Sabaticals: Day 1

Rule 1: Posts must maintain a level of neutrality, displaying no panic and/or personal feelings unless required or in brackets (yay)

Rule 2: I haven't really thought about rule 2, but it would probably go somewhere along the lines of not breaking rule 1

Rule 3: A joke in every post? The only reason I add rule 3 is because rules always come in 3s (or more).

Anyway, I will try to conduct my blogs like this because, it's more um... politically correct to not comment (racistly or prejudicedly. Wow. That's really bad English) on public platforms like blogs. So, back to the point, (one more thing to notice is how I tend to talk about something completely unrelated to the topic before actually starting. It's a way to decrease boringness and increase word count. muhahaha. PS: Go and read the "so back to the point" part again, if not the sentence will make no sense) this week is sabbatical week, good and bad in its own ways.

The most obvious point, would be that there is no need to continue with formal lesson (good), the next point is that we can learn something new (also good. By the way, sabbaticals are activities organized by the school to "supplement" learning. You get to choose what you want to learn for the next week, but you must bid for what you want with points so that one sabbatical isn't empty while the other is brimming with students). You also get the chance to earn extra credit points if you choose a specific sabbatical (definitely good). On the other hand, lost lesson time means lost study time and therefore lost preparation time for exams (Woe to the students in the elitist society of Singapore). Then there's also the question of efficiency, and whether a week is sufficient. Of course there's also the fact that I bid 299 points too many for my sabbatical (so wasted). My choice, was debate, and now to tell the story of my first day.

My problems started early in the day, when I lost my way and completely confused the venue of my sabbatical. I arrived 5 minutes late, which wasn't so bad because the instructors (sec 4s) started 10 minutes early. I was issued a "debate file" which was not really a file but a huge stack of papers. The first question was "what is debate?" to which I replied "It's dething you use to catch defish with", eliciting smiles from my peers and a "i'll give you 5 points for humor" from my senior. We then went on to explaining more and more about debating, its applications and usages (did i mention the air-con was broken, and that I fanned myself with the debate file?). Before long it was break time, and I took pride in the fact that I had actually learnt something.

During break, I learnt that one of my instructors was a peer-pressure immune, perfect English-speaking perfectionist, and the other also spoke Queen's English and was a Pokemon addict as well. I was shocked to see that they were watching debates on youtube, instead of funny videos and Japanese gameshows. They were something else...

Afterwards we were transferred over to an air-conditioned room *contented sigh* but soon realized that it was too cold to concentrate *brr...*. We were then subjected to a series of presentations (which normally would not be an issue, but I didn't sleep early the night before and almost dozed of in class on multiple occasions). Unfortunately the lights were turned off (i have difficulty concentrating in the dark) though my group still managed to come first in a mini-debate. We learned about logical arguments and invalid arguments (such as: God is Love;Love is blind = God is blind?) and how anything can be argued against (math argument:

a = b

a^2 = ba

a^2 - b^2 = ba - b^2

(a + b)(a - b) = b(a - b)

a+b = b

2 = 1? (if a = b = 1) 

try and figure this out

Then we were briefed on a topic to present on on Thursday, mine being "Do you support GM food?". I didn't think that debating would be fun, but in the end...it wasn't. But hey, today's only the first day ;-p 

Changes to the blog

To be honest, I didn't think that the expectations on a student's blog would be so high. I used to think that my blog posts were fairly long, as they spanned an entire page. That was until I saw the posts from another class where you could scroll down until the cows came home and still be on the first paragraph. So... I was also in shock and awe at the other people who somehow managed to write a few thousand words about multiple intelligences and even more about a day at CCA. These are the kind of people who would be able to make a hundred and one observations about a burning candle and a hundred and two about one extinguished, an important life skill known as the "ability to use extemporaneous language which may be excessive to some extent though keeping a certain level of adherence to the topic of interest" (I was going to write bullshitting but that's not a nice word). But jokes aside, I've really been thinking on another standard here, so maybe I should increase my word count for my blog posts(what happened to short and sweet?). Anyways, back to the point, these are the changes I have made to my blog.


1. Change of the blog itself 

Unfortunately, I have forgotten the password of last year's blog. I have tried every conceivable combination and every password I ever used. To no avail. So, no use crying over spilled milk right? I have created another blog titled lookieoverhere.blogspot.com, which I feel is cuter than the previous name, gremlinsonfire.blogspot.com. So I took this as an opportunity to start anew, with a completely new blog. New layout, new content, new everything I guess... By the way, i designed a profile picture for my previous blog:

You probably didn't think I meant gremlins on fire literally


2. New layout


As mentioned above, I've completely redone my blog scheme. It may look slightly dull, but I don't really know how to use the custom made schemes. I will be livening it up a bit in the next few weeks. The words contrast well with the background colour, so it should be no problem at all to read my blog. But then again, I don't really like the dark blue colours. In fact, I've just changed my blog colour scheme to something more colourful and cheerful, like light
blue on a green background. There's a theory that you should look at greenery after being at the computer for some time, so why not make the blog green and kill two (mocking)birds with one stone? Yeah, and I added some new "gadgets" too


3.New gadgets


I've added and taken away some gadgets from my blog. In case you do not know, gadgets are the so-called "apps" on the (normally) right side of the blog. I've added a message box called cbox so that people can post constructive comments on my blog. On the other hand, the posters are allowed complete and total anonymity, allowing them to post somewhat offensive comments such as "aah nerd topics my eyes burn". This, however, is also feedback, so I should de-nerd my topics so no one gets burnt eyes because of me. I removed a gadget which displays a joke everyday because the jokes were all extremely immature and offensive. I also got a hit counter, which displays the number of people who visit my blog. The current number is 22, not very encouraging. But it's a good way of tracking the number of hits, so I can see how popular the blog gets. (wonder if i get extra points if my blog becomes a celebrity blog).


4. New content


I've kind of changed my writing style in blogging (if you think it's boring now you should have seen last year's blog). I try to maintain a level of formality at all times (sometimes unsuccessfully) while at the same time keeping it interesting (not that successful either). I also try my best to write proper English, though in order to not be called a nerd, I have to include some slang into my writing. It's alot harder than it looks!


5. New everything I guess...


Well, considering that this is a new blog, I can't deny that everything is new. From layout to gadgets, there is nothing that has been kept the same save the hit counter. There is an element of fun to designing a blog, and although I don't think so much effort should be put into something like this, the fact that someone actually reads your work helps your ego. Thank you if you have read everything until now, and if all you did was skip until this point, you've missed out on a lot so go back up and read it again.

Holiday woes - How do they work

The holidays began simply enough, going off with a bang when the bell rung. I felt like I had finally been released from the shackles of school. The top of my to-do list was, without a doubt, computer games. It was simply wonderful to feel all the exam stress melt away. And away. And away. And away. Before long, life was boring. Never mind the talks given before the holidays about how we should spend time productively, of course it isn't possible to be 100% active throughout the holidays. That's what school is for. The kind of boredom you experience during holidays is of a special kind. You want to do something, at the same time you don't, and would instead prefer to laze the day away. Then before you know it, the holidays end and life returns to normal. Ah, the woes of a holiday is that the minutes stretch but the days fly by, that's the irony of a holiday. Okay. Now that I've cleaned all the emoness out of me, I'll just enjoy my holiday, or what's left of it :) 

Interpersonal[1]

Me: So what are your views on prejudice and discrimination?

Friend: What do you mean by that?

Me: I mean to ask about how you feel about racial discrimination and prejudice based on appearance.

Friend: Well, I don't think it's right to be biased against someone just because of their skin colour or outward looks.

Me: How do you feel about how the African Americans were treated during the 1930s?

Friend: I don't believe in the "white supremacy" thing. After all, everyone is still human and character is always more important.

Me: So you don't think that it was fair for the blacks?

Friend: No, it wasn't fair at all. They were only considered to be two thirds of a human being, this is obviously not true. All men are created equal.

Me: So how do you feel about the trial of  Tom Robinson in the book 'To Kill A Mockingbird"?

Friend: The trial was extremely biased, the entire jury was made up of white people who would vote in favour of whites anytime.

Me: Then how do you feel about the parallel case, the Scottsboro boys trials?

Friend: That was also unfair, there was no evidence to support that they were guilty, in fact, there was evidence that they were not guilty. Yet, they were falsely accused and charged with rape.

Me: Okay. Then how do you feel about prejudice against people who are feared because not much is known about them? Basically, fear of the unknown.

Friend: I don't think one should judge a book by it's cover and discriminate against a person they do not know.

Me: How about the behavior of the residents of Maycomb towards Arthur "Boo" Radley?

Friend: I think it's really immature of them to just spread rumours about him just because they do not know him well.

Me: Okay, and how about the rumours about Mrs Dubose?

Friend: They are also not true and spread a bad image about her

Me: Okay, thank you for your honest opinions in this interview.

Linguistics[2]

"One-Shot Finch" saves the day

Yesterday, our town of Maycomb was threatened by a mad dog, Tim Johnson. This may be hard to believe considering that it is the middle of February, but the sheriff, Mr. Heck Tate has confirmed this to be true. He also tells us that it was not he who saved us, but town resident and lawyer Mr. Atticus Finch. Thanks to the vigilance of these men and the efforts made by Miss Eula May to inform everyone of the threat, no one was hurt. But let this be a reminder for us to stick together in these times, for that was the reason behind our success.

Tim Johnson, the pet of Maycomb, was shot yesterday as he had gone mad. Tim belonged to Mr. Harry Johnson, driver of the Mobile bus. The dog was first seen by Jean and Jeremy Finch a distance away from the Radley house, they alerted their cook, Calpurnia, who then proceeded to warn Mr. Finch and Miss Eula May. Soon afterwards, Mr. Heck Tate arrived onto the scene, gun in hand. Tim Johnson was identified as a mad dog and deemed a threat to Maycomb County. All doors were locked shut, with the exception of the Radley house, as the dog approached. It was still in the twitching stage when seen. The sheriff was accompanied by Mr. Finch in his black ford.

Mr. Heck Tate was unable to take the shot due to the long distance between him and Tim Johnson. He passed the gun to Mr. Finch due to issues concerning the safety of the Radleys. Mr. Finch was reluctant to walk again the path he had abandoned thirty years ago. He walked to the middle of the street and took aim, throwing off his glasses that got in the way. Seamlessly, Mr. Finch took aim and fired a round into the mad dog, who died instantly.

Mr. Heck Tate then went over to check the body, confirming that Tim Johnson was dead. Mr. Finch remained composed and calmly reminded his son not to approach the dead dog. Zeebo the town garbageman arrived in his garbage truck to dispose of the dog and disinfect the area, ending another chapter in Maycomb's history.

MI Test

Umm, this is my MI test results. MI stands for multiple intelligences so my results show that I'm kind of skewed towards interpersonal and linguistic skills. About the Multiple Intelligences test, I think it's quite a good way to find out the best ways for you to learn as an individual. For example, someone good at music can use music and songs to learn, and a spatial learner can use more varied forms of studying and learning involving drawings and diagrams and stuff like that. So MI may prove to be a more efficient way to learn as it is based on personal learning styles. This may not be the best way, however, as when the MI questions are inaccurately answered, the result will also change, thus causing a person to have an unsuitable learning style. That's my view on MI. Ta-da...