Photoshop), Mr Tan's music lessons
Minuses: some classmates *ahem* (not trying to pinpoint though, its actually a lot of people - including me sometimes =P), no Adobe Fireworks or Sketchup, no Halo 3 w/ Gabby =(, general hecticness of sec 1, getting pumped by wushu seniors, injuring myself with my nandao
Interesting stuff: huge campus, lots a wushu weapons to *ahem* play with (I've dented 2 nandaos already).
Future plans: well... I really have to start on my heavy metals science project, research was supposed to start 2 weeks ago, spam Halo during June holidays.
XD
26.5.09
22.5.09
Wushu training
Today we did forward flips for wushu. We had to use the huge mattress to land on (nicknamed "大blue" because of its size in relation to the other 2 mattresses "小blue" and "小green") and nearly killed ourselves jumping off from a roughly 40 cm high ledge and landing on the mattress. After that jiaolian got us to pump. And not normal pumping. We had to get down on the carpet, do 5 pushups, take 1 sideways step and do 5 more pushups... Please keep in mind that the carpets we use for training are longer than 10 m, and if anybody's knees touched the ground they had to start again. We were also not allowed to get up halfway through.
When we thought it was over, jiaolian got us to do it again - this time with burpees. Of course, I slacked doing 4 instead of 5 with each step and also moved slightly sideways with each jump =).
When we thought it was over, jiaolian got us to do it again - this time with burpees. Of course, I slacked doing 4 instead of 5 with each step and also moved slightly sideways with each jump =).
18.5.09
Swine flu outbreak - is it really something to worry about?
It's been about a month since the swine flu thing has started. Globally, people have panicked to contain and find treatment for this virus. However, the current "swine flu" virus has nothing to do with pigs anymore and has turned into a human-human virus, thus allowing outbreaks on a community level. However, the mortality rate for this virus appear to be the same, if not less, than the usual influenza virus. Of course, it could mutate into a much more virulent form, killing more people, but the rate at which it spreads would (probably) still remain the same.
Influenza isn't really designed (if you could call it that) to spread quickly and effectively, which is why it has been easy to contain it in the past. The influenza virus is gone in a week usually, minimising the time for it to spread. The victim either recovers completely, removing the virus from his or her body, or dies, preventing the virus from spreading further. As a result, influenza does not spread as easily as say, anthrax, which has a longer incubation period and has more time to multiply and spread.
So, considering that the new H1N1 may be just the same as the usual influenza, is it worth putting so much time and effort into stopping its spread, which actually may be quite low risk? Of course, I cannot rule out the possibility of the H1N1 becoming worse in the months to come, since this is just the start of the outbreak. The best course of action would probably be to continue the temperature checks etc., but not get more worried about it than we have to.
If any of my facts please inform me. I'll check and follow up =)
Influenza isn't really designed (if you could call it that) to spread quickly and effectively, which is why it has been easy to contain it in the past. The influenza virus is gone in a week usually, minimising the time for it to spread. The victim either recovers completely, removing the virus from his or her body, or dies, preventing the virus from spreading further. As a result, influenza does not spread as easily as say, anthrax, which has a longer incubation period and has more time to multiply and spread.
So, considering that the new H1N1 may be just the same as the usual influenza, is it worth putting so much time and effort into stopping its spread, which actually may be quite low risk? Of course, I cannot rule out the possibility of the H1N1 becoming worse in the months to come, since this is just the start of the outbreak. The best course of action would probably be to continue the temperature checks etc., but not get more worried about it than we have to.
If any of my facts please inform me. I'll check and follow up =)
7.5.09
Wushu Finals
Wushu Finals officially over on 15 April (long time ago)!
Medal tally:
Medal tally:
- Golds: 6
- Silvers: 13
- Bronzes: 15 (I think?)
Yippee!
5.5.09
The Longest Day
The Longest Day is based on the Normandy Landings of WWII. Personally I think it's a great film because it does not just show the heroism of the Allied men who landed on the beaches of Normandy, but also the incalculable loss that the Allied forces suffered and that always happens in war and also that bravery of some of the German soldiers and pilots. Also, the film is not biased against the Gerrys.
I think the film helps people realise how horrible wars are and the suffering of those who fight. 3 m men were unloaded on the beaches of Normandy. Very few survived. Those who died were, unfortnately, there to die, in the hope that enough men would survive the hail of German fire and hold the positions on the beach. This is exemplified in the basic military principle that you must outnumber the enemy 3:1 in order to be confident that there will be enough men to defeat it and if the enemy is entrenched, around 6:1 or 7:1. But, still you are only aiming for the same number of your own men to occupy the enemy's position. So, for example, if you attack an enemy entrenchment and outnumber the enemy 7:1, you can only be confident that 1/7 of your forces will survive. The other 6/7 is just there to increase the number of men that will survive the attack according to probability. They all don't survive.
I hope people will wake up as to the damage war causes not just to the defeated side in the war but also to the "victorious". Also, I feel that people who have actually been through wars themselves should be put in the command of the DoD, no matter what country. Also, countries should not wage wars they don't understand For example, the US has done that several times, in Vietnam and Iraq. In the Middle East, the US rushed in without understanding what was going on, who were their enemies and allies, and what was causing the conflicts there.
I know that humans will never be able to stop conflicts altogether because of our inherently evil nature. However, we should keep them to a minimum. War's aren't fun.
I think the film helps people realise how horrible wars are and the suffering of those who fight. 3 m men were unloaded on the beaches of Normandy. Very few survived. Those who died were, unfortnately, there to die, in the hope that enough men would survive the hail of German fire and hold the positions on the beach. This is exemplified in the basic military principle that you must outnumber the enemy 3:1 in order to be confident that there will be enough men to defeat it and if the enemy is entrenched, around 6:1 or 7:1. But, still you are only aiming for the same number of your own men to occupy the enemy's position. So, for example, if you attack an enemy entrenchment and outnumber the enemy 7:1, you can only be confident that 1/7 of your forces will survive. The other 6/7 is just there to increase the number of men that will survive the attack according to probability. They all don't survive.
I hope people will wake up as to the damage war causes not just to the defeated side in the war but also to the "victorious". Also, I feel that people who have actually been through wars themselves should be put in the command of the DoD, no matter what country. Also, countries should not wage wars they don't understand For example, the US has done that several times, in Vietnam and Iraq. In the Middle East, the US rushed in without understanding what was going on, who were their enemies and allies, and what was causing the conflicts there.
I know that humans will never be able to stop conflicts altogether because of our inherently evil nature. However, we should keep them to a minimum. War's aren't fun.
ICAS Science
ICAS Science test tomorrow. Hope I'll do well. I managed to get lots of Distinctions and High Distinctions for it in P3, 4, 5, 6 so it should be okay, but all the same, I have to revise my previous ICAS tests. You may notice that I'm blogging less nowadays cos there are lots of tests now. I hope I can make up for the lack of posts (and critical thinking) this weekend (Vesak day makeup on Monday ecks dee).
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